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Chapter 16
Gajeel woke up around the same time as Levy did. He also woke up to an unfamiliar room, like Levy. He tried to move but when he tried to he gasped and sat back down on a mattress that wasn't his.
"Well prince charming has finally woke up." Said a familiar grouchy voice.
"About damn time." Said a person who Gajeel most definitely knew, Natsu. What was he doing here?
"Are you going to lay there all day or get up and start doing something?" the former voice grunted.
Who was that? Who… Porlyisca!
He groaned as he slowly sat up after bracing himself on the bed. He was covered in bandages that had crimson dots showing. Porlyisca was leaning on the doorway, while Natsu was looking out the window searching for something.
"What the hell happened? And why am I here?" Gajeel demanded. "All I remember is Zef, uh, Zeref killin-," he took a deep breath, "killing Juvia, and other guards."
"Well from what you just told us, Zeref came for Levy and ended up killing several guards while he was at it." Natsu said before shouting, "I want to fight him!"
"Quiet!" Reprimanded the pink-haired lady, scowling.
"Levy?"
"Yeah, the short blue haired girl." Natsu said.
"Oh, short stuff." Gajeel said then frowning, "Wait why does he want her? Makarov never said anything about her being wanted."
~~~Flash back~~
Makarov sat down, crossing his legs, on one of the benches in the cathedral.
"What I am about to tell you happened thirteen years ago, so you probably didn't hear about it or if you did, you won't remember. There was a small lively village-"
Gajeel snorted, "What is this, a fairy tale?"
"Quiet!" Makarov shouted, glaring at him. "Anyway, there was a small lively village and they were governed by the Elder of Script. She was a small but passionate woman who had a daughter. That daughter would be Levy McGarden, who is your thief. How she ended up as a thief is her story to tell but I can tell you that her whole village including her mother and father were killed in cold blood by a certain person.
"Who is this certain person?" Gajeel asked.
"I do not know who, however I do have a guess." Makarov divulged, stroking his chin.
"Ok." Gajeel said accepting that, "so what's the condition you had?"
"First, know that she is not the killer of these deaths. The condition is that you must find the real murderer. I'm sure you won't complain, after all, your job is to make sure justice prevails."
~~~End of flashback~~~
"Why do you think? He didn't want you to get involved and if all went right, you wouldn't have to know." Porlyisca said frowning, and muttered. "He's getting senile."
"What was supposed to happen if all went right?"
"You would capture him before he caught her and then he would be sentenced to death for his crimes. The end. Oh, and you stop chasing Levy."
So basically, they used me.
"But why is she wanted?" Gajeel asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"The guy, Zeref, he kills Elders. And technically she is one cause once her mom died she became one." Natsu explained.
That was the missing piece of the puzzle, that was what Makarov had failed to mention. Gajeel remembered what the people at the ball had said, she was the granddaughter of the Elder of Script. So they were telling the truth about that… "Oh."
"Anyway, we need to get her back before she's killed." Natsu said, worried because if she dies Lucy would be angry and sad.
"Let me guess, I have to go get her." Gajeel said sighing. He wasn't that unwilling after all he would get to help a person and he would get revenge for Juvia. He felt his resolve harden as he thought of Juvia dying for this bastard who had no sense of justice.
"Yeah, cause apparently I don't fight good enough!" Natsu huffed, angry. "Stupid Gray!" he said under his breath.
Porlyisca had enough of this behavior and so she went up to him and hit the pink haired idiot, hard.
"Ow!"
Gajeel sort of liked her now…
"You need to start stretching if you don't want to be sore for the next few days when you practice." She commanded.
…sort of.
The next few days past quickly.
Gajeel would wake up, get dressed, eat, and then practice till the sun ended only taking a couple breaks in between for lunch and dinner. He didn't show up at work at all. As it turned out, some guards thought he was dead and some thought he got injured so badly, he stayed at home. (He was never absent, only late).
Finally, Porlyisca told him tomorrow he had to go, they had found the location Levy was being held in.
She was being held in an abandoned house on the second floor. He was told to be cautious because the house was on its last legs and could collapse under too much weight. He didn't like that part of course. The part he did like was him killing the damn bastard.
He practiced extra hard with his sword that evening. Natsu had to tell him to stop because or else he would be too exhausted to fight tomorrow. As much as Gajeel didn't want to, he had to admit the idiot had a point.
