It was safe to say that Magnolia was in for a long recovery.

Those who had made it to the magic headquarters had returned safely, only to find the entire town in ruins! Thankfully, there was no sign of the dragon.

Makarov had been there the moment the villagers returned. Wendy dashed forward and embraced him while Porlyusica walked toward him.

"I see you managed not to keel over."

"Ha! Like I said before, it'll take more than that to get rid of me!"

A ghost of a smile appeared on the old woman's face, though it lasted for less than a second. It was time to get down to business.

"Now then. What became of that dragon? And those idiotic humans who stayed behind?"

"WHO GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO FILL MY HOME WITH THESE HUMANS?!"

The old woman certainly was not pleased to see three patients in her home. First, there was the idiot grandson with the large ego; he was in poor shape after being hit by the dragon's attack. He had plenty of bruises and possibly some broken ribs.

Then, there was a man she hardly recognized. Porlyusica had seen him only once; he was the one that had shown up with Levy on an errand. There were no serious wounds on this one, but he was in a coma due to complete exhaustion and drainage of magical energy.

'Not surprising, since he was forced to transform into a destructive dragon.'

Last there was the apprentice. At first glance, her condition appeared to be the most serious. There were serious burns adorning her body, as well as deep cuts and bruises. The majority of her body was covered in bandages, and with the amount of energy she had used up in the battle, there was no telling when she would wake up.

Porlyusica turned to her old "friend." "Tell me, Makarov. Just how long do you intend on making me work?"

The little man braced himself before revealing the rest of the situation. "These are not the only patients, Porlyusica. Many others were injured in the rampage. We managed to set up a temporary shelter near town, but we moved these critical patients here."

"You mean to tell me there are MORE humans to tend to?! I swear, after this, I am absolutely done with humans!"

Wendy smiled to herself upon hearing her teacher's outburst. She knew it was not true; she lost count of how many times she had heard that one.

The little healer walked over to Lucy, who was sitting in a chair next to Levy's bed. She placed her hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure they will all be fine."

The blonde heiress managed to smile tearfully before nodding.

"That's right. We'll all get through this."

From that day on, everyone got to work restoring Magnolia to its former glory. Those who were uninjured were put to work instantly; some used magical powers while others chipped in with physical labor. It was nice to see everyone working together as a team.

Porlyusica and Wendy got to work taking care of the injured. Most of the problems were a few broken bones, so they were easily fixed with herbal remedies and some rest. Wendy felt a little guilty for not using her magic to help, but she could only use so much at once without exhausting herself. Because of that, she reserved her healing magic for the more serious injuries.

Lucy remained at the hut to care for Levy, Laxus, and Gajeel. All she really had to do was keep an eye on them and change their bandages once in a while. She spent most of her time praying for her friends to wake up.

"How are they?"

Lucy turned to see Master Makarov making his daily visit. It had been three days since the rampage, and the three patients had yet to wake up.

"Well, everyone's breathing has remained steady. Gajeel had a slight fever this morning, but its already starting to go down. Laxus started twitching a little, so I'll take it as a good sign. And Levy…."

Makarov sighed as he stepped next to the little mage's bed. "That girl… why would she do something so reckless? Her only job was to take care of the villagers! I should have been there! Then she would not have had to take this on by herself!"

Lucy smiled sadly. "Levy always wanted to be able to protect others, and she did. She used her magic without her pen. If you ask me, that is pretty incredible."

"Yes, that is incredible," Makarov agreed. "Despite how stupid her actions were, I am proud of her."

"Th-thanks… Master."

With a start, both Makarov and Lucy stared down at Levy; her chocolate brown eyes were watery, and she wore a small, pained smile. Lucy trembled with joy before trapping her best friend in an embrace.

"Levy! Thank goodness! I'm so relieved!"

Levy sighed as her friend balled her eyes out. If her body were not so sore, she would have hugged her back. Tears began to sting her eyes.

'It is finally over.'

Her eyes scanned her surroundings. She recognized where she was, at least, but there were questions swimming in her mind.

What happened to Gajeel?

Are the villagers okay?

What about Laxus?

Makarov chuckled; he knew that look in his apprentice's eyes. "Yes, yes, my child, I can tell you what I know."

Lucy reluctantly released Levy and helped her sit up before Makarov explained what happened.

"… The villagers are currently working to rebuild Magnolia, but it will take some time. But we are a strong people; we will manage somehow."

Levy nodded in understanding; there was no doubt in her mind that her master spoke the truth.

Makarov grasped one of Levy's hands. "I am glad to see you are recovering. With that in mind, I can get back to work with peace of mind."

"Yes, Master."

