You know, I really did not think it would take me this long to get in the mood to actually do another chapter. Sorry to all those who liked the first chapter and wanted another. I intended a slightly longer one, but have decided to go with this since I had a relatively good place to break off in.

Sajira, since you were anonymous I can't reply directly but: you are half right. The "Flint" part is definitely from Dragonlance's Flint Fireforge, the "Stronginthearm" is a common Dwarf surname in Terry Pratchett's fantastic Discworld series.

Anyway, just a warning with spell names: I'm going with whatever I feel sounds cooler for whichever characters. Some use English translations, some use Japanese. For the Japanese ones, on their first use they'll have a little number. Look to the bottom of the page and there's a translation with that number. Uses after the first won't have the number.

Anyway, read, review, reap the souls of your enem- err, whoops, forget about that last part...hehe...

Also: Check out this picture for a good idea of what Gajeel now looks like, save for the hair style. Pretty good picture, in my opinion.
.com/art/Gender-Bent-Dragon-Slayers-209228441?q=boost%3Apopular%20Gajeel%20gender&qo=1

Thanks to InuOtaku911 for beta reading.

* Iron Maiden Chapter 2 *

"Thank fuck that's over." Gajeel swore as she threw herself onto her coach, dropping the few bags she had been carrying. The Dragon Slayer was joined a moment later by Pantherlily, who was scooped up and held in what would be considered an adorably cuddly, possessive fashion were it not for Gajeel's involvement.

The Exceed rolled his eyes and got comfortable. "It wasn't so bad. And you have to admit, she's a good haggler."

Gajeel shared a grin with her cat as they remembered the moment when the clerk at the store Gajeel usually bought from realised he'd met his match in the form of a small, blue-haired girl who really seemed quite nice on the surface. It was amazing, Gajeel mused internally, the types of clothing stores Magnolia had. After a moment, she thought to Fairy Tail and some of its many, oft-times bizarre, fashion senses and decided that it was actually a testament to smart business-owners. After all, when a mage found the outfit, that one combination of accessories and clothes that they would forever more wear, who else would they go to when their dangerous missions damaged it?

"'S ok," Gajeel admitted reluctantly, receiving a snigger from Lily "Shuddup."

They stayed where they were for a while, simply relaxing. It would be a surprise to some that Gajeel did not, in fact, spend her free time practising for the perfect evil laugh, nor working out how much damage it takes to break a person's will to fight. Possibly, although Gajeel had not said it, it was due to the fact that the only other person Gajeel had even been close to was a large, metal-covered and, if you took the Dragon Slayer's word for it, 'selfish' dragon that she enjoyed simply relaxing in Pantherlily's company. Neither would actually call it anything such 'cuddling', even if everyone else would. Not within earshot though.

After a while, Lily spoke. "So, we've got you clothing which is entirely identical" he gave his Dragon Slayer a look which said the words 'because you're completely unoriginal' before continuing "aside from the fact they're sized for women. I don't even want to know why anyone would sell such things."

"Oi. I don't see the problem. I like 'em." She glared down at her partner.

"Exactly," Lily replied with a smirk. Gajeel huffed and glared, but did not bother arguing back. "What now?"

Gajeel gave him a surprised look. "What do ya mean, 'what now'?"

"I mean, 'what now'? As in, what do we do now? Do you want to just go back to jobs or go looking for a cure?" the black cat explained. "We could go back to those stores and you could frighten the sales assistants some more, you looked like you were having a good time." He suggested jokingly, getting a guffaw in response.

She shrugged, but seemed to think about it. "Let's head back later and ask the old man if he's got any leads. If not, we'll go on a quest and listen for something."

Lily listened and nodded; "Sounds good to me. So, when do you want to head in?"

The Iron Dragon considered this as she adjusted her place on the couch, ending up lying lengthwise across it, still holding Pantherlily tight. "Later. I...can't be bothered." She explained weakly, not really bothering to think of something better.

"Yeah, right," Lily's tone said he was in no way fooled, but was willing to let it pass.

