Author's note
Ok Chapter 18 is here, and I promise the main character is actually in this one.
As a side note, I have had requests for extra fight scenes with Guildarts and Elfman, and interactions with the Spriggans. For Elfman, I think I'm going to wait until after Phantom Lord to do him but I'm not entirely sure. As for Guildarts, I think that would be a really interesting extra scene to write. The Spriggans are the only ones I'm kinda worried about because Dimaria is gonna be semi-plot relevant towards the end of the story so I don't want to give away too much. Though I guess I could do a kind of 'Mini series/story' focusing on the year he spent in Alveraz with them.
All that being said, expect the Guildart's fight scene in the next few chapters, and I'll probably do Elfman once phantom lord is over.
The Greyhound: Part 2, Old Demons
Chapter 18
When Gray woke up he was in a tent alone, and as he sat up memories from the day before flooded his mind.
Ur's ice, Lyon's insane plan, Kinzo's violent reaction, and finally taking a Snow Dragon to the chest. But even remembering all that there were still questions that needed to be answered. The chief among them being "Where is everyone?"
He asked the question while leaving the tent and a village girl happened to overhear it. "Oh, you're awake. The other mages are in that tent over there she pointed."
Following her finger the ice mage noticed something "Wait, where are we? This isn't the village."
" Oh that's right you weren't awake. The village was destroyed so we had to relocate," she replied while looking down.
So Lyon's lackeys actually did it.
"...I'm sorry"
"Don't be, no one was hurt since your friends defended us. The village can be rebuilt any time."
Accepting her words he nodded and made his way over to the much larger tent. Pushing past the cloth entrance he was expecting to see Natsu, Happy, and the Blonde he'd arrived with. That was not what he saw.
No, instead he was greeted by the creature that made up his nightmares.
Sitting with her legs crossed in a wooden chair. Scarlet red hair framing her all too serious face, was Erza. And she had already claimed two victims.
Her captives were completely immobilized. Lucy sat on her knees, bound in rope, and shaking in fear. One of Erza's hands resting on her shoulder. And little Happy, oh poor Happy. He was tied up as well but he was hanging upside down from the ceiling.
As the scared blonde noticed him come in she seemed to light up with the smallest spark of Hope. "Ah, Gray! Please hel-!"
Her plea and her hope died as Erza squeezed down on the girl's shoulder, letting her know she should really stop talking.
"Gray… where is Natsu?" the red-head asked him with steely eyes.
"... um, how should I know?" he asked back hesitantly.
"I was under the impression that you were here to bring them back." She pressed "So I would hope you kept tabs on your target."
Ah right, that was why he decided to chase after those two idiots in the first place. So much had happened in just one day that he'd kind of forgotten.
"Look Erza, I don't really know how to say this in a way that won't get me killed but… things have changed, and I'm not trying to stop them anymore."
She narrowed her eyes as his words,
"Am I to believe that you have jumped in with the rule-breakers? If so I will simply take you by force as well." She said while standing up and drawing her sword.
"… Erza don't you see what's happening to these people? They're being changed into demons because of what's going on here. How am I supposed to just turn my back on them?"
"That is none of my concern. I have been tasked with retrieving the fools who went against Master's orders." She said pushing her blade closer to his neck "And besides this quest has been sent to every guild in Fiore. Better to let qualified mages handle this."
Gray just grit his teeth before grabbing her sword with his bare hand, drawing blood but not caring.
"I can't just leave this to someone else. it involves my family so I will be seeing it through to the end. And I don't have time to wait for someone 'more qualified!" He yelled.
"So if you plan on stopping me then fine do what you have to. But know that the second we're back in Magnolia I'll be leaving the guild and heading right back here!"
"So go ahead. Do it! But at least aim here." He said while moving the point of the blade over his chest, aiming right for his guild mark.
She narrowed her eyes yet again unsure if he was bluffing and opened her mouth to respond when the tent flap shifted and in walked another familiar face.
Kinzo woke as the afternoon sun struck his eyes. His dreams were filled with screams and fire, but that was par for the course at this point.
