A/N: Wow, I've been working on this for a year now? It doesn't seem like it's been that long, but nineteen chapters and lots of crazy developments in the last twelve months say otherwise. Since I began posting for this story, I've become a dad, had cancer removed, won a lawsuit, moved twice, and a lot of other things besides... Where did a year go?!

Just to let you guys know, I have dropped the two last-place contenders for the fusion vote, and have set up a new one with the two that had been tied for first for some time. The rules have changed a little bit this time, though. First, it will be a blind vote, as to avoid any bias one way or another. Also, since there are only two options, (Mira + Lisanna) and (Natsu + Gajeel), you will only get to vote once, so make it count. You have until July 1, 2019 to cast your lot, at which point I will announce the winner.

Now, I'm sure a lot of you are itching to find out more about this blue-haired girl, and if she will, in fact, catch up to Gorun. So read, review, and enjoy!

OP Song: 200 miles by Jang Geun Suk

P.S. Following some advice from some of those of you that have mentioned my response videos being too long, I will not be doing my best to do them one chapter at a time, as to make it easier for you to find your comment/my response. If you ever need help finding out where in the video yours is specifically, send me a PM, and I will give you the timestamp on the video that corresponds.

Rival Arc: Chapter 2

Dark Blades in the Heart

The two teams regrouped at the hotel as planned, with Gorun and Erza taking care of the bill and waiting for the room keys to arrive, talking quietly to one another as they did. The others were all spread out on sofas and lounge chairs, some of them looking more refreshed than others.

"What happened to you guys?" Wendy asked as she noticed that Natsu and Happy looked worn out, while Romeo looked a little smug.

"So many dishes…" Happy groaned.

"I don't think I've ever left a restaurant so hungry…" Natsu whined.

"They ate way over their spending allowance and ended up having to work in the kitchen to make up for it," Romeo sniggered. "I told 'em that such a fancy place would be expensive."

"Don't tell me you spent all your money on five-star food," Kinana said disapprovingly.

"Nah, I didn't spend all of it," Romeo replied, his grin fading. "I spent more than I should have, but at least I didn't have to work it off in the back."

"Which is more than we can say for those two hooligans," Carla said as she looked at Natsu and Happy.

"I remember Sting having quite the appetite, too," Yukino said as an awkward silence threatened to take hold of the gathering. "He would always try to get Rogue to compete against him, but he never took an interest."

Lucy glanced over at their new guild mate, noticing the hesitation with which she brought up her old guild, and the trace pain that the memories of it must have left her with. Not wanting the other celestial mage to keep reflecting on such times, she put on a smile and said, "If you wanna know about crazy eating competitions, try this- Gorun and Natsu had a contest to see who could have the most bread rolls stuffed in their mouths at once- and the judge was none other than the Celestial Spirit King."

"His Majesty?!" Yukino squawked. "The King of the Stars?!"

"I wish I could've seen that," Romeo sighed. "From what I heard, it makes our guild parties look really lame."

"Normally I wouldn't agree with anything that puts Fairy Tail in a bad light, but that was some party," Gray said with a grin as he leaned back in his chair.

The rooms were divided as such: Romeo and Gorun in one room, Kinana and Yukino in the next. For Team Natsu it went Lucy, Éclair, and Momon in one, Erza, Wendy, and Carla in another, and the boys in the room between them.

It was nearly midnight when Gorun finished his shower, stepping out into the room to dry off and change into his nightclothes. Unsurprisingly, they were a set of blue-and-green plaid pajamas, complete with a dark set of slippers.

Romeo eyed him from where he was sitting on his bed, a thick book in his hands; a fire magic book of some kind, Gorun would have guessed. Romeo was incredibly dedicated to his studies, more so than most kids his age. It was one of the reasons the Saiyan had wanted him on his team.

"Little light reading?" he asked as Romeo's eyes turned back to the pages.

"Just reviewing some of my newer spells before we head into the Boundary Forest," the boy replied absently. "Can't be too prepared, right?"

"Smart," Gorun said approvingly. "Keep that up, and you'll be taking the trials to become S-class in no time."

"Maybe, but for now, I'll just try to stick to keeping up with you and the rest of our team," Romeo chuckled. Gorun noticed that while his eyes were technically scanning the pages of the book, he didn't seem too fixated on what he was reading.

"Something on your mind?" he inquired as he sat on his own bed, across from his younger teammate.

"It's nothing major," Romeo said, trying to hide his face with his book.

Gorun laughed a little at the boy's reaction, saying, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Just do yourself a favor and stop trying to hide behind a book- that looks way too childish for me to take you seriously."

Romeo stiffened, then shut the book, revealing his slightly reddened face. "Okay, you have a point," he muttered. "It's just… Well, the truth is, I do want to talk to you about something, but I feel like it's the kind of conversation I should be having with my dad."

Now Gorun was the one to stiffen up. "Oh, uh…" he said, unsure of how to respond to that. He was happy to give the kid advice, certainly, but he didn't want to usurp Macao's role in Romeo's life, either. "What, ah…?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put you in an awkward position," Romeo said with a short bow from where he sat. "I know you still respect my dad a lot because he was your first guild master, and I do too. But this is just something that I don't think my dad would be good to talk to about… He just doesn't have a great track record in this area…"

"Okay…" Gorun said slowly, still feeling way out of his depth. "Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"No!" Romeo snapped, a little harsher than he meant to. Again, he bowed shortly from his seated position before he said, "Sorry, I'm just nervous, Gorun. This is just something I haven't had to deal with before, and you're my leader, so I figured that if I couldn't talk to my dad, you'd be the best person to talk to."

"That might be the case, though I can't say for certain until I know what 'this' is," Gorun replied, trying to keep his voice neutral.

"Oh, right!" Romeo scolded himself, though his cheeks were flushing noticeably. "Well… I think I… kind of have a crush on Wendy?"

Gorun blinked a couple of times, replaying his young friend's words over in his head to make sure that he'd heard him right. "You want to talk to me… about girl advice?" he asked slowly.

"Yes," Romeo answered meekly, very red in the face.

"And… why don't you want to talk to your dad about it?" Gorun asked, trying to understand the entire situation before he said anything one way or another.

