A/N: New one-shot! Whoooo! Please review, and maybe I'll update my other stories! REVIEW!
Gajeel knew he was in trouble when he saw all of the ship wreckage in the waters knew he should turn around, but the chance of snagging some goods, and maybe some coins depending on his luck, was too high. So he went in.
Shifting his sail to head towards the nearest wreckage, Gajeel looked around cautiously. If there was a ship in the impending fog, his merchant boat couldn't take much damage if the enemy was, well, an enemy.
"Jackpot!" He snickered as he snagged a bag of grain floating on a piece of wood. It was a little wet, but nothing a little sun and dry air couldn't fix.
The next ship had some silk, and a small bag of coins just about ready to sink into the water. "Twenty, twenty one, twenty two!" Gajeel added the twenty two coins to his slightly larger sack of coins.
"This place gives me the creeps." Gajeel commented to no one. Deciding he had had enough of this broken ship yard, he adjusted his sails to turn around.
When he did so, Gajeel saw the silhouette of a pirate ship in the fog. It was about five minutes away from reaching him. Shit.
Gajeel tried to move the sails of The Pantherlily, named after his cat back home, to try and catch what little wind in the air there was.
In the back if his mind, Gajeel asked himself why he hadn't fixed that stupid plank already, as he narrowly avoided the sharp piece of wood.
"Damn it." He hoped to whatever deity was looking out for him that it wasn't Phantom Lord. He had a run in with that particular pirates guild before, and it didn't end well. He'd been roped into working for them a few times. Jose's ship was the worst, and it was him that nearly destroyed his precious Pantherlily.
It was then the deity that wasn't listening decided to conveniently place a rope in front of Gajeels feet, and as he ran around, a series of unfortunate events occurred.
First off, he tripped on the rope, and fell, cutting his leg on the aforementioned sharp plank of wood. Gajeel hissed in pain and as he clutched his now severely bleeding leg, tripped once again, falling head over heels over the side of the boat, hitting his head on the edge.
"Man overboard! Man overboard!" Was the last thing he heard before slipping into unconsciousness.
"Next stop, Hargeon!"
The sun beat down the Fairy Tail pirates guild's smallest ship, The Orion. The crew flitted about, getting everything ready for setting sail.
"Inventory check!" The captain of the ship yelled to her crew. "Kinana! Food supplies!"
A purple-haired woman poked her head out of the kitchen. "Fully stocked, Capt'n!"
"Elfman, weaponry!"
"Cannons loaded, gunpowder packed, guns cleans and ready, ma'am!" The large white-haired man yelled from next to the cannons.
"Wendy, medical supplies!" A young, dark blue-haired girl held a thumbs up.
"Also fully stocked Captain!"
"Lisanna, cargo hold."
"Everything is ready for trade in Hargeon, Captain."
"Cana!" The captain yelled. The brunette in question jolted up from her nap on the steps leading down to the barracks.
"Yes, Capt'n?"
"How are the booze supplies holding up?" Cana grinned and shook her head solemnly.
"I'm afraid their dangerously low Captain."
"Hmm. We'll have to fix that in Hargeon. Everyone ready to set sail?"
"Aye aye Captain!" The crew shouted jollily.
"Alright, let us away!"
"Levy?" The captain of The Orion turned at the sound of her name. Her blonde navigator and best friend Lucy was standing shyly behind her.
"What's up Luce?"
Lucy fidgeted. "Well, I was wondering if… Well…"
"Spit it out, Lucy!"
"I would like to request a transfer to Captain Scarlet's ship, ma'am." Lucy stood at attention and looked directly above Levy's head. Levy wasn't surprised in the slightest, she already knew something was up. The last three times Scarlets ship rendezvoused with hers, she caught Lucy twice sneaking around with Natsu, the pyrotechnician for Erza's ship.
