Dragon's Thunder

by SharinArctic

A different guild in a different time than Fairy Tail, Dragon's Fang guild is a guild comprised of mostly Dragon Slayers. They fight for each other and the ones they love. Follow the Dragon's Thunder Team in many exciting adventures to come!

Chapter 1 - Fallen

We open our story upon an upstart guild, where legends will be born in the future. However, we will tell you how this Guild got its start. The Guild is dubbed Dragon's Fang, named so because its Master was a powerful Dragon Slayer, leaving a requirement that all Masters of Dragon's Fang must be a Dragon Slayer. Now, sit back, relax, and delve into the trials of Master Glave and his Dragons.

In the City of Dawnleaf

Present Day

Master Glave sits at his large mahogany desk, pouring over the latest complaints from the Council, and jots down half-hearted apologies. He grunts and kicks back his chair, hoping to take a nap before any more trouble finds its way to his desk. As his eyes start to flutter from exhaustion, he hears a noise from the training grounds, situated behind the guild. Unfortunately for him, his office is located at the rear of the guild as well, overlooking the training grounds. He scowls and gets up, wanting to see who interrupted his well-deserved rest. He gazes out to the courtyard and sees the source of the issue.

"When will Arctic ever learn…he has nowhere near the skill or magical power to beat Shinn, yet every day, he tries again. At least he is persistent…"
Glave exits his office, and walks outside to interrupt the battle. He opens up the door, and realizes he was a little late on his decision to stop the fight.
"Well…at least Arctic might learn something from this" Glave whispered to himself, rubbing his temples to prevent another migraine.
As Adonis Glave enters the training grounds, Arctic starts to launch an all-out assault on Shinn.
"Ice Dragon's…!" Arctic starts to prepare his first move, as Shinn utilizes his superior speed to speed around Arctic, in an attempt to confuse his attacker. As Shinn prepares to put his strategy in effect, Arctic unleashes his first attack. "…Frozen Hurricane!" Arctic's Magical Crest appears below him, as a heavy wind accompanied by a massive snowstorm spiral its way towards Shinn. Shinn smirks, and then gets deathly serious. "Trying to use a move like that…on me. You have a long way to go." Shinn closes his eyes for a moment, focusing his power, and then releases it in a explosive burst. "Storm Dragon's ROAR!" The two Dragon Slayer's attacks meet momentarily, and then Arctic's attack is crushed beneath the power that Shinn used in his attack. Without anything in between him and Shinn's attack, Arctic knew he would be crushed. He knew that he would be too slow to move out of the way or use ice to shield himself. As he stood there, waiting to be demolished, Master Glave jumped in front of him and swatted Shinn's attack away like it was nothing but a bothersome fly. Shinn bowed, and before he could say anything, Master Glave picked Shinn up by his collar and lifted him off of the ground.
"I can understand trying to make a member of your guild stronger by conditioning them for battle…but using an attack like your Roar at full power against someone with half of your strength is nothing less than shameful. If I catch you treating any member of my guild like that again, I will banish you from here."

Arctic picks himself up off of the ground and says, "Master Glave, leave Shinn alone! It was my choice to fight him and he treated me like a worthy opponent, actually using his abilities to their maximum potential! I could have-"

Glave takes two quick steps towards Arctic and gets in his face. "You would have died just now, because of your ego. I suggest you listen for once and stop challenging Shinn. Next time, I won't interfere to save your ass."
Glave storms away, fuming about Arctic's ego. As Glave leaves, Shinn walks up to Arctic. " I believe you could be stronger, Arctic…perhaps if you went on a quest with myself and Zero. I'm sure between the two of us, you could learn something to get the old man off of your back." Arctic follows Shinn into the ground floor of the guild, where Zero is already perusing the list of available quests. Zero glances back, and notices Arctic and Shinn advancing towards him. "Hey, Shinn. Are you on babysitting duty now?" Zero smirks at Arctic, and Arctic glares at Zero, clenching his fists. Shinn quickly responds, "I felt like we should take our fellow Dragon out with us, to try and teach him some skills here and there. Did you find any good Jobs yet?" Zero tears a paper off the wall and shoves it in Shinn's hand. "Here, meet me by the front gate when you are finished changing his diaper." Zero walks away, smirking at Arctic one last time. Shinn glances through the job and grins. "Perfect, a Dark Guild is getting out of hand and needs to be taught a lesson. Come on, Arctic. Lets go teach Glave, Zero, and these punks that the Ice Dragon Slayer is not to be trifled with!" Shinn grins at Arctic, and they walk out of the guild. Arctic caught a glimpse of the Dark Guild's title. "Griffin's Claw, huh?", Arctic whispers to himself. "Sounds like fun."

20 Miles North of Dawnleaf
Present Day

"Master Dawnliss! We have word that three Dragon Slayers from Dragon's Fang are en route to our guild! What are your orders, sir!"

"Relax, Ckriss…we will simply intercept them, and crush them. Contact Grimm and Tobias, we will make sure they never leave Dawnleaf." Ckriss exits to contact his squad mates, as Master Riku Dawnliss stares out into the forest, always searching for the last remaining piece…of Dark Chaos. "These meddlesome Dragons…they will be crushed by the fury of the Griffin. I have a schedule to keep."

Chapter 2 – Sand Storm

We last left our trio of Dragon Slayer's on their way to the Dark Guild, Griffin's Claw. As a recap, Arctic Dragonsbane is an Ice Dragon Slayer, with a basic skill level and has yet to tap into his true strength. Shinn Galestrum is in the upper range of his abilities, and during his fight with Arctic, we learned that he is the Storm Dragon Slayer. His limits have yet to be shown…what powers could he wield with such a broad definition as 'Storm'? Shinn also referred to Zero Crush as a Dragon Slayer. What could his Dragon Slayer ability be? Perhaps we will find out in this installment of Dragon's Fang!

Outskirts of Dawnleaf

Present Day

"So, as a Dragon Slayer, you should be able to reach the strength of myself or Zero, given time. First, remove the misconception of a Dragon's brute strength being its major attribute. Dragon's draw their strength from their spirit, meaning that the stronger conviction, the more you are able to crush the spirit of your opponent, and therefore surpass their attack power. That is the concept that I will try to teach you today."

Shinn and Arctic trail behind Zero, as Shinn begins to teach Arctic the fundamentals of being a Dragon Slayer. Zero scoffs at the end of Shinn's explanation, and turns around to contradict Shinn.

"Power is the only thing we have! Our superior strength, speed, stamina, and the ability to absorb our element from the surroundings is what makes us so powerful!" Zero turns back around and continues walking, as Shinn explains his reasoning.

"That really depends, Zero. The more an element exists naturally in the surrounding area, the less strength you gain from absorbing it. If you and I fought, for instance, I would gain more power from eating my element than you, because of the overabundance you have here or anywhere else." Zero nods in understanding, but still believes he is right.

As Shinn and Arctic start discussing battle strategies most beneficial to a Dragon Slayer, a heavy wind starts to pick up. The grassy plain they are standing in suddenly becomes overwhelmed with high winds and sand. Shinn squints up at the sky, using his forearm to shield his face, wondering what would be causing a sandstorm in such a place. The nearest desert is miles away from here. Suddenly, its impossible to see more than a couple inches in any direction, and Shinn grabs Arctic's arm and clamps down so they won't be separated. Finding Zero in this will be next to impossible, so they stop moving and try to wait out the storm. Then, the wind died down and the sand vanished.

"Ha! You Dragon Slayers are pathetic. You can't even handle a little wind and sand? This is why I told the rest of my crew that I would go alone. You aren't even worth MY time, but my Master needs you disposed of promptly. So, be a dear, and vanish with the sand! Screech of the Sand Griffin!"

As a whirlwind of sand speeds towards Shinn, Shinn grabbed Arctic and dodged the attack. "Don't attack, Arctic! Just dodge his attacks! Let Zero and I handle this guy!" Shinn looks over to Zero. "You ready? This guy is no joke, let's see what he is made of!" Shinn turns back to this unknown opponent, and evaluates his target. Shinn thinks to himself, "Obviously, this guy is strong. Being able to create a sand storm of that magnitude and strength out of nothing…this guy has magic power I have yet to encounter. However, if he uses that Sand Storm Technique again, I should be able to absorb it."

Shinn musters up his strength and cries, "Storm Dragon's Lightning Roar!" The attack arcs towards the adversary in the sky with blinding speed. Their foe just smirks, and vanishes. Shinn blinks, and all of a sudden the enemy is right in front of him, less than an arm's length away. Shivers race down Shinn's spine, and he jumps back about six feet.

"My, my. Not only are you weak, but slow, too? What's next? Are you going to grovel at my feet?" The enemy laughs, and doesn't notice that Zero just moved into position above him, and is unleashing his first attack.

"Sound Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Sonic Boom!" At the word, "boom", a high pressure sound wave shot at his opponent, and connected. The shockwave knocked Arctic and Shinn backwards, and a large plume of dirt and debris shot up in the air. "Shinn! Try your attack again, before he recovers!"

Shinn leaped skyward, and then shouted, "Storm Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Fire Storm!" Four large fireballs shoot out of Shinn's palms, and lance towards the crater. The ensuing explosion enlarged the crater, and knocked Arctic, Shinn, and Zero in opposite directions. Once the dust settled, nothing remained in the crater. They heard laughter from above, and spun around in time for a fist to connect to Shinn's jaw, and a boot to connect to Zero's stomach, knocking them both down on the ground. Still grinning maniacally, the unnamed assailant turns to Arctic.

"Go ahead. Run in fear. Tell everyone that Grimm Loque, the Sand Griffin Slayer, has bested the top Dragons from Dragon's Fang. Or, you can stay and attack, but that will get you killed." Grimm laughs in glee at his victory, until Shinn and Zero stand up and brush themselves off.

"That was a nice warm up, Grimm. Next time, though, actually TRY to hurt us." Shinn scoffed as he got up. "Yeah, that tickled a little bit, though. Gotta give you credit, I haven't been knocked on my ass like that in a few years." Zero commented.

Zero and Shinn, simultaneously, said, "Storming Roar of the Sound Dragon!" Grimm's eyebrows shot up in surprise and whispered, "Unison Raid? At this range? I can't dodge that!" The cyclone of power slammed into Grimm, as he tried to push it back. "Your pitiful Roar can't stop me!" Grimm cried out in fear. "I am a Griffin Slayer, far above your abilities!" Over the sound of the roar, Grimm heard another, but could just barely make out the words. "Ice Dragon's Frozen Blizzard!" The power of a Triple Dragon Unison Raid was too much for Grimm to beat back, and was overwhelmed.

Grimm stood up, bleeding and significantly damaged, but the same could not be said for Shinn, Arctic, and Zero. Grimm, scowling, stated this. "Next time we meet, Dragons, you will all die. If you value your lives, you will return that stupid Quest, and never come after us again." At that, Grimm vanished, and our Dragons all passed out from exhaustion.

Chapter 3 – The Sky is Falling Down

We last left our Trio at the outskirts of Dawnleaf, battling something referred to as a 'Griffin Slayer'. The assailant eventually revealed his name to be Grimm Loque, a prominent member of the Dark Guild Griffin's Claw. Grimm's attack power was more than a match for the two Dragon Slayers, Shinn and Zero. However, Grimm could barely withstand a combined magic attack, otherwise referred to as 'Unison Raid', from the trio. Grimm, bloodied and weary from battle, gave a final warning to the Dragons and fled the battlefield. Exhausted and drained of magical power, the trio passed out on the spot.

