Swish...
Clink...
Twisting...
Popping...
Crunching...
All of these were the sounds of the villagers as they prepared their weapons. Sharpening their weapons, practicing attacks, making a fire so they could light their sticks, and moving around the town to stay busy. They were going to walk together so that they could stand up to Rogue as a whole. They knew he was someplace in the woods, hiding. He couldn't have moved very far in the last 48 hours. Many expected he would flee after the truth about his identity was revealed, but they knew the Big Bad Wolf was no fool. If he could attack a handful of huntsmen at night, he could easily take on a village.
Or so he would think!
The villagers were not going to show up to the battle empty-handed. The wolf would soon find himself in a difficult predicament as they came from all directions. As the people proceeded to prepare for their battle, Gildarts loomed over them all, watching their productivity from the heart of the hamlet. He was the village leader for tonight's war, and he had to make sure everything was in order. Some folks who had never fought in their lives were being pushed out of their comfort zone tonight. The women were primarily being trained on how to attack.
Gildart's main purpose was to keep the women safe and hidden from things like this. They didn't need to witness the terror that the huntsmen had suffered every night for the preceding century. The Big Bad Wolf was not your typical wolf. The name itself described him. He was 10 times the size of a typical wolf. A wolf and a dog of the same size could be the same height. So his standing over a wolf was shocking enough, but he was also horrific, making his size an immediate danger to the humans. The Big Bad Wolf was previously called a Werewolf since he came to feast on a full moon and they got out of hand.
During the full moon, the wolves have always gotten out of control. They had no control over it, therefore it would have to be one of those nights they spent in the house if they wanted to be safe. Gildarts looked up to find that the sun was setting and the moon was rising. They were in for a fight because it was a full moon, which meant the wolf would go crazy tonight. Gildarts looked back at the crowd to see whether they were ready for a battle like this tonight.
Taking the women was a risk because they were their only source of repopulation. If they all perish, they will have no choice but to go to the capital to be secure. It will be a risky backup plan, but keeping the people safe will be his number one priority. Killing the Big Bad Wolf would have to happen tonight. During a full moon, it would be unsafe to travel to the capital with him in the woods lurking around to hunt for food. So why not attack and get him when he's out of control instead of settled?
When Gildarts looked over to the women relearning to attack, a blue-haired petite woman caught his eye as she used all of her strength to swing and attack with her sword, which had been given to her by one of the huntsmen. Despite her petite stature and obvious weakness for her size, Levy was the most determined. She was learning faster than Erza, who was doing the best of all of them. Gildarts assumes because her father was a swordsman, she was readily able to pick up on some maneuvers and make them almost as effective as the attack. He should have thought about making her a huntsman when she asked.
Her skills would have come in handy, but he needed her to make the weapons due to there not being many in the village that could make good weapons for battles.
Gildarts returned his gaze to Levy, hoping to see her do one more scenario until she got the urge to do something. She dropped her weapon and appeared to flee the area to do who knows what. Gildarts went to check on Levy out of concern because he didn't want her to be in pain. When he caught her between the buildings, she was puking her guts and had her head over the trash can. Levy appeared to be in a lot of pain. Gildarts moved behind Levy and began to touch her back as she continued to puke.
She exhaustively lifted her head and started to cough afterward. As soon as she stopped, Gildarts asked, "Are you okay?"
Levy looked behind her to see it was Gildarts and awkwardly started to laugh.
"I'm fine, I just didn't get enough to eat today," she said.
"I can tell," Gildarts said smelling some of her vomit that was coming from the trash. Her vomit and the actual trash were not a good mixture.
"You should go get some food in your system and then continue training," Gildarts suggested.
"Okay, Gildarts," Levy sighed as she rose herself up from the trashcan.
She slapped her hand on her head as if she had a terrible headache.
"Levy, are you sure that you're okay?" Gildarts asked once again checking on Levy.
"Yes, Gildarts, I'm fine...I'm just a little nervous about encountering Rogue again," Levy admitted.
"You have to understand I haven't seen him up close in his wolf form in almost 2 years. And that night when it was the full moon I lost three very important people. What if the same thing happens again tonight? Will I have to go to another funeral, will I have to take medication, and will I have to go to therapy because people will think I'm crazy? Will I suffer the same thing that happened and instead of it being my friends it'll be my parents?" Levy questioned as tears started to swell up in her eyes.
In that moment of vulnerability, Levy McGarden expressed true fear of what was to come tonight. She wondered who it would be tonight. Her friends, family, and more innocent people give their lives up for a problem that will most likely never end.
