This one-shot is based off of a wonderful piece of artwork (part of which is shown in the title picture) done by Approvesport on Tumblr. I hope you enjoy it! Reviews and comments are definitely welcome and don't forget to go check out her other beautiful work on Tumblr as well!
The ringing in his ears wouldn't go away. Shaking his head Gajeel looked around trying to get some semblance of where he had been thrown. The explosion had knocked him through a now demolished building into the next street and suddenly he remembered Warren being beside him when the ground had shook and the world had turned on itself. Frantically looking around he finally saw Warren, or at least the top half of him; the rest was underneath a stone wall. Gajeel didn't need to go check to see if he was alive, he couldn't hear a heartbeat anymore. His nose was assaulted by the harsh smell of smoke as another explosion incinerated a house a block away from him and sent rubble and stone flying into the air. Gajeel growled and went off in that direction knowing he'd find the culprit. Passing a window he noticed himself in the reflection and cringed. His long coarse hair, that was usually tied back by his bandana, was falling past his shoulders with a couple long strands flowing along the side of his head. His sleeveless shirt was torn in a number of places and scars lined his face from the battle that had been raging for the last couple of hours. He passed another house and looked inside to see if anybody was hiding but quickly regretted the decision. The inside of the house was dark and grey with rubble and destroyed furniture strewn everywhere except for one part of the main room right in the middle where a long mess of white, tangled hair was strewn about an unmoving body laying beside another with spiky blonde hair, Sound Pod headphones laying five feet from him.
"At least they went together." Was his only thought as Gajeel continued on his way.
As he ran Gajeel looked up at the blackened sky hoping to see any sign of the reinforcements that Warren had said were coming after he had sent an emergency broadcast across Fiore. Blue Pegasus was supposed to be flying in soon on the Christina but they had yet to make any kind of appearance since responding. Not three hours ago the town had been peaceful as always but Zeref had suddenly appeared out of nowhere to change that. Nobody had been prepared, the Dragon Slayers hadn't even smelt his presence until he had started his attack. The first thing he had done of course was destroy the guild hall taking Lisanna with it. The initial explosion had brought the hall down on the guild members but she was the only one unlucky enough to not be near any cover. Makarov had been called to the Magic Council earlier that day leaving the guild exposed even with all four Slayers there and with Gildarts off on a mission it was left to the young people to take care of this deadly threat. Gajeel could still hear Natsu's war cry as he attacked Zeref head on when he realized that Lisanna was truly dead. The rest of the guild quickly followed him and soon an all out battle against the dark mage and the demons and monsters he had brought with him had swept its way across Magnolia. Barely anything of the once beautiful town was left except rubble and- strangely enough- the church. Natsu hadn't helped with keeping the place safe though as his fire magic quickly set most of the city ablaze because of Zeref's redirections. After battling the insanely powerful demons that the dark mage had summoned with him most of the guild were either out of magic or dead, leaving only Dragon Slayers and a couple others to defend the town.
As he ran a geyser of ice shot upwards from his destination with a small black shape trapped in the blue cold formation. Gajeel's eyesight picked out the form of Zeref and a small glimmer of hope began to shine as he saw the shirtless Ice-Make mage Gray being carried up the ice by Juvia in her liquid form, a giant icicle in his right hand. Reaching the dark mage Gray brought his arm back to deal the final blow. As if there wasn't even any ice around him though, Zeref raised an arm and shattered the ice sending it right into and through Gray. Juvia screamed as she fell holding the Ice mage but Gajeel could hear his heart, the boy was dead before they even hit the ground. Shaking with rage as Juvia wailed for her lover in the background Gajeel sent an Iron Dragon's Roar right for the mage; fist pumping the air as the attack hit Zeref right in the chest. Jumping onto a window ledge and then onto the roof above it Gajeel launched himself upwards towards where the mage was falling, turning his right hand into a giant sword as he did so. Just Gajeel realized he wasn't going to make it another Dragon Roar hit his feet propelling him even faster and giving him a surge of energy.
"Gee hee, better thank Wendy for that later." Bringing his arm back as far as possible Gajeel swung the blade just in time to make contact with Zeref. Right then and there was when his plan went South. Zeref brought his left hand out and caught the giant blade, smirking to himself and spinning to send Gajeel straight down into a wall on the other side of the square below. The impact took his breath away and he was left coughing blood as Zeref landed lightly on his feet in front of him.
