A/N::
Last time, There was a major temper tantrum thrown. Natsu's seal was broken, and he now knows the whole story. Lucy is out of commission, badly injured and unconscious and Igneel is... sad? Maybe...
Chapter 3: Deciphering the code
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It was dark, the air smelled heavily of medical herbs and perspiration. His nose detected dried blood, and salt, most likely from a water source. The ringing in his ears began to dull.
Natsu listened to the sound of shuffling feet, completely unaware of where he was or why he was there. His whole body felt like it couldn't make up it's mind between being completely numb or in so much pain it felt like he'd gone ten rounds with Erza in her flame emperor's armor. If he could have, Natsu would have whined about the discomfort, but he found that he was not truly awake, only aware.
The shuffling suddenly stopped.
"Lucy-nee he is stable now." He could make out the youngest dragon slayer's voice. She was hovering just above him by how loud she was. "You need to rest!" Natsu noted the tinge of panic in Wendy's voice as she spoke. "Please, I know you won't calm down so long as you are here, just take a walk or something!"
"No! I won't rest till he is awake and you know that! If you truly want me to leave, you will have to drag me out! I warn you now that I will be kicking and screaming the whole way! How the hell am I supposed to stay calm when Natsu won't open his eyes? How am I supposed to stay calm when I can't HEAR him... Not at all!" Lucy's voice was rasping and pained, her breaths shallow and close together. Natsu could instantly tell that she had been crying, and she was injured.
"FINE I give up! Do whatever you want! I don't care anymore!" Wendy's voice was high pitched in her anger, as well as frustration. Natsu heard stomping and then a door slamming.
The room was instantly filled with the echoed sobs of his wife who placed herself in the chair beside his bed. He wanted desperately to comfort her, but remembered that he was unable to move, let alone speak. He tried with all his might to open his eyes so that she would at least know he was awake, but they were just too heavy.
His heart ached as he remembered what had happened at the waterfall. She had completely used her magic up in order to heal the damage the seal breaking had caused his body. She didn't even have enough energy left to heal herself completely. He wanted desperately to brighten her mood with one of his most devastatingly heart warming grins, the kind that always managed to make her grin just as warmly no matter the mood she was in. He wanted to tell her that everything would be fine, and wrap her in a tight hug, but as it was, he could barely keep himself awake.
They stayed in silence as Natsu drifted in and out of consciousness, the only sound marring the still atmosphere were the pained sobs of a wife who felt she hadn't done everything she could to protect the person who meant most to her.
The younger girl had stormed out of the room in a huff of irritation, her frustration causing her to punch a near-by tree several times. The tree groaned in protest before one last blow toppled it over completely. "If you don't want my help then fine, suffer alone!" Wendy had never felt this angry at her friend before. Lucy was as stubborn as Natsu and everyone knew it, but for her to insult Wendy, as if her magic was not good enough to heal her friend, it was just infuriating. "I don't care!" Tears welled up in the young girl's eyes as she knew that she was lying, she did care, and it hurt more than anything to watch the people she called family suffer when she could at least ease the pain.
All she wanted was to ease their pain.
"Wendy, what happened?" Levy made her way over to her smaller companion, who had slide down a tree near the one she had destroyed, wrapping her arms around her legs to comfort herself. Wendy didn't answer, she only lifted her head off her knees to give Levy a slightly broken look before hiding once more. Immediately Levy crouched down next to Wendy, throwing a comforting arm around her shoulders. "Everything will be ok." Levy soothed, brushing her fingers through the smaller girl's hair. Wendy let out a loud whimper, before finally answering her friend's words.
"How? Lucy-nee won't even let me treat her wounds! I half wish she had stayed unconscious longer so I could finish fixing her." Wendy's voice cracked as she sobbed harder. "She won't even rest, no matter what I say she is pushing herself to hard, and I'm afraid this time she may do permanent damage."
Levy stayed quiet, allowing Wendy the time she needed to let out her frustrations. She noted that Charle was keeping her distance as well, allowing the two to have their bonding moment in silence. When Levy noticed that Wendy's tears were starting to slow she took a moment to think. She needed to give Wendy something that would take the girl's mind off of the people who were currently bothering her.
"You should go spend some time with Grandeeney (Grandine). I'll keep an eye on those two for now." Wendy's sobbing slowed even more as she looked over at Levy's bright, encouraging smile. "You've done enough, now go enjoy yourself." Levy patted Wendy's head affectionately.
"I suppose I could take a break." Wendy took a deep breath to settle the rest of her tears, before wrapping Levy in a tight embrace, muttering her thanks.
Both girls wiped their eyes with their sleeves before Wendy ran off in search of her foster mother, Charle trailing just behind asking questions to keep Wendy's mind focused on anything but her injured friends as they went.
