"You learned to run from what you feel, and that's why you have nightmares. To deny is to invite madness. To accept is to control."

Megan Chance, The Spiritualist


Gajeel was sick of this stupid place. Being stuck in that stupid circular room with all the stupid stone ruins and being stuck as some dumb-ass kid. The sound was probably the worst of it. It was so different from his usual dragon slayer hearing where he could hear the sounds of people breathing, hearts beating, the air moving, it all made everything sound slightly muffled. There was always somethin' to focus on and get lost in instead of these damned thoughts in his head. Here it was too quiet. Each sound seemed to be that much louder, more distinct, unsettling… annoying. Gajeel could hear each and every damn step from people pacing and then Salamander doin' his damn training routine. Then Levy trying to get him to fuckin' talk about bein' afraid.

Huh, I ain't afraid. Gajeel kept telling himself and he walked further down the hall. He was glad that nothing had happened to bunny girl and rain woman, but he was tired of this whole thing. He was tired of waitin' and listenin' to all those damn footsteps. So, when Erza turned to reign in Salamander, Gajeel took the opportunity to leave before anyone could follow him. He didn't need anyone to come with him. There was nothing down this hallway that could scare him anyway.

The child dragon slayer perked his ears up when he heard footsteps approaching from behind him. So they sent someone in after me. He wondered for a moment who they would send, but never once did he look back. It didn't matter at this point, he would just tell them to go back, he didn't need anyone to protect him from anything.

"Gajeel!" The person running towards him shouted. Gajeel recognized the voice immediately and he ran a hand through his rough hair with a sigh before calling out to them. "Go back, Shrimp."

"No way," Levy called back as she finally caught up with the iron dragon slayer. "Erza said no one goes alone, so either you go back and decide who you want as a partner, or we go through this together."

"Fine, stay, whatever…" Gajeel huffed and continued walking down the hall. "It's not like anythin's gonna happen. I told ya, I ain't scared."

"No, what you are is a fool." Levy said with her arms crossed while walking beside the dragon slayer.

"What the hell you talkin' about, Shrimp?" Gajeel questioned with a raised brow.

"Everyone is afraid of something, Gajeel," Levy said as she pushed herself ahead of the young dragon slayer and stopped forcing Gajeel to face her or try to move around her. Gajeel stopped and looked at Levy. In their child like states, Levy was only about a head shorter than Gajeel, so she didn't look nearly as puny. She had a smirk on her face as she stared into his eyes. "You choosing to ignore whatever you are afraid of just makes you a fool."

"Whatever…" He mumbled and moved around her to continue his trek down the hallway. Levy continued a step or two behind him, when something strange caught her eyes. It was as if something dark pulsed down the hallway, but it didn't last for more than second.

"What was that?" Levy questioned, taking a few hurried steps to walk next to Gajeel and took a look behind her. But Gajeel didn't seem to be paying attention to whatever was behind him.

"Woah…" He mumbled as the scene before him changed. Levy turned her gaze from behind her to look at what Gajeel had seen. Where seemingly endless stone hallway once was had been replaced with what appeared to be a town. It was dark, but the paved streets that were illuminated by the street lamps were all too familiar to the two mages.

"We're back in Magnolia?" Levy questioned, recognizing the street names of the town she knew so well.

"Nah," Gajeel stated and motioned to their bodies. "We're still kids. This is some kinda illusion."

"Gajeel, look." Levy mentioned to where they had come from. At the point where two buildings should have formed a small gap was an opening about the size of a door. Levy and Gajeel could see the stone hallway in the opening. Levy couldn't help but feel a little startled by the sight, thinking about how the whole thing defied logic.

"So we must be in your dream." Gajeel commented and returned to look at the streets of Magnolia.

"This isn't my dream, Gajeel." Levy tried to argue.

"Well it ain't mine. I ain't afraid." Gajeel retorted. Levy opened her mouth to tell the iron dragon slayer off when they were interrupted by a scream. The two shared a look before running in the direction of the screams.

Levy kept looking down the alleys as they ran trying to find the owner of the scream. Gajeel however seemed to know exactly where they were headed and Levy didn't fail to notice.

"Gajeel, do you know where that scream came from?" Levy called out as she caught up with her partner.

