"LEVY!"
Gajeel woke with a start and hissed as the bright light blinded him. He squeezed his eyes shut and hid his head under his wing. He waited for the pounding in his head to slow before slowly lifting his neck. He looked around cautiously and fully opened his eyes once he became used to the light. He turned in a slow circle, seeing nothing but white in every direction. His heart raced again and his breath came in huge gasps.
Where am I? Levy, they took Levy. I need to find her. Where is she?
"Oh look! He's awake!"
"Calm yourself, young dragon."
Gajeel pivoted, his body tensing for a fight. He snarled at the figures in front of him, a barefooted woman dressed in a flowing gown with long, blonde hair and a man dressed in black, with the eyes and hair to match. The woman caught his glare and her green gaze sparkled.
"Good!" She clapped, turning to the man by her side. "This is going to be so much fun! Right, Zeref?"
"That is yet to be seen, Mavis."
"Who in blazes are you?" Gajeel roared, baring his teeth at the new threat.
"Oh I'm sorry, we never introduced ourselves, did we?" In the blink of an eye the woman moved to his snout. She patted his scales as if he were a newborn hatchling. "I am Mavis Vermillion, and that is my husband, Zeref…" The man gave a small wave. "We're here to help you!"
"W-where am I?" Gajeel stared at the woman in front of him, his mind frantically trying to catch up with what had just happened. He had died, right? He remembered the knights and the swords…
"No, you didn't die. But you almost did."
The woman...Mavis, stopped patting his snout and tisked at the man. "Zeref, that's not helping!" She stepped away and bounced on her toes. "Now to answer your question: You are in the world between worlds. Where those who die linger before moving on."
Gajeel reeled back, his claws scraping on...whatever he was standing on. "But...he just said I didn't die!"
"Well…" Mavis shrugged, hands fumbling in front of her, "technically no. But you are on the verge of death, mere minutes away. Your healer friend is helping keep you attached to the physical world."
Physical world. Dying. It was all just too much. He rubbed his head against his leg. "But...but I can't! I-I need to get back, Levy...I need to get to Levy!"
"Oh dear, please calm down! Everything will be fine, I promise."
He felt a cool hand rest on his neck. "But you said…"
"Mavis has a plan. She's very excited about it." The man stood next to them, his face completely blank.
"Oh Zeref, you're no fun." Mavis huffed, her cheeks puffing to twice their original size.
"Oi! Someone needs to tell me what's going on right now!"
"You want to go back, yes? You're not quite ready to pass on?" Mavis stared at him.
Gajeel gaped at her. "What? No, no I don't wanna die! I need to get to L-"
"Excellent!" Mavis clapped, startling both Gajeel and the man standing next to her. "Now just relax, this will be over in a jiffy!"
She smacked the man on the arm and the two of them laid their hands on Gajeel's leg. Their fingers began to glow. Gajeel stared as the glow traveled from their fingers to their hands and slowly inched up his leg.
"Hey, what're doin' to me?"
"Don't worry! We're sending you back. That body of yours won't make it for very long if we keep you here any longer, even with your friend helping."
"What's that supposed to mean!"
"We're giving you new magic, but you can turn back to your original body if you try hard enough. It will take some time to get used to your new form, but just keep practicing, ok?" Zeref gave him a stoic thumbs up and returned his hand to Gajeel's leg.
"Ehhh?" The light creeped up his scales, tingling as it went.
"Zeref, you're confusing the poor thing."
"I wanna know what's going on! Oi, answer me!"
"Sorry, dear...no time! But you'll do fine, I promise!"
His tail and back were beginning to glow. Gajeel stretched his neck, trying to avoid the creeping, tingling sensation.
"Don't you think we're giving him too much power? Magic in both forms?"
"It's all part of my strategy!"
"Should we send him off with some clothes on?"
"Zeref, you're so smart!"
Gajeel roared, the light finally reaching his head. "This doesn't make any sense!"
The white place and the two figures swirled and turned until his mind went blank.