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Gray and Edolas Dealana were facing off against Sugarboy and his magic weapon that allowed him to soften and then manipulate the material he used the magic on. The threat of Edolas Dealana's execution also loomed in the air. Though she was sure they would've preferred for it to be public, Dealana wouldn't put it past Sugarboy or any of the magic warfare unit captains to take her down if she posed too much of a threat.

"You aren't laying a hand on her," Gray said moving to shield Dealana from view. This only further surprised Dealana. She knew from what her mini-me said about Fairy Tail being a family that looks after their own. She was certain that her Fairy Tail was still like that before she left, but she seemed to have forgotten that sense of protecting loved ones with such... emotion.

"Gray..." she trailed off.

"Mmm, I suppose I'll have to execute you both then," Sugarboy mused. His words leading them both to grimace at the notion. "With your identity being revealed, it's likely that your coconspirators will be next." The blond in pink armor hummed. That was the last straw for Dealana and her own protective nature kicked in.

Years ago, after Laxus, the Thunder Legion and the Storm Talon Tribe had been killed, Dealana left out of grief and shame for not being able to do anything about it. She had been unable to save her friends and ultimately felt responsible for what happened even when she knew it really wasn't. The pain of loss clouded her mind and she was lost until she met two special people going through the same thing. She had met Gavin and Lorna shortly after Edolas Gajeel had spread rumors about her whereabouts being somewhere else to get the royal army off her back.

They had been one of the best things to happen to Dealana. Together, they formed a family of their own similar to her one back in Fairy Tail. But the strength she portrayed didn't match the feeling of weakness inside. She still held on to her survivor's guilt and she knew Gavin did too, but he was better at processing his emotions. He had found that he could confide in Lisanna, which confused the sky-blunette to no end seeing as they hated each other before.

But now, with the Earthland Fairy Tail coming to Edolas and causing a ruckus, brought Dealana out of the hole of self-pity she had been dwelling in. And hearing Sugarboy threaten Gavin and Lorna like that was enough for her to recall what her mini-me told her about them being equal in strength. And Dealana knew her mini-me was powerful.

Her eyes darkened as she glared at Sugarboy, one hand reaching for her own magic weapon. Her tanto blade, affectionately called Thundersoul, was indeed a magic tool and weapon. As the name suggested, it enabled her to add powerful storm-based magic to her attacks. She rarely used the magic side of things in fear of running out. Gavin would say that she was saving it for a rainy day, but with her Earthland counterpart's help, Thundersoul was charged up with what she had called Tempest Magic ready for her to use generously.

Edolas Dealana moved forward and to the side, as to not hit Gray while she quickly pulled the shiny blade from its place on her belt and twirled it in her hand. Swiping the blade across the air in Sugarboy's direction, a wave of purple-black lightning was sent forth at high speed. It was too fast for Sugarboy to try and dodge or use his magic on and he ended up being sent crashing backwards into another amusement park attraction.

Gray looked at her magic weapon in surprise, not expecting that kind of power. He recognized that kind of power. His expression of surprise morphed into a knowing smile. "I'm starting to think the only difference between you two is your age and height." He remarked while Sugarboy was getting back on his feet.

"I'll admit, I don't normally use the magic of Thundersoul seeing as its limited for us citizens, but after a little magical boost from mini-me, I figured now's as good a time as any to use it," She smiled before addressing Sugarboy with a fierce glare that almost reminded Gray of Erza's glare, though Edolas Dealana's wasn't quite at that level of scary yet. "And you," She growled at the creepy blonde, "Don't you think about touching a hair on my friends."

Before any of them could make another move, the sudden crashing noise could be heard nearb. Risking a glance, they all noticed a large red octopus-like creature rampaging about the amusement park. Judging from Sugarboy's lack of surprise, Dealana figured that the eight-legged monster wasn't one of their allies. However, the Lucy that was swinging around and slowly tying its legs together was their ally.

