The Iron Dragon of Magnolia

Chapter Eleven: Ambush

"Lu-chan!" Levy yelled as she ran into the corner room. She watched the blonde pull away from the injured soldier, looking at her friend with concerned eyes. "We have to go! Now!"

"Go? What do you mean go?" Lucy asked. She turned to look at Gajeel and the other two soldiers behind them. "What's going on?!"

"Jose's coming up to the tower!" Gajeel said. He grabbed Lucy, pulling her to her feet. "You all have to get out of here!"

"But Natsu just-"

"He'll stay here!" Gajeel said. "I'll look after him!"

Lucy looked deep into the iron Dragon Slayer's eyes. They weren't holding deception in them. The blonde felt that Gajeel, who had been hidden away from the world, couldn't lie to anyone.

Her eyes drifted from the pierced man in front of her and landed on Levy, who nodded to the blonde. She shifted her gaze to Natsu, who had a forced grin on from holding back pain.

The blonde gripped her fist tightly. "I'll leave him to you."

Gajeel nodded, "Leave it to me." He turned around quickly to the cats. "Take them down the east tower. Jose always comes up the west."

"Aye Sir!" Happy said, leading the girls away.

"Gray, Erza," Natsu said. The two soldiers looked to their fallen commander. "Make sure they get out of here safely."

"Understood." Erza saluted before running after the others.

"Don't die Flame Brain," Gray said, running after the redhead.

"I don't plan to." As the stripping soldier left, the fire Dragon Slayer turned to the iron Dragon Slayer. "So, what's the plan?"

"Jose never comes to this part of the tower. He knows it's better not to mess with a dragon's territory too much," Gajeel said, picking up a blanket and throwing it over Natsu and picking up pillows. "But in case he has a sudden urge to look around, you will look like pillows under the blanket."

"Okay, but-"

"Gajeel-kun? Where are you?" Jose's voice rang throughout the tower.

Damn. "I'm in my room! I'll be right out!" He turned back to the other Dragon Slayer. "Stay quiet!" he harshly whispered.

Natsu nodded, swiping his finger over his mouth as if he was zipping it shut. Gajeel nodded and was about to head out when Jose intercepted him. The iron Dragon Slayer's breathing hitched.

"Master."

"Gajeel-kun, I thought I'd stop by for a little visit. I was wondering…" Jose's faded as he turned to walk to the main part of the tower, Gajeel following close behind after sending a narrow look to the bed. "…If you have seen those two gypsies."

"Which gypsies Master?" Gajeel asked, in an attempt to hide knowledge.

"You know which gypsies I'm taking about Gajeel-kun," Jose said, turning around and facing him. His face was stone cold and wasn't amusing. "That short blue-hair girl and that friend of hers, that...well-proportion blonde."

Gajeel could practically feel the fire Dragon Slayer's anger radiating from his hiding-spot, but he couldn't break character when Jose was standing in front of him. "I don't know where they are Master."

"I think you do."

"I don't know where they are."

"I think you even helped them escape!" Jose yelled. His eyes were narrow and he was pointing one of his long fingers to the bell ringer. "They made you show them a way to escape, didn't they?!"

Gajeel took a deep breath. He wasn't good with lying. Jose knew that. Hell, even Lucy knew that simply by looking at his eyes. He wasn't going to be able to keep this up. Gajeel hung his head low.

"They were kind to me Master…"

"Kind to you?! They had a spell on you! They used you! To get to me, no doubt!" Jose yelled. He quickly took a deep breath, placing his hands on Gajeel's shoulders. "I'm sorry Gajeel-kun, they tricked you. But no matter." The judge took off his hands from Gajeel as quickly as he did placing them on him.

"Master?"

"Those two, especially that blonde one, will be out of our lives for good."

"I…I don't understand."

"I've located their hideout Gajeel-kun," Jose said. The judge looked to him with a sly, evil smirk on his face. He was up to something, but Gajeel didn't know what to make of it. He was his master, he couldn't question him about anything. "By sunset tomorrow, those two gypsies will be burned to the stake for their crimes against God and to the city."

Gajeel grinded his teeth, going unnoticed by Jose. Those two girls were in trouble. Jose knew where they were going to hide from him. There was no way in hell that he, and by further extension Natsu, were going to let those two girls get killed by the hands of Jose Porla.

"Well, I just wanted to let you have a heads up, in case you see them again," Jose said. He turned away, having a smirk on his face. "I'll see you soon Gajeel-kun." With that, Jose walked back down the tower stairs.

Gajeel sighed, bending over and resting his hands on his knees. He glanced over to the direction of the bed in the corner room. "Ya hear that Salamander?"

"I don't have dragon hearing for nothing," he said, leaning against a wall. "And you knew my other name?"

"Who doesn't know?" Gajeel said, walking to the east tower stairs. "You know what's going on then?"

"Of course," Natsu said. He started following the iron Dragon Slayer with a hand on his bandaged wound. "We better get to our girls before Porla does. But before we go straight into battle…" Gajeel stopped to look over his shoulder to the pink-haired slayer. "Do you have any idea where we're going?"

Gajeel raised his hand and was about to say something when there was an awkward pause between them. His mouth gaped.

"You don't know?!" Natsu yelled.

"Well neither do you!" Gajeel yelled back.

"I'm injured!"

"And?!"

"You wanna go Metal Head?!"

"Bring it Salamander!"

Happy, Lily, and Carle were hovering over the heads of the two Dragon Slayers, wondering what they were arguing about. "Uh…Gajeel…" Happy said.

"WHAT?!" the two Dragon Slayers yelled.

Tears began streaming down the cat's eyes and the blue cat hid behind Carle for protection. "They're being mean to me Carle~!"

"Go cry into Lucy's chest again," Carle said, stepping away from Happy.