"Hmm, this wouldn't have anything to do with Natsu Dragneel, would it?" Levy smirked and slid up next her best friend, who resigned to blushing and stuttering. Levy laughed. "It's alright, Luce! Next time Erza rendezvouses with us, I'll speak with her and get the papers signed."
"R-really? You'd do that for me?"
"You're my best friend, the question is what wouldn't I do for you?" Lucy hugged the shorter woman, whispering thank you into her ear. "I'll admit though, I'll miss you. You're an excellent navigator!"
"Thank you, but… I really want to be where Natsu is."
"I understand. Now get back to your post, Ensign Heartfilia!" Lucy giggled and fake saluted, heading to her lookout post.
"We're nearing the shipyard Captain Levy!" Lucy yelled from her post.
"Keep your eyes peeled everyone. The last thing we need is another run in with Phantom Lord."
"Aye aye Captain!" A few minutes of silence passed over the ship, just the creaking of the boat and the water lapping at the bottom. The silence was soon broken.
"Man over board! Man overboard!" Lisanna yelled at the crew, pointing over the side of the ship. Levy peered over the the side, a very large man was floating face down in the water, a small merchant ship floating not too far away.
"Elfman! You're up!" Elfman grabbed a rope and jumped over the side, a large splash echoing through the shipyard.
"Got 'em! Pull us up!" Elfman was very, very heavy, and apparently so was this man, for it took all of the crew to pull them up. Everyone would be sore for days.
"Wendy!"
"I'm ready!" The girl yelled from the room she liked to call the infirmary. Elfman carried him into the small cabin and placed him on the cot Wendy had set up.
"Lisanna, can you help me?"
"Of course, what do you need?"
"I need you to cut his pant leg off, his leg is bleeding very badly."
Levy stopped listening at this point and studied the man's face. It was very… rough looking, but still very handsome. He had strange piercings all over his face, and ears, making her wonder what trade he was in. She exited the cabin at Wendy's request, and looked at the man's ship that was slowly fading away.
"Someone get on that ship and bring back anything of value."
"On it Captain!" Cana jumped over the side and swam quickly to the ship.
"Captain, we have incoming, six o' clock! Flag indicates it's Phantom. Suggesting immediate retreat." Lucy yelled from her post.
"Confirmed, Ensign. Cancel that order Cana, get back here!" The brunette stopped halfway to the ship and turned around.
"Kinana, bring me Lisanna and continue assisting Wendy."
"Lisanna, Jet, get those sails up."
"Elfman, Droy, man the cannons, just in case."
"Romeo, bring up three barrels of gunpowder. Don't worry, just a precaution." Romeo, apprentice pyrotechnician, saluted and ran to the hull.
"Someone pull me up!"
"I got you, Cana!" Levy pulled the larger girl up with much effort. "Lisanna, Jet, get us out of here!"
"We're working on it ma'am!"
Gajeel groaned as he opened his eyes. A dull pain registered in his leg, and when he looked, it was covered in a white linen.
"Ah, you're awake!" A voice behind him spoke. He turned and saw a little girl with blue hair staring at him through… metal bars? Was he in a prison? Was he captured by that pirate ship?
"Captain! He's awake!" The girl ran up a set of stairs, calling for her 'Captain'.
"Good. Please get some food from Kinana for him please." A different set of feet descended the stairs, revealing a short woman. The gold earrings and bandana were enough to tell him exactly what this woman was.
"Shit. You're a pirate, aren't you." The woman smirked and nodded.
"I'm afraid so. My name is Levy McGarden, Captain of the Fairy Tail trade ship, The Orion." Gajeel let out a small sigh of relief that Phantom hadn't captured him. "Why don't we start with your name."
"Gajeel Redfox. How long was I unconscious?" He asked.
"Two days. Who are you, what is your occupation?"
"I'm a blacksmith from Hargeon, I was sailing to sell goods to the port in Magnolia." Panic suddenly surged through him. "My ship! The Pantherlily! Where is it?"
"Gone. Probably pillaged by now."
