Gajeel took a deep breath and yelled, "Iron Dragon Roar!"

The steel blade breath flew towards Yomazu, who raised his katana in front of him and created a kanji symbol that managed to block the attack. "Defense!" He shouted.

The Iron Dragon turned and saw Ganimes rush at him and swung at the crab. "Iron Dragon Club!" He roared as he slammed his iron-rod arm into the kaiju's face.

Ganimes growled as he prepared to charge Gajeel again, but was stopped when Baragon bit down on his leg and tripped him up with a powerful tug. The crab kaiju got back to his feet again and took a deep breath, "Bubble Cannon!"

"Magma Buster!" Baragon shouted as he unleashed his fire breath. The two attacks shot past each other however and hit their desired targets. Baragon snarled in pain when he was struck by the explosive bubbles and Ganimes cried out in agony when he was practically engulfed by the red kaiju's flames.

Baragon recovered first and folded his large ears over his eyes for protection and charged at Ganimes, ramming him right in the gut. The crab kaiju reeled back in pain before swinging at the subterranean kaiju with a roar. "Stone Hammer!" Ganimes landed a hit on Baragon with his left pincer, creating a large cut on his face.

The red kaiju hissed in pain, but remained standing and lunged at Ganimes as his claws lit up with flames again. "Magma Slasher!" He shouted as he slashed at Ganimes' chest. The Earth Conqueror cried out in pain when Baragon's attack made three massive scars across Ganimes' armored chest that burned to the touch.

Baragon was not about to let his enemy recover this time and charged up his next attack as his cranial horn began to glow. "Magma Buster!" The flames struck Ganimes point blank in the face and the crab couldn't take it anymore. He started thrashing about madly and continued to cry out in sheer agony, trying desperately to shake the searing flames from his face.

But while the crab thrashed about, he ended up also striking Baragon in the side, creating another scar just barely missing his armored back. Baragon growled in pain and clutched his injured side while his enemy continued to run around like a madman as his face kept getting scorched.

Yomazu rushed at the distracted Defender with his katana in hand, but was knocked away by a kick from Gajeel. "Oh no you don't! Your fight's with ME!" The Dragon Slayer growled.

The samurai goat grinned smugly at Gajeel. "So be it. It'll be the last thing you ever do!"

Gajeel glared at Yomazu. "You really think you wanna go to war with Fairy Tail, do you? I did too, way back when."

"Messing with Fairy Tail's gonna be the biggest mistake you've ever made!"

Gajeel continued his piercing glare as Natsu's words echoed in his head, making Yomazu slightly uneasy. "Are you ready? Cause you're about to find out just how bad you screwed up!"

Gorosaurus roared as he rammed Dagahra in the side, pushing the reptilian Conqueror back a ways. He then looked behind him and noticed Kawazu firing a barrage of eggs into the air, but not at him.

"What the Daiel?" The dinosaur asked himself.

Dagahra chuckled darkly. "Look above your head, you fool."

When Gorosaurus did, he saw the eggs raining down towards him as they started cracking. "Heavy Egg Rain!" Kawazu shouted. Gorosaurus roared in pain as the yolk fists rained down on him, covering him in bruises.

Dagahra opened his mouth as the inside began to glow red. "Irabushan-"

"Solid Script: Iron!"

The word IRON, made from pure steel, suddenly appeared above the kaiju and landed right on his head. Dagahra snarled in pain and glared hard at the culprit. "You think you stand a chance against me?! I will show you just how mistaken you really are!" He bellowed as he lunged at Levy.

The Solid Script mage was unfazed and stood her ground without a trace of fear in her eyes. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Kawazu lunging towards Gorosaurus, who was behind her. As soon as Dagahra was close enough, Levy's fingers danced in the air. "Solid Script: Oil!" The word OIL appeared in front of her and fired a torrent of black sludge right in the Kaiju's face.

"Graaaah! My eyes!" Dagahra roared as he flew off course and just narrowly missed the bluenette. Kawazu, who was just about to land a finishing blow on Gorosaurus, looked up and paled when he saw Dagahra flying towards him. The aquatic Conqueror slammed into the humanoid rooster and they both tumbled to the ground in a heap.

