The screams of the dying were permeating the air like a siren's song, and he couldn't help but laugh maniacally as the levitating forms twisted in agony, writhing in the grip on the Cruciatus curse. He had been ordered to leave them alive, but saw no harm in rendering them less than vegetables. The smallest one, a little boy with black hair, screamed especially loud, and he grinned evilly, twisting his face into a snarl.

"Crucio," he growled again, his blood electrifying as the boy's screams rose in pitch and volume. His heart pounded as suddenly the twisting form of the child shuddered and bubbled, and the pitch of the scream became intolerable to his ears. He suddenly fell back, a cold fear pooling in his gut as he watched the body of the child swell and turn black, the flesh melting and sizzling. This wasn't supposed to happen! His breath became labored as he smelled the sick smell of death, the taste of the air gagging him. The others he'd been torturing had gone through the same, and now the sky was raining hot, black ooze all over him, burning his flesh and searing his soul.

He couldn't breathe, and he sobbed as his body reacted violently as he began to purge the bile in his stomach. 'Stop!' his mind screamed, begging for it to end. His face burned as he retched, and then there was a new sensation, a sharp pain against his cheek. It happened again, harder this time. He blinked, the scene in front of him fading as cold air swept over him, washing the putrid taste out of his nostrils.

"Lily?" he choked, rubbing his sore cheek.

"Awake, are we?" replied giant man, withdrawing a cocked fist. He had apparently decided to smash in his face in order to wake him up, seeing as how just shaking him wasn't working. He grimaced, looking at the half asleep and heaving man, wringing out his bruising fists.

Gajeel shook his head, clearing out the rest of the sluggishness that trapped him in slumber. It was a dream, he realized. His stomach still felt the tightness of the gag feeling, and he sat up, hand covering his mouth as he fought against it. He hadn't had that dream in a while, and the studs in his face slightly burned. 'Someone used the Cruciatus tonight,' he thought grimly, fingering the studs on his chin. He sighed, standing up and swinging his coat around his shoulders. Sleep wasn't going to be of comfort to anyone tonight, thus they would continue on their quest.

"Hey Lily," he began, grumbling. "Next time try to aim a little higher."

The larger man only grunted, then sighed. ever since they were given this mission Gajeel had suffered from night terrors, and got grouchier and more temperamental the following day. Lately though, Gajeel had taken to picking up more night shifts as to avoid sleeping, something that Lily understood yet didn't approve of. He needed Gajeel at his best, but he wasn't about to force the man into a sleep riddled with torture. Especially with death eaters around to trigger the studs that Gajeel had in his arms and face. He knew that they reacted to each of the unforgivable curses, and that each area was enchanted to react to a specific curse. After looking at his face, Lily didn't have to guess which one had been used.

"Pack up, we're leaving," Gajeel snapped. Lilly sighed, turning to roll up the blanket he'd been resting on. They might as well push on, despite how exhausted they were becoming. He'd sent the ministry reports on their progress, and they had yet to respond to them. 'Just as well,' he'd thought bitterly. 'The less attention we get the better for hunting.' He swept up his pack, following Gajeel into the black forest.

…

"We should reach Nome in about an hour, better get some rest while you still can," the tall red head was saying. She looked up from her book, and pressed her face to the window as she watched the scene pass them by. The frozen landscape of Alaska hadn't changed since they left Anchorage, and she'd been buried in her books, actively studying the area they were about to enter. After they were to reach Nome, they would be traveling back to Fairbanks, the location where the last team of aurors were heard from. From there they'd be tracking them until they were located, and then possibly team up. For what she wasn't entirely sure of yet, but she hoped that they could be of help.

Levy bit her lip, slightly nervous. She was still a bit green on the field, she was lucky that she had Jet and Droy training her outside of the office, even though they were considered low level wizards in the ministry. Still, she got to do more with them than she had hoped for than if she had been stuck in the offices. So she didn't complain when they were given this job, even if it took them to the least sparsely populated places on earth. She found it strange, however, that no one else wanted this particular job.

'Find the man called Panther Lily and his partner, Gajeel Redfox,' the notice said. Jet had waved it in front of her and claimed it would be great cause Panther was considered a great auror, and working with him was an honor. Truthfully, Levy hadn't heard of the man before she joined the ministry, the stories hadn't reached as far over to America as her partners had thought. She usually trusted their words, and their knowledge as well. She hadn't heard of the partner either, but both Jet and Droy seemed a little anxious about him. There hadn't been too much on file of him at the ministry, making her think that the slate had been wiped for reasons. But seeing as how both of them knew about him, she decided to ask, figuring that she needed all the information she could get from them before their mission started.

