Disclaimer: I do not own either Fairy Tail or the Xeno game series...But one day, I will! Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and Namco and the game creators (Too many to list) own the Xeno game franchise!

Chaos POV

He felt sweat trickle down his back as he kept his eyes focused forward, all five senses on high alert. Breaths slow and steady as an ache permeated his body. It had been a very long time since he had felt like this. And it was not an unwelcome sensation as he leaned back on his left leg, arms up in a defensive stance. This showing off his magic and skills was pushing him to his limits in ways he had not had to do in a very, very long time.

At the thought, he felt his lips pull upwards in a small smile. The moment he saw movement from the corner of his left eye, he let his body move instinctively, stepping back and ducking and rolling away from where a large metal spiked rod that was attached to an arm was lodged into the ground. The bright look in red wine-colored eyes had Chaos tilting his head as he felt the air around him start to grow dense again. Meaning the next attack was coming.

Lifting his arms higher, feeling a small twinge in his shoulders as he summoned a bit more of the Anima to bend to his will as darted forward towards where the smallest of the four fighting him was at. The look in those doe brown eyes told him that he had erred as the blue-haired girl took a deep breath and exhaled at him. Only to have a large gust of wind come barreling at him, ripping the ground up in its wake.

The Stones on his gloves glowed for but a moment as he threw himself to the side, rolling across the ground and feeling every jagged edge of each rock dig into his body until he stopped. In his mind, this was no longer just a test of skill, but almost a full-on battle. The way the dragon-slayers kept on coming at him. Though he knew that they were holding back, or at least three of them were when a roar came from above him.

Curling his legs to his chest and kicking out, Chaos felt his skin heat as the ground where he had just been burst upwards in molten flames. Already his next attack, offensive this time, was in motion as he spun on the ball of one foot, the other coming up in a kick at the Fire Dragon Slayer's head. Where those olive-green eyes just stared balefully at him. He had figured it out why Natsu didn't like him. It was not only his magic but the fact that Lucy was cheering him on, not her friend.

Natsu was overprotective about the blonde, that was obvious. But the fact that the young man had deep feelings beyond what she thought, that was not so obvious. Add to the fact that he didn't seem to be fully aware of it, let alone how to express it with his awkwardness was almost endearing. It made Chaos smile widens as the man shifted and sprung at him, grabbing his leg and quickly lifting him and tossing Chaos like a rag doll.

Having expected it, Chaos twisted his body and flipped through the air, landing on his feet in a crouch, coiling his leg muscles tightly before jumping straight up in the air. Thrusting his hands before him, he softly called out his next attack, Arctic blast. A blue-white flash of both stones as the air temperature rapidly cooled around him as a giant ball of ice formed. Then he was doing a volleyball spike, sending it crashing and rolling to the ground towards Natsu and Wendy. The latter, who was in a bit of shock, making Natsu grab her and jump out of the way as he shot a small flame from his fist to melt it.

The moment he felt gravity start to pull him back to the ground, Chaos got a good look at the space they'd been enclosed in. All around was littered with tall iron rods, randomly placed, but even then, it was still strategic. Grimacing as his feet hit the ground, Chaos barely was able to bring his arms up in front of his face and summon the earth version of his Anima. A low rumble from above him as the air clung to his skin, making the sweat seem like nothing as a flash went off above his head just as lightning came crashing down all around him.

Pain arched through his body as the Anima was an only half-formed shell. With a scream, he let his guard drop as he gasped to pull much-needed air into his lungs. Being hit by lightning was never a fun experience, no matter how many times it had happened over his long life. Blinking the pain from his eyes, Chaos was unable to even defend as a fist covered in flames connected with his stomach, lifting him easily and sending him flying backwards into the barrier. Groaning as he let his body limply slid to the ground, Chaos shook his head and didn't even move.

There before him was Natsu, his eyes are slits with what looked like scales crawling up his neck and face. A dark light in those eyes that didn't seem to belong as Chaos just stayed still. His instincts were telling him that the man was just looking for an excuse to lay another hit on him. And he was not sure he could take another hit like that, even with his body in that synthetic fiber armor he wore stretched across his upper body and arms. It had prevented him from having internal bruising and broken bones, though Chaos was sure there was severe bone bruising.

