The Regal Key

===Chapter 5===

A Whole New Ball Game

The train pulled into a busy station. Lucy and Levy hopped off, enjoying the feeling of being back in civilization. After them came Happy and then Lily, the two motion-sickness stricken slayers over his massive shoulders. He dumped them unceremoniously on the ground.

"Thanks Lil," Gajeel moaned into the floor.

"What's this place called again?" Happy asked as he perched on Levy's shoulder to look at the map she'd been drawing on.

"This is Talleria. It's a pretty decent size for a city. The shards look like their buried somewhere near the middle. I-I hope that we don't cause too much property damage – Master will be angry."

"Don't worry, Levy-chan. Most of us are used to big repair bills." She leaned down to whisper in the blunette's ear. "You'll have to get used to that if you're gonna date Gajeel."

"I heard that," Gajeel whined weakly, not yet getting up.

"Should we head there or get something to eat?" Levy asked Lucy brightly, ignoring Gajeel utterly.

"I think they need some time to pick themselves up before the next challenge. Let's eat!"

===][===

Levy and Lucy watched the plates begin to pile up with experienced amazement. A fish halfway between the two slayers was caught in a violent tug of war and snapped in two before they slurped it down, bones and all.

"Don't do that to my fish!" Happy huffed, clutching his prize tightly as he nibbled away.

"No one wants your raw fish!" Gajeel snapped, ironically shoving sashimi down his gullet.

"Gajeel, please talk with more delicacy," Levy asked politely. He raised a metallic eyebrow and returned to gorging.

"So, we're heading to the central park," Lucy said as she examined the map. "And you say that it's going to be Cancer, Loke and Virgo this time?"

"Yep. The order is proceeding in the manner of the zodiac if you hadn't noticed."

"Two of those are going to be a hassle," Lucy said irritably. "Virgo's always a pain and I haven't explained to Loke that I have a boyfriend yet."

"I'm sure that he'll be fine with you," The bookworm reassured.

"It's not me that I'm worried about," Lucy replied, staring at Natsu.

===][===

After eating and making sure that the boys had thoroughly recovered from their motion sickness, they headed to the central park. It was a large open place with a tall statue of a soldier on a column at the very centre.

"I can feel the shards under the ground," Lucy murmured distractedly. "I'm going to raise them up."

"No, wait!" Levy cried, but it was too late. The three shards obliterated the statue as they emerged, the trio of spirits standing in the remains of what was left. Civilians gawked at the damage wrought upon their city.

"Oops!" Lucy cried, laughing weakly. In the middle of the ruins stood the three spirits with Loke in the centre. Cancer stood on his right and Virgo on his left.

"You're looking as beautiful as ever," Loke noted smoothly, pushing the rim of his glasses up.

"Sorry Loke, but I'm spoken for now," Lucy said, holding Natsu's arm.

"I see…then shall we test that he is suitable for you then? Virgo?"

Virgo held out a hand and began to summon a ball of rock before her, crushing enormous quantities of the stuff to make a super-tough, super-dense ball about the size of a fist.

"This will be a game of two teams. The goal is simple. You see that church tower over there? The team who uses the ball to ring the bell first wins. Simple enough?"

"How heavy is the ball?" Levy pondered.

"Here, catch princess," Virgo offered, tossing the earthen ball. Gajeel stepped forward to catch the ball in her place and staggered, almost dropping it. "Is that a punishment?"

"It's a tonne!" He growled. "I don't think the girls or cats could handle it. At least not unless they go into battle mode. Oh, that's right; your cat can't can he, Salamander? It's just my cat who's super strong and -"

"I get it," Natsu groused.

"Don't rub it in!" Happy wailed.

"So despite having more people, we still only have three ball-handlers," Lucy noted as Lily adopted his battle form. That was bad.

"We'll be the ones to make the difference then!" Levy beamed. Happy nodded, ready to help as best he could.

"Thank you for helping me, everyone," Lucy mumbled.

"Of course!" Natsu declared.

"This looks fun, Gihi!" Lily merely nodded severely at Gajeel's words.

"Throw the ball as high as you can, Ebi," Cancer ordered. "That will be the signal to start."

Gajeel grunted with exertion as he threw the enormously heavy ball high into the air. It hung there for a brief moment before gravity exerted its unyielding will and it began to fall again. The six main combatants rushed inwards, trying to be the one who caught it. Gajeel yelled as the ground beneath his feet gave way, Virgo exerting her influence.

