thewhitedragonslayer:

” Hm, what is it? ” Sting asked giving the other a questioning look, not knowing for certain to take it offensive or not, he choosed the latter when she took the butterknife to show what she meant, ” ! ” suddenly scanning the area, indeed she was right. He was just thinking he was imagining things, but he wasn’t indeed every single town, they were getting smaller and smaller. ” You’re right ” giving a small nod. 

When they had finished their breakfast, they continued walking and walking. The road seemed endless, ” Juvia, you sure we’re not going in circles? ” He asked as he stopped and looked at the water mage. After a while they reached a lake, but it wasn’t a normal lake, no it was a lake of lava. The white dragon slayer crossing his arms over his chest, letting out a sigh and wondered what to do. Juvia looked around, trying to find out where to go to. ” Huh? ” Sting turned around, he saw a small red imp running towards their direction, then stopping by their feet, panting. The imp looking up, ” You’ll help Netflix, right? Netflix is being chased by big bad monsters, wanting to eat poor little Netflix ” 

Juvia knelt down by the little imp and gave him a pat on the head. “Of course we will,” she said. ‘How lucky! He came right to us’, Juvia thought. A loud roaring interrupted the happy thoughts, and two scaly creatures emerged from the trees. She rose from her position and guided the imp behind her and lifted her hand in a defensive position.

“Netflix-kun, you hide in those bushes over there, and under no circumstance are you to leave. Do you understand,” she said while looking over her shoulder to him. He nodded and waddled off. After leaping into a nearby bush, she returned her attention to the approaching monsters.

“One for the each of us, it seems,” she told her partner with a smirk. With that, Juvia broke right and weaved her magic.

“Water Slicer!”

Blades of water sliced towards the monster cutting off one of its horns and leaving a deep gash in its abdomen. “Its scales are tough, but not as tough as Gajeel-kun’s iron scales.” Despite oozing green blood, the creature shrugged off her attacks and continued its march in her direction.

It was much too big for a Water Lock. And offensive attacks weren’t her strong points. But she needed to protect the imp. Water encircled her fist and she launched into the air via a water funnel. She threw her punch and a rush of water shot out, landing on its jaw and toppling it over backwards and into the lava lake. One down.

thundersredemption:

“‘Bout time you woke up.” Laxus’ voice pierced the darkness. It was clear that he was frustrated - not with Juvia, but more so having let someone get the drop on him. It was so insulting - how could anyone get a drop on the S-class mage? He still found his teeth gritting together out of frustration. “Answer to all of those: I don’t know. The only thing I can figure is we’re under the resort. Nowhere else nearby, and…ugh, the smell.”

Laxus coughed in response to the stench overwhelming him once again - there were times like these where having a dragon slayer’s nose was not the great and wonderful gift that it usually was.

“We’re in some sort of room. There’s a metal door a few feet in front of you, so be careful if you get up. Tried blowing it open, with no luck. We’re just going to have to play the waiting game for the time being.” An exasperated sigh left him, and he shook his head. His face turned towards Juvia - or where he estimated she was in the darkness, at least.

“You alright?”

His frustration with the situation sparked their atmosphere – who could blame him? Juvia faced the front, where the door would be. Doors usually have cracks of some sort, right?

Her knees shook when she tried to push herself off the floor. “I’m well, thank you,” she said and glanced over at the dark silhouette by her side. “Are you hurt?”

Dusting her dress off, she carefully made her way to the door and pressed her ear against the metal. No sound, not even a murmur behind it. The smell made it difficult to concentrate, but she managed to turn the bottom half of her body into water, and spread herself out to search for a draft, crack, anything. Her plan was if she could get behind the door, she could unlock it from the other side.

No dice, though. “Damn,” she whispered quietly. It was sealed off completely.

“See, darling, not even the mages could get through,” a woman’s voice said. The blue-haired woman turned and saw a huddled shadow on the opposite side of the room. “It’s okay, my dear, as long as I have you, I’m not scared of what will happen to us.” The fairy couldn’t help but smile. Even after being kidnapped, their love for each other kept them strong.

Wait – kidnapped?

The missing couples were in here, too!? Juvia felt her way back to Laxus. Her hand found his shoulder, and she placed her palm on his right knee to bring herself back down next to him. “You knew they were here,” she said quietly.

“If the monster took them all because of how much they were in love…” her voice stopped, but her mind finished the sentence. ‘Then why did it take us?’

