Hey again lovely readers! I'm sorry for my complete inability to balance everything in my life that made this update so...late. I hope you're still excited for this chapter, because it's gonna be a kicker. ;3

I have another book out too! I'll put the whole description in my profile, but The Girl Gingerbread in the Woods of Winter White is available as an ebook on the kindle store and I would love it if y'all would give this fantasy novella filled with magic and stubborn girls a chance.

Also, I'm putting an alarm in my phone to update next week. These gaps are getting too crazy... Love you all!

Sixteen: The Truth Always Demands Attention in the End

Leave it to Shorty to ask the important questions.

Gajeel's nearest eye swung to the sleeping woman now sprawled over his arm like some kind of ungainly pixie that had tripped and knocked herself out. Her mouth was open, and her easy breathing sounded loud against the rocks, but not loud enough he'd call it snoring. Course, that wasn't going to stop him when she woke up later.

The dragon himself knew better than to even try and sleep. Acnologia's name rang loud in his head, crowding outGajeel's thoughts. He'd get no rest and a slew of new nightmares if he closed his eyes and, quite frankly, he was sick and tired of them. So he kept his eyes open.

Anyone else woulda asked who the traitor was, or what he wanted maybe, but not Shorty, he kept thinking as he stared with half-lidded eyes at the scrap pile across from his nest. She wants to know what it was that cracked his head in the first place.

And with all these memories floating around his head – his old man, Acnologia, the disastrous consequences that came back to tear chunks out of all three of them after the war with the Western dragons ended – Gajeel had almost answered her. But one look at her hand had killed that urge dead. Because if he told her it was dragon's blood, he knew it'd only be a matter of time before she realized he had already exposed her to it as well, in the magic seal she'd so stubbornly tried to force her way through. Not nearly enough to warp her mind like Acnologia – not even close – but it was still there, in her blood now, and there wasn't any way to get it out again.

And she'd be mad – not that I'd blame her or anything – I'm just...tired of fighting with her is all. And it's not like it'll kill her now or anything. Shouldn't even mess with her hand anymore...

It had the quasi-guilty feel of an excuse about it, so Gajeel didn't examine the thought too closely, just let the almost-snoring wizard sleep and tried to think about anything except the dragon slayer that had all but single-handedly done what a whole army couldn't.

He smelled Lily before he heard him. The Exceed's scent carried ahead of him as late-autumn air blasted down the corridor ahead of him. Gajeel raised his head, listening to Lily's approach, and realized there probably wouldn't be any more afternoon flights with Levy for awhile.

Shame, he thought with a sigh through his nose, she was gettin' used to it too. Didn't hurl once.

His pride turned to panic when Gajeel realized Lily was still coming closer. He wasn't going to his room or the kitchen or to clean himself up like he usually did first thing when he got back. He was coming here! Practically at a run.

Gajeel looked from the entrance to Levy, back to the sound of Lily's steps, brain frozen. Oh man, what did he do? If Lily found her down here, curled up against him like some kind of pet, he was gonna freak! Of course Gajeel knew she wasn't, and she was just cold, although that wouldn't last long the way he was starting to heat up like a steam engine without a release valve and stop panicking stupid and think! Think!

He got his wing out from under her small weight and stretched over her like a tent before a groggy Levy could mumble anything more than, "Huh-wha...?"

"Sh!" he hushed her just before Lily rounded the scrap heap blocking them from view. His hurried stride stuttered when he saw Gajeel watching him.

"You're awake." He sounded astonished by the fact.

Gajeel snorted, rolling his eyes to the top of one of his pillars and hoped Lily didn't see the nervous fire creeping through the cracks between his scales, as telling as human sweat trickling down the back of a neck. "Bad night," he told the black cat honestly.

Lily didn't ask any questions. His expression turned dark. "Yes, well, don't expect today to be any better."

The dragon stiffened, almost distracted from the little movements against his arm as Levy slowly came awake. "You found them?" he rumbled low in his chest, hoping she wasn't quite conscious yet.

"Only stories and some bits of aftermath, but that's not what I meant. Is Levy still asleep?"

He pulled his head back, small clouds of smoke escaping Gajeel's nostrils at the sudden change in conversation. "I-" She'd gone still under his wing at the sound of her name. Levy was awake and listening. "She usually is at this hour, why?" Gajeel said instead. "What's anything got to do with her?"

