As Nyx and Gajeel ran to save the kid of the inn's owner, Nyx grew more and more uncomfortable. There hadn't appeared to be any struggle in the inn, nor even the distant sound of the child, who would've undoubtedly been yelling for help.

"How far could they have gotten?" Gajeel growled. Nyx wasn't sure how to answer, so she just stayed silent. They were running through the woods outside of the village, unsure if they were even going in the right direction without clues or signs to follow. As they were running, Nyx stumbled, but caught herself. She wasn't sure, but she could have sworn that the ground had just shifted beneath her feet. They burst into a clearing and came to a stop. Nyx gasped, while Gajeel let out and eager laugh. At the other end of the clearing stood a man, a young boy in his grasp. "Finally decided to stop running huh? Works for me!" Gajeel's arm turned into an iron blade. Nyx felt something was very wrong.

"Gajeel no," she warned.

"No way Jewels, lets take this guy down!" He began to charge at the man.

"Gajeel wait!" He refused to listen, continuing his charge. Nyx ran after him, as fast as she possibly could. "Stop!" she ordered as she reached him. She managed to shove him to the side, despite the size difference.

"What the hell is wrong wi-" Before Gajeel finished his objection, he realized that Nyx's feet had been trapped in stone.

"I tried to warn you…" she said.

"But-"

"That guy's an illusion. So is the kid, look," she said, motioning with her head towards the two. Gajeel's eyes widened as the two faded away. Then a wicked laugh came from behind a trees, where a man revealed himself. "He's a quake mage," she said, glaring at the man. He laughed again.

"My, my, aren't you the quick little thing?" the man mocked, approaching her. The stone made it's way up her legs. "And here I thought we had you fooled."

"Damnit, you bastard!" Gajeel roared, ready to charge once again, stopped when he realized the man's proximity to Nyx. He knew he couldn't hit him without hitting her. "Let her go!" he demanded. He let out yet another laugh.

"Wise decision dragon slayer," the man taunted. The stone had made it's way up to Nyx's stomach. He grabbed her face. "It would be ashame to hurt such a pretty thing, wouldn't it?" Gajeel glared daggers at the man, his lips curled in a snarl. "Oh wait...it looks like someone already has." Gajeel's eyes widened.

"Shut up!" he snapped, launching one of his iron lances at the man. He deflected it with a wall of stone. Nyx scowled, and bit the man's hand.

"Ah! You little-" She ignored his threat, and focused on Gajeel.

"Just ignore him Gajeel." The dragon slayer gave her a small smile, and nodded. The stone made it's way to Nyx's shoulders, the pressure on her chest making breathing difficult. "Just do what you have to do she urged."

"I don't think that's a good idea," the man warned. "You see, these scars a fantastic...I would love to finish the job." With those words, the right side of the stone trap became jagged, digging into Nyx's skin. She let out a cry of pain.

"No! Stop!" Gajeel roared. "Nyx, put up that shield of yours, now!" he demanded. She nodded with a wince, and put up a diamond shell around her. The man looked at the two.

"Oh? Making a move are you? Just go ahead and try," he said, grinning. Gajeel gave a vicious smirk.

"Gladly!" Gajeel puffed up his chest, and cupped his hands around his mouth. Nyx knew exactly what he was up to. Images of that night flashed through her head, but she did her best to shake them off. She knew Gajeel was different now, she trusted him. "Tetsuryu no-" Gajeel got a glance of Nyx's wide blue eyes. He knew she was trying to be brave, but the terror was written clearly across her face. The agonizing scream that she had let out that night rang through his head.

"Gajeel!" Her shout tore him from the memory, but too late. He had hesitated for one moment too long. A stone pillar slammed into his chest, sending him backwards. He got quickly back to his feet.

"Don't let that shield drop Nyx!" He turned his focus to the man. "You're going down asshole," he snarled. He ran at the man, who was taken by surprise. They traded flurries of punches and kicks, dodging and weaving around each other. All the while, their enemy stayed close to Nyx, hoping to cause Gajeel to hesitate again. Nyx would not allow that to happen though. Every time he would step too close to her diamond shell, she would send a sharp barb out from the shell.

"Don't worry about me," she reassured, hiding another pained wince. The quake mage let out a frustrated grunt as he dodged a kick from Gajeel.

"You can't win like this, you aren't even using your magic," the man jeered, sending more pillars of earth towards Gajeel, forcing him to back away. Gajeel growled.

"Gajeel, he's right, you need to do it!" He looked at Nyx, somewhat surprised, then nodded, his expression becoming serious. He backed away.

"Just don't give out on me this time, got it?" With that, he backed up, puffed out his chest, and cupped his hands around his mouth. The man's eyes widened.

"What are you doing?" he questioned, becoming frightened.

"Tetsuryu no…"

"Stop, you-you'll hurt your friend!"

"Hoko!" Gray flames specked with iron flecks erupted from him, engulfing his enemy, and the shell that surrounded Nyx. As the man fell, the rock around her crumbled, and she allowed her shell to fall apart as well. As soon as the flames cleared, Gajeel saw that his enemy was unconscious. He gasped when he saw Nyx's shield crumble, along with her stone prison. He ran over to the girl, catching her as she collapsed. "Nyx, are you okay?" She laughed.

"I'm fine, just...a little...tired…" she murmured, her eyes slowly closing. Gajeel noticed the numerous wounds that ran down the right side of her body, each wet with blood.

"Damnit, Jewels, hold on!"