"It's official. We're gonna carry out 'the plan'." Laxus informed his team.
"Are you sure, Laxus?" Freed asked for assurance.
"Of course I am." Laxus snapped back. "Just make sure everything goes according to the plan."
"Understood." Freed nodded.
"You got it!" Bickslow chuckled, his dolls circling around him while chanting, "On it! On it!"
"Whatever you say." Evergreen sighed, fanning herself with her fan as if it was one hundred degrees outside.
"It'll all go down tomorrow." Laxus stood up and walked to the edge of the cliff, looking out over the town of Magnolia. The cool, night breeze blew, blowing his blond hair from side to side.
The Next Day at Fairy Tail's Miss Fairy Tail Pageant . . .
The atmosphere was light and full of laughter. Everything was going good; the guys were cheering on the girls on stage, and the girls were enjoying the attention.
Then everything went sour.
The Thunder Legion suddenly appeared, turned all the female pageant contestants into stone (technically, it was all Evergreen's doing), and introduced a "fun game", as they called it.
And then Laxus made a dramatic entrance on stage, appearing from lightning that had struck down from the ceiling.
The blond told the remaining, mostly male, members of the guild about his "fun game" which he titled, The Battle of Fairy Tail.
The rules were as followed:
1. Every remaining member, not turned to stone, must duel until the opponent, or opponents, could no longer fight.
2. The entire town of Magnolia was the battlefield.
3. The last wizard standing wins and is allowed entry into the new Fairy Tail that will be mastered by Laxus.
4. In precisely three hours, the females who are now stone will turn to dust. To save them, the Thunder Legion (quickest way is through Evergreen) must be defeated.
5. There are lightning lacrimas surrounding the border of the town. They will go off in three hours as well. Also, there is Body Link Magic attached to each lacrima. The only way to have Laxus dispel and remove the lacrimas is to have Master Makarov hand over the guild to his grandson.
After the rules were spoken, Laxus and his team vanished in a flash of lightning.
But not before Laxus informed everybody that there would be a "special guest" joining his side.
The Fairy Tail wizards charged out of the guild like a herd of buffalo once Laxus was gone. Makarov and Natsu (even Gajeel) tried to leave the guild, but were trapped by Freed's magic runes that surrounded the guild.
Something about people over eighty years old weren't allowed to leave the guild.
All over Magnolia, Fairy Tail wizards were fighting, the runes keeping a scoreboard. At first, their mindset was focused solely on Laxus, but as everyone split up in groups they realized that it was a trap. Freed had set up runes all over Magnolia and the groups of wizards were trapped inside until "one wizard stood victorious."
Laxus observed everything from his base in Kardia Cathedral. He was waiting for his "special guest" to arrive.
Meanwhile, at the guild, about thirty minutes into the Battle of Fairy Tail, Erza's artificial eye canceled out Evergreen's Stone Eye spell.
Though, she was the only female free of the spell.
Makarov informed Erza of what had been happening thus far. She stared to exit the guild and join Laxus's "game", but halted when the runes showed an increase in "players."
"Who's the extra member?" Natsu asked, cocking his head to the side.
"Think about who rarely stops by, Natsu." Erza said in a stern voice. "My guess is that it's either Mystogen or Jasmine."
And I hope it's not Jasmine for everyone's sake. Erza thought.
Natsu and Gajeel visibly stiffened at the name. Jasmine is literally the only person that Gajeel has ever been scared of (not that he would admit it).
At Kardia Cathedral . . .
A cross between a genuine smile and a smirk spread across Laxus's face.
A cloaked figure walked into the church before Laxus.
But just one person stood there.
"You came!" Laxus announced, trying not to sound too excited. "Where's Raph?"
"I sent him to the guild." Jasmine replied. She decided to slide the hood back and show her face which rarely happens. "What's going on here?" She asked, glancing at the rune scoreboard.
"A little game I created." Laxus smirked. "I'm remodeling the guild to hold only the strong." He walked closer to Jasmine until he was an inch away from her. "And I think you definitely qualify. I want you to join me, Jasmine."
"Join you?" Jasmine mumbled.
Laxus could feel his heart pound in his chest. Please, say yes! Please, say yes! Please, say yes! He was a nervous wreck, but he would never say it out loud.
An update on Freed's runes caught both of their attention.
Erza vs. Evergreen
W
inner: Erza
"I know Evergreen is apart of your team, but Erza isn't. Are you still 'remodeling' the guild?" Jasmine raised an eyebrow and glared at Laxus.
Laxus swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat. What in blazing hell, Evergreen!! "One loss isn't enough to disturb my plan." He shrugged.
"Does the guild really need to change?" Jasmine sighed.
"Of course it does. You of all people should know how it has changed."
"It has changed, but was the change for the better or for the worst? I think the guild has improved."
"Is it because he left?"
That's adding fuel to the fire. Laxus knew this, but he saw the distant look in Jasmine's eyes. She was remembering the past.