"He and my mom have been split up since before I can remember," the boy replied somberly, the red draining from his face a little. "Anytime they're in a room together, all they do is yell. I don't want to end up like that- I'd rather be happy all the time, like you and Kinana are when you're together."

"Buddy, let me fill you in on a little secret," Gorun laughed, some of the tension easing out of his body as he realized the problem. "Kinana and I are not happy every minute we're together. She and I have argued several times, and there have been plenty of disagreements between us even before we started dating."

"I kind of figured, but what I mean is that whenever you two are together, you bring out the best in each other," Romeo elaborated. "You guys are always looking out for each other, not trying to get something out of the other. That's the kind of example I want to follow, not like my dad and mom. I love them, but I've never even been able to have a birthday party where both of them were there because they can't stand each other…"

Gorun regarded the young man in front of him sadly. He couldn't imagine a life where his parents hated each other, and only having one of them struggle to raise him. It was now plain to see why Romeo wouldn't want to get advice on girls from his father, even at this early age. After all, Macao was a middle-aged man who spent half his time drinking or chasing skirts half his age.

"So… Wendy," Gorun began, clearing his throat in an attempt to lessen the awkwardness he felt building up in the room. "I can tell you the biggest obstacle you'll have with that one."

"Is it because she's a dragon slayer, and I'm just a regular old fire wizard?" Romeo asked eagerly, though he also seemed nervous to hear the answer.

"You're hardly 'regular," Gorun admonished him with a grin. "No, I was gonna say your biggest problem will be getting Carla to approve of y-"

Crash! "Eek!"

The two boys leaped to their feet, having heard the sound of furniture breaking, accompanied by a woman's scream, from outside their room.

"Was that Kinana?!" Romeo asked as he threw open the door to their room, several of the other guild members doing the same.

"No," Gorun said even before the purple-haired girl could appear to confirm her safety. "That was Lucy!" Dashing out into the hallway, he heard the sound of more furniture breaking from behind the girls' door.

Natsu and Gray were just ahead of him, kicking down the door to reveal a destroyed room, and the cloak of somebody that had just leaped off the railing on the balcony outside the hotel. "Romeo, stay with the others!" Gorun ordered as he, Gray, and Natsu made a beeline for the outside.

"Be careful!" the boy called out before they made their way past the sliding glass door.

"Where are they?" Gray demanded as they scanned the streets below them. That cloaked figure hadn't been Éclair or Lucy, so it could only mean that they were being pursued by someone. Since there weren't any bodies on the ground…

"There!" Gorun and Natsu shouted simultaneously as they pointed down a narrow back alley close to the hotel. Lucy was leading Éclair and Momon away from what looked like a caped man that was possibly wielding knives, who was hot on their heels in pursuit. Gorun had found them by sensing for their energy signatures, while Natsu had found Lucy with his keen sense of smell.

"Grab on!" Gorun ordered as he placed his fingers up to his forehead. An instant after Gray and Natsu had grabbed his shoulders, they vanished and reappeared in between the cloaked pursuer and the girls.

The black-garbed person skidded to a stop, their expression unreadable due to the white mask they wore over their face. However, they quickly reached into the recesses of their cloak, whereupon Gorun heard several metallic clinks.

"Blades!" he warned just before the pursuer hurled several razor-sharp throwing knives at each of them. Every wizard reacted without thinking- Lucy hurled herself in front of Éclair, shielding the brunette with her own body in the event that any of the weapons made it past the boys. Gray flash-froze and shattered the projectiles while Natsu melted them to slag with a breath attack. Gorun moved so fast that he was able to snatch three of them out of the air and cast them back at their attacker, who snarled as they were forced to dodge.

Based on how deep the growl had sounded, Gorun guessed that they were fighting a man, and his power level indicated that he was a wizard of some skill. Which just left…

"Who are you?!" he demanded. "Why are you after Lucy and Éclair?!"

The cloaked man regarded them silently for a moment before he took off running down another narrow alley. Letting out a growl of his own, Natsu took off after the man, Gray right behind him. Gorun only paused to glance back at the girls and say, "Look after Éclair, Lucy. I'm pretty sure Erza is on her way."

"You got it!" the celestial mage called back as he flew after his comrades.

He caught up to them just in time to see the assailant leaping from wall to wall, using each jump to gain height with the intended goal of reaching the rooftop. "Don't let him get away!" he roared as he flew upward and toward the assailant, a blue magic circle spawning in front of his right fist. "Tyrant Lance!"

The laser blast just missed its target, but Gray and Natsu weren't far behind the man, using an ice pole to vault onto the rooftop, where the dark figure stood, waiting in the full moonlight. Gorun landed next to them, his Kaioken aura shining like a fire amidst the city lights.

"Nowhere left to run," Natsu said with a vicious grin.

"What will you do now?" Gray smirked as he prepared his ice-make magic.

The man regarded them silently for a moment, the only thing moving being his pale eyes, which they could now see through the slits in his mask. First they fixated on Natsu's guild mark, then on Gorun's face, which is where his gaze remained the longest.

"To think… two birds with one stone," he murmured. Before any of them could ask what he meant, he added, "Fairy Tail, was it…?" Then, without warning, his own shadow swallowed him up, leaving no trace that he'd ever been there.

"What the-?!" Natsu yelped.

"Where'd he go?!" Gray demanded, looking over at Gorun, whose face was hardened with concentration.

"I don't know," the young man muttered after a few seconds. "Whoever that was, he's more skilled than I gave him credit for. The instant that his shadow magic came into effect, he drastically lowered his power level. I can't find him amidst all the civilians down there now."

"Couldn't you tell where Rogue was whenever he did that?" Gray pressed, surprised to see his friend come up short like this. He was used to Gorun achieving success after success, not admitting defeat so readily.

"Rogue wasn't as skilled at concealing his presence," Gorun explained. "And even my powers have their limits."

"So we can't follow him?" the ice mage asked disappointedly.

"I can't even pick up a scent," Natsu added as he turned to face them. "Weird. Wonder why he was after two birds?" Before anyone could stop him, he yelled, "Oh crap! He must've been after that weird bird guy Elaine had with her! We gotta go find them!" With that, he leaped off the rooftop and began running back the way they had come.

