Hiya thanks for all the support :) I love writing and this darker story has me hooked. Please enjoy and remember Hiro Mashima is the owner of Fairy Tail. From this point on... forget about the power of friendship and love, this is only the start of the beginning.

Last time:

"Lets have a double wedding." Levy emerged out of the darkness unwilling to give up Gajeel or hand him over to Lucy regardless of her innocence in the matter.

Snapping his raven head towards the blue haired script-mage, the turbines in the shadow dragon slayer's head started to turn.

"I...concur?" Rogue agreed unaware that was even an option, after the revelation of new information.

Smiling, Levy assured the ultimate separation of her lover and the woman she once called friend.

"Hell no!" Gajeel roared upset as he flipped his table towards Titania's arsenal of swords and stomped away.

~Chapter 20~

Liberated from the hostility and accusatory interrogation that had befallen his guild, Gajeel placed his hands in pockets as he quietly walked away while staring at the cobblestone streets of Magnolia. His scarlet eyes were confused and filled with so much sorrow, and all he could contemplate was how he was crashing and burning faster than a flaming comet on collision with Earthland. Every time life succumbed to his will, it always seemed to break lose from his metal clutches just to avenge itself and cause massive damage.

Three months ago, life had been perfect; Lucy and him finally dropped all the dividing barriers that drove them to isolation. The turbulent past he shared with the blond was erased with a promise. With a clear conscience, his guild grew to accept the ex-villain wholeheartedly and then there was Levy, the woman who introduced him to love. Kicking a forgotten can, the raven-haired dragon slayer thought how he was betraying himself if he accepted Levy's preposterous plan. Was it so bad he wanted both women? He wanted to keep his word to the woman who showed him love and compassion when others wouldn't, but then there was Lucy... the woman he fell for the second he saw her.

"Hell no!" Gajeel yelled out of the blue as he held a frustrated handful of hair.

The citizens around him ceased their daily activities, to stare at the hysterical shout at one of their famous dragon slayers. Children were seen hiding behind their mother's skirts, men were whispering amongst each other and his damn ears caught it all.

"Isn't that Gajeel Redfox?"

"Why are his clothes tattered?"

"Doesn't he look like he's been drinking?"

"Look how far the great have fallen."

Casting his head down, Gajeel picked up some speed and ran to the refuge of the solitary city alleys.

Wandering aimlessly in the shadows the voices that plagued him resurfaced once again.

We can take her back, just give the word and Rogue's gone. The whore and our son... yes son will be ours again. Or is your promise to that flat-chested weakling more important? Dragons don't break promises, but didn't you already rape her twice?

"Shut up I never asked for your damn opinion!" Gajeel yelled at his shadow as he continued to stumble through the sun-hidden streets.

Back at Fairy Tail everyone was left in silence at Gajeel's sudden outburst and obvious jealous rage, but Levy never once thought that her fiancee would act so rash. He promised on his dragon slayer pride that nothing on Earthland or Tartoros could ever take him away from her.

'That little bitch! She stole him from me.' Levy thought as she broke down and cried at Gajeel's reluctance and his confession of love. Balling her fists in her head she thought how selfishly she begged for the Iron Dragon Slayer to take her for a wife, she was well aware he didn't love her. If he couldn't love her, than she would make him promise his life to her, it was the perfect plan... the woman he loved was unattainable, but she never realized that it was Lucy...

Lost in her own world, darkness seemed to enter her.

"Shorty doesn't look too good." Sting obviously pointed out to everyone.

Chocolate eyes stared widely at Levy's broken demeanor. 'This is all my fault.' The blonde thought as her friend cried, she wanted to console her beloved sister, but she was just with her fiancee and everyone knew it. As her eyes leaked the sorrow of her broken soul, Erza placed her head on her plated bosom, as her strong hands patted her anxiety away.