Her hand covered her mouth in realization. 

thewhitedragonslayer:

Sting stopped as the other asked him a question, it was a good one. ” Hmm… ” He pondered about it for a little while, thinking about what purpose the orbs could have. ” So far these orbs… have been helping us actually ” He finally says as he looks at the orb that he has in his hand. ” It warns us of danger in a certain area. ”  Sting looked back at Juvia, ” But instead we go towards the dangerous places ” so perhaps the orbs served as a sort of item that would warn the elders if trouble would arrive. ” I guess they serve the elders for protecting their towns ” was all Sting could say. However they needed some kind of leader, right?

” Wait a minute… ”

That elderly man he met before he went to the shrine of the holy maiden, the servant’s master, could it be? Could it be that he was the leader!? The other knew a lot about the orbs more then Sting and probably Juvia would know about the orbs. ” … ” He was sure about it, the elder man is the leader. The white dragon slayer sighed, ” I guess we only find the truth by collecting these orbs ” He putted the orb back in his bag. ” The last orb, that imp has it, right? ” now where would a imp be hiding? Yeah…he was totally clueless about that. 

“The only way to find him is to keep searching in the direction Sir Patrick told us,” Juvia said. “These things sometimes do other things besides warn people of danger. Haven’t there been times where they’ve… done other stuff?” She examined the light blue orb in her right hand, holding it up and squinting at it.

“What else can you do…?” she asked it curiously.

Sting and Juvia traveled through several cities for the next few days, taking shelter where they could. It wasn’t until the fourth or fifth stop when they noticed how they were on the right track.

“Sting-kun,” Juvia said while they stat in an inn’s lobby during breakfast. “You’re the tallest person in this room.”

It wasn’t an offhanded comment. In retrospect, it started to click. In the towns, the citizens’ average height gradually shrunk. She surmised the tallest person in this current city didn’t even reach passed her bustline.

The water mage wiped her butterknife clean and brought the blunt end to the bottom of her clavicle. “This is where the people in the last village reached,” she deduced. Then she lowered the knife to under her chest. “And now these villagers only reach up to here.”

“I think we’re getting closer.”

thewhitedragonslayer:

Sting sat down by the window again, his feet outside of the window as he looked at the town seems like they had worked hard in the night to repair a few buildings. Letting out a small yawn as he suddenly looks down, ” You two lovebirds leaving already? ” Matthew and Lara looked up, ” Oh you’re awake already? ” Lara asked while raising a brow, Matthew giving a small nod. ” Yeah, we don’t want to be a bother anymore ” He shook his head a little but then smiled. ” Thank you for everything ” Sting was holding something in his hand he threw it up and caught it again. Lara now smiling slightly as well, ” You like it? ” the white dragon slayer giving a curt nod. ” Yeah ” holding up the stone making it shimmer a little in the sunlight. ” Luck Stone am I right? ” Both giving a nod, ” When we first started to travel together someone we helped gave us that stone, we want you to have it ” they waved before turning around. ” Farwell! ” 

” I think you mean, till we meet again~ ” 

Lara turning around giving a thumb up, ” You bet and just you wait I’ll be planning my sweet revenge for that switch trick! ” Sting stared for a while and watched them leave, was he supposed to be afraid now? Not that it really worked but the white dragon slayer couldn’t help but to be a little curious about what the red head was planning to do. His attention then went towards a bakery owner that had some trouble with carrying a few items inside, Sting jumped out of the window with his hands in his pockets. ” Need some help? ” Since he was here anyways, why not help this citizen out? The owner gave a small nod and together they brought the items inside. The owner wiping the sweat off his forehead then looking at Sting that was holding a bag with bread and baguette. ” You can keep those if you want ” Sting glancing over towards the bag before looking back at the owner, giving a small nod. ” Thanks ” 

When he arrived in their room again he placed the bag on the table, breakfast was ready and he didn’t even need to do much for it! Sting sat down again by the window again, hearing a door opening. Glancing over his shoulder giving the water mage a tiny smile, ” Good Mornin’ ” then noticing the hat. ” Nice hat, Vero gave you that one? ” 

Juvia waved good morning to the white dragon slayer, her satchel draped over her shoulder. She grinned and nodded in confirmation, and fingered the fur trimming while blushing.

“Does it look alright?” She hung her bag on the chair and took her seat next to Sting. The plate of food’s steam wafted upwards and she enjoyed the aroma before digging in. Eggs and hash browns - good source of protein and the right amount of carbs. She’d have plenty of energy for the day.

Juvia poked and prodded her meal while making idle chit-chat with Sting. They had playful banter about their teams beating each other in the games once they resume, and the girl found herself smiling more around his presence. She took his empty plate, as well as hers, and placed them in the sink. “So,” she started. “Shall we continue on our journey?”

The two walked down a cobblestone road for some ways, each holding one orb in their hands. The rest were stored in their bags - and they were getting kind of heavy. They only had one more left before - before what, exactly?

