➵

Gajeel blocked Pantherlily's magic sword, Bustermarm, just before it could hit Dealana. The younger Dragon Slayer stumbled back a few steps in shock as she watched him do it with just his bare hands.

They were getting exhausted the longer this fight against the panther exceed wore on and both Dealana and Gajeel had numerous scrapes and scratches from so many of the close calls. Their clothes were beginning to grow tattered along the edges and so much of Dealana's hair had escaped the braids, she was considering wearing her hair completely down for a change.

"Normally this sword would slice through iron as easily as it would through butter," Pantherlily remarked. "How are you able to stop me using only your bare hands?"

"That's because Iron Dragon Scales aren't made out of your everyday metal," Gajeel answered while Dealana took a moment to catch her breath. "So now you tell me, if you're one of them super-cats, why the heck are you fighting for the other side?"

Dealana wondered that about the magic warfare unit captain too. It seemed a little confusing for him to be fighting against his own race.

Pantherlily didn't reply and instead continued glaring at the two Earthland wizards standing in his way.

"Yeah, about that," Happy said shakily reaching for the green pouch he always wore on his back, "If you're an exceed like I am, I bet you love fish. I'll even give you one of mine." He offered. Judging from his willingness to give up his fish, Dealana knew that the blue cat was terrified.

Pantherlily pulled back his sword as he said, "That choice was made long ago."

"Huh?" Gajeel and Dealana wondered, still a bit confused.

"I put that place behind me," The panther exceed stated before his voice rose and he charged forward shouting, "That foul kingdom of lies!"

He swung Bustermarm down at Gajeel and Dealana, the former shoving the latter behind him a little roughly before raising his arms in a small 'x' formation to catch the blade.

"What does he mean by that?" Happy wondered as he watched Dealana pull herself into a crouching position, icy mist emitting from the blizzards engulfing her fists.

Gajeel chuckled, "I'm guessing you didn't fit in there, did yah? I know all about that, brother." He told the panther exceed. Dealana's lips parted in mild surprise at the older dragon slayer's admission, recalling how long it took for people at the guild to warm up to him. Heck, a lot of Fairy Tail members were still upset with Gajeel and didn't like having him in the guild or hanging around.

It was the reason Gajeel stuck to sitting at shadowed tables away from a majority of the commotion. Dealana and Juvia had been the only ones who were okay with being near him when he first joined. If she was being honest, Dealana didn't think too much about how everyone avoiding him and some still avoiding him would effect Gajeel. She just assumed that he wasn't bothered.

"You're alright by me," Gajeel told Pantherlily with a grin as his magic power surged. The ground beneath his feet threatened to give way and Bustermarm's blade cracked were it met Gajeel's hands. The lines spread further along the giant sword until it shattered to pieces, Gajeel laughing as it did. "But I'm still makin' ya my cat!" He declared instantly bringing Dealana out of her state of awe.

"Are you for real, Gajeel? You want the one exceed that's not on our side to be your cat?" Dealana questioned. "Better question, why am I not surprised?" She shook her head with an amused smile.

"He shattered my Bustermarm sword," Pantherlily realized looking at what was left of the blade. Gajeel, meanwhile, jumped into the air propelling himself further with the protruding spikes of the lacrima and punched the panther exceed with an iron left hook.

"But before that, I'm gonna have to teach ya that I'm way stronger than you, kitty!" He exclaimed as he continued repeatedly punching Pantherlily into the ground.

Dealana stood up, the blizzards engulfing her arms dissipating into the air as she walked over to squat next to Happy, observing the fight.

"Woah! It's like he got his butt-kicking switch turned on!" Happy cheered. "Why aren't you getting in there, Dealana?"

"If Pantherlily is gonna be Gajeel's exceed companion, than this is his fight and his alone," She replied. "Besides, there's no way I'm getting in the middle of that."

"Salamander and that little girl are gonna be so jealous of me!" Gajeel shouted from the air above Pantherlily.

"Iron Dragon Roar!"

A spiral of metallic magic with iron crashed into Pantherlily causing a large cloud of dirt from the destroyed part of the floating island to fill the air. Gajeel cackled as the dust began to settle. Pantherlily stood and tore off the remainder of his cloak leaving him wearing his chest-plate and pants.

