Chapter 8: New powers rise

'Thinking' – thoughts

"Speaking" – speech

'Thinking' – Dragon/God/Beast thinking

"Speaking" - Dragon/God/Beast speaking

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters they are property of Hiro Masima.

NinjaFang1331: Thank you very much.

Kriim-Sauce786: I really like your character, thank you for that. As for Natsu's magic, I already have a plan there and sadly I don't think I will add Pheonix magic as well, that will make the amount of different magic he has too much.

RabbitHarmLover24: Glad you like that darkness aspect, Lucy being exposed won't happen until the time skip and as for meeting Jellal, Ultear and Meredy, they might but it will be further down the line after some of my ideas for the time skip is covered.

GreekfanFT: I don't really want to reveal why not because of spoiler reasons for my stories, but for this one, I want to try OCs. Hope I will be able to keep the flair of this story by keeping most of thee focus on our main cast.

-With Natsu-

Natsu was standing in the scorched cavern that was not too long ago the battlegrounds where he and the strange creature had fought to the death. With a last glance at the pile of ash that once was his foe, Natsu set off to the cave where the power lacrima was.

He quickly made his way to the furthest cavern that was lit with the glow of the acidic pools. Once he entered the cavern he made his way over to the power lacrima. Nearing the place it was stored Natsu felt an odd aura coming from behind the power lacrima.

Carefully nearing the aura Natsu saw a second lacrima behind the power lacrima. It had a pure white colour to it and was decorated with a bright red pattern. Natsu felt a wild aura around it but couldn't detect anything that would lead him to believe that it was dangerous.

Natsu moved to the two Lacrima and stared at the strange red and white one. Something was telling him to take it, to touch it. Reaching out his hand Natsu felt more encouraged as the aura turned from wild to welcoming.

As he picked the lacrima up a vision blinked in his mind. Natsu saw an image of multiple tails disappearing behind a burred object before it vanished and the alluring aura of the lacrima disappeared and only a calming aura remained.

Picking up the power Lacrima Natsu returned to the outside world, his mission almost completed and a strange lacrima in his possession that he will ask Mira about.

-Griffin's Haven Guildhall-

Mira was sitting in her office, sorting through a small pile of papers. She was used to working with guild paperwork since she often helped Master Makarov out when they were part of Fairy Tail. She heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," Mira called as she pushed the small stack of papers to the side and turned her attention to the door. As the door opened Mira sensed a magical signature that had familiar components, yet still foreign in its entirety. This caused her to frown.

"Hey Mira, I completed the job," Natsu greeted her as he entered.

"How did the job go?" Mira asked while keeping her attention on the door behind Natsu expecting something to be there.

"It wasn't too hard, not entirely sure how I ended the fight," Natsu said while scratching the back of his head.

"Wait you don't know how you ended the fight, how is that even possible?" Mira asked.

"II have no idea. All I remember from the end of the fight is that the thing I had to eliminate got a good hit on me which gave me four gashes on my shoulder. Then the next thing I know is I'm in the same cave but everything was scorched and the creature was a pile of ash," Natsu explained.

"We can come back to this a bit later, for now, there is something else I want to ask you, Mira said. When Natsu said that everything was scorched, she began thinking about the ending of their fight against the wyverns and the strange power Natsu used.

"Okay, so what is the other thing you wanted to ask?" Natsu asked.

"When you came in I sense another magical power signature, you wouldn't happen to know anything about it?" Mira asked.

"Oh yeah, after I won the fight I went to get the power lacrima, but there was another lacrima," Natsu said as he pulled out the white and red lacrima and placed it on the desk. Mira's eyes widened as she looked at the beautiful lacrima.

"Natsu, do you have any idea what this is?" Mira asked in surprise.

"I don't, but it feels like it is alive in some way. When I first saw it, it had a wild aura about it and when I touched it I saw an image of multiple tails of some sort of animal. After that, it seemed to calm down and it didn't do anything like that again," Natsu said.

"Natsu this is a Soul Lacrima. It contains a soul that a Take Over mage can try and take over. These things are so rare that I have only seen something like this once and that was for one of my Satan Soul: Sitri," Mira said.

"Wait really, what soul is in this lacrima?" Natsu asked with a bit of excitement entering his voice.

"Give me a moment and I will see if I can figure it out. Set back a bit please," Mira instructed as she walked from behind the desk and stood in between Natsu and the lacrima. She then extended a hand and hovered it over the lacrima, after which her hand started glowing a darkish purple colour while the lacrima lit up with red and white lights.

Natsu watched patiently as the dark purple and white and red lights began to mix and swirl. After a minute the lights faded. A frown came to Mira's face for a moment before she turned to Natsu.