"I understand you, Levy, but you have to acknowledge that we have all lost something and this is why we're doing this. We have to make this a safe place for the next generation that comes. And no one thinks you're crazy, we're doing this because you have opened all our eyes to the truth and for this, everybody shows great respect and gratitude towards you. I don't say this much, but you're a very strong and lucky woman, many wouldn't be able to go through what you have gone through Levy, so please hold your head up high and be a great example to all the people out there," Gildarts said uplifting Levy from her sorrows.
She slightly smiled at Gildarts and almost shed a few tears of happiness. Gildarlts saw that it was dark and he could see the full moon which meant it was time.
He left the area he and Levy were in and grabbed one of the fired sticks to get everybody's attention as he stood in the middle of the village.
"PEOPLE OF MAGNOLOGIA!" Gildarts yelled as everybody stopped what they were doing and focused their attention on him.
"TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT WE KILL THE BIG BAD WOLF. I'VE SEEN YOU ALL PREPARE FOR THIS AND I HAVE TO SAY I AM VERY PROUD OF YOU ALL. NOW, I AM SORRY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE LOST THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS DUE TO THIS DEMON FROM HELL!" Gildarts exclaimed as everybody shared a moment of silence for all the deceased victims of the wolf's attack.
"IT WILL BE OUR ULTIMATE GOAL TO KILL HIM AND MAKE SURE HE NEVER TORMENTS THIS VILLAGE FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR NEXT GENERATION THAT IS TO COME. TONIGHT WE WILL SPLIT INTO TEAMS OF FIVE AND TAKE COVER IN THE DIRECTIONS THAT ROGUE CHENEY MIGHT POSSIBLY BE HIDING OUT," Gildarts said as this took everybody by surprise. They thought they would all stick together but it seemed as if they were going to try and find Rogue in all his possible directions.
"TO SPLIT INTO TEAMS: FIRST UP IS THE THUNDER GOD TRIBE WHICH IS WITH LAXUS DREYAR. YOU WILL HEAD TOWARDS THE MOUNTAINS," Gildarts exclaimed as Laxus Dreyar, one of the most skilled huntsmen after Rogue stepped up to the podium. Laxus already had in mind who he wanted to take and he pointed to his dream team and other villagers that had the weapons needed for the fight.
"NEXT UP IS SORCERER SQUAD, WHICH IS LEAD BY JELLAL FERNANDEZ. YOU WILL HEAD TO ROGUE'S HOUSE AND PLACE BOOBY TRAPS AROUND THE AREA," Gildarts explained their task. It was a little bit of a shocker that Jellal was the leader of a group given he wasn't an actual huntsman, but he was good with maps and setting up traps/alerts for when the wolf would come.
Erza looked in fear as she was worried for his safety. Jellal picked a good amount of people for his group which had been the people who helped carry out most of his plans and a couple of attackers. Levy and her family were picked due to them being just as smart as him. Erza was not picked by him for he did not want to put her in any danger with him being near Rogue's hideout.
"NEXT IS THE PHOENIX SQUAD, WHICH WILL BE LED BY RUNG BELSERION. THIS GROUP WILL HEAD TOWARDS THE NORTH TO MAKE SURE HE ISN'T CROSSING ANY PATHS," Gildarts exclaimed as Erza's dad stood in front and picked his group which consisted of his family and other sutiors that were good for the job. Mainly people with good sight and fast reflexes.
"NEXT IS THE COBRA SQUAD, WHICH WILL BE LED BY ERIK WHO WILL HEAD TOWARDS THE SOURCE OF WATER," Gildarts spoke referring to the rivers.
"LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THE SHANKS SQUAD WHICH WILL BE LED BY NONE OTHER THAN ME. WE WILL HEAD IN THE DIRECTION OF HOUSES OUTSIDE OF THE VILLAGE AND INTO THE WOODS TO CHECK THE AREA FOR THE LIVING. THE WOLF FEAST ON HUMAN FLESH SO BE PREPARED AND STAY ALERT. WATCH EACH OTHER'S BACK AND ALERT US WITH THE HORNS IF YOU FIND HIM," Gildarts yelled as everybody was starting to get pumped up for the night. They were scared but they were also determined to bring down the Big Bad Wolf.
"NOW GO AND HUNT DOWN THE BIG BAD WOLF!" Gildarts yelled as everybody else yelled and blew their horns before fleeing from the village.
...
On the other side of the woods, appeared Lucy who returned home from her meeting with Rogue. The sun hadn't fully set yet but it was getting close. The moon was rising and she had seen it was going to be a full moon meaning Gajeel was going to be going crazy tonight. She surely knew he was going to be invading the village and having a feast upon the people.
