The black dragon continued to struggle against the dark magic; a purple haze was holding it in place, and blue bolts that looked like lightning were sending shocks through its body! The spell-caster laughed at the beast's suffering.

"I am your master, Black Steel! You shall crush my enemies like the insects they are! None shall stand against us!" Jose declared. But a certain mage was desperate to keep that from happening.

"Stop it!"

Ignoring her own pain, Levy pushed herself up. Once she managed to stand, she darted toward the dragon. Logically, there was nothing she could do against such powerful dark magic, but the only thought that ran through Levy's mind was getting to her dragon before it was too late!

The girl stopped in her tracks as dark dragon slowly lifted its head to the sky. It released a mighty roar, one so powerful the earth shook! Levy covered her ears in a futile effort to protect her hearing. She had never felt so frightened! Was this truly her dragon?

'No. Jose has possessed him. He's no longer himself…'

How could this have happened? Levy's legs buckled beneath her as she lost hope. What now? What would Jose force the dragon to do? If he decided to attack the village, what chance did they have of survival? There was no way they could stop a dragon!

And after everything Gajeel had—

'Gajeel! How could I forget about him?!'

Levy whipped her head around, searching for any trace of him. But she found nothing, which made her panic. She desperately began to call out his name.

"Gajeel?! Gajeel!"

From his spot, Jose turned his head to her, smirking at her pitiful attempts.

"You are wasting your breath! He can no longer hear you!"

"What are you talking about?!" the little mage demanded.

"Fool! The 'Gajeel Redfox' you knew was only a ruse! His true nature is right before us!"

Levy was completely taken aback. 'Gajeel… he is the dragon? It can't be!'

Her eyes slowly left the sinister saint, moving back to the possessed dragon. Could it be possible? How could a human have a dragon form?

But there was no denying the clues that flooded her mind at that moment. The way Gajeel laughed was similar to the dragon; they shared the same ruby eyes; and Levy had recognized him as the man who saved her from nearly drowning before bringing her to the dragon's den. There was not enough evidence to make it a fact, but she had enough to arouse suspicion that Gajeel and her dragon were one and the same. Somewhere in her heart… she knew it was true.

"Ga…Gajeel?" Levy barely whispered, clearly in a state of shock.

At that moment, the dragon seemed to flinch. Its glowing white eyes squeezed shut, and it began to shake its head wildly as its struggling intensified. Levy forgot her fear as concern for her friend took over.

"Gajeel?! What is it? What's wrong?!"

Jose laughed from where he stood. "There is no use resisting, Black Steel! Accept your fate! You are a weapon of mass destruction!"

Levy understood what was happening. At least, she thought she did. She tried to get back on her feet, but more purple streams of magic, which coiled around her ankles, tripped her. The poor girl fell face first!

"Pathetic girl!" Jose cried out. "Just stay where you are, and I might consider sparing your life! It would be quite a treat to witness the true power of your precious pet!"

Levy grit her teeth in irritation. "He is not a pet!" she growled. Despite the pain and fear she felt, Levy raised her head to the dragon.

"Do not give in, Gajeel! You are stronger than this! Fight it, you big idiot! FIGHT IT!"

The dragon's eyes shot open, and it released another roar. Levy managed to brace herself, as did Jose. However, she noticed some distress in his features.

"What is this? Why can't I… UGH!"

Jose fell back as his magic backfired on him. The small explosion was enough to knock him back a few feet. To Levy's relief, he lost control over the dark magic that ensnared her. If she was free, then maybe…

She looked back up to her dragon, expecting him to be changing back to normal.

Sadly, her hypothesis had been wrong.

Instead of reverting back, the dragon was still black, and it was on the brink of a rampage! Without warning, it released a stream of flame into the sky! Even the flames themselves had turned black! Horrified and helpless, the young apprentice could only watch the torment her friend was going through. Her mind began to spin.

'Is this because of the curse? Jose said the magic was experimental… is it possible he lost control? So what happens now? How can we change him back?!'

Lost in her thoughts, Levy failed to realize the dragon was closing in on her. Before she could react, its head was right in front of her! Her body began to tremble involuntarily. From the ground, she stared up into the white sockets where his ruby eyes had once been, and visions of the dragon she loved appeared in her head.

This was not her dragon.

Her dragon kept itself isolated as much as possible.

Her dragon was smug with a playful side.

Her dragon was cocky and liked to show off for her, though it would never hurt her.

But this dragon… this dragon was dangerous. It could kill without a second thought.

Tears streamed down her face as the dragon continued to stare at her menacingly.

"No… Please, Dragon…"

The dragon's head backed away, but Levy did not get the chance to relax. She watched in horror as the dragon roared again, swiping its claw down toward her! Helplessly, she covered her head with her arms and screamed.

Nothing touched her.

Levy dared to open an eye. She gasped as she saw Master Makarov in front of her! His hands had become massive; they were at least ten times the size of his entire body! He was holding back the dragon's claw with all of his strength; Levy did not miss the streams of blood flowing down his hand.

"M-Master…"

"Yo, Gramps!"

Brown eyes shifted to see Laxus carrying the unconscious Jose over his shoulder. "I got him! Now what?!"

"Sit tight!" The old man shouted. "I will transport us!"

Transport? Levy had read about such spells, but it took a great deal of magical energy to pull off a transportation spell for one person! Yet there were four of them! If Master could even manage to complete the spell, he could be drastically weakened, and they all would be doomed!

Levy attempted to speak, but she was growing weaker by the minute. She could feel her consciousness slipping away.

"Don't… Master…"

"Jose! I demand that you tell me!"

