Chapter 4
The guild stared in shock at the tree in the center of the park.
The blood dripping down it was all from Jet and Droy as far as Mira could tell.
She brought her hand up to her mouth as she focused on the smallest member of Shadow Gear.
Levy didn't look like she was more than scraped up, but the emblem of Phantom Lord was painted on her stomach in what looked like red paint, but Mira had a sickening feeling it was blood. From Jet and Droy most likely.
She turned as Master Makarov came to the front of the gathering of people to see what was going on.
The look of rage on his face spoke volumes.
There may be a rule against guilds fighting each other, but he was not going to let this slide.
Mira was so focused on the three on the tree that it was only the next words Makarov said that caught her attention.
"They want a war, then they'll have one." He looked ready to kill someone.
Mira turned as Laki came running.
"Can you get them down?" Mira asked.
Laki let a few tears fall as she looked up as the three of them. She nodded at Mira.
Elfman and Macao took Jet and Droy at her command and Mira motioned for Gray to get Levy as Laki's wood control brought her down.
xXx
"I think they got the message this time. Perfect." Jose said.
Gajeel grumbled as he went to go upstairs.
He was walking down the hall that he and the Element Four had to themselves, heading for his own room at the end, when he saw Juvia coming out of her room. The rain had just been starting up around the guild, which meant she was waking up.
He stopped in front of her.
"You like the new one?" He asked.
She nodded. "Juvia thinks it is...very you." She spoke quietly, and without her typical ending. He liked it better than that stupid 'drip drop' thing she'd had going on since she showed up.
"Juvia must go out. There is research to be done on the mission."
Gajeel nodded and moved past her.
He glanced at her as she turned the corner before opening his door.
He went inside and closed the heavy iron door behind him.
The sound of him flopping on the bed was the last sound that echoed in the empty room.
He felt horrible.
The feeling stuck in his gut made him physically want to throw up.
Hurting those two guys didn't satisfy his craving for torture, but it did appease it. Hurting her made him feel ten times worse than making her faint had and counteracted every attempt to make himself feel better by tormenting others.
He groaned as he turned to bury his face in the flat pillow. It wasn't satisfying either.
He had to wait this out, because if Jose got what he wanted, Gajeel wasn't sure he could stand to see that little fairy hurt by his own guild.
May she not take part in the coming war. He really hoped she stayed out of it.
xXx
The guild was in an uproar.
Master Makarov spent a few minutes getting things settled back down before he realized that Natsu and Happy were gone.
He sighed as Mira was shaking her head.
That boy would never learn to sit still.
Not that he would blame Natsu for acting on impulse. With Lucy mysteriously gone, the young Dragon Slayer would stop at nothing to find her.
"It is likely to say that she got kidnapped by Phantom Lord." Laki said from the bar counter.
She and Mira stood there, worried about their friends. Mira wiped glasses out as she set them on a tray and Laki stacked plates as she dried them off. Anything to keep their hands busy, otherwise they might start fretting.
"Natsu will bring her back." Erza said strongly. "He refuses to give up and that will play to his advantage. Just give him some time."
"We have to organize the others. Gather everyone in the vicinity, we need as many of our family as we can get here." Makarov said.
Mira nodded as she put down the last glass. She and Cana went to call the upper members of the guild back from their missions.
They knew Gildarts was not going to come. But if Mystogan and Laxus with his group came back and the few members they were missing returned from around town were here, they would stand a good chance in this.
Mira stopped at Levy's bedside as they headed upstairs to the communication Lacrima.
"She'll pull through this. He didn't hurt her this time either." Cana said as she put a hand on Mira's shoulder.
Mira nodded. "I know, she's very strong."
"Exactly." Cana smiled as they went upstairs to try and get a hold of everyone not in the building.
xXx
Levy woke up to the white walls of the temporary infirmary.
Jet was talking to Cana and Laki, his arm hanging uselessly in a sling.
Levy didn't show any signs of being awake as she listened to them.
"It was just weird." Jet said.
"But you attacked him and he didn't kill you." Laki said.
"Which is the weird part. And he didn't follow through his actions when he put Levy up either."
"So let me get this straight," Cana said as she set aside the small barrel she was drinking from. It was a great reduction from normal for her. "The Iron Dragon Slayer shows up and you go after him? Are you stupid?"
