~*****~

"He looks mad!" Wendy stammers.

I grasp her arm and pull her behind me. "Stay behind me, got it." I say to her in a very serious tone.

"But--" Wendy tries.

"He's not joking around." Natsu snaps.

"Why are you doing this, Gray?" Happy asks. "Is it 'cause you have a tummy ache?"

"Don't be such an idiot!" Carla barks.

"Please don't fight!" Wendy pleads.

"Stay out of our way. Ice Make Lance!" Gray shouts.

I wrapped my arms around Wendy and leapt out of the way. "He attacked him using his full strength!" Wendy gasped.

"Stay close to me, do you understand?" I say to Carla and Ballad.

"You two have always butted heads, but there's no need for this!" Happy exclaimed.

Daphne just laughs. "My, my. You just don't get it, do you? Start fighting back of you'll end up skewered or a popsicle! Now, Gray Fullbuster, go get me a Dragon Slayer!"

"You'll get one soon enough," Gray retorts.

"This isn't like you at all, Gray!" Natsu comments angrily. "What's going on?"

"Isn't it obvious by now?" Gray snaps. "What I wanna know is why you're standing there doing nothing about it!"

"You think Gray is a fake?" Wendy asks shakily.

"I suppose it's possible," Carla nods. "We have seen magic like that before, but I'm not sure--"

"No, Wendy's right." Happy mentioned. "This one's definitely different than the Gray we know and love!"

"How's he different?" Wendy asks. "He seems identical!

"Well, for starters--" Happy tries, but he's cut off by Gray's immediate stripping.

"You keep dodging, this'll get boring!" Gray snaps. "Come on!"

"He took his clothes off!" Happy cried. "This guy is the real Gray after all!"

"Are you kidding?" Wendy and Carla hum.

"Afraid not..." I grimace. "It's all types of skeevy."

"If it's a real fight you want, then you know I'm down!" Natsu exclaimed.

"It's about time!" Gray barked. "I was startin' to get bored! Ice Make Battle Axe!"

The two begin to fight together, and hard. And it's very clear from the beginning that this isn't some imitation Gray. "It's time for some answers!" Natsu barks after he tackles him straight through a wall and into the hallway. "I want to know what the heck you think you're doing here! At the very least you owe me that much!"

"A city without sound," Gray says lowly.

"What was that?!" Natsu snapped. "You're not making any sense, man! Would you speak plainly?!"

"That's as plain as you're gonna get! Whatever, I doubt you'd understand it anyway!" Gray exclaimed. "Get ready to take your last breath!"

"The two of them have really stepped up their game lately," Happy commented.

"This is not the time for slack-jawed gawking!" Carla exclaimed.

"Aye," Happy sighs.

"I don't get why this is happening," Wendy murmurs. "Why would Gray betray his friends like this?"

"Not that it's any of your business," I hear Daphne hum. My eyes slice into a glare as I turn them over my shoulder. "But that handsome slab of ice offered to help me on a special project."

"What the hell does that mean?" I snap at her.

"I first arrived at Magnolia about ten days ago," Daphne says through a mouthful of food. "To continue my research. I was doing some digging into Natsu Dragneel's backgrounds, when I--" She swallowed hard. "When I ran into Gray Fullbuster. He showed interest in my project and was very willing to lend his hand towards completing it. So he lured the Salamander here for me knowing full well he'd bring you along, too. He's quite the catch, wouldn't you agree?"

"What?!" I snap at her. "You're tellin' me that he willingly agreed to betray us?!"

"No way, I just can't believe that!" Wendy exclaims.

"I knew there was something going on between you two. You and Gray... are gettin' all lovey dovey~" Happy chirped.

Daphne adjusts her glasses. "Maybe~"

"How scandalous!" Happy cries. "When Juvia finds out about this, she's gonna more vicious than all of the Oracion Seis combined!"

"Could you be any more obnoxious?!" Carla snapped. "Shut up, get over here, and I don't want to hear another peep!"

