~~~Author's Notes~~~
It's uh, been a long while. To be blunt I was hit with a huge amount of writer's block to the point where I thought I wasn't going to be able to continue writing this. However I think the long break helped gather my thoughts some more.
I thank those for being patient, hope you enjoy this chapter!
Once the announcement was finished, Stark observed the ongoing events in town as civilians began to fight back. He turns around, chuckling to himself, and goes back on indoors.
"That takes care of that." Stark pushes up his glasses. "They'll be quite preoccupied for a while it seems…" He gloats. The slender angel then hears another explosion from a lower floor followed by shouting of a familiar name.
"WENDY!" Natsu roars as it echoes through the halls, followed by more bursts of fire.
Stark groans. "Now then, time to take care of that little vermin." He summons two crossbow-like guns and begins to make his way where Natsu was located.
"Hrmmm…" Argus grunted, scratching his chin while looking away. "Just what was he thinking? Hahlos and especially Izanagi ain't gonna like this…" As he talked to himself, Gajeel began to pull himself up with a fierce expression.
A remaining soldier oversaw Gajeel about to strike and pointed at him. "Argus sir! Watch out!" He warned.
Gajeel launched another iron mallet which immediately struck Argus' jaw. However, he remained unaffected as the muscular angel's eyes rolled back to Gajeel's before giving a smirk. He gripped the iron slayer's mallet and shoved it off of him in which Gajeel retracted the attack and got on guard.
Two soldiers approached Argus with spears readying for attack. "Argus! Let us help you!" One of them requested. But the two were stopped as the muscular angel raised a palm at the two of them.
"Don't worry about me fellas. I won't be needing any help." Argus grinned.
The two were appalled. "B-but sir-"
"Worry about the civilians!" Argus interrupted. "I dunno what Stark got up his sleeve but the safety of the townsfolk should be top priority!"
The two soldiers looked at each other for a moment before hesitantly saluting to the Tenhei member as they shouted. "Sir!" And flew off.
Gajeel cracked his knuckles and popped his neck, smirking at Argus. "Heh, so you want a one-on-one fight between men? That's fine by me, gihi!"
"HA HA HA! I do prefer one on one fights anyways!" Argus laughed and had his eyes back at Gajeel. "Now, I don't think I caught ya name sonny…"
"It's Gajeel, the man who's gonna kick your ass!" Gajeel introduced himself in a threatening way as he morphed his right arm into an iron blade. "Iron Dragon's Sword!" The blade appears to be a saw as the spikes begin to spin around like a chainsaw. He leaps in the air and swings his arm downward directly at Argus.
"Body Enhancement: Steel!" Argus's skin on his left arm begins to morph into a steel coating as he blocks the attack seamlessly, the aggressive saw having no effect on the angel.
Gajeel growled. "That annoying armor again! Iron Dragon Lance!" He swings his left leg as it morphs into an iron blade and strikes directly at Argus' stomach. The large angel remains unaffected as his chest area was coated with the same steel substance. Gajeel grinded his teeth in annoyance.
"Well now, your moves are pretty quick! For a human!" Argus praised. He gripped Gajeel's iron leg with his right hand and proceeded to swing him around. He threw the iron dragon slayer on the ground aggressively, causing a large amount of cloudy mist to puff up.
Gajeel swung his arm to remove the puffy mist from his vision. He saw Argus look down on him with a big grin on his mug.
"HA HA HA! So you use iron magic eh? Well tough luck for you, steel is harder than iron!" Argus gloated, coating his right fist into steel.
Gajeel spat on the ground and stood up. "Are you seriously thinking that just because steel is harder than iron, you have the advantage?" He rolled his left arm and clenched his fist tightly. "My fists may be made of iron, but my punches can break even the toughest of steel eventually!"
Argus cocked an eyebrow. "If that's so, then how come you haven't dented my armor yet?"
"Give it time, muscle head!" Gajeel took a deep breath and winded his body back. "Roar of the Iron Dragon!" He unleashed a whirlwind of iron directly at Argus.
"Body Enhancement: Full Body!" The muscular angel's body was quickly coated in the same steel armor, which covered his head as well as the iron roar attack directly struck it. Once the attack subsided, Argus gave a thumbs up. "It didn't even hurt!" He grinned, however some of his teeth fell off in the process.
