Chapter Seventy
"Levy?" She heard Gajeel's voice, felt it vibrate through her and it helped ease the burning sensation in her hands.
"Ga…Gajeel?" She gasped; her eyes were screwed shut but she still felt like she was staring into an atomic blast.
"I'm here." He whispered and she sighed, sinking her back further into his chest; and she felt his arms and hands tighten around hers. "Hold on a little longer, yeah?"
"Yeah. I can do this." She prayed she wasn't lying. She felt something brush against her neck, and her heart fluttered; was that a kiss?
"Gwolmp…you can do anything." She felt the tears force their ways through her eyelids at his praise. His tone lacked nothing; the conviction so strong she swore it boosted her confidence.
"I'm going to throw that back at you later…and you are going to get angry." She said, and she smiled as she felt him grin ever so slightly against her neck.
"I think ya like my anger." He said and she giggled.
"I like your smile more." He froze for a moment and she worried she'd said too much; but then, she felt it. The smile. She could picture it in her mind. "Yeah…that one."
"Yours is growing on me."
"Stupid Gajeel!" She whispered as his smile widened.
"Screen!" Cana screamed and everyone jerked their heads in unison and stared as the screen started to go from white to gray and then darker colors came into focus. Lucy leaned over Natsu; her arms around his neck and shoulder; and she held her breath. Gray was being restrained by Erza and Juvia while Jellal held up Mira and Meredy.
"The screen…" Mickey whispered and everyone turned and stared. After the screen had gone dark; the male known as Patrick had gone and told the others; and they'd all come out to offer their condolences and wait together.
"It's taking so long." Freed swore and Laxus growled low in his chest. A woman put her hand on his forearm and squeezed and when he looked down from the corner of his eye; her eyes were on the screen. He felt his growl lessen.
"Wendy." Frosch hiccuped and pointed and every one looked at the screen. The human female shifted; Lector was leaning over her shoulder and had been playing with Alexander; and the shift allowed him to look up while her son played with his tail.
"Why is it taking so long?" Bixlow snarled.
"There was a lot of that gunk. The spell probably had a lot to attack." Lisanna tried to be calm and logical but it was hard. He pulled her close and she sighed; tears running down her face.
Wendy looked up from the female's feet and wiped at her brow. She'd had so many small injuries littered between her larger ones. She'd asked what had hurt the most; and after Lisanna and Bixlow had promised she was the best healer she could ask for she'd said the waist down.
And the injuries were horrific. Wendy and Alfie had had a sidebar conversation; where both feared that Alexander would be her own hatchling. Her internal injuries were difficult to fix; and she'd done what she could while she was holding her hatchling. But the rest; and more major healing; would have to be done without him in her arms. Which was hard to do. Apparently she'd only let Lisanna hold him long enough for her to eat and wash and change into clean clothes.
"I see an outline of something." Rufus said and they watched as an outline did in fact come into view. It was Levy and Gajeel in the same position that they had been. But the light still had color and details distorted.
"They're still standing; so that's good right?" Lisanna asked and Wendy looked down and then up.
"Not necessarily…I've seen the dead stay in their last position." Rufus said and grunted when Minerva smacked the back of his head.
"Oh." Lisanna whimpered and closed her eyes, her mouth moving silently.
"Gildarts?" Alzack kept his eyes closed; but he thought the light was dimming.
"Not yet; the light is still present." The gruff voice said softly and the male nodded.
"How much longer?" PantherLilly grumbled; he had returned to his smaller size and was perched on Gildarts' shoulder; holding onto his ear for stability. He'd nearly gone flying when the spell had exploded on impact with the enemy.
"Not sure." Gildarts sighed; unfolded his crossed arms and folded them the opposite way. "We just have to be patient."
"Fairy Tail isn't known for its patience." One of Alzack's clan pipped up and everyone chuckled a little.
"Just a little longer." Gildarts said again and everyone took a collective breath.
"Oh my stars…Levy's hands." Lucy cried; once she could see details. Levy's hands were shredded; there were more cuts and blood than flesh visible; but it looked like she still had her fingers. And there wasn't any dripping blood. It looked like the blood had dried, and the wounds partially or mostly cauterized.
"For a Word Magic user that could be a death blow; the inability to use their hands to cast words." Ultear whispered; wondering why the girl on the screen was not screaming in pain. Her forearms also looked to be slightly burnt with a jagged tear here and there in them. Even Gajeel's hands and arms looked injured.
