Chapter 29

Problem

It was the middle of the night, and Gajeel was showering in his room at an inn, finally finished with his first job. He was exhausted and sore, and just wanted to sleep for about a week. He hadn't gotten much rest because he was too worried about Levy. The times he tried to sleep, but couldn't, he would train to keep his mind busy, but he was too worn out to even think about training. He thought he may be exhausted enough to get some sleep. Most likely not.

He busted ass to make sure he could be home to her in a week or less, and it looked like he'd succeeded. He felt accomplished, as he'd gotten extra Jewel for getting it done quickly, and he wanted to use it to take her away for a few days or do whatever she wanted to do. It was the least he could do for making her stay put while he was gone.

He debated on taking the first train in the morning, which was not ideal because he'd been so sick when he got on the first time, he missed his stop and had to walk several miles back. He thought about walking, but he was so tired, it'd take him a bit longer than a day to get home, and he really just wanted to be with Levy. He didn't think it was possible to miss someone as much as he missed Metalicana, yet, he missed his mate more than anything. He wasn't sure he'd be able to do the next few jobs without her, but he didn't want to put her in danger. It was a constant battle within himself. Does he go crazy with worry when he's without her, or go crazy with worry when she's with him? Either way, he was going to worry about her. He decided to catch the first train in the morning. It'd be a five or six-hour journey, but it'd be worth it to get to her sooner.

Morning came and he made it to the train station bright and early, still very tired from lack of sleep. He boarded the train, immediately feeling uneasy. Not because he had extreme motion sickness, but because he sensed impending danger.

He made it to his cart, closing the door to avoid being seen or spoken to as he prepared himself for the journey ahead. He scoffed. There was no way he was getting off that train without there being some sort of altercation. He got back up to see if the attendant had medicine for the time being, satisfied when there was some in stock, but annoyed that it was a bit expensive. He bought it anyway; he couldn't risk being immobile with whatever danger was on this train.


It'd been almost a week and Levy was tired of being cooped up in the house. She wanted to do something, anything to get her mind off Gajeel. Fat chance of that happening.

"Hey, Lil?" Levy poked her head through his slightly ajar door. "Do you think we could take a small job in Magnolia?"

Lily knew Gajeel would rip him a new one if he let her go on a job, even if it was something that didn't require violence. He put his paw to his chin, pondering his response. On one hand, being practically chained to an emotional Levy was starting to wear on him, and he could use some time out and about, but on the other hand, the risks of being attacked whilst out were high at the moment, and he didn't want to take the chance.

"If you want, I can go on a job with Lucy and Natsu?" Levy suggested.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Levy. Gajeel didn't want you to leave under any circumstances."

Levy huffed. It wasn't fair that he was holding her hostage and he wasn't even there! She supposed she understood, but she could take care of herself…

"Oh, who am I kidding?" She said, plopping down on Lily's bed. "I'm tired all the time, and I can barely use my script magic without his iron." She fell back onto his pillow. "I'm so bored!"

"Maybe we could go to the guild," Lily thought out loud.

"Yes! Please!" Levy perked up, the thought of leaving bringing her a little bit of joy.

"I don't know…" Lily was still being cautious. "An attack could happen at any time, and we wouldn't want him knowing where we live. I highly doubt Gajeel would be up for moving again."

"I put enchantments around the house, there's no way he's finding it," Levy said confidently. "Come on! Let's go!" She grabbed the exceed by the paw and ran out of the house before he could protest.

"It feels amazing to get out of the house!" The petite woman exclaimed, almost dragging the black cat through the woods.

"Hey, slow down!"

"Nope! I'm too excited! I can't wait to see everyone! It feels like it's been forever!"

"It's hasn't even been a full week," Lily said, the early afternoon breeze feeling good on his fur.

"Well, when you're doing absolutely nothing, time seems to stop."

Levy and Lily entered the guild hall, a bit disappointed in the lack of people there.

"Levy!" Mira called from the bar.

"Where is everyone?" Lily asked, approaching the bartender.

"A lot of them are on jobs. 'Tis the season!" Mira said, drying a glass.

"That sucks," the script mage said, her head hanging low.

