(Takes place between during chapters 20-21 of the Ridonculous Underdogs)
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"Since the beginning of time, before the event you have come to know as the Big Bang, there have always been 6 singularities, 6 forces of ultimate power. Then the universe exploded into existence with the Big Bang and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated physical forms each with a consciousness of its own. These beings have come to be known as the Cosmic Elemental Masters. Each being has mastery over one of the 6 elemental forces of the universe: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning and Metal. These beings are the most powerful in all of the universe and cannot be defeated by any normal being lest their existence be wiped from the face of the universe upon contact, and the only being capable of defeating a Cosmic Elemental is a Cosmic Elemental, or one with the powers of a Cosmic Elemental. Many eons ago, a great war was raged between the Daagons, the inhabitants of the cosmic ocean Varuna and their ruler Hiidrala, and Metallum, the Cosmic Elemental of Metal. With them were their greatest protectors, the Wind and Lightning Cosmic Elementals known as Tatsumaki and Kaminari. The two clashed in an epic battle that scarred the very universe itself, but before a victor could be decided Metallum betrayed Kaminari and attempted to take both their powers for himself in order to conquer not only Varuna, but the entire universe itself. In the face of this betrayal, Tatsumaki and Kaminari agreed to combine their power to face Metallum and end him, and in doing so they performed an ancient ritual known only to the Cosmic Elementals: Elemental Fusion, in which they would fuse into one new being altogether with both of their powers but at the cost of their fusion being permanent. With this they forged a new being with a new elemental force: Tempestatis, the Cosmic Elemental of the Hurricane. The battle was fierce and ravaged the universe, but the the end the battle was lost. Metallium was badly injured nearly beyond recovery but he had triumphed. With his dying breath, Tempestatis made a vow: even if it took him thousands upon thousands of lifetimes, he would see that Metallum would fall for his betrayal. However, that is not the whole story. What very few are aware of is that there are two other Cosmic Elementals who refused to take part in the war, two who refused to take sides because they were unsure of how the evolution or mortals would turn out in the end. These two were known as Illuminare and Tenebris, the Cosmic Elementals of Light and Darkness. As the war between their fellow Cosmic Elementals raged on and ravaged the universe, they had retreated into the shadows to observe how the mortals would react. They had wondered if the mortals of the lower realms of each universe were creatures that were truly deserving of the protection of the gods. I have observed the dealings than I would care to count. Mortals thrive, they quarrel, they perish, and they repeat this same cycle time and time again on an endless loop. At that time it seemed to me that for them to keep doing this would be the height of futility. I had even gone so far as to wonder what sense there was in protecting such flawed beings when they would consistently repeat the same tragic mistakes time and time again without showing any signs of developing, and ponder if it were to be more merciful on our part to put an end to such hopeless cycles once and for all. However, after the fated battle between Metallum and Tempestatis had at last come to a close and the mortals began to rebuild the remains of their civilizations across the universe, that was when Metallum appeared and offered a solution to their dilemma. They would pool their power into one point and create a warrior that was mixed of both light and darkness, intended to follow the spirit of Tempestatis for as long as he reincarnated through over one hundred lifetimes in over one hundred different races. Now the mission of the Warrior of the Hurricane has become much more grave, and if both Metallum and his warrior of darkness are not slain then the legacy of the Cosmic Elementals will be forever tarnished and lost to the memory of time."
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Adam's eyes snapped open as he looked around at the forest scenery surrounding him and the others, the portal closing behind them "So this is…"
"Correct, this is Tenrou Island." Aurora confirmed his suspicions "My informant lies deeper within the woods, when you meet him he will tell you what you need to know about the Dragon Cry."
"Well alright then, just tell us where to go and we'll take it from there."
"I'm afraid that there is no we, this is a journey that only you and Mike may take. This informant of mine is… special, and as a result only you may survive close contact with him. Not even I will be able to endure such a thing."
"So the whole Cosmic Elemental reincarnation thing makes me immune to his killing thing or whatever?"
"Yes, but Mike will only be protected by the effects of this." Aurora handed him a ring "This is a Ring of Obice (Latin for Barrier), created by the first Master of the Mystic Arts. Only with this will you be able to endure his curse."
Mike took the Ring of Obice from her and put it on "So where do we go from here, just wander through the forest until we find him?"
"That is correct, and now I wish you all the best of luck."
"You mean you're not coming with us?" asked Adam.
"I did say that I had the Big Bang theory recorded, and I have other arrangements to make after that. I wish you all the best of luck and await your return once the Dragon Cry is in your possession." and then she disappeared through a portal.