"Stupid as he is, he brings up a good question," Gray said with a frown as he placed a hand on Gorun's shoulder to prepare for instant transmission. "What was that guy after? And what 'two birds' was he talking about?"

"Knowing our luck, I wager we'll be finding out real soon," Gorun said grimly.

"He was after Éclair, not Momon, you idiot!" Lucy was shouting as Gorun and Gray appeared beside them. Natsu had apparently voiced his ill-founded suspicion that the cloaked man was after Momon, and was receiving harsh criticisms from his teammate.

"He said somethin' about two birds!" Natsu yelled back. "He was the first guy I thought of!" As they argued back and forth, Gorun noted that Lucy was dressed only in a bath towel, and abruptly turned around to face away from her.

"This isn't the time for squabbling," Gray said, stepping forward. "Lucy, d'ya have any idea why that guy was after you three?"

"No," the blond girl answered with a shake of her head as she stood up. "And Eclair didn't recognize him, either."

"Uh…" Gray and Natsu stammered simultaneously. Gorun's keen ears picked up on the sound of falling cloth, and based on his comrades' reactions, he was doubly glad that he'd thought to turn his back to the celestial mage.

"What?" Lucy asked impatiently.

"Lucy, pick up your towel before Natsu and Gray's heads explode," Gorun sighed, his face resting in his hand.

"Ack!"

"Hey is your freaky stripping habit contagious now?" Natsu asked his friend.

"I don't know?"

"Look away!"

"The guy was after a rock?" Gorun asked dubiously. "And a broken one at that? Really?"

"Didn't people in your world go looking for magic stones all the time?" Erza pointed out.

"That's fair," the Saiyan conceded. Both teams and Éclair were all back in Kinana and Yukino's room, as it was a tad larger than the others. The brunette girl had just finished explaining her theory about how their attacker might have been after a stone piece attached to a necklace that she wore at all times. The item itself, was, as Gorun crudely described it, apparently a piece of a bigger stone, though there was a hint of what looked like some sort of carving in its face. Without the other part, or parts, there was no telling what the image might be.

"I have carried this with me for as long as I can remember, though I'm not even sure how long that has been," Éclair murmured.

"Whaddya mean?" Happy asked her.

"Much of my past is a blank canvas," Éclair replied softly. "The only constant I have always been aware of is this stone… but lately… it feels as though some things are beginning to resurface."

"Amnesia?" Yukino asked softly. "How awful."

"You said that you were remembering some things, though," Erza interjected. "Is there anything clear?"

"Yes…" Éclair nodded. "I remember… The Boundary Forest. There is a man who lives there, named Kalard. I was supposed to take the stone to him."

"Kalard?" Gorun repeated, his eyes narrowing. "That name sounds familiar to me…"

"It is?" Éclair asked, looking up sharply at him.

"Yeah, I think I read about him somewhere…" the boy muttered, concentrating hard. "It's been a while, but I think… he's either a wizard or a scientist, maybe both. Yeah… I read about him somewhere during my first months here in Magnolia. Couldn't tell you what his research field is now, though. Sorry."

"It's all right," Erza said firmly. "At least we know why we're headed to the forest. We have a clearer goal than before, and I plan to make use of it."

"Do you think that you'll be able to sense this Kalard person out in the forest?" Kinana asked Gorun.

"With the monsters that live around those parts, it'll be difficult to find him, even if he's a strong mage," he replied with a thoughtful look. "I can still try, though. Worse comes to worst, if he lives in that forest, he's bound to have defenses set up to protect his home from the monsters in it. Those shouldn't be too hard to find."

"Excellent," Erza declared. "Get some rest, everyone. We leave at eight in the morning."

As everyone got up to leave, Éclair surprised them all by walking up to Natsu, Gray, and Gorun, blocking them from leaving the room. "Thank you, for saving Momon and I," she said quietly. Then she turned and exited, leaving all of them dumbfounded.

The forest wasn't too far from the town they had spent the night at, so they were well within its borders by nine o' clock, being led by Éclair's sense of direction as Gorun had yet to pick up on Kalard's energy signature. For the first thirty minutes or so, the trek was actually quite tranquil. Even so, Erza ordered everyone to stay as quiet as possible.

"I thought this place was supposed to be filled with S-class monsters or something," Romeo finally muttered, looking bored. "This place seems pretty tame so far."

"Keep making noise like that, and they'll notice us soon enough," Erza snapped. "I have been here several times in the past, and I have the scars to prove it."

"Quick history question," Gorun said with a grin and a lowered tone. "When Lucy met you the first time, you'd just slain a monster causing a town some trouble, right? It wouldn't have happened to have been from here, would it?"

"Indeed it was," Erza replied, impressed by his knowledge. "How did you hear about that?"

"Eh, somebody mentioned it the other day when I was asking about how Team Natsu came to be," the young man replied. "As a matter of fact, I- Look out!" Suddenly Gorun shot forward, taking everyone by surprise as he interposed himself between a flying boulder and Éclair. Lashing out with a Tyrant Lance, he blew the rock to pieces, then triggered his Kaioken three times over as he glared up at a towering dinosaur-like beast. Said monster eyed him hungrily, so he grinned back at it in a feral manner.

"Gorun!" Kinana called out worriedly.

"I'm okay!" he called back. "I'll take this guy myself, all of you keep an eye out for his friends! Where there's one beastie, there's always a pack!" The others took up defensive positions in a rough circle around Éclair, even as more monsters began to gather, each of them eager to feed.

"Kienzan!"

"Fire Dragon ROAR!"

"Gallick Gun!"

"Sky Dragon Wing Attack!"

"Heaven's Wheel: Pentagram Sword!"

"Ice-make: Cannon!"

"Eat dirt! Alter Gravity!"

Explosions of various energies rang throughout the forest, decimating scores of monsters that day. In the middle of it all, the Fairy Tail wizards pushed onward, heading in a westerly direction.

"Man, this is way more fun than fighting those dragons!" Lucino grinned as she bumped fists with Natsu. Lucy and Yukino had performed the fusion dance with the rings that Gorun had given them, enabling the celestial wizards to remain in their merged state for as long as they wished. The trade-off was that the resulting fusion was not as strong as it could have been, but they preferred the stability the rings gave.

"I thought you had fun with that?" Gray teased her.