Levy released a heavy sigh, staring at the door that lead to the room Lucy and Natsu were hold up in. She was painfully aware that Lucy would rather die than leave his side right now. If it had been Gajeel and her under that waterfall she would be just as stubborn about leaving his side. She and Lucy were similar that way, even though she wasn't given the opportunity to show her fiercely protective nature half as often, honestly she was ok with that. She held a lot of respect for her best friend, but she was glad that she and Gajeel had a much simpler relationship. Though they all bore the Dragon link marks on their chest, Lucy and Natsu were the only ones who could use it to communicate, and it didn't seem to affect Levy's personality as much as it had Lucy's. Levy had many theories on why this had happened, but as the conversation was never appropriate she kept her thoughts to herself.
She truly understood how it felt though, because they all had something they wanted to protect, it wasn't just Lucy and Natsu who took on this journey to grow stronger. She and Wendy had made a secret pact that they would get stronger as well, so they weren't left behind on the battle field, and so far little Wendy was keeping up her side of the bargain, she was becoming so strong that she was able to cut a tree nearly in half with her bare fists. Levy refused to allowed her friends to put it all on the line while she stood in the background being protected. She would grow stronger while they spent their time here, and she would lift some of the burden off her family's shoulders.
With a look of determination, Levy pulled open her shoulder bag and gathered the papers she had been trying to decipher for months now. She had become so frustrated with herself that she decided it would do some good not to look at it for a while. It had been tucked away safely for the past two weeks, giving her time to rest before trying once more. So now that she had fresh eyes she poured herself into trying to determine a base of origin.
Levy knew she wasn't the best, but she had always taken pride in her knowledge and skills when it came to the written word. She was proficient in most ancient languages, and her speed at summoning her solid script was the fastest (or so many had told her, but Levy had never met another mage to compare her talents to). Struggling like this was not something she had ever experienced before and it frustrated her to no end.
She pulled out some of the books that Lucy had summoned from the resource room in the guild, she poured her full attention into trying to find something, (anything really) that looked remotely like the characters that were drawn out on the pages in Lucy's tidy print work. She spent over an hour, digging through all her books, going through every page with a determination burning in her veins that would not die until she solved this. After she had exhausted every book in her collection, it took her a few moments to decide what to do next. She picked herself up off the ground and quickly tucked the pages back into her bag, taking a deep breath as she knew what she was going to say would take all of her nerve.
Even from where she stood she could hear Lucy sobbing loudly, it only took a few steps to close the gap between herself and the door. With a curt knock, Levy opened it and made her way inside. Lucy was sitting in the chair beside Natsu, eyes red and puffy from her tears. Her hands were wound tightly in the bed covers as she watched his face, waiting for any sign that he would wake up.
"Lu-chan, I know you don't want to leave, but you should at least lay down till you are recovered yourself." Levy's tone was calm and soothing, like a mother comforting a young child who had scrapped their knee. Carefully and slowly she made her way across the room and knelled in front of Lucy's chair, giving her a tired smile. "Igneel said he will sleep for a while, so please, just take the time to take care of your own wounds. I heard you refused to let Wendy treat you again." Lucy refused to make eye contact, her hands shaking as she listened to her friend. "I can't force you to do anything Lu-chan, but I'm not going to stick around to watch you act like this any longer. I'm going to see Abra, that earth dragon. I'm going to put my time to good use while we wait. I had a thought that since you saw lizard like creatures that it may have something to do with the dragons, which could be the reason I'm having so much trouble reading the symbols. I'm hoping that she will be able to tell me something." Levy patted a hand against her bag, trying to smile.
Lucy looked like she was in so much pain still, and sitting up with wounds on her body was only making her pain more intense, Levy was sure of that. "You're no good to him if you don't recover, and you know he would get mad at you for refusing treatment. So just go lay down, Dammit. You need to heal." Levy got up to leave but Lucy wrapped a hand around her wrist, holding her in place. Levy stared straight ahead, waiting.
"Levy-chan, thank you. You're right, about everything. Please, tell Wendy I'm sorry for yelling earlier." Lucy kept her eyes glued to her husband, her voice pained with mixed emotions.
"I'm not going to bother her when she is spending time with her mother, tell her yourself when you see her later. We are all worried you know. We had to stand there and watch the both of you go through that pain, we are always standing back watching. Wendy was only trying to help, and you were shoving her away. Lu-chan, it's not right, and you know it!" Levy took a deep breath, before continuing. "I'm going now, so just get some rest, so we have one less thing to worry about. That is all the thanks I need." Levy pulled her hand out of Lucy grasp, making her way to the door with out looking back.
