Fairy Flame Dragon

by Oturan Namikaze

Natsu made a vow at Lisanna's grave to get stronger, so he could make sure that none of his friends and loved ones would fall to the same fate she did. But as he gets stronger, he discovers secrets from his past that will change his future forever. NatsuXErza.

21. Shadow Devil Slayer v Iron Dragon Slayer

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, it belongs to Hiro Mashima and I, unfortunately, am not him. I do however own any OC characters that will appear later in the story. Relax and enjoy the story.

People speaking "Now, I'm all fired up!"

People thinking 'Geronimo'

Magic Spells "Fire Dragon ROAR"

Creature/Dragon speaking "Fairy Tail is number one."

Creature/Dragon thinking 'You're not a real man!'

Chapter 21

Shadow Devil Slayer vs. Iron Dragon Slayer

Jose sat alone in his control room, as all of his henchmen had left to take care of the intruders. It didn't bother the Phantom Lord Guildmaster in the least since the MKII was currently on autopilot and could handle the rest on its own… well, as long as Juvia didn't fall like the other members of the Element 4. A small smirk grew on Jose's face as the entrance door behind him exploded, "Well now, so Titania and Salamander have graced me with their presence. This is such an honor." The man let out a chuckle as his throne spun around to face the entrance, where Natsu and Erza were standing side by side with glares on their faces. "You both certainly take after that fool, Makarov… finding pleasure in destroying my expensive doors."

"Don't you dare speak about Master after your attempt to take his life!?" Erza shouted as a sword appeared in her hand and pointed its blade at the seated male wizard. "You will pay for all of the wrongdoings you have done against Fairy Tail!"

"Hoh~? Are you talking about what I did to Makarov? Or how my men injured some of your fellow members so greatly that they had to be taken to the hospital, including that traitor Vanitas? Or maybe you are talking about our capturing of Lucy Heartfillia…" The glares that Jose received continued to intensify with each word he said, but that mattered little to the man as he did a dramatic pause before his eyes glinted in amusement. "… Or perhaps, you are talking about what I was doing to your daug-"

Natsu didn't give him time to finish as he leaped towards the throne with a flame-covered hand and tried to punch Jose in the face, only for the man to faze away causing Natsu to destroy the stone throne leaving rubble behind. The Fire Dragon Slayer turn his head sharply to see Jose standing several feet away from him with his back facing him, but that didn't stop Natsu from feeling the smug look on Jose's face. "Shut up you bastard."

"Such rude children, but I suppose that is to be expected of Makarov's children." Jose disappeared again as he dodged Erza's own attack from the side, only to twist his body as he reappeared to avoid the arc of fire the Natsu fired at him. Raising up a hand to his arm, the red-haired man began to wipe off the invisible dirt as if he was brushing off Natsu's attack, "Not bad, but you both must have a lot more to offer, correct? After all, you are supposed to be two of the strongest member of your sorry excuse for a guild."

"T-This magic of his, it's filled with the presence of death!?" Erza gritted her teeth as a dark purple haze started to flood the room, all of it originating from Jose as the man began to clap his hands.

Jose let out a chuckle as his magical energy continued to rise, "You, Fairy Tail Wizards, did well against my men, I'll give you that." The clapping sound quickly came to a halt as the white in Jose's eyes turned black, "Even with your Guildmaster gone and your Guild Hall reduced to rubble, you all managed to destroy the Jupiter Cannon and defeated almost all of the Element Four… I wouldn't be surprised if your Guild managed to beat Juvia and bring my magical giant to its knees!"

'… Both my Fairy-Light Magic and Dragon Slayer Magic, they're both reacting to the evil in his magic. I feel sick just looking at this guy.' Natsu thought to himself before jumping out of the way as Jose raised a hand and summoned a black and purple magical circle that released a rapid fire of purple energy blasts that had ghoulish faces on each of them.

"DEATH VOLLEY!" Jose let out a bellowing laugh as he watched the Dragon Slayer continued to jump around in order to evade his attacks, "You and your wife have certainly been quite the thorns at my side long enough! Vanish Salamander!" The Guildmaster of Phantom Lord snapped his head to the side to see Erza charging at him at incredible speeds donning her Flight Armor, before her body started to glow as she got close.

"Jose!" Erza shouted as the glow died down to reveal her Black Wing Armor, and with the boosted speed she was traveling at, Jose was forced to cancel his attack and vanish once again to dodge Erza's attack. The scarlet haired woman's blade collided with one of the consoles controlling the MKII and instantly reduced it to smithereens from the power attack. Jose reappeared behind Erza and was about to strike her back when Natsu appeared between them with a shield-like flame over his raised arms, blocking the evil magic from hitting his wife. With serious expressions on both their faces, Natsu and Erza spun back to back until she was facing Jose and started to swing her sword at him once again, this time Natsu joining the fray as fire whips originating from Natsu's hands were moving in sync with Erza's strikes. But to the couple's dismay, Jose seemed to be able to predict their moves as he easily maneuvered through their attacks and disappeared from their sight.

"You are truly an amazing woman, Erza Dragneel. Standing so strong against me after going head on against Jupiter." Jose's voice echoed out as Erza looked around, before she smirked lightly when she noticed Natsu's nose twitch. "Powerful, courageous and beautiful… I will look forward to breaking you!" Jose reappeared near his throne and without looking, reached up and grabbed Natsu's incoming fist by the salmon haired man's wrist, avoiding the flames that were hovering above his smirking face. "Your teamwork is impressive and your power is great, but have you two forgotten? I am one of the Ten Wizard Saints. Weak power such as yours will not even scratch me…?!"

Jose's eyes widened as the flames started to change and grow considerably forcing him to release Natsu's wrist. But before he could move, a dome of light and fire surrounded the two causing Erza to temporarily block the bright light with her free arm. She could hear the sounds of someone landing next to her and turned her head to see Natsu glaring at the smoke created from the fire.

"If you're saying that we are too weak right now, then we will have to just kick it up a notch." Natsu said with a smirk which Erza mirrored making Jose frown at the confidence the two of them were displaying. Raising his arms into a diagonal cross in front of his chest and tightening his hands into fists, Natsu's magical energy skyrocketed as he dropped his arms with a roar and deep crimson and golden flames spiraled around his body. "Fairy Flame Dragon Mode!"

Erza's eyes closed as her armor started to glow like before, only this time a second magical circle appeared over her own similar to earlier when she was facing the Jupiter Cannon. To Jose's surprise, flames erupted from the second seal and covered Erza's figure completely. The Phantom Guildmaster raised an eyebrow as he watched the flames finally die down and left the smoke to continue blocking Erza for being seen, though the appearance of her shadow within had changed completely. Jose was surprised to see a red dragon head with a beige jaw emerged from the smoke with glowing golden eyes, but the man didn't have time to study it as the mouth of the dragon head started to glow before it snapped open and shot a torrent of fire at him. Jose narrowed his eyes as he brought his arm back and channeled his Shade Magic before he smacked the flames away, staring at his slightly burnt hand for a few moments before silently looking back at Erza and Natsu.

The smoke around Erza had faded away to reveal that she was donning a completely new armor. Her usual flowing hair was now tied into a single large knot tied that was securely held in place thanks to the extensions coming from the dark red metal headgear that rested over her forehead, bearing a dragon-like face on it and had two black horned protrusions siding along her head. Black scale mail armor covered a great majority of Erza's midriff that reached up to her torso, which was barely covered by a revealing beige breastplate that had what appeared to be red dragon claws cupping her large breasts. Both of her shoulder blades had the upper halves triangular-shaped dragon heads similar to the weapon Erza wielded rested on while her arms were covered in beige scale mail that reached her dark red gauntlets that had sharp black claws protruding from each finger. The lower half of her armor did not have a waist guard revealing that she was wearing black skintight shorts and had dark red greaves with black horns mid-thigh downwards that connected to equally dark red armored boots. Behind her, Erza had two bony wings resembled those of a bat folded behind her while a while scaled cloth similar to Natsu's scarf wrapped around her waist with the end of it draped down her left hip.

"I hope you are ready Jose, because Natsu and I have never lost in these forms!" Erza raised her arm to point a sword blade hybrid that was emanating from the dragon's open mouth at the Phantom Lord Guildmaster.

"… Hehehe, interesting." Jose chuckled in amusement as he studied the married couple, taking note to the fact that Erza's eyes were no longer brown and circular but were instead yellow and vertical slits just like Natsu. "I had heard rumors of the great Titania possessing an armor that allowed her to wield the powers of a draggon. I suppose this is a result from being the wife of a Dragon Slayer."

"Yes, this is my Dragon Slayer Armor." Erza replied as she shifted her position, which Natsu mirrored as the two released even more of their magical energy. Their combined magical power was so massive that the room was starting to shake from the pressure.

"Such amazing power! It's too bad that you are members of a pathetic guild like Fairy Tail!" Jose grinned wickedly as he stared down the two S-Class Wizards as the two charged forward with synced battle cries.

(Shoulder of MKII)

Gray narrowed his eyes as he locked gazes with Juvia, the final member of the Element Four and best friend of Vanitas. Clenching one of his fists tightly, Gray was about to make a move when suddenly his opponent turned around and started walking away.

"Y-Yes, well…I suppose I've lost this battle… Farewell."

"Whoa, hold on! What the hell?" Gray shouted as his jaw dropped and eyes comically popped out of their sockets in shock.

'Ah… Just as I thought, Juvia doesn't really feel want to fight against Vanitas or his new guild… Not to mention,' Juvia raised a hand to her chest as she felt heavy beats of her heart against her fingers. 'My heart is beating so much. Why?'

"Hold up! If you really don't want to fight than stop the MKII!" Gray exclaimed as he ran towards her retreating form, silently glad he wouldn't have to worry about breaking his promise to Vanitas, but at the same time he knew he had to stop the Abyss Break before it was completed.

"This desire to make him mine… it's too much for Juvia! Water lock!" The blue haired woman turned around quickly and raised her arm in Gray's direction. The Ice-Make wizard was caught off guard as he was suddenly engulfed into a ball of water. Juvia watched as he started to struggle for air before she noticed his body winced in pain, her faze lowing as the water within the bubble lifted his shirt to reveal a bandaged wound that had blood leaking out into the water. "Ahh! Don't tell me he was wounded before he even came up here!? W-What should Juvia do? I must release him at once!"

