Levy stared at the blackened water with an air of nervousness, the word Light shining above her head. Not too long ago there was a massive explosion of light, enough that the whole cavern temporarily lit up. It was so bright that Levy had to close her eyes. She can't imagine what it must have been like at ground zero.

When she was able to open them again, she was hopeful that Luke would pop up out of the water, but much to her consternation, the water appeared deceptively calm. But at least she knew he was still fighting, which meant that she couldn't give up either.

But that had been nearly a minute ago, and Levy's concern was skyrocketing. She doubted he had much air left, so if he didn't do something soon then…

Levy didn't really want to think about it.

"Come on, Luke. Where are you?" she questioned out loud, her eyes darting across the water's surface, searching for any sign of him. That's when she spotted it, from somewhere deep down below, another light. This one wasn't nearly as bright as the first, but she could almost feel the magic being gathered.

Scratch that, she could feel the magic being gathered. As the light grew in strength, so too did the magic. She could only surmise that Luke must be doing something, but what?

The water, which had been almost unnaturally still, started to ripple. Levy could almost feel a buzzing sensation tickling across her skin. The ripples quickly turned into raging, churning water as if caught in an earthquake.

"Is this really Luke?" she thought. She knew his magic was pretty strong, but he was almost on empty last time she saw him, just like she was. And this… this reminded her of Gildarts.

Well, it reminded her of that time he was constipated and tried to force it out and lost control of his magic, but it was still pretty impressive. The fact that he managed it with little to no magic made it doubly so.

The water was practically glowing at this point, and Levy could only stare in amazement. Then, everything seemed to stop. The water stopped churning, the tingling of the magic stopped tickling her senses; everything stilled to a tranquil calm.

And then, an explosion of power shattered that calm. It was almost as if a balloon had reached capacity and popped. That was the only comparison that came to her mind.

The water once more started to shake, and as Levy stared into the glowing depths, she felt the raging power responsible for all of it racing towards her at blinding speed. She barely even had time to feel shock before Luke rocketed out of the water.

His hands were cupped in front of him shooting out a brilliant beam of blue light, which he must have used to propel himself out of the water. It was pretty ingenious, Levy had to admit, and not something she likely would have thought of. But then again, they both used different magic so it was really a moot point.

Luke sailed over the petite girl's head landing painfully on the rocky shore, tumbling over the hard ground before coming to a stop, his body unmoving. Seeing this snapped Levy out of her astonishment as she raced towards the downed man.

"Luke! Oh my gosh are you alright!?" she shouted, kneeling beside her soaked friend. Placing her hands on him seemed to bring him back to life as he started coughing violently, water gurgling out of his mouth.

He rolled onto this front before getting to his hands and knees, expunging the rest of the water from his lungs. Levy could do nothing but try and comfort him through this process by rubbing his back.

"There, there, it's ok. Better out than in," she said soothingly. Several seconds went by before he seemingly rid himself of excess water, devolving into dry heaves. Levy wouldn't lie and say she enjoyed hearing those sounds, but it was far better then the silent alternative.

Namely, him being dead.

"Feeling better?" she asked, when the dry heaving finally stopped. Luke took a few more shuddering breaths, trying to get as much oxygen into his lungs as he could.

"Yeah, thanks," he said, giving her a shaky smile, one that she returned. Luke then sat down, completely exhausted.

"So, what happened down there?" Levy asked, a mix of intrigue and worry.

"Let's just say I wouldn't recommend going for a swim," he said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm. Levy rolled her eyes and was about to press the issue when a loud rumbling caught their attention.

Several large tentacles spouted from the water, wiggling angrily. How did they know that you might be asking? Call it intuition.

"Damn Blooper! Looks like story time will have to wait. We need to go, now!" Luke shouted, jumping to his feet. He gave a wince, nearly collapsing from the sudden influx of pain coming from his right ankle.

Glaring down at the offending appendage like it just insulted his mother, he tried to put some pressure on it, only for the pain to flare up again.

"Shit," he grumbled.

"What's wrong?" Levy asked, having stood up with him. Her eyes darted back and forth between Luke and the monster, worry etched deep within them.

"Think I twisted my ankle," Luke informed her, making Levy bite her lip in thought. If he was injured, they might not be able to make it out in time. Not to mention, they still don't know where the path in the wall leads. For all they know, it could lead to a dead end.

But that's a risk they were just going to have to take. Eyes filling with determination, Levy grabbed his arm and placed it over her shoulder. Normally she would have made a stretcher or something similar with her magic, but she didn't have enough. She'd probably run out along the way and drop him back on the ground. If her mana fell that low, she might not be able to walk, and then…

Snack time.

"Levy?" he asked with mild confusion.