"Nah, I'll take on flunkies like those castle guards or these pint-sized grizzlies, but a dragon?" She shook her head emphatically in the negative. "That's what dragon slayers are for."

"So you just like beating up on people that are weaker than you?" Gorun asked bluntly.

"Like you can talk," she grinned at him. "Seriously, who other than a Wizard Saint can go toe-to-toe with you?"

"I thought you were supposed to be the greatest celestial wizard of all time?" he replied with his own grin.

"Hey, I'm gorgeous, not stupid," Lucino shot back. "I know I wouldn't be able to take you in a head-on fight. Especially not after seeing you turn on the blond and hair extensions."

"Huh," Gorun mused, cocking his head slightly at the girl, who gave him an annoyed glare.

"What?"

"I've never heard a fusion admit to their own limits before," he said as he slammed a giant lizard into the earth with a casual hammer fist. "It's a novel experience."

"That's because we're not made up of meatheads like you and hotshot over there!" Lucino shouted as she pointed at Natsu, who was in the middle of roasting a bear the size of their guild hall.

"She has a point," Kinana panted, releasing her own Kaioken as she paused for breath.

"Are you alright?" Gorun asked her, concerned that she was overextending herself.

"Yeah… Just need a minute to rest," the purple-haired girl said with a grateful smile as he held her close to him, transferring a bit of energy through the hug.

"Do you need some water?" Éclair surprised them both by offering them a drink from her water skin.

"Yes, thank you," Kinana said appreciatively as she took a small drink from the offered container.

Maybe she will warm up to us, Gorun thought, his optimism kicking back in.

It was late in the afternoon when they found it.

"Check this out," Gorun muttered as he noticed a strange energy pattern that was confined to a small area in the woods. As soon as his fingers entered the area, a red, grid-like hologram flickered to life, riddled with runes and other arcane markings. "Monster deterrent," he mused aloud as the others gathered around him. "Doesn't take a lot of energy to make or sustain; no wonder I didn't sense it earlier. Clever, but…" He frowned again.

"But what?" Kinana prompted him.

"These markings are old," he said as he passed his whole body through the field, fortunately without any ill effect. "I've seen a bit of rune magic in the field, and some of Freed's back at the guild, but this stuff looks a lot older than I would have expected."

"Perhaps the man is a historian on top of all his other studies," Erza suggested. "It's not all that unusual to see a wizard fall back on old methods to try and develop a new branch of magic from it."

"Fair enough," Gorun acknowledged. "But there's still one thing that bothers me…"

"What's that?" Gray asked, instantly on the alert for more monsters.

"I don't sense anyone nearby but us," his friend replied as he folded his arms across his chest. "Wizard or otherwise."

"That is disconcerting," Éclair frowned as she looked around the forest surrounding them. "I know that this is the place… I've seen it before."

"Maybe he's out for the day?" Wendy suggested tentatively.

"Maybe," Gorun repeated with a nod, but he looked doubtful. "Stay sharp. The guy that chased Lucy and Éclair can hide his power level so I can't sense him, and if he got to Kalard before we did, he might still be around." The others acknowledged the warning and made sure to be ready with their magic if the need should arise.

Soon after, in a clearing by a waterfall where some trees had been cleared away, they found what looked like the ruins of someone's home. There wasn't a lot left- just a few corners and what might have been the foundations of a bedroom, but other that, it looked as though no one had been there in a very long time.

"Okay, I know that a lot of wizards are messy, but I didn't expect there to be one that would just let their house fall to pieces," Lucino muttered, slipping the ring off her finger as she finished speaking. There was a flash of light, and then there were two celestial wizards standing among them. Apparently since they hadn't seen a monster since they'd passed the runes, Lucino had decided that she wasn't needed.

"Even Natsu doesn't let his place look this bad," Lucy continued.

"Hey, gimme a break!" the fire wizard protested. "It's not my fault we gotta go on so many jobs to pay for your rent! I don't have time to clean up the place!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy agreed enthusiastically.

Any further arguing was cut off by the sound of stone grating on stone. They all turned to see a slab of rock- which they originally mistook as a part of the foundation of the house- sliding back to reveal a set of stone stairs that led underground.

"Now that's more like it!" Romeo grinned. "Secret stairway!"

"Gorun, you first," Erza said as they gathered around the newly-opened entrance. "And be careful."

"How do we know that this isn't a trap?" Kinana asked worriedly.

"If it is, I'll spring said trap," Gorun grinned. "If not, then our day gets a whole lot easier." With that, he kissed her on the head and then descended down the steps, ready to let loose with a Kienzan at anything that moved. A few seconds after he vanished from view, he called up, "Okay, I'm being torn limb from limb. I need a rescue party."

"Smart guy," Gray smirked as he headed down the steps next, quickly followed by the others, who were all either grinning or rolling their eyes at the S-class alien.

What they found was more in keeping with the image of a wizard's home. There were notebooks scattered about, tables littered with various experiments, and materials for crafting something or other. Still…

"Okay, this looks more like what we were looking for, but it still doesn't seem like anyone has been here for a while," Yukino noted aloud.

"Maybe he moved?" Romeo suggested.

"Looks that way," Kinana nodded. "Maybe he decided that living in this forest was too dangerous."

"If that was the case, why did he leave all of his research just lying around?" Gorun asked with another frown as he examined some parchments depicting an image of what looked like a war arrow. "I'd almost wonder if he wasn't kidnapped by the guys that attacked the girls, but there's no sign of a struggle, nor that anything has been taken."

"Any idea what he was working on?" Erza asked him as she stood beside him to look at the drawing he was studying.

"Some kind of weapon? Doesn't seem very in keeping with what I read about him, though…" Gorun muttered.

"Guys, come look at this," Lucy said, interrupting their conversation. The others looked over to see her and Éclair staring up at a painting of some kind, one that had been seemingly ruined by the passage of time, if the holes in the fabric and the coat of dust sitting on the frame were anything to go by.

Still, there was just enough of an image to make out that there were three people in the painting, and one of them looked a lot like…

"Is that… me?" Éclair whispered, reaching out to touch the smallest figure on the canvas. As she did, her fingertips brushed against an orb that had been resting on the tabletop beneath the picture. The crystal flashed to life with a soft blue glow, and above it appeared the image of an old man.

