Welcome to "Fairy Tail: An Alternate Tail." This story starts by takings the monumental meeting between Natsu and Lucy, and has a different shipping take their place. It will also have other pairings switched with each other. It's inspired by "Switching Places" by bookaddict621 (And you guys should check it out) which had Zervis as the main protagonists. This story is obviously AU. Here are the stars Gajeel and Levy.

Levy: *Waves hand* Hi.

Gajeel: *Grumbles*.

Aren't they adorable. This story is going to rated high T due to Gajeel's mouth and attitude.

Gajeel: What the H*** do ya mean my mouth and my attitude. Answer you F****** B******.

Levy: Gajeel, calm down!

Thank you for proving my point Gajeel, now if you two don't mind…

Levy: Oh, of course. DigiXBot does not own the rights to Fairy Tail.

Gajeel: If he did, he be doing something more product-Ow! *Levy gabs Gajeel in the rib*

Shut up Metal Face, now on with the story.

A Meeting in Hargeon

In the city of Hargeon, a train has just arrived at the station. While this was not an unusual occurrence, a conversation between two strange individuals definitely grabbed the attention of the train inspector. Especially if one was a man in punk clothing moaning in deep pain on the floor while the other was a black cat standing on two legs.

"Gajeel, get up. We have arrived at Hargeon."

Also the cat talked, definitely not normal. The inspector decided to approach with caution. "Is he okay?" He asked. The cat turned to face him, and he attempted to hide his fear from the serious expression of the feline.

"Of course he is," The cat answered. "He unfortunately suffers from a severe case of motion sickness."

"Never," The man known as Gajeel groaned. "I'm never riding a fucking train again." He stopped as he tried to hold back his vomit. The cat simply sighed as he stepped towards the car's side exit.

"If our information is correct," The cat said "then we will find the Black Steel here." He turned and faced his partner. "Gajeel, we need to move now."

"Yeah, yeah Lily," The man grumbled. "Just let me catch my breath." He dragged himself from the floor to halfway out the window as Lily walked out of the train. However, the cat stopped as he heard the train whistle, with the train beginning to ride off away from the station.

"Noooo!" Gajeel screamed. "Lily, get me off this thing!" The train eventually left the station.

Lily just pinched his forehead, knowing he had to rescue Gajeel from a vehicle... again.

Meanwhile, in a magic shop within the commercial district of Hargeon, a young blue-haired maiden was taking the next step on the journey to becoming a powerful mage…

"What!" The girl shouted. "You mean there's only one magic shop in this whole town?"

...Unfortunately, she took the step in the wrong direction.

"'Fraid so," The old shopkeeper behind the counter answered, "the people round here are more fishing folk than they are magic folk.

"Man," The girl, wearing an orange tank top, bluish jacket and white pants (Here old outfit at the start of series), mumbled. "I was hoping to find some useful spells."

"However, we do have the latest goods in stock." He poke around through his counter and pull out a color pinwheel. "This color magic is popular with the young ladies." He demonstrated by turning his shirt from blue to purple.

"I already have one of those." She answered while looking around. "I was hoping that I could find some rare spell books here, since Hargeon would encounter many travelers here."

"Hmm, spell books, huh?" The shopkeeper went into his counter before pulling out an ancient leather-bound book. "This book contains many ancient spells, however, it hasn't sold well because it's deemed 'unreadable' by many prospectors." The blue-haired girl looked at the book like it was a Christmas present. She place on a pair of red glasses before opening the book. After a few minutes, she looked up enthusiastically.

"Wow, not only this book is authentic, but it's also in a rare language, probably one that hasn't been fully deciphered yet."

The shopkeeper blinked in confusion. "You don't mind that at all?"

"Of course not, it'll be a challenge." The girl said happily as if that answered everything. "So how much is it?"

The old man chuckled. "Well, this rare specimen can be purchased for the bargain price of 20,000 Jewels."

The girl's smile froze, but she managed to respond. "How much?"

"20,000 Jewels." He answered back. The girl sighed before she began to examine the book once more, checking every single detail before facing up with a proud grin.

"I believe the book is actually worth less than that." She said strongly, ready for a good discount…

...Only to leave with the book in complete frustration. "Argh!" She shouted. "I can't believe that old man only knock down a thousand Jewels. Are all my bargaining skills really worth only 1000-kya!" The poor girl couldn't finish her rant as she was knocked down by two eager girls walking down the street.

