Beauty of Fairy Tail (Gale/Gajevy AU)

Chapter 28

          With Jose at one end and uncertainty coming up fast, I decide to hold my ground. I hold Levy tightly against my chest. I won't let them hurt her anymore. She's strong and an amazing fighter, but she's walking a wire, here. I don't even want to think about all the things the girl in my arms has gone through. And, she said she doesn't want the baby. Does that mean shes...?

          "Gajeel!" I turn towards the entrance to the hall. I see Salamander running full speed to help me.

          "What are you doing here, shit head?! I told you to stay outside," I reprimand. "Ah... Hell with it. I need you to take Levy out to Wendy. She hurt. Make she she stays alive."

          "But you need help, here. You can't fight him on your own, metal head," Natsu complains, angrily. I put Levy in his arms.

          "Just get her out of here! If I die here, honor this like it's my last request." Natsu starts like he might say something else, but shuts his mouth and nods. He takes off again in the direction that he came. I turn back to Jose. He looks much older, now. His hair is silvery and his face is wrinkled.

          "Now that that's finished... I'm sure we both know why we're here, Gajeel," Jose says, slyly. I growl at him. "Come now, Gajeel, is that any way to treat your old master?"

          "For all the things you've done or made me do, a little disrespect is the least you have to worry about." Jose snickers and flicks his cape back.

          "Alright, Gajeel. Let's see how much you've improved since I last saw you," announces Jose, firing his dark magic. I transform my arm into a metal club and bat them away. I swing at Jose, but he easily dodges my attack. I charge at him, changing my arm into a sword, and swing. With a smug grin, he blocks the attack. He pushes the magic away from him and throws me halfway across the room. I land on all fours and leave a long scratch mark with my claws. They go deep through the stone.

          "Very good, my boy. You are stronger. Surprising with how weak the rest of your guild is," Jose taunts. 

          "Then how come your army's defeated," I retort. "How come you had to kidnap a member of our guild and have everyone else do your dirty work?" Jose's lips curl back into a sneer. He launches more of his dark magic at me. I dodge some of the blasts, but one of them strikes me in my right shoulder, leaving it throbbing and sending pulses of pain through my entire body. I hear my old master cackle. I growl at him again.

          I launch myself at him, trying to catch him off guard. I change my arm into a sword and swing. jose places one hand in front of him and fires another spell. I block it with my sword and and launch it back at him. It hits him square in the chest. It thrusts him back a few feet, but doesn't seem to have done any damage to him. "Dammit! How did that not hurt him?" 

          I swipe at Jose with my claws and finally scratch him across the cheek. This proves that the devil does bleed. With a flick of his wrist, Jose wipes the blood from his face and onto the floor. He sneers. He seems to disappear. He appears right next to me and shoots a spell, point blank. It rams into me and courses though my body like fire in my veins. Everything hurts like hell. My vision blurs and switches in and out of focus.

          "Did you honestly think that you could beat me? I am stronger than you. I have become stronger than your master. I have become like Death," Jose gloats. He picks my head up by the hair and slams me back onto the ground. The old man stands over me, cackling.

          "I can't do it. I know that I need to fight, but I can barely see. ...I believe in you... Gajeel... Huh? What? That was Levy." I push myself up onto my knees. I can feel a new power growing in my gut. It feels warm and protective. It's hope. I shove myself onto my feet and focus all my power on Jose. The battle continues as a vicious cycle of my iron magic versus his dark spells.

          I lunge at him again, claw outstretched and he focusses his remaining power at my heart. There are two screams of pain and horror. There's a fresh corpse on the stone floor.

Levy

          I fell asleep in Gajeel's arms. I had no dreams. It was all dark, until I was woken up by Wendy and the bright sunshine of the outdoors. Natsu had gotten me to safety, but not without leaving Gajeel to fight Jose on his own. I want to go back inside and help, but Wendy and Master are keeping me in camp. There was a pretty bloody battle here. Fairy Tail had no losses, but many people were teetering on the edge and some were in shock. Many were forced to kill another person for the first time.

          "How long has it been?" I ask. I'm still pretty weak. It takes some time for me to even sit up.

          "It's been a little over three hours since Natsu brought you back," Wendy says. The only thing that I have been able to think of has been Gajeel. I keep praying and hoping he'll be alright.

          Suddenly, I'm ripped from my train of thought. A loud bang has just echoed through the field. The door, that shut behind Natsu when some of Phantom Lord fled, is slowly sliding open. I try to see who it is, but all I can see is red.