Chapter 13: Breaking In

Levy woke up with butterflies in her stomach and a blush on her cheeks. She had been dreaming about last night: the look in his crimson eyes, the feel of his rough hand against her face, and the slight tilt of his head as he leaned in closer, all culminating into a passionate kiss. Well the last part her mind made up on its own, on repeat. She couldn't get the image out of her head, couldn't get rid of all the questions that floated in her mind. Why did he do that? Was he really going to kiss her? What would his lips feel like against hers? The last question made her blush and she found herself burying her face among her blankets. Gosh, how was she going to stay focused?

"Levy are you awake?" She heard Jet whisper softly through the tent.

"Yeah" Levy responded groggily, stretching her arms towards the sky.

She heard the sound of the tent unzipping and prepared herself for a ruckus. Droy entered with a warm smile and a plate of eggs and Jet followed suit with a drink in hand. They clamored inside her tent with limited grace and sat on either side of her. The pair looked so excited that they reminded Levy of dogs. They were undoubtedly loyal and always excited to see and help the person they were loyal to.

"Here Lev some eggs, it's going to be a long day today" Droy handed Levy the eggs.

"Yeah, hate to see you get tired" Jet handed Levy the drink which turned out to be coffee.

She appreciated everything these two had done for her. They weren't complicated like Gajeel, which was certainly a nice break. She smiled at her breakfast "Thanks guys"

"Your Welcome!" Jet and Droy chimed in unison as they hugged Levy.

She laughed at their actions, yeah they were a nice break.

The rest of the day was overall uneventful. Although there was the occasional flutter of her heart. When Gajeel looked at her or touched her she would feel the goosebumps and the butterflies. He didn't seem nearly as affected as her though, so she pushed her feelings as far away from herself as possible. She had a mission to focus on after all. With her resolve set in place time seemed to fly and with the added help of Jet and Droy she didn't even have to break a sweat. Before she knew it they were headed to the Tower. She felt fear start to flow through her veins. What if something went wrong? What if someone got hurt? If she got hurt how would she explain herself to her mother? "Oh no mom, I never had an arm" or "Mom you can let me leave the house, I swear I won't crack my head open again". She swallowed thickly, yeah she was terrified.

"Hey" The voice was sharp and cut through her thoughts. She turned to the address the voice and saw red eyes stare back at her "You don't have to be scared. I'll protect you. Just stay by me shorty."

Levy just nodded. He hadn't spoken to her all day and the first words he spoke to her were exactly the ones she needed to hear. His face was so stern yet his eyes gave away a hint of concern. It was all she needed to have her heart start fluttering all over again. It almost felt like he had a spell over her. That would explain why she was so willing to be in this crazy, life threatening situation. She let out a small sigh when they finally reached their destination. No she couldn't blame Gajeel and his good looks, this choice was hers and hers alone. Hopefully she won't regret it.

Erza rushed out to meet them and with haste she spoke "Good, you're here on time. Follow my lead and I'll leave you in the hands of the man I mentioned earlier."

With that she turned around and walked away, expecting everyone to follow her lead. Quickly she led the troupe through a back door and what appeared to be a storage room. After going through a maze of boxes everyone was filed into a large room that appeared to be in control of the electricity of the entire building. She saw near the top of the room a large grate, which she assumed would be the entrance they would need to get into the pipe system. As they all filed in she saw one large man stand in the middle of the room. He was tan, toned, with dark brown hair, and eyes to match. What caught Levy off guard was the metal plating along his jaw line and his eye patch.

"This is Simon" Erza said as she gestured towards the man. Everyone rushed their hellos, anxious about the hours ahead and so Erza continued speaking. "He will be the one that will guide you through the pipe system when I give the go ahead. So stay here and get ready."

She gave a respectful nod as she strutted out of the room. The door closed and an awkward aura took her place. Levy felt it was suffocating. It took some time before anyone started to actually move. Jet and Droy decided to use their time to sleep and "Gain the necessary energy to protect Levy". Gajeel and Pantherlily decided to use their time to pour over the notebook Erza had given Gajeel to come up with the best tactic to take Jellal down. Thus Levy was left alone to her own devices and so she decided to talk to Simon.

"Hey" Levy said softly with a small smile.

Simon nodded "Hey"

"Thanks for helping us" Levy sat beside Simon in hopes of sparking a real conversation.

"No problem" He shrugged his shoulders, eyes downcast.

Then a question popped up in her mind and suddenly she asked it. "Why are you helping us?"

This question got his attention and his eyes looked towards Levy. From his expression he didn't seem to keen to talk about it. So Levy decided to continue talking instead.

"You know I use to be just a regular high school student. Then that guy over there" She made a gesture towards Gajeel "Kidnapped me and took me to his base camp. Before I knew it I was part of a crazy mission to get a book. It's still surreal to me, like I feel I'll wake up at any point."

"Why are you doing this?" His voice sounded hoarse "This is all really dangerous."

Simon looked at Levy with shock and concern and Levy couldn't help but blush at her reason. "If I'm honest, as of right now, I think I'm in it because" She jutted her chin in the direction of Gajeel " I think I like that brute who kidnapped me. There's no way I could back out now, I wouldn't want to leave his side if I can avoid it. I mean this is a once in a lifetime experience anyway."

"I'm in love to. That's why I'm doing this"

Levy raised her eyebrows in shock and confusion. This thought came out of nowhere and she wasn't sure who he was referring to. So she just shifted her countenance to one of understanding and waited for him to continue.

"As soon as I saw her I just felt it. Her red hair, her fiery determination, I just couldn't get her out of my mind. Before I knew it I was at her mercy, I really would do anything for her. Something like this, this is easy."

"That's really amazing"

Now it was turn to have his eyebrows raise in shock "Amazing?"

"To love someone like that, yeah amazing. I think once this is said and done you should come with us. I can help put in a good word for you to" Levy smiled at the man. She was really happy to have Simon on their side, he was a good person.

Simon scratched the back of his head a slight blush evident on his cheeks "That would be really great."

Levy let out a lighthearted chuckle. She hoped everything would work out.

Then a voice fought to be heard through a speaker "H - e -llo any-o- n - e the- re"

Simon quickly pounced on the speaker "We're here Erza"

"I've knocked out the guards and I am about to enter the Throne room. Lead them here please."

"Right away"

He moved a locker underneath the large grate. Then he woke up Jet and Droy by shaking them by the shoulders. He then hoisted them up the locker so they could easily reach and enter the grate. Next he hoisted Levy up into the grate, giving her a look that said that he was both grateful and wished her good luck as he did so. Gajeel used Lily to fly him into the grate.

Simon called out to the group "Good Lucky everyone. I've already marked the trail you need to follow. Jet and Droy follow the yellow lines, everyone else follow the red."

Levy took a deep breath and began her steady crawl to the throne room. This was it, they were going to get the book.