Gajeel leapt to his feet at Levy's shriek, racing back towards the house and throwing open the door to see... chaos.

     Overturned chairs and tables, fallen books and picture frames, and shattered glass that littered the blood stained floor.

     Levy was crouched beside Gael, and Gajeel's eyes widened as he realized his father was surrounded by a pool of fresh, crimson blood. "Wh-what the—" he stared numbly at his father, "H-he isn't... he's not..."

     "He's alive," Levy let out a small sigh of relief, "B-but we need to bandage him up! Give me those torn curtains, Gajeel!"

     Gajeel yanked one down, tearing it into long strips before tossing the brown fabric at Levy, "What the hell happened here?" he demanded.

     Levy pulled the bandages tightly around Gael, "I don't know," she sounded close to tears, "We weren't gone for more than twenty minutes... and Slick is gone too!! Oh, I hope he's okay!"

    Gajeel gritted his teeth, crouching beside Levy, "Can't you heal him?"

     "Yes," she nodded her head vigorously, her hands trembling, "I know a healing spell, but it takes a lot of magical energy." she sighed, resting her hands on the wound on Gael's chest, closing her eyes and murmuring the spell under her breath.

     A long moment later, Gael's eyes opened, and he cringed as he slowly sat up. He put a hand to his forehead, then glanced down at his chest.

     "There's still a wound, but I've healed most of it," Levy told him, her voice cautious, "So please be careful!"

     Gael gave a small nod,then grinned up at Gajeel, "Good. You're okay."

     Gajeel scowled, "Whatever, tell us what happened."

     "Slick and I realized it got really awkward once you two had left, so we naturally tried to start a conversation," Gael shrugged his shoulders carelessly, resting a hand on his injury, "Then the window broke, and these guys in ninja outfits came in. When I turned to face them, I guess one was behind me,'cause one stabbed me from behind. When they realized I wasn't dead, they tried to kill me for a few minutes, hence the mess, but I killed two and pitched their bodies outside because decomposed materials are good for plants. But then we saw Levy coming back to the house through the window. I was distracted, so one of them hit me over the head with a flower pot or somethin', then I saw one grab Slick before I passed out."

     "You okay, though?" Gajeel asked stiffly.

     "Yup. Thanks to your girlfriend." Gael gave him a teasing smirk.

     "SHE AIN'T MY GIRLFRIEND," Gajeel scowled, glaring violently at his father, "She's just a friend!"

     "Too bad. Because it's practically fate!" Gael told him knowledgeably, "Because your shipping name is Gale, my name is Gael, it's perfect!"

     "She ain't my girlfriend!" Gajeel snapped, grabbing Gael's shirt collar, "Say that again and I'll —"

     Levy rolled her eyes in exasperation, "Gajeel, that's not important. We have to track down Slick, he could be in real trouble! If we knew where those guys came from..."

     "I pulled this from my back," Gael handed her a dagger stained with blood. "That's the Carpagian symbol on the hilt right there. You can count on me when I tell you this; those men took your friend to the Carpagian castle to see my brother."

     "Why?" Gajeel frowned.

     "Information. My brother must know there's something suspicious about the two of you,"Gael said darkly.

     " Quick question," Levy said, "What were you and Slick talking about before you were attacked?"

     "Slick and I? He picked up a book about an old demon and asked about it," he shrugged casually, "I told him it was the blood beast."

     "Where's the book?" Levy asked urgently, looking around the floor for any sign of it. But Gael picked up a red leather book, giving it to her, "Here you go, this is it."

     Levy picked it up, flipping through the pages until she found the index, "Possession, possession, possession... Here it is, Blood Beast possession!!"

     "What's the Blood Beast?" Gajeel asked with a frown.

     "An old demon that was locked away centuries ago," Gael replied, "Though I don't see why that's important..."

