“Stay together,” Cana said quietly, grabbing Juvia’s hand as they ran towards the bunker. Juvia had unconsciously started towards Natsu and Lucy after watching them engage Etherios’s followers. “I want to help them, too, but we’ve got to keep going.”
She nodded, wishing her friends luck as their group made their way along the outskirts of the main fight, trying to avoid as much confrontation as possible. Although they all wanted to help, Lily had told them to conserve their energy for the fight inside. It would be difficult, and they would need as much of their strength as they could save.
“Jellal.” Lily instructed as they neared the closed doors of the bunker.
“On it.” With a thrust of his hand to the side, the doors slid open, allowing them to enter before slamming closed behind them.
It was nearly as cold inside the bunker as it was outside, no thanks to the metal lining the walls. Juvia wondered if the metal had been put there for the electrical-type users Etherios seemed fond of, and to deter people with gifts like Natsu and Lucy from coming inside.
If Etherios considers gifts like those weak, then he is foolish, she thought as they continued running.
“I don’t like this,” Jellal murmured to Lily, who nodded in response.
“What is it?” Juvia asked.
“No one has attacked us yet,” Levy said, looking around.
“That is weird,” Cana agreed. “This place should be swarming with men, right?”
“It should,” Lily nodded. “Even if most of Etherios’s followers had gone outside to fight, there is no way they would leave the inside unprotected like this.”
“That means they’re confident that whoever did stay inside can handle those of us who came in to rescue Gajeel.” Levy frowned worriedly.
“That works to our advantage,” Lily said.
“It works to our advantage that they left their strongest fighters inside?” Cana frowned.
Lily shook his head. “Their strongest fighters will be with Etherios, like I said. It works to our advantage that not many fighters other than them are still inside. Etherios is underestimating us.”
“Or he knows they can beat us,” Cana grumbled.
Lily came to a sudden halt, turning on her. “If you aren’t confident in this fight, you are going to die,” he said, bluntly, “and there is no place for you on this team. Head back outside to help the others.” Leaving them all stunned, he turned and continued running.
“Hey! Wait a damn minute!” Cana snapped. “I never said I wasn’t confident. I have been training since I was little, so I can kick anyone’s ass that comes at me!”
“Then act like it.”
Juvia grabbed her hand when she opened her mouth to retort. “He’s worried about us,” she told her. It didn’t take Wendy’s gift to know what he was thinking—if any of them hesitated for even an instant, they would end up dead, and it would be his fault for bringing them into the fight.
“He didn’t have to be such an ass about it,” she mumbled.
“He’s our leader, he has to be,” Juvia chuckled.
“I—”
“Get down!” Lily suddenly shouted, grabbing both her and Cana and throwing them to the ground. A loud boom sounded above them, followed by a bright light.
“It’s that electricity user!” Levy shouted, charging him from atop Baghira.
“Levy, stop!” Jellal shouted, grabbing her arm and pulling her off Baghira, just in time for the spirit to roar in pain.
“Baghira!!” She screamed.
“I’m fine, child,” Juvia heard his voice in her head again, knowing he was talking to the group. “I’ll be alright after a moment.”
“Don’t tell me you intended on fighting me inside a metal room,” the man snickered. “Etherios told us you were foolish, and I guess he was right.”
“I wouldn’t act so cocky, Jay,” Jellal snapped, getting to his feet after setting Levy gently on the floor. “Not once have you been able to beat me.”
“It’s been years since we’ve fought,” the man named Jay smirked, electricity coursing over his body. “I’m willing to bet I won’t lose this time.”
“Lily,” Jellal said, never turning away from Jay, “you four go on ahead. I’ll finish this quickly and join you later.”
“Don’t let your emotions get in the way of your fight,” Lily ordered, to which he nodded. “Throw them now!”
Jellal threw what looked like two bombs that exploded into light in front of Jay, temporarily blinding him long enough for their group to get safely passed him. Lily helped Levy onto Bahira’s back before leading their sprint down the hallway and away from their friend and his adversary.
“Will Jellal be alright, facing that man alone?” Juvia asked, glancing over her shoulder. He had been able to incapacitate their entire group and take Gajeel down, so he was strong. She couldn’t help but worry about him facing that man without any backup.
“He’ll be alright,” Lily reassured them. “Jay has killed Erza twice before, so Jellal needs to do this alone.”
“Twice?”
“Once when we captured Jellal while he was still working with Etherios, and a second time about three years ago during an attack on what was their current base.”
“That’s what you meant when you told him not to let his emotions get in the way,” Levy said.
“It is,” he nodded. “And the same goes for you three. I know you are angry about what happened in Italy, but don’t let it cloud your judgement. Staying clear-headed and focused is the only way to make it out of this alive.”
That’s right. We could very well die today. I may never make it back to Mother and Father. I may never return to France. I may never—
“Juv, you alright?” Cana asked, placing her hand on Juvia’s shoulder.
“Yes,” she nodded, letting out a long sigh. “Just nervous.”
“Me too,” Cana chuckled, “but I know you’ve got my back, and I’ve got yours.”
“Looks like Jay’s talk is bigger than his bite,” came a snort from ahead of them.
Lily slowed to a halt, cursing under is breath that they didn’t have time for more interruptions.
It was another familiar face, and Juvia had to suppress a shiver. That strange goo man, she thought, remembering how he had nearly killed Gajeel without any of them even realizing it was happening.
“I’m guessing this means we’re getting closer to Gajeel,” Lily murmured, looking around the man and faruther down the corridor.
“That doesn’t really matter,” the man snapped, throwing his hands out. Goo seemed to seep from the walls, quickly closing in on them.
“You guys have to keep going,” Cana said, a determined look on her face. “Jellal will come help me once he’s done with that lightening asshole.”
“Cana—” Before Juvia could finish, she was swallowed by shadows, when she reemerged, she was beside Levy and Lily, far away from Cana and the goo man.
“Juvia, where are you going?” Levy called after her, and she realized she was running.
“Cana will need help. You two keep going,” she said, never slowing down.
She heard Lily instruct Levy to keep going, so she urged her legs to go faster.
“Juvia!” Cana gasped, barely avoiding an attack. “What are you doing here?!”
“Helping,” she said, standing beside her friend and facing the goo man.
“No chance I can convince you to go back with Levy and Lily?” Cana asked with a small smirk.
Juvia mirrored the smirk, shaking her head. “I joined Lily so I could protect the people I love, so I’m exactly where I need to be.”
When she saw the brunette’s face turn scarlet, Juvia felt her own face heat up. “That’s not—I didn’t mean—let’s focus on defeating this man,” she stammered, pulling her paints from their tubes.
Cana grinned devilishly, the shadows seeming to intensify around her. “Oh, I’m going to destroy this guy now.”
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Levy watched in awe as all of the flyers jumped out of the plane. There were actual gasps, however, when the three dragons jumped out. Erza met her gaze before she jumped out, smiling as a bright light engulfed her, growing exponentially as she shifted. When it faded, a brilliant red dragon was there, its beautiful wings extended, and a look of sheer glee in its brown eyes—Erza’s eyes.
“I’ve never been able to see her like that,” Jellal breathed, complete admiration and love on his face. “It’s more stunning than I imagined.”
“I still can’t believe you’re married to an actual dragon,” Natsu snorted as the hatch closed.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Jellal smirked. “And I’m not the only one here who prefers dragons.” He glanced over at his green-haired companion, chuckling.
“You’re the sorcerer Erza was talking about, right?” Levy asked.
“Freed.” He nodded. “I’m glad the essence of Caron seemed to have helped you.”
“I’m still pretty weak, but the pain is a lot less now, thank you.”
“Did Jellal say you’re married to one of the other dragons, too?” Cana asked from her seat beside Juvia. Levy noticed her wounds were close to healed as well, so she assumed Erza had used the essence on all of them.
“Both of them, actually,” he chuckled, looking slightly embarrassed. “Mira and Laxus are a handful, but I love those two idiots.”
“How you haven’t killed Laxus is beyond me,” Jellal snorted, smirking.
“If only it were that easy,” he snickered. “Mira’s come close a few times, especially when he attempts to cook. We’ve lost three houses in the last eight years.”
“Two dragons and a sorcerer, living together in a house. Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke,” Cana teased, causing everyone to laugh.
“Alright, everyone listen up,” Lily announced, silencing the loud group, “it’s time. In just a few moments, we’ll land on the coast. The weather is against those of us without increased stamina, so we will need to move quickly. We are in luck that it is early into the day, so we still have several hours before the sun begins to set and the temperature begins to drop significantly. The hike to Etherios’s bunker is about four miles, and thanks to the snow, I’m guessing it will take close to two hours to reach it. His supporters will intercept us on the way, I’m sure, so we must close as much distance as we can before that happens.
“Because of the remote location, he hasn’t bothered to conceal the bunker’s whereabouts, so it will be easy to see once we arrive. Getting inside is going to be a challenge, however. Etherios is sure to hide himself away inside with several of his strongest fighters. They are also holding captive one of our own: Gajeel Redfox. He is a skilled fighter that Etherios has targeted directly, so freeing him would greatly benefit our side of the battle.” Lily paused, looking around the room. Levy could tell he was taking in everyone’s faces, etching them into his memory.
“This is going to be a tough battle,” he went on, “I’m not going to sugar-coat it for you. You all knew what you were getting into when you agreed to join me, so I know you’re aware of the risks. Some of you won’t be going home with us when this is over; this plane will have more empty seats than I would ever like it to. But, this will hopefully be the last war of its kind. If we can put an end to Etherios, we can put an end to this needless violence.”
