Heyo! So yeah, this is still a bit late, I know, please don't kill me, but I've been trying hard to work on this. But as I've said before, I don't get along with the Daphne/Dragonoid saga quite like the rest. However, I slipped in some fun hints to Guildless' past, and I'm extremely excited: I finally finished the art! I've been working for awhile, but we have official cover art now! So, please follow/favorite/review and enjoy chapter 18!

Lynn: Thank you so much! You always have such positive feedback, it makes it so much easier to write when I know what you guys want from my writing! I really hope you like this, and don't worry, Guildless' identity won't be a secret forever...

Guildless soared straight for the dragon's head, landing on the head. She slammed her fists together, announcing, "Pitch Black Cannon!" The column of black pounded against the Dragonoid's face, right between the eyes. The attack didn't seem to be doing much, yet Guildless kept up the barrage until a voice boomed from the monstrosity, "Now now, we can't have you putting scratches in my pretty new dragon!"

Guildless stopped her attack and jumped into the air just as a matching blast of darkness hit where she'd been. Hanging in the air, wings beating quick, she looked down at a strange, humanoid lizard, a pattern on its face like her mask, matching bandages on its arms.

Guildless muttered, "I hate copying magic." She swooped down at the creature, yelling, "Dark Knight!" A sword of shadows appeared in her hands, but the lizard met her with a matching blade. The two pressed against each other with all their strength, Guildless' arms already shaking. She didn't have much in terms of physical strength, but this creature seemed to have muscles beyond her own. She pulled back, slashing again, this time arms jolting painfully as she was pushed back by a matching attack stronger than her own.

Glaring at the creature, she growled, "So you grow stronger, huh? But I doubt you can copy this." She hit her fists together, yelling, "Shade's Rebellion!" The lizard's shadow rose, tackling its original down and off the Dragonoid, both falling too far to be of consequence. Guildless saw Erza facing a cluster of them on the Dragonoid's back.

Guildless started toward her, but Erza saw and ordered, "Stop the Dragonoid! I can handle this!"

Guildless hesitated, then responded, "We'll have Natsu out in no time!" She had to believe that.

Landing on the Dragonoid's head again, she used the shadow sword she still held to slash and stab at where she'd seen Daphne had the control center, but the outside of the Dragonoid seemed to have magical protection.

Guildless started to turn to shadow to try and enter the command center, but another group of lizardmen appeared. Guildless scowled, knowing they'd team up on Erza if she left. She cast her spell yet again, panting as the shadows quickly grappled with their opponents, Guildless forcing the shadows to bring their originals over the side. She was tempted to remove her mask to help get her breath back, but she had to finish this!

Yet it was already too late.

The dragon came to land on the outskirts of Magnolia, Daphne's chipper voice booming again, "That's enough out of you, ya little fly!" The dragon swiped the end of its wing at the girl, Guildless barely jumping back into the sky, but was batted away as it pulled the wing away from its head. Guildless spiraled through the air until she crashed into a rooftop, wings fading slightly.

Guildless groaned, sitting up, growling, "Always me. It's always me to get hit out of the sky."

Standing, swaying on her feet, she stood as tall as she could on the slanted, now broken-tiled rooftop as the Dragonoid loomed over a small figure on the ground. Guildless recognized Erza's deep red hair and turned to shadow, zipping down as a streak of black, reforming for a half second only to grab Erza and pull her down into the shadows as the dragon's giant foot came down. Blasting across the cobblestones, Guildless reformed at the guild hall, gasping for breath on one knee, Erza wide eyed from going from under the boot of a dragon to the cold feeling of being a shadow.

Guildless heaved, "You alright?"

Erza looked at Guildless, the girl's breaths echoing in her mask. It made her feel guilty, thinking about how she'd been cold to Guildless after putting her freedom and safety on the line for the guild so many times already, never hesitating. Erza couldn't understand what seemed to drive her to want to help them, no matter the personal cost. Erza could only answer, "Yes, thank you."

Guildless nodded to her, pushing to her feet. "We... Have to get Natsu free of that thing. Who better to kill a dragon than a Dragon Slayer?"

Erza agreed, "And it might power down once we free him."

Guildless turned her head to the wizards who had assembled on the rooftops, now bombarding the Dragonoid with attacks of every sort. "I suggest we join the fray. The Fairies could use their Queen."

Erza smiled. "And perhaps a protective shadow."

Erza couldn't see under the mask but she had a feeling that Guildless was smiling. "Eh, I'm just here for the ride." They moved up to join the others on the rooftops, staring up at the Dragonoid, watching the others attack.

They yelled to the Dragonoid, Natsu giving the go-ahead to destroy it, even at his cost. Yet Guildless wouldn't accept that. No one's dying on my watch, especially not that idiot.

The dragon flapped its wings, sending a gust of air through the area, the wizards shielding their faces from the breath-stealing force, though Guildless' mask kept her face protected. She turned, sensing another person having joined them. Gray stood on the edge of the next rooftop over.

She blankly said, "Gray."