"Sad, I thought you and Natsu would prove more of a challenge." Zeref raised his hand for the killing blow but before he could do anything a flaming body sent him flying into the house across the square where Gajeel was slumped. The heat of Natsu's attacks could be felt all across the city as the Fire Dragon Slayer brought his full fury down upon the man who had destroyed so much of what he lived for. Gajeel went to get up gasped in pain as his body completely rejected the idea. He tried again but ended with the same result. Growling in frustration he closed his eyes and tried to convince his body to listen to his commands.
"Gajeel, please don't." Snapping his eyes back open Gajeel looked up into the face of a worn and terrified Levy. Her face was covered in soot and dirt and her yellow dress burnt and torn so much that there was almost no point in still wearing it. Scars and open wounds covered her from head to toe mixing with the dirt and leaving her once beautiful shoulders ravaged and worn with battle. She was kneeling beside him with her hands sitting in her lap, hoping against hope that he wouldn't try to get up again. Between the smell of smoke and death Gajeel hadn't even noticed her scent while trying to force his body back to his will.
"Shrimp, I thought I told you to evacuate the town and then get outta here." She hung her head under his scrutiny and started crying.
"We did evacuate the town but, Zeref sent out some kind of magic wave and- and Jet and Droy they saw it before I did and they, oh God Gajeel they pushed me down and took it full on instead." The tears flowed freely making tracks down her worn and dirty face as she painfully mourned her friends.
"Shrimp you gotta get out of here. I don't know if we can keep up this fight." A yowl of pain sounded from across the yard as Natsu was thrown into the fountain with Zeref on his chest throwing punch after punch into the young mage. "I gotta help Salamander. He's getting himself killed." Gajeel tried to get up again but this time something forcefully held him back. He didn't need to know who had done it as he looked down at the chains of words keeping him strapped to the wall.
"Let me up Shrimp." Levy, still looking down, shook her head silently. "Shrimp... Let. Me. Up." Once again she just shook her head but this time she reached out with her right hand and cupped his chin, tilting his head to look to her as she smiled sadly.
"Gajeel... I'm sorry." Pulling herself to her feet Levy turned silently and walked through the rubble and dirt to where Zeref stood in the middle of the fountain, his hand wrapped around Natsu's neck.
"Shrimp? Shrimp GET BACK HERE!" Gajeel roared and yelled but the Solid Script mage kept moving forward; crying softly to herself.
"Will you hate me now?"
"What the hell are you talking about Shrimp?!" Tears had started to form in the Slayers eyes as he watched Levy's small body get closer and closer to the mage of death.
"Will you curse me for leaving you behind." She wasn't speaking loudly as she kept walking but Levy knew that Gajeel's ears would pick up her goodbye. Zeref, suddenly noticing the small blue haired girl walking towards him, threw an unconscious Natsu behind him and turned slightly to face her head on smiling grimly.
"I know it's not okay... That the world is denying us a life together." A small blue light started to shine from Levy's palms as Zeref held his right hand up to her, readying to end the girls life.
"But I'll beg the Gods, that in our next life, they'll let us be together again." The blue light spread like a wave across her body from her hands and soon covered Levy's body as too late did Zeref realize what was going on.
"I'm sorry Gajeel."
"LEVY!" Her name tore from his throat and screamed into the sky as the girl stood in front of Zeref and held out her hands, engulfing the square in pure light. Zeref wasn't even given time to yell as his body crumbled and the pieces of it moved inwards to the light like boats caught in a giant whirlpool. Any and all his demons that were still alive and rampaging crumbled like their master, getting sucked into the light that was now Levy with him. The light she produced shone with the brightness of a star and a warmth that nobody had ever felt before covered the town while the demons and monsters disappeared.
"I love you." The crying Gajeel barely heard the proclamation as the light dispersed with a large flash and left the world in complete and utter silence. The chains that held him him down disintegrated and with a new surge of energy Gajeel charged across the square to where Levy and Zeref had once stood. Instead of the two mages there sat a small leather bound book with black pages, resonating evil and death in the area around itself. Picking it up Gajeel saw the only addition that proved the sacrifice that had just been made. In the middle of the cover, pure as fresh snow, was the guild mark of Fairy Tail. Holding the book closely to his chest Gajeel felt a small ray of warmth coming from the mark filling him with the hope that Levy always seemed to give everyone when she was around. Sobbing openly Gajeel sat on his knees in the middle of the square promising to never let go of the book that now held his one and only love while Juvia's sorrowful rain began to fall.