“Here’s to ending this,” Jellal said, smiling sadly.
“Here’s to ending this,” Lily nodded.
Levy watched as Jellal returned to the front of the plane where his sister was waiting to help him land it, and Lily went off to speak to different groups and give them specific instructions for when they landed. She sighed, wondering what types of powerful people they were about to face.
“Everything alright?” Lucy asked, touching her hand.
She smiled at her friend, nodding. “Just nervous. I want to get Gajeel back and for all of this to be over already,” she admitted.
Lucy smiled. “I know how you feel. I’m ready to head back home for a nice, long, vacation.”
Levy giggled. “It’s funny to think that that’s how all of this started. With a simple vacation to Australia to meet some internet friends.”
“Friends who turned out to have super-human abilities, ties to a secret crime-fighting organization, and who were hunted by an evil psycho hell-bent on taking over the world,” she grinned, causing Levy to laugh.
“And that.”
“How are your injuries?” Lucy asked, looking more serious as she glanced at Levy’s arms.
“A lot better,” she said, repeating what she’d told Freed, looking down at herself in surprise. She hadn’t really paid attention to them since she’d woken up, but she felt a lot better. “I’m still not one-hundred percent, but I’m definitely getting there. Maybe seventy-five. I can’t believe the blisters are gone already, they just look like scaly calluses, and my broken bones don’t feel quite as broken.”
“I still want you to take it easy out there,” Lucy told her.
She smiled, squeezing her hand, “you know I can’t do that. It’s Gajeel we’re going in there after.”
Lucy sighed, “I know. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try to get you to, though.”
She chuckled. “Once this is over, then I can take it easy.”
“Once this is over, we’re all going to finish up our vacation and enjoy lounging on the beach for two weeks,” Lucy agreed.
“Juvia and Cana, you two will make up the reconicence team with Jellal and me. Once we find Gajeel and have made sure he’s alright, you will bring him back here—unless he’s able to fight, then you will all join everyone else outside the bunker. Jellal and I will handle Etherios.”
“What about me?” Levy asked, frowning. “There is no way I’m staying behind! I came all the way here with everyone, so I’m going to help!”
Lily sighed. “Fine, you will join the reconicence team. But, once Gajeel is recovered, you will come back to the plane—Juvia, you will make sure she gets here.”
Juvia nodded. “Oui!”
“I’ll be going with them too, then,” her Papa said.
Levy frowned at him. “Papa, you have to—”
“I already told you, didn’t I? It doesn’t take legs to shoot,” he chuckled, holding her hand gently.
“I need you to stay with Arina,” Lily told him. “She is another of our snipers, so I need you two off the ground to watch the main group’s backs as they fight outside.”
“You can protect everyone with Arina,” Levy smiled, patting the hand he held onto her with. “As good as you are, everyone else will need you more out there.”
“Keep Baghira with you at all times,” he warned.
She nodded. “I will, Papa. He won’t leave my side.”
“And there’s no way I’m staying behind, either,” Natsu snapped. “Gajeel is my cousin, so I should get to be on the team that goes after him.”
“How well can you bend metal?” Lily asked, flatly. “I need you outside—where there is plenty of snow, AKA, water—to help our main forces. You and Lucy have powers strengthened by the outside, so that’s where I want you, not inside of a metal building where your abilities are limited. That’s why I chose Cana and Juvia to assist inside—their abilities will be more beneficial to helong Gajeel escape.”
Natsu cursed, but he didn’t argue any more. They all knew Lily was right. Honestly, Levy was surpsied at how thoroughly Lily had thought things through in such a short amount of time. He is the leader for a reason, so I should have expected as much.
“Now that that’s settled—”
“Our flyers have engaged,” Jellal announced, cutting Lily off. “Erza just reported through her headset. They’re outside of the bunker, and the enemy has engaged. They’ll be sending people after us shortly. We need to move fast.”
“Anyone who can withstand a jump,” Lily said, turning to the group, “to the back. Jellal will be letting you out here now that we’re lower. You will go ahead of us to join the flyers.”
Nearly half of the group went to the back, including Cana’s father and brothers. Levy watched as she hugged them, wiping at her teary eyes once they had gone out the now-opened hatch.
“Cana’s family will be fine,” Juvia reassured her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Cana grabbed it, sighing. “I hope you’re right.”
Levy could feel the plane touch ground, and she had no more time to think about anything else. Everything was happening too quickly for that. The plane barely had time to come to a complete stop before the hatch was pulled for the final time and the remainder of the group rushed out. Levy summoned Baghira after hugging her father goodbye, climbing onto her spirit’s back so that she could keep up with the rest of the quick group.
“This will be difficult,” Baghira spoke into her mind as he ran.
She scratched his ear. “I know, but it will be over soon. And then we can all go home.”
“I promise to ensure that you do.” She could feel her spirit’s smile, and her own worry lifted slightly. Yes. They were going to make it through this and go home together.
A/N: Hey guys! I'm so sorry this took me so long to finish!! The end of the semester got a bit crazy, and this sort of got pushed to the back during exams, but I'm on break now! *throws confetti while sobbing* (Please tell Wifey what an angel she is for waiting for patiently on me for LITERAL MONTHS while I wrote this chapter! She deserves it for putting up with me... XD) I hope you all enjoy!
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KEY:
Russian
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“Damn,” Gajeel growled. He knew that lightning asshole had hit him pretty hard, but he didn’t appreciate pounding in his head as he began regaining consciousness. His arms were also throbbing, no thanks to the thick chains wrapped all the way from his wrists to his shoulders, trapping him firmly to the wall behind him. Looking around, he realized he had no idea where he was. It was cold, he could tell that by the mist in the air left by his breath. How long have I been out? That was important information he wished he knew. It might give him some idea about where the hell he was.
When he heard footsteps approaching him, he tensed, waiting for that lightning bastard and the rest of Etherios’s followers to appear. Needless to say, he was shocked when Etherios himself walked into the cold cellar, and it felt as if his deep green eyes stared into Gajeel’s very soul, sending ice through his veins.
“Where the hell am I?” He spat after a long silence.
Etherios sighed, leaning against the wall as if they were having an average conversation. “Such a cliché question. You couldn’t be a little more creative?” Gajeel’s native Russian rolled off Etherios’s tongue as if he had spoken it his entire life.
“You wanna talk about cliché?” He scoffed. “Try getting kidnapped by a damn lunatic villain, and waking up chained to a wall in some creepy-ass dungeon.”
Etherios clicked his tongue, visibly annoyed. “I’m no villain, Gajeel. I am doing the world a favor by purging it of those weak humans. You are either one of the strong, or it is only right that evolution picks you off. We are the next generation, my friend, so it is time to take our rightful place on top.”
“Lunatic villain,” Gajeel frowned. This guy is crazier than I thought. Talk about watching too many damned X-Men movies…
“I am not a villain!” He snapped, annoyance slowly turning to anger. His green eyes flashed with fury for an instant before he took a deep breath and smiled. “You will soon see that I’m in the right here, Gajeel. You’ll join me in time.”
“Like hell.” Gajeel growled. “I refuse to help you hurt any more of the people I care about.”
“Those people will turn on you eventually. The more powerful you grow, the more they will fear you.”
“They won’t—”
“Do you think that pretty blue-haired summoner will stay with you forever?” Etherios scoffed, amused. “Gajeel, she will be the first to leave you. She may even be more powerful than you are.” He paused a moment, then smiled. “Perhaps I’ll recruit her next. I was going to kill her with the others, but she managed to take down quite a few of my men. I may have use for her.”
“You leave Levy out of this!” Gajeel snarled, pulling against the chains. The metal screeched as he pulled against it, but it never budged.
Etherios laughed, crouching down so they were eye-level, that damned smile still on his face. “Perhaps, if you cooperate, I’ll give her a place in my ranks beside you. Wouldn’t that be nice? You could have your power and your woman.”
“If it’s coming from you, I don’t want it,” Gajeel spat in English.
“We’ll just see what she has to say, then,” He sighed, getting to his feet. “She may be more willing to join me. That is, if she’s still alive.”
Gajeel felt the blood rush from his face. “What do you mean?”
“From what Darryl told me, he left her practically smoldering on the ground.” He chuckled. “All of your little friends got a little shock when what remained of my men left them. I wonder how many are still alive? We’ll find out when they arrive, I suppose. It has been nearly two days since our last visit to Italy, so they should be arriving within the next couple of days. Pantherlily will be with them, I’m sure. I’ll take great pleasure in watching that bastard finally die.”
“Lily’s organization will stop you,” Gajeel said.
“He has been trying for several years, unsuccessfully. Do you honestly think your friends will be of assistance to him in the war that is about to happen? His men have been training for years, honing their skills and learning how to fight against others with powers. You and your friends are practically children, with no experience in battle, and with barely an understanding of the limits and true extent of each of your powers. You will be killed before the real fighting even begins.”
“We held our own against your men in Italy,” Gajeel snapped.
“Yes, but we see how that ended, don’t we?” He smiled, looking pointedly at the chains on my arms. “Next time, there won’t be chains awaiting the losers, Gajeel. Remember that.” He left before Gajeel could reply—if he’d even been able to reply. He knew Etherios was right. There would be no mercy in the next fight. Etherios’s men wouldn’t be trying to capture and leave. No. They’d be there to kill.
Gajeel pulled again at the chains on his arms, again to no avail. They creaked, but they never gave way. He sighed in frustration. He should have expected Etherios to be prepared with chains that could hold him—he knew exactly what his powers were, after all. But that still didn’t stop him from trying. When he thought his arms might pull from their sockets from the force of his struggling, the door to his cell opened.
