Work Text
In the wake of the Alvarez invasion, many had hoped for a swift return to normalcy. Laxus hadn't been one of them, but neither had he been prepared for just how much the fallout would be a nuisance to him, personally. He'd groaned at the sight of the ruined house he shared with Freed and Bickslow, that the two had outright insisted he move into after they'd found out he didn't have anywhere to stay in Magnolia anymore. They'd refused to sell it during Fairy Tail's disbandment, and yet hadn't even had a chance to properly move back in before half of it had been demolished in the fighting. Given how sudden it was, they'd settled on staying in a hotel while repairs were underway, but that was evidently a popular choice for those whose homes were badly damaged, which brought Laxus to the single, two bed hotel room that was all they'd been able to find, and the source of the twitch building in his eye."Well," Freed said evenly as he strode across the room and claimed a drawer of the hotel dresser for his own use. He always did that, even when they were only staying somewhere for the duration of a job. "It might not be an ideal living solution, even temporarily, but at least we aren't far from the guild."Bickslow ignored the dresser utterly as he dropped the shoulder bag with his belongings onto the floor and spun on one heel to fall backwards onto one of the full sized beds. Laxus could hear the springs creaking in protest, and never before had he felt in such agreement with an inanimate object."Not ideal...bit of an understatement there, Freed. Even setting aside the fact that Bickslow snores like a fucking chainsaw," he gestured at the seith mage, who only grinned and stuck his tongue out in reply as his totems bobbed around and echoed Laxus' last word. "There aren't even enough beds for all of us.""Dibs!" Bickslow shouted.Freed stood up from where he'd finished putting his clothes away and looked around, as though he'd just noticed that problem. Then he shrugged and walked over to sit on a sofa that looked comfortable enough, but was by no means long enough for any of them to lay down comfortably."You take the other bed, Laxus. I can survive sleeping on a sofa for the short term."Laxus raised an eyebrow, and Freed frowned questioningly as the dragonslayer failed to make any move to put his own bag down by the offered bed."Are you kidding? You're the team captain, ain't ya?" That means you should get first pick of where to sleep. At least make Bickslow get his ass up so you can sleep in a proper bed."Bickslow shot Laxus a look of exaggerated indignation, and Laxus had to shoo off a possessed doll that attempted to smack into his head. Freed, however, simply chuckled."While I appreciate the sentiment, both of you are significantly larger than I am. Of the three of us, I'll have the least difficulty making myself comfortable on the sofa...and since I am the captain, isn't it my duty to make sacrifices in the name of logistics?"The soft smile Freed gave him as he explained...Laxus didn't know how he didn't seem at least a little put out. The man's dedication to his team was truly something else, and Laxus had a feeling he genuinely was happier certain he and Bickslow were comfortable than he would have been claiming a bed for himself. Laxus couldn't really argue his point, so he relented with a sigh and a shrug of his shoulders.He didn't get more than two steps in the direction of the empty bed before Bickslow piped up, "If you're so worried bout Freed, Laxus, you could offer to share. Bet Freed wouldn't mind a bit.""Share, share!" added one of Bickslow's totems.Bickslow had propped himself up on one arm and was grinning manically, a mischievous glint in his eye that always meant he was trying to tease about something. Laxus' brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what the man was getting at this time, even as Freed continued on as though he hadn't heard Bickslow."And as for your other complaint, I can set up a jutsu shiki around Bickslow's bed to nullify sound. I'd like to set up some wards around the room anyway.""Oh, yeah." Bickslow's grin faded and he nodded. "Thanks Freed, you know I'm a light sleeper."Freed rolled his eyes, and Laxus couldn't help a quiet huff of amusement."Wards, Freed? Don't you think that's a bit much over a shitty hotel room? We don't even have anything valuable with us to make it worth someone's time to sneak in here."Freed's smile fell, and he shared a look with Bickslow that Laxus didn't quite understand. There must have been something he was missing, something that had the pair concerned. He didn't have long to ponder before the rune wizard was answering his unspoken question."I know most of the survivors of the Spriggan Twelve have accepted surrender, Laxus, but this is still the aftermath of a war. Even more than that, you killed one of Alvarez's generals. We can't discount the possibility of someone attempting to claim revenge."Laxus snorted and crossed his arms derisively. Wahl Ito...the psychotic bucket of bolts had really done a number on Freed, Bickslow, and Ever. Putting him down hadn't been nearly as simple as Freed made it sound, either, even if he had technically ended the fight in better condition than he'd started it in. It had been a lengthy, difficult battle that had given Laxus plenty of observations to back his opinion."Can't imagine that asshole having much of anyone who'd want to avenge him. I guess I have to give you the point, though...I bet there are plenty who are still mad at the guy who stonewalled their entire fleet."Freed looked surprised at having the focus switched back to him, and Laxus grinned. Like hell was he going to ignore the reason Wahl had gone after Freed in the first place. But as soon as the surprised expression appeared, it vanished beneath a smug smirk that somehow had the dragonslayer grinning even wider."And compared to that, a few simple restrictions on who can enter this hotel room will be no effort at all."Laxus held up his hands in a 'suit yourself' gesture, then started removing his shoes so he could lay down properly. Truth be told, there was an argument for why he had top priority for a bed. He might have been released from the hospital, but his clothing still concealed numerous bandages over wounds that still ached. Otherwise, he might have entertained Bickslow's suggestion...He quickly chased that thought from his head. Freed was affectionate with him, sure, and all three of his teammates might have insisted on a 'sleepover' that was really just an excuse to cling to him overnight when he'd first returned from his exile, but the idea of sharing a bed with just one other person...it felt intimate, in a way that he was sure his self-proclaimed bodyguard would find wholly inappropriate. It wasn't like either of them was small, at that. There was no way they could share a bed and manage to keep enough personal space to not make it awkward. Maybe that had been Bickslow's aim with his comment, trying to embarrass them both by suggesting Freed wouldn't mind something that would obviously end up feeling weird.A totem floating directly in front of his face derailed his train of thought, and he let out an aggravated shout as he took a swipe at it. It giggled, friggin' giggled, as it bobbed out of the way and he startled at coming dangerously close to the edge of the mattress in his effort to swat the damn thing. Bickslow cackled from across the room, so of course Laxus gave him the most mature response he could possibly think of.He grabbed the spare pillow from his bed and threw it at his teammate's stupid face.Bickslow responded in kind, and before Laxus knew it, he'd been dragged into a pillow fight with the seith mage. He ended up laughing despite the occasional wince as a pillow smacked one of his bruises, and practically doubled over when two of Bickslow's precious babies had teamed up to swing a pillow at their own master. His frustrations with the current situation all but slipped his mind, and he didn't even notice Freed laying out the wards until the man snatched the pillows right out of his and Bickslow's hands."That's enough childishness from the both of you. Unless you've changed your minds about wanting that soundproofing spell?""Yes, mom." Bickslow made a show of rolling his eyes and pouting as he mock-protested, earning him a smack over the head with one of Freed's stolen pillows. Laxus snorted in laughter, not quite managing a straight face as a single green eyebrow raised in playful challenge.Bickslow looked oddly self-satisfied as he plopped back into his chosen bed, and Laxus had to smile. The air of tension from his argument with Freed over the bed had vanished, and for a moment, Laxus even wondered if this wouldn't be so bad after all. It wasn't like he'd never shared a hotel room before, he and Freed did that all the time on lengthy jobs together. He just had to trust that Freed knew what he was talking about when he'd said he'd be fine on the sofa, and that they'd sort something out even if he was wrong.Besides, it gave him an opportunity to watch Freed at work. The runes he was writing on the floor by Bickslow's bed were simple, Laxus had learned enough about Freed's style of jutsu shiki to tell that much, but it was still fascinating. A few carefully chosen lines on the floor, and it was like his will became a law of nature. When Freed set rules, reality obeyed...it wasn't as flashy or dramatic as most of the guild, not unless he was serious enough to use one of his transformative runes, but it was staggeringly powerful. Laxus was glad they were on the same side.Freed must have felt him staring, because he looked up from his work with a quizzical expression. Laxus smiled in return and nodded his head toward the glowing faintly in the distinctive purple of Freed's magic."You make it look easy."Freed blinked and regarded his writing as though what Laxus had said seemed strange."It's just a simple restriction on the passage of sound across the barrier, Laxus. It's downright beginner level...honestly, I should have had you do this one yourself. It would've been good practice.""I wasn't talking about that, just...jutsu shiki in general. It's so damn complicated...""Ah." Freed said simply, as he turned his attention back to his work. "I suppose you could say I just have an affinity for words. There are several reasons you shouldn't be discouraged comparing your work to mine, not the least of which being that you're already more advanced than Ever.""Just take the damn compliment, Freed."Though Freed's back was still turned, Laxus was sure the other man would be able to hear the grin in his voice. He thought he saw the edge of a return smirk on the side of Freed's face, though whatever retort he had in mind was cut off by the sound of Bickslow starting to snore. It was replaced by a huff, and by a visible increase in the speed of Freed's work. When the barrier sprang up, it brought with it sweet silence."Should keep him in one of these all the time.""It is tempting." Freed made a show of seriously considering it, before shrugging. "But if I did that, he wouldn't be able to hear me reminding him it's his turn to do the dishes."Laxus snickered and ceded Freed's point."Fair, and I sure wouldn't want to be the one to pick up his slack.""You're terribly inefficient at it, anyway." Freed teased. His work done, he returned to the dresser to retrieve a set of pajamas he'd left atop it. Laxus watched as Freed casually shed his daytime clothing, chest tight as part of him expected to see bandages beneath the maroon suit. But no. Small discolorations on his arms hinted at healed bruises, but no real injury marred his toned and graceful body. He let out his held breath without thinking, and the sound must have concerned Freed, since he turned to catch Laxus' eye."Uh..." Shit, now he felt awkward. He glanced away and scratched at the scar on his right cheek. "I'm glad you're not hurt. When we lost contact with you after the cathedral exploded, we...it sounded worse than it was."Laxus saw Freed's expression soften out of the corner of his eye. Here he was, the one who had been knocked out, and yet he looked downright apologetic."You must have been worried."The way he put it so bluntly. But Laxus couldn't argue, and instead he just sighed."Yeah.""It's nothing to be embarrassed about, Laxus. I think everyone was worried about someone at some point, during all of that."Laxus knew without asking who Freed had been worried about. He, Bickslow, and Evergreen were always fussing over him, and must have been beside themselves when he'd vanished without warning. It made him reluctant to remove his own shirt for bed, knowing the sight of his bandages would concern them. Fortunately, Freed didn't seem inclined to question him on sleeping in the clothes he'd worn all day. He finished changing as Laxus fell quiet, and Laxus waited until he was settled on the couch before flicking the switch to douse the room's light lacrima.His sleep was disturbed once during the night, when he thought he heard Freed thrashing on the couch, but he didn't see any movement when he peered through the darkness. When next he woke, it was to offensively bright sunlight and the much more welcome smell of eggs, bacon, and warm bread. Freed was already dressed for the day, and had even gone out to get food for the three of them while Laxus slept in.The three of them bantered playfully during the short walk to the guild, though it wasn't lost on him that Freed gave a noncommittal reply when asked if he'd managed to sleep well on the couch. Laxus knew it would still be a waste of time to press the issue, however, and let the subject drop.Finally returning to the guildhall for the first time since the invasion had an almost surreal quality to it. The last time he'd been here, his home had been the command center for the city's defenses. Now, only a few days later, the place was back to being the same seedy looking tavern Laxus had grown to love despite the noise and chaos. Evergreen had beat them there, and was already engrossed in some sort of petty argument with Elfman that she probably thought disguised her affection for the big oaf. Cana sat with her arm slung affectionately around a barrel, clearly humiliating Macao and Wakaba at some sort of card game, as the geezers were loudly cursing their luck. Gajeel, Laxus noticed with some surprise, was sitting with his arm around Levy. About time, he thought. It astounded him how two people could be so blatant in their feelings for one another, yet also so utterly oblivious.Cana quickly called to Freed, begging him for some actual competition at the card table, and Freed chuckled before smiling at Laxus and Bickslow and excusing himself to oblige her. Bickslow spotted the guy everyone assured him was Loke, even though the only similarity in appearance to the scrawny womanizer was that they were both gingers, and slipped off to pester him. Proud as Laxus was over how well his friends had integrated with the guild, this left him standing awkwardly alone. As he cast his eyes around in search of anything of interest, or even just an empty table so he could pretend he just wanted to be by himself, he noticed Mirajane pinning new flyers to an already packed job board. His eyebrows lifted, and he quickly made his way over to his usual seat at the bar.Mirajane reached her post just as Laxus was sitting down, and grabbed a tankard to pour him a beer before he even said a word. He raised it to her in thanks and took a pull, trusting her to know his favorite brews by now, before gesturing to the job board with the cup."Thought it was too quiet, even for Flamebrain still being in containment." Okay, Natsu was actually still recovering in Hargeon, thanks to having somehow managed to almost burn his own arm off fighting Zeref, and then Acnologia. To Laxus, however, it was a beautiful chance to relax after the near apocalypse without having to worry about an idiot charging at him for no reason. "Only time I can remember seeing the board that full is when we were riding the fame after the Grand Magic Games."Mirajane seemed to sense his unspoken question, and put a hand to the side of her face with a concerned sigh."The invasion and Acnologia both did a lot of damage, and scared a lot of people. There's a lot to be done, either repairing towns or preventing the greedy or desperate from causing more problems. And on top of that, the Eastern front of Alvarez's army destroyed every wizard's guild in Bosco."Laxus had heard something along those lines when Warren had first detected the approaching forces, but he was surprised to hear it repeated without qualifiers. He'd assumed that some guilds had just fallen silent in the panic and been presumed lost, but surely by now there had been enough time for at least some of them to start cropping back up. For every single one to be destroyed, that couldn't have just been the army razing everything in its path. It meant..."Fuck..." he breathed and tried to swallow his horror with a swig of beer. When it didn't work, he furrowed his brow and set the tankard down heavily. "They were going out of their way to wipe out guilds, weren't they? That god traitor had access to Council documents, I bet they didn't even need to look for them."Mira nodded, and though her frown remained soft, her eyes held a steel that showed she was as furious and disgusted as he was."Because of that, Boscans who need to hire wizards are being forced to look for help in neighboring countries.""The ones who aren't dumb enough to turn to local dark guilds first, anyway.""Desperate, Laxus."Laxus rolled his eyes. "Anyone who thinks it's more practical to hire a bunch of thieves and murderers than to pay extra for border crossing is an idiot. So, we're getting swamped with clients needing help cleaning up the messes Zeref made both here and in Bosco...where'm I needed?""Laxus, you just got back from the hospital. You should take some time to rest before racing off to a job.""Like you said, I just got out of the hospital. I've had enough rest to last me a month. Now, where am I needed?"Mira chewed at her lower lip in thought, and Laxus narrowed his eyes in a silent warning not to bother arguing this. Maybe she got the message, or maybe she was just that desperate for able bodies, because she relented with a sigh."I was going to give this to Erza when she gets back from her current job, but there is something I have flagged as potentially worrisome..."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Immediately on setting foot inside Fairy Tail's guildhall, Freed had noted both the packed job board and the absence of such mainstays as Erza, Gray, and Juvia. Wendy and Lucy, he knew, were still with Natsu in Hargeon, which made the absence of the other half of the so-called, self-proclaimed 'strongest team' all the more striking. It was obvious to him that the guild was flooded with work, and while Makao and Wakaba slacking off didn't surprise him in the least, seeing Cana so casually wasting time had him raise an eyebrow as he sat down opposite her at the table."It seems the guild has been busy."Cana shoved a bottle of liquor in his direction, but he held up a hand in refusal. It was still morning, the notion of drinking anything harder than grape juice on the verge of fermenting seemed absurd to him. She shrugged and instead poured herself a shot as she answered."Got that right. Mira's been putting up new job postings as fast as people have been taking 'em. I hear even Nab almost considered taking a job, yesterday."Cana's grinning laughter seemed carefree on the surface, but there was a tension behind it that she couldn't quite keep hidden from Freed. She was similar to Bickslow, in that regard. He hummed quietly and picked up the deck of playing cards so he could shuffle them, glancing briefly to the infamously indecisive slacker in his usual spot by the job board and then back to Cana as she downed her shot."That makes it even more surprising you're sitting here swindling old men, instead of out on a job of your own."He heard frustrated grumbling from further down the table, where the old men in question seemed to have decided to watch the game from. He ignored them, but Cana snickered."Says the guy shuffling for his own ass kicking, instead of zipping off to do something productive.""Laxus was only just cleared from the hospital, and as much as he's trying to pretend otherwise, he isn't yet fully recovered. He won't be 'zipping off' on any jobs for a while yet, and the Thunder God Tribe is hardly going to leave him alone while he finishes healing. What about you?"If you must know, I have a very important job to do right here at HQ."Cana all but preened. Freed's quiet snort of laughter, along with his visible eye narrowed by an amused smirk, wiped the smug look off her face and replaced it with a glare."I wasn't aware 'bookie' was a vital position in the guild's functioning.""Mira's the one who sets the odds anyway, people always get pissed when I do it." Cana stuck her tongue out at him, but then her expression faded to something more serious, almost somber. "I've actually been using my cards to guide guild members going on jobs that look like they might be related to remnants of Alvarez's military. We've turned up a concerning number of rank and file soldiers who refuse to respect their side's surrender, especially from the units of Spriggans who're dead or unaccounted for."Freed's brow furrowed as he passed the deck to Cana to cut. He'd considered something of this nature to be such an inevitability that he hadn't even hesitated in giving it as his justification for taking the time to put protective barriers around their hotel room, but he hadn't expected it to be a widespread problem. And yet, that sounded like exactly what it was."The count on that front is still eight, correct? Five confirmed dead and three missing?"Cana cut the cards without even looking at them, then handed them back to Freed."So far, yeah. Given what the other four had to say about those three, we should probably be hoping they're dead too, but..."Freed started to deal, alternating between himself and Cana with casual flicks of the wrist. Though he made a point to keep count of the number of cards he dealt, his focus was really on the face of his guildmate. Her own words seemed to trouble her, and for a moment, he envied the innocense that let one feel shame over hoping for an enemy's death. Invel, Larcade, and Neinhart were all extremely dangerous as points of uncertainty, and all had dealt grave wounds to members of Fairy Tail, both physical and psychological. In Freed's opinion, the cold grip of death was the least they deserved.Cana's raised eyebrows brought his attention to the fact that he'd started dealing more aggressively, and he offered an apologetic smile."Being unable to wish for someone else's death is admirable, in my opinion."Cana chewed her lip, and Freed knew she was thinking back to that day that was, to them, a scarce year ago. The day he had coldly demanded she and Juvia fight each other, so that he would only have to dirty his hands directly with one of their deaths. The day he had, in fact, very nearly murdered Elfman out of nothing more than personal hatred of those who violate his rules. It still surprised him that she associated with him at all, having not only seen but suffered immensely from a glimpse of the monster behind his polite and ordered outward appearance.His right eye pulsed at the memory, and he dropped the card he was holding to rub at it. Cana leaned forward in alarm, one hand reaching to touch his shoulder."Woah, are you okay? Is something wrong with your eye?"He cracked his eye open behind his fingers, and immediately noticed how the glimpses of the guild in the gaps between the tense digits and his newly mussed bangs were in sharp relief. Dammit. He closed the eye again and made a show of preening his bangs."Just a stray hair. Nothing to worry about."He waved his hand and picked up the dropped card. He returned it to a random part of the deck as Cana sat back down."I guess that's what you get for keeping your bangs over your eye like that. I bet that sort of thing happens a lot."She snickered, and Freed forced a chuckle. Guilt tugged at him over lying to his comrades, but it was better that she not know what that really was."Maybe you should've kept the buzzcut after all." Macao said.Freed started at the remark, having all but forgotten the older wizards sitting further down the table. He huffed, secretly grateful for the subject drift as he dealt the last round of