"My dear Éclair…" he began with a kind, loving smile. "If you are seeing this, then my worst fears have some to pass. I am no longer able to give you this message in person, but it is imperative that you understand the significance of our task…"

"So Éclair's father was Kalard," Gorun said quietly as he gazed into the campfire that Natsu had created. "His research was developing a way to destroy these 'phoenix stones', but he passed away before he could finish the job." He and everyone but Éclair, Momon, and Lucy were sitting in the ruins of Kalard's home, where they had decided to camp for the night.

"Poor Éclair," Kinana said from where she sat beside him. "Just when she starts getting some of her memories back, she loses her father…" The young couple looked up from the fire, watching as Éclair began to dance by the riverside, tears falling from her eyes in rivulets, though she made not a sound.

"What do we do now?" Romeo asked. "The job's a bust. We weren't able to help her find what she was looking for."

"We may not have found Kalard himself, but we might just have a new task come out of this," Gorun told his young friend. "If he never finished his work on how to destroy that stone that Éclair carries, we may just have figure it out ourselves. As his daughter, she'll likely want to complete his work, but I doubt if she has the tools to do the job."

"That's if she can bring herself to let go of the only remaining link to her father that she has," Erza said somberly. "Perhaps it's best if we don't interfere with Kalard's will any further."

"Let's wait and see what Éclair has to say once she's done mourning," Gorun suggested. "After all, it's her task now."

"If she's looking for someone to break stuff, she's with the right guild," Natsu grinned, though it was a more subdued version of his usual good cheer. Apparently the news of Kalard's death, and the sadness that it had caused Eclair was dampening even his mood.

Gorun smiled wanly at his companion before looking back over at the mourning woman, who was now being embraced by Lucy as she cried for what she had lost. To think that I have so much power that a Wizard Saint couldn't stand against me, but when it comes to the battles that really matter, I feel so powerless? He thought dejectedly.

He hadn't liked Éclair- and he wasn't entirely sure that he did now, either. But seeing someone suffer so keenly in front of him, and being incapable of helping them didn't sit right with him.

Kinana, seeming to sense his thoughts, wrapped an arm around his shoulders and said, "We'll all have a role to fulfil in this- in helping Éclair. Some of us just need to wait our turn." As she spoke, she gestured at Lucy, adding, "This is her part to play. Lucy isn't the strongest wizard here, but you're hard pressed to find anyone with a bigger heart. She lives to see those around her be happy."

"Éclair's in good hands now," Natsu agreed, surprising the others with his assertion. "Lucy'll make sure she's okay."

"I have a request to make of the Fairy Tail guild." Éclair's declaration was met with little surprise from the others that were gathered around the campfire. She and Lucy had returned a few minutes prior, but no one had said anything out of respect for the girl's need to mourn. Though it now seemed that she had deemed something else more important than her own grief.

"Then you've come to the right group," Yukino said with a warm smile to the long-haired woman. "Speaking from personal experience, the people here will do everything in their power to help you."

Éclair inclined her head toward the celestial wizard in acknowledgement before saying, "My father's final days were spent trying to find a way to destroy this stone." As she spoke, she held up the pendant she wore for emphasis. "He never managed to finish the job. I ask you now to do what he could not, and help him rest in peace, knowing that his work was completed."

"You can count on us," Natsu grinned brightly.

"Aye sir!" Happy exclaimed.

"You return empty-handed, Chase…" Dyst said with a dark frown as he eyed his comrade. "Unusual for you."

"It doesn't matter," the other assassin replied gruffly. "I have what we need to make our second foray the last."

"Oh?" his leader asked with one raised eyebrow. "You have a name?"

"That, and a location," Chase answered. "The girl is traveling with wizards from Fairy Tail. And one of them is the man we were tasked with finding."

"Is he really as tough as that crazy chick says he is?" Cannon scoffed.

"I'd be careful about who you call crazy," an uncomfortably familiar voice said as its owner walked up to the group, their face harder than flint. Though they tried to hide it, her appearance made Cannon, Chase, and Coordinator flinch and back up a half-pace. Only Dyst seemed truly unafraid of her, but out of all of them, he was the best at keeping his composure, no matter the situation.

"I was beginning to wonder if you would reveal yourself again," the leader of the assassin's group said neutrally.

"What, and miss the chance to see the big guy wet himself again?" the blue-haired girl laughed as she came to stand among them. "Who knows, maybe we'll see it happen if you didn't come back with the information I want." She aimed the last question at Chase, who glared back at her.

"I found him," he said shortly.

"Well I see you had the good sense not to fight him," she grinned crookedly. "Nothing but a smear would have been left of you, then."

"Hmph."

"Where is he, then?" she demanded.

"That's the part that's going to complicate matters," Dyst said, taking control of the conversation now.

The girl, however, did not like that one bit. A blade of blue energy appeared at his throat, stopping just short of cutting into his flesh. "The location," the girl said, her voice as cold and sharp as an icicle. "Now."

"Or else what?" Dyst replied calmly. "You kill us, you'll need someone new to find the information. And no one will do it as quickly as we can."

"You five seconds to rephrase that," the bluenette tossed back. "Five. Four."

"We will be glad to take you to him if you assist us in our own endeavor simultaneously," Dyst said with a shrug, his words unhurried, his breathing calm and steady.

"Three. Two."

"He is currently protecting our own quarry," the man said, his eyebrows finally drawing together. "Our goals are currently on a parallel course to one another. The fastest way for you to find him is with us, and our best chance at claiming the item we seek is if he can't interfere. Both parties win."

The girl stared him down for a long, long moment. No one moved. Hardly anyone dared to breathe.

Then, finally; "If you attempt to sabotage me in any way, or even do something that I just don't like, I will gut you and feed your entrails to pigs," the girl said in a deadly quiet whisper. "Am I clear?"

Dyst, his eyes now burning with undisguised hatred, answered, "Transparent."

"Where is Kaidon?"

"Are you guys sure you want me to do this?" Gorun asked with a slight wince as he looked down at his target.