"Again with the priorities. Alright come on Mike, let's go." and so Adam nonchalantly walked off.
"Yeah, right behind you." and so Mike followed after him.
Cody, now alone with Bridgette and Alejandro, frowned in thought "I wonder…"
"What's the matter?" asked Bridgette.
"This informant that Aurora was talking about, I think I might have an idea of who it might be but…"
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Adam and Mike were wandering through the forest, the former quickly getting tired of the latter acting incredibly melancholy "Alright enough acting like Mordecai from Regular Show when he gets dumped, what's got you acting like such a goddamn p***y?"
Mike stared at Adam long and hard, then let out a sigh "Adam you and I have been best friends for almost our entire lives and there's something that I still don't get about you, how the heck do you do it?"
"Do what?"
"For as long as I've known you you've always put others before yourself, you've done things for other people that would drive most people insane all for the sake of helping others. You've always been so gentle and compassionate, yet so blunt and fearless, strong willed and determined, yet you've never thrown the first punch, never started a fight even if you were in a good number of them, and even when you do fight it's always for the sake of others and not for yourself, and that was before you got these crazy powers that make you into some kind of superhero. Aurora says that I'm supposed to have these anime and/ or comic book levels of crazy powers, but you know as well as I do that I don't have that in me. It's just not a part of who I am like it is with you, I can't be what you are" this caused Adam to stop in his tracks, his bangs covering his eyes.
"Mike, you and I have been friends since we were little kids. The fact that you would say something like that…" Adam's expression turned comically enraged "It makes me realize that you're even more r*****ed than Devin and Lindsay combined! It's like someone tried to make the guys from Clockwork Orange binge watch Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber music videos! No that's not stupid, that's just twisted!"
"Wh-What are you-"
Adam took a deep breath to calm himself down "Oh shit, man it must be all the Ethernano in the air. Man that stuff really messes with your head. Anyway to answer your question…" his bangs covered his eyes once again "I'm not perfect Mike , I've done a few things over the years that I'm not proud of and I never will be. When I fought Mal for the first time almost 5 years ago I tried to force myself to believe that I was fighting him just to save you, but deep down somewhere inside of me part of me was urging me on to finish the job for what he did to me." he pulled up his shirt, revealing his scars "Not just for these, but for what he did to my mom and my dad. I think Carlos saw that in me and tried to cleanse me of my hatred in any way that he could. When I first signed up to be on Total Drama so that I could help Cody win Carlos was pretty sick back then, and the day before I left he gave me something really important." he pulled out something very familiar.
Mike was quick to recognize it "That's like the necklace Alejandro wears all the time."
"It's a family thing, they each get a bull headed necklace when they turn 16. It's been a tradition in their family for generations. I didn't realize it at the time but he knew that that would probably be the last time that I would see him while he was alive and he wanted me to keep this as a sort of memento of him. It definitely worked, even while I was at war with Alejandro throughout the course of Total Drama World Tour I didn't try to get them to vote him off because I held too much respect for Carlos. Even when we fought back in Area 51 I didn't try to hurt him too badly because of that and I only fought when he threw the first punch. Now I realize that I wasn't just fighting him because of what he did to Duncan and Courtney, and to Gwen and Cody by extension, it was because of how he was disrespecting Carlos' teachings and everything that he believed in. I felt like I couldn't let that go unanswered."
"But you just were doing it to protect Carlos' teachings and try to snap Alejandro out of that mindset, that couldn't be helped."
"Maybe not, but now that Alejandro is one of the few people that I can trust with this secret I still feel kind of guilty about that."
"I guess. Plus there is those few times with the kangaroo back when you were in Australia."
"Hey that's an exception, that thing started!" he sounded indignant "Anyway things died down for awhile after that, at least until we hit Africa and all of that shit went down."
"You mean with Bridgette almost falling to her death."
"I was gonna say with Cody and the others being kidnapped by M'Baku or Terrae as we now know him, truth be told I probably never would've been able to beat him if it wasn't for Chef and I wouldn't have been able to take him down if I didn't have what I was fighting for."
"Not to mention that after that you saved her life."