* Iron Maiden *

The next morning, after an unsuccessful discussion with Makarov which yielded only a promise to look into it with his contacts and a very subtle warning not to take any solutions Ivan might offer which did not quite fly over the perceptive Pantherlily's head, the pair ended up staring at the Request Board. They searched over the flyers looking for something that involved violence, preferably in copious amounts.

"What about this one?" Pantherlily pointed to a request for guards to look after some noble or another.

Gajeel snorted, shaking her head. "Fuck no. I ain't lookin' after some brat. If it was worth more, maybe." Nab, who was in his usual place at the request board, caught sight of a bobbing movement out of the corner of his eye. He froze as the information about what it was that was bobbing up and down. His face went red and the mage looked away. The Dragon Slayer noticed this, however. "Hey, what's wrong with y-"

"Gajeel, Lily! You looking at the escort request?" Makarov called from his seat on the 2nd floor railing.

She shrugged; "No way. I told Lily, I ain't wasting my time looking after some spoiled brat." Nab used the chance to flee, not willing to explain what had made him blush.

The old man let out a laugh. "No maternal instincts?" he asked with a cheeky grin. Gajeel snarled and gave him the finger, which just made Makarov laugh again. Letting it out, he threw something down to the pair. Lily caught it, unfolding a request.

"Damn!"

It was nearly identical to the request on the board, but the reward had increased from 50,000 Jewels to 150,000 Jewels.

Pantherlily glanced up at Makarov. "What's the reason for the higher reward?" he asked suspiciously.

Makarov coughed, obviously not covering up any amount of laughter. "Well, it seems the noble who needs to be guarded has a made a few...enemies since the original request. Bandits, mobsters, that sort. I thought you might be interested." He offered, but something in his voice told the pair there was more.

"That all, huh?" Gajeel eyed him, "Why us?"

"Because one of the gangs aiming for him is connected to the bandits you fought on the train." Their eyes widened at the implications of those words.

Gajeel sighed and looked darkly at her partner. "Guess we're babysittin'. Thanks old man." She called as they started towards the door.

"Hey Lily, make sure Gajeel doesn't punch out the brat. Trust me; it's not Manly to fail a escort job because you beat up the VIP!" Elfman called helpfully.

They paused it their progress, swinging towards him. Unnoticed by Gajeel, there was a movement from a certain area of his body that sent blood to Elfman's cheeks. "That sounded suspiciously like you've got experience in that particular event." Lily observed.

"Y-yeah..." Elfman admitted, looking away, suddenly no longer talkative.

"Oi, what's wrong with you?" Gajeel asked, narrowing her eyes. She took a heavy step towards him.

If his collar wasn't already open and his chest bared by his jacket, Elfman would probably be fingering it nervously. "U-uh, n-nothin'" He rallied. "A Man doesn't get-" he trailed off as Gajeel took another heavy, shuddering step that sent vibrations up her body.

"What?" Gajeel was demanding now. "The fuck is wrong with you?"

"Gah," Lily closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. As fun as this was, Gajeel was in a bad enough a mood from having to 'babysit' already. "Gajeel, look down."

"Huh?" she glanced down, then back to her partner, scowling. "Yeah, I got tits now. Doesn't everyone already fuckin' know?"

The Exceed rolled his eyes. "Look down, and take another stomp." He explained, talking as if to as small child.

Growling, Gajeel did so. She frowned, and did it again. And again; "Well." She finally said after a moment's consideration. "Would you look at that."

"Yes, I believe several people are." Her partner remarked, looking around the room. In a much quieter voice, he added "You do know there was a reason Levy took you into that store, right?"

"Which one?" she asked, trying to remember.

Pantherlily rolled his eyes. "Honestly. The one which made you go red."

"How red?"

The Exceed considered the question for a moment; "Somewhere between blood red and tomato red."

"Oh." There was an internal struggle as Gajeel forced blood from gathering in her face through sheer will power. Getting back on topic, she went on. "Yeah, I know the one, so what?"

