Song of the Heart (Gale) {Fairy Tail AU FF}

19: Defying the Odds

~Gajeel~

I was thrown back into consciousness as something hard made contact with my jaw. My eyes snapped open and I muttered a curse as I held my throbbing jaw. "Let me hit him again!" I looked to see Cana, thrashing about in Laxus' iron grip. We were back on the bus, and I was laying on the sofa in the main room. All of the curtains were drawn making the bus dark and cool. "Cana calm down." Laxus said, surprisingly gentle. "He swore he would take care of her! He would protect her!" She was almost screaming now, her face stained with tears and scrunched in agony. Pain shot through my heart, everything that had happened before I passed out coming back to me. I watched as Laxus turned her around and held her tight against him, tucking her head underneath his chin. She continued to sob as she clung to the large man, no longer thrashing.

I looked around the room to see Gray, Juvia and Natsu sitting quietly, and Lucy was emerging from the rooms in the back. Her face was a hard mask as she wiped her hands with a slightly pink towel. I stood, still feeling woozy, but I pushed forward till I was in front of her. "Lucy... Is she..." My voice was hoarse, probably from the heat of the hell fire. The blonde shook her head, "She's still alive, but barely. She's incredibly weak, and she hasn't even come close to consciousness yet." She said quietly. I swallowed past the lump in my throat before walking around her and pushing the curtain to the beds open.

Levy was in my bed again, her face was terrifyingly pale and her breaths were quick and shallow. I knelt beside the bed and gently caressed her face, her skin cool against my fingers yet covered in sweat. I jumped slightly when someone touched my shoulder, and I turned to see Lucy handing me a small cloth. I tried to smile at her as I took it and wiped Levys face gently. "You love her, don't you?" I was startled by her quiet question as she sat beside me on the edge of the bed. I looked up at her and watched as she checked Levys wound. A weak chuckle passed my lips, "Yeah, I do." It was nearly a whisper. 

Lucy smiled and nodded, tucking the blanket back around the small woman before turning to me. "So what are we gonna do?" I frowned in thought before I looked back to Levy, who had started whimpering quietly in her sleep. I gently pushed her hair away from her face before I stood, walking back to the main room. Cana had calmed down but she was still in Laxus arms. "Where are Jellal and Erza?" I asked quietly.  Gray frowned, his arm around Juvias shoulders. "Outside, projecting a barrier." I frowned, my eyebrows knitting together as I walked to the window and pushed the curtain aside.

What I saw was beyond anything I expected.

The sky was an unhealthy red, black clouds of smoking rising from points in the city. Lesser demons and the like traversed the sky and attacked any who came into their grasp. Around the bus was a white film, much like the barrier that had protected the concert for the past week. "Has anyone contacted Mavis?" I turned to my angel companions. Laxus shook his head, "We havnt been able to do anything. Jellal tried to send word earlier but then, well, hell broke lose." I rolled my eyes a bit before turning back to the window. "I'm sure the others will have their hands busy anyway. The eight of us will just have to handle this ourselves." At this Lucy stepped forward. "There's nine of us." I took a deep breath and turned to her, settling my hands on her shoulders. "I need you to protect Levy, do what I couldn't." I stated. She frowned and looked like she was going to argue, but instead she nodded.

"Gajeel, we havnt fought on a scale like this in centuries." Gray said, rising to his feet. "And you know he'll-" "I'll worry about that when it comes around." I said, cutting him off. "We can't possibly take on all of these demons at once. There's just to many. And there's no way to seal Lucifer again," Cana said defeatedly. I frowned and walked over to her, "We'll just kill him then." Cana shook her head, and before even I knew what I was doing, I slapped her. "The Cana I know isn't a damn coward." I hissed, watching as the brunette held her red face. She looked up at me, her eyes that red again. She pointed her finger at me, "You get one of those," she said quietly and I had to repress a shiver. "What are we waiting for?!" Natsu shouted, jumping out of the bus door. Juvia and Gray followed him, Laxus close behind. I turned my back on the two women, ducking behind the curtain a last time. I knelt by Levys bed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "You better be awake when I get back short stuff," I whispered to her, before finally leaving with Cana.