The thought of his gun crossed his mind. It was right there at his side, and he was alone in the jungle. It could all be over right now, no more struggles no more pain, it could all just stop…
...
...
...
No, no not yet, not until Hades was gone.
He was fine with dying, but he was determined to look the old demon in the eye and tell him "You first." After that he would join the old man in hell.
Before he could really think about anything else the pain in his shoulder rocked him. Recoiling from the sting, he knew that needed to be dealt with now.
Re-quipping some bandages and a higher grade healing potion he'd made from one of his father's journals, he got to work treating himself. The potion worked wonders, causing a lot of the shredded muscles to reconnect before his eyes and the bleeding to stop.
Unfortunately the damage was quite severe so he wouldn't be at a hundred percent but he could still function semi-normally. He was combat-ready if nothing else.
The next step was to start wrapping bandages, and as he worked his mind wandered.
As memories of the previous night hit him he winced. Everything from the innocent people he'd hurt to the realization that in a way he wasn't any better than Hades. The thoughts stung, making him want to curl in on himself.
And then he thought of her, the person who'd brought all those awful memories back. Ultear. At first he was angry but then more memories hit and he thought about how he came to rest here against this tree.
"Erahhh!" He grunted in frustration while his hands racked through his hair. He ran, the woman had actually managed to get him to run away with his tail between his legs. He was open, vulnerable. All night while he slept she could have killed or kidnapped him at any time.
The fact that he had fallen apart so easily was infuriating. "Maybe I should find out when the next council meeting is and take her out- … No, I can't."
No, he couldn't kill her. Not her, not Ur's daughter. He would never be able to forgive himself. Then again he'd done a lot of things he couldn't forgive himself for.
He'd just woken up and already he was irritable, confused, and short-tempered. Ya, it was gonna be a great day.
Regardless when he finally stopped pitying himself and decided to move, he heard commotion to the south.
A couple hundred meter walk through the jungle presented what appeared to be a large collection of tents, all set up as a sort of makeshift village.
As he got closer people started to enter his field of vision, and they were… strange looking. Whole limbs were transformed, human flesh being replaced with scales or claws.
It was then he recalled that Lyon's crew were sent to wipe out a village. No time for that now though he needed to make up for all the daylight he'd slept through.
After questioning a local, he found out that the Fairy Tail mages were resting inside a larger tent towards the center of 'town' So after reaching the hut he pushed past the tarp and was greeted with an interesting sight.
Oh, Erza was here... great.
The girl and Gray seemed to be facing off while she pointed a sword at the younger boy.
The two paused to look at him.
The boy seemed hesitant to acknowledge him, but Erza being Erza just said what she was thinking.
"Ah yes, Master said you might be here," she spat with distaste. Guess she was still pissed about him bringing up Siegrain in the dungeon. Well whatever, he couldn't be bothered to care right now.
"Ya not exactly thrilled to see you either Red" he said dismissively. Instead turning to Gray and looking him over. He seemed a bit roughed up but otherwise fine.
"Any updates?" He asked.
Gray wouldn't meet his eyes.
"… Gray?" He asked again a bit impatiently.
"…Last I saw everyone was fine but I've been out for a while." The raven-haired boy said shortly.
"Ok, whatever your issue is, spit it out. We don't have time for this." Kinzo said.
Gray just glared at him.
"Whatever my issue is? My issue is you!" The ice mage roared. "Last night, you lost it and started attacking without thinking! Lyon almost died, I've never seen him in that bad of shape before!"
Kinzo had to stop for a moment... was he serious?
"You're mad because I was a little rough with the prick who's killing Ur?
"He's our friend, family even! We grew up with him!" The younger protested.
"He was our friend, not anymore. Not with what he's doing. And the only reason he is still alive right now is because we grew up with him!"
The two just kept staring each other down when Erza cut in.
"Alright I think someone needs to explain what happened last night," she said forcefully.
"That's none of your busi-"
"What happened was this idiot was having a normal fight until some guy on the sidelines hit him with something. After that, he just lost it."