While she struggled on what she should do, Juvia didn't notice Gray had opened one of his eyes as he started to freeze the water around him. With a burst of physical strength, Gray shattered the fully converted ice ball and caused the remains to fly all over the place. "Damn… I can't believe I fell for that surprise attack!"

Juvia could only look in shock at seeing her Water Lock destroyed so easily, and a flush of red appeared on her cheeks when she realized how he had done it. 'He was able to escape Juvia's Water Lock by freezing it and shattered it to easily… Juvia has never met someone like him before… Ice and Water… is this a meeting of destiny?'

"You really got me good…" Gray muttered as he had his hand on his open wound, taking off his shirt in the process causing his female opponent to let out a gasp. "Ouch! I'm still recovering from Lyon's stab wound, crap it hurts!"

'W-Why is he stripping? M-M-M-My heart…my heart is not prepared for something like this!' Juvia started to panic again as the heat on her face continued to rise, meanwhile Gray had finished removing his shirt and moved his hands in his Ice-Make stance.

"Normally I wouldn't want to frighten a woman, but you should surrender now. Ice Make: Lance!" Gray stated and pointed his hands in front of him, creating a magic circle that quickly launched dozens of ice lances at Juvia. But to Gray's shock the lances impaled the woman as she didn't move an inch to avoid the attack, instead they went straight through her as if she was water… which from the looks of it, she was. "N-No way…"

"My body is made of water… drip, drip…" Juvia informed him with a sad expression on her face as she dismissed the blush on her face, "Yes, no physical attack can harm me."

Gray's jaw fell at the sight of Juvia's body being mostly replaced with water before returning her to her previous appearance, leaving not even a scratch on her. "N-No way…?!"

'That's right, this man is an enemy… and not just him! Vanitas is an enemy as well! This is war and Juvia's heart needs to remain strong!' Juvia thought to herself as she hardened her resolve and created her own ocean-blue magic circle in front of her free hand. "Farewell, my sweet flower of love! Water Slicer!"

"What the hell is this?" Gray didn't have a chance to comprehend her words as he dodged the several waves of water that soared passed him and cut through the giant spike behind him like it was paper. Looking back at the destroyed remains in surprise, Gray landed on the ground with a knee down. "That's crazy, the water pressure of that attack was incredible."

"You can't defeat Juvia, not while I possess complete control over water. Please give up now." Juvia said to him, though their attentions were snatched as they felt an enormous amount of magical energy coming from inside the MKII, which actually caused the shoulder the two wizards were standing on to shake from the pressure. "W-What is this power? Juvia has never sensed so much before from anyone other than Master Jose."

"That would be two of our strongest wizards in Fairy Tail, S-Class Wizards. Besides the Master, out of everyone here, Erza and Natsu teaming up are more than enough to defeat someone like Jose … though I would never admit it to that idiot's face." Gray muttered the last part to himself as he used his magic to create an axe made from ice in his hands. "If those two are going all out then I can't afford to sit back and do nothing! Ice-Make: Battle Axe!"

Juvia let out a sigh as her opponent threw the axe at her, doing nothing as it simply. "Juvia already told you, none of your physical attacks will injure Juvia's body."

"She's a tough one." Gray muttered through gritted teeth as he watched as the water coming from Juvia's body once again return to their original state.

"There is no reason for this to go on… I request that you bring me Lucy. If you do then I can talk to the Master to see if he can withdraw." Juvia offered as she tighten the grip she had on her umbrella's handle. "It was already hard for me when I heard that Gajeel and Aria had injured Vanitas so badly, so I rather not see things continue on."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"… Oh, don't screw around with crap like that." Gray finally said over the sound of the heavy rain, surprising Juvia at the sound of his voice. "Both sides have crossed that line of no return after all that's happened, so retreating is not even a consideration." The Ice wizard punched a fist into his palm as he glared at the rain woman, "Lucy is our comrade! I would rather die than hand her over to the like of your guild. No, even if I die I will make sure that won't happen!"

Juvia suddenly dropped her umbrella which surprised Gray, making him pause for a moment as he saw the shocked expression grow on her face and tilted his head in confusion. 'Even if I die… I would rather die… love… rival… a love rival…a love rival?! ' These same repetitive thoughts rushed through Juvia's mind as images of the blonde girl she had captured earlier that day appeared in her mind, and seconds later her body started to move around weirdly. "This pain! It's too much!"

"H-Hey, what's wrong? Are you not feeling alright or something?" Gray called out hesitantly as he watched the red face woman continue to move around in a strange manner that seemed impossible for the body's normal flexibility. 'Then again, she did say she was made out of water… Is she steaming?'

"Juvia cannot forgive this…" Juvia finally said as her movements came to a complete halt before she gained a very scary look, the steam coming out of her body started to increase at an alarming rate.

"… Huh?"

"LUCY WILL NEVER BE FORGIVEN!" Juvia roared before an pulse of water shot out of her hands and hit Gray's midsection, making him grimace as the surprisingly hot water burned his skin despite the amount not being so much.

Gray wiped off the remaining hot water as he wiped away the remaining water from his steaming stomach, "Man that hurts! So now it's boiling water, does this mean her Water Magic reflects her emotions? Just what are you so mad at Lucy for?"

"Aaaargghhh!" Gray never got a response as Juvia held her hands out and released a large pulse of water at the Ice Wizard, who quickly jumped out of the way and successfully dodged the attack. But he didn't have time to bring his hands up as he heard the sounds of rushing water behind him and turned to see that Juvia's attack was actually redirecting itself before continuing its attempt to hit Gray.

"Crap!" Gray ducked his head under the steaming water, which continued towards Juvia and circled around the frowning woman before heading back towards him again. This time Gray had brought his hands up to activate his magic, but his eyes widened when he saw that the water attack actually increase and was forced to flip out of the way. "It's too damn fast! My Ice-Make magic can't keep up!" The black haired wizard managed to land on his feet, only to lose his footing and slide dangerously close to the edge of the MKII's shoulder thanks to the slippery ground created from the rain and barely managed to regain his balance. "Whoa… That was close…"

"Juvia has lived within the rain ever since she was born, and not once has anyone defeated Juvia while fighting in it! Now feel the boiling jealousy that fills Juvia!" The female wizard shouted as the water blast from before flew at her and seemed to mix with her body until she looked completely made up of water. "Take this, Sierra!"

"What the hell is that got to do with anything?!" The confusion from statement was quickly forgotten as Gray's eyes widened at the speed she was coming towards him with, but thankfully he quickly managed to get his hands into position this time before casting his next spell. "Ice-Make: Shield!" The small amount of relief that Gray had was melted away just as his shield was from the intense heat created from her boiling water. "No way… This heat is incredible!"

"Don't think that this is the limit to my power!" Juvia said while she pushed against the shield and summoned more tendrils of water that shattered the remained of Gray's shield making the Ice Wizard retreat as he tried to avoid Juvia's attacks as best he could.

But one of Juvia's attack managed to land a hit straight in Gray's chest was then as the boiling water burned his skin. 'So hot! I need to create some distance.' With that thought in mind, Gray turned his attention to one of the incoming water torrents and slammed his fist into his palm. "ICE-MAKE!"

"I already told you! Juvia's world is inside the rain, nothing you try will be able to defe-" Juvia was cut off as her water came in contact with Gray's magic and large amount of steam that covered the area, blocking her view of Gray. Moving closer to the steam as it quickly dispersed, Juvia noticed the smashed window where Gray had been standing. "He knew his ice couldn't block it so he used the steam as a smoke screen… Handsome and smart, he's amazing~!"

"I had no doubt in my mind that she was going to be a strong opponent, but seriously!" Gray said to himself as he ran along the hallway as he tried to come up with a plan, taking a glance outside to see that the Abyss Break spell was almost three-fourths of the way done. "I don't have time to waste. The sooner I defeat her and stop that spell, the better!" Gray was cut off from his thoughts as the ceiling in front of him was destroyed as a large amount of boiling water came pouring into the hallway and shot towards him, giving the black haired man enough time to get in a deep breath before the water engulfed him. 'This stuff is so hot, it's burning my skin… But still, this is nothing!'

Gray felt the water send him crashing through the ceiling back outside into the air, making him angrily grit his teeth as he noticed Juvia was already preparing her next attack with a magic circle in front of her hand. Juvia narrowed her eyes as she released her water blast at the airborne Gray, "This is the end for you!"

"Why, you…! Don't think I'm just going to let you win." Spinning himself around, Gray pulled back both of his fists and punched the large stream of water just as it was about to hit him. He felt his body tense up as he felt the searing pain from the boiling water burning his skin, but Gray quickly dismissed it as he channeled his magic into his hands. "This amount of heat is nothing…!"

"He flew straight into the boiling water!?" Juvia muttered to herself.

"Freeze!" Gray shouted while he put every ounce of his Ice-Make Magic into freezing the water as he descended towards the ground. As soon as he reached the ground in front of the large pillar of frozen water, Gray looked up a grin on his face as he stared at the frozen Juvia in the middle of the pillar. "Sorry to tell you this, but I've gone against one of the hottest Fire Magic around. As much as I don't want to admit it, but I really owe that pink haired idiot for all the years we've fought. Compared to his flames, your water isn't even on the same level."

"He managed to freeze my boiling water… and not only that," Juvia couldn't help but blushed as she felt Gray squeeze her breast. It turned out that when Gray was frozen the water and Juvia inside, he had accidentally got his hand caught in the ice leaving it in a… compromising position. 'Juvia's so embarrassed. To be stuck in your ice like this…'

"GAH! I didn't mean to… It's not…!" After getting a good look at what was happening inside the ice, Gray quickly realized what the soft feeling in his hand was and pulled his hand away from Juvia's body not even a second later. By doing so, Gray unfroze her and took a step back to give the female wizard some distance. "I'm sorry! That wasn't what I had in mind…"

'He released me for the ice… Why? He's so kind…' Juvia had a new blush quickly form on her cheeks and felt tears of joy threatening to fall from her eyes. 'This man truly is… Juvia's…'

"L-Let's start over!" Gray quickly said as he tried to forget the awkward moment that just happened.

