Chapter 33

Anger was not nearly a strong enough word... nor was livid... no, Gajeel was furious, royally pissed, and ready to kill anyone in his way. It took five men to hold him back from running off after Phantom Lord alone. His own father had to knock him out so he wouldn't go and get himself killed by facing Phantom Lord alone.

And just why was Gajeel so livid?

Because Phantom Lord took Levy...

Oh, Gajeel was going to kill every last one of those sons of bitches! Nobody touched his shrimp and got away with it! Nobody!

"Boy, think rationally about this." The don growled as his son paced in his office. It seemed to be the only room left standing after Phantom Lord's attack. The front of the mansion was nothing but rubble, having been destroyed by several well placed sticks of dynamite. Most of the rooms had been searched and ransacked. There were bodies of Fairy Tail guards here and there but, thankfully, there weren't too many of their own dead. Fairy Tail had not been expecting such a large frontal assault. The Don was furious, of course, just like Gajeel... but he was also filled with guilt. If he had fortified the mansion, bulked up the guard, maybe the frontal assault would have failed. There would not have been as many fatalities, and his future daughter-in-law and two of his beloved members would not have been abducted. "Rushing in blind is only going to get you killed, boy! And where would that leave Levy? You wouldn't even make it to where she is, let alone rescue her, and you know how devastated she would be if anything happened to you."

"I know!" Gajeel growled. "I know..." He gave a heavy, angry sigh as he tried to calm down. He sat down in a chair and put his arms on his knees, taking deep breaths before looking up at his father. His head was clearer, despite his persisting anger. But his father was right. If he was going to rescue his girl, he had to think rationally. "This is an act of war, you know..."

"Indeed." Metallicana huffed, relieved that his son seemed to be thinking straight now. "And one I will not stand for."

"What's your plan, old man?" Gajeel asked, to which the Don gave a smirk.

"We retaliate, of course."

Levy sat up with a groan, clutching her aching head. She whimpered as a wave of pain an nausea came over her. Opening her eyes, she realized her left one was swollen almost shut from the punch that man had given her. She looked around, finding herself in some sort of prison cell. Lucy and Juvia were in the same cell with her, both still unconscious. She hurried over to them to check on them, her eyes filling with tears as she saw bruises on both girls' faces. Lucy, it seemed, had the largest, having taken the most of that man's anger on herself.

Slowly, the girls began to wake, Juvia first, then Lucy. They all embraced upon seeing everyone was alright, despite the bruises. Levy, especially, as she knew what being asleep on a concussion could do to you. Just in case, Levy gave both girls concussion tests and had them do the same to her. Thankfully, none of them seemed to have a concussion, or at least nothing serious. The worst they had were the bruises, and Levy was grateful that was all they had.

"Well, well, well. It seems the beauties have awoken from their beauty sleep." a dark voice suddenly came, making all girls turn to the cell door. A man stood there, wearing a white cloak with a black shirt underneath and crimson leather pants. His reddish-brown hair was wild and untamed, and he had a scar over one eye. He grinned at the girls, and Levy shrank back at the evil look on his face. "Welcome to Phantom Lord, ladies. The name's Cobra. Yer gonna have to come with me, now. The boss wants to see ya. And don't try anything funny, or this will get real painful real fast." he chuckled as he unlocked the cell.

Minutes later found the girls upstairs, in Phantom Lord's main hall. There were screams and cheers as they were presented before the entirety of the guild as their captives. Cobra and some other men pushed the girls up onto a large stage in the center of the main hall, where a large man was waiting, arms crossed and a deep scowl on his face. He was huge, tall and very muscular. He had shoulder-length white hair, and weird line tattoos all over his face. Levy couldn't help but shrink back from his gaze as he looked each woman over with a scrutinizing glare. Then he turned the glare over to Cobra, who was now joined with a man Levy recognized as the leader from the group that attacked the mansion.

"I told you I wanted the McGarden girl. You bring me three women instead?" his deep voice questioned. The man next to Cobra shook with fear a bit before speaking.

"M-Master, the blonde is a gift. She is to be given to Jude Heartfilia in return for his aid."

"And the other two?"

"One is the McGarden girl... but we do not know which one." the man answered timidly. The large man, who was clearly the new guild master, motioned the other man to come closer. When he did, the master grabbed him and threw him clear across the hall. He landed heavily on a table, the force causing the wood to break.

"I gave you a job, worm. I expected you to know what you were doing. You failed." The master snarled at the barely conscious man. Then he addressed the remainder of the guild. "Make him regret the day he was born." His words led to a riot as several men gathered around the broken man and began to attack him. Levy watched in horror. How could they do that to someone who was supposedly family? It was horrible! But she didn't have time to dwell on it, as the master turned back to the girls with that scrutinizing glare of his. He grabbed Lucy, who cried out in pain at his harsh grip, and he tossed her like a ragdoll in Cobra's direction. "Put her back in a cell until Jude Heartfilia is contacted."

"Yer the boss, Brain." Cobra nodded and dragged Lucy away, leaving just Levy and Juvia standing before the man. He glared at them, looking between both women for a long minute before speaking.

"Which one of you is the McGarden girl?" he demanded. "Speak, or your friend will no longer be a bargaining chip with the Heartfilia family. She'll be too... broken, for a trade off." Both girls gasped in horror at his implications. Levy's eyes filled with tears. She was about to admit that she was who he wanted, but Juvia stepped in front of her protectively, holding up the dragon necklace she'd taken from Levy earlier.

"I am Levy McGarden. Leave my friends alone. Please, I beg of you." Juvia said with surprising determination. The man, who apparently went by Brain, stared at her for a long moment. Then he backhanded her. Juvia cried out as she fell to the ground.

"Let that be a lesson. Never, ever lie to me." he growled at her. Levy's eyes went wide at this. He knew Juvia was lying? "Stupid woman. I know exactly which woman I am looking for. That was merely your chance to lessen your own pain." he turned those cold eyes to Levy, who was positively shaking with fear now. "Unlike the fool who captured you, I know what Levy McGarden looks like." he grabbed Levy's arm roughly, and she whimpered against the pain of his grip. "So, little McGarden girl, allow me to welcome you to Phantom Lord. My name is Brain. I'm your uncle."

I'm so sorry it's been so long! Omg, I have had one hell of a month and a half. Almost 2 months now, I guess. I don't want to go too deep into the details but basically I moved into an apartment, got illegally kicked out of said apartment, lost a friend from all of it, moved into a dorm, and have been struggling getting everything together for class and stuff, which started last week. In other words... one hell of a time. Needless to say, I haven't had any time to update. I'm so sorry!

But things will be better now! Hopefully! I will have more time to write, anyways, but all this stress has really killed off my inspiration for the moment. But hopefully I will get that back! XD

Anyways, thanks for reading. Sorry for the short, choppy chapter and the cliffhanger!

-Everythingnerd12