If they were possibly out looking for Rogue this was going to give Gajeel an opening to kill tonight. She couldn't allow that to happen therefore she had to put a stop to this madness. Lucy looked down at the bag that Rogue had given her and she felt her heart racing. She tried to keep herself calm due to her not want Gajeel to get suspicious of her.
Before she entered the house she slowed down her heart rate. Lucy opened the door to be met with a warm cozy feeling and she hadn't seen Gajeel or Metalicana. It had her wondering where the two were and she was about to have a panic attack for she thought Gajeel might have done something. Thinking back to their argument she wouldn't put it past him to not do something to Metalicana.
She ran all over the area looking for them and then she went into Metalicana's room to find him sleeping in Gajeel's arms. Lucy breathed in a sigh of relief! Metalicana was safe and sound.
"What's got you all worried, Bunny?" Gajeel asked Lucy.
"Oh, it was nothing, I just couldn't find the two of you for a second and I thought something happened," Lucy explained making Gajeel smirk.
"Pssh, nothing can happen to us while I'm here," Gajeel said laughing a little at the thought of someone being crazy enough to attack them.
"Yeah, that would be crazy," Lucy agreed.
Immediately Gajeel looked in Lucy's hands to see she had a small bag. "What's that?" Gajeel asked.
"What's what?" Lucy stupidly asked. She knew Gajeel was referring to the bag she was just playing dumb.
"In the bag, genius," Gajeel said being more specific.
Lucy looked and said, "Oh, you mean this," she laughed. "This is for Metalicana and me," Lucy answered.
"Yeah, but what is it?" Gajeel asked.
"It's chamomile," Lucy answered. "Since there is going to be a full moon tonight the wolves are going to get noisy so might as well do ourselves a favor and use this to go to sleep," Lucy explained.
"Oh, alright, well make me some too," Gajeel requested.
"Okay," Lucy said a little surprised he requested one.
"He's not going to be sleeping anytime soon," Gajeels said referring to Metalicana who was wide awake. Both Lucy and Gajeel started to laugh a little until it died down and Gajeel was giving Lucy an odd look.
He wasn't giving her a seductive look but more of a deep-thought and loveable look. Which was something that was not in Gajeel's looks therefore making it odd.
"I should get started," Lucy said as she backed up out of Metalicana's room.
She went to see there was already a pot of water over the fire which saved her the trouble of going to get water. Lucy grabbed a cup and poured some into the cup for herself before having to dump some ingredients of her own into the water.
She opened the bag to reveal not only the chamomile but also a drug that Rogue had given to her earlier today. She thought back to the plan they talked through which caused her heart to start rising again.
Flashback:
"Rogue, I don't know how I'm going to leave Gajeel's house without him catching me," Lucy said unsure about Rogue's plan.
"Look, I know it's easier said than done, but you have to pull this through, Lucy," Rogue tried to encourage.
"I know, but it's a little risky with me trying to sneak out with Metalicana. He tends to make noise when you wake him out of his sleep," Lucy informed.
"If that is the case, then take this," Rogue said pulling out a small little bottle of liquid. Lucy had no idea where it came from but it did not look safe.
"Rogue what is that and where did you get it?" Lucy sternly asked.
"It's a drug to make you sleepy...I buy this stuff from Wendy whenever I have a hard time going to sleep. So I usually take a few drops of this and it automatically knocks me out," Rogue answered.
Lucy took the small bottle and observed it. "Is it safe for a 1-year-old to consume?" Lucy asked.
"As long as you give him a drop of this it should put him to sleep," Rogue said.
"And Gajeel?" Lucy asked wanting to know what to give Gajeel.
"The whole bottle! This should put an animal his size to sleep for a couple of hours and have no sense of waking up," Rogue highly recommended.
"This gives you and Metalicana time to escape and head to my house where you'll be safe and sound," Rogue continued.
"And what about you?" Lucy worriedly asked.
"Lucy, I'll be fine! I have a couple of weapons hidden around here and I'll just use those to take down Gajeel. When I'm done I'll be on my way to you, Metalicana, and the baby," Rogue said gently rubbing Lucy's stomach which was a nice feeling to her.
"Okay, but just be safe," she said putting her hand on his cheek.
"I will!" Rogue promised as he kissed her on the forehead. Lucy took in his heart-warming kiss for she didn't know if this would be the last kiss she and Rogue would share. She hoped he would return to her and Metalicana safe and sound and with Gajeel dead.
They parted from one another and before Lucy left she asked, "Rogue, how will I signal you?"
"Make the sound of an owl," he answered.
"Will you be able to hear that far?" she asked, unsure.
"Don't worry, I'll be able to hear just well," Rogue assured.
"Okay," Lucy said.
