#wingedau

His temper got the better of him as he growled into his castle, the noise bounced off the walls growing more menacing as it faded down the empty corridors. As the demon stormed through his domain, pure malice radiated from the demon. Any unfortunate soul who got too close would run in fear or feel the life draining magic pull at their souls. No, Jose was not in a good mood. The recently deceased winged had been the sixth one who had failed to do as he had demanded. Jose hadn’t even bothered to absorb his magical power, allowing it to disappear – what good was his meagre magical power when it couldn’t open a simple door.

Finally reaching his private quarters Jose paced the large room, he was running out of time, he needed some to unlock this door. NOW. Oh, how he hungered for its power, lusted for its potential. He would be unstoppable, revered against all those who stood against him. Never would he be questioned, never again by the likes of Makarov….

Another growl escaped him his eyes flashed blood red. Those fairies. Those stupid arrogant fairies. Almost they had destroyed him. Almost taken all he had worked for away. But he was strong, stronger than any of them, he would rebuild his empire and this time he would complete his goal. Revenge would be sweet he would savour every second; each fairy would feel his wrath. Tormented until nothing was left; nothing but the sweet embrace of death that only he could give. Oh and he would give it. A death in the most painful, violent way possible, it would make them wish that never had they cross the mighty Jose!

However, there was someone who would not be blessed with such a kind treatment…

“Gajeel…” A hushed curse filled the room.

The name was acid on his tongue, his most valued, malicious soldier turned against him. Now fighting against the very kind who once called him brother! The rage outgrew the man and a trinket on a grand desk became victim to a rather nasty spell, shattering it into glittering pieces. Oh, a special treatment was required for the iron dragon. Jose would make him watch as his whole world was torn to pieces.

“Lord Jose” a formal voice echoed from beyond the closed door.

Jose paused from his plotting; there would be plenty of time to decide how to make his enemies suffer right now he had to focus on the door, “Enter.” He commanded.

A demon entered with no visible wings and his eyes bandages. Aria.

“What news do you have for me?” Jose’s normal purr was harsher clearly still irritated from the prior failures.

“Another winged has been brought to your humble halls, my Lord”

“Do they show potential?”

A quiet silence stilled the room for a few moments as Aria bowed and shook his head,

“Dispose of them.” The sentence was decided instantly, Jose would not waste his time with another weak winged.

“My Lord, if I may it would appear the most suitable candidate has already been taken by another.”

Ah yes, the blue haired girl that Gajeel had betrayed him for. No doubt she was definitely a fine choice – his spies even spoke of her script magic, the very spells which the door demanded. Getting her, however, would be a great deal harder. He had lost so many demons in their first attempt, and with the whole guild guarding her, it would be a challenge, to say the least.

But what revenge it could be…

To see the fairies fail to protect one of their own, for Gajeel to see the very thing he betrayed him for being ripped from him. Yes. This might work nicely.

“The Jupiter cannon?”

“Fully functional sir,” Aria replied curiously, wondering as to the thoughts gracing Jose’s mind.

Jose grinned, a plan was made and soon his would have everything he desired.

"Weaklings." Gajeel huffed; demon hunting just didn't give him the same thrill any more, there was just no challenge in hunting down three new demons barely formed. They didn't even have any control over their magic and Gajeel barely had to resort to any of his more advanced moves deciding to fist-fight his way to victory. As he turned away he came face to face with a large white-winged ebony cat that hovered close by; sword and guard up.

"Well that took no time at all" Panther Lilly muttered as he lowered his buster sword and looked around in slight disbelief.

"Hmph can say that again" Gajeel replied, Lilly noted how disappointed the iron dragon looked - this had been the third mission in a row which had been ‘too easy’ by the man’s standards. Granted anything that didn’t leave him in a hospital was too easy so Lilly wasn’t going to complain.

"I'll have to have a few rounds with Salamander if I'm gonna get a proper workout, Gihi” Gajeel suddenly grinned to himself, the prospects of a decent fight putting him in a terrifyingly good mood. Lilly simply sighed; of course he wouldn't stay down for long, the Exceed allowed his body to shift to his smaller form and began drifting in the direction of home.