He admitted, "Okay, I'll be the first to admit I screwed up. But I need all you guys to listen to me. Even though you may not believe what I have to say." He explained the history of the City Without Sound, how Natsu had promised to beat the "one who controls dragons." How he forgot that promise.

Lucy deadpanned. "Are you serious? How could he forget something like that?!"

Erza shook in rage. "I swear! No matter what happens, he just never learns!"

Juvia gushed, "I'm so relieved! I knew my beloved Gray would always be true!"

Guildless didn't respond, barely turning her head in his direction, yet as Juvia cried with joy, Guildless turned ever so slightly away. At least Gray's not held back by old memories anymore. Not like me.

Gray continued, "This was the only way I could think of to make things right. But before we deal with that, we've got to deal with Daphne and her monster."

Carla asked, "And what do you propose we do?"

Several guild members flocked to a man in the street as Guildless appeared next to Gray. She softly said, "Nice to know that I don't need to beat the crap out of you again."

Gray nodded. "Sorry about that earlier. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Guildless shrugged. "I'm fine. Just wishing that we were done with this already."

Gray explained, "Well now we can end it. Gramps said to get him angry."

Guildless cracked her fingers. "Then he's going to get pissed." She hit her knuckles, wings sprouting again and she was in the air again, hitting her fists again in the air. "Natsu, you fucking weakling!"

A roar of pure anger and outrage came. "WHAT?!"

Guildless taunted, "You couldn't beat this even if you tried- not that you have! You gave up!" She pulled her knuckles apart, a sphere of swirling black energy hovering between her hands. "So here's the stronger fighter claiming their win!" The sphere was growing, her hands coming farther apart to make room for it. "Shadow Barrage!" The sphere erupted into hundreds of comets of darkness that struck all at the chest of the Dragonoid.

Yet she could only scrape off chunks of the massive chest piece.

Natsu's voice rang angrily, "Shut up, you're not all that strong, Guildless! You're gonna pay for callin' me weak!"

Guildless taunted, "Then make me pay, Dragneel!"

"I will- um, Guildless!" Guildless rolled her eyes at his lack of creativity.

All she could think was to insult him as she sent every attack she had her way, the flashes of Erza's swords the only thing in the corner of her eye.

Until the double magic circle appeared in the sky. Water exploded from the canals and rained back down as lances of ice.

Guildless turned, looking at the two blue-haired mages on the roof. They're good together. They work well as a team. Guildless couldn't have explained why this seemed to stab at her heart. Perhaps it was the differences from back when they were all kids. Maybe it was that she could see Gray had long since forgotten her ace.

She looked away, focusing herself on her insults and attacks again, chest rising and falling rapidly. "You pink-haired, stupid, food-obsessed dumbass!"

Needles of shadows rained down on the Dragonoid as Natsu whined, "Now you're just being an ass, Guildless!"

"Listen up you pink-haired freak!"

Natsu's outrage now pointed at Gray. "What'd you say?!"

Gray continued, "Are you seriously that helpless, man? It's pathetic! I should've known you were nothing but a bunch of hot air! We're getting real tired of this lame comedy routine you're doing in there, so man up already!"

Natsu hissed, "Cool it, freezer burn!"

"You know, a real Fairy Tail wizard never forgets a promise!" And from there, Guildless' ears rang too much to hear the following insults.

A promise.

She'd made a promise so long ago... Though she hadn't forgotten. It was why she was at Fairy Tail at this very moment. But her crime was much worse than Natsu's. She hadn't forgotten- she was purposely avoiding following through.

Here she was, wishing so much it could feel like the old days, the days when she lived in the little mountain village of Tione, back when she'd been travelling without having to hide her face.

Back when she'd met the Fairy Tail guild as a child.

It was scary how similar it all was. They all were so much like they had been before... Yet she was different. She no longer answered to the name-

Her thoughts were severed by the sudden flash of red in her vision. Guildless turned to shadow as the sky was broken by a pillar of fire. She reformed on the rooftops, staring at the Dragonoid. She'd known Natsu was powerful but this... This was beyond powerful.

Natsu's rage built until the Dragonoid was no longer functioning correctly, spewing smoke and fire from the cracks.

Suddenly, Gajeel was in the air, drilling into the chest piece, shattering it easily.

Flaming arrows gave Natsu a massive powerup, breaking through the Dragonoid, digging for Daphne until we knew he'd found his mark, a massive column of flames marking his victory.

The guild gathered around the Dragonoid's remains, laughing at the arguing duo of Natsu and Gray, yet Guildless stayed on the rooftop, watching over them. She wished with all her being she could take off the mask, go be one of them but she knew she never could.

"I'm not a monster. Not yet."

"You never will be, child." Guildless didn't even turn to Makarov's voice. "Not if you stay."

Guildless brushed the stray hairs from the edge of her vision. "Then I guess I really am doomed. I can't stay, Makarov. I never can. I just have to keep away from Shadow."

Makarov sighed. "You can't live alone forever. You know where you belong."

Guildless insisted, "And that's why I'm staying away." She turned to shadow, disappearing to who knows where, Makarov closing his eyes.

"We'll save you, child. We won't abandon you."