HATCHLINGS
I wish I had a real say in this manga but you know I don't own it.
This is a sequel to Iron Book.
CHAPTER FOUR
"So that is planned. You all leave in the morning. Levy, I think that you have all the intel on the guilds ready for the team." I handed out sheet to each team to read on the way. Anything that I could get out of the council. I also copied the lacrima that Mira had given me. It was linked to each and the one that would be kept at the guild hall itself. That way if reinforcements needed to be sent the guild hall would know first.
Pantherlily and Beam said that they would stay behind work of on rebuilding the house which was now just the frame. The only thing still standing was the slightly melted high chair. Gajeel said that he would put us all up in a hotel but I couldn't leave the house. This was our home. A home that would be missing so many. I was aware that the sun came up on the sixteen day but it was evening when I woke.
I woke on the smaller back of my daughter as her father placed down a bed roll. "I think she is awake?" Gajeel smiled at us.
"Thanks Cana. You can go help Kuro now." Gajeel lead me to the bed roll. "Just give it all a second to sink in Levy." Gasping I remembered the weeks before.
"It wasn't a nightmare. I wasn't able to save our kids?" He shook his head. "I am sorry." He curled his lips in.
"I am the one that should be sorry. I promised you so many times that I would never see you hurt but I couldn't stop this. I got lazy and docile. I didn't even know that they were coming. I could have put you and the kids in hiding. I-" He was crying. My big fool was crying.
"This was neither of your faults." Metalicana dropped the branches she gathered. "Neither of you could have see this coming. There was peace for the first time is years. You should have had a good life together." I reached for her. "I can't be as smart as Marcus or cute as Cat but I can be the daughter that gets revenge. I can be the child that gives you back part of your happiness." Gajeel held me there watching our daughter run into the woods with Kuro following.
"We have to stop her."
"We can't. The best that we can do for her now is to watch and pray that she knows what she is doing. Besides she is your daughter. She will need me. That boy has nothing on me." I just glared at my husband. "He doesn't. She just needs some time. This is not what she wanted for her first real mission.
That night we slept. The following day we tracked them to a town. Kuro stood outside a piercing and tattoo parlor. "I couldn't stop her." He said as Gajeel entered the building. The boy just looked down at me, pale as can be. "I hate needles and she was determined to get a tattoo to honor her family."
"It is okay Kuro. Neither can I. I fainted the first time that he pierced my ears." The boy's red eyes widen in shock. I could only smile. I wondered if this would have been Rogue as a teen.
"You designed this?" Gajeel said pulling his daughter from the parlor half an hour later. "That really does scream your mother and I."
"I know. I was thinking that when Cat got old enough that I would have us kids go get it. By then I would be a S-Class and we three could form a party." Gajeel nodded. He analyzed her shoulder. "Bookworm Dragon." Metalicana turned her gaze to me. Her father just nodded. Suddenly I saw the four year old again. "Sorry Mom. I just hate to see you guys cry." She showed me the dragon reading a book. Not sure if I liked it but I had my daughter back. "Do you like it?" I said nothing. "If you look closely the book has a shrimp on it." Gajeel burst out laughing.
All I could do was pull my daughter into me. "I don't care either way. As long as you don't leave our side." She nodded in my arms.
"A shrimp that is awesome." Grabbing the first thing that I could I tossed it at Gajeel. I realized that it was Kuro's drink when it landed on my dragon's head. "Hey Shrimp what was that for?"
"Think about it." Metalicana pulled away from me.
"Want to see it Kuro?" He shook his head. "It is your design." The boy stunned had no choice. "It didn't hurt. See I am not hurt." I turned to Gajeel. He was fuming. She was being so gentle with Kuro like Gajeel is with me when he comes home from missions. My daughter loved this shy boy.
I moved to my husband before could break up the scene. "Gajeel leave it be." His red eyes narrowed down at me. "No one could stop us and the hell if I am going to let you break them up."
"What are you talking about? Break up what?" Placing a piece of tape on his mouth I turned back to the kids.
"We will stay here the night. Your father and I will go get a room and supplies. You guys just have lunch." Pulling Gajeel has gotten easier over the years but this time he was putting up a fight. We were in the ally farthest away from the kids when the spell wore off. I watched them from around a corner. Kuro blushed from all the attention that he was getting from Metalicana. She just smiled.
"Oi! What was that for?" I turned back to his chest. "Levy?"
"Our daughter has found her first love. She is treating him like you did to me after I moved in. Do you remember how gentle you were with me?"
"Those were happier days. That book of yours broke down all my barriers. I was your slave." I nodded. "What does that girl see in such a scrawny boy?"