"I never would've been able to if it wasn't for DJ. Anyway to answer your question Mike, I don't fight just for the sake of it. Training and working out all the time is honestly more of a stress relief thing or a hobby of some kind, but my real strength comes from my burning desire to protect the people that I care about. I don't see myself as a hero or a savior or anything because I don't think of myself as worthy of titles like that. I don't see myself as a fighter and I'm more than just a warrior, what I want to think of myself as is a protector. I just want to protect them and make sure no pain befalls them, no matter how much pain may befall me. That's who I am and that's what I want to do, make sure that nobody has to go through the same pain that I did because of Mal. But if there's one thing I've learned from being on Total Drama, it's that whatever burden you carry it's not one that you have to carry on your own. And thanks to spending all that time with Sir George I think I finally get it now. I'm a knight that wants to protect his kingdom and its people, and those that he holds dear. And thanks to getting the chance to fight Vilgax I can finally say this with confidence." he took another deep breath and spoke with pride "All of that stuff that I said about being scared of letting vengeance consume me, of failing to save my friend, of letting down the people that I care about. SCREW ALL OF THAT!" his Cosmic Knight form flared into life as he unleashed a mighty roar, sending a combined blast of wind, lightning and fire to the heavens above them "I'm not gonna sit around feeling sorry for myself any longer, Carlos taught me better than that! All of them did! No more doubting myself, no more fearing the what ifs of the choices that I make, no more living in fear and self pity! From now on it's non stop fighting and protecting until I know that the people I love are safe! I'm gonna keep working even harder than ever before, I'm gonna get so much stronger even the gods themselves will tremble, and when I do Metallum and whatever else is out there is going down! YOU HEAR ME?! I AM THE COSMIC KNIGHT!"
Mike watched him from afar, having backed away during his speech and tirade and smiled slightly "Looks like the super overconfident Adam that we all know and love is finally back for good."
"You're damn right he is, and he's here to stay. As for your question, don't think so much into that crap. I don't think about it, I just beat the shit out of anyone who tries to hurt any of my friends. It's that simple."
"It would appear that Aurora had exaggerated." that was when a figure appeared before the two of them, revealed to be a young man wearing a high-collared black and tan robe with gold trim, along with a large, flowing white toga draped around his torso. He has short black hair, dark eyes, and abnormally sharp canines "She said that you held doubts within your heart but from what I sense you have no doubts."
"Oh my damn… Zeref."
"Please allow our business to be short, I would rather not remain in this forest for much longer than I have to." this was followed by his curse killing all of the life within several feet of him, the exceptions being Adam and Mike "This is the fate of every living thing that I encounter, they all meet death far too soon. Still though, the fact that you two are in my presence yet still alive is quite impressive."
"You can thank Aurora for that."
"Of course, now as for why you are here I imagine it involves the staff that is referred to as the Dragon Cry."
"I already know what there is to know, I saw the movie."
"What?"
"Huh? Anyway what is it that you and her want us to do?"
"If you are aware of the events that have yet to transpire then you should be aware that Natsu will find a way to force his way into the situation, what he fails to realize is that if the full power of the Dragon Cry is unleashed then this entire world will succumb to utter carnage."
"So what do we do first?"
"Journey to the capital city of Crocus with your comrades and discuss the situation with his majesty, as you do you shall meet with Natsu and together you must destroy the Dragon Cry before the carnage can be unleashed. Also, do not inform him of your meeting with me or you will lose his trust."
"Well that goes without saying. Anyway I gotcha. Well see ya, come on Mike let's go." and so he walked off in the direction in which he came, with Mike following quietly behind him without uttering a word.
Zeref watched the two of them go and gave a small smile 'I suppose there is more than one who is capable of stopping me.'
"I'm not gonna kill you He Who Has Way Too Big of a Fanbase, just because I can do something doesn't mean that I should. That job belongs to someone else."
'So it does. The only question is, when will he at last gain the strength to do so? I suppose only time will tell.
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At the same time, with our favorite Dragon Slayer and his pet flying talking cat that might very well be on crack just like everyone else in the world of Fairy Tail…
"HELP ME!" Happy came running up the pathway freaking out "Natsu you've gotta help me, it's coming and it's gonna eat me alive!"
"What the hell is-" Natsu looked back and found a cute looking dog running towards them "Oh, that."
"That dog's looking at me like I'm gonna be turned into its lunch, it's totally scaring the crap out of me!"
"Yeah hold that thought." Natsu looked down at the dog and shot him it a dirty look, scaring it into running away.
"Oh wow thanks a bunch old buddy."
"Hey keeping you off of the menu is what I do." they high fived.
"So what's next for our year long training trip?"
"I… got absolutely no idea." cue the stomach growling "And now I'm hungry."
"I'm so hungry I see fish everywhere I look. Man even those guys that give that super cute but still super cut throat vibe!"
"What guys?" Natsu looked over and rose an eyebrow "Wow."