Panther Lily's glowing eyes hardened, and his long tail swung from side to side. Gajeel had fought with Lily long enough to recognize when he was setting himself for battle, but there was something else there, in the slight back sweep of his ears. Disappointment...in himself?

Orange eyes fixed onto red. "I don't know how she did it Gajeel, but Levy got a message out. Two of her friends were asking about her in Oak Town when I arrived yesterday."

The dragon felt Lily's words like a physical blow against his chest. Distantly he was aware of the woman herself frozen against his side, holding her breath. "What?" he managed to whisper.

Lily nodded. His paws were small fists at his sides, dark ends against the arms of his white coat. "There's more," he said, and Gajeel knew 'more' meant 'worse'. "Makarov sent them."

Gajeel stopped breathing. The memories that had haunted him all night played in vivid color behind his eyes, inescapable. He could hear his own voice screaming, "How could you turn on them? On me?"

And that blasted smile, like Gajeel was just an infant that would eventually understand. "How could I not? For all your armor, Metalicana brought you up soft, Gajeel. I am exactly what they set out to create. What's the difference between our dragons and Alverez's when this is how they repay humanity?"

Gajeel blinked away the distorted arm, the onyx scales matte black against the blue of his tattoos. Lily was watching him worriedly. He'd asked a question, hadn't he?

The dragon couldn't remember. "H-how?" Focus. "How does she even know the old man?"

"He's my godfather."

Levy's small voice surprised Gajeel as well as Lily. He really needed to screw his head back on.

Gajeel ignored Lily's silent question as he pulled his wing back. Levy stood beneath the shield. Her face was hard to read – there were too many flickers of half-spun emotions all twisted together for Gajeel to get a good read on her. From the look on his face, Lily was too stunned to try. He stared at Levy with his mouth open, then Gajeel, then Levy again. The next time he looked at his partner, his whiskers were stiff with fury.

But they had bigger problems right now, and he wisely kept his thoughts to himself.

"Makarov Dryer is your godfather," Gajeel repeated, half hoping she'd blink at him and ask who's Makarov Dryer? I meant Makarov Jorgenstern, my village grocer.

Levy nodded.

Gajeel stared at her. How could you?

How could I not?

Fear boiled into ferocity deep in his gut. It grew, flooding his chest like one of Juvia's spring floods, wiping out everything else. Heat waves started to simmer off his scales and Levy quickly scrambled away from him to keep from getting scalded.

"You...sold me out to Makarov Dryer?"

She scowled at him and he ignored the wet shine to her eyes. What did her guilty conscience matter now? "I didn't sell you out to anybody!" Levy shouted. "I sent a message to my mentor because you were holding me hostage!"

Mentor. Librarian. What was his name? Freed.

"I didn't know he'd go to the Master for help. I haven't spoken to either of them since I ran away from home two years ago." She tried to defend herself.

Master? "How d'you even know the old man any- Wait." Ran away. Master Makarov.

The truth slid down his throat like bitter medicine. "You're that stupid Fable princess! The one that was kidnapped or vanished-"

Levy lifted her chin. "I left because I wanted to!"

"Like that matters now!" He snapped his head to her so abruptly, Levy almost tripped over her own feet to put some distance between them.

She regained her balance quick enough. "Of course it matters!" she screamed up at him. "Gajeel, what did you expect me to do? Sit around and just accept that I'll never see the sun again unless you take me outside? I ran away from that life once and I won't go back to it, no matter who it is keeping me locked up!"

"You're not-" he started to say.

"I'm your prisoner!" Levy shrieked. Tears cut tracks down the side of her cheeks and she ignored them. "No matter how much you wish I wasn't," she added.

Gajeel couldn't think of anything to say to that. She was right. Scrap and slag heaps, even Lily was right. Sorta. Somehow Gajeel had started to convince himself that this – that they – that everything was somehow...all right between them.

Idiot.

Levy crossed her arms tight over her stomach and shuffled around, then buried her face in her hands and muttered something. Gajeel thought he made out the words 'messed up' and felt another knot tighten his chest as he silently agreed.

The three of them stood silently for a long stretch, Levy keeping a guilty distance from both him and Lily.