“Those chains aren’t going to budge, no matter how hard you pull on them,” a woman said, smugly. She flipped a long orange curl over her shoulder, glaring at him with golden eyes. “They were designed by master Etherios himself. Not even he could break them.”
“What the hell do you want?” He growled, glaring back at her.
She smiled, sauntering over to him as if he should be impressed. “I came to bring you dinner and take you to the little boys’ room. After a couple days knocked out, you probably need it, right?”
“And you’re taking me?” Gajeel scoffed, wondering if Etherios really was a lunatic, sending such a small woman to guard him, especially knowing his strength.
“Don’t act so shocked,” she said, sounding bored as she unhooked his chains from the wall and clasped them together behind his back. “Obviously I can handle myself. Why else would master send me?”
Not wasting any time, he attempted to pull free, and immediately felt a strong zap through the chains that sent him to his knees.
“Metal is a very strong conductor of electricity,” she said, casually. “My twin brother brought you down to bring you in, so I can handle keeping you in check long enough for you to do whatever you need to.”
“Damn,” he grumbled. So, she’s that bastard’s sister. She walked them down a hallway, stopping in front of a large door. With surprising speed, she undid his chains, clasping them together in front of him.
“You have exactly four minutes,” she told him, opening the door to what he saw was a bathroom.
“How do you know I won’t break through the wall on the other side and escape,” he frowned.
She laughed, the shrill sound grating every nerve in him. “Go ahead and try, but if you do, you’ll get a nice little zap. This room is made of metal.” And he knew what that meant with her lightning ability.
Cursing, he went inside the room and slammed the door behind him. Ok. I need a plan. He inspected the room, looking for any possible way out. There was none. That bastard Etherios thought of everything, didn’t he? And I don’t even have a phone to contact the others with. He suspected he was in another country entirely, so he doubted he could reach his friends in Italy, anyways.
Levy. The thought suddenly assaulted him, now that he had a moment alone. Etherios had hinted that she’d been badly injured before they’d taken him away. Lightning was dangerous—and that man hadn’t used just regular lightning. It was strong enough to bring him down, so it was powerful. He couldn’t imagine how that might affect someone without his stamina. Damn it! How the hell am I supposed to protect her if I’m stuck in God-knows-where with no plan, and no idea how the hell to escape?!
It hadn’t even been a week since he’d told Levy his feelings, and he’d already managed to fuck up by getting captured by Etherios. What an idiot. Levy’s never going to take me seriously if I’m a god-damned damsel in distress!
“Thirty seconds,” came that annoying woman’s voice from outside the door.
“I’m comin’ damn it,” he snarled, opening the door and going into the hallway.
She didn’t bother adjusting his chains behind him, she just grabbed one of his arms and pushed him forward. She was pretty strong for such a small woman. The idea for an escape suddenly hit him, and he almost felt like an idiot for taking so long to think of it.
Wendy.
Why he couldn’t get out, he could help the others get in. Or at least tell them where he was. Etherios had said they could be arriving soon, meaning they had a general idea where the Etherios’s hideout was. And I can lead them to me.
He paused, frowning. No, that won’t work. She’ll be staying back in Italy because this mission is too dangerous. If Lily knew what was good for him, Wendy had better be made to stay in Italy where it was safe.
Shit, there goes that plan. What else?
“Eat,” the woman instructed, locking his cell behind her as they entered it. She didn’t tie him back to the wall, but instead handed him a plate of food.
“What if I’m not hungry?” He snapped.
She rolled her eyes. “Eat the damned food.” When he hesitated, she grabbed one of the rolls off the plate and took a bite of it. “It’s not poisoned, you idiot. Master need you alive, otherwise you’d already be dead.”
“Why do you follow that bastard?” Gajeel asked, stuffing his face. He was hungry, whether he wanted to admit it or not, and the food was decent.
“Master Etherios is a revolutionary,” she said, a look of wonder coming over her face. “He has big plans for this world, and I want to be a part of that.”
“What kind of plans?”
“He already told you, I’m sure,” she sighed. “He wants to get rid of all the weaklings, and pave the way for the strong. Those without gifts could never truly accept us, even if they pretend to at first. There will always be a part of them that fears us, and eventually that fear will win out, causing them to turn on us. So it is up to us to strike first. Eliminate them before they eliminate us.”
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” he scoffed. “You can’t just go around killing people because they don’t like you. That isn’t a good enough reason.”
“What if they try to kill you first?” She asked, angrily.
He smirked. “You think someone without powers could kill me?”
“They will develop ways,” she said, a dark look coming over her. “If the fear is great enough, they will find a way to hurt you, even if you have done nothing wrong.”
“And who hurt you?” he asked, handing her his empty plate.
She looked startled. “Who says someone hurt me?”
“Listen,” he sighed, “just because you met one bad person, it doesn’t mean everyone without powers is evil. My dad has no powers, but my mom and I do, and he loves us just as much as any other husband and father would.”
“And what about the children born of regular parents?” She snapped. “Not everyone is understanding.”
“Maybe not, but like I said, not everyone is as fearful as you claim they are. Some are accepting. If we don’t give them a reason to fight, they won’t. If we live our lives, most people won’t even know about us—”
“Why should we have to stay hidden?!” She dropped the plate to the ground, stepping towards me. “Just because they might fear our power, why should we have to hide? We didn’t choose to be this way! We didn’t choose these gifts! So why should we be punished for them?!”
“And why should those without gifts be punished?”
She stopped abruptly, her golden eyes wide. “I—”
“May.” They both turned towards the door of the cell when a man spoke. That lighting bastard—her twin brother—stood in the doorway, his arms crossed and his eyes hard.
“Jay,” she said, straightening, “why are you—”
“Master Etherios requests our presence in the council room. Chain up the prisoner and come. Now.”
She nodded, quickly doing as he said. Before leaving, she met Gajeel’s eyes, conflict obvious on her face. At another command from her brother, she rushed out, leaving him alone once again.
Sighing, he leaned his head against the wall. Maybe I can convince her to help Lily and the others when they get here. She was strong, and he could tell she didn’t really want to fight, it was more because she felt she had been wronged. However, before she’d left, she looked like she might have agreed with what he said.
“I might have a chance out of here, yet,” he said, hoping he’d read her expression correctly.
“Gajeel!” Cana screamed, watching the large lightning user throw her friend over his shoulder. She heard Levy’s as well, and saw the woman jump onto her spirit animal who was already headed towards him. Cana’s own feet began moving forward just as the man threw out his arm, shocking all of them with lightning. Before most of it could hit her, she hid herself in the shadows; however, the force of the man’s lightning still sent her tumbling out of them and rolling across the ground. Damn, that hurts. Her head was spinning, and her skin was still stinging from the shock she’d been hit with.
Remembering Gajeel, she forced herself to her feet, intent on going after him. But, when she stood, they were already gone. Not one of Etherios’s followers—besides those who had been immobilized—remained in her front yard. She couldn’t even see them in the distance. All of them were just gone.
And so was Gajeel.
“Levy!” Cana’s eyes moved in the direction Wendy’s voice had come from. She was sitting on her knees on the ground beside an unconscious Levy. The woman’s blue hair was singed, and her entire right side was pretty badly burned.
“Go get your mom and Rasha,” Cana told he girl, kneeling down beside her next to Levy.
She nodded, running into the house. Everyone else was beginning to stir then, and Cana let out a breath of relief. They hadn’t lost anyone. For a while there, she had been afraid they might. The group that had attacked them was strong, way stronger than she had ever imagined they would be. One thing was for sure, it had been one hell of a wake-up call.
“What the hell happened?” Jellal gaped as he and Erza ran towards them. Erza’s sword was drawn, and Jellal held his gun at the ready, which almost made Cana laugh. If they had been there—
“You son of a bitch!” Natsu’s fist met Jellal’s face before any of them could react. “If you had been here, they wouldn’t have gotten Gajeel! And Levy wouldn’t be so badly injured! Where the hell have you been?!”
“Natsu, calm d—” Before he could finish, Natsu punched him again. He seemed like he was going to a third time, but Erza clamped her hand down on his shoulder, fixing him with a hard look.
Natsu took several deep breaths, but Cana could still feel the fury practically radiating from him. She could understand his anger. None of them were trained to fight. Sure, she’d had training with her father and brothers, and they had been working on training for a little over a week, but none of that had ever been real. Their lives had never actually been on the line. And the two people who were trained, who could have helped them more than anyone else, had been gone for the entire battle. And now Levy was seriously injured, and Gajeel had been taken.
“Tell us what happened,” Jellal said. “What about Gajeel being taken?”
“A group of Etherios’s followers attacked us. They dropped out of the sky from nowhere, and then kicked the hell out of all of us. Levy is down for at least a couple of weeks with her injuries, and Gajeel was taken by Etherios’s followers when they left. Right before you two showed up.”
“They’ve been scanin’ the area,” Erza said, frowning. “They attacked as soon as Jellal and I were out o’ earshot, an’ then they retreated as soon as we made our way back. This was planned.”
“Then they must have known Lily was gone, too,” Cana spoke up.
Jellal nodded. “They’ve been watching us from somewhere nearby. Whoever is doing it is good, too. Erza and I patrol every day, and we haven’t sensed anyone.”
“Damn it,” Natsu fumed, pacing around the yard. “What are we going to do about Gajeel? It’s not like we’re in any shape to go after them. And even if we were, how the hell are we supposed to know where they even took him?”