Lily jumped, wings sprouting as he went for the ball. Cancer leapt in the way, scissors ready. No, not scissors Lily thought, frantically parrying with his sword as long blades erupted from Cancer's cutting tools. He had to remember that the spirits were more powerful like this.

Natsu and Loke clashed at the centre, hands blazing with flames and light as they fought. The ball fell straight towards them and Loke pushed Natsu so that it landed on his face. Natsu staggered under the impact but stayed on his feet even if he was bent over backwards slightly.

"You asshole…," Natsu simmered with his voice muffled by the ball. Loke smirked and kicked the ball, simultaneously bowling Natsu over and sending it hurtling to the distant church bell. Levy threw up three 'GUARDs' in the ball's path, managing to arrest its momentum and it began to fall to the earth again.

"I've got it!" Happy cried, dashing for the falling sphere as fast as his wings would allow. Lucy cried for him to stop, fearing that he'd be squished, but a chain shot past him, an iron claw grabbing the ball before he could reach it. Gajeel reeled in his grappling hook, placing the ball in his palm. Before he could move the ground beneath his feet lurched upwards and he began to topple backwards.

"I'll take this from a slayer, but not some damn French maid! Lily, heads up!" Gajeel threw the ball upwards towards the Exceed. Before it got there, Cancer jumped in the way, ready to intercept. With a cry of 'Gihi' it became apparent that he hadn't thrown the ball, but had held on to it with his grappling hook.

He retracted it again, spinning violently to smash the ball into Virgo and through the wall of a building. He watched with absolute horror as the building began to collapse and section of rubble landed right on top of Levy. No! No! What…he hadn't meant to…

"Gajeel!" He snapped around and Levy was right next to him, looking up with annoyance. "Quit daydreaming! We've got to stop Virgo!"

What? Virgo? Shrimp was okay? But hadn't he just…the building was perfectly intact. He rubbed his eyes and turned back to the game. He must be tired, seeing things. How much had he missed while he was zoning out? Natsu looked like he was having a hard time with Loke, but Happy had successfully carried Lucy over to trip Virgo with her whip. The ball rolled across the ground slightly.

"Is this all you've got?" Loke asked smugly.

"For Lucy, I've got infinitely more," Natsu raged, becoming engulfed in titanic flame. Loke was smashed halfway to the church by the next punch. The other two spirits rallied around him. They had a chance to shoot for the goal, but had to batter through a hell of a defence.

"Oi, Salamander! I've got an idea!" Gajeel shouted as he picked up the ball. "I'll hold it; you kick it with all you've got!"

"I'll burn you!" Natsu objected.

"Just try it, Gihi!" Gajeel held the ball out, turning his skin into iron. Natsu's flame raged higher and higher as he thought about why he was doing this, of how this mattered to Lucy. He wouldn't fail the person he cared about most!

"Kick of the Fire Dragon!" So dubbing his attack, Natsu struck the ball with his foot, Gajeel crying out in pain as it rocketed from his grasp. The three spirits had no chance to stop it as it struck the bell – and demolished the top half of the church.

"Geez Salamander, couldn't you get it any hotter?" Gajeel asked sarcastically, huffing on his white-hot hands. Levy ran over and dumped a 'WATER' over them to help.

"Is this a punishment for failure?" Virgo asked hopefully as she began to vanish.

"Not too shabby, Ebi!"

"I'll let you have this round, Natsu-kun," Loke purred.

"You asshole! I'll have every round!" Natsu simmered as the three key shards floated over to Lucy.

"I feel that I didn't do much this time," she said sadly.

"They're not just testing your power," Levy said, "but also the bonds with your nakama. Now, do you have any matching pieces?"

As the girls began to look over their prizes, Gajeel noticed the crowd of civilians summoning up the courage to protest at all of the damage. Makarov wasn't going to like the damage bill, but he had bigger problems. What was that vision of Levy being crushed? It disturbed him deeply. Maybe he was just stressed from this whole ambush business. He kept on high alert, in case they came again.

===][===

"You made him see her crushed by rubble?" Alexander asked Ivan aboard the Corvus.

"It was most gruesome I assure you," the Guild master affirmed, sitting back from his focussing crystal. "But I wonder if I am losing scope. I need to conjure some truly soul crushing visions if I am to unnerve someone with Gajeel-chan's constitution."

"Perhaps you could try to extend your influence over the others," Kurohebi suggested, grinning at the thought.