Lily of course, was the one to return them to reason. "There are...other matters we need to discuss. Levy, what did you tell them? Do they know Gajeel is down here?"

Levy scrubbed her face with her hands before straightening up, her expression locked up tight. She must not have seen any point in holding back because she told them, "I sent a coded message to Freed saying I needed help and he should send it as quietly as possible. If he and Master Makarov do know a dragon is down here..." She swallowed hard, eyes flicking between the two of them before she looked down at the ground. "They didn't hear it from me."

Lily outwardly relaxed, but Gajeel couldn't even flex his tail. "That's something, anyway. And it explains why he only sent two of his wizards. They're not sure what to expect," Lily murmured, one paw holding his chin in thought. Gajeel let him handle the thinking. He was finding it hard to care right now. "Do you think they will move on eventually? Or follow you up here?" the cat asked.

"Who was it?"

Gajeel listened with half an ear as Lily described the two men – some kind of skinny loud mouth and a fat buffoon with dirt in little satchels strapped across his chest – and Levy teared up and pressed her clasped hands over her watery smile.

"Jet!" she mumbled with a wet laugh. "Droy!" She squeezed her eyes shut and Gajeel saw her bite her lip to keep it from quivering. "I- I wasn't sure it would be them." She bit her lip again, tears running free from her eyes.

"Levy," Lily pressed her gently.

"Um..." She wiped her nose on her shirt sleeve. "We've been best friends since we were kids. They won't ever stop looking for me. I wouldn't, if it were one of them. I left them a note, but I guess they didn't get it."

"It sounded to me more like they didn't want to believe it," Lily told her.

Levy put her fingers against her mouth, more somber now, and nodded, as if she had worried that might happen.

Gajeel was still too furious to care if his words broke her heart. "How do we get rid of them?"

She didn't jump or startle at the question, didn't ask if he meant for the moment or forever, just squeezed her eyes shut and gripped her arms tight with her opposite hands, holding herself together.

"I can go and lay a false trail," Lily said, shooting Gajeel a dirty look. He wasn't oblivious to the pair of them, but unlike him, the Exceed was too well grounded to let his feelings get in the way. "Lead them away before doubling back. I've done it before," he said to Levy.

But she was already shaking her head. "It won't work. They'll catch up to you. He may not look it, but Jet is impossible to outrun."

She didn't explain what that meant exactly, and Gajeel saw Lily's eyes narrow. "I take it you have another suggestion?"

Levy looked down at her feet, nodding without meeting their eyes, and Gajeel felt the string of knots in his chest twist around itself and start tying doubles and triples.

"Let me go talk to them. If they see I'm all right, I can convince them to leave."

He tasted the fumes before the black smoke billowed out of the spaces between his teeth. "Wow. Give us a backhoe next time you bury the lead that deep."

She had the gall to look confused.

He clenched his jaw so hard one fang cut clean into his lip. "Don't look at me like that, runt," he hissed at her. "You mean to tell me this is all coincidence? That the...infamous Makarov Dryer sent your fumbling childhood buddies to fetch you outta the cracks, friends who are so blindly loyal that the only way to get rid of 'em is to let 'em see you in person. Tch." His rivets started to glow with heat. "What's yer backup? Ya gonna blink morse code at 'em over the table? Tap it under the table and pretend it's footsie?"

"Stop it!" she cracked.

"I'm just warmin' up-"

"Gajeel!"

Lily's shout cracked through the red cloud curling through his mind, dispelling enough pieces that Gajeel felt leaden beneath it. "Well fine, yer lil scheme worked. Tell whoever ya want. I don't care, as long as it gets me rid'a you. Now get out," he snarled.

"Gajeel-"

"OUT!"

Levy jerked. Even Lily startled. The little pest drew herself up in indignation, her lower lip quivering even as she stared him down from her unimpressive height. For a second he thought the little fool would actually argue to stay, but she must have realized the sheer stupidity of that because she spun on her heel and stalked off, leaving him and Lily alone in the dark.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there fuming – one minute, one hour, what did it matter at this point? – but eventually he realized Lily was eyeing him nervously.

"What?" he snapped, a sound like water hitting embers hissing out after it.

Lily flexed his fingers into his palm one after the other. "Are you...certain that was wise?" he asked slowly.