"Yeah, now that's the spirit," Gajeel said cracking his knuckles.

Pantherlily brushed some of the dirt and dust off his armor as he said, "You're good..." A grin suddenly found its way upon the dark-colored exceed's face. Pantherlily charged for Gajeel and they commenced in hand-to-hand combat that consisted entirely of trading punches.

"Okay? Is it just me or is Gajeel getting a little distracted here?" Happy wondered.

"Gajeel's definitely getting distracted," Dealana nodded.

"Wait! Why are you just sitting around!?" Happy exclaimed. Dealana quirked an eyebrow at the blue exceed.

"Shhh, just watch the fight, Pantherlily's gonna tire himself out fighting against Gajeel that he won't be able to stop me later." Dealana told him directing his head towards the brawl, where Gajeel and Pantherlily punched each other in the face at the same time while chuckling about it.

➵

Back in the Edolas Royal Castle, Gray stood over Sugarboy's defeated form with a perfect ice replica of the Dragon Chain Cannon key that he previously shattered.

"I told you I'm an Ice Make Wizard, chin boy. I can make anything," He told the defeated magic warfare captain.

"You had me convinced for a second there too," Edolas Dealana admitted as she slid her tanto blade back into its sheath on the back of her belt. A rumbling feeling could be felt in the floor and they turned to see Natsu charging rather angrily down the corridor towards them.

"Hey Gray!" He shouted.

"What?" The ice mage questioned appearing unfazed by Natsu's yelling. If anything, Gray appeared a bit bored.

"You can't run from me forever, can ya, jerk!"

"We were busy taking out this clown," Gray explained in reference to Sugarboy who lay defeated on the ground.

Natsu grabbed the half-conscious Sugarboy and shook him by the shoulders. "Alright, you creep! Give me that stupid key! I'm done playin' with you." Dealana raised an eyebrow at how Natsu completely missed seeing the ice key in Gray's hand. When she glanced over at the ice mage with a concerned look, Gray only shook his head.

"Things are starting to go our way, but we're not totally out of the woods just yet," Gray explained to Natsu before Dealana noticed someone missing.

"Hey, uh, where's Lucy?" She asked tilting her head. Natsu seemed to realize that she wasn't with him and dropped Sugarboy back onto the floor.

"Oh her? She's kind of stuck right now," He explained. Dealana narrowed her eyes at that, wondering what he meant.

"What do you mean 'stuck'?" She questioned the Fire Dragon Slayer before he said something about getting stuck underneath the giant octopus.

"We've got it, man. I know this key is gonna work," Gray said to Natsu. "You hear me? We can save our friends with this."

"Say what?" Natsu wondered looking at the key in confusion and slight skepticism.

"The king of Edolas wants to fire the Dragon Chain Cannon at the floating island with the lacrima crystal containing all your friends so it'll crash into Extalia. That's not a good thing either." Dealana began to explain what they learned from Sugarboy. "However, if we can somehow manage to hit the lacrima directly with the Dragon Slayer Magic that the cannon fires, we free everyone of your friends in one go."

"I don't really understand, but it sounds like a plan to me!" Natsu remarked with excitement flashing in his eyes. Dealana sweat-dropped at his response. Natsu Dragion and Natsu Dragneel were two very different people. Dragion thought too much about things whereas Dragneel didn't.

"Don't bother, hardly anything really gets through to him," Gray told her before his gaze traveled to down the corridor in the direction Sugarboy was initially heading with the key. "I think the cannon is just up ahead of us."

"Alright! Let's get to it!" Natsu grinned while cracking his knuckles.

"Hold on, there's one problem," Gray revealed.

"What's that?" The Dragon Slayer wondered.

"We can't get inside the chamber where they're keeping it," Dealana told him.

"Sure we can!" Natsu told them. "We'll just use our magic to blow open the door and barge right in."

"That's not gonna work. Supposedly, the door is made from some kind of wizard-canceller, anti-magic lacrima, so it's not going to be that easy." Dealana explained shaking her head. That door was one of the few areas she hadn't really gotten a chance to explore in her sneaking around business.