Gorosaurus managed to get to his feet and glanced at Levy with surprise. "That was...rather impressive of you."

The Solid Script mage smiled. "I guess I'm not as weak as I thought I was. It was pretty simple."

Then suddenly, Kawazu recovered and shot to his feet before lunging at Gorosaurus while his back was turned. Levy tried to warn him, but it seemed the blue dinosaur had already sensed the dark mage because he quickly spun around to face him, causing Kawazu to squawk in surprise.

"Quit your damn clucking!" Gorosaurus bellowed as he delivered his Kangaroo Kick to the humanoid rooster, striking him in the gut. Kawazu was sent flying into a large boulder with enough force for it to crack upon impact. The dark mage then slumped to the forest floor, completely unconscious.

Gorosaurus mentally sighed with relief. 'Good. One down...' He and Levy turned to see Dagahra already back up and snarling at them, his eyes practically bloodshot with rage. 'Three more to go.'

Yomazu roared as he sent a flurry of aerial slashes towards Gajeel, who transformed his arm into an iron pillar and blocked the attacks. "Keep dreaming buddy!" The Dragon Slayer growled. "That dumb little pocket knife you got ain't cutting through my steel!"

Gajeel then swung his pillar-arm at Yomazu and the dark mage blocked it with his sword. Yomazu jumped back to get some distance from Gajeel, then charged at him with a crazed grin. "I'll run you right through! Pierce!" He shouted as he thrust his blade towards him.

*CLANG!

Yomazu's eyes widened when he saw that Gajeel allowed his blade to go straight through his right arm, which had also transformed into an iron rod, going straight through the end. "What?!"

Black Steel hissed in pain, then gave Yomazu a wolfish grin. "Losing ain't an option for me."

"Damn it!" The dark mage cursed to himself.

"You hear me?!" The Iron Dragon roared as his fangs grew longer and his pupils dilated into reptilian slits. "IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN!"

Elsewhere on Tenrou Island, Erza and her group were still searching for Wendy and her group when they heard a series of explosions.

Juvia looked around frantically. "What was that?!"

"It sounds like there's a battle going on." Erza suggested. "We should investigate."

Before they could move, however, they heard two new roars from where they heard the explosions.

"GREEONNNGRRK!"

"GREEONNNGK!"

Manda's eyes widened. "That's Gorosaurus and Baragon! They must be battling someone strong!"

Drake raised his nose to the air. "I can also smell Gajeel and Levy close by, they're probably fighting as well."

"We need to move now!" Erza shouted as she and the others made their way towards the sound of the fighting.

It actually looked like Gajeel was going to win at first. But that wasn't the case anymore.

Yomazu grinned as his katana started to grow in length from inside Gajeel's clubbed arm, causing multiple cracks to run up his arm. The dark mage pushed his katana deeper into the Dragon Slayer's arm, forcing him to roar in pain.

"GAJEEL!" Levy shrieked.

Baragon struggled to crawl to Gajeel's aid but the injury he had received from Ganimes on his side was keeping him from moving too much.

Gajeel glared at Yomazu as his arm slowly felt like it was going to fall apart. 'Taking on Fairy Tail like this...these idiots are just as thick-headed as I was.'

About a week or two had passed since the war between Fairy Tail and their rival guild, Phantom Lord. The guild had been officially disbanded and it's members had begun to start new lives elsewhere.

However, one former member was still taking it particularly hard.

Gajeel Redfox, the former Iron Dragon Slayer of Phantom Lord, had held himself up in an abandoned junkyard to nurse his wounded pride and to gorge himself on a mountain of iron.

He took an angry bite out of a metal gear when he heard a voice call out to him from below. "Hey there!"

Gajeel looked over his shoulder and was about to tell whoever was interrupting him to buzz off, but his eyes widened in shock at who he saw. "You're Master Makarov!"

