Guardian of the Towers (Laxus Dreyar X OC Fanfiction)

Prologue: Just the Beginning

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Pandora's Tower's or any other recognizable works

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Located in the far eastern reaches of Fiore, there lies a forbidding wasteland known as Okanos. Harsh, dry, and altogether dangerous, little to no people venture into this area or dare even live nearby. For those that do though, they are a most hardy folk as they have to deal with daily dangers such as scarce resources, harsh droughts, desert marauders, thief guilds and wild monster attacks. Few people know however, that deep within the arid sands of this accursed land, a vast rift known only as "The Scar" blights the land.

And at its center, suspended above this fathomless fissure, are the Thirteen Towers. Towers of all sizes interlink and intertwine, fusing to become one single fortress, a place that was once known as the Great Temple.

Held in place by thirteen massive chains, the Towers loom above the gaping pit of The Scar like a spider in its web, seeming to inhabit a space beyond the normal world. However, these immense structures serve a single, important purpose; they bind the earth together, preventing The Scar from widening and tearing apart the world itself.

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—Present Day, Okanos Wasteland, Laxus' PoV—

It was a beautiful night. The moon was high and the stars were bright like beautiful gems of diamond, ruby, sapphire, and topaz. They seemed to smile down on the barren desert below, painting an almost alluring scene despite the harsh reality of the landscape below.

Too bad the one person traveling through it could not enjoy the scene.

Damn punks, should've left well enough alone, the lightning dragon slayer thought as he limped through the sandy area, sporting multiple injuries all over his body that were quite visible even in the gentle moonlight.

A couple hours ago, just as the sun was setting, Laxus had been traveling through a particularly rough patch of the terrain when a group of bandits had attacked him. Their brains must have been fried from the heat because even when he had displayed his prowess as a mage they had stupidly continued their assault. It was almost laughable how they thought that they could stand a chance against him. Still, he had to give them points for bravery—or was that stupidity?—and the fact that they had managed to hurt him.

They had used their numbers as well as the heat and sands of the desert to their advantage, their dust colored outfits blending in with their surroundings while preying upon the fact that the heat had exhausted him. It was a smart plan, but he had prevailed. Unfortunately, though, thanks to their surprising numbers, they had managed to overwhelm him for a moment, getting in quite a few good slashes on him before he had knocked them all unconscious with a well-timed jolt of lightning.

At the time, he knew that his injuries would need attention but with few supplies and the nearest town a couple more days away, he could do little but grunt and bear the pain, hoping that he wouldn't bleed out.

That had been a couple hours ago and now he was starting to feel the effects of blood loss setting in, his limbs starting to feel slightly numb and cold. Stubbornly though, he pressed on. However, the need to sleep was starting to set in and it was becoming increasingly difficult to stay awake much less move. He was just so tired.

Dammit Laxus, focus, he internally berated himself, shaking his head a bit in an attempt to clear his muddled mind.

Trudging on, he listened to the faint whispers of late-night breezes playing with the sands of the barren landscape all around him as well as the off-beat tread of his injured leg.

Thump. Shuffle. Shift. Thump. Shift. Shuffle. Scrape. Thump.

Sweat glistened on his forehead, but his skin was oddly cool and clammy.

His breathing was coming in short bursts and pants, like he had just run a marathon, and his vision was starting to become fuzzy, darkness closing in around the edges.

Once or twice, Laxus stumbled over a small rock or nothing at all and he had to stop and catch himself before continuing on.

But it wasn't long before the darkness started to close in completely, even the moonlight proving too feeble to provide a sufficient light source for his enhanced sight. Eventually though, he stumbled once again but this he could not react in time to catch himself.

The proud dragon slayer fell flat on his face.

Fuck...

For a moment, he was immobile, attempting to summon the strength to get up. But he couldn't. Every damn part of him just felt so heavy. No matter how much he willed for some semblance to strength to flow into his limbs, all he managed to do was get some more sand uncomfortably lodged under his nails as he clawed at the dry dirt. All he could do was just lay there as his eyes slowly closed, darkness closing in at the edges of his vision, and his breathing slowing.

The last thing Laxus remembered was what sounded like the patter of feet from nearby.

Damn punks...

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A/N: Poor Laxus. Attacked and left for dead. Poor guy.

Anyways, I hope I made Laxus sound okay and not too OOC. I wanted him to still be arrogant but have mellowed out somewhat too. I mean, getting kicked out of your family is going to be a bit of a shock and take some toll.