Ragnar was wiping his eyes with water, shaking his head rapidly. His vision was slowly improving as well as his other senses " ah son of a bitch" he said blinking. " Here" a voice said, dropping a towel into his lap " there you go Phoenix Boy". He looked at her and wiped his eyes with the towel " thanks Cana" he said. She sat next to him " here we go, the last trial. Think I got a chance?" Ragnar chuckled" ah come on Cana. Course I do. Just do me a favor and hold a spot for me in the S-Class ranks will ya?"Cana winked and slugged his shoulder " just as long as you don't go giving away your spot every year". " That was a one-time thing". " Hey you two, Master Makarov is getting ready to describe the last trial. Let's move" Erza said. Ragnar and Cana got to their feet and walked over to the others.
Makarov cleared his throat " These are the current standings for this year's S-Class trial! Gajeel, Juvia, Freed and Cana are all in the running. Now it is time to reveal the final trial. The four contestants and their partners will head into the forest and separate. They will then engage in combat when they run into each other. The last remaining contestant will be declared S-Class. Good luck you four. The rest of us will watch on Lacrima Vision. The Trial will start once a green flare is shot in the sky. Now get going you four". Ragnar and Cana nodded" let's go!" Ragnar said, grabbing Cana's arm and turning to shadow, heading towards the forest.
Ragnar stopped high in a tree and surveyed the area. Cana rubbed her arms " I never want to do that again!" she said. Ragnar smirked " it's not that bad" he said folding his arms and walking towards the edge of the tree branch. He stiffened when he saw the green flare " go time" he looked back at Cana" alright, I'll follow your lead. Let's go get you that S-Class rank". Cana smiled " hey, you can fly right?" Ragnar nodded in confusion " yeah, all Phoenix Slayers can. Why?" His eyes widened as Cana suddenly ran forward and hopped on his back " hey, what the crap?!" Ragnar yelled, trying to regain his balance. " I wanna fly!" " Get off!" Ragnar yelled falling off the tree branch as Cana held on tight. " Hey! Pull up!" Cana yelled frantically as the ground drew closer and closer before Ragnar pulled up and started flying through the trees. Cana started smacking Ragnar " geez, way to cut it close ya jerk!" Ragnar bared his teeth " Knock it off! Do you want me to crash?!" " Next time get it together!" " If you don't knock it off, I'm going to throw you on the ground!" A voice interrupted them " so sweet to see you two getting along" Ragnar stopped and hovered in midair to see Freed and Alain smirking at them from a tree branch.
Ragnar frowned " it wasn't intended but looks like we'll be able to eliminate the biggest threat first". Alain smiled " I'm afraid you two are the ones who are gonna be eliminated. Star Missiles!" He extended a hand and five bright lights and swore " shit! Alright Cana, hold on for dear life!" He said taking off into the air. She screamed as her grip tightened. " Dark Ecriture: Wings!" Cana looked back to see Alain and Freed pursuing them, same with Alain's attack " hey, step on it!" she yelled. Ragnar dove straight down into the trees and began evasive maneuvers throughout the trees, Cana screaming the whole time. " They're still coming!" Cana yelled. Ragnar whirled around " hang on!" he yelled firing five blasts of his own to take down Alain's attack then landed on the ground " you okay Cana?" he asked. When he got no response he looked back to see Cana out of it " that's what you get for jumping on my back" he said shrugging her off and setting her down. Cana was starting to come to as Freed and Alain caught up with them. Ragnar looked as Cana stood up next to him " only one of us can advance Cana and I'm afraid it's gonna be me" Freed said. Cana got her cards out" ready to go Ragnar?" "Let's do this!"