Dragon's Claw Guild

Present Day

Arctic slowly started to regain consciousness, and heard the WHOOSH sound of a fan. The mat he was laying on was stiff and uncomfortable, and the room smelled of bleach. Cracking open an eye, he recognizes the pure white room as the Dragon's Claw Infirmary. Arctic attempted to sit up, to better gauge his condition and to see if Shinn and Zero were present, when pain racked his body. Lying back down with a groan, he attempts to shut his eyes and sleep off the pain. As he was about to drift back off, he heard the voice of the last two people he wanted to see. Master Glave, although his words could not be clearly heard, sounded irate. The other voice was that of the healer, Oronia. Oronia is a short girl who normally braids her hair in a practical ponytail. Her blonde hair stands in stark contrast to that of her brother, Shinn. Oronia is the Sky Dragon Slayer, and utilizes wind magic. Wind based magic is also used as a healer-type magic, making her the most renowned healer in Dawnleaf.

"Their wounds are quite extensive, Master Glave. I wouldn't expect them to be up and at it again for quite some time. Shinn and Zero took the worst of it, and Arctic used up all of his magical power. Until that is restored, his body won't heal very quickly." Oronia shakes her head, walking at a brisk pace while holding a clipboard. She continuously jots down notes, and looks at Glave over the rim of her glasses when she speaks.

Glave grunts at her comment, and shoots back, "Hurry up and heal him, so I can put Arctic back in the infirmary myself. What the hell was that boy thinking, taking an S-Rank mission with his skill level. I would question him taking a C-Rank mission as it is!" Glave punches the wall to his left at the end of the statement to release some of his pent up irritation at Arctic.

Oronia was about to comment back, when she felt a low ringing in her ear. She can use certain magic spells to notify her when patients are awake or when they are in immediate need of medical attention. The low ringing signified that one of her patients was awake, and judging by the type of wounds and short amount of time it has been since they arrived at the infirmary, she deduced that Arctic was the one who was awake. "I should spare him the torment Glave wants to inflict on him for a few more days," Oronia thought to herself. She noted the time on Arctic's medical sheet, and bit her bottom lip in serious thought. "I don't want to have to heal him all over again because of Glave's irrational temper, but if I don't tell him, he will just get angrier." Oronia sighs, and pushes her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. She looks at Glave very seriously and states, "Arctic is awake, but if you so much as lift one finger to bring him bodily harm, I will drain all of your magic and beat you with a very large stick. Do you understand?" Oronia glares at Glave to make her point. Glave looks shocked at Oronia's outburst, and nods, too shocked to say anything. "Good, then let's go talk to sleeping beauty." Oronia walks away like nothing happened.

Glave shakes his head, thinking, "Damn, when did that innocent little girl get to be so violent. I better watch myself and stay on her good side."

Arctic hears the footsteps coming down the hallway, and realizes it is pointless to play possum. He struggles to sit upright, but grits his teeth and manages to get into a semi comfortable position. He begins to smooth out the blanket as Oronia gently pulls back the curtain surrounding his bed to peek in at him, then fully opens it, revealing a very ominous Glave. Glave moves to take a step forward, and Oronia shoots him a glare. Glave grimaces and takes a step back, and simply glares at Arctic and crosses his arms. Oronia casts a few healing spells and asks Arctic a few medical questions, and then nods to Glave.

Glave doesn't move from his position, but merely lifts his head. He looks Arctic dead in the eye and asks what happened. Arctic explains what happened with the person named Grimm, and mentions that he called himself a Griffin Slayer. Arctic gave a play by play of the battle, noting how fast and strong Grimm was, overpowering Shinn and Zero most of the fight. Arctic paused to catch his breath.

Glave asked, "How did you all survive, then? This Grimm person seems to have outclassed all of you, and only attacked because he saw you as a threat. Did he decide you all weren't worth his time?" Arctic opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by another.

"We survived because of Arctic, Master." Shinn limps in, covered in bandages and using a cane to steady himself. "Zero and I used one of our Unison Raid techniques we developed, and it was evenly matched in power by this Griffin Slayer. As we started to lose momentum, Arctic combined our Unison Raid with an attack of his own¸ which could have easily been as powerful as an attack from Zero or myself. The combination of our Roars is what fought Grimm off." Shinn was quickly losing balance and started to topple over as Oronia darted forward to catch him.

Oronia looked back at Glave and said, "Remember my warning, Master. It still stands." Oronia picked up Shinn and darted off to treat his wounds further.

"Griffin Slayers and Dragon Slayers at it again, eh?" Arctic looked back at Glave to see a small smile creep up on his face. Glave turned to Arctic and demanded, "Do you plan on completing this mission?" Arctic looked down at his hands and thought about it. Griffin Slayers were powerful adversaries. They are obviously further along in training than Shinn, Zero, and myself. It is obvious that they are attempting to hurt innocent people, or they wouldn't be a Dark Guild. Could I really let that go? Would Shinn or Zero let that go? No…I have to fight. Giving up is admitting defeat. We are Dragon Slayers! We don't back down!

Arctic looked back up to Glave and declared, "I will continue this mission, Master. I don't think it is too far of a stretch to assume Shinn and Zero agree with me." Glave nodded solemnly. He was about to speak when he was abruptly interrupted by a disheveled Oronia.

"I will join them as well. Come to think of it, I might know another Slayer who would be an indispensible member for a mission like this. I will finish up here and let these three rest, and then will go get her." Oronia looked down on her clipboard and scribbled something down, then looked at Arctic. "Lie back down and get some rest. I will wake you up when it is time to get ready to leave." Oronia flicked her wrist in Arctic's direction, and walked away with Glave. All of a sudden, Arctic started to feel drowsy, and started to lose consciousness. As he drifted away, he heard only one clear word from Oronia, the name Theresa. Then, Arctic was out.

Outside Griffin's Claw Castle

Present Day

Riku Dawnliss, the Guild Master of Griffin's Claw, is sitting on a bench outside Griffin's Castle that occupied the otherwise empty field, waiting for Grimm Loque to return with news of the destruction of the Dragon Slayers. He wears all black with a pure white cane, and thoughtlessly taps it against his shoe, passing the time. Suddenly, a breeze passes through the clearing, and Riku stands up and straightens his clothes, and prepares to welcome Grimm back home. The first to enter the field is Ckriss, followed closely by Grimm. Riku takes stock of Ckriss' expression and the appearance of a bloodied and tattered Grimm, and immediately deduces that Grimm failed. He felt a swell of anger rise as the two took their sweet time reaching the bench. Riku, waiting, replays Ckriss' explanation of only sending one Griffin Slayer in his head.

Courtyard of Griffin's Castle

Two Days prior to Present Day

"Master, instead of sending all of us, I would like to send only one. Preferably Grimm." Ckriss rubbed his hands together nervously and shifted his weight to the opposite foot.

Riku continued to stare up at the sky for an uncomfortable amount of time before stating, "What if Grimm fails to defeat the Dragon Slayers, Ckriss? You will have pissed off a trio of Dragon Slayers. Regardless of the notion you all have in your heads that Griffin Slayers are superior, surely you can grasp the concept that emotionally compromised Dragon Slayers are a pain in the ass to deal with." Riku picks up his cane, and stands to look Ckriss in the eye.

Ckriss steps back, and then holds his ground. "Grimm will not fail! We have trained endlessly to see this plan go in motion! Even if Grimm somehow fails, we still have our secret weapon to deal with them. If they bring more Dragon Slayers, it will just boil down to less Dragon Slayers we have to deal with in the future." Riku looked at the serious and determined Ckriss, and sighed heavily.

Riku returned his gaze up to the sky, and said "Fine. If Grimm fails, he better return dead. If he returns alive, a worse fate awaits him." At that, Riku walks out of the courtyard leaving Ckriss by himself.

Outside Griffin's Claw Castle

Present Day

Grimm, bloodied and weak, motions for Ckriss to stay put as he advances the rest of the way to meet Riku alone. When he reaches talking distance, Grimm gets down on one knee and apologizes to Riku for his failure. Before Grimm can finish his apology, Riku swiftly steps forward and wields his cane like a sword. Before Grimm can react, Riku lashes out with the cane and strikes Grimm across the jaw with it. Satisfied, Riku sits back down on his bench.

"No need for apologies, Loque. I knew this would happen, regardless. Perhaps now you understand not to underestimate our opponents. The strike I gave you was to ensure you remembered this lesson. We will wait for the Dragon Slayers to come to us, and then we will slaughter each and every one of them. Am I understood?" Riku glared at both Grimm and Ckriss to ensure his message was received. They both nodded solemnly, and Riku grinned. "Dragon Slayers never fail to disappoint me, at least. I wonder if Adonis will involve himself in this," Riku thought to himself. "Perhaps I will get lucky enough to kill him myself." Riku got up and motioned for Ckriss and Grimm to follow, and entered the Castle.

-End of Chapter 3

Chapter 4 – Dragon's Thunder

We last left our Dragons in the infirmary wing of Dragon's Fang. Arctic, Zero, and Shinn were all pretty badly beat up from their encounter with the Griffin Slayer, Grimm Loque, a prominent member of Griffin's Claw. After receiving treatment at the hands of the Sky Dragon Slayer, Oronia, Arctic was questioned by Master Glave about what happened. After Arctic's description of the fight and declaration to continue the mission, Oronia declared she would be joining them. As Oronia casted a spell on Arctic so he would rest, she left to go gather the final member to join them, someone by the name of Theresa.

Dawnleaf Town Square

Present Day

Dawnleaf's town square is bustling with life. Everywhere, merchants are advertising their wares, young children are running around playing games or running errands for their parents. The square consists of a large clock tower in the center, surrounded by a lush garden filled with a variety of flowers. Tending to the garden is a young girl with brown, shoulder length hair wearing a simple blouse and trousers. She doesn't seem to be at all effected by the noise in the square, almost as if she is in complete solitude. Lost in her work, she does not notice the Guild Master Glave or Oronia approaching her. Oronia motions to Glave and he stays outside of the garden. Oronia steps inside the wooden fence surrounding the garden, and deftly makes her way to the young girl. Taking great care to avoid stepping on any flowers, Oronia reaches her and kneels down next to her. Hoping to not startle Theresa, Oronia places a hand on her shoulder. Theresa looks up, completely shocked, and stumbles back.

"Hey, you can at least warn someone before you sneak up on them, Oro! I almost squished my flowers!" Theresa turns and ensures everything is still intact. Annoyed, she turns back around and asks, "What can I help you with?"

Oronia does her best to surpress a giggle at Theresa's expression when she fell back, and regains her composure. "I need your help, Theresa. Arctic, Zero, Shinn, and myself are going to go on a job, and I don't think we can be successful without your help. We are up against these mages who call themselves 'Griffin Slayers', and it took three Dragon Slayers to beat one of them." Oronia clenched her fists, and prayed Theresa accepted.

"Why take me, Oro? You know better than anyone that I am useless in a fight." Theresa shakes her head. "I don't have any support magic like you do."