Jasmine glared at the blond as sparks of lightning bounced off of her tanned skin.
"LAXUS!"
The two mages looked at the entryway and saw Erza and Natsu there.
"What the . ." Laxus said under his breath. He glanced at the rune scoreboard and saw two updates.
1. Bickslow vs. Lucy
Winner: Lucy
2. Mirajane vs. Freed
W
inner: Mirajane
Laxus internally groaned and made a mental note to scold them later.
"J-J-J-Jasmine too!?!" Natsu stuttered, his eyes wide and his body shaking. Then for a slight second his attention was drawn to something else. The Fire Dragon Slayer noticed how close Laxus and Jasmine were standing to each other. Like they had been embracing moments earlier.
"What's going on between you two?" Natsu asked with a raised eyebrow.
Jasmine furrowed her eyebrows at Natsu's question. At the snap of her fingers, Natsu was electrocuted.
"Enough." Erza stepped forward, her armor clanking as she moved. "Leave Natsu alone. If you want someone to fight, then fight me."
In response to Erza's brave challenge, Laxus let out a roar of a laugh. "Don't strain yourself, Red. You could never win against Jasmine."
"You speak so highly of her." Erza said, holding a steady gaze at the two lightning mages.
"It's true though." Jasmine mumbled. "But I'm not gonna waste time and energy by fighting you." She started walking toward the entryway of the church, about to leave, when Laxus called out to her.
"So you're gonna take the side of the weaklings? I thought you wanted to be strong!"
"There's nothing weak about wanting to keep things the way they are." And with that, Jasmine left Kardia Cathedral.
A couple of hours later, all the lightning lacrimas had been taken down and Laxus had been defeated. Everyone was cooling off in the guildhall, but a thick tension surfaced when Laxus walked into the guild covered in bandages. Erza allowed him to go see the Master, much to everyone's dislike.
When Laxus came back to the guildhall, he walked straight to the table Jasmine and Raph were sitting at. Standing there, Laxus glanced back at his grandfather who had came out as well and was sitting at the bar. Makarov nodded at the blond as if he was saying, "yes, you have to do this."
Laxus looked back at Jasmine who was now looking at him in a puzzled way.
"Can I talk to you outside?" Laxus mumbled.
Jasmine continued to stare at the blond for a moment longer before she looked at her feline partner. "I'll be back." She told him.
Jasmine followed Laxus outside into the sunset. They stood by the tree in South Gate Park, Laxus turning to look Jasmine directly in the eyes.
"I'm in love with you." Laxus confessed, his breath shaky and his cheeks red. He sighed in relief like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. I finally said it! He thought.
Jasmine showed a second of surprise when her eyes sent wide, but she immediately composed herself by furrowing her eyebrows.
"That ain't funny. I'd electrocute you if it'd actually work." She hissed, lightning bouncing off of her skin.
She was about to turn and walk away, but Laxus grabbed her hand. "No, I'm serious." He said, the look in his eyes silently pleading with her to believe him.
"Look," He took a deep breath. "I know you don't believe in love anymore because of your past, but I've been in love with you ever since I first saw you that day when you joined the guild. I did this whole 'Battle of Fairy Tail' thing just to get you to notice me, to notice how strong I became . . . because you never noticed me as a kid."
Jasmine felt the ice around her heart start to crack. It was like Laxus was trying to break his way into her heart . . . but Jasmine wouldn't be broken so easily.
"Quit with the fake sob story, Laxus. I don't have time for-"
Laxus cut her off by pulling her close to him, wrapping his arms around her waist, and pressing his lips to hers.
Jasmine's eyes widened again and her hands grapsed his shoulders during her state of shock.
The kiss was like electricity, ironically, attracting both of the to each other. Laxus kept his lips firmly pressed to hers because when he was going to pull away, it was like a force pulled him back in. The same for Jasmine. She felt like she wasn't close enough to Laxus and she secretly craved to be closer.
It was the electricity between them. And it was strong.
The Thunder Legion stood about a foot away, smirking at the two dragon slayers. Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen were Laxus's team and most trusted friends. Of course, they knew about Laxus's giant crush on Jasmine.
Well, a crush is how it started out. Now, it's love. But is it completely one-sided?
It took all of Laxus's strength to pull away and break the kiss. Once the kiss was broken, the electric force between them disappeared. Both of their lips were a bit swollen as they heaved in much needed air.
"You don't have to return my feelings right now." Laxus said after catching his breath. "I'll wait." He picked up a sac off the ground and threw it over his shoulder, turning to leave.
"Where are you going?" Jasmine asked.
Laxus looked over his shoulder with eyes filled with regret. "I've been expelled." He said. "But we'll meet again sometime. And I expect an answer by then." He focused his attention forward and walked off without looking back.
"Laxus will be back." Freed assured Jasmine.
"He can do whatever he wants." Jasmine grumbled, turning around and walking back to the guild.
Unknown to the Thunder Legion, Jasmine abruptly walked away to hide her red cheeks.