"Can you believe it," One of the girls asked her friend. "The mighty Black Steel sama is here."

"I heard that he has metal magic that you can't buy in stores." The two giggled childishly as they continue down the street while the blue-haired mage stared curiously.

"Black Steel?"

"Ugh." The black haired man groaned. "I can't believe I had to ride that damn train, twice!" His feline companion just shook his head. "Well, you should have gotten off the train sooner."

"Aw, shut up already!" Gajeel shouted before sighing. "So that Black Steel we heard about, that had to be Metalicana, right?"

"Of course it might be," Lily answered. "You said it yourself, Black Steel was the title he took. So what do you plan on doing once you meet with him." The pierced man just grinned. "Well, the first thing I'm gonna do is punch the bastard in the face for leaving me all on my lonesome. Ghi hi hi." He finished off with a laugh.

"Oh, and then afterwards you will embrace with him a strong father-son hug." Lily responded with a smirk, causing Gajeel to turn red with embarrassment. "Oh, shut it cat, I ain't into sappy shit." Their conversation took a pause when they witness a large crowd of girls in the plaza of the city, all screaming out "Black Steel Sama."

Gajeel grinned. "That has to be him. Come on, Lily." The black-haired man ran towards the crowd with his feline partner following him.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the crowd, the blue-haired girl from before, who will be known as Levy, was approaching the said crowd with curiosity. Pushing through, she stopped when she saw what she thought was the most handsome man in the world.

He had spiky, dark grey hair and was wearing a blue shirt and red slacks alongside a black cape, as well as some mysterious rings (BTW, this isn't Bora, it's someone else). Floating around him were shards of metal constantly changing shape.

"Prepare to be dazzled with my metal molding magic." The man said with a disgusting grin as the fangirls shrieked with excitement. Levy meanwhile, was feeling her heart beating out of control as her eyes literally became hearts. She began to step closer to the man, wanting to get closer to him when…

"Metalicana!"

A boisterous voice broke her from the trance as a tall black haired man with piercings enter through the crowd followed by a small black cat walking on two legs. "There you are," he said. "Where've ya-" He and his partner stopped when they saw the Black Steel. Gajeel was quiet for a few seconds before he spoke. "Who the fuck are you?"

Black Steel could only stare in shock at the man's attitude, while the fangirl could only gasp at the man's rudeness. Meanwhile, the blue-haired maiden, freed from her trance, was examining the situation, finding the cause of her behavior on the caped-man's finger. Now an expression of anger covered her face

Black Steel was paralyzed for a few seconds before speaking. "If I said the Black Steel would that- Hey!" To further shock, Gajeel and Lily just walk past the man, the former grumbling about the fact that Metalicana wasn't here. However, his complaining stopped when three rabid fangirls attack the two travellers, yelling about his rudeness.

"Now, now! That'll be enough." Black Steel said. "It is not as if I was that insulted or anything" The fangirls back away from the pummeling. The grey-haired man pulled out a napkin, rested it on a flattened piece of metal, and wrote his name on it before handing it to Gajeel.

"Here's my autograph. Now you can brag about it to your little friends." Gajeel and Lily got up and examined the paper in confusion before the pierced man scoffed. "Why the hell would we want that?" His feline partner just facepalm, knowing that they just dug their grave

The same fangirls attack the two and threw them out of the crowd. "That's.. obviously not him." Gajeel moaned as Lily tried to wake him up. Black Steel just ignored the two, announcing to the crowd of his party on his yacht, before he manipulated one of his shards into a flat disc, which he stood on while floating away, with the crowd following him.

The two travellers could stare at the scene before Gajeel spoke. "What was that guy's deal anyway?"

"He's a real piece of work, huh." The two turned around and saw a blue-haired girl. She stared at the two before smiling. "Thanks for what you did!" The two stared in confusion before Lily spoke. "I'm sorry ma'am, but could you clarify what exactly we have done?" The girl stared in shock before shouting "You can talk?!"

Gajeel just rolled his eyes. "Well, duh, all Exceeds can talk." The girl just crossed her arms in irritation while Lily smacked his partner on the leg. "Ow!"