"It was to avoid this. Don't tell me you haven't noticed them moving, you're too much of a fighter not to be aware of them. You need support, at the very least so you can fight properly." Lily scolded her.

Gajeel groaned. "Fine, we'll head back home first."

"Good morning. Ah, Gajeel?" a voice asked from behind them.

Turning, she nodded down at Levy, "Yeah?"

Levy performed the well-known and widely renowned manoeuvre referred to by masters of its art as the face palm. "I was going to ask why Elfman was trying not to look at you, but I don't even have to ask, do I?"

The Dragon Slayer shrugged nonchalantly, creating a jiggling sensation. "Guess not, Bookworm. Lily just told me. Don't worry, I'm gonna fix it. See ya in a bit, shortstuff, we're off for a mission." She strode past. Gajeel hesitated, a step away, before turning with a scowl. "And...Thanks. For yesterday." She grumbled and walked away faster.

"My thanks as well. It was incredibly amusing to see this idiot in a –" the former general found his small, fuzzy mouth covered by a calloused hand in short order as they left.

As the irate Dragon Slayer stomped out of the guild, Levy stared after the pair. "Huh."

"Is something wrong, Levy-chan?" Lucy called. She had been watching events unfold, and aside from being amused by Gajeel's completely lack of awareness about the power of breasts, had found it a rather...interesting spectacle. And, she noted positively, unlike most things at Fairy Tail it did not involve violence.

The Script Mage had a strange expression on her face. "Lu-chan...have you ever heard Gajeel be like that?" she asked, sitting down next to her friend.

"Like what?" the Celestial mage inquired.

"Grateful. I mean most of the time he just kind of nods unhappily if someone does something for him. He doesn't exactly...admit when he's grateful." she clarified.

Lucy sat back, thinking hard. "Hey, Natsu!" she turned, calling the Fire Dragon Slayer from where he was buys arguing with Gray. Other than Lily, Levy and Juvia, Natsu and Wendy were the only ones who spent much time around the irate Iron Dragon.

"Yeah? Hey Levy." Natsu landed on their table with a thud, leaving Gray to try and regain his balance behind him. "What's up?"

"Does Gajeel ever...admit it if h- she is grateful? You know, if someone does something for hi- her, does she show it in an obvious way?" Lucy asked.

Natsu's face went into his 'thinking' face for a minute. "Nope, he just scowls and acts a bit less bastard-y. Why?"

"Thanks Natsu, no reason." Lucy shooed him away, deliberately avoiding answering the question beyond that.

"I'm goin', don't rush. Oi, you get to pick the next job remember?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Yes, I remember. I'll have a look in a minute, ok? Now shoo, go away." She pushed away, fighting against Natsu's suddenly dead weight.

"~Luuuucy!~" he made it a whine. "Hurry up."

She huffed. "I'll pick one soon, a few minutes won't kill you."

You could hear the grin in his voice. "Nah, I mean I wanna fight Gray. Push faster."

"Aye! Lucy, push faster! Push faster!" Happy flew around him. "You're being ~laaaaazzzzzyyyyy~!" he sang, prompting Lucy to glare at him.

"Walk yourself! What am I, an ox?" Lucy snarled at Natsu. He suddenly moved slightly forward, Lucy falling forward and hands sliding lower until she found herself pushing against his lower back, balancing on the tips of her toes as she was stretched, just above his waist. Now, Natsu was leaning back, standing on the balls of his feet, arching over her and letting his weight fall on her. Lucy realised with a start if she stopped holding him up, he would fall on her. "Natsu, get off!" It was incredibly awkward, since she was now stretched out as well and barely maintaining her balance.

"Hmmm...Nope." was his lazy reply.

"Natsu!"

"Ask nicely." He instructed her with a remarkably evil grin, sadly unseen thanks to her position. It certainly gave the rest of the guild a scare.

"I'm going to kill you!" Lucy screamed up at him.

Natsu laughed, with Happy shortly joining in.

