I yawned as I watched the clouds above me slowly drift by. The setting sun had turned the sky a brilliant orange color, and the clouds appeared almost pink as the wind carried them away. I had been lazily watching them from my comfortable place on the grass for nearly an hour. It's been awfully quiet today. Usually by now Master Makarov would have given me an assignment.
"Levy!" The sound of my teammates' voices instantly perked me up. Hopefully a job has come in for the three of us!
"Hey, Jet! Hey, Droy!" I smiled, standing up to greet them. "Did Master assign us a job?"
"Yeah!" Droy grinned, excitedly. "It's a really big one, too!"
"Oh yeah? How much?" I asked, beginning to feel excited as well. It had been over a week since our last assignment, so I was eager to get back to work. Laying around all the time got boring extremely fast, so I had been ready for an assignment for a few days.
"Thirty million Jewel!" Jet told me with the biggest smile I had ever seen on his face.
"Thirty million?!" I gasped, staring at them with wide eyes. "Master usually only gives jobs that big to the S-Class hunters!"
"They are all out of town for the next few days, and Master wanted this taken care of immediately," Droy said.
"Lucky us," I chuckled. "So, what type of job is it?" For thirty million Jewel, I don't really care what it is! I smiled to myself, thinking of all the books I could buy with that much money.
"A Dragon Slayer," Jet smiled.
"What?!" I exclaimed, incredulously.
A long time ago, a type of demon existed known as the "dragon". They were the most powerful of all the demon species. As a way to stop these beasts from destroying the world, demon slayers created a new type of demon in which to fight them: the dragon slayer. These dangerously powerful new demons were made by fusing the power of a dragon to a human demon hunter.
Once turned into a dragon slayer, the hunter had to control the dragon's power inside them, and learn to harness it in order to fight with it. As with all power, this came with a great risk. If used wrongly, the power of a dragon slayer could become tainted, causing them to become more demon than human—also known as "defective". In the cases where this happened, it was the duty of hunters to destroy the defective dragon slayer.
As the dragons died out over the years, so did the use of this dangerous technique. The dragon slayers that remained had mostly joined various hunter organizations where they were watched closely while they took part in normal hunter activities. Fairy Tail was lucky enough to have three dragon slayers as members: Laxus Dreyer, Wendy Marvel, and Natsu Dragneel.
Some defective dragon slayers have managed to evade the hunters council over the years, and are among the most feared and dangerous demons out there. So much so that even other demons were afraid of them! When hunting a dragon slayer, organizations usually sent large teams to deal with them—usually of about five or six extremely skilled hunters.
To the council's knowledge, there were only seven remaining dragon slayers. Five belonged to organizations, and one was being held as a prisoner by the hunters council. The only unaccounted for dragon slayer was defective, and was one of the most powerful dragon slayers on existence. Part of the first group of hunters to ever be turned into dragon slayers (known as first generation dragon slayers), he contained powers that could only be matched by another dragon slayer. He has been given the name "Black Steel Gajeel"—the iron dragon slayer.
"Guys, I'm not so sure we can handle this alone. Natsu, Laxus, or Wendy should deal with him. He is one of them, after all," I said, nervously. According to rumors, Gajeel was capable of taking down an entire hunters organization by himself.
"We can totally handle this!" Droy proclaimed. "You're one of the most skilled gun users in Fairy Tail!"
All hunters specialized in some form of weaponry. Erza used swords, Lucy had a whip, Droy used herbal mixtures, Elfman trained in hand-to-hand combat, and I fought with guns. While I wasn't as skilled as Alzack or Bisca, I could hit almost any target I fired at.
"I don't think—"
"Come on," Jet smiled, nudging me in the side with his elbow, "Master hand-picked us for this! Do you really want to turn down a job given to us directly from Master Makarov?"
"No, but—"
"Then it's settled!" Droy said. "We leave first thing in the morning."
"Let's go meet up with Master to get the details," I sighed, giving in. If Master chose us, then he believes in our abilities. Although I'm still nervous about it, I think learning more about the assignment will put me more at ease.
I walked with Jet and Droy back to headquarters to talk to Master Makarov. It was difficult not to share in their excitement, and I found myself grinning as I knocked on the door of Master's office.
"Come in," came the Master's voice from inside.
"Good afternoon, Master," I said, bowing as I greeted him. "Jet and Droy just informed me of our newest assignment. We came to get the full job description."
"Ah yes," he nodded. "You three will be going to Hosenka—"
"—the spa town?" Droy asked, excitedly.
"Yes. There have been reports of a demon attacking tourists and destroying several of the shops there. As I'm sure these two have already told you, we believe it is him."