Levy felt bad that she used such a harsh tone with her venomous words, but Lucy needed the firm hand sometimes, and since Natsu was down for the count she needed to be that rock of reality for her friend. She knew that Lucy would take her words and truly look at how she was acting, and hopefully she would realize that Levy had been right, leading her to heed her friends words.
The clearing wasn't far from the little shack, so it didn't take her long to reach it. When Levy approached she was pleased to find that a majority of the dragons were still present. Laxus, (Lucy had kicked him out the second she regained consciousness) and Gajeel were in a deep discussion at one end of the table, and she truly didn't feel like interrupting, so she found Abra and seated herself next to the small female dragon. "Abra, I was wondering if you might be able to help me with something." She was rewarded with a toothy smile and and encouraging nod. "Lucy has been having nightmares about a place underground where she keeps encountered this large set of lead doors. There are markings and pictures that we can't seem to find a meaning to. I was wondering if maybe there was an ancient form of Dragon Script. I've been frying my brain for the past couple months, and that seems to be the most logical explanation for why I'm unable to read it." Levy placed her head on the table with a look of pure frustration on her face.
"Reading is not my strongest suit I am afraid, but I know who you could ask." The small woman put a finger to her temple as she spoke. "Draco, he is one of the only ancients left, if he can't tell you, then you're doomed..." The small dragon female made an exaggerated hand gesture as she spoke in an eerie tone, emphasizing the word 'doomed' more than necessary. Abra laughed as Levy shot her a panicked glare. "Don't worry, I'm sure he can at least help you try!" She pointed to the other side of the table where the god like figure of Draco sat with his golden hair and round amber eyes.
"Thank you, Abra." Levy quickly excused herself, taking a deep breath before she walked up to Draco. "Excuse me, I was wondering if I could possibly ask for your guidance." Levy knew that with men it was always better to appeal to their vulnerabilities, and with a handsome figure such as the Celestial Dragon, Levy guessed that his biggest weakness was more than likely, his pride. She would walk around her words carefully to make sure to flatter him at all costs, in hopes that it would help make him agree to help her.
"What type of Guidance do you seek, human?" Though his words came across as somewhat rude, Levy knew that she had spiked his interest. She could read the curiosity that crossed his expression rather clearly; she was good at reading languages, not just the kind you find in books. People used their bodies to communicate more than their audible words more often than not, and over her years of being a mage of fairytail she had learned that body language rarely ever lied.
"You see I have a task that I'm unable to complete myself. I've been working tirelessly on translating something for my friend, which is written in a language I have never seen before. Over the past three months I have gone through every book available to me, and still have yet to find any language even similar to the symbols. I've also tried to ask some of the others, but they said that you were the dragon to see." Levy wasn't sure when flattery had become one of her strong points, but she was thankful that she seem to be doing so well. She smiled brightly, tilting her head slightly to make herself look as adorable as possible.
"I supposed I could take a moment to look." He held out a delicate hand, waiting for Levy to hand over the documents. She reached into her bag and pulled out half of the papers, placing them in his hands with another bright and dazzling smile. Draco eyed her behavior with curiosity before turning his attention to the papers in his grasp.
Draco looked through the first couple of pages, becoming accustom to the writing, before his eyes widened. "Where did you get this?" He looked at Levy, something akin to fear crossing his expression.
"Lucy saw it in a dream, she wrote it out so that we had a clue as to where she was." Levy answered as simply as possible, not wanting to cause the dragon more panic.
"I will help you translate it into your language, Igneel is going to want to see it, I'm almost certain of that." The man brushed a nervous hand through his hair. "Can you lay them out in order so I can see it all?" Levy lifted and eyebrow, watching the beautiful man fret. Something about this writing had such a calm and collected dragon in a panic, and Levy knew that instant that her hunch was probably correct. What ever it was that Lucy had seen was surely a terrible place that she hoped they would never encounter.
"I will need a much larger space, this is only half of it." At her words Draco knocked away the food from the table and motioned for Levy to start. A small panicked squeak brought Gajeel to her side, he positioned himself protectively between Levy and the golden dragon. "It's alright, help me lay these out in order." Levy handed over the first stack before reaching into her bag and pulling out an equally large pile from with in. The others who were still gathered sent questioning glares towards the two as they set to work. Many eyes widened with shock when they observed Draco fidget on the spot, waiting impatiently for the duo to finish their work. Not one word was spoken as the table filled with papers.
It took them more than an hour to set it up in order, but when their work was finished they were rewarded with a vacant stare from Draco. "Did she really see this? It's not possible..." He was short of breath, running his fingers through his hair in a manner that worried Levy to an even greater extent. "Metalicana, you must bring Igneel! Now!"