"We didn't go after him." Jet shook his head as he motioned with his hand to wave that thought off. "He just showed up and started attacking us. We only fought back."
Cana and Laki looked as though they were stumped. How strong was this Iron Dragon Slayer to trash Jet and Droy so easily according to the mages themselves? Was there anyone in the guild strong enough to fight back?
"What's more, when Levy caught him off guard and pushed him out of the way of my attack, he pretty much scrambled to get footing and get her out of my way." Jet said.
"You nearly attacked Levy?" Laki gaped at him.
"So he protected Levy?" Cana sounded confused.
"Pretty much." Jet answered them both, hanging his head in shame.
"That's pretty strange." Cana said.
Jet nodded. It was strange, someone from an enemy guild protecting one of them. Granted, Levy had a way about her that lent itself to most people wanting to protect her of their own free will. But it was still weird.
Levy heard a snort of laughter from the door and peeked enough to see Master Makarov standing there.
"The infamous Iron Dragon Slayer has a soft spot for our little Levy eh?" He scoffed and turned away again.
Levy couldn't keep her eyes open any longer.
She closed them tightly and drifted back off to sleep.
xXx
When she opened her eyes again, she was in the local hospital.
She got up and moved to where Jet and Droy were in the room next door.
They looked up at her.
"You guys ready to check out?" She asked.
"Waiting for you to say when." Jet said with his customary grin.
She smiled and they started to get up.
Jet helped Droy with his crutch and the three of them signed themselves out.
The walk to the guild wasn't very far, luckily for Droy, and they made it just in time to hear the cheer of victory from the rest of the guild.
"But...all of this is my fault." Lucy cried.
Levy shook her head.
"We don't blame you Lucy, Fairy Tail has enough of its own enemies that this is nothing special." Levy said.
Lucy turned to face her with surprise on her face.
Levy braced herself as Lucy rushed to hug her.
"Oh Levy! I'm so sorry. I never meant for this to happen!"
Levy patted her back as Mira came towards them as well.
"We're a guild Lucy, we all stick together." Mira smiled.
Levy was happy that things got sorted out so easily.
xXx
There were a few calm days afterward while they started to rebuild the guild.
Droy helped as much as he could, and Jet ran around passing out lunches to everyone for Mira.
Levy was happy to see her friends feeling better.
There was a small bit of a scare when Lucy tried to leave, but Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Happy brought her back.
Levy was just walking with her teammates towards the guild when they saw a fight breaking out.
They hurried to see what the commotion was about. Was Gray wandering around stripping in front of Erza again? Or was Natsu slacking off and getting beat on by Lucy?
"This guild doesn't need weaklings."
Levy knew that voice.
She knew that build too. Tall, muscled, and quite honestly like a living tank. She had secretly admired him and his team for years.
It was Laxus,a powerful Lightning Mage, and the masters grandson.
He turned on the three of them.
"You three should just quit now. You aren't worth the jobs you take on. You're pathetically weak."
Levy looked down. She knew she was weak. She would always be weak compared to most of the guild.
"Leave them alone." She heard Lucy call out.
"As for you, you're the reason nothing went well. And the cause of this whole mess to begin with." He said, turning to face her instead.
"You trying to pick a fight?" Natsu shouted.
Levy watched him try to hit Laxus, but he couldn't. The older Mage simply changed to lightning and zapped to another spot.
"Stop running away you bastard." Natsu lashed out again.
"It's only a fight if you can actually hit me. But you're way too weak to do it. Try again when you get stronger." He laughed. "When I take over, you might be strong enough to stay a part of Fairy Tail."
"We don't need you in control to be a strong guild." Natsu shouted at him, echoing the feeling Levy had inside.
Levy watched as Laxus turned and walked away. It was a few more steps before he just vanished in his bolt of lightning.
xXx
It was another two days of peace before Levy got a mission from Mira that her still healing team could handle.
A simple translation of a recently discovered manuscript dating over a thousand years old.
When she brought it to her two teammates, they seemed leery of leaving while they were still weak.
But she convinced them it would be easy and they sighed as they went along with it.
She had them and her whole translating kit on the train headed for a city to the south.
Levy was going to enjoy getting back out into the world again.