Chapter 35

Gajeel glared at Phantom Lord's base through the binoculars. Levy was in there, somewhere, probably terrified out of her mind. She was so close, yet so far. There was a lot of work to do before she would be in his arms again. She'd better be unharmed, or Gajeel swore he'd make whoever harmed her beg for death.

"Boss, it's time." Natsu pulled Gajeel from his thoughts. Gajeel looked to the usually cheery man, finding only anger and determination filling his eyes. Natsu was in the same boat as Gajeel, as his wife had been taken. Gray, too, was unusually silent in the absence of his wife. He stood behind Natsu, arms crossed and an icy glare in his eyes aimed at Phantom Lord's base. Usually Gajeel would never take these two on a stealth mission. They were too loud, too reckless. But, given the circumstances, he couldn't tell them no. They wanted their wives back. They wanted vengeance. Who was he to refuse them? Besides, this time... their loud and reckless behavior would come in handy.

Gajeel looked over the two men, and then glanced back at his father, who stood in front of what appeared to be an army of Fairy Tail members. They were just outside of Oak Town, and they were ready for the war of a lifetime. His father nodded to him, and he nodded back.

"Let's go get our women." Gajeel said to Natsu and Gray. "Move out."

Levy glared at the door of her "room." Cobra had thrown her into a large, fancy room with a four poster bed, declaring it a 'room fit for a princess such as yourself.' He'd closed and locked the door before she could question what he meant by that. She'd been alone in here since then. A couple of hours, at least.

She sighed and looked around the room again. It really was a nice room. She'd love it if it wasn't her prison. But she was looking for something. A way out, any way out. She'd tried the door. Locked, of course, but she was relieved to know there was no guard. Just in case. A guard would have said something about her trying to escape. She eyed the room with scrutiny. There was a draft, so there must be a vent somewhere. She checked behind furniture, even behind the bed. She was on the verge of giving up when she looked above the bed. There, hidden by the bed's large frame... an air vent. Just large enough she could squeeze through. But she had to get up there first. Still, she grinned a very Gajeel-like grin... and then she set to work.

"Go." Gajeel whispered out the order as they hurried through the lower levels of Phantom Lord's mansion. They'd been lucky enough to find the basement door unlocked and unguarded. Phantom Lord was clearly expecting a full frontal assault, rather than an infiltration team. They came across a few random members, and took them out silently. They never knew what hit them. Gajeel made sure their bodies were hidden from sight before moving on.

"Lucy!" Natsu's voice came in a loud whisper. Gajeel looked up to find the man hurrying over to a row of cells, where the battered Lucy and Juvia were being held. Both women pressed against the cell's bars, reaching out for their husbands as they hurried over to them. Gajeel instantly noticed one woman missing, and he rushed over, as well. He saw that Juvia was wearing Levy's necklace, and his eyes hardened.

"Where's Levy?" he demanded as Natsu went in search of keys. Lucy gave him a sad look as Juvia began to cry.

"They took her. Juvia tried to convince them she was Levy, but their leader, he did not believe Juvia." she explained with a quiet sob. "They took her somewhere on the other side of the building."

"What else can you tell us, Juvia? What's the leader look like, how many people did you see?" Gray asked. Juvia gave over the details as Gajeel tried to process this. He'd been hoping, praying even, that Levy would have been with the other girls. Now he learns she's been separated from them. She was alone, vulnerable, and likely terrified, and Gajeel was going to kill the bastard who put her in that position.

"Almoosssst... got it!" Levy exclaimed in relief as she pulled herself up and into the vent. She took a moment to catch her breath as she sat in the dark vent, rubbing her arms as she did. She'd seen Gajeel work out, doing several chin-ups at once. She had no idea how he did it. Just one was hard on her. Oh, and now the image of her personal eye candy, topless and doing chin-ups all day long was in her head. She blushed a bit, and then sighed. She missed him. Her eyes filled with determination and she started to crawl through the narrow air vents. She would get back to him, no matter what.

"Boss, the first wave is comin." Natsu said as they hurried through the empty halls. They all hid inside a room, Natsu and Gray pulling their wives to their sides protectively as Gajeel silently closed the door.

"How long?" Gajeel asked, feeling a bit relieved. The first wave would attack the main gates, and distract Phantom Lord's forces. Any of the remaining members wandering the halls would be pulled into the main room, thus giving their group more freedom to move throughout their base undetected.

"Sixty seconds, boss. Should hear it any second." the pink-haired man responded, listening intently to his ear piece as the information was relayed. A few seconds of breath-holding later, an explosion rocked the building. They waited silently and eventually heard a group of Phantom Lord members rush past. Another couple of seconds went by before Gajeel tentatively opened the door, peeking out to make sure the coast was clear. Satisfied, he motioned for everyone to move out.

"Gray, Natsu, this is where phase two begins." Gajeel told the men in a harsh whisper, surprising them.

"But we're supposed to start that after all the girls are recovered." Gray commented. "What about Levy?"

"Leave Levy to me. I'm going to find her, without fail. You two need to keep your women safe and follow the plan." he insisted with a glare. "Remember, we all need to be out before the third wave starts. If you don't hear from me before then, get the fuck out. But I'm not leaving without Levy." He turned to leave but Juvia stopped him.

"Boss, please." She took off Levy's necklace and handed it to him. "Please. Find Levy and keep her safe. But you stay safe, too."

"I'll try, Juvia." he nodded, taking the necklace and pocketing it. "Now, go!"

Levy froze as she felt the building shake. What... what was that? She peeked down through a vent and saw a bunch of men running with weapons, shouting out about an attack. Phantom Lord was under attack? She could only think of one group with the man-power to face Phantom Lord. Hope welled up within her. Fairy Tail! They were attacking Phantom Lord! The Don, Gajeel, everyone! They were coming for her, Lucy, and Juvia! She knew they would!

Hopeful and determined, Levy continued on her path down the vents, heading in the direction she thought Lucy and Juvia were being held. She stopped to check where she was every few seconds. She froze with wide eyes when she saw a familiar mess of black hair run past her in the hall below. Gajeel! He was here! She tried to call out to him, but he was too fast and he was already gone, heading in the opposite direction. She tried to turn around and quickly realized it was impossible. She barely had space to crawl; there was no space to turn around at all. With a resigned sigh, she continued down her only path available, praying Gajeel would be able to find her somehow. For now, she was going to make sure her friends were safe!

Hi everyone! OMG it's been so long since I updated, I am SOOOOO sorry! Hopefully this chapter will be able to tide y'all over for a little bit. Midterms are coming so I'm afraid I might disappear again, if only for a little bit. Please bear with me! Or is it bare? Anyone who knows, please tell me, is it bear or bare?!

Anyways, thanks for reading!

-Everythingnerd12