Makarov smiled and waved up to the Iron Dragon. Gajeel just snorted and looked away. "So did you come here to gloat?" He asked without looking back at him.

The Master of Fairy Tail tried to climb up the large mountain of iron to join Black Steel. "What a nice hello indeed." He grumbled sarcastically. "Not big on manners, are you?"

As he made it to the top of the steel mound, he stepped towards the Dragon Slayer. "Your friend Juvia is the newest member of our guild."

Gajeel looked back at him in shock. "Are you kidding me?!"

"No sir. She was very concerned about your well being after all that's happened." Makarov replied.

"That chick's got rain for brains!" Gajeel growled as he tossed his half-eaten gear away. "What is she thinking?!"

Makarov sighed a little before looking back at the frustrated Dragon Slayer. "Have you figured out what your next move is?"

"My next move?" He repeated. "I don't know just yet. Keeping my options open I guess."

Makarov sighed again. "...I have another question for you."

"So shoot." Gajeel replied.

"When you reflect on it, what would you say were your own reasons for going to war with Fairy Tail?" He asked. Gajeel looked back at him over his shoulder with a straight face, but said nothing, so Makarov continued. "What did being part of Phantom Lord mean to you? For that matter, what does the idea of a guild mean to you? What do you want to do with the powers you possess?"

Gajeel just stared at him in silence before looking away again with a sigh. "You sure got a lot of questions, old man."

"They're all the same." Makarov said as he closed his eyes and dipped his head. "What kind of man do you tell yourself you are? And is that man the same person who lives inside your heart?"

He paused for a moment before he went on. "If Jose asked it of you, would you take a life for him? Is his power absolute? Is his every wish your command." Gajeel started to squeeze his eyes shut in frustration, but he let Makarov continue. "If that's the case, then you're nothing more than his puppet. But I don't get that impression from you Gajeel. You're not mindless."

"Would you quit flapping your gums and get lost already?!" The Dragon Slayer finally growled.

"There's no reason to give up and plunge into the darkness. Come with us. Join the Fairy Tail guild."

Gajeel spun around and faced the old man at his words. "Are you crazy?! Why in the hell would I ever want to do that?!"

"There is great value in the time spent with one's own company, but a lifetime of total isolation is a fate no one should endure." He replied.

Gajeel's eyes widened in complete shock at Makarov's wise words, then he closed them and turned away again. "You know I'm the one who trashed your guild hall, right?"

Makarov nodded. "Oh I know. We'll rebuild it."

"And I was also the one...who hurt your three little friends." He said as the memories of how he crucified Team Shadow Gear as a message to Fairy Tail flashed in his mind.

"...I know."

Gajeel shivered when he felt an ominous aura emanating from the old man standing behind him, but refused to face him, his voice dripping with rage. "A despicable act that I will never completely forgive!"

His voice eventually became calmer and his aura calmed down as he continued. "But for me, letting a young man fall into darkness when I know I could have done something to prevent it is something even more unforgivable."

Black Steel bit his lip then turned back to the old man and, to his complete shock, he saw Makarov reaching his hand out to him. "I can not guaranty total salvation, I can merely point you down the path out of the shadows. Will you choose to walk that path, or to fore go it and remain where you are?"

Gajeel started at the Master of Fairy Tail in silence, then slowly reached out and took his hand in his own.

"...I will."

Gajeel's iron-clubbed arm shattered, but in its place was his normal arm covered in iron scales. Yomazu's eyes widened an his jaw practically hit the floor.

The Dragon Slayer yanked on the dark mage's sword so that their faces were inches from each other. "I will not be defeated! Not gonna happen! I'll never lose to scum like you!"

Fairy Tail OST: Main Theme...

"Because...I'm a Fairy Tail Wizard!"

Suddenly, Gajeel instantly ripped Yomazu's blade into two, making the goat mans eyes practically pop out of their sockets. "No! Not my katana!" Yomazu shrieked. "My soul is in that blade!"

