Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Fairy Tail—The Master and the Dragon

Chapter 63

"Oh, wow!" Christina breathed as she leaned forward. "These are all so incredible!"

The old merchant smirked. "You have quite the eye, young lady. These are some of the finest arrows in all of Earth Land."

Christina's eyes sparkled and her mouth hung open as she marveled at all of the different arrows that she was seeing. "I never thought that arrows could be so beautiful."

"I guess yours were always wooden, huh?" Gray asked with a smile.

Christina absently nodded. "Yeah."

"See anything you like?" Mira inquired.

"There are so many different kinds that I just don't know what's best," Christina admitted. She straightened up and rested her thin finger against her chin. "Maybe I should just go as simple as possible since that's what I'm used to."

"Oh, come on. Live a little!" Gracie exclaimed as she sifted through the various barrels of arrows. "Try something new. It's more fun that way!"

"Well okay," Christina said. "Excuse me, sir, but what is your best arrow in your opinion?"

"Now we're talkin'!" Gracie cheered.

The old merchant grinned. "If it's the best of the best that you're looking for, then look no further than this sweet thing here." He reached into a somewhat hidden barrel and pulled out a slender and sleek black arrow. The tip was slightly more silver than the shaft or feathers, but still was exceptionally dark. It almost seemed to absorb the sunlight as only the faintest shine could be seen on the arrowhead. He held it out to Christina on his palms. "Take a look at this beauty here."

Christina took the arrow carefully as if she were afraid to shatter it like a cracked egg. She held it up close and admired it. "It's remarkable."

The old merchant crossed his arms smugly as his grin widened. "Isn't it? Made it myself."

Gracie took the arrow from Christina, but was far less delicate with her handling of it. She turned it over in her hands and looked at it from almost every possible angle. "It's incredibly light. What's it made of?"

"I'm glad you asked," the old merchant said. "Those arrows are fashioned from a very light yet very durable hollow wood. However, what makes it exceptionally special is what's inside of the wood."

"What would that be?" Gracie asked as she held it up to her ear and shook it as if she were expecting dry rice to be inside.

"Ground up dragon scales," the old merchant replied.

Gracie froze. "Dragon scales, huh?" she said, her voice soft yet somewhat menacing.

"Yes," the old merchant said with a smile, completely oblivious to Gracie's change in demeanor. "Legend says that the dragon scales will ensure that the arrow will fly true, no matter the conditions. The scales also give the arrow a solid weight and power for a more lethal shot. You'd be wise to pick these arrows. They'll do you well."

Suddenly, the sound of cracking wood could be heard as Gracie clenched her fist, effectively snapping the arrow in half.

The old merchant nearly had a heart attack. "What the hell do you think you're doing to my merchandise, you crazy bitch? You better pay me for that!"

Gracie paid the man no mind as she bent down and perused the spilled contents of the arrow. Her mind immediately went to Nikolias as she recalled the Dragon Hunter that she had come across in Freesia Town. She remembered the fear in his eyes when he saw the weapon that had caused dragons so much pain. And now, to think that there was this weapon created using dragon scales…it just made her so angry for some reason. Maybe it was because she missed Nikolias. Not having him beside her was eating away at her more and more each day.

"Gracie, is everything okay?" Lucy asked.

Gracie sighed as she stood back up. "Sorry, lost my cool there for a sec."

"So are you gonna pay me now or what?" the old merchant snapped.

Gracie glared at the man as she held up a small black object in front of him. It was pinched firmly between her thumb and two fingers as she slightly waved it. "No, I won't pay you. I don't like being tricked."

"Tricked?" the old merchant repeated. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Gracie walked closer to the man until she was practically standing on his feet. "Do I really have to spell it out for you? Fine, I will. I like talking, so I really have no problem doing so." She brought her hand and the black object closer. "This, my dear con artist, is not a dragon scale. It's just a leaf with a surprisingly thick cuticle that you soaked in black stain." She threw it at him. "Dragon scale my ass."

Christina looked at Gracie in wonder. "Wow, Gracie! How did you know all that?"

Gray chuckled. "Leave it to Gracie to put a guy in his place."

Natsu scratched his head. "Cu-what?"

Happy patted Natsu's leg. "Don't hurt yourself, Natsu."

Gracie put her hands on her hips. "So no, sir, I will not pay you for trying to pass off a cheap piece of shit to my adorable friend here."

