Chapter 15

"Um?" Erza hummed in confusion, and then the screen signaled that it was low on energy before it went black.

Erza continued to stare at the now-black screen.

Cricket sounds permeated the impregnable silence.

Someone behind her gulped.

The squawking of nightbirds, and chittering of bats seemed to have occupied the indefinite pause that suddenly swept upon them.

"Akkk!" Natsu's choked voice brought Erza back to reality.

"Isn't that…" Gray trailed off. "Ummm…"

"E-Erza…" Happy's normally glib voice was suddenly full of disbelief "It's…it's…"

Suddenly, heat rushed to Erza's face, further waking her up from her stupor. She did not know what exact expression her face was showing. Is her expression full of surprise? Incredulity? Is she showing righteous anger at Laxus' blatant besmirching of Lucy's virtue? Or…or does her lips stretch onto such a stupidly wide grin.

Brusquely and briskly, her legs began to carry her forward, leaving dust in her wake.

And then she broke into a sprint.

"ERZAAA!" Gray's voice echoed from the distance where she left them. "Damn it!" he cursed before shouting, "ICE-MAKE: ICE DRAGON!"

Suddenly, the ground shook and a gigantic winged dragon made of solid ice flew by her. Atop the Dynamic Ice-Make Spell stood Gray and the still frozen bandits. "Erza! What is going on?!"

Natsu then appeared near Gray, carried by a flying Happy. "What the heck is Laxus doing with Lucy?!"

"Oi, Erza!" Gray called out again. "Why are you smiling like that?!"

"Ughhh!" Natsu exclaimed. "That's freaking scary!"

Erza did not reply, only that she went and ran faster.

"HEYYY!" The boys called out before rushing to catch up to her.

"Happy, hurry!" Natsu barked. "We have to hurry! Laxus might do something to Lucy"

"Aye, Sir!" Happy agreed. "Wait for us, Lushii! MAX SPEED!"

FWOOOM! Natsu and Happy zoomed so fast that they made a straight line pattern across the blue sky.

"Natsu, wait!" Gray shouted. "Arghhh! ICE-MAKE: NITRO BOOST" Immediately, some sort of exhaust pipe-looking paraphernalia appeared at the base of the dragon's hind legs. It charged for a moment before it let out a massive surge of energy that flung the ice dragon sculpture forward. "WAIT FOR US, LUCY! WE'RE COMING TO SAVE YOU!"

Erza watched this with bated breath. "Oh, no, you two! REQUIP: FLIGHT ARMOR!" In a flash of light, she was clad in her cheetah-themed armor. Erza paused for a moment, focusing some of her Magic on her feet. She kicked at the ground, and she too, whizzed in great leaps and bounds.

Erza has to hurry now. She had to reach Laxus and Lucy before Mira could ever take a chance to see them together.

"No!" she shouted through gritted teeth. There was no telling what that She-Demon would do if she realized how on point she actually was. "Wait for me, Laxus and Lucy. Your shining, shimmering, splendid Maid-of-Honor is here!"

ZHOOOM! And she, too, darted, like a spear across the clearing.

'There's going to be blond-haired, blue-eyed babies! There's going to be blond-haired, blue-eyed babies!' That thought ran through her mind. 'And there will be me! The Great Auntie Erza!'

Oh, how she could picture it now. Children, once again, running within the guild; their chubby cheeks bouncing as they play chase in the first floor. Their large innocent eyes will be looking at her in wonder and amazement. Oh, how exciting it will be! She will be the best aunt that Earthland will ever see. She will be teaching them the way of the sword. She could even teach them how to use Requip Magic just like how she tutored their mother, Lucy, in the basics of Requipping. Ah, she will not just be a Great Aunt Erza, she will also be known as the Great Teacher Erza.

Perhaps, she could even teach them good manners and right conduct so that they will not turn out like their father, Laxus.

'See!' she exclaimed internally. 'These are the reasons why I should be the Maid-of-Honor. It is I who shall bring honor to Lucy and her soon-to-be family!'

Having a solid plan for the near future, Erza sped up but not before she remembered something.

Right! She has a spare Miniature Communication Lacrima! She concentrated for a moment and used her Requip Magic to summon the item to her hand. She dialed Gray's contact. She waited for a few rings before the Ice-Make Mage picked up.

"Oi!" Gray shouted from the speaker, the sound of rushing wind drowning out his voice. "What? What?"

"Gray-"

WHOOSH!

"Hello? Hello!"

