Author's note: alright! Chapter 9! Looks like Makarov has a bit of a secret in this chapter! Let's find out!
Chapter 9: The truth revealed.
"Master, what is it you have to tell us?" Lisanna asked. The room stayed silent until finally Makarov spoke:
"The truth." The guild's eyes widened when they heard that.
"What do you mean the truth gramps?" asked Natsu. Makarov sighed.
"It's about The Virus. Do you all remember when The Virus started I said no one in Fairy Tail was affected? I lied. But I have a reason."
"What do you mean you lied?!" Gray screamed "You mean to tell us there were members of our guild that were affected. Are we at risk?!"
"Gray! That's enough!" Erza screamed "Continue Master."
"The day The Virus started; some of our own were out there. And they became the first victims along with some of the town's people. Some of you may remember about someone you cared deeply about but can't seem to remember more about them."
Levy realized what Makarov was talking about. She was in love with someone but couldn't remember them for the life of her. She needed more information.
"Are you saying that some of those zombies out there are our comrades?" she asked.
"Correct." Makarov said "Gajeel, you were a member of Fairy Tail before The Virus." Gajeel's eyes widened. He was a member of Fairy Tail?
"He was?" Levy asked.
"Yes." Makarov continued "Mira, Lisanna, you girls had a brother; Elfman. He was taken by the Virus as well. Gajeel and Wendy had cat companions who were taken, and Cana had a father. The day The Virus took effect; those I have spoken about were taken by The Virus. I knew you all would have to end up hunting your loved ones so I wiped your memories of them. So that way you wouldn't have to feel the pain of harming them or them harming you. Please forgive me for my actions. I only did this to protect you all."
Silence spread across the guild. No one knew what to say. Yes, Makarov kept this secret from them, but he did it for a reason. Natsu banged his fist against the hardwood table in the guild.
"We'll get them back gramps." Natsu said "We'll get them all back! We'll find those damn flowers and make a cure! Things will go back to normal! Our family will be whole again!" Tears formed in the eyes of those around Natsu "Gajeel, We'll get you cured as soon as possible! You're a member of our family and we'll help you!" Fairy Tail cheered. Levy shed a few tears of joy. Natsu was right, they will win this.
For the rest of the day, the Fairy Tail guild planned their way to getting to the other side of Fiore without any trouble from the zombies. They couldn't fly, Happy was the only Exceed in Fairy Tail at the moment. The train stations were closed from all the zombie attacks (much to Natsu's relief) the only other option was by magic car, carriage, or boat. Since there were risks of zombie attacks; they decided to go by boat. They will sneak into Hargeon tomorrow, get to the Fairy Tail Boat and sail to the other-side of Fiore.
That night at Levy's apartment, Levy was sitting in her bed reading her book while Gajeel walked out of the bathroom in only a pair of pants and a men's undershirt Laxus was kind enough to give him. He was drying up his hair with a towel.
"You ready for tomorrow Gajeel?" Levy asked.
"If it will get me cured then sure; I'm ready." Gajeel replied after throwing his towel into the hamper "To be honest I just hope there's someone there for me to beat up." Levy giggled.
"Well you'll hopefully have plenty of time for that when we go collect those flowers. This could get dangerous." He climbed right next to her and stared directly at her.
"When this all blows over and I'm cured;" he suddenly said "I'm going to take you out to the finest restaurant in this damn town."
"Y-you are?" Levy said surprised.
"Yeah, cause your my Mate. Well, you're not my Mate officially yet; I have to bite your neck in order to make it official. That's what I remember and what my Dragon Slayer instincts tell me. But I know you'd receive The Virus if I bit you now. So I'm holding off until I'm cured." Levy was stunned. Gajeel was being completely honest with her about this. For some reason; her cheeks turned a deep shade of red and her heart began to beat faster.
"Gajeel…" she said. Gajeel lifted his legs closer to his body and pulled the covers over them. He put his legs down and crawled into the covers "Do you want me to read to you tonight? She suddenly asked. She asked because she wasn't sure if he wanted her to read to him anymore now he had his speech back.
"Sure shrimp." replied Gajeel.
"R-really?"
"Yeah, I like it when you read to me. I always found it interesting watching you read." Another blush appeared on Levy's cheeks. She grabbed the book they were reading (which she finished by herself) and began where they left off. Eventually; Gajeel fell asleep. Levy watched the zombified Dragon Slayer sleep and noticed the guild mark on his shoulder. Levy didn't notice it because it was covered most of the time but now she could see it clear as day. Makarov was telling the truth about Gajeel being a member of Fairy Tail. Levy put the book down near the night stand and turned the light off. She began to snuggle into her side of the bed when Gajeel pulled her closer to him in his sleep.