The old man gritted his teeth. "It's not a leaf! It's a dragon scale! How dare you insult my honor!"

"If Gracie says that it's not a dragon scale, then it's not," Erza said, looking at the merchant with a serious glare.

The man gulped but didn't back down. "What proof do you have? Dragon scales are nearly impossible to find, so how would you know what they look and feel like?"

"Because I've touched dragon scales maybe a thousand times in the past ten—no, seventeen years," Gracie replied. "I mean, I only touched them for ten, but it's been seventeen, you know?"

"No, you couldn't have!" the old merchant exclaimed. "Dragons no longer exist! They're all gone!"

Gracie put her foot up on the lip of a barrel, draped her arm over her thigh and leaned forward while narrowing her eyes. "Really? So then how'd you get them?"

"I found them in a cave," the merchant replied.

"Bull shit~!" Gracie sang. "Wanna know a secret? Dragon scales can't last very long once a dragon has shed them."

"And how'd you know?"

"I already explained this to you. Geez, you don't listen too well. Oh wait, maybe you're going senile. Is that it?" She leaned in closer and shouted, "Do you know where you are right now?"

The old merchant was starting to see red. "Now look here…"

Before he could finish, Gracie grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him in close. "We got a little off track there, so allow me to sum up," she said very softly. "I don't like being tricked. So here's what's going to happen. You're going to give my lovely friend Christina fifty of your actual best arrows for no charge and I won't broadcast to the entire town that you're arrows are cheap toys that can't be trusted."

"You wouldn't dare," the old merchant hissed.

Gracie grinned evilly. "Oh trust me, I will. I can be very loud and I'm surprisingly shameless."

The two had a glaring contest for a while before the old merchant sighed. "Fine. You win." Gracie released him and he straightened his shirt. "Can't risk my livelihood on a few arrows." He picked up three quivers from one of the more hidden barrels and handed them to Gracie. "There. That's sixty arrows, twenty in each quiver. Now get the hell outta here."

Gracie gave the merchant a smile. "Wow, that's awfully kind of you, sir. Thank you very much." She handed the arrows to Christina. "Mission accomplished!"

Christina took the arrows, but her eyes never left Gracie and her mouth remained open. "Wow, Gracie. That was…something."

"That's just Gracie," Gray said with a smile.

Gracie pointed to the sky. "I'm number one! Anyway, now that we've gotten some more food rations and a whole bunch of arrows for Christina, let's head out!"

"Sounds like a plan," Erza said.

"Where's the exit to this place?" Gajeel said as he looked around. "It's so damn big I can't tell where we are."

Gracie spun on her heels until she had completely turned around. She pointed ahead as she stood completely rigid. "That way to the exit! Now onward, my brave soldiers!" She then began to march off with the rest of the group close behind.

"Hey, Mira," Christina whispered as she leaned to her left.

"Yes?" Mira asked.

"How does Gracie know so much about dragons?"

Mira giggled. "Oh, you'll see very soon."

Christina blinked. "Um…okay."

The old merchant watched the group leave with a scowl. "That bitch. How the hell did she know about the leaves?" He was so focused on sending death glares at the blonde that bested him that he didn't even notice the giggling pink haired woman in a scandalous outfit that walked past him.


"Master Jarvan! Master Jarvan!" Vyril exclaimed as he shuffled over as fast as he could.

Jarvan sat up in his seat where he had been hunched over a microscope. His luck still hadn't changed, so his face was twisted into a scowl. "This had better be good, Vyril. I'm trying to extract precious data from this blood sample and unneeded distractions will result in severe consequences."

The threat barely registered in Vyril's mind, for he was still beaming with excitement. "Oh I promise you that you won't regret this!"

Jarvan sighed. "Very well. What is it?"

The old scientist stopped in front of his boss and pointed at the Petri dish that sat in his hand. "I have here a sample of muscle tissue from the Half-Dragon. I ran some diagnostic tests on it and you know what I found?" He didn't wait for an answer as he slid the tissue underneath a vacated microscope, fussed with the dials, and presented it to Jarvan. "This muscle tissue is like nothing I've ever seen!"

Jarvan looked through the eye piece and studied the tissue. The longer he looked, the more and more he smiled. He slowly lifted his head and looked at Vyril. "Vyril, you never cease to amaze me."

