GAJEEL AND LEVY ALL THE WAY! *smiles in a satisfied manner* Welp, now that I've got my lucky intro phrase covered, let's move on with the Author's Note. My friend Lissa (who also serves as my wonderfulamazingawesome Beta) has been bugging me to finally write and post this, and now I am. (You're welcome, missy.)

Pairings: mainly GaLe, but there will be others (though I won't give away anything yet *evil laughter*).

If you'd like to know more about the setting, it's in the End A/N. You can also review or PM me if you spontaneously explode from any feels you may get before reading the End A/N.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Bad for me, good for the characters (though I still maintain that they would secretly enjoy being forced together in awkward-yet-still-romantic situations).

Levy tripped on the pavement and fell to her knees, crying out. Wincing, she pushed herself up and ran. Her knees stung, and she could dimly feel something trickling down her leg.

'Blood', her mind supplied, 'that's blood running down your leg.'

Her lungs were burning, and she kept gasping for air. But it wasn't enough, it wasn't enough. She still needed more air, but couldn't get any.

"There she is!"

"Levy, wait!"

"Stop!"

Shouts sounded behind her and she flinched, pushing herself harder. She had to get away, she couldn't let them get her. If they got her… Blue locks slapped her face as she shook her head violently. No, she couldn't think of that now. She had to get away.

Dark smudges flashed by her- alleyways, narrow and black. She threw herself to the left and sprinted down one, panting desperately. Mud splashed up and clung to her legs and the bottom of her dress. Trash was piled up around the sides, its stench clogging all her senses.

The alley split ahead and Levy bit her lip. She pushed away her urge to hesitate and analyze, and dove to the right. The shouts were dying away behind her now, growing fainter with every step.

A grim smile stole over her face. She may not have looked like much, but she could haul ass when she needed to. Obviously her pursuers were unaware of that fact.

She kept running, kept taking every twist and turn the alley offered. She didn't care where she was going, as long as it was away from them.

Eventually her vision blurred, and she faltered. Shaking her head again, she tried to make her legs move. They did, but slower than before, so much slower. The alleyway was growing darker. She squinted and looked up, but could see only the blurry outlines of dilapidating buildings. Perhaps it was nighttime…

"Uh-!" She grunted in surprise as she collided with a ladder. The loud clanging noises jarred her ears, and she grimaced. So much noise, too much attention. They would find her. She pushed away from the ladder and stumbled along the wall.

Slime coated her hand and she shuddered. Still, she kept going. She had to go, she had to find help. Her vision was blurring again and she stumbled. It must be night, it kept getting darker. Darker and darker- no, night wasn't this dark. It wasn't this oppressive, this suffocating.

When she tripped this time, her arms wouldn't push her up. They gave out and she sobbed in frustration. No, this couldn't happen, not now. She needed to find help, or they would get her too. She had to get help for them…

"Jet… Droy…" She sobbed once more, and then the darkness took her.

3 hours earlier…

Levy woke with a start to find Jet covering her mouth. He held a finger up to his lips and motioned for her to get up. She nodded, pushing the covers aside.

Jet walked over to her dresser and quickly pulled a dress out, throwing it at her and motioning for her to get dressed. She slipped her pajama top off and started to pull it on, noticing Jet turn away. He was so embarrassed that she almost smiled. Almost.

As soon as she finished putting the dress on, Jet pushed her towards the window. He pulled them inwards and then fiddled with the outside bars, before pushing them open too. She started at him, confused, and he shook his head.

"Later," he mouthed, and then pushed her towards the windows. She climbed out of them and stood on the windowsill, looking down.

Droy was there, and her waved at her with his arms. 'Just jump,' she thought. 'He'll catch me.' She closed her eyes and jumped.

Wind whistled by her, tangling her hair in clumps around her head. She clamped her mouth shut, pressing down the urge to scream.

Her head snapped forward when she hit Droy, and the metallic tang of blood filled her mouth. She'd bitten her tongue. Droy put her down gently and looked up at Jet, now perched on the sill. He tensed his legs, ready to jump, and then whipped his head around suddenly. His mouth opened and he looked down at them.

"Ru-" He was cut off suddenly, and disappeared back into the room.

"Jet!" Levy screamed and started forward. Droy grabbed her arms and slung her in front of him, pushing her out of the alley and onto the street.

"Run, dammit!" She stumbled forward but started running nonetheless.

They sprinted down the streets, Droy keeping a firm grip on her arm. Her arms pumped along her sides, and she sucked in air. Her legs cramped and twinged below her, and she winced. Pricks of pain ran through them up into her sides, and she felt her face twist into a grimace.

"Wha- going on?" She gasped out, looking at him through the corner of her eye.

"They- they're coming," He panted out, breathing hard. His chest was heaving, and the hand which was curled around her arm was wet with perspiration.

She look at him, still lost, but he shook his head.

They kept running, following the street wherever it led them. It was dark, but the street lamps were on, guiding their path.

While they ran, Levy's mind raced. She was trying to come up with a solution, trying to figure out what was happening. They were being pursued, yes, but by whom?

Someone (or someones, as her mind so helpfully chimed in) smart, to be sure. And strong, or else very sneaky. They'd been staying at the guild, so the person would have had to infiltrate it and worked his (or her, her mind piped up again) way upwards from there. That, or they simply came in through a different window on either the second or third floor, where her room was located.

Still, that didn't make sense. Why had the person tried to grab them from the inside? Why not come in through the outside, it certainly would have been easier. Sure, the bars and locked window were good deterrents, but not overtly thick or sturdy.

And why them? Levy wasn't sure whether they'd been after just her or both of her teammates as well. It didn't matter, but the strangeness of it just didn't sit well with her.

