Chapter 23

The meeting room was silent. The council sat there in pure silence, taking in the information they'd received with grim faces. Laxus was a traitor. Makarov kept his head lowered, too ashamed of his family's betrayal to look at anyone. Gajeel leaned against the wall behind his father, scowling as he, too, felt betrayed in the worst of ways. Metallicana inhaled deeply on his cigar as he waited for the rest of the men and women to come to terms with everything.

"So where do we go from here?" One of the council members spoke up. Metallicana exhaled, blowing smoke out of his nose as he locked eyes with each councilor.

"What do we do to traitors?" he asked rhetorically, which caused a rumble of murmurs to go through the room until he raised his hand to silence them. "Igneel, care to remind them what our laws are?" He asked of one of the eldest councilors. Igneel huffed a bit but obliged.

"Traitors are always punished by death. No exceptions." he reminded the group. "Even if it had been my brat, I would still follow the law."

"And what does Makarov think?" Gildarts questioned, having been silent the entire time. "This is his grandson. Surely he has some input." All eyes turned to a brooding Makarov, and Gajeel felt pity for the old man, being put on the spot like that.

"I am and have always been a loyal member of Fairy Tail. This is my home, and this is my family. I..." Makarov swallowed as if holding back tears. "I cannot ever look the other way on something like this, especially when the safety of my family is put on the line. Laxus has betrayed us and is... no longer a part of any family of mine." All was silent after his emotional speech, all eyes remained on the tearful Makarov. It wasn't until Metallicana let out another puff of smoke that the silence was broken.

"We have the law and we have Makarov's testimony. You all know what must be done." Metallicana spoke, his voice deep and full of authority. "It is never easy, having one of our own betray us, but we must do what is best for the family. I am ordering a search and destroy mission. Laxus will be found and dealt with, and then we will focus on Phantom Lord." The council could only voice their agreement, as there was really no grounds to object. Makarov simply sank further into his misery, and Gajeel made a mental note to introduce him to Levy. The old guy needed a bit of brightness in his life, especially after all this mess. "You are dismissed."

A few minutes later found Gajeel in his old man's office, along with Natsu. Metallicana stared at them for a few moments before letting out another sigh. "I've chosen you two to go after Laxus. We've tracked him to a warehouse on the outskirts of town. Apparently Phantom Lord would not take him in, seeing as he's been cut off from his funds."

"Is he by himself?" Natsu questioned. "Or does he have friends?"

"Scouts report that he's taken a hostage. Some girl he grabbed off the street. She's likely being used as insurance against police. Either that or ransom." Metallicana explained, showing them a picture of the warehouse and then a picture of Laxus standing next to a young woman with white hair. "If she sees you, you know our protocols. You, especially." He stared at his son sternly. Gajeel nodded. There'd been many instances like this, where a civilian saw him while he was working. They had two options. Join Fairy Tail, or die. Most chose the latter. There were a few that joined, but not many.

"When do we leave?" Gajeel asked.

"Two hours. Go prepare and say your goodbyes." Metallicana said, leaning back in his chair. "I want Laxus brought here alive, if possible. If not, make him suffer."

"Yes, boss." Natsu nodded. Gajeel just grunted in acknowledgement, standing up to leave.

"And boy." the don called as Gajeel reached the door. "Don't go leaving me without an heir." Gajeel just smirked and kept walking. That was the closest to a 'be careful' as he was going to get.

Gajeel was surprised to find that Levy wasn't in their room. Curious, he went searching for her. She was in the first place he checked, the kitchen. She and Lily were sitting at the counter on stools, chatting together. A bowl of sliced kiwis was between them, which they were sharing. Gray was at the stove, cooking something that smelled pretty good. Nobody noticed him when he walked in, which was actually a really bad thing. Someone could have easily killed or grabbed Levy this way. So Gajeel decided to prove his point.

As quietly as he could, he walked further into the kitchen. Levy giggled at some comment Gray made, Lily burst out laughing at it, and that's when Gajeel attacked. He grabbed her around the waist, a hand coming up to cover her mouth, and pulled her completely out of the kitchen before anyone had the chance to react. Levy started struggling rather quickly, but she stopped the instant she noticed the studs and scars on her captor's arm, which she knew only belonged to one man. Lily came bursting out of the kitchen, his dagger in hand, and Gray was quick to follow. They both had murder in their eyes, and they both stopped dead in their tracks at seeing just who had grabbed Levy.

