Longer chapter this time, my peoples!

I really hope that the long chapter makes up for the wait. Between school and trying to keep on top of everything, not to mention a ton of family coming over, I've found it's getting harder to find time to write. Not to mention I've totally been neglecting my other fic to work on this and I needed to add more to that. And then there's the writer's block I'm suffering from. I could honestly list 1,000 excuses but then I'd never get to writing the story. I hope you all are enjoying the story so far and are happy with my writing. So far I've seen nothing but positive feedback and I'm beyond grateful for that. Reviews are always welcome if you do enjoy or have any opinions on how to make the story better.

Now, enjoy 4,000 words of GAJEVEY!

I am not worthy of claiming that I own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima holds that great honor.


Gajeel could smell the blood on his neck where the javelin had nicked him, sluggishly trickling down the curve of his collarbone and casting waves of shivering down the rest of his body. Tiny cerulean hairs tickled his nose, reminding him of the tiny frame he had pressed against him.

"Shit," he panted. Even if he'd taken a direct blow the iron in his blood would've just absorbed the hit; he probably would've ended up just eating the thing. He couldn't say the same for her; one second too late would've meant instant death. He could hear Levy's heart beating like a war drum right before a battle against his chest, and her fragile body was trembling like a leaf in his grip. He couldn't believe how tiny she felt in his arms. Her breaths came in short pants, and for a moment he actually thought she might have started crying.

He tightened his arms around her, pulling her even closer. "You alright, Shorty?"

A shy nod was the only response he got before Juvia swooped in and snatched her away like a hawk would a mouse.

"Juvia is so sorry, Levy! Juvia should've been faster!" Juvia had her wrapped in a tight embrace, lifting her until her toes barely scraped at the ground, and looked to be choking the life out of her. "Are you hurt; is there anything Juvia can do?"

Levy stared over Juvia's shoulder at him; big, golden brown eyes locking onto him, before pointing towards him timidly. "You're bleeding," she inquired softly.

Gajeel swiped his hand over the wound and gazed down at his now blood coated fingertips. "It's nothing."

Juvia finally released Levy before leaning over the wall and hollering an entire lecture on sloppy carelessness endangering all those around him to the poor fool who slipped. He pushed himself off the freezing stone floor, silently cursing the icy wind that managed to sneak through his thick cloak. Levy's eyes were downcast and tiny tremors shook her body. He honestly couldn't blame her for being scared.

"You sure you're alright?" he looked down at her, folding his arms over his chest.

She nodded and met his gaze with a smile, her shoulders relaxing. A warm glow flushed her cheeks, which he assumed was from the cold. "Yeah, I'm fine thanks to you." He smirked down at her before reaching out to ruffle her hair. Despite the frozen air and wind her hair was warm to the touch, and he revelled in the feeling of the silky strands between his calloused fingers.

"How did you do that?" she asked when he drew his hand away. "I didn't see you on the wall."

It might have been the coldest time of the year, but that didn't prevent the beads of sweat that Gajeel started to feel gathering at the base of his neck. There was no way he could explain to her that he'd entered his dragon form in order to gain an incredible burst of speed, and he especially didn't want to admit he'd been watching them; he had a reputation to keep and part of it didn't include staring at young girls while they played in the snow!

"Um, I-I was," he stammered, crossing his arms and cursing the blood that had rushed to his ears. "You must not have seen me."

His throat tightened as a look of confusion flashed across her innocent golden eyes, but was quickly replaced by a bright smile. "It doesn't matter, anyways; thank you so much!" her skinny arms wrapped around his torso as she pressed against him. He stiffened up, feeling strangely conflicted at that moment; his normal self wanted to push away the unexpected affection, but what really confused him was that a tiny piece of him wanted to embrace her back. The scent of old parchment and ink from the pages of countless books wafted onto him; he inhaled deeply, drinking up her scent. Normally the only scent he enjoyed was blood, but this scent was so fresh and new and strangely appealing.

"Don't mention it," he murmured.

After a while she pulled away and Juvia was at her side instantly. "Let's go back inside, Levy. It's starting to get too cold for Juvia." Levy nodded before slipping her hand into Juvia's, and the two walked back towards the doors. He caught the tiny smile that Levy shot over her shoulder before Juvia ushered her inside.