"Draco-san, what does it say?" Levy could feel her skin crawl at the idea that something was terrible enough for an ancient dragon to act so panicked. He refused to answer until Igneel was present. Draco began to pace nervously shooting glares at the pages, as if willing the words to change. Levy looked once more at the papers, her imagination running the description of the lead doors through her head a million times more. "Please tell me something." Levy nearly pleaded, her mind running through every scenario she could think of.
"This is a language not even Dragon's use any more. It is so ancient that I believe there are only three left in existence who would be able to decipher it." That made sense to Levy, which made her feel some what better about being unable to crack it on her own. There was a long period of silence as all those present stared blankly at Draco, who only seemed to get more nervous with every passing minute.
Igneel made his way into the clearing followed by a disgruntled looking Metalicana. "What is it Draco?" Igneel followed his friend's gaze to the papers laid out on the table. It took him a moment before realization dawned across his face. "Where did you see this?" His black eyes bore into Levy like molten lava. Now she was absolutely certain that this was going to be bad, probably worse than Lucy and Natsu were even aware of.
"I didn't, Lucy saw it in a dream. She has been seeing it for months. When she wakes up she is always in a cold sweat, yelling about how she was trapped in a tunnel underground. Often she starts the dream, finding herself running, searching for people, she is often panicked because she can't sense anyone, not even thoughts. When she stops in front of the doors that bare these markings and horrific depictions of what we assume now to be Dragons being slaughtered, a man comes to her, and tells her she has no chance of beating him now that he has the power of the dark dragon coursing through his veins. She than attacks him, but that's when she wakes up." Levy's nerves were getting the better of her, the only thing keeping her from melting under Igneel's gaze was Gajeel's hand on her shoulder. In all honestly that was giving her little comfort as Igneel's gaze intensified with every word.
"How long has this been accruing?" Igneel seem to be just as frazzled as Draco, running a shaking hand through his red mane when he finally broke eye contact.
"Honestly only Lucy, Natsu and Happy know when it started. It has been a little over three months since the first time she had been able to make out the markings on the door, that much I am sure of." Levy felt the bottom of her stomach fall out with what she was now discovering.
"This... this was inscribed on the Door of the Damned over a millennium ago, before the sky was split. It is an accursed place that was used to reap souls in order to gain power." Draco explained sheer terror filling his eyes. "It was known to have taken the life of many of the ancient Dragons." A shiver ran up the Dragon's spine, making him shutter rather exaggeratedly.
"But what does it say?" Levy felt her stomach churn with nerves, but she needed to know. She needed to know what they were up against.
"Before thee lies the gateway to the Reaper of souls, hence fourth all whom enter here shall be cast into the abyss of despair. Thus any soul who ventures yonder shall forfeit all that lies within, withering hence for all eternity as not but a shell, granting the Reaper all the spoils of said soul's life force. The bounty for entrance stands thus, all souls will give there power and merge to become one."
Draco translated in a shaky voice. "It's steals your soul, and all of the magical power you possess. And the reaper of souls absorbs what the room beyond these doors hold." Draco lost his composure, letting his voice become high pitched and breathy. "But your body, it stays in one piece, damned to live on while not really living at all... It is a terrible fate."
"It was supposed to have been sealed away, in another dimension." Igneel gritted his teeth. "It's not possible for a normal mage to get access." The fear was tangible between the dragons as they looked from one to another.
"That's why we have come." Levy brought herself to her full height, keeping her eyes fixed on the tall dragons that stood before her. She mustered all of her courage and conviction to make herself sound as certain as possible when she spoke. "We came to become strong enough to defeat the one Mage who could gain access, Zeref." A hush spread, then a spark of pure fury lit Igneel's eyes before he ignited into flames.
"Acknowlogia must also be a part of this. The only way for a human to learn of it's whereabouts would be to find a dragon who was there when it was sealed. He is the only other elder left, the black dragon who devours souls." Levy allowed herself to slide into a chair, taking it all in. Once more her world had be flopped on it's head. This door, Lucy said that she had felt like they were behind it, did that mean that they had already lost their souls? Had Lucy been so angry because she knew that everyone of them was dead, and that Zeref and Acknowlogia had won? How could she face going home to know that Lucy had already seen them fail. Levy's throat burned with acid as she felt her dinner try to make it's way out of her stomach.