"Let's go then; Mira promised there would be a new delivery of kiwi today." Both Lilly and Gajeel took to the sky and in the direction of home. It wasn't long before the two soon entered a friendly, but by no means gentle, race to see who would make it to the guild first. Taking advantage of the changing air currents Lilly gained a small lead, using his more flexible body to move with the air, but it was a trivial thing to the wings of a dragon. Strong muscles contracted, shooting Gajeel forward and in front of an unhappy Lilly.

Before the Exceed could attempt a comeback the race was over with Gajeel crashing through the guild's main door, narrowly avoiding a collision with several other guild members, before landing rather roughly in the middle of the hall. Lilly floated by soon after, humoured by the fact no-one had even batted an eyelash; this was Fairy Tail after all, it took more than an almost-crash landing to cause a scene.

The place was rowdy as ever; people were talking, drinking, flying, brawling and everything in between. As Gajeel dusted himself off and made his way to the bar, he noted the fire dragon slayer being lectured by a pissed off Erza – clad in her standard (or casual? Gajeel wasn't sure) armour. Her wings were a combination of various sword-like feathers sharp and poised for any unfortunate soul who wondered too close. They were flared out in anger as she scolded Natsu for yet more damage done to the building. Only when he saw her pointing to the ceiling did Gajeel notice the gaping hole in the roof from where Salamander had decided to nosedive into the guild. He grimaced; Natsu would be too busy fixing that under Titania's watchful glare to have any kind of brawl with him – not that that had stopped him before.

Gajeel ordered his usual drink from the bar and watched as Mira turned to grab a glass. As soon as she turned her back, Gajeel heard the tell-tale noise of Salamander and the Ice Princess trash-talking - in front of Titania no less, earning yet another metal-clad scolding from the woman.

"Dumb-ass’" Gajeel sneered. He briefly considered not perusing his goal of kicking their collective asses. Two on one would definitely give him the challenge that he desired. But with Erza's continuous surveillance it was more likely he would get his ass kicked for causing a fight. In spite of this, the itch for a good brawl outweighed any common sense he had. Slamming back his drink and Gajeel began to make it way towards the heated argument still occurring between the three winged ones.

Lilly continued to sit happily munching on kiwi and chatting to the ever smiling demon-winged barmaid Mira, their conversation had inevitably turned into a gossip session about the occurrences that had occurred while he had been away. He interrupted briefly to question where he partner was storming off to; upon realising it was to his inevitable doom Lilly merely continued his pleasant conversation with Mira. One day the man might learn not to pick a fight but today was clearly not that day.

However before Gajeel could even make it half of the way there, a low cough caught his sensitive ears. A swift glace to the end of the bar showed an apparently sleeping Makarov, crossed legged on the bar top and a large wooden staff in-hand. The guild-master was a short elderly fellow, and while his bee-like wings and sleepy posture may fool some people; Gajeel, unfortunately, knew better. With an overdramatic sigh he redirected himself to sit on the closest barstool to the snoozing master and waited for what he knew would be a day-ruining conversation.

After a brief moment Makarov apparently 'woke up' and smiled at the scowling man, impervious to his moody temper "How'd the mission go?" He innocently asked.

"Too easy, they didn't stand a chance, Gihi" Gajeel allowed himself to grin back at the master, before his gaze darkened. "Cut the crap old man, what's happening now?" Gajeel's gaze moved upward and focused on the ceiling, something big was coming he could feel it in the air.

"I was hoping you could answer that for me." Makarov paused and looked up alongside the iron dragon; the hole Natsu had conveniently provided allowed them to see the gradually darkening sky. Blue's mixed with orange as the sun began to set - sadly such beauty was lost on the two men who spoke of more sinister things.

"The council have reported a huge surge in demon sightings, but few attacks – it's like he's being picky about who they go after." He continued, keeping his voice low in an attempt to not to draw too much attention.

A moment of silence passed as Gajeel offered no input to the master's statement. As Makarov realised Gajeel was actually refusing to speak on the subject in their current environment, he decided they should move to his office where they could discuss more freely. As they slipped out of the guild hall Makarov noticed a few of the more nosy members taking a keen interest in their movements. ‘No wonder Gajeel elected to stay quiet’ Makarov mused, appreciating the man’s consideration, this was not a matter for his family; yet.

