Chapter Sixty-Six
"What was that about Lulu?" Erza asked, catching Lucy close to the room she'd been in. Lucy looked over her shoulder and saw Natsu's raised brow; and she knew he could feel her excitement. She looked at Erza and bit her lip and started bouncing on her toes. "Lucy?"
She grabbed Erza and shoved her into the room she'd just left. Erza stared at her in confusion as Lucy waited for the door to shut before spinning on her heel.
"Gajeel kissed Levy!"
"Wha…what?" Erza blushed, her eyes widening.
"Yes…and Levy wants to be his growlkin. She likes him. Likes likes him."
"Oh…oh…Okay." Erza dropped down to the bed and Lucy started to pace. "Well uh… What happens now?"
"I have no idea. And there is so much more involved than she knows and I don't know if I should tell Levy or not."
"What else is there? You and Natsu are making it work…right?" Erza asked and Lucy blushed and nodded.
"Yes he and I are making work. But…it's complicated with Gajeel and Levy."
"Why…he doesn't already have a growlkin does he?"
"Nooo….but….nooo…"
"Lucy…that's your 'I know something you don't know' tone." Erza watched as Lucy mentally debated what was going on.
"Fine but you can't tell Levy."
"Okay?" Erza crossed her arms and waited. Lucy looked at the door panel and then back to her and took a deep breath.
"When Gajeel found Levy after the bombing and her demonic torture; she was basically dead." Erza nodded tersely. "In order to save her…he for…for…DO NOT GET MAD AT HIM ERZA."
Erza's eyes narrowed at Lucy's admonishment. "He forced a mating bite on her; marking her as his growlkin."
"He what?!" She leapt to her feet and Lucy felt the flames of her anger rolling off of her and her scalut's helmet shot up. And she didn't rebuke it.
"Apparently, when growlkins mark each other; they can help heal the other to an extent. It kept Levy alive long enough for us to show up with supplies."
"And Levy doesn't know this?" Lucy was pretty sure she saw a black aura rolling out from around Erza's tense form.
"No…because Gajeel doesn't want her to feel like he trapped her or is forcing her hand…and he doesn't want her influenced by his emotions. Because Dragis growlkins tend to share their emotions. So he's letting it wear away as she'd have to mark him as her growlkin for it to be completed."
"Wha…Oh my….LUCY!"
"I know!" Lucy shouted back at Erza and the two shared a look. Erza shook her head and Lucy had the helmet recede.
"So is what Levy feeling just…"
"I don't think so…she seemed flirty with him before the bombing…But you know Levy. She's always been insecure about how she feels about others."
"This is a mess."
"I know. And I want to tell her; to let her know she has a shot. But at the same time, I'm not sure if it's fair to Gajeel to tell her. Because he doesn't want her to get tied down to him…and if she says anything he'll probably just assume it's the bite."
"Oh this is a cluster of a mess." Erza shook her head and ran her tongue over her teeth as she thought about it.
"I think Gajeel should be told that Levy is catching feelings."
"But what if that pushes him away and she actually likes him without it being influenced by the bite?" Lucy pointed out.
"But what if she doesn't?"
"What if I ask if she had feelings before the bombing? Lucy asked. "Then I can tell him?"
"She may ask why it matters…and then you are going to have to either lie to her face even more or tell her."
"Damn it!" Lucy groaned and covered her face. Before she could speak there was a chime and she turned and saw the security panel on the door panel light up, showing Natsu on the other side. "Oh…I don't wanna tell him….he's gonna want to act first."
"Your readings are elevated and it's elevating his." Alfie warned and Erza had to fight back her own chuckle. Lucy was damned if she was and damned if she wasn't on multiple levels.
"Let him in and tell him. Just threaten no more kissing if he does anything stupid or rash."
"Have you met Natsu?" Lucy asked as Erza left the room, letting Natsu enter. He waved her away and turned to Lucy.
"What's wrong? Your emotions have been an asteroid maneuver." He cupped her elbows and rubbed his thumbs over the scalut against the front of her biceps. She smiled at him and sighed.
"Levy is gonna kill me." She said and looked up at the ceiling before looking back down at him. He cocked an eyebrow. "Gajeel kissed her."
"He what?" Natsu choked in shock and she nodded. "How'd he know how to do that?"
"He's seen us do it you dummy." She shook him and he started to grin. "Don't grin."
"But more growlkins are a good thing."
"But is it real or is it from the forced bite?" His grin immediately fell and he nodded. He pulled her down to the bed. She curled up on his lap and rested her head into the crook of his neck and shoulder. He rested his cheek on the top of her head and the two just sat in silence for a while.