"It's not your fault, but I'd consider her option. You wouldn't have to quit the guild, Gajeel doesn't have to die and everyone could stay paired up as they are." Erza's voice trembled softly, not entirely certain how good an idea it was, but Lucy nodded her head and walked towards her shattered friend.

Inhaling desperately for courage from the celestial world, Lucy bent down and tried to pat her best friend blue hair, but she never got the chance.

"Don't touch me you whore!" Levy angrily pushed her away and stood up all on her own, and that's when Lucy finally understood Ever's words: go talk to Levy; your friendship in danger. Biting her tongue, Lucy didn't protest or defend herself, she was in no position to protect her integrity.

Standing in the middle of the guild hall she use to consider a home, she felt suffocated, she didn't know what to do or where to go. Erza offered her protecting embrace, Natsu left frustrated and probably back home, Master ran off to who knows where, Rogue and Sting were fighting, her magic was dwindling and all she wanted was to cry into the arms of a man who didn't want her. Frustrated with her weakness, Lucy did not allow her tears to free fall or break down anymore, life was becoming difficult and she had to be strong even if she died trying.

"I accept. We all know I'm pregnant with Gajeel's kid, but father isn't the one who creates you, father is the one who raises you and this child will be adopted by human means. No one's gonna die, no one's going to steal anyone, we are adults and having Rogue's last name will cast away all the suffering I endured as a Heartfilia." Lucy announced to the guild, but more specifically towards Erza as she walked towards the man who accepted her when she was broken goods.

Upon hearing Lucy's response, a pin could fall in the guild hall and sound like a boisterous bomb, but Levy as well as the rest were left completely dumbfounded. It made no sense, she was suppose to fall to the ground, cry her eyes out and cause pity, but instead she's grown stronger and aware of mistakes and actions; this Lucy was unrecognizable.

"No one's gonna die or be killed, isn't that right my love?" Lucy whispered quietly as she embraced Rogue from behind, shedding tears only he could feel against his back.

So are you gonna be a pussy and let this whore tell you what to do? We must get revenge. He touched what is yours, he can't go on living like nothing ever happened. His shadows protested to the blonde's pacifism.

Swallowing his rage and need to avenge himself, the calculating technician of Sabertooth sighed and turned the blonde around.

"Whatever you say." The Sabertooth slayer said as he smiled lightly and embraced her gently. Pulling back a bit, Rogue licked her dried tears and then exchanged a heated kiss with hismate in front of all to see. Showing Erza, Levy and especially the traitorous Sting that this fallen angel was his and his alone.

Coughing a little Erza had a blush on her face, and instructed the two on proper etiquette resulting in an awkward chuckled from those who remained. After the light hearted moment, the guild doors were once again open causing its members to flood in, wanting for all the details they half heard when they were huddled up against the door.

While conspiracies and resolutions were being plotted against him, in his home guild, Gajeel was slumping around the alley ways of Magnolia, gritting his sharp fangs in frustrations at the idea of sending Lucy into the arms of another.

"Oi a bottle of scotch would feel real good about now." The grumpy slayer whispered to himself as he drooped down against a darken brick building. This thing with Lucy and Rogue was infuriating. In his mind Lucy was stupid for trying to play the martyr by running away and Rogue was a brain-dead imbecile for marking her, when obviously she wasn't his. Casting his head down, the darken floors reaching out to the scattered fragments of sunlight, made everything clearer; his sudden breakdown a day earlier, his weakness, the voices that persisted on tormenting him at night and all these dreams he had been having of a look-a-like cub; everything just made so much Mavis-damned sense.

"Ahh a bottle of whiskey would be nice right about now." A familiar, yet distraught voice exclaimed.

Raising his head up a bit, Gajeel was shocked to see his vertically challenged Master perched atop of a garbage can, apparently hiding.

After realizing his current predicament, Gajeel felt hopelessly lost; he was feeling horrendous enough that he harmed Lucy, but now he was stuck in the same ditch of an alley with his guild father after breaking the same promise to him. The second Master Makarov became aware of Gajeel's presence and the their eyes met the sense of doom and hostility returned to Iron Shadow Dragon Slayer.

