Disclaimer: FT not mine! It belongs to Hiro Mashima, I'm just playing with it.
DeAmonQuEen: Hello, you all! I know it's been ages since I last updated, but you see I was stucked and obsessed with a different fandom and well-let's just say I kind of left FT for a real long time. But, anyway, I am back, and am here to finish my FT fics. This one is the top of my list, so I hope you guys are gonna be alright with that. Thanks for those who still supports and had read this fic, for those who are new, well, welcome and I hope I did okay in this latest chapter. I know a lot of you expected an FT dance number of the song "I got a Dream" but my excuse is that this may be a FT version of Tangled, it doesn't mean I am gonna be following the entire Tangled songs and what happened in the movie. But, I hope I still did alright though, despite that scene not being included. Anyway, I shall not keep you waiting, please read that story and I hope you will enjoy!
(-)
Chapter 3:
Jose was surprised that his "son" didn't greeted him when he arrived, for it was a habit he had trained the boy to have since childhood. It was a way for him to immediately know where he was when he'd come home. He then started calling for him but no answer came. He searched the entire tower but there was no sign of the teen. He then remembered the fairy his men had lost.
"She knew how to rewrite runes. And she had mostly fell near the area. Could it be-" he didn't finish his sentence for anger had already entered his heart. His "son" must've left with the fairy and had disobeyed his orders! He immediately left the tower to search for his wayward "son", bring him back and make sure he would never leave again...
(-)
The two mages continued their journey out of the forest but most definitely not in silence. The shorter one of the two have been constantly pestering the dragonslayer with questions.
"So why'd you grow out your hair out?"
"..."
"Did you do the piercings by yourself?"
"..."
"Is black your favorite color?"
"..."
"Have you always been a jerk?" the bluenette asked irritatedly.
"Have you always been a shrimp?" the dragonslayer finally replied with a teasing grin.
"Geez no need to insult me, I was only asking questions," the script mage said with a pout.
"You're the one who called me a jerk first, short stack. And you were getting annoying with all the questions you ask."
"First, I have a name. It's Levy, L.E.V.Y, Le-Vy. Not shrimp or Shorty or any of the height related names. Secondly, I ask questions so I can get to know you better. We're travelling together so it's only natural for me to be curious about my companion."
"Shrimp, you should know that it was your curiosity that got you here in the first place."
"You know you're really mean for guy who's lived a sheltered life for eighteen years," Levy stated.
"Tch. And you must've know a lot of guys like me to be able to make that observa- shhhh." Gajeel suddenly halted and looked around the area suspiciously.
"What's wrong?" Levy whispered worriedly.
But Gajeel kept silent and stared at a particularly large group of bushes. He suddenly turned his arm into a sword surprising her companion and moved to attack the bushes that had just started rustling. Of course his attacked stopped when the culprit behind the movement showed itself to be a cute white rabbit.
"Watch out, I think it can smell fear," his blue haired companion teased. The raven head immediately changed his arm back and hurriedly walked away from his snickering companion, faced red as his tan skin could make. "Hey, I was only joking! Wait up!" she yelled as she ran to catch up with him.
Gajeel felt embarrassed with what he did, he had really thought he heard whispering beyond those bushes and trees, which explained the sword arm. Lily always told him that his sensitive ears would be able to help him sense danger from a mile away. A good trait to have when you were in the outside world. But what he hadn't expected was over relying on it and not be able to identify the noise that could belong to an ambush from the noise of a simple forest critter. What's worse was that the shrimp had to see his mistake and had the guts to laugh at him! It irritated him very much.
He felt the bluenette come near him, but he choose to ignore her presence until she spoke softly.
"I'm sorry."
This caught the young man by surprise and stopping him in his tracks.
"Why the hell's she apologizing for?!" He thought giving the blunette an incredulous expression.
"I didn't mean to make fun of you like that," she continued. "I mean I know that you've been living in that tower all your life so being outside for the first time ever, I should've understood that you were just being cautious. It was terrible of me to laugh at your mistake. I'm really sorry," she said with great sincerity.
The raven-haired mage stared at her in disbelief, not at the other's sudden apology but at the other's entire existance. He grew up thinking that the world beyond where he lived was a cruel and dangerous place filled with just as vile individuals. But here standing in front of him was a woman that defied everything he was taught and told about people beyond the wall, sure Lily wasn't evil despite coming from the outside, but he always considered the exceed as an exception because he wasn't human. Now, the first human he had met besides his old man was showing him the exact opposite of everything his father said to him, making him wonder whether his old man had been lying to him all along or if the shrimp was simply just different. He didn't have time to ponder the thought for too long because his stomach let out a very loud growl.
Oh yeah, because of the shrimp's arrival he had totally forgotten to eat lunch. Fuck, can't he seem to stop embarrassing himself in front of the petite mage.
Levy giggled, which for the other sounded really heavenly, then said, "I guess we've been walking for quite some time now and our stomachs are beginning to complain." He didn't say anything to that comment instead he turned his head away to make sure the other didn't see the embarrassment written in his face. "Well, I guess we should get something to eat," she said with a smile.