"Black Steel Gajeel," I breathed.
"Right. This request came straight from the council, so it's our top priority. Our orders are to take him down immediately—before he ends up killing an innocent person."
"Are we supposed to take him to the council once we've captured him?" I asked.
Master shook his head, a grave look on his face, as he said, "no. Gajeel has been deemed too dangerous for mere capture. We are instructed to kill him just like we would any other demon."
"Seriously?" Jet asked, sounding surprised. As hunters, it was our duty to kill unruly demons. However, dragon slayers were an extremely rare species—not to mention the fact that they were half human. In their special case, defective dragon slayers were captured by the hunters council. Council leaders would try to convince them to join a hunters organization and help in the battle against other demons. If they accepted, they were released and free to choose an organization they wished to join. Several organizations, though, refused to allow the dragon slayers to become members, afraid they would defect and their inner demon would once again take control. Unlike those organizations, Master Makarov embraced the unique gifts of the dragon slayers, and welcomed them into Fairy Tail with open arms.
But, if a dragon slayer refused to become a hunter and join an organization, and instead chose to allow their inner demon to overpower their human selves, they were viewed as too dangerous and immediately killed. So, the fact that our orders were to kill automatically meant that the council had completely given up on Gajeel's human self—something they had never done before.
"The council isn't even going to give him the chance to join an organization?" I asked. The idea of killing him without the chance to change didn't sit right with me.
"I'm afraid not," Master sighed. "The council doesn't want to take any chances with him. I can understand their concern. He has been a menace to Fiore for a long time. They're afraid it's too late for him, so it's better just to kill him instead of wasting valuable time and resources on a lost cause."
"That doesn't seem right," I frowned, "everyone is capable of change. No matter how bad someone is, they can always decide to change if given the guidance to do so."
"I was hoping you'd say that," Master smiled.
"What do you mean?"
"When Jet and Droy informed you of this job, I'm guessing you were surprised that I chose your group over Natsu's, Wendy's, or Laxus's groups. As they are dragon slayers, it would make sense to send them on this assignment—since Gajeel is also a dragon slayer."
"That was my thought, yes," I nodded. I wasn't really sure what his point was, but I listened closely.
"Do you know why I picked Shadow Gear for this assignment?"
I shook my head. Honestly, I had no idea. It would have made more sense to send a stronger—or larger—team, especially given Gajeel's reputation.
"I chose your team because I believe Shadow Gear has something their teams do not."
"What's that?"
"You," he smiled, warmly, as he spoke. "Perhaps the other dragon slayers would be able to kill Gajeel with more ease, but I don't think that is what this job needed."
"I'm afraid I don't understand," I asked with a frown.
"Like you just said, it isn't fair to kill a former demon hunter without giving them one last chance at redemption. I agree with you. That's why you are going to convince Gajeel to join Fairy Tail."
"What?!" "Seriously?!" Jet and Droy exclaimed together.
I gaped in shock at Master Makarov. "Convince Black Steel Gajeel to join Fairy Tail? Me?" I asked, incredulous. "Master, there's no way I could—"
"I have the utmost faith in you, my dear," Master said, still smiling despite all of our shock.
"What—what if he refuses to listen to me?"
"You know what must be done then," he said. "I suggest you three get a good night's sleep. It is going to be a long train ride tomorrow, followed by a difficult battle."
We thanked Master Makarov before saying our goodbyes and leaving his office. I sat with Jet and Droy at our usual table in the cafeteria, still thinking about what Master had said to us. How in the world am I supposed to convince a demon to surrender and join Fairy Tail? Black Steel Gajeel no less! He is known for his brutality, so why does Master Makarov think I'll be able to convince him? And if I can't, we will have to kill him. I sighed to myself. There is no way I am strong enough to kill him. Shadow Gear is strong, but I'm still not so sure about this.
"Hey Levy!"
"Hi Cana," I smiled up at my long-time friend. Her long brown hair framed her smiling face as she looked at me.
"How did your assignment with Gildarts go?" Jet asked her.
She groaned, collapsing into the seat next to me. She ordered a barrel of beer from Kinana before turning to face us. "I'm going to kill that old man."
"It couldn't have been that bad," I chuckled.
"You're right," she sighed, laying her head on the table, "it was worse."
"You're just exaggerating," I grinned, rolling my hazel eyes at her.
"Don't get me wrong. I'm happy that we get to do these father-daughter assignments, but he goes over-board! I mean, he bragged to the demon about how awesome I am before he killed it. I'm glad he's proud of me, but that's too much!"
