So this time around I figured I'd give Gajeel a break and let Levy have the spotlight for this chapter :3 Enjoy!
"Gajeel!" Levy cried out as the iron dragon fell backwards into her and PantherLily's arms. His eyes were shut and his body limp as the two looked down at him. "Gajeel, wake up!" the bluenette cried out again as she wrapper her arms around him.
PantherLily placed a hand on Levy's shoulder to try and calm her down. "Don't worry, Levy, he's alive," he said pointing out that the dragon was still breathing, even though the breaths were short and raspy. "The bastard just wore himself out," he said shaking his head.
Levy wiped her eyes and tried to smile after hearing PantherLily's reassuring words. "Baka...I told you not to push yourself," she said, burying herself into the dragon's thick raven hair. "At least he managed to break the wall down" the Exceed said as he pointed to the gigantic hole in the wall. "We need to keep moving." Levy nodded as the two carefully lifted the dragon up.
PantherLily slung one of Gajeel's arms around his neck and grabbed hold of it, his other wrapped around the dragon's body. "Looks like I'm going to have to carry you out of here," the Exceed said, looking at his partner. He had expected to hear a "gi hee" come from Gajeel but there was nothing but silence. "That bastard Ivan..." he said, stopping short of what he was going to say. He didn't want Levy to worry about how he got this wound. For now PantherLily could only hope that he could retain his battle form until the three managed to escape through the passageway and rendezvous with the rest of Fairy Tail.
Levy acted like she didn't hear what the Exceed said as she helped PantherLily carry the heavy dragon as much as her small body would allow. She was so concerned with Gajeel that she didn't even notice the pain in the foot that was nearly crushed by the rubble. The bluenette was constantly glancing at Gajeel, hoping that he would wake up at any moment.
As they carried Gajeel, Levy was reminded of that time on Tenroujima...after she and the dragon were attacked during the S-class exams. She had to carry the dragon back to the camp safely after being severely injured trying to protect her. The bluenette swore that she would never want to rely on someone rescuing her like that again...but here she was the damsel in distress once again. And, like last time, here was Gajeel, badly injured trying to protect her. Levy bit her lower lip and was fighting to hold back her tears. She felt so weak at this moment that it was making her angry at herself for not being stronger. She wanted to be strong...for him.
Then she also remembered another vow she made on Tenroujima. As she was making runes to protect the camp and the unconscious dragon. "This time I'll protect you, Gajeel." The script mage remembered the words she spoke and she did manage to protect him that time. And here she was, trying her best to help Gajeel out once again. Maybe she wasn't as weak as she thought. Maybe, like Gajeel, she now had something worth protecting.
PantherLily and Levy made their way through the passageway with Gajeel hanging off of the two's shoulders, still out to the world. The passageway was dark, but they managed to make their way through it. They were lucky that it was not damaged by any of the explosions earlier.
After what felt like forever to the script mage they reached the end of the passageway. PantherLily felt around for a button or a lever to open the door. After a minute of feeling around, he found a switch in the wall. He pressed it in and the stone door cracked itself open. With Gajeel still hanging off of him PantherLily had to use his body weight to push open the door.
The two made their way outside of the passageway and looked around for any sign of their friends. "Looks like everyone is around the main entrance" the Exceed pointed out as he and Levy began moving along. PantherLily looked over at his partner, "Just how long are you planning on sleeping?!" he said as he adjusted the dragon on his shoulder.
For a moment it looked like they were home free when suddenly, from around the corner several Raven Tail mages just happened upon them. Everyone froze in their tracks. Levy and PantherLily didn't know what would happen next since they saw Gajeel being carried by them.
The Raven Tail mages looked shocked to see Gajeel so wounded and unconscious. "Wh-What? This cat and the prisoner managed to take out Gajeel?!" one of them said as they looked back and forth to each other, whispering amongst themselves how someone as strong a Gajeel was taken out by these two.