"…gray," Kinzo whispered in warning.
"He yelled some woman's name, torched our friend, and took off into the jungle!"
"Gray. Shut. Up." The boy bit back.
"What was the name?" Erza asked skeptically.
"Ultear," the ice mage said quickly.
"GRAY!" The blade master finally snapped. Pushing the boy back. "It wasn't your place to tell her that!"
The Fullbuster just glared at him.
"What, are you gonna lose control again? Hurt me like you did Lyon?"
He could only blink at the boy's words. Did Gray actually think he would hurt him, the person he saw as a younger sibling? That wasn't gonna happen. Unfortunately Gray didn't seem to think so, and his next statement proved it.
"You know I think I get why they call you Greyhound now, it's because you act like an animal whenever it suits you."
Kinzo tried but he couldn't keep the shock off his face, unable to fully hide the hurt he felt at hearing his 'little brother' say something like that.
He wanted to respond, but Erza beat him to it.
"Wait Ultear? As in the councilwoman who came to your cell?" Erza asked accusingly.
Pulling himself away from Gray and resetting his facial expression he replied.
"Again it isn't any of your busi-"
"Councilwoman? How in the hell do you know a councilwoman and what does she have to do with last night?" Gray said joining in.
"What about-?"
"Tell me how-?"
"You better have an answer for-!"
...
Their questions and accusations continued for a bit of time until he just couldn't take it anymore.
"ENOUGH! I don't owe either of you anything!" Turning first to Erza he continued.
"I've told you already, I have the right to keep secrets just like you do Scarlet. Who that woman is, is my concern! And don't think I'll just roll over because you rat on me to Makarov. If he orders me to tell him then I'm fine with just dying right then and there. And I bet you'd like that wouldn't you?"
The scarlet-haired witch didn't quite recoil, but she certainly wasn't pleased with his words. Though she didn't get the chance to voice her displeasure.
As he finished with the girl he turned to Gray.
"And you. I would so much rather be an animal or a monster than a coward like you. Lyon was, no, is killing Ur. And here you are complaining about how I stopped him. What were you hoping for? Should I have asked him nicely? Agreed to disagree? Just walked away? Well if that's the way you try to handle things then enjoy watching everyone you care about die in front of you because you can't bring yourself to do what needs to be done!"
All was quiet.
*Thump-thump*
*Thump-thump*
*Thump-thump*
Still quiet.
No response? That was fine, in the silence he made his way to the exit. But before he left there was one last thing to tell the fool behind him.
"I'm going to save her whatever the cost. If you don't have the stomach for it then just leave. It's not like you've ever done anything useful anyway."
…
With the man gone Erza and Gray were left alone. Happy and Lucy could only watch on at the awkward situation.
The redhead was fuming but Gray was thinking.
"No, you're wrong. I'll show you there are other ways of doing things. It doesn't all have to be blood and steel. Especially when family is involved."
He would be given the chance to prove his ideals true as Erza spoke.
"Clearly this matter is bigger than a simple mission… go, do what you must," she said. And he was out the door.
Why? Why did he say that?
Kinzo was moving quickly through the forest on his way to the temple and mentally berating himself along the way. Why did he say those things to Gray? He knew why.
Because he was angry.
Angry at the boy for what he'd said.
Angry at Erza for prying.
Angry at Ultear for bringing up such awful memories.
Angry at himself for everything he'd done wrong in the last 5 years.
Angry that he was acting just like Hades.
Gray had called him a monster, claimed he was acting like an animal, and maybe he was right.
But what the hell was he supposed to do? He was a kid when this all started. And trying to go against Grimoire with all the connections they had was like fighting against the world. And the world fought dirty, so he fought dirty back.
He was just matching intensity, the same rules for everyone, that's all he did. He was fighting real evil, that's all he was doing was fighting back, so why was he the bad guy here?
Just because some stupid kids wouldn't get out of the way fast enough? Because a handful of idiots wouldn't leave their houses before they burned down? Because… because he dropped a building on… innocent civilians?
