Hey guys! I am sososososo sorry for not updating sooner! I have been SWAMPED this week with schoolwork and the lot, and this weekend I am in Chicago for a wedding, the marathon, and college tours, so I basically have no time for not having a life. It sucks. However, I did manage to squeeze the time in to write this so I could at least get SOMETHING out on the weekend. I really hope you guys enjoy!

Notice: Don't own Fairy Tail. Don't want to make money off of it. Don't sue me.

Chapter 21: Equal Matches

Chunks of raw and purified earth were flying through the air. The brawl between the iron and earth dragonslayers was carving a hole deep into the ground; the initial crater that had been created by Gajeel and Grant's crash grew larger and larger by the second. Now they fought in a giant tunnel that led deep underground, which had been formed by the very nature of Grant's magic. He heaved up boulder after boulder to toss at Gajeel, and every time he did so, there was less and less dirt left in the ground beneath their feet.

Gajeel himself was being worn down just like the earth. Normally he prided himself on his iron's incredible defensive ability, but his opponent's stamina blew his out of the water. Grant had literally dug in to the earth; his ankles were implanted several feet into the ground. Every physical blow Gajeel threw at him to try and knock him down glanced harmlessly off his brawny hide. All his attempts at a stronger attack, like an Iron Dragon Roar, were quickly blocked by a wall of earth. Gajeel, however, wasn't so lucky. He was forced to dodge all these flying boulders- and he wasn't able to dodge all of them. He already had some nasty bruises and chipped bones.

Come on, Gajeel, what are you doing? What's wrong with you? Pound this guy so you can get back to pounding Salamander!

The iron dragonslayer bellowed and charged Grant with two Iron Dragon Claws. Grant swatted them aside easily with the side of his arm. "Earth Dragon's…" He then brought his crushing fist down on Gajeel's forehead and slammed him into the dirt. "Skullcracker!"

Gajeel coughed up dirt and blood, struggling to get up at Grant's feet. "You… dirty bastard…"

Grant scowled. "Dirty, am I? I suppose you're no different from the others, even if you are a dragonslayer…"

Shaking, Gajeel pushed himself up to his knees. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?" He gasped in pain when Grant kicked him in the ribs.

"Stay down!" Grant scolded. His foot returned to the earth. "You can't beat me anyway. As long as my Earth Dragon's Roots are implanted, I am immovable. Just stay down there on the ground. Then you'll be the dirty one."

Gajeel grunted and shoved himself to his knees again. "I don't know what you're talking about, but then again, I don't really care. I'm gonna make you suffer. I'm gonna pound you so hard that you'll never even wanna hear the name Fairy Tail!" He slashed weakly at Grant's legs. His sword-arm didn't even scratch Grant's bulging muscles. Grant kicked him in the face, and then started hammering Gajeel's back with two-ton punches.

"You. Are. So. Arrogant," Grant snarled in between punches. "You're just like every other self-centered bastard who looked down on me because of my appearance. You're going to make me suffer? You don't even know what the meaning of suffering is! I'll teach it to you! I'll carve the definition on your back with your blood!"

Grant's next punch halted before it could reach Gajeel's body. The reason being, of course, that Gajeel stopped it with his own Iron Dragon Claw.

"Something I taught Pantherlily a while ago," Gajeel panted, "Is that iron's strength is determined by the conviction of the person who wields it. Earth is strong, but its strength is constant, inelastic. Iron is pure. It adapts and molds with the person who wields it with conviction." Gajeel, trembling with pain, pushed himself to his feet. He was wobbling, swaying- but he was more confident with before. He chuckled to himself gleefully, thinking of what he was about to do.

Grant scowled deeper. "That's very nice inspiration, of course, but I don't-" His sentence was cut short by the loss of air he received after Gajeel punched him in the gut. Gajeel had punched him with his bare fist. Grant's rock-hard abs should have deflected the blow easily. Hell, Gajeel's knuckles should probably be bruised. But instead, there was Grant, lying on his back, winded, both his roots and pride broken.

When Grant got back to his feet, Gajeel had a maniacal smile on his face. "You wanna play, dirty boy? I'll show you the real strength of refined earth!"

Grant's expression contorted into one of pure rage. "You STILL dare to call me that? I will crush your bones into the dirt! Earth Dragon's Terrafists!"

Huge chunks of earth flew out of the earth and began swirling around Grant. They attached themselves all over his arms, coating them in a thick layer of stone fist-like weapons. Other pieces came and covered his body in an interlocking pattern, which formed some kind of armor.

Gajeel grinned and concentrated. His own body became coated in his favorite Iron Dragon Scales. "So it's a defense-focused brawl, is it? Let me see what you got!"

"You'll never out-defend me!" Grant roared.

And so they fought. Grant was the stronger, tougher one, but his earthen armor made him much slower, while Gajeel's scales were simply a different form of his body, so he could move just fine. Gajeel darted around Grant, pummeling him with attacks, but seemed unable to do any lasting noticeable damage. Grant's fists were slow, but when the connected, they hit hard. Gajeel's body made a crater in the side of the tunnel every time he was hit. But he just got right back up and kept on fighting.