"Mine." She heard him mumble in his sleep. Levy turned around to get a better look at the sleeping zombie. Her heart continued racing the more she looked at him. Why? She asked herself Why am I acting like this around him? Yes, I know he was a member of Fairy Tail before The Virus but we probably weren't that close. Am- am I in love with him? I-I can't be! I love someone else but… the more I spend time with him; the less I think about that other person. Levy's head continued to spin in confusion. She looked at the continuously ticking clock and realized it was 11:00 pm. The lights went out about an hour ago. Gajeel's snores filled the room. Levy sighed and snuggled up to Gajeel for warmth. She soon fell asleep to the sound of his snores.
They got up and left early the next morning. The sneaking into Hargeon was easy; one team distracted the zombies of that area while the rest managed to sneak to the Fairy Tail boat. Eventually the distraction team joined the other team and they sailed to the other side of Fiore. Natsu naturally got motion sickness but to the surprise of everyone around them; so did Gajeel.
"So much for Mr. Tough Zombie." laughed Jet.
"S-hut up speedy!" Gajeel groaned before waving a threatening sword at him. Gajeel crawled over to where Levy sat and curled his head up to her lap. Levy felt bad for Gajeel; he's done so much for her in the past few weeks they've known each other. Sometimes Levy felt she could never repay him for the kindness he's provided her despite what appears to be his nature. Levy began to stroke Gajeel's hair while he groaned in pain. Suddenly, Levy remembered reading about the acupressure points of a human body and that some can relieve motion sickness. Levy carefully lifted Gajeel's head off her lap and helped him lie straight on the ground.
"S-shrimp what are you doing?" he asked before letting out another groan.
"It's ok, this will help you." Levy replied. She began to press on areas below his ribcage on his stomach and pressed a point around the wrist area of the palm of his hand. Relief filled Gajeel and soon he was capable of getting up.
"Thanks shorty." He said.
"No problem. I recommend you keep on holding onto that spot on your wrist. The more you leave pressure on it, the less motion sickness you receive."
The day passed and soon nightfall approached. They had a simple dinner of roast beef, vegetables and fresh water (ginger tea was served to those with motion sickness). While everyone got ready or was already asleep; Levy was out on the boat looking at the skyline.
"Can't sleep?" a voice asked; it was Lucy. She was wearing a simple pair of pajamas.
"No, I have a lot on my mind." sighed Levy.
"Want to talk about it?" another sigh left Levy's mouth.
"Gajeel; he's an incredible person but my feelings for him, I'm not even sure about. I like him a lot; he's treated me with kindness since day 1 but I'm still in love with that one person-"
"The one you can't remember?" interrupted Lucy.
"Yes!" Levy said "Him! But, the more time I spend with Gajeel; the less I think about that one person. To be honest, Gajeel reminds me somewhat of him. But I doubt we ever were close before he was affected by The Virus. I don't know what to do anymore Lucy." Tears began to fall from Levy's eyes. Lucy put her hand on Levy's shoulder.
"I know it's confusing Levy." She said "But only time will tell what you really feel. I can tell you do care a lot about Gajeel and there's no doubt in my mind he deeply cares for you. I can sense something much stronger than what you and him already have occurring after this Virus ends." Levy looked at Lucy with wonder. Where was she going with this? "Just let sleeping dogs lay Levy. Let your heart sort it out. I know it will make the right decision. Now go get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow." Lucy then left back to where her bed was. Levy continued to stare out onto the sea until finally she went to the room she was assigned and slipped into her sleeping bag next to Gajeel.
She knew that she could sleep on her own, but Gajeel just wanted something to cuddle with. Big softie. Levy chuckled to herself. Since Gajeel moved in with her; she found herself unable to sleep without someone beside her either. Levy found it weird at first but considered it normal. The rocking of the boat soon lured Levy into a deep sleep.
"Wake up!" Makarov screamed "Get dressed and eat up! We're going to be there any minute!"
The guild did what Makarov ordered and soon, they spotted the other side of Fiore.
"There it is!" Levy screamed excitedly. The whole guild ran to the side of the boat to check it out for themselves.
"Look!" Lucy screamed "Up there at the cliffs!" The guild looked and was surprised to spot bright white flowers. Lumière lune fleur. They glowed like the moon in the early morning red smiled; things were looking up for them again.