Juvia was silent for a few seconds before shaking her head as she returned to her feet. "No, I'd rather not… Juvia can't find it in herself to hurt you…"

"Huh? So, are you admitting that you can't win against me?" Gray questioned in confusion as he tried to understand what she was saying. 'Though I wouldn't really have any issue with that being the result. From what Vanitas said, she was his best friend when he was a member of Phantom Lord.'

"Juvia is stronger than Lucy is. So Juvia would be able to protect you." Juvia replied as she shyly avoided making eye contact with Gray.

"Protect? Me? Why would you want to do that?"

"I-It's because… I… I lo… lo…"

"Why is the rain coming down harder all of a sudden?" Gray asked as he looked up at the pouring rain which seemed to be coming down even harder, this being a result of Juvia's emotions getting the better of her.

"Aaaaahhh! Juvia is so frustrated right now!" Juvia whined to herself as her body comically swayed side to side.

"Oh man… this rain is so gloomy…"

Juvia's eyes widened in horror at Gray's words as she felt the strength in her legs fade, 'Gloomy… H-He's just like all the rest… he's no different at all!' Rage started to fill Juvia as she clenched her hands tightly, steam shooting out of her body at an even more furious amount than before while she rose to her feet. "All of you are the fucking same!" She roared as she shot another torrent of boiling hot water at Gray, this one much larger than her earlier attacks. 'Who needs such things like love?'

"Bring it!" Gray shouted as he brought his hands up with thoughts of freezing the water like before, only for the hot water to overtake him and prevent his ice from even forming. To his surprise the temperature of the water was hotter than what he had faced not even a few minutes ago. Gray pulled his arms back to take a defensive pose as he felt the boiling water push him back, 'How the hell is it hotter than before?!'

'I don't need love… Juvia is fine being a gloomy rain woman, because Phantom Lord accepted me…' Juvia thought to herself as memories from her past flashed through her mind, the stares and ridicules, the days she spent at home crying. All of it only fueled her rage she saw Gray emerge from the water torrent and turned her body into water once again, soaring at Gray with a enrage look. "I am a Phantom Wizard and one of the Element Four! SIERRA!"

"I refuse to lose against…" Gray shouted back as he created shield to block Juvia's attack before rearing his free arm back. "Anyone from Phantom!" Slamming his fist into the back of his shield, Gray channel all the magic he could and used it to freeze the water attack until the entire thing was frozen. "Nuaaarrrrgghhhhh!"

Jumping away to avoid being frozen again, Juvia's eyes widened as she saw that he had not only turned her boiling water into ice, but all around her she could see that all the raindrops had been frozen as well. "What incredible magical power!"

"Ice-Make: Ice Geyser!" Gray wasn't finished as he slammed his fists into the ground and created a large magic circle that instant formed a tower of ice that escalated until it reached Juvia, painfully encasing her within the ice. But the just as the ice quickly attack her, it shattered apart causing her to fall towards the ground. 'Heh, and THAT is how it's done Flame-brain! Your Volcanic Burst's got nothing on my attack!

'I lost… I suppose this is the end, my body can't move even a muscle. A fitting end for a gloomy woman like me, to fall to the ground like a raindrop.' Juvia thought to herself as she easily saw that she would not be able to reach the shoulder platform and would instead continue falling to the earth below. 'It's too bad. Juvia wanted… to see her best friend one last time…' As Juvia felt herself continue to fall, a familiar male voice echoed through her mind. Something that Vanitas had said to her a long time ago. "To tell you the truth… I don't really mind the rain, because it reminds me of you…"

(Meanwhile)

"AAAARG!" Lucy shouted as she slammed into a wall thanks to Gajeel's transformed fist.

"That's not a bad sound at all," Gajeel commented as he retracted his iron club away from Lucy and returned it to his normal gloved hand. "But she doesn't put up much of a fight."

One of the other members of Phantom Lord that were guarding Lucy decided to speak up as he watched the girl struggle to raise herself back up, "That's enough Gajeel."

"You need to stop beating up our hostage!

"Huh?" The Iron Dragon Slayer looked over with a raised eyebrow.

"You shouldn't do that…" The first Phantom Lord member continued as he cautiously stared at the Iron Dragon Slayer, "You might really hurt her and we can't have her hurt, or worse killed…"

"Eh? But I'm bored…" Gajeel replied, sighing as an Iron Dragon Kunai appeared in his hand before he started tossing it into the air. "Those guys get to have all the fun while I'm stuck down here, even Master Jose is getting to fight against Salamander and Titania… Now, what should I aim for?"

"Please Gajeel, just stop-!?" The male wizard tried again, only for Gajeel to slam an iron club fist into his face. The other members inside the room watched as the wizard was sent crashing into wall before limply falling forward onto the ground, unconscious before he even hit the floor.

"Shut the fuck up… You're annoying as hell!" Gajeel growled in anger as he glared at all the other guild members, silently daring them to say something to try and stop him. "I don't give a shit who this girl is. For all I care she is just another one of the Fairy Tail trash! Who gives a shit if she dies?"

"But if she dies, then Master Jose will be very angry with you." A female wizard said as a male member with mismatched glasses next to her nodded his head in agreement.

Gajeel let out a chuckle as he shrugged his shoulders, "Who cares…I'll just blame it on you two."

"No way! That's just cruel!" The two shouted at the same time.

"Man, this sucks… Fairy Tail idiots throwing their lives away just because this girl has some cash." Gajeel grunted as he ignored his pleading guildmates, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hahaha…"

"Huh?" Gajeel's ears twitched before he turned towards the laughing Lucy. "Mind telling me what's so funny, girlie?"

"Phantom really is full of complete idiots… It's so pitiful that it almost makes me want to cry." Lucy replied as she rose up to her feet, using the wall behind her as a support while resting an arm against her bruised stomach.

"Is that right? Bluffing while in your current predicament is impressive… Gihi, maybe you might be worth something, after all." Gajeel grinned widely as he faced the blonde girl completely.

"So you're telling me you're not the least bit scared… I don't know whether that's brave or extremely stupid?" Lucy didn't even flinch as Gajeel threw the kunai in his hand at her and pierced the wall so close to her face that it grazed her cheek enough to make it bleed slightly.

"Sorry… But did you say I was afraid?" Gajeel smirked while the other members of Phantom Lord cringed at how close that kunai was, "You shouldn't talk so big when the only reason you're even still conscious is because I need the entertainment. So I suggest you shut up now unless you want trouble, little rich bitch."

"You're the ones who'd be in trouble if I died. There is no way Fairy Tail would ever forgive you if something happens to me… They don't care about my money or any crap like that, the reason they are fighting is because our guild has something yours will never have." Lucy said as she glared straight at Gajeel and the other Phantom Lord members behind him, no one noticing that her shadow was darker than a few moments ago. "That's the kind of guild they are! Everywhere you go, for the rest of your lives, you'll cower from fear from being the target of the most powerful guild in the world."

"Oh…is that so? That is some interesting theory you have there… Maybe I should put it to the test!" Gajeel shouted as he leaped into the air with a large grin on his face, laughing the entire time while his fist already transforming into it's club form.

"Hold on Gajeel!"

"Stop!"

Everything seemed to slow down as Gajeel drew closer to Lucy, until her shadow grew even darker and a shadowy, black arm shot out of the wall and grabbed Gajeel's club. The Iron Dragon Slayer's eyes widened in shock as he recognized the shadow hand, but it only lasted for a moment as he saw it slither up his iron club several times before Gajeel felt something slam into his face making fly back into one of the large pipes near the wall.

Lucy's eyes widened as she saw the shadow take shape into a human for before it started to resemble someone she knew very well, and only one word could escape her lips as she felt tears of relief build in her stinging eyes. "Vanitas…!"

"I knew I recognized your scent earlier." Gajeel smirked to himself as he stared at the Shadow Devil Slayer as he finished forming.

"Yo Gajeel, it's been a while! I'm going to be your opponent now…" Vanitas opened his eyes to reveal they were glowing a neon green as a smirk grew on his face, and a large aura of Brunswick-green magical energy radiating off his body, "And I can guarantee that this time, you won't be the victor!"

"GIHIHI!" Gajeel let out a laugh as he jumped off the destroyed pipe, "Looks like they took off that stupid seal of yours… Perfect! It's been a while since we've last fought, now let's finally prove which Slayer Magic is truly superior!"

NDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDES

"Hmph, it looks like this rain is going to make this job more difficult." Vanitas grumbled as he and Juvia were standing inside of a cave within the forest that their job had taken them, currently both of them staring outside at the pouring rain that made it had to see anything passed the trees a few feet away. They had decided to take a break after being in the rain for a few hours and had started a small fire inside the cave to keep them warm as they waited.

"I apologize Vanitas, this is Juvia's fault." The rain woman said as she looked down with a sad expression. It had been almost seven months since Vanitas had joined Phantom Lord, only one month after her. "No matter where Juvia goes, the rain always follows me. Maybe you should've picked someone else to accompany you."

Vanitas glanced over at Juvia's form, as the blue haired wizard had taken to sitting on one of the large boulders near them. The Devil Slayer let out a huff as he looked back outside, "Don't be stupid. Besides Gajeel, you're the only one in that guild of idiots that I can actually stand. Even Master Jose gets on my nerves."

It was true. Since he joined the guild most of the time Vanitas had kept to himself, the only ones that he talked to were either Gajeel, who he enjoyed sparring and occasionally chatting with, or Juvia, probably the only person in the guild besides Gajeel that he could have a decent conversation with. This job was actually the first time that Vanitas had asked someone else to accompany him since he mostly did his jobs solo.

"But surely the rain must bother you. The magical artifact we are looking for cannot be tracked through normal means, and all of this rain is a burden for you. It has always caused problems for Juvia and the people around her," Juvia's hands gripped the knee section of her dress tightly. "That last thing Juvia wants is to be a hassle for her first and only friend!"

",,,"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"… Honestly I don't really mind it."

"Huh?" Juvia looked up at Vanitas in shock and saw that he was looking at the rain outside with a look of nostalgia on his face.

