So innocent were the days
The taste of good memories
A bag full of hope that was
Only for me and you
The next morning, the three of us take our sweet time getting out of bed. We spend as much time as we can cuddling, kissing, and easing into the morning without being late. Laxus suggested getting breakfast before going to our job, so we couldn't stay in bed for too long. The three of us quickly get ready once we get up. I'm the last to get dressed and both men are waiting for me in the living room as I quickly pick something. I throw on a strapless black top with a dark red skirt and boots and call it good.
As I walk out of the bedroom, Bickslow has a large grin on his face as he pulls me in for a kiss, "You look sexy baby. Although, I feel like there's something missing from your outfit. What do you think, Laxus?"
"Hmm…" The dragon slayer looks at me, scanning my clothes with a pretend serious face. "I think you're right Bickslow. I've got just the thing."
"Guys, I'm just going to be changing when we get to 8-Island anyway." I giggle playfully.
"No, no, no, trust me," Bickslow says with an especially wide grin, "You're gonna need this."
I watch in confusion as Laxus heads over to where his coat is. He reaches into the pocket and grabs the black bag from last night, opening it up and pulling out a beautiful leather choker. There was a silver plate on the front that held a small loop, and hanging from the loop was a cute little lightning bolt. The sight of it made me gasp lightly as my heart skipped a beat. "Oh wow, Laxus…"
"I've been wanting some way to show everyone how much you mean to me." Laxus says, "When I saw the heart necklace, your other necklace it reminded me of when you said lightning had a special place in your heart. Now, you carry a piece of me whenever you wear this. Plus, now everyone will know who you belong to."
I squeal lightly as I feel giddiness run through me, but before I can respond Bickslow speaks up from my right, "Hey now, don't forget about me!"
Laxus chuckles, then turns the choker around to show an inscription sewed to the inside that says "My soul shines for you" in beautiful (f/c) lettering. "I told Bicks to add anything he wanted, and that's what he chose."
Tears spring to my eyes at that, and I look over to the seith mage, "Awh, baby. That's so sweet, thank you. Both of you. This is the most amazing gift anyone's ever gotten me."
Bickslow comes up and kisses me on the cheek, "You deserve to be spoiled and I'm glad Laxus and I get to be the ones to do it."
I smile brightly, and the dragon slayer starts to unbuckle the collar. Bickslow helps keep my hair out of the way as Laxus places the choker around my neck. He buckles it before centering the little charm on the front and stepping back to look.
"Perfect."
My heart feels warm and light, and I happily jump into Laxus' arms, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck. "You guys are the best boyfriends I could ask for."
I kiss him deeply, and he eagerly responds. When I finally pull back, Bickslow quickly joins us for a hug. The three of us stand there holding each other for a minute before finally parting to leave for the day. We make our way to a nice little breakfast spot that was on our path towards 8-Island. We walk leisurely, holding hands. Thankfully it wasn't very busy, and it didn't take them much time to seat us and take our orders. The atmosphere started off pleasant as we talked and ate, but after a while I noticed Laxus was eating unusually slowly and had a strange look on his face.
"Is everything okay Laxus?" I ask, tilting my head in confusion.
He shakes his head no, brow furrowed, "I keep hearing people talking about some massive explosion at the Magic Council Headquarters…"
"No way, really?!" Bickslow gapes, his babies repeating "No way, no way."
"What happened?" I ask, feeling a small amount of worry at his statement.
"No idea…" Laxus has a grave expression on his face as he listens intently to the people talking, "Except that all the council members are dead."
My heart tightens painfully in my chest at his words, and I grip the charm on my necklace for comfort. The Magic Council was not the biggest fan of Fairy Tail and in turn we didn't always agree with their practices, but knowing that they'd been wiped out in an explosion was a terrifyingly sad thing to hear. Not to mention the chaos that could follow if they weren't able to recover quickly. "That's really not good… I wonder of it was an accident or if there was someone behind the explosion."