"Well then, it seems there is a second reason why you are all here. We have kept our distance long enough, I believe the time to train you has finally come. All of you." There was a murmur of agreement amongst the dragons. Levy and the other two present gave Igneel a stare that showed their confusion at his words, but the dragon ignored them, continuing his speech. "This is as much our battle as it is yours. If someone is able to gain access to those doors no one will be safe, not human, nor dragon, nor spirit." Levy was momentarily taken back by how profoundly enraged this development had made the dragon that Natsu had always described as playful and loving. His words were forceful and his voice held absolute command over the gravity of the words he spoke. A sense of admiration filled Levy as she watched on, in silence. She could see where Natsu got his passion for fighting, as she observed the tall man hand out assignments.
"We must start now, there is much for you young ones to learn. Metalicana send word to Grandine that she and Icilo will be in charge of Wendy, update her on the current situation and tell her to contact me when she feels Wendy is ready. When you return, Xylon and you will be handling Gajeel, you are the most familiar with him and how his training can be taken from here." The tall dragon, whom Gajeel had grown up with, huffed in irritation before standing from the table, he walked away muttering angrily under his breath.
"Abra and Uruloki please take Levy under your wing, she may not be a dragon slayer like the others, but I can tell that she will be involved in the battles to come. She will need your wisdom and guidance." Arba turned to Levy with a happy smile, again Levy imagined that she looked much like a pixie especially with her playful nature.
"Umbros, Constantine I'll leave Laxus in your care, his skills have grown since he was young, and the lycrima that allows him to us Lightening Dragon slayer magic will help him progress." The two dragons high fived one another chanting that they were planning on tag teaming the blonde mage anyway.
"Draco you have many things to discuss with Lucy, as for Natsu I will handle him. The Exceeds with remain with their normal companions." Igneel took a moment to look around to the mages and dragons who were still sitting around the table. "Once you feel that your charges are at a level were they can stand up against these opponents bring them back here. Now, you have your tasks, leave here." Igneel turned on his heel with a puff of smoke before heading in the direction in which he had come.
Chattering picked up as the dragons began to discuss things amongst them selves. "Well this is an interesting turn of events." Abra came to stand closer to where Levy was sitting. "It's been a while since Uruloki and I worked together like this." Levy could tell that the dragon was attempting to lighten the mood, and was thankful for her thoughtfulness. Worry was creeping into Levy's mind as she watched Laxus make his way over to joke with his two new tutors.
"What's wrong, aren't you excited to train with the earth dragons?" Gajeel set a scrowl on as he questioned his wife.
"We all knew that if we fail in our task everyone will die." Levy shifted her gaze to stare vacantly out across the forest. "But I never imagined just how scared I would feel when I realized how much of a disadvantage we are at." Levy felt numb, like she would never be happy again. Gajeel was about to answer her when the small female dragon cut him off.
"Levy," Abra put her very small hand on the human's forearm. "You have the advantage of knowing your enemy's plan, well some of it. Plus, you have the dragons on your side now." Levy looked down at the dragon for a long moment.
"I'm a script mage, not an earth mage. What good is it going to do me to train with earth dragons?" She hadn't meant it as an insult, she just couldn't help the words from pouring over. "If Lucky were here instead... with her wood manipulation magic... she would a better choice than me." Levy's eyes began to water. "I am the weakest out of our colony, and I know it all to well!" Levy's voice was becoming shrill as she continued.
"No one in our family is weak." Gajeel had stayed silent while Abra stoke, till this point, allowing Levy a chance to let out some of her insecurities. He knew very well how she thought of herself, and he had tried to help her see that it wasn't all true. "You have your own strengths, even if you aren't a dragon slayer like the rest of us, or some freak of nature like the Brat and Flame brain. You are a back bone member of the family, and you need to see that for yourself." Levy buried her face in her husbands shirt, allowing her feelings of uselessness to wash over her as she cried them out. "Besides, Lucy is YOUR best friend, not Lucky's." This comment brought a small smile to the small woman's face.
"Gajeel is right." Laxus, who seemed to be listening while trying not to look interested, slide lazily into a chair on the other side of the table. "Give yourself a little credit. If you weren't a mage of some importance than why did Gramps select you for the last S-class exam?" Laxus smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest. Levy took a moment to mull his words over in her mind. She was one of the eight who had been chosen, so did that put her on the same level as Gray and Cana? Yes, she had the intellect and the determination to be counted as one of those high ranking mages of the guild. And now, she was given an opportunity to train with a dragon master, how many mages get to say that other than the rest of her family?
"Alright, I'm ready." Levy abruptly pushed away from Gajeel a look of sheer determination set on her face. "I made a promise to get stronger, and if you can help me do that I would gladly accept your help." She gave a watery smile to Abra.
"That's better, now get out of here." Gajeel placed a soft kiss on her cheek and squeezed her hand encouragingly. "We will meet back here when we have all learned what we need to beat that Zeref bastard to a pulp." Levy giggled, wiping away her tears.
