Magnetism, chapter 5

[mirime_vy]

Title: Magnetism
Chapter: 5
Pairing: Gajeel/Levy
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima's characters and setting, my story.


In those cases where it is of vital importance to ensure the continuous survival of the patient whose organs are failing, it is possible to temporarily take out those organs and supply their functions with the magical power of the healer. It is also possible to repeat the same procedure on a healthy person. In that case, the magic must be continually supplied by the person on whom the procedure has been performed, not by the healer.

There have been suggestions that this exchange of living tissue for a magical power could be used to gain a semblance of immortality - your heart or lungs cannot be pierced if there are no heart or lungs to be pierced - but the few cases in which it had been attempted had failed. The imbalance it creates in the body of a person, the continuous strain on the magical power of the user, the unnaturality of the immortality phenomenon itself; all of these contribute to the damage that is done to the nervous system and subsequently one's mental state. All of the mages undergoing this operation went insane within a couple of months.

Levy closed the old book slowly. She would approach this calmly and rationally. She... ah, why not?

"Gotcha!" she cheered. Jet and Droy looked up, surprised by her outburst.

"Levy?"

"I've found what I was looking for," she explained, smiling widely. She started looking around the guild, trying to catch a sight of a certain Dragon Slayer. She had moved with her research back into the guild building. The library and records room were bigger than the ones at the dormitory and with so many people around, she felt safer as well.

She saw Juvia talking to Mirajane. Levy had decided to accept the water mage's offer of staying with her until the situation was resolved. She hated the fact that she was too weak to protect herself but there wasn't much she could do about it. She also realized how lucky she was to belong to Fairy Tail where problems of one mage were problems of all of them.

Gajeel was coming out from the records room, flipping through a folder when Levy finally spotted him. Grabbing the book, she stood up and made a beeline for him. Thrusting the book under his nose, she could barely contain her glee.

"I found it!" she declared. "I was just cross-checking on something else when I came upon this passage and it all fits together. I'm sure that this is it."

Gajeel took a step back. Enthusiastic Levy was a force to be reckoned with.

"Good," he said. "Mind telling me what is it you found?"

She blinked up at him before flushing as she realized she had been so caught up in her discovery she hadn't told him what she had found.

"The immortality ritual. Look," she dragged him over to the closest table, setting down the book and pointing at the two paragraphs in question. "See? It fits perfectly. And it's not really an immortality ritual but it explains everything and..." she trailed off at his weird expression. "Gajeel?"

"Levy," his voice was a wonderful example of a strained patience. "It's in some strange gibberish. I can't make out a single word, never mind the whole sentence."

"Oh," Levy looked down. "It's in ancient Thule. I forgot there are not many people who can read that."

"So would you care to translate?"

She did so, trying to stay as close to the original meaning as possible. A really frightening grin spread across Gajeel's face as she finished.

"It means all I have to do is make him run out of magic, right?"

"Uhm, not really."

"But you said-"

"It continues: The organs that have been taken out remain in stasis so they are available after the procedure is no longer necessary. Several safeguards are implemented to ensure that the patient's health is not endangered should the healer run out of magical power. The same safeguards apply to the healthy mages as well."

"You mean to tell me that bastard has his heart hidden somewhere?"

Levy wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"It is possible."

"Shit!" the Iron Dragon Slayer cursed. "It just keeps getting better and better. He better be worth the trouble once I catch up with him."

"Do you want me to keep looking for other rituals?" Levy asked. Gajeel was lost in thought and didn't seem to register her question so she repeated it.

"Nah. It's as you said - this one fits the situation the best."

"What will you do now?"

"A research of my own," he replied. "I've got a plan but I need to straighten out some details. Anyway, thanks for finding this," he gestured to the book. "Are you staying with Juvia?"

"Yes," was her surprised answer. How did he know?

"Good. I'll talk to you later then."