Gajeel snorted, more black smoke shooting out of the fire bubbling up his throat and into the air. "No," he admitted, "and I'm tired of caring about the smart thing to do Lil'. Not like it matters at this point," he growled. "We ain't exactly livin' down here."

"Acnologia never liked loose ends, Gajeel. He will kill you."

Gajeel rounded on him. "Then he'd better hurry up and finish the dang job," he hissed. "I'm tired of this Lily – hiding all the time, skulking around in the dark, only gettin' out when it's cloudy. It's not like he would ever say, 'Well I guess he got away' and let us be, so why're we even down here Lily?!"

It was the most he'd spoken at once in decades. Maybe that's why he was breathing so hard. Lily watched him without facing him, and Gajeel wondered how long the cat would wait before going after Levy.

Apparently long enough to answer him. "Because Acnologia doesn't care who else he hurts as long as he gets to you. And you have to, or you'll end up as- as inhuman as he is."

Lily walked away, leaving Gajeel stewing in his roiling emotions.

"You forgot somethin', cat," Gajeel bellowed after him. "I ain't human now!"

. . .

The way out hid behind the water pump. All that time, all but killing myself trying to get out, and it was right there. Three feet away from where I ate breakfast every morning.

Levy stared at the mechanism, dazedly wondering why she'd never thought to try something so simple as pushing the lever up instead of down. Lily locked it in place, higher than what pumping water required, and with a small scraping sound a stone swung free from the wall behind it.

No sealing spells, no glamours, Levy realized. No wonder I missed it. I didn't even think to look for simple mechanics.

She would have stood there staring at the water slowly dripping from the pump nozzle all day if Lily hadn't snapped her out of it. "Levy? Is something wrong?"

Yes, she almost said, but blinked at the absurdity. "What could be wrong? I'm finally free," she reminded herself as much as Lily.

Even knowing the threat she posed them, Lily managed a smile for her before his dark figure disappeared into the space behind the secret door. "Careful with your steps. These first few are slippery."

Levy nodded and hoisted her supply pack onto her shoulders. She hadn't packed so much as thrown everything she could lay her hands on into her bag and then cried for twenty minutes before she managed to stop herself. What's wrong with me? she kept asking herself. This is what I wanted!

It was...and it wasn't.

Stop it. She made a fist until her nails left crescents in her palm. Just stop it. This isn't some big life-the-universe-and-everything question. It's stupidly simple. Leave.

She followed Lily in silence, focusing on the steep steps. They reached straight down into the mountain, tight switchbacks creating a short cut through the stone. It had taken Levy two and a half days of rock climbing to get to the top, but she thought it only took them a handful of hours to reach the base of the stairs.

Lily pulled a lever and unlocked another disguised door. Wintery sunlight trickled inside, weakened by clouds and cold. Levy's eyes still watered at the brightness of it. When her eyes didn't sting so much, she followed Lily outside and found herself overlooking the foothills of the mountain range, rolling and soft compared to the crags she remembered scaling.

"The path down is just there." Lily pointed off to one side. "It should get you to the flatlands by this afternoon. Are you sure you won't take anything to eat?" he asked again.

Levy nodded, trying to smile. "I'm only going back to Oak Town," she reminded him, not about to take anything more from them now that she felt she'd dreamed she'd stabbed them in the back only to wake up and find the bloodied knife still in her hand. "I'll be fine once I get there."

Panther Lily nodded, but didn't quite meet her eyes. "What will you tell them?" he finally asked.

She'd wondered that same thing all the way down the narrow stairs. "I don't know," Levy whispered. "But, whatever it is, I'll be careful. I promise."

Lily sagged in relief even as guilt made his ears droop. "Thank you Levy. I know we have no right to ask-"

She hugged him, cutting off whatever else he might have said. Levy might not understand most of what she felt about the dragon, but Lily had always done more than he needed to to help her. "You're a good friend, Lil'."

He didn't say anything – maybe he didn't feel like a friend, or maybe he was just going to miss her like Levy knew she would miss him. She didn't ask as Lily returned her hug and patted her arm when she put him back down.

"You...take care of yourself, Levy," he told her when he stood on his feet again.

