XxChapter StartxX
*BOOM!*
A cloud of smoke permeated the area. Movement can be seen until finally Natsu's form emerged from the explosion site. His body housed quite a few injuries. His vest and scarf were completely gone, showing the many gashes and scrapes across his upper body.
"Shit… Gazille, support!" Natsu yelled.
About thirty feet to Natsu's left, the man in question grinned. "Comin' right up!" He yells as he gathers magic energy in his right hand. He didn't look much better than Natsu.
Just then, as the smoke finally cleared, Eva could be seen standing with a smug look plastered onto her face. She looked no worse for wear. Noticing Gazille's action, she turns towards him and dashes forward at high speed, only to be cut off by Natsu appearing in front of her using a makeshift Shundō of sorts.
"Karyū no Tekken!" He yelled as his flame covered fist flew toward Eva's face.
With a lazy wave of her left hand, Eva caught the punch, extinguishing the fire at the same time, much to Natsu's amazement. She quickly followed up with a strong kick to the gut, sending the Dragon Slayer to the floor. As Natsu fell backwards, Gazille is revealed, and his grin gave Eva just enough time to notice the spell circle beneath her.
"Stalagmite!"
Natsu rose his head forward just in time to see as a massive pillar of rock and gravel spiked upwards from below Eva's position. After a tense few seconds, during which both Natsu and Gazille paid rapt attention to the collision site, the pillar exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere. Eva stood and dusted herself off before she looked at the two with a small smirk. With a nearly simultaneous growl, both Natsu and Gazille charged at Eva, engaging her in close combat. In an amazing exchange of offense and defense, Eva holded off both Dragon Slayers effortlessly. Gazille jumped backwards, leaving Natsu to face Eva solo before he swung his arm at her.
"Tetsuryūken!"
Natsu jumped back to avoid Gazille's sword arm as it headed towards Eva. Without even looking at it, she rose her right hand and caught the blade with her bare hand. She turned her head and took in his shocked face. She very much enjoyed the sight. Tightening her grip around the sword, Eva swung Gazille to the left, smashing him into Natsu. Both of them stood back up and exchanged a few words before Gazille reengaged Eva in close combat. Back at their original location, a spell circle formed around Natsu as he chanted.
"I hate this spell chanting shit! How did it go… How did it go?" He mumbled to himself.
"Oi! Salamander! A little HELP PLEASE!" Gazille screamed after taking a deep cut across the chest from Eva's fingers.
"Shit. Here goes nothing…."
"Homura, so wa kuchihatenu eigō no myakudō! Fudōnaru ishi wa kono mune ni! Jōen!" He chanted as two orbs of fire appeared above his position.
"Blazing Hearts!" He finished as the two orbs sped towards Eva quickly.
"Tetsuryūkon!" Planting his fist into the ground, Gazille extended his arm to propel himself in to the air right before the massive balls of flame collided with Eva. As they made contact, they spread across the ground, creating a fiery cross that burned intensely. As Gazille landed right next to Natsu, the two shared a small grin, which promptly disappeared at the sound of Eva's voice coming from the still raging inferno.
"Tenkō mitsuru tokoro warewa ari. Yomi no mon, hiraku tokoro ni nanji ari." She chanted as a massive blue spell circle appeared below the two Dragon Slayers.
"Ideyo, Kami no Ikazuchi!" Pillars of blue light began to sprout from the circle, creating an elaborate tower-like magical structure. At the top, lightning began to crackle. Eva then steped out of the inferno with her arm raised high.
"It's over, mutts." Eva declared before swinging her arm downwards.
"Indignation!"
At that instant, a massive bolt of blue lightning pierced through the center of the tower from above, colliding with Natsu and Gazille. The explosion that rocked the open field was massive, and the tremors were just as intense. Eva sighed at the sight.
"That's it? I mean, Indignation is overkill in all but the most dire situations, but still. Natsu and Gazille showed the ability to cast the Japanese-based chanted spells I taught them, but should I hand them off to Gildarts like this?" Eva is brought out of her musings by a massive burst of magical energy within the crash site of her thunderbolt.
"Mode: Raienryū." The first figure she's saw was Natsu's, having drawn upon Laxus' power.
"Mode: Dragon Force." She then saw Gazille in his fully scaled Iron Dragon form.
Eva laughed a bit at the sight. "So the mutts are getting serious then? Maybe I'll break a sweat this time!"
