After the argument between Natsu and Lullaby they both left, leaving Erza standing by herself in the middle of Celestial Forest.

A wind picked up, blowing Erza's scarlet hair in front of her, shielding her face. Erza re-quipped into her regular armour she wore around the castle when she wasn't in battle or if she wasn't dressed like an actual princess during balls and when other kings visited Fairy Tail.

After standing in the forest for what felt like hours Erza finally went back to the castle where she left Lucy. Lucy was still crying, sitting against the wall with her knees drawn to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs.

"Princess Lucy?" Erza whispered.

"I hate them," Lucy whispered, her voice hoarse. "I hate Alvarez." Lucy shakily got to her feet and Erza instantly ran to her side, holding her up to stop her from falling over.

"We all do," Erza sighed. Lucy looked up at Erza with hard eyes.

"Princess Erza, I've always admired you," Lucy whispered, catching Erza by surprise. "I ... I want to be like you. A princess but also a warrior."

Lucy wiped away the tears on her cheeks and touched her fingers to her blonde hair, her eyes hardening. Before Erza contemplated what was happening Lucy grabbed her sword and cut her hair into a bulb-cut and dropped the blonde strands to the ground as she walked towards the door.

"Princess Lucy?" Erza asked, shocked by the Celestial Princess' actions.

"It's my duty as the princess of Celestial I'll avenge my people," Lucy says, using Erza's sword to cut the dress up the sides to make it easier to run and fight. "My mother wanted me to go to Fairy Tail and that's what I'm going to do. But I won't be Princess Lucy Heartfilia, too weak to do anything; I'll now be Lucy Ashley, a fighter."

Lucy stopped and held the sword out to Erza who took it hesitantly.

"First thing's first I need a weapon," Lucy says, turning away. "My spirits are more companion spirits than battle spirits. I need a weapon and I think the best one for me will be a whip."

Erza followed Lucy to the only magic shop in Celestial and Erza was surprised when Lucy didn't even react to the bloody body of the shop keeper. She took a handle with nothing connected to it and pressed a button and a blue beam came out from the flat end into a whip. Lucy grinned and pressed the button again, turning the whip's magic off.

"Come on, let's go," Erza tries but Lucy walks away towards a clothes rack. Lucy grabbed a pile of black fabric and a pair of thigh high boots and disappeared into the changing room. Erza didn't even know there were clothes in this store. She thought it was just a magic store and nothing else. Guess she was wrong.

"You know," Lucy says from the changing stall, "I'd never guess that I would be doing something like this, changing my name, apperance and thoughts towards the world. It feels like a dream."

"I know the feeling," Erza sighed.

Lucy emerged from the changing room and Erza's eyes bugged out of her head. Lucy was now wearing a revealing black leotard with a large erect collar that is exposed at the front and is cut to reveal her stomach and ample cleavage with a metal shoulder-guard on the right shoulder and a sheet of white fabric attached to her right hip cascading down to her knee. The suit has no leggings and overlapping belts seemed to be keeping the thigh high boots up. Lucy had removed the pink ribbon and replaced it with a skull headband. Erza's eyes widened at the sight of the princess. No, this was not Princess Lucy Heartfilia. This was Lucy Ashley.

"Come on, let's go," Lucy says, grabbing Erza's arm and dragging her out of the shop and into the blood filled streets that had once been the beautiful kingdom of Celestial.


"Iron Dragon: Sword!" Gjeel chants, his arm turning into a sword and attacking Pantherlily with it, who counters it with his own giant sword Gajeel found interesting.

"Gihihihi, you're fit to be my cat," Gajeel laughed, pointing at Pantherlily and causing a grimace from said cat.

"I am not some pet cat!" Pantherlily shouts, swinging his giant sword at Gajeel. Gajeel blocked the attack with his sword arm and started slashing at Pantherlily, who continued to parry the attacks.

