Behind the scenes

Levy's Incredible

"What are you thinking, Laxus?! Are you trying to drag innocent civilians into this?!" The geezer was screaming at the sky, but stopped suddenly, grasping the coat over his heart. "Hrk!" He grunted as he fell to the ground. "Gramps!"

Mira took off to grab the Master's medicine, as the other girls crowded around him, trying to revive the old man. Flame-brain was still trying to get answers from the unconscious senior citizen. "What is the Thunder Palace?! Gramps?!"

"It's terrible, everyone! Look outside!" Mirajane yelled as she sprinted back into the room. The girls and the hothead sprinted out onto a balcony, and I walked out behind them. The cowgirl was whipping out her sniper rifle, and aiming at some lacrima that were floating in the sky. She shot one, and the lightning branded orb exploded. Everyone was cheering for her, when her face suddenly contorted and she started screaming. Electricity was arcing all over her body, and she collapsed, writhing on the ground.

"Body link magic?!" The boozer yelled. I gotta admit, for a drunk, she seems to know a lot. "Those things are spelled so that any damage done to it links back to the attacker! At this rate, everyone in the town will... We've gotta take out Laxus himself, that's the only choice left! Try to evacuate the townspeople!" Most of the women ran back inside, and then out of the hall. The bookworm stayed, crouched down by her wounded friend.

"What the hell is that asshole thinking?!" Salamander was angry. He almost looked as mad as he'd been when he and I had fought before. He jumped over the balcony railing, sliding down the roof until he hit the enchantment. He started slamming his fists, his feet, and even his head into the invisible wall. "If you really wanna be Master that bad, fight the old man yourself! Give it up already, Laxus!"

"Natsu, stop! Calm down!" Shrimp was yelling at the idiot on the roof. "Like hell I will!" The bluenette grinned. "It's an enchantment!" I crossed my arms over my chest. "Thank you Captain Obvious. I thought you were the smart one." I remarked. She ignored me, looking confident as she said, "that's a form of written magic! I might be able to do something about it!" Oh. Way to be an ass, Gajeel.

"Seriously, Levy?!" Natsu yelled as he hopped back onto the balcony with us. "I have faith that the two of you will be able to stop Laxus!" She smiled at us both, surprising me. I didn't smell any of the usual fear on her. Having something to do seemed to have distracted her from it. We followed her back inside, and within minutes she had books scattered across the floor. Flame-brain went back to pounding on the invisible wall, and I squatted next to the tiny woman to watch her work.

She was down on her hands and knees, hair pulled into a sloppy ponytail. I was trying, really, not to stare at her ass. She had it up in the air as she balanced on her elbows so she could turn pages and take notes. She was muttering, "break down...basic character material... Identify..." Her voice was getting louder. "L, O, S, U... Now, if we map those into basic guile grammar..." I moved my gaze to her face. "Yer incredible, ya know that? We speak the same language, but I can't understand a word yer sayin'."

"No!" I jumped as she whipped around and pointed a finger at me. "The L and S are a bluff! The key code is 'Als'!!" She was so intense. "R-right. I see..." I said. I didn't want to interrupt her train of thought.

"Don't worry, I'll have you guys out of here in no time." She said as she turned back to taking notes. She tucked some of her hair that had fallen back behind her ear. Damn. She's cute like that. I shook my head and looked away to clear those thoughts. "It's not like I really care-"

"Please. You have to stop Laxus." I looked back to find her staring at me. Her eyes are so focused. So intense. They're... I found myself nodding, agreeing to what she asked me. I decided in that moment that she was a purely good person, and I resolved to never let her be hurt again. Especially not because of me.

The salamander gave me an excuse to look away as he started pounding even harder on the boundary. There were more fights popping up, and his blonde girl was one of them. "Yer kidding me?! That Bunny-girl could actually fight?!" I yelled, jumping up as I saw her fight's result. "I'm sure Lucy's pretty strong," the idiot mumbled. I could tell he was proud, and frustrated that he wasn't getting to fight.

"No way! I mean, she's a freakin' bunny!" She'd shown up at the guildhall in a bunny suit the other day, and I decided that'd be one of the things I called her, instead of bothering to learn her name. "That's Lu-chan for you! And I've got to do my best as well!" I heard exclaimed from behind me. She had a determined grin on her face as she bent back down over her books.

"Bunnies are strong, you know!" Natsu yelled at me.
"Now that's one I haven't heard before..." I replied. I heard the shrimp mumbling about her translations as the flame-brain and I argued. "Haven't you heard the story of the tortoise and the hare?!"

"Sure, and the hare lost, remember?" Idiot.
"Yeah, the first time! They had hundreds of rematches, and the hare won all of 'em!" I rolled my eyes. "This is going to be the hardest part..." My ears tuned into her voice now, without me even trying, so it shocked me a little when she suddenly yelled.

"That's it!!! I just have to decipher the two grammars at different rates! If I go through the text...corresponding...then concert that into... I'VE DONE IT!" She leapt up with a stack of papers in her hand. I watched her hips sway back and forth as she walked towards the doorway holding the invisible wall. "You just wait there, I'll overwrite the enchantment. Are you ready? It's time for you to take part in the Battle of Fairy Tail!"

I grinned and started stretching my arms out. I felt a heat next to me, as Salamander's arms caught fire. "Hell yeah!" He yelled.

"Gihi, time to go have me a little fun."