As they both entered a small but cosy looking office, the master repositioned himself cross-legged on his desk, while Gajeel leaned against the far wall deep in thought. After a long pause Gajeel spoke up. "Jose hasn't contacted me in a long time. Last I heard he wanted me to 'build up trust' while he attempted to plot with Hades and Ivan" Gajeel said while Makarov let out a sigh in response.

"I imagine he will want an update soon" Gajeel added, almost reluctantly.                                                    

"He will know that we know about his movements, he isn't exactly subtle" He resisted the urge to groan in despair. The master felt helpless; there must be something they were missing. "What about the demon dimension?" This had to be their end goal, Makarov was certain, demons craved power and that was the biggest source of it. As an added plus Jose had always being vying for the attention of the larger more powerful demons; what better way to get it?

"Nothin' so far" Gajeel replied, equally frustrated at the lack of information. "Sorry old man – they've been limiting contact, might be getting suspicious" Gajeel offered a rare look of sympathy – he knew the stakes here, a lot of humans/winged could get hurt if they failed to stop whatever they were plotting.

"Can't say I'm surprised, demons aren't known for their trust and companionship." The pair sat again in silence before the master spoke up again "I'm sending you to where most of the sighting have occurred – let Jose know we've given you a patrol area for a few months as a sign of trust, maybe he'll get you involved in whatever they are searching for." Makarov nodded to himself

"Is this an actual sign of trust?" Gajeel ventured, his hands sure as hell weren't clean but this was the second chance that could save him from the edge. So what if he was a little hopeful?

"I've trusted you from the start, brat. Forgiven however…" Makarov's voiced faded, the threat clear as the wrinkles in his skin.

"Whadda ‘bout Lilly?" Gajeel asked, slightly uncomfortable with the death glare coming his way. Saying that, he was also concerned for his cats safety – sure the badass feline could easily take care of himself; but he wasn't about to go getting him mixed up in something he shouldn't be involved in.

"Take him if you wish; you can split up the area observe more of it while giving him the space to get out should things turn hairy. He would be a useful messenger as well." At Makarov's reply the tension was gone but not forgotten. Gajeel grunted in response and turned to leave; somewhat disappointed that his brawl would have to wait. As he prepared to leave Makarov spoke once more. "Gajeel… Take care; things are going to get harder." The old man was staring upwards now deep in thought when he heard the door close. "Damn brat…" He muttered to himself.

Gajeel took a moment outside the office door – he looked down at his fellow guild member's and felt a slight pang of guilt (yes the big bad iron dragon felt guilt). The feeling did not last long, now was the time to do some right, not sit in self-pity. Deciding not to waste time he stormed past the bar grabbing Lilly by the scruff of his neck before further storming out the main door. Along the way Gajeel spied an opportunity for a bit of tension release, slamming Natsu's face into the plate of flaming chicken he was gorging on (He probably deserved it, Gajeel justified). Laughing as Natsu screamed threats to his backside; Gajeel spread his wings and headed home.

The Exceed; clearly unhappy at being treated like a ragdoll, struggled out of Gajeel's vice like grip to fly alongside him. "Mind telling me what the rush was? I was rather enjoying my kiwi juice." Panther Lilly huffed; annoyed their break was cut short.

"New mission, we're going on a month long patrol" Gajeel replied rather bluntly his facial expression giving nothing away to the flying cat.

"Any more detail?" Lilly ventured as Gajeel landed on the rocky outcrop of their home, Lilly followed closely behind as they entered the cave  watching him with every predatory instinct he had as Gajeel stuffed extra clothes into a duffel bag dumping it by the entrance to their humble abode (or as Lilly likes to call it their 'scrapyard')

"None you need to know. Be back later." Gajeel left without a second thought leaving Lilly to himself. Panther Lilly stared after him for a while before walking to his "bedroom".