Oronia glanced behind her to see Glave being distracted by a swarm of children. Oronia looked back at Theresa, and her expression got serious. "You are a Dragon Slayer, hun. You are not useless at all. You are the fearsome Forest Dragon Slayer. Eventually, you will have to leave your garden. I know the last place you want to be is with Zero and Arctic, but you think I want to run around with my brother for the next few weeks? We need to do this…to protect our Guild. Glave explained Griffin Slayers to me. Come with us, and Glave will explain why we have to fight."

Theresa stared down at her garden, and nodded slowly. "Fine, I will go see what Master has to say. Then, I will decide to join you or not. However, whatever my decision happens to be, please do not fight me on it."

"I promise I won't, now come on!" Oronia grabbed Theresa's hand and darted out of the garden. They were going to grab Glave and go back to the guild, but he was being overrun by children who wanted to play. They looked at each other and laughed, then went to the guild to wait for Glave's return.

Master Glave's Study

Present Day

Now completely healed from the ordeal with Grimm, there are six Dragon Slayers present in the study. The study itself contains a private book collection, desks covered with maps and charts scattered about, and the large mahogany desk dominating the center of the room. Across from the desk sits three large couches. Occupying the couches are Arctic, Shinn, Zero, Oronia, and Theresa. Glave stands up from his desk, and begins his explanation of Griffin Slayers.

"I have had much experience with Griffin Slayers in the past. They are not something to scoff at. As with Dragon Slayers, Griffin Slayers received their power from the legendary Griffins in the past. Long ago, Griffins and Dragons had a long, destructive feud. Many of both sides perished, and there was no victor. Obviously, that rivalry has been passed down to us. They are powerful in their own right, and posses some ability to negate our Dragon Force, our true power. That is what I am going to explain now, which might clear up some confusion from your last encounter. Just as some basics, they can devour their element to become stronger like we can. According to Arctic, Grimm used a Screech attack, similar to our Roar. What is different is their Griffin's Fury attack. It grants no power boost to them, but using it, it has the potential to negate our power." Glave pauses, and ensures everyone is paying close attention. He walks around to the front of the table and leans against it.

"Negating our power…is that how our attacks were so ineffective, Master?" Zero seriously asked, shifting a bit further forward in his seat.

"Not unless the three of you were in Dragon Force mode." Glave replied. He continued, "The negation does not work unless Dragon Force is achieved. Meaning, that if you can use a different type of magic, it will have no effect upon you. However, if you only have Dragon Slayer magic, then remember this: the core of Griffin's Fury lies in your emotions. If your opponent can guess your primary emotion during battle, then he can negate any and all attacks you use while feeling that. The downfall is, if you regain your composure, they can't switch it to a different emotion. That is where you can get the upper hand again." Glave reaches for his mug and takes a drink, waiting for more questions.

"It seems like their main purpose is to be able to kill us…do we have any special techniques or anything that only work against them?" Shinn asked. He leaned forward, intensely focused on the Masters response. As Glave was about to answer, he was interrupted.

"We don't need special techniques." Arctic said as he stood up and faced the group. "We were ALL trained by Dragons. It's not just the fact that we were trained by Dragons, though." Arctic looked down and shook his head. Clenching his fists, he pulled his head up high, and said, "If I ever want to meet the Dragon who trained me again, I will fight. I will win. Otherwise, I have shamed his name! What purpose do we have other than to show our teachers that we are worthy of their gift? We fight each other constantly! We mock each other behind the others back! There are five Dragon Slayers in this room, and all of us will shake the very earth when our Roars of defiance are loosed! We will not be looked down upon by someone! We will make them respect us with the power of our fists and the strength of our hearts!" Arctic let that sit upon the room, and then whispered, "If we won't fight them, then who will? Will we let it be known that Dragon's Fang is a Guild of cowards, or will we show them all the power we have when we work together? Will we let word of our cowardice reach the ears of our teachers? If you will not go on with me, then I will go alone." Arctic, finished, leaned up against the desk next to Glave.

"Well, obviously, we can't let you go alone, Arctic." Shinn laughed as he stood to move next to Arctic. "What kind of friends would we be if we let you have all the fun, eh?" Shinn lightly punched Arctic in the shoulder. "I am in this with Arctic. I agree, if I ever meet my Dragon again, I want to be proud."

"Well, brother, if you are going, then obviously that means you will get yourself killed. So, as your doctor, I have to go with you or my poor conscious wouldn't be able to bare it." Oronia stood on the other side of Shinn, giving him a mocking wink as she passed.

"It would be so boring if I stayed here all by myself. It seems that you lot have not left me much of a choice. Fine, I will go with you to our doom. On one condition though." Zero stood and became deathly serious. "If we run into Grimm Loque again, he is mine. I will fight him one on one, and crush him. Am I understood?" Arctic and Shinn solemnly nodded in understanding. "Good, then yes, I am with you."

Theresa stood, and looked only at Oronia. "I told you earlier, I am not cut out for this, but listening to Arctic's determination and his confidence has changed my mind. I might not be strong enough now, but I will push myself to be stronger to protect my guild and my friends! We are the Children of Dragons, and will not be silenced!" Theresa blushed at her outburst and sat back down.

"Aye, they will not silence us. Like the rolling thunder during a stormy night! They can only be helpless before us!" Arctic exclaimed. He smiled, and said, "They cannot stop the five Dragon Slayers from Dragon's Fang. Since we are forming this alliance between us, I propose we be called Dragon's Thunder."

"Dragon's Thunder, eh? A fitting name. A group of Dragons flying together is referred to as a Thunder of Dragons, so I don't think a better name could be given. So, I will assign you this task formally. Arctic Dragonsbane, Shinn Galestrum, Oronia Galestrum, Zero Crush, and Theresa Roselyn, will you accept the job to take on Griffin's Claw, and stop whatever it is that they are planning?"

Everyone looked at each other. They knew that these Griffin Slayers were strong. They don't know how many of them they will be fighting. They knew that they might not survive, but they still answered with more confidence and resolve than Master Glave could ever expect. They roared. The roar shattered the windows, and the Guild itself trembled. The trees outside shook and birds flew from their nests. The surrounding buildings reverberated with the strength of the sound. Glave smiled, impressed with the Dragon Slayers before him.

-End of Chapter 4

Chapter 5 – The Debut

Last time on Dragon's Fang, a new team was assembled to combat the Dark Guild known as Griffin's Claw. Dubbed "Dragon's Thunder", the team consists of the Top 5 Dragon Slayers in the Guild. We skip ahead about a week after their declaration to continue the quest. For those who didn't know, Dragon Slayers are unable to use any type of automotive or mechanical transportation, or they get motion sickness.

Dawnguard Forest

Present Day

The Dragon's Thunder crew is traveling through the forest at a leisurely pace, heading north towards Griffin Claws Guild. Theresa and Oronia are in a serious conversation about battle strategies, while Arctic, Shinn, and Zero are taking point, to spot any ambushes or traps.

"…So, to further explain, Theresa", Oronia said, "When more of the forest and nature is around you, your Devour won't work as well. However, your attacks will be bigger and stronger than they would with the absence of the forest." Oronia gestures to the surrounding vegetation to make her point.

"Really, the best I can do is help you heal on this mission, Oro. I haven't really fought much before. I think I would only get in the way…" Theresa looks down in embarrassment.

"I think you would do wonderfully, if the right situation presented itself. You just haven't been pushed hard enough yet. Eventually, we will both have to fight alongside those three knuckle heads. Someone has to pull their asses out of the fire at some point." Oro laughs and winks at Theresa, and gets a giggle from her. Satisfied, Oronia turns her head to the left because something caught her eye, and she smelled something odd. In a flash, Oronia grabs Theresa and jumps into the sky, barely dodging a shiny wave heading towards the boys. They don't notice it in time, and disappear. Oronia lands back on the ground, and notices that a giant dome is incasing the boys. Turning around, she notices a girl, kneeling, with her hand pressed upon the ground.

"Grimm let you all off so easily…I figured I would show him how it is done." The girl stood at about 5'10 with long, straight, black hair, wearing jeans and a plain white blouse. "Congratulations on dodging my Diamond Prison technique. Now I can actually play with my prey before I kill all five of you." The girl threw her head back and laughed.

"Theresa!" Oronia harshly whispered. "Throw away all your hesitation! There is no time to get down on yourself. You are a Dragon Slayer! Fighting is in your blood!" Oronia pushed up her sleeves in preparation to attack when the forest suddenly came alive.

"Forest Dragons…!" Light was pouring out of the trees around her, to form a large ball of swirling energy in front of her palm. The girl looked stunned at the display of power Theresa showing, unable to move. "Photon Wave!" The beam surges forward, causing a huge gust of wind to shoot behind her. Oronia moved into a good position and devoured the wind to power up and prepare an attack to keep this new girl on the defensive.

The girl snapped out of her confusion at Theresa's power and shouted, "Wall of the Diamond Griffin!" A large wall shot out of the earth and Theresa's attack connected with it. For a moment, neither budged, until Theresa's attack broke through and nailed the new girl.

Thinking quickly, Oronia loosed her own attack against the Griffin Slayer. "Sky Dragon's…!" While gathering magical power, a spiral of wind forms around Oronia's hand. Aiming the attack carefully, Oronia calls out, "Cyclone Tempest!" The attack, similar in looks to a tornado, snakes its way to the girl and smashes her in the ground. Panting heavily, Theresa and Oronia both smile at each other. The sound of laughter suddenly emanates from the crater Oronia left with her last attack.

"You think that little bit of teamwork could stop me?" The girl walks out of the crater, completely unscathed. "My Diamond Armor takes only a half second to wrap around me. I didn't even feel your little wind show, my dear." The girl laughed, and then got serious. "My name is Tsuki Lestline, and unless you are both completely stupid, you should realize by now that I am the Diamond Griffin Slayer. Wind and Trees aren't strong enough to break me. You got lucky with that sunlight attack. I promise you will not get lucky again." With that, Tsuki reared her head back and exclaimed, "Diamond Griffin's Screech!" Leveling her head in their direction, a storm of thousands of diamond shards shot towards Oronia and Theresa at a blinding speed. Theresa managed to dodge the attack, but Oronia's leg was hit by the Screech.

Bleeding and clutching her leg, Oronia looked at Theresa. "This is the push I was referring too, Theresa. I am no good to fight if you have to protect me. You have to finish this. Remember, don't hesitate, and when you win, you can rub it in their faces." Oronia points to the giant diamond prison behind them. Suddenly, Theresa's demeanor changes. Her downtrodden attitude suddenly becomes fearsome and determined.

"Tsuki, you are weak and pathetic, thinking you can take on a Dragon Slayer. You aren't even a percentage of how strong Grimm was." Theresa walks in front of the diamond prison. "You aren't even able to take on the Dragon Slayers who beat him, resorting to trapping them. How pathetic." Theresa starts gathering strength and waits for Tsuki's reaction.

"Weak? Ill…show you how strong I really am!" With that shout, a vortex of magical power surrounds Tsuki, and she shrieks, "Diamond Griffin's Crystal Blast!" Thousands of razor sharp diamonds hurtle toward Theresa. Smirking, Theresa jumps safely over the diamonds, watches as they collide with the diamond prison, and watches the cage shatter.