The Celestial Mage resorted to outside help. "Levy, help me!" she looked back, a sense of despair growing as Levy smiled far too innocently at her, previous discussion completely forgotten.

"I could, but you look like you're having fun and it would be rude of me to interrupt." Levy giggled at Lucy's distressed expression.

"Lucy to give up within ten minutes and let Natsu fall on her, the odds are 3 to 1, make your bet!" Cana called helpfully. "Giving up between ten minutes and half an hour, 4 to 1." There were calls back, and Cana was soon busy writing down.

"Help me!" she shouted, but the guild seemed to have settled on letting her and Natsu work it out on their own.

Levy laughed as she watched Lucy scream at Natsu, who appeared to be enjoying himself immensely. It was a pity Gajeel had left before seeing this.

* Iron Maiden *

"Fucking girls' shit," Gajeel swore vehemently, heard easily through the thin wall separating her bedroom and the rest of the apartment. There were several miscellaneous thumps and bangs that Lily was not about to bother with investigating. He was sure Gajeel would work it out. "About fuckin' time." She emerged, scowling as fiercely as ever. "Let's go."

Lily decided not to comment. "Wanna check if Flint is in?" he asked instead.

Gajeel denied with a shake of her head, sending her waist long mane of vicious hair flying. "He's always in. We'll have to get your new Buster Marm when we're back." The Exceed nodded and jumped from the coach, following his Dragon Slayer out the door. Lily made sure it was locked, since Gajeel tended to be of the opinion that even if anyone broke in, she'd just smell them out and beat them up, meaning no one would dare.

"Where are we meeting the VIP?" Pantherlily inquired.

"The brat's in town, getting a damn coach ride to the next place the idiot wants to do. In some fancy-arse hotel somewhere" Was the growled reply. "Think I remember where the place is. Tacky as hell, if I'm right."

"I think" Pantherlily said slowly. "That 'tacky as hell' was a bit of an...understatement on your part."

Gajeel nodded in agreement. "I wish I smashed this place up when I still in Phantom Lord. Fuck, the people around here would probably pay me to do it now." There was a thoughtful silence as they stared at the gold-painted encrusted, ornament covered hotel. "You think maybe we could-"

"No." He was quick to cut her off, seeing where this was going.

"Maybe just a couple of the neon flamingos?" she suggested.

It was more tempting than Lily cared to admit. Finally, he shook his little head with a sigh. "No, not this time." At Gajeel's subtly downcast expression, he added positively "We could get a couple of others from the guild and have a fight here when we get back. I'm certain Salamander and Elfman will agree." He offered. They shared a dark grin. If they fought outside, and the building got 'accidentally' damaged, well, no harm. The people of Magnolia were used to such things by now. Hell, it was practically considered tradition to invite a Fairy Tail mage or two to house-warming parties now. It wasn't really home, the residents of Magnolia said, until at least one of the walls had a hole in it and something had been set on fire or frozen.

"Sounds good. I doubt bright green, red-dotted horse statues are 'Manly'. Come on, let's go find the brat." Gajeel nodded towards the entrance, which made one think of the maw of some great beast who just did not know that less could be more and they strode through.

Aside from avoiding looking too closely at any of the 'modern art' the owner had decided was in fashion, it was relatively easy to find the man they were looking for.

Gajeel stared down at the son of a wealthy noble, who was currently doing his best to fondle every woman who came within reach. "Aw fuck." She said it with feeling.

'Oh, Gajeel can see where this is going?' Lily thought to himself, surprised. Honestly, it seemed like Gajeel's mind was intent on not considering how things would play out now he was a she whenever it could. "Something wrong?" he asked innocently.

She snorted. "I hate brats like this. Haven't done shit in their lives, spend all their time spending money they haven't even earned. Fucking parasites. Metalicana would have eaten this fucker by now." She growled to herself. "Shit-head will look down on me until I save his arse or give him a good beating, fuckin' trust me on that."

'Ah, I guess not" Her partner concluded. Oh well, best to get it over with. "Well, no point waiting around. He's where the request said he would be, the receptionist said this is the guy. Nothing to do now but get on with business." He advised.

