"Whenever there's darkness, there is light."

"Do you know how much light it would take to kill me?" Libitina asked, masking her anxiety. "You'll never be able to do it."

"Watch me." Jasmine growled.

"But are you not a Lightning Mage? Lightning and light are two different things."

"But my lightning can be very bright." Jasmine smirked. That is, if I can summon enough lightning. "Don't underestimate a dragon slayer."

The Reaper acted quickly upon hearing Jasmine's words. Libitina closed the distance between herself and the Fairy Tail mage, wrapping her two sets of bony skeletal fingers around Jasmine's neck. Applying pressure, Libitina began chocking the Dragon Slayer and raising her off the ground slightly.

"Too bad you'll be dead before you can have the chance to summon all that lightning." The Reaper snarled. "And after all of that big talk, after all the amazing rumors and stories I heard about 'The Lightning Empress', I'll still collect your soul."

"I . . told . . you . ." Jasmine grunted. It was hard for her to speak because Libitina's grip on her was strong. "not to . . . underestimate . . dragon slayers."

Jupiter, give me strength. Jasmine prayed. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. Focus. She tried to ignore the skeletal hand that was chocking her; she focused on summoning all of her magic power. She would need every ounce of power that she possessed.

Libitina watched as Jasmine struggled in her grip. She could tell that the Dragon Slayer was up to something, so she tightened her grip. Jasmine groaned, but moved her hands to grasp the two skeleton hands around her neck.

The area was still dark, but suddenly low rumbles could be heard. Low rumbles of thunder. With each passing second the rumbles grew louder and louder.

And then there was the flash.

A bolt of bright yellow lightning flashed across the sky above the two women, followed by a loud clap of thunder. More flashes of lightning appeared, one after another, until one actually hit the ground. The lightning struck a few feet away from the women and a massive crack was heard. More flashes of lightning appeared in the sky until another bolt came down toward the ground. Only, this bolt didn't actually hit the ground.

It hit Jasmine.

The bolt of lightning stayed connected to the Fairy Tail mage, serving as her power source. More bolts rained down from the sky, striking her body. 

Since Libitina was touching Jasmine, the electric current flowed straight from Jasmine to Libitina. Though, the lightning itself didn't affect the Reaper that much.

It was the light.

The more bolts of lightning that stuck Jasmine, the more Jasmine glowed. Sparks bounced off of her skin, even around her eyes which glowed bright yellow. Her cornea was no longer seen.

Jasmine shouted as she summoned more power and as more lightning coursed through her body. The vast amount of accumulating lightning erupted in a bright light.

Libitina grunted and hissed, trying to maintain her tight grip on the Dragon Slayer's neck. However, the light was making her weak. And she knew it.

The light grew brighter and brighter. So bright that any mere person passing by would be blinded.

"How ironic." Libitina chuckled humorously, "I'm suppose to be the one killing people and collecting souls, but here I am dying at the hands of a Fairy Tail wizard." The light grew so much brighter, making the Reaper squint her eyes. "I'll never forget your name, Jasmine Drake."

The Reaper's bones rattled as the light took over the once darkened area. Light engulfed the place and, after a minute, faded. Once the light was gone, Libitina was no longer there. Only her black cape remained on the ground. The surrounding area turned to normal as well, the sky returning to a sunny day.

Jasmine wobbled on her feet, feeling extremely fatigue. She had used up all of her magic power defeating Libitina. She staggered down the path, over toward the trees that were still standing. She knew that she was going to pass out, but she wanted to be out of sight just in case enemies happen to come along.

She had planned to slump against a tree before she passed out, but as soon as she stumbled her way into the green bushes, she collapsed to the ground.

Hours passed and battles continued. Hades' seven kin had finally been defeated. And eventually even Master Hades himself had been defeated by the hands of Team Natsu (as they called themselves): Natsu, Gray, Erza, Lucy, and Wendy.

And here's the twist: Laxus had returned to help Team Natsu defeat Hades. He heard his grandfather's plee for help and immediately returned to Tenrou Island. He sacrificed his magic power, giving Natsu his lightning, so that the now Lightning-Flame Dragon Slayer could take down his enemy.

Laxus was still expelled from Fairy Tail and he knew he would be scolded by Makarov later for entering sacred grounds, but he didn't care at the moment.

Plus, he was hoping he could see a special someone before he had to leave.

"Jasmine!" Raph called once he noticed that his partner was waking up.

"Raph?" She replied in a very weak voice, her eyes squinted until her pupils adjusted to the light. All the members had gathered at base camp, Wendy attending to the wounded. Most members were talking to one another.

"How are you feeling?" The green cat asked.

"I'm okay," Jasmine answered, sitting up. "but . . how did you get here?"

"I flew here with Carla and Lily. We . . we had a bad feeling about something."

"Something?"

"Mest." He said, "It turns out that Mest isn't his real name. It's Doranbolt. And he's actually a member of the Magic Council who infiltrated the guild."

Doranbolt. Jasmine hoped she would never see his face again because if she did, she was sure she would electrocute his brains out.

"And there's something else . ." Raph mumbled.

"What?"

"Laxus . . is back."

 Meanwhile, with Laxus and the Thunder Legion . . .

"Laxus," Freed spoke, "you should go talk to her."

"I'm good." Laxus mumbled, staring down at his lap. As soon as his grandfather had finished screaming at him, he noticed Jasmine across the camp. She had just woken up and the mere sight of her made Laxus's heart beat faster. He didn't know he was staring until Evergreen teased him about it, which caused him to blush.