"It's alright, there are still a few people here," Mira gestured to the few people who were scattered around the room.

"Is Lucy on a job?"

"No, she's with Natsu, I think. At his house."

Levy looked at Lily, who rolled his eyes. He knew what was coming next.

"Lily! Can you fly me to Natsu's?"

"Listen, Levy. I barely wanted you to come to the guild. Gajeel should be back any day now. Can't you just wait for him?"

"Oh, that's right," the Take Over mage chimed in. "He did say he was taking those jobs on his own."

"Yeah, and he won't let me take any jobs or go with him. He pretty much has me on lockdown!" Levy said, exasperated.

"I'm sure it's all for a good reason, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. I'm just tired of being in the house. I need human interaction!" The blue-haired woman said, laying her head down on the bar, not noticing the exceed was no longer next to her.


Lily flew off, knowing she was going to beg him to take her to Natsu's. He knew she would be safe at the guild and most likely find her way into the library, and he wanted to find solitude.

Levy wasn't bad to be around, but with her pregnant and Gajeel gone, she was very emotional. Lily knew he was going to have to be there for her when his partner went on jobs, but he didn't expect it to be this intense. She wasn't the only one who wanted Gajeel to come home.


Levy decided Natsu lived close enough for her to get there safely and left when she realized Pantherlily wasn't around.

She took in the scenery, happy to breathe fresh air. She collected her thoughts and concluded that she was overreacting a bit. Their house wasn't bad, and Lily was pretty good company. A lot of the time, they read and talked about stories. The rest of the time, of course, she was a crying mess, the majority of those times being at night when she missed him most.

He did somewhat have her on a lockdown of sorts, but it was all out of concern for her well-being. He knew she would be very limited without his iron and wouldn't stand a chance against Axos if he caught her alone. She wondered why he was after her family and got a little nervous at the thought of being next, and that there was someone who wanted to kill her, even though she'd done nothing wrong.

About halfway there, she realized that she shouldn't have left the guild. Getting paranoid about being out alone, she berated herself. 'Why, why, why?! I shouldn't have left! Lily's going to be worried or pissed or both! What the hell is wrong with me?!' She sometimes felt her brain wasn't operating correctly, which led to her freak outs and bad decisions… like this one.

By the time she was finished freaking out, she'd made it to Natsu's.

"See," she said to herself. "I knew I'd be fine."

Before she could knock on the door, it went flying open.

"What are you doing here?!" Lucy asked, worried. "Why are you alone? Where's Lily? You're not supposed to leave!"

"I was tired of being cooped up, so Lily walked me to the guild. You guys weren't there, and Mira told me you were here, Lily wouldn't take me, so I left and came here," she explained.

"Gajeel will be back any time, you think he'll be fine when he gets home and realizes you're not there?"

"That's why I plan on being home before he gets back. I just needed someone other than Lily to talk to, ya know?"

Levy entered the house upon Lucy's invitation, happy to finally hang out with her tall friend.


Lily relaxed for about an hour and a half before he realized that Levy wasn't really thinking clearly, and that she may have left the guild on her own. He kicked himself internally as he flew off to find her. He went to the guild hall and stopped at the bar, not seeing her.

"Do you know where Levy went?" he asked Mira.

"She left soon after you flew off."

Lily continued kicking himself, whatever future events sure to come back and bite him in the butt. He took off, headed toward Natsu's.


"Come on," The celestial mage said to her short friend. "I'll walk you home."

"I don't want to go right now," Levy pouted.

"I know, but we need to get you home before Gajeel gets back."

"Who's to say he's even coming back today?" Levy asked, the question rhetorical. She had a feeling he would be back sometime today. The jobs were only supposed to take a few days anyway, from what he told her.

"Why did you choose the day he was coming back to leave the house?" Lucy asked, teasing her.

"I don't know! My brain isn't functioning right. I'm so screwed up right now, I don't know what's up and what's down."

"Pregnancy brain!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Eh?"

"I've read about it before. It's actually pretty common. But never mind the details. Let's get you home."

Levy was feeling a bit tired and just wanted to sleep where she was. Unfortunately, her blonde friend wouldn't let her stay much longer.