Sure enough, it was Adam walking towards him literally lighting up the skies with confidence thanks to his lightning powers, with Cody, Mike, Bridgette and Alejandro trailing not too far behind him "Looks like there's a storm coming."
"What's this guy's deal? He's crazier than Erza."
"First of all, no one is crazier than her. Second of all, my schtick as you failed to refer to it is f*cking with people's heads just to see how they react. You got a problem with that?"
"So you just screw with people? I approve, name's Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail."
"Call me Adam of Ocean Falls, the others back there are my younger brother Cody, my mentor's younger brother Alejandro, my girlfriend Bridgette and my closest friend Mike."
"Got your own team then huh?" Natsu's face fell "Yeah that brings back some memories of the good times."
"You say that like someone died- Oh."
"They're not dead, I just… I lost someone that meant the world to me to a really powerful evil dragon, I left Fairy Tail to train for a year so that I could take him down. What happened that day to Igneel, I don't wanna let that happen ever again." the two of them started walking down the path, leaving Happy, Mike and the others behind looking rather dumbstruck "And that was about three months ago."
"...I had the same thing happen to me too."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I lost my parents when I was only 8 and my mentor died in battle almost 2 years ago. I just never knew about it until recently, he was trying to protect me."
"Damn, that's rough. What was he like?"
"As close to perfect as humans can come."
"...That's super cheesy."
"Bite me lizard boy."
"Hey don't diss a Dragon Slayer you ass!" he paused, then let out a laugh "Well you're alright in my book dude."
"You too, so you've been training for a few months now?"
"Yeah, I've gotta get way stronger before I can face anyone back at Fairy Tail again so that I can protect all of them." then he lit up "So what kind of magic do you guys use?"
"Well… that's kind of complicated. To put it in simple terms we use a few different types of magic. I use wind and lightning magic and I recently learned fire magic, Cody uses a special type of Light magic, Bridgette uses water and ice Demon Slayer magic and Alejandro uses another type of light magic called Crimson. As for Mike, the main reason why we're here is to help him awaken his power."
"What he never learned how to use it before now?"
"...Okay I'm gonna level with you, would you believe me if I told you that me and my friends are from another world? I know it sounds insane but-"
"I believe it, I've actually been to another world called Edolas. Are you guys from there or something?"
"Not exactly. See we're not just from another world, we're from another dimension. There are 10 and I'm pretty sure that this is the ninth."
"Huh. So there are nine other dimensions of asses that I could kick."
"If that's the way that you wanna look at it then I say go for it."
"Alright! So what are you guys gonna do in this world anyway?"
"Well first we've gotta head to the capital city of Crocus, we have some important business to discuss about with the king."
"Oh yeah Crocus, haven't been there since the Grand Magic Games. Kicking ass, fighting dragons, time travel stuff that made my brain hurt, good times."
"I know. So you wanna come with us? You'd be a huge help?"
"Will I get a good fight out of it and some good training?"
"Yes, maybe and we can spar later."
"Works for me, to Crocus!" he took off in some random direction.
"Wrong way."
"I knew that!"
"No you didn't."
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Things were calm and peaceful with the current strongest guild in Fiore, Sabertooth, who had claimed this title once again after Fairy Tail had disbanded.
Sting on the other hand, was currently bored out of his freaking mind "I'm so… freaking… BORED!"
"Maybe you should try cracking open a book." Rogue didn't bother looking up from the book that he was reading "Power isn't everything Sting, you have to have the intelligence to use that power properly."
Frosch nodded eagerly "I think so too."
"See?"
Sting suddenly nearly lost his shit "What hell man, I didn't even know that you knew how to read!"
"Probably because you don't."
"Is that a picture book about cats?" asked Lector.
"It's called furthering my education, you should learn how to be more supportive instead of just being Sting's hype man all the time."
Frosch nodded "I think so too."
"Still though, things haven't exactly been interesting since the events of the war with Tartaros a few months back and that ended with Fairy Tail getting broken up like the beatles."
"You mean that one music guild from like 50 years ago?" asked Sting.
"Exactly."
"Yeah well you know what, screw it." Sting snatched something off of the request board next to their table "I say we go on a job."
"Let me see that." Rogue snatched it from him and checked out the contents "Well this does look interesting."
"What is it?"
"Looks like a long journey but it does have a large reward and who knows, it might be a good training trip like Natsu is supposed to be on."