"You're the one with the most destructive magic here," Lucy pointed out. "If any of us are gonna be able to break it, it'd be you." They were out back behind the guild hall, on the short stretch of beach that was part of the building's property. They had returned from their trip earlier that morning, and were now trying to figure out a plausible way to destroy the stone that Éclair carried. About twenty feet in front of Gorun, facing away from the city, was said phoenix stone, resting on top of a rock that Elfman had lugged over for them.

"I'm more worried about breaking the ocean," Gorun replied, looking back at the others. His team and Natsu's were in attendance, as were the two older Strauss siblings.

"Oh come on, I doubt even you could break the ocean," Mirajane smiled brightly at him.

"He totally could, Gorun is super manly!" Elfman argued.

"We might as well try it," Yukino said. "Lucy makes a good point- if your raw strength can't destroy it, we'll have to dig up whatever we can on Kalard's research, which likely won't be much. We'd mostly be starting from scratch, and who knows how long that could take?"

"Why not ask Levy to do some reading on it?" Gorun suggested, trying to find some way out of it.

"She's already on it, but she said she would come out and tell us if she found something," Lucy replied huffily. "Seriously, what's the big deal? Turn on the blond and blast that rock!"

"Maybe he's scared of it?" Natsu snickered, Happy joining in on the laughter after a second.

"That rock is supposed to be all but indestructible because of magic, I don't know what kind of defense mechanisms it might have!" Gorun shouted at the pair. "For all I know, it could blow up Magnolia if I hit it hard enough!"

"It didn't do anything when Natsu hit it," Wendy replied thoughtfully. It was true. Earlier, Natsu had tried to fry the rock with a wing attack, to no avail.

"Natsu doesn't hit as hard as I do," Gorun deadpanned.

"Come over here and say that, I dare ya!"

Whang!

"Gorun, I'm sure everything will be fine," Erza said as she lowered her fist from where it had crashed into Natsu's skull. "Please try, and then if it fails, we can break for lunch and explore other options."

"Fine…" Gorun grumbled. "For the record, I am still against this."

"We noticed," Gray said dryly, his shirt now resting on the sand. "Just get it over with, man."

"Rrgh…" the Saiyan muttered before turning back to face the stone. A moment's thought conjured two golden magic circles over his head, the second, larger one crackling with lightning. "Two-layer takeover: Saiyan Soul!" There was a blinding flash of light and a sound of thunder, and when it faded away, Gorun stood transformed into his second Super Saiyan form.

"What kind of magic is that?" Éclair asked as she struggled to see through the dust that had been kicked up by the transformation. "In all my travels, I've never seen power like this."

"Gorun's… not from around here," Kinana told her with a strange smile. "His magic is pretty different than what most people are used to seeing."

"Ka… me…" the boy intoned, his voice colder and rougher than usual. His hands came to rest on the right side of his ribs, and blue light began to shine from between his fingers. "ha… me…"

"Haha, here it comes!" Natsu exclaimed with a huge grin, despite the fact that he'd been taking a forced nap just a few seconds ago.

"Here comes what?" Éclair inquired.

"You might wanna hold onto something," Mirajane said, maintaining her sweet smile.

"Hold onto wha-?"

"HA!" Gorun's hands thrust forward, and the Turtle Destruction Wave was on its way, striking true so that the phoenix stone was swallowed up by its light. Behind the Super Saiyan, the wind was howling, and debris was flying everywhere, forcing everyone to struggle to even stand. Éclair, being completely unused to the unintended side effects of a massive etherion blast, nearly fell back on her seat, but Elfman kept both her from falling, and Momon from being blown away entirely.

The ocean was split for miles, and the beach expanded rapidly from the pressure of Gorun's attack. The foreign girl now realized why the boy had been so nervous about using his power in this manner- if he aimed the wrong way, he might well have broken the ocean.

When the attack was finished and the light faded, the boulder that had been holding the pendant was nothing but vapor. The stone itself, on the other hand, shone with a red light while hovering in the air as if to mock his efforts, then dropped to the ground and ceased to glow.

Gorun heaved a giant breath of both relief and disappointment as he released his transformation, his hair darkening to black and falling back to frame his face. "Told you that wouldn't work," he muttered as he walked over to them, holding the stone out for Éclair to take.

"You didn't use Super Saiyan 3," Erza pointed out. "And the stone definitely seemed to react to your attack as opposed to Natsu's. Perhaps-"

"Erza," Gorun said sternly, his tone and body language brooking no further argument. "I will not be using Super Saiyan 3 again if I can help it. The form is dangerous not just for me, but for those around me."

"All right, calm down," Kinana told him firmly. "It wasn't a bad suggestion, Gorun, given what we saw." The boy let out another sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose but did not voice another protest.

"Well, we tried," the redhead requip wizard shrugged. "Let's break for lunch and come back to this when we're feeling a little more rested."

"Aye sir!" Happy and Natsu exclaimed, giddy at the thought of getting to stuff themselves with Mirajane's cooking.

"Any luck?" Macao asked as Gorun and Romeo sat down to eat with the girls.

"Not so far," Gorun shrugged. "Though I'm surprised no one noticed me going Super Saiyan 2 earlier when I tried to break the stone."

"We noticed all right, but we figured that it'd be safer in here," the former guild master said with a nervous grin. "You didn't damage the town, did you?"

Gorun gave him an affronted look and asked, "Who do you think I am? Natsu?"

"Hey!" the Salamander shouted, indignant.

"Sorry Natsu, but he's got you there," Lucy grinned as she gave him a nudge with her elbow. Sitting beside her, at the table across from Golden Tail's lunch spot, were Éclair and Momon, both of them eating quietly. However, unlike the last time that the girl had dined in the guild hall, she was not surrounded by a tense, unfriendly air, but more an aura of quiet companionship. That wasn't to say that she looked totally at ease, but at least she didn't seem to hate everyone in the immediate vicinity, either.

Gorun was impressed- she and Lucy must have bonded rather closely through the girl's grief for her attitude to have changed in such a way. He thought back to what Kinana had said, about how everyone had a role to play in helping Éclair, and that Lucy's was to reach out to her emotionally. So what role do I play in her story? He wondered as he bit into his burger.

Explosions tore into the building, destroying the front wall in seconds, and sending wizards and debris flying indiscriminately. There was the sound of cannon fire, followed by more of the shockwaves tearing apart the newly-restored guild hall. When the second volley was done, a good quarter of the guild's headquarters lay in ruins, most of the damage being contained to the mess hall.

