Here is the second fanfiction from Yankee-chan, and I am honored to have been nominated as the translator again. I really hope you would enjoy it or at least read it because according to me her stories really deserve to be read. But like I said it's just my opinion. Gajeel and Levy are the best pairing ever! (why? ...because!)
Levy was walking quietly in one of the streets in Magnolia, enjoying the sky tinged with purple reflections at the end of the day. She didn't know what to do in the guild so she decided to come back home. It had been over two months since they returned from Tenrou Island, covered with wounds due to the fight against Grimoire Heart, and she was enjoying a good deserved rest. As she crossed the bridge over the river that flowed across the city, she suddenly saw a familiar silhouette. A beaming smile lit up her face and she ran toward her friend.
"Gajeel, wait!"
The Dragon Slayer slowed his pace, but he didn't face her, as cold and secret as ever. Since they had come back, Levy talked with him more than before, even if he was always wearing his grumpy and reserved expression plus. Before this episode on the island, they were just used to ignore each other, or sometimes to glance at each other, or rarely to greet each other, only to avoid each other once more. But now that they had been a team, new bonds between them had germinated, and the young girl didn't hesitate anymore to go to speak with him and learn about him (even if he didn't let her learn a lot about him).
"Are you okay?" She asked with a smile as she walked beside him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. And you?"
He answered her by courtesy and not by real desire to have a conversation with her, but it didn't matter.
"Yes, I'm fine. Where are you going?"
It was true, she could ask with the sight of his beige bag dangling on his shoulder, undeniable sign that he was leaving Magnolia.
"Mission." He growled, still keeping staring in front of him, not paying more attention to the young girl.
"And will you walk until you reach your destination? Can I go walk with you until the exit of the town? And what's your job?"
Gajeel sighed. Sometimes she'd become annoying with her damned questions, and he wasn't known for his patience. After a long moment, he eventually turned his head toward her, his red eyes dipping into hers before he declared with a monotone but slightly irritated voice :
"Yeah I will. Walk with me if you want, I don't care. And about the mission, I just have to beat up a gang of thieves. Happy?"
"Now yes." The blue haired young girl laughed. "Can I ask you something else or am I too annoying?"
Ah, she was smarter than she seemed. Yet Gajeel had done all his possible to hide his exasperation, even if he already had noticed that Levy often managed to read in him like he was a book. And that disturbed him even more.
"Just one then, he grumbled and pouted."
"Don't you ever get tired of always taking missions about hitting someone?"
The Solid Script mage crossed her hands behind her back, a strange expression on her face. A sort of weird mix of curiosity and sadness.
"Nope. At least it make me feel good, and can you honestly imagine me helping old hags in the town and doing shopping for them or something like that?"
"You say that, but you never tried to help old ladies, maybe you'd enjoy it." She teased him and gave him a friendly nudge.
"I haven't the face of employment, so I don't do it."
"If you say so..."
The young girl giggled as an image of the iron mage carrying bags and following an old lady who couldn't stop rambled popped in her head. As she didn't find what else to say, she still kept her smile on her lips and walked silently beside the dragon. She knew he didn't want to be mean by talking this way. And to tell the truth, a Gajeel suddenly turning into a polite human being wasn't a normal Gajeel. After a moment which seemed too short for the young girl, they arrived to the frontiers of the city and unfortunately for her, she had to stay and he had to leave.
"Be careful, okay?" Levy stated with a small voice, her throat painful, remembering the bad memories on Tenrou Island. Watching him as he had collapsed covered with blood right before her eyes... this image will remain forever engraved in her memory. Just like the day they met for the first time.
"Don't worry, I'll be right back" he answered with confidence, his tone calmed her slightly.
Suddenly, Gajeel let his lips form a tiny smile as he intensively stared at her, and he let his hand caress her cheek with his fingertips. Then he turned away and left without a word. Levy remained immobile during several minutes, his last words and his last movements inscribed in her brain. Her whole body was pink and her heart was beating furiously in her chest while she was watching his silhouette fading little by little on the horizon. And finally, when she didn't see him anymore, she inspired deeply before she went home in the opposite direction, the scene was going back and forth in her mind, and she was secretly troubled by his gesture. She already wanted to see him again.
But the days went by. First one, then two, then three. And it's been a week. And finally, it's been a month. And still no news about Gajeel. Only his presence in the young girl's mind was persisted, as a vortex of questions and worries. Where was he? What was he doing? Why didn't he return? Did something happen to him? The anxiety was floating like a big cloud above her head, darkening her thoughts and her days.
