Shadow Script dropped down in front of a silent building, shaking hair back from her mask. She studied the office building towering above her, recognizing it from casual drives past the place to and from school.

     The night air washed over her face as she took a step forward. Someone in the shadows moved forward as well, cloaked in the darkness of night. She recognized him immediately as the man she'd been hunting for so long. He had finally led her to the boss's building. Destroying it would be a satisfying enough revenge for the death of her father.

     Shadow Script faced the man looming over her, his red hair blowing in the light breeze. He was smirking at her, then lunged forward without warning. The brute was barely avoided as she rolled aside, raising her hands.

     "Solid Script: Flame!" The ball of fire was swiftly dodged, and the man sprang forward to tackle her. She scrambled out of the way, slashing her hand down with an incantation. The man was knocked back, but he skidded to a alt on his feet. He clenched his fists, sprinting forward again. She leapt into the air to avoid him, but he caught her wrist and jerked her back to land a hit on her face.

     Shadow Script reeled away, clenching her teeth tightly together. Her cheek stung, but she ignored it. She knew from experience that this man was much faster and stronger than anyone she had fought before, the henchman to the boss. She had lost twice in the past-- but not today.

     She surged forward, landing a hit to his side as he attempted a dodge. She slashed a hand down again, and he crumpled beneath a pile of rocks. Shadow Script smirked in triumph, but he hurled the heavy stones from his body. He dragged himself out, teeth set in a grimace as he growled curses at her.

     Dodging a rock that he threw at her, Shadow Script advanced. The man rolled to avoid a ball of flame, then leapt forward as nimbly as a cat springing at a mouse. He caught her in a viselike grip, pinning her by the throat against the wall.

    She choked out a desperate gasp, but he threw her aside into the asphalt. Shadow Script forced herself to keep rolling, finding her feet and standing sharply. She crouched beneath a swing, swiping out a leg to trip him up. He lost his balance, and she shouted an incantation with a swipe of her hand.

     Her adversary was sent flying through the base of the building, shattering windows and reducing several walls to pieces. It was a move that would've killed an ordinary man, but she was unsurprised when he sprinted towards her unharmed.

     He leapt into the air, raising his fists, but a force slammed into him. The man was sent tumbling across the street as the newcomer straightened in the moonlight. His skull-like mask gleamed in the silver light as he turned to face Shadow Script.

     Her eyes widened. "Blacksteel!"

     "Who's your friend?" Blacksteel asked, gesturing to the red haired man, who was climbing to his feet with a curse.

     "No friend of mine," she shook her head, "He's the bad guy here."

     "Alright, then let's take 'im down," he cracked his knuckles, and she could tell by his voice he was grinning beneath his mask.

      "Wait..." she stared at him in surprise. "You believe me?"

       The man caught Blacksteel from behind with a blow to the head that floored him instantly. Shadow Script used the distraction to slam into him, thrusting him into the street as Blacksteel was on his feet with a snarl.

     His chain whip cracked around his head, catching the man around the arm and pulling him forward. He managed to slip free before Blacksteel could reach him, but Shadow Script knocked him to the ground with a well-timed roundhouse kick. He rolled across the ground, catching her by the wrist and slinging her through the wall of the nearby building.

     The man made a move to follow up on the attack, but a chain wrapped itself around his legs and pulled him back towards Blacksteel. "Eyes on me, bastard," he smirked as he landed a solid punch to his face, sending the man through the wall after Shadow Script.

     Blacksteel sprinted in after him, spotting Shadow Script struggling to lift a shattered piece of stone from her arm with a shout of pain. She was pinned, and her opponent was advancing. He caught the man around the neck, jerking him backwards and away from her as she tried to push the stone off with her feet.

     The man caught a fistful of Blacksteel's hair, jerking it out from beneath the mask as Blacksteel twisted to slam a fist into his face. "Watch it!"

     In his moment's distraction, the man pulled a pistol from his pocket. Shadow Script's heart went still as the gun went off, the sound of the shot ringing in her ears. It missed. The bullet shattered a piece of stone behind Blacksteel's head, and he caught the man's wrist to aim the gun away.

    They grappled for a moment, and the gun went off several times into the ceiling. Small crumbs of debris rained down around them, but the man jerked away, slamming his fist so hard into Blacksteel's stomach that he tasted blood. The man stepped swiftly away, lifting the gun. Blacksteel found the barrel aimed directly at his face as Shadow Script shouted "No!!"

     His whip cracked into the already weakened ceiling, and that was all it took. Stone rained down around them, releasing plumes of dust into the air with a deafening sound like thunder. Blacksteel stepped away, licking blood away from his lips. He choked on it as he stumbled away from the stone barrier between them and his opponent, grabbing his mask. It was torn from his face so he could spit out the blood and free his breath. 