"So what's going with this Gajeel? You didn't seem very excited about him when we were talking before," she said, leaning forward to listen better. Jet and Droy looked at each other, then around before Jet discretely took out his wand and waved a silencing spell around them. even though the train they were on was quiet and there were few muggles around, he wasn't going to take the chance that someone was going to listen in. Levy wasn't sure if it was necessary, but if they felt it was then she wasn't going to argue.

"Gajeel Redfox is the person we're actually tracking," Jet said after he finished the spell, lowering his voice despite himself. Droy nodded in agreement, leaning forward as well. Levy raised her eyebrows, surprised at the admission.

"I thought it was Panther Lily we were looking for," she said, confused. They nodded, still looking grim.

"He is, but Redfox is more concerning for the ministry," Jet continued. "He used to be a death eater for the dark wizard Jose many years ago. He was famous for his usage for the Cruciatus Curse, and his thirst for violence with others. How he was forgiven and wasn't sent to Azkaban isn't well known though, but he's not to be trusted if he's alone."

Levy pursed her lips, considering what the new information implied. "So you're hoping that Lily is still around to keep a leash on him, hence why they're together?" she asked, confirming the conclusion she drew up in her mind as she watched them squirm uncomfortably. She sighed lightly, not liking the aspect of this conversation anymore. She wasn't against going on an adventure, hell it was a lot better than running errands in a stuffy office where the supervisors leered at her or made snide comments in front of her.

But she had been hoping for more clarity on this particular mission, and so far only Jet and Droy had been privy to the information that their supervisor had given them. She was sure that they had been told to tell her only the bare minimum to sate her curiosity. As far as she knew now, they were looking for a man who may or may not be dead, and his partner who may or may not be a dark wizard. She felt the first vestiges of a headache trickle across her brain, and leaned her head back against the seat, sighing. She supposed she should be optimistic, but lately it was difficult thanks to the situation at the ministry.

Her boss was not kind to muggle born witches and wizards, and she had to unfortunate distinction of being born to muggle parents and hailing from America, another slight in his book. It took a lot of hard work and at least five different recommendations from different departments to get into his, and so far all she had done for work was to run errands and other menial duties. Even so, she was lucky she was assigned to the duo that currently traveled with her now, they didn't seem to mind her history. 'As long as they value hard work and dedication over blood, I can't complain too much,' she thought, mentally shaking her head.

She sighed, returning her thoughts to the present. They had at least half an hour before they arrived, she might as well cram some more spells into her brain in case they needed them, especially if they were tracking an ex-death eater. If he was as powerful as they say, then they needed a chance to retaliate if they needed to. 'Best to be prepared even if it's not as bad as they say,' she thought to herself.

…

The air was colder than she expected, and she stuffed her gloved hands a little deeper into her pockets as they traveled towards the forest. They had a couple of hours of daylight left, and they had to hurry in order to at least find the beginning of it before dark. Both Jet and Droy led the way, complaining endlessly about the rapidly vanishing light, leaving her to shake her head in mild exasperation. They had apparently not done their homework on the wilderness here, having gotten used to being in the field in the tropical areas of the planet. She was slightly more prepared, and shouldered her satchel in pride. Inspired by one of the spells she had read about back home, she had enchanted her bag to carry everything they needed on this trip, even the things that they wouldn't consider necessary, like the books she kept with her. Not that they needed to know, but it was a comfort to her that she at least kept some muggle items from home in there as well.

She trotted forward, catching up to them as they entered the tree line and into the already pitch black forest. "Lumos," Jet whispered, his wand ahead of him and lighting the way. Jagged shadows pierced the path they stumbled on, and levy was beginning to think that they should stop for the night before travel became beyond impossible. She had her own wand out, but she still felt the prickle of cold fear tickling her spine as she walked as close as she could to the men in front of her.

"Guys, it's getting too dark, let's stop for the night," she finally suggested, nearly tripping over the roots.

"But we need to start looking for them," Droy said, stopping to look back at her.

"We're not going to find them if we're going to be blinded by nightfall," she replied, waving her wand around to emphasis the darkness that had closed around them. Jet sighed, nodding in agreement.

"Fine, we start at dawn," he said, turning to start looking for a camping spot. Levy followed him, relieved. The sooner they hunkered down, the sooner she could get her books out and figure out how to actually find these aurors.

They picked out a small nook in a tree large enough to be a small house, and Levy pulled out a sheet of fabric, folding it over and tacking it over the crease. She waved her wand shortly, and pulled it open to reveal an expansive room inside the tree. Jet and Droy pushed past her, sighing in relief as the fire in the hearth flickered to life, giving warmth to the chilled room.