Levy looked up at PantherLily and nodded. They could use the confusion to their advantage. The bluenette removed Gajeel's arm from around her and took several steps forward. "T-That's right!" she said, trying to sound confident. "We're taking this traitor back to Fairy Tail so he can await his punishment by our Master!" she said, pointing to the dragon. PantherLily smirked when he heard Levy giving a speech about Gajeel being a traitor. He was pleased to see that Levy had some fight in her.
The Raven Tails looked at each other again. "We're not going to let you do that, fairy!" One of them yelled out as the other three raised their fists in the air and yelled out. "Gajeel is one of our Master's most trusted member's! We're not giving him up so easily!" With that the Raven Tails dashed towards the bluenette and the Exceed, ready to attack.
Levy stood there, surprised. She was hoping that the men would just run off but it looked like they wanted a fight. The bluenette was ready to stand her ground. "Solid Script: HOLE!" she yelled out and with a few flicks of her hand a massive hole appeared beneath the mages. They fell into the pitfall the script mage made but they didn't stay in there for very long. Two of them climbed out and started towards her again.
"Solid Script: FIRE!" A massive fireball was sent hurling towards the mages. One of the mages barely dodged her attack while the other was hit by it. The one that got away shot an attack at Levy. "Solid Script: SHIELD!" she shouted just in the nick of time. A large shield appeared directly in front of her, blocking the attack from the mage. The force of the attack against the shield sent the bluenette staggering back some.
When she regained her footing she looked up to see the mage leaping towards her. She held her arms up to her to try and block but the mage was cut short by a rather large sword. "Lily!" she yelled out as the Exceed stood in front of her. "Gi hee, go take care of the other two," he said. "I'll handle this one!"
Levy nodded as she ran over to the hole she made. She looked down to see the other two climbing up, almost towards the top. She thought for a moment, "Solid Script: ROCK!" she said and flicked her hand. A large rock appeared over the two mages and quickly fell towards them. They looked and screamed just before the rock fell on them, knocking them back into the hole. She stood there a moment to see if they got back up from her attack. The two mages were motionless under the heavy rock that was now resting on top of their bodies.
The bluenette felt so proud of herself as she turned to PantherLily who had already taken out the remaining mage with ease. The Exceed gave her thumbs up and grinned. Levy replied with a thumbs up as she looked around. "Where's Gajeel?!" she said frantically. She was afraid there were more Raven Tails that might have taken him while they were fighting.
PantherLily walked over to a large boulder and looked down. "He's right here...sleeping like a baby still," he said teasingly at the dragon that was resting against the boulder. If Gajeel were anywhere close to consciousness he surly would have heard his partner's comment, but to no avail he wasn't.
Levy sighed with relief as she made her way back over to PantherLily and Gajeel. "I hope we don't run into any more trouble" she said as the two hoisted Gajeel back onto their shoulders. The bluenette soon regretted those words, for as soon as they started on their way again, PantherLily reverted back to his normal size. All of Gajeel's weight fell onto Levy who was struggling to keep herself up as well as holding onto Gajeel.
"Damn, I must have used up too much of my own magic" the small cat said. "I'm sorry Levy, but you're going to have to carry this oaf," he said looking up at her apologetically.
"It's...alright Lily," the bluenette said as she worked on shifting Gajeel so she would be able to walk with him. "I did it once...I can do it again," the script mage said as she took a few steps. She wished Gajeel would hurry up and come to. She was already tired and injured herself but that fight made her use up more magic, making her feel weaker. But she shook it off and carried on as she and PantherLily slowly made their way away from the Raven Tail hideout before they ran into anymore stragglers.
Levy and PantherLily made their way into the forest that was not far from the Raven Tail hideout. With any luck they would be able to find their comrades soon, or at least the script mage hoped. She was already starting to feel weak in her knees. The strain of using up a lot of magic on top of her injuries was starting to take a toll on her. She was starting to stumble ever so often. Even Lily was feeling it as he used up all of his magic in his battle form as he drug himself along.
The bluenette was starting to breath harder as her vision began to blur. She glanced at Gajeel and before she knew it the dragon had slipped out of her grip and fell to the ground. She tried to grab hold of him but she felt herself getting lightheaded as she felt her body starting to fall to the ground as well. Suddenly she felt arms around her. Levy slowly opened her eyes to see that she was still standing. She looked to her right and saw her best friend Lucy holding her up with a smile. "We finally found you!" the celestial mage said, smiling happily.
