Beauty of Fairy Tail (Gale/Gajevy AU)

Chapter 26

"Can't sleep?" I avert my eyes from the castle, suddenly not hearing their noise. To my right, Wendy is sitting cross-legged with her hands in her lap.

"No. Not with Shrimp in there," I respond. She nods.

"I'm just scared for tomorrow. I know that I can fight, or run around and heal people. It's just... this is war. We've had some tough battles, but who knows what we're up against," Wendy explains as she shakes a bit. I stand up and squat in front of her. I tussle her hair and tell her that she's going to do fine and that we're all going to make it home.

"Yeah. Im sure that we'll get Levy back, safe and sound. She's one of the toughest wizards I know." Wendy smiles and goes back to a wooden tent. I'm sure that Romeo and Carla are in it. Wendy has been dating Romeo for some time, only behind Macao's back, and Carla is overprotective and feels she needs to baby the young Dragon Slayer.

I stand up and lean against a pine. I watch as room lights go out, one by one. When the last of the rooms are dark, I find Lily. I climb into the tent he saved for us. I shut my eyes and let the nightmares play.

At dawn, Lily, Natsu, and I head out on a scouting mission. I tell the others, so that they don't worry. Quickly, the three of us make our way through the trees to the castle. They have armed guards around the wall that surrounds the place and presumably more inside, plus wizards. We return to the group with this and prepare for the battle.

Erza is looking over her armor and talking to a man named Jellal who joined the guild a few days ago. The Straus' are having a group hug. Bisca and Alzac are talking and holding a picture of Asuka. Gray and Juvia are holding hands. Even Laxus is comforting his friends. He pats Freed's and let's him hold his waist. Everyone knows that Freed is gay, but we all accept it. He's our guildmate, afterall.

"Alright," I call. "It's time to go. I don't know what we're facing, besides a man that I never thought would be back in my life. All I know is that you have fought Jose before. But, if I'm right, he is going to be waiting for me. If Levy makes it out first. I'm dead. If neither of us come out by sunset, we failed. Now, let's go. I thinks Levy's waited too long." Everyone rallies, quietly. Magic power is fluctuating around us. I'm sure that Jose can feel it. I'm sure he's rallying his own army.

I lead our march on the castle. I have all my friends by my side and we are ready to fight. We walk out of the forest, ready do die for each other. Ready stand and rise to save our friend. We wait in the middle of the field for our opponents to meet us. In minutes, the field is poised for battle.

"Alright, you pieces of shit, give us Levy or get ripped in half," I boom across the field.

"Come and get 'er, Blacksteel!" someone yells back. I signal Fairy Tail to attack. Blondie summons a couple spirits and sets them to work. While on fire's a hail of arrows, the other burrows under ground and attacks from below. One of her spirits, a former member, summons himself. Elfman takes Beast Soul and Mira is in Satan Soul. Erza is requipping into her Heaven's Wheel armor. I can see Laxus working up a charge. We rush them as soon as we can see them scattrring. The first guy doesn't even see my iron claws slash through him, until I'm a meter away.

I feel blood spray as I cut down man after man. I make a stage lube through their army and to the the front door of the castle. A pair of men, taller and wider than I am are guarding it. I recognize their smells. They're the perverts from the ally.

"Welcome home, Blacksteel," one of the men says. "If you can get past us, Master Jose will be so happy to see you. Oh, and I almost forgot. We have your little friend, don't we." I growl and lunge at them, my arm becoming a sword. They both have large knives that are obviously enchanted. We swing at each other in every direction. All the while, he's taunting me.

"You do remember us, don't you. Slash and Ash. Also known as the Brothers Blade." I had almost forgotten about these two. I would here about them on the radio. They're murderers, theives, and rapists. They're scum.

"You know, Redfox, your girl moaned like a whore the whole time, last night. We were obliged to take on such a tiring task. And does she ever know how to take it like a champ," one man barks with laughtef. The other cackles. They catch me off guard. The taller man's leg flings me into a wall, creating cracks and an indent. I spit a mouthful of blood on the ground. I know that at least one of my ribs is broken.

With some quick thinking, I dissolve into a shadow. The men are stunned. It's a little trick I picked upm a while ago, while sparring with a member of an allied guild. After dodging around their feet, I stretch upwards and, with clawed hands and a clear conscience, I rip through their chests.

I feel their hot blood trickle down my arms. I grab a hold of something on the other side. It's hard a lumpy. I hold tight and pull. When I look at my hands, I can recognize the human vertebrae. The men fall to the ground. I transform my hands back to normal, but something doesn't feel right. I put my hand on the wall to steady myself. I leave a bloody smear on the stone as I breathe heavily.