"Yeah, it's coming from the park." He said. They were about a block away from the source of the screaming. Levy tried to figure out how he knew where to look when another muffled yell rang out in the night. As they turned the corner to enter the park, Levy was hit with the sudden realization. It was that night. Gajeel came to a sudden stop to be confronted with a scene he was all too familiar with, and he hated that he was familiar with it.

Levy and Gajeel were unsettled by the scene. There was Gajeel, the adult Gajeel, a smirk on his lips as he looked up at his handiwork. The largest tree in Magnolia Park was now home to three individuals, beaten, bloody, broken, and nailed to the tree in plain view. Team Shadow Gear was already unconscious and the small figure in the middle, the adult Levy, with Phantom Lord's emblem branded on her stomach for the world to see.

Levy remembered very specific things from that night. She remembered the fear that struck from the sudden attack, trying her hardest to put up some kind of fight as the vicious iron dragon slayer took out Jet and Droy so quickly, and the worry she had for her team just before losing consciousness. She remembered waking up in the hospital later and how gun-shy she was to go out on her own. She remembered how long it took to get over that fear, and how it was temporarily reawakened when Gajeel and Juvia joined the guild. But that was so long ago; she didn't feel afraid now.

"Shrimp, I know I've never said it before, but I am sorry." Gajeel said, looking down at the ground instead of at Levy or at the memory before him. "I was stupid, and I am sorry that it still upsets you so much…"

"Gajeel," Levy started and walked up to the young dragon slayer. She took his face in her hands to bring his eyes to connect with hers. "I was afraid, but I am not afraid of this anymore."

"Gihihi, the mini-Shrimp is right." Both young mages jumped suddenly as the adult Gajeel turned around and looked directly at them. His smirk only widened forming a twisted, almost sadistic looking smile.

"W-w-what?" The young Gajeel stuttered, watching wide-eyed as his older counterpart began to take a few steps in their direction.

"Gihihi, you heard me little man. The only one who smells like fear here is you."


It was easy for Erza to tell when there was something wrong with the fire dragon slayer. Normally, Natsu would be happy to talk and hang out with his nakama. Even when he had his long training sessions, he would have Happy or Lucy come along with him. Maybe it was something that developed from having lost Igneel. If you were constantly around the people you cared about, then they couldn't leave you. The thing that made Erza suspect that there was something bothering Natsu was that he was trying to be alone.

As alone as you can get in a room of people, Erza thought to herself. She had been keeping tabs on everybody since this whole fiasco had started. When the group had found out about having to face their fears, he had secluded himself from the group. Erza thought that this was because Lucy had disappeared with Juvia, but when Lucy came back, Natsu returned to his training routine. Lucy didn't seem to mind. In fact, she had started a discussion with Gray, who was actually engaging. Erza gave a slight smile at the sight and then made her way to the fire dragon slayer.

"This isn't like you, Natsu." Erza stated as a matter of fact. "You are isolating yourself."

"No, I'm not." Natsu argued while continuing with his routine.

"You don't have to lie to me, Natsu," Erza claimed and moved into Natsu's space, forcing him to look at her. "You haven't even made an attempt to talk to Lucy since she got back. It's not like you."

Natsu stopped, his fists clenched and at his sides. He took in a deep breath and ran his hands through his pink hair before sitting down Indian style with his legs crossed. Erza sat down in front of the fire dragon slayer in the same fashion and waited for the boy to speak.

"I don't want to see it again." He said just loud enough for Erza to hear.

"See what again?" Erza questioned with a concerned look on her face.

"Lucy. I don't want to see her dead again." He took his gaze off Erza, opting to look at the stone rubble to his right. "In Crocus, after the games, the Lucy from the future, she died. I had nightmares. I saw it happen over, and over, and over. It always ended the same. There was nothing that I could do to save her. It was like the nightmares with Lisanna all over again."

"And with Igneel." Erza added. She remembered how disturbed Natsu had been after Lisanna had disappeared. She remembered Happy coming to the guild and telling everyone that he would say things about her in his sleep. The same thing happened when Erza had first met Natsu, except that he would have terrible night terrors, calling out for his dragon father.

"I know that that is my biggest fear. One day I won't be strong enough, or I will be too careless, something will happen and I'll lose her because of it. I don't want to see it. It's already happened once, why do I need to see it again?" Natsu said with a sigh. Erza knew how much the dragon slayer cared for his nakama, but this wasn't about being in the same guild. Erza suspected that his feelings for the celestial mage were deeper than he knew, or was willing to admit.