cards."It doesn't happen as often as you might think. And everyone agreed that the haircut looked terrible on me. I even received letters from subscribers of Sorcerer Weekly begging me to grow it back out..."The old men grumbled at the reminder of Freed's popularity, while Cana grinned. The mischievous set of her eyebrows gave him a bad feeling, one that was validated with her next words."Weren't you still in the top ten, though? Bet that popularity makes things interesting for you, with that weakness to women in sexy swimsuits."Freed felt his ears burning at the reminder of the only way he'd been able to come up with to throw that fight, but what caused him to sputter was when he heard Laxus' voice as he approached."Weakness to sexy women? The hell are you talking about?""L-Laxus!" He choked. Of course quite possibly the worst person to overhear had been nearby. His friend would never let him hear the end of that routine. "It's nothing, just an...an in-joke, of a sort-""You didn't know? Freed here goes completely to pieces around hot women in skimpy bikinis."Cana was grinning, but it was Laxus' baffled expression that left Freed with the real feeling of dread."No he doesn't. He couldn't give less of a shit about being around hot women if he tried.""Eh?"Cana's shocked and confused expression might have been funny under other circumstances, but right now, Freed knew it was the precursor to doom. His only hope was...yes! There was a piece of paper in Laxus' hand, likely the reason for his interruption of the game, and Freed hastily snatched for it."Laxus, is this a job listing?"It was, and his eyes skimmed over it as the lightning dragonslayer sat down next to him."Yeah, Mira pointed me toward it, and I wanna see if you and the others are up for coming along. I know we just got back from Hargeon, but..."But evidently they had missed something, devoting so much of their attention to helping care for the injured dragonslayers. The paper described repair and relief efforts being crippled by the appearance of what witnesses called 'ghosts' and 'zombies' of those who had died in the invasion or in Acnologia's subsequent attack. The workers were getting desperate, and some of them, it seemed, even thought dealing with this was Fairy Tail's responsibility.He glanced up and saw that Cana was over her befuddlement and downright seething at him. He knew he was going to be in for it later, but now he redirected her anger by handing the paper over to her."I suspect this is relevant to what we were talking about earlier. I can see what you're thinking, Laxus. If this is a simple haunting by envious spirits, then Bickslow will be able to cut to the root of it with ease. If it isn't..."He trailed off, turning his head to glance at Laxus through the curtain of his bangs. Laxus shrugged and nodded."If it isn't, I'll want you, Ever, and Bicks at my back.""So much for Laxus not running right back out on a job, huh Freed?" Cana remarked as she slid the paper back to the dragonslayer in question. Laxus snorted in quiet mockery of Freed's vain hope. "You're right, this feels like a lead. If you're going, I should do a spread for you."Laxus looked to Freed as though expecting context, but Freed simply nodded."Please. I have a feeling this is more complex than the workers think."She cleared the playing cards aside to make room for her fortune telling deck. After Freed shuffled, she took the deck and waved her hand over it. Ten cards lifted from it and arranged themselves in order. The first was turned toward Freed, and depicted a man on a castle wall, holding two staffs. Crossed over it was a single man armed with a staff, fending off six others. Below it, closer to Cana, a woman holding a sword in one hand and scales in the other stared Freed down in a way that made his stomach twist uncomfortably. To one side, Cana's left, a card depicting a woman offering one of six flower-filled chalices to a child was also oriented toward Freed, and he could feel the diviner's concerned gaze without even looking up from the cards. Above the central cross, a crowned man sat on a throne and clutched a staff, turned right-side up relative to Cana.It was when the card to Cana's right of the cross hit the table that he felt his chest tighten. There, leering up from where it faced him directly, was the unmistakable visage of a horned demon, perched on a pedestal connected by chains to the necks of two human-like figures. He didn't know what the card actually meant, but the way it bore a strong resemblance to his Darkness form sent a chill down his spine.Despite the way Freed's eyes were fixed on the Devil, the spread continued. To the side of and closer to Cana than the last card was another facing Freed, depicting what seemed to be a melee between five people, each wielding a staff. Above it, in the same orientation, was the image of a man lying on a bed marked with a horizontal sword, below three more blades hanging vertically from the wall. Third in the stack was what Freed thought looked like a small family, although it was upside down for him, overlaid with ten images of coins. The final card, extending the stack even closer to Freed than the top of the cross, bore the image of an angel looking out at Cana from the top of the card, while a man and a woman stood on opposite sides.Cana regarded the cards for a moment, then took a deep breath and looked Freed directly in the eye."You guys, be careful. I don't like the look of any of this."Freed made a soft sound of acknowledgement, but only half heard her words. His attention was fixed on the demon that seemed to be staring up at him in silent mockery, and on the renewed pulsing sensation in his right eye, black and yellow behind the veil of his bangs.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Ugh!" Evergreen snapped her fan open in frustration as she accompanied Bickslow in following Freed into their preferred livery stable. The building wasn't really that warm, but she hoped the way she aggressively fanned herself helped make her point. "We just got back from Hargeon! If Mira had a job over there waiting for a powerful wizard, she should have just called before we left!"Freed huffed and shot her a glare out of the corner of his visible eye."She was planning the job for Erza, not Laxus. None of us expected...or, well, none of us wanted to expect that he would insist on going back to work the moment he got home.""I bet seein' what happened to our place during the invasion made him wanna head back outta town quick." Bickslow snickered, letting his tongue loll out like some sort of ridiculous dog.Evergreen frowned, habitually covering her face with her fan. She'd known the three boys shared a house before they'd left Magnolia to join Blue Pegasus, but it hadn't occurred to her to wonder if it was okay. Fairy Hills had been completely spared from the destruction, so it was easy to forget some of her guildmates might not have been so fortunate."Just what did happen to it, if he's in such a hurry to not have to deal with it?"In front of her, Freed's shoulders tensed, and he let out a slow sigh. Someone else, she might have accused of being dramatic, but she knew the passion and sentimentality Freed always tried to downplay. The house he'd shared with his crush and with one of his best friends, it obviously would have meant more to him than just a place to keep his stuff once they got it all shipped back."It..." he started. Evergreen noticed him tugging at his bangs the way he usually did when he was nervous or uncomfortable, before pulling his hand away from them in what almost looked like a surprised hurry. "One of Acnologia's energy blasts struck it. It shall need to be completely rebuilt."Bickslow's shoulders slouched, as Peppe the doll intoned sadly, "Gone, gone."Another, Pappa, bumped into Bickslow's shoulder and chirped, "Rebuild! Rebuild!"A lot of people found Bickslow's dolls creepy, and Ever supposed she could understand that, especially with the knowledge that there were actual, human souls inside the things. Most decided they were afraid of him before even seeing how he treated the dolls like family, and moments like this made it hard for her to imagine them as anything other than the children Bickslow liked to refer to them as.Luckily, Bickslow was too preoccupied with his 'babies' to notice the softness to her expression. Freed, on the other hand, met her eyes and she was sure she saw mischief in his visible one. She shot him a look that dared him to say anything, and tilted her glasses down for emphasis. The innocent expression he put on in response didn't fool her for a second, and she huffed in offense."Still, wherever you're staying until then must be downright miserable for Laxus to agree to run off to Hargeon the day after he got back from there."Bickslow shrugged."Wouldn't be if he and Freed just took my suggestion."Freed shot Bickslow a sharp look."Your suggestion was inappropriate, and you know it.""Weeeelll..." Bickslow began, and Ever could tell from his wide grin and the way he drew the word out that he was about to beg Freed to smack him. "If Laxus isn't down for it, you could always share my bed instead, baby."Ever was right. Freed's scoff did pretty well at conveying his annoyance with the masked idiot's dirty remark, but the way he jabbed the pommel of his sword into Bickslow's gut did even better. Evergreen communicated her own disgust by smacking him over the back of the head with her fan. The combined effect shouldn't have been enough to make the buffoon budge, but he crumpled to the floor nonetheless, butt in the air as he fell to his knees and face, tongue sticking out dramatically."You two are mean." He groaned, voice muffled by the tongue he was pretending he didn't have the strength to pull back into his mouth."Mean, mean!" All of his dolls echoed."If you must be a public embarrassment," Freed snipped. "Do so without dragging me into it."Ever sighed and snapped her fan back open."Still, Freed, I'm a little surprised you agreed so readily. Aren't you usually the one getting mad when Laxus pushes himself like this?""Ah," Freed mumbled, and Ever could tell the explanation was something dumb.Bickslow confirmed her assumption as he picked himself up off the floor with far too much grace for someone who was supposedly battered."That's 'cause Cana's pissed at him."Freed glared at Bickslow, who pointedly moved out of arm's reach while sticking his tongue out at him. Ever raised an eyebrow, and nodded for Bickslow to elaborate."She found out he threw his fight with her during the S-class exam.""It was your fight too!" Freed ground out between clenched teeth. Something about the expression looked odd to her, but she couldn't place what it was, aside from the fact that their captain must be stressed if he was losing his patience this quickly."Yeah, but I didn't come up with such an obviously fake way to hold back."If Freed had been in a better mood, Ever would have jumped to ask what he'd done. Given his quickly mounting irritation, however, she took the much safer option of changing the subject."By the way, what excuse did Laxus use to get out of riding the carriage with us, this time?"As though the three of them hadn't figured out long ago that Laxus suffered from terrible motion sickness. Well, at least the opportunity to tease their much adored lightning dragon had the effect she hoped, as Freed's expression softened."He simply doesn't want to be cooped up for the length of a carriage ride to Hargeon, of course."His words held a teasing lilt to them that betrayed his doubt over Laxus' real motives, and Bickslow burst out laughing."Man, when is he gonna give it up and admit vehicles make him puke? We all know that's why the Christina III had that lacrima."Evergreen held her fan to cover her mouth as she giggled."Not that I wouldn't believe the other reason, too. He's so bad at staying put.""It isn't that long of a ride..." Freed sighed, despite the fond smile creeping into his features. "Though I will grant, it's hardly local. I think I'm going to use the restroom before we leave...you should too, Bickslow. I don't want to hear you whining about needing a rest stop halfway there."Bickslow opened his mouth to argue, but Freed was already walking in a determined line to the men's room. If he thought he was being subtle about wanting to talk to Bickslow alone, he was wrong...either they were going to fuck in a stall - something Evergreen was confident would be far too trashy for Freed - or Freed was going to quietly murder Bickslow for being absolutely that trashy, or he wanted to talk to Bickslow about something behind Evergreen's back. Since either of the plausible options sparked Evergreen's curiosity, she waited until the door closed behind the pair, before slipping up next to the door to listen.The first voice she heard was Freed's, muffled by the door and halfway through a sentence."-strange since the invasion?"She couldn't quite make out all of Bickslow's response, though she thought she heard a hint of a tease in what she did catch."...passing up...with Laxus all night?""This is serious, Bickslow!" Freed snapped, loudly enough for Evergreen to hear clearly, before he continued in a quieter tone. "You remember.....see Albion. Please, I need to know.....effects from..."Evergreen frowned. Albion? That wasn't a name she'd ever heard before, but Freed said it as though he expected Bickslow to know who he meant. She edged a little closer to the door, not caring that the stable workers were eyeing her with judgment."Why all of a sudden, though?" Was all she managed to hear from Bickslow."Something...just look."She strained her ears to make out any hint about what Freed might be showing Bickslow, but his response was far too nonspecific."So what? Looks like it always does, to me.""It's supposed to be.....I'm not showing...."Wait, so now he wasn't showing something? And Bickslow's response, after what she's sure was a pause rather than just her not hearing what he said, didn't explain anything."Alright, yeah......feels like explaining......or a tune to Gajeel."She had to stifle a laugh so Freed and Bickslow wouldn't notice her eavesdropping, and barely heard Freed's response."Do the best you can." She could tell he said something after that, but the whole sentence was muffled beyond recognition.".....too big for......It's leaking its......"Wait, what was too big for what?! And leaking? No, no, surely she'd misheard, and-"Dammit." Freed's tense response could've been over anything.And then Bickslow said, "The job can wait."By this point, Evergreen's ear was pressed up to the door, in the vain hope that she'd be able to hear more of what they were talking about."No, I want to arrive before the end of the day......isn't the first time......has swelled. I can deal with it......"What was she listening to? She knew Bickslow didn't have quite the same obnoxious-sibling relationship with the rest of the team as he did with her, but if she'd assumed Freed was getting up to naughty things while people weren't looking with anyone, it would've been-"Laxus?" She jumped when she heard Bickslow say the exact name she'd been thinking. ".....be part of this conversation?""Absolutely not! .....don't know how to even....." Bickslow said something, but all she could hear was Freed's answer, after a short pause. " ...The Thunder God Tribe exists for his sake.""...does he?" Was all she caught of Bickslow's response. Dammit, why was he speaking so quietly now?!"And that isn't about to change." She could barely tell that he said something else after that."He ain't. Why are you even worrying?"What wasn't Laxus going to do? What was Freed worried about? Something to do with the things he and Bickslow had just said to each other, that Freed was keeping from Laxus..."...it's more...complex than that....Master Makarov prohibiting me from....."One of the Master's rare prohibitions? What did it have to do with Laxus? She hated that she could still barely hear. Had the conversation grown quieter?"......Fine. ....you think this job's......did this to you. What're you......Laxus' problem, too?"Wait, they were discussing the job again? It sounded like Freed had some theories about it, but they couldn't have been very strong ones yet if he was still keeping them to himself.".....determine what course.....as I always do."Bickslow sighed so loudly, it gave Evergreen a start on her side of the door."Wish you'd trust people more, man. .....got our secrets, but mine ain't....""Your advice is noted.....consideration it is due."Freed said something else, and then the clipped sound of his measured footsteps told Evergreen the conversation was over. She stepped back away from the door and fanned herself as she considered. The mature thing to do would have been to assume she'd missed wildly important parts of the conversation and that it wasn't at all what it sounded like, but if that was the case, her friends were talking about something serious behind her back, and she didn't like that. No, she absolutely had to tell Mirajane what she'd just heard, as soon as she was sure she'd be able to have a private conversation of her own. Until then, she'd just have to play it off as though she hadn't heard anything.That proved to be easier said than done, as she had to quickly hide her face behind her fan to hide reddening cheeks as the two finished their business and exited the bathroom. Freed wouldn't have been her type even if he wasn't openly gay, but something about the idea that the reserved and restrained Freed Justine might have a hidden perverted side, even if it wasn't likely what they'd actually been talking about, felt as though she was witness to some sort of grand scandal.She wasn't as subtle in her expressions as she'd meant to be, since Freed raised an eyebrow in her direction."What's wrong, Ever? I'm not trailing toilet paper, am I?"He turned to check his shoe as Ever quickly shook her head."No, no, it's just...it's so strange! Thinking about the idea of you subjecting yourself to a livery stable bathroom. I know the men's room has to be even worse than the ladies'..."It was a hasty excuse, but Freed responded with a quiet chuckle and faint smile."It's not what I would chose on my own, no. Normally, I'd have used the guildhall bathroom instead, but I wasn't keen to press my luck about Cana remembering she wants to strangle me."She'd given Freed a pass before because of his mood, but now she wasn't feeling so merciful. And besides, it was a good way to keep his attention off of her own strange behavior. She grinned, a devilish near-smirk on display as she folded her fan."Oh, that's right...just how did you throw that fight, anyway? I'm sure it must have been spectacular."Freed's face turned an impressive shade of red, and Bickslow simultaneously doubled over laughing. Oh yes, this was going to be a good story.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Laxus hated his motion sickness. Those who didn't know him well tended to assume he had always kept a distance from his self-appointed bodyguards, because he never seemed to travel alongside them. Whether the trip was by train, or horse and carriage, or boat, he always had some explanation for why it would be better for him to go separately. His ability to turn his body into electricity and travel like that through the sky generally made it easy to justify, but damn if the pattern wasn't obvious.Honestly, he wasn't sure why he even bothered with the excuses anymore. The Thunder God Tribe all knew the real reason, he was fairly sure they'd suspected even before Ichiya had made a point of installing an anti-nausea lacrima in the Christina III so 'people who don't get along with vehicles' wouldn't have to be left out. Everyone knew who he meant, thanks to the idiot dragon of Sabertooth announcing on national fucking Lacrima-Vision that the motion sickness was a dragonslayer thing. No one had had the balls to call out who the modification was for, but he could tell by their looks that they knew. Maybe it was even for the best that his friends knew, at least it meant they weren't likely to assume he didn't want to travel with them.He did. He could easily imagine their playful banter passing the time from Magnolia to Hargeon, banter that they pulled him into so much more than they used to, before his exile. Maybe they were managing to strategize for the mission, he wouldn't be surprised if he caught up with them and found Freed already had some brilliant plan of some sort that would make this mission a breeze. Not like it'd be the first time...or the second...honestly, Laxus had lost count of the number of times the rune mage's mind had saved all of their asses, not to mention the number of 'I told you so's he'd heard when he'd been too pigheaded to accept a suggestion that made him feel dumb or weak.Thinking about it, maybe he should have endured the carriage ride anyway. His motion sickness wasn't nearly as bad as what the 'real' dragonslayers suffered, he might have even been able to contribute to the conversation in between trying to convince his stomach to stop doing somersaults. Even if he couldn't, he'd have been able to listen, so that they wouldn't have to recount the discussion for him later. Even that much would have left him feeling a lot more useful than he did now, wandering idly through Magnolia and trying not to think about how secretly grateful he'd been for Ichiya making sure he'd be able to ride the guild's signature airship. He didn't even know where he was going, just killing time so Freed wouldn't yell at him for rushing ahead into a dangerous situation without his team, for what Laxus was sure would be the dozenth time in the past year.He realized he really should have been thinking about where he was going when he came to a stop in front of a pile of rubble framed by four lonely corners of what used to be the walls of Freed and Bickslow's house. Of his house, that he'd lived in for far too little time. He'd seen it yesterday, but only briefly. Finding somewhere to stay had been priority, and he hadn't had a chance to really look it over. This time, he found himself picking through the rubble, though he wasn't sure what he was looking for. Most of their belongings were still in transit, so only what they'd been able to quickly pack aboard the Christina III before leaving for Alveraz would be buried in here. Maybe he'd be able to find a few of his music lacrima buried in here, but would they even be intact? Shit, he probably would have to replace a bunch of his favorite albums, wouldn't he? Just one more reason to hate Acnologia, he guessed.After what felt like hours of moving chunks of broken wood, plaster, and whatever the hell the walls were stuffed with for insulation, he finally found something to make the effort worth it. Beneath the burned tatters of a ruined poster, under half a glass lightning bolt that had once been an award of some sort, was a shattered frame holding a photograph of Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen. It must have been taken before his return, or at least he hoped it had. He was sure they wouldn't take a group photo like this without him now, right? ...Unless they assumed he wouldn't want to be part of one.He groaned to himself and stuffed the photo into his coat pocket, just as the guild clocktower rang out the hour. It was time for him to leave, if he wanted to meet the others when they arrived.The trip only took a few seconds. A few thrilling, unbound, utterly free seconds, and then lightning struck just outside of Hargeon. Laxus adjusted his coat on his shoulders and leaned against the nearest building on the main road into the city as he watched a carriage approach in the distance. He put on a cocky grin as it drew up, and waved as the door opened and his friends stepped out."Yo, what took you guys so long? Almost fell asleep out here, waiting for you."Bickslow snickered, then put his entire body into an eyeroll so dramatic, Laxus could see it despite the visor firmly in place over the Seith wizard's eyes."Oh man, Laxus, traffic was brutal! We're lucky we made it as fast as we did!"Evergreen tried to stifle a laugh, while Freed gave Bickslow a quick elbow, even though Laxus could see a hint of a smile on the team captain's own face."Don't encourage him, Bickslow."Laxus' grin widened. It was subtle, but that was the kind of remark Freed would never have made, back before they'd caused that disaster of a harvest festival. He'd been so professional about everything back then, constantly serious, as though he really was a hired bodyguard and Laxus his