by Andy Nadir
Chapter Eleven
Laxus awoke tied up in ropes. He heard men speaking near him, so he kept quiet. “This one matched Roranora, you say?” One asked.
“Yes, I heard he would have won too, if He hadn’t interfered.” The other said.
“You mean He interfered with Roranora’s fight?” The first asked.
“Don’t worry, he saved Roranora’s life. He should be fine. I wonder why the boss left this bloke alive. He seems too dangerous to live.” The second said.
“Chuck, The bosses orders are the bosses orders. It doesn’t matter why.” The first said.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right Chris. I’m just so darned curious. I half wish this guy would wake up, so we could have him talk to Boss, and get off of this darned guard duty.” Chuck said.
Laxus sat up. “So, who is your boss?” He asked.
Both men started. “What the… I thought you were asleep.” Said the one whose voice identified him as Chris.
Laxus shrugged. “I don’t care what you thought. I’ll see your boss now.” He said.
Chuck nodded. “Right. Chris, let’s take him.” He said.
Chris reached for his hands, but Laxus growled at him. He quickly retracted his hands. Laxus slowly stood up, but immediately fell over. “Gah, The Gate of Matter takes too much energy. You two, help me up.” He said.
They hesitantly pulled him to his feet. With their help, Laxus headed out of the tent. When they got outside, Laxus looked around. It appeared to be a camp of some type, filled with men idly sitting around, training, and chatting.
The two men led him to a large tent, and helped him inside. The tent was large for a reason. Sitting cross-legged on the floor was a giant of a man. The man’s head almost touched the top of the tent, and he was probably twice Laxus’s height.
“Woke up, did you?” He rumbled.
Laxus just growled at him. “What did you do with my friends?”
The man rumbled out what sounded like a cat being stabbed. After a moment, Laxus realized that he was laughing. “What’s so funny?” He snapped.
“Your friends are fine. But, if you want my necklace, you have to do something for me.” He said.
Laxus shook his head. “Show me my friends. And, that necklace isn’t yours; it belongs to the old lady!” He said.
The giant shrugged. “It’s mine now. Chris, can you go get this boy’s friends?” He asked.
Chris headed out of the tent. The giant turned back to Laxus. “A guild called black dragon has been killing my members. I am not sure why, but I do not have any proof but my words. Since I am only a fifth regiment commander, I don’t have too much authority. Can you help me? Find the one who is killing my men, and remove him.” He said.
As he finished, Chris brought Tabitha and Niko inside the tent. Niko was eating a loaf of bread.
Laxus shook his head. “Niko, where the heck did you get the loaf?” He asked.
Niko shrugged. “It was on a bench near me.” He said.
Laxus shook his head. “You guys all right?” He asked.
Tabitha nodded. “That was embarrassing. Some guy in a jester suit just dodged all my attacks, and threw me to that Roranora guy.”
Laxus staggered, and plopped to the floor. Tabitha looked worried. “Are you ok?” She asked.
Laxus shook his head. “I used the Gate of Matter. By using it, I damaged my body. I have several internal injuries. Nothing permanent, but I won’t be able to do much for a little while.”
Laxus turned back to the giant. “Do you see now? Even if I wanted to help you, I am too weak to do anything right now.” He said.
The giant looked down sadly. “How long will it take you to recover?” He asked.
Laxus shrugged painfully. “A week, give or take a little.” He said.
“But Laxus, we have to get the Necklace to the old lady in a few days!” Niko pointed out.
Laxus nodded sadly. “I’m not sure on what we should do. This giant has the necklace, but I can’t fight him for it.” He said.
“I have an idea.” The giant rumbled.
The three looked at the giant. “What if I give two of you the necklace, and you give it to this old lady. Your injured teammate will stay here, and when he recovers, he will stop the Black Dragon member that is killing all my men. You two can catch up with him later.” He said.
Laxus looked at Tabitha and Niko. “That might actually work.” He said.
Tabitha looked worried. “Will you be safe?” She asked.
Laxus nodded. “They need me to fight this other guy.” He pointed out.
Tabitha nodded hesitantly. “I guess it might work.” She said reluctantly.
Laxus looked at Niko, who gave him a thumb up. Laxus chuckled, and turned to the giant. “We accept.” He said.
A grin split the Giant’s face. He grinned, and removed a studded ring from one of his fingers. As he brought it closer, they realized it was a necklace wrapped around it. He handed it to Tabitha. “Go give this to your old lady. I will keep your teammate here until he recovers, and completes his promise.” He said.
Tabitha and Niko nodded. “Let’s get this to her as fast as possible.” Niko said.
Tabitha nodded. With one last concerned look at Laxus, they ran out of the tent.
Laxus turned back to the Giant. “It will take me a while to recover. So, why don’t you tell me a little about this problem.” Laxus asked.
The giant nodded. “He is called Jester. He works for the second regiment commander, and though he is supposed to be part of the Legion, his master, the Second Regiment commander joined recently, and worked his way up the ranks extremely fast. I believe that the Second Regiment commander is part of Black Dragon, and since I found out, he is trying to destroy me.” He said.
“During your fight with Roranora, It was Jester that grabbed that girl and threw her to him.” He said.
Laxus nodded. “Very well. This man will be no more. You have made up my mind. In one week, I will leave. Until then, do you have anyone with a healing ability?” He asked.
The giant nodded. “Return to your tent. My healer will be over shortly.” He said.
Laxus headed out of the tent, and back to his own.
