(Author's Notes)

I want to thank all of those who've been reading this story so far.

I Just want to let you guys know I'm very open to outside influences, so if you guys have any suggestions regarding the story, the fights, or any original characters you'd like to see in this story please let me know in the reviews or via PM.

Please enjoy the story.

Chapter 5

(Next Day)

"Uh…" Mason stirred in his sleep, as a ray of light passed through the window, over his eyes. "Woah, it's already morning." The phantom mage sat up on the couch, still in a tired daze. A small smile erupted on his face. "Today's the day."


(flashback)

After the battle with Jose and Phantom Lord, Mason had officially arrested Master Makarov of the Fairy Tail guild, causing an uproar in with the guild wizards. "Calm down, calm down. He's not actually going to jail. I arrest him, get some brownie points with the council, then explain to them it was Phantom Lord who started the fight. That way everybody wins." Mason smiled.

The Fairy Tail wizards didn't say anything, rather they stood idle as they exchange suspicious glances with each other.

"Huh... " Mason sighed. "Look, when the cavalry shows up they'll arrest all of you, innocent or not. Unless you want to spend the next couple of days dealing with questioning. You gotta let me take it from here."

The suspicious glances continued, but this time a bit of speaking emerged from the crowd. It didn't look like a decision would be made anytime soon. Until a voice emerged from the crowd.

"I trust him." Spiky hair, a toothy grin, and a long flowing scarf. Natsu walked out of the crowd of wizards with a friendly smile plastered across his face. "He's a Dragon Slayer. He smells like one too. How could I turn my back on my own kind."

Even the words of the Dragon Slayer wasn't enough to sway the crowd. "I trust him as well. And I'm going." Makarov spoke up, silencing his guild.

"Alright, then we better get going. Prisoner." Mason said with a smirk.

"Watch it kid! I'm only coming along to keep things from getting hectic for my guild!" Makarov scolded.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get going." Mason said as he turned to leave the beach.

"Hey wait a second!" Natsu called out, prompting Mason to stop and face him. "Next time we meet, let's find out what's stronger. A Fire Dragon or a Phantom one."

"It's a deal." Mason smiled back.


(Flashback ends)

"Damn it Natsu. You went and got me excited. After the boss kicked my butt pretty bad, there's no way I'm losing this one." Mason sat back in his chair and began to daydream about his much anticipated fight, meanwhile.

"AHHH!" A feminine voice called out from the bedroom. "Mason! How dare you force me into your bed with you! I'll have your head!"

"Erza!" Mason called back from the living room. "I'm in here!" Erza walked out of the bedroom, still in her cross pajamas when. That's when she saw the bed dressings that decorated the couch and realized she had made an error. "And have been all night."

"Oh. My bad." The S-Class Wizard got incredibly sheepish. Her face turning as red as her hair. "Nevermind that!" Erza quickly changed the subject. "What's for breakfast?"

"Yeah… Well, I don't really have any food. Like I said I just moved in and I don't really have any breakfast." Mason said, going along with Erza. "There's some more cake, but I don't think…. What?" Mason couldn't help stare as Erza began to dig through his magic refrigerator.

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A true a warrior can't afford to miss out." Erza said as she pulled the cake out of the fridge and prepared to dig in.

"I guess you're right." The Dragon Slayer smirked.


(Later at the destroyed Fairy Tail Guild Hall)

Erza and Mason slowly approached the construction site, the latter tried to act cool but couldn't hide his excitement. "So you plan to go and fight Natsu, first thing in the morning. You Dragon Slayer's all need to work on a little thing called patience."

"Yeah, that's the plan. You don't think he'll mind do you?" Mason replied.

"No, on the contrary. I'm sure he's looking forward to it as well." Erza closed her eyes and smiled. "But you really should-oof!" Erza stopped in her tracks as Mason's arm blocked her path.

"Sssshhhh…. I smell a dragon." Mason paused, using his nose he scanned the air. "There! Found you!" With that, Mason dashed forward, following the his nose and leaving Erza behind in the dust.

"Hey!" The red head called back. "I wasn't finished talking yet!"

Mason dashed through the makeshift entrance of the Guild Hall, that's when he spotted the back of a spiky pink head with a long white scarf tied around his neck sitting next to a girl with blonde hair. "NATSU DRAGNEEL!" Mason lept into the air to attack, his arm began to glow with a bright purple energy. "DON'T TELL YOU FORGOT! YOU OWE ME A FIGHT!"

