Broken Fairies Chapter 4- Broken Pieces, a fairy tail fanfic

Chapter 4

Broken Pieces

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, Energy Magic, and Ideas

.:+:.

Laxus jumped, coughing and taking in a few, rapid, rushed breaths as he fought to gain his bearings again. The sensation of drowning under the water persisted even as the walls and surroundings of Fairy Tail's Infirmary came into focus. His racing thoughts struggled to settle and come to terms with what happened, he had been rushed out of that strange place so quickly he was reeling.

He sweatdropped, his thoughts clicking into place in an seconds time- his head snapped sideways, the sensation of her wrist in his hand, the water, being dragged under, fighting to move up to the surface-

He was on his feet in an instant, eyes glinting in the dark and dim half-light of the room- the city still dark and sky still rumbling, dropped right back in that same, exact instant in which he'd heard her stop breathing, what time had rewound finally hit the mark it had halted- and this time it was different.

"Y-you... You..."

Her voice was low, broken by gasps and winces, struggling to breathe proper air as she hunched, shaking and trembling, her arms wrapped around her stomach and sitting up in the bed- her entire countenance rigid as she seemed to struggle to just stay sitting up at all.

Laxus moved up beside the bed in an instant, facing her as he sweatdropped a little more, frowning at that shaking, gasping figure of the woman he had never seen look so... Fragile.

"You shouldn't be moving," he grumbled lowly, his hands moving forward, intent on getting her to lay back down- he could smell the fresh tang of blood on the air, he knew instantly wounds had opened and were bleeding anew under that collection of bandages holding her broken body together. He could see what strain and sheer effort it was for her to move, let alone sit up like that- she looked ready to pass out and yet she didn't budge, her head remained bowed with her hair falling around her face in tendrils, her features pale and absolutely gasping for what little air she could manage. His hands found her shoulders, lightly, gently, and her hands shook as she drew them up, her fists shaking as she grabbed tight of his shirt, he blinked, coming to a halt.

"...y-you...Fucking... Bastard...!"

The tone that worked its way into her voice in that instant would have been seething and icy, if she hadn't sounded so pained. Laxus blinked, his eyes falling to trace her hands as she held to his shirt still, maybe even a bit more tightly... She was... Angry.

"H-how could you do... S...something so god.. D...damn stupid..?!" She hissed, her head snapping up so her tired, glittering and cold silver gaze matched his aqua blue one. "How could you even... Risk doing that...?! You c-could have died... You almost died...! And what damned.. F...fucking... Good would that... Do...?!" Her fists pushed against him, like she was trying to push him away or even hurt him though she hadn't the energy to do any real harm. "... we can't b..both end up dead... You can't end up dead trying to save me...!" He blinked, stunned for a brief few seconds, before his eyes narrowed at her.

"And what about you?" He growled, his eyes flashing. "What good do you think it would do if you ended up dead? If I didn't try something you were going to die. Why would that be any better?"

"... I wasn't supposed to come back..!" She snapped hoarsely, her voice cracking as he stiffened, eyes widening slightly to see the sheer terror and pain cross her expression in that next instant- destroying what annoyance had flared in his core just beforehand.

"I used my Chance..! I knew what would... Happen! I've been fighting it so long... I've had the world thrown at me... I've been beaten down so many times... Too many times! I've been to.. T-to the Reach more... More than I am supposed to...! I've come back too... T-too many damn times... And now you... You jumped in after me... You could have... Fucking died for me..! ... I am so tired of... People throwing their chances away on me... I've had too many people lose their... Their lives for me...! T-too many people... Have died for me...!" Her fists pushed against his chest a bit harder, but now she was shaking so much her fingers hardly held on to the fabric of his shirt.

"Wh... What the hell are you...?" He stammered slightly, eyes narrowed and sweatdropping at the sudden rant and string of words that made literally no sense- what people had died for her? People giving up their chances? Who? He hadn't a clue what was even going through her head to make her think that, because as far as he was sure- no one had died for her, ever. His eyes narrowed, searching her expression and frowning slightly, she was... well, she was panicked, she was angry too... but there was fear there where he had never seen it, terror.

But... why...?

"..y-you don't get it... I was done! I wasn't supposed to... Not again...!" She hissed, ignoring his words or not hearing them- but she saw the question in his face, though she hardly cared... She was.. she couldn't... Fuck!

He stared, his eyes widening as he watched the tears suddenly spill over, running down her cheeks and glinting in the dim. Drops fell like flecks of light onto the bed between them, her eyes glittering as she held his gaze, though the sheer pain that rose in those silver depths made his heart drop.

"I was ready to die...!"

He felt his heart skip a beat, the words cutting and cold as he simply stared, the breath catching in his throat, unable to fathom, unable to look away. Her eyes only held his a few moments longer, before they snapped shut, the tears still streaming as her breaths caught in her throat all the more.. She... She was...

"... She'll fight you. Get her to the surface, you'll save her- for now. After that... You're going to have to convince her, or she'll just end up back here again."

... She... She wanted to... She wasn't falling because she couldn't fight anymore... She...

In that instant Rified's words made all the sense in the world... And he felt his heart clench painfully in his chest.

... She gave up on living...?

He'd never imagined her... He could hardly fathom the idea that she of all people... Would just give up, on everything.

Her eyes fell away from him, her body still heaving and emotions still running wild as her head bowed, her fingers still tightly closed around his shirt and shaking badly, she leaned forward a bit, the top of her head bumping against his chest as the tears spilled between them still, the sheet staining darker under the moisture, a few of them splashing against her arms.

"... I wasn't supposed to come back, you god damn... Idiot... I was ready... To go... It was time... I... I had... To... I can't be here... Not if..." She hissed, her voice hitching between the breaths that shook her entire body in what was probably agony for her. Her voice dropped to something just shy of a whisper, trembling and fractured as she struggled to even voice her thoughts, but he heard it, she sounded so unbelievably scared. "... Not if I might... D...damn... I...it..."

"... This was... it had to be... the last... L..last time... I c...can't... n-not... Not any...m..more..."

His eyes flashed, a frown pulling at his lips as he sweatdropped. Listening to her, she was in so much pain, she was... terrified, broken... It felt like his heart was breaking in tune as she fell apart right in front of him.

She'd... she'd wanted to die.

"... I can't... I can't become... him... I can't..."

Laxus swallowed, his eyes narrowing slightly, he could feel her grip on his shirt slackening, see the tenseness fading slightly from her shoulders as her anger dissipated- but the pain and the fear didn't. She was shaking- trembling and gasping so hard the bed shook with her, the heat radiating off her skin made a lump fall into his stomach as his hands moved up to gently place themselves on her shoulders. He felt her flinch back at the contact, just a little, but she didn't say anything, and he let out a small breath.

"... You shouldn't... you shouldn't have... saved... m-me... I'm not... strong enough... If I... e-end up... like... I'm n-not... shit... I can't..."

"You're going to have to convince her, or she'll just end up back here again."

No, he didn't really understand where... well, any of this, had even come from. Maybe he could wrap his head around her being angry he had risked his own life, but everything else?

She was absolutely terrified, he could hear it in her voice, see it in the tautness of her body, hear it, how it made her breathing hitch in her throat even more than the tears did. Something had her mind in a frenzy and her emotions running wild. Something had happened that had made her want to just give up, something that made her want to die, made her afraid of being alive... Afraid of what she might do if she did live.