"You said you saw an image of animal tails when you first touched the lacrima? Can you tell me exactly what you saw?" Mira asked for clarity, asking the second question when she saw Natsu nodding.

"I don't know how many animal tails I saw, it was gone too quick. All I remember is that the tails were bushy, had a white colour with some red in them and that there were quite a few of them. Whatever animals the tails were attached to was behind a boulder. Now that I think about it, all the tails seemed to have come from the same place," Natsu explained before adding the last part with a confused expression.

"I'm not a hundred per cent sure about this, but I do believe this is a very powerful Animal Soul Lacrima you found," Mira said.

"Animal Soul Lacrima that means Lisanna can use it right?" Natsu asked with a bit of excitement entering his voice.

"Indeed, however, we will have to wait for Lisanna to get back from the errant I sent her on which should be around sunset," Mira said, turning to look out of the small window and seeing that the sun was still quite high in the evening sky.

"What is she doing?" Natsu asked. If it wasn't Mira who sent her on the errant Natsu would have felt a bit of concern for his white-haired mate, but since Mira was nearly as protective of her as he was himself, especially since she basically returned from the dead.

"After she and Elfman moved everything in the hall, I sent Lisanna out to get enough things to stock the bar and kitchen so that we won't have any problems with food. I also sent Elfman on a small quest where one of the villagers needed help with a construction job," Mira said.

"It seems like we are getting settled in quite nicely," Natsu commented with a smile.

"We are, aren't we? I am looking into a few more things that we might be able to do to help the town out a bit outside of requests," Mira agreed.

"Any ideas for that yet?" Natsu asked while also taking a look out of the window. Natsu felt at peace when he looked at the calming sight of the small town in the valley surrounded by towing mountains with peaks of white.

"I'm really glad that you stood up for Lisanna back at Fairy Tail, and for everything you have done for us, from when you joined Fairy Tail, throughout the time we thought Lisanna was dead, and especially everything you helped us with since we came here," Mira said as she turned to look at Natsu with a grateful expression.

"You guys are some of the few people I can actually call my family. What happened at Fairy Tail opened my eyes to what the difference is between human families and Dragon families. But I don't want to go into that right now, all I'm trying to say is that I will always help you guys and be there for you," Natsu said after he was stunned silent for a moment by Mira's words.

Now it was Mira's turn to be stunned silent. After a moment though she gave Natsu a bright smile which he quickly returned.

"Natsu, do you know that you can use some sort of crimson flames?" Mira asked suddenly.

"Wait, what, I don't have any crimson flames," Natsu said confused.

"Do you remember the end of our fight against the Wyverns?" Mira asked with a serious expression.

"Well I know I took out the two smaller fire wyverns first then I took on the big one and then…" Natsu trailed off as a thoughtful look came to his face.

"Now that you mention it, I remember that I felt some sort of joy before I saw my orange flames starting to turn crimson. But after all of that nothing really. I guess I went into some sort of autopilot more?" Natsu finished his thought, saying the last part as a question, not sure about it himself.

"Did something like that happen this time as well?" Mira asked with a tone to her voice that suggested she was thinking of a scenario that might explain it.

"I think so, I don't know for sure because the blood from my wound was already beginning to stain my shirt red but it is completely possible," Natsu answered.

"Now, this is just a theory, but I remember when I first tried to control my Satan Soul after joining Fairy Tail, I completed jobs but usually I couldn't recall what actually happened. As I learned how to control it thought I started to remember more and more while also having more control during my Take Over until one day I was fully in control. What I'm getting at is that maybe it has something to do with when a mage gets some new and powerful magic. Those flames, whatever they are, seem to be quite powerful so maybe it's just an aftereffect of that," Mira said.

"That's cool, but with me not really knowing what I do while using my magic might be a problem. I guess I will have to go training sometime then," Natsu said, a bit of hesitation at the start but a grin spreading on his face at the thought of training and getting stronger.

"Don't go too far, I'm sure you will want to be here when Lisanna gets back," Mira said with a smile.

"I'll go and start training but keep it easy for now, don't want to lose control around here," Natsu said with a sheepish grin before turning around and walked out of Mira's office to start a gentle training session.

-Later that day-

Lisanna was returning to the guildhall with a cart filled with an assortment of food, drinks, plates and cutlery along with a few decorative things she thought would look nice. As she turned the last corner she had before reaching the hall she saw Natsu sitting outside the hall in a meditative position.

With a bright smile, Lisanna made her way over to Natsu. Once she was close she saw Natsu's eyes open and a smile came to his face.

"Hey Lisanna," Natsu greeted her as he got up and walked over to her.