As soon as the dust began to settle, about a half-dozen people emerged from the debris, all of them looking incredibly angry. Others were dragging themselves from the rubble, but they looked more afraid than enraged.

Erza, Gorun, Natsu, Gray, Yukino, and Romeo immediately glared at their attackers, which they could now see was a group of four people. The man in the lead wore a black cape and had silver-blue hair, a blank expression on his face. On his right stood a tall, muscular man armed with a large railgun that he carried with seemingly little effort, in addition to several more smaller versions of the weapon hovering around his head and shoulders. To the leader's left, a blond woman stood, dressed in a pale purple dress, and another cloaked figure that was all too familiar to the members of Teams Natsu and Golden Tail.

"Who knew they'd be stupid enough to come looking for round two?" Gray growled as he finished pulling himself up, ripping off his shirt as he stood. "Let's show 'em what we've got, Fairy Tail!"

The others were about to echo the sentiment when a strong, carrying voice called down from above, "Stop!" Everyone, both guild wizards and assassins stopped where they were and looked up at the speaker.

Floating down until they were only a few feet off the ground in the space between the two parties, was a teenage girl with azure blue hair and eyes. She was slender, and wearing a martial arts uniform that matched her shoulder-length locks. Something about that uniform looked familiar to most of the Fairy Tail wizards…

"I have business with one of your members, before you all get back to whatever it is that this is," she said dismissively.

"Get outta the way!" Natsu shouted up at her, drawing her attention. "Either pick a side and fight, or stay out of our business!"

"Be quiet, little boy, or I'll snap your neck like a twig," the girl snapped, her eyes flashing dangerously. Again, something about her rang familiar with the fairies in the area, but none of them could quite put their finger on it…

Kinana's eyes widened, and she looked over at Gorun, who was now, of all things, hiding behind a pillar! She was about to call out to him when she noticed that he was very pale, and his eyes were wide with shock and possibly terror. He caught her stare, and shook his head in the negative ever so slightly. Not completely understanding, but trusting that he had a plan, she returned her attention to the girl floating in their midst.

"You would do well to avoid repeating that mistake," Erza growled at the newcomer, her body glowing as she engaged a requip. "Threatening a Fairy Tail wizard, in their own home, no less, is a mistake few live to regret." The glow faded, and she was wearing her Purgatory Armor.

"Hmph," the blue-clad girl snorted contemptuously before pointing a finger at Erza. Less than a second later, a blade of blue energy spat out of a magic circle of the same color and stabbed her right in her navel, piercing several organs and rendering Titania insensate.

The blade retracted, and the young redhead fell over, an ominous red stain spreading out beneath her as she hit the ground without even a grunt. Everyone in Fairy Tail froze in a mixture of shock and horror. Shock that Erza, of all people, could be taken down so easily. Horror at the fact that one of their most beloved wizards might have just been killed.

"That's your only warning, wizards," the girl announced casually, as if discussing the weather. "If Kaidon doesn't reveal himself in the next moment or so, it'll take the Super Dragon Balls to fix what I'll do to each of you."

There was a sound of thunder, and the pillar that Gorun had been hiding behind was suddenly in splinters. The sound repeated itself when his fist collided with her open palm, the shockwave generating a wind gust strong enough to force those still standing nearby to nearly lose their balance.

"I've always hated that name," the boy snarled, spitting furiously. "I've always hated your brutality in the field. I hated the rivalry you tried to create between us. I've always hated you, Azura."

The blue-haired girl's only response was to grin in a feral manner as the magic energy they were both giving off began to build up around them with alarming speed. All around them, wizards from both sides sensed that it would be healthier if they were not so close to the impending conflict, and so began to back away. Even the four assassins seemed on edge, unsure of what was coming.

"But now I've found something that I hate even more than all of that," the Saiyan boy hissed, his eyes flashing green as a golden magic circle appeared below his feet.

"What's that? …Kaidon?" the girl teased him, even as a matching magic sigil appeared beneath her own body.

"I really hate it when people try to get to me through my family!" He roared, his hair standing on end and flashing to life with a brilliant golden color. "Now see how far I'll be willing to go to avenge them!"

"And I hate cowards without the guts to face up to their own fate!" the girl shouted back, her own eyes flashing emerald as her now-blond hair stood up on end. The energies that they were casting off were now positively pulsating through the air, stirring up the shattered pieces of the guild hall anew.

Two Super Saiyans had awoken and things were about to get messy.

"This chick's like Gorun?!" Gray shouted, his eyes wide. "How do we fight against something like that?!"

"We don't!" Kinana shouted while she and Yukino carried Erza away from the oncoming storm. They had moved to retrieve her while the intruders were distracted by Gorun's explosive entrance. The S-class wizard was alive, though just barely.

"Wendy, keep her stable!" the purple-haired barmaid called to the dragon slayer, who nodded as she rushed over to help. "I'll go get a senzu bean from Gorun's house!"

"I'll do what I can, but you need to hurry!" the little girl shouted back. "I don't know how long I can keep her alive!" Kinana nodded and took flight, zooming away from the wreckage as fast as she could.

Meanwhile, Gorun and his adversary were in a deadlock, each one trying to outmuscle the other. "You were always weaker than me, despite the fact that I never trained as hard as you," Gorun taunted her. "And ever since I came here, I've become strong in ways you could never understand. I don't know how or why you came here, but you really stepped in it this time, Azura! I'll make you PAY!"

With that, he worked his way past her block, and kicked her up into the stratosphere, zooming after her less than a second later, his eyes blazing with hatred.

"Azura?" Romeo repeated to himself. Isn't that the girl he said he was afraid of?! What's she doing here?! I thought Gorun said that-

"Heads up, we still got these guys to deal with!" Gray shouted, calling everyone's attention back to the other four intruders. He slammed his hands together as he prepared to cast his magic in defense of his home and friends.

"Bring it on!" Natsu bellowed, his fists blazing. "These jerks got me all fired up!"

Gorun: I will mount your head on my fireplace!

Mataras: That's only if you catch me!

Saiki: What a pain. They've been at this for weeks.

Azura: Do you think it'll speed things up if I knock them on their faces?