"Her face looks sunburned." Erza murmured, shaking her head.
"And she has tear stains on her cheeks." Elfman pointed out and the all waited; holding onto one another. Romeo was next to Evergreen and she had put her arm around his shoulders as he looked around.
"I see Gildarts behind them now."
"PantherLilly is on his shoulder!" Happy cheered seeing his friend.
"The others are coming into focus too." One of the other Fairy Tail members from the shuttle to Solarium said seeing the sniper core and Gildarts' crew coming into view.
"Gajeel and Levy's health metrics are on a downward projection; and they are starting to move out of sync." Alfie stated and they nodded as they kept their eyes glued to the screen.
"Growlpth." The large hybrid squawked and Happy rubbed at his cheeks.
"We're still waiting to see if they're okay."
"Snorwl." The smaller one keened and Happy nodded.
"The waiting is hard."
"Thanks for the update on the metrics Alfie." Laxus said, leaned against the table and shaking his head. Everyone could see the physical toll the spell had had on Levy and Mickey and a few others were gagging and trying to hold it together.
"Sorry." Mickey shook her head and released her breath slowly.
"Its hard to take in." Freed patted her shoulder.
"War sucks." She shook her head and inhaled deeply. "I'll be good."
"If you think you are going to have issues; sit down." Laxus ordered and she nodded without a word back in snark. He looked over and she looked white. "I take it back, sit now."
"Yes sir." She dropped into a seat and put her head in her hands. Patrick rubbed her shoulders and she thanked him while forcing herself to breathe evenly.
"Frosch sees others!" The little Exceed exclaimed and jumped on the table. Alexander cooed excitedly and he nodded as if the hatchling was agreeing with him. Lisanna smiled sadly and looked at the screen.
"I'm heading there now." Wendy said pulling a bag of supplies over her head and secured it around her torso. Bixlow looked over and wanted to argue but her eyes were still dark and the energy she gave off actually frightened him a little.
"Be careful out there."
"Of course." She said and turned towards the panel to go out when Lisanna got to her feet.
"I'll go with her."
"Lis…" Bixlow started to object but she looked at him.
"In animal form I'll be able to sense danger better than anyone here." She interjected and the female behind her's face scrunched up in confusion. "I'll get Wendy there and back safely. This is my job right now."
"Look out for each other then." He said and she nodded and looked at Wendy who looked grateful. The panel slid open and she leapt out; her air magic keeping the rain off of her. Lisanna took a deep breath and heard a gasp as her body got warm. She twisted and leapt out. Her clothes falling onto the floor behind her.
"What the hell is that?" Minerva asked and looked at the gray and shaggy form that was starting to race into the storm outside.
"Wo..wolf." The female gasped and Alfie hummed.
"Per the air files; the wolf was one of the best trackers in the land animals of this planet."
"And deadly. Did you see the fangs?" Lector asked and looked up and then jerked when Alexander pulled on his tail. "Speaking of deadly; how does a hatchling have that much strength?"
"Humans are…complex." The female stated and looked down at her son. "Never seen…a shapeshifter though."
"Lisanna is probably not fully human." Bixlow offered and the female looked at him. He shrugged. "Alfie said her genetics read as human; but that ability is not a human one."
"Oh." She said softly and looked at the screen. "Like her?"
"Levy also does what humans shouldn't." Bixlow acknowledged. "Most of the human females we have met are on a different level."
"Gotcha." She said and helped loosen Lector's tail from her son's grip and he thanked her and leapt to the table to stand with Frosch as they stared at the screen.
"Lis, stick close and my air should keep the rain off of you." Wendy said and Lisanna sped up and sure enough; it worked. Wendy ran, almost as if she had wings. Alfie was giving her directions via a small implant in her left ear. They hurried quickly; the lightening making the world around them loom like a gothic painting.
Lisanna growled and Wendy shifted to the right and gasped when a human man appeared. Lisanna leapt; her jaw closing on his throat and she took him down and was instantly back on all four paws. Wendy pressed forward, trying not to think about how she had missed him. She refocused her senses and inhaled deeply. Tasting the air around them. She moved even quicker and Lisanna yipped; charging forward as if it was a challenge.
The two raced faster and faster but no other humans attacked. Wendy wasn't sure if that was a random one off survivor or a Mard Geer goon; but at the same time randomly grabbing someone was dangerous.
