Gajeel would never admit it, but he was grateful for this chance to say goodbyes to the few people in Magnolia that he actually cares about.
Because he wasn't sure he'd ever see them again.
He honestly didn't want this. He saw no point in abandoning the life he knew for the slim hope of a supposedly 'better' life with his biological family somewhere else.
Levy watched as Gajeel glided to the ground, before running up to him and nuzzling his cheek, "Thank goodness you're okay… Don't scare me like that again.."
He didn't push her away, but he also didn't respond. This was not lost on her.
"What's wrong..?" the Script Dragon asked quietly, gently taking his talon in her own.
"Everything.." he admitted. "Those Ferals won't leave unless the seven of us… Feral strays go with them.." he hissed irritably.
"You're not actually… leaving… are you..?" Levy asked quietly.
"I don't think I have a choice. Irene wants us to go… Apparently we have families out there who've been missing us.."
"That sounds amazing, Gajeel! They actually found-"
"It sounds fake, is what it sounds like!" Gajeel snapped, cutting her off. "This isn't a good thing.. Once we leave, I don't think we'll ever come back.."
Levy's ears drooped slightly once that realization dawned on her, "Oh.."
"I don't want to leave with those… those assholes.." he sat down and rubbed his face, "I need to find-"
"GAJEEL!"
"Speaking of," he looked up, right as a familiar blue-haired girl hugged his neck, "Juvia.."
"Juvia was in the park when she saw everything going on. She had to find you.." Juvia rambled nervously. "And she overheard the conversation when she got closer.. You're leaving?"
"I have to. I'm sorry.." he said. Normally he'd never let himself appear so weak or so tired, but since the chances were high that he'd never see his friends again, then he could allow it just this once.
But not a single damn Iron was going to see this side to him for as long as he lived if he could help it.
xXxOxXx
Gajeel growled under his breath as he followed the large flaming corpse of a Fire Dragon with the other five around him. The Fire King had already long since taken Natsu back to their home–which was probably for the best, because Gajeel wanted to sink his claws into that sorry so-called Prince–and his Advisor was currently taking the others to their own respective homes.
Erik never stopped glancing over his shoulder to make sure the third Fire had truly left until long after he had faded away into the distance. Wendy was sniffling quietly while Laxus never left her side.
"Hey, everything is going to be okay. We're going to be okay.." the Lightning tried to quietly assure the Sky.
Sting never took his gaze off the ground–uncharacteristically quiet–while Rogue kept his hardened gaze ahead.
"Will we ever see each other again?" Wendy asked quietly. Gajeel shook his head, "I don't know.." he admitted.
"I dare the lot of them to try and keep us apart," Rogue hissed.
Atlas Flame cleared his throat, "We are nearing the Iron Kingdom. Are you ready to see your home, dragonet?"
Gajeel hissed quietly, "I was home.."
"You may have been led to think that-"
"Oh knock it off, would you?!" the young Iron snapped. "I've had it up to the SUN with your attitude! I wasn't manipulated or brainwashed or anything! There's nothing wrong with our home! It may not be where we could have hatched, but it was where we did."
Atlas hummed, but didn't respond to that, instead, he said, "It no longer matters. You'll be going to your birth family now. At least try to have an open mind about it."
"Doubtful."
Fortunately, Atlas left them alone for the remainder of the trip. Gajeel wasn't in any particular mood to humor the older Fire, since he was too busy daydreaming about what he'd do once he got his talons on a certain younger Fire. He smirked when he heard Erik snort from somewhere behind him.
Unfortunately, his daydreaming was cut off when he spotted an explosion of magic in the distance.
"Oh no.. You all, stay behind me," Atlas muttered, before hurrying ahead. The others only spared each other a quick glance, before speeding up to catch up with Atlas.
It wasn't long before Gajeel saw the problem: A large Iron was aggressively wrestling with what looked like a Poison–well it was nothing more than a glorified snake with wings, but still a Dragon nonetheless–while the Poison was trying to constrict the Iron in it's serpentine body.
"Enough!" Atlas bellowed. The two stopped long enough to glance at the Fire, but they didn't move apart from each other. Instead, using the distraction, the Iron slammed a talon to the Poison's face, slamming its head into the ground.