Levy noticed that a lot of things seemed suspicious since the Dragon Slayer had gone, or more precisely, a month after his disappearance. She noticed things since she wasn't the only one to worry about him. Master often talked with Pantherlily who had stayed in the Guild too, with a low tone and a concerned expression on his face. Did Makarov and Lily speak about Gajeel? And why didn't the Dragon Slayer return? He said he was leaving for a simple mission, it wasn't supposed to take that long! Was he in trouble?
Completely obsessed by anxiety, Levy couldn't even read anymore, losing her legendary concentration when she was beginning a novel, her thoughts were all turned toward the iron mage. She didn't speak a lot with her friends anymore, and she had to hide her sadness behind a smile when she was amongst them. This night, the young girl went home early, following the same way she had taken the day she saw him for the last time, hoping he would be here again. When she arrived at the place where they had separated, she waited for him a long time, scanning the same horizon where he had disappeared. But she had to realize that Gajeel wouldn't come back tonight. Disappointed and sad, she slowly took the long way home, the rising moon enlightened her pace but not her mind. She walked until she saw a certain cat in front of her, trying to open a door to high for him.
"Good evening Lily." The young girl greeted.
"Ah, Good evening Levy. How are you?" The cat answered, trying desperately to reach the door handle without transform himself or use his wings because he didn't want to use magic for something so banal.
"Fine... I'm fine, thanks... are you living here?"
"With Gajeel yes, but he's still not here, so I'm living alone for now."
"I know, I'm worried. He told me he was leaving for a mission, but he didn't return yet." The young girl's voice cracked as she dropped her head to hide the fear appearing on her face.
"Did he tell you what was his work?"
"He said he had to beat a gang of thieves. Why? Didn't he tell you? Or do you know something?"
The tiny black cat faced the mage, hesitating and thinking about the words he should carefully choose before answering her.
"Well, he didn't really go on an ordinary work... I know the mission Master gave him because he told me... He's worried about Gajeel too." He stated and narrowed his eyes.
"How that? What mission? What do you mean by "not an ordinary work"?"
Levy started seriously to worry. Just Lily's tone didn't tell her it was good news. Neither did his words.
"Well I... I can't talk about it, not really. The only thing I can tell you is that Master ignores if he is in danger,or if Gajeel just decided to never come back."
"Never come back? What do you mean Lily?" The young girl exclaimed and played with her hands, her eyes full of horror, her being struck by his words.
Gajeel? Never come back? Why wouldn't he want to come back? The cat was certainly kidding, he couldn't leave the Guild after all this moment spent together, could he?
"Sorry Levy, but Master forbid me to talk about it, exactly because that could put Gajeel in danger."
"But..."
"If things really dragged on, I think Makarov will talk to everyone, be patient, but I can't tell you more for now."
"Great, you just manage to make me worry even more..."
The cat gave her a sad and sorry smile, before they said goodbye to each other and Levy came back home, head full with questions. She didn't understand what the black cat meant by telling her this, and she fell asleep at a very late hour in the night, her mind haunted by three words which came back and forth, followed by multiple questions.
Gajeel... Mission...Danger...
...
Since Panther Lily had half-confessed this to her, Levy couldn't help but have strange dreams, filled with painful memories, war against Phantom Lord, the first time she met Gajeel, and the recent events on Tenrou Island. Why did their relation have to be so tainted by blood? If Gajeel was really in danger, this blood could flow again... And the days went by, monotone, full of doubts and questions, filled with headaches and heartaches due to the amount of reflections and memories of the past.
A week after that doubt and fear had begun to conquered her, something finally change. Levy was sitting at the bar, her head resting against the counter, staring at the content of her glass with empty eyes, not paying attention to the fight behind her, engaged by Natsu who allegedly had deliberately reverse his container full of molten lava on Grey's pants. As the fight was reach its peak, Makarov turned away from Lily and coughed loudly, hoping to get all the mages' attention, but it didn't work. Would he roar again and again until the end?
"CUT IT OUT, YOU FOOLS!"
After several seconds, everyone stayed still, listening. Why did he have to yell all the time?
"I have an important announcement for you, so calm down and listen to me!"
Levy's heart began to pound as she remembered the words Lily told her, a few days ago.
"If things really dragged on, I think Makarov will talk to everyone, be patient, but I can't tell you more for now"
Slowly she raised her head and looked at Master who was standing on the counter. She was suddenly very attentive, like everyone.
"Surely you noticed that Gajeel disappeared for more than a month now."
Affirmative noises rang from everywhere, but the silence fell again quickly when the small mage spoke again.
