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Part 1 of The Bringer of Death and the Apocalypse
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Published:
2020-02-13
Updated:
2022-11-06
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219,780
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109/?
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The bringer of death and the apocalypse

Summary:

Chapters 1 to 81 have been edited. Chapters will be edited and uploaded in arcs. The arc currently being edited is chapters 82 to 100

"The child of the apocalypse. A creature that is neither man nor dragon. A creature that frightened both kinds. A creature destined to bring about an eternal nightmare to the world"

Gajeel Has always been slightly different from other dragon slayers although he never realised it. During his entire time in Phantom Lord, he never came into contact with another dragon slayer that was his age until his battle with Natsu.

The only dragon slayer he came into contact with was a young dragon slayer called Raios, who at the time, wasn't old enough to be using his magic.

Since he never came into contact with another dragon slayer, he didn't realise the habits that he found perfectly fine, were not.

After his fight with Natsu, things begin to take a more complicated route. Now his body is reacting differently and he doesn't know how to get it to stop.

And top of that, now he has other unruly dragon slayers to keep in check. How will he handle the change?

Notes:

This book is a slight AU based on a headcannon that I have. It takes place during the original thing but things have been altered.

Chapter Text

Strong gusts of wind tore through the now open roofed guild hall that was occupied by Phantom Lord. The room in question was decimated beyond recognition. Metal plates ripped from the floor, now jutting out from across the room with sharp, misshapen edges that were dangerous to approach. Flames licked at anything they could, searching for fuel amongst the metal. Across the room were clumps of people, all brought to their knees from the sudden slump in the robotic guild hall, leaving the room itself at an angle. A final tremor racked through the building before the robot powered down permanently. One mage stumbled forward; his tan skin littered with purple bruising that ran across his spine. He coughed once, two droplets of blood splashing onto the mangled floor beneath him.

"Give up Salamander. Ya ain't winin'." He lifted his arm, wiping just below his mouth where a trail of blood trickled down. His breath puffed out, chest rising and falling in an uneven fashion. He reached over to one arm, scratching the uneven, scarred skin.

"You.... *huff* you wish Redfox. I'll beat your ass." the other mage growled, lips pulled back to show off his fangs while shifting his legs so that his feet landed further out than his shoulders. He lifted up one hand, summoning flames that enkindled to life and wrapped themselves around his fist. They danced and flickered with the breath of the wind. The pink haired mage looked towards his opponent, whose scales were only appearing in waning patches across his body. He leaned forward, pressing down on the toe of his left. Then bursting forward with speed, he launching his fist forward and struck the other slayer in the jaw. The dragon slayer stumbled back, a strangled whine escaping his throat before he shook his head.

"Way to go Natsu!" A little small cat cheered, stumbling to his tiny feet only to lose balance and fall back down once more. The iron slayer snapped his head up to Natsu. Crimson eyes stared at him, almost piercing through his soul.

"I'm going...." he stumbled, one hand up to his head as a snarl bubbled out of his throat.

"I'm going to fucking kill you." his voice followed a crescendo, causing the fire slayer to clutch at his ears from the sound. He turned towards the iron slayer. The mage leapt forward, forgoing any magic and instead pushing the other onto the ground. Natsu cried out when his arm scrapped against one of the metal pieces, leaving a thin jagged cut that oozed blood. Sharp claws swiped at his jaw, hooking into the skin and drawing a deep line of red across his cheek. Natsu pulled his head back, shifting his body to try and get the larger slayer off him. A guttural snarl ripped itself from Gajeel's jaws, his teeth slowly pushing out from between his parted lips. He swung another swipe at Natsu's other cheek, his nails taking on a sharpened point that was coloured black. Natsu pulled his legs up, pushing them into Gajeel's stomach and kicking him off. The slayer tumbled back, dragging up dust with his journey. 

"What the- That was totally unfair." Natsu huffed, leaning on his right arm to push himself up. Gajeel curved sharply, digging sharp nails into the ground to stop his movement. He leaned his left hand forward to push himself onto his hands and feet, spine curving in a subtle arch. He snapped his gaze towards Natsu. The fire slayer focused on the other who's sclera had taken on a milky red hue. Some of the scales had flickered out of existence while others had been replaced with lighter grey scales in focused points on his body. Natsu pushed himself to his feet, swinging his left arm back to a crack sound. 

"Come at me. I'm ready this time." Natsu leaned in, arms spread wide in a challenge. Gajeel placed his hand forward, clawed fingers spread out across the surface for balance. He leaned his head down towards the ground, two oddly shaped bones, slipping out of two scarred over spots on his back. He pressed down on his feet, putting power into them before leaping forward at Natsu. The fire slayer prepped himself this time, swinging his foot up to strike Gajeel in the side of the head with flames. The iron slayer fell back, scrambling around with 7 limbs tangling. A series of clicks accompanied the dragon slayer's frantic movements before he finally found his footing. His jaws had moved forward slightly, silver scales shimmering atop his muzzle. 

"Yeah, take that bitch." Natsu laughed, pointing towards the shifting slayer. Said slayer opened his jaws, a series of hisses meeting the fire mage's taunt. Natsu jumped forward once more, charging up a punch which he used to strike the other slayer in the neck. The iron user stumbled back, devolving into a hacking fit when he struggled to bring air into his lungs from the blow. He reached up two scaled hands to his neck, rubbing across darkening skin with a weak whine. He huffed through his nose, curving his body around to tackle Natsu once more. Large silver wings spread from his back, casting long shadows below. They tumbled across the ground until Natsu wrapped his fingers around a pole, bringing them both to a skidding stop. He curved up his leg, kicking Gajeel in the knee who stumbled back and turned his head around to inspect the blow. Natsu turned to the side, spitting out dirt and rocks that had slipped into his mouth during their tumble. He was pushed down to the ground once more, head now hanging off the edge and leaning down towards the numerous rounded metal limbs and the ocean below.

“What are you doing? You’ll get us both killed.” Natsu snapped, pushing one hand up to the phantom mage’s face in hopes of push him off. Gajeel snapped at the other’s hand, teeth sinking deep into the flesh which elicited a cry from the fire mage. He pushed his other hand up against the iron slayer’s jaws, trying to pry them open to free his hand. The slayer snarled, applying further pressure to the hand pressed between his teeth.

SNAP.

Natsu cried out, pain flooding through the nerves in his hand like water flooding through a broken dam. He struggled, kicking up at the dragon slayer’s stomach in an attempt to push him off. A hard kick to the abdomen had the slayer groaning, jaws parting enough for Natsu to pull his hand back. Gajeel huffed, reaching one hand down to guard the area he’d been repeatedly struck in. While he was distracted, Natsu wrapped both his arms around the other’s neck and pulled him to the ground hard. A surprised yap escaped the slayer when his neck hit the edge of the floor, leaving him frozen in place for a few seconds. Natsu scrambled back, watching the other slayer for his next move. The iron mage rolled over to his stomach, using his arms to push himself up. Natsu pulled his right hand forward, flexing the fingers as he waited for the other to attack. Gajeel shook his head, stumbling to the side with another whine as his left hand came dangerously close to the edge.

“Hey wait. Redfox! Don’t move.” Natsu yelled, leaning forward in preparation to sprint forward. His voice was met with a snarl, Gajeel twisting around to face Natsu. Except his left foot didn’t meet any ground, instead pressing down on thin air. The slayer -startled by the sudden unbalance- collapsed forward, chin smacking on the ground before he slipped back. Another yap as he disappeared from view. Silence.

Clang.

Thud.

Natsu pressed forward, staring down over the edge. He scanned each individual robot limb for wild, dark hair. His eyes snapped to one lower down. The iron slayer was sprawled out over the limb, slipping off it and dropping towards the water below.

“Natsu. what’s going on?” Happy floated over to him, looking towards his dragon slayer companion. Natsu never took his eyes off the slayer or the water he was inching towards.

“Happy. Get me down there.” Natsu pointed towards the other slayer. Happy’s eyes rounded, and his ears pinned back.

“B-but Natsu-.” his tail flicked at the tip. Natsu shook his head but said no words. The blue cat lowered his gaze but didn’t continue his protest. He approached the slayer, tiny paws gripping onto the white scaled scarf. He lifted him up, gently hovering down towards the iron slayer. Happy shifted around in a half circle, avoiding the jutting metal and awkward limbs in his descent. Natsu reached out his right hand, fingers brushing against the other’s scales before he slipped back further.

“Happy. I need to get closer” Happy floated nearer, Natsu’s knee knocking against the metal. He reached out again, stretching his fingers out to grab for the other’s belt so he could pull him up easier. A rattle from above brought the two’s attention upward. The robot leaned further to the side, an ominous groan accompanying the movement.

“Lucy! Get out of there. I don’t think its going to hold much longer.” he yelled up towards the celestial mage who was clinging on to one of the thin poles of metal similar to the other members of the phantom lord guild. Another metallic groan as the metal of the robot shifted once more.

Splash.

Natsu turned back to where Gajeel had been, only to find empty space. Below, the water rippled, and a barrage of bubbles swelled and popped along the surface. He struggled to get out of Happy’s grip, reaching up to push at the cat’s paws.

“Let me go.” he ordered, kicking his legs about which sent them into a tail spin. Happy let out a pitiful mewl before releasing his hold on the fire slayer. He plummeted down towards the water, wind buffeting at his ears before everything was silent upon impact with the cold water. He squinted his eyes, trying his best to find the other slayer in the dark water. A tiny trail of bubbles a few feet in front of him gave the other’s position away. Natsu dived down, The movement ignited pain in his left hand, causing his fingers to twitch momentarily before falling dead. He finally came up close to the slayer who was unconscious and breathing in water. The fire slayer, wrapped his arms under the other’s and began pulling up. His lungs were slowly beginning to burn but he ignored the urge to breath and kept heading for the open water. The light reflecting off the surface of the water got closer and closer until finally, they breached the surface. Water flew back from the two of them, sending further ripples across the water. Natsu coughed, relishing in the air he could now breath in. Happy flew down towards him, having been over towards the main land.

“Natsu.” he cried out, circling above the two slayers. He hooked his paws into Natsu’s scarf once more and lifted the two out of the water. Natsu kept a tight grip on the otherwise still dragon slayer who was showing no sign of waking or even moving. Natsu looked him over, the strange dragon magic had disappeared and leaving only the bruising and cuts across his body. Happy floated above the rock edge for a few seconds before lowering the two. Lucy ran over, pulling Natsu into a hug and forcing him to release Gajeel.

“Natsu you idiot. You scared me.” she whispered, holding him close. He returned the hug, rubbing one hand up her back.

“Well I totally won so that makes up for it right?” he looks to her, sharp fangs exposed in a wide smile. The celestial mage laughed, wiping at the tears threatening to escape.

“Yeah.” she whispered, a smile of her own spreading across her lips. She turned to look at the crumpled heap that was the other slayer.

“I don’t want to be rude or anything but why did you help him?” she pressed one foot against the other’s back then retracted it, expecting the metal mage to lash out. He just lay still, his chest not even moving.

“Oh Serena. I don’t think he’s breathing.” Natsu bent down, rolling Gajeel onto his back. Small trickles of water escaped his parted lips but there was no other change.

“What am I supposed to do? How do I make him breath? Do I set him on fire?” Natsu looked towards Lucy. She crossed her arms over her chest with a pout.

“No, you don’t set him on fire. You have to preform CPR. Put your hands like this on his chest and press down.” Lucy instructed, positioning her hands how they were supposed to go. Natsu copied the position and pressed down full force on Gajeel’s chest. He pressed several times but got no reaction.

“It isn’t working.” he looked to Lucy once more, continuing with the chest compressions.

“You need to give him air. Tilt his chin up with two fingers and pinch his nose. Then you breath into him twice.” Natsu mimicked the instructions, pressing his lips against the other and breathing in twice. He got no reaction.

“Press on his chest 30 times and then try again.” Natsu returned to pressing down on the others chest, counting the amount of times he did before leaning in for the two breaths again. He pressed two fingers below Gajeel’s chin and tilted it up, pinching the other’s nose. Upon the first breath there was no reaction. Natsu leaned in once more and breathed a large breath into the iron slayer. This time there was a reaction. The slayer began coughing, spurts of water escaping from his lungs and dampening the rock around him. He coughed for about a minute before going still, his chest rising and falling ever so slight.

“Maybe we should bring him with us.” Natsu offered.

“Bring him with us? Have you forgotten what he did to the guild hall? What he did to Levy, Jet and Droy. He could have killed them.” Lucy looked over Natsu, trying to find some hint that he was joking.

“I haven’t but if we left him to die then…. Wouldn’t that make us the same. Someone once told me that if we treated our enemies how they treated us then we’d be no better. We don’t need to let him join or anything. Just…. Give him medical aid so he won’t die.” Natsu looked to the unconscious slayer.

“Natsu…” Lucy kneeled next to the fire slayer. Happy giggled.

“You just want to bring him along so you can kiss him again.” the little cat held his paws up to his mouth, snickering behind them as he looked at Natsu. Natsu bristled, puffing out his cheeks.

“Am not. Besides, I want to ask him where he learned his magic. He’s the only other dragon slayer I’ve heard of.” Natsu moves towards Gajeel, hooking his arms under the other’s and beginning to drag him towards the remains of the Fairy Tail guild hall.

Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Natsu stumbled backwards, flopping to the ground with a groan. The added weight of the iron slayer pinned him down to the gravel below in a mess of hair and limbs.

“Oh Natsu. You’re back.” Mira bent over him, her bright, closed eyed smile hovering over his face. Natsu huffed, pushing at Gajeel’s head. The other flopped off him, now leaning on his right arm with his face in the dirt. Several mages were looking towards them.

“Is that….” Erza was staring, unable to continue as she eyed the iron slayer like he’d jump to his feet and attack them all in seconds.

“Why would you bring him here? That’s not manly at all.” Elfman crossed his arms, leaning over the crumpled pile on the ground. He pressed one foot into the slayer’s side, toeing at him. A muffled whine left some dust raised around the mage’s face. Elfman stepped back, raising both his arms in a blockage. Natsu looked towards his guildmates, all of which were just as tensed up at the dragon slayer. Mira leaned forward, brushing thick hair back to look at the spot that her younger brother had touched. Large purple bruises littered the slayer’s back and sides.

“Oh my. You really went all out on each other.” Mira turned to look at Natsu for any similar bruising. Natsu’s mouth dropped into a frown as he crossed his arms.

“I didn’t do those. He already had them before the fight started.” He huffed, crossing his legs and leaning forward.

“Besides, I brought him here so he wouldn’t die of being cold.” He added on, looking towards the sea with a pout.

“I think you mean hypothermia Natsu.” Lucy leaned in close to Natsu. The fire slayer puffed smoke from his nose.

“No. I mean cold. He fell into the sea and that’s cold so now he’s cold.” the slayer leaned one hand down on the ground, fisting at the grass.

“That’s hypothermia you idiot” Gray snapped. Natsu hissed, jumping to his feet. The two bashed heads together, pushing at each other in a contest to see who would let out first. Makarov sighed, shaking his head at the two elemental mages having a squabble.

“Can someone please go fetch Porlyusica. I would like for all those who have been hurt to be looked over.” Makarov looked to the guild members behind him, trying to pick out the least injured of the lot.

“That includes Gajeel right?” Natsu leaned away from Gray to look at Makarov with wide eyes and a slight frown.

“What? You’re offering him help? After what he did? Have you finally burned your brain to ash?” Natsu pushed his forehead back against Gray’s.

“No but would we be any better than him if we left him to die.” Natsu growled, eyes flickering yellow for only a second before returning to the warm onyx. Erza turned to them.

“That is enough.” she snapped, looking at the two elemental mages before her. Natsu stepped away, crossing his arms once more and looking down towards the ground with a huff.

“Although I do have to agree with Gray here. Is it wise to provide medical aid to our enemy.” she turned towards Makarov. The guild master closed his eyes in thought, linking his hands behind his back. A few seconds passed.

“Bivai.” the word came out muffled by the dragon slayer still facing the ground. Makarov looked towards the slayer.

“Elfman, could you check if he’s awake?” Makarov asked, one eye still focused on the phantom mage. Elfman pushed his foot forward, using it to roll Gajeel onto his back. The slayer’s face scrunched up, shoulders tense before he relaxed once more.

“If he’s still asleep then how did he say something?” Lucy leaned over, searching for a hint that the slayer was feigning sleep.

“A more important question is what he said? Does anyone know what it means?” Erza dropped her hands onto her hips, staring down at the iron slayer. Levy stepped forward.

“I’m not sure. It’s definitely not Fioren but I don’t think I’ve heard the language before.” she shook her head, closing both eyes in concentration as she combed through every language she knew.

“Si geou tir edrokilt frevor tairais.” Gajeel mumbled again, although now it was less muffled since he was on his back instead of having his face pressed into the dirt. Elfman reached his foot out and touched the dragon slayer’s side.

“Ouithic.” the iron slayer whimpered, tilting his head away from Elfman, hair dropping down over his eyes and hiding a majority of the right one.

“Are you pretending or something?” he tilts his body over the slayer, looking for any sign of the mage being awake similar to Lucy.

“I don’t know if I trust him? He could be faking it to get the jump on us.” Macao spoke up, gesturing over to the iron mage. Happy snickers into his paws.

“If he wakes up, Natsu can just kiss him again.” he hovers between the two dragon slayers, kicking his legs. Natsu puffed up his cheeks, sending a glare his furry companion’s way.

“You kissed?!” A deep red had flooded into Erza’s cheeks as she looked to Natsu and then Gajeel, eyes as wide as saucers.

“No. It wasn’t like that. I was doing the breathing thing.” he waved his arms around, muttering nonsense under his breath.

“Its called CPR Natsu.” Lucy sighed with a shake of her head, looking down at the fire slayer. Erza approached, pulling the younger mage towards her chest. His head pressed into her while the rest of his body was brought in as well. Out of instinct, Natsu put his hands up to catch himself but when they were pressed between Erza and himself, he yelped. Erza let him go, looking for what had caused him to make such a noise. Natsu pulled his left hand up, whimpering.

“That hurt.” He whined, keeping his eyes on his hand, stained in blood and fingers stiff.

“Tir ti ouith. Tokeq.” The iron slayer tilted his head towards the other slayer but still didn’t open his eyes. Instead he scrunched his nose, shifting his body to curl up around his stomach and chest.

“You can’t tell me he isn’t awake at this point.” Gray gestured to the curled up form of the taller slayer. He then turned to Natsu, eyes focusing on his hand.

“Where’d you get that anyway?” he added, looking up to Natsu’s eyes.

“He bit me.” Natsu pointed to Gajeel with his right hand, keeping his left close to his chest to avoid further injury.

“He bit you?! There is no way he bit you that hard? That’s not possible.” Gray stepped back from the iron slayer, focusing on his face where a few dried blood trails led down from his mouth and down his chin.

“You saying I didn’t see what happened to me? He bit me while using this fancy dragon magic. I know what I saw.” Natsu huffed, leaning towards Gray, momentarily forgetting about his hand. He winced when he tried to flex his fingers and instead got a jolt of pain up his arm.

“Alright. Which one of you brats need my help? Make this quick. I don’t want to be here longer than I have to.” Porlyusica -who was carrying a kit filled with her supplies in one hand- waved her right hand around, keeping a wide berth between herself and anyone who didn’t need it.

“Thank you for coming Porlyusica. The ones who need your aid the most are these two.” Makarov dips his head towards his old friend before gesturing to the two dragon slayers that occupied the floor. The healer stepped towards Natsu, lifting his left arm to look at the cut along the top of it.

“I’ll clean this out so it doesn’t get infected but you better keep an eye on it.” she snapped, flicking the fire slayer’s ear. Said fire mage huffed, looking away from the short tempered healer and instead staring at a particular rock on the ground. Porlyusica picked out a cotton ball along with a bottle of Iodine that she used to soak the cotton. She pressed the cotton to the cut, wiping along it. Natsu ground his teeth together and squeezed his eyes shut, a hiss escaping through his closed jaws. After 2 minutes of cleaning out the wound, Porlyusica put the cotton down and reached for bandages. She cut off a swad and wrapped them around the slayer’s wound, tying it neatly and moving on to his hand.

“Is this a bite mark?” she asks, staring at the several sharp indents in his hand. Natsu nods, holding his tongue to stop from making any noises. The healer pressed down in the middle of his hand where the bite mark was positioned, eliciting a scream from the fire mage. Porlyusica hummed in acknowledgement.

“The bone is broken. It will heal over fine in a month or two with proper rest. As for the bite mark, I’ll disinfect it now but you need to keep an eye on it for a couple weeks. Human bites can be severe if they’ve broken skin.” Porlyusica was in the middle of repeating the process with the Iodine.

“How did you know it was a human bite?” Erza looked at the healer, looking between her work and Natsu who was back to grinding his teeth together.

“The teeth are sharper than a regular person however the size is two large to be a small animal and the spacing matches the placement of a human’s teeth. I doubt Phantom Lord had any animals running around their guild hall either.” she snaps, placing the cotton ball over the bite mark and started the process of cleaning it. Natsu winced, sinking his teeth into his bottom lip. When the healer had finished cleaning it, she cut off some more bandages for the bite mark, wrapping it up tightly. She reached for his hand, holding onto both sides. She snapped it straight. Natsu cried out, doubling over in pain.

“Now it will heal properly. I will put it in a supporting brace but you are not to use this hand until it had fully healed. Do you understand?” Natsu nodded, still doubled over with closed eyes. She pulled out a hand brace from her kit, slipping the fire mage’s hand into it and strapping it into place. Once she was sure the slayer had nothing else to tend to, she turned to the iron slayer.

“What happened with this one?” she demanded, leaning down so she could push him onto his back, groans of protest greeting her from the dragon slayer.

“He fell into the sea.” Lucy spoke up from her place near Natsu as she rubbed his shoulder for comfort.

“And you left him outside, in cold, wet clothes for how long? This is how people catch Hypothermia. Someone get him a change of clothes. Preferably something warm so his body temperature doesn’t drop.” she huffs, kneeling on the ground. She picks up a stethoscope, placing the ears on and pressing the diaphragm to Gajeel’s chest. She keeps it on the left side of his chest for 15 seconds then moves it to the right, holding it for just as long. She pulls the diaphragm back and pulls the earpieces out.

“He still has a bit of water in his lungs. I’ll need to get it out before anything else.” She turns to Elfman.

“You. I want you to press down on his chest. He needs to cough up the water.” Elfman stepped forward, getting to his knees. He placed his hands into position over Gajeel’s chest.

“How hard do I do it?” he asks. Porlyusica huffed.

“Press as hard as possible. It doesn’t matter if you break ribs now, they’ll heal. This won’t.” she snapped. Elfman nodded, pressing down repeatedly on the dragon slayer. 5. 10. 15. 20. 24 compressions later and the dragon slayer was coughing up sea water, a low gargling in his throat before going silent. Porlyusica placed the diaphragm to his chest, listening to each lung.

“Good. The water is out.” she starts checking over the bruised areas, running fingers over the bruising on his stomach and neck.

“No damage to any internal organs or his windpipe. The bruises will just ache for a few weeks until the eventually disappear.” she moves to his head, brushing hair back to expose his full face. A thin, crack like cut ran down from his eye, tiny drops of blood rolling down his cheek. Porlyusica wipes the cut with a tissue to get a better look.

“Too thin to be a blade but there isn’t anything I can think of that would cause such an injury” she shook her head, reaching for her supplies to clean it out. The dragon slayer groaned, tilting his head to the side when the iodine touched the cut but still didn’t open his eyes. The healer gripped onto his chin and pulled his head back to face her. She wrapped the right side of his face up in bandages. Once she had tied them up securely, she began searching around his head for any damage there. She pressed into a spot on the left side of his head that had a slight give.

“Hmm. Skull’s been cracked” she muttered. She pressed around the area of the crack, searching for any further damage. When she was sure that it was just the crack, she worked on treating it. She pulled his hair back as best she could and started rubbing an ointment onto the area.

“Roll him onto his stomach. I want to check his spine for any damage” she gestured to Elfman once more. He reached forward, rolling the dragon slayer onto his stomach. Porlyusica pressed along his spine, checking for any breaks. She pressed right down to his tail bone before swapping to checking his legs. She pressed into his right hip which brought up a groan from the slayer. She pressed further around it.

“Dislocated leg. Hold him down. I’ll need to put his leg back into place and you stupid humans have a habit of jerking when I do so.” she huffs. Elfman held onto Gajeel’s shoulders, keeping him pinned to the ground. The healer took a hold of Gajeel’s leg. She counted 3 seconds before snapping the leg back into place. A cry ripped from the unconscious slayer’s jaws, his head arching up for a second before dropping to the ground once more.

“He’ll need plenty of rest and someone to keep an eye on his injuries. He’ll need to be given this ointment twice a day on the area of the head that was cracked. Someone will also need to keep a look out for signs of Hypothermia. The best way to combat it would be to keep him wrapped up in warm clothes and blankets, possibly give him a heater or something else warm.” she explains, placing the ointment down on the ground. Mira returned carrying a bundle of fuzzy pyjamas that she’d pulled out from the guild’s spares.

“Will this work?” she asked, holding them out towards the healer. She looked towards them.

“Yes. Those will work. Make sure you dry him off before putting them on. And be careful of his hip, if his leg is knocked out of place again then I won’t be able to fix it and he’ll lose that leg. I’ll give you a brace to put on him for his hip but you will still need to be careful.” she crossed her arms with a shake of her head.

“I swear you humans are so reckless.” she gathers her supplies together. Makarov shakes his head at his old friend then turns to Mirajane.

“Mira, can you go set something up in the storage shed. Natsu, I want you and Gray to dry him off and get him into the dry clothes.” Makarov ordered, gesturing to the two elemental mages.

“What? But Gramps. You can’t be serious.” Gray looks at the guild master then to the unconscious slayer on the ground. Makarov held his shoulders firm, staring up at Gray.

“Yes, I am serious. Now take him somewhere more dignified.” Makarov waved one hand at the boys and turned to the rest of his guild. A few rune knights were slinking into the area, collecting any stray Phantom Lord members for questioning. The rune captain approached Makarov, hands behind his back and face stiff. The Fairy Tail guild master’s shoulders stiffened.

“Before you say anything, Phantom Lord was the one to start this scuffle. Fairy tail were merely defending themselves.” Makarov spoke up, prepared for what the Rune captain would say.

“Oh we’re aware. That is why Jose Porla is being taken to court and charged by the council. However that does not put you or your guild in the clear. We will be questioning you all to get a clearer picture on the events that transpired.” The Rune captain dusted off his sleeves, keeping eye contact with Makarov.

“Sir. We found Jose Porla.” Two rune knights stepped up, each clutching one of the Phantom Lord guild master’s arms. The mage in question was struggling against the two rune knights, sending both harsh looks. His gaze snapped over to the unconscious dragon slayer that was being moved across the ground by Gray and Natsu.

“That’s right. Play dead. You are no dragon Gajeel. You are nothing but a rat. You disgrace your family name.” he yelled towards the dragon slayer. The rune captain gestured for the two knights to take the guild master away. They turned him around, forcing him along towards the road at the front of the guild hall.

“You better be terrified because when I get out, I’ll relish in your expression as you bleed to death after I slit your throat.” Any other threats or protests were cut off as the rune knights instructed the Phantom Master to hold his tongue if he didn’t want anything else being used against him in court. Makarov sighed, shaking his head.

“I grant you permission to question both me and my children but I promise you, nothing is amiss here.” he dipped his head to the rune captain. The captain waved to his knights.

“Start setting up. I want this over and done with as fast as possible” he walked off to help one of the knights, tugging on his gloves. Makarov turned to look for Gray and Natsu but they were both gone along with Mirajane.

“Lucy, Erza. Could you two make sure that Gray and Natsu don’t try to pick a fight. Porlyusica would have my head if she found out they made his condition worse.” he sighs, shaking his head.

“Right” Erza nodded to the guild master before turning in the direction that the two mages had gone. Lucy looked to her feet for a moment before following Erza. Makarov sighed.

“Gods give me strength.” he shook his head, turning to check on the rest of his guild members.

Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

Natsu swung his legs, staring blankly at the framing of the guild hall while he sat on the bar stool. 3 days. He had been waiting 3 days for the Iron slayer to wake up. He shifted his arms to place them between his legs, turning his gaze to the floor.

“You seem kind of blue. What’s wrong?” Mira pushed a glass of water towards him on the left. He angled his head to look at the glass. He puffed air into his cheeks, a cloud of smoke trailing from his nose.

“Gajeel is taking forever to wake up. I just want to ask him about his magic but he has to go sleep for ages.” he huffs, sending a glare towards the glass of water. Mira shook her head, smile still present on her face.

“Well you can’t speed up someone’s healing process. You’ll just have to wait until he wakes up.” she placed a hand on Natsu’s shoulder, rubbing it back and forth twice before she switched her attention to the glass in her hand. Natsu swung his chair around, dropping his elbows onto the counter and releasing a large trail of smoke from his nose with an exhale.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Natsu reached his hand up, rubbing at his ears. The noise kept repeating.

“Hey Mira. What’s that noise?” He looked over to the white-haired mage. She blinked once then turned to look at something under the table.

“Oh.” she picked up a little device from under the counter and held it close.

“Master. There’s something wrong.” Mira called out to the guild master. He turned from his mug towards her, one thick eyebrow raised. Mira held up the device for him to see. His eyebrows fell into place and a sigh escaped into his mug. He placed it down on the table before dropping off to the floor. He landed on his feet, hands behind his back.

“Alright. Let’s go see what’s wrong. Natsu, do you want to come?” he turns his head to look at the fire slayer. He tilts his head. What were they talking about? Why would he want to come along? He opened his mouth to voice his thoughts.

“I thought you wanted to talk to Gajeel.” Mira rounded the counter and stood near him. He squinted his eyes. What did Gajeel have to do with this? His eyebrows shot up. Oh, Gajeel must be awake. Natsu was on his feet in a second, bouncing from foot to foot in anticipation. Makarov nodded, taking the lead towards the supply shed that Gajeel had been set up in. Mira pulled out the key for the shed, slipping it into the lock and twisting it. The lock clicked open, and the door creaked out of place. Mira entered first, reaching to flick the switch for the lights. Natsu stepped in, blinking when the lights flickered to life. The shed was still dark, all the windows covered with black sheets and bolted shut. He turned his head to the set up that he’d helped Mira sort. A mattress with at least 5 blankets and pillows, a portable heater and a large bottle of water squished into the corner. The blankets had been kicked around with no dragon slayer in sight.

“Did he get out?” Mira reached for a flashlight on one of the shelves near the door. Natsu stepped forward, sniffing the air for the other’s scent. A bright light shone at the corner of his eye which he winced at. Mira pointed the flashlight down to the ground, flashing him an apologetic smile. He blinked three times to clear the spots from his left eye. Once the spots were mostly gone, Natsu turned to look at the wall clamp that the chain was attached to. The chain led along the floor to the nearest corner. The flashlight was shone along the ground where the chain trailed to. It hung down from one of the shelving units. Natsu looked up to the top of the shelves. The flashlight caught on something metal, reflecting the light back in bright flashes. The light lifted further upward, two reflective surfaces glowing in the light. Mira yelped, dropping the flashlight which rolled along the floor and under another shelf. A deep snarl echoed through the shed from the top of the shelving unit.

“What does he think he’s doing? Does he want to make his injuries worse?” Makarov kept his voice low, keeping his gaze up to the roof.

“Gajeel. Get down from there right now.” he scolded the slayer, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes similar to an angry parent. Another snarl. Two large wings spread out, sending dark shadows down towards the group. Natsu blinked once to adjust to the light. The slayer was leaning forward on the shelf, sharp nails clutching onto the wood. His right leg was stretched out on the shelf while he leaned on his left. A long tail wrapped around the top shelf where his left leg would have balanced, the stinger-esque tip twitching back and forth. Sharp teeth were exposed, lips drawn back along the short muzzle. Makarov tapped his foot on the floor repeatedly.

“If you do not get down right now then I will just get up and bring you down myself.” the dragon slayer hissed. His back arched where spines quivered, exposed from the top that had been pushed up by the base of his wings. When the slayer showed no sign of coming down, Makarov stepped forward. The dragon slayer hissed once more, pressing his side up against the wall behind him, eyes never blinking as he watched them.

“I don’t think he likes us being here.” Mira kneels down, reaching one hand out to place on Makarov’s shoulder. He looks to Mira for a second then sighs.

“We can’t leave him up there. If he tries to get down on his own, he could really hurt himself.” Makarov shakes his head, looking up to the dragon slayer once more.

“What if I try?” Natsu steps forward. Both mages look at him. Mira gave him a weak smile while Makarov looked sceptical, eyebrows knitted together. He nodded, albeit reluctantly. Natsu beamed, holding both his hands tightly in fists. He got a look from the guild master. Sheepishly, Natsu brought his hands behind his back. He looked over to Gajeel once more and stepped forward. The iron slayer snapped his attention to him, taking note that he was moving closer. Natsu kept moving forward, receiving no hisses from the other.

“Hey Gajeel. You wanna come down?” his voice is strained, trying to keep from yelling or getting too excited in case it set the other off. The dragon slayer didn’t make any move to get down but his oddly long, curved shaped ears and two fins atop his head twitched. Natsu stared up at the slayer who continued to stare, eyes occasionally shining red when the light caught on them. Natsu gave a small smile, never breaking eye contact. The dragon slayer moved forward, shoulder muscles bunching. Before Natsu knew how to react, the dragon slayer had pushed himself down, hands out to land on the ground. Natsu dived forward, skidding along his knees as he twisted his body to catch the dragon slayer. The weight of the other hit down on him, leaving him winded. His gaze spun, the only thing he was aware of being the snarling that vibrated against his chest. He tried to shift his body but he couldn’t quite move to sit up. He blinked, some strange dust tickling his nose. He sneezed once, eyes drooping heavily. He groaned, trying to find out what was happening. His eyes fell shut and his head dropped back. He couldn’t remember his head hitting the ground.

****

The next time the beeping started up again was after another 3 days. Natsu had been in the middle of another squabble with Gray, both throwing magic at each other with no regard for those around them or the incomplete building work that the guild hall composed of. The fire slayer had a punch drawn back, about to strike the ice mage in the face.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

He turned his body mid movement, fist flying around and hitting whichever poor soul had been behind him. Natsu ignored it, keeping his gaze focused on the bar.

“Master.” Mira called with a sigh and a shake of her head. Makarov nodded, dropping from the bar counter and turning in the direction of the shed. Natsu’s face split out into a grin, falling into a sprint as he caught up with the two mages. Mira turned her head slightly to the left to look over her shoulder.

“Oh Natsu. Hello.” she greets, her usual smile slightly strained. Natsu bounced between them, keeping pace easily. Makarov shook his head.

“If I’d known that telling you Gajeel was awake would stop you from fighting I would have done something about it sooner” he chuckled, stepping up to the shed door. Mira pulled up the key, pushing it into the lock and twisting. The light click followed by the creak of the door opening had Natsu all but vibrating in place. Makarov stepped into the shed first, hands held behind his back. Mira stepped in next, flicking the switch. The lights flickered to life with a whir. Natsu looked towards the mattress. Once again the blankets had been kicked about and the dragon slayer was not positioned near them.

“Not again.” Makarov reached up to his nose, pinching the bridge and rubbing between his eyes. Natsu looked to the chain, following it to the corner next to the same shelf the iron slayer had climbed prior. This time he hadn’t climbed the shelves, instead he was curled up next to them, back still pressed against the wall and crimson eyes staring at them. The dragon slayer had adorned the same dragon features as before, the tail held up in front of his chest like a shield. His long pointed teeth were clenched together, lips drawn back as he stared at them.

“Mira. Can you put him to sleep again.” Makarov never turned away from the dragon slayer. Natsu tilted his head to the right, looking between the mattress and the dragon slayer. He pouted, staring intently at the mattress. Mira took a single step forward. Natsu moved towards the mattress. All three other mages in the room watched him. Gajeel twitched his tail tip once but didn’t move further. Natsu bent down, placing his right hand against the edge of the mattress while keeping his left away from it. He pushed against the object. The mattress slid across the concrete of the shed until it bumped against the wall. Gajeel hopped away, his body lowered close to the ground so his chest was pressing against it. Natsu turned around, scooping up the pillows and blankets.

“What are you doing?” Makarov asks, watching the boy closely. Gajeel keeps his eyes focused on Natsu, leaning his back away in a curve when the fire slayer approached once more. He dumped the bedding onto the mattress.

“Maybe moving the stuff over to the corner will make him feel better. He keeps going over there.” Natsu shuffled the radiator closer so the heat would still reach the iron slayer. He turned to look at Makarov.

“Can we move the chain closer to the corner so he doesn’t hurt himself” Natsu turned his head downward, fiddling with his fingers. Makarov took a moment of thought, observing the fire slayer. He dipped his head with a sigh.

“Alright. If it means we can actually talk to him then I’ll allow it. Mira, do you mind?” Makarov turned to the barmaid. She nodded, approaching the wall where the chain had been hooked up to. She gripped the buckle, pulling it up and off the metal loop. She approached the wall where the slayer had set himself, reaching for the loop above the mattress. Gajeel snarled, curling his tail and wings close to his own body. Mira kept her eyes on him, leaning over the mattress to hook the chain. Gajeel arched his back, snarls growing in volume and mixed in with animalistic screams. His tail twitched repeatedly, and curved ears twitched. The white haired mage slipped the buckle onto the loop above the bed. Red eyes narrowed and the slayer pushed himself forward in a sloppy leap. Mira scrambled back with a gasp, stepping back towards the guild master. Gajeel stumbled on his landing, slipping to the right where his shoulder crashed into some paint cans. Natsu stepped forward.

“Natsu. Let the boy be.” Makarov ordered. Natsu turned around, mouth open in protest. Makarov shook his head.

“Clearly he doesn’t want to cooperate at this point in time and I’d rather you not receive any further injury from him.” Natsu looked to his braced hand, eyebrows knitting together.

“Yes Gramps.” he muttered under his breath, following the two older mages out of the shed.

****

Natsu held onto the tray in his hand, walking up to the door. Mira had suggested bringing something for Gajeel to eat before he woke up and started getting defensive once more. Makarov had been hesitant, unsure if approaching the slayer while he was asleep would create a worse situation. However, Natsu was so enthused to talk to Gajeel that he agreed with Mira. The barmaid was the one to open the door, stepping in. She held the door open for him and Makarov. The fire slayer scanned the room. He did not see Gajeel at first, the slayer having not perched himself on any shelves or next to them. He looked over to the bed.

“Ah!” he yelped, almost dropping the tray in his grasp. The blankets and pillows had been arranged into a nest of sorts. A thick knitted blanket lay across the top of the nest, hiding anything within. From a small gap in the nest, two reflective orbs stared back at them. Mira flicked the switch, illuminating the room. The orbs were now red instead of the strange reflective glow they had before.

“He’s awake? But I thought you said he was still asleep.” Makarov turned to Mira who blinked at the slayer in the blanket bundle. She shook her head, pulling on her fingers.

“He was. He must have woken when we arrived.” Makarov nodded and turned to the slayer.

“Gajeel Redfox. There are some things that we must discuss.” he addressed the dragon slayer. The slayer huffed. He pushed himself up into a seated position, the blanket slipping off his head and falling in a crumpled heap around his hips.

“If ya think I’m gonna tattle then you might as well turn around and leave. I ain’t tellin’ ya shit.” he narrowed his eyes, voice raspy. Makarov examined the slayer.

“There is no need for you to tell us anything about your guild. You lost. Your guild has abandoned you.” Makarov folded his hands in front of him. The iron slayer’s eyes glistened for a second before he arched his back, soft silver scales popping in little clumps across his face and hands.

“Lies! Jose would never abandon me!” he snapped, eyes narrowed at the three mages in front of him. Mira took a step back in preparation for the slayer to attempt an attack on them. Gajeel didn’t move from his spot on the mattress but kept his posture up.

“If he wouldn’t abandon you, why did he call you a rat and threaten to kill you?” Natsu tilted his head, eyeing up the slayer.

“Natsu!” Makarov scolded the teen, keeping one eye on the phantom slayer in case he chose that moment to lunge for the fire mage. Gajeel was still, staring at the door behind them. His eyes blown wide, and pupils expanded to a more oval shape.

“I was going to ask what would ever make you think that attacking my children would be a good idea or even something morally justified. From what I see, you attacked them to start a petty war so your guild master could inflate his ego and get a big pay check.” Makarov didn’t bother to hide the slight hint of venom in his voice when he spoke, wanting to show the slayer just how angry he was. Gajeel huffed.

“Those little fairies shouldn’t have been wandering around that late if they didn’t wanna get fucked up. That’s their problem.” he snapped, hair almost bristling as he stared down the Fairy tail guild master. Makarov sighed.

“You will remain here until you are healed. Natsu will bring you food and water. That doesn’t mean you get to treat him like a pest. If I find out you laid a hand on him, you’ll be sent straight to a council prison cell.” Makarov didn’t once waver in his voice, staring the slayer down. Gajeel flinched at the final words, his gaze wavering as he swung it back onto the door. Makarov turned around, heading towards the door with Mira close behind. Natsu hesitated before stepping forward. He placed the tray onto the floor and pushed it over to Gajeel who snapped his gaze onto the slayer.

“I brought you food.” he muttered before turning around to leave the room, hands shoved in the pockets of his trousers.

Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Notes:

All instances of bold dialogue are characters speaking in draconic but can be understood through the perspective of Gajeel.

Chapter Text

Gajeel, Come on. It won’t be that bad.” a large metal scaled dragon encouraged, leaning forward and offering one claw out. A small black haired child huffed, shuffling himself back further in the pelts of the nest.

No. They might eat me.” he whined, tiny hands clutching onto the nearest twig. A stinger-esque tipped tail nudged his arm, encouraging him to step out.

They won’t eat you. I promise. Besides, you’ll be with the other children and their teacher most of the time anyway.” the dragon reached a claw out, lifting the young boy’s chin up. He shook his head with a whimper.

But they’ll just make fun of me cause I’m freaky lookin. I don’t wanna get in trouble for biting again.” Gajeel rubbed at his eyes, mouth set in a frown. The dragon stepped forward, tucking his legs under his body so he could look directly at the boy.

When did this happen?” He tilted his head so that one large black eye could stare at the child. Gajeel sniffled, shoving his hands between his legs.

At the village. The others were hurting me and they weren’t leaving me alone. I didn’t know how to get them to stop so I bit one of them. His mum tied my mouth shut because I was a ‘rapid animal’.” he lowered his head, reaching one hand up to rub at the outer lobe of his transformed ear. The dragon leaned in, pressing his muzzle against Gajeel’s face.

Don’t listen to them. They don’t know what they’re talking about. Besides, these kids are being raised by other dragons. They won’t say those nasty things.” the dragon reached around the child, sinking his teeth into the back of his shirt. He lifted him up, Gajeel letting his limbs fall limp. The dragon turned his head around, placing the boy on his back. Gajeel grabbed on to one of the plated scales, curving his fingers to keep his grip. The dragon stepped out of the cave, sun flickering off his metallic scales. Large, stiff wings spread out, catching air within them. Gajeel leaned his head down till his cheek pressed flush against the cold scales beneath. Air brushed through his hair in a flurry, pressing it down against his head. The air cooled down the higher they went, giving a cold chill to the air. The child hunched his shoulders in to combat the cold although it did extraordinarily little. He looked over the side of the dragon, watching the trees and open valleys pass below. A jerk below him and the dragon was descending, landing on the ground with as much grace as a bird. Gajeel swung one leg over the dragon’s back, sliding down his side and landing on the ground with a thud. He shook his head, recovering from the impact.

That’s the child you picked? He’s tiny. You expect me to believe something that small could handle iron dragon magic. ” Gajeel turned to the source of the voice. He stiffened, a few silver scales popping up in a patch along his ring and middle finger. A large dragon, red with beige scales on its underbelly stood before the metallic dragon, four other dragons were in varying positions around them. Gajeel stumbled to his feet, ducking behind the silver scaled dragon.

He doesn’t need to be big to learn Iron magic.” the silver dragon snipped, swishing his tail. The red scaled dragon looked at the child.

This one looks sickly. Is it really wise to train a child that might not make it another few years.” the dragon, gestured one large claw to the child who flinched back, clinging to the leg of his dragon.

"He is not sickly.” the silver dragon snapped, claws sinking into the dirt below. A white feathered dragon leaned in, her head close towards Gajeel.

“Hello there, sweetheart” the dragon greeted. Gajeel flinched away, burying his face into the silver dragon. The dragon in question shook his head.

I apologise Grandeeney. He got into an unpleasant situation with a dragon in his old home. He’s just nervous.” the dragon leaned his head down towards Gajeel. Grandeeney looked to the child, reaching one wing out and pulling him away from the silver dragon.

“Oh, you poor thing. That must have been horrible.” the three claws on her wing ran through Gajeel’s hair, the child stiff and unmoving as he stared at the feathered dragon.

I’ll take him over to Anna. He isn’t the best at communicating with others.” the silver dragon leaned down, teeth sinking into the back of his shirt and lifting him up. The young boy didn’t move, only continued to stare forward as he was carried. The silver dragon followed a well tread path, the grass gone, leaving behind mud and stone. Gajeel looked ahead, his attention focused on the noises that were growing steadily louder.

“Natsu. Please pay attention. This is particularly important.” someone was scolding. It was followed by a loud groan and a heavy thump. Gajeel pulled his arms and legs in close to his body, willing the dragon carrying him to stop. Some brush was pushed aside by a long tail. Gajeel was soon placed down on the grass beyond. He scrambled to his feet, turning to hide behind the leg of his dragon only for that same silver tail to block his path.

“Metalicana. I wasn’t expecting you.” A woman, her blond hair tied up in a high ponytail was looking up at the silver dragon. Metalicana dipped his head.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” his gaze flicked towards a young teen and three kids that looked not much older than three. The eldest was vibrating where he sat, dark eyes focused on Gajeel.

“Not at all.” the lady waved her hand, a wide smile spreading across her face. She turned to him, blinking once.

“And who might this be?” she bent down to his height, reaching one hand out towards him. Gajeel hissed, backing up as best he could into Metalicana’s tail. She retracted her hand at the reaction.

“This is Gajeel. He’s a little…… jumpy. Hasn’t had the best experience before I... picked him up.” Metalicana leaned down, pressing his head near the lady and lowering his voice. Gajeel felt a tingle in his ears as he listened.

“If you see him getting tense or hissing, pull him away from the others. I don’t want him to get hurt.” the dragon pulled back. The blond nodded once then turned to Gajeel. Metalicana retracted his tail and turned back around, heading down the path they came. Gajeel watched, stood in place. A hand lowered onto his shoulder, the thumb rubbing a soothing pattern along it.

“Its alright. He’ll be back later.” Her voice was low, a smile still present on her lips. He blinked once at her.

“I’m Anna. I’ll be your teacher. Come on, I’ll introduce you to the others.” she stood up, one hand on his back to guide him to where the other four children were sat.

“Everyone. This is Gajeel. He’ll be joining you from today.” Anna gestured to him with her other hand. The first to their feet was the pink haired kid. He bolted forward, pressing his face near Gajeel’s.

“Hi. I’m Natsu.” his greeting was met with a hiss and a scaled hand smacking him back. Natsu reached up, rubbing his nose.

“Wow. You punch hard.” he laughed, smile present even as he pinched his nose. Anna let out a loud sigh and shook her head.

“I’ll postpone the lesson for a short while. I’m sure you will all be too distracted to listen anyway.” Anna stepped away from him, walking over to a stack of papers she had sitting on a tree stump. Gajeel turned around, watching her for a couple seconds before turning back to the other kids. The three younger ones had approached now. The blond was looking up and down with a raised brow while the other two were both looking at him with wide, round eyes that were practically sparkling. Gajeel stared at the group, not stepping back but not making any move to step forward. The pink haired boy steps closer again, his nose twitching as he leaned in to smell Gajeel’s cheek. The boy smacked his face away once more.

“You smell weird.” Natsu rubs his cheek. Gajeel’s shoulders locked, and scales quivered to the surface along his arms. He narrowed his eyes, staring the other down but not moving.

“What does he smell like?” the bluenette asked, looking up to the older boy. Natsu scrunched up his face, focusing intently on a single patch of grass.

“Kind of like Igneel… but without the burning smell…… and something else mixed in.” he looked up at Gajeel like he wanted confirmation. Gajeel huffed, raising his chin at the taller boy.

“I do not. And you shouldn’t be sniffen’ me anyway. Its rude.” he crosses his arms and closes his eyes with his head still tilted upwards.

“No its not. You’re lying.” the blond whined, pointing up at him. Gajeel reached one foot out, pushing the blond’s arm back.

“Am not. My opsola told me so. People don’t like it when you smell them.” he turned his head away, looking back down the muddy path.

“He’s weird.” the blond grumbled.

“He’s awesome.” Gajeel turned around to look at the other young boy. Dark hair shaved right back to the scalp and bright red eyes similar to his own. He wouldn’t be surprised if someone suspected them of being related. In fact, he would have suspected them as cousins if he didn’t know that his gran only had one kid. That kid was his opsola. He blinked once. He’d never had someone say he was anything but odd before. He leaned in towards the other boy. He wanted to say something but wasn’t sure what. He’d never had proper conversations with the other kids in his village and the draushum there had known him since he’d been born. He’d never met anyone new outside of that before.

“Oh, that’s Raios. He doesn’t talk much.” Natsu spoke up from next to Gajeel. Raios held his hands together in front of him, continually staring up at him. Gajeel hesitated for a couple seconds. Then he leaned in, brushing his cheek up against the other’s. The boy made a squeak before tiny hands were grabbing onto him and a face pressed into the crook of his arm. He turned his head down to look, eyes blown wide. Natsu laughed.

“You look like you’ve never held a child before.” he fell backwards, kicking his legs about. Gajeel huffed, turning his head away from them.

“Shut up.” he grumbled, voice half muffled in his shoulder. A small smile hidden from view.

****

Gajeel sat in the middle of his makeshift nest, repeatedly biting down on the chain he’d shoved between his teeth. He’d long since determined that it was a useless effort. The fairies had been smart enough to enchant it so he couldn’t eat it, but he needed something to do. His stomach was tangled in knots, and he’d rather not get any of them on his back if he started biting down on his scaled hands from habit. He curled his claws around the two ends of the chain, staring down at them. He willed the scales to disappear. To blend back in with his skin like they were supposed to. Instead, a couple more pushed up against his skin and the others retained their silver appearance. He snarled, ripping the chain from his mouth, and throwing it onto the bed. It landed with a pathetic flop which just made him snarl at it harder.

“Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.” he snapped, slamming one fist down on one of the blankets repeatedly. How could he lose like that? Falling off his own guild hall. How pathetic could you get. He turned his gaze onto a random paint can. Perhaps if he stared hard enough, it would explode, and the lid would render him unconscious. Then at least he wouldn’t have to sit for days with nothing to do. He reached up to his face, dragging at his eyelids. He flopped back, head landing on a plump pillow. He huffed out a breath through his nose. If they had to keep him stuck here, couldn’t they at least give him something. A book, a notepad, a fucking music lacrima. Anything would do. His ear tingled at the creak of unoiled hinges. He snapped his eyes over to the small gap in his nest wall and sniffed the air. A burnt smell mixed in with the tiniest hint of dragon. He sat up, staring at the other dragon slayer who now held a tray -some kind of thick box or something underneath- with a single bowl, a plate with what he could discern as toast and a glass of orange liquid which he guessed was orange juice.

“Mira said you were awake and asked me to bring you breakfast.” he stopped about three feet away from his nest. He bent down, placing the tray on the ground and pushed it towards his nest. It bumped against the mattress. Gajeel stared at it, eyes narrowed, and nose scrunched.

“Its not poisoned. Gramps wouldn’t be happy if it was.” he flopped onto the floor, still keeping the three-foot distance between them. Gajeel leaned down, sniffing the bowl. Porridge. Bland too. They could have at least added honey. He reached both hands down and lifted the bowl up, bringing it into his nest. He didn’t bother with the spoon either. He needed to eat, even if he brought it up later. He was aware enough that he’d hardly eaten since the battle. In fact, before they’d brought that tray to him the first day he was properly awake, he hadn’t eaten since before he was given the job to antagonise the guild in the first place.

“So…. you gonna eat it or…?” he snapped his head up, staring at Natsu. The slayer was watching him, not moving his eyes from the other. Gajeel looked him up and down.

“Maybe I don’t want to eat in front of you.” he snapped, lowering his head close to his shoulders. Natsu groaned, throwing his head back.

“Are you all bark and no bite? This is stupid.” he swung his head back around. Gajeel bristled, his hair prickling.

“I could have beat your ass.” he snarled, swinging one clawed hand towards the other. He didn’t reach far from his nest, his swing swiping through the air a foot from it. Natsu watched, no hint of the terror he should have had. Gajeel raised his upper lip.

“Why won’t you tremble? I could rip you to shreds in less than a minute. Even without my magic.” his back arched ever so slightly, spines twitching with anticipation below the skin. Natsu blinked at him with that blank face again.

“But you won’t.” he was being way to cocky for who he was sitting near. The chain on his wrist wasn’t even that short. He could reach the slayer if he so desired.

“Only for my own best interests. Besides. Master will destroy you in my place when he comes to get me.” he snipped. He knew when not to pick a fight if it meant salvaging what he could. In this situation, he was in fact at a disadvantage even if he hated to admit it. He had no access to his magic and couldn’t put weight on his bad leg if he wished to keep it from hurting further than the dull ache that was present. Natsu’s shoulders dropped and his eyebrows fell down to meet above the bridge of his nose.

“I thought I told you what he said though.” his voice was soft with something he couldn’t quite identify within. Gajeel huffed.

“All lies. You think you can trick me. I’m his ace. I’m important. He cares about me.” he narrowed his eyes at Natsu. The fire slayer blinked, his gaze softening.

“He didn’t seem to care when he threatened your life. I may be mad about what you did but even I think that’s too far.” he looked down at his hands, picking at his nails. Gajeel huffed.

“Whatever.” he turned his head away, looking back down at the bowl. He reached down, picking it up. He brought it to his lips and tipped the bowl, eating the porridge how he might eat soup. The bowl emptied quickly, and he pulled it away. He swiped his tongue across his upper lip, catching anything that had been left there.

“So where did you learn your magic?” Natsu’s voice was strained ever so slightly. Gajeel turned to the other and stiffened. The fire slayer had scooted closer just a bit.

“What?” he snapped. Natsu groaned, tilting his head to the side.

“Did a dragon teach you how to use slaying magic?” he huffed, crossing his arms. Gajeel snorted.

“Yeah. A dragon did teach me.” he didn’t elaborate. He didn’t want to say that old bastard’s name aloud. Not after everything.

“So where is he?” Natsu had scooted closer once more. Gajeel glared at him.

“Dunno.” he grumbled, staring down at the scarf that Natsu wore. Shed scales. They still carried the owner’s stench although it was overlapped by Natsu’s own when he was far enough away.

“So why don’t you go look for him? Oh, I know. We could look for our dragons together when you’ve healed.” his eyes were sparkling as he stared at the older slayer. Gajeel glared.

“Why should I waste my time. That old piece of junk made if obvious he doesn’t want me anymore so I ain’t gonna waste my life looking for the bag of bolts.” he snapped, turning his attention back to that stray paint can. Natsu dipped his head and stood up.

“Fine. Since you don’t want to talk.” he was still holding that thick box or whatever in his hands. He looked down at it for a second. Then chucked it on the bed. Gajeel yelped, falling back as the chain clattered around him.

“Levy picked it. Said it might be something you’d like. Its about a dragon.” he turned, walking to the door. He didn’t look back as he opened it or even as he closed the door. Gajeel heard the click of the lock and the fading footsteps as he walked away. Gajeel glared at the door for half a minute. Look for that dragon. As if. He could come back to him if he missed him so much. Of course, he didn’t care if the old geezer did or not. It didn’t matter. Not one bit. He turned his gaze onto that book.

“Enjoy it. Please. If it was picked by a fairy then its probably some sappy romance or somethin’” he snorted, picking it up. He flicked to the first page. He might as well read it. It was something to do.

Chapter Text

Gajeel turned the next page, instantly flicking his gaze to the following words. His ears tingled after he read the next line.

“Curse you, Cheryl. He thought you were his friend.” he hissed, flopping down onto his back. He thumbed at the corner page, biting down on his bottom lip. The lock on the door clicked and he sat up. He stared at the door while his index finger held his place in the book. The door screeched open and Natsu walked in, holding another tray. This time it had a plate of spaghetti, a small bowl and a glass of some fizzy liquid. The fire slayer placed the tray down, pushing it next to the now finished tray he’d brought in that morning. Gajeel looked at the tray, nose held up as he sniffed the food. When he looked back up, Natsu -the prick- had shuffled even closer than he had that morning. Gajeel bristled. He’d been shifting closer every day now.

“Who said you could get that close to me.” he snarled, pushing his nose against the other slayer. Natsu blinked at him but made no move to step away. Gajeel let the snarl build up in his throat. Something was shoved into his chest. He pushed back, pressing against the back wall of his nest, hackles raised, and shoulders locked. He looked to what had invaded his space. A little box. He reached out, pushing at the box. It rattled. He leaned in, sniffing it. He couldn’t pick up any trace of gunpowder or poison. He glared at Natsu. How dare he invade Gajeel’s nest like that.

“Its for you.” Natsu piped up, nodding to the box. Gajeel flicked his gaze to it again, pushing it over a second time. The rattle propped up once more, disappearing once the box had stilled. He reached for the small latch, flicking it up. He pulled his hands back, eyeing up the box for something to jump out at him. The lid never even shifted once. Gajeel reached out, lifting the lid, and stared into the contents. His ears tingled and his brows raised when he saw the contents. Some scrap metal. He snorted. Probably the cheap scrap left over from the old Phantom Lord guild hall. It wouldn’t even be worth the effort to chew. He leaned in, giving it a sniff. His head jolted up. That wasn’t some cheap metal. It was similar to the scraps he’d nicked from the local blacksmith back in Denish. He lifted his head to look at Natsu.

“Where did ya get these?” he snapped, fingers curling into the sheet below. Natsu’s whole face perked up.

“Erza went to the local blacksmith to pick up her adamantine armour. You know… because your Jupiter canon thing destroyed it. I went with her and took some of the scraps the blacksmith couldn’t use…. Iron doesn’t go out of date, right?” the fire slayer rambled, turning to him when he finished. Gajeel huffed.

“Of course, it doesn’t. It doesn’t carry any particles that could cause it to spoil or expire. Ya just have to watch out fer rust. That shit fucks with my stomach and digestive system real bad. Apparently, its on a similar level to if I ate mould. The worse the rust, the worse it is on me.” he explained, rolling his eyes. Natsu leaned forward, closing the gap between him and the nest wall.

“Really? Wow that’s awesome. You know so much about your element.” he stared up at Natsu with sparkling eyes.

“And you don’t?” he raised one studded brow. Natsu tilted his head.

“I don’t think fire has any problems like rust.” he squinted his eyes in thought. Gajeel stared at him with a tight line across his lips.

“Of course not. Fire just goes out when its wet.” Natsu puffed up, smoke expelled in a cloud through his nose.

“Does not. I could hold a fire in the rain.” he was pouting now, arms crossed across his chest. Gajeel laughed, rolling onto his back, and kicking his good leg up.

“What’s so funny?” Natsu whined, his hair almost seeming to deflate with the pathetic noise. Gajeel continued to laugh.

“Ya look about *snort* as intimidatin’ as an angry kitten.” he finally came to a still in the nest, chest rising and falling rapidly from all the laughing that emptied his lungs. He lifted his head, chin pressed to his chest. Natsu stared at him, eyebrows furrowed together.

“Don’t think too hard. I heard it hurts the eyes.” he snickered. Natsu hunched his shoulders.

“I’m not stupid.” he snipped, turning his head away with crossed arms. Gajeel raised one eyebrow and pushed himself up, leaning back against his hands.

“I never said that. Did someone say you were stupid?” his arm itched now, a sign that more scales were burrowing their way to the surface. Natsu’s lips formed a frown.

“No…. but they imply it. Just cause I’m not good at writing or reading or…. Or other stuff.” he hunched over in his lap. Gajeel sighed.

“Yeah, I get it.” he turned to look at the wall. Natsu lifted his head slightly.

“You were reading a book before I came in.” he pointed to the book which now lay amongst the sheets. Gajeel picked up a bookmark that had a mini lacrima screen and a keypad.

“I carry this on me. I can read but I’m bad with words. Fioren ain’t my native language. I mostly write in my native tongue but everyone in phantom thought I was speaking gibberish” Natsu blinked at him. He gave a sheepish smile.

“My moxt kol showed me how to read as well.” he added, reaching down to fiddle with the hem of his trousers.

“Wait you know another language?” Natsu’s eyes were sparkling. Gajeel puffed up his chest.

“Yeah. My xiiwic taught me when I was but a nuwa'jimos. Not even people who study languages know draconic. I taught a little to my moxt kol but they don’t know enough to hold a proper conversation with me.” he opened one eye to look at Natsu. The other was staring at him with a confused look. He raised an eyebrow at the confused face. Wait, he’d used more draconic than he usually did when speaking to others. Fuck. He didn’t mean to. No one took him seriously when he started mixing draconic in with Fioren. Even if it wasn’t on purpose. It was just a slip of the tongue. He just found draconic comfortable to speak in and there were words he just never knew in Fioren. He reached up one hand, pressing down on his temple. Only to flinch when a flash of pain sparked through his head. He hissed, leaning down. Natsu yelped.

“Don’t do that. You hurt your head when you fell, and it hasn’t healed yet” Gajeel looked at him for a second before dipping his head.

“Of course. I can’t believe I fucking fell. That’s so amateur.” he grumbled, focusing his gaze on a spotted blanket before him. Natsu leaned down, looking at his hand.

“I fall off tables all the time. Its not that bad.” Gajeel looked up, squinting his eyes.

“Tables and entire guild halls aren’t the same.” he huffed although the corners of his lips were trying to betray him. Natsu fiddled with his scarf, staring straight ahead at Gajeel. The iron slayer blinked once. He sighed and reached up towards his hair. Natsu watched him. He pulled on the little ribbon that held the leather in place so he could pull it out. The leather itself snagged on strands of his hair several times. He really would have to brush it once he was healed, or he’d never get those matts out. He finally got the full thing out, holding it in his hand. A leather necklace, lined with shimmering white scales and a little iron model of a dragon, complete with stiff wings and painted black eyes.

“Hold out yer hand.” he ordered. Natsu stared at him. His mouth slipped down into a pout. He parted his lips slightly as if to protest.

“Just do it.” he snapped. Natsu obeyed, placing the back of his hand on the wall of his nest and uncurling his fingers. Gajeel placed the necklace into his hand and curled the fire mage’s fingers around it. Natsu pulled his hand back, observing the object within with a raised brow.

“Don’t look like that. Its just some crummy old necklace. It been pullin’ at my hair so I wanted rid of it.” he huffed, turning to look at the wall.

“Its pretty” Natsu’s voice was quiet. He probably would have missed it if he didn’t have his enhanced hearing. He nodded slightly, the tingling along his ears returning. He felt an odd sensation against his chest. Like a mix between sorrow and tenderness. He scoffed, reaching up and palming at the spot on his chest that ached. It was probably some weird heartburn or something. Gajeel turned his head to look at Natsu. The slayer was finishing tying the two leather straps into a bow around his neck. The little dragon hung down below his scarf, little legs outstretched like it was flying as it twirled ever so slightly to the right.

“Thanks. Its really nice.” Natsu smiled at him. A big toothy grin. Gajeel’s cheeks took on a low heat. He reached up, rubbing at his cheeks till they were raw to the touch. Natsu got to his feet.

“I’ll see you later.” he cheered, spinning on his feet and running to the door. Gajeel just watched, staying in the same spot as the door clicked.

****

Natsu sat at one of the empty tables in the guild hall, fiddling with the little dragon on the end of the necklace. The white scales on the leather smelled like dragon but not in the same way his scarf did. They had more of an earthy scent with a metallic tinge to them. He leaned his cheek into his palm. Perhaps that’s what Gajeel’s dragon dad smelled like, or it was Gajeel’s scent instead. He couldn’t help but purr at the thought of having something that smelled like the dragon slayer. A heavy thud in front of him brought his attention away from the necklace.

“Alright. You’ve been sat here smiling like a lunatic for the last 15 minutes and frankly, its starting to get annoying. Are you sick?” Gray looked him over, eyeing up his cheeks, looking for a sickly flush. Natsu slammed both hands on the table.

“No. I was just thinking.” he huffed, a puff of smoke filling the air between them. Someone else sat next to Gray.

“Oh, come on Gray. Its obvious what that look was about. Its in all the romance books. He’s in love.” Lucy teased, holding her hands together near her head and giving a doe like look to mimic what she was describing. Natsu bristled.

“Am not. I was just looking at this necklace is all.” he turned his head to look at the bar. Why couldn’t they go sit over there? Or help with the construction.

“What is it?” Gray leaned over the table, grabbing hold of the dragon on the end. He rubbed his thumb over the little head.

“Be careful with that. You might break it.” he snapped although he didn’t move away. Gray let go of it with a scoff.

“I wasn’t going to break it but that doesn’t answer my question.” he lifted his nose slightly as he looked at Natsu. The fire slayer wrapped his hands around the little metal dragon, holding it close to his chest.

“A necklace….” He mumbled, staring down at his cupped hands. Gray groaned, rolling his eyes.

“I know that flame brain.” Lucy leaned forward, looking between the two.

“It looks pretty old. You don’t see necklaces made with leather much anymore.” Lucy commented, looking at the strap that was threaded through the shimmering scales.

“What’s this about leather?” Erza asked, now sitting at the table with a plate of strawberry cake. Natsu inwardly groaned. Why did everyone have to come sit with him at that exact moment?

“Natsu has some old necklace.” Gray spoke up, leaning into his hand. Erza turned to him, eyeing his enclosed hands. He held them there for a moment before lowering them so she could see the small metal dragon.

“Impressive. The craftmanship is astonishing. The one who created that must be incredibly talented.” she spoke, her gaze flicking across the small indents of metallic plates along the dragon.

“I was just saying how it must be quite old. Its not common to find leather necklaces anymore.” Lucy repeated herself. Erza looked to her.

“It isn’t,” she seemed surprised, looking at the celestial mage. Lucy nodded.

“Leather necklaces were originally made because iron was an expensive material. Leather was a lot easier to find and although it still cost a decent amount, it didn’t cost as much as iron” Lucy explained, swinging her finger around as she spoke. Natsu opened his mouth to speak.

“Wow Natsu. Where did you get that from?” Natsu turned to look. Levy was holding a book between her hands as she bent over to look at the necklace. Natsu groaned.

“Why is everyone so interested in a random necklace?” he huffed, crossing his arms. Levy looked towards the other three mages and back to Natsu. She held the book to her chest.

“I apologise. I wanted to talk to Lucy, but I overheard your conversation and saw the necklace. I just didn’t expect to see you wearing a storge necklace.” she leaned her face into the top of her book.

“Storge necklace?” Lucy looked at Levy with a tilted head and raised eyebrow. Natsu blinked, looking down at the necklace.

“Yes. It’s an ancient tradition from groups that are no longer around. New parents would make a storge necklace when they were expecting a child and have the name somewhere on the necklace. I’ve only seen them in books though. To think there is one in such pristine condition. The owner must have taken exceptionally good care of it” Levy preached, now sitting next to Natsu. The fire slayer reached up to untie the necklace, looking over it for any sign of a name. He spotted something carved into the underside of one of the scales close to the dragon. Gajeel Redfox. He blinked.

“Its Gajeel’s.” he blurted out, interrupting whatever conversation Lucy and Levy had been having. All four mages turned to him with wide eyes.

“Are you joking?” Gray leaned forward, looking at the necklace with furrowed brows.

“No. He gave it to me. No one believes me when I say he’s nice, so I didn’t want to say who it belonged to.” he explained, holding the little metal dragon in his hands as he looked at its tiny painted face.

“Yeah, because its unbelievable. We’re talking about Kurogane here. The guy who destroyed our guild hall and tried to kill several of our guildmates. He isn’t nice.” Gray had his teeth grinding together at the last sentence, nose scrunched up at the thought. Natsu flinched at the reaction.

“Gray is right. He’s most likely trying to deceive you.” Erza cut a chunk off her cake and lifted the fork up to her mouth. Lucy reached over, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry Natsu. People like that just don’t have it in them to be nice. They always want something out of you. No matter how much they pretend they don’t.” she rubbed her hand back and forth in a comforting motion. Natsu looked back down to the little dragon in his hand. He knew Gajeel was a nice person. He just had to show his friends what he was seeing too. Then they’d realise how nice he could be if given the chance. He reached one thumb up, rubbing the little dragon’s head.

Chapter Text

Natsu stepped into the shed, holding the tray tightly in his hands. He looked over to the bed but it was empty. Natsu approached it. He bent down, placing the tray on the ground and looked around for the dragon slayer. He snapped his head to the right when he heard a scrapping sound. He slowly rounded the shelves towards the sound. He stopped in his tracks upon seeing the dragon slayer. Gajeel was perched on a barrel, sharp nails scratching at the glass of the window as he tried to pry his fingers underneath the frame. He froze in his pursuit, staring at the cardboard -said cardboard now littered with tares- covered window. He slowly turned his head, one eye focusing on Natsu.

“What are you doing?” the fire mage asked, eyeing up the iron slayer. The other slayer didn’t answer. Natsu stared at him for a second before dropping it. He couldn’t hold it against the other for wanting out. He had been stuck in the shed for around a month now. Reading books in the dark had to get boring after a while.

“I brought food.” he changed the topic, pointing towards Gajeel’s nest. The iron slayer looked at him for a second before slipping off the barrel. He was walking on both feet now, although he had a slight limp that teetered him to the right. Natsu didn’t comment, skidding onto his knees next to the nest and getting settled. Gajeel clambered into his nest, settling amongst the blankets. The slayer flicked his gaze down to Natsu’s arm.

“Your cast’s off.” he muttered into the wall of blankets. Natsu looked down at his hand.

“Oh. Porlyusica removed it yesterday. Said my hand was healed the best it could.” he showed off the back of his hand where a line of small scars crossed over, mimicking a set of teeth. Gajeel blinked once. Then he was reaching for the other’s hand, pulling it towards his face. Natsu fell forward, cheek meeting the side of the mattress. He looked up at the dragon slayer. Gajeel looked at his hand then down at him. He stared for a couple minutes before throwing his hand back like it had bit him.

“What was that for?” Natsu snapped, sitting up. Gajeel backed up into his nest, pressing up against the wall. His back was arched and his eyes narrowed.

“Don’t come near me.” he hissed, lowering his head down towards the mattress while his eyes never left Natsu. The fire mage looked down at the back of his hand. The strange mark sitting in the middle. Natsu flicked his gaze back up to the iron slayer who was pressed against the wall.

“What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?” he tilts his head to the side. Gajeel snarls, several silver scales popping up across his face.

“Ya thought ya could trick me huh. Covering up that mark and pretended ya care. Nice try but I’m ain’t fallin for it again.” he laughed, the silver scales spreading further.

“I wasn’t tricking you. I was just being nice.” Natsu objected. He stepped forward in hopes of getting the other to calm down. Gajeel roared and leapt forward. He knocked Natsu to the floor, sharp claws dug into his shoulders. Natsu curved his body, kicking one leg up at Gajeel’s side. The dragon slayer grunted. It took him only a couple seconds to recover before he curled his claws deeper into Natsu’s shoulders. He used that to throw the fire mage into the nearest shelf. Natsu groaned, shaking his head to recover. The shelf he’d hit quivered, its shelves threatening to buckle. A bucket tumbled off the top shelf.

Smack.

Crack.

Natsu ignored the noise, stumbling onto his feet. Sharp claws swung at his face which he dodged. He clung onto the other’s wrist and pulled him into the shelf. This time the top shelf collapsed, all the materials atop it raining to the floor. The iron slayer shook out his body, knocking dust and nick knacks off him. He lifted his head, narrowing red eyes at the fire slayer. He leapt forward, pushing the iron slayer to the ground. Natsu struggled, kicking at the other slayer’s legs. The slayer reached one hand up, claws scraping at the skin on Natsu’s face. The fire mage rolled his body to the side, trying to throw the other slayer off. The iron mage dug his claws into Natsu’s back, both tumbling about together as the chain wrapped around them.

“What the hell is going on?” Natsu barely heard the person who had entered. Instead, he used the brief shock from the iron slayer to throw him into the spare freezer.

Thump.

The slayer growled, tugging on the chain which pulled Natsu to the ground. Natsu kicked his legs, trying to free himself from the chains as the iron mage leapt on him, sinking claws into his sides. Natsu cried out, the weight pushing him to the ground. Sharp jaws snapped at his neck, drawing close. Natsu moved his head back so that the other would miss. The slayer went for his neck again.

“I’ve got him.” Natsu flicked his gaze to behind him, the weight of the other slayer being removed from his back. He was struggling, kicking his legs and snapping his jaws as he struggled against Erza’s grip who was dragging him away from Natsu. A hand found its way on his shoulder, and he looked. Lucy was knelt next to him, looking over the gashes he’d gotten from the other. Natsu stumbled to his feet, his head spinning slightly. He didn’t say anything, just walked towards the door without looking back at the other slayer.

****

Natsu pulled himself out of the glass and plastic balls, rubbing at his mouth which still stung. He squinted at the tiled floor. He had to find his friends. He took one step forward before his legs buckled and he collapsed to the floor on his knees. He coughed once, a trickle of blood dropping onto his trousers and staining the white fabric.

“Natsu!” he lifted his head to look at who called his name. Lucy and Gray were running towards him, a third person he didn’t recognize accompanying them. Lucy skid to a stop in front of him, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him into a hug. He blinked, looking straight ahead. A couple seconds later he lifted his shaking arms and wrapped them around her. She leaned back.

“Are you alright?” she asked, looking him over for any wounds. Natsu reached up, wiping at the blood next to his mouth.

“I’m fine. That stupid block head just shot me in the mouth is all.” he grumbled, returning his gaze to the tiled floor.

“People don’t normally survive getting shot in the mouth.” Gray rolled his eyes, arms crossed. Natsu huffed, a cloud of smoke releasing. He turned to the other girl. She had stayed further back, hands held close to her chest and eyes adverted to a nearby machine. Natsu pushed himself to his feet. The girl lifted her head to look at him.

“Who are you?” he asked. He got a swift smack from Lucy.

“That’s Juvia. She was part of the element four in Phantom Lord. Remember?” she gestured to the blue haired girl. Natsu pouted.

“How was I supposed to know that? I never met her.” he huffed, crossing his arms and dipping his head.

“Its alright. Juvia understands” she muttered. Although she was keeping her eyes focused up it was obvious she wanted to look away. Her eyes flicked down, focusing on something near his scarf. He looked down, trying to spot what she had eyed up. The little dragon from the necklace hung out from under his scarf. He groaned. He’d been sure to tuck it under his scarf earlier. Being thrown into the giant glass orb must have caused it to fall down again. Juvia sniffled, hands reaching up to her face. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the fire mage.

“How could you?” her voice had dropped, almost like she’d swallowed gravel.

“Juvia, what’s wrong?” Lucy turned to look at the girl.

“Calm down. I am not involved with him in the slightest.” Gray added on, turning to face the water mage. Juvia had her hands tightened at her sides now, knuckles white.

“How could you kill Juvia’s wuja isthasy.” She leapt forward, tackling him to the ground. Natsu yelped in surprise.

“Your what?” he looked up at the water mage. He didn’t know what she was talking about. He paused. Wait. That word. It sounded like the ones that Gajeel used. Juvia was pulled off by Gray as she struggled to reach him. Natsu scrunched his brow. Gajeel had mentioned teaching someone the language he knew. Draconic he’d called it. Perhaps Juvia was the one he was talking about.

“You mean Gajeel?” he asked, tilting his head. Juvia cried out, trying desperately to reach him.

“I didn’t kill him. He’s alive.” he kept his voice steady. The water mage paused, blinking at him.

“If you didn’t kill him then why do you have his necklace?” she crossed her arms, trying to prove a point. Natsu huffed.

“He gave it to me. Said It was some ‘crummy necklace’ that he wanted to get rid of.” Natsu kept eye contact with Juvia. The bluenette looked at him with a raised brow.

“Gajeel doesn’t just give away his things. Especially not the one’s from his dragon” she lifted her chin. Natsu stared, eyes blown wide. So, the necklace had been given to him like Natsu’s scarf had been a gift from Igneel. That explained the dragon smell etched into it. The scales were from Gajeel’s dragon.

“I didn’t know it was from his dragon. He just gave it to me with not much explanation.” he tilted his head to the side, focusing on the tiles again.

“Juvia doesn’t understand. Why would Gajeel contact you and not his moxt kol?” she looked to the ground, clutching onto the hem of her coat.

“Well-.” Natsu opened his mouth only to close it when he got harsh looks from both Gray and Lucy, the former swiping his hand in front of his throat. Natsu crossed his arms but kept his mouth shut. They didn’t have to be so rude. Juvia sniffled, wiping aggressively at the corner of her eye. Lucy stepped forward, holding the water mage’s shoulders in comfort.

“Don’t worry Juvia. I bet he’ll get in touch soon.” Lucy’s voice was strained. Natsu could guess why. They’d all left for their holiday before Makarov had decided what he was going to do with Gajeel after he’d attacked Natsu. The fire slayer didn’t want to think about him for the whole trip. Now he had no choice with Juvia bringing it up. It was possible Makarov would not take kindly to the indiscretion and personally finish Gajeel off. Then what would they tell Juvia. If she reacted the way she had to the thought of the iron slayer being dead then how would she react to finding his corpse within Fairy tail ground. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat. Now was not the time to think of that. They had to go help Erza and Happy.

“We need to get Erza and Happy back. I can follow their scent with my nose.” he puffed up his chest. Juvia was still sniffling but gave a small nod. Lucy, her hands still on Juvia’s shoulders, turned her around and led her towards the docks. Gray looked back at Natsu but didn’t say a word. He followed the two mages in the lead. Natsu trailed behind, shoving one hand in his pocket. He lifted up his left hand, looking at the odd mark along it. A bright rose with shimmering silver wings surrounding the flower. He tilted his hand left and right. The mark shimmered like dragon scales. He blinked. Why had Gajeel reacted the way he did when he saw it? He shoved his other hand in his pocket. He’d just have to ask the slayer when he got back to the guild.

Chapter Text

Gajeel stared at the broken shelving unit. If he stared hard enough, then perhaps he’d hurt his eyes and then he could go to sleep. Anything was better than sitting awake, waiting for whatever Makarov had planned for him. His ear tingled when he heard the click of the door followed by the loud creak.

“Thank you, Mira. I’ll be alright from here.” Gajeel tensed, moving closer to the wall. He didn’t turn to the door. Instead, he listened as the light footsteps got closer and closer. Then they stopped in front of the mattress.

“Have you had time to think about your actions?” the Fairy tail guild master asked. Gajeel turned his head to the wall, refusing to look at the older mage. Makarov stood in silence.

“I’m sure you’ve figured out that I’m not happy with you.” he spoke up. Gajeel shuffled, keeping his legs up in front of his chest. Silver scales were littering his arms now.

“I destroyed yer guild hall.” he muttered, keeping his head low and still refusing to look at the wizard saint. The rustling of clothing.

“That can be repaired. In fact, the guild hall is close to being fully repaired once more. Try again.” Gajeel turned his head towards Makarov, only tilting his right eye towards him. His peripheral in that eye had been destroyed, only leaving him with what he could actually look at. Makarov stood with his hands held behind his back. Gajeel shifted back, pressing up to the wall as much as physically possible.

“Why don’t you tell me why you thought it appropriate to treat my children like that. Did Jose tell you to do that?” he looked at the dragon slayer, looking him up and down. Gajeel turned away once more.

“No.” he mumbled, picking at his nails. Anything to get his mind of the rage filled eyes carving into his soul. He flinched at the tightness in the air around him.

“And you thought it justified to attack my children. You had no reason to do what you did to them. You hunted Levy, Jet and Droy like rabbits” Gajeel let out a whine. He quickly slapped his hand over his mouth and closed his eyes. His entire body was trembling. This was it. This was where he was going to die. Chained up in some old shed behind the Fairy tail guild. He should have expected he’d end up dead in a ditch.

“Lift your head up boy.” Makarov’s voice was back to its steady calm state. Gajeel cracked his eyes open, looking at the guild master. Makarov had his hands held behind his back and a stock expression.

“I will never forgive you for what you did to my children, but I will not stand by and watch a young man throw away his future when I could give him a chance to change it.” Makarov kept direct eye contact. Gajeel blinked, lowering his hand from over his mouth.

“What?” was all he was able to muster up. His lungs were cold, almost frozen as he struggled to even breathe properly.

“I am offering you a place in my guild. You have no where to go correct?” Makarov looked over the single pair of pyjamas he had been forced to wear since he was locked up in the shed.

“Jose will come back for me. He…… he will.” his argument sounded weak, even to him and a part of him hated that. How could he have so little faith in the man? After everything he’d done for Gajeel, he couldn’t just abandon him.

“Jose has been charged for his crimes and will be serving a long sentence in a prison cell. If you continue waiting then I can only consider you as his puppet.” Gajeel bristled, slamming one hand down on the floor next to Makarov’s foot.

“I am no puppet. I am a dragon. I did my job and yet I am being told I have been tossed aside like mouldy cheese. All lies. Jose would never go back on his promises.” he snarled, pressing his nose up against Makarov and exposing his teeth. Makarov didn’t react, standing his ground in front of the dragon slayer.

“I would like to believe you aren’t. I am not here to speak ill of your former master or to insinuate anything. I am merely asking a question. Do you want to join Fairy tail? It’s a simple yes or no answer.” the guild master stood his ground, not moving back. Gajeel’s spines quivered and he stepped back, keeping his body low. He stared at Makarov.

“Why do ya want me to join yer guild if ya don’t like me?” he raised one studded eyebrow, head tilted to the side. Makarov linked his fingers together.

“I do have something I would like to request from you however only if you join the guild. I am not here to force you.” he reached up one hand to his coat, adjusting the collar. Gajeel hesitated, staring at the guild master.

“I’ll do it on one condition.” he crossed his arms, staring towards the wall.

“And that is?” Makarov had a raised eyebrow.

“Let my moxt kol join the guild as well.” he straightened his back, doing his best to keep from puffing up his chest.

“Your moxt kol?” Makarov asked, the words incorrect in their pronounciation. He looked quizzically at the slayer. He must be running the languages he knew in his head to find a translation. Gajeel nodded.

“Yes. They were in the element four. I’m sure Juvs is doing well but Toto doesn’t do well with change. I want to have them close so I can know they’re alright.” Gajeel explained. He could never remember the fioren word for kol or if there even was one so saying their names would be a better option.

“Oh, you’re talking about the water and fire mages of the element four right?” Makarov asked. Gajeel nodded.

“I do suppose if they both don’t plan on causing any trouble then it isn’t too much hassle to let them join as well. Of course, you’d have to bring them to me first.” Makarov met his eyes.

“So, as you are joining the guild I can discuss this request I have of you. Were you aware that I have a son?” he asked. Gajeel blinked slowly.

“Was I supposed to know that? Is this a quiz?” Gajeel leaned back, spines reverberating along the rest of his bones. Makarov shook his head.

“He was banished from the guild a few years ago. He left with information that could be detrimental to the guild and I fear he will use that against me. I also believe he has his eyes set on retrieving his son from the guild and with how his son has been acting recently, it could very well happen. I would prefer to avoid any incidents like that from happening.” Makarov explained, holding his hands together.

“And what do ya want me to do?” he raised a studded eyebrow.

“Infiltrate his guild as a spy and report your findings back to me. Its very likely he’ll trust you no matter your story.” Makarov answered.

“If I do this for ya, you’ll keep Juvs and Toto out of it? If they got hurt because of me then I’d never forgive myself.” he looked to the ground.

“Both will be protected by Fairy tail so long as they bare the mark of the guild.” Makarov nodded his head, reaching one hand out. Gajeel stared at it for a second. Then he reached out, linking his hand with the older mage and shaking it.

****

“And you came to me why?” The man’s voice almost made Gajeel sick as he circled around the dragon slayer. Gajeel stood his ground, focusing one eye on a raven perched on the chair at the other end of the dark room. It had been hard enough tracking the bastard down, why did he have to be difficult now. Gajeel straightened his back.

“Fairy tail destroyed my guild. I want them to feel every bit of the pain and humiliation I did and tenfold. I heard a rumour that ya had beef with Fairy tail.” Gajeel snapped his neck to the left, meeting Ivan’s eyes. The dark mage raised one eyebrow, examining the dragon slayer. He chuckled.

“Never in my life did I think I’d run into someone so young yet so full of hatred.” he stepped around to be in front of Gajeel. One of the ravens flew from its perch, landing on Ivan’s shoulder and shaking out its feathers. One of those feathers fluttered down and landed on the tip of Gajeel’s nose. He resisted the urge to sneeze that had been brought on by the tickling sensation of the feather.

“Alright. I have a job for you.” Ivan’s lips drew up into a smirk. Gajeel lifted his chin up.

“Infiltrate the Fairy tail and get me information on all their members. I want to know what their weaknesses are so I can formulate the best plan of attack.” he leaned towards Gajeel, and the dragon slayer got a whiff of something rancid he couldn’t quite place.

“And what do I get out of this?” he asked, pushing his nose closer and doing his best to ignore the smell.

“I’ll reward you handsomely when the Fairy tail guild is destroyed. I’ll even promote you to S-class” Gajeel smirked.

“Alright. Deal.” he held out his hand. Ivan linked their hands, shaking them. His grip tightened on the slayer’s wrist.

“Oh and Gajeel. If you betray me, I’ll deal with you personally.” despite the lower tone of his voice, Ivan still kept up the thin lined smirk. Gajeel narrowed his eyes, his spines quivering. He snatched his hand back, holding it behind his back to hide the prickling scales and darkening nails.

“There will be no need. I have no reason to do such a thing.” he scoffed, turning his back.

“I expect an update in 1 week dragon slayer.” Ivan spoke with that low tone of voice. Gajeel merely waved over his shoulder before the door closed behind him.

****

Gajeel pulled his foot back when he stepped in a puddle, looking down at the offending pool of water with a glare. He turned his gaze up to the crack in the ceiling that had caused it. Another little droplet leaked from it and splashed into the puddle. Gajeel scoffed. Only gone a month and the entire building was falling to pieces. He walked along the corridor, passing several open doors. The other members must have high tailed it from the dorms really quick if the doors were left open. For as long as he’d been in the guild, he knew that no one left their doors unlocked. There was no guarantee that another member wouldn’t sneak in and attempt to steal their things. Gajeel stopped in front of the door to his shared dorm. He pressed his thumb up to the magic lock against the door. Nothing. He raised a studded eyebrow. He pressed against the magic lock again but there was still no click. He raised the other eyebrow. That was odd. The magic locks had never been offline as far as he knew. He reached out for the door handle. He gave it a jiggle, but the door wouldn’t budge. He pressed against it harder. Still not budging. He glared at the door and stepped back. He leaned on his good leg and pushed forward, slamming his whole body into the door. It budged forward but something was still stopping it from swinging open. He narrowed his eyes. Leaning against the door, he slipped his hand through the opening. His fingers brushed against wood. He wrapped them around it and tossed the object down to the floor. Pressing his other hand against the door, the door creaked open. It hit the wooden object with a thud. He slipped in through the gap he’d made. A whistle that was slowly approaching had him ducking.

Thud.

Thump.

Gajeel straightened and looked over his shoulders. A large black bowling ball rolled along the grey carpet, bumping against his foot. He bent down and picked up the ball. He held it up in one hand and looked to the assailant.

“So bowling ball. If I’m remembering right, we didn’t have one of these a month ago.” he chuckled. He stepped forward, dropping the heavy ball onto the couch. The dual haired man before him crossed his arms.

“If the council hadn’t deactivated the locks when Jose was arrested then I wouldn’t have to resort to a bowling ball.” he huffed, looking over towards the conjoined kitchen. He flicked his eyes back to Gajeel.

“And where the hell have you been? We looked all over the guild hall until we had no choice but to leave and saw nothing. Juvia was convinced you were dead.” he glared at the older man. Gajeel sighed.

“Look I’m sorry. It was a tough time for me too. I almost fuckin’ drowned and my shitty leg got fucked up so I couldn’t actually get back to you.” he placed one hand on the fire mage’s shoulder. The mage huffed.

“Alright I forgive you. Only if you promise not to leave me like that again.” he mumbled, crossing his arms and looking down at the carpet.

“Well, I have a plan that could work” he got a questioning look from the fire mage.

“I got an offer to join Fairy tail and the guild master agreed I could bring the two of ya with me” Totomaru stared at him.

“Fairy tail? The guild that took out ours? Why would you-.”

“Don’t lie. You haven’t gotten any work since the disbandment either.” Totomaru scoffed.

“I’ve been doing just fine.” he huffed. Gajeel looked towards the coffee table that was littered with takeaway boxes, instant noodle cups and tissues.

“Uh huh. You totally haven’t let this place become a fucking riot.” Totomaru puffed out his cheeks and crossed his arms.

“Shut up” he snapped. Gajeel leaned in, pressing one finger to his nose.

“I got given someplace to stay. It ain’t amazing, it is a fuckin shed after all, but we can do what we want in it and we have free rein of the industrial kitchen and the locker room. Probably the best we’ll get on such short notice.” Gajeel placed one hand on his hip. Totomaru eyed him for a second. Then sighed.

“Fine. I can’t pass up some good food anyway.” he waved one hand. Gajeel chuckled.

“Let’s get our shit packed and decide what furniture we’re takin’. Once we’ve got that organised then we go to see the old man.” he walked towards the single bedroom, pushing the door open. He wrinkled his nose. The amount of dust in that room was horrible for his olfactory senses.

“Did you even use this room while I was gone?” he called over his shoulder. He got nothing but a strangled groan from the other mage. Gajeel shrugged, walking into the room. He’d go through the wardrobe first, pick out what clothes he could keep and what were completely ruined.

Chapter Text

Natsu walked into the newly repaired guild hall. Something didn’t feel right about it but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. He walked up to Mira.

“Hey Mira, could I get the key for the shed?” he asked, leaning down on the counter. The barmaid looked up, holding a tea towel and a glass.

“Oh, I’m sorry Natsu. Gajeel actually left a couple of days ago.” she gave him an apologetic smile, turning her attention back to the glass in hand.

“What? Why would he leave?” Natsu leaned forward, eyebrows drawn close together.

“Master said he was healed enough that he could look after himself again, so he let him leave.” she elaborated, turning around. She reached up and placed the glass on the shelf.

“Well, where’s gramps? I wanna talk to him.” he grumbled. Erza stepped up next to him.

“Yes, I would like to talk to him as well.” she spoke, looking at Mira. The white haired mage turned around.

“I’m afraid that can’t happen. Master is in an important meeting right now and asked that he not be disturbed.” Mira shook her head.

“An important meeting? With the council?” Gray had stepped up on Natsu’s other side.

“I’m not sure. He wouldn’t say who it was with or what it was about.” she picked up another glass, wiping the outer rim.

“Oh, you made it back safely too.” Natsu turned to look at who spoke. Juvia stood in front of them, holding the edges of her dress as she gave a short curtsey.  

“So, the master let you join then?” Lucy clapped her hands together, stepping forward to speak with Juvia. Natsu bit on his inner lip, giving a slight pout.

“You can say hi to her too if you want.” Erza smiled, hitting him on the shoulder with a lot of force. Natsu stumbled forward, waving his arms for balance. When he got his balance back, he reached up to rub his shoulder.

“That’s not it at all.” he grumbled, letting his head drop to shoulder level.

“Juvs?” someone called from the top of the stairs on the second floor. The person who had spoke raced down the stairs, ending their journey with arms wrapped around Juvia. The water mage squealed.

“Toto. What are you doing here?” she was almost bouncing on her feet, staring at the dual haired mage. He pulled back, opening his mouth.

“Have I seen you before?” Natsu leaned in, sniffing the other mage. He smelled like Lavender and a hint of firewood.

“Don’t sniff me. Only my wuja isthasy is allowed to do that” he pushed Natsu’s head away, holding the dragon slayer at arm’s length.

“Why do you all keep saying that word? What does it mean?” Natsu whined, stepping away from Totomaru. Juvia clapped her hands together.

“Its draconic. Gajeel taught us. It means big brother” she bounced on her heels, hands now held down towards her skirt.

“I see you all made it back safely.” Natsu turned around. Makarov had come down from his office, hands clasped behind him.

“Gramps.” Natsu cheered, ready to step forward. He paused, catching sight of someone’s boot behind the guild master. He looked up. Gajeel was stood behind Makarov, now changed into a long-sleeved shirt, although the sleeves had been rolled up to his elbows. The torn-up cloth he’d had before had been replaced with a half one, sitting on the right side while a chain hung from the left side of his belt. A scar spread across his right eye, resembling a crack.

“I’d like you to meet your new guild mates. I see you’ve already met Juvia. Let me introduce the others. This is Totomaru.” he gestured to the fire mage. Totomaru clung onto the katana at his waist, eyeing Natsu.

“And I’m sure you already know-.”

“Gajeel.” Juvia jumped at the iron slayer, wrapping her arms around Gajeel’s neck.

“Why him?” Gray snapped, turning to Makarov.

“I don’t mind Juvia and I can tolerate Totomaru but why him. He’s the one who destroyed our guild hall and hurt Team shadow gear.” Erza addressed the master.

“Its not that bad. I mean…. He isn’t going to do it again now that he’s in the guild.” Levy spoke up from where she was bent down behind a bench. Gajeel looked towards her and she flinched back.

“Now Erza, just give him a chance. He could be a nice guy.” Makarov encouraged, holding his hands behind his back. Natsu turned away from whatever conversation they were having. He looked towards Gajeel. Juvia had since let go of the iron slayer and gone to tail after Gray. Now the only other person near Gajeel was Totomaru. Both were having some kind of conversation. Natsu approached slowly. He reached up, tapping one hand on Gajeel’s shoulder. The iron slayer turned around to look.

“Hey. Wanna talk?” he asked. He definitely did. He wanted to find out why Gajeel had reacted the way he did to seeing the mark on his hand. The iron slayer looked at him once.

“Actually, I think I left the heater on. I’m gonna go check.” the iron slayer turned on his heal and walked in the direction of the back door. Natsu blinked, staying in place. Totomaru turned to look at him before turning his gaze down. Natsu followed where the other fire mage’s gaze was going. The necklace. Natsu looked back up to his face. His eyebrow raised and he turned away from the other mage.

“So, you did something special enough to be given the necklace but also something that means he’s avoiding you. Interesting,” he turned his gaze to look around the guild hall. Natsu narrowed his eyes and turned to the other mage.

“Want a rematch? Bet I could beat you again.” Natsu was bouncing on his feet. Totomaru turned to look at him.

“No thanks. I would rather keep from getting frozen again if things go awry” he crossed his arms. Natsu whined.

“But I want to taste all the fire types you can make” he leaned in closer to the fire mage. Totomaru stepped away.

“I am not a personal buffet for you. Please refrain from seeing me as such.” he stepped away, walking off towards one of the tables in the guild hall. Natsu crossed his arms with a huff.

“Neither of them are very chatty are they?” Lucy sighed, now standing next to him. Natsu crossed his arms.

“I just wanted to talk things out with Gajeel. Maybe understand why he attacked me is all.” he crossed his arms. Lucy looked at him.

“You know I was joking the other day about the love look right?” Lucy looked at him. He blinked.

“You were?” Natsu looked at her, surprised. She blinked before placing one hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry if I made you think that was what you were feeling.” she wrapped him in a hug. Natsu stared straight ahead. Were his feelings romantic? He wasn’t sure. Dammit, why did emotions have to be so complicated. Before he could respond to Lucy, a mug was smacking into the side of his face.

“Hey who threw that?” he snapped, diving at the nearest person who happened to be Gray. He’d just have to teach the frost breath a thing or two.

Chapter 9

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Laxus stared at the doors of the guild hall in front of him. The left door had been ripped from its hinges entirely while the right still clung on for dear life by the top hinge. He stepped forward, picking out deep gashes in the wood. He pressed his fingers up to one of them, dragging it down the damaged material right to the bottom. He stopped, eyeing something black that peeked out like a thorn. He bent down, ripping it from the wood and examined the object. Some kind of outer casing shaped like a claw. It reminded him of Happy’s nails. They shed an outer layer every few months.

“Think this is old and they just never bothered to fix it?” someone spoke from behind him. He looked over his shoulder at the three young teens. The one who had spoken had a fan up to her face, hiding her mouth while she eyed one of the gashes.

“If the thing is still here then it won’t be hard to get rid of.” Laxus rolled his shoulder. Besides it was likely a bear or some wild cat. He didn’t need physical strength to scare something like that. His lightning would do just fine. Besides, if this dark guild was so fearsome then they’d have no trouble with a wild animal.

“Yes but we should still be careful. If we get distracted from our main goal then we could tire before we complete our mission.” Freed spoke up, hand clutching the handle of his rapier which gave a light click every time the rune mage’s hand trembled. Laxus shrugged at the three and stepped in through the broken doors. He stood at his full height and looked around the guild hall. He could barely see in the dark that devoured the building. All the light lacrima must have been knocked out. Laxus walked forward, ignoring the quiet chatter from the Thunder legion so he could listen for any noise. He wasn’t about to be caught off guard with an ambush. His foot landed on something that crunched beneath. He stepped back, holding his leg up so he could examine his shoe and the ground beneath. Something wet and sticky dripped down from the sole of his shoe, joining a dark puddle on the ground that surrounded stained chunks.

“I’m going to check the back.” he called to the three teens. He didn’t bother to look back for their reactions. He walked up to a door that sat at the end of a narrow corridor. It was in a similar state to the front, the door ripped from its frame and left propped against the doorframe. A frame littered with scratches and dents. He ducked under the door and into the room beyond. He looked around. A small room with a desk sat in the middle while bookshelves lined the walls. It had to belong to the guild master. The chair was pushed up against the wall where a large window looked over the mountains beyond. He placed his hand down on the top of the chair, pulling it away from the window. Something slumped off the chair, landing in a crumpled heap on the floor. Laxus looked. Some kind of prop? He pressed his foot into its side, kicking it over. His muscles stiffened. Not a prop. A person. The skull had been bashed in, leaving the innards exposed and blood dripping down their face. Laxus stepped back, looking to the window. A large red splotch that surrounded cracked glass marked where the person’s head had been leaning.

“Shit.” he hissed under his breath, taking another step back. This wasn’t a bear. A bear couldn’t do this. His stomach was in his throat now. They had to get out of here. A guttural snarl reverberated in the room. His back straightened. He moved his head to look up. He caught two gleaming eyes in the dark before something dived down on him. He was pushed to the floor, teeth sunk between his shoulder blades. He cried out when the flesh was breached.

“Get off.” he growled, pushing his elbow up to the creature. It shifted, slipping over to the right. Laxus used that as an opportunity to knock it off. It stumbled off, flopping onto the ground in a crumpled heap. Laxus scrambled to his feet. He turned to look at the creature, charging up lightning in his palm. Its eyes snapped on him, shimmering red in the low light. It leapt at him, pinning him down to the ground. He released the lightning at the creature. It yelped but didn’t move from its position on top of him. He reached to push at it again. Something grabbed onto his wrist and slammed it to the ground. He turned to look at the creature. It leaned down, pressing its muzzle to his ear.

“Si geou ti wielg ekess wer diieson riyit tenamalo.” its breath tickled the outer shell of Laxus’ ear, and he took a sharp inhale. The creature moved its head, hot breath now along his throat. He tried to push his knee into the creature but it was sat too far up for him to hit it effectively. Perhaps he should have put some focus on flexibility during training. Sharp claws took hold of his leg and held it down again.

“Zexenuma mahhn kagh nakta japachi nixeui.” the creature’s chest vibrated with the chuckle it released. Laxus froze up. He tried to move, to kick this thing off but his body refused to obey his command. The beast leaned down further to his throat, jaws wide. He could do nothing but watch helplessly as sharp teeth drew closer. Blood mixed with saliva dripped down, sticking to his neck. Laxus closed his eyes, willing his voice to work so he could call for the Thunder legion. The creature stopped; hand now held on Laxus’ head. It flicked its shining eyes towards Laxus’ own, staring right into them.

“Yer Draushum cirau too?” Laxus blinked, looking up at the creature above him. It stared at him for a second. Then it jumped upward, curving a thick tail around one of the support beams in the ceiling. It hung down, staring at him.

“Yer Draushum cirau right?” Laxus leaned back, staring wide eyed at the creature.

“You speak Fioren?” his heart was hammering in his throat. The creature tilted its head. Then it huffed.

“Of course. Now answer the question.” it snipped, crossing its arms over its chest while twirling around to the side ever so slowly.

“I don’t even know what you mean.” Laxus looked over his shoulder. Was it worth possibly angering this thing? It definitely wasn’t joking around. It carried a lot of kick with it. And plenty of sharp teeth.

“Ya know. Draushum cirau…….” It clicked its fingers, black nails and silver scales clinking together.

“I think it’s Dragon kind.” It mumbled; one finger held up to its mouth. Laxus stared at it.

“Laxus? Is everything alright?” Freed called from not far outside the room. The lightning mage held his hand up in preparation for an attack. The beast leapt down, landing on its feet with the grace of a cat. Within the blink of an eye, it had shifted. Now instead of a strange beast, there was a small kid, probably like 9 or younger from how dangly his limbs were. His hair reached halfway down his back and tan skin was stained with dirt and blood.

“Who’s that?” Bickslow piped up. Laxus looked over his shoulder. The thunder legion had entered the room, all looking at the kid. Said kid was eyeing up Freed’s hand. He scoffed.

“If I’d known ya were fairies then I’d have left your maekrix alone.” he huffed, looking towards the wall.

“Your quite rude for a little brat.” Evergreen walked over, placing one hand on the kid’s head, rubbing his hair. The kid bristled, releasing strange spitting sounds.

“So where’s your mum?” she added, looking him over for some kind of note about a family member. Her hand was smacked away by the kid.

“I don’t need ya to take care of me.” he snapped, sharp teeth on display. He got smacked on the nose by Evergreen’s fan. Bickslow laughed as the kid swiped at Evergreen and her fan.

“For a baby you have spunk.” he had his tongue waving about as he laughed. The kid bristled, his hair almost puffing up.

“I’m not a…... whatever that means. I’m a draushum” he puffed up his chest and lifted his head up. Bickslow snorted.

“A what? Laxus, did you find some kind of wild animal or is this just the type of people who lurk in dark guilds now?” Bickslow didn’t even bother to hide the snicker. The kid huffed.

“Dark guild? I’m not part of a dark guild you…….. fueryon” the kid spat out the last word, hands clutched at his sides. Laxus looked up to Freed.

“Can you translate?” he asked, looking back to the kid.

“How can you not understand? Your draushum cirau. Surely your odassa taught you how to speak our tongue.” the kid eyed him up, some weird piercings in his eyebrows furrowing together. A yip escaped the kid’s mouth.

“You aren’t really draushum cirau.” the boy was now pacing back and forth, black nails up near his mouth.

“Then how do ya have draushum smell. It doesn’t make sense.” he was muttering to himself, stopping in front of the table.

“Alright. This has gone on long enough. I’m taking you to the council.” Laxus stood up, taking a hold of the kid’s arm. The brat smacked his hand away.

“Fuck you. I ain’t goin’ anywhere with a bunch of fairies. Besides, I can take care of myself.” he huffed, straightening his back and lifting his chin up. Laxus blinked at him.

“You’re what, nine? Eight?” Laxus raised one thick eyebrow. The kid bristled again, his hair puffing slightly.

“NO! I’m sixteen you…… grr how dare you say I’m a nuwa'jimos. I’ll have your scales for that.” he snarled, flexing his fingers and pointing one thick, black nail at Laxus. He could pick up one of the thunder legion cackling behind him. He had a high suspicion it was Bickslow. The kid snapped his head to look behind Laxus, eyes narrowed and lips drawn back to reveal sharp teeth.

“Stop laughing.” Laxus ordered over his shoulder. The noise stopped for a moment. Laxus looked back to the kid who had tilted his head to the side, still staring at the three mages behind Laxus. The lightning mage stepped in front of the kid. He looked up towards the other mage. Then huffed.

“Fine. I won’t touch yer droce.” he grumbled, crossing his arms. Laxus’ gaze flicked to the dark red mark on the kid’s shoulder. He’d seen that mark before.

“You’re in Phantom Lord.” he was a bit surprised. He didn’t know that guild even had kids in it. Never mind ones that looked like they should still be clinging to their mothers. The kid puffed his chest up.

“Of course. Gajeel Redfox. Resident draushum cirau. Better than the one you fairies have. Fire isn’t even that special……” He paused, looking at Laxus with one raised brow.

“I guess there’s two of you now. Not like it matters. You do weird electric zaps. That’s not very scary.” he scoffed, looking over to the crumpled corpse on the floor. Laxus stared at the kid. Wait, was he calling Laxus a dragon slayer. How did this brat figure it out? Not even Natsu knew about that.

“That thing you keep calling me. Are you saying I’m a dragon slayer?” he raised one brow. The kid raised both pierced brows and stared at him.

“No. Civac means……. Dammit, what does Master say?” he clicks his fingers, staring at a blood stain on the carpet.

“Kind. Dragon kind. That’s what you are. Why else would you smell draushum. You aren’t carryin’ their scales around from what I saw.” He kicked one foot into the corpse, looking at the mangled state of its skull. Laxus looked over the kid. Draushum civac. Dragon kind. He was considered dragon kind? He’d never heard Natsu use those words before. He'd always called himself a slayer. Did his lacrima make him different? Or perhaps it was based on something else. Gajeel had been referring to everything with plurals. So did that mean that this scrawny little kid was a dragon kind too? No wait, he wasn’t some kid. If he was sixteen then he was only three years younger than Laxus. Small for his age but Laxus hadn’t had the best start out either. Was that how dragon kind were defined then.

“Well. I’m done here. I have some jewel to collect. Perhaps I’ll see you around Draushum Civac. But ya’d be better leavin’ for a better guild if ya wanna access your full Draushum.” with that, Gajeel jumped over the fallen door and clambered out the small gap into the hall where his footsteps echoed down into the room. Laxus reached up to his shoulder blades where he’d been bit. A soft tingle ran down his spine. Thinking back on it now, having the other dragon kind on him was a thrilling idea. Not many people younger than him had the balls to order him around either. Then there was this teen who not only ordered him around if the tone of voice was to be taken into account, but his body had listened to it. Fuck, did he have some kind of odd thrill from being ordered around? He’d have to look into that. Along with more things about this Gajeel. Perhaps the dragon kind had more information hidden through potential articles.

 ****

Gajeel stood in front of the tree that occupied South gate park. He flicked his eyes around. He recognised the place. It wasn’t much different in the dark than it was in the day. He had chased those three fairies through the streets of Magnolia only to drag them here and string them up like decorations. He fixed his gaze back on the three fairies in front of him. The girl was hiding herself behind the tree but her two buddies were attempting to square up to him. Neither had said a word yet. Perhaps they were waiting for Gajeel to speak. Or just trying to intimidate him.

"So, what do ya want from me? Could we make it quick. I have shit I need to get done.” He spoke up, shoving his hands in his pockets. He really had to get back to help Totomaru finish unpacking or he’d be having an early shedding. The ginger haired mage scoffed, taking one step closer.

“Why don’t you take a guess.” he spat, narrowing his eyes at Gajeel. The iron mage felt a tingle along the outer shells of his ears. Gajeel shrugged at them, keeping his face in its neutral position.

“What? Can’t take us seriously because you think we’re weak?” the other mage baited. They were both eyeing up Gajeel for any movement. He wasn’t going to fall for it. If he even thought about laying a finger on them again then Makarov would have his head served for dinner.

“Guys, please stop. Its not like he’s going to do it again.” the girl pipped up, clutching onto the tree bark. Gajeel looked towards her. No matter what she said, he could read right through to the true meaning. Don’t make him mad. He couldn’t blame them really. Even if what he did to them was tame in comparison to his usual jobs, he still beat them up. It had taken a lot of strength not to sink his teeth into the girl’s throat or bash in the ginger’s skull or even rip out the brunette’s spine when he’d attacked them. He’d come close to killing all of them. No wonder they didn’t want him in the place they called home. He could understand. Being dragon kind meant being territorial of his home and would make him defensive of his pack if he ever formed one. He’d be just as on edge if someone who’d almost killed him entered his domain. It would be better If he just left them be.

“If there isn’t any importance to this then I’m leaving.” he kept his voice even when he spoke, turning around. A hand wrapped around his arm before he was thrown back. He grunted when his back made contact with the tree, his spines pressing up against the skin atop. The bluenette squeaked, stumbling away from the tree. Her eyes never left him.

“What’s wrong? Don’t want to fight the ‘weak little fairies’.” the brunette mocked his speech patterns. He tilted his head down, grinding his teeth together. He wasn’t going to attack them. He had to keep his composure.

“Please stop. You’re going to make him angry.” the girl was trembling, even Gajeel could see it with his head down. His method wasn’t working. They wanted a rise out of him. An excuse to have him kicked out of the guild perhaps. Well Gajeel was many things and he could admit to himself that one of those was being stubborn. He could hold out on them. He’d held out on hundreds of mages before. Without his scales it would leave a mark come the morning but a mark or two was nothing compared to what Makarov might do to him.

“He deserves this after what he did to us.” the brunette was still focusing on Gajeel. The iron mage looked up, his bangs now hanging over his eyes in a tangled mess. Gajeel pushed himself to his feet, rolling his shoulders to rid them of the ache that was spreading through them. The two mages in front of him tensed. Shit. They’d taken that as a threat. The brunette stuck his hand into his pocket, pulling out a handful of something.

“Secret seed!” he yelled, throwing the handful of seeds which scattered across the ground. Gajeel eyed the seeds which had sunk into the soil, the only sign that they’d been there being a slight glow.

“Knuckle plant!” golden magic circles surrounded the spots on the ground before long vines that ended with fists sprouted from the ground. They all struck Gajeel in random patterns and they hit hard too. At least two of the plants hit Gajeel in his right leg. He bit into his lip. Why’d they have to hit his bad leg of all things. The spell fizzled out with the plants dropping to the ground around Gajeel’s feet. He stumbled forward, pain searing up through his bad leg. He really hoped it hadn’t been knocked out of place again. That was the last thing he needed.

“Falcon Heavenward!” that was the only notice Gajeel got before something smacked into him. He tumbled across the ground, digging his heals into the ground to stop his journey. His leg jostled at the sudden yank it received from his halt. The pain had Gajeel breathing thickly.

“That all you’ve got?” the ginger called.

“What happened to the tough guy act?” the brunette added on. Gajeel looked up. He stared at the two, ready to say something. Then he froze up. That smell. He’d smelt it before. He twitched his nose, drawing in the smell. A sweet, pungent scent mixed in with the tiniest hint of dragon.

“You aren’t giving the new guy a hard time are you?” someone spoke up. Gajeel turned to look. His muscles stiffened. Lightning. That was what the smell was. He was fucked if this guy decided to get his turn in. He wouldn’t last 5 minutes. Especially if his scales popped in.

“Laxus?” Gajeel stumbled back onto the ground with a thud, staring at the lightning mage. That was the S-class mage. The blond turned to look at him, the sleeves of his fur lined coat fluttering in the wind. He stepped forward, never removing his gaze from Gajeel. The iron mage tried his best to bring air into his lungs, but they weren’t obeying. The lightning mage looked to him for a moment before a large smirk crossed his lips, sharp teeth on full display. Gajeel felt his heart in his throat. He wasn’t usually the type to beg but gods please don’t let this mage be a dragon kind.

“Maybe you should leave him alone.” Gajeel was reminded that the other three mages were in the park with them. Perhaps they could talk some sense into the lightning mage before he attacked and caused Gajeel’s heart to rupture. The lightning mage looked over his shoulder at the other three mages. Gajeel couldn’t see his face, but he could catch his scent. A strong tang that was almost consuming his senses. The lightning mage chuckled.

“You picked the wrong day for this.” his voice was low, taking on an authoritative tone. He lifted one hand up. Gajeel flinched. Then he looked at who the attack was directed at. He scrambled to his feet and tackled the man in front of him. He dug sharp claws into muscle to keep his hold over the other’s back. The man stumbled, his attack releasing a little early and searching for the nearest mark. It went for his scales, spreading quickly through the rest of his body. He cried out, releasing his grip on the blond as he hit the ground with a thud. He coughed, sparks of electricity crackling across his body. The lightning mage moved his arm again, powering up another attack. Gajeel pushed himself to his feet. He was racing forward towards the other three mages. He wasn’t sure who he’d pushed aside in the moment he had before the blast of electricity hit him, sending him flying back into the nearby tree. He fell forward to the ground. A tree branch soon accompanied him, smacking down on his head and rolling down to meet the ground.

“Laxus. Stop it.” Gajeel couldn’t tell who yelled, his ears were ringing and black spots were dotting the sides of his vision. He felt the thud of footsteps approaching before someone picked him up by the back of his shirt. He turned his head slightly. The lightning mage stood next to him, a slight yellow glow to his eyes. Gajeel was dropped on his feet, every individual muscle screaming upon the impact. Before he could attempt to leave, a hand wrapped around his wrist and he was dragged through the park.

****

Laxus pushed Gajeel up against the wall of the alley, one hand pressed up against his chest.

“You should have stayed out of it.” he growled, leaning his mouth up to Gajeel’s ear. The other dragon kind seemed dazed; eyes half lidded. He shook his head and looked up at Laxus.

“What do you want?” he huffed, leaning his weight to the left. Laxus pressed his nose against the shell of Gajeel’s ear.

“Isn’t it obvious?” he asked. Gajeel blinked once, staring at the wall behind the lightning mage. He chuckled.

“It’s you, draushum cirau” Laxus’ breath hit Gajeel’s ear. The dragon kind froze up, his head turning until their noses brushed.

“How-.” Gajeel started but his mouth was forced shut by Laxus.

“I remembered you. You weren’t kidding about being a draushum. You got really big.” he chuckled, meeting Gajeel’s eyes. The iron mage looked him up and down. He furrowed his studded brows.

“Four years ago, now. You were a little pipsqueak then. Pretty strong one though.” Laxus watched the other dragon, waiting for a reaction. His eyes blew up and his breath hitched as he stared at Laxus. He opened his mouth then closed it.

“Good. Now that I have you’re attention I want you to do that changing thing you did.” he ordered, pushing the iron mage further into the wall.

“No.” he snipped, turning his head to the left. Laxus lifted one hand, moving his head to face him again.

“I haven’t met anyone who can mimic what you did. No one who bites as hard or has so much authority in one sentence. There isn’t anyone who goes hard like you did.” he growled low, staring at the other slayer. Gajeel blinked but didn’t make any move to get away. He twitched his nose, attempting to take a deep inhale but instead gave a muffled cough.

“I didn’t mean to strike you. You shouldn’t have jumped in the way like that.” he gnarred, leaning his nose against Gajeel’s cheek.

“You were attacking your guild mates.” the iron mage mumbled, leaning his head away. Laxus scoffed.

“Last I checked, you have the same guild mark as the rest of us. Yet you let them attack you.” he kept his voice low, knowing the other would hear him just fine.

“That’s different. I coulda killed em.” he didn’t elaborate on what he meant. Laxus didn’t need him to anyway. He’d heard about the battle with Phantom Lord. Mira had told him what had happened to Levy and her puppies when she’d called him for aid. Not like he cared that much when she’d called. Perhaps the Heartfillia girl would have been fun but he doubted it would be anything close to the thrill he felt when remembering the day he’d met Gajeel. Laxus held his hand under Gajeel’s chin, looking into crimson eyes.

“We’re going to have plenty of fun soo.n” the iron mage quirked a brow. Laxus chuckled.

“Not here of course. I’d hate to be interrupted.” he ran one hand down the other man’s chest, ghosting over the muscles he could feel beneath the tattered shirt. He leaned his head in, connecting their lips together. He only held it for a few seconds but the jolts that ran up his spine were pure ecstasy. Hands had linked into the back of his coat once he pulled back, the iron mage following for a second before jolting his head back. Laxus leaned down to his ear.

“I’ll see you around.” he whispered into Gajeel’s ear before stepping away. He turned around, walking down the alley towards the main street, leaving the dragon slayer behind.

Notes:

If you were following along for the creation of this chapter on the AUs tumblr page then you would know I continuously made jokes about how Laxus was being Horny and how this was the gayest chapter so far and Laxus was the reason. I still stand by that statement although there is a later chapter in this arc that comes a little bit close. But also I just had way too much fun writing this (Which I also wrote in class and had the fear of god in me when my lecturer walked behind me and could see my laptop just praying that he wouldn't read the Laxus contemplating his feelings on being bit scene or the Laxus pinning Gajeel to a wall scene) especially with the backstory. I find it funny to write short, angry Gajeel.

Chapter Text

Gajeel fumbled with his key, missing the lock at least three consecutive times before finally getting it in. He turned it, listening for the click before pushing the door open. He limped in, waving his hand around for something to lean against. He caught the familiar whiff of Lavender and firewood.

“Where have you been? You were supposed to help me-.” Totomaru trailed off when he spotted Gajeel, dropping a box on the ground.

“For your sake. I hope that was empty.” he muttered, barely stopping to take in the other. He limped to the little bunk that he’d built out of spare wood, hauling himself onto the top where his double mattress was. When sat on the mattress, he flopped back on it with a groan as all his muscles tensed up. He heard the footsteps approaching his bunk before the mattress dipped at the little entrance.

“Gods. What happened to you?” Gajeel looked up to Totomaru who was staring intently at one of the burn marks along his arm. He reached one hand towards it but snapped it back when his arm sparked.

“Got in a fight.” he mumbled, rolling onto his stomach. He buried his face in one of his pillows, groaning heavily.

“Just- Just give me a minute. I’m going to go get cream for this.” Totomaru jumped off the bunk. Gajeel listened to his rushed footsteps as they grew further away before the door squeaked open and shut once more. He stopped paying attention to where the fire mage was after that. His entire body ached too much to really care. He reached up his arms to wrap around the pillow he lay on, groaning at every tiny jolt of his muscles. He just wanted to sleep. Perhaps he wouldn’t wake up if he did. That would make the pain go away. That would satisfy the fairies too, right? They didn’t want him there after all. Juvia had been distracted when he was in the guild. She was adjusting just fine to her new life and she wasn’t hated like he was. It was just Totomaru he worried about. He knew his moxt isthasy well. Too well master would have said. He moved his good leg in an attempt to get comfy.

“Fuck” he hissed when even that leg wracked him with pain. He pressed his nose into the pillow further. Even his wings and tail ached. They hadn’t even been out at the time. Then again, the lightning user was draushum cirau. It stung in a similar way to Natsu’s. Like his skin was being pulled apart and his very soul ripped from his body. His ear twitched when the door squeaked. Footsteps in the room had his spines quivering beneath the skin. He couldn’t smell them with his nose shoved in a pillow.

“I got the cream. Had to ask the lady that works at the bar. I also got you beef noodle soup” Totomaru was climbing up into his bunk. Something was placed next to him. He lifted his head to look. A bowl with the food in question. He reached one hand out, pulling the bowl close.

“Its not how you make it. I didn’t want to leave you too long, so I just asked for chicken noodle soup and a separate serving of seasoned beef. So more accurately its beef and chicken noodle soup” he laughed slightly. Gajeel hummed, letting the mage know he’d heard. He cupped either side of the bowl and tilted it, drinking the broth.

“I’m just gonna tare your shirt off. Its already ruined anyway.” the fire mage was at his side, pulling at the tears in his shirt that had been left from the attacks. He grunted in acknowledgement, making work of the substance left in his bowl. His shirt was pulled off in chunks, leaving his skin exposed to the air. And gods did that make his wounds hurt more.

“Alright. Good news, you aren’t bleeding.” Totomaru spoke, prodding and poking at the many bruises and burns across his skin.

“What’s the bad news?” he mumbled, swallowing a chunk of chicken with a grimace. Totomaru fell silent. Gajeel turned his head towards him. The fire mage was tapping his fingers together.

“Well, you’ve got a lot of lightning burns. Its going to hurt when I put the cream on.” the fire mage was staring at his back. Gajeel huffed.

“Doesn’t matter. Just put the stuff on and get it over with.” He turned his attention back to the bowl. The sooner he had the cream on, the sooner he could just sleep. Totomaru twisted the lid off with a muffled pop, probably using the bottom of his karate gi to do so. A couple seconds later, the cold cream touched his skin. He yelped once before stuffing one hand in his mouth. The fire mage didn’t stop, spreading the cream across each burn. He clenched his hands, every muscle tensing up.

“That’s all of them, I think. Was there any other injuries?” the fire mage leaned over so that Gajeel could see him properly. A few strands of monochrome hair had escaped from their tie, framing around his face. Gajeel groaned.

“My leg. Could ya pass my brace? I’ll need to wear it for a couple days.” he muttered. He pressed his arms against the mattress so he could push himself up to sit. The fire mage jumped down from his bunk. His footsteps echoed in the shed, followed by multiple things clanging and clashing together with the rustle of packaging.

“Found it.” the fire mage called. The brace in question soon joined him on his top bunk with a thud.

“Stop throwing shit at me. I’m busted enough as it is without having my own brace take my eye out.” he chortled, shaking his head. Totomaru scoffed.

“You’d be fine.” he waved one hand up at Gajeel with a wrist flick. The iron mage rolled his eyes, reaching for his brace. Moving his leg was difficult with the pain that followed. He tore off his now ruined trousers, tossing them off his bunk into a crumpled pile. His boots soon followed. The brace slipped on his leg with ease. He didn’t bother to tighten the straps yet. He’d just wake up with a numb leg. He could adjust them in the morning when he actually had to leave. He’d probably need to show face tomorrow because of that stupid festival they were having. Make him look like a team player. It just sounded annoying. Contests for who was the prettiest? Parades? Not for him. He’d stick to the side-lines.

“Get some sleep. You’ll need it.” Totomaru’s voice was close as he took the now empty bowl away. He scoffed but didn’t argue. He buried his face into the pillow again, closing his eyes to allow sleep to take him.

****

The wind blew against his coat, allowing the sleeves to bellow around. Laxus watched the lights below, each blinking out as the occupants closed up shop or headed off to bed.

“You wanted to see us?” someone spoke from behind. He looked over his shoulder. The three mages stood there, Freed straight-backed and alert, Evergreen with her fan up as she observed something off to the right and Bickslow with his tongue hanging out as he petted one of his little totems.

“Yes. There’s been a change in plans.” he turned around fully, pulling up to his full height that only Bickslow could beat.

“So, we aren’t doing the plan? Aw man and Freed went through so much effort to plan out some really awesome traps.” Bickslow turned to the green haired mage, poking him in the side. Laxus chuckled.

“No. The plan will still go ahead. There’s just a little alteration.” he held up his hand, fingers held close together to represent his words. The three mages looked to each other.

“Remember Gajeel Redfox?” he asked. Evergreen lowered her fan.

“You mean the draushum cirau from Phantom Lord?” she asked, one eyebrow raised. Laxus nodded.

“Didn’t he disappear after the guild disbanded? I swear I saw his face plastered on posters around the place.” Bickslow added, looking between Evergreen and Laxus.

“Well, he’s in Fairy tail now-.”

“How did you find out about that?” Evergreen squawked, staring up at him with wide eyes. Laxus huffed at getting interrupted.

“I ran into him. He was getting beat on by Levy and her two puppies. I tried to teach them a lesson, but he kept taking my attacks instead.” he looked over his shoulder, staring down at the town below. He couldn’t care less what those three wanted. Gajeel was his. The only other draushum cirau.

“So do we adjust to take his strength into account?” Freed asked, hands held together behind his back. Laxus shook his head.

“I don’t want him involved at all. While you’re setting up the traps tomorrow, find him. Do whatever you think would work to keep him at bay.” he demanded. Freed dipped his upper body.

“Of course Laxus.” he agreed. Laxus smirked.

“Good.” he turned around to look at the town below. Soon he’d have a guild and a mate. The fairy tail guild would strike fear into the hearts of its enemies when he was through. No one would say the things they did ever again.

Chapter Text

Gajeel wandered through the streets in hopes of finding something good to eat for breakfast. He would have ordered from the guild but he was getting such hard stares from the two mages that had beat on him that he preferred to just go somewhere else. His brace was tightened to give him the support he needed although it didn’t stop his limp. He just prayed to the gods that no one would notice that particular detail. He stopped at one stall, examining the food that was up for sale. Lots of autumn themed food. Corn, Pumpkins, Blackberries. The usual. Nothing he could eat for breakfast without cooking though. That was the last thing he wanted to do. The fairies didn’t exactly like him so he’d rather keep his hobbies to himself to avoid their ridicule like he did at Phantom. He turned away from the stall, lifting his head to sniff the air. Instead, he ran right into someone. He stumbled back, turning to the person.

“I do apologise. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” he didn’t recognise the guy. Long green hair, blue eyes and a pretty fancy looking coat. Red, double breasted, distinct cuffs. He had a sword holstered to the thick belt around his waist. He couldn’t think of the name for the type but he had no doubt Totomaru would know. He had a thing about swords too. He huffed, turning to step passed the guy.

“You’re Gajeel Redfox, the other draushum cirau are you not?” he froze, snapping his gaze onto the man. Where did he learn draconic. And other? Was he talking about firewood or Sparky?

“Who are you? And where did you learn those words.” he snarled. Had he met this guy before? He seemed similar. Where the hell had he seen this twig.

“My name does not concern you. However if it is of any comfort, I am not your enemy. We are in the same guild after all.” he lifted his hand, showing off the Fairy tail mark on the back that matched the shade of his hair. He stared at it. Wait. Wasn’t this the guy with those other two mages he’d ran into with sparky four years ago?

“Aren’t you that brat with the two friends who mocked me?” he grumbled. He’d better keep his spines down if he didn’t want the twig to blab to Makarov. The guy dipped his head, hands clasped together.

“I do apologise for my comrades. They can be rather abrasive at times.” he stood straight once more, making eye contact. That was a shock. There weren’t many in the guild who would willingly hold eye contact. The s-class mages, Makarov and a couple of the others would. Then here this guy was with no hint of mistrust or anger towards him. He had to be insane or some other weird shit.

“Yeah whatever. Look, I have things to do so if you don’t mind.” he broke eye contact first, looking behind the mage. Perhaps he’d just go eat some scraps at the guild. The mage placed a hand on his arm.

“Of course.” he nodded. His hand flicked upward.

“Dark Ecriture-.” The rest was too quiet to hear correctly. He narrowed his eyes at the mage. He just turned away, walking off through the streets and getting lost in the crowd. Gajeel felt his spines quiver. Something didn’t feel right about that. He turned around with a huff. Whatever, he had other things to do than tail some weird fairy. He approached the guild hall. He could have probably heard what was going on in there from the other side of Magnolia considering how loud they were cheering. He pushed the doors open, poking his head through the opening. Everyone was distracted, looking at the stage. He stepped in, cocking his head to see what everyone was focusing on. Mira was there, her magic sending out pink clouds. He raised one eyebrow, watching the stage. She waved her hands around her head before it popped up in a mimic of his own. She giggled in a voice that was a mix of her own and his. He almost choked on the air he was breathing. Well screw this. He wasn’t going to stick around if they were making fun of him. He looked around, picking out Totomaru. He was separate from the crowd, leaning against the bar. He walked over. The fire mage looked to him.

“Where have you been? You missed Juvs on stage.” he shook his head, staring up towards the event. Gajeel grabbed his wrist, dragging him to the kitchen.

“I was tryin’ to find food but some fairy interrupted me.” he huffed. He released Totomaru’s wrist and pulled open the cutlery drawer.

“Should you really be raiding the cutlery drawer? Won’t you get in trouble for that?” the fire mage had his hands on his hips. Gajeel snorted.

“Well, they should get special cutlery like Master had. I’m hungry. Not my fault that they swapped out wood and shells for metal while I was with Metalicana.” he huffed, picking up a spoon and shoving it in his mouth. Totomaru rolled his eyes.