He raised one hand in a wave and taking the folder with him, he went back into the records room. Levy shrugged. If he didn't want to talk about his plans, who was she to force him? Taking the book back, she looked at the stacks of other tomes she had left at her table and sighed. Time to go and return them to the library.
Juvia's room was rather spacious when compared to hers. Or it might have something to do with a distinct lack of towering heaps of books of all kinds. Juvia herself was playing a gracious host, offering her tea (Earl Gray) and quickly hiding a plushie of Gray that had sat on the couch before.

"You can sleep on the bed and Juvia will take the couch."

"No, no. I'm already imposing," Levy protested. "I'll take the couch."

"But you are my guest."

"Couch is fine," Levy assured the water mage. "I'm shorter than you, I'll fit better on it."

"If you are sure," Juvia relented. Levy nodded. An awkward silence descended and Levy realized that until the last night she had barely spoken to the other woman. They lived in the same building, even had neighbouring rooms but she knew nothing about the person who had saved her life.

"Juvia-san?" she decided to make the first step. After all, if she could befriend Gajeel, Juvia would be a piece of cake. "Tell me about yourself. That is," she hurriedly added, "only if you don't mind. I'd like to get to know you better."

"You want to be Juvia's friend?" the eyes of the S-class mage started to shimmer.

"Yes, I'd like that," Levy hurried to assure her. Juvia blinked to suppress her tears.

"Everyone in Fairy Tail is so kind to Juvia. Juvia would be happy to become your friend, Levy-san."

"Levy-chan for friends," the younger girl corrected her. The water mage smiled.

"Juvia is Juvia for friends."

They shared a smile as the ice was broken. Levy had a gift to befriend people quickly and Juvia proved to be an interesting person. Her crush on Gray aside, she was well-traveled and educated. Talking with her helped Levy to forget the circumstances that had brought them together like this. Just as she was contemplating asking about how exactly Juvia knew that Gray was the right man for her (the water user was adamant on that point), a sharp knock on the window interrupted their conversation.

Juvia stood up, gesturing for Levy to get behind her. The book-loving girl obeyed instantly. Another knock sounded.

"Oi, Juvia, open up."

The girls exchanged glances.

"Gajeel-kun?" Juvia asked disbelievingly.

"Who else?"

The water mage approached the window, unlatching the hook and letting in a disgruntled Dragon Slayer.

"About time."

"We had to make sure it was the right person," Juvia explained.

"Jebel won't be able to approach this place. The old geezer added several new layers of protection spells today," the Dragon Slayer commented. Levy noticed he was holding the folder from the afternoon.

"What is that?" she asked.

"Glad you asked," Gajeel smirked. "This is all I could find about Jebel before he went crazy."

He dropped the folder on the table, upsetting the china left after the tea. Juvia quickly collected the empty cups, carrying them off. Levy, meanwhile, approached Gajeel who was pointing at something in the file.

"See here? His last long stay was in a town called Giku, by the border. Shortly after he came back from that mission, he left the guild and started the whole saviour business."

"So what?" Levy didn't understand what he was getting at.

"And here I thought you were smart," Gajeel smirked. Before she could take offense, he added. "That's where his heart must be located."

Levy blinked at his leap of logic.

"How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Simple. The mission took six months. He went crazy shortly after coming back. And I don't know about you, but if I had my heart cut out and replaced with magic, I wouldn't carry it around in a jar. I would hide it somewhere. And what better place than the one where the ritual was done?"

"It could be," Levy agreed. She stared at the file for a moment longer. "But why are you showing it to me?"

Gajeel grinned.

"'Cause I'm leaving for Giku tonight and you're coming with me."

"WHAT?"

"You heard me, bookworm. I need you along, otherwise I wouldn't ask."

Setting aside the warm feeling at being needed by him, Levy focused on her irritation with him.

"You didn't ask me."

"Sure, I did."

"That wasn't asking, Gajeel. Asking involves saying a question and waiting for a reply," she glared at him. He withstood it easily before humouring her.

