Sorry 'bout the short chapter. Not much time to write recently.

It took several moments for anyone in the surrounding area to recover from the obnoxious ringing in their ears. The explosion caused by the dragon of clay blew the cannon to pieces. Literally. All that was left of the once massive gun was a gaping hole in the middle of Phantom Lord's guild hall.

The explosion was so bright and loud that people momentarily forgot about the battle of puppets raging on directly above their heads. Even Natsu was affected, having never actually seen Deidara in battle. Of course, Kakashi was fine for the opposite reason.

"Wow!" Mavis gasped, throwing her hands in the air. "That was amazing!" She exclaimed with sparkles in her eyes.

Natsu rubbed his eyes. "Yeah..." He agreed, still slightly groggy.

With no further words, Deidara began weaving hand seals. Just as Natsu had done earlier, he put his palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!" He yelled.

Black markings seemed to spill out from under his palm and formed a spider web around his hand. A plume of smoke appeared. From the smoke came a massive, extremely weird looking bird. And this was no understatement.

It had a wingspan of over fifteen meters, and a full length of about the same. It's feathers were a muddy green, and looked as sharp as one of Erza's blades. It's beak looked akin to a jagged drill, with only a thin line giving away the fact that it had a mouth. It's eyes were two massive orbs of purple, with rings of black covering them both. Three feet protruded from the bottom of the bird, each looking as menacing as the last. But perhaps the strangest part were the two massive black rods pierced through the creatures neck and back. It raised it's head to the sky and let out a fearsome shriek from it's maw.

Mavis stared at the strange crow's eyes. She could tell they were the same as the one Natsu held, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel that they were different somehow. For one, there just wasn't that oppressing feel radiated by them, which was painfully apparent when she was exposed to Natsu's, and second, but more obvious, there was no crosshair marking in either of the bird's eyes.

Erza stared at it in wonder. "Amazing... I've never even seen a wyvern that big!" She said.

Deidara hopped on the bird's back, sitting on one of the black rods pierced through it's back. The giant crow promptly took off, taking to the skies right above the enemy guild hall. From there, the bird began to circle around the castle-like building, allowing Deidara to drop bombs at will.

Kakashi nudged Erza with his elbow. She turned to him with a confused expression. "C'mon!" He began, "Let's go help out the others." Erza smiled and nodded, requipping into her Heaven's Wheel armour to fly over the water. Kakashi just ran over the open ocean like it was solid ground.

Natsu looked at Mavis and was about to say something when suddenly sand flew out of his gourd and wrapped itself around a black, metal pole, stopping it mere inches from the back of his head. Mavis gasped and pointed at something behind him. "Natsu! Watch out!" She warned him.

Natsu turned around only to see one Black Steel Gajeel falling towards him face first, one arm transformed into a metal rod and the other held back, ready to strike once in range. He had a malicious grin from ear to ear, which was accentuated by the sun shining off the iron studs in his face. "Gihihihihi!" He laughed as he got ever closer.

Natsu raised an arm towards him. Sand raced out of the gourd and wrapped itself around his other arm, stopping his progress completely.

Gajeel looked down at his two immobilized arms and only a second later sprung into action. He turned his left arm back from it's iron state, releasing it from Natsu's grasp. To release the other arm he did a complete backflip, kicking the sand away with his foot as it went by.

He landed on the ground in a standing position with a dull thud. Gone was the grin from before, replacing it was a more serious expression. For several moments, Gajeel and Natsu just stared at each other, only seperated by roughly ten meters of open ground. But the silence was interrupted by Mavis.

"Hey! You were the one who destroyed the guild, weren't you!" Mavis shouted, pointing an accusing finger at him.

Gajeel snickered. "Hell yeah that was me." He confirmed. "It was lots'a fun too." He added on.

Mavis folded her arms and huffed, turning her head away. "Well, I'll have you know I worked very hard to build that thing and I'm not very pleased that you littered it with these unfashionable iron sticks." She informed him.