“Lily should be returning this evening,” Erza sighed, “so we’ll plan our next course o’ action then. Until he arrives, we need ta get everyone patched up.”
As if on cue, Wendy, her mother, and Levy’s mother came running from the house then. The women both went straight to work on Levy, while Wendy carried around a first aid kit to check on the rest of their friends.
Juvia had cuts on her face and arms, so Wendy tended to those first. Natsu was next, needing a bit more bandaging than Juvia with gashes on his stomach, sides, and back. She wrapped his right hand completely in bandages too, hugging him tightly when she finished. Cana’s brothers were also looked over, but their injuries didn’t look too serious—much to Cana’s relief.
Cana smiled as the girl walked over to her. “I’m fine,” she tried to reassure her, but she insisted on checking her wounds anyways. Her left foot needed wrapped, since the top of it had been sliced open; she needed bandages on her right shoulder and arm, and more around her head where it had been busted from rolling across the ground. When Wendy felt her ribs and she cursed under her breath, the girl excused herself to go get her mother who was just finishing up with Levy.
“Bruised,” Grandine said, feeling Cana’s tender ribs with her fingers. “You’ll need to take it easy for a while, and it’s going to hurt as they heal. Unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do for them, other than wrap them for you, while they heal.”
“That’s fine,” Cana said, offering her a smile, “thank you.”
“Cana!” Her father practically tackled her as he ran from the house, followed by everyone else’s parents. “Are you alright? When it got silent, and Wendy came and got Grandine, we were all worried. I couldn’t wait any longer, so I came to see if you were alright.”
“I’m fine, dad,” Cana chuckled, hugging her father back and trying not to show him how she winced as he hugged her. “Everyone is going to be just fine.”
“Wendy said Levy was injured,” her mother said, joining her father in squeezing her too tightly.
“She’ll be alright, too. Grandine bandaged her up and gave her some pain medicine, so she’s sleeping. Jellal is moving her to a bed now so she can rest.”
Both of her parents sighed in relief. “And your brothers?” Her mother asked, releasing her to look around for them. The boys were already bounding over to them, hugging their mother tightly as she pulled them into her arms.
“You’re never allowed to do that again,” her father said, frowning. “You could have been seriously hurt. Someone could have—“
“I know, Papa,” she sighed, “but we have to. They took Gajeel.”
He cursed, pulling her back into a hug. “Then I’ll be fighting with you next time. Your mother and the rest of the parents without powers will be fine here while we go to get Gajeel.”
“But you need to—”
“We won’t need protecting,” her mother smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Etherios has already moved passed trying to harm us, especially now that he has Gajeel. Besides, do you really think Gildarts will stay here while you go into battle again?”
I sighed. “Alright. But we have to talk it over with Lily first.”
“As soon as he gets back,” he agreed, smiling and kissing her forehead under the bandages.
“Let’s all head inside for now,” Jellal announced to the group. “Everyone needs to rest while we await Lily’s return.”
As soon as they were all inside, the shouting began, starting with Levy’s father.
“How did this happen?” He shot at Jellal, fury burning in his eyes. “Lily assured us we would be safe here—that our children would be safe here! How did they find us so quickly?!”
“We believe they have someone watching us,” Jellal answered, calmly. This seemed to only make the old veteran angrier, because he got to his feet—foot—and started towards Jellal. When Rasha put a gentle hand on her husband’s shoulder, he seemed to calm slightly, but still glared at Jellal.
“Why haven’t you sensed them on those patrols you two go on every day?” Metalicana snapped. “What the hell are they for if you can’t even sense one spy?!”
“Wait,” Natsu said, getting to his feet. “Lily is out of town meeting with an informant, right?”
Erza nodded. “Aye.”
“And you two go on patrol at the same time every day,” Natsu continued, to which Erza nodded once again in agreement. “So, what if there isn’t someone in the city watching us.”
“What do ya mean?” Regin asked.
“What if the informant is a spy, but not for us, for Etherios. He would know from reporting to Lily that you two go out at the same time to patrol, and he would also be able to ensure that Lily would be away from us for a few days.”
“Khara,” Jellal cursed under his breath, leaving the room as he pulled out his cellphone.
“What will be our next move?” Juvia asked, coming to stand beside Cana. She hated the fact that she had gotten so hurt during the battle. She had started off fighting alongside the pain manipulator, but they had gotten separated in the battle. And then she got hurt like that. Cana sighed, and she felt Juvia squeeze her hand reassuringly.
“We’ll wait for Lily,” Erza told them. “Rest until we hear back from him. I’m sure Jellal is talkin’ to him now. Even if our informant was a spy for Etherios, Lily can handle himself. He isn’t our leader for nothin’.”
Nodding, everyone slowly began making their way to different parts of the house. Juvia’s parent, along with her own, went to the kitchen to start making brunch, since they had all missed breakfast thanks to the attack. Levy’s parents rushed upstairs to where Cana was sure Jellal had placed her in one of the beds, and Gajeel’s parents with them. Lucy and Natsu’s families went into the kitchen to offer help to the others as well.
With a heavy sigh, Cana sat on the sofa. “This was one hell of a disaster,” she grumbled.
“Juvia doesn’t know what you said, but she’s sure everything will be alright.” Juvia sat beside her, placing her hand over hers on her knee and smiling.
“I was just saying what a disaster all of this was,” she chuckled, turning her hand over to lace her fingers with that of Juvia’s. “But I’m glad you’re alright.”
Juvia blushed, her blue eyes bright as they met Cana’s. “Juvia is glad you’re alright as well.”
“When this is all over, I’m going to kiss you right on the mouth,” Cana smiled before kissing Juvia’s hand. “I’ve got to have something to look forward to at the end of this.”
“What did Cana say?” Juvia asked, curiously, her blush darkening from Cana’s kiss on the hand.
“Not yet,” she grinned, getting to her feet. “How about seeing if Mama and Papa need help in the kitchen?”
Juvia nodded, and with a smile, followed her.
{Translation: KHARA=Shit. (Jellal’s cursin!) I used the Egyptian Arabic dialect translation that I could find for this, so if it is incorrect PLEASE let me know so I can correct it! Thank you! <3}
AHHH!! Once again, after much delay, I finished my chapter!! :D I'm officially on Summer break now!!! \^o^/ Though, after Wifey's chapter, mine may come a bit slower again because I'm leaving for England in 9 days!!! *intense shrieking*
Gajeel could feel his mother grow tenser beside him as Lily, Jellal, and Erza explained what was going on. At the mention of Etherios trying to kill them all, the small woman was on her feet.
“No way in Hell am I gonna let some cocky bastard lay a finger on my Gajeel,” she roared, earning a startled look from everyone—except Metalicanna, who was softly chuckling. “Let me ‘ave a go at him, an’ he’ll think twice abo’ comin’ for any one of ya!”
“Alright, Pixie, calm down,” Metalicanna soothed, pulling her back onto the sofa next to him, “I’m sure you’ll get your chance.”
“We are taking precautions to ensure none of your children face any danger,” Lily said.
“But they already have,” Levy’s father, Ramal, said with a frown. “Look at the state they’re all in; they’re beat up.”
“Papa, we’re alright,” Levy said.
“But you might not have been,” he huffed, obviously worried about his daughter. Gajeel got the “over-protective father” vibes from him, and wondered if that’s where Baghira had picked it up.
“In Lily’s defense,” Wendy piped up, though still incredibly quiet, “we all decided to go against his advice not to.”
“And look how hurt you got,” Aunt Grandine sighed, pulling Wendy against her side in a tight hug. “You all are too young to be fighting this kind of battle.”
“I agree,” Lily said, “and that is why they won’t be. I intend to procure a safehouse and—”
“No way in hell am I sitting this one out,” Gajeel said, getting to his feet. “After everything this bastard has done, I owe him a pounding.”
Erza laughed as Lily sighed loudly, rubbing his palm over his face in defeat. “The adults may choose to fight, but Wendy I cannot allow to be part of this. And no one,” he looked around the room, his tone final, “is getting anywhere near this battle until you’ve been properly briefed and have trained for it. I have lost good men and women to Etherios and his followers—men and women who trained for years to hone their gifts and use them in battle.”
They agreed, much to all of their parents’ vote against any of them fighting.
“Alright,” Erza spoke up, “enough ‘o this war talk for now. I believe everything could use some rest and to freshen up.”
“And I’ll have a meal waiting for you all when you wake up,” Cornelia smile, already on her way to the kitchen.
“Oui! And I will help,” Celine, Juvia’s mother, said, following Cornelia. Michelle went with them, barely able to get out of Lucy’s grasp but insisting she was rested enough to help them.
Gajeel gladly used one of the free showers as soon as he got upstairs. There was still some of that black goo in his hair, and the smell of it was starting to make him sick. Damn, that took me completely by surprise back there. Lily was right about one thing: we definitely need to train if we plan on going up against Etherios.
Once he was clean, he laid in one of the double beds next to Natsu, who was already snoring loudly. After nearly thirty minutes of staring up at the ceiling, he gave up and made his way back downstairs. He had slept for a while on the plane, so he figured he’d be alright until that night when they all went to bed.
“That didn’t take long,” his father chuckled in his deep Russian as Gajeel sat beside him at the kitchen table. “Not tired?”
“No,” he sighed. “Especially not with Natsu snoring in my ear.”
Metalicanna laughed, patting his back. “You’ll get used to it. I did.”
“Hey now!” Regin snapped, slapping Metalicanna on the back of the head, practically out of his chair, “I heard that!”
They both laughed Metalicanna apologizing to his wife in both English and Russian as she glared at him.
