"This is..." Laxus started to say, but Makarov lifted his hand for silence.
"We will watch...no need for speaking." The old man said quietly. Laxus saw movement out of the corner of his eye and his heart skipped a beat when Skye suddenly ran through him. She was 12 years old at this time. Her hair was down in a red, tousled mess and she was running around gathering clothes and throwing them hastily into a leather bag on her sleeping mat. Skye stopped packing for a moment and looked in the direction of Laxus and Makarov. They turned around as Gildarts' voice sounded behind them.
" I guess you're leaving soon? Do you have everything you need?" Gildarts had entered the small house and was standing between Makarov and Laxus. He was smiling a fatherly smile at Skye, who grinned back. "Almost done! I'm just doing some last minute packing.....have you seen my copy of 'Ancient Histories and Cultures of Earthland'? I can't find it anywhere....wait! Nevermind, I found it!" Skye pulled a large book from behind a pot.
"Why did you put it there? Do you think you will have much downtime to read during your mission work?" Gildarts asked.
"Because Laxus called me an egghead when he saw it, and we will have downtime in the evenings. I wont have time during the daytime to read." Skye said as she was stuffing the book into her bag. "Okay, that's it! I'm good to go! I told Laxus that I would meet him in South Gate Park before I left." She swung her bag over her shoulders as Gildarts walked forward and pulled her into an embrace.
"You're such a good girl, I love you. I might not be here when you return, I took an S-Class job in Bosco, and I don't know when I will be back." Gildarts held his daughter closer as she hugged him back.
" I love you too, Dad. And I'll be here when you do come back!" Skye said cheerfully.
"You better get going if Laxus is waiting for you." Gildarts withdrew from Skye and watched her walk towards the door.
"See you later then!" Skye grinned as she left the house. Suddenly, Makarov and Laxus were following her through the streets of Magnolia without taking a single step. Laxus looked down to find the ground moving beneath him. "Ugh..." he groaned, bringing his hand up to his mouth. They followed her all the way to South Gate Park, where a much younger Laxus waited.
"I remember this....It's the last time I saw her before she disappeared." Laxus watched Skye approach his younger self. She had snuck up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. Young Laxus turned around to face her and fumbled with his music player.
"Took you long enough. I was starting to think you'd ditched me." He frowned disapprovingly.
"I'm really sorry, I had last minute packing to do."Skye smiled sheepishly.
"I thought you were going to take care of that last night?"
"Hehe...yeah. I never got around to it."
"So irresponsible" He smirked at her.
"Hey, shut up! You're one to talk, mister lets climb up Kardia Cathedral." Skye stuck her tongue out at Laxus, who thumped her on the head. "You went along with it....anyway, how long are you going to be gone for?"
"10 days, nine nights. I think I might ask Dad if I can join the guild when I get back too. My bending is a lot better than it used to be! And if I join, we can be a team!" Skye grinned excitedly. Young Laxus smiled and put his hand on her head, "When you get back, sure. Um...hey, I've got something I want to tell you," He looked away with his face starting to go pink.
"BONG......BONG" They both jumped as the bells sounded from Kardia Cathedral. "Oh crap!" Skye checked her watch, which read noon.
" I have to go! It's later than I thought. Sorry, Laxus...tell me when I get back, okay?" Skye started to run across the park, but doubled back and ran at Laxus.
"Hey! What are you-" He started to say as Skye jumped up and hugged him around the neck.
"See ya, Scar Face!" She grinned and took off back across the park.
"Don't call me that!" Young Laxus called after her.
The ground beneath Makarov and Laxus began to move again as Skye ran through Magnolia. Makarov looked up at his grandson and asked, "What were you going to tell her?" Laxus glanced down at Makrov for a moment before looking back at Skye.
"I was going to tell her that I love her....that was the plan anyway. Don't know if I actually would have said it."
"I see..." Makarov muttered. They came to a stop in front of a church. Skye ran up to a nun sweeping the entrance and caught her breath.
"Is Father Michaelis still here? He didn't leave did he?" She asked between breaths. The nun stopped sweeping for a moment and smiled at Skye. She told Skye to wait a moment and went inside the church. While she waited, Skye opened a water skin on her hip and waved her hand over it. A large amount of water followed her hand as she guided it around her head. She twirled around and the water followed her every move. She raised her other hand, exhaled, and fire appeared around her hand. Grinning, Skye started to spin around with the water and fire criss-crossing each other. She could see the fire through the water, waving and rippling in the sun.
"Well, well, you have become quite good at Bending, Skye." Said a kind voice behind her. Skye jumped and the fire disappeared and the water fell to the ground. Turning around, her eyes rested upon a middle-aged, clean shaven man in a black priests cassock. He had sincere eyes that looked slightly large behind his glasses, and his dark brown hair had begun to grey.
"Father Michaelis! It's good to see you!" Skye bent the water that had spilled on the ground back into her water skin.
"Shall we? We have one other person to pick up before we leave town. It won't do to keep them waiting." He gestured towards the street. Skye nodded and they set off up the street. They passed by several shops and houses before the priest led them down an alley.