Focusing on Tsuki now, Theresa gathers every last ounce of her strength for one final attack. "Forest Dragon's…!" Leaves are ripped off all nearby trees and form a swirling cloud above Theresa's head. She started moving one hand around, forcing the leaves to spin faster and faster, as Theresa exclaims, "Leaf Blade!" The leaves fly towards Tsuki in an arc-shaped blur, as Oronia jumps behind Theresa's attack, and looses a Roar to boost its attack power and speed. The attack nails Tsuki before her Diamond Armor can protect her.

Oronia, using the last of her strength to jump and use a Roar attack, falls down to the ground. Before she hits, she is caught by Shinn. Arctic and Zero rush past both of them to face down Tsuki, if she is still capable of battle. Tsuki stumbles out of the dust, bloodied and badly injured. She pants and glares angrily at the five Dragon Slayers standing before her.

"This should have been easy…how can you be this strong!" In a rage, Tsuki fled from the forest before any of her opponents could react. A collective breath of relief sounded from Dragon's Thunder. Shinn and Theresa helped Oronia tend to her wound, as Zero went to make sure Theresa was okay. Arctic watched Theresa's reaction to Zero's presence, and looked away, pained. Turning his attention to the sky, Arctic began to think about the fight.

This new Griffin Slayer, Tsuki, showed up on her own. Was Grimm the weakest in this group? Or were they just underestimating Dragon Slayers in their entirety? Arctic sat down cross-legged, and mulled it over some more. "We can't allow this to happen again." Everyone stopped talking and stared at Arctic, unsure of what he meant.

"This is the second time we have been ambushed by a Griffin Slayer." Arctic stood, and turned around to face the group. "I do not count this as a victory, and neither should you. What if Grimm was with Tsuki during this? Or worse, what if there were even more? Oronia and Theresa would be dead, and we would be trapped in that diamond prison, unable to do anything about it." Arctic shook his head angrily, and spoke, "Oronia and Theresa were the only ones who noticed Tsuki. They weren't on watch, like we were. We let them down, and luckily, they overpowered Tsuki with only a little damage to themselves." Zero and Shinn both nodded.

"From what we could see, Tsuki outclassed Grimm, but only in attack and defense power. If she had Grimm's sheer speed, it would have ended very differently." Shinn solemnly spoke; putting pressure on Oronia's wound. "Arctic is right. We were sloppy and it could have cost lives."

"For them to be able to sneak up on us without noticing their presence…we have underestimated them greatly." Zero spoke from Theresa's side. "However, as I am sure Arctic has noticed, they have underestimated us even more so. Only sending one Griffin Slayer twice now…they will not make that mistake again." Zero looked at Arctic, realizing something. "This is why you said that…you came to that conclusion almost immediately."

"It was obvious. With two of their guild members sent back to their guild with their tails between their legs, there is either one of two scenarios that will play out." Arctic got very serious, and explained. "They will either send the full force of their guild out right now to meet us, or they will wait until we are on their turf to fight us. There won't be any more of this single Griffin Slayer style battles. We vowed to continue on with this mission. Let's cast aside any doubts we have now. Theresa has proven herself a powerful Dragon Slayer, once she threw away her hesitation. Let's hope we can all display that sort of power, to force this guild to fear us. Force them to quiver and tremble at the sound of our Roars! We are Dragon's Thunder of Dragon's Fang, and we will not be silenced!" Arctic turned around, and continued on the path towards Griffin's Claw. Shinn and Zero both laughed, and continued with Arctic. Oronia and Theresa looked at each other, shook their heads, and followed after the boys.

Chapter 6 – Dragon in Chains

Last time on Dragon's Fang, we met the Diamond Griffin Slayer, Tsuki Lestline. That makes two Griffin Slayers so far that were beaten back by Dragon's Thunder. However, Arctic made a good point last chapter. What would happen if it wasn't 5 on 1 anymore, but on even ground? Would the Dragon Slayers still prevail against the Griffin Slayers? What about Riku's declaration that the Griffins were to wait for the Dragon Slayers to show up? How harshly will Tsuki be punished? Let's see what questions are answered this time, on Dragon's Fang.

Griffin's Claw Castle

Present Day

We open on the roof of the west wing tower of the castle. Riku is overlooking the grounds, deep in thought, with Tsuki kneeling behind her. Tsuki is heavily bandaged, and is shaking from fear. Riku begins tapping his cane on the ground, and it unsettles Tsuki. Turning around, Riku spoke, "What shall I do with you, Tsuki? I specifically instructed EVERYONE to let the Dragon Slayers come to us…now they know your abilities. Perhaps not all of them, but they could formulate a game plan to take you down. I don't like to lose, Tsuki. Being your leader, that means that if you lose, I lose. Do you want me to fail my objective, Tsuki?"

"No, Master Riku. Of course-" Tsuki was cut off by Riku's cane hitting her over the head. Pushing herself back up off of the ground, Tsuki glares at Riku, suppressing the urge to attack him.

"There, now I feel we are even. Your pride has been taken a couple notches down, and you have almost foiled my plan. Now, if it weren't for the fact that Ckriss had found the last piece of Dark Chaos, you would have been made an example of. As it stands, those damn Dragon Slayers are taking too long, and He is getting impatient. So, I want you to go rest and rejuvenate yourself. I will require all of you to kill at least one Dragon Slayer, when they try to rescue the member we take from them."

"Are you going to retrieve the Dragon Slayer yourself, Riku? I could-" Tsuki was again interrupted, this time by Riku leveling his cane at Tsuki.

"Perhaps your pride needs to be taken down a few more notches, volunteering your broken body for a mission like this. We have one chance to take one of them. There can be no failure, so I have already dispatched two of our Griffin Slayers. They should make quick work of it." Riku turned around to gaze at the forest again. He clasps his hands behind his back, his right hand never leaving his cane. Tsuki forces herself to stand, and bows in Riku's direction. She then retreats into the castle to nurse her injuries back to health. Riku sighs heavily, and rubs his temples with his left hand. "Tobias and Jack better not fail…Manson will not accept anymore failures from me, and I am not prepared to die yet." Riku shivers, and retreats into the castle as well.

Deciduous Town

Present Day

Dragon's Thunder has entered Deciduous Town, where Griffin Claw's Guild is located. Although the guild is on the outskirts of the town, the townsfolk want nothing to do with the maniacal and twisted guild, and have hired numerous guilds to try and uproot Griffins Claw. Dragon's Fang is the most successful guild thus far, however. The other guilds have been destroyed or forcibly disbanded by Griffins Claw. The townsfolk are constantly terrorized by Riku and his army of Griffin Slayers, be it vicious sand storms or clouds that rain razor-sharp diamonds. The town is constantly in a state of war, which is evident in the condition of the buildings. Everything is broken and rundown, and the people have lost hope. A little boy, small and disheveled, notices the 5 strangers walking into town. He lets go of his mother's hand and sprints as fast as he can to the strangers. "Hello! My name is Luppin! Are you here to beat up the bullies?"

Oronia kneels down and quietly asked the boy, "Who are the bullies, Luppin? Are they the people who did this to your town?" Oronia brushes back her hair, still in awe of the destruction she sees everywhere. She notices that the boy's mother hasn't moved, and looks worried.

The boy, Luppin, nods his head, and says, "Those Griffin bullies did this…they took my Daddy away and…and…" The boy starts to sniffle and rubs his eyes. Arctic kneels down next to Oronia and puts his hand on his shoulder.

"Listen, Luppin. We are here to make sure that Griffins Claw doesn't do this to anyone else. I need you to do something very important now, okay?" Luppin looks up at Arctic, and notices Arctic is staring at something. Luppin starts to turn but Arctic stops him. "I need you to run as fast as you can to your mother, and go hide inside, okay? We are going to handle it from here. I promise."

Luppin turns to run, but stops and says, "Make the one with the cane pay for what he did to my daddy." Luppin looks Arctic in the eye. "Promise me, mister. Will you make him pay?"

Arctic nodded, and told the boy to run. Arctic stood, grabbing Oronia by the arm. Oronia didn't understand what was going on, and started looking around. She noticed two figures who were different from everyone else. They weren't downtrodden or sad, but they were smiling, slowly walking towards them. Oronia's fist started shaking, and Arctic whispered to her, "Oronia, you need to calm down. I know this is terrible, but losing our heads isn't going to change anything. We need to be focused if we are going to beat the hell out of these guys." Arctic turned around, and spoke to the group, "Oronia and I will take care of these guys. You all go back to…" Arctic trailed off, confused. "I thought I said everyone stick together in the town?"

Oronia gasped, and started running. "Arctic! They have Theresa! I don't know how…but they have her!" Oronia rolled up her sleeves, and ran faster. Arctic chases after Oronia before the others could move. Before the rest of Dragon's Thunder could react, a giant shadow swept over them, knocking them all unconscious. Arctic looked back and watched them all fall.

"What the hell…what the hell could do that!" Arctic, nervous, looks forward and sees the two men laugh even harder. "Oronia! Watch out! We don't know what these guys can do!" Arctic places his left hand on the bicep of his right arm and shouts, "Ice Dragon's God Sword!" From his elbow, ice started to encase his arm, ending at a sharp point about five feet past the tips of his fingers. About ten yards away from the two men…Griffin Slayers, Arctic presumed, he launched forward as fast as he could. The guy on the left was holding an unconscious Theresa by the hair. Arctic aimed for his arm, hoping to break her lose. Before he got within reach, a giant wave of water smashed into him, sending him flying several feet sideways into a house.

Oronia watched the man on the right shoot out a torrent of water, and aimed an attack at him, hoping to catch him off guard. "Sky Dragon's Wind Blade!" Waving her hand in an arc towards the Water Shooter, a powerful gust of air shoots towards him. She watches it connect, and moves onto the next target. Before she can do anything, however, she is grabbed by the back of the neck and thrown down. The man holding Theresa had somehow gotten behind her.

"You lot are a feisty bunch, I'll give you that. My name is Jack Cipher, and I am the Shadow Griffin Slayer. If you still can't figure out how I got behind you, use that little brain of yours a little harder." Jack laughed and threw Theresa on the ground next to Oronia. "Master said to grab the girl…which one do you think we ought to take, Tobias?"

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop using my full name…and Master specifically said not to take the blonde one. You don't listen too well, do you, Jack?" Tobias laughed, and kicked Theresa in the side. "She is still alive, right?"

"If you keep kicking her like that, she won't be for lo-" Arctic effectively interrupted their conversation by landing a kick right in Jack's face, and follows through with it to slam him on the ground.

"I don't give a damn who you people are, or what you want with Theresa." Arctic turned around, glowering. "If you touch Theresa again, I will kill you. If you touch Oronia again, I will kill you." Arctic, unable to control his rage, started to enter Dragon Force, the ultimate technique a Dragon Slayer can use. "You have hurt the innocent people of this town long enough!" At that, a large magical crest appears underneath of Arctic, and his body starts to be incased in ice.

"What is this magical power?" Tobias looks at Arctic, stunned. "I haven't even felt power like that from Riku…what the hell is this? Dragon Slayers are inferior to us in every way!"

Arctic, completely engulfed in ice, and filled with an uncontrollable rage, starts to attack Tobias. "Ice Dragon's Crippling Roar!" The roar completely shuts Tobias down. He gets down on a knee, and struggles to move. Arctic slowly walks towards Tobias, creating an Ice Sword in midstep. Oronia watches in disbelief at Arctic, and tries to wake Theresa up.