“You’re awake already, Gajeel?” Wendy asked in her Native Chinese.
He smiled at her, nodding. “Why are you still awake?”
“I’m too anxious to sleep,” she admitted, sitting next to him with a sigh. “I’m worried about everyone—especially since Lily isn’t going to let me fight with you.”
“You sure as hell bet he isn’t. Neither am I!” He frowned. “It’s too dangerous.”
“But I could help—”
“No.”
She sighed, laying her head on the table in defeat.
“Wendy, my doll, your hair is getting so long,” Regin smiled, running her fingers through Wendy’s hair. “How about I cut it for you?”
To that, Wendy perked up again, smiling at her aunt. “Yes please!”
“Cornelia, may I borrow some scissors?” Regin called, disappearing to the section of the kitchen with the cooking appliances where Cornelia and several of the other parents were currently at work cooking. In a few moments, she came back holding a pair of scissors. “I was instructed to take any hair-cutting outside,” she chuckled.
“Food ready yet?” A yawning Natsu asked, coming down the stairs.
“Another hour,” Metalicanna said.
“But I’m starving,” he groaned, sitting at the table.
“It’ll be done when it’s done,” Metalicanna chuckled. “I’m sure you can entertain yourself until then.”
“How about some arm wrestling?” Lucy giggled, joining them in the kitchen, followed by Juvia and Cana.
“I’m up for some arm wrestling!” Cana shouted, apparently well-rested from her nap.
“Don’t cry when you lose,” Lucy smirked, sitting at the table and holding up her arm, waiting for Cana. She sat across from her, grabbing her hand.
“Are you going to ref, Mr. Redfox?” Cana grinned.
He sighed, chuckling. “Sure.”
“You wanna go?” Natsu asked, wiggling his eyebrows as he put his arm up on the table.
“Didn’t you learn last time?” Gajeel smirked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Natsu snorted. “That was a tie.”
Gajeel laughed, the first real laugh he’d let out in a few days, and grabbed Natsu’s hand. “Sure it was, pinky.”
“Don’t break his arm,” Metalicanna murmured, causing Natsu to curse at him. “One. Two. Three.” He counted for both groups.
Gajeel heard Cana give a whoop of victory as he smirked at Natsu, holding his arm upright as Natsu struggled against him.
“That’s hardly fair,” Levy chuckled, causing him to lose focus for an instant, allowing Natsu to slam his hand against the table. His cousin immediately shouted in triumph picking Lucy up and dancing around with her, bragging about beating Gajeel.
“Sorry,” Levy giggled.
“You startled me, that’s it,” he snapped, clearing his throat. “Alright, wave-brain, that’s enough. Time for a fair fight where I don’t go easy on you.”
“What?” Natsu frowned, setting Lucy on her feet, “I totally won fair and square!”
“Then come here and do it again,” Gajeel grinned.
“Boys, don’t break Mrs. Alberona’s table,” Alana warned.
“It’ll be over quickly,” Gajeel smirked.
“Natsu cursed at him again, and Metalicanna counted. He barely got the three out before Gajeel slammed Natsu’s hand down on the table—using a little more force than was necessary. Alana erupted into laughter as her son complained about Gajeel being “too damned rough” just to show off in front of Levy, and Gajeel punched him on the shoulder.
“Oooo,” Regin gushed, coming into the room, followed by Wendy, “are we arm wrestling? I want to play! Gaj, dearest, wrestle me!”
“Now now, Pixie,” Metalicanna chuckled, standing and pulling Regin into his arms, “we don’t want to destroy Cornelia’s lovely table, do we? Maybe you should take it outside if you’re going to wrestle Gajeel.”
She pouted, but nodded. “Fine.” To Gajeel, she smiled, “you up for it, Gaj?”
“Anytime, old woman,” he grinned, avoiding a smack from her as he led the way out into the yard. They set up a block of wood to use as a surface, and Gajeel was very aware of Levy’s curious gaze on the two of them.
His mother leaned in close as his father counted. “Make sure not ta cry in front o’ your girlfriend when ya lose,” she teased.
“Tch.”
On three, Regin spun his arm down so hard and fast that she threw him out of his hair, splintering the wood block and both of their hands went through it. “Was that necessary?” Gajeel groaned, ignoring Natsu and Cana’s howls of laughter as he got to his feet.
“Sorry, boyo,” she chuckled, pinching his cheeks. “I guess I got excited.”
“So that’s why you had to take it outside,” Levy giggled.
“That woman doesn’t know the meaning of restraint,” he sighed, hearing her bragging from across the yard.
“You up for one more game? Or did she break your arm?” She asked, putting her hand up on a picnic table. “And don’t you dare take it easy on me!”
“Gihi. Wouldn’t dream of it, Shrimp.”
“I’ll count,” Wendy said, counting when they nodded.
On three, Gajeel felt a force against his hand. Sure, it still wasn’t anything like his—thanks to his “gift” of strength—but he found himself actually having to use a bit of effort to keep his arm straight. She was red in the face, and concentrating hard as she pushed against his hand, and he found himself smiling at her. Never had he met anyone with her spunk. It was just another thing to like about her.
And he immediately found another think to like about Levy when he looked down at her arm. She had pushed the sleeve of her dark green sari up, and Gajeel could see the strain of the muscles in her arm as she exerted force against his hand. He nearly lost his grip on her hand as he stared at them, and it was only when Wendy giggled did he realize he was acting like an idiot. With a quick clearing of his throat, he ended the game, pressing her hand gently against the table.
“I almost had you,” she grinned, flexing her muscles at him with a wink.
Yeah you did, he thought, thinking some thoughts he most definitely should not have been thinking with Wendy so close. When she gave him a look of disgust, he quickly forced himself to think of anything else.
“I want to play,” Wendy said, sitting across from him. “Aunt Regin, will you count?”
“Go easy on him, love,” Regin giggled, “I already defeated him once.”
Gajeel chuckled as Regin counted, winking at her when his mother reached three. Feigning pain, he allowed Wendy to slam his hand against the table, laughing when she shrieked with giggles as Natsu picked her up and swung her around.
“Food’s ready!” Cornelia called from the house, shaking her head at the rowdy group in her yard.
As they all made their way inside, Levy smiled up at him. “That was really sweet, Gajeel. You’re pretty cute when you’re with Wendy.”
Heat burned the tips of his hears and his neck, and he quickly cleared his throat. “S’nothin’. She’s like a little sister.”
Levy giggled again, taking a seat at the table between her parents.
“Alright everyone,” Lily said as the food was passed around the table, “once you’re through with eating, Erza, Jellal, and I will begin working with each of you on your gifts.” The tome of the room quickly shifted, returning to the serious attitude they’d all had not long ago when Lily filled their parents in on Etherios’s plans.
Although Gajeel had never really cared for his “gifts,” he knew he would do whatever it took to protect everyone. Glancing over at Levy, who was smiling and chatting happily with her parents, his determination was set.
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“The third?!” Gajeel was saying, furiously, as Wendy and the others rushed into the house. It looked like a fight had occurred, but there didn’t seem to be any of Etherios’s men left. “Why didn’t you call me? I would have—”
“You would have rushed right home,” Regin nodded, her fiery curls bouncing, “that’s exactly why. They weren’t a problem, so I didn’t need to worry you with it. We had it handled.”
“Where’s the old man?” Gajeel asked, looking around.
The woman chuckled. “I shoved him down into the panic shelter when I heard those men approaching the house. He’s more trouble than they were!”
“Now, pixie, that’s not quite fair.” A man even larger than Gajeel appeared from another room, his short black hair sticking up all over his head, probably from being pulled out of bed so early in the morning. He still wore sleep pants and a grey t-shirt, but his smile was warm. When he met Wendy’s eyes, his crimson ones sparkled and his smile broadened. “Is that my little Wendy?”
He held out his arms, and she immediately rushed into them, hugging her uncle tightly. “It’s good to see you, Uncle Metalicanna.”
“And Natsu!” her uncle chuckled, pulling him into the hug. “It’s been almost 4 years since you came to visit!”
“Says the one who skipped the last family meeting,” Natsu smirked.
“I told pixie to apologize for me,” Metalicanna smiled, releasing them to ruffle Gajeel’s hair, “and Gajeel too.”
“Dad!” Gajeel complained, and Wendy didn’t miss the glance he shot at Levy when she giggled.
His parents didn’t miss it, either. The bluenette was suddenly pulled between the two of them, Regin squishing Levy’s face between her hands and examining her.
“She’s lovely, Gaj!” Regin cooed.
“She’ll make a perfect Redfox!” Metalicanna nodded, to which both Levy and Gajeel’s faces threatened to turn the color of Regin’s hair.
Natsu snickered as Gajeel cursed at them both in Russian.
“While I hate to interrupt,” Erza smirked, “there are things we’d like to discuss with you while we’re here.”
Regin and Metalicanna released Levy and turned to her, growing serious.
“Of course,” Regin said. “I assume it’s about the men who attacked us?”
“Yes,” Jellal told her. “They are part of an organization known as END. Their leader, Etherios, possesses special powers like your son, and like the rest of us,” he motioned around the room. “And because they have been sought out by Etherios, and have denied his request to join him, he will be coming after you in order to use you as leverage against them. Most of their parents are on their way to our current safe house in Italy, with Cana’s parents. Etherios cut off communication with you, so we came to ensure your safety and to send you to Italy to meet with the others.”
“Won’t you be coming with us?” Metalicanna asked, frowning at Gajeel.