"Lu-Chan!" the bluenette cried out as she hugged her friend. "I didn't think I would ever get to see you again!" She was so glad to see her best friend but wondered what she was doing out here. "What are you doing out here?"
The celestial mage smiled, "Erza and I were told to try and look for all of you" she said pointing over to the scarlet haired mage who was knelt down next to Gajeel, checking to see if he was still alive. "What on Earthland happened to you three?" Lucy asked as she could see Levy was injured and exhausted. She helped the bluenette over towards Erza and helped her sit down next to a worn out Exceed.
"It's a long story" Levy said as she quickly looked over at Erza. "Ga-Gajeel...is he alright?!" she asked tearfully.
The requip mage raised her head up to Levy, "He's lost a lot of blood" she began speaking. "And it feels like he has two cracked ribs. We can't afford to move him any further without causing more damage." Erza pulled out a signal flare and shot it into the air. "Master and the others aren't too far away. They ll help us patch him up and get you three to safety" she said.
Levy crawled over to Gajeel and brushed his hair out of his face. She sat there and watched over him until the others showed up. PantherLily slowly walked over and sat down next to the bluenette and the dragon. "That damn idiot...he never wants to listen to me, especially when I'm right," the small black cat said, shaking his head.
"...I...heard that...you damn cat," said a weak, raspy voice that seemed to come from Gajeel. Levy and PantherLily looked up in shock to see the dragon slayer slowly opening one of his eyes.
"Gajeel!" they both shouted in unison as Levy threw her arms around the dragon. Gajeel winced as the bluenette hugged him but he slowly raised his arm and patted Levy's head the best that he could in his given condition. Even Erza and Lucy were glad to see their comrade was awake now.
"Glad to see...that you're alright...shrimp" Gajeel said, trying to grin.
"Of course I am, thanks to you," she said happily as she wiped the tears away from her eyes.
PantherLily walked over and took a seat in Levy's lap. "You should have seen her, she took on four Raven Tails all by herself" the Exceed said boastfully. "They thought we defeated and captured you" he said laughing, "I think she scared them when she told them that we beat you up!"
Levy felt her cheeks blushing while PantherLily talked. "...I-It wasn't much really," she said bashfully as she turned her head away. She was waiting to hear something sarcastic from Gajeel but she didn't.
"All by yourself...huh shrimp? What can I say...I'm proud of you" he said, causing Levy's face to burn up as she turned her head back towards him in surprise.
PantherLily nodded in reply, "I believe she said something about it being her turn to protect you...no matter what, gi hee."
Gajeel had a somewhat astounded look on his face when he heard what his partner said. The look soon faded leaving a smile on the dragon's face as he reached out for the bluenette's hand. "...Thanks, shrimp...for protecting me...gi hee," he said. Levy gently smiled back at Gajeel as she grabbed his hand. The bluenette never imagined that the great iron dragon would ever genuinely thank someone the way he thanked her. She could tell that he was no longer that same man that he was when he first joined Fairy Tail.
"Y-You're welcome, Gajeel" she said. She continued holding onto Gajeel's hand even after he closed his eyes and drifted off. For a moment Levy and PantherLily got worried that he was out again.
Erza reassured them that it was quite normal for someone in his condition to slip in and out of consciousness. "Don't worry you two, he'll be alright. He's a lot tougher than he looks" she said as she placed her hand on Levy's shoulder. "You two should try and rest up some as well until Master gets here. I'm sure he'll have a lot of questions to ask about everything that happened" the scarlet haired mage said. "I'll stand watch while you two rest."
Levy and PantherLily nodded at Erza. The two of them were tired and exhausted but Levy didn't seem to want to leave Gajeel's side for a moment. Lily, in the meantime, curled up in Levy's lap and was soon sound asleep. He needed to get his strength back should they need him.