"Perhaps. I would like some further information on their personal worries and fears. Could you please eavesdrop on their hotel tonight, Kuro-chan?"

"It would be my pleasure," the snake confirmed, bowing to leave.

"Soon, they will be mentally destroyed, Alex-chan. It is then that we shall strike. Though there is a possibility of a minor coup before then. Allow me to explain my idea."

===][===

"You destroyed a church!" Lucy raged in their hotel room. "Do you have any idea how much those cost!?"

"You busted a statue!" Natsu countered , not backing down an inch. "That was a famous hero, too!"

"Well…that's different!" Lucy huffed.

"How!?"

"I don't know! But can we stop shouting!?"

"Fine! Sex?"

"Sure!" Lucy threw herself at him, embracing passionately as they fought to remove their clothes.

===][===

"They're at it again!?" Gajeel wailed at the wall, his slayer hearing easily able to pick up the pounding from the next room. "I know I called her bunny-girl, but she fucks like a rabbit for crying out loud!"

"Gajeel, please don't be so crass!" Levy cried, blushing like a tomato. Gajeel snickered at her embarrassment. "Don't laugh…I'm shy about that!"

"Why? You're an adult, aren't you? Bunny-girl's the same age as you."

"Yes, but she's an adult," Levy replied, stressing the word. "I'm just a child."

Gajeel frowned for a moment, not understanding the words. "Oh! You mean that she has boobs, right?"

"You don't need to say it out loud!" Levy sobbed. She was surprised as Gajeel crossed the room to her, his mouth finding hers. She could feel his hands place on her sides and start to work up…

"No!" Levy took a step back. "Don't!"

"I'm not gonna do anything! I just wanna show you that you're sexy!"

"I'm not!" Levy argued hotly, looking quite irate. Gajeel growled with annoyance. Not sexy? The little shrimp was making him feel all kinds of hot! He was trying his hardest to be a gentleman, but night after night with her curling into his side…how was he supposed to keep his hands to himself?

Because you'll hurt her if you don't.

"Damn you brain for being too reasonable," Gajeel muttered. He'd had sex before. He'd been with women in sweaty embrace. This woman was different. Special. Worth protecting, worth treating right. He sighed deeply. He'd need to use the bathroom to alleviate this need, but she was worth waiting for.

"Fine," he said at last, flopping down onto the bed. "And here I thought you were smart."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Levy huffed. She let out a small squeal as Gajeel suddenly dragged her onto the bed and kissed her. She giggled despite herself as they separated.

"Because if you think you're not sexy, you're the littlest moron I know!"

===][===

"All this lovey-dovey crap is making me ill," Kurohebi rasped from the shadows. On one side you had a pair so passionate and fun-loving that they consummated at all times, and on the other you had two opposites in a delicate dance to maintain a relationship.

How dull. Where was the argument, the violence?

Still, he'd gained a few ideas to relay to Master Ivan in terms of torturing their mental state. In fact, shouldn't Ivan be paying Gajeel a visit right about…now?

===][===

Levy woke from her slumber as Gajeel's hand slapped her in the cheek. It wasn't painful, but it did sting a bit. She drew herself up on her arms as Gajeel writhed and jerked violently in his sleep. She'd never seen such powerful spasms, his eyes flickering.

"Leave her alone…Levy…no…Levy!"

"Gajeel! Wake up!" Levy urged, resorting to striking him across the face. As he awoke, he snarled and his hand went to her throat, choking her.

"Don't you dare hurt her!" He shouted, incoherent. His eyes widened as he realised where he was and what he was doing and he instantly let go. "I'm so sorry!"

"I-it's okay," Levy mumbled, trying to regain her voice. "You were having a nightmare again."

"I was?" Gajeel looked around as if trying to find the source of his woes. "I don't understand – it was so real. You were in danger…a bad man was going to hurt you…"

"I'm safe," she reassured him, patting his arm. Gajeel couldn't help but notice her voice creak, because he'd hurt her. He'd hurt her again! Was he so pathetic that he couldn't even keep this one person safe while in a bedroom together? He couldn't keep her safe when he was the only person in the room!

"It's alright, let's just go back to sleep," Levy soothed, reaching over to kiss him on the forehead. Bless her cute little heart, but the motion did soothe his tumultuous soul and he settled down. But he couldn't quite shake the nightmare, because of the man hurting her. The man who beat her and hung her lifeless body from a tree.

The man who would forever haunt his mirror.

Himself.