"Forgot?" The pink haired wizard smirked. "LIKE HELL!" Natsu turned around, his arm engulfed in burning orange flames.

"PHANTOM DRAGON!"

"FIRE DRAGON!"

"COOL IT!" A voice called out, stopping Natsu in his tracks and causing Mason to lose moment and fall face first on the ground.

"What's the big idea!" The two Dragon Slayers called back to the interrupter, but then grew pale seeing who it was.

Erza stood at the entrance, fully equipped in her battle armor. "I think this guild hall has seen enough destruction at the hands of Dragon Slayers. If you two really have to fight, take it somewhere else." Erza narrowed her glare at Mason. "You'd know that if you had let me finish."

"Uh, my bad…." Mason said, pushing himself up off the ground where he was met by a new face, that was strangely familiar. "AHH!" Mason stumbled backwards startled, almost frightened.

"Uh, are you okay?" The blonde girl who was sitting next to Natsu asked.

"Oh, sorry. It's just your face. You remind me of someone… Scary." Mason said, his eyes still wide from shock. But in his mind repressed memories began to resurface.


(Flashback)

"Ha.. ha.. Ha.." A young mason stood hunched over, panting and sweating. His face covered in scratches and bruises. Across from him stood a 14 year old girl with tomboyish style, chocolate brown eyes and her hair tied up in a ponytail. Mason gritted his teeth and stood tall once again. "PHANTOM DRAGON SHOT!" The small Dragon Slayer fired a bolt of purple magic from the palm of his hand.

"Really is that it?" The girl simply smirked. Her arm began to glow a bright yellow light, before transforming into a gigantic armored fist that she used to punch the energy ball into nothingness. "My turn, I got a new one for you. GOLDEN EYE! BRILLIANT SHOT!"

Her brown eyes began to glow a vibrant gold, before a devastating blast of light magic erupted and converged into a massive yellow laser.

"AAHHH! PHANTOM DRAGON'S BARRIER!" A magic barrier formed in front of the white haired boy, but it was utterly obliterated by the blast of magic, leaving the boy smoldering on the ground.

"Hahaha! That was fun! You are definitely stronger than all the other soldiers. That attack would've probably killed any of them, but look at you. Still breathing." The tomboy sat down on the beaten Dragon Slayers head. "You ready to go again?"

"I swear one of these days I'm gonna kick your butt." Mason growled up at the girl.

"What was that?" The brunette flexed her armored arm, sending chills down the Dragon Slayer's spine.

"SORRY BOSS!"


(Flashback ends)

Mason couldn't help but stare back at the blonde, and it made him shiver. "Ugh.. I think it's your eyes… So scary." Mason flipped up his hood to shield his face.

"Well soorrrrry! Jeez!" The girl turned away with a huff. "I was gonna thank you. Erza said you helped out against Phantom and Natsu told me you were a Dragon Slayer like him. But if you're gonna be a jerk then you can forget it."

"Rude and scary…" Mason began to cower form the blonde.

"You think this is scary? You haven't seen anything yet." Natsu said with a nod.

"Okay both of you need to shut up about me being scary!" The girl yelled back at the pink haired wizard. "Anyway. My name is Lucy Heartfilia, but everybody just calls me lucy. And you are."

"Heartfilia?... Why is that so familiar." Mason started to scratch his chin through his hood, forgetting the part of the conversation where he's supposed to introduce himself.

"Okay now who's being rude!?" Lucy yelled at the soldier.

"That's it! Jude Heartfilia, that's the guy who financed the Phantom Lord incident. I'm pretty sure I gotta arrest him." Mason said, clearly proud that he had remembered.

"Oh, yeah that's my dad…" Lucy lowered her head as she said this. "Do you think it's possible for you to not arrest him? I know he did some bad stuff, but can you just let it slide?"

"Sure." Mason said, without a second thought.

"What? Just like that. I thought you council guys were supposed to take your jobs super seriously." Lucy argued sceptically.

"Think about it lucy." Natsu stepped up. "Why would anyone wanna go arrest some old guy. Where's the fun in that."

"Yeah, he probably wouldn't even be able to fight back. BORING!" Mason crossed his arms. "Plus it's a lot of paperwork."

"Wow… I feel so much safer knowing that this is what the Magic Council considers elite." Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, Natsu I'm bored lets fight already." Mason said, turning to the fire mage.

"I'm bored too, but Erza said we couldn't fight in the Guild Hall… I guess we could do it in town." Natsu suggested.

"No you idiot!" Lucy interrupted. "You guys will wreck the whole town!"

