"How much can you possibly know about yourself if you've never been in a fight?"

Minutes melted into hours which melted into days which melted into weeks and sticky droplets of time dribbled all over me in the process. The later the date, the harder the training, and Laxus had no problem with wearing everyone to the bone. 'It was for our own good, didn't we see? If we didn't get stronger we wouldn't get better and we wouldn't have a shot at winning and didn't we want to win?'

Quite frankly I couldn't care less about winning, but I wasn't going to admit that anytime soon. Laxus would go all angsty teen on me and next thing you know we'd be having another battle of Fairy Tail and he'd be getting kicked out of the guild. Again.

So I kept quiet, and thus the training regimens were tightened, muscles were beaten, limits were pushed, and we all fell into a routine. Various practices of exercise and magic crescendoed throughout the days, finally ending with me, tired and weary, crashing onto my bed at the end of the night, only to be reawakened in a few short hours. But still, it was not enough. Laxus insisted that we get bigger—stronger—faster. My loathing for him grew with every bead of sweat, with every labored breath. And then he stumbled upon the wild idea that we ought to have a fighting festival (seriously, what was with him?). It'd help us find out what areas we'd need to work in, he'd said. We'd finally get to test our strength. I think he just wanted to prove how much better he was than the rest of us, and I hated him for it.

Naturally, Evergreen, and I were first.

"I'm not holding back!" She blurted, a myriad of translucent wings sprouting from her back. She rose from the ground with a great beat of the verdant wings, and I grinned.

"And neither am I!" I called out, and a laugh echoed out from me as I did so. Evergreen smirked and rocketed upward. I shifted my stance, and prepared for a blast.

Evergreen flung her arms across her chest in an x and bellowed, "Fairy Machine Gun, Leprachaun!" Thousands of electric green needles pelted towards me, and I had to dart carefully back and forth to avoid their sting. Evergreen lowered herself to the ground for maximum stability, and several bullets grazed my arm. I paid them little mind. Evergreen was most vulnerable when she was casting a spell.

I jumped forward and made my move.

"Pugnus Autem!" And by magic, a dark purple light encased my fist as I brought it down on her head, throwing her backwards. She cried out as I threw her into the ground. Evergreen landed with an unceremonious thud and clatter. Her calf scraped hard against the earth, and a dark streak of dirt smeared across a stockinged leg. It looked as though she might've scraped it. I tilted my head and examined the woman as she clawed herself upward, waiting patiently for her to make the next move.

And then she removed her glasses.

I threw my hands over my eyes with a shout, and a pang of fear shot through my spine. She would've turned me to stone; she really wasn't holding back. I didn't have time to process it though, as Evergreen launched another assault. A fresh round of bullets splintered towards me, and I didn't have time to shield my body whilst I was too busy shielding my eyes. My side stung with the distinct pang of the needles, and I could feel a sliver of my magic energy slip from my grasp and into Evergreen's.

I didn't appreciate the action.

"How you like that, smartass?" Evergreen howled, and I released a grunt of pain as another bullet tore across my leg.

I hissed a spell under my breath, and a bolt of light shot from my hand directly into Evergreen's belly. She was flung backwards, tossed several feet through the air, and landed, with a complete and utter lack of grace, directly on her ass.

A sharp cackle tumbled across my tongue and spilled out over my lips with glee.

"Having fun?"

Evergreen released a shout of anger and shot upwards, flying almost a story above me in a caterwauling display of rage and shaking fists. I was smothered in a cloak of fluorescent yellow light before I knew what was happening, and there was a shout before I was set alight.

The world exploded.

I was blasted backwards and my body skidded several yards backwards across the earth before I was able to come to a complete stop. My vision was spotty; I thought I could hear another voice in the distance. My head spun as I righted myself, and it seemed as though two Evergreens were hovering before my eyes. I was careful not to meet her gaze, and instead focused on her torso. My blood boiled, and I could feel flames of magic licking at my belly. At that moment, something crossed my mind, and I, being the unthinking fiend that I was, made a thoughtless, foolhardy decision.

A familiar ball of magic energy formed in my hands and inflated desperately, sucking up space like a balloon. I inhaled sharply and shouted out, "Alea Caelora!", and I threw it with all my might into Evergreen, where it exploded and sent everyone flying.

I was flung once more to the ground, various chunks of dirt getting caught up on my clothing and hair in the process. My limbs burned, and the sting of more than a few scrapes danced across my feeling. I peeled open my eyes to see Evergreen lying motionless on the ground, yards away from me. Bickslow and Freed were floored too. Only Laxus remained standing. How strong.

I rose, taking teetering steps forward, and surveyed Evergreen. She took short, shallow breaths as she struggled to pick herself up off of the ground.

"Damn it, Xandria."

I offered her a simple, "Oops."

"What was that?" Freed blurted, and I turned my head. Bickslow spoke too.

"What the hell?!"

"What?" I asked, folding a pair of mud-stained arms. Freed was all incredulence.

"Since when could you do that?"