"Who would do something like that?" Bickslow asks vehemently. This time, his babies stayed quiet.
"Maybe a dark guild or something?" I shrug, "They've been getting wiped out left and right, maybe the council was doing it so the guilds retaliated?"
"There's only one dark guild left that would be strong enough to do so much damage." Laxus says, "They're the last of the Balam Alliance, but not much is known about them. I think it was called Tartaros… Gramps has mentioned them before."
"Devil worshippers." Bickslow spat.
I briefly remember the name Tartaros from one of the numerous books that Freed had, but it was true that there was hardly any information. The three of us grew quiet, the atmosphere tense as the townspeople whispered in apprehension. I worried what this disaster would mean for the kingdom of Fiore and the guilds. Hopefully this was not something that would have to involve Fairy Tail, but I doubted that. Our guild always got dragged into these things somehow.
…
After breakfast, we walk a bit less leisurely to 8-Island. The news about what happened at the Magic Council Headquarters was clearly spreading through the town quickly. I wondered briefly if anyone at Fairy Tail had heard the news yet. It's late in the morning when we arrive, and Freed and Evergreen are already there when we walk inside.
"Just in time." Freed sighs, "We were worried you three would be late."
"I would never allow that." I insist. It was true- when it came to jobs I always tried my best to be on time or early so it made Fairy Tail look better.
"Did you guys hear about what happened?" Bickslow mutters.
Evergreen nods sadly as Freed speaks, "I heard a small amount of it from some fishermen while I was taking a walk on the beach this morning. It's horrific, I can't believe- "
His sentence is cut off as Yajima comes out from the back suddenly, carrying a big pile of clothing, "Ah, you're all here now, good! I have uniforms for each of you. Hurry up and get changed!"
He starts to hand out orange and white uniforms, and we all share a glance. Whether Yajima knew or not about the events, it was clear he was ready for us to get to work. We head to the bathrooms to get changed. Evergreen and I quickly undress, and I throw my normal clothes in my bag before putting the waitress outfit on. After looking at the choker that my boyfriends got for me, I decided to keep wearing it instead of putting on the little collar that was part of the uniform. I had just barely got to put it on, and I didn't want to take it off so soon. I take some time to put my hair up out of my face before I put on the frilly white headband that was the final piece of the outfit.
"Well, I guess these uniforms are kinda cute, right?" Evergreen says as she slides her shoes and admires herself in the mirror. I finish putting my thigh-high socks and shoes on before standing next to her, and I can't help but grimace.
"Can't say I agree."
We both giggle playfully at ourselves before heading back out to the restaurant. The boys are already waiting for us, and when I see Bickslow in the orange uniform with his hood and visor, and a tall white chef's hat on top of his head, it makes me feel giddy. "Wow. You are adorable mister."
He cackles with his tongue out before I move in for a quick kiss. When I pull away, I look over to Laxus who is still in his normal clothes, "Why aren't you wearing the uniform?"
Laxus grunts, holding a torn shirt up, "Couldn't even get my arm in the sleeve."
I can't help but chuckle, imagining the hulking man trying to fit into the too-tight clothing. Bickslow reaches over suddenly and snatches the chef hat out of his other hand, "You can still wear this Boss!"
He quickly plops it down on the dragon slayers' head, and we all get a good look at a scowling Laxus in the ridiculous little hat before he rips it off. He lightly gut punches Bickslow, who is cackling madly.
"Alright kids!" Yajima yells from the kitchen, "We've got lots of work to do before we open, so let's get to it!"
And Yajima certainly wasn't exaggerating when he said there was a lot of work to do. He starts delegating different tasks to us to prepare the restaurant for opening, and we have a steady stream of customers almost right away. Thankfully, most of the food was made using magic so it wasn't hard to make, and Yajima was a very talented chef. He teaches the boys a few things in the kitchen while Evergreen and I take orders. Bickslow's babies help us run dishes back and forth and as a team, we manage to run the restaurant quite smoothly! After the lunch rush, we ran out of several key ingredients for tonight's special. Yajima called the market to see if they had them and luckily, they did.