While they were walking back to the bookstore which was were Gajeel had been staying at, Natsu stopped and opened his mouth then closed it, then opened it again.
"Have you seen Lucy at all?" He said hesitantly.
"No, I don't keep track of bunny girl unlike you."
"Oh, I haven't seen her for a couple of days that's all."
"You're worried."
"Yeah, I guess."
"She'll show up."
Natsu nodded and then resumed walking next to Gajeel.
~~ The next day~~
Today was the day Gajeel would finally be able to get revenge for Juvia. Of course, he was still nervous though he would never show it.
"Do you have everything?" Porlyisca asked.
"Yeah."
"You better come back in one piece because I'm not helping you again, you hear me?"
"Yeah, don't worry."
"Who said I was worrying." She said defensive.
"Never mind, I'm going." Gajeel said walking out of the bookstore. As he walked towards his destination he wondered what would have happen if he hadn't made it his life goal to find shorty. Juvia wouldn't have died, he wouldn't be so over his head, and he wouldn't have to worry about a sociopath on the loose. Well, we all have our flaws, his just created a bigger problem and there was nothing he could do to change it so there was no use thinking about it.
When he entered the building with his sword in front of him, he immediately understood why they had said to be careful with the house. The door creaked when he opened it and the floorboards shifted under his weight.
He heard the talking that he had heard when he was outside, stop abruptly.
"Come out Zeref! I know you're here!" Gajeel yelled clutching his sword tighter till his knuckles were white contrasting against the black leather of the handle.
"This is useless, you could never possibly defeat me." Zeref said as he came out of the shadows of the old house
Arrogant bastard.
He charged at Zeref who easily countered with his own sword, Gajeel struck again, trying to push him back with the sheer force of his blows. Having already fought him once, Gajeel knew Zeref's pattern of attack and so he had been coming up with ways to counter it during the few days of practicing and warming up for the battle.
Zeref feinted but Gajeel caught him and used it against him by striking at an opening. Zeref managed to block it at the last second but he still got wounded. It continued on like this with Gajeel getting a few nicks here and there, and Zeref getting injured more severely till he stumbled backwards.
"It appears I've been driven in a corner…for now." He said with his eyes narrowing dangerously at Gajeel. "Let us go, Evangeline."
Gajeel stiffened at those words, Evangeline is with him!? The annoying women was working with him; no wonder Levy had been caught. They disappeared in the shadows as they had appeared but not before Evangeline flicked a certain finger at him.
Once he was sure they had left he rushed up the old stairs that creak a little too much for his comfort. All of a sudden, he sees a yellow flash and then he's on the floor with the girl who was with Natsu at the bar on top of him.
Gajeel found himself screaming, "What the heck!?" He goes to help the girl and instead finds himself to be attacked by her friends.
"I'm not letting you near, Levy." The girl said calmly with her eyes shining with determination.
"I freaking come to save her, not to fucking kill her!"
"That's not true." Lucy-he finally remembered her name- said but her eyes no longer showed determination instead they showed uncertainty.
"Then why would I fight Zeref?"
"…"
"Exactly." He said before he switched their positions. Now she was under him and he was on top. "Now I'm going to go get her and you're going to stay here to watch her come out alive."
He walked towards the room leaving Lucy laying on the floor, stunned. He opened the door and strode in only to find a blue haired girl staring at him with shock.
"What, no 'thank you', no 'please help me'?" He cried out dramatically, wanting to get some gratitude from her.
As a response, she smiled slowly, stood up and walked up to him with her shackles falling off. He stared in shock and somewhere in the back of his head he realized that he looked like an idiot so he closed his mouth. Her smile grew at his reaction.
"Who said I needed help, Commander." She said sneering at the end.
He scowled. How did he get roped in doing this?
"We need to catch this bastard!" Gajeel shouted. He was in the bookstore with Levy, Lucy, Natsu, Makarov, and Porlyisca.
They all nodded agreeing with him but only one of them opened their mouth to talk.
"I suggest that Gajeel and Levy team up to find him." Makarov advised and raised his hands to stop the complaints, "It makes sense, Gajeel was able to make him retreat and Levy knows more about him then everyone here."
He said it with an air of finallty but they still complained.
"I can't work with her, she too short!"
"What?! I'm too short! You're too tall!"
"There's no such thing as 'too tall', shorty!"
"Yes, there is, after your alive aren't you?!"
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