It might have been nothing, it might have simply been the strain and the pain from all the wounds and injuries, and even the fever. It might have just been she wasn't thinking straight because of what haze sickness and pain had thrown on top of her head, and maybe with how hurt she was her emotions were doing a number on her... but he didn't think she delirious, he could tell, she knew what she was saying and she meant it.

He just... he didn't understand why.

"... Become who?" He murmured softly, quietly. She didn't reply right away, and for a few moments he wondered if she heard him at all through her harsh breathing.

"...m...mordren..." She hissed, he blinked. "... H-he... He... he lost it... Because... And... I...I... Just can't... I can't become him... And I can't... I won't be able... T-to... Stop... M...myself... I... If..."

...why would she even think... She'd ever become anything like Mordren? How could she..?

Laxus stiffened though, his eyes narrowing to slits as his hold on her shoulders waned slightly for a minute.

His thoughts flashed to that day, the day she'd faced the man she seemed so terrified of becoming. In those few minutes, when the battle first turned, when she first had the upperhand- but the instant she had... Well, she'd been something he'd never seen in her before. In those few minutes when it seemed like... She just stopped caring. She'd been brutal, cold, her gaze icy... A shiver ran down his spine at the memory of it.

The look in her eyes then had been a look he'd seen... In Mordren.

Cold, emotionless, maybe even a bit terrifying. And dark, she'd been dark for a few minutes, like she'd become something else entirely. It was something he didn't recognize, and something that had even had her student looking mortified- enough so he'd pulled her back and held her in place, snapped her head off, scolded her...

"Snap out of it Teach you stupid idiot! You don't get to do this, not after all this time, you don't get to just let yourself fall. You have no right to do that, not to yourself, not to anyone else who cares about you, and not to me."

... Is that, what she was talking about? The fact that for a few minutes... She had lost it?

But she didn't go all the way, she snapped out of whatever dark corner her head went into. But it seemed now... She didn't think she'd be able to pull herself back again.

He frowned a little more, biting the inside of his cheek as the thoughts clicked together, sweatdropping still.

... And with what insane power she managed against Mordren? How strong she actually was and no one ever knew?

It was an unpleasant thought, the idea that she'd become anything like Mordren... And it was a thought that never crossed his mind, not once, until that very instant she suggested it.

He honestly couldn't fathom the idea that she would ever fall so far and become so dark and so evil. It was impossible, after all the shit she'd been through? With all that pain and fear and a shitty past she had been keeping hidden all these years? Even with what Kasumi put her through, with what she went through with the Council and Shadow and Winter... With Tomaru, DeathBolt, all the awful things that had hit her. All the times she'd been beaten down, hurt, all the times she had never let any of it tear her all the way down, she had always kept going.

She had every right to be angry, to hate the world and to distance herself from people. She had more right than most to hate and to want vengeance for what she had suffered, and maybe she did have a right to be that person... Someone dark and cold.

And yet there was no one he had ever known who was better, brighter. She was kind and loyal and she cared- she really cared about the Guild and fought like hell time and time again for it. She protected people, fought avidly against those who would harm others, she despised the work of Dark Guilds and Mages and fought like hell to stop them wherever she had to.

Through all the bad and the dark that had touched her, consumed her life... She was still so good. She was still bright, clear light that remained even in a world of dark that never halted in trying to tear her down.

He couldn't even picture a Frea that was anything less. He couldn't see her as anything other than that bright, kind, gentle, loyal, protective, strong as hell, stubborn woman- the one he had known since they were both younger, the only one in the Guild who could go toe to toe with him... And honestly the only person he trusted more than even the Thunder God Tribe, and maybe even the Old Man.

Of course, all things he felt and kept to himself- he hated that too, he really had been such an ass to her in their younger years. She had deserved better than that. She deserved better than this.

She didn't deserve anything that had ever happened to her, and she certainly didn't deserve to be broken down like this, she didn't deserve to be terrified of herself or what would happen... She didn't deserve being broken to the point where she had wanted-

He swallowed against the thought, his eyes falling closed for a small moment as she continued to breath harshly, painfully, the tears still spilling over as she crumbled, fell apart into pieces that this time- this time, for a split second, he wasn't sure she'd be able to put herself back together like she always had.

"... You shouldn't... you shouldn't have... saved... m-me... I'm not... strong enough... If I... e-end up... like... I'm n-not... shit... I can't..."

... How little she thinks of herself.

... But maybe, I just assumed... She knew... She knew how everyone saw her...

Frea had always been... Well, confident. Quite confidence, she didn't really boast but she hadn't ever come across as overly nervous or even uneasy. She'd always been content and she'd always seemed so sure of herself and everything she did, but in that moment- he realized that maybe all these years she had just been hiding how unsure and scared she was... hiding how little she actually did think of herself. And how much she probably doubted herself and everything she did.

... Damn it, Frea...

"... You're nothing like that bastard." He murmured, his tone low and steady. She flinched at the words, he felt her recoil though he didn't know why. "... You're better. You'll never become anything like him. You are who you are, Frea, and you are nothing like Mordren- nothing is going to change that. Even after all these years and all the shit you've been through... You've never stopped being you- you've been kind, and loyal and strong, you've protected the Guild and cared for everyone in it without hesitation. You've always been there when people needed you to be and you've never been asked, you help people, save people- you've been one of the best people any of us have ever met- and everyone's always known it. And you'll never become anything less. You'll never be dark, or evil... You don't have it in you. That person is not you." He sighed, sweatdropping as she went rigid, her breaths hitching some more but he knew he had her attention.

For the first time in maybe ever... He was actually telling her, the things that had gone unsaid but he assumed she knew. He wasn't one for words, actions were his way of communication and Frea had always seemed to accept that, understand that even. She was the same way, she didn't do most things by talking about them, she did by doing- but maybe that was a problem.

Maybe, there are things that just need to be said out loud. And right now, he was oh so painfully aware that it had been years, and there were too many things that had been left unsaid... By the Guild, by her, and damn it... By him too.

"... They thought you knew, the Guild... They've all seen you as nothing less than good. They love you, they trust you... They know you'd never be anything like Mordren... They..." He growled under his breath. "...I thought you knew. I thought you always knew... How much you mean to the Guild... To everyone... You're supposed to be able to feel emotions, so I figured you'd always known. That's why I... I don't understand how you could even think... That you aren't worth saving."

His hands moved slightly, moving from her shoulders to her face as he gently, yet firmly forced her to look up at him, her eyes glinting and filled with so much pain and terror and no small amount of sadness he felt his heart jump. His face fell slightly, his expression firm and utterly resolute yet there was... Some softness there, that Frea hadn't ever seen in him. Just for a small second, she saw it, even with her mind and heart in pieces.

If she had given up on it all, on herself, and with how torn up she was... Rified was right, she'd lost her will to fight and before too long, with how hurt she was- she'd probably end up right where he didn't want her, and the second time he would be helpless... And he never wanted to be helpless like that again. He'd felt that way enough the last two weeks to last him a lifetime.

Never again

"You mean more to the Guild than you realize, much more. There is not a single damned person who has ever met you, and known you- that would ever even think of you as someone like Mordren. You could never be him, and you won't be." he murmured lowly, "Do you even realize how much pain everyone's been in the last two weeks? How worried they've all been over you? They've all been terrified of losing you, we thought we were going to lose you... And that's more painful than anything. How could you even think you aren't worth saving? Or suggest it would be better if you were gone? It can't be better, you mean too much to them- to us, woman."