He stood there in silence; the area on his chest where she'd hugged him was still warm, and he could smell the lingering scent of parchment and ink drifting through the air. He wanted to curse at the heat that had spread throughout his face; he didn't understand why it had appeared in the first place. He tried to distract himself by looking out into the courtyard where the soldiers had resumed their training, but found himself constantly thinking about a pair of luminous golden eyes that shone with a strange mix of kindness and purity that was impossibly strange for someone with her past to possess.

"DAMNIT!" he growled, thrusting his boot into the wall's stone, the force of the blow sent cracks snaking along the side and crumbling debri down to the ground below. Shit, Lily was definitely going to lecture him for that.

Speaking of the strict viceroy, it may be necessary for him to pay Lily a visit to discuss the conversation with Juvia. He sauntered off away from the partially destroyed wall, unconsciously kicking up a debri with every step he took.

The castle strangely empty as he continued his way towards his father's old study. It was the place Metalicana and Lily always met to discuss business and seemed like the most logical place to check first. He knew there weren't many servants but he usually ran into one or two whenever he walked around; this time he didn't see a single one. His footsteps echoed eerily against the stone walls in the vast emptiness of the hallways.

His father's study came into view at the end of the next corridor. He quickened his pace as he approached it and thanks to his nose he could tell that Lily was in there before he headed through the doorway. Weapons were hung all along the walls of the study; ranging from daggers to maces. His father's viceroy was slouched over in a chair at the desk, head held in leathery, dark hands. Gajeel might've mistaken him for being asleep if it weren't for his irregular breathing.

"Oi, Lily," he began, "what is it that Juvia was in such a rush to tell you about?"

Lily's body stiffened at his voice, but he didn't raise his head. A flash of paper caught his eye on the desk and his gaze wandered over towards it. The letter was fairly short, and it had a thick crease line along the center where it had been folded. He was too far to read the tiny words that had been scribbled across it, but he recognized the seal at the bottom. It was a seal that had shown up four months ago when Metalicana and Igneel were assigned their "mission".

"Lily?" he began, suddenly fearing the answer. "What is this?"

Lily sighed into his hands before raising his head to look at him. His crimson eyes were clouded with sadness, and Gajeel could feel his heart crawling into his throat.

"Get Natsu."

It was those simple words that had him slowly backing out of the study before tearing through the castle in search of his cousin. He searched the air with his nose to try to pick up on his most recent scent, but it was as if all the thoughts that were jumbling through his brain had rendered his senses useless. He caught a faint scent of smoke as he passed one of the hallways, skidding to a halt before sprinting down it to find the scent's owner.

Natsu was leaning against the wall with a candle in his held up to his mouth, drinking away the flames. His eyes widened at his approach and Gajeel grabbed his shoulders, partially to get his full attention and partially to prevent him from crashing into him. The candle fell from his hand and broke in half on contact with the floor as he shook him.

"Natsu," he panted, completely out of breath. "Lily's freaking me out; there's something wrong. We've gotta talk to him"

Natsu held up his hands defensively. "If this is about my catapults they're all in the stables so-"

Gajeel could hardly keep his jaw off the floor before grabbing his scarf and pulling him closer until they were at eye level. Did he think that he would have run his ass around for the sack of some bloody flammable deathtraps!

"This ain't about your damn catapults! Something happened to them; I can feel it."

Realization danced across Natsu's eyes at the mention of the word 'them'. The pair dashed off towards the study. He hoped he was mistaking, that everything was fine and Lily was upset for some other reason. Any other reason than that.

They'd been completely out of breath when they made it back; Gajeel was certain it was the adrenaline that kept him from collapsing. Lily was still in the chair, the letter crumpled in his hand as he stared emptily into space. He turned over towards the boys, and Gajeel knew exactly what was going to come out of his mouth before he even said it.

"They're gone. All of them, gone."

Gajeel felt as if a mountain had just collapsed on top of him. His knees got heavy and shook as he tried to keep his balance. Natsu slipped to the ground beside him.

"That can't be, Lily; you're wrong. Or, at least, you made a mistake; they can't be dead." Natsu choked out. Gajeel remained completely stiff, the only breaths he could muster came in thick, heavy pants that stuck in his throat on the way out.

Lily shook his head at them. " According to the message I received from Magnolia, things were going well; they were on the brink of winning, but there was an ambush four weeks ago. They were taking on the main forces on Mt. Hakobe Both Grandeeney and Skiadrum were slaughtered, and then the enemy set of an explosion that demolished half of the mountain. It killed them."

Gajeel could barely register what was being said to him as his mind took him back to the last time he'd ever see his father again.


"Do you have to go?"