Ragnar faced up against Alain while Cana squared up with Freed. "Shadow Phoenix Lightning!" He extended a hand and dark lightning shot towards Alain who managed to dodge. " Dark Ecriture: Pain!" A purple ruin appeared on Ragnar who yelled in agony. Cana waved her cards and a lightning bolt hit Freed, causing the ruin to vanish " thanks!". Ragnar said. " Fire Dragon Roar!" A massive burst of fire raced towards Ragnar who didn't have time to get out of the way. He flew threw the air but landed on his feet " Ragnar can you take Alain?" Cana asked. He nodded " then I'll handle Freed" she said. Ragnar smirked at his buddy " The Brotherhood fighting. Let's do this!" "Star Fire!" Ragnar took off in the air as Alain fired multiple bright lights at him. He looped around " nice try pal! Shadow Phoenix Scream!" Alain dodged the attack only for Ragnar to smirk " pay attention!" he said moving out of the way so Alain's own attack hit him. Alain staggered " tricky" he muttered. " Shadow Phoenix Harpoon!".
His body covered in magic energy, he headbutted his friend who smirked " I knew you would do that" he said grabbing him "Star Bomb!" Alain's hands glowed brightly and the magic energy exploded. Ragnar flew back " you've gotten stronger" Ragnar said " but so have I. Time to bust out some stuff I've been working on. Shadow Phoenix Katana!"Ragnar created a sword out of shadows and lunged for Alain who was so surprised that he was rooted to the spot as Ragnar started battering him with the sword. Alain stepped back " Fire Dragon Flame Elbow!" Alain's elbow erupted in flame but before he got an attack in, Ragnar advanced on Alain " Shadow Phoenix Whirlwind!" His arms became cloaked in darkness and he spun them around, creating a whirlwind. " What the hell?!" Alain asked being thrown through the air. He landed on a tree branch " Dragon Slayer Secret Art! Crimson Lotus Exploding Flame Blade!" Alain ignited his arms and generated long torrents of fire which he spiraled. " oh shit!" Ragnar yelled as each blow that connected caused a massive explosion.
Cana paused her battle with Freed to look back " Ragnar!" " Pay attention!" Freed said "Dark Ericture: Pain! Pain! Pain!" Alain watched the fire " not bad Ragnar. . . wait". he said seeing a spark of lightning. Ragnar flew in the air, shadow, and lightning covering his body " my turn. Phoenix Slayer Secret Art! Shadow Lightning Phoenix Annihilation Cannon!" He created an orb of shadow and lightning, combining them, consumed it and fired. Alain grimaced " this is gonna hurt" he said as the blast connected. Cana smiled " one down and one to go" she said. Freed nodded " indeed. Let's fix that. Dark Ecriture: Wings!" Purple and black wings appeared on his back and Freed flew towards Ragnar " hey look out!" Cana yelled. "Darkness Flare Bomb!"
Freed created a sphere out of dark energy that consumed Ragnar. Freed smirked and turned his attention back to Cana" let's settle this" Cana got her cards ready but before they could pick up where they left off, a slurping noise could be heard. Freed turned back to see Ragnar consuming his last attack " oh dear, I totally forgot about that". Cana smirked " hey Freed!" she called, throwing a card down. Bikini babes sprung out of the card and attached themselves to Freed who turned red and flustered " oh come on Cana! Must you keep using this tactic?!" Ragnar rolled his eyes " I must say Cana, I'm not a fan of that either". " Just shut up and hit him with something!" Ragnar sighed and extended his arms with his palms out " fine. Phoenix Slayer Secret Art! Shadow Phoenix Nova Flare!" He created a massive orb of darkness then fired. Freed could only watch the attack race for him " oh dear" he said as the blast sent him flying. Ragnar grinned " well that's one down" he said, looking at the knocked out Alain and Freed. Cana smiled " nice work" " Thanks you too". He sat down " I need a rest" Cana nodded in agreement " Yeah me too" she said sitting next to him.
Violet and Gajeel squared up with Storm and Juvia. Violet was rearing to go looking at her rival. Storm was glaring at Violet" you wanna go Dreyer?!" " Bring it on Fullbuster!" Gajeel smirked" looks like the kids can't wait to get started" he said before eyeing Juvia " it's been awhile since we've gone at it. Let's do this" he said. Violet and Dreyer yelled in anger and tackled each other. They started rolling around, punching, kicking and swearing " Ugly bastard!" " Stupid bitch!" " I hate you!" " I hate you more!" " No, I hate you more!" " No, I hate you more!" " Fuck you!" " Fuck You!" " Fuck you!" " Fuck you!" Gajeel and Juvia watched them go at it " those two are always fighting it seems" Juvia said. Gajeel nodded and grinned " let's do this! Iron Dragon Roar!"