He bit the inside of his cheek, her eyes flashing a little at the words, before falling slightly, no longer looking at him- like she couldn't bring herself to, or wouldn't... but she was listening. And that had to be enough.

"... I don't know what's got you so worked up, Frea." He murmured softly, "... But I know there is nothing worse than the thought of losing you. You need to see that... If you give up it hurts everyone else. The Guild can't lose you, you can't just give up on them. You can't quit, you have to try." There was an edge that worked its way into his voice in that instant, enough so she flinched slightly at the sound.

"...y... You think... I don't know... how it... It would... Hurt... Everyone...?!" she hissed lowly, her voice breaking as her eyes fell to her lap, her hands falling in tandem, "... I... I've never... Ever... Wanted to make any of you... F-feel like that...! B... But... W-what if... If staying... Ends...ends up... W...worse...?!" She shook her head, wincing as she continued to cry,

"...w-what... What if... You're...w-wrong...?!"

He blinked, sweatdropping as she gasped the words out, her body shaking harder with it, his hands falling away from her face and lightly onto her shoulders again to try and steady her- though it really did little good.

"... I'm not wrong." He replied quietly, firmly. "There's not a damn thing you could do that would change my mind either. You won't go dark, you ain't gonna become Mordren, you're too damned stubborn to even fall that far. You're not gonna end up dark. You're never going to be him. I know you won't."

She didn't seem like she wanted to believe him, or hardly like she even wanted to keep listening either. She was shaking her head at him, her eyes still on her hands and taking in air in frantic, painful gasps. She didn't believe him, or she couldn't, not at that moment... She was just too strung out, too frantic, she couldn't get a handle on her thoughts or her emotions.

She went rigid though, her eyes snapping open when his hands moved- falling from her shoulders and fell softly away from her. One hand moved to rest lightly on her hip, holding her, ever so lightly like he was afraid he was going to hurt her- though honestly she was so worked up she couldn't feel the ache of pain from the contact even if there was any. She hadn't time to force her gaze upward to try and meet his, not before he had closed what little distance was between them, leaning in as his other hand held the back of her head and neck, his nose burying itself in her hair as his chin rest atop her head.

He felt the lump in his stomach grow heavier, feeling her entire form shaking against his own hold, feeling the heat radiating from her like a furnace, feeling the way her breaths shook her, and her body jostled painfully with it.

"... just this once, trust me." He murmured softly, she stiffened, her fluttering and frantic heart skipping a short, jolting, painful beat. "... I'm not wrong, I know you... and I know you'll never fall that far. You'll never be anything less than the strong, kind, loyal, stubborn as hell woman I've known for so many years... you'll always be the real you, the one I've seen you be. You'll never be anything less, you could never be anything worse. There isn't a bad part about you... trust me, even if you don't believe me... just trust me."

This... I don't... this feels like...

Her eyes fell closed, her fingers shaking as she let herself lean into him, just a little, her will to even argue dissipated in that instant... in a wash of warmth and pain that felt like agony, and yet...

... this is what it felt like, that night... when I sealed off my mind again...

They'd never been close, they never talked to one another in normal conversations, they never had any need to. They didn't share things, not with each other and not with either people to be entirely honest- they were both reserved and kept to themselves more than people may realize.

Laxus had been around more often than he ever had been... She was running into him, being near him a lot more than she ever had, talking to him. It was like they ran into one another at every turn, and with the sudden flux in how often they seemed to bump into each other- something about them had just changed. Between them, there was something different than before.

Something... Something she didn't get... And something that suddenly, with all the out of character things he was saying, his off behavior... Her emotions seemed to hit an all time and high, and she cringed.

That... I... Idiot...

It hurt, it so much... more than it ever had. She had hit rock bottom after all this time, her will to fight, to live... it was gone, she was terrified and she couldn't see any bright side to anything. Not with what sheer rush and rage of emotion was still ramming into her like a hundred trains all at once.

... but... but him just... just talking to her like that, softly, more gently than she had ever seen him act. That big, neutral, annoying, powerful man had never been one for soft words, reassurance, he certainly had never been one to give into close contact unless he was fighting someone... but his hands were hardly touching her, he was hardly touching her, he wasn't even hardly that close to her either, and he was so gentle about it and yet he was holding on to her so firmly all at once.

She'd never liked close contact herself, she liked her personal space and didn't like it invaded... when people got to close she usually tensed up, hated it inwardly... but this...

... Someone who I didn't care if they saw me break down... Someone I knew wouldn't press anything. Someone to talk sense into me...

Her fists clenched slightly around the bottom of his shirt again, her shoulders hunching as she let out a low, shaky breath.

.... Does he... he think that I don't...?

She swallowed, even in the rush and the frenzy, in the fractured torrent that her mind had become, even through the pain and the agony that flashed through every inch of her very being... she had felt it, some emotion that flickered off him incessantly, something prickling, something sharp... something she hadn't felt from him, maybe ever.

... he... Laxus...he's...

Her mind was spinning, images and flashes of things and thoughts too many to sift through, too many to count- many of them not even hers. She let out another shaky breath, her body heaving now as she failed to calm down, and the thought hardly occurred to her. She just couldn't think straight. She took in a quick breath, one thought flashed in her spinning head though, and the cold that dropped into her stomach made her shiver.

But that sudden breath sent fire through her core, hitching in her throat painfully and sending everything crashing to a halt. She went rigid underneath him, her body hunching backward a little as he stiffened, his head snapping up as he pulled back slightly, eyes glinting.

That breath broke in her throat, her lungs heaving and spasming as her body followed suit. She hunched over, every muscle tightening, her body growing stiff as she started coughing, coughs that tore at her throat and her lungs, sending her heart racing in feverish, unnatural beats, and coughing made it all worse. She couldn't breathe, the more she coughed the worse she started to shake, the worse the pain got- and the worse the coughing became. All in an endless, awful cycle.

Her hands moved up, arms shaking as she heaved and coughed in wet, short, body-jolting spasms, every inch of her being flaring red hot in pain that was too much to even be imaginable, her broken body battered by the coughing that soon enough had crimson dripping through her fingers. Crimson that didn't let her breathe even if the coughing had halted, which it gave no indication of doing.

Laxus hesitated for no more than half a second, his heart and nerves racing anew as he moved toward the nightstand, snatching a towel from the top of the stack that had been abandoned there. He stood next to her, one hand curling over her back and shoulders lightly while the other handed the towel over, her fingers trembling as her own hand shifted enough to place itself over the towel, though he didn't dare draw away- she was shaking so much he wasn't even sure she could have kept a hold on the fabric, or had the strength to try.

She was shaking in his hold, her body doubled and hunched as she cringed, gasping, every muscle tense and body on fire for those few minutes that her coughing raged, the white of the towel consumed by the scarlet.

He frowned, his eyes narrowed to slits as he sweatdropped- he could almost feel her bones and muscles straining and splintering underneath him and the force of the coughing itself, and he couldn't imagine what pain it was causing... But he couldn't do anything, even if she could hardly breathe between the coughs, he had nothing to do. He just had to wait and hope they quieted down.

She was shaking and heaving violently under him by the time the coughing did manage to draw to a shaky halt. He could hear her lungs struggling, the breaths shallow and ragged in her throat as she swallowed, hunched over still and hardly even seeming aware of where she was- she was leaning against him more than she was sitting up on her own, and she was shuddering, cringing harshly as she hissed, pain flashing though every inch of her person and so brightly it was hard to just... Think.

