Chapter 2.5

Lily watched as Levy came into the hall the morning after Wendy had cleared her for practice with Freed.

The Script Wizard had been scared of everything. Especially the Dragons.

But then, Gajeel scared everyone. Anyone who didn't know him anyway.

Lily slid from his chair as Gajeel was talking to Freed.

"Miss Levy." Lily kept his small form as he approached her. No need to scare her.

She jolted, but looked down at him. "I...Lily right?"

"Pantherlily, yes. But you are welcome to call me Lily." He smiled at her. "I have heard Wendy says you're doing much better today."

"I...yes. Nothing hurts anymore and so Freed said he'd work on some basic Runes with me again." She said as she looked up.

Lily pointed to where Freed and Gajeel were talking.

"Gajeel is just letting him know about the effects and limitations of the band he ate. Apparently he wasn't supposed to eat it." Lily frowned.

"He wasn't?" Levy tilted her head. "He said it wouldn't affect him."

Lily shook his head as he walked beside her. "It hasn't, but it seems on the legal side, his eating it was not helpful."

"I see..." Levy swallowed nervously as they approached the two men.

"Good morning Levy." Freed said.

"Morning Shrimp." Gajeel raised his hand in greeting.

Lily watched Levy flinch.

"Shrimp?" Freed frowned at him.

"She's small and blue. Shrimp." Gajeel shrugged.

Freed just shook his head.

"Well, have fun practicing today. Let me know if you need anything." Gajeel said to them both.

"Of course." Freed said.

Lily watched his partner head off. "Sorry about him Miss Levy. He really doesn't mean any harm to you."

"I...know." She nodded.

xx

Erza stood in the open yard with Lily as Levy and Freed practiced writing up Runes for Fire.

They'd specially waited for Natsu to be back for this practice. Just in case.

Levy hesitated as she raised her pen in the air again.

Freed had just showed her how to launch the word at her target. In this case, Natsu.

"I...are you sure he'll be alright?" Levy frowned.

Five days was hardly time for her to get to know everyone in the Guild. She was barely familiar with the regulars. Mira had given her a notebook Reedus did up of all the members in quick sketch form. That way she could study it and at least know the members by name.

Lily sighed as Erza stepped forward.

"Levy, don't think of Natsu as a person right now. Think of him as an enemy and attack with Fire. Pretend he's a spider or something." Erza said sharply. "Better yet, pretend he's your ex and go all out with the anger."

"But I...I couldn't do that to anyone." Levy looked scared.

Natsu came running towards her.

"Really Levy, I can take whatever Fire you throw at me." The Dragon grinned. "I'm a Fire eater. Like Metal head ate your band, I eat fire."

Levy looked up at him. "Really?" She looked worried.

Freed quickly wrote up the script and let the flaming word fall.

It didn't hit the ground even though Levy jumped back from it.

Natsu caught it in his hand and brought it up to his mouth to inhale it.

"See. Now hit me." He bounced back from her. "Really, please."

Levy slowly wrote out the script and pushed it at him as it lit.

Natsu let it come to him.

"Good, see. You can do it." Erza said.

She looked down at Lily and nodded.

"You will need to practice with Natsu for at least the next half hour." Freed said. "Fire is an easy and low cost script, and one we can easily contain and remove as you can see."

Levy nodded nervously.

xx

Natsu was about stuffed after forty minutes of practice. But Levy was getting the hang of actually directing her magic at him.

He looked up after the last word came to him to see Gajeel coming out of the hall with Lily and Erza.

He held up his hand to Levy to get her to stop writing.

She nodded as he started to hurry towards her.

"That was great effort Levy." Natsu said cheerfully.

Lucy warned him to go easy on the new girl and he now saw why.

She was way too scared. If she turned and saw Gajeel, she'd probably scream.

"Levy." Erza called out to her.

Natsu watched, wide eyed as Freed and Levy both turned to look at them.

Instead of screaming, she just looked mildly scared.

"Go on in Flame Brain. I'll take over." Gajeel said.

Natsu sighed. "I'm good." He assured. He wasn't sure how much more Fire even he could eat.

"Seriously, Blondie wants you in."

Natsu nodded. "It'll be alright Levy. Gajeel's just mean." He said.

Levy nodded. "Sometimes."

"I'll be your new target Shrimp. Hit me with anything you have." Gajeel said.

"I...are you sure?" She frowned as Natsu headed for the door.

He looked back at Gajeel's laugh. "Like you could hurt me." The bigger Dragon snorted.

Natsu watched her hesitate before finally giving in.

She just looked so scared.

xx

Freed sighed as he got off the phone with the prosecutor in the town Levy had lived in.

Last week had been a phone nightmare.

He wanted to do all of this without Levy being involved again. It had been scary enough finding her like that, he didn't need to see her that scared again.

But thanks to Mira and the rest of the girls living in the dorms, Levy felt safer here.

He'd spent every waking hour with the Master and Wendy with her to make sure that Levy's magic was going to come back easily. No sudden bursts that would hurt her.

The look on her face last week had been priceless. He smiled to himself at seeing how scared she'd looked when Laxus and Gajeel offered to be her target practice to get back into shape with her magic.

That kind of fear wasn't something he'd thought he'd see from her anytime soon.

She wasn't afraid of them, she'd been afraid her magic would hurt them.

Freed had used the opportunity to use his strongest Lightning Rune on Gajeel and the Dragon merely flinched.

Laxus had jumped at it and absorbed it all from Gajeel.

