Chapter Eleven - Levy, Part Two
"Who's Levy McGarden?" Laxus asked blankly.
I rolled my eyes. "Shut up and get your shit, we're leaving. Don't worry, you get to fight bandits."
Laxus brightened a bit. Not that I was surprised, he was probably still pissed at Ivan. Honestly, I wasn't expecting him to go so far when he was kicked out. He actually tried to kill Cana and Juvia, after all.
Or he was gonna, until Makarov stopped him.
Juvia grabbed my hand, and Cana grabbed an extra pile of cards from the training room walls. Laxus put his shoes on.
"Onee-sama," Juvia asked. "Why do you curse so much?"
I sighed. "It's a bit of a long story, but you guys would pick it up soon anyway, living in this guild. It's not like I'm the worst one in this place."
The three of them sweatdropped. "Actually, you kinda are," Laxus admitted.
I glared at him. "Get your ass moving, we need to hurry; we're sneaking out the back."
"Do we need to get our asses moving, too?" Cana asked.
"No sweetie," I told her. "You need to get your butts moving, there's a difference."
Juvia looked up. "There is?"
I nodded. "Yep."
"No, there isn't," Laxus said, holding the door open as the rest of us rushed out. Juvia was still holding my hand.
"What happened to listening to what I say?" I asked him, referencing the dragon.
"That's different," he said. "I'm not listening to you about this. There's not a difference between butts and asses."
"Yes, there is!" I insisted. "'Ass' is also another name for a donkey."
"Really?" Juvia asked.
I nodded at her. "Really."
Laxus started muttering to himself.
"Guys, come on," Cana yelled. "We don't know when the trains leave."
"Good point," I said, speeding up.
We ran into the station and I ran to the ticket booth. "Four tickets to Onibas, please."
The woman gave me a curious expression, but I held her stare, looking extremely confident.
The woman handed me the tickets and I gave her the Jewel it cost, before looking at the time and grabbing Juvia's hand again. "Come on!" I yelled, requipping the tickets so I didn't lose them. "The train leaves in two minutes!"
We all picked up the pace and ran to the right train. Quickly, we all jumped aboard, and settled in a private compartment.
"You have the tickets?" Laxus asked.
I nodded, requipping them into my hand. "Yep."
"All Aboard! Train to Onibas station is leaving!"
Slowly, the train started to move, and then it began to pick up speed. A man working for the train came by and I handed him our tickets.
"So now what?" Cana asked when they were gone.
"Well, now we plan," I said. "It's...what, a twenty minute ride to Onibas, right?"
They all nodded.
"Alright, so we go there. These bandits kidnapped a kid named Levy McGarden after breaking into her home. We're going to rescue her and kick those bandits' asses!"
"Okay," Juvia and Cana nodded.
"You need more of a plan than that," Laxus said.
I rolled my eyes. "I was getting there. Anyway, if we go for a surprise attack, it shouldn't be too hard. If we quickly switch off; one attack after another, it should be enough to get them. Or at least, the non-mages."
"You think there will be mages?" Laxus asked.
I nodded. "Yeah, Levy McGarden's parents owned a magic shop. That's why I'm calling them bandits, not kidnappers. Though, I suppose murderers might fit, too, because they killed her parents..."
Cana and Juvia gasped, and they started to look worried.
"Calm down, you too," I told them. "First of all, you guys are the extra surprise. While you guys can definitely fight, I want you guys to find Levy and sneak her out. One of you untie her and the other keep guard."
"How do you know she's tied up?" Laxus asked.
I stared at him. "You just like playing Devil's Advocate, don't you? And any set of bandits who are stupid enough to leave their captives untied shouldn't even be a worry in the first place."
Cana and Juvia giggled.
"No, but seriously." I turned to the two of them. "Laxus and I will take on the main fighting. If we need help or backup, trust me, it'll be obvious."
"Can you even fight?" Laxus asked.
"Hmm?" I asked him.