The enormous figure, clad in iron armor, straightened up at the surprisingly quiet tone. He turned around, a smirk played across his pierced face as his dark crimson eyes looked down upon his son. Despite the teasing glint there was a strange fondness in his eyes as he regarded him. There was a large satchel of belongings at his feet; containing everything from rations to weapons. A sure sign of a long journey.

"I think you already know the answer to that; don't you, Gajeel?"

Gajeel grumbled to himself; his eyes scanned over the furniture that was scattered throughout the study, before finally settling them on the floor. He had never once had a problem talking to Metalicana, they had been open books with each other for as long as he could remember. But then a mysterious letter had shown up on his desk and suddenly it was like talking about certain subjects were a new cause for a plague. Even Juvia hadn't been able to find out much about the later; only that the wax seal that had arrived with the message belonged to the king of Magnolia. This puzzled him thoroughly considering he couldn't remember a time when Metalicana and Makarov had ever crossed paths; much less send each other letters.

He'd ended up having to resort to asking Metalicana directly several times, and while he admitted there was somewhere that he would be going to prepare for a war, he wouldn't say where or why; only that it would be for a long time. He actually was starting to worry considering Metalicana took maybe two weeks to end a war by himself and the letter from Magnolia most likely meant that he planned on an alliance with them.

Gajeel gnashed his teeth together, eyes averting from the floor and to his father. "You could take me with you," he began. "I'm a dragon too; I could fight-"

He was cut off as his father's gloved hand rested on top of his head. He wanted to push his hand away and remind him he wasn't a kid anymore and didn't need to be treated as one but he just froze. As his father ruffled his hair; he spoke with a genuine tone that was so unusual it almost shocked Gajeel. The only conversations they shared were usually during training hours or when he was punishing him for fighting with Natsu; there wasn't much room for anything in between in their daily lives.

"You're exactly like your mother." Gajeel wanted to snort at those words; he had spent his life constantly being told by everyone who resided in the castle that he was Metalicana's mirror image. They shared everything from their cockiness to their unruly raven hair. He knew next to nothing about his mother; she had died giving birth to him. It was one of the consequences of dragon mating.

"Stubborn," he continued. "Couldn't accept anything she didn't want to; always found some way around it."

Gajeel's canines ground together once more in frustration. "You said that it yourself this was a dangerous mission; so let me help if it's so dangerous."

"The reason I'm not allowing you to accompany me is because it is so dangerous." His father's voice had begun to develop an edge that Gajeel recognized as a warning and normally that was enough to dismiss any lingering argument, but, feeling strangely bold, he continued.

"You could at least tell me where you're going. You've gone to war plenty of times but at least those times you told me where it was you were headed and whose ass you were planning on kicking."

He had expected Metalicana to scold him for speaking out despite the implied warning he had given him, but instead his lips turned up in a small smile that quieted Gajeel quicker than any stern words could.

"It's true, most things I share openly with you; I've never understood why parents bother to shield their children from the harsh realities that they will have to face someday. If anything, I consider it's almost like you're misleading them, but there are some things in this world that you aren't ready for, Gajeel. People that, if it were in my power, I'd never allow you to cross paths with. Some day, you may be able to face them but it won't be for many years."

Gajeel's eyes reverted back to the floor in annoyance at Metalicana's reluctance to give him a straight answer, but looked back up when he felt him pull away. He watched as his father retreated to the back of the study and grabbed a large object that Gajeel hadn't noticed leaning against the desk. It was hastily bound in thick, brown leather which made it next to impossible to guess what was concealed inside the wrappings.

"Catch," his father told him blandly as he tossed it to him.

Gajeel fumbled with the heavy object as it landed in his arms. Upon closer examination he concluded it was a sword judging by the weight and length. He looked at his father expectantly and after a nod of approval he swiftly unwrapped the layers to reveal a sheathed longsword. This wasn't one of the dull swords that were common weapons among the newer guards and the type he and Natsu had been practicing with; it was far too strong and clearly professionally forged. The scabbard itself was gleaming black leather with a golden emblem engraved into the center. A dragon with plates of armor replacing its scales and its head thrown back in an angry roar, but instead of fire, three swords emerged; the one in the center straight up, and the two others at a horizontal angle on either side of the middle one. This was Metalicana's insignia.

He pulled off the sheathe, revealing a cruelly sharp blade the color of night. He didn't doubt for a second that one quick slice could remove entire limbs from unexpecting bodies in an instant like a knife through butter. Despite its large size, the grip fit perfectly into his clenched fist; it was as if it was personally designed for him.