"It's getting long, and I think that like me some of you are worried about him. If Gajeel isn't here, there is a reason. And I can't keep the secret any longer. You see, when he joined us, I attributed him a mission only he could hope accomplish. I ordered him to spy my son Ivan who, after I've banish him, founded his own dark guild. He is a threat we can't ignore. It's Ivan who put a lacrima inside Laxus, just before I excommunicated him, but that's not the main topic... So, I asked Gajeel to play the double agent. Ivan believes he works for him and spies us, but this is the contrary. However, it's been a long time since he's gone and there are two possibilities. One, Ivan could have figured out he was a double agent and in that case, Gajeel is in great trouble. But on the contrary, and that's the risk I had to take... Gajeel could have betrayed us... and we won't be able to do anything for him. This is the true difficulty. React? Or not react? Knowing that, in both cases, we'll have to face the greatest fight of our life. I, I decided I'll go. Simply because he is a member of Fairy Tail and because I have to understand what happened. It's been too long this matter dragged on, it's time to solve the problem and the Council can go to hell. They better thanks me if we can get rid of Raven Tail. I don't force you to follow me because I know the risks. However, if some of you are volunteers, please stand next to me."
Immediately whispers of approval and disapproval rose. Everyone was digested the information and was thinking about the pros and cons. Levy knew that Gajeel's antecedents didn't play in his favor, she was doubting too now. Whenever he told her he was leaving on missions, while he was probably... she understood he didn't say anything to protect himself, but she couldn't help but feel sad and think that he still didn't trust her after all this time. And every time he protected her... was it just a ruse to integrate? Which side was he really? She suddenly didn't recognize him anymore, she had the impression to fall in a black hole, without anything to hang on. No. She still trusted him. Yes, Gajeel was her friend, she was worried about him, he couldn't have betrayed her, somehow she refused to believe he was a traitor. Determined she walked straight toward Master and declared with a determined voice filled with will :
"I'm coming, I trust Gajeel. I know he didn't betray us. He couldn't have done that."
Almost immediately, two mournful complaints could be heard in a corner. It was certainly not Jet and Droy who would join Makarov to freed their worst enemy, and before Levy could even ask them to explain, they burst out of the Guild and slammed the door behind them under their comrades' sorry eyes. Levy looked down, unfortunately for her teammates, she had chosen her side a long time ago, and it was the Dragon Slayer's. Since he had taken the lightening from Laxus for her actually.
And Levy's decision seemed to be the signal for the others. Lily joined them of course, standing beside the young girl with a comprehensive smile and happy to have her on his side, and she somehow managed to smile.
"I'm sure he had been caught, this idiot." Natsu joked and joined them, followed by Grey, Juvia, Lucy, Erza, Happy, Sharuru and Wendy of course.
"A man has to help another man!" Elfman bellowed as he stood in turn.
"We are coming too." Fried declared, followed Evergreen and Bixlow.
"Here I come! Maybe they got a lot of money hiding somewhere, it would be an opportunity to fill my wallet!" Macao approved as he approached the counter, followed by Wakaba who intended to participate too, just to opposite his old friend.
Then Cana, Max, Arzak and Bisca joined them. The others would stay at Fairy Tail.
Twenty-one mages. Master decided that would be enough for now, he didn't need everyone to come. It was primarily a reconnaissance mission, not a war between guilds, even if he knew the situation could turn this worse after. Motivated, the mages gathered weapons and magic lacrimas, determined to fight and to save their friend.
They had decided that everybody will meet at the guild the next morning to prepare a plan and that they will save their friend in the afternoon. So Levy went home, along with Lily who couldn't believe that so many people have volunteered, knowing what Gajeel did in the past. The young blue haired girl thought the same. It was because of this that she loved Fairy Tail. Because everyone were helping each other and acted like a real family. Panther Lily left, decided to prepare too, and the Solid Script mage could quietly take care of herself. At first she took a shower, letting the arm water relax her members, while she thought again about what happened earlier. She ignored that Gajeel had such an important role in the Guild, but it made her happy, convinced that he couldn't betray them so easily. Not after what they have been through, it was impossible. On one hand, she was relieved, convinced that the Dragon Slayer was on her side, but on the other she was worried. Who knows what Ivan could have done to him? She absolutely had to find him! Perfectly knowing that she couldn't sleep with her apprehension, she swallowed a sleeping pill, laid on her bed and fell asleep quickly, despite all the feelings swirling in her mind.
...