"I said I don't mind the rain, sure there are times when it makes things more depressing or gloomy. But at the same time it's peaceful and nice to listen to when I want to take a nap… Whenever it used to rain… my mother… she'd wrap a blanket around the two of us and she would read me stories from my favorite book." Vanitas paused at that while Juvia stared at her friend with wide eyes, since he very rarely talked about his mother or his past. "…But now that I think about it, there is another reason I like the rain…"

"Another reason?"

"… Because it reminds me of you." Vanitas answered causing Juvia to tilt her head in confusion, which made the Devil Slayer motion his head toward the heavy rain that had shifted to a light pour. "You're unpredictable like the rain, but at the same time it is easy to tell how you're feeling thanks to how it rains. While it can be an annoyance to some, the rain is also a necessity that all living creature need in order to survive, and you are always there to help out when Gajeel or I need it. So… I like having it around, both you and the rain."

"Vanitas…" Tears had quickly built up in Juvia's eyes and were threatening to fall, "T-Thank you for you kind words."

"D-Don't think too much on it." Vanitas quickly replied as he turned away awkwardly, "I just don't want you to feel sorry for yourself the whole time and have it cause problem for us later on. You and I have the rest of the day to find that artifact so get ready."

"Hehehe, right!" A bright smile grew on Juvia's face before she stood up and picked up her umbrella, opening it up as she turned to face Vanitas. "You're a wonderful friend Vanitas, I'm glad that you opened up to me."

The Devil Slayer was quiet as he stared at Juvia's smiling face for a few second before turning his head to see that the rain's output had reduced dramatically. "… You know Juvia, the day will come when you stop calling yourself the gloomy rain woman."

"Huh? What are you talking about? Juvia has always been a rain woman since she was born. I've never even seen the sky before."

"Heh, just call it a feeling… but I know one day you'll get your chance to see what is passed those dark clouds."

Flashback End

Juvia's eyelids scrunched up for a second as she regained her bearings and looked up to see Gray had caught her as she was going over the edge, holding on to her arms tightly to prevent her from falling to her demise. "Y-You saved me?"

"Yeah, not easy when you were just dangling there but I manage it. So how are you feeling? Have you cooled off?" Gray questioned as he sat next to her prone form.

"Why?" Juvia responded making the Ice Wizard raise an eyebrow, "Juvia was your enemy… so why did you save me?"

"Don't be stupid, I did it because I didn't want you to die. Phantom Lord may be our enemies, but no one deserves to die like that." The black haired man propped an arm on his raised knee, "Besides, the others and I made a promise to Vanitas if any of us ended up being your opponent."

"A promise with Vanitas…?!" Just as she was about to continue, Juvia was cut off by a bright light coming from above them and looked in shock to see that the rain clouds were actually parting away from each other.

"Well, what do you know. The rains finally stopped." A grinning Gray said as he raised a hand to block some of the bright light from hitting his eyes, which was to be expected after being under those rain clouds for so long.

"So this... is the clear blue sky? It's so beautiful…" Juvia's eyes glistened as she looked up at the clear blue sky, feeling tears of joy build up in her eyes. "Juvia's never seen it before…"

"Really? Not even once?" Gray questioned with a raised eyebrow before a large grin appeared on his face as he looked back at the sky, "Amazing, isn't it?"

Juvia couldn't help but smile as well as her tears started to fall, getting a glimpse of several birds soaring high above the clouds. "Yes. It truly is…"

"So…" Gray spoke up, catching her attention. "Do you want to continue?" Juvia's body froze eyes for a second as she saw the sky shine behind Gray's smirking face before her eyes suddenly turned into hearts, letting out a squeal before she fainted. "Hey, are you okay? Say something… Juvia!?"

'Maybe you were right Vanitas… Maybe Juvia… doesn't have to be a gloomy rain woman anymore…' Juvia thought to herself as her consciousness finally faded.

(Down Below)

"Damn it! There's no end to these things!" Macao exclaimed as he blasted another Shades away with his flames.

Wakaba took his pipe out of his mouth, letting out a few coughs before he placed his pipe back in his mouth. "Man… It's been a long time since I had to smoking this much." The man snapped his head up to the sky to see Mirajane destroy several dozen phantoms with an energy blast, before flying off to take care of another bunch. "Looks like Mira hasn't lost her edge at all."

"If you have enough time to go googly eyes for Mira, focus more on the enemy!" Cana ordered while she and Ur stood back to back, the later creating a large shield of ice that blocked an incoming Shade before throwing the shield like a disk at the floating specter, bisecting it and several others floating behind it.

"Let's see if I can still do my stronger spells…" Ur smirked as she brought her hands together at her waist and channeled a large amount of power as a magic circle appeared. "Ice-Make: Rosen Krone!" Several giant thorn branches emerged from Ur's magic circle, with equally large roses growing along the stems, and started whipping the phantom Shades across the sky as if they were mere flies. Ur let out a satisfied breath as she wiped away the sweat on her brow, "Not bad, but still not as powerful as it used to be."

"THAT'S NOT POWERFUL?!" Several Fairy Tail wizards shouted as they watched Ur's creation continue to go berserk and attack the ghostly specters several more times before shattering into tiny ice fragments, sweatdrops forming on the back of their heads.

'Just how strong is she?!'

'She acts like that attack wasn't anything impressive!'

'That's Erza and Old Mira level scary… Do not get on her bad side.'

Suddenly a bright light caught their attention, causing everyone to turn their heads up to see that the colossal magic circle in front of the MKII start to fade away until it completely vanished. Everyone watched as one of the giant's arms exploded and the rest of its body started to collapse into the sea until only its main body remained. All the falling debris was quickly vaporized by the airborne Mirajane before they got close to the ground, blasting the rest of the arm's remains.

"Alright!"

"They did it!"

"Now we don't have to worry about the Abyss Break!"

"Natsu and the others must've defeated all of the Element Four!" Mirajane noted happily as a smile grew on her face before she turned to her guildmates with an arm pumped up, "Alright everyone! Now that the giant's down, let's focus on getting rid of these Shades!"

"Yes ma'am!" Everyone cheered as they continued their fight to protect Fairy Tail.

Cana had a smile on her face as she drew more cards from her puch, "Everyone inside is giving it everything they've got inside, so we can't slouch off out here!"

'Why are the women of this guild so strong-willed?' Macao thought to himself with a smirk before turning his attention back to the battle.

(Elsewhere)

"Iron Dragon's Hard Fist!"

"Shadow Devil's Demonic Claw!"

Lucy and the members of Phantom Lord quickly rushed out of the way as rubble exploded all over the place, the collisions of Vanitas and Gajeel's attacks shaking the entire room as the two slayers fought. Narrowing his eyes, Gajeel spun his body around to deliver a roundhouse kick to Vanitas' head, transforming his leg into an iron club as it drew close. But like before Vanitas turned into shadows and circled up the club until he was face to face with Gajeel and punched him in the face. The Iron Dragon Slayer was sent flying into one of the stone wall, causing it crack upon impact, but that only made Gajeel smirk as he looked up at Vanitas and sprung towards him.

"Now this brings back memories!" Gajeel shouted as he dodged Vanitas' punch and head-butted the Devil Slayer using the addition impact to cause more damage, making Vanitas grimace from the pain before he countered with a high kick into Gajeel's stomach. The two Slayers continued to trade blows as the ground underneath them started to crack and gusts of wind were created. "All of our battles never had a victor, did they?"

Vanitas said nothing as he channeled his shadows into his hand and ducked under Gajeel's incoming punch, pointing his open hand towards Gajeel's stomach. "Shadow Devil's… Dark Bullet!" The shadows surrounding Vanitas' hand instantly form a ring of energy that fired into the Dragon Slayer's gut and sent him soaring back, but Vanitas wasn't done as jumped high into the air to follow Gajeel's body toward the wall before flipping several times with his right leg stretched out. "I'm not letting you get away!"

Gajeel's eyes widened as he sensed Vanitas overhead and raised an arm in front of him to block the Fairy Tail wizard's attack, transforming it into a large club just as Vanitas' kick was about to make contact. The pressure of Vanitas' kick pushed Gajeel back into the wall, the impact causing the wall and surrounding equipment to explode. Everyone watched cautiously as the dust cloud spread across the room, all of them wondering how the room was still standing after all the destruction so far.

"Lucy!"

"Happy?" The female blonde turned her head to see a familiar blue feline rushing over to her with a worried look on his face. "Why are you here?"

Coming to a stop in front of her, Happy quickly answered. "I met up with Vanitas on the way here to find you. Are you okay?" Lucy didn't say anything at first as she turned her head towards the smoke. "Is something the matter?"

"I'm fine, it's just… In the short time that I've known Vanitas, this is the first time I've never seen him act this ferocious." Lucy said while recalling look on Vanitas' face as he had his stare off with Gajeel at the beginning of their fight. "He's really strong too, I can see why he was a dangerous opponent for Natsu back then."

"Aye. Vanitas is really powerful, but it's different than when he fought Natsu during the S-Class Tournament. Back then he was more demonic since his powers were corrupted, but this time he is in complete control over it." Happy explained as he placed his paws on his hips, behind him Lucy swallowed heavily at the feline's words. "In fact… Vanitas is even stronger than he was back then."

The two didn't have time to continue their conversation as both Gajeel and Vanitas jumped out of the smoke with barely any scratches on them. It was surprising to everyone since they had seen all the attacks both of the Slayers had took from the other. Gajeel raised a hand to his tingling jaw as he let out a chuckle, twisting his neck a little until he heard a satisfying crack, "Man I forgot how much of a punch you had. Good to see that being in jail for so many years and joining that trash of a guild hasn't made you soft."

"Of course it didn't." Vanitas replied as he used an arm to wipe away the smoke in front of him, "Even while I was being held by the Rune Knights, the Magic Council allowed me to train while under supervision. But enough talk, I still need to pay you back for last night."

"Interesting, then let's have some fun." Gajeel said as he held an arm out that transformed into a large, jagged iron blade that had spikes along the blade's edge. "I'm sure you remember my Iron Dragon's Sword."