The towel might have fallen from her fingers as her hand fell into her lap, if not for his hold, his eyes glinting in the dim as the crimson flashed a bright, sticky color in the sudden arc of lightning outside the illuminated the room.

Laxus hissed under his breath, frowning still as she felt her start shaking more and more, felt the heat sparking from her skin rise a few more degrees as her features paled to a sickly, exhausted pallor.

"... Easy, Frea..." He murmured softly, shifting slightly as he set the towel down in his chair, one arm still holding her broken body up as he swallowed, hard. He wasn't sure she heard him say anything to her, or what good it would do. She was panicked still, even outside the coughing, and there wasn't a doubt in his mind that her rampant emotions had been what suddenly sent her spiraling health spiraling downward all the more so quickly.

He stiffened, attempting to move away to try and get to her to lay down again- only to halt.

Her fingers had wrapped around the sleeve of his shirt without him realizing it, until he felt his arm pulled back, weakly, shaking in her grasp as she stayed hunched slightly, heaving and gasping- but she didn't let go... Stubbornness, almost. But he knew in an instant that wasn't why she'd grabbed on to him, and he wasn't sure if she realized what she was doing or her hand had moved out of sheer instinct.

He let out a low breath, his eyes flashing.

... This was... Nothing, like the Frea he had come to know. This was someone... Hurt, and broken, and petrified... And his heart ached anew.

He gently, slowly pulled his arm away, she was too weak to hold on to him anyway, but he felt her stiffen as he did so and he swallowed against the lump in his throat again.

He didn't put any more distance between the both of them, like he had originally planned to. Instead he moved behind her, his hands moving to her shoulders and keeping her as steady as he could as he moved the pillow at the head of the bed, and settled down on the bed behind her, his back pressed against the headboard. He sat cross-legged as he placed the pillow in his lap, leaning forward as he pulled her down softly, forcing her to lay down though she resisted it at first, shaking even more with the effort before she sank backward. She would have slammed back against the bed if he hadn't been holding on to her, her will to resist and stay upright dissipating entirely.

Her head fell into the pillow in his lap, by now her eyes had fallen shut, her chest rising rapidly, shivering from head to foot and so very pale, her jaw clenched, cringing as she winced, her breaths jolted and fractured between hisses and shows of pain that hardly let up. He shifted slightly, his eyes never leaving her pale face as he shrugged his jacket from his shoulders, moving it to let it lay over her and the sheets too, before one hand fell to brush the strands of hair from her face, frowning a little at the sheer heat he felt from her when his fingers drew across her forehead, his eyes landing for a small moment at the thin stream of crimson that stained the skin at the edge of her mouth.

He saw her eyes flutter open slightly, those silver eyes dazed and dull with pain and a feverish glaze over them. Her eyelids kept falling though, struggling and failing to keep them open, the breath hitching in her throat and shallow breaths halting for a minute as her fangs ground together, her expression pulled tight in pain as she hissed, her body growing rigid for a few moments, before she was gasping for air some more.

"... Take it easy, Frea." He murmured again, the words low as his attention cast sideways, leaning slightly as he reached toward the nightstand- grabbing another cloth and soaking it in the bowl of water that had been put there.

He folded that damp cloth up and let it fall lightly on her forehead, his hand falling over it a few minutes as the other hand lightly traced under her jaw, holding her cheek softly as she continued to gasp and shake. His eyes landed on her face again, narrowed to slits and face tight, sweatdropping still, that twinge, that ache in his chest throbbed.

What fever she had had the last week suddenly deepened, enough to make her body shake and shiver from it, her already strained breathing becoming all the shallower, her fever had risen higher in those minutes and it rammed into her like a train.

He had never seen her this sick, this hurt. This was the worst way she had ever been in, the whole Guild knew that... But it wasn't just her body that was broken.

His jaw clenched, fangs gritting together and almost cringing himself when he saw the pain appear in her face again, before fading. And then flaring once more, on and on.

Frea was having a hard time just pulling her focus together enough to force her attention on reality. She felt cold, really, really cold she was shivering at it, her mind in a haze and a rush of indiscernible thoughts and feelings.

But she felt that.... Incessant, deep, throbbing even through the haze of fever and her pain...

... Laxus... Laxus was afraid... Worried, and deeply so.

It never stopped, that feeling, and she had felt it grow stronger the minute she had started coughing. Even hardly awake and barely managing to make anything out, she knew he was scared... And she knew how careful he was being with her, gentle and soft... Softness and care she had never experienced from him.

It was the side of him he usually didn't let show, but he didn't dare be anything less just then. All he cared about was her, about trying to help her, calm her down, try and stop her health from spiraling again... Anything.

She flinched, a sudden snap of pain running through her chest and making it very hard to breathe for a few moments. Laxus bit the inside of his cheek, hearing the wince of pain catch in her throat, seeing her stiffen, eyes scrunched closed, and seeing her breathing hitch and halt for a little while against the pain. The hand he had placed atop the damp cloth on her forehead moved, lightly holding the top of her arm and shoulder, it was meant to be reassuring- though he wasn't sure it did any good. His thumb glided lightly over the small patch of bare skin that made it passed the bandages, his jaw clenched slightly as he waited for her pain to fade again.

"... Try and calm down, Frea..." He murmured softly, watching quietly until her rigid posture lessened, her breathing picking up again, shuddering and pained. "... Your body can't handle you gettin' all worked up right now." He bit the inside of his cheek again, finding himself searching for some sign she was even listening to him, but with how sick she was, she seemed to hardly fading between unconsciousness and feverish reality.

His head bowed slightly, his eyes falling closed as he sweatdropped. A part of him was wary that if she did fall asleep on him, she might not wake up... But what was he supposed to do?

A small part of him really wished, in that instant, that he could using any fraction of Magic that would help her, heal her... The breath caught in his throat as memory of hearing her rattling breaths stop suddenly came to the forefront of his mind.

... Damn it Frea... I hope you can hear me... You need to listen to me, woman...

"... You can be pissed at me, for giving up my Chance. Be mad about it if you have to- if I had to do it again to save you- I wouldn't hesitate." He murmured lowly, softly. The words made it passed his lips even with the possibility she wouldn't hear them, but he had to. If she could, he had to get her to hear this. "... I'd rather you be pissed at me and alive, then to have to lose you, again... If I'd known what it would feel like, to watch you get killed like that, to know you might not come back... I don't ever want to feel like that again. The Guild's been tearin' itself apart over you... and I've been barely keeping myself from going crazy too," He let out a low sigh,

"Everyone I know is precious to me, and I care for them all for different reasons, and I would do everything and anything for the people I care about... Moon, Chase, Erza... the Guild, everyone is special to me, and all of them for different, unique reasons." Frea smirked, her silver gaze moving over toward him to settle him with a gleaming, warm stare he found he couldn't look away from.

"That means you too, Lightning-for-brains. I care about you too, so don't get all worked up, ok?" She smirked toothily, her mood lightening to cheery in all but a few moments time, Laxus stiffened, heart jumping as he felt his face heat up slightly, especially after noticing that Frea was blushing, just faintly.

"... I know I haven't done anything to let you see it, or even know... But I care about you too, Frea." He murmured, lowly, quietly.

"... I might be bad at showing that, but ... I do care about you, more than I realized I did. I care about you, all of you... You're a freak of nature, you're stubborn as all hell, and have one hell of a bad temper. You're oblivious at times and you make stupid decisions... But you're loyal to a fault, you're kind to everyone you meet, you're incredibly perceptive and honest, and a bit of mystery all at once." His lips twitched slightly, some small flash of a dry smile. "... I care about you, for who you are. Everything about you, every little strength, every little quirk... that's who you are. Even if we fight, or you get on my nerves... It's enough to just have you."