Then, the Dragon Slayer bit down on the blade and began to devour it until it was all gone. As soon as he took the last bite, Gajeel's body became shrouded in a teal green energy. He gulped down the sword and glared at Yomazu one last time, then clapped both his hands above his head with a shout, "Dragon Slayer Secret Art!"

Everyone present, both human, Kaiju, and humanoid animal, stared in stunned silence as a massive sword at least 20 feet long materialized from his hands.

Dagahra just about soiled himself when he saw the massive blade appear out of nowhere. "How...is that even possible?!"

"What the Daiei...?" Gorosaurus whispered to himself.

"Did he really just..." Baragon trailed off.

Levy stared at the Dragon Slayer with wide eyes. "...Amazing."

Yomazu stared up at the blade and dropped the handle of what was left of his blade before making a mad dash for the forest. Baragon recovered from his initial shock and saw an opportunity to end the battle. He looked over and saw Ganimes finally put out the fire that had engulfed his head and turned to his comrade. "Gorosaurus!"

The blue dinosaur knew where Baragon was going at and nodded. He lunged at Dagahra while he was still in shock and bit down on his neck. The reptilian Conqueror roared in pain and was thrown towards the fleeing Grimoire Heart mage. At the same time, Baragon grabbed Ganimes by his left pincer with his teeth and also tossed him towards the humanoid goat. Yomazu shrieked in surprise and pain as the two Earth Conquerors collided into him and sent all three of them sprawled on the forest floor.

Gajeel reared his arms back. "Karma Demon:-"

Yomazu, Ganimes and Dagarha screamed in terror as Black Steel swung the massive blade down on them.

"IRON GOD SWORD!"

A massive explosion roared through the forest as the giant sword left a large trail of destruction in its wake. When the dust cleared, the the two Earth Conquerors and Yomazu were scattered across the forest floor. Yomazu still looked conscious, but he was too injured to move and parts of his armor were in tatters, the same was with Dagahra.

Ganimes, however, wasn't as lucky. He had been knocked unconscious the moment he hit the ground. In fact, his entire head had been buried in the hard dirt, leaving only the rest of his body visible and immobile. Gajeel then slumped to the ground in exhaustion as Levy and the others rushed to his aid.

"Gajeel!" Levy yelled as she dropped to her knees at his side. "Please tell me your okay!"

The Dragon Slayer opened one eye and glanced up at her, then flashed her a grin. "Relax half-pint...I've taken worse hits then that..."

Levy could only smile as tears streaked down her face. Baragon came to his side as well, shaking his head. "Well I'll be damned... I guess you really know how to take out the trash, huh?"

Gajeel just grinned up at him. "Hehe...what's wrong? You jealous that I just got a one up on you?"

The red kaiju just shook his head with his own grin. "Oh, don't you worry. I'll get back at you eventually. Just you wait."

"Redfox!"

"What is this?!"

"Are you all right?!"

The group looked over and were surprised to see Erza, Juvia and Manda rushing over to them.

"Erza! Drake! Juvia! What're you doing here?!" Levy asked with surprise.

"We were out searching for Mest and Wendy when we heard a commotion. By the looks of it, I'm guessing that was you." Erza replied as she and the others stopped in front of them.

Manda slithered over and looked at Gorosaurus. "What happened here?"

Gorosaurus hissed in slight pain from his injuries. "Another Dark Guild...and the Earth Conquerors."

Manda's eyes widened. "Earth Conquerors?! Here?! Are you absolutely sure?!"

Baragon nodded and gestured to the unconscious group over to the side. "See for yourself."

"Hehehehe..."

Everyone froze and looked over at Yomazu, who was laughing from where he laid.

"You fools don't stand a chance! Our main fighting force is right at our heels!" he cackled. "Wizards who's power far exceeds my own! They are known as the 'Seven Kin of Purgatory!'"

Juvia watched the dark mage continue to laugh. "The Seven Kin are coming?"

"We must put the trial on hold!" A long, tubular device suddenly appeared in Erza's hand. She pressed a button on it and held it in the air. "Right now, prepare for battle!"

A bright light shot out of the device and exploded into a bright red flare.