“I have no idea where you came from. Cutlery has been metal for decades.” he shook his head, walking over to the fridge. He pulled the door open and examined the contents within. Gajeel scoffed.

“I know what I saw dumbass. My opsola used them all the time with his plants.” he crunched down on the spoon, swallowing the chunks.

“Yeah whatever.” he shook his head, pulling out a container from the fridge. He snorted.

“Wouldn’t touch that one. Smells like old eggs” he chuckled when the fire mage tossed the container back in the fridge, mouth twisted in disgust.

“See this is why I have you cook. You know more about this stuff than I do.” he walked over, staring at the open cutlery drawer. Gajeel shook his head.

“Just admit that you don’t know how.” he reached out, ruffling the younger mage’s hair with one hand. He was swatted at by the other. He shrugged it off and turned to one of the cabinets. He could smell something good in there. He pulled open the doors and low and behold, piles of dishes made exclusively out of metal.

“Jackpot.” he smirked, reaching in and grabbing one. Totomaru leaned over his shoulder.

“Why would they need dishes made out of metal?” he picked one up himself, examining it. Gajeel smirked.

“Probably cause they get into fights so often that it was gettin expensive to keep replacin em.” he chuckled, taking a bite out of the plate in his hand.

“I don’t think they’d appreciate you snacking on them if that’s the case.” he shook his head, pressing one finger to the jagged teeth marks along the plate. He shrugged.

“Well then they should make em out of rock instead.” he chuckled, sinking his teeth into the metal and ripping another chunk off. His ears tingled at the loud crash and bangs that were coming from the main room.

“What the hell is that all about?” Totomaru asked, looking towards the door.

“Don’t know and don’t care.” he shrugged, continuing to chomp on the plate. Totomaru leaned out of the door to the kitchen, looking towards the stage. He stumbled back in.

“Its that lightning mage. The S-class one.” he turned to Gajeel. The iron mage dropped the plate, eyes blowing up to the size of saucers.

“Shit.” he stumbled back, pressing against the wall.

“Don’t let him know I’m here.” he hissed, scales prickling against his skin. Totomaru leaned against the wall next to the door, watching the happenings in the main hall. Another loud crash. Followed with screams, shouts and then footsteps. Totomaru turned to him.

“He’s gone. Along with almost the entire guild.” Gajeel raised a studded brow.

“Who’s left?” he asked, leaning forward on his hands.

“Makarov, the cat and salamander.” he turned to look at Gajeel.

“So, he just showed up then left?” he raised a brow. That was…. Odd. He would have thought the lightning dragon would have come looking for him or done something other than show up then leave. Totomaru shrugged. No idea. Gajeel picked up the two dishes laying on the floor. If sparky showed up again then he’d need the strength. He stalked forward to the other room, keeping behind the bar.

“This isn’t fair. I want to fight Laxus too. I could totally beat him.” the fire dragon whined.

“These brats are being foolish. They’ll wipe themselves out. Then who will be left to beat Laxus.” Makarov grumbled, looking at the doorway. Gajeel raised a brow. He lifted his head, about to say something when a flash in front of him prevented that. He looked up. He almost jumped out of his skin. Laxus. The lightning mage chuckled.

“Quite a shame there isn’t it. All your little fairies taking each other out.” Gajeel sent a glare towards the projection sat atop the bar. He flicked one eye to look at the iron mage and smirked. Gajeel’s spines quivered.

“Well Gray could beat you.” Happy piped in, pointing to the projection. Laxus cackled.

“You mean him.” the mage pointed to words that floated in the middle of the doorway. The current words read ‘Gray VS Bickslow. Winner Bickslow’. Happy bristled.

“That’s not fair. You cheated. You had to have used some dirty trick.” Happy yelled, pointing at Laxus who smirked with one cocked eyebrow. Natsu huffed and crossed his arms.

“Well Gajeel and that fire guy are still in the game right? Maybe I could eat some of that fire and get out of here.” Natsu stared at the barrier. Gajeel looked to Totomaru who was crouched next to him, eyeing up the projection. Laxus laughed.

Gajeel won’t be playing. I made sure of that. As for the other phantom. He clearly doesn’t want to play if he isn’t getting involved.” Laxus turned straight towards the two of them, Totomaru shot up.

“How did you-.”

“You weren’t exactly very subtle, sticking your head out the kitchen door.” he turned his gaze to the spot where Gajeel was. He didn’t lift his head, instead shoving the remaining chunk of the first plate in his mouth.

“Times ticking old man. Hand the guild over to me or the girls get reduced to dust. Its your choice.” the projection disappeared. Gajeel growled and stood up, taking a bite out of the second plate.

“You are here.” Happy spoke up. Then his ears fell flat.

“Why are you eating the dishes?” he stared at the plate in hand. Gajeel jumped onto the bar counter, one hand spread out flat on the surface while the other held the plate he continued to munch.

“Told you they wouldn’t be happy about you eating their plates and spoons.” Totomaru pushed himself to sit on the counter, looking over his shoulder at the other mages.

“This is perfect. You two might actually stand a chance against Laxus and his team.” Makarov spoke up, looking to the two mages. Gajeel perked up, his dragon buzzing beneath his skin. He pressed against his good leg, ready to jump to the floor. Then something flooded his veins and his dragon quietened down with little but a whine.

“I dunno. Don’t feel like it.” he mumbled, adverting his gaze to the ground.

“I’m sorry what? You don’t feel like it. Since when do you not want to go all territorial and shit.” Totomaru looked at him, eyebrows raised to his hairline.

“I said I dunno. Just got a weird feelin is all.” he mumbled, pulling on the cuff of his sleeve. Makarov looked to him with a scowl.

“At least try.” he looked to the dragon who tilted his head. He sighed but got off the bar, approaching the doorway. Instead of walking right through like he’d done earlier, he ran into a wall.

“What the-?” he backed up, looking towards the purple lettering that disappeared after he was no longer touching it.

“Don’t tell me your over 80 too.” Natsu snapped, balling his fists together at his hips. Gajeel spun around to stare the fire dragon down.

“Do I look 80 to you?” he snarled, bashing his head against Natsu.

“How am I supposed to know? Maybe you use some weird aging magic. You trying to trick me.” Natsu snipped, staring Gajeel right in the eye.

“Yeah right. I ain’t usin’ any kind of magic like that.” he reached up and pulled on Natsu’s ear.

“Oh yeah. Then what age are you?” Natsu challenged, crossing his arms.

“I’m 20 firewood.” he grumbled, pulling away from the fire mage. Natsu huffed, hunching his shoulders. Makarov turned to Totomaru.

“What about you? I’m sure you can handle one of the thunder legion.” Makarov encouraged. Totomaru turned to the ground, pulling on a strand of hair that framed his face.

“I don’t know. I’ve heard stories of this Laxus, and he sounds pretty strong and-.” he trailed off looking to Gajeel. He flicked his eyes over the iron mage with a knowing look. Gajeel stepped forward, placing one hand on Totomaru’s shoulder.

“And yer ‘the great flame’. Need I remind ya that yer just as strong now as ya were in Phantom.” Gajeel encouraged.

“Yeah but-.” Totomaru’s gaze flicked towards Natsu, free hand clutching at the hem of his karate gi.

“Wasn’t that fight just the two of ya bein’ petty with each other till ya got knocked into the Jupiter canon then frozen?” he raised a brow. Totomaru opened his mouth only to close it again. He let out a breath.

“Alright. I’ll try.” he stepped forward, easily passing through the barrier. He turned around to look at the mages still in the guild hall. Gajeel gave a thumbs up.

“Good luck. I’ll be rootin’ for ya.” he encouraged. Totomaru nodded to him before turning around and making his way through the streets of magnolia.

“Aww. You care about him.” Happy giggled, holding his paws to his mouth and kicking his legs. Gajeel reached out, grabbing the blue cat’s tail and pulling him close.

“Keep runnin’ yer mouth and you’ll be my dinner.” he snarled, staring the cat straight in the eye. Happy yelped, pulling his tail free and flying to hide behind Natsu. The fire mage bristled.

“I won’t let you eat Happy.” Natsu growled. Makarov turned to look at the two boys. Gajeel rolled his eyes.

“Relax. I’ll just find some rat nest or somethin. Perhaps I can find a decently sized bird flyin around once this is over.” he held one hand up to his mouth. He enjoyed the larger birds the most since they’d last a few days’ worth of meals. Especially if he tossed it in with other food. However he could handle smaller birds along with rats and mice if he needed to. Jose was all too keen to have him around as the guild ratter since he didn’t want any cats running around. Something about being allergic and generally disliking them. Good thing he’d never found out about the strays that Gajeel fed in the back alleys behind the guild.

“Hey look.” Happy pointed to the lettering that floated in the door. New words had popped up. Gajeel stared.

“Totomaru vs Freed: ongoing.” Natsu read aloud, furrowing his brows at the words. Gajeel forced down a lump in his throat. He hoped Totomaru hadn’t got caught in some trap like this one. That was all he could do at that moment in time.

Chapter 12

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Totomaru kept one hand on the hilt of his katana, flicking his attention to even the slightest movement. Anyone he passed from the guild had been taken out, lying scattered across the ground. He looked over his shoulder for a sign of something following him. The path behind him was empty with not even a bystander walking up towards the East forest. He turned to the path ahead. He froze, staring at the man who now stood before him. Totomaru straightened, his gaze never leaving the green haired mage.

“I’m going to assume that you are one of the thunder legion.” he kept his voice even. The man looked him up and down.

“And you’re one of the former mages from Phantom Lord.” he responded, one hand clasped above the handle of his rapier. Totomaru’s eyes knit together.

“My former guild has nothing to do with this.” he narrowed his eyes, flicking his gaze to the surrounding area.

“It has everything to do with this.” he didn’t elaborate. He had also yet to move from his current position. Totomaru bent down, reaching for a small rock on the ground. He tossed it towards the green haired mage. It missed without him having to dodge and bounced onto the ground behind.

“You are resigning to throwing rocks at me?” he looked over his shoulder to the rock that sat alone on the ground. Totomaru swung his hand behind him, fingers brushing against purple lettering. He turned back to smirk at the mage.

“I figured. You stood there for far too long without attacking me. It was far to suspicious.” he pushed a couple loose strands of hair behind his ear.

“Impressive. You’re the first to come against me that actually noticed the trap. I was expecting you to attack me with your fire with no hesitation.” he stayed in the same position. Totomaru drew his katana, pointing it towards the other.

“Now, is that rapier just for show or can you actually use it?” he challenged, hand clutching the hilt of his katana. Freed wrapped his hand around the handle of his rapier, drawing it from its holder.

“You may have outsmarted me for a moment but you will fall to my hands.” he studied Totomaru, both not moving. Totomaru leapt forward first, aiming for Freed’s leg with a slash. Freed reached his rapier down, guarding from the attack. He then used the strength in his dominant arm to push the katana back. Totomaru slid across the gravel, dust swirling around his feet. He held up his katana, catching the strike that was swung at him by Freed. He twisted his hand under his arm, slashing along Freed’s which ripped through his coat and sliced a thin cut the size of his blade along his lower arm. Freed stepped back, holding his rapier vertically in front of his torso.

“I see you aren’t lacking in skills either.” Freed wiped against the slice in his arm. Some blood was staining the white shirt beneath his coat. Totomaru held his sword up, guarding his face from any possible attacks. Freed smoothed one hand over the front of his coat.

“But you all keep forgetting one crucial detail.” he adds on. His hair shifted with a sudden gust of wind and a deep purple glow surrounded the other’s eye. Totomaru widened his stance.

I make the rules.” The wind within the enchantment picked up, leaving both members clothes to flutter.

“Dark ecriture: Pain” he swiped his sword towards the other mage. Totomaru held his stance, grip tightening on the hilt with his eyes closed. When nothing happened for a second, he cracked one open. A purple glow that matched the colour of his opponent’s eye lit up his chest. Before he could register what else was happening, all his nerves lit up with pain. He screamed, the sound echoing through the empty hills. Freed stood over him, watching as the fire mage collapsed to his knees. He dropped his katana, instead reaching up to grab at his chest where the pain was spreading from. He fell forward, dust clouds puffing up around him as he finally fell to the ground. Freed watched him for a couple of seconds before releasing the spell. Totomaru went still, the only movement being the rise and fall of his chest.

“You were a formidable opponent. If not for my Dark ecriture than I can only imagine what potential you had. Perhaps Laxus will be willing to let you stay.” he spoke to the unconscious fire mage. He then turned on his heel and walked away.

 

Gajeel looked at the words that showed up underneath the previous ‘Erza vs Evergreen’ and he stiffened.

“Totomaru vs Freed: Victor Freed.” Happy read aloud. His ears fell back.

“Oh no. I thought maybe he might last a bit longer against Freed,” the cat spoke. Gajeel growled. It was cut short into a whine by an overwhelming flooding of his nerves.

“I bet Freed used some nasty trick like that fancy eye he has.” Natsu huffed with crossed arms. More words appeared amongst the letters. As if it were a cue, all the girls on the stage behind them were freed from their stone prisons.

“Lucy! You’re back.” Happy cried, flying towards the blond and pressing up against her. The celestial mage pet Happy on the head, watching the little cat. Gajeel crossed his arms and turned his gaze towards the wall. He jolted when a sharp spike like a needle shot through his left arm. He reached up to rub at the spot that had been pricked. Natsu and Makarov had both approached the girls now. Gajeel decided to stay near the door. They wouldn’t want him to be nearby anyway. He looked down at his hands where his scales were clumping together and his nails curving black. He hid his hands under his arms and against his side. The last thing he needed was one of them noticing his hands and asking questions. Or worse, freaking out.

“What are you doing over there? Come join us?” Natsu called, waving his arm around above his head. Gajeel rolled his eyes and turned to look away. Gajeel raised one studded eyebrow. Just because the fire mage wanted him over didn’t mean the girls did. He turned to look at the wall again. He could hear footsteps approach and stop in front of him. He turned his head to look. Juvia took a rough grip of his bicep and started dragging him towards the group.

“Juvia isn’t going to let Gajeel be grumpy like usual. He should enjoy himself.” she scolded him like she wasn’t the younger one and he didn’t have both the ability and the opportunity to rip her throat to pieces. She stopped next to the group, letting go of his arm.

“Gajeel’s just being his usual self. He won’t bite.” she waves her hand towards the other girls. The brunette leaned in.

“Aww, big brother has a soft spot.” she teased. She flicked her eyes down to his arms.

“You could rival a ton of the guys in the guild in strength alone. Check out these puppies.” she tantalized, running fingers along the muscle. He flinched, sinking a tooth into the flesh of his bottom lip. She was pulled away by the green haired girl.

“Don’t mind her. She doesn’t have a sense of boundaries.” she was looking at Cana before turning to look at Gajeel once more.

“I’m surprised you haven’t left the guild yet. Thought you’d be eager to fight Laxus” she added on, looking towards the door.

“Unfortunately both Gajeel and Natsu have been unable to pass through the barrier that Freed put up. I’m not sure how. Neither are stone or over 80 but perhaps it’s a glitch with Freed’s magic.” Makarov sighed, pinching his nose.

“Yeah. Plus, Gajeel’s been acting really weird. Haven’t you metal brain?” Natsu wavered at the end sentence. Gajeel snarled, lip drawn back to expose his fangs at Natsu. He got another flood of his nerves, and he turned his head away, lowering his lip once more.

“See.” Natsu gestured to the iron mage, one hand fiddling with the dragon on the necklace.

“Is Gajeel feeling alright?” Juvia asked, leaning in to examine his face. He huffed.

“Yeah. Just been getting weird feelins since I ran into some guy. Didn’t give me his name but I know who he is” he ran his claws over the scale patched skin of his upper arm.

“Some guy? Gajeel who did you run into?” Makarov asked. Gajeel looked down at the guild master.

“I dunno his name but he’s one of sparky’s. I ran into them all four years ago. That’s when I bit Sparky.” he got several stares.

“Well in my defence, I thought he was back up for the dark guild I had taken out. He didn’t say he was from a legal guild so how was I supposed to know.” he chastised with crossed arms. Makarov shook his head.

“Back on topic. What did the guy look like?” Gajeel raised an eyebrow.

“What guy?” he tilted his head. He got several exasperated groans from the girls. He did his best to hide a smirk.

“The one you ran into this morning.” Makarov looked at him with an unimpressed gleam. Gajeel rolled his eyes.

“Well, ya need to be more specific next time. I’ve seen plenty of guys today. There’s one right there.” he pointed towards Natsu who blinked, staring at Gajeel with blank eyes.

“Describe the guy you ran into this morning.” Makarov rephrased.

“Well, he was real fancy. Big old fancy red coat and a sword to boot. Don’t know the exact name. That’s more Toto’s expertise but it did have a fancy version of the guild mark on the hilt. Oh and he had a huge amount of green hair that he had tied back and his guild mark matched it on his hand.” he described the man.

“That would be Freed. You said you’ve been feeling strange since you ran into him?” Makarov raised one thick eyebrow. Gajeel nodded. Makarov turned to Levy.

“Levy, could you check for any sign of Freed’s enchantments?” he asks. The girl nods, stepping forward. She eyed up Gajeel, refusing to make eye contact. She reached to the arm that had been pricked earlier, running her eyes across it. She reached for the cuff of his shirt, pulling it up. Below the fabric was dark purple lettering across his skin, golden symbols battling against the purple. Levy stepped back, staring at the magic.

“So that’s what Laxus meant. He had Freed use his magic on you.” Makarov stared at the door, his brows furrowed together as he shook his head.

“I don’t think that’s just any old runes. I think it’s his Dark ecriture. I can’t rewrite that.” Levy spoke up, hand up to her mouth.

“Hey. That’s what I heard him say when he swiped his hand along my arm.” he pointed one clawed finger towards Levy. The girl flinched at the sight of the black nails. He quickly pulled his hands behind his back and ducked his head.

“I didn’t mean to frighten you. They do that sometimes. I have no control over it.” he didn’t make eye contact with the girl.

“Right. Well, I think the only way to get that off would be to get Freed to remove it himself. Until then, you’re stuck with it.” she turned to look at the other girls.

“Well now that we’re all free, Laxus can’t continue this so Freed’ll give up soon too” Cana shrugged, leaning on the edge of the stage.

“Yeah well he’ll be answerin to my fists if Totomaru is hurt too bad.” he grumbled, crossing his arms. His nerves were flooded once more, and his shoulders sagged. He opened his mouth to add something on when the letters in the doorway began moving. Of course, because his day couldn’t get any worse now, could it?

Notes:

Ha. Can you guess who my favs are yet?
But I couldn't not have a Totomaru vs Freed battle. It did force me to look up some information on sword fighting but I enjoyed writing the fight itself. I love both just as much as I love Rufus (If you read the later chapters or even the tags you'll know)

Chapter 13

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Gajeel’s nose twitched when he caught the scent of singed flesh. He stepped up close to the cathedral’s door. Laxus had kicked Natsu back and was now charging up a lightning attack. A snarl bubbled in the iron mage’s throat. He leapt forward, racing towards the fire mage. He had yet to be noticed through the blinding light, even as he grabbed onto Natsu’s scarf and leapt out of the way of the attack only a split second before it hit the ground that he’d occupied. He reached out, black claws curving around a single rung of the banister as his feet planted along the bottom to balance himself. His dragon was snarling and spitting, trying desperately to claw its way to the surface like attacking Natsu had personally offended it.

“Ha. Looks like we know who’s the strongest now”. the lightning mage laughed, staring at the cracked stone. Gajeel raised one brow when the silence led the blond to laugh further.

“I guess you can’t really answer that since you’re dead.” his smile was wide, fangs on show. Gajeel huffed.

“Is that anyway to treat your friends?” he scolded, eyeing the other dragon kind with a narrowed eye. Laxus turned to look up at him, eyes shooting up to his hairline. Natsu twisted in his grip, looking under his own arms up towards him.

“Gajeel?” he asked, looking at the iron mage. Gajeel leapt down, landing on his left leg before placing his right down. Natsu still hung by his scarf in his grip. He tossed the fire mage to the ground, not even turning to look when the slayer yelped from the impact with the jagged ground.

“What? How? You should be back at the guild hall.” Laxus snarled, a few sparks filling the air around him. Gajeel tilted his head to the side, cracking his neck.

“Well, I don’t have that dumb spell on me anymore. I ain’t too happy about that.” he grumbled, rolling his left arm back. Natsu pushed himself up.

“Hey. Stay out of this. He’s mine.” Natsu growled, looking over to Gajeel. The iron mage turned his head enough to look at Natsu.

“Last time I checked, it was my scales he was after, not yours.” he grumbled. His dragon screeched and his scales broke through the skin above them. He bit back the snarl in his throat. He had to fix this or he might not be able to stop himself from sinking his teeth into the lightning dragon’s neck. That would certainly get him kicked out. Makarov would not approve of him mutilating his grandson. He took one step back, looking around for somewhere to lay low for a minute or two. Nothing. Some of the seats of the cathedral had been uprooted, left broken against the windows. The rest were too close to the actual fray for him to rein his dragon in. If he wanted to control his dragon now then he might have to bring his scales out himself. Natsu jumped forward, his fist coated in flames. Laxus took the hit, smile ever present.

“What’s wrong? That all you got?” Laxus chuckled, grabbing Natsu’s wrist and using it to throw the fire mage back. Gajeel ducked behind one of the still standing benches. If this situation was taken care of quick enough then he could just say that his change was a power up or some other shit. Surely no one would question that. He pressed all 5 fingers over the source of the spell which also happened to be above his heart. Whoever cast it must have thought they were real funny doing that. Golden symbols spread across his skin, giving a soft glow. The one gripe he had. It wasn’t subtle at all. The magic circle popped up, spinning slowly. He reached up, moving the select symbols across the magic circle to sit in new positions. When he’d moved the final symbol, the circle shifted from the soft gold to a vibrant silver. The symbols across his skin shifted to match the colour. He winced when his bones cracked and snapped, shifting back into place. He pressed one hand on the tile, silver scales replacing his tan skin. He took a deep breath, using that to steady himself.

Crash.

His head snapped up to look. Natsu had been thrown back, his back connecting with one of the benches. Gajeel snarled, tail lashing back and forth. He looked towards Laxus who stepped forward, eyes focused on Natsu. His eyes were flashing once more. Gajeel pressed against all four limbs and pushed forward. He slammed into the lightning dragon, sending both of them to the ground with a thump. One of Gajeel’s wings was spread out, smacking into his face and the other spread flat across his own back. Laxus was stunned, blinking a couple times to regain his composure. Gajeel parted his jaws, using the shock as an opportunity to sink his fangs into Laxus. He dug down in the others left arm, the flesh collapsing beneath his teeth with ease. This pulled Laxus from his shock. He pushed his free hand into Gajeel’s face, fingers curling around the iron dragon’s lips to pull his jaws free from his own arm. Gajeel snarled, forcing more strength into his jaws. His teeth broke through muscle. Laxus raised his free hand to his mouth to hold in any noise. He tried to pull his arm back, stumbling over his feet so he could stand. Gajeel gave one final bout of strength, crunching down on the bone within. Laxus couldn’t hide the scream that time as he scrambled desperately to get his arm free. Gajeel lifted his good leg, kicking Laxus in the chest before letting go and scurrying back a good few feet. He kept his body dipped low while his back remained arched so his spines pointed towards the threat. Laxus stumbled to his feet, clutching tightly onto his injured arm. The bite spread across his lower arm, caked in blood. Gajeel swiped at the blood that surely coated his lips. Natsu stumbled to his side, staring at the sticky liquid that dripped onto the floor of the cathedral. Laxus lifted one hand up to his face, trying to hide the lower half behind his hand while his foot shifted back and forth in a half circle.

“What’s his problem?” Natsu looked towards Gajeel. The dragon kind sniffed, reaching one hand to cover his own nose. Not the smell he was expecting when he bit someone. He was used to fear or anger. But this?

“Don’t ask.” he grumbled, deciding that if Natsu didn’t already know what that smell was then he didn’t need to be told. He could give the lightning dragon that much privacy at least. Laxus snarled, sharp eyes staring straight at Natsu. The fire mage blinked, taking one step back.

“How about I let you in on a little secret.” he chuckled, smiling wide enough for his fangs to be on display. Natsu braced himself.

“I haven’t told anyone because I really hate the old man’s lectures…. But I think I can trust the two of you.” he had a smoothness to his voice that he’d been lacking before. Natsu turned to look at him.

“What’s he talking about?” Natsu looked towards Gajeel, one brow raised. Gajeel swished his tail, the plates reverberating.

“He’s draushum cirau.” Gajeel didn’t move his eyes from Laxus.

“He’s what?” Natsu was yelling over the loud crackling that was filling the air and leaving his ears numb.

“Draushum cirau. Dragon kind. Like us.” he stepped back when a bolt of lightning struck the ground right where he’d stood. Natsu snapped his gaze onto the lightning mage.

“He’s a dragon slayer?!” Natsu yelled, staring wide eyed at Laxus. The lightning mage was now adorning golden scales, lightning flickering beneath the scales. His ears had gained more of a deer like appearance, soft gold scales fading to a cloudy white while the inside held a dark grey while a long piece of white tuft fell from the base of each. A single horn rose from just above his temple amongst the hair, the base a dark black that faded to that cloudy white of the tips of his ears. His fingernails had sharped, now forming white points at the end of scaled fingers. The scales ran up his arms, reaching across his sides and up the sides of his face.

“Not quite.” Laxus still had that milky soft voice, a purr buried beneath it. He took one step forward, cracking his fingers with a flex to show the sharp nails on the tips.

“You’d be more accurate to say Draushum cirau.” he added, narrowed pupils focusing on the two mages before him. Gajeel huffed out.

“I already said that but go off I guess.” he grumbled, flicking his tail. His ears were twitching and his spines quivering. He stepped in front of Natsu, pulling up onto to his legs so that his entire body including his wings were shielding the younger.

“I can take care of myself.” Natsu snapped, stepping away from Gajeel. Gajeel opened his mouth to object but a crash of lightning hitting the fire slayer cut him off. Remaining sparks snapped at Gajeel’s scales. He stepped away from them, pressing curved claws against his arms. A scaled hand wrapped around his wrist, pulling him close and he was pressed up against the lightning mage. He blinked. He hadn’t even heard the mage move from his previous position. Gajeel’s body pressed against the other. His dragon grew more rampant, thundering against his soul. Gajeel’s gaze flicked to the exposed flesh of the lightning mage’s throat, watching the slight pulsing of his veins and the beat of his heart in his ears. He parted his jaws, neck tense in preparation to strike. His eyes focused down on the point of strike. His neck snapped forward, ready to clamp down on the lightning mage. His body was jerked back and his jaws snapped on air. He stumbled, falling to the ground. He groaned, reaching up to rub at his eyes. He jolted when Natsu skidded on the ground next to him.

“I’ll just get rid of all of you in one go.” Laxus yelled. He held up his hands, the air around them stilling as all the ethernano in the air drew towards him. Gajeel’s muscles tensed.

“That’s the spell that defeated Master Jose.” he breathed out, pressing against his hands. Laxus laughed.

“Nice call gra'kul. This will ensure my victory.” he yelled, the concentrated ethernano increasing further. Gajeel stumbled back, his dragon tucking its tail. He had to get away. Where that spell wouldn’t strike.

“Laxus. Stop.” someone called from the doors of the cathedral. Gajeel looked over his shoulder where the entrance was. The blue haired fairy.

“Its Makarov. He’s dying. Please. Stop this and see him one last time.” she was pleading, leaning against the door frame. The spell wavered, the ethernano levels surrounding the lightning mage increasing then falling once more. Then it spiked tenfold.

“Let the old man die. That just means the guild will fall to me.” he yelled. The light engulfed the cathedral, forcing Gajeel to close his eyes. His claws sunk into the ground, bracing himself for something although not knowing what.

“What? Why didn’t it work?” Gajeel snapped his eyes open. He was still on the ground of the cathedral. In one piece. He turned to Laxus who was just as baffled as he was.

“Everyone is unharmed. Fairy law didn’t work.” Gajeel looked towards the person who had spoken. Freed. Who was in a worse state than any of them were with destroyed clothes and dishevelled hair. He was now leaning against the door frame. Laxus stared at the mage.

“Fairy law didn’t touch anyone because it saw what was in your heart.” he added on. Gajeel stumbled to his feet, keeping one eye on Laxus. The lightning slayer’s breathing picked up, getting heavier by the second. Then he released a roar so loud, Gajeel was convinced it would rip his vocal cords to shreds. Lightning shook the entire building, raising from the ground to snap at the people surrounding it. Gajeel took stock in front of the blue fairy, spreading his wings so that the lightning would hit his feathers and fizzle amongst them. The lightning dragon crashed through the roof of the cathedral, the lightning following and soon after, Natsu. Freed stumbled on his feet, teetering to the side where he almost fell. Gajeel grabbed his arm, holding him on his feet. He pushed the green haired mage towards his guild mate.

“Stay there.” he ordered. Both opened their mouths, clearly having something to say to his order. He didn’t give them the chance, spreading his wings to their full 7ft wingspan and pushing up into the air. He flapped his wings to gain height. He pulled them close when he reached the broken ceiling so that he could fit through without catching his wings on broken tiles and splintered metal. He came to a still on the roof, dropping to his feet on the uneven curve of the roof. Laxus stood on the other end, building up another attack that was directed towards Natsu. Gajeel ran forward, pushing the fire slayer to the ground and taking the lightning into his own scales. He bit his lip to hold in the scream. Laxus pulled his arm back, ceasing the attack. Gajeel stumbled for a second, his vision white. He drew in the scents around him, focusing on the sweet pungent scent and leaping towards it. His claws found flesh and he sunk them in, gripping tightly onto what he held. Something hard smacked against the side of his head and he slumped over, his body not responding as it rolled down the curve of the roof. He felt air hit his body once he’d left the roof.

CRACK.

He coughed upon the impact. That had to be at least 3 ribs surely. He didn’t try to move in case it made things worse. He could hear footsteps near, and he tilted his head to look. The bluenette kneeled down next to him.

“Are you alright?” she asked, one hand hovering over his arm. He groaned.

“Not the worst I’ve gotten but I’ve been better” he winced when the smallest of breaths hurt. Perhaps he’d broken a lot more than 3 ribs. The rumble of thunder had started to die down and he could no longer see the flashes of lightning that clashed with raging fire. A triumphant roar replaced it and Gajeel felt a swell of pride in his chest, his dragon mimicking with a purr of its own. Levy had a smile on her face while Freed kneeled down next to him as well. He refused to make eye contact with Gajeel, only dipping his head to the other mage. Gajeel scoffed but didn’t speak. He would rather stay silent unless it called for it. More footsteps were approaching and soon Natsu was stumbling next to them, clutching onto his left arm. Gajeel lifted his head to look for the lightning dragon. Said mage was walking in the opposite direction of the group.

“Wolius.” he barked, leaning against one of his hands so he could push himself up. The blond stopped in his tracks but didn’t turn around.

“You’d be better seein’ the old hag about that bite than lickin’ it yerself. Bite marks don’t close up as easily.” he kept the authoritative voice. He wasn’t about to let a fellow dragon kind die from an infected bite he gave. Especially seeing as Makarov was likely to bring up the first time he’d bit Laxus later so for him to find out it happened again was not going to end well. Laxus looked over his shoulder. Gajeel nodded his head towards the group, inviting Laxus over. The older dragon approached, still standing a slight distance away from them all. Even Freed. If anything happened between them then he wasn’t aware of it. Right now what mattered was getting the entire group back to the guild hall to be patched up. Laxus leaned his head down, opening his mouth but not speaking. Gajeel turned to Levy and Freed.

“Hey shrimp. Help him get back to the guild. We’ll be fine.” he nodded his head in the direction of the guild. Her features fell into a scowl and her hands on her hips as she stared at him. She gave up after a few seconds and leaned in to Freed, lifting one arm over her arm. Gajeel took note that there was blood present on the shirt there. Levy led the limping Freed away from the group. Gajeel waited till he was sure they were out of earshot. Then he turned to Laxus.

“Look. Can the two of you… not tell gramps or the guild about…”

“How you’re draushum cirau.” Gajeel finished the sentence. Laxus lifted his head slightly but didn’t make eye contact.

“Yeah. I can keep a secret. What about you firewood?” Gajeel looked towards Natsu who was flicking his gaze between him and Laxus.

“I guess. Don’t know why you wouldn’t want to tell them you use dragon magic but whatever” he grumbled, hunching his shoulders. Gajeel snorted, raising his nose up. His ears twitched at a quite clink that filled the quiet. He looked down. Sitting on the ground next to him was one of his scales. He blinked.

“Ah shit. And I wanted to avoid an early shedding too” he groaned, flopping back onto the stone below.

Notes:

Yes I did completely redo Laxus' power up form (I will refer to it as Dragon force from now on) because I didn't like it. I also like the concept of the dragon slayers with cute ears so I couldn't not do it. I actually finished a sketch of what it would look like (In class again where my lecturer saw me drawing it and I was so awkward) Dragon force Laxus sketch

Chapter Text

“You wanted to speak with me?” Makarov sat with his hands held together in his lap. He looked up towards Gajeel who sported his own fair share of bandages.

“You are in quite the state my boy.” Makarov looked over the iron mage. He had his arms and torso wrapped tightly in bandages along with the right half of his face and a bandage wrapped around his forehead. He was leaning his right arm on a crutch that was supporting him while his leg was swaddled in a cast.

“I’ve had worse.” he shrugged, picking at the plastic of his crutch. Makarov sighed, pressing his eyes closed.

“Have you found anything on Ivan?” he asked, looking towards the ground. Gajeel straightened.

“Right. I’m still finding out where the guild hall is but this is about Laxus more than him.” Gajeel made eye contact with Makarov.

“What about him?” Makarov’s voice was strained but his expression never moving.

“You can’t kick him out. Laxus is- Ivan is expecting it and the moment you do he plans on grabbing both him and his team.” Gajeel stepped forward, leaning heavily on the crutch.

“Laxus has put many lives in danger. He can not go unpunished.” Makarov’s eyebrows knitted together as he looked at Gajeel.

“Yes, I know. Do something that means he’ll learn his lesson but don’t let Ivan get his hands on him. Fuck, I’ll take the severity of his punishment even.” Gajeel resisted the urge to scratch at his arms. He’d already been scolded by Porlyusica for doing as much before he’d been patched up. She’d throttle him if she learned he did it after she’d patched him up too. Makarov raised one eyebrow.

“What exactly do you think I am going to do?” he looked over Gajeel, focusing intently on the other’s face. Gajeel swallowed hard.

“I dunno. Shock him, beat him, rip out his teeth and scal- skin.” he lowered his head to avoid making eye contact with Makarov. Surely something of this severity warranted that kind of punishment. Master Jose had done them when he talked back. Makarov shook his head.

“I am not sure what you could have possibly done to deserve such treatment but we do not do that here.” Makarov pushed himself off the bed. Gajeel stepped back to give the man space. He stood there, not speaking. The only thing Gajeel could hear was the slightly muffled conversations of the other guild members outside and the repetitive drip of the sink in the room next door. Makarov sighed.

“Alright. I have considered it and have decided what I will do.” He looked up towards the iron mage.

“But Gajeel.” The dragon looked down at Makarov, tapping his finger on the crutch.

“If Laxus or the thunder legion pull a stunt like this again then I will hold you accountable.” he made direct eye contact. Gajeel nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“I’m glad we both understand. Now come on. Its about time we put them out of their misery and issue their punishment.” Makarov walked past him, using his magic to extend his arm so he could open the door. Gajeel followed at a slower pace, partially because of his leg and partially because he was nervous to find out what Makarov would possibly do to the four mages. Stepping into the light of the main hall, the chatter had died down. Now only the occasional cough and many different breathing patterns filled his ears. All eyes were on Makarov who stood in front of Laxus and his team.

“Laxus. I hope you realise that what you did today is unacceptable.” he scolded. The lightning mage lowered his head, the thick furred coat nowhere in sight and his left arm bandaged and held in a sling.

“Yes. I understand-.” Laxus stood up, his right foot pivoting towards the door.

“Sit back down boy.” Makarov scolded. Laxus sat back down, eyebrows raised to his hairline.

“I have talked with Natsu, Gajeel, Levy and Freed about what transpired at the cathedral and have thought long and hard about this.” The thunder legion looked to Laxus before each of them looked to different parts of the guild hall. Evergreen looked towards the table a couple of the girls were sat at, Bickslow towards the table Natsu’s team was sat at and Freed looked towards the bar where Cana sat on a bar stool next to Elfman and Juvia while Mira stood behind it with a glass she was cleaning.

“Laxus, you are hereby stripped of your status as S-class.” Makarov announced. Several people gasped. Gajeel could swear some added a bit too much dramatic flare to theirs.

“But Gramps-.”

“He’s staying in the guild?!”

“How can you let him stay?!” several members cried in outrage from varying locations in the guild.

“Enough! Let the master speak.” Erza demanded, standing from her seat. Makarov nodded towards Erza.

“The four of you will be aiding in all repairs across Magnolia resulting from the damage you caused. There will be no requests for any of you for the foreseeable future and-.” Makarov went quite for a few seconds. Gajeel would swear it was dramatic effect rather than him mulling over the decision in his head.

“Gajeel will be the one to watch over the four of you and keep you out of trouble.” Makarov added, hands clasped together. And was he smiling? The guild broke out into carnage.

“Him?!”

“But he destroyed our guild hall and attacked us! Why is he in charge of watching Laxus!”

“We’re all doomed. They’re going to destroy us all.”

“Silence!” Erza yelled once more; all heads turned to her.

“The master has made a decision and that will be respected.” she added, looking in certain directions to emphasise her point towards the members who had shouted. Right. She was very fond of the master. Gajeel was curious to know if she would jump off a cliff if the old man told her to. He should keep that to himself though. The fairies could take that as a threat and it would be inconvenient to have his head speared after he just got his wounds patched up.

“I expect the four of you to be on your best behaviour.” Makarov told the four mages before turning around and walking towards the bar where he started to converse with Mira. Gajeel watched him for a second before turning to the group. Freed had a sheepish smile on his face, dishevelled hair covering half of it. Evergreen was picking at her nails and biting her lip, her eyes flicking to him, then Laxus, then back again. Bickslow swallowed hard, his leg bouncing and his hands linked together. Laxus wasn’t even looking towards him, instead his eyes burned holes into the floorboards below as his good arm leaned on his leg. Gajeel chuckled.

“Don’t be so nervous. I won’t be that cruel.” he smirked, making eye contact with each of them for an extended period of time just to mess with them. He could have some fun with this.

Chapter Text

A tail slipped around the legs of a large, scaled creature. He sat, staring at a glowing orb between his claws. He tilted his head, looking towards the two dragon slayers that were talking to the boy.

“METALICANA!” he lifted his head, ear fins twitching. He didn’t move to greet the one who called. One of the rocks that guarded his den was tossed aside, revealing a fuming fire dragon. Or at least the faint outline of one. Metalicana twitched his tail tip, turning to look.

“What do I owe such a visit?” he asks, not attempting to move.

“Don’t play games with me. You know what I’m here for.” the fire dragon lashed his tail, stepping closer to the iron dragon. Metalicana pushed himself up to sit, wrapping his tail around his feet.

“Pray tell, I do not know what you speak of.” he kept his head held high. A faintly outlined muzzle was shoved into his own.

“Why did you never tell us about the child you trained?” He growled, staring into Metalicana’s eyes. The iron dragon leaned his head back to give himself more space.

“I think your reaction speaks for itself Igneel.” he shook his head, looking back towards the orb on the ground.

“I have every reason to react this way. You hid a half-breed from us. You put both the operation and the lives of our slayers in jeopardy.” Igneel’s tail was lashing as a growl bubbled in his throat. Metalicana stepped away from Igneel, returning to the orb at his feet.

“My boy has shown no sign of changing. If I recall, hybrids change before they reach maturity.” he looked over his shoulder at Igneel, twitching his stinger-esque tail tip once. He focused back on the orb.

“Now leave my domain. You are not welcome here if you are going to do nothing but yell.” he growled, not looking back at Igneel. The fire dragon growled.

“I’ll be watching that half-breed of yours. I won’t hesitate to kill it when it tries to lay a hand on Natsu again.” with that, the faint outlined dragon disappeared in a bright flash. Metalicana was left alone in his cave. He flicked his tail once more before adjusting his full attention on the orb, watching the goings on through it.

****

Gajeel sunk his teeth into the little cube in his hands, gnashing at the enchanted metal on repeat.

“Is there a reason you have that…. Thing?” Evergreen was looking at the cube, occasionally looking towards his face. He raised his studded brows, sinking his teeth into the cube. The brunette huffed, staring at him with an open mouth. He chuckled.

“Its one of the toys Master Jose gave him.” Totomaru yelled from where he was bent over one of the unpacked boxes.

“Well when you say it like that, it sounds sexual.” Gajeel mumbled around the cube that was halfway in one side of his mouth. He loosened his grip on the cube, letting it tumble out and land in his lap. He stared at it.

“Did you find it yet?” he yelled towards Totomaru, watching the fire mage as he buried his head deeper in the box.

“If I’d found it then I wouldn’t still be searching the boxes.” he snapped back, not looking towards Gajeel and instead tossing a lone cork into the middle of the room.

“Could you stop hoarding junk this time. I swear most of this shit isn’t even needed.” he held up an old plastic container for some old yoghurt brand that Gajeel was sure had discontinued 5 years ago. Totomaru looked at the container which was clean. He’d been sure to do that so that it wouldn’t get mouldy and stink out his things.

“You never know when it could be useful.” He shrugged, staring over the arm of the couch that they’d moved in with large amounts of effort. Totomaru scoffed.

“When are you going to need a pair of broken headphones exactly?” the fire mage called over his shoulder. Gajeel shook his head.

“Don’t doubt it till ya try it.” he twisted a couple of the little metal rungs on his cube. Freed looked up from where he was sat on a cushion placed on the floor.

“What is it you are looking for exactly? Would I be able to help?” The rune mage had placed one hand on the floor, ready to push himself up so he could help Totomaru with searching for the item.

“Its fine. I don’t mind.” Totomaru waved him off, pulling out a cluster of plastic spoons that were tied together with a rubber band. Gajeel was pretty sure he’d nicked those from a fast-food place when they hadn’t been looking. Freed looked at the floor before getting to his feet, quietly excusing himself.

“He’s looking for the remote. He packed it away in a box that wasn’t with the TV.” he shook his head, reaching towards the bowl on the coffee table that was pushed a little too close to his legs. He scooped up a handful of popcorn and shoved it in his mouth.

“If you weren’t so busted up, I’d make you help.” The fire mage snipped, pushing the box he’d been shoving his head into aside and opening another. Gajeel shrugged, tossing the cube to the side. The little cube smacked into the side of Laxus’ jaw, eliciting a grunt from the lightning slayer. He reached up to rub at his jaw while Gajeel now had his body twisted around so his upper half was leaning over the back of the couch but his legs angled to the side.

“Well next time you can fight the bad guy.” he scoffed, twirling a lock of black hair around one finger. Laxus looked towards Gajeel, eyes flicking down towards his ass which were being accentuated by the tight jeans the iron dragon had put on earlier that day. Laxus quickly flicked his gaze over to the dark screen of the TV when Gajeel tilted his head to the left, hair slipping over his shoulder. Totomaru stood up straight, looking over to Gajeel.

“I’ll fight you next time.” he snipped, hands on his hips while he stared over at Gajeel. The iron dragon scoffed.

“You’ve never beat me in a fight before.” he chuckled. The fire mage raised his hand to give the taller mage the middle finger. Gajeel chuckled, turning around and slouching slightly in his spot on the couch. Totomaru returned to his search of the box before him.

“Is this what you guys always do?” Evergreen asked, looking between the two former phantoms. Gajeel chuckled.

“What? Searching for the remote or the other shit?” he leaned over to look at Evergreen, linking his fingers together and tugging his hands in separate directions. Evergreen looked at Gajeel for a moment then turned to the screen.

“The latter.” she brushed her hands down her dress. Gajeel snorted and opened his mouth.

“Found it. It was wrapped in one of the towels.” Totomaru called from behind them. A remote that had about 5 layers of tape on the back quickly made contact with Gajeel’s head before clacking to the floor.

“See this is why we can’t have nice things.” Gajeel huffed, raising one arm up and shaking his fist. Totomaru stuck his tongue out, rounding the side of the couch and staring at the now empty snack bowl.

“Says the one who finished all our snacks.” he placed his hands on his hips, staring down at Gajeel.

“Fine. I’ll go get more. But ya better pick a good movie just for that.” Gajeel reached for his crutch that was propped up next to the couch and pushed himself up, limping towards the door. He opened the door and slammed it shut behind him, a single can of polish clattering to the floor in front of it. The four of them sat in silence for a few seconds.

“So…... Hypothetically if we were to get Gajeel something, what would he like?” Laxus blurted out, fiddling with his fingers. Totomaru dropped down into the middle of the couch, one eyebrow raised at the lightning mage.

“Hypothetically?” he asked, reaching up to the bobble keeping his hair tied up.

“For hosting us of course.” he added on, coughing once. Totomaru nodded once, a smirk peeling at his lips. He gave one tug to the bobble which loosened its hold.

“Well, if you must know. He likes metals, plants and music. Oh and anything soft he can add to his bed.” he listed, giving another tug to his bobble which released its hold and let his hair fall loose around his shoulders.

“Soft? Like blankets? Doesn’t everyone like those?” Bickslow chuckled, fiddling with a random, half eaten fork.

“Well yes. But I’ve also seen him shove feathers into a pillowcase and then use it to sleep on” Totomaru tossed the bobble onto the coffee table before lifting his legs up to set them in a basket and held his hands between them. Laxus opened his mouth but the click of the door stopped anything else he would have said from leaving his mouth.

“Got the snacks. Even got some beer from the fridge.” Gajeel tossed a bag filled with different unopened snack packets.

“Mira is going to kill you if she finds out.” Laxus pointed out, leaning against the back of the armchair. Gajeel scoffed.

“I left the money in the till. Don’t worry about it.” he placed the 6 pack on the table before dropping himself onto the couch. He propped his crutch up against the arm and turned to Totomaru.

“What are we watchin’? Better be fuckin good.” he leaned back against the worn fabric. Totomaru snorted.

“Better than your documentaries.” the fire mage picked up the remote, opening up one of the streaming services. Gajeel leaned into the arm of the couch, animatedly placing one hand to his chest and giving an open mouthed expression.

“How could ya say such vile words.” he leaned his head back, hair slipping off his shoulders. The door clicked open once more and all eyes shot to it. Freed stepped into the room again. His hair had been choppily cut, sitting at different lengths across his head.

“I do apologise if I’m interrupting anything” he straightened his back but avoided making eye contact with any of the room’s occupants.

“Freed. Your hair.”

“Baby what did you do?”

“Oh Freed.” Laxus pushed one hand against the chair he was in, about to approach the rune mage. Evergreen and Bickslow had both stood up already.

“Absolutely not. Get your ass over here right now. I ain’t lettin someone walk around lookin like they got thrown in a paper shredder.” he pointed towards the spot next to him where Totomaru currently occupied. He looked towards the fire mage and did a shooing motion to him. The dual haired mage stood and walked over to the cushion that Freed had previously been occupying. Freed approached, sitting down in the now empty seat. Gajeel cupped both his hands together, a bright green aura overtaking them. It disappeared and in the slayer’s hands now sat a pair of scissors. He turned to Freed, placing his left hand on top of the other’s head.

“Hold still. The last thing I wanna do is cut yer ear off by accident.” He ordered. Freed’s shoulders stiffened as he stared straight ahead.

“You wouldn’t right?” Evergreen asked, her eyes never leaving Gajeel’s hands as he snipped the scissors at loose strands of Freed’s hair.

“Just said I don’t wanna do that but these bad boys are made from dragon iron. They are the toughest scissors you could come across.” His gaze never left the strands of hair he was cutting.

“Freed, why would you cut your hair? I thought you loved it the way it was.” Laxus was leaning forward, elbows on his knees and hands clasped together. Freed’s eyes dropped down.

“I was just as responsible for what happened. I need to show that I am remorseful for what I have done and am willing to move on.” he explained, hands grasping at his trousers.

“That’s fine and all but next time get someone who knows what they’re doing. It would be more embarrassing than anything to walk out with yer hair lookin like this.” Gajeel spoke, moving around to clip at the uneven strands that formed Freed’s bangs. Freed flinched back for just a moment at the sight of the sharp metal so close to his face before releasing a tense breath.

“Don’t do that again you idiot. You could have gotten hurt.” Laxus shook his head and crossed his arms. Evergreen leaned forward, watching as with each snip, more of Freed’s hair tumbled to the floor and on the rune mage’s lap.

“What did you even use to cut your hair?” she asked, looking at the few remaining uneven strands. Freed took a deep breath and released it through his nose.

“I used my rapier as I had nothing else available to me in the guild’s shower room.” one finger was tapping on his knee.

“Turn around so I can get the other side.” Gajeel huffed, twirling one finger in a circle. Freed shifted his legs and moved how he was sitting so that his back was facing Gajeel. Gajeel leaned to the side, reaching for the remaining strands on the left side. No one else spoke as Gajeel cut the last of the strands from Freed’s head. He brushed some of the green clumps off the couch which landed on the floor. He stared at them intently. Totomaru sighed.

“I’ll go find a brush and tray. I know you’ll be far to distracted with all this hair to watch anything I put on.” he got to his feet, searching amongst the shelves of cleaning supplies. Gajeel flicked his gaze to Freed for a second.

“I hope you didn’t leave the shower room a mess.” he grumbled. Freed’s finger tapping increased.

“I did my best to clean up the mess however it was a little difficult with no cleaning supplies around. I apologise.” Freed dipped his head. Gajeel grumbled under his breath.

“Dammit.”

****

“Juvia! Hey Juvia!” someone was calling her name down the streets towards Fairy hills. She looked over her shoulder to see who was calling for her. Natsu was running towards her. She stopped walking, allowing the fire slayer to catch up with her. He skidded to a stop, almost running right into Juvia. She looked around for the blue cat that almost always accompanied the fire mage but she couldn’t see him.

“Juvia asks where Happy is.” she spoke, looking at Natsu. He shook his head.

“Happy went home. I needed to ask you something important.” he brushed over Juvia’s question, now holding on to her shoulders and staring intently into her eyes.

“Has something happened?” Juvia looked at Natsu with flittering eyes. Had something happened to someone in the guild. Was she in trouble? Natsu shook his head again.

“No. Its…… Ugh dammit why is this so hard…..” he had let go of Juvia, now fiddling with the ends of his scarf. Juvia tilted her head, observing his behaviour. Natsu started pacing back and forth a few times then stopped. He faced Juvia again.

“You know Gajeel right?” he asks. Juvia blinks once and raises an eyebrow.

“Of course. Juvia and Gajeel shared a guild hall. It would be difficult not to know him” she pointed out. Wasn’t it obvious?

“No no. Like know know him. Like a friend.” he repeated. Juvia let her mouth drop in a small oh.

“Yes. Juvia knows Gajeel very well.” she confirmed with a nod as emphasis.

“Great. Do you know what he likes? Like a hobby or something?” he released his grip on the scarf and started fiddling with his fingers.

“Yes. Juvia does.” she brushes her hands over her dress, still watching Natsu. His eyes lit up.

“Could you tell me?” he clasped his hands together. Juvia placed one hand up to her mouth.

“Well, Gajeel likes Music, plants and metal.” she explained. She was instantly enveloped in a hug by the fire mage.

“Thank you” he cheered. He held the hug for a few seconds before letting go. He turned around and started running down the street. Juvia stared after him, words dying on the tip of her tongue.

Chapter Text

“Gajeel. I have a job for you.” Master Jose was sat at his desk, hands linked together as he looked across the desk at the mage. Gajeel stood straight, his eyes looking just slightly to the left of Master Jose’s rather than meeting the man head on. The man pulled out a sheet of paper, offering it out to Gajeel. He hesitated for a second before reaching out to take the sheet.

“This guild hasn’t paid the money they owe me. The amount is written on the file. You know what to do.” he continued to observe Gajeel, hands linking back together. Gajeel shoved the paper in his pocket, not bothering with how the sheet crumpled.

“Of course Master Jose.” he dipped his head only a tiny amount before returning to his previous position.

“I expect results. You are excused” Master Jose waved his hand in dismissal. Gajeel turned around, stepping out of Jose’s office and closing the door behind him. He walked down the corridor towards his shared dorm. From the smell, Totomaru hadn’t returned yet. He pushed the door open and stepped inside. Once the door had clicked shut behind him, he pulled the sheet of paper out from his pocket. It was crinkled now, leaving the page a crumpled mess but the words were still eligible. Gajeel skimmed over the sheet. A guild named Harpy Talon that owed Master Jose over 60,000 jewel. Gajeel scoffed. Idiots. They should have known how serious Master Jose took his money.

“Guild’s to the south of here by about 20 miles. Might as well fly. Be faster.” he muttered to himself. He shoved the sheet of paper into the shredder kept in their living room. It had been bought by Totomaru after he complained about all the scattered paper Gajeel kept leaving around instead of putting in the bin. Totomaru just didn’t understand his process. Gajeel reached up and pressed against his chest, the golden lettering scrawling across his skin. He wrote the counter, tensing up when his wings broke through skin. The cracking of bone as it slipped into place filled his ears until it dropped to silence. He stood stock still for a couple seconds. Once he was sure nothing was going to happen, he stretched out his wings. One wing hit against the shredder, knocking it and several sheets worth of shredded paper to the floor.

“Shit. Didn’t mean to do that.” he muttered, withdrawing his wings so they hung at his sides. He stared at the shredder, contemplating if he should clean the mess up now or later. He decided that he should get going now to save himself the scolding and possible punishment he’d get from Master Jose. He approached the window, slipping clawed fingers under the frame and hoisting the window up. Clambering out was a struggle with his wings but with enough wriggling he was able to get his smaller stature through the window. Only to fall to the ground from his second-floor window and land in a bush. Stumbling out from the prodding branches of the brush he walked a few feet away from the dorms to a slightly more open spot that he could easily take off from. He spread his wings and braced himself against the ground. Once he was sure that he had enough energy built up, he burst upwards with only a few silver feathers left behind as a reminder of where he'd been.

“Yes!” he called out, climbing higher and higher into the sky. This had always been one of his favourite parts, being able to climb high into the darkening sky and away from his duties. It was the one thing he despised about his mandatory training year. He’d been both confined and grounded unless given permission. He was thankful for the secret way out he’d discovered. And his friendship with Erik. He’d have gone stir crazy if he’d been cooped up with no one to talk with.

“Alright. South. The moon always rises from the East so that means I go….. that way.” he pointed in the direction he had to go in, flying through the open sky. When he was approaching the location of the guild, he had to dive down to the ground, flapping his wings repeatedly metres from the ground so that he could land on his feet. Once on the ground, he pulled up the spell once more, letting his wings, tail and claws retract. Once he was sure they were hidden he began his trek towards the guild hall. It wasn’t the most well-hidden, sitting up on the mountains with a large glass window that overlooked the mountains from the guild master’s office. He approached the doors, looking down to his hands. His claws were still visible. He smirked, swinging his arm back for a strike. With a large amount of force, he swung at the door. His claws sunk deep into the wood, scratching along it as the door was knocked off its hinges. He kicked the other one in alongside it. Several heads turned to him. A grin spread across his lips as he pulled his hand from the door.

“I’m here to speak to yer master.” he announced, voice echoing through the hall. Several people eyed him up, looking him up and down like they doubted his challenge. They shouldn’t, considering they just saw him take down the doors with one strike. He lifted his upper lip, showing off his fangs in a smirk.

“I ain’t gonna ask again.” he snarled, the sound vibrating in the back of his throat as he stared at them. A few of the mages started whispering however he ignored any words they said once one of them pointed him in the direction of the guild master’s office. He stepped forward, walking past the guild members. One tried to catch him off guard with a sword swing to the head. He reached up, catching the blade in one scaled hand. The metal clanked against his scales in a battle for dominance. His scales won out and he knocked the blade back with ease, leaving dents in the metal. He focused his magic into one palm, summoning a Kunai. He threw it towards the mage, striking into the other’s head. He fell backwards onto the ground, eyes staring straight and unmoving.

“Take that as your only warning.” he hissed over his shoulder. He continued on his path to the guild master’s office. He didn’t bother with being polite. Instead he kicked the door in, watching it burst from its hinges and slam into the ground. He stepped in, making eye contact with the guild master. The man was fumbling about with something just below the desk, eyes blown wide upon seeing him. Gajeel stepped into the room, lifting up the door and propping it up against the frame for some form of privacy.

“Master Jose wants his money.” he spoke once finished, stepping up towards the desk. The man dropped something onto the ground, the object creating a clinking sound as metal hit wood.

“Please. Don’t hurt me. I can give you the money.” he dropped a velvet pouch on the desk, pushing it towards Gajeel. The dragon took one look at the pouch and a deep inhale. He scoffed.

“Ya take me for a fool.” he snarled, his scales spreading further up his arms. The man pushed his chair back, approaching a table with a communication lacrima on it.

“That’s the money. Just take it.” his voice went higher. Gajeel narrowed his eyes. He stepped up to the desk.

“I know what Jewels smell like. That ain’t it. It smells too heavily of ink to be proper. Yer tryin to make a fool outta me.” his voice dropped into a growl.

“Of course not-.” A snarl cut the man off.

“Ya wanna know what happens when people piss me off.” he snarled, hiding his spell with the desk due to his height. To the man, the dragonic features were due to his anger and no other influence. The man reached to the lacrima, pressing a few buttons and sending a message out. Gajeel leapt over the desk, landing on top of the man who had yet to move from his chair. It rolled right up to the window, smacking into it. He took a hold of the guild master’s head with sharp claws and smashed it into the large window. The glass cracked just slightly. He repeated the action. And again. Over and over until his heartbeat stopped filling Gajeel’s ears. He released his hold on the back of the man’s head, leaving the body to slump against the window. He turned towards the communication lacrima but there was nothing he could do to stop the message. It had been sent out while he had been preoccupied. The guild would be having back-up arrive shortly. He growled. Now he had way more work to do. He searched the room, looking for the fuse box. He spied the pulsating flow of magic in the corner. He approached it, tearing the metal door off the little box.

“Perfect.” he purred, eyeing up the wires that led to the rest of the lacrima systems in the building. He brandished his claws, swiping at the wires. The entire building was plunged into darkness with not even the moon to light its halls. He turned around, clawing his way over the door and into the hall. All the lower mages were muttering about candles and what could have caused the black out. Gajeel used the distractions as his chance to strike. He leapt towards the nearest mage, sinking his teeth into their throat before they even had the chance to cry out. Unfortunately, the person next to them took note. He snarled, spreading one wing out to knock them back. They were sent flying back into a wall, the crack filling the dragon’s ears. The entire guild had took note of him now, several mages running towards him with readied attacks. He swung his tail and wings, knocking everyone who approached away with enough strength to shatter bone. Half of the mages that he knocked away didn’t get back up. The ones that did were stunned enough that he could pounce. He stomped on skulls, bit into necks and ripped out spines until there was only one heart beating. His own. He stood over the final body, breathing heavy. His ears pricked at the approaching footsteps from outside.

“Think this is old and they never bothered to fix it?” someone had spoken just outside the broken doors. Gajeel leapt up into the rafters of the building, eyeing up the doors. That must be the backup the guild master had called for. He watched as four people walked in. From the smell they had to be mages. He eyed them up as they wandered through the room, deciding if he should attack now or wait a little longer.

“I’m going to check the back.” one of them spoke, walking down the corridor to the guild master’s office. Guess they made the decision for him. He followed behind the mage, keeping to the rafters. The man took note of the door and picked that room to go into. Bastard. He had hoped to keep them all oblivious for longer. He stepped up to an air vent, pulling the cover off and squeezing his way in. The space was tighter than he would have liked due to his wings but he could still wiggle his way through. He pushed the other grate off, catching it before it could fall out of reach and alert the guy. He climbed onto one of the rafters in the room, looking down. The man was investigating the body of the guild master that was slouched against the window. He pulled the chair back which resulted in the corpse falling to the ground. Gajeel stalked along the beams until he was directly above the man.

“Shit.” the man hissed, taking one step back. Gajeel pressed down on his arms and legs. He let out a guttural snarl as the only warning. The man looked up towards him. Gajeel leapt forward, pushing the man to the ground and sinking his teeth into muscle.

“Get off.” the man growled. He attempted to elbow him. The dragon dodged to the right, slipping in that direction in the process. While he was distracted dodging the attack, the man shoved him off. Gajeel flopped to the ground, his wings and tail tangled up with his limps. He quickly struggled out of his predicament and snapped his gaze to his opponent. Gajeel leapt at him once more, knocking him to the ground. Sparks released and bounced against his scales. He yelped from the burning sensation against his skin, almost like the magic was tearing him apart. He refused to budge from his position on the other. The mage reached up and tried to push at him. Gajeel grabbed his wrist and slammed it to the ground. He leaned forward, muzzle pressed up to the other’s ear.

I will not fall to the same trick again.” he hissed. Like he’d just roll over and let this mage use another attack against him. He lifted his head ever so slightly so that his muzzle was now hovering above the other’s throat. He could hear the pulsing of his heart and see the veins pressing up against light skin. The mage tried to shove his knee into him, but Gajeel was too far up for it to be effective. One perk of being small he supposed. He moved one leg and let his claws pin the mage’s leg to the ground.

Stay still and keep quiet sparks.” he chuckled. The man froze up, simply staring up at him with wide eyes. That was a little odd. Usually when he said things like that his prey would continue squirming and trying to throw him off. Oh well. Not like he cared. Just made killing this one that much easier. He leaned down towards the mage’s throat, spreading his jaws as wide as possible. Gajeel placed one hand on the other’s head to steady himself for the kill. Only to pause upon his next inhale. No. That couldn’t be right. This man smelled like Draushum. The same way Erik had. But that was impossible. He had only come across two others like him, Natsu and Erik. Possibly that little black-haired kid since he carried the same scent but this one? And in a dark guild no less. He lifted his gaze to meet the other.

“Yer Draushum Cirau too?” he asked, continuing the eye contact for a little longer. When he didn’t get an answer, he jumped upward. His tail wrapped around one of the rafters, letting him hang upside down while he twirled slowly to one side.

“Yer Draushum Cirau right?” he repeated. The man leaned back, eyes widening like saucers.

“You speak Fioren?” Gajeel’s ear twitched. He could hear the pounding of the other’s heart. The dragon tilted his head and huffed.

“Of course. Now answer the question.” he snipped. He lifted his arms from their dangling position to cross them. This guy was getting really annoying.

“I don’t even know what you mean.” the mage looked over his shoulder, eyeing up the door.

“Ya know. Draushum cirau……..” he pulled one hand away from his body and clicked his fingers.

“I think its dragon kind.” he mumbled to himself, holding one finger up to his mouth. Gajeel’s ear twitched. He could hear footsteps. Shit. There had been four of them. The others must have heard and were coming to investigate.

“Laxus? Is everything alright?” someone called from outside the room. Dread filled Gajeel. He couldn’t let anyone else see him like this if he didn’t plan on killing them. If word got out, then he’d be hunted. Master Jose always said that if anyone came looking for Gajeel that he’d throw him to the wolves. He shifted his body so he could jump down, landing with practised ease on the ground. His wings and tail disappeared under his skin like they always did, even if there was aches left behind.

“Who’s that?” one of the other three mages asked, having stepped over the broken door. The other two followed. ‘Laxus’ looked over his shoulder at the other three mages. Gajeel’s gaze flicked towards the mark on one of the mage’s hands. Oh great. A bunch of fairies. At least it wasn’t back up.

“If I’d known you were fairies then I’d have left your Maekrix alone.” Gajeel huffed, turning his gaze to the wall. Hopefully the pansies wouldn’t tattle on him to the council. If it got out that he’d attacked another legal guild mage then he’d be in a lot of legal trouble and he wasn’t sure how much mending and bribing Master Jose could do to get him out of that one.

“You’re quite rude for a little brat.” the brunette walked towards him, brushing a hand through his hair. Gajeel bristled, hissing and spitting at the woman to get her to stop touching him.

“So, where’s your mum?” she spoke once more. She had started looking him up and down like she was looking for something. Gajeel slapped her hand away from his hair.

“I don’t need ya to take care of me” the iron mage snapped, raising his lips to show his fangs in threat. The brunette huffed at him before smacking that strange object she held in her hand against his head. He went to swipe for the object while someone else laughed from behind the blond.

“For a baby you have spunk.” he was pretty sure the one who had been laughing was the one to speak. Not like he had been looking. Either way, he let his hair bristle.

“I’m not a……… whatever that means. I’m a Draushum.” he straightened his back so his puffed chest would be more apparent and lifted his head up.

“A what? Laxus, did you find some kind of wild animal or is this just the type of people who lurk in dark guilds now?” The one speaking had a snicker in his voice. Gajeel huffed.

“Dark guild? I’m not part of a dark guild you……. Fueryon” he spat, putting a lot of will power to keep from leaping at the mages in front of him. The blond looked back at his companions.

“Can you translate?” ‘Laxus’ asked. Gajeel blinked, surprised. How could a Draushum cirau not understand Draconic. He had to have been raised by a dragon like him right?

“How can you not understand? Your Draushum cirau. Surely your odassa taught you how to speak our tongue” He looked the other dragon up and down. He yipped when a thought hit him.

“You aren’t really Draushum cirau.” he began pacing, one hand up to his mouth. No that wasn’t right.

“Then how do ya have Draushum smell. It doesn’t make sense.” he muttered, coming to a stop next to the desk. Unless he got his Draushum magic like Erik. How was it that he’d gotten his again? Being fused with a dragon, right? A less natural method of creating Draushum cirau although that didn’t change them being Draushum Cirau. He had no idea Fairy tail had been doing such experiments.

“Alright. This has gone on long enough. I’m taking you to the council.” the other dragon gripped onto his arm. Gajeel snapped from his thoughts and raised his hand to smack the other’s hand away.

“Fuck you. I ain’t goin’ anywhere with a bunch of fairies. Besides, I can take care of myself.” Gajeel huffed, once again puffing up his chest and raising his head to at least look slightly bigger next to the tall and lanky man before him.

“You’re what, nine? Eight?” Gajeel bristled once more. Was he serious? Perhaps he wasn’t the tallest Draushum out there but he wasn’t nuwa’jimos. Who did this guy think he is?

“NO! I’m sixteen you………. Grr how dare you say I’m nuwa’jimos. I’ll have your scales for that.” he snarled a deep guttural sound, pointing one finger towards the mage in front of him. Someone started laughing behind the blond. Gajeel snapped his gaze over, pulling his lips back in a snarl. One more second and he was going to rip them all to shreds. Laws be damned.

“Stop laughing.” ‘Laxus’ ordered to the one making the noise. He stopped, seeming to understand the danger he was in. Gajeel tilted his head at the other. The mage stepped forward and Gajeel had to look up to maintain eye contact. So this one was the leader then. He had been right in his assumption.

“Fine. I won’t touch yer droce.” he grumbled, lifting his arms to cross them across his chest.

“You’re in phantom lord.” Gajeel felt tingling in his ears when surprise laced the other Draushum’s voice. The iron mage squared his shoulders and puffed up his chest.

“Of course. Gajeel Redfox. Resident Draushum cirau. Better than the one you fairies have. Fire isn’t even that special…….” He trailed off, flicking his gaze up to the other mage.

“I guess there’s two of you now. Not like it matters. You do weird electric zaps. That’s not very scary.” Gajeel scoffed, turning his attention to the body of the guild master. He was losing interest in this conversation now and just wanted to get back to Master Jose so he could get whatever was coming over with.

“That thing you keep calling me. Are you saying I’m a dragon slayer?” Gajeel turned back to the other Draushum. Dragon slayer? What was that? Someone who killed dragons? That wasn’t what his magic was for. Or even why he learned it.

“No. Civac means……… Dammit what does Master say.” he clicked his fingers, focusing on a stain of blood on the carpet as he tried to remember what the Fioren word was again.

“Kind. Dragon kind. That’s what you are. Why else would you smell Draushum. You aren’t carryin’ their scales around from what I saw” he kicked the guild master’s corpse watching the body flop to the side slightly with an unfazed expression.

“Well I’m done here. I have some jewel to collect. Perhaps I’ll see you around Draushum Civac. But ya’d be better leavin’ for a better guild if ya wanna access your full Draushum.” he walked past the group, jumping over the busted door and entering the main hall. He fished through the pockets of every mage in the room but came up short of any jewel and with those mages present, he couldn’t examine the guild master’s office. He cursed under his breath but left the building. He called forth his wings, preparing to leap into the sky. He managed to reach high above before those mages left the building. Good. He had at least avoided too many questions and hopefully they would keep quiet about what they’d seen. The journey back didn’t take too long although the moon had almost set as the milky colours of dawn approached. He landed not far from the guild hall, returning his wings to their hidden state before entering through the back door. He walked up the second set of stairs that led up to Master Jose’s office. Once in front of the door, he raised his fist and knocked. His scales prickled beneath his skin as he waited.

“Come in.” Master Jose called through the door. Gajeel pushed it open and stepped into the room. Jose looked up from whatever he’d been doing prior to his arrival.

“Gajeel. I see you have returned. How did he take your visit?” he locked his fingers together. Gajeel took a steadying breath before speaking.

“He tried to give me counterfeit Jewel but I sniffed it out real quick.” he summarized the exchange he’d had.

“And what of the man?” he added on.

“Dead. Along with the rest of his guild.” he confirmed. Master Jose stood from his chair.

“Good work my boy. I trust you have the money he owed me.” he walked towards Gajeel.

“No Master Jose. I wasn’t able to find any.” he admitted. One hand found its way around his throat, fingers pressing harshly into his windpipe enough that he was struggling to breath.

“And why exactly is that the case?” Master Jose’s voice had dropped and he was letting his magic energy be known to Gajeel.

“I ran into some difficulty. Some fairies showed up and crowded into the office where I’m sure the money was being kept. I couldn’t start searching with them around.” he explained. Master Jose’s grip tightened ever so slightly.

“What have I told you about Fairies. You deal with them like they are scum.” he spat. Gajeel nodded.

“Of course, Master Jose. I was. I attacked one of them but……. I got distracted….” The grip on his throat was released. Only for a hard slap across the side of his face to follow, cutting him off.

“I don’t care for your excuses. You clearly haven’t been taking my lessons to heart. You need to be punished adequately.” Master Jose walked towards the cupboard at the back of the room. Gajeel’s legs shook beneath him, but he did his best to stand up straight. Master Jose opened the doors to the cupboard, all his different punishment tools stored away within. He reached in, pulling out the strapped metal. The iron mage tried to swallow the lump in his throat. That was one of the worst ones. Master Jose turned around to face him.

“Take your shirt off.” he demanded. Gajeel hesitated to obey the command out of some misguided attempt at self-preservation.

“DO IT!” Master Jose snapped, now standing in front of Gajeel. Not waiting to see what Master Jose would do next, Gajeel removed his shirt, standing stiff. Master Jose pulled on the buckles of the straps, letting them fall loose. Once they were all loose, he placed the metal plate against his left side. When he was satisfied with his position, he adjusted the straps so they pulled tight around Gajeel’s ribs. The moment the harness was secure, Master Jose pressed his thumb to the magic seal that activated it. Gajeel winced when the metal started heating up, searing pain burning his skin.

“You will keep that on for 3 days. Do you understand?” Master Jose stared down at him. Gajeel nodded, dropping his eyes to the floor.

“Good. You are dismissed.” Master Jose turned away from him, waving one hand. Gajeel bent down, picking up his shirt and slipping it back on before leaving the room. The heat had already increased and was leaving him dizzy. He needed to get back to his room soon before he keeled over in the hall.

 

 *****

Laxus was woken by shuffling over to his right. He cracked open his eyes to look around. The room he was in was still dark, the only light being a muffled glow from the direction of the noise. He sat up, the thin blanket slipping off his shoulders and falling to his waist. The air around him was chilly, leaving his skin to prickle with goosebumps. Laxus looked over to the light. Gajeel poked his head out from the top bunk of the bed system that had been built in the back of the shed. He leaned over the edge and looked down below him.

“Totomaru. Hey. Wake up.” he hissed. A grumble came from the bottom bunk. Laxus raised one eyebrow.

“Oi. Flames. Get up.” he hissed once more.

“Shut up. I’m tryin to sleep.” the fire mage snipped back before his grumbles became muffled, presumedly by a pillow or blanket. Gajeel huffed, pulling his head back into the bunk. Laxus stretched up his arms, waking himself up further. He was about to go see what it was Gajeel had wanted and if he could help when the noise got louder. Laxus paused, blinking once at the increased noise. Then Gajeel leaped from his bunk. Laxus’ heart leapt into his throat and he was on his feet in seconds. Instead of falling to the ground, Gajeel grabbed onto one of the beams that held up the roof of the shed. He hung from the beam for a few seconds, adjusting his broken leg away from the floor before dropping down. He landed gracefully on the ground, all his weight on his good leg as he now crouched on the floor. Laxus stared, eyes like saucers as he watched the iron slayer reach for his crutch and limp over to the door. Laxus opened his mouth to speak but before he could say anything, the door had creaked shut behind the other mage.

“Damn.” Laxus muttered under his breath. He stayed where he was, not wanting to disturb the iron dragon’s privacy if he’d gone to the shower room which was very likely. However when there was no sign of the iron slayer 10 minutes later, Laxus decided to go check on him. He left the shed, closing the door quietly as to not disturb the others. The chilly October air was a lot more intense outside than in, his breath visible in the morning chill.

“Fuck. Its cold.” He hissed, walking across the short stretch towards the main building of the guild hall. He pushed the door open and entered the building. Thankfully during the rebuilding process, they had remembered to repair the heating lacrima system so the guild hall was cosy. Laxus looked around for any sign of the mage. The smell of cooking bacon drew his attention towards the kitchen. He walked up to the doorway where the light had been turned on and music was quietly filling the silence, the only thing louder being a soft humming that matched the tune of the song playing at that exact moment. Laxus stood in the doorway, blinking at the scene before him. Gajeel was leaning over the industrial stove, a pan in one hand as he prodded at something within. The mage himself had his hair tied up in a sloppy bun, the thick mess trying to escape and snap the tiny bobble that held it in place. An apron had been tied around his waist while his loose shirt clung around his hips and sat above his ass. Laxus’ eyes travelled down, staring at that specific detail for a little too long.

“Fuck.” He was snapped from his staring at the loud yell that came from Gajeel. The iron mage was now scrambling for the radio, repeatedly pressing on buttons in an attempt to turn the music off. He skipped the song, sped it up and lowered the volume before his fingers landed on the eject button, the disk compartment popping open and the radio itself falling to the floor with a crunch and some static. Gajeel dropped into a slouch, staring at the now broken radio that sat on the ground. After a few seconds he seemed to remember that Laxus was there and turned to face him. Laxus opened his mouth to speak.

“I swear this isn’t what it looks like.” Gajeel cut him to it, his eyes wide and nostrils flaring with panicked breaths. Laxus raised an eyebrow.

“I didn’t mean to startle you. You were taking a long time and I came to see if you needed help.” he explained, not breaking away from Gajeel’s gaze.

“I didn’t know you cooked.” he added, looking towards the food on the stove. Gajeel turned around, grabbing a hold of the pan handle he had before, flipping a half cooked pancake onto its other side. Once he’d sorted the pancake and checked the food cooking in the other pots and pans, he looked over his shoulder. His cheeks were tinted a slightly darker shade. Laxus decided he’d file that away with the image of Gajeel dancing and humming to old pop music in his head for later.

“Its not like I enjoy it or anything.” he scoffs, crossing his arms just under his chest and narrowing his eyes. The image was slightly less intimidating with the apron that was covered in little turquoise dragons that flew around the garment. Gajeel blinked once and briefly brushed his hands over the bottom of the apron.

“Juvia and Totomaru got it.” he adverted his gaze to the side. Laxus shrugged.

“I never said anything. I was just surprised you could cook. Not complaining or anything.” he took a step closer, eyeing up the large amounts of food that was being made.

“That’s a lot of food. I don’t think the six of us will need all that.” he looked to Gajeel who was placing the pancake onto a stack. He then reached for the pan with the bacon and dropped those onto a separate plate.

“Yer a Draushum Cirau. I can assume from personal experience that you have an appetite that could rival a nuwa'jimos” he looked to Laxus with a raised stud line. Laxus’ cheeks flushed slightly, and he coughed into his hand to clear his throat.

“I try not to focus on that too much…”

“If you don’t judge me for cookin’ and singin’ then I won’t judge ya for yer appetite.” he shrugged before turning his gaze to the broken radio and sighed.

“Wish I’d known that before I broke the blasted thing.” he shook his head, looking back to the food. Laxus eyed up the radio.

“How long have you had that? It’s a pretty old make from what I can tell.” he asked, leaning against the counter next to the stove.

“Had it for a long time. It was one of the first things I bought for myself with the money I got from jobs. I never got given much so what little I could put aside went into buying that and my first disc.” he explained while checking on the eggs. He chuckles.

“Drove Totomaru crazy when I was repeating the same few songs over and over every mornin’. The neighbours didn’t appreciate it either. According to them, I’d screech too loud at 5am. I just laughed in their faces and told em to deal with it.” he shrugged, dropping the eggs onto a third plate while flipping a new pancake. Laxus laughed.

“I remember my first player. My dad wouldn’t get me one, so I nagged gramps for hours one day to buy one for me. He eventually gave in and bought me my first player and disc. I left him alone about getting anything for at least a month after that.” he shook his head at the memory. Gajeel snorted.

“My xiiwic loved music. He would sing to me when I was little.” he stared fondly towards the splashback behind the oven.

“He sounds like a good parent.” Laxus offers. Gajeel scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“Yeah. Until he left me to fend for myself. The old bastard.” He grumbled, grabbing hold of the wooden spoon and stirring the contents of the pot. Smelled similar to porridge if Laxus was getting the smell correct. Laxus didn’t respond to Gajeel’s comment about his dragon. The tone reminded him of how he felt towards his own father. Mixed. He both wanted to hate him and felt like he couldn’t at the same time and it was like he was being torn apart sometimes.

“So how come you and yer gramps are so tense with each other? Something happen?” he asked, raising one eyebrow. Laxus tensed.

“Yeah. I got kinda pissed at him when he kicked my dad out. Its really annoying. I just got sick of always being compared to him or my dad. Like I don’t have another option. Its just one or the other. I guess I let my frustration get the better of me and it made me a worse person.” he sighed, looking down towards the floor.

“Like ya couldn’t be yourself and only what others expected of you?” Gajeel asked, staring down at the pot with an unmoving gaze.

“Yeah. Why?” he stared at Gajeel, examining the side of his face he could see. The faintest of scars sat just beside his hairline, almost invisible.

“Phantom was kind of like that. Master Jose had expectations of me because of…….” He trailed off, eyebrows furrowing in thought.

“A lot of things really. He wanted me to be what he had in mind, not caring for what I wanted out of my life. Now… I dunno how to feel about myself anymore but I know I came out different than when I entered.” He looked up, meeting Laxus’ gaze.

“I realize now, what I said to you was untrue. About how you couldn’t be strong if you stayed here. You truly took that as a challenge didn’t ya.” he chuckled. Laxus rolled his eyes with a snort.

“Eh. I didn’t take it too personally. You gave me a lot more to think about than that.” he shrugged.

“Also sorry. For biting you…. I thought you were the backup that bastard had called before I finished him off.” he gestured towards Laxus’ back.

“Well, it did hurt for a while. Gramps freaked out when he realised I’d been bit. Tried to get me to tell him who after Porlyusica confirmed they were too close to human teeth to be an animal. I wouldn’t budge and eventually he gave up on trying.” he shrugged.

“He might know now. I sorta mentioned it in passing.” Gajeel pushed a stray lock of hair behind his ear, revealing the slightly misshapen look. It almost seemed like his ear had been torn but instead of the chunk missing on the inside, his lope jutted outward ever so slightly. Perhaps a strange body modification he’d never heard of. Laxus hummed in acknowledgment of Gajeel’s words.

“Hey. Could ya go wake up Totomaru and yer buddies. Foods ready and I ain’t gonna be held responsible if the two of us finish everything before they wake up.” he huffed, turning off the stove under the pot.

“Sure.” he pushed himself off the cabinet.

“Oh and if Toto doesn’t get up, there’s an airhorn hidden near the TV. That always works.” Gajeel called over his shoulder. Laxus chuckled.

“You’re a menace.” he stepped out of the kitchen, heading towards the back door to the guild.

Chapter Text

Trying to tune out the guild was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Near impossible. He just wanted to enjoy his drink at the bar but everyone had to be yelling and throwing things around. He had no choice but to pay attention if he didn’t want to get clocked by the next incoming object. At least back in Phantom Lord, it was quiet most of the time. He looked over his shoulder.

“Dammit. Gray. Put your clothes back on.” someone yelled to the now almost completely naked ice mage. Juvia was off fawning over him, too close to the fight for him to bother with her. He didn’t want to get involved. Especially not with his injuries. He scanned over the sea of people but couldn’t find Natsu nor Laxus anywhere in the crowd. Which might not be too unusual if not for one thing. Both Happy and Laxus’ team were present at the guild. Neither mage could be on a solo mission because just like him, they’d been put on mission bans until their injuries healed -and Makarov decided that Laxus had learned his lesson- and Laxus couldn’t be out helping with the repairs to the town because he would have been notified. After all it was his job to keep tabs on him and his team when doing the repairs. So where were they both. Gajeel turned to face forward once more, eyes flicking to Mira.

“Hey. She-devil.” he called. Mira lifted her head from the glass she was preparing.

“Yes? Do you need something?” she asked although her voice was terse. Probably because of how he addressed her or just his mere presence had her on edge.

“Where the hell are Sparky and Firewood?” he asked, pushing his half full tankard to the side. Mira raised a brow, processing what he’d asked.

“Do you mean Laxus and Natsu? I’m not sure. I saw both of them this morning, but I haven’t seen either since. Why?” she asked, a sly smirk crossing her lips. Gajeel simply gestured to the people that had clued him in. Mira looked between where Happy was sat with a fish in both paws and where Freed, Bickslow and Evergreen were chatting, all of them flicking nervous glances around the guild hall.

“Oh my. That is strange. Its very uncommon to see the thunder legion or Happy separate from Laxus and Natsu. I wonder what those two could be up to.” she was leaning on the bar, now a little closer to him than she had been before. He wouldn’t say anything though. It was nice to have someone that wasn’t his usual group or either of the other Draushum’s near him.

“I dunno. Maybe the old man is talkin to them or somethin’. Maybe there’s something he want’s them both to know.” He looked back to his mug, debating if he wanted to finish his drink. He lifted his head at the whistle that steadily approached before shuffling to the side slightly and dodging a chair which crumbled to pieces upon impact with the bar. Mira sighed, looking down at the chair.

“I don’t know why Master hasn’t changed the chairs from wood to something more durable. This always happens.” she shook her head. Gajeel looked down at the crumpled heap.

“Is that why ya have metal dishes instead of whatever the fuck dishes are usually made of?” he asked, leaning one arm on the bar counter.

“Yes. And I know you ate some of them.” her voice dropped a couple octaves. Gajeel huffed.

“Well then don’t use metal. Can’t you use rock or plastic instead?” he offered, fiddling with the cuff of his glove.

“We can’t make dishes out of rock. That’s both unsanitary and dangerous.” Mira shook her head, placing one hand up to her face.

“And we tried plastic but it didn’t go well. Natsu kept melting all the dishes in fights which left them unusable. Gray tried to resolve the issue by making frozen plates but you can probably guess how that turned out.” Gajeel snorted, imagining what kind of scuffle that would have caused.

“By the way. I haven’t seen a single rat or bug since being here. Who’s yer ratter?” he asked, looking around the floor that had patches of dust and crumbs under the tables. He huffed through his nose at the state. Perhaps he could dig out his cleaning equipment and give the entire building a scrub down later that night when everyone had left.

“Ratter? We don’t have one.” Gajeel turned to look at her. She had a surprised look on her face.

“You don’t?” he examined her face for any indicator of a lie. Mira shook her head.

“No. Did you have one in Phantom Lord?” Mira asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah. I was tasked with taking care of all that. Master Jose didn’t like cats so he refused to have one in the guild or the dorms.” he shrugged.

“I’m going to assume it was bad if you were tasked with dealing with it.” Mira had her gaze resting on him now.

“Absolutely. We had a really bad infestation and mould problem in the dorms. I’m convinced its because of the amount of food and drink thrown about on the ground because nobody cared about how the place looked. I’ve seen some of people’s rooms and I couldn’t stand to be in those rooms for more than 5 seconds.” he shook his head, remembering the state those rooms were in. Probably hadn’t been cleaned now either. The council wasn’t going to care and who would want to buy that old place when it was already infested and reeked of mould and rotten food. Mira hummed, now leaning on the counter and looking at him.

“So, I’m a little curious. Got any fun gossip about anything in your old guild?” another sly smile spread across her face.

“Not really. No one really talked to each other so no information got shared around. Master Jose was very strict with his rules.” He shrugged, pulling his mug back to its spot in front of him. His attention was diverted when two sets of footsteps were approaching. He lifted his head. The air was very thick all of a sudden and he couldn’t hear any noise from the fight that had been occurring. Before he could turn around to assess the situation, two separately wrapped items were pushed in front of him. By the time he turned around, whoever had approached had mixed in with the crowd. A single sniff let him know who had approached him though. Both Firewood and Sparky’s scents were lingering near him. The more concerning part was all the hormones that he could smell from both. Great. Were they going to start a territory feud or something. He really didn’t want to be in the middle of that.

“What have you got there?” Mira asked. He turned around to see her eying up the two items that had been slipped onto the table. One a medium sized box while the other was a flat square.

“Dunno.” he muttered, picking up the flat square and shaking it gently. No one had uttered a single word yet and Gajeel wondered if perhaps they were just being nosy shits. If the close to 100 eyes trained on his back was any indicator then the answer was a solid yes. While he was fiddling about with the item, trying to figure out what it was, he caught footsteps and the familiar lavender and firewood smell alongside another scent that carried the same peppery smell.

“Could you just open the damn thing instead of shaking it about like some kind of sweet box.” Totomaru huffed, leaning one hand on the bar counter as he looked over Gajeel’s shoulder. Juvia giggled.

“Totomaru would love it if Gajeel had been given sweets.” she joked, resulting in a flustered fire mage as he tried to counter what she had said. Ignoring their squabble, Gajeel decided to open the gift in his hand. He tore into one edge, easily slicing the paper with his nails. He flipped the item so he could face it. If his ears had been out, he was sure they would have perked up because of how excited he was. A cd. Specifically, an old pop cd collection. He didn’t have one of those yet. He only had CDs for individual bands but a collection. Fuck yeah.

“A Cd?” Mira asked, looking at the case. The iron mage flipped it over, looking through the individual songs list. He picked out at least 5 favourites in amongst the first 7 tracks. He felt a grin split his lips. Totomaru groaned.

“If you find a way to blast that at 5am I’m going to suffocate you with a pillow.” he threated, his head dropping down. Gajeel chuckled. He’d told the fire mage about what happened to his old player and while he had given his apologies, he guessed that he was secretly grateful to avoid the music. 5am wasn’t even that early. Plus, his xiiwic had always hummed and sung little tunes while helping Gajeel cook food. It was just habit by now.

“Juvia asks what the other one is.” she pointed to the larger box. He pulled it forward, giving that a soft shake. There was a bit more movement within the larger box than there had been with the CD. He placed the box on the counter and got to work on ripping the paper apart. He brushed away the scrap paper and looked at the box. He could feel the way his hair bushed up just from the way it tickled the back of his neck.

“Ah gods. I jinxed it!” Totomaru yelled, turning in a circle with his hands over his face. Gajeel lifted up the box, looking at the little details in the corner. He was fighting very hard not to grin but it was a challenge. The box had not only a new music player but it had a little section you could download music from CD’s onto and pop it out for portable use. It even came with a headphone set.

“Juvia thinks that must have cost a lot” she pointed out, looking further over his shoulder. He pushed the box across the bar and leaned on one hand.

“Not that big of a deal” he muttered, focusing his attention on his mug once more. Totomaru and Juvia didn’t say much but both did take a seat on either side of him. Totomaru was examining the back of the CD case while Juvia was reading over the information of the box.


*******

The two sets of growling in the room were what disturbed his peace this time. He groaned. If there was one thing about Phantom Lord he missed, it was the peace and quiet he could get when sitting in his usual corner. No one dared bother him there. He looked over his shoulder to see what the commotion was about.

“Guys. Could you perhaps not do this in the middle of the guild hall.” someone tried to intervene. Both Laxus and Natsu ignored it, still staring each other down with foreheads pressed together and snarls building in volume. Gajeel sighed. Guess they were having a territorial feud. Did it really have to be so near to him? He hadn’t even been the one to defeat Laxus so it wasn’t his fault that the lightning mage lost some of his claim to Natsu. At least they weren’t involving him in their fight for now. Although he didn’t have nearly as much territory in Magnolia as they did. His territory was just the shed behind the guild. The rest of his claim was back in Oak town so perhaps that’s why he was being excluded from their feud. Neither were interested in taking what little claim he had and didn’t care that he wandered around there’s.

“Guys, please. We just had the guild hall repaired.” someone else tried to convince the pair but all that got was a spark of electricity snapping off Laxus and flames flickering up Natsu’s arms. If Sparky didn’t want people knowing he was a dragon kind, why the hell was he making it so obvious. Erza finally decided to try and get involved.

“If the two of you don’t behave then I will be forced to take drastic measures” she snapped. Several members of the guild seemed relieved that she had stepped in. Perhaps they believed that she could stop this before it got ugly. Clearly they knew nothing about dragons and battles over territory.

“Shut up. This doesn’t involve you.” both of them snapped just slightly off from being perfectly in unison and staring at her. Erza stared between them, her gaze flicking back and forth with clear shock. They looked to each other once more and within seconds were back to pressing foreheads against each other and snarling. Only difference now was the magic that was pouring off them and targeting nearby people and objects. One of those people was him apparently, lightning and flames striking him on the back. Alright. That was enough. He was getting involved.

“Trian di wux, thric ner. sjek si nymuer voga lex uttered ekess kiq lyrik hak si geou personally krikvlic ekik kiq di dout ternockic ir ini ir.” he snapped. This got both mages attention. And the entire guild’s attention apparently because a lot of people were staring. Gajeel huffed through his nose while the two other dragon kind stared at him.

“Jaka, nixeui. gethrisj stharl svern mobi kagh docar grovisv, svern mobi.” he pointed towards the table that the Thunder legion occupied followed by the one that was occupied by Gray, Lucy and Happy. Once he’d made himself clear, he crossed his arms and glared at both dragons. Natsu’s shoulders slumped and his head fell as he walked over to the table with his friends, dropping himself on the bench and letting his head flop onto the table. Laxus did have his head lower although it was a lot tighter to his body and his steps were slower than normal. Gajeel nodded once and turned around to go back to his meal.

“How did you do that?” Mira was next to him now, looking over the bar at the two dragon kind as they had fallen to complete silence. Gajeel looked up from his plate -a plastic one that Mira had gotten especially for him and had Freed enchant-

“Do what?” he asked, twirling the plastic fork in his pasta. Mira looked to him.

“Not even Erza was able to separate them and yet when you yelled at them, they broke off. I’m assuming you told them to go sit down if the hand movements are anything to go by.” Gajeel blinked once then shrugged.

“Don’t get in the middle of claim feuds unless you know what yer doin.” was all he said on the topic before returning to his food.


*******

“So how does this help me exactly?” Laxus was standing in the field at the back of the guild, staring at Gajeel.

“Easy. You and Firewood are gonna spar using only your Draushum magic. No other fancy magic.” he explained. Laxus looked over the iron mage. It made some sense for him not to be participating in the fight. While the bandages on his upper body had been removed and most of the lightning burns had healed quickly thanks to Porlyusica, his leg was still in a cast. He was currently sat on a chair he’d brought out with them, a notebook and pen in his lap and a mug of what he could guess was beer on the little folding table he’d gotten from Mira.

“Why do you have a notebook?” Natsu asked, eyeing the item in question. It looked pretty old and not like the kind you could get commonly in shops. Instead, the book had its pages bound to a leather cover with string. He decided not to ask where Gajeel had gotten the notebook.

“For notes. I’m observing both of ya. You let yer Draushum control too much and you don’t have good technique.” he pointed to Laxus and then Natsu with the pen he held. Laxus didn’t quite get what Gajeel meant but he wasn’t going to try and argue with him. He’d proven he could get pretty close to Erza levels of angry if provoked and Laxus would prefer to stay on Gajeel’s good side. Even if the thought of him sinking those teeth into Laxus’ own flesh was appealing. He shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to think about that. Later. Right now, he had to focus.

“Alright. Give it a try. Just don’t try to kill each other.” Gajeel ordered. Laxus rolled one shoulder. He’d need to keep his injured arm away from Natsu but it wasn’t like Natsu also didn’t have a broken arm, so they were at least in the same boat. He charged up his lightning with his right hand, building up enough power for a decent strike but not enough to kill Natsu. Maybe paralyze him but he totally deserved it for getting in the way. No. Focus. Not the time. He released the attack which Natsu avoided.

“Ha.” Natsu laughed. He was being way too cocky. That was a starting move and of course it was easy to dodge. The fire mage had to have seen him charging it up. He took on a wide stance. This time he didn’t charge up, he just released the attack which struck Natsu right in the dick. He yelped, rolling around in the dirt while Laxus snickered. Was it petty? Perhaps, but he didn’t care. It meant he got to mess with Natsu and that was better. Natsu jumped to his feet.

“That’s cheating. You can’t just zap me in the d-.” a whistle cut off the rest of Natsu’s sentence.

“That’s enough. If yer gonna be petty about this, then I won’t help either of ya. That means no cheap shots.” he side-eyed Laxus. The lightning mage rolled his eyes.

“Fine. Won’t do it again.” he mumbled. He wasn’t about to let the chance to actually learn about his magic from someone who learned it from a dragon slip through his fingers. He didn’t want to learn from Natsu. Not when the fire mage was competing with him currently. He also acted like he was better than him just because he technically came out with the win in their fight. But it had taken two of them to take him down and Gajeel didn’t always act like that. And if he did it was to other people as well.

“I think we’ll start with practise dummies since neither of you seem to be able to put aside your feud.” he grumbled. He slipped off the chair, holding onto the crutch and walking over to one of the mounted dummies used for target practise. He pinned a sheet of paper to two dummies and returned, clambering into his chair.

“We’ll work on your roar first. Aside from senses, that’s the biggest staple of a Draushum.” he gestured to Natsu to go first. Laxus observed, taking notes of how much air Natsu brought into his lungs. Once he’d inhaled what appeared to be enough, he leaned forward and released a roar. The roar itself was loud, causing the leaves of trees and bushes to quiver. The flames shot out in a wide berth, hitting the target and some of the area surrounding it. Gajeel nodded, writing down something in his notebook.

“Sparky. Your turn.” he gestured to Laxus. Laxus huffed. He wasn’t sure if he could show up Natsu now. He had nowhere near the same experience with using his roar compared to Natsu. Whatever. He could at least try. He took in a deep breath, pulling in air until his lungs felt ready to burst. He released his roar, the thunder that accompanied it echoing through the training area. One of the downsides of his roar. It was never subtle. The guild probably heard it. The lightning struck its target, ripping through fabric and wood.

“Not bad.” Gajeel commented when the roar had finished. Laxus leaned over, struggling to return air to his lungs. Another downside. It always left him breathless for far too long after. Gajeel seemed to notice.

“Although you should try doing some breathing exercises to strengthen your lungs. A roar won’t do you much good if you’re too winded to continue with the fight after.” the iron mage added on. He was now next to Laxus, holding up a plastic cup of water. The lightning mage took it, gulping down the contents. The water helped soothe his throat although it didn’t help him regain his breath.

“Take a break so you can get your breath back and then we’ll continue.” he told Laxus, giving him one pat on the shoulder before walking over to his chair and taking a drink from his mug. Laxus nodded even if Gajeel couldn’t see it. He leaned his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath while Natsu distracted himself with lighting a sheet of paper he’d nicked from Gajeel’s notebook on fire.

Chapter Text

Gajeel’s ear twitched when the door creaked open. He cracked open one eye, watching for who would come in. A strong hint of Lavender with an underlying firewood smell entered the room just before that dual haired mage he’d seen in the guild earlier entered. He was holding a large plastic bag. He closed the door and turned to look towards the couch. His shoulders tensed and the slightest of shakes was visible when he noticed him curled up on one corner of the couch. He closed his eye again. So long as the other had no intention of jumping him then he’d be fine. There was a lot of rustling in the joint kitchen, but he ignored it. Presumably, the mage had bought something to eat and was getting it out.

“Ow.” was muttered in the kitchen before a thump and clank. Gajeel opened one eye once more, raising one eyebrow but didn’t move. What the hell was he doing in there? He huffed, closing his eye a second time. Only to be disturbed by something scrapping along wood until it stopped right in front of him. This time he opened both his eyes. A plastic plate had been slid in front of him. Right as he processed what was before him, something flopped onto the plate in front of him. He blinked, catching the distinct scent of chicken. It looked different to how he always prepared it though. Lots of crumbs coating it and an oily smell accompanied those crumbs. He lifted his head to look. The other kid was stood a few feet away, another piece of that chicken in his hand as he prepared to throw it. He had frozen when he realized Gajeel was looking at him.

“Fair trade. I give you chicken and you don’t rip my face off.” he spewed, one hand clutching onto some old sword that was hooked in one of his belt loops. Gajeel blinked once.

“I’ll take the chicken but I had no intention of rippin yer face off.” he grumbled, reaching down to sink his teeth into the piece he’d been given.

“You can actually talk in full sentences. I… I thought you were feral or something. You never said anything to that guy earlier.” Gajeel quickly ripped into the chicken he’d been given, swiping his tongue at the oily remains around his lips. He sat up.

“I gave him fair warnin. He didn’t listen to my snarls and kept approaching so I attacked. He should have listened.” Gajeel shrugged, eyeing up the chicken in the other’s hand.

“You tore off half his face. He had to go to hospital.” the other mage was shuffling his feet. Gajeel huffed.

“Hospital?” he raised a studded brow but didn’t make eye contact with the mage, still focused on the chicken.

“You don’t know what a hospital is? Have you never been to one?” Gajeel flicked his eyes up to the younger mage for a second.

“How could you have never been to a hospital?” he seemed shocked. Gajeel blinked once before finally jumping forward. The mage yelped, letting go of his grip on the chicken and stepping back. The box dropped to the floor and the other piece that had been out was seconds from hitting the laminate before Gajeel caught it with his jaws. He started ripping into the food.

“Why would you do that?” the mage asked, staring at him with wide eyes. Gajeel looked over his shoulder.

“You were hoarding the food and I wanted it.” he huffed, taking another bite. The other continued to stare at him while he ate. Gajeel ignored it, combing through the box until there was nothing left of its contents.

“Was alright but I’ve made better.” he grumbled, climbing back onto the couch and settling down on his blanket once again.

“You…. You can cook?” the other mage stepped closer, observing Gajeel’s movements.

“Of course I can. I’ve been cooking for several season cycles.” he looked to the other mage. His eyes were wide but in a different way than they had been before if the grin accompanying them was any indicator.

“Could you cook for me?” he asks, getting really close to Gajeel’s space. He tilted his head. Did munthreki not teach their ghergo how to cook? He thought it was just how all odassi took care of their ghergo.

“How about in exchange you can have the second bed in the room.” the mage offered. Gajeel blinked then sat up, hair puffing up.

“There’s a second nest. Why didn’t you say?” he was now leaning in to the other’s face, staring straight into grey eyes.

“I think you already know. But I know now that you won’t eat me. Wait. Do you eat people?” He looked over Gajeel. He snorted, sticking his tongue out.

“No. That’s gross. Munthreki stink and you have really stringy flesh.” he crossed his arms. They both sat in silence for a few moments.

“I don’t think I ever got your name. I’m Totomaru.” He introduced. Gajeel tilted his head.

“I am Gajeel Redfox, deevdru of Metalicana and iron Draushum.” he introduced, puffing up his chest as he copied how he had been told to introduce himself. Totomaru offered one hand out.

“Cool. Don’t try to eat me in my sleep and we’ll be good.” Gajeel stared at his hand, unsure what to make of it.

“You shake it.” The mage explained. Gajeel took Totomaru’s hand in both of his and shook it up and down.

“Not quite what I meant but a good first attempt I guess.” he took his hand back. Another few seconds and the other mage went into the kitchen where another box sat on the counter. Gajeel stayed seated, looking around the room instead.


******

The guild was bustling with its usual crowd, most of the noise concentrated around Natsu and Gray who had engaged in another fight. Totomaru skirted around the fight and stopped in front of the bar. The white-haired mage looked up at his approach.

“Oh, hello Totomaru.” she smiled, a mug and cloth in hand.

“Hey… ugh.”

“Mira.” she corrected his stumble, her smile never faltering.

“Right. Sorry. Still getting used to all the names. Anyway. Have you seen Gajeel? I know he sits here sometimes so I thought perhaps he had been here earlier.” he explained, looking around at the darker corners of the guild but seeing no dragon mage at any of them. Mira shook her head.

“Sorry. I haven’t. He hasn’t shown up for any food or drink today.” she apologised. Totomaru sighed.

“Its fine. He’s probably off somewhere being a pest. Usual Gajeel stuff.” he crossed his arms. As if on cue, the door opened and Gajeel came in, crutch in one hand while his other hand was supporting something hidden under his shirt. He stepped off to the side, using the fight as a distraction to get through the guild unnoticed. Totomaru waited, watching Gajeel walk along the bar until he was close.

“Gajeel.” he spoke the other’s name in a low voice. Gajeel turned to look at him, eyebrows shooting up and smile dropping.

“Ugh….. I ain’t doin anythin’ I swear.” he defended himself. Far too quickly too.

“Then what’s under your shirt?” the fire mage asked, one eyebrow raised as he looked at the lump hidden under his shirt. The noises of the fight were dying down. Apparently those fighting found whatever Gajeel was hiding more interesting than their own squabbles.

“Milk.” Gajeel replied, his eyes flicking around the guild hall. The lump wiggled which had Gajeel moving his hand to better support it.

“What kind of weird milk did you pick up?” he took one step back. Did the dragon go to some weird magic store instead of the regular store.

“No.” he grumbled, his eyes focusing on the ground below. Totomaru opened his mouth to ask another question. Instead a little white head popped up through the neck of Gajeel’s shirt. Gajeel snapped his gaze up to Totomaru, a sheepish grin present.

“Is that… A cat?” he stared at the little head. The cat pressed its head up, bumping into Gajeel’s chin and rubbing against it with a loud purr.

“Maybe.” Totomaru placed both hands to his face.

“We can’t keep a cat.” he stated bluntly. Gajeel glared at him.

“First, we don’t own where we live. You can’t just bring animals in. Second, that could be someone’s pet.” Totomaru gestured widely to the cat.

“He’s not. I checked.” he shut down Totomaru’s second point, completely ignoring the first.

“You can’t keep feeding strays.” the fire mage objected.

“You fed me.” Gajeel shrugged. Totomaru blinked at him once.

“You aren’t a stray. You aren’t even an animal.”

“But you thought I was feral.” Gajeel was smirking now, watching Totomaru struggle to find anything to get him to return the cat.

“They aren’t the same thing… You know what. I give up. There is no reasoning with you about this.” he sighed. He couldn’t be bothered to continue arguing with him about this.

“Good. Cause he’s staying.” Gajeel pulled up his shirt so he could hold the cat. The very dirty cat.

“You’re cleaning it before it goes anywhere near our beds.” he wasn’t taking no for an answer there.

“Already planned it.” he huffed, holding the cat close. Mira leaned in, looking at the cat.

“Does he have a name?” she asked.

“Milk.” Gajeel stated blatantly.

“His name is milk?” Totomaru asked, raising one eyebrow in question.

“Yes. I went out to get milk and… I FORGOT THE MILK!” he yelled, looking around frantically like he’d lost one of the things Metalicana had given to him. Totomaru flinched back at the sudden increase in volume.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. You can use the milk we have. There’s plenty available.” Mira waved her hand, her smile never leaving. Gajeel’s shoulders relaxed.

“Alright…… Thanks.” he muttered. Before anyone could say anything else, he turned away from the group and walked towards the showers.


*****

Gajeel was sat outside the back of the guild hall, legs dangling in the pool while he leaned back on his hands. He’d swapped out his trousers and shirt for just a set of swimming trunks. His cast was off now, he just had to take it easy for a bit so that he didn’t break his leg again.

“Didn’t expect to find you out here.” someone spoke up. Gajeel looked over his shoulder to the lightning mage.

“Just needed some space to calm down. Sitting here reminds me of the lake that was within the old bastard’s claim.” he sighed, staring at the reflective surface of the water. Footsteps shuffled closer before Laxus sat himself down next to Gajeel. Gajeel fiddled with his fingers, the scales still refusing to disappear even after shedding.

“I might be remembering wrong but you’re 20, right?” Laxus asked, head looking towards him.

“Yeah. Was born in the cold season so I’ll be 21 soon.” he confirmed, staring down at his feet and watching how the water distorted the image.

“For a 20-year-old, you have quite a lot of scars. Did you get put on the tough jobs?” Laxus asked, leaning back on his own hands. Gajeel blinked.

“What do you mean?” he turned to face the lightning dragon.

“Hardly anyone around your age in the guild has that many scars. Those who have them went through some pretty rough stuff before joining the guild.” he explained, meeting Gajeel’s eyes.

“You had the one on your face when we first met.” he remembered that part. It was a little difficult to miss a scar like that.

“I’ve had it since I was a kid. Got it when I got my dragon magic. Hurt like a bitch for months after with how it moved when I did anything with my face.” he sighed. Gajeel looked to the water again.

“I have a mix.” he muttered, linking his fingers together. Laxus didn’t speak.

“I’ve had this one since I was a kid. I don’t remember how I got it, but I think it was when my opsola died. I remember looking for him and a name being yelled in what I think was his voice but nothing else.” he pointed to the scar that formed a jagged ring around his thigh.

“Do you remember the name?” Laxus spoke up. Gajeel nodded.

“Acnologia. I don’t know who or what that is. It just sticks in my head. Maybe because it was the last thing I heard my opsola say and I can’t let go of that. I dunno.” he grumbled, grabbing a fistful of his trunks. Laxus looked to him. Then he pointed to Gajeel’s left side.

“What about this one?” he asked. Gajeel looked to the jagged square burn scar on his side. The one easily hidden beneath his arm.

“From one of Master Jose’s punishments. It was the one I hated the most because it lasted the longest.” he turned away from the lightning mage.

“What kind of punishment? That looks pretty nasty. What could you have possibly done to deserve that?” Laxus sounded surprised. Gajeel tilted his head to the side.

“Well one example would be not killing you and getting the money that old geezer owed my master.” that example was the easiest to use because Laxus had been there. He’d seen the situation.

“Why would you have to kill me?” he asked, his fingers tapping on the tile of the pool.

“You’re a fairy and Master Jose doesn’t like Fairies. I’d never actually ran into any of them before that. I was there on a debt collection mission. The guild master owed Master Jose the jewel for his protection and hadn’t paid so I was sent in to clean up the mess. He’d tried to give me fake jewel and I took him and his guild out. You showed up before I could get the money, so I had to go back empty handed.” he explained, looking to the lightning dragon. Laxus looked down to the scar.

“And he… did what exactly?” he asked. Gajeel winced at the memory.

“He used the strapped metal. A piece of metal on a harness that would heat up and burn my skin. It was designed for skin and scales so it had magic on it to prevent it from burning right through to the bone or through clothes so it was easily hidden.” he stared at his lap. Laxus released a long breath.

“Sorry I brought it up. Sounds like something you don’t want to remember.” the finger tapping had increased. Gajeel sighed.

“Its not but I have no choice but to remember it so there isn’t much I can do about it.” he shrugged, leaning forward to look into the pool. Laxus fell silent, simply sitting next to him with no words uttered between them. He heard the shifting of clothes for a second before something was placed in his lap. He looked. A little cactus about the size of his palm. He picked it up using the little silver pot and examined it. A very healthy one. Whoever owned it before had taken good care of it.

“Its for you. I know you like plants so I thought you might like one.” Laxus grumbled but didn’t elaborate. Gajeel raised a brow. He didn’t recall telling the lightning mage that he liked plants. He shook his head.

“Thanks. I’ll be sure not to let Milk eat it.” he chuckled, still looking at the plant. Laxus snorted.

“I’m still getting used to the fact that you named your cat Milk.” he laughed, shaking his head. Gajeel rolled his eyes at the other’s amusement.

Chapter Text

The library was surprisingly quiet for being attached to the guild hall itself. Gajeel sat at one of the little tables, at least 20 books scattered around him and Milk curled up in his lap. Why did half the old books have to be in other languages. Couldn’t the old man get Fioren translations instead. He stared down at the page of a book on dragons. All of this was stuff he already knew. This wasn’t what he was looking for at all. The only new thing he found was some bullshit about a dragon of the apocalypse and how it supposedly had a child. He didn’t care about that. It had nothing to do with him. He let out a low growl.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” someone spoke from beside him. He lifted his head and looked to the source. The little blue haired fairy. He quickly turned away, glaring down at the book again. She stepped closer, looking over his shoulder at what he was reading. His hair bristled and a few more scales burrowed their way to the surface along his arm. He swallowed the saliva building in his mouth and flipped through a few more pages.

“I didn’t think you actually read anything.” the bluenette commented, one hand resting on the chair near him. He didn’t answer instead reaching for another book and flicking to its index. Perhaps he’d find information there. The blue fairy huffed, crossing her arms.

“Don’t just ignore me. That’s so rude.” she huffed, puffing up her cheeks. Gajeel tilted his head to look at her. He reached one hand up to his neck where more scales were popping up and itching his skin.

“Didn’t think you’d wanna talk to me.” he muttered, looking down to his scaled hand. He flexed his fingers, watching the warm light of the library reflect off his scales.

“Well, no. Sure it’s still a bit awkward and I haven’t forgotten what you did… But I’ve seen you around the guild. I think Natsu was right in saying you can be nice.” she pulled the chair that was next to him out from under the table and sat down in it. Gajeel furrowed his studded brows.

“Firewood said that?” he asked, sitting straight backed against the chair. She nodded with a hum.

“He said it when I took interest in that necklace you gave him. I’ve never seen a storge necklace in person before. Where did you get it?” she asked, staring at his face for any sign of a reaction.

“My xiiwic gave it to me. It has my name on it so I always assumed he got it from the village I was born in. We never talked about where I came from. It made him sad when I brought it up.” he shrugged. Gajeel had asked the dragon a few times about his first home. About what had happened to his opsola but he always looked out the mouth of their cave and said different bullshit to distract him every time.

“What are you looking for? You have a lot of books here.” Levy pointed towards the book covered table.

“Just some stuff. I’d tried looking for it back in Phantom but Master Jose kept the guild books locked away and regular libraries didn’t have what I was lookin for.” he huffed, reading down through the index.

“Your old guild master wouldn’t let you read books. I couldn’t imagine Gramps refusing to let us read. That would be awful.” she seemed disgusted by the mere thought of not being allowed near books. He’d never seen anyone in Phantom have that look. Everyone knew their place and if they stepped out of line then someone just knocked them back down. That was how it had always worked. A food chain that Gajeel had the luck to reach the top. Only Master Jose had been above him.

“You didn’t join Phantom to read. You joined it to get jobs. Besides, the only books Master Jose allowed were books on how to get stronger. If ya were caught with anything else then you’d be in huge trouble.” he shrugged. Levy blinked up at him, clasping her hands together.

“Why would you stay? That sounds awful.” she asked, observing him. Gajeel flicked his gaze to the next page.

“Needed the money. I didn’t get paid for the shit I did with the boss and stealing food wasn’t getting me anywhere. Master Jose took an interest in me and sent me away for my mandatory training year. By the time I got back, it would have been hard to go find a new guild when Master Jose knew what to do with me.” he focused in on a word. That was his last name. He'd found something. He looked to what page number it was and flicked to the page.

“Did you find what you’re looking for?” Levy leaned in to look at the book. Gajeel read over the first page. A family tree. It only showed names and no pictures, but it was something. He looked through the family tree, focusing near the bottom. ‘Zinnia Redfox’ was linked to another name. Possibly her husband. Below them was ‘Rowan Redfox’ who was linked to two unknown names. An unknown partner and an unnamed child. He raised one brow.

“I don’t remember a Rowan being mentioned.” he muttered looking to the next page. Each member of the tree had a description. He flicked through each page until he reached ‘Rowan’ once more. Levy looked over his arms at the book.

“What’s it say?” she asked, looking towards his face. He scanned the page.

“Most of it is flowery bullshit but there’s a journal entry” he looked to the scanned image, looking over the writing. He could read it.

“Another day and not much has changed. A few dragons went down thanks to Rowan which is a good thing. Speaking of the guy, he’s been mumbling again. The weird one where he holds a Storge necklace and says strange, jumbled sentences. It makes no sense. The others think he lost a child to the dragons. It would explain his anger towards them. Hopefully that anger doesn’t get turned on us. Its like being next to a fire dragon. For someone who used to be a doctor, he doesn’t act like one. Its…” the image cut off, showing no more of the message. Gajeel blinked once.

“Well I doubt the child did die since you exist.” Levy smiled, looking towards Gajeel. He looked to her with a raised eyebrow.

“You were looking at the page on the Redfox family. That’s your family. The child couldn’t have died, or you wouldn’t exist. That or he had another child after the war.” she explained.

“I guess. It just doesn’t make sense why the tree just cut off after him. Like they lost track of the entire family.” he shook his head. This didn’t give him the answers he was hoping for. He had hoped to find out about his opsola or Xiiwic but he didn’t get either. That was frustrating. A hand patted his arm. He turned to look where Levy was patting his arm with a smile.

“Don’t worry. It doesn’t matter where you came from right? Nothing too important could come from that.” she smiled, pulling her hand back. Gajeel stared at her for a second.

“Thanks…. And sorry for what I did to you and your friends.” he muttered, looking down at Milk who had lifted his head with a sleepy gaze. Levy smiled.

“I don’t accept your apology just yet but perhaps in the future I will. For now, I don’t mind hanging out some more. You aren’t as bad as the rumours say.” she held her hands close.

“There are rumours about me?” he snorted. She nodded with an eyeroll. He laughed, leaning over the back of his chair. Levy started laughing alongside him, one hand up to cover her mouth.

“Honestly didn’t expect that.” he admitted, shaking his head. Levy laughed again, clearly not over the first bout. He smirked. This guild was something else.

********

Gajeel sat at the bar, petting Milk who had settled down on the counter after having had his breakfast while he looked at the plant that Natsu had given him. While stroking his hand down his back for the umpteenth time, he took note of how quiet it was. Like everyone had collectively agreed to do some kind of minute of silence. Someone sat in the bar seat next to him. He turned his gaze to them.

“Soooooo, who you gonna pick?” Cana asked, wiggling her eyebrows. She followed her statement up with a swing of her mug, likely full of booze.

“Pick for what?” he asked. What the hell was she talking about? Cana rolled her eyes.

“You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed. Natsu and Laxus have been giving you gifts for weeks now. How can you not even realize?” Gajeel raised a brow.

“And? What would that have to do with anything?” he looked at her, trying to figure out what it was she meant.

“How about an easier way of phrasing it. How do dragons show their interest in other dragons?” Mira offered, leaning on the bar in front of Cana.

“They give gifts.” he shrugged. He still wasn’t getting what they meant.

“And what have Natsu and Laxus been doing?” Mira prompted, waving one hand.

“They haven’t been courting me. They’re fighting over claim.” he objected. They weren’t interested in him. They didn’t act the same way that the boss and Master Jose had.

“Excuse me? How can you say something like that?” Cana placed one hand to her chest like he’d personally offended her.

“They aren’t interested in me. First, plenty of better lookin guys in here. Second, they don’t act like it.” he stated the facts. Perhaps they were mistaking claim fights for courting because they didn’t know about Laxus yet. That could be it.

“Don’t act like it? I’ve seen Natsu staring at you every chance he gets.” Gray yelled from across the guild, leaning against one table with his shirt and trousers missing.

“And only a blind man could miss how Laxus looks at your ass. They are totally interested in you.” Cana added on, leaning in towards Gajeel.

“Sexual curiosity and Romantic attraction are not the same thing.” he corrected. Sure Laxus had kissed him but he was just curious about his dragon parts and kissing was just a sexual thing anyway. Everyone he’d slept with had kissed him the exact same way. That was it. And Natsu was just curious about him in general. Nothing else.

“Oh wow. You are dense. They are totally into you. They’ve been fighting over you. Its so obvious.” Cana swung her mug towards him, almost hitting him on the nose. He opened his mouth to object. A hand slammed over his mouth before he could say anything. He looked at Mira who had been the one to cover his mouth with a raised eyebrow. The doors to the guild opened. Laxus walked in with the thunder legion close behind. That’s right. They’d been helping with the rebuilding.

“Hey Laxus. What’s your opinion on Gajeel’s ass?” Cana yelled across the guild, waving her mug. Gajeel felt the heat in his cheeks from her announcement. Was that really necessary? Laxus stiffened, red dusting across his cheeks.

“Why the hell would you ask me that?” he snapped, voice guarded although slightly higher than normal.

“We’re trying to decide who has the best butt.” Mira added, a smile breaking across her lips.

“I’m not getting involved in this.” he huffed, walking up to the bar and sitting down to Gajeel’s left. Mira passed him a beer and stepped back over to Cana, removing her hand from his mouth. Gajeel flicked his gaze over to Laxus. The lightning slayer quickly snapped his gaze up to look straight ahead. Gajeel blinked. He’d seen that. Laxus had been staring at his ass. What? That didn’t make sense. It was a sex thing. It had to be.

“Milk seems happy.” Laxus grunted, looking at the cat. Gajeel nodded, his voice stuck in his throat. The lightning mage eyed up the little plant next to Milk.

“Where’d you get that?” he asked, not making eye contact with him. Gajeel took a breath.

“Natsu.” he mumbled, running his hand along Milk’s spine. Laxus snorted in response, changing his focus to the mug in his hand. Gajeel turned his attention onto Milk. He had a lot to think about later that night.

Chapter Text

Gajeel opened his eyes, his face pressed firmly against grass. He blinked, lifting his head up. That wasn’t right. Metalicana’s nest was in a cave and the dragon never left Gajeel to sleep outside. He looked around but he couldn’t recognise the area he was in. Lots of trees that towered over him. He couldn’t see any sign of the lake that he used for drinking and bathing. Not even a whiff of the surrounding brush. On top of that, he couldn’t locate the dragon smell that filled his Xiiwic’s claim. He got to his feet, bare skin brushing against the grass and dirt.

“Xiiwic?” he called, straining his ears to try and pick up any sign that he was near. No roar or even the clink of metallic scales. Just silence. He picked up the pace, searching through the undergrowth that surrounded him but nothing. Not even any familiar landmarks. He dropped to his knees, staring at the dirt.

“Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.” he yelled, punching his hand into the dirt over and over again until the skin on his knuckles split and they were left bleeding. He lifted up his hands, staring at the scrapes and blood on the back. He wrapped his arms around his own body, trying to get some warmth but nothing came of it.

“You promised.” he mumbled, tears building up.

“You promised you wouldn’t leave me.” he sniffed, his body shaking.

“You said you’d protect me.” he reached up, wiping his tears away.

“So where the hell are you?!” he yelled. Only the sounds of the surrounding forest answered him. He gripped onto his shorts taking in several shallow breaths. He pressed his teeth together, taking a deep breath through his nose. And then he released that breath in a roar directed at the sky that shattered through the usual ambience of the woods. Metal shards rained down around him, sticking out of the ground but still something felt wrong. He'd released his anger and yet he still felt crumby. He got to his feet, walking to the nearest tree and dropping himself against it. He raised his legs to his chest, holding them close to his body and leaned his head against his knees. He closed his eyes and listened to the birds and animals around him, refusing to move from his spot.


********

Natsu ran up to Gajeel the moment he noticed the iron mage, a sheet of paper in hand. Gajeel raised one eyebrow, looking at the fire dragon with a confused look.

“Gajeel. I found a job with my team and I thought maybe you could come with us. You know. For backup.” he was bouncing on his feet, never breaking his gaze from Gajeel. The iron mage hesitated to answer. Did he really want to be on a job with a group of people that might hate him? That wouldn’t end well. Then again, perhaps helping on a mission could get him more acquaintances and he could lie to Ivan about it being an intel gathering mission.

“Alright, I guess. Just need to get my bag.” he shrugged. Natsu let out a happy yip before bounding off to the rest of his team. Gajeel turned around, walking back towards the shed. Thankfully, he never fully unpacked his travel bag. The only things he take out would be clothes, food and cooking supplies so that left his camping equipment, navigation tools, first aid and other important items in the bag. He stepped through the door and began rummaging through his things for appropriate clothes.

“Its getting cold so I should probably pick warmer clothes so my temperature doesn’t drop.” he muttered to himself, going through his various clothes. He didn’t have nearly as much as he thought. It seemed a lot of his winter clothes had been ruined on various missions which only left him with one shirt and his thinnest jumper. No gloves, scarf or thick socks.

“Fuck. I’ll need to get new ones.” he hissed. That would be a pain in the ass if there was camping involved. He’d just have to hope the night temperatures were nice to him. Shoving his clothes, crockery and food into the rucksack in a way that had everything fit, he clipped the top of the bag closed. After checking it was secure, he swung the bag over his shoulder and lifted it up. He already had his brace on so that wasn’t a problem. He walked towards the door and left the shed. He decided he’d wait outside the guild hall instead of inside and began the walk around the side of the hall. His decision proved to be the right one when he found Natsu stood outside with Lucy, Gray, Erza and Happy. He approached, keeping his head high and praying they didn’t notice the increased number of scales on his neck.

“Gajeel. You’re here. Now we can get heading.” Natsu cheered, pointing down the street of Magnolia.

“You do realise we’re taking a carriage, right?” Gray asked, raising one eyebrow. Natsu’s demeanour shifted instantly, his head dropping down with his arms as he groaned and whined.

“Gray is right. It would be unwise to walk the entire way to Mt. Hakobe on foot when we have such a long trek up the mountain.” Erza agreed, looking up and down the street for a wagon. Gajeel groaned internally. The gods hated him. He just had to be the unluckiest guy to ever exist didn’t he. The one job he gets asked on and its to the coldest mountain in the country. Great.

“Hope you brought your blanket this time.” Happy giggled, his words directed at Lucy. The blond huffed.

“Of course, I brought one. You guys didn’t warn me last time.” she argued back at the cat.

“Maybe you can cuddle with Natsu or Gajeel for warmth.” he kicked his legs, paws up to his mouth. Gajeel took hold of the cat’s tail.

“Stop talking before I rip your tongue out.” he hissed. He couldn’t be bothered with this teasing. The cat yelped, flying to hide behind Lucy.

“Lucy, Gajeel’s being mean.” he sniffed, paws grasping at the back of Lucy’s shirt. Gajeel turned away. He didn’t want to listen to its whining any more than he wanted to listen to its teasing. Thankfully, a carriage pulled up in front of them.

“Alright. Everybody in.” Erza demanded. Gajeel stepped in after Lucy and Gray, taking a seat opposite the two. Erza sat down next to him while she let Natsu rest his head on her lap. Natsu tried to struggle away but when the carriage started the bumping of its journey, he started having second thoughts and stilled instead. This was going to be a long journey.


*****

Natsu didn’t understand why Lucy and Happy complained about the cold. He felt fine but apparently, he was just weird. He looked over his shoulder towards Gajeel who was at the back of the group, his head tilted downward and hands in his pockets as snow blew his hair back and coated it in white streaks. Natsu turned back around but he could barely see 1 foot in front of him.

“I don’t think this storm is going to let up.” Gray yelled over the wind. Erza stopped, her boots sinking into the snow. She squinted her eyes, trying to spot anything but her attempt was clearly just as successful as his.

“We’ll take shelter somewhere for the night and continue once the snow has let up.” she decided. Natsu swung his head around for some kind of shelter but he couldn’t see any.

“Um guys.” Lucy spoke up from behind Natsu. Natsu looked over his shoulder.

“We’ve lost Gajeel.” she added, pointing to where the iron mage had last been. Just like Lucy said, he was nowhere to be found.

“What? How? He was there like 2 seconds ago.” the fire mage yelled, pointing towards where he’d seen Gajeel.

“You think perhaps someone got the jump on him?” Lucy asked, hands grasping onto her bag straps as her legs shook. Erza stepped over to where Gajeel had been. Natsu stepped up beside her. There was no upturned snow or a second set of footprints so there couldn’t have been a struggle. The print trail led off to the right.

“I don’t think there was a struggle here. It seems he walked off in that direction,” Erza pointed down the trail.

“So we find him and then find shelter.” Gray offered, stepping up beside Erza.

“Well then what are we waiting for?” Natsu yelled, lifting one leg to start running down the path. Erza grabbed onto the back of his rucksack, stopping him in his tracks.

“We aren’t going to rush in. Just because there is no sign of a struggle here doesn’t mean something isn’t wrong.” she scolded him. Natsu huffed but didn’t try to run ahead. They followed the footprints that were thankfully deep enough that the raging snow hadn’t covered them up completely. Nothing seemed wrong right until the footprints stopped and a large human sized dent in the snow replaced it.

“You think something happened here?” Lucy asked, now clinging on to Happy who was shivering and staring at the marks in the ground.

“There isn’t any blood so I don’t think he got injured” Erza was examining the flattened snow. Natsu glanced over the snow. The flattened snow dragged out at the top of the shape like something had been pulled along. The fire mage started fiddling with his fingers.

“We’ll continue following the trail.” Erza announced, taking the lead as they followed the drag marks. At some point down the line, Natsu could see soft orange light just around one of the peaks. He burst ahead of Erza, rounding the corner to look. The trail led right up to a cave entrance where the light was coming from.

“In there. He’s in there.” Natsu announced, pointing to the cave mouth.

“Well that’s handy. If there isn’t any threat in there then we can bunker down for the night.” Gray pointed out, following the last of the trail.

“Maybe that’s why Gajeel left. To find somewhere to shelter.” Lucy offered. The four mages stepped into the mouth of the cave. Natsu had to blink a few times to adjust to the light but once he had, he spotted Gajeel. The iron mage was sat next to an open fire which had a pot situated atop it that smelled of soup. The dragon slayer had a jumper pulled over his previous clothes and a thick blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

“Gajeel!” Natsu cheered, skidding to sit next to the iron slayer. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped. He sniffed the other mage. Gajeel had flinched when Natsu had spoken, now reaching his hands up to rub over his ears. His hands were covered in silver scales, the scales running up parts of his arms until they reached his elbow.

“Too loud.” he huffed but said nothing else. Natsu pulled back at the smell. He’d encountered this smell before but he couldn’t place where. He sniffed again. Gajeel had reached forward towards the spoon sticking out of the pot, his fingers brushed over the handle several times but they never seemed to grip it. Lucy had stepped forward now, taking hold of the wooden spoon and giving the contents of the pot a stir.

“Need some help?” she asked. Gajeel winced, covering his ears again. He shook his head slightly, eyes closed tight as he held his hands over his ears for a lot longer this time. Then they dropped into his lap. Natsu shuffled closer, placing one hand on Gajeel’s. Only to retract his hand. Why was Gajeel so cold to touch? Sure, he’d been kind of cold after falling in the sea but this was like touching a block of ice. Natsu turned to Erza.

“Do people usually feel really cold in snow?” he asked, trying to get some advice from the mage. Erza’s eyes rounded and her eyebrows shot up.

“Natsu, how cold is he?” Gray asked, looking between the fire mage and the iron mage.

“Like I’m touching ice.” he looked to Gajeel who blinked once and then furrowed his studded brows as he stared intently at the pot on the stove.