"You are not a pet cat," Gajeel says, jumping into the air and transforming his free arm into a club which he used to propel himself forward towards Pantherlily, his sword arm up, readying himself for an attack "Flame Breath, Little Sky Girl, Holy Spirit and Shadow Boy and even the Old Man all have a cat as an ally but me!"

Gajeel bought the sword down on Pantherlily who easily reflected it, sending Gajeel crashing into a wall. Pantherlily's reflect created a shock wave which destroyed part of the town, causing dirt and bits of debris to fly around. Pantherlily smirked, expecting Gajeel to be down and turned away to go find Princess Erza and Princess Lucy (they both forgot about Acnologia who was watching the fight with interest but not getting in on it) when Gajeel's annoying laugh filled the air.

"What is this?" Pantherlily growled, turning around. Gajeel leaped out of the dust and debris, iron bolts and iron wrenches in his mouth which he was chewing as if it were chocolate.

"Lucky you sent me into a blacksmith's building; plenty of iron in there," Gajeel says, finishing off the iron in his mouth and swallowing it. "Now I've got a fire in my belly." Gajeel could almost hear Natsu shouting 'hey, that my line!" at him from top of a building.

"So this is what you Dragon Slayers are capable of," Pantherlily questioned, getting into a battle stance, his sword pointed at Gajeel, ready to attack or parry. "You eat your element to replenish your strength?"

"Yes, and it also heals wounds," Gajeel said with a large grin. As he said that all the cuts, bruises and any other wound inflicted on Gajeel healed until only scars from the worst wounds were left. Pantherlily had to admit he was impressed.

"That is impressive," Pantherlily states. "OK, let's ditch that old deal and make a new one. If you win this fight I'll go to Alvarez as your cat like you wanted. But if I win you have to come to Fairy Tail as the vice-captain of the first magic warfare army of Fairy Tail."

"So either way you'll still be my cat?" Gajeel asked.

"Fine," Pantherlily rolled his eyes.

"Deal!"

And with a battle cry they both rushed at each other, their swords clashing with each the other's and sending golden sparks into the air.

"They're really getting into it."

Acnologia, who had retreated to a non-damaged building, looked to the side to see a black exceed with a gray underbelly and a skull-and-crossbones tattoo on his arm sitting beside him along with a blue cat, a white cat, a red cat and a green cat dressed in a pink frog costume. Acnologia's eyes bugged out of his head at the sight of the exceeds he could have sworn were still at the Alvarez Palace.

"Ailas and you other cats, what are you doing here?" Acnologia asked, scooping up Ailas into his arms and ignoring the other cats.

"I was trying to find Natsu!" Happy says, pulling a fish out of the green rucksack on his back. He held it out to the white exceed, Carla. "Want some fish Carla?"

"No," Carla says, turning away from Happy. Poor guy, he was as bad with women as much as Flame Breath was.

"What about the rest of you?" Acnologia asked. "Wait, does that mean Wendy, Sting and Rogue are here too?"

"I was just interested in what the loud noises were coming from over here," Lector says, crossing his arms. "I think this is cool!"

"Fro thinks so too!" Frosch says, smiling.

"Are you a cat or a frog?" Acnologia and Ailas asked at the same time.

"Iron Dragon: Kunai!"

Gajeel threw a bunch of kunais at Pantherlily, who cut them all in half as if they were nothing. But Gajeel continued to throw his Iron Dragon Kunais at Pantherlily, who continued to cut them in half each time Gajeel threw them. Pantherlily lifted his sword above his head and thrust it down, creating a large shockwave shock sent Gajeel flying backwards into the already destroyed blacksmith shop. This time Gajeel went through a number of buildings. Gajeel grunted in annoyance and used his Iron Dragon's Club to break the impact of crashing into another wall and then he used his Iron Dragon Foot Blade to stick himself to the wall and walked up to the ceiling where he waisted for Pantherlily.

