1 | Ascent [DISCONTINUED]

8 | THE EFFECTS OF TRUST

GAJEEL WAS NOT STUPID, and often many people assumed that he was. For as long as he could remember, people would assume that he was all brute and no brains. He never minded those assumptions, he knew the truth and could care less about what people thought of him. Still, people believing he was stupid was one thing, but people treating him like such was a completely different story. He couldn't help but get annoyed when people treated him as though he was an idiot. Yet, when it was by someone he cared for, someone who knew the truth, he couldn't help but become furious.

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

Following Master Jose's battle plan reveal, both Elvira and Gajeel set off to initiate step one of Jose's grand plan. Currently, the pair were sitting in the back of Tobias' magic vehicle, on their way to Magnolia. While a train would've been quicker, they couldn't risk being recognized. It was no secret that Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail weren't the best of friends, so to see two members around their base, at night of all times, would only draw suspicion. So as the pair were on their way, they both sat in silence, both of them waiting for their arrival into the town. However, their silence was no comfortable one, it was tense, so tense that Tobias could feel it from the front of the vehicle. Elvira wanted nothing less than to speak with Gajeel, but Gajeel, however, wanted nothing more than to speak with her.

"Elvira," Gajeel repeats. "I know you hear me, don't ignore me."

"I don't want to talk about it Gajeel," she mutters, not looking at him, keeping her focus outside the window.

"I'm not an idiot Elvira."

"I never said you were," she replies.

"Well, stop treating me like I am," he demands. "I know you, Elvira, I know you better then you know yourself. I know there's something wrong with you. You can pretend your fine in front of everybody else, but you can't pretend in front of me."

"Tobias!" Elvira calls, standing up. "Stop the car, please."

"What are you doing?" Gajeel asks, watching as she gets out of the car and stands on the side of the wall. "You idiot! What the actual hell are you doing?"

"Do you want this?"

          "What?" Gajeel questions, not understanding what Elvira meant by her words. "What do you mean, do I want this? Want what exactly?"

          "Do you want to do this?" she clarifies. "Destroy Fairy Tail's guildhall that is. Do you really want to do it? Or are you only doing this because Master Jose ordered you to?"

           When Elvira asked Gajeel his reasonings for wanting to destroy Fairy Tail's guildhall, he realized what was bothering her. She never ignored him, she never gave him the silent treatment, so he knew something was up, but he didn't know what exactly it was. He knew she seemed hesitant about destroying the Fairy Tail guildhall but he thought she moved on from that, but based on her behavior, he could tell that wasn't the case.

Gajeel wasn't surprised by Elvira's reaction to this, especially seeing she never purposefully destroyed anything in her life. If anything, he was surprised that she made it this far. He had no problem with her if she wanted to back out, he knew he would defend her against Master Jose's wrath. However, what he didn't understand was why she was bringing him into this.

          "Listen, Ellie, if you don't wanna do this, it's fine," Gajeel assures her. "And don't worry about Jose, I'll handle him."

          "Do you want to do this?" she repeats, ignoring him.

          "What does it matter?" he asks.

           "Because I won't do this for Master Jose, but I will do it for you," she answers. "Unlike him, I trust you, I trust you with every fiber in my body. And if you believe doing this is the right thing, then I'll do it, but if you have doubts, any at all, tell me. This isn't some little game Gajeel, this is war, and I don't want you to do something you'll regret later. So be honest with me, is this something you want?"

           Gajeel always knew that Elvira was loyal to him, he's known it for as long as they have known each other. He knew she only joined Phantom Lord because he wanted to, and he knew the reason why he stuck around this long was because of him. However, hearing her admit that she would go against everything just because she trusted him, hit him in a way he never thought it would.

Gajeel knew most people would jump at the chance to have someone as loyal as Elvira, but he couldn't help the guilt that begins to bubble in his stomach. He also knew the risk she was taking by agreeing to this, and to know that risk was in his hands, made the guilt only rise. Still, he wanted a fight, he wanted to take down Fairy Tail, and he wanted his best friend to help. So, he pushed that guilt away, and let the selfishness take over.

           "I want this Ellie," Gajeel admits. "I want to take Fairy Tail down. I'm not just doing this because I was ordered, I'm doing this because this is my purpose, this gives my life meaning."

           "Okay," Elvira replies, before walking to the car and opening the door. "Then let's do this."

           As the path to Magnolia continued once again, Elvira couldn't help but hear Lahar's words in her head. Going to war with Fairy Tail would put in her right in front of the council again, but it wasn't the council she feared. She knew Lahar didn't have to let her go, but he did, and she owed him, owed him to stay out of trouble. Yet, here she was, on her way to it. Despite being afraid of her possible future, she pushed the fear away.

Right now, she couldn't afford to be afraid, she had a mission to complete. She might've not agreed with a mission, but she trusted Gajeel's judgment, a lot more than her Master's. Even if Gajeel's judgment was wrong, she still wouldn't abandon him. He never abandoned her, so she knew she had no right to do that to him. Plus, she hadn't fulfilled her promise to him, so until then, he was stuck with her, and she was stuck with him.

          On the way to Magnolia, Elvira took a much-needed nap, hoping that by the time she woke up, they would already be in town. Lucky enough for Elvira, her hope was granted, as when she woke up, they had arrived in Magnolia. By the time they arrived, it was night, which was great for Gajeel and Elvira, because that meant nobody would be there. The goal was to destroy the guildhall, not hurt anybody, sending a settle message that the Fairy Tail members would quickly understand. After Tobias parked the car a good distance away from the guildhall, Gajeel and Elvira got out of the car and made their way to the guildhall.

"Are you ready?" Gajeel asks Elvira after the pair entered the dark hall.

"Yeah," she answered, nodding her head.

"Alright!" Gajeel exclaims, a smirking growing on his face. "Let's do this!"

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