The next morning, when Levy woke up, she was unusually tense. No, despite the sleeping pill she took the day before, she hadn't sleep well, had dreamed about a thousand catastrophic scenario which could happened. She prepared her breakfast but didn't swallowed anything, and when she was ready, she finally walked toward the Guild, feeling stress, apprehension and worry wash over her with every step she took. When she arrived at Fairy Tail, a part of the volunteers was already here (the Raijin gang and a part of Natsu's team), gathered around a table and covered by all kind of weapons, speaking with low voices. But Levy didn't join them immediately. She rather walked toward the bar, spoke with Mirajane, Lucy and Bisca to relieve herself, somewhat feeling better as she noticed they were nervous too. Finally, at half past ten, everyone gathered around the same table where Master had spread a map of Fiore, with a black cross over a precise emplacement located at northwest of Mount Hakobe, between the sea and the mountain chain. Everyone were talking with low voices, perfectly understanding that the cross was showing the Raven Tail guild emplacement. When Makarov was certain that everybody was here and listening, he started to explain his plan.
"According to the information Gajeel gave me, Raven Tail has nearly ninety members. And they are not weak, the slightest error could mean death, we better be careful and act quickly. And I'm not talking about Ivan."
"I'll beat them all!" Natsu yelled, bouncing with impatience on his chair.
"Calm down flaming piece of shit. We can't rush in the crowd without thinking." Grey said with a annoyed voice.
"What did you say, perverted punk?"
"I said you were a flaming piece of shit, you idiot!"
While the two opposite mages fought, Makarov finished to explain his plan to the others, he didn't want to waste his time.
"First of all, we have to form two groups. The first one will have to attract all the Raven Tail mages outside and will fight against them, creating a diversion, while the second one will go and search Gajeel when the insides will be empty."
"What about if Gajeel will fight against us? What should we do? If the research team took unnecessary risks, they could die." Erza objected, standing above the map arms crossed.
"Don't worry about it, I have a plan. Lily, Happy and Sharuru will take charge of the transmission. If Gajeel arrive and fight against us, one of them will go to warn the research team, and we will take all our strength into the battle. However, if Gajeel had been caught for real and doesn't fight us, one of the cats will still warn the others so they could continue the research. I think Lily will take charge of this, if there will be still a few mages inside, you could help."
The black cat just nodded, with a serious and concentrated expression.
"I will look for Gajeel." Levy decided with a strong voice.
She knew she would be the most useless about fighting, and she preferred take charge of the research.
"Are you sure Levy?" Lucy asked with a concerned voice.
"Yes, don't worry. I'll be fine, I know I can do it."
"Agreed." the old Master continued. "He wouldn't oppose anyway. In this case, the others will fight the Raven Tail mages, and if Gajeel isn't with them, all we'll have to do is defeat them or hold on the longest as we can."
"Well, this is going to be interesting." Fried declared from a corner along with the others member of the Raijin gang's nods.
"Hey Levy! If you find the room where they'd hidden the money, call me!" Continua Macao.
"You idiot, you really think she will give up her research just to warn you?" Wakaba said as he put his last lacrimas in his bag.
While the half of the team fought each others, the ones who still listened reminded concentrated, they didn't want to screw anything.
When everyone was sure to know what they had to do, the mages went to the place indicated by the information that Gajeel managed to give. At first they took the train, not caring about the tourists and locals' astonished glances because of their serious faces and their heavy armed equipment. They stopped at Shirotsume, the last town in the west which possessed a train station, then they had to walk, and Raven Tail was still far. The night was starting to fall when they had done half way. They stopped near a forest and decided to camp.
The next morning, when they finally reach their destination at the beginning of the afternoon, the excitation and the tension increased all at once. Seeing the landscape, we couldn't say it was a desert, but there wasn't mountains either. There was white and gray rocks everywhere, as far as you can see, rising to the sky. And deep crevasses where smoke escaped and sometimes geysers. But there was nothing else. No animal, no sound, just silence and wind whirling between the weird columns, making the atmosphere more heavy and oppressing than ever. The only thing slashing this cold and dead landscape was a weird building, and everyone was shivering just by looking at it. It looked like an irregular tower, drifting from left to right, and its color was a mix of blue and black. The building was surrounding by crows flying in circle and croaking horribly. There was a big gate, like Fairy Tail's, excepted that no one felt the urge to open it. The Fairy Tail mages had barely noticed the adverse guild that they hid in a corner, behind rocks, to observe without being observed.
"What now? We run and scream and shoot everything on the way?" Natsu asked with a voice filled with willingness.
He was certainly the only one who didn't feel nervous despite such a situation.
"You fool, we can't do that!" Lucy shouted and hit him behind his head.
"Aye! They would nous notice immediately." Happy precised with a fish in his hand (well in his paw) which he wanted to use as a weapon.
"Yeah but that's what we want, don't we?" Grey said.