By this time Lucy had taken a seat next to Levy on the ground and was nudging the bluenette with her elbow. "So Levy-chan...What exactly happened back there anyway?" she said with a questioning look. "You and Gajeel seem to have gotten awfully close to one another."
Levy's face turned bright red as she shyly looked down, fidgeting with her dress. "N-Nothing really happened, Lu-chan. Gajeel risked his life to save me and I'm very grateful for him doing so." Levy wasn't sure if she was ready to tell her best friend about her first kiss with Gajeel, it wasn't exactly the time nor place for it.
Lucy on the other hand felt differently. She knew something happened between the two mage, the evidence was clearly written all over the bluenette's face. The celestial mage suddenly clapped her hand over her mouth, "Levy-chan...Did the two of you kiss?! What was it like?"
Levy flailed her arms at her best friend, "You shouldn't ask such personal things like that, Lu-chan!"
The script mage eventually calmed down and went back to looking down towards the ground. Lucy sat there with her hand on her chin, curiosity was written all over her face.
Finally, Levy spoke. "We...We did kiss" she said quietly. "He risked a lot to sneak down into the dungeon to reassure me that he would rescue me and...he kissed me" she said as the bluenette ran her fingers across her lips. She could still feel the dragon's lips on hers even know. "...he said he loved me."
Levy wasn't sure if she should mention anything about Gajeel being a double agent to Lucy or Erza so she left all those details out. She felt a smile come across her face as she glanced sown at the sleeping dragon.
The celestial mage sat there with a warm smile across her face. She closed in on her friend, throwing her arsm around Levy and hugged her. "I'm so happy that your safe, Levy-chan" the blonde mage spoke.
Levy nodded as she felt her eyes tearing up once again. She seemed to be doing quite a bit of that today. She hugged her friend back, "I am too Lu-chan. I'm ready to go back home to Fairy Tail." She was ready to go back home with him.
Lucy finally left the bluenette's side so she could rest. And only after being forced by Erza to do so, she curled up next to Gajeel with a still sleeping Exceed in between them. For the first time in a while she was able to sleep peacefully and not having to worry about waking up in a cold, dark cell.
She must have slept for about an hour when she was awakened by an all too familiar loud voice. She opened her eyes to see Natsu looking down at her. She jumped and quickly sat up and rubbed her eyes. She looked around and saw Mirajane, Gray and Juvia were also with him along with Master Makarov.
"I'm so happy to see all of you!" she said happily as she hugged the old guild master. She couldn't help it, after all that she had been through she just had to hug him.
"What the hell happened to Gajeel, Levy?" Natsu asked her. Normally the fire dragon would be having a go at Gajeel's expense but seeing a fellow dragon slayer in this condition made his blood boil. But before Levy could say a word to Natsu, Makarov silenced the fire dragon and motioned for Levy to follow him so they could talk.
"Mirajane, will you and the others tend to Gajeel so we can move him?" he asked without turning around. Mira complied with the old guild master as he and Levy walked off.
When he felt it was safe Makarov began to speak. "Levy my dear, I am so glad that you are safe. Gajeel did well getting you out of there...I had only hoped that it would have been easier though," he said judging from the two mages condition.
Levy shook her head, "I'm fine Master, really I am. It's Gajeel I'm worried about" she said sorrowfully as she looked down. "I should have been stronger!" she cried out, shaking as she clapped her hands over her face.
"My dear, I'm sure you were strong" he said as he walked over and placed his hand on her shoulder. "But I must ask...did Ivan find out that he was a double agent?" he asked in a serious tone.
"N-No...Lily said that he nor any other member in Raven Tail know about him but..." she said as she paused for a moment, remembering something PantherLily told her.
"I believe that he was the one that gave Gajeel that wound" she said, crying as her hands shook in her lap. She finally figured out what PantherLily meant by that remark about Ivan. "Gajeel told me not to worry about how he got hurt but...I knew it had to be something like that."
Makarov couldn't believe what he had just heard. Even though his son regarded Gajeel as one of his most trusted members he still ran a sword through him to prove a point. The old master contained his rage for now, "Don't worry Levy, everything will be fine. We're taking the two of you home."