A/N: Thank goodness the school year is almost through! It'll be my birthday on the 25th of May, and I cannot wait to turn 14! :) As of this moment, I'm absolutely terrified. Here in Iowa, several tornadoes touched down and scared the living heck out of me, and tonight it may produce more severe weather! After taking my final exams this week and the next, I promise to update more!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, but if I did I'd be the happiest person on the planet. Can I have it for my birthday, Mashima?
Thesaurus
Chapter 11: The Shrimp's Stand
Gajeel liked to think he wasn't the type to panic. Somebody as strong as him didn't need to something as weak as worry! But he was beginning to drop his 'cool guy' charade in favor of freaking out over the disappearance of his partners.
"What the hell, where are they!?" His angry exclamation awoke poor Tono, who winced as he rubbed the large bruise forming on the back of his skull. Ryomo sat silently, immediately understanding the situation. 'Those morons nabbed the wrong girl!' It was really too bad, as she had been eager to see Zack again after the long while they'd been apart.
"You know something, do ya?" Ryomo cursed under her breath as Gajeel loomed over her. He'd caught the slightly agitated and longing look that had crossed her face. The blue-haired girl didn't answer, struggling against her ropes. But just as she was about to declare that she wouldn't say anything if she wasn't untied, Gajeel undid her restraints.
"Yer gonna lead us to her, now," He roughly grabbed her wrist and stopped to sling a dazed Tono over his other shoulder. "I'm getting both of my partners back, and you two are gonna help me!" Upon stepping outside, the three realized the storm had stopped in their area, for the most part. Instead, a chaotic array of lightning was forking across the sky over a certain patch of woods.
"That's Zack!" Ryomo stared into the clouds, her brow furrowing. 'Surely Levy-san isn't thinking of taking both him AND Nyx on?' Both of her teammates would be upset over snatching the wrong person, and would likely want to take it out on something.
"Who's Zack?" Tono interrupted her thoughts from over Gajeel's shoulder. "That wouldn't be the one who hammered their fist into the back of my head now, would it?" Ryomo winced guiltily as the former Fairy Tail mage pushed his glasses up on his nose.
"You know those mages?" Gajeel's face became stormy. "Good, you're going to help us kick their asses." His grip on her wrist tightened as he began to increase his pace, wanting to locate his friends. He found himself becoming increasingly concerned as shadows nearly overrode the lightning in the air. 'What's going on over there?'
*In the Forest*
It was ironic, almost, how much Levy had come to dislike lightning. It had started with Laxus and the Fairy Tail war. Those bolts had almost taken away her guild mates, and had managed to deal out a lot of damage to Magnolia. Now it was this Silver-haired maniac and Nyx, who happened to scare her even more.
"Pantherlily, if you can, please go find Gajeel," she said calmly. "I'm going to hold them off for as long as I can." The Exceed shot her a worried glance from where he trembled on the ground, but nodded and took to the air.
"Oh no you don't you stupid cat, Shadow Barrage!" Nyx had an insane glint to his dark eyes as he sent a mass of darkness for the fleeing Exceed. Luckily, Levy was both determined and ready.
"I won't lose to you, and I won't allow you to hurt my Nakama!" She held her stylus and moved her arms as quickly as she could. "Solid Script: Light!" The beam penetrated the shadows and they dissolved into nothing. 'Phew! That's taken care of, but I need to strategize; who should I take out first?'
Nyx seemed to be the weaker and less stable of the pair, but if she wasted too much magic on him, Levy wouldn't have enough strength left to stand against Zack. She was going to have to do as much damage as she was able until Gajeel came for her; she had no doubt that he would come.
"That was weak," Zack commented, watching as Pantherlily flew back towards Valletta. "You're going to be easy prey, shrimp." He warmed a sphere of lightning between his palms, concentrating on putting most of his magic into one blast.
"That's what you think! And don't call me shrimp, only he's allowed to call me that!" Blue bangs blew into her eyes as the atmosphere became denser with the aura of powerful magic. "I may look weak, but I am a Fairy Tail mage, and I will defeat you!"
Zack rolled his eyes and readied himself to launch the blast. "I don't usually fight little girls but oh, well." Everyone's hair stood on end as electricity hurtled towards Levy. 'Master Mavis, let me show them the strength of Fairy Tail!'
"Solid Script: PROTECT!" An iridescent green shield appeared around her small frame, and the lightning reflected back, striking an unfortunate Nyx. Said shadow mage crumpled to the ground, dazed and no longer a threat, for now.
Zack flexed his fingers, surprised. Maybe she wasn't as weak as she looked. 'I don't like that look in her eyes. She looks furious and dead-set.' Indeed, Levy's hazel eyes were filled to the brim with determination. Her blue brows furrowed as she calculated her next move. 'Just try to make light of me, I'll become stronger to protect my guild, and Lucy, from you!'
"Solid Script: INFERNO!" An unprepared Zack was met with a whirl of rampaging fire, and just managed to avoid the core. Now his left arm was burned, and he'd lost the feeling in his fingers. 'No! I need this hand to focus energy; she may have doomed us both…'
Without being able to use his left hand to steady the flow of magic, Zack's lightning could go haywire and severely injure, or even kill, both of them. Across from the panicked boy, Levy's legs shook. 'T-That spell! It was so powerful…I am becoming stronger, Gajeel!'