WHOOSH!

"Hello, Gray-"

WHOOSH!

"I can't hear you!"

WHOOSH!

'Damn,' Erza cursed inwardly. She clicked the red button to stop the call, and just typed: Take the thugs back to the guild. I will be informing my contact to meet us there.'

'There! And sent!'

A few seconds later, her communication unit buzzed. Gray's reply only consisted of the word: Okay.

Erza typed another message to her contact at the Rune Knights: Meet us at Fairy Tail. We had an emergency. We'll be bringing the bandits. Please retrieve our Mission Reward from the elders at Gronov. Thanks and bye!

The red-haired woman glanced at the message once again, deciding to omit the last part. Emergency or not, they should not leave the mission midway. It would tarnish the reputation of Fairy Tail if all four of them did not show after subduing the thugs. She would have to report their progress to the Elders of Gronov alone to assure them their problem had already been taken care of.

Meet us at Fairy Tail. We had an emergency. We'll be bringing the bandits, the message now read. Erza clicked the send button before she changed course. This is just a little detour. She would not take too much time.

And if she did take too much time with the report, then heavens forbid, she would use all the Armors and Enchantments in her repertoire to speedrun and blitz back to the guild.

Come hell or high water, she would not lose to Mira.

"STAR DRESS MIX: LEO X VIRGO FORM!" An intense glittering golden light exploded a few distance away from Laxus, revealing Lucy's ethereal garment that combined two of her Celestial Spirits' magical abilities. The six detached fairy wings glided as she crossed her arms to prepare her Spell. The ground began to break and everything shook as the pressure began to build-up.

"Light of Regulus! Brilliance of Spica!" Golden light materialized from the surrounding air, and gathered like vivid and wild fireflies upon Lucy's crossed arms.

"..." Laxus found himself straining under the weight of the Magical Spell. He knew how Blondie was more than willing to dish out violence. It was always at the back of his mind since he knew for certain that her crazy ass team had that kind of influence on her. However, it is only now that she was facing the Fifth Generation Dragon Slayer Kyria that it fully registered to Laxus just how much power their resident Celestial Spirit Mage actually packs.

"LION MAIDEN!" Thick pillars of pure golden light erupted and shot from the supposedly-indestructible ground.

KRAKOOMMM! Large chunks of earth and debris tempestuously and violently hurtled from where she stood.

"My blade cuts all Magic apart!" Kyria announced, her right hand producing a blade-like energy.

"BLADE DRAGON'S OVERLORD SWORD!" Kyria made an upward slashing motion so fast that even Laxus strained to see it.

It went on a straight path towards Lucy, and Laxus felt alarm bells ringing inside him.

'No,' Laxus' mind supplied, unable to find the strength to stand up. His knees and legs will not listen to his very command.

The blade-like energy closed the distance to Lucy.

'No!' his mind screamed.

.

.

.

"DIE!" Kyria laughed maniacally as her Magical Spell began closing its distance to Lucy's body.

'NO!'

It all happened as if everything was suddenly in slow motion. There was Lucy standing and preparing to release her attack Spell, and then there was the crescent-like blade made of pure energy inching…and inching…and inching towards his guild mate as if to mock Laxus for his inability to do something. The energy blade began to slice against Lucy's right arm in a sickening sound until it also managed to cut diagonally from Lucy's left shoulder, across her chest, and down her right hip.

Thud. Lucy's body hit the ground. She laid staring at the ceiling, her eyes full of shock, as blood poured out from all the open wounds.

"NO!" Laxus screamed. "LUCY!" His legs suddenly gained energy, and he clumsily launched himself towards the blonde. He stumbled but pressed on.

Lucy's unfocused eyes found him. Light seemed to have slowly left her gaze as she laid in a bloody blubbering mess on the ground. She raised her blood-stained left hand, twitching and shivering. "R-Run…V-Virgo, t-take L-Laxus…a-away…" she said, coughing up blood.

"LUCY!" he called out before being whisked away by a hand yanking his collar from behind.

"-xus!" Someone was calling from the deep recesses of his mind. "Hey! Wake up, Laxus!"

"HUFF! HUFF! HUFF!" Laxus woke up with a start and bolted upwards. His breath ran ragged and his heart slammed hard against his chest. He could feel the perspiration soaking his hair and beads of sweat trickle from his brow down his chin.

"Fuck," he muttered silently, staring at a far distance. His face and hands felt clammy, and his body seemed cold. A nauseous feeling bloomed from his nasal area. He covered his face with both of his hands. "Oh, fuck."

