Wendy POV


As soon as we had made it down the stairs, we saw Metal standing there. He was limping, the gait that was smooth only this morning now faltering and uneven. His dark hair was ragged, loose strands falling over his features that contorted with effort. On his feet were only tattered remains of his slippers. His eyes were dark and sullen, the left one concealed behind swelling.

"Metal!" I cried out in worry. "What happened?!"

"Dragon paid me a little 'visit' after he was done with his orders. He said that I wasn't supposed to let you all up there, even if I did lose the fight. So he punished me," he explained, his voice gruff.

"Seriously? You got your ass kicked by him of all people?" Gajeel asked him incredulously.

"You try standing up against that stuffed dragon of his!" Metal exclaimed. "That thing is like a freaking rock!"

"I know right?" Gray agreed with him. "What the heck does he keep in that thing?"

"No clue, but it's probably the same thing that Knight keeps in that sword plush of hers," he answered.

The mention of Knight caused Erza to look sad, which I noticed out of the corner of my eye.

"But listen, I know about a secret passage that can take us out of here," he told us. "I built it in case of an emergency and I'm pretty sure that Dragon doesn't know about it."

"How do we know that you aren't trying to trick us?" Natsu asked, suspicious of him.

"Because one, why would I be trying to trick you in a situation like this?" Metal asked. "And two, I don't think that you have any other choice then to believe me right now."

"He's right, and besides, we can trust him," I reassured them. "Metal kept an eye on me whenever that thing wasn't here, after all."

I took my hand out of Natsu's and went over to Metal.

"But first, let me heal you," I tried to heal him but he smacked my hands away.

"There's no time for that, Sora!" he used his nickname for me. "Every second wasted is another second closer to this place collapsing on top of us all!"

He turned his attention to the others.

"Now come on, follow me!"

Metal led us through the halls of the palace, limping every few steps due to his injuries. He brought us to Reader-san's shop where he began to push the counter aside.

"Where's Reader-san?" Juvia looked around the room, but didn't see the small fairy.

"I don't know but knowing them, they probably went home," Metal responded.

He moved the counter out of the way, revealing a trapdoor in the floor which he opened. There was a tunnel underneath, its path unknown.

"Through here...this tunnel will take you outside the castle grounds," he told us.

One by one, everyone jumped down the hole in the floor until only I was left.

"What's taking you so long? Go already!" he commanded.

"Aren't you coming with us?" I asked timidly.

"I can't, it's too late for me," he answered solemnly. "Even if you heal me, I'm still doomed."

"But-"

"Just go!"

I bit my lip and looked between him and the hole a couple of times, trying to decide whether to jump or stay and heal him.

"Wendy Marvell! Go! NOW!" he commanded, using my full name.

Metal pushed me into the hole and I fell down into the tunnel where the others were waiting for me.

"What took you so long, Wendy?" Natsu asked, helping me up off of the ground. "What were you doing up there?"

"I was talking to Metal, he said that he isn't coming with us because he's doomed," I answered, my lip quivering.

"I'm not surprised that he isn't, with injuries like that," Gray said with a frown. "Now come on, let's get moving."

We all ran as fast as we possibly could through the tunnel, and by the time that we had gotten out, the palace was collapsing and the tunnel collapsed seconds later.

Metal...

Lisanna noticed my expression and put a comforting hand on my shoulder, which made me feel slightly better. We all stayed there, staring at the rubble of the tunnel along with the remains of the castle.

"So you actually made it out, huh?"

We turned around to see none other than the monster standing a few feet behind us. It was still disguised as Natsu, except with vivid turquoise eyes and sharp teeth.

"I can't say that I'm surprised, because I should have expected something like this from Metal," it had a stoic look on its face. "Always going on and on about how I needed to put secret exits and secret entrances whenever I made a new area."

"How do you know that it was Metal?" Erza questioned. "And how did you know that we were here?"

"Oh, I never left...I just turned invisible and followed you around, that way I could make sure if you were dead or not," it answered. "I'm going to have to punish Dragon though, I never told him to hurt Metal or even lay a finger on him for that matter."

"What are you going to do to him?" Lisanna asked, slightly worried for the man.

"I don't know...maybe the usual fight with-?" it cut itself off. "Nah...that's getting boring...eh, I'll figure it out later."

A few seconds of silence passed between us before something made it shiver, and then a smile crawled up its face.

"What's with you?" Gray sounded disturbed by the expression on its face. "Why the hell are you smiling?"

"She's awake from her nap," it sounded happy.

"Who is?" Gray asked.

It began to change, tanned skin paling, pink hair turning white and growing, until it had completely changed into the form of Lisanna.

"My best friend, that's who!" it smiled darkly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and see her before she wanders off again."

"Wait!" I stopped it before it could disappear.

"Hm?" it stopped, glancing over to me. "What is it?"

"Can we at least know your name before you go?" I asked.

"My name is Lisanna Strauss, of course!"

"She means your real name," Lisanna corrected, "not my name."

"Now why should I tell you that?" it tilted its head.

"If you don't tell us, then we're just going to keep calling you demon or creature or monster," Gray informed it. "You don't want that, do you?"