"Fine, fine. Will you come with me to Giku? There, I asked properly."

Levy pursed her lips.

"Why do you need me?"

"Geez, are you that slow today?" Gajeel stabbed his finger into the paper. "The fucktard must have left some traps behind and you're better at such things. Enchantments and old spells and all that stuff, right?"

"Well, yes," Levy hesitated. "What's the hurry?"

"You gave the same information to the old man, right? About what you found in that old book? He will send the information to the Council and I'll be damned if I let them catch Jebel instead of me."

"Couldn't you work with the Council on that?"

The look he gave her clearly spoke about what he thought of the Council and their enforcers.

"Gajeel-kun doesn't work well with the others," Juvia - who appeared behind them silently as a ghost - said calmly. She held out a cup to Gajeel. "Tea?"

"No," he refused before focusing on Levy. "Besides, doesn't this whole situation bother you?"

"The fact that a dangerous fanatic is after my life? Of course it bothers me. But what can I do about it?"

Even as she was saying those words, she knew he had her exactly where he wanted.

"You can come along and help me."

"Fine, fine. I'll go with you," Levy gave up. "Just give me some time to pack my things."

"Hurry up. I want to catch the last train."

Juvia followed her out of the room and to the neighbouring one. Levy, who hadn't been there since the last night (Jet and Droy had brought her the books for her research), winced at the state of some of the books that had been caught in the crossfire. She would have to have them replaced due to the damages they had sustained.

"Gajeel-kun means well," Juvia spoke up as Levy pulled out her bag. "He's just..." she trailed off, searching for the right word.

"Socially inept?" Levy offered.

"Yes. He cares for the others, he just doesn't know how to show it."

"I realized that much," Levy said as she tossed the toiletry bag into a larger pack. She deliberated over two books and finally decided on the Multi-lingual Dictionary of Ancient Languages. As an afterthought, she put in Basic Protection Spells and Trapping the Unwary, as well. If there were traps left behind, she would have better chance at discovering or avoiding them with those.

"You like Gajeel-kun, don't you?"

Levy congratulated herself for being able to reply as composedly as she did.

"Of course, he's my friend."

"Juvia is glad to hear that," Juvia spoke. "He has always been trying to keep others away from him, back when we were in Phantom Lord. When Juvia asked him to join Fairy Tail with her, Juvia hoped it would change."

"And did it?" Levy asked curiously. Juvia had grounds to compare Gajeel's behaviour both back then and at the present, Levy didn't.

"Yes," the water mage smiled. "It did. Juvia thinks Gajeel-kun is more happy now."

"More happy," Levy murmured. It was very hard to think of the disgruntled Dragon Slayer in the next room as being a happy person. Then again, everyone showed their happiness in a different way so she should probably take Juvia's word for that.

"Oi, what's taking you so long?" the Iron Dragon Slayer appeared in the doorway. Levy lifted her back and slung it over her shoulder.

"I'm ready."

Juvia cleared her throat pointedly, glancing at Gajeel expectantly.

"Ah," Gajeel handed her a piece of paper. "Give this to the old man. I wrote it to explain the situation."

Juvia took the note without comment but she kept staring at him.

"What?" he asked irritably.

"Juvia?" Levy looked between the two former Phantom Lord members. Juvia kept looking at Gajeel before flicking her eyes pointedly in Levy's direction. Gajeel seemed to have finally gotten her message because he groaned.

"You aren't serious."

"It's called manners, Gajeel-kun," Juvia replied.

"Fine," the Iron Dragon Slayer stalked over to Levy and snatched the bag from her before she could so much as protest. "Shit! What the hell did you pack in it? Bricks? It's heavier than mine," he grumbled as he tossed it over his shoulder.

"It's not necessary," Levy tried to protest but Juvia shook her head.

"Gajeel-kun is strong and he should show his gratitude to you for accompanying him. Carrying your bag is the least he can do."

