Chapter 62

Jude Heartfilia looked outside his cell. No, he glared outside his cell at all the people gathered around him like he was some sort of an exhibit. It was mostly men, he'd noticed. Don Metalicana, of course, and his son... Jude recognized those two. There were some others that Jude could only guess were higher-ups. And then... there were two women. A very short blue-haired woman standing next to Gajeel, who Jude guessed was the McGarden girl that had married into the Redfoxes. And finally... his eyes landed on the tall, slender blonde that was standing next to a pink-haired man.

Jude had barely recognized his daughter when he first saw her. It had been years. Well over a decade - nearly two, in fact - and his daughter would be turning thirty soon, if he remembered right. She was a beautiful woman now... she looked so much like her mother that it was almost painful for Jude to look at her. It didn't help that her eyes were so cold as she looked at him... so he looked elsewhere.

His eyes landed on Gajeel Redfox again. He looked extremely different than he'd used to, than the last time Jude had seen him. His long wild hair was cut short. That alone drastically changed how he looked. But there was also the way he held himself... that had changed. He stood tall and strong and unmoving, like steel. His jaw was set firmly in place and he held himself like a true leader should. Completely unlike the brash, cocky youngster Jude was used to seeing. That Gajeel had been but a boy... this one was a grown man, a leader... the next Don of this family. He'd finally grown into his role. That made him extremely dangerous... especially to Jude. He could have figured something out if he could have identified any kind of weakness in the man. As it was, the man's only weakness was the little woman at his side...

And she was not weak.

No, Jude could see it in her eyes. She was not weak. He knew from reports that she was very new to this lifestyle, and he'd expected her to be scared and helpless. But Jude could see determination in her eyes. She stood close to her husband, yes, but it was not out of fear. Her eyes were firm and determined, and her stance was relaxed. She was used to stuff like this now. She wouldn't be phased by seeing his death. Jude couldn't use that to his advantage, either.

"Stop trying to look for a way out of this, Jude." it was the Don who finally broke the silence. "I've seen you scoping everyone out. That's so like you. Unfortunately, there's no escape this time, old friend."

"Then get with it, already." Jude scoffed, turning his attention to the Don. He'd aged since Jude last saw him. Metalicana used to be so strong and proud. He still was, but time was wearing him down. Wrinkles and achy bones afflicted the powerful man. His smoking habit turned his voice deeper and more gravelly. He still stood tall and strong, of course, but Jude could almost see the weight of his burdens bearing down on him. The man was tired. Exhausted. Ready to step down and let a younger, stronger man lead. It was obvious to Jude that Gajeel would become the next Don very soon. "You know how busy my schedule is."

"Ah, don't worry about yer schedule, Jude. Yer gonna be gettin that cleared." Metalicana smirked. Jude could only remain silent. Well, it was true. He couldn't be busy if he was dead and, if the don's words meant anything, he really would be dead soon. In a few minutes, even, considering how many people were gathered here. "I ain't gonna have ya killed just yet." Metalicana's words had Jude looking at him in shock.

"And why is that?"

"I have my reasons." the don smirked. "But it's been decided. Yer gonna stay alive fer now. Killin ya won't teach ya a lesson. You'd probably like it in Hell, anyways."

"Then... what are you going to do with me?" Jude was baffled. They went through all this trouble to get him... and they weren't going to kill him?

"Well, yer gonna turn over everything to yer daughter, here, first of all." Metalicana nodded towards Lucy. "And then... yer gonna spend yer nice long holiday here in yer cell until we decide what yer fate will be. For all intents and purposes... yer a dead man, Jude. The world thinks ya burned down with yer estate, and it's gonna stay that way." He paused to let Jude take that in. "And finally, yer gonna be answering some questions my boy has fer ya." He nodded towards Gajeel, who gave him a cold grin and cracked his knuckles. That's right, Jude thought as he paled, Gajeel was the family's go-to interrogator, after all... Mavis help me...

It didn't take long for everything to be finished and done with. Jude was more than willing to sign over everything he owned to his daughter once Gajeel was done with him. As for the 'questioning,' well, he sang like a bird once the pain started. It was pathetic, really, how fast he was to spill the beans. Unfortunately for him, some of his answers only pissed Gajeel off. The man was broken by the time Gajeel left the cell, barely able to hold a pen to sign everything away.

Gajeel slammed his fist into the wall angrily as he walked back into his office after the interrogation, startling the three people that were waiting for him. Levy was waiting in his office with Jet and Droy, who were keeping her company while she waited for her husband. She turned concerned eyes to Gajeel as he walked into the office.

"Gajeel, what's wrong?"

"Cobra was gone before we even attacked." Gajeel growled, moving to sit at his desk. "Damn bastard sold Heartfilia information for a ticket out of the country. He's long gone and probably in Bosco by now."

"What's the big deal with this one person?" Jet asked. He'd heard talk of 'Cobra' before, but he had no clue who he was or why he was important.

"He's got the answers to the questions we got." Gajeel scoffed.

"When Phantom Lord abducted me, they were being led by a man named Brain. Cobra was his right hand man. With Brain dead, Cobra's the only one with any answers." Levy added when she saw their confusion.