"What's the matter, man?" Bickslow asked. "You nervous or somethin'?"

"I'm not nervous." The blond mumbled again.

"He's totally nervous." Evergreen teased.

"Laxus, I'm sure Jasmine would return your feelings." Freed tried to encourage his friend. "After everything that has happened in her life, she deserves some happiness. And love brings happiness."

"That may be true," Laxus began, "but I know that she still loves him. She doesn't love me."

"You won't know until you ask." Makarov said, suddenly appearing in front of the team.

"I already told her how I feel." Laxus growled. "What else is there to say?"

"Tell her again." Evergreen suggested. "Girls love to hear those three words."

"Tell her again?" The blond repeated the words, thinking. Freed, Bickslow, Evergreen, and Makarov silently watched Laxus think. "Well, go on." Makarov said, breaking the silence. "Hurry up before you change your mind."

With a push (literally) from his team, Laxus walked across the camp toward Jasmine. He wouldn't admit it, but he was nervous. Extremely nervous.

As he came closer to her, he noticed that Jasmine was talking to Raph. The conversation died down when Laxus finally stood in front of them.

"Uh, c-can we . . . talk?" Laxus asked in a quiet voice that only Jasmine and Raph could here. And even though he hasn't said a specific name, it was obvious who he wanted to talk to.

Jasmine looked at Raph, pleading with her eyes for help. "I'll leave you two alone." The cat said with a small grin, sprouting his wings and flying away. Jasmine glared at her partner as he flew away. She was tense, extremely tense, from being near Laxus.

Silence fell between them and it was extremely awkward. Finally, clearing his throat, Laxus spoke, "Mind if we go somewhere private?"

"Private?" Jasmine asked. "What for?"

"I just want to talk without others hearing us."

"Fine." She mumbled, standing to her feet.

Laxus nodded, leading the way. He wanted to get away from the guild members who would certainly tease him if they heard what he was about to say. In the forest, far enough away from the base camp, Laxus stopped walking and turned around to look at Jasmine.

"I love you." He said immediately, swallowing afterwards. His chest rose and fell rapidly with the rapid pounding of his heart.

"You already told me that." Jasmine growled, looking to the side.

"Yeah, but," The blond grew even more flustered and nervous. "I was wondering . . if, you know, . . . if you had . . an answer . . To my feelings, that is."

He waited. He waited as patiently as he could for a reply. But there was only silence.

"Why?" She finally spoke after what felt like years.

"Why what?"

"Why me? I don't understand. I'm not . . . There's nothing to like about me."

"Of course there is."

"NO, THERE ISN'T!" Jasmine snarled viciously. "There can't be anything good about me because otherwise . ." Jasmine drifted off, seemingly out of breath but the reality of it was that she was on the verge of tears. ". . otherwise he wouldn't have left me."

Laxus gasped softly, knowing who "he" was. His expression hardened, boiling hatred sizzling inside him for the said man who broke Jasmine's heart. "He was stupid, Jasmine." The blond said, "He didn't deserve you."

"Or maybe I didn't deserve him."

"No! No, there's nothing wrong with you! Erik was just an imbecile who didn't appreciate what he had!" He noticed that Jasmine cringed at the sound of Erik's name. "And I swear, if I ever see him again, I'll give him the shock of his life."

"Don't."

"Why shouldn't I? He abandoned you and didn't even give a good reason why! Y-You became so distant and . . . and y-you . . . you drifted away from me."

"What do you mean? We rarely talked as children."

"Yeah, I know, but . . ." A blush appeared on his cheeks as his eyes moved rapidly from left to right. ". . but I . . I was . . I always-" He groaned in annoyance. "No. You know what? Forget it."

"No." She growled, glaring at him. "Say it."

He sighed in defeat, hating how his feelings for her were this strong. "Well, I was always . . . I was always watching you, okay!" His blush was red and it reached his ears. "Since I first saw you, I've had a huge crush on you!" He shouted, trying to sound angry to hide his embarrassment. "And you wanna know why? Because you just so happened to use the same magic as me. Ridiculous, I know! But guess what, I could never stop my stupid crush from growing! And now, here I am, hopelessly in love with you and I probably won't even get the chance to be your boyfriend because you . . . you don't feel the same way about me." His voice went back to normal and he was surprised that he had just confessed everything, all of his bottled up feelings had finally surfaced.

Another wave of silence fell between the two. And Jasmine was the one who broke it. "Sorry." She mumbled. "I don't think . . . I don't think I can-"

"When we kissed," Laxus interrupted, "I felt something between us. A spark. It . . it felt . . . right. Like we were made to be together. I know it sounds stupid like some sort of kiddy fairy tale, but-"

"So let me get this straight." Jasmine interrupted with a hint of anger in her voice. "You're telling me that I made a mistake, that I should have never have gotten involved with . . with him and I should have just flung myself into your arms like some pathetic damsel in distress! Well, I'm not some helpless woman! I can-"

Jasmine was cut of by a pair of lips presses against her own. Laxus had closed the distance and wrapped his arms around her waist, successfully kissing her.

As soon as their lips touched, an invisible force, the exact same electric force from their first kiss, pulled their bodies closer. Jasmine wrapped her arms around Laxus's neck, pulling him closer, while Laxus pulled Jasmine's waist closer to his.

Both of them had this uncontrollable desire to be closer to each other. Perhaps it was the electricity between them. Laxus had already wanted to be closer to her. But Jasmine was another story.

Could this be the one thing that will allow her to finally get over Erik and start falling for Laxus? Or will she continue to push Laxus away?