"Well, he kinda has a point," Cana admitted. "I've only ever seen you use teleportation magic and requip magic, and those generally aren't offensive magics. I know you can do location magic too, but that isn't much more of a help."
I shook my head. "No, those aren't my main magics. Those are just some extra magics I learned because I thought that they'd be useful. I'm not very good with those, I'm much more skilled in my main magic."
"What is it?" Juvia asked eagerly.
I smiled and ruffled her hair a bit. "How about we call it Earth Magic for now, okay?"
She nodded, happy. "Juvia is happy Onee-sama uses an element, just like her!"
I chuckled a bit. Soon I'll be using the same element as you, Juvia.
"Anything else we should know?" Cana asked.
I stopped and thought. "If you notice any gate keys hidden by the bandits, grab them for me, will you?"
Juvia and Cana nodded.
"I was wondering why Jiji made that announcement," Laxus said. "You asked him too?"
I nodded. Which reminded me, I needed to make a list of the gate keys that Lucy (and I) had, so I knew which ones to tell people not to get. No need for duplicates.
The train slowed down.
"Looks like we're here," Laxus said, getting off the seat as the train pulled to a stop.
"Hey, Elle-nee-chan," Cana asked.
"Hmm?" I asked, as Juvia took my hand.
"Do you know where Levy McGarden is?"
"Currently, no," I said as we left the train. "I can do a locator spell, you know that. But I think yours would be more precise."
"I don't know her, though," Cana said as she followed us.
"It's fine, I've got that covered," I said. We found a place to sit in the park and Cana pulled out her fortune telling cards and began laying them on the ground. She clasped her right arm in mine, and began to concentrate.
After a few moments, we all felt the magic rise in the air, before it died down again. Cana opened her eyes. "I've got it!" she said, smiling.
She took off, and we all followed her.
Cana left the park, and made her way towards the woods, all of us behind her. After a while, she began to slow down, tired, and we all came to a stop.
"Let's all have a snack," I said, pulling out Enno's cookies and some canteens filled with water.
"Good idea," Cana said. "We should rest a bit."
We sat there and ate her cookies quietly.
"Are...are you sure about this?" Cana asked. "I'm..."
I laid a hand on her arm. "It's okay to be scared, Cana. We're not going to make fun of you. Look, I know we'll all be okay in the end, but that doesn't mean we won't get hurt. We could end up in a lot of pain for a bit, so if you want to step back out, that's okay."
"Well..." Cana said. "I'm not exactly scared of the mission, per se...more of what Master is going to do to us when we get back."
Laxus paled.
Juvia looked up from her cookie. "What's wrong?"
"Don't worry about it," I told them. "He'll yell at us a bit, and he may act a bit disappointed, but I can also tell you that he'll definitely brag about us at his next guild master's meeting."
Laxus brightened. "She's right. He'll probably go something like, 'My brats are so brave, leaving town and saving a little girl! They're so strong!" and then he'll probably get in a fight."
"Does that actually happen at guild meetings, or do you just imagine it does?" I asked him.
He started to blush a bit. "Sh-shut up, Elle."
I laughed.
Cana and Juvia smiled and finished their cookies. Everyone handed me their canteens, and I requipped them into my storage.
"Let's go," I said.
We continued trekking through the forest, until Laxus held up a hand. "We're close," he whispered. "I can hear them."
We peeked through the leaves and found a clearing with a small building.
Juvia looked at him in awe. "You have good hearing Laxus-san."
"It's 'cause he's a dragon slayer," I said quietly. I turned to him. "Speaking of, do you know any dragon slayer attacks?"
He shook his head. "No."
I smiled at him. "Well, what better place to learn than on the battlefield?"
"Literally anywhere else," he said.
I continued, ignoring him. "The first two attacks you need to know, at least for now, is Lightning Dragon Roar, and Lightning Dragon Iron Fist. For the first one, you need to gather your energy and magic in your mouth, and then roar. Simple. Second one, you need to infuse your fist with your magical energy, and then sock somebody with it. Got it?"