"You got food with you?" Gajeel asked his eyes returning to the shorter mage.
"Nope, but I do know that there's a small pub-resto around here and that they serve wonderful food," she said far too enthusiastically for his taste.
"I thought you've never been to this forest before and even said that it's not safe, so how come you know about this pub?" he asked suspiciously.
The bluenette just laughed at his obvious accusation, and immediately explained herself. "Relax. I may not have been in this forest before but that doesn't mean I don't know people who have. And also you shouldn't worry about the place, where we're going, it's actually owned by a good friend of mine who also belongs to the same guild as me. So it'll be safe to go there and get something to eat." She still saw the doubt in raven head's eyes, so she tried go from another approach. "Trust me on this one, I assure you I'm not trying to trick you to get the crown back early. This place is completely safe, well maybe except during bar fights and the regular shady customers, but I'm sure Cana and the others can protect us from them. Besides, if I am trying to trick you, which I assure I am not, I'm sure you can fight your way through it. I mean I saw your magic earlier and I can tell that, that sword arm of yours was not for jokes. So what do you say?"
He tried to weigh his options, he was hungry and a good meal wasn't unwelcome. But he knew that there was a huge possibility that the shrimp was lying and he could be ambushed and captured in the process. But he also knew that the shrimp was right and that he indeed could take on anyone if it came to it. Well the pros outweigh the cons. So there was nothing he can do about it other than to agree.
(-)
Levy was happy that her companion agreed to go to Fairy Tail pub with her, well sure they needed to get something to eat to restore their energies, but she did have an ulterior motive on going to FT pub. No, she had meant what she said that she wasn't trying to trick Gajeel so she can get the crown back, but it was more like to clench down her fear that had been with her ever since she was separated from her guildmates. She just needed to know if Jet and Droy were safe, and what better place to start looking for them and finding out about their conditions other than FT's pub-resto. It was actually once a small outpost that was built inside the dark forest to serve as lookout for unsavory dark mages that want to enter the kingdom. It became a pub when Cana, the woman that the master put incharge to guard the outpost started allowing random travellers to get drinks and rest there, and when Kinana joined her there, the place started serving food as well. It was economical and logical for them, not only can they earn money from people but they can also get information from the idiotic customers who often forget what the place actually was and recklessly spill information during meals or in drunken stupor.
So yeah, she talked Gajeel into going in to the place to find out whether her friends made it out safe and also inform them that she was on her way back with the crown. But that didn't mean she was trying to go back on her promise about taking him to see the festival, she was just taking a short detour for them to get food and for her to get the uneasiness off her chest.
They finally arrived at the small pub-resto, that wasn't as small as she had initially thought. Actually it was bigger than she expected and wasn't exactly pub looking. If she were to give a say about it, the place looked like a small barn, because of the chickens that were clucking beside it, and she would've said that she was not at the right place if it weren't for the large sign at the large double door that said FT's pub-resto(A/N: Imagine the image what the guild looked like after the seven year disappearance of the Tenrou group, that's what this pub looked like, not the one from Tangled!).
"Wow, everyone had been holding out on her when they told her about the place," she thought. She then looked at her companion and saw that he too wasn't expecting anything like this to be called a pub-resto, not that she was certain whether he knew what a pub-resto looked in the first place. But still she saw the sharp assessing crimson eyes scan the area, and thus she thought that she should try and console the guy before he thought that she was lying to him about the place.
"I know that it doesn't look like a pub-resto but I assure you that it is. I mean the name says so, right?"
"I never said that I doubted the place's authenticity, Shorty. I was merely checking the place out," he said with a teasing smirk that made the bluenette hot in places she should not feel hot on.
She realized by then that she was seriously dead attracted to the guy, and she was ashamed at herself for it, because she knew that if she did anything like pursuing anything romantic with him was like abusing his innocence, not that he looked innocent in the first place because of his piercings and all but she knew that he was, and that is just so despicable for her to do. She would be like a pervert trying to seduce a minor, and it was not something she wanted to compare herself with. She was busy with her inner musing that she didn't notice that her companion had been trying to get her attention for quite some time now.
"Oi, Shorty! You listening?!" he said far too loud and too near her face.
"Yes! And don't yell at me!" she screamed surprised and hurriedly backed away from the other causing her to tumble down on her butt.
"Gihehe!" he smirked looking down at the bluenette on the ground, "I wouldn't have yelled if you were listening, pipsqueak."
A tick appeared on her forehead at the annoying nickname and the fact she got laughed at. She immediately stood up to correct the dragonslayer. "I said my name is Lev-"
*Bang!*
Was heard from the pub's door that had been roughly swung opened by something that was thrown from the inside which landed on the ground just right in front of the two and had stopped whatever words the script mage had wanted to say.
That something, which was actually a someone, immediately stood up from the ground while fire magically appeared on both arms, and yelled angrily, "Dammit ice princess you're gonna pay for that!"
"Natsu," Levy uttered recognizing the salmon haired boy in front of him.
"Huh?" was the other's reply after hearing his name get called then turning to face the blue haired mage. "Levy!" he said happily, "You're alright!"