".. Listen, Frea."

Frea opened her eyes again, blinking once, her silver eyes glinting in the moonlight. She tilted her head slightly, suddenly able to feel the seriousness sparking off of him slightly.

"...look, I get you don't talk about the things you're feeling all the time, and I get you like to keep things secret, and that's fine. You don't have to tell anyone what you don't want to, and I get that maybe... There's things you don't talk about for good reason." His tone dropped and Frea stiffened, eyes shifting sideways and away from him a moment.

... there was the flood of long since buried memories that suddenly rushed up to ram into her. All of the things she had kept hidden and under lock in key in the deepest corners of her mind... Things she kept at bay, for fear of what... What they...

They all came crashing down over her head in seconds, and uncontrolled flood, rushing through all on their own accord... plunged into the sea of agony and fear and despair that rushed over her own head, feeling the wounds she experienced, the pain... The heartbreak, agony... The sheer torture.

Her grip around his neck tightened slightly, without her meaning to. She shut her eyes a moment at the sudden surge of emotion bearing down on her head, a flood she quickly attempted to stop.

"... Whatever you've got buried, you bury for a good reason. And I get that... I never thought about it, but I always knew. I don't expect you to go talking about any of it, and I'm not asking you to. Just realize... If you don't find a way to work through whatever is going on, you ain't gonna be able to keep going at the rate you are now." Laxus went on, his tone low and quiet, eyes fixed ahead as the pair of them moved forward in the silent town. "... Don't get me wrong... I know how strong, hot-headed and stubborn you are... But even all that ain't gonna keep you running if you don't try and start taking better care of yourself, and quit worrying about everyone else more than you. If you're hurting, or your exhausted... Don't feel like you've gotta do everything on your own, and don't think you are alone either. Whatever you've got going on... You ain't alone in it, and you've never really been able to realize that."

"... You don't have to act like everything is fine all the time."

He wasn't being the bull-headed, arrogant bastard she had grown to know. The same sort of person that had seemed to fade away entirely as of recently- as her anger and annoyance she had held for him all these years began to fade away until she didn't see him as a rival anymore. Things had grown less tense between them, where they hadn't been able to hold a conversation or be in the same room together- now they could be in eachothers company, and it didn't bother either of them.

Frea's arms pulled in, her fists bunching about his coat and her face burying in his back, jaw clenching as she let out a small 'tch...'. Her body started shaking slightly, shoulders hunched as she pressed her nose and eyes into his back and the ruffling fabric of his coat.

She buried her face in his back even more, hands gripping his coat harder as she fought to gain control over the spinning of her mind and feelings. As her shattered and cracked mind swirled and fell away into an abyss that she had been trying so hard to stay out of- a deep chasm of pain and long side buried emotions she had kept under lock and key.

It was cold, and deep, and such agony... And yet she could feel the warmth of her cold and suddenly trembling form against Laxus' back, could smell his scent through the salty tang of the tears she hid in his coat. Her breath caught in her throat as she kept herself silent, cursing in her head the sudden weakness, as she suddenly crumbled despite herself. She had been grasping at straws for a week now, hastily pulling the seams that were breaking apart back together, she had been gasping and struggling to stay above the surface- and now she was finally going under. But she wasn't drowning,

She felt awful, frayed, broken, exhausted and utterly weak under the torrent of emotion that ceased down over her head like a pitch black ocean- and yet as she sunk below the surface, she felt warmer. And all around her, was the prickly, airy, sweet scent she had become so used to- the familiar Energy Signature of someone she didn't really know anymore. Someone who had changed... Maybe for the better.

But damn it, she hated this.. Hated losing it like this, and yet she couldn't stop it. She didn't like falling apart, and certainly never in front of anyone- and yet at the moment, she couldn't do a damn thing, and somehow she didn't feel the need to,

Her shoulders shook, body tense and trembling as she buried her face into his back even more, fangs grinding down on each other, how was it him saying that managed to break me... So damned easily...?

Her grip on his coat grew harder, Laxus' gaze shifted sideways as he felt Frea's body begin shaking against his back slightly, ears catching to the sound of her stifled breaths, nose twitching slightly at the salty tang on the air- feeling her press her face into his back roughly, and the sudden damp. His eyes fell closed, sweatdropping slightly as he let out a small breath- feeling that strange feeling in his chest grow sharper,

And so the walls crumble...

"...you... you damn... Jerk..." Frea hissed, her voice hitching painfully in her stifled gasping. He sighed slightly, as they continued forward, his feet leading him toward Fairy Hills. For a very long while he just continued on in silence, eyes closing and sweatdropping as he felt her body shake against his- as the same woman he had known to be so strong and who could always stand tall against anything suddenly caved in under the pressure of the awful horrors that bastard from Death Bolt must have put her through. As all of it crashed over her head and broke her apart, too fast for her to keep herself together like she always had.

"... I'm starting to wonder if it was a good idea to let you go running off to Death Bolt on the first place." He mumbled, sweatdropping a little more as he continued to carry her through the silent form of Magnolia, that incessant feeling in his chest never going away and only growing deeper as he felt Frea shake against his back. A good question... Considering how Frea was now, how broken and hurt... She's crying. Frea never cried before... And now its like she can't stop.

... And she was crying again... She was more broken than she had been even then...

He sighed slightly, sweatdropping as the memory invaded his mind once more.

"... I'll take it all, even with the attitude, the temper... It doesn't matter to me what you've done, or what you might do, and it doesn't matter to me what you're afraid of, or how broken you feel. If you need it, I'll take it all... All the bad and the good, all the fears and the worry, all the hurt. You don't have to keep thinking you've got to keep it all to yourself, or put on a face for everyone else. You don't need to pretend with me, I don't care about all the details, I don't care if you fall apart on me... I just care that you stay." His voice dropped to something low and calm, but almost... husky in a way. He swallowed against the flash of an ache in his chest, he felt her still shaking against that hand that still brushed against her cheek ever so softly.

Of course he was still confused, he didn't understand what set her off and he was most definitely still wondering what she meant when she said 'people had died for her' already... But he didn't think of pressing it. Her business, she would tell him if she wanted to... A familiar thought.

... Damn it, how many times did he need repeat himself before she started listening?

But even then... That was just like her, and he knew it.

He felt like he was rambling, it was a large string of words with so much meaning to them. It was a foreign and rather odd thing of him to do. He felt it was out of the ordinary for him, and it felt a little odd to think any of that, let alone say it aloud.

But despite how unusual it was of him to do... He did mean what he was saying, more genuinely than he even was expecting of himself.

"... Don't go dyin' on me again, alright?" He murmured, stiffening a little when those words came out a bit more uneasily than he liked. He almost heard is own voice crack,

... I've been feeling this for a long while now... I ignored it... Told myself I didn't know what it was...

"... You know, Laxus.." Frea murmured softly, "... You aren't such an arrogant, annoying git... You're actually really a softie deep down..." Laxus stiffened, a small blush dusting his cheeks as his eyes closed.

"Look! The Sakura's are blooming!"

"Woah!"

A sudden gleam of rainbow lit up the night sky around them as the wind suddenly swept past, carrying up the trees leaves with them in an array of gleaming and glittering multicolor. The petals swirled on the air, twisting and turning in intricate patterns and ways as the flow of color suddenly wove its way around the two of them, and for a moment it seemed all other noise in the world suddenly died away, and it was just them- just Frea and Laxus, alone in their own small corner of the world for a few long moments.