"Make sure to put chamomile in the bag just in case he suspects something," Rogue reminded as Lucy nodded. "And take this," he said giving her a small blade. It was sharp and pointy but it should give her enough protection. This is just in case she runs into any other animals in the woods. Specifically the other wolves.
"Okay, I'll see you tonight, and good luck!" Lucy said before she and Rogue departed.
She dumped the chamomile in the pot to make sure the water had captured the essence of it. It didn't take long for it to start smelling up the house and it was almost about to make her sleepy. She grabbed two more cups and poured some of the liquid for Gajeel and Metalicana.
As Rogue instructed she was to only give Metalicana one drop of the drug. She was a bit hesitant but she knew she had to do it. She had to get him away from Gajeel. His true intentions for his future were not only a danger to the people but also to her. Metalicana would see her as one of them since they're all the same.
Lucy put a little drop of the drug in Metalicana's drinks and for Gajeel she dumped the whole liquid into the cup. She stirred up both of their drinks so that way the drug could get mixed in. Once she was done preparing them she had to let it sit and cool off. The water that Gajeel boiled was hot and she didn't want Metalicana's mouth to burn.
Almost half an hour passed and Gajeel and Metalicana got impatient. He walked out of Metalicana's room with Metalicana who was on his shoulders. Lucy got bothered by Metalicana's placement on Gajeel. She wondered why he was on Gajeel's shoulder and not in his hands. Lucy gave Gajeel the look but he wasn't bothered by it.
"Are the drinks ready? This one won't fall asleep," Gajeel asked. Metalicana started to play with Gajeel's hair and giggled to himself.
"Yes, they are indeed ready," Lucy said giving Gajeel his drink. Before he drank it he looked at her and said, "Go grab a bottle for Metalicana, he's going to waste it with that cup."
"You're right!" Lucy ushered off to grab a bottle for Metalicana who was awaiting his drink. He kept trying to go for Gajeel's who moved his cup away from him. Lucy poured Metalicana's drink into a baby bottle and then closed it. She handed Metalicana his drink and he gladly drank it.
Not too long after a couple of sips, he was getting sleepy.
'Wow, that was quick!' Lucy thought. She assumed Rogue was exaggerating about being knocked out to sleep but she could see the drug had an immediate effect on Metalicana. Most likely due to him being an infant.
Gajeel chugged down his drink which had put Lucy in relief.
It was in his system...
"Look at that, he's knocked out," Gajeel said looking at a sleepy Metalicana who slumped over his shoulder. It got to the point where he was fin to fall, but that was until Gajeel caught him and just let him rest in his arms.
"You need to stop placing him over your shoulder or this will happen," Lucy warned.
"Chill out, I was making sure he was okay," Gajeel carelessly spoke.
"Hold on for a second," he paused to go take Metalicana to his room. After a minute went by Gajeel came back to continue his little feud with Lucy.
"Continue," Gajeel said as Lucy rolled her eyes.
"You know, I don't even know why I bother wasting a breath, you're not going to listen, you're just gonna do what you want and not care what I want," Lucy exclaimed.
"Bunny, wait," Gajeel said reaching to grab her hand. Lucy looked at him as she was saddened by what had been happening. She was still upset from their argument and she just needed to get it out of her head.
"What, Gajeel!" Lucy emphasized.
"Look, I'm sorry about what happened last night," Gajeel apologized which shocked Lucy.
"You are?" Lucy questioned, surprised.
"Yes, I had to sit back and think about it and I think you're right about Metalicana not picking up my ways of hunting," Gajeel admitted which shocked the hell out of Lucy.
Where was Gajeel and what did he do with him?
He never apologized for anything even if he was clearly in the wrong for it. "I am?" Lucy said out of disbelief.
"Yes and that's why I decided it would be best for him and the baby to just hunt animals for the future," Gajeel suggested which almost made Lucy tear up.
"Oh my God, Gajeel you don't know how happy that makes me," Lucy said coming across to hug Gajeel. He had hugged her back and his embrace felt so warm and welcoming.
That's all she had been asking for was for him to change. And just when she's about to carry out her plan to kill him he has a change of heart in his ways.
Gajeel lifted Lucy's chin and went in for a kiss. His hand was rubbing up and down her back, as he had her sinking into the kiss. He heard Lucy moan under her breath, automatically putting him in the mood to make love to her tonight.
His hands moved from her back to the front of her clothes and started to undo them.
"Gajeel...Metalicana is in the other room," Lucy said trying to stop him.
Gajeel nonchalantly looked back at Metalicana's room and then looked back at Lucy and said, "I don't care...you gave him that drink for a reason."
Lucy blushed at Gajeel's carelessness and Gajeel smirked because he knew she was aroused with that line. He continued to undress her and she was eventually naked.