He fired a magical burst of energy at Juvia " Water Slicer!" she said, countering the attack with one of her own. As Gajeel and Juvia kept fighting, Storm and Violet had resorted to hitting each other with branches and whatever else they thought would hurt while hurling insults at each other " Dumbass!" " Ugly she-beast!" Prissy boy!" " Bitch!" Meanwhile, while the battle was raging, Cana and Ragnar had been watching from a tree, trying not to laugh. " Alright Cana, what's the plan?" Cana grinned " Use your more powerful spell on the lot of them and I'll combine it using one of mine. If we generate enough power, we should be able to take them out in one attack". Ragnar frowned " I'm afraid it won't be that easy. I know which spell to use but I'll need time to generate enough power". Besides, they'll need to be bunched up." How much time?" " Ten to fifteen minutes". Cana looked down at the fighting wizards " I'll buy you some time" she said, heading down to the battlefield. Ragnar made a diamond with his fingers and started generating dark magical energy.
Cana turned her cards to Violet and Storm " Summoned Lightning!". A lightning bolt shocked both of the young wizards, putting them out of commission. Cana then turned her attention to Gajeel and Juvia " alright you three, let's party!" she said, throwing cards at both of them. The cards flew at both wizards which exploded on impact. Ragnar made sure to keep out of view as he continued to gather magical energy. Gajeel was the first to recover and glared at Cana " Iron Dragon Claw!" His arm turned into iron and he hit her in the stomach " Water Lock!" A cyclone made out of water entrapped Cana who yelled. " Where is Ragnar?" Gajeel asked. Cana gritted her teeth I gotta distract these guys. Hurry up Ragnar! Gajeel grinned " ya know, I kinda feel bad about this but I say we take her out than fight it out to see who becomes S-Class". Juvia nodded " good idea!" Cana gulped " ah crap!" she said but grinned " ah well, this is our trial after all. Wind's Edge!" Using her cards she sent forth a huge burst of wind. Cana grinned " Heaven! Reverse Tower! Lovers! Summoned Lightning!" A massive lightning bolt hit them both just as Storm and Violet were powering up an attack " we got you now!" they yelled. " Cana, get out of the way!" Ragnar yelled, aiming his finger made diamond at the four wizards "Phoenix Slayer Secret Art! Shadow Phoenix Vortex!"
He fired all the magical energy at Storm, Violet, Gajeel and Juvia who all looked up " oh crap!" they yelled as the attack connected. Cana took a second to catch her breath and stared at the four wizards who were slowly starting to stand up, much to the astonishment of Ragnar " no way. . . " he muttered then looked at Cana " finish them!" he yelled. Cana nodded and threw several cards at them. Violet froze " oh no" she said as they blew up. The four wizards were knocked down again and this time they were down for the count. " Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner! This year's S-Class wizard is Cana Albreona!" Makarov said. Cana just stood there in shock " wait, what?" Ragnar appeared next to her " what did I tell you?!" he said slapping her on the back. Cana appeared to be in a daze as everyone rushed to congratulate her, Gildarts being the first one " My little girl did it!" he yelled bear hugging Cana " Geez old man, get a grip!" she yelled while smiling.
Later-
Ragnar sat down, exhausted and watched the celebration. He felt a hand on his shoulder " It took a big man to do what you did" Makarov said. Ragnar nodded" many people would call me crazy, throwing away a shot at S-Class but I know that what I did was right". Makarov nodded and sat down next to him " you have done this guild proud my boy. However, there is a matter I wish to discuss with you" he said with a grave tone. Ragnar looked at the unfolding party and frowned " what is it?"