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By now Adam and the others, Natsu and Happy included, had begun their meeting with the king of Fiore Toma, as well as his daughter princess Hisui, and he was glancing at Natsu every now and then "So before we get down to business I'm just gonna go ahead and assume that because of Fairy Tail not being available for… certain circumstances, you contacted Aurora and as a result she sent the rest of us here to fix the situation. Does that sound about right?"
Toma nodded "Indeed young one, I have called upon the assistance of Lady Aurora many times and I am greatly in her debt for all that she has done."
"That makes six of us. So anyway I'm guessing that this has something to do with the Dragon's Tomb hidden beneath the colosseum that you call the Domus Flau, correct?"
"Indeed, I recall that Natsu here and a small number of his fellow members of Fairy Tail stumbled across it during the Grand Magic Games years ago and I assume that Lady Aurora has informed you of the location. Such a place is quite sacred and frightening, where those brave dragons who had taken part in the war against the monstrous beast that is Acnologia had lost their lives to the creature now lay in eternal slumber. My ancestors investigated this location many times, they chose to erect the colosseum on the mountain above it to commemorate them and their sacrifice. However one hundred years ago a particular staff had been discovered in the deepest depths of the dragon's tomb."
"So what does that mean then, you think this staff was used by one of the dragons as a weapon of some sort?"
"More than likely it belonged to an actual human."
"Or maybe Acnologia before he turned into a dragon."
"That possibility does exist. Over the course of the years this staff has absorbed the residual sorrow and anger that lingered in the tomb from the spirits of those deceased dragons, so much so in fact that it took on a new crystalline form and become the staff that we have come to know as the Dragon Cry and it holds enough magic power to eradicate an entire continent."
"But it didn't become a problem until someone who's even more of a jackass than Natsu went and stole it thinking he could somehow harness its power?"
"That happened several days ago, it was taken by Zash Caine, a former minister of state of our fair kingdom. Zash is a wicked and cruel man and a follow of the dark arts, he once even attempted to overthrow me and my family."
"Yeah I heard a little bit about that, Aurora gave me a few details on this guy during the journey to this world."
"She was the one who stopped him in his tracks, one of the many debts I owe her. However before Zash could be made to stand trial his band mercenaries helped him to escape Fiore entirely."
"And that's just the beginning of how evil this bastard is I'm guessing."
Hisui nodded "That does not begin to cover the wicked deeds that he has committed, once he was granted asylum by the kingdom of Stella he slaughtered all of his men in the most brutal way imaginable simply to signal his newfound devotion to Stella."
"Killing his own guys just to prove a point, evil but not too bright. Sounds kind of familiar at this point."
Toma nodded "Indeed, and after he had unleashed a campaign of incriminating violence and blackmail he managed to rise up through the ranks in that kingdom as well."
"Sounds like whoever offs this scumsucker would be doing this world a favor."
"And now I'm afraid that this fiend controls the destructive power of the Dragon Cry, if he unleashes that power then countless innocents not just in this land but all across this entire world will lose their lives."
"And you want us to take it back from him before that happens."
"Precisely."
"Well you don't have to worry your majesty, not with us on the job."
"You have my thanks."
"But speaking of the Domus Flau I do have one request, I want you to let me and Natsu use it in a one on one match no holds barred." this was met with looks of disbelief from both Bridgette and Mike along with facepalming from Cody and Alejandro "How about it Salamander, you up for it?"
"You bet your ass I am!" Natsu bolted to his feet and started breathing fire "I'm totally fired up now!"
"So, what do you say."
"I know very well what your intentions are young man." the king shot him a knowing smile "I say fight to your heart's content."
"Thanks. So let's do it."
Bridgette and the others sharted a look 'I'm starting to wonder if Adam's newfound confidence is actually a good thing or not.'
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It wasn't long before the group had relocated to the Domus Flau colosseum, all but two of them having taken to the stands.
Adam stood with Natsu in the center of the ring, Ascalon still strapped onto his back with a smirk plastered across his face "You know you probably know that I've never been good at holding back in a fight so chances are you're gonna die in a few minutes."
"Oh now I'm totally fired up, you're going down you cocky son of a bitch." but despite the tough talk, Natsu was rather nervous 'Maybe this wasn't the best idea, this guy looks like he's only a little bit older than but I get the feeling he might be on the same level as Gildarts.'
"I know that constipated thinking look, you're thinking that I'm too good for you and I'm gonna kick your ass to kingdom come right?"
"What are you kidding? If anything you should be scared of me, I'm gonna kick your ass all the way to Edolas and I won't let up until I hear you screaming mercy."
"Fine then, mercy."