Huffing inwardly at the annoyance of dealing with nobles, Gajeel marched forward, Pantherlily at her side. Coming to a stop behind the noble, she made sure to stand between at least one light and him. Nothing worked for first impressions like towering over them. The reaction, as the short-haired blond head turned to her, was not what she expected.

"Hey baby, you look like the kind who likes it rough. Wanna join me for a game or two of 'hide the sausage'?" Nornigold Thobithion the Fourth asked, giving the Dragon Slayer the sort of grin some would called 'devilishly handsome'. Gajeel would call it 'dim and stupid'.

The pause, as Gajeel's brain heard, processed, processed again just to be sure, considered a response, processed a third time, and came to a violence laden conclusion, was occasionally interrupted by muffled laughter from the small black cat. Nornigold peered down at the Exceed, giving him a confused look. He looked up to ask what he thought would be his next 'conquest' what was up with the talking kitty, and froze.

The expression on her face could be best described, under ideal circumstances, with a series of murals painted by master artists who had all been recently traumatised by bloodshed and an army of violent fanatics who thought it would be an absolutely lovely idea to splatter the walls with the internal organs of several dozen people. In the current circumstances the description 'murderously furious, with a hint of blood-thirst and sending a nagging sensation of brown into your pants' would have to do.

"What" she asked slowly. "The FUCK did you just say to me?" her eye twitched dangerously and her hands became tight fists.

"Come on babe, a bit of fun for us both." He grinned in what he obviously thought was a roguish way. "Your kitty can watch."

"I'd rather not, thanks all the same." Pantherlily managed.

"Huh?" Nornigold stared down, trying to work out if that cat had really just talked. It was wearing pants, after all.

A heavy hand slammed onto his shoulder, grip tight and fingers digging into his shirt. "I'm this close to breaking every bone in your body, damn escort quest can go to hell!" Gajeel snarled, tightening her hold to a point where it was nearly about to become painful.

"E-escort quest? You're my guard?" the noble stuttered, staring up at the noticeable canines she was baring at him. To his credit, Nornigold recovered marvellously. He smiled at her. "Well, then you can't hurt me."

"I can't kill you." She corrected him. "The request just says I have to get you through this damn little tour of yours alive."

"And all limbs attached;" Came from the ground again.

She glanced down at Pantherlily, "Really? Do fingers count as limbs?"

"I think they do." Lily warned her.

"Well damn." Gajeel growled before turning her attention back to the noble. "Alright, Goldilocks or whatever, let's go. I'm here, so its time to start." So saying, she picked him up by the back of his expensive green jacket and began to walk out.

"Hey, let me down! And my name is Nornigold, you barbarian!"

* Iron Maiden *

The silence in the carriage was not, as some might think, awkward. To be awkward would require at least two parties within to care what the other thought.

At least until Gajeel noticed the noble watching her with a calculating eye. Ignoring it, she went back to watching landscape on the right, while Lily watched the left.

Finally, after over an hour during which Gajeel completely forgot Nornigold's attention, the noble said something. "I thought Kurogane was...male."

"Eh?" she glanced at him. "I was. Magic happened. Now shut it." The Dragon Slayer commanded him shortly.

"You're being rather rude, you know." He pointed out with a cocky smile.

"You're being rather suicidal, you know." She returned without looking.

The noble actually laughed. "You shouldn't judge me just because of what happened in the bar. That's just a hobby."

"Fascinating," Gajeel's voice said it was really anything but. "You want to know what mine is?"

"'Beating annoying nobles bloody', or some such?" Nornigold guessed with a shrug.

There was silence, with a suggestion of muffled sniggers from the left window.

"I was right, wasn't I?" the noble asked, wearing a sort of insufferable grin.

Gajeel's hand tightened into a fist. "I'll punch you right through the wall if you don't shut up, Goldilocks."

The threat went unnoticed. "My name is Nornigold, barbarian girl." He smiled as Gajeel turned a deadly glare at him. "But you can call me 'Sir' or 'Master'."