"I'm so glad that you're pleased, Master Jarvan."

Jarvan laughed. "This is it! This is the ever-so elusive clue! I see where everything went wrong! Keep up your excellent work, Vyril. I look forward to hearing about anything else that you find."

Vyril gave a small bow. "Of course, Master Jarvan!" He then shuffled back to his lab with glee.

Jarvan returned to the microscope that had the blood, gave it a quick look, and chuckled. "That's it. I see it now." He lifted his head, a dark expression on his face. "Finally I can move forward."


"Let's see…the exit is this way, I think," Gracie said as she pointed to the right.

"How do you not know?" Gajeel groaned. The group had been walking around in all directions for quite some time without a single sign as to where the exit was. They were currently stopped at an intersection. "I thought you knew how to navigate this place."

Gracie shot him a glare. "It's not like I've ever lived here before. Niky and I only visited once. I don't have the damn place memorized."

"That didn't stop you in Wayhaven," Gajeel grumbled.

"If you haven't noticed, Rolen is easily ten times bigger than Wayhaven," Gracie replied.

Levy tapped Gajeel's arm. "Calm down, Gajeel. Just leave it all to Gracie. She'll find the exit soon."

Gajeel tsked before looking away. "Fine, whatever."

"We all want to find the exit quickly, Gajeel," Mira said, "but we do have to have some patience. If we get too stressed out, it will only make things worse."

"Alright, I got it," Gajeel said.

"So you're sure it's that way?" Erza asked as she looked to the right.

"Pretty sure, yeah," Gracie said while scratching her head. "We're at least heading in the right direction."

"Then let's go that way," Erza said.

"You're close. It's actually this way," came a strange, feminine voice. The group turned to see an attractive young woman with pink hair standing off to their left. She was wearing a skin tight red shirt that covered her from just above the peak of her large breasts down to her belly button, a pair of black pants, and running sneakers that looked extremely worn. She wore ruby red lipstick and heavy black eyeliner that made her blue eyes stand out. She grinned at the group as she slowly strolled forward until she was right in front of them. "Hi there."

"Oh, thanks for the directions," Lucy said. "Umm…who are you?"

"My name is Diane," the woman replied. "I'm so glad that I found you all so quickly."

"You were looking for us?" Erza asked, immediately feeling uneasy around this woman. Why would this complete stranger be looking for them?

"Yes I was," Diane said.

"Why?" Gracie asked.

Diane's grin widened. "Why you ask? Well you see, I was looking for you, Gracie Amier."

Gracie took a step back. "How the hell do you know my name?"

Diane waved her hand in front of her face. "That's not important. Now please come with me quickly and quietly. I really want to get back soon so that I can be with my lover boy." She hugged her body. "Oh, I miss him so much already!"

"Like hell I'd go anywhere with you!" Gracie spat. "I've got things to do. I may find it weird that you know my name, but I don't have time to worry about it, so please just get out of our way."

Diane sighed. "How annoying. I was hoping that you could be reasoned with."

"Why are you after Gracie?" Christina asked.

"I don't pretend to know what the Boss Man has in mind," Diane replied. "All I know is that I'm to bring little miss Blondie back with me alive. Last chance to come peacefully and save you and your friends a world of pain."

Gracie glared at the woman. "Last chance to get out of our way."

Diane shrugged. "Fine, have it your way. I haven't killed anyone in a while, so this'll be fun." She licked her lips and smiled sadistically. "I can't wait to hear what your screams sound like."

"Geez, this woman is twisted," Gray said.

Diane giggled. "You're almost as cold as my lover boy, but he's far more handsome." She held her arms out to the side with her palms facing the sky. "I hope you're ready for the consequences, Gracie. Your attitude has just killed your friends."

In a flash of light, Gracie had summoned her katanas and twirled them in her hands. "Threatening my friends? Yeah, not smart on your part, bubblegum."

Diane giggled. "Oh, so you're a fighter. Good. It's far more fun when I can get a bit of a workout. Otherwise, it's just boring." She pressed her fingers into her palms and the sound of whirring gears and hissing steam could be heard. Diane removed her fingers and everyone watched as small metal pieces flowed from her palms and began encasing her hands. The metal continued to build upon itself and expand at a rapid pace until Diane's entire hands and part of her forearms were covered by large mechanic gauntlets. Steam poured from the sides of her gauntlets and she lifted them up. "Now, show me what makes you so interesting, Gracie Amier."