Their home was a large cave in a cliff side which over looked a valley. The cave itself was loosely divided into typical rooms, while the door was a gaping hole; Gajeel conjured a metal sheet to cover it during the cold night. Currently it was currently left open due to the summer winds keeping the place plenty warm and no demon was stupid enough to come wondering into "dragon's lair" as Gajeel liked to put it. Said 'lair' was basically an open plan flat, they had a functioning kitchen, bathroom and lighting courtesy of magic of course. Gajeel's bed lay at the back of the cave and was an unruly mess surrounded by several piles of scrap metal which he claimed were 'sorted'; although by what Lilly would never know. Fortunately it was relatively contained around his space – many an argument between dragon and Exceed led to an understanding of sorts in regards to his excessive hoarding.

Lilly's smaller bed; which lay to the left side of the cave, however was pristine; his few belongings were kept on either the side shelf or the set of draws nearby. All kept in military perfect condition of course. When it was clear Gajeel would be longer than an hour, Lilly decided to make sure they were prepared for their patrol. Grabbing a few pairs of spare shorts, he proceeded to re-sort the bag folding everything and ensuring they would have everything they would need; Gajeel never was one for proper planning.

The little Exceed wasn't stupid; he knew Gajeel was working on something for the master. He didn't know what or why but that was to be expected. Gajeel wasn't going to involve him if he didn't need to be involved. The Exceed let out a sigh as he zipped up the bag. "I've got a bad feeling." he muttered to the open room.

Gajeel sat on the cliff edge above their cave, overlooking the valley. He tried to be patient, but with nothing but the wind to keep his company it didn’t take long before he felt antsy. He was thankful for the quite evening to a degree, the warm air helped calm him and made it easier to focus on the task at hand - he had a part to play after all. A slightly flicker to his right told him it was show time, turning towards a holographic image as it began to form Gajeel maintained a stoic front. After a few seconds a clear thought projection of a tall slim man in a rather jester like get up appeared; thin black bat-like wings sprouted from his back.

"Ah, Gajeel wonderful to see you!" Jose grinned as his dark eyes gleamed demonically; his red pupils studying the man in front of him. Gajeel felt the hairs on his neck stand on end, instinct shouting that something was wrong; clearly something had put this guy in a good mood.

Gajeel grunted in response, waiting for whatever instructions the malicious man had for him.

"Chatty as always..." Jose's face fell slightly at Gajeel's lack of enthusiasm, still he wasn’t deterred. "Well, I won't waste your time. I'm sure Makarov as spotted our movements." His lips curled back to form a cruel grin. "Tell me… what are his next steps?" He practically purred like a rattlesnake before it struck you down.

Gajeel weighed up the form in front of him for a moment, Jose must have discovered something; he was grinning like Mira when she had blackmail and a reason to use it against you. "The Fairies are all in a panic. They're spreading themselves thin trying to find what you're looking for." Few white lies were sure to stroke the demons ego after all the feeling of being powerful was all they craved. "I'm going on patrol where the sightings have been, been told to find out what's going on" Gajeel continued – he grinned evilly as he spoke. Oh, he knew how well he played the part of the villain.

"Really? All on your own? He must really trust you!" The man grinned chuckling Gajeel practically heard the glee in the madman's voice. "I shall not waste this opportunity; you will cover our tracks keep Makarov from suspecting anything, soon we shall be more powerful than ever!”

Gajeel maintained his stoic appearance; it was time to get some answers. "Found the damn door? The hell you even looking for now, then?" Gajeel said, he tried to look uninterested while keeping his ears sharp.

"Why, the key to it of course!" Jose proudly announced.

While not inherently magical, human souls can accumulate magical energy from the spirit realm within themselves and ‘break free’ of the reincarnation cycle in the mortal realm and enter the spirit one.  This magical energy requires a strong soul to hold it, such souls normally have a defining characteristic – something that defines their very soul this could be almost anything; be it strength, bravery, intellect or simply a strong belief in something. The magical energy absorbed feeds on this characteristic and amplifies it when brought to the spirit realm.

Despite the differences in characteristic the magical energy gained will always take the form of wings on the human granting not only flight but the ability to control said magical energy. As these wings are a reflection of an individual's soul; no two will have the exact same appearance, but the magic they can harness might be identical, for example two souls may have control of fire magic but have unique appearances and traits. Through natural observation (and for lack of a more intelligently sounding name) humans who have gained wings and traversed into the spirit realm are called 'winged' or 'winged ones'.