Levy was about to explain her absence but was cut off by the appearance of another teen by the door. He had dark hair and was only wearing his boxer shorts. "What's keeping you flame brain? Thought you were gonna make me pay?" the boy said cockily.
"Grey, your clothes," a busty blonde haired woman said after appearing behind the dark haired teen.
"Lu-chan!" Levy called the blonde woman.
Surprise was clearly shown in the later's face as she saw the one who called her name. A reliefed smile appeared on her face as she said, "Levy-chan!" and immediately ran towards the short mage and hugged her. "You're alive!" she said, "We were so worried when Jet and Droy contacted us via lacrima saying that you guys were attacked by Phantom mages. Natsu, Grey, Erza and I immediately went to help but we couldn't find you. We were beginning to think that you've been captured."
"I wasn't captured, and I'm sorry for worrying you guys," the bluenette said removing herself from the embrace, "Are Jet and Droy here?"
"No. They were injured, so Mira sent them back to the guild to be healed. I'm sure that they will be thrilled to know you're alright."
"Me too! I'm glad they're alright!"
"Yehey," the forgotten raven haired dragonslayer said in mock happiness, before taking large steps towards the pub.
"Who's that?" the blonde asked.
"That's Gajeel. He's a- friend, and I'm taking him to see the Dragon Festival," Levy said with a wry smile, then followed the said mage inside.
The blonde blink a few times before a mischievous smile appeared in her face. "A friend, huh?" Then she followed the bluenette inside and leaving the salmon head and the nearly naked raven-head outside to finish their argument.
(-)
Little did the group know that in the shadows of the forest from which the duo had came from, eyes lurked and had silently been watching them. They had planned to attack the two earlier whilst they were in the forest, but were stopped by the keen sense of hearing by the taller one of the two, they had felt a sudden surge of powerful magic coming from the young man, and so they had decided to observe some more. When they had seen that the two had reached the infamous FT pub-resto, they had to rethink their plan. The pub was known to house strong mages and based on the interactions the two had with the new faces that came from the pub, it meant that they had more people to worry about before they could retrieve the object that they seek. A beeping was heard from one of the observer's pants of which was made by a small communication lacrima.
"Have you found the girl with the crown?" a rustic harsh voice resounded from the device.
"Yeah, master Jose we found her. Bad news though, she found her way to that pub. But not to worry, Master, we're gonna get that crown, once that little fairy leaves the pub."
"Was there anyone with her?" was the immediate question.
"Uh, yeah. She was with a guy, tall, with dark hair and had a lot of piercings."
"Is that so?" was said with such great anger and malice that the receiver of the call shivered in fear. There was a pause before the voice resounded again. "Change of plans. I'll be sending more men to you to attack the establishment. And aside from getting the crown, you will be capturing that young man the fairy came with."
The group shared a confused look, they didn't understand the reason behind the second order. But none was brave enough to voice their concern, so instead they settled with a simple, "Yes, master Jose."
(-)
Gajeel didn't know what to say about the occupants of the said pub-resto, before he went inside, there was obviously a fight going on inside but the moment he entered it all stopped and everyone seem to stare at him. He really wasn't used to seeing so many strangers, he had deduced after feeling that uncomfortable thing in his stomach which wasn't caused by hunger. But there'd be hell if he'd let these people know about it, he'd rather die than squirm at the intense and judging stares by these people.
"Who are you?" a beautiful and armored clad woman with red hair asked him with a dangerous glare.
The dragonslayer merely stared at redhead, a scowl etched on his face, but not because he didn't liked the tone she spoke with him, which was obviously one that was accusing him with something, but more because he didn't know how to respond. He was taught by his old man to practically attack anyone he felt that threatened him, which the woman was obviously doing, but he was also taught by Lily to respect women and not harm them because it wasn't what a real man(A/N: Elfman reference anyone? Hehehe) would do, and he was eighteen, well almost, anyway he had begun to consider himself a man so he had to follow his friend's teachings. Which all lead to his current dilemma on how to respond to the redhead beauty.
Of course he must've been pausing for too long because the woman grew impatient and drew a swords out of thin air and pointed it at the dragonslayer.
"I shall ask again, who are you?" she said.
A growl escaped from his throat. Woman or not, he'd be damned if he'd let the bitch treat him like that. He was about to attack the redhead when a flop of blue hair stood in front of him and the woman.
"Erza, don't! He's with me!" Levy, who he finally recognized, told the scarlet beauty.
"Levy!" the redhead uttered in surprise. "You're alright!" she said as she embraced the bluenette in a tight and painful looking hug.
"Erza, too hard!" the bluenette stated underneath the red head's armor, of which the latter ignored.
After a couple more tighter and painful squeezes the redhead finally released the bluenette, who then released a sigh of relief.
"I'm glad you are unharmed," said the redhead, "When Jet and Droy came back without you everyone was worried, most especially when they said that you guys were attacked by Phantom mages. Master sent Natsu, Lucy, Grey and I to immediately find you."
"I'm sorry that I made you worried, and thanks for coming too. But as you can see I am okay and totally safe. And the best news is that I still have the crown with me!" Levy announced proudly.