Levy slowly blinked her eyes open. What had happened? From afar, the earth was still rumbling with the massive dragon. The voice she heard continued to shout; was it Master Makarov?

"Ah! You're awake!"

A small girl with long blue hair that was a few shades darker than her own was hovering over Levy. She smiled brightly before her expression changed to being ashamed.

"I managed to heal your wounds, but my magic can't restore energy completely. I'm sorry!"

Levy gently took the girl's hand, wearing a small smile of her own.

"Thank you, Wendy. I owe you one."

The little girl beamed as Levy attempted to sit up. She knew where she was the moment she saw Wendy. The child was the apprentice of Porlyusica, so Master Makarov must have managed to get them to safety. Surprisingly, the old healer was standing with Makarov instead of swinging her broom around.

"We heard about the dragon," Wendy explained before Levy could ask. The word mage nodded before she focused on the conversation at hand.

"Thanks to you, Jose, that dragon is out of control!" Master ranted. "If you cannot reign it in, then you have to tell us how to reverse the curse! If you care for your life, you will do it!"

Jose's head remained lowered. He said nothing, and Porlyusica sighed.

"This is why humans are so impossible. They only think about themselves, not about the consequences of their actions."

Laxus was currently resting against the wall with his arms folded, waiting for the interrogation to end so the action could begin. Levy was surprised at his calm composure; his grandfather was obviously nearing a panic attack!

"JOSE! EXPLAIN YOUR MAGIC TO US NOW!"

"…I did it."

Everyone froze as the clearly deranged Jose began to laugh out loud.

"I did it! I transformed a dragon into a weapon of mass destruction! With just a little more magic, I can control it completely! I shall be invincible!"

Makarov sighed as he watched his old friend with pity. Jose had not always been like this; at least, not before he took up shade magic. Anyone who studied anything about dark magic was aware of the risks. It was not something to be tampered with. Jose served as Exhibit A; it was possible he had gone mad due to his own magic. There would be no way to convince him to help.

"No sense in talking to a nutcase like him," Laxus pointed out. "I say we just kill the beast!"

The old man turned to his grandson in horror. "Do you have any idea what you are saying, Laxus?! There is no telling what a dragon is capable of!"

"And we have our magic, Gramps! That dragon won't stand a chance against my awesome power!"

"But what about Gajeel?!"

The Dreyars turned to the little mage, now standing before them. The poor thing was still trembling, but her eyes were hard and focused.

"'That dragon' is my friend. He has been posing as Gajeel all this time!"

Both the men were shocked at this news; Gajeel Redfox was a dragon?!

"You've got to be kidding me!" Laxus protested. "Why should we believe that? Sure, that guy is a total pain, but a dragon?! No way!"

"It's the truth! Gajeel tried to save me from Jose, and the next thing I knew, he was gone and the dragon was present! That can't be a coincidence! Ask Jose!"

Laxus towered over the girl. "Can you hear yourself right now? How do you know Redfox didn't get eaten?! And why trust that lunatic?!"

"I just know. Gajeel is the dragon. He's been living in the forest for who knows how long, and he never once threatened the village! Even when he posed as a human, he never meant any harm! It's not his fault he's like this right now; Jose's magic is to blame!"

Makarov carefully observed his apprentice. Her claims were rather difficult to believe, yet something told him she spoke the truth. Perhaps it was the look in her eyes, or it was the trust he held for the girl.

'Either way, I cannot condone the attack on a dragon.'

"That's enough!" the head mage ordered. Both Laxus and Levy turned to the master as he spoke his orders.

"Although I cannot prove that Gajeel is indeed the dragon, it is obvious that the dragon's rampage is Jose's doing. There will be no attacking such a creature; we do not want to anger it any further. We shall defend our village, nothing more. Our magic can shield and conceal the location of the emergency shelter or transport it if need be. Spread the word; all villagers must report to the shelter. Once everyone has arrived, we shall transport to a different location and plan our next move from there."

Levy smiled with relief. "Excellent plan, Master."

His eyes turned to the apprentice. "And when this is over, I will be awaiting your explanation of how you know so much about this dragon."

The girl tensed immediately, and her right pointer finger scratched her jaw awkwardly. She was in for it now. "Y-Yes, Master."

"Forget this!"

The occupants of the room turned to Laxus, currently in tantrum mode. "I don't care what you say. Save the pathetic villagers if you want, but I am going to take that dragon down myself!"

With that, the lightning user stormed off. Poor Wendy trembled at his rage. "Wh- why is he so angry? Shouldn't we be concerned about the villagers?"

Levy placed a hand on the girl's shoulders. "That's right. Laxus just… has a hard time seeing things that way. He would rather fight than retreat."

"But… can we do it without Laxus?"

There was no denying that Laxus Dreyar, despite his self-righteous attitude, was a powerful mage. If he chose to abandon them, they would lose quite a bit of manpower. Master Makarov was also down for the count; due to the amount of magic he used to transport all of them to Porlyusica's, he needed to recover more energy. That energy had to be saved for the second transportation spell, the one that would move all of the villagers.

"It will be up to us, then!" Levy declared. Of course, Wendy was still unsure, so Levy had to be positive for her. She knelt down and held the little girl's shoulders.

"You and I will alert the village. We can get everyone else to help spread the word. Master and Porlyusica will be at the shelter, and we can recruit mages to share their magical power to raise a shield or help Master with the transportation spell. We can do it!"

Wendy stared at the older girl. She was like a big sister to her, and Levy had not let her down before. Her courage was inspiring, and Wendy knew she had to follow her example. She blinked her tears away and held up her fists in motivation.

"Right! Let's do this!"