"Have you thought about talking to Lucy about this?" Erza questioned. Natsu nodded before opening his mouth to respond.

"I just don't want to worry her. She cares so much about everyone… She already worries too much." The dragon slayer's eyes went across the room to find Lucy. It was still odd to see her as a child. Natsu supposed that it was because he didn't know her as a child like he knew Erza, Gray, and Levy. She wasn't all that different from her adult self. Her hair still rested in the same pony tail with her blonde bangs. She still had those large brown eyes. Although she didn't have the voluptuous body portions that her adult body had, she still moved the same way and she still talked the same way. Lucy eyes wandered and met with Natsu's eyes. She gave him a sweet smile before looking back at Gray to continue their conversation. Erza followed his gaze and smirked.

"She worries because she cares for you, and don't think that because you haven't told her this that she doesn't sense that there is something wrong with you." Erza comment brought Natsu's eyes back to the requip mage in front of him. "In fact, my guess is that it only worries her more."

"I don't know what to say." Natsu said and brought his hands to his face. "Ever since Fairy Tail has come back together, things just haven't been like they were before."

"What do you mean?" Erza asked with a confused look.

"We used to do everything together. Being friends was easy. I never had to think when I was around her, but now…" Natsu took a deep breath before trying to continue. He wasn't a person of many words. When it came to talking about feelings, he was even worse. "I don't know what it is, but it's like… there is something there, it wasn't there before I left to train."

Erza nodded in understanding. She saw how hard it was for the dragon slayer to try to explain how he felt about these things. You idiotic dragon slayer… The thought amused the young scarlet haired mage. "I think that before you go down that hall to face your fear, you should talk to Lucy. Be honest with her about this. It could be that she has changed in the year that you were apart."

"Yeah, okay." Natsu said with a nod. He didn't sound very confident about the whole situation.

"When Gajeel and Levy come back, I plan on going next. With any luck, we will hear back from the guild with an update." Erza said and stood up. "While I am gone, talk to Lucy." She said it as a command, not a suggestion. Then she walked over to the child-like Jellal, and left Natsu to try and sort out his thoughts. Natsu simply sighed and stood up, going back to work-out.


The young iron dragon slayer just stood there, wide-eyed and mouth slightly ajar. He could have sworn that this was just a memory, Shrimp's memory or maybe her nightmare. But when the Gajeel from the illusion turned and started talking to him, he was dumb-struck.

"Gajeel…" The young Levy whispered and tried to pull his attention away from the taunting image in front of him.

"Did ya hear that kid?" The adult dragon slayer mocked. "The runt was talkin' to ya."

"Gajeel, you can't let him get to you. You have to face whatever it is you're afraid of." Levy said in a calm voice. She wasn't looking at her child-like companion, but instead at the brute in front of them. She had no fear in her eyes, but that didn't seem to change the look in the adult Gajeel's eyes. If she thought on that night that he was big, it was nothing compared to their difference in height now. Levy wondered if she even stood at his waist.

"Huh, face it. You don't even want to acknowledge it. Even if ya wanted to, ya can never beat me." The older man continued to taunt. The smirk on his face oozed confidence and the look in his eyes sent shivers down the two young mage's spines. "You're too weak kid."

Finally it seemed like Gajeel was shaken from his stupor. He gave a deep growl and lunged towards the image of himself. "I ain't weak." He cried and raised his fist in an attempt to prove the illusion wrong. Just before connecting the punch, the adult Gajeel disappeared only to reappear about eight feet to the right.

"Sure, ya ain't. Just like you ain't afraid of nuthin'." The adult laughed and continued his taunt.

"Gajeel, stop it!" Levy yelled trying desperately to get the young dragon slayer's attention.

"Stop it Gajeel," The illusion mimicked in the squeakiest voice he could summon. "Pathetic."

The young dragon slayer growled again and lunged for his adult counterpart. Once again, the man disappeared and reappeared a few feet out of reach. The adult Gajeel just cackled.

"Gajeel you can't fight this. This isn't something you can win with physical strength." Levy shouted trying to convince her partner to come to his senses.

"You should just give up on him, short-stack." The full grown iron dragon slayer taunted. "He's weak."

"Shut it!" The young dragon slayer took another shot at the illusion, who just shifted out of the way. He took another lunging step forward making the illusion step back.