"Thank you, I'll send someone down right away!" Yajima said before placing the lacrima down and turning to us, "Hmm. Laxus, since you're the only one not in uniform would you go and grab the groceries for me?"
"Sure." Laxus says, standing from the booth where he'd been leisurely rolling silverware, "I can do that."
"Do you remember where it is?" Evergreen asks playfully.
"Vaguely."
His response makes me giggle, "Would you like me to go with you, hun?"
Laxus throws his coat over his shoulders before laying his hand on my head, "Nah I got it, don't you worry."
"Alright, well lemme walk you out at least." I said, moving his hand from my head and intertwining our fingers.
"Would you get the mail for me while you're out there (Y/n)?" Yajima shouts suddenly from the kitchen.
"You got it!" I call cheerfully as Laxus and I head outside.
As the door to the restaurant closes behind us, I turn to Laxus and pull him in for a kiss. As I pull back, he looks down at me with a playful grin, "You know I'm just going down the road and I'll be right back."
I can't help but grin back, "I know, but we've been so busy, and I needed a breath of fresh air while we have a second. Plus, I get to kiss you."
"Well, if you really want to come with me, I wouldn't mind the company." Laxus says, brushing my cheek in a way that makes my heart flutter, "I'm sure they can handle it themselves for a bit."
I was incredibly tempted to take him up on the offer, but something makes me hesitate. "Mmm, I think I should stay. I gotta give Yajima the mail anyway, and there's still plenty of tasks for me to do before the dinner rush."
"Alright. I'll be back soon." Laxus kisses me on the forehead before heading down the street, and I watch him go until he's swallowed by the crowd. I finally turn and grab the contents from the mailbox before heading back inside the restaurant. Evergreen is helping one of the last two tables we have with customers, and I can tell they're finishing up. I bring the mail over to Yajima, who quickly takes a seat at the kitchen counter and starts going through it. As he pulls out the newspaper to read it, I can't help taking a second to watch Freed and Bickslow working in the kitchen. It was such a change from what I was used to, and I was glad Yajima was able to teach them something.
After a moment, the former Fairy Tail wizard sighs loudly, "This is terrible…."
"Is that about the explosions at the council?" Freed asks, stopping his prep work as he peered over Yajima's shoulder to read the news. I lean against the counter, eager to hear more. We'd been so busy with the restaurant I'd nearly forgotten all about it.
"Is it true all nine members were killed?" Bickslow asks.
"That's not all…" Yajima said, his face grim, "There were 119 casualties total. This was a mass murder!"
"I guess it's a good thing you quit the council then, eh?" Bickslow cackles, sticking his tongue out, and I cringe when I see Yajima's angry expression.
"Excuse you!" The old man barks, reaching over and smacking the seith mage with the newspaper, "Have some tact!"
"Sorry Yajima," I said, "Bickslow has a habit of masking tragedy with humor."
"Well, it certainly is a silver lining though when you think about it." Freed says.
"Hey!" Evergreen suddenly shouts from behind me as she carries a tray of dirty dishes back to counter, "Just because we don't have many customers right now doesn't mean you guys can slack off!"
I stand straight, quickly grabbing a rag and pretending to wipe down the countertop, "Yeah guys, focus on your work!"
Bickslow purses his lips playfully, "You know, those uniforms really don't suit you two."
"Like you're one to talk Bickslow!" Evergreen counters. I can't help but giggle at their bickering. I look down at the outfits that Evergreen and I had to put on for our uniforms. Honestly, it was so unlike anything either of us would wear, so I understood the sentiment.
"He's not wrong…" I grimace playfully, pulling at the gaudy white frills of my skirt.
"I don't want to hear that from you!" She says, glaring at me, "We're only in these uniforms because you wanted to take a job that was easy."
"Hey!" Yajima huffs, "Restaurant work is not easy!"