Gajeel picked Lucy off her feet and she thought he was about to take her to the bed or even place her on the counter, but instead, he lifted her to the point her legs were hanging over his shoulders and his face was in between her legs.
"Gajeel!" Lucy crazily blushed. She couldn't see him due to her belly being in the way but she could feel his breath on her sugar walls. It felt so nice to Lucy. She could feel Gajeel sliding his tongue in the middle of her slit trying to open up her walls.
The feeling was so tingly that she felt as if she was about to fall over but Gajeel had her resting on the wall as he ate her the fuck out. Her toes were curling, her body was trembling, her eyes rolling back, her hands were gripping any object that was in arm's length, and her moans were loud.
"Gajeel!" she moaned. The feeling was too good for Lucy. If the baby bump wasn't in the way of her vision, she would be able to see Gajeel's piercing red eyes looking at her. This feeling was powered by both lust and love.
"Baby, slow down," she said running her fingers through his hair. The nickname she called him drove him through the roof and he continued to give her head. This was until he felt she was lubricated enough for him to go in.
Gajeel removed Lucy from his shoulders and he placed her in a doggy position on the counter. Lucy lay in that position while Gajeel went to obtain a couple of things. One was some handcuff knots and the other was an apple. He came back with those two items and he hopped on the counter to get behind Lucy. He tied her wrist behind her back and placed the apple in her mouth as if she were a pig.
He was about to have some fun with her tonight!
...
Near Rogue's house, Jellal's team, and the Sorcerer Squad made their way to his house where they observed the area. Jellal and a couple of other huntsmen could tell that Rogue had not been in the area since they hadn't seen in any of his footprints and there was no movement of things in his house meaning he hadn't come back yet.
This was a perfect opportunity for the Sorcerer Squad to start planting booby traps around his house. Just in case Rogue were to return he would be caught in one of Jellal's traps. He had everything mapped out.
There were a few major and minor traps.
As the squad all stood around Jellal who was showing the map of his plan they all observed and listened.
"Around the time Rogue was locked up, I was ordered by Gildarts to have a couple of booby traps set up just in case he breaks out of his cell," Jellal said.
"We are in the fall season, ladies and gentlemen, meaning the leaves fall and they become the new pathway of walking. But the thing is we never know what can be under those leaves which is where our advantage will be at," Jellal said as he picked up a pile of leaves off the ground and sprinkled them around the place.
"If we can get the nets under these leaves and place them at a good holding angle for when it catches something as big as the wolf it should be a success," Jellal explained showing one specific plan.
"Next, we will dip a couple of holes in the ground and place weapons for when he comes through and accidentally steps in one of them it's an automatic kill," Jellal stated putting one layout to the side.
"Another is setting weapons in the trees if he's on foot," Jellal said showing another layout that made a few of them uneasy.
"Question?" Mr. McGarden raised his hand.
"Yes," Jellal looked up.
"How are we going to do any of this and not get hurt in the process?" Mr. McGarden asked.
"If you're referring to the wolf Mr. McGarden, the simple way is for us to have one another's back and to set up these traps quickly," Jellal answered.
"I don't mean that Jellal, what I mean is how are we going to set up these traps and not get caught in the mix of getting hurt by this so-called booby trap?" Mr. McGarden specified having everybody agree.
"Then we'll have certain markings so that way we know not to get caught up in it," Jellal exclaimed.
"Now, we have to get these traps set up now before he comes through here," Jellal rushed. "We will split into groups of three and there will be a lot of you scooping up dirt while the others work on the net and weapons trap. The sooner we finish this the quicker we'll get out," Jellal stated.
...
Lucy lay in bed with Gajeel who was dead asleep. She was sore and in pain after their sex session. The difference between this sex session and the others it almost felt as if he was making love to her in a way. This was a surprise to Lucy because Gajeel was a lustful guy. She didn't see as much love coming from him. She'll admit he did things for her but when it came to having sex with her he strictly used her for his pleasures or to try and repopulate.
Lucy didn't like the idea of being used as a pon in his game. She never wanted to feel that way with anybody. The only man who treated her right was Rogue. She loved the way Rogue loved her and Metalicana. And even though the baby could either be his or Gajeel's he still has a deep connection towards it.
If Gajeel were to find any signs of her being unfaithful to him he would do the unknown. What if the baby came out looking like Rogue instead of him? He would be mad and probably try to hurt the baby.
Lucy didn't want to imagine the possible outcome of what Gajeel might do to the baby, her, or the villagers. It scared her and almost made her want to puke.
She looked back at Gajeel to see he was still sound asleep. She felt this sharp pain in her heart. Probably because she had to go through with letting Rogue kill him and he was just starting to have a change of heart. It was guilt that was eating her up!