"Ya can't beat me kid." Another taunt and another step back.

"Ya won't defeat me," the illusion sneered and the child Gajeel continued punching.

"I'm stronger than you will ever be." Another taunt.

"There's no point punk," and another swing.

"You can't get away from me," and another dodge.

"You need me," The illusion smirked as the youngster pulled back his fist to punch. Just as young Gajeel was about to make a hit the adult Gajeel disappeared again, but the young iron dragon slayer's fist hit something. The youngster's eyes widened when his eyes locked on to the recipient of his assault.

The child-like Levy had taken the hit from Gajeel's fist. It was a hard enough punch that it knocked her to the ground. Levy looked up, a hand on her cheek from the hit. She had the hint of tears in her eyes. As she removed her hand from her face, the young dragon slayer could see a cut across her cheek. His eyes looked down at his fist to see the metal studs on his gloves.

"Gihihihi," The laugh came from the dark haired man, who reappeared next to the young Gajeel. "You ain't changed, you're just gonna do what ya always do. Ya just keep hurtin' her."

"No…" The young iron dragon slayer said, closing his eyes. "Shrimp… I…"

Then a resounding smack echoed around in the night. The shock of the hit against his cheek made him open his eyes. He looked up to see Levy, standing in front of him, her hand still raised from her slap to his face.

"Gajeel you stupid, idiotic, dummy!" The petite bluenette yelled. The young dragon slayer stood stunned while he older counterpart smirked and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Shrimp?" The young dragon slayer spoke again trying to figure out how this had happened.

"I tried to tell you that you couldn't do things this way. This isn't a fight that you can use your fists with. There isn't anything to beat up, but no, you don't want to listen to me. Do you dragon slayers do just about anything for a fight or are you incapable of anything else?" Levy was now pacing back and forth right in front of the young Gajeel. Before he could attempt to say anything, the young girl continued her rant.

"What part of 'facing your fears' did you not understand? You can't hit your fears, Gajeel. You can't force them into submission. You can't deny your fears." Levy halted her pacing to stop in front of the young Gajeel. She placed her hands on his shoulders and started to shake him. "Your fears aren't physical, you big dummy."

Feeling shocked, defeated, and lost by the situation Gajeel fell to his knees. "I don't know what else to do Shrimp," the boy admitted. His gaze fell to the floor. He felt weak and hopeless. He felt alone.

"How about you let me help you, instead of running off on your own?" Levy sighed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Shrimp… will you help me?" The iron dragon slayer said in almost a whisper. Levy looked down at him and took a deep breath. She sat down in the grass in front of her child-like friend and grabbed his hands.

"If I didn't want to help, I wouldn't have come after you." Levy's words made the young dragon slayer lift his gaze to meet Levy's eyes. "But no more hiding from this, you have to be honest with yourself."

"Heh, I gotta see this," The adult Gajeel smirk and began circling the two young mages in the same way a bird of prey would circle its target. Levy huffed and sent a glare in the direction of the full grown Gajeel. It only made him chuckle more. Levy returned her hazel eyes to the young Gajeel in front of him.

"Do you know what it is you are afraid of?" Levy asked.

"I don't know." The young Gajeel responded looking away from Levy.

"Think about what we have seen so far." Levy said. She was trying to guide him to what he was afraid of. "Something about this scares you Gajeel… You know what it is; you just have to accept it."

The child-like Gajeel looked around. This was a place he had come to know well. He remembered this night well. He didn't want to remember it, but he did. He couldn't handle the looks on Levy's face just before he pinned her to a tree. Just remembering how she looked that night made his face take on a look of disgust.

"I don't like seein' you hurt," he admitted to the young script mage. The adult Gajeel laughed and continued to circle the two. Levy ignored the man and spoke up trying to keep her partner's attention.

"That's a good start." Levy said with an encouraging smile. "What else? What is it about this place that makes you afraid?"

The young iron dragon slayer looked around again. He saw Team Shadow Gear hung up on the tree. No, that's not it. He continued to look around. His eyes came to the young Levy in front of him. Her eyes were calm and curious. He could see a thin line of blood coming from the cut on her cheek. He frowned and lifted his hand to try to wipe it away.

"That!" Levy squealed.

"What?" Gajeel questioned.

"You just had a look on your face, what were you thinking just now?" Levy questioned.

