Levy's eyes flew open a half second later, her eyes widening in shock as she realized she was no longer standing inside of the old, tattered hut. She was instead standing on what looked like nothing, surrounded by a black, starry sky. She tried to leap back, but movement was difficult as she was floating in a completely black and white specked room.

     "Wh-wha...? Where am I?"

      Zaubera was floating beside her, accompanied by Scribe the cat man, who was looking slightly annoyed as he floated upside down. Zaubera smiled, saying in an eerily echoey voice

  "There will be a man, who stands against time, 

Will slowly rise to power, and change fate's design.

Fights against mystics and all magical things,

Seems like a second but takes hold of kings.

He takes all the mystery, casts it away to deep pits,

Yet hidden in reality shows a dark hypocrite.

Only one shall stop him, only one to resist the burn;

A child of Metalicanna, the dragon slayer of iron.

On the final full moon of his eighteenth year, shan't have time to laugh or feast,

For inside him shall reveal darkness, the blood of a devil's beast.

If there's no bond, his conscience will fail

But if his heart stays with friends, his soul will prevail.

If his mind stays his own, all evil shall perish,

But if he loses his thoughts, he'll lose those he cherishes."

     Zaubera finished, leaving Levy with an icy feeling in her heart.

     "The prophecy," Levy whispered, then looked up at Zaubera with hope shining in her amber eyes, "Do you know what it means? Can you tell me?"

     "It means you must stick with your partner no matter what. If you do not, this country as you know it will end," Zaubera said calmly, her eyes and face relaxed and serene.

     "B-but why? I mean, I know Gajeel's the focus of the second part of the prophecy, but who's the first?" Levy asked urgently, desperate for answers.

     "You know his name; you've seen his face. But you have yet to pair the two together," Zaubera said.

    "You almost have all the pieces of the puzzle, you just have to put them together," Scribe said urgently.

   "How?" Levy began to get frustrated, her eyes shut tightly as she tried to think harder, "Just tell me!"

     "Think of what you have discovered. If you begin to piece it together, the other parts will fall into place."

     "I don't know how to piece it together! None of it fits!" 

     "Try turning the pieces until they fit," Scribe sounded as calm as Zaubera did.

     Levy was silent for a long moment, closing her eyes and willing her mind to relax. She let out a long sigh as she gathered together the information shed picked up over the past few days, keeping all of it and dismissing none of it as unimportant.

     Then her eyes suddenly flew open as it all suddenly clicked, "Magic," she gasped, "Does he have magic?"

     Zaubera nodded with a smile.

     "I have one more question," Levy said quickly, the excitement from her discovery showing in her eyes, "What happens on the full moon in a couple days?"

     "A curse is awakened," Zaubera said smoothly, turning away, "The curse of the Blood Beast possession. You have heard of the Blood Beast?"

     "The red demon that used to kill people all the time whenever it could?" Levy frowned,"But I thought it was locked up decades ago!"

     Scribe just slowly shook his head, "Nothing lasts forever."

      Then Levy felt a jolt, and she found herself standing back on the wooden floor in reality, feeling rather lightheaded.

     She supposed she had been falling because Gajeel caught her, holding her upright again, "You okay?" he asked immediately.

     Levy gave a small nod, holding a hand to her forehead shakily, "Wh-what happened?"

     "You fell over," Slick stated, "When you were crushing those rocks a second ago. Duh."

     "No,before that! How long was I unconscious?" Levy asked, turning to face Gajeel with a slight frown on her face.

     "Before that you... coughed?" Gajeel frowned back, "And you were conscious the whole time, shrimp. You absolutely sure you're okay?"

     Levy glanced over her shoulder at Zaubera and Scribe, who was a cat again, "What just happened?"

      "You had questions that required answers, questions you preferred were not asked in front of your companions. So I pulled you into an alternate reality to hide our conversation," Zaubera replied, picking up her quill and a scroll of paper, writing down runes, "Now I believe you have had a rather recent and important epiphany?"

     Levy's eyes lit up again with excitement, "Yes! Gajeel, we've got Togo talk to your dad right this very second!" She exclaimed, grabbing his wrist eagerly, "I've put some things together, and we need to go right now!"

     "Whoa, easy, shrimp," he frowned at her, his crimson eyes glinting with slight confusion, "Care to explain what the hell you're talking' about? I don't read minds."

      "Gajeel, I have a hunch about... about everything! We need to get back to your dad's place— fast." Levy grabbed his hand, tugging him towards the door, "Come on, Slick!"

       "Okay...." Slick opened the wooden door, ignoring its creak, and allowed Levy to drag Gajeel through it into the forest again.

      Levy glanced back, calling over her shoulder to Zaubera and Slick, "Thank you so much, guys! I owe you a lot. You guys are completely amazing, bye!"

   And with that, Levy carted both Gajeel and Slick through the trees back the way they had come, "I'll explain this to you as soon as we get to your father's place, but I promise you now, this is important. It cannot wait another second."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Sorry this chapter was so short! I had a very limited window to write this, so please forgive any typing errors and such. Thanks for reading, and keep being awesome!  —gajevyx99 out