"Yes, but the surprise attack does exist." Erza approved.
A surprise attack won't work, because we already know you're here.
Everyone jumped and turned around toward the origin of the weird voice to face a paper doll floating in the air which was staring at them too.
"That's Ivan's magic!" Makarov yelled as he stood abruptly, immediately followed by all the mages.
Natsu burnt the paper, but it would change anything, what was done was done. Following Makarov's order, the mages roared and ran toward Raven Tail, they couldn't hope to tempt a surprise attack anymore. The magic surrounded their bodies and their weapons, and they were ready to use them. At the same moment the big gate opened, revealing a hundred enemy mages, armed with swords, magic guns and other kind of weapons. The clash between the two guilds was deafening, magic colored circles and rays fusing on all sides. The opponents lost awareness of where they were due to the total chaos. Natsu was hitting everything he saw, rocks or enemies, crashing everything in his path. Bisca and Arzak remained hidden and tried to protect everyone with their guns. Erza had changed her armor and was fighting three mages simultaneously, moving so fast that her gestures were fuzzy. Wendy was flying with Charuru around the building, looking out the rare windows to see the insides. Lily and Happy had launched themselves into the battle, the first one punching with his original form, and the second one using "fish shots" in his opponents' face. Bixlow, Fried and Evergreen fought again a small group on the right. Cana, Macao, Elfman and Wakaba tried to block the gates, preventing anyone to retreat inside.
"Beat them all!" Makarov ordered as he grew the triple of a human's size, sending flying a tens of enemies who couldn't do anything to protect themselves with a single punch. "Levy, do your job!"
The young girl, who had remained hidden and waited for the signal, nodded and ran quickly toward the gates still open, her legs leading her as fast as they could, stimulated by adrenaline and determination. She turned around a last time toward her friends who fought so hard, and she could see frozen, burnt, soaked or thunderstruck enemies who flew across the sky only to be dropped on the ground and remained inert. She ran inside the large building, making herself as discreet as possible and praying that no one was inside with her. She crossed a small corridor, opened a door and she found herself in a large room, where two long tables and a bar like Fairy Tail's stood. Finally, she saw multiple doors on both sides of the room and opened the nearest at once. She climbed a range of steps, thinking that it was leading on a tower's top. As she reached the top, she found a series of rooms she opened one by one, before she climbed down without a result. More and more panicked at each second, she ignored her painful legs and her short breath which burnt her in the chest.
Levy ran, opening each door, desperately searching the Iron Dragon Slayer in each room and praying that she wouldn't be found. Anyway, she was praying a lot today. Simply because she was terrified. Terrified about being found and having to fight, terrified about a failure in the plan, terrified about losing Gajeel forever. So she came back in the large central room after searching in three different towers, and she heard a flutter before she saw Lily come to her.
"Gajeel isn't outside and Wendy didn't found him around the guild. In my opinion, Ivan found out he was our spy and Gajeel is locked somewhere." The cat panted as he dropped on the floor, making his wings disappear.
"Lily, do you know where the dungeons are? If he was locked somewhere, it certainly here..." The young girl supposed, her throat knotted with apprehension at the thought of going in such a dark and gloomy place.
"Usually we could find the dungeons both in height or underground, and considering the size and the shape of the towers, I rather bet they are in the underground. Follow me, I think I know where they are."
Lily opened the doors Levy hadn't touch, ignoring the ones which were hiding stairs that leaded on the top, until he found one which leaded to the underground and they went down quickly, plunging slowly in the guild's foundations. It was obvious that Levy wasn't relieved with the number of spiderwebs that increased with each of her step and with the light which was slowly disappearing. Pushing another door, both of them found themselves in a dark corridor, filled with prison cells on each sides. The only light that filtered the place was coming from a little square above each cell, where they could see a piece of blue sky. Abruptly Levy began to run, the cat close behind her, glancing from right to left, unwilling to linger in such a creepy place which smelled death. She prayed with all her might that Gajeel wasn't here. But apparently, this prayer hadn't been heard.
As she ran near the last cell, approaching more and more of the end of the corridor, she saw something. No, someone. Instantly, she froze and came back slightly. She had to realize, if she didn't know him and meet him since a long time, she couldn't have recognized him. Horrified, she couldn't help but scream before she muffled her voice with her hands, her legs gave up and she fell backward against the wall. Lily growled deeply, staring at the prison cell with anger incomprehension, tears in his cat eyes. Because before them, here was Gajeel. But certainly not the Gajeel they knew. No, this one wasn't recognizable anymore. Not after what he had been through.
So? What do you think please?
The next one is coming soon!