charge. Neither of them had considered themselves equals, and Freed never seemed to let himself have fun...unless something happened that he got a chance to really cut loose, and to remind people of just why he'd been close friends with Mirajane during her She-Devil days. Not that Laxus hadn't enjoyed watching Freed work then just as much as he'd enjoyed watching him meticulously set up a soundproof circle around Bickslow's bed, but this gently teasing side was new since reuniting on Sirius Island, and he found he actually liked it. Liked being on even footing with Freed, instead of letting his own ego and his friend's unconditional loyalty cause him to treat the most fascinating man he knew like some sort of sidekick.He had been such a fucking idiot.Freed seemed to notice the way he was grinning, since his smile grew and he let a bit of amusement into his visible eye. Before Laxus could come up with a witty retort, Freed was walking past him and continuing from his earlier comment."After all, if he's been waiting for us so long, then surely he has plenty to tell us about his observations?""Observations?" Evergreen all but tittered from behind her fan. "Well, I'm sure he's 'observed' plenty of wrong streets while trying to find us, isn't that right, Laxus?"Laxus pretended to wince, and Bickslow threw an arm around his shoulder in mock-sympathy."Don't be too down, baby. I'm sure the city's like a maze, right?"Laxus elbowed Bickslow in the ribs to shove him off and finally relented."Alright, alright, I got here right before you did, okay? You know I'm not gonna piss Freed off by going ahead without you guys over something like this."None of them looked surprised, and he knew damn well they'd seen the lightning bolt and knew it was him. He thought that was probably it for their teasing, until Bickslow crossed his arms and nodded like he was contemplating some great wisdom."Yeah, you wouldn't. Bet he'd make you sleep on the couch if you did that."He punctuated his joke by sticking his tongue out, and Laxus briefly contemplated if he had anything gross on him to shove at it in order to distract from the way his ears felt warm at the way that sounded out of context. Of course he didn't, all he had bothered to take from rooting around in a pile of rocks was the photo, and he was absolutely not getting Bickslow's drool all over that.Instead, he just shoved the masked wizard and followed after Freed, hands in his pockets. He couldn't quite see Freed's expression from this angle, but thankfully his friend chose to ignore the crack about their sleeping situation as he began explaining the details of the mission as he currently understood it.On the surface, it seemed like a simple haunting. Poor souls who had died suddenly clinging to a semblance of life, lashing out at the living. It seemed plausible, and Freed might have considered it likely, if not for a combination of Cana's warning and details he knew about a particular fugitive from Alveraz. Neinhart's ability to make convincing facsimiles of the dead in people's memories could easily account for the claims of undead activity, and Cana had predicted that their enemy would be powerful and likely motivated by an inability to accept change, a description that easily fit the rogue Spriggan.Laxus grimaced at the memory of having had to fight one of Neinhart's fakes. The copy of Master Hades had been weaker than the original, but it was still an experience he wasn't eager to repeat."It'd make sense. He was in Hargeon before whatever the hell happened that scrambled all our positions. Any thoughts about the rest of Cana's warning? Past regrets and family bullshit."Freed tensed and tilted his head away. Something was making him nervous, but he spoke before Laxus had a chance to ask."According to Erza's reports on her fight, Neinhart's magic draws from people's memories. Conjuring images of dead relatives that someone might struggle to fight, for whatever reason, would be a sound strategy."Laxus eyed Freed with a concerned frown. None of the Thunder God Tribe talked much about their lives before Fairy Tail, but Freed especially avoided questions. Laxus had done some poking of his own out of curiosity, after he'd seen Freed's Darkness transformation for the first time, but all he'd turned up were more questions. Freed the Dark...he'd worn a mystery guildmark on the back of his left hand, but no one had heard of anyone he might be associated with. Did he have anyone he knew from back then that they should be worried about returning from the grave?"First time I can remember being glad my asshole old man hasn't kicked it yet. What about you guys? Any old memories we should expect to relive?"Evergreen flinched slightly and chewed the bottom of her lip. Bickslow gripped her shoulder, and Laxus wondered for what honestly wasn't the first time about what the two of them had been through. He decided against prying when Bickslow looked over at him and shook his head."No one we'd be nervous about these days. How 'bout you, Freed?""I'm...unsure," Freed admitted. Then, in a mutter that was uncharacteristically nervous for the usually confident captain, added "I haven't been in contact with anyone from home since I joined Fairy Tail. Not in any way that remotely involved 'catching up', anyway...I can't say as to who from then would fit the criteria for Neinhart's magic."The entire group fell silent. It was the most they'd gotten out of Freed about his history in the entire time they'd known him, and Laxus was sure Bickslow and Evergreen were also thinking of ways they might be able to get him to elaborate. They all seemed to come to the same decision, that whatever he was hiding was clearly too painful to expect him to talk about. Freed hardly ever asked for comfort, but it was clear he needed it. Laxus wasn't quite sure it was the right move, but he stepped forward to drape an arm over Freed's shoulders."So we stay on our toes. Ain't like we don't got plenty to worry about just from people all four of us knew."It must have been the right move, because Freed relaxed slightly under the weight of Laxus' arm. Laxus even thought he felt the shorter wizard lean into him, and for a moment he found himself distracted by the gentle affection and the complicated smell of the cologne his closest friend always seemed to be wearing.Only for a moment. Then his two idiot friends started cooing exaggeratedly behind him, and he stepped away from Freed so he could, he hoped, hide his blush behind a cough."A-anyways, what's the plan for this, Freed?"The plan, it seemed, was a lot of Laxus' least favorite part of any mission. They spent the next several hours talking to the workers who had seen the so-called undead, but it didn't amount to much. These were laypeople, clueless spectators to the world of magic who thought Laxus must be an eccentric of a wizard to be so muscular. Even if they had seen something important, they wouldn't have known to take note of it, and Laxus made a point of bringing that up as the group finally sat down in a rustic old diner that he'd sniffed out.Evergreen flopped dramatically into a corner booth, where they were unlikely to be bothered by other tables. She did a fairly good impression of being exhausted, despite the day having been more tedious than anything else."Honestly." She responded with a huff. "If I get one more question about zombies eating brains, I'm going to start telling people that's the last thing they have to worry about."Bickslow laughed as he shoved Evergreen aside to make room next to her, and Laxus let out a snort while settling himself in across from the two of them. Even the ever-professional Freed couldn't quite hide his amusement, despite attempting an admonishing tone."Don't forget, Evergreen, most of these people only know about creatures of this sort through books or movies. Ordinary civilians don't exactly have much reason to go researching the finer details of monsters that only come into being under unusual circumstances."Evergreen rolled her eyes before hiding them behind the diner's menu. Laxus reached for his own and tried to playfully tug Freed's out of reach before he could sit down, but a sharp tug on it told him he was too slow. Freed's mutter of fond annoyance told him his mission was successful anyway, and he grinned as he let go to focus on his own menu."Sounds like some dumb ass movies, if you ask me. Who the hell even came up with ghosts rattling chains?"Bickslow flipped his menu open to the desserts page. Freed didn't even look up from his own menu before Laxus heard the toes of a boot connecting with a shin below the table and Bickslow paged back to look at actual food."I think that's from some old Christmas play?"Laxus shrugged in response. Freed flagged the waiter to order drinks, non-alcoholic since they were on a dangerous job, then leaned back in his seat as he looked through the food options."Inaccurate assumptions aside, we did at least get some useful information. For instance, none of the supposed zombies have been spotted outside of the attacks on construction sites. That adds weight to the theory that what we're actually dealing with here is some sort of conjured being.""And what they're calling ghosts, ain't." Bickslow added. "Ghosts don't swing sledgehammers like that."Evergreen tapped her fan idly against the table in thought."I bet it was just the best they could come up with to say they were different from the zombies. Laxus, you've fought Neinhart's Life Make puppets before, right? Did they look like they were dead?"Laxus shook his head. Exhausted as he might have been at the time, he didn't need to think on the answer."Looked just like the last time I saw him alive. Hell, he could've convinced me he still was, if we didn't know damn well the bastard was gone."Freed mumbled something to himself, and Laxus glanced over to see him looking deep in thought. He waited a second for Freed to repeat himself, then when it was clear the other mage had no intention of doing so, he cleared his throat."Freed?""Huh-? Oh, sorry, I was just trying to organize my thoughts."Laxus opened his mouth to respond, but Bickslow beat him to it."You sure you're okay, Freed?""What he said." Laxus added. "You've been acting distracted all day.""I'm fine, really." Freed forced a smile, and Laxus almost missed the rest of his assurance as he caught what he swore was a glint of light off of a sharply pointed tooth. "I think I'm still just tired from this past week. A decent night of sleep should help. And since the mayor has been kind enough to see to our lodgings himself, we can expect to have our own rooms while we're here.""Then I move we table this discussion until breakfast." Evergreen said. Freed and Laxus both nodded vaguely."And Laxus," Bickslow added. "Staring at Freed's face like that ain't gonna make him kiss you."Bickslow cackled under the combined indignation of the other side of the table, and Laxus quickly hid himself behind his menu in hopes it would keep Freed from noticing how flustered he was. He hadn't been able to get a good look at whether or not what he'd actually seen was a fang, either, and he had no clue when he'd get a chance to ask him about it in relative privacy if they were all going to be staying in separate rooms overnight.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It turned out, they would not all be staying in their own rooms overnight. Though the mayor had agreed to arrange lodgings for them, it turned out his manor had exactly three spare rooms. Bickslow and Evergreen had immediately declared they wanted their own rooms, and Freed couldn't truly argue with them. Bickslow having his own room was a service to whoever otherwise might have ended up dealing with his snoring and insistence on sharing strange thoughts that popped into his head while half asleep. Evergreen, meanwhile, was the only woman present. While her relationship with Bickslow was close enough to that of siblings that she'd never felt uncomfortable sharing a room with him, she hated his snoring as much as the rest of them. As for Laxus, Freed absolutely wasn't going to ask Evergreen to share not just a bedroom, but the bed itself, with the only straight man of their group. All of that meant that Freed was looking at having a roommate no matter what, and they'd already settled into a quiet habit of him and Laxus sharing a room when they couldn't each have one.Had this been a standard double room at an inn, Freed wouldn't have minded. If anything, he would have enjoyed the chance to spend time alone with Laxus, without their other friends teasing him. The room itself was even very nice, if not what he would classify as anything close to 'lavish'. It was spacious, with a comfortable looking armchair next to a reading lamp, across a coffee table from a beautiful little sofa.But this was not a double room. It was meant for individuals or romantic couples, and the single, queen-sized bed in the center of the far wall made that painfully, awkwardly clear.From the scowl on Laxus' face, he was thinking the same thing. He never seemed to mind Freed's excuses to create moments that he could at least pretend felt intimate, and while Freed wasn't certain where his line on that actually was, this was certain to be far beyond it.His eyes had just settled on the sofa in an attempt to gauge how well he'd be able to lay down on it when Laxus grumbled out, "Forget it Freed, you ain't sleeping on the damn sofa this time.""You wouldn't even fit on it."Laxus crossed his arms and fixed Freed with a firm stare, though the concern behind it was clearly visible in the brown of his eyes."You telling me you would? C'mon, you might not be a tree like me or Bicks, but you're not exactly what I'd call travel sized."He broke his stare with a playful grin and reached out to pat Freed on top of the head for emphasis. He'd been doing things like that more and more over the past year, ever since he'd woken up from his coma after...Freed's stomach twinged and his fangs suddenly felt prominent in his mouth. He swallowed and waved Laxus' hand away, hoping his discomfort read as embarrassment rather than another reason to worry."Then I'll sleep in the chair. I do that often enough when I get caught up reading at night anyway, so-""Not a chance. Didn't you just say over dinner that you need a good night's sleep?"His consideration brought a smile to Freed's face. Laxus had changed a lot since their ill-conceived plot to take control of the guild, and Freed wasn't going to deny that he liked the kinder and more empathetic attitude that the dragonslayer had adopted."You do have a point, but I have a counterpoint: I know you're still nursing some bruises from the invasion and Acnologia."Laxus looked sheepish for a moment. Freed knew he'd been trying to hide the fact that he wasn't fully recovered, but he hadn't been doing a very good job of it. The only times he ever slept with a shirt on were when it was cold or when he was trying to hide the extent of an injury."I guess my back is still kinda sore, but still. If whatever this is is throwing you off your game this much, you need the comfortable place to sleep more than I do." He paused, and Freed had a moment to wonder what was going through Laxus' mind now before he continued. "If you want me to believe you'll be fine, then prove it. Say it with a smile, Freed, like you mean it."There was a deliberateness in Laxus' tone and expression that made Freed's breath catch. He ran his tongue over one of his fangs and put as much will as he could muster into trying to change their shape. His canine teeth remained sharp, just like his right eye refused to go back to looking human. He'd noticed them during their questioning of the workers, had Laxus seen them?When Freed didn't respond, Laxus seemed to deflate somewhat. He let out a heavy sigh, then stepped forward to grab Freed's arm with one hand."Look, I know I've been an asshole and a terrible friend." He held up a finger when Freed tried to object. "But I'm trying to be better. So if there's something going on that's getting under your skin, at least don't lie to my damn face about it."Laxus' tone wasn't angry, but it might have been better if it was. In the absence of a bite behind his words, Freed was left to focus on the way his throat tightened and his stomach twisted. Laxus truly did deserve better than the lies and excuses Freed had been giving people all day, but the idea of telling him the truth...just the thought of Laxus reacting in the way Freed expected made his blood turn cold."It's...complicated, Laxus. We all have our painful memories from before we met, don't we? I've just been noticing an unusual number of things that remind me of my own, that's all."It was a half-truth, more a deflection than anything. Laxus usually accepted those, but this time he looked at Freed quizzically before nodding to the sofa. A clear suggestion to join him as he sat down."That have anything to do with why it looked like you had fangs over dinner?"He had noticed. Freed hesitated for a moment, before stepping forward to sit down to Laxus' left. He could still navigate this. He didn't need to reveal his shame just because Laxus had spotted his fangs showing. After all, the entire guild knew about the way his right eye changed at this point, and none of them actually realized what it meant.This didn't have to be a disaster. He told himself that firmly, directing all of his stubbornness and confidence into stifling the malevolent sense of amusement coiled like a viper in the back of his mind."Sort of. You know I used to have a...reputation, in part for the fact that I use what many would consider to be black magic."Laxus nodded and crossed his leg over his knee. Of course he still seemed casual, he'd never been bothered by Freed's dark reputation."And for being more of a badass at it than wizards twice your age, yeah."The compliment helped Freed let out a quiet chuckle as he settled so that he could see Laxus without craning his neck too much."Yes, that too. My eye magic has always been powerful, and I suspect that's part of the problem. It surged this morning, and..."Alone with one of his most trusted friends, he didn't feel hesitant as he pulled his bangs aside to show the yellow and dark purple of his right eye. Laxus shifted and leaned forward, bringing his face close enough that Freed could admire the details of the jagged line across the dragonslayer's cheek for a few too short seconds, then he leaned back against the arm of the sofa."And your eye, what, got stuck like that? And it gave you fangs?"Laxus gestured at his own mouth, where he hadn't bothered to suppress the effect of his magic on his teeth. Not that he needed to gesture, as Freed found his eyes drawn to those fangs all on their own, time and again."Fangs that are proving just as resistant to disguise magic as my eye. I'm going to talk to Mira about it when we get back to Magnolia, since I learned the spell from her. Until then, though, I'm having to be careful about certain things that might show them off."Freed thought Laxus would surely understand and leave it at that. He didn't expect the way Laxus grinned, the way he seemed to be deliberately showing the same fangs he'd once kept hidden even in company that knew his secret."So what if they do show? There's enough of us with fangs at this point that we could form a club if we weren't more likely to kill each other first. Hell, ain't one of the new council members a goddamn vampire?"Freed stared for a moment, then laughed, much more genuinely than before. Laxus really had grown, hadn't he? And just like that, he'd caused the press of dark amusement at the edge of Freed's mind to vanish in a swell of disappointment and frustration."If you're trying to tell me I'm in good company, you ought have left out the part about wanting to kill the rest of our prospective club members.""I didn't say that. With the hothead's talent for pissing people off, I just figure bloodshed would be inevitable.""Right, and your short temper has nothing to do with it.""No clue what you're talking about."Freed gave Laxus' shin a light kick that was undercut significantly by his smile. Or, he thought it would be, but his mirth faded as he considered what the expression might look like with his mismatched eyes. He quickly combed his bangs back down so they covered the side of his face."Fangs might not be a problem in and of themselves, but I can't recall ever meeting anyone else with an eye that has a purple sclera and no pupil. In fact, I've deliberately shown it while issuing threats enough times to be well aware of how unnerving people find it.""People are dumb." Laxus stated it so matter-of-factly that Freed almost laughed just at the tone. "It's cool as hell."Freed's heart skipped a beat. Laxus liked it? Laxus liked it. He wondered if that meant Laxus also liked his fangs...no, there was no point going down that train of thought. Laxus was straight, he'd made that clear enough with his behavior when he'd been too cocky to think better of hitting on every woman he spoke to who didn't hit him first.And that brought Freed's thoughts back to the more immediate problem. He still hadn't convinced Laxus he didn't need the bed. Not that the idea of sharing it didn't appeal to him, but that was exactly why it wasn't an option. Brief indulgences of his affection were one thing, but it wouldn't be fair to Laxus to expect him to spend the night beside someone who wanted things he would never want to give."Your...opinion is noted. And now that you know the real reason I've been distracted, are you willing to accept that you need the bed more than I do?""Nope. If anything, I'm more convinced. A minor spell like that, giving you trouble? Something has to be wrong, maybe you really do need some rest.""Laxus..." Freed huffed. "As much as I appreciate your care for my health, I simply am not going to make you sleep in a chair while you're injured."Freed and Laxus stared each other down for several moments, before Laxus finally sighed. Freed relaxed under the assumption that his friend was finally relenting, but found himself surprised by what the dragonslayer said."Then I guess we need to figure out another option, before we spend all night arguing in circles."Freed glanced from Laxus to the bed. It was easily big enough for both of them, even without needing to be pressed against each other, and the thought of sharing it flickered through his mind again. Was that what Laxus meant? He must have known about Freed's feelings, he'd never been subtle about the intensity of his affection for the man. The trust he had in Freed's ability to remain professional always astounded him, but this was different. Freed didn't trust himself not to do something in his sleep to make it weird."Do you have any suggestions? Regardless of what Bickslow seems to think, us sleeping together - I mean, the two of us sleeping in the same bed, doesn't seem like the best idea."Laxus's face turned red and he practically choked."What? No, fuck, I wasn't trying to suggest - I was just thinking I could go find a hotel or something! Hargeon has more of them than Magnolia, they can't all be packed."Freed's stomach fell, and he suddenly felt like an idiot. Of course that wasn't what Laxus meant. He likely hadn't even entertained the idea, only Freed's own wishful thinking had made it seem likely."Oh, right...I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to be wandering around alone right now, but...I trust you'll be careful? Keep your portable communications lacrima easy to reach."Laxus nodded and stood up. There was a stiff awkwardness to the motion, and Freed felt his face flush at the knowledge that it was his fault. All these years of carefully feeling out the line of what Laxus was comfortable with, and he'd finally overstepped. Laxus didn't even look at him before heading to the door."Of course, Freed. Something happens and I even think I might need backup, I'll call right away."Laxus stepped out of the room, and Freed buried his face in his hands as he heard the door click shut. The malign amusement from before was back, and it only got stronger as he countered it with all of his frustration and annoyance."Shut up..." He muttered to himself as he dragged himself to his feet to prepare for bed. Honestly, he should probably call Mira now that he was alone, but he didn't want his communications lacrima occupied in case something actually did happen to Laxus. Besides, he really was tired. Even with his thoughts still caught in a mortified tangle, he was asleep almost as soon as he'd made himself comfortable.