"Gajeel what are you doing here?" Makarov asked bitterly.

Uncertain why his master was cowering in the backstreets of Magnolia, Gajeel could only talk back rashly. "I could as you the same thing master..." Upon hearing the audacity behind the younger man's voice, anger built in him instantly, but fighting here and now would only reveal their concealed location to his rather frightening grandson.

"Alright, I'll tell you, but you have to answer me afterward. Look Gajeel, I'm really angry at you and at the moment you are the last person I want to see or talk to, but knowing that I'll tell you why this old man is running away like some lost little kid. You are probably more aware of Lucy's upbringing and past than most of the guild; and it is because of that I refuse to let her leave. Ever since she entered the guild, she seemed to fill a void we never knew was there, she confessed to me over and over again that she rather die or kill herself before quitting the guild... and then this happens." The old man glares at Gajeel, who flinches instantly in guilt.

Silence seemed to be exchanged for a couple of minutes as Makarov calms himself down. He's been angry before, but never like this. Even when Laxus decided to do his coup d'etat with his Fantasia tournament, and got exiled, he didn't feel his blood boil so hot as it was burning now. Criminals can turn good, everyone deserves a second chance, live to redeem your mistakes, all these principles he believed earnestly were true, that is until today. Lucy wanting to quit the guild over Gajeel's stupidity felt like he was being stabbed in the back. No amount of begging for forgiveness could rectify this atrocity, but he could at least vent to the perpetrator.

"Not only are my children fighting and suffering tremendously, but instead of solving problem like a real family, we had to involve others... don't you realize that just like her we are your only family and home? Why did it all come to this?" The old man sighed as he clenched his teeth.

"Err... this was my fault." Evergreen emerged from an unnoticed corner, having heard most of the conversation.

Upset at herself, Ever revealed that she often ran to the alleyways of the city to clear her head and drink herself back to reality. Opening her small purse she handed her master and Gajeel a small bottle of strong whiskey.

"I didn't think I would have caused her so much trouble. I thought I was looking out for her and Levy, although her spirits were the ones looking into the ancient dragon texts. I pushed her to Sabertooth, but when she was about to die, Rogue saved her by mating." Ever said as she slumped down against a nearby wall, while facing both men.

Both sat there with unopened bottles in their hands, hanging on her every word, perplexed and learning at the same. Their attentiveness urged her to continue with her confession.

"Her magic was draining fast, she was bound to die within a couple of hours after Wendy and I arrived. The kid did everything in her power to save Lucy. Her body was devouring itself from the inside out, Wendy couldn't heal her and then Rogue marked her, stabilizing her magic thus saving her. While all this was happening, Lucy did not once fear for her life, she was just happy that her child, her only blood family was going to live. Wendy tried to talk sense into Lucy, but she can be so stubborn when she wants to. Gajeel's its father, it needs his magic, but all she could say was that doing it her way, meant that the baby and Levy didn't have to fight over Gajeel."

Evergreen sipped oh her tiny bottle trying to calm down, she was turning into a nervous wreck. Master Makarov was intimidating her and she knew the moment she stopped talking, that he was going to scolded her like a child. This whole situation was avoidable and she destroyed Lucy, the guild and potentially any amicable relationship with Sabertooth; his accusatory eyes were too much, she wanted someone to tell her she made a simple mistake, that it was a misunderstanding, but she knew it blew up too big for any one thing to resolve this matter.

"But do you know how damn irritating this is? I know I screwed up. None of this is Gajeel's fault, and after Lucy, he is the one most suffering. It all started as a joke and a rumor. I didn't know everything was going to blow up so badly. I didn't think just chatting away was gonna cause so much trouble... I'm sorry, I'm so damn sorry." Evergreen said as she took a mirror out of her purse.

