Frozen Heart

Levy saw the light go out in those blue eyes before they were overcome by white, and her heart broke.

Why hadn’t she figured out their plan sooner?

Why had she not noticed the signs?

How could she have been so stupid?

The wind rose up with a howl, the mournful cry of a mother, and the Script Mage was thrown back by the sudden rush.

“Shrimp!”

Grabbing up the tumbling little wizard, Gajeel skidded to a halt and spun around, holding his ground at the burst of icy magic that filled the street.

“What the hell is going on?” He growled, shaking off the ice that formed over his scales as the winter-girl slowly rose to her feet, expression blank and eyes glowing a dull white.

“This is what they wanted…” Levy realized, voice soft and trembling. “The poison wasn’t to drain her magic, but to weaken her mind so the Doll Magic would work…”

Gajeel wondered, through the frenzy of his thoughts, why anyone would want to use Doll Magic on Jack at all.

Then the ground shook and the entirety of Fairy Tail was flattened in a rush of ice, and the question answered itself.

“Fuck.”

“Jack!” Makarov boomed, his magic aura shoving back against the storm of white around them. “You need regain control of yourself!”

“It’s pointless.” The blonde voiced, unruffled by the heavy magic in the air. “Once under my control, no Spirit has ever broken free. She can’t even hear you.”

No…

Hot tears filled Levy’s eyes as the splintered edges of her heart cut deeper.

No, not Jack…

“Lies!” The diminutive Wizard Saint retorted, practically glowing. “Jack Frost is of Fairy Tail, and we don’t give in so easily!”

“You need to fight it, Jack!” Macao agreed, purple fire encasing his hands.

“Don’t let that pretty boy get the best of you!” Wakaba encouraged.

For a moment, the white flickered, and her staff’s point lowered just the faintest bit in response.

The next, his magic surged, and it was as if the lapse had never occurred at all.

Her staff swung in a heavy arc, sending out a dangerous spray of ice that sent most of the mages ducking out of the way.

Unlike the others, Levy had seen that sudden hiccup in control and realized the great flaw in the dark guild’s magic.

“He’s wrong!” She voiced, pulling on Gajeel’s arm to get his attention. “She can hear us! They just put her in another nightmare!”

An idea sparked in those red eyes, catching on.

“If we could wake her from the nightmares…”

“Then we can snap her out of the spell!” Levy finished, heart hammering with adrenaline. “We just have to get closer and-!”

“No.”

The blue-haired mage blinked at the abrupt reply as she was set down, staring up at Gajeel’s iron-scaled back in confusion.

“It’s hard to keep track of someone so small in a fight…So just stay back and let me handle this.”

A blush tinted her face, heart twisting strangely in her chest.

Was he…?

Leaping into the fray, Gajeel pulled back a fist to slam an unsuspecting dark wizard in a harrowing flight directly towards the controlled Jack, who did not so much as turn to freeze the poor man solid.

Still caught her attention, though.

“Damn it, Snowie!” He growled, dodging an errant blast of cold. “You’re tougher than this! Snap out of it!”

The next bolt fizzled away just before it could be fired, the white flickering dangerously low for a few seconds as the staff loosened in her shaking fingers.

The Doll Mage scowled, feeling the sudden dip in his control, and sent another pulse of his magic through to push the half-Spirit back down.

But Gajeel had seen it now, too, and he wasn’t about to let things end like this.

“Gonna just let him push you around like that?” Gajeel pressed, blocking a thick spear of ice with one arm. “Since when do you let a punk like him tell you what to do?”

Another flash of blue through the veil, and the next attack went wide, cutting into a storefront instead of hitting the Dragon Slayer head-on.

“That’s it, Snowie!” He encouraged, jumping away from the ice that tried to slide under his boots. “Just like that!”

Jack was obviously trying, cutting off magic to more deadly spells and forcing her aim off, but it was not enough.

The Solid Script Mage realized they would never break through the spell this way.

Yes, it had been Gajeel that first got through the nightmares, but…

But it had been Levy’s voice that finally woke her.

Gathering her courage, Levy ran into the icy battlefield, ducking under any stray spells and weaving through upturned debris.

“Jack!”

The winter-girl paused mid-swing as the white faded, giving Gajeel enough time to jerk back before she forcibly released, staff sailing away in a clumsy arc.

Oh, but he knew his control had slipped dangerously loose, could feel the threads of his spell fray, and made a dangerous move.

“Doll Attack: Puppeteer!”

Jack’s entire body arched inward at the new influx of foreign magic with a cry, eyes terrifyingly clear before the white flooded over like an avalanche.

“I’ve had enough of your futile attempts at victory.” The Doll Mage seethed, clearly at the end of his patience. “Now you all die. Starting with the girl.”

Levy went still as the winter guardian turned to face her, an unfamiliar chill rushing down her spine.

“Jack…”

There was no hesitation this time, no flicker of blue, and Levy’s blood ran cold.

“No!”

Makarov was blown back by a strong gale as a cyclone formed around the half-Spirit, and Gajeel leapt into her path, iron spikes in his boots holding the Dragon Slayer in place despite the fierce winds.

“You don’t want to do this, Snowie!” He yelled over the rushing sound of a miniature tornado. “Don’t make us have to hurt you!”

She did not so much as falter at his words, a seal forming out of thin air that released a torrent of icicles.

The tips pierced his iron scales with a series of thunderous cracks, throwing Gajeel to the ground like a rag doll.

Levy only had a moment to consider running, or even putting up a spell, before Jack pounced with all the strength of a wild wolf.

Head smacking against the cobblestones, her vision swam as the winter-girl pinned both arms with her knees, a thick spear of ice forming from a seal in one hand.

Watching as Jack shifted to a two-handed grip and raised the point over her heart, tears filled Levy’s unstable vision as a sob rattled up her throat.

Oh God, Jack would never forgive herself for this, would never want to wake up and face what she’d been forced to do…

“Jack…” She choked out, voice wavering as she looked into those blank white eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Gajeel lurched forward, eyes widening as the tip came down and-

Red.