"What's this I hear about a fight?" A shirtless boy with messy black hair and cold eyes approached the group. "I'm always down to exchange blows."

"Get outta here Gray! This is Dragon Slayer business you're not invited!" Natsu growled at the half naked man.

"Yeah, Natsu and I are about to throw down. But we can't figure out where we're gonna do it." Mason explained. "Erza said we couldn't do it here. And Loopy said we couldn't fight in the city."

"It's Lucy! And you still haven't introduced yourself!" Lucy yelled, but no one was paying attention.

"Hey I remember you! You're that Magic Council guy who helped out with Phantom Lord. Erza said you guys were friends a long time ago and Natsu said you're a Dragon Slayer." Gray said. "I'm Gray Fullbuster, thanks for the help."

"Mason Alastor, it's nice to meet you." The cloaked figure extended a hand to the ice wizard who in turn shook it.

"Oh, so now you remember your manners." Lucy griped.

"Anyway, if you guys are looking for a place to fight. Why don't you go down to the beach?" Gray suggested. "It's not too far from here."

"I was just about to say that!" Natsu blurted out. "But good idea anyway. Let's go."


(Beach)

Natsu, Mason, Lucy, Grey, and Erza made their way to a sandy beach surrounded by cliffs making it the Ideal size for a battle. The three spectators made their way to the sidelines, leaving the two Dragon Slayers to battle it out.

"I've been waiting for this fight, Natsu. Don't disappoint me." Mason said as he through his cloak off. The fabric drifted over to the Fairy Tail wizards before neatly folding itself next to them. "I'm not using any special tricks. Your Dragon Slayer magic against mine."

"Sounds good to me." Natsu smiled. "Let's get this started."

Erza used her Requip Magic, to summon a flag that she held high over her head. "BEGIN!" She dropped her arm, and the battle began.

"PHANTOM DRAGON!" Mason's cheeks began to swell with magic power.

"FIRE DRAGON!" Natsu did the same.

"RRRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!" The two mages released their attacks, a massive cyclone of ghosts collided with an enormous plume of fire.

BOOOMMMM! The collision of the two breath attacks resulted in huge sandy explosion.

"FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!" Natsu was the first to move. He leapt through the sand and smoke with a fist full of scorching hot flames. But Mason stood pat, as Natsu and his attack simply went through him. "Whoa, what the hell?!" Natsu said as he slid across the sand to catch himself.

"Physical attacks like that, even if they are made of flames, can't hurt me." Mason smirked. "Think about, you can't just punch a ghost. But my attacks on the other hand." Mason's

Hand began to glow purple. "PHANTOM DRAGON SHOT!" Mason fired an energy blast forward, but Natsu blocked it with his burning fists.

"So I can't punch you. But I can still burn you! Take this!" Natsu threw a massive blast flames from his hand, that consumed mason. "Haha. Hot enough for ya?"

"GGAAAHHH!" Mason blew the flames off of himself. "PHANTOM DRAGON SHOT!" Mason fired another energy blast that Natsu was once again able to block by crossing his arms.

"Ha! You need to learn some new tricks! I've already seen th-huh?" When Natsu looked back up Mason had disappeared.

"PHANTOM DRAGON VANISHING FIST!" Mason was suddenly to Natsu's left where he fired a punch charged with magic energy directly into the pink haired wizard's jaw causing him to stumble backwards.

"AHHGGG! That was a cheap shot!" Natsu called out, but his opponent wasn't quite finished.

"PHANTOM DRAGON STRIKE!" Mason's legs were consumed by purple light and used them to fire a swinging kick that natsu managed to duck away from, but even after missing he kept up the onslot. Kick after kick, jabs and swipes he kept Natsu on the defensive. But after awhile Natsu was able to pick up on his rhythm and he grabbed Mason by the ankle.

"Enough!" Natsu tossed him with all his might, but Mason was able to catch himself mid air using levitation, but Natsu wasn't finished. "FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"

An enormous amount of fire consumed Mason, but after the attack had cleared it turned out that Mason had shield the attack with his magic Barrier. Without saying a word the Phantom Dragon raised his hand before slowly closing it causing the nearby cliffside to shatter under the force of his telekinesis. Then with a wave of his arm the crushed rock began to fly at Natsu.

"YAAHH!" Natsu managed to avoid the rocks for awhile. Jumping over a few, or smashing them with his fist. But eventually his luck ran out. A massive boulder smashed into him from his blind spot. "AAHHAHAAAA!" The impact sent Natsu flying, before crashing back into the sand.