Everyone was going to blame her, she had no where to go, she wasn't like Lucy. Starting from zero wasn't an option, she was one of the eldest women in Fairy Tail, she had a secure back-up plan in Elfman once she wanted to settle down. Her home was Fairy Tail and if she couldn't belong to her home guild, life wasn't worth living. Staring into her mirror, she said her final apology and cast a petrification spell so strong, that it would even work on her.

Quietly the two men stared in shock at the statue of Evergreen in bewilderment. Did she deserve this? Was her mouth a weapon of good or evil? Gajeel didn't know what to make of this, was she alive or put to rest, he didn't know, but he was gonna rectify hismistake at whatever cost.

"Gajeel can you fix this?" The old man asked desperately at his guild son, as he stared at Ever's stone state.

Running an uncertain hand through his thick soft mane, Gajeel was torn, but he decided to vocalize his apprehensions sincerely.

"In theory we can solve everything, but there are too many Mavis-damned variables. Rogue's marking is 100% reversible. The whelp doesn't understand that being the father of the child trumps anything the idiot mother chooses. My actual problem is I can't do a damn thing about anything. The day I gave Levy her engagement ring, was the day I sealed my fate and became hers without a possibility of backing out. Anytime before that engagement, right after I raped her, we could have solved things peacefully and quickly, we could have been happy since I love... to hell with it. Since I love Lucy, but I can't break symbolic promises." Gajeel's scarlet eyes shone in frustration as he got up and took a swig of his bottle and threw it at Ever's statue.

"I would have happily gone with Bunny Girl, but you took that option away from me, you damn meddling wench!" Gajeel yelled.

Turning his arm into a metal club, he walked towards the statue slowly.

"Because of you now I have to watch as my kid brother, steals away the woman of my dreams, as I marry her best friend while knowing what I did to her. Is that funny? Was that a joke, or was it a rumor? If it was for me, I'd show exactly how hard this club can hit, I'd show you why they called me Black Steel, but I made a promise. 'Don't ever hurt your brother and sisters in guild' Wasn't that right Master?" Gajeel said as he turned his teary eyes towards his master.

Nodding his head the old man agreed, "yes indeed my son."

Silence occupied the crowded alley for a couple of moments, until Gajeel dried his tears with his metal arm. Walking away from the stunned master, he shot an arm in the air waving a hand he informed his master that they would meet up later.

"You're stupid you know that Ever? How could you do that in front of me? Didn't I teach you anything? You can only find resolution to your problems if you're alive." Makarov petted her stone head in mourning, unable to break the stone's hold on her body. He couldn't crack it and the one thing he was fearing during this whole fiasco happened right in front of his eyes: one of his beloved children unwilling left his guild by taking their life.

Crying on her statue, his tears seemed to become her tears. The stone statue glowed a dim blue color just before it crumbled into tiny unrecognizable pieces. Screaming out loud in pain, Makarov thought that Ever was breaking through her suicidal spell, that it was just a front, but once the pieces fell to the ground he could no longer hold his anguish. In a fraction of seconds he had hoped and lost at the same time. The distraught man yelled for his grandson as he picked up the pebbles, unable to see them all through his cascading tears and trembling hands. In a flash of lightning the blond man appeared before his grandfather instantly.

"Ji ji, I'm here." Laxus said automatically, but once he saw the old man crying while gathering tiny pebbles, he was left perplexed.

Unable to understand what was happening, the large man knelt on the floor and aided his desperate grandfather pick up the scattered pebbles.

"Why don't you kids listen to me? You can't solve anything if you're dead!" Makarov held tightly onto the pebbles, as his heart accelerated to beyond it's normal range, causing him to collapse and pass out.

Unable to piece together why his grandfather was picking up rocks, the large rushed to heart attack stricken grandfather and teleported to the guild.

"Someone get Wendy fast!" Laxus roared after leaving his grandfather and a handful of pebbles in the infirmary.