(*Turns on tv)

Raven: Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing my story! I can't believe it's reached about 50 reviews! You guys are so awesome! And to serve as thanks, I present to you Chapter Four!

Natsu: Who's Black Rose? She sounds weird…

Gray: Says the guy with pink hair.

Natsu: What did you say? Huh? You stripper?

Erza: Boys! You're getting along, aren't you?

Gray: Y-yes Erza (shrinks)

Natsu: A-aye!

Lucy: Happy #2 returns!

Happy: Aye Sir!

Raven: Erza, would you please do the honors?

Erza: With pleasure. Raven-sama does not own Fairy Tail nor any of its characters. Hiro Mashima-sama does.

Raven: On with the story!

Normal POV


"Shit. Bunny-girl?" Gajeel asked aloud, his jaw dropping. The girl smirks and spreads out her arms in a bowing manner.

"I'm back, Gajeel." Lucy said, a grin etching itself on her lips. She was clad in black delinquent clothes. Her hair was tied up in a high pony tail; her bangs slanted covering her left eye. Three silver piercings on her right ear, and a golden loop on her left. She wore a black turtleneck sleeveless upper that stopped at the base of her rib with a purple circle drawn at the back, and some bandages around her abdomen and lower arm, gloves with silver buckles covered her hand but not her fingers which had its nails painted purple.

On her hip, was a dark violet belt that had lots of pockets and loops… it also held her keys that obviously grew in number. Lucy had on a black short skirt that opened at the side, it had dark violet edges and a beautiful design of purple sakura flowers. Inside, she wore black cycling shorts that reached her upper knee. Around her left thigh, was a holster, that held some shinobi tools. For her shoes, she wore open flats that were black, and her nails were painted purple. The cloak she had on, was a dark shade of violet that was almost black. It had the same sakura flower design to it, with purple edges.

Gajeel was impressed with her appearance. In his opinion, he preferred this Lucy than the old cutesy Lucy. He was also impressed with the aura she was emitting. What's she been doing this past year? He thought to himself, as he had a smug smirk on his face.

"I ain't going soft on you, bunny-girl." The iron dragonslayer sneered, posing for an attack. He was very much excited to fight the infamous black rose of clover town. Lucy leered, and just stood there.

"After over a year of not seeing each other, this is how you greet me?" Lucy asked, feigning sadness. Inside, she was just as excited as he was. After Mystogan appeared during her bath, and sending her into a portal leading to who knows where, she's spent 2 whole months earning money and helping Clover Town… in her own way


Flashback

"La… La la… la la la la" Lucy hummed to herself, as a satisfied smile appeared on her lips. Loke just left moments ago and she was free to bathe in the river in the nude. Taking off her worn and torn clothes, she dipped herself into the warm flowing water.

"Ah~" Lucy let out a contented sigh. It was perfect. Satisfied, she started rubbing off the dirt from her abused body. Sometimes, a soft golden glow would appear over some serious cuts and bruises, but Loke already explained why it did that… so she didn't freak out like before. Afterwards, she decided on just sitting there, and relaxing. Until her peaceful moment was interrupted by a rustle of a bush right in front of her. Crossing a protective arm over her chest, she slowly reaches for her kunai and was about to throw it at the bush when King Mystogan stepped out.

"Eeeiiiiikkkk!" Lucy screamed on the top of her lungs, and threw a huge rock on his head. Mystogan wasn't able to dodge it quick enough, and so he received a strong blow on the head. "

What the hell! You scared me! Oh shit… I meant, good day your highness." Lucy bows her head, although she hid the kunai behind her and sunk deeper into the water in an attempt to hide her naked body. Mystogan on the other hand was wide eyed and staring while rubbing his sore and probably bleeding head... An awkward silence passes by them.

"You're naked! What are you doing naked in a forest?" The King exclaims, snapping his head to another direction with a furious blush on his face. Lucy's right eye twitches in irritation, even if a blush found itself over her cheeks.

"I'm taking a bath, you idiot! I meant, your majesty.'' Lucy inwardly groaned. She was so~ gonna get punished, it was Edo-Lucy's fault anyway… for rubbing off on me.

"I… er… uhmmm… I apologize. Anyway, I brought good news. You might want to change into your clothes before I tell you though." King Mystogan says, turning around. He was ashamed of himself… not realizing that Lucy was taking a bath before stepping out of the bushes. Lucy, forgetting to bring any clothes since she thought she'd be able to walk to the cave and change there, only had a towel at hand. So she wrapped it around herself and cleared her throat to indicate that she was ready.