"I promise I'll make you proud." She looked up into his eyes as she vowed, never to doubt herself again.
"You already do." He smirked patting her head none to gracefully. Levy laughed before turning to Abra.
"I'm ready when you are," Her smile finally reached her hazel eyes, that sparkled with excitement. "Master Abra." The small dragon woman nodded and made her way over to the other Earth dragons, she started a heated conversation as they decided where to train.
"We'll be heading up to those mountains." Laxus pointed off into the distance as he pulled on his pack. "Can someone make sure that Lu knows what's going on?" His eyes seemed worried, but they also held excitement.
"I will take care of her Master Laxus, don't worry." Draco seemed to have finally regained his composure. "She and I have a lot to work through." Levy and Laxus released a sigh of relief at the same moment.
"She won't leave that shack till Natsu comes round." Levy pointed in the direction of the one room shelter where she had left her friends. "She is still wounded, and her magic levels are still depleted. It may take some time before she is ready to train." Levy turned back to see a smiling Draco.
"There is nothing I can teach her." Draco's response was simple and to the point. "From the time she was young, she never needed anyone to teach, only to watch over her progress." A fond smile graced the dragon's face as he seemed to become lost in memories.
"We are ready now Levy, say your goodbyes." Abra broke in to the conversation unexpectedly.
"Yea, alright. Well I will see you all soon." She waved with a content smile before walking to the earth dragons who had transformed back into their natural state. Levy was amused that they looked like brightly colored dragonflies in this form, they were no bigger than the palm of her hand, with delicate nearly translucent wings.
It was almost like following a bright rainbow off into the depths of the forest.
Levy walked for, who knows how many miles, without complaint while looking at the beautiful scenery. Her training in Magnolia was honestly paying off, because she didn't so much as feel out of breath when Abra flew back to land on her shoulder, after what she suspected was eight hours of walking with only a few short rests.
"We are nearing our grotto." The bright yellow dragon whispered as the forest started to thin out. Levy noticed that the terrain under her feet had become rocky and slick with water, so she decided to slip off her heeled shoes and continue on barefoot. Soon the sounds of rushing water echoed around her, drawing her attention up ahead, where a tall cliff was cut through at intervals with several small waterfalls. The white water cascaded down hitting the rocks on the opposite side, turning them back the way they had come. The noon high sun shown through the thick spray of water droplets casting a vibrant rainbow over the flowing stream that lay below. All around the cliffs were covered in vibrant green vines and moss. It was truly like a scene out of a fairy story as beyond the falls lay a cave, just as the stories would say, where the dragons there did lie.
"This is beautiful." Levy's mood was lighter than air as she peered around at the low hanging branches of a willow tree off to the east. The cool mountain water washed over her feet, tickling between her toes. How wonderful this place was, it simply sparkled in her minds eye. A true vision of what a magical world she had stepped into.
"We have never had a human here." Abra whom was still perched on Levy's shoulder stated matter-of-factly. "We will have to figure sleeping arrangements for you." To this Levy giggled, sure that these tiny dragons didn't have a dwelling nearly large enough for her.
"When I trained with Lucy, she taught our group that sometime it is beneficiary to embrace your surroundings, to allow yourself to let go of comforts like a warm place to sleep or a pillow to cradle your head. I learned in the first week that I am very capable of sleeping anywhere so long as I'm not wet." Abra joined Levy as she laughed at the statement.
"You are blessed to have such a wise friend." Abra stated taking off to look Levy in the eyes.
"Yes, I am blessed, I have a lot of wonderful friends. My comrades are those who learn from one another, we care for each other just like a real family should." Levy giggled in a light airy way that relaxed her whole body. "Abra I think that willow to the east will suit me just fine." Levy smiled as she made her way over to the grand tree. She pushed back the low swinging branches making her way to the center. To her delight the center of the tree was perfectly sized for her to nestle up inside of the branches. Levy threw her pack up along with her shoes before heading back out to the dragons once more.
Slowly she made her way across the slick rocks to a fallen tree, which she would use as her chair.
"Well first I believe proper introductions are in order. I'll start," Levy cleared her throat. "My name is Levy M. Redfox. I am a Solid Script Mage, who specializes in ancient languages as well as some runes. I love to read, and I enjoy making new friends!" The air was filled with the tiny dragons, their wings beating rapidly against the air as they stayed quiet, listening calmly as she spoke. "I look forward to working with you all." She smiled brightly before bowing her head politely.
"I am Abra the Earth dragon of the fields, and current head of this small colony." Abra's bright yellow scales glistened as she glided along the edge of the waterfall induced rainbow.