- - -
Freed sat in his favorite reading chair, comfortable in his silk pajamas with a thick and weathered tome open in his lap. The pages were handwritten, in a flowing script he hadn't seen since he was a child, and yet could still read without difficulty. It was a script that belonged to no nation's language, and one he'd been perfectly happy to think he'd never see again, and yet he couldn't bring himself to close the book and discard it. Instead, he traced the tip of one of his claws, wickedly sharp and fading to a nearly black purple toward the end, over letters that spelled out the name 'Albion'.How he'd grown to hate that name. Just reading it had his lips curling into a disgusted grimace. He should just burn the damn book and never think about it again, but he couldn't.Why couldn't he? The reason wouldn't come to mind, but he knew he had one. He was sure of it. He just had to think harder, to focus, and he was sure it would come to him.He couldn't focus either, though. Not when a pair of strong arms wrapped around his shoulders from behind, and breath charged with a tickle of static electricity brushed over the pointed tip of one of his long ears."Freed..." Laxus' voice was low, teasing. Just the sound of his name in that tone sent a tingle down Freed's spine. "Up late reading again? You're gonna make me envy a book at this rate."Freed leaned back, tilting his head until he could see Laxus looking down at him with a playful smirk on his face."You don't have anything to envy about this book, I promise. Unless you're trying to say you want me to run my claws over you, instead."Laxus' smirk took on an edge Freed could only describe as hungry."I just might..." He whispered. "You know I like seeing you with your disguise off like this."A slow smile crept onto Freed's face. He closed the tome in his lap and shoved it off of his lap, where it fell onto the couch next to him with a thud far too heavy for the short distance."You do. You know...it feels intimate, in a way.""Mhm. Like I can finally see parts of you I never did before." One of his hands combed Freed's hair aside. "Now, come to bed? It's late, you should rest."Freed chuckled and pushed Laxus' arms aside so he could stand up and turn to face the captivating wizard standing behind the sofa."How can I resist, when you put it like that?"He stepped toward Laxus, and suddenly there were arms around him and a mouth against his own. Laxus' lips were warm and firm, filled with passion and desire. Freed could have lost himself in them, but then he would have been missing out on so many more amazing things. Things like the taste of Laxus' skin as he trailed kisses over his jaw and down his neck, the sound of the eager whine that escaped him as Freed's fangs scratched over the tattooed skin of his shoulder. Things like the way Laxus' hands felt as they slid under Freed's shirt and up his back, or the way his eyes flashed a challenge as Freed pushed him down onto the bed and stood to admire the muscular body beneath him.
Zastā avānō dāmi?
A chill ran through Freed's body, and it wasn't a pleasant one. Something was wrong. Something was deeply, intensely wrong, something that had Laxus looking at him in horror. Freed turned around to look behind him, and saw nothing but darkness closing in. He turned back to Laxus, but found the bed empty. In his place, something dark stained the covers. It wasn't blood, and as Freed leaned in to examine it, he realized it was reflective.What it reflected wasn't Freed, however, but the face of a monster. A monster with gray skin, scales covering one side of its feral looking face, and heavy horns the same shade of purple as the tips of Freed's claws.
Angraza, yazata no ahmi maraiti!Freed stumbled back as a hand shot out of the stain, and the horror within began to pull itself up. He kept backing up until he bumped up against something firm and cold. It wasn't hard enough to be a wall. In fact, it felt as though he could sink into it, though he knew that was the last thing he wanted. The black smoke that coiled away from it and around him almost seemed alive, and he had a feeling that it would happily swallow him.
Spəṇtō mān̰. Hvō mām̰ca ašaṃca haca, ašaṃca frareš haca...
Freed woke with a start to the sound of sudden thunder. Cold sweat plastered his hair to his face, and his heart was pounding. Something was wrong.It only took him a second to realize what. There was no rain. When he looked out the window, he saw stars glittering in a clear sky. What he'd heard hadn't been a storm, but the sound of magical lightning. Laxus was in trouble.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Laxus' face was burning as the door shut behind him. Of course he'd been right about two teammates sharing a bed being far too intimate for the professional and rules loving Freed. Not only that, but the images the man's hastily switched phrasing called to mind were...exactly what he'd obviously been trying to avoid by picking a different wording.He could only think of one reason why Freed would have thought better of putting it that way, at that. Not that he was surprised. Freed was brilliant, and Laxus himself had abandoned his efforts at pretending he was interested in women after his exile.He resisted the urge to smack his head against the wall, and instead turned to head outside. He could hear voices from Evergreen's room, but didn't care to focus enough to make out what she was saying or who she was talking to, not with the struggle it was to keep his mind from bombarding him with thoughts of Freed in bed with him, of what that lithe and toned body would feel like to touch, of how sharp his fangs might be and how they'd feel-Crap. He'd never be able to share a bath house with the man again at this rate. He rubbed a hand over his face and considered how much of a detour it would be to take a swim in the ocean before going to find a place to stay."Nah, I'd look pathetic asking about a room while soaking wet..."He grumbled to empty air as he opened the front door of the manor. He'd have to wait until he found somewhere, then take a shower to clear his head. Hopefully it would be a quick search.It, of course, wasn't. Hargeon had been hit hard, between battles with the Spriggans and Acnologia's mindless rampage. Hell, his own fights with Wahl and that copy of Master Hades created by Neinhart had trashed more buildings than he wanted to think about. Several hours of searching, and multiple full hotels later, he was getting frustrated. Sure, it was a better sort of frustration than what he'd been dealing with before, but that was hardly a comfort. He was really getting fed up with this day.It was with that thought in mind that he caught the scent of someone smoking a pipe. The sweetness of pipe tobacco was more to his grandfather's tastes than his own, but the scent still combined with his frayed nerves to set off a craving he hadn't felt in months. He checked his pockets without thinking, then cursed under his breath when all he found was a handful of jewels. Of course. He'd stopped carrying cigars during his travels, when he'd realized they were eating too much into his increasingly thin budget, and Freed and Evergreen had ganged up to make him throw his lighter out after they'd realized his lungs had been thoroughly fucked up after he'd inhaled Tempester's bane particles, even though he'd pointed out to them that cigar smoke wasn't even for inhaling.Freed and Evergreen weren't here now, though, and Porlyusica had confirmed that his trick with Wahl's magic had worked to clear his lungs. It was undignified, but maybe whoever was smoking would be in a generous mood. A few good mouthfuls of tobacco smoke was sure to calm him down, and maybe he could even get directions to the least damaged part of town so he'd have a better chance of finding an empty room.He followed the smell for a couple blocks before he found the source: a woman with long, light green hair that stuck up in two cowlicks at the top of her head, almost like curved horns. She was wearing a dress with feathers adorning the left sleeve, all in shades of yellow and gold that complimented both the golden brown stones of her jewelry and the ivory pipe she was holding to her mouth. A long scar crossed her face just above her nose, and it made Laxus wonder if she was a fighter, but that seemed like a bad way to break the ice with a stranger to Laxus.Right, breaking the ice. He didn't usually approach people unless it was for work, and the rare times he did, he had the Thunder God Tribe there to cover for his terrible social skills. This time, he was on his own, and already starting to think better of asking some random person for tobacco and directions. It had been a stupid idea. Maybe he could just turn around and leave, and she wouldn't even-She turned her head and blew a mouthful of smoke in his direction. Well, so much for that thought. She was already looking him over, with a look in her eyes that made him feel as though he was being analyzed and examined."Well, well..." She hummed to herself, in an accent Laxus recognized as Boscan. "I hadn't expected anyone to be out for a stroll at this time of night.""Oh, yeah..." Laxus rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Was it really getting that late? Or were people just staying inside after dark right now? "Not exactly my idea. Just got into town and can't find a place with an open room...what about you? Ain't exactly a great night to enjoy the fresh air.""Because of the rumors, correct? Ghost stories...I find them more amusing than fearsome. I shall do as I wish, and no minor haunting will deter me."She took another puff from her pipe, and it was then that Laxus noticed the magical energy emanating from the woman. It wasn't on the level of the Spriggan Twelve, he was sure he could crush her in less than half a minute if he had to, but she had the aura of an accomplished wizard. She was a peer, then. Maybe this conversation wouldn't be quite so tedious and uncomfortable as he'd thought."Sound sure of yourself. No way you're local...you a Boscan refugee? I heard Alveraz torched all the wizard's guilds there.""Yes, I am indeed a wizard from Bosco. And you are a wizard of Fairy Tail, one of the stars of Fiore's magical tournament last year, non?"Laxus raised an eyebrow at the recognition. He'd gotten used to it over the past year, but hadn't expected a foreign mage to know who he was."You keep up with the Grand Magic Games over in Bosco? Didn't think other countries would give much of a shit about things like that.""On the contrary, your exhibitions are always of interest. Small as Fiore may be, many of the continent's most fascinating wizards are concentrated here. Is that not so, dragonslayer?"Laxus frowned. She had a point, Fiore was home to seven dragonslayers and all four Emperors of Ishgar, but something about the way she studied him and described his power and career, almost as though from some sort of list of notes, set him on edge."Guess so. What about you? Hope you ain't someone famous that's gonna be pissed I don't recognize ya."She chuckled and grinned in a way that would have reminded Laxus of some sort of predatory beast even without the prominent fangs. It was a cold look, like one a trophy hunter might give an oblivious beast with its head in her sights."Oh no, nothing of the sort. In fact, I rather dislike the limelight...it makes my work more difficult, you see."She turned to face Laxus properly, and his eyes went wide. On her shoulder, in a sickly shade of yellow, was a guildmark resembling an upside-down triangle, with two lines from the upper corners crossing just below the center. The sides continued down past the bottom corner, sweeping into curves that intersected with the sides of a 'V' shape. It was a familiar mark, albeit one he'd never seen in person, and he immediately shifted into a defensive stance."That guildmark...who the hell are you?!"Her eyebrows lifted and she had the nerve to take a puff from her pipe before bothering to respond to him."So hostile. You already knew I was a wizard, does a foreign guildmark offend you so?""Nah, I don't give a rat's ass if your mark is from Bosco, Fiore, or hell, it could be from the moon for all the fucks I give. What pisses me off is that I recognize that one, and the shit it's associated with ain't exactly friendly.""Recognize...? Ah, our little runaway always was a little too fond of toying with his prey. To think, though, that he would be so careless as to let them see his guildmark and escape to tell of it..."Laxus knew what that meant. He didn't wait to find out if she planned to gloat about not making the same mistake, and instead tossed his coat aside and lunged forward with lightning crackling around his fists. Thirty seconds, he thought, and she'd be on the ground.She was faster than he expected. She darted to the side, and Laxus heard the sound of metal against leather just a moment before a dagger cut through the air where his side had been a second ago. He tsked at the near miss and swept at her with a kick, which she met with the bowl of her pipe. He expected the ivory to shatter, but instead it knocked his foot aside. It barely stung, but it gave her the moment she needed to put distance between them."Death Make!" She shouted, as a dark purple aura appeared around her hands. "Vulcan!"The ape that appeared didn't have the rotted appearance of movie zombies, but its fur was dull and its eyes glassy and dead. The lack of decaying flesh was a small mercy for Laxus as its fist slammed into his stomach and sent him flying. He twisted in the air and landed hard on his arm, tucking into a roll to spring back to his feet. The undead vulcan was closing in on him quickly, heedless of his unimpressed glare."So, you're our necromancer, huh?" He caught the monster's fist in his hand and twisted, flinging the entire beast to the ground with enough force to shatter the flagstones. "Maybe I'll be able to wrap this job up here and now, and head back home for the night.""I wonder why it is that overconfidence is so common among human wizards. Death Make: Vulcan!"A living vulcan would've been down for the count, but this zombie clearly didn't feel pain. Even as two more of the things appeared in front of the necromancer, the first latched onto Laxus' legs with a massive hand and swept them out from under him. His hand shot out on reflex as he fell, hitting the ground and holding him up as he launched a bolt of lightning at the ape. Lack of pain didn't stop it from convulsing, and he pulled his legs free from its spasming fingers. Just in time, since as soon as he rolled away, one of the new zombies crashed down where he'd been standing, elbow first.He looked around for the other new creation, and spotted it picking up a chunk of the broken street. As it hurled its projectile, he grabbed onto the one standing up from its missed elbow drop and hauled it between them. The crack of bone breaking rewarded his stunt, and he slammed his head into its gut for good measure. As it doubled over from the combination of impacts, he clasped his hands together and raised them high above his head."Lightning Dragon's Jaw!"He brought his lightning shrouded fists down on the back of the vulcan's neck with bone shattering force. The zombie crumbled to dust, leaving him with just two more, along with their master. He stretched his neck as the first one started to push itself back up, and a hard kick to its jaw snapped its neck and left it, too, falling apart."Who the hell're you calling overconfident?" He said. "I hope that wasn't a real effort to kill me, 'cause if it was, I'm gonna have to be insulted."The last vulcan charged at him, and he surrounded his body in electricity as he flew to meet it. When it jumped, it surprised him enough that he didn't fully realize what was happening until a ton of undead ape was crashing down onto his injured back.For a brief second, the world went white as pain flooded Laxus' senses. When his vision cleared, he was being held down by a massive weight and the necromancer was striding calmly toward him, pipe in her mouth."Kill you? Oh non, non. I have no intention of killing you, at least not yet. I would never waste so fascinating a specimen as a dragonslayer by killing him without taking time to study him properly.""I ain't your lab rat, lady." He snarled. If she thought he was trapped, she was in for a rude awakening. Lightning flared around him and his body melded into it, leaving the overgrown monkey on his back falling through the surge of electricity carrying him up and directly into the face of his living opponent.His fist hit her cheek with a satisfying smack as he materialized. She stumbled back, then glared up at him with eyes that reminded him of Gajeel's in the way her pupils had suddenly turned into slits as she rubbed the burn on her face with the back of her hand."A pathetic human, daring to strike me? I see you need to be taught your place."With a gust of wind, massive wings resembling those of a deathly pale bat spread out from her back and carried her into the air. As Laxus' eyes followed her, he saw that the part of her hair that stood up had turned into actual horns, and her fingers were tipped with bestial claws. As the wind whipped her hair around, he even saw that her ears had elongated points."You really aren't human...what the hell are you?!"Her lips curled into a cold sneer. Behind him, Laxus could hear the remaining vulcan zombie heaving to its feet, but it was less concerning than the woman in the air above him."To lowly specimens such as humans? I am Death. Death Make: Carpet of Decay!"A purple mist seeped from her hands and poured to the ground like a gaseous waterfall. Where it settled, undead rats began to appear in horrific numbers. True to the spell's name, the zombie vermin formed a carpet of animate corpses all around him, far too many for him to dodge or counter as they surged forward to claw and bite at his legs.Small as they were, the rats had strong jaws and nasty teeth. If they kept tearing at him, he might have to seriously worry about blood loss. Even if he didn't, he'd have a hard time fighting the remaining vulcan with countless rodents trying to eat him alive. He'd have to fall back on his last resort, the ability he always felt reluctant to use."Then how about I send you back home to the underworld? Lightning Dragon's..." He took a deep breath, silently glad he could do so without pain for the first time in a year. "ROAR!"With the shout, lightning poured from his mouth as though it was his breath. He swept the destructive cone around him, vaporizing rats on the ground and his body both. Even the vulcan turned to dust under the electrical onslaught. His pants legs were left in tatters, exposing the blood that ran down his skin from numerous bites and scratches, but the rats were gone.Laxus was sure she still had plenty of nasty tricks up her sleeve, and didn't intend to wait around to find out. His fist crackled as he gathered lightning into it, focusing the energy into a narrow lance. As he pulled his arm back to aim, the monstrous woman above him sheathed her blade, held out a hand, and uttered a single word."Wither."A purple mist poured from her hand again, but this time, there was something different about it. He couldn't sense magic from the miasma, and where it touched his skin, his limbs felt weak. He tried to run, to put distance between himself and the toxic vapor, but his legs didn't have the strength to manage more than stumbling a few feet before falling to the ground. As he fell, something above caught his eye. Something that caused him to grin as he rolled over to look up at his would-be killer."Hah, it's over now."She let her wings carry her lower to the ground, eyeing him curiously."And yet you look pleased. Why?""'Cause." He chuckled as he looked at the three figures closing in above the roofs of the town. "You're fucked."