He still looked uncertain. "...okay..."
I turned to Cana and Juvia. "Alright, girls, you need to sneak around and find Levy, alright?"
They nodded.
"Let's split. Everyone...take care of your nakama. You know that they will watch your back if you watch theirs."
Laxus and I stood in front of the doors. "Alright, Laxus, I'll bust open the doors and hit the floor. I want you to try Lightning Dragon Roar. If anyone is left standing after that, I'll be able to shield their attack. Okay?"
He nodded, face filling with determination. "Okay."
I smiled. "Let's get these suckers."
I slammed the doors open and hit the ground.
Above me I heard an inhale of air, followed by Laxus shouting, "Lightning Dragon ROAR!"
The result was spectacular. The roar decimated everyone, standing or sitting, leaving clear destruction in its wake.
Or, for a first attempt, anyway. Nothing compared to what I've seen of the dragon slayers in the future.
"Woah," Laxus muttered.
I can't wait to tell him it was a pretty weak attack.
When the smoke cleared, three men were left standing; presumably the mages.
"M-Monster!" one of them cried.
"No," one of them corrected. "Children." He held up an arm. "Wave of Fire!" A (you guessed it) wave of fire spread across his sweeping arm and hurtled in our direction.
I channeled my magic through my hands and slammed them on the ground, shouting, "Earth Rock Shield!"
A wall from the ground shot up, blocking Laxus and I from the attack.
"Cool," he whispered behind me.
"Earth's Green Fist!" I shouted, and the wall in front of me changed into a giant fist and smacked into the three standing mages, sending them flying.
"Wow," Laxus breathed, before shouting. "Wow, Elle, your magic is awesome!"
I smiled at him. "Thanks."
The three mages were lying unconscious on the floor, and no one was left standing.
Cana and Juvia ran up, followed by Levy.
"We've got Levy!" Cana shouted, before slowing to a stop as she eyed the destruction. "Woah."
"Wow..." Juvia said.
"You guys did this?" Levy asked, also in awe.
I nodded. "It's nice to meet you, Levy. My name is Elle, and he's Laxus."
"How are you guys so powerful?" she said, looking from Laxus and I to Cana and Juvia.
"Simple," I said, smiling. "We're Fairy Tail."
She blinked. "Where are your guild marks?"
I looked at all of us. Juvia had hers on her leg and Cana had hers on her stomach, and they were both wearing dresses. Mine was on my back and my jacket was on, and Laxus , who had his on his chest, was wearing his shirt.
"Dammit!" I lamented. "None of our guild marks are showing! That's so not cool! I should have taken my jacket off! And Laxus, next time take off your shirt."
"What?" he sputtered. "Why would I do that? What kind of idiot strips in a fight?"
I snickered, and his eyes widened.
I sighed and requipped my jacket away, so at least my mark was showing. I turned to look at Juvia and Cana. "Did you come across anyone else?"
They shook their heads. "There was one guy watching her, but he ran off after the noises started," Cana said.
"Damn," I muttered. "Did we miss him?"
"No," Laxus said, shaking his head. "He was the third mage. He must have come in before the smoke cleared, because I didn't see him before." He pointed to a man lying on the floor. "Is that him?"
They nodded.
I smiled at them. "Great. Now, let's keep them here, alert the local authorities, and go to the hospital."
"How do we keep them here?" Cana asked.
I smirked. "Leave it to me."
Walking forward, I closed my eyes and concentrated on my magic, spreading out my arms. "Arms...of the Earth!" I shouted. Dozens of vines shot out of the ground, curling around every one of the bandits and shooting back into the ground, locking them into place. Once the spell was finished, I let my arms down, a little tired.
"Wow!" Levy breathed.
"Onee-sama!" Juvia cheered. "That was awesome!"
I smiled at them. "Come on. Let's speak to the mayor."