"You're okay. It's alright," Lucy's voice whispered from his left, the calmness in her voice washing over him.

Laxus peered from behind his fingers to see the concern that marred her otherwise pristine expression. Did she hear him talking in his sleep? Was she able to piece together what he was dreaming about? What was he even saying in his sleep? Laxus felt panic rising from the pit of his gut, further worsening his already upset stomach.

"Did I-" he began.

Lucy slowly shook her head, and Laxus resisted the urge to close the distance between them and capture her in his arms. He wanted to pat her shoulders, arms and hands just to make sure that she was real, unharmed, and still in one piece.

"You were muttering something incoherent but it looked like you were in so much pain," Lucy explained. "So, I had to wake you up. Sorry for that."

Laxus remembered now. He asked her only to wake him up in case she needs his help on something. Lucy was probably hesitant on even approaching his severely sleeping form.

"Nah," he said in a gentle voice. "Thank you for waking me up," he bit his lips to keep himself from saying anything else, and tentatively enclosed his hands over her right hand. Then, he leaned his head against her hip, closing his eyes for a moment to just breathe.

"That must have been some dream," Lucy said in a curious tone.

"You have no idea," Laxus chuckled mirthlessly, his hands roaming to pat Lucy's arm…just to make sure.

Immediately, Laxus tensed when a set of fingers brushed through his hair, only to relax once he realized that it was Lucy's. Her touch was warm and soothing, almost to a point that it could lull him back to a comfortable sleep. "Hmmm," he sighed. "That hits the spot."

Then, Lucy began gently patting his head in a makeshift rhythm as she began suggesting, "Would you like for me to call Gemini to copy Wendy and cast another Spell?"

Laxus deliberated for a moment. On one hand, he was now beginning to feel that the Anti Motion Sickness Express Set Spell cast earlier is starting to wear off. It would be a good idea to make this trip all the more amazing since he would also like to get his jewel's worth from this expensive-as-fuck train coach. On the other hand, the image of Lucy huffing after she cast a Magic Spell yesterday in the horse-drawn coach still kept on popping in his mind. Blondie might be experiencing some side effects of consecutive Magic use. Laxus felt guilty about that. She should not have expended too much of her Magical Reserves on his account.

"No, thanks," he murmured, finally deciding on sticking it out until they reached Magnolia. Besides, if he had those Spells cast on him consecutively, its effectiveness would decline. It would be best to reserve it for when he truly needed it.

"You're kind of full of sweat," Lucy said suddenly. Laxus immediately felt self-conscious, questioning whether he smelled bad. He resisted the urge to visibly sniff himself in front of the lady he intended to court and impress.

"Why don't you take a bath?" Lucy suggested

Laxus looked upwards, and raised an eyebrow. "Care to join me?" he said with a smirk.

Lucy visibly blushed before she looked away. "Shut it, perv."

Laxus burst into chuckles before being shoved playfully by the beautiful blonde.

"Get off your lazy bum and take a shower," she pulled him upwards, struggling. "Not to insinuate that you're stinky or anything, but perhaps you'll be able to relax more once you've refreshed yourself."

Laxus found it endearing. Lucy with her thin arms, trying to hoist him, a 230-pound man to stand up. He let her pull him.

"Yes, Dear," Laxus exhaled exaggeratedly, mimicking the voice of a very exhausted, very lenient, and very work-ridden husband.

Instead of scowling or being irritated like he expected Blondie when she heard the term of endearment, Laxus found Lucy chuckling. "Alright, Dear. In the meantime, I'll be putting my writing instruments away, and messaging my team. I kinda miss them."

Laxus grunted affirmatively, now making his way to the bathroom.

Lucy watched Laxus as he retreated towards another area in the train coach. She sighed, wondering what kind of disturbing dream the man had for him to be so shaken. She guessed that, given Ivan Dreyar's hospitalization, Laxus would be quite sensitive.

'I mean, come on, that guy's still his father,' she opined. One way or another, it would affect Laxus.

Shaking her head, she began gathering her writing instruments. She corked her ink bottle, keeping it steady so that the black liquid inside did not slosh around and make a huge mess in the otherwise-flawless coach interior. She shuddered at the thought of paying just for the cleaning of the upholsteries. Done with the bottle, she also placed her quill in its holding case after she wiped the writing tip with a piece of cloth. She also rearranged the parchment, carefully rearranging the pages before she clamped it with a huge binder clip.