"I think he bit her because he liked her and felt a push towards her being his growlkin, but because he's a Metal Dragis; he's fine pushing his happiness away if he thinks it's for the best for her." He said after some time and she tilted her head back and looked up at him.
"I think she liked him before the bite; but I can't confirm it." She conceded and they both sighed and returned to the previous positions. She snuggled closer and wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tight. "I wish this was easier than it is. Just tell Gajeel to Dragon up and claim her…but I'm not sure if getting involved is smart. But I also don't want them to miss the chance to be happy."
"What did Erza say?"
"That this is a mess." He released a smoke ring of amusement and ran his claws up and down her arm. Through the scalut; she still felt it. It made her shiver and she looked up at him. "Natsu I…"
"Oye! Jellal wants to talk!" Gray started to pound on the door and she glared at it.
"I'm gonna melt him." She climbed off of his lap and stalked towards the door and as it opened; Gray took one look at her and turned and started to run. Natsu cackled as he followed as she gave chase.
"PantherLilly's Magi-Hover has been attached to the top of this one for a stacked landing." Alfie stated and Gajeel grunted. "Should I wake up Levy or leave her to rest?"
"Please wake her up…if I tried to leave without her she'd raze the earth to get to me."
"Understood." Alfie's hum seemed almost amused and he rolled his eyes. PantherLilly grinned and jumped up into the opening in the roof to get settled into his Magi-Hover. Alfie lowered a ladder and he waited. Wendy was sitting there watching and waiting.
"You sure you are fine with us leaving before Bixlow and Lisanna show up?"
"Yeah. Minerva and Rufus are here." She said and waved her hand. "This is just as important. We shouldn't wait any longer to find out if those shuttles are friends or enemies."
"Okay. I trust you and Alfie to alert us immediately if anything happens."
"We will." Wendy and Alfie answered in unison.
"Everything okay?" Levy asked and came forward with Frosch in her arms and Lector walking beside her. She had her backpack on and looked from Gajeel to Wendy and back.
"Yep. Just making sure she was fine with us leaving before Bixlow's arrival."
"Right…I guess the storm is making it hard to get here." She said and set Frosch down on the table and then helped Lector get up to it. They thanked her and she looked at Gajeel again and he motioned with his head to the ladder. She nodded and looked over at Wendy whose eyes looked worried.
"We'll be fine. We have PantherLilly." She said and Wendy nodded and knew it was true. Levy started to climb up the ladder and Gajeel turned and started to follow her up. He glanced up and immediately glanced down and took a deep breath. Wendy's brows pulled together but before she could ask anything; he was up the ladder without another hesitation. Alfie pulled up the ladder and closed the opening.
"They'll be okay, right?" Frosch asked and Wendy nodded. Trying to convince both him and herself. She turned and looked at the various readouts on the screens.
"Alfie, where are Bixlow and his Magi-Hover?"
"They are several blocks away still." Alfie said and pushed out the Map on one screen. She nodded and took a deep breath.
"Do you have any idea what I'll need on hand for the injured female and her hatchling?"
"I have supplies ready in a room for them." Alfie stated and Wendy nodded again. She bit her lip. "What is causing you distress?"
"Just worried. I haven't treated hatchlings much."
"I believe you will be proficient." Alfie stated then stopped humming and Wendy smiled. Lector and Frosch smiled at her and offered to play Scales and Tails if she wanted to pass the time. She nodded; hoping it helped take her mind off of her worries.
Levy watched as the storm raged around them as they moved towards the site with the three shuttles. She ended up closing her eyes and focusing on her breathing. She hated storms, especially big ones like this. A light rain was one thing; curled up in a blanket with hot tea and a book was fine. But something this intense? No, it was worries all around for her. She bit her lip and clenched her fist.
Her eyes flew open when she felt heat encase her hand. Gajeel's hand was on top of hers, his fingers slowly applying pressure to her knuckles on that hand, urging her to unclench it. His gentle movements did encourage her to unclench her fists, on both hands, not just the one he was touching. He wasn't looking at her. Instead he and PantherLilly were talking in hushed tones and she wasn't focusing on it.
She instead focused on the heat that crept up her arm and the gentle stroking of her fingers. The Magi-Hover rocked as they crossed into an open area, no longer semi-sheltered by buildings. His fingers instantly curled into hers, and she squeezed his hand. She closed her eyes again, and focused on counting on everything all around her.
"You okay Shorty?" Gajeel asked and and she cracked an eye open.
"I hate storms."