God, how had he let it get this bad? How had he let himself grow so cold to other people's pain?
He remembered crying when he was 15 after accidentally hurting someone. He remembered staying up late when he was 16 unable to sleep because his conscience kept telling him how awful he was.
But, over time those memories seemed less and less important. At some point, he had just stopped caring, and it took an enemy pointing that out for him to see it.
The truth is Hades and his minions deserved death, but a lot of the people he'd hurt didn't.
Uhhhh he didn't have time to be thinking about this right now he had to deal with Lyon and the Moon Drip before he hurt Ur anymore. And to make matters worse Ultear would be trying to get in the way.
Well at least the temple was in sight, and… is that Natsu?
…
Approaching the entrance he could tell that the person he saw was in fact Natsu. "What are you doing here Dragneel?" He asked, surprised the boy wasn't with his friends.
"Hmm? Oh, thought I smelled ya around." The dragon slayer said with a toothy grin.
"And I was just thinkin. They need this temple to do their ritual thing right? So what if they didn't have a temple anymore?" The way he smirked while saying that made it very clear what he wanted to do.
"Listen kid if you wanna go in there and tear shit up I won't stop you. Just understand that it won't matter in the end." Kinzo responded. His mind thought of Ultear's magic and how she could probably just restore the building to its previous state.
"Alright, I'm all fired up!" The pinkett shouted as he ran inside, seeming to ignore the older boy's words. And with a sigh, said older boy followed him in.
Several stories higher seated on a stone throne was a heavily bandaged Lyon. Before him was one of his servants, the dog man Toby. Of his three bodyguards, only this one remained. The wave user Yuka was out of commission from his fight with the Salamander, and Sherry… He didn't want to know what happened to her.
The girl was in such an awful state he considered just ending her life now. It truly would have been a mercy killing. But after hearing that she would be able to make a full recovery with time, he let things go. So here he sat speaking with his last servant.
"Toby remain on the roof and be prepared to start the Moon Drip ritual on your own. I am predicting heavy resistance tonight and want you there as a failsafe."
With a quick affirmative his guard left for the summit, leaving Ur's oldest disciple alone.
...
"Well well, it seems as though things have taken a turn for the worst, my lord." came a voice from just out of sight.
Looking up Lyon said "Come out Zalty, you know how much I hate your lurking."
Responding to the order the masked man revealed himself. Stepping out of the shadows and standing in plain view before the small throne. "As you wish."
As she approached in her disguise Ultear was drawn back to the thought of how she set all this up.
Finding out what happened to her mother was simple enough, the woman had practically become a local legend in the mountains for her sacrifice. And tracking down one of her disciples wasn't hard either.
Lyon was all too willing to melt Ur's body if it meant the chance to 'prove his strength' she almost laughed at the thought. I mean sure he was strong-ish and had a bit of a ruthless outlook on dealing with other people, but in terms of real strength, he just couldn't compare to a demon like Deliora or really any of the stronger wizards she knew.
He wasn't a powerhouse like Zancrow who could wipe out a village in seconds. He wasn't like her, someone who could manipulate and influence other people. No, he was just a puppet with a bit of strength.
When she called him here as Zalty that was supposed to be it. A way of hurting her mother by using one of her own students, but then she heard some rather interesting news.
Kinzo, oh sweet little Kinzo, was actually trained by Ur. That was when the thought struck her "why not turn this into a family reunion." Lyon was already here, and getting Gray to show up by tempting the Salamander with an S-class quest was easy enough.
Of course, there was Kinzo. She knew he was looking for information on Grimoire Heart so all she had to do was request for him with the promise of revealing a few secrets. He came quickly, and she was so glad to have him. Of course, Ur was here. And then there was her, the star of the show. Ultear the wayward daughter who'd brought them all together.
Years of planning had brought her this far and by the end of the night, everything would come to fruition. Ur would be dead, and Deliora would live. Lyon would be crushed and she would have success. Then there was Kinzo, oh how she wanted to see the way he reacted. It was always so interesting to see how the normally stoic man cracked, and she enjoyed making sport of him.