"Don't be rude." The Exceed chided his partner before he face the girl. "Forgive my friend for his behavior. As he said, I am an Exceed, a race of cat-like creatures with the capability of speaking, though that tends to shock many individuals."

The girl just sighed before smiling again. "That's okay, Let me explain what happened earlier. Lunch is on me." The grin on both of the individuals could only instil regret in the girl's choice.

Sure enough the regret was proven when Gajeel was devouring an inhuman amount of food at a ravenous pace, while his partner ate his kiwis at a more reasonable rate. However, bits of the food still ended up on Levy's face.

"So," She began. "Your names are Gajeel and Pantherlily, right?" Her smile strained as more food bits landed on her. "Just go easy on the food guys. *Sigh* There goes the money I've saved." She mumbled.

"Fanks for da food!" Gajeel mumbled while eating. Lily also gave his thanks for the kindness.

"No problem." Levy replied. "Actually, I should be thanking you guys. That man from before, Black Steel, was using charm magic in order to sway people towards him."

Lily pondered on what she has just said. "That magic was outlawed years ago, was it not?" Levy nodded. "Yeah, actually, the Magic Council has prohibited it since x779." Gajeel took a break from eating to scoff. "Talk about a jackass. Punks like him shouldn't be trusted." He raised his eyebrow. "So what does that charm stuff had to do with us?"

"Well when you guys enter the crowd, you broke the charm on me." Gajeel just shrugged. "Makes sense. So why you're here anyway."

"I came here hoping to find ways to improve my magic.I may not look like it, but I'm also a mage." Gajeel examined her before speaking. "Really huh, couldn't tell. So which guild you're part of?"

Levy just rubbed the back of her head, "Well, none yet. There's this really important and popular guild I want to join, but because of that it's probably impossible for just anyone to get in." Her expression went down.

"I believe you might be able to join." Lily said. Gajeel smirked. "Yeah shortie, you got more than enough brain for all those guilds to want you."

"Thanks guys," Levy said. "So about you two, you guys came to look for someone."

"That's correct," Lily replied. "We were looking for Metalicana."

"We heard a guy named Black Steel was in this town," Gajeel continued. "But instead it was some poser. He didn't even look like one."

Levy blinked in confusion. "One what?"

"A dragon, cause Metalicana a real dragon." Levy stared gobsmacked before shouting. "You two though a real dragon would be in Hargeon without drawing more attention?!" Gajeel was left dumbstruck trying to give an answer, while Lily was left pondering over the girl's statement. The girl shook her head before getting up and placing a couple jewels on the table. "Never mind that. I have to get going now." She only took a few steps before she felt herself being lifted up by her shirt.

"Hold on there Shrimp," Gajeel said, gripping the young girl who was struggling to get free. "We haven't thanked you yet."

"Would you let me go!" Levy shouted. "And I just told you guys, you saved me a while back, so we're even."

"True," Lily responded. "But we did not intend to rescue you."

"So we're still in your debt." Gajeel added. He pondered in thought before releasing Levy and searching his bag before pulling out the autographed napkin he received from before.

"Here, you can have this."

"Why would I want that!" Levy protested before pinching her forehead. "Just forget about it, okay." She then left after saying goodbye. Gajeel could only stare before shrugging, then he ate the silverware. Lily just rolled his eyes.

Later, Levy was on a bench reading Sorcerer Weekly, reading an article on how some Fairy Tail wizards took down a clan of crooks, but manage to cause massive property damage.

"Oh man," Levy laughed. "Those Fairy Tail wizards are really over the top sometimes." She sighed. "I really want to join them, but they probably need you to be amazing."

"You must think they're the coolest them." Levy jumped off the bench in shock as Black Steel popped out of a nearby bush.

"Black Steel!" She growled in frustration. The man ignored the emotion and simply grinned. "I was looking all over for you. I wanted all girls of your cuteness to come to my yacht." He leaned in closer. "After all, it won't be a party without you…"

Levy moved away quickly as Black Steel collapsed onto the ground. "Nice try. But charm magic fails if the target knows about it. So your little trick isn't going to work." The caped man simply dusted himself as he rose up. "Oh my, a cutie and a Smartie. And one of that much knowledge is obviously a mage. I knew there was something special about you."

