Laxus crashed through the door, panting after having run all the way up the mountain.
"You came back," Freed marveled.
"Of course... I did," Laxus said, still trying to catch his breath. He held up the box triumphantly. However, the smug look on his face quickly disappeared. "Shit. Someone's coming. They must have followed me."
"Who followed you?"
Freed's question was answered by the royal army bursting through the door of the castle.
"They did," Laxus answered. He tucked the box away in his coat and prepared to fight.
Seeing that Laxus was outnumbered, Freed made a decision. The stained glass glowed brightly and two people came out of it. The two looked at Freed, then at the army. Though disoriented, they did not hesitate to back up Laxus in defending their old friend.
"Laxus," one of the knights began, "if you're going to defend monsters then you will be vanquished like one!"
"Oh we are not the monsters here!" The woman from the stained glass argued.
Laxus took her words to heart. She was right. He took the box out of his coat and called to Freed, "Heads up!"
The box hurtled towards him and he caught it. He opened it hesitantly and his heart, as if pulled by an imaginary force, flew to his chest where it belonged. With a flash of light, Freed changed back into his original form.
Though smaller and admittedly less intimidating, he walked confidently up to the fight. "I am not a monster, and so I will give you one more chance to back down from this ridiculous fight," he said calmly to the army. The two figures from the stained glass looked at each other and nodded before falling into line behind him. Freed held out his hand to Laxus. Laxus hesitated before grasping it and joining his new friends. "Now," Freed began, addressing the troops, "would you really like to charge against four powerful magical beings who just want to continue living their lives unbothered, or can we handle this like adults?"
One by one, the soldiers began to lower their swords and mutter apologies for disturbing the spirit and his friends. "Good choice," Freed replied. "Now go back to your kingdom. Tell your people that we mean them no harm. And tell your king that we will not be so forgiving next time something like this happens."
The soldiers filed out quickly with frantic gasps of "yes, sir!"
Once they had all gone, Freed sighed and turned to his friends. "I'm so sorry!"