"You…you can't have this much power…unless you have acquired Dragon Force." Tobias pants, finding it difficult to breathe being in close proximity to Arctic. "If that's the case, then I envoke…Griffin's Fury!" A blue crest appears underneath Arctic, and stops him from moving. "Upon the last perch, Where only the powerful may roost, Anger must be purged! Griffin's Fury: Secret Technique! Power Nullification!" Clouds gather in the sky above the town. From the clouds, a swirling vortex of water comes down and encases Arctic inside of it.

"Arctic, no! Calm yourself before it is too late!" Oronia desperately screams. She opens her mouth to shout again, but is strangled by Jack who crept up behind her. With no airflow, Oronia passes out.

"Oi, Tobi! This one is knocked out cold, too! Lets finish up with this refrigerator and get back to the castle, I'm starving!" Jack laughed and waited for the water vortex to subside.

Arctic walked out of the vortex, severely wounded and bleeding. Tobias stood in front of him, and said, "We have no orders to kill you, and I don't feel like squishing ants pretending to be Dragons. Forget about this girl. She is as good as dead, now. You are all worthless anyway. Jack, send them away from here." Tobias turned, scooped up Theresa, and threw her over his shoulder. "The only peace of mind I can give you, is that she will not feel her death. It will be quick and painless. That I promise." He nooded at Jack, who then places his palm on the ground.

"Shadow Griffin's Secret Technique: Shadow Displacement!" In the blink of an eye, they were all back in a forest somewhere far away from the town. Arctic noticed the others starting to wake up, so he tried to stand. Not realizing how bad off he was, Arctic felt a hot flash of pain, and fell face forward onto the dirt, completely unconscious.

Chapter 7 – Ice and Sound

We last left off in a unknown location in the woods, most likely somewhere nearby Deciduous Town. In the scuffle between the Griffin and Dragon Slayers, we met Tobi and Jack, two new Griffin Slayers. It seems that Dark Chaos, whatever that is, was finally completed by Riku. After its completion, Riku ordered his Griffin's to capture Theresa and bring her to the tower, a mission in which they succeeded. Arctic was severely beaten up, but the others were merely knocked unconscious for a time. What exactly is 'Dark Chaos', and why do they need Theresa? Perhaps some questions will be answered on this installment of Dragon's Fang.

Present Day

Forest Northwest of Deciduous Town

Camp has been made by our Dragon Slayers, and Oronia is doing her best to patch Arctic up to get him back to full strength. Zero paces back and forth, flinching at every twig broken and every shriek made by nearby birds. Shinn is sitting down on a overturned log they dragged to the center of the clearing, watching Zero and listening for potential threats in the surrounding woods. Zero suddenly turns towards Shinn, and starts speaking quickly.

"Is it pointless to keep watch now? This would explain how Tsuki snuck up on us. Just a flick of his wrist, and he could have flung us in a volcano or something. Damn that guy…what was his name, Oronia? Jack? I can't believe we got overwhelmed like that…" Zero clenches his fist and grimaces. "How the hell did Arctic let him get away? HOW! I know he has feelings for Theresa, so how could he not-" Zero was cut off by the look Shinn was giving him.

Standing up and brushing off his pants, Shinn stated, "Arctic took them head on, Zero. No hesitation. He achieved a Dragon Force powerful enough to bring that Tobias guy down to his knees. It was because of his feelings…that's why he lost. Arctic scored big in that last battle, though, because now we know how Griffin's Fury works. To take on two Griffin Slayers and still be alive…Arctic has gotten stronger in these last few weeks. Maybe this was the push he needed to realize his strength."

"You and your damned motivational speeches, Shinn. He messed up, big time. He let the enemy get away with Theresa!" Zero seethed, struggling not to hit Shinn. "If I was there, it would have ended differently. No question."

"Yeah, you would have been killed, Zero." Oronia whispered. "I know where Arctic's strength is now…I understand him. You wouldn't have been able to achieve Dragon Force at all." Oronia whisphered a few more spells, trying to help along Arctic's recovery. Standing up, she continues to talk. "Arctic didn't just draw his power from his feelings for Theresa. He drew it from the desire to protect his friends, Zero. You included. After seeing the two of us beaten down, he lost control…and here we are."

Zero scoffed, "Yeah, here we are, in the middle of nowhere with no idea of how to rescue Theresa, or better yet, of how to get back to the Griffin Claw Guild."

Oronia raised an eyebrow. "Zero…Arctic seriously injured those guys. He crushed them. Arctic is the only reason any of us are alive right now, and by the looks of it, he might not survive because of his drive to protect us."

"I'm going to die, huh?" Arctic sat up, wincing at his wounds. "Well, that would be inconvenient now, wouldn't it?" Arctic grimaced as what happened before he passed out all came flooding back into his head.

Shinn glanced at Arctic, raised his palm, and fired an intense blast of chilling snow towards him. Arctic's reaction was habitual, and he absorbed all of it, effectively restoring his strength and healing his wounds. "That's for saving us, Arctic. Now that you are back up to speed, we can figure out where the hell we have to go from here." Shinn nods at Oronia, and she takes off into the forest to do reconnaissance.

Zero walks past Shinn and confronts Arctic. "Explain how the hell you let them take Theresa. I don't understand how you can be so pathetic." Zero seethed. "Give me a reason not to kill you right now!" Glaring at Arctic, his fists started shaking from his anger.

"Let them take her? From what I remember, you were knocked out cold before you could do anything to save her. It was a two on two battle, and both of those guys made Grimm and Tsuki look like nothing in terms of power." Arctic looked down in shame, and whispered, "You think I don't care about her, Zero? I would take her place right now if I could. I failed Dragons Fang by letting her be taken." Arctic shook his head, feeling powerless.

Zero stood there with a stoic expression, then suddenly, "Sound Dragon's Sonic Boom!" Zero loosed a powerful roar that sent Arctic flying into the forest. Zero quickly followed him, leaving Shinn the only one in the clearing. He sat back down on the log, and waited for Oronia.

Deeper inside the forest, Arctic and Zero were exchanging blows. "Ice Dragon's…" Arctic opened his left hand towards the sky, and a swirling ball of ice and snow formed in his hand. Leveling it at Zero, Arctic shouted, "Frozen Blizzard!" The ball hurtles towards Zero, and he attempts to evade it. He flies backwards, and then dashes to the left of the ball of ice, and his side is barely grazed. Zero looks at Arctic and smirks.

"Sound Dragon's…" Zero darts towards Arctic using his superior speed, and gets a few inches away from him. "Shotgun!" The amplified sound pressure and close range of Zero slammed into Arctic like a brick wall, smashing him through a few trees before he was able to regain his balance. Arctic jumped high above the trees, preparing his endgame technique.

"Zero, back down before this gets any messier," Arctic pleaded. "I don't want to fight my own teammates! We have more important things to be doing right now!" Arctic started forming his next attack, and began gathering massive amounts of magic energy.

"You probably got Theresa killed…I am merely returning the favor." Zero starts charging up his own power for his ultimate technique. "I will not forgive you for that! Sound Dragon's…!"

"She has to be alive, Zero! If they wanted her dead, they would have just killed us all back in that town! Ice Dragon's…!" Both Dragon Slayers were exhibiting powerful magical power, causing powerful gales of wind around them both, ripping apart the forest below them. The sky above them became dark and cloudy, and lightning started crashing around them, splitting more trees in half. Oronia and Shinn are both watching from a distance, and Shinn is restraining Oronia from interceding in the fight.

Arctic, forcing his energy into the back of his throat, releases it all in one large burst of power. "Frozen Flame Cannon!"

Zero forces his energy into the back of his throat as well, and forces all of his magical power out in one final blast. "Super Sonic Roar!"

The Dragon Slayer's final attacks collide with each other, and neither Slayer budges. The raw power of the attacks colliding causes a crater several meters below in the forest floor, eradicating a large portion of the forest. Completely drained of energy, both Arctic and Zero stop fueling their techniques. At the collision point, both Roars explode, throwing Arctic and Zero in opposite directions into the forest.

Camp Thunder

Two hours after Zero and Arctic's fight

"Sorry, Oro. I should have stopped them." Shinn was kneeled down next to Oronia, helping her tend to Zero and Arctic's wounds. Shinn didn't say it out loud, but he was impressed with Arctic's progress over the last few weeks. Being able to hold his own against an opponent like Zero was no small accomplishment.

"Don't apologize, just bring me more water." Oronia had her sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and continued casting spell after spell on them both, trying to get them to regain consciousness. Taking a break, Oronia sits down and sighs. "What are we going to do, Shinn? Theresa was kidnapped by Griffin's Claw, and we don't even know why…plus, that makes four powerful Griffin Slayers we have to contend with, not counting the master or any other guild members we don't know about. I think we might be in over our head here."

Shinn smiled slightly before he answered. "Be happy Arc didn't hear that. He might have another motivational speech for us." Both Shinn and Oronia laughed at that. "Honestly, I feel the same, so I sent word to Glave explaining our situation. I'm hoping he brings reinforcements by the time we challenge Griffin's Claw."

Oronia nodded solemnly. "We need a game plan to do this…one of us has to go find Theresa and rescue her while the others keep Griffin's Claw busy." Oronia thought hard. "If Glave shows up, that should lure the Master out of the Guild, and be an effective distraction to grab Theresa."

Shinn started to speak, but he felt a familiar magical presence in the outskirts of the clearing. "Oro, stay here. I have a bad feeling about this." Shinn walked to the edge of the clearing and shouted, "I know you are there, stop hiding!"

Some leaves rustled, and a few twigs snapped, and a dark figure came out of the trees. When the moonlight hit her, Shinn darted back a few feet, preparing to fight. Standing in front of him was the Griffin Slayer, Tsuki Dawnliss. "Why hello there, my favorite Dragon Slayers. Up for some fun?"

-End of Chapter 7

Chapter 8 – Reason To Fight

Arctic's Subconscious

Present Day

Arctic stands on the tip of a very large iceberg in the middle of a vast ocean. His eyes are closed, and he is at peace. Everything here is quiet and beautiful. The moon is directly overhead, with aurora's dancing around in the sky with a backdrop of twinkling stars. This is where Arctic was raised and eventually trained by his dragon, Melatankos. In all rights, she was his mother. Arctic never knew his birth parents, and was told by Mel that he was abandoned as a child. Most Dragon Slayers back story are similar.

As Arctic stands and relaxes in his own little world, a large and unexpected gust of air rushes past him, nearly blowing him over. Arctic turns his head and is surprised to see Mel sitting down a few feet away.

"Now I know this is a dream…" Arctic whispers. All the memories of Mel leaving him rush into his head, causing him to remember the pain of abandonment. Arctic grits his teeth, unable to decide whether to embrace his dragon or to insult her. Mel stands up and roars, causing her to be enveloped in a whirlwind of ice. The whirlwind dissipates suddenly, and a young woman emerges from within. Mel has the ability to change her shape from a dragon to a human, using an advanced form of Ice Magic.