However, not all winged gain this power with good intentions. We call individuals who have been consumed by darkness and gained power through evil deeds, Demons. Such traits as selfishness, malice and deceitfulness also attract magical power – as such we must always remember magic is neither good nor evil; it is those who use it who are. Fortunately such evil beings are clearly marked by black wings and black eyes with red irises. Compared to the winged a demons survival requires them to constantly quest for power and continuously consume magical energy.

As such demons are renowned for hunting humans in the mortal realm. Particularly they target humans with the potential to become winged; they take the energy for themselves by absorbing their magic and through this process are granted greater power. Consequently said human’s soul is then lost - never to be reborn in the mortal realm or enter the spirit world. History dictates this was the norm of our world some ages ago. For centuries humans lived in fear of vastly powerful demons who slaughtered without mercy consuming without limit. Although the winged existed and fought against the demons to protect humankind; they were vastly outnumbered and outclassed.

Legend says that when humans faced extinction and the winged could fight no longer, an angel winged soul was brought to the spirit realm to rectify the world. Said soul held unimaginable power and had a heart which was as pure as it could be - they alone defeated legions of demons and sealed a large portion of demon energy in an alternate dimension behind a locked gateway. The key to which has been lost over the years – for good reason it would seem.

As a result of the battle the winged became the dominant force of the spirit realm we see today. Under the ‘angel winged one’ they vowed to become guardians for the two planes, to prevent another rise of darkness. For the world to be in balance demons would always exist but now, with their strength restricted they no longer posed the same threat to the world. In the aftermath two main laws were put into place, to keep the balance:

No winged would interfere with the mortal matters of the mortal realm

The winged will do all they can to protect the humans from demons

A spell was cast so humans would forget the winged and the demons and never would see such beings in the mortal realm; allowing them to continue without fear of what had been and without witnessing further conflict. Before too long groups of winged formed guilds and assigned them to protecting the surrounding areas and the human settlements within them. As the winged grew in number and the humans flourished under their new protection, the spirit realm flooded with magic; from which, creatures such as fairies, nymphs, yetis and drag-"

"DRAGONS! What does it say Luce!" A pink mob of hair blocked Lucy's face from the book she was rather enjoying up to about five seconds ago.

"Hmph! Nat-su I can't read with your head in the way!" Lucy growled clearly irritated. She really shouldn't be surprised; this was a regular occurrence with Natsu in regarded to anything to do with dragons, food or fighting. He seemed to direct all focus and willpower, the minute any one of them was a viable prospect. However, for as annoying as it was, Lucy did find it kind of endearing how passionate the man was.

Lucy sighed and stretched her long wings; they had a reasonable wingspan and a huge arc giving them the shape of a near crescent moon lying on its side. The deep dark blue pinpricked with a million stars was contained on their surface; the soft glow they gave off illuminated the dusty basement and its treasure trove of lost things. As she turned to where Natsu was now crouched, she was gave another breathy sigh. He had hoarded book from her hands to the basement corner and was staring at it intensely. As she stood up she saw his fire-red wings softly rustle clearly agitated at the mention of dragons. Despite his interest in the book, Lucy wasn't convinced he was reading, his eyes weren't moving and if looks could create fire, the book would be ashes by now.

"Quit it!" She panicked and snatched the book out of the man's hands in a desperate bid to rescue it. For good measure Lucy left a reasonable dent in the side of Natsu's skull with said book.

"Ow! Luce! What the hell?!" The pink haired man turned to now pout at his partner only to find she'd rapidly escaped out of the trapdoor to the basement they were in. Not one to be left behind Natsu swiftly followed his draconic wings flared as he escaped the decrepit house they had been exploring. He took to the sky, large wings held wide.

"We got to get back to the guild" Lucy called hearing a certain someone's grumbling a mile away – she knew he wasn't that mad anyway. "I'll read more of the book when we get there and see what I can find out about these dragons," She cheerfully added hoping to sweeten his mood a bit.

"OK!" He immediately perked up at the thought; with a powerful flap of his wings Natsu overtook Lucy and flashed a bright white fanged smile

"Last one there buys dinner!" He challenged and raced off.