"Don't pull that Gildarts bullshit on me, I haven't even thrown a punch at you yet!" his hands were coated in flames "I'm coming for you Adam, I'm gonna earn that mercy from you one way or another and I can't wait to show you how!"
"Hey don't get me wrong Natsu, fighting you is an honor that I've been dreaming of for as long as I can remember." Adam drew Ascalon from its sheath "But on the other hand I also have this bad boy that I've been wanting to test out in a real fight, so show me what you've got!"
"As if you had to ask! FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!" in an instant Natsu let a flame covered fist fly, colliding with the blade of Ascalon and sending out a massive shockwave from the collision.
When the smoke cleared, it was revealed that Adam had stopped Natsu's attack without breaking a sweat "Now it's my turn, this is one that I've been waiting to try out." he dealt Natsu a sharp spin kick to the torso, sending him skidding backwards "You ready for a storm? Lightning Beast Chase!" he summoned what looked like a dragon made of pure lightning from a dark cloud looming over the colosseum summoned by Ascalon.
"Fire Dragon's IRON FIST!" Natsu fired off another fire fist to cancel out the attack, only to see another lightning dragon following the first one "Dammit you delayed one of them to try and psyche me out?"
"Nope." Adam blitzed behind Natsu and dealt him a barrage of sharp slashes all across his body, covering him in numerous cuts "Now for number two!"
"Same here! FIRE DRAGON'S TALON!" Natsu unleashed a fire enhanced kick at blinding speeds.
"Lightning King Iron Hammer!" Adam thrusted his sword forward and unleashed a blast of lightning from the blade, the blast blowing Natsu clear through the walls of the Domus Flau and down the side of the mountain "You done yet? I hope not, I have a crap load more techniques that I wanna try out."
"NOT EVEN F*CKING CLOSE! THERE'S A HELL OF A LOT MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM! FIRE DRAGON'S SWORD HORN!" sure enough, Natsu burst upwards high into the air and charged downwards towards the ground like a meteorite crashing down to the earth, and he attempted to deal Adam a skull shattering headbutt.
"Oh this is gonna be good! HYPER TORNADO!" with his body rotating so hard and fast he became a mini tornado, Adam shot towards Natsu in mid air and the two collided in brain shattering headbuts, the force of the collision shattering the walls of the Domus Flau and nearly causing the mountain itself to collapse.
When the smoke cleared, Natsu was left in a massive crater in the middle of the colosseum, or rather what was left of it, but he almost immediately rebounded, visibly injured but still with a smile on his face "Okay I've gotta give it to you dude, you're insanely strong."
"So are you, but that's just what makes this that much more exciting to me."
"My point exactly! FIRE DRAGON'S… ROAR!" he unleashed the signature technique of a Dragon Slayer and roared out a massive blast of fire, melting the shattered remains of the walls of the colosseum.
"Yeah this is one of the best days of my life, you really are amazing Natsu but that's just another reason why I'm not gonna lose to you. THUNDERCLAP STRIKE!" Adam thrusted Ascalon through the Fire Dragon's Roar and pierced Natsu square in the chest as he unleashed a power blast of lightning, the force carving a trench in the ground all the way down the side of the mountain as well as resulting in a massive explosion "You ready to go all out? I know you're still holding back, come on and show me what a true Dragon Slayer can do."
"You wanna see me go all out?! WELL FINE! Change Mode: LIGHTNING FLAME DRAGON!" the smoke cleared away to reveal Natsu, his body radiating an incredible amount of both fire and lightning, and almost immediately, Natsu charged towards Adam at blinding levels of speed "Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus: EXPLODING LIGHTNING BLADE!" he unleashed a massive blast of fire and lightning, engulfing Adam in a fire covered explosion that melted the remains of the colosseum even further. After the attack finally subsided into smoke, Natsu fell to one knee, panting heavily "Dammit this guy is insane, I didn't think I would still have this far to go. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised, it's not like I ever thought trying to surpass Igneel would ever be easy."
"Surpassing the master is never an easy task, but it's not the goal that matters so much as the journey you take to get there." when the smoke cleared, Adam was revealed to have sustained minor burns with his shirt in ruins, revealing all of his numerous scars across his torso front and back "Well that sucks, this shirt was a gift from my girlfriend." he blew a kiss to Bridgette up in the stands "Still it must suck to know that your strongest attack didn't hurt you."
"So what?! I just blew you back and I burned your smart ass!" he started laughing like an arrogant jackass.
"So you did notice. Well I've gotta give it to you Salamander I'm impressed, it gave me a real feel for you good you are and how good I am right now in comparison. You might not have defeated me but I think that's enough for now."