"He's excited to have you in his life. I'm sure he's just trying to make up for all the years you were so close and he had no idea you were his daughter," Droy said.
"And I appreciate it, but he's too clingy," she sighed, drinking from the barrel Kinana had given her.
"I should be going," I announced, standing. "I need to get ready for tomorrow." While I really did need to prepare for the next day, that wasn't the only reason I was eager to leave the conversation. Hearing Cana talk about spending time with Gildarts caused my chest to throb painfully. What I wouldn't give for a chance to see my parents again...or at least to tell them goodbye.
"I'll walk you home," Jet said, following me.
"Hey, I'm walking Levy home," Droy told him. I couldn't help but giggle as the two of them bickered. As usual, they both ended up walking me back to the all-girls' dorms, Fairy Hills.
"See you tomorrow, Levy!" Droy waved as he and Jet headed towards their apartment in Magnolia.
"Let's meet up at ten, alright?" I called.
"Sure thing. See you then!" Jet smiled.
"When they had gone, I went inside the building and slowly walked to my room. I knew as I unlocked the door and entered my room that I wouldn't be able to sleep that night. I had gone on large assignments before, but never something that big. Tomorrow night I'm going to come face-to-face with Black Steel Gajeel! My nerves seemed to all be standing on end.
I was confident in my abilities as a hunter and my skills with a gun, but I had never fought such a powerful demon. If he's even half as powerful as Natsu, I'm definitely a goner! I didn't know many people who could win against Natsu, so I silently prayed that Gajeel wasn't like him. Because they were both first generation dragon slayers, I assumed it meant they were equal in power. Man, I'm definitely screwed.
After taking a long bath, I put on a pair of black sweatpants and a gray T-Shirt. I pulled my unruly hair back with a black headband, and began searching through the seemingly endless maze of bookshelves in my room for a particular book. I decided not to waste my time with the hope of sleep that I already knew wouldn't come. Instead, I grabbed a book about dragon slayers and set out to do some research.
If I can figure out Gajeel's weakness, I might stand a chance against him. "Might," I reminded myself with a sigh. I wasn't looking forward to the next day.
Unfortunately, time seemed to speed by as I read. Before I knew it, the sun had already begun to shine through my apartment's windows. I closed my book and stretched, having read the entire thing. My muscles were stiff from where I hadn't moved in several hours, and they ached in protest as I made my way to the kitchen to fix myself some breakfast.
"I probably won't be able to eat much until we finish in Hosenka," I murmured as I popped a waffle into the toaster. I cooked an egg and some bacon, too, while it toasted. If I can't eat all day, I might as well eat a lot now.
After I finished eating and had cleaned up, I packed a small bag. I filled it with ammunition, a couple daggers, and a few throwing knives. I also threw in three apples and some trail mix for Jet, Droy, and I to snack on during our long train ride. Satisfied with my supplies, I went to my bedroom to get dressed. I put on an orange tank dress with separate sleeves and black leggings. I brushed my blue curls before using an orange headband to tie my bangs out of my face. I strapped my gun holster to my upper right thigh, grabbed my backpack, put on some black boots, and left for the train station.
It was 9:50 when I arrived, and only waited a couple of minutes before I heard Jet and Droy calling to me. "Good morning," I greeted them.
"Morning," Droy yawned.
"Ready?" Jet asked, smiling. I wish I could be that excited for this assignment.
"Yeah," I nodded. No. I have a feeling something bad is going to happen, but I can't tell him that. He and Droy will think I'm being a coward, so I have to grin and bare it! If everything goes according to plan, we'll be returning to Fairy Tail with a new member.
We boarded the train as soon as it arrived. I could see Jet and Droy's eagerness to get to Hosenka. Although we were going to a relaxing spa town, I felt anything but relaxed. The closer we got to the town, the more nervous I became.
When we finally got off the train in Hosenka, I immediately dismissed Jet and Droy's offer to go to a restaurant to eat dinner. My stomach was upset from my nerves, so I told them to go on without me. I wandered around the sketchy tourist town as I waited for them, and gave myself a pep talk.
Everything is going to go alright! There's no way he would turn down the Master's offer to join Fairy Tail. If he knows he'll be killed otherwise, it will be an easy choice for him, right? Of course, I knew I was just fooling myself. Gajeel would easily be able to defeat us if he refused, so I had no choice but to convince him. My life is depending on my skills of persuasion. That thought didn't give me much reassurance.
"Levy, are you ready to start looking?" Jet asked, meeting me at our rendezvous point outside of a small gift shop. It was getting dark, and that's usually when demons liked to come out.
"Yeah," I sighed, "looks like it's time."