Levy wasn't aware that she was being followed in the marketplace until someone grabbed her from behind, clamping a hand over her mouth and dragging her back. A harsh but familiar voice sounded in her ear.
"So sad that you are unaware…" Aria said, snickering as she struggled. Suddenly she was whisked away from the marketplace, away from Loki and Pantherlily. She free herself-rather, he released her, and she found herself in a dark room. The only source of light was a very small window that looked high above her. It cast a poor, tiny stream of light down directly over her head, making her white top glow softly with the reflected light.
"Well, well." Chuckled a voice she had thought to never hear again. "Look who managed to survive." Jose materialized out of the shadows a few feet away and she attempted to recoil, but found herself unable to move. Looking at her feet, she noticed that a simple magic had been cast to render her limbs frozen. Jose circled her, and she repressed the urge to shudder. "You've recovered well." He commented, brushing cold fingers down her shoulderblades. A low snarl sounded from a corner and she gasped. Jose simply smirked as he came to face her again. "I believe you know this monster. You did create him after all." She frowned, but kept herself from asking. He turned to face the source of the snarling and beckoned. Whatever it was in the shadows shifted and rose, but stayed where it was. She heard shuffling feet from behind her and turned her head. Sue and Boze were approaching from behind her, but it was what the Mirror mage was carrying that had her attention.
"Pantherlily!" She cried, struggling to move her body. The tiny black exceed had cuts and scrapes covering his entire frame, and his breathing was extremely shallow. Jose snapped his fingers and melted into the shadows as Sue approached. Levy found that she could move her upper body. She twisted around and reached for 'Lily. Sue handed him over-much more gently than Levy expected-and turned away.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, glancing back at Levy over her shoulder, "He put up quite the fight and I almost lost." She melted back into the darkness, no doubt to watch, and Levy turned her attention to Boze, who had managed to somehow capture Loki by changing him into a cat. The Music mage set the ginger-furred cat down and Loki whirled, scratching the mage's legs. Boze quickly disappeared into the shadows with a yelp of pain. Loki turned around and stalked over to her, seating himself directly in front of her feet. Jose again materialized from the shadows, this time carrying a very small figure. He dropped the figure to the ground and Loki hissed as it stood, the hair on his back standing upright. Ultia Lynn Fullbuster scrambled to her feet and darted towards Levy, only to be stopped and lifted into the air by the back of her collar by a much taller figure still mostly ensconced in shadow. All Levy could see was a rough, calloused hand, a fingerless glove covering the hand and wrist, ending in a studded bracelet. She gasped.
"No." She whispered, one hand flying to her mouth while the other held Pantherlily close to her. Jose stepped to the side and the figure took a single step forward, into the low light. "Gajeel?"
He looked terrible, but the feverish gleam in his eyes warned her otherwise. Cuts and scrapes, bruises and blood covered nearly every inch of him. His wild black hair was matted in huge knots and clumps and his clothes were horribly worn and ripped. Several of the metal studs that decorated his skin were missing, open holes oozing blood on his arms and face. Levy blinked back tears. "Gajeel, what happened to you?"
"I ain't Gajeel, girl." He rasped, shaking Ultia roughly. "I'm Kurogane." She gasped and Ultia started to cry.
"Please, please, mister!" She wailed, scratching at his hand. "Let me go! I won't hurt anybody! Aunt Levy!" she turned fearful eyes to the bluenette, "Aunt Levy, tell him to put me down! I'm scared!"
The bookworm turned to Jose, who stood beside Gajeel. "Tell your monster to put my niece down." She snapped. To her surprise, Jose put a hand on Gajeel's shoulder, and the Iron mage set the girl down on her feet and released her. The raven-haired nine-year-old darted to Levy as soon as she was let go. She wrapped her arms around Levy's waist and the bluenette hugged her niece close. Kurogane laughed darkly, and it sent shivers running down Levy's back. It definitely wasn't the gihihihi that Levy loved so much.
As he stepped forward, Levy found herself twisting away and shielding Pantherlily and Ultia. Loki growled and launched himself at Kurogane, who simply kicked the ginger cat away. Levy shrieked and fought the holding magic until Gajeel grabbed her by the shoulder and lifted her into the air. Ultia caught Pantherlily as he fell from Levy's grasp and backed away from the Iron mage, her eyes wide with fear but surprisingly not tearful. She clutched the black exceed close and extended a hand towards her aunt and her captor.
"Ice make: Wave of Blades!" She yelled. An enormous wave appeared, bearing down on Gajeel, full of razor-sharp icicles. They tore into his skin and sent him flying across the room. Levy slid from his grasp and fell on her knees. She found herself able to move again and scurried across the ground to where Loki lay unmoving. She touched his head gently with her hand and breathed a sigh of relief when he shifted and mewed softly in response. One dark green eye flicked open for a moment and focused on her, then slid shut again.
Behind her, Gajeel snarled as he got to his feet. "Why you little brat…" He hissed, advancing towards the terrified dual mage. Ultia held her hand up again as he started to run at her and yelled, "Water: Shield!" Instantly a massive wall of water rose in front of her, slowing Gajeel's attack. "Freeze!" she screeched. As Gajeel dove at her through the water wall, it froze around him, effectively trapping him. The resulting reflection of light on the ice cast a bright glow throughout the entire room. Jose hissed and shielded his eyes, disappearing with the last of the retreating shadows. Sue, Boze, and Aria flinched away, the latter mage using his Teleportation magic to escape the light. Boze cowered in the corner farthest from the nine-year-old, while Sue watched in fascination. "Ice make: Sword!" she said quietly. The sword formed in her hand and she rested the razor-edged tip on the side of his neck. He froze, but not before the blade had sliced a shallow groove in his skin. A perfectly round drop of blood rolled down his neck and dripped to the floor below him. "Aunt Levy!" she called, "Are you and Loki okay?"
"Y-Yeah, Ultia. Thank you." Levy replied, picking the Lion spirit up and carrying him with her as she circled the ice wall. Gajeel watched her with an unreadable expression.
"So…who is he?" Her niece asked. Levy cast a wary glance at the Iron mage, trapped securely in the ice.
"His name is Gajeel Redfox." She stated simply. Ultia's eyes widened.
"He's Gajeel? The one you told me about?" Her eyes narrowed. "The one who killed my parents?" She whipped her head to face him, and he flinched as the ice sword dug into his neck, spilling more blood onto the floor.
"No, Ultia. It wasn't Gajeel who murdered your father and mother; it was the monster guild master, Jose, that forced him to do so. Gajeel isn't to blame for this."
"But he still killed them!"
"Ultia, he was forced. I don't know how, and I don't know why, but he was."
"I'll tell you why," he hissed, craning his neck away from the blade, "Because I've gone fucking crazy. I tried to kill every person that was important to me three years ago, and today, I almost did it again. So go ahead, kid. Do it. Cut my head off, I deserve it." He looked up at Levy, and for a moment she saw the Gajeel she knew.
The next moment, she couldn't see anything.
The tiny window of light had been blocked.
"Finish them."