Internally, though, Eva was sweating. "Okay then… This'll be fun. Natsu has enough firepower to actually hurt me in that form, and I'll need to use some chanted spells to even scratch Gazille's skin. So how should I go about this? I used a ton of magic power for Indignation, so regeneration isn't going to be easy for awhile. I need to not get hit for the most part. Problem is, they've obviously thrown all caution to the wind seeing as this was just supposed to be a test of how well they can use chanted spells. I must've hurt their pride more than I meant to…"
"You guys serious?" She decided to ask.
Rather than an answer, Gazille jumped into the air. He clamped his legs together and started to spin like a drill.
"Metsuryū Ougi: Gōma Tetsu Rasen!" He screamed before the drill of doom sped towards Eva.
Just as Eva was about to start casting in response, Natsu's voice was heard.
"Raienryū no Dai Hōkō!" He called as a bigger than usual beam of fire and lightning headed towards her.
Eva noticed something just then. "He's going to hit Gazille! What's that idiot doing!"
As the beam collided with Gazille, instead of being disintegrated, the magic energy started to swirl with Gazille's drill.
Gazille decided to explain from within the drill of lightning and fire.
"Unison Raid: Raienryū no Rasenken!"
With a look of panic on her face, Eva held out her right hand and gathered magic energy into it. The mark of Magia Erebea appears as she chanted .
"Emissa Stagnet!" She yelled as a ball of concentrated ice magic appears over her palm. As the spiraling comet is just about to hit Eva, you hear her last words.
"Complexio!"
*Epically Massive Explosion of Epically Massive Proportions Creates Epically Massive Carnage on an Epically Massive Scale Leaving an Epically Massive Crater* (LOL)
Gazille let the drill go for a few more seconds, clearing out the dust. He whistled at his handiwork before something crazy happened. The air started to chill, the ground started to freeze, and pillars of ice rose in random places around the area.
"Krustalline Basileia." Eva's voice echoed. Then, he saw nothing but black.
Natsu stared at Gazille's frozen form. He couldn't believe it. Standing right in front of Gazille was Eva, glowing light blue, her body seemingly made of ice. Behind her was a large ice dial with many protrusions, centered between her shoulder blades. He blinked, and then there was no Eva. The blackness claimed him as well. Eva took a deep breath before calming down. The ice dial behind her shattered and her body returned to normal.
XxBreakxX
Natsu and Gazille sat cross legged in front of Eva, both donning a pathetic pout. They refused to look her in the eye.
"You forced me to use Magia Erebea. Pretty good for mutts, but not enough to even get close to beating me. 'Queen of Ice' was plenty enough to end this quickly. Forcing me to use 'Frigus Incarnatio de Tonitrui', now that would be something else. Now then, on a side note…" She paused before turning around and pointing to the crater that USED to be the river park.
"LOOK AT WHAT THE FUCK YOU DID!"
Natsu and Gazille flinched at her tone.
"You completely destroyed a heavily trafficked section of Magnolia. During a TEST. Not an all out war with me, but a test. You both know I can kick your asses, so why throw a temper tantrum every time it happens? While I WAS surprised that you worked together, you still shamed the guild. Magnolia is our city, and we take jobs to help finance and protect it, not destroy it.. I haven't been here nearly as long as you and I know that."
Eva gave them a stern look. "Now what do you assholes say?"
Finally meeting her gaze, they answered simultaneously.
"Sorry Eva-sensei."
"Damn right you are. Now get the hell out of here, clean up, and meet me here tomorrow for your last day of training. We still have a few things to go over before I hand you off to Gildarts." She explained.
As the two comply with a grumble, Eva added one last thing. "Wendy is not to heal any of your wounds, understood?"
They gaped at her before deciding to go HOME rather than the guild, where Wendy most likely was. With their forms out of sight, a member of the unknown audience decided to make himself known.
"Man… That sure was something else. I don't know how much I'll actually be able to teach them honestly. We'll probably just beat the shit out of each other for three weeks." Gildarts said as he revealed himself.
Eva shrugged at the man. "It makes no difference to me. They both showed acceptable aptitude in casting chanted spells, and that's all I offered to teach them. If you didn't know, I actually have two apprentices that haven't had ANY one on one time with me yet. I did what I said I'd do, and now it's your turn to deal with the retards." She explained.
Gildarts rubbed the back of his head. "I know, I know, it's just… I feel like the next generation's gonna' pass me by soon enough. I mean, look at this park. I'd be hard pressed to do something like this. The boys are good, and they'll only get better as time passes. I think this tournament is a good way for them to see how they stand among the new generation."