He shook his head. “We couldn’t contact Lucy’s sister, either,” he answered, “and she doesn’t have gifts like we do, so she’s in danger.”
“What are you doing still here then?” Regin asked, shooing them all towards the doors. “Get going! Metalicanna and I can get ourselves to Italy; you all go make sure that girl is alright.”
“See you in a couple days,” Gajeel told her as they made their way to the SUV. “Sure you’ll be alright?”
Regin kissed him on the cheek, giving him a wink. “We’ll be fine, Gaj. You go now. See you in Italy.”
Stay safe, Wendy, Metalicanna and Regin both thought, smiling at her as she was ushered into the SUV.
The next several minutes passed by in a flurry of activity. Once again, they all made their way back to the jet, and were back in the air in no time. After that, it was just waiting until they arrived in Oklahoma. It would be nearly dusk when they arrived, thanks to the large time difference. When was the last time I got some sleep? Wendy thought to herself. It was back in Italy, before they began traveling around to get everyone’s families. The lack-of-sleep was finally getting to her, and it was hard to keep her eyes open.
“Get some sleep, Wen,” Gajeel told her, pulling her against his side. “You look exhausted.”
“So do you,” she chuckled, knowing from reading his thoughts that he was. She knew he had been too worried about Metalicanna and Regin to sleep on the flight to Russia.
“Hey,” Gajeel whispered, shaking her gently. She opened her eyes. I must have fallen asleep. “We’re here.”
“Lucy, you’re up front with me,” Jellal said as they made their way to the SUV. “I’ll need you to direct the way.”
“Michelle, please be alright,” Lucy’s thoughts were easy to read, even without Wendy’s gift. She could tell the blonde was growing more and more worried about her sister with every passing minute.
Jellal sped through the country, taking them farther and farther away from any nearby towns. Wendy could see smoke every now and then in the distance. Lucy had told her Oklahoma got wildfires, so that’s probably what it was.
“Down this lane,” Lucy said, pointing to the left, where a small dirt path was barely visible. Jellal turned onto it, never slowing down as he continued driving. “The ranch is about a mile down the lane. It’s the only thing this leads to, so you’ll know when we’re there.”
Everyone grew silent as the house came into view. Lucy’s mind was filled with worry, her thoughts on her sister’s safety, praying she was alright.
“Alright,” Jellal said, flipping off the headlights as he approached the house slowly, “we’re going to go inside in the same order as we did Gajeel’s house. We—”
“No,” Lucy snapped, frowning at him, “I’m going in with you. She’s my little sister. I’m not about to sit in the car while you go in without me. No way.”
“I’ll stay in the car,” Levy offered, before Jellal could object.
“Fine,” Jellal sighed, “Lucy goes, and Levy stays. Once again, we’ll give Wendy a shout when we have the all-clear. It’s an in-and-out operation. Get Michelle, get back to the SUV. Then we can head back to Italy to rendezvous with the others.”
When Jellal parked the car, Lucy frowned. “That’s not right,” she said, her eyebrows pulling together in the middle with worry.
“What’s not?” Natsu asked.
“There aren’t any lights on. It’s only eight; Michelle should be outside with the horses.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing—” Natsu began, but was cut off when Lucy opened the car door.
“The door is broken,” she gasped, rushing towards the house as Jellal and Erza commanded her to stop.
“Shit,” Natsu cursed, jumping out and running after her.
Jellal and Erza gave up, going with the two of them, to which everyone else followed suit.
“Michelle!” Lucy called through the silent house.
Wendy noticed as she entered the house that the door had in fact been nearly torn off its hinges, meaning someone had already been there. By the state of the overturned kitchen table and dishes littering the floor, Wendy guessed it was Etherios’s men.
“Damn it!” Lucy shouted, tears filling her eyes. “Jellal, we have to do something! If they took Michelle—”
“LUCY!!” Came a shriek from outside. “Lucy, help me!!”
“Michelle!” Lucy was running through the house and out the back door before anyone could stop her. Wendy could feel the fear through her thoughts. Lucy’s weren’t the only thoughts she could hear, however.
“Lucy, wait!” Wendy called, running after her. “It’s a…trap,” she trailed off as they entered the large back yard. A young woman who looked a lot like Lucy was being held by a large man. She had rope around her wrists, and tears were running down her cheeks. She was also covered in scrapes and bruises, so Wendy guessed she had put up a good fight before they caught her.
“Lucy!!” Michelle cried, spotting her big sister.
“Michelle!” Lucy shouted. Fury flashed in her brown eyes, and the ground began shaking around their feet.
“Get them,” one of the men commanded. Wendy counted there were only six of them. Most likely, they hadn’t been planning on a group as large as theirs to come retrieve Michelle, and probably not as quickly as they had.
Vines wrapped around the man’s legs who held Michelle, and he was jerked away from her, the vines dragging him across the ground with ease. Lucy immediately went to her sister as the rest of Etherios’s men came after the others. Jellal and Erza each went after one of the men, Gajeel and Levy went after another, Juvia and Cana went after a third, and Natsu followed Lucy to Michelle, holding off the fourth.
Wendy wanted to help, but she knew the others would focus more on trying to protect her than they would fighting, s she stayed back. I wish I had more useful powers! She thought, watching as the others fought. Sure, she knew martial arts, but she didn’t think that would matter much against someone with special abilities. Etherios’s men were powerful, she could tell. One of them easily went up against a pair from their group, and her friends seemed to be struggling slightly.
“Wait a minute,” she mumbled, recounting the fighting groups. She gasped, realizing the fifth man, the one Lucy had used her vines against, was nowhere to be found. Unfortunately, she had noticed a little too late.
Arms went around her, strapping her in a steel-like grip. She cried out in surprise, fighting against him.
“Wendy!” Gajeel shouted, slamming his opponent on the ground, knocking him out, before running to her.
“Stop right there,” the man holder her growled, pressing something sharp into the skin of her neck. She glanced over and saw that it was his hand. It looked like some sort of animal’s paw, the sharp claws poised at her neck, ready to strike. She whimpered after reading his thoughts, knowing very well what he planned to do to her if anyone tried to approach or attack. The rest of her friends defeated the other men, and they all rushed to Gajeel and Levy’s sides.
“Your allies are defeated,” Jellal said, stepping closer, “it’s over. Let the girl go. You aren’t going to accomplish anything by harming her.”
“That so?” He growled back. “Master Etherios has no use for weaklings like this one, so he won’t mind if I kill her. And if I can be defeated so easily by the likes of you, I deserve the same fate as her.” He pressed his claws into her skin.
Wendy tried to stop the pained cry that escaped her, but she couldn’t hold it back. She could feel blood trickling down her neck, and she knew he was going to go through with his gruesome thoughts. He’s going to rip out my throat. Just like an animal. There were really people like this out there? They had special powers like her and her friends, but they would use them to hurt people?
“Wendy!” Natsu stepped beside Gajeel, his onyx eyes bright with fear as he looked at her. She tried to look brave, but she couldn’t quite manage it. Not with everyone’s thoughts racing unhindered through her mind.
“Don’t even try it,” the man snarled when Cana made an attempt to control his shadow. “I can rip out her jugular before it touches me.” The woman immediately froze, as did the others who were trying to come up with a way of sneaking up on him to free her.
“Wendy, it’s going to be alright,” Natsu told her, taking a step forward, slightly raising his hands. “You’re going to be fine.”
Something in his expression changed as he spoke, and Wendy knew immediately what he was trying to do. His mind was clear, no thoughts at all to distract him as he concentrated on the man holding Wendy. “Natsu, don’t—”
“It’s alright,” he said, quietly.
“Whatever you’re trying, it isn’t going to—” The man let out a curse, and Wendy felt his body stiffen.
She looked into Natsu’s eyes, and he gave her a sad smile. He clenched his hands as if grabbing something, and moved his arms apart.
The man holding her released his grip, and the claws in her neck were pulled away. She collapsed to the ground, crawling quickly away from him and into Gajeel’s arms.
Taking the chance, Jellal and Erza attacked. Natsu sank to his knees, sweat beading on his forehead. “You ok?” He asked, looking at her.
She nodded, unable to keep the tears from her eyes as she read his thoughts. “Natsu…”
“Ahh~~” Natsu moaned, leaning back in his chair at the dining table. “Cana, I’m convinced your mother is an angel, sent from heaven to cook for us lowly humans.”
Cana snorted at his comment as her mother laughed. “This boy eats more than my Gildarts!” She told the room, smiling.
“Mama, don’t encourage him or he’ll keep eating,” Cana smirked.
Levy giggled as Natsu shouted about it not being funny. She was glad to see everyone having a good time. The last couple of days had been stressful on everyone, so they deserved this small relief. She glanced over at a grinning Gajeel, and she felt her heart speed up. He had seemed to take everything the hardest, so it was nice to see him smiling with the others.
As if he sensed her eyes on him, he turned to look at her. “What is it?” He asked, his grin disappearing.
“Nothing,” Levy told him, shaking her head. “Just watching everyone. It’s nice to see that everyone isn’t as tense as they were yesterday.”
“Well, we aren’t being chased down and shot at today,” Lucy chuckled.
“Unfortunately, we can’t promise you won’t be again soon.”
“Erza!” Wendy gasped as the woman made her way into the dining room. “Should you be out of bed?”
She smiled, lifting her shirt to reveal only porcelain skin underneath. “I’m fine now. There are only a couple of ways to kill a dragon, and a gun isn’t one of them.”
“Dragon?” Natsu asked, raising his eyebrows in shock. “A real dragon? Like knights, and fire-breathing, and princesses in towers, dragon?!”
