Levy trembled against the stone wall, tears streaming down her face and shaking hands held against her mouth to hold back her cries. A scream rent the air, making her jump where she sat. Another cry tried to escape the confines of her hands, but she held it back, heart shattering at the sounds of agony coming from the other side of the window.
Gajeel screamed again and Levy lurched forward, dropping to her hands as her stomach heaved up the contents of her breakfast. She wiped her mouth, another scream making her cover her ears. She dropped her hands with a shake of her head and scurried backward to rest the wall.
She would not show weakness, she would stay, even if he couldn't see her. She would stay, enduring his pain with him. Torture that he was enduring for her. For her guild, for Fairies that he didn't even know. Another scream and she fisted her hair in her hands, screaming with him, not caring if anyone heard her.
"They're monsters, all of them!" She yelled, bending forward to rest her forehead on the ledge in front of her. She heard the sounds of the whip, the angry snarls of the scum of a guild master. But she didn't hear Gajeel.
She jerked her head up, flinching at every time she heard the whip hit flesh. But Gajeel didn't make a sound. She trapped her mouth under her hands and screamed his name.
Why can't I hear him!? By Mavis, WHY CAN'T I HEAR HIM!?
"Stupid, worthless animal." A loud clatter startled her. Dozens of footsteps retreated, muttered conversations that she had no interest in whatsoever. Doors slammed, but she still remained hidden.
Her body was poised and ready, her heart aching to fly down and see Gajeel, to put her hand on his cheek and tell him everything would be ok. But she couldn't be rash. It pained her to stay away, she had to be sure everyone had left. No one could see them escape.
The sun lowered itself to the horizon and she promised herself that she could move as soon as the shining orb reached the bottom of the trees. She waited in agony, watching the sun inch along slowly, ever so slowly until it finally reached its destination.
She launched herself off the ledge and into the room, flying straight to Gajeel's side. She covered a sob, her stomach heaving as she stared at his shredded back, unrecognizable from the blood pooling onto the ground. Taking huge gulps of air to calm her stomach, Levy reached out a trembling hand and gently stroked his cheek.
"Gajeel," she sobbed when his eyes didn't open. She felt the faint breath from his open mouth and thanked the mages that he was still alive.
"And let's keep him that way, Levy-Girl."
With a frown of determination, she wiped her tears with the back of her sleeve and got to work. Removing the leg irons was an easy task, but the chains attaching his arms to the walls required more thinking on her part. Forming the word TABLE, she placed it behind his back and set to work on the arm shackles. They broke off with a loud clank and she winced, freezing. No sounds came from the other ends of the house.
She lowered the TABLE and gently shifted Gajeel onto his stomach. Trusting in Makarov's advice, she made the word NULLIFY and set it over Gajeel's neck and wrist shackles. The sheen on the metal dulled and she breathed a sigh of relief. A few seconds of pick-locking removed the thick irons and Gajeel was finally free.
"Ok, Lev...what's next, whats next?"
Something to cover the wounds. Right.
She shrunk her body and darted down the stairs and to his cell. Growing big again, she grabbed the blanket draped on the bed, shaking the dirt off as much as she could. She stared at it for a second, weighing her options; better to cover the wounds with a dirty blanket or just leave them exposed.
Can't leave them exposed.
She shook her head, writing the word WATER to soak the blanket so it wouldn't stick to his back. She grabbed his coat to keep him warm and turned to leave the cell when a last thought crossed her mind.
Gajeel's book lay on the bed, its cover opened to the blue flower he had so carefully placed in the pages. With a small sigh she closed it gently and placed it in the satchel on her hip. She tiptoed quickly and quietly through the hall back to Gajeel's side, not wanting to alert any of the guild members.
She placed the wet blanket on his back, startling when he jerked at the contact. Brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, she lowered herself to look him in the face.
"Gajeel? Are you awake?" she whispered, staring at his flickering eyelids. She almost wept with relief when they finally opened and landed on her.
"Sh-shorty? Yer still here?"
Never before had she been so happy to hear the hated nickname. "Come on, I'm getting you out of here. Think you can stand?"
"I...can't. Hurts," he groaned and clawed the ground with his hand.
She stroked his hair, placing the coat over his back and pulling the hood to cover his head. "I know, by Mavis I know, but I need you to try. Please, for me." She hated how her voice broke. She wasn't strong enough, they were never going to make it back to the guild.
Stop thinking like that! If you don't do something now he'll die!
Growling at her tears, she helped Gajeel pull himself up to his knees. He tensed at every movement, his hands gripping hers until she could no longer feel her fingers. His head was obscured by the hood, but she could easily hear his moans of anguish.
"I know, I'm sorry, but it's the only way. Come on, you can do it."
Once he was high enough off the ground, Levy turned around and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She centered his body along her back, her legs shaking under his weight and her body almost bent on half.
His grasping voice brushed her ear. "Shorty, ya can't-"
"Yes I can, now hush...I'm not letting you stay here for another minute."
She carried him to the door, his legs dragging behind her. Opening the doors open, she took one quick glance around the empty road and stumbled down the stairs. Gajeel groaned and Levy whispered an apology.
"ROPE," she whispered, using the word to carefully shut the door. She wanted to give them as much time as she could, though she knew it wouldn't take the other mages long to figure out that Gajeel had escaped.