"Gone?!"
"After pulling you out of the water, an enemy ship appeared, and as captain I made the call to leave, as quickly as possible."
"What about all of my goods, my metal?!"
Levy tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. "It was either leave your ship there or leave my crew to be captured, tortured or killed. I believe I made the right choice."
"And another thing, why am I in a cell, I've done nothing wrong."
"I'm sorry Gajeel, but it's just a precaution. You could be a spy. Everything you're telling me could be lies." Levy leaned down to Gajeel's level on the floor, her hands behind her back. "And you could stand to be more grateful, my medic saved you from drowning or bleeding to death. We've wasted two days of supplies on you, when we could have just left you for dead." This was a lie on Levy's part, it was part of the Fairy Tail code to never let innocent lives be needlessly lost. But Levy wouldn't tell him that.
Gajeel scoffed. "Precaution my ass, let me out of here demon!" Gajeel tried to stand, but his legs felt like jelly and he fell to the ground. Levy stood up straight.
"No." She smirked, turned around, and ascended the stairs. "Enjoy your dinner."
"You guys are pirates right?" Gajeel asked Levy a few days later as she brought him some more food and water.
"Of course? Why do you ask?" She asked cautiously, sitting down on the bench placed before the brig. Gajeel tore into the food, answering with his mouth full.
"If you're pirates, why are you being so damn kind to me? You're giving me food, water, haven't tortured me. And the way you talk. It's so formal. I've had run-ins with other pirates, and you're nothing like them."
Levy waved her hand dismissively. "We call our self pirates because the Fiore Sea Police labeled us as such. Don't put us on the same level as those damn Phantoms. We don't steal, or pillage, or attack unless provoked. We trade fairly and stay out of others business. Especially the Sea Police." She paused. "Alright, sometimes we steal, but only if it's for someone else."
"So you're like Robin Hood and his Merry Men?" Gajeel raised an eyebrow.
"Basically, yes." They sat in silence for a while. "You want to come out?" Levy asked, laughing lightly at Gajeel's dumbstruck face.
"Are you serious?" Levy smiled and nodded, holding up the cell key. "Hell yeah, get me out of this hell hole!" Levy unlocked the door, and helped him up the stairs. He really was very much taller than her, very built and muscular.
"Welcome to The Orion!" Levy introduced him to her ship.
"Why are you doing this?"
Levy looked up at him with a grin. "How are your navigation skills?"
"I'll miss you Luce."
"I'll miss you too Levy. Make sure Gajeel does everything I taught him. I don't want him slacking off!" The two friends laughed and hugged one more time before Lucy boarded Erza's ship. Said captain walked up to Levy.
"Levy."
"Erza."
"Are you sure about your new navigator?" Erza asked, blunt as ever.
"It's been a month and a half since we picked him up. He knew the basics, but after lessons with Lucy, he's practically a pro."
"But can we trust him?" Levy looked back at the object of the discussion. He was talking animatedly to two of Erza's crew.
"I think so. I'll keep an eye on him, just in case."
"Alright. I trust you, Levy." Erza broke her serious facade and smiled. "It's good to see you Levy!"
"You too Erza!" The captains hugged, and smiled at each other before boarding their respective ships.
"Gray, Juvia, get off my ship varmints!" Levy yelled at the two Gajeel was talking to, then smiled and waved them off. Gajeel walked up to her.
"How's the leg?" She asked.
"A little sore, but otherwise, fine."
"That's good. You ready for active duty without a mentor Seaman Redfox?"
"Aye aye, Capt'n!" He grinned and saluted.
"But don't think I won't be watching you, very, very carefully!" Levy poked Gajeel's chest playfully.
"I wouldn't want it anyother way." Gajeel winked and left for his post, leaving Levy smiling and blushing.
"Alright crew! Where to next?"
A/N: This has been in my head for daaayyys and I just had to write it down! Please REVIEW!
~Marshy