Erza chuckled. “Those are all legends, I’m afraid. Well, apart from the fire-breathin’.” She winked at him, and he gaped at her.
“If you’re a dragon, why are you so…little?” Cana asked.
“I’m no’ quite as young as I look,” she explained, “so over the years I’ve learned how ta control my form, and can appear now in this human form. I’ve been in it so long that I’ve considered it my true form for centuries.”
“How old are you?” Natsu asked.
Jellal smacked him on the back of the head as he entered the room. “Don’t you know it’s not polite to ask a lady her age?” He went to Erza, wrapping his arms gently around her waist and pulling her close to him. “How are you feeling?”
“Just fine,” she smiled. “You know I won’t stay down from bullet wounds.”
“You should still take it easy today, alright?”
She nodded. “Aye, will do.”
Before releasing her, he kissed her, saying quietly in her ear, “ana baħibbik.”
Levy frowned, not understanding the language. She guessed it was Egyptian, since that was Jellal’s native country, but she didn’t speak the language.
Erza’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink, realizing the others had been watching, and she nodded at him. “I love you too.”
“Who would enjoy a tour of the family’s vineyards?” Antonio asked, appearing from one of the hallways. “It is a lovely afternoon, and I’m sure you could all use a break.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Levy agreed, eager to get out of the house for a while. Although she was worried about everything with Etherios, she agreed with Cana’s parents—they were safe for now. Lily would be arriving in just a couple of hours, so there was no sense in just waiting around and worrying until he got there. They might as well see a bit of Florence while they were there.
“I think that sounds like a good idea,” Erza nodded. “Jellal and I will begin contacting everyone’s families. Once Lily arrives, we will message you. There isn’t much you can do until then, so go have fun.”
“Was it just me, or was there a silent ‘this may be the last time you get to have fun’ at the end of what Erza said?” Gajeel murmured to her as they followed Antonio and Cana through the streets of Florence.
“I think we all heard it,” Levy sighed. “But she’s right. We should have fun while we can. Although we’re safe now, Etherios won’t give up until he finds us. And when he does, we’ll most certainly have to fight again.”
Gajeel placed his hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at him. “We’re going to be fine, Levy. No one is going to get hurt; not while I’m alive and fighting.”
“You can’t promise that,” she said, sadly. She wished more than anything she could believe that no one would get hurt, but she had seen how powerful Etherios was.
“Here it is!” Antonio announced, proudly. They stood before a large vineyard, a sign with the title “Alberona-Clive Vineyard and Winery” in bright red letters telling them they had arrived.
“This is awesome!” Wendy cheered, happily, as she ran into the field with rows upon rows of grapevines.
“We make the wine in that building,” Antonio said, leading the group after her. “Would you like to taste?”
“Juvia would love to try some,” the bluenette said, shyly, as she glanced at Cana.
Antonio held out his arm, offering her (what Levy would assume would have been, had Juvia not been preoccupied with Cana) a charming smile. “Shall we?”
“Oh, um, yes,” Juvia nodded, taking his arm. Cana grabbed the woman’s other hand, shooting her brother a look before walking together into the building with them.
Natsu snorted loudly, trying to hold in laughter. “Poor Juvia, stuck in the middle of those two.”
“Come on, then! We can’t miss the show!” Lucy giggled, grabbing his hand and going after them.
“Wen, you want to go with them?” Gajeel called to his cousin, who was still playing in the grapevines.
“No,” she called back. “I can’t drink, and I’d rather taste the grapes!”
Gajeel chuckled, turning to Levy. “Do you want to taste the wine?”
“I was going to tour the rest of the vineyard, actually,” Levy said.
“Want some company?” He asked.
She nodded. She had secretly been hoping he’d offer to go with her. Since everything had happened with Etherios, she hadn’t been able to be alone with him at all. Has it really only been two days since Etherios appeared in our hotel suite? It seemed like so much longer than that.
“How are you holding up?” Gajeel asked, quietly, as they walked. That seemed to be the popular question. She had been asked that probably five times since they left Australia.
“Fine,” she answered.
He frowned at her, and she knew he wasn’t going to accept just that.
“I am fine. Things were frightening at first, but I am better now. I’m mostly worried about my family,” she admitted.
“They’ll be fine,” Gajeel reassured her. “Lily is on his way now, and Erza and Jellal are back at Cana’s calling everyone’s families. If everything goes according to plan, they’ll all arrive by tomorrow night or the next morning.”
“I have a bad feeling,” she sighed, wishing she could believe in his words. As much as she trusted Lily and his organization, Etherios had been able to find them so easily. Couldn’t he do the same with all of their families as well?
“Don’t worry so much,” Gajeel said, grabbing her hand and giving it a light squeeze. “It’s going to be alright.”
She nodded. Honestly, she was relieved that Gajeel was there. Had it been anyone else, she would have been more afraid, but she felt safe with Gajeel there beside her, his warm hand holding onto hers.
“When this is all over, you should come to Heihe to visit me, Levy,” Wendy grinned. “We can go visit Gajeel in Blagoveshchensk, too!”
“That would be nice,” Levy smiled. That’s right. Once this is all over, we’ll all go home. Although she had only been together with everyone for a few short weeks, she had grown used to the small group being around one another all the time. Glancing at Gajeel, she knew immediately who she’d miss the most once she returned to Kochi.
Wendy giggled, reading her thoughts, and her face turned scarlet. “W-Well, let’s join the others,” she said, trying to ignore Gajeel’s curious frown.
“There you three are,” Cana said, walking towards them with the rest of the group close behind her. “We were getting ready to leave for a tour of the rest of the city when we noticed you three were missing.”
“Sorry,” Levy chuckled. “We were admiring the pretty vineyard.”
“Sure you were. More like admiring the pretty Russian,” Lucy whispered, winking at her.
“Lu!” She snapped back in a whisper, hoping Gajeel hadn’t heard her.
She noticed he was looking at his phone, so let out a little sigh of relief.
“It’s Jellal,” Gajeel said, showing them all the message he had been reading. “He says Lily is here.”
“We’d better head back, then,” Natsu said. They all agreed, heading back to Cana’s house.
That fear of something being wrong settled in the pit of Levy’s stomach as they reached Cana’s house.
“Welcome back, everyone,” Cornelia smiled as soon as they were inside. “Did you have a good tour?”
“They only got to see the winery, Mama,” Antonio told her. “We were preparing for the city tour when Jellal called us back to the house.”
“I apologize for cutting the tour short,” came a deep, thickly accented voice from behind them.
“Lily,” Wendy smiled, greeting the man who had brought them all together. The video call hadn’t accurately represented how large the man was. Like Gajeel and Etherios, and seemed to be all muscle, but his smile was incredibly kind and put Levy at ease.
“We need to discuss your families,” Lily said, getting straight to the point. “Jellal?”
“Right,” Jellal nodded, stepping forward. “Erza and I have spent the morning contact each of your families. Most were easy to contact, and we purchased them tickets for the soonest flight to Italy.”
“Most?” Levy asked, that feeling in her stomach growing heavier.
Jellal nodded again, this time a little more grimly. “Unfortunately, we were not able to contact everyone.”
“It seems,” Lily continued for him, “that Etherios caught on to our plan faster than we thought, and he cut communication with whomever he could.”
“What does that mean?” Gajeel asked.
“It means,” Erza said, “some of your families are in serious danger.”
~~~~~
That’s all for now! Thanks so much for reading! <3 I included the translation for what Jellal was saying at the bottom. If anyone notices an error in my translation, please send me a message so I can fix it! Thank you! (:
{Translation: ana baħibbik = I love you. Jellal is such a sweetheart. T~T}
EDIT: the underlining won’t work, so telepathy is now in [brackets] instead of being underlined....
Without further ado, CHAPTER SIX!!! It took me forever, but hopefully it’ll be worth the wait! If you give feedback I will give you kisses on the face
~~~~~
KEY:
Chinese
[Telepathy]
“I need to call Lily,” came a chorus from around the room. Natsu froze, watching as everyone did the same, eying each other. Confusion was clear on their faces as they all looked at each other, wondering probably the same thing Natsu was.
“How do you know Lily?” Gajeel finally asked, voicing aloud Natsu’s own wonderings.
Levy answered first. “He’s the one who introduced me to The Melting Pot.”
“Same here,” Lucy said, to which Cana and Juvia both added that it was the same for them.
“What the hell is going on here?” Gajeel grumbled, casting a confused frown in Natsu’s direction. He shrugged, not sure what to say. He knew only as much as Wendy and Gajeel did about Lily, so he was just as lost as they were.
Suddenly realizing something, and seeing the same recognition on Gajeel’s face, they both looked at their younger cousin. She met their gazes, a guilty look coming over her features. She had always been bad at keeping secrets. Or so he thought. “We should call Lily,” she said, quietly.
“Is anyone else here still confused as hell?” Cana asked, crossing her arms as she fixed them all with a stern frown. What do you three know that you aren’t telling the rest of us? I saw that secret little look just now, so spill it.”
“Lily will be able to explain everything,” Wendy said, offering her a smile. “I promise.”
Cana’s anger deflated at Wendy’s words, and Natsu had to repress a chuckle. Having known her for all her life, he would have sworn that people being unable to be angry at her was one of her gifts. But she didn’t need a gift to pull that off. That was just…Wendy.
“Alright you jackass, what the hell are you tryna pull here?” Gajeel barked at his laptop screen, startling everyone. Natsu hadn’t even noticed him calling Lily, and he was even more surprised he had picked up. It was late into the evening in Wales, where Lily lived, so Natsu had assumed it would take at least a little effort on their part to reach him.