"Hey Natsu, how did the mission go?" Lisanna answered with a smile. Once Natsu got to her he took hold of the cart and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek causing the white-haired maiden to blush.

"The mission went well, but that's not the best part. There is something I want to show you that I found," Natsu said in an excited tone.

"S-Something for me?" Lisanna's blush reddened. Natsu didn't give her much chance to ask him what it was before he grabs her hand and started to lead her into the hall to which she could only giggle at his excitement.

Lisanna was pulled to Mira's office before Natsu practically burst through the door with a massive grin on his face and a giggling Lisanna following. Mira jerked in her seat when Natsu burst in but quickly regained her composure after the sudden entrance of her sister and S-Class mage.

"I'll forgive you this time for barging in without knocking considering what you found for her, but next time I will test out my punishment on you," Mira said with a sickly sweet voice and a beautiful smile that promised pain and suffering.

"I-I'm s-sorry, it won't happen again," Natsu squeaked out as he shifted to behind Lisanna. There was a moment of tense silence before the two white-haired maidens burst out in laughter after which Natsu joined them.

"Okay, but seriously, next time knock first," Mira said after the room calmed down. Natsu nodded, showing he understood.

"Natsu said he found something for me before dragging me here, do you know what it is Mira?" Lisanna asked her sister.

"I have a decent idea, but I can't say exactly what it is, that is why we waited for you," Mira said with a large grin spreading on her face. Mira motioned for Natsu to get something from behind the desk and as the pink-haired Dragon Slayer bent over to pick the thing up Lisanna could feel a pull to the mysterious object.

'Something is calling out to me, it wants me to bond with it, to become one with it,' Lisanna thought. She took a careful step forward just as Natsu stood up with a beautiful red and white lacrima in his hands.

"Here Lisanna, Mira said this is a powerful Animal Soul lacrima and that you might be able to even identify what soul it contains," Natsu said as he held the lacrima out for Lisanna. Lisanna's eyes widened when hear it was a soul lacrima. She was there when Mira first got her Satan Soul: Sitri, so she was well aware of what can come from it.

"An Animal Soul Lacrima, where did you find this?" Lisanna asked as her hands carefully wandered towards the alluring lacrima.

"The creature I had to eliminate was guarding it alongside the power lacrima I had to retrieve," Natsu answered ass Lisanna took hold of the lacrima.

The scene of Mira's office was instantly replaced by an autumn forest. Lisanna was alone in a small circular clearing that was surrounded by large, round grey boulders to contrast the warm, red and orange of the fallen autumn leaves.

"Mira, Natsu, where did you guys go?" Lisanna called out while looking around the clearing trying to find her guildmates. Her eyes travelled from left to right but once her field of view reached what was behind her, her head snapped towards the anima that was sitting there.

Behind her, there was a pure white fox with a set of nine red-tipped tails, red-tipped ears and red-tinted paws. The fox's tails were fanned out behind it as it looked at Lisanna with a calm expression. Lisanna saw that there were more red decorative lines on its face as they locked eyes. Blue meeting red as the world around them seemed to disappear.

When the fox stood up and started to walk towards Lisanna, she didn't feel threatened by the animal. Once the fox was close to her, Lisanna extended a hand towards the fox's head. The fox closed its eyes, causing the world to come back into Lisanna's field of view before the fox pushed its head into Lisanna's hand.

'Do not worry child, for this is my world. The time in your world will not advance while we are here,' Lisanna heard a calming feminine voice say in her head.

"What is going on?" Lisanna asked, not entirely sure what is going on but considering she couldn't feel anything malicious, she wasn't panicking.

'I have pulled you into my world so that we could meet child. I am Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Fox. Or more specifically I am the soul of the Nine-Tailed Fox," Kyuubi introduced herself.

"It's nice to meet you Kyuubi, my name is Lisanna. What is it you wanted to talk about?" Lisanna returned the introduction before furthering the conversation.

'I felt your residual magic on the other child when he found the lacrima my soul was bound to. A Take Over mage with a kind heart that forges bonds with the animals of nature, that is what I felt when I sensed your magic child. I have made the decision that I want to aid you in the future as your newest soul, Animal Soul: Nine-Tailed Fox, Kyuubi,' Kyuubi said as she pulled her head back from Lisanna's hand.

"So you want to become one of my takeovers? I just want to know one thing, how will it work. Like none of my other Take Over souls can talk or are as powerful as you are, I would hate it if you just disappear," Lisanna asked.

'Ask the other Take Over mage,' Lisanna heard Kyuubi's voice echo in her mind before the autumn scene disappeared and was replaced by Mira's office once again with Natsu handing her the lacrima while Mira watched with a smile.