"SHUT UP! There's no way in hell I'm gonna give up after all off that, I'm taking you down one way or another! What's the point of fighting and all of this training if I can't even do that?!"
"...Yeah I figured you were gonna say that, I just wanted to gauge your reactions. But I say you've earned it."
"Earned what?"
"A glimpse of what the power of a Cosmic Elemental is capable of."
Venit aveus ille
O Messiah, O Messiah
"You possess unrivaled determination to win and a passion for battle that burns as brightly as the fire that you control." Adam's body began radiating an electric blue colored aura as he began powering up.
Yuduliya ~ Vele
Yuduliya ~ Vele
Yuduliya ~ Vele
Yuduliya Iyaliya
"In order to walk the path of a warrior and eventually reach the end of that path, there's one thing that you need to truly understand. Let me show you what that is, only when you understand this will you ever stand a chance of surpassing Igneel or Acnologia!" and so with a furious strain filled roar, Adam was engulfed in a massive white light and a force that shook the entire city of Crocus itself.
Feel it drawing nearer
An endless fear that takes you hold
Feel it getting closer
Revealing such an evil soul
Natsu found himself frozen in place, struggling to force himself not to tremble at the sheer power he was feeling coming from Adam "No… No way… How is this… He's as strong as Gildarts!"
I can't surrender at the turning point of destiny
Right now it's do or die; my life is on the line and I will not flee
By my power
Woah-woah, it's clear to me!
My spirit grows and I will face this demon
Woah-woah, with burning energy
The day of fate has finally come!
The light dissipated to reveal Adam standing there, his hair now a shade of electric blue with silver colored stripes running through it, his eyes the same shade of blue, lightning bolt marks appearing down his arms and legs with his body crackling with electricity "I really hope for your sake that you're ready Natsu, just remember that you asked for what's to come."
"You… YOU DON'T SCARE ME!" and so with a mighty roar full of determination, Natsu charged at Adam at full speed, packing as much power into one final Fire Dragon's Iron Fist as he was able to muster.
Adam took the attack in stride, but he didn't even budge, leaving Natsu almost entirely frozen in fear "So far I've shown you some of my lightning and wind attacks right? Well I did mention that I've got some newfound fire powers too, but I haven't even tried to use those yet." he held up one hand as a massive ball of fire generated above his palm "As a token of my respect and admiration for you and as thanks for not holding back, I'll do the same. But just remember, this won't hurt a bit. It's going to be painful as bloody hell. Cosmic… SUN!" he hit Natsu at point blank range with the Cosmic Sun, the ball of fire carrying him all the way to a nearby lake outside of the limits of the city "And as the finisher. Cosmic Flare!" he caused the Cosmic Sun to explode, evaporating the lake with the pure heat of the attack itself. With the attack at last subsiding, Adam turned up to the stands "Anyone wanna go sweep up his ashes?"
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Happy pretty much exploded from the stands "YOU JERK! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS! THIS WAS JUST SUPPOSED TO BE SOME STUPID SPAR, NOT A FIGHT TO THE DEATH!"
"Chill out cat, I seriously doubt he's dead. Any minute now he's about to intentionally burst up here with his Dragon Force blazing like a star shining through the night."
"Wh-What?"
"Natsu is a Dragon Slayer, and not only that he's a fire Dragon Slayer. I intentionally used a fire attack because I knew that he would absorb the flames, if I had killed him then I would've killed one of my idols. Besides, I never would've gotten a chance to fight someone using Dragon Force. Now the real fight is about to begin."
"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT IT IS!" Natsu suddenly burst back onto the scene, his body covered in dragon scales and radiating crimson colored flames "You really wanted to fight me in Dragon Force that badly? Well guess what asshole, now you've got your wish!" he burst forward at full speed, slugging Adam square in the face and kneed him in the jaw, blowing him clear off of the face of the mountain, with Natsu bolting right after him.
Happy watched with the others with tears still running down his face 'Natsu…'
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The battle raged on within the forests outside of Crocus.
"YOU'RE GOING DOWN!" Natsu charged at Adam at blinding levels of speed, dealing him an uppercut kick to the jaw "You wanted to see what a Dragon Slayer is capable of, and now you're gonna get it!"
Adam quickly rebounded after skidding back a great distance "Yeah that's it, now that's what I wanted to see! Show me what you've got Natsu!"