Levy looked at Gajeel. He was still mumbling to himself, the only words she caught were goddamn, conspiracy, female, PMSing and ice moron. Deciding she was really better off not knowing, she merely smiled, trying to convey her own gratitude to him. He didn't really notice so she turned to Juvia, surprising the water mage with an impulsive hug.

"Thank you, Juvia. Please, tell Jet and Droy where I went, so they wouldn't worry."

"Juvia will tell them. Take care, Levy-chan. You too, Gajeel-kun."

Gajeel lifted one hand in a half-wave before briskly walking off down the stairs, Levy right behind him. Juvia smiled to herself and looked at the note. Unfolding it, she read over the brief contents and couldn't help but chuckle at it. Only Gajeel-kun...
Gajeel really had had to plan it all out because when they arrived at the train station - after a brief stop to collect his things - two tickets waited for them for the overnight express train to Akamomo where they would change trains to Giku. Gajeel was even thoughtful enough to reserve the tickets for a sleeping carriage. Given it was almost eleven p.m. and Levy hadn't had a wink of sleep since two days ago, she was ready to drop down on the nearest flat surface and nod off. Being offered relatively comfortable cot with a pillow and a blanket equaled heaven to her tired mind.

Gajeel kept silent all the way to the station and even after they had put their things away in their compartment. Levy finally had enough of it and after pulling out her pajamas and readying it on her bunk, she tried to break the silence.

"So, what is the plan for when we arrive to Giku?"

"We will look for the place where Jebel had stayed and take it from there."

"Is that all?" Levy asked unbelievingly.

"Hey, we can't really make any plans until we know what it looks like in Giku."

"So, we'll be playing it by ear," Levy sighed. Great. She should have known better than let him plan all of it. But wait! Until an hour ago, she wasn't even aware she was going. "Good thing you are so strong," she muttered.

"And why's that?" he asked, looking amused.

"Because your planning sucks."

He raised one pierced eyebrow at that.

"Language, bookworm, language."

Levy huffed and crossed her arms.

"You are one to talk."

Gajeel stared at her before chuckling.

"Just my luck," he commented. At her inquisitive stare, he deigned to explain himself. "The second time we are to share a room and you are once again tired and cranky."

Levy opened her mouth to argue, realized she would only prove his point and closed it again. Then the whole meaning of his statement dawned on her and she decided to choose a better part of valour and bolted for a miniature bathroom with her pajamas, hoping against hope he didn't notice her bright blush.

"Your fault for dragging me along!" she called out from the safety of the small room.

"It's a long journey, I need some entertainment."

"I'm not even going to answer that one," she shot back, changing quickly. She heard him chuckle again but he was otherwise silent. Splashing some water on her face and reassuring herself the blush had faded somewhat, she reentered the compartment. She was surprised to see him sitting on his bunk and not lurking behind the door like back in Sakura.

"What? Something on my face?" he asked when she stared at him for a while. Levy shook her head to dispel her memories.

"Nothing," she pulled back the covers and slipped into the makeshift bed. "I'm just tired as you said. Good night."

"'Night."

Levy closed her eyes and let the movement of the train lull her into sleep.
She was reading her new book in the park. Jet and Droy had gone to get some refreshments and she was enjoying a moment alone. She turned the page, pushed her glasses up her nose again and-

"Hello, Levy."

She screamed. She recognized the voice that spoke. But he was gone, wasn't he? She and Gajeel had gone to Giku and took care of him, didn't they? She got up to her feet, prepared to run but his hand landed on her shoulder, arresting her in place. Levy moved violently, trying to dislodge the hand but he held her firmly and was shaking her, repeating her name.

"Levy! Levy! Oi, bookworm! Wake up!"

Her eyes snapped open and the first thing she noticed was Gajeel's slightly concerned face directly above her.

"G-gajeel?"

He stopped shaking her and leaned away, though his hand was still on her shoulder.

"You screamed in your sleep and then you started to toss around. What's wrong?"

Levy looked away.