"Uh, are you sure…?" Gajeel thought with an unimpressed look.
Argus spread his wings out and rocketed his body at Gajeel, still coated in steel. The dragon slayer covered his chest with both arms and coated them with iron as Argus crashed into him dead on. Gajeel managed to stay standing but was being pushed back by the angel. Not long until the two were taken to the main streets with more open space. Gajeel managed to grip both of Argus' arms and forcefully stop him from pushing any further.
At that moment, Argus realized where they ended up and widened his eyes. "W-wait! Hold on!" He panicked.
"Get…off already!" Gajeel shouted as he lifted the large angel and slammed him by the closest building in the area, which demolished the entrance. The Fairy Tail mage noticed that the building seemed familiar as his opponent emerged from the rubble, appearing angry for once.
"Why you, punk!" Argus shot. "How dare you destroy the best bar in town!" He clenched his fist and glared at Gajeel. It was the same bar that the two met at yesterday.
Gajeel wiped his mouth, not responding to the angel as he got on guard. Argus once again coated his fists into steel and stomped towards him. Gajeel prepared to strike back but widened his eyes as he noticed that spikes grew out of Argus' steel fists. The Tenhei member threw a punch and Gajeel barely dodged it by tilting his head. The angel tried striking the dragon slayer's gut next but missed as his opponent leaped back.
Argus shook his head, regaining his composure and diminishing his anger. "Heh, we know all about you humans y'know. Only a matter of time until you can't handle our atmosphere! HA HA HA!" He laughed triumphantly and pointed at the dragon slayer. "Even then! You wouldn't be able to make me lose my footing!"
Gajeel cracked a cocky smirk. "You wanna bet, big guy?" He challenged by stomping his right leg as it formed into an iron club with spikes poking out. "Iron Dragon's Spiked Club!" He leaped towards Argus and quickly swung his leg at Argus' side, however the large angel didn't flinch. Gajeel growled in annoyance before leaping off of Argus and threw both of his arms, which morphed into iron mallets, at his opponents shoulders. The Tenhei member slid back slightly, but was unaffected all the same. His arms morphed back to hands as he gripped the angel's shoulder tightly and flung towards him before headbutting his head as the iron dragon slayer coated his entire body in iron.
Argus winced slightly at the impact but still didn't budge. He smirked at Gajeel and quickly gripped his body and slammed the black haired wizard on the ground. The angel proceeds to raise his foot as spikes morph on the sole of the shoe and nearly stomps on his opponent. Gajeel manages to roll out of the way and lifts himself up. Argus turns his head at the dragon slayer and grins before the steel on his foot morphs away.
Gajeel pops his neck and grimaces back at his cheerful opponent. He clenches both fists as he begins to breathe heavily, in which Argus took quick notice. "Looks like you're already feeling the effects of our atmosphere, that was shorter than I thought!" The Tenhei member laughed.
As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was right. With the combination of the denser Ethernano and repeatedly hitting an armored opponent, Gajeel was nearing his limit. He had to end this quickly. "Fine. You asked for it, big guy." Gajeel wiped his mouth and raised both his arms above his head. "Dragon Slayer: Secret Art!" He shouts before clapping both hands together, which emits a bright light.
Argus widens his eyes before shielding his vision with one arm. Once his vision was clear again, the angel's eyes popped out of his skull as he saw a gigantic iron sword right above Gajeel. "E-excuse me?! I don't think dragon's can do that!" Argus exclaims. The sword was so large that it was easily noticeable by others around the area.
Gajeel hacks as he feels his heart on fire from using so much magic at once, but he grits his teeth and aims his sword right at Argus. "Karma Demon! Iron God Sword!" The dragon slayer swings his attack downward effortlessly and quickly.
"I can't dodge this!" Argus realizes before quickly coating his entire body into steel and prepares to block the attack. Once the large sword slams on the angel, he grips it with both hands as the impact blows everything around Argus away. The muscular angel feels his body being pushed down and slowly sinks in the clouds.
Gajeel stumbles lightly but puts more force in his attack as he lets out a battle cry. "Just…go down already! You annoying bastard!" He shouts.
"RRRRAAAAAAARGH!" Argus yells in pain as the attack slams through him as the clouds below him split apart. Remaining rubble and cloudy floor was demolished in its path as the large sword vanished.