As she finished the thoughts, Lyon began to speak.
Contemplating his next statement he released a sigh before saying "I must thank you for your assistance last night Zalty. If you hadn't stepped in then I'm not certain I would have attained victory." This was a rare moment of 'almost humility' on his part.
Wait, is he really claiming 'victory' for last night? While most of his body is covered in burns and he knows for a fact that Kinzo had plenty of fight left in him?
Scoffing on the inside the shorter 'man' asked "Hmm? My lord, forgive me but I must ask. If you are uncertain of your victory against some boy, then are you sure Deliora is something you can handle?"
The man didn't have to ponder at all, his ego answered for him.
"There is no doubt in my mind that Deliora will fall tonight by my hand. Rest assured the boy from yesterday is simply a nuisance. I knew him in my youth, and he has always had an unorthodox style of fighting. Even so, I won't be caught off guard a second time."
Listening to the boy's words 'Zalty' couldn't help but chuckle in 'his' mind. The thought of Lyon actually beating Kinzo made her laugh.
"Even so my lord, it seems as though you were still quite wounded even after I drew him away."
This time he did stop to consider how he might answer.
"Indeed it was strange. He seemed to have access to some kind of Fire Mag-!?"
The duo halted their conversation as they felt the walls and floor beneath them start to shake before the entire temple started to lean in one direction. The whole right side of the structure had collapsed causing a steep tilt.
"What just happened?" The ice mage asked.
"I'm not entirely sure," Zalty replied.
As the words left 'his' mouth the masked mage had to jump back, feeling a burst of magic power coming from below them. And as 'his' feet cleared the area the ground exploded with fire. Once the stream stopped the pair looked over the edge and came face to face with the Salamander.
"Oi Kinzo! I found them!" the boy said from several stories below.
A few moments later his dark hair came into view, and the bladesmith glared up.
"Alright let's get this started!" Natsu shouted with excitement as he shot up several stories. Forcing fire into his feet he launched himself like a rocket.
Kinzo just stacked 3 Conversion Leaps, one at each story, and boosted to the top. Landing next to his salmon-haired partner for the day.
The moment the fire mage's feet touched the ground he was charging Lyon "Alright buddy time for some serious payback!" And the battle of the elements began.
Meanwhile, the other two combatants were taking their time.
"Why hello there Kinzo, how did you sleep?" Zalty asked.
"Can it, I'm not here to chat." Aggression lacing his words.
"Moe, but it was so fun to make you crack last night." 'He' pouted.
He wanted to snap at her, but he just couldn't. Not while "Ok, I can't take you seriously when you look like that."
'He' just chuckled.
"Well then. Why don't we find somewhere more, private."
The comment that would have been rather suggestive just came off as creepy due to her Zalty disguise.
Even so when she opened up a hole in the ground and jumped down, he followed
As he fell further and further into the caverns below he lost sight of her, and when he finally touched the ground the only thing in front of him was Ur's ice.
The time-witch had brought them back to her mother's resting place.
Doing a quick scan of his surroundings he didn't spot any signs of danger, which was unnerving since he knew Ultear was down here. Not only could he not see her he couldn't smell or hear any signs of the girl either. Even Talionis wasn't picking her up due to Ur's ice giving off so much ethernano.
After a few more seconds of nothing sticking out, he approached his master, placing a hand against her once more. Her glacier was so much smaller now than it was just yesterday.
Shaking, the woman of ice responded to his presence, though with much less fervor than the last time they'd met. She was weak, barely holding herself together. There was no way she could last another night of Moon Drip tearing away at her. Hell, he wasn't sure if she could handle another minute.
He wanted to change this, to bring her back. If she was here then she would be able to fix so many things going on right now.
She could chew out Lyon and he would listen.
She could help him apologize to Gray for what he'd said, and help him move past what the boy had said to him.
She could have stopped his world from falling apart all those years ago.
And she may have been able to explain what had happened to Ultear.
He was mid-thought when he heard the sound of soft footsteps right behind him, and he tensed when he felt two arms snaking their way around his torso. Pulling him tightly to another person.