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Evergreen wore a mischievous grin as she flopped down onto the expensive bed the mayor of Hargeon had been thoughtful enough to offer for the night. It had been a struggle to hold back her giggles and avoid smirking when she'd found out there were only three rooms, and now she could let her delight show. Laxus had hardly objected at all when she and Bickslow had each claimed one for themselves, and she was sure she could guess why.Not that those two being obvious was going to spare Freed from Evergreen's wrath. Her portable communications lacrima lit up as she held it above her, and before long, Mirajane's face showed on the small screen. It looked like she was in her own bedroom, meaning no one else was going to be around to overhear their conversation. Perfect for planting the seeds of gossip."Evergreen!" She beamed from her side of the screen. "How's the job going?""Barely, that's how it's going. We spent all day asking about what's going on, and most of what we found out is that none of these people know a thing about actual undead.""Oh well, I don't think anyone expected you to be able to confront the cause right away. Don't worry, I'm sure things will get exciting soon..."Mirajane trailed off into a large yawn, prompting Evergreen to look out the window. The late summer days were still long, but the fact that the sun was only just setting meant it couldn't be that late."Are they working you too hard back there, Mira? I can't imagine you're normally ready to sleep this early.""Oh, no, it's fine. I've just been having a little trouble sleeping lately, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. We've all had a stressful couple of weeks, after all.""No kidding." Evergreen huffed. "Freed's still tired from everything he had to handle during the invasion, and I swear I would kill for a massage with how stiff I am after everything."Mira nodded in what seemed at first like sympathy, but Evergreen could see the mischievous glint in her eye."I'm sure. You did almost fall asleep in the guild bath this morning."Ever could feel her cheeks turn pink as she puffed them up."You're one to talk, you were practically melting in there."Mira just laughed, and Evergreen slowly let the air out of her cheeks."So, if there isn't any news about the job, I'm sure there was something else you wanted to talk about?""Oh!" Ever sat up, her troublemaker's grin back in place. "That's right. Freed and Bickslow ducked into a livery stable bathroom on the way here, and you're going to love what I overheard them saying to each other."Mirajane leaned in as Ever recounted what she'd heard. The barmaid covered her mouth in a mock scandalized expression, but couldn't hold back from giggling for long."Oh my. It sounds like it's our moral responsibility to make sure Laxus hears about this...just as soon as it won't distract from your job, of course.""My thoughts exactly. Freed and Bickslow clearly need to be held accountable for their duplicitous behavior.""And Laxus really does need to get a move on already...""Well, they are sharing a room with only one bed tonight. I'm sure something will happen.""Ooooh, you'll have to keep me updated if anything seems to have changed in the morning."Mira yawned again. Ever's smile faded as she considered the possibility that the other woman really might need to go to bed already."I absolutely will, but don't keep yourself awake speculating. I'll try to call earlier tomorrow, 'kay?""Mm, thank you, Evergreen. I look forward to hearing from you tomorrow."Mirajane's image vanished. Ever stretched, then glanced over at the small bathroom attached to the guest room. After hours in the sun, interviewing people at filthy construction sites, surely a second bath wouldn't hurt.A long soak and dressing in a comfortable nightgown had Evergreen more than ready for bed. She settled onto the mattress and closed her eyes, relaxing to the soothing sound of thunder and-Wait.There was no rain to go with that thunder. Her eyes snapped open and a glance outside confirmed her suspicion. Thunder with a clear sky wasn't unheard of in nature, but with their group, it always meant one thing: Laxus was showing off his power. But what was Laxus doing out there?"Dammit."She didn't have time to speculate. If Laxus was using his magic at this time of night, it meant something serious had happened. She snatched her glasses off the bedside table and the delicate wings of a fairy sprouted from her back even as she jumped out of bed. It was hardly a graceful exit, but springing from the window got her outside quickly.Freed must have followed the same thought process. He was only a second behind her, with his own wings flaring to life as he jumped from the window, still in his pajamas."You noticed it too, Ever."Evergreen nodded and squinted in Freed's direction."Where is he? Shouldn't he have been with you?"Freed's cheeks darkened, and Evergreen wanted to smack him even before the explanation left his mouth."We couldn't agree as to who would sleep on the couch, so he left to find other accommodations.""Seriously?!" Bickslow's voice called from Evergreen's other side, just before her teammate leaned out through the third open window. "You guys were too embarrassed to sleep in the same bed for like one night?"Evergreen really wanted to smack Freed, but the continued rumbling of thunder told her that whatever mess Laxus had gotten himself into, it wasn't something he could get out of with a snap of his fingers."Ugh, you two are hopeless! It's just a good thing Laxus wouldn't know 'fighting subtly' if it threw a brick in his face.""Please, this is Laxus we're talking about. I'm sure he's just fine and his only problem by the time we reach him will be not knowing his way back to the manor."Despite his confident words, Freed's hand had drifted to loosen his sword in its sheath. Laxus had taken a heavy beating during the invasion, they all knew that. Even he wouldn't be fighting at full so soon after a showdown with Acnologia."You say that, Freed..." Bickslow started as he stepped out of the window, onto the top of one of his totems. "But we all know he's still hurt."Freed's free hand clenched into a fist as he nodded. Another rumble of thunder gave them a clear direction, and the three soared toward it. Evergreen thought they were flying as quickly as their wings, or Bickslow's totems in his case, would carry them, but then a humanoid figure rose above the rooftops on pale, bat-like wings."Shit!" The rune mage snarled the curse with a ferocity that surprised Evergreen, considering she didn't see any indication the demon had seriously hurt Laxus.He must have known something she didn't, as he put on a burst of speed just before the street lit up and the surrounding buildings crumbled under the force of what must have been Laxus' roar. If he was using that, especially in the middle of a town, he really must be hard pressed. Suddenly, she found a reserve of strength in her own wings, and surged after Freed with no doubt that Bickslow was close behind her."Wither."The woman's cold tone raised goosebumps on Evergreen's arms despite the warm night, especially since something about the dismissive authority focused into that single word struck her as familiar. The utter lack of magical energy she felt from the mist pouring from the woman's hand was even more so, but worse still was what she saw when her eyes followed the vapor.Someone on the ground, she was sure it must be Laxus, stumbling and falling as though drained of energy. Evergreen adjusted her wings in preparation to dive toward him as the woman landed, but Freed's arm shot out to stop her."Don't. The two of us will distract her, while a pair of Bickslow's dolls rescues Laxus.""You sure my babies are gonna be safe in that, Freed?"Freed nodded and drew his blade. Evergreen couldn't see his expression with the way the wind was whipping his ponytail around, but his clipped and efficient movements told her he was prepared for a serious fight."Of all of us, they're the only ones who would be. That attack drains the energy from her victim's muscles. Now, Evergreen, with me!"Freed banked right, just as the woman turned to look up at them. Evergreen's wings shed fairy dust as she arced to the left, dust that quickly began condensing into bright motes in her wake."Fairy Machine Gun: Leprechaun!"Needles fired from the cloud of dust by the hundreds, tearing up the street as the demon woman took again to the skies and then following her to drive her further away from Laxus. To her right, she heard Freed's voice declare his own spell."Dark Ecriture: Pain!"The woman was fast on those hideous wings, Evergreen had to give her that much. Freed's attack crossed futilely with Evergreen's as their opponent swooped down and spun to face Freed. Even looking at it from an angle, Evergreen thought her smirk was utterly infuriating."Is that you, Freed?" The woman sounded completely unbothered. "How many years it has been, but you look as though it has been only half."Freed lunged forward, blade sweeping in arcs with such power that his magical energy cut lines through the air."I have only three words for you, Anastasae. Dark Ecriture: Annihilation!"No surge of magic accompanied those words, but the power behind them was all too clear. They meant this woman was dangerous. Evergreen bit her lip and, as silently as her wings would move, flew up higher than her teammate and their enemy.Fortunately for Evergreen, Anastasae seemed focused on Freed."Death Make: Crow!" A black bird flew from her hand to intercept Freed's attack. As it crumbled to dust, one of the feather's on the woman's sleeve also dissolved and blew away. "You have spent too long among Fairies, I see. You used to know your manners.""That's rich, coming from you. Don't you know better than to linger where you aren't welcome?""The welcome of humans, or lack thereof, means less than nothing. As does the welcome of ungrateful runaways such as you."Even Evergreen was impressed with the sound of utter contempt from Freed's throat in response to that."You're reminding me of why I left. Dark Ecriture: Pain!"Freed's aim was low, provoking Anastasae to dodge upward into a cloud of dust shed from Evergreen's wings. Just as Evergreen had hoped."Fairy Bomber: Gremlin!"There was nowhere to dodge to as Evergreen's attack detonated. There was a shout of pain from within the explosion that almost drowned out Bickslow's voice."Baryon formation!"Evergreen looked back toward the origin of the thick beam of energy, to where Bickslow was standing on the remains of a rooftop with Laxus leaning on his shoulder. She sighed in relief, before looking back to where the demon woman had landed in a heap on the ground. Her wings were singed from the explosion, but she otherwise only seemed dazed.Freed clearly didn't plan to give her time to recover from the surprise. He lunged into a dive with his sword extended ahead of him. Anastasae locked eyes with him, and just as his sword was about to pierce her chest, her entire body dissolved into black particles that surrounded Freed before flowing into the sky and fading away. Bane particles, Evergreen would never forget those.Evergreen hovered for a few moments, looking on with concern as Freed stood with his sword driven into the road and wings drooped around him like a cape of runes. Once he stood and pulled his blade free, Evergreen let her wings carry her down next to him."You okay, Freed?"Freed's motions were stiff as she sheathed his sword, but he still had the audacity to nod."I don't even feel that level of exposure. I'm more concerned about Laxus."He spread his wings and flew toward the building Bickslow had carried Laxus to. Evergreen glared and followed."You know that's not what I mean. You were afraid of that devil woman."Freed turned his head to look back at her, and the sheer fury in his mismatched gaze caused her to freeze. If she didn't know him so well, she'd never have noticed the fear and pain it was hiding. He didn't say a word, just looked ahead as he rose to float near his other teammates."Laxus, you're bleeding. We should get you to the hospital."Laxus shook his head, despite the fact that he only seemed to be staying upright thanks to Bickslow's arm around his torso."It's not that bad, I can bandage it myself. What I'm worried about is who that bitch was."Freed hesitated for a moment. Laxus and Bickslow were both looking at him expectantly, and he sighed in resignation. It was only as his head drooped forward and his hair moved away from his ears that Evergreen noticed his ears had changed to be long and pointed, the same as the demon woman's."I'll explain once we get you to the hospital. You can barely stand, don't try to convince me you don't need treatment."Evergreen wasn't surprised by the look of distaste on Laxus' face, she knew how much he hated visiting doctors. After a moment, though, he relented."Fine, if it'll get you to stop worrying."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Laxus hated visiting doctors. Maybe it was because of how often he'd been sick as a child, maybe it was because of Porlyusica's terrible bedside manner...hell, it was probably both, combined with his father having been an utter asshole who'd detested any form of weakness in him. His reluctance always gave Freed fits, but this time that tendency to fuss had worked in Laxus' favor.Laxus' initial treatment hadn't taken long, even if cleaning his wounds had stung like a bitch, and even if the potion he'd had to drink for the muscle weakness tasted like ass. He'd hoped to at least be able to leave right away, but of course the night shift medics had insisted he stay long enough for Wendy or Porlyusica to examine him, due to the magical nature of his exhaustion.He must have been scowling over the news, because Freed offered him a strained smile."At least we won't have to worry about where you'll sleep tonight?"Evergreen rolled her eyes and swatted Freed over the back of his head on her way to sit in a chair the clinic had provided them with."Honestly...you're supposed to be the sensible one here, Freed."Freed rubbed his hair and turned his head to shoot Evergreen a glare. The movement gave Laxus a chance to get a good look at both his elongated ears and the dark claws that tipped his fingers. Neither of those had been like that just a few hours ago, was his problem getting worse?Laxus filed that away to ask about later. As much as he was worried about Freed, he doubted his eye problem was going to try to murder them. As Freed and Bickslow sat down in their own chairs, Laxus rolled onto his side and attempted to prop himself up on an elbow. When his arm wobbled, he cursed and instead resigned himself to looking up at his teammates."Alright, Freed. The docs are done trying to fuckin' embalm me, seems as good a time as any for you to start explaining what the hell that bitch's deal was."Freed glanced away and chewed his lip. Anyone else, Laxus might have worried they were going to go back on the promise of an answer...but not Freed. Freed might have been a cagey bastard at the best of times, but he never broke a promise if he could help it. Sure enough, after several moments had passed, he sighed and looked back at Laxus."Her name is Anastasae Donadieu. She's a member of one of Bosco's most obscure dark guilds, Diabolus Verum. Make no mistake, however, their lack of infamy doesn't reflect weakness or lack of ambition but rather, the opposite.""Yeah..." Laxus grumbled. "She made it sound like just knowing they're a dark guild at all means they gotta kill you."Bickslow and Evergreen's eyes widened where they sat on either side of Freed."That's insane!" Bickslow shouted.Freed's lips twisted into a wry smirk."To them, it's simply practical. The members of that guild are both cunning and cruel, Bickslow. They see eliminating witnesses who might bring them to the attention of the Council no differently than we do killing an insect before it can spoil the contents of our pantry. It's kept them from meeting the same fate as Oracion Seis, so they consider it perfectly rational.""Figures they wouldn't all rely on throwing their weight around..." Laxus scoffed. "Here I thought I just couldn't find shit on the mark 'cause it was foreign."Freed shook his head and adjusted his bangs. That wasn't odd, but Laxus noted that he seemed to be making sure his eye was covered. Was he still self-conscious about it? As long as they had known each other, there were still times Laxus couldn't even begin to tell what the man was thinking."No, you wouldn't have found much more even if you'd done your research in Bosco. Maybe that it was assumed to be a minor guild local to some small backwater."In truth, they're an incredibly powerful organization...formerly a subguild of Tartaros." Freed glanced around, his visible eye resting on Evergreen for an awkward moment, before he continued, "Or, more accurately, a cult of Zeref subordinated to them."Laxus frowned and thought back to the fight. The woman clearly hadn't been human, she used something other than magic, and the way she'd dissolved into bane particles during her escape reminded him uncomfortably of..."Wait, something doesn't add up here. Zeref's dead now, so shouldn't all of his demons be toast?"Bickslow and Evergreen tensed. He was sure neither of them had wanted to say it, none of them wanted to dredge up the horrible memory of Tempester's attack. The fact that Freed didn't tense drew Laxus' suspicion."All of the demons of the Books of Zeref are dead, that's correct. The woman we fought was not one of Zeref's direct creations, but rather, a demi-Etherious. A monster born from the combination of human and Etherious.""Human and Etherious..." Laxus thought back. Most of his information about Tartaros was secondhand, but he did remember hearing something about the foot soldiers that seemed to be everywhere in their damn headquarters. "Like those freaks Tartaros used as cannon fodder?"Freed's expression tightened. Laxus barely noticed his nod, it was so small."Those could be termed...if you're considered a second generation dragonslayer due to the artificial nature of your draconic powers, we could call them second generation demi-Etherious. Anastasae is first generation, the actual progeny of human and demon. As are all of the influential members of the guild."Freed's expression and tone had turned hard in a way Laxus didn't like. It reminded him too much of how he'd acted when he'd pushed him to use lethal force against his comrades. The last time Laxus had felt it fitting to call him Freed the Dark.Bickslow and Ever looked uneasy, too. Both Freed's demeanor and the prospect of facing another demon after what Tempester had done to them even in defeat were uncomfortable, but Ever seemed to have something else on her mind."Freed, I'm almost afraid to ask, but if the guild is as secretive as you say...how do you know all of this?"Freed turned to her with a blatantly forced smile."It should be obvious by now. I was one of them, before I abandoned them to join Fairy Tail. My right eye is even the result of one of Anastasae's experiments."There was silence as Laxus and Freed waited for that to sink in. Maybe Bickslow too, the worried frown on his face didn't look at all surprised. When Ever's hands tightened into fists against the skirt of her nightgown, all three of them glanced away."And you waited until now to tell us?! Freed, you've been in danger the entire time we've known you, and we had no idea! Laxus, Bickslow...did you know?"Bickslow rubbed the back of his neck."Not about the guild thing, just some of the deal with his eye."Laxus pushed himself upright with a grunt of effort."I knew he used to wear the same guildmark she did, back when he was earning that 'the Dark' title. Had no clue it was such a big deal...Freed, why didn't you tell us?"Freed seemed to draw in on himself. He crossed his hands in his lap and stared down at his claws."We've destroyed enough dark guilds that I'm sure you three are fully aware of...what membership in one entails. When I joined Fairy Tail, I resolved that I would keep that past secret. At first it was out of an assumption that my new guildmates would shun me if they learned the truth, but as I learned to regard you as comrades...I didn't want my past to burden others."Laxus wished he could get up and hug Freed, hated how damn weak his legs still were. The man trusted and respected him so much, and now that he obviously needed comfort, all Laxus could do was stretch out an arm to let his hand rest on top of Freed's."Idiot, we're a team, ain't we? I rely on you guys to watch my back all the time. Hell, I'd be dead right now if the three of you hadn't come to the rescue. There's no way I'd see anything about you as a burden."Bicks and Ever picked up Laxus' slack, sandwiching Freed in a hug that audibly knocked the wind out of him. Part of Laxus wanted to feel sorry for him over that, but Freed had helped squeeze the air out of him enough times when he'd gotten back from exile. Besides, the flustered look on his face once he caught his breath was kind of cute.Ever was the one who loosened her grip first, enough to look Freed over."Do those experiments you mentioned have anything to do with why you look like Halloween came early?"Freed's hand tensed under Laxus' and he gave it a light squeeze that he hoped would be reassuring. Freed's ears had turned pink at the tips, probably in part from the attention being called to their shape, but he slowly nodded."My demonic magic started surging when I arrived at the guildhall this morning. It began as simply an inability to change the appearance of my eye, but now I seem to be stuck with claws and fangs as well.""And pointy elf ears." Bickslow chimed in."Elf