     Scarlet dripped onto the concrete floor as he wiped his lip, spitting more blood onto the ground to clear the sticky substance from his throat. He stepped over his fallen mask, gripping the stone that pinned Shadow Script with both hands.

     She was staring at him with wide amber eyes, shock written across her face. "G-Gajeel?"

     "Help me move this damn thing," he growled, licking blood from his lips to spit it onto the floor. "He'll be back in a second."

     She braced her feet against it to help him move it, but she still looked stunned. "Gajeel... you're Blacksteel? Y-you can't be!"

      "Sorry to disappoint you," he grumbled, shaking his head to clear the long black strands of his hair from his face. He paused suddenly. glancing quickly over at her. She felt it too, and raised her hands.

      "Solid Script Shield!"

      A massive explosion cleared the fallen ceiling from the path, sending rocks slamming into the shield that was surrounding Shadow Script and Gajeel. The shield vanished as the barrage ceased, and the man strode forward with a laugh.

      "You can't beat me," he spoke through the smoke as he strode forward slowly and confidently.

      "Maybe I can't," Shadow Script gave her head a shake, and the feathers weaved throughout her hair to disguise the true color were swept away on the breeze. "But we can." She glanced at Gajeel, her amber eyes searching his for confirmation. He smirked, nodding once, and her face lit of with a grin that was so familiar...

      The man was surging towards them before she had time to say anything else, but a whip cracked out to halt him. She lunged forward, catching him solidly in the face with a fist. The whip was torn off of him by a clawed hand, and she was kneed in the gut. She rolled back through the shattered glass and broken rocks as Gajeel caught the man with a kick in the side.

     "Solid Script Fire!" The orb of flame landed solidly across the attacker's face, sending him reeling away from Gajeel. She leapt from her crouched position to her feet, sending a barrage of stone after him.

      Gajeel held up his broken whip, annoyance filling his crimson eyes. He didn't understand how the man was capable of breaking chain with only his hands, but it was starting to piss him off. The chain whip clanked to the ground, and he sprinted towards the man as he battled Shadow Script.

     He caught her in an uppercut to the face that cracked her mask, and she clasped a hand over her face to keep it over her eyes. Gajeel grabbed the man around the neck in a solid headlock, and he began to choke for a breath.

     The man's hands began to tear through Gajeel's skin as he resisted, blood welling beneath the jagged nails.

     Shadow Script grabbed him by the throat, knocking him off of Gajeel to the ground. His feet caught her in the stomach and he lobbed her over him. She landed hard, but he was above her with the gun.

     Gajeel was sprinting towards her, but she surged upwards, grabbing the gun's sides as she forced it away from her. It fired once into the air before she shouted an incantation that blasted him off of her.

     She rolled onto her feet, gasping for a breath. She held her mask onto her face with a hand, panting to regain the breath he had knocked out of her. Gajeel was sent through the base of the building, which creaked precariously as more walls inside of it were shattered.

      "Hey!" She snapped, raising her hand. "Don't you dare hurt him!" An enormous ball of flame was sent into him, knocking him backwards through the building. That was the last straw for the towering business office-- it creaked loudly, windows in the lower rooms shattering outwards. Shadow Script watched in horror as it leaned sideways, crumbling towards the asphalt.

     "Gajeel!" She sprinted forward, but a hand caught her arm as the building came down the rest of the way. A cloud of smoke filled the night air, making her cough as she spun to see who had grabbed her. She was staring at Gajeel, bleeding slightly from a gash on the side of his face, but otherwise okay.

      "I think it's safe to say we don't have to worry about him anymore," Gajeel grinned, tossing his head back. He rested a hand on her shoulder as he glanced down at her.

      Shadow Script stared at him, and he noticed the broken mask she held onto her face. Before he could speak, she spoke up quietly as it crumbled more beneath her shaking hand. "I suppose it's only fair."

      "Huh? No, you don't gotta--"

      She released her mask, and it fell to the ground in front of her with a clink. She glanced up at him with an uncertain smile, brushing back the cerulean curls that littered her face. His jaw fell open.

      "N-no way... Levy?!"

       She laughed faintly, but paused as the whine of police sirens filled the night air. She gave him a playful nudge. "Ought to get going, huh? Um... bye." She sprinted off into the darkness before he could call after her. 

      Gajeel jumped as he heard the small of car doors behind him, signaling this place was about to be swarmed with cops. He took off at a sprint after her, his mind still spinning from the discovery he could hardly believe.