"Well, when you put it like that, that doesn't sound nice at all," it frowned as it straightened its head. "So I'll tell you my name...my real name."

It shifted forms again, flesh and hair melting away until it was something I'd never seen before. The only way to describe the monster was a bipedal complete absence of light. It wasn't just blackness, it was nothing at all. It cast no shadow, gave off no odor. Teeth sharper than steak knives filled up its mouth, terrifying to look at. Its eyes were pits of darkness, save for the piercing turquoise dots that represented pupils; and it had the figure of a woman.

"I would show you my true form, but I don't think that's a good idea. So, you get to see the me that's wrapped up in this big blanket of shadows," the demon spoke, its voice eliciting a shudder from me.

"But what's your name?" Gray persisted.

"I don't officially have one, so I guess that my name is the name of my species: the PawPrinted Dream Dweller," she answered.

"That's a mouthful..." Lisanna pointed out.

"Honestly, nothing can please you all, can it?" she sighed. "Just call me Paw, then."

"That sounds good, we'll call you Paw," Natsu shrugged, before getting back to business. "But where are you keeping Luce and Mira?!"

"I swear, you're so confusing..." Paw sighed again. She then smiled, showing off her row of razor sharp teeth before lapsing back into Lisanna. "Now if you'll excuse me, my best friend is waiting for me. Farewell for now~"

She waved at us before disappearing, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a white dove flying away from the wreckage of the palace with a pair of plushies held in its talons, but I didn't pay too much attention to it.

"Did she go invisible, or teleport?" Juvia wondered.

"She had to have teleported," Gray answered. "She has no reason to stick around here when Mirajane or Lucy is awake."

"Then let's get moving," Erza determined. "The longer that we remain idle, the more of a chance that they'll be dead when we find them."

We got moving after that. However, I noticed that Gajeel had a worried expression on his face, and was trying his best to conceal it.

But I didn't have the courage ask him what was wrong.


Levy POV


I was pacing around in a small dark underground cave that I had fallen into; the only way out was blocked by a large pile of rocks, so I was trapped.

This isn't good. I thought to myself. This really, really isn't good.

I was nervous, but I tried to stay calm as panicking wasn't going to solve or help anything in this situation.

The others haven't come looking for me yet...did they reach a dead end in the cave? Worry was gnawing at my insides for my friends. Or did something attack them?

I quickly shook my head to dismiss the thought of something bad happening to them.

No, I'm sure they're fine...they have to be. I reassured myself. I should be more concerned about my own well-being for now.

I had been pacing around the hole for so long that there was a slope in the floor I had been stomping over.

How am I going to get out of here? The only exit is blocked off, and I can't climb out. I wondered. So what do I do?!

I continued pacing around for a few minutes, trying to think of ways to get out of here, until a dark thought popped into my mind.

They wouldn't leave me behind or forget about me, would they? I almost immediately shook my head again. What am I thinking? They wouldn't leave me here or forget about me...I'm sure that they wouldn't.

I stopped pacing and stood in the middle of the room.

"There's no way that they would!" I began to have doubts, and chewed on my lip nervously. "...right?"

"LEVY!"

"Huh? Was that Gajeel's voice?" I spun around to look at the mound of rocks.

"Levy? Are you in there?!" his voice yelled. "Say something if you can hear me!"

"Gajeel! Is that you? I'm in here!" I ran over to the blocked exit. "I'm trapped in here! Can you get me out?"

"Get away from the wall! I'm gonna break it down!"

I hastily backstepped, watching as a few loud thuds were heard and then the rocks started falling away. Finally, an iron pole broke through the remaining wall before melting back into the hand of Gajeel Redfox.

"Found ya, Levy," he grinned at me, stepping inside. "I was wondering what was taking ya so long."

"It is you, Gajeel!" I smiled in relief. "How did you find me? And where's everyone else?"

"Followed my nose. And the others went on ahead and told me to catch up with them once I found you," he answered. "I'm glad to see that you're okay."

"And I'm glad to see you," I responded. "So what happened? What was at the end of the cave?"

"It was a palace where Wendy was," he replied. "I'll explain everything on the way."

"What direction are we heading in?"

"They didn't tell me, they just said that they were going looking for somebody else's personal paradise, so we shouldn't let them get too far away," he moved aside. "Ladies first."

"Who are you and what have you done with Gajeel?" I joked, walking past him and down the cave path he came from.

"Oh, nothing~"

That tone that he used was very suspicious, but I didn't pay it any mind as I continued walking with Gajeel following behind me. He told me all about what had happened, with me never once looking back at him.

That would turn out to be a big mistake as by doing that, I never noticed Gajeel's salient turquoise eyes.


PawPrint-Writer: For those of you have a problem with taking the villain seriously, I think that the best kind of villain are the ones that are hard or at least slightly difficult to hate and if you have any other problems with Paw then who says that you have to keep reading this story? Like most people say after all, if you don't like then don't read.

Anyways...

Review plz?

RevlisCharm(beta): Sora translates into Sky in Japanese, just to let you readers know. Also Levy why didn't you just use your solid script magic? You could've made stairs, or a ladder, or a jackhammer... But hey, I'm here to edit, not to judge.