Frightened citizens ran away in all directions upon seeing the two women with weapons about to fight in the middle of the street. Before long, the only ones outside in the area were the group of Fairy Tail wizards and Diane.

Diane raised her fists. "So how would you like to do this? Just you and me at first and then I'll kill your friends? Or would you rather all of you come at me at once? I'm ever so considerate, so I'll give you the choice."

"If that's the case, we'll all fight you at once," Erza said as she stood by Gracie. "You underestimate us if you think that you can fight ten people on your own."

Diane's smirk never left. "If that's the way you feel, then by all means, show me how outclassed I am."

"This bitch is pissing me off," Gajeel growled. "Let's break those pretty little toys of hers. They look pretty tasty."

Natsu's hands became engulfed in flames. "We'll show her what it means to mess with Fairy Tail!"

Diane lifted one of her gauntlets and beckoned them to come forward. "Bring it on, boys."

Natsu and Gajeel both charged with a fierce battle cry.

Gray used his Ice-Make Magic to create an ice hammer. "No way am I letting you two have all of the fun!"

Erza had requipped into her Black Wing Armor and charged with her sword drawn back. "Prepare yourself!"

Lucy whipped out one of her keys. "OPEN! GATE OF THE GOLDEN BULL! TAURUS!" In a flash of light, Taurus appeared. "Taurus, take down that woman over there!"

Taurus smirked as he charged. "That's my Luuuuucy! Always giving me some newwwww eye candy and this one's a babe!"

"Just take her down!" Lucy snapped at her perverted spirit.

Gracie ran alongside her friends with her katanas at the ready. "We'll see who gets the last laugh here!"

Diane giggled at the six charging opponents. "Come now, don't make it so easy for me. I told you I wanted more of a challenge." She cocked back her right gauntlet as the sound of whirring machine parts could be heard. "I want more time to hear you scream!" She unleashed a powerful punch at the air directed at the charging Fairy Tail members. The force of the punch was so strong that it sent forth a concussive blast of wind and debris that completely pushed back all six of the Fairy Tail members, causing all of them to fall and roll along the ground.

"Are you all okay?" Wendy asked.

Gracie pushed herself up. "What the hell was that?" she groaned.

Diane frowned. "I suppose I should have used more power. None of you screamed in agony."

"What are those things?" Gray asked as he got to his feet.

Diane struck a pose and lifted her gauntlets high above her head. "You like? These are my high-powered mechanical gauntlets. These lovely creations were of my own making and pack enough of a punch to break apart a building with the flick of a pinky. I was so well-known for my destructive power in Seven that I was given the name Diane the Punisher. I rather like it. Don't you?"

"This woman is seriously fucked up in the head," Gajeel growled.

Diane purred. "Careful there, stud. I've already got a man, so saying such things won't get you anywhere."

"I thought she was just a sadist, but it turns out that there's a bit of masochism in her as well," Gracie said. She sprang forward with her katanas at the ready. "I'm more than happy to bring some pain your way!"

Diane took an offensive stance. "I can't wait to hear you scream!"

Gracie grinned as she charged. 'With the size of those gauntlets, she's going to hit like a truck, but her speed is going to go way down. If I can get in close, she won't be able to counter me and I can end this quickly.' She moved her katanas in front of her so that the hilts were directly in front of her and the blades went out to the sides. She would soon be upon Diane and she had already pinpointed an opening to strike. With a fierce battle cry, she pushed off of the ground hard and lunged at Diane.

Diane smirked and quickly moved her left gauntlet to block Gracie's attack. The blade of the katana deflected off of the metal and upset Gracie's balance to her right. Diane used the opportunity to throw a fast punch with her right gauntlet at the stumbling blonde.

Gracie was too surprised by Diane's speed to muster a block. The right gauntlet collided with the side of her body hard, causing her to cough up blood as she screamed in agony and went skidding along the road.

"Gracie!" Christina exclaimed.

Diane blushed and squirmed slightly. "That's much better. The sound of agony that you just made was so good."

"You crazy bitch!" Gray hollered.

Gracie grunted as she slowly pushed herself to her elbows. "Damn it. How was she able to move so fast? Those things have to weigh a ton."

