Author's Note 1: The Fairy Mythos Series is a non-profit fanfiction series.

Fairy Tail and Fairy Tail Series II are all owned by A-1 Pictures, Satelight, Bridge Madman Entertainment, Funimation TXN, Kodansha, and Hiro Mashima.

Any original characters and concepts are owned by Navek or xpegasus.

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Chapter 4: Dance with the Devil

Suffice to say, things had gone to hell in a handbasket. At first, it seemed that the worst thing Lester and Desmond had to worry about was getting their asses kicked. Now, that was the least of their worries as the crazed Otani charged ahead at Jacob like a man possessed. The redhead attempted to slash his foe with a downward swing, but the purple-haired teen quickly pushed him back with a small burst of wind.

"What's the matter, Jacob? Scared to take a hit?" The crazed teen asked tauntingly before he slammed his stone claw against the floor. A magic circle then appeared underneath Jacob, and the purple haired teen was sent flying into the air by a giant fist of stone. Jacob then used his wind to right himself midair and control his descent.

As the two continued to fight, the rest of the combatants were left watching, unsure of what to do. For Carlos and Yuna, they did have faith that their friend could beat Otani, but that faith was shaken by the redhead's sudden bout of insanity and increased magic power.

As for Lester and Desmond, they really had no idea how to react to this recent turn of events. On the one hand, they didn't really care if Otani beat the crap out of Jacob, but on the other hand, the redhead's sudden change in personality disturbed them greatly. And they weren't the only ones.

In the stands, the girls looked on at the match with terror, concern, and uncertainty.

'What...what is this magic?' Wendy thought. Her body shook with terror as Otani continued to try and rip Jacob to pieces with his claws.

Crystal's eyes were wide as she observed and tried to analyze the fight. 'There's no way this is regular Earth Magic!'

'Otani… what happened to you?' Chiyo asked herself, for she was certain the boy she loved with all her heart would never act this way.

Tears began to form in Sasha's eyes. She felt like she was being torn apart as she watched the love of life try to tear her childhood friend to pieces. 'Otani, Jacob,' Sasha thought as she continued to stare in almost morbid fascination 'why is this happening?'

'I have to end this, now!' Jacob thought as he evaded another claw swipe. He then began to channel wind around both his arms once more before bringing them together, creating a ball of raging wind in front of him.

"Ooo, that looks impressive!" Otani stated as he started to conjure his own spell. "Well, since you've shown me your trump card," Otani's face contorted into a wicked, inhuman, bloodthirsty smile. "I'll show you mine!"

The crazed redhead then smashed the stone floor with his fists. A magic circle formed in front of his mouth and the stone fragments flew into his mouth, turning to dust as the passed through the circle.

The sight forced Wendy to do a double-take.

Carla turned to her in shock. "Wait a second! Isn't that-"

"Grand Cyclone!" Jacob screamed before unleashing a colossal torrent of wind at his foe.

In response, Otani let out an ear-splitting shriek, and what could only be described as a torrent of black stones flew from his mouth. It collided with the Grand Cyclone, the explosion of magical feedback was powerful enough to shake the arena and created a cloud of debris that shrouded the two from everyone's sight.

In the midst of the confusion, Desmond took the opportunity to strike. He socked Carlos in the nose before the flamboyant swordsman even had a chance to react. Next, he turned towards Lester and pointed at the ice still encasing his legs. Getting the message, the bespectacled wizard leaped towards his teammate, focusing his magic in his right fist.

"Property Alter: Harden!"

"Shit." Yuna cursed, realizing she taken her eyes off her foe for too long, psychically ordering Jojo to engulf the two.

Lester shattered the ice around Desmond's legs with a swing of his enhanced gauntlet. And while they were a little numb from their frosty confinement, Desmond still had enough control to roll towards Waltz, pick the blue pistol up and aim it at the oncoming slime.

"Guns Magic: Frost Bullet Frenzy!" He shouted before unleashing the remaining bullets at Jojo, trapping the slime in a tomb of ice, much to Yuna's dismay.