"My name is Uruloki, Earth dragon of the rock, I guess I can be considered the vice captain, since I do most of the managing while Abra plays in the meadow." Uruloki's scales were a brassy shade of orange, his eyes a burning red, like brilliant rubies shining in the suns light. There was nothing formal in his tone, and he seemed bored when he spoke. His voice was neither deep and rich nor high and irritating, it was a classic silky voice that went well with his seemingly carefree demeanor.
"I am the great Silvanus of the western wood! Pleased to meet you." Levy couldn't choke down the giggle that bubbled up at the pompous emerald green dragon. She could tell right away that he was very full of himself, and that she would need to take care not to insult his pride while she stayed here.
"Sup, I'm Cornelius, I like surprises." If he weren't in his dragon form he may have winked and gave her the index finger to thumbs double guns pose, but as he was still in dragon form Levy could only imagine. He did a quick loop in mid air showing off his brilliant golden scales before landing on a rock not to far from Levy.
"Hi, I'm Luella, a woodland dragon. It's a pleasure." A small dragon, a soft shade of lilac, said in a small delicate voice.
"I'm Mayda, a garden type, I get to play with pretty flowers." A bright pink one added cheerfully, Levy instantly thought this one was a little absent minded, and probably wiled away the hours looking at clouds trying to decide what shape they resembled.
"The three small ones here are Fayina, Damek and Celie." Abra informed. "They are the youngest of our colony, and are not very good at using speech yet. Also Terrenius and Xylon aren't here, they both have been asked for other things, so they won't be joining us for a while." Levy smiled brightly as she looked around, to the three small dragons, she guessed that Damek was the bright red one, as he was the largest of the three. Fayina and Celie could have been twin's because they were a very similar shade of sapphire, with glittering black eyes that seemed very interested in the stranger who their 'Big sister' had brought home.
"It's a pleasure to meet all of you, and I hope we can be great friends." The small dragons came to land on Levy's lap, curling around themselves in apparent satisfaction at their observations of Levy.
"For now I think we can let you rest. I has been a rough day." As if her body was agreeing with Abra's words Levy found herself yawn. With little reluctance Levy made her way back over to her tree, followed by the twin blue dragon's. Once settled in the safety of her willow, Levy reached into her bag and pulled out her cloak as a blanket. It wasn't cold or anything, it's just that she knew if she didn't cover her face from the brightness of the sun she would never be able to sleep properly. Once she was secure in the darkness, it was much easier to let herself feel the ache of her tired mind. She needed to rest properly so that when she woke, training could begin.
"We are not the type of dragons who usually get mixed up in fights." Abra whom had resumed her appearance as a human stated simply as she lay in the field of wild flowers. "That is probably why there are more Earth Dragons left than any other breed." Levy wondered just how many breeds of dragon there were, and if all of them were as pleasant as her current hosts. "The magic we want to teach you is unique, and no human has learned it before." Levy turned her head away from cloud watching to look at the much smaller female.
"I'm happy with the magic I use though." Levy only had a desire to become stronger, not to learn the art of dragon magic. She was pleased with her own unique set of skills, and had no want to change the core of who she was, a script mage.
"Terrenius has worked very hard to bring you these books though." Abra pointed to a large stack of books, beside it sat a tired looking man in a pale green outfit made of vines and leaves. "He has traveled a great distance with these." Abra had come to understand Levy's passion for books over the few weeks that they had been 'training' together. Levy often used their down time to read whatever she found in her bottomless bag, and she quite often fell asleep out here in the meadow with said book covering her face.
"What kind of books?" Levy's interest had been captured just as Abra had planned.
"Draco sent word that he believes you will be able to master a magic called Dragon Script. From what his message said, it is a special type of rune magic that allows you to take your script magic to a new level. The only problem is you will have to learn the language of the elders before you can study the texts on how to master the technique." Abra got to her feet and walked over to the unusually large Terrenius with a smile. Levy's eyes followed the little woman as she traced her fingers along the sides of the ancient books. "No one other than Draco has been in possession of these books since the ancient Dragon Adelaide wrote them herself." At this point Levy's mouth was practically watering as she pulled the stack of books toward herself.
She opened the first page and her brow knitted together. "Abra are they all written in this language?" Levy had lost a little bit of her enthusiasm as she began to recognize the script as the same one on the Door of the Damned.
"Over here, Draco sent you some more, this is how you will learn that language!" Abra pointed to a tall stack just to the other side of Terrenius.
"Oh." Levy made her way over to those books. She opened the first one on the stack and frowned. "I have to translate these too." With a heavy sight levy opened her shoulder pouch and pulled out her gale-force reading glasses. "Suppose I should get to work then."