“Shit. Natsu. He might have frostbite!” the hair on Natsu’s neck prickled. Gajeel groaned, lowering his head and covering it with his arms.

“Check his hands. What colour are his fingers?” Gray was approaching Gajeel’s other side now.

“I dunno. His scales are in the way.” he pulled one of Gajeel’s hands away but the shimmering scales still remained.

“What about his ears or nose?” Gray asked, trying to lift Gajeel’s head up from the lowered position it was in. Natsu reached towards Gajeel’s ear, pushing black locks away to look at his ear. The tips of his ears were a greyish blue.

“Blue. His ears are kind of blue.” he pointed out. Gajeel shook his head again, reaching up to cover his ears.

“That’s bad right?” Lucy asks, still holding on to Happy who didn’t speak just stared.

“He’s got frostbite. We need to warm him up before his skin starts turning black.” Gray gestured to Natsu.

“Use your magic. You have a higher body temperature than the rest of us so that should help.” Natsu nodded, shuffling close and pulling Gajeel’s head against his chest. He activated his magic, letting the temperature rise as high as he could go without setting himself on fire. Gajeel had curled his body close, searching for further heat.

“Lucy. Check if the food he’s making is ready. Something warm to eat might help him warm up.” Gray pointed to the celestial mage. She nodded, standing over the pot that Gajeel had placed on the fire. After checking it, she lifted it off the fire and onto the cave floor. Happy was searching through Gajeel’s bag, pulling out a plastic bowl. He carried it over to Lucy who poured some of the soup into the bowl and placed it down near Gajeel. The iron slayer turned his head, staring at the bowl with squinted eyes. It took him a few seconds to realise what it was and when he did, he leaned forward. He didn’t pick up the bowl, instead tilting it towards blueish grey lips and drinking the contents that way. When he’d drained the soup and all that was left was some chunks of meat and noodles, he munched on those. Once he’d finished the bowl, he tried to curl back into the blanket he’d been using. Natsu reached out, pulling the iron mage close again. He hesitated this time before curling up into the heat coming from Natsu’s skin. After a few minutes and when everyone had mostly finished their own portions of the soup, Gajeel’s breathing had shifted in indication he had fallen asleep. Natsu placed one hand on his head, running fingers through wet hair.


*******

When Gajeel opened his eyes in the morning, he felt slightly better than he had the night before. While he still felt a little cold, it was nowhere near as bad as it had been during the storm and he could feel his fingers, toes and ears again. He shifted slightly and then realised someone had their arms wrapped around him. He turned his head to look down. Natsu had his face leaning into his neck and arms wrapped around his waist. His temperature was higher than what was normal. That explained the change in his own temperature. It was trying to accumulate to Natsu’s body heat but was confused between that and the cold around him.

“You feeling better?” Natsu mumbled, still not moving from his position. Gajeel’s spines quivered.

“I guess.” he mumbled. Natsu shifted again, sitting up next to the Iron dragon. Gajeel tried not to whine when the heat left his side. The fire mage pulled at his scarf, unwrapping it from around his neck. Gajeel raised a studded brow. Natsu reached forward, wrapping the scarf around Gajeel’s neck.

“There. That’ll help keep you warm until we get back to Magnolia.” Natsu gave him a toothy grin. Gajeel blinked once then looked down at the scarf. He reached one hand up, brushing his fingers over the faded scales that were woven into the fabric. He looked up at Natsu, the necklace he’d given him still hanging around his neck.

“Thanks.” he muttered, rubbing his hands together to try and generate some heat. Natsu reached out, holding onto Gajeel’s hands and heating up his own. He didn’t say anything, just stared at their hands while they waited for the others to wake.

Chapter Text

Gajeel was sitting on the couch, a stack of uno cards in his hand that he was studying intensely when Totomaru walked in. He looked up from the stack in his hands, watching the fire mage.

“What are you-.” Totomaru was approaching, a perplexed look on his face.

“Playing Uno.” he shrugged, turning back to his deck. Totomaru looked around the room.

“With…. Yourself?” his gaze settled back on Gajeel; one eyebrow raised. The iron dragon scoffed.

“No. I’m playing with Milk.” he gestures to the cat who was currently washing his back while sitting next to a pile of cards.

“Right… Anyway. I need your help.” the fire mage brushed over the rest of that conversation. Gajeel raised an eyebrow.

“Why do ya need my help?” he asked, placing a green four down on the stack of cards.

“There’s a party tonight and I want to look nice.” Totomaru crosses his arms and turns to stare at a particular spot in the wood of the walls.

“So, translation. There’s someone ya wanna impress?” Gajeel chuckles, staring at Milk who was washing his chest now.

“Shut up. That isn’t…. Shut up.” Totomaru huffs, flicking his gaze to a newspaper that was discarded on the coffee table.

“What’s this?” he asks, leaning down to pick it up. Gajeel shrugs.

“Dunno. The she-devil gave it to me. Thought I could use it for Milk’s litter box.” he reaches over the table, tapping one finger on one of the cards in front of Milk. Totomaru picked up the paper, looking at the date.

“Mira gave you a paper from 5 days ago?” he asks, flicking through the pages. He paused on a page about halfway through. The picture was small, and the text barely touched upon it but it was there. He folded the paper and passed it to Gajeel.

“Read this.” he ordered. Gajeel looked at him but took the paper, reading over the page he’d been offered. His eyes blew wide.

“He’s out? I thought he got a life sentence?” Gajeel turned to Totomaru.

“He actually got 4 life sentences, but the details aren’t that important.” Totomaru shrugged. He had watched the trial. The council had made it a public affair to make an example to other guild masters to keep in line with the law. Gajeel’s eyes flicked over the sheet.

“Aren’t Era prisons supposed to be super secure? How’d they let Master Jose escape?” Gajeel asked, looking up at Totomaru.

“You look at me like I know. I don’t.” he drops himself on the ground next to Gajeel. Gajeel huffs and tosses the paper to the side.

“Don’t matter. He’ll probably just try to rebuild Phantom Lord as a legal guild or possibly even a dark one. Not our problem till it’s made our problem.” he huffs, leaning his cheek into one hand.

“Now. What do ya want me to do to make ya look ‘nice’?” he asks, meeting Totomaru’s gaze.

“I need some of my good clothes for one, but I also want a bit of make-up. Oh, and my nails and hair done up” He listed off the different things, looking to Gajeel with wide eyes.

“Alright. I’ll get the kit. I expect ya to be makin’ a move tonight if that’s the case.” he rolls his eyes, getting to his feet and approaching one of the boxes in the back.

 

****

The silver strands of his hair fell into his face, something he couldn’t fix with his hands still bound in front of him. The lieutenant that had unlocked his cell led the way up the stairs and took a left when they reached the top.

“Where are we going?” he asked, voice slick and oily even after weeks in that dank cell.

“Boss wants to strike a deal. Now stop talking.” the man snapped, keeping his straight-backed posture. Two guards at the back exit were slumped over next to their posts, heads lolling forward. The one leading him stepped past, leading them to a path that led away from Era. A carriage sat on the stones; curtains drawn over every window. The lieutenant opened the door, holding it open for him to step in. He stepped up the stairs and entered the carriage. Inside were two other people, a woman with long, curly brown hair. She had little black dots surrounding her eyes and long nails that ended in points. She sat on the right, one leg crossed over the other while she held her hands in her lap. To her right was a man, he had a veil shrouding his face, so no features were distinguishable through the fabric however he had the exact same nails all immaculately kempt. The lieutenant climbed up onto the carriage, closing the door and sitting on his left. The jerk of the vehicle notified him that they were moving.

“Jose Porla. Correct?” the man asked, head angled towards him.

“Who are you? And what do you want?” he demanded, narrowing his eyes at the man.

“That will be explained in due time. Right now, I thought we could formulate an alliance.” the man never moved in his seat, only held his hands tightly around a binder bursting full of pages.

“An alliance? I have no need to ally myself with dark mages” he eyed up the man before him. He chuckled.

“I am no dark mage. But I do have some stuff to hide. And I need a certain dragon mage taken care of to maintain that secrecy” he leaned his head to the side, drumming his fingernails on the folder in his hands. They never once threatened to snap as he did so.

“Gajeel is-.”

“A rare specimen. I am aware. However, he clearly doesn’t value your generosity.” Jose raised one eyebrow, looking to the man.

“Excuse me?” he tensed his muscles, ready to stand and challenge this man.

“Redfox has joined Fairy tail. If I remember correctly, you aren’t a huge fan of them.” the vailed man linked his fingers together. Jose scoffed.

“Gajeel would never betray me like that. How dare you suggest such a thing.” he narrowed his eyes at the man. He had given Gajeel everything when he had been brought into the guild and let him do whatever he wanted within reason of course. There were some things he was asked to do but nothing so difficult that he would drop everything to join the enemy. A photo was tossed to him by the woman sat next to the veiled man.

“There’s the proof. He’s sporting their guild mark right there on his shoulder. Rumours have it, he disappeared for a month only to suddenly reappear in Magnolia. A day or two later he joined the guild. The papers have no idea where he disappeared to and unfortunately neither do my sources.” Jose picked up the photo and looked. There in the picture was Gajeel, standing next to him was that Fairy tail dragon slayer and Makarov’s grandson. Jose tightened his hold on the image, watching it crinkle.

“I’m sure he has some secrets you wouldn’t want out but either way he knows things that I can’t let spread, so I plan on… lets say getting rid of him with a permanent solution.” he tapped one nail against his cheek through the vail.

“And why should I trust you?” he stares at the man.

“Well. If everything goes as it should. I’d be willing to pay for a bail to get you out of jail for good. Only if this goes to plan of course.” he offers, watching Jose.

“I’ll hear you out. But that doesn’t mean I’ll help.” he keeps his voice low, making sure that this man knows he shouldn’t be taken lightly. He shrugs.

“Very well. I am very willing to discuss my ideas.” he agrees.

Chapter Text

Gajeel stood off to the side of the guild hall, arms crossed as he observed the rest of the guild celebrating their party. Both Juvia and Totomaru had stood him up, going off to socialise with other people which left him alone. He huffed, picking at one of his silver scales.

“Yeah. I get it. Freed ditched me too.” Laxus spoke up, having joined him in leaning against the wall. Gajeel scoffed, looking over to the left of the guild hall where he could see Totomaru talking with the green haired mage.

“Is it always this loud?” he asks, pressing one hand up to his ear. Was it ringing or was that just something going on in the party? Laxus’ head dropped slightly when he sighed.

“Every time. Never seen a party that doesn’t get this loud.” he confirmed, staring over at one corner of the guild. Gajeel nodded. He looked around the guild hall, picking out Natsu who was laughing and screaming with Elfman and Gray.

“I’m gonna get somethin to drink.” he stated, pushing himself off the wall. Laxus nodded, leaning further against the wall to let Gajeel pass. He stepped over the lightning mage’s feet and slipped into the crowd. Someone bumped into his shoulder, knocking him to the side then didn’t even say anything after. Gajeel huffed, reaching up to wipe at his shoulder. He scrunched up his nose when his hand touched something wet and slimy. He quickly flicked it off his shoulder and stepped away from whoever had knocked into him. He weaved through more members of the crowd until he reached the bar. He looked up and down, trying to spot Mira but he couldn’t see her. He lifted one studded brow, leaning both elbows on the counter and linking his fingers together. He lowered his head for a moment.

“What can I get for you?” Gajeel looked up to see Mira. His nose twitched at the strong scent of peppers.

“Have you been cutting peppers?” he asked, leaning his head to look towards the kitchen. Mira laughed.

“Yes. I cut some peppers for a meal someone asked me to prepare. Now what can I get you?” she repeated the question. Gajeel directed his attention to a support beam above him.

“Give me something strong. I have a strong feeling Toto plans on fucking someone tonight and if he brings that shit into his bed then I’ll need something to help me forget that disaster.” he huffed. He didn’t think Totomaru would do something like that, but he’d also seen him take at least 2 shots and a bottle of beer already. By the night’s end, the fire mage would likely be too drunk to remember that Gajeel was there and that he was not a deep sleeper.

“No problem. I’ll get that for you.” she smiled before walking off to the shelf of glasses behind the bar. Gajeel looked over his shoulder to where Laxus had been standing. He hadn’t moved, just staring out into the crowd.

“Could ya grab me a beer too? I’ll take it to sparky.” he calls over to Mira. The bar maid’s shoulders tense for a second before she looks over to Gajeel and smiles. Alright. That was a bit odd. Perhaps Laxus didn’t handle alcohol well. He turned his attention to the scales on his hands again. After a couple minutes, a glass and a bottle of beer were pushed towards him.

“Enjoy.” Mira smiled at him. He picked up the glass and bottle, turning around and manoeuvring through the crowd to reach Laxus. When he reached the lightning dragon, he offered the bottle out to him. Laxus raised a thick brow.

“For you. Thought you’d want one. One lonely bastard to another.” he chuckled, nodding his head towards Totomaru and Freed who were far too invested in the conversation they were having for people who didn’t know each other very well. Laxus took the beer and swung back at least a third of it. Gajeel shrugged, doing the same with his glass. An odd taste hit his tongue and he pulled the half empty glass back. He observed the glass with a scrunched nose.

“What the fuck did Mira give me?” he asked himself, taking a sniff of the drink. Some kind of Vodka but there was another smell occasionally trying to overlap the drink. Was it some kind of mix or something? He couldn’t pinpoint the other smell. Like he’d never smelt it before. Perhaps a new drink.

“Did you get something foul?” Laxus asks, eyeing up the glass. Gajeel shrugged.

“Dunno. I can’t figure it out.” he stared at the drink in hand. He wasn’t sure if he should finish it or not. He looked to the left, eyeing up the bar. Mira was passing a drink to someone else at the bar. Would she be offended if he threw it out? He didn’t want to get on her bad side. He sighed and downed the rest of the drink. Laxus looked at him with a quizzical expression.

“Don’t wanna get on the she-demon’s bad side.” he shrugged, placing the glass down on a nearby table. He leaned against the wall next to Laxus, crossing his arms.

“Sides. I asked her to give me her strongest. I signed up for a possibly shitty drink.” he shrugged, looking down at his hands again. Laxus took another swing from his beer, eyes fixed on something else across the room. Gajeel picked at his long, black nails mindlessly. One track of music finished and a new one replaced it. Gajeel blinked once and fixed on one scale on his hand. Staring at it hurt his head and made all the scales blend together in a burst of grey. He lifted one hand up to his head and squinted his eyes. What song was playing now? He wasn’t sure. Was that a guitar or a violin? He tried to push himself from the wall and instead lurched forward. His legs were trembling, ready to buckle by the second.

“Ima…… bathroom.” he muttered, words slurring together. He pointed towards the door to the guild’s shower room, arm flopping back to his side. He didn’t wait for Laxus to respond, just stumbled on shaking legs to the shower room. He shut the door behind him and almost fell face first into one of the sinks. He caught himself, wrapping arms around the nearest one. He kept that position up. His eyes flicked around the room. Was the air being blocked off here? His breaths were short, and his heart was racing. He leaned his head against the sink, letting the cold press against his forehead.

Creak.

His eyes snapped wide. What was that? He lifted his head, swinging his gaze around frantically. All that accomplished was making him dizzy. He blinked a couple times to clear his vision.

Creak.

He looked over his shoulder to the door, chest tighter. Were the shadows different by the door or was he imagining that?

Creak.

He let go of the sink, legs giving out as he fell to the ground. His hands fumbled for place on the tile below him while his eyes didn’t leave the door in front of him. The shadows shifted and moved. Air was snatched from his lungs as the shadows merged together, forming a lump that grew in size every second that passed. Gajeel tried to stumble back across the floor, limbs not quite responding and leaving him falling against the cold floor at least three times. The shadows formed a tall figure which loomed over him. It took a step closer. Gajeel lifted his hands to cover his face, eyes shut tight. He wasn’t sure what this thing would do to him. He wasn’t sure if he wanted it to kill him or to leave him be. Warmth brushed against the skin of his wrist. His breath caught in his throat.

“Gajeel?” The warmth disappeared but Gajeel didn’t move. He kept his arms up in front of his face to protect himself. The warmth that touched his skin returned to his wrist. His teeth sunk into his lip as he waited for the inevitable that would come as his wrist was lowered.

Chapter Text

Laxus stayed against the wall for a few seconds, eyebrows furrowed. Surely the drink Gajeel had been given wasn’t that strong. Even if the iron mage was a light weight. Laxus turned to the glass Gajeel had abandoned. He picked up the glass and looked inside. He squinted his eyes at the partially dissolved white mush that clumped at the bottom.

“What?” he blinked. Nothing that Mira served had dissolvable substances in them. Something wasn’t adding up here. He lifted the glass to his nose and sniffed. He coughed at the sour smell that hit his nose. It was like he’d shoved his face into a tub of vinegar. He shook his head, closing his eyes and flicking his tongue out in disgust. He put the glass down and turned to the bathroom. He walked around the crowd, not wanting to get stuck between anyone on his way. The door to the shower room was closed. He placed one hand on the door handle and twisted it. The door creaked open. Laxus quickly found Gajeel. He sat in a curled position on the tiled floor, arms up to cover his face. Laxus approached him.

“Gajeel?” he asked, kneeling down in front of the dragon mage. He placed one hand on the other’s wrist and pulled his arm down slowly. When one arm was lowered, Laxus could see Gajeel’s face. His eyes were wide, red sinking into the sclera. Laxus paused, fingers still wrapped around Gajeel’s wrist. He remembered that from one of his classes when he had been in school. There was a day where they had taught them about drug and alcohol safety and the signs to spot. Someone had drugged Gajeel.

“Shit.” he hissed. That was what had been in his drink. But who would have wanted to do that.

“Why are you being a creep?” Laxus snapped his head up to meet Natsu who was standing in the doorway of the shower room, giving him a harsh glare. Laxus growled, lips drawing back to expose his sharpened teeth.

“I’m not. Gajeel is high.” he snaps. Natsu snarls in return, his fingers clenching at his sides.

“Why would you do tha-.”

“I didn’t. Just go get Totomaru and Juvia. They might know what to do.” he ordered. Natsu hesitated in the doorway, watching Gajeel who was staring intently at the corner of the room. Laxus growled once more. Natsu got the hint and left the room, presumably to go find the other two former phantoms. Laxus turned back to Gajeel. He wasn’t sure what to do beyond that. The iron mage was breathing harshly, his chest rising and falling in an uneven and fast paced rhythm. He placed one hand on the dragon’s shoulder. The iron mage flinched, eyes snapping back to meet Laxus. They were blown wide, pupils obscuring most of the colour in his eyes. Along with being glassy, not focusing on him as he looked at Laxus.

“Its alright. Your friends will be here soon. They should be able to help.” he tried to calm him, but it didn’t do much.

“Gajeel!” the dragon mage flinched at the loud noise, eyes snapping around the room like he was looking for a threat. Totomaru dropped down next to him, reaching one hand out to Gajeel’s face. It connected with his cheek, guiding his face towards them.

“What happened? I was told that he’s high?” Totomaru turned to Laxus, eyebrows pointing down. A fire flickered in his eyes.

“What did you do to him? Was kissing him when he was hurt not enough? You had to drug him too?” he snapped, both hands pulling away from Gajeel.

“He told you that?” Laxus sputtered, staring at the fire mage. He huffed.

“Of course, he told me. Gajeel always tells me things. I can’t believe y-.”

“I didn’t drug him. Someone put something in his drink. I wasn’t watching him when he went to get it.” he objected. He wasn’t about to get into a fight with the fire mage when Gajeel was so jittery. He didn’t know if that would make him worse or not. It could possibly attract unwanted attention towards them and in turn Gajeel and that wasn’t something any of them would want. Totomaru looked at him with a raised eyebrow before turning to Gajeel. The door burst open, Juvia skidding across the floor to join them.

“Is Gajeel alright?” she asked, reaching one hand out towards him. He jolted back, not particularly focusing on any single one of them. The click of the door and footsteps followed Juvia’s frantic entry until Natsu was on the floor with them.

“He’s high.” Totomaru turned to Juvia. Her eyes widened, hands shaking as she clutched her hands together. She opened her mouth to speak.

“He’s still conscious so its automatically better than last time.” he cut her off, one hand on her shoulder.

“Wait last time? This has happened before?” Natsu tilted his head. Totomaru glared at Natsu.

“Since you’re both here. You can help us get him to his bed. We should go through the door to the pool to avoid attracting any additional attention towards us.” Totomaru got to his feet and walked towards the door at the other end of the shower room. He began fiddling with the lock. Laxus turned to Natsu tilting his head towards Gajeel in a gesture. He nodded and reached towards the iron dragon. Gajeel hissed and snapped his jaws at Natsu’s hand, only missing because the fire mage had pulled his hand back.

“It’s alright Gajeel. Juvia won’t let anything bad happen to him.” the water mage reached out, running her hand over his hair. He leaned into the touch, head dropping down onto her shoulder. His nose was pressed into the nape of her neck, likely inhaling her scent as a form of comfort. Laxus could vouch that was a comfort. That had been something he’d done right after he’d gotten his lacrima implant. He’d stopped the behaviour not long after he hit his teens though. He supposed it made sense for someone raised by a dragon to find comfort in scent and touch.

“Gajeel should get some rest. He must be tired.” Juvia was carding her fingers through his hair, catching on a few tangles in the long mane. Gajeel shook his head, his breathing hitching.

“He’s gonna kill me.” his words were muffled to the point Laxus almost didn’t catch it. That would have been the case if not for his dragon hearing. He flicked his gaze to Natsu who’s eyebrows were now furrowed together between his eyes.

“Nothing will happen to Gajeel. Juvia and Totomaru will keep him safe.” She moved her other hand to rub up his back. His hands clutched tightly onto the sides of her dress, turning the knuckles white.

“I got the door. Let’s go.” the fire mage called from the other end of the room. Juvia looked to Laxus, gently passing the iron mage to him.

“Laxus is going to take Gajeel but Juvia and Totomaru will be right here if Gajeel needs them.” she reassured him. His hair seemed to bristle as his gaze swung onto Laxus. Red eyes stared directly at him, anxiety pooling from them. The lightning mage placed one hand on Gajeel’s back and one hand under his knees. If he touched anywhere else, it might end with him having those sharp teeth in his skin. Which sounded very pleasen- no not right now. This was not the time. He lifted Gajeel up in his arms, standing up from his kneeling position. Gajeel yipped, hands instantly clinking onto the lightning mage’s shirt. His entire body was trembling now, gaze flicking between all the shadows around the room. Stepping out into the frigid air, the exposed skin of his lower arm nipped with the early winter chill. Gajeel was jumping at every little noise from the shadows or bushes. Even the call of a bird startled him. Thankfully the walk wasn’t too far from the guild hall so they weren’t out there for long. Just for the length of time it took for Totomaru to fumble about with his keys.

“Put him on his bed.” Totomaru pointed to the top bunk.

“Shouldn’t we change him into something else?” Natsu asked. Totomaru raised one eyebrow.

“Do you want to get bit?” he asked. Laxus adverted his gaze although he saw Natsu shake his head in his peripheral.

“Then you will listen to what I have to say. Put him in the bed.” The fire mage snapped, pointing once more to the top bunk. Laxus walked over to the bunk, lifting Gajeel up towards it. The dragon mage instantly crawled out of his arms and into the back of the bunk, pulling the blanket and pillow piles close. His eyes reflected the red of his irises as he hissed at Laxus. The lightning mage pulled the curtain over the bunk, leaving Gajeel to whatever he was doing.

“Are you sure you didn’t drug him?” Totomaru asked, eyeing up Laxus.

“Yes. I am. He was perfectly fine until he went up to the bar to get a drink and came back with one for the two of us. I never even touched his drink.” Laxus defended himself. Totomaru crossed his arms and huffed.

“Juvia apologises for Totomaru. We are still adjusting to Fairy tail. Back in Phantom Lord, it was hard to trust anyone.” Juvia shook her head.

“Did someone drug you before?” Natsu asked, looking between the two.

“Once. When I was 10. I learned to never let my drink out of my sight unless Gajeel or Juvia were watching.” Totomaru was looking towards a window to the left.

“Why did you stay? That sounds awful.” Natsu blinked at the two.

“Master Jose made us feel welcomed.” Juvia looked towards the floor.

“We didn’t have anywhere to go. I had completely fled my home country; Juvia’s parents had left her and… You know what happened with Gajeel. Besides, Master Jose wasn’t as bad as you think.” Totomaru added with a shrug.

“Didn’t he burn Gajeel as a punishment?” Laxus raised one eyebrow.

“Yeah. But punishments weren’t particularly common. It was only if we severally messed up. So, we learned not to repeat our first mistake.” Totomaru shrugged. Laxus sighed.

“Whatever. I’m going to stay here tonight. Something doesn’t feel right about all of this.” Laxus looked over towards the beds where Gajeel was.

“Fine. You can all stay. Just keep quiet. Gajeel is a light sleeper, and he definitely needs his sleep tonight.” Totomaru waved his hand. He walked over to his own bunk, climbing inside. There was some shuffling about and clothes brushing together before silence. Laxus sat down on the floor, extending his legs under the coffee table and back against the couch. Juvia sat down on the couch, stretching out along it with her back to Laxus. Natsu settled down next to him, half curling with his head rested on his hands. Laxus didn’t say anything, just closed his eyes.

Chapter Text

Totomaru lay in his bed, back facing Gajeel’s. He’d come back late again and his entrance into the room had disturbed the fire mage. He closed his eyes, trying to drift off to sleep. The room was quiet, all the animals outside must have been a lot further away from the dorms tonight. As he relaxed into his pillow, his eyes snapped open. Something wasn’t right. It was too quiet. Something was missing. He sat up, looking around the corners of the room. Nothing seemed amiss.

“Gajeel.” He called out to the iron mage. He’d be able to tell what was missing. However, he got no response from the older mage. Totomaru turned to look at Gajeel’s bed. The iron dragon had his back facing Totomaru. The blankets and pillows were haphazardly sprawled across the bed with Gajeel amongst them. Not the usual way that he set up his nest at night.

“Gajeel.” Totomaru called again, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Still no response. Now the fire mage was worried. He knew the iron slayer was a light sleeper. He should have heard his name being called. Totomaru walked over to the other bed, placing one hand on Gajeel’s shoulder, and shaking him gently. Still no response. And now that he was closer, he could see that Gajeel’s breathing had dropped. That had been the problem. He hadn’t heard the other’s breathing which was impossible in such a small room even if his hearing wasn’t nearly as good as Gajeel’s.

“Hey come on. Get up.” Totomaru shook him a bit more forcefully, his breaths constantly catching in his throat and hands trembling. The iron mage still didn’t stir. The fire mage lifted one hand up to his mouth, biting down on his nails. He turned to the bedroom door.

“I’ll be back…. Don’t get worse… please.” he whispered, stepping out into their living room. The walls seemed to close in on him. He stumbled over the rug at their couch. Then almost stepped on a rat that scampered across the floorboards. He slapped his hand over his mouth as to not scream. It was already late, and their neighbours didn’t like Gajeel’s early rising. They wouldn’t like him screaming over a rat this late. He stepped passed the couch and reached the front door. He clicked the lock and entered the corridor. The dim lights illuminated the ugly orange carpet. One light down the hall to the right flickered constantly, having not been replaced for months now. Totomaru walked down the corridor, flinching every time a floorboard creaked under his bare feet. Twelve doors down he reached his destination. He knocked on the door and stepped back. An older woman answered the door, glaring down at him with a scowl.

“What do you want?” she snapped, rolling her eyes as she leaned against the door frame.

“I’m looking for Juvia. Is she in?” he tried to look past the woman into her apartment, but she pulled the door close to prevent him from looking in.

“What for?” she leaned down, eyes narrowed at him. He cursed in his head. He hadn’t thought of that. He couldn’t just say something was wrong with Gajeel. That would spread too fast, and he was sure there were some people who would want to take advantage of the situation.

“A mission. Its important.” he lied, fiddling with his fingers behind his back. The woman rolled her eyes but walked into the apartment. He could hear talking for a number of seconds before Juvia joined him in the hall.

“Juvia asks what this mission is?” she pulled the door shut, the lock clicking into place. Totomaru didn’t say anything, just nodded his head down the corridor towards his own room. Juvia didn’t ask any other questions and followed him down the corridor. He stepped into the apartment, letting Juvia in behind him before closing and locking the door. He walked back to the shared bedroom. Upon opening the door, he could see that Gajeel hadn’t moved from his position on the bed. He approached the bed and turned to Juvia.

“He isn’t responding. I… I don’t know what to do…” he stared down at his feet. Juvia joined him at the bed, pulling him into a hug.

“Juvia thinks it will be alright. We just keep an eye on him for the night.” she patted him on the back a couple times.

“What if it isn’t? What if he’s really sick? It could be some weird illness we’ve never heard of… Or something really severe. What if he dies? Or-.” Juvia placed one finger over his lips, stopping his babbling.

“Totomaru and Juvia will make sure that doesn’t happen. Just help Juvia bring Gajeel to the living room.” she pulled her finger away from his mouth. He lowered his head.

“Alright” he mumbled.

 

-------

 

The shadows in the room twisted around as a mist fell upon the room. A figure emerged from the shadows, eyes focusing intently on the curtain that protected the young man from their gaze. The door clicking open alerted him to the other’s presence. He leaned his head towards the door. His current partner was still wearing the face of another. The pretty little barmaid of the guild.

“I’d say I did quite well in that situation.” he flipped the long white hair that had replaced his own before letting the disguise melt from his skin. He turned his attention to the other side of the room, approaching the water mage. Sharp nails gripped onto her chin, turning it side to side as he examined her face. His tongue flopped from his mouth, small drops of saliva dripping from his jaws as his tongue swiped around his mouth.

“Pay attention.” The taller snapped, getting the other man’s attention. He rolled his eyes but stepped back.

“That was child’s play. You have something much more important to work with this time.” the taller spoke, his voice never wavering. The younger rolled his eyes.

“You aren’t the boss.” he scoffed. Before the boy could be reprimanded for his sharp tongue, his skin began to morph once more, darkening in tone. His light brown hair growing out at a rapid pace and fading to black. He blinked once and his eyes swapped from the soft yellow to vibrant red.

“This is no challenge at all. Just grab him before that potion wears off and they wake up.” he grumbled, pointing to the three mages next to the couch. The taller reached for the curtain and pulled it back, staring at the pile of pillows and blankets that had been pulled back to create some sort of wall surrounding the dragon mage. The man reached forward, pulling the wall to pieces, and exposing the iron mage. He was curled up, head directed towards the wall he had created although now his eyes were now closed. The potion had even affected him. The man took hold of the dragon’s arms and dragged him out. His body flopped to the floor, half limp as he dangled from the arms of the mage holding him.

“Get on with your little tricks. I’ll get him away.” he spoke. He didn’t leave the other mage to respond before he melted down into the shadows below.

 

 

Laxus blinked his eyes open. His limbs felt far heavier than they should have been, even if he had slept on the floor. He looked around, taking note of the rays shining in through the window. He turned to look at the clock near the TV. 9:49. He blinked once. That was strange. From the brief time he’d spent staying here with Gajeel, he knew the iron dragon was an early riser. As in 5am type of early riser. He shifted forward, ready to stand up. This disturbed Juvia who pushed herself up on her elbows, rubbing her eyes with one hand.

“Juvia asks what’s going on?” she mumbled through a yawn. Laxus looked to Juvia and then over to where Gajeel was sleeping.

“Gajeel hasn’t woken up yet. I just thought it was strange.” He explained, gesturing to the undisturbed curtains. Juvia jolted up at that. Natsu was now beginning to stir, blinking repeatedly, and mumbling under his breath.

“Juvia thinks that is strange. Gajeel is always early to rise, even when he’s injured” she pushed herself off the couch and walked over to the bunks. She pulled the curtains back.

“Ugh. What time is it?” Totomaru mumbled, his voice half muffled by what Laxus guessed was a pillow.

“Gajeel hasn’t woken up yet” Juvia explained to him. A thud from inside the bunk followed by a groaned ow came from within before the fire mage stepped out of the bottom bunk. He wobbled on his legs for a second before steadying.

“Gajeel? You awake?” he called into the top. There was some shifting about.

“Yeah?” a mumbled reply that was laced with sleep came from within the bunk.

“Juvia asks if Gajeel is feeling alright? He doesn’t usually sleep this late.” she kept her voice soft. Some more shifting before the iron mage slipped out of the bunk and landed on the floor. He stretched his arms above his head.

“Just got really hammered last night. Its no worries.” he waved one hand at Juvia before petting her on the head. She looked at him with narrowed eyes.

“Well, I’m gonna go linger somewhere. See you around.” he explained before walking over to the door. Laxus honed in on his steps, no longer weighed heavily to the right like they had been since he’d gotten the cast removed and didn’t need the crutch. The door shut behind him.

“He didn’t have that odd weight to his right steps, right? Or am I imagining things?” Natsu asked, running one hand through his hair. So Laxus wasn’t the only one who noticed that.

“No, I saw it too” he agreed, placing one hand up to his jaw.

“Juvia doesn’t think Gajeel talks like that.”

“And he always cooks his breakfast before anything else. I’ve never seen a day where he hasn’t. Even when he’s sick.” Totomaru added, his arms crossed.

“Something happened last night. Its not a coincidence that he’s acting strange this morning after getting drugged last night.” Laxus pointed out.

“I need to get dressed. Once I’m ready, we should go talk to Master Makarov.” Totomaru explained, turning to a box near the bunks. While he was sorting through the clothes within, a knock on the door caught their attention. Natsu walked up to the door, opening it. Bickslow was on the other side, the visor of his helmet pulled up as he looked between each member of the room.

“Oh, thank the gods. You guys are fine.” he sighed, pulling the visor back down.

“Bickslow? What’s wrong? Has something happened?” Laxus asked, looking over the Seith mage as his dolls floated around him. They were surprisingly quiet. Bickslow looked behind him then shoved Natsu into the room, slamming the door behind him.

“Well to start, everyone’s been talking about how you guys just disappeared halfway through the night. Actually Freed was particularly upset that-.”

“Bickslow get to the point.” Laxus crossed his arms, rolling his eyes. This didn’t seem like an appropriate time to be discussing who Freed didn’t want to leave last night.

“Right, right.” He nodded then took a deep breath.

“That isn’t Gajeel.” he stated. His dolls didn’t mimic him either. No jokes or laughing.

“Fuck.” Laxus hissed, almost catching his lower lip on his fangs.

“What do you mean that isn’t Gajeel? How would you know that?” Totomaru accused, stepping up to Bickslow and pressing one finger into the taller mage’s chest.

“He’s missing one of his souls. Oh, and the one he has is completely different from either of the ones he has. You can’t just change souls’ baby.” he explained to the fire mage.

“Wait one of? I thought people only have one soul.” Laxus pointed out. Gajeel had two souls. That was something he’d never heard of.

“I thought that too till I met Natsu. Wasn’t sure why he had two, but I didn’t really question it. Then we ran into Gajeel all those years back and I saw he had two souls as well. Still not sure how it works but I didn’t think they’d know either.” he shrugged. Natsu blinked.

“Wait I have two souls?” he asked, patting himself down.

“Focus Natsu. You can ask questions later.” he placed one hand on Natsu’s head to direct his attention back to the conversation.

“So that isn’t Gajeel. Then that means that we were right.” Juvia points out.

“It explains the odd behaviour. It would make sense that a copycat wouldn’t know his morning habits or know about his leg.” Laxus added on.

“Alright. I’ll get dressed and then we definitely go talk to Master Makarov.” Totomaru picked up an outfit from the box and stepped into his bunk, pulling the curtain to give himself some privacy. Laxus sat on the couch, tapping his toe on the ground repeatedly.

Chapter Text

Gajeel winced when he first started returning to consciousness. Something was gripping his wrists very tight. He blinked a few times, trying to stop the spinning that was making his head pound harder. Once the spinning had subsided, he looked around. He was in some dark cell. A bolted metal door with no windows. No natural light. The only light was a sliver that came from beneath the door. He took a deep breath, damp and mould filling his nose. He looked down. He was tied up to a chair with chains. His ankles were cuffed to the legs of the chair while his tail was bolted to the floor below. Wait his tail? He could have sworn that wasn’t out the night prior. He looked over his shoulder where his hands were cuffed to the back of the chair and his wings strapped down with leather and metal. He tried to shift the chair, but it was welded to the floor below.

“Fuck. Bastards” he hissed, a chill running up his spine. His ear twitched when he heard whispers from outside the room. He leaned forward as far as he could, listening intently for what the speakers were saying. Before he could pick up on anything though, footsteps got further and further away from the door. He growled, his hair fluffing up with his frustration. He leaned back again, trying to twist his jaws so he could reach the chains that bound his hands. However, he couldn’t reach them. They were too far down for him to reach. He lifted his head back up, looking around the room for an object that he could use to help him escape. Nothing. The room was empty aside for him. His ears pricked when two sets of footsteps approached the room. He lowered his head, keeping his ears and fins pinned against his skull.

Clunk.

The door began to creak open. Gajeel lifted his lips, showing all his teeth in threat. The light from outside the room made him close his eyes for a second from the drastic change.

Bang.

The door had slammed shut, leaving the room in darkness.

“Glad to see you’re awake my boy.” Gajeel stiffened. He knew that voice.

“Master Jose?” his voice was quiet. Had Master Jose come for him? But how did he get here? He could have sworn he was at the Fairy tail guild. Master Jose stepped next to Gajeel, one hand brushing through his hair.

“You’ve been quite the troublemaker since I’ve been gone.” he leaned next to Gajeel’s ear, keeping his voice low. Gajeel opened his mouth.

“Ah. You will not speak. Not unless you are going to provide me with information.” he scolded. The iron mage tried to turn his head to look at Master Jose but a hand on the back of his neck held it in place.

“Why don’t you tell me what you’ve learned from those fairies.” one finger traced over his jawline. Gajeel looked towards the door. What he’d learned? Should he say? What would that do? Would they be angry at him? Would Totomaru and Juvia be mad at him? He winced when the hand on his neck tightened, pressing down on his spine.

“Tell me what you learned.” Master Jose’s voice had dropped and his magic was bubbling to the surface. The hairs on his neck tingled. He flexed his claws, trying to find something else to focus on. The pressure on his neck disappeared. Gajeel took a breath. The relief only lasted a few seconds before a heavy force hit him in the side of his jaw. He coughed, pain spreading throughout the area that had been struck. Something moved about in his mouth. He spat it out, watching as one of his premolars skirted across the floor. He could taste the iron in his blood that pooled in his mouth.

“I’m not playing games Gajeel. If you don’t tell me what I want to know then I won’t hesitate to do a lot worse than what I just did.” Master Jose threatened, walking around to stand in front of Gajeel. The iron mage tensed his jaw, keeping it tightly closed. He swallowed once. The blood from his tooth was starting to slow down now. The man before him stepped forward, taking a strong grip of his muzzle. His ears fell back as he tried to tug his mouth back. He got a swift clap to the side of his head for that.

“How about I make this easier for you. Why don’t we start with the S-class mages. What have you learned about them?” he demanded, nails pressing into Gajeel’s scales. He tried to pull his muzzle back again only to receive another smack to his head.

“Come on my boy. What are their strengths? Their weaknesses? Tell me.” Master Jose was practically snarling at him now. Gajeel swallowed down the whine in his throat. He couldn’t say that. As loyal as he was, he couldn’t. He liked Mira. He liked Laxus. Telling someone who might try to kill them would feel like a betrayal. His head was thrown back, his spine connecting with the back of the chair. He couldn’t suppress the yelp he released in time.

“Fine. If you aren’t going to be a good boy then I guess I’ll have to use more drastic measures after all.” he turned around, walking over to the door.

Clunk.

The door whined as it scrapped across the floor. The light filtered into the room, causing Gajeel to squint his eyes.

Clang.

Gajeel was plunged back into darkness. He looked at the door, his stomach twisting and turning as time stretched on. He looked at his tooth sat on the floor. It was too far away for him to reach. It would be of no use to him either way. His tooth alone wouldn’t have broken through the chains. He would need his jaw strength for that. He could just hear muttering outside the door, but he couldn’t understand what they were saying. He didn’t particularly want to either. He lowered his head, squeezing his eyes shut. Perhaps if he drifted to sleep, he could pretend he was somewhere else. Somewhere he could spread his wings and fly under the sunset for hours.

 

***

Natsu kicked one foot at the ground, slouching over in one of the seats that had been brought into Makarov’s office.

“So, you wanted to talk to me?” Makarov asked, looking between the five mages.

“Gajeel’s been swapped out with an imposter.” Totomaru blurted out, hands clutching onto his trousers. Makarov raised one eyebrow and looked between them. He sighed.

“If this is about your squabbling-.” Makarov sighed, two fingers pressing against the bridge of his nose.

“Its not about that Gramps. That isn’t Gajeel. He smells weird. Like Peppers.” Natsu complained. Gajeel’s scent never had peppers in it.

“And his walk has changed.” Laxus added, his grip tightening on the back of one of the chairs.

“Juvia also thinks his morning routine has changed.”

“Oh, and his soul is different. No one’s soul just changes over night.” Bickslow was leaning on the back of Juvia’s chair, arms crossed over the back. Makarov looked between the two.

“Alright. I believe you.” he sighed, looking down towards the floor.

“We need to find him. He could be hurt or… or…” Totomaru trailed off, looking at his hands which were fiddling with the fishnets over his palms. Natsu nodded intently.

“Hold on. We have no way of knowing if Gajeel is even alive at this moment-.” Laxus slammed his hands down on the desk.

“Of course, he’s alive. Why would they put a fake in if he wasn’t” the lightning mage was almost snarling, a few sparks flying off his body. Natsu leapt to his feet.

“Yeah. We can go grab that imposter and beat the answers out of him.” the fire mage agreed, slamming one fist into his open palm.

“That is enough from both of you!” Makarov yelled, looking between the two. Laxus stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest. Natsu let his arms drop to his side, looking down at his feet.

“Firstly, no one is going to attack the person out there. We have no way of knowing how quickly they can contact whoever they are working with. Attacking them could put Gajeel in further danger.” Makarov looked between all five mages in the room. Natsu fiddled with the hem of his scarf. He hadn’t thought of that.

“Secondly. We don’t know if Gajeel is actually alive or not. Or even where he is. Its possible this person is here just so they can dispose of the body without someone finding them. And if Gajeel is alive, they could be keeping him anywhere. He might not even be held in the country. Some people would go the extra mile to take him across the border just to avoid some of Fiore’s laws that other countries don’t have.” Makarov kept his voice calm, intertwining his fingers.

“You mean he could be in Bosco or even Seven by now?” Totomaru asked, eyes wide.

“Juvia thinks Bosco is known for doing shady business.” Juvia speaks up.

“Absolutely baby. There are guilds and gangs who sell people into slavery up there.” Bickslow agreed, shaking his head.

“Gramps. We need to do something.” Natsu complained, tightening his fists.

“That’s enough. Something will be done but it has to be done secretly. If this fake finds out and alerts their co-workers, then any chance of getting Gajeel back will be gone. Before any drastic measures are done, you will have to locate where Gajeel is being held. I can cover for you while this takes place.” Makarov kept a straight face.

“Alright so we need a plan.” Totomaru stood up, arms crossed.

“The best strategy is to split up. We can cover more ground quicker.” Laxus offers.

“Juvia thinks we should have someone look for possible clues of who might have it out for Gajeel.”

“Oh, don’t worry baby. I have the perfect person for that job.” Bickslow smirked.

“Bickslow.” Laxus gave a short warning.

“What? Freed would be glad to help. You know what he’s like. Loves his books.” Bickslow teased, leaning one arm on Laxus’ shoulder. The lightning mage sighed.

“Alright. It seems you have this sorted out. Good luck to all of you.” Makarov gave them a nod of approval.

“Don’t worry Gramps. We’ll find him.” Natsu cheered, slamming his fist into his palm once more.

Chapter Text

As soon as the cloth was tugged off his face he fell into a coughing fit, freezing water dribbling down from his lips. He shook his head, eyes squeezed shut to get the water out of his eyes.

“You ready to talk now?” Jose asked, fingers taking a hold on his lower jaw. He didn’t respond. His throat stung from the water and his tongue felt like it had been ripped out. The former wizard saint threw Gajeel’s head back, the iron mage’s neck collided with the chair which sent jolts up his spine. He took a deep breath, head lolling forward as he stared at his lap. There was pattering around him, but he didn’t think he could even lift his head to look. He was so hungry. How long had it been since he’d eaten? He couldn’t tell. Not down here. In the dark. He could just make out Jose’s boots in the edge of his vision. Fingers tangled into his hair and yanked his head back. He winced, scrunching his eyes closed when his hair pulled against his scalp. A hand held his head back by the forehead. Something was forced into his mouth, pressing down on his tongue and against the roof of his mouth. It kept pressing harder and harder until his jaws were forced apart. He tried to bite down on what he could assume was a clamp. His bite did nothing, and it stayed in place.

“Perhaps this will get you to open up.” his eyes flicked to where Jose’s voice was. He could hear noise near his ear, but he couldn’t see what was going on. Then a spot in his gums near the back of his jaw exploded with agony. A disjointed noise escaped his mouth, all his limbs pulling at the restraints as his body convulsed. Several heavy breaths escaped through his parted jaws. He could taste the blood in his mouth. He flicked his gaze over to Jose who was putting one long, thick tooth down on the metal trolley he’d brought in. He turned around to face Gajeel again.

“Don’t worry. I won’t take too many. Besides. They’ll grow back.” Another explosion of pain right next to the first one got another jolt out of his body. He gripped tightly onto the arms of the chair, nails scrapping into the metal. His eyes flicked around the room frantically. Another burst of pain on the other side of his jaw this time followed by the clang as his tooth hit the metal table. Over and over. He counted nine teeth before the door opened again. His ears were ringing now. Footsteps clapped against the stone floor, one after another until they stopped near Gajeel. The clamp was removed, ripping the roof of his mouth a little. His head dropped down again as he coughed and spluttered on his own blood.

“He’s lasting longer than I expected.” someone else spoke. Gajeel’s ear twitched. He knew that voice. He closed his eyes shut when even breathing started to irritate his torn gums. He just wanted to leave. To go back to the guild. He took everything back. He would gladly take the guild’s daily squabbles, Totomaru’s complaints or Natsu and Laxus’ spats. Anything was better than this.

“Please.” it was all he could get out before the pain in his jaws overtook him. It seemed to have drawn the attention of the other two members of the room.

“What was that? You willing to talk now?” Jose lifted his head up by his hair once more. He scrunched his nose up as his head was lifted. He could see the other person now. He had recognised the voice. Silas. He tried to think why the other man would be here, but nothing jumped out at him. He hadn’t seen the other since he’d been asked to take those pills. His jaw dropped down, hanging open as he tried to think of something to say. His head was jostled using his hair.

“Well? You going to spill or not?” Jose asked. Gajeel didn’t answer, only coughed which just got more blood to dribble over his lips and down his chin. He was thrown back into the chair, coughing once more. His hands trembled.

“Clearly its not enough. How about his mark? That might get something.” Silas offered. Gajeel jerked in the seat, groaning when his spine contacted the chair. Someone chuckled. His head was lifted, held in place. He tried to pull his head out of the grip.

“Hold still.” Jose snapped at him, a hand making contact with his cheek. He couldn’t stop the gargled scream that came from it, tears building at the corners of his eyes.

“I don’t see why you’re so attached to it. You’re a member of Phantom Lord.” Jose hissed in his ear. He tried to free himself again, but it didn’t work.

“Besides. Its not like any of them are coming for you.” Silas added. Gajeel froze up. He blinked once.

“Oh, you didn’t know? They haven’t even noticed you’re gone. No searches. No panic.” Silas had a wide smirk across his face. Gajeel didn’t move. He didn’t know what to do. It couldn’t be true right? They didn’t care. No of course they didn’t. Why would they care if he disappeared? He was the one to start the fight. To attack without mercy. They were probably thankful he was gone. Maybe even hoped he was dead. His head dropped a little.

“Don’t be like that my boy. If you behave and tell me what I want, then this can end and I’ll even let you join Phantom Lord again with no strings attached.” Jose spoke from his side. He didn’t answer. He didn’t have the energy. The grip on his head tightened.

“Fine but just know that this is your own fault.” That was followed up with something sharp pressing into the skin of his shoulder. He tensed, biting down into his lip to keep himself quiet. The hand on his head turned him so that he could see. A blade. It travelled further along his skin, cutting into flesh and muscle. Hot and sticky blood trickled down his bicep. He heard the moment a drop of his blood hit the stone floor. When the blade was about halfway across his shoulder was when he couldn’t hold in the pain. A gargled scream erupted from his jaws. His arm was shaking, nails digging into the metal until they began to crack and split. A final tug brought the knife to the other side of his shoulder, the skin cut open and bleeding and only the tiniest spots of black remained of his guild mark. His head dropped the moment it was released. The hot touch of a tongue running across the wound made him flinch. Hold still or I’ll make this worse. He gripped onto the chairs with shaking hands. Silas pulled back, blood staining his lips and black spots crinkling with his grin.

“What a great taste. I look forward to a better one.” his tongue ran across his lips, taking up every part of the blood on his face. Gajeel’s ears twitched but he didn’t answer.

“Leave him for a while. Perhaps the isolation will get him to talk.” Silas offered. The blade clanged against the tray. Then the two walked towards the door.

Clang.

He was plunged into darkness once more, now just with all the added pain in his arm and mouth. He let a whimper escape his lips. No one would hear it anyway. It seemed like this would be where he died. He wouldn’t tell them what they wanted to know. Even if he’d been left. He’d take it to his grave.


****

Natsu sat at the table a few feet from where the fake Gajeel was situated at the bar. He watched the mage who was leaning on the counter with a wide smirk. Mira had a strained smile on her face. Even Natsu knew that meant she was uncomfortable, and he struggled with the smaller cues like that.

“Is there anything I can get you?” she asked, placing a glass on the shelf behind her.

“Oh, I’m not hungry. Don’t worry about it darling.” the fake leaned back, swapping his attention to his nails. Natsu huffed. How could this fake not be hungry. He hadn’t eaten anything in a week, and they’d always had at least one person with eyes on him. The fake looked over his shoulder, meeting Natsu’s eyes. The fire dragon narrowed his eyes, staring the fake down. He smirked, showing off the sharp fangs that didn’t belong to him. Natsu broke eye contact first, not wanting to keep up the sick game the other wanted to play.

 

****

Laxus walked away down the street towards his house. A week and there was still nothing. The list of people who could have a grudge on Gajeel had continued to grow until it was longer than the table. Freed, Totomaru and Juvia hadn’t found anything in their searches of the archives and he and Natsu hadn’t been able to track any scents. He thought he’d found something off in Oak town, but it led to a dead end and plenty of frustration. He was not good at this tracking stuff. He lifted one hand up to run it through his hair.

“Fucking sneaky pieces of shit.” he huffed, shoving both his hands into his pockets. He turned around a corner and down another street. A gust of air picked up around him, sending a chill down his spine. He glanced around the street, picking out a flag hung outside a nearby bar. He stopped walking, the wind blowing against the bottom of his coat. He narrowed his eyes, eyebrows furrowed together. The flag wasn’t moving in the wind.

“Where the hell are you?” he snapped, spinning around to look behind him. He couldn’t see anything. He flicked his gaze on every possible hiding point in the street. He took one step back, lightning charging up in his fist. He saw a quick shift in the wind in front of him, he lifted his fist to release his attack. Something pressed into his neck. He turned around, smacking it away. An empty needle dropped onto the ground. He stumbled on his footing, falling to his knees. The lightning on his fist fizzled out. He lifted his head to look. All he saw was the silhouette of a slim figure.

“Looks like we caught ourselves a dragon.” someone from behind chuckled, voice strained with what Laxus thought were tears.

“O-Oui” the one in front of him responded. He reached one hand out to try and swipe at the man. He was just out of reach, instead falling forward. His face met the concreate below as his eyelids dropped shut.

Chapter Text

Freed closed another book, sighing when he had found nothing.

“I’m guessing you didn’t find anything.” Totomaru looked up from the pile of newspapers he had been looking through. Freed shook his head.

“There are so many people on this list that it is difficult to narrow it down. To top it off, some of these people have little to no record of them anywhere.” Freed explained, reaching for another book. The door to the library slammed open, startling the three mages.

“GUYS!” Natsu yelled from the top of the stairs.

“Inside voice Natsu. Please.” Freed had one hand rubbing his right ear. The fire mage clamped one hand over his mouth, closing the door behind him. He scurried down the stairs and stopped at the table they were sat at, a lacrima in one hand.

“Juvia asks what that is for?” The water mage pointed to the lacrima. Natsu stared at the lacrima then at them again. He placed it on the table.

“It’s a surveillance lacrima. Gramps got it from the local rune knights.” He smiled, fangs on show.

“Oh, that’s a great idea. But how did you know which lacrima to take? Did the Rune knights find something on the tapes?” Totomaru asked, reaching for the lacrima.

“Oh no. It’s got Laxus’ kidnapping on it.” Natsu shrugged. All three mages paused for a moment.

“I’m sorry, did I just mishear you? Did you say Laxus has been abducted?” Freed asked, placing both his hands together in front of his lips.

“Yeah. Someone saw it happen and went to a Rune knight who looked through the footage and gave it to Gramps who then gave it to me. He said it could be linked.” Natsu explained.

“Why didn’t you lead with that?!” Totomaru proclaimed loudly, standing up and slamming his hands down on the table. Juvia placed one hand on his shoulder.

“Totomaru should calm down. We don’t want to attract too much attention.” Juvia patted his shoulder a couple times. Totomaru took a deep breath, gripping the table tightly.

“Right. Right. I’m calm.” the fire mage dropped back into his seat, leaning back against it.

“If this lacrima has the footage then perhaps it could give us a clue. I truly doubt that Laxus’ sudden abduction is not linked with Gajeel’s.” Freed pointed out. He pulled the lacrima towards him, swiping one hand in front of it. A screen was projected above it, flickering on occasion without its usual set up for help. He swiped through the footage on fast forward until Laxus was within frame. He had stopped, staring at something across the street. He spun around. A shape formed in front of Laxus through the winds behind him while another rose up from the ground, striking him in the neck from behind. The lightning mage twisted around and dropped to his knees as the first figure disappeared into the wind. The thinner one looked down on Laxus. The bulkier figure reappeared from the wind, picking Laxus up, the mage limp in their arms. Juvia gasped. Freed turned to look at the pair. Totomaru was clutching the table while Juvia was fiddling with her skirt.

“You recognise them?” Natsu asked, pressing his head against Totomaru’s to see if he could see what the other had seen. Totomaru pushed his head away.

“Yes. If the magic wasn’t a clue, the silhouettes are.” he shook his head.

“Juvia agrees. She would recognise Sol and Aria anywhere.” she added. Freed blinked once, grabbing the list that had been made a week prior.

“Sol and Aria. They were part of the element four with the two of you, correct?” he asked, quickly reading through the sheets of paper with names on it.

“Yes. Why?” Totomaru asked, leaning around Juvia to look at him. Freed got to the end of the list, picking out the name he’d been looking for.

“Is it possible that your old guild master is involved in this?” he offers. Juvia placed one hand to his mouth. Totomaru blinked once then leaned back in his chair with a grown while he pressed his hands to his face.

“Of course. I remember now. Gajeel had a paper with the headline of Master Jose’s escape. It makes sense now.”

“Great so we know who took Gajeel and Laxus right? Let’s go.” Natsu was bouncing on his feet.

“Hold on Natsu. We still have no idea where their base is. This is at least confirmation that they are still within Fiore’s borders. Why come back just to risk having your operation cracked open.” Freed placed the papers on the table, folding his hands together on the surface.

“So, we figure out where their base is being held and then we can attack?” Natsu asked.

“Exactly. We go out and monitor possible locations for a base with an escaped convict and report back to each other in 5 days? Agreed?” Freed turned to the other three mages. They all nodded, determination in their eyes.

“I’ll let Bickslow know the change in plans. Once I’ve made up a list, we’ll depart.” he picked up a pen and pulled some unused paper towards him.

****

Laxus blinked his eyes open, groaning when the pounding started up in his head. He looked around him, only being met with a dark room. He tugged on his arms, but they were stopped, and chains rattled. He looked over his shoulder at his arms which had been chained up to a metal chair. He looked down at his feet which were similarly chained and the chair itself was welded to the floor. He growled, tugging on the chains but they still wouldn’t give.

“Fucker.” He hissed. His throat itched from the growl and the pounding was only getting worse. A loud creek made him wince as light flooded his senses. It soon disappeared and he was plunged into darkness. He inhaled. Something was there. No. He inhaled again. Someone. He blinked a couple times, eyes adjusting to the light.

“I’m quite impressed they managed to pull it off.” his company spoke up. Laxus turned his head to what he thought was the source but couldn’t see anyone standing there. They chuckled.

“Laxus Dreyar, the grandson of Makarov. Now look at you.” Laxus whipped his head around to the voice but still saw nothing.

“Shut up. Where the hell are you?” he snapped, turning to look forward so his neck wouldn’t hurt anymore.

Someone stepped out of the shadows in front of him. He growled. Jose Porla. He’d seen him once or twice in passing on the news and in the papers. The headline that had the most coverage was his arrest as it had been such a big event for an active guild master to commit the crimes he did and to be arrested instead of having some kind of coverup.

“Don’t get too worked up. You won’t be here for long.” he smirked, leaning towards Laxus. The lightning mage lifted one eyebrow. Jose chuckled.

“I’m going to kill you. But not yet. I haven’t decided if I want to do it in front of Makarov or just drop your head on his doorstep. So, I’ll just be leaving you alone for now. I know you won’t give me the information I want.” he turned towards the door. Laxus pulled on his chains.

“Where’s Gajeel! What did you do with him?!” he barked, leaning forward. Jose looked over his shoulder.

“Oh Gajeel? I’m currently working on him. He just doesn’t want to break, no matter how much I do. If there’s one thing you can look forward to, you’ll both be rotting in hell soon.” he smirked before pulling the door open with an ear bleeding screech and walking out the door. Laxus was left in the darkness once more.

 


The door opening drew Laxus attention once more. He didn’t recognise the man who entered, nails sharp and hair reaching his shoulders.

“Not what I expected when they said that they’d caught a second dragon, but I can’t complain too much.” the man was next to him now, leaning over his shoulder. His green eyes glinted in the low light that came from the crack in the door.

“Who the fuck are you?” he demanded, making a point of making eye contact with this man. He smirked, tilting his head slightly.

“That is not something that concerns you little dragon.” those sharp claws pierced into the skin of his cheeks, making him wince. He shook his head to get the claws off him. The man chuckled, releasing his grip.

“I’ve never personally been a fan of the more muscley types. Too stringy for my taste. But my personal tastes don’t apply to my siblings. My brother especially. He likes just about anything you put in front of him.” the man was dragging his nails over Laxus’ exposed shoulder. He growled. He wished his magic wasn’t blocked off or he would zap this pest into the ground.

“Feisty. Much more than the Fox boy. He was always so quiet and obedient. Shame he had to grow up. I would have kept him around longer if he hadn’t.” Laxus aimed a headbutt at the man’s head but he stepped back, avoiding the attack.

“Nice try but I wasn’t going to fall for that.” he chuckled with a shake of his head. He stepped around Laxus, heading towards the door.

“Hope you like the dark.” he smirked right before pulling the door closed. Laxus squinted once he was plunged back into the darkness.

“Cocky bastard.” he hissed.

****

Gajeel stared down at the floor. Not an inch of him didn’t hurt. His jaw and gums, his arms, his legs, his ribs. Everything. All he could smell was his own blood which was also forming a small puddle beneath his feet every time a new wound was inflicted just a little too deep. He wanted to sleep but it never came, the pain always kept him awake.

Screech.

He flinched at the sound, his ears aching from having stuff shoved in and out repeatedly for an hour. He didn’t even bother sniffing or even lifting his head, he knew who was in the room with him.

“You aren’t even going to acknowledge me?” he spoke, his footsteps getting closer. His claws tensed in the chains as the man drew closer until he could see his shoes in front of his own feet. His chin was grabbed and ripped up to face Jose. Gajeel whined at the harsh touch to his jaw, blinking away the tears at the corners of his eyes.

“Are you ready to talk now?” he asked, meeting Gajeel’s eyes. The iron slayer didn’t answer, fins pressed down against his skull. His head was thrown back, leaving him to groan.

“You are tougher than I thought. I guess we’ll have to try a different method.” he shook his head. More footsteps followed by clanging on the trolley. Gajeel braced himself for whatever was to come but it didn’t. He tilted his head slightly to look. Jose was attaching something to his cuffs. He straightened up, hand held on a lever that was pointing upward. Gajeel finally processed what it was a second before the electricity ran through his body. It convulsed as he screamed, unable to stop it from ripping out of him. The shock only lasted a few seconds, but it felt like it lasted much longer. Steam travelled off his skin as his head lulled down.

“Had enough?” he still didn’t respond. Another shock, this time a lot longer. His body convulsed until the stream of electricity was halted. Again, and again. Until finally, he couldn’t take anymore and fell into unconsciousness.


Chapter Text

Laxus stared at the door, waiting for someone to come back into the room. Perhaps if they had the keys to his cuffs, he could sneak them off and escape. He already tried to pull his wrists out of the cuffs. He’d gotten nothing but raw and irritated skin in the process. He coughed once, his lungs burning. He had to have been here for a few days now, right?

Clunk.

He braced his muscles; someone was unlocking the door. It creaked open at a slower pace than it had the previous time. He raised one brow. The bright light made him momentarily close his eyes against the harsh adjustment. When he opened his eyes again, someone was stood in front of him. He felt a growl build up in his throat.

“Be quiet. We might get caught.” they spoke. Laxus paused, blinking to get a better view at who was in the room with him. They stepped around to behind him. Laxus was about to snap his head around to look at them when he heard the click of a key in a lock. The cuffs on his wrist fell to the ground. Laxus pulled his hands away from the back of the chair, eyeing up the irritated red around his wrists. The cuffs around his ankles fell off next. He stood up, taking one step away from his company.

“No need to be afraid monsieur, I won’t harm you this time.” they explained. Laxus squinted, finally recognizing the man in front of him.

“You’re one of the element four. Why would you help me?” he challenged, electricity sparking around his wrists.

“I… Changed my mind. After finding out what Master Jose and his new ally planned to do with Gajeel… It started to feel wrong.” he kept his back straight. Laxus looked at the man.

“That all?” he lifted his chin up, not believing this man.

“Well. I have seen how Gajeel, Totomaru and Juvia have been getting on with their lives. How happy they are away from this place. I want that too. Perhaps to go back to my own country and start a new life. Far away from here.” Laxus finally relented.

“Fine. Do what you want. I’m going to find Gajeel” he huffed, turning to the door.

“Gajeel is in the cell numbered K-8. Its just down the hall from here.” Sol pointed in the direction of the cell block. Laxus looked at him for a moment then turned away, stepping out of his own cell. He turned down the corridor and walked down the block.

“That bastard better not have lied to me.” he grumbled. He got to the next hall down and instantly stepped back behind the wall. Two guards positioned in front of one of the doors. He needed to distract them but how. He spotted a rock on the ground. That could work. He tossed the rock into the corridor. The guards started yelling towards him. He held back, waiting for them to get closer. He leapt out, knocking one of them to the ground while his electricity zapped the other. That one fell to the ground, unconscious. Once he was sure the one, he’d tackled was out, he searched for keys. The second guard had a set of keys on a loop attached to his belt. He yanked the keys off his belt and walked up to the door. K-8. He looked through each key, trying to find which one belonged to the door. After finding no labels on any of them, he just began testing each key in the lock. The third key clicked, unlocking the door. He pushed it open, squinting into the dark. Chained up to a chair was Gajeel, his head dropped to the ground and in nothing but a pair of shorts. Laxus approached, placing one hand on his shoulder. He retracted it when it was warm to the touch.

“Gajeel? Are you awake?” he asked. He kneeled down near the cuffs on his ankles and looked up at the iron mage’s face. His jaw had dried blood crusted across it and a few dark bruises littering the sides of his face. But his eyes were open. They slowly looked towards him, no change in expression.

“I’m going to get you out of here. Just stay still.” he assured the iron mage. Gajeel had no reaction. His muscles were tense, but they had been since he entered the room. He turned his attention to the cuffs on the other’s ankles. He tried different keys until finally they dropped off the dragon’s ankles. Gajeel’s ears twitched but he didn’t move. Laxus stood up, walking to the back of the chair where most of the binds were. He unbound Gajeel’s wings first, letting the chain loosen around the other’s shoulder. He could hear a low growl from Gajeel but ignored it. He unlocked the bind around his tail and finally the one around his wrists. Laxus stood up straight.

Clank.

The chains fell to the floor as Laxus was jumped, pushed to the floor by Gajeel. The iron mage pressed claws into his chest, wings spread wide, and lips drawn back as he snarled. Laxus could see several teeth missing from the sides of his jaws. That didn’t stop the dragon opening his jaws in preparation to bite Laxus. And this time it was definitely a killing bite.

“Wait Gajeel. Its me. Hold on.” he pressed one hand against the top of Gajeel’s snout, stopping him from getting any closer. Red eyes narrowed in his direction. Laxus could feel the air against his hand when the iron mage took a sniff. He stepped off Laxus, folding his wings against his back. He stared at the door; fins pressed against his skull. The door was still slightly ajar, a thin stream of light filtering into the room. Gajeel’s back arched, tail swishing back and forth. Laxus closed his eyes, focusing on his ears. He could just faintly hear footsteps. And they were getting closer.

“We ne-.” he barely got the words out before Gajeel had stepped out of the room and into the hall. He turned down the opposite way that Laxus had come from.

“Where are you going?” he hissed, stepping out of the cell fully. Gajeel didn’t answer, just walked on all fours down the corridor. At the end of the hall, he took a left. He didn’t even stop to think. Laxus watched as Gajeel continued to make confident turns until a set of stairs loomed in front of them.

“How?” Gajeel looked over his shoulder towards Laxus. He started the ascent up the stairs. A large wooden door blocked the exit. Gajeel nudged it open with his muzzle, slipping through the gap. Laxus followed, looking around the room they’d entered. His gaze flicked around the massive hall. It was dimly lit with layers of dust atop the crumbled tables and cracked bar. His gaze finally landed on a dark purple banner that hung from the banister of the second floor. He recognised that symbol.

“This is-.”

“My old guild hall.” Gajeel’s voice was hoarse and scratchy. He didn’t look back at Laxus.

“That’s how you knew the way out. That makes a lot more sen-.” The metal plates on the other’s tail pressed against his mouth. Gajeel’s ear fins were twitching. Claws wrapped around his wrist, and he was pulled down behind the bar. Gajeel quickly followed, crouching beneath the wooden counter. Boots against wood clicked in his ears. He bit into his lip, holding his breath as the steps neared the counter. They stopped just short of where they were on the other side. Silence. All he could hear was the other’s breathing and the hammering of both his and Gajeel’s hearts. Gajeel was staring at Laxus, eyes wide and both his hair and the fur around his body was fluffed up. A repeated tapping on the counter above them started up.

Four taps. Silence. Four taps. Silence.

“Little dragons. Come on out.” they spoke. Gajeel flinched, ears pinned down and hands clutching his arms. The tapping stopped. One more step. Then nothing. Laxus tried to listen for any kind of sound, but he couldn’t hear anything. His lungs were burning now. He tried to hold in his breath for longer, but the air erupted from his lips with a cough.

“Found you.” A clawed hand, fingers white like bone curled around the edge of the counter. Gajeel released a squawk of sorts, diving out from under the cabinet. A heavy thud on top of the bar. Laxus scrambled to his feet, taking an empty bottle from the floor, and throwing it in the direction he assumed this person was in, lightning accompanying it. He heard a screech accompanied with the clash of glass, so he took a guess that he hit his target. He turned, following Gajeel’s scent trail which led to the kitchen. He slammed the door behind him once he entered the kitchen and slipped the bolt shut. Once he was sure it was locked, he stepped forward. His exposed foot came into contact with something smooth that cracked beneath him. He stepped back, looking down at what was below him. A bone.

“What the fuck?” he hissed, lightning sparking around his arms. Gajeel popped his head around the counter in the middle.

“Hurry. Unless you want to be next.” he hissed, dipping around the counter again. Claws scrapped at the industrial metal door. A chill ran up Laxus’ spine. He stepped around the counter to see what Gajeel was doing. The iron slayer was sitting on the floor, pieces of metal scattered on the floor from the vent grate he’d clearly chewed up.

“You think we can fit in there? You have to be insane.” he objected. Gajeel looked him over. He stared at it for a few more seconds before jolting at a heavy thud against the door.

“Follow me.” he turned around the cabinet, approaching a board in the back wall of the kitchen. He slipped his claws around the board, pulling it back to show a large hole that led into the corridor. This would definitely fit both of them. Gajeel slipped through first, his tail flicking as he reached the other side. Another thud against the kitchen door had Laxus ducking through the hole, staying crouched on the other side. They had come out in a corridor near a back door. Gajeel reached through the hole, pulling the board back in place. Laxus snuck up towards the door, trying the handle. It clunked against the frame. Locked.

“Fuck. They locked it.” Gajeel hissed, swishing his tail.

“Can’t you just bite through it? It’s made of metal.” he pointed to the door. Gajeel shook his head,

“Jose had the doors enchanted to stop that very thing when I started snacking on everything made of metal.” he objected.

“Then what? I doubt anyone’s going to give over a key and I don’t know where that element four guy went.” Laxus looked over his shoulder, trying to judge how much time they had. The footsteps were getting louder.

“Element four guy? W- I have an idea.” he bolted towards the stairs, running up to the second floor. Laxus watched him sprint up the stairs for a moment. A heavy slam of the door to the kitchen giving way had him following Gajeel up the stairs. He caught up a bit later.

“How is this an idea? We’re going to get trapped up here” he objected. Gajeel ignored him, bursting through a door at the end of the corridor. Laxus looked over his shoulder, footsteps thundering up the stairs. He caught a brief glimpse of two thin horns before Gajeel’s hand wrapped around his wrist and he was pulled through the door, slamming it shut and running down a long corridor with doors on either side every so often like a block of flats. Gajeel kept running down the corridor until he reached a door somewhere in the middle. He dove into the room. Laxus stopped for a second, his wrist being ripped free of Gajeel’s hand. He stared at the open door before joining Gajeel. Inside was a basic living space. A conjoined kitchen, living space and two doors. One that led to a filthy bathroom and the other an empty room he could only guess would be a bedroom. The wooden flooring was covered in dirt and bugs were crawling everywhere. He could even hear the squeaking of rats. He looked towards Gajeel who was slipping his claws under the window. One which had hundreds of claws marks littering the frame. He took a breath, taking in the scent of his surroundings. Beneath their own fear scent and the dirt and grime, he could smell it. It was faint but there. Gajeel and Totomaru.

“Did you… live here?” he asked. Gajeel got his nails under the window and pushed it up all the way. The rushed footsteps were getting closer.

“Yes. Now get out the window.” he ordered, stepping aside. Laxus looked between Gajeel and the window.

“There’s a bush below the window. It’ll break your fall somewhat. Just brace for the impact.” he added on. A thud on the door made them both jump. Laxus let out a breath. Climbing out a window. Guess there was more undignified ways out. He placed both hands on the frame and lifted himself out. The second his hands let go of the frame, he dropped down. He landed in a frankly very prickly and uncomfortable bush. After a couple seconds of getting his bearings back, he got up, stepping away from the bush and brushing thorns and leaves off what remained of his clothes and his skin.

Crunch.

Gajeel had joined him down on the ground, leaves and twigs sticking out of the tangled mess that was his hair. Gajeel got to his feet a lot quicker than Laxus had. He took the lead, running down the hill on the outskirts of the town below.

“Once we cross the river then we can head East, skirt around Acalypha town, and follow the tracks towards Magnolia. We’ll have a better chance of a fight with more mages around.” Gajeel huffs.

“Perhaps we should take a break. You don’t look so good.” Laxus objected. Gajeel huffed, shaking his head.

“How about this. We head down towards Balsam Village. We can hide away near the bottom of the mountains for a day or two so you can get your strength back. You won’t be able to do anything if you exhaust yourself from the journey back. Once you have more strength, we can travel around the base of mount Wor. It gives us cover and somewhere safe to settle if we need the rest.” Laxus offered. Gajeel stayed quiet for a moment.

“Fine. Not like it makes any difference how fast we get there.” he grumbles. Laxus opens his mouth to ask what that meant but yelling further up the hill stopped him. They had to be quiet, or they could get caught once more. He’d ask Gajeel about it later once they were safe from the splintered remains of Phantom Lord’s members.

Chapter Text

The moon was high in the sky by the time Laxus and Gajeel stopped for the night. The cold air that enveloped the bottom of the mountains tickled against Laxus’ exposed skin but he did his best to ignore it. Gajeel had picked up some branches when they’d gotten closer to the base of the mountains and was currently using two stones clicking together to get a fire started.

“Isn’t there an easier way to do that?” He asked, looking down at the sloppy crafting of the metal bowl Gajeel had created. He must have been extremely tired and in a lot of pain.

“Hush. I’m trying to concentrate.” he grumbled, voice still scratchy even after they had both had a drink of water at the river before crossing it. The stones clicked together once more, a spark flicking from the stones and latching onto a piece of the wood that created the fire. Laxus blinked once. He hadn’t expected that to work. Gajeel got up, sitting down on the ground next to Laxus. The lightning mage looked towards Gajeel, eyeing up the mess of his shoulder, coated in scabbing, pus, and dried blood. He took a hold of the bottom of his trousers, ripping a part of the fabric off. The tear of the material brought Gajeel’s attention to him.

“What are ya doing?” he eyed the lightning mage, muscles tense and looking between the bowl of water and the make-shift cloth.

“Some of those wounds don’t look good. You need to get them cleaned.” Laxus dipped the material into the bowl, soaking it through with water. He lifted it from the bowl, twisting the fabric until most of the excess water had been removed. He unbunched it and pressed it to the scabbing on Gajeel’s shoulder. The iron mage flinched, a noise that was a mix of a growl and whimper dropped from his mouth. Laxus was tempted to pull the cloth back at that reaction but held on. It would just be more painful if he left it. He wiped the cloth over the wound. The movement dislodged the scabbing, releasing fresh blood to dribble down over the already crusted blood along the iron dragon’s arm. Gajeel had his chipped nails curling into the dirt below. Laxus stared blankly as he continued to tend to the wound.

“You seem... down.” Gajeel mumbled through his hissing. The lightning mage blinked and looked up, meeting Gajeel’s eyes.

“Its nothing. Doesn’t matter.” he dismisses with a shake of his head. Gajeel leaned forward.

“I don’t think it is.” he objected, tail twitching once and hitting the ground with a heavy thump. Laxus sighed, pulling the cloth off Gajeel’s shoulder, and rubbing both his hands over his face.

“It was my fault you were taken. I should have noticed that drink had been drugged the moment you commented on it. I’m such a fucking idiot.” he huffed, running his fingers through his hair. Gajeel growled.

“Not yer fault. Something like this woulda happened eventually” he had turned to look at the fire, eyes reflecting the flicker of the flame. Laxus blinked and looked at Gajeel.

“With your old guild master?” he raised one brow. Gajeel shook his head. Laxus opened his mouth to speak.

“The one who chased us. I know him.” he explained before Laxus could utter a single word. Laxus didn’t respond. He turned to stare at the fire, unsure what to say. Gajeel sighed heavily, lifting his knees up to his chest and wrapping both arms and tail around them.

“His name is Silas. An Ex of mine from years ago. It took a bit to figure out why he was there with Jose, but I know now. I know things he doesn’t want made public.” he kept his gaze on the fire.

“Then why not try earlier? If it’s been so long?” Laxus objected, lifting one leg up so he could lean his elbow on it.

“He did. It wasn’t long after my growth spurt. He gave me a bottle with some pills in it and told me to take them before I went to sleep. I didn’t think much of it at the time and took them as instructed. Woke up in the hospital a few days later after having an overdose. I got lucky that Totomaru caught it, or I would have been dead.” he sighed, looking at his chipped claws.

“He never tried to do anything outright while I was in Phantom Lord. Probably because there would have been no way to sneak anything into my food and drink because there were never parties or opportunities for that. I let my guard down and paid the price for it.” Gajeel flexed his fingers, the nails clicking together every time he pulled his fingers close to each other once more. Laxus shook his head.

“You weren’t in the wrong for relaxing and enjoying yourself. No one expects you to be on guard for an attack every second of the day. I was like that for a while when my lacrima was changing my body. I didn’t know what was happening and everything was too overwhelming for me.” he looked at Gajeel who blinked once.

“Right. You were fused in a lab. Sometimes I forget that’s a method of Draushum creation.” he sighed, leaning back on his hands. Laxus blinked.

“Fused in a lab? Wait. Where did you learn that?” the lighting mage sat forward, turning his entire body to face Gajeel. The iron dragon flinched at his louder voice. Laxus cleared his throat.

“I knew someone who had been fused in a lab. Haven’t seen him since though. Although I’ve imagined hearing his voice with others on occasion. Probably my mind playing tricks on me in times of danger.” he sighed, looking up towards the stars above.

“About Silas? What do you know that he doesn’t want out?” Laxus brought the conversation back around. Gajeel kept looking up to the sky, the stars reflecting in his eyes as he flicked his gaze between the many constellations and lone stars.

“He runs an underground operation. I think it was a family thing. He picked me up when I was still fresh from.... from that metal bastard leaving me. He promised me work in exchange for food. I agreed because I needed the food. I had nothing to my name and hunting in the nearby areas was difficult when people kept chasing me off because I was ‘endangering the wildlife’ as they put it.” he put air quotes around those words, mocking another voice although it was scratchy. Laxus wanted to say something to that, but Gajeel continued.

“By the time I realized what was actually going on, it was too late for me to leave. If I ever tried to leave, I knew Silas would rip me to shreds and with his stupid inhuman abilities, I wouldn’t have stood a chance.” he sighed, placing one hand against the slight swell of his jaw.

“If its not too much, what was it he did?” Laxus prompted. The iron mage looked at him then back to the fire.

“Sex work. I got plenty of clients interested in me. Whether it was because I was small and young or because I was strange looking was up to what the client wanted. I was never allowed to say no, not even to Silas. He was the worst. Always rough and gave me cuts and bruises when we did it. It finally hit me when he offered me the first payment of food. They were in their true forms, whatever they are, beating and fucking the body of a one-time client with little money or attention upon them. When they had finished having their way, they made quick work of what was left. I was forced to take a bite. Its why I know I can’t stand the taste of human flesh. I’ve tried it before.” Gajeel closed his eyes, claws digging into the silver scales on his legs. Laxus slammed a hand over his mouth. He wanted to be sick. He almost was, choking down the stomach acid in his throat. Gajeel turned to him.

“Are you alright?” he asked, leaning towards Laxus. The lightning mage coughed.

“Not really... Just... all of that... I didn’t think it would be like that.” he explained, leaning forward with one hand on his stomach. Gajeel sighed looking up to the sky. Laxus followed his gaze, picking out a small cluster of eight stars. The one in the middle was the biggest and shone the brightest. The positioning of the stars looked like they could be holding hands in a circle around the bigger star. Laxus scoffed. That was ridiculous. He turned back to the fire.

“So how come you have that patch of black in your hair?” he was startled by Gajeel’s question, reaching up to pull at his cowlick. The black of his roots was showing. He looked to the iron slayer who blinked once but didn’t break eye contact. Laxus sighed.

“Its natural. Always had it but I started dyeing it out after a bunch of stuff with my dad. People kept using it as grounds to compare us. That and my eye.” he turned his hand around, watching the shadows dance on it.

“Your eye looks fine to me.” Gajeel pointed out, still not breaking away from Laxus. The lightning mage sighed, reaching to the enchantment he’d had hidden on his wrist. He wrote the runes he knew well, allowing the spell to fall and show what it had been hiding. Gajeel looked between his ears and his scarred eye. He reached up to his own ear, running clawed fingers over scales as he examined the small point to Laxus ears.

“Got them from my father. He never told me why he had pointed ears when Gramps didn’t or why I inherited them, but I just got tired of people looking at my eye or my ears or my hair and using it for grounds to compare me to him.” he ran one hand through his hair. He would probably dye the roots again once he got back and all this had blown over.

“I like it.” he lifted his head at Gajeel’s words and looked to the iron mage. He was watching the fire, but one hand was tracing the shape of his own ears.

“It just feels like you.” he added, still not looking towards Laxus. The lightning mage felt a small smile tug at his lips.

“Thanks.” he muttered, leaning back on his hands. Silence enveloped them for a couple minutes.

“We should get some rest. Still a long way back to Magnolia.” he commented, laying down on the gravel below. Gajeel didn’t answer just shifted. Laxus closed his eyes, ready to fall asleep. Something pressing against his side caught his attention. He turned to look. Gajeel was curled up against his him, back pressing against his side. His legs were tucked up against his stomach, head supported by his arms. One wing was tightly tucked against his back while the over draped across his body, acting like a blanket. His tail was curled up around him, the stinger-esque shape up near his face. Laxus reached out one hand, running it through the dirty, tangled strands of Gajeel’s hair. The dragon let out a noise akin to a purr. Laxus smiled, continuing the repeated motion until he was claimed by sleep.

Chapter 30

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

It wasn’t easy to weave through the crowds of people in Magnolia. Not when he stood out so starkly in contrast to everything else. That didn’t matter now. They were at the guild which meant Laxus would be safe with his friends. Laxus didn’t hesitate to enter the guild, disappearing beyond the doors. Gajeel however halted just short of entering. Something wasn’t right. He took a deep breath. Peppers mixed in with the stale smell of decay. His fur bristled and his spines pushed up through his skin. Of course. He knew that smell. It was the perfume that Silas’ brother used to disguise the rotten flesh smell that clung to their body like a viper. He took a step back. It wasn’t safe in there. He was ready to turn tail and run. Wait. Totomaru and Juvia were in there. Laxus and Natsu as well. Not to mention Mira and Levy and the rest of the guild. If Silas had one of his siblings in there, then there was no doubt in his mind that they intended to turn the entire building’s occupants into a five course meal. He stalked forward, keeping his back arched.

“What did I just say!” he flinched back at the sound of his own voice yelling that. He peaked past the doors. There was him, holding a gun against Laxus’ skull, finger on the trigger. Both had their backs towards him. A growl built up in Gajeel’s throat. They had stolen his face and were using him to get what they wanted. He bunched the muscles in his shoulders, leaning forward. His tail flicked. He watched the pair near the door. The gun shifted ever so slightly to the left. Gajeel leaped, claws sinking into the copy’s shoulders and teeth aiming for the neck. The trigger on the gun was being pulled back. Gajeel used his tail to push Laxus out of the way of the bullet, letting it bounce of his scales and into the nearest wall. The two fell forward, hitting the floor. Gajeel lost his grip, skidding across the wooden floor for a couple inches, ending on his back.

“Wait. There are two Gajeel’s?” he couldn’t tell who had spoken through the spinning of his vision and the slight ring to his ears. He blinked twice and shook his head to clear his vision. Once he was sure the world had stopped spinning, he rolled onto his front, lifting himself onto his feet. A boot connected with the side of his head. He skidded across the floor once more.

“You absolute fucking bitch.” his own voice spat at him, the hiss leaking into his voice. Gajeel pushed himself to his feet once more, blinking over at his doppelgänger. He was walking towards him, eyes no longer red but now a sickening yellow. The black spots were fading through his disguise. Gajeel flicked his tail once and tried to stand from his crouched position, but his legs locked up. He growled to himself.

“I don’t care what the boss or that criminal bitch have to say. I’m killing you right now.” he spat. His arm morphed into a sword, pulling back to swing. Gajeel growled, trying to move. His limbs were heavy, not wanting to obey.

“Fire dragon-.”

“Lightning dragon-.” Gajeel froze up, closing his eyes and ducking his head.

“Roar.” the two yells synchronised at the end right as a monstrous howl of fire and lightning ripped through the room and struck his double head on. A few stray bolts targeted his battered scales but the attack mostly passed him unharmed. Footsteps neared him and he lifted his head. Laxus and Natsu were kneeled next to him. They were saying something but the spinning of everything around him made it difficult to focus on what that was. He blinked, looking up at the two dragons. Natsu was leaned close, sniffing Gajeel for any hint of further injury while Laxus offered a hand to Gajeel. He looked at it for a moment before placing his own in the offered hand. Laxus pulled him to his feet. His legs were stiff and shaky, locking up and preventing him from taking a step forward.

“I was right on my guess I see.” Gajeel turned to the door. Silas, his sister, and Jose were at the front with other people both mages and Kelos’ swarming into the crevices of the room.

“Jose.” Makarov was standing next to the dragons, looking at the former wizard saint.

“Makarov.” Jose responded; arms crossed. Silas and his sister were looking over towards their brother who had gotten to his feet, patting out the last of a flame on his ankle.

“Seriously Canter?” she scoffed, rolling her eyes, and shaking her head. Canter hissed, his tongue flicking out between his stolen teeth.

“Shut up Juliana. They caught me off guard.” he huffed, stepping up to join his siblings.

“Why don’t you hand over Gajeel and perhaps we can get this done quickly.” Jose stepped forward, keeping his gaze focused on Gajeel. The iron mage bent back, ears pressed tightly against his head and tail between his legs.

“Come on Gajeel. I’ll give you my offer one last time.” Jose’s voice was smooth as he spoke, taking another step towards him. Gajeel lowered his head, eyes closed.

“They don’t care. You belong with me.” he was close now and both Laxus and Natsu were snarling.

“I will give you until the count of five.” The former wizard saint began his count down. Gajeel snapped his eyes open at four.

“Shut up.” he snarled. Jose blinked, looking at him. Gajeel took a shaky step forward, legs almost buckling beneath him. He curled his tail up, flicking it behind him and let his ears perk up.

“I’m never going back to you. Not after what you did to me.” he exposed what remained of his teeth, his tail flicking back and forth similar to an angry cat. He could hear multiple pairs of footsteps. He looked to his sides where several mages had stepped up to stand at his side. Laxus, Natsu. Juvia and Totomaru. Even Freed, Bickslow, Evergreen and Levy had stepped forward. Freed and Totomaru had their blades drawn, pointing towards Jose.

“You’ll have to go through all of us to ever get what you want.” Freed spoke up, voice calm but commanding. Gajeel felt a smile tug on his lips Jose narrowed his eyes.

“Fine. I guess you’ll be the first one to go then.” Gajeel didn’t have a chance to react before the shadows had already snapped up around his ankles and the tip of his tail.

“Gajeel!” he wasn’t sure who had yelled. He built up what little strength he had left and released a wave of metal that was sent flying. He collapsed to his knees; completely spent of any strength he had left. The shadows were claiming him faster now that they’d zapped his strength. The last tendrils of shadow covered his vision, and he was plunged down into the depths below. He snapped his jaw shut, trying to conserve what little air he had left.

 

****

Laxus looked at where Gajeel had been, the dark shadows slowly disappearing until the floor was left as it had been prior. Laxus looked to Natsu, but the fire mage was in a similar state of shock. Instead of fighting back, Gajeel had used the last of his strength to save them from the same fate. Laxus felt the snarl in his throat rather than heard it. He took in a deep breath and released a massive roar of lightning that ripped through the guild hall and towards the one who had done this. The spell was countered by something he couldn’t see through the burst of electricity. It burst around them, sending static shocks into the air.

“Kill them all.” The man who had spoken to Laxus and who he could guess was Silas demanded, snapping his fingers. Suddenly everyone in the guild was being swarmed. At least three different mages were coming after Laxus. He punched one but nails just kept digging into his skin, clawing at the flesh. Even his lightning only deterred them for so long. His attention diverted to his guild mates for only a few seconds and even then, he could see they were in similar situations. Enemies who were morphing to combat their weaknesses. Laxus was running on extraordinarily little strength at that moment. Every mage he tossed off, the more strength it took and the more vicious they became. Snapping teeth aimed for his neck, the weight knocking him onto his back. He held his hands up, trying to stop those jaws from making it to his throat. His hands lost their grip and those teeth were heading down to his exposed neck. He braced for the impact. Instead, a snarl that echoed through the whole guild hall brought his attacker’s attention away from him. He pushed to sit up and look. His jaw dropped, staring at the figure in front of him. A soft green overskirt with golden lettering surrounding the base fluttered behind them and over a scaled tail. Six ribbons swung down from a tightly clasped ponytail and light shimmered off a golden belt where a sword with a matching gold handle that had a silver lizard with red rubies where eyes would be wrapping around the handle. Laxus felt his breath disappear at the sight.

Notes:

Let me know what you think of this new writing structure. I find it better but some feedback would be nice

Chapter 31

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Gajeel let his eyes drift shut, his lungs were beginning to burn from the air he hadn’t released but he kept clinging on. The second he released the breath there would be no air left to bring back into his body. He couldn’t recall ever being in the shadow realm and yet it felt familiar almost. The shadows grabbed and pulled, dragging him down further and further from the surface he craved. The pressure in his lungs was too much. He had to breathe.

Is he dead?” Gajeel’s eyes snapped open at the new voice. He looked around for the one who spoke, but he saw nothing but the black of the shadows. He scrambled, trying to find an upright position with flailing limbs.

No I can still hear a heartbeat.” a different voice. He tried to search for this person too but still he saw no one. He recognised the voices. He swears he could.

Shit, shit, shit.” Gajeel snapped his gaze towards what he guessed was the surface. Laxus.

Get away. Ow. Stop.” Natsu. They were in trouble. He closed his eyes again, focusing on the voices. They were all saying different things. He counted each new one he heard. One. That was Natsu, crying out in pain. Two, Laxus who was cursing out something. Three, the first voice he’d heard, soft and gentle. If he could just put a name- Wendy. He remembered. The little blue haired girl with the wide brown eyes. So, if he could hear Wendy then. He focused in on another voice. This one was also young, not yet cracked from puberty. They were quiet, not speaking loudly but he recognised the tone. Raios. The little shadow mage that had followed him around for a couple of years during his Phantom days until he’d chased him off. He searched for any new voices. There were two left. One was another young voice, full of energy but also masked with concern. The name was on the tip of his tongue. Something with an S. He focused, digging deep into his memories. Of course, blond with blue eyes. Sting. So, who was the last one. His ears twitched as it repeated its words again, improper grammar and plenty of cursing. Erik. There were six. Both Natsu and Laxus picked up in volume. Shit. He had to help them. But how. He was stuck with no way out.

Take my hand.” he lifted his gaze. Some sort of strange bright light floated in front of him. He couldn’t recognise who it was through the light, but they had a hand outstretched towards him. He hesitated, looking at the bright glowing hand. After a moment of hesitation, he took the hand in his. It grasped onto him tightly with a searing hot pain. He wanted to pull his hand away. Memories snapped to the forefront of his mind, things he didn’t even recall happening. The memories burned the backs of his eyes until he pinched them closed, feeling the wet beneath his eyelids. The pain stopped soon after it started and Gajeel finally released his breath, unable to hold onto it any further.

“Fuck.” he hissed out, expecting to begin choking on the shadows. Nothing happened and his breath felt somewhat stable. He looked down. He was surprised to find himself in a new outfit. Tight silk trousers had replaced the tattered shorts he had on previously. His torso was now covered with a tunic of sorts that was made of soft fabrics. The overskirt flew out behind his legs, covering the base of his tail. The top looped under his arms joining in a thin strip up to a golden ring around his neck. Loops of fabric circled his biceps while long tendrils of fabric fluttered down the lengths of his arms. He looked at his hand. A long dark blue, serpentine marking ran up his arm and disappeared under his chin. He guessed that it went up across his face. He could hear the voices much clearer now, like they were right next to him instead of in his head. He looked to the side; a ribbon tied to his hip. It was grey with flecks of blue and black at the tips. A small gold charm of a sword surrounded by a crown hung in the middle. It was attached to another charm. This one also gold but it showed some kind of weird blob with two small holes cut out in the middle. There was a ribbon attached to this one too. Black instead of the silver of the one on his hip.

Get... back.” Gajeel snapped back to his thoughts at Natsu’s voice in his head. He turned his head up towards where he guessed was the surface. Time to see if he could get out. He pushed himself forward, out of the grip of the shadows. He used his wings to lift himself up, feeling the air against his skin as he breached the surface. He landed in a crouched position on the floorboards, nails of his uncovered feet clicking against the wood. His tail flicked behind him, and a snarl built up in his throat. He pushed himself to his feet.

“Kill him. Don’t let him get away.” Silas yelled. Every head had turned to him. Several mages charged at him, powering up spells. He leaned on his right foot, pushing forward, and tackling the nearest mage. He swiped his right hand at the man’s face, fire replacing his usual iron. He blinked. He’d seen this before. Erik. Someone came up behind him and swung a bat at the back of his head. He reached up, catching it with one hand. He leapt forward, slamming them into the ground. They groaned but didn’t get back up.

“What the fuck? Where did all this strength come from?” another yelled. He charged at them. He heard the click of a charm disconnecting and another connecting up instead. He swiped his right hand at the man’s chest. The purply pink of poison flooding from his claws. The mark up his arm had taken on a similar colour.

Fuck yeah. Kill em.” He couldn’t help but chuckle at the enthusiasm that Erik was showing for this fight.

“Go, go, go.” Wendy was cheering and he could imagine her jumping between her feet and clapping her hands together with a small smile on her face. He ducked back from another attack to his front, leaning his head back so that it would sweep over his muzzle. He pulled himself up, aiming a well-placed kick to their stomach. They were sent flying back, crashing into one of the tables.

Fuck. Why is that hot?” Gajeel took a moment to look over his shoulder. He saw Laxus standing near the forefront of the crowd, Natsu next to him. His cheeks were blazing with heat. Gajeel was struck in the chest, causing him to stumble back for a moment.

Wait what is that supposed to mean?” Gajeel snapped his head back into position, leaping at the one in front of him and pushing them to the ground. He grabbed their face with one hand and smashed it into the ground.

How old are you?” he flipped back, landing on his feet. Two mages were coming at him from either side. He spread his wings, smacking both back with the force. They skidded across the ground. Another tried to come up behind him. He swung his tail around, wrapping it around the neck of the other and pulling them to the ground with a heavy thud.

Twelve. Why?” several were coming at him now from all angles, charging up plenty of attacks. He pulled his arm back, the two clicks of the charms accompanying it. The mark faded out from the purply pink to yellow as he charged up the lighting in his hand. He tossed his arm forward, striking all those within the vicinity with lightning.

Yeah, I’m not explaining the concept of fucking to a twelve year old. I’m a criminal not a monster.” He’d taken out a chunk of the members now but there was still a lot remaining.

“Is this really the time to be discussing what mating is.” He slipped the sword from his lower back, using it to counter an attack from someone with an axe. He pushed against them, sending them back.

Well unlike you. We aren’t in the middle of a fight... Left.” Gajeel swivelled his attention to the left, swiping his sword across the surface of his new opponent’s neck. He kicked them back. He looked around the group that was charging at him. He knew how to take care of this. He took a deep breath. The six ribbons wrapped around the base of his hair twirled around each other, all latching onto one another. The ribbon on his hip untied itself, the charm clipping into place as the mark along his arm shifted, gaining a barrage of assorted colours.

“Dragon’s-.” the magic glowed a variety of colours within his mouth, swirling and bubbling.

“-roar.” the attack erupted from his throat, thundering through the room as the twisting vortex of colour lagged a little behind his twirl. Cries and screams about the attack filled his ears. He kept it up for two turns before releasing the attack. When the smoke had cleared, almost all of the mages and Kelos’ had been knocked to the ground. He turned to the doors. All that remained besides the leaders were the remaining element four and Silas’ closest siblings. Gajeel swiped his tongue over his lips, swishing his tail back and forth.

“Who’s next?” he snarled, snapping his gaze over all of them. Sol lifted both his hands and stepped back.

“I already didn’t condone this but after that. Absolutely not.” he spoke. Jose turned to him.

“You traitor.” he snapped. Sol melded into the floor before Jose could launch an attack at him. Aria stepped forward, the magic building in the air.

“Even if your magic signal has increased, you have never defeated me.” Aria aimed an attack at him. The one he remembered taking out Master Makarov.

“Gajeel. Look out.” he leapt up right as the attack was fired, half flipping above Aria. He sunk his claws into the larger mage’s shoulders. He pulled his body down, kicking his feet into Aria’s back. The air mage stumbled. He started building up another attack. The charms clicked into place again, his mark shifting to take on a soft blue. He formed air around his right arm, watching the whirlwind that formed. He struck down, hitting Aria straight on the head. He stumbled further. He reached up to grab Gajeel. The iron mage leapt up, releasing his grip on the other’s shoulder. The clicking repeated and he lifted his arm, the blue replaced with a bright white. He formed an orb in his hand, releasing a blinding light into the room. During the distraction, he charged forward, sinking teeth into flesh. A cry accompanied it. He pressed down harder until he heard the satisfying crunch of bone. He released his grip, jumping back and stabilising himself on hands and feet. His tail whipped around behind him. Aria stepped back from him, hand clutching his bleeding arm. Gajeel snarled. The air mage paused, looking at Gajeel before ducking his head. He too disappeared into a gust of air. Gajeel turned his attention to the remaining mages. Canter, who was still wearing his face stepped up, waving his hand to throw Kunai’s at him. He hardened his left wing, pulling it forward to guard him from the attack. The metal clinked against his stiff feathers, no where near as strong as his own. He tucked his wing back against his back and stood up.

“That all ya got?” he mocked, letting a wide grin spread across his face. Juliana let her body morph and took on the face of Laxus. She fired an electric bolt at him.

“Let’s see if you would be willing to attack your own friend.” she smirked, voice morphed to match Laxus. Gajeel jumped to the side, avoiding the attack. The charms unclipped, letting his arm return to the same colour as his ribbon. He let the swirl of black and blue surround his iron as he swiped his claws across her face. The morph became unstable, showing her less human features. She had both hands over the scratch along her forehead. She looked down at the blood staining her hands before lifting her gaze to stare at Gajeel. She started to hiss at him. He punched her in the face mid hiss, getting immense satisfaction when she bit her own tongue in the process. His punch knocked her back against the wall where she slumped down, not getting back up. Canter had leapt onto his back, claws digging into his neck.

“Why don’t you fucking die already.” he hissed. Gajeel stumbled a little, trying to throw the other off his back. When that didn’t work, he dropped onto his back, rolling around on the ground until Canter let go. He swivelled around the other who was trying to push himself off the ground. Gajeel leapt forward, sinking his teeth into the flesh surrounding the other’s lower spine. He shrieked, twisting in Gajeel’s grip, and pawing at the dragon’s face. Gajeel bit down harder.

Bang.

Crack.

The bullet hit Gajeel in the shoulder. He sunk his teeth down upon impact, the sound of bone snapping in two. Gajeel released his grip, eyes wide. He hadn’t intended to do that.

“Shit. Shit. Fuck. I can’t feel my legs.” Canter was struggling to get up with his hands slipping and sliding on the floor. Gajeel’s ear twitched at the sound of a gun being loaded.

“What did you do to my brother?” he demanded. He too was losing control of his form, his tail and ears morphing through the disguise he wore. He was pressing down on the trigger of the gun, pointing it at Gajeel. He flicked his gaze to the charms dangling down Gajeel’s back. He moved the gun, firing off at one of the charms. Gajeel leapt to the side, but the charms hung in place for a second too long. The bullet collided with one of them, the little skull. The gold of the charm took on a dark fade.

Fuck. That hurt” Gajeel took hold of the charm, cradling it in his hands. He turned his gaze up to Silas, raising his lip to show his remaining teeth in a snarl.

“How fucking dare you.” his dragon was getting worse now. He felt the snarl in his throat. Before he knew what he was doing, he leapt at Silas. They collided with the ground, tumbling, and rolling repeatedly. Silas kicked him in the stomach. He slid back slightly before leaping forward. He locked his jaws around Silas’ ankle, refusing to let go. Claws scrapped at his cheek, leaving an angry line in the flesh. He refused to let go, snarling deep from his throat. The claws caught onto one of the piercings in his brow this time, snagging it from his skin. The blood dripped down into his eye. He finally released his grip, pushing forward and pinning Silas down. He raised his hand, pulling iron clad claws down and across his face. They sunk in deep, pulling from his eyebrow right down over his eye and to his lip. He was kicked in the stomach again, making him falter and release the grip. Gajeel stumbled for a moment and shook his head to get his bearings. Once he had stabilized himself, he focused in on Silas once more. He reached forward, grabbing onto the Kelos’ head and slamming it into the ground. Once. Twice. He went limp after the second hit. Gajeel stepped back, looking at the body. Silas was still breathing which as much as it irritated him, he would get into far worse trouble if he killed him in front of so many people. He turned around. Makarov had engaged Jose in a fight, and it appeared that Jose had lost. Gajeel growled. He stood up and approached him.

“Gajeel. Don’t do this. I practically raised you. You owe me” he had turned his attention on him now, trying to get Gajeel’s help now that the rest of his group had either left him or been defeated. Gajeel bent down next to him. He stared at Jose for a moment. Then he raised his claws, pulling them down across the former master’s face where his eyes were. Magic struck him, leaving an angry mark across his chest.

“What have you done?” Jose was reaching over his eyes, feeling over the long claw marks Gajeel had left.

"Your payback. For what you did to me.” Malice dripped from his voice as he stood.

“Go rot in hell.” he added on. He turned away, letting Makarov decide what to do with the former guild master. The moment he turned around, he was tackled by something. Then two somethings. He looked over his shoulder. Totomaru and Juvia had ran over to embrace him. Natsu and Laxus were approaching at a slower rate. He smiled at his moxt kol. He opened his mouth to say something to them, but a wave of dizziness hit him. He stumbled for a moment. He lost his balance and fell backwards, vision fading into darkness.

Notes:

Here is a drawing of the form Gajeel takes on during the chapter for visual reference.

Chapter 32

Notes:

It just came to my attention that I posted this chapter on Wattpad a couple weeks ago but forgot to post it here so it's just been sitting, waiting for me to copy it over. Whoops my bad.

Chapter Text

The first thing Gajeel registered was the water that surrounded his limbs. He blinked his eyes open and sat up, water dripping from his hair and shoulders. He looked down, watching the ripples in the perfectly clear water. He turned to look around. His eyes rested on the large tree in the middle of the pool. He looked forward and jolted when he saw something in front of him. He blinked, getting a closer look. A ghostly child with short scruffy hair and angular eyes. Perched atop his shoulder was a small dragon with a stinger-esque tail and feathery wings. He blinked.

“Its you.” he spoke. The child nodded, keeping his posture. Gajeel scrambled to his feet, looking around. Just like last time, those five other children were situated in little cubies made out of the tree’s roots. This time however, there was a sixth child. Small with short scruffy hair and a scar that ran down the right side of his face like a lightning bolt. He was curled up in the back, hugging his legs. Gajeel stepped towards the child, reaching one hand out. The little ghost boy looked to him and flinched, ducking further back into his little nest. Gajeel pulled his hand back.

“They won’t recognise you yet.” the first ghost child with the little dragon spoke, standing behind him. Gajeel looked over his shoulder.

“When will-.”

“When the mind unites with dragon soul then they will recognise once more.” the child spoke. Despite being so young, he always spoke like he knew more than Gajeel.

“I still don’t understand. What happened? You never explained it last time.” he objected. The child shook his head.

“You are not ready. You have yet to unite your souls once more.” the child held his hands close. Gajeel opened his mouth to question him further.

“Gajeel.” his ear twitched at the sound. He looked over his shoulder, no one was present. He turned his attention back to the ghost boy, but he had disappeared. Gajeel blinked, looking around. After closing his eyes for a second time, he was now looking at two blurry faces instead of the water of the pool. He blinked repeatedly to clear his vision. He sat up, wincing at the pain in his muscles when he did so.

“Don’t move too much. You’re hurt quite bad.” he looked to the side; Mira was knelt next to him. She placed one hand on his back to support him. He coughed, his lungs aching like he’d just swallowed a nest of wasps. He tried to move his right arm, but he couldn’t feel it. He looked. The serpent mark had disappeared, instead being replaced with angry red and black marks that run up his arm. He winced.

“Don’t worry. We called Porlyusica. When she gets here, she’ll patch you up real quick.” Natsu smiled, crouching next to him. He kept gazing down at his arm. Gajeel didn’t answer, turning his gaze towards the floor. His throat was still raw from the screaming and that roar had not helped in the slightest. He lifted up his left hand, twisting it around as he examined it. No water or signs of him ever having been in that pool. Just like last time.

“Jose?” he asked, wincing at the scratching in his throat.

“He’s downstairs, so are the rest of the higher players.” Mira explained, rubbing her hand up and down the shoulder blade that hadn’t been shot. He nodded.

“I think the earth guy will be good to go. He helped us escape.” Laxus put in. Gajeel’s ear pricked.

“The one you said helped you... was Sol?” he asked, raising his head to look at the lightning mage.

“Anyone else going to ask how Laxus knows dragon magic?” someone had asked from the crowd. Laxus winced.

“Shit. Forgot about that part” he hissed out. Gajeel and Natsu laughed together although Gajeel’s led into a few coughs.

“If it makes you feel better. That was a good roar.” he praised. The lightning mage coughed into his hand and turned to the side.

“That was a good roar? Did you see yours? It was huge. And full of all those colours. And you used Fire and lightning and Iron and.... well I don’t know what those other ones were, but it was still so cool.” Natsu went on a tangent, listing off everything he thought was cool from what Gajeel did. Gajeel lowered his head.

“Canter. Did I-.” he cut himself off. He didn’t want to think he’d done something so cruel in front of everyone in the guild. All of them avoided his gaze. A lump was building in his throat.

“Don’t worry about it. The council will handle it when they arrive.” Totomaru patted his shoulder. Gajeel hissed, shifting it away from the warm hand of his friend.

“Oh sorry. There’s so much blood its hard to tell where the actual injuries are.” he apologized. Gajeel shook his head.

“Its fine. Quite sure its infected now.” he huffed, looking down at his lap.

“What do you humans want now?” the healer had arrived. She looked over at Gajeel and her scowl got deeper.

“You again. This is the third time in three months. How many times are you going to get hurt before you learn a lesson.” she snapped, stomping over to Gajeel. Even though she had complained, she still started examining his wounds.

“Arms up. I need to check your ribs.” she ordered. Despite how it hurt both his shoulders and his right arm to do so, he still lifted his arms. She pressed up and down his ribcage, checking for anything that could be broken. Once she was satisfied that nothing had broke, she started checking other areas.

“Alright. You’re going to be staying with me in the infirmary for at least a week. Someone get him up there while I check over anyone else who’s injured.” she demanded. Mira lifted his right arm, looping it over her shoulders. He winced the second her hands touched the damaged flesh of his arm.

“I’m sorry.” she apologised. He shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it. Its fine.” he muttered, stumbling over his own feet on his way up the stairs to the infirmary.

Chapter Text

“Master. Are you sure this is a good idea?” Mira followed the guild master into the old Phantom lord building, ducking underneath the tape that the guard had put up.

“I just want to check something. We won’t be here too long.” Makarov replied, stepping through the remains of the room. The council had done a clean sweep of the entire building for evidence. After plenty of analytics were performed on skulls they found around the place, they had connected several disappearances that had been going back to over a decade prior to what had been going on here. Makarov had listened in to both Laxus and Gajeel’s accounts of the incident. Silas and all those that followed him had been classed as high-level threats to the country and charged accordingly. Jose had gotten charges added on to his previous crimes. Makarov hoped to never see either of them again after this.

“We could get in trouble for being here.” Mira spoke up again. Makarov raised one hand to wave her off.

“The council won’t be coming back. I just want to check Jose’s office and then we’ll be finished.” he assured the S-class mage. Mira didn’t respond further. Makarov climbed up the stairs, taking note of the dried stains on the stairs. He could guess they belonged to Gajeel from both his and Laxus’ account of events. He examined each drop of blood as he ascended the stairs. He never expected Jose to do such horrible things to one of his own guild members. At the top of the stairs was two doors. One just off to the right and the other further down the left. That door had heavy incisions in the material and the handle had been broken clean off. The room beyond was a corridor, similar to the guild dorms but in far worse condition. He even caught a rat scuttering across the hall. Makarov shook his head and turned to the door on his right. He reached for the handle and twisted it, pushing the door open.

“Oh my.” Mira muttered from behind him. Makarov couldn’t help but agree. The room had been almost completely gutted. The bookshelves were bare and the cabinet that smelled strongly of blood and burnt flesh had been cleared. He couldn’t even see a single document. He stepped into the room, looking around. He couldn’t see anything aside from the furniture itself. The council really had taken everything. He turned to leave but caught Mira bent down next to the bookshelf.

“Master? Come take a look at this.” she pointed to the floor below. Makarov approached, looking at what she had pointed out. A small tear in the carpet that was the only thing to stand out in the otherwise clean and well kempt floor. From the scrape marks surrounding it, this had been moved back recently. Makarov curled his fingers under the little tab and pulled on the material. It came back with ease. Underneath was a small trap door. Definitely not big enough for a person to fit.

“The council must have missed this.” Mira pointed to the crooked angle of the shelf. Makarov slipped his fingers into the gap of the door and pulled it back. Within was a small, box shaped storage space. Inside was lots of documents. He picked one up. A sheet that was filled with amounts of money that were due to Jose. Makarov raised an eyebrow and picked up another sheet. A more recent sheet with a couple of those names crossed through. Notes underneath both said similar things. ‘Gajeel took care of them.’ There was no further elaboration on what that was supposed to mean.

“What does it say?” Mira asked, looking at the sheets in hand. Makarov shook his head.

“Its strange. I’m not quite sure what these are supposed to be.” he leaned forward to place the papers back. A dark purple binder caught his attention. It was thick, bursting with pages. He reached in and pulled it out. Pulling the cover open, he was greeted with a page similar to the guild files. A picture of a young boy with short, scruffy black hair and red eyes was in the corner. Another image was stappled underneath of the same boy with a longer snout, silver scales and ears and fins. Makarov turned to look at the information in the file. Mira walked around to look over his shoulder. He elated to read the file aloud for her.

“Patient Kurogane. Full name Gajeel Redfox. Age, undetermined but subject claims to be thirteen. Parents are unknown, claims of being raised by a dragon.” Makarov flicked his gaze further over some of the information. His eyes focused down on a note that was stappled to the bottom.

“Subject has been evaluated and confirmed. Some genes match up with other human specimens however some don’t. Further testing confirmed those unconfirmed genes to belong to that of a dragon.” Makarov paused, reading over those lines again.

“A dragon? But how? No one has seen a dragon in hundreds of years. Well except Natsu and Gajeel.” Mira questioned. Makarov hummed.

“I’m not sure. Perhaps there are dragons, they just keep to themselves.” he muttered. He flicked through the pages of the folder to the following pages. Research notes, logs of information and pictures filled the pages. He stopped in the middle. There were several pictures stapled to the page, all displaying a younger Gajeel if the youthful angle to his face was any indication. There were close ups of bruised and bloodied skin and dented scales. Little notes were taken next to the pictures, detailing the reasoning behind each picture. He flicked through more pages. More research notes on things like the magic or body itself. The next page that got him to stop was one with a stapled picture of two kids sitting together in a baren room. The camera was far away, unable to catch many details in either of the room’s occupants. The notes around the image were discussing Gajeel’s reaction to other dragon slayers. Makarov slammed the folder shut.

“Master?” Mira asked. He shook his head.

“We can’t leave this here. I’ll bring it back with me. But Mira.” she looked at him, hands held in front of her chest.

“Don’t mention any of this to anyone. Not even Gajeel.” he kept his voice steady.

“But… Shouldn’t he know? It is about him.” Mira objected. Makarov looked at the folder.

“I don’t even know if he’s aware of any of this. From what I’ve gathered, he believes Natsu and likely Laxus are like him. Besides. Someone clearly went through a lot of effort to hide what he truly is” Makarov explained his reasoning. He would tell Gajeel in due time. But now wasn’t that time. Not when he would be recovering from the events that had just transpired. Mira hesitated before giving a curt nod.

“Yes master.” she agreed.

****
Gajeel sat in the infirmary bed, head leaned against his pillow. He looked towards the empty plate that had occupied his lunch. Porlyusica was very strict that he eat regular meals of a very set size consistently. He wasn’t going to complain after going what he had learned had been 2 weeks without a single bite to eat. He sighed, flexing the fingers of his bandaged arm. He’d done a number on it during his fight. Light burns, both fire and lightning, poison eating away through the top layers of his skin, along with deep seated marks from both shadow and light combating each other and deep lashes from hurricane level winds.

Click.

He turned to look at who had entered the room, expecting Juvia and Totomaru or even Laxus and Natsu. He blinked in surprise when he met Freed’s gaze. His ears pinned back, and he sighed.

“What do you want?” he asked, flicking the tip of his tail once which hung off the bed. This bed was not designed for him. Not enough space to stretch his wings and tail without them hanging off the edges.

“I am here to check on you.” Freed explained, stepping forward. He placed two flowers into the vase that sat atop the cabinet next to his bed. He looked to the flower. A daffodil and an Amaryllis. He blinked, looking at the flowers then back to Freed. He opened his mouth to ask what the purpose of him bringing flowers was.

“For you. There’s a rumour going around that you are quite enthusiastic about plants.” Freed explained to the unasked question. Gajeel looked to the two flowers then back at Freed.

“I was hoping no one outside of the four that have already visited would show up to see me.” he sent a glare Freed’s way. The rune mage was unfazed and instead sat down in the chair next to Gajeel’s bed, crossing one leg over the other and clasping his hands in his lap.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ve seen far worse.” Freed shook his head, a small smile present on his lips. Gajeel snorted, turning to look out the window.

“Doubt it.” his tail twitched as he watched the wind blow the soft white curtains, the shadows below dancing with the curtains. Freed chuckled slightly.

“Don’t jump to conclusions. I can assure you that this is far from frightening or any other words you might be thinking of.” he spoke up once more. Gajeel turned back to look at him.

“Your wings are quite magnificent. They are nothing like mine. Are those feathers or scales that coat them? I’ve been meaning to ask.” Freed kept his voice level like he had been talking to Laxus or someone else he knew better. Gajeel’s ear twitched and he flicked his gaze over to one of his wings that was slumped against the bed, half hanging off.

“Feathers.” he muttered, staring at the soft touch to his feathers now that they’d been thoroughly cleaned of blood and grime.

“Do you moult? I know a lot of creatures with scales do.” Freed kept asking questions and Gajeel could swear there was something sparkling in his eyes. He shook it off and let a growl build in his throat.

“That ain’t yer business.” He leaned forward, staring Freed straight in the eye with narrowed ones. The rune mage didn’t back down, meeting Gajeel’s own gaze.

“I apologise if that was a personal question you don’t feel comfortable answering however if there is anything you wish to talk about then I’m open to listen.” he dipped his head but made no move to get up. Gajeel tensed his muscles, ready to get him to leave by any means necessary.

“How you feeling Gajeel?” Totomaru had stepped in, Juvia just behind him.

“Does no one understand how to knock anymore?” he huffed, leaning back against the pillow. The fire mage turned to the rune mage, a soft shade of pink settling into his cheeks.

“Oh Freed. I wasn’t expecting you to be here.” he was laughing, refusing to make eye contact with the green haired mage. Juvia’s eyes sparkled before turning her attention onto Gajeel.

“Juvia asks how Gajeel is feeling?” she stepped up to the bed, placing one hand on his knee. He looked towards the window again, ears twitching with every bird song.

“Alright I guess.” he mumbled. The door clicked shut once more. Gajeel turned to look. Both Laxus and Natsu had entered. The lightning mage was having some kind of silent conversation with Freed who had still yet to move from the seat he had occupied.

“Oh yes just come in. Why don’t we just get rid of the door. None of you seem to understand how knocking works so what’s the point.” he grumbled sarcastically, twitching his tail. Juvia giggled, sitting down on the bed, pressed up against Gajeel’s leg. He rolled his eyes but couldn’t help the smile on his face. Juvia’s laughter was always so infectious. Gajeel turned his attention to the two newest arrivals. Natsu was bouncing about on his legs, trying to challenge Totomaru to a fight to which the other fire mage was refusing while Laxus and Freed were still having that silent conversation through their eyes. He blinked once, eyes running over both mages. First trailing over jawlines only to fall further down. He snapped his gaze straight ahead after he realised, he had been staring. He blinked. When had they both gotten so handsome? He jolted at the thought, cheeks heating up with intensity. Juvia placed a hand on his own, looking into his eyes. He swallowed, hard. His stomach felt strange, like something he’d eaten was doing flips and tickling the insides. A large smile spread over Juvia’s face. He shook his head. He couldn’t have her say that out loud. She pinched her thumb and index together and drew it across her mouth. He sighed.

“So has Porlyusica said when you’ll be getting replacements for your teeth?” Laxus asked, one arm leaning on top of Freed’s head. The rune mage was staring down at Gajeel’s tail rather than upward. Gajeel shook his head.

“Don’t need new ones. Give it a couple of months at most and these babies will be fully grown.” He parted his jaws to show off the tiny little points that were his new teeth. They started to push through a couple days prior, so his jaws had been extra tender.

“You can regrow teeth?” Natsu snapped his attention from Totomaru to Gajeel, eyes lit up with a fire. Gajeel shrugged.

“Yeah. You can’t?” he tilted his head to look at Natsu. He knew Erik had never been able to regrow teeth if the false one he’d had to get after he got one of his molars knocked out when he slipped from a tree branch was any indication. He guessed Laxus was the same, being fused Dragon kind would lead to some differences right? But he thought Natsu would have been able to regrow teeth.

“No. That sounds so cool though. Wish I could do that.” he huffed.

“You only wish that so that you could fight Gray and not worry if he knocked out another one of your teeth.” Laxus had a wide smirk on his face.

“That isn’t fair. He totally cheated by throwing that pot in my face.” Natsu snipped, turning to face Laxus. The lightning mage laughed, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Sure. Its not like that’s how most of your fights end up.” he rolled his eyes, that smirk not leaving his face. Gajeel chuckled.

“Good to see you both actually getting along now. Hope this means I don’t have to break up anymore fights between the two of you.” Gajeel stretched his good arm above his head, letting a yawn break through his jaws.

“I’m not promising anything.” Laxus turned his attention to Gajeel.

“Yeah. I’m totally going to win sparkles.” Natsu challenged, pointing towards Laxus. The lightning dragon snarled.

“Never call me that again.” despite the aggression present in his tone, there was still some playfulness to it now. Even if they still fought, Gajeel decided that it wasn’t going to be nearly as bad as it had been prior. He leaned back against his pillow and closed his eyes, listening to the squabble of both dragons and now Totomaru who had joined in with yelling at them to stop because Gajeel needed peace. The iron dragon snorted. It was nice to be back.

Chapter Text

Gajeel sat down amongst the plants of the small garden that the guild had created. An acoustic guitar perched in his lap. His left hand easily glided up and down the frets of the guitar. His right had a little more trouble strumming the strings since it was still healing but he managed, even if it sounded a bit weak and wobbly.

He hummed to the tune in his head, playing each chord with shaky fingers. A few chords in the first verse and then he was singing the lyrics. They were quiet, his voice still recovering from the screaming he’d done when in captivity. Despite the scratchy sensation in the back of his throat, it was calming to play once more. And with his voice low, the only audience he would have is the plants he surrounded himself with.

“I didn’t know you could play.” the voice caught him off guard and he plucked the wrong string with his fingers in the wrong places for the next chord. His muscles stiffened and his shoulders locked. He didn’t make any move to turn around, instead tossing the guitar over somewhere to the left. He winced at the sad thump it made when it hit the soil that was being used by a hydrangea plant. Footsteps were closer until someone was sat next to him. He turned his head away from them, looking over to the guitar he’d thrown. He took a sniff, catching a strong soil scent that stuck to them. He reached his good hand up and pulled it down over his face.

“So, is there a reason you’re playing to the garden. We have a stage inside.” Gajeel tapped his fingers on his knee, refusing to answer. Levy was one thing but why was he being nice? Didn’t they hate him?

“I wanted to talk to you after what Levy told us.” Gajeel turned his head slightly, enough so that he could see the plant mage out of the corner of his eye. He wasn’t looking at Gajeel, instead at the flower bed before him.

“I knew there were rumours you had a thing for plants but I didn’t think you’d actually be in the garden. No one comes out here to actually sit except me and a couple other members.” he reached forward, running his fingers over a leafless branch.

“But they don’t come out here to sit in the garden in the middle of November that’s for sure.” he added, looking to Gajeel. The iron slayer sighed.

“Look. If yer here to get back at me for Phantom Lord, then just get it over with. I won’t tell anyone.” he swapped his gaze to look at his potted Snap dragon that he’d brought out of the house for some air. A fly zipped close, and it snapped at the insect, catching it in its jaws.

“No that’s not why I’m here. I’m not here to give you forgiveness either. I just want to see what all the fuss is about. Decide myself if you’re worth getting to know.” he tilted his head towards Gajeel once more.

“You want to know me?” he blinked, utterly confused by this development.

“I’m a little curious what brought you out here to perform to the plants instead of the guild.” Droy leaned back on his hands, eyes cast up to the sky.

“I like plants. Besides, people don’t like my playing anyway. So why bother if no one likes it.” he shrugged, clambering to his feet so he could pick up the guitar, praying it hadn’t broken when it had landed.

"So what if no one likes it? You enjoy it don’t you?” he offered, now watching Gajeel’s movements.

“I guess.” He paused, looking back towards Droy.

“Why are you actually here? You should be terrified of me. I almost killed you and yet you sit next to me like I’m not an oversized killing machine.” he objected, snatching the guitar up by the neck just a little to harsh. He pressed tightly against the strings, turning to look at the bush he’d thrown the guitar at. He knelt down when he realised that with his actions, he’d snapped a branch off. He picked it up, looking over the long branch.

“Well. Yes. I am still on edge when around you. Like you said, you did almost kill me. I can still remember the feeling of your claws ripping into my skin and reaching for my spine.” he paused. Gajeel turned towards the archway that opened up to the garden. He scooped up his snap dragon and took a step towards the exit.

“But I’ve been watching you. And... well after everything that happened, seeing you protect Fairy tail over your old guild master even though you had only been a member for about a month was... comforting. Knowing just what you can do and seeing that used to protect the guild instead of against it was... nice.” Gajeel turned around to look at the plant mage.

“I’m not good with words. That’s more Levy’s specialty. I'm more of a plant person.” he chuckled. Gajeel’s fingers slacked on the neck of the guitar, letting it slip out of his fingers and hit the ground with a thud.

"My Opsola was a doctor. He had plants all around the house, both inside and out. I got used to having plants around. Then when I started learning my magic, I got more of an attunement to the earth.” the plant mage stared up at him, blinking once in surprise.

“Dragons have a strong attunement to the element that is connected to their magic. I use Iron which is connected to the earth. Dragons use magic that’s rawer than most other types of magic. The stronger connection you have with your element, the better grasp you’ll have on your magic. At least that’s what my Xiiwic told me when I was learning.” he dropped down to the ground once more, looking down at the pot in his hand.

“Huh. I never knew that. Natsu never talks about anything like that. All he says is that he was taught magic by a dragon.” he laughed.

“When Levy finds out that you know a lot more than Natsu, she’s going to be demanding answers from you.” Gajeel snorted, shaking his head. He turned to Droy when the mage got to his feet.

“You’re welcome to sit in the garden and play whenever you want. I got all these plants for people to enjoy and add to. But most of the guild aren’t really interested in gardening. Its nice to have someone else who is.” he started walking towards the arch. Gajeel felt a smile creep onto his features.

“Yeah. Nice.” he agreed, running his fingers over the rim of the pot.

Chapter Text

Gajeel sat on the stool he’d brought into the kitchen, absently scratching at his damaged arm. Thankfully, it was getting better. He could move it without too much pain. It was just the deep-rooted itch that wouldn’t go away now. It didn’t help that every time he scratched, it felt like he was uprooting his scales even when they were hidden below the skin.

“I don’t think Porlyusica would be incredibly happy to learn you’re scratching your arm. She’s very particular about that.” Mira smiled from the stove. He still wasn’t sure why she’d invited him back here. Especially so early. He didn’t think she would be at the guild this early with how Totomaru always complained about his early risings.

“Yeah, well she’s already pissy with me cause she’s had to treat me three times in three months.” he huffed. He twisted his leg up, scratching his ear with his uncovered foot. The S-class mage blinked once then giggled.

“You’re quite flexible for someone of your size.” she stirred what was in the pot. He raised one studded brow.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You tryin to insult me?” he huffed.

“Of course not. I just mean, when someone looks at you, they’d just expect you to be strong. But you have a very flexible body too. It’s fascinating.” she smiled. He shrugged. He never understood how he could move the way he did. It just always came naturally to him. Perhaps it came from him curling up tightly in order to defend his softer spots when he slept as a nuwa'jimos . He wasn’t sure. Mira stepped in front of him, holding out a cup to him.

“Give it a taste.” she still had that soft smile on her lips. He sighed but took the cup, taking a sip.

“What do you think?” she asked after he’d swallowed the soup. He looked to her suspiciously.

“This a test?” he muttered. He was used to Totomaru and Juvia asking him how things tasted. Despite everything, both did find some enjoyment in cooking. He would never say this to his face, but Totomaru’s food wasn’t nice to eat. Not because he was bad at cooking but because he always added pounds worth of chilli powder and garlic to his food and while that would suit some tastes. It wasn’t his. That was how he figured out what to put in the cookies he made. He just made Totomaru’s with chilli and garlic. He couldn’t understand it but the fire mage was obsessed with those cookies so he must have done something right.

“No, no. I just overheard Juvia talking about having you taste test some bread she made, and I got curious to know what made her pick you as her taste tester.” she held her hands together behind her back. Gajeel sighed. Of course, Juvia would say that. She couldn’t keep her mouth shut about her plans. He’d gotten lucky that she never spilled any of his secrets with anyone on accident but now that she was sharing dorms with the girls and likely seeing them often, it wasn’t a surprise.

“I’m guessing that’s where all these rumours came from.” he sighed, thinking back to every time someone had said they’d found out something about him through a rumour.

“Well sort of. Natsu is pretty talkative himself and both him and Laxus weren’t subtle with what they were getting you.” she smiled. He lowered his head. He guessed they got the information they did from Juvia or Totomaru. Or perhaps both. It wouldn’t surprise him. They were well intentioned but sometimes they got a bit too involved in personal matters that didn’t involve them. Now he still had two Draushums battling for his attention. Like he’d guessed, they’d mellowed out after everything that happened with Silas and Jose, possibly because Laxus had been brought into the pack. That didn’t stop them from having spats though. Especially with everyone knowing Laxus was dragon kind.

“So?” Mira was swinging between the balls and heels of her feet, waiting for his answer.

“Pretty decent neutral. Allows the intricate flavours to be adjusted for others.” he placed the cup on the counter to his right. Mira blinked once.

“Oh. I never thought of that. That’s actually a good idea.” she mumbled to herself, turning around to look at the soup. He raised a studded brow, confused.

“What?” he asked, leaning forward on the stool. She turned around to look at him, blinking once.

“You don’t do that?” he asked. He thought that had been the case and she just didn’t know what to do with him other than the usual iron. She shook her head.

“How do you do it?” she asks, leaning against the counter opposite him. He shrugged.

“Its not too hard to guess someone’s favourite food. It has a high chance of lingering to their scent if they don’t actively try to cover it up with perfumes. Totomaru does that. Its why he smells of lavender, he uses this fancy perfume he gets to mask the chilli and garlic smell.” he explained. Mira’s smile seemed to get wider.

“I have an idea. How about we make a list of everyone’s favourites and then we can do the adjustments to the soup with every person that requests it.” she leaned forward, hands clasped together.

“We?” he asked, tilting his head. She nodded.

“I don’t have nearly as good senses as you or Natsu so who better to take a gander at favourite foods than you. You could even sit behind the bar.” she reached out to place one hand atop his. He sighed but grinned either way.

“Alright. I’m down.” he agreed, taking her hand, and giving it a shake. She smiled wide, joining in with the action.

“Gajeel, are you making soup for breakfast?” Totomaru yawned, still in his sleepwear and hair not yet brushed. He was rubbing his eyes with one fist. When he lowered his hand, he looked between the two and blinked.