"Yeah, and I know there is something disgusting about you, especially using charm magic to lure in girls." Levy crossed her arms and walked away.

"Wait!" The man shouted. "You said you wanted to join Fairy Tail right, well what if I said I could help you."

The blue-haired girl turned around. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I am a member of Fairy Tail," Black Steel answered. "and if you come to my party and keep quiet about that charm incident, I'll put in a good word for my master."

Levy's mind entered a deep debate, deciding whether or to believe him. After almost a minute, she smiled and agreed to come.

"Great," Black Steel replied. "Just come this evening and look your best."

After he left, Levy threw her fist in the air, excited that her dream is coming true.

Later that night, a certain pierced man belched loudly as he and his partner walked down the streets of Hargeon.

"Man that was some good eating, huh Lily." He shouted.

"Definitely." Lily replied. He stopped and saw a boat out in the distance. "Hmm, Gajeel, isn't that the boat that man in the plaza was speaking about." Lily turned and saw his partner kneeling by the railings, looking extremely nauseous. "Really, you're feeling sick just by looking at it."

"Can you believe it!" The two turned towards two girls talking."The famous Black Steel is on that ship."

"I heard he's a member of Fairy Tail."

"Fairy Tail?" Gajeel mumbled, staring intently at the boat.

"Enjoying the night," Black Steel asked as he and Levy were sitting in a private cabin. "Perhaps some lemonade to add some sweetness."

"That would be nice." Levy was wearing a nice dress with a pleasant smile, though inside she was screaming to escape. Black Steel raised his hand and droplets of lemonade floated in the air towards Levy. "It would be fun to …" She then scowled as she swatted them away. "If they weren't filled with a sleep concoction.

Black Steel was shocked at first, but he then gave a malicious grin. Suddenly the curtain was pulled back as many burly men carrying unconscious, tied up girls enter the room. Levy could only stare in shock.

"What's...going on…"

"Oh, nothing much, just an unplanned trip to Bosco." Levy could only stare at the caped-man in horror. "Bosco, that's a hot spot for human trafficking, so then this is a slave ring!" Black Steel clapped in response. "Bravo, you're a real smart gal aren't ya," He snapped his fingers and two of the men grabbed the girl from behind. "Though not street smart apparently."

"Hey boss, are ya sure of this one" One of the men asked. "I mean she's kinda lacking, if ya know what I mean." Levy could only scowled, both at the thug's statement, and the fact the mastermind was scanning her in a lecherous manner.

"She makes that up easily with her magic and her smarts, well, book smarts obviously." He pulls from the girl's belt a pen. "Hmm, I can't seem to figure what this is to be towards your magic, I can't even click on this." To Levy's protest he threw it over the ship.

"I don't believe it…" Levy stated in horror. "Is this what a Fairy Tail wizard-" She was interrupted when a crash from the ceiling grabbed everyone's attention. Landing on the ground in grace was Gajeel.

"Gajeel!" Levy broke free from her captors and gave a thumbs up. "You came." Her excitement faded as Gajeel collapse and moaned in discomfort, shocking everyone.

"I told you that wouldn't work." Above the hole was Lily, who was pretty much flying, like a boss.

"What's wrong with Gajeel?" Levy shouted. "And Lily, since when could you fly?!" The Exceed only sweatdropped. "Oh, did I not tell you that Exceeds are capable of flight?"

Black Steel shook himself out of shock and turn to his crew. "Don't just stand there, grab them."

"Lily," Gajeel groaned. "Get the Shrimp out of here." Before Levy could protest, Lily landed and a blast of smoke surrounded him. When it vanished a humanoid, 7 feet tall panther was in his place. He pulled out a 1-foot sword from his back, which grew to his current height when he swung it and knock down the approaching men. Lily then grabbed Levy and flew out of the ship.

"Do all Exceeds have the ability to transform too?!" Levy asked. "Actually, I am pretty sure I am the only one-" He was interrupted when gun blasts were aimed at the two. Lily flew erratically attempting to avoid them.

"We have to do something!" Levy protested. "We can't just leave Gajeel, or the other girls."

"I'm afraid the situation is much worse." Lily replied. "I am almost-" He stop talking when not only his wings disappeared, but his body reverted to his smaller state, causing both him and Levy to fall into the water. However, while below, Levy spotted a familiar object on the shallow floor. She swam down and picked it up before heading up towards the surface.