"That's good news. We really thought we had to attack the Phantom's base to get that thing back," a beautiful brunette who was indecently dressed with only a bra to cover her top said approaching the pair from the bar.
"Cana," Levy smiled at the woman, "Long time no see."
"I'd say. Though this ain't how I imagine seeing you again Levy. Glad you're okay by the way," she said then she placed her elbow on the bluenette's shoulder and leaned near her ear. "Anyway, who's the hottie with you?" she asked nodding her head at Gajeel's general direction.
The bluenette blushed at the word 'hottie' but still answered the brunette's question. "Um guys, this is Gajeel. I met him while escaping from the Phantom mages, and now I'm sorta escorting him to see the Dragon Festival," she vaguely told the group, trying to avoid mentioning being threatened and bolted to a chair part.
"Escort?" Lucy, who had just joined the group, repeated raising a dubious brow at her friend.
"Yeah, escort, blondie," Gajeel's gruff voice resounded, joining the conversation. "Got a problem with that," he growled threateningly, making Lucy back away from him, and Erza and Cana take defensive stances.
Tension filled the room as the trio gazed at each other, the redhead and brunette each stared analytically at the dark haired man, while the same man used his other heightened senses to assess the the two women in front of him. He immediately could tell that they were no ordinary women. He could sense immense magically powers from the two, especially from the redhead. A new feeling entered him, one that he knew quite well. The strange feeling of excitement and adrenaline coursing through his veins that he associated when he felt that he was about to get into a really good fight with Lily. A sadistic smile graced his lips, and unknown to even himself, his eyes turning to a slight yellow, which desturbed the group even more.
"Guys, STOP IT!" Levy's voice penetrated through the tense environment. She then faced her male companion. "Gajeel, stop acting all threatening. That's not how it goes here on the outside of your home, you'd end up fighting everyone you'd meet with that attitude," she chastened, surprising everyone of her friends. Then she faced her other friends. "Erza, Cana, you two should be ashamed of yourselves. I bought Gajeel here hoping to get us a good meal and also to assure you guys that I was safe, not for you to immediately question him and make him feel the need to fight you guys. He's not used to being around many people but I can assure you that he's not a threat. Like I said he's with me, I think that's enough assurance for you to trust him." She crossed her arms and glared at her friends.
"Giheehee." An unusual laughed escaped from the raven-haired man s lips. "Did I ever tell ya, you look adorable when yer mad, Shrimp?" he said casually and with a smirk, not knowing the effects those words had on his female companion.
But Levy's friends on the other hand had not miss the blush that crossed the script mage's face. In fact it had surprised them that the expression was present in the first place. In all the years they had known the script mage, they had never seen her dawn such cute and obviously affected expression towards anyone of the opposite sex. It made the group realize that the stranger may be someone more important to the script mage than she had let on.
A cough got the three out of they reverie. "Anyway," Levy started trying to compose herself a bit, "As I said earlier, Gajeel and I stopped here to get something to eat, guys, and also so I'd be able to contact Jet and Droy to tell them I'm alright."
"Well, 'right then! I'll get you two something warm to eat," Cana said as she started to turn towards the bar counter, but stop mid step and turned her head slightly to face the Gajeel. "Oh, and welcome to Fairy Tail, studly." She winked at the confused raven head and sashayed sexily away from the group.
"Come on, let's sit at that vacant table over there," the bluenette said as she grabbed his elbow and drag him to the said table. Then she half faced her other two friends and spoke to them. "Lu-chan, Erza, you two can join us. I'd like to borrow your communication lacrima so I can talk to Jet and Droy," she said with a smile. The redhead simply nodded while the other smiled back and both followed the pair towards the table.
Gajeel for one was once again stomped. He had no idea what had happened. One moment he was preparing for the eminent possibility of a battle, next thing he knew, he was sitting on a table next to the same women who he felt threatened earlier. This day couldn't get any weirder, though for some reason he wasn't really complaining about such a thing. As a matter of fact he was actually enjoying this day's strange adventure. All his life he was taught to fear or hate the world beyond the magic wall. He was taught that people beyond it were cruel, evil and selfish, and would use him for his unique powers if they ever find out about him. But so far today no one seemed to be that way for him. In fact it looked like his father had exaggerated everything he said about the world outside.
Gajeel eyed the women at the table. Despite his earlier dispute with the said women in this pub-resto, they seem to be an alright people now that he got to see them without the earlier present aggression. The redhead, who he learnt was called Erza, seemed tough but her demeanor had taken a swift curve when the scanty dress brunette named Cana arrived at their table with their food and a plate of strawberry cake. The redhead's eyes suddenly sparkled and started happily eating the said cake, while the brunette sat on the edge of the table and started downing a large barrel of what Gajeel could smell as alcohol while ordering the other patrons of the pub to shut up. Gajeel then eyed the busty blond, who was busy talking to his blue haired companion, who was also talking to someone on a communication lacrima. She seem to jump and squirm at his gaze that reminded Gajeel of a bunny he and Lily once hunted. She seem to be the least threatening in the group, well excluding the shrimp who was still talking to someone on the communication lacrima Erza let her borrow.