As they rounded the corner; the entire back line of the sniper core spun around then froze. She lifted her hand in the Fairy Tail signature and they relaxed and wearily eyed Lisanna. They came to a stop besides Gildarts and Alzack who jerked in surprise.
"Wendy? How are you here?" Alzack asked, looking around.
"Lisanna ensured my safety." She said, motioning towards the animal at her side. It bowed its head and turned towards Gajeel and Levy's form. Light was still slowly retracting back towards them.
"Who is Lisanna?" Alzack asked and PantherLilly looked down in surprise.
"She is one of the humans that were rescued by Laxus and the others. I did not realize she had Takeoverian genetics." He said and Alzack looked at him and then back to her.
"How does a human have Takeoverian genetics?"
"We have no idea." PantherLilly shook his head and Lisanna growled.
"She said it's not important. The light is almost gone." The fur on the back of her neck visibly rose and she pawed at the ground.
They all looked back and sure enough, the light was nearly gone. And then, it was. As it disappeared, Levy gave a strangled gasp and pitched forward; but Gajeel immediately caught her and leapt to his feet.
"Gajeel, put her down." Wendy shouted and he spun, sinking to his knees in the mud.
"Wen?"
"I'm here." She rushed forward and Lisanna was at her heels; circling the trio as Wendy dropped to her knees in front of Levy and Gajeel. Levy's body was twitching uncontrollably; but she wasn't making any noise.
"Levy?" Gajeel cupped her face and her brown eyes slowly opened. He sighed and shook his head as he looked down at her. "Don't ya ever scare me like that again Shrimp."
"No…promises." She gasped, gritting her teeth as pain flared through her body. He growled lowly and she sighed and he shifted to sit cross-legged while she was laid out in his arms. Wendy placed four healing devices over Wendy's body and then hooked them up to a contraption attached to her chest.
Lisanna growled and Wendy took a deep breath. "Its fine Lisanna. It's fine."
With the last line clipped in, a warm blueish light flowed from the lines to the devices. Levy's body tensed and then she gave a sigh and her body went lax. Gajeel sighed; and slowly lifted his head and looked at his fellow Dragis. Relief ran through his face and she offered a strained smile.
"Look at you Little Breeze, getting all mature and powerful." He joked and she nodded a little.
"The damage isn't as bad as I was expecting." Her voice sounded deeper; more mature. Her eyes opened and he stared; surprised. The blue was so dark it was nearly black, but there was also a white spiraling deep within the irises. He'd seen eyes like that once before. An elder Sky Dragis had been in the midsts of healing a victim of draconics on a random planet. Afterwards he had confided that Sky Dragis' eyes turned whiter and whiter the closer they got to the ultimate level of healing possible. Only five Sky Dragis had ever successfully reached that peak; and none since the Dragon wars. The male's had only had a half spiral; while Wendy's fully circled her pupils twice.
"The Unison Raid spread out the damage it appears." Alfie's voice said and Gajeel nearly jerked, but his muscles were too exhausted to react to the surprise. "Gajeel's body is reading injuries that line up with superficial ones on Levy's body."
"Unison Raid?" He asked looking at Wendy who nodded again.
"Based on health metics; that is what we think happened." Alfie supplied as Wendy closed her eyes and started to chant. "For a short time; every health metric I tracked was in perfect synchronicity."
"Okay then." He said, and looked down at Levy's face. It was serene looking, the redness receded. They'd performed a Unison Raid. Something so rare; they'd shared. Her lips parted and he stared.
"Ga…jeel." She whispered and he nearly bent over fully but restrained himself.
"I'm here Levy." He whispered and half her mouth twitched into a smile. "Wendy is here too, and Lisanna."
"Safe?"
"Yeah…yeah…you reckless fool. Everyone is safe." He choked on the tears. Of course she was worried about others when her body was depleted and on the brink of death. A full, although small, smile appeared.
"Told…you…I could…do it."
"Yeah yeah yeah. Glad we didn't bet on it." He tossed at her. He gasped when he felt her hand on his face. Wendy's face contorted; one of the devices having shifted. Lisanna appeared, nudging it back into place with her nose. Snuffling as the heat left a white streak on the dark skin of the snout.
"Shut…up." She gently rubbed his cheek. "I won. Let me…gloat."
He huffed out a breath, carefully moving his left arm; moving it across his body to cup her hand. "Not happening Shorty. Can't let that head get too big. You'd constantly be falling over."