It was one of the joys they experienced while working with the small blunette, even though they were expected to "rough it out" by their boss. But Levy refused to sleep on the ground after the first mission they went on, and decided to build a tent for them for missions that required them to be in the wilderness. The only requirement that she instilled on using it was that they didn't let the supervisor know; he was a stickler for following the mission rules, which didn't include comfort of any kind.

She pulled closed the flap, sighing as she watched the guys get comfy, plopping themselves down on the couch. She definitely was grateful for the tent, and all the amenities that she packed it with. She wandered into the small kitchen, allowing her stomach to guide the way into the pantry. She flung open the cabinet that held her own personal stash of jerky, and she snagged a package before turning back to the main room.

She slipped into the smaller room that she had claimed for herself, sliding herself and the satchel onto the cot. After digging around for a few minutes, she found the book she was looking for. Settling back with her snack in hand, she flipped through the pages, picking up her last bookmark. Succumbing to the story, she grew lost in the words as drowsiness seeped in, adding weights to her eyelids. Her head drooped as her body tilted to the side, the cot conforming to her listless form as sleep finally overtook her senses.

…

The buzzing in her ear woke her, and she moaned, stirring to brush it away. It only intensified then, vibrating her skull as she came conscious to her surroundings. She opened her eyes to darkness, and stifled a gasp of horror as she saw Jet and Droy levitating in the air above her, the limbs dangling uselessly. 'What the hell is going on?' her thoughts raced as she felt her body subtly dip and rise, and she belatedly realized that she was under the spell as well, hence the cause for the buzzing in her ear.

"We've got a trifecta of idiots this time," a voice from below laughed, and she bit back a startled gasp. She held still, not wanting the owner of the voice to notice that she was awake yet. She hoped that it was just a prank, that the people they were looking for had found them instead of being found. The next voice to respond sent chills down her spine, dispersing that slight hope easily. She slowly brought her arm closer to her back, where her back bent against the wand she had stashed there before dozing off.

"They're ministry dogs, you imbecile," the owner of the second voice grated, clearly agitated. There was a pause, and she felt herself being dropped to the ground, causing the wind to whoosh out of her lungs. She coughed, gasping as she felt a large hand grab her hair and yank her up, then slammed up against something hard. She squinted as a bright light blinded her, and she was suddenly nose to nose with a ragged looking face.

"Why are you here, little bitch?" he rasped, his breath hot and balmy against her cheek. She fought the urge to gag, choking against the rancid smell that he emitted. He yanked harder, lifting her painfully off the ground by her hair. "I said, why are you here?"

She glared at him, fully aware that she was staring at a death eater and could possibly die at any time. Jet and Droy were still levitating peacefully, unconscious to the world. It clicked in her mind then that they had been watched from the beginning, obviously showing them the way to their tent. But why the hell were there death eaters here? Did they have anything to do with the disappearance of the two aurors they were supposed to track?

Growling, the man yanked her hair again, and she stubbornly refused to cave in to the pain, gritting her teeth as he shook her. He threw her to the ground, snarling at her. No sooner than she hit the rough terrain, she whipped her wand out, pointed at them and cried out "Expelliarmus" and "Stupify" in quick succession, managing to hit one of the death eaters but missed the other. Jet and Droy dropped like stones, and she winced at the impact that their bodies made. She rushed to their prone bodies, her wand held straight out in defense as the spells from the death eaters flew at her, bouncing away as she deflected them expertly. The dark was certainly not helping, and the sudden flashes were blinding her to where they lurked.

"Jet! Droy! Wake up!" she cried, unable to do more than call over her shoulder at them as she defended them. The flashes were getting stronger, and she desperately whipped about, trying to cast a spell in counter defense, but unable to. Her arms were getting tired, and she couldn't see anymore. 'Please,' she cried silently, panting. 'Somebody help!'

A sudden red burst of light startled her, and she nearly missed the bright green light that exploded before her. The flashing suddenly stopped, and the darkness swallowed her senses wholly again. Exhausted, she whimpered as she dropped to her hands and knees, breathing hard.

Another light shined suddenly again, and she whipped up her wand again, ready to defend again if she needed to.

"Are you alright?"

She blinked, griping her wand tightly. The owner of the light stepped forward, his other hand up in a defensive yet placating stance. He smiled reassuringly at her, but she gulped, not ready to let her guard down.

"Who are you?" she demanded, staring at him. A second light appeared next to his, and she jumped in alarm. The face that was lit by this light was scowling fiercely, the studs in his face glinting dimly.

"Take it easy, shrimp, we just saved your asses," he growled, clearly annoyed. She glanced from him to the other man, who nodded.

"You're from the ministry, correct?" he asked. She nodded slowly, lowering her wand. The man glanced over at his partner, then said, "I'm Panther Lily, and this is Gajeel Redfox. We've been waiting for you."