"I'll admit, girl. You're better than you look, and you've got spunk. But I have to take you back to my guild so we can use you as bait for Heartfilia." Zack really didn't want to, as Levy reminded him of Ryomo too much. But he couldn't ignore orders, lest he be punished.
"Final Strike: BRILLIANCE!" Just as he'd thought, he couldn't control his lightning, not without his left hand. The bolts rebounded all across the clearing, setting many of the trees on fire. Levy watched with wide eyes as one of the larger strikes barreled towards Zack, and it was then she moved.
"Solid Script: IRON!" The word formed right in front of her, almost as big as the one she'd created for Gajeel on Tenrou. As a conductor, the iron immediately attracted all of the lightning scattered across the area. The word was bombarded with electricity, and poor Levy was much too close to the super-charged word as it exploded; not able to take all of the power in.
Dead silence followed as Levy collapsed. Zack stared in disbelief, unable to comprehend. 'Did she just save me? But why…I'm the enemy!' Seeing her blue hair resting on the ground gave him a flash of Ryomo's face, and he unconsciously took a step towards her.
"W-what have I done?" Zack choked, getting down on his knees to survey the girl. He should take her back to the base now, right? 'She just saved my life…these people aren't want the master has told us they are. They are good; we're the bad ones.'
It was unfortunate for Zack that at that moment, Nyx snapped out of his daze. "So you've defeated the scum! Tell me, how easy was it?" He laughed eerily and stooped down to roughly sling Levy over a shoulder. "Ha! You're hardly injured; except for that burn. Damned weaklings are all Fairy Tail has to offer."
Zack looked up weakly, grimacing at the sadistic look on Nyx's face. "We'll be sure to torture the little brat once we get back, right Zack?" The lightning mage was pulled to his feet, and Nyx slapped him hard on the back. "Ryomo will be proud of how you dealt with the trash so quickly, huh?"
"No," Zack breathed. "No you're wrong, drop her! They aren't bad; she saved me! Everything was a lie, all Ryomo's father told us, lies!" He moved his wounded body to take Levy from his guild mate, but was harshly constrained by Nyx's shadows.
"What are you saying!? These bastards are the ones who took the first Master away from us; they'll pay for what they did!" The clearing became covered in shadows as Nyx deposited the unmoving Levy onto the hard ground. "Starting with this little snitch, they'll pay. All of them will pay."
Swirling shadows formed a pronged weapon in the crazed man's hands, and he positioned it over the solid script mage's back. 'All of them will pay, every last one.'
*Outside of the Forest*
"You're telling me it was Nyx and your boyfriend that nabbed them?" Gajeel demanded as they ran. Ryomo only nodded dryly, struggling to keep up with a frantic dragon slayer's pace. Tono stared at behind them from Gajeel's shoulder, and took note of the change from open field to tightly-packed trees of the forest.
Then, suddenly, they were dive bombed by a black fur ball. "LILY!" Gajeel momentarily stopped running to drop Tono onto the ground and clutched his cat to his chest. "My cat," he crooned, "I bet ya fought all of em off without breaking a sweat!"
Pantherlily looked down, silent. "Levy's the one fighting them off," he said regretfully. "I couldn't overcome my fear of storms; one of them has lightning magic." Gajeel stared wide-eyed at his cat, and took off without another word.
'Shit,' he cursed. 'Shrimp you've got to be alright. I'm coming!' Gajeel felt an unfamiliar feeling spread through his chest; similar to the one he'd gotten on Tenrou, but stronger. It tore at his mind, and all of his nerves felt like they had electricity coursing through them. An overwhelming desire to protect what he cared about surfaced and surpassed anything he'd ever felt before.
Gajeel could smell the magic laced through the air as he approached a clearing up ahead. This was it. The iron dragon slayer charged through the last bush and bellowed as loud as he could, "LEVY!"
A/N: To make up for the wait, this chapter is nearly 2,000 words long! YAY! Also, I would like to wish those affected by the frightening tornado in Oklahoma luck. Please be well. How was the fighting scene? I hope it was alright.
I'm planning to watch some Hetalia after this. My favorite is China, who's yours?
REVIEW REPLIES:
MsSlicingClaws: I love those Abridged so much…XD Natsu: You left your wallet at the diner… Lucy: WHA? Natsu: I'm not giving it back! XD Really, you did? Thank you very much! They kind of are ridiculous, but I love them anyway! Oh that was me on this chapter, damn writer's block. I hope you keep writing, though!
Kurisu313: AH! Well here is your awaited chapter, and I apologize for the wait. I hope it lives up to your expectations…
Darkmyr-InuYashaFan: So do I! She's my favorite character. She's just the best bookworm there has ever been!
SakuraIchigoDark: Don't we all? XD I love Lily. I kind of feel mean for doing that, but hey! Anything to get Levy's adrenaline and determination pumping! :)
Nadeshiko Redfox: XD No! Don't sell poor Levy-chan! Gajeel would murder you… You're welcome! I live to make people laugh, and for someone as kind as you, it's honestly the least I can do. Here it is, sorry for the wait!
Miss Rune: Hide the kiwis, HIDE THEM UNDER YOUR BED AND HURRY! *holds Pantherlily back*
Review, or I'm going to tell Tono Rabbits you've got bananas. Tono likes bananas…