"Calm yourself, young one." Mel walks up to Arctic, and gently strokes his hair. "You have grown considerably since I saw you last. I have missed you. You are still as childish as ever, I can see. Tearing up just at the mere sight of me…I cant take you anywhere, can i?" Mel smiles and winks at him. "You have fought so hard against those Griffin Slayers, Arcy, that I have been proved right again and again for choosing you as my student. I just pray that you aren't losing sight of what this battle really is." Mel continues stroking Arctic's hair, and hums a tune. "You are constantly being tested by those who wish to use you for their own amusement. However, they don't know you like I do. They don't realize that my student isn't one to be used." Mel looked Arctic in the eye, and sighed. "I really have missed you." Mel smiled and dropped her hand, waiting for Arctic's reaction.

Arctic started shaking, unable to determine whether it was from rage, sadness, happiness, or a combination. Unable to control himself, he fell to his knees and whispered, "Why didn't you come back? I stayed here for a year, praying that you would come back. If you missed me, why didn't you look for me? Why didn't you send a message to me, or was I not worthy enough of you back then?" He stands up, enraged. "I was abandoned on a continent of ice, surrounded by water. I gave up waiting for you and swam to the closest island, and made my way to civilization. I found people who destroyed peoples lives for mere amusement, I found people who killed others for a few shiny coins, and I found people who thought dragons were a myth." Arctic shook his head, and turned his back on Mel. "They made me think I was insane…if it wasn't for Dragon's Fang, I would have thought you were a hallucination. After all this time, you turn up here and now?" Arctic fell to his hands and knees facing Mel. "Why didn't you come back?" Arctic looked up at Mel, with tears streaming down his face, yearning for answers.

Mel's smile vanished, and instead of answering, she asked a question. "Did you not speak to Adonis about this? Especially when these Griffin Slayer's showed up?" Arctic shook his head, not understanding. Mel hissed, and kneeled in front of Arctic. "I am dead, sweetie. The leader of the Griffin Slayer's guild murdered 10 dragons, whose dragon slayers were all made part of the Dragon's Fang guild. Everyone on your team…all of their dragons are dead as well."

"You…you are dead? How is that possible? I don't understand!" Tears started to stream down Arctic's face, and anger started to build up. "How did Riku kill all of you? How could a griffin slayer kill 10 dragons?" He shouted.

Mel smiled again. "I never said Riku killed me. Such a pathetic and distasteful person such as that would have had no chance against 10 dragons." Mel looked around for a moment, suddenly panicked. "Look, I don't have much time. I came now to help you take this guild down. When we were training, I noticed that your power was unimaginably high. I sealed most of your strength so that you would learn humility and strategy, as opposed to learning just to bully others. I never had the chance to unseal your true power until now." Mel gave Arctic an amulet. The amulet was shaped as a ring, carved into a dragon biting its own tail. "As long as you wear this, your power will be fully released or sealed again depending on what you wish."

Arctic put the necklace on, and asked Mel one more question. "Why come to me now…why not when I was waiting for you?" Mel shook her head, and stated, "This is where we all died, Arcy. This is a clearing because no plants can grow here." Mel looked at Arctic seriously. "This is my last wish: Eradicate Griffin's Claw and destroy that castle that serves as their guild. Fight Riku and crush him. Force all of his pets to their knees just by your presence." Mel's gaze softened, and she placed her hands on Arctic's cheeks. "Arctic Donovan Dragonsbane, the Final Ice Dragon Slayer…show everyone what a true Dragon Slayer can do." Arctic promised her that he would.

Present Day

Meadow Clearing

"Storm Dragon's Cyclone!" Shinn fired a large wind blast at Tsuki, which she dodged. Tsuki moved quickly and appeared behind Shinn. She created a dagger of diamond and moved to stab Shinn. He darted away before she could plunge it into his back.

"I thought you were stronger than this, Stormy." Tsuki laughs, as if playing a harmless game. "Can you please show me how strong you really are? If you are this weak, how could you hope to beat any one of us on an even playing field?"

Shinn pauses and takes that in. Arctic was able to hold off two Griffin Slayers on his own. So far, the only way any of the other Dragon's Thunder members have only won a fight through teamwork, never superiority. What does Arctic have that all of us lack? Shinn suddenly understood, and laughed. He allowed all of his seriousness and his anger to seep out of him. Instead of drawing on the negative aspect of things, he drew upon something else. Oronia is too weak to fight right now from treating Arctic and Zero. The only thing standing in between Tsuki and his friends was himself. Shinn calmed himself and closed his eyes. "I suggest you leave, Tsuki. You can no longer win this fight. This is your only warning." Shinn opened his eyes, and became a different person entirely. " Storm Dragon's Severing Void!" Shinn raised his hand up to the sky, allowing high speed winds to wrap around his arm. Shinn rushes Tsuki, thrusting his arm towards her at a blinding speed. The forest behind Tsuki was leveled for as far as the eye could see.

Tsuki blinked, unable to comprehend what just happened. She turned around and witnessed the pure destruction Shinn had just unleashed. If Shinn had used that on her, she deduced she would have been killed right then and there. Tsuki looks back at Shinn, and understands that he had the power to end her, yet he spared her life out of his kindness. Something snapped inside of Tsuki's mind, and she realized that she had very little time left. "Listen Shinn, Riku and his master are forcing us to obey their will. We have no control over what we do. If you defeat Riku, I believe that we can be-"

A large shadow opened up underneath Tsuki, and she vanished. Shinn sat down, and mulled over Tsuki's last words. As he sat there, trying to figure out what to do about this situation, Oronia and Zero walked into the clearing. Shinn turned, and asked, "Where is Arcitc, Oro? Is he okay?"

Oronia shook her head, unable to speak. Zero looked at Shinn and solemnly spoke, "He was visited by his dragon…all of our Dragons are dead, Shinn. Where we were initially teleported was their graveyard. Arctic is…well…you could imagine."

As Zero said that, Arctic appeared in the clearing. He seemed to be more calm than he usually is. Shinn wasn't fooled, and could literally feel the hostility and anger rolling off of him. "Riku will pay for this. They all will." Arctic's gaze turned dark. "They took Theresa…they killed our parents…they will all pay for this." Arctic drew symbols in the air, unfamiliar to Shinn. Upon release of Arctic's unknown magic, a large wall of ice seemingly grew out of the ground in front of them. "Stepping through here will take us directly to the Griffin Slayers Headquarters. When you are all ready, we will go and crush the entire guild."

"We can't just kill them all, Arctic." Shinn replied. "I understand that they are responsible for the death of our dragons, but they are all being controlled by Riku and his master. We have to suppress those being controlled and take out Riku." Shinn stood up and faced Arctic. "I'm not happy about it either, but we have to do what is right."

Arctic nodded. "You and I will handle Riku. Zero and Oronia can take on Grimm and Tsuki. We will let the other team handle the rest." Arctic smiled.

Shinn waited for Arctic to elaborate, then asked, "What other team? I don't understand." Shinn noticed that Arctic's door was similar to the ability that was used on Tsuki earlier, and thought that he had gone to the master to ask for reinforcements. "Who is coming, Arctic?"

Arctic smiled, and told them only that Dragon's Thunder 2 was going to help them end this once and for all.

-End Chapter 8

Chapter 9 – Dark Chaos

Griffin Claw Castle

Present Day

We open on a dark room, completely bare except for a table and a girl laying on it. The girl's hands and legs are shackled to the stone table. At the southern wall is a large metal door with many gouges in it, supposedly made by prisoners in the past. Jingling keys can be heard outside the door and a loud clanking sound echoes in the room as the lock is disengaged. Riku Dawnliss, Master of Griffin's Claw, walks in the room wearing his normal attire: black suit, black pants, black shoes, black gloves, and his bright white cane. Riku calmly whispers an incantation, removing the black shroud that was hiding the girls identity from view. With a wave of his hand, a chair appears behind Riku and he sits down.

"Tell me, what is your name? The person who demanded your presence was very conservative when it came to information about you." Riku tapped his cane on the ground, absentmindedly, doubting she would answer.

"My name is Theresa Roselyn." She curtly replied. She showed no emotion, but clenched her fists. She hated not knowing where she was or who kidnapped her and for what reasons. Like it or not, she had to play along to get some answers.

"My dearest Theresa…do you perchance know where you are? Do you know why you are here? Most likely you don't, so let me extend to you the courtesy of knowing why you can never leave this place." Riku twirled his cane in his hand, enjoying himself. "You have been chosen by my master to be a grand sacrifice for his benefit. You see, there is a forbidden magic known as Dark Chaos. The table you are laying on and the chains binding you to it are two pieces of Dark Chaos. They are known as the Alter of Chaos and the Chains of Chaos. Do you wanna know what the third piece is? I should warn you…it's to die for." Riku laughed at his own joke, enjoying his psychological torture on his prisoner.

Theresa allowed herself a small smile. "The third piece is a dagger. If you are trying to scare me, you are doing a piss poor job of it. I'm more afraid of what your face will look like after my team has mopped the floor with you."

Riku applauded Theresa, saying, "Oh my, look at you. Such a strong and clever little girl. Someone has done their homework on dark and nefarious spells. If you wouldn't mind, please allow me to tell you how it works and what it does." Riku waits for her reaction, but Theresa just glares at the ceiling, locking her jaw. Riku smirked and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, a crystal box holding a dagger appeared out of thin air, hovering over Riku's outstretched palm. "The Dagger of Eternal Chaos…this completes the Dark Chaos Ritual. You see, my master is not like other Griffin's Claw members. My master is a Dragon Slayer who desires more power than what he has now. His plan is to stab you with this dagger, infusing all of your magical energy and abilities with his own. Imagine that magical energy surrounds us all, if you would. When you deplete your magical power, it is regained after a time absorbing nearby magical power." Riku smiled, enjoying himself.

"So…not only will he receive my Dragon Slayer magic…he will receive every Dragon Slayer magic from Dragon's Fang." Theresa whispered softly, betraying her fear. She no longer tried to devise ways to escape. Her only focus now was to coax one of her captors to end her life here and now, before this Dragon Slayer shows up. As she was trying to figure out how to accomplish that, a large tremor shook the building.

Griffin's Claw Main Hall

Present Day

Zero and Oronia stood in the main hall, with fifteen Griffin's Claw members lying at their feet. Zero raised his hand to the ceiling and started shooting off sonar blasts, trying to find Theresa. As Zero and Oronia stood there, Shinn and Arctic walked in the room.

"The perimeter defenses are down, and all the foot soldiers are unconscious. Now we need to find Theresa before this turns into a full scale battle." Shinn looked at Zero, "How is it coming along?"

"I found her. She is on the top floor of the main tower." Zero addressed Arctic, "It would be a good idea to create one of your door thingies. Set the exit point to the field outside, we can fight there without being constricted to fighting in here with limited space."

Arctic smiled and said, "I have a slightly better idea…why not make a door out of this ceiling?" Arctic raised his palm towards the ceiling and fired an intense blast of cold air, freezing each floor to make it easier to break through. "Let's go break out our teammate and end this."

Griffin's Claw Castle

Present Day

As Riku scampered about trying to figure out what happened, the floor suddenly gave way. Out of the hole, the Dragon's Thunder team came through. Arctic froze the chains binding Theresa to the Alter, and broke them into tiny pieces. Zero grabbed Theresa's arm and jumped down the hole, while Oronia and Shinn followed. Arctic noticed Riku standing in the shadows and allowed his team to leave him behind.

