Gajeel flew faster than ever before. He zipped through the dark sky, growling at anything in his way. The blood he smelled before... No... It couldn't be his father's. Right? It was probably someone else's. His dad would still be at their house, worrying about him. As soon as Gajeel went through the door, Metalicana would rush in a yell at the boy for being late. Gajeel hoped it was true.

As he approached the town, he could see the smoke hovering above it. Black smoke rose, covering the whole town like a protective shield. But, he knew it wasn't protective. It was shutting everything inside it, preying on precious lives. Gajeel saw the fire, red and orange, engulfing everything he knew. He hoped his father wasn't one of them. No, that wasn't right. He knew that his father wasn't one of them. He knew.

With that thought, Gajeel flapped his wings one last time, entering the cloud of smoke.

The smell of the moonflowers was alluring making Levy inhale some more. She had never smelled any of these scents. She had never heard the sound of crickets chirping. She had never seen the foliage of the trees with the pale moon hiding between their twigs. It was as if the moon was playing hide-and-seek with her. She smiled a little, happy that someone was keeping her company on this lonely night.

She hoped Gajeel was okay. He looked very guarded as if someone had just broken into his palace. Levy giggled a little a the thought. Imagine Gajeel as a prince! He would look very scary indeed. Those piercings and gruff expressions would scare the life away from his subjects. But, Levy knew the true Gajeel. He was kind, music-loving, and a bit enigmatic. But, she liked enigmatic things. Breaking codes has always been a passion of hers.

Suddenly, a cold breeze blew over her.

Levy froze. 'It was just a breeze' she told herself. But this breeze... she had felt it before. When she was very little. On the day she lost her wand.

Levy turned around, her eyes glowing with magic. Now, she knew she couldn't use magic - that was the condition she had to agree to leave the special rooms. However, she also knew that the person who stole her wand only had bad intentions and could potentially hurt her. Weighing the two options, she decided to fight instead of looking like a wimp. Funny, now she sounds like Gajeel.

Surprisingly, there was no one behind her. I must've imagined it.

With a shrug, she was about to turn around when she heard the leaves rustle near her. She walked cautiously towards the shrub, her hands ready to use magic if necessary. She pulled two parts of the shrub away from each other, revealing a light-blue-haired child. She looked around Levy's age. Maybe older. Levy smiled warmly at the girl and held out her hand to help the girl up. The girl looked up at Levy with her purple eyes. Hesitantly, she reached out with her hand.

And their hands met.

And the ground exploded.

Gajeel coughed from the smoke and wiped his teary eyes. The smoke was burning his eyes. He desperately looked around for his beloved father. He opened his mouth to call out for Metalicana, but, his throat was parched as the black smoke singed the back of his throat. He gagged, trying to get rid of the horrible feeling.

He landed on the main street of Shirotsume. His wings folded back into his back as he walked through the once beautiful street. Now, the buildings were on fire or broken to rubble. He ran to where his familiar house was located. He panted as he ran, sweat rolling down his forehead. He finally reached it, only to lose all hope.

The house he knew was no longer there. It was burned to ash. He glimpsed a bit of the family portrait under all the ash. The swords made for the Heavenly Knights were strewn all across the rubble. They were made to be heat-resistant, and now, he hoped his house was also heat-resistant.

But it wasn't any of these that completely crashed Gajeel's heart.

It was the body above the ash. A dragon with metallic wings and iron skin. A dragon without a head.

His father.

Gajeel dropped down to his knees, his eyes threatened to spill tears. He did not do anything to stop it. Hot tears ran down his pierced face. He closed his eyes, not wanting to take in any more of that horror. Even though he closed his eyes, he could hear it, the blood dripping from the space where Metalicana's head once was. He could smell the blood, rich with iron. He could taste the saltiness of his tears. And, he could hear footsteps...?

He opened his eyes to see a fairly young man with tattoos around his face. He looked at Gajeel with a smug expression. Gajeel's eyes moved to see what the man was holding.

His father's head.

Gajeel lost his balance as he looked at the man in shock, his face overrun with tears. The man smirked wider. He looked at the dragon's head, then turned to Gajeel. Without warning, the man threw the head toward Gajeel. It landed near Gajeel's feet. His breathing increased as the man took a few steps forward. Soon enough, he was standing near the head.

The man went down to his knees. "This your father?"

"Y-Yes," Gajeel gulped. There was something about this man. He wasn't normal.

"Ah," he smiled wider. "My name is Brain."

Gajeel did not say anything. He didn't move, or blink. He watched all the moves that the man made. Something told him that it was the man who did all this and killed his father. Gajeel's hands turned to fists.

"Remember me," the man commanded. With a carnivorous smile, he drove his hand through Metalicana's head. The skull of the dragon shattering echoed through the lifeless town. With that, the man walked away.

Gajeel couldn't do anything but freeze.

Levy gasped for air. She didn't know what just happened. She only touched the girl, so why did her insides feel like they were burning? Why did it feel like that girl was the answer? And answer to what? Levy didn't know. What Levy did know was that the girl probably knew the answers.

Levy looked at the girl, or at least she wanted to. But something else caught her eye.

The wand.

The girl was holding a wand. Of course, that was only natural as the girl was a fairy. But, she was holding a different wand. One that wasn't hers.

How did Levy know?

She could tell that the wand was hers.

The wand is something that is born with the fairy. It is connected to him/her through a bond that cannot be broken. They will recognize each other even after being separated for years. They would recognize each other even if the fairy was blind. Even if the fairy had no magic. The bond between a fairy and his/her wand was unexplainable. It was truly magical.

That is what happened here.

The light-blue-haired girl looked startled. She looked at the wand and then back at Levy. The two and two clicked in her brain, and as soon as it did, she ran.

Levy gritted her teeth. Without thinking, she too, ran after the girl.

Unknowingly, she was headed to Shirotsume.