"Natsu, I don't know what to say," Lisanna said with a huge smile and a tear forming in her eye.

"You don't need to say anything. If this helps keep you safe then I am more than happy," Natsu replied with a sincere smile. Lisanna lunged at Natsu and gave him a big hug as well as a quick peck on his cheek.

"Thank you Natsu, I promise I will master Kyuubi," Lisanna said with a smile splitting her face.

"Kyuubi is that the name of the soul?" Mira asked.

"Yes, she pulled me into her world inside the lacrima as soon as I touched it. There was one thing I wanted to know, Kyuubi said that you will be able to tell me what happens to the soul of a more intelligent soul you Take Over?" Lisanna asked.

"That is quite a bit to explain, and honestly I can't explain it right now. I will have to ask some of my souls how to explain it. How about tomorrow we continue this conversation?" Mira answered Lisanna's question with a chuckle before making the suggestion.

"Sure thing Mira. Come on Natsu, I'll make you some dinner," Lisanna said as the last of the daylight seeped through the window in Mira's office. At the suggestion of him getting food, Natsu was out of the office before either Strauss sister could form a thought.

"Better go feed your hungry Dragon," Mira said with a giggle as Lisanna followed the pink-haired male out with a light dust of pink on her cheeks.

'I'm glad she has Natsu with her. Now all that is left is for Elfman to finish up his job and then I am done for the day,' Mira thought as she looked at the pile of completed paperwork with a proud look.

-In Mira's room-

Elfman's job had gone well and he returned to the hall just before Lisanna had finished dinner. The four members of Griffin's Haven shared a meal before they retired to bed for the night, all of them tired from their days.

Mira had one more thing she had to do before she could call it a day. Sitting down on her bed Mira began to focus on her magic. It didn't take her long before her room disappeared and a dark landscape surrounded by fire replaced it. There were black remains of trees scattered around her and deep pits that glowed with a fiery orange. If anyone but Mira saw this landscape they would be convinced they have landed in Hell, but Mira knew this was just the world of one of her Take Overs.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure of having our lovely host to come and visit me?" a female voice asked. The voice reverberated around the area before Mira could hear footsteps approaching from her side.

Turning to where the voice and footsteps came from and saw a beautiful woman with a blazing inferno for hair, two golden horns protruding from the side of her head and large bronze scales framing her face. The woman wore a tight, blue and white suit that hugged her impressive figure, a dark cloak that ended in a blazing fire and a light garment attached to the belt on her waist. The woman also had a pair of silver gauntlets with clawed fingers and blue boots.

"You know why I'm here Sitri, Lisanna is about to form a bond with a new soul, but this one is can talk unlike her other animal souls," Mira said in a tired voice. She didn't have the energy to entertain her Satan Soul at the moment.

"Oh, you're no fun," Sitri pouted before a grin grew on her face again.

"So you say little Lisanna is taking the next step in a Take Over mage's development, I'm so proud of her," Sitri said with pride in her voice. Even though Sitri and Lisanna never met outside of Mira's Take Over form and Sitri observing the youngest Strauss from within Mira, the demon had come to care for the young girl much like her sister.

"She is indeed," Mira agreed with a proud smile.

"Well, since you want to know how to explain what will be happening to her and her new soul, the best way to easily explain it is that their souls will merge with one another, yet at the same time they will both keep their independence, her new soul will be able to communicate with her telepathically once she mastered the basics of the form while Lisanna will be able to enter the soul's realm just like you are now," Sitri stated to explain after a moment of thinking.

"I still remember the first time I came into your realm, it was quite a surprise," Mira giggled.

"You were a lot different back then compared to now, I remember the first thing you said after I explained what was going on was that you demanded me to show you my most powerful attack so that you could beat that Tin Can as you called her," Sitri said with a laugh.

"Those were fun times," Mira said with a smile before it was replaced by a frown.

"I suggest you get some sleep, you do have quite a lot of work as a Guild Master," Sitri said, a bit of concern in her voice for her host seeing how the events at Fairy Tail still plagued her.

"Yeah, thanks for the help Sitri, let me know if you need anything and I will," Mira said with her smile returning.

"Anytime, and if you can find some time to let me out and play, that would be appreciated," Sitri replied with a smirk.

-Outside Griffin's Haven Guildhall-

"That's what Sitri told me when I asked her yesterday," Mira finished explaining to Lisanna what will happen once she took Kyuubi over. The group had breakfast where Natsu suggested training with Elfman to which the male Strauss eagerly agreed to some manly training.