Diane started walking over to Gracie. "So do you give up? That would make things easier for you. Personally, I don't care either way. If you keep fighting, I get to let loose a bit more, which I don't get to do often. On the other hand, if you surrender, I'll be able to return to my lover boy sooner. So what's it gonna be?"

Gracie was still struggling to move as her hand quickly went to her left side where Diane's hit landed. She was sure that multiple ribs were fractured and that made moving difficult. "I already told you that I'm not going anywhere with you."

Diane shrugged. "Suit yourself." She then started to run at Gracie with her gauntlets drawn back. "I'll make you beg for death before this day ends!"

"Stay away from her!" Natsu roared. "FIRE DRAGON ROAR!" A column of fire erupted from his mouth and barreled towards Diane. The woman had to stop short and quickly leap away. "Damn, I missed," he growled.

Diane hummed. "Interesting. It seems that you wish to die first, my fellow pink-haired friend." She giggled evilly and blushed. "I don't mind accepting that request."

"You won't be killing anyone!" Lucy shouted. "Get her, Taurus!"

Taurus suddenly appeared behind Diane and chuckled. "Turning your back to me sure was a treat, but it was a bad decision!" the spirit shouted as he swung his axe at Diane.

The woman just smirked, quickly moved her right arm behind her, and easily caught Taurus' axe. She shot the spirit a sideways grin. "Oh please, you think that your little toy axe can do anything against me?" She gripped the axe head tightly and threw it along with Taurus back at the Fairy Tail mages. "Don't make me laugh!"

Taurus hit the ground hard and disappeared with a quick apology.

"No way," Lucy breathed. "She outmuscled Taurus with one hand? How strong is she?"

Gracie had somehow managed to make it to her feet, but her hand still clutched her side and she was wincing from the sheer pain. 'This is bad. With this wound, I can't move fast enough to remotely counter her strength.' She gritted her teeth. 'Damn it, I was careless and now I'm at a serious disadvantage.'

Diane looked back at Gracie. "My, on our feet are we? I'll give you credit for being tough." She giggled and blushed. "I love people who can take a lot of pain. It's just like my lover boy." She held herself tightly. "The amount of pain that he goes through every minute of every day just makes me want to dominate him all day long!"

"You're twisted," Gracie hissed as she tried her best to ignore the pain and took a battle-ready stance.

Suddenly, a blur of black could be seen flying at Diane. The pink-haired woman was able to react in time to block the attack of the fast moving Erza. "Sit out for a while and get treated, Gracie," Erza said as she pushed against Diane's gauntlet with all of her strength. "We'll take care of things for now."

"But Erza…," Gracie began.

"No buts," Gray said as he took his Maker stance. "You're in no shape to do anything right now. Just have faith in us and don't feel like you have to shoulder everything yourself."

Gracie smiled at him. "Okay. Just don't die on me."

"Wouldn't dream of it. ICE MAKE LANCE!" Gray shouted as he fired hundreds of ice shards at Diane.

Diane easily pushed Erza away and leapt back to dodge the attack. "Now we're getting somewhere!"

Gracie hobbled over to where Wendy, Mira, Levy, Christina, Happy, and Carla stood. As soon as she reached them, she closed her eyes in pain and fell to the ground.

"Gracie!" Wendy cried worriedly.

"Are you okay?" Mira asked.

"I'll live," Gracie rasped. "I just can't get over how quickly she can move with those giant fists."

"It's impressive," Christina admitted.

"Here, I'll heal you," Wendy offered.

"Thanks, Wendy," Gracie smiled.

Wendy returned the smile as she immediately went to work mending Gracie's wounds.

Meanwhile, Natsu, Gray, Erza, Lucy, Gajeel, and Panther Lily worked to bring down Diane. Unfortunately, she had an impressive combination of strength, speed, and mobility that allowed her to dodge, counter strike, and attack with ease. No one could land a hit.

"Damn, she's slippery," Gajeel grumbled.

Panther Lily, who was in his Edolas form, held his sword at the ready. "She's clearly been well-trained. Her strength is incredibly deceptive."

"Like hell I'm giving up," Natsu said. "I'll hit her eventually."

"We need to protect Gracie with everything we have," Erza said.

"I'm going to help, too." Everyone turned to see Mira running up to the group. "I'm going to help you all fight."

Erza smiled. "Right. With you helping, I'm sure we'll take her down in no time."