"I had a nightmare," she admitted shamefully. "I dreamed that Jebel came back for me."

"Hmm, good thing I took you along."

Whatever she had expected from him, that was not it.

"What do you mean?"

"You need to do your part in getting rid of him. That's the best way to conquer your fear."

She blinked a couple of times.

"Conquer my fears? But I can't. I'm not a brave girl like Lu-chan or Erza. I'm just... me," she finished.

"Hmmpf," the Iron Dragon Slayer snorted and returned to his bed. "Pretty low self-esteem you get there. Bunny girl and Titania are crazy witches. You are normal and I know for sure you're no coward."

That intrigued her.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Are you afraid of me?" he asked her instead of answering.

"No," there was no hesitation in her voice and he smirked.

"Yet half of the guild still do and I haven't done to them what I did to you. But you're not afraid of me. Why do you think it's so?"

"Because I know you better now," Levy replied. Thinking over it more, she finally saw what he had meant. "I was afraid of you at first but as I got to know you, my fear disappeared. I conquered it by realizing that I have nothing more to fear," she finished excitedly.

"I wouldn't put it that way but basically, you are right," Gajeel admitted. "Now get to sleep."

Levy didn't move.

"I can't. If I have a nightmare, I'm not able to sleep for the rest of the night unless-" she stopped abruptly. She was not going to tell him that little tidbit.

"Unless what?"

Too late for that. Levy blushed in embarassment but he had done his best to cheer her up, the least she could do was being honest with him.

"Unless I hold on to something," she confessed in a low voice.

"Hold on to something?" he repeated after her.

"Back in my room, I have this old plushie that I pull out after a bad dream and I hold on to it for the rest of the night."

"You didn't take it along, I guess."

"No."

There was a silence and as it stretched, Levy tried to fight off the idea that kept invading her mind. She could ask him to hold-

"Must it be that plushie?" Gajeel interrupted her thoughts.

"No," and the thoughts were back. Really, what would be the harm? Aside from him possibly getting a wrong idea, that is. But she trusted him, didn't she? Should she ask?

Something soft landed on her lap. Levy looked up at Gajeel and then looked back at the pillow that he had tossed at her.

"Hold on to this," he advised.

"Gajeel, I-"

"Don't get all sentimental on me. This is as nice as I'm going to get, so you better appreciate that."

I do, Gajeel, trust me, I do she wanted to say but finally settled for a quiet

"Thank you."

Snuggling the pillow closer to herself, Levy let her mind drift away but not before dwelling on a certain Dragon Slayer for a moment or two.
The early morning in Fairy Tail was interrupted when panicked Jet and Droy ran into the guild, shouting for Levy.

"What's this all about?" Mirajane asked.

"Levy's gone!"

"What did you say?" the white-haired barmaid repeated unbelievingly.

"She's gone. Juvia left alone and we thought Levy was sleeping in but then Cana and other girls left too and Levy didn't and we knew the others wouldn't leave her alone so-" Jet took a deep breath while Droy finished for him.

"-so we checked her room and her bag was gone and we asked the girls and they don't know anything and so we are looking for the Master."

As if on clue, Makarov entered the guild, Juvia at his side. Makarov was reading a slip of paper over and over and shaking his head.

"Out of all impatient, hot-headed mages-" spotting the two thirds of Shadow Gear and Mirajane, all of them in a state of distress, he swore softly under his breath. "Couldn't wait 'til morning, could he?"

"You know how he is, Master," Juvia soothed him.

"Yeah, I know. Jet! Droy! Mira-chan!" the guildmaster raised his voice to be heard over the usual morning din. "Come here."

They obeyed but as the speed-user and plant-user prepared to launch into an account of Levy's mysterious disappearing, Makarov stopped them.

"I know already," tossing the note to Mirajane, he sighed. "This is an explanation."

Crowding around the note, they read these words: Found Jebel's weakness. Went to take care of him. Took Levy along. Be back in a week. Gajeel.

Mirajane burst out laughing.