"You damn ruffians!" Carlos scowled, wiping some blood from his nose as he got back up. He then held Iris upright and was about to charge at them, when suddenly…

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Sasha's scream cut through the air of the Battledome, stopping the four combating teens. They then turned back to and saw that the dust cloud around Otani and Jacob was gone. And before them stood the gruesome sight that made Sasha scream.

They later learned that after their colliding spells exploded, Otani had charged at Jacob with one of his claws at the ready. Jacob, of course, was unable to make out his opponent in the midst of the cloud of dust and was unable to dodge the redhead's attack. Otani reared his right claw back before stabbing Jacob's abdomen with enough force to shatter his armor and pierce his stomach.

And that's exactly what the combatants, the audience, and Professor Spencer saw when the dust settled. Jacob, with a claw in his stomach, rapidly losing blood, and in shock from the pain. And Otani, his eyes still overflowing with bloodlust, and a sick smile on his face.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Otani taunted, his foe barely being able to say anything due to the overwhelming pain he was in. "Oh, come on, Jacob! Don't tell me one stabbing is enough to shut you up. I mean you could at least call me a…"

"YOU MOTHERF*&KER!" Carlos screamed as he charged at Otani, Iris at the ready. "RAINBOW SABER: AMARILLO!"

"SHIT!" The crazed redhead cursed, pulling his arm out of Jacob's stomach before dodging Carlos's sword. Otani growled, and prepared to strike the swordsman with his right arm when...

"Capture Chain."

Without warning, eight silver magic circles manifested around Otani. Dozens of glowing silver chains shot out from the circles and wrapped around the redhead, rendering him completely immobile.

"The f*&k?!" Lester asked in confusion while Otani struggled against the chains.

"That's enough for today." The combatants (save for Jacob, who was still groaning pain) turned and saw the barrier around the arena dissipate. Professor Spencer began walking towards them with a silver magic circle in front of his right pointer and index finger.

The other noticeable thing about the young-looking professor was that his usual jovial expression was nowhere to be seen.

"Mr. Ybarra, Ms. Tsukino, please take Mr. Melville to the clinic immediately." The bespectacled professor ordered.

"Right." Yuna said as Jojo finally broke free from Desmond's prison of ice. The black haired girl then ordered her Attack Slime to carry Jacob and the three were soon off.

"Oh, you midget f*&k!" Otani screamed, struggling against the chains as Spencer approached him. "Who do you think you are, you baby-faced, bottle sucking motherf*&ker?!"

"Now, now, Mr. Hiroji. There's no need to be so hostile." The orange haired man replied before placing his left hand in front of Otani's face. "Just relax and… Sleep."

A purple glow enveloped Spencer's hand and Otani's head, and in seconds, the raging redhead was fast asleep, his black markings and claws slowly receding.

"Professor… what the F*&K?!" Lester asked.

The diminutive teacher turned towards his student. "Mr. Mayfield…"

"No, seriously: what the f*&k?! What the hell happened to Otani?! What kind of bulls*&t Earth Magic did he use?! And why did it make him go insane?!"

Desmond said nothing, but the same questions were swirling around in his head.

Spencer stroked his chin in contemplation for a moment before turning towards the sleeping Otani. "I'm sure Mr. Hiroji can provide you will all the answers you need when he wakes up." The small man then walked out the arena, Otani's sleeping form suspended by Professor Spencer's chains following behind him.

Lester and Desmond were left alone the arena as students began to quickly exit their seats. They stood in an uneasy silence, still in shock over and unable to process what had just transpired.

And then…

It had been almost an hour since the end of the battle, and Lester, Desmond (the two had changed out of their armor and back into their uniforms), Crystal, Wendy, Carla, Chiyo, and Aime were waiting outside of Otani's room. Sasha had gone straight from the Battledome to the clinic to check on Jacob.

"Soooooooo….anyone know a good joke?" Chiyo asked, resulting in Carla smacking her the head with a riding crop she pulled out from...somewhere.

"Time and place, child!"

"I still can't believe how nuts Otani went." Crystal said before turning to Lester and Desmond. "He probably sounded as crazy as he looked, right?"

"You guys didn't hear him?" Desmond asked.