Back on the ship, Black Steel was scanning the water attempting to find the two escapees. He needed to stop them before they contact the magic council. A groan drew his attention back to the cabin, where Gajeel was attempting to get up. "Fairy...Tail." He turned and face the caped man. "You...went…and…"

On the water surface, Lily was searching for the blue-haired girl when she rose up with an odd looking pen. "What is that suppose to be?" He asked. Levy just smiled. "This is the secret to saving Gajeel. It's time to show you guys some Solid Script Magic." She raised the pen, and in the air, she wrote the letters S, T, O, R, M. "Solid Script:" She shouted. "Storm!" Immediately the letters took the form of storm clouds, growing bigger as they rose into the air, with rapid winds and harsh lightning surrounding it. Levy cheered as the storm cloud grew larger and thundered, yet she stopped when she noticed Lily was shaking. "Um, Lily," She asked concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Ye-yeah," He stumbled covering his ears from the sounds. "I-i am definitely not afraid of th-thunder. W-what made you th-think that?" Levy sweatdropped. "I never even said anything about being afraid." She shook her head. "Anyway, a few more storms and I'll be able to push that ship towards the shore and get Gajeel off it. Solid Script: Storm!" She repeated her previous spell. But once the word joined the larger storm, it became more chaotic, pushing the weather into a full hurricane, with waves pulling both the ship and Levy and Lily towards land.

"Ahhh!" Levy screamed. "I went to far!" She and her companion landed unceremoniously face first onto the sand, while the ship landed on the beach on its side.

"Urrgh," Lily groaned. "Maybe you should have practiced that spell before going overboard." Levy grumbled as she pinched her forehead. She got up and saw the former fan girls running towards the city, relief filling her knowing that they will tell the authorities. The same relief grew when she saw Gajeel on the sand, recovering from the motion sickness, but with his jacket torn.

"All of you…" The three turned and saw Black Steel and his men getting up from the crash. "You sabotage my plan. It took me forever to gather that many girls." He scowled. "You have pretty big balls for a group like yours, especially for a man with a pierced face and his talking house pet." Levy and Lily stood on guard, the latter irritated at the insult aimed at him.

"Yeah," Gajeel grumbled, marching towards the man. "Well, you got pretty big balls for a man with a pierced vagina and his talking sissy collection." This startled Black Steel and his men, the latter mixed between laughter at the insult at their boss and frustration at the insult towards them. Black Steel, on the other hand was full of rage. "That's it!" The caped man shouted. "I have had enough with your obnoxiousness!" He turned to his men. "Get him."

Gajeel continued moving forward, knocking down the men that attempt to stop him, his jacket continuing to fall apart. "You claim you're a Fairy Tail Wizard." He scowled as he finally approached Black Steel, the smirk on the villain's face pushing him to anger. "Let me see your face," He launched his punch at Black Steel, his jacket ripping off to show a recognizable Fairy symbol on his left shoulder. "Well, I'm Gajeel of Fairy Tail, And I ain't seen your ugly mug before."

Levy stared in shock. "Gajeel...is a wizard… a wizard of Fairy Tail."

"Tora-san, that mark" One of Black Steel's men said to to his boss. "I think that's the real deal."

"Don't say my name you idiot!" Black Steel shouted in protest.

"Tora," Lily scowled. "There was a wizard named Tora the Eminence, who was banished out of the guild Titan's Nose."

"I've heard of that," Levy responded. "He was removed because he was using Charm magic to aid in thievery."

"I don't care what you're up too," Gajeel growled. "All I care about is that I can't let you insult Fairy Tail's name."

Tora raised his hand and from under his cape came the shards of metal from earlier, which floated and aimed towards Gajeel. "The bigger they talk…" He threw his hand down and the shards flew towards the true Fairy. "The harder they fall!"

