Together

Chapter 12

"What do you mean?" Laxus barely choked out, his eyes searching for answers.

"I mean exactly what I say," Mavis replied, not bothering to look at Laxus. Her eyes continued to fixate on the broken Lucy lying before her.

"Do you mean Lucy can be saved?!" Happy cried out as he touched Mavis with his paws. "Lucy can be saved, right? Right?!"

Mavis looked at the three exceeds, each one with desperate looks in their eyes. She had a tendency to like small and cute things, especially animals. Seeing their disheartened expressions, she couldn't help but feel sorry for them. She slowly smiled and nodded, giving them hope.

"She can be saved," Mavis replied, returning to look at Lucy. "Her time hasn't completely stopped yet but it will soon."

As Mavis began touching Lucy's body again, Laxus moved her away, holding Lucy tightly in his arms, not daring to let anyone touch her. He was wary and his eyes were wild like a beast's. Lucy was his and no one can touch her. She was his and his only to touch, to protect, and to love. Mavis stared at him, her eyes narrowing. She didn't like his overprotectiveness over her granddaughter and the way he clutched her to him made it seem as if Lucy was nothing more than an object.

"Let go of her," Mavis demanded.

"No," Laxus replied flatly.

"Release her at once," Mavis demanded once more, her eyes furious.

"Why should I?" Laxus asked, holding Lucy dearly to him.

"Are you defying me?" she looked at him with eyes so deadly and full of wrath.

"Laxus," Makarov intervened. "Put Lucy down."

Laxus looked at him, his eyes full of rage for he wanted to question why he should listen to the orders of such a kid. She had suddenly appeared in the guild out of nowhere and now was being overly familiar with Lucy. He didn't even know who she was nor where she came from. Why did he have to trust her? But before he could ask, Makarov answered his question.

"That's Fairy Tail's first master, Mavis Vermilion," Makarov stated. "Now put her down before this guild really gets blown to pieces."

Makarov had returned to his petite form but still had a large hand out to keep Natsu and the others to the floor. After all that, he didn't want any more damage to be done, especially to Lucy. Laxus eyed Mavis with suspicion as well as disbelief at how this girl standing before him was the first master of Fairy Tail. Seeing that she meant no harm, Laxus reluctantly put Lucy on the ground but still held her in his arms. Mavis sighed, knowing that the man before her had no intention to put her down fully.

"I'll let you do what you want just this once," Mavis sighed as she kneeled onto the floor next to Lucy.

Laxus looked at her dubiously. "Who are you to Lucy?"

"Do you really want to know? Even your grandpa doesn't know," Mavis said without batting an eye at him as she continued to examine Lucy's body.

Laxus nodded his head.

"Lucy was my granddaughter," Mavis said with a fleeting smile as she reminisced the time she had spent with Lucy when she was but a child. "She had such a bright smile and was pure and clean from the ruthlessness of society."

"Was?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

True, he and Makarov, as well as the others of the guild, were shocked to hear that Mavis and Lucy had shared blood relation with one another. But what came to their mind was why she had used past tense.

"Like her previous lives, she died," Mavis said, her eyes blank and lifeless.

Laxus looked at her. Seeing her like this, she did bear a similar resemblance to Lucy and that was the look in their eyes whenever they remembered something that brought about melancholic memories.