"Beautiful isn't she?" He heard a familiar voice whisper in his ear. It was feminine and she was definitely around his height.
Well, at least she dropped the Zalty act.
"Can't you just feel the magic rolling off of her?" She continued.
"You're too close." He threw back.
Seeming to take his words as a challenge she squeezed him tighter "Oh I'm sure you'll get used to it."
Giving up he just sighed and asked "Why are you doing this?"
"Hmm? Well, you seem like the kind of person who's starved for physical contact, so I thought I'd help out. Why? Don't you like it?"
"Can you stop with the jokes for one damn minute? Why are you doing this to her?" He was trying really hard to keep his temper in check right now.
"Oh pet, we've been over this," she cooed. "It's because I hate-"
"I don't believe that!" He cut in with force. Practically shaking in her grasp. "I don't believe for a second that you actually hate her, what reason could you possibly have!?" Anger and confusion were covering him, honestly, how did this woman manage to put him on edge every time they spoke?
She remained calm, but while he couldn't see it the smirk had left her face. "She abandoned me." Was her answer.
Twisting his head so he could just see her, he said "Bullshit. She took in kids without a second thought. She'd never just abandon someone let alone her own daughter."
The girl just glared back at him "Yes she did take you three in didn't she. Maybe she wanted a boy? Maybe that's why she threw me away?"
"Are you crazy! Ur would never-"
"Sorry to cut you off but we're gonna have to finish this later!" she said as the sound of someone screaming while they fell became more evident.
Quickly she released her grip, pushing him to the side before transforming back into Zalty.
As he turned to meet her he was brought face to face with one of her orbs flying right for him.
Bringing his hands up in a cross-arm guard, he felt the sphere strike. It seemed to push him with more force than usual as it moved him back along the ground. His boots grinding against the stone floor, but eventually, the attack relented and he was greeted with the sight of a masked Zalty yet again.
His eyes wouldn't remain on 'him' long though as they caught movement and heard screaming to the right. He shifted his gaze just in time to see Natsu eat the dirt.
15 minutes earlier
The second Erza gave the okay Gray was already on the move. Brushing past villagers and moving into the treeline.
Not long after, the redhead and a now untied Lucy caught up with him and they moved together.
"What's the plan?" The S-class mage asked him, "I need more information before moving forward."
"We head for the temple in the center of the island. A man named Lyon is there. He's an old friend I used to train with, who's trying to do some bad stuff. Our goal is to stop him from using the moon for a ritual to melt a glacier at the bottom of the temple. That glacier is all that's left of our master. If it melts then a demon, like Lullaby, will be released." The quick summary was leaving out some crucial details but for now, it would do, she got the gist.
"Very well, we will stop this Lyon and-"
As she spoke they were ambushed. A large group of hooded figures surrounded them, distinguishing themselves from the surrounding jungle.
"You will not get in our lord's way again Fairy Tail!" one cried, and they pounced.
...
They weren't much on their own but when several dozen people were coming from all sides it could be difficult to deal with. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that the fairies would win, the only question was whether or not they could do it fast enough to stop Lyon before the moon rose.
"Gray!" Erza called, getting his attention. "We can handle this, move on to the temple, we'll catch up!" He obeyed without a second thought. If it were someone else he might have worried for their safety, but this was Erza. She could take on a small army by herself.
Busting past the blockade of people he was once again heading for the temple, and with each step he grew closer and closer to Lyon. "I will stop this, and knock some sense into you while I'm at it!"
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" - "Ice-Make: Ape!"
As Natsu shot forward with a hard right hook, his fist met only ice. Lyon was hiding behind one of his constructs. The Living sculpture of a gorilla had lifted its limb to guard, protecting it's creator.
It raised the other arm to smash down, but as it did the dragon slayer took a half step back.
The hit cracked the ground, and Natsu used the extended arm as a springboard. Stepping on the ape's limb and then its shoulder before jumping over the beast entirely.
flipping in the sky so his head was facing the ground, he took in a massive gulp of air. The ice mage's eyes could only widen.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Fire filled the room as it raced towards a very unprepared Lyon. Upon impact, it kicked up dust and a fair bit of debris.