"You destroyed a piece of Dark Chaos. I was assured that such a thing is impossible to do. Perhaps I had a phony piece. Thank you for helping me find that out." Riku stepped out of the shadows, with waves of anger rolling off of him. "As your reward for showing me the flaw in my plan, I will reunite you Dragon Slayers with your precious Dragons." Riku started walking closer to Arctic, but stopped upon hearing his laughter.

"Killing me? Killing any one of us? How utterly insane. You don't stand a chance in hell against any of us." Arctic stopped laughing abruptly and turned deathly serious. "You will all fall before us. We are no longer fighting for ourselves…or fighting for each other. You and your master killed all of our Dragons…our parents, rather. This is something that you wouldn't understand. We will bring your world crumbling down around you using the full force of our power. No magic…no force on this planet will shield you from me or any one of us." Arctic held his left arm outstretched and snapped his fingers, disappearing with a flash of light and a rush of cold air.

Griffin's Claw Clearing

Present Day

The clearing is a large circle devoid of anything but ankle high grass and a small creek splitting it in two parts. The northern part of the clearing holds the grounds and castle which serves as the Griffin's Claw guild. To the south is a large forest, devoid of any civilization. To the west about 5 miles is Deciduous Town, the unfortunate and desolate town that serves as target practice for the Griffin Slayers. To the east, a plain opens up, untouched by anything except mountains in the horizon. On the Southern side of the Clearing, 10 Dragon Slayers are all waiting in anticipation.

Dragons Thunder Team One consists of Arctic Dragonsbane, Zero Crush, Shinn and Oronia Galestrum, and Theresa Roselyn. Oronia is giving Theresa a once over, ensuring that she is uninjured and adequately prepared to fight. Zero and Shinn are going over battle strategies to take down the four Griffin Slayers whose powers they have a basic understanding of.

Dragons Thunder Team Two consists of Colter Elrich, Zach Netros, Xavier Cash, Sage Black, and Adonis Glave. Colter is the Lightning Dragon Slayer, with a remarkable likeness to Arctic, causing everyone to think that they are related or even twins. Zach is the Dragon Slayer of Speed. He isn't overly muscular and has a streak of silver running down the middle of his black hair. He always has a smile on his face. Xavier is the Explosion Dragon Slayer, and has a very serious demeanor. He has a cut down the left side of his face that goes over his eye. Sage is the Dragon Slayer of Nullification, and no one has ever seen his face before. He wears a dark hood that covers his face and upper body.

Glave walks over to Arctic, who is standing separate from the Dragons Thunder team. "I know you are probably mad at me for not telling you, Arctic, but none of you was strong enough to do anything about it a few weeks ago. Now…things have changed. I can feel how strong you have become not only in terms of magical or physical power…but mentally you are a completely different person." Glave waits for Arctic to say something, but he remains silent. A large crash sounds from the castle, signaling that the drawbridge opened. Out of the castle, 9 Griffin Slayers emerge, each of them smirking, ready to take on the Dragon Slayers. They stand on the north side of the clearing, waiting for the Dragon Slayers to initiate the fight. Arctic turns his back to the Griffin Slayers, and looks them all in the eye before speaking.

"I know this might not look good to some of you." Arctic spoke up, taking an air of confidence. "The odds are stacked against us. Our teachers fell to the master of these people. They are powerful by every way we can think of. They aren't pushovers and you can be sure that if there was a crowd of people betting on this fight, we would be the underdog here." Arctic clenches his fists, and continues. "But what they don't know is that this right here…this fight that is about to take place…this isn't a math test. Once the fight starts, the odds are thrown out the window, and all bets are off." Arctic gets louder, and the Dragon's Thunder team starts to get serious. "This is our stand. In this fight, even the strongest guy…even the crowd favorite can get knocked down on his ass and beaten. We have all been knocked down and trampled on…we have all been stepped on. What separates us from them is the fact that we don't back down. Every time we get pushed down, we get right back on our feet. We wanted to become stronger and we earned it. Right now, we all want vengeance for our parents. It won't be easy by any means, but if we fight…if we put everything we have into this final battle, we will give tribute to our Dragons, and show the world that Dragon Slayers are not to be trifled with." Arctic tilted his face to the sky, closed his eyes, and screamed, "We are Dragon Slayers! We never back down! We never surrender!" Arctic turned toward the Griffin Slayers who had all lost their smirk, which was replaced by fear or anger. "What we fight for here and now…it will never be forgotten!" All of Dragon's Thunder loosed an earth shattering roar, shaking birds out of trees, causing the creek to froth, and the Griffin's Claw Castle to tremble. "Today, we avenge our Dragons!" Arctic created a sword of ice, and led the assault on the Griffin Slayers.

-End Chapter 9

Chapter 10 – Battleground

Present Day

As Arctic led the charge towards the Griffin Slayers, Shinn immediately caught up to Arctic, and they both soared towards Riku. The others have chosen their targets and rushed towards them. As everyone was about to clash, Jack Cipher raised his fist to the sky as a large magic circle encompassed the ground underneath both the Griffin and Dragon Slayers. Jack shouted, "Shadow Spheres of Equality!", and everything went dark.

Unknown Location

Present Day

Colter Elrich stood underneath a massive thunderstorm, unsure of where he was. With no sun overhead or any type of ambient light, it was difficult to see any type of land mark. Colter got a little angry and summoned down bolts of lightning to illuminate his surroundings. He noticed that the guy who created the magic circle was sitting down a few yards away, just looking at him.

"Relax, there, Thunder Head." Jack stood up and faced Colter. "Before we begin, I would like to explain how this works assuming you beat me. This technique is known as 'The Ball of Equality'. It locks people inside who are close to the same strength to make larger fights fair for both sides. When a Dragon and Griffin Slayer enter it, however, the Ball creates the entire battlefield out of both elements, with even distribution. There are three rules to this." Jack held up three fingers to make his point. "Rule Number 1 is that the ball will not release its inhabitants until a victor is decided. Rule Number 2 is that any tampering from the outside will harm all the inhabitants inside the sphere. Rule Number 3 is that the caster cannot undo the magic." Jack smiled and said, "You here that, sparky? Even if you kick my ass, it won't release your friends. You just have to hope that your team is better."

"One question, if I may ask." Jack nodded, and Colter continued, "Where are the others? I don't see anyone else here at all."

Jack laughed and said, "This is a one on one battle, except for my master. Riku is taking on two dragon slayers and left the rest for us."

As Jack continued to ramble on, Colter thought to himself, "I hope Adonis is one of those two people. I can only hope that the rest of us escape with our lives. I know that Arctic told us these guys were strong, but locking us all into this ball and containing our power with his magic? That is some insane skill." Colter crouched, and launched his first attack. "Lightning Dragon's Lariat!" Colter rushed his opponent with his arm outstretched, a lightning aura enveloping his arm. The inside of Colter's elbow hit Jack in the throat, sending Jack to the ground with an intense amount of force. While he was on the ground, trying to breathe, Colter leapt into the sky, unleashing his next attack. "Lighting Dragon's Final Judgement!" Colter formed a diamond with his hands as a large amount of white light swirled inside of it. Releasing the attack, a large blast of lightning hit Jack square on, leaving behind swirling dust and a huge crater.

"Shadow Griffin's Claw!" Out of the swirling dust, a dark figure zoomed towards Colter. Jack materialized behind Colter, leaving a thing scratch across Colter's chest. "You dodged just in time. That would cause most opponents to be cut in half. Most impressive, if I do say so myself. No doubt that you thought after casting this magic, I would be left weakened." Jack laughed, and said, "I am the second strongest member of Griffin's Claw, just slightly weaker than Riku. I suggest you dodge the rest of my onslaught or you will die."

As Jack was talking, Colter was gathering up power for a last resort technique. "Normally, I can't use this in the middle of a fight. Thankfully, you don't like to shut up. I would like to extend this advice: Don't attempt to block this attack. Do your best to run." Colter forced all of his magical energy into his palms, enveloping them in black lightning. "Lightning Dragon's Chained Lightning Cannon!" An arc of lightning hit Jack square in the chest, slightly electrocuting him.

"That was it…that was your big attack? Your Judgement technique was stronger than that." Jack scoffed, "Hell, if that was your end-all technique, then I guess you are pretty much screwed." As Jack was preparing to attack, he felt a heavy wind swirl around him. Looking up, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The thunder clouds were all empty of lightning, because of the vortex of lightning above him that was spinning at unbelievable speeds. Jack looked back at Colter, unable to comprehend what just happened.

"You look confused, so I will explain." Colter solemnly spoke, "Hitting you with that lighting blast altered the magnetic charge on your body to attract lightning to you. All of the lightning in this place is about to annihilate you in a few seconds. Goodbye, Mister Shadow Griffin Slayer." Colter turned away from Jack, as the lightning was unleashed on him.

Unknown Location

Present Day

Adonis stood in a lush, green meadow, surrounded by the sounds of insects and animals. The sky overhead was a brilliant blue without a single cloud in the sky. Regardless of the peace he found in this place, he stayed alert, scanning his surroundings periodically.

"Pairing me with their master…what the hell was Jack thinking." Out of nowhere, a man appeared in front of Glave. He was about 6'5 with a muscular build, scars covering his forearms and face, with pure white hair.

Glave looked his opponent up and down, gauging that this guy was close to his own strength, surprisingly. Slowly shifting his body into a crouched position, Glave inquired, "Where are we? Did one of your Guild Mates transport us here?"

The man laughed, and spoke, "We haven't left the grounds at Griffin's Claw Castle, old man. This way, we don't have to do any landscaping after we are finished with you weaklings." The man continued to chuckle, and announced, "My name is Zeke Lutz, and I am the Griffin Slayer of Light! Now, bow down before me or be destroyed."

Glave didn't need another invitation, and launched his attack. He moved faster than Zeke expected, and was suddenly behind him. Glave landed a elbow strike to the back of Zeke's head, then a knee right into Zeke's throat, knocking Zeke on his knees. Glave grasped Zeke by his collar and threw him through the woods at a blinding speed, knocking over multiple trees.

From the depths of the forest, Zeke called out, "Light Griffin's Stellar Laser!" A bright beam of light shot by Glave's head, missing him by inches. Immediately following the light was a massive explosion that took out a large part of the forest. Zeke leapt from the trees, and landed a kick on Glave's chest, knocking him flat on the ground. Zeke brought his foot down, attempting to crush Glave's head, but missed as Glave rolled out of the way.

Zeke was about to launch a second attack when Glave got serious. "No one at Dragon's Fang knows what element I hold dominion over. Only Riku has ever survived a battle with me since becoming a Guild Master." Glave stood up, as Zeke lost energy. He couldn't understand why he felt so tired and weak. "Very few people can withstand my ability. Unless you hold a power like mine, or your magic power far exceeds my own, you have no chance of winning." Adonis walked forward and put his palm on Zeke's forehead. "This will not kill you, but will make you unable to fight for a week or more. To uphold my rule about my technique, I cannot tell you what my element is. Take solace in the fact that you remain alive after your guild is crushed. Goodbye, Zeke Lutz." Zeke lost consciousness and blacked out.

Present Day

Unknown Location

Shinn and Arctic stood on a barren tundra with storm clouds overhead. Riku stood a few yards away from them, showing them both the battles raging elsewhere. Riku gritted his teeth at the defeat of Jack and Zeke, unable to fathom why they disobeyed his orders. "I told them not to give their opponents time to react, and crush them!" Riku seethed over their failures.