"Heh, as if I would forget. Still as dangerous looking as ever." The shadows around Vanitas started to ooze around the Devil Slayer's body as he stared at Gajeel's blade, the spikes on the edges starting to rotate around the sword giving it the appearance of a chainsaw. "But I see you've given it a new trick!"

"Of course, after all there is nothing that won't be torn to shreds when going against my blade!" Gajeel shouted as he charged forward with a wicked grin, swinging the sword down only for Vanitas to dodge it by leaping to the side. The power from Gajeel's swing tore through the flooring and caused both rubble and the other Phantom Lord wizards to fly through the air.

"Not caring about getting your guildmates hurt, you haven't changed Gajeel." Vanitas said before jumping over another swing and successfully landed on the broad side of the sword, taking advantage of his height by kicking Gajeel in the face. But that didn't stop the laughing Dragon Slayer as he continued to try and slice Vanitas clean through. "But then again, that's what makes you so terrifying!"

Gajeel sneered as he followed after the jumping Vanitas, "Don't act like you were any different back when you were one of us. Back then, you would have had no issue with getting any of these weaklings hurt. Joining that trashy guild really changed you, huh?!" Lucy and Happy watched in horror as Gajeel's Iron Dragon Sword actually grew larger while the Phantom Lord Ace was continuing his assault, grinning widely as he saw his chance. "You're wide open!"

To Gajeel's shock however, his sword went straight through Vanitas' midsection before the black haired man's body vanished from sight. Vanitas instantly reappeared behind Gajeel and delivered a powerful kick that caused the pierced-face man to slam into the ground. With a slight spin of his body, Vanitas landed gracefully with a frown on his face. "You seem to have forgotten Gajeel, I can become the shadows itself… and predators that dwell within the shadows always get their prey."

"A-Amazing!" Lucy said in awe as she watched the battle between two powerful slayers. 'Just what kind of battle are we gonna watch?!'

"Aye. If I had to guess, Vanitas is stronger than Natsu was back when he first use the Fairy Flame Mode during the tournament." Happy deduced as he saw Gajeel start to get back on his feet. 'Two users that use unique forms of Slayer Magic that take on the characteristics of those that their magic was meant to slay, one that is an Iron Dragon version of Natsu's magic while the other uses the powers of a Shadow Demon from the Book of Zeref.'

Gajeel rubbed the back of his head with a grunt, "You're actually doing a lot better than I thought you would… That's great!" A smirk reappeared on Gajeel's face as he dismissed his sword, "Our little scuffle before was just the preliminaries. I plan on finishing this once and for all, Vanitas Darkblade!"

"Right after you, Gajeel Redfox." Vanitas retorted as he mirrored Gajeel's smirk with his own. The Devil Slayer had to admit, fighting Gajeel again with his powers unseal really got his blood pumping… And this was only the first round.

"Why don't I show you something else I've been working on?" A green and silver magic circle appeared under Gajeel's feet, covering the man's body is a light green glow as his entire body was covered in what looked like iron scales. Gajeel's gloves were torn apart as his hands turned into metal claws, "I'm gonna destroy you with this! Iron Dragon's Scales!"

"His body?!"

"Those are Dragon Scales!"

"That's definitely new." Vanitas muttered to himself as he brought his arms up to guard himself, especially since he had no idea what this new form was capable of.

The Iron Dragon Slayer's claws cracked as he grinned, "I started working on this after seeing your Demon form and Salamander's so called 'Fire Drive'. All of my attacks from now on… are on a completely different level!" A magic circle once again appeared under Gajeel's feet before he zipped towards Vanitas with an arm reared back, "Iron Dragon's Hard Fist!"

"Grrrr-" Vanitas braced himself as he felt Gajeel slam his fist into one of his raised, shadow covered arms, but to his surprise Vanitas was sent flying back into the furthest wall where the panicking Phantom Lord members had moved to. The Shadow Devil Slayer ignored them as he lifted himself up, but not before grabbing the area of his arm where Gajeel had struck him, leaving a giant bruise in its place. "That… To think this new form really increased his strength this much. It even injured me through my shadow's defense!"

"Now that was a nice sound, looks like your shadows can't protect you forever. There is nothing harder than the scales of an Iron Dragon, they're tougher than the strongest steel." Gajeel mockingly explained as his eyes started to glow through the darkness covering the upper half of his body. "But then again… All you have to do is transform into your Demon form and we'll be on equal grounds."

"…Hehehe… Sorry, but that isn't an option for me." Vanitas replied as he slowly removed his hand from holding his arm, "You see… Burakos was the reason I took on that form, and since he no longer exists inside of me the ability to transform is gone."

"Burakos?" Lucy repeated in confusion.

"It was the Demon that had given Vanitas his Devil Slayer Magic, but you see, that kind of magic is dangerous for someone to learn because they can be possessed by the demon they learn it from. You've seen it with Sora, remember?" Happy explained as both he and Lucy recalled the Wind Devil Slayer that had died by Lullaby's hand. "From what I've heard from Natsu and the Rune Knight reports he got, Vanitas has been training very hard to master the power and submit it under his control."

"Hmph, so what you're saying is that this is the best you've got?" Gajeel questioned with a frown before he charged at Vanitas once again, but this time Vanitas managed to dodge his attack before slamming his fist into Gajeel's chest… only to flinch as his hand throbbed from the impact. "My steel scales also increase my defensive abilities too, rending all of your attacks powerless-?!"

Vanitas only smirked at Gajeel's comment before the shadows around him started to go into a frenzy, "Interesting. Let's put that to the test!" Before anyone could process what happened, Gajeel was sent flying with his shirt exploding into rags and several tears in his pants while Vanitas stood straight had an arm stretched out. "Mugetsu Style …Unarmed Variation: Azulong Hammer!" Vanitas watched silently as Gajeel's body created a hole in the wall leading into the hallway, before holding his hand in pain. "GOD DAMN IT! THAT REALLY HURTS!"

"He got hurt from just hitting him?!" A shocked Lucy called out.

"It has to be the scales on Gajeel's body! Dragon scales are harder than steel." Happy explained while he and Lucy watched Vanitas cradle his hand from the pain before turning their attention to the hole where Gajeel had created flying through the wall.

"… I can't believe I forgot about that sword style of yours, and the attacks you can deal even without a weapon." Gajeel's voice echoed through the hole as the man's metal figure emerged through the hole, revealing that he had a few light bruises but was otherwise fine. "But don't think that I'll fall for that again! Flukes like that only happen once!"

"I'll admit… those scales are really impressive… That attack may not be as strong since I don't have a weapon, but it still landed a blow on your solar plexus with a lot of strength behind it. Normal guys wouldn't be conscious, let alone get back up." Vanitas commented while shaking his hand as if to dismiss the pain he was feeling, "But now I know that I can let a mark on your scales."

"Like I said… Fluke only happen once!" Gajeel shouted as he and Vanitas charged at each other once again, this time Gajeel having the upper hand as Vanitas was doing his best to dodge the steel claws trying to slash him. The Devil Slayer ducked his head as Gajeel attempted a high kick that created a lot of air pressure that almost sent Happy flying if it weren't for him holding onto Lucy's shirt. Gajeel merely laughed as Vanitas once again tried to use his Mugestu Style, this time not giving him a chance to try anything as he slammed his iron head into the top of Vanitas' skull making the latter crash into the floor face first. Gajeel followed up by making his hand resemble a dagger as he tried to pierce through Vanitas' back, but Vanitas regained his bearings as he flipped away from the Iron Dragon Slayer, who let out a chuckle before taking in a deep breath. "Let's see you dodge this! Iron Dragon's…"

"That's a breath attack just like Natsu's!"

"No way!"

Vanitas narrowed his eyes before he breathed in deeply as well, "Shadow Devil's…"

"ROAR!"

"RAGE!"

While a powerful tornado was released from Gajeel's mouth containing sharp metal shards that would shred Vanitas to pieces, but it was held off by a black and dark-green twister of shadows that was coming from Vanitas' mouth. The two powerful attacks continued to try and push each other back, forcing a standstill between the two until an explosion occurred at the center sending the remnants of the attacks outwards. The entire front wall of the room leading to the outside was blown away by the explosion and almost everyone inside was hit by some of the attacks. Lucy let out several coughs as the smoke around her and Happy started to dissipate, allowing her to open her eyes to get a glimpse of the battle, and her eyes widened in shock at what she saw.

"Gajeel's scales… they're cracked?!"

Vanitas and Gajeel were standing several feet apart from one another, the former having several cuts all over his body while the upper half of his clothes had been reduced to shreds, hanging by a few threads at the most. Gajeel looked like he had also been injured by Vanitas' attack as the scales around his eyes and at the center of his stomach region had a few cracks, and the remains of the cloths that Vanitas had destroyed earlier were completely gone.

"Heh, well what do you know…Your scales aren't as tough as you thought they were." Vanitas grinned as he gripped the shredded remains of his shirt and tore it off, revealing the Fairy Tail guild mark on his chest… as well as a strange tattoo on his left arm. Lucy, Happy and Gajeel watched as black markings began to cover his left arm as Vanitas spoke up, releasing a lot of magical power at the same time. "As fun as it's been reminiscing, I think we should stop messing around and start the next round. I'm completely serious from here on out, so you'd better do the same."

"Sounds good to me!" Gajeel shouted back as he copied Vanitas' actions and started to release a lot of magical power as well, the intensity of it blowing away the tatters hanging over his shoulder leaving his upper body as bare as Vanitas. "It looks like you've gotten something new as well! I don't remember those markings!"

"The markings are not important." Vanitas replied as he beckoned Gajeel with an open hand 'come here' gesture, "Let's go, Black Steel Gajeel."

Crouching lightly with narrowed eyes, Gajeel only had one last thing to say before he charged. "I'm going to crush you, Vanitas the Shadow Devil!"

(MKII Control Room)

"… It would seem… Gajeel and that worthless traitor are running amok down below." A lightly panting Jose commented as he stood across from Erza and Natsu, both staring down the man with intense glares. The battle between the three had quickly escalated as time passed, with Erza's weapon creating explosions every time it made contact with something, Natsu's Fairy Flames burning away both of Jose's Shade Magic and Darkness Magic whenever they got too close to him or when Jose was trying to focus his attack on Erza. "Your guild even managed to do as I predicted and take down Juvia and my MKII… Such an annoyance."