Dumbstruck, Lucy rapidly regained composure and darted forward, "H-Hey Wait! Natsu! I can't afford to feed you again this week!"

They had been here a week. A whole freaking week and nothing to show for it! If it hadn't of been for the dozens of demons prowling the place Gajeel would have lost it days ago. The respite of beating the vast majority of demons that crossed is path half to death, (he couldn't wipe them all out or Jose might get suspicious), wasn't nearly enough to keep the dragon from getting restless. Luckily for them Lilly was far more patient and an expert at keeping Gajeel on task, even with his constant reminders that he was 'fucking bored'.

Either way, they had been practically clueless in finding the 'key' Jose was so desperate to find. After a proper mission briefing Jose had told Gajeel that the key was actually a code on the ancient gateway which, when solved, would grant them access. If you believe the history books it was created by the 'angel winged one' who wiped out most of the demons in the first place. From what Gajeel had heard the guy was a genius, a great tactician who led the winged against the demons bringing about the peace they had today. That also meant the key to the seal was someone who could break the code placed by this guy to open the gateway and unleash all kinds of demonic shit – as Gajeel eloquently put it.

Fortunately for Gajeel, Jose was rather loose-lipped when he was in a good mood. He had told him all about his little spy team which had already determined no existing winged could crack the door; at least not willingly – given the constant battle of good vs. evil and that.  So they were searching the mortal world for a human who could. After all, it was much easier to capture human than a fully-fledged winged soul. Of course no human could interact with the spirit realm so would have to be 'brought over'. Aka murder a poor sucker who might have the right skills for the job and a strong enough soul to form wings. It sure as hell wasn't an exact science, it was basically a crapshoot. They likely killed anyone who could fit the bill, then they hauled them off to Jose if they 'lived' or consumed them if they didn't.

Gajeel eyes hardened, he folded his wings which offered some shielding from the cold as he tried to forget the red in his eyes or his dark scales which were almost black. He was so close to being one of them, yet another killing machine. Gajeel allowed his mind to wonder back to the years when murder was just the way of his world. They'd tell him to go 'recruit' new demons; he was more than happy to comply even if most of his targets didn’t survive to become demons – they just became fuel for his power and he became a stronger weapon for Jose. It was safe to say that he was good at it and through his reputation, many people knew not to fuck around with Black Steal ‘Kurogane’ Gajeel – he was basically a rock star of the demon world.

"Based on the information at our disposal, I'd say she's worth keeping an eye on." The cat replied; breaking Gajeel out of his darkening thoughts and back to where he was now.

When Gajeel had gotten back from his meeting with Jose, he told Lilly everything, excluding a few details about the plan. Gajeel elected to say nothing about how he got the information, choosing to let the Exceed make his own assumptions. Just in case the worst should happen (his cat ain't taking the rap for his fuck-up). Using the information provided, Lilly had promptly narrowed their search criteria based on whatever facts they could gather.

They would need someone intelligent, probably an academic or a teacher. Also they would need to be strong; perhaps not physically, but strong enough to form wings when they die. Fortunately for them, demons had a sixth sense for that kind of thing - follow the demons find the key. Still, going on that alone hadn't really helped; fortunately Makarov had enlisted help.

The master had also decided to tell a select few of the guild members about the demons (but not Gajeel's role as a double agent) in order to aid Gajeel on his task. Natsu and his team had been sent to protect people they suspected of being targets and Cana had been busy using her magic to derive anything about the key or the target’s location.

The legendary drunkard had beautiful long butterfly wings, with swallowtail ends and covered in a colourful pattern which was mimicked on the back of her tarot cards. Said cards had been used to pinpoint the location of 'Jose's strongest desire' as Cana had put it. That had led them to the library east of Magnolia (well within Jose's current search radius, both a good and bad sign). Further delving into the divination arts Cana had been able to find one other clue; the colour blue.

Gajeel grumbled again to himself, it wasn't exactly the ground breaking hint they needed. Blue could mean anything! The guy they were after could have blue boxers for all they knew! Gajeel looked back towards the block of flats they were scoping out.