Laxus felt his heart jump in his chest, eyes riveted as he stood in the utmost stillness that reflected the stillness that time seemed to have so suddenly,

"You don't seem entirely convinced, Laxus." Frea murmured lightly, "I told you already, didn't I? You are still a part of my Family, and I'd do anything to help and protect the people I care for, regardless if you do piss me off sometimes." She smirked, "How many times am I gonna have to get something through that thick head of yours, Lightning Idiot?"

Laxus stiffened, blinking as she suddenly reiterated nearly exactly what he had said to her before.

'How many times am I gonna have to get something through that thick head of yours, woman?'

Even though what she said made him blush, and set his heart pounding more than he was used to or even understood... and even though she just made him aware of how much a mystery she really was- because this was a side of Frea he was unfamiliar with, but even then it was a side he had seen more and more often now... Even despite all of that, he couldn't help but smirk a little himself, as he let out a small, almost amused huff and shook his head slightly, and time around them suddenly sped up to its full again.

He felt that odd foreign tug in his chest that he had felt a few times before now suddenly flare up again, and this time just a little stronger.

"... hmmph... You're such a freak." He replied, smirking just a little more when she suddenly blushed rather hard at the comment, looking quite taken aback. Frea blinked a few times, her heart leaping in sudden shock as she watched Laxus smirk a little more,

"... You know, Laxus... I know I said I hate you, hundreds of times when we were younger... We were always fighting and we were awful to one another... And I thought I really did hate you. I held on to that, we kept believing that for such a long time... We were both a pair of jack-asses and I don't think we knew why were that way." She said softly, "I asked Gildarts to let you back in the Guild, I stepped in when Rified was about to kill you- when Hades was going to hit you with another Explosion Bullet, I fought with Ivan, and I'm willing to sit here with you all because of one thing- that despite everything..."

"I don't hate you. I can't, because even though you really piss me off, and you can be one hell of an ass... You are still a Part of my Family, and I'd do anything to help and protect anyone in the Guild. That includes everybody... Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, Erza, Freed, Bixlow, Evergreen, Aisha... Everyone, and it includes you. So don't be surprised I'm here, or that I'd fight to help you stay alive. That's what Family is for."

She glanced up at him, her lips pulling into a soft smile, as she faced him and the utterly shocked look on his face- and the blush that had deepened too as he sweatdropped a little.

This was the first time she'd ever let herself show any sort of deeper feeling- she was always reserved and refrained from letting others get to the core of what she felt- part of that was because she was bad with emotions.

She smiled a little more and tilted her head to the side, her hands still clasped in her lap and the moonlight from outside casting down on the both of them- her hair shinning in the cool light and nearly every shred of exhaustion hanging off of her seemed to fade before his very eyes, instead she seemed like a beacon of calm, peaceful bliss- the light dust of a blush that appeared in her cheeks did nothing but make her seem... More like a side of herself he had never seen before.

"And I'm glad you're ok."

Was this happening? Or was he asleep?

His jaw dropped a little as he stiffened, eyes remained transfixed in her smiling face as the moonlight shimmered off her hair softly.

This wasn't anything like the Frea he knew... Not the bull-headed, short-tempered, fiery woman who could easily kick his ass through a few walls if she wanted. The woman who was always picking fights with the guys in the Hall- the one who jumped in head first, the dangerous, extremely powerful Mage he had come to know.

It was true same Frea who called him names and snapped his head off- the one who never, ever... Said anything as remotely nice nor sincerely genuine to him- as those words were just now.

She meant it when she said she was happy he was fine, and that didn't make any sense to him- she'd never been concerned with his safety, and to hear her say that- and everything before it? About not hating him, that he as her Family and she'd protect him not matter what...?!

He didn't understand why this side of her suddenly showed up now- this side of her he had never seen before... A side that was kind and gentle toward him, something she had seldom ever been.

Where was this side of Frea hiding all this time...? That I've never seen it...?

Worst of all- he hadn't any idea how to respond to that. He hated how his body reacted on its own- the lurch of his heart, the heat in his face. This had happened few times before- and everytime it did he didn't know why it happened at all.

It was always with Frea too... How does she do that?! What the hell?!

And the way she smiled at him that way- so gentle and happy... The way the moonlight was coming in, her posture, all of it...

Laxus would never admit it out loud- but he didn't mind this at all. The request made by Master wasn't something to get worked up over... Because somewhere inside of him, Laxus himself wanted to make sure Frea didn't get herself hurt again. That want to keep her from doing something stupid was sudden and extremely foreign to him- he usually wouldn't care what she did, but at the moment- he did.

He chocked it up to being the need to repay the debt he owed and left it at that- though on the edge of his mind, seeing the blood Frea was stained with, especially across her back- that image lingered with a small, faint tenseness that flickered inside of him. Remembering how she had been strung up to the Guild door- that made him very angry, though he quelled it.

He could still smell her blood on the air, and remembered distinctly the look of pain on her face when she moved in the wrong way- the way she was beaten and bruised and broken. She looked like shit, and clearly felt like it too if she had passed out the moment her Magic was no longer a factor. It had never been often Frea looked so defeated and hurt- though recently it happened more often, and despite himself... Seeing her like that made a small twinge flash in his chest, his body to tense up a little. He didn't understand what did that, seeing her like that made him much more tense than it ever had...

... He didn't like it

His fist swung back, moving like a blur as gold electricity danced around the room wildly- eyes dark and locked on to Hikien who watched him coming with wide, terrified eyes.

No one... Nobody gets away with that...!

Laxus' power increased tenfold, his furious gaze locking with Hikien's, jaw clenched and seething in anger.

No way in hell anybody gets away with doing that to her!

"Roaring Thunder!"

He'd been angry, agitated... More so than usual when she got hurt. It angered him to no end with what happened at Death Bolt, and with Tomaru...

... Mordren too. He wanted to kill that bastard, but he knew he didn't have the chance. Frea had done that, she'd beaten him, and he'd never have chance to slam his fist against the smirking bastard's face like he wanted to.

It was just what she went through to manage taking Mordren down, that had his anger and worry raise a bit higher.

Why... Why did... it suddenly hurt... so much...?

He couldn't move, he was paralyzed, his eyes fixed, his chest suddenly flashing with pain that he had never experienced, and he struggled to breath.

A single glittering drop of moisture fell at his feet.

It had gone completely silent... for the first time in two weeks, it was utter, dead silence. The silence he had been dreading, and now it fell on his ears so heavily it was almost deafening.

What painful, shaking breaths were gone, the sound of lungs fighting to take in air, the shallow, fretful beat of a heart that had been struggling the entire time...all of it gone, fading to nothing as he sat there, unable to stop it, unable to move... His shoulders hunched, his head in his hands and elbows on his knees as he hissed.

... what the hell... What was he supposed to do...? How was he supposed to... Tell the Guild...? Tell Gramps...?

"S-shit..." He hissed, hating it that his voice broke and wavered where it never had before.

... For the second time in two weeks... Gone... just... gone

And he was helpless, so utterly, infuriatingly helpless... like he had been, trapped in that dome, watching Mordren-

Laxus bit the inside of his cheek, hard enough he felt blood hit his tongue- but he hardly felt what flash of pain came with it. He felt numb, so utterly, utterly numb... but it hurt, everything, all of it- how can you feel so cold and hurt so much all at once?