     Levy had found the page she was looking for, and read in a hushed voice, "Blood Beast possession takes place when the black moon is actually black— on the time of the full moon. Red fills the vision, allowing no other light to enter the body. Rage of indescribable volume takes place, creating a raging, killing machine.

    " Fortunatley, this disease is incredibly rare, for a pregnant woman must drink the very blood of the demon for their child to bear the curse. Only one known case of it, and the man possessed was killed, for there is no known way to remove the curse. The only way to repell this monstrous creature is with compassion, for it best thrives on anger."

     Levy stared at the page, stunned. She glanced up at Gael, "Do you know when the full moon is?"

     "Yeah, it's tonight." Gajeel growled, "You wanna tell us why that's a problem?"

     Levy stared at Gajeel, then whispered to Gael, "On the final full moon of his eighteenth year... He shan't have time to laugh or feast... For inside him reveals darkness, the blood of a devil's... a devil's beast." she choked on the last part as she realized fully the meaning of this. That night, when the black moon rose, he'd get possessed by the Blood Beast. She'd lose him to insanity.

     Gael looked startled by this as the meaning of her words registered with him, but Levy turned to face him, "I-it all makes sense now." she blinked hard trying to keep tears from filling her vision. "I-I understand."

     Levy sat down hard on the edge of a chair, "'There will be a man who stands against time', that's Julio, he's immortal. 'Will rise to power underground, changing fate's design', No one knows he's controlling so much. 'Fights against mystics, and all magical things, seems like a second but takes hold of Kings', He's anti-magic, but uses puppeteer magic. That explains the hypocrite line too. 'Only one can stop him, only one can resist the burn. A child of Metalicana, the dragon slayer of iron', Gajeel... 'On the final full moon of his eighteenth year, he shan't have time to laugh or feast, for inside him shall reveal darkness, the blood of a devil's beast', The Blood Beast possession. 'If there's no bond, his conscious shall fail, but if his heart stays with friends, his soul shall prevail', A bond... That I don't get. And then 'If his mind stays his own, all evil will perish, but if he loses his thoughts, he'll lose those whom he cherishes."

     "So the only question left is why Julio's doing this, and... and why Gajeel has the curse," Gael said slowly.

     Gajeel grabbed Levy's shoulders, "Tell me what the hell is goin' on! Stop hidin' things and just tell me!" 

     "I... It's hard to explain," Levy mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

     "Tell me!" Gajeel snapped, his eyes flashing with anger. She flinched.

     "There's a prophecy," Gael said quietly, "I haven't thought about it before because I never heard the second half about you. I didn't know it involved you, I swear it."

     "A prophecy?" Gajeel stared at Levy dully. "Now it's you who's keeping secrets from me?"

     Levy was expecting to see anger in his eyes, but his expression was actually hurt and... sorrowful.

     "How long have you known this?" Gajeel growled.

     She wanted to lie, but said softly, "Since we met Lucy and Natsu."

     His eyes widened is surprise, "You've known about this for days?! Days, and you didn't tell me?"

     "I-I'm sorry..."

     His eyes blazed, "So everyone I ever knew kept secrets from me? They never considered it necessary to tell me somethin' that screwed with my whole life?!"

     "Gajeel, I didn't want to hurt you, I was trying to help- "

     "You were trying to help, so you kept me in the dark?" Gajeel shouted, "That doesn't make any sense!"

     "Stop overreacting!" Levy knew getting angry would only make it worse, but she couldn't help it, "No one's going to tell you every single thing! None of us didn't tell you to be mean, we've all been looking out for your best interests, not—"

     "I don't need to hear your excuses," Gajeel snarled in her face, "I'm done with all this, ya hear me? I'm done with getting' close to someone just to find out they're lyin' to me! I'm gonna go find Slick myself, so you can stay here and talk secrets with my father. I don't need a liar, so stay away from me!"

     Levy crossed her arms, turning away, "Fine!" she shouted after him as he stormed out the door, "I don't need you either!"

     But he had already vanished into the forest surrounding them.