Gajeel collapses on the ground and lets out some more coughs and pants. He sat up and gazed at the result of his attack. "Tch, looks like he's gone…" He concludes before slowly standing up. The iron slayer observed the area and noticed that no one was around at the moment. "...Better find a place to rest before more soldiers investigate this area…" He thought out loud before turning his back and trying to find a place to hide.
One step later, Gajeel suddenly feels a sharp pain on his back. "G-guh! What?!" He yelps and widens his eyes. Slowly turning his head, he sees Argus behind him flying above the large hole on the ground. The angel's entire left arm is covered with steel with a long spike sticking out. Blood slowly trickles from Gajeel's lips.
"Looks like you lost your bet, iron guy." Argus gloats despite appearing to have several bruises and cuts on his body. That didn't slow him down as the angel retracts his steel spike as his entire upper body gets covered with steel and more spikes morph out of him. He charges and slams Gajeel directly on a building, which causes the Fairy Tail mage to shout in pain.
Argus takes a few steps back and grips his arm. "My role as a Tenhei is the shield and defender. My body is trained to deal with any attack to protect our land! Don't take it personally pal, but this is where this ends! HA HA HA!" He declares before charging right at Gajeel again.
Gajeel groans in agonizing pain as he feels his vision fading and losing consciousness.
~~~Flashback~~~
Today was just as the same as any other day ever since Gajeel joined the Fairy Tail guild. Despite assisting in Laxus' attempt to overthrow the guild's master and spying on Raven Tail's activity, several members still didn't trust the iron dragon slayer. Can't say he blamed them, he did trash their guild and attacked 3 members in cold blood. The only reason Gajeel was even here outside of being a spy for Raven Tail was to get some jewel from jobs.
Currently, Gajeel was sitting alone by a table in the corner chowing down on some metal scraps like swords, hammers, you name it. Since he never really talked to anyone, this is what he would usually do in his free time. But lately the dragon slayer was feeling more frustrated than usual as he lightly gripped his face which was covered in claw marks. Ever since that new dragon slayer girl joined not that long ago, Gajeel has been on a quest to find himself a cat companion. He would never admit it, but he was jealous that she and Salamander had one of their own. Gajeel would search high and low in Magnolia for a stray cat, but all of them have rejected the scary looking mage. He has been doing this for several days now, got nothing better to do right?
"Um…excuse me? Are you ok?"
Gajeel stopped eating and noticed that someone approached him. He glanced over and noticed that same dragon slayer girl standing beside him twiddling her fingers and avoiding direct eye contact. His ears picked up her cat companion yelling at her in the distance to come back this instant, but the blue haired girl was clearly ignoring her. It amazes the iron dragon slayer how much this girl puts up with that cat.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but you have scratches all over your face…" Wendy mumbled. "If you want…I can heal them for you…"
Gajeel stared at Wendy for a couple seconds before turning away and proceeded to take a large bite out of a metal block. "Scram kid, you should mind your own business. We don't even know each other." He scolds.
Wendy lowers her brow and lets out a depressive whine. "I'm sorry…" She apologized. Yet she didn't walk away, she looked back up at him. "T-then how about we introduce ourselves…?" The bluenette shakingly raised an arm towards him. "M-my name is Wendy Marvell."
Gajeel looked back at Wendy and cocked an eyebrow. This girl was clearly afraid of him, so why did she bother approaching him and trying to make friends? He didn't see them, but Gajeel could feel the presence of multiple people staring at him during this entire exchange.
"Gajeel Redfox." Gajeel responded. "And I don't do handshakes."
Wendy quickly retracted her arm and lightly bowed. "Oh! I'm sorry, Gajeel!"
"You can quit apologizing for everything." Gajeel grumbled. Wendy sighed and covered her mouth as she caught herself almost apologizing again, Gajeel simply groaned. The two stood in silence for several awkward seconds which prompted Wendy to look down again and slowly turn away. Ever since that girl joined the guild, there was something oddly familiar about her. Gajeel wondered if the two had met before but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Hey, kid." Gajeel called out, in which Wendy quickly turned around and saw the iron dragon slayer point at his face. "You're free to heal off these scratches, if you want."
The moment he said that, Wendy's face lit up in a big smile as she quickly returned to him. "I would be happy to!" She beamed before raising her tiny hands towards Gajeel's face. A green mist surrounded his face as the wounds slowly healed and his face was clear again. Wendy placed her arms behind her back and smiled at the tough guy.
