"NO! NO, ITS NOT TRUE!" She could practically feel herself trying to charge past him out the door only to be held back, feel the tears that had started to pour their way down her face. "IT'S NOT TRUE! THEY'RE NOT DEAD! THEY'RE NOT! MUMMY! DADDY! COME BACK! COME BACK AND GET ME PLEASE! PLLLEAASSEEEEEE! MMUUUUMMMMYYYYYYYYYYY!"
...
Levy was vaguely aware she was breathing heavily, and beginning to sweat despite the intense cold all around her, but she was unable to think clearly. She could barely even wonder why she was suddenly remembering this so vividly. She heard, as if miles away, Mavis calling her name. Heard Madam Bones booming, "Minister, she's having a violent reaction to the Dementors - they shouldn't be here," but all Levy could really focus on was the terror and despair that seemed to be coursing through her veins.
And that's when she heard it. The memory of when she'd learned of her parents deaths faded… to be replaced with the sound of cruel, harsh, cackling laughter.
"Levy! Get back! Run for it!"
"We'll handle this! KNUCKLE PLANT!"
"GUYS NO! STOP! YOU'RE INJURED!" she heard herself screaming as she dimly so the shape of Droy hurling several plant seeds to the ground, which rapidly sprouted out as plant fists, whooshing towards their target. Only for that target to dice the plants into pieces with a whirling leap and flurry of slashes from his sword before landing right in front of Droy and smashing him with the flat of the viciously spiked blade, and send him crashing into a nearby wall hard enough to splinter the bricks.
"DROY!" Jet cried out as he suddenly shot around behind the shadowy man and pile-drove into the back of him with his Falcon Heavenward, only for a metallic clang to ring through the air as the man refused to budge an inch. Jet cried out as he stumbled backwards clutching what might just be a broken leg before their attacker wheeled around to seize him by the neck and whirl him around by it, sending him crashing into Droy just as the latter was trying to get up. And even as the two struggled to rise again, the attacker pounced on them and drove them through the wall entirely with a vicious blow to each of their chests with his two clubs.
"No!" Levy heard herself cry as her past self ran towards them while the attacker lifted both her teammates up by their necks and leered as he watched them struggle for breath. "SOLID SCRIPT: STONE!" she tried to jump into the attack and conjured up a rocky version of the word 'stone' in front of herself, hurling it at him like a cannonball. Only for her to gasp in horror as he flung Jet and Droy into the path of the attack so it hit them instead, shattering to rubble and flinging them back down the street.
"Geeheehee… how cruel for you to attack your own comrades like that," the man stepped forward into the light a little more, revealing his long, ragged black hair, the studs over his face and arms and his terrible red eyes, staring at her like she was prey. "And I thought you Fairy Butts were supposed to stick together or some crap like that."
"You'll pay for this. You'll see - we'll make make you pay…" Levy choked bravely before conjuring the word 'stone' again and throwing it at him once more. But Gajeel, the Phantom Lord S-Class Mage, charged straight into the attack and smashed it to rubble with a metal fist, thundering in towards her and slamming his other fist into her gut before she had a chance to do anything. The impact lifted her off her feet with a strangled cry of agony but before she went flying he seized her by the ankle and slammed her straight downwards into road, fracturing the cobbles beneath her.
Levy heard her cries echo through the street before Gajeel suddenly seized her by the lower face in one hand, clamping his palm over her mouth to silence her and sneered as he lifted her up by it to slam her against the wall, pinning her there by her face even as she struggled feebly.
"Now now. No screaming. I want the pathetic trash you call friends to find out about this when they wake up next morning and not before. But there's quite a bit of time left until dawn… which means plenty of time left for some more fun, don't you agree?"
Even as Levy felt the terror pounding through her veins as the memory filled her consciousness, there was a tiny part of her that was screaming, 'That's not him! He's not like that anymore! He changed! He saved you from Laxus and from Grimoire Heart! He's good now!'
But that part was drowned out by the dread and hopelessness trying to swallow up the rest of her and all Levy could do was scream. Writhe and thrash and kick in the chair, the chains biting into her arms as her wails filled the room.
Mavis was leaning in front of her, unseen to the others and trying desperately to get her to snap out of it but as the cloaked beings closed in around Levy the bluenette's struggles seemed to weaken as her consciousness began to fade. She grimaced as she looked up - whatever these creatures were doing to Levy wasn't affecting her as much, possibly because she was a ghost, but she could still feel a terrible fear seeping through her body. And she could see that many of the people around the room were looking highly uncomfortable themselves, most trying to keep as far away from the Dementors as they could but a couple of the Aurors wondering if they should step in, keep the Dementors away from the prisoner.
What should she do? Should she reveal herself and demand this stop? Those things were hurting Levy just by being nearby. She couldn't allow this to happen!
"Minister, how are we supposed to even question her when she's like this?" Madam Bones pointed out.
"We'll just have to wait for her to adjust," Fudge said firmly. "But until we know what she can do, the Dementors stay as an added precaution. Now, we must…"
BANG!
Just as Levy was on the verge of losing consciousness the entire room was practically thrown off balance. For a fraction of a second, a large lattice of criss-crossing white lines appeared on the heavy wooden doors and about half the back wall before both suddenly exploded inwards, shattering into hundreds of pieces in an instant flat as a single, solitary figure thundered through the door, fist first.
The Aurors were forced to dive forwards to avoid being crushed under falling chunks of brick, while all those in the stands jumped to their feet in shock and most of them fell over. Even the Dementors lurched around and backed away, hissing and rattling. But Mavis could only smile as Gildarts stood there amongst the debris. He must have heard Levy's screams from his holding cell and come thundering to the rescue, and with a single punch to the door he'd shattered pretty much the entire wall!
Gildarts took one look at the slumped Levy chained to the chair and his expression grew thunderous, glaring up at the stunned, cowering Minister for Magic.
"You know, I really was planning to play nice," he said as he strode forwards, his cloak billowing behind him. "But perhaps there's one thing you should understand about our guild. We look out for each other. And we'll do anything… and I mean anything… to protect each other. No matter who the enemy may be."
And his hand crashed down on the back of Levy's chair, disintegrating the entire thing, chains and all, in a second flat. Levy, barely conscious, groaned as she fell but Gildarts caught her and slung her over one shoulder with surprising gentleness.
"I get the feeling you guys aren't really bad, per se," Gildarts announced. "But if this is how you intend to treat even someone as gentle and kind as Levy, I think we're done here. Good day." And without another word he swept around and thundered back towards the massive hole where the wall had been, Mavis right behind him.
"S…STOP HIM! DON'T LET THEM LEAVE!" Fudge gave a strangled cry. One Auror reluctantly tried to obey and pointed his wand, only for Gildarts to swing an arm out and generate a white wave across the ground beneath the Auror's feet, which was blasted to pieces and flung the Auror backwards against a wall, while Gildarts charged out of the gap, down the corridor and away.
"Put everyone on high alert!" Fudge cried. "We've got an extremely dangerous man active within the Ministry! He must be stopped at all costs! Now! After him!"
And with a horrible rattling, the four Dementors whooshed off in pursuit.
...
if you want to support me or just to read ahead of the public release, you can join my p@treon :
p atreon/Moonhorse