Recap: Natsu has dragged along five kids who are his adopted siblings, teamed up with Lucy, Happy and his rival/best friend/brother in arms Gray on a secretly approved S-Class mission. While on this mission they run into Lyon Vastia, a former student of Ur just like Gray. Lyon and his cronies are seemingly behind the mysterious occurrence causing the people of Galuna great harm. Now, it is up to Gray to beat Lyon a second time and not let the fellow ice mage disgrace their master's legacy.

Song(s) Used: The 13th Struggle (Kingdom Hearts II); The 13th Struggle (KHII Final Mix)

The wall broke down to reveal the silent rage that was Gray Fullbuster.

Natsu held his sword with both hands, not turning his eyes away from his opponent. But he had a feral grin that was a mile wide. In the time they fought side by side, Natsu could in a sense get a feel for Gray's tendencies. After all, growing up together he always thought of Gray as a brother even though their respective elements clashed. Sure Natsu WAS and IS the Triad Dragon of Fairy Tail but even so fire and ice just don't mix. Being the lovable, fight loving goofball that he was he made the relationship work.

Lyon of course was livid. Upon reuniting with Gray the night before his confidence in his supposed mastery of Ice-Make magic and Ice magic in general had diminished. He expected Gray to be strong but nowhere near as strong as he was. He was the more exemplary student of Ur growing up. He was the one who one-upped Gray when they trained side by side. But his mind was filled with rage and doubt. Why? Because Gray had apparently stepped out of both his and Ur's respective shadows a long time ago. And Lyon still had the cuts and bruises to show for it.

Gray walked to Natsu's side, standing upright with his fists clinched tight at his sides. His natural blue eyes were now starting to glow into the glowing, electric blue… a sign of him being either angry or serious. In this case it was both. Last night, the coldest mage in Fairy Tail gave Lyon a beat down to remember. He of course stuck with using two hands when magic became a factor which didn't hinder him in the slightest. This was done simply out of respect for his long deceased teacher and to show a fellow student, his senior the error of his ways. He thought he had made his point. But deep down he knew it would be this way.

"You know Lyon…"

Said man had to take a step back once he saw Gray's eyes come to full glow. For the first time since Deliora was sealed by Ur… Lyon felt fear! Him! Ur's superior! So why?! Why was he afraid?!

"I gave you a chance after I spared you last night. Hell, killing you would have been a mercy." Gray said in a low tone.

Natsu's grin was gone and his face was one of grim determination. One way or another… the madness had to end. And if that involved taking a life so be it. He and Gray both made peace with the fact their hands would get dirty when things were at their worst. But what made Natsu a bit queasy was the fact that Gray was considering killing Lyon of all people. Gray delved into the story of what made him the young man he was today when he arrived at the villager's makeshift camp after defeating Lyon. After all was said and done, Natsu's respect and admiration for Gray couldn't go any higher. He understood Gray's plight in regards for his master and respected his resolve in wanting to move on and live for her. Now he could say he understood his friend and fellow mage.

Gray's arms were now starting to slowly turn into the ice. From the tip of his fingers all the way up to where the bicep met the shoulder blade, ice made Gray's arms look frozen. Don't be deceived by the appearances though, those arms of his were still just as loose and flexible if they didn't look like that.

"But it looks like you didn't learn your lesson the first time. So now I'm going to tell you straight up. Now look me in the eyes." Gray commanded with a fierce glare.

Lyon to his credit didn't back down but his confidence was nearly gone and he felt the power radiating off of his rival Ice mage. It was larger than his own! Much larger!

Off to the side, a presence that was already known by the combatants, was the entity known as Zalty. Secretly though, Zalty was really a disguise for the one known as Ultear, a member of the magic council. Natsu already suspected as much but he needed to take this being one on one and beat the truth of this foe.

"Lyon…"

The authority and finality in Gray's tone made Ultear shiver in response while she also sported a light grimace underneath her disguise. She knew of the deeds Natsu and Gray did off the records when it came to hunting down dark guilds. But to see this killer intent from a boy she somewhat grew to respect was something else. Another thought popped in that made her uneasy a little even though she herself had committed numerous atrocities. The thought of the killer intent of Natsu Dragneel and what it possibly felt like. Her musings were interrupted when Gray made his threat clear.

Standing slightly in front of Natsu but off to the side, Gray let a good amount of his magic pool in his hands.

"I'm going to kill you." Gray leveled.

Just like that silence.

Natsu stood by gripping his sword while Gray had mist and fog rolling out of his hands and into the floor. Lyon just gritted his teeth in anger while trying to rally his already broken confidence for a fight that could very well end him.

Then came a slow clap.

"My oh my what a performance. I can see you boys are busy so I'll get back to the plan now. TTFN." Zalty chuckled out before zooming into the depths of the temple.

"I got him." Natsu said before taking off.

Gray inwardly smirked because he knew how true the statement was. Natsu of course was THE Salamander of Fairy Tail and the Triad Dragon. There was no way a freak in a mask would take him down. But like him, Gray had his own fight. This was a fight to hopefully settle things once and for all before finishing the mission.

Once Natsu was out of the chamber, Lyon spoke up.

"You and Salamander have embarrassed me for the last time Gray." Lyon seethed while stretching out his hand.

Gray stood there still having a fierce glare while not making any sort of movements.

"I won't let you or anyone keep me from fulfilling my dream of surpassing Ur! You hear me?!"

Suddenly the room got colder. Ice and frost started to coat the walls and floor. Lyon knew who the source was but he was in denial.

("Where the hell did he get such power?! Was he holding back when we fought last night?!") Lyon thought frantically.