Once Gajeel felt no pain on his face anymore, he slowly raised his arm and gently patted Wendy's head. "...Thanks."
The girl simply giggled delightfully before waving at the fellow dragon slayer and running back to a frustrated Carla. Some others were by the Exceed and seeing Salamander's mouth wide gaping open was priceless to Gajeel. As he watched Wendy reunite with the others, Gajeel looked down on his palm and wondered why it moved on its own when he patted her. He decided to forget about it as he whipped his hand and returned to his usual chowing down.
His enhanced hearing overheard the smoking wizard Wakaba mutter to his drinking buddy Macao. "Heh, looks like big scary Gajeel is a bit of a softie huh?"
Gajeel decided to ignore the comments.
Days have passed ever since the devastating battle against the dark guild Tartaros, one of the Balam Alliance. Despite their victory, Fairy Tail experienced many losses. Shortly after the fight was over, the guild master Makarov abruptly announced the dissolvement of the guild without an explanation. The only thing he told them was to form their own path.
Gajeel and his Exceed companion Panther Lily were currently on their way towards the official Fairy Tail apartment's Fairy Hills to pick up Levy Mcgarden. The two didn't have much to pack as they hauled their luggage up the hill. Once they reached the top, the building already looked quite deserted. The two scanned the area to look for Levy but to Gajeel's surprise they found Wendy sitting by one of the benches a bit away from the entrance. Gajeel stared at her for a couple seconds before sighing and dropping his luggage.
"Watch these for me." He requested before walking off towards the depressed looking girl. Lily smirked and chuckled to himself.
Wendy was looking down and hugging her legs, effectively curled up in a ball. There was a small puddle below the bench as she stared at her reflection. She then noticed a familiar reflection standing beside her as she looked up and saw Gajeel standing next to her with his arms crossed. The bluenette tilted her head. "Gajeel?"
"You're still here, kid? What's up?" Gajeel asked, noticing that Wendy's white cat wasn't beside her at the moment.
Wendy sighed and looked down again. "I'm just waiting for Carla, she forgot some things in our room. The iron dragon slayer glancing at the luggage by the bench, it was far more than what he and Lily had.
Gajeel abruptly plopped himself next to where Wendy was sitting which caused both the bench and the girl to jump. "I'm not just asking that. There's something on your mind?" He wondered. He looked at the girl's eyes and noticed the depressive look she bore on her face.
"I'm just…thinking about everythings that happened…" Wendy lamented. "The guild disbanding, our parents disappearing before our eyes, and now Natsu's missing…" She clenched her dress and lightly grinded her teeth. "It's just…too much…" Tears begin to build up in her eyes.
Gajeel leaned back. "Yeah, I get it. Shit's pretty tough right now." He stated before gently patting her head which caused the sky dragon slayer to yelp in surprise. "I lost my old man too. But knowing him, he'd probably tell me something lame like 'Quit being such a sulk, it doesn't fit you.' or something like that." He chuckled. "I'm sure your mother would say something a bit similar don't ya think?"
Wendy looked back at Gajeel and smiled softly. However she quickly went back to frowning and staring down at her reflection again. "There's Natsu too, he may be feeling the worst out of all of us since he's been looking for Igneel longer than the both of us. I wish I was there for him, but none of us know where he and Happy went…" She regretted.
"You're worried about Salamander?" Gajeel scoffed. "He's tough, I'm sure he'll get through this. The guy probably went on some journey to get stronger, not like I care what he's doing."
Wendy slowly looked back at her fellow dragon slayer and saw the usual tough guy cracking a friendly smirk at her. Wendy couldn't help but crack a smile back before hugging Gajeel which caught him off guard. "Woah, easy there kid."
Once Wendy released Gajeel, the two stood up as the former let out a stretch while the latter placed his hands on his hips. "By the way, where do you plan on going anyway?" Gajeel wondered.
"Chelia invited me and Carla to join Lamia Scale, so that's where we'll be staying!" She chirped. "What about you Gajeel?"
Gajeel was about to answer but overheard Levy calling out to him as the two saw the solid script wizard waving at him. The iron dragon slayer gave Wendy one last look. "Gihi! It's a secret!" He replied before walking off.