"Huh, she's got guts and determination like the Lucy I know," Dealana smiled recalling the tough, badass blonde. She wondered how her Fairy Tail Guild was doing while she'd sort of abandoned them, but decided now really wasn't the best time. The fallen octopus had begun to be engulfed in flames as Natsu was delivering what Dealana hoped to be the final blow to Hughes.

However, taking their eyes off of Sugarboy had been a mistake. Dealana luckily noticed the ground beneath her beginning to soften, as did Gray. They both jumped to different platforms, but Sugarboy directed his sword at those two, resulting in being difficult for them to stay on solid ground. Dealana slashed her tanto blade once more towards Sugarboy with another thunderstorm attack, but he managed to barely dodge it.

It gave Dealana and Gray a moment to land for more than a split second, which lead Gray to cast another ice spell. "Ice Make: Lance!"

Spears of ice shot forward curving to strike Sugarboy directly, but the annoying magic warfare captain used his magic on it and the ice's consistency was turned to putty. Gray looked towards Dealana saying, "Now!"

Wasting no time, Dealana sent another wave of dark purple thunderstorm magic towards Sugarboy, hitting him square in the chest and sending him flying backwards. A cloud of smoke and dust formed from the impact and they lost visual on Sugarboy.

When the smoke cleared, Sugarboy was heading in the direction of Natsu, Lucy and the girl Dealana knew to be Coco. She stared in alarm as Sugarboy was after the key before noticing that Gray had taken one of the magic motorcycles from one of the attractions.

"Get on, we gotta go after him!" Gray said to her. Dealana, after a short mental debate, hopped on behind Gray and wrapped her arms around his middle to keep herself from falling off as he started up the motorcycle and speeding off after Sugarboy, who took snatched the key from Coco before sliding on the front of his armor like a penguin towards the exit.

"Mmm, stop right there, Coco," he said. "Even you have better sense than to hand something this important to an enemy of the kingdom! This king belongs to his majesty!" He declared as he continued to slide away.

"Sugarboy!" Coco exclaimed in surprise. "Give it back!"

"Stop right there, you hear me!" Gray shouted after the pink armored captain, using debris and the fallen octopus-Byro as a ramp. Dealana hadn't ridden in or on a vehicle in so long. The rush of wind on her face was refreshing and invigorating. The last time she had done something like this was after she'd helped the Natsu that wasn't prone to motion sickness acquire more magic fuel but even that was before the tribe's massacre.

"Of course I hear you," Sugarboy replied. "I just don't care."

"You're only gonna make this worse!" Gray yelled while Lucy and Natsu looked up at the two in surprise.

"Gray! Dealana!"

"Listen up you guys," Gray told them. "There's no need for you to worry about Mr. Big Chin here, this one's all ours!" Dealana turned her head and lifted one arm send them a thumbs up.

"That means the rest is up to you!" She called as they continued after Sugarboy. They followed him out of the amusement park and through another part of the large castle.

"Hmm, you're like a persistent rash," Sugarboy remarked. "You just keep on coming back, don't you?"

"Come on and say that to my face, man!" Gray shouted back.

"I need to deal with you both quickly," Sugarboy decided, moving the arm holding his sword. He trailed the tip along a portion of the floor, a few sparks flying here and there before the ground softened. Gray steered the bike to avoid the softened area. The chase continued down the corridors and Dealana was amazed by Sugarboy's speed while sliding on his armor like a penguin.

"I said stop!" Gray yelled at him. As if reading her mind Gray then asked, "How in the heck are you even able to keep sliding across the floor like that!"

"Mmm," Sugarboy hummed glancing back at the duo with a sparkling wink. "I just do it, man!" Dealana shuddered as Gray sweat-dropped.

"Uh... okay? Then tell me what that key is for instead!"

"It activates the Dragon Chain Cannon," Sugarboy revealed. From the name, Dealana figured it wasn't anything good. Her assumption was that it had something to do with the Dragon Slayer Magic that Byro had sucked out of Natsu and poor Wendy.

"And what is that?" She questioned.

"Sorry, the rest is classified." Sugarboy hummed. From what Dealana figured with the Dragon Slayer Magic and Wendy's news that the king of Edolas planned to crash the lacrima island into Extalia, she realized that the cannon must be what they were going to use to do so. That meant getting the key and destroying it would prevent a whole lot of damage and destruction.