Spurned by the action of decluttering the space, Lucy began to diligently place her bags neatly in one side, so that it would not obstruct them from walking around the whole area. Then, Lucy went to the nearby mahogany table, admiring how even as the train moved along the railways, the dinnerware, silverware and glassware were not rattling about.

"Hmmm," she wondered to herself. Perhaps, there was a Spell cast on each part of this coach down to its miniscule utensils. It would not be surprising, considering the fact that it would help stabilize everything whenever the train moves. That, and the fact that these kinds of coaches are suitably catered to rich families who - although non-Mages - are very particular with magical accommodations.

'Oh, well' she remarked before bringing her Miniature Communication Lacrima out. The crystal flashed lightly for a moment before it showed a list of Caller IDs. She tapped the one with Erza's picture, and proceeded to type her message.

Let's have a sleepover. My place, the message said. Lucy pressed the send button.

A few seconds later, it rang. Lucy clicked the answer button. Erza's face showed on the screen.

The sound of the shower handle being turned off and a door being opened echoed from where Laxus went.

"Hey, guys!" Lucy found herself smiling until the corner of her lips seemed to hurt. Nevertheless, she missed the whole team. Erza was at the front, with the boys: Gray, Natsu and Happy behind her. Wendy and Carla were not with them.

'Those two were probably with Porlyusica,' Lucy thought to herself.

"Hey, Lu-" Happy trailed off.

Lucy wondered why the blue cat suddenly stopped himself mid-conversation before she realized the presence of a man behind her.

It was Laxus! Wet-haired, naked-bodied, only-a-towel-wearing Laxus strode confidently behind her! He noticed the people on the screen.

"Yo!" he said, greeting her wide-eyed teammates on the other side of the communication line. He then proceeded to walk away.

It was also at that same time the call ended. "No…" Lucy felt the vestiges of mortification suddenly dawning upon her.

Her teammates are all well-meaning but…but…but they tend to jump into wrong conclusions. Oh, God…no. Lucy can picture it now, her teammates assuming that Laxus had somehow coerced her into sleeping with him. It did not help that the interior of this coach looks suspiciously similar to that of a hotel.

"Uh-oh," she muttered.

"What's wrong?" Laxus appeared right beside her, now fully dressed in a powder blue button-up shirt, dark slacks and black dress shoes. "You're kinda blushing out there, Blondie," he jibed. "Is my shirt that good of a fit or would you like me out of the clothes?" he laughed.

The mortification that Lucy felt earlier seemed to have grown in magnitude. She could just feel her eyes widening in horror at what kind of mayhem Natsu and the others were probably cooking up. Her face was full-on hot.

"Hey," Laxus approached her, waving his hands up-and-down in front of her. "Earthland to Lucy."

Mechanically, Lucy turned her attention to Laxus. He was smirking down on her, probably finding this whole situation damn funny. "We're doomed," she muttered.

Laxus snorted like a pig, and Lucy felt her blood pressure rising. "Call them again," he suggested.

Immediately, she dialed Erza's Caller ID once again. And again. And again. Nothing. There was nothing except the inarguably irritating " the number you have dialed is currently unavailable." Lucy tried connecting with Gray's. It was the same. She dialed Natsu's. It rang, and rang, and rang until the call was eventually dropped.

'Natsu never answers his Miniature Communication Lacrima,' Lucy suddenly realized. She felt smacking herself right then and there. Natsu's MiniComm was just for decoration!

'Erza has a back-up!' Lucy perked up. She dialed Erza's second Caller ID, and Lucy was once again greeted with the same " the number you have dialed is currently unavailable."

Lucy bit her lip as her heart thumped.

Lucy bit her fingernails as her heart somersaulted.

And then Lucy exhaled in resignation.

There was only one way to avoid and prevent all kinds of shenanigans that would surely result from this, and that was for the explanation to come directly from her. She decided to send a group message to the whole team, including Wendy. It said: Hey, guys! Let's have a sleepover at my place. I have to talk with you…

.

.

.

Lucy stared long and hard at the screen, deliberating whether to include Laxus' name in the conversation. She glanced at the man standing and smiling smugly over her, probably waiting for his name to be typed in her message.

"Do go on, My Dear. Type my name. It's a five-letter word. L-A-X-U-S," he snickered.

Lucy swore that she would wipe that smirk off of his face.

...about Laxus and I, Lucy finally typed before sending it to the team.