"Explain yourself, pet of Igneel," the Iron spat.
If the insult bothered Atlas, he didn't let it show. He landed next to the two quarreling Dragons–the heat emitting from his body causing the Poison to flinch away–and hissed, "I have the solution to both of your problems. Maybe now you can end this petty squabble between your Kingdoms."
"Petty squabble?!" the Iron hissed angrily, wrenching his body out of the Poison's grip. "It was an act of war when the Sages stole your eggs, but it is nothing but a petty squabble when the Poisons stole eggs from us?!"
"Stole eggs-?! You Irons were the egg thieves!" the Poison snarled. "They even attempted to kill the mother! So explain that, Fire!"
Atlas scoffed, before glancing at the dragonets flying behind him. "As I said, I have the solution to that. It was neither side that stole from you two. Rather, it was a framing caused by the Sages, and Igneel has already long since dealt with them."
"The Sages? Sages can't mimic Poison magic to frame us!" the Poison said. "And we very clearly saw an Iron leaving our Queendom that night! It's obviously an Iron lie!"
"The Sages are heavily attuned to magic itself. They can mimic whatever magic they please," Atlas explained. "Either way, this war is over. Your missing dragonets are going home."
"Do you guys see that big Iron one?" Sting murmured.
"He looks kinda like Gajeel," Wendy nodded.
Gajeel growled quietly, "So what? It's not as if he means anything to me." He glared down at the larger Iron, who seemed to finally notice him.
"Come down here, young Iron," the older one ordered. When Gajeel made no move to oblige, he growled, "That wasn't a suggestion, brat!"
"Do as he says, Iron," Atlas ordered. "As for you, Poison, you will be going with the snake."
The older Poison hissed in disdain, but Gajeel didn't know if he was more bothered with being called a snake or by being left with a dragonet. Apparently it was the former as the Poison snapped at Atlas as he slithered past, before flying up to Erik with a strange softness in his eyes that Gajeel didn't think Ferals were capable of, "Come along, young one. Your family is waiting."
"I already have a family," Erik huffed, but let himself be herded away anyway. With everyone expecting Gajeel to do something next, he glided down towards the large Iron. The older Dragon snorted, pleased that the younger finally saw reason, "About time, brat. I was starting to think you didn't want to come home."
"Maybe I don't," Gajeel snapped. "Maybe I had a perfectly fine family back in my real home!"
The older Iron growled threateningly. Gajeel didn't back down, instead glaring into the eyes of the larger Dragon. He growled and turned away, "Let's go, brat. Maybe your siblings will be happier to see you than I am right now."
"Siblings..?"
"Brother and sister. I'm Metalicana, your father," he explained, walking through a tunnel that was just barely large enough to fit him. Gajeel glanced around at it curiously.
"What about my mother?" Gajeel asked. Metalicana shook his head, "Dead. She died to the Dragon who stole your egg from us. He also crushed what was left of the nest. It was a miracle that two of your siblings had survived."
Gajeel felt sick, "You.. You're lying to me.. This is all just to garner sympathy-!" he flinched when Metalicana gave him a look, a different look of anger than when Gajeel defied him.
"Do I look like a Dragon who needs your sympathy, brat?" Metalicana demanded. "You asked about your mother, and I gave you the answer. I don't care if you choose to believe it or not. Her lack of presence will be enough proof for you later."
"Right.." Gajeel sighed, he once again glanced around the tunnel, "Where are we going, anyway? Dragons don't live underground."
"We do. It brings us closer to our element," Metalicana stated, "But if it makes you feel any better, not all of the Kingdom is underground." He raised his head slightly once they walked out of the tunnel, "We are a Mining Kingdom. We mine and deliver iron to other Kingdoms in need of it."
"A Mining Kingdom…? I didn't even know such things existed.." Gajeel admitted as he looked around the area. It was a large, open space–smaller than Magnolia, but still big–surrounded by mountainous terrain filled with various different tunnel systems like the one they just emerged from. He watched as Dragons–all metallic in some way, but mostly Iron–entered and left the tunnels or sat in the open area doing various tasks.
"You lived in a human city all your life. It doesn't surprise me that they never taught you anything about how Dragon Kingdoms actually run."