"I don't think anyone really heard whatever he said." Aime replied. "The barrier makes stuff like talking hard to hear, plus the noise from the battle didn't help."

Lester and Desmond shared a look, and silently agreed to not repeat the awful things Otani said while he was… possessed felt appropriate. As time went on, two of the girls were in contemplative thought.

Wendy couldn't shake the uneasy feeling Otani's magic had given her.

As for Aime, this had not been the first time she had seen her friend in this state. Nevertheless, that didn't make seeing it today any easier.

Soon enough, the doors opened and Otani, now back to normal, exited with Professor Spencer right behind him.

"Hey, guys." The shy redhead greeted them.

"Otani!" Chiyo shouted with tears in her eyes before hugging him. The redhead looked and saw his friends and associates looking at him with mixed looks of worry and caution.

"Okay dude, spill; what in the name of the Firsts was that back there?!" Lester asked with all the subtlety and finesse of a sledgehammer.

Otani said nothing in response, merely looking at Aime, who knew all too well what was wrong with him, and Professor Spencer, who had just spent the last hour returning him to normal before speaking up.

"What you guys s-saw in the arena i-is why I came to Avalon. E-ever since I was a k-kid, w-whenever I use too much of my m-magic, I… I just go berserk." The redhead said, his body shaking nervously.

"It's not unheard of for developing magic to have a negative effect on a young wizard's mind." Spencer explained. "And unfortunately, Mr. Hiroji is one of the worst cases I've ever seen."

The short teacher then turned to address the other students. "I advise you all to return to your dorms for the night. And Mr. Mayfield, Mr. Trotter, don't worry about your rankings. If a duel is interrupted the participants' rankings remain unchanged."

'That's the last thing I was thinking about.' Lester thought before looking at Otani and others. "Well, good night...I guess."

The amethyst eyed teen walked off and soon everyone began to do the same. Aime pulled the crying Chiyo off of Otani and dragged her away, Wendy and Carla walked back together to their room, and Crystal followed after Lester. This just left Otani, Professor Spencer, and Desmond, the latter of them placed his hand on the troubled redhead's shoulder.

"Look, man. If you need anyone to talk to, I'm here for ya."

And with that, the behatted man left, leaving Otani and Professor Spencer behind. And for a brief second, Otani felt at peace knowing his...friend was there for him.

"I know it's not my place to judge, but are sure you don't want to tell them the truth?" The diminutive professor asked.

"It's bad enough they already saw me like that. By the Firsts, I almost killed Jacob." The redhead said before looking down at Spencer. "You said you'd help me keep my magic under control?"

The short man nodded, giving Otani his answer.

'Aime, Desmond. Once I have everything under control… I'll tell you everything.'

Hours later;

The Clinic…

Jacob was resting in one of the clinic's beds fast asleep, the pain medication he'd been had forced the large teen to give into sleep.

Carlos and Yuna sat next to Jacob's bed watching over him. Carlos's eyes were red from crying, and while Yuna's face remained an impassive mask, her hands had started shaking like leaves when they first entered the clinic and hadn't stopped until an about an hour ago. Even Jojo was concerned for the purple haired teen and was curled up on the pillow next to Jacob's head.

Outside the clinic's door, Sasha stood with her back against the wall, her emotions brewing like a stew of guilt, anger, sorrow, and regret. Gripping her arms, tears rolled down her cheeks as she berated herself for being unable to step inside and check on her childhood friend. She'd been standing in that same spot since she'd arrived, but couldn't work up the nerve take another step.

Carla and Wendy's Dorm…

"185, 186, 187," Carla said as she counted her brush strokes of Wendy's hair. This was their nightly ritual, Carla would brush Wendy's hair exactly 200 times while the blue haired girl would read a book or magazine, or write in her diary. It was supposed to be a happy little ceremony that would help them both unwind from the day's stress, but tonight Wendy had just sat there, a far-off look in her eyes.

Unable to take it any longer, Carla stopped brushing and spoke up. "What's wrong, child?" Her voice was stern yet kind.

Wendy flinched at the unexpected comment. "Oh, it's nothing. I think I'm just tired." She said nervously.