"Gajeel!" Levy shouted in worry, but froze when she saw not only was Gajeel unharmed, but that his skin became iron scales. Many of the shards were barely piercing his skin, while two were caught with his hand and a third in his mouth. He swallowed the piece in his mouth before stuffing the other two into it. "That was some shitty tasting metal." Gajeel grinned as he wiped his mouth. "But I won't lie when I say that charged me up." Everyone stared in shock except Lily, who stated that regular alloys won't be able to pierce Gajeel's hide. "Black rugged hair…" Levy said. "Pierced skin that can become iron…"

"My turn." Gajeel separated his legs and place both of his hands into a straw position in front of his mouth. "Iron Dragon…" Visible for a few seconds was energy that surrounded him before entering him. "ROAR!" A massive channel of iron shrapnel was released through his hands, rushing towards the enemy so fast that it left rips in their clothes and new scars on their skin.

"I don't believe it," Levy finished. "Gajeel is the real Black Steel. He's Black Steel Gajeel of Fairy Tail." Gajeel didn't give a chance for Tora to recover as he launched himself at him.

"Iron lungs to propel metal at high skin," Levy analyzed as Gajeel pummeled Tora. "Iron scales so tough it's impenetrable, and iron teeth strong enough to shred iron." She turned to face Lily. "That's Slayer Magic isn't it, a type of Lost Magic that lets individuals become so close to their element that they can consume it."

"Indeed," Lily answered. "To be specified, Gajeel employs Iron Dragon Slayer Magic, an ancient magic that enables his body to take on dragon-like characteristics. It was originally a dragon counter spell; Gajeel studied this magic under Metallican."

Levy blinked in confusion. "Don't you think it's strange a dragon would teach someone the ability to kill other dragons." Lily shrugged. "A little bit, but I am sure there was a good reason."

"Listen up punk," Gajeel shouted at Tora. "Cause this here's the might of a Fairy Tail Wizard; Iron Dragon Fist!" Gajeel's hand was covered in scales before he upper cupped the Metal Make Wizard, sending the criminal blasting off. Once he disappeared Gajeel laughed.

"Ghi hi hi, that was too easy."

"I would agree," Lily deadpanned. "If there was not one minor problem." Gajeel raised his eyebrow at the Exceed. "And what the hell would that be?"

"What would that be?" Levy tried to keep her emotions in check. "How about the fact that you got too carried away and destroyed the pier!" Gajeel looked around to see the immense damage, then simply shrugged. "Hm, guess I went a little far." Lily facepalmed while Levy pulled at her hair. She was about to scream when she heard intense footsteps; rotating herself, she saw the army approaching them. Before she could say anything, she was grabbed by Gajeel and threw over his shoulder like a potato sack. Gajeel and Lily began to run away from the military, with Levy pounding on Gajeel's back demanding to be let go.

"Why am I being dragged into this?!" She shouted. "And why am I being carried like a thing?!"

"Yo Shrimp," Gajeel turned his head to face her. "Didn't you want to go to Fairy Tail?" Levy paused her rant to stare with curiosity. "Then come with us and join the guild, we could use you." The blue haired girl returned him a kind smile, both laughing as they raced towards new adventures.

And finished, so what did you guys think?

Levy: This was a pretty good story. Not as good as when Natsu and Lu-chan meet in canon, but still amazing.

Lucy: I don't know Levy-chan, I think he did a great job, he wrote you and Gajeel skillfully in character.

Natsu: Yeah, he got Metal Face right, a rude jackass. *Natsu laughed*

*Gajeel growled.* Gajeel: Shut it Salamander. Anyway, I kinda like this shit. A story bout me, Shrimp, and my cat is gonna be a hell of a lot better than a story about Salamander, his dumb cat, and Bunny- Ow! *Levy jabbed his ribs.

Levy: Stop being rude Gajeel!

Natsu: What did you say Metal Face. That's it, you're gonna die. *Natsu launched himself at Gajeel, and the two began fighting. Erza was growling in irritation.*

Lucy: Natsu!

Levy: Gajeel!

Erza: Stop this foolishness, you are interrupting the hard work of the author. *Erza marched towards Natsu and Gajeel and began to pummel them.*

Happy: What hard work, he just copy and paste the original story.

Lucy: Seriously Happy, would it kill you to be a little more polite.

Pantherlily: Well, he isn't wrong.

All of you be quiet. Now to the actual audience, please give good reviews and constructive criticism (And maybe a suggestion for a Beta); all flames will be fed to Natsu.

Natsu: Yum! Maybe it'll be better than Bora's.