"Condition Red!" Erza exclaimed. "We shall intercept them at once!"

Makarov noticed the red light in the sky and his eyes widened.

"What?! An enemy attack?!" His eyes then narrowed in anger. "Who dares invade our sacred ground?!"

Lucy and Cana looked up at the red light. "A red flare?" the blond said in surprise. "But why?"

Hunkered down behind a stone wall, Gray and Loke also noticed the flare. "Do you know what that means?" the Lion Spirit asked.

"Enemy sighted." Gray replied, not taking his eyes off the light.

"But what about the S-Class trials?" Elfman said as he looked up at the red flare.

"Obviously it'll have to be put on hold for now." Evergreen said back.

Natsu clenched his teeth as he started up at the bright light. "I bet it's got something to do with him. That big cry baby."

"No, I don't think so." Happy replied. "A red flare means that an enemy's coming. There must be somebody else on the way."

Natsu punched his fists together. "Well whoever it is, their looking for a fight! So I say we give 'em what they came here for! That'll teach 'em not to mess with us!"

"Aye sir!" Happy exclaimed.

Elsewhere, Godzilla noticed the flare as well and his eyes widened. "A red flare means an enemy attack, doesn't it? So who would-"

He stopped himself when the answer hit him like a nuke to the face. "Don't tell me that...their here too!"

Cana stomped her foot on the ground in anger. "Why does this have to happen now?!"

Lucy turned around to face the frustrated Card Mage as she continued. "I swore this would be my last trial! I'm serious, if I don't make it this year, I'm leaving the guild forever!" Her eyes then flashed with both anger and determination. "I won't give up! I'm gonna see this through to the very end!"

The Celestial Spirit Mage just stared at her with slight sadness. "Cana..."

"Would you take it down a notch!"

The two girls widened and looked to see Gray and Loke approaching them. "Everyone feels the same way you do." the Lion Spirit said calmly.

"Where did you come from?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Yeah, no kidding. Where'd you come from?" Cana added.

Loke stopped and crossed his arms. "We've kinda been follo-"

He was immediately cut off when Gray covered his mouth with his hand. "It's just a coincidence, okay? But that's not important right now." he said before shoot the Lion Spirit a quick, warning glance. "If we're really under attack, then we've gotta focus on that."

Loke pushed Gray's hand away and adjusted his glasses. "Let's get to the emergency rendezvous. We need to find out what's happening first."

"As if the trial wasn't bad enough..." Lucy muttered. Cana said nothing, but nodded reluctantly.

Erza's body glowed with her Requip Magic and she reappeared in her Heart Kreuz Armor.

"So now what? What do you think we should do?" Juvia asked the female knight.

"First thing we need to do is locate Mest, Wendy and Rodan." she replied. "I'm afraid they may be lost and unable to find our base camp."

Levy came up to them with Gajeel's arm over her shoulder while Gorosaurus helped support him from the other side. "We'll take Gajeel and meet you there in a bit."

Erza nodded. "Yes, thank you."

As they started moving, Gajeel grumbled breathlessly. "Don't push yourself on my account, small fry..."

"Well, I don't see you getting there on your own, you big lug." she retorted playfully.

The Dragon Slayer just rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah...Don't rub it in..."

As the two had their little back-and-forth, Baragon and Gorosaurus glanced at each other with similar looks. Little did either of them realize, they were both thinking the exact same thing.

'What the Daiei is going on between them?'

At the same time, Juvia had also overheard the two Mage's little exchange before the disappeared into the forest and she blushed a little. 'I'm sure my beloved Gray needs my support as well.'

Manda just rolled her eyes with a sly smirk. It was just way too easy to know what was going on inside the Water Mage's head.

The two then noticed Erza stomp towards Yomazu, who was now sitting cross legged with his hands on his knees and looking up at the red haired, female swordsman nonchalantly. "You there, speak! Tell us why you've come to this place!" she barked in her usual, authoritarian tone.

Yomazu scoffed and looked away. "Revealing that will do me no good at all."