"Perhaps, but I do feel like I've gotten quite good at prepping!" Freed says, grinning as he returns to chopping up vegetables.
"And arranging the dishes is our specialty, right babies?" Bickslow sticks his tongue out as the totems swirl around him, carrying plates and shouting "Arrange, arrange!"
Evergreen smirks, pulling me into her side and striking a pose, "Well then, I guess making it sexy is our specialty, right Sis?"
The men deadpan at the fairy mage's sudden attitude change, and I shake my head playfully before pulling away to head back towards the front of the restaurant. I was on hostess duty currently and wanted to stay near my post, even though the restaurant was slow. Evergreen had a point; I was the reason we took this job and there was plenty for me to do. I take my time tidying up the host stand, wiping down menus and sweeping the floor, trying to pass the time. After a while, the last customers in the building come up to pay for their meal before leaving.
"Shouldn't Laxus-kun be back by now?" Yajima asks as he lays down the newspaper he'd been reading.
"Knowing him, he probably got lost." Bickslow snickered. His babies playfully repeat "Got lost, got lost!"
"Can't even run an errand without running into trouble." Freed shakes his head with a grin "What are we going to do with him?"
"I guess I should have gone after all." I giggle. It wasn't like I knew Hargeon much better than the dragon slayer, but I was definitely better with directions.
After a moment, the bell above the front door jingles as it opens.
"Ah, speak of the devil!" Evergreen calls playfully.
I look up in excitement, expecting to see Laxus, but to my surprise there is just a cloaked figure standing in the doorway. He walks into the building, and I feel alarm bells suddenly going off in my head. This guy did not look like a normal person, but I also couldn't sense any magic power coming from him, so I wasn't sure why he made me feel uneasy.
I walk out from behind the stand cautiously, "Hi, can I help—"
Before I can continue, he speaks.
"Fwoosh."
As soon as the word is out of his mouth, I feel myself being thrown violently back into the hostess stand as a massive explosion of wind bursts outward. The building and everything inside is reduced to rubble, and everyone is momentarily incapacitated. This power was unlike anything I'd experienced, but I quickly try to gather my bearings and protect myself and my friends. The assailant's body turns into a whirlwind, and he goes barreling past me before I can react. I'm tossed back into Evergreen, knocking the wind out of us both.
"Who is this guy?!" I hear Yajima shout as the winds barrel towards him.
"Yajima-san!" Ever cries out in desperation, both of us unable to stand from the rubble in time to stop the attacker.
Bickslow and Freed quickly jump in front of Yajima at the last second. I watch as the stranger reaches his hands out to their chests and says, "Impact."
A shockwave bursts from his palms, sending the two men flying. They cry out in agony, and Bickslow's totems drop to the ground. I quickly stumble over to check on my boyfriend as Yajima summons his own magic. The seith mage is writhing in pain, and I have no idea what's happened to him or Freed.
"Bickslow!" I cried desperately as I ran my hands over him, trying to figure out how to help stop the pain.
"You have very bad manners!" Yajima shouts, summoning his magic and spinning rapidly around the intruder. The person responds with a massive burst of fire, throwing the former Council member back. "Aahh!"
Evergreen quickly gets up, running at the cloaked man. She pulls out her fan and aims it at him before shouting, "Fairy Machine Gun, Leprechaun!"
The spell bursts forward, but the assailant hardly reacts. He summons a whirlwind around his arm, throwing a powerful punch at the fairy mage and sending her flying into the rubble.
"Ever!" Freed and I both shout in horror as she too is unable to get up, having been hit by the same spell. Although, I still couldn't sense this guy's magic power, which made no sense. Was he able to mask it, somehow?
"Fuckin' asshole!" Bickslow grits his teeth, rolling onto his stomach and trying to stand. I grip his shoulder in fear. Everything had happened so fast, and I feel anger filling me. This was supposed to be an easy job, and now my friends were hurt and in danger!
I quickly stand up from beside my boyfriend, facing the strange person heatedly, "Who are you?!"