Through the dust and flying debris Pantherlily appeared, his sword high and readying to finish off this battle so he could get back to Fairy Tail with his new apprentice. Realising that Gajeel was no where in sight Pantherlily looked around in confusion. Gajeel took that time to send a surprised attack at the giant panther-like exceed. Changing into his Iron Dragon Scales Gajeel jumped towards Pantherlily, his fist drawing back.

"Iron Dragon: Hard Fist!"

Pantherlily looked up in time to get an iron punch to his cheek, sending him into the wall behind him. Pantherlily stuck the blunt side of his sword into the wall to catch himself and propelled himself at Gajeel, punching him in the cheek at the same time Gajeel gave him another Iron Dragon: Hard Fist. They both grinned despite themselves at their twin punches and jumped back, Gajeel transforming his arm into into a lance and pointing it at Pantherlily.

"Iron Dragon Lance: Demon Logs!"

Miniature iron spears shot towards Pantherlily one after another, shooting too fast for Pantherlily to cut them in half like he did to Gajeel's Iron Dragon Kunais. Instead Pantherlily twirled his sword around in a circle really fast in front of him, the sword resembling a fan as it spun around fast. The iron spears hit the fan-like sword and propelled towards Gajeel, who dodged them to avoid being impaled.

"What's wrong Gajeel? Can't just eat them?" Pantherlily shouted over the echoing of the spears coming into contact with his sword.

"Don't be stupid, I can't eat my own iron!" Gajeel shouted back. He stopped firing, knowing if he kept this going he'll drain his magic energy. Man this cat was strong.

"That sword is becoming a pain in the ass," Gajeel grunted.

"Hey Tin Head!" Acnologia calls, poking his head around the wall with Ailas and the other Dragon Slayer's cats. "Why don't you use your Iron Dragon Roar to smash the sword?"

"I know, I'll use my Iron Dragon Roar to smash the sword!" Gajeel piped up, pretending that he was the one who came up with the plan and not Acnologia, who sweat dropped in annoyance.

Gajeel inflated his cheeks and cupped his hands in front of his mouth while chanting, "Iron Dragon: Roar!" A whirlwind of metal and iron blew out of his mouth towards Pantherlily, who attempted to block the attack with his sword. But when the metal and iron came in contact with the sword it cracked the sword little by little, the damage inflicted on it by Gajeel's previous attacks having weakened it. When Gajeel's roar came to a finish Pantherlily's sword crackled before shattering into bits, shocking Pantherlily at the fact that someone was able to smash his sword.

"Gihihihi, that's better," Gajeel laughs, punching his fists together. "Iron Dragon: Hard Fist!"

Once again Gajeel sent another punch at Pantherlily, smashing his cheek and causing him to crash into another wall, Pantherlily's body being covered by the dust. Gajeel waited to see if Pantherlily wasn't defeated and sighed with relief when he heard Pantherlily groan, "that was a good fight but I can't fight anymore. You win Gajeel."

"Yes!" Gajeel cheered, finally getting a cat that would beat the other Dragon Slayers' cats. Pantherlily stumbled out of the dust cloud and Gajeel froze at the sight of him and Acnologia started laughing his head off.

"Hahahahahaha! That's your all amazing cat that will surpass the other Dragon Slayers' cats?! Hahahahaha! He's now the same size as the other cats! Hahahahahaha!"

"Hahahahahahahahahaha!" the other exceeds (except for Carla) joined in for the sake of it.

"Shut it Old Man!" Gajeel growled. He turned to Lily. "What's with that form?"

"This is my true form," Pantherlily tells him. "The other form is the form I take when I'm in battle. I am an exceed. I'm not a giant. Now, since you won the deal I'll go to Alvarez with you as your cat."

"YES! I HAVE A CAT!" Gajeel shouts to the heavens as he pulled Pantherlily into a crushing hug, Acnologia and the exceeds' laughter echoing through the night.