“Mirajane? Have I missed something?” he mumbled, letting his arm drop to his side. Gajeel chuckled, looking over his shoulder at the fire mage.

“Don’t fret about it. And no. Soup isn’t for breakfast” he added, turning towards the food he’d laid out.

****
The guild had gotten busy in extraordinarily little time. He’d never particularly paid attention to who arrived early and who would meander in later in the morning but now with Mira pointing every person who walked through the door out, he was mentally noting that information away. Elfman was first to arrive, carrying several bags of vegetables, pastas, tins and other odd bits and pieces. Makarov was next. Gajeel guessed the reason Mira arrived first was because she had food she needed to get made before people arrived to the guild.

“Morning master.” Mira waved to him as he walked past the bar. He flicked his attention over to Gajeel who was leaning on the bar with notebooks and colourful biro pens scattered around him as he rested his chin in his elbow.

“Good morning Gajeel.” his gaze lingered on him for a little longer before he turned and made his way up to his office. Mira leaned towards him.

“The strongest scent is booze but there is an underlying hint of mint and grape.” he noted down the name and scents he’d picked up. Mira clapped her hands together.

“Oh, this is fun. I always thought your nose would only be useful for tracking.” she turned to the glasses behind them, checking over each for any dirt. He twisted his body to watch. When she looked to him, he shrugged his shoulders. He turned his attention back around at footsteps outside the guild doors. When they opened, Erza had entered with Levy and Bisca not far behind. His teeth found themselves around the end of his pen as he identified their individual scents. Erza stepped forward.

“Good morning, Mira. I see you’ve found yourself a little helper.” she gestured to the iron mage. He fidgeted with his pen.

“Gajeel and I are working on a secret project. He’s a sweetheart.” she smiled, letting her hands slip around his shoulders in a hug. He flinched at the sudden touch from behind. He was certain at least one of the girls had seen that but they chose not to say anything about it.

“You should be careful Mira. Keep that up and you’ll have both Laxus and Natsu fighting you.” Bisca laughed, leaning one hand on the bar as her hip bumped the counter. Mira giggled in return.

“If they tried to fight me then I’d just show them who’s boss.” she smiled, still hugging Gajeel. He snorted.

“They wouldn’t try that while I’m around anyway. They know I’d give them a good telling off.” he pushed himself into the conversation, crossing one leg over the other as he bounced his foot.

“I was quite surprised when you were able to get them to stop fighting. Natsu only ever listens to Erza when he gets riled up and Laxus is worse.” Levy muttered, fiddling with her fingers.

“Don’t forget stubborn and prideful.” Bisca added, pushing herself up to sit on the bar and crossing her arms. Gajeel raised an eyebrow.

“I should have noticed he was a dragon slayer when he wasn’t taking any damage to my lightning attacks. It was so obvious.” Erza scolded herself, slamming one hand into the other.

"Don’t beat yourself up over it Erza, none of us noticed.” Mira assured her.

“He isn’t a dragon slayer.” Gajeel objected. Four sets of eyes were looking at him now and he felt his scales prickling.

“He’s dragon kind. Like me and Natsu. Dragon slayer is such a....... jivntir word.” he added, reaching to scratch at his good arm where the scales were pushing against his skin. Mira’s grip laxed and she pulled back. From the corner of his eye, he saw her look between him and then the girls. He didn’t comment on it. Erza opened her mouth to speak when the door opened once more. Gajeel dragged his attention over to it, instantly seeking out the individual scents that clung to the people who had entered. The girls, possibly realising that he was doing work now, dropped the topic and just began talking about other things he was only half listening to.

Chapter Text

“Opsola” he called, slipping past another burning house. His cry was unanswered. The dark smoke stained the sky and the path in front of him in black smog. He coughed for the tenth time in what felt like only two minutes. He stepped forward, only to wince back when his scaled foot came in contact with hot rocks. He let a whine bubble from his throat. A loud screech followed by a deep thundering roar had him flinching back, gripping tightly at his torn shirt. His tail curled close around his legs as he tried to see through the thick black. He could hear footsteps. Loud ones. Perhaps Acnologia? Or his Xiiwic. They could help him find his Opsola. A large white claw slammed down on the path in front of him, sending the smoke swirling in circles. He tilted his head upward to look at the owner of the claw.

“Acno.” he called out, tail swishing back and forth as a smile broke his jaws. The dragon tilted its head downward, eyes narrowing on him.

“I can’t find Opsola. Do you know where he is?” he asked.

“Gajeel!” He looked toward the call of his name. He couldn’t see who it was, but someone was running towards them. He tilted his head, eyes squinted as he tried to make out who was trying to get his attention. They yelled his name once more. He lifted his hands to his chest, fiddling with his fingers, unsure of the path he should take through the fire. He yelped when something sharp pierced through the flesh of his wing. He struggled, kicking his legs, and flapping his other wing rapidly.

“Put me down. Mr Acno that hurts.” he whined, trying to pry the claws out of his wing. He paused when hot breath hit his skin. He turned to look at large void eyes. His fur fluffed up and his tail tucked between his legs.

“Acnologia!” the person was clearer now. His opsola. He twisted his body, trying to free himself. The dragon ignored his struggles, jaws parting to show rows of sharp teeth. He trashed and kicked, trying to get free. Something snapped down on his leg and he yowled in pain. He looked through misty eyes at what had caused the pain. His leg was jammed between the jaws of the dragon with the only part of his leg that had been protected being where his scales were. The dragon was struggling to press his teeth through the iron scales that littered the side of his leg. He tried to pull his leg back, but it just flared up in more pain. The noise around him was fuzzy, drowned out by the ringing in his ears and the smell of something burning that smelled similar to that time opsola had used fire to close a wound alongside the strong metallic sting of his own blood made him want to throw up. The grip on his leg released and it hung limply from his body. He froze, staring blankly at white scales. A whimper escaped his lips. The grip on his wing was released and he found the ground racing to meet him. Pain flared up in his sides and face when he hit the ground. He whined, any strength to move evaporating to join the smoke. His vision was blurry, mostly clouded in black and red. His lungs hurt and something in his body was snarling, trying to leap from his body and attack. He blinked, struggling to lift his eyes once more. The second time he blinked, his eyes didn’t open again.

****
Gajeel jolted up in his bed, heart thudding against his chest. He lifted one hand to clutch at his shirt, breathing sporadic. His dragon was hissing and spitting, sensing danger but unable to find its source. Gajeel reached up, running one hand through his hair repeatedly. Over and over. He was sure he’d pulled hairs out and made a complete mess of his hair, but he kept doing it. Anything to bring his attention away from his dream. When his heartbeat had settled, and he could breathe steadily once more was when he leaned against the boards behind him. There were phantom aches in his leg which he planned to ignore. It was fine. He was fine.

“Gajeel?” he jolted, his dragon still on high alert. His gaze snapped around the entrance to his bunk trying to pick out the voice of who had spoken to him.

“Are you alright?” he gripped tightly onto the sheet, focusing on identifying the voice. He ran through all the voices he knew in his head until he pinpointed it. Totomaru.

“Y-yeah. I’m fine” he huffed, pressing his fingers into his eyes.

“Are you sure? You don-.”

“I’m fine!” he snapped, a snarl bubbling into his words. His scales were pressing against his skin again. He heard movement from the fire mage before his voice could be heard, although quiet.

“Alright. Just... You can talk to me.” the door clicked shut. Gajeel blinked, jolting forward. What time was it? How long had he been asleep for Totomaru to be heading into the hall. He scrambled forward for the exit to his bunk. He dropped down from the bunk, landing on his feet. Only for his face to swiftly be met with the concrete of the floor. He felt the impact right through his cheek, soliciting a groan.

“Fuck.” he hissed, leaning on his elbows so he could lift his head up. He looked over his shoulder to pinpoint what had caused him to fall. He couldn’t see anything out of place that could have tripped him. He pushed himself up so that he was sitting. He still didn’t see anything out of place. He shifted so he could push himself up only to crumble to the ground when sharp pain shot up through his leg. He hissed, clutching on to the limb until the pain stopped. He stayed in place, looking down at the limb in question. Pressing his hand over it made the small swell to his flesh apparent.

“Dammit.” he bit down on his lip. That stupid dream must have had him moving too much and he hurt his leg in the process. His ears tingled when he heard loud laughs coming from the other building. Right. Time. He snapped his attention to the clock they’d balanced on one of the shelves. His hair fluffed up at the numbers. 12:38. How had he even slept for so long? Or even fallen into such a deep sleep to begin with? If he stayed here for much longer then someone would start getting suspicious. He reached up to the base of his bunk, clutching onto that as he pulled himself up. Even when standing, he didn’t let go. He knew the moment he did that he’d be back on the floor. He looked around the room, trying to find his brace. He groaned when it was at least 8ft away from his current location. Why had he put it so far away? He looked for a potential way to get over to the brace without falling flat on his face again. He could guess just from the sting of his cheek that he’d have a bruise there later.

“Gajeel?” he stiffened at the new person in the room. Juvia was in the doorway, hand still clinging onto the door handle. Out of habit, he released his grip on the bunk which he would come to regret in the next 2 seconds when his face met the floor below, same cheek and everything. He yelped when his teeth caught his tongue. Shoes against stone rapidly approached and the water mage was kneeling against him when he looked.

“Gajeel is-.”

“I’m fine.” he snipped, placing his hands on the ground to push himself up. His arms had a slight shake to them that he was cursing them for. The water mage shook her head, and a hand soon met his forehead. She gasped.

“Gajeel is freezing. He hasn’t been warming up his bed.” he could hear the pout in her voice.

“Its not a big deal. I’m fine.” he huffed, finally sitting up again. Juvia got up, walking over to where his brace was being kept. She swiped it from the shelf and brought it back over to him. He snatched it from her and started to pull off his sleepwear so he could actually get dressed. Besides, putting his brace on was a lot easier without having to struggle around trousers. He slipped each strap through the buckles and made sure it was tightened.

“Gajeel is going to finish getting ready and then he can come into the guild where its warm. Juvia will fix his hair when he’s got food and warmth.” she explained her plan to him. He turned to look at her with wide eyes.

“What? No. Absolutely not. I am not letting you brush my hair in front of the entire guild.” he hissed, his hair prickling to match. Juvia placed both hands on her hips.

“Gajeel doesn’t have a choice. Totomaru was worried about Gajeel and Juvia is not letting him sit in the cold where he could get sick. Juvia knows he’s already got sick from cold since joining Fairy tail.” she scolded him, leaning over him like an angry parent. He huffed but reached for his trousers which he pulled on. Juvia smiled and started rummaging through the boxes for his cosmetics kit that he had. He pulled on his shirt, grabbing at his hair to pull it out from under the shirt. His fingers got caught in several knots that he must have worked into his hair with the fidgeting.

“Juvia will help Gajeel into the guild hall.” Juvia was back in front of him, the metal box slung under her arm. She reached out, taking his hand and helping him to his feet. He was shaky but the brace at least stopped him from kissing the floor for the third time that afternoon. Despite this, Juvia didn’t let go of his hand. She led him to the still open door which he was now realizing he’d changed in front of and over to the back doors to the guild. Not before he locked the shed of course. When they entered the guild hall, a few people turned to look at him. His scales prickled and his hair bristled. He looked towards Juvia who hadn’t taken notice and was taking the lead to a table in one of the far corners under the balcony where Totomaru was sat with a bowl on the table. When both reached the table, he pushed the bowl towards Gajeel. He took a sniff. Beef and chicken noodle soup. He shrugged, grabbing the bowl and making his way through the food. He was about halfway through the bowl when the brush hit a particularly bad knot and he hissed, yanking forward.

“Sorry. Sorry.” Juvia apologised. He looked over his shoulder to see her pick up his comb. He continued to eat the contents of his bowl as she teased the knot with his comb, getting most of it out without causing him too much discomfort. It didn’t do much to prevent the looks they were being given though. He didn’t need to turn around to know people were staring. He placed the now empty bowl on the table. Once Totomaru had noticed this, he leaned forward to the open metal box, plucking up one of the nail polishes that were kept in there for Juvia and Totomaru specifically. He only did his nails because they insisted, and he only picked black since it was the colour of his nails so Jose would never guess that it was actually nail polish. A fool proof plan.

“Since your hands are free, do you mind?” the fire mage asked, shaking the bottle of yellow in his hand.

“Let me guess. Rainbow?” he asked. At least painting nails would take his mind off that stupid dream and everyone watching them.

“You know me too well.” he chuckled. Gajeel twisted his body, grabbing a fist of bottle tops so he could pick up all the colours at once and turned back to Totomaru. He motioned for the other to give him his hand. The dual haired mage obliged, placing his hand into Gajeel’s. Using his teeth, he unscrewed the red bottle first, picking the lid from his mouth and leaning down to brush it over the pinkie. He placed the brush back in the bottle but didn’t screw the lid on, instead moving to a slightly lighter red that he painted on the next finger over. He swapped between colours, placing the first coat on each nail. He reached for the red again to begin the next coat Something hit against his leg, leaving a fiery pain to burst through his veins. He snapped his eyes shut, teeth biting down on his lip to keep in any noise. Juvia made a startled noise and he realised then that his hair must have bushed up. His eyes snapped open, and he looked. No one was looking at him, but he swore something was happening. Like they were talking about him or something similar. He stuttered over his next few breaths, clutching tightly onto his trousers until his knuckles were white. A hand on his shoulder snapped his attention to Totomaru. He hadn’t said anything, simply rubbed his thumb in a circle on the iron mage’s shoulder. He flicked his gaze downward, not meeting it. Juvia didn’t say further comment either, just grabbed a handful of his hair and began brushing it once more. He took a few steadying breaths before letting his shoulders relax. He reached for the nail polish once more, continuing on from where he had been.

****
Makarov watched the three mages, specifically Juvia and Totomaru’s reaction to Gajeel. Neither had said a word like the reaction was something they were used to. Perhaps it was. If that were the case, then it left some concern in the back of his mind about the three’s emotional and mental wellbeing.

“Master, is everything alright?” Mira asked. He nodded.

“Yes. Its fine” he acknowledged her, taking a sip from his mug. He should keep a good eye on them. He couldn’t be sure they hadn’t had unfortunate circumstances in their time in their previous guild but they at least knew how to give each other comfort. Something he was thankful for. It was knowledge that they were open with each other. He didn’t believe Juvia or Totomaru were aware of Gajeel’s true origins, more like they knew of his quirks and had just adjusted to them. He let out a sigh. He would just have to hope those three could help each other if anything went astray.

Chapter Text

The golden leaves above rustled, mixing in with the soft humming that floated in the air. The breeze loosed a few more leaves from the balding tree as they fluttered down towards the ground. One leaf fell atop a hand that had been brushing over purple scales. He looked to the leaf, picking it up with his other hand. He twirled the leaf in his fingers, watching the soft light dance in patterns of yellow and gold along its surface. He looked up to the large branches, bare of many leaves. He leaned his head back against the bark of the tree, closing his eyes for a moment. A head nudged into his stomach, and he looked. Green eyes met his own. He smiled to the snake next to him.

“Cobra. Brain has been waiting.” he didn’t need to look to hear the annoyance in Angel’s thoughts. He sighed, pushing himself up to his feet.

“I’m coming. Just needed a break from all the noise you make.” he rolled his eyes. The snake curled herself around his legs and weaved her way up his body.

“Whatever. Don’t know why you want to spend your time sitting next to a tree. Its not even a pretty one.” she huffed, already walking back towards their guild hall. He shook his head and looked to the bark of the tree, placing one hand against it.

“I’m sure I know someone who would have thought you were a lovely tree.” he whispered to the bark. He removed his hand from the tree and walked in the direction he’d seen his guild mate walk in.

****

Gajeel stepped into Makarov’s office, hands shoved into his pockets,

“Ya wanted to see me master?” he asked, dropping himself into the chair on the opposite side of the desk. The wizard saint lifted his head and looked at Gajeel.

“Yes. I have a job I need you to do.” he slipped some photos out of an envelope, arranging them on the desk.

“If its about Ivan, I’ve still not gotten him to talk. He’s been quite angry that Laxus wasn’t expelled.” he leaned back against the chair, shifting when the contact with his spine gave off phantom aches. He gripped onto the back with his right hand and shifted his body to the side. He still didn’t feel comfortable. He huffed and stood up, using his grip to spin the chair around and sit back down, folding both arms on the back of the chair. Makarov raised a thick eyebrow at the movement before shaking his head.

“No. For now I want you to forget about Ivan. This is about something much more imminent.” he tapped on the desk next to one of the photos.

“Its within my knowledge you have had an encounter with the Oracion seiz” Gajeel raised one brow, tilting his head. He’d heard of the seiz, but he didn’t think he’d ever met them. One photo was pushed towards him. He slipped his fingers under it and lifted it up so he could get a better look. His stomach sunk. He recognised that hair and even if the face wasn’t a giveaway, then the snake was. He was stood somewhere outside, Cubelios swirling around his body as he looked directly at the camera with a wide grin. He placed the picture back down on the table, flicking between the other photos. While it took him a little longer to recognise the other four younger members, he still picked out defining features that he remembered.

“Yes.” he mumbled. Then he snapped his neck straight.

“Wait how did ya know that?” he asked. He didn’t even know what they had become, and he’d never mentioned the names Brain used for them so how did Makarov find out. The giant mage’s eyes flicked down towards a part of his desk where the drawers were before clasping his hands together on the desk.

“Jose let it slip when I talked to him after that most recent incident.” he explained, face never morphing to change. Gajeel leaned forward on his chair with narrowed eyes but didn’t say anything in response to the guild master.

“I want you to join the team that I have picked out for the allied forces. Your knowledge could be vital to our victory.” he explained.  Gajeel’s hair bristled a little.

“Ya want me on such an important mission.” he pointed one finger at himself. Makarov nodded.

“Of course. I trust you.” he agreed. Gajeel got to his feet, lifting one hand up to his forehead and saluted Makarov.

“I won’t let ya down master.” he promised, keeping his muscles locked and chest puffed up.

“Master isn’t necessary Gajeel. You can call me gramps.” he chuckled, shaking his head. The iron mage’s muscles loosened as his shoulders dropped. He didn’t say anything further just stood there.

“Now hurry along. We can’t have your teammates waiting too long.” Makarov waved him off. He nodded curtly and turned around. He twisted the handle of the door and pulled the door open, stepping out into the hall. He closed the door behind him and took the stairs down from the second floor. He looked around the bottom floor for the people who had been nominated for the task. He didn’t see them. They must have already stepped outside. His gaze flicked between different members of the guild as he passed. Laxus was at the bar with his team, the group all drinking different things and laughing about something in their conversation, it was something that made the rune mage’s cheeks burst into a bright red. He turned to the right where he spotted Juvia and Totomaru discussing something. A quick tune in identified it as being another one of Juvia’s missions to get Gray’s attention. He sighed but kept walking. The doors were closed, likely to keep the warmth in the hall. He pulled the door open slightly and slipped out of the gap, pulling it closed after he’d stepped out.

“Our teammate is Gajeel?” someone spoke up. He turned around to be met with his teammates. Natsu and his team. He lifted one hand and coughed into it, scales crawling beneath his skin. Natsu sprinted forward, skidding to a halt. He didn’t stop early enough how ever and collided with Gajeel’s chest. He stumbled back, gripping onto the fire dragon’s shoulders to steady them both. Natsu stayed still, stunned for a moment before bouncing back and circling around Gajeel.

“This is so cool. We get to do a job together and you won’t get sick this time.” he purred, nuzzling into his shoulder where he’d had a new guild mark placed. He laughed slightly.

“Yeah, I guess” he walked up to the rest of the group. Lucy watched him approach only to turn her gaze away when their eyes met.

“Since everyone is here, we can get going now.” Erza spoke, stepping up into the carriage that had been waiting outside the gates. Natsu whined, head lowered as he stepped into it with a dejected look. Gray rolled his eyes and followed, Happy floating in after. He looked to Lucy who was still stood at the edge of the pavement. He stepped back, offering for her to go in first. She squared her shoulders and stepped into the carriage. Gajeel rolled one shoulder and stepped up into the small space. He dropped down next to Natsu who was hunched over with hands over his stomach. The fire dragon looked to Gajeel, eyes pleading, and lips tightly drawn. He sighed and lowered his legs out, patting his thigh that was closest to Natsu. He dropped his head down, head landing in Gajeel’s lap with a groan. Gajeel brushed his fingers through pink hair, watching as the spikes bounced into place every time his fingers left the strands. The carriage jolted with movement and a steady journey. Natsu whined when the movement started. Most of the trip passed in relative silence.

“If Gajeel is coming then why am I here? I’m nowhere near as strong as you guys.” Lucy sighed, breaking the silence and fiddling with the hem of her skirt.

“We shouldn’t complain. You should see this mission as an honour.” Erza spoke, keeping her hands folded in her lap.

“Just seems like every other mission I’ve done just with new bastards.” Gajeel shrugged, eyeing up a tight tangle in the pink hair he’d been fiddling with.

“Can you try to play nice Gajeel. This is very important.” Erza scolded him. The iron dragon huffed, exhaling heavily though his nose.

“I can play nice. How else would ya trick someone into thinking they can trust ya.” he tapped two fingers against his forehead twice then pointed vaguely to the opposite wall of the carriage. All three mages looked at him with quizzical eyes and raised brows.

“I’ve gone on one or two infiltration missions. Besides. I have information that the old man said was important so I have an actual use here.” he shrugged, hoping they wouldn’t try to connect the dots to his operation with Ivan. He’d be knee deep in trouble if they did.

“You have information? Why did gramps not tell us?” Gray leaned forward, one hand pressed down on the floor of the carriage. Gajeel shrugged. Like he knew why Makarov hadn’t told them this. He was only told things that were necessary to his work. That was how it had always worked.

“The master has been talking with you quite often. Is there a reason?” Erza asked, raising one brow at him with squinted eyes. Shit.

“I took a gamble and he’s just checkin in to make sure nothin’s gone array. Nothin’ else.” he huffed. It wasn’t entirely a lie. Makarov had talked to him once or twice if he was sure he still wanted his fate as a member resting in Laxus and the thunder legion’s ability to behave themselves. Of course, that was amongst stuff to do with Ivan but that was neither here nor there. Erza seemed satisfied with his answer and leaned back against the carriage.

“What is this information you know anyway?” Lucy asked, watching his hands card through Natsu’s hair.

“I’ll explain when we get there. Rather explain this shit once and have it done with.” he rolled his shoulders, wincing when the left one popped. He was almost entirely patched up from his fight with Silas and Jose with only a few aches, pains and scars left to remind his body of the events that transpired. It was still pretty close to the events of his previous altercation -something he’d noticed had been happening a lot lately- but he wasn’t fighting alone or with only one other partner. The carriage came to a stop with a harsh jolt. Natsu whined, burying his nose into the iron dragon’s thigh. Heat blossomed in his face at the gesture. He could hear snickering to his left and snapped his head to glare at the offending cat.

“Let’s go. Don’t want to keep our companions waiting.” Erza spoke, standing up and stepping out of the carriage, Gray stepped out only a few seconds after she did. Lucy kneeled forward, gently shaking Natsu’s shoulder.

“Come on Natsu. We’ve arrived.” she kept her voice low and soft, likely not wanting to worsen his upset stomach. The fire mage turned to look at her but made no move to get up. Gajeel took a tight hold of his sides, making sure not to slip down towards the Draushum’s stomach and slowly lifted him up. He stumbled on his feet, almost keeling over when his feet touched the floor. Lucy gripped one arm and draped it over her shoulders, half guiding, half carrying Natsu. Gajeel let his grip drop, instead shoving his hands into his pockets and following the rest of the group. He stepped out and looked up at the large building, painted white and decorated with blues and fancy decor.

“Fancy shit.” he huffed, stepping through the open doors. The style was completely different on the inside from what he’d seen both at Phantom and in Fairy tail. While Jose tended to have a more industrial look to his buildings and Fairy tail was quite reminiscent of a brothel, this building was a lot more elegant. Like a palace. Or what he’d seen in movies at least. He looked down at the floor, which was sparkling and reflected almost everything above it, the red carpet leading up to the massive staircase perfectly kept with no dirt or speck of dust present.

“Well, aren’t you ladies just lovely.” he turned his attention to the group of three that were attempting to flirt with Lucy and Erza.

“How did our team get stuck with the three guys that we did.” Lucy sighed, twirling one lock of hair around her finger. Gajeel stepped up next to her and her shoulders stiffened.

“No offense Gajeel.” she quickly tried to redeem; a strained smile present. He shrugged.

“Doesn’t bother me. I know I don’t look good. Don’t know how those two’ll react” he made a point of jabbing his finger towards Natsu and Gray. The fire mage was leaning against a pillar, still trying to rid himself of his motion sickness while Gray was muttering about how he was underdressed, shirt now missing. Lucy pulled a sheepish smile, running one hand through her hair. His ears tingled when nearing footsteps echoed within. He turned to look over his shoulder at who was approaching. He didn’t recognise either of the mages that walked in although the chilly scent that clung to the white-haired man hinted to a magic type in the colder range. Perhaps ice or snow. Gajeel leaned his head to the side. Everyone was squabbling now and from the magic in the air, it could lead to a fight.

“That is enough.” Gajeel turned to look at who spoke. Now that was someone he did know. He’d seen the man at one or two of Jose’s wizard saint meetings when he’d been dragged along to them. Similar to the guild master meetings, there was nothing against bringing a select set of mages to the meetings, but they usually had to be S-class or second in command to the guild. Jose only ever took him if anyone. It led to many master’s pet comments from his guildmates.

"We are here on a mission, not to fight each other.” he added onto his previous sentence.

“He has a point. Squabbling between ourselves will just give the enemy an advantage.” he agreed. That was the case for any enemy, but these ones were particularly finicky. Erik could be nearby at this very moment to get intel from them on their mission and they’d all be too distracted to even notice. Everyone was looking towards him now. His scales prickled and itched as his eyes swept over every member present.

“Who are you?” The pink haired girl asked, placing one hand against her face. He squared his shoulders and opened his mouth.

“Gajeel Redfox. I had heard you had joined Fairy tail after your previous guild’s disbandment but I didn’t expect you to be on this mission.” Jura kept an impartial face. Gajeel shrugged.

“Master Makarov decided that it would be best to send me with the knowledge I have.” he replied. If anyone was watching, it didn’t make a difference. He didn’t know the ins and outs of Angel or Racer or Midnight’s magics but he knew Erik’s like the back of his hand and he at least knew how to combat the others. He’d been pitted against them enough times to know how to dodge and land hits.

“What knowledge could you have?” the brown-haired mage from blue Pegasus if the mark on his jacket was any indication asked. He was eyeing Gajeel suspiciously. The iron mage let a smirk cross his features.

“I’ve met the seiz before. Even fought against them a few times.” he shrugged. It wasn’t a big deal. Sure, they’d all been strong and did a number on him in the first few fights and loved to turn him into their personal punching back, especially when Erik hadn’t been present. However, they weren’t as strong as some of the other opponents he’s faced recently. That could have changed now but he couldn’t confirm that or not.

“You’ve fought the seiz and lived?” the white-haired mage asked, looking towards him. He raised a studded brow.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Its not like we were trying to kill each other. The only time I got aggressive was when one of em was getting too harsh with Erik. I got pissed about it.” he shrugged, fiddling with one blackened nail. He didn’t bother to listen in to the hushed whispers they were sharing, instead he drew his attention to the vastly approaching footsteps. His spines quivered and he turned to the door, hair bristling, and claws sharpened. A young girl ran through the doors, tripping over her own feet and falling to the carpeted floor. She cried out when she hit the floor and her scent hit his nostrils. Oh no. No, no, no. Not her too. The girl got to her feet, brushing the dust off the skirt of her dress. She lifted her head, looking between the group. Her eyes landed on him. She took a moment to look over him before her eyes blew wide and a smile spread across her face.

“Gajeel!” she cried out, running towards him. He only had two seconds to brace himself before the little girl barrelled into him, arms wrapped around his torso as she nuzzled against his stomach with a purr. He stood frozen, staring at her. It was her. She was here. Along with Natsu and Erik. Now he had three to worry about instead of just two. How was he supposed to keep an eye on all of them now?

“Wendy?” he placed one hand on her head, running his fingers through blue strands. She pulled back from the hug, looking up towards him with wide brown eyes.

“You know her?” Gray asked, taking a step towards them. Wendy immediately started circling him, nose twitching as she inspected his left arm.

“You aren’t still hurt, are you? I know you were hurt. I could sense it for all that time. It hurt to feel.” her voice wavered when her eyes started to dampen, and a sniffle escaped. He gently pulled his arm back from the girl.

“I’m fine. All healed up so there’s nothing to worry about.” he reassured her. She looked up at him with those damp, round eyes.

“But you almost died.” she whimpered, pulling on her fingers. He sighed.

“But I didn’t. See. Still in one piece.” He pet her head, ruffling her hair. It stuck to his fingers for a few seconds before dropping back down after he lifted his hand.

“Wendy. What are you doing with this man?” a white cat called from the doorway, pointing towards Gajeel.

“How do you know this little girl? Are you a creep?” the blond blue Pegasus member asked, leaning forward with a deep pout and crossed arms. He rolled his eyes.

“Actually, Gajeel is my leader.” Wendy piped up with a smile, bouncing on her toes while going back to fiddling with her fingers. He got several stares.

“Its a dragon thing. Firewood is part of it too.” he gestured his head over to Natsu who was staring at Wendy with narrowed eyes. Wendy looked towards him, a smile slipping onto her features again.

“You did come. That’s so cool. Is the new guy here too?” she asked, looking around the group for who she had been talking of.

“New guy? Wait how did you know Gajeel was hurt?” Lucy asked, raising one brow. His injuries had been mostly on the hush. Not many out with the guild knew about what had happened. Of course, his droce knew since they had witnessed some of what had happened. Wendy blinked once and started gripping her dress.

“Yes. The one that was saying weird stuff that Mr Erik refused to tell me about. I still don’t understand why fighting was hot.” she looked down to her shoes. Natsu’s jaw dropped open.

“You were the girl that was talking.” Natsu pointed to her. She looked up to him, blinking her eyes with confusion.

“Who’s this Erik? I’ve heard that name a few times now.” Erza asked, crossing her arms. Gajeel sighed.

“Someone I used to know a few years ago. That relationship is complicated and messy and its about to go to fucking shit soon.” he sighed, one hand reaching up to rub his face.

“Mr Erik is here?” Wendy asked, looking over the crowd once more like she’d be able to recognise the dragon if she saw him. He shook his head.

“Not yet. But he will be. And things are going to get complicated.” he sighed.

“You can tell us what you know now right? Everyone is here.” Lucy offered. He nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Just give me a moment. I need to use the little men’s room” Ichiya spoke before running off to one of the bathrooms. Gajeel leaned against one of the pillars, clinking his nails together until the man returned. He rolled his shoulders before starting.

“I met the members of the Oracion seiz about 7 years ago. They were at the location my training year took place at. We were told to fight each other for varying reasons. Things could get brutal but never to the point of someone dying. Usually.” he started. All of the members in the room were paying close attention to him.

“So, you know their magic?” the pink haired girl asked, looking him over.

“Somewhat. I don’t know the ins and outs of all of them. I know Er-Cobra’s magic the best since we confided in each other a lot. I know Ric- Hoteye uses earth magic, he liquifies the matter around him, particularly annoying when you are an earth mage or have links to it. S-Racer has some kind of speed magic. I learned how to dodge his attacks by guessing when he was about to strike. Sor-Angel uses those little gate keys but I don’t know which ones she has. She could have more now for all I know. Don’t engage Ma-Midnight alone. You won’t be able to hit him.” The group looked at him with varying looks of shock.

“So, if you know Cobra’s magic then what is it?” the brown-haired blue Pegasus mage asked, crossing his arms with a raised eyebrow. Ichiya waved his hands.

“Perhaps that information isn’t neca-.” Gajeel smirked. Oh, he had caught that.

“He can hear yer thoughts. Nothing is secret around him. And his hearing is even stronger than mine. He could be standing 30 miles away and probably still hear this entire conversation with no struggle.” he placed one finger up to his mouth. Ichiya stiffened, looking Gajeel up and down.

“Oh, and he’s Draushum Civic” he picked at his nails, looking at the slight black that swirled along them.

“Isn’t that what Laxus said he was?” Natsu asked, tilting his head to the side.

“What does that mean? Hibiki, have you heard that magic type before?” the blond asked. Hibiki shook his head, typing on the keyboard he had summoned.

"No. I haven’t. It must be some sort of lost magic. Perhaps one that hasn’t been translated?” he was pulling up several different images and magic terms. Gajeel chuckled.

“It means dragon kind. He uses dragon magic like firewood, sky, sparky and myself. His element is nasty. Earth linked like mine, but he draws on the natural poisons of the environment. Ya know like poison ivy, animal venom, that kinda thing.” he ran one hand through his hair.

“Dragon slayers draw from the earth?” Lucy whispered to Gray. The ice mage shrugged his shoulders.

“Not all of them. Sparky draws from the air. Its where static and lightning comes from. Firewood over there draws from fire. I haven’t met any Draushums who draw from water though.” he got several confused stares. He sighed.

“Draushum magic is more natural than other magic because we have to draw more ethernano from the surrounding environment to survive. Its why we can eat the element we wield; we get energy from our surroundings. Its a very complex magic system but my point is, don’t let Er- Cobra draw energy from his surroundings. It’ll give him enough power to build up some nasty spells. Oh, and watch out for his roar. Its a staple and it can get messy if you don’t know to avoid it.” he nodded, leaning on his heals. Wendy pulled on his trousers. He looked down.

“Mr Erik wouldn’t hurt us, right?” she asked with round eyes. He sighed, dropping one hand on her head.

“Can’t promise anything.” he straightened his back. Hold on. He’d been able to command both Laxus and Natsu while speaking dragonic. Perhaps he was able to do so because he was their leader. He could try using it to at least get Erik to hold still long enough to get him out of the picture. But he’d need someone else to help. He looked down at Wendy. She could handle it. He knew she could. The rest of the group had turned, discussing something else. He bent down to Wendy’s height. She looked to him.

“Listen Sky. I want ya to stick by my side. I have an important role for ya.” he told her. She nodded, clutching her hands into fists in front of her.

“You better not plan on getting her hurt.” the little white cat huffed. He looked to her.

“Like I’d let my droce rumag get hurt.” he stood back up.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s get this party started.” Natsu yelled, racing out of the doors.

“NATSU. What the fuck are ya doing?!” he hissed, a growl in his throat.

“Get back here. We aren’t supposed to split up.” Gray yelled, running after Natsu. Other members of the group started running after them.

“Come on Wendy or we’ll be left behind.” the cat grabbed Wendy’s hand and began dragging her along, Happy flying behind them with cries of having a man to protect them. Gajeel huffed, dropping onto all fours and pushing forward. He kept pace with Wendy, nodding his head to his back.

“Get on.” he encouraged. She reached one hand out to take hold of his hair. He used that to bump into her and knock her onto his back.

“Hold on tight. Don’t wanna lose ya.” he instructed. Wendy held tightly onto his shoulders with one arm while holding the cat in the other. He sprinted forward in an attempt to catch up with the rest of the group.

Chapter Text

His ear twitched when he heard footsteps in the dried grass behind him. His spines raised with the arch of his back as he snarled. The person sneaking up behind him was just beyond the bushes surrounding his little camp. He turned on his heels and pounced. He slammed into something, both of them hitting the ground while his teeth met flesh. They sunk into the neck, not deep enough to kill but enough to bleed. A hand smacked up at his face, pulling at his lips and pushing at jaws. He growled in warning.

“Let... go.” his ears twitched but he didn’t move.

“If you don’t let go then I’ll get her to bite you” a finger pointed to the small purple and white snake hissing at him from the grass. He flicked his tail once, weighting his options. Finally, he released his grip, stalking back and keeping his tail and wings tucked close. The other sat up, reaching one hand up to run his fingers over the punctures in his neck. The snake slithered over and curled around his neck, small tongue swiping at one of the holes.

“I was going to say you shouldn’t be out here before you jumped me like that.” the other boy huffed, crossing his arms and letting his eyebrows drop down. Gajeel huffed.

“You snuck up on me.” he snapped, thumping the tip of his tail on the ground. The other rolled his eyes.

“I didn’t expect you to try and rip my throat out.” he objected, rubbing one finger over the snake’s head.

“Don’t you have some fancy magic that can hear people’s brains?” he pushed himself into a crouch, scaled hands spread out on the dirt.

“Its thoughts. Not brains. And I wasn’t listening to yours because I didn’t think you’d attack me.” the other stood up now, hands bunched up and short maroon strands brushing over pointed ears.

“Whatever. Not like you can tell me I can’t be here. You’re here.” he huffed, turning and shuffling around his little fire. The contents of the pot bubbled and popped with the increasing heat. He leaned forward and sniffed. It was just missing one thing. He turned around, sniffing around the nearby trees. He found a clip of herbs at the base of one. He used his claws to snip the stalks and brought them back to his little set up. The other boy was looking into his pot, head tilted to the left ever so slightly as he watched the bubbles.

“Don’t touch it.” he snipped, pushing him away from the pot. The boy huffed purple pink mist swirling around his hands. He huffed and turned back to his food, balling the herbs in his hands and tossing them into the pot. He sat back on his haunches, watching the steam that trailed into the leaves above.

“You’re cooking? I thought you were some forest beast.” the boy asked. Gajeel looked over his shoulder at him.

“I’m not a forest beast. And of course, I can cook. I taught myself.” he huffed. Eyeing up the other. He looked at Gajeel for a moment before shuffling forward to crouch next to him, snake still curled across his shoulders. Gajeel glanced over, eyes catching on the various scars across slim wrists. Faded and fresh alike. He turned back to look at the pot.

"Do you want some?” he asked, one ear twitching. The other shifted a little before huffing.

“Fine but just because I’m still hungry.” Gajeel rolled his eyes.

“Name’s Gajeel.” he muttered, picking at his nails. The maroon haired boy turned to look at him, gaze flicking down to the snake on his shoulders and then back to him.

“Erik... And this is Cubelios.” he pointed to the snake. Gajeel turned to it, reaching one finger out. Its tongue swiped across his finger before the tiny head nudged into it. He laughed, rubbing the top of the reptile’s head. He looked up to Erik who was watching the interaction. He smiled, teeth on full display. The other rolled his eyes at him but a small smile had leaked onto his face.

****
The sound of his bare hands and boots hitting the grass and dirt below echoed in his ears as he weaved around bushes and under branches. Wendy’s grip still clung to his shoulders but from the shift along his back, he could confirm she had sat up slightly to look ahead.

“I could have protected them.” Happy huffed, wings spread wide as he tried to keep up with them. He looked to the blue cat out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t say anything, just ducked under a fallen tree branch. Happy yelped when he almost hit it. Gajeel let out a chuckle. He could hear the whine Wendy made.

“Don’t worry Sky. He’ll be fine.” he assured her.

“Are you sure?” she asked. Her head dropped down on his own. The blue cat zoomed past them and almost went careening into another tree.

“Don’t be so reckless.” the little white cat scolded him.

“I don’t think I got your cat’s name.” he pointed out.

“Oh. This is Carla.” Wendy introduced. The little furball huffed.

“Do you have any cats?” she asked, lifting her head from his.

“Yeah, I got one. White like yours. Doesn’t talk though.” good thing he had backups for taking care of Milk. Mira had agreed that if both him and Totomaru were away that she’d feed him. Plus, she told him that most of the guild would happily care for him.

“Does yours have a name?” her cheek made contact with the back of his head.

“Gajeel named his cat Milk.” Happy giggled, now flying alongside them.

“What’s wrong with that? Your name is an emotion.” he scoffed, pushing down on his limbs and leaping over a root jutting from the ground. Happy stuck his tongue out, arms crossed.

“Such childish behaviour.” Carla chastised.

“Wait what the?”

“Hey there stars.” he chuckled, quickly overtaking the blond.

“Hi Miss.” Wendy called out, sitting up on his back and waving one hand.

“Its very rude to leave a delicate lady behind.” one of the blue Pegasus boys called to him.

“She ain’t delicate and I have three dragons to watch, one of which is running off at a brisk pace out of my sight.” he called over his shoulder, quickly twisting around some trees. It wasn’t long before he caught up with those at the front. He could see Natsu racing ahead, bickering with Gray as he did. His hair fluffed when he noticed the cliff up ahead.

“Natsu! Stop!” he yelled.

“Mr Natsu!” Wendy added onto his call, hands gripping tightly on his shirt.

“So, you guys want to race too?” he called back, a laugh in his voice. Gajeel growled.

“Natsu you will stop your feet right now.” Erza yelled at him. Her yell did manage to get him to stop. Not before he went skidding off the side of the cliff though. He slid to a stop, looking over the edge with the others.

“How much you wanna bet he’s dead?” Gray asked, crossing his arms.

“Such foolish behaviour. You bicker like children.” the silver haired ice mage scoffed, shaking his head.

“If he’s dead, I’m bringing him back just to kill him again.” he huffed. He closed his eyes, looking for a sign. He could still feel the six presences like normal so he must be alive. He got onto his feet, stretching up his arms. Wendy’s arms swiftly wrapped around his neck so as to not fall from his back.

“Well then. I’m gonna get some high ground.” he spoke. He pressed his hand to his chest and wrote out the spell. The markings turned silver, spreading throughout and allowing his wings and such to escape their confines.

“How do you plan on doing that-.” The pink haired girl asked, one hand up to her cheek. All those present were staring at him.

“See ya around.” he laughed, turning so his back was facing the drop and jumping down. He could hear several surprised noises. Wendy yelped, her grip on his neck tightening. He spread out his wings, wind buffering against the feathers. He flapped them once then twice, giving himself leverage so he could climb upward. He flapped them repeatedly until he was high above the Woodsea below. Wendy moved around on his back and soon her head was leaned over his shoulder while she looked down at the ground that was miles below them.

“This is like flying with Grandeeney.” Wendy chirped, kicking her legs on either side of him. The cat had buried her face into the scales on his back that had been exposed from under his shirt by his wings dragging it up. She refused to look in any other direction. Gajeel laughed, a deep chortle that shook his ribs.

“Keep yer weight centred. I’m a lot smaller than an average dragon and the last thing we want is to plumet from this height.” the sky dragon giggled, the sound sweet and melodic like a bird. He flapped his wings once, gaining a better sense of balance before gliding smoothly through the open sky. The wind brushed at his feathers, loosening a couple that fluttered off with the wind and down to the trees below. Wendy tilted her head up towards the sky, her nose the highest point as the air brushed past it.

“I love the air up here. It tastes so different from down on the ground.” she was smiling, hair blowing out behind her like a waterfall in the dark of night.

“Well once you sprout your own wings then you’ll be able to fly this high on your own.” he encouraged, flapping his wings once to keep the height he had acquired. Wendy gasped, fingers tightening on his shoulders. He smiled up at her.

“Look. Is that a Pegasus? Its so big.” Wendy pointed over to the large ship that floated through the sky with ease.

“Nah but I’ve seen it before. The Christina. Belongs to Blue Pegasus. If the rumours are true then it has a similar function to the Jupitar canon, we had in my first guild.” he flew out in a slight half circle, keeping his distance from the ship as to not either be knocked off course or meet an untimely demise if he were to get too close to its canons.

“Wow. That’s so cool. We’re totally going to win this now.” Wendy was practically chirping on his back, kicking her legs and half bouncing against his back. He chuckled, shaking his head. She had such enthusiasm. He looked forward to formally introducing her to Laxus. They both shared a basic element, and he was sure the little sky dragon would be more than enthused to meet him. He was knocked out of his thoughts by explosions which sent him into a tailspin. For a moment, he wasn’t sure which direction was up as he flapped his wings repeatedly to try and stabilise his flight path once more. He shook his head when he finally achieved that. By that point, the Christina had taken several hits and was making a downward trajectory with the forest floor.

“What happened?” Carla asked, having moved to cling onto the back of his head.

“Shit. Erik must’ve been nearby. They heard the plan.” he hissed, wings flapping sporadically as he tried to keep the ground he’d covered. He should have checked the perimeter prior to the discussion. How could he have made such a basic oversight. He growled, hair bristling.

“I see the others.” Wendy pointed over his shoulder, index finger pointing down to where they could see both their own allies and their enemies. Gajeel’s gaze pinpointed on the one holding the large snake who was currently in a fight with Erza.

“Alright. I’ve got a plan. You just need to cover my back. I have to put my entire concentration into this.” he commanded to the little dragon. She nodded, fingers tightly clutching his shirt. Good, she was willing to partake in the plan. Now the only thing was how he would get the jump on Erik. He looked down at the fighting. Cubelios was no longer guarding the dragon. If he could dive in fast enough, then he could yell out a command before the other could act. He folded his wings, letting the wind whistle past his ears. It took a lot longer than he expected for Erik to take note of the sound and longer still for him to figure out its source. Perhaps he hadn’t realised that Gajeel had taken to the sky. By the time he realised and looked up, Gajeel had spread his wings to lower the impact with the ground and already began his command.

“Nixal mahhn. Shivi vhira.” the moment the string of words left his jaws, the poison dragon stopped in his tracks and his shoulders dropped. He was staring at Gajeel, eyes wide and eyebrows strung high up his brow. Odd. He had expected annoyance or anger. Not surprise. He twitched his ear. He had to focus. None of the other members had noticed his command and its effect on Erik. Including their leader.

“Ahfven jacion ekik mrith vi jotopa ekess wer fothisev” he lifted his arm and pointed to Brain, never once dropping his gaze with Erik. The poison dragon lifted his arm, the purple of his magic bubbling around his fingers as it charged. His eyes snapped down to look at his hand then back up to Gajeel with narrowed slits. His arm had raised fully, and he fired the shot right towards Brain. Gajeel’s ear twitched at the sound of magic deflecting the attack. Erik’s eyes had turned towards where Brain was behind him. Gajeel’s tail flicked but he refused to break his concentration. Wood hit stone followed by a command he didn’t quite hear. He opened his mouth to repeat his command. Something struck him in the side of the head, sending him skidding and tumbling across the stone. Wendy’s grip loosened on his back, but she clung onto him still returning with a vice grip once they had stopped. He shook his head, trying to recover from the blow only to receive a second one right in his jaw. He rolled across the stone again, only stopping when he dug his claws down into rock which left them splintered.

“Sky, take the cat and hide.” he instructed.

“But-.”

“That is an order.” he interrupted her. Her grip loosened on his back until it disappeared, and she slinked behind the nearby rocks with the cat in tow. Right before he got struck across the face once more and sent tumbling over the ground. It took him a couple minutes to reorientate. He stumbled to his feet, shaking his head and went to take a step. Only for his feet not to move. He looked down, mud clinging around his boots up to the ankles and only getting higher. He spread his wings, slipping his feet out of the boots before his legs became stuck too. Something hit both his wings mid air and he came crashing down onto solid rock. He looked, spotting the sticky mud that now clung to his feathers like a leech. He flapped them once, but it did nothing to rid them of the gunk. He growled, turning forward. He saw a flash and just managed to jump back before a knee collided with his jaw.

“Oh, so he does remember how to dodge.” a chuckle. His tail flicked back and forth behind him.

“It’s a shame such beautiful wings are attached to something so crass.” his eyes flicked to the white-haired mage, holding a golden key between her fingers. She’d always had such a focus on his wings.

“Well then when we kill him, you can take his wings for decoration.” Racer chuckled, looking at him.

“Oh perfect. Just a darling coat of white and they will look just like angel wings.” she cheered.

“We could not kill him. He could be useful.” Erik spoke up, looking between his two guild mates.

“Or we could sell his scales and organs for money. No one would notice they are from a mixed blood like him, and I hear dragon hearts fetch a pretty penny at the black market.” the ginger was rubbing two fingers together. Gajeel growled, his spines protruding from his back. Like hell he was going to let these bastards turn his body into decoration and a profit margin. His ears pricked at something behind him, and he leapt out of the way before a sword swung down on his left wing. He looked to the culprit and hissed. Another fucking copycat. His tail twitched again. Four opponents was not exactly a fair fight. Where were his teammates? He looked over his shoulder where the entire group aside from Happy, Carla and Wendy were struggling to free themselves from the mud that continued to consume them.

“Fuck.” he swore before a boot planted itself firmly on his face and he skidded back, just barely catching himself before he joined the others in the mud.

“Leave him alone.” someone called before he spotted a flash of blue collide with the back of Racer who struggled to get her off him.

“Wendy. Get away from them.” he snarled, dragon all but foaming at the mouth every time the speed mage’s fingers came close to touching the sihe. She jumped back before he had the chance to touch her. Only for a stream of magic to grab hold of her first right as he was pushed back by a metal club of his own making. He rolled back, trying to stop his tumble only to have a number of his claws ripped from their nail beds. His back collided with a rock where he finally caught a glimpse of Wendy seconds before she disappeared. His teeth were exposed, eyes narrowed and practically frothing at the mouth. How dare they. How fucking dare they. He let out a scream that sounded more dragon than human before charging forward, the remains of his claws braced for an attack right at the man who took his droce koppentotz. He pushed off his feet, ready to take the man down to whatever pit he crawled out of. In those few seconds where he was unable to change the trajectory of his lunge, the leader pulled someone else in front of him who he hit instead. The two of them tumbled backwards across rock until suddenly he couldn’t feel anything beneath his back, and they were both plummeting to the ground below.

Chapter Text

Natsu shook out one leg, rapidly drying mud clinging to the skin of his feet and his trousers. He let magic flow to his legs, heating them up only for the mud to crack from the heat. He groaned, scratching at the cracks and getting mud under his nails. He turned to look at Erza who was collapsed on the ground. The poison was getting worse. He let out a whine.

“Is everyone else alright?” Jura asked, looking over the rest of the group. Natsu furrowed his brows for a second. Then turned his gaze over to the cliff edge he’d seen Gajeel disappear over.

“Gajeel fell down there” he pointed towards the cliff. A few people rushed over to look. Natsu huffed. That was his job. It was his maekrix down there. He squeezed his way through those looking over the cliff and gazed down. Down the bottom of the cliff, Gajeel was sprawled out with his face in the dirt. His hair had spread across his back and his wings and tail lay limply on the ground.

“Is he dead?” Gray asked, placing one hand above his eyes and squinted.

“I don’t think I can see breathing.” Lucy replied, holding tightly onto her wrist with one hand.

“Hey Gajeel! Are you dead?” Gray slapped a hand over his mouth to silence him.

“Don’t just yell. We don’t know if the Oracion seiz are still nearby.” Lyon scolded him, shaking his head with one hand to his temple. Natsu licked up Gray’s hand who pulled it back and shook it.

“Ah gross. Don’t do that.” Gray snapped, pushing at Natsu’s face. He stumbled back a little, almost falling down the cliff. He waved his arms around and managed to steady himself before he did fall. He puffed up his cheeks at Gray.

“Guys. Stop fighting. Look there.” Lucy was tapping Gray’s shoulder with one hand while pointing down towards Gajeel with the other hand. Natsu turned to look. A hand was feeling around the grass for a few moments before making contact with Gajeel’s head, pushing at it.

“Someone else is down there? Who else fell down with him?” Jura asked, looking towards them.

“Gajeel and Wendy were the only ones not stuck in mud when it happened. The Oracion seiz were taking Wendy and Gajeel tried to attack their leader but then he hit someone and fell.” Eve explained.

“Wait so that’s a member of the seiz down there.” Gray looked to him and Lucy.

“We can burn them.” Natsu laughed. Lucy placed her hands on her hips, opening her mouth to say something when a cry came out. Natsu looked back down over the cliff. A smile crossed his lips.

“Gajeel!” he called. The iron mage had sharp teeth sunk into the hand that had been pushing at his face before. He could just see a shock of maroon before whoever it was disappeared behind a wing. Gajeel never answered Natsu’s call. The fire dragon huffed, crossing his arms as he watched the wrestle of limbs the two men below were partaking in.

“So who’s going to stop them?” Ren asked, one eyebrow raised as his eyes trailed along the movement of the fight.

“You want to get involved in that?” Gray asked, ducking back when a shot of purple aimed for his hair.

“Fair point.” Eve agreed. The two mages disappeared at the base of the cliff, the lip covering any sight of them. Natsu leaned forward, trying to spot them but found nothing. He could hear metal clashing with rock but they never returned into sight. That was until the source of the maroon hair land heavily on the ground between the group, dust flying up and around him as he stumbled to get up. He shook his head, flecks of mud clinging to the tips of his hair as he blinked rapidly. He stiffened up for a moment before stumbling to his feet like he was about to flee. Natsu leaned on his heel to stop him when a blur of silver and black zipped past and pinned the other man to the ground. Gajeel pressed the palm of his hand into the back of the dark mage’s head, claws gripping it tightly. His tail flicked repeatedly behind him.

“Visp ve svaklar astahii re.” Gajeel snarled, teeth on display as he pressed one foot onto the back of the other mage. The mage looked over his shoulder with a glare and a smirk.

“Al sanerek aul Tel' Vandor at Tel' dath Ath Tel' Alus.” the maroon haired mage still smirked even when his head was tossed back into the ground.

“Alright. We just follow the water and we find em.” Gajeel spoke, dusting off his shirt. The dark mage sat up, eyes wide.

“You shouldn’t have understood that.” he snapped, getting to his feet.

“Did you forget that we did language swaps? Like I’d forget what you taught me.” he says over his shoulder, voice low and flat. Natsu ignored the tone and walked up to the dark mage, giving him a good sniff.

“You smell weird.” His face was pushed back.

“Don’t sniff me you pest.” he snapped at him, pulling one arm away from Natsu.

“So we know where their base is so now what do we do with him?” Hibiki asked, gesturing to the dark mage who was swatting his hand at Natsu.

“I say we kill him. It means one less mage to fight.” Lyon offered.

“We aren’t killing him.” Gajeel objected. He got a few stares towards him.

“This is the one who poisoned your friend and you want him to live?” Sherria placed one hand to her mouth, an eyebrow raised. Lyon didn’t wait for Gajeel to answer, picking up the sword that Erza had dropped and aiming to swing at the dark mage. Cobra lifted his arm, purple scales popping up along the skin. The sword was intercepted by Gajeel who turned his hand into a sword. Natsu stayed crouched, snarling without his own say. Gajeel’s tail twitched once as he pushed the ice mage back, teeth on show and a growl deep in his throat.

“I said we ain’t killing him.” he snapped, pacing back and forth in front of both dragon magic users. Natsu shook his head and looked over to the poison user who had lowered his arm and was now looking between him and Gajeel with raised eyebrows.

“Why are you defending him?” Gray asked, stepping forward to Gajeel. The iron mage growled, hair prickling when he approached. Gray stopped a few steps away, raising his hands to his sides. Gajeel breathed heavily through his nose.

“I can’t not defend him. Its dragon instincts. Just don’t try to attack any dragon magic users and it’ll be fine.” Gajeel explained. He got a few raised eyebrows and sighed.

“Dragons form packs. Natsu, Wendy, Laxus and Erik are part of that pack. I’m the maekrix which makes it my job to protect the pack. Any outside forces that threaten a member bring out our instincts.” he looked over to the two dragon mages behind him. Natsu placed one hand to his mouth, eyebrows creasing in thought.

“So we can’t defeat him?” Lyon looked between the two.

“I’ll solve that problem later. Right now, we can use this to our advantage. Like a hostage.” Gajeel smirked. Cobra got to his feet, approaching from behind.

“I’m not going to be your hostage. You-.” He paused in his words at a loud clank. He looked down towards a metal cuff on his left wrist. Natsu trailed his eyes along the chain which led to a matching cuff on Gajeel’s right hand.

“There. Now you are tied to me.” he was smirking wide now. Cobra hissed.

“I’ll just burn it away. You forget what my element is, lizard.” he spat, claws pressing into the metal which sizzled. The dark mage was smirking, the sizzling continuing but never wearing the cuff down. When he noticed this, he turned to look. Lifting his claws would reveal no damage to the cuff.

“What-.... You bitch.” he snapped his head around to look at Gajeel once more. He was still smirking.

“And you seem to have forgotten mine. I made those cuffs which means that I can continue to replenish any damage you make. So you can keep trying but unless you want to waste all of your magic, I’d suggest otherwise.” he chuckled. The poison mage hissed but made no move to attack.

“So we have a hostage and a location for their base. I suggest we move out quickly before they do something unsavoury to Wendy.” Jura spoke, turning towards the cliff. Gajeel coughed once into his hand.

“I think we should split up.” he suggests.

“We couldn’t even handle them together, what makes you think we can do it alone?” Hibiki asks, raising one eyebrow.

“Simple. There’s 5 left and their leader is unlikely to act until other members have been taken down. My guess is at least 2 of them will be wandering around. If we split into groups, its less of a chance of getting ganged up on with disadvantage. And we can come in from different angles and swarm them instead.” he explained, shoving his hands in his pockets. The poison dragon shuffled about, trying to tug on the cuff but not getting it off his wrist.

“You are quite adept at planning. I’m impressed.” Jura nodded towards Gajeel. The iron mage shrugged.

“Jose taught me to always be prepared.” he rolled his shoulders. Natsu leapt to his feet.

“Alright. Let’s do this.” he started punching the air.

“We’ll form four teams. One will stay here with Erza in case one of the members comes back to finish the job. The other three will take different routes through the Woodsea towards their hideout. Are we clear?” Several forms of agreement filled the air from the different members.

“Then let’s get this sorted quickly”. Jura spoke, looking over the group to pick their teams. Natsu bounced on his feet. They were going to get Wendy and Happy back. They had to.

Chapter Text

Cobra followed the soft words fluttering in the distance to an imaginary melody. He’d noticed Gajeel had disappeared from his room again and had an inkling of where he might have gone. His assumption was right when he spotted the black-haired mage sitting on a tree branch, back facing Cobra and tail flicking to the beat of what he was singing. Cobra looked at the tree for a moment. The branch itself, while high was one of the lower branches on the tree. It wouldn’t be difficult to scale the trunk to get up there. He walked over to it and gripped onto the bark, pulling himself up. Once within reach, he grabbed the base of the branch and pulled himself up onto it. His legs scrambled at air as he attempted to climb up until he had thrown his whole body on the top of it. He sat up, sliding across the length of the branch until he was right next to Gajeel. He let his legs drop over the edge, looking to Gajeel. He had stopped singing now, fingers fiddling with something around his neck. Cobra looked. A necklace of sorts with a little metal dragon that Gajeel had been running a finger over.

“You have something from your parents? That’s nice.” he mumbled, reaching up and pulling at a bit of his hair. He saw Gajeel’s ear twitch in his peripheral, but he didn’t respond, only looked at Cobra.

“That’s what that word means right. Xii… Xiiw…”

“Xiiwic.” Gajeel cut in, looking to the necklace in his hand. Cobra nodded, looking to the necklace. He reached one hand out, close enough that Gajeel would see but not touching the necklace. He looked at the hand before nodding, lowering his own from the little dragon. Cobra pressed his thumb to the metal, slightly heated from Gajeel’s hold.

“Its pretty.” he smiled, leaning back on his hands. Gajeel’s tail flicked once but he fell into silence again.

“Did something happen to your parents too?” he asked, looking up to the leaves above. Gajeel’s shoulders stiffened.

“Yeah. He left me. He said he wouldn’t… and then he did.” Gajeel’s gaze was looking down at the ground.

“What was he? I’ve never seen anything like you before.” he pointed out. Gajeel looked to him for a moment then up to the sky.

“A dragon.” his voice was even and soft, no hint of mockery or lies. Cobra’s eyes blew wide.

“A dragon? But I thought dragons were supposed to be extinct.t” Cobra blinked a few times, watching Gajeel’s tail curl and then straighten out.

“No. He isn’t extinct. Or he wasn’t. I don’t know. Maybe he got himself killed after he left me.” he huffed, furrowing his studded brows. Cobra looked out to the forest beyond, pulling at the cuff of his trousers.

“Can you fly?” he asked, looking to the feathery wings. He heard Angel talk about them once or twice, commenting how she wished she could have wings as perfect as those. He figured she didn’t quite notice the smaller details like the little scars hidden beneath the feathers or how one wing was just a tiny bit shorter but only if you looked closely or the way they got a metallic shine when anyone startled Gajeel. He liked the wings and hoped that one day Gajeel would let him touch them. He thought it might feel like running his fingers through a bird’s feathers.

“Usually.” he mumbled, fiddling with his claws.

“Usually? You can’t right now?” he blinked once, looking to the wings. He couldn’t see any clamps or chains.

“They put a spell on them when I got here. I can move them, but it stops me from getting any height when I flap them.” his head dropped a little lower.

“Does your room have similar restrictions? Is that why you don’t stay in it?” he leaned forward to get a better look at his face. Gajeel shook his head.

“No. I just don’t like it. Its too…... fake. There aren’t any plants or animals. No creaks or clicks when you walk. No fresh smells, just horrible smelling cleaning stuff.” he lifted his legs up to lean his head into his knees. Cobra held one finger to his lips. He didn’t like his room either, Brain never let them have anything fun in there. Something about being a distraction. But he was also at least a little more used to staying in a stale, dull room. He didn’t enjoy it, but he barely remembered his time with his own parents. But Gajeel had to remember what it was like. And if his parent was a dragon then he would have been living outside, maybe in a forest just like this one.

“Oh. I guess it does sound kinda dull.” he agreed, lifting his own legs to his chest and placing his head on his knees. He got a hum of agreement from the one next to him. He looked out to the trees once more, basked in the moonlight. He had to admit, it was nice out here where most of the noise around him was forest ambience. He let his eyes slip shut, listening to the sound of animals scuttering about and leaves blowing in the nightly breeze.

*****

Cobra kept trying not to bite his own tongue in his frustration with how things were going. This was not supposed to happen. Angel was supposed to report back with who she had seen at their meeting, and she said nothing about Kurogane being there. He had no idea he’d be attacked from above and definitely didn’t know he’d be commanded to attack his own guild master. Now he was a damn hostage for these pests. Brain would not be happy when he found out.

“So why did Wendy come to this in the first place?” the black-haired mage asked, running alongside the flying cat. He rolled his eyes. Great now he had to listen to their inward and outward chatter. His day was just going so perfect. The cat looked over her shoulder, one eyebrow raised.

“She came with the intention of speaking to the Salamander.” she huffed, twitching her tail.

“Do you know what it was about?” the fire mage asked. He’d heard his voice a few times. He had a lot of annoying chatter bouncing about his head like a drum filled with marbles.

“Yes, I do. She wanted to ask you about her dragon, Grandeeney. She disappeared seven years ago.” A large root that protruded from the ground blocked their path forward. The shift of clothes and clack of bones ricocheted into Cobra’s ears as Gajeel braced himself, leaping on top of the root. Cobra skidded his feet in the dirt, making a stand at the side of the root while the pink haired pest whacked his head right into the root, pushing it back while his body continued forward for a moment until gravity clutched onto him with sharp claws and pulled him to the ground on his back with a loud thump. Despite the hit, he sat up almost immediately.

“Maybe Laxus knows.” he proclaimed.

“Laxus isn’t even a real dragon slayer.” the black-haired ice mage objected. Cobra’s eyebrows furrowed. Laxus? Oh, he must be the new guy from about a week or two prior. He reached up to his shoulder, pressing fingers to the thrum on his skin. Not a real dragon slayer. What did he mean by that? A lacrima perhaps. Oh. His eye twitched and his fingers flexed. He wanted to rip this little pest’s throat out. He was far superior to the old generation. He had more dragon in him than they did. Unlike them he had an actual dragon’s heart in his body that pulsed with his magic. His tongue hit the backs of his teeth.

“Not true. Doesn’t matter how he obtained his dragon magic; he still has it. You can’t just fake dragon magic like that.” Gajeel objected, one hand wrapping around the back of his coat and lifting him up onto the root. The tip of his tail hooked around his ankle. A warning. He stared at the tip for a while until it separated from him when the iron mage jumped down onto the ground.

“And I’m going to pretend it doesn’t hurt my feelings that you thought to ask sparky before you would ask me.” he added, looking over to the fire mage who had scrambled to his feet. Cobra jumped down from the root, brushing a few leaves from his coat.

“Oh right. Do you know where this dragon could be?” he asked, pushing right into Cobra’s space. Gajeel rolled his eyes.

“No and I don’t really care. Its pretty obvious those scaley shits left because they didn’t want us anymore. There isn’t any reason to keep looking for them.” Gajeel shrugged, turning away from the pink haired mage. The fire mage furrowed his brows, staring intently at Gajeel’s back like it held the answers. Cobra’s attention piqued. That was something he could use once Nirvana activated. Then, with that annoying command he had, he could bring the other 5 pack members to their side. Perhaps use a little spell for the ones less inclined to listen at all times. Brain would be proud of that. An army of dragons was a powerful asset. Gajeel looked over his shoulder at Cobra, examining him for a moment before turning forward again.

“Let’s just get moving before something happens to Wendy.” he huffed, stepping into the lead and pulling Cobra along behind him. The poison dragon tugged on the chain with a hiss, showing his annoyance at the current predicament. The tip of that tail flicked close to his face although, despite him ducking back, it would never have actually hit him. The iron dragon didn’t look over his shoulder. Cobra turned to his left when he picked up the noise next to him. Both the other mages were right next to him now. The pink haired mage had one finger hovering near one of his earrings. He slapped the hand away.

“Don’t touch.” he snapped, rolling his shoulders back once. The fire mage pulled his hand back, mouth twisting in a frown but he didn’t say anything. The ice mage was giving him a stare. He sighed when he heard the train of thought. He had no intention of hurting his Maekrix as Gajeel would refer to himself as. Maybe bust him up a little just to get a better effect but not anything further than that. Gajeel stopped walking which he caught before he walked into the dragon’s back. That didn’t stop the fire mage who made contact with a slight whine. Did this brat just not pay attention to his surroundings at all? Gods, he hoped the other four weren’t this oblivious.

“Why have we stopped?” the cat asked, tail twitching but ears pressed back against her skull. Gajeel lifted his hand, one finger pointed upward as his ears twitched and turned in every direction. Cobra didn’t need to listen to his thoughts to know someone was there. He let his hearing spread outward, the crunches of leaves and cracks of twigs as boots hit the forest floor. Sounds like one of the dark guilds was present. Good. They could take out the ice mage and the cat and he could take Gajeel and this loud fire mage to the cave until Nirvana is found. And since Wendy was already there and the other members weren’t in the nearby area, they’d all be safe from Nirvana’s wrath and could get the other three after Brain had handled his business. The two leaders of Naked mummy had stepped forward. One looked over the group, eyes landing on him. His eyebrows shot upward. Oh, he was remembering what he’d done to them when he’d come to collect their payment. Good. They knew not to mess with him then. He pulled his chained wrist behind his back, hiding the evidence. He had to find a way to get his pack members out of the fight without drawing the attention of the cat or ice mage. Not easy when one of them was stood at the front in everyone’s view. Loud prick. He leaned forward to whisper something into Gajeel’s ear. The iron mage turned, his shoulder knocking into Cobra’s before he could say anything and then bent down. Cobra raised one brow, trying to see what he was doing.

Clank.

The metal shackle that had been around Gajeel’s wrist was now attached to a root sticking out from the ground. The iron mage stepped away from him and to the front where the other two mages were preparing for a fight. The cat protested, joining him over by the root. He swiped poison coated fingers at the feline who jumped back out of his reach. She gasped in shock at his behaviour, crossing her arms and turning her head away from him. With her thoroughly distracted, he turned his attention back onto the cuff, pressing poison coated nails to the metal. The fighting had erupted into a start, punches echoing like the clash of drums and cymbals. One of the naked mummy mages was thrown towards him, hitting the tree next to him. He yelped at the surprise, having been too focused on melting the cuff. He looked, the mage holding onto the white scaled scarf that was still wrapped around the idiot’s neck. Who even wore a scarf to a fight anyway? He snarled at the mage clinging onto the tendrils who tugged harder, smirking. Cobra reached out, taking the mage’s face and slamming the side of his head into the tree. He was stunned for a moment, shaking his head and looked at him.

“Don’t touch what’s mine.” he snapped, slamming his head into the tree again. And a third time. The mage had fallen unconscious, head dead in his hand but he still pulled back to slam it again. Another hand atop his own pulled it back, causing him to release his grip on the mage. He turned to look at the fire mage who was grinning widely.

“Thanks Erik. That was awesome. You really saved my butt there.” he chuckled before turning his attention to a yell in the fight and diving back in. Cobra blinked. Awesome? He did awesome? What was that supposed to mean?

“He was complimenting you. He has a point though. You did help him out.” the cat huffed from her hiding place behind the root. Cobra stared at her for a moment. The fire mage had complimented his actions. Which meant he did a good job. He furrowed his brows at the strange feeling in his chest. Brain had never complemented anything he did. Just acknowledged the work was completed and moved on with the next task. How Midnight could tolerate the guy was still lost on him, especially when he couldn’t hear the guy’s thoughts. The winds had picked up and now only the fire mage was fighting. He’d heard stories about his opponent. Erigor. The man who had tried to kill the legal guild masters with one of Zeref’s books. He clicked his tongue. He despised those dumb books and any other think the black wizard made. They just caused trouble for everyone.

“Hey.” he looked up to the ice mage who was now standing in front of him. He swiped out magic coated fingers, trying to hit his face but he was just out of reach. The ice mage sighed and looked to Gajeel.

“He saved Natsu but still has his bite. Kinda sounds like someone else I know.” he chuckled. Gajeel huffed, giving a glare that wasn’t nearly as harsh as ones he’d seen before.

“Ha ha. Let’s get movin before another dark guild shows up.” he huffed, unclipping his cuff from the tree and placing it back on his wrist. Cobra hissed. The asshole gave himself a way to remove it but not Cobra. Damn him. Gajeel tapped the metal, the minimal amount of damage Cobra had done being repaired. He growled, glaring up at Gajeel. He received a pat on his head for the effort.

“Good job protectin the pack there. I’m proud of ya.” he chuckled. That feeling in Cobra’s chest returned. Gajeel was... proud of him? He blinked. The strange feeling was mixed with another he did recognise. He reached up to his neck, rubbing over the mark that still sat there to that day.

 

****

Laxus stared into his half empty mug, watching the ripples that occurred when he would tilt his glass ever so slight. The guild was relatively calm without Natsu and his team. It was usually them that started the loud brawls. A heavy sigh to his left had him looking. Freed was sat, legs crossed and elbows resting on them while his head was in his hands. He was staring out at the guild. Laxus looked over in the direction of where he was looking. Both Juvia and Totomaru were occupying a table across the guild hall, Juvia holding a brush that she was running through Milk’s fur. Right, they were on cat duty while Gajeel was away.

“What’s up with you?” Laxus asked, one eyebrow raised. Freed straightened, turning to Laxus with wide eyes for a second before his face morphed back into his tight-lipped expression.

“Nothing. I’m fine.” he assured, voice wavering for a moment at the beginning. Laxus’ grip on the handle of his mug tightened.

“You aren’t thinking abo-.”

“Of course not. Its nothing like that. Just thinking.” he assured, shaking his head as the short strands of his hair waved with the movement. Laxus wasn’t convinced.

“Freed, you’re concerning me. What is it?” he asked. Freed shook his head.

“I was just wondering if Gajeel had told them and how he’d feel about me.” Freed nodded his head towards the table that Totomaru and Juvia were sat at. Laxus leaned closer.

“If he does have anything to say about that then just let me know. I don’t care what Gajeel says. I’ll deck the shit into next year.” he huffed. Freed looked down at his fingers. This was the worst part. Freed was always anxious to tell people but refused to date if that person didn’t know. No wonder he was so wound up. He’d been working himself into a tizzy.

“I guess. Perhaps if he’s accepting of Gajeel then he’ll be just as accepting with me.” he nodded, looking up at the table he had been looking at. Laxus’ brow furrowed.

“We’re talking about the same thing, right? Ya know. The thing.” he asked, nodding his head towards the top of Freed’s head. The rune mage looked at him with one raised brow.

“Of course. Why?” he seemed confused, his head tilting slightly.

“What does Gajeel have to do with it?” he asked, taking a sip from his mug. Freed blinked and then his eyebrows shot up and his eyes wide.

“You didn’t know. Oh gods.” he slapped both his hands over his mouth and ducked his head. Laxus squinted his eyes, looking at Freed for a few moments. He ran through their conversation in his head. Wait. If they were talking about... then Gajeel was...

“-Like you?” he asked. Freed lifted his head, one hand reaching up to rub at his ear.

“Not quite. I don’t think. Its different.” He shook his head, eyes looking down to the cuff of his sleeve.

“Then how do you know?” he asked, leaning forward.

“The reactions and excuses are different. He hides it with magic. When I put that enchantment on him during the battle at Fantasia, I noticed it” Freed whispered, keeping his voice low. Laxus nodded although he furrowed his brows. Why wouldn’t Gajeel tell him? Did Natsu know? The fire dragon was a blabbermouth, but he knew how to keep some secrets. Laxus lifted his head and looked towards the door when he heard footsteps. Were they back already? The door creaked open, a tall figure walking in. They stood in the doorway, looking around the room for a moment before walking towards the bar. Long pieces of gold and white fabric trailed behind them and a horn that twisted around protruded from their head, the other broken at the base. They stood at the bar, staring at Mira with a narrowed gaze. Their nose twitched and they turned to Laxus, head tilted slightly. Their gaze flicked over him, examining him with the one eye that remained. The other was missing, possibly yanked out judging by the scar on their face. They leaned closer to the dragon, nose still twitching.

“Elexion.” they muttered before turning back towards Mira. They slammed some kind of strange canister on the counter, a little note attached to it.

“Give that to the half breed.” they hissed, shimmering white fingers scratching at the metal before their hand dropped at their side. They turned on their heel, fabric fluttering behind them like wings ready to take flight and walked towards the door once more. No one tried to stop them, stepping out of their way as they passed. Laxus looked to the canister with a raised eyebrow.

“Who’s it for?” he asked. Mira picked it up, attempting to twist it open but to no avail. She looked to the note only to furrow her brows.

“I’m not sure. Freed, can you translate?” she asks, handing the canister over to him. He took it, looking at the note and he too furrowed his brows.

“No, I’m afraid not. I’ve never seen this language before.” he shook his head. Laxus blinked. A language Freed had never seen. Where was that mysterious person from? Levy had approached, looking over Freed’s shoulder at the note but she two had her eyebrows knitted in perplex.

“What language could that possibly be. Perhaps I could find a book-.” Levy was muttering. Totomaru and Juvia had walked up now, looking at the note attached to the canister.

“Huh, odd.” Totomaru muttered. Laxus raised a brow as Juvia looked to him. Freed and Levy turned to him.

“Odd how?” The script mage asked, looking to Totomaru with that confused gaze.

“I just thought Gajeel was the only one who wrote in dragonic.” he shrugged, eyes flicking over the note. Laxus blinked at the fire mage.

“You can read it!?” Laxus jolted at the volume in Freed’s voice. He rarely heard the man yell. Totomaru seemed just as surprised.

“Well, kinda. Gajeel’s better but he taught Juvia and I the basics.” he shrugged.

“Juvia also thinks that if we didn’t, Totomaru and Juvia would recognise that. It’s what Gajeel writes into his notebooks on the inner cover.” Juvia added, fiddling with her fingers.

“So, its Gajeel’s name?” Mira asked, looking to the canister. Both mages nodded. Totomaru put a finger to his mouth.

“Its odd though. I swear I’ve seen that person before, lurking around the old guild hall.” Totomaru shrugged.

“Probably nothing. I’m just being paranoid.” he turned to Juvia. Mira took the canister, holding it in her hand for a moment before putting it under the bar.

“I’ll keep it here until he gets back. Keep it safe.” Mira explained. Laxus nodded. Better to keep it out of any brawls that might occur in the foreseeable future. He turned back to the bar fully, taking a swing from his mug. This was going to be a long wait.

Chapter Text

Gajeel looked down the cliff face, spray from the waterfall splashing up against the side of his jaw. He took a deep breath, Wendy’s scent flowing to him from the cave down at the bottom.

“Wendy! Happy! You down there?” Natsu yelled. Gajeel winced. There went their element of surprise. Gray slammed a hand over Natsu’s mouth.

“Be quiet, do you want us to get caught” Gray chastised. Erik huffed, rolling his eyes while his arms were crossed in front of his chest. Gajeel’s ear twitched and he just managed to tackle Gray and Natsu to the ground before any of them could be struck by their incoming attacker. Racer skidded to a stop, looking towards the group.

“Look who finally decided to show up.” he chuckled. Erik’s shoulders stiffened, his gaze flicking between his guildmate and Gajeel. The iron dragon growled, looking over his shoulder to the cave below. He didn’t have time for this, he had to make sure the little sky dragon wasn’t harmed. He snapped his head around when he caught the sudden disappearance of Racer. His scent was near. He wouldn’t have enough time to brace for the attack and they were too close to the cliff still. The scent was right in front of him before the speed mage slipped and landed on the ground at his feet. Gajeel blinked once.

“You two go, get Wendy and Happy. I’ll hold him off.” Gray ordered, placing both hands on the ground to make a slide down to the cave. Gajeel didn’t need to be told twice, jumping onto the ice while dragging Erik with him. The poison dragon didn’t have many objections, accepting that he was getting dragged down there. Natsu was more hesitant, lingering at the top of the cliff for a few seconds before joining him at the bottom.

“In and out. Don’t linger and don’t fight anyone. We need to get back to Erza, not get caught up in a fight.” he reminded the fire dragon.

“I know. I know. I’ll just fight them later.” he agreed, running off ahead. Gajeel gave one tug of the chain to alert Erik who had been staring at the entrance, eyes squeezed tight and eyebrows pointing down.

“Come on.” he huffed, sprinting to catch up with Natsu. The chain had a slight weight and pull for a moment before lagging down from his arm now that the other dragon was following him. When he’d reached the entrance of the cave, Natsu was stood staring at someone with his hands balled into fists. Gajeel stepped in, looking around. Cubelios, who had been laying in the corner lifted her head, tongue swiping out when she noticed her partner. Midnight was still asleep next to her so that wasn’t a problem. Brain was stood next to another mage who hadn’t been there before. He did recognise the man though. He’d seen him several times when he’d been on trials. Siegrain if he recalled correctly. He turned to look at Natsu who pressed forward on his feet to attack.

“Natsu, what did I say.” he yelled. His dragon snarled when the mage sent a spell at Natsu which knocked him into the wall where rocks buried him. He growled, spines prickling and hair puffed up. His wings spread out, bending in the middle.

“Good work Jell-“ Brain was cut off when a similar spell was sent towards him, leaving a large hole in the ground. Erik made some kind of whine behind him, ducking down with hisses mixed in. Siegrain turned to them, one hand raised. Gajeel’s eyes flicked around, spotting Wendy on the ground. She was still, back facing him.

“Sky.” he called out, running towards her to check on her. There was no tug from Erik. He was right behind him the whole time, the heat from his body practically touching Gajeel. The iron dragon held onto the little girl, lifting her into his arms and pushing hair away to check for signs of breathing. He felt her breath against his hand and he sighed. She was alright.

“Natsu.” Happy whined, trying to pull one of the rocks on top of his partner aside. Natsu seemed to have no problem getting out on his own, using his fire to burst his way through the rocks.

“Dammit. I swear-.”

“Natsu.” Gajeel scolded, looking to the fire mage. His head drooped slightly, neck bent. Gajeel walked over, passing Wendy over to him.

“Take Wendy. I know that cat of yours can go a lot faster than I can. I’ll track yer scent and reach you.” he instructed. Natsu held Wendy in his arms for a moment, looking to Gajeel with wide eyes. Those then narrowed with determination.

“Right” he agreed, turning to grab the two cats and Cubelios.

“I’ll take the snake. You’ll get back way faster with just him.” Natsu agreed, tossing Cubelios over his shoulder and around his neck just like his scarf. She hissed, twisting and turning in some form of protest. Erik let out a series of his own hisses. Natsu turned to him while still running out the cave.

“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt her. She’s like your Happy.” he yelled before disappearing out the cave. Erik looked to Gajeel like he was looking for answers. Gajeel sighed.

“I don’t know any more than you.” he huffed, taking the lead out of the cave. He took a moment to bend down next to the pools of water, splashing it onto his wings to clear them of the mud and allow him to fly once more. He stood up once more and took a grip on the back of Erik’s jacket, using that to lift him up so he could fly back up the waterfalls. He landed a bit further away from Gray’s current fight. He half turned. Maybe he should go help.

“We should go after Jellal.” Erik spoke. Gajeel turned to him. He guessed that must be the guy they’d seen but why would they go after him.

“Well he must be going to find Nirvana, if we follow him then….. you can stop Nirvana.” he explained. Gajeel’s ears perked. Stop Nirvana before it could be started and anyone got their hands on it. That would surely get him favour from his guildmates. They couldn’t deny his efforts after that.

“Right. Let’s do that. Come on.” he encouraged, giving the chain a tug as he sniffed for a scent. It wasn’t hard to pick up, being left on some surrounding brush as well as the path he walked. They caught up quickly where the trees and brush were beginning to wither and the grass darkened. Gajeel’s ears dropped as he looked at the plants that wilted.

“This isn’t natural. What is going on?” he asked, turning to Erik. His head jolted a little, having been looking at some of the plants.

“Nirvana. Its drained the life of all these plants.” he shrugged, stepping up to just in front of Gajeel. Gajeel looked to the grass they walked on.

“Can’t you feel it?” he asked, spines prickling along his back. Erik looked over his shoulder slightly.

“Feel what?” Gajeel blinked. Why wasn’t he listening to his thoughts? He usually did. His stomach dropped a little.

“The plants. You draw from the earth too. I thought you’d feel it. Its rotten.” he shook his head. One or two plants weren’t that impactful but in an environment like this, there was no fresh, flowing energy to draw from. It was all rotting away. Erik turned back ahead and didn’t answer. Gajeel’s ears dropped. He took an inhale. Past the smell of rotting wood and dead grass, Jellal’s scent sat. He followed the sharp incline he’d taken downward, sliding down the slope that led into a rocky cavern of sorts. Tall rocks towered over them and right at the end of the cavern, some buildings that were crumbling from age but all surrounded by a strange black and white light. Gajeel blinked, tilting his head.

Careful, those rocks are a little loose.’

‘I know what I’m doing Xiiwic.’  his ears twitched and his tail flicked. He lifted his gaze up the tallest building, its top worn and battered. A yank on the chain pulled his attention as he was shoved behind one of the rocks surrounding the ruins. He turned to look at Erik, ears falling back with a huff. He was peaking out around the rock, looking for something.

“Oh perfect. Brain is going to be so proud.” he hissed under his breath, fidgeting with his fingers. Gajeel’s ears dropped. He’d been tricked. Again. His head lowered to look at his own hands. How could he be so stupid? He just aided the enemy. He always just aided the enemy. He lifted his hands to his head, eyes squeezed tight. He was just everyone’s tool. A means to an end. He was wrong. Broken. Waiting to be tossed aside. Everyone did it. His family. His old guild. They’d be next. They’d see what he really was and dispose of him accordingly. His claws sunk into the flesh of his head before going lax. If everyone was dead then no one could use him. No one could see how useless he truly was. How wrong he was. His eyes snapped up, hands lowering from his head. He looked to the cuff, claws flicking under the clasp and yanking it away. It fell loose, dragging on the floor towards Erik. His eyes snapped towards the poison dragon. A transformation activated on his arm as he stepped closer. He’d kill them all.

Chapter Text

Cobra stood in front of Brain’s office, reaching up and knocking on the door. He heard a heavy sigh from the other side before footsteps approached the door and it opened, revealing Brain.

“What do you want Cobra?” he asked, looking down at the small teen. Cobra gripped tightly at the hem of his shirt.

“Well Ga- Kurogane is kind of sad about his room and I was wondering if we could get him some plants to help brighten it up.” he explained his idea, almost tripping up and using Gajeel’s actual name instead of the code name they were all supposed to use. Brain looked at him with disinterest.

“Cobra, the only thing you should be concerning yourself with is your training. Kurogane’s feelings about his room are not important to you or anyone else here. Now go put this focus into something actually useful.” Brain waved his hand at him in dismissal before closing the door. Cobra huffed, looking to Cubelios who was curled around his neck with her head on his shoulder. She lifted her head to look at him when he turned away from the door and walked down the corridor. If Brain wasn’t going to bring in any plants from somewhere else, then he’d just have to find his own plants. He turned a few corners until he reached the little hidden hole Gajeel had made to the outside. It was hidden behind a beam to keep it slightly out of eyesight when walking past. Cobra took hold of the cover he used to hide it and crawled through the hole. He reached through and pulled the cover back into place and turned to look at the trees and plants before him. He’d never been out here without following Gajeel before or even during the day. It was a lot different, both when looking over the sun basked foliage and how he felt about being out here. He took a deep breath and walked out into the grass that tickled against his bare feet.

“What do you think a dragon would like?” he looked to Cubelios. She flicked her tongue out but had no answer for him. He sighed. Guess he had to decide himself. He looked around. One of the things Gajeel had complained about was smells. So maybe something that had an earthy smell to it? Or something that smelled like a dragon? But what would smell like a dragon? He looked around, walking through the trees. He stepped on something that made him jump back. He looked to the source. A single acorn sat in the ground.

“Oh. I remember this. Acorns are like seeds. I could use this” he bent down and picked up the acorn, holding it in his palm. A couple more plants and he could take them to Gajeel’s room. He foraged through a few more plants, digging up the roots of a couple and putting them in the bowls he’d hidden just outside and filled with dirt. He used a bottle to get some water from the little pond and placed it under his chin so he could carry everything back inside. He slipped through the hole, making sure the cover was back in place and made his way to Gajeel’s room. The bottle started to slip from under his chin until Cubelios used her nose to push it back into place. He sent a soft smile her way. When he’d reached the door to Gajeel’s room, he used his elbow to pull the handle down and his foot to push it open. The lights in the room flickered on the second he stepped in. Cobra looked around the room. There were a few scratch marks in the walls and floor and the bedding was bunched up in a corner rather than spread out across the bed. He settled down on the floor and placed the bowls in front of him.

“What are ya doing?” his back straightened at the growl, and he looked over his shoulder. The door clicked shut behind Gajeel and his tail flicked back and forth. A few bruises were scattered on his face and neck and a little spot of blood welled up on his lower lip.

“What happened? Are you alright?” he got to his feet, looking to the dragon. Gajeel flinched back, snarling.

“Why is it any of yer concern?” sharp spines protruded from his back and his wings were rapidly spreading to half their wingspan. Cobra took a step back, his heel hitting the bowl behind him and knocking a bit of the dirt and the acorn onto the floor.

“Oh khaor.” he hissed, kneeling to scoop up the acorn. Footsteps approached until Gajeel was right behind him, shadow looming over him.

“What’s that?” he asked, looking over Cobra’s shoulder. He opened his hand to show the acorn.

“I thought you might like some plants in your room, so I brought some in from outside.” he explained, turning to look at Gajeel. He didn’t realise how close the other was until he was looking right into red eyes, their noses brushing. He could feel hot breath against his face.

“Thanks.” he muttered, turning away so Cobra couldn’t see his eyes anymore. He placed the acorn in the bowl, going to get up. A wrist on his hand stopped him.

“Don’t.” he blinked, looking to Gajeel.

“I mean…. Can you stay? I like yer scent. You smell like a dragon.” he still wasn’t looking at Cobra. The poison mage smiled softly and knelt down next to him.

“Sure. I don’t mind.” he agreed, placing his other hand on top of Gajeel’s. The dragon looked to him and returned the smile, his tail hitting the ground a couple times. Cobra couldn’t help that his smile widened at that. He started laughing, placing one hand in front of his mouth to stop it. His laugh appeared to be contagious as it quickly spread to Gajeel as well who doubled over in his laughter, rolling on the floor. Cubelios bumped her head against his cheek, hissing lightly. He rubbed her head with one finger, watching Gajeel roll around on the floor some more until his giggles subsided.

****

Cobra hissed in annoyance when he saw that magic circle. He stepped out from his hiding spot.

“What are you doing? You can’t destroy Nirvana.” he snapped. If not for this stupid chain, he’d be over there deactivating that spell. What was Gajeel doing? He should move already.

“It’s you.” Erza turned to him. Gajeel hadn’t been kidding when he’d said Natsu would get back to the group quicker. He’d be so pissed if that pyro had ditched Cubelios for that. Erza stayed where she was standing. He knew she was on edge without having to listen to her thoughts. Her shoulders told it all. Her gaze turned to the chain on his wrist. The confusion crossed her face and filled her mind with a cacophony of sound. He raised a brow. Did the fire wizard not tell her that he was chained to Gajeel? Surely it would have been mentioned.

Clank.

Scrape.

Something metal had hit the ground. Cobra looked to the source. The other cuff on the chain was pried open, laying in the dust near his feet. He blinked at it. The footsteps followed that sound and he looked. Gajeel was on his feet, the bangs of his hair fallen in front of his eyes. His arm had been morphed into a sword. A small jolt hit him. He’d been afflicted by Nirvana.

“Gajeel I-.” He cut himself off when Gajeel’s head lifted slightly and showed his eyes. They were directed right at him, pooling with anger and hate. He took a step back.

“Wait hold on. We’re on the same side here.” he lifted his hands. Gajeel snarled, lifting his morphed arm and swinging it at Cobra. A pull on the back of his coat got him out of the way of the attack. He looked. Erza was right next to him, holding the collar of his jacket. A confused whine left his lips.

“Liar.” Gajeel spat, aiming a downward swing at both of them. Cobra scrambled back to avoid the attack. Erza however, summoned a sword. The metal of Gajeel’s arm clashed with her sword, producing small sparks. The force pushed Erza’s sword down before she pushed him back with the sword. She swung the sword at him, but he leapt back, avoiding the attack. Jellal stepped forward, one arm out in front of Erza. Gajeel jumped him, teeth sinking into his arm and ripping at flesh. Jellal clawed at Gajeel jaws, trying to pry his teeth from his arm. Gajeel released his grip only to push Jellal to the ground and aim his teeth at his neck. Erza stepped in, forcing her sword between Gajeel’s teeth. The metal cracked under the pressure of the iron dragon’s jaws. Jellal lifted one hand towards Gajeel’s chest, magic building up in his hand. Cobra snarled, hackles rising as he prepared to pounce.

“Jellal no. Don’t hurt him.” Erza ordered, looking to the other mage. He stopped the spell right as Gajeel broke the sword between his teeth. Erza swung her fist at him, knocking the iron mage off Jellal and sending him skidding across the stone a couple feet. He shook his head, snarling and leaped for Erza. Erza swung her shattered sword, striking Gajeel. The cut trailed along his neck. Cobra yelped, stepping forward to leap at Erza. He locked up his leg, trying to stop himself from moving forward.

“Gajeel!” Erza yelled at the stumbling and trembling dragon. Blood was drooling down his neck and Cobra couldn’t tell how deep the wound was from his distance. Erza ran in, pulling Gajeel close to her. One hand sat on the back of his head, pushing it forward enough that he couldn’t sink teeth into her throat. His tail flicked, beginning to morph into a lance that would be right in the red head’s back.

“Its ok. You’re with friends.” she soothed, rubbing one hand up and down his back. The tail wavered, the transformation flickering.

“I don’t know what’s wrong but we’re family. You can tell me.” she whispered, hand now brushing through strands of his hair. Gajeel’s tail dropped, returning to its usual state while his wings drooped, hanging down the sides of his body.

“Family?” he muttered; ears pinned down. Erza hummed in confirmation. Gajeel turned his head, leaning into Erza’s neck with a slight whine. Cobra could still hear the muffled sobs he released while Erza patted his back.

“What in the name of the gods is going on here?” Cobra stiffened. Brain had found them. He swallowed hard, turning to his leader.

“Brain. I can explain. Jellal put a spell on Nirvana, and I would have taken it down by now but... well....” he trailed off. Gajeel and Erza had taken up defensive stances, staring down the newcomer. Brain took no interest in Erza, instead only focused on Gajeel. He walked past, using his staff to push Gajeel into Erza and knocking both off balance for a moment. Cobra looked to his guild master with furrowed brows.

“I did have a plan. Ga- Kurogane was affected by Nirvana. If we can get him on our side, then we’ll have an entire group of dragon magic users-.” Brain slammed the base of his staff on the ground. Cobra flinched.

“The only useful thing about that mixed blood is his heart. The rest of him might as well be thrown out. He was nothing but a waste of resources.” Brain stated, looking Cobra right in the eye.

“But Ma-.”

“You know I’m very disappointed in you Cobra. You’ve been letting these emotions of yours get the better of you and I know the problem.” he lifted his staff, pointing it towards Gajeel.

“Kill him. Prove your loyalty right now. Just don’t damage his heart.” he ordered. Cobra’s eyes widened. He looked to Gajeel who was bent over, back arched and snarling with his tail flicking back and forth and then to Brain. It felt like his lungs were filled with tar. Breathing hurt. Brain watched him for a solid minute before shaking his head.

“Such a disappointment.” his voice was level, no change. He reached out with his staff and pushed Cobra to the ground. He turned to the magic circle. He lifted his fingers and swiped a few times, deactivating the spell. The moment the spell was disrupted, the ground began to rumble.

“What’s going on?” Erza asked, looking at the ground between her feet.

“Nirvana.” Cobra whispered, watching as the ground below cracked and broke, the old city rising up from the ground it was buried beneath. Gajeel snarled.

“Nirvana is finally under my control.” Brain yelled over the sound of the ground rumbling. Erza summoned a sword.

“Not on my watch.” she yelled before rocks burst up under her feet.

“Erza.” Jellal yelled from his place on the ground which he hadn’t gotten up from.

“Get back here!” Gajeel’s voice roared over the crumbling rock as he burst into the sky with a powerful gust of air.

“Gajeel!” Erza yelled; her voice half drowned out by the crashing. The ground between Cobra’s feet split and began pulling apart. He pushed forward, reaching out and grabbing onto a piece of rock that jutted out with one hand, being pulled upward with the ascending Nirvana. The ground quickly disappeared out of sight through the dust. He turned his attention upward, reaching his other hand up to grab at stone. His exposed palm scrapped at the stone, drawing a small amount of blood. He ignored it and reached out his right hand to pull himself up higher. He repeated until finally, he was pulling himself up onto the surface of Nirvana. He looked around, surrounded by old, decrepit buildings. He huffed. He needed to find Gajeel and the other dragons.

Chapter 43

Notes:

Dragon force Cobra design featured in this chapter

Chapter Text

Natsu whined when his stomach churned again. Why did this thing have to move. One of the other legs lifted up, jostling the entire octopus thing they were on. The snake on his shoulders hissed, leaning into his face as it paled. He stayed upright for a moment before sliding off to the side of the leg. He waved his arms, trying to stay still.

“Natsu!” He could hear Gray yell as his feet lost their grip. He yelped, waving his arms and legs to try and stop his fall. The snake moved, getting larger until its body was supporting his and.... wait they weren’t falling anymore. He looked over the snake’s side to see they were indeed floating, He looked up. Two large wings had emerged from her body, flapping to keep the two of them in the air.

“The snake can fly?” Lucy yelled from the leg.

“I guess.” Natsu mumbled, looking to the snake who flew higher so that he was level with Lucy and Gray.

“Natsu are you ok?” he turned to face Happy who was flying next to them.

“Yeah, I’m fine thanks to her.” he jutted his thumb towards the snake. Happy’s ears dropped as he looked at the snake.

“Copycat.” he huffed. She turned her head, swiping her tongue in Happy’s face.

“Natsu, you go look from above, we’ll go through the inside.” Gray yelled up to him. Natsu nodded. He needed to find Gajeel and Cobra. They promised that they’d meet up once Erza was healed. He looked to the snake.

“Think you can find your friend?” he asked, patting her scaled back. She hissed and turned her attention to the city below. She flapped her wings, soaring across. Happy was floating next to him.

“You aren’t going to replace me with that snake, are you? Happy asked, twitching his tail.

“Of course not. She’s going to go back to her partner once we find him and Gajeel. I just promised I wouldn’t let anything happen to her until then.” the snake jolted, diving down to the ground. She landed on the dirt, wings retracting into her body. Happy grabbed the back of Natsu’s shirt and lifted him up so he was hovering slightly above the ground. The snake slithered up to Cobra who turned to look.

“Cubelios?” he placed one hand on her head, rubbing along the scales as she hissed.

“Ha, we found you.... but where’s Gajeel?” he looked around for the iron mage but couldn’t find him. Cobra didn’t answer the question. Natsu noticed the cuff was gone.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. Come on. You have to know where the controls for this thing are. Let’s go.” he reached out to take the other dragon slayer’s hand. Cobra snatched it back, stepping away from him.

“Why in the gods names would I help you?” he demanded, looking to Natsu with narrowed eyes. The fire slayer blinked.

“We’re pack. We’re supposed to help each other.” Natsu huffed.

“I don’t think he’s willing to help Natsu.” Happy objected. Cobra’s fingers twitched. He closed his eyes tightly for a moment before snapping them open again.

“Damn you all.” he spat. He swiped his arm in a half circle in front of him. His skin morphed into purple scales that coated the entirety of his arms. The lower half and his palms dotted in white spots. The sleeves of his coat ripped and tore, leaving his entire upper arms exposed. Little green spikes adorned his elbows, knees and feet, tearing through the leather of his trousers and shoes. Scales adorned his face, more spikes popping up along the middle of his forehead. His ears were now sharped points which had taken on a purple fade to green colour with a spike above each of them. Little green scales dotted around his nose while his eyes took on a bright green glow.

“Natsu? What’s going on?” Happy asked.

“What? That’s not fair. How come you can do the same thing as Laxus?” Natsu huffed, pointing towards Cobra. The poison dragon snarled and rushed forward; fingers coated in purple as he swiped an attack at him. Happy pulled him to the side only to float right into another attack, this time a kick. Natsu yelped when the attack hit him in the side. The two were sent spinning, slamming into a building. Natsu shook his head and looked at Cobra.

“What was that for? I thought we were friends?” Natsu huffed. Cobra snarled.

“I am a member of the Oracion seiz. That makes you my enemy.” he yelled, poison bubbling between his teeth. Natsu winced.

“No, it doesn’t. You don’t have to fight for them.” Natsu objected. Cobra pressed down on his feet and jumped up. One hand grabbed onto a piece of the building, and he used it to swing another kick at Natsu. Natsu covered his fist in fire and aimed a punch at Cobra who dropped to the ground, avoiding the punch. He took in a deep breath.

“Fire dragon roar!” the roar hit the ground, covering it in flames.

“He couldn’t have dodged that.” he huffed. A flash in his peripheral was the only warning before sharp claws raked through his hair, drawing a small amount of blood. Natsu pulled back, yelping as Cobra landed on his feet once more.

“That’s not fair. You cheated.” Natsu huffed.

“You used a wide ranged attack because you thought I wouldn’t be able to dodge. It’s not going to work. You aren’t the first person to try that, and you won’t be the last.” he scoffed, wiping a scaled hand over his mouth. Natsu focused on his face. He would think about attacking from the left but actually attack from the right. That would work. Cobra laughed.

“You’re thinking about attacking on the left but are actually going to attack from the right. Another strategy I’ve seen before. What makes you think it will work for you?” he raised one brow.

“Play fair already. This is getting annoying.” Natsu yelled, going to strike Cobra in the chest. He leapt back.

“What, you think I’m just going to let you hit me?” he snapped. Natsu growled.

“Pathetic. You are such a poor excuse for a dragon slayer. Gajeel should feel ashamed to have you in the pack and that dragon of yours too.” he snipped, placing one hand on his face. Natsu’s eyes narrowed. How dare he. He dared question Gajeel’s judgement in who joined and Natsu’s abilities. Doubted Igneel’s ability to teach Natsu. He roared loudly, leaning forward and flying towards Cobra. He smirked for a moment only for his eyes to widen seconds before the hit landed, sending him flying back into one of the buildings. Natsu went forward again, grabbing the collar of Cobra’s coat and throwing him. He went through the wall of the building into its interior. He got up, rubble falling from his shoulders and hair. He snarled, grabbing onto Natsu’s foot and swinging him into the wall that hadn’t been destroyed. Natsu went right through it, rolling across the ground and laying on the dirt for a moment. Happy lifted him up, complaining about pain. Natsu shook his head.

“What the- Natsu?” he heard Lucy’s voice and turned to look. Gray, Lucy and Jura were there. He turned to look the other side. Brain too. Perfect. If he could get Cobra to listen, then perhaps they could tag team him. Cobra stepped out of the building.

“You won’t get a hit on me again.” he snapped, standing slightly hunched. His eyes were solely fixed on Natsu like he hadn’t noticed the others. Natsu tried to dodge the lunge that Cobra had aimed but got hooked in the stomach by his arm and slammed him to the ground again. He kicked at the poison dragon who grabbed his leg. He lifted it and threw Natsu up into the air. The fire dragon spun for a moment until Happy stabilised them. Cobra smirked, taking in a huge breath.

“Poison dragon roar!” the purple roar hit them head on. Natsu shook his head.

“That wasn’t a roar. Felt like a puny squeak.” he coughed out before his altitude started dropping as Happy lowered.

“Sorry Natsu. I just... feel so weak.” he huffed.

“Don’t even bother. Your fate was sealed the second my roar hit you. Your body is being flooded with viruses as we speak, killing you from the inside. Continuing this fight would be pointless.” Natsu turned to Happy.

“Happy. Drop me.” he huffed.

“But Natsu-.”

“Do it. I have a plan.” he assured. The exceed hesitated but let him go, dropping him towards the ground. Cobra jumped against one building and into the air, landing on Natsu’s back. His hand was on his back, claws digging into his head.

“Nice try. I’ll finish this by crushing your skull.” he laughed. Natsu screamed, the pain all over his body getting to him. The grip on the back of his head loosened and the weight disappeared. He briefly caught Cobra falling to the ground, covering his ears before he too hit the ground. He tried to push himself up on his arms, but they just wouldn’t support him anymore.

“Mr Natsu. Mr Erik. Stop.” he heard Wendy call to them. He tried to turn his head but was unable.

“Natsu are you alright?” Lucy asked, leaning forward from where she stood with Gray and Jura. He whined, his stomach twisting once more. His gaze flicked to Cobra who had gotten up, hunched over even further than he had been before.

“Dammit. Dammit. It wasn’t supposed to end like this.” he growled. He made no move to step forward but didn’t step down either.

“Its ok Mr Erik. If you both stop fighting, then we can go find Gajeel together.” Wendy was a lot closer now but still out of his view. Cobra hesitated, his breath ragged before his shoulders sagged and his head dropped. He opened his mouth to speak.

“Argh” he cried out, a bright light behind him as a beam of magic shot right through the left side of his chest just below his shoulder. He fell to his knees, eyes wide.

“Mr Erik!”

“Cobra!” Natsu watched as the poison slayer looked over to the culprit. Brain lowered his staff.

“You’ve done enough Cobra.” Brain was smirking, making direct eye contact with the poison dragon slayer. They stared at each other, tears welling up in the poison dragon’s eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did you hear that?” he was still smirking.

“How could you. You traitor.” Cobra hissed out, falling to the ground as the tears slipped further. Natsu pulled himself forward, whining from the movement. He placed one arm over Cobra’s back who snapped his wavering gaze towards him.

“Hold on. I can help.” Wendy was right next to them, hands held out and ready to cast a spell.

“Oh, I don’t think so young lady.” Brain commented again. Natsu turned to look. Lucy was kneeling next to him now, one arm under his chest to help him sit up while Gray kneeled next to Cobra who was still laying on the ground.

“Cobra’s usefulness has expired. He will perish alongside the rest of you.” he chuckled, raising the staff once more. Natsu tried to move forward but his stomach lurched once more, and everything felt weird. A new spell was building up, this one stronger than the one that hit Cobra the first time. Something grabbed onto Natsu, pulling him into a small huddle that was accompanied by Gray, Lucy and Wendy. Natsu looked to who had pulled him in. Cobra had his arms out, holding them in and blocking his view of the attack. Natsu’s eyes widened.

“No. You can’t.” he whined. The poison dragon looked to him for a moment before closing his eyes as the fury of the spell got closer. Natsu braced for the attack hitting Cobra and the scream that would follow. Only it didn’t happen.

Cobra lifted his head, eyebrows knitted with confusion. Natsu looked over the poison dragon’s shoulder. His eyes snapped wide. Gajeel stood in front of them, his scales up as he hunched over with smoke rising from his chest.

“Gajeel!” Cobra was stumbling, trying to get to his feet but kept falling.

“Don’t worry. Wasn’t about to let this asshole hurt any member of my family.” he huffed before falling forward to the ground. Wendy ran over, pushing him onto his back and looking. The additional scales had faded away but they had at least provided additional protection from Brain’s attack. A light cut sat on his neck, some of the blood dried. Natsu crawled forward, dropping his head next to Gajeel’s hip. A clawed hand reached up to his head, running shaky fingers through his hair. Natsu heard movement before something dropped on the other side of Gajeel. Natsu lifted his head a little to see that Cobra had dropped himself on Gajeel’s other side, head leaned on his shoulder.

“Its alright. You’re all going to be alright.” he heard Gajeel speak. Natsu let a purr escape despite how upset his stomach was. Gajeel was right. So long as they had each other than everything was going to be alright.

Chapter Text

Wendy wiped away the sweat from her forehead once she’d finished cleansing the poison from Natsu’s body. That had been the most concerning injury she needed to treat with how quickly Erik’s poison had been working through the other’s body. She furrowed her brows. Despite having removed the poison, he was still sick.

“I removed all the poison. Is there something else making him sick?” Wendy asked, turning to Happy who she had already cured.

“Aye. Natsu gets motion sick. This always happens.” Happy confirmed, placing one paw on Natsu’s arm.

“Oh. I can fix that” Wendy smiled, extending her hands to cast troia. It took a couple seconds for it to take affect but once it did, Natsu was back on his feet and jumping about with renewed energy. Wendy laughed, watching him before turning to Gajeel and Erik who were leaning against the entrance pillar and clutching their wounds. Wendy settled down next to Erik who turned to look at her.

“Does anything other than your shoulder hurt?” she asked, looking up to him. He looked at her for a moment before lifting up his right hand and pointing to his ears.

“The pyro screamed too loud for them.” he huffed out. Wendy leaned up to look at his ears. There was a small trail of blood that had dribbled down from his ear.

“Can you hear me alright?” she asked. He nodded before wincing at the movement.

“Any strange noises?” she pressed against the inside of his ear. He flinched back.

“Ringing. Yes.” he confirmed. His snake leaned her head in his lap.

“Sounds like yer ears been ruptured. The best I know about how to mend that is by fixin up the wound.” Gajeel shrugged.

“I think I can fix it with my magic, you just have to give me a bit.” she assured Cobra.

“Alright.” he sighed, leaning his head against the stone behind him. Wendy reached one hand up, cupping Cobra’s ear and activated her magic. The poison dragon winced slightly when her hand touched his ear before his shoulders slacked a little once her magic started up. He had closed his eyes, head lilting forward slightly. Wendy held her hand in place for about a minute before pulling it back.

“Is that better?” she asked. Cobra reached up to the ear she’d healed, pressing shaky fingers against it.

“Yeah. That’s better.” he agreed. Wendy smiled and shifted over to his other side. She cupped that ear and started healing that one too. She repeated what she had done on his other ear for a minute before pulling back her hand. He nodded but didn’t say anything. Wendy shifted to look at his back where the magic had struck him. The skin around the open wound was burnt and bruised, the skin sticky with blood. She looked closer.

“I don’t think it went through any organs which is good.” she commented, reaching out to touch the wound. Cobra flinched at the contact and Wendy pulled her hand away.

“Sorry. Sorry.” she apologised. She looked up at a gloved hand on her head.

“Its alright Sky. He’s just a little jumpy is all. Ya didn’t do anything wrong.” Gajeel encouraged, moving his hand back and forth on the top of her head. She nodded, sniffling a little.

“Yeah. I just…... people touching my injuries is…. Uncomfortable for me.” Cobra hesitated a few times, looking down at one hand. Wendy looked, picking out many thin, white lines peaking out through messy makeup along the wrists. She didn’t point them out but guessed that Cobra knew she’d seen them by how his shoulders tensed a little. She leaned forward to look at the injury again.

“I can close over the wound but some of the surrounding damage might be a little harder to fix.” she reached both hands up, holding them above the wound. Her magic began repairing the damage, closing up the open wound. She focused her attention on the burning around it, trying her best to heal it. It worked until the burns were just barely visible against flesh. She lowered her hands, wiping one arm over her forehead to clear the sweat.

“I did my best, but I couldn’t heal all of the burns. There’s still a little bit there.” she sighed, dipping her head.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve had far worse than a burn scar. I mean, this one bit me in the neck when we first properly met.” he jabbed one finger towards Gajeel. Gajeel lifted his head, ears falling flat.

“You were the one who snuck up on me. Maybe if you’d been listening you would have known not to surprise me.” Gajeel huffed.

“And I didn’t think you’d actually jump me.” Cobra rolled his eyes, crossing both his arms. Wendy looked between them, holding one hand to her mouth to try and supress her giggles. Gajeel snorted at her efforts. She turned to Gajeel.

“Can I see your wounds now?” she asked, hands clutching the bottom of her dress as she kneeled. He sighed but lifted up his shirt to show her the wound. Wendy bent forward to examine it. His wound wasn’t nearly as bad as Erik’s. The attack hadn’t broken past a few layers of skin so there was thankfully no blood. The burns were also nowhere near as severe as the poison dragon. His scales must have really protected him from that blast. Wendy leaned forward, activating her magic to repair the damage done to his skin. As the damage wasn’t as deep, healing the entirety of the wound was a much simpler task and it only took her a few minutes. She leaned back, taking a deep breath. Once she’d caught her breath, she focused on the slice in his neck which also only took a couple minutes with how shallow it was.

“There.” she smiled. Gajeel returned the smile, placing one hand on her head once more.

“Good job Sky. Yer pretty good at this. Perhaps if ya show interest, I might teach ya what I know.” he chuckles. Wendy looks up to him with wide, sparkling eyes.

“Really? Oh, that would be amazing.” she smiled.

“Focus on the task at hand child, we need to find a way to stop Nirvana.” Carla told her. Wendy tuned back into the conversation everyone else was having. No controls anywhere to stop Nirvana.

“I doubt Brain would be willing to tell us how to stop this thing.” Gray sighed, shaking his head. Natsu bounced on his feet.

“Hey Cobra, you know how to turn this thing off?” he turned to the marron haired man. He shook his head.

“I wasn’t privy to the intricate details of Brain’s plan. I didn’t even know where we were going.” he explained, his head facing down.

“Can’t you hear thoughts though?” Lucy asked, fiddling with her fingers.

“Brain and Midnight have ways to keep me out of their heads. Today was the first time in a long time that Brain even let me hear his thoughts and it was to demean me.” his grip on the tattered remains of his coat tightened. Wendy placed one hand atop his.

“Its ok Mr Erik. You’re with us now. We won’t hurt you.” she assured, reaching up to nuzzle her face into his cheek. He laughed slightly when they smacked foreheads and she whined.

“Maybe get lessons from the dragon boy before you try that again.” he shook his head as Wendy rubbed the side of her head that had made contact.

“So how else will we stop this thing?”

“What if we destroy it?”

“Hate to be pessimistic but that’s a pretty tall order.” The group continued to debate their next course of action. Wendy placed a finger to her lips. Maybe Jellal would know how to turn this off. She looked over her shoulder to the exit then back to the group. She couldn’t tell Natsu. He didn’t seem to like Jellal that much. Her head snapped up when Cobra pushed himself to his feet. Gajeel looked up for a moment before copying. Wendy looked between them. She got to her feet.

“I have an idea, but I need to go find it.” she announced. The rest of the group turned to her.

“Really? What is it?” Natsu asked, leaning forward. She shook her head.

“I can’t say. I’m sorry. But I’ll be ok.” she nodded to Natsu.

“Don’t worry. We’ll go with her. Better to stay in groups than to split up individually if one of the seiz is still walking around.” Gajeel spoke up. Natsu huffed.

“Fine. But don’t jump in front of anymore magic blasts.” he pointed to Gajeel. The iron mage lifted his hands with a laugh.

“Can’t make any promises but I’ll try.” he agreed. Wendy nodded and turned to the entrance they’d come through.

“Let’s go.” she spoke, running down the stairs that led up to the tower.

Chapter Text

Gajeel’s ears dropped a little when he saw Erza. He released a long breath. That was good. That meant she was alright. She lifted her attention from Wendy to him and Erik.

“Gajeel. You’re alright as well.” she stepped near him. He shrugged.

“As good as you can be after taking a pretty nasty hit.” he chuckled, brushing one hand through his hair. Erik stepped back a little, holding one hand on his arm. Erza looked to him.

“I’m sorry if I reminded you of something you didn’t want to remember.” she spoke to him. His eyebrows raised and he blinked.

“How did you figure it out?” he asked, shifting his body to the side slightly. Erza looked down to her feet and then up again.

“Your friend Midnight talked about it during his illusion.” she confirmed. Gajeel looked between the two, eyes flicking to the similar scars on their wrists. He lifted his gaze to look at Erik who was looking at Erza’s. He didn’t answer Erza.

“Don’t let it hold you down.” she placed one hand on his shoulder. Erik winced but didn’t step away from the red-haired mage. He sighed.

“I never believed you were the one to destroy those ships.” he finally spoke. Erza’s eyes widened. Erik met her gaze.

“My magic. It means I always know when someone is lying to me as long as I can hear their thoughts. I always knew.” he added. Erza blinked then dipped her head.

“I’m sorry you weren’t able to get away that day. Perhaps things would have been different.” Erza’s hand squeezed on Erik’s shoulder.

“Perhaps. But if I had gone then I might not have met the people I have today.” Erik turned, placing one hand on Cubelios who flicked her tongue at his hand. Erza smiled at him. Their conversation was interrupted by the ground below them shaking.

“What’s going on?” Erza asked, turning around and running to the edge they’d been near. Gajeel skidded over, looking at what the bright light at the edge was from. His eyes widened. The light from Nirvana was powering up.

“Its readying to fire.” Erik pointed out, standing to his right.

“And that’s the Cait Shelter guild.” Carla pointed to the building shaped like the head of a cat.

“Noooo! Not my guild.” Wendy screamed, leaning forward like she was going to jump from Nirvana. Gajeel took a hold of her, not wanting to risk her getting hurt by going over the edge. His ears fell flat against his head. They’d failed. Nirvana was going to fire. It was his fault Wendy’s guild was going to be slaughtered. He should have done something sooner. Stopped Brain from removing the magic seal or killing him in that cave. The ground shook again and now Nirvana tilted to the side. He lost his grip on Wendy as she slid forward into Erza’s grasp. Gajeel grabbed Erik’s wrist as he slipped towards the edge. Nirvana righted itself once more, the beam disappearing.

“What just happened?” Jellal looked around.

“Is everyone alright?” Erza asked, looking between those present.

“Yes, but what happened?” Wendy asked. Gajeel turned to the sky. Wait, was that. The gasps around him confirmed the others had seen it too.

Can anyone hear me?” Gajeel startled at the new voice in his head.

“Hibiki? Was that you?” Erza asked.

“I thought that thing wouldn’t get back up after the hit it took. How’d ya fix it?” Gajeel asked. Erik looked to him with furrowed brows.

That’s four of you I’m picking up on. That’s good. I’m glad you’re alright Erza” Hibiki’s voice echoed through his mind once more.

As for Christina. We had some help. One of her wings was damaged so Lyon made a replacement. Ren and Sherry are working together to keep the haul intact. The attack on Nirvana was Eve’s work.”

“I combined my snow magic with a couple of the Christina’s bombs… but now… I’m out of magic power.” the second voice faded out, possibly due to the owner losing connection. Gajeel’s ears twitched, watching the ship.

Our attack on Nirvana didn’t do a lot of damage but I found what I was looking for in the archives. What we thought were legs are actually pipes. They absorb magic from the ground to power it. That magic filters through six lacrima.”

“That explains what was going on with the forest. All its magic and life was being pulled by Nirvana.” Gajeel pointed out. Erik placed one finger to his lips, eyes narrowed with thought.

Good eye Gajeel. If you can destroy all six lacrima then Nirvana will shut down. But it has to be done at the same time or the lacrima will just repair the one that was broken. I’ll upload a timer to all of your heads. Once the timer reaches its end, you all destroy the lacrima.”

“So, we all have to break the lacrima together.” Erza muttered. Wendy took a step back.

“I’m sorry but I can’t. I’m not that strong.” she apologised. Erza nodded.

“We can split up. Each of us takes one lacrima.” Jellal offers.

“Except we don’t have enough people.” Carla objects.

“The cat has a point. Without Wendy, there’s only four of us.

“Count me in, my honey. I am well but in a slight predicament.”

“So that’s five. We just need one more then.” Erza looked around her again.

“Ha-ha. So, you think you can destroy Nirvana do you.” Gajeel stiffened. Who was that. He looked to Erik who had gone rigid.

“Master Zero.” he whispered, ducking his head slightly.

I will say I’m impressed. I didn’t know there was anyone aside from Brain who used archive magic but no matter. You want to destroy Nirvana. Well then, you’ll have no luck because I am stood in front of one of the lacrima and I have no intention of leaving.” ‘Zero’ laughed.

“And don’t count on any help. I’ve already taken out three of your allies. A dragon slayer. An ice wizard and a celestial wizard. Oh, and a cat too.” the man continued to laugh before his connection to them cut off. Gajeel lowered his head. Natsu was down. No. That couldn’t be true. He had to get up. He just had to.

“Get up.” he hissed out.

“Natsu.” Wendy whimpered, hands up to her mouth.

“You withstood my magic. You can withstand this. Get up.” Erik clutched his hands tightly at his sides.

If you can hear us. Please respond.” Gajeel was almost biting the inside of his lip, listening for something.

Yeah. We can hear you.” Natsu’s voice in his head was just the confirmation he’d needed, letting out a relieved breath.

“Destroy six lacrima. Yeah. We can do that.” Gray agreed.

“I’m uploading a map to all of your heads. Each lacrima is labelled one to six. Pick one and head to that lacrima.” Each lacrima was picked by a different mage just before the communication was lost. The Christina was going down.

“I’ll go get them. Erik, with me.” he ordered, spreading his wings and taking to the sky.

“Right. Cubelios” Erik soon joined him in the air, crouching on the back of his snake. They approached the falling steed faster than he anticipated.

“I take those on the roof, you get anyone in the haul. You’ll have an easier time slipping through the windows than I will.” he ordered. Erik nodded, patting one hand on Cubelios’ head and pointing towards a broken window. Gajeel flapped his wings, flying above the ship. Once he spotted silver hair leaning against a part of the ship next to its broken wing he dived down, landing smoothly on his feet. The ice wizard lifted his attention to him.

“Don’t worry. I’m going to get you on my back. Just don’t press too hard on my spine and you’ll be fine.” he instructed. The mage stumbled on his feet but was unable to get up. Gajeel knelt down, helping him onto his back and standing. He sniffed the air, following the smell to Ren and Sherry. The ship tremored as it got closer to the ground. He picked up the pace, linking his arms under both mages’ arms and flapping his wings. He lifted all three into the air, wavering slightly.

“You good there Gajeel? Need help?” he turned to look at Erik.

“Yeah. You got enough space for one more on Cubelios? I’m not used to carrying this many people.” he huffed. His wing muscles were starting to ache. Erik nodded, letting him hand over Ren and bring him onto Cubelios’ back where Eve and Hibiki were.

“Why are you helping us?” Hibiki asked, almost tilting over before Cubelios pushed him up again with her tail.

“Long story. Let’s just get somewhere safe so we can get your wounds patched up.” Gajeel jumped in.

“And where do you insist, we go? There isn’t anywhere nearby with medical care. Lyon objected. Gajeel smirked.

“Who needs fancy medicine when ya have an ally who knows his plants. Come on. I’m sure there’s a cave somewhere down there.” he flew down towards the forest below.

“Of course, you’d think of a cave. That’s just the dragon in you talking” Erik shook his head, patting Cubelios and pointing down towards the forest below. She hissed and dived down towards it. Gajeel landed first, flapping his wings several times in succession before landing on his feet.

“You’re like some kind of fairy. You really do fit in with the guild you joined.” Sherry muttered in his arms, half conscious. He shook his head.

“I ain’t no fairy that’s for sure.” he chuckles, walking through the trees and brush. He took in a deep inhale.

“Now do you feel the difference?” he asked Erik who was now next to him, Cubelios flying just above the ground. Erik closed his eyes. They snapped open.

“I think I do.” he agrees, blinking a few times.

“I told you that part of the forest was unnatural.” he rolled his eyes. He noticed a shallow cave just up ahead.

“Great. I found a cave. Let’s go.” he started running, bare feet hitting the grass and dirt below. He almost felt like a kid again, running through his Xiiwic’s claim while chasing animals or leaves. He reached the cave, stepping in and placing Sherry on the ground. He then kneeled down so Lyon could sit down on the ground as well. The ice mage huffed.

“Thanks. You didn’t have to come help us.” he spoke, placing one hand on his stomach. Gajeel nodded, watching as Cubelios landed on the ground so the blue Pegasus mages could enter the cave.

“No need to thank me. I’m sure anyone would have done it.” he assured. He walked over to Erik, placing one hand on his shoulder.

“I’m going to get some plants to make a few remedies. You stay here and watch over them.” He made eye contact with Gajeel. The poison dragon nodded. Gajeel turned away and walked out of the cave. He took a deep inhale, bringing the scents around him in as well. He caught many scents he’d need to make what he was after. He followed one scent to a clump of plants. There were a few different plants in the clump, but he only needed one. He reached out to cut a bit of it, his finger brushing against one of the other plants with a soft white flower that was decorated in red spots. He cut the plant he needed and lifted up what he’d cut. He started following a new scent. It led to another clump with a few of the plants he needed. This forest did a great job with its plants. He was impressed. He bent down cutting more of the plants with a hum, tapping his foot. He got up, turning to follow the third scent trail. He hissed when a biting itch hit his fingers. He looked to the hand that was holding the plants. The scales on the side of his hand were flaking, revealing red, bumpy skin beneath. He growled. Had he touched nettles or some other plant without realising it? Maybe some kind of chemical nearby.

“Fuck.” he hissed out. He’d have to get the rest of those herbs quickly in case it was some kind of chemical. He followed the scents that led to the last of the herbs he needed and picked them. Once he had the full bundle in his arms, he returned back to the cave. Erik was sitting at the front, legs crossed while he patted Cubillos’ head which was in his lap. He looked up when Gajeel approached.

“You alright?” he asked, watching the iron mage walk past him.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” he huffed, sitting down in the middle of the cave. He splayed out the plants he’d gathered and cupped his hands together so he could make a metal mortar and pestle. He placed the plants in one at a time and started crushing them together to make a paste.

“What did you pick? It’s not poisonous is it?” Ren asked, now back next to Sherry who was becoming a bit more aware.

“No. It’s a soothing balm. My opsola made it and applied it to me many times when I was little. It helps with scrapes, bruises and muscle aches.” he explained, adding a few more of the plants into the partially crushed remedy.

“Opsola? Like some kind of parent? Were they a doctor?” Sherry asked, sitting up. Gajeel’s ears twitched.

“Yeah. A local one. It was a family job passed down through the generations for hundreds of years apparently.” he kept pressing against the plants.

“Wait hundreds? You never mentioned that before.” He looked up to see Erik had turned around to face the group although Cubelios still had her head in his lap. Gajeel nodded.

“I only just found out. I thought maybe looking into it would give me some answers, but it didn’t really help.” he shook his head, returning to what he had been doing.

“If I still had magic energy then I could have looked up some information in my archive. Do you have any information?” Hibiki asked. Gajeel blinked.

“Oh well the name’s been the same throughout our family. Redfox. But there’s no record of anyone past one of my ancestors, Rowan. There’s no record of a partner or child but according to someone else’s account, he mentioned something about one. I assume that kid must be another one of my ancestors but got hurt or had to go into hiding. It might be why I remember being in such a secluded town. No outsiders ever entered from what I can recall.” he explained, finishing up with crushing the plants. He approached Hibiki, brushing his fingers in the paste and applying some of it to one of his bruises. He winced.

“The only time I’ve heard the Redfox name is when there were reports of your court cases. I’ve never heard of another Redfox.” Ren spoke up.

“I am of no help either. I didn’t even know of you or your family until today.” Lyon shook his head.

“Its fine. The Redfox line ended with me anyway. The only family I had is either dead or left. It doesn’t do much trying to find someone who’s gone.” he shrugged.

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to find something. Sometimes I wished I could go back and find something of my parents, but I don’t even remember which country we lived in. Never mind what city. And I might never know.” Cobra spoke up, rubbing both the top and underside of Cubelios’ head. Gajeel shook his head but finished applying the paste to Hibiki.

“Like I said. It doesn’t matter.” he moved his attention onto Eve next, placing the paste on a scrape on his cheek.

“Those scales? Are they supposed to fall off like that?” Lyon asked. Gajeel turned to the ice mage. He pointed to Gajeel’s hand. He looked to his hand. A few more of his scales had flaked to reveal that red skin. He blinked, staring at it.

“Its nothing. Just some nettles or something.” he brushed it off, continuing to apply the paste.

“If you’re sure.” Lyon shrugged, leaning his head back against the wall. Gajeel flicked his tail but refused to say anything more. He was fine. It was nothing to worry about. He just needed to clean up and it would be fine.

Chapter Text

Cobra pulled on the new shirt he had been given, trying to ignore the uneasiness he was feeling. He couldn’t place why he was on edge, but something was getting him worked up. He shook his head. Maybe it was because he was standing in the territory of the people he had aided in trying to kill.

“I’m surprised the council didn’t come looking for you. They were pretty set on getting Richard and Jellal.” Gray pointed out, looking to Cobra. He turned to look at the ice mage.

“Simple. They likely believed that as I wasn’t with your group that I would be in the remains of Nirvana.” he shrugged, adjusting the belt of his new trousers. They were a lot looser than he would have liked. Gajeel looked up from where he was tapping a wooden beam.

“If we get back quick then I can convince the master to let him join and to get the council to give him some kinda plea deal.” he rolled his wrist a couple times.

“You know quite a bit about this, don’t you?” Eve asked.

“I’ve been arrested enough times to know something. And before ya say anything. At least half of those arrests were false imprisonments. I did not do half the things they thought they caught me doing. Like really, stabbing someone? And leaving evidence. Please. I’m not that amateur.” he snorted before turning his attention to the mirror across the room which he pulled at to look at the back.

“Do you plan to take the snake with you? Wouldn’t that be a sign to anyone who you actually are?” Jura asked, looking to Cubelios who lifted her head with a tired hiss. Cobra bent down to pet her head.

“We’re taking a carriage back according to the fairies. I can just hide her and keep my face hidden until then.” he reached up to run one finger along the outside of his ear until his finger brushed against his earring.

“And I’m surprised so many of you are willing to let me walk free. I understand Natsu, Gajeel and Wendy and perhaps Erza but the rest of you have no connection to me. Why would you want to help me?” he asked, looking up at the other mages.

“You have proven yourself to be a loyal adversary and a reliable ally. Richard wished to repent for his crimes in prison, but I believe you don’t entirely share that sentiment.” Jura kept a straight posture.

“Absolutely not. I’ve spent enough time in cramped rooms with terrible conditions to last me 50 lifetimes.” he shook his head. He had a long time to go before he would be facing his next life if he ever did get one, but the statement still stood. Gajeel had moved again now inspecting the wall of the building.

“What’s wrong with you? Got ants in your shirt or something?” Gray asked, watching Gajeel’s movements. He lifted his head.

“You can’t smell that?” he asked, raising one eyebrow. The guys looked towards each other with mimicked looks of confusion. Natsu took a deep inhale of the air.

“What are we supposed to be smelling?” he asked, rubbing one finger below his nose. Gajeel shook his head. Cobra turned his attention to Gajeel’s mind. Mutterings about smells being missing.