"I'm sorry, Carla, please forgive me." Happy sighs.

"Wow, she's got Happy on leash." Ballad comments. "Like you have Mr. Marko on!"

I tug at one of her whiskers and grimace. "Now's not the time, Ballad."

"Okay, so you and Gray are partners now, but what does this city without sound?" Wendy asks. "And what's your interest in Natsu? I don't understa--"

"Yes yes! Your questions can wait!" Daphne interrupts her. "For now, how about samplin' one of metamo-chan's flavors?"

"I don't think anyone wants to eat your weird floppy food, lady," Ballad comments.

"Oh yeah, give me one of the fishy flavored kind!" Happy cried. He immediately put it into his mouth.

"Do you have a single shred of self-control?!" Carla cried.

Happy immediately began spitting out literal fire, crying loudly at the taste. "Got a kick, don't it?" Daphne cheered. "You want a nibble?" She offered it to Wendy.

I slap the thing out of her hand. "No, we don't want your disgusting food!" I shout at her.

~*****~

Natsu and Gray continue to fight against each other. "You can do it, Natsu!" Happy cheered.

Natsu tackles Gray again, and they go tumbling through the wall and into a large pool. "Oh, no--" I gasp. "Gray just got the field advantage!"

"You're going down now! Good luck dodging this!" Gray exclaimed. "Ice Make Prison!"

A large ice cage surrounded Natsu, and he began to throw a tantrum. "Oh, this is so not playing fair!" Natsu cried. "Let me out and fight like a man! C'mon, it's cold!"

"Yes yes yes!" Daphne chirps. "Not only is he good looking, but it appears he's quite the brilliant tactician! I knew partnering with him was a smart move!"

"You belong in a cage," Gray taunted.

"I'm not some wild beast, jerk!" Natsu shouted. "Fire Dragon Roar!" He manages to destroy the cage, but it creates a cloud of steam that gives Gray the coverage to attack. Natsu breaks through to the second floor as they continue to fight.

"I know you don't agree, but the only way to stop them is with my Sky Dragon Magic!" I hear Wendy exclaim.

"Absolutely not." I snap back at her. "This is a brawl between two very strong wizards, and you're still very new to fighting. You will be injured very badly if you interfere." I explain as we come to a halt. My gaze swerves to the ground. "And I--" I trail off, letting my gaze slide towards the sound of their fighting. "I can't fight Gray..." I murmur. "Not my friend..." I clutch my fist and press it to my mouth, trying to force the frown away.

"Miss..." Ballad cooed softly.

"Fine! Then I'll just go fly and get some help!" Happy cried a s he tackled the window, only to be blown back by the barrier.

"Your stupidity is painful to witness." Carla commented.

"Yes yes, there's no escaping. It's pointless to resist, so why don't you try to relax for a while?" Daphne asked haughtily.

"The only way outta here is to beat her up!" Happy shouts.

"While you wait, please enjoy some of the leafy green variety!" Daphne stops him by shoving her disgusting food into his mouth. "Like I said, escape is impossible." She comments. "This lodge is my illusion, so if I want you to stay, you stay."

"This lodge isn't even real?" Wendy asks.

"Yes yes, I use concealment magic that hides anyone and anything for as long as I want." Daphne explains. "And this quaint little building was created using my hidden cage spell. It may not look like much, but it fooled you, right? On the bright side, you won't have to call for reinforcements."

I peer out the window and gape. Erza and Lucy are approaching. "Hey!" I shout as I slam my fist against the window.

"They came looking for us!" Wendy gasped. "We're up here!" She shouts.

"Hurry! Natsu needs your help!" Happy cries.

"What the hell is that thing?" I ask as I watch as a strange being appears from the ground. "Are those things working for you?!"

"What a smart little dragon~" Daphne coos. I grimace. "And they're not the only ones either. I've got a menagerie of artificial playthings in my arsenal!"

"Golems?" I gasp.