Carla's eyes narrowed, Wendy shrank under that white cat's gaze. "You are a very bad liar Wendy. Now tell me the truth."

"Okay, okay." Wendy said. "It's just…" she gripped the hem of her skirt. "I was thinking about Otani, and what he did during the fight."

"Well, it certainly was scary. He was more like a wild animal than a human once he caught his second wind. For what I've heard, he's almost as shy as you, so I don't think anyone could have seen that coming."

Wendy nodded.

Carla raised an eyebrow. "But that's not all, is it?"

"The magic he used, there's no way it was just normal Earth Magic," Wendy began in a shaky voice. "Those claws, that breath attack, and eating his element; it reminded me of Dragon-Slayer Magic."

The white cat sighed. "You know, I was thinking the exact same thing. Do you think that Hiroji boy could be a Dragon-Slayer as well, child?" She asked softly.

"He has to be, there's no way he could do what he did if he wasn't." Wendy replied. "He obviously wants to keep it a secret, so I won't confront him about it."

Carla nodded in agreement and resumed brushing. "188, 189, 190-"

"Carla." The white cat stopped once more at the sound of Wendy's voice. "Do you- do you think what happened to Otani, could happen to me? " Tears were welling up at the corners of the blue haired girl's eyes as she asked her question.

To say Carla was shocked was an understatement. "Certainly not, you would never-"

"But you said it yourself, Carla!" Hot tears burst from Wendy's eyes like a broken dam. "Otani is just as shy as me, so if he can go berserk like that, whose to say I can't? Just because it hasn't happened before, doesn't mean it can't." She tried wiping the tears from her eyes, but they just kept coming. "I'm scared Carla. I don't want that happen! I don't want to hurt my friends, but I don't know how to stop it if it does!"

Carla was in complete and utter shock, but even so, she knew what she had to do, the only thing she could do. She embraced the girl and whispered kind words into her ear as she rubbed her back. They stayed like that long into the night, until the blue-haired girl had cried herself to sleep.

Desmond's Dorm…

Desmond stared at the moon through his open window, thinking about the day's events. In particular, Otani's sudden bout of insane, gleeful, bloodlust during their fight.

What was going through the redhead's mind? Could his magic really be what caused him to go berserk? His and Professor Spencer's explanation seemed to make sense, the Guns Wizard had certainly heard stories of people's magic going out of control, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something didn't quite add up. During the fight, Otani had acted like a completely different person, his personality going from a shy and nervous yet kind and selfless, to some sort of cruel and sadistic monster; it was like he had been possessed.

Desmond grimaced. 'Something just isn't adding up.' But, no matter what he thought, all Desmond really wanted was for the redhead to be okay. He was too kind and sweet to be put through this much crap.

This train of thought led Desmond to recall when he first met the shy redhead, how he'd been so shy and jittery, and how embarrassed he was over the girls fawning over him. But underneath that shyness and insecurity was courage that Desmond couldn't help but admire.

'Otani really needs to be more self-confident. He's brave, smart, cute, and always tries his hardest.' Desmond thought to himself. 'Wait, cute?!' The dirty blond suddenly felt his cheeks heat up.

'Oh, f*&k.' He thought as he placed his hand on his face.

Crystal's Dorm…

Crystal sat at her desk, writing notes and ideas in a leather notebook. As she did so, she thought back to Lester. As they walked towards his dorm, he was mostly quiet. And even though the Crystal-Make Wizard had only known him for less than a week, she could tell that it out of character for him.

She also felt bad because Otani's turning crazy gave her inspiration for a story, but she was struggling about whether or not it was alright to use a mentally disturbed classmate as the basis for a character.

Lester's Dorm…

Lester practically fell on his bed as soon as he entered his room, the events of the day leaving him physically and emotionally exhausted. And as he fell asleep, he prayed to whatever deity would listen that the remainder of his stay at Avalon Academy would be less hectic than the last two days.

Boy, was he in for a surprise.

Author's Note 2: Don't worry. The next chapter will be much more light-hearted.

Next Time: L-O-V-E! Please remember to read, favorite, and review!