"You didn't think I'd leave you behind, did you?" she asked, glaring up at him. Luke stared into her eyes for a moment, noting the fear in them but also the steely resolve.

"Guess not. Alright, let's get the hell out of here," he said with a grin. That seemed to bolster her confidence as well, the two of them racing towards the exit. Luke did his best to ignore the throbbing agony in his foot, but it wasn't the easiest thing to do.

He stared down at the small young woman gritting her teeth as she held up his weight. Or at least some of it. Her face, resolute as they struggled towards the exit, might have been the most enchanting thing he's ever seen. She really was an amazing girl.

Thankfully, a roar brought him out of his thoughts before he could be fully absorbed into them. As much as he'd love to think about the beautiful girl pressed up against him, it wasn't the time or place for that. Last thing they needed was for him to trip and fall.

The beast from the deep rose out of the water, its anger palpable as it bellowed. Levy looked back, barely able to see its hulking form. The small light generated by her magic doing very little to illuminate the creature.

But what she could see did not make her feel any better.

"That thing is huge!" she shouted. Luke had to force down the natural juvenile response of, that's what she said. He was sure he could get that reaction out of her another time. Right now, he needed to focus on surviving.

Luke chanced his own look back, glaring at the thing that just tried to make a meal out of him. Or a snack, at any rate, given how big the thing is. Levy's light glimmered off its almost incandescent eyes, letting him know it was staring right at them.

Not good.

"Think! There has to be something I can do!" he shouted in his mind. They were nearly to the exit, just another 20 feet, give or take. But with the monster's attention firmly on them, it was unlikely that they could make it.

"Wait… its attention… That's it!" he thought, a metaphorical lightbulb turning on in his mind. The kraken's attention wasn't on them, not really, it was staring at the light of Levy's magic. If that's the case, then…

"Levy, send your magic in another direction," Luke said, making Levy give him a confused look.

"What, why?" she asked, her breathing heavy as they charged towards the exit. She could hear the monster moving, likely getting ready to send more of those disgusting tentacles at them. Her every womanly instinct demanding she stay far away from them.

"To distract it. It's not looking at us, it's looking at the light. If we send it away, it just might go after it instead of us," he said. Levy thought about it for a moment. It made sense, but there was just one flaw in his plan.

"But then how are we going to see? It's not exactly the brightest down here, in case you didn't know," she asked/complained, her tone dipping into the sarcastic end of the pool.

"The path in front of us is mostly level, and as long as we head straight, we should be just fine," he countered. He wasn't sure how accurate that was, but there wasn't much time to think of something better.

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"Alright, fine. But if we die, just know, I'm blaming you," Levy said, getting ready to do as Luke suggested.

"Duly noted," he responded with a chuckle. Looking back, he could see the kraken raising its NSFW appendages, ready to strike them down.

"Now!" he shouted. Levy gave a grunt of acknowledgement, her dimly shimmering light spell shooting off to the left. The kraken screeched in surprise and of course, anger. But much to their relief, it seemed like Luke's plan was going to work.

The kraken, not wanting its prey to escape, slammed its mighty tentacles down, the tremor it caused making the two stumble. Thankfully, they managed to stay on their feet, but the reminder of just how powerful the creature was did not help with their anxiety.

"Almost there, just a little more. How are you holding up?" Luke asked, casting his gaze towards his blue haired friend/love interest even though he couldn't see her.

"I should be asking you that Mr. Sprained Ankle," she snarked back, gripping him tighter. Luke chuckled, increasing his own hold on the beautiful woman.

The monster behind them made a confused sound as it shifted its tentacles off of its supposedly crushed prey. But where it thought it would see a pair of delicious, mangled corpses was nothing but stone.

Its massive, iridescent eyes frantically searched for its food. It didn't take it very long to spot them, hobbling towards the wall through the darkness. It let out an angry roar once more, stretchy appendages racing to stop them from whatever schemes they had planned. Never in its life had it had to deal with such tricky prey, but that would make them taste all the sweeter.

"Well, I think it knows it's been tricked," Luke commented, out of breath.

"Gee, you think?" Levy asked back, her breathing no better than his.

Seeing as there wasn't much point in trying to be discreet anymore, Luke gathered the miniscule amount of power he had left and created a baseball sized sphere of light, sending it in front of them. The action made his vision blur for a second before he shook his head and forced it back into focus.

Now that they had a bit of light, they could see just how close they were. Just a few more feet, and they'd be home free. Or at least, away from the big ugly monster that wanted to eat them.

Said big ugly monster wasn't just about to let its food escape. Its tentacles shot out, speeding towards the pair. Luckily, krakens don't have the best aim, its fleshy limbs slamming into the wall on either side of them.