Gajeel sweatdropped. "Eh... ok?..." He replied, uncertain of how he should respond. A second later he thought of something. "How the hell were you around whe this place was built? Fairy Tail is just as old as Phantom!" He wondered aloud.

Mavis took a step back and grinned sheepishly, waving her hands in front of her. "Uhhh... I did... uhh... I'm actually... ermm..." She stuttered. Eventually she decided it wasn't worth the effort. "Y'know what? It's none of your business!"

Natsu peered at Gajeel cautiously. "Who are you, anyway?" He asked.

Gajeel pounded his chest with one fist, grinning proudly. "Black Steel Gajeel, the iron dragon slayer of Phantom Lord. And you are?"

"Natsu." He said simply, unsealing his scythe and readying it in front of him. Gajeel blinked in surprise at the sudden appearance of the weapon, but got over it quickly and charged. He realized that he wouldn't be able to attack, for fear of getting sliced by the blades of Natsu's weapon, so he changed both his arms into iron pillars to avoid this issue.

He began raining heavy blows down upon Natsu, attempting to get through Natsu's guard. He didn't even seem to be expelling any effort, instead holding a cocky grin. Natsu on the other hand looked hard pressed by the relentless assault.

Natsu grit his teeth. Damnit. He thought, as another iron beam striking his weapon jarred his arms. His strikes are too heavy, my scythe can't withstand this pounding! He realized. But it was too late. With one final swing, Gajeel knocked the scythe from Natsu's weakened grip. It went spinning away and landed on the ground with a clatter.

Gajeel didn't let up on the attack. Seeing what he thought was a prime opportunity to get through Natsu's defense, he swung with a devastating right hook that would've taken out any lesser mage.

But the blow never connected. Before Gajeel's metal arm could reach it's intended target, Natsu's face, it was stopped by a thick stream of sand. Natsu quickly counter-attacked, kicking at Gajeel's chest and sending him back.

Gajeel took the kick in stride, going straight into a back flip and landing on his feet. He took a quick moment to analyze what had just happened. It seems that sand is enough to block any blunt attack I throw at it, meaning I have no chance of hitting him unless I can be fast enough that he can't use his sand in time, or I just do something that can go right through it. Gajeel took a deep breath and decided to go with option A first.

Once again, he charged at Natsu. Off on the sidelines, Mavis watched with a grim expression. Damnit! She thought angrily. I can't help Natsu at all! Any spell I use would hit them both, and I have almost no physical strength, so that's out of the question... All she could do was watch and believe in Natsu to beat Black Steel Gajeel. "Mrgrgr..." She growled under her breath.

Natsu had to give Gajeel credit, he was fast. Faster than most jounin probably would be. But not fast enough. Gajeel launched one punch with his right arm, aiming for the left side of Natsu's torso. Once again, he was stopped by an ever flowing stream of sand that had flown out of the container on Natsu's back.

Gajeel watched Natsu's eyes. They were trained on his outstretched fist. Perfect. He thought. Next, he struck with his left arm, using the same maneuver as before, this time aiming at the right side of Natsu's torso. Yet again, his attack was stopped by floating sand, but more importantly, Gajeel noticed Natsu's eyes shift to the arm that just attacked.

Gajeel grinned. Part two of the plan, completed. He said inwardly. bending down into a squat, he swung out with his foot in a low sweep, aiming for Natsu's feet and ankles. Checkmate. He mused, just waiting for the satisfaction of landing a hit.

But the hit never came. To his shock, sand once again came to Natsu's aid, blocking his attack. Natsu wasn't even looking. Before he could even make sense of what had just happened, Natsu drew back his fist, coating it in bright orange fire. He punched Gajeel at point blank with a cry of "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

Gajeel rolled backwards on the ground several meters. As he got back to his feet, he could only stare at the person who he know knew was the second fire dragon slayer of Fairy Tail. God, he thought to himself. Am I the only dragon slayer who isn't a part of Fairy Tail? He wondered.

Natsu rushed forth, orange coloured flames covering each hand. Gajeel turned his hands to iron rods and rushed forward to meet him. Their fists met knuckle to knuckle directly in between them, causing a miniature explosion of fire around them.