"I was thinkin' that I hate that I did that to ya," Gajeel started, he hung his head and closed his eyes. He could hear each step of the dragon slayer circling them. "I hate that I hurt ya. I never wanted to hurt ya like I did that night."

"But Gajeel, what happened just now was an accident. That night, you were just following orders. I don't blame you for any of that." Levy said looking confused. "You are a different from that person who hung me from a tree."

"Gihihi," the older male laughed as he continued to pace. The young Gajeel shut his eyes tighter trying to ignore the taunting chuckle.

Why can't he just get the hell away from me? I need to focus on Shrimp and figurin' this shit out; I can't be wastin' my time on his ass. Gajeel let out a groan.

"Gajeel, what is it?" Levy said as if she could read the thoughts as they crossed his mind.

"I hate him." Gajeel responded. He let go of Levy's hands and ran them through his hair. He stopped and gripped the shortened spikes.

"Who?" Levy continued. She knew he was getting close to it.

"Me." Gajeel pulled at his hair and released a shuddering breath. "I hate how cold I was, how stupid I was, how cruel I was. I hate that I liked it." Gajeel released his hold on his hair and gripped at the grass at his sides.

"I pinned you and yer friends to a tree and didn't lose a wink of sleep. I beat on bunny girl and felt nuthin'. I was a monster." I am a monster. The young Gajeel ripped the grass from the roots and threw them off to the side. Despite the angry outburst, Levy remained calm and let him work through his thoughts. "I don't want to ever be that man, Shrimp. I'd do anythin' to just forget that part of my life."

"I think I know what you are afraid of." Levy said and shifted to kneel in front of the young dragon slayer. Gajeel became very still, not wanting to look at Levy. Levy cupped Gajeel's face in both of her small hands, forcing Gajeel to look at her. "You are afraid of the person you were, Gajeel. You are afraid that you could be that person again."

The truth hit the dragon slayer, and it hit him hard. Before either mage knew it, tears had formed in his eyes. The truth hurt worse than any physical pain. In fact, Gajeel thought that he's rather take a sword through the heart right now.

"It's okay, Gajeel." Levy tried to comfort the boy in front of her. "You won't be that man again."

"You don't know that, Shrimp." Gajeel whispered. Tears were falling down his cheeks. "I could be him already. I was him. He was me. Hell he is me. How do ya know I ain't him already?"

"Simple." Levy said. "You don't just act anymore, you feel with your heart. You aren't unfeeling or cruel and this," Levy said and wiped a tear from his face. "You cry. You feel guilt. You feel remorse. You have people that you care about. You have Fairy Tail, you have Pantherlily. You have a family, you aren't alone anymore, Gajeel and we won't let you be that person anymore. I won't let you be that person anymore. I won't let you be that person again."

"Promise, Shrimp?"

"I promise." Levy said with a small smile. The boy looked at her for a moment. Then Gajeel pulled the young script mage into a tight hug. "Thanks Levy." He whispered. Levy couldn't help but notice that he used her real name instead of the usual nicknames. A slight blush appeared on her cheeks, but she returned the hug willingly. Gajeel closed his eyes as he embraced the small girl. He didn't want to let go. Levy was his anchor. In a way, she always had been. Gajeel didn't let up until Levy said something.

"Gajeel, look." She whispered to him. He released her from his embrace and looked around. Levy smiled. "He's gone."

Sure enough, the taunting brooding image of Gajeel was nowhere to be seen. Also missing from the park were the members of team Shadow Gear. All that remained were marks on the tree where the three once hung. The park was quiet and almost felt peaceful.

"What's that mean?" Gajeel questioned, taking in the calm of the scene. He noticed that the pain in his chest had also subsided.

"You faced your fear, Gajeel." Levy said and stood up. The small girl took Gajeel's hand as he got to his feet as well. "Do you still feel afraid?"

"Yeah," He replied and, for the first time since they arrived in this plane of existence, Gajeel actually admitted being afraid. "But there's somthin' different now. I don't feel like I gotta prove anythin' now." He whispered and squeezed Levy's hand. Levy looked at him and smiled.

"Let's get back to the others." Levy said. Gajeel gave a nod as they headed back into the quiet city of Magnolia. The followed their previous path back to the ally they had come from. As they crossed the threshold back into the stone hallway, both mages noticed a shadow that pulsed from behind them. When Levy turned to look behind them, the city was gone and all that remained was the appearance of an endless and empty stone hall.