"Bingo~ And those bad boys will tag team with a golem that matches the abilities of the opponent they're fighting!" Daphne explains. "Magnolia has the best wizards around, so I'm taking the opportunity to gather data on them while Gray deals with the Salamander."

"Oh yeah? And just who's gonna deal with me?" I snap at her.

"Oh, please don't spoil the real show before it can begin. Besides, it's not like you have any magical energy as you are now. All dried up, thanks to the dry air around us." Daphne comments. My brow twitches. "My my, those boys like to play rough, don't they?" She comments as the building shakes.

"I gotta say," I hear Gray comment. "Of all the times we've fought, this one's the best by far."

"Yeah, somehow you've always found a way to keep up with me." Natsu retorted.

"C'mon, Natsu! Give him one right in the face!" Happy shouted.

"Yes yes, splendid!" Daphne cheers. "Everything's gone according to plan! All right, Gray Fullbuster! Time to finish this little game!"

"It'll be my pleasure!" Gray exclaims.

They collide again, but Gray's magic is no match for Natsu's. "Yes, Natsu won!" Happy cried.

"He certainly lives up to his reputation." Carla huffs.

"Whoa," Wendy hums.

"Impressive, Dragon Boy." Daphne hums. "Oh, you'll need to eat those diamonds for me." Daphne comments as the floor goes out beneath me. It's dark. Very dark. I can see the snow in my mind, and for some reason, I remember this day vividly. When I woke up cold and alone. Everest was nowhere to be seen. I try to move, but a pain like no other shoots through me. I grimace and sag, my fingers scrabbling uselessly against my pockets, searching desperately for my ice diamonds. I continue to move, ignoring the pain in my body. My fingers scrape against someone and the pain doubles.

"You need to--" I try saying to the person I'm grasping. "Get out-- get out and stop this thing--" I feel the scrape of someone else's fingers against mine as I shove one diamonds into my mouth. Magical power bursts from the other person, and it shoves me away from them and forces me out of the strange world. I hit the ground, hissing loudly.

"Aria!" I hear Lucy cry as I scramble to my front. I don't bother to respond her before launching myself at the large dragon with the red orb in it's chest. "Erza!"

I feel a tug at my hair and I'm being tugged back forcefully, and held in an aggressive hold. "That's enough, I understand your feelings!" Erza barks at me as I thrash.

"It's sucking the magic out of him!" I shout. "I told him to leave-- That bastard-- shoved me out! He can make more powerful magic here, I can't!" I thrash harder and shove Erza away as my skin becomes enveloped in the pale icy scales I'd worked so hard on mastering. "I'm gonna rip him out of there! He can't destroy that thing from where he's at!"

I feel a hard crack against my head and I tumble forward a few feet. Just as I glance back at Erza, the wind picks up, causing me to tumble back. "No one said anything about it flying!" Happy cries as I peer up at it.

"What did you think the wings were for?!" Lucy snapped.

"If it keeps going that way, it'll hit Magnolia in no time!" Wendy cries. My skin hisses from the dry air and I collapse to my knees, trying so desperately to get back up.

"Try to stop my Dragonoid!" I hear Daphne's voice. "And you'll end up as another statistic for research."

"All right, listen," Erza starts. "I need you all to return to the guild and get ready for action. We have to protect Magnolia, no matter what."

"Okay, what are you gonna do?" Lucy asks.

"I'm going Dragon Hunting. Now quit wasting time!" Erza orders.

I stumble to my feet. "I'm going with you." I hiss.

"No, you're going to the--"

"I'm not leaving you to fight that thing alone!" I shout at her. I toss my last ice diamond into my mouth and sprout wings. "Besides, you'll need a dragon to catch one!"

Erza glares for a moment before she ultimately nods. "Let's head back to the guild!" Lucy chants to the others.

"Aye, aye, sir!" Happy shouts.

"Aria, be careful!" Ballad retorts quickly, her paws patting my face tenderly.

I nuzzle her head before lifting into the sky, and take off after the beast.