What would she tell Metalicana what happened to his dad when he grew up? It's obvious he looks nothing like Rogue and he's going to start asking questions. She can't lie and tell him that he was killed by a huntsman because then he'll turn into Gajeel and that's the last thing she wants.
The whole point is that Gajeel is a bad person and he does need to be killed. All the acts that he has willingly committed are not easily forgiven by those who lost their loved ones. Some people lost their family and friends because of Gajeel and his ancestors. At some point, there has to be a line that is crossed to stop this madness. If Gajeel continues to live then Metalicana and their unborn baby will follow in his footsteps. He says that he will stop, but actions speak louder than words.
A tear slid down Lucy's cheek as she got up out of bed and started to get dressed. She made sure to stay as quiet as possible for she did not want to wake Gajeel. If the drug was in his system then he shouldn't awake to anything so easily but she didn't want to risk it so she stayed quiet.
After she had on all her clothes, she went to go retrieve a sleepy Metalicana who didn't peep a sound. The last thing she had to grab was her grandma's handmade basket. Before she left the house she looked back at Gajeel one last time before she left him in the hands of Rogue.
"I'm sorry, Gajeel!" she lastly spoke before quietly leaving the house. When she made it outside she looked around to see if she was in the clear to move. No wolves or other dangerous creatures.
As Rogue instructed she loudly made the sound of an owl to alert him. She felt moving around from afar letting her know that he heard her.
Lucy made her way to Rogue's house. She made sure to move quickly and quietly so she wouldn't be detected by any of the predators in the woods. It was a full moon so she had to be careful.
On the other hand, Rogue heard Lucy's signal and moved from his hiding spot out of the trees. From that angle, he got a clear view of Gajeel's house. He could see and hear almost everything that was going on in there. He even heard Lucy and Gajeel's sex session and also saw her leave the house.
He grabbed his axe which was covered in leaves and made his way towards Gajeel's house. His heart was racing because had been waiting for this moment for a long time. If he could kill Gajeel's father he could surely finish Gajeel off.
When he made it to the front door he took a deep breath before he quietly entered the house and shut the door behind him. He assumed Gajeel would be in bed due to his sex session with Lucy but when he looked ahead with the roughed-up blankets, he didn't see anybody present.
It was obvious someone was in the bed not too long ago but they weren't present.
Odd!
Gajeel was not present and that had Rogue worried. He started to walk around and try to look for Gajeel but he couldn't. He even went into Metealicana's room to not find anybody.
When he came out of Metalicana's room frustrated, he had seen Gajeel standing in the living space with his piercing glowing red eyes staring him down.
Rogue's heart skipped a beat and Gajeel heard it loud and clear: "Gihee!"
...
Lucy was moving in a hurry to Rogue's house and she was trying her best not to look back. The fear of losing Rogue and Gajeel still being alive was scarring her.
What if Rogue didn't survive?
Gajeel would raise hell in Magnolia and probably even try to kill her. She couldn't imagine the things he would possibly do to her. She doesn't think he would even take her as a sex slave. Just brutally kill her sight as he does the huntsmen.
After seeing what happened to Alzack she was scared for her life on how Gajeel would handle her. Alzack was brutally murdered in front of her. Gajeel intended to see it just so she would know what he was capable of. She heard of the type of attacks he would pull from the huntsmen and Rogue, but it was traumatizing for her to see that upfront.
She was surprised she had never seen or heard of any of the huntsmen having PTSD. Especially someone like Gildarts who most likely has seen the wolf plenty of times throughout his career.
Poor Levy, she had seen Gajeel up close in his wolf form and most likely was traumatized. She was suspicious of Rogue from the very beginning in which her assumptions were valid but she could have heard Rogue out and they would have had an understanding of one another. She's most likely out for blood when it comes to him due to him taking all her friends away from her. Especially herself...if it were the other way around she wouldn't know what to do with herself if her friend was to die. Being brutally injured by the wolf was just enough for her. It was traumatizing to see Jet, Droy, and Levy covered in blood and pain. Unfortunately Jet and Droy didn't make it but Levy did, but for what cost? To have nightmares of the night you lost two of your best friends and then the next day you lose another.
Rogue said he had seen what Gajeel and his race looked like up front but he was never scared of them. She believes he was praised at one point for killing a wolf. She didn't know how he did it but he went through it successfully.
Hoping he could do it again with Gajeel. Rogue seemed more prepared than his last encounter with a wolf. This time he had all the weapons he needed to properly kill Gajeel including that drug he had her use on him. That should keep him asleep and be a painless death for him.