The man turns toward me, "I have no name… I am one of the Nine Demon Gates; Humans call me calamity."
His words only confused me, but at the end of the day, it didn't really matter who he was. This guy had attacked my friends, and there was no way I would let him hurt Yajima. My magic power swirls around me as I prepare to fight. The attacker quickly transforms his body into wind and comes at me. I immediately use my lightning to teleport away before sending a sandstorm at him. He covers his face with his sleeve before summing a burst of wind that throws the sand back towards me. I block the sand with my wind before moving behind him and summoning an ice storm. He huffs in annoyance, sending out flames that instantly turn the ice into painfully hot steam. The heat is overwhelming, and the steam blocks my target from view.
That was a bad spell choice!
Before I have the chance to do anything else, he comes from out of the mist, and I feel his palm press against my chest. A powerful force moves through my body, and I'm thrown back into the rubble. As I attempt to stand again, I cry out in shock. It felt like something was squeezing my muscles tightly, preventing me from moving. When I tried to fight it, the pain increased tenfold, and I clenched my fist against the agony, desperate not to lose. I tried to summon my magic, hoping maybe I could still use it, but it hurt even more than trying to move did.
"Dammit!" I curse, watching as the cloaked man made his way over to Yajima to do whatever it was he'd come to do. "No!"
"It's no use. The Gates of the Underworld have been opened." The attacker says, picking up the small old man by the throat before lifting him into the air and choking him, "We are delivering mankind's rightful punishment!"
"Yajima-san!" Evergreen screams in fear, struggling to lift her head up.
"Gates of the Underworld…" Bickslow hisses through his teeth. "Tartaros?!"
"That means…" Freed's eyes go wide in shock, "They're not just targeting the Council, they're taking out everyone who was ever a member?!"
"Why are you doing this?!" I shouted in anger.
The man doesn't respond, and we can only watch helplessly as his whirlwind suffocates Yajima, "Fall… to Hell!"
"Nooo!"
"Yajima-san!"
"STOP!" I scream desperately, feeling tears of frustration at my helplessness.
Just when it seemed hopeless, we hear a loud crack of thunder as a bolt of lightning comes down from above and strikes the attacker's arm. He turns his head in shock, halting his attack. Another strong burst of lightning covers his body, forcing him to drop the former Council member.
"Laxus..!" I cry, tears of relief filling my eyes when I see the thunder dragon slayer.
"Hmph." He sneers, cracking his knuckles as he stares down the Tartaros member, "I may have had trouble finding my way back, but when it comes to killing you, the path is clear as day."
"Laxus-kun..." Yajima sighs.
"We're saved!" Freed says, grinning wearily.
"What's with this jerk?" Laxus growls, glancing at us.
"He's from Tartaros!" Evergreen shouts "He's after Yajima-san!"
"Oh?" He says, facing back towards the intruder.
Suddenly, the guy grabs his hood and cloak and shreds it apart, exposing his upper body. Instead of human skin the man is covered in fur, and his face is animalistic with a snout in place of a normal nose.
"He ain't human?!" Laxus gapes.
The assailant turns into a whirlwind and goes barreling towards the dragon slayer, who quickly dodges. Laxus uses his lightning to easily avoid the attacks before moving behind him and sending a powerful kick that throws the beast across the floor.
"How dare you—" The demon snarls as he goes to stand, but before he has the chance Laxus teleports directly over him.
"You picked the wrong wizards to mess with!" He shouts before clasping his hands together and hitting him with his Thunder Dragon's Jaw spell. The blast causes a huge crater, and the demon is knocked out cold. Instantly I feel my body returning to normal, the strange painful hold being released.
"All right Boss!" Bickslow calls, getting up slowly and sitting wearily against a torn-up booth seat.
"That's our Laxus!" Freed says as he stands.
"What a man!" Evergreen squeals excitedly from her spot on the floor and I can't help but giggle. Elfman would have hated hearing that.