The thought helped her legs strengthen and she dragged her friend down the empty road. The moon was full, thank the mages, so Levy had little trouble navigating the path. After several minutes her legs began to burn and her breath came in large gasps. She turned her head, looking to see how much distance they had put between them and the guild.
"What?" she nearly collapsed when she saw that they had hardly covered 100 yards.
At this rate they'll catch us before we even get into town!
She looked around frantically, thinking of something, anything, to make him lighter.
Wind? No, too uncontrollable. Cart? Too much magic. Air? Air!
She adjusted her hold on Gajeel, using one trembling hand to write the words in front of her. The AIR wisped and twirled as she positioned it under Gajeel's waist. His body lifted and the weight on her shoulders instantly lightened. Not entirely, but just enough that his body was no longer crushing hers.
"Now let's get outta here." She held his arms tightly and jogged down the road.
It was only an hour's flight between Fairy Tail and the Phantom Lord guild hall. She had made the trip many times before, but not under the cover of darkness and not with a barely conscious Draak over her shoulders. It would take them nearly all night if they stayed on the path, even longer if they used the woods as cover.
She constantly looked at the trees while she ran, arguing with herself on which would be the wisest course of action.
We need to get there as quickly as possible. I can always move if I feel like we're being followed.
Her magic trickled through her body and into her Solid Script. Her legs grew weak and her arms shook from holding Gajeel's arms. A sharp pain formed on her side but she couldn't stop.
Head down, she focused on placing one foot in front of the other, never wavering, just running down, down the road to safety. She slowed to a walk when the strain on her legs was just too much, but the darkness grew thick and the moon's shadows crept toward them with their invisible arms. She broke into a run again, not allowing the nightmare to take Gajeel from her.
They ran through the night, sometimes jogging, sometimes feet barely moving at all. She never took a break, fearing that if she sat down she would never get up again. Her magic had depleted sometime after the moon had set and Gajeel's legs drug on the ground behind them. Sometimes she felt him move his feet in a weak attempt to help, but the effort would prove too much and she would feel his dead weight collapse onto her back once again. His coat and blanket had long since fallen off, giving Levy another reason to hurry.
The first rays of the morning sun were just beginning to peek over the trees when Levy lifted her head, bruised feet plodding along, and saw the bend in the road leading to her guild hall. With a cry of relief, she forced the last remnants of her magic into a new AIR word and ran down the path, around the corner and to the front of her home. With a final effort, she moved the word and threw it at the doors, making them burst open with a slam against the walls.
She heard everyone inside freeze, but she kept her focus on moving her feet one step at a time up the stairs. Her legs threatened to buckle, but she refused to fall. Not when she was so close, not when Gajeel was still moaning in pain. She made it up the stairs and stood at the threshold, quivering legs refusing to move any farther.
She lifted her head, blinking against the sweat running into her eyes. The sting helped her focus on her master, who stared at her knowingly from his usual spot on the countertop.
"M-Master? I need help…"
The sound of her voice broke everyone from their spell. The Fairies turned big, rushing to her in one massive wave.
"Levy! What in Mavis' name!?" Lucy yelled, but Levy was too focused on not falling onto her face to respond to her friend. Gajeel's weight lifted from her shoulders and she nearly collapsed, Lucy's body catching her from falling.
"Get him into the infirmary, now!" she heard Mira bark, the blonde already rushing up the stairs.
"Please be careful!" She threw herself out of Lucy's arms and stumbled after Laxus and Elfman who carried Gajeel. "He's hurt real bad!"
"We can see that! Lev...what happened?" Levy pulled against Cana's arm, intent on following the group. She stumbled and landed heavily against the railing, her head spinning and her vision growing fuzzy.
"Levy! You need to tell us what's going on!" Lucy ran to her side, but Levy shook off her arm.
"I don't know, I've never seen that thing before!" She stumbled up the stairs, hearing Mira's voice calling to someone in front of her. "It was like a whip, but with lots of string and metal. Cana! They whipped him with metal!" She stumbled against the open doorway, sobbing at the sight of Gajeel, bloody and beaten laying on the bed. His eyes cracked open for just a moment before closing again.
"Gajeel! Gajeel, don't worry, I'm right here!" She cried, trying to go to his side, but she couldn't escape the arms holding her back.
"Laxus! Bring me as much medical string as you can! Kinana, I need a needle, now! And lots of salve if we want to keep back the infection after I sew him up." Mira laid cloth after cloth on his back, the white cotton immediately staining red. Levy's stomach heaved, the cloths removing the blood and revealing gaping slashes all along Gajeel's body.
"Gajeel!" She cried again, lurching against her friends' hold.
Mira lifted her head, her hands already drenched in blood. "Get her out of here! We'll take care of him."
Lucy and Cana drug her from the room, her bare feet scraping the floor in an attempt to fight. "NO! No, I can't leave him, he needs me! Gajeel!" Her fingers grabbed the doorway, splinters embedding into her skin when she was forced away.
She sobbed down the hall, repeating his name over and over, hardly hearing the comforting sounds of her friends. The fight left her and her body floated to the ground. Cana and Lucy stroked her head, murmuring softly. She smelled their room, felt their warm embrace, and she cried and cried until her exhausted body succumbed to sleep.