"Igneel has one for Natsu. I can only assume that Weisslogia and Skiadrum have given Sting and Rogue their own as well. I'm not sure if my sister has given one to Wendy though; from what I hear, she barely allows her to practice embroidery without nearly giving herself a coronary." He chuckled as he folded her arms over her chest. "I've tried telling her eventually every little bird needs to learn to use its wings, but she will have none of it, apparently she feels as if her little bird can't even wonder around her own home without her accompanying her; she's a bit young for a weapon anyways."

Gajeel smirked at the thought of his tiny cousin, who could barely force her canines to grow, wielding a weapon twice the size she was. She was a force of nature when she was angered but she was much more interested in healing than in combat.

"What are these for? Not that I'm complaining but I don't think a parting gift is suppose to be this deadly." He looked up questioningly at his father, fully expecting a response. Instead, his father turned around, grabbed his satchel, slung it over his broad shoulder, and made his way out the door.

He was suddenly angry at his father for the unanswered question, but he knew when to keep his mouth shut; he wasn't Natsu, after all. He stopped right in front of him, before crouching down so their eyes were at the same level. Despite being tall for his age, Metalicana still towered over him at least twice his size. His father's hand slid to the nape of his neck; pulling his head closer to his until their foreheads rested against each other. As the fatherly act had him suddenly feeling much younger than his actual thirteen, Gajeel forced his eyes to keep themselves locked on the wooden floor of the study while his chest tightened almost painfully.

"Take care of them, Gajeel," his voice rumbled in his throat, and Gajeel detected the faintest break in his voice.

Gajeel swallowed thickly. "Yeah, sure thing."

Metalicana straightened up, gave his son's hair one last affectionate ruffle, and headed out of the room without another word; his arm was partially raised in a farewell gesture. Gajeel turned around to watch him leave.


Gajeel could easily tell that Natsu had started crying. It was impossible to not notice the sobs he was attempting to hold back, or the tears that flooded his eyes. Lily had attempted to comfort him, and Gajeel even rested his hand on his cousin's shoulder but it did little to help. After the worst of it was over Natsu began going into complete denial of the whole situation.

"He-he couldn't have d-died in an explosion," he choked out. "Explosions have fire and Dad's a fire dragon." He didn't get another word out before another onslaught of tears overtook him. Lily reached forward without leaving the chair to grab Natsu's arm and gently pull him towards him before wrapping his arms around his trembling shoulders. Natsu's hands folded into Lily's lap as he tried to muffle his sobs.

The weight of the entire situation was still settling on Gajeel, he could barely do anything other than stare at his cousin. Metalicana had said he would only be gone for two months at the most and it had been three months since his departure. He'd partially expected that something had gone wrong, but it still hit him with the force of an entire army. He supposed it may have been because every time he thought about his father's situation he'd ended up assuming the best; that Metalicana and Igneel would come back again.

Unlike his younger cousin, he didn't feel sad; he felt anger. Anger at himself for not finding out more when there was time or at least trying to follow them to wherever they were going, anger towards Metalicana for not telling him, and most of all, anger at the fact that even if he had followed him, it wouldn't have made a difference.

"Who was it, Lily," he growled. "Who the hell did it."

Lily looked away from Natsu. "I don't know."

Gajeel clenched his teeth together before slamming his fist on the desk. "Don't give me that bullshit! I know Metalicana told you where he was headed! He must've said something about who he was fighting!"

Lily shook his head before turning his attention back to Natsu. "I can't tell you what I don't know; I'm fairly certain the reason your father didn't share it with me is so that I could never tell you." If he hadn't known Lily since he was a brat, he probably would've just called him a liar.

But still, the idea that any dragon could be killed was just on the brink of being impossible; and entire nest of them even more so. He knew that humans liked to tell stories about their kind; how it only took one man to take down a dragon but that just didn't happen. An entire army couldn't take down one. The bitter taste of bile rose in his throat and he tried not to gag. His father had told him about something about people he was fighting were the kind that he had hoped Gajeel would never have to face. Was it possible that they were capable of taking down dragons? Did Metalicana know that?

He hadn't considered it then but looking back on this he realized his father more than likely knew he was walking himself straight into a death trap the entire time, and had never faltered for an instant.


OH MY GOSH IT'S DONE!

You have no idea how thankful I am that it is. There's probably gonna be typos… lots and lots of typos…... but I hope you can look past them. I truly hope you enjoyed the long chapter and please tell me what you think!