Eva chuckled lightly. "I concur. I don't expect them to beat anybody from Ala Alba, but the other guilds… They might give them the competition they need to gain back some of their lost pride. I think that I've been a bit hard on them lately, and they're getting tired of losing. I mean, look at the park. They need to cool down some, 'cause it's starting to piss me off."
"They're only eighteen you know. They're still maturing, some temper issues are bound to pop up here and there. I sure as hell wasn't as tame as I am now at their age."
"I guess." Eva said with a sigh. "I was forced to grow up fast. My first kill happened when I was ten, and these boys haven't killed anyone."
Gildarts couldn't hold back a frown at the statement. "They shouldn't have to kill anyone." He argued.
"Too bad. I have a feeling that we haven't seen the last of Kosmo Entelecheia, and the Averruncus units are going to fight to kill US."
Gildarts' sad look turned to a confused one. "But aren't they dolls? There should be no problem shutting them down."
Eva shook her head at him. "You're incorrect. They look too human for these kids to feel okay about destroying them. While technically correct, you fail to take their subconscious into account."
"If it comes down to it, I'll take them out myself." Gildarts assured her.
Eva could only laugh in response. She still had a sinking feeling about the tournament she just couldn't figure out…
XxBreakxX
In what looked like a traditional Japanese dojo, a loud, clap-like noise could be heard periodically. The building was empty for the most part, but the source of the sound was on the practice stage.
"Ugh!" A feminine voiced grunted as she collided with the floor.
"Again!" A strong male voiced commanded.
Another slam.
"Again!" The man ordered once again.
The woman hit the floor again.
"Okay, Erza, break time." The man said this time, voice decidedly calmer.
Erza shakily stood up, using her boken as a cane. "Yes, sensei." As she stood up, she was revealed to be in a regular white karate gi. Bruises adorned her face, and blood leaked from a cut above her left eye.
"Sensei" was a middle-aged man with a weak look and glasses. "You've improved remarkable over the course of just a week. I'm honestly surprised. You still lack finesse, though." He explained to her.
Taking a swig from a water bottle, Erza took a deep breath before she answered. "I'm more of a speed fighter. Fencing isn't my strong point, especially against a style like Shinmei-ryu."
"Well, if you are indeed facing Setsuna-kun in a few months, you need to lose that mentality. Our style works wonders at close range, and without proper training, you won't get many hits in."
"You know," Erza started. "I was honestly unsure of how things would work out when Katherine said she was sending me to train with Konoe Eishun. I can now say I'm pleasantly surprised."
A dry chuckle escaped Eishun's lips. "She's really up in arms about this tournament. I was surprised enough to hear she was back in Fiore, and then I find out she's teaching again? It was shocking, to say the least."
"She's certainly not what I expected the Dark Evangel to be like. She seems more… lonely, than violent."
Eishun nodded grimly. "She was never really accepted by anybody. Nagi was nice to her, but it took hundreds of years for her to meet him. You kids at Fairy Tail must be something special to get her to open up like this."
"Well, she hasn't really opened up at all. She just trusts the guild to know her true identity. The only one that really knows anything about her personally beyond her sadistic tendencies is Gray."
Eishun got a bit curious. "And who is this Gray, and why did she talk to him."
"That's the thing. He won't tell us either. It's annoying, but he's definitely met her before she came to the guild. I'm at least sure of that." Erza explained.
"I'd like to meet him sometime. Perhaps I'll come to the tournament for observation. If Setsuna-kun is there, then my daughter will as well."
Erza looked at him in slight surprise. "You have a daughter in Ala Alba?"
"Yes, my little girl's name is Konoka. I haven't seen her in three years. I guess it's time to pay her a visit." He explained before looking at the clock. "Okay, break's over. We have at least 45 minutes until dark. We'll go a few more times then have you treated and prepared for dinner."
"Yes, sensei."
Erza's grunts of pain could be heard for the next hour…
XxBreakxX
Currently, in the forest outside of Magnolia Town, Wendy and Porlyusica sat around a dead rabbit.
"Um… Grandine, what am I supposed to-"
"Don't call me that! I gave you Grandine's notes and told you my story, but I'm not the dragon, okay?" The pink-haired medic scolded.
"Gomen…" Wendy said sadly. "Ano… Why are we here?"
Porlyusica pointed at the rabbit. "Fix it."
"Um… It's dead."
"I don't care. Fix it."
"But, I…"
"What was written on page 14 of Grandine's healing notes?"
