A/N Did it guys~ I got it done by mid-week! I am also working on that one/two-shot at the moment, so hopefully i'll get that done soon! Also, thank you guys for all the reviews! When i'm having a bad or hectic day seeing them makes me smile and literally makes the rest of my day :D All that being said I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I put a little recap in the beginning just to reset the mood and such. R&R.
Gajeel gritted his teeth in annoyance, but took in a deep breath to calm himself down. He stopped and his eyes widened mid-breath. It couldn't be he thought, taking in another breath. He'd know that smell anywhere. Even beneath all the dirt and grime, he could still smell it. The smell he'd wanted to smell again for over a year; it was her smell. "Shrimp…" Gajeel let word exit softly from his lips.
He stood up abruptly and pushed the table across the room, causing everyone's attention to fall onto him, including Levy, still keeping up her silence. "What the hell, metal-head! Can't you see we're trying to figure something out?" Natsu yelled at Gajeel, but he couldn't really hear him, or at least he chose not to. He made his way to the crowd, pushing others aside and pushing himself through. Finally he reached the edge of the crowd and passed both Mira and the Master who said nothing, but were confused along with the rest of the guild. Gajeel hadn't done much of anything at all in the guild in the field of socializing for the past year. Everyone wondered what he was doing and who this girl was to him.
He stopped directly in front of Levy and looked down at her, his face masked of emotions. She didn't look up at him or say anything; she just silently stared ahead into his chest. Gajeel, slowly at first, but then altogether, fell to his knees in front of Levy, so, for once; he was looking up at her. He searched her face, her eyes, her hair, her stature, wondering if this was truly Levy. His nose couldn't lie; it had to be her. Everyone watched on silently as Gajeel inspected the girl, Levy's eye positioning never once wavered or changed.
That's when Gajeel finally noticed the cuts and scars all over her hands, her arms, and her legs. Some were recent and others were simple raised, discolored parts of her skin. He gently took her hand and turned it over so he was looking at the palm. Her palm was completely covered in cuts and scars layered on top of each other from how many times she had tried to escape but couldn't and ended up cutting herself on the rocks.
Putting down her hand, Gajeel looked up into Levy's dull, lifeless eyes. A look of sadness and partial anger filled his eyes as he looked into hers even though she wasn't looking into his. Everyone around him was silent and watching on interestedly.
He took a somewhat shaky breath and finally spoke in a gentle, quiet tone. "Shrimp….Levy…What happened to you..?" At this Levy finally looked down at Gajeel, her eyes full of hurt, confusion, anger, rage, and sadness, as the other guild members tried to comprehend what Gajeel had just said. Levy opened her mouth to speak, not knowing that all hell was about to break loose.
"What happened to me…..?" Levy echoed back quietly at Gajeel, as the other guild members still tried to fully understand the situation. Hundreds of thoughts, of ways to begin, ran through her head, and her somewhat prepared speech was forgotten. Her emotions began to get the best of her, and it showed. "What happened to me." She repeated once again while Gajeel still looked up at her, desperately wanting an answer. The guild members finally recognized Levy behind the grime and began to come forward to crowd her, not hearing her quietly talk to Gajeel.
"You left me." Levy looked up from Gajeel eyes and shifted her gaze to the rest of the guild members. "You left me and forgot about me." Levy's voice began to rise and her tone became much harsher. "YOU LEFT ME IN A CAVE BECAUSE I WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH AND FORGOT ABOUT ME!" Tears began to overflow from her eyes as Levy poured out her pent up emotions and thoughts. "I was alone, scared, but I was hopeful. I waited-I WAITED FOR YOU TO COME BUT NONE OF YOU EVER DID. YOU ONLY EVER WANTED TO GET RID OF ME AND YOU WERE GIVEN THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY."
Levy gritted her teeth, trying to keep control as a purple light once again began to illuminate from her. Gajeel's eyes widened, but he did not move away from Levy. "I WAS IN SO MUCH PAIN FOR SO LONG BECAUSE OF YOU." The floor boards underneath and around Levy began to crack and break; Gajeel finally moved away and joined the rest of the guild, majority of who were backing away from Levy. "YOU MADE ME INTO THIS….SEE WHAT YOU MADE ME BECOME!" The floorboards cracked and the tables began to break as the purple light grew stronger. "I AM BROKEN. I AM LOVELESS. BUT I. AM. STRONG."