She gasped as Droy pulled her around a sharp corner and pressed her up against the wall.

"Droy," She started again, "What-?"

"No time," He panted, looking around the corner quickly. "The last mission, you remember?"

Nodding, Levy bit her lip. "Yes, but what-"

"Listen to me, okay? They've infiltrated the guild, and they're coming for us." His eyes were wild, and he kept wetting his lips.

"No, but I don't-"

"Be quiet!" He hissed at her, and Levy started at him in shock. He'd never taken that tone of voice with her before. "You can't trust anyone, hear me? No one!"

He looked around the corner once more and dragged her out roughly, pulling her along. Levy tried to keep up with his as best as she could, her flimsy night slippers tearing against the rough pavement.

'They've infiltrated the guild…' Her mind drudged up his words. What did he mean? 'The last mission…you remember?' She quickly dragged up her memories of their last mission.

It was a simple enough mission: patrol a party for a high-ranking council member. It had been his daughter's birthday, and he didn't want any interruptions. There had been a kidnapping attempt on her last birthday, though it was unorganized and easily prevented, and so hence the extra protection this time around.

It had turned out to be a wise choice on the council member's part, however, as they'd actually caught some trespassers. The daughter had gone out onto the balcony to get away from the claustrophobic room for a few minutes. Two men had tried to snatch her, not noticing the blue-haired girl standing in the shadows.

They'd acknowledged her soon enough.

She'd made simple and quick work of them, as they weren't expecting her. After Jet and Droy had flapped around her for a few minutes worrying, they'd thrown the criminals in jail. After that, it had been a simple matter of collecting their reward and going home. That was almost two weeks ago.

They were still running when they first heard the shouts behind them. Men, though Levy couldn't identify how many. She didn't take the time to look back and count, instead ducking her head lower and trying to run faster.

It was hard, though; she was tired, and thirsty. The last thing she'd eaten was an apple before bedtime, and she had no idea how long ago that was.

Droy was showing signs of lagging, too. He wasn't the young man he'd once been, and it was showing. He'd gained weight- a lot of weight- in the last year, and relied on his magical strength more than his physical strength.

He dropped behind and Levy turned, grabbing at him.

"Come on, come on!" It was she that grabbed his arm this time, pulling him along beside her. He was sweating heavily though, and gasping for air. She tugged at his arm desperately as the shouts continued to grow louder.

"There they are!"

"Hey- you!"

"Stop!"

She yanked on his arm frantically. "Hurry, we have to go!"

He heaved himself forward, coughing violently and almost sobbing. Levy strained, trying to pull him faster than he was going. Faster than he was probably capable of going right now. If this kept up… No! She shook her head. She had to think positive, she had to figure out a way… Maybe the alleys, the slums had to be around here somewhere…

She glanced around furtively, but all she saw was cookie-cutter houses and the occasional guild. The slums were nowhere in sight.

'Of course not,' she thought to herself, almost hysterically. 'Can't have the slums dirtying up prime real estate.' She cursed the rich bastards and guilds that were housed there, ignoring the fact that she and her guild were in that category themselves.

A stitch was growing in her side, and Levy glanced back to see how her partner was. She immediately saw that he wasn't good. His face was a deep red color, almost puce. Sweat was rolling freely down his face and his mouth was hanging open. Shuddering gasps and hiccups were coming from him, and his steps were heavy and plodding.

She pulled him down a side street and tried to yank harder.

He slowed down and pulled her around to face him. "Y- you have to-" He doubled over and weakly pushed away her outstretched hands. "Have- leave-" Coughs wracked his body and he gasped for breath.

"What- leave? No!" She reached for him again. "Come on, we have to-"

"No!" He said sharply, and she stilled. "No," He repeated again.

There were shouts again in the distance, and they both flinched, looking around automatically. Levy glanced back at him. "I'm not leaving without you." He was her nakama, she couldn't leave, she wouldn't!

"You don't have a choice." It was as if he'd read her thoughts, but come up with the wrong answer. "I won't make it, we both know it." He was regaining his breath now that they'd stopped. "I'm just slowing you down."

"No you're not!" Tears were pressing against the backs of her eyes. "Come on, we're wasting time, we need to-"

"Levy," He repeated firmly. "You have to go."

The shouts were growing closer, and sounded more numerous now.

"Please," She whispered. "Please don't do this." A tear rolled down her cheek and she swiped at it angrily. She hated when she cried, though it happened a lot when she was frustrated.

"There they are!"

"I see 'em!"

"Come on!"

Droy smiled at her sadly and pushed her away from him. "Don't worry- I've still got one good diversion left in me. I'll hold them off." A bright gleam entered his eye, and he seemed to perk up a bit.

A man rounded the corner and yelled back at his comrades, pointing at them. Droy stood up, pushing her again and snarled at the man.

More men rounded the corner and saw them, whooping with delight.

Levy screamed through her teeth and let the rest of her tears fall.

Then she ran.

And there it is, folks! Shorter than what I usually write, but I hope you won't mind too much.

Review, review, REVIEW, and you'll get fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.

I will try and update every Sunday, as is my norm.

A little background info for those of you who are interested:

The story in set in Magnolia, Fiore. Everything is pretty much the same (cobbled streets, street lights, etc.) except that modern-day technology will be present. Nothing futuristic like flying cars or anything, but there will be iPods, TV's, etc. Think of it as a Fairy Tail-fied version of New York, if you need a more accurate mental picture. Magic still exists (don't worry) and there are still guilds. However, there are also class divisions just like in NYC. You have the elite upper class with their mini-mansions (this is also where the majority of the guilds are located), the middle class, and the slums. Again, if you have any more questions or want a more specific description, shoot me a review (you'll also get cookies, go you!).