His attentioned turned to the rest of the pub's patrons. Everyone seemed to return to their food and drinks and minded their own businesses shortly after they had settled on the table. Some chatted with one another, and no one appeared to be interested in him anymore, a fact that surprised him further. He thought for sure that everyone would know about his secondary magic. His father had told him once that people beyond the wall would easily recognize him especially during the moment they would sense his magic. He said that he had a unique aura that would immediately give away his identity. He had been prepared earlier to fight his way around the entire pub's patrons if they began to show any interests in him but everyone only seemed to see him only as an intruder not as a valuable item that could be used to increase their magic. And again he started doubting his old man's words.
"The world is a dark, cruel place and everyone will only use you for what you are, Gajeel-kun. No one will care to even know who you are and would only care for what you can do for them. That is why it is safer for you to stay here, my boy. Here is where you are loved, protected and safe."
His father's words rang in his ears, but now they all seem false.
"The world ain't dark, dad. Heck, even the people in it aren't all bad. So why the hell would you even say those stuff to me?"
Of course he knew the answer but he somehow refused to believe in it. He refused to believe his father had been lying to him all these years, and he refused to think that his father didn't do it all for the sake of his safety at all. But for some reasons these were the only truths he could come up with.
"Hey, you okay, big guy?" a drunken voice called him out from his thinking.
He looked up and saw that the women in the table had been staring at him.
"What?" he asked dumbly.
The brunette chuckled and asked again. "Was asking whether or not yer okay. You looked a bit too scary with that contemplative face of yours. Is it the food? Cause if that's so, I can ask Kinana to change your order."
"Uh-yeah. I mean, no need to change anything. Food's good. And I was just thinking of something."
"And what were you thinking?" Levy asked him sounding slightly concerned, which confused him because had no idea why she would be concerned for him.
Of course, instead of showing his confusion, he simply played it cool and allowed a smirk to cross his lips. "Better not let the shrimp on what his thoughts were truly were," he thought.
"Well, 'was thinking when we planning on leaving this joint. Thought we needed to get this stupid crown back before tomorrow, otherwise we ain't gonna have the festival this year."
"We'll leave right after we finish eating," she answered while returning the communicator lacrima to the redhead and started picking on her food before stuffing it on her mouth.
"Guess we better hurry eating then," the raven head mumbled turning his attention back to his food and started eating again.
"Why are you so dead set on going to the festival anyway, big guy?" Cana asked offhandedly.
The questioned still surprised the dragonslayer, he wasn't sure what to say, but he saw no reason to lie to the woman so he told her the truth, well at least half the truth.
"It's a dream of mine to see a real dragon," he said as he stuffed a piece meat on his mouth. He paused to chew and swallow his food before continuing. "I heard about real dragons showing themselves during the festival and I want to see them for myself."
"You'd never seen a dragon before?" the blonde bunny girl suddenly asked.
Gajeel stared at her with a raised brow that made her once again jump and moved closer to her red haired companion. The raven head smirked at the reaction he was making the blonde the make. It was a bit satisfying that he was able to inflict a bit of fear to random strangers. He still answered the question though.
"Naw, I ain't seen a dragon before. I merely read 'bout them in books and from what I read they are pretty cool and strong too."
"You read books?" Levy asked a bit surprise at the info.
"You know where I'm from, Shorty, what do you think besides training would a guy do to get away from boredom?"
A blush appeared on the bluenette's face, before shyly saying, "I read books too on my free time."
"I know, ya told me you read a lot, remember? And I still think you're amazingly smart for a shrimp after seeing ya read really old foreign languages. I mean, even my old man had to use though translator glasses to read 'em," Gajeel said nonchalantly as he stuffed more food on his mouth.
(-)
Levy looked more and more like a blue haired tomato after that comment and was forced to looked down on her plate, practically missing her friends' surprised and amused faces. Frankly she was surprised herself. It was't new for her to have people complimenting her brains and abilities in translating ancient texts. Sometimes she'd humble out or just smile at them gratefully, but for some reasons the words from the gruff man like Gajeel was making her heart beat faster, knees grow weaker, (Thank the gods she was sitting at that moment.), and face go redder. It was something she has never experience before in all her seventeen years of her wizard existence, and she had an inkling of why she was feeling this way.
"I can't possibly be falling for him, I just met the guy!" she told herself.
"So? It's not your fault you met a guy who's crazy handsome and totally hot at the same time!" The naughty Levy voice in my head said.
"Shut up! He's a really innocent guy that's spent all his life trapped in his own home! He doesn't need women flinging themselves at him!" Levy told the naughty part of her head.
While the young bluenette was busy mentally arguing with herself, she had failed to noticed that someone was already flinging herself at her companion.
"So, you really want to see real dragons, huh?" Cana asked the young raven haired man while leaning over the table towards him and showing off her large breasts in the process.
"Uh-yeah. Like I said, it's my dream since I was a kid," Gajeel answered looking confused at the brunette's behavior while moving away from her.
"Well, big guy, I'm sort of really good at fulfilling people's dreams," she stated suggestively while tracing her finger on the teens muscular bicep. "What do you say, big guy, want to give it a try? I can make sure you get all your wildest dreams come true," she whispered on the Dragonslayer's ear, who in turn just tilted his head for he had not understood what the scantily dress mage was trying to say.