At this point Levy was not only blinded by rage, but by the tears she shed. The tables suddenly broke apart, debris flying everywhere, some pieces hitting some of the guild members. The cracks in the floorboards spread out across the guild, making every step a bit unstable. "BUT EVEN THIS STRENGTH…this strength…..it hurts." Levy gritted her teeth as she uttered the last words. She looked into the faces of each of her guild mates, some were scared of her, and others shocked, but Gajeel; Gajeel just seemed…..sad. No. She was not here to sympathize with them she was here to make them pay for what she had to go through.
Erza slowly began to inch forward toward Levy, minding the debris and the gaps in the floor. When Levy looked at Erza, Erza looked at Levy with sympathy, with understanding; how could she not understand with what she went through at the Tower of Heaven? She cleared her throat in order to speak above the sound of destruction, "Levy! I know what you are feeling inside and I know what you are going through, but this is not going to help you!" Levy clenched her eyes shut, and shook her head, refusing to listen to what Erza had to say. Erza was only going to betray her in the end, why would she tell her the truth? She just wants another chance to throw her away. The power continued to grow, feasting on Levy's raw emotion and her insecurity of facing those she once and deep down still did love. It began to create a whirlwind, forcing Erza to move back with the others lest she be blown away.
The others stared in shock as the power around Levy continued to destroy the guild, finally tearing up the floorboards. Gajeel, with the same set jaw and look of sorrow and determination he'd had since he'd joined the other members, stepped forward toward Levy despite the debris. When some of the debris began to fly toward him he simply used his iron scales and continued on toward the center of the destruction, towards Levy. Gajeel stopped when he was a couple of feet from Levy, and stood his ground even when he was hit in the head by a stool, a leg of a table, and several pieces of wood.
"You know, Shorty, for someone so smart you are acting really stupid!" He shouted angrily at Levy. Her eyes widened in shock at first but then set in anger, the wind picking up more. "If you think for one second that any of your guild mates would want to get rid of you, you must be an idiot!" Gajeel continued to stand his ground despite the difficulty. The other guild members began to yell at him, telling him to shut up because he'd only make it worse, but the Master shushed them all and continued to listen to Gajeel talk.
"We are your family! Why would we ever want to get rid of you?" Levy's head was full of conflicting emotions at Gajeel's words. Who could she really believe? "I searched months for you and I admit I stopped, but I didn't want to. I had to because I couldn't deal with anymore false hope, and I couldn't force that false hope onto the others." Levy looked at Gajeel, his head was hung just a bit and his shoulders were hunched, her head began to clear and the wind died down just a little bit.
"All I had was false hope, and for months that was the only thing that kept me going….until the hope stopped." Levy said to him, her words still full of the rage and sorrow that had been present before. Gajeel took a step forward, taking advantage of the slower winds.
"I don't know what happened to you Levy, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I gave up on my search" Gajeel continued to step forward as he spoke, "but whatever it is that happened, I want you, no. I need you to tell me. I need you to calm down and talk to me, to all of us….talk to your family" When Gajeel finished he stood next to Levy, who stood completely still. He slowly and gently took his hand, removing the iron scales, and placed it on top of Levy's head, gently ruffling her hair. Levy's eyes widened and the wind stopped. The purple light slowly began to seep back into Levy, who was still standing completely still. When the last of the Abaddon's power returned to her, Levy knees gave out. She was mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted. The last things she remembered were the multiple cries of her name as she fell but did not hit the floor, and the other guild members rushing towards her.
"Shorty…" Gajeel barely let his nickname for the bluenette make a sound. He looked down at her as he gently picked her up completely to carry her to infirmary, stepping over the messes she had made; he blocked out all the sound and commotion the fellow guild mates were making. Shorty….you made it home. Looking down at the girl he carried so gently in his arms, Gajeel let out the first crack of a smile he had made in over a year.
I hope you liked it! Next chapter expect to see some Lilly, and (possibly) Jet and Droy action. More of the other guild members are gonna start to speak more now, but for these couple of chapters I wanted the main focus to be on Levy's conflicting emotions inside as well as Gajeel's since they are the main characters. The only reason I would have put in the other characters would just to do side comments like "No Levy. Stop. What are you doing?" Which I think would take away from the flow of things. YES, but the other characters will get more "screen-time"
Thank you so much for reading guys :) (And being patient for it to come out)