Lily gently placed Levy on her feet, next to the girl on the platform. She flinched slightly as Levy began unfastening her from the chair, and she shook slightly. "W-who are you?" She asked quietly, tears still in her eyes. Levy smiled softly at her, "I'm a friend of your dads. And this is his partner." She motioned to Lily before turning her attention back to the chair. She came across some runes and began decoding them. "Aunt Juvia?" The girl sounded almost panicked. "She's here, fighting one of the dark guild members." Lily reassured her. Avery nodded slightly.

The machine attached to the chair began to glow slightly, and Levy looked up in a panic. The roof was open, allowing the full moon to look in from the center of the sky.

Midnight. "Lily disconnect the chair!" Levy shouted, but Lily was already moving. The exceed grabbed the wires connected to the machine and began to pull, even as they electrocuted him. Levy decoded the runes as quick as she could, pulling Avery from the chair as soon as she was done.

The girl stumbled with a slight cry before slumping against Levy. The bluenette caught her, gently sitting her on the floor. Even for a twelve years old she was incredibly thing, and Levy was sure she had some broken bones. "We'll wait right here for your dad to finish." Levy said sweetly as Lily sat beside them. Avery nodded, sniffing as she wiped her eyes with a dirty hand. The girls and the exceed turned their attention to the battle raging in front of them.

Gajeel covered himself in iron scales as he watched the man before him. She the stone could dent his iron, but it was better than bare skin. The man dropped his war hammer and it dissolved into pebbles. Gajeel moved in to strike before a new stone weapon could be made. Iron pole inches from Sypress, the unexpected happened. Sypress formed his maker hands but instead of stone, lightning began sparking from his hand. That lightning now formed a sword that connected with his iron. Gajeel bit back a pained cry as he lept back, putting his scales away, avoiding getting shocked again. Gajeel glared at the man, his arm forming into a sword once more.

Gajeel charged forward, side stepping a blow from the lightning blade. His iron sword swung out, catching Sypress in the side. The man hissed and swung back with his lightning blade.  Gajeel couldn't jump back in time, and he brought his arm up to block from a fatal hit. Gajeel shouted in pain as his arm blistered and burned. His fingers felt numb and he couldn't seem to form a fist. "Gajeel!" His crimson eyes flashed up to Levy who stood at the edge of the platform. She threw a word towards him and he barely caught it. Iron sat in his hands, a small heart in the O, but it seemed different than on Tenrou. He saw it. Shadows moved within the word, swirling like smoke in its depths. He looked up again, and he could see she looked tired but proud.

"Kick his ass!" She shouted, thrusting her hand into the air, index finger to the sky. Gajeel smirked and turned back to Sypress, "Aye sir," He chuckled before devouring the shadow iron. He felt invigorated, and he could somewhat feel his hand again. In the blink of an eye, Gajeel sunk into the shadows, catching Sypress off guard. He sped across the ground, emerging directly in front of Sypress. His hand was an iron blade, wrapped in shadows. Sypress cried out as the blade met his shoulder, but he spun with a new stone blade in hand. Gajeel sunk back into the ground, appearing behind him. Lightning shot towards him, but he didn't flinch as it made contact with his iron skin.

Gajeel lashed out with his iron sword again, but Sypress caught the blade. Electricity coursed through his hand, followed by a blast of fire. Gajeel pulled his arm towards his body, pulling Sypress with him. His free hand shot forward, a second blade. Stone formed over his skin but it didn't stand a chance against the dragons iron. His blade plunged deep into Sypress' chest, and Gajeel forced him backwards. Blood gurgled from Sypress' mouth, as he gripped the blade, weakly trying to shock Gajeel again before finally collapsing. Gajeel stood there for a moment,  breathing heavily. The shadow and iron melted away, revealing bruised and burnt skin. Fatigue washed over him but he didn't let it take over.

He turned towards the bottom of the stair leading to the platform, where his eyes landed on the small black haired figure. She stared at him as he slowly made his way over. Levy smiled softly from behind Avery and gently pat her back. Avery bit her lip as tears welled into her eyes before she stumbled forward. Gajeel caught her once she was close enough and he clung to her, his grip gentle yet firm. Avery burst into tears as clung to her father. "Daddy!" Gajeel buried his face in the black locks, shaking slightly as he held his daughter. "I'm so sorry Avery..." His voice was rough. Avery shook her head, "I'm just glad your here..."