“Ne, Sting-kun. What exactly is this purpose again? I mean, all Juvia remembers is Tingalf-san telling us to collect orbs. But for what purpose? For whose purpose?”

thewhitedragonslayer:

Sting gave a slight nod before looking at Lara that opened her bag revealing a golden orb. ” We found this! ” a wide grin appeared on her face before she showed Juvia the orb. ” It took you a while to get it though ” Soon Lara’s grin faded as she send Sting a glare. ” And who’s fault is that!? ” Sting giving a shrug of his shoulders, ” Not my fault that you failed to notice that switch, but what’s important is that we got it now ” A smirk formed soon after he said that. ” Meaning we need one more~ ” 

When the other released his hand he glanced over his shoulder, giving a nod. ” Goodnight, Juvia ” Sting sat down by the window he didn’t really feel that tired, holding his hands behind his head as he looked outside. He could see the ocean from a far, despite the fact that the town was on fire a few hours ago it seemed so peaceful. Sting could see people rebuilding certain buildings as well. ” Only one to go ” He mumbled to himself as he crossed his arms over his chest. Leaning with his back against the wall. Holding his hand by his mouth as he let out a yawn. ” Guess I just go to bed ” He stood up and looked at Matthew, Lara went to bed already. ” Goodnight ” and with that he turned around and entered his room. Still he couldn’t help it….something did not feel right about all this.

A lot had gone on recently, and Juvia was too tired to catch on if something was amiss. In her eyes, things were going smoothly. She pulled the covers up to her chin and settled in for the night.

That morning…

It was nice to not wake up to the sounds of explosions or pulsating, nagging orbs for once. Juvia didn’t remember the last time she woke up at her leisure. She stretched her arms over her head and peered out the window. The location of the sun told her it was still morning – nine probably – and she slipped off the bed. Something caught her eye on the nightstand.

A wrapped box with a note was perched on the wood. She picked up the note and flipped it open.

“Dear Juvia,

Thank you for befriending me in that prison cell. I’m going to miss you a lot, but I know this is where we need to separate. I remember you from the Grand Magic Games, and I wondered where your pretty hat was. So to show my gratitude, I took the liberty to buy you a new hat. I hope you like it! Think of me when you wear it.

Love,

Vero Lomeli”

Opening the box, Juvia found a new black Cossack hat with a beige fur trim. It was almost identical to the one she wore in the Grand Magic Games, but it lacked her butterfly pin. She picked it up and admired her new hat, inspecting the quality.

“Wow,” she whispered. “Vero-chan… you shouldn’t have…”

thundersredemption:

Laxus listened as Juvia laid out all that they knew. It really wasn’t that much to go on, and it frustrated him. Right now, only one idea came to mind. “Well, all four couples weren’t abducted sitting in their hotel rooms, so I guess our best shot is to hit the outside and see if we can find anything.”

The two changed into more casual clothing, similar to what they wore out the day before, and hit the boardwalk. Questions were asked, and few answers were given. Only one thing seemed to be a constant - the couples were truly in love with one another, with some of them expressing it very outwardly, and others quietly.

That still didn’t help any. It shouldn’t matter if they were in love, the fact was the couples were being abducted and Juvia and Laxus were here to stop it.

Laxus suddenly smelled something. Something foul. Something very, very different.

Juvia continued to walk, not having noticed Laxus’ sudden stopping. He sniffed the air again.

Without warning, a nearby maintenance door flew open. Something covered Laxus eyes and mouth, and without warning, he vanished into the same door, the only sound being heard being the soft click of the door shutting behind him.

It was a good thing he was smart enough to kick a flip-flop off as soon as it happened, hoping that it would be enough for Juvia to go after him.

Juvia pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration while they walked down the boardwalk. She didn’t feel any new significant or helpful information had been learned from their questioning. Weren’t all the couples here in love? There had to be something they were overlooking. Something big. If only it made itself more obvious.

It wasn’t until Juvia asked about stopping for a glass of lemonade when she realized she was alone. “La..xus?”

Not a sign.

Juvia retraced her steps, her heart thumping in worry. Where did he go? Maybe he had to use the bathroom? Her cobalt orbs darted around and a single sandal caught her eye. It belonged to Laxus. Her brow furrowed while she picked it up and examined it. The woman walked around the area, walking past the maintenance room. “Laxus?” she called again, this time a little louder.

“Laxus, if you needed to use the restroom that badly, you could have to—“ her words were muffled when she felt something over her mouth. Her vision darkened, and she found herself unable to transform into water, possibly due to the stench throwing off her concentration. The bluenette was dragged through the door, and it creaked shut once again, showing no signs of an exterior struggle.