Mira smiled as a magic circle appeared above her and, in a flash of light, she had taken her Satan Soul form. She grinned at Diane. "I don't enjoy taking this form that much, but you're getting in our way and I won't allow it."

Diane giggled. "This is becoming more and more fun by the second!"

Mira lifted her hands to her chest and collected a sphere of Darkness Magic. "EVIL EXPLOSION!" she cried and fired the blast at Diane.

The woman barely managed to evade the attack and whistled as she landed a safe distance away. "Wow. That power was something else."

Mira gritted her teeth. "Damn."

"Keep on fighting, everyone," Erza said. "We must not give up."

"Right!" the group cheered and kept up their assault.

"Foolish of you, but fun for me!" Diane exclaimed as she cocked back her fist and unleashed an even more powerful punch at the air, sending out an even greater concussive blast that sent the Fairy Tail wizards flying. They all hit the ground with small cries, which made Daine shudder with excitement. "Oh yeah, that's it. Scream for me more!"

Gracie watched the whole thing from where she was sitting and being healed, carefully analyzing everything she could about Diane. 'She can hit from a distance by somehow charging up air pressure inside of her gauntlets and releasing it. Not that she needs any kind of crowd control with that kind of strength, but it's definitely a nifty tool for her if she needs to keep her distance. Also, she's got insanely good reflexes to go along with her speed, strength, and mobility. That's how she's able to dodge these attacks; she's able to quickly read the direction and make her move all in a split second. However, she's always leaping backwards to dodge. That means if we can cut off her retreat, we may actually be able to get something done.'

Wendy lowered her hands. "All set! You shouldn't feel any pain now."

Gracie leapt to her feet and stretched her body. "Wow, you're amazing as always, Wendy! I'm as good as new and ready to kick some pink bitch ass!"

Christina giggled. "You certainly are in the same great spirits."

Gracie winked at her. "You know it!" She then returned her attention to the fight. Her friends had managed to get up and continue attacking, but were still struggling to land a single hit. She narrowed her eyes. "Hey you guys. You think you can help me out with something?"

"Sure, what is it?" Levy asked.

"I have a plan to take down this psycho, but I need you guys to be the ones to relay the message to the others while I get in position. Think you can handle it?"

Happy raised a paw. "Aye! You can count on us!"

Gracie smiled. "Good. Now listen up."

Diane lifted her gauntlets and slammed them into the ground. "Dance, my puppets!" The earth began to shake and split open as the fractures swiftly traveled towards the Fairy Tail mages. They were able to leap away, but Diane was ready for this. She had already lifted both gauntlets and drawn them back. "Now die!" She unleashed twin powerful punches that released even stronger blasts of air and sent everyone flying backwards. They all crashed into the ground or the wall of a building with agonized cries. She licked her lips. "This is so good for me. Are you enjoying this as much as I am?"

Gray pushed himself to his hands and knees, cuts covering his bare torso. "Damn. She's getting stronger by the minute."

"No matter what we throw at her, she just dodges it," Lucy said as she picked back up her Fleuve d'étoiles.

"I'll be damned if I let this bat-shit crazy lunatic beat me," Gajeel growled as he brushed off wood scraps from the cart that he crashed into.

Erza stood up and readied her weapon, ignoring the small trickle of blood that was running slowly down her forehead. "We have to keep fighting. For Gracie's sake, we can't give up."

"Right," Mira said with a smile. "We need to end this quickly so that we can get back on the road."

"Everyone!" Wendy called out as she, Christina, Levy, Happy, and Carla joined the group. "We're going to fight, too."

"Even you, Christina?" Panther Lily asked.

Christina nodded as she nocked an arrow. "Yes. I want to help, too."

"Okay, then," Erza said. "Just be careful."

"Let's hit her with every long range attack we've got!" Levy said.

Gajeel looked at her. "Are you serious, shrimp? Why do we have to keep our distance? It hasn't helped us at all."

"Just trust me, Gajeel," she said softly while meeting his gaze. "This will work."

Gajeel looked away to hide his slight blush. "Fine, I'll trust ya. You're smart enough to know what you're doing."

Levy smiled at him with a slight blush. "Thank you."

Happy grabbed Natsu. "You ready, Natsu?"

"Hell yeah!" Natsu said while pumping his fist.

Carla grabbed Wendy. "All at once now!"

Erza requipped into her Lightning Empress Armor and smiled. "Okay then. All at once!"