"All you need to know," the magic warfare captain continued, "is that I can't let you have it. It belongs to the kingdom." He declared. Gray revved the engine and sped up, leaning over with a hand outstretched to the floor.

"So what you're saying is, I can't let you get away with it either," Gray smirked. A light blue magic seal appeared just under his hand.

"Ice Make: Floor!"

A stream of ice shot forward along the floor chasing after Sugarboy who only chuckled at the spell. "Is an icy floor truly the best you could come up with? I can make anything softer with my Rosa Esparda!" He reminded them, trailing his sword along the ice. Just like he said, the ice softened but didn't quite work in Sugarboy's favor. Gray smirked as his plan seemed to work and Sugarboy began slipping and sliding down the corridor in a panic.

"You can make it just as soft as you want, buddy, it's still gonna be to slippery to control yourself," Gray said right before Sugarboy crashed into a wall. The magic warfare captain was swift to recover but by then it was too late. Dealana had leapt off the bike, landing with a fairly risky roll while the ice mage spun the motorbike rapidly on the icy floor before launching it at Sugarboy.

"I'll show you again," the pink armored man smirked, extending his sword to the incoming bike. He closed his eyes and hummed victoriously as the bike softened around him, but Gray had approached from behind, his hand reaching for the key.

"Now, shatter!" Gray shouted as his hand wrapped around the key's handle. A cluster of sharp ice spikes took shape and encased the key and both Gray and Sugarboy's hand. They glared at each other for a few moments, but the key never shattered. "What gives?" Gray wondered.

"I'll admit, this is cold, nice try, ice boy." Sugarboy quipped.

"I hate it when people call me that!" Gray shouted annoyed. "But seriously though, why isn't this thing cracking?"

"Get real, chump. This isn't just some flimsy piece of junk, you know." Sugarboy told him. "But it is really cold." The ice expanded while Sugarboy continued, "Now, I'm not particularly fond of holding hands with other men, so would you mind letting go?"

The ice only expanded further while Gray said, "Speaking of hands, haven't you realized that I have the upper one right now?"

"Mmm, what do you mean by that... Ice boy?" Sugarboy mused curiously.

"Would you stop calling me that already!" Gray yelled before his expression morphed into a smirk. "Listen, pal, the way I see it, is although your people need this key, me and all my guild mates don't." Sugarboy hummed in question, growing slightly worried by this revelation before Gray continued, "If I can't break it, I'll just make it unusable."

At this point Dealana couldn't do much aside from watch as Sugarboy's eyes widened in alarm. Gray then shouted, "Now, freeze!" The ice began to expand further and Sugarboy only retained his panicked expression for a few moments before he too, began smirking.

"Don't forget, it may in fact freeze but my Rosa Esparda can soften anything it touches," the armored captain chuckled. Dealana smirked, while Sugarboy's magic sword was useful it couldn't be the solution to everything. That much had been made clear by the icy floor trick earlier.

"Don't be too sure," Gray voiced Dealana's thoughts as the ice only continued to expand. "One wrong move and you'll turn this key into a pretzel."

"Well," Sugarboy hummed, "Finely-tuned is my middle name."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Gray shouted. Sugarboy held out his sword that gleamed as an unknown light source shone upon the metal blade. Dealana had a hand secured around the hilt of her tanto ready to move forward, but a warning look from Gray told her to wait. She sighed but stepped back watching as Sugarboy answered.

"Precision," He told the ice mage. "I shall simply have to cut you away." Sugarboy proceeded to deliver on an onslaught of slashes to the ice cluster, softening bits and pieces while yelling incoherently. "Your ice won't help you now!" He shouted, a crazed look evident in his eyes. Dealana couldn't help but grow increasingly worried. She held no doubt about Earthland wizards' power but the look of bloodlust in Sugarboy's eyes only reminded her of the pleasure the magic warfare unit captains had as they stood over the fallen bodies of her friends.