"FINE! IGNEEL STYLE DRAGON SLAYER SECRET ART: HIDDEN FIRE FORM: CRIMSON LOTUS: PHOENIX SWORD!" mustering every ounce of fire and power that he could muster, Natsu unleashed a devastating headbutt in the form of a streak of fire that took the form of what looked like a flaming sword, hitting Adam square in the torso and resulting in a massive explosion.
When the smoke cleared, it revealed Adam, now back in his normal form, floating in mid air and holding Natsu by the arm "You know we're both insanely lucky, if I hadn't used by Hyper Tornado at the very last second to counter the attack then we both would've ended up in pretty bad shape."
Slowly, Natsu opened his eyes and looked up at him "That was… all the magic power… that I had… and even after all this super intense training… someone like you comes along and blows me totally out of the water… like something straight from Gildarts… I guess that just proves… how far I still have to go… Not too shabby… for some dude from another world…"
"Hey fighting you was one of the greatest honors I could've ever dreamt of, to know that I can defeat someone as strong as you makes my own confidence soar to heights I never even knew existed."
"Well that makes one of us."
"Hey if I can surpass you then that means that you can do the same for me, it's a vicious cycle the two of us are stuck in but one I'm glad to be part of."
"Huh. I guess so. So now we've got this Dragon Cry thing to track down with this traitor guy and bring him in?"
"Either that or watch with snacks as the power destroys him because he's way too greedy for his own good."
"Where the hell is the Kingdom of Stella anyway?"
"From what Aurora tells me it's somewhere off of Ishgar, it's an island completely surrounded by cliffs and almost entirely cut off from the outside world."
"...Oh shit an island, that means that we're gonna have to take a boat."
"Not necessarily, I think I have a better idea.
A/N:
This chapter was a crossover with Fairy Tail, or more specifically the second movie known as Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry. I was going to save this for the final story of this trilogy, but I just couldn't wait to add this in because I love Fairy Tail so damn much! You see a friend of mine spent months trying to get me to watch it and I feel like a total idiot for not listening to him and watching it sooner, so I dedicate this chapter to him. Despite that though, I like to think of this story as a tribute to the fact that the final season of Fairy Tail started airing on the 7th of October, and let me tell you now that shit is gonna get good! Oh, and the final season started airing in English dub on the 29th of October so it's only a few weeks behind the sub, so that's not too bad.
Since this chapter was taking so long to write out I decided to cut it into two different parts made up of two different chapters, the first of which
I was never really sure about when Dragon Cry takes place chronologically in the Fairy Tail timeline so I decided that it would take place during the year after the Tartaros arc so that Natsu and Happy would be the only ones from Fairy Tail that actually appear.
I still feel bad about pushing Mike off to the side for as long as I did, so I added him into this chapter along with Adam, Bridgette, Cody and Alejandro, which is also meant to make up for the fact that unlike the original version, Gray, Lucy and Erza do not appear since, like I said, this is during the year after Tartaros, around the beginning of Natsu's year long training when they visit Mavis's grave.
As for who Aurora's informant was, my original intention was going to be Mavis but after watching a few episodes of Fairy Tail Zero, I decided that Zeref would be a better fit for the position. The dynamics and dialogue between him and Adam is something that I just made up as I went along.
The techniques that Adam used through Ascalon and otherwise are meant to replace the Dragon Slayer techniques are based on the wind and lightning techniques used by Gilthunder and Hower in the Seven Deadly Sins. Since this is actually the Fairy Tail universe and Adam and Alejandro not real Dragon Slayers I didn't want to start a big thing with Natsu over it. I would bother to have them explain it to Natsu about the whole thing with the Cosmic Elementals and being from another dimension but, as Gray put it, Natsu is an idiot so I doubt he would ever be able to understand any of that. Anyway long story short, I needed a substitute for Adam to use wind and lightning techniques, and so the Seven Deadly Sins was the most reasonable choice in my eyes. As for his new fire powers that he acquired in the battle with Vilgax, those were harder to find a substitute for. It turns out fire users with adaptable techniques aren't as common as wind and lightning users and the like (and when I say adaptable I mean techniques that could be used by multiple people with similar powers that I could adapt to my characters), so eventually I had to settle on techniques used by Yamamoto from Bleach when he used his Zanpakuto Ryujin Jakka (these will appear next chapter), along with techniques used by Escanor from the Seven Deadly Sins, mainly Cruel Sun and Pride Flare, renamed the Cosmic Sun and the Cosmic Flare. Oh, and as a little bonus, I added in some techniques used by Pikkon from DBZ that looked like they could be elemental powers, which include his Burning Shoot (Fire), Hyper Tornado (Wind), and his Thunder Flash Attack (Lightning).