They ducked their heads as bits of rock and debris cascaded down on top of them. None of the pieces were particularly large, so at least there wasn't a risk of injury. Silver linings and all that.

A dust cloud surrounded them, obscuring them from sight. The kraken waited, watching for the slightest sign of movement. Just when it thought it finally managed to kill its prey, it saw them reach the wall.

"Quickly, squeeze through!" Luke shouted, pushing Levy towards the opening first. She knew what he was doing, and while she appreciated the sentiment, she did not want to be coddled or protected.

She had enough of that treatment from Jet and Droy, she did not need it from him.

As soon as Levy was fully into the crevice, Luke made to follow. It was a tight fit, but he was just able to slide inside. But before he could get too far, a familiar sensation stopped his progress. Looking down, he saw a wet, slimy tentacle wrapped around his waist.

"Gerbah!" he shouted, unable to form actual words as the enormous beast started to squeeze the life out of him. Levy turned around at hearing his yell, which wasn't all that easy given the tight squeeze, and saw him desperately clawing at the slick, rocky walls.

"Luke! Hang on!" she shouted. She had to think fast. She needed a word, something that would cut through the disgusting thing trying to drag away her friend. Sever didn't work last time, she needed something stronger.

Her eyes drifted upwards, staring at where she knew the hungry maw of the creature lay, and a word suddenly popped into her head. It wasn't one she used very often, barely at all in fact, and it would likely consume the rest of her magic, but that was far better than the alternative.

Raising her hand, her index finger shining, Luke could see that pretty face of hers lit up by the magic. Her eyes were hard, focused and determined. He wanted to tell her to run, but seeing that look gave him hope. So he gathered his second or third wind, he wasn't sure at this point, and clutched the wall even tighter.

Her finger danced through air, writing out the word that would either save him or doom him. He wasn't sure what he was expecting her to use, but her choice certainly surprised him.

Guillotine.

Luke watched as one by one the letters shot out of the crevice they were in. They soared above him, taking on a metallic sheen. The bottoms gained a razor-sharp edge to them, forming a blade in the shape of an actual guillotine. Once that was done, it dropped, speeding towards the unsuspecting kraken's tentacle.

The blade struck true, slicing through flesh with little resistance. The beast howled in agony, pulling away from the wall and looking at its tentacle. Blood fell in rivulets from the wound, dripping onto the ground below.

Luke sighed in relief as the pressure stopped. He wiggled his body to get the filthy thing off of him, which was pretty darn difficult given the limited space he had. But once he heard the fleshy wet splat beneath him, he couldn't help but feel grim satisfaction.

That damn thing deserved everything that happened to it.

"Luke… are you ok…?" Levy gasped out. She was exhausted, her hold on the wall likely the only thing keeping her up. Both of them were pretty much drained of mana. Even casting the smallest of spells would likely render them unconscious.

"Yeah… thanks Levy… You saved me…" Luke panted, wincing at the pain in his ribs. Hopefully they weren't broken. It didn't feel like they were but then again, he's never had broken ribs before, so he wouldn't know.

"No problem… Now let's get out of here… before that thing comes back…" she suggested, and Luke couldn't agree more. The two continued through the crevice, ignoring the sounds behind them. The kraken hasn't given up on them just yet, but hopefully he would soon enough.

The path they were on was long, or maybe they were just slow. Either way, it took them several minutes before they reached the end. Luke was able to keep his little ball of light up, though it did flicker several times. The strain of keeping up even such a small spell was great, but it was better than them being left in the dark.

Levy gently popped out of the other end, looking around her new surroundings with no small amount of trepidation. She couldn't see much, but it didn't look like there was anything that wanted to kill them immediately.

Then again, neither did the last couple of rooms. Fool her once, shame on you. Fool her twice, shame on her. But fool her three times, and she shows you why she's a Fairy Tail wizard.

The cave opened up, though not nearly as wide as the last room. The walls were around 15 feet apart at their widest point, and she couldn't even see how far the path went.

To her left was a small stream, gently flowing past them into parts unknown. Small and large rocks jutted out from the ground in various locations, each one smooth and cool to the touch.

She heard Luke exit the crevice as she finished inspecting their new surroundings. He looked about as tired as she felt. His left hand was resting against the wall, keeping him steady, and he was leaning on his left foot as well, keeping the pressure off the injured one.

"You doing ok?" she asked, her tone soft and quiet.

"I've been better, but I'll live," he responded, trying to put some cheer into his voice. But he couldn't quite get rid of the fatigue that seeped into his tone.

"Good. We should probably get away from the exit, just in case. How much longer can you keep up that spell?" she asked, gesturing to the small ball listlessly floating near them.