"You said... Brain?" Jet and Droy's eyes went wide when they heard that name. Levy and Gajeel gave them surprised looks as they seemed to know who that was. "Old guy, really tall, a lot of face tattoos?"

"Y-eah... you... know who that is?" Levy asked.

"Y-yeah. He... tried to take over the McGarden family after your parents died, Levy." Jet explained. "Claimed he was the only true leader left, as he was the closest living relative to our leaders."

"He didn't get very far with that, because nobody knew him, and he was related to your mother, not your father... who was the leader." Droy added. "He left when he realized nobody wanted him there."

"Do y'all have any idea why he might go after Levy?" Gajeel sat up and asked them firmly. "He really wanted her alive fer some reason."

"That... might be because he wanted to have the McGarden family. If he'd brought Levy to us... we might have actually let him lead us. I mean, he would have brought back our heiress, after all. He would have been a hero to the family." Jet said thoughtfully. "Why do you think we were so desperate to get Levy to go back with us, at first? Everyone there still views the McGardens as the real leaders, so having the heiress back would have settled all the infighting and everyone would have rallied around her and whoever returned her to us." Droy was nodding as Jet spoke.

"Even if I was returned against my will, taken from my life and my family?" Levy asked with wide eyes, to which Jet and Droy hesitated in responding before giving defeated sighs.

"To be honest... yes..." Droy admitted ashamedly. "We... we were so desperate, and had been for a while. If someone had shown up with you in tow, no matter how they got a hold of you..."

"We would have done anything to keep the family together." Jet ended with a sigh. "And your presence... it would have been a rallying point for the family."

"I would have just been a mascot and a prisoner, from what you're saying." Levy blanched while Gajeel narrowed his eyes angrily at them. They'd really do that to someone they thought was their friend? Just use her?! No matter that she was abducted, taken from her fiance, and injured on the way?! Jet and Droy just lot a lot of respect in his books... not that they had much to start with. And here he was actually starting to like them. Just a bit.

"You need to leave." Gajeel's voice was cold and harsh, and it made them stiffen in fear as they turned nervous eyes to the future don. Even Levy was surprised by the coldness in his voice, and she looked to her husband in surprise. He was glaring at Jet and Droy as if they'd offended him personally. And why not? They might as well have, considering how they would have treated his wife back then. Jet opened his mouth to speak, but Gajeel cut him off. "Leave. Now. Just lookin at ya is pissin me off right now."

"Gajeel-" Levy protested, but Jet put his hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Levy. We get it, and you both have every right to be angry. I won't apologize, because we can't change how we would have acted in the past. But I will say that we would never ever think of betraying you that way now." He swore, while Droy nodded eagerly. Levy didn't know what to say to that, so she merely mutely nodded and let them walk off. As the door shut, she looked back at Gajeel, but his eyes were covered in shadows. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his jaw was clenched. He looked royally pissed.

"Ga...jeel?" she asked timidly, but he just sat there, stewing in his anger for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"They're fuckin lucky yer here right now, Levy." he finally said, turning sharp eyes to his wife. "Cause I was about ta beat the shit outta them."

"Gajeel..." Levy frowned, walking towards her husband. He was quick to pull her into his arms once she was within reach of him.

"They would have used you, Levy." he grit his teeth at the thought. "Held ya prisoner and fucking used you like some puppet. Woulda let Brain take over yer whole family and do as he pleased. Who's to say he wouldn't have killed ya once he got what he wanted?"

"He might have." Levy agreed quietly, feeling Gajeel's grip tighten on her.

"Fuck, Levy, I would move heaven and earth to get you back and keep you safe." he told her seriously, pulling back to look her in the eye. "I would do whatever it took, as long as you would be in my arms again. But I ain't a wizard, Levy. I can't use magic, and I can't bring ya back from the dead." His voice cracked a bit at that, and Levy could see the emotions swirling in his crimson eyes. Anger, love... fear. "I can't lose you, Levy. If Brain had gotten what he wanted from ya... I know he woulda killed ya. And those two... they would have let it happen! And dammit, Levy, I oughta kill em just fer potentially being associated!"

"But-"

"I won't!" he interrupted with a heavy breath. "I won't, shrimp. I won't." he swore. "But, fuck it all, I'm so mad right now. You need to tell them to stay far fucking away from me for a good long time." Levy could only nod and hold onto her husband, letting him vent all he needed so he could calm down. She was upset, too. Her own friends would have used her. Brain would have killed her... and they would have been as much to blame as Brain was for her death. She could understand how, in desperation, they would do anything they could to survive... but at the cost of someone else's life? An innocent's life, no less? Gajeel wasn't the only one Jet and Droy should avoid for a while. It would take a good while before the husband and wife would be able to tolerate looking at them again.

Jet and Droy had a long road of repentance and recovery ahead of them at this rate.

Meanwhile, Brain was laughing it up in hell.

So, posting this from my phone cause I'm in the hospital waiting on a family member's surgery (nothing big, don't worry). Sorry if I missed any spelling or format stuff, I will fix it later.

Thanks for reading, like always. Please please tell me what you guys think. I got more planned for these two, obviously, but their fates have yet to be decided, and your comments really help determine the flow of this story.

Thanks again!

-Nerdy12