"Innocents. Like you did in me." Gajeel rose me from the ground. "He is so shy. It took me that whole time to get out that he was Rogue and another script mage, Eberly Shallot's son." I sighed. "Gajeel we have to keep them both alive."
"Not an issue." His head rested on my shoulder. "I love you, Levy."
"I know that, you giant fool." He kissed me gentle. "I love you too."
"I think that I want you to save my life." I rolled my eyes. That was now his code for wanting to make love with me. I couldn't really say no. I wanted him too. Talking about the Iron Book always made me needy. Metalicana, the dragon, and Levi were in a very deep love that no too many people could match. Gajeel claims that we were close.
Suddenly Kuro rounded the corner turning the deepest red. Metalicana followed. "Shit this is no time for that. There is a party of King's Blood coming this way. The woman at the parlor ran to tell us to move." Gajeel dropped me. People were running into town. Two men in suits and a woman with pink hair.
"How many?" Gajeel asked.
"They are not the enemy." It was Sherry and Ren. "They are allies." Before they could stop me I ran out to the three Blue Pegasus members.
"Levy?!" Sherry screamed as a plant seemed to grow under my feet. Gajeel and Ren dispatched it. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Saving your life, we hear?" Gajeel took up a defense position. Just past him at least ten mages. None that appeared over a b-class level. Nothing he couldn't handle but Metalicana still joined him.
"They just came out of no where." Ren said. "They killed Eve thinking that he was a child." Sherry feel to her knees taking me with her. "Hibiki?"
"Looks like this is the first wave. Three more groups are coming towards the gates." Hibiki said while typing through his magic. "I count fifty."
"This keeps up we will destroy the guild before we get there." Part of me smiled. "Kuro take them to the inn. Levy catch them up." I nodded. Ren stayed with my family. "Guarding the gate doesn't seem that hard." My family high fived. "Same rules."
"I will beat you this time old man." I heard my daughter laugh.
Inside of the room I could see the street from the window. "How much do you know?"
"We know that King's blood wants to kill our sons." Sherry said through tears. "They are only five years old." I passed Hibiki the lacrima.
"All the allied guilds are in danger." The shock crossed into anger as Hibiki downloaded the lacrima. "These guys hit Fairy Tail a few weeks back. Ten of our children were killed." That got Sherry going again.
"We have been on mission for a month. Bob hasn't contacted us." Suddenly Hibiki turned punching the wall. "I should have stayed home." I looked at the screen. Both Atkatsuki boys and Karen Lates. " Call Bob, Sherry. Levy, tell me the plan. What is Fairy Tail doing?"
Hibiki entered everything into his magic screens. I told him the teams, the missions for each and that Rune Knights would most likely try to stop us. "The guild hall is gone. Everyone that is still alive is at Fairy Tail. Sabertooth is helping defend it while Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel are joining forces." Sherry said. "Bob and Makarov are going to tell the other guild leaders what is going on. It seems that information is limited to the lacrima that Levy made. The Council are sending out Rune Knights to investigate, also."
"Shit there they are. Only a day behind you." Hibiki showed me on the screen how far away the knights were. "When you get to King's Blood take them apart for us." He gave back the crystal. "Levy, I am sorry for your loss. For all the lost kids." I hugged Hibiki. His daughter was gone just like mine. "We will head to Fairy Tail." I nodded.
"Kuro?"
"Shouldn't we let the Rune Knights deal with this?" The boy asked.
"The Council has refused to react until it was too late. We have had to go on the defense before. This time will be like different. This is for the lives of a whole generation of wizards." The boy nodded. I was going to like him. "Gajeel did you hear that?" I gazed outside expecting the battle to still be going. I saw our daughter dancing around her father. He was pouting. "I am coming out the window."
Both of them turned to the window. I just made a face that dropped my daughter with laughter. Gajeel stood under it waiting for me. "Are you coming, Shrimp?" Just for that I threw my weight onto him. It didn't seem to phase him. Gajeel just held me closer to him. "Damn you, Levy?"
"You love me."
"That is the problem." Villagers came out of shops, houses and the inn. "Now there is too many people here for me." Kissing him on the cheek I jumped down. An elderly man shuffled towards us.
"First off Mr. Mayor, I just wanted to say that-"
"You saved us. They come every week looking for protection money." I blinked. "I know that you are Fairy Tail Wizards. Makarov let me know that you were coming." I paled. "I know that you would stop the raiders. Here is your reward." The Master let them know that we were coming. So that we could take the mission on our way? The hell?
"Thank you but could you do us a favor and send it to the guild? We are on our way north to deal with a different band of raiders." Then man holding the giant bag of jewels gave the bag to Ren who bowed to the man. "Thanks Ren." Gajeel started to talk quietly with the other guild. I knew that he was giving them some if not all of the money for the journey back to the guild. I hoped that it would relieve some the stress for them.