Panther Lily returned to his small form and lifted Gajeel. "I sure hope this works."

Lucy whipped out the key for Scorpio. "OPEN! GATE OF THE SCORPION! SCORPIO!"

In a flash of light, Scorpio appeared. "Hell yeah! Let's rock this!"

Diane smirked and licked her lips. "I love that you want more pain. I can feel the excitement running through my entire body." She lifted her gauntlets. "I'm starting to feel really turned on now, so I'm gonna end this all quickly so that I can get back to my lover boy." She cocked back her gauntlets and began to charge another blast.

"Quick, before she can fire!" Erza cried. "Attack!"

Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy took to the skies with the aid of Happy, Carla, and Panther Lily. "FIRE DRAGON…," Natsu began as he took a deep breath.

"IRON DRAGON…," Gajeel began as he inhaled deeply.

"SKY DRAGON…," Wendy said as she breathed deeply.

"ROAR!" they all simultaneously cried as they fired their attacks at Diane.

"Take this!" Erza cried as she fired a beam of electricity directly at Diane with her spear.

"Scorpio, take her down!" Lucy shouted.

"Alright! SAND BUSTER!" Scorpio cried as he released a tornado of sand from his tail that headed straight for Diane.

Mira collected a sphere of Darkness Magic. "EVIL EXPLOSION!" she cried and fired the attack at Diane.

Gray created a cannon made of ice. "ICE MAKE ICE CANNON!" he cried and fired a blast of ice at Diane.

Levy lifted her hands to her chest. "SOLID SCRIPT: FIRE!" she cried as she wrote the word 'fire' in the air. FIRE appeared in large 3-D letters before it went flying at Diane as red hot flames.

Christina lifted her bow and aimed it at Diane. "For Gracie and her brother and everyone else in Fairy Tail!" she cried as she fired her arrow at Diane.

All of the attacks barreled towards Diane, but she never stopped smirking. With her fists still drawn back, she leapt backwards and managed to evade the massive onslaught of attacks as they all met with the ground. "Nice try," she purred.

"You're pretty predictable."

Diane turned her head in surprise to see Gracie standing behind her, her halberd gripped firmly in her hands and a confident grin on her face. "When did you get there?" she asked in disbelief.

Gracie didn't answer. With a fierce cry, she thrust her halberd's tip forward.

Diane was quick, though. She was able to redirect her body enough to use one of her gauntlets to block the attack. She landed on the ground unharmed, but Gracie was charging with renewed fire in her eyes.

"I won't be fooled by your speed again," Gracie said as she swiftly swung her halberd at Diane.

Diane had to move as fast as she could just to block Gracie's strikes. She had no time to prepare any form of a counter. "Wow. You're pretty impressive."

"Glad you think so," Gracie said. She then swung her halberd upwards with such force that Diane was knocked slightly off-balance. However, it was enough of a window for Gracie to spin swiftly around and slash at Diane horizontally with the axe blade. The attack met with flesh, slicing through Diane's abdomen.

Diane hissed in pain as she leapt away. "You bitch!"

"What's the matter? Can't handle the pain?" Gracie taunted.

Diane gritted her teeth as her gauntlets began to hum louder than before. "That's it. No more miss nice girl. I'm supposed to bring you back alive, but ripping off your limbs won't kill you!" She then dashed forward with more speed than anyone had seen from her before. She threw a swift and powerful punch right at Gracie.

Gracie managed to see it with enough time to block it. "I told you that I won't be fooled by your speed anymore!" Gracie said as she fought back against Diane's strength.

Diane threw another punch at Gracie, but she ducked and performed a back handspring to get out of the way. Diane kept charging and kept trying to land a hit. "Just lie down and bleed while screaming for mercy!"

Gracie evaded or blocked every attack. "You're a pretty good close combat fighter, but you lack composure. One little cut and you become hysterical."

Diane was practically foaming at the mouth from rage, her blue eyes wide and wild. "Shut up!" she shrieked. Her gauntlets hummed even louder and, with an angry cry, she clapped her gauntlets together, releasing an intense wave of air that sent Gracie flying into the side of a building.

"Gracie!" Gray shouted. "Get up!"

Gracie slowly got to her hands and knees and looked up at the furious Diane. "Damn. There's really no way to block that wind attack."

Diane was breathing heavily as she tried desperately to control her anger. "I'm going to enjoy your screams as you beg for death, knowing full well that it will never come."