"I'll call you 'practice dummy' if you don't shut up." She snarled. "Better a barbarian than a useless 'noble' waste of space."

Nornigold's expression became slightly frosty. "Can't hold a conversation without threats, can we, barbarian?"

"I dunno if you can, I never listen to you." There was a feeling of warmth at that. It was better than Gajeel's usual insults, most of which were more accurately labelled threats, a bit more wordy than 'fuck you'. She had to give Levy some credit there. For whatever reason, the oddly friendly little mage had taken to just...hanging around the Dragon Slayer and being unaccountably nice. Almost as if Gajeel hadn't beaten her team and left them hanging from a tree with the Phantom Lord symbol painted on her stomach.

He sneered at her. "So, you have some minor wit? How surprising. Like a dog that can play the piano...well, I suppose you'd be a bitch that can play a piano."

"I'm gonna rip off your d-" Gajeel began, slowly standing. An explosion rocked the carriage suddenly, the driver outside shouting out as the vehicle shook.

"Bandits mi'lord! Bandits come to steal our livelihoods and ravage us!"

Pantherlily glanced out the window, searching for the enemy. "Well, I guess it's time to go to work. Stop the carriage and we'll deal with them." Appearing as if from nowhere, a horde of gun-totting and sword-waving bandits charged towards the carriage; yelling at the top of their lungs. Lily glanced towards the driver. "'Ravage'?"

Gajeel shrugged and leapt out.

* Only minutes ago *

Lasair sighed irritably as he sighted the carriage. This, he felt, was a waste of his time and talent. Beneath him his raptor-like like mount let out a quiet hiss. He patted its neck reassuringly, hiding a grin at the way the horses of his erstwhile allies whined and pranced in distress. Just because he had to help these petty idiots did not mean he had to enjoy it.

"Let's go!" the leader of this particular bandit gang snarled. "Why are we waiting? That punk who got Jeerse caught is in that carriage!"

Hand tightening on the reins for a moment, Lasair resisted the urge to turn and reduce the fool to human-shaped charcoal. Working with such morons was all part of the plan, and Folamh would get annoyed with him if he screwed up any part of it. Muttering about 'tricky bastards', he waved the bandits forward. "Fine, do as you wish."

The bandit leader eyed him. "Aren't you supposed to help?"

"You can manage to take an unprotected carriage on your own, can't you? Or do you need me to do everything for you?" Lasair sneered at the bandit. He motioned towards the carriage. "Just get on with it."

Shooting a dark glare at Lasair, the bandit gave a shout and his gang responded with a roar. They charged down the hill, hooting and calling as they charged.

'Haven't these idiots ever heard of stealth?' Lasair pressed his palm against his face, shocked by 'bandits' like these. 'Why couldn't Domhan do this?' he clucked his tongue, and the raptor-beast slowly began to follow. No need to rush, after all.

A crossbow bolt to the forehead was not something most people got back up from. Opening the door, Gajeel was not even fazed as it shattered against her iron skull, although she was a bit dazed for a second. Half a dozen more quarrels slammed into the side of the carriage. One hit a few inches from the door with a thunk!, biting deeply into the wood.

Gajeel snorted. "Idiots." She pointed a hand at the oncoming gang of nearly thirty bandits. "Iron Dragon's Lance: Demonic Logs!" her magic seal flared up, followed shortly by a stream of iron spears. They slammed into front ranks, creating chaos as men and horses fell to the ground and made life considerably more difficult for those behind them. The sounds of equine distress accented by the cries of bandits being crushed under the weight of their mounts made Gajeel grin.

A dark blur shot past Gajeel, growing in size until Pantherlily, now in his Battle Shift Mode, crashed into the milling bandits. Bones crunched and snapped as he laid his fists against the apparently fragile bodies of the enemy.

Watching from the hillock, Lasair face-palmed again. "Idiots." He growled, watching as Gajeel joined the fray, laying about with her club-like arms with obvious glee. His raptor hissed aggressively, and it picked up speed.