Once that dust finally settled one could see the stone his attack hit was partially melted, the top layer appearing to be molten. That meant he had used enough power to do some real damage, but where was the ice prick?
Hearing movement to his left he was forced to jump to the right, avoiding a massive swing by the frozen gorilla from earlier. And as he turned to face the hulking beast he felt magic being used behind him. Twisting just in time to see a frigid sword coming down.
Now a normal person might have panicked in this situation but not Fairy Tail's resident fire-breather, oh no. He'd spent way too much time around Erza to be fazed by something like this.
So instead of flinching backward like 99% of the population would have, he just raised his hands and caught the blade between his palms.
His assailant seemed to be caught off guard by that response, dumbfounded that his surprise attack was so easily foiled. That moment of shock was all Natsu needed.
Heating up his hands with Dragon's fire and weakening the ice. After the weapon's integrity started to go it took no effort at all for him to snap off the blade's point.
"Heh, you're actually pretty good, I'd say you're around Gray's level." the pinkett complimented? … insulted? I mean it was Gray he was talking about so… probably meant as an insult?
"Do not compare me to that buffoon you oaf! I'm leagues above that useless fool!" the bandaged mage shot back.
Natsu was about to make another 'smart' remark when the wall to his right crumbled and in walked the man in question.
Gray Fullbuster marched his way towards the two, taking a spot next to his guildmate.
"Well if you think so highly of yourself why don't you prove your strength instead of just talking about it?"
Sneering at his fellow disciple he came back with "You, didn't I deal with you last night? Get out of my sight before I crush you for a second time!"
Gray just stared on, not letting his eyes wander from the boy. "Natsu, let me handle this one," he told his ally and prepared for battle.
Lyon was only a few meters away, he could cover that distance in seconds. His first attack would be Ice-Make: Ha-
"Not A Chance!"
His battle plan was shattered when he heard the hot head still standing next to him shout.
Looking at the boy like he was crazy he said "What do you mean 'not a chance?' I need to be the one to do this!"
Clearly, the Dragon's son didn't see it that way.
"I don't care about whatever beef you and this guy have! This is my fight! My S-class quest! Honestly, I haven't had a decent fight since we got here! But this guy can actually take some hits so no way am I giving him up. Find your own dance partner buddy!"
Gray was both dumbfounded and irritated at the same time and he was about to start laying into the pyro when he saw a large hole in the floor… one that seemed to go down several stories. The plan formed quickly in his head, and he put it into action just as quickly.
Pointing behind the boy he yelled "Natsu look out!" like clockwork, the dragon slayer turned his back, and once he did Gray wasted no time in planting a foot in his rear. Flame-brain fell right into the hole, and the mighty Salamander's feminine screams could be heard for a good half-minute as he plummeted to the temple's bottom level.
Author's note
Alright be sure to let me know what you thought, and feel free to make any other requests for 'side fights' / 'extra scenes' you want to see written.
Take care everyone.
Magic
1) Metal-Make Magic like ice make... but with metal
2) Speed Magic (Potential energy magic- p.s. I made this up so you won't find it on a wiki... I think.) so any time you see Conversion Leap (speed boost) or Kinetic Decay (stealing something else's speed and trapping it in place)
3) Telekinesis lifting things with one's mind etc.
4) Re-Quip no armor just items/weapons
Tools
1) His Revolver- Iron Maiden (two types of ammo revealed. Puncture rounds and Flashbang rounds)
2) The rings his mother gave him - can be molded into other objects and when spun together replay a recorded message.
3) The magic absorbing metal - He can choose to make his weapons out of this or other kinds of normal metal (iron, steel, etc.)
4) The Eye of Talionis - replacing his right eye, it allows the user to see magic (Ethernano)
5) Isacc Colt's journals - three journals belonging to his father
6) metal woven into his hair - this will not play a major role for most of the story but I may as well mention it so people don't forget.