Arctic looked at Riku, and said, "Perhaps they are tired of being controlled. You can't expect them to be mindless zombies forever. They were your strongest, right? Of course they found a way around your abilities, allowing us to win." Shinn stayed in a crouched position, prepared to launch an attack whenever Riku decided to make a threatening move.

Riku laughed and said, "Technically, they are the second and third strongest of this guild. Not including me at all. The title of strongest belongs to Ckriss, who will be fighting the one who holds dominion over Sound. Whether or not you Dragon Slayers win these small battles matters little. My master will be here shortly and will end all of you, and possibly us, if we fail. You have no hope of winning.

Shinn solemnly replied, "If you are already looking at fail safes, then we don't need hope. You have already accepted the fact that you will lose to us." Shinn inched a little closer, getting prepared. "We came here ready to lay down our lives to crush you. We have no special way to go about doing it. We will win because our will demands it! Revenge demands it! Because of your guild, we were all abandoned by our parents, and now we come to realize that we will never meet them again. We will crush you completely!"

Riku laughed at Shinn's words, and spoke, "Come, then. Show me what two Dragon Slayers can do against the full force of a Griffin Slayer like no other! Let me see what you can do!"

-End Chapter 10

Chapter 11 – Explosive Tempest

Present Day

Sphere of Equality

Oronia stood on a small island in the middle of a vast ocean. Small, puffy, and white clouds streaked across the sky, occasionally eclipsing the sun. The air was warm and the sea breeze was calm. Oronia stood face to face with the Water Griffin Slayer from Deciduous Town. The Griffin Slayer's name is Tobias, and he had just finished explaining where they were to Oronia.

"A more fitting mach is seldom found," Tobias states. "Very few powers exist that are as vast as the ocean or sky, so this battle should be fairly intriguing, I think." Tobias gets into a crouched stance, as if he is ready to pounce. Oronia doesn't move, and closes her eyes. Tobias raises an eyebrow, but makes no sound or movement. For a few minutes, all that is heard is the sound of their breathing. Tobias eventually gives in to his anticipation and launches an attack head on. From the ocean, a vortex of water shoots out and envelops Tobias' fist as he rushes forward, shouting, "Water Griffin's Steel Fist!" Just before it would collide with Oronia, she vanishes. Tobias looks around and can't pinpoint where she disappeared to.

"Sky Dragon's…!" From above Tobias, Oronia is diving towards him at mach speeds, with a steely determination in her eye. "Whispering Impact!" Oronia dug her foot into the center of Tobias' chest, launching him across the water at high speeds. "That was a warning shot." Oronia touched down on top of the water, and used her Air power to make it seem she was standing on it. "I can't afford to lose here, and will not be holding back."

Tobias clenched his teeth, and launched a thin wave of water at Oronia at a high speed. It grazed her cheek, but left a thin scratch across her face. "You are lucky you dodged that. High pressure water has the power to cut through about anything, including steel. However, I have managed to cut through titanium before using my skills." Tobias smiled, and continued his deluge. "Water Griffin's Nova Cannon!" Five small water cyclones sprouted from behind Tobias and melded into a single point in his palm. He released it from his hand, causing boiling water to erupt towards Oronia.

Oronia tried to outrun it, but the water moved to fast. She quickly spun around and clapped her hands together, causing a massive shockwave to tear through Tobias' technique. "Sky Dragon's Wind Blade!" Oronia outstretches her hand and waves it in an arc at a high speed, causing a high pressured gust of air to soar towards Tobias. He thrusts his palms into the water at a high velocity, causing a massive wall of water to soar towards the sky, acting as a shield between him and the attack Oronia launched.

"My Iron Water Shield is impermeable. The only drawback to it is that I have to have access to a large body of water, and as you can see, I have all the water I need." Tobias laughed, until the blast of wind cut through his shield like butter, almost cleaving his head off. Tobias looked at Oronia, horrified. He couldn't fathom how a little wind was able to cut through his barrier like that.

Oronia put her hands across her chest and shook her head at Tobias in disgust. "If you don't get serious right now, I am going to end you. If you don't stop looking down on my abilities…" Oronia looked back up and glared at Tobias. "I will leave no trace of you left." Oronia started to absorb a large amount of Air, building up strength for her next attack.

Tobias laughed at her maniacally, and shouted, "I mopped the floor with your entire team last time we fought. What has changed? Nothing! I am stronger, faster, and smarter than you could ever hope to be. You have no chance in hell against a Griffin Slayer! You Dragon Slayers are nothing more than a pompous, arrogant lot that deserves to be slaughtered!" Tobias starts absorbing massive amounts of water to boost his own magical power.

Oronia finished her absorption, and scoffed at Tobias. "You ask what has changed between then and now? We no longer fight for ourselves. We fight to avenge our parents. If we have to cripple and destroy every Griffin Slayer in our path to get to Riku's boss, nothing will stop us. We will demolish castles, destroy oceans, and obliterate mountains if that's what it takes. What are you in the face of a Dragon Slayer?" Oronia forced all of her magical energy into the palm of her hand, for one final attack.

Tobias scoffed at Oronia's statement, throwing back at her, "You think you are the only people who have lost something! Because of your Guild Master, we have all lost our power to choose! Because of his power, it frightens Riku enough to hold eight powerful Griffin Slayers underneath his control! Defeating you all is our only chance at freedom! Who are you to say that you will do everything in your power to avenge your loved ones?" Tobias seethed, gathering his magical energy into the palm of his hand as well. "The eight of us were raised in Deciduous Town! Every time one of us disobeyed an order, or found a way around Riku's control, he forced us to launch brutal attacks against our own people. If defeating you means I can go and help the town rebuild, then I will crush you under my heel!"

Oronia understood Tobias' pain, but was unaffected by his words. "I am sorry for your troubles, but in this, I have no other option. You are in my way." Oronia loosed her blast, shouting, "Sky Dragon's Storming Gale!" Tobias shouted an attack as well, and loosed a intense blast of water that collided with Oronia's. Their power was evenly matched, and neither side would yield. Eventually, their power exploded against one another, knocking them both away from the sheer force of it. Both Oronia and Tobias were knocked unconscious.

Present Day

Sphere of Equality

Xavier Shuda stood at the edge of a very large, metal square. It was suspended in mid air above a sea of water. The metal square was about 15 feet in all directions from the center of the square. He looked around and saw no one, and wondered if he was transported somewhere else like Arctic's team was. He was starting to think of a way to get back to the mainland when all of a sudden, he felt a slight rumble under his feet. Without thinking, he leapt away from where he was standing just as several large metal spikes shot up. The spikes slowly sunk back into the square, as a figure emerged from the metal. Standing across from him was a brute of a man. He stood at around 7'1 and was dark skinned, with scars all over his body. He had no coloring in his eyes, as they were pure white. The man smiled and spoke, "Excellent maneuver, my friend. Most people make the mistake of jumping up. Very few have ever been intelligent enough to jump perpendicular to my attack." Xavier was about to respond when the man rushed him. "Titanium Griffin's Razor Wing!" His arms were surrounded by swirling shards of titanium, that were as sharp as a swords cutting edge.

Xavier allowed him to get close enough to grab him, and then dropped down on his back, planting his foot underneath his ribs. He pushed off the ground with his right arm, pushing all of the air out of the man's lungs while launching him into the air. As the man started to fall before Xavier did, he spun and landed a kick to the man's face, sending him crashing into the ground. Xavier planned on landing a punch using gravity to his advantage, but the man dissolved into the metal square. Xavier planted his palms on the ground, and shoved off of it to land several feet away. The man emerged from the ground again, rubbing his chin. "You are a big guy, but that leaves you open to my attacks. Seeming as you prefer fighting over conversation, I will grace you with my name. I am Xavier Shuda, and am named the Dragon Slayer of Explosions."

The man rubbed his jaw and smiled. "I am the Titanium Griffin Slayer, named Nyotic Knight, and yes, I am not the talking type." Nyotic transformed his arm from his elbow down into a lance that was about the same length of his body as his left arm then transformed into a sharp double edged sword. He used part of the arena to mold an armor on his body, complete with a helmet. Xavier crouched down, keeping his cool, waiting for any attacks to be launched. Suddenly, Nyotic rushed him again, stabbing his lance towards his vital areas. Xavier dodged his attacks fluidly, looking for any weakness that he could exploit while keeping the bones in his body from breaking. He noticed that there was a hole underneath a part of his helmet used for ventilation, and started to formulate a plan. Knight landed a cut down Xavier's right arm, and followed up with a kick to the chest, nearly knocking Xavier off of the platform. Nyotic walked closer to him, as Xavier played like he was hurt bad. As Nyotic got close enough, Xavier grabbed his leg and used it to propel himself behind Knight, and then planted both feet on his back, shoving him off the arena.

Knight reappeared behind Xavier and shoved his lance into Xavier's back, ran him through, and his lance erupted from Xavier's chest. His body fell limp and Knight felt no heartbeat reverberating off of his lance. Nyotic smiled and started to laugh, as Xavier's body exploded, blasting off Knights armor, leaving him with cuts and a severe burn down his right arm. Xavier walked up behind him and smiled slightly. "That is a special technique I formulated to deal with people like you. It's called my Explosive Clone. I now realize that your armor is weak. That is why this place has a minor amount of your element, and a massive amount of mine. That sea below you is not water, but Nitro Glycerin in a liquid state. Very volatile. You should be more careful next time. You could get hurt, or worse." Xavier started to walk away, leaving his opponent laying, writhing in pain. Knight wasn't finished, however, and launched a last ditch attack. Before he could even make it another step, Xavier raised his hand and looked over his shoulder. "Explosive Dragon's Disintegration Dance." Xavier snapped his fingers, and several explosions surrounded Knight.

Battleground

Present Day

Xavier blinked, and was back on the Dragon's Fang side of the battlefield, with Knight lying down on the Griffin's Claw side, alive, but badly injured. Three others were lying down, clearly beaten. He scanned his group and noticed that Colter, Master Glave, and Oronia were all sitting, watching a large orb in the center. Xavier looked at it for a moment and noticed that it was showing all the fights going on inside. The one in the center was the biggest, and showed a stand-off between the master of Griffin's Claw and Arctic with Shinn next to him.

"They won't fight until the other fights are decided." Oronia whispered. "We have to wait to see if they win. If we try and break it, it electrocutes everyone inside, but I am assuming it only works on us. I doubt their master would want to be at the mercy of something he can't fight against."

Adonis spoke up, "I hope those kids stay alive. Riku is no pushover. If it were Shinn and Zero, I would be less worried. I know you said Arctic is different now, but I don't think he can achieve that big of a power difference in a few weeks of traveling with the four of you. If he did, then more power to him. I just wish I could go in there and end this." Glave hung his head in shame.

Colter responded to Glave, with a little anger in his voice, "You felt the same thing I did when Arctic came to us for help, Master. Arctic isn't a kid anymore. I don't know what changed him, but he isn't carefree or stupid. He is on a completely different level now. I don't think any of us here save you could take him in a fight as he is now. He is angry, but controlled. I would stake all my money on him and Shinn winning this fight."

End Chapter 11