I slowly stand up and make my way over to Laxus, feeling incredibly relieved and desperate to be near him. I wrap my arms around his waist and lean into him, and he lays his arm over my shoulder before he turns to Yajima, "Hey old man, what should we do with this guy?"
"Hmm.." Yajima sighs, "Well, the council can't be called upon anymore... Look what he did to my restaurant!"
"Maybe the main office can't, but there's lots of branch offices, right?" Bickslow asks.
"The bottom can't do anything if the top is gone." Yajima responds, "The council was always fragile."
Bickslow tsks, leaning back against the decrepit seat as Freed chimes in, "We could take him back to Fairy Tail for questioning."
"Ooh. I might really enjoy that!" Evergreen grins darkly, wielding a long sausage link as if it were a whip. "You can address me as Mistress!"
"Don't play with the food!" Yajima barks.
"They took out the council, and now they're going after former members." Freed says, ignoring the fairy mage "I'm worried about their ultimate goals."
"I think you're right to worry." I said, gripping the fur of Laxus's coat tightly. He subtly squeezes my shoulder in a silent gesture of comfort.
"Fairy Tail…"
The demon mumbles suddenly, breaking us from our conversation.
"I've underestimated you... I didn't think a mere human could be that strong. I've taken more damage than expected…. Perhaps I should go ahead and die."
"Die?" Laxus huffs, letting me go to cross his arms in annoyance as he turn towards him, "What the hell are you talking about?"
"I think you'll find it is you who chose the wrong opponent to "mess with" as you put it, human."
Before anyone has the chance to question him further, the demon suddenly bursts into a cloud of smoke.
"What happened?!" Yajima shouts.
"He blew himself up?!" Evergreen cries in horror.
"What's this black mist?" Bickslow stands, looking around at the strange cloud surrounding us, "It's spreading quick!"
"Mankind cannot defeat this malady." The demon's voice echoes around us, "These are anti-magic Devil Particles. They pollute the air, eradicating the ethernano in it!"
"It creates an anti-ethernano zone?" Freed gapes.
"No…" I gasp in shock at that and immediately feel my body start growing weak as the mist continues to spread around us. My lungs begin to burn, and I can't help choking. Everyone else is being affected similarly by the black mist.
"What you are feeling is magic anemia… the onset of magic deficiency disease. This is fatal to wizards."
My blood runs cold at his words, and I look at Laxus in fear. I can see that the mist is starting to affect him too. He has dark circles under his eyes, sweat running down his face, and his teeth are grit tightly. When he looks down at me, for the first time since I've ever laid eyes on the man, I can see a hint of fear in his eyes and the gravity of our situation truly settles in. We were suddenly in serious danger with no seeable way out.
"My one weakness is that I cannot regenerate my body until I return to our main guild hall. You are all as good as dead now. Perhaps we will meet again one day… In the Underworld!"
The voice disappears, and we're left to face the rapidly spreading devil particles.
"Don't breathe it in!" Freed shouts behind the fabric of his sleeve. I quickly cover my mouth, but the thin material of my uniform doesn't do much to stop the mist.
"If we don't do something, we'll all…" Evergreen cuts that thought off, choking from the pain.
"The whole town will be polluted!" Bickslow grunts.
"All we can do now is run!" Yajima cries, "Get away from the mist!"
He takes a few steps before the anemia overtakes his small body and he collapses.
"Yajima-sa...-n..." Evergreen moves to help the old man, but she quickly becomes a victim to the magic deficiency coursing through our bodies and falls to the ground. She doesn't move, and soon Bickslow drops to his knees beside her, choking until he passes out. I feel panic running through me, and I cry out.
"No!"
"Get up you two!" Freed shouts as he moves towards them, but it causes him to intake even more of the mist. He starts to cough violently, and I watch as his legs grow weak and collapse beneath him.
"Freed…" I groan, gathering my strength so I could make my way over to my teammates. Before I have the chance to move, Laxus grips my shoulder tightly with one hand and removes his coat, placing it against my face to cover my mouth.
