The group of four looked around the bar and, of course, Vikki was nowhere to be found.
"We gotta find her." Laxus stated, "The least we can do is finish this job."
"How much time do you think has passed since we left?" Freed asked.
"I didn't even think about that . ." Bickslow muttered.
"No time!" Laxus declared, leaving the bar. "Let's go!"
The Thunder Legion and Laxus asked around the town for any whereabouts of Vikki. They were disappointed to discover that she left town three months ago.
"So what do we do now?" Bickslow asked.
Currently, the team had just left the mayor's office. The meeting with him was reassuring to Lovett. Laxus stated that their job wasn't over and promised to hunt down Vikki and defeat her. In return, when they did defeat her, the mayor asked that they return and receive their reward.
"We're heading back to the guild." Laxus stated.
"But what about Vikki?" Freed asked.
"We're still going to find her," Laxus explained, "but we'll need some help first."
"Help from who exactly?" Evergreen asked, smirking.
"Haha! From Jasmine of course!" Bickslow laughed. His dolls then repeated, "Jasmine! Jasmine!"
"Shut up." Laxus grumbled, a light pink blushed appearing on his cheeks.
In Magnolia, more specifically Fairy Tail, the guild was being its usual self: loud and noisy.
Natsu and Gray were fighting, which started an all-out brawl on the entire left side of the guild.
The right side consisted of mainly the girls and women of the guild who didn't want to participate in the fighting.
A heavy sigh was released, causing Erza, who was sitting with her, to finally address the issue. "You're worried about Laxus, aren't you?" She asked.
"Not really." Jasmine replied, lazily drawing circles on the wooden table with her index finger out of boredom.
"Liar." Raph stated almost immediately.
Jasmine sighed again for what seemed like the millionth time. "Well, it's just-" She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to hide her embarrassment of expressing feelings. "He's been gone for four months."
"I know," Erza reassured her, "but Laxus is a very powerful wizard. I'm sure the job is just taking longer than expected. Master would have sent out a team if he thought something was wrong."
"I guess you're right . ."
Deep down, however, Jasmine was simply scared that Laxus abandoned her just like Erik did. She finally gave him a chance since he claimed to love her and poof -- he disappears!
Fear and anger/resentment has built up over the four months that Laxus had been away.
Raph, being her partner and best friend, took notice of this.
At that moment, the guild doors creaked open. People took notice and the fighting slowly came to a halt. Everyone stared in awe because standing in the entrance of the guild was none other than Laxus and the Thunder Legion.
"Laxus and the Thunder Legion are back?"
"I thought they went missing four months ago."
"What happened to them?"
"They don't look injured."
Murmurs started to fill the guild as people wondered about the reappearing team and their whereabouts.
Laxus, however, ignored the looks and murmurs and confidently walked toward the bar where his grandfather was sitting. His team followed behind him.
"We've got a problem." Laxus stated to his grandfather.
"You're telling me." Makarov chuckled, "You disappear on me and then reappear four months later and I don't even get so much as a hello."
"We've been gone for four months!?" Freed asked, completely shocked by the information. Bickslow and Evergreen were shocked as well.
Laxus was surprised too, but did not show it.
"Yes, you have."
Laxus tensed at the familiar voice of his girlfriend. He glanced to his left and saw her standing there with an emotionless expression on her face. Her arms were crossed firmly over her chest and she held a sharp gaze toward him.
She was angry.
Laxus knew it. He heard it in her voice when she spoke. The way she spat out those words said it all. He obviously didn't want her to be angry with him, so he was quite nervous about addressing her.
Focusing his attention back onto his grandfather momentarily, he informed him, "I'll explain later, but we're gonna need help on this job." Then he looked back at Jasmine. "We're gonna need your help." Then he scanned the rest of the guild hall. Raising his voice, he added, "And Cana!"
The Card Mage waved lazily at the group from her spot in the guild. Murmurs once again started to fill the guild, but Laxus ignored them.
Time was of the essence.
Freed approached Cana, asking her if she could track down Vikki. He even showed her a picture of her that he had gotten from Lovett's mayor.
Meanwhile, Laxus smiled nervously at Jasmine who still had a sharp gaze. "What do ya say?" He suggested, "Care to help us out?"
"And why would I help you out?" She growled.
Laxus flinched at her harsh tone. She was really angry. "Are you mad because I suddenly disappeared?" He asked.
"What do you think?" She cocked her head to the side and looked at him like the answer should be obvious.
Laxus sighed before gently grabbing her wrist and leading her outside. Jasmine silently allowed him to lead, hoping that he could somehow explain himself. "We'll be back." He said to Bickslow and Evergreen who had been patiently waiting for him and Freed to be finished.
Laxus took Jasmine behind the guild for some privacy. He let go of her wrist and faced her before grabbing both wrists in his hands and kneeling down on one knee.
"Let me explain," He began, tracing circles on the back of her hands with his thumbs. "Freed, Evergreen, Bickslow, and I were trapped in a curse for the past four months. The job was to defeat a wizard who used Curse Magic, but she got the best of us and trapped us in one of her curses. Now, she's long gone and I want to at least complete the job like I was suppose to four months ago."
She gave him a skeptical look, indicating that she was on the fence of not believing him. "How do I know you're not lying?" She mumbled, not looking at him.
"Where else would I be for four months?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know, Laxus, people abandoning me seems to be a pattern in my life!" She spat and, once again, Laxus flinched at her harsh tone. He knew that she was talking about Erik, but not only that.
She is a first generation dragon slayer, so her dragon foster parent did disappear.
"I'd never abandon you." He stated.
"You don't know that!"
"Ok . . How about, I won't abandon you."
Tears of frustration and anger started to build up in Jasmine's eyes. And Laxus took notice of that. "Remember what I told you?" He began, "I promised you that I would be the best boyfriend you've ever had. So I won't abandon you. I won't make you cry. I won't cause you any pain. And I'm doing all of that because I love you and I don't want to see you get hurt, whether it be physical or emotional. I'll always be here for you."
He watched as she struggled to keep her tears in check. Her eyebrows kept furrowing deeper and her jaw was tightly clenched. With a tug of the arms on Laxus' part, she stumbled and fell foward into his open arms, her knees making contact with the ground.
Is it okay? She wondered. Is it really okay? She rested her head on his shoulder, still fighting to keep her tears in check. However, when she felt Laxus hug her tightly and securely, the tears escaped on their own.
In his arms, she felt safe.
In his arms, she felt loved.
And in his arms, she felt happy.
She wasn't going to admit it, but deep down she missed having him by her side.
She was secretly, a secret only to Laxus, glad about his return to Fairy Tail and to her.