"Well, I never bothered to ask, but I never cared-"
"They still should have taught you something. Or were they hoping you would never return?"
Gajeel scoffed, "Stop painting them out as bad. They weren't the ones who stole my egg!"
"Do you know who actually did it?"
"Well, no.. but-"
"Then it's settled. Unless you can come up with concrete proof that those humans are innocent, I'm going to blame them for it," Metalicana stated–in a tone that held no room for argument.
Gajeel growled, wanting to give a response, but Metalicana cut him off by shouting up, "Oi, Jaws!"
"Huh? What does 'jaws,' mean?" Gajeel tilted his head and raised an eye ridge. Metalicana didn't answer him, instead just continuing to look up into the sky expectantly.
Before Gajeel could ask again after getting impatient, a bright glimmer of silver flash in his vision, right as an Iron Dragon, not much larger than he was, landed before Metalicana.
"Yes, Father? What is it?" she asked, keeping her head raised. Gajeel hated to admit it, but he did feel a bit better with another Dragon around who wasn't so large that her very own voice powered over his own.
"I found our missing Iron. Apparently, we were wrong about who took him this entire time," Metalicana explained. "I want you to show your brother around our Kingdom, and teach him about our ways here. I'd do it myself, but I have to worry about spreading the news that this war can finally end."
"Brother?" the younger Iron stalked towards Gajeel, circling around him curiously. "Ah, I see. We do look quite alike," she said. The only differences between her and Gajeel were that her own scales were a slightly lighter tone and her eyes were more orange than red, not to mention, she was also slightly taller and a bit more muscular, but aside from all that, they looked almost identical.
"What's your name, newcomer?" she asked, pausing to curiously sniff at the Mark on his shoulder.
"Gajeel…" he answered, only a little bit bothered that Metalicana never bothered to ask–not that Gajeel himself was willing to share it with him anyway, but still.
"Interesting name. I like it," she nodded in approval, "Mine's Strongjaw, because-"
She suddenly lunged, snapping her jaws in Gajeel's face. He was not proud of the fact that he violently jumped away from her.
She chuckled, "Because of obvious reasons. I love doing that," she laughed to herself. "Alright, newcomer, come with me," she flared her wings, then took off into the air. Gajeel thought about just not following for a moment solely to spite her, before sighing and just doing so anyway. The last thing he needed right now was to annoy Dragons who already didn't know a lot about him.
"Most of our Kingdom is underground due to us needing to be in the mines near our element," Strongjaw explained. "Irons who don't are often smaller and weaker because they don't get what they need from consuming it."
"You guys eat metal here?" Gajeel asked. Strongjaw nodded, "Most Dragons eat their own element. It helps them grow stronger. What we don't sell to other Kingdoms, we keep here for sustenance. Do Tames not do that?"
"Don't call me a Tamed, Feral," he hissed.
"Feral?!" she growled indignantly, "Is that what you all call us?"
"Obviously! Because you guys are angry, braindead Ferals who eat humans and destroy cities," Gajeel stated.
Strongjaw's indignance slowly faded into something Gajeel couldn't quite explain. He almost felt guilty for how much she deflated at that–and did feel guilty when she looked him in the eye and asked, "Is that what you guys think we are?"
"Are we… wrong..?" he asked, suddenly feeling uncertain. She scoffed, "Obviously, yes! We don't eat humans and we don't destroy their cities! We don't even instigate fights with their Dragons! They always come to us with problems first!"
She dove into a tunnel, and Gajeel followed after, but not as smoothly because he never flew through a tunnel before. He swerved and ducked to avoid crashing into pillars, stalactites, and even other Dragons because they appeared in his vision right as he was about to crash into them.
Finally fed up with it, he landed. He was not about to make an ass of himself trying to keep up with his sister and crashing into every obstacle in the process. "Oi! Strongjaw!"
She turned, then whirled around and landed once she realized he wasn't keeping up. "What's wrong?"
"It's too dark to fly in here," he stated, growling. She tilted her head, then went, "Oh, right! You weren't raised for tunnels like we were. I'll keep this quick then."