They would probably be fine resting right here, but she didn't want to chance that the kraken could squeeze itself through. She knew octopuses could force themselves into places they had no business being, so she really didn't want to take the chance that a kraken could do the same.

"Not long. A couple minutes maybe," he said, right hand going to his forehead, trying to stave off the headache he could feel coming. Magic exhaustion was no joke. If it was anything like Chakra exhaustion from Naruto, then he was in trouble.

They couldn't afford to wait around for a week while he slowly recovers.

"Ok, that should be enough. Let's hurry and find a place to rest," she said. Luke nodded, pushing himself off the wall, wincing as the pain in his ankle flared up. Seeing this, Levy was quick to offer her shoulder to him.

"Thanks," he said.

"No problem. You know, you're heavier than you look," she commented.

"Did you just call me fat?" he asked, adopting a fake outraged tone.

"More like insinuated it," she said, smirking.

"Well, I never," he huffed, getting a cute giggle from the girl. The two slowly made their way down the winding path, following the stream, until they reached a rounded area. Rocks formed a circle around the middle, almost looking like they were placed there intentionally.

"This looks like a good spot," she said, more than ready to take a break. Luke couldn't agree more, his light losing a few more lumens. Pretty soon, they wouldn't have any light at all.

The pair maneuvered to a rock before sitting down next to each other. Both of them sighed in relief, thoroughly enjoying being able to rest. The light Luke had been doggedly keeping around flickered one last time before going out, leaving them in total darkness.

"Guess we made it just in time," Luke said with a light tone.

"No kidding. Man that was scary," Levy said, shivering at the thought of that massive sea monster coming after them. And she barely caught a glimpse of it before escaping.

That reminds her…

"Ow! What was that for?" Luke asked, rubbing his arm where Levy gave it a good smack.

"That's for pushing me into the crevice. I already have to put up with Jet and Droy treating me like some frail maiden, I don't need that from you," she said, and though Luke couldn't see her face, he assumed she was glaring right at him.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Luke asked, confused. "I didn't push you first because I thought you needed protecting."

"Then why did you?" she asked, her anger reducing to a simmer.

"Um, well… it's because you're small," he admitted, with some reluctance. That brought her up short. Of all the reasons, her height was what he was going with? She wasn't sure if that was any better.

"You want to explain that?" she asked, and Luke could clearly hear the threat in her voice.

"The opening in the wall was narrow, and I was worried that if I tried to go first, we'd get bogged down. I just thought, given that you're much more slender than I am, it would be faster if you went first," he explained.

"That… makes sense, I suppose," she acquiesced after a moment of consideration. Her righteous feminine fury abating, leaving only a sheepish girl in its wake. "Um, sorry about that."

"It's fine. But maybe start with your words next time," he teased.

"Yeah, I'll remember that," she said, her head in her hands, feeling incredibly embarrassed. She was acting like everyone else in the guild. Wasn't she supposed to be the calm one? The voice of reason? But it seems like ever since she met Luke, she's been letting out her inner Fairy Tail more and more often.

She still couldn't believe she suplexed that other woman.

"But you know, I don't really think there's anything necessarily wrong with wanting to protect your friends either," Luke said, getting her attention.

"I mean, wanting to keep your friends safe is pretty normal, isn't it? Aren't there people you want to protect?" he asked, making her think about it. Obviously, there was pretty much everyone in the guild she would fight for. Makarov, Cana, Mira, Elfman, Natsu, Gray, Laki, Bisca, Alzac, Macao, Wakaba… Heck, even Jet and Droy.

"Yeah, my friends in the guild," she said. Luke nodded at that, not that she could see it.

"Right, and it's not because you think they're weak or that you're better than them or that they'll fall madly in love with you if you save them," he said, making her blush at that last part.

"It's because you care about them, right? Well, it's the same with me. I want to keep you safe, not because I think you're weak, or because I'm a man and you're a woman, or even to make you fall in love with me, though I wouldn't mind that last part…" Luke mumbled, getting another smack on the arm from an embarrassed Levy.

"Hey!" she complained jokingly, suddenly very glad it was so dark. She was actually surprised the room wasn't lit up by how hard she was blushing right now.

"Sorry, sorry," he laughed. "My point is, you're my friend, and I want to keep you safe. And I hope you'll watch my back too. I have a feeling I'm going to need it."

"Sounds like a full time job, but I suppose I could do that," she said, sliding a bit closer to him. But only because it was cold down there and she wanted to share some warmth. There was no other reason beyond that!

"Great, I'm counting on you," he said, grinning down at the girl. The two of them sat there for some time, alone in the dark, slowly recovering their magic. A friendship had already blossomed between the two, but a new seed had been planted. Who knows what would grow out of it.