Gajeel stood in the middle of the hall with his prize, who was no longer fighting but still trying to free her mouth from his hand. He smirked and held her firmly in place, silently telling her to be a good little hostage for him. Then he scowled at the two dumbfounded men. "I really expected more from you two. I could have been an assassin, and then what would have happened, hm?" They both immediately looked repentant and ashamed. "Never let your guard down, especially not around your charges."

"My deepest apologies. There is no excuse for this." Lily seemed the most distraught over this. Levy finally wiggled her mouth free and turned to pout at Gajeel.

"Gajeel, don't be so mean. We were just having a little bit of fun."

"He's not being mean, Levy. He's right." Gray told her, earning her attention. "We want to be your friends, yes, but most importantly we are supposed to be your guards. Gajeel could have been anyone, just now. If he'd been actually trying to abduct you, you'd be in some van right now, on your way to Mavis-knows-where." Her eyes widened at this and she looked down at the floor. They were right.

"I didn't want to scare ya, Lev. I just wanted to teach them a lesson." Gajeel sighed softly as he looked down at his girlfriend. "But you need to understand the importance of it, too. So, I'm really gonna kidnap ya." He smirked a bit and hoisted her over his shoulder.

"G-Gajeel, what-"

"Gihi, calm down, shrimp. I just need to talk to ya for a little bit." Gajeel chuckled as he carried her off, leaving a dumbfounded Gray and a confused Lily staring after them.

"Oof! Gajeel!" Levy pouted as she was gently dropped onto their bed. She frowned up at her grinning boyfriend, who was rather pleased with himself. Of course he would be, he got to grab her ass the entire way back to their room.

"Say my name again. Louder." He grinned suggestively, making her blush as memories of the other morning filled her head. She pouted and looked away in embarrassment.

"W-what did you need to talk about?"

"Right to business, eh?" Gajeel chuckled as he sat down on the bed next to her. "Listen, shrimp. I'm going to be gone for a day or two." This got her attention and she looked at him with worried eyes. "Lucy is probably going to come here and share a room with you."

"Is she bringing Kasai?" Levy perked up a bit.

"Yea." Gajeel nodded. "Levy, I need you to stay safe for me. Don't go near windows, don't distract Gray or Lily."

"O-okay. Is something going to happen?" Levy asked worriedly.

"Nothing should happen, but I want to make sure you're safe while I'm gone. I can't protect you if I'm not here." He sighed softly. He reached into a pocket on the inside of his suit and pulled out an object that looked like a bulky pistol. Levy looked at it curiously, it didn't look like any gun she'd ever seen. "It's a taser gun, Lev. I know real guns still scare you, but I still want you to have some way to protect yourself." Gajeel told her as he held the weapon out to her. "It's got one shot, but it'll put a man my size on the ground. Aim for the chest or back. Shouldn't kill them, but should be enough to disable them until help arrives."

"Gajeel... that's... actually sweet of you." Levy said with awe. He put a lot of thought into making it so that she could protect herself without having to potentially kill anyone. Gajeel smiled at her.

"I told ya, shrimp. If I get my way, you won't ever have to be in a position where you would kill someone. That's my job." He sighed and shook his head. "I just feel on edge when I have to leave you on your own. If you have this, it will put my mind at ease, at least a little bit. Promise me you'll keep this on you?"

"I promise." Levy nodded, sitting up and planting a light kiss to his cheek. "Thank you, Gajeel." He grinned and caught her face in his hands, giving her a deep kiss that made her blush again. He chuckled at her cute blush, and then stood up from the bed.

"I have to go, Levy. Stay safe for me." His voice was so sincere that Levy could only nod and look at him with soft eyes. He really cared for her, really wanted to keep her safe. Gajeel leaned down and placed a kiss on her temple. "Love you, shrimp."

"I love you, too, Gajeel." Levy smiled softly at him. He smiled back, then walked away. He frowned deeply as he left the room, his mind turning to his job. How on earth was he going to kill his childhood friend? He was going to have to, or else Levy would continue to be in danger. He steeled his resolve. Laxus would die a thousand times over if it meant Levy would stay safe. And then... then he would go after Phantom Lord. Nobody, and he meant nobody, targets his girl and lives to tell the tale.

I'm sorry it's been a while, guys! Also sorry that this chapter seemed a little bit jumpy or scattered. Idk I just needed to use this to move the story along. Don't hate me D:.

Anyways, please tell me what you think. And wish me well for finals! Gosh, I'm freaking out about them!

Thanks for reading.

Ja, Matta!

-Everythingnerd12