"You and PathernLilly both." He said and grunted as the Exceed in question punched him in the chest with a side arm punch. "What? I ain't lying!"
"I don't think he appreciated you outing his secret." Levy giggled and let out a shaky breath.
"Please don't share that with anyone." PantherLilly muttered and she hummed softly and he looked over at her. "I thought only the A…I mean, only Alfie hummed as an answer."
"It's a very human trait." She said softly and he nodded and took that in.
"We aren't far from the site. So this will be over." Gajeel reassured her and she nodded and squeezed his hand again. He returned the squeeze and she breathed softly into it the moment. She focused on her breathing and kept count. She was on breath two hundred and twenty-seven when they got to the site. She opened her eyes and nodded at Gajeel when he went to pull his hand away. She shivered, surprised by how cool the air was to her hand now that his heat was gone.
"I feel like the storm is getting worse." PantherLilly grumbled and Levy nodded in agreement and Gajeel shrugged. He stood up and stretched and walked around the long part of the Magi-Hover. They could see the three shuttles but no movement happened. Levy watched, worry filling her.
"It's gonna be okay Shorty." She looked over her shoulder and Gajeel gave her a knowing look. "A blind Gronkic could see you are worried."
"I don't know what that is, but I'm going to assume it wasn't an insult." She said and he grinned at her and crossed his arms over his chest. She lifted her finger and pointed at him, wagging it. "Don't make me think it was an insult."
"Wouldn't dream of it." He chortled and she looked out at the shuttles.
"Alfie?" The AI hummed. "Do we have any equipment that would allow us to walk out there without getting drenched?"
"Unfortunately no such thing is in existence." The AI said and Levy nodded. She looked over at PantherLilly and Gajeel.
"What if I tried to create a protective barrier?"
"Do you think you could?" PantherLilly asked and she shrugged.
"I can try. What's the harm in trying?"
"Just don't use too much energy up trying." Gajeel murmured. She nodded and pulled out a book and a notebook. They watched as she worked, flipping through the pages and scribbling something down, crossing it out and trying against. She closed the book, nodding her head resolutely and then stood up. She motioned for the two males to get close to the door and she joined them and lifted her hand.
"Above and around, down to the ground, with six feet by six feet circumference from the tallest and largest of us three, invisible to the eye, protection against bad weather barrier!"
They waited and nothing happened. Gajeel looked around and then glanced down at her. "Did it work?"
"I think we have to step outside to see…there is no bad weather in here."
"Right." He said and the three watched as the door opened. They stepped out; and the rain bounced off of an invisible barrier. Even the muddy ground didn't leech onto their feet as they walked away from the Magi-Hover. They stopped several feet from the shuttles and looked around. Levy looked up at Gajeel and he turned to PantherLilly. He cupped his hands around his muzzle and took in a deep breath.
"Hello Fairy Tail Shuttles! This is PantherLilly, Gajeel and Levy! Please show yourselves."
Levy inhaled as his words faded, and then a flash of lightning and a crash of thunder struck and she cowered closer to Gajeel's side. He grunted, but put his arm around her shoulders and they waited. The middle shuttle's door opened and a large hulking figure lumbered out. Levy shivered, and she felt Gajeel tense and shift, putting himself ever so slightly in front of her. The figure lumbered closer and closer and then stopped six feet from them and then reached a bandaged wrapped hand out and they could see the muscular forearm tense.
"Guess you count as bad weather." Gajeel said and the figure stopped, lifting both arms to its hood and throwing it back. Levy blinked in surprise.
"A human?" She asked and looked up at Gajeel and the male tilted his head.
"I'm not a human. I'm a Geometarian."
"A what?" She asked and scrunched up her nose.
"Geometearian." The male said and smiled at her. "We are from a different system and in a different galaxy."
"Wow." She said softly and he smiled at her. He turned and looked at Gajeel and PantherLilly and nodded solemnly. He turned his gaze back to Levy.
"And you are the one responsible for whatever shield I can't see?"
"Yes." She nodded and he grinned, and she blinked. Something familiar about the grin.
"That's impressive. I'm happy to see someone so clever and strong in the Fairy Tail ranks. But why are you hiding behind Gajeel?"
"I'm not sure who you are." She said and he nodded as if it was understandable.
"I'm Gildarts! It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Hi. I'm Levy." She waved but still stayed behind Gajeel. Gildarts turned his attention back to the two males.
"Why didn't you all come out before now? Why did you leave and come back?"
"Why didn't you come out the first time?" Gajeel countered and Gildarts' eyes narrowed a fraction. "Hey, don't glare at me old man. Our ally guilds attacked Fairy Tail and killed everyone. We can't just assume everyone in a shuttle is still loyal."