"She lives in a rather isolated place, and doesn't get out much. I managed to convince her to come with us to hopefully make some new friends, and do some good in the world." He explained. They took a few lefts and rights down the alley, and came to a dead end with a door at the end. Skye peeked around Father Michaelis and looked at the door. It looked well worn, and ready to fall off it's hinges if you tried to open it.
" Is this it? No offense to this lady, but the place kinda looks like a dump." Skye screwed up her eyes trying to see inside the grimy, dirty windows surrounding the door.
"No, This isn't the place we are looking for...we must have taken a few wrong turns. And don't judge a book by it's cover Skye, you never know who or what may reside inside. Still...It might not hurt to ask for directions." Father Michaelis sighed and approached the door. He knocked three times, and waited for a reply, but none came. Shrugging his shoulders the priest turned around and began to walk away from the grimy building. *Knock Knock Knock* Skye and Father Michaelis turned around and stared at the door. For a few seconds the door stared back at them in silence. Skye wondered if she had imagined the door knocking back. The priest walked back over to the door and grabbed the door handle. A low hum sounded from behind the door as he turned the handle and slowly opened the door. Skye stifled a small scream.
"What?!" Makarov exclaimed. Laxus' jaw dropped at the sight before them. Instead of a room beyond the door, there was a dark city street with various closed shops along the sidewalk. Skye took a couple of steps forward to get a closer look.
"Whats all this now? Let's see where this leads shall we?" Father Michaelis stepped through the door with Skye on his heels into what looked like a deserted outside shopping center in a very large city. Skye looked at a nearby sign which read: "Jezebel Plaza". She had never heard of a place like that anywhere in Magnolia. The buildings were all run down with their canopies torn and rotting. A couple of shops had old looking foreclosure signs posted in their boarded up windows and a neon pharmacy sign was flickering on and off. Father Michaelis seemed fascinated with their new surroundings, while Skye backed up and stood next to Makarov.
" Maybe we should go back and let Fairy Tail know about this...I don't really like this place." Skye's voice started to crack, and she looked back at the door where they came from. It was the door to an old closed toy store. Like some of the other stores, it too had a foreclosure sign in the window.
" Now child, where's your sense of adventure? We seem to be in a whole different world! Lets see if anybody is around." The priest took Skye's hand and led her down the street. The further they went, the more nervous Skye became. She adjusted the bag on her back and looked all about her. The city had an ominous feeling to it that emanated from every dark corner and every shadow. The only light was around the corner they were headed towards. As they drew closer to the corner, they began to hear voices.
"Excellent! There's someone here. Let's ask them where this is! Perhaps we're not the only ones from our world in this new one." Father Michaelis' voice seemed different now. Laxus frowned at the priest, "I don't like this..." he muttered. Makarov nodded in agreement.
The voices grew louder as they rounded the corner, and they came face to face with a group of frightening looking people. The most frightening of them all was a man in a white suit, who wore a black mask in the shape of a skull. Next to him was a rather tall man with chains around his arms. Around the masked man there were large boxes with a black skull insignia on the front. The strangers noticed Skye and Father Michaelis right after they had rounded the corner. For a moment the two groups stared at each other for a few seconds before the masked man stepped forward.
"Who the hell are you?" His voice was smooth and cold.
"Terribly sorry, We made a wrong turn and wound up in this place," Father Michaelis swallowed and moved in front of Skye, "We won't bother you anymore." The masked man walked toward them with a slight swagger and the tall man followed him.
"No," He said, pulling a gun from a holster in his suit, "You won't."
The next few minutes seemed to go in slow motion. Skye looked on in horror as the masked man aimed his gun at Father Michaelis' head and pulled the trigger. She jumped back from the falling corpse that once was her friend. Her eyes began to swim with tears and she let out a scream.
"Rico, take care of the girl." The masked man said, while staring at Skye. The man named Rico started moving toward Skye, who stood rooted to the spot, staring down at Father Michaelis' body. His eyes were wide open and his glasses were askew. The bullet hole in his forehead slightly oozed dark red blood, which trickled down the side of his head.
"Run, Skye!" Laxus angrily shouted. As if on his command, Skye looked up and saw the large man advancing on her. Immediately, she turned and ran in the opposite direction, but Rico was faster. She could hear him breathing down her neck and could feel him taking swings at her.
"Daddy!!! Laxus!!!! Someone!! Help!!!" Skye screamed as Rico grabbed her hair and threw her against the wall of a building. She felt a sharp pain on the side of her head and felt something warm run down her face. Then, Rico was on her again, bending over her like she was a broken doll. Skye closed her eyes and stretched her arms out to push him away. A choking noise made her open her eyes and the man had his own hands around his throat. She slightly withdrew her arms, and his hands moved from his throat to both sides of his head. He snapped his own neck as she balled her hands into fists and brought them to her sides. Her eyes were wide with terror, and she looked like she was going to be sick. She let out another long scream as the body of Rico fell down in front of her.
"What the hell? Someone grab her, NOW!" The masked man's eyes flashed furiously at Skye. The rest of the men all charged at her, but this time she did not run. She sat there staring at her hands in horror, "I..I didn't mean to..." she whimpered.
"Hey, kid." Said one of the men. Skye looked up just in time to see a huge fist coming toward her head. Then the memory around Laxus and Makarov went black.