"Enough!" came the loud shout from their guild master.

The look of annoyance that flashed for but a second in Natsu's eyes had Chaos wondering if the boy was contemplating his murder. The moment the barrier was released, Chaos felt his tired, sore, and exhausted body falling backward, and he didn't care. He had found the limits of his new mortal body. Giving a contented sigh, he let his eyes close as the air settled around. Hearing the voices of everyone in the guild raise their voices in cheers for the spectacle that they had just witnessed.

"Wendy, come check him," came the Master's voice again as Chaos attempted to wave a hand at the man.

When his body refused to respond to him, he just chuckled lightly. Opening his eyes, he saw that Laxus and Gajeel were standing next to him, looking down at him with respect in their eyes. All while creating a barrier between him and Natsu. Who now had his attention focused on the bubbly blonde who was talking in low, hushed tones to him. Her body tense as her face was dark with anger.

Opening his mouth, Chaos coughed and felt a new wave of pain flooded his nervous system. Sighing as he just let the world start to swim in and out of sight, just as blue hair and concerned brown eyes filled his vision. Soon a warmth spread over his body as he heard the small girl gives a very professional medical diagnosis of his current condition as Chaos let his usual small smile appear as he decided a short cat nap was acceptable at the moment.

Lucy's POV.

Stunned, Amazed, left in awe, shocked. All these were accurate adjectives to describe how Lucy felt as she watched Chaos hold his own against the four slayers. She had been against him showcasing his skills against all four, but it had been a unanimous vote through the whole guild. Everyone wanting to see an actual Elemental Specialist Mage in action. And while she will admit it had been utter spectacular, leaving her unable to look away, Lucy had been worried about the young man.

But her worry had not been for naught when she noted that about twenty or so minutes into the sparring match, it took on a more serious note, with Natsu trying to lay into Chaos. She just couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that her best friend was acting like a jerk. An overbearing one. He was always the kindest, most accepting person ever. And there was a part of her that just didn't want to believe that he could just dislike someone so much in a short time. While the other part of her told her not to worry about it, leaving her mind and heart conflicted.

So, when she saw Chaos jump back from the group, raising one hand out in front of him as the small stone glowed a faint orange-red, as he summoned his first bit of Anima for the match, which had been mostly physical, Lucy felt her breath catch in her throat as a magic circle appeared under his feet. At the same time, another that looked like eight long strips of paper in front of him — weird runes written at the outer edge. Then to her surprise, he swung his hand in a circle that the papers made for the eight points of the compass before they flared with a white-red fire that burst forwards at the four dragon-slayers, scattering.

Barely hearing him call out the attacks name, Lunar Seal. It was beautiful. Hell, she'd was a bit embarrassed to say that she was enjoying watching the way his lithe body seemed to bend like a young tree in the wind as he evaded most attack. The strange stretchy blue shirt he wore seemed to be absorbing most of the damage and attacks. And from the way it deflected and sparked at Gajeel's attacks when his arms were in either metal club or sword form, it was very obviously armor.

Shooting a side glance at Erza, who was standing next to her, eyes narrowed as a thin smile appeared on her face. A smile that was reserved for her cake no less had Lucy shuddering. That meant that Erza was intrigued by the clothing that Chaos was wearing as well as potentially wanting to spar with him. Turning back, she caught Chaos ducking and rolling backward to avoid another blunt strike from Gajeel, who just left that metal rod that had been his arm in the ground.

Narrowing her eyes, Lucy let her eyes roam around the field inside Freed's specially crafted Rune Cage. Something he had created so that Laxus could train and not destroy large swaths of land. There to her gaze was several Iron rods, all of varying sizes and shapes. Eyes widening as she looked around to see that Laxus had retired to the far side and was no longer attacking as lightning crackled around his body. A telltale sign that he was charging up for a massive blast.

Whipping her head back to the battle going on, just to see steam cover the field as Chaos seemed to drop down from the air. When had he gotten there? It was soon a moot point as rumbling was heard, drawing not just her attention but everyone else up. There were large clouds, mostly gray, rolling around and flashing and crying out as her body moved forward on its own just as multiple bolts rained down. The pained cry that came from inside didn't belong to any of the dragon-slayers — making her feel a small wave of panic that they might have overdone it.