"Well I think we should give it a try anyway," Natsu told her.

"And if it doesn't work, then what?" Gray asked him. It was at that moment that the sound of footsteps echoed as they drew nearer down the hallway. The three people glanced over to see Erza Knightwalker approaching looking a little worse for wear.

"So, I found you," She stated with a frown on her face. Dealana froze and felt her blood run cold. "And it seems that you have the key."

Dealana didn't know what to do, think or feel. Everything was hitting her at once as she was face to face with the one person that she was most terrified of. It had been a struggle to even look Erza Scarlet in the eye when she spoke with her, even when she wore her mask. Every time she saw the bright red hair, Dealana's mind flashed with the images of her friends that were killed in the Storm Talon Massacre.

Gray said something about this Erza not being right and that she was the one from Edolas, but Dealana barely registered that fact as her knees shook and panic welled in her chest. It only got worse when Erza chuckled darkly.

"I don't believe it..." Natsu breathed. "Our Erza... lost?"

The sky-blunette stumbled backwards a few steps as her breathing became more erratic. She felt like she couldn't breathe, like water was filling up her lungs. She was panicking. She knew that much but she didn't have Gavin or Lorna to help her now. Perhaps it didn't even matter, Knightwalker would finish her before she got the chance to even move. Dealana closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down but that only made it worse.

She could see them. She could see all of them. Erza Knightwalker standing over their bodies with a triumphant smirk on her lips. Dealana lost sight of the world around her as she desperately tried to quell her growing panic. Eventually, her body swayed and she stumbled backwards further her head spinning. The feeling of someone trying to steady her made Dealana flinch and try to move away. She blinked rapidly trying to remain in the present.

"Dealana?" She heard someone say with a worried edge to their voice.

"She killed them..." Dealana choked out. "She killed them all..." She reached a hand up to frantically pull at her scarf like it was suffocating her.

"Dealana, you're safe, just keep breathing," The voice told her again. She nodded numbly and allowed them to help remove her scarf, but she kept the familiar soft material in her hands, rubbing the fabric between her fingers. Her eyes were focused solely on the scarf in her hands. It was soft and yellow. Gavin had bought it for her. Her breathing slowly evened out and she realized that the voice had been Gray.

"I'm sorry..." She whispered.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, if anything I should be the one apologizing," Dealana flinched at the familiar voice. Her mind registered it as Erza Knightwalker, who judging by the concerned voice and caring look in her eyes was not the woman in front of them. This was Erza Scarlet. Dealana continued to play with the scarf before wrapping it loosely around her shoulders.

"Gajeel thought this might happen, do you need anything?" Gray asked her while Natsu was rubbing his head. Evidently, Erza had smacked the Dragon Slayer the moment he opened his mouth to ask what was wrong with Dealana.

"No, I'm good now..." She muttered feeling slightly embarrassed. "Thank you, though." Gray sent the girl a small smile.

"It's no problem," he assured her. Dealana looked back to Erza, taking a deep breath.

"Why am I not surprised Gajeel told you?" She wondered, shaking her head. Her smile was slightly strained but she was overall feeling better than a few seconds ago, which was good. "He and Gavin, they worry about me."

"For good reason," Erza told her with a smile that was weird to see when she wore Erza Knightwalker's outfit. "They care about you."

"Yeah," Dealana smiled, "yeah they do. Now, let's put that aside for now and focus on getting inside." Taking the hint that she would rather not talk about it any longer, the Earthland Fairy Tail wizards got to work.

➵

Following her panic attack, Dealana was being dragged by Erza while bound in rope as part of the plan. She would admit that she wasn't entirely fond of the plan, but it was the best one they had. Erza was able to get into the chamber with the Dragon Chain Cannon controls easily, but Gray would have the more difficult part to play. Not even Dealana, an Edolas local, knew how the controls would work meaning the ice mage had to figure it out on the spot.

She kept her eyes closed and her body limp as they entered. She could hear the King Faust's voice speaking. It took a lot of will power not to shiver in disgust.

"I've heard you've successfully retrieved the key, is this true?" The king inquired as Dealana felt herself still being dragged forward.