Levy worked nearly none stop as she learned the language of the ancient dragons, from time to time she reminded herself that she needed to thank the Celestial Dragon for lending her the materials she was currently attached to. She literally eat, practiced and sleep with the books plastered to her face. Levy had taken it upon herself to continue her physical training the same as she had so many months ago when she and the others were learning the ways of Lucy's brutal teachers.
She began doing the meditating exercise under the waterfall, to help her learn to keep her concentration no matter the circumstances, often the dragons would take turned giving her little distraction while she lay half awake allowing the water to wash over her. She took to the meadow to practice form, as she summoned her words, she was becoming more fluid, and could tell that it was taking less strain on her magical reserve to summon her normal spells.
Levy knew from the first few books that she had translated that the key to mastering this new art of Script magic would be her ability to control the amount of magic she used to summon, and portion it out exactly. The mediating was also helping her increase her magic container's size. Gaining control over all of these factors would be key before she could even dream to start mastering Dragon Script.
Her physical stamina had already been improved from the weeks of monotonous running, she had taken to the mountain to increase the ground she covered daily, the ruff surface often slicing at her bare feet. (Levy had given up her heeled sandals on the first day.)
She was getting a lot better at keeping her balance as she ran over the slick boulders that coated the area under dragon falls. (Levy had come up with a name so that she would be able to tell Lucy about it later) The meadow was often included in her course, as well as a large portion of the forest surrounding the Grotto.
Martial arts was also on her training list, she often took to the meadow with Terrenius (who was closest to human size) to practice simple kicks and punches. Her fist didn't hold as much power as Wendy or Gajeel, but she was beginning to feel more force behind each blow as the weeks ticked by. Levy did her best to balance studying and training as she progressed in both areas, with the guidance of her dragon tutors.
It took several weeks for the language to become second nature to Levy, and as she became more than proficient in translating in her own mind she began to delve into the texts on the Dragon Script. Abra and the other dragons offered what support they could manage while Levy put her all into her studies every day. Her gale-force glasses were tucked away safely in her bag, because Levy knew that she would need to take her time memorizing the new form of magic.
She didn't always remember the reason she had become a mage, but the feeling she got from reading was something she would never lose. Levy was a proud mage, and worked her mind to it's limits every hour of the day, pushing her self just a little harder as she pushed her body to keep up with it's training as well.
She could feel it, finally she was catching up and becoming a mage worthy of the company she kept. Pride overflowed the small blue haired mage the day she was ready to summon Dragon script properly for the first time. She started with a simple rune, an enhancement spell that allowed her to offer a similar support to sky magic. It increased the speed and strength of the mages of the casters choosing.
As the days went by it became as easy to use Dragon script as her normal solid script magic, often she caught herself wondering if her skills were even more advanced than Freed Justine (Runes Mage) who would most certainly be envious of her new knowledge.
It took months for her to get to this point, earning her the spells, Chaos Sheild, an magic that shields her allies from both incoming magic as well as physical attacks.
Mirror Images, which allowed her to write a rune that would act as a solid projection of whom ever she encoded into it.
Reflection shield, a complicated set of script that reflected the enemy's magic back after being intensified tenfold.
Her most powerful spells were taking longer to get a hold on because of the great amount of Magic they consumed.
Death Symbol, a super destructive spell that had the capability to eradicate anything in it path, leaving nothing but a dust cloud in its wake.
Lastly was Uruloki's favorite, Earth Fury, it was a complex spell that opened the ground from underneath and swallowed the enemy whole.
Once Levy had every symbol mastered the time to make the journey back to the clearing, where they had all left several months ago, beckoned to her. She longed to show off her talents, to prove to herself that she was stronger, and that she now had the strength she had so desperately desired.
"We will miss you!" The pink and lilac dragons nuzzled their long snouts against Levy's cheek. The two blue dragons sat perched on either of her shoulder's refusing to allow her to leave just yet.
"I will miss you all too! Maybe when everything is all over you can come to visit us at Fairytail, I know that I would enjoy having you there." Levy's eye were already fighting tears, but she forcefully pushed them back, reminding herself that she had not spent a year and a half with these amazing creatures to let them see her crumple under the sadness of departure.
"Are you ready?" Uruloki seemed to hang his head before shifting back to his natural form. The colony of Earth Dragons whimpered in response to the orange dragon, none of them could stay in human form knowing that their tears would make parting with their friend so much harder. The air was filled with tension as Fayina and Celie nuzzled Levy in a wordless good bye.
"Yes, I am ready now." Levy took one last look back at the Grotto, smiling at Dragon falls. She would miss this place, but the time had come for her to walk tall, to leave this place so that they could return to Fairy tail with pride in what they had accomplished.
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A/N: The next five to six chapters will have over lapping time lines. Merry Christmas, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!