“The master would like to speak with you all.” Cobra jumped when the young lady entered the building. How had he not heard her coming? Gajeel huffed but stepped away from the wall to exit the building. The girls were settling into position in front of the Cait Shelter members. Cobra walked next to Gajeel, Cubelios slithering across the ground behind him. He stopped at the side of the group, keeping half his body behind Gajeel to try and hide slightly. The iron dragon was looking around the surrounding area, fidgeting on his feet and huffing air in and out of his nose. Cobra brushed it off as being related to that ‘missing smell’ thing he’d been thinking about. He didn’t really pay much attention to the excited cheers of the group until it went silent. And in that silence where all he could hear was the breathing and heartbeats of his companions and the sounds of the forest around them did he clock what was unnerving him.

There were only 22 heartbeats.

His eyes widened and he looked across the people in front of him as the guild master told his story. How could there possibly be so little heartbeats. And why were they all coming from those who had been tasked with the fall of his guild. None of the Cait Shelter members aside from Wendy and her white cat made any actual noises of breathing or heartbeat or just actual life. And then he noticed Wendy crying, yelling at her guild master for being cruel. He looked to the old man, flickering. A ghost. And he couldn’t fault him. If Cobra had been in the same situation, he might have done the same. Pretended to be an entire guild just so a small child wouldn’t be upset. The illusions had all vanished and it was the old man’s turn. He reassured Wendy, pointed to all of them. Told her that she had so many real friends now. That she didn’t need them before the last of his soul disappeared into the sky alongside the guild mark on Wendy’s shoulder. Cobra turned his head away, unable to look at the child that had collapsed to the ground, screaming and crying for the people she loved to return to her. Not too far from what he’d been like when he’d watched those cultists slaughter his parents who had been trying to keep him safe. He’d screamed and kicked, trying to escape but to no avail. He turned once again when he noticed Gajeel move forward. He turned to look. Wendy had calmed down slightly, wiping at her tears with Erza next to her. The red-haired mage moved to the side to let Gajeel kneel in front of Wendy. He placed one hand on her head. Wendy sniffled, looking up to him before embracing him around the waist in a hug.

“You won’t leave me… right?” she sniffled, burying her face into Gajeel’s shirt. He placed one hand on the back of her head.

“I promise. I’ll be right here no matter what.” he brushed one thumb under her eye to wipe away the tears. Cobra’s shoulders dropped a little. Perhaps it was the presence of his pack or just the comfort in knowing that those words didn’t just stand for Wendy. They were meant for them all. That he would be there to protect their pack and provide the comfort they needed. He felt a smile tug on his lips. He might actually enjoy this potential new life.

Chapter Text

Gajeel stepped out of the carriage, stretching his arms as his feet dropped down onto the stone pavement outside the gates of Fairy tail.

“Oh, I needed this. I feel so rejuvenated.” he bounced between his feet, shaking them out. At least he’d been given some new boots for the trip back. His old ones were probably still stuck in the mud if not completely sunken down. He’d have to get some new ones. He looked when Natsu stumbled out, one arm leaning on Gajeel’s shoulder as a tremor wracked his body.

“I’m sorry Natsu. I didn’t think it would wear off so quickly.” Wendy apologised, ducking down in a bow.

“Don’t apologise sky. Ya did a good job as is.” he pushed Natsu’s face up as the fire mage shook the motion sickness off. Erik stepped out next, holding a smaller but sleeping Cubelios in his arms. Her tongue flicked out every time she released a breath. He chuckled lightly.

“Looks like someone enjoyed the trip back.” Erik rolled his eyes but stepped up to join the four of them. Gray, Lucy and Erza weren’t far behind them. Erza took the lead, pushing the door of the guild hall open.

“We’re back.” Natsu cheered, throwing his hands up in the air as he raced into the guild hall. Both Erik and Wendy stuck by his side. Wendy had wrapped her arms around his waist, face half buried in his hip as she flicked her gaze over all the different members of the guild. Erik’s shoulder was brushing against his and he could see the poison dragon anxiously turning his attention to every member that made even the tiniest noise above breathing. So far no one had noticed them, two focused with the louder antics of Gray and Natsu at the front. He nodded to the two dragons, leading them over to the bar where Makarov was sat on the counter. He looked up from his mug and looked over the two mages right next to him.

“When I sent you on that mission because of your intel, I didn’t expect you to return with one of them.” he sighed, placing one hand to his forehead. His words caught everyone in the guild’s attention. Wendy pressed the rest of her face into his hip while Erik held Cubelios closer to his chest like she would hide him from the stares.

“Isn’t that one of the Oracion seiz?”

“Why is he here? Shouldn’t he be in a prison cell” Gajeel flicked his gaze to Erik who had dipped his head slightly at the talking. Gajeel turned when a chair scrapped against the floor. Laxus had gotten up from his seat at the bar and was walking over to them. Wendy whined, her grip tightening. Laxus stopped in front of them, his gaze first flicking to Wendy and then to Erik. It lingered longer on Erik before he looked to Gajeel. He kept the eye contact for a long period of time until he huffed and placed a hand on Wendy and Erik’s heads before shoving them into his jean pockets. Gajeel turned to Makarov.

“This is Erik. My old friend. He’s part of the pack. And this is Wendy another member of the pack.” Gajeel introduced them, gesturing to each in turn. Makarov looked between the three of them and then to Laxus who was sending a particularly nasty glare in Makarov’s direction. Makarov sighed.

“What is it I can help you two with?” He asked. Gajeel held his tongue. He was going to let them explain themselves. Wendy, still clutching onto him, piped up first.

“Carla and I would like to join your guild.” her gaze flicks to the white cat floating only about a foot away from her. Makarov nodded and turned to Erik. He shifted a little on the spot.

“Cubelios and I would also appreciate being welcomed into your guild sir” Cobra bent in a half bow while Cubelios stirred from the mention of her name, lifting her head to look to Erik with sleepy eyes. Makarov gave a slight nod, closing his eyes in concentration.

“I am on Gajeel’s side that all four of them should be allowed into the guild.” Erza stepped up to the other side of Erik, giving him a quick glance before looking to Makarov.

“He was going to take an attack for us before Gajeel stepped in.” Gray added on. Lucy nodded beside him.

“And he’s fun. I like his cool hearing trick.” Natsu added, pointing towards Erik. The poison dragon let a low hiss out.

“Its not a trick.” he muttered under his breath. Natsu stuck his tongue out at the other dragon. Makarov sighed.

“Alright. I’ll give them a chance. But step out of line and it will only take one call for you to be in a jail cell” Makarov was looking to Erik when he spoke. He got a quick nod from the marron haired mage.

“Mira, get our new members their guild marks and we can go fill out the paperwork” Makarov addressed Mira. The barmaid nodded, pulling the stamp from behind the bar and rounding the counter. She offered the stamp to Wendy first. She asked for it on her shoulder, similar to him and Natsu. Erik was next and he lifted up the bottom of his shirt to expose the side of his stomach. The stamp was pressed to the skin, leaving the mark in a soft purple. Gajeel smiled, giving him a hard nudge against the shoulder. The moment was cut off when the doors opened once more to reveal members of the council. The man in the lead walked into the room, eyes focused on the group at the bar until his gaze landed on Erik.

“It appears that going to the guilds of the alliance was beneficial after all, Cobra, you are under arrest. Any resistance will be punished accordingly.” he spoke. Gajeel hissed, stepping in front of him and putting his arm out. He turned to Gajeel.

“That goes for anyone preventing the arrest as well. Don’t think you’ll get let off easy.” Lahar addressed him. Gajeel growled.

“He ain’t going anywhere.” he leaned close to Lahar.

“Besides you have the wrong person.” he turned to look at Erza who was still standing next to Erik.

“This is my cousin Erik” she smiled, pulling him close into a half hug.

“Do you really think I’m going to fall for that?” Lahar asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Fall for what. That’s just Erza’s cousin Erik.” Laxus agreed, crossing his arms and keeping his neutral expression. Gajeel blinked, watching the two mages stood next to the poison dragon.

“Oh yes. Erza’s cousin. She’s told many stories about him.” Lucy agreed.

“Yeah. He’s visiting from across the border. Came to say hello to his favourite cousin.” Gray added. He placed one hand over Natsu’s mouth who blinked repeatedly.

“Oh really? And pretell what country does he come from.” Lahar challenged, looking to Erza.

“Stella.” she said with confidence. The rune knights looked to Erik.

“Avavaen. Sal kar Alet nae Fiore nesh salen Tyss.” Erik nodded, the words dropping from his tongue with ease. Lahar turned to Makarov with an unimpressed look.

“Either way, this young man is apart of Fairy tail and I and my members are quite ready to protect our members. I am willing to work out a deal with the council if you would like to discuss in my office.” Makarov gestured up the stairs to his office. Lahar squared his shoulders.

“Very well.” he walked towards the stairs, Makarov following behind him. Cobra turned to Erza.

“Really?” he asked, raising one eyebrow. She pulled him into a full hug, saying nothing and patting him on the back. Gajeel rolled his eyes.

“Oh, Gajeel. While you were gone, someone dropped something off for you.” Mira clapped her hands together and rounded the counter. He raised a brow.

“For me?” he asked. Mira had bent down, taking something from a shelf under the counter and placing it on the bar. He looked at it. Some kind of metal cylinder with a note attached. It was written in dragonic, and he could confirm it was his name.

“What is it?” Laxus asked, now standing on one side.

“Is it food?” Natsu asked on his other side. Gajeel took a sniff of the air but all he could smell was the metal.

“I’m not sure.” he admitted. Natsu picked it up, shaking it.

“Don’t shake it. You don’t know if that could damage it.” Laxus scolded him. Natsu huffed. Erik took it from his hand, looking at the cylinder and turning it around in his hand. He tried to twist it, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Doesn’t look like a puzzle box but it doesn’t seem to open either.” he stated. Laxus shook his head.

“Mira already tried to open it. Couldn’t twist it even an inch.” Laxus shook his head.

“Maybe its just for Gajeel to eat.” Wendy offered. Erik shrugged and held it out to Gajeel. He reached out, taking hold of the metal. Something shifted underneath his fingers right before some kind of liquid exploded from the cylinder in every direction. He was splashed right up his left arm, his shoulder and the top left of his shirt, his neck and the left half of his face. He stumbled back. His skin was burning from the contact. He clutched onto his wrist with his right hand only to hiss and pull it back when the skin on that hand burned. He tried to breathe, but it was like his breath was catching in his throat and he couldn’t see out of his left eye like he had it closed. He could vaguely hear someone yelling but couldn’t distinguish what had been said. Someone got close to him, and he snarled backing up into something. He looked down at his arm. His scales were popping up only to rapidly shed, dropping to the ground with muffled clinks. The pain in his cheeks swelled with the shift of his jaw. He curled his head down, trying to hide the way his jaw was moving. The movement made him want to throw up from the dizziness. He blinked once, everything getting fuzzy. One more blink and he couldn’t open his eyes again.

Chapter Text

Wendy yelped in surprise when she was hit in the face with some kind of liquid. She stumbled back, reaching up to her eyes to wipe it out of them. She blinked a few times to try and get the liquid out before her eyes cleared up.

“Get a cloth! He got hit by it!” she looked to who had yelled. The blond mage that smelled like a dragon. She looked around for what he was talking about. Who had been hit? Her eyes landed on Gajeel who had stumbled back from them, the metal container at his feet and split in half where it had burst open. Gajeel was hunched over, metal flakes hitting the ground around him and his skin an angry red. She cried out, rushing to approach him after he pulled his hand from the arm that was injured only for the palm of his hand to match it. He snapped his head up, snarling. Someone grabbed her shoulders, pulling her back a couple steps so she wasn’t in his direct line of attack if something happened. She struggled against the grip.

“No let me go. I have to help him.” she objected, clawing at the arms holding her in place.

“I got some water.” someone yelled, holding a bowl that sloshed with water. Gajeel’s body dropped a little before righting itself in a hunched over position only to collapse completely to the floor.

“Get it off him. Someone call Porlyusica.” the blond mage was still the one snapping orders, turning to different people. Wendy pushed forward to sit next to the white-haired girl that she’d heard be called Mira. She was ringing out the cloth and pressing it to the red skin on Gajeel’s arm. She held out another cloth to Wendy. She took it and dunked it in the water, turning to wipe down his other palm. The strange liquid came off easily, not sticking to his skin or reacting to the water in any way. Mira was making her way up his arm, looking at the slightly soaked shirt.

“Help me get his shirt off. It’s causing the same reaction.” she instructed Wendy. She nodded, helping Mira hold him up so the shirt could be pulled off and tossed to the side. The red marks spattered across his left collarbone, slithering up one part of his neck and over his face. Wendy wet the cloth once more and brushed it over his face, washing away the substance that dripped off it.

“What is it? Acid?”

“It doesn’t look like it burnt his skin.”

“It can’t be acid, all five of us got hit with that stuff.” Mira turned to the people talking.

“You should wash it off just in case. We don’t want to take any chances.” she told the blond who was closest. He nodded, picking up another cloth and handing it around. Wendy pulled the cloth back once she was sure all the liquid had been brushed off. The other cloth was handed to her, and she used it to wipe the liquid from her face where she’d been splashed.

“What’s going on? I heard yelling.” Makarov was now descending the stairs from his office, followed by Lahar.

“Gajeel got hit with something. We don’t know what it was, but he had a really bad reaction to it.” Mira pointed to the red skin that wasn’t going down. Wendy held out her hands to heal the wounds. Her hands glowed and she could feel her magic activate but it wasn’t doing anything to the wounds. She concentrated harder but it still wasn’t doing anything. She turned to Natsu with teary eyes.

“My healing magic isn’t working this time.” she sniffled, rubbing at her nose. Natsu kneeled down next to her, patting one hand onto her shoulder.

“What’s going on? What is this emergency?” her head jolted up. She knew that voice. And the smell was familiar.

“Grandeeney?” she asked, looking up to who had spoken. The woman before her was not Grandeeney. Despite her voice being similar and her smell, it wasn’t her, but the woman looked to Wendy with raised eyebrows like Wendy had said something she wasn’t supposed to. Wendy lowered her head, cheeks red with embarrassment.

“Gajeel got hit with something. He’s hurt.” Mira explained to the woman. She shook her head but bent down, muttering something about ‘Always this one’ before examining his arm. She ran fingers over the skin.

“Do you know what it was that hit him?” she asks, not looking up from what she was looking at.

“We don’t know. Just that it was some kind of liquid.” Erza explained, one of the people in the crowd.

“Was anyone else hit by this?” she asks, lifting Gajeel’s head to look at his face.

“Yes, four others but none of them have shown any reaction as far as we’ve seen.” Mira was watching the woman. She nodded.

“I’ll need to do a bit of testing, but I believe this is some sort of severe allergic reaction to something in what he was hit with.” she explained.

“Someone bring him to the infirmary so I can properly treat him.” she ordered, gesturing to a door that was up the stairs. She bent down, picking up the shirt that had been discarded nearby and taking it up the stairs with her. The blond was the one to pick up Gajeel, taking him up the stairs and towards the infirmary. Wendy grabbed fistfuls of her dress. Makarov was near her now, picking up the cylinder and looking at the little note that was attached to it. He looked over his shoulder to Lahar.

“I hope it isn’t too much trouble, but I would also like to report a targeted attack against one of my guild members.” He addressed. Lahar nodded.

“Of course, I’ll just need a bit more detail than what I currently have.” he agreed. Mira stood up.

“Reedus, could you draw out a sketch of the person who dropped that off. If you need help, I’m sure Freed or Laxus might remember.”

“Oui Mira. I can do just that.” he agreed, beginning work on the painting. Makarov looked to two other people in the nearby group who were whispering to each other.

“Totomaru. Juvia. Were either of you aware of this. I know for a fact that Gajeel’s medical records never listed any allergies, life threatening or otherwise.” he asked.

“Juvia doesn’t recall Gajeel ever mentioning anything about an allergy before.” The dual haired man crossed his arms.

“He’s never mentioned anything, but I have seen him get pretty bad rashes. Usually, I’d see the person that showed up or Gajeel would mention seeing them and then in the next few days he’d suddenly be breaking out or struggling to breath. But nothing ever matched up with what caused it.” he shook his head.

“Can you list everything that has caused a similar reaction and how you dealt with it?” Lahar asked, holding his hands behind his back.

“Well usually just washing out what was getting reactive and leaving it for a few days helped. As for what caused it, the list is pretty long. His shampoo and conditioner, shower wash, his clothes, bedding, meals that had been stored for a couple days, multiple of his cleaning supplies.” the man listed.

“Were they ever replaced or a swap in brand?” the dual haired man shook his head.

“Washing all materials solved that problem and we just got rid of the bottles or food causing the reaction and bought new ones with the same brand and there was no problem before or after those specific contaminations.” he shrugged. Makarov nodded and looked to Lahar.

“I will be sure to put in a report. Send any additional information you learn to the council.” he explained before leading the rune knights with him out of the guild hall. Wendy watched them leave before looking up at the door to the infirmary where the blond had exited the room and was coming back down the stairs. His face was inexpressive, and he went and sat at a table with three other people. Wendy gulped. She just hoped Gajeel would be alright.

****

Gajeel winced when several different smells hit him at once. He blinked open his eyes and flicked them around the room. He probably should have been concerned that he recognised the room from its ceiling alone simply down to the number of times he’d had his ass dragged into the infirmary for treatment. He went to lean on his elbows only to wince when his left touched the bed. He looked; the entirety of his left arm was wrapped up in bandages. Right. He’d been hit with something. He used his right arm to push himself up and spotted Porlyusica sorting through something off to the side. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed he was awake.

“Don’t get stressed. Your mostly fine.” she huffed, focusing on whatever she was doing.

“What happened?” he asked, reaching up to rub his fingers over the bandages on his face.

“You had a severe allergic reaction. I did some tests, and it looks like your allergic to ukea. It’s a type of flower that mostly only grows in dark conditions. Like caves or forests that get little sun through the canopy.” she explained. He blinked.

“But I’ve never come in contact with anything like that.” he objected. It wasn’t possible he could be allergic to something. His opsola or xiiwic would have told him if he was. The door clicked open.

“The liquid that you were splashed with. Whoever left it for you, mixed the flowers you are allergic to in the mixture and brought it here for you to be hit with. This was a targeted attack.” He turned to see Makarov was the one to enter the room.

“That doesn’t make any sense. If I didn’t know about this, then how could someone else. I don’t have any enemies that would know I had an allergy before I knew.” he objected. Was this some kind of joke. Makarov shook his head.

“Luckily many people saw the person who left that canister. Reedus drew up a sketch of the culprit and we’ve had it sent to the council. I am not taking this attack lightly and until the culprit has been detained, I would like you to stay with anyone in the guild at all times and check your things if you feel they are causing a reaction.” Makarov explained. Gajeel snarled.

“Don’t think of this as a punishment Gajeel. This is for your own safety. Several members of the guild were worried for your wellbeing.” he gestured to the side of the bed he lay in where a number of both handmade and store bought cards sat amongst a vase of flowers and a couple wrapped gifts.

“Now I’d like you to just relax for the next few days. Take it easy and don’t do anything too taxing.” Makarov ordered. Gajeel sighed, letting his back drop back against his pillow.

“Fine.” he huffed.

“Good. Now I’m going to let your guildmates know you are awake and well. Expect some guests shortly.” he turned and left the room. Gajeel huffed, turning his attention to the bedside again. He picked up a pink handmade card that had poorly spelled Fioren scrawled over the front and a little drawing of 5 standing figures, two cats and a snake. He raised one studded brow and opened the card. The Fioren within the card wasn’t much better, even his name had been misspelled with only one e, two l’s and a second g instead of a j in the middle but the name down the bottom was spelt perfectly. Wendy. The kid had made him a card. He blinked. He must have really upset her. It hadn’t been that long since she’d had to watch her entire guild disappear. Of course she would have been worried. The door clicked once more and he caught several familiar scents.

“Gajeel” a high-pitched cry echoed in his ears before a weight hit him in the stomach. He looked down to her as she nuzzled her face into his stomach. He looked up to see Laxus, Natsu and Erik had walked in after her.

“Totomaru and Juvia are out getting some stuff from the market.” Laxus explained when he noticed Gajeel looking around for them. He nodded and looked to Wendy.

“Hey Sky. Look at me.” he kept his voice soft. She lifted her head, tears briming in her eyes.

“I tried to use my healing magic, I really did but it wasn’t working, and you were still hurt and-.”

“Woah. Its alright. I’m fine. See. Nothing to worry about. Takes more than a little flower to take me out.” he chuckled, petting her head. She sniffled, rubbing at her nose but nodded. She lifted herself up, sitting in his lap and kicking her feet. She looked to him.

“Can… What’s the dragonic word for Dad?” she asked. He raised an eyebrow and looked to the guys who were discussing something between themselves. Erik noticed first.

“She asked what the language she didn’t recognize was and we told her.” he shrugged. He turned to look at Wendy.

“And why do you want to know that word?” he asked. Wendy turned to look at her fingers, fiddling with them.

“Well. You’re the leader of the pack and that’s kinda like a parent. Since its your job to take care of us and protect us. That’s what Grandeeney always told me what pack leaders do anyway. So, I thought… since your job is like a parent…. That I could use the word for it” she explained, pulling on her fingers. He hesitated for a moment. He really didn’t want to think that the other three thought of him as a parent figure. That would be awkward. But it did make sense for Wendy to think that way. She was a lot younger. And now that he thought about it. Raios had been similar. Tailing after him and always asking questions. Perhaps he’d felt the same way about the pack as Wendy.

“Opsola. That’s the word you’re looking for” he told her. She turned to him with a big beam.

“I also… wanted to ask if… well…. Can I stay with you and Mr Totomaru and Mr Erik” she asked. He blinked. When had Erik been living with him. Was this something that had been discussed without him present.

“I needed somewhere to stay while you were out, and your fire friend offered me the couch.” Erik explained. Gajeel absently nodded.

“Wouldn’t you rather stay with the girls in the dorms. I’m sure it’s a much better place than the shed behind our guild hall” he offered. If Erik was staying with him until he could get his own place then it was going to be decently cramped between the three of them. Even if Erik was pretty small and could easily curl up on the couch it didn’t negate the little amount of walking space they had. It was awful when it had been the two of them, Laxus and his team but that had only been for a few nights. Now he had three men, all varied height, a more than 100 pound snake, his own cat and potentially a little girl and her cat. Wendy shook her head.

“If I stay with you then I know that you won’t leave with the rest of the pack and leave me behind.” she objected. Gajeel sighed. Right because she had been left by three separate people already. Of course, she’d be scared he’d take the pack and leave. He sighed.

“Alright. But it’ll be a tight fit. The shed is not that big and I’m guessing Cubelios is staying there too.” he looked to Cobra who shrugged. Wendy nodded.

“Mr Totomaru has been letting me stay in your bed while you were here. I like it. It smells just like you and your smell always has dragon in it. Stronger than everyone else” Wendy smiled. He closed his eyes for a moment. Guess she’d be staying in his bunk until further notice. He patted her head.

“Alright. We can split the bed. I don’t take up much space anyway.” he assured her. Laxus scoffed.

“How? You’re a pretty tall guy.” he asked. Gajeel smirked.

“I curl.” he clarified, leaning forward to look at the lightning dragon. Natsu snickered, gently hitting Laxus on the shoulder. He was glad that it seemed Cobra and Wendy were melding in with Natsu and Laxus well. He leaned back against the headboard, letting the other dragons fall into playful chatter.

Chapter Text

Gajeel sat at the bar with a mug in front of him. Wendy was seated to his left, drawing something out on a piece of paper as she swung her legs under the bar counter. She stopped mid drawing and turned to Gajeel.

“Opsola?” she asked, tilting her head. He hummed, taking a swing of his drink.

“I think something’s wrong?” she mumbled, fiddling with the pen in her hand. He lifted one brow and looked over his shoulder. He let out a huge sigh. Seriously. This. Again. Natsu and Laxus were standing in the middle of the guild hall, snarling and growling. And to top it off, Erik had joined them, hissing with his head tilted upwards so he could still look intimidating to the taller dragons. Gajeel huffed and leaned against the table.

“Someone please stop them.” someone yelled. Everyone in the guild had made a large circle around them, any tables abandoned while the members clung close to the walls. Mira looked up from the glass she was drying and sighed.

“This is getting a little out of hand.” she shook her head.

“A little is too soft. This is crazy.” Lucy sighed from a bit further up. Gajeel grumbled, hair prickling.

“Oi.” he snapped, getting all three mages attention.

“Enough of this. I will give you an answer tomorrow but until then stop doing this. It changes nothing and you’re just going to get someone else hurt. Now go sit somewhere. I need some space.” he snapped. Once he had spoken, he turned and walked out the back door of the guild and towards the shed. He swung the door open, kicked it shut and collapsed on the couch. His legs dangled off the edge with his entire body straightened out but he didn’t care. How was he supposed to figure this out? The door creaked open.

“You alright?” Gajeel lifted his head to see Totomaru, Juvia and Wendy. He huffed, sitting up at the far end of the couch so his back touched the arm and pulling his legs up to his chest where he placed his head. Wendy sat right next to him, leaning her ear against his leg. Totomaru sat on the other end, hanging his arms over the other arm that met his back and Juvia sat on the arm between Totomaru’s arms.

“I’m fine.” he grumbled.

 

“Juvia doesn’t think Gajeel is fine. He seems stressed.” Juvia held one hand to her chest.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.” he groaned, slamming his head into his knees.

“You just tell them to back off and you aren’t interested.” Totomaru shrugged.

“That’s the problem.” he shook his head, pressing one hand against the side.

“That you can’t tell them you aren’t interested?” Totomaru raised one brow.

“No. I am interested. In all of them.” He groaned, leaning his head over the arm of the couch.

“Maybe it would help Gajeel if he explained why he thinks he likes each one.” Juvia offered, clutching her hands together. He sighed.

“I dunno. I mean I like them for different reasons. Natsu has a way of making you feel good.... like a fire or something, ya know.” Totomaru stared at him.

“No. I hate him.” his voice was steady and his face stoic. Juvia tapped her hand against the back of his head.

“Juvia thinks Totomaru is being dramatic. Let Gajeel continue.” she turned to him. He sighed.

“With Laxus, he’s actually quite nice and he has a love for music. And Erik hasn’t changed much since we were kids, still has that softness he hides... I just don’t know.” he grumbles, leaning back over the couch arm.

“What if you ask them all to date you?” he lifted his head to look at Wendy who had tilted hers, one hand fiddling with the clasp of her sandals that sat around her ankle. He blinked. He could do that? He turned his gaze to Juvia and Totomaru who looked at each other.

“Its your choice. I’m not going to stop you from asking out one or all of them.” Totomaru shrugged, dropping his head to look at the shelves behind him. Juvia clapped her hands together repeatedly.

“Gajeel needs to get his true love so then Juvia, Gajeel and Totomaru can go on triple dates.” she smiled, kicking her legs swiftly. Totomaru’s head snapped up so fast, Gajeel thought he’d give himself whiplash.

“Absolutely not. I am not going on a date with the stripper or the pyro. That would be the worst experience of my life.”

“I see you haven’t lost your flair for the dramatics.” Gajeel chuckled, rubbing his fingers together and looking at his chipped nails.

“You don’t like Natsu, Mr Totomaru?” she asked, eyes big and round as she looked to him.

“No. He’s a dick.” the fire mage huffed, slouching down on his part of the couch. Juvia shook her head. Gajeel leaned down to Wendy.

“He’s holding a petty grudge cause he lost their fight.” he whispered. Wendy squinted her eyes, thumbs pressed to her lips and fangs just slightly hanging over her lower lip.

“Bitch.” Totomaru hissed, sending a middle finger his way. Juvia lightly slapped him on the bicep.

“Totomaru should be careful, there is a child present.” she scolded him.

“Raindrop, Wendy stays with Totomaru, Erik and I. Pretty sure if there was a jar for every time one of us swore, we’d be fuckin rich.” he shook his head when she gave him a pouty huff.

“Now shoo. I have three songs to write and a plan to make. I need peace and quiet for that.” he waved his hands at them.

“Can I help?” Wendy looked up to him. He sighed.

“Sure. But no loud noises. I need to concentrate.” he instructed. She nodded, shuffling in her spot on the couch until she was comfier with her legs spread out and her head still leaning against his legs. He reached for his notebook and pen which was kept on the coffee table and flipped the front page open.

*****

Gajeel rubbed aggressively at one eye, fighting back the yawn that was rising. He turned to the clock and shot up when he noticed the time. How had he not noticed it was morning. He looked around the piles of scrunched up paper that littered the floor. He groaned. He was still struggling to write anything new. Why was it so hard? He’d done it so easily before. He turned towards Wendy who had fallen asleep, curled up on his feet. He slowly pulled his feet out from under him. He should really get breakfast ready for when the others woke up. He lowered one foot from the couch, kicking away a couple balls of paper. He pushed himself off the couch and walked to the door, slipping out of the shed into the chilly morning air. He huffed, his hair puffing up to try and prevent the chill from touching his skin. It didn’t really do much when it only covered his back. He really should go get warmer clothes. Perhaps he’ll go later because if he doesn’t then he’ll probably forget until its so cold that his fingers are falling off. He pushes the door to the back of the guild open. Thank the gods the guild was warm. He walked past the stairs that led to the second floor and into the main hall. He stopped in place. Both Totomaru and Erik were sleeping over one of the tables in the guild.

“What the fuck?” he hissed. Erik lifted his head, yawning widely with his fangs on show and turned to him.

“Oh. Mornin’.” he mumbled.

“What are you doing out here? You could have come back into the shed.” he objected. It did explain how he never even noticed the time. Neither Totomaru nor Erik had even entered the building. He would have been stirred if they had.

“Totomaru said you were working on something private and to not disturb you. Since you never showed up for anything to eat at dinner or even left the shed, we just assumed you were still busy.” he shrugged.

“You could have listened to my thoughts.” he pointed to his own ears when he spoke. Cobra huffed.

“I was going to, but your friend told me that I wasn’t allowed to or it would ruin your surprise.” he shrugged, scratching the side of his neck. Gajeel blinked, looking to the still slumbering fire mage.

“Natsu and Laxus went to their own homes, but both said they’d be here around 6. Said Mira didn’t usually turn up until around 7 so it would give plenty of time for that talk you promised.” he added, placing one hand on Cubelios’ snout who was curled up next to him.

“So, make enough for two extra people. Got it.” he nodded, walking into the kitchen. He turned the little dial on his radio, humming as a song started to play, travelling through the kitchen. He pulled out the large pot tucked into the cupboard next to the oven and placed it down on the hobs. He picked up two pans from the rack above the hob and placed those down and started working on some porridge, eggs and bacon. While those all cooked, he cut up some fruit, mixing it all up into a bowl and started on some pancake mix in a separate bowl. He turned back to the hob, stirring the porridge and checking to make sure it wasn’t burnt. He turned to the eggs, poking at them with a spatula and pulling them out of the pan and onto a plate. He then turned his attention to the bacon, muttering the lyrics of the song playing as he did.

“So, this is just a thing you do then?” his hair puffed up at the sound and he turned to look at Laxus. This time, he didn’t make the mistake of dashing for his radio, so it wasn’t broken this time.

“You’re here.” his voice took on a higher squeak and he winced at how stupid it sounded.

“Yeah. Natsu’s out there trying to see what he can get away with doing to Totomaru before he wakes up.” the lightning dragon nodded his head towards the main room of the guild hall.

“Right. Let me just... finish up here and I’ll be out.” he gestured vaguely to the food he was still working on. Laxus nodded and stepped out of the kitchen. Gajeel looked down to his hands where his scales were pressing up to the surface. He ran his hands over each other, sinking his teeth into his lower lip to try and calm his breathing. Why was he suddenly so nervous about this? He just had to talk to them. Its not like it could go horribly wrong right? Oh gods it was going to go wrong. He stumbled, just barely catching himself on the counter with one arm while his fingers held onto the edge with a vice grip. He pulled himself up, legs shaking as he swallowed hard. He focused his attention on the food, turning the hob off for the porridge and placing the bacon on a plate as well. He finished off making the pancakes and set them aside. He turned around and walked over to the door of the kitchen. Natsu and Laxus had joined Erik at the table, Totomaru still sleeping soundly with his face buried in his arms. Natsu had a black marker in his hand and was doodling all over his arm, tongue sticking out.

“Foods done but I assume you want to talk first?” he spoke up. At least if they talked now, Wendy and Totomaru wouldn’t have to risk the complete mess this was going to be. The three dragons turned to him.

"We can go somewhere more private. In case this one wakes up.” Erik offered, jabbing one finger towards Totomaru. He shook his head. He much preferred Totomaru being there. Just in case his entire body decided to self combust before this was over. He reached for a stool from the bar and pulled it forward, sitting on it and sinking his cracked nails into the legs of his trousers.

“So, I thought about this and I talked with... people about it.” he paused, trying to decide how he should word this.

“We aren’t going to be mad whatever you decide.” Laxus spoke up. Natsu nodded, his hair bouncing back and forth. Gajeel sighed heavily and turned to them.

“I was thinking that we could do a sharing type deal.” he just let the words slip from his mouth without worrying about the wording. All three turned to look at each for a few seconds then turned back to Gajeel.

“Like we date each other?” Natsu tilted his head, eyebrows creased together in a frown.

“Well, you can decide if you want to date each other, that’s up to you. I was thinking more each of you has a day a week that you organize with each other, so you don’t overlap and stuff.” he blinked for a moment.

“I don’t think I explained that how I wanted to.” he mumbled, picking at one of his nails. The three dragons turned to each other, ducking their heads in close and whispering something to each other. Gajeel’s gut felt ready to lurch out of his body. They weren’t going to agree to it. He was just a fucking whore who couldn’t even make such a simple decision. He turned his gaze to the floor.

“Yeah, I’m fine with that.”

“Sounds cool.”

“I’m down.” He snapped his head upward to look at them.

“What?” he blinked, staring at them although his gaze never really focused.

“Your happiness matters in this too. And I don’t despise these two. Natsu just pushes it really close.” Laxus turns to the fire mage who sticks his tongue out.

“Not my fault you have an attitude.” he huffed, crossing his arms and hunching his neck forward.

“I can handle these idiots. They don’t steal my sandwiches so I can deal with them.” Cobra waved one hand in front of him. Laxus snorted.

“Your guild mates stole your sandwich?”

“That’s a crime Laxus. A crime.” Natsu objected, his voice growing louder.

“Yeah. Racer was the worst. I cut a sandwich in half the other day, and he stole Cubelios’ share. I showed him he couldn’t mess with me.” Erik wiggled his eyebrows, looking to Gajeel.

“Since that’s done, I’m going to bring the food out. Can one of you go get Wendy?” he asks. Natsu leaps to his feet, racing off to the shed to get the sky dragon. Laxus lifted his hand, releasing a thunderbolt that hit the floor with a loud crash. Totomaru jolted his head up, hair ruffled as he swung his head around. He snapped his gaze to Gajeel.

“Dammit Gajeel. Stop with the noisy wake up calls you ass.” he snapped. Gajeel raised his hands in defence.

“Wasn’t me.” he gave a half shrug before retreating into the kitchen to grab the plates. He could hear Totomaru and Laxus’ voices before he returned with four plates in his arms.

“Gajeel help. Your asshole friends are bullying me.” Totomaru yelled towards him, swiping one hand at Erik who had a massive smirk crossing his face.

“Oh, you snitch. Don’t tell him that.” the poison dragon chuckled. Gajeel sighed and shook his head.

“I might be regretting letting you stay in the shed.” he teased. The poison dragon turned to him.

“Well, your stuck with me until further notice dragon boy. Get used to it.” he retorted. Gajeel’s muscles tensed slightly, and his gaze flicked to Laxus and Totomaru. The fire mage didn’t seem to notice anything, but Laxus was giving him a glance from where he was sat. He decided to ignore it.

“Just got to get the rest of the food. No taking food before the rest of us are sat down.” he instructed before walking back to the kitchen to get the rest of the food.

Chapter Text

Gajeel winced when the plastic of a hanger hit him on the nose. He blinked repeatedly and shook his head. He just barely avoided a second hanger to the face.

“Oui. Raindrop. Calm down.” he yelled. She snapped her attention from the clothing rack and towards him, her hands on her hips and a hanger in one hand. She shoved it against his chest and he was forced to grab it lest it make its home on the floor.

“Gajeel should try that on.” she insisted, returning back to picking out clothes. He looked down at what she’d given him. A thick olive coloured jumper picked out in his size.

“I’m not wearing this.” he huffed, holding it out for Juvia to take. She didn’t look at him but pushed the jumper back towards him.

“Gajeel was complaining about needing warmer clothes and he has three dates. Juvia is not letting Gajeel go on dates in that.” she turned around to gesture vaguely to his tunic and trousers.

“What’s wrong with this?” his upper lip raised as he examined his own clothes, arms hanging outward.

“Gajeel’s clothes are fine for missions but they are so dull. Gajeel needs a bit of colour and nicer clothes for sitting around the guild.” she met his eyes. Gajeel turned to Totomaru who was sitting on one of the plush seats, slouching while pulling on a rainbow scrunchie he’d picked up from the hair section.

“Back me up here.” he addressed him. The fire mage looked up for a moment.

“Nope. I’m not getting involved.” he objected, flicking his eyes back to the scrunchie.

“Why aren’t you making him get clothes?” he demanded, looking back to Juvia.

“Well unlike you, I already wear two layers of clothes.” he pulled on the neck of his turtleneck that clung snuggly to his skin.

“And I don’t have as high a risk of dropping dead if the wind decides to become a couple degrees to cold and I’m not wrapped in 25 layers.” he added, one eyebrow raised.

“Totomaru also doesn’t have a date because he’s a coward.” Juvia added, keeping a straight face.

“Hey.” Totomaru leaned forward in the chair. Gajeel snickered.

“She has a point. Just ask the highlighter out and if he says no then I’ll beat his head in with a brick.” he shrugs.

“Please don’t do that. I don’t think your boyfriend would be too happy about that.” Totomaru leaned back against the chair. He smirked only to have another jumper shoved into his arms.

“Stop giving me jumpers.” he was just about ready to throw all the clothes in his arms on the ground and leave the two in the store.

“Totomaru. What colours other than green does he think suit Gajeel?” Juvia asked, picking up a blue jumper in one hand and a pink one in the other.

“Both of those look good. Maybe a red. It would match his eyes.” Totomaru shrugged, glancing up only for a moment.

“Stop encouraging her.” Gajeel huffed, sending an angry glare Totomaru’s way. The fire mage shrugged, a smile on his lips.

“Nah.” a laugh was weaved in with the word and Gajeel didn’t think he had wanted to kill someone more in his life.

*****
Natsu recrossed his legs for about the tenth time in the last five minutes. He wasn’t sure why he was so fidgety. Alright, maybe he did. Gajeel was going to be there soon and he was anxious it wouldn’t go well. He looked to the river which flowed full of fish. He’d fished a lot when he was with Igneel so maybe Gajeel did the same with his dragon. Maybe he should get the name of that dragon. He didn’t think he’d ever heard Gajeel actually use a name for it.

“Hey.” he snapped his head towards the voice. Gajeel was approaching, stepping over some flowers that grew close to the wet earth of the water bank. Natsu bounced to his feet, gaze flicking up and down the other dragon slayer. He was wearing a fuzzy blue jumper and blue jeans which had to have been tight on purpose. His boots were replaced with ones lined with wool, a scarf wrapped tightly around the lower half of his face and full fingered gloves covered his hands and wrists. Natsu was vibrating on the spot.

“Hey. We match.” he smiled, lifting the tail of his own scarf to show it to Gajeel. His eyebrows lifted up slightly.

“Oh. Yeah, I guess we do.” he flicked his eyes over to something off in the forest. Natsu bounded forward, grabbing onto Gajeel’s wrist and pulling him towards the blanket set out next to the river.

“Igneel and I sometimes went fishing and I thought maybe you and your dragon did that too. Thought now we could fish together.” he smiled, dropping down to sit on the blanket. Gajeel stayed standing, looking at the river as his eyes flicked with the movement of the fish.

“Did they have a name?” he asks, tilting his head. Gajeel snapped his attention to Natsu, eyes wide for a moment before looking away in the opposite direction.

“Doesn’t matter. The old bastard can go rot in hell for all I care.” he huffed, still refusing to look at Natsu. The fire mage placed his thumb in his mouth before grabbing onto Gajeel’s wrist again and pulling him down onto the blanket.

“How did you fish? I use rods but I can’t make my hand into weapons like you can.” He tapped one finger on Gajeel’s knuckle, fingertip brushing over the soft wool present. Gajeel pulled his hand away, leaning over the river bank. Natsu leaned forward and watched, noting the way his shoulders shifted as he moved. Eyes snapped back and forth with each fish that moved. Suddenly the iron mage plunged his head forward into the water and pulled back with a fish between his teeth. It squirmed in his grip, flicking its tail back and forth and smacking Gajeel’s left eye repeatedly.

“That was so cool. I wanna learn how to do that. Its so much faster than waiting.” he leaned forward, pressing his face close to Gajeel’s only to have water splashed into his face. He shook his head, letting the droplets fly off his skin. Gajeel spat the fish out, letting it flop its way back into the river and swim away. Natsu leaned forward again, looking right into red eyes as their noses brushed. The iron dragon’s head shifted forward slightly then stopped, hovering. Natsu leaned in, pressing their lips together. It was strange, his hot skin pressing against the cold skin of Gajeel’s lips. The dragon slayer placed one hand on the back of his head, gloved hand running through pink spikes. Natsu threaded the fingers of one hand in Gajeel’s hair while the other clung onto the blue jumper. Natsu’s tongue flicked over slightly parted lips. When there was no push back, he let his tongue flick into the other’s mouth where it almost caught on sharp teeth. His tongue flicked over metal that sat in the other’s mouth right before he pulled back. Natsu looked to Gajeel who was panting, eyes closed tight and head dipped a little.

“You alright?” he asked, reaching out to the other. He flinched for a moment before taking in what was in front of him and shaking his head.

“Its nothing. Sorry. I ruined it.” he didn’t look at Natsu. The fire dragon looked at the other slayer who was refusing to look back at him.

“Your mouth tastes like fish.” he blurted out. Gajeel snorted, shoulders shaking before he burst out into a full out laugh.

“That’s what you have to say about it? I just had a fish in my mouth. What did you expect?” he looked to Natsu, eyes crinkled slightly from the smile on his face. The fire mage perked up, smacking one hand on Gajeel’s shoulder.

“The one that can catch the most fish has to buy the other a dessert of their choice.” he challenged.

“Oh you are on.” Gajeel shifted onto the balls of his feet, smile still present. Natsu laughed, getting onto his feet as well. He was totally going to win.

*****
Cobra pushed another branch back, holding it away as Gajeel walked past it, the branch just barely missing a thread from the red jumper that the iron mage had on.

“How kind of you.” he chuckled, nudging his shoulder. The poison dragon rolled his eyes.

“Come on. I want to get there before it gets too dark.” he objected, looking up towards the setting sun. He let the branch snap back, bouncing slightly at the force before stilling. He kept walking up the front, leaves crunching beneath his shoes. The old building came into view. He paused for a moment, staring at it. The windows were boarded up and the tape across the door was enough of a hint that the council had combed it for everything it was worth. He was likely never getting the stuff he’d had in there back. He shook his head.

“That yer old guild hall?” Gajeel had stepped to his side, not meeting his eyes.

“Yeah. Not like I care. It was no different from the facility. Just thinking how I won’t get any of my stuff back.” he shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Then why are we here?” he asks, one eyebrow raised. Cobra nodded his head towards the side of the building. He started walking again, approaching the large tree that towered over them. Gajeel stopped a few feet behind him. The poison mage closed his eyes, letting his ears reach out.

‘A tree? Why is this one important?’ Cobra smiled.

“Remember that acorn I got you?” he looked over his shoulder. Gajeel’s eyes went wide.

“You mean that’s it?” he looked up towards the top of the tree.

“Brought it with me and planted it here. I always made sure to take care of it for you.” he watched Gajeel walk up, placing a gloved hand against the bark of the tree. He looked up towards the golden leaves.

“Now, how about a race to the top?” he offered, pulling himself up onto one of the lower branches. Gajeel smirked, pressing down on his legs and leaping up into the branches. He wrapped fingers around a branch that was a bit higher than the one Cobra was on and pulled himself up, leaping to another branch. Cobra pushed himself up to the next closest branch, pulling himself up and then reaching for the next one.

“I thought you’d be faster than that.” Gajeel yelled down from where he was up the tree. Cobra rolled his eyes.

“Not all of us are adapted to climbing trees” he objected, pulling himself up another branch. He spotted Gajeel’s foot disappear at the top of the tree. He’d found the little platform it seemed. He clambered up a few more branches until he was pulling himself up onto the little platform. Gajeel was sat down, looking over at the sun that was disappearing behind the horizon. Stars were winking into existence above them as he dropped himself down next to Gajeel. The iron  mage didn’t make any sign of noticing him but he knew the other was aware.

“I didn’t think you’d keep it, let alone plant it somewhere.” His voice was low, and his gaze never turned away from the setting sun.

“Well after you left, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. Your plants were the only things I had that you had left.” he ran fingers through the cowlick of his hair, pulling the strands back only for them to fall back in front of his eyes.

“Hair bugging you?” Gajeel had turned to look at him.

“Not really. Just thinking if I should change up my look. Especially if I’ll be allowed out on jobs soon. Most people might associate this with my time in the Oracion seiz.” he shook his head, pulling his hands down into his lap.

“People still think of what I did when they look at me.” Gajeel had turned away again, studded brows creased together between his eyes.

“You were part of a legal guild. I wasn’t. People have died at my hands, both intentional and not.” Cobra leaned his chin on his hands, eyes flicking to a flock of birds that flew nearby. Gajeel made a choked out whine. Cobra turned to look at him. He had one hand up to the lower half of his face. Cobra let his hearing spread out. His eyebrows scrunched together. Gajeel was pushing several different thoughts through his head at once.

“Is something wrong?” his back straightened and he took a sharp breath.

“Yeah. Its nothing. Doesn’t matter. Look, the sun’s setting. Don’t want to miss that. Its real pretty.” the iron dragon’s words were fast and he never made eye contact with him.

“Right.” Cobra turned to look at the sun which had almost completely set beyond the horizon.

*****
Laxus twisted his key in the lock, pushing the door open. He stepped to the side, letting Gajeel walk in first. He stepped in after and closed the door, making sure he locked it before turning back to Gajeel. The iron slayer had the little toothpick in his mouth, two gloved fingers holding onto the end while his other hand held the cup with strawberries and chocolate. He’d luckily managed to avoid dropping any chocolate on the olive jumper he was wearing when he picked up the strawberries. He was looking around the house, taking quick glances over the furniture and decorations.

“I thought you were going to end it with the market.” Gajeel muttered, pulling the toothpick away from his lips as he chewed the strawberry he’d eaten.

“I’ve got an extra surprise. Go ahead to my room. Its the second door on the left.” Laxus gestured towards the corridor that led away from his living room as he walked into the kitchen, pulling out the food that had been slow cooking the whole day. Freed had let him borrow his slow cooker which he would have to make up for at some point. Perhaps helping him with his own relationship troubles.

“But I have food.” Gajeel called from the living room. Laxus reached up to the top cabinet where he kept his dishes.

“And? What does that change?” he didn’t look over his shoulder as he pulled one plate out of the cupboard.

“I don’t like food in the bedroom.” Laxus had to withhold a snicker.

“You don’t?” he asks, looking over to the door of the kitchen where he could just see Gajeel’s hand that held the cup.

“No. Crumbs in the bed suck ass.” that time Laxus couldn’t hold in the snort he let out.

“Yeah well this is my house and I say you can go eat in the bedroom.” he instructs, pulling a second plate from the cabinet.

“Fine.” the iron mage grumbled and Laxus knew he would not have heard that if not for his enhanced hearing. Guess it was something he could thank the stupid lacrima for after all.

“Oh and bring out your wings. I’ll be with you in a moment.” He called after Gajeel, reaching into his drawer for a ladle. He scooped the contents of the stew in the slow cooker and placed it down on both plates. He threw the ladle over to the sink, wincing at the clang of the metal. He put the lid back on the cooker and picked up the two plates, heading over to his room. He toed the door open to find Gajeel standing near the door of his room, looking around it like he had with the living room.

“You can sit on the bed. I’m not stopping you.” he encouraged, nodding towards his double mattress. The iron dragon hesitated for a moment before sitting down on the bed, blinking a few times when he did.

“Its so soft.” he mutters, placing his empty hand -the toothpick discarded in the cup in his other hand- onto the mattress and squeezing the duvet.

“I’d rather not give myself back problems in 10 years.” he stated, handing one plate over to Gajeel and sitting down next to him on the bed. He picked up his fork and started eating his portion. Gajeel stared at the plate for a moment then over to Laxus.

“You don’t eat a lot. Aren’t you hungry?” he asked, looking to the lightning mage. Laxus almost choked on his fork.

“What?” he asked between coughs, hitting one hand on his chest to try to help with the coughing. Curse his shitty lungs.

“For a dragon. You don’t eat a lot. I’ve never seen you eat much.” Gajeel clarified, putting a forkful of the food into his mouth.

“I don’t see you eat much outside of metal around the guild hall.” he countered. He could count on one hand the number of times he’d seen Gajeel eat anything that wasn’t metal when he was in the guild hall during the day. If he hadn’t seen the other eat actual food when he’d been under watch then he’d think all he could eat was metal.

“That’s different. I.... You don’t eat lightning very often, so you have to be hungry.” Gajeel pointed the fork towards him. Laxus stared at him, raising one eyebrow.

“I just... My dad always got mad if I ever took more than what was given to me so I guess I stopped eating large amounts of food when people were around.” he tapped his fork against the side of the plate. He never really liked talking about his dad much. It always brought the bad memories to the surface.

“So you eat when no one’s around then.” he asked, looking directly at Laxus.

“Sort of. I feel comfortable around the Thunder legion just like they are around me. I never wanted to bring up the lacrima to gramps after how my dad reacted to the side effects of it and that included my appetite.” He fiddled with the food on his plate, deciding not to make eye contact with Gajeel.

“You can be yourself around me. Dragon instincts and all.” Laxus looked up to meet Gajeel’s eyes.

“Well you can have those wings out around me when you’re comfortable.” Laxus replied. That had been part of the plan, let Gajeel know that he was welcome to be himself within Laxus’ walls. Gajeel shook his head slightly.

“You don’t need to bother with that. They’re stupid anyway.” the iron mage’s voice was quiet and he was looking down at his hands, plate moved to sit on the chest of drawers nearby. Laxus leaned towards it, placing his own plate there before leaning close to Gajeel. He placed one hand under Gajeel’s chin and lifted his head up to look at him, their noses touching.

“I think they’re beautiful.” he complimented, reaching his free hand around to brush fingers through soft feathers. Gajeel’s entire body shivered. Oh fuck. His wings were sensitive.

“Laxus?” Gajeel’s eyes were flicking around, fins and ears twitching.

“If you don’t want me to touch you then just say and I won’t” he pulled his hand away from the other’s wing.

“You want this though. I can’t-.”

“I won’t touch you unless you want me to. I’ve waited for a long time already. I can wait longer.” he brushed his thumb over the dragon’s lower jaw, letting his finger run over uneven skin. Gajeel closed his eyes tight.

“I do, I just. Sorry. I’m fucking useless.” his head dropped, and his fins pinned down against the top of his head. Laxus brushed his fingers through black hair.

“No you aren’t.” Laxus objected. He’d never been good at this kind of thing. He’d jumbled up all his words when he’d had to talk Freed down years back and if Gajeel was in a similar mindset as Freed then the wrong words might be the last things he’d say to the dragon. Gajeel leaned into his hand, a soft purr like sound vibrating in his throat.

“I think its... The idea of not being in control. It reminds me of....”

“Then I’ll let you take the lead. So long as you bite enough for what I’m looking for then I’ll enjoy it.” Gajeel’s head snapped up and soon he pushed his face to meet the other’s. Laxus couldn’t hold back the moan after he’d already started winding himself up. Gajeel’s hand gripped tightly on his shoulder, claws digging into flesh but if it was a grounding method then Laxus wasn’t about to stop him. By the end of the night, he doubted that would be the worst puncture he’d have.

****

Gajeel’s ear twitched when the shuffling next to him registered in his ear and his eyes shot open. He sat up, looking down at his hands. Hands that still showed off scaled claws. He reached up, both hands grabbing onto the sides of his face and digging under his scales. He looked to his side where Laxus was still asleep, back facing him. The bite mark on his shoulder was peaking through the bandage he’d applied after they had finished to prevent any infection. Gajeel hadn’t intended to bite down as hard as he did. He’d gone and fucked up again. He looked to the clock on Laxus wall. 3am. Well he hadn’t been able to sleep well anyway. He slipped out of the bed, praying to whatever God that would listen that Laxus didn’t have any creaky floorboards.  He picked up his scattered clothes, slipping into them. He grabbed his boots that had been thrown to the side haphazardly alongside Laxus’ shoes. He slipped out the bedroom and slunk down the hall. Thankfully the lightning mage lived alone. It would be very awkward if one of the thunder legion were to catch him sneaking out like some regretful one night stand. Once he reached the door, he pulled on his boots and grabbed Laxus’ keys so he could unlock the door. He winced at how loud the click of the door was in his ears but it didn’t seem to stir Laxus. He slipped out of the door, pulling it closed.

“Fuck.” he hissed under his breath as he turned to the direction that the guild hall was in. Then he paused. He hadn’t activated the spell yet. He frantically wrote the spell out against his chest, wincing when it did activate and his bones clicked into the place they usually stayed in. He looked around the streets but saw no one on either side. He started walking down the street, eyes flicking to the neighbouring streets and alleys every so often. Not too far from the guild, he caught a whiff of Lucy’s scent. He looked up, eyes trailing to a window left slightly ajar for air to get into the room. He froze, eyes flicking to the water running alongside him. He needed to move. If she saw him out there in front of her house, then she’d freak out. How could she even stand to look at him after what he’d done. He could have killed her and part of him had wanted to, just to stick it to her old man that he didn’t have to listen to what he said, even if it would have gotten him in trouble with Jose. His eyes watched the ripples of the water that were caused by the wind. The canal led out to the ocean beyond the guild hall. If he were to have an unfortunate accident, would it take him all the way out there where his body would never be found. He doubted most of the guild would go look for him if he did disappear. They had no reason to care about him. They hadn’t looked for him when Silas and Jose had taken him so why would this be any different.

“Shut up.” he hissed to himself, shaking his head. He was being fucking stupid again. It would be just a waste of time if he went missing with no trace and it might get linked to Laxus and he’d have the blame pinned on him. That wasn’t fair to the lightning mage. He turned away from the water and continued walking at a brisker pace, trying to get as far away from Lucy’s apartment as fast as possible.

Chapter 51

Notes:

Acnologia design for the funsies.

Chapter Text

Gajeel tapped his pen against the side of his notebook. Why was he having such a hard time coming up with lyrics. It made no sense. Even if he used to use his guitar to help, that shouldn’t have had such an impact on his writing ability. He looked over his shoulder where Wendy was sitting at a table with Natsu and his team. At least she was socialising outside of his own groups. He looked over his shoulder to the other side of the guild hall where Laxus was sitting at a table with the other members of his team. He turned back to the bar, eyeing up Erik who sat at the other side of the bar, talking to Cubelios. Oh well he supposed her actual name was Kinana. At least that’s what the purple haired girl had told them. He leaned his cheek into the palm of his hand, staring at the notebook in front of him but never truly focusing on it. That might be why the ringing of bells caught his attention. He lifted his head and looked around the guild hall once more. Most of the guild had increased in volume, all yelling in excitement. The only ones who weren’t were Lucy, Erik, Kinana, Totomaru, Juvia, Wendy and Carla who were all visibly confused by the ringing.

“What’s going on? Some kinda attack?” he turned to Mira who had turned to look at the door with a smile.

“Oh no. This is fine. It just means Gildarts is back.” she laughed.

“Gildarts? Who’s that?” Lucy was at his shoulder now, one hand up to her chin.

“Ya mean one of yer S-class mages? Ya don’t ring bells when Sparky or Titania get back from jobs.” he pointed out. He knew of Gildarts. Jose had a great dislike that Fairy tail had such a powerful mage in their ranks. He had made sure Gildarts wouldn’t be present when they attacked, less risk getting most of the guild eaten alive in seconds.

“You know Gildarts?” Lucy looked to him, brown eyes wide. He snorted.

“No. But I had to keep tabs on how many S-class mages were in Fairy tail. Jose had been planning the attack for a while. Or at least I assume he did. He ramped up my training to better equip me to fight very specific magic types. That couldn’t be a coincidence.” he shrugged, leaning his head to the side. His hand flew to grip the table when the ground began rumbling. His dragon snarled, scales popping up under his skin sans where he’d been hit and shed. One hand flew up to his ears where they were shifting. His eyes shifted to look at Lucy who was far too close for comfort if his ears changed any further. Thankfully, she had turned towards the guild doors, distracted by what everyone else was chattering about. Gajeel leaned his head forward, closing his eyes and humming softly to himself. He needed to stay calm. The shaking stopped. His scales were still out. He took a deep breath and felt a cold spike run down his spine. There was something with a huge amount of magic power and it was getting closer. He was used to Makarov’s magic signature and everyone else in the guild couldn’t quite compare to that level. But this. It was putting his dragon more on edge. He winced when he felt his teeth pulling at his gums. He leaned his head down and pulled at strands of his hair to hide the changes in his face. He really hoped his sclera hadn’t shifted colour. That wouldn’t be as easy to explain away as his scales.

“Gildarts!” Natsu yelled, drawing Gajeel’s attention to the pink haired mage who ran towards a taller man with ginger hair. The older man easily grabbed Natsu, twisting him around in his arm and throwing him into the ceiling. The fire dragon dropped down to the ground. He snarled, hair fluffing up and hand poised to push himself from the stool he sat on and leap for the other mage. From the corner of his eye, he could see Erik had the same idea and he could hear Wendy and Laxus’ snarls from where they were positioned around the guild hall. Gildarts turned to Laxus, a large smile still present.

“Laxus, is that you? Wow you’ve gotten so much bigger since last time I saw you.” he laughed, stepping over to brush his fingers through blond spikes.

“And you aren’t dyeing out that black patch anymore. That’s nice to know.” he chuckled, using one finger to flick the end of the fading blond of his cowlick. Natsu bounced over to Gildarts again and Gajeel wouldn’t be surprised if he was seconds away from vibrating enough to launch into the air.

“You have to meet the rest of our pack. They’re over there.” Natsu pointed towards him. Both Erik and Wendy had moved closer to him, the sky dragon clutching trembling fingers into the leg of his jeans while the older mage crossed his arms and lifted his chin to look more threatening than his height might suggest. Gildarts turned to them, eyes flicking over Wendy and Erik for a moment before focusing on him. Gajeel’s ear tingled, almost morphing enough for it to twitch. The older mage kept looking at him, eyes flicking over his face until they focused back on his eyes. Gajeel hunched his shoulders, attempting to somewhat intimidate this mage. He was surprised when he noticed the slightest twitch of muscle. He leaned back, turning his gaze towards Wendy instead.

“Its nice to see you’re making new friends. Didn’t expect it from Laxus though. You’ve been stuck with the same three friends for so long I thought you were incapable of making new ones.” he joked, turning to Natsu and Laxus once more. Natsu bounced on his feet.

“Gildarts. Did you finish your job?” Makarov asked, looking up from where he was sat atop the bar. Gildarts looked at Makarov for a moment then sighed.

“No. I wasn’t able to finish it. Sorry about that.” he laughed, rubbing one hand behind his head before his eyes flicked over to Gajeel for a moment and then back to Makarov. Gajeel furrowed his brows. Why did he look to him when he said that. He didn’t recall ever actually meeting this guy so its not like he could have caused his failed job right? Unless the reason he didn’t complete it was because he had heard about what had happened during the guild feud with Phantom Lord. He tapped his fingers on his knee, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“I’m going to head back to my place. Get some rest. Natsu, I have something for you so drop by when you can.” he addressed the fire mage before walking towards one of the walls and stepping through it. The bricks burst to either side and Gajeel was thankful the only thing the S-class mage had done to him was stare.

****

Gajeel hadn’t been prepared to be tugged out of his seat at the force that he was, nearly falling to the floor. Sure he had heard Natsu coming but he was no mind reader.

“Come on. Come on. We need to be quick or we’ll miss it.” he huffed, rushing right past him and towards Laxus. He grabbed the lightning mage’s wrist and tried to tug him from the bench he was sat on. Laxus sighed and stood, looking to Gajeel with a raised brow when he rushed over to Erik and attempted to grab his wrist only for Erik to grab Natsu’s instead. Natsu whined.

“Let’s go. Hurry up.” he complained, Gajeel sighed but stepped over to Natsu. Only for the fire mage to burst off towards the door with speed. Gajeel grumbled but started up after him. He heard Laxus, Erik and Wendy running not far behind him. They didn’t catch up to Natsu until they were a few miles outside the town.

“Natsu, what is going on?” he demanded, running to the side of the fire dragon but a little behind him.

“A dragon. In Zonia. Gildarts ran into one.” Natsu kept huffing between words.

"Was it Grandeeney?" Wendy’s voice pitched.

“He saw a dragon? Surely there would have been rumours if there was one up in Zonia. Its not like there isn’t a town present.” Erik pointed out.

“He definitely saw one. Said it ripped off his arm and leg. That’s why I brought you guys.” Natsu stated. Gajeel grabbed his wrist, yanking him to a halt. The fire dragon looked to him. Gajeel’s arm was shaking and no matter what he did to try and stop it, his body didn’t listen.

“You can’t just run up to a dragon without thinking.” he objected. Natsu tugged on his wrist.

“Why not? It might know where our dragons are.” Natsu huffed, pushing at Gajeel’s fingers to loosen the grip -unsuccessfully-.

“Not all dragons are nice. Clearly this one isn’t.” he tightened his grip. Natsu winced slightly but looked to him with a harsh glare.

“How would you know? You don’t even bother to look for your dragon.” Natsu leaned in, eyes narrowed at him.

“Because I was attacked by a dragon.” he snapped, teeth on display in a snarl. Natsu flinched back, glare dropping to be replaced with something else. Pity?

“Are you alright?” Wendy asked, taking a step forward but her eyes were focused on where his hand was. He looked down to his grip. His nails were out and had sunken into flesh, drawing blood. He released his grip, pulling his hand back and looking to the long, thick nails that had blood coating the tips. He stared at it. A drop of blood dripped from his nails and hit the grass below. A single spot of red amongst green. His arm was shaking again and he wasn’t sure if he could breathe. Was that burning he smelled?

“-el.” he closed his eyes, one hand reaching up to his head where his fingers twisted into hair.

“-ajeel.”  he snapped his eyes open, instantly making eye contact with Erik who had one hand on his shoulder. Gajeel straightened his back, pulling his hand away from his hair and shook his head.

“Its fine. Let’s just go but I take the lead. I’m not having you getting hurt.” he objected.

****

The walk to Zonia had taken a couple days. Gajeel reckoned that it would have taken far less time using transport but Natsu refused to get on any trains and Laxus at least somewhat shared that sentiment. Gajeel was regretting not insisting that he pick up the thick coat he bought now that they were trekking through the snow of the mountain.

“I smell dragon. That must be the mountain.” Natsu pointed up to the mountain, pushing off into a sprint.

“Natsu!” he yelled.

“Dammit.” he heard Laxus huff behind him. Natsu didn’t get very far ahead of them however as he ran right into another person. They twisted around to the side so that they stayed standing while Natsu flopped to the ground with a grunt. Gajeel ran up, standing above him with crossed arms.

“What did I say? Don’t run off without us.” he scolded. Natsu sat up, rubbing one hand against his temple.

“Ouch. That hurt.” Natsu whined. Gajeel turned to the one he’d ran into. He was staring right at Natsu, brows bent down. He decided that if looks could kill, Natsu would not only be dead but his corpse would be strung up in multiple pieces. Gajeel took a step forward, partially shielding Natsu with his own body. The man turned to him with sharp, slitted eyes. He just noticed the black fins on the man’s head that stood out against the azure hair that burst out behind him. Even the cloak stood out with the layers that almost resembled feathers and blue marks that scattered across it. He turned towards a photo that sat on the ground. He bent down and picked it up.  His eyes flicked to the contents and he froze with the picture in hand. There were three people in the picture -painting was more accurate with the brush strokes that were visible- The tallest person in the picture had short silver hair, a single strand dangling in front of black eyes. Silver fins sat out on the top of the head and scales that matched in colour around the sides of the neck. A cape sat around the shoulders falling to hip height and ribbons that fell down past the legs. The man next to him was a good bit shorter and had a darker complexion and dark blue hair. He was holding up a little boy, black hair cut short and silver fins on the top. The tail and wings looked very familiar. The painting was snatched from his grasp and he blinked.

“Gajeel, come on. I thought you were supposed to be in the lead.” Natsu’s voice came from the mountain path and he snapped his head towards it where Wendy, Laxus and Erik had joined him.

“Oui. What did I say about going off ahead.” he snapped, running to meet with them at the base of the mountain. The moment Natsu realised that Gajeel was joining them, he took off ahead again. At least the other three had the sense to wait.

“What’s the chance he gets his arm ripped off by the dragon?” Erik asks, starting to run once Gajeel caught up with them. Laxus snorted.

“If its still there, high.” the lightning mage was not far behind him either.

“I hope it doesn’t.” Wendy mumbled, right behind them. They reached the top of the path where Natsu had stopped in a open area of snow and ice outside the cave entrance. His head had dropped.

“Is it not here?” Wendy asked. Gajeel took a deep breath, catching the scent. He paused. Had he smelled it before? He couldn’t quite pick out what the smell was made of aside from the dragon smell. He shook his head.

“It was here not that long ago but its not that close.” he explained. Unless the one Natsu ran into was the dragon. He couldn’t remember if he’d ever seen a dragon shift to look human before but it was strange how someone with eyes like that and fins like him would be so close to a dragon’s nest.

“Well, good to know I won’t be loosing an arm today.” Laxus joked, crossing his arms and looking to Natsu.

“I was hoping it would be here. Then we could ask it about our dragons.” Natsu huffed, kicking some snow at his feet. Gajeel walked up to the cave entrance and almost did a double take when the strong blood smell hit him. It wasn’t fresh in any stretch of the word but the amount of it had built up to make it overpowering. At least there was no rotting smell although when it was a dragon doing the killing, that would be a hard thing to find. His eyes flicked to a blood splatter trail that led out and disappeared under the snow.

“I think I found where yer guild mate got his arm ripped off.” he called to the others. When he heard the crunch from their feet get closer, he pointed to the blood on the ground.

“That.... is uncomfortable.” Erik muttered, looking at the dried up markings.

“So our dragon doesn’t clean up its messes.” Laxus added, staring at the blood with an unfocused gaze. Gajeel took another inhale and almost choked on the air. It was faint and almost completely hidden by the blood but it was there. Metalicana’s scent. He followed the scent that led into the cave. He located the source, staring down at what he could only assume was a silver wedding band with a broken chain strung through it. He bent down, reaching to grab it. The moment his skin made contact, something flashed in his head and he pulled his hand back with a yelp.

“Gajeel!” the others were attentive to him now, crowding around to see if he was alright. Wendy reached her hand up to examine his. Laxus picked up the band. Looking it over. Now he could see the detail of the two dragons twisting together in the metal.

“I can’t read this.” Laxus stated, showing the ring to an intrigued Erik and Natsu. Gajeel raised a brow, stepping forward to look at the ring. His eyes landed on the engraving on the inside. The cursive writing looked similar to what was on his guitar. He took hold of the chain and looked over the ring. ‘Metalicana and Rowan’. He stared at it. He vaguely recalled Metalicana having a mate. A black dragon that was present a lot more in Gajeel’s later years. But he didn’t think dragons had wedding bands.

“Can you read it?” Laxus asked, looking to the ring. Gajeel snorted and shoved the ring into his pocket.

"No. Its just some stupid wedding band anyway. Whoever it belonged to probably died to that dragon. Might as well make the most of it and turn it into a snack.” he shrugged his shoulders, walking past them and towards the cave entrance.

****

Makarov looked through one of the requests that had been sent in. He looked to the bottom of the sheet where it mentioned something about a dragon slayer. He’d have to hand that over to one of them at a later date. With how they had all settled down from their fighting, they might even go on it together. A knock at the door pulled his attention away from the sheet.

“Come in.” he called. He hadn’t been expecting anyone but perhaps Mira had something for him or Gajeel had managed to get some information out of Ivan. He blinked once when Gildarts walked in.

“Hello Gildarts. How can I help you?” he asked. The man looked to him and gave a big smile.

“I have something I wanted to ask.” he stated, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. Makarov looked at him pointedly, waiting for him to continue.

“Its about that new kid. The one with the black hair.” Gildarts explained, dropping down into the chair and leaning his prosthetic arm onto his knee.

“You mean Gajeel. Is there something the matter?” he asked, looking to the other man in front of him. He had heard Gildarts had been unreachable during the fight with Phantom Lord, likely due to his injuries from the job he had been on although Makarov couldn’t confirm that was the cause without asking Gildarts. However it was likely he had heard about the event.

“I don’t know. Its weird.” he reaches up one hand to his chin, eyes staring at the wood of the desk. Makarov raised a brow.

“Weird? How exactly?” he prompted. Did Gildarts know something about Gajeel? Had they met before?

“Its something about him. His eyes especially. They’re familiar but I can’t place where I’ve seen them before.” he stated. Makarov furrowed his brows. His eyes? Sure, red was a rare colour to have, only more common than purple but they weren’t anything outlandish. It could be the dragon qualities to them but Natsu had that look and he also had to admit that Laxus had developed the same quality to his eyes in more recent years. Out of anything different about Gajeel that could point to his dragonic qualities, his eyes were not the first he’d think of. Especially knowing what they looked like when he actually changed.

“Red eyes aren’t that unique. I’m sure you’ve encountered someone with that eye colour.” he pointed out. Gildarts shook his head.

“No. Its not the colour. Its something else.” he was tapping one finger against his chin.

“While you are here. I’d like to ask about your job. I was informed of your injuries but not what caused them.” he changed the topic. He was curious to know what could possibly have done such severe damage to Gildarts although he doubted they were still around to tell the tale. Gildarts paused, lowering his hand.

“A dragon.” he stated, eyes slightly distant. He took a deep breath in.

“I was looking for what I was asked on the job and heard that there had been the occasional sighting of something in the mountains around Zonia. Most of the locals thought it was nothing since it only ever got spotted at night. I decided to take a look and stumbled across a dragon.” he explained.

“Was it-?”

“No. It wasn’t Natsu’s dragon. It looked nothing like how Natsu described Igneel to look. It was mostly black and not friendly. The second it realised I was there, it was trying to kill me. My magic did nothing to it.” Makarov tapped two fingers on the desk. An unfriendly dragon in the country was not good. Even if the mountains in Zonia were further north and spanned a large territory, it didn’t decrease the risks. If a dragon caught wind of mages in close proximity, its possible it might attack. If any of his children took jobs to Zonia, they might run into it and while he had faith in their abilities, a dragon was not something they could face.

“Is the dragon still there?” he demanded. He needed to know. If it was then he would have to step in.

“I’m not sure. I was barely aware of what was going on. I was lucky I even got away.” he shook his head. Makarov placed his hands on the arms of his chair, ready to push himself up.

“I think its looking for something.” he paused at Gildarts’ words.

“What do you mean?” he asked, looking to the other mage.

“I didn’t get the longest time to see since I was in the middle of being attacked but it dropped some kind of picture. I didn’t see any faces but there were people in it. And I caught it saying something. I don’t know the exact translation or even remember everything it said but I remember one word”

“What was the word?” he asked.

“Dragon.” Makarov’s blood ran cold. It was too much of a coincidence. A dragon shows up around the time Gajeel had been the most active from his knowledge -unless it had been around longer- and someone was trying to kill Gajeel around the same time. Were the mysterious person and the dragon the same person or perhaps in cahoots with each other. It might explain how the mysterious person knew of an allergy even Gajeel didn’t know he had.

“Makarov? Are you alright?” he asked. He looked to Gildarts.

“I’m going to tell you something but you can not share it with anyone. I’m only telling you this because if I’m right, Gajeel might be in a lot more danger than I originally thought.” Makarov kept his voice even. Gildarts looked surprised.

“What does Gajeel have to do with the dragon?” he asked. Makarov took a breath.

“Gajeel is a dragon. Or at least he’s part dragon.” he explained. Gildarts blinked, recognition coming into his eyes.

“Just a week ago, an attack on his life was made using something he is allergic to. Something Porlyusica confirmed with me was related to his dragon DNA. The person who did this, knew about an allergy that not even Gajeel himself knew he had and according to his friends, this is not an isolated incident. This situation is too coincidental with this dragon arriving for me to ignore.” He dropped from his chair and turned to round the desk.

“I think he might have already gone looking for it.” Makarov stopped walking.

“What do you mean?”

“I told Natsu about the dragon. He ran off despite my warnings so I came by to see if he was here. When I asked Mira, she told me he came in and dragged Laxus along with the three new kids he introduced to me away without explaining what they were doing. I’m not sure why he would take Laxus, the other kid or the little girl with him though.” the confusion was present in his voice. Makarov sighed.

“Natsu must have decided that taking four other dragon slayers with him would give them a better chance.” he sometimes wished the boy wouldn’t be so reckless when it came to dragons.

“Four? Wait, since when was Laxus a dragon slayer? And that little girl too? She can’t be older than fourteen.” Gildarts stood up from the chair, cloak fluttering around his ankles.

“It’s a long story that I’m not going to get into right now. I just hope the dragon isn’t around when they get there or we might be finding their mangled bodies in a couple weeks.” he walked past Gildarts, deciding to ask Mira how long it had been since the dragon slayers had left.

Chapter Text

Gajeel leaned back against the alley wall with a huff, throwing another piece of the fish he had into the alley. Only one cat slinked out, snatching the piece on the ground and dragging it back into its hiding spot away from the rain. Gajeel squeezed his eyes shut when drops hit him in the eyes. Of course it had to rain now. Why couldn’t it have waited until he was done feeding the cats. He leaned forward, one hand on his chin with the elbow on his knee as he stared at where that one cat had hid. A crash of thunder exploded above. He chuckled.

“Well Sparky’s gonna get a good meal from this at least.” he reached one hand out, offering it out to the cat in hiding. It swiped claws at his hand and hissed at him. He pulled his hand back and lifted both up.

“Alright. You’re good. I won’t touch ya if ya don’t want me to.” he assured the cat, leaning back against the wall again. He closed his eyes, nose scrunched at the unfamiliar smell that was consuming the area. He couldn’t place what it was. Then his back collided with the ground rapidly and dust rose up around him. He coughed, swinging his limbs around to get onto his knees and sit up. When he finally managed to do so, he looked around.

“What the hell?” he couldn’t see anything but white dust and bubbles. He tried to sniff for scents and only got a noseful of the dust which he promptly sneezed out. He looked to his hands where the black of his nails was bleeding in.

“Fuck.” he cursed. Why did this have to remind him of the old bastard. Its not like he cared or anything. It was stupid.

“Hey! Is anyone out there?” his ears pricked at the voice. Natsu was calling. It was faint so either he was far away or this dust was muffling their voices.

“Natsu!” he yelled only to choke on the dust in the air. Stupid dust particles messing with his lungs. He pricked his ears, trying to listen for an answer but he didn’t get anything. This stuff had to be muting his senses. Surely he would hear anyone else if it wasn’t. He looked around for what direction he heard Natsu in. If he was still yelling it would be easy but he could barely tell which direction was what. He shoved his hands under his arms, wishing to ignore the sharper look to his nails.

“You are a dragon slayer, correct?” he almost jumped out of his skin. How had someone been able to sneak up on him without him hearing their footsteps. He turned around. He blinked, looking the man in front of him over a few times.

“Jellal?” he asked. That couldn’t be right. Wendy told him that he had been arrested by the rune knights.

“Not quite. If my memory is serving me correct, you were the dragon slayer in Phantom Lord.” Gajeel flinched at the mention of his former guild.

“Yes. What does that have to do with anything?” he raised a brow at the man in front of him. He was reaching into his pocket now.

“That’s good. I haven’t been able to find Natsu or Wendy so you might be the only chance of turning the town back to normal.” he pulled some bottle out of his pocket.

“Turn them back to normal? What the hell are you blabbering on about? This makes no sense.” he snapped, taking a step closer and holding his stature up to seem more intimidating. This ‘Jellal’ sighed.

“I’m Mystogan. I was unable to close this anima before it took everyone in Magnolia. They are in another world called Edolus. Its turned them into a magic lacrima that only dragon slayer magic can destroy. You are the only dragon slayer of three that I have found.” he was twisting the lid on the bottle.  

“Another world? What? How do you know all this?” he leaned closer until he could practically feel the breath from Mystogan on his face. He was gently pushed back.

“That is a story best saved for later. Right now, I need to send you to Edolus. We don’t have a lot of time before the lacrima dissolves into magic power.” he held out the open bottle which contained a cluster of round red pills.

“Take one of these. It will allow you to use magic in Edolus. I’m going to give you the bottle as well. Give one of these to anyone else you come across or they won’t be able to fight with their magic.” he offered the bottle to him. Gajeel took hold of the bottle, picking one out with two fingers and examining it. He popped it into his mouth, dry swallowing. He sniffed once the taste hit his tongue.

“Gods. Awful after taste.” he scrunched his nose.

“I must warn you. That spell you have active won’t remain stable once you enter Edolus, no matter what I do or how many X-balls you take. Its external magic so it will still be affected by the lack of magic in Edolus.” he gestured a hand towards Gajeel’s chest. He looked down for a second then back up.

“How did you know about that?” he snapped, hair fluffing up. Mystogan didn’t bat an eye.

“I’m an expert in magic circles. I can’t say I know what yours does. I’ve never seen a language like it before but its skilled work.” Gajeel blinked, reaching one hand up to where the core of the spell was. He didn’t remember how he got this spell or even when. He just knows that one day he woke up and it was there.

“Now I wish you good luck. Find the town and bring them back.” he snapped his head up when Mystogan spoke, having no time to prepare before everything went white.

****

Laxus coughed heavily, throwing his arms around until he got purchase on something and could pull himself up. He was still coughing even after he reached the surface of whatever had been on top of him. His chest was starting to ache from all the coughing. He was sure the universe just had it out for him with how often his lungs had been acting up in the last few months. He lifted his head, looking around but all he saw was thick white dust and bubbles. He blinked.

“What?” How had he ended up here? He was sure he had been in the guild hall just moments before. Had he been teleported? Fallen asleep?

“Can you stop with the loud thoughts. My ears already hurt from the thunder.” if he yelped very loudly at that, no one besides them would need to know. He turned to face Cobra who’s nose was scrunched up and fingers running on the outer edge of his ears.

“You’re here? Then where is everyone else? I was sitting with the thunder legion just a few seconds ago.” he swung his head around to try and find something but he couldn’t.

“Don’t ask me. I don’t know what’s going on either?” Cobra rolled his eyes and crossed his arms

“Laxus?” he turned to the person who said his name. Mystogan was staring at him, mask off and eyes focused on his cowlick. He reached up, flicking it with one finger in case it was a little out of place.

“You’ve stopped dyeing your hair.” he spoke then looked to Laxus’ eyes. He cleared his throat.

“I didn’t expect to see you here. Apologies. That has nothing to do with what’s going on here.” he shook his head.

“How did you find us here? Where is here?” Laxus asked, turning entirely to face Mystogan. He sighed.

“What remains of Magnolia. The rest of the town has been taken into another world called Edolus. As for how I found you, I heard who I thought was Natsu yelling but I haven’t found him or anyone else yet.” he looked around them like he was trying to see if anyone else was near.

“I can send the two of you into Edolus ahead of anyone else. Its good to have someone there to scope out for the lacrima that will contain all of Magnolia.” he pulled out a bottle from his pocket.

“I think I’m missing something here. Why do you look just like Jellal? Clearly you aren’t him if he recognises you with such familiarity but... this is still strange.” Cobra looked to Laxus for a moment like he expected an explanation from one of them.

“You are correct. I am not the Jellal you know and I apologise if my appearance stirs up bad memories. I am from another world. I was aware of the reputation this world’s version of myself had and chose to keep my appearance hidden to prevent any comparisons between us.” he nodded to Cobra. Laxus raised a brow at the other dragon mage but chose not to speak at this moment. Something for later.

“Take these. They will allow you to use your magic while in Edolus. I’m going to stick around here and see if I can find anyone else” he threw one of the little red balls to each of them. Laxus caught it, looking at the small pill.

“And here I thought I’d had enough time dealing with drugs.” he sighed, a slight laugh mixing into his words.

“I wish you both luck.” Mystogan spoke seconds before everything around Laxus turned a startling white.

Chapter 53

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Gajeel groaned once his body finally hit the ground, a jolt going through his ribs after what felt like hitting 50 branches on the way down. He took a moment to catch his breath before pushing himself up to sit. He reached one hand behind his neck and rubbed against the slight ache there.

“Could have mentioned the drop.” he huffed tilting his head side to side until he heard the desired crack. Once his neck wasn’t as stiff he got to his feet, stretching out the muscles in his arm by rolling his shoulder. He looked around where he was. Some weird forest. The plants around him felt different from the ones in Fiore’s forests. It was unnerving. He took a deep breath. He caught the telltale signs of a town nearby. Good. He could go there and ask around.

“This is just like those detective novels.” He reached one hand up to his chin. He should get a hat and suit. Then he’d really be a detective. He shook his head. Nah but he should at least try to be a bit less conspicuous. A cloak perhaps. Now where could he find one of those.

“Chiarp!” he yelped alongside the noise, something tugging from underneath his foot and knocking him off balance as he stumbled about for a few seconds until he could plant both feet firmly on the ground. He turned to what had made the noise. Some strange creature -perhaps the size of a fox- was crouched in front of him, long tail flicking back and forth as it looked up at him. A small nose twitched and its ears perked up, bumping against thick horns. It stepped out of its crouch and walked towards him. Those same thick horns knocked into his knee with a softer sound that was akin to the one it had screeched.

“Oi. I ain’t a tree. Don’t sharpen yer horns on my leg.” he huffed, waving one hand at the creature to get it to leave. It chirped again, spreading fluffy wings out to their full wing span and jumping up and down a couple times. He raised one studded brow at it for a moment then turned back towards the direction he had been heading. Usually other animals found his smell off putting -cats seemed to be the exception. Maybe it was just the strays liked him because he fed them- but this one was getting all excited. Whatever, he didn’t have time to figure out the weird animals in this world. He pushed branches away, stepping past and finally spotted the town he’d smelled.

“Damn. Pretty run down.” he muttered. The entire town was greys and browns. Nothing like the colours that filled the towns in Fiore. He stepped down the hill that led towards it, watching where he placed his step so he didn’t go tumbling down to the bottom. His ear twitched when he heard the crunch of leaves and turned to look. The little winged creature was about 10 feet behind him, one paw lifted above a dried leaf. It stared up at him, tail wagging back and forth behind it.

“Shoo. I’m busy.” he waved his hands at it and turned back around so that he could continue towards the town. He dropped himself off a rock at the edge of the hill and stood straight, dusting himself off. He stepped up to the edge of the town, leaning against one building so he could look at some of the locals going about their routine. He placed one hand up to his chin.

“I need to blend in more. Something that doesn’t make me stand out as much.” he looked around for something he could wear that would make him stand out a little less than he did.

“Chiarp.” he looked to the little creature that was sat in front of him, some piece of fabric in its mouth that it dropped in front of him. He looked at the garment. A cloak. One that still had the price tag attached to the neck. The little shit had stolen this.

“You’re gonna get me in trouble. Come on, get outta here.” he picked up the cloak, snapping the tag off and pulling it on. He brushed his fingers over his ear which had begun to gain scales and morph to its original shape.

“Already? That can’t be good.” he mumbled. He pulled hair over his ear to hide it and stepped out into the street. He walked up to a woman who was carrying a few bags of shopping.

“Excuse me. Do you happen to know where there might be a giant lacrima?” he asks. The woman looked at him with a sneer.

“No. Leave me alone. I don’t want to be part of one of your stupid articles.” she snapped at him, turning around fast enough her hair hit him in the face and walked away at a brisker pace.

“Well fuck you too.” he huffed, scrunching up his nose and letting his tongue brush against the backs of his teeth. He turned around towards someone else and opened his mouth to speak.

“Absolutely not. I’m not getting in trouble because of you.” he objected, turning his back to him.

“What the hell is wrong with everyone here?” he grumbled. He caught movement out of the side of his eye and turned to look. A group of punks. He smirked.

“Perfect.” he stepped up towards them.

“Oui. You heard anything about a giant lacrima.” he asks, keeping his back straight so he remained at his full height. They looked to him.

“Oh look who it is. What do you think yer doing?” the one Gajeel assumed was the leader stepped forward.

“You have a lot of nerve coming to us freak.” he added. Gajeel’s ear twitched. Clearly they weren’t ready to give him the information he wanted. Fine. He’d just have to butter them up. He let the leader step a little closer. The moment he was, he slammed his head down into the other man’s forehead, knocking him down to the ground.

“What the hell?” one of them yelled. Both turned to him, throwing punches towards him. He stayed still letting them hit his face. Both pulled their hands back from the pain of hitting his face. He pulled his arm back and slammed his fist into the face of one of them and lifted his knee into the other’s stomach. He grabbed the collar of the leader.

“Where is the lacrima?” he demanded. The man shook his head.

“We don’t know. I swear.” the man shook his head. Gajeel let go of his collar and hissed. That was all just a waste of time.

“Where did you learn to punch like that anyway Gajeel? Didn’t think you were the fighting type.” the leader asked, pushing up from his knees. Gajeel looked at him over his shoulder. How did this punk know his name? He didn’t recall ever mentioning it.

“I practised.” he huffed, turning back around and walking down the street again. His ear twitched when he heard a hiss followed by a set of feet thumping against dirt. He sighed. That thing just wouldn’t leave him alone. Whatever, he needed to figure out where he could get information. His attention peaked at the bell that jingled when a door was pulled open. He turned, eyes flicking over the sign above the door. A bar. His ear perked up. Perfect. People talked all the time in bars. He walked up to the door, pushing it open and stepping inside. Something brushed against his legs before he stepped forward and let the door slam closed behind him. He walked up to the bar, dropping himself on one of the stools. He waved over the bar tender.

“One water.” he requested, tapping black nails against the counter.

“Alright but take your pet outside. That thing doesn’t look tamed.” he reached under the counter and pulled out a glass.

“Pet? I don’t-.” He turned around to look at what the bar tender was talking about. The little creature was sat on the floor, staring up at him with perked ears.

“You again. Get out of here. I told you to leave me alone.” he waved one hand at it. It ignored him, jumping up into his lap and curling up against his stomach. The bar tender looked at him with an unimpressed look. He sighed but pushed a glass of water towards him and turned his attention elsewhere. Gajeel reached into his pocket, dropping a single bolt into the glass. He shoved the rest back in his pocket and picked up the glass, taking a slow sip of the water. His ear twitched and rotated, catching parts of conversations from different groups. Nothing worth his time though. This was not going how he hoped. Surely someone had to know about this lacrima.

“Did you hear about the lacrima in the capital?” his ear perked. That had to be what he was looking for.

“No? Since when was there a lacrima in the capital?” another person asked.

“Yeah, I saw it on my way here. Its huge. Don’t know where the king got it but its got to be important. Its being guarded like crazy.” Gajeel pushed himself up from the stool, ignoring the startled chirp that came from the little creature and turned towards the table that was talking. He stepped up behind one of them, tilting his head up a little to appear taller.

“What else do you punks know about this lacrima?”

“Could you Gentlemen kindly tell me more information about this lacrima?” his ear twitched and he turned to look at the person who spoke at the same time as him. The man turned to him as well, blinking behind thin rimmed glasses.

“Gajeel! I don’t know any more. I swear. Please just don’t put my name in your article.” the man who had been talking about the lacrima asked, addressing the suit clad man. He turned to him.

“And can you get your brother to back off.” he added, pointing to Gajeel. He raised studded brows.

“Brother? What the hell are ya talkin about.” he huffed, looking back to the man. Something hit him in the ankle and he hissed, turning to the source. A squirt looked up at him with a scrunched nose and a frown, the messy blond hair just barely covering the dipped eyebrows. If not for the well ironed salmon jumper and red trousers he’d have thought the kid was a wannabe thug.

“Stop copying my papa.” He snapped, crossing his arms. The little creature hissed and yapped, wings spread out and fur bristling.

“Don’t you start.” he scolded the little creature.

“Either get that thing under control or get out.” the bar tender ordered.

“Rufus. Don’t do that. What have I told you.” the other man scolded the preteen, stepping around and grabbing the little boy by the shoulders and pulling him behind his ‘papa’. Gajeel reached down, picking up the little creature and holding it in his arms. It settled in them but kept making a low growling noise into his arms. He knew the thing was going to cause trouble. Right when he was about to get information too. The curly haired man looked up from the boy he’d shoved behind him. He blinked once behind his glasses before tilting his head towards an unoccupied part of the bar. Gajeel complied, walking over to the table with two chairs that was pressed up against the wall. The other man grabbed a third chair and pulled it up to the table, pointing at it with one hand. ‘Rufus’ sat down with a huff, slouching in the chair with his arms crossed.

“I apologise for my son. I hadn’t expected him to act so brash suddenly.” he started, giving a glance towards the boy.

“He’s copying you papa. He’s some poser trying to make a bad name for you.” the boy huffed.

“I ain’t here to do shit like that. I’m only here to get my friends back home.” he hissed at the boy. The boy tilted his head up at him, clearly trying to intimidate him despite his much smaller stature.

“Rufus. Its fine. Please don’t go kicking anyone else.” The man sighed, pushing up his glasses and pressing fingers on the bridge of his nose.

“Parenting hard?” he asked, looking to the kid who probably had more spice in his tiny body than most of the people he’d met.

“Yes but rewarding. Now might I request your name?” he asked, lifting his leg to place over the other.

“Gajeel Redfox. You some kinda reporter or somethin’?” he leaned forward, one elbow on the table. The other man blinked.

“Oh. How peculiar. My name is also Gajeel. Although it is Bluehare not Redfox” Gajeel raised his brows in surprise.

“That explains it. I beat some punks up who thought I was you. Might also explain why people were so rude to me.” he huffed dropping back into his chair.

“Yes. Some people don’t like me when my articles can say some very choice words against the king.” he nodded.

“You said you were looking for your friends did you not?” Bluehare asked, pulling a pen from his pocket and placing a pad on the table.

“Yeah. Some ass took everyone I know through some magic portal to this world. Apparently they all got turned into lacrima. My magic can bust em out but I don’t have a clue where they are. Or more accurately, I don’t know where this capital is at.” he sighed. It was better than knowing nothing but it would’ve helped to know which direction the capital was in.

“This world? You’re from another world?” Bluehare began noting something down in his notebook.

“Is that why you stole my papa’s face?” the little boy grumbled, still looking at Gajeel with that same sour look.

“Dunno brat. You have to be so snippy.” he countered, looking down at the kid. He didn’t back down. Kid had guts that was for sure. Bluehare lifted his head.

“Oh I completely overlooked that because you said you were from another world. You don’t know where the capital is do you?” he asked, looking to Gajeel. He shook his head.

“I’m pretty good at trackin’ but there are so many new smells that its throwin’ my nose off.” he reached up to touch his nose.

“I know where it is. Its a couple days out by walking but I know someone who can get us there in no time. I’ll give him a call. Besides, couldn’t take my motorcycle without drawing suspicion with the guards near my house.” Bluehare stood up, returning his pen to his breast pocket and the pad to his pocket.

“Come along. I need to find a call booth to get a line out.” he held two fingers on his hat, tipping it upward. Gajeel got up, stretching his arms up once the little creature jumped down.

“You know what this thing is? Been following me since I left the woods up the hill.” he nodded to the little creature that followed at his heels.

“If I’m not mistaken, it’s a Nyfern. I’ve never seen one up close before although I’ve never tried. One of my fiancé’s Alex is more interested in research about other topics than I am.” he chuckled, holding the door open so that Gajeel and Rufus could step out. He walked out and over to a booth with a lacrima set into it.

“Are you calling Pappi? What if he hurts him.” Rufus pointed up to Gajeel, sending a glare towards him. The iron mage huffed, giving the preteen a glare in return. A sharp jolt of pain in his body made him break the contact and he groaned, placing one hand up to his temple.

“Don’t worry Rufus. It will be fine.” Bluehare assured the boy, picking up the little microphone attached to the booth and placing it to his ear while typing something in on the screen. A few seconds later it flashed to life although Gajeel couldn’t see what was on the screen from the angle he was at.

“Yes I’m fine. I’ve got a bit of an emergency. Think you could give me a lift to the capital?” there was a pause, likely the other person on the line talking.

“I wasn’t able to take the motorcycle. There was too many guards near the house. If they’d seen me travelling with it then I’d have gotten into a lot of trouble.” he leaned the joint microphone and ear piece into his shoulder. Another pause.

“If its too much trouble I understand. I don’t want to get you stranded in the dessert somewhere.” Bluehare wrapped his fingers around the cord.

“Alright. Yeah that’s fine. We’re in Traia. I’ll wait just on the outskirts.” he twisted the cord in circles.

“Yes. Yes. I love you too. See you soon.” he placed the microphone down and hung up the call, stepping out of the booth to join them.

“He’s on his way. Said he was nearby doing a pick up. Come on, I’ll show you where the meet up spot is.” he tilted his head, walking down the street. Gajeel kept up with no issue, towering slightly over his doppelganger while Rufus walked on the left side of Bluehare.

“Thanks for helpin me? But why are ya helpin me?” he asked, turning to look at the man. Bluehare flicked the rip of his hat.

“I have a personal vendetta against the king, He took magic away from everyone when I was still young. It got my dad killed and its made one of my fiancé’s an outlaw simply because he’s part of a guild. I do what I can but I’m no fighter. I could never take on the king’s army.” he looked around to check that Rufus was still next to him then straight ahead.

“Banning magic killed your.... Xiiwic? Did he need it to live?” he asked. He was sure that was the right word. Maybe he used it wrong. Bluehare looked at him, one eyebrow raised then shook his head.

“No. He used special earrings to hide the physical differences he had. After magic was outlawed, he couldn’t legally use them anymore. It got him killed when a gang spotted him and deemed him a freak.” Gajeel turned to look ahead.

“You don’t look.... different?” Wrong. He didn’t use that word. It might be true about him but he wasn’t about to use it for Bluehare. Even if the man was technically another version of him.

“Oh I do. Alex managed to get me the same earrings my father used. Its why I need to be careful. If I’m caught with these then I will get into a lot of trouble with the king.” he reached up, pointing to the lower stud on his ear. Gajeel sniffed the air and now that he was focusing on it, he could smell the tinge of magic that surrounded it.

“What about you? Your ear looks quite peculiar? Some kind of birth defect?” he asked, gesturing up towards Gajeel’s ear. He reached up, running fingers over the outer rim which had almost completely morphed to its actual size.

"No... I..... Its complicated.” he muttered, trying to bury the silver ear with his hair. Bluehare nodded but didn’t ask further questions. Gajeel lowered his hand, reaching towards his neck where he’d placed the ring that was linked through the repaired chain.

“Do you know a Metalicana? Or a.... Rowan?” he asked. If this world was similar to his own with the people then maybe he could get enough answers to do more searching back home.

“Yes. Those were my parents names. Metalicana was my dad and Rowan, my mum.” Gajeel’s ears perked.

“Your mum? Is she around somewhere? Perhaps I could ask her a few questions.” Bluehare shook his head.

“No. She died a few years ago. Worked herself to the bone until she became sick and passed soon after. Why? Do you not know where your parents are?” he looked to Gajeel. He sighed.

“No. I think my opsola died in a fire caused by a dragon attack when I was little and my Xiiwic. He ditched me seven years ago and I don’t know where he went.” he shook his head.

“Its stupid. Its not like it matters if I know what happened anyway.” he shrugged. Bluehare lifted his chin up with a hum.

“Not necessarily. Closure is important. Perhaps that’s what you are looking for. Closure.” he offered. They finally stopped walking once they reached the edge of town. Gajeel squinted his eyes at the spray of dust that was approaching.

“Good timing.” Bluehare noted, pulling Rufus close to his legs. The Nyfern curled up next to his own, back fur bristling. When the source of the dust cloud got closer, he could finally identify it as a magic mobile. It screeched to a stop in front of them and the door of the car swung open. Natsu or at least someone who looked almost identical to him leapt out of the car and sprinted towards him, gripping hands on either of his arms.

“Are you sure you’re o- Gajeel? When did you get so..... tall? And big?” this other Natsu looked to his arm, fingers testing against the muscles. Gajeel bit back his growl.

“Natsu. I’m over here.” Natsu turned around to look at Bluehare and his eyes widened. He let go of Gajeel, pink dusting his cheeks.

“Oh. That explains how this guy is built like a truck.” he looked back up to Gajeel, ducking his head slightly and gripping a red sleeve. Bluehare walked up, linking fingers with Natsu.

“Natsu, this is Gajeel Redfox. He’s from another world looking for his friends.” Bluehare gestured to him. Natsu blinked.

“Oh. Um. Hello Redfox” he greeted, fiddling with the wide cuff of his sleeve. Gajeel winced.

“I don’t like people using my last name to refer to me.” he reached a scaled hand up, tugging on a strand of hair.

“You got a nickname?” Bluehare asked, raising one eyebrow. Gajeel sighed.

“Yes but I also don’t really like it either.” he sighed.

“What is it?” Natsu asked. Gajeel looked down to his boots.

“Kurogane” he muttered, shoving one hand in his pockets.

“How does Kuro sound?” Gajeel’s ear twitched when the words left Bluehare’s mouth. Kuro was still close but it sounded more personal. Less intimidating. Less Murderous.

“Yeah. That works.” he nodded. Bluehare smiled, nudging Natsu’s shoulder with his own.

“This is one of my fiancé’s Natsu Dragion” he introduced then turned to Dragion.

“Weren’t you watching Sting today?” he asked, looking around for something. Dragion nodded.

“He’s in the back seat. I told him to stay in the car just in case there was danger.” he replied. Bluehare nodded and gestured to the magic mobile.

“Come on. We have a long way to go.” he encouraged, dropping himself into the passenger seat at the front. Dragion climbed back into the driver’s seat and Rufus slipped into the back. Gajeel ducked into the back of the vehicle, dropping himself into the seat. The Nyfern leapt up into his lap, little chirps escaping its jaws with frantic looks around the room. He reached and pulled the door shut.

“Buckle up kids.” Dragion announced, pulling his goggles down over his eyes. His foot slammed down on the peddle and the car started up. Gajeel’s head jolted forward for a moment and he had to grip onto the door to stop himself from falling forward or to the side. He turned to the side to make sure that the little squirt had been alright with the jolt. To his surprise, both him and the second kid -a spiky blond with a dark blue race jacket- were perfectly fine and were striking up conversation with each other.

“That’s Sting. One of my other son’s. Alex and Erik have Rogue today.” Bluehare called from the front. Gajeel nodded although he doubted it was seen since he was behind his other self. He leaned back into the seat of the car and let his eyes close for a moment. He felt so drained. Maybe it was the magic circle doing that to him. His eyebrows scrunched when something wet dripped over his lips.

“Pappi.” Sting called.

“Yes kiddo?” Dragion asked. Rufus shifted next to him.

“The fake papa is bleeding on the seats.” the preteen huffed.

“What!” the brakes were slammed and Gajeel jolted forward, face smacking into the back of the chair in front of him. Gajeel groaned, dropping back in the seat and rubbing one hand over his face. He pulled his hand back and found himself staring at blood.

“Are you alright? Natsu do you have tissues?” Bluehare asked from in front.

“In the glovebox. Do you usually bleed from the nose?” Dragion answered the question then turned to Gajeel. He blinked, dumbfounded. He was bleeding from the nose? How did that happen? He reached up again, scaled fingers brushing against the still flowing blood. A handful of tissues was offered to him. He took them, pressing them up to his nose.

“Its fine. It’ll stop on its own.” he insisted, waving their concerned looks off.

“If you’re sure.” Dragion muttered, pressing down on the acceleration pedal and pushing the car forward. Gajeel leaned back, still holding the tissues up to his nose. There was nothing to worry about. It probably started from how sudden they started moving. Nothing more.

Notes:

Edolus gang designs because I needed visual references and also wanted to post them

Chapter Text

Cobra reached up, pressing one hand to the back of his neck with a groan. At least Laxus had saved them from the fall with his lightning travel. Didn’t make his landing any better though.

“Do you always land like you just got decked or was that just a special treat for me?” he asked, sending a particularly harsh glare in the lightning mage’s direction. He rolled his eyes.

“Its not my fault that I slammed into that tree.” he objected.

“It actually is your fault. You were controlling the magic. Not me.” he rolled his eyes. Laxus groaned.

“Can we not do this right now? We have bigger concerns than what you think of my magic traversal skills.” he objected. Cobra crossed his arms.

“They’re shit but fine. I agree we should focus on finding our guildmates.” he looked towards the town that they were approaching.

“Wish Mystogan could have given us a map or something. Would make this much easier than wandering aimlessly for hours” Laxus grumbled.

“Of course you know what that’s like. For a dragon slayer, you have a pretty bad sense of direction.” He chuckled.

“I don’t-.”

“Don’t kid yourself. I’ve heard your entire team think about how what’s his name... Freed is left to navigate because you can’t for the life of you.” he snickered.

“I thought we weren’t doing this?” Laxus sent him a glare.

“I said we shouldn’t argue. I said nothing about teasing.” Cobra smirked, putting his fangs on display. Laxus stared at him with an irritated twitch to his eyebrow. He turned away, looking ahead as they entered the town.

“So how do you know Mystogan or… Jellal did you call him?” Laxus asked, hands reaching up towards his shoulders only to miss what it was grabbing for. Considering he wasn’t wearing that massive fur coat, that might be what he had been going for. Cobra tensed, shoulders locking up.

“Why does it matter?” he snapped, refusing to look at the lightning mage. Not like that stopped him from hearing the string of thoughts that followed his snipped comment. He should mind his own business.

“I’d like to know. We are part of the same pack after all.” Laxus wasn’t looking at him, eyes flicking at the buildings around them with muted child like wonder. Cobra hissed out between his teeth.

“It doesn’t matter. Let’s just find the guild and get out of here.” he objected, crossing his arms and lifting his nose up. Laxus turned his gaze towards Cobra.

“You’re from the same place that Erza is from aren’t you.” the lightning mage stated bluntly. Cobra was almost thrown for a loop.

“What? No. Where would you get that idea?” he sputtered out, frantically trying to grasp at something to change the topic away from this. Perhaps spin it around on the other mage.

“You have the same scars on your wrists.” Laxus pressed one finger to Cobra’s wrist right where a scar sat. He snapped his hand back.

“Doesn’t matter to me where you came from. My team came from some pretty harsh circumstances themselves.” Laxus shrugged.

“Oh and you’re just the pretty, perfect boy who helps those who he considers broken?” he snapped, stopping in his tracks to turn on the other mage.

“No. I have my own fucked up shit going on too. I asked because you are part of this pack. You are important to me. Even if its not been that long.” he made eye contact with Laxus.

“And what’s your shit then?” he crossed his arms and lifted his head once more to at least appear taller compared to the blond. Laxus sighed.

“I’m sick. Sort of. Its nothing fatal so its not like I’m dying or anything. Its how I got my lacrima. My... father gave it to me to make me better. It sort of worked. I’m nowhere near as bad as I was as a kid but it doesn’t change that I am.” he shrugged. Cobra blinked, looking down at his hands.

“Oh.” he muttered.

“Everyone in Fairy tail have their own demons. Some people don’t feel comfortable about sharing their pasts but it doesn’t change who they are.” he placed one hand on Cobra’s shoulder. Cobra looked to it but didn’t move it off his shoulder.

“So you think I’m pretty?” Laxus chuckled. Cobra snapped his head to look, face heating up with rapid speed.

“No. Don’t look into that.” he snapped, smacking the hand away from his shoulder and turning away with crossed arms. Laxus laughed.

“Oh I’m going to hold onto that” he teased. Cobra turned his head and hissed.

“Pappal! Pappe! I thought I lost you.” Cobra had no time to react before something tackled into his legs and almost knocked him over. He looked down to what had ran at him. A little kid, no older than 13 looked up at him with a bright smile that stretched across his face. He tilted his head, thick black curls trailing over eyes.

“You look weird? Did you change your hair?” he asked, stepping back from Cobra and clutching at the black skirt he wore atop the leggings. Laxus stepped forward, kneeling down next to the child.

“Kid, are you lost?” Laxus asked, placing one hand on the kid’s hair and tilting his head up.

“You aren’t Pappal.” the boy sniffled, eyes briming with tears. The tears slipped down his face and he started crying. Very loud.

“Can’t you get him to shut up? People are going to think we kidnapped him.” Cobra snipped, placing hands over his ears to at least muffle the noise a little.

“Hey. Hey. Its alright. We’ll help you find your parents alright?” Laxus was massaging the kid’s head as he blinked red eyes at him.

“Really?” he sniffled, looking directly at Laxus.

“Sure. Just stop crying, alright.” he nodded to the boy. The boy chirped up quickly.

“Thank you. Thank you.” he tackled Laxus in that same bear hug. Laxus patted the kid on the head.

“Come on. We should get going.” he turned back to Cobra. The child tugged on the leg of Laxus’ jeans.

“Can I get a piggy back ride?” he asked, looking up at Laxus with what Cobra could only describe as puppy dog eyes.

“What?” the lightning mage blinked. Cobra tried to hide his snicker.

“Pretty please.” the boy held both hands together and tried harder with the puppy eyes. Laxus sighed but bent down. The kid scrambled onto his back, swinging his legs over Laxus’ shoulders and placing his hands on top of the blond’s head. Laxus stood.

“Wow. You look so tough right now. Big scary lightning dragon with a child ridding on his shoulders.” Cobra snickered. Laxus glared at him without the malice. Cobra laughed harder.

“Do you have names? I’m Rogue by the way. Did I already say that? I don’t think I did.” Rogue started rambling, completely going off topic. Laxus shook his head with a chuckle.

“My name’s Laxus and this is Cobra.” Laxus gestured first to himself and then to Cobra. Rogue’s eyes lit up with wonder.

“Wow. That’s so cool. My family have names too. Its a really big one. I was with Pappal and Pappae today” he chittered, swinging his legs with the same bright smile. Cobra chuckled.

“A big family huh? How many do you consider to be big?” he asked. Rogue looked to him, nose scrunching as he thought.

“Um... Well there’s my papa and my pappi and my pappal and my pappae. Then I have two brothers..... um.... well my parents don’t really talk about their families much so I don’t think they’re talking but that’s fine cause I don’t talk to my old mum and dad either.” the kid rambled again and Cobra had to concentrate not to get distracted by the chaos of thoughts that was Rogue’s head. Laxus hummed in acknowledgement.

“So the people you were with? Got a description. Might help us find them.” Laxus asked, shifting Rogue on his shoulders so he was safer.

“Well you look kinda like my Pappal. Although he’s not as big. And he doesn’t have a scar on his face. Oh and he has more black in his hair than you do. And he looks like Pappae. But no coat. He doesn’t wear a coat like that.” the kid poked one finger at the bottom of Laxus’ scar. The lightning mage closed his eye, trying to avoid getting the small finger in it. At least people weren’t giving them hard glares just because the kid was with them. Or maybe that was a bad thing if they didn’t pay attention to people who picked up some stranger’s kid.

“Hey. Get back here.” Or maybe he was wrong. Cobra looked to the source. A blond man stopped in front of him, leaning over so his hands were on his knees so he could catch his breath.

“That’s my... oh dear.” the man seemed to back down a little once he actually looked at the two of them. Cobra crossed his arms.

“Pappal.” Rogue cheered, reaching out from Laxus shoulder’s towards the other man. Laxus lifted Rogue from his shoulders and placed him on the ground. The curly haired boy ran over to his dad, tackling him in the same bear hug he’d done to Laxus and Cobra.

“Oh thank you. I was so worried about him.” the man turned to his kid.

“Rogue, what have I told you about running off like that.” he scolded the boy, kneeling down in front of him. Cobra turned to Laxus, tuning out the apologies of the child.

“Let’s go. We need to find that lacrima before time runs out.” he insisted. Laxus turned to him, eyes flicking to the man and Rogue for a moment then back to Cobra. He opened his mouth to speak.

“You’re looking for a lacrima?” the other man was right next to them now, one hand holding onto Rogue’s.

“Yes. Our friends are inside it and we need to get them back home.” Laxus responded. Cobra hissed.

“Don’t tell him that. We don’t know who’s on who’s side. He might be working for the guys who took the town.” Cobra objected, trying to keep his voice low.

“I dunno. That seems a bit of a stretch” Laxus countered, looking over the plain purple shirt the man had. Cobra could agree the man wasn’t intimidating, they could easily take the scrawny man but they should still be careful.

“Did you come through the anima?” the man asked. Cobra snapped his head to look.

“How did you know about that?” he demanded, glaring at the man. The words in his head didn’t really help him. Mostly thinking about research points or something.

“I have some research on it. If I remember correctly, I might have some stuff on how to reverse it. Its at my place. I can show you them.” he flicked his thumb over his shoulder. Laxus looked to him, tilting his head. Cobra sighed.

“Fine. But if this is a trap then I told you so.” he huffed, following the man down the crowded and bustling streets.

“I’m Alexia by the way and you’ve already met Rogue. Do you have names? Oh of course you do. That’s a silly question.” Alex laughed, walking backwards while looking at them.

“Name’s Laxus and this is Cobra.” the lightning mage introduced them. Alexia faltered for a moment, blinking wide at Laxus.

“Laxus?” he parroted, not making any move to turn around. How he wasn’t running into people or tripping on things, Cobra wasn’t sure.

“Uh yeah?” he asked, raising one eyebrow. Alexia shook his head.

“Its nothing. Don’t worry about it. Come on. We’re almost there” Alexia called as he picked up speed, easily weaving through the crowds with Rogue swiftly following in his footsteps.

“I can see how the kid lost him now.” Laxus sighed, stepping around people who didn’t bother to move out of the way. Cobra nodded.

“Might also be where he got that rambling habit.” Cobra added, slipping past crowds with more ease. They caught up to Alexia when he was stood outside a bookshop. Cobra raised an eyebrow.

“A bookshop? I thought we were going to your house?” Laxus asked, looking to the name of the bookshop. Cobra looked to the hand painted sign which read Serpintine books.

“We are.” Alexia acknowledged them right before pushing the door to the bookshop open and stepping inside. Laxus rushed to grab it, holding the door open for Cobra. He stepped in, giving a single nod towards Laxus. The lightning mage stepped in after him, the door slamming shut. Cobra looked to Alexia who was scanning the various shelves.

“If you’re looking for your papers, maybe actually looking at the books will help.” Laxus offered. Cobra snickered. Alex shook his head.

“No I’m looking for one of my fiancés. He works here.” he waved Laxus off.

“Just yell for him. This place isn’t that big.” Cobra objected.

“I found him.” Rogue yelled from a couple shelves down right before rushing up the isle. Alex turned and followed the hyperactive preteen. Cobra sighed but followed. If this guy had something of use here then he would just have to put up with this. He stepped around the isle and came across Alex and who Cobra assumed was the fiancé standing in the middle, Rogue nestled in the maroon haired man’s arm while they waved their hands in various motions.

“What are they doing? Can you hear anything?” Laxus asked, leaning down so he was closer to Cobra’s height. It took him only a few seconds to wish he couldn’t. He didn’t need to listen to the lovey dovey ramblings of some couple from another world.

“It’s just lovey dovey stuff. Not very interesting.” Cobra shrugged. The other man looked to them, giving a shy wave with one gloved hand. Cobra shoved his hands in his pockets, refusing to acknowledge the other. Alex turned to them.

“This is Erik, one of my fiancés. He’s going to help find those papers. Come on.” Alex nodded his head towards the back of the shop, leading the way. Cobra scrunched his nose, looking at Erik who followed behind Alex with Rogue in his arms. Cobra and Laxus trailed behind stepping through a back door which led into a small hallway.

“A house behind the store. Oh. That makes sense.” Laxus muttered, looking at the walls of the hall. Cobra turned towards the wall next to him where a few pictures hung. He picked up the picture with the most people featured within. Four adults and three young kids. He easily picked out Alex and Erik in the picture. The pink haired man looked very similar to Natsu right down to the spikes. The other man had thick black curls very reminiscent of Rogue’s own. The lens on the glasses reflected slightly from the light of the camera so it obscured the eye colour but the tanned tone to the skin and the hair itself was an indicator.

“Hey sparks?” he called. The lightning mage turned from his examination of the stairs.

“That other Jellal is from this world. Do you think people here are also copies of us?” the lightning mage raised an eyebrow. Questions multiplying and bouncing around in his thoughts. He held out the picture for the lightning mage to take.

“This looks like…” he trailed off, blinking once and turning his head towards the door that Alex and Erik had went through. He turned back to Laxus.

“Its possible. Mystogan has been…. Strange around me. Saying things to me like he knew me. Sometimes things I didn’t even know about in the early days.”  he looked to Cobra.

“Alright so he didn’t mention the drop and now he didn’t mention anything about weird copies. If there is something else he didn’t tell us then I’m going to hunt him down and turn him into a poisoned barbeque.” Cobra hissed, snatching the picture back and placing it on the counter.

“Pappal said he found the paper you wanted.” Cobra snapped his head to the preteen who had walked up to them. How had he not noticed the kid walk up? Was he that distracted? The little kid was practically buzzing. Laxus appeared to be just as startled by the kid’s appearance as he was. Rogue turned around, rushing down the rug that covered the hard wooden floor and disappeared around the door frame. Laxus took the lead, following the little kid’s footsteps. The room they entered was a living room, two cream couches and an armchair surrounding a little coffee table. The room had a lot of papers spread everywhere. Too many for Cobra to think they came from this one search. Alex stood up once they entered.

“Here. This talks about something to do with anima. I believe its some kind of plan. It mentions something called ‘dragon slayer magic’. I’ve never heard of it though. I didn’t even think dragons existed.” he handed a sheet of paper over to Laxus. Cobra hissed.

“That’s it. Poison barbeque.” his tongue flicked against his teeth. Laxus gave him a look.

“We can’t be sure he knew about this in the first place” he turned to Alex.

“Where did you get this?” He asked, flicking the paper in his hand. Several thoughts flittered through the other’s head although ‘Jellal’ showed up a few times.

“My uncle got his hands on it when he still worked at the palace.” he explained after a long pause.

“The source doesn’t matter. Now we know our magic can turn everyone back so we just need to find that lacrima.” Cobra cracked his shoulder, rolling the arm.

“Your magic? You know where to find this dragon slayer magic?” he asked, looking between them.

“Yeah. We use it.” Laxus shrugged, demonstrating with lightning that jumped between his fingers. The other three occupants all had startled reactions. Erik was signing his hands rapidly towards Alex who was looking between Erik and the two of them.

“Oooh. Its pretty.” Rogue was reaching for Laxus’ hand although the mage quickly stopped the lightning to avoid the boy getting hurt. Alex, after having been signing back towards Erik with explanations of the situation turned to them.

“The lacrima is in the capital if the rumours are right. Gajeel went out earlier to see if he could find more information for an article but word travels fast. We can take you to the capital now.” Alex explained although his hands were still moving in Erik’s direction.

“You will? But wouldn’t it be more beneficial for you to stay out of this?” Laxus asked, looking to Cobra with knitted brows.

“Yes but I don’t support my g- the king. He has made one of my fiancés an outlaw and another could be arrested if any of his army catch whiff of him using illegal magic items. I’ve seen how they treat people in there. Worse when they look different. If you can use magic so freely then perhaps taking down the king won’t be impossible.” he looked to them both, hope showing in his eyes.

“I mean if the king was the one to bring the town here then I don’t see why we can’t beat his ass along the way.” Cobra smirked, looking at Laxus. The lightning mage had a similar smirk, a spark of lightning flicking from his neck and into the air which caused a small bit of static to raise some of Cobra’s hair.

“We’re down.” Laxus agreed. Alex smiled wide.

“Great. I just need to get my coat.” He turned to Erik, signing something else before the two disappeared into one of the other rooms and leaving Rogue in the living room with them.

Chapter 55

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Gajeel stalked towards the left of the plaza, eyes never leaving the lacrima that sat in the very center. His fully morphed ears twitched beneath his hood, listening for the signal that they’d agreed upon. One guard that had been monitoring the crowds turned to him.

“Hey. Stand back. You aren’t to be this close.” he warned, pointing the spear towards him. Gajeel stepped back, slipping into the crowd once more. He kept his stripped tail tucked close to his body. Without its scales, the skin was too thin to risk it getting trampled or cut. He stopped a few feet away from the lacrima, shoulders tense and ready for action. He lifted his head, looking around the plaza at the crowd. All of them were gawking at the lacrima like it was some sparkly new attraction. Gajeel swallowed the growl in his throat. He placed one hand up to his mouth, wiping the blood trailing from his nose and lips. He could have sworn he’d gotten it to stop. He wiped the blood off on his trousers.

Bang.

His ear twitched at the crash in the air. He turned up towards the source where the remains of a firework sparkled in the sky. Four more soon joined it. The Nyfern chirped at his feet, pressing against the backs of his legs.

“What’s that?”

“North? Is it a warning?” the guards were muttering between each other, looking up at the sparks. Gajeel smirked, taking in a breath.

“Over there. There are people at the North trying to get to the lacrima.” he yelled, making sure his voice could be heard over the crowds of confused people. Yelling and cries came from the gathered crowd as people started turning and running. Some of the guards split up to cover the back of the lacrima while others attempted to get the crowd to evacuate safely. Gajeel stepped out of the way, avoiding the person who almost slammed into his shoulder.

“Sir you should get out of here in case there is an attack.” the guard was walking up to him, one hand outstretched towards him. Gajeel grabbed his wrist, twisting it and throwing him down to the ground. He turned to the remaining men on this side of the lacrima. They had taken up arms, weapons pointed towards him. He lifted his arm, swinging a club at them and knocking them down. The man he’d thrown to the ground was recovering now. He pushed forward, running to the side. He leapt up, using his nails to grab onto one of the neighbouring buildings and launch himself into the air. He morphed his arm into a club and extended it, slamming it down onto the lacrima below. His attack made contact, creating a crack in the surface. Gajeel retracted his arm, landing on the ground and looking over to the lacrima which had begun to glow. He shielded his eyes from the bright light, scrunching them closed with one arm up in front of his face. He blinked once the light faded and lowered his arm. He inwardly groaned.

“There was only two of ya in there. Are ya shittin me?” he snapped. Both Erza and Gray looked to him with confusion.

“Gajeel? Wait what’s going on? Where are we?” Erza asked, squinting her eyes to look under his hood. He huffed.

“Where’d the lacrima go?”

“Arrest all of them. This is an act against the king.” Gajeel snapped his head around, aiming his arm to swing at the person who came up behind him. He dodged to the side from the spear aiming right at his abdomen. The soldier cursed, preparing for another attack. Gajeel braced himself to dodge only for something to grab him from behind. His tail loosened from where he had been holding it, swinging wildly behind him as he tried to grab a hold of his attacker. A sword was held towards his neck, pressing against the soft flesh. He paused in his attempts, eyes flicking around to try and pinpoint his allies. Both Erza and Gray had been overwhelmed by the amount of soldiers aiming to take them down and with no magic to aid them they were at a disadvantage.

“This one has the magic. Seal it before he escapes.” one of the soldiers that were pointing their spears at him yelled. His tail flicked up, swiping at one of them. That just resulted in the blade piercing the thin skin on his tail. He yowled, trying to pull his tail away. Instead it was pulled to the ground and a boot pressed on top of the tip to stop him from moving it. Another guard approached, some funky smelling gunk in his hands. He took Gajeel’s wrists and forced them together, wrapping the gunk around them. He snarled, letting his longer teeth glint in the sun.

“Take them to the king. This is a matter he’ll want to deal with personally.” he glared daggers at the one who spoke, letting his hatred be known.

“I found this one. He’s the one that launched the fireworks.” Gajeel snapped his gaze over to another soldier who had a tight grip of the back of Bluehare’s suit jacket, his hat missing and glasses crooked. The other hand held tightly onto Rufus’ wrist who was punching and hitting to try and escape.

“Bring them too. I’m sure the king will have a lot to say about such a loudmouth reporter.”

***
Laxus stepped aside as another person rushed past him in a panic.

“What’s going on? Is this related to those explosions?” he turned to Alex who was looking down the street.

“Something’s wrong. They’re coming from the plaza.” Alex pointed towards where some lingering people were fleeing from and others were standing and watching from just outside it.

“Chiarp.” Laxus looked down to the noise at his feet.

“What is that?” Cobra asked, looking at the strange horned creature that was tugging its nails in the leg of his jeans.

“Heck if I know. I’ve never been here before.” Laxus objected.

“A Nyfern? This is quite far out for one. There are no forests nearby for it here” Alex looked to it although he stayed a distance away.

“Ooooh. Pappal can I pet it? Please.” Rogue pleaded, looking up at Alex.

“No. It’s a wild animal. I’ve told you we don’t pet wild animals.” he was back to doing those hand gestures again and Erik was nodding along. The creature yelped at him again, turning around and picking up a hat it had dropped. It started shoving it against Laxus’ leg.

“Not very wild to me.” Laxus huffed. Cobra was snickering to his left. When the Nyfern realised it wasn’t getting a reaction from Laxus however, it turned its attention towards Cobra, trying to shove the hat at Cobra’s legs instead.

Alex reached forward, trying to take the hat from its jaws. It hissed, swiping one claw at him and turning its attention back to Cobra.

“Fine. I’ll take your stupid hat.” he huffed, taking the hat.

“Isn’t that papa’s hat?” Rogue asked, pointing to the metal studded hat. Alex looked to Erik who had a similar look of panic set on his features. Laxus took a hold of the shirt of someone rushing from the plaza. The woman looked to him, squirming in his grasp.

“What just happened over there?” he demanded, glaring down at the woman.

“A group of people. They were arrested for defying the king. They destroyed the lacrima.” the words came out quickly. Laxus released his grip, letting her run off somewhere.

“If the lacrima was destroyed then that means someone else is here.” Laxus turned to Cobra.

“Now the question is who. It could be Natsu, Wendy or Gajeel.” The poison dragon nodded.

“That doesn’t matter. Gajeel has to be one of the ones arrested. They’re going to skewer him alive. And Rufus was with him. Who knows what they’ll do with him.” Alex shook his head, looking down the road towards the palace. He looked towards Erik. They shared a look.

“I know a way into the palace. We can get them out if we’re quick. Or you use your magic.” Alex turned to them.

“I’m up to finally get a fight.” Laxus agreed, cracking his knuckles. Cobra smirked.

“I’ve been waiting way too long for a good fight.” he chuckled, looking towards Laxus.

“Good. Let’s go before someone catches on to our plans.” Alex nodded, still doing the hand gestures to Erik.

Notes:

This Chapter probably took the longest to write since I was going between watching the fight in the show and writing the chapter. About 1 more chapter and this arc is completed. I know the last few arcs are kinda rushed through but there isn't too much going on in those arcs. Plus I'm skipping things that are mostly the same to the actual canon storyline.

Chapter Text

Gajeel snarled when he was thrown to the ground by the guard escorting him, forced to kneel before the old man sat in the throne.

“What is the purpose of this?” he demanded, staring down at them. Gajeel scoffed. Cocky bastard.

“The lacrima in the plaza has been destroyed. This one was able to break it with his strange magic.” the guard took a hold of his hair, pulling it upward. He snapped, swerving around and sinking teeth into the gauntlet. The metal cracked beneath his jaws. Two more guards approached, grabbing at his jaws to pry them off the first guard. His gaze snapped to the king as he approached. He looked down his nose at Gajeel. His face was pushed back, grip on the guard’s arm having been pried away.

“What of these ones?” the man asked, looking to the rest of the group.

“These two appeared when the lacrima was destroyed and he aided in its destruction with a distraction.” the guard pointed between them.

“This is unjust. We have done nothing. What is going on here?” Erza demanded, getting to her feet, two guards pushed her back to her knees.

“They are quite feisty. And look at this one.” a blond man in rose pink armour that only covered his chest -a ridiculous idea when the rest of his body was exposed to damage- approached Bluehare, reaching one hand up to his ear. He yanked something away, ripping the ear in the process which morphed to a different shape than before. Bluehare yelped when the metal tore his skin.

“Don’t you know the use of concealment magic like this is illegal.” he chuckled, tossing the piece of metal in his hands. Rufus tried to move to kick the man but one guard held him in place. Gajeel flicked his gaze to the gunk on his wrists. The tip of his tail which now had its stinger tip twitched. His eyes flicked to the group of people standing to the side. They had different uniforms. They didn’t even have uniforms really. None of it matched. He didn’t recognise the purple and white haired man in the white coat or the cloaked one wearing a helmet. But the other three were familiar. Long scarlet hair, shaved green hair and short split black and white hair. Not that it was a good thing. If they were part of the royal guard then they would be against them. His eyes flicked to the spear in the other Erza’s hand. He smirked. He turned to the king.

“Your a pretty shitty king if ya have to pull from other worlds to please yer people.” he spoke up. The king looked at him, thick brows narrowed. He chuckled.

“Or is it ya just want whatever that lacrima will give ya for yerself?” he tilted his head. The king turned to him, grabbing onto the neck of his shirt and pulling him forward.

“You don’t know what you are talking about. That lacrima will give us eternal magic. A low life like you would never understand.” he spat. Gajeel scrunched his nose with disgust.

“Your eternal magic ain’t worth the hundreds of lives you’ll take in the process. There are people in that lacrima. All completely innocent and have nothing to do with you.” he hissed.

“And what are you going to do freak? You seem to be in your own predicament.” The other Erza was approaching now. He flexed his claws.

“Simple. I’m getting my friends back bitch.” he swung his hands up, claws meeting flesh as they dragged up one side of the king’s face. He stumbled back, reaching up to the bleeding wound.

“You attacked the king!” Bluehare yelled from where he was still knelt.

“That was the king? I thought the King was King Fiore.” Erza objected, turning to Bluehare.

“You belligerent beast. Have him killed for his tyranny.” The other Erza commanded, swinging her spear towards him. He ducked down, letting the spear catch between his wrists and cut the gung in half. It dropped from his wrists, small splashes of blood with it from where the blade cut his lower arms and wrists. He smirked, morphing his arm into a sword and countering the second swing of the spear. He pushed the other Erza back.

“Come on, let’s get our friends back.” He yelled. He turned to his guild mates, rushing towards the guards holding down Rufus and knocking them back with a club. He picked the kid up in both arms.

“Move it.” he snapped, racing for the door to the exit.

“Don’t let them get away.” he heard someone yell from behind him just before he turned around the corner. The three sets of footsteps behind him were enough of a hint that the others followed. He looked towards Gray who was smirking.

“What?” he asked, raising a studded brow.

“We’re going to save our friends? I didn’t think you saw the guild as your friends.” he chuckled. Gajeel huffed.

“Shut up. Juvia and Totomaru are in there. Plus the she-demon and the shrimp are alright company. Just cause yer all annoying doesn’t mean I can’t save their stupid asses.” he huffed, gripping the kid in his arms a little tighter.

“And what about the kid you picked up? He didn’t need you to carry him did he?” Erza asked, pointing to Rufus. Gajeel growled lightly with no malice in the tone.

“I have to thank you. I thought I was done for once they noticed my earrings.” Bluehare spoke up from not far behind Gray. The ice mage looked over his shoulder at him.

“And who are you? You look kinda familiar.” he motioned to the reporter.

“Yes. Introductions of course. My name is Gajeel Bluehare. Its a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” he dipped his head slightly while still running. Gajeel snickered when Gray looked straight ahead with furrowed brows.

“Gajeel! You never said you had a twin brother.” Erza yelled with hurt laced in her voice as she turned to him.

“What? I don’t have a brother. He’s this world’s version of me.” Gajeel shook his head. Erza blinked, looking around the hall they were running down. Before either her or Gray could answer, something slammed right into Gajeel’s side, knocking him backwards. He tumbled across the ground, curling his body around Rufus to stop him from getting any damage. He finally stopped with a large wooden table above his head. He stared at it for a moment, trying to pinpoint where a table had appeared from. His ear twitched at a door clicking shut.