Wendy lightly giggled as she watched Gajeel leave. She waved at him and shouted. "Thank you! Gajeel!"
Gajeel raised one arm and waved back, not looking at her.
~~~Flashback End~~~
"This is it! Iron guy!" Argus announced before reeling back and throwing a spiked steel coated fist directly towards the iron dragon slayer. He landed a direct hit which cracked the wall behind his opponent. But the angel widened his eyes as his attack was stopped by Gajeel's grip.
"...That's right…" Gajeel mumbled before his skin covered in pitch black iron and shadow aura erupted around him. "I shouldn't worry about something as stupid as denser magic air." He gripped Argus' fist tighter as the steel began to crack. He proceeded to tear off a part of the angel's armor, which revealed his skin.
Argus gasped and leaped back to gain some distance. "What?! You can still move?!" He exclaimed, noticing Gajeel's bright blue eyes. His opponent definitely looks different than before. The muscular angel recalled Hahlos mentioning something like this.
"Some of the Sky Sorceress' companions have similar magic as her, they could have the ability to transform as she can."
Gajeel proceeded to consume the steel as more power coursed through him. "Gihi! I see how your magic works now!" He taunts as he points at the Tenhei member. "Your annoying steel armor isn't replacing your skin, so that means I can easily absorb it from ya! And what's more, there's a limit on how much you can even use!" He pointed out, recalling when Argus transferred the coating from one arm to another and launched a long steel spike.
Argus clenched his teeth. "Heh, so what?! It's only a matter of time before your body gives in! It doesn't matter how much strength you have, my body can take any amount of damage! HA HA HA!" He challenged.
Gajeel sank through the floor as a large shadow casted. It swiftly dashed through the clouds and zipped by Argus. The angel quickly turned as Gajeel leaped out from the shadow and swung his left leg at him. Argus coats his right arm with steel before he is stuck. As the attack connects, the steel on the angel's arm cracks.
"You gotta be kidding!" Argus panicked as Gajeel sank through the shadows again. Before he could react, the Fairy Tail mage leaped out behind him and struck his side with a fist which sent Argus' tumbling down. The angel gripped the cloudy surface and pulled himself on his knees. He saw the shadow zip several feet away as the shadow iron dragon slayer popped out once more.
Argus stood up and spread his arms out and clenched both fists. "This isn't over yet! Your attacks still don't hurt!" He grinned. "Body Enhancement! Perfect Defense!" Argus' body gets fully morphed in shiny steel with large spikes poking out.
"I may not be able to move while using this, but he can't get through this and his body will give out!" Argus thought confidently.
Gajeel charged at the Tenhei member before leaping in the air. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art!" He shouts, placing both his legs together and transforming into a pitch black drill. It spun at high speeds while shadows surrounded the attack as he lunged directly towards Argus. "Karma Demon! Iron Shadow Spiral!" The attack directly hits Argus as sparks fly off of the angel.
"It…doesn't…hurt!" Argus gloats. However, he suddenly feels sharp pains all around his body as the shadows cut all over his skin. "Ghhurrrk! W-what?!" He yelped.
"Like I said already! GO DOWN ALREADY!" Gajeel roars as his attack blasts the angel back, severely cracking his steel armor in the process. Argus flies through the streets before letting out one last cough and getting knocked out cold.
Gajeel lands on the ground face first as he returns to normal. The iron dragon slayer pulls himself to lay on his back and lets out several hacks and panting constantly. He shakenly raised one fist and smirked in victory.
The two soldiers that were sent off by Argus earlier flew through the streets towards where some mayhem was occurring at. The two stopped earlier and looked back where they left Argus.
"What was that large sword from earlier?" One soldier asked.
"We shouldn't worry about that, Argus placed our faith in us to help the civilians." The other soldier responded. But as soon as he finished his sentence, the two noticed someone flying towards the two as it zipped past them, landing on the ground and sliding to a stop.
The two soldiers quickly investigated and in their shock, saw Argus knocked out with several injuries on his body. One soldier dropped his weapon and gritted his teeth.
"You gotta be kidding me! Argus was defeated?!" He exclaimed. "What is going to happen in this country?!"
~~~Author's Notes~~~
The flashback with Gajeel and Wendy was loosely inspired by an artist named DragNoodles who had some cute comics between the two. They make a lot of Gajeel art if you're a big fan of him.