*Crack!*
The two mages attention drifted towards the other side of the table, where the sound came from. They found out that it was Levy who made the noise with a wooden spoon which had been split and was laying on her hand.
"Oops! I guess I don't know my own strength," the bluenette said sweetly. "Ne, Cana-chan, why don't you go back to the kitchen and get me another spoon. Please," she told the card mage all while maintaining the sweet smile while a terrible dark aura loomed from behind her.
"Uh-sure, Levy, I'll go get it immediately," she told her blue haired friend nervously. This was the first time she had ever seen their sweet script mage act this way and quite frankly even she was scared of it.
"Oh, and while you're at it, why don't you change in to clothes that are less revealing. After all, this place isn't a strip club, we wouldn't want customers thinking otherwise, ne?" The bluenette's eyes narrowed at the older woman, making the said woman gulp in fear and immediately agreeing to what the script mage suggested. She left the group and went back towards the door where the kitchen was.
When Cana left the script mage finally relaxed and turned to face her current travelling companion, who had watched the exchange in confusion, and deliberately ignored her friends' surprised and a bit of frightened expressions.
"What was that about?" Gajeel asked her.
"What was what about?" she asked back, pretending not to understand what the young man was asking and all while trying to hide the obvious fear that her actions could be misinterpreted by the Dragonslayer.
"That woman said she wanted to make my wildest dreams come true, what did she mean by wildest dreams? Isn't the Dragon Festival a wild dream already?" he asked her with an innocent and totally clueless expression.
This question of course, only seemed to fuel the young script mage's earlier views of the young man in front of her being innocent to the intimate ways of the world.
"Ga-ga-gajeel, do-do-don't take wa-what Ca-cana said seriously. She's know for her comedic tendencies," the blue haired mage said trying not to say anything that could ruin the man's innocence as much as she can.
"So that was a joke?" he asked.
"Yeah!" she answered him all too eagerly.
"Then why wasn't anyone laughing?" he eyed her suspiciously.
"Oh, I never said she was that good of a comedianne!" His suspicious look didn't falter though and Levy had began to curse her drunkard friend for what she had done.
Fortunately for the script mage, the young Dragonslayer's attention didn't last long on her for the pub's door opened and three mages entered the establishment. The first two were the two mages who had been fighting outside earlier while the last one was being held by the two of them.
"Natsu, Grey, what is the meaning of this?" the redheaded woman at Levy and Gajeel's table asked.
"Natsu sniffed this guy out by the woods-" the dark haired one of the trio, Gray, started explaining, "-and we thought of questioning him why he was sneaking around."
"And that's when we found out-" the salmon haired one of the three said as he removed the third guy's cloaked arm, revealing to the group the symbol of Fiore's most well known dark guild, "-he's a Phantom Mage!"
Everyone inside the pub gasped at the revelation.
"What's a Phantom Mage?" Gajeel asked his blue haired companion.
"They're Fiore's most despicable dark guild mages. They hurt, maim and kill innocent people, all for the sake of being in the highest power. They are evil and are led by Fiore's oldest and most powerful dark wizard, The Phantom," Levy answered.
"The Phantom?"
"He's called that because no one really knows what his real name is nor have they seen him in person," Lucy supplied the answer to the second question.
"He also attacks using shadow magic, hence earning him the moniker Phantom," Cana continued as she reappeared from the kitchen wearing a blazer that covered her swimsuit uppers. She then turned to faced the captured Phantom Lord mage and aimed one of her flaming cards at him. "What is a Phantom wizard doing all the way here? You better start answering or I'll start burning parts of you I know you don't want burned."
The wizard looked affected by the threat, as he was shivering on the hands of his two captors.
"Please! I can't tell you! They'll kill me!" he begged.
"And do you really think that we would be more merciful?" Erza asked pointing a sharp blade on the captive mage's neck. "Speak!"
"We were told by our master to retrieve the crown and take the- ugh!" The mage gargled the last part for he suddenly slumped as a flaming arrow was embedded on his back.
The rest of the mages inside the pub turned towards the door as more arrows were shot inside pub-restro.
"Everyone, get out of the way!" Erza told everyone.
The mages inside the pub all did their best to try and avoid the flaming arrowsx they either hid from them under the tables, used their magic to either sheild themselves or deflect the arrows. But then, while the mages were busy trying to avoid getting hit, the attackers from outside all suddenly entered the establishment, most came through the double door entrance of the pub while others through the pub's windows. The dark guild mages started attacking the pub's patrons using their own individual magic.
*Swish!*
*Boom!*
*Clang!*
A battle of magic and skills happened within the confines of the pub-restro Each mage fought their own enemies and they all fought hard.
Meanwhile Levy, who had just finished knocking out her own opponent, frantically started looking for her travelling companion. She had been so busy earlier trying to defeat the mage that had attacked her that she had not noticed what had happened to him. She turned to the window just in time to see a couple of the dark Phantom wizards carrying the unconscious form of Gajeel.
"Gajeel!" she cried as she saw them leave the building.