“So are you going to stay under the table or get up?” someone laughed. His eyebrows shot up. He knew that voice. He tilted his head backwards, coming face to face with Totomaru. Or this world’s version. He didn’t have the tattooed stripe running across his nose and his hair hung loosely around his shoulders rather than being tied up. He blinked a few times, taking in the much more revealing outfit than his friend’s karate Gi. The coat exposed his chest and stomach, fluttering down behind his legs. The exposed skin of his arms and between his shorts and boots sported fishnets.

“Totomaru?” he blurted out, not having much else to say.

“Oh good. I was a little worried that Freed had managed to give you a concussion with that hit.” the man laughed again, standing up. Gajeel kicked his legs, sitting up too fast that his head slammed into the edge of the table. He groaned, realising his grip on a now squirming Rufus and rubbing the point of impact. Something cold pressed against it. He looked towards Gray.

“There. That should help right?” he offered. Gajeel blinked once.

“Thanks.” he muttered, taking hold of the ice. he coughed a few times, pressing his fist against his lips.

“Can someone explain what exactly is going on here?

“Papa. The fake one’s bleeding again.” Rufus huffed, pointing towards him. Gajeel pulled his hand back, eyeing the blood that sat on the side of his glove.

“Shit.” he hissed, patting down his pockets for another tissue but there was none. He should have taken some spares from Dragion before they got out the car.

“Is that normal for you Earthland people?” Totomaru asked, leaning forward slightly.

“Gajeel? Are you alright?” Erza was closer now, taking a tight hold on either side of his face and checking it side to side.

“What are ya doin?” he asked, nose scrunching slightly which did nothing to stop the nose bleed.

“Weren’t these brighter?” she was staring at him with squinted eyes.

“Huh?” he raised his brows and reached up one hand to his face. His claws clinked against the scales on the right side of his face. He blinked. He must have missed when those came up. That along with the base of his left wing now sticking out from his back. He looked to his hand. Some of the scales had adopted a strange dull grey with hints of brown while others retained their shiny silver look.

“Musta got dirty somewhere. It’s nothing.” he shrugged it off, pulling Erza’s hands from his face and standing up. He reached up one hand to his nose, rubbing the glove along it to clear up the blood. It was still bleeding even after that.

“We need to do this quickly. They are way too loud.” The other man spoke, crossing arms in front of his body. Unlike Totomaru who now stood next to him, the only skin you could see was his face and neck. Dark cloth and armour covered the rest. His hair was even shorter than his Earthland counterpart, shaved right down to the skull and a scar running the length of his face on the right side.

“Freed? You…. Did you cut your hair again? And where is your coat?” Gray asked. Freed looked at him with a scrunched nose and a scowl. He flicked his gaze up and down Gray.

“I don’t want to hear anything from the person who isn’t even wearing a shirt.” Freed snapped, still scrutinising Gray with a stare. The ice mage looked down and sighed, letting his shoulders drop.

“When did that happen?” he muttered. He got a few stares.

“Um. Haven’t you been without one the entire time.” Bluehare pointed out, placing one hand on Rufus who was kicking one leg out in Gray’s direction.

“Yes. Gray does this all the time. Don’t worry about it.” Erza waved him off.

“I do apologise for my fiancé. Right Freed?” Totomaru nudged the green haired man. He huffed, rolling his eyes and turning away.

“If we can get back on topic. Why the fuck did you kick me like that?” Gajeel snapped, pointing at Freed.

“You weren’t going to stop.” he shrugged, turning to look at Gajeel.

“I was carrying a child.” he gestured to Rufus who turned his scowl from Gajeel to Freed.

“So? Is there a point in there?” he didn’t make any move to look towards the child currently sending him a death glare.

“You could have hurt my son. What if you missed him slightly and hit Rufus instead. He’s 12 and that was a very powerful kick.” Bluehare objected, placing his hands on his hips and staring at Freed.

“I didn’t miss so it isn’t a problem.” Freed shrugged, raising one brow at Bluehare. Totomaru sighed.

“That’s enough arguing. We need to move quick if you want to get that lacrima back home.” Totomaru turned to Gajeel, Erza and Gray.

“Wait… You’re helping us?” Gajeel stepped forward, craning his neck slightly when he was about a couple feet away from the other. He stared into Gajeel’s eyes with no hesitation.

“Yes. We’ve been working behind the scenes for a few years now.” he replied. Freed lifted his chin up. Gajeel looked to Erza and Gray, pulling out the bottle.

“Behind the scenes? Doing what?” Bluehare looked between the two. Totomaru turned to him and offered his hand.

“You might know me by the name I gave you. Flash if I remember right.” Bluehare looked at the hand for a moment, brows shooting up. While the two talked, Gajeel twisted the lid of the bottle and tossed a pill to Erza and Gray. They looked to him but he said nothing.

“You are my tipster? I thought it was just a knight, not one of the captains.” Totomaru shook his head.

“Two actually. Freed has been in the game a lot longer than me.” he gestured towards the other man.

“I was assigned as Prince Laxus’ guard after the previous one’s death.” Freed spoke, arms still crossed.

“Laxus?” Gray blinked at them.

“He’s a prince?” Erza added on, body stiff.

“So your job changed after his death correct?” Gajeel tried not to chuckle when Bluehare started talking in that reporter tone he’d heard before. The only thing he was missing was the pen and notepad. Freed scoffed.

“He isn’t dead.” he objected.

“It was all over the news. How he had befallen a similar tragedy as his father and uncle. How can he not be dead?” Gajeel looked to Erza and Gray but they looked more baffled than he felt.

“Simple. He didn’t die. I helped him leave the castle. The death was a coverup so he could go live his own life.” Freed shrugged. Bluehare shook his head, pressing both hands against his face with a sigh.

“Ya know what. I’m done with the chit chat. We need to-.” A scream caught his attention and his head snapped up, ear twitching to pick up the sound.

“Is something wrong? Do you-.”

“Shush.” he snapped twisting both his ears to pinpoint where the sound had come from. Further down the hall, he could hear talking. A lot of it too. Another scream.

“I can hear stars.” he snapped his gaze to Gray and Erza.

“You can hear stars? Are you sure you didn’t give yourself a concussion?” Totomaru asked.

“No not stars. Stars. The blondie. Fucking Lucy dammit.” He snapped.

“You heard Lucy? Where? Is she alright?” Gray asked, turning to look at Gajeel.

“Down the way we were heading. I heard her screamin so I dunno what happened for that and we’re too far for me to understand what’s bein said.” he shook his head but pushed past Totomaru and Freed to open the door. He stepped out and instantly started running down the hall.

“Gajeel! Wait!” someone yelled after him but he didn’t pay attention. He could feel more of his scales pressing against his sides and his other wing bursting from his back sans its feathers. He pushed forward through the stretching of his own skin, trying not to bite his own tongue off with his longer teeth. He reached the location of the scream, sniffing the air to pick up Lucy’s scent. His ears pricked at two more screams mixed with yelling. His eyes snapped to attention on the trail of noise that matched the scent and a snarl burst from his throat. How dare they touch his pack. They were going to pay. He’d kill them all if he had to. He followed the scent trail, leading him down stairs and corridors until he located where Lucy and the cats were. The other Erza towered over her, readying that same weapon to strike. He dived forward, tackling her into the wall. The weapon, no longer a spear and now some other kind of weapon, hit into his side. Sparks of electricity snapped at his scales and skin. He yowled tumbling back into the wall. He turned his head, trying to move his arms to get up. His body wouldn’t listen to him. Instead twitching on the floor from the lightning that had been targeted.

“Not so tough when you’ve been grounded.” she smirked, her attention turning to him.

“Hold onto her while I deal with this beast.” she commanded to some of the soldiers behind her. Gajeel snarled, arching his back as best he could. His spines pushed up, forming a protective force across his back.

“Gajeel!” his ear twitched when he heard Happy yell out his name. He pushed on his arms, trying to pick himself up. The weapon made contact with the back of his neck. The only thing stopping it from removing his head from his body were the scales there. And even those seemed weaker than they should have been when he felt blood trickle down the sides of his neck. He could smell it too. Not that it made a difference when his nose and mouth still dribbled blood themselves.

“Erza wait. Don’t kill him.” he flicked his gaze to Totomaru and Freed who had caught up.

“And why should I?” she demanded, looking to them.

“He’s a dragon slayer like those other two we picked up. Clearly more special than them too. He would be more valuable alive than dead.” Totomaru gestured to him. The other Erza didn’t remove her weapon.

“Byro is getting the dragon slayer magic we require. He is not needed.” she shifted her weapon to the side of his neck, pressing against the skin which just brought up more blood.

“Leave him alone.” Lucy yelled, stumbling to her feet only to be grabbed by one of the soldiers and held in place.

“You will be quiet.” Erza snapped at her. Gajeel snarled, letting her see his teeth.

“Ice make: Lance.” the multiple spears of ice flew towards both the other Erza and the guards holding onto Lucy. The blade at the side of his neck lifted away. He darted back, his partially scaled tail flicking up behind him and hovering above his body as he growled.

Erza stepped in, taking the swung attack of the other Erza with one sword and blocking it.

“Gray. Gajeel. Get Lucy, Happy and Carla out of here.” she ordered, pushing her Edolus counterpart back from her. The Edolus Erza charged at her. She dodged back from the attack, leading the fighting away from the group. Gajeel got to his feet, shaking his fur out -which at some point had started growing in- and turning to Lucy and Gray. The soldiers were trying to block any escape routes, pointing their weapons that smelled strongly of magic at them.

“Stand down. That is an order.” Freed yelled, pointing to the soldiers. They didn’t make any move.

“What did I say?” he snapped, stepping forward.

“Our orders come from Captain Knightwalker. She wants them dead.” one of them objected, pushing their weapon close to Lucy who stepped back and knocked into Gajeel.

“And I’m s-.”

Crash.

Gajeel twitched his ears, looking towards the back of the corridor where the noise came from.

“Anyone else hear that? I really hope that wasn’t someone on their side.” Lucy gulped, pressing closer to Gajeel. She had that gunk on her wrists too. It must be preventing her from calling her spirits. That sucked. They’d be useful. Especially the ginger one. He’d felt extremely powerful when he’d ran into him during his kidnapping attempt. More crackling from down the corridor which got closer until a bright light barrelled into one of the men. The light faded out, replaced with someone pushing the man to the ground.

“Laxus!” Happy cheered, his tail waving back and forth. Not far behind him was Cobra who tackled down one of the opponents and incapacitated them with a poisoned slash. Gajeel took this as the opportunity that it was, morphing his arms into clubs and swinging them at all the distracted enemies. They were knocked to the ground and into the walls, leaving only a few left that Gray finished off. Gajeel morphed his hands back, brushing off a bit of dirt that clung to his skin.

“So it was you that caused the scene in the town square. I’m not surprised.” Cobra shook his head, stepping up to punch Gajeel in the shoulder. He snorted.

“Yeah yeah. Whatever. I didn’t even know that you were here.” he shrugged.

“Not like Mystogan was much help. We had to find the way to turn the lacrima back on our own. All he did was send us here.” Laxus groaned, one hand up to his temple.

“Wait? He didn’t tell you that dragon magic can turn them back?” he asked, tilting his head. Both stared at him for a moment.

“Oh that barbeque is becoming more and more plausible every second that passes.” Cobra huffed.

“You mean to tell me that he knew our magic could turn the lacrima back but didn’t tell us.” Laxus asked, both hands up to his face. Gajeel thought over an answer only to keel over when a coughing fit racked his body. He coughed repeatedly, blood staining the stone floor below.

“Are you alright? Did the other Erza hurt you?” Lucy asked, staring at the blood and back up to him. He shook his head, blinking a couple times when it made him dizzy.

“No. I’m fine. We need to find that lacrima. And I heard Firewood and Sky down there. It sounds like they’re hurt.” he pointed to the corridor he’d been referring too.

“Happy and I saw the lacrima. Its floating above the city.” Carla hovered next to them, paws crossed over her chest.

“So we know where it is but not how to get to it.” Gray shook his head.

“Happy can take someone up to destroy the lacrima. But we’ll need to hurry. We don’t have much time left before the entire guild gets turned into magic power.” she added, looking between Gajeel, Laxus and Cobra.

“I’ll go. Its better the two of you stay here. Make sure Natsu and Wendy are safe. Keep them away from the lacrima. I can’t guarantee things won’t get messy.” Both Erik and Laxus looked like they wanted to protest. He shook his head and started running, stepping past the other people that had formed their own group with Bluehare, Totomaru, Freed and Rufus. Happy was quick to follow, grabbing onto the back of his shirt with his paws and lifting him up off the ground.

Chapter Text

Gajeel shouldn’t have been surprised that the lacrima housing the entire guild was as big as it was. That thing could rival the continent of Midi it was so big. Well perhaps not that big but he needed something to take his mind of the ache that had begun to set in his bones and what better way than to think about the lacrima.

“Its even bigger up close.” Happy stood next to him, craning his neck up to see  the top. Gajeel doubted he could with how tall the thing was. It completely hid away any light coming from the setting sun.

“What do ya expect from such a high strung guild.” he chuckled. His stomach lurched for a moment, threatening to push up any contents it still contained. He swallowed hard, managing to keep it down.

“Yer all gonna owe me for this.” he huffed, pulling his arm back to hit the lacrima. His club was intercepted by a sword, cracking the rock below. He leapt back, skidding across the ground towards the edge. His half coated tail flicked behind him, winding out like a snake. He turned his attention upward.

“I can’t allow you to do that.” the large black cat spoke, white wings lifting him up above the ground and the sword that had intercepted his attack in his hands.

“Wait he’s an exceed too?” Happy yelped from behind him, throwing his paws up near his head. Gajeel smirked.

“Oh? Now this looks like it could be a challenge.” he smirked, rolling his shoulder. The cat looked at him from under his helmet.

‘’You’re the one that attacked the king.” he hovered above them for a moment then raised the sword that had to be three times his own size.

“You won’t get away with that.” he swung the sword down. Gajeel leapt back from the slice. The sword slid through the rock, severing it from the rest of the island and tumbling down to the ground below. The sword disappeared into its handle but the cat still continued to hover. He flapped his wings -both now completely out- only to growl. Only some of his feathers had popped up on his wings. How was he supposed to fly with only 10 feathers overall. A tug on the back of his shirt lifted him up into the air. Happy lifted him up high enough for him to be on equal levels with the cat. He pulled his arm back and launched his club towards the other. The attack landed right in the face before the cat pushed it aside. He swung the handle towards Gajeel, knocking both him and Happy backwards. He kicked his legs to try and realign. He was not used to flying without using his own wings.

“You’re so heavy. What do you eat?” Happy whined, his wings flapping repeatedly. Gajeel’s ear fins twitched.

“Yeah. I get it. I eat a lot. Just put me down. It doesn’t feel right having Firewood’s cat carryin’ me around.” he objected.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Sides. My elements Iron. Earth gives me better energy.” he added. Happy whined a little but placed him back down on the island. He coughed into the back of his hand when his boots touched the ground.

“Bustermarm, redeploy” the sword snapped out from its handle. Huh, so it was some kind of magic then.

“Ya gotta give the guy props for luggin that big thing around everywhere.” he chuckled, not drawing his gaze from the other. The sword swung down towards them once more. Happy screeched, scurrying away. Gajeel stood his ground, reaching his hands up and catching the sword between his claws. The sword clanked against his scales. His boots scraped in the dirt a little as he widened his stance, balancing his own weight and the added pressure of the sword.

“How is that possible? My Bustermarm sword can cut through Iron as easily as it would butter and yet you hold it like it is a blunt knife.” the cat pushed further down with the sword. Gajeel sunk his claws into the metal, wincing at the screech that resonated when they left deep scrapes. He moved the flow of his magic into his hands, focusing his senses on the metal in his hands. He released the magic out between his fingers, hitting directly against both sides of the sword. The metal shattered, falling into piles at his feet.

“You shattered my Bustermarm sword.” Gajeel smirked.

“Don’t get me wrong. Your comin back with me and yer goin to be my cat. But first I need to teach ya that I’m way stronger than ya kitty.” he chortled. He leapt up, using the lacrima as a leverage and kicked himself off of it and landed a punch onto the cat. He stumbled back, wings flapping. Gajeel landed a kick to the chest, sending him down towards the rock.

“Iron dragon roar” his roar burst from his jaws, knocking the cat right down into the rock. He landed on the ground cackling with his teeth on full display, his jaws fully morphed into his muzzle.

“Scary Gajeel!” Happy yelped, his body hugging into the lacrima. Gajeel’s tail flicked watching the cat get to his feet.

“You’re tough.” he muttered, wiping the blood from his lips. His teeth formed into a smirk before charging at Gajeel and landing a punch to his face. He stumbled back, reaching one hand out and grabbing a hold of the other’s wrist. He used that to pull the cat towards him and punch him in the jaw in return. Panther Lily landed another punch on him to the face. He spread out his wing, hitting the cat under the chin using it. He stumbled back, running one hand under his jaw for a second before landing a punch to Gajeel’s gut. He coughed, more blood drooling from his lips and nose. He shook his head to clear the sudden spinning his gaze had gained.

“Gajeel are you ok? You’re bleeding.” Happy yelled from behind him. Gajeel huffed, aiming another punch at Lily but missed due to the continuous spinning.

“Its fine. Nothing’s wrong.” he huffed, shaking his head once more. He blinked once. His dragon was getting restless now. Perhaps because of the fight. He was sure that was what was energising it now. He pulled his arm back to land another punch. The entire island shook and he stumbled to the ground, blinking.

“Did I do that?” he muttered, looking around the rock for some kind of hint to what had caused the shake. An earthquake? Could floating islands even get Earthquakes.

“Something’s stuck to the bottom. It looks like a dragon.” Happy called from below. Gajeel’s tail flicked, ears pinned down against his skull as he balanced himself on his hands and feet. His limbs were shaking a little. He gripped the rock in an attempt to steady himself. It didn’t do much when the island started moving. Gajeel fell to his side, rolling across the rock. He tried to stop himself, clawing at the ground only for the broken remains of his nails to snap in his attempt. He rolled completely off the island, reaching up and grabbing onto it with one hand. He kicked his legs and swung his tail. He placed his other hand on a piece of the rock only for it to break under his grip and leave him hanging on with just one hand again. He turned to look at his wings but they still didn’t have nearly enough feathers on them and deactivating the spell would require him to rely solely on one arm. He morphed his free arm into a pickaxe, chipping at the rock to sink in. Unfortunately for him, with the slices that big sword had caused, it also left the rock unstable. What he’d been holding onto broke. He yelped, unable to get a new grip as he dropped towards the ground below.

“GAJEEL!” he struggled, snarls bubbling from his throat. Something was wrong. His head was cloudy now and his eyes hurt. Something grabbed onto the back of his shirt. He continued to struggle despite himself. His arm swung up, swiping at what he could barely see as a cat. The wings were brighter, flowing with magic. Danger. He swiped again, nails making contact with the head. He was released, falling down again. His head was still cloudy and he couldn’t get his arms to move. Something hit him in the side. Hard. He dropped on something, snarling for a bit before shaking his head. It was clearing now. He blinked looking around. Laxus was the nearest person but he could smell the others. Natsu too. Wendy wasn’t there though. He wasn’t sure where she’d gone. He took a moment to breath, coughing up more blood onto his hand. His ears were ringing. He thought the others were saying something but could he be sure. His eyes snapped wide and he remembered the island.

“Stay!” he snapped at Laxus, pressing against his chest for the spell. He fully released it, allowing feathers to coat his wings. He spread them to their 14ft wingspan and pushed up with a leap and powerful flap of his wings. Wind caught under his spread wings, tickling against the feathers. He tilted to the side, zipping towards the side of the island that was heading for the city ahead. He slammed his shoulder into the rock, hissing when it scraped at his skin. He sunk claws into the surface, flapping his wings at a quickened pace. It wasn’t working. He had to make it work. He forced his magic to pool at his hands, the green light almost blinding. His spines were quivering and his dragon was still snarling and clawing at his chest. He flinched and snapped at whatever slammed next to him, turning towards the creature. A chirp and that little Nyfern was leaping onto his shoulders, knocking its head against the rock behind him.

“What the hell are ya doin? Yer gonna get yourselves killed.” he snapped.

“You can’t stop the entire island on your own.” Lucy chastised him.

“And if it hits the island, everyone in the guild will be gone.” Gray added. The two islands were close now, crumbling at the edges as the magic threatened to destroy both in one fell swoop. The others jumped off the creature, pressing themselves between the two walls of rock.

“Coco. What are you doing?” Lily was looking down at them.

“Lily, your ok. I’m glad” the little girl he finally realised was there spoke. He took note that the other Edolus versions that had been on their side were here too. Rufus and a curly haired kid were hugging into Bluehare and the other two men that had been with them. Gajeel flapped his wings as fast as he could. The pressure on his ankles was almost enough to snap them and his leg wasn’t going to hold up for much longer like this. His ear twitched at a whiz right next to him.

“Carla!” the blue cat yelled, ears twitching.

“We can’t let the lacrima hit. We can’t let Extalia be destroyed. We have to save our homes.” she cried out, her little paws outstretched to push the rock. More thwips in the air passed his ears and more cats were joining them in pushing the island.

“Come on. We have to save them.” Natsu yelled.

“Channel your magic into your hands. As much of it as you can.” he yelled out, hoping they could all hear him. There was a shift in the rock. It was moving backward. It was working. Just a little more. More cats had joined them and he could smell Wendy nearby now too. If Fairy tail was going to go then it would be taking them with it that was for sure. Another thud next to him and he looked. Lily, who was holding a smaller white cat in his arms was next to him, pushing against the rock.

“Look who decided to join the party.” he huffed, his wings repeatedly obscuring his view with how much he was flapping them. The cat said nothing, pressed into the rock with one arm and shoulder. It shifted again, this time a lot more. His ears twitched. In a sudden burst, the island bounced back from them and released any pressure holding them up. Gajeel tried to flap his wings but the fatigue was setting in. His muscles felt numb and his head fuzzy. Almost light headed, like he’d been drinking or something. His body dropped down, spine facing the ground. If he didn’t get his wings moving soon then his spine would be snapping in two on the ground. He tried to move his muscles, getting a twitch from his wing. He coughed, blood staining his lips even more than they already were. He closed his eyes. He was going to die in possibly one of the most ironic ways he could imagine. He hissed when something grabbed him, pulling him upward. His ear twitched and he opened his eyes.

“Are you alright? I didn’t give you brain damage did I?” Lily asked, holding him under the arms. He blinked, looking up at the cat.

“You saved me?” he was still processing who it was that was holding him.

“Gajeel! Are you alright?” he looked to the voice. His guildmates, all being carried by flying cats were looking to him with knitted brows and frowns. He shook his head.

“Yeah. Guess I wore my wings out with that.” he chuckled, brushing over how numb they really felt. Gods he couldn’t wait to just drop in his bed after this adventure. Before any of them could ask anything further, the entire lacrima erupted into a bright light. Gajeel lifted one hand up to shield his eyes from the intense light. When it disappeared so had the lacrima. His ears pinned down against his head.

“Shit” he hissed.

“Oh no.” Wendy had her hands up to her mouth.

“Were we too late?” Laxus asked as they all stared at the vanishing island.

“There’s no need to panic. Everyone is back home safe and sound.” he turned to look towards the voice. His ears perked up once more.

“Mystogan.” Erza smiled up at him. The masked man nodded to Erza and then turned to him and Lily.

“Lily. Years ago you saved my life. Allow me to return the favour today.” he pulled the mask and hat back to expose his face. One that matched with the blue haired man that had been tailing Erza during their fight against the Oracion seiz.

“My prince. Its been so long.” Lily dipped his head, a smile on his face.

“Jellal!” Gajeel turned towards the blond and black haired man who had called out the name. Jellal looked as well. The smile on his face brightened his eyes.

“Laxus. I’m so relieved to see you safe.” he addressed the man.

“Wait Laxus? As in Prince Laxus? You are prince Laxus.” Bluehare asked, moving his hands as he spoke which the maroon haired man watched only for his own eyes to blow wide. Cobra chuckled.

“Thought there was something familiar about him.” he looked to Laxus and wiggled his eyebrows. Laxus pushed him with one hand although he had a smile on his face.

“Glad to see your all getting al- argh.” he yelled out when pain exploded in his back and a large part of his wing. He could hear his own yowl mixed in with Lily’s as the cat’s wings flickered in and out of existence and they started falling downward.

“Lily!”

“Gajeel!” He could hear the yells above him. Even with his wing hot and wet he flapped them, taking hold of Lily. He could barely lift his own body, let alone both of them but his wings at least slowed their fall. When they neared the ground, he turned his body so that he took the brunt of the impact. They rolled in the ground for a bit before his grip on the other faltered and they tumbled a bit further. His head flopped onto the ground and he hissed.

“Fuck. You alright there cat?” he asked, pushing up on his arms to look towards Lily. He groaned, sitting up slightly with one hand covering the open wound. He blinked for a moment then looked to Gajeel. He dipped his head slightly.

“Thank you.” he acknowledged. Gajeel’s ears twitched. He could hear the clank and shift of metal from somewhere.

“Are you both alright. I can help patch up your injuries.” another cat was next to them now, a soft teal. He lifted his arm, wincing when it stretched his skin. He could see the blood dripping down from his feathers and back. His scales had warded off some of the damage but that didn’t mean the damage had miraculously fixed itself or didn’t exist. He hissed. That had not calmed his dragon down at all. It was almost like it was clawing up his throat it was that hard to breath. Or was that something else? Had one of his lungs been blown through? His ears pricked at the screams. A battle. One that all his guildmates were involved in and he was sitting here doing nothing. He got to his feet.

“Wait. You shouldn’t move. You’re already hurt.” the cat objected.

“What are you doing?” Lily asked, one ear twitching as he watched Gajeel.

“I’m helping my friends.” he bit out, doing his best not to bite down on his own tongue as he spread his wings. He pushed down on his legs and leapt up. His wings may hurt and he might not have much energy left but he couldn’t sit idly by. He had to help.

Chapter Text

Natsu winced when he was thrown back again, this time his back colliding with a rock. The stupid fake dragon had managed to push them back and now they were too close to Lucy and Gray and the Edolus Fairy tail. Laxus charged up his lighting, slamming it down on the dragon. The metal creaked and sparked, leaving dark burns across it. The arm swung at him, sending the lightning mage back as well. Wendy had already been hit and was trying to pull herself up from the ground and Cobra was still dodging attacks and dishing out counters but even he was tiring. Natsu growled, flowing his magic to his fingers and throwing a wing attack at the dragon armour.

“Couldn’t you guys have kept that thing away from us?” Gray yelled. Natsu huffed.

“What do you think we’re trying to do.” he snapped in return.

“Stop yelling. I can’t concentrate on his thoughts when you two are yelling louder than a fucking canon.” Cobra jumped into the conversation, simultaneously leaping upwards to avoid the metal claws of the dragon.

“You fight each other during a fight? Are you insane?” the other Gajeel asked, swinging a led pipe he’d been given at some point.

“Is now the time to discuss our differences? Let’s focus on not dying to this beast.” Laxus snapped, having gotten up from the ground -gods he was resilient- and threw another blast of lightning. Wendy was back up too, holding her arms up as the air around her shifted. Another blast was starting up but now it was aimed towards them and the other Fairy tail instead of Exceeds when they had occupied the sky.

“He’s going to fire.” Other Lucy pointed towards the attack. The fake dragon raised its head, the canon within its jaws lighting up with the blue of its beam. Natsu scrambled over to the other Fairy tail, quickly followed by the other slayers. There had to be a way they could counter the attack. Maybe a roar. If they all roared at once then the power of all four of them could work. He didn’t get the chance to call out his idea to the others before it released. He yelped, trying to draw air into his lungs before it hit.

“Iron dragon’s roar!” the blast of grey hit against the attack, both roars bursting out upon impact. Gajeel dropped down in front of them, his wings were bent in the middle and his tail was flicking back and forth behind him. He could hear the whispering from the Edolus citizens behind him.

“Gajeel? You should be resting. You’re hurt.” Gray called out. Natsu drew his attention to the blood that was trailing down his wing and down his exposed back. He sniffed, ears twitching once before he lifted his head up towards the Dorma anim.

“You call yourself a dragon? You ain’t no dragon. How about you try fighting someone with actual dragon’s blood.” he snarled, spreading his wings and leaping into the air. His wings spread out to their full size, the minimal light in the air catching on his feathers while his tail coiled below him.

“Mrith ve” Natsu rolled one shoulder, pushing forward towards the fight. He let his magic flow to his fist, pulling it back and hitting the ankle of the suit. His attack left black marks in the metal. He could smell the lightning right before it hit, having enough time to jump back so the attack wouldn’t hit him.

“Poison dragon scales.” the slices of poison hit against the metal, running up the body and destroying small spots of the metal.

“No. How can your magic possibly doing so much damage?” the king questioned, the head of the false dragon twisting around. Gajeel swung his sword at its head, the blades cutting at the right eye which sparked. The head swung towards Gajeel, trying to knock him from the sky. Gajeel flapped his wings to avoid the attack although he seemed a little unstable in his movements, almost lagging,

“A roar. Combine the roar.” he yelled from above them, landing on the ground between him and Laxus. Natsu inhaled the air around him, letting fire bubble in his lungs. He could see the others doing the same and for a moment wondered what Poison, Lightning or iron felt like in the lungs. Maybe he’d ask when they were finished the fight. Gajeel swung his tail down on the ground and Natsu released his roar. His fire swirled around, combining with the four other streams of magic to form a single attack. It hit head on, doing a decent amount of damage to the main body. Laxus doubled over, coughing into his hand. Gajeel leapt up into the air, spreading his wings once more.

“Cover Laxus.” He called out, pulling up further into the air like he had before.

“Aye.” Natsu yelled out.

“Do you and your cat have to say the exact same thing?” Cobra yelled, keeping an open stance as he swung a wing attack at the Dorma anim.

“Are you dissing Happy?” he huffed, puffing up his cheeks and staring at the poison dragon.

“Is this something we’re supposed to do? Yell at each other?” Wendy asked, landing back on the ground after a claw. Laxus coughed once more, wiping saliva from his mouth and standing up once more.

“Not normally in this kind of fight.” he huffed.

“Damn you brats. You’ll be killed for this.” the king snapped then he paused, not making any move even with the robot.

“No. Hold on. You’re magic. You’d make the perfect weapons.” he was laughing to himself now.

“Oh cool. We’re not only fighting a king, but he’s cracked up insane.” Cobra rolled his eyes, a sneer on his lips. Natsu huffed. The king turned towards Gajeel who had hit the shoulder with an iron club.

“And you. You’re the leader.” One claw aimed for Gajeel, metal fingers almost closing around him if he hadn’t flown out of the way. Laxus hissed and turned to them.

“Keep his attention off Gajeel.” he ordered, lifting one arm to them.

“Right.” Natsu nodded, running forward with another wing attack.

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Cobra agreed, using his own claw attack to drag poison up one of the legs. The dragon moved its foot, aiming to step down on Natsu. He leapt to the side, avoiding the attack and charging in with a talon. The tail knocked him back, leaving him to skid across the ground. When he turned his attention back, the dragon had changed. It now resembled some kind of knight he’d seen in Levy’s storybooks when they were little. Natsu leapt up, trying to land a hit but the king lifted up his shield and threw him back.

“You can try all you like but you can’t defeat the Dorma Anim.” The king laughed, the tail which was now attached to the head flicking behind him. Gajeel flew behind it, out of view.

“Wait Opsola. He has missiles back there.” Wendy yelled, her hands clutching tightly on her dress until it turned her knuckles white. The king was laughing now.

Boom.

The explosion was bright and powerful, causing winds around them. Seconds later Gajeel flew backwards, his body hitting against one of the old ruins hard and collapsing to the ground. One wing draped over his limp body, smoke rising from it.

“Is he-?” Laxus looked to Cobra who was staring straight at the unmoving form of the iron mage. The king turned the dragon’s head to look at him for a moment.

“Good. You’re down and still breathing. With your fall, your comradery will follow suit.” he chuckled, turning his attention back to them. Natsu snarled, building up another roar. A snarl interrupted him. He looked towards the source. Gajeel was stumbling onto his hands and feet, tail flicking around behind him. His eyes were shielded by his hair, some of it singed from the explosion. He wobbled on his feet before righting himself.

“He’s ok.” Wendy cheered, making a step to run towards him. Cobra placed one hand on her shoulder, the other hand tight against his side.

“Wait. Something’s not right.” he objected, refusing to let go.

“Not right how? Cobra. What is wrong?” Laxus demanded, turning to him. Cobra’s eyes were wide, almost completely consumed with white as he stared. He swallowed hard before speaking.

“His thoughts...... They.... I can’t make them out but..... Something is wrong with them.” his voice was hollow. Natsu turned to Gajeel. He’d lifted his head, scanning his surroundings. He couldn’t see anything wrong. He looked fine aside from the injuries on his body. He lifted his head up, gaze locking on the Dorma anim. He snarled again and leapt up towards it. He didn’t move his wings, instead climbing up the back and onto the head. He skidded across the metal and pulled one arm back, landing a simple punch not covered in magic on the face. And again. He landed about ten punches, the shell cracking further from the damage sustained to the eye.

“He’s beating it.” Natsu wanted to cheer his words but his stomach was doing tumbles now. He could feel how worked up Cobra was about the situation and there was a strange feeling sitting in his chest that he wasn’t sure of the source. Gajeel seemed to divert his attention after an eleventh punch, climbing down to one of the dissolved spots left by Cobra’s poison. His teeth sunk into the metal, pulling and scraping at it until he slipped inside.

“No. What are you doing? Get out of there you brat.” the king yelled, the Anim moving around alongside his words.

“He’s distracted. Can’t you use your lightning?” Natsu asked. Laxus shook his head.

“Not with Gajeel in there. I could hurt him or worse while he’s still in there.” the lightning mage objected. Natsu could hear the scratch of metal on metal from within until it stopped.

“What’s going on in there?” he asked, turning to Cobra. The poison mage took a sharp breath.

“There’s a lacrima in there...” Natsu could hear humming now and it was coming from inside the fake dragon.

“And its about to blow. Someone get the king out of there.” Cobra added. Natsu used his fire to push himself upwards. He reached into the shell of the dragon, taking hold of the king’s jacket and yanking him out. He leapt back and right after his feet had left the robot, an explosion of magic burst around them. Natsu was sent backwards, hitting the ground hard. He groaned, rubbing his cheek that he’d scrapped upon impact. He looked towards the others but he couldn’t see Gajeel.

“Where’s Gajeel?” he asked, stepping up next to them.

“Did he-?” Wendy trailed off, eyes brimming with tears. The Dorma Anim had collapsed on the floor, a giant gapping hole where the explosion had burst from. Natsu scanned the smoke, catching a glimpse of a tail.

“I see him. I see him.” he yelled, pointing towards the speared tip. He ran towards it, climbing the side of the remains. Laxus was beside him in an instant, reaching down alongside him to help lift Gajeel out. Gajeel’s eyes snapped open and his jaws latched onto Laxus’ arm. He hissed but made no move to pull his arm back. Gajeel reached up claws, scratching and clawing at Laxus arm. Natsu grappled at Gajeel’s jaws, pulling them apart so Laxus could pull his arm back. The three of them toppled to the floor, drawing up dust. Laxus hissed, looking to the bite and claw marks on his arm. That same smell from their fight in the cathedral was back but Natsu ignored it in favour of checking on Gajeel. He had scrambled onto his hands and feet, hissing as his gaze scanned his surroundings.

“Gajeel. Its alright. Its over.” Cobra reached one hand out towards the iron dragon. He snapped his head towards the poison dragon, growling. He snapped his gaze up towards Cobra’s face and his features softened. He stared for a moment before shaking his head. He stumbled a little and groaned.

“You alright there Gajeel?” Laxus asked, now on his feet and walking towards him. Gajeel sat back on the ground, one hand up to his head. He groaned when he moved his arm.

“Hold on. I can help.” Wendy offered, holding her hands out towards Gajeel. He shook his head, waving Wendy off.

“No. Go heal Laxus’ bite and claw wounds first.” he ordered, not even looking behind him.

“What happened? You went strange for a moment there?” Cobra asked, crouching down next to Gajeel. He shook his head.

“I..... don’t remember. I got hit by that missile and then everything was black until I was looking at you.” he groaned, rubbing his hand over his eyes. Natsu furrowed his brows. How had he known Laxus’ exact injuries if he didn’t remember what happened. He hadn’t even turned around for it. He didn’t get the chance to ask when cheers and roars of victory filled the air. Natsu looked to where the other Fairy tail were celebrating, giving each other hugs and high fives as they shouted the king’s defeat to the sky. Gajeel chuckled.

“Looks like we won.” he had a smirk on his face, looking to them. Natsu bounced on his feet.

“Yeah. We totally beat a dragon.” Natsu cheered.

“Not a real dragon but it was close enough.” Gajeel shook his head, smile still present on his face. Natsu looked to the king. They were going to have to do something about that. They couldn’t just leave it at that.

“Oh. I have an idea. Let’s pretend to be demons and tell all the towns people we won.” he laughed. Laxus flinched back and Cobra looked to him with a scrunched up nose.

"What? People don’t like demons and someone needs to take the fall. Better us than them. Its not like I don’t like demons. It just works for making people scared.” he rambled, pointing towards the other Fairy tail. Wendy shuffled on her feet.

“It would make more sense for us to take the blame. Since we don’t live here” she agreed. Laxus sighed.

“Fine if we all agree to this idea then we can do it.” he bit out. Gajeel stared at the ground for a moment then blinked.

“Yeah. We can do it.” he finally agreed. Cobra nodded.

“Yes. I’m gonna get the capes.” he giggled.

****
To say Gajeel felt sick might be an understatement. He could barely make out what Natsu was even yelling about now and every smell made him want to gouge out his nose and throw up all his internal organs. Plus the pounding headache and dizziness that made it hard for him to even concentrate on the act he was supposed to be putting on. He’d felt shitty after the fight but that felt like child’s play compared to this full body ache he was experiencing. It couldn’t have even been twenty minutes. His eyes dropped closed, heavy and almost impossible to pull open again. He stumbled on his feet for a moment, steadying himself only for his legs to give out under him. His eyes dropped shut before he even hit the ground.

Chapter Text

A large metal dragon sat in his nest, spear tipped tail twitching as he watched the rain that pattered against the rock outside his cave. His ear fin twitched.

Xiiwic where is Opsola?” The little boy next to him asked. He was tucked in against his tail, the boy’s own metal coated tail curled up next to his bandaged and braced leg. He sniffled. The dragon looked back to the cave entrance.

I’m not sure little songdragon.” he whispered, the name falling from his tongue with ease. The boy’s ear fins pressed against his head.

Does he not want me anymore?” he whimpered, curling up smaller next to the dragon. He tried not to let the whine escape. He had to be strong.

No. No. I’m sure that’s not it. I’m sure your Opsola will be back soon.” he ran his tail under the boy’s chin, lifting it up to meet his eyes.

Are you going to leave me?” he asked, red eyes wet and briming with tears.

No. Of course not my little songdragon. I’m not going anywhere.” he assured him.

Promise?” the boy’s ears twitched, lifting slightly. The dragon smiled.

I promise.” he nodded.

****

The moment Laxus hit the ground from their fall, he was rushing over to Gajeel. He still hadn’t moved and he couldn’t even hear breathing. His scales were in a horrible state, dull grey and brown and the blood that was barely trailing from his nose and lips was oozing out darker than it was turning.

“Maybe my magic will help.” Wendy was next to Gajeel first, nose twitching as she looked over him. Laxus was above him now, pulling him onto his back and pressing down on his chest to get his still heart beating again.

“Did the explosion kill his heart?” He could hear Gray talking.

“If it was the explosion, wouldn’t he have collapsed right after?” Lucy asked.

“Let me shock him. Maybe it’ll jump start his heart.” Laxus pulled back, ready to build up electricity in his hand.

“Don’t do that. You might make it worse.” Cobra scolded him.

“Well what do you want me to do? I’m not a doctor” he objected, throwing his arms out wildly. He shook his head.

“Just keep pre-“ Gajeel coughing cut them all off. He groaned, arching his back before dropping on the ground. His eyes were screwed shut now, nose crinkled but he was breathing and Laxus could hear his heart hammering in his chest.

“Oh thank the gods.” he sighed.

“Is your friend alright? He really shouldn’t have taken off with that injury.” the little teal cat spoke up, hovering next to them. He blinked. Wait. The cat’s were here now? He supposed that made sense, after all they had magic flowing through them and if all magic had been sent out of Edolus then they would have too. He turned back to Gajeel who appeared to be fading in and out of consciousness with pained groans. He opened his eyes for a moment, looking towards Laxus.

“Where’s opsola?” he muttered, eyes not focusing on Laxus. He must have been really out of it if he was asking that question.

“Not sure.” he shook his head. Gajeel shuffled a little then winced, groaning when the movement clearly caused him pain. His eyes flicked towards the trees, ear fins twitching.

“Eilian?” he muttered, gaze gaining some focus. Laxus lifted his head and looked towards where Gajeel had been looking. He only caught the slight glimpse of gold and white cloth before whatever it was disappeared in the trees. He looked back to Gajeel who had dropped his head back down. Laxus wasn’t sure if he had simply fallen unconscious again or he just didn’t have the strength to keep his head up much longer.

‘’Xiiwic promised.” Gajeel muttered, his head still laid back as he spoke. His tail twitched as he made vague whines and whimpers. Laxus lifted him up in his arms, holding him close to his chest.

“Laxus? You’ve gotten so big.” he lifted his head towards the voice. He knew that voice. Lisanna was standing amongst the group now. He pinched his brows together. He was sure she’d died. That’s what Mira and Elfman had said to everyone. So how was she here? Natsu slid across the wet grass to sit next to him.

“Its so cool isn’t it. She’s alive.” he was buzzing in his spot. Laxus blinked.

“I don’t think I’ve seen some of you before though. You must be Lucy and Wendy. I’ve met your Edolus counterparts.” she smiled then turned to look at Erik and Gajeel.

“Are you…. Hmm. Oh, you said that was Gajeel right? I’ve heard about the Edolus Gajeel. Natsu talked about him a few times.” She placed one finger on her lips.

“Cobra.” The poison dragon huffed; eyes narrowed at her. She tilted her head.

“I go by Cobra.” he added, fidgeting with his sleeves. She nodded, turning to Natsu who was back by her side now.

“Is he alright?” Laxus turned to the voice, now staring at the tiny black cat. He’d shrunk. It took a moment for the words to register, and he looked down at Gajeel who had slipped out of consciousness once more.

“I’m not sure. He’s in a pretty bad state. We should get him back to the guild so Porlyusica can take a look.” he made sure his voice was loud so that the others could hear him. Erza nodded.

“Good idea Laxus. We all need to have our wounds sorted.” She put her hands on her hips before taking lead of the group.

****
Cobra looked around at the guild members. The moment they’d walked into the building it had been quiet. He wasn’t sure if he preferred that to the loud rambling that usually filled the room.

“Is that Lisanna?”

“What happened?”

“Is Gajeel dead?” the questions were muttered, likely not meant for them to hear. Makarov walked over to them, eyes flicking up each of them.

“I do hope you have an explanation for your sudden disappearance and why you have all returned in such a state.” he spoke. Natsu jumped forward.

“We fought a king.” he cheered. Cobra groaned. Did he have to start with that? The story really should start with everyone becoming lacrima.

“You fought the king?” Erza shook her head.

“Not the king. A king” she spoke, and Cobra was confident even without his ears that her explanation didn’t help anything. Laxus sighed.

“You all got taken to another world, so we had to go get you back. That involved fighting a king.” he explained. Better but it still left a lot of holes in the story. Something clear when some people were wondering about the severity of their injuries and why this Lisanna and the cat were there.

“Yeah, the king had this big dragon armour that we fought and then Gajeel got blown up but then he made the armour blow up.” Natsu was bouncing on his feet and punching the air with a big smile. Why was he so full of energy after just fighting that dumb armour exactly? And its not like that answered anyone’s questions. It just made them worse.

“Is that why you all look like you just went to hell and fought your way back up?” Cana laughed from the bar. Cobra shrugged.

“You could put it that way.” he turned to look at a spot in the rafters. Makarov shook his head.

“All of you get up to the infirmary. I’ll call Porlyusica to look at your injuries.” the sigh he gave seemed to seep into his bones. He couldn’t blame the guy. It must be a pain to have so many members continuously show up injured after big fights. Especially in only a matter of months if the stories were anything to go by. He followed the group up towards the infirmary. Not like he cared right now. He just wanted to collapse on a bed and sleep for five years after all of the chaos.

****
Gajeel shifted onto his back in his bunk. After what he’d been told was days of him slipping in and out of consciousness in a delirious state, he had finally woken up fully. Porlyusica had dismissed him so long as he had plenty of rest and didn’t do anything taxing for at least a week. Which was fine by him because his entire body felt like someone had pumped lead into his veins. Actually, scratch lead, concrete was a more viable option. He stared blankly at the ceiling above, barely having the energy to even sit up. His fingers brushed over the ring around his neck. He lifted it a little using the chain and stared at the metal engravement and dropped it into his hand. He wondered when Metalicana met him if he’d been in a relationship with his Opsola. Maybe when he had first been found by Metalicana. He blinked when his head spun slightly.

“Oh gods. He’s beautiful.” silver fins twitched as silver scaled hands held onto a tiny little baby, wisps of black hair and silver scales of its own.

“I wasn’t expecting you today. I thought you’d be hibernating right now.” whoever was watching spoke, stepping closer with one hand on the man’s shoulder.

“I couldn’t leave my mate alone. I was worried about you. Couldn’t get a proper rest. Glad I did come. Now I get to meet my son.” he bounced the newborn in his arms, the tail curling around an arm.

“Yes. I’ve not gotten much sleep myself. The cold season is one of the worst times of year to have children, let alone one with dragon’s blood.” The person shook their head, strands of azure temporarily covering the eyes. The silver haired man laughed.

“Did you name him? I want to know it if you did.” he turned to the other, black eyes almost sparkling. A sigh.

“No. I’ve been so busy between my duties and making sure he doesn’t die that I haven’t thought of anything.” the voice was laced with a yawn. The silver haired male scrunched his face in thought.

“If you name him after a metal then I’m making you sleep outside tonight.” the other laughed.

“I was actually thinking about plants but that seems unoriginal. What with you being named after a tree and being a doctor. Everyone’s gonna think your weird.”

“Everyone already thinks I’m weird Cana. I gave birth to a child. Men don’t do that.” a hand pushed at the other.

“Yeah yeah. I know. Hmmm…. Oh. What about Gajeel?” the silver haired man turned back to the infant whose eyes were now staring at them. Red looking up at black.

“Gajeel?” the other tested the name.

“I like it.” he leaned forward, dark hand running through the short strands of black hair. The silver haired man laughed.

“Gajeel Redfox, son of Metalicana. Has a nice ring to it don’t you think.” he lifted the child up, swinging him around.

“He’s not going to use that.” the fins bent back with a huff.

“Alright what about we add you as well. Gajeel Redfox, son of Metalicana and Rowan Redfox? Is that better?”

“He’s not using that either. Gajeel is just fine.”

“Oh come on. He needs a title. All dragons have titles. And when he’s older, he’ll have new titles to add to it.” the man turned to the other.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he grows up. He’s going to be our little miirik-draushum.”

Gajeel blinked, the image fading from his vision. He turned to look at the ring. His parents. They’d enchanted it. For him perhaps? He closed his eyes tightly, trying to ward off the tears. He pulled the ring close to his chest, leaning his head back. Perhaps that dragon did have something to do with his Xiiwic’s disappearance. He recognised the smell that had coated the cave. He sighed. His head felt heavy and his brain foggy. He should get some sleep. Then he could think about it.

Chapter Text

Natsu crossed his arms, staring over at the other fire mage. Totomaru was sitting at a table with Juvia, the two talking about something he wasn’t listening to. He looked over to Laxus who was tapping the table he was at with one finger. Natsu huffed and stood up, walking over to the table.

“I want to talk to you.” he stated. The other mage sighed.

“I’m not making fire for you to eat. Go away.” he waved one hand towards Natsu without looking behind him.

“No.... I want to talk about Gajeel.” his mouth dropped in a frown. Totomaru looked over his shoulder with a raised brow while Juvia’s eyes lit up with sparkles in them.

“Oooooh. True love. Why can’t Totomaru do the same thing?” she whispered. The fire mage burst into a blush, sputtering and kicking one leg at Juvia under the table.

“Shut up. Its not like that. I can’t.... Shut up.” he turned back to Natsu and stood up.

“Fine but outside. I can’t listen to one more comment from the love fanatic over here.” he shook his head.

“Bye Totomaru. Juvia hopes he gets good advice.” she giggles. Totomaru turned around, flipping his middle finger to her as he walked towards the back door. Natsu gestured to Laxus and Cobra who had both taken interest in what he was doing. Laxus said something to the other members of the Thunder legion and Cobra pushed his glass across the bar counter and stood up. Totomaru kept walking until they were at the garden behind the guild. Natsu looked at the plants. He could smell Gajeel and Droy’s scents which overlapped each other. Some of the scents were fresher than others but the two had been here at the same time more than once.

“Alright. What do you want?” Totomaru turned around, arms crossed. Cobra stepped up beside Natsu.

“Oh so we’re asking him about that. Interesting idea.” he smirked, tilting his head slightly.

“If your gonna talk in riddles then I’m ditching.” the fire mage was not impressed. Laxus shook his head.

“We’ve been trying to think of something to give Gajeel. He went through a lot with everything that’s happened but we don’t know what to get him.” the lightning mage explained, adjusting a wooden support he accidentally knocked with his shoulder.

“Something important?” Totomaru asked, an eyebrow raised. Natsu nodded enthusiastically. The fire mage’s features softened.

“I have something. Follow me.” he stepped past them and walked towards the shed at the back of the guild. He pushed the door, wincing when the hinges squeaked. He paused staring into the room. Once he was sure of whatever he was looking for, he gestured for them to enter the room. Natsu noticed Panther Lily sitting on the couch, a juice box in his paws. He looked up at them, his tail twitching once. Totomaru lifted one finger up to his lips in the Exceed’s direction. He nodded, not making any noise but watching them none the less. Natsu flicked his gaze to the former soldier. His wound had healed over nicely, especially with Wendy’s help. That didn’t stop a scar from forming on his lower back where the attack had hit. It was partially covered up by his new silver guild mark but still present.

Crash.

Natsu looked to see that whatever Totomaru had been trying to pull out from under one of the shelves had resulted in the shelf it was on falling. All four of them ducked down, the unit catching on the couch before it crushed the fire mage. Lily yowled loudly, Milk scampered off to hide somewhere and the new creature that had yet to be named hissed and spat at the unit.

“Shit.” Totomaru hissed under his breath.

“What the fuck are ya doin out there? If one of ya just collapsed the roof in I swear to every god’s name I know I’m gonna kill ya.” Gajeel -who Natsu believes might have been sleeping if they were trying to be quiet- yells from where the bunks are. Totomaru reaches over to what he’d been trying to get, passing a box and a large jar filled with something silver over the floor. It hit Natsu’s foot. He picked it up, looking around for a moment before pushing it to the other side of the couch, putting the jar next to it on the floor and tossing a blanket over the top. When he turned around, Lily had changed to his previous form and with Laxus’ help were trying to lift the unit up which Totomaru was still trapped under.

“No, No its fine. Just one of the units. I was just trying to get something for....” he trailed off, coughing into his hand. Natsu caught a glimpse of Gajeel over the unit. His eyes were dull, lacking the vibrant colour he’d seen before. The dark circles below his eyes weren’t helping matters either. He stepped towards where Lily was lifting the unit.

“Don’t bother. We’ve got this.” the Exceed waved Gajeel off with his tail. Once the unit was lifted high enough, Totomaru slid out, brushing dust and a couple random trinkets from his clothes.

“Maybe we should bolt that thing down. I almost became a pancake.” he joked, patting down his sides. Laxus and Lily let go of the unit which fell back into place where it had been before.

“Didn’t expect to nearly die today. Guess I can cross that off the bucket list.” Totomaru chuckled, one hand pressed against his neck. Gajeel huffed and shook his head. The fire mage stuck his tongue out at him.

“You almost died and your first thought is a bucket list?” Cobra snickered, holding one hand out for him to take. Totomaru rolled his eyes but accepted the hand, allowing Cobra to pull him up to his feet.

“Whatever. I’m going back to sleep. You woke me up from that by the way. Thanks.” he grumbled, pulling himself back into the bunk. Totomaru stared at it for a moment before gesturing to Natsu. He perked his head up, bending down to pick up the box. Cobra took hold of the jar, clasping it close to his chest to lessen any noise. Natsu walked slowly, taking note of the metallic clang within the box. The fire mage held the door open for them, letting the three of them step out before closing it behind him. Natsu didn’t ask anything until they were a decent distance away from the shed.

“Alright so you almost got yourself killed getting whatever is in this box so now the question is why would we give him something he already owns.” Laxus huffed, gesturing to the box that Natsu was now putting down on the grass.

“It’s Gajeel’s guitar.” he stated. Natsu raised a brow.

“Gajeel has a guitar?” he asked, tilting his head to the side slightly. Totomaru huffed. Cobra shook his head with a sigh.

“Yes. I’ve seen it. Not for many years but it was impressive. Had some kind of dragon lightning lacrima in the core that let him switch it between electric and acoustic. Very bizarre mechanics but I hadn’t really seen a guitar before.” he shrugged.

“Eh. Its more along the lines of he used to have one. That’s all that’s left of it. Some of the bits were so horribly mangled that they were unrecognisable.” Totomaru’s shoulders slumped as he talked. Natsu looked to the box and opened up the lid. Broken chunks of metal sat at the bottom of the box. He picked one of the pieces up to observe the white metal. He blinked once. He’d caught that smell before.

“Why does it smell like dragon?” he asked, looking up from the box. Totomaru stiffened.

“Well.... Gajeel always said it was a gift from his dragon made from his scales. It was supposed to be near indestructible. I tried asking how it got broken like that but he never told me.” he knelt down, searching through the box and picking up a piece of metal. Words were engraved into it but Natsu didn’t know what they said, just that they were written in a sharp cursive.

“So why are you giving it to us?” Laxus raised one brow, looking at Totomaru.

“Because if you can find a way to get it repaired, I’m sure it’ll make his year. That’s what the scales are for. He’s been saving his own to get it repaired but he’s just never gotten around to doing so.” he dropped the piece back into the box.

“But some of these are grey, not white. They’ll stand out against each other.” Laxus picked up one of the scales from within the jar which was indeed grey or more accurately silver, not far off from the colour of Gajeel’s scales.

“They’ll turn white eventually. All of the ones in that jar were silver at one point” Totomaru shrugged. Natsu squinted then his eyebrows sprang up.

“Oh yeah. I remember Igneel mentioning that. His scales turned white after he shed them. That’s why my scarf is white.” he pulled on the end of his scarf to emphasise his point, showing off the rounded scales.

“Is that what that weird smell you have is?” Laxus asked, one hand fidgeting with the fur of his coat. Natsu tilted his head.

“What smell?” he asked, bouncing to his feet and staring at Laxus.

“I dunno. I can’t describe what something smells like just that I know its there.” he shrugged. Cobra sniffed the air, scrunching his nose up.

“Gods I know what that smell is. Have you encountered one of Zeref’s demons lately cause that’s the smell they carry.” Cobra blinked rapidly. Natsu squinted his eyes.

“Oh yeah. I fought a big wooden one called Lullaby and then another big one called Deliora.” he threw his arms up to emphasise how big he was talking.

“I think I remember the papers talking about that first one. Eisenwald made an attempt to take out the guild masters and then a demon showed up? Didn’t it destroy a mountain?” Totomaru looked to Natsu. He laughed a little.

“Actually that was me, Erza and Gray.” he laughed, smile bright. Laxus shook his head.

“I’m not surprised.” he placed one hand against his temple, rubbing it.

“Back on topic. We just get this repaired and then give it to Gajeel right? You got a case for it.” Cobra gestured to the box with the guitar remains inside. Totomaru shook his head.

“As far as I know, he never had a case for it. Maybe cause his dragon gave it to him but I’m not sure.” he shrugged. Cobra nodded, picking up the jar.

“Come on. Let’s see where we can get this thing repaired.” he nodded his head.

*****

“What did you do to this?” the man behind the desk practically squawked when he looked inside the box.

“Dunno.” Laxus shrugged, leaning one arm on the counter.

“I don’t know if this can even be repaired. Its in shambles.” he tipped out the contents of the box. The metal hit the counter with varied clinks and clanks, scattering across the surface. Natsu caught one piece that skittered off the edge and fell towards the floor, placing it back on the counter.

“We have the same metal that was used to make the guitar. Can’t you just use that to fix it?” Cobra rolled his eyes, leaning his hip into the side of the counter with his arms crossed. Natsu pushed the jar over to the man. Laxus watched him scan over the contents of the jar. He reached in, pulling one of the scales out and twisting it in hand. The light caught on the scales, reflecting off the metal.

“Amazing. What kind of metal is this? I’ve never seen anything like it.” Cobra reached over the counter and snatched the scale from the man.

“Yeah and all your gonna do with it is repair that guitar.” he hissed, dropping the scale back in the jar that landed with a clink. The man leaned back slightly in an attempt to be further away from Cobra.

“Alright. Alright. I’ll get some help and we’ll try our best but I can’t promise anything.” he turned, walking into the back of the shop. Laxus waited for a moment.

“Please don’t threaten the shop owners. Your going to get yourself in trouble if they make a complaint about you.” Laxus sighed, eyeing the poison dragon from the corner of his eye. Cobra snorted, rolling his eyes.

“Then he should have minded his own business and not implied wanting those scales.” he shrugged, tilting his head slightly to smirk at Laxus. He shook his head. Natsu leaned in.

“So what your saying is I snatch from them next?” he asked, bouncing on his toes. Laxus swatted him in the face.

“Absolutely not. You give Gramps enough headaches.” he objected. Natsu’s smile dropped and he let his head and arms dangle down. Laxus chuckled, placing one hand on Natsu’s head to mess with the spikes.

“If you want to be such a menace then go find Gray later.”

“Better yet, find Totomaru. He stole my pillow last night and I need revenge.” Cobra added with a snicker. Laxus raised a brow.

“What, a shelf dropping on him wasn’t enough for you?” he asked. Cobra’s eyebrows knitted together as he narrowed his eyes.

“No.” he stated.

*****
Gajeel sat at the counter of the bar, staring blankly into his glass. It had taken him so long to bolt that dumb shelf down properly so it wouldn’t nearly kill anyone again. Twice the time it would usually take when he was still not in peak performance. Then to top it off, Totomaru had insisted he do the same with all the other shelves. Gajeel was sure that the fire mage was going to make him bolt down the couch next.

“Opsola, are you feeling better?” Wendy asked, jumping up onto the stool next to him and kicking her legs. He sighed.

“I’ve been better.” he shrugged, taking a swing of his drink. His ear tingled when there were footsteps near him.

“And what do I owe the pleasure of you three? Plan on toppling anymore shelves on Totomaru this week?” he asked, turning around on his stool to face the three dragons. He raised one brow when he noticed Laxus holding something behind his back.

“Not that I’m aware of. These two might have other plans.” he shrugged. Natsu was grinning wide, his excitement barely contained and causing him to bounce about on his feet. Erik was less conspicuous -expression left in a poker face- but it felt out of place compared to Natsu’s enthusiasm and whatever Laxus was hiding behind his back. He raised one brow, craning his neck to try and see the object.

“What ya got there?” he asked, lifting one foot up slightly so he could lean up higher. His attempts to get a better look were stopped when a black case was pushed into his lap. He stared at it for a moment, examining the case that started narrow and broadened at the end. A guitar case?

“Why are you giving me a g-?” he paused in his sentence, the smell hitting his noise. Iron and dragon mixed together. He snarled and stood up, the case clattering to the ground.

“Is this some kind of joke? How did you even get this?” he growled, his hair bristling as he stared them down. Cobra stepped forward, swiping the case up from the ground and holding it out to him.

“Just open the damn case.” he ordered. Gajeel hissed.

“I’m not an idiot. I’m not going to let you ma-.”

“Open the damn case Gajeel.” it was shoved into his chest which he had to clamber for so it wouldn’t drop to the ground once more. The guild hall had gone silent. Nosy bastards. He growled, placing the case on the bar counter and unclipping each side. He placed his hands on the lid, taking a deep breath to ready himself. He lifted the top of the case, looking inside. He froze. Instead of the mangled pieces of his guitar that he’d stuffed in a box and hid away in his room, an almost exact replica of his guitar sat in the case. Some of the metal was in varying shades of silver as it lost its colour, merging in with the white of the original metal. He lifted the guitar out, running fingers over the metal. It felt exactly as he remembered. Just like his Xiiwic. He flipped it around, picking out the patch of scales that had been carved into so long ago in draconic. ‘A melody for my little songdragon, Metalicana’.

“Oh my god. Gajeel, is that your guitar? I’ve not seen that in so long.” Totomaru was right beside him, reaching out to touch it. He turned to look at the fire mage who was smirking.

“You knew.” he accused, lowering the guitar to his side. The fire mage chuckled.

“Perhaps. They needed someone to distract you.” he shook his head. Gajeel huffed.

“So the shelf was on purpose?” he raised a brow. Totomaru coughed.

“No. That was actually an accident. But one that kept you distracted that’s for sure.”

“Do you like it? It smells like a dragon. Its from your dragon right. That’s so cool. Your dragon gave you a guitar.”  Natsu was next to him now, circling around him.

“How did you even get it repaired?” he asked, narrowing his gaze towards Laxus and Cobra. The poison mage flicked something towards him which he caught. He opened his hand to look down at the small silver scale in his hand.

“You should be careful. The guy at the music store was very interested in that metal. It was like doing a full-time job watching him so he wouldn’t steal any.” Laxus chuckled, crossing his arms. Gajeel looked back down to the guitar in one hand. A small smile tugged at his lips. He stepped forward, pulling the three dragon mages close.

“Thank you.” he whispered, dipping his head down a little to take in their scents. Something pressed into his leg. He flicked his eye towards where Wendy was hugging his waist with her own nose buried into his shirt. His gaze softened at the sight of her.

“Stop by tonight and I might give you a little performance.” he chuckled, keeping his voice low so only they could hear him. The varied hums of agreement assured him as he stepped back from the group hug, guitar still in hand. He looked down towards it, the metal catching light from the lacrima above. Whatever happened to his Xiiwic, it didn’t matter. He’d keep his guitar safe this time.

Chapter Text

“Gajeel, I have a request you might want to do.” Makarov called to him, descending the stairs. He lifted his head, turning to look at the guild master.

“A request?” he asked. Odd. He hadn’t gotten any specific requests since Phantom Lord disbanded. Makarov nodded, holding out a sheet of paper. He took the paper, turning it and reading over the description. A dragon magic user request? He furrowed his brows. That sounded dangerous and like something he’d want backup for.

“I don’t know. This doesn’t sound like something that can be done alone. Wouldn’t it be better to wait for Sparky and Firewood to return from their jobs?” he turned to look at Makarov. It was pretty bad timing to give it to him when Natsu had gone off with Lucy and Happy a few days ago and Laxus had left with the Thunder legion the day before that now that they were permitted to do requests once more.

“I can help. Don’t underestimate my magic.” Erik stepped up beside him, yanking the paper from his hands to read over it.

“I could help too. I’m still not very good at fighting but I can give really good support.” Wendy added, stepping up on his other side with Carla floating next to her.

“I know Juvia and I aren’t dragon kind or whatever but if you need the help then why don’t we just make it a Team Phantom job. That way we have three dragons and two other types.” Totomaru offered. Lily, who was hovering nearby, cleared his throat.

“Juvia thinks Totomaru meant three other types.” she giggled, gesturing to Lily. The Exceed gave a curt nod, his paws crossed over his chest as he floated next to the group. Gajeel hesitated. Three Draushum Civic didn’t sound like enough for a request that asked for one. If it was just any kind of magic then perhaps but this wasn’t-.

“It’ll be alright. Trust me. We’ve got six people on our team. All pretty competent fighters too.” Cobra rolled his shoulder. Juvia giggled.

“Juvia agrees. Gajeel seems to have forgot that Juvia, Totomaru and Gajeel were all S-class back in Phantom Lord.” she smiled at him.

“And my title as captain was not just for show. You should know that better than anyone in this guild.” Lily added, his back straightening. Gajeel sighed.

“Alright. We’ll do the job.” he snatched the paper from Erik’s hand, turning it around to look at the location.

“Its pretty far. The other side of Fiore. We’d be best to take a carriage if we want to get there quickly.” he advised.

“Yeah well unlike our little dragon friends, the three of us don’t have vehicle issues.” Cobra flicked his hand with a roll of his eyes and a snort. Gajeel shook his head.

“Don’t jinx yerself idiot.” he nudged Erik’s shoulder. The other swatted at him playfully.

“I’ll put down the request as taken and get in contact with the client. Good luck.” Mira encouraged them.

“Juvia needs to go get her bag. She’ll be back in about thirty minutes.” Juvia spoke, turning to run out the door of the guild without an acknowledgment from the rest of them. Gajeel shook his head.

“Well. We should all do the same. Don’t know how long we might be.” he placed one hand on Wendy’s shoulder. She smiled wide, eyes sparkling with excitement.

“I’m so excited. This is going to be so fun.” she cheered, running off towards their shed, Carla flying not far behind her with snipped complaints. Gajeel smiled as he watched her. It was going to be fine. They had a powerful team put together and if any help was needed, they could contact the guild for backup from Laxus and Natsu.

****
The trip to Lupinus town was uneventful, mostly filled with small talk and teasing. Gajeel stepped off the carriage, looking around the small town where they had stepped off.

“I’m just saying. You are so obvious about it. I don’t need to listen to your thoughts to see it.” Erik argued from behind him.

“That- No…. Shut up. You’re just spouting bullshit.” Totomaru snapped. Gajeel could hear the rustle of his clothes as he likely crossed his arms.

“Oi. We can discuss Totomaru’s pathetic romance later. Let’s find that client first.” Gajeel caught their attention. Cobra sighed and rolled his eyes, stepping past Gajeel with his arms up.

“Fine Mr bossy. I’ll handle th-.” His words stopped when Gajeel grabbed a hold of his coat, pulling him back.

“How about you don’t lead the investigation. He gestured towards a couple that were leaned in and whispering, not so subtly observing Cobra. The poison dragon hissed, his tongue flicking out between his lips.

“Prigs.” he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Gajeel snorted, placing one hand up to his mouth to try and quieten his laughter.

“Let’s just focus on the mission.” Totomaru grumbled.

“So you can go back to mooning over the ‘green haired beauty’?” Cobra snickered. Totomaru’s face burst into colour.

“What? No. Where did you even get that from?” he demanded, stepping up to Cobra and placing one finger to his chest. Gajeel sighed with a shake of his head.

“Those are your words, not mine.” Erik shrugged, dancing away from Totomaru’s hand. Gajeel started walking, ignoring the bickering pair. He approached a stall owner who looked up when he approached.

“How can I help you sir?” he asked, gaze flicking to his noisy companions.

“I have a job request from here. Do you happen to know who left it?” he asked. The man’s brows furrowed, and he shook his head.

“Sorry I don’t. Didn’t even know there was a problem that required fixing.” the man explained. Gajeel sighed but lifted one hand in acknowledgement as he walked away. When he turned around, his team had all split up, asking various people on the streets. Erik had the worst luck, the person he was questioning trembling just from the simple questions.

“Opsola. I think I got something.” Wendy tugged on his trouser leg, looking up at him.

“Oh? What ya got?” he turned towards her.

“Someone said that they’d seen some strange magic coming from the forest near the mountains. Maybe that’s what we’re looking for.” she offered, pointing towards the trees in the distance.

“Good find Sky. Gather the others and we’ll head over there now.” he instructed. She nodded before turning around and running over towards Juvia. Gajeel approached Erik who was hissing behind his teeth when the person he’d been questioning ran off.

“Wendy found out some information so we’re heading to the forest at the bottom of the mountains.” he explained.

“Right. Cool.” Cobra huffed, turning around with such speed that his coat slapped against his legs with a decent force.

"Hey. They’ll warm up to you. Just give them some time.” he placed one hand on Erik’s shoulder, rubbing his thumb into his collarbone. Erik sighed, his shoulders dropping slightly.

“I know. Its just so hard not to fall back into threats and such. You get it right?” he looked up to Gajeel.

“Yes. It takes time, Gods I’m still struggling with all of it but if you keep at it then I know you’ll be great.” he smiled, patting the shoulder his hand was on before walking towards the edge of town where the forest was. Juvia and Totomaru were chatting, the water mage giggling into her hand at something Totomaru said. Wendy was right next to Totomaru, bouncing on her feet as she spoke with Lily and Carla.

“Come on. Let’s go find this weird magic before it realises we’re here.” he started walking, taking the lead of the group.

****
The walk to the forest was a long one. About a couple hours out from the town. Perhaps they should have taken a magic mobile from the town but it was too late for that thought when they were wandering through the trees. The forest itself was quiet, no signs of strange or destructive magic.

“Maybe it sensed us coming and fled.” Wendy offered, tugging at the bottom of her dress. Gajeel stopped walking and took a deep breath. There was something he had to be missing here. The smell hit his nose and he froze. Dragon. He couldn’t place what the other smell was. Something he couldn’t describe but something that was there. However the dragon smell was another beast. He took a step back.

“We need to leave and get back up.” he shook his head, his hair bristling. His eyes flicked over the forest. He couldn’t see the dragon anywhere and if it could change forms like his Xiiwic then it could sneak up on them with ease.

“Why? Gajeel what’s going on?” Totomaru asked. The leaves below crunched when he stepped forward. Gajeel’s gaze flicked between every branch and trunk around them. His scales were prickling across his arms. He blinked.

Crack.

A branch snapped right as his eyes closed. When he opened them again he had already been tackled, no time to counter and both him and his attacker were rolling down a slope further into the forest. It took him a few more seconds to even move his body. The second his limbs obeyed his command once more he twisted his body, claws sinking down into flesh and throwing his attacker off him. A blur of gold and white rolled across the ground, slamming into one of the trees. The bark snapped, the tree toppling forwards. Gajeel yelped, diving out of the way right as the branches hit the ground where he’d stood. He stumbled to his feet only to be tackled down to the ground once more. He snarled, using the momentum to roll off his back so he was pinning the other below him. A single golden eye met his before white claws scratched up at his face. He yelped, using his good leg to push himself away from the attack.

“Gajeel!” he heard Erik yell mixed with the crunch of several footsteps. He flicked his gaze towards the slope he’d tumbled down from. In the second he blinked, he was tackled again, pushed up against the fallen bark of the tree. Claws met his throat, pushing his head upward to further expose it. He kicked his legs, hitting the dragon in the thigh. It hissed, the hand on his chest pressing heavier. He winced at the snap of his ribs. He looked to his opponent, eyes narrowed with a snarl. His eyebrows shot up when he saw the face.

“Eilian?” he had never seen her take on a human form before but the scar across the left side of her face and single twisted horn where feathers hung matched. Eilian hissed.

“Never say that name. Your filthy jaws don’t deserve to say it.” she snarled; teeth exposed. He kicked his legs further, trying to throw her off him.

“If you stop squirming then I’ll be merciful and make this quick.” she snapped, claws pressing deeper into his skin and cutting off the air to his lungs. He thrashed further, reaching up to claw at her arms, desperate to escape the strong grip on his throat. Black spots dotted his vision. He squeezed his eyes shut, the claws in his throat sinking deeper. His claws weren’t breaking through the gold and white scales fast enough. Blood trickled down from the wounds in his neck.

“Sky dragon claw.” Eilian released him, yowling in pain as she stumbled back, clutching against her upper arm where blood pooled from a claw wound. Gajeel dropped to the ground, gasping as air flowed freely into his lungs once more.

“I won’t let you hurt my Opsola again.” Wendy’s voice was laced with a snarl as she stood in front of him, glaring up at Eilian. The dragon hissed, eye narrowing down on Wendy. Gajeel stumbled to his feet, concentrating his magic into his hand. He wasn’t going to let her hurt Wendy. Not if he could help it.

Chapter Text

Gajeel ducked down under the animal pelts, eyes focused on the golden dragon that had a lot of its scales stained red with an iron scent clinging to it. The black dragon stormed in, one blue claw almost slamming down on top of him in its fury.

“How dare you?” it snarled, rounding on the silver dragon who was crouched next to the now collapsed golden one.

“You killed that dragon. You almost killed both of them.” the silver dragon objected, pressing one claw on the golden dragon’s shoulder.

“What does it matter to you? You could never understand.” the black dragon lashed its tail.

“Ro-.” The silver dragon was pushed against the floor of the cave, a black stinger tail flicking towards its face. Gajeel yelped, hiding himself fully.

“Don’t speak that name!” the black dragon spat. The thuds of footsteps approached before the black dragon was settling in the nest next to him. He pulled the pelts off his head, letting them pool at his shoulders and twitching his ears. The silver dragon stumbled to its feet and turned back to the golden one, tending to its wounds. Gajeel ducked his head, closing his eyes and scrunching his nose in hopes of forgetting the strange smell that clung to the air.

****

Wendy flexed her fingers, staring up at the person coated in dragon scent. Gajeel had moved behind her, now standing up. She could smell the blood from his injuries but she couldn’t stop to heal it right now. Not when the dragon was still in front of them.

"Poison dragon scales.” Cobra had slipped behind the dragon, firing cresents of purple at it. It leapt backwards, avoiding the attack which fizzled in the remains of leaves and grass.

“Water nebula.” Juvia sent a stream of water towards the dragon. It lifted its hand, swiping upward. The water disappeared inches before hitting the dragon.

“Blue flame.” Totomaru’s fire swirled around for the dragon’s back but with another hand motion, that disappeared too. While it was distracted, Lily leapt forward in his battle form. He landed a punch to its shoulder. It stumbled back, stunned from the hit. Lily landed another punch to the gut. It pulled back, scraping white claws over Lily’s cheek.

“Get out of my way.” the dragon hissed, raising a scarred leg and swinging out to Lily with a huge amount of force that knocked the Exceed back. Wendy ran forward, flowing air around her hands and snapping two long streams of wind down on the dragon. It dodged the first attack but the second one hit its scarred leg. It hissed, fumbling its landing and rolling across the grass. Cobra leapt forward, purple claws outstretched with poison coating them. In the next second, Cobra was tumbling on the ground and the dragon was aiming claws at Gajeel who just barely managed to pull up a sword to block the claws.

“It did it again. How is it doing that?” Totomaru yelled, drawing the sword from his hip.

“Teleportation magic?” Carla offered, hovering not far from the fight. Totomaru ran forward, lifting his sword up and blocking claws from hitting Gajeel’s arms once more. The dragon hissed, claws wrapping around the sword. A bitter smell hit her nose right as the sword crumbled into pieces on the ground, the metal heavily dotted with orange-brown spots. The dragon pushed him to the side, leaving him to roll across the ground.

“Poison dragon roar!” Cobra’s roar travelled across the open ground. Right before the attack could hit the dragon, it grabbed Gajeel’s collar and pulled him in front of it. Gajeel yowled out when the attack hit, crumbling to the ground with a hand hovering over his stomach where the attack had hit. The dragon towered over him, eye narrowed on him. Wendy ran forward, a spell swirling around her hand. The dragon turned to her for a moment before turning and scaling the fallen tree, disappearing over the other side. Wendy hesitated for a moment before turning and rushing over to Gajeel. He was making strained squeaking sounds, eyes scrunched closed.

“Just hold on. I’m going to clear the poison and then you’ll be ok.” she comforted him, reaching her hands out. They glowed with magic as she attempted to cleanse the poison from his body. He howled, curling in on himself, spitting hisses every few seconds.

“Oh gods Gajeel. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it. Wendy can you fix it?” Cobra skidded across the dirt, words fast as he looked at Wendy with one hand on Gajeel’s back.

“I- I don’t know. Its not working. I can’t cleanse the poison.” tears were threatening to pool from her eyes and she snuffled, putting more of her magic into healing Gajeel. It still wasn’t working.

“How long does he have until the poison...” Lily trailed off, eyes fixed on Gajeel who was gripping tightly onto his bicep, nails sinking into the skin.

“A few hours if we’re lucky. But I’ve only ever used my poison on people not-.” Cobra cut himself off with a sharp intake, looking down at Gajeel.

“Fuck. There’s no way he’ll make it if we walk all the way back to town. Its too far and we still have such a long way from here to Magnolia.” Totomaru was kneeling next to them now. Hands running through his hair and the hilt of his sword abandoned in the grass.

“Juvia thinks if someone can get back to the town and get a magic mobile back here then we might be able to get Gajeel back to the guild hall.” the water mage offered.

“Good idea. I can carry one of you to the town and get us there decently quickly.” Lily agreed.

“Juvia thinks Totomaru should drive. Juvia might be able to help clean out Gajeel’s wound with her water.” Totomaru nodded, turning to Lily. The Exceed took a hold of the back of Totomaru’s clothes, lifting him from the ground. The two sped off in the direction of the town. Wendy kept feeding magic into the wound but she could still smell the pungent odour of the poison all while Gajeel whined and hissed, hunched over himself. She sniffled, reaching one hand up to her face and rubbing at her nose.

“Its ok. We’re going to fix this. Promise.” Cobra’s voice was low as he shuffled over towards him, placing one hand on her shoulder. Wendy nodded, unable to find her voice.

“Can Cobra help Juvia carry Gajeel to the edge of the forest?” Juvia asked, her fingers taking a tight hold of one arm and pulling it over her shoulders.

“Right.” The poison dragon nodded, taking hold of Gajeel’s other arm and hoisting him up with the arm over his shoulder.

“Wendy. Carla, keep an eye on our surroundings. I have a strong feeling that thing will be back.” Cobra called to her. Wendy nodded, picking the abandoned bags up in her arms. She walked behind them, snapping her head in the direction of even the slightest noise.

“Wendy? Are you alright?” Carla placed one paw on her forearm, ears pinned back as she looked up to the sky mage. Wendy nodded, sniffling once more.

“Mr Erik is right. We’re going to help him.” despite her words, her voice still wavered. Carla rubbed circles on her arm with one paw. She took in a deep breath and continued along the path.

“Wendy!” Erik snapped, in the process of leaning Gajeel against one of the trees at the edge of the forest. She lifted her head, staring over at the poison dragon.

“Stand with him. I’m going to call the guild.” he gestured towards Gajeel, walking over to one of their bags, fishing out a lacrima from within. Wendy nodded, sitting down next to Gajeel. He had his head leaned against the tree, eyes squeezed shut and teeth gritted together. The scales on his hands were spreading a lot further now, running up his arms.

“I’m sorry. We’re going to fix it. We are.” she placed one hand on Gajeel’s shoulder, but he didn’t react to the touch. Wendy wasn’t sure if it was because he hadn’t noticed or was just in too much pain to react.

“This is an emergency. We’re going to get back as fast as we can. Can you get that healer to the guild? We won’t have much time.” Cobra was holding the lacrima, back facing her.

“What happened? Is there no doctor? What about Wendy?” Mira asked from the other side of the line. Cobra shook his head.

“Its not working. Not sure why but we don’t have time to ask questions. Just, get the healer and tell her to bring stuff for cleansing poison.” he snapped, cutting off the call before Mira could answer. He shoved the lacrima back into the bag and turned towards them. The growl of a magic mobile’s engine was growing louder and she could see the vehicle growing larger across the horizon. Its tires screeched as it skidded to a halt. Totomaru was sitting at the front, the plug strapped to his wrist.

“Get in.” He ordered, Lily leapt off the vehicle and helped Juvia carry Gajeel into the carriage. Wendy grabbed the bags, tossing them in and climbing in after. Cobra climbed in last, pulling the door shut behind him. The mobile instantly booked it into high gear, causing them all to snap forward with the force. Wendy grabbed onto the side, knees inches from hitting the metal floor. Juvia had one hand in front of her to stop her from falling forward, Cobra had hit the ground, shoulder pressed against one wall with one leg thrown up on a seat and Lily was halfway off a seat, one hand clutching onto the back of the seat while the other held onto Gajeel’s shoulder to stop him from hitting the floor.

“Usually I’d complain about being thrown about but not right now. Now is fine.” Cobra huffed, lifting his foot from the seat as he leaned forward, placing one hand on the seat to lift himself up. Juvia sat back, turning to Gajeel as she moved a small trail of water throughout the wound in an attempt to cleanse it. Gajeel yowled, claws sinking into the fabric of the chair.

“Its ok. We’re going to be back soon. You’re going to be alright.” Cobra assured him from the other side of the carriage. Wendy tucked her hands close to her body, watching Juvia’s effort. She just hoped those words rung true.

Chapter 63

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Laxus had been on edge from the second Mira had answered Cobra’s call. Of course he wasn’t the only one, the whispering and tense atmosphere proved as such but that didn’t change his own worry. Sure there were a few options of who it was that was injured and he wasn’t particularly close to Totomaru, Juvia and Lily but they were Gajeel’s friends. They were important to him. And if it wasn’t one of them then it meant that Wendy or Gajeel were hurt which was so much worse. He snapped his head up at the screech of tires not far outside the guild hall. He pushed himself up.

“They’re coming.” Natsu spoke from his spot. He’d arrived back from his job not long after the call but he’d picked up on something being wrong very quickly. Several footsteps rushing to the door and then they were swung open with a bang when the wood bounced against the walls. Lily and Cobra were both supporting Gajeel with one arm over their shoulders. Wendy, Juvia and Totomaru were not far behind, looking out the doors briefly before pulling them shut.

“Gajeel!” Laxus yelled, rushing over to the iron dragon. He was lowered onto the ground, hissing and reaching one arm down to his stomach where the wound was, bubbling purple and darkening the skin. Natsu was right next to him, trying to examine Gajeel as well.

“Get him to the infirmary.” Porlyusica demanded, stepping up towards them.

“No. Its not safe. He needs to stay down here.” Totomaru objected.

“What happened? Why is it unsafe for him to be up in the infirmary?” Makarov had approached now, waving for some of the members who had gotten closer to step back.

“It was a dragon. It attacked Gajeel.” Wendy was close to bursting into tears while Porlyusica bent down to take a closer look at the injury. Gildarts was up on his feet in seconds.

“A dragon? What did it look like?” he asked.

“Juvia thinks it was the same one that left that canister before.” the water mage, just like her friends, were hovering near Gajeel. Makarov’s eyebrows fell down, mimicking his frown.

“I aimed the poison at it but it used Gajeel as a shield. My poison is powerful stuff and Gajeel’s.....” Cobra didn’t finish his sentence, only turning to look at Porlyusica who was examining something. She leaned back.

“Its the spell. I can’t understand the language but I’d say that’s what’s stopping the healing magic from taking root. Something’s tampered with it and is blocking out any types of enchantment spells.” she spoke.

“Oh. Oh dear. That might be my fault.” Laxus turned over to look at Freed, raising an eyebrow. He pulled on his fingers.

“I used my Dark Écriture during the Fantasia celebration. I didn’t know then that- I didn’t know it would effect any spells when I placed it.” Freed explained, one thumb up to his mouth.

“I don’t know if my medicine will be strong or fast enough to dispel such a strong poison, especially given these circumstances. We need the girl’s healing magic.” Porlyusica pointed to Wendy.

“But its not working on him. We need to find another way.” Totomaru objected.

"Wait. My magic worked before. When we were fighting the Oracion seiz.” Wendy spoke up. Cobra snapped his fingers.

“We need to deactivate the spell. That’s what’s stopping Wendy from healing him so if we deactivate it then her magic should work on him.” he gestured towards Gajeel.

“How? Porlyusica said it was in a different language.” Laxus objected. Makarov stepped towards Freed, a binder in hand.

“Freed. Read through this and find the part that talks about the spell. I want you to deactivate it.” Makarov ordered. Freed looked at Makarov for a moment then nodded, taking the file and opening it. He put his glasses on, speeding through the pages. Laxus didn’t want to know what was in that folder that was making Freed react with winces and flinches.

“No... Don’t.... Wrong...” Gajeel groaned, gaze directed right up at Freed. Freed stopped flicking through the folder, pulling his glasses off and kneeling next to Gajeel. He looked to the folder then back to the iron mage, reaching one hand out to press over his heart. Golden lettering appeared, running across his entire body, only faltering to silver over places where his scales were present. Freed had one eye on the folder constantly as he wrote something over the lettering. The spell shifted to a silver. His wings burst from his back, growing feathers in rapid succession. Gajeel leaned down, one arm over his face as he hissed. The silver of the spell disappeared, leaving Gajeel exposed as he was. Wendy skidded forward, outstretching her arms to the wound. Her hands glowed with the soft blue of her magic, fighting against the harsh blistering skin of the wound. The wound began to soften, dark red skin swapping out to the usual tan of Gajeel’s skin ever so slowly. Porlyusica leaned forward, examining the wound as it repaired.

"The poison’s been cleansed.” She confirmed. Laxus brushed fingers through his bangs. The iron dragon’s face was still scrunched in pain but it was nowhere near as harsh and his panted breaths had dispersed. Laxus lifted one hand up, taking a grip on Cobra’s shoulder. He flinched for a moment, shoulders stiff until he relaxed and leaned into the touch. Laxus reached one finger up to touch the poison dragon’s cheek. His shoulders stiffened at a strong wave of magic rushed through the room. His eyes dropped shut for just a moment in a blink. When they opened once more, Wendy had been knocked aside harshly and Gajeel had somehow gotten further away from the group with someone pinning him down.

“Gajeel!” he didn’t register who had yelled, his eyes zeroing in on the gold and white adorned individual. A snarl broke from his throat, a bizarre bubbling at the back of his head he couldn’t distinguish. Gajeel kicked his legs up, knocking his attacker off him. The dragon skidded for a moment before getting to its feet again. Elfman had leapt forward first, a beast arm stretched out to swipe at the creature. It jumped back, stumbling on its feet when it nearly fell to the ground. Laxus used his lightning to get over to Gajeel who was scrambling backwards, his wings tucked in close, and his tail pointed upward like a spear. A swirl of black, white and blue cut him off, leaving a shallow incision in the wooden floor. He looked to the source where the dragon swung her arm back down while avoiding one of Gildarts attacks. The dragon was at least occupied. That meant its attention was off Gajeel.

“He can’t stay here. We need to get him out of here.” Cobra was next to him, eyeing the fumes from the attack that had nearly hit him. Laxus nodded, stepping over the scorched wood. Natsu and Wendy didn’t even hesitate, rushing over towards Gajeel. He snapped his gaze towards them, snarling and spreading his wings out. His fins were pressed as far as they could go against his head, teeth exposed. Laxus grabbed onto their shoulders. Natsu snapped his head around to protest.

“Wait.” He objected. If this was anything like Freed then them rushing him would do nothing but startle him further. Wendy and Natsu blinked. Of course they wouldn’t know what he meant. They’d never been around a stressed hybrid.

“But Gajeel-.” Natsu tried to object.

“No. We are going to take this slow.” he shook his head, refusing to release his grip on the two. He was about to give a barebones explanation when a flash of movement caught his eye. Gajeel was moving now, rushing towards the group that was fighting. Oh fuck. Why did he have to go with that of all things. Totomaru had lifted his arm, fire flickering around his fingers as he readied another attack at the dragon. That attack never found its target when Gajeel tackled him to the ground. Laxus scrunched his eyes shut at the screams that followed. He rushed forward, releasing his grip on Natsu and Wendy and instead grabbing a hold of Gajeel’s arm. Elfman and Erza were with him, one held his other arm and the other one of his wings. Below, Totomaru made not even a twitch, blood pooling from the deep gashes and bites marring his flesh. Porlyusica was rushing over.

“Gajeel that is enough. What are you doing?” Erza objected. Gajeel was struggling against their grip, his free wing and tail striking out sporadically. He waved his claws at targets, black tips catching on the skin of his cheek and tearing at it. Laxus hissed, tightening his grip on Gajeel’s arm. Elfman yelped and Laxus could only assume that Gajeel had caught him with his movements too. Gildarts was with them now, one hand grabbing the base of Gajeel’s free wing and the other his tail. Gajeel wriggled and twisted, kicking out his legs. He wrangled his limbs free, claws reaching to scratch something as he scrambled back. His back was arched, pointed spines dotting down it. His tail twitched behind him as he hissed, blood deep in his nails and caking his jaws. A screech and the dragon was attacking him again, the two tumbling around on the ground. Laxus zipped forward to land a hit on her. She shifted to the side, his lightning attracting to the metal of Gajeel’s scales. He howled, back arching before his head was slammed into the floor below. A flash of white zipped past, a kick hitting the dragon in the head and knocking her to the ground off Gajeel. Green vines wriggled up from the ground, clutching onto white claws to keep her from getting up.

“Solid script: Ice.” the script words landed a hit knocking the dragon onto its side. It shook its head then looked up, single golden eye flaring up with a fire. It took a deep breath.

“Its a breath attack. Get down.” Cobra yelled, dropping down. Laxus dropped himself to the ground, just avoiding the roar of white, black and blue that circled around the room. The attack was cut off when Gajeel leapt at the dragon, sinking sharp fangs into its shoulder. Claws pulled at his jaws, pushing him away.

Gildarts aimed another attack at the dragon. It didn’t dodge it quick enough this time, the attack hitting into its arm which broke down into small pieces. The dragon turned to look at its arm, raising the other. Its hand glowed and the pieces floated back, repairing back into its arm.

“Nice try. Magic like that can be undone with ease.” it hissed, turning its attention back onto Gajeel. He was moving towards Gildarts now, claws prime to swipe. He avoided the attack, grabbing hold of Gajeel’s hair and throwing him across the room. He skidded to a halt near the door. The dragon leapt towards him, its own claws swiping across his cheek then sinking into his side.

“He’s going to feel exactly what I did when he finds you.” it snarled. Gajeel snapped his jaws near her throat but came up short. Laxus stepped forward to grab the dragon. Its jaws moved and teeth sunk into the back of Gajeel’s neck who yelped, his limbs kicking and squirming to free himself. A large fist reached out, pulling the dragon away from Gajeel, its teeth scraping against scales as it was pulled away from him.

“Gajeel!” Natsu and Wendy were moving to run over to Gajeel’s side once more. Gajeel lifted his head, spitting and hissing as he stepped back. His gaze snapped around the guild hall for a few seconds before he turned tail and raced for the doors. He collided with the closed doors, yelping.

“Wait Gajeel!” Cobra yelled, running forward to help Wendy and Natsu grab him. He twisted around, swiping claws towards the three of them. Laxus skidded forward, using Natsu’s scarf to pull him back and grabbing Wendy and Cobra by the arms. Gajeel started clawing and biting at the wooden doors until he’d made a decently sized hole. He wiggled his way through, tail disappearing through. Natsu pushed at his chest, turning on him.

“Why did you stop us? He’s hurt.” Natsu snapped, eyebrows furrowed together.

“Because he wasn’t himself. You would have been hurt if you kept trying to get close to him.” he objected. His attention was drawn from the other slayers to the dragon. It had clearly attempted to chase after Gajeel but the blade of a rapier was being held to its throat, blocking its escape. Air caught in his throat.

“Freed. What are you doing?” he hissed, stepping forward. If this thing was after Gajeel then would it go for Freed too?

“You think your pathetic blade can break my scales?” the dragon asked, eye looking back towards Freed.

“This one can or can you not smell the dragon metal infusing it.” Freed spat out. His hands had taken on their silver scales, his fangs on display and the scales around his eye popping up.

“Freed.” Laxus hissed. Both Bickslow and Evergreen were hovering, their attention never once waning from Freed. They’d likely noticed what he had. The dragon had paused though, nose twitching. Laxus tested the air himself. Gajeel’s scent was heavy around the door but also where Freed and the dragon were stood. He blinked once. How? He didn’t recall Gajeel and Freed being on good enough terms for him to receive a blade in a similar fashion to Totomaru’s. Laxus couldn’t see Freed’s other hand, hidden behind the dragon. It shifted for a moment, the blade pressing closer into its neck. It smirked.

“Nice bluff. You were even smart enough to pick up that half breed’s scales. That threw me for a moment but the scent isn’t coming from your blade. Its coming from you.” it threw the rapier away from its neck, stepping around to face Freed. Its smirk dropped at the purple glow around its wrist. Laxus’ gaze trailed around the runes that linked the dragon to Freed’s own wrist.

“I had no intention of using my blade as a final defence. I just needed to distract you long enough that I could put that enchantment on.” Freed now adorned the smirk. The dragon snarled. It tugged on the runes and lifted its hand to possibly repeat the spell it had used against Gildarts. However nothing happened, not even the smallest of sparks.

“What have you done!” it demanded, teeth bared at Freed. Laxus tensed, leaning forward in case he needed to step in. Freed never lost his smirk.

“Simple. You must abide by my rules so long as you are bound by my runes. That means no magic.” he tilted his head upward slightly so, despite the dragon being a good two feet taller than him, he could still appear to look down on it. The dragon hissed..

“You are no less annoying than that mixed blood. Are all of you mutts this much of an annoyance.” it bit out, hair bristling much like Gajeel’s would. Laxus snarled, stepping forward.

“Careful. Keep talking and I’ll turn you into a battery.” he snapped, eyes narrowed and sharp on it. The dragon turned around to face him, nose twitching with a scrunched up eyebrow.

“Elex- no you aren’t Elexion... Then why do you carry his scent so strongly.” the dragon stepped as close as it could to Laxus, hot breath tickling his nose. Its eye flicked over him as if it could see beneath his clothes.

“I don’t know who you are talking about.” the snarl was still present in his voice. The dragon huffed, turning away.

“I believe we’ve heard enough. Freed, could you take our guest into one of the back rooms. Laxus, Evergreen and Bickslow may accompany you in case anything goes array.” Makarov directed them towards the back. Considering the whispering that was occurring from that mixed blood comment, Laxus could see why Gramps was sending Freed out of the room. Laxus followed, sticking close to his captain with one eye focused on the dragon. It wasn’t going to hurt anyone else.

Notes:

Here is a drawing ref of Eillian aka the dragon

Chapter Text

Gajeel didn’t stop running until he’d burrowed himself deep in an old animal den below a tree. He curled up at the far end, side pressed against the stone, dirt and mud while his tail curled close. His head cleared up, all previous fog disappearing from his mind. He tried to take a deep breath but it hurt, like his lungs couldn’t expand the way they were supposed to. His ear fins pressed against the base of his head.

Crack.

His eyes fixated on the den entrance. He curled his body tightly, a whine escaping his jaws when pain clawed at his body. Eilian was back for him. She was going to finish him off. His ears twitched. Perhaps he deserved it. He thought he was getting better. Protecting people instead of hurting them. Then he went and killed Totomaru. And hurt so many more people. He didn’t know why he did that. He hadn’t wanted to. But it was like taking a backseat in his own body.

Snap.

That one was closer. The spines on Gajeel’s back quivered as he stared at the entrance. Shadows dropped in, a person standing at the entrance. He closed his eyes, covering his muzzle with one arm in anticipation.

****
Gildarts slipped out of the guild hall while everyone was distracted. Makarov had been right, with the dragon still around, no one had paid him any mind. He stepped across the courtyard, looking for any sign of which way the kid would have gone. The front gates were open so he could have gone out that way but there were people out the front. If he had fled to avoid people, it was likely Gajeel would have avoided Magnolia with a ten foot pole. He looked towards the fence on the side that boundary forest was near. One of the fence poles was missing part of its spike. Gajeel must have scaled the fence and caught something. That or cut himself. It was hard to tell since the blood on the ground could be from his injuries.

“Poor boy.” he shook his head, pulling himself up over the fence with only a wince when the movement stretched at the skin of his injured chest. He looked down, spotting the blood splotches every few feet. He tailed them, the open buildings around him slowly changing to the trees of the forest.

“Damn kid. You picked the worst place to run to.” he shook his head, watching each tree and bush both for signs of Gajeel but also any animals or creatures. The forest was not the place for someone injured and spooked to be wandering alone. One tree branch cracked beneath his feet. He paused. He hoped that hadn’t scared Gajeel off. If Natsu’s hearing was good, he could only imagine how much stronger Gajeel’s must be with him directly carrying dragon’s blood. He turned his head at the whine. It was quiet, still at least a dozen feet away but it was there. That had to be him. Gildarts followed where he’d heard the sound, another branch snapping below his feet. Now he could hear laboured breathing. He turned his gaze down to an animal den at his feet.

“Kid? You in there?” He bent down, noting the claw marks scattered across the dirt and roots. He received a hiss in response to his call.

“Its alright. I’m not going to hurt you. Just come out and we’ll get you back to the guild hall.” he kept his voice steady. It wasn’t ideal for him to be hiding in an animal den. If he wasn’t careful, the dirt and mud could easily infect his open wounds. He got more laboured breathing in response. He reached his left hand into the den. Sharp teeth snapped at it, only missing with how quickly he pulled his hand back. Wide red eyes stared at him, swimming with panic before backing up into the back of the den. So this wasn’t going to be as easy as he was hoping.

“Makarov is taking care of the dragon right now as we speak.” he started, although using we was a bit generous since he was the only one talking in this case.

“You can’t stay in there. I don’t know the extent of your injuries but being down there might cause an infection. One might already be forming now. Just come out and we can get you to Porlyusica to heal you up.” all he got in response was another hiss. He sighed. Alright, looks like he was going to have to get forceful. He reached his prosthetic arm into the hole. Wincing at the screech that Gajeel’s claws made against the metal. He reached his arm around, grabbing a tight hold of the base of his neck above the shoulder blades and pulled him up. Gajeel squirmed and kicked, this time a lot more vigorously without multiple people to hold his limbs in place. His nails and teeth attacked the metal of his arm repeatedly, tail and one wing waving about with abandon. The moment Gajeel was out of the den, Gildarts grabbed him under the arms and lifted him. He snarled and hissed, still trying to release himself.

“Considering the beating you took, I’m surprised you have this much energy and strength.” he commented, stepping over the swinging tail and doubling back on his previous path. All throughout the journey, Gajeel continued his efforts of escape. It wasn’t until he got back to the guild that those efforts became fruitful. Teeth sunk into his metal arm, pressure being applied continuously until the metal snaped in two. With only one arm supporting Gajeel, he quickly slipped from his grasp, one wing spread out and tail swinging about as he hissed and spat at anyone who took even one step. His hisses were cut off when Makarov took hold of him in an enlarged fist. Instead it was replaced with the loudest yowl he’d ever heard in his life. He hadn’t even heard a wild animal scream that loud. Only his tail was able to move now, the tip swiping back and forth as he attempted to wriggle free.

“Would you like me to put him in the infirmary room?” Makarov looked to Porlyusica.

“Put him in the empty one-“

“What!” Laxus was in the room, next to Natsu, Wendy and Cobra. They were all sporting various unimpressed expressions.

“Laxus that is enough.” Makarov scolded him. The younger Dreyar opened his mouth to likely object.

“As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted.” Porlyusica hissed towards Laxus then returned her gaze to Makarov. “It would be best we keep him separated from as many people as possible. Putting a patient who is responding negatively to the mere presence of others with a large group would make things far more complicated.” she spoke the last part to Laxus, eyes narrowed. He huffed but didn’t object. Makarov nodded, turning towards the stairs and climbing them all while Gajeel continued to squirm. Gildarts approached Laxus and Natsu who were watching from their positions. He placed a hand on Natsu’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry. Porlyusica’s a professional. He’ll be right as rain in no time.” he assured them. He just had to pray to the gods that was true.

Chapter Text

“And why do you get to decide that huh?” Cobra spat, ears pinned against the sides of his head as he stared down one of his guildmates. The man rolled his eyes, crossing his arms.

“Oh so you don’t have eyes? Oh no wait sorry, that’s right you’re a criminal too. You’ve probably killed more people than you weigh so of course you’d defend him.” The man snapped, a smug grin on his face. Cobra hissed, eyes sharp.

“You take that back!” Natsu snapped, stepping up next to him. Wendy was clutching her own wrists, twisting them around. Laxus was sending a harsh glare but still stood with his team.

“Really Natsu? You’re defending them? You saw what we all did.” another person objected, leaning against one of the tables that hadn’t been flung during the fighting.

“Silence. The only person who will decide what happens to Gajeel will be the master. You have no say.” Erza waved her hand around. Cobra hissed between his teeth, eyeing up one of the guys who had yelled at him.

“Surely you can see my point?” Erza stared at the man with narrowed eyes.

“I do not believe Gajeel would do something like this of his own volition. Something isn’t right here.” Erza stated, crossing her arms. Cobra eyed her up, eyebrows drawn taught as he listened for any sign of trickery. The sincerity flowed through her mind as easily as it did her voice. It was a little startling how she could find such ease in showing her true thoughts in this situation. Especially with the whispered comments about mixed bloods. She turned to look at him, eyes soft as she met his. He adverted his gaze and turned back to Natsu and Wendy. The fire mage was sitting down now, shoulders hunched up to his ears and eyebrows dropped harshly downward. Wendy kept glancing up towards the infirmary where Gajeel had been taken. Cobra crouched down next to her.

“Go check on the others. They’ll need your help.” he encouraged, pointing to the room that had a few people occupying it both from Gajeel and that dragon. She nodded, sniffling a little before wiping her eye and racing towards the stairs.

“Fuck off!” Cobra nearly jolted out of his skin at the screech from up the stairs that was followed by hisses and snarls. Laxus stepped up, Freed by his side who now had his fur coat draped over his shoulders and wrapped around his smaller frame.

“That was Gajeel right?” Laxus leaned down. Cobra huffed but gave a curt nod. There was some more shouts and yelps from upstairs before Porlyusica exited the room. She descended the stairs and turned to Gildarts.

“He’s being uncooperative. We’ll need your help.” she spoke. Freed stepped forward.

“Won’t that just make it worse.” he objects. Something about stress bouncing around in his head. Porlyusica looked towards him, her eyes softening at the creases.

“I haven’t been able to get near him long enough to even assess his injuries. If he isn’t treated soon then he might not make it.” she sighed, shaking her head.

“He’s not going to react any better if you hold him down though.” Laxus stepped up, eyes flicking to Freed for a moment. Cobra squinted his eyes.

‘It’ll bring up bad memories’ trailed off, unsaid. Porlyusica shook her head once more and gestured for Gildarts to follow her, turning away from them and heading up the stairs.

****
Makarov stood at the other end of the room, waiting for Porlyusica to return with whoever she deemed as suitable for this. Gajeel had since scampered into the corner of the room, spines showing and tail up in front of himself. He was snarling, his gaze never leaving Makarov.

“Its alright my boy. No one is going to hurt you.” he attempted to assure the boy without moving forward. Gajeel didn’t budge, the snarls still bubbling from his throat.

The door creaked open. Makarov turned to Porlyusica who walked in followed by Gildarts. Gajeel hissed loudly, his tail thumping twice against the floorboards.

“You need me to grab him?” Gildarts asks.

“Yes. I need two people to hold him, if Makarov did it himself then I wouldn’t be able to get to his wounds.” she agreed, gesturing one hand towards Gajeel. His gaze was snapping rapidly between them.

“Alright. What should we do about the teeth? I doubt his teeth are anything to scoff at.” Gildarts jutted his thumb in the direction of the exposed teeth.

“Good luck trying to get anything on him.” Porlyusica shrugged her shoulders, picking up a cloth she was prepping. Makarov shook his head.

“Preferably nothing. We just have to hope that he’ll recognise that he shouldn’t bite anyone.” Makarov objected. The poor boy was already stressed and on edge, muzzling him would just make it worse. Gildarts nodded and stepped forward. Gajeel snarled, thumping his tail on the floor once more. Gildarts stayed still for a moment before grabbing Gajeel by the arms quick enough to avoid his snapping teeth. He kicked his legs and flapped one wing about at Gildarts, hissing and spitting.

“Get him on the bed and then hold him.” Porlyusica instructed. Gildarts dragged the boy to the bed and wrapped his arm around his neck in a headlock, pinning him down as he kicked his legs and clawed at Gildarts arm. Makarov sighed but changed the size of his hands and used them to hold down the boy’s legs. He yowled for a couple seconds before the noise tapered off and he was struggling once more, breathing laboured. Porlyusica stepped up, reaching over to the remains of his poison inflicted wound. The second the cloth touched the wound he yowled out once more, bucking against the grip holding him and pushing and clawing at Gildarts arm with added vigour. Porlyusica snapped her hand back, staring down.

“Why’d you stop? Isn’t that stuff supposed to hurt?” Gildarts asked, tightening his hold with a wince.

“I think his magic container has burst. There’s far too much swelling here for just his injuries.” she shook her head.

“Shit.” Gildarts hissed. Makarov took in a sharp breath.

“Can ya fix it? I’ve heard of people who can’t be mages anymore if their container rip.” Porlyusica turned towards her equipment.

“I’ll need to do a quick examination to see the extent of the rupture before I can be sure. Its likely I’m going to need to drain his magic to reduce the risk though.” she started searching through her supplies. Makarov creased his brows.

“Are you sure about that? We don’t know the extent that could do to his body.” he questioned the medic. She picked up an item and brought it over, holding it above Gajeel as she checked him over, tutting every time he shifted from his struggles. She didn’t answer his question, instead focusing on what she’d found.

“That isn’t good.” she muttered, walking away once more.

“Has the entire thing burst?” Gildarts asked, pushing his arm down against the bed once more to hold Gajeel. She shook her head.

“There is no damage to his magic container. I don’t understand where all this ethernano could have come from if not his magic container. I’ve never worked with something like this on a dragon before.” she fished through her supplies once more.

“How do we fix it?” Gildarts looked to Makarov.

“There’s far too much ethernano to let it drain alone. The risks that would pose are too high for the amount of time it would take. It needs to be drained out now.” she pulled out her drain device and brought it over.

“This is going to be tricky. Keep a hold of him, even if he stops struggling. I’m going to need to time this perfectly or I could drain too much and kill him.” she directed her instructions to Gildarts. He nodded, looking down to the still struggling dragon. Porlyusica turned the lacrima on, pressing it up to the Gajeel’s skin. He yowled out once more, tail lashing about and attempting to hit Makarov. He knocked several items of the bedside cabinet instead. It didn’t take long for his struggling to weaken, his tail falling limp off the bed and only the smallest twitch of his limps. Porlyusica pulled the lacrima back.

“There. That’s all the excess ethernano gone.” she stepped back, turning to her medical supplies. Makarov released his hold on Gajeel’s ankles. He made no move to struggle. He looked up towards Gildarts who had relaxed his grip. Gajeel’s head dropped back against the arm, his eyes only half open and lazily following something around the room. The snarls had been replaced with whispered and incoherent words although the tone resembled that of a lullaby. Porlyusica returned with the cloth once more.

“Seems he’s calmed down. Guess all that extra magic he had in him was making him extra aggressive.” Gildarts chuckled although it lacked any sincerity and sounded hallow. Porlyusica huffed.

“The likely option is that draining his body of ethernano weakened him which in turn removed his ability to fight. Look at his scales, they are far too dull to be healthy right now.” she pressed the cloth to Gajeel’s stomach wound, the only reaction being a whimper that interrupted his mumbled singing.

“I think I can handle it from here. Just make sure no one comes in here. I don’t know what caused that spike in ethernano and until I do, having other wizards around is a risk I’m not willing to take.” She waved one hand to the two of them, focusing her attention on searching Gajeel for further magic. Makarov nodded although he was sure she hadn’t seen it and walked towards the door, Gildarts releasing his hold and following behind him.

Chapter 66

Notes:

Warning: Small mention/reference to suicide/suicidal thoughts

Chapter Text

Gajeel’s claws curled around the blanket that draped over his body. He debated turning onto his stomach but even the thought of moving sent tingles through his wounds. Eillian had done a number on him. Three broken ribs, the base of his wing snapped, fractured skull and several open wounds. He tilted his head down, reaching up one hand to pull across it. The movement pulled at his bandages. His tail twitched, whacking against the bed frame. His ear twitched at the noise from the room next door. Why did everyone have to talk about him like he couldn’t hear them.

“Stupid.” he muttered, pressing the side of his muzzle into the mattress. His eye flicked to his hands, now clear of the blood that had marked them. His teeth had probably been cleaned too. Something about a contamination risk of having blood of a different type so close to his own open wounds. He could still remember the sight of the blood though. The screams as his teeth sank into flesh with ease. He drew his legs up closer, tugging his hands at his sides. The door creaked open. He flicked his eye towards Porlyusica who walked in with a tray of food. She placed it on the cabinet by his head.

“You better eat this time.” she scolded him, turning towards her supplies.

“Once you’ve eaten I’ll change out your bandages, make sure nothing’s become infected.” she added. He released a heavy breath from his nose, the hot air bouncing off the bed and hitting him in the face once more. He didn’t feel like eating but if he didn’t then she might try to hit him with her broom like he’d seen her do to others from annoyance. He reached up, picking up a sandwich and taking a bite. It didn’t make it very far before he was hacking it up once more, eyes squinted shut to try and ward off the memories of his teeth touching flesh. His head dropped heavily on the bed, eyelids dropping halfway. His ear fins pinned back, preparing for a strike.

“Again? That can’t be good. I’ll check for any further damage to your throat.” Porlyusica was in front of him now, lifting his head up by the chin and pressing something cold up to his throat. He squeezed his eyes shut, unable to surpass the whimper. She lowered his head down softly, bending down to pick up what he’d hacked up.

“Strange. There’s no physical damage that I can see.” she shook her head, tossing the napkin into the nearby bin. She picked up her gauze and iodine before approaching once more. Porlyusica removed the bandages slow and carefully. Despite it, Gajeel still hissed when the gauze pulled away at the damaged flesh, sinking his nails into the sheet.

“Just stay still. It’ll take longer if you squirm.” she instructed seconds before a cloth soaked in iodine touched the nape of his neck. He hissed, narrowly avoiding sinking his teeth into his own tongue. The cloth made its way around each of his injuries, each followed by a cocoon of new bandages. The old ones which reeked of blood and pus were thrown into the bin.

“I’ll leave you to rest. No moving or you might rip open your stitches.” she pointed one finger at him before turning around and leaving the room. He pricked his ears, listening to her descend the stairs.

How is he?” he was unsure who spoke, too far to distinguish and mind too fuzzy from the pain meds to figure it out.

He still can’t keep food down. There’s no damage to his throat that could cause it so the only other option is its linked to something mentally. I have no jurisdiction with anything to with the mind so I can’t fix that.” he could guess that was Porlyusica speaking since she had been the only one permitted in the room. Someone else said something a lot quieter and the rest of the people in the conversation followed suit, apparently figuring out he was listening. He huffed out a breath and closed his eyes. It didn’t matter. They had to be bidding their time, waiting for the perfect moment to tie him up and ship him off somewhere for a good buck. Why would they want to keep him around anyway? He killed Totomaru and hurt so many other people. Who does that? It would just be better if he disappeared.

“Disappear?” he tested the word in his mouth. That actually sounded like a good plan, if he took it into his own hands then he wouldn’t have to live a prolonged life in captivity and no one would be hurt by his hands again. Then all the stupid noises in his head would disappear too. His thoughts started to become difficult to hold onto, sleep taking hold of him with a tight grip.

Chapter Text

Gajeel lifted his head up, ears pricking for any noise down in the main hall. It had been quiet for awhile but he’d purposely waited later into the night to assure that either everyone had left or anyone who had stayed behind had fallen asleep. He heard nothing but even breathing. He sat up, wincing at the pull of his wounds. He dropped his legs off the edge and leaned down on them. They were shaky and unstable but not broken. He could walk. He rounded the bed, one hand held out to support himself as he did. He stumbled a little once he removed his hand and reached for the door. He gripped the handle and pulled the door open slowly.

Squeak.

The sound was drawn out and he flinched, freezing in place for any sign of disturbance. One of the breathing patterns changed accompanied with a groan. He stayed put, waiting for the person who’d woken to fall back asleep. The breathing slowly shifted back to slow and even. He let out a silent sigh, slipping through the open door. He kept his steps light, eyeing the doors to one of the infirmaries. There was no sign of anyone waking up so he slowly descended the stairs. He suppressed a yelp when he noticed the frankly quite a large number of people in the main hall. Laxus was leaning against the bar, Erik, Natsu and Wendy all curled up next to him with their cats close by. Freed, Bickslow and Evergreen were a few feet away, Freed in the middle of the other two mages with Laxus’ coat over his shoulders. Makarov’s scent was still fresh although he couldn’t see the old man anywhere nearby. Erza was laying over one of the tables, head on her crossed arms while Gildarts lay across one of the seats. He could smell several other members in the room as well. He took one step forward.

Creak.

God damn, why did such a new building have so many loud doors and floorboards. He looked around the room. Erik twitched, his eyes trailing open for a moment before dropping shut with his head into Laxus’ lap. No one else had stirred. He kept his footsteps light as he crossed the hall. His eyes dropped on the gap in the doors that had still to be repaired. He crouched down and crawled through. His tail thunked against the door as it slipped through. He scampered across the courtyard and leapt up to the part of the fence he’d scaled prior. He fumbled his landing and hit the ground with his shoulder, knocking the breath from his lungs. He huffed, shaking his head. Everything spun but he pushed forward anyway. He needed to find the right spot before someone started following him.

****
Cobra snapped his body up at the loud thunk that echoed in his ears. He looked around the room but couldn’t see anything. He got to his feet. The other noises he’d heard he could brush off as usual building noises but that didn’t sound like a settling building or a small animal scurrying across the room. He stepped over the other dragon slayers and approached the room the dragon was in. He pushed the door open and stepped inside. The runes were still active and the dragon was partially curled up in the middle. Its eye snapped open to look at him.

“And what do I owe the pleasure of such a visit.” it tilted its head, gaze trailing over his body. He hissed, sending a sharp glare towards it.

“If your looking for the mixed blood, he isn’t here. He left about... a few minutes at most.” it sat up, stretching its arms above its head and locking them together. Cobra stiffened. Gajeel had been in the room. The dragon rolled its eye.

“I’m surprised you didn’t hear it moving around. I heard him the moment he got up from his bed.” it rolled its shoulders. Cobra turned around, leaving the dragon alone and venturing up to the room Gajeel was in. The door was open enough for someone to sneak through. He pushed the door open.

Squeak.

He froze. The sound matched up with the first one he’d heard, the original sound to wake him. And just like the dragon said, he was missing from his bed, the covers thrown back.

“Shit.” he spat, turning heel and running down the stairs. He almost fell halfway down in his rush, slamming his body into the side of the railing and hissing once more. That disturbed several people who were all sitting up and rubbing sleep from their eyes as he stumbled to gain his balance and run down the rest of the stairs.

“Cobra? What’s going on?” Natsu asked, yawning wide enough to show off his entire row of fangs.

“Gajeel’s gone.” He shook his head. Natsu leapt to his feet.

“We need to find him. You have a good nose. You can follow his scent.” he didn’t wait for anyone else to get up, grabbing Natsu’s wrist and dragging him out the guild hall. Natsu sniffed the air and snapped his head towards the fence.

“There. I’ve got a scent.” he raced over to the fence and leapt up, grabbing the top and throwing himself over. Cobra hissed but leapt up, just managing to catch the top and stumbling his way over the fence. He was both far too short for that and not good enough at climbing to not find annoyance with Gajeel’s method of escape. Natsu sprinted off ahead, leaving Cobra to catch up with him. Once he finally caught up, the fire mage was standing next to a small pond, a pile of white next to his feet.

“Why’d you stop?” he stepped up to Natsu’s side, looking at the pile. Bandages. His heart dropped to his stomach.

“His scent cuts off here. He must have went into the pond to cut off his scent.” Natsu’s head dipped down. Cobra sucked in a breath. A twig snapped somewhere off in the trees. He turned to look but he couldn’t see anyone nor hear anything. He turned back to Natsu.

“Let’s return to the guild. Maybe someone there has a spell we can use to find him.” he grabbed Natsu’s wrist and began dragging him back towards the guild hall. Someone had to know something. They had to.

Chapter 68

Notes:

Warning: Discussions of Suicide/Suicide attempts

Chapter Text

The air tasted different at the edge of the drop than it had in Magnolia or even the neighbouring forest. The train tracks further along were deserted, no trains running so early in the morning. He dropped to his knees, gulping in breaths. His injuries ached, some even bleeding anew as he perched at the edge of the drop. He stared down, unable to see the bottom. The drop would kill him. The second he stepped off there would be no turning back without his wings to catch him. Was falling a poetic way to die. A dragon crashing into a hole where no one would ever find him again. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. His ears pricked at the smell. Sulphur topped with mint and a hint of metal touching the tip of his tongue, the smell itself mixing with mud. He growled.

“What do you want?” he spat.

“You have no reason to snap at me. If I can’t convince you then I will regrettably let you make your choice.” Gajeel looked over his shoulder, spotting the rune mage dip his head slightly.

“How did ya even find me? I cut off my scent.” he turned his upper body, wincing at the tug of his stitches and placed one hand on the stone.

“You did. I followed Natsu and Cobra until it cut off then using my own knowledge and a spell of my own, I tracked you here.” Freed walked forward, lowering himself to the ground and letting his legs hang off the edge.

“Hmm. Not far from Clover town. An odd place. Although I suppose it would be difficult for most people to find a body at the bottom.” Freed, tipped his head to look down the drop. Gajeel growled, twisting his body around.

“Come. Talk with me.  I know you have things to talk about.” Freed pat the ground next to him.

“What do I have to talk about with you. You don’t even know me.” he hissed, hair bristling as his tail twitched.

“Perhaps not but I’d like to.” Freed turned to look at him, hair pulled back to expose both his eyes. Gajeel pressed his muzzle to Freed’s nose.

“Shut up you liar.” he spat. The rune mage held his gaze, blinking once but making no move. Gajeel’s brows furrowed and he drew back.

“Why aren’t you afraid of me?” he demanded, narrowing his eyes at Freed.

“Why should I?” Freed didn’t advert his gaze, holding Gajeel’s with an unreadable expression.

“Because- Because I’m a monster. I’m wrong. A half breed.” he shook his head, breaking the rune mage’s gaze and linking his fingers into his hair. Freed hummed.

“I thought that would be what you’d say.” a hand on Gajeel’s shoulder caught his attention and he lifted his head.

“What?” he asked, examining Freed’s face. He sighed, retracting his hand to run through his head.

“It was a few years ago now but it wasn’t long after I joined Fairy tail. I was on a job with the Thunder legion. I came across a hybrid on the verge of taking their own life. I tried to help her but.... she fired the bullet into her skull before I could even say anything.” Freed started, adverting his gaze from Gajeel. His ears twitched. He didn’t think he’d heard anyone refer to him or other mixed bloods as Hybrid. Everyone in Phantom Lord always called them Half breed or Mixed blood.

“That same night I got hit with a pretty bad wave. I thought about taking my own life. Nearly did, was about to jump off a port when Laxus found me. He talked with me, convinced me that throwing my life away wouldn’t solve my problems. That what I’d been told was not true.” Freed shook his head.

“I don’t get what the point of this story is.” Gajeel shook his head. Freed chuckled slightly.

“I truthfully didn’t know you were a hybrid upon our first meeting. Or even our second. It wasn’t until I saw you in the cathedral that I realised that you were a hybrid. Thought you were part demon at first but observing you further made me realise you were a dragon not a demon.” Freed gestured to his wings and tail. Gajeel froze.

“You knew? And you still tried to approach me?” he stared at Freed with wide eyes.

“I wanted to help you how Laxus helped me. I thought Juvia and Totomaru might have known but it seems they didn’t know. I assume you just didn’t tell them”

“I....” he furrowed his brows.

“Are you-“

“A hybrid. Yes.” Freed flicked one finger up his wrist, the purple of his runes twisting around his body and sinking into the skin, quickly replacing the skin on his hands for scales, his wrists puffing out with black fur. Scales circled around his right eye, the cowlicks replaced with horns and a spade tipped tail curling out from below his coat.

“I didn’t want to startle you by addressing this before. You were hiding it and I didn’t want to put you on the spot for it.”

“But you haven’t killed any of your friends.” he hunched his shoulders to his ears. Freed shook his head.

“Neither have you. We’ve only hurt our friends. Wounds heal. Totomaru will recover thanks to Wendy’s help.” Freed placed a hand on his shoulder once more. His ears twitched.

“Totomaru.... he’s alive?” he turned to look at Freed, red eyes focusing on the blue and yellow eyes. Freed nodded. He leaned forward, one hand over his mouth.

“I thought I killed him. He was so still-.” He cut himself off, scrunching his eyes shut.

“I’m not going to stop you if you choose this but there are people who care about you that would miss you if you left.” Freed tilted his head slightly so that his short bangs swung out of place and covered half his face once more.

“Won’t everyone hate me? They know now. They know what I am-.”

“If anyone tries to touch a hair on your head for that then I’ll personally punish them.” Freed’s back straightened out. Gajeel lifted his head, looking at Freed.

“Did it ever get better?” he asked, running nails over his wrist. The rune mage sighed.

“It depends what you mean. If you mean the thoughts go away then no. I still have my bad days even now. But I have my friends there for me now. To listen and care even on the days I don’t.” Gajeel looked up to the moon that was making its way through the sky.

“If your friends throw you aside simply because your a hybrid and no other reason then they were never the friends you deserved. I learned that after Bix, Ever and Laxus stuck by me after they found out.” Gajeel took a glance to see the rune mage looking up at the moon as well. He turned to the drop once more, staring for a long moment. He sighed, pushing himself to his feet. He stumbled a little. Freed looked over his shoulder.

“I- Thank you. I needed this.” he gestured between the two of them. Freed smiled, pushing himself to his feet.

“Come. We should be getting back.” he tilted his head in the direction of Magnolia.

“I don’t know. I’m not ready to....” he trailed off. See their faces. The hate and resentment some of them might hold towards him.

“Its alright. You can stay at mine for a bit. Not many people visit my house and if I ask, only Bickslow will be there. Maybe Evergreen and Laxus if they decide to be nosy.” Freed rolled his eyes to match his fond laugh.

‘I-.”

“I’m inviting you. That isn’t imposing. Besides, those need to be cleaned out again or your going to get a nasty infection.” Freed gestured to his uncovered wounds. He didn’t speak. Just nodded. The rune mage took a hold of his hand leading him back along the path they’d come from accompanied by the night sky and the critters.

Chapter 69

Notes:

Here is my Hybrid Freed design

Chapter Text

Gajeel half twirled around in the hall of Freed’s house. It was painted a soft cream colour, a welcome mat by the door, a coat hanger where Freed had thrown his red coat up and a table where his keys were placed in a bowl. Gajeel stepped forward, the carpet brushing against the scales on his feet.

“Make yourself comfortable. I’m just boiling some water. Want a tea or coffee?” Freed called from the kitchen, the kettle screeching as the water reached its peak.

“Tea is fine.” he muttered, perching himself on the edge of the couch. His tail curled around one ankle, broken wing dropping to sit on the cushion. The door slammed open and he yelped.

“Freed baby, are you here?” someone yelled.

“Bickslow! What have I said about throwing the door open, especially this late in the night. We have neighbours.” Freed stormed out of the kitchen, standing in the doorway to the hall. His arms were crossed and his tail tip twitched.

“Right now isn’t the time to be worrying about the neighbours thing Freed. Gajeel’s disappeared and everyone’s out lookin for him. We came here to find you. You have that trac-.”

“Gajeel’s fine.” Freed cut him off. Gajeel couldn’t see his face or even see Bickslow but he heard the sputtering from down the hall and the approaching footsteps matched with quick breaths.

“What? What’s that supposed to mean?” Freed stepped backward as Bickslow entered the room, his dolls floating around his head. Gajeel ducked his head, curling his tail close.

“Wait he’s here? How did he know where our flat was?” Bickslow looked back to Freed, his dolls giggling when he did.

“I followed Natsu and Cobra until the trail dried up then tracked him myself to the cliffs surrounding Clover town.” Freed turned away, returning to the kitchen where he’d abandoned the tea.

“Oh. OH” Bickslow’s eyes were on him again. He pinned his ears back.

“Bix! Is Freed here?” His head snapped up when Evergreen and Laxus entered the room, both panting heavily from what he assumed was running. Laxus leaned one arm against the doorway. Bickslow opened his mouth.

“Can you all stop yelling? We’re going to get complaints from the neighbours.” Freed huffed, placing two mugs of tea on the coffee table. Gajeel reached out to the closest one, picking it up.

“I do apologise. This doesn’t usually happen. I hope the tea is to your liking. I wasn’t sure how you take it.” Freed turned his attention to him. Gajeel nodded, taking a drink from the mug. The hot liquid was a nice refresher for his dry throat.

“’ts fine” he muttered, lowering the mug into his lap.

“Gajeel. Are you alright? Are you h-.” Laxus took a step forward but was blocked by Freed.

“Freed.” He huffed, a single spark of electricity flashing next to his ear.

“Laxus.” Freed returned the stare he was receiving. Laxus lifted both hands, gesturing them about with no purpose behind it.

“You will let Gajeel decide when he wants to be approached. Its his choice.” Freed added, stepping back and turning around.

“I’ll go get the first aid kit. Get those wounds patched up.” he rounded the couch, walking into another room while leaving the door open. Gajeel lowered his head. He didn’t want to meet Laxus’ gaze. There was shuffling from the three mages standing in the room but none of them spoke. Gajeel looked out the corner of his eye, noticing Evergreen leaning in towards Laxus, mouth open like she was going to say something before pulling back and snapping her mouth shut. Freed returned from the other room.

“Laxus, could you and Ever go let the guild know that everything is alright. And make sure everyone knows that they aren’t to come here. Until he’s ready to be around the rest of the guild, they should just keep their distance.” the rune mage sat down on the couch next to Gajeel, opening the kit he’d brought back and pulling out some iodine.

“Can we-?”

“I’ll let you know when you get back.” Freed placed his attention on Gajeel solely after that, gesturing for him to lift his arm so that he could get to his side wound. He did as instructed, wincing when the cloth touched his stitches. Laxus and Evergreen left, closing the door behind them. Bickslow stood in the room, fidgeting with his hands.

“Bickslow you can sit. I’m not going to kick you out of the house.” Freed shook his head.

“Oh cool cool. Thought you might have wanted me to go.” he chuckled, flopping himself down into one of the chairs, his arms sprawled over either side and his totems bouncing up and down around him. He leaned his head slightly, the mesh of his helmet looking directly at Gajeel.

“So dragon boy you-.”

“Bickslow!” Freed snapped his gaze to look at the Sith mage, eyebrows furrowed.

“What. Its not offensive-.” He turned to look at Gajeel.

“Wait is that offensive? I’ve never met a dragon before.” Gajeel’s ear twitched.

“No. I don’t think so.” his voice was quiet, and he turned his attention to his cup on the coffee table. He hissed, hair puffing up when a sharp tug on his broken wing sent jolts of pain up his spine. Freed hummed.

“Don’t remove your splint this time. If Wendy can’t come near you to heal it then it needs to heal properly.” the rune mage scolded, reaching behind his back for a moment before pulling back.

“What about his leg? Laxus says he has a bad one.” Bickslow waved one finger towards him. Gajeel’s hair bristled.

“Laxus told you that?” he hissed, ears pinning down. Bickslow cackled loudly.

“Baby, he wouldn’t shut up about you. For four years.” he held up four fingers and pushed them towards Gajeel’s face.

“Bickslow, you are exaggerating.” Freed rolled his eyes, picking up his own cup and taking a drink.

“Alright maybe a bit but you have to admit that he kept bringing up this little baby after that time in the café.” Bickslow leaned forward, grin wide with a smirk. Gajeel’s eyebrows furrowed.

‘I met Laxus in a dark guild hall, not a café.” he looked at Freed for answers. He sighed.

“Bickslow is talking about something from 2 years ago. We had been on a job near Oak town and Ever wanted to try out this cafe she’d heard about so we stopped by. You and your friends were in town that day and showed up to the cafe. That was the day Laxus realised he might have a bit more than a passing curiosity with you.” Freed placed the mug on the table once more. Bickslow laughed again.