"If I didn't respect that reasoning, I would be angry you are questioning my loyalty." The Geometerian growled. He clenched and unclenched his fists.
"We also didn't know if it was actually Fairy Tail members in the shuttles. There is nothing stopping enemies from being in them." Levy pointed out and Gildarts's shoulders dropped.
"She is smart." He sighed and shook his head. "I can't speak for the other two shuttles. We can't get through to them."
"Alfie mentioned that the communication protocols were on the fritz." PantherLilly muttered and shifted on his feet. Gildarts looked down and then looked back to Levy.
"You even have it so the ground is dry for you all?"
"Apparently, but it wasn't intentional." She shrugged and he threw his head back and laughed. He wiped a tear away from him eye and looked back to the Exceed.
"Want me to go knock on the other shuttles?"
"If you are willing. We will provide backup as needed." The two shared a nod and Gildarts turned on his heel and started to march to the shuttle on their left. He pounded on the door and stepped back. Levy inhaled slowly, feeling the tension rolling of Gajeel as well. The door started to open and she tensed.
A tan, youthful looking male stood in the doorway. He wore something that resembled a poncho and had his hands sitting on something on either side of his waist. Gajeel released the breath that Levy hadn't realized he was holding. Gildarts stepped forward and held his hand up in the motion that Levy recognized. The youthful male relaxed, his hands leaving his hips. He returned the signal and stepped out. He and Gildarts spoke; Levy couldn't hear anything; and then they turned and headed over.
As they got closer, Levy realized that the male wasn't tan. It was like face paint to help him blend into nature. But not Earth's nature; or at least not the local nature. Under the tan paint his skin looked purple, almost black; but he had bright eyes and a friendly smile. He had black hair that kept falling into his face and she wondered if that didn't bother him. His smile faltered as he looked from her to Gajeel and she sighed and rolled her eyes. She reached up and punched him, making him grunt. The male's eyes got wide and Gajeel's red eyes narrowed on her.
"Quit trying to intimidate him for just smiling at me."
"I didn't…."
"His smile died when he looked at you…I may not have a view of your face, but I'm not stupid." She cut him off and he huffed out a breath and straightened. PantherLilly cracked a grin and nodded at the newcomer.
"Hello Alzack. How are you and your clan?"
"PantherLilly." Alzack nodded, still side eyeing Levy cautiously. "Tired and on edge. But fine. We lost some family on Astique; and the planet fell. There were no survivors of the nomadic race there."
"I'm sorry." PantherLilly sighed and shook his head. Levy felt sad and angry; and she frowned, wondering why she was angry about the news. She shook her head and looked at Alzack again.
"Its part of the fight, right?" He turned and looked at Levy rain. "Hello. I'm Alzack, best sniper in Fairy Tail."
"Levy…new to Fairy Tail." She smiled at him and knew it didn't reach her eyes. "Have you heard about the Guild Station?"
"No…what happened?" He looked around and they all sighed. Gildarts stepped forward, putting a hand on Alzack's shoulder. No one spoke and he looked from face to face frantically.
"It was attacked." Levy swallowed and he looked at her, his eyes watering. "There weren't any survivors."
"No…Mard Geer has never…"
"He had infected members of the Alliance. A team on a mission to Solarium watched it happen in real time while on a video call."
"No!" He dropped to his knees in the mud, and Levy struggled to keep from crying as he screamed, his hands pulling on his hair and she saw tears mixing in with the rain. She grabbed Gajeel's hand and squeezed it; and he squeezed back. Alzack started to rock and Gildarts looked over, unsure of what to do or say. Levy squeezed Gajeel's hand and he looked down at her. They shared a look and he nodded and stepped forward and squatted down. He grabbed Alzack's shoulder and forced him to stop rocking. His guildmate looked up at him, breathing hard.
"I'm sorry Al…but there are survivors- who weren't on the Station. And we're taking the fight to Mard Geer once we can get as many people here as possible."
"Right." Alzack nodded, taking a deep breath before jumping up to his feet. He wiped at his face and Gildarts went to reach for his free shoulder and got repelled by the shield. He looked at Levy who shrugged. Alzack then realized that once Gajeel had touched him; the rain had stopped hitting him. "How did you do this? Are you a weather magicker or something?"
"She has word magic." Gajeel said and Alzack looked at her in surprise. She shrugged and played with the hem of the shirt she was wearing. His eyes narrowed more. "Why are ya staring at her that hard? Yer gonna give her cause to worry."
