Hear me

Dream

It was weird, Laxus thought, to dream about yourself, but have absolutely no control over what you did.

The familiar nightmare played out like a drama as the doors to Kardia Cathedral opened, and one after another, dream-Laxus dispatched his teammates with a demented smile, first Mystogan, then Erza.

He knew what came next, but desperately tried to wake himself up, not wanting to bear witness to his memories. Like always, his subconscious forced him to watch as Natsumi begged Erza to let her take over, charging forward to his dream self when the scarlet haired girl relented.

Laxus watched their battle rage on, neither one gaining the upper hand, waiting for the moment when his snarling face, purpled with rage, would roar out an attack that would nearly kill Natsumi.

Only this time, Gajeel didn't swoop in at the last minute to pull Natsumi out of the way. To his horror, he watched himself laugh maniacally as Natsumi was engulfed in a sea of sparks, her screams echoing off the expansive walls of the cathedral. His dream-self continued to taunt the dragon slayer over the sound of her screams, walking towards her.

He saw himself reach through the wall of lightning to grab the girl by the throat. Laxus watched in shock as Natsumi continued to struggle, coughing up rivulets of crimson blood as she clawed at his hand. He screamed at himself to wake up, desperate to escape what was literally becoming his worst nightmare.

"What now, Nat? This is what you wanted, right? To go toe to toe with me?" Dream Laxus asked her, drawing her closer as the sparks dissipated. He squeezed her throat tighter, a cruel smile on his face as she yelped and gasped for air.

"I do have to tell you, I expected more," Dream Laxus continued, oblivious to the blood dripping over his hand as he held Natsumi in the air. "But you wanted me to go all out, and I couldn't disappoint you, could I?"

Laxus fought back a gag as his dream self brutally forced his mouth on Natsumi's, forcing her mouth open with his tongue. She squealed and kicked her legs, using the last of her energy to fight him off to no avail.

He saw himself pull away then, Natsumi's blood dripping down his own face as he grinned at her. "Such a waste," he said casually, and brought his other hand up, snapping her neck with practiced ease and dropping her limp body unceremoniously to the floor.

Laxus knew he was screaming, desperately trying to go to Natsumi, who lay crumbled and still on the stone floor of the cathedral, but he couldn't move, his limbs frozen in place. He sobbed out her name, wanting to go to her and hold her unmoving body close more than he'd ever wanted anything. As he stared at the calamity before him, his dream self only laughed, and the scene began to change before his eyes, the stone walls melting away to burning forest.

His guild members rushed toward him in a mob, knocking him down and back as they tried to escape the chaos of the encroaching inferno.

They paid him no mind except to trample over him, Gray and Erza spitting as they passed.

He tried to stand up, to follow them in an attempt to outrun the flames, but more people kept coming, kicking him back down into the dirt. He saw Lucy, who sneered and pointed, lips forming words he couldn't hear over the roar of the fire.

The heat was almost unbearable, and he crawled forward, skin scraping against the ground.

The crowd disappeared as a deafening roar split the sky. Laxus looked up and saw the sky go dark, the sun's light blocked by an immense form that rapidly fell to Earth. Landing with a force of an earthquake, Acnologia loomed over him, the sheer mass of him overwhelming.