"Its your own fault for underestimating Fairy Tail's power." Natsu retorted as he crouched slightly before charging at Jose, "And his name is Vanitas!"

"I am very aware of that, but I don't bother giving name to trash. After all, would you remember the bugs you pass while on a walk?" Jose questioned as he shifted to the side to dodge Natsu's fist before raising a hand to catch incoming kick that Natsu immediately followed up with, narrowing his eyes as he noticed Erza appear next to him with her dragon-headed weapon now with the blade gone and the mouth closed, and double the size with the handle extended. Jose quickly released his grip on Natsu's leg in time to evade Erza's attack and create some distance, creating several large skeleton-like Shades before sending them at the couple. "Dead Wave!"

Natsu narrowed his eyes as his channeled his magic into his right arm, engulfing his hand and forearm with both Fairy Light and flames as he reared it back. The Fire Dragon Slayer moved in front of Erza as the Shade Magic drew closer and punched forward, releasing the attack with a roar. "Fairy Flame Dragon's Firing Hammer!"

Jose watched with an unreadable expression as a large fiery beam of crimson and gold shot out of Natsu's fist towards his Shades and completely consumed them, incinerating them at the same time as it continued to head towards the Phantom Lord Guildmaster. But Jose disappeared just before the attack could make contact and Natsu's Firing Hammer crashed into the wall resulting in a large explosion that blew away the entire area and the ceiling surrounding it. The Wizard Saint reappeared in front of the destroyed wall and glanced back at the hole with a frown, clearly seeing the open blue skies outside. "… It truly is remarkable the power you two possess, and that weapon of yours is very interesting Erza. I had believed that it was only a sword."

Erza tightened her grip as she raised the mace up in front of her, "This weapon is called the Dragon's Heart and it can only be used when I am wearing the Dragon Slayer Armor otherwise it is powerless, but at the same time it is one of my strongest weapons. For you see, it can change its form to match any weapon that I desire as long as it is possible."

"… It is infuriating that Makarov has not one, but two wizards that are this powerful in his guild… Can either of you figure out why didn't I finish off Makarov before?" Jose questioned as he raised his open hand at Natsu and Erza, dark purple orbs glowing on each finger as he spoke before firing the orbs at the two. Both Natsu and Erza did their best to dodge and leap away from the volley of energy balls that Jose was sending at them, Erza taking to the air thanks to her wings to get some more distance. "I only need one word, despair! Just imagine how much despair I will leave him in once this battle is all over. When he wakes up and comes rushing back, only to find his beloved guild in ruin and his guild members destroyed… How do you think he will feel?" Jose let out a dark chuckle before lowering his hand, "Crestfallen at the very least, I'm sure. But that would only be the beginning of his suffering, I will ensure that every single moment of his life is a never-ending hell. 'Till his final breath!"

"Bastard! Fairy Flame Dragon's Claw!" Natsu roared as he jumped high into the air before preforming a front flip with his right foot covered in flames, slamming it into Jose's raised arms that he used to block Natsu's attack. Underneath Jose feet, the ground cracked as the older man felt the pressure of the Dragon Slayer's attack actually increase and was forced to retreat back with a jump, resulting in Natsu continuing his aerial descent and his kick crashing into the ground. The force of Natsu's attack caused the floor to explode and both rubble go flying and dust clouds to spread out, which Erza took advantage of as she used it as a cover to move behind of Jose with the dragon head of her weapon returning to its sword form and swung her blade at his back. Jose instantly sensed Erza behind him however and ducked his head under the flame covered blade, but while he was able to avoid his body getting struck, the shoulder cape was caught by Erza's flames.

"Even if you dodge my blade, a Dragon's flames will always finds their target!" Erza stated as the heels of her boots clanked against the stone flooring.

Jose used his magic to detach the cape and once again distanced himself from Natsu and Erza, wiping off the soot on his shoulder with an amused grinned before he continued to speak. "For so long, Phantom Lord had been the number one guild in all of Fiore. After all, we had the most powerful magic, the most talented wizards, and the more money than any other guild in the country… However, it had become apparent that Fairy Tail's power and status had increased dramatically in the past few years." The grin on Jose's face shifted into a heavy frown as his tone turned venomous, "... Erza, Laxus, Mystogan and of course, Natsu the Salamander… Those names have become so fierce that the entire country knows of their power and achievements, even the people in our city talk about them. At some point this country suddenly possess two signature guilds to represent it, Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail… It makes me sick to even think that a guild that was once crappy and weak like yours would even dare stand on equal grounds with mine."

"Are you saying… that you started this war all because of some petty jealousy?!" Erza shouted as she pointed her blade up at Jose, who started to bellow in laughter.

"Jealousy? Of course not!" Jose responded while holding up a hand in front of him before tightening it into a fist, "I wanted to remind everyone who was truly the superior guild!"

"That… That's the stupidest fucking reason I've ever heard!" Natsu glared up at Jose, who let out a chuckle as his body was overflowing with his vile Shade Magic. "In case you forgot, our guild has been wiping out your forces ever since this battle began! In fact, all that's left that can be considered a threat is you and Gajeel!"

"Hehehe, that is very true. Both you and Erza are giving me quite the challenge, but don't forget that I am one of the Wizard Saints, just like Makarov. If I wanted to, I could destroy this entire city by myself if I wanted to… In fact, why don't I get a head start and truly instill despair into your guild… by finishing what Gajeel started!" Jose let out a laugh again as the Shade phantoms outside could be seen swirling together and combining into a Giant Shade Ball that quickly grew several appedages, which to the horror of Natsu, Erza, and the Fairy Tail guild fighting below, started pounding its giant fists into the already wrecked Guild Hall.

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Vanitas and Gajeel let out their battle cries as their charged at each other with their fists reared back, before decking each other in a cross-counter that caused the air around them started to pick up. Gajeel let out a growl as he felt Vanitas' fist dig into his cheek and kicked upward into the Shadow user's stomach, sending Vanitas crashing through the ceiling, resulting in it completely collapsing in from the impact, before Gajeel followed after him with a powerful jump. The Iron Dragon Slayer continued his assault, throwing punch after punch into Vanitas' body as the continue to rise higher and higher into the air before Gajeel transformed his leg into a club and slammed the tip of it into Vanitas' stomach, causing the Devil Slayer to cough up blood just as he was sent several meters back.

"Tch-!" Vanitas turned his body upright as he focused his attention on Gajeel, who was coming towards him once again with a scowl until he was directly in front of Vanitas. Instantly the two started trading blows in midair, creating impacts that were so loud they echoed in the open room below where the others were. Vanitas' eyes narrowed when he saw Gajeel's arm start to transform before quickly channeled shadows into his palm, firing it at the Iron Dragon Slayer. "Shadow Devil's Javelin!"

The shadows morphed into a long, pointed javelin-like weapon that shot towards Gajeel's transforming arm, disrupting the process as it struck the arm just before it could finish transforming. The surprise from somehow stopping his attack made Gajeel pause for a brief second, but that was all the opening that Vanitas needed as he kicked Gajeel across the face and sent him crashing into the giant spike at the top of MKII's head-unit. The impact caused cracks to form at the base of the spike until the weight of the spike caused it to snap off and fall into the room where Lucy, Happy and the others were located.

Lucy and Happy were staring at the incoming pointed object as it drew closer, leaping out of the way as it crashed into the room. "Now we're getting caught up in the destruction!?"

"Aye~!" The blue feline cried out as he landed on his head.

"I can't believe that traitor is giving Gajeel such a hard time." The female Phantom Wizard said as she and the others watch Gajeel and Vanitas crash into the room in crouched positions, the former was on one knee while Vanitas had a hand resting on the smooth part of the spike to hold himself up. "I've never seen Gajeel get hurt like this before."

"Yeah, but it looks like he's out of breath too." The man next to her pointed out.

Vanitas panted hard as he felt his lungs pressing down on him, reaching up to wipe away the blood going down to his chin as thoughts on what he next move was going to be… until he heard the sounds of metal moving around and someone chomping down on something. Vanitas' eyes widened when he saw that Gajeel was devouring some of the scraps of metal scattered throughout the room, "Damn it… I can't believe I got so careless!"

"Ghihi, ya snooze ya lose. Now shut up, I'm eatin'!" Gajeel said through the clumps of metal in his mouth.

"He is actually eating iron…" Lucy muttered with a sweatdrop falling down the back of her head.

Happy had a look of curiosity on his face, "I wonder if even tastes good?"

"Do you really want to find out?" Lucy retorted with a sarcasm tone before she saw that Gajeel had finished eating the iron in his hands and was now standing up straight, letting out a roar as his magic skyrocketed. "What the hell?! Where did he get all this energy from?"

"Dragon Slayers and other users of Slayer Magic are able to restore their energy whenever they eat their respective element, not to mention they get a huge power up as well!" Happy explained with a worried expression.

"But that means Vanitas can do it too, right?"

Lucy never got her answer as Gajeel held out his pointed his arm at Vanitas with his fingers outstretched, summoning a magic circle in front of his hand as he started to laugh. "I'm gonna rip you to shreds. Iron Dragon's Lance: Demon Logs!" Vanitas let out a pain filled shouted as multiple iron spearheads fired from the circle in rapid succession towards him, landing hit after hit until it sent him crashing through the wall. Gajeel grinned as watched the dust cleared to reveal that Vanitas was slumped up against the wall with his arms dangling between his legs. "Looks like the results are the same after all, joining that trashy guild made you weak."

"… Hehehe… You couldn't be more wrong."

"…What did you say?"

Vanitas slowly started to raise himself up as he continued to laugh, one of his eyes closed fully while the other was half-lidded. "I said you're wrong Gajeel."

"Oh really?" Gajeel replied, this time with no emotion as he started walking towards Vanitas, stopping until he was only three feet away from him. For a few moments nothing happened as the blank faced Gajeel stared at the smiling Vanitas, before suddenly grabbing the Devil Slayer's neck to bring him closer, but even then Vanitas continued to smile. "You lost your edge when Salamander defeated you three years ago… It pissed me off more than you could imagine at the fact that you were going to become a part of all that friendship and mushy crap. The Vanitas that I knew didn't care a shit about stuff like that!"