Erza quickly lost her patience and bashed the dark mage on the head, making a very large bump on his head. Yomazu growled groggily, but eventually spoke. "...We seek him. The Legendary Black Wizard known as Zeref. He is here on this very island."

Erza and Juvia's eyes widened in horror and a sudden chill shot through their spines. Manda just cocked an eye in confusion.

"But...that's absurd!" Erza exclaimed shakily.

"How can that be true?" Juvia asked. "I thought Zeref lived hundreds of years ago, didn't he?"

"400 years." Yomazu corrected.

Manda glanced at her companions. "If you don't mind me asking, who exactly is this 'Zeref'?"

Erza looked at her and the mutanted sea serpent was slightly surprised to see what she swore was a small hint of fear. "He was a Dark Wizard who mastered in Black Magic hundreds of years ago. He is revered throughout out history for creating thousands of Demons and throwing the world into complete chaos."

She then glared back at Yomazu. "You fool! Zeref is long since dead!" Her body shuddered a little when she remembered an incident involving Zeref and an old friend of her's.

'That's who Jellal was trying to revive...' she thought nervously.

Yomazu just grinned. "No, he never died. Lord Zeref has been living for over 400 years. According to Master Hades, Lord Zeref has simply been sleeping. He said Lord Zeref was in deep slumber that lasted for centuries."

"I find this whole story completely difficult to believe." Juvia commented.

"Once he has awaken from his slumber, the entire world will be cloaked in darkness." Yomazu hissed with glee.

"Utter nonsense!" Erza shouted. "Don't you know this island is our sacred ground?! There's no way we'd allow to be defiled by the forces of evil with whom you align!"

Yomazu laughed. "Hahahaha! Believe what you will, but Master Hades and the Seven Kin of Purgatory will be arriving on these shores very soon and it would be wise of you not to take them lightly!" He went on. "The Time Wizard, Ultear... Rustyrose... my superior, Caprico... Kain Hikaru... Zancrow... Meredy..."

His grin became impossibly wider. "And there's one more I haven't mentioned, who's already here! Hahahaha!"

Erza's eyes widened. "There's one already here now?!"

Wendy looked at the others and pointed at the red light in the sky. "Hey, what is that? Do you know what the red signal up there's supposed to mean?"

"Beats me." Rodan shruggled before glancing at Mest. "You know?"

Mest scratched the back of his head. "Uhhhhh... It means..." Suddenly, he got on all fours again and started biting at a large rock in frustration. "I wanna know! I really wanna know what it means!"

"Jeez! Take a chill pill buddy!" Rodan snapped comically.

"It's okay if you forgot, I don't think that's gonna help." Wendy reassured him.

Mest stopped and narrowed his eyes while Wendy went on. 'I need to act now. Before the main force arrives.'

"WENDY! RODAN!"

The trio looked up and noticed two figures flying towards them. Wendy and Rodan recognized them instantly.

"Hey, that's Carla and Lily, right?" the pterosaur asked.

Wendy looked up at them with surprise. "What are you two doing here?"

"Never mind that! Just get away from him!" Carla shouted as he bolted towards them before dropping to the ground in front of the young Dragon Slayer and her flying friend/mentor.

The white Exceed then pointed an accusing finger at Mest. "Alright! Why don't you cut the act and tell us who you really are!"

Mest was backed up against a large boulder, but tried to play innocent. "Huh? What the heck do you mean by that? I'm Mystogan's pupil, remem-"

*CRASH!

Mest froze and Wendy and Rodan flinched when Panther Lily entered his Battle Form and punched the boulder behind Mest with his brawny fist. He just barely missed his head, but the force was enough to make a large crack in the rock.

The muscle bound Exceed glared hard at Mest. "I find it hard to believe that my Prince would take on a pupil in this world. Now you were smart enough to use someone who doesn't live here anymore to back up your story. But are you gonna be smart enough to tell us the truth?"

Mest stared at Lily with wide eyes as the black Exceeds glare became more intense. "Who are you?! And what are you trying to hide?!"