"I didn't think it would be actually literal..." Gajeel grumbled. This girl stood out like a sore thumb, it was a true wonder that she hadn't been found yet. Then again… "You realise this short-stack just dropped a bookshelf on her head right? I wouldn't call that a smart move…" Gajeel snickered

Lilly smirked back – he had a point. "Look through her window though" The Exceed replied.

"I can't! Damn woman has built a book fort – if I didn't know any better I'd say she's part dragon with that level of hoarding! Gihihi" Gajeel nearly broke into full laughter at the thought of a book dragon, made out of paper and everything.

"My point exactly, you can’t have that many books and not have some level of respectable intellect. I think it's a safe bet to say she's a potential target –  even you can't deny the magic potential coming off her soul" Gajeel refocused, the cat was right (damn cat was always right.) So now they had tracked down one blue haired bookworm. The problem now was what next?

"So what? We gotta babysit her ass? Make sure she doesn't kick the bucket for the next 70 years?" Gajeel knew this girl wasn't going to be safe for much longer; he had seen the demons following her disappear into the night. She was going to be swarmed by every demon and its damned brother seeking fame and favour from the 'Great Jose'.

"I would hope not" Lilly gently chuckled at his clearly upset partner; the idea of protecting this woman for years also wasn’t his idea of a good time. "We should report back to the guild and get some kind of permanent protection put in place for her and the others we've found. Perhaps Freed's runes could be used?"

Gajeel stared intently at the apartment block where the shortest woman he'd ever laid eyes on had happily entered. No concerns, just living her life like everyone else. With a grunt he stood and stretched his wings. "Go now then; I ain't looking after a shrimp for longer than needed" Gajeel jumped to the roof of the apartment block and made himself comfortable on a nearby wall. He had no doubt that a swarm of demons would be on the way soon; least he might get that workout his muscles were craving.

The Exceed gave an amused sigh and began to head towards the guild "Try not to get yourself killed" he yelled back as he picked up speed.

"Shaddup and go ya damn cat!" Gajeel yelled in response, placing his hands behind his head he allowed his eye's to close while his ears and nose remained on high alert – nothing is getting past this dragon.

Cana stared at the cards in disbelief; she knew the cards didn't lie. That didn't stop her from repeating the reading three more times.

"Interesting…" She mumbled to herself

"What's got you in deep thought?” Macao made his way to his favourite drinking buddy still staring at the cards. His wings flickered lightly as the purple fire they contained wavered. He sat down nearby, causally checking out Cana’s drinking barrel. “Your barrel is still full!”  

"Just a job for the master; helping Gajeel find something..." She mentioned absentmindedly, she reached down and picked up one of the cards.

"Oh? What did ol’ metal face lose?" Macao was vaguely interested now; new gossip was always welcome in the guild.

"I need to talk to Mira!" Cana was gone before Macao could blink; he looked at the card Cana was holding and got even more confused when he saw 'The Lovers'.

"Stupid vertically challenged body." She muttered, nevertheless she refused to admit defeat! "Maybe if I…" Levy began to climb the lower book shelves attempting to get some height, reaching up her fingers grazed the book's corner "Almost… Got… It... YES!" Levy grinned as her hand finally closed around the around the books spine. "Oh no." Levy gulped as her body lent backwards, and the whole bookcase along with it.

With a crash and a scream Levy found herself stuck under a rather heavy bookcase and its collection of fables. "Not again…" she sighed trying to wriggle her way free. (She was ashamed to admit this had been the third time this year this had happened).

"Need a hand?" The voice broke Levy from her desperate struggle looking up to see a purpled haired woman staring down at her with a relatively innocent smile on her face.

"Oh! Hi Laki!" Levy was grateful someone had found her; she didn't want to repeat the hour she was stuck last time. "If you wouldn't mind..." Levy squeaked out clearly embarrassed. Laki merely smiled and proceeded to grabbed both of her arms and began to pull.

"Ahhhh!" Levy cried, feeling like she was being ripped into two even smaller parts. "Laki stop!" Immediately Laki released her grip and toppled backwards as Levy's arms fell with a dull thud.