"But I don't know where she-IS!" Happy stressed the last word as grabbed the blue cat's tail and held him up to his eyelevel. His eyes were narrowed, staring into the cat's soul. "H-H-Hello."

"So…you cried into my girl's chest, Cat?" Natsu asked with a deadly calm voice.

"She's not your girl," Gajeel said, sighing.

"Yes she is!"

"Not officially."

"Then what about you and Levy?" Gajeel shut his mouth, avoiding Natsu's playful stare. "Gotcha there didn't I, Metal Head?"

"Why you-"

"We're losing time you two," Lily said. The two slayers turned to the black cat. "Gajeel do you still have the band Levy gave you?"

"Band? Oh that thing!" Gajeel pulled the woven band from under his shirt and took it off, handing it to Lily.

Lily held it up to the candlelight in the tower. "Is it a code?"

Natsu took it from the black cat, holding it above his eyes. "Maybe…It'll take some time to decode though. I can't recognize any languages on it." He noticed that everyone was gapping at him. He raised an eyebrow to them. "What?"

"I never thought that the king's Salamander was smart," Gajeel said.

"Aye! I thought you were as stupid as Gajeel!" Happy said, raising a paw in the air.

Agitation marks popped out of the two Dragon Slayers' foreheads. "What did you say?!"

"I'll have you know, I know over three languages, thank ya very much!" Natsu said, sticking out his tongue to the blue cat. He looked back to the woven back. "Does anyone know how to find this place?"

Gajeel looked to the band, remembering that god awful line Levy said the week before she and Lucy left. "When you hold this woven band, you hold the city in your hand."

Natsu narrowed his eyes to the other Dragon Slayer. "Lame!"

"I didn't come up with this crap!" Gajeel yelled.

"Aye! Levy did," Happy said.

"So…what does that mean?" Natsu asked.

"It's a map of the city," Carle said. "If I may…" Natsu placed the band in the cat's extended paw. "You see…" She pointed to a cross in the middle of the band. "That's Kardia Cathedral. And this…" She pointed to a crest off across the river that had a small pointed blade. "Is the Palace of Justice."

"That's Carle for ya," Lily said, smirking. "Good to have a girl with brains with us, eh?"

The iron Dragon Slayer grinned. "Geehee."

"Aye~!" Happy said in a loving tone, small pink hearts replacing his eyes.

"And X…" Carle said as she pointed to where a large red X was, opposite from where the Palace of Justice was, "marks the spot."

{Line Skip}

"You sure this is it Carle?" Gajeel asked, looking around.

"I'm 150% sure Gajeel," the white she-cat said, exchanging glances from the band in her paws and the dark, dreary area they were in.

"I hate dark places!" Happy whined.

They were surrounded by dark tombstones that were shadowed in the night. Most of the trees in the area were dead or were in the process of dying with their dry leaves slowly falling from the branches. The grass was yellow from the lack of moisture in the ground.

Crows were perched on the trees that the three cats and two Dragon Slayers passed by. Their yellow orbs staring endlessly to the group. Happy hid on Natsu's shoulder, his small body shaking uncontrollably.

"This is scary…" Happy said.

"Scaredy cat," Natsu scoffed.

"It's not my fault that I don't go out a lot."

"Salamander," Gajeel said.

"Yeah?"

"Do you smell the girls?"

Natsu stopped and breathed in a few times, taking in the scent around them. "Yeah. They've been here for sure."

"Then we're on the right track," Gajeel said. The iron Dragon Slayer breathed in again before pointing to the west. "This way."

They followed the scent until a large tomb stood in their way. There was an adult-sized angel on top of the tomb. It was carved into a slab of stone that acted as the entrance to a crypt. A bouquet of flowers was placed in one of the angel's arms as the free hand was paced over the angel's chest. There was a halo carved directly above of the angel's curls and wings were curled, partially covering the angel's dress that had a large red X on it.

The two slayers sniffed the air around the tomb and both grinned to each other, thinking the same thing.

This is it.

They moved the slab of stone to the side, careful not to damage the angel carving on it. They looked into the crypt, seeing a descending staircase leading deep underground. There was a gentle breeze coming from the passageway, blowing through the slayers hair and carrying faded scents of Levy and Lucy.

Gajeel held out his hand towards the passage. "After you Salamander."

"Don't mind if I do Metal Head."

Once they reached the ends of the stairs, the passageway led down the sewers of Magnolia. The stench was near overpowering the two with the strongest sense of smell, causing them to be nauseous while the cats were fine as they held their noses and flew above the sewage water.

"This…is nasty," Happy said. "I didn't know Lucy likes to hang out down here when she's not up there."

"A perfect hideout," Lily said. "No one would ever be suspecting gypsies in the sewers."

"Even if it is a perfect hiding spot," Natsu said, looking around the damp tunnel, "there should be traps or something along the way."

"Salamander's right," Gajeel said. He stopped, looking around the moist rocks. "It's been too quiet and we've come pretty far. There's no way that-" He stopped and stood in a fighting stance, back-to-back with Natsu. "You smell them Salamander?"

"Yeah." Natsu's eyes narrowed, it was hard to see anything in the dark. He lit his hands and saw the shadows of people in the darkest spots in the tunnels. "It's an ambush!"

"Very good Fire Dragon of Fiore!" a familiar voice rang. "But…we know how to handle your kind."

In a flash, something wrapped around Natsu and Gajeel, making them fall into the water. Soon enough, metal things were clamped on the two Dragon Slayer's wrists and the three cats were forcefully put in a sack.

The Dragon Slayers were gagged as torches began lighting up along the sides of the tunnels. Their heads were pulled back to look up to the blue-haired leader with a red tattoo covering his right eye and a sneaky smirk on his face.