... d...damn it... This... this ...

His eyes shut tight, though he felt the splash of the moisture hit his lap regardless, the drops forcing their way forward despite any effort to keep them at bay.

... why... why did it... Take this...? To realize...?

I... I didn't fucking know... that this... Having this... s-shit...

That large, hunched form of a man was shaking, his shoulders and hands trembling as he remained rigid in his chair, the tears glinting as they fell, illuminated by what wash of thunder and lightning began arcing over all of Magnolia, without pause, in seconds and all in rapidity. It was like the sky tore open, the air shaking as thunder rolled incessantly, shaking the town and anyone awake at this hour to their cores.

He hissed, his breath shaky as he shook his head, cursing himself over in his head- too many times, all for the same reason... But it hurt too much to be angry, hurt too much to even think of getting up though he felt like he wanted to punch something. It took everything he had to stop the tears, to bring himself up, straighten up, though all he wanted to do was fade away into nothing.

His fingers gripped the edge of the chair's armrests, nails digging into the underside as he growled, his body rigid, muscles tight.

I didn't fucking know... That losing her... I didn't fucking... Realize... Damn me...!

He hissed under his breath, feeling himself hunch slightly as the chill and pain struck through his core again, the ache of something so painful he couldn't force himself not to react to it.

No... He didn't want to feel that, never again.

"... I need you to try, just try and stick it out, alright? I know you're afraid, I know you feel like shit... But trust me, you'll be ok in time. You can't just keel over now, woman... Don't die on me again. Twice is more than enough." His voice was barely a whisper at that point, he swallowed hard against what lump had formed in his throat, his eyes still shut tight and still feeling her broken, feverish, and gasping form shake in his lap.

"... Don't make me fight you, Frea... I will if I have to, just to get it through that thick head of yours." He sighed, sweatdropping a little more.

There was a sudden wash of silence broken apart only by the sound of her still harsh breathing, and the small, faint winces and hisses of pain.

His eyes snapped open, sweatdropping a little more when he felt her hand brush against his cheek, her arm shaking and struggling to reach up toward him, her silver eyes only halfway open and glazed as she bumped her fist against the side of his head, just barely, weakly... An exhausted, frail attempt at a hit.

He stared, riveted for a minute at the gesture, his heart speeding up slightly.

A hit that was all so familiar as to the bump on his head she'd thrown his way that night he brought her back to Fairy Hills.

"...I... I do... Trust you..." the words were so low he barely heard her say them. Her eyes flashed, a single line of tears spilling over and trailing over her cheek, her eyes fell slightly, her hand falling back away from him, the arm failing and falling across her chest as she winced. Laxus took in a small breath, as he simply looked down at her, his face falling neutral a moment.

That hand that had still been pressed against her cheek moved, his thumb tracing across the tears as he wiped them away softly. He let out a low breath, his shoulders sagging slightly.

"...y...you... you're... Such a freak..." The words barely made it past her lips, he blinked, sweatdropping a little.

He smiled, just slightly though, and only for a half-second.

"... And you're a stubborn idiot." He shot back softly,

"...I...i'm... Sorry..." She breathed, his head tilted a little. Her eyes didn't open to glance back up at him, she was hardly awake as it was and fighting hard to stay that way. "... S... Somewhere... I think... I kn...know... You're ma...making..s...sense...I... Just..." She groaned slightly, her fingers gripping the coat he had lay over the bed as she stifled what wince that tried to escape. Laxus grimaced slightly at the sight,

"...m...my head... It...its... All... Torn up... T-t... Too many things... At once..." She huffed softly, shaking her head a little though that hurt too.

"... t...too... Much... O..of... Mord...ren's... Mem...memories... A..all... f-forced... I... I had... T...to...w...at...ch.."

Laxus stiffened slightly, his eyes narrowed and glinting at the fractured fragments of words she was hardly able to even form. He blinked in shock and question,

Mordren's Memories...? Was she saying she was... Forced to see them, those two weeks she'd been lying in this bed...?

He swallowed at the thought, he didn't really get why or how she would have been seeing such things... But if she had, he couldn't imagine... That in itself might have been torture on par with all the bad and the dark she had suffered through before.

His heart jumped though, his jaw clenching slightly as memory of the water invaded his thoughts just then.

No... Not lying in the bed- even if he didn't get it and that Place seemed unreal- he knew it was real, real enough, and she'd been drowning under that dark, pitch black water for weeks.

... Damn it, if she really had been forced to go through that bastards life, she really didn't deserve that. Not on top of everything else he had already done to her, and not on top of everything else that had happened.

"... Don't worry about that right now." He murmured, banishing his own thoughts and questions instantly. "... And quit with the trying to keep talking, you're having a hard enough time breathing as it is." She didn't really seem like she wanted to relent to what was essentially an order, but she was just too weak to really keep at it anyway, and he knew it.

"... Go to sleep, Frea." He told her quietly, "... The more you keep trying to push it the worse you're going to make yourself... You're hurt enough. You can't be stubborn like usual and ignore it all, it won't work this time. Your body just can't handle it, not right now." His eyes flashed slightly, the room lighting up as another arc of lightning split the dark sky outside. "... And you damn well better not even think of going back to that place either." He added in lowly, the scent of water and rot invading his nose at simple thought of it. She shook her head, just a little, but he noticed it and it was enough of a reply.

She knew she couldn't go back to Reach... That meant she'd be wasting the Chance he gave up... And mad as she still was with him for it and his interfering, she couldn't let herself just waste it.

... But damn it, he better not need that Chance someday... I'll never forgive the bastard... If he... D.. Does...

But her mind fell away into a wash of black nothingness and the thoughts perished... She was just there, unthinking, unmoving. There was no water and for the first time in what felt like years, she didn't think anything. It was just quiet. There was that light, sweet, achingly familiar scent that lingered all around her, mixing and twirling with her own in that dark, empty space. Lulling her frantic and broken mind into something that was oh so calming.

Laxus heard her breathing deepen, just a little, though she was still gasping and shaking badly with the fever that still rose just a little higher. He knew she had finally fallen away into some sort of lasting sleep, a tense, feverish, uneasy sleep... But sleep none the less.

He let out another breath, the tenseness in his body fading just a little as that ache lessened just slightly too. She was not quite out of danger, no, she was still so hurt and sick. But at least he had faith she wasn't gonna fall out of his reach again.

It should have bothered him what happened in that place, how he got there, what Jynx and that Rified guy had to with it... Or even who that stranger had been, when time seemed to halt and move back. Honestly the Time bit should have bothered him more than anything, insane as it all was... But he was mentally and emotionally exhausted, though he would hardly let that show. He just hadn't the energy to even really care about any of it just then.

He replaced the cloth on her forehead with another, cooler one, before his hands fell on the pillow, one crossed at the edge near his stomach, the other resting lightly atop the damp cloth, motionless as his eyes fell closed.

It was going to be a very, very long night, but a bit less grim than he had originally been expecting. Or that it had originally been. He didn't care about the wait though, he wasn't going anywhere, he didn't dare leave. And he certainly wasn't about to doze off, though he felt more tired than he should have been.

His focus just fell on her. On the rattling, shallow breathing, the small, faint hisses of pain even in unconsciousness. He never moved outside of replacing the cloth with a cooler one from time to time, didn't flinch nor react to the distant rumble of the thunder or the patter of the rain outside, he hardly looked up as the hours dragged by, hardly noticed his stiff muscles from sitting so long, or how uncomfortably warm having her feverish form so close was making him.