"Hm, I guess we'll have to alleviate the literacy burden to get you out." Laki looked deep in thought. "Maybe I should try again? It might even make you taller!" The taller woman mused to herself as she rubbed her sore backside. Brushing herself off the floor she gave Levy a somewhat sadistic giggle. "Alternatively, I still have that stretching rack…" She casually mentioned.

Levy nervously sweated, not sure what to make of Laki always bizarre comments. "Thanks, but no thanks Laki. I'm perfectly fine with my body as it is!" Levy searched her brain for anything to distract Laki from pursuing her personal brand of 'friendly torture' on Levy’s body. "Why don't you go get some help?" the bluenette suggested, and watched as Laki nodded in agreement and ran off in search of help. Levy's toes were beginning to go numb, so she attempted to 'dig herself out' removing nearby books from her body sacking them neatly within arm's length. She cringed internally as she saw the crumpled pages of the books which had fallen open and bent their precious insides; Levy only hoped that the pages didn't have any tears or permanent damage done to them.

Soon enough Laki returned with a stern looking librarian who simply clicked her tongue as she began helping; picking up books form Levy's small frame. Once all the books where safely stacked, the two women lifted the bookcase just enough to allow Levy to crawl free, as she turned she saw the bookcase fall behind her with a heavy thud. Levy profusely apologised for yet again toppling another bookcase, which was swiftly dismissed by the elderly woman.

"I'd say be more careful, but I'd be wasting my last few breaths." She huffed immediately moving away from the fallen shelf. She would have to call the caretakers to put the shelf back up and then spend several hours re-sorting and re-stocking it. Honestly the whole ordeal was quite that; an ordeal.

Levy felt a pool of guilt form in her stomach; she quietly picked up her intended book and walked towards the checkout desk. Looking at the cover of her newest book quickly raised her spirits. The latest addition in the Midnight Menace series – It was a predictable, stereotypical, but oh so terrifying horror story. Ancient curses, haunted houses filled with ghosts and a group of friends who may or may not survive the dangers in store. Levy loved it; despite the bout of insomnia it would surely incur as she tended to read into the early hours (not because she was scared!).

Grabbing her bag and bidding the librarian a brief farewell; which was returned with a less then friendly glare, the small bluenette walked out of the building into the warm summer evening towards her flat – if she didn't hurry she'd be walking in the dark which was less than desired. Fortunately her walk home went without further incident; then again, there was no way levy could even notice several pairs of dark eyes lingering on her as she went. Sat on a skyscraper, two fledgling demons discussed said woman as she walked away. Their brief conversation ended in the decision that they had found what they were looking for. Two sets of black wings took off, the plan was in motion.

Levy unlocked her door and flopped straight onto her bed – she couldn't comprehend how she had gotten so tired, but almost being crushed by the thing you love would take an emotional toll on anyone. Speaking of which Levy looked around her flat, well what she could see of it at least. Unexpectedly it was covered in shoulder-high towers of books – fiction, fact, fantasy, horror, mystery, romance for as far as her back wall would allow. It was an ordered chaos, everything was ordered by genre and alphabetised – Levy could tell you every book in every stack and had planned safe paths to get round the flat with a grace that only a bookworm like herself could appreciate. But her little treasure trove held no interest to her right now – the only book for her was already open and in her lap and nothing was going to interrupt her devouring every letter.

Levy considered herself to be intelligent; more so than most people without bragging too much. She spoke three languages fluently and could read another four with little aid; not to mention given the time and resources she could probably translate any other language you threw her way.  She even dabbled in writing; occasionally, honestly it was terrible work, but she enjoyed the odd short creative writing session. Almost always she wrote about fantastical adventures she would have in the worlds she had read about; solving riddles, finding treasure and maybe even finding love. The last thought momentarily gave her pause.

"Wouldn't that be nice...?” She mused aloud; her book lay finished to her side. She turned to look at the time she realised something that made her blood run cold. She was an idiot. Two cups of coffee and one midnight menace book later she was wide awake at 3am. "I should really know better by now." Levy spoke aloud clearly distressed by the lack of sleep she was going to get. Work started at 8 am sharp whether she wanted it to or not. With a tired yawn she finally decided to cut her losses and get as much sleep as she could squeeze out of three hours.