He looked up as Mira knocked on the office door.

"Freed?" She asked as she peeked her head in.

"Hmm?"

"Done arguing with people?" She stepped in and closed the door behind her.

He sighed. "At least until the trial. I won't let Levy go back. I've gotten all the pictures Laxus and Bickslow and I took submitted in her place and I'll be presenting for her defense myself. Ever offered to come with me when they give me the date."

Mira nodded. "I think you're right, she doesn't need to be going back there, ever. She's barely stopped jumping whenever anyone in the Guild raises their voice. Wendy is getting tired of constantly reminding them to keep it down. Though Natsu did finally stop brawling in the hall thanks to Gajeel and Laxus terrifying him over it."

Freed laughed. "Maybe it'll stick even when she's used to the Guild?"

"We can hope." Mira laughed. "Not likely though." She moved to look at the papers Freed had on the desk. "Did you need someone to be going with you?"

"Only as a verification really." Freed said.

"I'd recommend taking Wendy with you then. She's the one who's spent the past few days working with her on the medical side. Plus, Wendy is a Dragon so they might respect that more without proof." Mira said.

Freed nodded. "You have a point. Is she in?"

"Yes. Downstairs watching Levy and Lily." Mira headed for the door again.

Freed stood to follow.

xx

Wendy was proud to have been asked to go before the Wizard Council with Freed for this trial.

Levy was important to her. Partly because she seemed to be important to Gajeel too. He'd spent the past week watching over her work with Lily and Wendy had seen him physically move her into the proper form for some defensive training.

She was definitely a lot better under their care.

Lucy had also taken to Levy once the girl had seen the book collection in her room. Wendy swore she'd never seen anyone so in tears over books.

But after Freed said that it was a thing she'd picked up from him, she understood. Freed had easily the largest collection of magic related books in the entire city. Nearly everyone's magic was covered in one book or another. Even Dragon magic, but those were sparse.

"Nervous?" Freed asked from beside her.

Wendy shook her head. "I'm alright. I know what I have to do."

"It'll be alright, you shouldn't be up for long." Freed said.

Wendy sighed. "I just hope we'll be enough."

"We will. I won't accept less." Freed sounded determined and looked cold when Wendy looked up at him.

He still blamed himself.

She reached to hold his hand.

"It's not your fault you know." She said quietly.

"I know. But it is my fault for not checking in with her over the past few years." He said. "I can never make that up to her, but I'm glad the Guild I have come to love has taken her in so completely."

Wendy nodded.

xx

Mest looked from his spot in the Council row as little Wendy was called up.

She looked at all of them and he smiled at her.

She took a deep breath.

He couldn't imagine how hard it would be for someone so sweet like her to stand up here.

As a Fairy Tail member, he would normally be exempt from such a case, but his skills were also few and far between.

"Will you allow Memory Projection Magic?" The Chairman asked Wendy.

The girl nodded and Mest stood up to move for the stairs.

She relaxed as he held out his hand for her on the podium.

"You will submit a memory for verification that there has been no alterations to your memory and that you are indeed Wendy Marvell?"

Wendy nodded and Mest activated his magic. The memory she'd chosen to verify was the one when Gajeel joined from Phantom Lord's destruction. He nodded at the Chairman to verify authenticity.

Terrifying honestly. But fully honest. It was hard to alter a memory of fear like that because it was burned in.

"Now, can you clearly remember the condition Miss McGarden came into your care in?"

Wendy nodded and Mest used the Lacrima sphere to project her memory.

The poor girl had been beaten and bruised and if he was right, that was a sealing band on her wrist.

"According to Justine's statement, McGarden was under the effects of a Sealing Band?" Wendy nodded. "Is the band able to be submitted as evidence?"

Wendy shook her head and Mest almost wanted to laugh at projecting the memory of Gajeel eating it.

The Chairman gaped openly. "And Redfox is alright with that?"

Wendy nodded. "He is a highly powerful Metal Dragon. Human magic is less effective even on me and he's four classes above me." She said assuredly.

The Chairman cleared his throat and nodded. "Very well."

Mest sighed. Wendy was doing good so far. "And final questions for you Miss Marvell. How long have you been treating Miss McGarden?"

"Three weeks and two days and..." She glanced at the clock on the wall. "Four hours and thirty-seven minutes. Approximately."

The Council murmured and Mest caught a hint of laughter from one of his co-workers. Wendy was indeed very good.

"And her condition now?"

Wendy took a deep breath. "Physically, her magic is returning at an acceptable safe level and rate. Her physical wounds are fully healed with my Dragon Magic. Emotionally… she jumps at movement, loud noises, and people close to her. Myself, Gajeel Redfox, and the Exceed Pantherlily have been working with her in an effort to reduce her reactions from her trauma as well as give her self defense training and Freed Justine and Pantherlily have been working to help her regain her magic skills." Wendy said.

The Chairman frowned. "Redfox doesn't scare her?"

"Very much so, but that is the point of our exercising using him. Our hope is that after getting over her fear of Gajeel, nothing will scare her again on that same level, least of all a person without Magic." Wendy admitted.

The Chairman laughed. "Yes, I can see that. Thank you Miss Marvell. You may sit."

Mest deactivated his magic and kept hold of her hand as she stepped down from the podium.

Seeing her memories of the young woman as she worked with her were very helpful.

He'd have to see what he could do for the girl himself to make the whole event less traumatic.

It was his area of expertise after all.