A/N: Hello, all! I am back with chapter number four! Woo-hoo! In this one, we have a little more info into Ember's actual powers (small hint, Ice Maker like Gray and Lyon is only a secondary/forced magic of hers)! Hopefully this will explain a little as to why she is a powerful member of Fairy Tail, despite having weak Maker Magic. But I will not reveal all as of now! Mwahaha!

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

~~Shini~~

Ember stared at Juvia as the color quickly left her face. She seemed to be absolutely devastated about something, on the verge of fainting. Ember quickly glanced around to see what the other mages were thinking of the girl's unnerving lack of color, but was met with confused stares. The blonde woman looked like she couldn't close her mouth. The man she had originally been intending to fight stood as still as one of Evergreen's statues, his eyes big enough to be a dragon's. Everyone else seemed completely normal. Ember opened her mouth to say something when that Juvia chick flew at her, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'M SO SORRY, BIG SIS!" Juvia screamed as she threw herself into Ember's arms. Ember reluctantly caught the water woman, not knowing what else to do. She felt a slight blush appear on her cheeks, but it was not because this woman called her 'Big Sis', Mavis, no. That would be pathetic, for a wizard of Ember's skill and power to be flattered by such a small thing.

Without really thinking about it, Ember awkwardly patted the sobbing girl's back. "There, there," she started to say, when a sudden thought struck her brain like lightning. "Wait!" Ember grabbed a hold of Juvia's shoulders and pushed her away so that they were looking at each other, eye to eye. "Are you, by any chance, Gray's girlfriend?"

Big Sis think's I'm Gray's...GIRLFRIEND?! Juvia felt her very being start to boil, her skin turn a bright red. This was just too much of a shock. She could no longer keep conscious. Gajeel looked on, laughing his dragon-slayin' ass off, as Juvia fainted in Gray's sister's arms. The look on—what's her name—EMBER!—on Ember's face was absolutely priceless. She just looked so stunned and confused, wondering if she had said something wrong. Little did she know that she had said just the right thing to make Juvia her best friend and most loyal servant for the rest of her life.

"Girlfriend?!" Gray shouted, his cheeks turning red. Why would Ember think such a thing?! Juvia was just a friend! A FRIEND.

Natsu also started laughing just as hard, if not harder, than Gajeel. Just the thought! Gray! With Juvia! It was too much to bare! Natsu and Happy collapsed to the ground, rolling around on their backs and holding their stomachs as tears streamed down their cheeks. This was just too good to be true! Lucy and Erza were both giggling, but more from the looks on everyone's faces than amusement at Ember's question. They had both thought the same thing, but hadn't dared to ask.

"Ya got somethin' to say to me, Flame-Brain?!"

Erza instantly sobered as she witnessed Natsu stand up, still laughing. She knew another fight was brewing just under the surface, one that she had to put a stop to. Master had put her in charge of these idiots while he went to make reparations to the townsfolk who had gotten in the way of their last escapade. Erza walked over to her two friends, who were now face to face and on the verge of throwing fists, if not magic. Two quick punches later, one for each of them, and Erza was dragging the two inside the guild.

"C'mon, everyone!" Erza said cheerfully. "Let's go inside and celebrate Ember's safe return!"

Lucy and Happy followed Erza into the Guild Hall, followed closely by Elfman, who was carrying Juvia. That left a confused Ember standing out in the yard with Gajeel, Freed, and Bickslow. Turning to the iron-studded man, Ember lifted a confused eyebrow. The man just shrugged and turned to follow the others inside. Ember made a small hum before taking a step to follow the man. But she was stopped when she suddenly remembered that they were not the only two out there.

Gajeel felt an abrupt change in the air and turned his head to see what was going on behind him. The woman's face was set in a deadpan, the only expression in her eyes. And Gajeel saw something that he had not seen in the most feral of beasts, had not even seen in Metalicana. It was pure, absolute, undiluted rage. Gajeel finished turning around and saw that her hands were curled into fists, blood seeping out of them from her nails biting into the skin of her palms. In front of her, cast by the sun, was her shadow. Gajeel had never seen a shadow so dark and ominous-looking before. Right in front of his eyes, her shadow started moving and swirling, as if it were made up of thousands of living creatures. And they looked pissed.

"Freed, Bickslow." Her voice was different than it had been moments before. Earlier, it had been higher, with a slight rough undertone. Now, it was deep and husky, enough to terrify a normal man. The mages she had mentioned both froze as Gajeel watched, all traces of color draining from their faces. "I have not seen Gray with my own eyes in over three years. I will not let you ruin this."