With that, the old man left to check on the village's progress. Levy turned to Lucy, who was still crying.

"I'm okay, Lulu. Really."

The girl desperately tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. "I know. I know. It just won't stop."

Levy smiled at her friend; she almost felt guilty about what she was going to ask next.

"Lulu… can you take me to Gajeel?"

"Eh?"

Levy's heart nearly shattered at the sight of her precious dragon; he was unconscious with some bandages wrapped here and there, and his face seemed paler than normal.

He looked peaceful, at least.

"I… I'm sorry, Lulu, but can I have a moment alone?"

Lucy nodded in understanding before gently helping Levy to a chair. Once she was safely situated, Lucy left to check on Laxus.

Levy slowly reached out for Gajeel's hand.

"Hey, Gajeel. It… it's the shrimp."

He gave no response, not that she expected one. Honestly, it felt weird referring to herself as "shrimp." Yet, after everything that had happened, she almost missed hearing him call her by that nickname. Even if she hated it.

"I guess we caused a lot of trouble back there. But Master says that everyone's working hard to fix things. And soon everything will be back to the way it was."

She had to believe it was true; she had to have faith that Gajeel would come back to her. Tearfully, she held his hand with both hands, and she raised it to her forehead. She was unable to hold back her sobs.

"You better come back… Stupid Gajeel."

About a week passed. Laxus had finally woken up, though he was beyond pissed.

"So that blasted dragon actually knocked me out?! And the brat managed to stop it? Geez, why did everything go so wrong?!"

It was obvious why he was so angry; he wanted to be the town hero. Now that his plan failed, he would have to work harder to impress Mirajane. Lucy and Levy giggled to themselves about it. His grandfather soon decided if he had the strength to complain, then he had the strength to work.

That left Gajeel as the remaining patient.

Levy had volunteered to keep an eye on him, and she stayed with him, just as Lucy had for her. She looked down at his sleeping form.

"Come on, you big lug. I can't believe you let Laxus wake up before you."

She knew better than to cry; tears would not wake him up. If they could, Gajeel would have woken up long ago. Still, she truly missed him; she longed to see those ruby eyes once again.

She leaned back against the chair; it had been days since she got a proper sleep, and after dealing with Laxus, she was exhausted. Her eyelids were getting heavy again, but she fought back to stay awake.

'I want to be here when he wakes up! No sleeping!'

Suddenly, it happened.

Gajeel's hand twitched, then his eyebrow. Soon there was a soft groan as his closed eyes scrunched.

Levy gasped, "Ga-Gajeel?! Are you awake?"

The dragon man opened his eyes; he looked around, obviously dazed and confused. Finally, his eyes locked on Levy. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes as she looked down at him.

"About time, you big idiot!"

He said nothing; he only stared at her. Something seemed to click in his mind, and without warning, he sprang into a sitting position and held her in an iron embrace. His body was trembling, and this time, Levy returned the affection. She stroked his hair and whispered repeatedly, "It's okay. I'm okay."

Gajeel's consciousness did not last long. It was not too surprising; he obviously needed more rest. Levy still came to check on him, though now that he was awake, she went to help Master Makarov and Porlyusica in whatever way she could.

Once she got a look around the village, she was truly impressed with the teamwork. She also was extremely thankful that some mages knew some wood magic; that really came in handy with the construction. Other mages were using their specialties to help out: Jet was using his speed to retrieve materials for others in a flash; Droy's plants were helpful for holding beams in place before they were properly secured; and Levy noticed quite a few mages using strength enhancement spells to help with carrying. (She noticed Laxus boasting that his strength was all natural.)

Finally, Levy arrived at the shelter.

"Anything I can do?"

Porlyusica turned to her. "I see you are on your feet. Fine. You can help Wendy by bringing in some fresh water. Then, I need you to fetch some herbs for me, since you are aware of their locations."

The blue-haired mage nodded eagerly before getting straight to work. It really felt good to do her part, especially after being held up for so long.

Porlyusica handed Levy a written list of herbs she needed. Luckily, she only needed the basics: no bluff-climbing this time!

She dashed away with her basket, and in no time, she was back in the forest. As she walked, she could still see some of the damage from Gajeel's transformation. Memories of that day kept reappearing in nightmares for her; just how long would this pain last?

"No," she assured herself. "I shouldn't worry about that right now. Gajeel is back to normal; it's all over."

"Yes, I suppose that's true."

Levy's blood ran cold. Apparently, she was not alone.

'I completely forgot about him.'

She stepped back as a familiar, shadowed figure approached her.

"It is over. All because of you, Miss McGarden."

"… Jose."

Hee hee! Did you think I was done? ;)