"Then I guess you didn't know me as much as you thought you did…" Vanitas stated as the grin on his face disappeared and reached a hand up to grab onto Gajeel's arm, alarming the iron-scaled man to the surprisingly strong grip that Vanitas suddenly acquired. "I realized it during my battle with Natsu… It may sound cheesy and cliché, but I hated the person that Burakos had turned me into… someone who was alone and so pathetic that thinking about it now makes me want to throw up."

"Vanitas…" Lucy whispered as she and Happy listened to their fellow Fairy Tail member.

"You can call me a traitor if you want Gajeel, but I will tell you this… You and Juvia were the closest things to friends I ever had while I was a part of Phantom Lord. But that is in the past," Vanitas' closed eyes started to open as his glowing dark green eyes stared at Gajeel's red eyes, "I am a Fairy Tail wizard now, and I will fight any of my guilds enemies… even if its you… And also… Thanks for being so easily distracted."

"What?! Shi-" Gajeel did not get to finish as Vanitas freed himself from the iron grip on his neck before sending Gajeel flying with a powerful punch to the face. The Iron Dragon Slayer was sent flying through the giant spike, reducing it to rubble, and crashed into the wall opposite to Vanitas. Sliding down the wall to the floor, Gajeel snapped his head up to glare at Vanitas, "Bastard, you were just buying time!"

"Yup!" The grin on Vanitas' face grew as the shadows around him started to shift around violently before the Devil Slayer opened his mouth as wide as it could before the darkness around him actually flew into his mouth. "It's been a long time since I've done this so I was binding my time until I got the hang of it again… But then again, it was your own fault for forgetting Gajeel."

"He's actually eating the shadows!" Lucy exclaimed in surprise as she watched all the shadows in the room head towards Vanitas before spiraling into his chomping mouth, it was very similar to when Natsu devoured any Fire Magic attacks. "But why didn't he do it earlier?"

Vanitas turned his attention to Lucy as he continued to feast on the large portions of shadows coming towards him, "There wasn't a lot of shadows to work with before since the entire room was using artificial means to create the shadows. When it comes to shadows, the taste and absorption is better when they are more natural. I could have eaten them in the beginning, but the taste alone would have given me a stomach ache." The income of shadows began to dwindle until Vanitas finally closed his mouth and brushed his fingers across his lips, "But thanks to the destruction created from our battle, I was able to devour the perfect kinds of shadows since the more sunlight that creates them, the darker and more power they give me."

"Big deal, don't get so cocky because of a little shadow! I'm still the stronger one between us!" Gajeel shouted as he charged at Vanitas, who passively stared at the approaching Dragon Slayer before bringing an arm across his chest as Gajeel leaped towards him from the air, and swung it out to slam his fist into Gajeel's temple followed by an explosion of shadows erupting from his arm upon impact. Gajeel was once again sent flying into the remains of the giant spike, this time his guildmates watching in shock as Gajeel and the large object crashed to the floor.

"N-No way!"

"He sent Gajeel flying twice in a row!?"

"What is this guy?!"

"Lucy, Happy, both of you get out of here and return to the others on the ground outside. I can handle things from here on out by myself," Vanitas called out to the blonde and blue feline, both of them immediately displaying their objections to what he said. But that came to a halt when Vanitas turned his head to flash them a smile, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. You guys need to get out of here before anything else happens, I'll meet up with you guys after I beat Gajeel… Happy, Natsu and Erza were counting on you to get her out of here, right?"

Happy was silent for a few second before nodding his head with determined look, "Aye sir! Come on Lucy!"

"But…" Lucy started to say as she watched Happy summon his wings, before nodding her head silently while he grabbed onto her shoulders to lift her up. "Okay, but make sure you're behind us Vanitas!"

Vanitas sent the two a nod as he watched them start to levitate high above the destroyed ceiling in order to escape, but his attention shifted when he heard the other Phantom Lord wizards attempt to try and intercept them. Channeling the shadows again, Vanitas summoned a large magic circle that was able to grab ahold of all the members. "Sorry, but you're not going to lay a hand on them, or any other members of Fairy Tail. Shadow Devil's… Nyx's Curtain!" As soon as the words escaped his mouth, a gigantic wave of shadows erupted from the seal and enveloped each of the screaming members before crashing into the ground and vanished without a trace… Leaving him and a recovering Gajeel as the only people left in the room, "Don't worry… The attack didn't kill them, it just knocks them out by placing in an illusion and transported them away. They'll live, but I doubt any of them will be to continue the battle."

"Heh, that's impressive. I guess there is still some of the old Vanitas still in you." Gajeel smirked as he finally got back to his feet.

"Not really, it was something I created later on so I wouldn't have to use my deadly techniques… So now," Vanitas shifted his posture as he faced Gajeel. "Let's continue where we left off…?" The black haired Devil Slayer raised an eyebrow as he heard the loud rumbling sounds coming from the outside, "What the hell?"

"GIHAHAHAHA, SO YOU FINALLY NOTICED IT?" Gajeel continued to let out an insane laugh as he pointed towards the hole that their breath attacks had created earlier, "You said that you were going to protect your precious new guild, right? So why don't you take a look at what it is that you're trying to protect."

Vanitas turned his head towards the direction that Gajeel was pointing in, his eyes widening considerably as soon as he caught sight to the large, ghostly mass hovering over Fairy Tail's Guild Hall. "That's… no…"

(Outside the MKII)

"What the hell is that thing?!"

"Now what are they up to?"

All of the Fairy Tail wizards, both on the ground and inside the Magic Giant, watched in horror as all the shades seemed to merge and turned into a giant dark purple blob with two red eyes. Several large appendages grew out of its body and turned into giant fists that hovered menacingly over the wizards and their Guild Hall. The Giant Shade raised a few of its fists into the air before it started pounding into the already wretched Guild Hall, causing rubble to fly off and the wood boards that had been used to cover the holes where snapping like twigs.

"Everyone! Take that thing down now! Before it destroys our guild!" Cana ordered with frustrated tears building up in her eyes. All at once, multiple magic seals appeared at the wizards tried to attack and kill the thing, but none of their attacks seemed to have any effect as the Giant Shade continued to repeatedly ram its fists into the building despite getting hit by dozens of spells. "No! Mira!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Mirajane shouted as she dove head first at the giant blob before spinning at incredible speed to resemble a drill as she tore through the center of the Shade, creating a gigantic hole as she emerged from the bottom half on the other side. She and several others smiled as the giant mass had come to a halt, but it quickly faded when the hole actually healed itself and the Giant Shade resumed its assault on the building. Mirajane's body trembled as she stared up at the creature, "Such an incredible healing rate, this thing must be fueled by a massive amount of Jose's magic!"

"Damn! They can't even put a scratch on it." Ur muttered to herself as she watched the building take a beating from the monster. Suddenly she noticed movement in the corner of her eye and saw Nova running out from behind the trees towards the building, before running as quickly as she could to grab the girl before she got closer. "No, it's too dangerous to get close!"

"Let go! That's Grandma Mavis' building, its Fairy Tail's home! We have to stop it!" Nova cried out as she tried to escape Ur's tight embrace, tears pouring down her cheeks as she watched the giant sphere continue to pound into the building. "Please stop! I-It's everyone's treasure! Mommy's, Daddy's, Aunt Mira's, Grandpa's, Uncle Gray's, Aunt Levy's and Miss Lucy's! Everyone's! Please… DON'T TAKE IT AWWWAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY!"

Nova's cries went unanswered as the Giant Shade landed one last punch into the building, causing the rest of what remained to come crashing down. Everyone watched as the building crashed to the ground causing dust to pick up, some of them were crying as they watched it fall, memories of when they first came to the guild fresh in their minds and the fun, adventurous days to follow. The many days that were filled with so much joy and even the few that were filled with sadness, the guild and this building had been there for all of it… and now it was gone. Ur was silent as she continued to hold the wailing Nova in her arms, watching as the distraught Fairy Tail wizards turn their attentions back to the Giant Shade as it dispersed into the hundreds of Shades that it originally was.

Raising one of her hands, Ur frozen one of the Shades as it drew close. 'I don't like using Ice Make Magic with one hand, but for now I'll have to make due to keep Nova safe. Poor girl, I can't imagine what's going through her mind.'

"Listen everyone!" Mirajance shouted to her fellow wizards as she used a Cosmic Beam to vaporize several of the phantoms that tried to attack her, "I know you are all sad and angry that the Guild Hall is gone, but remember that as long as we are here, FAIRY TAIL WILL NEVER DIE!"

"She's right! Don't give up guys!"

"Let's shows these things what we're made of!"

"YEAH!" And once again, the battle between the Fairy Tail wizards and Jose's Shades resumed.

(Meanwhile)

Vanitas was silent as he stared at the remains of the Guild Hall, tuning out Gajeel's laughter coming from behind him as he watched the giant Shade Sphere disperse and formed the hundreds of phantom specters that Fairy Tail had been fighting before. Even from the distance he had from the guild the Devil Slayer could see the heartbroken expressions on a few of his guildmates, the tears falling down the faces of several female wizards including Mirajane, Cana and Lucy who had just landed with Happy in time to see the destruction, and he could see the looks of anger on even more of the other wizards below. Lowering his head until his hair created a shadow over his eyes, Vanitas clenched his fists so tight that they began to tremble. "… Just how… can you take pleasure in this?"

"Huh? Did you, out of all people, just ask that?" Gajeel asked mockingly as he lifted his hands to his mouth, launching a breath attack stronger than the one he released before. "Iron Dragon's Roar!"

"You're right…" Vanitas spun his body around to face the incoming tornado of iron coming at him and silently raised his hands up to catch it with his bare hands, gritting his teeth from the feeling of his palm being cut by the tiny metal shards. Gajeel's eyes widened at the sight as Vanitas seemed to rip the attack in two before crashing into the debris behind him, the shadow-like markings on Vanitas's body spreading out even more until it covered almost half of his body. "I was… just like you back then, we both had no problems with hurting anyone who got in our way… But things are different now."

