What do I do? I thought for probably the millionth time as I sat beside Levy's bed, watching her sleep. Since our house would need some major reparations, we had been staying with Cana and Laxus. They guest bedroom had become ours, though I couldn't say I had been doing any sleeping. I couldn't do much of anything, it felt like. Even two days after I had found her, broken and completely human, she was still asleep. We had paid a local human doctor a large sum of money to hook her up to the human medical devices like an IV and heart monitor, and Lucy had been tending to them.
As I stroked her hair, being gentle near the bandages that circled her head, I sighed.Levy, what am I supposed to do? I need to find Waylen, but I can't leave you like this. I had no idea what had happened at the house, but somehow she had been turned into a human. A frail, helpless human. Injuries like these usually killed normal humans, so I was afraid of what might happen if I left her.
But my gut was in knots, urging me to go in search of Waylen. My muscles all tightened at the thought of what kind of danger he might be in, and my blood boiled in anger.
"Laxus and the others just got back," Cana said, entering the room. Laxus, Gray, Natsu, Juvia, and Jellal had all been out searching for any traces of Waylen or Lucifer's followers, but so far they hadn't had any luck. I should be out there helping them, I thought, even as my eyes drifted back to Levy and my chest tightened uncomfortably.
"And?" I asked, glancing at her.
She sighed, her sad expression giving me her answer. "I'm sorry, Gajeel. It's like the bastard who attacked Levy disappeared. We can't find his scent, or a trail, or anything. All of Lucifer's followers are gone, too. Jellal and Natsu went back to Germany yesterday to see if they could find anything, but they came up empty-handed, too."
"Where could they have gone," I fumed.
"The search would go faster with you out there," Cana said, beginning the same speech I had heard countless times since Levy's attack.
"Cana-"
"If Levy were awake and saw you sitting in here moping while your son was still missing, she'd kick your ass to heaven and back," she scolded. "I can stay with Levy. She's recovering, so she's going to be alright once she rests. In this human state, it's hard to tell how long that will take. Instead of wasting your time-and giving Lucifer more time to use your son as a sacrifice to free himself-you need to be out finding him!"
"I can't leave her like this," I said, hating how weak my voice sounded.
"Gajeel," Cana said, gently placing her hand on my shoulder, "I took care of Levy for a long time, I can handle this. Like I said, she's going to be fine. You need to go find Waylen."
I patted Cana's hand, nodding. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it," Cana smirked. "Giving you a good ass-kicking when Levy can't is my job as her best friend."
"I-"
"Nn." Levy's small groan had both Cana and me snapping our heads in the direction of the bed. She stirred slightly, her face contorted into a grimace as she did so.
"Levy?" I asked, grabbing her hand.
She blinked a few times before her eyes met mine. "Way...len?" She asked, her voice gravelly and stained as she struggled to speak. I shook my head, unable to tell her aloud that we couldn't find him. Her eyes filled with tears as she pulled her hand from mine and attempted to sit up.
"Whoa. Hang on a second, Blue," Cana said, putting her hands gently on Levy's shoulders to keep her down. "You can't go moving around. Your wounds are liable to bust open, and then you'll be in even worse shape."
Levy frowned as if she didn't understand. As her memory of the attack came back, anger flashed in her eyes. "That bastard," she ground out. "He turned me into a human, then took Waylen."
"That's why you need to stay still and focus on recovering," I told her.
She turned her angry eyes back to me, frowning deeply. "Why the hell are you here?"
I gaped at her, stunned. "What?"
"You should be out there finding Waylen," she said, attempting once more to sit up as Cana held her down. "We have to find him, Gajeel. If Lucifer has him..." she trailed off, tears escaping her closed eyes. "I don't want him to go through the same pain I did," she finally said.
"We'll find him," I reassured her, grabbing her hand.
She clenched it firmly, though in her human form it felt like barely anything, and met my eyes. "You have to find him," she said. "He's our son. If you guys would let me out of this damned bed, I'd be out there searching. But since I can't, you have to in my place. Gajeel, find Waylen. And kick that demon's ass."
I nodded, kissing her briefly before standing. "I'll send Lucy in to check on you. Cana," I began, looking at the succubus, "take care of her."
She smiled, rolling her eyes. "As you have to tell me."
"I'll find him, Lev, so don't worry," I promised, heading downstairs where the rest of the group had gathered.
"Gajeel?" Natsu sounded surprised as I came down the stairs and met them in the crowded living room.
"What are you doing?" Laxus asked. "We haven't been able to tear you away from that bedroom since we brought Levy here."
"She's awake," I told them, smiling as they all let out a breath of relief and Laxus slapped my back. "She also laid into me for sitting up there like a damned idiot, and told me to get my ass out there looking for our son."
Laxus smirked. "If she's anything like Cana, I can understand why you practically ran down here," he chuckled.
"Cana told me you guys had been searching the area and our past battlefields for any signs of Lucifer's followers," I said, earning nods from them. "But there's somewhere you haven't searched yet."
"Where?" Juvia asked.
"Hell," I told them.
"There hasn't been a portal opened up in years," Gray frowned.
"And if there aren't any portals, how are we going to get there?" Natsu added.
I looked at Jellal. "Erza taught you how to open a portal, didn't she? One that comes out close to Lucifer's cell?"
He nodded. "She did, but I haven't used it in almost three years.
"You're about to," I said. "We're going to start our search with Lucifer's cell. His followers have been contacting him somehow, so we need to figure that out first. Once we do, we might be able to figure out where they're hiding-and where they've taken Waylen. If we're lucky, Erza can help us by pointing us in the right direction."
"Let's get going, then," Jellal said, leaving the house. We all took off, flying low to the ground as Jellal prepared the portal to the underworld. As soon as it was open, the heat began seeping through, setting my nerves on edge. Back into the Underworld, I thought to myself as we flew through the portal. Waylen, I'm on my way, so stay strong for a little longer.