ears!" His dolls echoed.Laxus tried not to feel disappointed as Freed pulled his hand free to feel the tip of one ear. It was just a supportive gesture, and one he should have considered himself lucky Freed hadn't outright rejected after that awkward moment in the guest room. Besides, the way those claws seemed to compliment Freed's dexterous hands as he ran a finger along the outside of his ear was -Shit, no, that was somewhere he absolutely shouldn't let his mind go. Hopefully Freed was too distracted by confirming the new shape of his ears to notice Laxus' cheeks flushing before he pretended to take a sudden interest in adjusting his pillow."Can see how the claws might get to be a pain in the ass, I guess."Freed lowered his hand to examine it, curling his fingers in a way that accentuated his new manicure."There are quite a few reasons I would rather not have such long or sharp nails. I plan to speak to Mirajane about the subject as soon as we have a moment's rest at a reasonable time of day. She once had a similar problem with her own demonic magic, didn't she?"Laxus raised an eyebrow at that and looked back over at Freed. Mira had figured out how to get her arm back to normal before Freed joined Fairy Tail, so how the hell did he know about that? Then again, she was one of the few people who knew about Freed's monstrous alternate form. If she felt comfortable talking about it with anyone, he guessed it would be the only other person in the guild who could transform into a demon."Yeah, when she first joined. Her entire right arm looked like it came outta some kind of nightmare."Bickslow was still leaning on Freed's shoulder, and used the position to give him a light shove."Oi, don't you think you should bring that up?"Laxus looked between the two of them in confusion as Freed stared at Bickslow. After a few seconds, Freed nodded and shooed his taller friend off of him so he could lean back and cross his arms."It is difficult to deny at this point that it's likely related, and it's not fair for Laxus to be the only one unaware...particularly if my hunch on the subject is correct."Ever's eyes narrowed for a second, then went wide. Laxus thought he caught a blush on her face in the second it took her to look away."What subject?" Laxus asked.Freed glanced over at Ever and cleared his throat."An encounter we had during the invasion, while we were working to regroup after our positions were scrambled. While I was trying to locate you, one of Zeref's followers intercepted me. Rather than attempting to kill me as I expected, however, he...Bickslow would have a better idea of the particulars than I do, since it evidently had an element of soul manipulation. What I am certain of, however, is that it gave the demonic aspect Anastasae forced on me a measure of mental influence. I...lost control. It was fortunate that Ever and Bickslow were able to restrain me before I could do serious harm, but the instigator had already fled."Laxus' breath caught at Freed's story. He remembered an issue of Sorcerer Weekly he'd seen during his exile, a Fairy Tail focus issue that had most of the core members on the issue. Seeing Freed with a shaved head had been a shock, he'd had long hair since the day they met. The most likely reason he could imagine for the man to part with the hair he put so much effort into was as a form of self-punishment for betraying his guildmates. And now some absolute shitstain had tried to put him through that guilt again?"If you ever see that piece of shit again," Laxus all but growled. "Make sure and point him out, so I know who to fucking bury."For some reason, Freed smiled at that. Then, for much more understandable reasons, a sharp and borderline sadistic edge crept into that smile."It's bold of you to assume there will be enough of him left after I'm through to be worth burying."A shiver ran down Laxus' spine at the reminder of how dangerous his teammate could be, that predatory smile pushing his mind in a blatantly inappropriate direction. He rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to ignore thoughts wondering if Freed ever smiled like that in the bedroom."Fair 'nough. Just, do everyone a favor and don't go cutting your hair again over this."This time, Freed's ears definitely turned red, along with the rest of his face. For once, the script wizard seemed at a loss for words, as his mouth opened and closed several times. It gave Laxus a clear view of Freed's fangs, which seemed almost as pronounced as Gajeel's. He pulled his eyes away from Freed's mouth before that train of thought could go any further.After a few moments of flustered silence, Freed covered his face with one hand. Laxus couldn't help but feel a bit smug, it wasn't often he managed to throw Freed off balance like this."I hadn't realized you'd seen that...rest assured, I have no intention of doing that. Others have made their disapproval quite clear."Bickslow snickered and reached over to poke Freed."No kidding, you got a ton of letters from fans about that."Fans? Oh, right, Freed regularly ranked top ten in that stupid poll Sorcerer Weekly did. Did the people voting for him know he was gay? Or...was he that popular just among male readers? Laxus wouldn't be surprised. Handsome and talented as Freed was, of course he'd have the attention of every gay and bisexual man who so much as glanced at that damn rag. Or walked through Blue Pegasus...he'd been a fucking natural as a host, and clients had adored him. That thought didn't sit well with him, but he bit back any comment about it. Freed had standards, and was good at discouraging people from getting too close without permission. It wasn't like he had to watch men flirt with Freed any time they were out in public. And what did it matter if he did? It wasn't like an awkward mess like him had a chance, so Freed's dating prospects didn't affect him one bit."Laxus?"Laxus jumped at Freed's concerned voice, and his cheeks flushed as he realized he'd completely spaced out. What was he, a jealous schoolgirl?"Sorry, got caught up thinking about something. What was that?"Evergreen gave Laxus a knowing smile, and he huffed in return, though he found himself too embarrassed to meet her eyes. He knew what she was thinking, and he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of confirming it.Freed, meanwhile, was looking at him with a hint of a teasing smirk."I said you looked tense, and asked if something was bothering you. I should have known you were just overthinking something.""I don't overthink." Laxus snapped back, but he could feel his cheeks growing warmer. His thoughts raced for something he could use to explain his expression, something that wasn't stupid jealousy over his platonic best friend being popular with men. "I was just thinking...Anastasae might be able to guess I'm in the hospital, right? It'd put everyone else here at risk too if she pulls something overnight."Freed examined him for a few moments, as though trying to decide whether or not to accept that explanation. Finally, he nodded."It's a reasonable concern. I'll lay some runes around the building before I leave to prohibit entry by demi-Etherious and undead. I'm afraid I'll have to deactivate it for Bickslow's possessed dolls, but I'm sure they can bear the inconvenience."Freed glanced toward Bickslow, or more likely toward the small swarm of totems hovering around him. They bobbed in place, then responded in unison."Okay! Okay!"Laxus nodded and leaned back. He briefly wondered if the barrier would affect Freed too with his eye and the way it seemed to be influencing his features, but decided not to ask. It wasn't like it mattered, if Freed would need to disable it to let Bickslow's ghostly entourage through, and he obviously didn't want to talk about it if the answer was yes."Sounds good. You should do the same for the mayor's place, just in case. Then try and get some proper sleep, Freed. I don't want you getting yourself fucked up 'cause you're too tired to fight."Freed gave a faint smile in response as he moved to stand."That goes for you too, Laxus. I know you hate hospitals, but try to actually sleep. And don't go trying to wander around as soon as your legs will support you."Laxus scoffed and waved a hand in his friends' direction, hoping they took the hint to buzz off and go to bed."Yeah yeah, worry about yourself for once, will ya? I'll be fine."Laxus wasn't looking in Freed's direction anymore, but he could hear a fond smile in his voice as he replied."I'm sure you will be. Good night, Laxus. I hope you rest well and feel better in the morning."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Freed normally wouldn't let his mind wander while crafting a jutsu-shiki, but a he was practiced enough in barriers to block passage based on some attribute or another that he barely needed to think about it. Anastasae wouldn't know any of the ciphers he currently used, so he only needed a single layer, sparing him the effort of actually translating - he had several ciphers, in fact, that he knew the generic wording of a forbiddance barrier in by heart. It was boring, honestly, so tedious that it gave him almost nothing to really think about as he worked to shield the hospital.He should have come up with a more complicated plan, if only to avoid that tedium. As it was, he found his thoughts darting between subjects he would rather not dwell on. He caught himself staring at the claws on the fingers grasping his sword, wondering if his friends would shy from his touch once they saw how sharp his nails really were. Maybe he should blunt them? Something instinctive cringed against the idea, and he really didn't want to think much about his claws anyway, or about the fangs he kept finding himself prodding with his tongue. He wondered if the dragonslayers had dealt with a similar annoyance when their fangs had first developed. Maybe he could ask Laxus...or maybe not, Laxus probably didn't want to think much about when he'd first gained his draconic powers.No wonder Laxus was so unnerved by Anastasae. He'd already been experimented on once, her interest surely brought back bad memories. He caught himself snarling at that thought, and realized with a jolt of alarm that his fangs must be showing. He hated this. He hated that he looked like a monster, and his usual methods of making himself look normal weren't working. He hated that he could feel that malevolent glee mocking his crumbling efforts to keep his past buried and far away from his new family in Fairy Tail. And he absolutely hated that monster who had caused the first stage of this nightmare.
He'd been searching for Laxus, flying above a distorted and somehow scrambled Fiore. It was as he'd approached a building that he was sure he'd seen in the Western part of the kingdom that he sensed something wrong, a mixture of curse and magical energy raveled into a single source. He'd considered the likelihood of finding Etherious on the battlefield, but the presence of a demi-Etherious - and one with a tremendous combination of curse and magical power at that - set his teeth on edge.
It had been a good thing it had, because the demon hybrid had launched at him from a shadow of the building's roof. He'd shot up just in time to see a scrawny, gangly looking man charge through the air where he'd been on dull feathered wings that reminded him of some sort of vulture. The man was dressed in tattered black rags that looked several sizes too big on his emaciated frame, and thin black hair fell back behind curved horns that seemed far too thick and heavy for the rest of his body.
Freed had drawn his blade on instinct, prepared to counter the monster's next attack, but the man had merely looked up at him with slit pupiled eyes in an eerie, yellow color, set in a gaunt face that was weathered and so pale as to look almost grey.
"Heretic and blasphemer," the man had accused, in a raspy, parched sounding voice tinted with a Boscan accent. "How dare you stand in Lord Zeref's path? Do you not know that Alveraz is His cleansing flood?"
He had been painfully aware of what they were up against, of course, but he hadn't expected to be recognized. He'd bared his teeth in a sneer of disgust as he wordlessly threw a glyph of pain at his enemy.
"My loyalty is reserved for Fairy Tail. Anyone who harms my comrades, no matter who they are, is subject to my fury."
Being able to cast an incapacitating curse silently was a valuable skill, often allowing Freed
to catch enemies who didn't know the particulars of his abilities off guard. It had seemed like it was going to secure him an advantage this time as well, until the man had reached up and met the energy of the Dark Ecriture with a black void hovering in front of his palm.
"A heretic and a fool! The age of men is at its end, humanity is but fodder for the coming age of demons."
Freed hadn't had time to retort, as his enemy had moved with surprising speed compared to earlier. Dull, black claws had barely missed Freed's face as he flew back, and he had found his own blade parried with nothing more than a swat of a backhand.
It had been a good thing they were in the air. It had made it easy for Freed to follow up with a rising kick that had landed solidly beneath the demon's jaw, and then with a second strike from his other foot to launch his foe away. Yet somehow, he had felt as if he had exerted himself, while the other man's pallor had lessened.
He hadn't liked his odds in a drawn out battle, and his enemy had been off balance. He'd sought to end it with a single incapacitating curse, slicing his blade quickly through the air as he gathered and focused power.
"Dark Ecriture: Unconsciousness!"
His target had proven confident in his wings, allowing himself to move with the unbalancing force of the kick into a plummeting backflip. The curse had flown above him as he turned the flip into a swoop, and then an upward charge.
"That curse...of course the heretic run to the Fairies would be you, Free-"
"Freed! Yo, Freed!" Bickslow's voice startled Freed out of his memory and drawn his attention to his friend's concerned face. "You done yet? You've been just staring at your work for like five minutes."Freed quickly glanced back down at his runes and realized with some embarrassment that he had, in fact, been so distracted by his own thoughts that he'd finished on autopilot and then just stood there. He gave the runic script a once over to be sure he hadn't made any mistakes, then hummed to himself and decided to change a bit of wording he'd been sloppy on."There, now I'm finished."Evergreen stretched and put on a show of yawning."Good, I'm ready to get back to bed.""I bet you are too, huh?" Bickslow said as he poked Freed.Freed gave Bickslow's hand a light swat, and allowed himself the petty indulgence of flicking his friend's shoulder in retaliation. Still, he smiled slightly as he turned and started in the direction of the mayor's estate."I did actually go to bed early, for your information." They didn't need to know he'd been awoken by a nightmare. The fact that his demon form had featured so prominently in it was unsettling, but not necessarily concerning. After all, between his loss of control over his demonic features and what had happened during the invasion, it would be stranger if he wasn't having nightmares about that side of his powers.
The aerial skirmish had been more tiring than it had had any right to be. With each strike with or against Freed's body, he had felt his energy drained by his foe. With each draining blow, with each spell or curse intercepted by the consuming darkness, his enemy had grown faster, stronger, healthier seeming. By the time he had managed to fling Freed to the ground, the demi-Etherious had no longer appeared emaciated, but rather slender and deadly.
The ground had cracked and dented under Freed's body as he had landed, and his burns and bruises from Wahl's explosion had screamed in protest. His enemy had been upon him in a second, perched on his back like a bird atop a corpse, and Freed had felt long claws digging into his scalp as the man had pushed his head down.
"You should remember your place, Freed the Dark."
Freed had strained against the weight holding him down, and yet had found his limbs weakening. It had felt as though the ethernanos were draining from his body, even as something else - something he had taken care to bury deep within him - swelled.
"So that's what you're...after..." He'd snarled, as the curse power flowing from his eye strained against his control. "You think I'll fight for Lord Zeref?"
The honorific had slipped out without him even thinking of it. It had just been one word, and yet it had struck his blood cold to hear himself say it. He hadn't even needed to be able to see his enemy's face to know the damn monster on top of him was smirking, even before he had heard his smug voice.
"Do you think you won't? There will be no more playing at humanity, heretic, only-"
Only what, Freed had never heard. A bolt of light had passed over him to knock the cultist to the ground, just as he had heard Evergreen shout his name. He had staggered to his feet and pressed a hand to his right eye, as though that would stem the flow of demonic power and influence. He'd bit back a curse as he saw Ever and Bickslow both running toward him, it must have been the latter's totems which had freed him.
"Stop, get out of here!" Was all he'd managed to shout against the rising contempt he'd felt looking at them. The disgust at these mere mortals had dared to stand in the way of Lord Zeref, as though they were anything more than flies to the Black Wizard.
Bickslow and Ever had halted in their approach, but they hadn't fled like he'd hoped. Instead, Bickslow had cocked his head at him quizzically.
"The hell, man? We fight best together!"
"Kehkehkeh..." The ominous chuckle had come from behind freed, where the black winged minion of Zeref had been pulling himself to his feet. "Unlucky for them, right? I trust you remember who you ought to serve now."
The man had had the audacity to attempt to grip Freed's shoulder with his dull, blackened talons. Maybe it had been some amount of Freed's own will overwhelming the demonic instinct to agree, or maybe it had simply been his own disgust toward the feathered monster, but he had turned and raked his own claws across the cultist's face. It had been satisfying, watching the man stumble back with four bloody gashes over one side of his face.
"The one I serve isn't you. Be gone from my sight."
As the demi-Etherious took to the air, Evergreen had spread her own wings and launched a volley of fairy dust needles. Freed had turned his focus to her, even before the first words of her spell had left her mouth.
"Deflection!"
A simple, one word incantation from him had created a brief shield to scatter Evergreen's attack. She had stepped back in surprise, confusion clear on her face.
"Freed, what are you doing?! He's getting away!"
It had been Bickslow who realized what was happening. He'd lifted his visor, and Freed had quickly closed his exposed eye as a green ring had appeared around the soul manipulator's eyes.
"Something's not right, Ever. That guy must've messed with his soul."
Freed had glared from behind the curtain of his bangs and waved his hand to throw a curse at Bickslow.
"Silence!"
Acrobatic as he was, Bickslow had dodged the attack with a forward roll that had brought him to a crouching position, no doubt ready to move however the fight demanded. Freed had barely registered his grimace, his attention instead on the five totems floating around him. He hadn't been foolish enough to think friendship would prevent Bickslow from ordering the dolls to attack, and he had known his favorite applications of his eye's Dark Ecriture wouldn't work on possessed objects. He had idly considered transforming, but it had seemed somewhat excessive when Bickslow hadn't had any backups if his dolls had been destroyed. His claws might well have worked, but he had already returned them to hiding, and hadn't felt inclined to change that. He hadn't wanted them to know the truth, even then.
Bickslow and Evergreen, for their parts, had their attention fixed on him. He had known they wouldn't simply let him strike with a curse from this range, but the thought had just brought a smirk to his face.
"Perceptive, Bickslow. But you've made one mistake; there is nothing wrong with my soul. Not that it makes a difference, of course."
He had moved suddenly, leaping back out of the circle of Bickslow's totems and landing in a crouch by his dropped sword. The web of crisscrossing beams from the dolls' assault had been a scant second too late, while keeping the spirits between him and Evergreen had meant there was little she could do without risking her friend's only form of offense. She had tried removing her glasses, to a disappointed scoff from Freed.