When Mystogan turned around, he almost choked on his spit. There, not meters before him, was the beautiful Heartfilia girl clad in only a towel. Swallowing the lump that formed in his throat, he began to speak.

"I've found a way to send you back to Earthland." He said, afraid of his voice cracking. Lucy on the other hand was frozen. No. Not now. Not when I've started to forget about them. Not when I've moved on. Lucy thought, he mind and heart confused and afraid of what to do next.

"I'm sorry… but this can only occur once. I've found a portal that would or would not send you back to Earthland. Is that not what you wish? To return to your true origin?" Mystogan asked, forgetting about the towel covered woman in front of him, and just focusing on the situation.

"B-but… I-I don't know what to do… how am I supposed to react to this? I'm confused!" Lucy said frustrated. Inside, she was both happy and sad. Happy because she could go back to her real home. Sad that she'd leave the people she's come to know, love, and care about. Why is life unfair? Why does it keep picking on me?

Suddenly, a small ring appears beside Lucy glowing red. It slowly grew in size, and was about half of Lucy's height.

"No! Lucy, tell me now… do you or do you not want to remain in Edolas!" The King yelled, afraid of what might happen. If the portal grew larger, it could suck Lucy in whether she liked it or not. But if she decided to stay here, now, while the portal was half her size, he could stop it.

"I-I don't know!" Lucy yelled back, clutching her head. The portal suddenly stopped growing, and everything went silent…until a sudden outburst of magic escaped the portal and sucked Lucy in.

"Noooo!" Mystogan cried, reaching for Lucy's hand, he barely touched her finger when she disappeared. Meanwhile, Lucy was screaming, frantically searching for some place to hold on to, or to step on. But it was an empty space that had neither walls nor floors. She could feel the tug of magic on her, and slowly, she lost consciousness.

When she opened her eyes, she was surrounded by people. Everyone was staring at her; some had angry and disgusted looks, others had on weird smiles, and still some were taking pictures of her. Looking down, she found herself still clad in the towel she wrapped herself in. She began to worry about her appearance, until she noticed the place. It wasn't Edolas… there weren't any floating islands, no weird trees and plants… no frogs that turned large… no Mystogan…

"E-earthland?" Lucy exclaimed, standing up. The people still just stared at her, the men obviously ogling her almost naked form.

"What're ya looking at? Huh!" Lucy yelled at them, raising a fist. Slowly, the people left her alone, but they still gave her weird and creepy looks. Satisfied, she checked her body while her right hand instinctively went to her hip, and her eyes widened when she didn't feel her keys and whip. Oh right! I was only wearing this towel… NO! MY KEYS! Lucy thought, searching frantically around until she spotted it. It was in the hand of a little boy. He saw her looking at the keys, and handed it to her.

"Thanks little dude…" She patted his head. The boy smiled at her, and ran away. Lucy shook her head, and decided to search for some clothes that she could use.

A lot of things happened since then. She became a solitary mage, fighting off the bad guys… she became a hero... a wanted hero. Since she began having the knack of leaving black roses after every mission, or capture, people started calling her Black Rose…


"You know how I roll…" Gajeel answered, taking a step sideward, with his hands and arms turning into iron poles. Lucy also takes a step sideward, opposite Gajeel, and takes out her whip from the belt.

"Oh yes… very much. So, how are you and the guild? Heard that you and Levy got hooked up?" Lucy grinned, taking another step to the side. The iron dragonslayer smirked, and ran forward on full speed. He aimed his left arm (which was now an iron pole) on her right hip, and was about to hit when his target disappeared into thin air.

Just then, Lucy appeared behind him, trapping him in her whip. The blond girl chuckled, and whispered in his ear.

"Please answer my questions before attacking, it would do you good." She said, and let go of him. Hopping off to a far distance, Lucy snapped her whip back to her belt, and slipped five kunai's in between each of her fingers.

"Tsk! Acting all high and mighty now, eh?" Gajeel spat, also hopping to a far distance from Lucy. He underestimated the girl. She's grown so much, he was slightly proud… even if he knew they weren't that close… he still had a right though… right?

"I am high and mighty…" Lucy retorted, sending one of her kunai towards Gajeel. He just deflected it with his iron arms, and punched Lucy. But when he reeled his arm back in, Lucy wasn't anywhere in front of him. He instantly turned around, anticipating that she would attack behind him again, but nothing happened.

"Not behind you… above you…" Lucy's voice rang out. Gajeel instantly looks up, and his eyes widen when he finds Lucy floating in mid air, with her hands holding her whip. The cloak thrashed around her, as the wind blew at it strongly. Her blond hair danced along to the breeze, and her gaze was right on Gajeel's. Rapidly, she threw the daggers towards him, not giving the iron dragonslayer any chance of escape.