“That means Etherios has been in contact with you,” the man on the screen nodded, infuriatingly calm, despite Gajeel’s hostile glare.
Gajeel spat out a stream of Russian curses, almost too fast for Natsu to understand, but caused Levy to gasp and cover Wendy’s ears. Calming down slightly, he answered, “yeah, he has. He broke into our hotel room this morning. He was babbling some nonsense about us joining him for something or another because of our…” he paused, glancing at Natsu and Wendy before continuing a little quieter, “because of our gifts.”
“It seems it’s finally time, then,” Lily sighed. He said something to someone off camera, then turned back to the confused group all staring at him. “Before I go on, I need to speak with Wendy.”
Six pairs of eyes shot to the tiny bluenette, whose face had gone scarlet from the unwanted attention. She stepped forward, and Natsu looked to Gajeel for an explanation, receiving the same look from his older cousin.
“Y-Yes?” She asked.
The man smiled at her, speaking in Chinese. “Have you been well?”
She nodded. “I have.”
“I know your cousins can understand this, but that’s alright. My main concern is the others. What is your opinion of them?” Natsu frowned in confusion. What the hell was this guy talking about?
“They are all really good people,” Wendy said, “and there’s no way they’re working for him. None of them even knew who he was until this morning. And I think they will help you.”
“Wonderful,” Lily smiled, returning to English. “Now that that’s settled, I shall fill you all in on why I’ve gathered you here.”
“Gathered us?” Juvia asked.
“As you’ve all figured out, I was in contact with each of you before you met one another, and it was I who introduced you to The Melting Pot, inevitably leading you all together. I must admit, however, that I wasn’t entirely honest about the site when I introduced it to you. I said that it is a site for people around the world to communicate with and get to know each other, but that isn’t the case.”
“Then what the hell is it?” Cana snapped.
“It’s a site I designed for special people like you.” Despite everyone frowning angrily at him, he continued to smile as he explained. “I can’t explain everything now because Etherios could very well be listening. However, I will tell you that I know of each of your powers before I brought you together, and that it was by no accident that you are all here now, together.
“I have sent my associates to meet you in Australia, and they will explain everything in person. Until then, you should probably all talk amongst yourselves about this. My associates will be there in a few hours, so you’ve got plenty of time to get well acquainted with each other’s abilities.”
With that, he ended the call. It was silent around the room, no one knowing what to say. Eventually, Natsu turned to Wendy and broke the silence. “Wendy, did you know about all of this?”
The guilt all over her face gave her away instantly. “I wanted to tell you, but Lily wanted me to keep it a secret until we knew for sure about everyone. But after hearing everyone’s thoughts this morning, I knew it was alright.”
“Wendy,” Gajeel warned, knowing she had just given way too much about herself away. Instead of listening to him, she shook her head, looking around the room at everyone.
“Lily trusted me with this secret because he wanted to know if any of you were working for Etherios, and I was the only one who could know for sure whether or not you were.”
“How is that?” Levy asked.
Before Natsu or Gajeel could stop her, she squared her shoulders and said, “I can read minds.”
“Wait, seriously?” Cana gasped, her grey eyes large as she gaped at the girl.
She nodded. “That’s why I get headaches in crowded places—too many thoughts all at once. That’s also why Lily trusted me to find out if he could trust you as well. Now that he knows he can, he’ll tell us all exactly why it is he brought us together.”
“And why is that?” Lucy asked.
“I don’t know what the bigger picture is, but I know it has something to do with all of our powers.”
After a tense moment of silence, Gajeel chuckled, patting the top of Wendy’s head. “Kid must still be half asleep,” he told everyone, and Natsu nearly rolled his eyes at how bad the lie was.
“J-Juvia can manipulate paints and ink,” the woman suddenly blurted out, before her face turned a dark shade of pink.
“What?” Gajeel asked, incredulous.
Taking a deep breath, she raised her hands towards the sketchbook and paint set she had left on the coffee table overnight. In front of everyone’s eyes, the blue paint lifted out of its tube and spread across the paper. “See?” She murmured, barely a whisper, as everyone’s wide eyes turned back to her.
“I can manipulate darkness,” Cana said, letting out a little breath. “The ability actually runs in my family; all of my siblings and my dad can do it, too.”
“Is that why you always seem to be popping out of the shadows?” Levy giggled.
The brunette smirked. “That may be more literal than you think, blue.”
“I suppose I’ll go next then,” Lucy spoke up. She went over to the window and picked up the potted cactus from the window sill. Smiling, she closed her eyes. “I can do all sorts of neat things with plants. They pretty much do whatever I tell them to.” The cactus grew several inches and sprouted pink flower blossoms. “I guess you could say that’s why my ranch is so easy to take care of.”
“So that’s why you suck at surfing,” Natsu teased, finally understanding why she seemed so completely out of place, floating around in the water on a surfboard.
“Hey!” She laughed, putting the cactus back before punching him on the arm. “So what can you do, then? Hm?”
“Water manipulation,” he grinned. He had never actually told anyone other than his cousins about his gift, so it felt nice to say it so openly like that. Especially seeing the say it made Lucy’s brown eyes light up excitedly. What the hell am I thinking? Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about that sort of thing; there wasn’t time to get distracted. And when Wendy giggled, he had to suppress a groan, knowing she had heard exactly what he’d been thinking about Lucy.
“So, you’re a water-bender?” Cana snickered.
“Can you blood-bend too?” Lucy added, sending Cana into a fit of laughter.
He knew they meant it jokingly, but he still felt icy hot fear he always did when he thought about that particular subject. “No,” he snapped, his one a little darker than he would have liked to reveal to them. The girls immediately sobered, and the room went so awkwardly silent that he could hear himself breathing.
Much to his relief, Gajeel clamped a firm hand down on his shoulder and broke the silence. “That just leaves you,” he said, looking at Levy. “Let me guess, languages?”
She laughed, shaking her head. “I just learn those for fun. I’m a summoner. I mostly work with spirits, though.”
“A what now?” Natsu asked, confused.
“It’ll be easier just to show you,” she chuckled. “Baghira come!” A gust of wind suddenly swept through the room, circling around Levy before intensifying slightly. As it dispersed, a low growl took its place, and a jaguar appeared to step through some invisible door at Levy’s side. Although it looked like a regular jaguar, it almost looked like it was glowing slightly. Which, Natsu guessed, was because it was a spirit.
“This is Baghira,” Levy said, proudly, as she scratched the top of the jaguar’s head like it was a normal housecat. He rubbed against her, glaring at anyone standing too close to Levy for his liking—namely, Gajeel.
“Baghira?” Gajeel asked, seemingly unfazed by the large animal’s glare as he raised an eyebrow mockingly at her. “Like from The Jungle Book.”
Levy’s face immediately turned scarlet. “W-Well, if a spirit accepts you, they give the right to naming them. And I was only twelve when I summoned him, a-and that was my favorite book as a child. S-So—“
“[I find it quite suiting. You dare to disagree, human?]”
“Ok, what the hell was that?” Cana gasped. “I wasn’t the only one who just heard a damn voice in my head, was I?”
“I heard it too,” Wendy said, frowning, “and it wasn’t a thought. It was an actual voice.”
“[Correct, small one. I am indeed communicating telepathically.]”
“That thing can talk?!” Natsu gaped at the spirit, then up at Levy, whose face was still red as she fidgeted slightly.
“Y-Yeah, he can,” she said, mumbling something in Indian that caused Gajeel to let out a small snort of quiet laughter.
“He must be pretty protective if he learned how to communicate just for you,” Gajeel chuckled.
“You have no idea,” she grumbled, pouting as Baghira nudged her hand affectionately. “Alright, thanks. That’s all for now.” With another gust of wind, he was gone.
“That was awesome, Lev!” Lucy cheered, grabbing Levy’s hands. “What else can you summon? Does it only work on animal-types, or what?”
“A lot of different things,” Lev answered, smiling. “I’ll have to show you later. I also want to see some more of that cool plant stuff you can do!”
“Definitely!” Lucy grinned.
Levy turned her gaze to Gajeel. “That just leaves you,” she said, repeating his earlier statement.
“Nothin’ special,” he shrugged, hands in his pockets. Natsu shook his head at the older man, knowing he’d resist talking about his gifts. He had always not much cared for them, so it was rare to get him to talk about them—even with just him and Wendy.
“Gajeel is super strong!” Wendy said, excitedly, answering in Gajeel’s silence. “And he’s nearly indestructible!”
“Nearly?” Levy inquired, raising an eyebrow.
“Only ever bled once in my life,” Gajeel said, holding up his right arm, “and it was when I got these.”
“What happened?” Juvia asked.
“We were vacationing in Hawaii about 8 years ago, and Natsu and I went surfing. Rain brain over there took us out a little too far on one of his damn waves—right into a batch of sharks in the middle of their damn breeding season. Needless to say, one of ‘em grabbed a hold of me. Put up one hell of a fight, too.”
“Uncle Metalicana nearly died when I brought him back with his arm all bloody like that,” Natsu chuckled.
“I can’t believe you fought a shark,” Levy snorted, amused.
A knock on the door cut everyone off, and the room grew tense as they all looked at each other, deciding whether or not they should answer it. Gajeel took the lead, and Natsu followed after him in case it was that psycho Etherios again or one of his followers. Instead, they were met with two familiar faces, both of them greeting the room with a smile as they came inside.
“I believe it’s finally time for us to explain everything,” Jellal said, placing his hand on Erza’s shoulder.