"Not entirely, your majesty," Erza replied. It was scary how on point her acting was. "It was destroyed." She reported.

"Explain yourself," King Faust prompted with a slight panic in his voice. Erza dropped Gray a little harshly on the ground before pointing her sword at him.

"This one can fabricate a working copy,"

"No way," Gray refused.

"And who is this?" King Faust asked, ignoring Gray's response.

"He's an Earthland Wizard, sir, and a comrade of the Dragon Slayers," Erza informed the king.

"Is that so?" King Faust questioned. "Is he connected to the lacrima that vanished from the plaza?" When Erza confirmed this, the king hummed in thought before saying, "Free him, now! And have him produce this key immediately."

Erza sliced the ropes before holding her sword at Natsu's neck. Dealana was fairly certain the redhead had chosen Natsu in order to avoid instigating another panic attack, and that was okay with the sky blunette.

"Get up, Earthland wizard," She ordered, "And don't do anything rash. You will activate the Dragon Chain Cannon."

From what Dealana could catch glimpses of, the controls were a yellowy brick wall with a circuit board design running up from where the key would go. There were also two stone carvings of King Faust's head on either side with a feathered wing resembling that of an exceed, but Dealana chose to ignore that.

Erza moved the blade of her sword a bit closer to Natsu's neck saying, "Quit stalling."

"I got no other choice," Gray said through a grimace. Dealana watched through half-lidded eyes as Gray formed a replica of the key. The soldiers whispered and gawked at the abilities of an Earthland wizard prompting Gray to scowl. "Back off, I'm not some kind of circus freak."

Gray walked forward and pushed the key in before turning it. The panel began to glow, signaling that it was powering on and the light soon spread upward, illuminating the dragon engraved design. Dealana tensed, her eyes resting on her tanto blade secured on Erza's belt. She had a feeling things were gonna get messy soon. The glow from the Dragon Chain Cannon spread further up the circuit board design elements before the eyes on the king's statue heads lit up.

"Yes! It is a glorious day for our kingdom!" King Faust cheered, watching as the Dragon Chain Cannon was activating. Dealana grew more and more worried as it seemed like Gray couldn't figure out the controls. If it were her, she doubted she would be able to figure things out either. A wave of light flashed through the room briefly while elsewhere in Edolas, Gavin was riding on a magic motorcycle towards the Edolas Fairy Tail per request from Gajeel. The reporter gave him all the notes and sent him on his way to get help before it was too late.

Judging from the giant pillar of red tinted white light shooting up from the castle, he had to hurry. "They started the cannon already? I needed a bit more time, damn it." He cursed before revving the engines and pushing the motorcycle faster.

Back in the control room, King Faust had his arms extended in anticipation. "Prepare to fire!" He shouted.

Erza lowered her sword, whispered something to the dragon slayer and pushed him forward. "Natsu!" She signaled before swiftly slicing Dealana's ropes. The sky-blunette was on her feet in an instant swiping her magic weapon as she did. Natsu was fired up and raring to go as the King turned around with wide eyes.

"Fire Dragon Wing Attack!"

Dealana smirked as Natsu took down the soldiers before swiping her blade in the direction of a few more. Bursts of purple-black lightning shot forward, hitting the metal-clad guards in the chest and sending them flying backwards.

"What's going on here?" King Faust demanded, peering through the slowly clearing smoke, "What is the meaning of this?"

From within the smoke, Natsu only grinned. "I'm calling off the launch!" Erza exclaimed as she suddenly appeared holding her sword to the king's neck.

"You traitor!" The King accused the redhead. "How dare you!"

Dealana smirked while Erza's revelation continued. "You are playing with fire, Erza." The king warned.

A yellow glow enveloped Erza's body and much to Dealana's awe, her outfit transformed back to her armor and pleated blue skirt. "My name is Erza Scarlet. I'm an Earthland wizard," she declared boldly.

"Nice job," Gray told her, "It got pretty hairy there. Thanks to you we're gonna be able to save them after all."

"They actually fell for it!" Natsu laughed while Dealana shook her head. "Good ol' plan D, deceive the royal army dummies!"