"There's nothing your Stone Eyes can do as long as I only look at you through my bangs. Of course, my own eye has no such limitation. Pain!"
Evergreen had attempted to take to the air, but of course she had. He knew her too well, and had deliberately aimed high. He'd felt a twisted satisfaction at her scream of agony as she fell to the ground, and at the sound of Bickslow calling her name in alarm.
Despite his mind having been flooded with a near pathological need to meet Lord Zeref, to earn his approval even, the expression of loyalty had managed to stir a warmth in his chest and soften the sadistic edge of his smile. Though they had been obstacles to Lord Zeref's will, and though that had meant subduing them was a clear objective that had felt as critical and sacred as any task Laxus could have entrusted him with, he had still felt a swell of pride and happiness over the bonds of his team, even as he had been in the act of betraying them.
An act that had continued even through his smile. He had slashed his sword upward as he snapped to his feet, and the resulting wave of pressure had reduced one of Bickslow's dolls to splinters. He had been able to see Bickslow sweating even across the yards separating them, even looking at him through a curtain of hair.
"Get a hold of yourself, Freed! Why are you fighting us?!"
Freed had tilted his head, careful to avoid looking Bickslow in the face as his bangs separated to uncover the glare of his demonic eye.
"Do you really need to ask, Bickslow? You, along with the rest of the guild, are in the way of Lord Zeref's objectives."
Evergreen had pushed herself to one knee, despite the way her body had been shaking from the effects of Freed's pain spell. She had barely been able to open one eye against the agony, and Freed had been impressed when she had managed to force words out from between clenched teeth.
"What? That doesn't...make sense. Why would you...want to help Zeref? And to betray Fairy Tail...betray us..."
Freed had tensed, and lashed out with another pain rune on nothing more than the impulsive desire to silence Evergreen. It had seemed Bickslow wasn't going to repeat his mistake from earlier, as he had directed his remaining dolls into an attack formation before bending to help Evergreen to her feet.
"Freed's not in control of himself right now, Ever."
Bickslow's dolls had joined together to create a blade-like line of energy at a slanted angle. Freed had launched himself to the side to dodge, ducking into a roll that Bickslow or his ghostly friends must have expected. Four magical bolts had struck him from multiple angles and sent him tumbling over the ground. When he had managed to slow his momentum enough to dig his claws into the ground and slide to a stop, he had looked up to see the possessed totems once again surrounding him.
"Freed, stop! Stop!" They had shouted in unison.
Freed had scoffed as he had pushed himself into a crouch. Toying with his opponents was fun, but it had seemed like a good time to end the games. He had lifted a hand to his chest, ready to bolster his weak, human body with demonic power.
"Darkn-gh!"
The word had caught in his throat and his focus had scattered at a sudden wave of intense pleasure in his groin. His hand fell from his chest to grip his raised knee, white knuckled as the rest of his breath left his body in a gasp. Arousal had followed the start of the sensation, and he'd had to bite down on his lip to avoid moaning in a way that would have been entirely inappropriate for a battlefield. It had felt...in a more suitable context, he might have called it amazing. As though his body had been recalling his every past sexual encounter all at once. But in that moment, it had also left him helpless, in a situation where he hadn't been able to afford even a moment's vulnerability.
He had heard Bickslow gasp as well, and a thudding noise had drawn his eyes thoughtlessly in its direction. Bickslow had been on his hands and knees, shaking from what Freed had been able to muster at least enough coherent thought to realize was something entirely different from what he had inflicted on Evergreen.
Evergreen, who had fallen with Bickslow, but managed to push through the pain of the curses enough to recognize the opening. She had dragged herself forward, crawling along the ground when she hadn't been able to muster the strength to stand, until she had been close enough to grab Freed by the front of his coat and drag him down to look her in the eye. The waves of near orgasmic pleasure had stopped, as had every other tactile sensation, as his skin had transformed entirely to unfeeling stone.
"I bet I know what you're thinking about." Evergreen's teasing voice brought Freed back to the present. "Realizing how you missed a chance at getting Laxus into your bed, after the way he held your hand back there?"Freed realized his face had gone flushed when he'd recalled how the incident during the invasion had ended. His underwear felt just a little too tight as well, and though he was fairly sure his loose pajama pants weren't showing anything, the thought of Laxus in bed with him wasn't doing him any favors in that regard."I don't see how I missed a chance," he snapped. "Now if you're finished mocking my attraction to a straight man for tonight, get inside so I can prepare the ward in peace."Evergreen started, then gave him a concerned look."Mocking? Straight? Freed-"He silenced her with a glare, and after a tense moment, she huffed, shook her head, and walked inside. Freed then turned his glare to Bickslow, who for once didn't seem in a teasing mood."Thinkin' about what happened last week?"Bickslow didn't need to specify. Freed nodded and glanced back in the direction of the wreckage from their fight against Anastasae."So far as I'm aware, that demi-Etherious escaped. If he's associated with Diabolus Verum, Anastasae's presence here means...""We'll get another chance to whoop his ass?"Freed glanced over at Bickslow and chuckled weakly at the way he was grinning, lolling tongue somehow not detracting from his confidence."I do hope that's what happens if we encounter him again. But in case it isn't quite so easy...you strengthened my soul to bring me back to myself, right? Could you do the reverse to-"Bickslow was already shaking his head."You know it ain't that easy, baby. I work with human souls. I don't know enough about what you got along for the ride to manipulate it."Freed sighed. He wasn't surprised, but it was still disappointing. Scary, if he was honest with himself. The notion that he might be turned against his friends again was enough to thoroughly dispel his body's reaction to the memory of that strange magic, but it also sent an unpleasant shudder down his spine.Bickslow must have noticed. Freed felt a hand on his shoulder, and then the next thing he knew, his friend had pulled him into a tight hug. Freed smiled faintly as he returned the gesture. During the disastrous Fantasia festival, he had told Mirajane that Laxus was the only person he trusted...he had always been at Laxus' back, but how had he ever overlooked the two at his own?"Thank you, anyway. Now..." He pulled back from the hug and made a shooing gesture. "You need to get inside too, you know. Your dolls won't be able to pass this barrier, either.""Awwww!" The dolls intoned in what Freed suspected was mock disappointment. "Bedtime already?""It's alright, babies." Bickslow snickered. "Freed can set a curfew, but we decide lights out."Freed rolled his eyes, and refrained from pointing out that he could put any of them to sleep with a single curse. Instead, he shooed again, and then drew his sword to begin work on the jutsu-shiki that would protect the mayor's estate.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"So..."Bickslow tilted his head back over the armrest of the couch in Freed's room so that he could see Laxus sitting awkwardly in the room's fancy looking chair, with one leg propped on an armrest. It didn't look any more comfortable than the couch Bickslow was sprawled across. Well, the couch he was half sprawled across, with his legs flopped over Evergreen's lap instead."Now that we've slept and my legs don't feel so much like shit," Laxus continued. "How about you tell us what exactly we're up against in the short term, Freed?"Freed sighed from his spot on the floor next to the low coffee table. He was doing something or another that involved maps of Hargeon, a pile of papers he'd gotten from the mayor, and a pen. Probably plotting out patterns and junk, but Bickslow hadn't bothered to ask. Freed would share whatever when he thought he had something worth sharing."I'll tell you what I can recall, but bear in mind that what information I have is both nineteen years out of date, and drawn from the observations of a child.""Nineteen..." Laxus muttered. The way he had his eyebrows drawn in made him look like he had a headache."Fairy Sphere, Laxus." Evergreen commented as she swatted Bickslow's legs with her fan. Ha, as if that would get him to move."Fuck, right. I always forget to account for that. So nineteen years...plenty of time to learn new bullshit, yeah. Especially since she'd have been what, mid-teens?"The sound of Freed's pen stopped, and Bickslow looked over in his direction. Without his visor screwing with his vision, he could see the souls of his friends shining like fairy lights in their chests - or, in his babies' cases, all through whatever object they were controlling. Each one looked different, enough so that even Mira had realized it was a waste of time to try to trick him with disguises, but some were more distinctive than others. And Freed's? Freed's soul was a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, and hidden inside an enigma.Dude was possessed, there were no two ways about it. Like the guild's Take Over specialists, the inhuman soul inside of him was the one trapped, but that was as far as Bickslow was going to compare them. Freed's demon soul was latched onto his human one like some kind of freaky spiritual parasite, and Bickslow figured he must have been possessed since he was a little kid. It was the only thing he could think of to explain the way it had managed to corrupt his soul, despite having been dormant since they'd met.Well, dormant from the time they'd met, to about a week ago. That feathery asshole had woken it up, and it seemed to be reacting to the conversation even as Bickslow watched. He didn't know enough about demon souls to tell what it was doing, so he decided to ignore it for now and watch Freed for any cues that it was causing problems."And it's hardly as though she was weak nineteen years ago. That woman is an accomplished necromancer, capable of creating particularly advanced zombies of any creature whose corpse she has a fragment of. I think there's some correlation between the size and condition of her sample and the results, but I never learned about her techniques in enough detail to say for certain beyond that she prizes larger and more well preserved specimens more highly. She also...will be very difficult to defeat permanently, even if we can land a decisive blow without her escaping via bane particles. She uses something akin to seith magic to transfer her soul into new bodies whenever her current one becomes too injured or...blemished for her liking."Bickslow scrunched his face and stuck his tongue out in disgust. What Freed was describing was definitely possible, but he'd only ever heard of one way to pull it off without the new body rotting down to the bone."Yuck. That's some nasty stuff there, Freed."Ever stopped poking at Bickslow's legs with her fan."That doesn't sound promising about being able to stop her with my stone eyes, either.""How is it that every new thing you say about her makes her sound more fucked up?" Laxus grumbled from his seat.Freed smiled thinly and went back to making notes on his maps."Because she's a detestable woman, a demon as foul as any, hiding behind human skin? She's known as Death Eternal, and while I don't think she's ever been the most directly powerful in the guild, she is among its inner circle. Simply put, that means she both descends directly from at least one powerful Etherious, and is among the sixteen most dangerous demi-Etherious in the guild. Assuming she hasn't been pushed out of the rankings by now, but I doubt that's the case."Laxus crossed his arms in a sulk that would have looked hilarious under other circumstances."Why can't the number of evil assholes go down for a change? And the hell's with that pretentious sounding nickname?""I'm sure you'd have no idea, O mighty Thunder God." Ever retorted with a playful little smirk, causing Bickslow to break out into laughter.Laxus shot Ever a glare that Bickslow was sure he'd insist was absolutely not a pout, but even Freed's dour expression lightened a bit as he visibly pushed down the urge to laugh. Ever's squawk of alarm as she ducked Laxus' shoe actually managed to coax a faint smile from the team bookworm."Whatever." Laxus pouted. It was absolutely a pout. "What about that other bullshit she pulled? That was a curse, wasn't it?"They all knew about curses, and how they were a wholly different thing from magic, even using an entirely different type of energy that ordinary wizards couldn't sense. Freed's eye was a source of curse energy, and they were damn lucky it was from what Laxus had said about how they got home after Tempester's attack on 8 Island.Not that Freed saw it that way, as he predictably demonstrated with a visible tensing of his shoulders."It was, yes. Her demonic power is the curse of decay, it causes its targets to rot or atrophy. That's why it was devastating to Laxus but ineffectual against your dolls, Bickslow. It takes a far more powerful curse than that to destroy durable materials such as wood."Pappa flitted around Freed's head, giggling in a voice that only Bickslow could hear, but that was easier for the spirit to produce.
Haha, I bet she feels dumb now.
Poppo floated over too, taking up a spot hovering over Freed's shoulder.
She is dumb, she made Freed want to kill her! Only a dumb person would do that.
Freed waved absently at the dolls, oblivious to their commentary."If all goes to plan, though, her curses will be irrelevant. Since it's a factor I'm aware of, I can close the loophole that allows Etherious to bypass standard anti-magic precautions, and prohibit use of both magic and curses within my jutsu-shiki. Confined under those conditions, we'll be able to eliminate her without difficulty."Something about that plan didn't sit right with Bickslow, but Ever voiced the concern before he could, with her fan open and covering the lower half of her face."Wait, you're planning on killing her even if we manage to capture her alive?"Freed's head snapped up to glare at Ever, without him seeming to notice or care that the motion caused his bangs to part around his demonic eye. It was weird seeing it with the yellow of the iris visible, with how Freed usually kept it disguised unless it was glowing purple with curse power for a fight."Would you rather leave her to the Council? I remind you that magic sealing stone has no effect on curse power."A tense silence fell over the room. Freed had a point, but it was a fine line he was suggesting they toe. Not to mention, Bickslow could see hatred burning in Freed's eyes. No, in Freed's eye and in Albion's eye that Freed always tried to hide. Just what the hell had this woman done, that had left him with a demon's eye and this much hatred?Laxus was the first one to break the silence, with the sound of his foot hitting the floor. All three of his teammates looked at him with a start."She used Freed as a fuckin' guinea pig when he was eight at the oldest. I dunno what all she did, but I do know he's still hurting from it. Next time I see her, that bitch is dead.""Wait." Bickslow held up a hand and did his best not to flinch as Laxus and Freed both fixed him with glares. "She's part of a dark guild all the way in Bosco, yeah? We oughta try and find out why she's here.""Bickslow has a point," Ever added as she finally moved to just shove his feet off of her lap. "It sounds like she's pretty important in the guild, too. I have a bad feeling about this, Freed. If we capture her, we need to question her. And I know it would be child's play for you to make it impossible for her to lie."Freed's gaze fell to the floor, while Bickslow's stayed fixed on that demonic eye. He'd have bet his bottom jewel that there was something to that story that Freed didn't want to talk about, even with them."Freed." Bickslow put a soft pressure on the word. If he'd been close enough, he'd have put a hand on his shoulder, but instead he had to settle for glancing toward Peppe in a silent plea. The soul picked up on his meaning and nudged up against Freed's side in the closest thing a limbless totem could manage to a hug. Freed's look of surprise and confusion was honestly kind of funny, and also kind of cute. Bickslow filed that away as something to tease him about later, when they weren't planning how to deal with a deadly dark wizard.Freed's expression slowly shifted to a small smile and he lightly patted the top of the possessed doll."You're right. We need to know what she wants. Diabolos Verum has attempted to meddle in Fioran politics before..." He glanced to Laxus, who responded with a small nod. There must have been something Laxus knew about that that Bickslow didn't, probably from his research into Freed's old guildmark. "While Diabolus Verum has meddled in Fioran affairs before, their interest was in influencing wizard's guilds. Not to mention, their methods are far more subtle. To be honest, directly attacking the infrastructure of a town with no particular concentration of magic users goes completely against everything they taught me."Bickslow sat up straight at that, and from the tension in Laxus and Ever's faces, he guessed they were thinking along the same lines as him."Could it be deliberate?" Laxus asked, crossing his arms across his chest. "Some kind of misdirection...you said there's sixteen of these hotshot assholes, right?"Ever glanced toward Bickslow and their eyes met for just a second. Just long enough to confirm they were on the same page, before she looked back at Freed."Was that ugly creep from the invasion one of them?"Freed's jaw clenched, as his demon's soul seemed to surge. Bickslow had watched it before, but had never seen it act like that before yesterday."I don't know," Freed finally admitted. "I don't recognize him, but he could very well have been someone unimportant when I left, and only become powerful enough to gain a position among the sixteen Harbingers over the course of practically two decades.""Hm." Laxus grunted. "Any idea what he wanted?"Freed seemed to think for a moment, then shook his head."No. But he was fanatical in his devotion to Zeref." The demon's soul pulsed again and Bickslow could swear he heard a hint of hesitation on the Black Wizard's name. He remembered how Freed had talked about the guy with the demon at the front. "He may have simply hoped to sow chaos among Fiore's defenses with an apparent betrayal."Laxus nodded."Good thing Ever and Bickslow managed to put a stop to that. ...How the hell'd they manage it, though?"Freed and Ever went stiff as boards and red as tomatoes. Bickslow couldn't help it. He threw his head back so hard his feet left the floor and his back slammed into the back of the couch, and he cackled. Meanwhile, his babies flitted overhead, silently giggling about Ever having no game, and Freed being 'po-pular~'. Just as he managed to calm down enough to maybe speak, he opened his eyes and saw Laxus with an expression of such utter, hilarious confusion that he guffawed all over again. Right up until Ever punched him in the stomach."Don't you dare, I know what you're thinking."Bickslow wiped a tear from his eye and stuck his tongue out in defiance of Ever's glare, but just as he opened his mouth to do exactly what she was telling him not to, Freed interrupted with a loud clearing of his throat."I think we're getting off subject. The demi-Etherious from the battlefield isn't here to the best of our knowledge, and we aren't even certain he's affiliated with Diabolus Verum. Anastasae is the current threat. So, are we agreed that we will spend today setting rune traps for her and her creations?"Freed gave a stern glance around the room, as if daring anyone to challenge his change of subject. Bickslow frowned, tongue still hanging out of his mouth, but ultimately just shrugged. There would be other opportunities to tell the story."Aye, sir."Freed rolled his eyes, but Bickslow knew how much sass he could get away with. And he knew one way he could mess with Freed and Laxus, while still keeping the conversation productive. His grin returned and he leaned against the arm of the couch."Sounds like we're gonna be here another night, at this rate. We better figure out sleeping arrangements now, since I don't wanna wake up to someone getting ambushed again 'cause they're too chicken to share a bed with a hot guy."As expected, it was Laxus' turn to go red."Oh, uh...I was thinking I'd just go looking for a hotel or something during the day, since the attacks have only been happening when there are fewer people out."Bickslow pouted, but quickly grinned again when Freed shook his head."I want us all in the same place tonight, just in case something does happen. Besides, Laxus, I want you to help me prepare the jutsu-shiki. I can lay them down faster with an assistant, and you've taken to them remarkably well."Ever flicked her fan over her face, though Bickslow could still see the grin it covered."So two of us are going to have to share, after all. Not it, by the way. A lady has to have some privacy, you know?"Laxus shot them both a dirty look, but Freed just heaved a resigned sigh."I had expected as much. It really can't be helped. I'll have to pick up some earplugs while we're working. Laxus can take over this room.""Huh?" Bickslow questioned, before it clicked what Freed was saying. "Hey, c'mon baby, I know I'm hard to resist, but don't I get a say in this?""Laxus and I agreed last night that us sharing a bed is out of the question. Seeing as I know you don't have any genuine qualms about the notion, your say is already outvoted. Now that that's settled..." Freed stood up and crossed the room to shove his notebook into Bickslow's chest, as Ever raised an eyebrow next to him. "I've been assembling a list of locations with the most interference so far. I want you to have your souls keep watch there for any sign of Anastasae or other suspicious activity."Bicklsow looked from Freed to Laxus, who had his mouth open as though he wanted to say something. But Laxus stayed quiet as Freed put his notes away and then turned to shoo everyone else off to their own preparations.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It wasn't even lunchtime yet, and Laxus had already had a long day. Porlyusica had been fucking pissed to see him back in the hospital already, and had made a bunch of threats he hoped she had no intention of following through on. Knowing the old bat as well as he did, he wasn't inclined to bet on it, and the rest of the Thunder God Tribe would have to physically drag him back there if they wanted him to get medical attention again.Wendy, on the other hand, had almost been harder to deal with. She'd been incredibly worried about his injuries...not that he could blame her. His legs looked like he'd picked a fight with a garbage disposal, and honestly still hurt like hell even after what healing Wendy could spare from her efforts to save the fire breather's arm. He'd done his best to assure her that he had everything under control, but he was sure he hadn't managed to sound as confident as he'd have liked.Not that he wasn't sure they'd be able to handle Anastasae. She'd caught him off guard and without his team, he'd had to fight past her zombies just to get a shot at her. Now that they knew what they were dealing with, and she wasn't going to get him alone again, he knew they'd kick the demon bitch's ass next time they saw her.What worried him was Freed. He'd been acting strange ever since yesterday morning, hiding things. Sure, Freed keeping secrets from them was nothing new. Hell, the cagey bastard wouldn't even tell them his damn birthday. But this was different. This was hiding important details, as though he didn't trust them. Didn't trust him. And today...Laxus hoped it was just because he didn't want to admit to being anxious, but Freed seemed to have slipped back into his old behavior.As Bickslow and Evergreen left the room to get ready to head out for the day, Laxus pushed himself up from his chair and made his way over to Freed. He watched for a moment as his friend slid his overcoat off of a hanger and shrugged it on. Then he reached over and let his hand gently rest on top of Freed's head, between those two cowlicks that always stuck out even first thing in the morning. Freed tensed, then Laxus thought he could feel him tilting his head into the touch."Hey...you know you don't have to be the level-headed one, right? If you're afraid of Anastasae-"Freed turned suddenly and smacked Laxus' hand away from him. Laxus stepped back in surprise and looked down to meet Freed's odd eyed glare."I am not afraid." His voice was hard, but there was a tension in it that Laxus recognized. "I'm not the child I was when she used me for her experiments. The next time I see her, I will destroy her, and-"Whatever Freed had been about to say was lost as Laxus grabbed his wrist and lowered it, not breaking eye contact."That's not what I meant. She's someone from the past you've done everything you can to distance yourself from. Don't think I'm stupid, Freed. There's a reason you never talk about your life before Fairy Tail, and her just being here has dredged that shit up to the surface. Believe me, I know how you feel..."Laxus closed his eyes and took a deep breath as memories flashed through his mind. Memories of his father, of Ivan Dreyar when Makarov's back was turned.