Lucy wished she was the one killing him on many occasions. But she didn't feel she was capable of doing such a thing due to her size and not having the drive to kill. No matter if the person was good or evil she just couldn't bring herself to kill someone. Not even Gajeel who deserves it!
She wouldn't know what to tell her son if she committed such an action. She doesn't even know if she could sleep peacefully at night knowing the blood would be on her hands. But it is for a good cost! Gajeel doesn't need to be around Metalicana and fears for his future if he continues to live.
"Howl!" Lucy heard which made her stop in her tracks. A wolf's howl!
She looked around her to make sure she wasn't being followed.
"Howl!" she heard another howl but this time louder than the other. Then she all of a sudden heard leaves crunching and she started to get scared.
She held Metalicana tightly hoping she wouldn't drop him out of fear.
Lucy looked around one last time to be sure nothing was following her, but that was until a big creature about the size of a dog jumped at her. Lucy almost fell but she caught herself. When she got a clear observation of what mysterious creature attacked her she saw it was a wolf.
She assumed it was Gajeel who might have tracked her down but it wasn't. It was a regular-sized wolf, but this one looked aggressive and its red eyes were glowing in the dark. Before she could make a run for it she picked up the nearest thing which was a rock and threw it.
Luckily the rock hit the wolf in its face which gave Lucy time to run. Although she was pregnant, and had a one-year-old in her arms, along with her basket, she still was making a run for it. She wasn't going too fast but it was fast enough to the point she almost lost track of the wolf.
Of course, it could smell her scent and knew exactly where she was going. Lucy could hear growling from all directions and she looked around to see other piercing glowing eyes in the dark.
"Oh no!" Lucy said as she noticed a bunch of wolves were staring her down. As she kept making a run towards Rogue's house she could feel herself being nearby. She wasn't far.
Lucy could sense the wolves following her and sped up her pace as she had seen Rogue's house in the distance. She was going to make it!
As she continued to run she felt a wolf about to jump on her until he randomly disappeared out of nowhere. Another tried to come for her but then something shot at it.
'What was that?' she thought.
Another tried to reach out and get but she jumped over something which caught the wolf in a net.
'Did Rogue plan this?' she thought as she effortlessly dodged the wolf's attacks. She thought she was in the clear until she got caught in one of the booby traps which happened to be the net.
"Ahh!" Lucy screamed.
She was caught!
She swung in the air a little in a pile of leaves struggling to find her balance.
"Oh my God!" Lucy said as she was stuck. She was almost about to have a panic attack until she remembered the blade Rogue gave her. She reached into her hood and pulled it out for her to drop it on the ground she was far away.
"Oh no no no no!" she said in a panic.
"HELP!" Lucy yelled.
"HELP!" she yelled once again.
"SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!" Lucy cried.
A couple of wolves came by and tried to jump up in the air to get her but she was too far from them. One of them was close to almost biting her and she kept trying to swing to get away from their vicious bites.
Lucy started to cry in agony thinking no one would save her but that was until someone shot arrows at the wolves and they all started to fall out.
Lucy looked around to see who was doing these attacks.
Out came the Sorcerer Squad who had their weapons ready to unalive any wolf that was still alive and walking. When they saw the huge group they made a run for it fearing that they would be like one of their fellow pack members.
Lucy breathed a sigh of relief as the villagers came to the rescue.
"Clear them out men!" she heard a masculine voice order. She looked to see it was Jellal ordering the huntsmen around.
Jellal looked up in the air to see it was her and his face dropped.
"Lucy!" he said in disbelief which caught the attention of everybody who soon set eyes on her.
"You're alive," someone else said.
Lucy looked at them all and didn't know how to respond. She was at a loss for words! She never thought this day would come but it did.
"Well someone gets her down, we can't have her hanging like that," she heard the famous voice of Mr. McGarden who ushered the men to let her down.
She felt tugging and pulling and then she and Metalicana were slowly being let down to the ground. When she was revealed to the people, she felt so grateful to have run into them.
They were all happy until they had seen Metalicana in her arms and when she arose her pregnant belly was poking out of her red hood.
"Oh my," Jellal mumbled.
Lucy felt uneasy with everybody staring at her belly and Metalicana. She forgot how awkward it felt to be stared at by a bunch of people. That all washed away when her best friend, Levy McGarden ran up to her.
"LUCY!" Levy cried as she hugged her best friend who she hadn't seen in almost two years.
"Levy," Lucy said hugging her back with one arm.
"I missed you are you okay?" Levy asked observing Lucy who nodded her head, "Yes, I'm fine Levy," she assured.
"What happened to you, we all thought you died!" Levy asked.
"It was Gajeel," Lucy admitted catching everybody off guard.