"I won't let anybody die!" He growls, "Nobody dies here!"
"Laxus, cover your mouth!" I shout desperately through the fabric, tears gathering in my eyes. I watch in shock as he steps back and takes a breath. The black mist swirls into his mouth as he inhales deeply. "What are you doing?! Stop!"
"Don't worry babe. Us dragon slayers got kinda special lungs." Laxus says as he finishes his breath, "I'm gonna suck all this crap up!"
"No, you can't!" He takes another deep breath, inhaling more of the devil particles, and I feel my heart constricting painfully. "Laxus, please, stop!"
The dragon slayer simply continues breathing in the mist until the entire area is cleared. He looks at me as he finishes, grinning through tightly grit teeth, "Your job is to get them all home. Don't let me down beautiful!"
To my horror, he starts to stumble forward as the particles overtake his body, and he faints. I try desperately to catch him, but he's so much larger than me I just barely manage to soften his fall as I'm pulled to the ground with him. "LAXUS!"
Tears are streaming down my face as I quickly lay his head down before checking his neck for a pulse. It's just barely there, and my mind is on the verge of full-blown panic as I look at the wreckage around us. My nakama were all completely incapacitated and in desperate need of medical attention, including myself. Even now I could feel the particles continuing to wreak havoc on my magic power despite the mist being cleared. I wasn't sure how long I was going to make it like this, and I could only imagine the critical condition Laxus was in after inhaling all the mist.
"Oh Mavis, what do I do?!" I cry, tightly clenching Laxus's coat as I try to think through the fear. I had no idea how I was going to get everyone home quickly, and the last thing I wanted to do was leave anyone behind. There could be other Tartaros members coming back to make sure the job was done. "If only there was a way I could call Fairy Tail for help… Oh, wait!"
Suddenly, I realized what I could do. I laid the dragon slayers coat over his chest before carefully standing. There was no way Yajima's communication lacrima survived the blast, but I had something that might have. I wipe my tears as I look around the rubble, trying to spot my bag. It took me a little longer than I hoped to find it among the wreckage, but finally I managed to pull it free from the collapsed remains of the host stand. I drop to my knees and quickly reach inside, digging around until my hands grasp the small Call Card that Cana had given me when we hung out at my place. Using my magic to power the card was incredibly painful, but I manage to push enough through to make the call.
Cana answers after a tortuous amount of time, and I can't tell where she's at, "Hey girl. Woah, what happened to you?"
"I don't have time to explain." I huff, fighting against the pain in my body. I knew there was sweat pouring down my face, and I probably looked terrible. My heart was racing, and I felt extremely lightheaded, but I had to press on. "I need your help. Yajima was attacked, Laxus and the Thunder Legion are hurt, and I have to get everyone home right now!"
"You still in Hargeon?" She asks quickly and I nod, "If I leave now, I can be there in twenty minutes."
"Dammit!" I groan, feeling my strength depleting even faster, "We don't have that kind of time…"
"The only person that could get there fast enough is Jet, and even then, I don't see how you guys could carry them all back…" She goes quiet for a moment, and I can tell she's thinking deeply. My mind is too fuzzy to help, so I focus on keeping my strength up while she thinks. Suddenly, her face lights up, "You can use the card I gave you!"
I look at her questioningly and she quickly continues explaining, "I can cast my magic through the Call Card to send you some of my Conversion Cards. You can transport everyone that way."
Her suggestion sends relief flooding through me, and I sigh, "That's perfect!"
Suddenly, I feel my head start spinning and I place the card down to set my hands flat on the ground to keep from falling over. I can see the veins in my hands pulsing from the poison and I grit my teeth in pain. "I don't have much time left… I'm going to teleport home to the guild as soon as I transfer them to the cards."
"I'll call Porlyusica and Gramps right away."
