Firefall || Fairy Tail

21 : r e s c u e s . a n d . p la n s

The carriage ride hadn't been pleasant for almost none of the rescue party from Fairy Tail. Natsu had managed to lose his lunch out the back and then had nearly gone for round two on Lucy, then Gray and Juvia before Erza swiftly knocked him out. Levy was patting Gajeel on the back as he tried to contain his sickness better than Salamander, so that he wouldn't have to meet the redhead's fist as well. Wendy was apologizing to him for probably the twentieth time for her magic not working on him anymore, while Carla told her to stop blaming herself. Cana was in her own little world as she sipped the bottle in her hand. Laxus sat near the front with her, his head leaned back against the covering, eyes closed as he tried to ignore his own queasiness. He was taking mental note of how different this was from the usual bickering and nagging from the Thunder Legion, but wasn't any better or worse. That thought gave his mind the chance to focus on the conversation he had had with the three he had left.

"So what was she able to tell you?" Freed asked as he leaned against the wall, one hand resting casually over the handle of his rapier.

"There were a handful of wizards waiting for them on the road."

Evergreen rested her hands on her hips out of habit, "We saw Lucy go running by."

"She was going to get Levy started on identifying the guild mark that Verani saw." Laxus ran a hand through his hair.

"You alright?" Bixlow's raised brow came through in his tone as he stood on the other side of Freed with his arms crossed.

Laxus blew his breath out through his nose, "Not looking forward to telling her that she isn't going."

"Do you think you can get her to listen and stay put?" Ever looked between the Lightning Dragon Slayer and the infirmary door. "I mean, this is Verani we're talking about."

"Yeah," the Seith mage nodded, "She can be kind of a hothead."

"That's why I want the three of you to stay behind and watch her."

The Thunder Legion stared at their leader.

"But what about you?" Freed asked.

Laxus let out an audible sigh this time, "I'm going to tell her that I will go in her place so that she'll calm down a little. But the old geezer and I also talked about how whoever was behind this may decide to come back to finish what they started."

The mood surrounding the Thunder Legion darkened. It had hurt them more than anyone really knew when they saw the state Verani was in when she came crashing through the guild doors. They had been at Laxus' side since they joined Fairy Tail, meaning they had known her just as long. There were even a few times that they watched her for the Lightning Dragon Slayer when he and/or Master had to take care of business away from the guild that she couldn't accompany them on. For most of them, she was like a sister to them as well.

Freed nodded, "That's probably for the best."

And that's how Master had started working through who would be going and who would be staying. Though he had imagined Laxus would have stayed with his sister, he wasn't opposed to the idea of his grandson helping with the rescue. He understood that their enemy was not a weak one if they could seemingly overpower one of their strongest, if not their strongest, team of wizards. Team Natsu, Laxus, Gajeel, Levy, Lily, Juvia, and Cana would headout to save Kia and Amber. The Thunder Legion and Strauss siblings would be on point with Master to protect the guild or provide back up if it would be needed. Mira had been on the communication lacrima when they left, informing some of the other guilds what was going on.