"Levy-chan!" Lucy called after the bluenette, "Go! We'll take care of these scumbags! Save Gajeel and get the crown back!"
Levy nodded and immediately ran after the group who took Gajeel. She used her strongest magic spells to help clear the path to get to her new friend.
"Tsunami!" A large amount of water suddenly appeared on from her worded spell and began washing away the mages that stood in front of her. "Accelerate!" She casted the words on herself and suddenly her running speed increased, allowing her to immediately run outside to follow the two mages who had Gajeel.
When she was outside she saw the that they were on the process of loading her companion on a giant eagle. She had to think fast and stop the two. She knew that if she used her most powerful spells she could accidentally hit Gajeel, so she decided to attack using the simple ones.
"Fire!" she casted as the word Fire appeared in front of her and its flames connecting straight towards the enemy mages.
It was a simple spell so it did not do much damage to her opponents. But it was enough to get them distracted and lose hold of her unconscious travel partner. When she saw that Gajeel was no longer in their arms she immediately casted, "Inferno" at the two. The swirling flames from her spell was enough to fling her opponents away from Gajeel and also giving her the opportunity to do another powerful attack to ensure that they stay unconscious. "Lightning!"
When the spell was over and her opponents were obviously alive but knocked out, she immediately rushed to the dark haired mage.
"Gajeel!" she cried out, while she tried to shake awake the young man. "Please wake up! Please!" she begged, as tears brimmed on her eyes. "Gajeeell!"
"Aaah!" the young man woke with a start. He began breathing heavily as he laid on the floor and stared up to the bluenette.
"Thank god, you're okay," she said as tears of joy freely fell from her face.
"Shrimp?" the young man questioned, not really certain of what had happened. Before suddenly sitting up as he remembered everything. "The dark mages!" he cried out.
"Easy, easy, Gajeel. You're safe now. They're not gonna hurt you any more," she said slowly as she tried to calm down the young man. "See, they're unconscious now." She pointed at the two knocked out wizards.
Gajeel stared disbelief at the unconscious, charred and still smoking bodies of the two wizards who had tricked, captured and nearly taken him away somewhere most likely to try and harness his secondary magic.
"You did that?" he asked the blue haired script mage with a hint of disbelief in his voice.
"Yeah, I did," she said looking really embarrassed all of a sudden. "They were trying to kidnap you and I couldn't let them take you, so-well, I did that."
"But why?"
"Why what, Gajeel?"
"Why would you save me?" he asked.
Levy looked taken aback by his question.
"Why did you save him?" A voice in her head asked.
She wasn't really sure how she should answer that question other than to tell him the truth of how she felt-
"I did it because I am responsible for you Gajeel. I took you out of that tower, so I should be the one to ensure your safety," she said with conviction, before her brown orbs slowly softened. "But aside from that I did it because even though I just met you, Gajeel, I had began to care about what happens to you," she told him shyly.
(-)
Her last words had been a big surprise for him. He had no idea how to respond to that.
She cared about him even though she had just met him? How is that even possible?
The very idea was very much against everything his father had taught him. His words about how no one in this world was kind and genuine in their desires to help others was being contradicted by the woman in front of him, and he was very confused about how to feel about that. On one hand he was angry at her for making him doubt his father's words, on the other he was strangely happy about being the object of her kindness and affection. Of course he chose to keep those feelings to himself and opted to look away from the blue haired mage.
"Right, whatever," he said as he immediately stood up and straightened his tunic and avoided looking at her face that had such a cute smile on it. "Anyway, what do we do next? Should we go back to that pub and check out on your friends?"
"I don't think there's a need for that anymore, considering that Erza, Natsu, Grey and Cana are there. Those guys would be enough to take care of those Phantom mages. What we need to do is focus on getting that crown back to the palace so we can have the Dragon Festival," she announced with a wider smile.
"You sure about that, Shrimp?"
"Yes, Gajeel. I trust my Guildmates and I know they are all strong enough to defeat those mean mages. So we can go now, after all we only have a couple hours to go before we can get to the Magnolia," she told him as she walked.
The raven haired teen nodded and began following the young blue haired mage. They walked until they reached a small hanging bridge on top of a clearing that had a large dam that flowed with running river water on the underneath. The two mages stopped as Levy explained where they were.
"This is the last part of our journey. Over this bridge lies the gate entrance to the City of Magnolia," she said with a smile and she continued walking.
Gajeel smiled back at the bluenette. He was beginning to feel even more excited. He was close now to finally fulfilling his dream. He can finally go to the Dragon Festival and see an actual real dragon, and somehow that thought, even though he was happy to fulfill it, suddenly saddened him.
"What's wrong?" Levy's voice penetrated his inner musings.
He opened his mouth to answer but stopped as he suddenly felt a surge of magic from beneath them. He hurriedly picked up the script mage and jumped away from the ground they stood moments earlier which had suddenly turned into sand.
"Non, non, non, non! This is the second time today my attack was predicted by someone!" A voice said from from the ground they had vacated from. Then from that said area an human being formed from the sand. "Non, non, non, non! This is clearly unacceptable!"