Levy nodded, knowing this was the part where she had to say goodbye. But the word jammed in her throat and she couldn't unstick it, so Levy settled her pack again and turned around without saying anything.

. . .

The sun had disappeared half an hour ago and the street lights had all winked on not long before. There was still some spook in the air from that ghost guiding festival they still celebrated in these little nowhere towns and it left Droy unsettled.

Jet was unsettled for an entirely different reason.

"This isn't a trick question, pal. Have you seen this girl or not?"

The little man that ran the town's only inn didn't like his tone or the drawing being shoved under his button nose, if the dark look he shot Jet was anything to go by. Jet snorted. He'd have to do better to even make it in the top twenty most scathing.

"She probably only stayed a night or two," Droy spoke up behind him, sounding worried under his reasonable tone. "Just one room, no companions."

"That we know of," Jet grumbled, still not convinced Levy hadn't been taken.

Droy elbowed him in the back and Jet shut up with a scowl. "Lots of books," he told the innkeeper.

"Lots and lots of books," Jet added.

The little man looked between their faces before his eyes flicked to another customer behind them. Jet felt his temper start to boil. He wasn't going to help them. They'd been at this the last two days and no one had helped them. Not one whit.

Stupid self-absorbed townies, Jet thought, his teeth clenched in frustration. It's like they're all blind! I bet they've had more bigfoot sightings then glimpses of Levy. It's like she just vanished right off the face of Earth-Land!

The thought stabbed deep into his chest. Droy's right. This is hopeless...

"Blue hair? Kinda small?" the innkeeper asked.

Jet's head snapped up and he heard Droy make a strangled gurgling sound. The little man jumped when Jet brought his hands down hard on the counter between them, leaning in and invading his personal space with sudden exuberance.

"You have seen her!"

The little man nodded, looking concerned. He opened his mouth just as Jet and Droy demanded at once:

"When?"

"Where!"

His eyes flicked between them again, mouth still open as he backed up against the key rack behind him, jangling the dozen or so room keys hanging on their hooks. "J-j-just now," he stuttered out, "and there."

He pointed behind them, and every one of Jet's internal organs shrank to two-thirds their normal size. His breath hitched as his stomach dropped out the bottom of his boots, sure this was another mistaken identity and hoping with all his might it wasn't. It took so much effort just to turn around...

Levy stood behind them, watching them with teary eyes. Her skin was paler than Jet remembered, although her face was sunburned pink, and she'd cut off practically all her hair. Her clothes were dirt-stained and secondhand, and she wore boots instead of heels, making her a full two inches shorter. But it was her. It was Levy.

Droy must not have felt convinced though, because he reached out and pinched her arm.

"Youch!" She jumped, whatever was in her pack rattling around, and glowered at the large man. "What'd you do that for Droy? That hurt!"

She rubbed where he'd pinched her, pouting with a small, "Ow..." and Jet felt the smile break onto his face like cracks in a mask. It was her. She was here! A fake could never copy the mannerisms she'd had since they were kids, and he didn't think ghosts said ow.

Jet looked at Droy and saw him thinking the same thing.

"What?" she asked uncertainly. "What is it?" Levy reached up and felt the flyaway ends of her short hair. "It's the hair isn't it? I know it takes some getting used to-mf!"

"Levy!"

They surrounded her, turning her into a very startled Levy sandwich. Droy babbled while Jet held onto her as tight as he could. "You're here! It's you and you're here!" Droy kept saying, and it wasn't long before he was blubbering into the top of Levy's head.

"Pull yourself together, man. You're embarrassing us," Jet tried to tell him, but his face was wet too and for the first time since he was a kid, he didn't care.

Levy breathed out a laugh at the pair of them and Jet was overly conscience of her hand gripping his shirt. He saw she had a grip on one of Droy's bandoliers with the other. "You guys," she squeaked out, her voice wet too. "I never thought I'd get to see you again. You have no idea how much I missed you guys."

Jet felt the air leave his chest in something that could have been a laugh. He shared a look with Droy over her head and knew he was thinking the same thing. Seven hundred and forty-one. Seven hundred and forty-one nights, mornings, and every miserable hour in between where they hadn't known if Levy was all right or if she was in trouble and needed their help.

"I think we got a pretty good idea, Levs," he told her, refusing to let go in case this wasn't real. "Make that a really good idea."