"Tsk!" Gajeel spat in exasperation, forming an iron shield with both his hands (A/N: can he really do that? I'm curious…). When he looked up, Lucy was no longer above him.

"Look alive Gajeel!" Lucy's voice echoes all around him. Gajeel frantically looks around him, above him, and even below him… but he just couldn't find Lucy.

"What the hell!" He bellows in pain when he felt a blade sink into his side, probably reaching a vital organ. Just as he was about to pull it out, another one sinks into his left arm making it numb. Cursing, he begins pulling it out, until another one finds itself inside his right palm, the shaft of the blade poking out of the back of his hand.

"Have you grown weaker Gajeel?" Lucy asks, suddenly appearing behind him, a dagger conveniently positioned over his jugular vein.

"Shit. You've gotten stronger bunny-girl, I'll acknowledge that…" Gajeel replies with pure hatred and an ounce of admiration. "But you've still got a ways to go!" He exclaimed, stepping on her left foot and then elbowing her face with the right arm. He then punches her on the abdomen with his iron club, runs to catch her, and kicks her spine. Next, he makes his hand into a large blade and slashes at her… Lucy blocks it by crossing her arms out in front of her, but her arms got cut up because of it. Due to the impact though, she slides backwards on her knees.

"Argh!" The celestial mage groans, covering both of her cut up arms with her hands. Gajeel watched, as her hands suddenly glowed in a golden ethereal light. Suddenly, his eyes widens when Lucy let's go of her arms.

"Eh?" He yells, leaning forward to try to get a closer look. The blood that was flowing continuously just moments ago now stopped, and from the looks of it, her wounds were nowhere to be seen.

"Ah… there it goes again," Lucy mumbles to herself, but Gajeel heard it loud and clear. There it goes again? What's that supposed to mean?

"Well, I can say that you're still that strong. But Gajeel, you do know that iron, no matter what you do, would rust?" Lucy asks, reaching both hands to her back. She snaps her cloak off, and unsheathes two swords crossed over each other strapped on her back. Gajeel prepared himself, realizing that attacking without any plans wasn't possible. He had to think, which he usually never did in any battle.

"What, you can use swords now too?" The iron dragonslayer makes his arms into swords as well. Lucy merely smirked, and walked calmly towards Gajeel.

"You know what I've been doing ever since you guys left me in Edolas?" The celestial mage questions, her hazel eyes turning a shade darker. Gajeel on the other hand was surprised. I knew it! She was trapped at Edolas!

Lucy begins sliding the sword on her right hand on the ground as she continues walking. Gajeel just stands his ground, not afraid of her.

"I've been training… Edolas is a magic void world… but somehow, I can use my magic. I enhanced my ability to call my spirits, found new bonds with them. I met new skills, created new ways to get stronger… When I got back from Edolas, I improved by taking on jobs I never could have finished before. Training by day… working by night… That was my way!" Lucy screams, charging forward. Gajeel takes his blocking stance when Lucy sliced her swords in the air. The metal faced mage finds himself being pushed backward from the impact. But he couldn't find a way to counter, since Lucy just kept on coming at him.

"I had the urge to go visit you guys! *slash* to see if you still remembered me! *slash* but when I got there..." The celestial mage suddenly stopped, her head bowed and her eyes covered by her bangs. Gajeel takes the chance to leap off to a far distance from her and watched. Lucy's shoulders began to shake.

"Wait, you went to Fairy Tail?" Gajeel asked, shocked. How come he didn't even smell her? Well, he hasn't been in Fairy tail for over three months now, so he couldn't know.

"When I got there, not one person seemed to notice my absence. I looked around, asked about Lucy Heartfilia… but nobody even knew who she was… *sob*" Lucy started crying. It hurt her to think that nobody even remembered her. Not one person remembered who she was, not even Natsu. Of course, she's prepared herself for this and even got over it. But it still hurt as hell. By then, Gajeel lowered his guard and watched sadly at the blond girl who was crying.

"L-Lucy…" Gajeel started, but he stopped when he didn't know what to say next. Juvia, Wendy, Master or any of the exceeds should have see her… but maybe they weren't there. Clenching his fists, he thought of the only way he knew of consoling a person… by fighting. Transforming his hand back into swords, he charges forward.

"Enough crying, let our fists do the talking!" Gajeel yelled, making a move to stab Lucy's leg. But the girl simply blocked it using the swords by crossing it over the leg before Gajeel could even hit. When the iron dragonslayer looked up, he saw that the tears were now replaced with a smirk.