"Since always. What," I asked, "you think I'm some kind of pushover? That wasn't even that devastating, Freed. There's way more where that came from."

"No, no," Bickslow said, waving away the thought. "I 'spose we just didn't realize that your magic would be so..."

"Robust," Freed offered.

"Yeah, when you practice it sure ain't something like this."

There was a chuckle off to our right, and we turned our gaze to Laxus, "You boys should know better than to underestimate your opponent." I was surprised by his comment, and couldn't smother the broadening of my grin.

"Expect the unexpected," I agreed, and Laxus nodded in appreciation.

"That would've been good advice before you clobbered me," said Evergreen, trying in vain to wipe the dirt from her figure. I chortled.

"Next time just don't get clobbered."

"It's time for you two to go head to head," Laxus interrupted, motioning to the two other men that stood in the clearing. "Winner faces me, and then Alex'll go against the winner of that match."

"Yeah don't remind me," Bickslow muttered, and both he and Freed shuffled to the center of our little arena. I moved away, settling down on a comfortable grass seat near the tree line. I stretched myself out in the patch of sun I occupied, and the warm rays immediately began to warm my back.

Bickslow and Freed circled each other like vultures, and I waited with baited breath to see who would strike first. It was Bickslow, his movements sharp and venomous. Freed was quick though, and easily dodged the onslaught of Bickslow's clay dolls. I raised a hand to my face and squinted; unfortunately it was a very bright day. The sky was a brilliant shade of blue, and not a cloud could be found above.

Compared to the battle between me and Evergreen, Freed and Bickslow's fight was dreadfully uneventful. Freed outwitted and outmatched Bickslow in a way that almost seemed unfair. An extensive knowledge of runes would appear to trump an extensive knowledge of souls. I rolled over on my stomach and watched as an upside-down Laxus slinked onto the battlefield. The effect was comical. The battle was not. Laxus was obviously going easy on Freed; he let his opponent take several jabs, feigning pain when he was slashed once. I could tell; Laxus was a terrible actor. Freed didn't appear to be particularly interested in beating his opponent either, and so, within a matter of seconds, their match was over.

Apparently that signified the start of my own.

"You're up, O Great and Powerful Dark Mage." Laxus hollered, and with a great sigh I rose from the ground, stretching.

"I prefer 'O Great and Terrible Queen of Darkness'. Sometimes 'Supreme Overlord' on the weekends, but only if we're close," I replied. "If you're gonna be friends with me, at least get my pronouns right. Geez."

He rolled his eyes and laughed. "Who said we're friends?"

My opponent stood at the other end of the pitch, his hands on his hips and a haughty expression written across his face. I rolled my shoulders and started my walk towards him. He wore a fur collared shirt and a pair of dress pants. I was in shorts and a sleeveless shirt, much more suitable to the occasion. But this was Laxus Dreyar, and Laxus always had to wear something ridiculous.

"Ready to go, Blondie?"

"Ready to go, sweetheart."

I returned his satirical smirk with one of my own, and we both fell into step. A circle was stamped into the dirt around our feet as we revolved around one another. My movements mirrored his, and his, mine. Muscles coiled and uncoiled, panting breaths whispered across the air. I licked my lips. Laxus rolled his neck.

He moved first, his body shrouding itself in a wild conductive cloak. His fists flexed, his muscles pulled taught, and a furious bolt of lightning came shrieking down upon me. My mouth snapped shut and I grit my teeth in a desperate attempt to contain the scream of agony that sat harbored in my mouth. Electricity rippled through my veins, and my body shook with the force of the current. It was almost impossible to bear. But as quickly as it came the strike was finished, leaving my entire body quaking from the blow. It was painful.

But, gods, was it invigorating.

Laxus raised his brows, and I set my jaw as he twisted his lips into a smirk. He wasn't messing around; if I even wanted a chance at surviving this battle, I was going to have to employ every technique I had learnt throughout the years.

And so, taking in a shaking breath, I cast my first spell.

I screamed, "Corpus sidera mundi!", and as soon as the words fell from my tongue, I was shrouded in a deep purple light, my body enveloped by the very stars that gave me my power. My humanity fled, replaced by a maniacal, anarchic energy that coursed through my veins. I was my magic, and my magic was me and there was nothing else that seemed to matter. My eyes rolled back and my ears popped. No longer did my body scream from his raucous electricity, the only evidence that I'd ever been shocked to begin with was a faint buzz that slithered across the back of my head.

My eyes rolled back and my neck snapped and like that I was facing my opponent. Laxus' grin widened, and I grinned back, raising my hand. With great delight did I notice that my limb was no longer the creamy color it had been before; my hand pulsated with the impetuous violet color that filled my veins.

Inhaling sharply, I sprinted forward and dashed in and out of a barrage of undisciplined orbs of lightning that Laxus fired at me. In a flash I was in front of him, my magic energy flaring up around me. His arm moved, and I could see a bolt forming there. It was ignored, however, as I pulled my arm back and threw a right cross strong enough to send him spinning.