"Stu…pid. Gaje..el." She smiled wider and he lowered her hand and pulled the device closer; his hand shifting to metal to avoid the heat.
"Stubborn Gwolmp."
"They're still arguing. After all that." Mirajean shook her head and Lucy released a humor filled laugh.
"I think that's their love language." Cana hooted and Erza and Lucy shook their heads and Natsu smiled and kissed Lucy's cheek.
"They're gonna be okay." He said nodding and looking around. "If they can argue, they'll be fine."
"Agreed." Erza said, sinking into her seat in relief. People were cheering and Romeo had been pulled into a hug by Meredy. Gray, Juvia and Ultear were leaning into each other and sighing in relief. Elfman was crying and trying to wipe at the tears.
"Wait…that wolf…didn't Wendy say…that it was…Lisanna?" Mirajean asked, breaking up the silence. Elfman looked closer and they stared at the screen. The wolf was prancing around the three people in the center of the screen. "Alfie?"
"Mirajean?" Alfie responded and Lucy snorted at the tone she used.
"Is the wolf Lisanna?"
"Affirmative. She has Animal Takeover."
"An entire family with forgotten styles of Takeoverian heritage." Ultear whispered, shaking her head. "Never thought I'd actually live to see the day."
"That makes two of us." Jellal said, he had gotten up and was leaning against the wall near her. She looked at him.
"What's wrong?" She asked and he looked at her and around before making a face. He switched languages; and her eyes narrowed. The language was one that Alfie wouldn't have in her list of translatable languages; because it was a language that their guild had specifically created for times of distress.
"I don't think that this planet, is what we thought it was."
"What do you mean?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Ancient, forgotten bloodlines; suddenly coming back? A Celestial Mage - and a crazy powerful one at that? Something isn't sitting right with me. Why is he here? He never shows up personally."
"I get it. I've had concerns too but…"
"But?" He looked at her and she looked around. Everyone was busy talking while looking at the screen; they seemed unnoticed. But that didn't mean anything; especially as they knew Alfie was listening—even if she didn't understand them.
"But I'm not worried about it. I have peace with them. I can't explain it."
"The Zodiac Guards had peace with him before his true intentions were clear."
"I just think you are worrying for nothing." She argued and he punched the wall and everyone close jumped. Erza and Lucy frowned while Natsu's eyes narrowed. Jellal offered a tense smile and looked at Ultear.
"You think I don't know that this could just be paranoia? But still. Something doesn't sit right."
"Then talk to them! They're allies. Few and far between are people who have held that title; and fewer still have been in the past few cycles; maybe consider talking to them. Voicing the worries you are carrying."
"You two are starting to worry others." Meredy said, coming over and slipping into the language and they both looked at her with concern. "And I overheard your conversation. I'm with Ultear."
"It's rude to speak in a language no one else understands." Cana shouted and Lucy hushed her and the three had the decency to look ashamed.
"Leave them alone. We could mess with them if we wanted." Erza shook her finger at the card and Lucy chuckled.
"True. Alfie hasn't figured out most of the languages from Earth; just English last I checked."
"Affirmative. I have found many other languages on the air files; but my basic protocols requires the languages to be spoken by real people to ensure authenticity." Alfie added and the girls and Elfman chuckled.
"Oh..we could have fun." Mirajean giggled and everyone shook their heads.
"No messing with us." Gray begged and the hybrids popped up chirped. Happy laughed.
"They said they'd like to help mess with you all."
"They're as bad as Natsu." Gray shook his head and the larger hybrid puffed up its chest and growled low than looked at Natsu.
"Did I growl right?" Happy translated and Natsu nodded; impressed with the way its growl had been very close to his own.
"Nearly a perfect duplication of my growl. Good job." More chirps and growls came from the other side of the wall.
"Don't rile them up." Erza begged and held her hands up. "Let Jellal, Ultear and Meredy have their privacy. We're all entitled to some of that."
"You heard the lady. Ignore them!" Lucy cut off Cana and Mirajean and Elfman chuckled and shook his head and grabbed his sister and pulled her away from Cana's card.. She giggled and tried to pull free but he refused until she calmed down. They sat down side-by-side and watched the screen. Lisanna was still prancing, circling the trio.
"What is Lisanna doing?" Evergreen wondered watching.
"I think she's just keeping a 360 eye on everything." Elfman said watching his sister as she moved her head side to side while walking round and round.
"I do not read anything nearby. I will relay the information." Alfie said and hummed softly.