"So you want to fight, huh?" Gray questioned. The ice mage began to increase his magic saying, "I'll just have to freeze you along with it, but I'm never gonna let it go!" The two went back and forth freezing and softening the ice containing the key. Freezing and softening while yelling back and forth. Dealana sighed. She knew that girls could be just as weird as guys sometimes, but the two of them going back and forth made no progress towards breaking the key.

"Let it go now!"

"Come on freeze! Their battle of freezing and softening came to an end when the key's head cracked from within the mass of ice spikes.

"What the–?! No way!" Sugarboy gasped, "You cracked the key!"

"Yeah, you bet I did, now watch it shatter into pieces!" Gray told the magic warfare captain, who had begun to panic, waving his free arm frantically.

"Gah! Stop it! Right now!" Sugarboy demanded. "You're really gonna break it!"

"I'll do whatever it takes to save my friends lives! Here goes," He shouted as his ice magic began to intensify around the key. "I can feel it happening!"

"Wait! You don't understand what you're doing!" Sugarboy tried to say, "You and your men need it. You need it just as much as we do!" Dealana quirked an eyebrow hearing this. She scoffed as Gray said, "Oh yeah?" Neither one of them believed a word coming from Sugarboy's mouth.

"Let's just draw a quick truce for now!" Sugarboy suggested as the key began to crack further and further. "Before it's too late!" Gray grimaced and swung his ice-encased arm around, flinging Sugarboy into the wall behind him.

"Why would I do that!?"

"Why?" Sugarboy echoed despite being crushed against the wall, "Because you need it too. It's the only way you'll be able to turn your friends back to normal."

Dealana and Gray only smirked at the man's words. "Oh, is that so? You're full of crap."

"It's the truth!" Sugarboy insisted. "The Dragon Chain Cannon fires condensed Dragon Slayer Magic. If you knew what that kind of magic could do in our world, you'd see why you needed that key." Gray's eyes widened as he took in the information, most likely recalling what Gajeel and Earthland Dealana had said about Dragon Slayer Magic being what they used to free himself and Erza from the lacrima in the plaza.

"Blast that lacrima with the Dragon Chain Cannon and you'll turn all your little friends back to how they were." Sugarboy explained, feeling more confident as Gray took in his explanation. "Do you finally get it now? That's why neither of us can afford to let this key break. You may need it more than I do."

"You really don't know anything, do you?" Dealana spoke up with her arms crossed as she looked at the magic warfare unit captain. "Earthland has four Dragon Slayers. Why would they need to use some stupid cannon when they have the real thing?"

Gray smirked saying, "So, sorry about your key, but it's history."

"By the time it would take them to shatter that lacrima, it'll be too late," Sugarboy revealed. His words were ominous enough, both Gray and Dealana grew slightly worried about what they could mean. "As early as tomorrow, it will begin transforming into pure magic power. Our plan was to drive it into Extalia before that happened. Heh, with four Dragon Slayers you could probably save a few more of your friends, but there is no way you can save all of them." He explained. Dealana paused hearing this, her mini-me had told her that among the citizens and her guild mates were the Earthland version of the Thunder Legion. Her heart pounded as Sugarboy continued.

"In fact, most of them will not survive. And what's more, neither will those scores of innocent civilians that the Anima absorbs along with your precious guild mates. What about them? Mmm? Now, let. Go." He told them. Gray's body had begun to shake in anger while Dealana stood stalk still at the thought of something happening to Earthland's Fairy Tail. The key only further cracked as Sugarboy smirked, assuming he had won, but it was soon wiped off his face as Gray glared at him.

"You just told me all I needed to know," Gray said to the blonde, who groaned in defeat as the key shattered to pieces. Dealana's eyes widened and she stared at the remnants of the key utterly confused.

"Y-You... You... broke the key!" Sugarboy exclaimed in sheer panic. He was on the ground in an instant attempting to swipe what was left of the key in a desperate hope that it could be mended. Gray merely began walking away towards where Dealana stood, his hands in his pockets. "Are you crazy? I wasn't bluffing, you know!"