Dark lashes fluttered and Juvia’s eyes adjusted to the darkness of – wherever she was. It was cool, damp, and smelled disgusting. Massaging her temples with her fingertips with one hand, she used the other to feel around her environment. “Where am I? What… is this place?” Her hand found something warm – another hand!

thewhitedragonslayer:

Sting noticed the blush, but without noticing a tiny shade of pink appeared on his cheeks as well. ” Ah well that’s kinda a long story ” He glanced over towards Matthew and Lara. ” Well it all started when Matthew here wanted to avoid the battlefield by pretending to be sick ” Matthew’s face dropped, ” Why do you need to tell that? ” Matthew mumbled as he started sulking, Lara only snickering in return. ” I bet he would still try that ” Matthew trying to counter that sentence ” T-that’s!…….true ” Sting letting out a sigh crossing his arms over his chest, closing his eyes.

” And here I was left thinking that you’ve become less of a wuss, guess I was mistaken ” 

Giving a shrug of his shoulders, ” When we entered the battlefield we defeated many enemies ” he paused then looking up again, ” But we heard a loud explosion so we returned to the camp only to find things on fire there, I think we got help from someone… ” could it have been that other mage they bumped into? The only that fought Pirotess and her brother in the previous town before they got captured? ” We also had some other problems but other then Lara here trying to get us all deaf not much happened after that ” 

“I don’t think that was cowardly at all,” Juvia said while smiling at Matthew. “If anything, it shows how clever Matthew-kun is!” She observed him and Lara while they sat together.

The water mage returned her gaze to Sting. “Well, Juvia is glad you all are safe. Did you manage to find anything?”

She was very relieved and happy to be back on track with this mission. Hopefully there wouldn’t be any more derailments. Once this mystery was solved, the sooner the games could resume. Fairy Tail had an image to upkeep, and while she was glad to have the opportunity to bond with one of Sabertooth’s finest, they weren’t going to take the prize home this year.

Dark eyes peered through the window and witnessed the sun set. Her body was sore and tired, and she idly rubbed the back of her neck while yawning ungracefully. Her fingers released Sting’s hand, and her grasp felt cold and empty for a brief moment. She looked over to the white dragon slayer over her shoulder. “I think I’m going to get some rest. We still have some work to do, don’t we?” Another smirk, and the woman bid Matthew and Lara goodnight and said her final tearful goodbyes to Vero. “Please keep in touch. Stop by Fairy Tail sometime,” she said with tears rolling down her cheeks. Another hug later, and Juvia made her way to the room next door.

thundersredemption:

The look he gave her was one similar to the way he always looked at her - a long, hard stare. Yet there was something there, for all of just a moment, that made his eyes soften as if to affirm her unasked question. Laxus knew that he felt something different for Juvia. It was hard to think through the mix of confusing thoughts, but he knew with certainty that he did not want her to be anywhere else - and that was the first person he had ever truly thought that about.

Their moment of sensitivity came to a close, those thoughts vanishing into the back of his mind. Right now, he just wanted to focus on the fact that she was there, in front of him, and that they needed to take advantage of any moment they got like this.

His lips met hers once again in a fiery kiss, one far different than the previous. His hands moved to take her by the waist, lifting her off the ground and pulling her into him, the space between them now wholly nonexistent.

It was frustrating not having a word for these feelings, yet, but it all melted when he pulled her close and reignited the previous night’s passion. Her arms formed a ring around his neck and she never felt more content than in that moment.

Clothing fell silently to the floor and the two made their way into the refurbished bed. The intimacy this second time was more sensual, and less about one-upping each other. The claiming had been done. This night was about two people who shared mutual feelings for each other getting lost and tangled in each other’s limbs. She would never forget that split second his eyes softened slightly. It told her all she needed to know for now.

He didn’t have to outright say it, whatever it was. And he didn’t prod her either. They moved together in the night, and while they still reveled in the pleasure they brought to each other, Juvia felt the most satisfied in his arms, where he held her tightly, closely.

She was the first to awaken this time, and her cobalt eyes observed his sleeping form. He had an almost childlike innocent quality to him while he slept, something she found endearing. His keen senses must have caught on, because his orange-flecked orbs blinked open and caught her staring at him. She smiled and kissed him on the nose.

“Morning,” she said.

The woman slipped into pajamas, which she hadn’t actually used to sleep in once yet, and set to work on the kitchenette’s table. Pulling a notebook from her sack, she scribbled notes regarding the missing couples and any bits of information they managed to glean from eavesdropping. The time for observation had ended, and now they needed to take a more proactive approach to this mission. Juvia leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs.

“There were four couples missing. Two from the restaurant we went to the first night, the one from the beach, and the other two mentioned by the group. What do you think we should do?” she asked while looking at Laxus, who had sat up in the bed.