Plowing through two of the bandits, Gajeel let out a sinister laugh as she punched a third in the face and rammed a foot into the crotch of a fourth. Grabbing two more, one head in each hand, she leapt into the air above the chaotic brawl and launched first and then the other, turning the unfortunate bandits into living missiles.

Unheard by anyone in the battle, a voice spoke "Hiken(1)."

Cackling, Gajeel suddenly caught a strange scent about two seconds before a cloud of fire slammed into her. Falling, smoking, Gajeel hit the ground with a thud! Recovering from the unexpected attack, she leapt to her feet practically growling. "Who the hell..." her voice trailed off as she spotted the obvious source of the fire.

Fire orange hair, tied into a massive spiky ponytail hung from his head. His red eyes were framed by a single long lock of hair on either side of his lean, almost skinny face. A plain brown cloak with a high collar that covered his jaw sat on his shoulders, over a dark red shirt and black trousers held up a thick leather belt. He stood legs wide, a simple pair of sandals on each foot, in a combat posture. It would be impossible not to realise he was the source of the attack, what with the fact his left fist was still covered in fire, hiding an copy of the fingerless glove that adorned his right hand. He stood just beyond the battle, next to a bizarre raptor-lizard creature fitted with a saddle.

A toothy grin spread Gajeel's lips. "I knew this was too easy." She crowed eagerly, charging towards the newcomer. She had to punch one or two bandits out of the way, but they failed to slow her down. The fire mage grinned, a similar thought going through his mind as he watched the approaching Dragon Slayer. He lifted his hands, forming a cross with his index fingers.

"Jujika(2)." A cross of flames burnt through the air as it shot from the mage's hands. Gajeel leapt above the attack with ease, the flaming cross striking instead the bandits, and noted absently that the fire mage seemed uncaring about the level of damage he was inflicting on the bandits.

Her cheeks bulged for a moment as she responded with magic of her own. "Iron Dragon's Roar!" the whirling mass of iron-shavings vomited from Gajeel's mouth, crossing the space between them in seconds. The fire mage did not bother moving, simply taking the attack. Gajeel narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Orange light flared as the attack hit him, and a cloud of dust was sent up by the attack, obscuring the fire mage.

Coming to halt outside the cloud, Gajeel nearly sniffed before realising that doing so would clog her nose with dust. Swearing, glared into the cloud. She hated not knowing what the enemy was going to d-

"Kagero!(3)" a stream of fire bellowed from the cloud, coming close to hitting Gajeel had she not dodged with battle-honed reflexes the instant she felt danger. Rather than dissipate as simple blast would the stream followed her. Growling, Gajeel knew how to put a stop to that.

Drawing back her fist as she sprinted around the cloud, closely pursued by the magical fire, Gajeel punched towards the source. "Iron Dragon's Lance!" a single iron spear soared through the air. It lanced through the source of the attack, and the flame flickered out. Grinning in victory, Gajeel came to a stop.

Which is when the fire mage burst from the dust cloud right in front of her, both fists aflame. "Hiken!" both thrust forward, twin blasts released. Realising that with an attack each side there was no way to dodge, Gajeel chose the direct route. Direct: another way of saying straight-forward. She leapt forward, sweeping her arm out to strike the fire mage.

"Iron Dragon's Sword!" the dark blade-arm sliced through the air towards the fire mage's face as flames closes on either side. The mage failed to dodge and the sword bit into his neck...and kept going. Staring in shock, Gajeel watched as her opponent's flesh seemed to ignite as her weapon hit, which just flew through the flames. He grinned at her, and with a gesture halted the inferno burning around them.

"So, from the sound of it I'm guessing you're Kurogane Gajeel?" he scratched his chin thoughtfully, completely relaxed with someone's sword-arm buried in his neck. "You know, I thought you were meant to be a guy. But" he shrugged cheerfully. "I'm not complaining!"