Laxus had been weak and frail as a child, and clumsy under stress at that...or at least, that's what Ivan had told people to explain the constant injuries and exhaustion. Well, he had been weak, alright, but it hadn't been clumsiness that had caused him to fall to the ground behind what had been his home at the time.
Ivan had loomed over him, fist still raised and an expression of anger on his face.
"Why must you always make me do this, Laxus, boy?" He had said. "Do you think I enjoy being stern with you? I really don't."
"Then why?" Laxus remembered saying as he sat in the grass and wiped dirt from his face.
He had been five, younger than most would-be wizards even knew how to absorb ethernanos, and yet his father had just struck him to the ground for begging for a break from trying and failing to destroy a wooden target with his lightning.
Ivan's scowl had melted into a smile that Laxus had been too young at the time to realize was patronizing.
"Why? For you, of course. You're so weak and frail, Laxus, and you need to become strong. The world is harsh, my boy, and the weak are nothing more than prey to the strong. You don't want to be prey, do you? Meat to be devoured and destroyed for someone else's benefit?"
He'd shaken his head. Of course he hadn't wanted to, who would? So he'd stood up, even though he'd been exhausted and sore from where he'd hit the ground, and had gone back to his struggles against the target.
He hadn't even noticed his mother coming out of the house until he'd heard her voice.
"Ivan, don't you think you've put our boy through his paces enough for one day?"
Laxus had perked up immediately and turned to look at his mother. She'd been a Fairy Tail wizard too, though the way she usually wore her hair over one shoulder had usually obscured her guildmark. There had been no mistaking the small lacrima embedded in the glove she wore over her right arm, however, nor the steely look in her eyes when she stared Ivan down.
Ivan had met her stubborn look with a smug grin.
"Have more faith in our son, dear. He's having fun out here, isn't that right, Laxus?"
Laxus had gone stiff under Ivan's gaze. His mother had given him a concerned glance, but all he'd been able to do was nod awkwardly. He'd never admitted it to anyone, but he'd been afraid of Ivan, of the way the man seemed to be in control of everything and everyone.
"R...right."
"You don't." Freed's curt voice snapped Laxus out of his thoughts. "You couldn't. You were...never in a Dark Guild. I would never dream of downplaying what Ivan put you through, but it's...different. There are things you couldn't possibly understand.""Then talk to me, Freed. I know you too damn well not to realize when something's upsetting you."Freed smiled, but it was weak...or maybe just tired. Had he even tried to sleep in after last night's mess, or had he gotten up as stupid early as he always did?"I appreciate your concern, Laxus. Truly, it warms me how much you care for me...but I'm afraid what I'm feeling right now isn't something you can help with. So, could you please let go of my wrist so I can finish getting ready to leave?"Laxus felt his face flush as he realized he was still holding Freed's arm. He quickly let go and turned around, hoping his embarrassment wasn't too obvious."Right, sorry...I wasn't thinking about...""I know, you're just worried." Laxus heard Freed's sword belt clink as he picked it up. "I can't say I wouldn't be the same way in your place, but...just being here, and helping me stop Anastasae really is enough."Freed stepped around Laxus and wrapped an arm around him. Laxus sighed quietly as he returned the hug and pulled Freed close against him. Just for this moment, with his arms tight around Freed's shoulders, he could pretend he had the ability to protect him. He'd been helpless during the attack on the cathedral, he couldn't protect Freed from the pain in his past, but he hoped he could at least make him feel safe in his arms. And maybe he could, just for now, imagine that Freed felt the same warmth here that he did.Freed sighed against Laxus' shoulder, a tired yet somehow happy sound."We really shouldn't dawdle long, but...it's nice to have a moment alone like this. Without Bickslow and Ever around to read too much into it."Reading too much...of course. There really was no way Freed felt the same way he did. This was just a moment of supportive affection between friends. That was all."Yeah. Been too damn long since we've had a moment's peace, huh?"Freed nodded and tightened his arms around Laxus. Then he stepped back and used the tips of his claws to comb his bangs down over his right eye."And we still don't. Let's go, before our teammates come up with too outrageous an idea as to what's taking us so long."Laxus huffed and nodded. The rest of the day went by quickly. Once Bickslow set up his sentries, Freed got to work on the traps. Instead of starting with the frequent targets, he focused on more ordinary locations. He pointed out that while Anastasae wasn't human, she still needed shelter and food like anyone else, and thus would likely be coming and going from hotels and restaurants or groceries during the day. It was sound logic, though the complicated language of the jutsu-shiki meant that even with Laxus and Ever's help, they had no hope of covering every single hotel and food source in town.The fact that Freed insisted on using one of his cyphers didn't help on the speed front. Laxus wasn't terrible at them, but remembering encoded phrases was a pain in the ass. He was constantly having to stop and re-convert the sentences in his head, which he guessed Freed would just call extra study time for more complex jutsu-shiki.Freed at least seemed content with their work by the time night fell, despite their less than rapid pace. The fact that the mayor's kitchen was empty when they got back probably helped with that, as he cheerfully insisted on cooking dinner for the group. Laxus kept his mouth shut on that front, despite having his doubts about some of the things Freed claimed were 'fine dining', and instead took the opportunity to pull Bickslow aside in a dining room that looked like it would've seated the entirety of the group that had gone to Sirius Island."Bickslow, something I need to ask you while Freed's busy."Bickslow tilted his head. He hadn't taken his visor off yet, but Laxus got the impression he was raising his eyebrows. Not surprising. Laxus didn't exactly make a habit of talking behind Freed's back."What's up? If it's about dinner, I ain't letting you smuggle it to me if he serves those gross fish again."Laxus couldn't help but snort at that. He knew exactly what Bickslow was talking about, but he doubted that's what Freed was making. Hargeon was much more likely to have fancy seafood available than those damn pigeons pretending to be fish."It ain't about dinner. Actually...it's about Freed. I know he's hiding something from me."Bickslow's expression darkened and he rubbed the back of his head."Freed hides stuff all the time. But yeah, I get it. Got us worried too, right babies?""Worried! Worried!" His dolls echoed in an unusually subdued tone for them."Yeah..." Laxus sighed and scratched absently at his scar. "I know I usually don't ask you about this shit, but...I'm sure you've looked at him since last night, yeah?"Bickslow went silent. That in itself was telling, even before Laxus noticed the tilt of his head shifting as he stared at the floor."Freed's asked me to keep quiet about it. Besides, I still ain't made complete sense of it, myself. His soul's complicated, ya know?" He lifted his gaze back toward Laxus. "But I can at least tell ya that whatever's going on ain't weakening his soul any."Of course Freed had already hushed Bickslow about that. Laxus' fists clenched, and only a second later, Bickslow stepped forward to pull him into a hug. Laxus took a deep breath, then clapped his friend on the back."If you see something that you even think could give us an idea of how to help him..."He felt Bickslow nod over his shoulder."Yeah, that's team meeting shit."Laxus relaxed slightly, just barely managing a smile before he caught scent of what Freed must have just unwrapped in the kitchen. The curse he let out then could probably be heard all the way in Musica."About smuggling my food..."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Bickslow snored like a buzz saw. He was also a light sleeper. These facts combined meant he rarely shared a bed with someone overnight, but Freed had been right about him not really minding. Sure, he'd prefer Freed stop being a dumb coward and actually take the excuse to cozy up to Laxus for the night, but Freed was usually a fairly still sleeper, and who wouldn't appreciate falling asleep with one of the twenty hottest wizards in Fiore shirtless and cuddled up to them? Between that and a stomach full of hearty pub food, he'd expected to sleep well.It was still dark out when he woke to what sounded like a terrified whine and the sensation of sharp claws digging into his shoulder as Freed's hand tightened around it. He jolted awake and glanced frantically around the room, his first thought that there was some sort of threat, before his eyes settled on Freed laying on top of him and clinging desperately.He couldn't make out Freed's expression in the dark, but it was clear he was having a nightmare. A nasty one, too, to have the normally confident Freed clinging like an insecure child...albeit one with very sharp knives on his fingertips. Okay, yeah, that hurt. He briefly thought about how to pry Freed's fingers away from his shoulder without waking him up, but as he registered his surroundings in more detail, he realized Freed's face was buried in his chest, as if to hide from something, or to fight back tears.Right, to hell with going back to sleep, he needed to wake Freed up from whatever was going through his mind."Yo, Freed!" He didn't shout, but did raise his voice as he gently shook his friend's shoulder. He winced as Freed's needle sharp grip tightened, but kept jostling until Freed suddenly jerked away and sat up.It seemed to take a minute for Freed to get his bearings enough to figure out what was going on, during which Bickslow got up and turned on the reading lamp by the room's chair. He turned around to see Freed go from watching him, to staring at his own claws, which glinted faintly around the tips."Bickslow, I...your shoulder, that's my fault, isn't it?"Bickslow tilted his head to look at his shoulder as best as he could, and realized he was bleeding from several short scratches. They seriously stung, but he just shrugged. Freed didn't need reason to worry."Eh, I should've seen that coming. Kinda stupid to not wear a shirt while cuddling with a guy who's got a killer manicure. More worried about you, man."He'd hoped he could downplay the injury enough for Freed to not focus on it, but of course he had to be the responsible one."You're bleeding. Hold on, I'll get the first-"Freed tried to get up, except he was too groggy to realize he had to detangle his legs from the blankets first. Bickslow had to hurry forward to catch him so he didn't faceplant next to the bed."It's a few scratches, it ain't an emergency!" He and Freed exchanged stubborn looks for several seconds, Freed one of few people who didn't get nervous locking stares with him, before he finally huffed. "If it'll make you feel better to play nurse, I'll go get the first aid kit. Just sit down, alright?"That seemed to be a compromise Freed could work with. He sat down on the edge of the bed while Bickslow dug through the dresser for where Freed had stashed the bandages. When he returned with them and a bottle of antiseptic, he sat down and Freed silently started cleaning the scratches.He quietly waited for Freed to finish bandaging his shoulder, then turned around with a masterfully feigned grin and slung an arm around his teammate."That was fast. Hey, maybe we oughta have you borrow that nurse costume of Erza's..."He'd expected some sort of snappy retort, maybe a line about skirts being more his style than Freed's, but was instead met with a shake of the head."You and I both know that I would have been far more efficient at it without the 'killer manicure', as you put it."Bickslow's grin faded as he realized just how unsettled Freed must have been. Lightening the mood wasn't going to work, so instead he pulled Freed closer, into a proper hug."So what? It ain't like I was bleeding out. Seriously, you've got nothing to feel guilty about here. It was dumb of me to not keep any padding between your nails and my skin, anyway."Freed didn't resist the hug, to Bickslow's relief. The guy could be stubborn when it came to things like admitting he needed support."It is just like you to miss the obvious because your mind is in the gutter. Still, I should have trimmed them, seeing as I knew I would be sleeping next to someone tonight.""Nah, you already had a packed day. Besides, I can't think of you ever waking me up with that kinda death grip before. That must have been some nightmare."Freed tilted his head to stare down at the ground, and Bickslow decided to bite back his complaint about the ponytail the movement shoved into his face."It was just a dream, nothing to worry about.""That's not very convincing. Come on, Freed. You've been through Hell this week, quit trying to pretend everything's fine.""I'm not..." Freed hesitated, then sighed and rubbed at the fingers of one hand. "I just need to get my power back under control. I'm going to talk to Mira when we get back to Magnolia, so it will be fine soon enough."Bickslow frowned and shifted to lean lightly against Freed. He couldn't deny that it was a shitty situation, and while Freed normally had all the answers, he was clearly at a loss here. And Bickslow couldn't think of anything he could do that would be more than a patch."Some seith wizard I am...this is the sort of thing I should be able to help with."Freed was quiet for a second, before turning so he could return Bickslow's one armed hug."I can hardly blame a human possession specialist for not being able to -" Freed cut off and suddenly pulled away to sit up straight. "Dammit."Bickslow blinked slowly, then scratched his head."You just remember something?""No...after the breach in my jutsu-shiki during the invasion, I decided to add a clause to the wards here to alert me if they're damaged or partially suppressed."Freed didn't need to explain the rest. Bickslow bolted to his feet and sent out a magical call to wake the only two of his babies who weren't on watch duty."You're gonna go wake Laxus up, yeah? I've got Ever."Freed nodded, and his body started dissolving into purple runes even as he snatched his sword from where he'd left it hanging from the bedpost."We'll meet you in the foyer."Watching Freed teleport had always been kinda weird and unsettling, and Bickslow wasn't sure if having Anastasae's disintegration into bane particles to compare it to made it better or worse.Bickslow shook his head at that thought and snagged his shirt as he headed toward the door. He could do without his visor for now, he had a feeling he wasn't going to need to worry about anyone's nerves over his eyes.Ever's door was unlocked, but Bickslow gave it a quick knock just to cut off any complaints from her end."Yo, Ever! Better be decent in there!"He pushed open the door to the sight of Evergreen sitting up blearily, the ends of her hair wrapped around curlers and something pale green smeared over her face. Even with the seriousness of the situation, he couldn't help a burst of laughter at how dumb she looked."I swear, if you woke me up just to laugh at me..."He held his hands up in mock surrender as his grin faded."I wish. Freed says somethin' managed to mess up his jutsu-shiki around the mansion."Ever's eyes went wide, and she swung her legs out of bed. Bickslow stuck his tongue out as he watched her peel the green mask off her face, but she didn't seem to notice his grossed expression. Her focus, apparently, was on collecting her shoes."Did he give you any details?"Bickslow shook his head and glanced to the side as his babies bumped his shoulder. They were carrying one of his armored boots between them, and he gave each a quick pat before grabbing the shoe."Just that the alarm was set to go off if someone damaged it. I dunno enough about this stuff to know what that means.""I'm not an expert like Freed, but I know you can't break a jutsu-shiki by just erasing parts of it or writing in nonsense. To damage it, they'd have to be able to overpower Freed."This wasn't something Freed was putting his full effort into, like when he'd held up a barrier around all of Magnolia, but the thought still made Bickslow shudder. Every time someone had been able to break through one of Freed's wards, it had been bad news, and Freed had even gotten so much more powerful over the past year. Having to fight Freed had made it impossible not to realize how much he'd rocketed ahead of him and Ever."Well, at least they probably ain't expecting us to be ready for 'em. Attacking in the middle of the night like this, I bet they're going for a sneak attack.""Then they won't be expecting us to sneak attack them back." Ever smirked as she strapped her second shoe on and stood up. "Now turn around so I can get changed."Bickslow rolled his eyes, but complied, just as his babies were arriving with his other boot."Yeah, yeah. Wouldn't want your precious nightgown to get ruffled."A pillow bounced off of Bickslow's head as he pulled his second boot on, but he ignored it. By the time Ever walked past him, she was wearing one of her less fancy dresses and had pulled the curlers from her hair. He noticed she'd also grabbed her glasses on her way out, and couldn't help feeling a little sorry for her, and how she needed to cover her eyes for reasons beyond just people's comfort.The trip downstairs was quick, unfortunately much faster than his remaining three babies' trip back from their posts. He'd have to make do with only two, which meant his options would be limited. Dammit...hopefully they'd at least seen something useful.Neither of them bothered with the stairs down into the foyer, instead vaulting over the railing. Bickslow landed in a crouch, with one hand on the floor, while Ever and his babies floated down beside him. As he looked up, he was struck with a mixture of horror and fury at what he saw. Laxus and Freed had beat them down there, and were standing in front of a door that had been neatly cut from its hinges and left to lay on the floor. He didn't recognize the figure in the doorway, but the soul flickering within the body was all too familiar, even with the dead pallor it had gained since he last saw it.