Ember turned her head slightly and something weird happened. Gajeel watched as her shadow, her entire shadow, dispersed and moved in hundreds of dark tendrils towards Freed and Bickslow. The parts of her shadow literally crawled up both Freed and Bickslow. To the on looking Dragon-Slayer, it appeared as if they were binding the two Thunder Legion members, rendering the two utterly immobile. Gajeel could tell they couldn't move, but he couldn't understand why. Was this girl controlling her shadow and using it to bind her fellow Guild Members? Her voice shook Gajeel out of his stunned awe.

"I do not wish to deal with you today. You will go and alert Master that I have returned, and that I wish to speak with him." The shadows abruptly left the two mages, returning to the shape of Ember. Without changing her expression, the girl turned her head and pinned the two with her gaze just as effectively as with her shadow. "Do I make myself clear?"

Both Freed and Bickslow gave stiff nods before turning and running into town. As soon as they were out of eyesight, Gajeel felt the air lighten. He turned back to the girl and saw something that surprised him. Where she had looked on the verge of ripping the two apart with her bare hands, she now looked like she was about to cry. The drastic change in demeanor threw Gajeel for a loop. But within seconds her ezpression was back to what it had been. The girl looked up and seemed to notice Gajeel for the first time. Her eyes widened and she took a half step back. Before she could say anything, Gajeel spoke.

"Some trick," the first man she had met said gruffly, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's not easy to make those two so terrified."

Ember tilted her head down, some of her raven hair falling into her eyes. "You know them well, then," she said slowly. Ember hesitantly started walking towards the Guild Hall.

"Not really," the guy replied, falling into step beside Ember. "I just know that they gave Gray, Lucy, and Mira a hard time."

That was some surprising news. Not that they had fought Gray and Miss Blonde-Tits-A-Lot, no, Ember already knew that. "Freed fought Mirajane?!" Ember turned quickly and grabbed the man's shoulder, moving him to face her. "B-but... I thought she had retired! Is my information network failing me?!"

Gajeel decided that he liked this girl. She was obviously powerful, if she could terrify so many powerful mages. But he really liked this side of her. She looked—small, almost. Cute. Like a little kid that is! Yeah, she was attractive, but there was no way in hell that Gajeel would admit that someone was cute! "No, she still is retired," Gajeel answered, a small smirk playing across his lips.

"Th-then how did...how did she beat Freed?" Her eyes were big and wide, almost seeming to darken. This close to her, Gajeel could see that she had a small freckle under her right eye, near the outer edge. Her lips were open slightly in disbelief, and they were a nice lovely shade of pink. They sparkled slightly in the sunlight...

Gajeel quickly turned his head away from her and started walking again. "She did use her magic to beat him, but only with the help of some other chick. The drunk one." The girl quickly jogged to catch up to him, drawing Gajeel's attention to two very nice assets of her's...

"Cana?"

Gajeel grunted in conformation, speeding up. Damn, he needed a drink. He didn't remember the last time he had found himself so unable to concentrate because of a woman. Yeah, he found some women to be attractive before. There was that Lucy chick for one, but she was obviously into Pinky. Gajeel knew Juvia too well to ever be sexually interrested in her. That Levy girl was nice, someone he might've thought of pursuing, if it wasn't for her chest. He wasn't nessicarily a fan of the huge knockers most Fairy Tail women had, but Levy's were just a little too small for his taste. Don't misunderstand, if she offered, it's not like he would refuse. Boobs are boobs after all. But this girl... This Ember... her tits were nice. They were large, not too large, but also not too small. They were round, and perky... AND GODDAMMIT STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS SHIT!

Ember watched out of the corner of her eye as the man's face slowly flushed. He kept glancing down at her, but not at her face. If his blush and and gaze weren't clues enough of what he was thinking, his sudden nose bleed was. Ember felt a small smirk appear on her face. This guy could end up being a lot of fun to tease. Without even really thinking about it, Ember grabbed his arm again and tugged, making him look at her once more. She clasped her hands in front of her and bowed slightly.

"I'm Ember Iliune."

"Huh, Gajeel R—," Gajeel turned to face the girl, automatically starting to reply to her introduction. Then he saw what position she was in. Was that conniving bitch doing this purposely?! Pushing her boobs together and bending over like that! Well, he wouldn't fall for her tricks! Not this Dragon-Slayer! Nu-uh! "I'm Gajeel Redfox," he stated quickly, turning away and speed walking into the Guild Hall.

With a small chuckle Ember stood up and watched the broad back of Gajeel as he disappeared into the Guild Hall. Oh, yes. She would have fun teasing him.

A/N: Oh, and Gajeel might seem a little OOC in this, but I can just see him as being a total pervert. Let me know if I made him a little too weird! Thanks! *chu*

~~Shini~~