When a body crashed into the barrier and slumped down, limp and unmoving, Lucy rushed to Freed's side and jerked his arm as Master called an end to the battle. And at the announcement, Freed dropped the barrier in a small flash of light, dropping Chaos onto his back on the ground as the debris settled, revealing Natsu to be standing over him.

Knowing how strong he was, even without the destructive tendencies, Lucy ran over to them — hearing as Makarov called for Wendy to heal Chaos. Who, for whatever reason, looked like he just had a blast. While Wendy did her thing, Lucy reached out and grabbed Natsu. The smile on his face instantly vanished at seeing her. Letting her know that he was aware she was not happy. A good thing, too, as she jerked his arm as hard as she could.

"What were you thinking? Are you seriously trying to damage him permanently? Do you want to kill him?" she growled at him, watching as he narrowed his eyes at her.

"No, I wasn't. If I was, he'd be dead," Natsu snapped back at her.

Feeling her eyes going wide, Lucy stepped away from Natsu. Shock and fear, honest to god fear coursing through her and shaking her head at her best friend, unsure of what was making him act like some demon had possessed him. Her eyes never leaving his as he saw her reaction. The instant sadness creeping across his features had her wanting to say something, but her lips refused to move. There was genuine anger in his voice, he had been serious, and both of them knew it.

"I do not know what happened to you or why you dislike him so much. But you Natsu Dragneel are not the friend I knew," she whispered as she looked over to where Wendy was leaning back from a now unconscious and smiling Chaos.

Shaking her head, Lucy stepped away from Natsu, placing herself just out of his reach and watching as hurt washed over his face, shoulders slumping as he slightly curled into himself, before looking at Chaos and sneering. With a soft sob, Lucy turned and left the area. She was not heeding the calls of her guildmates and needing to be alone to process what she had just witnessed, as well as what her best friend had said. He had shaken her to her core and didn't want anyone to see her break down because she knew she would.

The moment she was out of hearing range of the guild, Lucy broke into a run for Magnolia forest. There was only one person there, and that was Porlyusica. And as long as she didn't intrude on the woman and annoy her, the forest was a safe haven to a degree.

Loke/Leo's POV.

He had been listening to what Crux had found so far when the intense emotions of their Master and friend caused them both to go still. Already aware of Natsu's reaction to the new young man, he didn't blame him much. Hell, Leo had already figured out that the normally dense Natsu had fallen for the bubbly, bright celestial mage he adored. So, in all reality, it was jealousy, of dragon-like proportions that were driving the pink-haired man.

But then again, Lucy was just as dense romantically. Not at all aware that she had quite a few guys, other than himself, in love with her. Hence why everyone, male and female in the guild, was protective of her. She was so unaware of her effect on others; it bordered on something or another that he wouldn't name. She was sighing as he turned back to Crux and motioned for him to continue.

"I think we should talk to the King before we take this to her and the rest of her guild. There had been no current text for over four hundred years of a human who could manipulate, let alone have their magic be Anima. And the last time it resulted in some serious issues that were overshadowed by the dragon war," Crux said, his mustache twitching in agitation.

Giving a small sigh and running his hands through his hair, Leo nodded in agreeance. This was going to be a very interesting and challenging trial. What he could not figure out was why Lucy had been having prophetic dreams about the young man, who he had not sensed any maliciousness. In fact, there was nothing but sadness and loneliness. Made abundantly clear when he said he was willing to roam on his own so as not to cause trouble.

Leo knew that look in the boy's eyes. He had held it once. But it was the aged wisdom that was in those odd blue-green eyes that were translucent that had him pausing. If Leo had to take a guess, he would say that the young man was much, much older than he appeared physically. Just like the spirits, his aging was slowed to almost a crawl. Giving him a more complex mystery to solve. And he would because Leo would allow no harm to come to Lucy.

"Thank you, Crux. I will take what you have found to the Celestial King. Please keep researching," he said as he turned to leave.

A smile on his face as he saw that Crux was already back to going through the archives he had access too while looking like he was still asleep.

TBC!