"King's Blood is on the other side of two other towns if you follow that road." The mayor pointed to a road on the other side of the river. There was no bridge in town. I knew that he had to go back two hours to the bridge. "My son has a fishing boat. He will take you across. For tonight we feast in your honor."
"It would be our honor to join you Mr. Mayor." I said as Metalicana bowed with me. Gajeel returned to us. "This is going to cause us troubles."
"Hibiki and Ren are going to throw the knights off. Sherry is going to go to the guild right away." I smiled. "They are going to rest up tonight before taking them south." He hugged me. "I gave it to them for the funerals."
"My daddy is so generous." Metalicana said to Kuro. "Now Dad about that bet."
"Our daughter beat me by one raider this time." Hugging my daughter hid my laughing face from my husband. This trip was going to prove to him that his little dragon princess didn't need her dragon father. This was going to be the hardest mission for us both.
Kuro came to get Metalicana an hour before the feast to take her out for shopping. That left Gajeel and me alone. I watched from the window as what looked a festival popped up down main street. "Doesn't take a genius like you to know what our daughter is too grown up for us."
"I thought that you would be more upset with this." I said watching Kuro treat her like a real lady. "She is a daddy's girl."
"I am." He pulled me to him. I landed in his lap in the chair next to the window. "Before you I never would have thought of kids. Let a lone letting one spread her wings. At fourteen I was still with my dragon. The only thing I thought about was living that life. Then she left. Twenty eight years later I am sitting here with the most gorgeous woman on earth talking about the future."
"She is our future." I said.
"Levy, if you want to try again." I went to say something but he put a finger to my lips. "I would not be apposed to it. I know that you might not want to do it right away but in the future if you want a fourth child I would happily give you a son. One just like you."
"Thank you, Gajeel."
"Just try to enjoy the night love." I snuggled into him. "After all this dies down we should take Metalicana to Kalard's place."
"Kalard's? But I cleaned that place out."
"I know but that is the mission that made me realize that you were the girl for me. Before that I only wanted to make up for what I did to your boys. I realized that if I lost you that I would die. I want to let our daughter know how important you are to me." Shit he was being romantic and sentimental again. A sure way to get me out of my dress.
"Mom!" Our very topic burst into the room sliding on her knees to just in front of her father. "I found it."
"Found what sweetheart?" I smiled at her. She help up a book I never thought that I would see again. On the outside just a normal romantic book but on the inside with the right training you can see some of the oldest solid script spells you will ever find. The sad thing was that I lost it on a mission where Gajeel, Lily and Shadow gear were on. "Look!" She opened it to a random page.
"Wait, no way." Gajeel took the book away from me. Turning it around in his hands. "This is from that picture that Gramps took after the games." I took the book away. "Where did you get it?"
"A guy from the capital said that he found it in the forbidden forest." I found the page touching the ink message. "It is that book isn't it?"
"Yes." I turned the book towards our daughter. "For future reference don't do this." I said to Kuro. "This is how your father asked me to go on a mission for the first time alone." I laughed. You. Me. Bandits. Jewels. You in? "I was more annoyed that he was writing in the book. The guy that sold it to me the first time knew what it was. He charged me thousand jewels. Tell me that you didn't pay that."
"Guy didn't say."
"She ran straight here. I only paid ten jewels for it." Kuro said making my daughter blush. "It seemed to be something she was excited about. I don't mind." Now he was blushing.
"This was the invite for my parents first date." I looked up at my dragon slayer. He looked up at the ceiling.
"This was you trying to ask me on a date?" I asked.
"Well yeah." He started to laugh. "Only took you fifteen years to figure it out. People call me clueless."
"That is why you were scouring the boards so hard right before Master sent us on that S-Class?" I was in even more shock.
"Yes Shrimp." I held the book to my chest. "Hey now no crying. We didn't even get to go on the date mission." I shook my head.
"This is the proof that the man that I had a crush on for so long was really thinking about me." He held me as tight as I held the book while our daughter watched.
"See I am already bringing you happiness." She said. I just got up to hug her. That was the moment that I realized my daughter was taller than me.
Gajeel joined in the hug. "What is not to love about my shrimps?" I saw Kuro Reach for a hand that Metalicana had out to him. "Hurt my daughter in anyway and you will learn first hand what I did to your father at the games." The boy turned pale which got Gajeel an elbow in the gut.
That night was probably the happiest that I had been in the last month. The mayor spared no expensive however I was sure that it coincided with a holiday that the villagers were going to have any way. In the morning we said good bye to the Blue Pegasus team. The went east out the gate while we headed west over the river. By this time tomorrow we would be in viewing distance of the guild hall of King's Blood. In two days if all went well we would be heading home with the guild leader in tow. That was the plan.