“Now I wish you’d actually looked towards our table. Then you could have seen his face. It was hilarious.” the Sith mage kicked his legs up, dropping the backs of his feet on the coffee table. Freed sent him a glare.

“Oh... I think I know what cafe your talking about. It was Totomaru’s favourite. He went a lot. Juvia and I would tag along on occasion if we could get away with it.” he shrugged, trailing one finger over his leg.

“I think Bickslow’s said enough. Its late. You’re free to use my room for the night.” Freed stood up, picking up the two empty cups and taking them to the kitchen.

“No that’s alright. I can’t take your bed.” he objected. This was Freed’s house. It wasn’t good manners to take the man’s bed, especially after he’d been so kind. Freed shook his head, short strands bouncing with the movement.

“I insist. Besides, you shouldn’t be sleeping on the floor or a couch with those injuries. My bed is a double. It might not be perfect for your wings but it should be better than the infirmaries beds.” Freed pointed towards one of the rooms that connected to the living room. Gajeel sighed, standing to his feet and making his way to the room. The door didn’t squeak like the one in the infirmary did. He stepped into the room, tail whipping around the door as he closed it. He turned to look around the room. A bureau next to the window which had some paper, pens and books spread across it and a picture frame atop it. The bed sat in the middle, made up and smelling of mint. The wardrobe was built into his wall, a single door that sat with bookshelves on either side.

“Books?” He muttered under his breath, fatigue setting into his bones. He yawned, dropping himself onto the bed. He groaned when his stomach made contact with the mattress but ignored it, letting his eyes drift shut as he was dragged into sleep.

Chapter Text

Gajeel wasn’t sure how long he’d slept for but when he woke up, it was to talking from the other room. He blinked a few times to clear the sleep from his eyes and sat up. Sun filtered in from above the curtains so it was at least morning now. He yawned, ears twitching.

“I’m just saying, it took a lot to stop Natsu, Cobra and Wendy not to charge their way over here so just expect that they might try to show up.” he picked out Laxus speaking, leaning over the bed to listen. A sigh.

“Can’t you just tell them to stay at the guild?” Bickslow asked. A few thumps and another sigh, this time from someone else.

“Like that would work. They listen to Gajeel and even if I could, you know Natsu, he’d find a loophole around it. Like climbing through your bedroom window or something.” Laxus huffed.

“Maybe I should leave my window open then.” Bickslow snickered. Something hit against metal.

“Oh come on baby. Don’t tell me you’ve never thought about one of the boys climbing through your window.” the Sith mage snickered.

“Absolutely not.” Evergreen huffed. Fingers clicking.

“As you were saying Laxus.” Freed finally spoke.

“Natsu is probably the least of your worries. At least you could heard him coming. Cobra and Wendy are a different can of worms altogether. They are so quiet, Cobra especially.” Laxus was talking again.

“Pretty sure he makes no sound when he walks. Don’t know if I should be impressed or intimidated that he can move without a peep.” Bickslow was laughing again. Gajeel shifted in the bed, debating stepping out of it. He decided against it, curling up under the covers again. He could still freak out and attack someone. It was safer if he was away from people. The talking died down and he heard shuffling. Light filtered in through the opening door before disappearing when it clicked shut.

“How are you feeling? Your injuries aren’t bothering you too much are they?” Freed was in the room, walking over to the bed. Gajeel buried his muzzle under the pillow, masking any other scent with the mint.

“No.” he mumbled. The bed dipped when Freed sat on it.

“Laxus heard you moving. Said he thought you were awake so I came to check on you. How about something to eat. You haven’t eaten anything in days.” a hand pressed into his shoulder.

“Can’t. Won’t stay down.” he huffed out, pulling one arm up to rest his head on. The rune mage hummed low.

“Would you mind telling me why?” he asks.

“I... I keep rememberin’ what I did... To Totomaru... It happened before. When I killed for the first time but I got used to it. This... This one was different.” his nails curled into the sheet.

“Because it was someone you cared about?” Gajeel nodded into the mattress.

“He’s going to be alright. I know its bad now. But it’ll get better. I’m sure talking to him might help.”

“What if I do it again? I don’t want to hurt anyone else. Not again.” he curled up further, tail circling around him.

“You won’t. I ca-.” Gajeel sat up, the duvet flying off his shoulders.

“How do you know? I don’t even know what happened so how could you?!” he snapped, pressing his muzzle to Freed’s nose. The rune mage didn’t flinch.

“Because you were stressed.” he spoke, voice even. Gajeel blinked.

“I’m the same, I loose control when I’m stressed. Its like my mind shuts down and I’m working on muscle memory. I go after anything that could be deemed a threat, no matter who they actually are.” Freed broke eye contact, looking down to his hands.

“How did you know?” Gajeel’s ears twitched. That matched exactly with what he had been experiencing. Freed sighed.

“It happened to me a lot, especially when I was young. I was stressed constantly and one tiny incident could send me into a full blown panic. Everyone in town knew what I was and they both feared and hated me. I feared myself as well. Even after I ran away that stress didn’t leave. Bix, Ever and Laxus helped a lot. I’m no longer stressed all the time and I can actually relax.” Freed fidgeted with his fingers.

“How... How do you do it?” he asked, looking down to his own scaled hands.

“Well, I’ve learned a few techniques to help calm down. I try to take deep breaths, think about something that makes me happy or if that doesn’t work, take a moment to step out of the situation causing my stress. Its not a fix all but it helps.” Freed placed one hand on his shoulder. Gajeel looked to it, his ears twitching. He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. He held it in his lungs for a second before releasing it. He repeated the action a second time. He snapped his eyes open.

“Wow.... I.... feel a little better. That actually works.” his tail whacked between the mattress and the headboard repeatedly. Freed laughed. Gajeel grabbed his shoulders, keeping a firm grip.

“I want to go out. There’s something I want to do.” He looked directly into Freed’s eyes. The rune mage blinked.

“Oh. Sure. I can use one of my enchantments to hide your wings and tail. You’ll just need to be careful to not hit anything.” Gajeel nodded repeatedly.

“I’ll find a bracelet. I’d rather not mess with your existing spell any further.” Freed got to his feet, opening the bottom drawer of his bureau as he searched through it. Gajeel’s ears twitched and he looked down to his hands. He could do this.

Chapter Text

Natsu fidgeted in his seat, staring intently at the guild doors with one leg bouncing. He didn’t understand why Laxus and Evergreen got to hog Gajeel when they weren’t allowed to go see him. Well, they weren’t hogging him anymore. They had shown up to the guild with Bickslow a while ago, no Freed or Gajeel in sight. He looked to Cobra for a second, who had his hands folded in front of his lips while his eyes flicked around the room.

“This sucks.” he huffs, dropping his head down on the table with a thump.

“I hope he’s ok.” Wendy mumbled, pulling at one of the bracelets on her arm.

“If that green haired b-.”

“Finish that sentence, I punch you. Never talk like that about Freed.” Laxus huffed, eyeing up Cobra with knitted brows. Cobra scoffed, rolling his eyes. His eyes flicked to the door, staring. Natsu scrunched his nose, turning his attention to the closed doors. Two sets of footsteps approaching from outside. His back straightened. Wendy and Laxus had taken note of their reactions and were looking at the door as well. It felt like the door took years to open. Natsu stood up, ready to run over to the door. Freed walked in first, his attention on his companion. Gajeel. Natsu hopped up and down. Gajeel looked a little different. He’d cut his hair, the longest strands only reaching the top of his neck and he’d swapped out his old clothes for ripped jeans, a black top and a leather jacket, chains attached to the jeans and longer earrings attached to the studs on his ears. Before anyone could get a word in, both Totomaru and Juvia rushed up to him, wrapping him in a tight hug -although Totomaru struggled to provide a full hug with an arm and a half.

“You idiot. We were so worried about you. Are you alright?” Totomaru stepped back, looking him up and down.

“Gajeel cut his hair. Juvia thinks it makes Gajeel look rugged.” Juvia giggled, reaching up to twirl her fingers through the shortened strands.

“Uh... yeah... Your arm, is it-?”

“Oh. Really it doesn’t hurt nearly as much now.” Totomaru waved his hand. Cobra slipped over next to them.

“That’s because your bogged out on drugs right now.” he snorted, reaching his arm up to lean it on Gajeel’s shoulder. Natsu rushed over, bouncing next to him.

“You look so cool. I wanna look cool.” Natsu leaned in, flicking one finger at one of the earrings. Wendy zipped over, wrapping her arms around Gajeel’s waist.

“I missed you Opsola.” she whispered, pressing her nose against his hip. Laxus stepped up, leaning his elbow on top of Natsu.

“Good to see you doing better.” he smiled. Gajeel’s back straightened.

“Yes. I just needed some time. I’m doing better now.” he nodded, popping the collar of his leather jacket. Several other members approached the group, giving their well wishes and comments on Gajeel’s new appearance. Freed stepped up next to him and Laxus. The lightning mage smiled.

“Thank you Freed.” Laxus looked to the rune mage. Natsu tilted his head a little, Laxus’ arm slipping off his head.

“Of course. He’s a good friend.” Freed nodded, sharper fangs poking through his lips. Natsu’s eyebrows snapped up. Freed did the thing like Gajeel when he was talking with the dragon.

“You’re like-mhmmm.” his words were cut off by Laxus’ hand slapping over his mouth.

“Don’t say anything. It’s a secret.” the lightning dragon whispered. Natsu blinked once then nodded. He could do that. Laxus removed his hand and nodded.

“Now. How about we get the rest and celebrate once Wendy’s healed up Gajeel’s wounds.” Laxus slapped one hand on his back and walked closer to Gajeel. Natsu bounced after him, a smile wide on his face.

Chapter 72

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Gajeel stared at Eillian, fingers brushing over the metal he was warping. Her eye narrowed at him.

“You’ve been sitting there for a while now; are you going to speak or simply watch.” her voice held less malice than it had before. The ribbons attached to her back twitched.

“I was waiting for you to explain.” he shrugged, creating a piece of metal and pressing it against the shape in his hands. Eillian huffed.

“What is there to explain?” she stared at the metal in his lap. He twitched his tail.

“Why you’ve been trying to kill me.” he snipped, fins pressing down against his head.

“Your Opsola killed my zriha” she hissed. Gajeel turned his attention to the metal once more. He didn’t think his Opsola could take out a dragon. Unless her mentor was a human. But that didn’t sound like him either. He was a doctor, not a killer. Eillian sighed and turned around, walking to the other side of her rune cage.

“But that wasn’t your fault.” she lowered her head when Gajeel lifted his.

“What?” he blinked.

“You were a nuwa'jimos, you couldn’t have known. I.... I thought if I killed you then he would feel even just a moment of the same pain he caused for me... But that’s not right. You haven’t seen him in over half a decade. And who knows what that could have done to Metalicana.” she sighed.

“What was that? What was the last thing you said?” he stood up, discarding the now finished piece onto the floor with a thud. His ears twitched. She blinked once.

“You don’t remember?” she tilted her head, eye flicking over him. He hissed in annoyance.

“Do you know where Xiiwic is?” he stepped up to the rune barrier.

“Oh you don’t remember.” Her eye softened before she shook her head.

“No. I can’t tell you. You need to remember on your own.” she leaned against the other side of the barrier. Gajeel growled.

“Where is he?” he snapped, tail lashing behind him.

“Watching. Right now I imagine.” she didn’t meet his eyes. He looked around the room, trying to find the familiar scent.

“You won’t find him. Not like that.” she met his eyes, staring at him. Gajeel’s ears twitched.

“Fine. Be cryptic about it. Whatever. I’ll let Freed know he can let you out.” he huffed, turning around and picking up the finished piece.

“He never stopped loving you. You mean a lot to him.” was the last thing he heard from Eillian before he closed the door with a huff, pulling the bracelet from his pocket and slipping it on so the runes would hide his dragon features, a safety precaution until they were sure his injuries were fully healed. He scoffed. Yeah right. If his Xiiwic truly cared about him then he wouldn’t have left. He stepped out into the main hall.

“Oi, Highlighter. You can let the dragon out now. She ain’t gonna do anything.” he huffed, gesturing to the room. Freed looked to him, one eyebrow raised.

“I’m sure. Don’t fret on it.” he rolled his eyes, walking past the table the rune mage was sat at and approaching the bar. Gildarts swung back a mug of beer, chuckling about something Makarov had said. He looked to his left when Gajeel approached.

“Hey there kid. Good to see you doing better. Got a pretty nasty shake up huh?” Gildarts placed his mug down and reached his hand out to slap his shoulder. Gajeel winced slightly at the weight to the gesture.

“Better. I… ugh… Have something for you.” he held out the metal towards Gildarts. He blinked, reaching out and grabbing it.

“Is this-? Wow kid. That’s insane. Did you make this?” he ran his hand over the metal plating of the arm that mimicked dragon scales.

“Yes. I wanted to apologise for breaking your old arm. I don’t know if it will be up to par, but it’s made of dragon iron. It’ll be durable.” he fiddled with the chain on his jeans. Gildarts lifted the arm and attached it to the remains of his left arm, letting it click into place. He flexed the metal fingers to give it a test.

“Impressive. And you put lacrima in it too. That’s amazing. You’d make a good crafter.” he chuckled, patting him on the shoulder again. Gajeel looked at the hand on his shoulder.

“Thanks.” he nodded. Gildarts chuckled, waving one hand.

“Don’t worry about it. Go have fun with your friends. Just don’t hurt Natsu or Laxus or I’ll be coming for you.” his voice was still cheerful but the stoney fury to his gaze was enough. Gajeel nodded and turned away, approaching the table that Totomaru and Juvia sat at, the pair chatting away. His eyes flicked to the new scars that littered Totomaru’s jaw and ran down his neck, the rest hidden below his shirt. He took a deep breath and sat down at the table. Totomaru flicked his eyes off Juvia, smile bright.

“Gajeel. You’ll never guess what happened while you were in there with the dragon.” the fire mage reached out, grabbing Gajeel’s wrist. He released another deep breath. It was going to be alright. He was going to be alright.

“Go on then. Tell me.” he chuckled, settling down in his seat for the overly detailed tale.

Notes:

Decided to be a wee bit cheeky with the ending but I will write a little side story about Totomaru's story eventually so no one's missing out if they were genuinely interested.

Chapter Text

Papers landed on a table with a thump, sending several items flying away from the desk. The man sat behind the desk leaned forward, picking up the top page. His eyes skimmed over the top of the document, landing on the name present.

“Where did you get this file? Isn’t this that kid who kept taking out our contracted guilds?” He dropped the top sheet back down on the pile.

“Yes. It was hidden away under a bookcase in the old Phantom Lord guild hall. The entire file is signed off by Brain.” The woman who spoke leaned forward, pointing one finger towards a signature in the bottom corner of the page.

“Don’t you think he looks remarkably similar to the paintings?” she asked, looking towards the man in front of her. He raised an eyebrow, looking down at the portrait in the corner. His eyes flicked down the information on the page.

“Dragon’s blood? Interesting.” he nodded, placing one hand against his beard.

“I did some investigating and he’s got a little group of slayers following him around. The fairy tail guild master’s grandson and Cobra.” a clear sphere rolled between both her arms. The man looked up, one eyebrow shooting upward.

“Cobra is following a legal guild mage around? Didn’t Brain and his guild get picked up by the council last month?” he looked over towards the woman in front of him.

“They were but apparently Cobra found himself as a dragon’s pet and got out of jail on probation.” She flicked one hand through strands of hair, looking towards the older man.

“No matter. Having him in a legal guild will make him easier to gain access to compared to if he had been in prison.” The man stood from his chair and waved one hand towards the woman.

“Call the rest of the forces. There will be a slight change to the plans.” he ordered.

“Of course Master Hades.” the woman dipped her head and turned, leaving the room without further words.

------------------------------------

The guild was filled with cheers and yelling as everyone celebrated with the nominees of the S-class trials. Gajeel had picked out a corner in the guild, separated from the large groups where he could enjoy his drink in relative peace. He flicked his gaze between Juvia, Freed and Natsu. He was sure someone expected him to congratulate them but that was for later when there weren’t nearly as many people crowding around the selected participants. Laughing brought his attention back over to the table that Juvia was sat at. Totomaru was stood there now, laughing along with something one of the other table’s occupants had said. His eyes drifted to the bandages still wrapped around his upper arm.

“Aren’t you going to go talk to Juvia? Totomaru is over there.” his hair prickled at the voice so close to his ear and snapped his head around to look at who had approached. Levy sat back down from where she’d leaned over the table to speak to him.

“What are ya doin here? Don’t you wanna go celebrate bein picked too?” he asked, gesturing to the various cheers going out around the hall. Levy ducked her head slightly, tucking a bang behind her ear and directing her eyes to the wood of the table. She then snapped her head up to look at him with a hardened glare.

“Don’t distract me. I asked a question first.” she objected with a huff, crossing her arms and glaring over at him. He grumbled under his breath, tail tip thumping once against the floor. The noise travelled but not the action thanks to Freed’s bracelet.

“I’ll talk with her later. Besides, Totomaru is probably giving her enough praise and good lucks for the both of us.” he shrugged, turning his eyes onto the mug in his hand.

“It sounds like you’re avoiding him to me. There’s a little rumour going around that you haven’t been sleeping in your bed.” Levy pointed towards him. Gajeel grumbled, reaching one hand up to brush against his jaw.

“And who told you that cause its fuckin bullshit. I swear I can’t get any privacy with you lot stickin your noses where they don’t belong.” he lifted his mug and took a long drink from the liquid within.

“Well from what I heard, Wendy mentioned it to Natsu and Laxus although someone else overheard the conversation and it spiralled out from there.” Levy folded her arms on the table, leaning atop them although her eyes never left Gajeel’s face. He coughed into his mug, lowering it and wiping at the beer dripping down the side of his lips. Fuck. Of course the kid mentioned something to Natsu and Laxus. He loved the kid but she didn’t have to talk about everything with Natsu, Laxus and Erik. If she had to talk about it, why was it in ear shot of the other guild members.

“It doesn’t matter.” he shrugged, running his tongue along the backs of his teeth. Levy shook her head.

“You can’t avoid him forever. You really should talk to him. He was really worried about you when you disappeared like that.” She tilted her head into the crease of one arm. He adverted his eyes to the table, tracing over the shapes in the wood.

“Anyway. That’s not entirely why I came over. I wanted to ask you a different question.” she sat up straight, gaze hardened. He flicked one eye up to look at her, raising one eyebrow.

“Shoot.” he rolled one shoulder as he turned to face her entirely. What could she possibly want to ask him? His thoughts briefly touched on his conversation with Droy about his dragon magic. Was this the questions he’d been warned of?

“Will you be my partner for the S-class trials?” she placed her hands down on the table with purpose, staring right into his eyes. He blinked, any words he attempted to form either turning to mush in his head or dying on his tongue. Instead, he was left gawking at her. She seemed to falter for a moment by his reaction.

“You don’t have to. You can say no. It was just a question.” she muttered, turning her gaze to the table. He shook his head.

“Why me?” he asked, pointing one finger at himself.

“Well Lucy is pairing up with Cana and obviously I can’t pair up with Erza. Plus, I’m going up against Natsu and Gray and Freed and Cana for a start. If I end up fighting them then I’ll have no chance. But with you on my side then maybe I’ll have a better chance of gaining S-class.” Levy continued rambling although Gajeel had started to block it out so he could process the first half of her explanation and form a proper answer.

“So, you want me to help fight?” he asked, tilting his head towards her slightly. She paused in her sentence and aggressively nodded in reply. Gajeel flicked his eyes back and forth in thought. He could go, it would be a good way to blow off the extra pent-up energy he had lingering in his bones. He didn’t want a repeat of what had happened the other week.

“Yeah alright. I’ll give ya a hand.” he shrugged. Levy’s eyes sparkled with her excitement.

“Really? Oh thank you. This means a lot.” she smiled at him. He huffed, shaking his head slightly.

“But yer training with me for the next week. If I don’t know how to fight alongside ya squirt then everything’ll fall flat on its ass.” he pointed his finger towards her. She nodded curtly.

“Right. I can do that. Let’s start now. No time to waste. Come on.” Levy grabbed onto his wrist, pulling on it. He stood up, stepping around the table to avoid being rammed into it with any force and followed after the excited mage.

--------------------------

The docks were coated in a thick layer of snow that Gajeel resented with his every being. Of all the times it had to snow. He wasn’t prepared for the snow, not with his leather jacket but he’d heard mention that where they were going was a very warm place to be and he didn’t want to overheat in a thick coat.

“I’m going to say it now. You’re a dumbass.” Totomaru, who was stood next to him shook his head. Gajeel raised a studded brow.

“I can see you shivering there. You should have just worn the coat Juvia and I got you.” he rolled his eyes, lifting his arm up likely to cross them only to let it drop down by his side. He grunted in response then turned to look at him.

“Why are you even here? You aren’t going on the boat.” he looked down at the fire mage. He snorted.

“I’m wishing you off and giving Juvia luck. I’ve already talked with Juvia so it’s your turn.” he pressed one finger against Gajeel’s nose. The iron dragon turned away, crossing his arms.

“I’m not angry at you. It was an accident. Besides, Porlyusica said it’s just a few weeks and she can start getting me fitted for a prosthetic.” he gestured to the arm wrapped in bandages.

“Still, I-.”

“No. Shut up. I’m not hearing it. What you are going to do is go do these trials, come back with a good story and then you are sleeping in your bed even if I have to drag your ass in there myself.” one hand was placed on the fire mage’s hip as he stared up at Gajeel with a steady gaze. The iron mage blinked for a second before relenting.

“Fine.” He huffed.

“Good cause Wendy misses you. Besides, you owe me for taking literally all of our roommates with you.” he added. Gajeel snorted.

“You have Carla and Lily to talk with.” he offered.

“Oh wow such amazing roommates, the bossy one and the ex-general. How entertaining.” Totomaru grumbled. Gajeel laughed, the sound deep and reverberating from deep within his lungs.

“Just ask Lily to give you a good story. He will have plenty of those from his time in Edolus. Oh ask him about the other you, he was engaged to Freed.” he nudged Totomaru in the side only to be swatted away.

“Shut up. I don’t even know if that will work out. We’ve only been on one date.” he objected, reaching up to brush at his loose bangs, the ponytail abandoned for the time being.

“Didn’t you say it went well?” he leaned down, tilting his head. His face was pushed back.

“You were listening to that? I thought you were ignoring me.” bright red crept up the fire mage’s neck and across his face under the tattoo.

“I was avoiding ya, not ignoring ya.” he rolled his eyes, a grin spreading across his lips. He got an elbow to the side but Totomaru was grinning just as wide.

“Good to have you back. I missed that grin.” he chuckled. Gajeel scoffed before it tapered off into a slight bark as he was pulled into a hug.

“See you soon. Don’t go biting any more limbs off people. Especially not your sparkly boyfriend.” he waved one hand over towards Laxus who was occupied with talking to Cobra. Makarov had insisted the two come along, Cobra because without Gajeel or Makarov himself present, the council could pick him up if they saw it fit and Laxus for the fear of Ivan coming along or Laxus trying to stage a second cue. Safe to say they would be watched at whatever location they were heading for.

“Yeah yeah. Just don’t set the kitchen on fire. Mira will kill you and I might just join her.” he warned. He was swatted at by Totomaru.

“Whatever, just get on the boat before I decide to throw you in the sea.” Gajeel chuckled, turning to follow the group onto the boat.

Chapter 74

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Gajeel sat on the white coat, fidgeting with his fingers. He wanted to curl up but his leg hurt too much and his opsola had told him he shouldn’t move it. He turned when there was movement next to him.

“Here. You need to eat to keep up your strength.” his opsola had sat next to him, offering him a leaf with some scraps of the animal that had been found on the day’s hunt. He sniffed it and scrunched his nose.

“No. It smells icky.” he objected, pushing the leaf away.

“Its not that much. You can eat this much for me right?” he asked, holding the leaf closer. He whined but nodded, picking up one of the pieces of meat. He gagged really quickly, spitting the meat onto the ground.

“Its icky. Makes my tongue itchy.” he objected, trying to scratch his tongue with his teeth. His opsola picked up the meat still on the leaf, examining it closely. He dropped it back down.

“Gajeel, don’t touch that. I’ll be right back.” He was instructed. He nodded, watching his opsola walk over to one of the other villagers who had been in charge of cooking the meat. They were talking quietly but his opsola was pointing at the other man harshly and swinging his arms about. He whimpered. He didn’t like this. He just wanted to go back to the house. But opsola said the house wasn’t there anymore.

“Wait. Rowan. What are you doing?” Gajeel perked his ears at the louder words. His opsola pulled the knife from the cooked animal, pointing it towards the other man who was waving his hands back and forth. His movement didn’t last long when he was tackled to the floor, the knife plunging down into his chest. Gajeel flinched, putting his hands over his eyes. When he heard screams, he peaked through his fingers. His opsola had moved but was making the same motions with the knife. Gajeel ducked his head down, laying his hands over his head. He wanted the screams to stop. He didn’t like them.

“Gajeel.” he lifted his head at the words. Arms wrapped around him and pulled him close to a chest. His opsola’s scent lingered but it was almost completely drowned out by a stronger metallic smell. The same one he’d smelt from many of the patients that had come to the home.

“Its alright. I won’t let anyone else hurt you again.” the words were quiet but firm, a hand stroking through his hair.

--------------------

The waves hit against the side of the boat, rocking it ever so slightly as they travelled across the water. Gajeel leaned his elbows on the edge of the boat, head tilted back as he relished in the warmth caused by lack of wind and the harsh rays of the sun. He tilted his head slightly on the groans from Natsu who was moving over to one side of the ship to drop his head over the edge. Laxus and Cobra were still stood near each other, Laxus having ditched his signature coat although he was also looking slightly peaky.

“Gods. It’s so hot.” Gray groaned, leaning back in his chair. Gajeel sniffed and turned his head away to avoid the completely nude ice mage.

“You could at least put some pants on.” Cana rolled her eyes. Lucy groaned next to her, leaning on one of the tables that sat on the boat. She cracked one eye open to look over at him.

“How come you are just fine Gajeel?” she asked, leaning her cheek against the wood of the table. A few more eyes focused on him, flicking over his jacket. He lifted a studded brow.

“Yeah. Aren’t you boiling? You’re wearing leather.” Levy pulled at the side of his jacket. He scoffed.

“No. This is nice. Huge improvement over the blizzard back on the mainland.” he waved one hand. Juvia giggled into her hand.

“Gajeel likes to sunbathe like a cat.” she was also still in her usual clothes, her shawl clinging to her shoulders and neck. Gajeel bristled, leaning forward.

“I do not….. Shut up.” he huffed, crossing his arms and looking to the side.

“Is it a dragon thing? Do dragons like to sunbathe?” Lucy asked, lifting her head slightly from the table. He sighed.

“Sorta. I’m……. Wait am I cold blooded? I never really thought about it that much.” he ran fingers through his hair.

“Gajeel is affected by the cold more than Juvia and Totomaru so perhaps he is.” Juvia spoke before adverting her attention towards Gray. Gajeel snapped his eyes up towards the sky for a moment before shrugging. Leo who sat at the table near Gray chuckled.

“I’m surprised that I never clocked you were a dragon. It’s kind of obvious looking back on it.” Leo laughed into his hand. Gajeel huffed and rolled his eyes.

“Yeah whatever. Go suck on Ms Anna’s tits or whatever it is you spirits do.” he waved one hand towards the celestial while fiddling with some strands of hair with the other. No one spoke for a moment.

“Who’s Anna?” Lucy asked, turning over to the ginger. Said man was staring at Gajeel, eyes wide and a wide smile that tilted his glasses slightly.

“You remember Anna? I thought you’d forgotten everything. That’s amazing. Do you remember anything else?” he stood up, taking a step towards him.

“What are you talkin about? I haven’t forgotten anything.” he shook his head, looking at the celestial like he’d grown a second head.

“Ms Anna? Have I heard that name before?” Wendy asked, looking between Leo and Gajeel with questions clear on her face.

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll get it eventually.” he placed one hand on Wendy’s head, ruffling her hair. She smiled up at him, showing off her baby fangs. He looked back to Leo who was still watching him like he expected Gajeel to say something.

“Look Leo. I don’t know what your talkin about. I haven’t forgotten anything that needs rememberin in the first place.” he shrugged. Leo blinked at him.

“Um Gajeel. He goes by Loki now. Leo is his title.” Lucy piped up from behind the celestial.

“What? No it ain’t. He told me his name was Leo.” he pointed towards the man in question. Cana snorted.

“I think that dragon hit your head a bit too hard.” she chuckled.

“Yeah. I’ve never seen you talk to Loki like ever.” Gray added. Leo stepped back to return to his seat.

“Don’t worry about it Gray. Let’s just focus on the trial.” he waved the ice mage off. As if it were a cue, Makarov stepped up on the upper deck of the boat.

“Everyone look sharp. We are approaching Tenrou island. Fairy tail’s sacred ground.” he spoke. Gajeel lifted one hand.

“What’s so sacred about an island? You got an ancient relic or powerful skeleton buried there.” he chuckled at the last line.

“Not far off with that one Gajeel. Tenrou island is the final resting place of Fairy tail’s first guild master, Mavis Vermillion.” Makarov nodded.

“Fuck I was joking.” Gajeel hissed under his breath. Levy swatted his arm. He huffed. Then the name registered in his head. Vermillion. Jose had mentioned something about it a long time ago. Right. She’d beaten the founding guild master of Phantom Lord once. Her and three other people…. One of them being the original Dreyar. Right, that was what Jose had been so pressed about with Makarov and Ivan and Laxus. Some old family grudge that he’d been dragged into.

“You’re first trial will be as follows. You will each select one of eight paths with a variety of challenges ahead. The challenge route where you will fight one of our S-class wizards, the combat routes where two teams will be pitted against each other but only one will emerge victorious and the serenity route.” Makarov pointed to a drawn-out version of what he was talking about, gesturing to each of the routes as he spoke.

“Let the trials begin.” Makarov clapped his hands together.

“But we’re still out at sea?” Evergreen pointed out, fanning herself as she sat near Elfman.

“Exactly.” Makarov smirked, moustache twisting upward with his smile.

“Alright. Let’s get this party started.” Natsu yelled, being held up by Happy as he flew upward only to crash into purple runes.

“Freed!” Evergreen yelled, gesturing to the ruin mage who was already flying off towards the island in the distance, Bickslow close behind on top of his dolls.

“Sorry Evergreen but don’t worry. The runes will only last for five minutes.” he chuckled, the words slowly carrying off as he went.

“Oh don’t worry. I can totally rewrite this” Levy smiled, pulling out a light pen and adjusting the lettering of the runes.

“Oh Levy that’s amazing.” Lucy was up next to her.

“But only for me and Gajeel. Sorry Lu.” the script mage turned to jump off the boat but Gajeel grabbed her hand. She turned to him.

“Get on my back. I can get us there faster.” he lowered himself into a squat so she could climb on his back.

“Hold on tight.” he instructed, adjusting the bracelet to allow the illusion to fall. He pressed all his strength down into his legs, spreading his wings out as far as they’d go. A few people stepped back to avoid being hit by them. He leapt up, flapping his wings forward to get momentum as they climbed upward. After he’d cleared the height of the mast, he spun and spread his wings out to glide through the air.

“Wow. Is this what flying on a dragon is like?” Levy asked, her breath tickling his ear.

“It’s what Wendy said to me but be careful, I’m a lot smaller than a dragon so people on my back can really impact my balance. Try not to lean to far towards either of my wings.” he instructed.

“Right.” Levy nodded. He felt her shift slightly and saw her look over his shoulder from the corner of his eye.

“What the-? He can fly? Freed you never said he could fly.” Gajeel cackled at the surprise in Bickslow’s voice as the two of them caught up with the other pair. Freed looked over his shoulder towards Gajeel. He startled for a moment.

“I wasn’t aware he could do more than improve his jump.” Freed shook his head.

“What, did you think my wings were for decoration? My Xiiwic would be super shit if he never taught me to fly.” he snorted.

“Freed you jerk. I can’t believe you’d try to do that.” Evergreen yelled from a little way behind them. She was also carrying Elfman under the arms.

“Oh no. I think Ever’s gonna put ticks under our pillows when we get back.” Bickslow laughed. Freed seemed to grimace.

“Please don’t say that. Do you know how difficult ticks are to get out of fur. I’d have to cut so much for that.” the rune mage objected. Gajeel snickered, leaning his head towards Levy slightly and whispered.

“Wanna see something funny?” Levy blinked at him.

“Sure?” her voice was quiet. He smirked, picking up some speed and flying up in front of Bickslow and Freed. Once he was sure he was in the right position, he spread his wings as far back as he could, smacking both of them in the face. He vaguely heard Evergreen shriek, likely running into one of the two of them. Gajeel laughed, using the distraction to take the lead and pick up speed.

“Hey that’s cheating.” Bickslow yelled from behind.

“Not anymore than those runes.” he laughed. Upon reaching the shore he kicked his legs forward, extending his good one as he flapped his wings faster to land. He stepped down on one foot then the other. Unfortunately, his landing allowed the others to catch up and they didn’t take nearly as long to land and had already picked out what routes to go down. Both teams sprinted down into the tunnels, the entrances getting blocked off with magic.

“Dammit. I took too long landin’ that they got ahead of us.” Levy climbed off his back, looking between the remaining routes.

“It’s alright. We still have plenty to choose from…….. Let’s go with this one, I have a good feeling about it.” she pointed to the route in question. He followed along behind her into the well-lit tunnel. They were quiet for a short time.

“I don’t mean to pry or anything but what was Loki talking about anyway? Who’s Anna?” Levy broke the silence, looking up towards him. He shrugged.

“Fuck if I know.” he brushed one finger against his muzzle debating if it was worth putting the illusion back up. It’s not like anyone who didn’t already know what he was were here.

“But you brought up this Anna? Is it someone you knew in Phantom Lord?” he winced at the mention.

“No. No one in that guild was that nice to me aside from my Moxt kol and they pretended to be indifferent around others.” he shook his head. Levy hummed before they fell back into silence.

“When I think about it, it’s kinda funny how I’m here.” he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

“How so?” she asked.

“Jose would have thrown a fit if he heard I went to the resting place of Fairy tail’s founding master.” He gestured upward to the roof of the tunnel.

“Right. Phantom Lord didn’t really get along with Fairy tail, did it.” She muttered to herself.

“Damn straight. Jose told me about it once. Said that if I was to follow in his footsteps then I’d need to know about how someone called Mavis and her three friends had destroyed a guild run by the original guild master of phantom. Who also happened to be Jose’s grandfather but that’s not as important. If I remember right, the grudge went on to be between the Porla’s and the Dreyar’s, or at least Jose saw it that way, after Makarov took over and none of the original founders were part of the guild anymore.” He shrugged at the end.

“Wait. What does, follow in his footsteps mean? Like he wanted you to become the next guild master?” she asked. He shrugged.

“I dunno. Maybe. From what I remember, the title was passed down his family and Jose didn’t have a partner or any kids. He would sometimes say I was like the son he never had but I think that was just to keep me in line more than anything.” he twitched his tail. He was glad he hadn’t been given any more power than he already had. With how much he got away with as a regular S-class mage, if he’d kept it up then as master he would have run the guild right into the council’s hands.

“You must have been important if you were being trained for that.” Levy offered. He scoffed.

“I wasn’t trained to lead. I was trained to kill. I only got Jose’s favour because I had powerful magic and unique blood. He wanted to keep me around on a leash.” He shrugged, continuing to walk down the path. Where was anyone anyway. He couldn’t smell anyone from ahead of them. Levy hummed once more.

“Would you have killed Laxus?” she asked. His hair bristled.

“I….. dunno. Maybe. If Jose had ordered it then probably or at least tried.” He brushed the back of his hand against his jaw.

“Was there anyone else you spared?” Levy looked over to him. He stopped walking.

“Yer askin a lot of questions.” he huffed.

“I know. I’m sorry…… but did you?” she met his eyes. He grit his teeth. Levy was too curious for her own good.

“Yeah. Once. This kid. He wasn’t a target or anythin’ just happened to be witness to me killing another guy. He was with his mum and she pushed him right at me and booked it. The kid was terrified, I could see it in his eyes but even after Jose drilled it into my head that I couldn’t leave witnesses, I didn’t touch him.” He shook his head.

“Really?” Levy stepped closer.

“He was a kid. Couldn’t have been older than 8. I wasn’t gonna kill a kid. Even one with magic.” he started walking again. He didn’t want to think about the fear in those eyes. Levy had a similar look when he’d attacked her.

“Gajeel-?”

“Don’t. Just don’t.” he snipped, continuing to walk down the tunnel and ignoring any further words Levy spoke.

Notes:

Gajeel really got the short end of the stick in terms of magic (out of the 7 slayers) he's the only one who can still be hurt by his element. I did have to make sure this was correct by checking the first movie since I remembered his single fight in the movie and yep. He was stabbed in several places and although it didn't kill him, there is a brief shot of blood coming from his mouth. And in the manga he is stabbed by a sword in the tenrou arc. The poor boy may have strong organs but he can still be hurt. The bullets never hit his brain because they made damage in the roof of his mouth but didn't get far enough to hit his brain. Poor boy needs therapy too.

Chapter Text

Cobra watched the ladle spin around in the soup pot, flicking his eyes to whatever direction it went. Laxus leaned in close to him which broke his attention.

“Yes?” he asked, raising a brow. He already knew what the question was but might as well let the lightning dragon get it out of his system now.

“Can you hear who’s winning?” he asked, leaning his chin on the palm of his hand. Cobra huffed.

“I could but I’m not. Leaving it a surprise.” he waved his hand towards Laxus to dismiss him.

“Oh that’s right. You have really good hearing don’t you.” Lisanna turned to look at him, twisting some hair around her finger.

“Yes.” He spoke dryly, staring at the white haired mage in front of him. He didn’t want the conversation to revolve around his magic. Lisanna at least got the message and turned to Laxus.

“So Laxus, how do you feel about Freed not making it to the second round. I know you two had a thing going on.” she spoke. Laxus blinked at her.

“I didn’t have a thing with Freed. What are you talking about?” he asked, looking over to Mira with a raised brow.

“Is this your idea. Just cause you’re getting all bothered under the collar about Ever and Elfman doesn’t mean I had anything to do with Freed.” Laxus objected, moving his arms around sporadically. Mira lifted one hand to her mouth.

“You weren’t. I just thought… Since Freed was head over heels for you until the Fantasia parade and then he seemed a little guarded for a while that you had a pretty bad break up before going after Gajeel.” Mira turned her gaze back to the soup.

“Freed went on a date with Totomaru.” Cobra pipped up, turning his attention to the table. Mira seemed to pipe up with excitement.

“Really? Oh they sound like they’d make such a cute couple.” she cheered.

“I don’t really know much about Totomaru, I never met him in Edolus.” Lisanna muttered.

“Juvia knows the most about him. They are childhood friends.” Cobra pointed to the distracted water mage. Lisanna turned to her.

“Juvia you have to tell me what Totomaru is like. Would he be a good boyfriend for Freed?” she asked, tapping Juvia’s shoulder. She snapped out of her daydream and turned to Lisanna, blinking a couple times before registering what had been asked of her.

“Juvia knows Totomaru is a nice guy. He’s like a brother to Juvia. Both Gajeel and Totomaru are older than Juvia, even if Juvia is only a year younger than Totomaru.” she crossed her arms, thoughts of teasing from the two boys flickering through her head.

“Oh. Wait, how old are the three of you?” Mira asked, looking over her shoulder.

“Well Juvia is 17 but she’s almost 18. Totomaru turned 18 this year and Gajeel is 20. Juvia isn’t entirely sure when Gajeel’s birthday is, he only ever says its in ‘the cold season’ but he’ll be 21 at some point in the next couple of months.” Juvia explained.

“Wait Gajeel will be 21 soon. Shit, I didn’t know his birthday was so close.” Laxus hissed under his breath. Juvia shook her head.

“Gajeel never celebrates his own birthday but he always treats Juvia and Totomaru really well on ours. Totomaru’s sword was from Gajeel on his birthday.” The water mage stared at the table. Mira giggled.

“Maybe that’s why Gajeel acts so protective of the two of you. He’s the oldest. As a big sister I would know.” she pointed the ladle at Juvia.

“What about the dragon slayers? He’s protective of them too.” Lisanna gestured to Cobra and Laxus.

“I’m 19 so I’m definitely younger than Gajeel.” Cobra waved one hand towards them as he spoke.

“You know how old I am.” Laxus rolled his eyes. Lisanna blinked at him. He sighed.

“I’m 23 remember.” He groaned. Cobra snickered.

“Someone’s feelin old?” he teased. Laxus shoved his shoulder.

“I’m only four years older than you, you ass.” he snapped.

“Natsu is 19 or at least we think he is. His account of things growing up isn’t really clear.” Erza spoke. Mira pulled a bowl close to the pot.

“Wendy is still pretty young right? Has she ever mentioned how old she is?” Lisanna looked to Erza. She shook her head.

“Not that I can recall. She’s quite young compared to Natsu and Gajeel though. I think I remember them mentioning that all their dragons disappeared on the same day.” She muttered, placing one hand on her chin. Laxus sat up straight.

“All three of them? That’s strange, why would three completely different dragons just disappear without a trace at the same time?” he looked to Cobra. The poison slayer shrugged his shoulders.

“Juvia recalls Gajeel doesn’t talk about his dragon much. She thinks he’s bitter about being left behind.” she looked to Erza. Cobra leaned forward.

“Do either of you know anyone called Anna?” he looked between them. Both looked perplexed.

“Anna? No. Why?” Mira asked, turning around to look at them.

“Oh yeah. Gajeel mentioned something about an Anna on the boat didn’t he?” Lisanna nodded, squinting her eyes in thought.

“And Loke knew what was being discussed. He seemed a bit too familiar with it.” Laxus pointed out. The group fell into silence, looking in various directions.

“Wait, where is Wendy anyway? Did she go back on the boat with Gildarts?” Laxus looked over to Erza.

“No. She was supposed to come back here… Hmmm… Maybe the two of them got lost on their way here.” Erza muttered.

“Oh Juvia can go look for them and show them where to go” the water mage stood up quickly. Cobra looked through half lidded eyes. He wasn’t impressed and didn’t like the idea that she was planning on just leaving Wendy to wander around in favour of Gray.

“I will go as well.” Erza agreed, standing up. Cobra got up just slightly ahead of Laxus who stood as well.

“We’ll come along. Wendy is our responsibility while Gajeel is helping with the trial.” Laxus spoke.

“I can’t convince you two to stay can I?” Erza looked between them.

“In your dreams.” Cobra rolled his eyes.

“Alright. Come on, let’s go before they get themselves hurt.” Erza gestured widely for the group to follow as she walked ahead. Cobra shoved his hands in his pockets and followed along.

-----------

Gray ran one hand through his hair, flicking his gaze towards Loke for a moment.

“So who is this Anna anyway? Someone you know?” he asked. Loke looked to him, adjusting his glasses for a moment.

“She was an old key holder of mine. A long time ago. I thought they’d forgotten all about her.” he turned his gaze ahead of them.

“Right. And when did you tell Gajeel your name was Leo. I don’t recall him ever talking to you before.” Gray gestured to Loke. He sighed.

“Ok. I’ll tell you a little bit but promise you won’t tell anyone about this. Especially not the dragon slayers.” he turned to look directly at Gray.

“Right. I promise. Don’t worry about it man.” he agreed. Loke nodded.

“Anna was friends with their dragons.” he spoke.

“What? So wait, You actually saw their dragons?” Gray stared at Loke. He nodded.

“Briefly. I mostly spent time with the kids when I was summoned. Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy and two other boys that are Wendy’s age. Anna was the one who taught them reading, writing and other more academic things that their dragons couldn’t teach them. When I was summoned, it was usually to help with the care while Anna did other things.” he shrugged.

“And they don’t remember?” Gray shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Well, Gajeel remembers something but it’s a new occurrence. He didn’t recognise me the first time we ran into each other while he was in Phantom lord. It might be from spending so much time around Natsu and Wendy that has awoken some of the buried memories but I can’t explain why Natsu and Wendy aren’t remembering.” Loke leaned his head back.

“So if you knew their dragons, do you know why they left? Or even where they are?” Gray looked around the trees that surrounded them.

“I don’t know a lot. I wasn’t involved in any of the meetings. If a meeting happened that Anna was a part of then I was asked to watch the kids. They all loved it. Gajeel always was intrigued by my ears and tail. Now I know its because he had ones of his own. But I do know that they were trained in dragon slayer magic for a reason. It wasn’t just a coincidence. Their dragons didn’t just find them somewhere and decide to raise them and teach them for fun. What it was for I don’t know.” he sighed, a few strands of hair hitting the frames of his glasses.

“Was Natsu just as annoying then?” Gray asked. Loke chuckled.

“Oh he had just as much enthusiasm as ever. Kept trying to fight Gajeel. Wendy was about the same as well but with a lot more tears. Gajeel is the biggest change. He was actually a pretty quiet kid and very cagey around the others. Anna suspected something might have happened back before he ended up with Metalicana for him to be that way with the other kids. Natsu eventually got him to actually join in the fights though. And his little protective streak hasn’t changed. He was always gentle with Wendy, Sting and Rogue. Those two were a handful in themselves. Both of them admired the older kids, Sting with Natsu and Rogue with Gajeel. Anna feared just how bad it might get when they grew up.” Loke retold the tale with a smile.

“Sounds like you had a lot of fun.” Gray teased, nudging Loke’s shoulder. He sputtered.

“Well I’m a battle spirit. That’s what I’m usually meant to do. It was nice to spend time with such rowdy children.” he looked forward, continuing on their search for Lucy and Cana.

-----------------------------------------

Gajeel snarled at the lizard that hit the ground with a thud after he had hit it with an attack.

“Gods this sucks. I was hopin’ to actually get to fight people. Not some stupid lizards.” he growled, letting his hand morph back from its club and turned back to Levy. The script mage was glaring at him with her arms crossed.

“Yeah? So you didn’t want to help me at all, you just wanted to fight the others. I was hoping you at least cared a little about me getting to S-class.” Levy snipped. He turned to make eye contact with her.

“What? No… I mean…. That isn’t….. Fuck.” he turned to look over at a tree.

“You are such a jerk. I can’t believe you.” Levy lifted her hand up and promptly struck him across the cheek before turning away from him

“Wait, Levy…. Look, I’m sorry. I do want to help you…. I just still have a lot of shit under the surface right now and I don’t want that to end up turning into…… what happened again.” he looked down to the ground. He could hear Levy’s sandals shifting in the dirt.

“Its alright. I understand you’re still a bit worried after all that. It must have been scary to lose control over your own body like that.” he looked up to meet her eyes.

“Right. I’ll… try not to complain too much. This is important to-.”

Crack.

He straightened his back, his ears pricked up to locate where the sound had come from. One of the other teams must have heard them arguing. He was about to yell at them when the scent hit him. It didn’t match any of the others. The strong smell of leather, metal and some other scents mixed in. No one on the island had that kind of smell to them. Right as he registered the scent he heard the unsheathing of a blade. He turned around and dived at Levy, pulling her down to the ground and morphing his hand into his own blade to block the swing of the sword. The metal clanged against his arm, catching between the spikes of his sword.

“Gajeel what-.” Levy gasped, looking at the two mages in front of them. The man who had jumped at him with the sword leapt back, teeth exposed in a smirk.

“Well look at our luck. The first little fairies and one of them is the dragon prince. What a prize.” the armour clad individual chuckled. Gajeel growled, flicking his tail back and forth. Levy scrambled to her feet and leaned in close to him.

“What are they talking about?” she asked.

“Hell if I know. Is this part of the old man’s trial? Didn’t think he’d be hirin’ outsiders?” he growled, eyeing up the two people in front of them.

“No. Look at the marks they have. They’re from grimoire heart.” Levy pointed to the crest carved into the chest plate and then the chicken’s neck.

“What the hell are you doing here?!” Gajeel hissed, his scales quivering. The two of them chuckled although the chicken sounded similar to clucking.

“We’re here to wipe out most of you little fairies.” The chicken cheered, twisting his neck slightly.

“And we’ll start with you!” the armour-clad man yelled, swiping his sword down. A script appeared in the air and immediately the loudest sound he’d ever heard filled the otherwise peaceful clearing. He roared out, covering his ears to block the sound out but even then he could still hear the awful noise. He stumbled to his knees, his skull pounding heavily. A boot pressed into his side and sent him flying across the ground into a tree.

“Shit.” he hissed or at least he thought he did. He couldn’t hear shit. How was he supposed to know where they were when he couldn’t even think straight with all that noise. He stood up, morphing his arm to swipe at the chicken that ran towards him. He jumped back, opening his mouth and spitting out a barrage of eggs. He skidded back to avoid the eggs. Something brushed against his back and he turned to face it. Before he could do anything, a liquid hit him in the face. He screeched at the searing pain in his eyes. He stumbled back, reaching up to his eyes where he had the strong urge to scratch them. He couldn’t smell anything past the chemical smell that was clinging to his face. The noise finally broke.

“Gajeel!” he recognised Levy’s voice and lifted his head. He could barely see anything, his vision was blurred and the amount he could even see from that was limited.

“Solid script: Fire.” there was still a ringing in his ears but at least he could hear what she was saying now. Not that it helped him see what she was attacking.

“You little brat. How dare you erase what I have wrote.” one of them snapped.

“Solid script: Smoke.” right after she spoke the words, Gajeel felt a hand grab his wrist and he was dragged in a direction. Eventually they stopped somewhere and he felt fingers around his eyes. He hissed from the pain.

“That’s not good. Your eyes are red and the skin looks inflamed. We have to get you to Wendy. Can you see where we are Gajeel?” Levy asked, her fingers retracting from his face. He shook his head back and forth to try and get some form of idea where he was. It was a struggle since he could barely see and even that amount was rapidly fading, his nose could only pick up the chemical smell and his ears were still ringing.

“No. I- Fuck. They could have killed me.” he hissed. They knew to go for his scenes. They were turning his senses against him.

“Its alright. We just need to get to camp and-.” Levy’s sentence was cut off when Gajeel pushed her, the sound of rapid footsteps cutting through the ringing. Before he could do anything, something pressed against the base of his skull and he yowled at the jolt that went up his spine.

“Gajeel!” he could hear Levy nearby.

“Run. Get out of here. Now. Warn the others.” he hissed, a force building up in his skull. He didn’t hear anything for a moment.

“I said RUN!” he yelled before the sound of her feet thudded against the ground, getting progressively further away.

“The girl’s getting away.” one of the dark mages yelled. He swung his club at them both.

“Don’t you- ugh- fucking dare. I’m gonna fucking kill you.” he spat.

Chapter Text

Levy finally snapped out of her panic when her face came in contact with the ground. She hit it hard, her cheek scrapping against some rocks as she winced. She sat up, gasping in air that stung her lungs.

“Levy!” she looked up to the person who had called her name, lifting one hand in preparation to write out an attack. She only lowered her hand once she recognised Erza.

“Levy what happened?” she asked, kneeling down in front of the solid script mage and looking over the bruises and dirt she likely had.

“Where’s Gajeel? Wasn’t he with you?” Laxus asked. He was there too. So were Juvia and Cobra. They could help.

“Did he do this to you?” Erza placed a hand on her shoulder. She stared a few moments, trying to break down what Erza had said to her. The only person they knew was with her was Gajeel. They thought Gajeel attacked her. Her eyes snapped wide and she shook her head.

“No. No. He’s hurt. We were attacked. He’s fighting them right now but he needs help.” She pointed back to the direction she’d come from. Laxus and Cobra ran off past her, not a further word from either of them. Juvia was close behind them, only taking a couple more seconds to start moving.

“Wait. All of you. Don’t run off.” Erza scolded them before turning to Levy.

“Can you stan-?”

“Yes. Let’s go before they kill him.” Levy was on her feet in less than a second, running back the direction she’d come from. She couldn’t leave Gajeel to fight those mages on his own for much longer. After running back up the incline, she almost ran face first into Laxus’ back. She stepped back.

“What’s going on?” she asked, stepping around him. She froze. Both of the mages were down, claw and slash marks on both of them and the sword that was used by one of them shattered into small pieces. One of the mages was pushing himself into a seated position but he wasn’t making any move to attack anyone. He was actually smiling. Gajeel didn’t appear to have too many injuries. His jacket was torn around his arm where a large gash sat through his scales and his eyes looked worse than they had when she’d ran but she couldn’t see too many other injuries. His hands were gripping his head, nails digging down through hair. She hoped his nails weren’t pressing too deep into his scalp.

“Gajeel. Are you hurt?” Erza asked, stepping towards him. He snapped his head towards them and hissed, his hair bristling and his wings spread out like a startled bird would.

“Stay back. Run away.” he snapped at them, taking a step back from them. He hissed again, dipping his head forward towards the ground while his hands remained on his head.

“Its alright. We’ll get you back to camp and once we find Wendy she can help with your injuries.” Erza took another step forward. Gajeel shook his head and hissed again.

“No. Can’t hurt…..” he stumbled back. Levy moved to rush to his side, a hand on her arm stopped her. She turned to look. Cobra held her arm, not looking at her but at Gajeel. Laxus was pushing down on his heels, lightning sparking from his body like it did when he prepared for a fight. Levy pushed at Cobra’s hand.

“What are you doing? He’s hurt. We have to help him.” she objected.

“No. Something’s wrong. He’s telling us to stay away. We should listen.” Cobra still didn’t look at her. She tugged at her arm. His grip didn’t loosen. If anything, it strengthened. How was he this strong? A snarl behind her followed by a startled shout caught her attention and she turned to look. Gajeel was on top of Erza, his hand morphed into a sword as he aimed right for her neck. She summoned a sword to block the attack and push Gajeel off.

“What is Gajeel doing? Juvia and the others are Gajeel’s friends.” Juvia objected. He turned his attention onto Juvia, swinging the sword at her although it passed right through her water body like butter. He snarled, swinging his head around while his ears twitched back and forth. Erza got to her feet where she aimed her sword towards Gajeel’s injured arm. His ears pinned straight up and he lifted his hand. The sword clanged against his scaled palm as he tightened his hand around the blade. Erza pulled at it but the grip wouldn’t budge. Gajeel was knocked back by a strong lightning strike that caused him to hiss as the lightning bounced around each of his scales. Levy winced at the yelp Gajeel let out.

“Levy, Cobra. Grab those two and get over here.” Laxus ordered, stepping between where Gajeel was and where Erza and Juvia were. Levy blinked for a moment. She turned to the unconscious chicken and walked over to him slowly. Gajeel recovered quickly from the attack -likely Laxus had weakened the lightning to not risk severely hurting Gajeel- and zoned in on Laxus. He raced forward, swinging his morphed arm at the lightning mage. Laxus either didn’t have enough time to or refused to dodge, instead taking the sword right in his shoulder. He winced, sliding back only a couple inches. Gajeel held his sword in Laxus shoulder before removing it and going for a second swing, this time higher. Levy grabbed onto the mage she’d been going for and rushed back to the others. Cobra had already grabbed the other man and was also getting back to the group. Laxus stepped back, this time dodging Gajeel’s attack that swung just a few inches below his neck and turned to the rest of them.

“Grab on.” he ordered, placing one hand on Levy’s shoulder and the other on Erza’s. Cobra placed a hand on Levy and Juvia on Erza. In a flash of bright light and moving at what felt faster than a magic mobile, they had landed sloppily in a different location. Levy sat up from her place on the floor.

“Once again you are shit at landing. What the hell was that?” Cobra hissed, pushing himself off the roots of a tree. Laxus hissed.

“I don’t usually zip about carrying that many people so excuse me if my landing wasn’t my best.” Cobra rolled his eyes.

“Oh yeah. And what was your excuse for how shit it was in Edolus huh? Cause last I checked you only had to catch me and I weigh far less than you.” the poison slayer stepped forward, pressing one finger into Laxus’ chest.

“What are you saying cause it sounds like your calling m-.”

“Alright. That’s enough. You’re both pretty. Worry about this later.” Erza snapped. Both of them glared at Erza for a moment before relaxing from their original postures. Cobra turned on one of the dark mage’s and stepped over, grabbing him by the neck of his armour and lifting him up.

“Alright then. Why don’t you explain what in the hell you are doing on this island.” Cobra spat. The man chuckled.

“Bold coming from a member of the Oracion Seiz.” he was still smirking. He was tossed into the trunk of a tree by Cobra who had something bubbling up at the sides of his lips.

“I’m only going to say this once before I rip your insides out and decorate my wall with your spine. What are you doing on this island?!” he snapped. Levy gulped, her knees shaking slightly. If Cobra was getting this angry then they must not have been giving him the information he wanted through their thoughts. The man laughed once more.

“We came here for three purposes. To retrieve Lord Zeref, to locate and retrieve the dragon prince and his pets and to kill all the fairies.” he smirked wider with every word. Cobra’s fist tightened.

“Cobra hold on.” Laxus stepped forward. Cobra’s fist slammed into the tree, splintering the bark beneath it as he glared daggers at the man in front of him.

“What the fuck do you mean retrieve Zeref. That bastard can’t be alive because what would have been the point of getting us to build that fucking tower if he was.” the words were screamed, full of ice and venom. Levy was convinced Cobra would rip the man’s throat out if it weren’t for Laxus grabbing him and pulling him away.

“Our lord Zeref is very much alive and with him, we will bring about the grand magic world. And if you think its over, your wrong. We were just the recon team. The rest of our guild are on their way as we speak.” he laughed. Cobra struggled in Laxus arms. Erza stepped forward.

“What did you do with Gajeel? He would never have attacked us on his own.” Erza stared daggers at the man.

“Gajeel? Oh you mean the dragon prince. As fun as it would have been to kill you ourselves. I would have enjoyed it much more if you’d let him rip you to shreds. What a fun way to break him into his destiny.” Erza grit her teeth, grabbing the man by the head and smacking it into the tree. He slumped against it, unconscious.

“Erza, we needed to ask more questions.” Levy objected. Cobra was calming down enough for Laxus to release him.

“He wouldn’t have told us anything about how to help Gajeel. Even I couldn’t hear anything.” Cobra shook his head.

“What do you think he meant by destiny?” Levy looked between Cobra, Laxus and Juvia but all three of them looked confused. Erza requipped a flare into her hand.

“Right now, we need to warn the others and prepare for battle.” She sent the flare up into the sky, the red colour bursting into the sky and shining brightly.

“If there are more enemies coming, we need to find Wendy and Gajeel before that happens. Neither of them will stand a chance on their own if they get jumped.” She added.

“Levy, return to camp to check on Mira and Lisanna. Juvia and I will keep looking for Wendy. What will the two of you do?” Erza turned to the two slayers.

“I’ll go with Levy. Like you said, it wouldn’t be advantageous for us to get caught in an ambush alone.” Laxus spoke.

“I’ll join you. I’ll be able to pick out anyone who tries to jump us before it happens. Even if that someone is Gajeel.” Cobra agreed.

“Right. We’ll see you back at the rendezvous point. Good luck and stay safe.” Erza nodded.

“Juvia hopes they find Gajeel and help him.” Juvia added. Levy nodded before turning.

“The camp is this way. Come on.” Laxus encouraged, leading the way along the path. Levy nodded, following along. She just hoped they’d find Gajeel before something bad happened to him.

Chapter Text

Lucy winced when both Gray and Loke were knocked into the walls around them by Caprico. Somehow their attacks were doing nothing and she couldn’t figure out why.

“What’s your plan here anyway? You just here to kill us?” Cana yelled, flinging her cards towards Caprico only for them to do virtually nothing to him.

“No that is only a small fraction of Master Hades plan. The rest is far more important.” Caprico objected, his tail flicking at the tip slightly.

“Then what?” Loke demanded, brushing dirt from his face.

“We are here for Lord Zeref and the Dragon prince. With them we will bring about the grand magic world. The dragon prince’s pets are just an insurance. To keep him in line if he chooses to disobey.” Caprico spoke before landing a kick directly at Gray. Lucy blinked once. Zeref? Like the one behind Lullaby, Deliora and the tower of heaven. These dark mages getting their hands on him sounded like a nightmare waiting to happen. And the dragon prince? What kind of fancy title was that? Was there a dragon on the island that they had somehow missed when searching for it? Surely not. Dragons were big. They wouldn’t have missed such an obvious creature.

“You three. Get out of here. I can handle this myself.” Loke spoke. Lucy turned to him.

“What? We can’t j-.”

“He’s draining your magic strength. It’s a spell he’s been using this entire fight. It doesn’t work on celestial spirits so I was able to pick up on its affects.” Loke spoke.

“That explains why our attacks were missing.” Gray spoke.

“But we can’t just leave you-.” Cana placed her hand on her shoulder.

“If Loke says he can handle it then he’ll be fine. Let’s go.” she insisted. Gray nodded.

“Exactly. We’ll only get in the way if we stay.” Gray agreed. Lucy sighed.

“Alright. But Loke. Come back to me alright. Win this fight.” she called. Loke nodded at her. She smiled and turned to follow her friends from the fight.

-------------------

Gray groaned. How could Loke have ditched him like that. What a jerk. And now Cana and Lucy wanted to split up. Were they insane.

“You just want to see us compare cup sizes don’t you?” Cana joked, leaning over Lucy’s shoulder. Gray rolled his eyes.

“That’s not it and you -.” He stopped speaking when he heard the rustling of bushes. He turned to look.

“Who do you think that is?” Lucy asked.

“Someone from Grimoire heart I bet.” Cana offered. Gray widened his stance, placing his hands together and running through what spell he should use. He loosened his posture when he saw a familiar set of ear fins atop black hair.

“Oh Gajeel. Its you. Man don’t scare us like that.” he joked. Gajeel snapped his head up to stare right at them now. Gray could now see the red, swollen skin that surrounded his eyes that forced them closed. No wonder he hadn’t realised they were there. He probably couldn’t even see his own hand if it was in front of his face.

“Oh gods. What happened to you Gajeel? And where’s Levy?” Lucy asked, looking around to try and spot the blue haired mage. Gajeel’s ears snapped as far forward as they possibly could before he rushed towards them, his arm morphed into a sword. His sword aimed vaguely in their direction but both of them were able to jump out of the way.

“Come out you little shits so I can slice ya.” Gajeel hissed as his sword cut deep into one of the trees that had been behind them. Lucy yelped scrambling roughly in the ground. Gajeel snapped his head in her direction and lunged right at her, pinning her down against the ground.

“Hold still.” Gajeel snarled, pulling his sword hand back.

“Lucy!” Cana yelled, pulling out one of her cards.

“Ice make: Lance.” Gray launched the ice right at Gajeel knocking him back and rolling across the ground. The ice punctured through some of his skin where his scales weren’t present, blood drooling from the wounds.

“Run. I’ll distract him. Just go.” he yelled to Cana and Lucy. Lucy seemed hesitant but Cana didn’t waste any time, grabbing Lucy’s arm and pulling her off the ground before running off in one direction. Gajeel stood from his spot on the ground, shaking his head for a moment before snapping towards where the girls were running.

“Hey man. Over here. I’m a much better choice than those two.” he yelled, throwing his voice louder than the girls feet hitting the ground. Gajeel turned to him. He lunged for him, narrowly missing with his sword that slammed into the ground with enough force to leave a deep incision.

“Right so you are definitely swinging to kill. Now I know to avoid your teeth and your sword.” He spoke aloud, mostly to keep Gajeel’s attention on him. Gajeel pulled his arm back to swing at him.

“Let’s see if you can keep up with me.” Gray yelled before turning and running through some of the brush. Gajeel was fast on his heels. He was sure the only reason he hadn’t caught up was that he couldn’t see any of the branches, brush or roots in his path to swiftly avoid. Gray breathed heavily, pushing himself to run faster. Gods, was this what Levy, Jet and Droy had felt like being chased down by him. He quickly ducked down behind a tree. Gajeel ran off past him, pushing further into the forest. Once Gajeel was out of sight, he stepped away from the tree he’d been hiding behind and onto one of the dirt paths. He’d managed to lose him it seemed.

“Don’t know how I did it. Thought he was supposed to have a good sense of smell.” Gray muttered to himself. He wasn’t going to complain though. At least he wasn’t going to be chased around the entire island.

Chapter Text

Freed slipped his rapier back into its holder, staring at the silver haired mage in front of him.

“That was a little too close for comfort.” he sighed. Bickslow cackled.

“But we totally nailed it.” his babies bobbed up and down, chanting ‘nailed it’ for a few seconds.

“Thanks you guys. That was amazing.” Lisanna smiled, stepping forward to give a hug first to Bickslow and then Freed.

“Yes well it appears we arrived at a good time. I apologise that we couldn’t get here sooner.” Freed dipped his head.

“Don’t worry about it. You’re here now and that’s what matters.” Laxus stepped up, placing one hand on his shoulder. The rune mage eyed up Laxus’ bandaged shoulder.

“What happened to you?” he asked, looking over the wound present.

“Gajeel happened. His sword is not as fun when its hitting you in the shoulder and not the enemy.” Laxus looked away from Freed, coughing into his hand.

“Gajeel? Where is he? Cause I see Levy but not him.” Bickslow asked. Levy fiddled with a strand of her hair.

“Something’s wrong with him. He attacked us when we went to find him.” Cobra stated, leaning against one of the beams supporting their shelter.

“Something’s wrong? Wrong how?” Freed asked. He looked to Levy who had started staring at the floor. She sniffled.

“I’m sorry. Its my fault. I shouldn’t have left him alone but I panicked. He told me to run and I didn’t know what else to do.” she wiped at her eyes. Lisanna placed a hand on her shoulder, rubbing against her collarbone.

“What a man. Keeping a guildmate safe.” Elfman nodded.

“I doubt you could have done anything anyway.” Cobra stated, looking at them from behind his bangs.

“Cobra!” Lisanna scolded him.

“Whatever made him attack us had already impacted him by the time he told you to run. I heard it from his own thoughts. He knew something was going to happen and chose to risk his own life to keep you safe.” he gestured to Levy. She wiped her tears.

“They knew what they were doing. They deafened him and then threw something in his face. He told me he couldn’t see anything.” She held her hands in her lap. Freed placed a hand to his lips in thought. Laxus turned to face Levy.

“That must be why he hit my shoulder the first time and not my neck. He couldn’t tell where exactly to land a killing blow.” Laxus gestures to the bandages on his shoulder.

“And he’s just wandering around like that? What if he runs into one of those dark mages?” Bickslow stepped under the shelter to get out of the rain. A crack from the nearby bushes alerted them. Freed lowered into a battle position, hand gripping the handle of his rapier. Some leaves crunched and out ran Natsu, Lucy and Wendy, two of them carrying Cana and Makarov.

“What happened? Are you guys ok?” Lisanna asked, getting up so she could help Lucy move Cana out of the rain.

“We ran into some members of the seven kin.” Lucy gently lowered Cana into one of the spare beds next to Evergreen. Natsu placed Makarov next to her, helping to get both of them settled while Wendy and Levy worked on patching the two up.

“Has Gray shown up yet?” Lucy asked, looking between the others at camp. Lisanna looked to her.

“No. I’ve been here with Mira the entire time and I haven’t seen him.” she shook her head, looking over the bandages on Elfman. Lucy looked to the ground.

“Has something happened with Gray? Did he get in a fight or something?” Bickslow asked, looking at the blond.

“He was with Cana and I when we ran into Gajeel.” Lucy pointed to some dirt on her side.

“He tried to kill us and almost got me but Gray distracted him long enough for us to get away. I haven’t seen Gray since then.” she looked down at her hands.

“Well we won’t know anything if we just sit here and do nothing. We have to go to the source.” Natsu growled. Cobra stood up.

“You want to fight Hades? You’re insane. He’s stronger than even Brain was. He’s been around for decades. He’ll kill you.” Cobra grabbed Natsu’s shoulders, forcing him to look directly at him.

“If we work together then we can totally beat him.” Natsu insisted.

“Natsu is right. This won’t end unless we take down their guild master.” Freed nodded.

“We should split into two groups. One can stay here and protect the injured and the other can go fight Hades.” Lisanna offered.

“I will stay here. I need to work on an enchantment to protect the camp.” Freed gestured to the resting mages.

“I’ll help you.” Levy agreed.

“I’m gonna go fight that stupid Hades. He’s gonna pay for what he did to Gramps.” Natsu stood as straight as he could.

“I’m with you. That asshole won’t get away with this.” Laxus agreed.

“Four of us still isn’t a lot of people.” Lucy objected, gesturing to herself, Natsu, Happy and Laxus.

“I’ll come. I can give you all really good support during the fight.” Wendy nodded her head and bunched her hands into fists. A flash of lightning struck across the sky and split through the dark for a second.

“I’ll come along!” Lily yelled through the rumble of thunder, his paws over his ears.

“Guess I’ll come along. But this sounds like a suicide mission” Cobra shook his head.

“It sounds like we’ve got our offense. Good luck you guys, we’ll be rooting for you” Lisanna cheered.

“We’re winning this. Just you watch.” Natsu tightened his fist at his side, stepping out into the rain and towards the trees. The rest of the offensive team followed suit. Freed nodded to Laxus.

“Good luck Laxus.” he spoke quietly but was sure the lightning mage had heard him. He turned around, kneeling down so he could focus on writing the ruins needed for the camp.

Chapter Text

With one final blow, the script mage collapsed to the ground. Freed sat up from his position laying on the ground. The deep incisions he’d gotten from that eastern script was painful but he was alive. They all were. Elfman’s arm morphed back to normal as he dropped onto the ground.

“Gods I’m exhausted.” he huffed. Freed looked to the girls who were hugging each other with wide grins. He turned when he heard a chuckle. Bickslow was smirking under his helmet.

“Bickslow?” he asked. The sith mage chuckled again.

“Just looking at your face. You’re making a dumb expression.” he giggled.

“Dumb. Dumb.” his babies echoed, floating over and around Freed. The rune mage pushed one of them away from his head. He opened his mouth to respond.

Snap.

He swung his gaze in the direction of the noise. Was it the offensive team returning? No, he could still distantly hear the roars of magic approaching from the beach.

“Don’t tell me we have to fight someone else?” Cana groaned. Everyone else had taken note of the sound and were watching the location that it had come from. Freed rose to his feet, picking his rapier up from the ground. Aside from the single branch breaking, he couldn’t hear anything else. He lowered the runes on himself, allowing his ears to twitch and bend. His hearing was nowhere near as honed as Gajeel or even Laxus but it was better than nothing.

“Freed! Look out!” Bickslow’s shout hit his ears too late as something hit him right between his shoulder blades. Hard. He rolled forward for a few seconds, only stopping himself with his nails that dragged across the dirt.

“Shit. He came from behind.” Cana hissed. Freed looked up, hair flicking into one of his eyes. Gajeel leapt at him once more, a sword swinging towards him. He pushed himself back, his tail nicking one of the spikes lining the metal. He hissed, stumbling to his feet and searching for his rapier. It was laying in the dirt back where he’d been hit in the back. Gajeel lifted his arm, the sword morphing back into his claws.

“Attacking your friends isn’t manly.” Elfman yelled, rushing at Gajeel. The iron slayer snapped his head around and jumped back. Elfman’s punch made contact with his foot which hadn’t been pulled back fast enough. Gajeel hissed, balancing on the foot that hadn’t been hit and swinging a kick towards Elfman’s shoulder. It connected and Elfman stumbled back from the pain.

“Solid script: Ice.” Levy yelled. The ground below Gajeel froze over and the iron dragon lost his footing, hitting the ground hard. He shook his head, placing both feet down with iron blades piercing the ice from the underside of his boots.

“Dammit I forgot he could do that.” Cana threw a card towards Gajeel that sparked with lightning. It hit him on the back and he hissed for a moment before shaking it off and turning towards the girls.

“I thought lightning worked on him.” she objected. Lisanna morphed into a bird, soaring right at Gajeel. His ear twitched and he morphed his arm into a club, striking at Lisanna and hitting her in the side.

“Only Laxus’ lightning can do the most damage. His scales make him resilient.” Freed called to the two. He turned and ran towards his rapier, using his tail to sweep it from the ground and throw it into his own hand. He turned around only to be tackled by Gajeel who bared his teeth and leaned in to bite. Freed pulled his rapier into the middle, the blade pressing right at the back of Gajeel’s mouth. It took only a second for the iron mage to register what was in his mouth and crunched down on the metal.

Crack.

The blade shattered into three pieces, the hilt, the piece in Gajeel’s mouth and the tip that dropped to the ground next to Freed’s head. The rune mage’s eyes widened. Gajeel swallowed the piece in his mouth and opened his mouth. Freed lifted his hand.

“Dark ecritu-.” His words were cut off by his scream as Gajeel’s teeth sunk deep into his collarbone, ripping through both his coat and his shirt.

“Freed!” Bickslow called. Freed tried to push at Gajeel’s jaws and pry his shoulder free but the grip only tightened.

Crack.

His scream sounded wet in his ears as the pain of bone snapping seared through his nerves. Gajeel finally let go, something hitting him in the head hard enough to force him to draw back. He turned his head, ears twitching as he attempted to locate what was floating around his head. Bickslow reached forward, pushing Gajeel back as he pulled Freed away from the dragon. The iron mage took in a deep breath and let out his signature roar, the metal chunks digging into the dolls and weighing them down to the ground.

“Freed are you alright?” Lisanna called from her position. He grit his teeth, the pain making it near impossible for him to respond with words. The girls rushed over, standing between him and Gajeel.

“I think I know how to stop him but you’ll need to distract him.” Levy spoke softly to avoid the iron mage hearing her.

“Come out so I can fucking kill ya already.” Gajeel snapped, his head swinging wildly as he tried to locate them. His nose twitched only for him to shake his head and wince.

“Just be careful.” Lisanna warned the script mage. She nodded and stepped to the side, purposefully keeping her steps light. Freed took the hilt of his rapier into his other hand and threw it towards Gajeel. The hilt hit him in the side of the head and he turned his full attention towards them. Bickslow stepped in front of him.

“Babies, baryon formation.” he yelled. The dolls spun in a circle and sent a beam right at Gajeel. He didn’t dodge that one, lifting one wing where his feathers hardened. Smoke wavered off when the beam had stopped, leaving a small mark in his feathers. Lisanna morphed her form into a cat and leapt forward, slashing towards Gajeel’s chest. She hit him the first time, tearing his shirt. The second time he ducked back and lifted his leg, connecting his foot with her side and knocking her back. Elfman quickly replaced her, landing a punch right at the dragon’s jaw. He winced, shaking his head and dived forward for a bite. Elfman pulled his arm back to avoid the attack and landed another punch to Gajeel’s gut. The slayer coughed from the sudden blow stumbling back. He shook himself.

“That’s right. Having trouble now that you’re facing all of us?” Cana jeered. Gajeel reared back, taking in a long breath.

“He’s going to roar!” Bickslow yelled. All of them ducked down to avoid the ranged attack. Freed ducked his head below his right arm. He blinked when he didn’t hear the telltale sound of a roar. He looked towards Gajeel. Levy was clinging onto his back which had momentarily startled him.

“Levy!” Lisanna cheered.

“Get off.” Gajeel snapped. Both his hands morphed into blades as he lifted them towards Levy. She placed one hand against the back of his neck and pulled, letting herself fall backwards. One blade brushed against her cheek, drawing a small line of blood. She hit the ground with a thud. Cana and Lisanna ran over to her side. Gajeel stumbled back for a moment, his hands flying to the sides of his head. Freed got to his feet, holding onto the bite mark with one hand while watching Gajeel. His shoulders slumped and his hands fell from his head.

“Gajeel? You good there baby?” Bickslow asked, taking a step forward. Gajeel lifted his head, staring vaguely in their direction. Now that Freed could actually pay attention to more than just the fight, he noticed the red, swollen skin around the iron dragon’s eyes. Right. Levy had mentioned he couldn’t see. That must have been why so many of his attacks were in such odd places. He couldn’t quite pinpoint where each of them had been. Another roar in the distance caught Gajeel’s attention. He straightened his body, ears perked upward for a second before he was running off into the trees.

“Wait. Where are you going?” Cana yelled but if he’d heard them then he’d ignored it.

“Levy are you alright?” Lisanna asked, running a finger over Levy’s cheek. She sat up.

“Yes. I was right. Once I thought about what Cobra had said, I remembered them hitting Gajeel in the neck right before he told me to run.” she lifted her hand to show a small device with three prongs tipped in red. Blood.

“That was in his neck? Guess I’d be a bit cranky too.” Bickslow chuckled. Freed shook his head.

“Whatever it is, we should destroy it. If it can get Gajeel to attack his own guildmates then it is not something we want getting into the wrong hands.” he stared harshly at the device. What a despicable object. He’d have to ask Gajeel about it later. If it was something that had only been affective due to his dragonic nature or his hybrid nature then it would be wise to inform themselves on it.

Chapter Text

Laxus growled when Hades got up from their barrage of attacks like it had been nothing. What the hell. They’d thrown everything into those attacks. Hades smirked.

“Well you’ve just made my job easier. I thought I’d have to hunt you down but it appears all four of the dragon’s pets have come running into my hands instead. And with you all here, your master won’t be far behind.”

“Why don’t you cut the crap. There are no pets or dragon princes. That’s just a myth from centuries ago.” Cobra hissed, poison flicking across his scaled fingers. Hades looked to the poison dragon for a second.

“I didn’t think you’d desert your old guild Cobra. It does make retrieving you a much more attainable goal but it was still a surprise to hear you weren’t in jail.” Hades had a tight lipped smile, staring smugly at the poison dragon. Cobra hissed.

“Shut up and fight us.” Natsu snapped. He leapt forward to attack. Hades lifted his finger and shot a small purple orb that hit. The fire mage stumbled back. Erza quickly followed up behind Natsu. Laxus focused his energy, drawing in from the lightning around them. His golden scales sprang up, quivering from energy of the storm. His horn sparked on occasion, drawing in static from the surrounding air. He leapt forward, charging a strike in his hand and releasing it down on Hades. Cobra wasn’t far behind, dragon features covering his own body as he landed a poison coated kick to Hades’ shoulder.

“Nice try.” Hades smirked, throwing the poison dragon back.

“Open Gate of the scorpion: Scorpio.” Lucy called. The spirit she’d summoned standing next to her. Wendy skidded on the ground near her and drew a deep breath of air into her lungs.

“Sky dragon roar!” she cried, the air circulating in a typhoon.

“Sand buster.” the spirit called, sand fusing into Wendy’s roar and hitting Hades’ head on. He stumbled back, sand clinging to hair, skin and clothes.

“Fire dragon wing attack.” Natsu leapt up, swinging his arms with fire coating them and landing the hit. Erza leapt to the front of Hades while Cobra skirted to behind him, both aiming an attack right at him. He fired out metal chains that grabbed onto both of their wrists, swinging Erza back into Gray who had been preparing another attack.

“Shit.” Cobra hissed, tugging on the chain. A hand reached for his throat that he attempted to dodge but the chain pulled him back into the grip.

“Cobra!” Natsu yelled, rushing forward. He was shot with one of those purple orbs in the knee, causing him to crumble to the ground. Cobra was lifted a foot of the ground, kicking his legs as he reached up to the hand clutching his neck tightly.

“Go on. Call for your master. If you claim he’s a myth then do it. He won’t come if your right.” Hades taunted. Laxus powered up a lightning attack to strike. Hades stepped out of the way of the attack. Poison bubbled at Cobra’s lips, his nails surrounded by the purple mist as he clawed at the arms containing him.

“I know how to make you scream.” Hades pulled his hand back and fired one of those chains at Cobra. This time instead of the chain gripping anything, it tore through the flesh of his side. The poison dragon screeched, the noise making Laxus flinch. He snarled, leaping to attack again. Hades threw Cobra to the ground and dodged out of Laxus attack. Natsu, who had stumbled to his feet, rushed in behind and both landed a hit to the other mage. He grunted, one hand pressing to the burns on either side of him.

“Ice make hammer.” Gray slammed his hands together, his ice forming and swinging for Hades. It hit, knocking him back slightly. Wendy rushed over to Cobra, one hand pressing into the fresh wound. Laxus looked over his shoulder.

“Wendy, how is it?” he asked. They couldn’t risk both Wendy and Cobra being down for too long.

“None of his vital organs were hit. I don’t think it was supposed to kill.” she confirmed. Cobra sat up, one hand pressed to his side.

“Don’t worry about me. I can still fight. This is nothing.” he objected, stumbling to his feet. Laxus turned his attention back to Hades. He took a deep inhale until his lungs couldn’t hold it any further and then he released the roar towards Hades. It hit him head on and he skirted across the ground. Laxus leaned over on his knees, breathing heavily to try and soothe his aching lungs. For a moment Hades didn’t get up and Laxus hoped that meant he was down for good. Then he laughed.

“I’ll give Makarov credit. You are all pretty strong for light mages.” He stood up, staring them down.

“Shit. He’s still standing?” Gray yelled. Laxus snarled, ready to take a step forward only for something tight around his ankle to stop him. He looked at his ankle, a thick shackle holding onto it and buried into the ground. He looked around. Everyone else had the same shackle on either their ankle or wrist depending on how close to the ground they were.

“What the-?” Lucy asked, pulling at her hand to try and free it. Laxus tugged on his ankle but it wouldn’t loosen. Was this another one of Hades spells? A rush of air from in front of him drew his attention back. Standing in front of them was-.

“Gajeel?” Cobra asked, still pressing against his side.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Gajeel’s voice was low, filled with malintent. Hades’ eye was flicking over him repeatedly.

“First you attack my guild, then you use me against them and now you’ve hurt one of my pack. You should count yourself lucky I don’t skin you right now.” Gajeel hadn’t moved a muscle aside from his tail swinging back and forth.

“Gajeel, help with these chains and we can finish him off.” Erza called to him.

“No. You are staying out of this.” the iron dragon didn’t turn to look at them. Laxus turned to the shackle. Of course. It wasn’t one of Hades’ spells. It was Gajeel’s iron. But why did he want them to stay out of the fight? He couldn’t challenge Hades alone. A spark of something flicked off one of Gajeel’s arms right before he charged forward, arm morphing into a sword that he aimed for Hades. The older mage dodged the attack, landing a kick to Gajeel’s skull. He recovered quickly, his wings taking on a shine as he swung one of them at Hades. That attack hit, leaving a slice across the man’s chest.

“Impressive. You are a lot better trained than I’d thought you’d be.” Hades was still smirking. He kicked Gajeel again, this time in the chest which knocked him back a few feet. That same spark flickered around his arm, this time more intense. Laxus turned to Natsu who was struggling desperately at the shackle he had on. He almost had his foot out.

“Natsu!” he called. The fire dragon turned to him. Laxus lifted his hand, powering up lightning within before firing it at Natsu. The fire mage looked towards the attack for a moment before seeming to get the hint and eating the attack minutes before it made contact. Laxus looked to where Gajeel was fighting. He’d been knocked back again. That spark flickered once more. This time however, it flickered a second time. And a third. Then suddenly Gajeel’s entire arm was encased with this strange magic that shifted between black and blue in colour. The loudest roar that Laxus had ever heard filled his ears right before Gajeel leapt forward, the strange magic mixing in with Gajeel’s dragon magic as he landed a deep slice into Hades’ shoulder. A crash of lightning accompanied it as Natsu charged forward, his fire mixed in with the lightning Laxus had granted him. Both mages landed a hit against Hades, sending him crashing back into the rubble behind him. A glow encompassed his gaze as he looked down to see that it was comping from beneath his shirt. He looked over his shoulder. The tenrou tree was back. But how? He’d seen it topple over. Hades didn’t make a move to get up, only remained laying on the ground.

“We did it?” Cobra asked, his shackle releasing from his ankle.

“Yeah. I think we did.” Laxus nodded. He looked up to the sky where the morning sun was peaking through the thinning clouds. He looked to where Natsu and Gajeel were both stood. Natsu stumbled a little, his magic disappearing while Gajeel was still producing that strange magic from his arm. His breathing was laboured. Laxus was ready to run over when he heard several footsteps. He turned. All three of the cats were running towards them, followed closely by a hoard of dark mages.

“Shit.” he hissed. That was the last thing they needed to deal with. They paused once they noticed their guild master defeated on the ground.

“Master Hades has been defeated?” one of them asked. Gajeel stepped forward, still not turning to look at them.

“Yes and if you don’t get off this island right now. I will make it a point to kill all of you in the slowest way possible.” he snapped. The mages hesitated for a moment before all of them rushed away.

“Ha. They were totally scared of you Gajeel.” Natsu chuckled, swaying slightly. Lucy ran over to help support him seconds before he collapsed.

“Guess he couldn’t take my lightning for that long.” Laxus sighed. Gajeel’s posture finally loosened, him slumping forward slightly. The magic disappeared from his arm, leaving deep marks marring around the already present slice.

“Let’s just get back to camp.” he mumbled, walking past them. He didn’t even pay attention to the other guild members that had arrived likely to give them a hand. Laxus sighed. Wendy was going to have her work cut out for her.

Chapter 81

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Okay. I think I’m finished.” Wendy leaned back, pressing one finger up to Gajeel’s right eye. He winced prematurely but didn’t feel any pain once she actually touched the skin. He sighed.

“Thanks Sky.” he muttered. Those bastards. They’d thrown bleach right in his face. Cobra had been the one to identify it, mentioning how he recognised the smell from the few times he’d had to drink it out of necessity. If it hadn’t been for Wendy, he would surely be permanently blind.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything sooner. It must have hurt a lot.” she moved her attention to his arm, pulling the torn leather back to look at the cut and marks that broke through his scales. He shook his head.

“Its fine. I can handle it.” he assured her. He wasn’t going to admit to her face that it felt like his eyes were going to melt out of his skull. She didn’t need to know the full extent of his pain to heal the damage. His ear twitched at a strange feeling in his chest. He shifted in his seat, tucking his tail close to his legs but it wasn’t dying down.

“Is it hurting?” Wendy asked. She hadn’t stopped the process but she was looking at him.

“No. I’m fine.” he objected. He looked over to the other members who were getting treatment from Erza, although her method was a little more volatile than Wendy’s.

“You can go tend to the others. I’ll be fine.” he assured her. She pouted up at him.

“No. When something makes your scales do this then I know its bad so I have to heal it before it gets worse.” she objected, raising her hand up towards his shoulder.

“How are you feeling? Your eyes are looking a lot clearer now.” Freed had approached. His coat and shirt were still torn where Gajeel had bit him and while Wendy had done her best, she couldn’t entirely heal his bite mark. He’d insisted she heal Freed first because of the damage done to his bone.

“Better. I don’t recommend getting bleach in your eyes.” Gajeel shrugged with one shoulder, trying to avoid moving the arm Wendy was working with. Freed lifted up one hand, holding up four fingers.

“So how many fingers am I holding?” he asked, a small smirk on his face. Gajeel kicked his leg out, striking Freed in the shin.

“Go bite dick.” he hissed. Freed chuckled, shaking the leg that had been struck.

“Sadly I can’t. I left my boyfriend back home. I’m sure he’s waiting on the docks like a partner would their husband at war.” Freed placed his hand to his chest, leaning back slightly for the dramatic effect.

“In your dreams.” Gajeel rolled his eyes. Freed smirked back at him, one hand adjusting his coat.

“Right. That’s everything.” Wendy leaned back, smiling up at Gajeel.

“Great work Sky. We’ll make a dragon of you one day.” he chuckled, ruffling her hair with his hand. Her grin widened. That strange feeling in his chest returned.

Gajeel run! He’s coming! Acnologia is coming!” a voice roared in his head. He reached one hand up to place against the side of his head, wincing. He recognised the voice but who could it-. Metalicana. It was a lot louder than he remembered but it was him all the same. The words settled in. Acnologia. He remembered that name. That was what he’d heard the day his Opsola died. He leapt to his feet, hair bristling and spines pressing against his shirt.

“Gajeel? Is everything alright?” Freed asked, reaching one hand out to place on his shoulder.

“Acnologia is coming.” His breathing picked up, drawing breath in quicker than usual. Was the air around him running out? A deep growl filled the air. Gajeel’s ears pinned down and his tail tucked between his legs, eyes darting up to the sky. He could vaguely hear the commotion from the others but it was like he was 50 miles away with cotton stuffed in his ears. His eyes landed on the creature blocking out some of the rays of sun as it descended to the island. A dragon.

“Holy shit. I thought those things were dead.” Cobra hissed. All eyes were on the dragon as it landed down on the island with a thud. It leaned back slightly, jaws parted before it let out one of the loudest roars he’d ever heard. The wind force pushed back at him, causing him to collapse on his back. He closed his eyes, reaching up to cover his ears from the noise. When the noise finally stopped, he opened his eyes. His heart dropped down to his stomach. The entire forest that they’d set up camp in was gone. No trees or stumps. Just upturned dirt.

“Run! Retreat!” Gildarts yelled. The other members started running towards the trees in the distance. Gajeel vaguely had the sense he needed to run but his legs wouldn’t move. He stared up at the dragon, the black and blue scales. Something clicked in his head. This wasn’t the dragon that had hurt him. That dragon had been white. This was the dragon he’d seen countless times in his Xiiwic’s cave. His breath caught in his throat. This was the dragon he'd seen attacking the other dragons. He had seen Natsu and Wendy’s dragons.

“Gajeel!” he wasn’t sure who yelled his name, he just kept staring at the dragon. It snapped its attention onto him. Eyes focusing on him. It growled, one claw placed right in front of him. His wings shifted to cling to himself in a form of protection. Something yanked at his back and he was lifted from the ground. He blinked for a moment, turning to look.

“No spacin’ out kid unless you want to be made into dust.” Gildarts was holding him under the arm. His wings and tail were dragging, nearly tripping the other mage up before something finally registered in his head that he had to run and he scrambled out of the other mage’s arm. He could see the other members at various distances all from their varied running speeds. Blue claws slammed into the ground next to Freed and Bickslow, the other set landing on the other side. Acnologia leaned his head down, dirt flying up from the ground.

“Freed! Bickslow!” Evergreen yelled. A tail swung towards Elfman, sending him flying only for Evergreen to catch him in the air. Acnologia lifted one claw to strike at them.

“How dare you touch my children!” Makarov activated his magic, increasing his size until he could grab Acnologia by the neck. The dragon snarled, pushing at the giant mage.

“Run! Get out of here! Get to the ship!” Makarov yelled. Various protests broke out amongst the group.

“Go! Won’t you honour an old man’s dying wish!” that seemed to get some people to think twice on their arguments. Laxus took the lead, pulling Natsu by the scarf in the direction of the boat.

NO. How dare you take my child from me you pest.” Gajeel’s spine quivered. How did he understand the dragon. It wasn’t draconic he was speaking so what else could it be that he understood. He snapped from his thoughts when Natsu tried to run past him back towards Makarov. He grabbed onto Natsu’s wrist, holding him back.

“No. Let go of me. We have to help gramps.” Natsu objected, pushing and pulling at Gajeel’s hand.

“You can’t fight him Natsu.” He objected.

“Yes I can. We’re dragon slayers. This is what we’re trained to do.” he kept fighting.

“Igneel and Grandeeney and Metalicana couldn’t win against that thing so what makes you think we can! We aren’t as strong as them. We wouldn’t stand a chance! Now I’m telling you to run! That is an order Natsu!” he snapped. The fire slayer stared at him.

“What do you mean Igneel couldn’t win? What are you talking about?” Natsu met Gajeel’s eyes. He didn’t remember. None of them remembered.

“The day our dragons disappeared. They didn’t disappear. Acnologia killed them. I saw it. I told you to run and I’m telling you to run now. You don’t want to see that thing rip into Makarov. I promise you don’t. Now let’s go.” he tried to tug Natsu further to the boat. He pulled his hand free.

“No. You said you didn’t know what happened. You lied. You…. You’re lying now. Igneel isn’t dead. And I’m not going to leave Gramps.” Natsu objected. He turned on his heals, racing back towards Acnologia.

“Shit. Shit. Shit.” He hissed. Several other members followed suit.

“Opsola?” he turned to look at Wendy who had tears deep fresh in her eyes. His throat felt dry.

“Why did you lie to us? Why did you never tell us?” she sniffled, wiping at one eye.

“Its not like that. I…. I couldn’t…..” he was struggling to find the words. Its like he’d forgotten for a while. But how was that possible? How could he have forgotten something so important. Wendy shook her head and turned to run towards Acnologia too. Laxus was already ahead and Cobra had followed behind. He collapsed to his knees. This couldn’t happen. It couldn’t. They were all going to die and it was all his fault. His nails dug into his own arms, staring at the dirt. His eyes felt hot. He couldn’t just sit there. He had to do something. He looked over to the loud sounds of battle. If they wouldn’t leave without Makarov then they were getting away with Makarov.

Don’t. Gajeel run.” he ignored the voice, spreading his wings wide and launching himself into the sky. He flew up past the tree line, far above Acnologia. He placed both his fingers into his mouth and whistled. The dragon’s fins twitched and it turned its head to look right at him. The fins pricked as it focused on him instead of the mages on the ground.

“Yeah remember me? That’s right. If you want me, you’ll have to come get me!” he yelled. Acnologia’s tail flicked, landing heavily in the ground. He raised up onto his back legs, swiping one set of claws towards him. He pushed himself higher to avoid the claws.

“Now. I’ve got him distracted. Get out of here!” he yelled, avoiding another grab from the claws.

“No. We aren’t leaving you. Everyone. Hit him with everything you’ve got.” Laxus yelled to the group. Every member, hit Acnologia with a spell at the same time. Quickly followed by Natsu, Wendy, Cobra and Laxus using their roars to hit the dragon. The roars sent Acnologia crashing backwards into the nearby rock. Gajeel watched as the dragon lifted itself back onto its feet, shaking some rubble from its head.

“Shit.” he hissed. Their attacks had done nothing. He couldn’t even see a scratch. Acnologia snapped his attention back up to him. It lifted a claw, magic coating the talons and swiped right at him. Before he could react, the attack hit him right in his wing. He screeched, feathers loosening from the new wound. He tried to keep himself in the air but the wound dug deep into his wing and he could barely move it without excruciating pain. He began plummeting towards the ground, only slowed by his wings.

“Hold on.” he heard Lily and vaguely saw the Exceed flying towards him before he hit something. He was stunned for a moment, unsure what he’d landed on. He finally registered the scales under his back and attempted to flee from the position he was in. That same claw snapped around him, trapping one of his arms and both his legs. His injured wing jut out at a strange angle that made it impossible to pry it loose. He struggled against the grip, even as Acnologia spread his wings and launched himself into the air. He clawed at the black scales, barely making a dent. Something purple flashed in the corner of his eye and he looked. Freed, who had cast his wings and was floating next to him, pulled what remained of his sword and tried to force the shattered blade between the black scales. It clinked off the scales instead. When Freed had realised that hadn’t worked, he switched to grabbing his hand. Three sets of paws clung to the back of his jacket, pulling against Acnologia’s grip. The change in the air caught his attention and he turned.

“No! No! Stop! Don’t do it!” he let go of Freed’s hand, trying to claw and slice at the claws that gripped him. It didn’t deter Acnologia, his lungs filled to capacity as he released the roar down on the island below.

“NO!” him and Freed were practically in sync when they yelled.

“Natsu!”

“Wendy no.” Happy cried loudly while Carla’s words were no louder than a whisper. He didn’t hear Lily say anything other than a quick draw of air. The flash from the roar cleared and Gajeel searched desperately for anything. All that remained were a few broken rocks and a chasm that was quickly filling with water. Gajeel nails scrapped along scales. How could he? How could this beast destroy almost everything he held dear. How could he share the same species as something like this? He ground his teeth hard, his shoulders tensing. Then something snapped.

“How fucking dare you!” he roared. A burst of magic sprang out around him, spreading out far. Acnologia’s grip on him loosened and he found himself falling towards the water. He blinked for a moment, his head suddenly feeling groggy and his limbs heavy with static. His eyes snapped to below him where Freed and the cats were plummeting towards the water. They all hit the surface before he could act. The sudden shock of cold water caused him to freeze for a moment before he focused his attention on the others. They were all unconscious, marred with injuries. He swam down, ignoring the pain in his wing as he grabbed hold of the cats. He dived deeper until he clutched Freed’s wrist between his claws, pulling him close. He took a moment to determine where the surface of the water was and swam towards it. Water splashed back from them as he pulled Freed’s head above water, the cats tails clsped gently between his jaws.

“Over here. Quickly.” someone called. He turned to look. That council member who had partnered up with Wendy was in the water, swimming towards him. He took hold of the cats tail’s in one hand, offering them to him.

“Take the cats.” he yelled. He didn’t have time to think about what this guy would have done to the guild. He had to get the cats and Freed to safety. He turned to the rune mage, his head dipping forward and horns completely obvious. He felt the weight lift from his arm as the cats were taken from his hand. He pulled his arm back, snatching the bracelet from his wrist and putting it on Freed’s. He activated the runes, hiding all his hybrid features and turned to the other mage.

“Come on. Take my hand.” he called. Gajeel reached out, claws brushing against his hand as the water tried to pull him away. The waves became more intense as wings swept them around. He flinched, looking up as a dark shadow blotted out the sun. His nails scrapped against the palm of the council man before those same blue claws snapped around him, ripping him -and by extension Freed- away and into darkness.

Notes:

I might have gotten a little too much joy out of writing this chapter but you can't blame me, this has always been in my eyes where the story takes a turning point and some of the underlying themes become important. Also I like being mean to my favs.

Chapter Text

The temporary camp was sparsely populated with only the two remaining slayers occupying the location. Cobra was finishing off his bowl of soup while Laxus leaned back in his chair, arms crossed and eyes closed.
"Can you hear what's going on with the others?" the elf paused, mid way through his bowl while bent over. He straightened his posture.
"I could. But that would ruin the surprise" He took another spoonful of the soup.
"Since when do you care about surprises?"
"When they don't involve someone jumping me" he looked down at the bowl in front of him, continuing with the liquid. The lightning slayer sighed but didn't give a response to that. They both continued their prior activities. Cobra lifted his head up, eyebrows knitting together. His ears twitched. The lightning slayer took note of it, focusing on the elf.
"What's wrong?"
"Someone's coming this way" the lightning slayer stood up, his chair clattering to the floor.
"Where are they?" he demanded, turning to the elf who had gotten to his feet as well. A large rock hurling towards them was the answer the slayer required. Both leapt back, the rock landing down on the table that had separated them. The furniture collapsed into pieces from the assault.
"Who throws rocks that big?" the lightning mage stared down at the rock that sat in the middle of their camp.
"Ah I missed" someone had approached the edge of the camp. He towered over the two mages, a small brown doll held in one hand. Lightning sparked around Laxus' palms as he took a defensive stance.
"You better explain who you are and what your doing here" He leaned back on his feet, ready to jump forward. He was hit from the side, pushing him out of his position with a stagger.
"Cobra-"
"Run" the lightning mage looked at the elf who was stood in front of him. He didn't face him. Laxus opened his mouth to argue.
"Poison dragon guard" the elf crossed his arms in an X, summoning a thick layer of poison. Before the dark substance could touch the blond, he was pushed again.
"I said run" poison was dispersing, the other mage becoming visible.
"You expect me to leave you here. That's not happening" the lightning slayer lifted his foot but stepped back when slices of poison cut into the ground before him.
"Go find the others. Its us dragon slayers they want and we can't risk leading this guy to any of them. I can hold him off if you just run" Another poison cloud was brought up to keep the other mage at bay. Laxus hesitated.
"Fine" he turned around, pausing briefly.
"Just don't die alright"
"No promises" the lightning slayer began running, disappearing into the trees.
"You let him get away" the other grumbled, glaring at Cobra.
"You aren't welcome here" Cobra hissed.
"And you are?"
"Yes. This is my guild you're attacking and for what. Zeref and that dumb dragon from the prophecy you guys dug up" Purple and white scales fizzled into existence along the former dark mage's hands, nails sharpening into claws.
"I'm sure Hades can answer any questions if you come quietly"
"Hades is an old fool. The only thing he is useful for now is dying" A hand slammed down on the ground, the elf jumping back to avoid the attack.
"Stay still"
"I'm not an idiot" the slayer jumped once again, avoiding another attack. Another hand swung at him which he dodged.
"I swear. You all seem to forget my magic" the slayer ran one hand through his hair.
"If you don't stay still then I'll just go after the other dragon" The poison slayer froze. He extended his hearing behind him, trying to pinpoint where the lightning slayer was. A loud click brought his hearing back in. Something cold had settled around his neck. Cobra reached his hands up to pull at the object but it wouldn't break.
"Some stupid collar won't stop me from fighting you" He reached out one hand, ready to call out an attack. Instead the poison twisted back, pressing down on his skin and burning it. He cried out in pain, holding his arm close.
"What? How is that possible?" he looked up, reaching out his hearing. But instead of hearing the other's thoughts, all he heard was his own echoed through his own head, becoming louder with each passing second. He shook his head. It had to be that stupid collar. His magic was working fine before it was put on him. He reached up again, pulling at the collar but it still wouldn't come off. Something hard hit the side of his head, throwing him to the ground. Blood trickled down from the assaulted spot, dripping into his right eye. A low thudding was making its presence known against the slayer's skull. He leaned on his palms, trying to focus on one point and stop the spinning. It didn't help as he was hoisted up by the neck of his cloak, leaving him to be dangled down.
"Put me down" he hissed, swinging one hand in the direction he hoped would hit. Instead a hand wrapped around his neck, pulling him to the opposite side with a swift motion. He threw his hands up to cover his mouth, swallowing the bile that had risen up. He was twisted around again, the substance returning to his mouth. It was a repeat every time he was moved too fast, his brain growing fuzzy with every spin of the world around him. His ears were ringing, drowning out the noises around him. Cobra tried once again to escape but the large hand encasing his throat kept him trapped. He stopped his struggling. He didn't want to risk it. Not when this guy could crush his throat without hesitation. He'd just have to hope he was put down somewhere he could escape from.

Chapter Text

"There. That should stop the bleeding for now" Wendy leaned back on her knees, splashes of red dotting her hands. The iron slayer looked at Natsu.
"You need to stop giving me your scarf. Isn't this thing supposed to be special?" he gestured to the currently black scarf.
"Yeah but if it keeps you alive then I'll give it to you in a heartbeat" he objected.
"Now that we know that none of us will bleed to death, how are we going to get out of here" The sky slayer was staring at the bars from a safe distance.
"Hate to break it to ya but I ain't gonna be able to run if it comes down to it. I can hardly stand as it is"
"We can just punch our way through" the fire slayer started punching the air.
"Without magic. Against Grimoire heart? You're insane" Natsu's face dropped as he stared at the other.
"Gajeel has a point. They're really strong and without our magic it gives them the upper hand"
"That ain't the only issue. We're all beat up and if we use our magic on impulse then it'll get worse" the fire mage punched the ground with a growl.
"Dammit. I shouldn't have gotten beat that easily"
"Quit complaining. You ain't the only one who got the shit beat out of em. I just hope Levy warned the rest of the guild" Both older slayers hit their heads against each other with growls. Several footsteps approaching made them brought their staring contest to a close. They turned to the door. A man with wild hair and a matching beard stood before them with another guy who towered over him not far behind, a certain elf clutched in one hand by the neck.
"Cobra/Erik" the trio stared at the elf in question who briefly looked at them through a narrowed eye, reaching one hand up to the fist surrounding his neck.
"Let him go you bastard" Gajeel tried to get to his feet but slammed into the ground again. The mage who could be assumed to be the guild master smirked.
"I will. On one condition" He got questioning looks from all three of them.
"You will tell me which one of you is the hybrid in exchange for your friend. If not.... well why don't you see for yourself" he snapped his fingers. Kain began squeezing tighter on the elf's throat, the mage in question thrashing his legs and clawing at the grip on his throat.
"Let him go" Wendy cried out, stepping closer to the bars.
"Tell me which one of you is the hybrid" Hades swung his gaze over all three of them, examining each of them for a reaction.
"Like hell we'd tell you" Natsu spat, stepping closer as well. He summoned his fire only for it to be deactivated when it started burning his arms.
"I'd say he has a few minutes left of oxygen assuming he has the lungs of a dragon. So you don't have much time left before he suffocates. Who knows he might even use up what air he has left quicker than that" the guild mage turned to look at the elf who's attempts to escape were weakening the longer he tried. He turned to the three slayers. Natsu and Wendy continued to yell at the guild master.
"Its me" Gajeel spoke up, staring at the floor beneath him. Hades brought his attention to the iron dragon.
"Gajeel what are you doing?"
"Do what ever you want with me but leave Erik alone. And Natsu, Wendy and Laxus too"
"I knew you'd cooperate" he waved his hand and Kain loosened his grip, leaving the poison slayer to cough and gasp for air.
"He can go in with the rest of them. He's nothing but a traitor to the balam alliance. He can't be trusted" The door to the cell opened, two guards who had been standing on either side before stepped in with spears pointed towards the two slayers to keep them from escaping. Kain stepped in, dropping Cobra onto the ground. His body hit the ground with a thud, eliciting several pained noises from the elf. He then took hold of Gajeel's jacket, using it to hoist him up. Natsu tried to get past the guards but they pushed him back, threatening to use the spears.
"Don't hurt them. I won't go if you hurt them" Hades chuckled, stepping close and leaning his towards the slayer.
"And what are you going to do. You can't outrun us and your magic is useless" The slayer's eyes widened.
"No. Don't you dare touch them" his yelling could be heard further down the hall as he was carried off somewhere. The door to the cell closed, the lightning returning.
"What should we do with these ones?" one of the guards asks.
"Keep them alive for now. They might be useful yet. Besides, he has a lacrima in him so I would prefer to remove it before he's killed so it doesn't get damaged"
"Yes sir"
"Now guard them. I'm going to check on our little dragon" the guild master walked off, a string of poorly constructed insults following him from Natsu.
"Are you alright?" Wendy was kneeling next to Cobra, brushing his hair back to look at the source of the blood on his face. He opened his mouth to answer but instead began coughing.
"Fuck. My throat hurts" he wheezed.
"I'm sorry" Wendy apologised.
"About what"
"Not being able to heal you. This collar keeps redirecting my healing" she whimpered. He blinked.
"So it is the collar. I knew it" he coughed again, reaching one hand up to rub against his neck where a bruise was forming.
"That jerk. I'll burn all that hair of his to a crisp"
"That's Hades. He's the strongest member of grimoire heart and the guild master. I don't even think I could land a hit on him even with my magic" Cobra's head dipped slightly.
"Wait what's wrong?" Natsu approached him.
"Kain threw something at me. I can't remember what" His head dipped once again and he blinked a couple times.
"I'll heal you the moment I get my magic again. Just don't fall asleep" Cobra chuckled dryly.
"I'll try but I can't promise anything" his body fell forward, leaning against Natsu. The elf took a shaky breath. Natsu held him close, keeping an eye on the slayer so he wouldn't fall asleep.
"We'll find some kind of way out. I promise" the fire slayer whispered.

Chapter Text

The slayer thrashed about, trying to claw at the arm that held him up. The young man in the room they entered jumped when his eyes lay on the mage who was making his aggression known.
"Oh my. Master Hades what's going on?" he asked, pushing up a pair of glasses on his face with one hand and fixing his white coat with the other.
"This is Gajeel. I want you to do some X-rays of him" the guild master stood to the side.
"Kain you can go. He won't be going anywhere" Gajeel was dropped onto the ground, wincing with how his ankle hit it. The man who Gajeel guessed must be some kind of doctor approached.
"His ankle seems like a pretty big concern. I don't think I need an X-ray to know what's wrong with it"
"Its not the ankle I want you to X-ray. I want a full body X-ray of him" the doctor nodded, walking off to another room. Hades turned to the slayer. Gajeel growled.
"Just know that if you're lying then you won't be leaving this room with your life" he got a snarl in response.
"Alright I've got the X-ray set up but I'm not sure how I'll do this when he can't stand-"
"Give him something to lean on. Just get the X-rays" the doctor nodded. He reached out for Gajeel who let himself be guided by him.
"Once I've got these X-rays done I'll do something about your ankle. It must be painful" the doctor kept his tone hushed, avoiding his guild master from hearing. Gajeel was issued a beam that he could lean against or hold while the X-rays were taken.
"We just need four so it shouldn't take too long" Each X-ray was taken and the slayer was issued back to the main room. This time instead of being made to sit on the ground he actually got to sit on the medical bed in the room which was at least an improvement from the floor. The doctor's eyebrows flew up when he was looking at the photos.
"Well"
"I don't believe this. These. They can't be human" Hades extended one hand, the photos being handed to him. A smirk spread across his features when he looked at them. He turned to Gajeel.
"Now that I know you weren't lying, you're going to tell me everything" The slayer snarled again.
"Like hell I would" his lip was pulled back, teeth exposed. The guild master gave him a look. Then without breaking eye contact said.
"Cut off his foot"
"What?! But sir I haven't even checked if I can fix it and he's still conscious"
"That's the point"
"Like hell I'll let you touch me ya bastard" Gajeel attempted to move but was pushed down by the guild master. His nails, which had sharpened considerably began clawing at the old man's arms.
"Get the restraints on him. He clearly won't behave"
"Don't you fuckin dare" The slayer sunk his teeth into one of Hades' wrists. He yelled at him, using the other hand to slam his head down against the bed which made the lump on his head throb harder.
"Master are you alright?"
"This beast bit me. Do we have anything to prevent him from trying it again" the doctor, who was setting up the restraints he had for the more volatile patients he had, looked up.
"I think I have a muzzle"
"Well when you've secured him, get it" Gajeel attempted to sink his teeth into something again but it didn't work. The metal restraints were activated, pinning him down to the bed. He tried to struggle free but any part of his body that could bend was strapped down. The muzzle was slipped on after, having a more animalistic look to it. He kept trying to struggle but it did nothing but tire him out. He stilled in his struggles when something sharp prickled on his leg just inches above the previous damage.
"Now. First you're going to tell me how you're hiding your dragon features"
"Go fuck yourself" the slayer snarled, meeting the older mage with fury in his eyes. Hades turned to where he assumed the doctor was.
"Start the procedure" the prickling that had occupied his leg prior was soon replaced with white hot pain that snapped up his leg. The room was soon filled with screams all from one source. Claws dug into his own skin as the pain continued. Scales were popping up across his skin individually, glittering in the light. The scales quickly popped out of existence again before returning, the action repeating. The pain finally dulled, leaving the slayer panting heavily. Hades turned to the doctor.
"If I cut anything else off then there's a chance he might not recover. He's already lost a lot of blood" The doctor had moved away, getting some bandages and disinfectant to clean up the wound and stop the bleeding.
"You're right. That would be undesirable" he gave it some thought. He turned around to the power generator.
"Master. What are you doing?" the doctor had finished his task and had turned to the mage. Hades pulled out on of the wires of the generator and swapped it out for some different ones.
"I'm getting that information" Clips were attached to each restraint.
"That could kill him"
"Not if I keep it at a low enough voltage" he pulled the lever and each restraint sparked with electricity. It travelled through to Gajeel's skin, leaving him screaming again. A few seconds later it was turned off.
"A spell. I-I have a spell on me" he coughed, chest heaving with the effort of breathing. Hades stepped forward.
"Deactivate it" he ordered.
"Can't... Not without my hand" his eyes momentarily rolled into the back of his head before they fell back in place. One hand was released from the restraints. Gajeel shakily lifted one hand to his chest, reciting the spell the best he could. It deactivated, allowing his dragonic features to make themselves present. His hand was restrained once more, preventing him from trying to escape.
"Don't think I'm done. There's more questions you need to answer"

Chapter Text

Laxus lifted his head up from where he was positioned against a tree. Leaves crunching were getting progressively louder in his direction. He took a defensive pose, readying his fist with lightning. Someone slammed through the bushes, tripping forward and hitting the dirt below with a heavy thud. The slayer didn't lower his guard until the person in question sat up, rubbing one hand through blue hair.
"Levy?" he asked, recognising the script mage. She looked up.
"Oh Laxus. Thank the gods you're here. You have to come with me. Gajeel needs help" she was speaking at a mile a minute, running back the way she had come. The lightning slayer looked back in the direction before running to catch up with the bluenette. She didn't utter a word, racing up the steep hills of the island until the reached a clearing. The Area itself was a mess, trees cut down and blood scattered across the grass. The clearing itself was bare of life, all animals having scattered.
"But he was right here. I left him here" Levy stepped forward, trying to spot the dragon slayer.
"What happened?" she snapped her head around to look at him, eyes wide.
"We were ambushed by someone from grimoire heart. They were talking about dragon hunting or something like that" 
"Cobra said the same thing. That's what he heard from the guy who attacked us" 
"You were attacked too?" He nodded.
"Its why I wasn't at camp. Cobra told me to find the other slayers and tell them that they were targets" Levy looked back at the remains of the iron slayer's fight then down at her feet.
"We have to find them. They could be in danger right now" 
"Camp might be our best bet. If Cobra won his fight then he'll be there and might be able to give us some information" Levy nodded, following the lightning slayer to where the camp had been set up.
"Why was no one else with you at the camp anyway?" She asked. 
"Freed and Bickslow left the island with Gildarts, Erza and Juvia went to look for Wendy and Mest and Lisanna and Mira went off somewhere and didn't come back. It was just Cobra and I until we were attacked" 
"I don't think Cobra's there anymore" Laxus looked to where she was gesturing. The camp was wrecked, and there was no sign of Cobra or the dark mage. 
"Fuck. What the hell happened?" He looked around, trying to find some sort of clue. 
"Can you track his scent like what Gajeel and Natsu can do?" she asked. He froze, blinking for a moment.
"You know I totally forgot about that" He stood still, taking in a deep breath. A sour smell hit his nose, making him gag.
"Did you find something?" 
"Not sure. Its some sort of sour smell. It might be the remnants of Cobra's poison but I'm not sure" He approached where the smell was lingering and stepped in a few different directions. The scent was giving off a trail.
"I think I've got it. There's a trail of sorts leading that way" he pointed to the treeline.
"That's towards the beach isn't it" Laxus nodded.
"That might be where they've parked. We should check it out" Laxus took the lead, making sure to keep checking the scent to make sure they were going in the right direction.
"This scent stuff just feels weird. I never thought I'd be sniffing things like a dog" He lifted one hand up to his nose.
"Its more like a dragon but I guess its not natural to you like it is to Natsu or Gajeel" The lightning mage looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"I mean how they were raised by dragons while you weren't so they don't know much else" he released a breath. 
"I guess not. Sometimes I forget that fact" she nodded. The beach came into view, a large ship positioned against the shore line.
"They must be in there" Levy looked around. There were no guards stood outside the ship.
"Chances are they'll have a good chunk of mages sent out around the island looking for the rest of the slayers. If they haven't got them already that is. 
"Think you can get us in?" Levy looked hopefully at the slayer. 
"Not without being noticed. Lightning travel isn't exactly subtle" she lowered her head.
"I guess not" She looked up again when the slayer had stepped towards the ship.
"Laxus?"
"Looks like someone left the door open" he gestured to the opening hull with a chuckle.
"How did you-" 
"I short circuited the panel" Levy blinked for a second.
"Oh" 
"Come on. Before someone finds us dawdling here" He stepped into the ship, walking up the ramp into the building. Levy joined him, standing close. 
"We should stick together. Better in numbers right?" he nodded, stepping towards one of the open doorways. The corridor was empty of mages but there was blood splotches across the ground.
"I'm going to make a guess and say they're down this" Levy held her hands close to her chest, looking at the mess of dark crimson on the floor.
"Most likely" Laxus stepped over the blood stains and began walking down the corridor. The blood splatters were helpful in determining which direction they had to go in. It eventually led to a holding cell which had only two guards and the distant sound of screaming from further down.
"How should we handle the guards?" Levy turned to Laxus. He lifted one hand summoning an electric attack that struck both guards. They both collapsed to the floor from the attack.
"Piece of cake" he stepped out into the corridor, approaching the cell that they'd been guarding.
"Laxus!" Natsu cheered, making eye contact with the lightning mage. 
"They got you guys too" Wendy approached the cell door although kept her distance. 
"We need to get Cobra help now. He's taken a really bad hit to the head and he keeps almost falling unconscious" The two mages turned to look at the elf who was still leaning against Natsu, eyes dull and unfocused.
"Right. Where's Gajeel?" Levy looked between the three slayers.
"That jerk Hades has him. He was trying to kill Cobra and Gajeel gave himself up to save him" 
"So is that who's screaming?" 
"We assume so since it started not long after they took Gajeel" Wendy fiddled with her hands. Meanwhile Cobra's head dipped slightly. Natsu struck him on the back which resulted in the elf coughing but lifting his head slightly.
"Think you could eat the lightning?" The fire slayer had an excited glint in his eyes.
"Easier method. I can just overload the system" he followed his statement up by pressing his hand to the panel and sending volts of electricity through it. The panel short-circuited, shutting down the security measure of the cell and opening the door.
"Wow. That was cool" 
"Never mind that we need to get to Gajeel before-" the lights shut down, sending the whole group into darkness. Levy wrote up a small light spell to give them some semblance of it.
"What happened? Did you overload the whole ship?"
"No. That doesn't make any sense" More screaming from the location further down filled the corridors but it was different tone. It died out soon after, leaving the hallway in deafening silence. 
"Laxus? Could you maybe send a bolt of lightning down that corridor?" Levy whispered. The lightning mage flicked his finger, sending a weak bolt down the corridor. Further down the corridor it bounced down and hit some kind of creature that was positioned in a crouch over something. A pair of red eyes looked over at them, glowing in the non existent light.
"Is that-" Wendy was cut off by a strangled roar from the creature who had put its full attention onto them. 
"Run!"
"What?"
"Run!" the thudding of footsteps hitting the ground signified that it was running towards them. All four mages -Natsu now carrying Cobra on his back- turned and ran down the corridor. A heavy thud against the ground soon followed them before the repeated footsteps started up further back. The light coming from the ending corridor where the hull was came into sight. They reached the door, running towards the exit of the ship. Laxus skidded to a hault, lifting one hand and firing a lightning bolt at what had chased them. It struck one of the front legs, knocking it to the ground. The scaled tail that lit up momentarily was the only idicator of who it was that had chased them. He reached to the panel against the door and slammed his hand into it, letting the metal door fall down over the entrance. He could hear sniffing up against the door followed by snarling and claws sinking into the metal.
"We'll be back for you. Just try to calm down until then" he told him. He got another snarl in response. He turned to step away.
"La-xus" he looked over his shoulder at his name. It was strangled and much deeper, similar to a snarl but it was clear that it was his name. 
"Gajeel. Can you hear me?" He placed one hand on the metal door. There was no answer, only heavy breathing. 
"DIE" something slammed against the door on either side, leaving dents in it. Laxus stepped back, staring at the door.
"Just try not to kill anyone" he paused. 
"Or anyone else if you have already" He turned away once more, heading for the exit of the ship.

Chapter Text

Ears pricked when the footsteps he could only guess belonged to Laxus faded into the distance. A snarl built in his throat, staring up and down the shutter in front of him. He would have continued to give chase if not for that stupid shutter. He stalked along the edge of it, pressing his muzzle into crevice's of the entryway but he couldn't move it. His eyes flicked to the muzzle strapped to his face. He lifted his claws up, trying to pull it off and only scratching up his face instead. He shook his head. He had to find a way out. He shook it again. No he should stay. His attention was brought down the darkened hallways when he heard a clank. A new snarl forced its way out of his jaws. He got to his feet, stalking through the long hallway. Each second step was a stumble but he was able to move weave his way to a fork. Down one route was the noises. It sounded like people chittering with each other. The heavy thuds of clumsy footsteps filled his ears. He stalked forward, muscles tensing. He shouldn't. They weren't doing anything against him. His snarl raised in ferocity. They hurt him. They had to pay. He scanned the surroundings, the magic signatures of them dull. They would be so easy. He leapt forward, claws sinking into their shoulders and pinning him to the ground. Something swung and hit him along the side. He snapped, trying to bite at it but just banging the muzzle off of it instead. This stupid muzzle was annoying and his magic was blocked off because of the dumb collar. The guy pushed him off balance, landing on the floor. He snarled, swinging his tail to pull him back. Instead it pushed through his back, protruding through two wound above his stomach. He pricked his ears, pulling the guy back who was making pained noises from his place on the floor. Claws sunk into one shoulder to pin him down. The other clawed hand reached up to his face, slowly sinking into the skin. The pained noises were increasing in intensity. It was grating. He hated it. He pushed more weight down on his arm, staring down at the person below him with unblinking eyes. The cries continued until they were cut off by a crunch when the skull caved in from the force. He pulled his claw back, staring at the still form below him. It was too dark to see it. He moved away, sniffing the air for any other scents. Fear scent was strong, filling his senses. He stalked forward, following the scent trails that had been left. The corridor lit up with dull red lights. He flicked his ears, staring at the source of it. The word that he should use seemed foreign to him, not coming to mind when he stared at what had happened. A growl rumbled in his throat and he continued to follow the fear scent. It led him to a large group of people who were huddled together with weapons ready in front of a room. He examined the area. The room they were posed in front of was pulsing with magic, far stronger than any of the mages defending it. The scent it was releasing was familiar. He stalked forward, ignoring the burning from his leg. Someone turned to him, yelling out and bringing the attention of the others to him. He snarled, eyes focusing on the group. They stared at him for a few seconds before throwing magic at him. He moved his wing in front of his face, letting the fire blast scatter across his feathers. Another blast was fired, this time a different type and he jumped up and landed down after the blast although he did stumble a little. Magic was thrown at him, either being spread out over his wings, missing him or actually hitting him. He lifted his lips, teeth shown on full display. He leapt forward, pushing down on one mage. The mage was pinned down, dropping their weapon. His tail snaked forward, snapping into his neck and leaving him gargling on blood. The other mages swung weapons at him. Some got lucky and left cuts and bruises across the unscaled skin. Others not so much. He swung his tail, knocking three into a wall. His wings spreading knocked a few more back. He leapt at ones who were recovering from the throw, using all his strength to push down and break bones. The crunches were accompanied by their pained shrieks. He knocked the last mage down, wrapping his tail around one of their weapons and forcing it through their chest. He looked around before stalking into the room they'd been defending. Inside was some sort of weird moving object. It radiated heat and magic energy. He snarled leaping with a few flaps of his wings and trying to sink his claws into it. He caused some damage but not nearly enough. He looked around, picking up one of the large swords that had been dropped. He leaped up again, pushing the sword into it. The sword pulled down with him, leaving a long slash that left some sort of liquid gushing out and onto the floor. He lifts one claw, shaking it. He looks around but can't find any sign of magic or life. And the scent was only coming from the thing he'd already attacked. It was dying. He didn't need to stay any longer. He left the room, travelling down the corridor. He stopped when fresh scents hit his nose. Not just any fresh scents. That of a forest. He turned towards the scent, ears pricking when he looked down the corridor he'd chased those much stronger mages down. The shutter was gone. He stalked forward, sticking one arm out in case of some kind of trap. When it didn't come he jumped out, looking towards the exit of the ship. The scent he recognised again led down. Several scents had come that way. He picked up the pace, running out of the ship and following the scent of the mages.