"Of course… it's just like you to fight a girl who was crying moments ago." Lucy smiled, leaping backwards.

"I'm fighting no ordinary girl, so yeah…" He answered, sneering at her. Gajeel then makes his hands return into fists and places them over his mouth. He gathers magic power into his mouth, and shapes it into a tornado.

"Iron dragon's roar!" He yells, sending it towards Lucy. The girl tries to dodge it, but was only able to quickly move away, hitting her left leg in the process. She skids backwards, and stops at the base of a tree with her leg bleeding, a metal shard poking out of her skin. Lucy frowns when she sees the wound, but just as soon as she saw it, the golden light appeared, spitting out the shard from her leg. Surprisingly though, the large open wound did not heal which made Gajeel smirk.

"Hah! Now here comes… Iron dragon sword!" The iron dragonslayer exclaims, charging forward. Lucy just watches him with a slight edge to her look, and suddenly vanishes. Gajeel slides to a stop and furiously looks around. The celestial mage was nowhere to be found.

"Where the hell are you!" Gajeel roars, furiously searching for the girl. He tried to smell her, tried to sense her, but it was like she wasn't even there in the first place.

"What? Miss me already?" Lucy appears out of nowhere, her voice deeper and scarier. Gajeel punches her, but in a flash, she was gone. He whips his head to the right and finds her standing merely inches from him.

"Hi!" She grins, but then a dark shadow covers her face and she gets all serious. "Bye~" She whispers to his ear in a terrifying way that it sent chills down Gajeel's spine. Swiftly, Lucy grabs his fist and twists it behind him.

"Dance of the Canis major! Sirius!" The celestial mage exclaims, emitting a bright gold aura around her body. Suddenly, they are surrounded by a globe of a golden hot turbulent gas. Lucy then disappears, and Gajeel is hit with multiple bursts of celestial energy, beating him everywhere.

"Gwaaah! Ack! Ugh!" The iron dragonslayer grunts at every hit. Shit! She hit a vital organ… gotta use my iron skin.

"Iron dragon's scales!" He yells, his body instantly covered with hard scales. Lucy sees this, and frowns.

"That won't work on this… assault of the hunter, Orion!" Lucy screams, forming a blue seal with her hands. The golden globe that wrapped itself around Gajeel disappeared, but then it was replaced with a larger and brighter blue globe. Instantaneously, spears of different shades of blue shot off from the azure globe and even pierce through his skin. Gajeel falls on his knees, his gaze getting blurry and his breathing ragged.

"What happened to you? Is this really the great iron dragonslayer; Gajeel Redfox? Or maybe you're just a fraud." Lucy wonders aloud. Gajeel spits blood, and glares at the direction of where the voice was coming from.

"Glaring has no effect on me… anyway, I think I probably should stop this or you'd end up dead. Ne, Gajeel?" The celestial mage asks cupping the face of the metal faced mage. She sees him struggling to stay conscious and notices the mark of the hunter on his forehead.

"Yeah, I really should stop this. DISPERSE!" She yells. The blue globe slowly breaks into small particles and then disappears completely, leaving the two battling mages in open air. Lucy places both hands over his chest, and the faint glow that appeared over her open wound materialized around his whole body. Gajeel was slowly engulfed by a sphere of the same golden light.

"Wh-what are you… doing?" He asks, his voice hoarse and out of breath. Lucy notices his anxious expression and smiles warmly at him.

"Relax, Gajeel. I'm not going to kill you. You recognized me after all, and I still consider you a friend. Especially since you're dating Levy-chan… although I wonder how that happened, did you seduce her or something?" She marvels at the thought. Gajeel just glares at her, and winces when a sharp pain shoots throughout his body.

"You'll be fine soon… hey, Gajeel? Oi! Do-'' Lucy stops talking when she sees that he was already fast asleep. She smirks, and places a palm over his forehead.

"Yeah, it's just like you… argh! Now I have to carry you, you metal faced idiot." She groans, securing an arm over her shoulder. But then she abruptly stops and grins to herself.

"I do have horologium with me…" She whispers, placing a hand over the quivering silver key.


Raven: Uhmmm… let me just say that this chapter got too long so I chopped it up into two parts. This is the part where Lucy obviously defeats Gajeel, and where the real story begins… The second part is when-

Happy: Aye sir!

Raven: Hey! I wasn't even done talking!

Lucy: Bye guys! Til' the next chapter!

Raven: How dare y-

(*the tv turns off*)