Mason landed and slowly made his way over to Natsu. Then with his telekinesis lifted Natsu up off the ground. "Pull." Mason said with a smirk, and immediately flung Natsu up into the air as he charged an energy ball in the other. "PHANTOM DRAGON SHOT!"

BOOOOMMM! The energy made contact with the defenseless, Airborne Natsu resulting in a large explosion over the beach.

Gray and Lucy looked on in shock as Erza sat back with a puzzled look on her face.

"Uh Erza…" Gray spoke up. "Your old friend…."

"Is kinda ruthless.." Lucy finished.

"It's so hard…" Erza mutter as she looked on at the battle at hand. "Who do I root for…. I've known Natsu for years now, but I knew Mason first. I don't agree with the way Mason is fighting, but I can't argue with the results." Erza continued to mumble as her friends looked on in disbelief.

Once again Mason slowly approached, another energy ball charging in his hand. "Sorry Natsu, I don't know about your Dragon but Buruut taught me to not only win a fight, but to beat my opponent. And the Rune Knights taught me to treat every battle like it was my last, needless to say I have difficulty holding back. Looks like this is going to the last attack, so to answer your question from earlier. It looks to me like the Phantom Dragon is stronger. Huh?" Natsu once again grabbed Mason by the ankle and pulled him downwards.

"FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!" As Mason fell downward, his bottom jaw was met by flaming knuckle, and he was sent flying backwards. "Fine!" Natsu spoke up in his serious voice. "If you wanna fight dirty, lets fight dirty. HHHAAAAAAAHHHH!" Natsu's body became engulfed in flames. "Prepare to face my Flames of Emotion!"

"Ha! I hoped you had some fight left in you! PHANTOM DRAGON ROAR!" Mason let out another mouthful of purple phantoms straight at Natsu.

"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!" Natsu let out the largest plume of fire yet, it complete consumed Mason's roar then his entire body.

"AAHHHH!" Mason went flying, but once again caught himself mid air. "That's quite the power boost, huh? But it still won't be enough to beat me. PHANTOM DRAGON LANCE!" Mason's body was cloaked in purple energy before he hurled himself at Natsu.

"FIRE DRAGON SWORD HORN!" Natsu jumped upwards, his body covered by flames and the two Dragon Slayers clashed in the sky above.

"HAAAAHHHHHH!" The two mages yelled as their respective attacks clashed against each other. But rather than letting their their clash play out, Mason grabbed Natsu by the chest and threw him down to the ground.

Natsu was quick to recover, but as he climbed to his feet a small purple magic circle appeared on the pink haired wizard's chest.

"PHANTOM DRAGON'S TERRIBLE RUNE!" Mason called out activating the magic circle to activate, sending a wave of painful purple electricity across Natsu's body.

"AAAHHHHHH!" Natsu cried out in pain, but with a burst of his fire magic the seal faded.

"It's over Natsu, here's my finishing move!" Mason called out from the sky above. He held out both arms, and a large, purple, magic circle formed at his hands. "PHANTOM DRAGON'S CANNON!" An enormous blast of purple energy exploded from Mason's hands, headed straight for Natsu.

"Not so fast!" Natsu held both his hands above his head, and a massive fireball formed between them. "FIRE DRAGON'S BRILLIANT FLAME!" The massive fireball plowed through Mason's energy attack and straight into the phantom dragon slayer.

"AAHHHHH!" Mason was consumed by the fireball , resulting in a large explosion.

KAABOOOOOMMMMM! THUD!

Mason landed in the sand with a thud. "UGGHHH! That one hurt. I guess you beat me." Mason said as he climbed back to his feet, rubbing his bruised head.

"WHAT?! But you're still conscious, why are giving up." Natsu whined.

"I think we've gone far enough, you beat me. I still have a long way to go. But right now you're stronger than me." Mason shrugged with a smile.

"Hmmmm…." Natsu glared back at the white haired boy. "I think you're lyin… I think you're holding something back."

"I told you I wanted this fight to be fair, I gave you everything I could without cheating. You won." Mason pleaded with the sceptic mage.

"Hmmm…. Fine!" Natsu crossed his arms. "We're done for now, but we're gonna finish this later. And when we do, you'd better not hold back."

"Alright, deal." Mason smiled. "This was my first fight with another with another real Dragon Slayer. It was a lot of fun. Thank you Natsu."

Natsu's suspiciousness eventually faded and he smiled back. "Yeah it was fun, let's do it again some time."


(END)