'He was able to deflect my breath with just his bare hands?!' Gajeel thought to himself as he felt his left leg move back slightly, "There's no way… not to him, I can't be…"

"When I was a part of Phantom Lord, I didn't care what destruction I caused as long as I was enjoying myself… but that was wrong. I am a different person than who I was before, because I was freed from my darkness." Vanitas lifted up one of his bloodied hands to point his thumb at himself, "I won't go all sappy and all that stuff about friendship and bonds since I am still new to the guild… But at the same time I am a wizard from Fairy Tail, and you've messed with my guild… my comrades… my home… AND I WON'T FORGIVE YOU FOR ATTACKING THEM, GAJEEL! YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THAT IT WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF YOUR LIFE!"

"Tch… No, I refuse. You're just fucking traitor who joined the rest of the trash!" Regaining his bearings, Gajeel let out a roar as he charged as much of his magic as he could before leaping into the air toward Vanitas, rearing a fist back as he got closer. "Don't forget who the hell you're talkin' to! Iron Dragon's Hard Fist!"

Vanitas mirrored Gajeel in bringing his arm back before throwing his fist into Gajeel's, halting the Iron Dragon Slayer's movements as the power of the two punches caused a echoing boom. Gajeel's green and silver magic seal and Vanitas' dark green seal appeared directly in front of their fist, the clashing of the two causing sparks to fly around the two Slayers. For a moment the two seemed to be on equal standing, but to Gajeel's surprise the shadows started to take shape around Vanitas' fist until it took the shape of a dual-edge blade with pointed edges and what looked like writing along the flat side of the blade. With a flick of his arm, Vanitas pressed the edge of his new blade into Gajeel's fist, making the man let out a shout as the blade actually dug into his iron scales causing them to crack, with one of the cracks shooting

"I know exactly who I'm talking to!" Vanitas replied as he put more strength into his arms and pushed Gajeel back several feet, raising his arm and shadowy blade up until it was pointing at Gajeel who was holding his injured arm. "This is one of the techniques I created while I was under the Rune Knight's watch, the Shadow Devil's Diabolos Blade. Since I no longer had a sword of my own, I took a page from your book and created one of my own."

"D-Damn you… You were hiding something like tha-" Gajeel was cut off from continuing as the shadows around Vanitas started to go wild. 'This can't be… I'm supposed to be the strongest…'

"Let me show just how 'weak' joining Fairy Tail made me… It's over, Gajeel." For a split second nothing happened as Vanitas positioned the sword directly in front of him, before suddenly dashing forward with the shadows around the Devil Slayer morphing into eight large, spinning tendrils. Gajeel didn't have time to react, let alone blink, as all of the tendrils spiraled inwards and struck him all at once with Vanitas' blade in the center of the attack. "Devil Slayer Secret Art: Eclipse Blade Vortex!"

"GAAAAHH?!" Gajeel let out a painful gasp as he felt the nine attacks dig into his body, flying backwards as the tendrils and swords grind against his iron scales causing more cracks to form as the seconds passed. Despite feeling his body slam into the wall, Gajeel could feel the attacks continue before they finally caused the scales on his body to shatter, but even then the shadows continued their assault as they moved furiously as if it was a whirlpool of shadows. Soon the walls and the machines surrounding Gajeel were reduced to rubble and the Iron Dragon Slayer was sent flying out into the outside ruins of the MKII, crashing into several beams the pinned him down.

Down below, many of the Fairy Tail wizards and Shades halted their battles as they heard the sounds of explosions coming from the MKII, turning their heads to see nine shadowy tendrils emerging through the head and chest of the giant robot before they whipped around and slashed the sections clean off, sending it crashing into the ocean below. Mirajane stopped midflight to study the destruction and smoke escaping from areas that the shadows destroyed, "Was that…?"

"Look at all that damage!"

"Those shadows. Al, do you think that was…"

Alzack nodded his head as he stood back to back with Bisca, "No doubt about it. I remember those shadows from Natsu's battle years ago. That's definitely Vanitas!"

"Heh, he's gonna fit in great at Fairy Tail." Cana smirked as she threw three of her Magic Cards at a Shade that was trying to fly towards Nova and Ur, who had moved closer to the little girl to protect her after the Guild Hall had collapsed.

Meanwhile, Lucy had summoned her newest Celestial Spirit, which was currently the only in her possession since she had lost the rest of her keys when she had been captured. The new spirit was a tall, black-haired man that had a sort of lanky appearance, and for some reason he was sporting a horse costume. Over the costume itself, he had additional attire that consisted of a green shirt with yellow trims followed by a red and yellow pair of striped pants and purple frills. In the man's hands was a large bow that he was using to fire several arrows with amazing accuracy at the incoming specters, shooting them down with ease. "You're an amazing archer Sagittarius! Keep up the good work!"

"Aye! I will not let you down, moshi moshi!" Sagittarius replied as he lowered his bow to give a salute, which was directed in the complete opposite direction that Lucy was in.

Happy could only sweatdrop in confusion, "Just where or who are you saluting too?

Back on the MKII, Vanitas was standing on the edge of the flooring that remained from the battle between him and Gajeel. He knew behind him, the other members of Phantom Lord were finished as soon as he defeated Gajeel since they were not only injured themselves during the battle, but even they knew that if Vanitas defeated Gajeel, the ACE of Phantom Lord, they had no chance against the Devil Slayer. Vanitas stared down at Gajeel's bruised and nearly unconscious form as it was being pinned down by the surrounding rubble.

"D-damn… tra…" Gajeel groaned as things started to go dark for him, the blows from Vanitas' final attack proving to much for him combined with the damage he had taken as the battle had progessed. "… V-Vani… I…"

"Goodbye Gajeel… With this, my ties with Phantom Lord is officially severed…" Vanitas muttered to himself as he spun around and started walking away from the ledge, already having a new destination after the battle he had. Until he came to a halt and Vanitas turned his head to look back at Gajeel's now unconscious frame, a sad expression flashed on his face as his eyes closed, "…"

(Phantom Lord Throne Room)

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Now do you see my power Fairy Tail! But your Guild Hall was only the beginning, once I defeat the two of you, I'll deliver even more despair to your guild by hanging you're corpses outside for all to see!" Jose gleefully exclaimed as he stared at the silent Natsu and Erza, who had tried to halt the Giant Shade's movements by attacking Jose himself, but the man had no trouble dodging their attacks long enough for his creation to finish the job as the Guild Hall came crashing to the floor. Raising up a hand as he started to channel his Shade Magic, Jose widened one of his eyes as he smirked at the couple. "Any last words?"

"… 1… 2… 3…"

Jose blinked as he heard Natsu start to count, pausing in his channeling as he narrowed his eyes with a frown. "What on earth are you do-!?"

The man was cut by surprise when Natsu instantly appeared in front of him and decked him in the face as hard as he could, "Fairy Flame Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu's punch not only canceled out Jose's magic, but it also sent Phantom Lord's Guildmaster soaring back until he crashed into a wall. The look of rage on Natsu's face was intensified by the bright crimson-gold flames surrounding him, "When I became an S-Class, the old man reminded me of Fairy Tail's custom for judgement that the First Guildmaster created when she started the guild. You had till the count of three to surrender and now I'm going to make you pay for attacking Fairy Tail, Jose!"

'Natsu…' Erza thought to herself as she watched her husband move his hands in front of his chest.

Jose growled as he broke free of the wall, channeling even more of his magic as large purple skeletons formed around him. "Oh really? I hope you and your wife are ready to die, you brat! Because I am going to show you just how outclassed you really are!"

"That's not going to happen Jose…" Natsu started to say as the Fairy Glitter tattoo on his arm glowed brightly, "Because you are about to see a powerful spell unlike anything you've ever seen before. I invoke one of the Three Great Fairy Magics … Fairy Law!"

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A/N: Chapter 21 completed and the Phantom Lord Arc will be coming to a close next chapter. I hope it was enjoyable for all you readers out there. Be sure to review and no flames. I will ignore them and they will be given to Natsu. The next chapter will feature the conclusion to Natsu and Erza's battle with Jose, as well as some other moments that we all know will be epic… Not to mention I have a surprise guest character appearing that no one will see coming.

A/N 2: The next story for update will be Team RYBWN, and then either Dhampir of Yokai Academy or Swordsmen of Twilight

A/N 3: Lately I've been wanting to see what it would look if one of my stories was written with that Reading/Watching Genre that been getting very popular lately. I don't know who would be interested in doing it with one of mine, but I really hope someone could give it a try.

Omake

A chibi Makarov is standing in front of a damaged mission board while dressed in his Wizard Saint outfit, with Lucy and Happy standing next to him.

Makarov (Scowling angrily as he looks up): Damn that Jose, he really did a number on the Guild Hall. But knowing Natsu, if I don't get up there soon that boy will finish this with that spell.

Lucy (Looks down with a sad expression): … I'm so sorry Master, this all happened because of me.

Happy (Patting the girl's leg): … Lucy.

Makarov (Waving one of his hands dismissively): You shouldn't blame yourself about it child, this was bound to happen eventually. But it is better confront our problems head on than to prolong the inevitable.

Lucy (Blinks in surprise before gaining a serious expression): Confronting our problems… I see… Alright, I know what I have to do once this battle is over! Now I need to join up with the others! Come on Happy!

Happy (Pumping an arm up): Aye sir! Let's kick some Phantom butt!

Lucy and Happy out of the area leaving Makarov by himself as he crosses his arms over his chest.

Makarov (Shaking head several times): She may be young but Lucy is a brave girl. I hope she remembers that she doesn't have to go through this alone.

Makarov (Moving his hands behind his back with a sigh): Oh well, looks like we will need to start working on rebuilding the Guild Hall once the battle is done.

Mysterious Figure appears next to Makarov: You've certainly been taking good care of Fairy Tail since you were made its Guildmaster. Though it seems to have taken quite the beating during your battle with Phantom Lord.

Makarov (A shocked look appears on his face): Y-You are… But why are you doing here?!

Makarov, Lucy, Happy and Mysterious Figure: Next time on the Fairy Flame Dragon: Chapter 22 – The Girl Who Stopped Running

Lucy: I suppose it was only a matter of time… it's time to settle things once and for all!