... She'd fallen apart, and he wasn't sure she'd managed to pull herself back together again, even after calming down. She was hurting, more deeply than anyone could have fathomed... He really hated that.

... It's gonna be hard... To keep ignoring that now...

Jynx's eyes moved sideways, finding herself in the Reach again,

It almost seemed like... things were turning around.

She sighed slightly, glancing around and catching sight of Mordren and his grey eyes. She sweatdropped a little, frowning a bit as she swallowed, before moving toward him over the surface of the water, he flinched back away from her, looking wary as she sighed,

She still had something to do, though after carrying Laxus' Soul to and from the Reach and the Clear she was more exhausted than she could remember being. All along her arms and her body were dark bruises and countless marks in the form of teeth- the brunt of what injuries Laxus had sustained in the water, and Jynx had transferred on to herself to keep his soul from too much harm. She hardly cared though, she felt the pain yes, but given what she endured it for... It was plenty worth it.

"... you are a Soul, though only a very small fraction of one." Jynx murmured softly, her red eyes glinting. "... ... I can send you to the Crossroads, it's my duty to. From there... you'll never enter the mortal plane again, and that is for the best."

Mordren swallowed slightly, his eyes casting downward toward the water for a brief second, he looked... well, he looked afraid.

Jynx wasn't unaccustomed to that though. Very few Souls were ever content to just go with her.

"... Crossroads?" He murmured, his gaze slowly trailing back up to her as Jynx nodded.

"All Souls meet rest there, though what you experience there is unique for everyone." Jynx murmured, "... Some find bliss, others remain in memory, and some wander the darkest corners, festering in darkness and hatred." He bit the inside of his lip,

"... I suppose darkness and hatred is what I'll expect then." He mumbled, Jynx blinked.

"... your Soul is clean now, Energy God." She murmured, though it still had her reeling at just how it could be. "... what Frea managed... she left the one part of your Soul that was still good. It is the corrupted and evil Souls that wander the darkest places of the Crossroads, and you are no longer that." Mordren blinked, his eyes widening a little.

"... I am unsure if it was done on purpose, but Frea destroyed the part of you that had been consumed. She left the only part still clean and good, where she could have simply destroyed you altogether." Jynx murmured, "... she returned your Soul to how it once was, freed it of the corruption that took hold of you... In doing that, she's done the very thing I have never been able to do."

And it was true, because if Jynx had any way of reversing the effects such a Dark, evil Magic had had on Mordren's Soul, she would most assuredly have reversed the damage done to Frea's, but she couldn't. That was beyond her power to do, even with her being the Seleyn, that mortal embodiment of the Force of Creation known as Soul.

"... What you will see down the road you find yourself on, I do not know... but I know you will not end up in that state of endless dark and hatred so many dark and evil souls have been forced into." Jynx murmured, her hands hooking behind her back. "... You will never go there, your soul is clean, bright. Healed."

Mordren didn't seem to know what to say in response to that, he just stared, sweatdropping and jaw slightly dropped, riveted. His eyes fell from her, landing on his hands as he bit the inside of his cheek, there was... Warmth, something warm in his chest, something he hadn't felt in a very, very long time.

... happiness, and more... He was... Grateful.

"... heh..." He smiled, just faintly, letting out a small breath.

Grateful yes... It felt as much a sin to be happy with her actions and what she had done, given what he had done to her... And still she had given him back his mind, his soul, his freedom.

... he hated more than ever what he had done to her, if she could do this for him, intentional or not... What a monster he had been.

"... the great and powerful 'Malunafrey'." He breathed, Jynx blinked, her head tilted slightly. His eyes closed, his hands clasping together in front of him, his countenance... It was suddenly so calm, so light.

Truly someone much stronger, much better than him... more bright, good.

"... I suppose I got that part wrong, among so many other things." He murmured wistfully, "... I had thought the Forces of Creation consisted of only three... And I had thought the tale, of that woman- Malunafrey- the one who would plunge the world into dark or light, who would tip the Balance, and would only do that. Another force to contend with, but nothing stronger than me... A small piece in the puzzle, trivial... Malunafrey- the one who could have plunged the world into total Darkness, but never would. Not a trivial obstacle in my way... but the wall that promised not to allow me pass. The only thing that would face me, and the only thing that would beat me... not Malunafrey, but Malurey." His eyes shone slightly, his lips twitching in a small, nearly rueful smile a moment. "... I had it all wrong. Malurey, the true Master of the Magic I spent my life learning, knowing... loving. The Master of the Magic I corrupted and used to destroy it, wipe it from near existence. I was never the strongest, not even before she was born... I was never the most powerful, and I was never going to be." He laughed a little,

"... I was never going to win. Everything that happened... It was decided a long, long time ago I would never win." He smiled, Jynx just looked at him in silence, her red gaze glinting. "... everything I did and didn't do... it all lead here. I'm very glad it did... Wrong as it feels to say that, given what damage I have done."

He knew maybe better than anyone what dark cloud he had thrown atop the world, what darkness he had thrown over her head... and he knew better than anyone what struggle, and what pain he had ensured she would face now.

His hands fell to his hips, his eyes closing as his head tilted back, letting out a long, low breath.

"... I had it all wrong, the entire time." He murmured lightly, smiling still. "... it took destruction to see it... And now I think, I hope... I will be right, just one last time."

"...w...why... why can't... I h-hate you...?" She whispered, her tears spilling silently as she looked up, his face coming into view again, those grey eyes filled with tears as he... He smiled at her, softly, gently.

"Because you're too kind to really hate anyone, Frea. You're the brightest, most Light person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting."

"... Malurey, Champion of Energy and the Light Side of Magic... She with all Magic and all Energy at her every command." Mordren smiled, "... Malurey... Too bright even for such choking, pure unrelenting evil and shadow to tear apart."

His eyes fell back toward Jynx, who blinked, sweatdropping as she watched that soul so broken and so unsure... suddenly glow, softly, calmly... at peace.

She hadn't time to even think about the sudden words, before he nodded at her and she felt that small, faint tug in her center... something cool and warm and soothing.

Her eyes fell, nodding slightly as he held a hand out toward him, her finger tracing a line of pale purple in the air before her, the visage of a crescent moon stamping itself onto his skin, glowing for a moment before his skin began to piece away, fracturing and falling into soft, transparent bits, flowing on air and swirling over her head as he began to fade away.

"... choose the road you wish to take, and travel it knowing you cannot turn back." Jynx murmured, her eyes opening again as she caught Mordren's for one last time.

"... Be at peace, Mordren."

The Reach faded from all sight and consciousness, and his world became enveloped in... gold.

There was something warm and bright that flared in his chest, his heart, he felt the tears fall past his eyes as he smiled.

"You've kept me waiting a very long time, Mord."

Hello again guys! I hope you enjoyed this Chapter!

Heads up On Character Drawings:

I have posted a picture of Frea and Laxus (which is technically a scene from next chapter but you get it this chapter too ^w^), on my DA page if you are interested. I also have several other drawings and Character Refs (Chase, Rified, Mordre, Aisha, Solana. etc) posted there too.

You can just hit up my DeviantArt page to see them! I have the same username on DA as I do here on FF (I would link but FanFiction doesn't allow it XI ).

- End Heads Up.

Thanks for reading! I love you all! 'Slain Among Ice and Fire' updated today to, I encourage you to check it out if you are not already reading that story!

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