Of course, all the while, the tunnel in which they fought grew ever deeper.

Both sides slowly but surely wore themselves down. As the sun climbed higher in the sky, and the two dragonslayers descended lower into the earth, the combatants' armor cracked and corroded from the weight of the blows. Neither side would give up while the other continued to fight on.

Finally, with one final punch, both of their armors shattered at the same time, and they both collapsed to the ground in absolute exhaustion. They were at least thirty feet beneath the surface of the earth.

Gajeel lay on his back, staring at the coming sunlight he could barely see. He heard Grant's voice. "You know, Gajeel, you're all right."

Gajeel grunted back.

Mira grimaced when she turned back to see how Lucy was doing. Not good. A horde of silver wolves surrounded her, snapping at her heels. The pack was only barely held back by Taurus' mighty axe. Mira then knelt down to check on Lisanna. She wasn't doing too well. Her pulse was uneven and weak, and her skin was cold where she'd been hit by Fenra's silver magic blast. The moon-like magic orb that Fenra had placed in the corner of the corridor still bathed the tunnel in an eerie silver glow, but in the shadows beyond the orb's light, she could hear Elfman fighting Fenra. Mira wanted so badly to go help Lucy or her little brother, but right now she had to make sure to tend to Lisanna's wounds.

Suddenly Elfman came flying out of the shadows, his Beast Soul form slowly morphing back to his regular body. Mira saw with horror that Elfman had been terribly ravaged by some sort of claws. He was bleeding heavily through his chest.

The young blond girl stepped into the light. "I believe it's your turn next, Ms. Mirajane."

Mira didn't want to let all her power loose- she was still in the presence of three of her fellow guildmates, and she didn't want to end up hurting them by accident. But the gauntlet had been cast. This little girl had just hurt her little siblings, and no big sister worth their salt would take that lying down.

Mira felt power rush through her body as she felt her demon form take over. Mira didn't hold back any of her power. No messing around with the Satan Soul or Halphas. She went straight for the Sitri. Now, she was used to everything she touched blowing up when she used this form's unimaginable power. She wasn't used to a large werewolf blocking her attack with oversized shaggy claws.

Fenra's voice came as a low growl from the werewolf's mouth. "You think you're the only one who can use takeover magic? I'm the strongest takeover wizard in the entire world!"

A blast of silver magic energy knocked Mirajane off her feet. No one, and she meant no one, had ever been able to do that to Mira's Sitri Soul. It was her strongest form for a reason. But the power Mira sensed coming from Fenra's own takeover form was unlike anything else Mira had ever seen.

Mira's head cleared when she heard Lucy scream. I don't have much time. I've got to do this quickly.

She launched herself at the werewolf again, and again the werewolf blocked Mira's strike and retaliated with a powerful blast of silver magic. "I draw my power from the moon," Fenra boasted. "You won't be able to defeat me."

As Mira continued to fight, she wondered about what Fenra said. Power from the moon? But it's dawn. How could you be getting lunar power at this point?

Her eyes were drawn to the giant silver orb in the corner of the corridor. Of course. She had a plan.

"You know, that village probably deserved to be destroyed," Mira teased. "It was really dirty. Probably full of prostitutes."

Fenra's wolfish face twisted. "WHAT did you say? I knew you people in Fairy Tail were horrible, but never-"

"And the guys were just as bad," Lucy chimed in. Perhaps she had also realized Mira's plan. Or at the very least, she just hoped Mira had one. The thing is, though, Mira didn't really have a plan. She was just trying to distract Fenra to buy time. "They were always dirty and smelly," Lucy continued. "Never showered. Greasy, dirty and slimy. Who knows, maybe destroying the village actually was part of the job and not a side effect!"

"That's it! I'm going to make you all pay for saying such horribly disrespectful things about my village! Lunar Epsilon Starblast!"

A thousand streams of concentrated silver magic energy sprung from the "moon" and pummeled Mira and Lucy relentlessly. Despite the cold pain, Mira kept insulting Fenra's path, inciting her anger more and more. Fenra's screams of anguish filled the halls, joined by Mira and Lucy's screams of pain.

When the moon-orb burst, nobody could see for a couple seconds. The explosion was too bright.

When Lucy's vision cleared, she saw a triumphant Mira standing over a defeated Fenra, in her normal little-girl form.

"You…" Fenra squeaked. "You tricked me…"

Mira turned back into her usual lovely form. "Yes, I'm so sorry. I didn't want to insult the memory of your village like that, but I had to. The weakness of lunar magic is that its user must always remain calm and serene, and by invoking your anger I broke the spell that gave you your power."

"Why are you apologizing? We're enemies!" Fenra protested.

Mira placed a hand on Fenra's forehead. "Maybe, but we also have a lot in common. We both struggle with our inner demons. And I am truly sorry for what happened to your village. I don't know if we can ever repay you."

"You can repay us," came a familiar voice, "With your lives!"

Mira looked upward at who emerged from around the corner and immediately turned the shade of a beet.

It was Ezra Mathin.

I hope you guys liked this chapter! Again, so sorry for not updating sooner. Hope you have a great day!