*This is my first ever FanFiction posting so I am looking forward to feedback. Please be gentle!*

-Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, or any of its characters

Abyss: Chapter 1

Darkness. It swallows your soul and suffocates your life. It causes you to lose your way, meandering in a meaningless existence. But, on the rare occasion, you might stumble across a light in the abyss. And, like a parched man crawls towards a small droplet of salvation, I find myself reaching toward the radiance of this light, yearning to bask in its warmth. It doesn't have a face, but once I reach its golden beams, the aura surrounds me and it feels familiar. It feels like...

"Levy..."

Gajeel's crimson hues snap open as he starts himself awake, his heart thundering in his chest. That dream again. Grunting, a studded forearm rises to lie across his eyes as he closes them again, releasing a long low sigh. The sound of birds singing outside his ramshackle cabin heralded the arrival of morning. He inhaled deeply, taking in the scents of damp wood and earth and iron. With another grunt, he sat up in his bed, stretching subtly before turning and lowering his feet to the wood floor.

"Guess I should find a job today," he mused to himself looking down at his hands in his lap. But that means going to the guild hall, which was always exhausting considering how rambunctious the guild members almost always were; drinking, boisterous, fighting, obnoxious Fairies. Although, with risks to his sanity came the occasional reward in the form of a certain blue haired Script Mage, even if it was just seeing her from across the guild hall.

With his mind set and after a quick bite of scrap metal, the Iron Dragon Slayer sauntered from his quaint cabin set on the outskirts of Magnolia and leisurely made his way towards Fairy Tail.

Once into town his rather neutral mood started to turn sour as more and more whispers were hushed around him by cautious townsfolk he passed by. They seemed a little over dramatic to him, as they scurried out of his way.

"Black Steel Gajeel," he heard one say. Then, "How can he be trusted? He's such a monster."

"Tch." His eyes narrowed and his lips curled down in a snarl. Ignorant idiots, he thought to himself as he pretended to be oblivious to their hushed remarks. Just then something small pelted him on the back of his shoulder and a round of gasps was then followed by piercing silence. Gajeel's red eyes widened as he jerked his head to the side, glaring back over his shoulder to see who the hell would dare throw something at him. A group of adults scrambled inside nearby shops or around some convenient corners, leaving just one solo soul to stand up to the Dragon Slayer's wrath. Gajeel's eyes lowered to rest upon a small boy, not much older than 8 years he guessed, standing in defiance. Kid has some balls, he growled to himself as he turned slowly to face his attacker. He could tell the boy was scared, probably regretting the rash decision to do what he did. Gajeel took a few slow, intimidating steps towards the youngster, seeing the boys lips set in a hard determined line as his head tilted back to keep eye contact as the man towered over him. Behind the brave facade, Gajeel could see that the boy was trembling. Then he noticed something that made his breath catch in his chest and momentarily the snarl on his face disappeared. The boy had light blue hair… just like hers.

Gajeel stood there regarding the boy for what felt like an eternity as he wrestled with his emotions. Why did the smallest thing that reminded him of her affect him so strongly? Images of her pinned to the center tree in Magnolia Park flashed in his mind, her head lulled forward in defeat. He remembered cackling maniacally at her then. Now the image made him shudder inside subconsciously. The internal fight was lost and Gajeel visibly relaxed, his shoulders falling ever so slightly. The boy took note of this and relaxed a bit himself, a blue eyebrow arching suspiciously. Suddenly, Gajeel raised his hand toward the boy, palm side up, and resting in the middle of his large hand was a small sculpted iron dragon.

The boy flinched as soon as the man's arm rose towards him, but after a few seconds, he opened his eyes to see the Black Steel Gajeel holding out his offering, a fanged smirk stretched across the infamous mans face. Shocked, the boy stood there until Gajeel placed the cold metal sculpture in the boys hand then moved to continue on his way. As he passed him, he placed his hand on the boys head to ruffle his hair as he went.

"Don't ever lose that spunk, brat." Gajeel muttered over his shoulder as he walked away.