Not being taken seriously was something Gajeel did not put up with. "You won't complain about anything, when I'm done with you!" Quick as a flash, she slashed at him again. And again. And again. Each time, the blade passed through the fire mage's body as it dissolved into flames, and each time the mage's smirk grew.

Eventually, he seemed to grow bored. "Since I know your name, it seems fair to tell you mine." He extended a hand, as though to shake. "I'm Lasair. Was that necessary?" the last he added sourly when she chopped through his reaching hand.

Gajeel's mind was working furiously. 'Dammit, this is like fighting Juvia! Can't land a single blow!' It was an unfortunate fact that Gajeel's magic was a bad matchup against the water mage, as Iron Dragon Slayer magic was purely physical. Other than raw magical power, she lacked anything like the energy of fire or lightning. This guy was one who needed to be fought with similar elemental or non-physical magic for any hope of success. But there would be a flaw, a method to prevent him from using that ability if only she could find it.

Growing disinterested in Gajeel's struggle to wound him Lasair huffed and with a sweep of his arm removed part of the fire cover. "Hmm...seems to be going as I thought it would...your cat is pretty awesome." He admitted, some admiration in his voice.

She actually paused there. "He is, isn't he? But aren't those your allies he's beatin' the crap out of?" she asked warily.

Lasair shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm only working with them cause Folamh told me to." He smirked at the shock on Gajeel's face. "Oh yeah, surprise. He told me all about that thing on the train. Nice work, you make a much hotter babe." Confusion, followed shortly by fury, filled her eyes and Gajeel renewed her attempts to vivisect Lasair. He was unconcerned. "What are the odds? You're on this quest which leads you to someone who knows Folamh. Must be pretty damn luc- Hang on a tick, what's all this?" looking through the gap in the fire wall, he sighed. "Well, look whose trying to run away." His fist clenched, and a small fierce flame was born between his fingers.

Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Gajeel bit back a snarl. 'That fucking idiot!' she thought furiously at carriage speeding away down the road.

"Sorry sis, gotta get to work." He smiled at her in an inappropriately relaxed way, entirely ignoring the way she twitched dangerously at being called 'sis'. "But hey, let's try this another time." With that, Lasiar's body from the waist down became a whirling torrent of fire and shot through the air. Like a flaming arrow, he blasted through the air at high speed. Shouting to Pantherlily, Gajeel pelted after him but she could tell she would never catch him. The carriage was bouncing down the road, unaware of its approaching doom.

Lily did notice, however, when a wave of heat passed him and the barely-conscious bandit held in one hand as the other hand drew back to punch let out a feeble cheer. His ears twitched and he looked at the sprinting, yelling Gajeel. Swearing, he hit the bandit in the face and dropped him to pursue the fire mage. Wings sprouting, Pantherlily's Aera lifted him into the air and he was moving at top speed. Even so, Lasair had already passed the carriage. For a moment, both Fairy Tail mages wondered at that, the fire mage hovering in the air above the road, facing the oncoming carriage.

Even such a distance, Gajeel could still see the eager grin on Lasair's face as he raised his hands.

"Hotarubi(4)." Dozens of small glowing lights appeared around Lasair, and with a gesture they sailed towards the carriage. In moments, the cloud surrounded the carriage. Holding an open hand towards the carriage, he closed it as he spoke again. Even as he did so, a black blur reached the carriage. "Hidaruma!(5)" The tiny fireballs seemed to implode, detonating at the centre, the blast obliterating the carriage and anyone in it.

* Iron Maiden Chapter 2 *

Please R&R!

Translations below!

First off, Lasair's pretty clearly using the moves of Portgas D. Ace, of One Piece fame (Oda, you monster! You masterful author of a monster!). Originally, I just thought "Hey, make him the same thing as Juvia except with fire!" and when I was thinking up attacks I just couldn't resist throwing this in. Oh yeah, and below are translations of the attack names. Like I said at the top, I'm just using whichever language I happen to like more for each character's magic.

(1) = Fire Fist

(2) = Cross-fire

(3) = Heat Haze

(4) = Firefly Light

(5) = Fiery Doll