Saiki: Perhaps, but I doubt that Gorun will take kindly to your intrusion.

Azura: Probably, but what do I care? I've already done that.

Saiki: True, but I think Mataras wants us to do the announcements while he's busy dealing with Gorun.

Azura: I am not going to-

Saiki: Next time on Saiyan Tail- Super Saiyan Showdown.

Azura: Now that's something I can look forward to! Come back next month to watch me kick the crap out of Kaidon!

Saiki: Be also sure to inspect the new bios that Mataras will be including at the end of each chapter preview.

Azura: They will include known techniques, equipment, and fun facts not revealed in the story! ...Wait, how did I get roped into this?!

Saiki: I learned to stop asking a while back. It's a massive pain.

Next time on Saiyan Tail...

"Says the one threatening to kill all my friends," Gorun seethed. "What kind of Saiyan tries to get a fight going through others, huh?!"

"We're only part Saiyan," Azura smiled coldly. "Guess that's just whatever part of me that's human coming out."

"There's nothing human about what you've just done," her opponent snarled, his aura flaring brighter. "And if you think you've become strong, then let me show you just how far you still have to go!" A golden magic circle appeared beneath his feet, crackling with lightning.

"Aha, so you did manage to get that far on your own," Azura nodded as the circle enveloped him in light and sent his power level even higher. "I'm surprised you could in a world that's so… lacking in adequate fighters."

"You underestimate them, it'll be your last mistake," Gorun replied as he completed the Super Saiyan 2 ascension. "Actually, no, that was underestimating me."

"Ha!" Azura snorted. "You really thought I would have come here if I wasn't confident that I could drag you back to the Time Patrol and have you answer for your crimes against it?"

"I am answering for my crime," the boy snapped, lightning dancing across his brow as it bent downward. "The Supreme Kai of Time herself sentenced me to exile, here on Earthland. You're not here to drag me back because doing so would be in direct conflict with her orders."

"You're a danger to the timeline of this reality!" Azura screamed at him, her own power level rising rapidly. "The longer you stay, the more the scrolls that record its history will be warped! As a Time Patroller, I cannot allow it!"

"It's not your decision to make!" Gorun shouted back.

"There is no decision to be made, by you or me!" she shrieked. "I will protect time, no matter what it takes!" A magic circle matching the one that Gorun had recently conjured appeared beneath her feet, causing his eyes to widen.

"You too?" he asked, even as he took a ready stance against her.

"Goku surpassed Vegeta, so why shouldn't I be able to surpass you?" she growled at him as her own body ascended to the second form. Her hair flew about more wildly than before and the lightning coming off of her body seemed especially thick around it. "Now let's see what you've really got… Kaidon."

"I still hate that name!" he spat as he prepared to charge forward once again.

Saiyan Tail Profile
Subject: Son Gorun

Saiyan Name: Kaidon

Age at chapter 1: 16 yrs

Current Age: 18 yrs

Conception/Author's commentary:

Gorun has been my attempt to basically make a convincing original character that isn't Mataras. He gets angry in battle, sure, but people that don't are far and few in between, a fact that is exacerbated by the clouding effect that Super Saiyan has on his mind. Outside of battle, he still has things that make him tic, but for the most part, he's a genuinely nice person.
I originally was going to make him the son of (Xeno) Raditz, but I decided against it, seeing as it would make Gorun a little too similar to MasakoX's characters, Ranch, Daikon, and Mooli. With that in mind, I decided to simply make him the child of the heroes from Dragon Ball Xenoverse 1 and 2. I did, however, make it my plan from the beginning to have him be a descendant of Chronoa.
In the first chapter, we see him described as having short hair that would have looked something like kid Natsu's hairstyle. I decided that I like my main protagonists with long hair, though, and now he wears it more or less like Mirai Trunks does when he ties it back. Why do I like them with longer hair? No clue.
Last thing that changed about him from the original concept is that originally, he was supposed to become romantically entangled with Yukino, which would in turn create a somewhat bitter aspect to the rivalry between the Fairies and Tigers. I decided against this because I also liked the potential of Kinana's character, and felt that it was largely wasted in the original Fairy Tail series, and she was more of a (romantic) match for a Saiyan who doesn't like overtly competitive and brash women.

Known Techniques:

-Instant Transmission
-Kamehameha
-Double Sunday
-Kienzan (Destructo-disc)
-Masenko
-Big Bang Attack
-Tyrant Lance
-Hellzone Grenade
-Makankosappo (Special Beam Cannon)
-Final Flash
-Dragon Fist
-Metamoran Fusion

Known Transformations/Enhancements:

-Oozaru (mentioned, not yet seen)
-Kaioken (up to twenty times)
-Super Saiyan
-Super Saiyan 2
-Super Saiyan 3

Equipment/Items used:

-Senzu beans
-Metamo-Rings (currently being held by Lucy Heartfelia and Yukino Agria)
-Potara Earrings (blue)
-weighted combat bracers

Accomplishments:

-Discovered a way to channel etherion with a single magic circle, as opposed to dozens, at the age of sixteen
-Became an S-class wizard at age eighteen
-Was part of the Fairy Tail team that took 2nd place in the qualifying round for the Grand Magic Games
-Tied with Jura Neekos in combat on the opening day of the Grand Magic Games
-Took first place in the Magic Power Finder contest on day three of the Grand Magic Games
-Was an active participant on the Fairy Tail team that won the Grand Magic Games
-Nearly managed to kill a dragon (Zirconis) despite not being a dragon slayer
-Founded and now leads a team of wizards called 'Team Golden Tail'

Stats:

-Power: 6/7
-Speed: 6/7
-Technique:5/7
-Intelligence:5/7
-Cooperativeness: 3/7

Fun Facts:

-His Saiyan name is a play on a 'daikon' radish, but also references his blood connection to the Supreme Kai of time. It is also a reference to MasakoX's 'What if Raditz turned good' series, as one of Raditz and Launch's twin boys is named 'Daikon'.

-His favorite meat is beef

-His favorite thing to do alone when not working or training is reading, specifically history or historical fiction

-He hates sour food

-He currently stands at six feet, one inch tall

-His guild mark is green, and is stamped on his right forearm

-His Meyers Briggs' personality is 'the Entertainer', ESFP