Mira was quick to suggest they all train a bit but to keep it easy, to begin with, while giving Natsu a pointed look. Lisanna and Elfman were surprised when Natsu agreed but quickly dismissed it once the group moved out of the main hall.

"So, after I do the Take Over I will need to train enough to understand the basics, then Kyuubi will be able to talk to me?" Lisanna asked just to be sure.

"Yes, now there is more than one reason I want this training to begin off light, and that is that at times when mages learn new and powerful magic there is a chance they might lose control and I don't want you to hurt yourself," Mira said while casting a quick glance towards Natsu.

"And I will be joining you in easy training. Mira told me about the crimson flames I can use so I want to explore them a bit," Natsu said with a grin.

"It's manly to get new magic," Elfman roared before he charged off to where he placed some weights and started lifting them. The rest of the group shared a laugh before joining the big man. The next week consisted mainly of light training in magic that increased ever so slightly every now and then. Luckily no one had lost control over their magic just yet.

-At Hargeon Port-

The sun was shining brightly in the skies above Hargeon as the Fairy Tail members gathered at the port town, ready for the trail or ready to wish their fellow mages good luck.

Gray had chosen Loki as his partner, Cana and Lucy paired up, and Freed had Bickslow on his side while Evergreen asked Wendy to join her team. Levy walked beside her partner Gajeel, Juvia asked Panther Lily to join her in proving her strength to her Gray, Mest asked Max to join him in his quest for S-Class while Alzack formed a frightening duo of gunslingers with Bisca.

With determined faces, the contestants approached the large wooden ship with sails branding the Fairy Tail insignia. Cheers and wishes of luck followed them as they boarded the ship where Makarov was waiting for them with a proud expression.

Gildarts and Erza had already left for Tenrou Island the previous day to finish the preparations for the trials. Gildarts had no luck so far in finding Natsu but he had to participate here, especially with Mira, Laxus and Mystogan, no longer being in the guild anymore the amount of S-Class mages had dwindled to only two.

"We will set sail to the sacred grounds of our guild, Tenrou Island. There you will compete for the coveted title of S-Class mage. We will reach the shores of Tenrou Island around noon, so get comfortable," Makarov announced with a proud grin as the ship set sail.

The sun was bearing down on the mages of Fairy Tail as they sail on the open ocean. On the horizon, a tall tree appeared. Soon the participant of the S-Class trial could see their destination. A massive tree standing tall on the rocky island, a vast forest surrounding the tree and a rocky shore grew on the horizon as the boat sailed closer.

"The Sacred grounds of our proud guild as well as the resting place of our first Guild Master. I present to you Tenrou Island," Makarov announced from the railing above the deck.

The guild members marvelled at the strange magical power that radiated from the island.

"Now for the first trail you will face," Makarov said, returning their attention back to him as a screen appeared next to him.

"If you look at the shore you will see smoke rising near the shore. Your task will be to go to the source, then you will have to choose one of the eight routes that lead into the island. Once a team entered a route that route will be closed off so don't dawdle. There are two kinds of routes, the first is what I like to call a battle route, where you will face off against another team. The second route is called the S-Class routes, where you will face off against one of our S-Class mages. The second trial will be announced to those who succeeded in the first trial," Makarov announced.

"So a maximum of five teams can make it to the next round," Evergreen said.

"Yeah, but if that happens it would mean that two teams overcame both Erza and Gildarts," Freed said.

"Yeah, I don't see that happening, hopefully, we go down one of the battle routes," Bickslow lifted his opinion from his spot next to Freed as his dolls chanted 'Battle route'.

"Gi Hi, I wouldn't mind taking a shot at Titania," Gajeel said with a crazed grin on his face.

"Please no," Levy paled at the idea of facing the red-haired knight.

"Sorry to cut the conversation short but the trial has begun," Makarov announced as the ship came to a halt a way off of the shore.

"Wait we have to swim?" Lucy exclaimed.

"See you, slowpokes," Bickslow called out as he and Freed jumped over the edge of the boat and started to make their way to shore. That action spurred the rest of the contestants into action as Gray and Loki rushed to the side of the boat. Once they reached it, however, they were met with a purple wall of runes.

"Freed blocked us all in," Bisca exclaimed.

"It'll go down in five minutes," Freed's voice reached them. The Fairy Tail S-Class promotion trial was underway.

Hey guys, sorry for missing a week but I had my test to focus on. Here you have the new chapter. So I already know who I want to be on Tenrou at the end of everything and who will not be there as well as when Acnologia will arrive. Now I want to know if you all want me to write a bit of the S-Class trial where I made some changes or just the major changes. Like do you want to see some of the battles or not. Anyway, let me know what you thought and I will see you all next time.