Gray bent his knees slightly to get into a half crouch as his head titled down.

[Play The 13th Struggle/ The 13th Struggle Final Mix Ver.]

Gray suddenly snapped his head up. Both hands went to opposite side of his hips to look as though he were drawing swords… in this case he were. Ice magic formed within his hands in a matter of seconds. When he withdrew his hands from his hips, large swords (a katana and a claymore) appeared and he spun them on his sides before bringing them in a x-formation in front of his chest. (A/N: Similar to how Roxas drew his keyblades against Axel and Riku)

Lyon recognized this. Gray was using Ice magic with one hand. Not only that… but he mastered it somehow!

"Ice-Make Dragons!"

Multiple dragons shot forth and raced towards their target. Gray decided enough standing around and decided to fight. Both swords were immediately at his sides as he raced forward, gliding across the floor using Aera. Once the dragons were in range, Gray narrowed his eyes slightly as he used his Aera to boost himself into the air. Lyon thought Gray was a fool for making himself such an easy target… only to realize who exactly he was fighting.

In phenomenally fast movement, Gray had used his swords to slash each of the five dragons with one stroke before landing on his feet gracefully. His landing only lasted a second or two before he took off in a dead sprint towards Lyon.

Lyon gritted his teeth in frustration before sending out another futile attack.

"Ice-Make Eagles! Ice-Make Tiger!"

Eight eagles and one tiger were formed before racing out to meet their prey head on. Gray had a feeling that Lyon knew how outmatched he was. He knew he didn't want to drag this fight on and let become a long range battle. It was time to showcase a few moves before ending the fight and maybe Lyon once and for all.

The first eagle made a dive bomb for Gray only to crash and burn when said mage side stepped mid-stride. The tiger got smart by way of his master and decided to circle around for an opening. Gray was made aware of the presence of one of Lyon's creations using sensible strategy, it was commendable but useless.

Two more eagles came at him and decided for the more direct approach. Gray spun the katana in his right hand before destroying both ice creations with one slash. As he was closing the distance to Lyon, his senses alerted him to another eagle coming from the back. Instead of stopping to turn left or right, a decision that could lead to a minor injury, Gray decided to inflict damage.

Before Lyon could erect a shield or even use a clone, Gray had slashed his side with both sword, drawing cry of pain and blood. The injury itself wasn't serious but still it hurt. The move was done so fast that Lyon couldn't keep track of Gray's speed. Either the cold in the room was actually starting to affect him and dull his senses or…

"This is far from over Gray!" Lyon yelled as he re-directed the swarm of ice eagles while the tiger was still biding its time.

Gray clicked his teeth in annoyance as he ran up a nearby wall, ice forming on his feet. He then made a turn on the wall as the eagles continued the chase. The walls were originally unstable but thanks to Gray unleashing his power, he could free run on the wall no problem.

Lyon could only watch as his frustration grew and his anger continued to rise. If things didn't end he would lose control of his magic and not only that be sapped of magic energy. Just as Gray neared a spot where his pet ice tiger, Lyon decided to strike while the iron was hot when in reality it was lukewarm.

"Sick 'em!" Lyon commanded.

The ice tiger let out a bellowing roar before jumping in mid-air to meet Gray on the wall. Fairy Tail's favorite ice mage smirked as his senses kicked into overdrive. Time slowed down as he jumped off the wall and his swords disappeared. He twisted his body mid-air and planted a single foot on the ice tiger to boost himself higher in the air. Forming a bow and several arrows, Gray twisted the upper half of his body so he was looking at his targets upside down.

"Ice-Make… Arrow shot."

The arrows were released and each found their target with deadly precision. Within seconds the eagles shattered when the arrows hit and tiger hit the wall destroying itself in the process.

Wordlessly Gray disposed of his ice bow and used an ice grappler to swing himself back down to the floor. Once there the smirk he had disappeared as he made his way towards Lyon in long commanding strides. The fight was won.

Lyon himself couldn't believe it for a fact. Gray had bested him in hand to hand combat the previous night as well as magic. Now history was repeating itself like a lightning strike in the same place. He unconsciously took a step back bearing his teeth all the while glaring at Gray.

Gray formed a katana in one hand and a dagger in the other, holding the dagger in a reverse grip style.

In the battle of Ur's students… both rounds went to Gray Fullbuster. And he was going to end it once for all before dealing with Deliora.

A/N: Salutations fellow authors and readers! This is a test story and a preview for one of my pet projects for the site. Now you're probably curious as to what my projects could be and what this preview could possibly mean. To start off, let me clarify a few things going on in this one-shot of mine.

1. Natsu in my story wields a sword forged by the Dragon God and all other gods in Earth Land. Yes Gods plural. Some were featured in the canon Fairy Tail story while mine adds some and even features demi-gods.

2. Natsu has adopted five siblings, three boys and two girls. I don't do the whole thing with honorifics but if I could some moments in the story would be cute as hell.

3. Yes. In my story Gray beat Lyon in both fights on Galuna. Both he and Natsu have been training since around X778 or X779. So they're much stronger during the first half of the Fairy Tail series leading up to Tenrou.

4. Natsu and Gray kill as a last resort in my story. If I get around to beating my writer's block and publishing the story you'll see why.

5. Natsu and Gray are much more like friendlier towards each other because I have a hard time writing insults. Also I wanted to try a different dynamic and see how it would work. For my story it fits.

As customary with all stories on the site, leave comments and reviews for I take all criticisms. I look forward to publishing actual stories over the next few years even when school or work ties me down. Any ideas for a crossover or story, send them my way via PM.

Have a nice day!