Wendy thought on it for a moment. "Umm… The only way to revive a dead person is if the wounds that caused death are something that I could fix if they were alive, and if I use enough magic power during the healing to supersede the patients max reserves."
"Exactly. So, in laymans terms, it the subject died of blood loss or a disease, you can revive them by healing all cosmetic wounds and replenishing their magic power. You definitely have more magic power than the rabbit, so heal it."
As Wendy went to work, Porlyusica was left to her thoughts. "I doctored that page. Dead things can't come back to life. But, if my hunch is correct…"
The rabbit's foot kicked.
"Then we have some work to do…"
XxBreakxX
"Very good, Juvia-chan!" Al's chiding voice exclaimed.
"Juvia thanks you." She responded.
He clapped and gave her a smile. Not the Al Grin™, but a smile. "I knew I hadn't made a mistake when I took you in." He said, gesturing to a completely decimated forest.
"These chanted spells you all know, they're amazing. These kind of things have never been in Fiore, so it's really exciting to see and use!" She said excitedly.
Al then went into lecture mode. Al was, at his core, a complete academic. He could fight, that was for certain, but it was the theories he crafted that allowed that prowess. He taught not just in the practical sense, but in the literary as well.
"Chanted spells are the oldest form of magic. Gathering magic power through a chant was the only way olden mages could perform spells. There were plenty of obvious issues with that, but they were mostly remedied by the Pactio system. When that style fell out of practice, non-chanted spells were something all mages strived to achieve. But, chanted spells still have merit in the new world of mages." He explained. "As spell chants became less common over the years, there was a large tradeoff for this new combat style. The pure firepower of non-chanted spells could never compare to that which a convention spell could produce. Longer chant, bigger bang."
Juvia nodded, obviously understanding the concept.
"Today," Al started. "I'm going to teach you the first step in what I call a 'Spell Chain'."
"Spell… Chain?"
He nodded. "A Spell Chain is basically a tiered spell. They have a step one, and a step two. They are essentially two different spells, but the initial is easier, and lays the groundwork for the next, more advanced spell."
Al then walked over to one of the only standing boulder's in the field. Juvia's training with her Water Slicer had been going well. She could use both hands at once, and also had much more precision at this point. With the help of Al's anatomy lessons, she could aim for certain muscles if she needed to.
"The chain I'm going to teach you starts with the spell Champagne. It's a beginner tier water spell that is mainly a short-term distraction skill. It's chain leads into the spell Aqua Laser, a very unique projectile attack. Let's get started, shall we?" Al suggested.
XxBreakxX
"Finally!" Gray said to Eva, who was currently sitting across from him in their apartment. Mira was there as well. "The very day you showed up, you promised me you'd start training me. It's been over two months since then!"
Eva sighed in response. "I know, I know. Things have just been complicated. I didn't really think I'd grow attacked to anybody in the guild. I thought it would be just me and you. Now look at me. I've taught Mira Magia Erebea and help the mutts learn chanted spells. I'll admit, I'm pleasantly surprised at how much I like this guild." She explained.
"It's a great place!" Mira said happily. "I'm glad you showed up though, it's been great to feel useful again after so long."
"Okay then, it's getting late, and I told you what I wanted to tell you. Meet me at where I taught Mira Magia Erebea. Mira can tell you where it's at." Eva instructed.
"Why not the river park? That's where we usually go." Gray pointed out.
Eva gave him an annoyed look. "It's gone. The mutt's blew it up yesterday."
"You're kidding…" Mira said with exasperation. She was the one who was going to have to explain it to the mayor…
XxBreakxX
"Okay kids, it's time to rock." Gildarts told his new pupils, beckoning them to attack him. They looked to have been at it for a while, as the Dragon Slayers seemed a bit worn out and injured. Gazille took the bait first.
"Tetsuryūsō: Kishin!" Gazille yelled at he fired a decent amount of iron spears at Gildarts.
Gildarts simply held his hand out while channeling magic energy. "Punkai." He said as the spears seemed to just disassemble in midair, turning into iron blocks that fell to the floor. He then quickly turned around to intercept Natsu, who was trying to get the jump on him during Gazille's attack. "Crash." This time, a massive blast of Gildarts' concentrated magic power barreled straight into Natsu, sending him flying into a nearby rock. Not content to stay still for long, he turned right back around and ducked under Gazille's iron sword. He lightly placed his palm on the sword. "Punkai." He said once more, disassembling the sword into more iron blocks that fell to the earth. Pushing his opening, he dove low towards Gazille and blasted him away in a manner similar to how he dealt with Natsu.