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"Oh that hurts" Natsu cried out, swatting his hands at Gray.
"Maybe if you stop struggling then it'll hurt less" the ice mage snapped back, trying once again to wrap his fingers around the device on the fire mage's neck to no avail. He dropped his arms with a sigh.
"No luck?" Laxus asked, sitting down next to Cobra who was currently being treated by Lisanna and Wendy to the best of their abilities.
"It won't budge no matter how much I pick at it" he sighs, shaking his head.
"So what you're saying is that not only are we down several mages from their injuries but we only have 1 of 5 dragon slayers too" Lucy looks between all the mages.
"It could be worse" Happy pipes up, one paw in the air.
"Don't jinx us cat" Lucy snapped back at him. He lowered his hand in response. Freed and Levy stood up from where they had been crouching both looking towards each other.
"Alright. That's the barrier up. Only members of the guild can get through this" Freed gestured to the purple lettering that surrounded the remains of the camp.
"Good timing. I think someone's coming" All three slayers were staring at the trees that surrounded the clearing. All those who were fit to fight took defensive stances. Hades stepped out of the trees, eyes almost sunken and skin pale. He was accompanied by two members of the seven kin and two other guild members.
"Those are the guys that attacked Gajeel and I" Levy took one step back.
"And I recognise that guy who attacked Cobra and I" lightning sparked off Laxus as he stared at the mages. He didn't recognise the final mage who pushed at the bridge of his glasses with a smug grin across his face.
"They all seem to have backed up here to cower. They really must be scared" The silver haired mage chuckled.
"You bastard. What did you do to Gajeel?!" Natsu stepped forward, having to be pulled back by Laxus so he wouldn't put himself in harms way with no way to protect himself besides physical strength.
"You're friend killed my medic. However I'm willing to let it pass if you hand him over" Hades spoke, keeping his stance between his other mages. Some leaves shook further behind in the trees.
"We don't have Gajeel. He's in your ship" Laxus snapped, more electricity sparking off him.
"He wasn't on the ship. If he was then he would have been at the locked door trying to get out" Yomazu snapped, some leaves falling around the group from the branches overhead. Laxus froze up.
"Did you leave that door open?" Hades raised one eyebrow.
"What are you going to do? Steal stuff. You can't even get past us without getting hurt" Natsu and Wendy looked at each other before turning to Laxus.
"You don't think?" Wendy held her hands close to her body which was shaking slightly.
"Don't think what?" The three slayers ignored the question, instead scanning the trees for any sign of movement. All three of them settled on the branches from where the grimoire heart mages had come. They shook again, something perched on one of them and staring down at the mages through the leaves.
"There" Natsu pointed towards the figure in the trees. Almost like it was a signal, it reached down, hands grabbing onto Kawazu and pulling him up into the branches. Their was a lot of noise coming from both alongside the branches further up rustling. Silence soon followed. All eyes were staring up at the trees in hopes of seeing something. Something white and red fell out of the tree, hitting the ground with a heavy thud. Kawazu's body lay still on the ground, limbs bent in unnatural positions and blood staining his feathers and the ground below. Everyone was stunned into silence. The branches rustled again, giving the position of the attacker away to be back on the previous branch it had been perched on. Red eyes stared out, examining each individual mage in the area but not moving.
"What's it doing?" Freed leaned in close to Laxus, watching the trees.
"Does it matter. Let's just get rid of it" Gray stepped out of the magic barrier long enough to send an attack of ice at the trees. The leaves were shreaded as the creature jumped, seeming to land on the branch next to it only to slip and fall to the ground. It landed unceremoniously on the ground. It lay still on the ground, the only movement being seen from the rising and falling from its breathing. It didn't take long for the fairy tail members to recognise their hybrid guild mate.
"Gajeel?" Erza stared out at the slayer, coated in blood from head to tail. There wasn't much else they could see from his crumpled position on the ground. Hades chuckled.
"That was easier than I thought. I should thank you for your help" he chuckled. Kain stepped forward, ready to pick up the slayer. When he got close, hands outstretched, the slayer snapped his head up, swinging one hand out with claws that caught hold of the other mage, tearing far through the skin and bringing out blood.
"What. How?"
"He must've been faking. He's smarter than he looks" Gajeel shook his head, snarl bubbling up as he smacked the side of his face against the ground in an attempt to break the muzzle strapped to his face.
"I'm sorry but we might need to kill him. He's getting too out of control" Erza placed a hand on Natsu and Laxus' shoulders.
"Wait. Something's not right" Laxus shook his head, staring at the fight unfolding before them.
"Yeah. Gajeel's trying to kill people. Has killed people. If we don't stop him now then he'll kill us too"
"No Laxus is right. Gajeel isn't acting the same way he did last time" All eyes went on Wendy.
"What do you mean?" Lisanna reached out to the young slayer.
"Well he's still human like for one. And two, he isn't just attacking whatever he sees right away. He's... strategizing"
"She's right. A rampaging monster wouldn't pretend to be defeated or sneak attack from the trees" Freed agreed, looking out at the fight as well.
"What are you saying. That Gajeel is still in there" Laxus turned to look at Gray.
"Gajeel has always been 'in there'. He's just lost control over his dragonic half. But this time I think there's something keeping him stuck in a loop between his human nature and his feral side"
"What gives you that idea?"
"He spoke when I trapped him on the ship. He didn't speak before. If you're going to kill him then at least let me try to get through to him first"
"Fine. But what makes you think this will work?"
"Because we're his pack. We might be able to reason with him better than anyone else" Natsu pipes up, holding his hands close.
"If you're both helping then I will too. I'm part of this pack too" Both slayer's turned to Cobra who was being supported by Lisanna and Wendy and seemed to be less likely to pass out now.
"You're hurt. You can barely stand" Laxus objected.
"And? I'm helping" Cobra snapped in return, wincing slightly. Wendy nodded.
"I'm helping too. Maybe if we all work together, we can get through to Gajeel" Laxus sighed.
"Fine. Just.... don't get hurt" Laxus grumbled.
"Just tell us the plan already"

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The sword swung close to his face as he ducked down, stepping further towards the cover of the trees. The smell of magic was strong and it was obvious which individuals it radiated off of like it was their own heat. His gaze turned to look at the cluster that was surrounded by a continuous stream of magic. That's where most of the power was condensed in. It would be unwise to attack them when they stayed together. He turned to the other four mages who were talking amongst themselves. They would be easy pickings. They're leader was weak and it was easy to take out on of his guards. His body seared with pain at the side of the older man, almost like they were linked. He shook his head, prowling against the trunks that lined the clearing. The trees were good cover if he needed to pick them off from higher ground. He pressed his upper body closer to the ground, tail swishing back and forth and eyes flashing dark for only a second. He pushed down on his legs, readying a jump. He turned his head at the sound of a thump. Some sort of rectangular object had been tossed to the ground near him. He stared at it, not daring to move any closer. He looked up. The humans that had been in the magic wall had moved about, some now standing in scattered groups. He swerved his ear around. The crunch of leaves travelled to them from the forest behind him. A growl burst from his jaws and he swished his tail.
"Gajeel" He pointed his ears forward. His vision was clearing slightly, more intricate details popping out in the figures in front of him. His pack. They were his friends. His mates. They wouldn't hurt him. Natsu stepped forward and his vision faltered again, leaving only vague silhouettes. He snarled, the spines along his back pressing up against his skin and pushing out.
"Its us. We just want to help" he stepped back as the closest one moved forward.
"You're going to be alright. No one's going to hurt you" the noise came from a different figure,.
"Yeah. We'll keep you safe. You just have to calm down" He blinked twice and shook his head, vision clearing once more. His chest was tingling, a full sensation vibrating from within that he couldn't explain. He stepped forward once. Then twice. The feeling grew stronger. He reached one hand out. Pain burst through his tail and he let out a pained roar. His vision closed off once more and he turned to the source. Magic swam from the location. He roared once more, leaping towards the location of the attack. Someone moved back, stumbling over the ground. There were other scents around them but he honed in on that one. He leapt forward, taking hold of their leg and pulling them to the ground. They fell with a heavy thud, screaming out at him.
"Monster. Get of me" He swung his tail to sink into their head but they moved out of the way. He tried again but got a chill up the tip of his tail to the middle. He backed up, swinging his tail to break the cold clinging to it. It broke into pieces, hitting the ground with little chimes. He turned back for his attacker but they had moved. He looked around, trying to find them.
"Gajeel. Stop" he turned to the source. He could smell blood and fear. He turned his body entirely and stalked forward, focusing on the one in front of him. He drew his lip back in a snarl, exposing teeth. He leapt forward claws pressing against both shoulders and pinning them to the ground. A hand pressed against one of his claws, trying to push it upwards. He snarled, trying to lift his tail but the movement hurt. He flicked his gaze towards his tail before turning back to the person below him. He pressed down on both shoulders. They thrashed and kicked below them, hitting a few tender spots that began to burn further from the strikes. He did his best to ignore the pain.
"Gajeel" he paused, twitching his ears. He stared as his vision slowly cleared. The sensation grew in his chest again. He lifted all the strength from his claws and moved them to be on either side of Cobra's shoulders. He stared into the elf's eyes which had fear full of them. The sensation grew further, spreading further to where it was like a tentacle was wrapping around his chest and up his neck. A dull purple glow was emanating from Cobra's own chest. He moved one hand closer and the glow grew. He pricked his ears, turning his eyes to the side when fast footsteps approached.
"Stop don't attack" Someone else yelled. He snarled, vision slowly loosing its clarity as he turned around to face the one approaching him. A sword swung at his head, taking with it a chunk of his hair, missing his face by a margin. He roared, spreading his wings wide only to wince at the pain in one and let them fall once more. He took a step forward. He winced. His entire body stung. He tried to take another step. He whimpered as the muscles along his arms felt like they were being torn to shreds. He let out a long break and looked up. Someone was still standing in front of him. He shifted his gaze towards the trees behind them. He leapt forward, every muscle burning as he raced to reach the trees. Some skimmed his tail but he ignored it, sinking his claws into the trunk and scaling up into the branches where he perched himself close to it. He pressed his chest to the branch he was on, scanning the ground below as he took heavy breaths. The people were all regrouping and that smaller group was still there, watching his location. He was outnumbered and outmatched. His ears twitched at the sound of some sort of noise like metal against leather. He turned to look. The one with the sword from that smaller group was readying an attack. He turned to where it was directed. His vision cleared enough to recognise his pack. They were distracted by him. They wouldn't detect the attack in time. The sensation in his chest welled up once more as his vision cleared further. He leapt down from his perch and raced across the clearing as fast as his wounds could take him. He stumbled once or twice and felt attacks hit him several times but ignored them. He leaped forward, stumbling forward and crashing into the rest of his pack and falling right into the attack that had been sent right at them. He closed his eyes as the sensation over took his body and mind.

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His vision was dark. He couldn't see anything but he wasn't sure if it was because he was dead or not. A strange feeling was filling his body and he could hear several different voices. Not speaking words just making noises. He counted 6. He tried to open his eyes and was met with dirt. He was facing the ground. He blinked, some specks of mud falling from his lashes as he did so. Now that he focused on it, the pain in his body was gone. Like his wounds had magically healed themselves. He lifted his head catching the scents of his pack. Something shifted under his arm and he looked. Wendy was the closest on his left. She opened her eyes and looked at him something shining against her neck. It was a cloudy blue colour but he couldn't place it. He turned to look in front of him. Hades was there. Why was he still here. He shouldn't be here. Gajeel pushed himself up to stand. It was difficult to keep himself balanced with the lack of a foot but he managed. He stared at the Grimoire heart mages, eyes narrowed and tail swishing through the air. He stumbled forward, flexing his clawed hands. He could hear the other slayers moving about behind him. They almost got hurt because of him. He couldn't accept that. He could feel his magic had returned and the irritation of the collar on his neck was gone. He took a deep breath, building up as much air in his lungs as he could then released it in a large roar towards the other mages. Even to Gajeel's own eyes it looked different. Instead of its usual silver colour, it was white with spirals of grey and the iron shards that spun inside. It hit the three mages, giving them several cuts and bruises from being thrown back. Pushing down on his one leg, he leapt up, using his massive wings to propel himself forward and pin Hades to the ground. He pressed his muzzle right into the guild master's face, red eyes staring holes into the other's skull. He swished his tail back and forth, moving it close to the other's face every few seconds as a silent threat. Magic bubbled up around his right arm, surrounding it in a white spiral. Hades grimaced. Gajeel did his best to ignore the pain that he was inflicting on himself. He leaned his muzzle next to Hades' ear.
"Get off this island and never come back" he spat, a growl laced in his voice, his spines had already pushed their way though the skin on his back, poking out in sharp points. He stepped back, leaning on his knees. Hades stumbled to his own feet. He looked at Gajeel then behind him. He bent one ear back and could hear heavy footsteps approaching and all kinds of different magics. The four mages could quickly gather they were outnumbered and started to retreat. Several Fairy tail mages gave chase. Gajeel let out a long breath. His vision was getting fuzzy and the pain was starting to return. Maybe he should take a nap. He fell forward, hitting the ground with a thud and closed his eyes.

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Gajeel fell to the floor in a crumpled heap. The dragon slayers raced over, checking for any sign that he was still alive. Despite the crumpled form, he was still breathing. 

"If we get him settled over there then I should be able to heal him" Wendy spoke. Laxus scooped the dragon slayer up, carrying him to their camp and laying him down. Wendy tried to find any wounds but it was difficult to locate the sources of any bleeding when every inch of his body was plastered in the sticky liquid. 

"I can't figure out where the blood is coming from. There's too much on him"  Wendy was pressing against different areas of Gajeel's body in an attempt to find any wounds. 

"Juvia can help" Juvia crouches down with a cloth in her hand and starts using it to wash off the blood caked across the dragon slayer's scales and skin. His arms were littered with long, slim cuts that all began bubbling up more blood when the previous layer was cleaned. Wendy leaned forward, placing her hands against his arm and activating her magic which worked now that the collar had been broken when they had all been tackled by the hybrid. Gajeel's ear flicked as his wounds were healed to the best of the sky slayer's ability. He scrunched his face up before opening his eyes. Only to be met with a cloth in his face. He coughed, kicking his legs and swinging his arms to bat at the holder. Juvia whacked his arm back, giving him a hard glare. He stared at her for a second before sitting up, rubbing one hand over the arm she'd hit.

"What was that for?" he grumbled, tail thumping on the floor next to him.

"Juvia was cleaning Gajeel up"

"You almost suffocated me" Juvia crossed her arms, keeping her eyes fixed on the dragon slayer.

"Juvia did not. Gajeel is overexaggerating" Gajeel snorted but turned away. He looks over the other dragon slayers and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" they looked at each other.

"Do you not remember what happened?" Wendy asks. Gajeel's eyes flicked to the side, one ear twitching before he looked back at her.

"No" his voice cracked slightly. Wendy ignored it. His voice was probably just sore from the screaming he'd been doing only a few hours prior. The camp was mostly empty where they were, other mages sitting about other areas and enjoying themselves after the commotion.

"Don't worry. The others made sure to chase Hades and the rest of his guild off the island. They won't be bothering us anymore.

"The old man ran for the hills huh? Guess he was a coward" he snorted.

"Yeah. That was a couple hours ago and there's been no sign of him so I doubt he's coming back" Cobra smirked, crossing his arms. 

"How long was I out?" he asked. He's body felt heavy but he didn't feel too tired now.

"A couple hours" his eyes widened. That was longer than he thought. He opened his mouth to speak. Instead the structure of the shelter shook.

"What was that?" Laxus asked.

"An Earthquake?" Natsu offered. Cobra looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"That was way to small to be an Earthquake" the shaking returned, this time stronger.

"Still think its not an Earthquake?" Natsu turned to the elf, crossing his arms.

"What was that?" someone cried out from the clearing. The group got up, stepping out to look. Something was closing in from the sky. Gildarts stepped forward.

"Everyone, get to the boat now" he yelled. The mages began running through the trees towards the beach, those who were injured being supported by those who weren't as bad. They reached the beach, almost reaching the boat. Something dropped down onto the beach, sending sand flying everywhere. Laxus let go of Gajeel who dropped to the floor from the sudden lack of support as the former coughed up sand that had gotten in through his mouth and nose. He blinked to clear his eyes and looked up, staring at a black dragon. It looked across the group, jaws parted before it let out a loud roar. The roar knocked all of the mages back alongside the sand, leaving them lying in the piles of sand. Gajeel pushed himself up with his arms, staring at the dragon in front of him. He'd seen that dragon before. The blue markings on its black scales were unmistakable. He stumbled to his foot, tipping slightly. He dropped onto his hands, finding that easier to move on with only one foot. He looked around, the cliff that led upward to a higher point of the island. Gajeel ran toward it. He was slowed down with his stumbling. He climbed higher and higher. He skid to a halt at the top. He had a clear vantage to leap onto the dragon's back. He stepped back once. Twice. Three times. Then he ran forward, leaping off the cliff edge. He spread his uninjured wing to keep himself up for longer. He slammed right into the dragon's side. He slipped down before digging his claws under black scales. A long black tail swung at him. He pulled himself upward to avoid it, laying on the back of the dragon. It was still facing forward, not bothering with him. He crawled across its back, curling his claws under scales every chance he got. The dragon jerked forward, sand flying up. It stayed bowed down. He let go of the scales he'd been holding, letting himself slide down to the back of its head. He hit it with a thud, knocking the air out of his lungs. He clung onto the scales near him as he was jerked upward by the dragon moving. Once he'd caught his breath, he began pulling himself up the back of its head. The dragon chose now to notice him, reaching up one claw to grab him while growling.

"You pest. How did you get up there!" it snarled. Gajeel moved so he'd be out of reach but his injured wing was caught between two fingers. He stubbornly clung to the scales with his claws, his wing being pulled on. He heard a snap followed by pain flooding up his wing. He bit his tongue to keep any noise in and swung his tail at the dragon's hand. His tail pressed into scales, causing the dragon to release his wing. He fell forward, landing on its muzzle. Yelling was coming from the others but he didn't focus on it. The dragon was focused on him now, white eyes staring him down. It reached up to grab him again. He pushed forward, clinging on close to the dragon's eye. This was his chance to make up for what he'd just done only a few hours prior. He lifted both hands up, transforming them into a sword and forcing it into the dragon's eye. It howled in pain shaking its head. He stopped the spell, scrambling to cling onto the scales. He lost his grip, instead being flung through the air. His head and shoulder collided with something hard. His head was pounding now and his vision and hearing fuzzy. He could barely make out yelling but it sounded far away. His entire body felt like it was on fire as air rushed past him. Something hit his back with a heavy thud and the fast air was stopped. What little of his surroundings he could make out was soon snuffed out, replaced with a warm dark but he could still hear strange cries. Something warm and fuzzy was squirming against him, moving from his back to his neck. There was noise right in his ear but he couldn't make out what it was. His eyes were burning now. He closed them tight trying to make the pain go away. Soon the noise disappeared and all the pain became nothing but a dull throb he could drone out.

Chapter Text

Gajeel's ear twitched as he came around. He took in a breath which sent pain searing through his entire body. There was a lot of noise coming from right next to him, kind of like yelling. Always yelling. Something slammed into his side hard. He opened his eyes with a gasp. He looked towards what had hit him. A white tail slipped under his wing while something warm and fuzzy pressed against his exposed side. He tried to stand up but everything seems to spin and his arms give out beneath him, his jaw smacking hard against rock. Gajeel grits his teeth with a groan from the sharp stinging in his lower jaw.

"You should be careful. You took a hard hit to your head" a voice Gajeel couldn't quite place spoke to him. He looked up through half lidded eyes but whoever stood before him was to hazy to make out accurately. He saw a lot of blue but that was the best he could do. They bent down, one hand touching his head. His head exploded with sharp pricks and he backed up with a growl, curling his body up the best he could. The person in front of him let out a snarl, standing up to tower over him. 

"Fine. Be that way. I was going to be nice and relieve some of that pain but since you want to act like this then you can deal with it" they barked, turning to leave. Gajeel watched them as the walked towards a light that was too bright for him to look at which made him turn away.

"Oh and you can defend the cat all you want but the moment I see that thing on its own, It's becoming my appetiser" and with that, they left, the echo of their footsteps disappearing. He didn't move, unsure of what to make of this. He tried to look around but turning his head so much made him dizzy and want to throw up. He lowered his head again, letting a long breath out through his nose. The thing pressed against his side moved about a bit before he felt soft paws on his back. They moved across his back until they hit a tender spot on his spine. He yelped from it. The one on his back cried out in turn, tumbling off his back and landing on the ground next to his head in a cloud of dust. He turned his head to look at the creature. White. There was some black too but it all blended together. He lifted one hand to rub at his eyes but it didn't make it better. The white blur moved before two soft paws pressed gently against his muzzle.

"Come on. He's not here. Let's get out of here" He flicked one ear. Who was he? Was that who the blue person was. He tried to push himself up again but his stomach lurched. He covered his mouth with one hand and swallowed, slowly lowering himself to the ground.

"You must have hit your head harder than I realised" Hit his head? When did that happen? He doesn't remember hitting his head. Hadn't he just been talking? But who had he been talking too? He couldn't remember.

"Maybe I can help. Surely there has to be some water around here right?" the white blur moved away from him, he watched it patter towards another grey wall. He lowered his head back down onto the ground below. It was so cold and stiff. It had been a long time since he'd slept on something like that. The soft patters drew closer and then something cold and wet was placed on his forehead. He closed one eye but it did soothe the pounding in his head. He opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was a pitiful whine. The white moved out of his sight seconds before something soft pressed against his side. He gently moved his body, curling up the best he could without pain and closed his eyes to sleep.

Chapter Text

Gajeel was awoken again by something loud thudding next to him. He opened his eyes, gaze clearer than before and his skull no longer hammering. His body still ached and he still felt physically weak but at least he could actually make out what was around him. Which was currently a large mass of black and blue. He blinked a couple of times, ear twitching as he did. Why was the wall suddenly blue and black. Wasn't it grey before? The fuzzy thing on his side moved against his side again. He lifted his head gently and turned to look. A white tail flicked about. He took a deep breath to figure out the scent but he couldn't distinguish it from his own. The tail vanished against his side before a small face poked out from below his wing. White with big brown eyes staring back at him. He stared at the little creature for another minute before it finally clicked who it was.

"Carla" he said, wincing at how loud his voice sounded to his own ears. Carla's ears pinned back and she ducked back under his wing. His ears tilted back, picking up the movement from behind him. He turned around to look, being met with the face of a much larger creature. The creature's face was mostly black, splitting off to grey on the bottom jaw and a few blue markings spattered across his face. The scent coming off him was muddled. He could pick up hints of dragon and human and yet the scent was too muddled together to be distinctly either. The creature lifted his head, towering over Gajeel's significantly smaller frame.

"So you're finally awake huh Gajeel" A long tail that split into a stinger-esque tip, flicked into view. He focused on the tail for a second, noting how similar it looked to his own then focused in on what had been said.

"Wait. How do you know my name?" his voice had a wheezy sound to it like he had simultaneously screamed his lungs out and not drank any water. Was that why his lungs hurt so much. The creature leaned in again, muzzle touching his own although it was a lot bigger. Gajeel's neck strained back from the force. The creature leaned back with a huff before standing. It came up to stand at a similar height to Metalicana, ear fins brushing against the ceiling. Then it disappeared in burst of wind. Some of the wind cleared, showing the large parts of the creature morphing down into a smaller body until a human stood in front of him. He stared, looking up and down. He had a wild mane of blue hair, a black cloak and blue trousers that were torn. Looking up at the man's face he could see a lot of dried up blood surrounding a deep wound in his left eye. Staring at it, Gajeel started recognising some of the smaller nicks across the wound.

"Does this answer your question?" he asked, staring down at Gajeel with an unmoving expression. Gajeel blinked, his face shifting into one of confusion.

"No" he said, his own tail flicking. Carla shifted next to him, her head poking out again.

"That's Acnologia" she squeaked, little paws clutching at his scales. His eyes widened, remembering how he'd stabbed the dragon that had been attacking his friend right in the left eye. He'd done that. But how had he ended up in some cavern with said dragon.

"You tried to kill my friends" Gajeel showed his teeth in a growl and lifted himself up by his arms. Only for them to collapse under him and his head to hit the stone floor with a thud. He scrunched his eyes from the pain. Acnologia chuckled, bringing Gajeel's attention away from the ache in his lower jaw.

"Friends? What you mean those humans on that island" Hair fell into Acnologia's face as he stared down at Gajeel. Gajeel snarled, the fur surrounding his neck bushing out. Acnologia leaned in, nose touching his and smirked.

"Aww. You trying to be all big and scary. Well it isn't working" he pushed one finger against Gajeel's nose. Gajeel lifted one hand and swiped but his movements were sluggish and he missed Acnologia who pulled his hand back.

"Take me back to my friends now or I prove how strong a dragon slayer really is" the spines on his back pushed up, showing along his back while blood dripped from where they had pierced and his fur still remained bushed out.

"Well firstly, I don't know how you expect me to do that-"

"Easy. Do that transformation thing you just did and fly me back to the island" a finger was placed against his mouth.

"Did Metalicana teach you that? You shouldn't interrupt people when they are talking" Acnologia's voice deepened into a snarl at the end. He puffed air out of his nose before straightening up.

"I was going to say I don't know how you expect me to do that when there is no island left to stand on. Gajeel felt all the air leave his lungs as he stared, wide eyed at the man in front of him. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. Hi8s ear swivelled back at the sound of Carla gasping and whimpering. He curled his tail close to his wing, the tip hiding Carla the best he could.

"And secondly, Metalicana already managed to steal you away from me for centuries. I'm not about to let you wander off" Gajeel just stared up at Acnologia, still processing everything that had been said.

"You killed my friends" he felt stinging in the corner of his eyes. They couldn't be dead right. Totomaru and Juvia were strong. All of them were. How could they be dead.

"Well maybe if you hadn't gotten involved with worthless humans they'd be alive. That or you wouldn't care so much" Acnologia turned around, doing something that Gajeel couldn't see. He stared down at his hands which had dried blood trails running down them from the cuts on his arms. Acnologia walked further away from him. Gajeel watched, ears pinned against his head. Acnologia looked back over his shoulder.

"Have you seen Metalicana by any chance?" Gajeel shook his head, voice caught in his throat. Acnologia turned away from him again and didn't say another word. Instead he sat down on some rocks further over, eyes staring at him from that distance. Gajeel curled in on himself, turning his head to face Carla instead. He met her eyes which were squeezed shut. Her fur was damp with tears. Gajeel looked down at the ground, unable to look the exceed in the eye as he tried to fall asleep again.

Chapter 93

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Gajeel flinched when the pained roar of a dragon pierced the air. A boy with spiked blond hair turned around.

"That sounded like Weisslogia" he cried,  leaning forward to start running back in the direction from which the roar had come. Gajeel grabbed his wrist, bringing the child to a hault.

"Let me go" the blond hit at Gajeel's hands, digging nails into the skin of the older's hands.

"I have to help Weisslogia" he kept struggling. 

"You can't. We need to get somewhere safe" Gajeel started dragging the young blond. A pink haired teen huffed.

"And why are you in charge huh? I say we should go back and help them. We can't run away" the teen had tears brimming at the corners of his eyes as he stared down Gajeel. The three younger children all agreed with the pinkette. 

"No one is in charge. Metalicana just told me to get all of us somewhere safe. If we go back then we'll just get in the way" Gajeel snapped, feeling pressure building up beneath his skin where he knew his scales hid. He pushed the younger's hand away, his nails still scratching at his skin. 

"I won't get in the way. I'm strong. Igneel said as much" the pinkette stepped forward towards Gajeel and pushed him back. He stumbled, letting go of the blond's wrist. Gajeel shook his head, breathing heavily out his nose.

"Just keep moving. He's dangerous. That's why we need to get somewhere safe" 

"Lies" the two continued to argue until a cracking from above alerted them. Gajeel looked up. A branch above them which had since caught fire from the breath attack of the fire dragon not to far away. The branch was creaking, dipping down until it snapped altogether. 

"Get back" Gajeel yelled, jumping forward and pushing the pinkette out of the way. The branch crashed down on top of him, his gaze darkening.

Gajeel snapped his eyes open. He was still in that cave. He held one hand up to his head, rubbing against the left side. He had never had that dream before but it had also felt too real at the same time. What was going on. He was brought back from his thoughts when something moved in front of him. He looked up. Acnologia, who was in his dragon form at that moment shifted around to face Gajeel. He stared down at Gajeel with a blank silver eye which the iron slayer bent back at. Acnologia leaned forward, sniffing the air.

"Seems like your wounds have finally healed" he huffed out, standing up to his full height. He transformed back to that human form, hair moving from the leftover winds of his transformation. Gajeel raised his spine upward, pushing out the spikes to give himself more defence. Acnologia stepped forward.

"I will say you are a lot stronger than I would have expected. Didn't think you'd be able to take out my eye when I found you again" Acnologia placed one hand under Gajeel's jaw, lifting his head up further.

"But you're not nearly as strong as you should be. You're a dragon, you should be just as strong as I am" he shook his head, sharp nails digging into the scales on Gajeel's lower jaw. Gajeel pulled back, exposing his teeth in a snarl. 

"I'm nothing like you" he snarled, arching his back further. Acnologia chuckled, looking down at Gajeel with a strained smile.

"Nothing alike? Is that a joke? I mean we're both dragons and dragon slayers. We both share several features with each other, just look at your wings and tail-" Gajeel looked at them, examining the feathery look of his wings and the double speared tip of his tail. 

"-and we both share a name" Gajeel stiffened, staring up at Acnologia with wide eyes. Acnologia smirked at him.

"I have long since forgotten that foolish human name I had when you were just a hatchling but I do know that Metalicana always told you of it. I doubt you would have forgotten it" he looked down at Gajeel who didn't move. He didn't want to believe this.

"You remember my name but not your own" he fluffed up his neck fur, surely Acnologia was just absolutely insane. He probably just heard someone say his name and could smell the dragon off of Gajeel. He didn't know anything personal. He couldn't even tell Gajeel what his last name is.

"Of course. I'd never forget the name of my own child" Gajeel was sure his heart had stopped completely. His mouth felt dry. Acnologia was his father. His own blood had killed all his friends and had threatened to kill Carla, the only one still remaining besides him. Acnologia, the guy who's mere name and presence garned fear from those who knew of him was his father. He stared down at his hands. Had Metalicana known? He had to have known, Acnologia had mentioned him by name and thinking back on it, he remembered seeing him in both dragon and human form. Perhaps his assumptions had been wrong, Acnologia wasn't Metalicana's mate. He had merely been there because that's where Gajeel was. Was that the reason Eillian had wanted him dead? Because he was the son of such a monsterous dragon. He remembered all the fights he had with Metalicana and he was now remembering some kind of fight between Acnologia and several other dragons. He'd recognised Metalicana and even Eillian but the others he couldn't put a name too. They must have been Natsu and Wendy's dragons if he'd seen them in his dream or whatever it was he'd seen. 

"You seem surprised. Surely you remember me" Acnologia stared down at him, eyes narrowing. Gajeel shook his head. Sure he did remember seeing Acnologia but he'd never remembered any familial bond between them. Only the training and the yelling. Acnologia's eyes narrowed further and then a and hit Gajeel along the side of his face. He let out a whine from shock backing away from Acnologia, some kind of metal clanging behind him.

"How could you possibly forget" he snapped. Not a question. He was just yelling. Gajeel curled into a defensive position while trying to keep himself small. He didn't want to listen to Acnologia yell at him for hours. He just wanted to go back home.

Notes:

Was this what I built the entire foundation of this fic off of. Yes it is. I've had this headcannon for such a long time, just always thought it was kinda strange how similar Gajeel and Acno look, similar hair, eye shape, strange lack of eyebrows, body shape and even the way they grin. And so this fic was sorta born. It only took 93 chapters for the reveal. Whoops

Chapter Text

The warm breeze of summer was starting to give way to the chill of autumn and Gajeel knew it would impact him greatly. He sat in his makeshift nest of small scraps of fur or plants that he'd managed to reach from small cracks in the rocks. Acnologia wasn't in the cave, having gone off on one of his flights, leaving Gajeel alone in the cave. Which would have been a perfect chance for him to escape if not for the chain made of his own scales preventing him from even reaching the cave entrance. He lifted up his left wing, wincing at the loud crack it made once stretched.

"When do you think he'll be back" Carla, who was curled up in the pile that was Natsu's scarf squeaked. Once Acnologia had begun training him daily -only getting breaks when he went off- until all his muscles hurt and he felt ready to collapse -and even then he'd still be forced to continue training until the sun was setting- he'd realised that having Carla hide on him would no longer work. His hair was still too short for her to hide in and Acnologia hit him all over constantly. So instead he'd used the scarf to hide her. She was small enough that she could be completely smothered in the scarf and her white fur blended in well with the scarf. Her scent was masked by the dragon scent that clung to the scarf. Gajeel looked at the cave mouth, watching the rain that smacked the rock and the dark clouds that hid the sun.

"I don't know" he mumbled, his tail tip twitching.

"Do you smell him?" he shook his head. He couldn't really smell much with the rain dampening scents even if he was nearby. Carla summouned her wings and flew over to the little bowl in the corner.

"I'll be back" she promised before flying out into the rain. Gajeel looked down towards the scarf, placing one clawed hand on it. It was still stained red with his blood from when it had been wrapped around his wound. He had no access to any form of water to clean it. Hell, he hadn't been able to clean himself in months. Any water he was given had been limited to drinks and most of those were given to Carla. Acnologia didn't care what happened to her so he never gave her anything to eat or drink but he did provide Gajeel with those needs. So he gave up most of his food and water so Carla would be alright. He'd dragged her into this situation so if anything happened to her, he knew it would be his fault. Just like everyone else. Carla flew back in, placing the small bowl on the ground before dropping down to the ground herself.

"I had a drink at the stream" she informed him in her stricter tone. It was her way of telling him to drink. She never fought him when she was given his meals or drinks. She knew why he did it just as much. He picked the bowl up with both hands and drank from it, tilting his head right back.

"Thanks" his voice was low, quiet but Carla heard him anyway. She stood up and walked over to the scarf where she snuggled up again. She had taken off her clothes a couple months back after she was almost eaten whole by Acnologia when Gajeel had slipped up. He'd ended up with several bruises down his spine for biting onto Acnologia finger to get him to drop her. Carla had apologised to him afterwards to which Gajeel told her not to. Now they both agreed she was a lot less noticeable in the scarf with just her fur. Acnologia knew she was still here but they were both cautious when hiding now.

A crash of thunder filled the cave. Gajeel's fur pricked. He'd forgotten how loud thunder sounded in a cave. He settled down on his stomach, wrapping his body around Carla. She curled up herself, white tail tucked over her nose. Gajeel took a deep breath then closed his eyes. It was one of the only things he could do.

Chapter Text

The branch fell heavily on Gajeel's back. He winced, digging nails into the grass. His vision swam, black spots dotting the corners of his vision. The flames licked at his back, burning his skin as he winced. The ground vibrated as something approached him. Several somethings. He could just barely make out the sound of someone speaking but not what they were saying. The weight on his back was lifted soon after. He stumbled onto his knees, wincing at how his burnt skin stretched. A mess of pink filled his vision where the black spots were and his nose filling with the scent of smoke and dragon. Hands wrapped around his neck, holding him close while a soft yet cold feeling tickled his back where the smell of burnt skin was. He blinked a few times, clearing the black spots as best he could. The tickling stopped and he was released from the grip. He was met with Natsu, his mouth in a frown the iron slayer wasn't used to seeing on the boy. He had seen his grin and even his pout but not this. It was that same look Metalicana gave him after he trained really hard with his mate.

"Are you alright?" he could make out what the other slayer was saying now, the white noise in his ears subsiding. He looked around. All 4 of them were still there. They hadn't fled back to their dragons the moment he was knocked down. 

"I'm fine. Why are you still here?" His throat ached from the smoke, making it sound like he was chewing gravel. The short black haired boy was wringing the bottom of his shirt between his hands, not looking at him.

"You were hurt. It wouldn't be right to leave you" he squeaked out. Another roar broke through the sky, a different one than he'd heard the first time. They had to keep moving. He stumbled to his feet. His ankle ached but he could handle it. He started limping in the direction he'd been heading in the first place. The rest of the slayers followed without much resistance or even any words exchanged. Gajeel stopped in front of a small cave. A dragon wouldn't fit inside but they could. It was the perfect defence. He looked over his shoulder. The three younger slayers were starting to stumble, clearly being overcome by exhaustion. He nodded his head to the entrance then entered himself. There was nothing comfortable for the younglings to lie down on that would be comfortable but there was risk that they'd be caught if they tried to find anything. Gajeel didn't want to be caught by Rowan. He was scary when angry. The younger slayers picked up on this fact to because they just settled down on the rock face below them. Another roar echoed through the tiny cave and the three youngling were pressed up against him, all three keeping their heads in his lap. He looked down, hands held up. He wasn't sure what to do. Natsu stepped in and instantly flopped onto the ground, tips of his scarf fluttering. He didn't say anything. Just sat with his legs and arms crossed. Another roar filled the silence. Gajeel turned to the small entrance. The younglings breathing was starting to even out. He turned to look. All three had fallen asleep, curling up close to him for protection. He turned back to the entrance, running his chipped nails up and down his forearm where he could feel pressure underneath. It was silent for a few more seconds.

"Why did you help me?" He finally spoke up. Natsu blinked once then looked down at his feet. 

"I mean, You don't exactly like me. I never talk to you or anythin'. You could have just ran back to your dragons and left me" he added, looking down at the three younglings. 

"We don't hate you. Raios always looks forward to seeing you at the lessons. But you ignore us. Doesn't it get lonely?" Gajeel was taken off guard. It was true, he did ignore them. He saw how Raios and even Wendy always tried to talk to him and he just brushed them off. 

"You wouldn't get it" he grumbled, focusing on a rock on the ground. 

"Get what? Being lonely" he tilted his head. Gajeel crossed his arms.

"No" he hesitated. "I don't know. Its.." he tried to find a word to describe it but anything he thought of died on his tongue. He opted to stare at the ground instead. Fabric rubbing against skin caught his attention as Natsu moved and plopped himself down right next to Gajeel. His head dropped onto the iron slayer's shoulder, pink hair tickling his neck.

"What are you doing?" any bite he had intended in his voice, died before it left his mouth and instead he was left with nothing but a whimper. 

"You seemed cold" he mumbled through a large yawn. Gajeel didn't answer, just stared forward at the same rock he'd been fixated on.

 

The chill of winter left an unsettling feeling under Gajeel's scales. Acnologia was out again, hunting for food. The dragon had been hibernating until he took notice to the lack of food in the cave and with Gajeel still chained to the wall, preventing him from hunting himself, he'd gone out to get food. He leaned his head down on the ground, a strangled whine escaping his lips. Carla poked her head out from under his wing, ear twitching.

"Everything alright?" she asked, looking up at him. He didn't answer, only stared, the glow of the crystals illuminating the cavern and casting long, dark shadows across the walls. He didn't need to say anything for the little exceed to understand. His ears pricked up when he heard footsteps. Acnologia must have returned. Carla ducked down under his wing to hide. He closed his eyes, pretending that he was asleep until a smell hit him. He sat up with speed, staring at the tunnel that led out. The smell of death washed over him, faintly mixed with a scent he'd caught on Natsu many a time. He scrambled onto his hands and foot and dipped back behind the rocks placement that Gajeel considered some kind of throne. The footsteps stopped in the cavern. He tried to calm his breathing and poked his head around the side just enough to get a look. He let out an unplanned yelp and ducked back, hands smacked across his mouth. Black hair and a matching robe. He'd seen the guy before but couldn't place a name. The footsteps started again and they were coming straight for him. He curled his body in close, his spines peircing through his back. He could practically taste the death stench when he looked up into dark eyes. They were wide, staring down at him. His heart was hammering like a jack rabbit. He was surely going to die here.

"You shouldn't be here" he stared up. The man didn't move. Just stared at him. He first looked at his face, examining each cut, bruise and dirt smudge, then up the the golden band that linked around his head, a gem swirling silver and red sitting a top. Then his eyes flicked down, examining each feature individually until it landed on the chain clasped around the ankle of his remaining foot. 

"He's keeping you here" there was no question, only a statement. Gajeel didn't respond, only stared wide eyed. The magic power coming off him was immense. It could rival Acnologia and yet, he wasn't attacking him. The slayer was open to anything this man could do and he just stared. Gajeel stepped back once, keeping his back arched. Magic began swirling around the man's hand and the slayer prepared to be hit. To be destroyed in one blow. His eyes squeezed shut to brace himself but the hit never came. Instead the crack of metal filled his ears. He turned. The chain had been snapped in half. He looked back to the man.

"I knew something was off when I sensed more than one magic signature from here. I should have come sooner but yours was overshadowed by his. Get out of here before he comes back. For everyone's sake" before Gajeel could question him any further, the man turned around and was walking away. Gajeel hesitated to move, unsure what his next move would be. He could feel Carla squirming next to him and a strong dragon scent was getting closer. He had to move now. He scooped up the scarf, handing it to Carla who gribbed it tightly in her paws and stumbled down the tunnel. The sun hurt his eyes when he reached the mouth of the cage to the point he had to squint. He hadn't seen the sun in so long, it almost felt like his skin was burning. He looked around. The cave was perched up high on a cliff with nothing but the pathway as a way down. He lifted his wing and turned to Carla.

"I'm gonna need your help" she nodded, summoning her wings with the scarf still clutched in her paws. She reached out to hand it to him when something smacked her away. She rolled along the path, stopping in a pile of dust. Gajeel pushed himself to stand fully, looking up above where Acnologia stared down at him, sharp fangs exposed in a snarl. Gajeel stumbled back slightly, struggling to stay standing.

"Get back inside" Acnologia snarled, his wings spreading out possibly as an intimdation tactic. It was defeintly working, Gajeel could feel every scale in his body clinking with how he was shaking. When the slayer didn't move like he'd been told, Acnologia let out a loud roar, shaking the rocks they stood on. He swipped at Gajeel, sharp talons ready to grab him. Gajeel attempted to dodge but he was knocked off balance and stumbled, the claws digging into his skin. He stumbled back, rocks getting under his feet until slipped back. He reached out his claws, digging them into the rock ledge. He hung from the edge, blood pooling down from his stomach and claws threatening to break. He kicked his legs wildly, trying desperately to get a hold of something. The rock was crumbling and a couple of his nails snapped. The rock didn't have enough places for him to hold on to. Acnologia dropped down onto the ledge in his human form, eyes wide as he stepped forward. He had every intention of grabbing onto Gajeel and pulling him back into that cave where he might spend the rest of his life. He didn't want to go back there. He wanted to go home, see Scales and Totomaru. Perhaps the rest of the guild would actually be there and he'd been lied to. Gajeel took a deep breath and let go of the rock. His head hit a couple rocks on the way down until he tumbled down a slope and finally stopped on flat ground. His stomach ached, blood pooling onto the ground below him. His gaze wavered, objects blurring together into nothing but colours. His ears were ringing, just barely catching the cry next to him. He couldn't make out what was being said but he could feel soft paws on his muzzle just before he fell to the darkness.

Chapter Text

The roars had long since faded from the iron slayer's ears but he still refused to close his eyes. The three younglings were still asleep, curled up next to him. Natsu had fallen asleep himself, head still rested on Gajeel's shoulder. He turned to the small cave entrance, watching the shadows as they stretched further across the ground. Metalicana would come find them. He just had to stay put and let them follow his scent. His head drooped forward, eyes half-lidded.

"I caught a fresh trail" he snapped his eyes open. Someone was there. He shifted where he was sat. A small part of his mind was screaming at him, demanding he protect. Deciding that small part was correct, he moved Natsu's head onto the ground. Once he was sure the fire slayer hadn't woken, he gently shifted from under the three smaller slayers. He stepped in front of all of them, silver scales crawling up his arms. He kept his feet far apart so that he'd be anchored further and flexed his fingers, scales clinking gently. What little light Gajeel could see outside disappeared in darkness and dragon flooded his nose. If his heart was thudding any harder then he was sure it would have broken his ribs. A dragon looked down into the cave. Igneel. He knew those red and beige scales. Not nearly as well as the metal ones of his own dragon of course but he knew them. Igneel's eyes flicked from him to the slayers behind him. The dragon pulled back from the cave, a roar erupting from his jaws. Gajeel instantly scrambled back, pushing himself into the darkest corner of the cave. 

"What's going on?" Natsu asked through a large yawn, rubbing one eye with his hand. The others had also begun to stir, making comments of their own about them still being tired or asking what they had heard. Natsu straightened after taking a sniff of the air. 

"Igneel!" the fire slayer sprang to his feet and ran out of the cave to greet his father. Sting followed after him, crying something about Weisslogia. Wendy and Raios were a little more hesitant. They stayed in their spots, looking at the entrance then over to him. He only pressed against the rock harder. 

"Wendy" Grandeeney called from outside the cave. At the sound of her mother's voice, the young girl got to her feet and ran out into the open. Only Raios remained with Gajeel. He took one step forward then turned back to Gajeel. His eyes didn't convey anything. Not that he could understand anyway. The shadow slayer sniffed the air and turned to the mouth. He stepped further until he was standing halfway out the small cave. He looked back to Gajeel. A black scaled claw reached out and picked him up. He could hear talking, the slayers happily chatting away and the dragons muttering between themselves. The clink of metal hit his ears before he saw Metalicana at the mouth, staring in at him.

"Gajeel" his voice was rough and demanding. He stayed put, just staring at him.

"You can come out now" Metalicana softened his voice, looking at the boy. He shook his head, hiding his face in his knees. 

"Its not safe for you to stay here. Just come out and we'll get all of you somewhere safer" Gajeel shook his head again. He didn't want to go. Metalicana always said that he'd get him somewhere safe and he never did. He didn't want to go outside. Especially after the roar he'd heard Igneel make. He'd heard that kind of roar before. It always sounded when Rowan was angry. 

"Gajeel. I'm not going to ask again. Come out" Gajeel flinched at the thud from his dragon's tail and the strict tone in his voice. He clutched at his legs tighter and shook his head into his knees.

"Don't be mean. Gajeel is hurting" He recognised the voice as Wendy's, her voice wavering with the tears and her hiccups. Metalicana turned his head away to look at the slayers outside. He heard more talking before one of Metalicana's claws reached in. He looked at it for a moment. His dragon hadn't moved to grab him, just waited for him to move on his own. He shifted onto his feet and climbed onto the large claw, sinking his fingers into his shirt. Metalicana brought him out into the open, holding him close.

"Don't worry. You're safe now"

 

The first thing that Gajeel heard after what felt like an eternity in the darkness was voices. He didn't recognise any of them and couldn't understand what was being said but they were definitely voices. He leaned towards it, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. He cracked is eyelids opening, flinching at the bright white light above him. He blinked a few times, trying to orientate himself. The first thing he noticed was the fuzzy feeling in his mouth. 

'Did I eat a shit ton of cotton or somethin' he opened his mouth to try and cough whatever was in his mouth out but nothing happened. He looked around, expecting to see the cave walls around him. Instead of dull greys, everything was a bright white. He shifted his body so that he could sit up and yelped when searing hot pain burst through the right side of his chest. 

"Gajeel" someone called his name, leaning close into his neck. He tried to pick up the scent of the one next to him but too much came in at once. Ignoring the pain it brought, he promptly turned onto his side and attempted to throw up on the ground. However, upon this attempt, he had realised that the contents of his stomach were null and void. All he gained was a strained throat and stomach acid dribbling out his parted jaws. He groaned, his stomach feeling about ready to up and die when a hand tapped him on the shoulder. He snapped his head around and snarled. Or tried to at least. It came out more like a pathetic whine which would not boost his defence in any capacity. A man stepped back. He adjusted the square frames on his face, clutching a clipboard in his pale hand. He opened his mouth and began speaking. Gajeel assumed it was towards him but he had no idea what the guy was saying. It definetly wasn't from lack of trying, he'd defiantly heard his name said earlier just fine and he was hearing the guy. It was just that every word he said didn't match up with any Gajeel knew. They didn't sound Fioren and they didn't match up with his knowledge on dragonic either and he could easily rule out Fioren Sign language since the guy wasn't even moving his hands as he spoke. The man halted whatever speech he'd been telling him once he'd looked at the slayer's face. He turned to the man beside him. He said something to the man who nodded and walked towards the door of the room they were in. 

"Dammit" Gajeel grumbled, reaching up to his head which had a dull ache at the side. He froze when his hands brushed against the base of his head. He reached up his other hand, patting against the other side. He let out a short puff through his nose. He couldn't feel his hair. Well, he could but only the barest of fuzz that poked up from his scalp that wasn't covered by the bandages. Where had all his hair gone? He could swear it was at least at his shoulders from what he could remember. 

"They shaved it" he turned to his side. Carla was sat next to him, a bandage wrapped tightly around her tail tip and a plaster covering what he could only guess was a cut or scrape on her left cheek. Her right arm was wrapped in a cast, a sling holding it against her chest.

"What?" his voice sounded flat, void of any emotion he thought it would hold.

"I'm not sure for the exact reason but based on my knowledge I'd say it was a mix of them not being able to get to the wound on your head and just how filthy and tangled it was" she looked at him, chocolate eyes round and full of concern.

"Where are we?"

"A hospital. I don't know what city or even what country this is. You were bleeding out so I just brought you to the nearest town" He stared, giving a single nod. They wouldn't need to worry. If this was a hospital then they'd probably already checked his ID for identification. Gajeel blinked. Wait. No. He didn't have his wallet on him. He'd left it in Laxus' house because why in every god he knew's name would he need his wallet for the S-class trial. Apparently he didn't think about being abducted by his own father and then being hospitalised in gods know where as a possible outcome. Of course he didn't. Why would he? It was one of the most absurd things he could think of. Now he was stuck in a foreign country with no way of communicating with anyone here about where he came from.

"Can you understand them?" Carla shook her head.

"I don't recognise the language. I tried to explain to them where we were from but I don't think they speak Fioren either" Gajeel sighed.

"Of course they don't because why would getting back to the guild be any easier now" he snapped, raising his hands up. He instantly winced when pain shot through his stomach and chest.

"Careful. I've already spent enough time worrying about if you were going to make it and when you'd wake up. Don't open your wound back up" she hissed, flicking her tail only to wince herself.

"What happened to you anyway?" he looked at the plaster on her face intently.

"I broke my arm and scratched up my face when I got thrown back" Gajeel looked to the exceed's tail.

"And that?" 

"Acnologia bit me when I was trying to get away. He got a chunk of my tail before I managed to activate my extreme speed" she huffed. Gajeel simply nodded. The door to the room opened again and a new person walked in. She had her golden hair tied up in a bun, two pens stuck in her hair. She gave him a closed mouth smile, the freckles on her cheeks shifting with her mouth. He blinked, his tail flicking once. She turned to the man who had remained in the room and the two talked briefly before she turned to him. He looked to Carla who flicked one hand at him.

"Ummm. Hi?" her eyebrows knitted in concentration as she processed what he had said. 

"Do I have it right that you speak Fioren?" He blinked.

"You speak Fioren?" his eyes were staring at her. He hadn't expected someone to actually speak Fioren after the doctor couldn't understand him.

"I know a number of the languages throughout Ishgar" she dipped her head slightly then looked towards him.

"You're quite far from your home. Given your state I doubt you are merely a tourist" He shook his head. 

"I need to get back to Fiore. There will be people waiting for me to return" he'd rather avoid the topic of him being abducted. By his father no less. It was already going to be an awkward conversation if they asked what he was and he had no knowledge of Acnologia's status in other countries around Ishgar. He could be forgotten, merely a tale that you might tell your kids or he might be more renowned. He didn't want to test his luck, especially in his current state. The woman turned to the doctor and started speaking to him. He shook his head and started speaking to her. When he'd finished, she turned to him.

"I'm afraid that won't be happening anytime soon. According to Dr. Taran, you have broken several of your ribs, suffered a serious blow to the head and had your stomach ripped open. You really shouldn't be moving around too much incase you burst your stitches" She was clearly translating a rough version of what the doctor had said to her.

"When will I be allowed to leave?" he grumbled, flicking his tail once more while his claws sunk into the thin blanket on the hospital bed. She turned once again to the doctor, the two talked back and forth before she returned her gaze to his.

"We won't be able to give you an estimated date until that time comes. Until then you have to stay here. But when you are free to go, we will provide you with the money you need to return back to Fiore" she gave him another closed mouth smile. He huffed, crossing his arms only to wince when he pressed against his ribs. Carla looked down at the mattress, her ears bent down. The doctor dipped his head to the two of them before turning and leaving the room they were forced to stay in. The woman followed, leaving him in the room with just Carla.

"I can't believe this. I finally get out of that god forsaken chain and now I'm stuck in another hellhole" he growls.

"Don't be so angry. We got away. Isn't that what matters. A few months longer won't kill us" Carla snapped, huffing out a breath.

"Yeah. Only a few more months of the guild thinkin we're dead" he flopped back on the bed and groaned at the pain it brought. Carla sighed and shook her head.

"I get it. I want to go back to Fiore as much as you do but if waiting a little longer means we get back in mostly one piece then its worth the wait" Gajeel closed his eyes for a few seconds then turned to look at Carla.

"I guess yer right" he sighed, staring up at the white ceiling.

"Honestly thought I'd be stuck there forever. Or for however long it took for me to go mad. That's probably what that old bastard wanted. For me to go mad so that I'd be like him" he sighed. His ear flicked.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get to you quick enough. Acnologia wouldn't have taken you if I'd just been faster" Carla looked to her feet. Gajeel lifted his arm up, wincing as he placed his hand on Carla's head, rubbing the fur. She looked up at him. 

"Ain't nothin' you gotta be sorry for. Probably woulda lost my mind by now if ya hadn't been there to keep me grounded" Carla dipped her head down, curling up against his neck.

"Thanks for protecting me" she mumbled, her voice muffled by her face pressing into her own fur. Gajeel huffed a laugh. 

"Ya woulda done the same thing" a yawn stretched through his jaws, his eyes drooping. He closed his eyes, drifting off into a dream filled sleep.

Chapter Text

Gajeel stared up at the ceiling, eyes shifting around. They first focused on the yellowing stain to the right before switching focus to the crack forming in the paint in the furthest left corner.

"Are you counting each speck of dust on the ceiling again?" Carla huffed next to him. He turned his gaze to the side, looking at the partially curled up feline on his pillow.

"I'm not counting the dust" his tail flicked in irritation before falling limp off the bed frame once more. Carla lifted her head, meeting his eyes before placing her uninjured paw on his shoulder. He looked down at it, her usually bright white fur, dull with dirt.

"I just want to get back to Fiore. This place is driving me mad" he groaned, placing both hands to his face. His fingers brushed against the fuzz decorating the crown of his head. The door creaked open, drawing the attention of both mages. Dr Taran stepped in with the interpreter close on his heels. She had a closed mouthed smile spread across her lips as she stepped forward, something held tightly to her chest.

"I have good news." Gajeel's ears twisted upward while he leaned on his elbows to get a better look at the interpreter.

"All your scans have come back and you are making good progress with your recovery. Dr Taran has decided that you will be free to leave today once the paperwork has been filled out" Gajeel shot up in the bed, claws curling into the mattress and tail waving back and forth.

"You will still need to be careful and you should have regular check-ups with your local doctor once you return to Fiore. You'll be given some medication and instructions for how to go about the rest of your recovery once everything is finalised" Gajeel turned to meet Carla's gaze, his eyes shining a bright ruby. Carla's lips split open in a tooth filled grin, her tail curling close to her body. Gajeel leaned forward, picking the small exceed up in his arms and holding her close.

"We'll leave you to gather your things" she dipped her body down before placing what Gajeel could now decern as clothes on the bed. She then turned to leave. Dr Taran nodded his head once before following out the room. Gajeel stared at the closed door. His gaze was snapped away when fur tickled his arms. He looked down to see that the exceed was squirming her way out of his arms. He loosed them, allowing her to free herself. Her wings fluttered into existence with a flutter as she landed on her paws gracefully.

"What are ya doin'" Gajeel tilted his head, watching her open the door to the little cabinet next to his designated bed.

"We were told to gather our things" she pulled out two objects from the cabinet. The first he recognised in a second.

"Natsu's scarf" he barely even heard his own voice.

"I-I thought I'd lost it" he managed to sound louder but his voice still cracked. He blinked once, trying to rid himself of the dampness. Carla shook her head, holding the scarf up to him.

"I used it to stop the bleeding before we arrived here. It'll need a wash once we get back but its still in one piece" Gajeel picked it up with his tail and brought it to sit in his lap. The scales were coated with a dark crimson, the blood crusted over from time. Carla reached into the cabinet again and pulled out something gold. He looked closer. A thin tiara. It looked like gold but the smell was clearly iron. The tiara itself had a clasp at the back while two dragons curled themselfs around the gem in the middle.

"What-"

"Its yours. They had to take it off when they were treating your head wound and I think one of the nurses might have been trying to steal it so I kept it hidden" she flew up to him, holding it out to him. He reached out, fingers brushing the metal. The moment his nail clinked against the tiara, a jolt shot up his back making him quiver.

"What's wrong?" Carla looked him over, seemingly looking for injury.

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine" he took the tiara and fastened it onto his head. He turned to look at the neatly folded clothes beside him. He took a glance to Carla who got the hint and turned her back towards him. He reached behind his neck, untying the trails that kept his hospital gown attached to his body. Once they had been undone, he pulled the gone off his arms, letting it fall to the floor with a muffled flop. Now that Gajeel wasn't wearing the gone anymore, he could a clear view of the extent of the damage he'd received. His body was still littered with bruises from the training and every time Acnologia hit him outside of it. There was some fading bruises peaking out from under the bandages that wrapped tightly around his ribs. He reached down to the bandages surrounding his stomach. He could see the tiniest bit of scared tissue peaking out from above the bandages. He did little but grunt before reaching for the clothes.

"You alright?" Carla called over her shoulder but didn't turn around.

"Yeah. I'm fine" he pulled the top on first which came up a little short on him, exposing a sliver of his stomach and the bandages that covered it. He pulled on the trousers next which had a similar problem with them cutting off a few metres off from his ankles. Gajeel raised a studded brow.

"I think they gave me the wrong size of clothes" he looked to Carla. She looked over her shoulder to look him over. His wings were tucked under the shirt as there had been no spot to pull them through however they trousers had been modified to fit around his tail. Gajeel himself was slouched over slightly, holding onto the end of the bed so he wouldn't lose his balance.

"I imagine it was quite hard to find clothes that would fit on such short notice" she offered.

"I know I'm tall but I'm not that tall. There are plenty of clothes made for people at 6ft. Hell I ain't even that big. Sparky is bigger than I am" Carla stared at him, ears falling down slightly.

"Maybe you should look in the mirror" she offered. He tilted his head but turned to look towards the mirror. The mirror that was too short to show his full length.

"What-?" He blinked, sitting down on the bed. His eyes never left the mirror. He first fixated on the fuzz on his head. He had known about his lack of hair for a while now but the grey patches were what caught his attention. Next he looked to his face. Although nothing had changed where he didn't recognise it, there was still some changes. His skin was considerably pale, clearly starved for sunlight after how ever many months he'd spent inside that cave. His eyes were sunken, dark rings circling around them. His cheekbones jut out, almost as sharp as his claws. He reached up, running one hand across one cheek. His breath hitched when he felt it.

"I look" he trailed off, staring down at the floor where his foot would have been.

"Stressed?"

"Old" he reached up to run his hands through his hair only to pull them back after they didn't brush any. Carla flew over to him, sitting down in his lap.

"You don't look old. Most of this will go away with some proper rest and recovery" she patted his arm. He snorted.

"Don't think these" he gestured to his cheekbones pointedly.

"Are gonna go away when I'm restricted to the bare minimum of food till my stomach heals more. I swear they're tryin to starve me" Carla hit his arm lightly. The door opened once more and Dr Taran walked in, a pair of crutches held in one hand and a small leather bag that smelled heavily of medicine in the other. He stopped in front of Gajeel, holding out the crutches. Gajeel blinked once before taking them. He leant them against the bed for a moment, reaching for the pair of socks followed by the boots they'd handed him. He slipped one on then reached for the thick coat that he slipped on and wrapped Natsu's scarf around his neck. Carla too had been provided with a coat, one that looked similar to a child's although she didn't complain as she slipped it on. Gajeel slipped one arm through the loop of the right crutch then clutched onto the handle. He copied the action with his left. Once he was sure he had both on correctly, he pressed the ends to the ground and pushed himself off the bed. He wavered for a second but caught his balance. The doctor handed him the bag. Carla -who had flown onto his shoulder- took the bag in her good arm. The doctor turned and walked out the door. Gajeel followed at a much slower pace, his legs shaky from lack of use. When he reached the door, his head knocked into the top of the door frame. He groaned and ducked down.

"Careful. I don't think most doorframes are equipped for your height" Carla advised him. He nodded, still continuing to follow Dr Taran. The doctor stopped at the end of the corridor and looked to Gajeel. He nodded his head. Gajeel nodded back as a thanks before he continued to the doors. He stopped just before he reached them. Carla turned her head to look at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked. He shook his head.

"Sorry. Just nervous" he admitted although his voice was barely above a breath. He stepped forward and the doors opened to his presence. He stepped outside, preparing himself for what he'd find.

Chapter Text

Snow flurried up around Gajeel's boot with every step he took. Despite the thick coat and the scarf he was still feeling the cold setting deep into his bones.

"Think a boat'll get us back?" he was hesitant to rely on that fact. He hadn't seen the water's edge yet and there was no way of knowing how the water was affected by this cold.

"It better. I'm freezing up here" Carla had snuggled up into his neck, trying to garner some heat from him. 

"Sorry if I ain't that warm" he doubted his scales could transfer heat like his skin could and his body was a mismatch of skin and scales. Carla shook her head into his neck but didn't answer. He huffed, his breath coming out in a white cloud for a few seconds before disappearing once it had acclimated to the surrounding temperatures. He looked around the streets while he walked. Most people ignored him, walking past or just standing around doing things. Some were rude enough to knock into him when they passed but never said anything. The only one who had was the teenager who'd knocked him with a snicker. He'd shut the brat up with a growl that had him fleeing the street at the speed of a rabbit. The snow made things difficult with the crutches, especially with black ice hiding underneath. The last thing he needed right now was to slip and end up collapsed in a flurry of snow. He'd just end up colder. He pricked his ears when the fresh goods and smoke smell started being replaced with the salty air that always surrounded the outskirts of Hargeon. He must be nearing the docks. His stomach did a flip but he kept at the same pace as to keep himself steady. He rounded another building and was faced with the towering boxes and strong winds that he associated with docks. 

"Check it out" Carla lifted her head to look.

"The docks" her breath came out with a slight whine as she leaned back into his neck. He walked past rows of crates until he found the dock that led down past the ticket booths. He stepped up to one. A young man sat inside, his eyes half lidded and check pressed into his hand.

"How can I help you sir?" he asked, moving his dull eyes up to meet Gajeel's. Gajeel blinked then swallowed. Why was it so hard to just talk to people? He'd done it just fine for years. Surely a few months of isolation didn't mess him up that bad. 

"Uh. Do you have anything that's heading to Fiore?" the man blinked once before tilting his head over to the wall in his booth ever so slowly. 

"The next ship leaving for Fiore is at 7:30" he drawled and Gajeel could swear he was chewing something from the noises coming from his mouth. He twitched his ear, tightening the grip on his crutches.

"Great but how long is that? How long do I have to wait" he grumbled. 

"Don't you have a watch? All old men have them don't they" a snarl left Gajeel's lips. He slammed one hand down on the counter, claws digging into the wood.

"I'm not old. I'm fucking 19. Now either tell me how long I have to wait for that boat or I'm getting someone else" he snapped. Carla lifted her head, the fur tickling at his neck for just a second. The man sat up straight, staring up at Gajeel with wide eyes. He turned to look at a clock that must have been hidden against the wall that faced Gajeel.

"T-two hours sir" the guy gave Gajeel a wobbly smile. He reached for the bag that had since been strapped over his shoulder and pulled out the pouch that had money inside. He dumped enough for his tickets on the counter.

"I want 2 tickets for that boat" the money was pulled under the glass and counted out. Once it had been counted, two tickets were pushed over to him. He snatched them and turned away from the counter so he could look at them. He turned to Carla.

"Anywhere you wanna go while we wait for that boat?" he asked. The cold air was biting at the tips of his ears and fins now and he desperately wanted to be somewhere warm now. 

"Maybe there's a café that's open" Gajeel looked around. His eyes landed on a small coffee shop just a little off from the dock. That was the perfect spot. They'd both get to be warm and they'd see when the boat was ready to be boarded. He shoved the tickets into his bag and approached the shop. The sign was still flipped to open although it looked desolate inside. Carla summoned her wings and pushed the door open, holding it there until he entered.

The door swung shut, hitting a bell on its way and sending it into a chorus of rings. A head popped up, the dark frizzy hair bouncing with it. She spoke but whatever she said, he didn't quite grasp. Right, most people didn't speak Fioren here. The guy at the ticket stand made sense since he would be dealing with tourists although his pronunciation wasn't the best he'd heard. He opened his mouth to say something then snapped it shut. The woman seemed to realise something as she started grabbing stuff and laying it on the counter. Gajeel approached, taking in a breath. He could smell a bunch of different teas. 

"You got any preference?" he turned to Carla.

"A small peppermint tea would be nice" she mumbled into the scarf. Gajeel picked up one packet. He couldn't read what it said so he just sniffed it instead. It took a few seconds for him to distinguish the smell as Jasmin. He pushed the box away and picked another. This time he wasn't quite sure what it was. He'd never really bothered that much with tea. It definitely wasn't peppermint though. He pushed that to the side and picked up another box. His ears pricked. Now that was peppermint. He held out the box to the woman behind the counter and nodded his head towards Carla. She picked up a menu and held it up for him. He looked. A picture menu. Pretty smart if she was getting customers from elsewhere in Ishgar. He looked at the pictures. There were different types of coffees which he passed. He'd rather do his best to fall asleep on the journey back to Fiore than be sat awake because he drank coffee so late. He also wasn't interested in having some tea since most fancy teas tended to make him tired and he needed to keep his energy for that last trek to the boat once it arrived. He pointed to one of the only remaining hot drinks, a hot chocolate. The woman nodded and gave a wide smile. She typed in the price to the cash machine behind the till. He pulled out the money he'd need and put it down on the counter. She gave him a quick nod then gestured to the many empty tables. He turned and took a seat at a window seat, leaning back into the soft, plush chair. Carla sprouted wings and landed down on the table between the two seats. She promptly sat down.

"Its so cosy in here. I thought my ears would fall off from how cold they are" she reached up and rubbed at her left ear to warm it up. Gajeel huffed, slouching down a bit in the chair. His legs bumped against the table legs when he did so he had to adjust them so he'd have the room. He stared out the window, watching individual flakes of snow land on the ground and become one with the piles already there. 

A clank brought his attention from the window. Their drinks had been placed on the table. Carla reached out and picked up her cup, taking a slow sip from the tea. Gajeel picked up the tiny little teaspoon and used it to pick up the cream and marshmallows that sat atop his hot chocolate. A noise quite similar to a purr escaped his throat when the cream touched his tongue. Carla looked up at him and he quickly covered his mouth.

"Sorry. I guess having something sweet again after so long kinda got to me" he scratched at the scales cluttered on the back of his neck.

"It doesn't bother me. I'm enjoying having a nice tea again after so long" she held the cup to her lips again. They both drank in a calming silence for the rest of their time there, both just staring out the window. Gajeel jolted forward when he saw people starting to approach the boat that had just docked. He turned his head to look at the clock above the counter. 7:20. 

"Come on. The boat's here" he got to his foot, holding the crutches tightly as he staggered over to the door. Carla flew over to the door, opening it for them both. He threw a thanks over his shoulder at the woman and headed back down the dock. At the gate, he was asked for his ticket. He pulled both out of the back and handed them over. They were inspected closely. When the guy was sure they were fine, he handed them back over to him and let him board. He stumbled up the ramp and stepped onto the boat. The swaying made his stomach lurch slightly but he pushed it down. He needed to find somewhere to rest. He stumbled about the floor till he found a seat bolted down in one corner. He approached and almost instantly collapsed into it. He leaned the crutches into the side of the chair. His jaws parted in a large yawn, his tongue rolling as he did. Once he'd finished the yawn, he closed his eyes.

"Night Carla" he muttered through the haze of sleep as he drifted off into a calm, thoughtless sleep.

Chapter Text

Gajeel shot up in his seat, nearly flinging himself forward when he felt something warm pressing against his shoulder. His wing flew out to knock what had touched him away, ripping the clothes he was wearing around it in the process. His hand reaching up to scratch at the offending area that now felt too hot. A woman in some kind of uniform stepped back, holding her hand close as she stared at him.

"Sorry to startle you but we've arrived in Hargeon so unless you plan on buying another ticket, I can't let you stay here" she explained, still keeping her distance. Gajeel took a moment to breath, letting her words sink in. Hargeon. He was back in Hargeon. His ears pricked up.

"Right. Yes" he paused looking down at his hands as he ran words through his head to form a sentence.

 Give me a..." she nodded before he had finished speaking and turned around. She made her way down one hall of the boat, either to find other travellers who hadn't left the boat yet or to do a different task. He looked around for Carla who was stirring in his lap as she rubbed one eye with her paw. She looked up to him, blinking once, then sprouted her wings so she was floating above him. Now that his lap was free, he shifted around, reaching for the crutches that had collapsed inward and leaned against his legs. He slipped his arms through the loops and gripped the handles till he was sure the plastic would leave indents in his scales. He tried to stand up but between his stomach wishing to remove itself from his body, his longer stature and additional limbs it was proving difficult. He tried to push himself up only to stumble forward and smack his jaw off the little table in front of him and land on the floor with a heavy thump. He groaned, stomach just about screaming at him.

"Are you alright?" Carla floated inches above his head, brown eyes wide as she examined him.

"Dunno. Hurts" he mumbled, ears and fins pinned against his head. 

"I'll help you" Without waiting for him to respond, she hooked her paws on the coat he was wearing and lifted him up. She hovered slightly above the ground, allowing him to realign himself so he would be ready to stand. He shifted his arms so that the crutches would hold him up. Carla lowered him the few inches she'd held him above and let go. He stumbled a little but managed to hold himself up. Carla flew by his shoulder, her eyes constantly shifting to him. Another crew member was stood at the door of the boat. He looked towards Gajeel.

"Need help sir?" he asked, leaning forward. Gajeel shook his head, pressing his fins far against his head. The crew member stepped back, allowing him to pass. The sea air hit him with a force, sending a chill down his spine. Carla gripped onto her coat, pulling it tighter.

"I shouldn't be surprised that Fiore is just as cold" she muttered, breath forming a cloud in front of her. Gajeel kept walking down the ramp, hoping to avoid the crowd that was forming along the dock. 

"Just glad to see familiar territory again" he muttered, shifting past a woman with a large bag who shoved her way past. Carla hovered around his back, ready to catch him if he fell. He stayed steady, smacking his tail against the wooden boards. 

"At least pay attention" he grumbled, turning away from the boat to look down the dock. The city was bursting with life, people of all kinds walking by in varying speeds. Gajeel began the walk forward, doing his best to merge into the crowd. Several groups stopped to stare at him, watching him pass and whispering words with their companions or under their breath. Gajeel lowered his head, trying to at least make himself the same height as some of the people around him. It didn't make him any less noticeable though. At least it gave him an easy path to the train station. He approached the station, stepping to the back of the line. The kid in front of him looked down to the ground for a second. After he had analysed Gajeel's shadow, he turned to look over his shoulder. Gajeel stared at him, twitching his tail once. 

"Didn't your parents teach you its rude to stare" Carla chastised from beside him. Gajeel looked to the white cat who now had her arms crossed and ears pinned back. The boy squeaked and leaned into the person in front of him, holding onto their hand. Carla let out a little huff. The line continued to move forward till he was able to stand at the ticket booth. The woman looked up.

"Where are we heading today sir?" she asked with a bright smile. Gajeel took a deep breath, catching chicken and strawberries from the woman's scent.

"Two to Magnolia" he mumbled, sticking one hand into his pocket and fumbling about. He pulled out the jewel only for one coin to clink onto the ground.

"Shit" he muttered. Carla flew down, picking up the coin and handing it to him. He nodded to her and pushed the jewel under the plastic window. The lady took the money and ran some stuff through before pushing the change and the tickets back to him.

"Have a nice trip" she kept the large smile on her face while he turned to wait at the platform. The train took about 5 minutes to arrive. Five agonising minutes filled with people staring at him. Guess he should have expected as such. He probably looked like a homeless thug. Especially with his unshaven face and now torn clothes. The train screeched to a halt, letting out blasts of steam that warmed the air. Gajeel stayed to the side until he was sure everyone who was getting off at Hargeon were far enough away not to knock him off his feet. Once sure, he stepped onto the train, his stomach doing a flip when he felt the train jostle. He needed to find a seat before it started moving and he found himself on the floor. He made his way down the full seats, gaining several stares from every booth he passed. He lowered his head, fins pressed against his skull. One young lady looked up and made a startled noise before standing.

"Do you need a hand sir?" she asked, stepping back from her seat.

"You didn't-"

"Don't worry. You look like you need it more than me" she gave a small smile before turning and walking down the carriage, probably to find somewhere else to sit. With a heavy thud, Gajeel sat in the seat next to an older woman who kept looking at him. His crutch knocked into his leg when he sat down and his wings were cramped and pressed tightly against his back under the coat. He shifted a little in an attempt to get comfortable although it didn't do much. The train whistle blew, alerting those around that it would be setting out. The train's engine wheezed to a start and it quickly picked up its pace, leaving the station. Gajeel leaned forward, ears pointing down as his stomach was doing its own workout as the train travelled along the tracks. He set his jaw and groaned. He just had to handle this trip and they'd be back in Magnolia. Not long to go.

Chapter Text

 

After a quick stop at a store so Carla could get some fabric to cover up the rip in his clothes, they continued on their way to the guild. A few people stared at the two but stepped out of the way when he was near. It didn't take long for the gates of the guild hall to come into view. Gajeel picked up his pace, finally coming to stop in front of the large gates. Only for them to be locked up with chains. The hall itself was dull, paint worn thin and windows and door boarded up with thick wood that was rotting at the edges. The courtyard was a mess, the snow peaking out from under empty food packages and bin bags that reeked of mould and rot.

"What happened?" Carla scrunched her nose, holding one hand over her mouth. Gajeel sniffed the air, but all he got was the smell of everything behind the gates and the dragon smell from the scarf wrapped around his face.

"I can't find any scents" his ears twitched. Where had everyone gone. The guild couldn't have just disappeared. He scanned the gates, trying to find some kind of hint. He snapped his gaze on a piece of paper that was zip tied to the gates, the edges damaged from the snow. He approached it, ripping it off the fence and looking at it. Carla climbed over his shoulder to look herself. He scanned the paper, reading it aloud.

"Missing, Gajeel Redfox. If seen, please contact the Fairy tail guild" Below was a lacrima number and an address.

"They've been looking for you" Gajeel clutched the paper. He scanned the address over several times but he couldn't place where it was. He turned around, stopping a woman with her child.

"Do you know where this is?" He points to the address on the page.

"You're looking for the Fairy tail guild? Just head south from the city and up the hill. You'll find it there" she shrugged before continuing on her way. Gajeel turned to Carla but she just snuggled herself against his neck again. He let out a heavy breath, stuffing the paper in his back pocket before starting his walk towards the guild. They continued on out of town, crossing the little bridge that rose above the frozen river and continued towards the hill, passing the occasional house. The snow was picking up in intensity by the time he reached the top of the hill, a small building with a windmill perched on the top, the letters that named the guild hastily thrown together in a mess of green and red. He stepped forward, bringing his hand up to the door and knocking twice. No response.

"Maybe no one's home" Carla offered, lifting her head to look at him. Gajeel lowered the scarf from his nose and took in a deep breath. He caught several mingled scents along with a fire.

"Nah. Someone's here" he lifted his hand and knocked two more times. Finally the door creaked open, a girl with short purple hair peaked around the door.

"Can I help you?" she turns her head upward to meet his eyes. Gajeel opens his mouth then closes it, instead digging through his pocket and handing the paper to her. She accepted it, glancing at it once then turning to look at him again. She steps aside, opening the door further for him to enter. Gajeel steps inside, a content grumble escaping when he was met with the warmth of the building after spending so long in the snow. He stifles the urge to shake the snow from his head, instead watching the girl walk towards someone else. He stands up and approaches. Gajeel looks him over, not quite recognising the blue haired man. Then he gets a whiff of his scent.

"Macao?" he tilts his head slightly, snow slipping off his hair and falling to the floor in a mushy pile. Macao looks up, raising one eyebrow to look at him. Gajeel lifts one hand, fumbling with the scarf around his face until he could pull it all the way down where it was hanging around his neck.

"Its me" the tip of his tail flicks, having slipped out from the bottom of his coat. 

"No way"

"Is that-?"

"Gajeel!" he's knocked onto the ground by someone smacking into him, arms wrapped around him and a face buried into his chest. Carla now floated above him, watching with narrowed eyes and a twitch to her tail. Gajeel shifts so that he's leaning on his elbows and looks at who had tackled him. Totomaru sits back, strands of hair loose from its ponytail as it fell in his face. He's punched in the arm almost immediately after.

"What took you so long getting back? I was starting to think you weren't going to come back" a glisten to his eyes was the only hint Gajeel got that there was more to it than just him not coming back.

"Yeah yeah. I know I was gone for a few months but-"

"A few months. Gajeel, Its been 2 years" Jet, who had approached the two mages currently on the floor -along with other members of the guild- cut him off, his arms crossed and gaze dulled ever so slightly.

"Two years?" Carla squeaked, paws fiddling with the cuffs of her jacket. Gajeel blinked a few times. 

"I was gone for two years..... and you still looked for me?" he looked up at every member that had approached.

"The council caught the entire incident on one of the security cameras on their boat. A small zoom in revealed someone that had been grabbed by Acnologia. They brought the footage to us and Totomaru recognised you almost instantly" Wakaba held his cigar down as he spoke. Gajeel stared at the floor.

"No one else got out...... did they?" His voice had dropped to just the barest of audible whispers. 

"The entire island was destroyed. Not even a rock was left to show that Tenrou had once been there" Macao sighed, shaking his head. Totomaru stood up, holding one hand. 

"Come on. Let's get you out of all that before you overheat in here" Gajeel looked at his hand for a moment before taking it, leaning against Totomaru so he wouldn't fall over. He was led to a bench which he swapped to leaning on while he removed the coat. He sat down, lifting his tail so he wouldn't sit on it instead and letting his wings rest on the bench at his sides. The other members of the guild started congregating near him, chatting away about all kinds of things that had happened while he had been away. Carla settled down in his lap, having shed her own coat. Totomaru was closest to him, close enough to be leaning on his shoulder if not for the large wing that separated them. Gajeel twitched one ear and felt a smile break through. He looked to Carla who's eyes had slipped shut. 

"We're home"

Chapter 101

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Gajeel finished his soup, moving his hand onto the back of his chair to help himself up. Scales lifts his head to look. Totomaru beat him to it, grabbing the bowl alongside his own and taking it over to the sink.

"I coulda got it" Gajeel protests, still gripping onto the back of the chair. Totomaru glances over his shoulder, reaching forward to turn the tap on.

"Gajeel, you aren't able to support yourself without crutches and you want me to believe that you could wash the dishes"

"Of course I can. My foot's missin not my brain" he leans back in the chair crossing his arms.

"Are you sure you didn't lose your brain too?" Totomaru turns around, soap bubbles sticking to his hands.

"He got a concussion" Carla cuts in, taking a long sip from the herbal tea she had been made.

"What seriously? What else are you not telling me?" he shakes the bubbles from his hands and reaches to turn the tap off.

"Alright so I got a concussion....." he scoffs, shaking his head. Totomaru crosses his arms, raising one eyebrow.

"...And a few broken ribs.." Gajeel fiddles with his sleeve while Totomaru fixes him with a tough glare.

"....And a sliced open stomach" He mumbles, dropping his head to look at the floor. Totomaru is silent for a couple minutes, simply staring at Gajeel.

"Bed. Now" he demands, approaching Gajeel.

"What? I'm not takin yer bed" he protests. Totomaru grabs his wrist, pulling him out of the chair and leading the way to the bedroom. Gajeel didn't fight back, knowing that the moment he got his hand loose, he'd have his face in the carpet. Totomaru dragged him all the way to the bed, pushing him down to sit on it. He turned to leave the room, but was stopped when Gajeel grabbed his wrist, holding him in place. He turned around to look, facing Gajeel. He looked down at the dragon slayer's wrist then up at the dragon slayer again.

"Gaj-"

"I don't want to be alone tonight" He mumbled, flicking his eyes down as he shuffled his foot. Totomaru sighed but nodded, letting his wrist slip out of the other's silver scaled hand.

"Just let me get ready" Gajeel nodded, watching Totomaru retreat to the bathroom joined to his room. The door clicked shut and Gajeel was left in the room alone. He lay down, shifting to several positions to get comfortable. He finally settled for laying on his stomach, face buried in his pillow and one wing hanging off the side of the bed. His ears twitched when he heard the door to the bathroom squeak open again. Totomaru paused in the doorway before his footsteps started towards the bedroom door. The light flicked off, followed by the one in the hall. The feet shuffled closer before the bed dipped next to him and Totomaru had curled himself up under the covers on the other side of the bed. The room was silent, only broken by the breathing of both men. Gajeel lifted his head, resting it on the pillow so he was staring at the headboard.

"Totomaru?" he whispered, twitching his ear for even the slightest sound. No change.

"You.... You awake?" he mumbled. This time the bed creaked slightly.

"Yeah..... Why?" Gajeel fell silent, staring at each tiny groove in the wooden headboard. Totomaru shifted about again, now facing Gajeel instead of his back to him. Gajeel dropped his gaze downward.

"I...... met my dad...." he was still whispering. His chest clenched tightly, as if the concept of referring to Acnologia as his dad was the worst thing imaginable.

"Oh....... That's good right?" Totomaru was whispering himself, like he was afraid of waking someone even though the only other person in the house was Carla who had yet to enter the room. Gajeel stayed silent, claws picking at his scales with nothing else to distract himself with.

"I'm going to take that as a no" Totomaru had shifted again, now laying on his back. Gajeel swallowed down the lump in his throat.

"My dad is Acnologia" Totomaru rocketed up, flinging the covers off him as they landed on top of Gajeel. He pulled himself into the covers, wanting to hide from Totomaru's quizzical gaze. He was going to hate him. They'd no longer be friends. He'd kick him out of the house. Tell everyone in the guild and have them kick him out of there too. He placed his hands over his head, claws grazing fuzz.

"Damn" Gajeel blinked once then sat up.

"Damn? That's it? That's all you have to say? You... you aren't mad?" Gajeel was clutching the duvet now.

"Do you want me to be mad?" He stares down at the mattress and shakes his head.

"Why would I be mad anyway?"

"I'm the son of Acnologia. The person who killed all of our friends" his eyes were damp now and he couldn't stop the strain in his voice.

"Yeah. So what does that have to do with you?" Totomaru shrugged, crossing his legs into a basket. Gajeel opened his mouth to argue.

"You don't control who your parents are anymore than you control the colour of your hair. I'm not going to get mad at you for something that you didn't do" Gajeel blinked at him.

"Oh" he looked down at his hands, watching the tremor they had. He was pulled close into a hug, Totomaru's fingers trailing over the fading remains of a severe bruise he'd sustained from a training session with Acnologia. Despite the fading remains, it still ached to touch and Gajeel flinched upon the contact.

"Is that where you've been this whole time?" Gajeel nodded into Totomaru's shoulder, closing his eyes tightly to try and chase away the tears. Totomaru took a deep breath.

"Gajeel" He didn't continue until Gajeel looked up to face him, dark eyes on crimson.

"Promise me that you'll get help" Gajeel pulled back, fins pinning back against his head.

"Please" Gajeel dipped his head before nodding.

"Alright. I'll find somewhere once I'm healed better" he mumbles. He's pulled into another hug, this time Totomaru leaning into him.

"Thank you" he mumbles. Gajeel returns the hug, the two of them soon laying down. Gajeel listens as Totomaru's breathing evens out, a sure sigh that he'd fallen asleep. He closes his own eyes, allowing the weariness in his bones to set in and pull him into the dark.

Notes:

Gajeel actually talking to someone about his problems, what a surprise

Chapter 102

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"Still can't believe this is the first thing you want to do now that you're better" Totomaru scoffs with crossed arms. Gajeel looks towards him.

"Well dragons aren't exactly Intune with human ways of communication. For all I know, Eilian thought I just became one with the ground" he shrugged, fiddling with the zip on his jacket. His next step made him wince when he felt a slight ache coming from his leg where the prosthetic was connected. Totomaru takes note and stretches up his arms.

"Yeah, annoying isn't it" he chuckles, running his fingers over his prosthetic, the metal shimmering in the low light of the morning.

"Don't think I'll ever get used to that feeling" he mumbles, staring down although both his feet were hidden away in his boots now.

"But I'm glad to be back in my own clothes and feeling like myself again" he stretches out his arms, feathers on his wings twitching in anticipation for a stretch themselves. The two stop once they reach a cave hidden against the face of a mountain.

"Now I'm questioning how I never realised a dragon lived here until now" Totomaru shakes his head, falling behind Gajeel as he took the lead to the entrance. He stopped, placing one clawed hand on the rock at the entrance.

"Hello?" he called out. Only silence met the two.

"Maybe no one's home" The fire mage whispered, leaning in close to Gajeel. A set of golden eyes snapped open, low light reflecting in them. The air was still for a few heartbeats until a dragon began prowling forward, golden scales catching in the light while a snarl bubbled out of their jaws. Totomaru stepped back, fire dancing between his fingers in anticipation. Gajeel stepped between the two.

"Eilian. It's alright. He's my friend" Eilian snapped her gaze onto him before lifting herself up to tower over the two.

"Gajeel...... What are you- How are you-" she stopped, simply staring at the dragon slayer before lowering her head once more to sniff him. She stared at him, looking up and down as if trying to locate some sort of change.

"There's something I need to ask" Gajeel cuts in, staring into the dragon's eyes. Eilian tilts her head in question, pulling away from him slightly.

"Why.... Why didn't you tell me? That my dad is Acnologia I mean" Eilian's head snaps back as she stares at him. A wind surrounding her covered her transformation before two golden claws were placed on his shoulder.

"Where did you get this information?" she demands. Gajeel dips his head slightly.

"He told me-"

"Told you? What were you doing that close to Acnologia" she was yelling. Gajeel ducked back, pressing against Totomaru who clung onto Gajeel's arm as a form of comfort. Eilian stepped back and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry" Gajeel nods once.

"But my question still stands" She stepped closer now.

"I was kept in his cave. I got away because......" Gajeel's gaze flicked to Totomaru, debating if he should say.

"And you came here looking for answers" Eilian spoke, bringing the conversation forward. Gajeel's muscles relaxed.

"You knew. That's why you wanted to kill me. Not because I'm a half-breed but because I'm Acnologia's son" he looked down to his feet, taking note of how the fire mage's fingers curled tighter into his arm when he called himself a half-breed. Eilian dipped her head.

"Yes. That was the case. Acnologia attacked us not long before we all.... separated from you. He damaged the souls of my pack beyond repair. He's the one that took my horn. That cut my magic capacity in half. I spent years watching you, letting my anger build towards what he did and it broke" She kept her gaze fixed on him. Gajeel opened his mouth.

"Don't. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you. You don't have anything to do with his actions" Totomaru nudged him.

"Told you" The dragon slayer turned to look towards Eilian once more.

"What about my mother? What happened- Is she-" he stopped, unable to finish that sentance. Eilian gave him a confused look.

"You're mother? You don't have a mother" He stared at her.

"How can I not have-"

"Dragons can have children regardless of gender. Males are just as capable of laying eggs as females. It gets a little confusing when dragons mate with other creatures. I'll take you as this example. Since you are half human, you couldn't just simply hatch from an egg like baby dragons do. But dragons aren't capable of carrying children the same way humans can. So when a dragon and another creature mate, regardless of the gender, the non dragon will be the one carrying the child" Gajeel blinked at her.

"Wait so..... Acnologia carried me?" Gajeel pressed his hands together with a furrowed brow.

"Pretty much yes." she shrugged.

"So then who's my other dad?" he separates his hands, looking between them. Eilian let out a long breath.

"Metalicana" Gajeel stares at her, raising one brow.

"Is this-"

"Its not a lie" she shook her head for emphasis.

"Why did he never tell me?" Gajeel's fins fell downward. Eilian sighed.

"You were born in secret, only a few dragons knew you even existed. You had been staying with Acnologia to keep you safe. However when you were still quite young, there was a dragon attack. You almost died that day. The safety precautions that had been taken around the house and your own scales kept you safe but..... you suffered a severe head injury. The injury resulted in you loosing a lot of your memories. Metalicana took that as an opportunity to protect you. He used that spell to disguise you as a human for your own safety. It would be brought out if your inner dragon ever thought you were in too much danger. He did everything to protect you"

"So..... when I remember seeing Acnologia and Metalicana fighting..." he lowers his head.

"They were fighting over who would decide what would happen with you. Acnologia was determined to teach you his slayer magic. Metalicana, out of desperation and fear, began teaching you his magic as a way to keep Acnologia at bay but.... that didn't seem to stop him. He was just as persistent as always."

"Wait so that's why you learned your magic?" Totomaru finally spoke up, still standing near Gajeel and eyeing up the dragon.

"Until.... something to do with a dragon or something I think" Gajeel looked up at Eilian.

"You remember that?" she looked at him with wide eyes.

"I started to remember things I didn't realise I had forgot when I was with Acnologia" he admitted. Eilian sighed.

"The dragon, which I assume you must have heard being mentioned during one of the meetings, was Acnologia. He was getting far too destructive so Igneel decided that the best way to stop him would be to train young dragon slayers"

"And those were me, Natsu, Wendy....... and Sting and Rogue?" Eilian nodded while Totomaru's grip loosened.

"Wait Sting and Rogue? By any chance are the ones you're talking about shadow and white users?" Eilian blinks and tilts her head.

"Yes. Have you met them?" Totomaru gives a half shrug.

"Sort of. They were in last years grand magic games. A couple of 13 year olds that are referred to as the twin dragons of Sabertooth.

"That sounds about accurate"

"And they're the only ones left besides me. Natsu and Wendy died alongside Laxus and Erik when Tenrou island was destroyed." Totomaru's shoulders slumped at the mention of the island's distruction while Eilian averted her gaze from the two mages and didn't utter a word.

"I have another question. You keep saying that the dragons were separated from us but that doesn't line up with what I remember" Totomaru looks to him.

"What do you remember?" Eilian asks, leaning forward slightly.

"We had been hiding from Acnologia when the dragons found us. We were all taken to a large door. I remember seeing you and Zeref and Anna. There was talking and then the dragons started casting a spell and disappeared. Then we went in the gate and I woke up alone in an area I didn't recognise" Eilian sighed.

"You are too curious for your own good" She shook her head.

"Your dragons never left. They've been inside you. Its a spell called the dragon soul technique. Igneel, Grandeeney, Weisslogia and Skiadrum all used it so they could quill the dragon seeds in their slayers to stop them from becoming dragons just like Acnologia"

"And Metalicana?" Gajeel clutched at his sleeve.

"He had no need to quill a seed within you, the main concern was your dragon half becoming too wild, not you becoming one. Metalicana saw it fit to hide within you. He thought that you would be safer without him around as it would be harder for Acnologia to find the two of you if he were hidden within you. That's how I can communicate with them. Because of our link, I can hear what they are saying but they are only able to hear within the range that you can. Metalicana is limited to your senses so what you can't see or hear is out of his range as well"

"And the door?" Eilian shook her head and sighed.

"A gateway between time. Everyone involved in the operation agreed that you would all be safer in a time rich with magic and far away from Acnologia. He knew you all existed so, with the help of a celestial mage we went through the gate. It took a long time for us to be released, it wasn't until the day you all dubbed the dragons disappeared that we finally left the gate but the five of you were separated on accident and so we just left you to your own devices"

"How long-"

"About 400 years give or take. Its why none of you could actually find any dragons. Because the time you remember was a long time ago, before Acnologia drove our kind on the brink of extinction" Gajeel dipped his head. He was embraced by the fire mage who said nothing but allowed the other to lean on him.

"Now I have my own question. Why are you being so reckless waling around like that? You know how dangerous that is?" Gajeel nodded.

"I know but I haven't been able to reactivate the spell since I woke up in Acnologia's cave. I'm not sure what's going on" Eilian growled.

"Of course he removed the spell. Alright. New plan. You aren't leaving this forest until you know enough illusion and transformation magic to hide yourself as human. No ifs or buts about it" She pointed towards him when he opened his mouth to protest.

"It's alright. I can stay here with you" Totomaru assured, linking his fingers in with Gajeel's. He nodded.

"Thanks" he leaned in, relishing in the warmth of his friend.

"Let me know when whatever this is, is done so we can start" Eilian sighs, shaking her head. Gajeel merely nods.

Notes:

It is Gajeel day and I couldn't pass up on an opportunity to write a chapter for the boy's special day. Just some more reveals and pain because Gajeel didn't have enough of that in this story.

Chapter Text

Gajeel's ear twitched once when he felt something tapping at his side. He groaned, curling in on himself with his tail curled around him like a cat. This time he was prodded harshly in the side. close to his stomach. He jolted up, wings spread and spines sprouting along his spine to the tip of his tail. His eyes flick towards Eilian who gave him an unimpressed look that was easily visible, even with scales.

"What was that for?" he snapped, doing his best to retract his spines.

"If you had woken when I called you then I wouldn't have had to wake you up like that" she huffed, turning towards the cave entrance with a flick of her tail.

"Where are you going?" he called, pushing himself to his feet. She looked over her shoulder at him.

"There's something I want to show you" she left the cave after speaking, leaving Gajeel in the dim lit den. He turned to his side where Totomaru was laying amongst the furs on the floor, Scales curled up next to him in a spot that had been between the two. The Nyfern enjoyed that. He'd always curl up in a gap between him and one of the other slayers, usually Natsu as he radiated heat like an open fire. Perhaps that was why he liked Totomaru as well. The man didn't give off the same amount of heat as Natsu but his skin was slightly warmer than the average person. Gajeel huffed before reaching out to shake the shoulders of the sleeping man. He snapped awake, reaching for his sword. Gajeel pulled it away with his tail. He'd rather not be stabbed this early in the morning. Especially not by something of his own creation. Totomaru stared at him.

"Thought I told you not to wake me like that" he huffed, combing a hand through his tangled hair.

"Better that then dumping a bucket worth of water on ya" he snickered, a grin breaking out across his lips. Totomaru punched him in the chest softly, any fight dying with that punch.

"Come on. Eilian wants to show me something" Totomaru groaned but didn't object, pushing himself to his feet and following Gajeel out into the forest. Eilian was waiting for them in a clearing. When she spotted them, she lowered her body and offered her wing for them to climb on. Gajeel with no hesitation climbed on, settling along the spine of the dragon. Totomaru was more hesitant, clutching onto Scales who hung down in his current carried position.

"Is that really safe?" he asks, staring up towards where Gajeel was perched.

"Come on. Don't be such a scaredy cat. I did this with Metalicana all the time" Gajeel insisted, patting the space behind him. Totomaru grumbled under his breath but joined Gajeel, still clutching onto Scales who was making questioning yips.

"Hold on" was the only warning they got before Eilian burst into the sky. She climbed into the sky before taking a softer glide. Gajeel patted onto Totomaru's arm which had managed to snake its way around his neck while the other clung onto Scales.

"Not so bad right?" he chuckles, tilting his head back.

"You did this when you were a kid?!" Totomaru was gasping for air, body trembling.

"You make it sound like its the worst thing possible" he scoffs but lets the fire mage cling to him. The trip is relatively quiet, only the occasional startled noise from Totomaru or comforting word from Gajeel punctuating the silence. When the sun had finally begun to disapear beyond the horizon did Eilian show any sign of stopping, desecending down towards some mountains that broke up through the water.

"What is this place?" Gajeel called to Eilian, wind blowing against the tiny strands of hair that had stubbornly grown back and refused to sit properly.

"Montes Secreta. Its an old town from hundreds of years ago" Eilian flapped her wings a few times before finally coming to a halt on the ground, dust flying up when her claws slammed down on the ground. Gajeel shifted his way out of Totomaru's grip and slid down Eilian's wing and landed on his feet. When Totomaru refused to get off, Eilian bucked up, knocking him off. He yelped before being caught by the iron slayer with ease.

"So why are we here? It doesn't smell like anyone has been here in years" Gajeel stepped back when Eilian began to transform, taking on her human form before leading the two mages down a path.

"If I'm remembering correctly, there might still be some stuff that can be salvaged here" Gajeel looked to Totomaru who shrugged. Only about a few miles into the town did Totomaru trip over something, falling to the ground and letting go of Scales in the process who rushed to sit next to Gajeel.

"Totomaru. Are you alright?" Gajeel bent down to help. The fire mage nodded, letting the slayer help him up. He looked over his shoulder to see what he'd tripped over. Both froze up.

"Are those-?"

"Dragon bones?" Totomaru nodded, taking on step back. Then he turned around and continued walking straight. Gajeel followed, Scales weaving his way under and around his tail.

Eilian stopped at one of the giant piles of rubble.

"What's special about this pile of rock that isn't the same as the rest?" Totomaru asked, looking at the rubble pile.

Eilian reached forward, searching through some of the rocks before pulling out a wooden sigh.

"Ha. I thought as much" She turned to the two mages, offering out the sign to Gajeel. He took it, brushing off black dust that revealed a hint of soft blue letters.

"Acnologia enchanted most of his stuff once you started teething. You chewed through almost everything you could get your hands on. Scared both him and Metalicana half to death that you'd eat something that would make you sick" she sighed. Gajeel looked at the sign.

"Dr Redfox?" he looked up from the sign.

"Yeah. He was a doctor before..... all this happened. It was a work passed down through the family for generations" Gajeel looked at the sign before approaching the ruins, pushing a few rocks aside. Totomaru and Eilian dipped in to help, unearthing the remains of the inside. Gajeel stepped into the middle of the small house, looking around. The furniture still remained in one piece, the only damage being the black dust coating them. Glass jars littered the floor, all sealed with magic to prevent them from breaking. A couple of picture frames lay scattered on the floor. Gajeel turned towards them, lifting one up. He stared at a picture of who he assumd was a younger Acnologia, hair a lot shorter. He was wearing a white coat and lacked the blue markings that marred his skin now. In his arms was a toddler, dragon features easy to spot even with the shorter hair. He held onto a little dragon in one arm while the other waved out wildly, a bright smile on his face.

"Is that-" Gajeel looked over his shoulder to look at Totomaru who's eyes were fixed on the photo in the dragon slayer's hand. He nodded, unable to get his throat to work. He looked around, focusing in on a single spot in the corner. Claw marks scattered the charred floor which was dotted with soft white lumps. He approached running his claws over the marks before picking up one of the scales. The scent still clung to them, filled with fear.

"These are mine" he muttered, letting the scale slip out of his slacked grip. He looked to the side. Shoved into the corner was a little dragon toy, fabric worn and black. He reached for it, holding it in his hands. It was tiny now compared to the size of it in that photo. He stood up, still clutching the toy s he approached the desk in the corner. Shelves had collapsed on top of the old desk, most likely what had held the jars full of plants that cluttered the floor. He pulled them aside, looking onto the table. Most of the desk was empty, most likely the stuff on the desk having been destroyed. Only two leather-bound journals remained in tact. He reached out picking one of them up. It was filled with notes surrounding sketched drawings of plants.

"A medicine book" he muttered, flicking through the old paper, each page crinkled from use. He reached for the second book, opening it up and flicking to a random page. He skimmed over the words. Letters. Addressed to him. From Acnologia. Well more accurately Rowan as that was the name used to sign off each one down in the bottom right corner.

"She wasn't kidding. That looks like ancient language. Bet Freed and Levy would have loved translating that" Totomaru chuckled. Gajeel raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean? Its dragonic. You've seen me write in dragonic so how have you not recognised the symbols" he turned to him.

"That is not dragonic. What are you talking about?" he shook his head.

"Its enchanted" Eilian was stood in the house's remains now. They both turned to her.

"Acnologia had them enchanted by one of the other towns people. It translate for you to the language you are most comfortable reading. Since that is dragonic, you see it as such" she steps forward, looking at the books.

"But to the rest of us its just one of the forgotten languages?"

"Exactly" she nods at Totomaru who focuses his gaze on Scales who was sniffing and rolling around in the scattered white scales. Eilian turned to Gajeel.

"Feel free to take whatever you want. Acnologia clearly doesn't want any of this so I guess its yours now. Just let me know when you're ready. I'll be outside" he nodded, looking down at the books and toy in hands.

"Yeah.." he pauses, looking over at the desk.

"Thanks" he muttered. His words weren't answered but he didn't mind. He wanted to explore his old home further. Clutching the books and toy closer to his chest, he began digging through the other things in the remains, determined to explore every little corner.

Chapter Text

"You'll be due to pay your mortgage on the 18th of every month. Make sure you pay on time" the man snapped, tossing the keys towards Gajeel. He caught them, looking down to the shining metal in his hand. He turned to look at the house. After a couple months of searching, he'd found the one he'd wanted.

"Huffy isn't he?" Carla shoved her nose into the air, floating next to him with her wings. Scales yipped at his feet, continuously wrapping his lead around Gajeel's legs. He walked over to the door, pushing the key in and twisting it. The door swung open, leading to a darkened corridor. He flicked the switch on the inside, the light flickering to life. He bent down, picking up the box of stuff he'd collected from the guild. They had been clinging on to the stuff of everyone who hadn't lived in Fairy hills. That included his stuff. He walked into the living room, placing the stuff down and looking around.

"Why'd you pick such a big house if it was just the two of us?" Scales yipped up at her.

"Three of us" she looked down at the Nyfern with a huff. Gajeel bent down, pressing at each clip to release the harness.

"Laxus always joked that he needed a bigger house. I thought if I got one that......" he stopped looking at a set patch in the wall.

"That I could imagine they were still here. Even just a little" He sighed, letting his transformation fall now that he was behind safe walls. In his home. Carla's ears fell back and she looked at him, eyes soft.

"I'm going to explore" was the only notice he got before she flew off to examine the house. Gajeel focused on the mirror above the mantle piece. He stared at himself. His hair had grown out in the months since his return, the strands tickling the backs of his ears. He'd need to start brushing his hair again if he didn't want a tangled mess on his hands. He focused on his face. The dark circles and pale skin were mostly gone. Totomaru was insistent on him sleeping correctly since he arrived back and when the spring began to set in, everyone in the guild had been determined to get him outside as much as possible, saying he looked like he'd risen from the dead. His cheek bones were still visible, if slightly less so than they had been. Perhaps now that he had his own place and could eat as he pleased once more it would change.

He stared into his own eyes. A thought hit him.

"She said you can hear what I can. So does that mean you can hear me?" he stared at the mirror, looking for some kind of sign. Nothing. He dropped his head to stare at the floor.

"I wish I could see you again" he sighed, closing his eyes. A soft tingle against his soul made him snap his eyes open. He looked up at the mirror. He stared into his eyes, trying to find something different. The soft brush returned again, tinged with what he pieced together as guilt.

"Metalicana?" he asked, ears twitching. This time the brush was lighter, like he was a child again and Metalicana was running his claws over his hair. His eyes felt damp seconds before the tears slipped down his cheeks, building along his jaw line before dropping completely. Carla entered the room, stopping when he saw him.

"Gajeel? What's wrong?" she asked, looking at him. He rubbed at one eye, the tears leaving his gloves damp.

"He's there" his voice was strained but he didn't bother to correct it.

"Who's there?"

"Metalicana... My dad. He's there. I can feel him" the tears came back stronger this time. He reached up, rubbing at his eyes repeatedly which did nothing but make the tears come faster. Carla flew over, perching on his shoulder to rub at the side of his face.

"Need a minute?" she asked softly, no sign of her snippyness that had begun to return now that they were back. He shook his head.

"No. These.... They're not bad. I'm just so relieved. I thought he'd abandoned me but he's been with me this whole time" his words wavered from the well up in his throat. He hadn't cried since he found out about Tenrou -even if it was just the smallest amount of tears building up- but that was over 2 years ago now. Carla leant in, wrapping her arms around his neck the best she could.

He reached up, rubbing one hand across her fur. She let go, offering him a small smile. He turned to the box at last, opening it up. It was all the things he'd had at Laxus' house, minus his guitar as that was in its case and had been too big to fit in the cardboard box. He hadn't bothered with his old clothes. They were too small for him now that he'd grown in height, now reaching over 7ft. He had kept the rest of his things. Notebooks filled with notes or half finished songs, his brush and other cosmetics that didn't have expiration dates -something he'd have to sort out now that he was taking jobs again- and his pictures. He reached in, pulling out each individual photo. He approached the wall opposite the mantle piece where a cabinet sat. Above was an empty wall space. He placed each frame down on the cabinet and summoned his own metal, hammering them into the wall. He hung each individual frame on the wall, sorting them so they were all straight. He stepped back, admiring his work.

"Those are all yours?" she asked, looking at the wall.

"No. But I wanted a way to remember them" he stared at each frame. There were the one he'd had since he arrived in this time of him with his dads. Totomaru had helped him dig up a couple other old photos of them alongside Juvia which he'd framed and placed on the wall. He'd had the frames repaired of the photos from his first home. The second one picturing a younger Acnologia, probably in his teens, with a woman who shared the same eye and hair colour as he. He had quickly guessed that was his grandmother from reading through some of the other things he'd found in the house. A few of the other photos he'd dug up from Laxus' stuff, pictures of him with his mother, grandfather and team. For Natsu and Erik, he'd asked Reedus to paint pictures of them with Igneel and Cubelious respectively, going of his memories of what the two looked like. The remaining photos were one of Team Phantom after Erik had joined, not long before they left for Tenrou and a photo of Gajeel with the other dragon slayers, Happy, Carla and Lily.

"Its nice" Carla was smiling, eyes focused on the picture with her and Wendy in it.

"You can get photos from her old room and put them up here if you want" he offered. Carla looked to him, eyes sparkling.

"Thank you Gajeel" he pulled her in for a hug.

"Don't worry about it. It's the least I could do" he chuckled. She squirmed out of his grip.

"Alright. Enough standing around. This place won't clean itself" she huffed. He rolled his eyes. Bossy as always. He chuckled to himself with a shake of the head. He turned away from the wall and reached into the bag of supplies she'd brought, picking up a feather duster. Best get cleaning before it got too dark he supposed.

Chapter 105

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Gajeel rested on his couch, one arm over the back of the couch, one leg and tail over the arm, one wing draped off the edge of the couch and his other hand clutching the lacrima remote. He flicked through channels, skimming the descriptions of what was available on the wall mount lacrima vision. He let out a huff when he found nothing of actual interest, clicking on a random Romantic that was playing on the movie channel.

"I didn't know you liked Romance movies" Carla looked at him from the arm chair to the right, a magazine sat in front of her.

"Couldn't find anything else" he grumbled, staring at the screen. The leading couple was at the point in the movie where they were separating in the middle for some tension before the would inevitable get back together in the end. Gajeel glared at the movie, which was just building up dejection in his heart and his head. A knock to the door got him scrambling off the couch, falling into a pile of limbs on the floor. The click of the door unlocking filled his ears. Carla had flown out of her chair and opened the door while Gajeel had been occupied wrestling his own limbs.

"Oh Carla. Is Gajeel home?" the person at the door asked. Gajeel successfully untangled himself and quickly activated his transformation, hiding his dragon features in a whoosh of air and smoke. He stood up, having shrunk back to his old 6ft height and approached the door. Jet and Droy were there, both dressed in what Gajeel might consider casual party clothes.

"Great you are home. Macao sent us to fetch you. We're going out to celebrate" Droy spoke up, reaching to grab Gajeel's wrist. Gajeel reached for his coat from the coat rack, pulling said rack down to the wall with his jacket. Carla shook her head before closing the door, clearly uninterested in joining. Gajeel didn't yank his wrist free until they were a couple miles from his house. Once he had, he pulled his arms through the sleeves of his leather jacket and popped the collar.

"So what are we celebrating exactly?" he looked at the two who both smiled sheepishly at him with fidgeting hands.

"We don't actually know. Macao didn't say" Jet admitted, looking down towards the floor. Gajeel rolled his eyes but made no further comment. He'd rather be out celebrating random shit than be stuck watching romance movies that would just remind him of how cripplingly depressing his love life was. The two remaining members of shadow gear continued to chat to both each other and him throughout the journey although Gajeel only payed half a mind. His day had started off shitty with him sleeping in until noon which he hadn't intended at all. Carla had told him that it was good for him to get proper rest, especially after he had a fitful awakening at 1am due to horrible nightmares. Gajeel disagreed but didn't argue. Then he'd spent the rest of the day on the couch in front of the lacrima vision, changing the channel every 30 minutes because nothing caught his interest. At least going out would mean he was doing something productive with his day.

"Gajeel!" he snapped his attention on Jet who had his mouth open, ready to yell his name once more before noticing he'd caught the hybrid's attention.

"We're here" he gestured to the bright neon sign that illuminated the street below and the short line that led up to the door. A bar of sorts although he could smell food and spied a board with a menu printed on it by the door. He wouldn't be touching any drinks but a light snack might help bring his mind off everything that he'd been unable to avoid during the day. He stepped into line with Jet and Droy, fishing his wallet out of his jacket pocket. The line moved quickly.

"ID" the man who stood at the door spoke, looking Gajeel up and down. He pulled out his ID from his wallet and presented it. The photo was old now, updated after he had turned 18. He was aware that he did look different now, between the scar running across his face and the salt and pepper look to his hair but hopefully he still passed. The man stepped aside, allowing him to enter. He stepped inside. His senses were bombarded with loud music and alcohol, rendering them completely useless in finding where his guildmates were amongst the clumps of bodies that were pressed together. He kept to the edge of the dance floor where the crowding was at its worse and skimmed around it to the bar. He sat down on one of the stools and pulled a menu towards him, skimming it over. The man behind the bar leaned forward.

"Hey there big guy. What can I get for you?" he had his head leaned into his hand as he looked Gajeel over. Gajeel pushed the menu towards the man.

"Just a cheesecake" he requested, pulling out the required jewel and handing it to the man. He accepted the money and turned to get his order sent through. While he waited, Gajeel decided to find his friends. He looked around the room, doing his best to ignore the loud music and pain splitting screams. He couldn't even find Jet and Droy despite arriving with them. His order was placed in front of him on a flimsy paper plate which he accepted. He looked around again. His shirt was starting to cling to his back as he shifted in his seat, eyes darting from individual faces in a desperate attempt to find his friends. He clutched onto the plate with trembling hands, trying to steady both them and himself. His eyes snapped to the left when he heard giggling, focusing on a group of girls leaning against the bar further down. The floorboards creaked to the right and he looked to find a couple guys on the opposite end of the bar. Gajeel reached up, rubbing one gloved hand across his face in an attempt to rid it of sweat. It was a futile.

"Fuck" he hissed under his breath. He got to his feet and scoured the room for a back exit. The bright green and white sign caught his attention and he headed straight for it, pushing the door open. He stepped out and leaned against the opposing alley wall, letting his body sink to the floor and the cold air seep into his skin. He looked down, paper plate still clutched in his hand. He reached out and picked a corner off, dropping it in his mouth and swallowing. He went to take another piece when a clang caught his attention. He turned just in time to see a little tail disappear behind the nearby bin. He blinked, staring for a second. He looked down to his plate and picked another piece off and tossed it on the ground between him and the bin. A few seconds passed before a small cat crawled its way out from behind the bin and towards the piece on the floor. It reached one paw out, pulling it close and licking up the piece. Once finished, it looked up towards him. They locked eyes, staring at each other. The cat stepped forward, brushing dirty white and brown fur up against his leg.

"Hello" he kept is voice soft as to not startle the cat. He reached out one hand. The cat leaned up, bumping its head into his hand. He chuckled.

"What's a cute little fluffball like you doing out here all alone" he muttered, scratching behind the cat's ear who purred. Gajeel smiled. The cat stepped closer, placing both paws against his stomach as if asking to climb into his lap. He chuckled. He shifted to lean on the balls of his feet, still holding one hand near the cat. When he was sure it wasn't going to run off, he reached out both hands and picked the cat up. It looked around sparatically for a couple seconds before settling down and looking up towards him. He opened the edges of his jacket and used them to wrap around the cat while he held it close to his stomach. He zipped up his jacket and began walking home. The cat squirmed a few times against his body but not in any attempt to free itself.

"Silly fluffball" he chuckled when one of its paws slipped out the bottom of his jacket before being brought back up into his jacket right after. On the way home, Gajeel stopped at a store that was still open, grabbing a box of cat food, some treats and some cat milk. The cashier eyed him suspiciously, mainly focusing on the squirming lumb beneath his jacket, but didn't say a word. He accepted the payment and let Gajeel leave with his things. Gajeel reached the house not long after, opening the door to find Carla still sitting on the chair.

"That was quick. Wha- Gajeel what did you do?" seems he'd activated stern mother mode. Gajeel grinned sheepishly, opening up his jacket to show the white and sugar brown cat held in his arms.

"Where did you get that?" she asked, looking at the cat.

"Found it. Couldn't just leave the poor fluffball alone so I brought her here" he shrugged, placing the cat on the ground.

"What about Scales? What if he doesn't like it?" he stiffened. He hadn't thought about that. Speak of the devil, Scales trotted into the room, a rope toy he'd been bought by Totomaru clamped in his jaws. The cat, seemingly unphased, ran over to Scales, rubbing up against the Nyfern. Scales looked at the cat for a few seconds before releasing happy yips and nuzzling into the cat.

"I think he likes it" he chuckles. Carla sighed.

"Fine. It can stay. But you're naming it" Carla shook her head as she floated next to him. He thought it over.

"Cheesecake" he finally decided.

"You're naming the cat Cheesecake?" Carla raised an eyebrow.

"Well yeah. It kinda looks like one with its fur and that's how we met so that's what I'll call it" he explained. Carla huffed but said nothing. Gajeel turned to Scales and Cheesecake.

"Welcome to the family Cheesecake"

Notes:

Cheesecake was originally going to be given to Gajeel by a dying old man in one of the older drafts of the 7 year gap but then the story changed and I had to write Cheesecake in another way. Therefore behold, Cheesecake the stray.

Chapter Text

"And now its up to our competing teams to decide who will be partaking in this day's event" Gajeel huffed, dipping his head forward for a moment before looking up again. His eyes drifted towards the Sabertooth team. A bunch of teenagers. Sting and Rogue were easy to pick out, the dragon smell the most obvious factor alongside them competing in the events on the last two days. Bisca stepped forward to walk past Gajeel but he held his hand out to stop her. She looked over to him with one raised eyebrow.

"Wait" he kept his voice low but she heard, stepping back once to stand alongside Totomaru, Jet and Max. The mage in red stepped forward, reaching up to adjust his hat. Gajeel smirked.

"I'll take this one" he chuckled, stepping forward. The other guilds selected their participant for the match, the rest of the teams leaving the arena. Gajeel examined the other mages. Lyon had stepped forward for Lamia Scale, Ichiya for Blue Pegasus and Thibault from Twilight Ogre were the ones he picked out with ease. The rest he didn't recognise although with the number of guilds participating, he wasn't surprise.

"Don't worry little fairy. We'll go easy on ya" Thibault chuckled nearby, leaning towards him. He looked around. Several mages were eyeing him up like starving animals waiting to pounce on their prey. He smirked. So he was the easy pickings according to them. He'd enjoy knocking some sense into them. He flicked his gaze back to the Saber. The only child fighting against full grown adults. No matter how strong Macao had said the members of that guild were, he had no doubt this kid would struggle in a fight with this many strong opponents on his own. Especially if he was considered the winning prize. Gajeel examined the kid close, his muscles tense as his gaze flicked around the arena from below his hat. Poor scrap.

"If everyone is ready" Gajeel shifted his weight to the balls of his feet, focusing all his attention onto his senses.

"Let the match begin" The bell rang out and the arena was plunged into chaos, several mages diving for him. He jumped back, avoiding the swing that Thibault tried to hit with.

"Looks like the fairy is slippery" someone chuckled. He smirked. He could play this game for a little longer. None of them seemed to quite realise who he was. His return hadn't exactly been big news to everyone outside of the guild. Another hit that he easily dodged. He was drawing a lot of attention from other mages now.

"And Fairy tail's newest member has caught the attention of a lot of his opponents. Will he survive the massacre" The announcer was far to excited about this than Gajeel thought he should. Several mages were running towards him head on. Idiots. Gajeel took on a wide stepped stance and inhaled as much air as his lungs could hold.

"Iron dragon-"

"Get down"

"Roar" his breath attack crashed through the arena, iron chunks crashing into walls and onto the ground. When the dust settled, several mages lay collapsed on the ground, the ground itself torn up and uneven from his breath.

"I don't believe this" The announcer was about 2 tones of squealing at this point.

"It can't be" Gajeel recognised Sting's voice.

"That's impossible" Rogue. Seems they hadn't recognised him either. Lyon pushed himself up, having been one of the mages to jump out of the way.

"You're actually alive" he stared at Gajeel, almost out of shock.

"What a wonderful parfum" Ichiya, who had also had the sense to duck from his attack spoke. Gajeel examined the arena. He'd taken out a massive chunk of the competition. All mages who didn't have the sense or speed to duck out of the way of his attack.

"Incredible! Not only is Fairy tail's Gajeel Redfox back from the dead but he just annihilate almost all of the competition" And he thought that the announcer's voice couldn't get any higher.

"Only Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, Mermaid Heel, Fairy tail and Sabertooth remain in the games after that devastating attack" the second announcer added.

"That just makes this more interesting" The ginger haired girl smiled before casting a spell that launched carrots towards him. He jumped out the way, watching those same vegetables smash into the wall behind where he'd been.

"Guess I've gone from easy to advanced then" he chuckled, swinging one arm around. Lyon sent some iced birds towards him. He jumped out the way, only being caught by one in his remaining ankle. He stumbled at the cold shock that swept up his leg.

"While you've been on vacation for two years, we've actually been training" Lyon sent a tiger towards him. He transformed his hand into a sword, swinging at the tiger and shattering it into pieces. Gajeel straightened up, staring the other mages down.

"Bold of you to assume I wasn't training too" he chuckled. Ichiya inhaled one of his perfumes, buffing himself up. He charged at Gajeel, swinging his arms for an attack. Gajeel reached one hand out, coating it in silver scales and caught the punch. He was pushed back across the ground, leaving marks where his boots had scraped.

"What?" Gajeel smirked, sinking his claws into Ichiya's hand to get a good grasp. He leaned back, pulling his other hand, which was now also coated in scales, back. He released the punch, smacking it right in the other man's face. Ichiya fell to the ground, his perfume affects wearing off as he fell to unconsciousness. The other two mages stared at him while he cracked his knuckles.

"So who's next?" his grin spread wide, showing off his fangs. Lyon sent another attack of ice towards him. He jumped up, casting a brief illusion on himself with the flick of a hand to hide his transformation so his wings could give him more height. He held both hands together, forming a sword that he swung down into the arena. He landed down, pulling his transformation up and releasing the illusion. Both Lyon and the Mermaid Heel member had been knocked back. Gajeel swung his gaze to both. Lyon had hit one of his iron shards from his breath attack and he could smell the blood. He would deal with it once he'd finished this.

"Gajeel has taken out Lyon, Ichiya and Beth. That just leaves a one on one match between Rufus of Sabertooth and Gajeel of Fairy tail" Gajeel turned to the other mage who had yet to move from his spot after the roar. He stood stiff, limbs locked in place and eyes blown wide. He was staring at Gajeel but not moving. Gajeel swung his hand, pulling it to his side once more. Then he charged forward. He knocked the boy to the ground, one hand pressed to his shoulder and the other raised above his own head. The hat had been knocked flying backwards, leaving the boy's eyes fully exposed besides the mask.

"N-no" Rufus' voice was barely even a whisper but Gajeel caught it, staring down into the young mage's eyes. He seen that look before. The clouded shadow. Fear. But not of him. Of what could happen if he failed. Gajeel had seen that look in Totomaru and Juvia before. They'd probably seen it in him. He called back his scales, letting his claws return to hands within his transformation. When silver gave way to tawny, he reached out, placing his hand on the boy's head.

"You did good kid" he smiled. He stood up, offering out his hand to him. Rufus sat up, looking at his hand then up to Gajeel's face. He placed his own within Gajeel's and let the older pull him to his feet. Gajeel released his hand and stepped back one pace. He swiped his hand out once more.

"I surrender" he called out. The crowd erupted in noise, almost a chorus to the announcer's own startled cries. Gajeel turned around, heading towards Lyon who was silently stirring. He shifted the man off of the metal and pulled his cloak back to assess the damage. Lyon was coming to now.

"Come on. Let's get you to the infirmary. That wound looks and smells nasty" he pulled one arm over his shoulder and placed his hand around the other man's waist to help support him. While walking towards the exit to the arena he stopped. Gajeel looked over his shoulder towards Rufus who was still staring at him, no intention of searching for his hat.

"Perhaps I'll see you around kid" he chuckled before finally exiting the arena.

Chapter 107

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Gajeel picked up one of the apples on the market stall, examining it for anything unusual about the fruit. He added it to his little pile of fruit and vegetables before looking to the owner of the stall.

"I think that's all I need" he smiled to the woman behind the stall who begun adding up the products to get his total. She wrote the total down and Gajeel handed over the required jewels. He lifted the bag from the stall and began walking down the street again. He twitched his ear at the sharp intake of breath a few feet behind him. He sighed. The kid was terrible at stalking but he couldn't deny that he was strong willed. Gajeel stopped walking in a clearer area where less people were crowding. He would have liked to do have his dragon ears in this situation as he could turn them and catch sound within them from specific directions but he hadn't perfected partial transformations yet and using illusions in a crowded place, even if no one was near him was risky. Someone could trip over his tail or crash into his wings and build up a panic.

"Gods be damned" he grumbled. He turned around, scanning the street behind him. He'd given the kid a week to give up and he just wasn't budging. He'd had enough and he was sure someone at the guild had noticed that he had a tiny little follower although possibly not who that was. He turned towards a shop but rather than entering, he scaled the building. He perched on the balls of his feet, bag still in hand as he hung his arms down between his legs. He eyed up the little squirt in the twisting alley next to the building he was on. The kid was pacing around, muttering to himself while he pulled on his fingers. He was lacking any of the clothes he had worn the week prior, now only wearing a red jumper and blue jeans. Gajeel shook his head before jumping down. He landed with the grace of a cat, making little noise upon his landing.

"If you're going to stalk people then you should really learn how to keep downwind" the kid startled, twisting around to face him with hair swinging into his face. His eyes were wide, green reflecting what little light shone down in the alley.

"Don't look so surprised. I'm a dragon slayer. Surely you know about enhanced senses if you have two in your guild. Even my old guildmates knew about mine" he raised one studded brow, arms crossed and bag discarded on the ground at his feet. The blond opened his mouth then snapped it shut, turning his attention onto his black healed boots. Gajeel rolled his eyes.

"Look. I don't appreciate you scrambling behind me. If I hadn't noticed then its possible ya coulda gotten seriously hurt. I ain't bouta let a squirt follow me into a fight he can't handle" Gajeel huffed. The kid was not much older than Wendy had been. In fact, he would probably be the same age as Wendy if she were still alive. He was well aware how capable someone like her could be and had no doubt this kid had just as much potential to be a powerful mage when he grew up. However that would be a few years from now. Right now he was still just a scrap who had barely even begun tapping the potential of his magic. He wouldn't last long on the kinds of jobs Gajeel could handle. Especially now that he was getting plenty of them after his performance in the games the previous week.

"I can fight" Gajeel raised one eyebrow when the kid finally spoke. He shook his head.

"I didn't say ya couldn't. But yer still new. How long have ya been at yer magic? A few months? A year?" Rufus huffed, pushing on his tiptoes and puffing up his chest.

"Actually 2 and a half" he closed his eyes and tilted his chin up. Gajeel blinked once. Was the kid trying to impress him? Or did this kid just want to intimidate him. It really wasn't working. He towered over most people with his 7ft frame nowadays -only Eilian being taller- but even in his transformed state this kid was tiny compared to him. Not just in height either. If not for the state of his clothes and hair, he'd think the kid was living on the streets like he had.

"Yeah. Ya look like breath on ya and you'd collapse in an instant" he chuckled. Rufus fell back onto the flats of his feet, staring up at him. There was a moment of silence.

"I actually wanted to ask something" he mumbled, not breaking eye contact from Gajeel.

"Then spill" if answering the kid's question got him to stop tailing Gajeel then he'd gladly answer.

"Will you train me?" there was hope in those green eyes.

"No" Gajeel turned around, reaching down for his bag. The kid scampered over to him, coming to a stop next to him.

"But you were amazing. I've never seen anything like it. There was so much raw power and-"

"I said no. I ain't teachin' anyone if all ya want is to compete with my power level. I have no interest in that anymore" he huffed, wrapping his fingers around the handle of his bag and lifting it. He took a few steps.

"Why did you give me the win?" he stopped walking when the kid's voice cut the silence. He looked over his shoulder to the kid who was now looking at his feet, pulling on his fingers.

"What?" he asked, turning around. Rufus didn't look up.

"During the games. You cast an illusion right. I thought about it a lot after the battle. It didn't make sense to me at first how no one saw you beat me but then it clicked and I started asking why. I mean you don't know me. You disappeared for two years and then come back with a quick sweep of the competition only to give the win to me. It didn't make sense" he was rambling now, words almost muddled together. Gajeel sighed.

"It was yer eyes" Rufus looked up, brow furrowed in confusion.

"My eyes?" he reached up to rub his fingers around his left eye, as if it would provide him with the answer.

"I'd seen that look before. I don't know what's goin' on in yer guild but it ain't anythin good" he had no place to tell this kid what guild to be a part of, after all if some random had told him not to stay in Phantom Lord he surely would have spat in their face and possibly even started a fight. He truly had been a troublesome kid. Rufus looked down at the ground again.

"Please. Can you teach me? I know you said no but..... I've always loved exploring magic and...." the kid trailed off, looking up at Gajeel. His eyes were soft, trusting even and Gajeel was hit with realisation. This kid didn't just come to him for training. He'd witnessed Gajeel destroy his competition with ease only to surrender to a kid who he understood the fear of. The kid could have gone to his own guildmates if he wanted to observe dragon magic. No, he'd come to Gajeel out of an unusual sense of security. Dragons and humans were not much different because he had been the same, trusting in Silas and Jose who he thought could provide him with safety. He looked at the kid, no older than 14 who despite the fear his own guild instilled, still had enough faith to put his entire trust in Gajeel, a man he'd only know from his Phantom Lord days as he had never been documented in his time in Fairy tail. He looked at Rufus. He wasn't about to break this kids faith into pieces and turn him down a path similar to his own. He sighed.

"Alright. Meet me at the edge of the East forest tomorrow at 9am. If ya don't show I'll assume ya changed yer mind" Rufus' eyes practically sparkled.

"Right. I'll be there" Gajeel chuckled at the kid's enthusiasm.

"Oh and what kind of magic do you use?" Rufus blinked for a second then his face flashed with realisation.

"Oh. I use maker magic. Memory make to be more precises" Gajeel blinked once. So he used maker magic just like Gray and Laki. Although he had never heard of memory make before. He'd have to look into it.

"Well then kid. I'll see ya around" he turned and began his way down the alley.

"Right. S-see you around Mr Redfox"

"No need for that. Just use my name" he called back.

"Oh um. Right Mr Gajeel" Gajeel shook his head. He guessed it was better than being referred to by his last name but he'd have to talk to the kid about the Mr part. Either way it could wait till tomorrow. He had some dinner to cook.

Notes:

I fully believe in tiny and anxious Rufus supremacy. Also yes Rufus is now part of the cast. You can fight me on it but he is precious and I love him dammit. And I'd like to think that the members of Sabertooth were a lot different when they were younger before they had Jiemma's ideals beat into them repeatedly. Its kinda shown with Rogue when he pushes down and hides all emotions at all times. Its not hard to believe similar situations with the others. And yes I will be coming for Jiemma because he is on my list of bad guildmasters. He is higher than Jose solely because its never explicitly shown that Jose beat his guildmembers, just manipulated them but its very much shown between him humiliating Yukino, lecturing Sting for getting motion sick(something he could not control) and beating on Sting and Rogue after they lost, alongside his treatment of his daughter. So since I bashed Jose, only fair I bash Jiemma too. Oh and Ivan will get his turn because he's on the shitty dad list with Jiemma.

Also no one can convince me that Gajeel wouldn't just grab the nearest depressed looking kid and just claim them as his.

Chapter Text

Gajeel let one leg hang down from the tree, eyes scanning across the ground below. He had been there for about 20 minutes, wanting to arrive a good while before the kid was supposed to show up. He had released his transformation long ago, opting for an illusion in a place so unpopulated. His ear twitched when he heard the crunch of leaves. He twisted his ear fully, angling it in the direction of the noise. The sound stopped below him and he looked. There was the kid, now wearing a pair of black leggings and a soft red short sleeved t-shirt. He looked around, hair twisting with each movement. Gajeel wrapped his tail around the branch, swinging down to hang from it. He sunk his iron into the bottom of the branch, watching the kid look around the forest from behind.

"You really need to learn how to watch your surroundings" he chuckled. Rufus squawked, falling backwards onto the ground. Gajeel chuckled, staring down at the young teen. The kid looked up at him, pushing strands of hair from his face. Gajeel jumped down from the branch, twisting to land on his feet. He pulled up his transformation before lowering his illusion.

"Shouldn't be surprised you showed. You've got spunk kid" Rufus' eyes sparkled once more. So the kid liked compliments. He should take note of that. He turned around.

"Follow me. I have the perfect spot for this" he started walking through the trees, pushing low hanging branches aside. He looked over his shoulder at Rufus. He was ducking under branches, keeping his hands close to his chest. He shrugged and pushed the string of ivy that hid the tunnel. He stepped behind it, continuing down until he reached the lake shore. Rufus stepped up behind him, looking around the cavern. The lake connected to a river that led to the valley outside and glimpses of sun sparkled through the gap in the cave's ceiling. Dark dwelling plants buried themselves into the cave walls. Gajeel hooked his fingers under his shirt pulling it off. He kicked his boots and trousers to the side.

"Hope you brought your swim trunks" he laughed. Rufus turned to him, mouth open in question. Gajeel raced forward, jumping into the lake. Water splashed up towards the maker mage. He lifted his hands, casting a protective air barrier in front of him. The water hit the tiny barrier, slipping down to splash on the floor which left water marks on the kid's boots where he didn't shield. He lowered his arms with a huff.

"That wasn't funny" he hunched his shoulders, face shifting into a pout. Gajeel laughed.

"What? Scared of a little water" he leaned back, swimming along the surface of the water. A soft purr reverberated from his throat, water pressing against his skin and cooling it down.

"No... But I could get dirty" his voice dropped in volume, cracking at the end. Gajeel stopped, leaning against a rock in the pool.

"Its water. If anythin ya'll be clean after. Just get in so we can start. I ain't gonna sit and do nothin all day" he grumbled. Rufus looked at him for a second before reaching for his shirt. He pulled it off, dropping it onto the ground next to him before his arms instantly wrapped around himself. Gajeel held his tongue when he noticed the dark bruising that snaked along his collarbone. A skilfully placed hit that didn't come from a job. It wasn't the only one, a bruise along his ribs along with a set of thin, jagged scars that reached around from his back and around his hip.

"I... um" Gajeel turned his head, noting the kid had picked out his staring.

"Just finish up" he kept his voice soft, closing his eyes to give the kid privacy. He cracked one open when he heard the splash of water towards the edge of the pool. He turned fully when he saw Rufus standing, shoulders deep in the water. He swam over, coming to a stop next to the kid.

"Alright. How much do ya swim?" Gajeel asked. Rufus shook his head

"Not often.... I know how but...." He looked down at the water.

"No problem. We'll get a few runs in now. Then I'm gonna teach ya how to use those senses" he pressed his finger to Rufus' nose. The maker mage looked at his finger.

"What does my senses have to do with anything?" he tilted his head, the shorter strands of hair brushing the water.

"Ya don't have a clue how to listen or smell yer surroundings. Its buggin me so we're gonna focus on yer stamina and senses. They'll help in a fight. Trust me" Rufus gave a short nod, hands shifting close in the water.

"Alright. Let's get started. Make sure to go at yer own pace. Don't want ya droppin in the middle of the pool. That wouldn't be pleasant"

"Right" the tiny mumble would have been missed if not for Gajeel's dragon hearing. He smiled towards the kid before jumping forward, swimming towards the other side.

Chapter 109: Important

Chapter Text

So my brain doesn't want to keep me sane because I came up with the idea to edit/revise/rewrite the earlier chapters. And I don't mean just combing through to find any grammar or spelling mistakes. I mean actually rewriting the older chapters enough that they will be different. 

If you want to witness the process along with seeing any artwork for this fic and rants about Fairy tail in general then you could check out the tumblr page "bringerofdeathandtheapocolypse"  

This notice will be deleted when all chapters are updated

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