"It is so sad, indeed!" a second voice rebounded from above the two mages. They both turned and saw that it was a large man wearing a priest attire was the one who said those words.
"Well, not anymore, Aria, cause it looks like that we found ourselves the little fairy that made a fool out of us earlier and the guy Master wants us to take along with the crown," a third person resounded from behind the duo, and the owner of the voice had violet flames coming from his hand. "Come on, little fairy, you're surrounded again. Only this time there'll be no thick woods to stop your fall from death. So why don't you finally be the smart little fairy you are and just hand over the crown and your companion!"
Gajeel tensed at her side. He knew they were outnumbered and from what he felt from these three mages, it was also obvious that they were also outmatched, so he knew that the only solution was for his companion to give him and the crown up. So he braced himself for her betrayal and also readied himself to fight his way to save himself. But, once again, his companion surprised him.
"Ha! Haven't you stupid Phantom mages learned by now?! I am a proud Fairy tail mage! And there is no way I'll ever surrender the crown or Gajeel to losers like you! Flash!" she casted the last spell above her that had suddenly emited a blinding white light that had affected all their enemy mages. "Let's go, Gajeel!" She took his hand and the two sprinted towards the bridge.
"Dammit! You're not getting away that easy, little fairy!" the flame Phantom mage yelled as he released a powerful violet fire ball towards the direction of the bridge burning the rope of the said bridge.
When the bridge finally broke the two mages fell. But luckily Levy still had a few spells up her sleeves.
"Slow! Float! Levitate!" she yelled the spells that all helped softened their descent.
They both went down with a soft thud on the shallow water of the river. Levy stood up tiredly and was breathing heavily. Gajeel noticed his companion's condition and began to worry about her.
"You okay, Shrimp?" he asked eyeing the tired script mage.
He was unable to get an answer though for the other three dark mages immediately descended on them, blocking their path.
"She's been doing far too much magic already and the poor thing is already at her limit. She's got no more energy to do anymore spells," the flame mage explained.
"So sad!" Aria said.
"Non, non, non, non, non! It is finally the end of the line for you now, mademoiselle fairy."
Gajeel clenched his fists, hating the situation they were in. He knew he had to do something to save them, but what?
"Gajeel," his companion called him out softly, "I still have one more spell on my arsenal. It's not strong enough to defeat them but it'll be enough to distract all three of them. When I do that, I want you to run towards those trees, they lead straight to town, then I want you to go immediately towards Fairy Tail guild. Tell them what happened and I'm sure they will help you from there on out."
"Wait, you want me to leave you?!" He gave her an incredulous look.
"I'm sorry, Gajeel. I know it's not what we had agreed on, but I can't protect the two of us now. That's why you need to run." She looked at him pleadingly that nearly broke the Dragonslayer's heart.
"Hahaha!" the fire mage laughed, "You really think that you'd have a spell that could get us all distracted enough for him to escape? You're stupider than I pegged you to be, little fairy."
"It's so sad! But there is no way we'd let your friend escape."
"No one's escaping, assholes," Gajeel stated with a growl.
"Gajeel," Levy whispered worriedly.
"Don't worry, Shrimp, I got a plan. Gihehe," he smirked while moving forward towards his enemies.
"You think you can take all three of us, huh, big guy?" the flame mage asked with a sneer.
"Tsk, as much as I think I could, but that ain't exactly what I plan to do, ya idiots," Gajeel said before inhaling very deeply. "Iron Dragon-" he stated making all four mages' eyes widened in realization of what the attack was going to be. "Roar!"
Three dark guild mages barely moved away from the powerful attack, but they did and were all surprised at the damage it could have inflicted on them.
"Non, non, non, non! Master, never said anything about him being Dragonslayer!"
"It is such an unfortunate and sad surprise!"
"It doesn't matter, because he ain't gonna get a chance to surprise us again!"
"You sure about that, idiots?" Gajeel's malicious smirk was enough to alarm the three mages.
A loud crack was then heard from behind the three and simultaneously they turned to the that the attack had hit the dam behind them cracking it and slowly breaking it. It didn't take long for the entire thing to finally fall to pieces and release the river water it had on its hold.
"Run!" The fire mage told his companions but it was too late for the river's water had already reached and swiped them away.
Meanwhile, Gajeel had taken Levy and was already running away from the powerful river current. He knew they didn't have time to reach the forest that the script mage indicated where the town was earlier so instead they ran towards an opened mining shaft thinking they would be safe there. Thr river's water arrived at the mining shaft and because of its powerful current it was able to move the beams that had supported the shaft's entrace letting its entire walls to cave in and sealing the two mages inside.
(-)
A/N: Well, that's it for now. Hope it was alright, if not, at last leave a review and tell me how you felt about it. For those who enjoyed the chapter, also leave a review and tell me what you thought about it. Overall I just want to say is thank you and leave an review. Trust me, more reviews fuel my muse! Thanks for reading.
Next Chapter: Gajeel's big revelation to Levy about his magic, meeting the rest of Fairy Tail group, and finally The Dragon Festival, all that along with Jose's evil plan to get Gajeel back! Stay tune! And hope to see you at the next chapter!