The Melting Pot

Chapter 24

KEY:
Russian

“Damn,” Gajeel growled. He knew that lightning asshole had hit him pretty hard, but he didn’t appreciate pounding in his head as he began regaining consciousness. His arms were also throbbing, no thanks to the thick chains wrapped all the way from his wrists to his shoulders, trapping him firmly to the wall behind him. Looking around, he realized he had no idea where he was. It was cold, he could tell that by the mist in the air left by his breath. How long have I been out? That was important information he wished he knew. It might give him some idea about where the hell he was.

When he heard footsteps approaching him, he tensed, waiting for that lightning bastard and the rest of Etherios’s followers to appear. Needless to say, he was shocked when Etherios himself walked into the cold cellar, and it felt as if his deep green eyes stared into Gajeel’s very soul, sending ice through his veins.

“Where the hell am I?” He spat after a long silence.

Etherios sighed, leaning against the wall as if they were having an average conversation. “Such a cliché question. You couldn’t be a little more creative?” Gajeel’s native Russian rolled off Etherios’s tongue as if he had spoken it his entire life.

“You wanna talk about cliché?” He scoffed. “Try getting kidnapped by a damn lunatic villain, and waking up chained to a wall in some creepy-ass dungeon.”

Etherios clicked his tongue, visibly annoyed. “I’m no villain, Gajeel. I am doing the world a favor by purging it of those weak humans. You are either one of the strong, or it is only right that evolution picks you off. We are the next generation, my friend, so it is time to take our rightful place on top.”

“Lunatic villain,” Gajeel frowned. This guy is crazier than I thought. Talk about watching too many damned X-Men movies…

“I am not a villain!” He snapped, annoyance slowly turning to anger. His green eyes flashed with fury for an instant before he took a deep breath and smiled. “You will soon see that I’m in the right here, Gajeel. You’ll join me in time.”

“Like hell.” Gajeel growled. “I refuse to help you hurt any more of the people I care about.”

“Those people will turn on you eventually. The more powerful you grow, the more they will fear you.”

“They won’t—”

“Do you think that pretty blue-haired summoner will stay with you forever?” Etherios scoffed, amused. “Gajeel, she will be the first to leave you. She may even be more powerful than you are.” He paused a moment, then smiled. “Perhaps I’ll recruit her next. I was going to kill her with the others, but she managed to take down quite a few of my men. I may have use for her.”

“You leave Levy out of this!” Gajeel snarled, pulling against the chains.
The metal screeched as he pulled against it, but it never budged.

Etherios laughed, crouching down so they were eye-level, that damned smile still on his face. “Perhaps, if you cooperate, I’ll give her a place in my ranks beside you. Wouldn’t that be nice? You could have your power and your woman.”

“If it’s coming from you, I don’t want it,” Gajeel spat in English.

“We’ll just see what she has to say, then,” He sighed, getting to his feet. “She may be more willing to join me. That is, if she’s still alive.”

Gajeel felt the blood rush from his face. “What do you mean?”

“From what Darryl told me, he left her practically smoldering on the ground.” He chuckled. “All of your little friends got a little shock when what remained of my men left them. I wonder how many are still alive? We’ll find out when they arrive, I suppose. It has been nearly two days since our last visit to Italy, so they should be arriving within the next couple of days. Pantherlily will be with them, I’m sure. I’ll take great pleasure in watching that bastard finally die.”