My fist collided with a crack into his waiting palm, stoking my temper and sliding Laxus several inches through the dirt. If there was one thing I adored about my astral form it was the ample supply of unbridled physical strength.

Laxus' eyes widened at the observation, but just as quickly as the surprise came, it passed, and he was swinging his own fist in my direction. I blocked the punch with my hand and slid back by just as much as I had advanced.

And it went on like that, both of us throwing punches and the other blocking them, back and forth and back and forth and back and forth again. I'd swing and he'd dodge. He'd swing and I'd dive. I'd aim a kick and he'd spin me out of the way. He'd punch and I'd thrust my fist into his chest, or vice versa. Sweat poured like water from my face, the back of my neck. My chest heaved with the effort of breathing. Laxus panted as he caught another blow. We danced.

Our routine came to a stumbling halt, however, when I brought up my knee. He'd forgotten to guard his crotch, and I'd taken the opportunity to strike. Men were so weak.

"Bitch!" He wheezed, hunching over in pain, but it was too late. I lifted my arms, clapping them together in front of me, and a missile of magic energy erupted from my palms. Breath flew threw my teeth as I blasted the man, and expectation coursed through my veins.

But instead of collapsing, Laxus stood, taking the brunt spell head on with a roar. He slid backwards again, this time by, but with a roar he rose to his full height, his entire body broadening and bulking before my very eyes. A maniacal grin poured across my face; he was a mutant too.

"Come on Dragon Slayer!" I whooped, my grin growing taut as the magic began to burn against my veins. "Show me what you've got!"

Laxus threw his left arm skyward, lightning engulfing the limb, then him.

"Raging Bolt!"

He lowered his arm and sent a colossal ball of orange and blue lightning magic at me, but I blasted the magic with my own, creating a blast so powerful it threw everyone to the ground. A stray bolt of lightning magic grazed the skin of my calf and caused me to hiss in pain.

"Surprised you could deflect that, Star Girl!"

I pulled myself to my feet and met Laxus' wild look with one of my own. He moved to cast his next attack, but I crossed my hands above the crown of my head and beat him to the punch.

"Altairis!"

Laxus' shadow hurtled towards me, hardening into a small, black orb above my head and spinning with a vengeance, sucking in light, wind, and eventually any small objects nearby. With a shout I unleashed the baby black hole, which whirled toward Laxus, tearing small roots from the earth in its wake.

It devoured him, and he released a shout of pain as it pulled at him, magic energy being ripped from his body like the innocence from a child.

I prepared another attack, but he met me with a Lightning Dragon Roar I failed to dodge. I screamed as the electricity shot through my veins, the raw power causing my hair to stand on end and my heart to hesitate in its beating. His magic was something else entirely. With every labored breath it filled my mouth and crackled down my throat. And I couldn't shake the feeling that Laxus' magic tasted of war and heartache.

I rose to my feet and cackled. "That's all you've got? Honestly, haven't you got something else to give me, Thunder god?"

With a growl, Laxus raised his hands above his head, forming a bolt of lightning between them, and I shivered, a distant, almost foreign thing like fear slipping down my spine—the last minute notion of regret. The electricity in his hands twisted, and something sharp formed on its end—like the head of a spear. It all happened so fast that before I could begin to think of dodging the attack, Laxus had already hurled his spell at me.

There was a clamoring clap of thunder as something so ferocious, so savage assaulted me that I was sure I was being hit by a train. Unrestrained, rabid energy pulsed through me, so much so that I no longer knew if I was human or lightning rod. My body was a conductor, a vessel meant for nothing more than the transport of energy from one place to another. I was on fire; I was sure of it.

I crumbled, in every sense of the word; my body hit the earth with a thud as I released the grip I had on my magic. My body returned to its normal color.

I heard a woman scream as I hit the earth, but I ignored her.

The sky. The sky was dark, and there were clouds everywhere. And my lips… there was that taste again—blood and heartache and wrath and war.

My eyes slipped shut.

*Important* Even if you don't normally read these, read this one.

A/N: Sunnymuffins asked an important question about why Alexandria still has her GH guild mark, and I'm here to explain!

When I wrote this story I didn't know exactly how guild symbols and marks worked. I had no idea if they faded over time, or if they went away as soon as the guild disbanded, or if they were permanent like tattoos. It was my belief that guild marks would fade over time if one left a guild or a guild was disbanded. Because Alexandria was frozen in time, her mark only starts to fade once she returns to the present. When the Thunder Legion + Xandria go out to eat, I imagine that her mark had only just begun to fade (according to my timeline it had been a little less than two weeks since she'd returned). I assume that the mark will have faded within a month or two, definitely before the GMG. Again, this is all poetic license and stems from my imagination of what guild marks would be like. I in no way meant to confuse anyone.

TL;DR- I didn't know how guild mark symbols worked when I wrote this; so, using my imagination, I assumed that Xandria still had hers when she went out to eat. Her mark will fade within a month or two.