I feel tears falling again, and I nod to Cana before cutting off the connection. The card starts to glow brightly before splitting into five separate ones, and I swiftly grab them. I slowly stand again, holding the cards out as I summon my magic power. It felt like needles pricking my skin, and I fight the urge to pass out. The cards glow brightly alongside the bodies of everyone else as I channel the spell, and the light grows blinding as they're transported to another dimension inside the cards. My vision goes fuzzy, and I take a moment to catch my breath before looking around. Briefly I notice Bickslow's totems still laying amongst the rubble, so I stumble over and carefully put them inside my bag.
"Alright babies, don't you worry…" I said softly as tears rolled down my cheeks, "I'm gonna get everyone home safe."
I throw my bag over my shoulder before holding the cards close to my chest, bracing myself for what I knew would be the most difficult thing I've ever done. My magic power was weaker than I had ever experienced, and teleporting such a vast distance took a lot of magic. I felt more drained than I had after my fight with Jura, and even the dragon battles, but I had to keep pressing forward. There was a very good chance teleporting in this state would do some irreparable damage to my system, but that didn't matter to me right now. As long as my friends made it home safely, I couldn't care less what happened to me. I focus my mind on summoning all the magic I had left and picture the Fairy Tail guild hall as clearly as I can in my mind. It felt like my blood was on fire, and I cried out in pain as lightning started sparking wildly off my body. The agony continued to grow as I desperately grasped at every bit of power, and soon I heard the loud crack of thunder as the lightning transformed my body and I teleported.
I reappeared directly in front of the large double doors, and just barely managed to stumble forward far enough to push them open and weakly call out, "Someone help, please…!"
My vision grows black as I hear my name being shouted and the cards scatter as I fall to the ground, unconscious…
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No, wake up!
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You have to warn them about Tartaros… People are in danger….
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WAKE UP!
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I wasn't sure how long I was unconscious for, when suddenly I heard muffled voices. It was faint, but I recognized them well enough. Fairy Tail… My body was on fire, and my eyelids were heavy as I tried to open them. My heart was racing, and I knew I had to fight the darkness to warn everybody. After what felt like forever, I finally managed to open my eyes. I gently turned my head to the right and saw that Bickslow was lying in a hospital bed next to me. It took considerable effort, but eventually I lifted my head enough to look around the room. Freed, Evergreen and Yajima are on the other side, and Laxus is to my left being tended to by Porlyusica.
When I try to speak, I find my mouth incredibly dry, "P-Porly… We…"
The woman looks up, scowling, "Hush child, rest."
"But… T-Tartaros…"
"It's okay, we know."
I lay my head against the pillow, closing my eyes and sighing in relief at her response. It's quiet for a moment and I nearly drift out of consciousness again when suddenly, the door bursts open.
"Porlyusica! How are Laxus and the others, will they be alright?!" Makarov shouts frantically as he barrels in, "TELL ME!"
"They're all alive," She says, turning to face him as more Fairy Tail members pour into the room, "But they've been infected with Devil Particles. It's a poison which can be fatal even in very small quantities, so I cannot say whether they will make a full recovery or not… Laxus's infection is especially grave. I'm surprised he's even alive."
I feel tears gather in my eyes when I hear those words, and turn to face them with the small amount of strength I had, "Laxus... s-saved… everyone… Without him… we… we would've…"
"I know." Gramps nods, coming up to my bedside and laying his hand on my arm, "I'm proud of you too (Y/n), for bringing everybody home."
"L-Laxus…" The tears start to fall as I think about what would have been if it weren't for the dragon slayer. "He saved… everyone. The e-entire… town… is safe…"
Gramps grips my arm reassuringly, "Yes..."
I smile, laying my head back and closing my eyes in relief. The tension leaves my body, and I feel myself growing weak again. Before I know what's happening, my mind grows black and I fall into a long, deep sleep.
(A/N): Man it feels good to finally get to this arc. Sorry to disappoint anime fans, but Laxus will not get to fight. Neither does reader x.x I've got too many things I wanna get through! This is gonna be one long ass story and like is anyone still here? lol
Sorry updates are slow life sucks sometimes.