"Gajeel?" Levy questioned in disbelief.
"Yes, Gajeel, he's the one who is the Big Bad Wolf, he kidnapped me, killed my grandmother, raped me, and he also killed most of your friends and family members," Lucy sternly spoke.
"Wait," Mr. McGarden stepped in.
"So it isn't Rogue who did all of this?" he asked a little confused.
"No, Rogue is the one who saved me. He's trying to kill Gajeel now and we need to go see if he's okay," Lucy exclaimed.
"Then let's alert the others and head over to his part of the woods," Jellal said pulling out a horn. "Lucy, do you know where Gajeel is at?" Jellal asked as Lucy nodded.
Jellal did as he was ordered and blew the horn to alert the other groups. They all started to head in the direction of Gajeel's house. Hoping to catch the Big Bad Wolf and end his life once and for all.
As they all were making their way over they could smell the scent of smoke.
There was a fire!
The closer they were getting to Gajeel's house the stronger the scent became. When his house was in plain sight you could see Gildart's group near the house promoting the fire.
"STOP!" Lucy yelled.
"STOP!"
"DON'T DO IT!"
"ROGUE IS IN THERE!"
"PUT THE FIRE OUT"
You could hear all of Sorcerer Squad screaming and yelling. But the Shanks Squad didn't care! They continued to throw longs and make sure the two men burned inside the house.
Lucy ran up to Gildarts in a panic and pleaded, "Gildarts, please stop this, Rogue is in there with that wolf!"
"You're gonna kill him!" she cried.
"Lucy..." Gildarts said taking a good look at her in disbelief. The rest of the Shanks Squad was in disbelief seeing that Lucy Heartfilia was alive. Others started to come in the distance to meet up with the rest of the groups.
"Gildarts you have to put out this fire," Lucy exclaimed.
Gildarts was confused as to how Lucy was alive and why was she begging him to put out the fire.
"I can't do that...this has to end tonight," Gildarts said referring to the Big Bad Wolf.
"But sir, Rogue isn't the wolf, it's Gajeel!" Jellal said backing up Lucy as Gildarts looked unfazed.
"Surely, you'll save him!" Jellal pleaded.
Gildarts looked at Gajeel's house to see the fire was spreading everywhere and it was getting worse. He could hear a ruckus going on inside the house letting him know the two men were still fighting one another. He thought of the greater good for the people for them to both be gone.
"No," Gildarts shook his head.
"But sir," Jellal said before Gildarts grabbed the neck of his shirt.
"I SAID NO!" he yelled as he threw Jellal to the ground. Jellal looked up at Gildarts in fear as he stood over him.
Gildarts turned to the others who looked in fear as it was their first time seeing him snap.
"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!" Gildarts yelled.
"IT'S ROGUE, IT'S GAJEEL, IT'S ROGUE, IT'S GAJEEL...I DON'T GIVE A FUCK WHO IT IS AT THIS POINT. I COULD CARE LESS IF THEY BOTH DIE! LEVY HAS SEEN ROGUE IN HIS WOLF FORM AND YOU," Gildarts emphasized looking at Lucy. "YOU SEEN GAJEEL IN HIS WOLF FORM! WHY NOT GO THROUGH THE TROUBLE OF FIGURING IT OUT WHEN THEY CAN JUST BOTH DIE AND THEN WE'LL BE DONE WITH THIS NIGHTMARE!" Gildarts lastly yelled.
"Then he'll die," Lucy exclaimed.
"Well, he'll die for a good reason," Gildarts sternly spoke which caused Lucy to get upset with him. She almost slapped him, but that was until she heard a wolf's cry within the house. This caught everybody's attention and you could hear the sound of a chopping noise.
Lucy's heart skipped a beat as she knew good and well who it was. When the chopping stopped, she and the others heard footsteps walking towards the door. Then they all heard the swinging of the axe once again and the door soon opened to reveal none other than Rogue Cheney himself who was covered in blood and he was smiling because he won the battle.
He walked out of the house with everybody looking at him in disbelief. They thought he and Gajeel would both die in the house, but it seemed as if Gajeel was the one not surviving. At some point, the house fell and there was no way Gajeel would be able to get out.
Out of desperation to yearn for him, Lucy ran towards Rogue and hugged him, "Rogue!"
Rogue dropped his axe and hugged Lucy and then checked on Metalicana who was still sleeping after all that's happened. She cried in Rogue's arms as it was finally over.
Lucy looked at the fire to see it burned almost everything!
This nightmare of hers was finally over and the Big Bad Wolf had finally gone to hell!
"It's finally over!" she softly spoke before she felt lightheaded and ended up passing out.
Thank you for reading!