Gracie smirked. "Bring it on, bitch."

Diane shrieked at Gracie and was about to attack when she suddenly fell to her knees. "Wh…what?"

Gracie got to her feet. "You know, you really shouldn't move around so much with that kind of wound. If you're not careful, you'll bleed out."

Diane looked down and her eyes widened. The cut that Gracie had inflicted had widened and blood was soaking her red shirt. "No way…," she said softly.

Gracie pointed her halberd's tip at Diane's throat. "I'll give you one chance at redemption. Tell me why you were after me and who sent you and I'll consider sparing your life."

Diane giggled. "I have no idea why I was sent after you. I'm still new, after all. And as for who sent me, I'm afraid I can't divulge that information."

Gracie tightened her grip. "New where? Tell me who sent you!" she demanded.

Diane looked up at Gracie, blood trickling from the corners of her mouth. "I really wanted to spend more time with my lover boy. I guess that dream will never come true."

"Answer me!" Gracie shouted. "If you think I won't kill you, you're sorely mistaken."

Diane closed her eyes and pressed her fingers into the palms of her hands. As soon as she removed them, everyone could hear a steady beeping noise. "Time to say goodbye. The curtain must close on the great Diane the Punisher."

"What did you just do?" Gracie asked.

"Gracie, get out of there!" Erza called out.

"No! Not until she tells me what I want to know!" Gracie shouted back. "Two people come after us in the course of two days and they both somehow know my name? No, I want answers and I want them now!"

Diane slightly opened her eyes. "You won't get your answers. You've lost. And he will win in the end. He always does."

"Who is he?" Gracie hissed as she pressed the tip of her halberd onto Diane's neck, letting some blood trickle down her skin.

"Bye bye, lover boy," Diane said softly as she closed her eyes once more. "Bye bye, Gracie Amier."

"Gracie!" Gray cried as he lunged at Gracie, knocked her away, and tackled her to the ground. Not more than a second later, Diane's gauntlets exploded. Shrapnel flew everywhere as a raging fire and smoke rose into the air. Gray covered Gracie with his body as best he could to protect her from the fire and metal that he could feel grazing his skin.

Once the smoke had died down and Natsu had consumed the fire, everyone ran over to Gray and Gracie. "Are you two alright?" Lucy asked.

Gray groaned as he sat up. "Yeah, I'm good." He looked down at Gracie. "How about you?"

Gracie kept her gaze on the sky that was now blanketed by thick black smoke. "Fucking coward chose to blow herself up."

"It's okay, Gracie," Mira said gently. "It's over now. We can keep moving forward."

Gracie sighed. "Yeah, you're right." She sat up and smiled at Gray. "Thanks for the save. Guess I got a little carried away trying to get answers."

He smiled and stood up. "I think that it was pretty typical of you."

"Hey," Gracie pouted.

"Let's get moving," Gray said and started to walk off.

Gracie nodded and watched him start to walk away, but her eyes immediately widened. "Gray, your back!"

He stopped to look at her. "What are you talking about?"

Gracie sprang to her feet and ran to Gray, closely examining his back. His skin was scorched in places and small pieces of metal were sticking out of his skin. "What do you mean 'what'? Your back is a mess!"

"It is?" Gray asked as he tried to look at his back.

"The shock of the explosion must be giving you enough adrenaline to mask the pain," Erza said. "It's not a serious injury, but you should definitely get that treated before we leave, Gray."

"Alright," Gray replied and looked back to Gracie who was gingerly touching his back. "I'll be fine, Gracie."

"You shouldn't have done that," she said softly. "That was dumb and stupid and risky and stupid."

"You said stupid twice," Gray said.

"That's 'cause it was!" she shouted. "You could've been killed, Gray!"

"And if I hadn't you'd have been blown to kingdom come!" he shouted back. "No way was I gonna let that happen!"

Gracie looked away. "I don't want anyone risking their lives for me." She started walking away. "I'm not worth it."

"Gracie, get back here!" Gray called out. However, the blonde didn't stop or respond. She just kept on walking.

"Give her some space, Gray," Erza said. "It's been a long few days for her. Leave her be for now and focus on getting fixed up."

"Yeah, okay," he said while watching Gracie walk away.

Mira held her hands closely to her chest. 'How could you say that, Gracie? Why would you say it?'