As they continued trading blows, it became clear who was the better martial artist. Natsu was landing almost double the hits Gajeel was, and even though Gajeel was hitting harder, it didn't matter. Natsu just had more training and real martial art experience, where as Gajeel just had some sort of street brawl style.

Natsu saw an opening. Gajeel's right arm coming in for a wide hook that was just a little slower than the rest. Natsu took full advantage. Using his own right arm, he slammed Gajeel's incoming blow in the opposite direction, throwing him off balance. With no time for Gajeel to react, he turned around and donkey kicked Gajeel high into the air.

Holding his hand up, he lashed out with his sand. It flew through the sky towards the airborne Gajeel, who had no means to avoid it. Gajeel grit his teeth. Damnit! He thought in anger. Taking a deep breath, he put his hands in front of his mouth. "Iron Dragon's Roar!" He yelled, releasing a devastating tornado of metal shrapnel.

The roar completely overwhelmed the sand coming towards him, cutting right through it and racing towards Natsu at high speeds. Natsu knew the iron dragon slayer would have a roar attack, he just didn't expect it to be so powerful. With only seconds left to spare, he opened his right eye wide and a single sharingan spun to life.

But Gajeel didn't notice. Falling to the ground, he wiped the corners of his mouth and watched the aftermath of his roar attack play out. Did I get him?... He wondered.

As the debris and dust faded away, the answer became obvious."What the hell?!" Gajeel shouted. "I'm certain that attack hit straight on!" Natsu stepped forwards, completely unharmed from Gajeel's roar. There wasn't a scratch on him.

Not hearing an answer, Gajeel growled and ran at Natsu. Natsu stood still, but looked ready none the less. Mavis still watched from the sidelines, slightly worried. Damnit Natsu... I don't know how the hell you avoided that earlier roar... but you'd better have something planned now. She thought.

But then the tactician side of her brain kicked in, giving her a small inkling of an idea. Maybe?... but there's no way that would work, right?...

FLASHBACK

"What's Team Ghost? I thought this was Team Seven?"

Natsu came back into visibility and nodded. "Yeah, it is Team Seven, but Kakashi and I used to be part of a two man team before we left on our decade quest. It was called Team Ghost." He explained.

Mavis tilted her head and brought a finger to her chin. "Why the name 'Team Ghost'?"

Natsu smirked and bent down again. "Because of this." He said. He then proceeded to put his hand into the ground, phasing through it as if it weren't even there.

FLASHBACK END

Mavis's eyes widened at the possibility. Is it possible that he can phase through living people and magic? She wondered in disbelief. Her theory was confirmed shortly when Gajeel got in range of Natsu to throw a punch.

Natsu turned around, with his back now facing the incoming Gajeel. And as Gajeel's fist approached the base of his neck... it went right through him. His body followed soon after, phasing through Natsu like he was nothing more than a projection. Gajeel blinked in surprise. "What the-" He muttered in shock, turning his head.

What he say was Natsu's fist, encased in clear glass, heading straight for his face. There wasn't time to do anything. "Glass Style: Sacred Palm!" Natsu yelled, following through with his attack and sending Gajeel spinning away off the cliff and into the ocean.

Natsu stood up straight and dispelled the glass around his hand. He turned around and saw Mavis standing in front of him with his scythe in hand. "Couldn't you of helped out just a little?" He asked, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin.

Mavis dropped his weapon at his feet and curled into a little ball, facing away from him. "I would've, but all my spells would've hit you at the same t-time!" She exclaimed.

Natsu noticed her shoulder start to shake, and heard small whimpers coming from her small form on the ground. He sweat dropped. "Hey c'mon, I was only joking!" He said, patting her shoulder. But Mavis either didn't hear him or didn't care, because she maintained her position on the ground.

Natsu near face faulted at her blatant ignoring of him. "Don't cry Mavis! It was only a joke!" He continued.

Mavis sniffled. "I-I'm not c-crying! I'm n-not crying a-at all!" She proclaimed indignantly.

Natsu sighed, completely exasperated.

"Is that so?"