It'd been at least three hours since the train started moving, and the medicine was starting to wear off. He closed his eyes in an attempt to get some rest as he heard the door to his cart open.

"You better have a good reason for being here," he said, his eyes still closed.

He waited a few seconds, realizing he wasn't getting a response and opened his eyes to see a man with short white hair in a white suit, and a woman dressed in all red, with long, black hair, sitting in front of him. The woman was visibly superior to the male next to her.

"What the fuck do you want?" Gajeel snarled.

Oddly enough, he didn't sense any magical power from either of them, though he could tell they still had malicious intent. He wasn't one hundred percent sure he could take them both right now in the condition he was in, but he'd cross that bridge when he got there.

The woman smirked. "He sent us to take care of him? He can barely move!" She said to the man.

"Now, now, Jade," the man said. "There's a reason for everything. Obviously, there's something serious about this… this…" he gestured to the slayer. "Whatever this is."

"Go stop the train, Revan," she instructed.

The man stood and exited the cart, leaving the woman alone with Gajeel. It was then when he felt her power. That power, that felt so familiar, that struck fear in his guild members' hearts. His eyes widened a bit when he realized what kind of magic she used.

"I take it you are familiar with this magic?" Jade chuckled upon his realization, crossing her legs, then uncrossing them to try to distract him. She had to admit, he was damn good looking. She was a bit saddened that she was sent to kill him, but she'd regret it if she didn't have fun with him before she did.

"Zeref…" Gajeel said, his voice barely audible.

"Yes," the woman said, standing. "We share the same magic, therefore, we share the same curse."

She walked over to Gajeel's side of the cart, standing over him. She had on what looked like a sleeveless, leather leotard, with fishnet stockings, a red cape that almost touched the ground, a white ribbon tying her hair back to complete her look.

Her body was on full display, her large breasts barely covered by the leather. She sat next to him, resting her hand on his thigh.

"Tell me," she purred. "What do you know about Ankhseram Black Magic?"

"Get the fuck away from me," he spat, not wanting this thing to come any closer. He swatted her hand away and stood up, almost immediately doubling over from the motion sickness. The medicine had finally worn off.

"Oh?" Jade said. "What's this?"

The train suddenly stopped, and Gajeel's sickness went away, allowing him control of his body again. All that did was remind him how tired and sore he really was, unfortunately.

"You know," she started, walking toward him. "You're pretty hot. I wouldn't mind taking you for a spin."

"Sorry, I don't fuck filth," he shot her down, trying to exit his cart, only for her to create a large black orb in her hand.

"You can't leave just yet," she smirked. "Unless you want to kill everyone on this train."

Gajeel was stuck for the time being, until he could figure out a quick escape.

"Now," Jade walked over to him, dragging her fingertips across his chest, only to be stopped by Gajeel grabbing her wrist.

"I will fucking break it if you touch me again."

"Oh, I love a fighter," she whispered in his ear. "Too bad you could never beat me."

She was determined to seduce him, even though he was making it very hard for her to do so. She always got what she wanted.

The man in white came back to the cart, Gajeel no longer feeling her magic power. 'He must have some sort of spell or enchantment that masks allies' energy so they can't be sensed.' He thought to himself as he tossed the girl's wrist away.

"Jade," the man said.

"Revan?" She stared at the man.

"Must you try to sleep with every target?"

"I have to have this one," she licked her lips.

"Did you listen to anything Boss told us? He's mated."

"Ooh," the dark-haired woman squealed. "Even more fun."

"You're barking up the wrong tree, lady," Gajeel said, moving away from her.

"Just kill him and get it over with," Revan said.

Gajeel slipped into the shadows of his cart when they weren't paying attention, sliding out of the window. He barely had enough energy to do that, but he needed to get away from other people, fast. He remembered Zeref's Black Magic. It kills anything within its radius, and he didn't want innocent people to die because of him.

He took in his surroundings, not knowing where he was. He was still a few hours by train away from Magnolia, so his next thought was to find the next city and catch a train from there. As soon as he finished creating his game plan, he felt intense power getting closer and closer. He turned around to see a pitch black orb headed his direction, destroying everything in its path. He needed to get as far as possible from this woman, or he wasn't going to make it.