"That's your shirt." Gajeel's tanned complexion darkened ever so slightly and Levy's face started to burn. Gildarts started to chuckle.
"Ohhh…our little metal Dragis is growing up huh? Testing the field before finding your growlkin?" Gajeel snarled and Gildarts chuckled. "I think you picked well. She's strong which is what you need."
"Can it ya old pervert!" He shouted and Levy giggled and he spun on his heel and she pretended to cough into her elbow. "Ya think he's funny?"
"Your reaction is a little overboard Gajeel." She lowered her arm, her face still bright pink. "And yes Alzack, it is his shirt…I didn't have much with me; and I lent what I had to Lisanna and Lucy after the attack on our Magi-Hovers. So when I woke up after my last shirt got dirty; Alfie gave me one of Gajeel's to wear since we were in his Magi-Hover."
"Whose Alfie?"
"I am." Alfie announced and both Gildarts and Alzack spun in circles and the three others started to chuckle. "I am the AI system from the Guild Station. General Lucy's mother gave me my name."
"General Lucy?" Gildarts asked, a brow raising.
"We voted after the Guild Station fell." Gajeel said. "Lucy is the Celestial Mage."
"We found a Celestial Mage?"
"The one and only." Levy said and nodded as Alzack looked at them in surprise. "Was that not shared? I thought I heard General Makarov say he was going to tell everyone?"
"The communication system may have started being hacked way back then too." PantherLilly said and she nodded, her humor dying out.
"I see." Alzack swallowed. "I speak for my clan; we're ready to fight."
"And all in my shuttle are willing." Gildarts stated and crossed his arms as a flash of lightening turned the night into day. Levy jumped, grabbing onto Gajeel's side as she shuddered.
"All that is left is the last shuttle." PantherLilly tried to act as if Levy wasn't suddenly a new appendage to the Dragis. They turned and looked at the last one.
"I'll go. No sense in Alzack getting wet again."
"Be careful." Levy piped up and he smiled at her and nodded before turning and stalking over. Levy twisted the material in Gajeel's shirt and he looked down at her.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know. I just…have an unsettling sensation in my gut." He looked into her eyes and then turned and put her behind him.
"I can't get her to speak. When I go in there, she cowers against the furthest corner holding her baby." Lisanna sighed heavily and plopped down into a seat and looked at Bixlow.
"She'll speak in her own time. Or she won't. Maybe she can't?" Bixlow said, not looking up from the wood he was carving with a knife. He felt Lisanna sigh and then watched as her arms landed on the table top and she rested her cheek on her arm and watched him. Neither spoke for some time before she sighed again.
"Is that sigh a sign you want to speak or is that just a normal sigh?"
Lisanna sighed again and he gave his own sigh and set the finished body of a new baby down. He wiped the knife down with a rag that was sitting on the table, and then put it in its sheath and put it on the table. He looked at her and pulled his visor off. She rolled her head on her arm and looked at him. He stared at her and waited. She shifted enough to free one arm and she reached out and he felt the air shift as her finger hovered over his skin.
"What's that symbol? It looks like a body."
"It's the mark of a having attained the highest level of death manipulation of my people." He said and closed his eyes as her finger finally touched the bridge of his nose.
"Death manipulation?"
"Yeah…the reason my babies fly is because they are inhabited by souls that I've collected."
"Did you…kill the people whose souls you have?" Her voice was small. But her question hung in the air. She started to pull her arm back when he reached up, grabbing her wrist. He tugged until she relented and let him pull her arm back towards him. He held her hand back to his face and she carefully moved it, his hold loosening on her wrist.
"No." He said after a moment of silence. "I didn't kill them. They're the souls of those lost that I couldn't save. I give them a chance to avenge themselves or others."
"That's kind of you." She whispered and he nodded. She traced the outline one more time and then pulled her arm back and he opened his eyes.
"There is nothing kind about vengeance kitten. It's all gore and pain. Even when you get the revenge you crave; you're stained by it and it will haunt you forever." He stood up and turned on his heel and looked over his shoulder at her. "But sometimes…when you've lost everything—stains don't matter when you think about what could have been or what was. Or how being stained will limit you in the future."
He turned back around and walked away and Lisanna chewed at her bottom lip. She picked up the baby and looked over at the direction he'd walk and she pulled the wooden icon close.
"What have you lost Bixlow? And what do you think is out of reach?" She squeezed the wooden baby and then set it down and stood up and went to her room. She curled up on the bed and wrapped both of his cloaks around her. They were warmer than any of the blankets on the Magi-Hover and she felt like she needed to be warm.