"You moved on quickly from our little spat earlier," he noted. She huffed, "I'm an Iron Dragon with responsibilities. It's not my job to fuss over personal feelings. It is my job, currently, to show you around. Besides, I think I made my point clear. We're not savages. The humans and their Dragon can call us whatever they want, but it doesn't make it true."
"But you guys calling us Tames is okay?" he asked. She sighed, wings drooping, "Yeah, I concede to that… I apologize. The hypocrisy is unbecoming of me. But just be warned, don't expect everybody else to be so open-minded. To them, the humans' Dragons are just a bunch of idiotic animals. Not true Dragons."
"That's just stupid. Neither side is considered a true Dragon by the other. It must be exhausting being so hateful all the time."
"Yeah. I try not to dwell on it, but there's only so much I can do when Dragons are coming at me from all angles, telling me how I'm supposed to feel," she said. "Honestly, it's quite relieving having someone like you around. Sure, you had an opinion that differed from mine, but instead of telling me that I was supposed to think the same way you are simply because you're right and I'm not, you just provided a different point of view that I could either agree with or not."
"Duh," he snorted, "But I wish the Dragons that brought me here could've done the same. I don't want to be here, but I'm expected to be because I'm their 'missing Iron,' or whatever. The Fire that brought me here kept trying to convince me that everything would be better this way. I sacrificed my friends and family to be here. This is hurting them just as much as it is me and I'm angry about that!"
"I can see that. I know we got off to a rough start, but I'm sorry to hear about all that, and as your sister, it's my job to make you feel welcomed and comfortable here. You may not view me as family, but.. maybe someday, we can be family to each other."
Gajeel paused, but then glanced at her when she continued, "I'm not going to force you to think any certain way, though. If I'm just another Iron to you, I'm okay with that too."
"Heh, I appreciate it," he said, "But I ain't here to be sappy and all that. What else do I need to see?"
"Hah!" she laughed, "Well, we're in the entrance to the mines right now. It'll get a bit easier to see deeper in."
"What? How?" the last time Gajeel checked, that wasn't exactly how light worked.
"There are glowing plants and crystals deeper within the caves. We have to go pretty far for that, though. Also, your eyes will eventually adjust to the lack of light," she explained. "Until then, stay close to me so you don't bump into anything."
"Iron doesn't form so deep, does it?"
"Of course not, but ever since we first dug into the underground cavern, it turned into a pretty popular hang-out spot for us. I think you'd enjoy seeing it," she grinned–to the best of her ability.
With that, she ducked into another cavern, with Gajeel doing his best to make sure he was still behind her. True to her word, however, it did eventually get easier to see as they grew closer to this cavern she spoke of.
Strongjaw stood at the edge of the opening into the cavern, before leaping out of the tunnel into it, using her wings to glide down to the floor below.
Gajeel went to follow then stopped, eyes wide at the view before him.
Strongjaw wasn't lying about it being a popular spot. There were multiple Dragons–with some not even being of any metal element–who roamed the cavern that was almost too big for even the larger adults. Almost every inch was covered in some form of phosphorescent plants, which lit up the dim place just enough to be able to see. And also glowing crystals, which Gajeel didn't even think existed prior to now.
There was also an underground river, which multiple, smaller Dragons were playing in.
It reminded him of Magnolia's park and he wasn't quite sure what to make of that.
"You like what you see?" Strongjaw asked from somewhere below him. "I told you that you would like it!"
"Yeah, it's sure something!" he nodded, then glided down towards her. "So what about the rest of the Kingdom?"
"What about it?" Before he could ask what she meant, she interrupted, "Look, I'm sure you've had a long flight, which is why I brought you here first. I figured you needed a bit of relaxation before having to worry about all the technical stuff. That can wait another hour or two, right?"
"Gihi, I suppose so," he chuckled.
He stretched, then settled down next to her in the phosphorescent moss. Sure, this was no sunbathing with Wendy and Natsu–he grimaced slightly at the memory–but it'll have to do for now. Besides, it was still comfortable.
He rested his head in the moss. He refused to fall asleep though. She may seem nice, but he didn't quite trust her just yet. That being said, he was still hopeful that he had at least one friend in this place.
Whether the situation turns out for better or for worse, he was grateful to hopefully have somebody by his side.