XxA few bandages later…xX
"Okay kids, you need to learn some form." Gildarts concluded.
"But Rin said that we should be fighting off instinct like always!" Natsu argued.
Gazille just grunted in agreement as Gildarts sighed. "No, she said that fighting off of instinct would help against the mind reader. She also called you both stupid in the same sentence if you don't recall."
"But I can't see myself doing martial arts. I fight the way Igneel taught me, and I want to keep it that way!" Natsu complained.
"Well, Metalicana taught me some form, but not much. He left when I was eight. The secret Dragon Slayer artes are things that we have to craft ourselves. I couldn't use my 'Gōma Tetsu Jin Ken' at eight, and I doubt flame-breath could use his artes either. We didn't stress form, just the techniques." Gazille explained.
Gildarts understood, but still pushed forward with his suggestion. "If you don't want to learn my style, I could just spend the next two-and-a-half months kicking your asses all over the place. Is that what you both want?"
They both relented. It was going to be a long few months…
XxBreakxX
Eva was walking through the back streets of Magnolia. She'd found a bit of a shortcut from Mira's house to Gray's. Mira's training had been going well. Just practicing the absorption process was a calm exercise. They could do it indoors, so it was ideal for evening training. Eva was confident Mira would reach the third stage of Magia Erebea before the tourney. She stepped out into a small park, with lots of open grass. Just then, she felt something wrong. She couldn't put her finger on it exactly, but she felt distinct dark energy around her. In an instant, a figure just appears before her. She can barely make out his figure before he just seemed to… phase right through her. The man wore a black cloak that stretched all the way down to his ankles. She turned around quickly but saw nothing. The figure reappeared behind her, facing another direction. She stared at his back for a brief moment before he turned his head towards her. His face was completely covered by the black shadow his hood cast, but his eyes briefly glowed a deep yellow. He turned to face her and held his right hand out. Black energy gathered around his palm until a pure black sword appeared, held in a reverse grip. Upon seeing the weapon, Eva tensed up, forming a small ice spell in her hand as well. The figure made another sword in his left hand and took a stance. His left hand set low and his right hand held back.
The man charged.
XxChapter EndxX
Sorry I haven't been updating at all. I just turned nineteen, and made a considerable amount of birthday money. I've had a good few new games to occupy myself, but I found some time to pump out a small interlude chapter. The fight scene between Eva and the Mysterious Figure will be my longest fight scene yet, and I'm thinking about how I could make it epic throughout. I've taken a few aspects of the encounter with the figure from outside sources, as well as his weapons, but his fighting style will differ GREATLY from the Mysterious Figure some of you may recognize.
I wonder if anybody can guess who he is… (I'm asking you too James!)
Xeno out. Peace.
Spell Info:
Karyū no Tekken: "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist"
Stalagmite*: Already direct translation
Tetsuryūken: "Iron Dragon's Sword"
Blazing Hearts*: Already direct translation
Blazing Hearts (Chant): Yeah, funny story. The "Tales of" wiki had the Japanese chant, but not an English one OR the translation of the Japanese chant. Weird.
Tetsuryūkon: "Iron Dragon's Club"
Indignation*: Already direct translation
Indignation (Chant): "I, who stand in the full light of the heavens, command thee, who opens the gates of hell! Come forth, Diving Lightning!"
Mode: Raienryū: "Mode: Lightning Flame Dragon"
Mode: Dragon Force: Already direct translation
Metsuryū Ougi: Gōma Tetsu Rasen: "Dragon Slayer's Secret Arte: Karma Demon's Iron Spiral"
Raienryū no Dai Hōkō: "Lightning Flame Dragon's Great Roar"
Unison Raid: Raienryū no Rasenken: "Unison Raid: Lightning Flame Dragon's Spiral Spear"
Emissa Stagnet: "Release and Fixate"
Complexio: "Seize"
Krustalline Basileia: "Crystalline Basil"
Magia Erebea: "Dark Magic"
Queen of Ice: Already direct translation
Frigus Incarnatio de Tonitrui: "Advent of Cold Thunder"
Shinmei-ryū: "God's Cry School"
Water Slicer: Already direct translation
Champagne: Already direct translation
Aqua Laser: Already direct translation
Tetsuryūsō: Kishin: "Iron Dragon's Lance: Demon Logs"
Punkai: "Separate"
Crash: Already direct translation
Gōma Tetsu Jin Ken: "Karma Demon's Iron God Sword"
*: Denotes something from the "Tales of" series of games.