Author's note

Ok, a quick update about the Ship stuff. While Kinzo's partner has already been decided that doesn't mean I've decided who other people will end up with. For example, I have not decided who Natsu will end up with, or Laxus, etc. So feel free to tell me what secondary pairings you'd like to see. And I'm also always interested in what pairings you guys want Kinzo to have to.

It is set in stone But I'd be really interested to know who you think he blends best with and why.


The Greyhound Part 3: War of the Mind

Chapter 32

*Chomp* *Chomp*

The sound of metal being cracked and crunched rang through the room. And the sight of one Gajeel Redfox licking his wounds was evident as well.

Phrases like "Damn hooded bastard" and "cheap shot" could be heard between his bites as the man devoured pound after pound of iron.

He looked better than he did earlier, the metal doing wonders to get him back on his feet, but his stomach was in awful shape. No one could see it underneath his clothes but the area Kinzo had punched was nearly solid black.

The bruising had gotten worse after he arrived back at the guildhall and for a while, it was painful just to stand. Thankfully as he ate the pain dulled, but that doesn't mean was happy about being hit in the first place.

Seriously, what the hell was that guy? Twice now they'd 'fought' and twice now he felt like he'd lost. The first time around he was almost positive the man was toying with him. I mean come on, stuffing explosive lacrima in someone's mouth. Who tries that in the middle of a serious fight?

No, last time he was messing with him. But this time around… well his bruise was evidence enough that he'd taken him seriously. But even knowing that did nothing to better his ever souring mood.

"You're going to regret doing this."

And the blonde's commentary wasn't helping either.

Twisting himself to look at her, Gajeel saw the Heartfilia girl he'd captured, still tied up and laying against a nearby wall. Just where he'd left her. The difference was now her eyes seemed to be focused and she was running her mouth.

"I'm gonna regret this?" He asked after swallowing his last piece of iron. "Hate to break it to you sweety but I'm getting paid pretty well to take you to your old man. So no I don't think I'm gonna regret nabbing you."

She just chuckled "Heh, hehe haha, oh no not that. I don't think you'll regret trying to take me."

"No, the thing you're going to regret is picking a fight with Fairy Tail."

He just snorted at her threat.

"Ok little girl, I'm not sure if you've noticed but your guild is on the ropes. Your master is out of commission. Most of your S-class wizards aren't even willing to help you, and the members you do have are powerless against us."

"Fairy Tail stands no chance, they can't even lay a finger on us at this point."

"Fairy Tail can't lay a finger on you? Is that why you came in here limping after Kinzo was done with you?"

He paused.

"Kinzo? Is that his name? ... Heh, is he the one you're banking on?"

"Hate to break it to you, sweety, that guy may be strong but he told me himself that he wants nothing to do with you Fairies."

Lucy's response was automatic.

"For your sake, I hope you're right. Because if he does decide to help us… there's no hope for you."

"Gruugh! I think someone needs to teach you some manners." The dragon growled. "Iron Dragon's Club!"

The steel pillar hurtled toward the girl, but she didn't flinch. She could already feel the temperature rising. He was here, the person she trusted most in this world.

The wall behind her exploded, and a ball of fire raced in.

"Wha-?" Gajeel found his arm being blocked "Shit!" and soon enough he was being thrown backward.

"At a way Natsu put this guy in the dirt!" Happy cheered

"Untie Lucy." was his monotone reply. The flying cat was somewhat surprised by his response but did as he asked. He removed the ropes and then immediately started trying to pull Lucy away.

"Come on Lucy we need to go!"

"What? But we can't just leave Natsu here." The girl tried to protest.

"Just trust me, we don't wanna be anywhere near him when he's like this!" the feline said before picking her up and flying off toward Fairy Tail. Leaving the Dragons' sons to settle things on their own.

Gajeel had managed to pull himself back up from the ground, only wincing twice as his bruise was stretched.

"You messed up Redfox."

His attention was quickly redirected to the boy who'd sent him flying.

"Oh, the Salamander's back for round two huh? Well, I can agree to that. After all, there's not enough room in the sky for two dragons"

He had to jump back as fire erupted around him, nearly cooking his skin. The Pink haired brat was completely coated in the stuff.

"Let's not play around Gajeel."

He said while pulling something out of his pocket. The iron dragon nearly flinched back at the sight of a lacrima in his hands, having had a poor experience recently, but quickly realized it was merely a fire-lacrima.

"Hah! What don't you trust your own flames to do the job? Having some performance issues?" he taunted.

"I'm not here to talk or listen to your jokes." The fire-breather voiced

Gajeel only smirked "What you don't like making small talk? I had a great conversation with that trio from last night. I mean honestly, I couldn't get them to shut up. Every time I did something they just kept hooting and hollering..."

Natsu froze, and his eyes sharpened in a deadly fashion.

"... Especially that little half-pint, what did you say her name was? Levy right?"

"Ya especially her. She would always have something to say, and just couldn't keep her volume down. When I cornered them she tried to reason with me. And as I beat her teammates she tried to threaten me. It was actually pretty funny to watch."

Gajeel knew what he was saying would mess with his rival Dragon Slayer, that was the point. He wanted Natsu angry, because in his experience when people get angry during a fight, they also get stupid.

"She had every opportunity to leave them, run away and save herself, but she didn't. She just stayed right where she was and kept 'talking' to me. Not really sure why she did that, maybe she just liked my company that much hehe."

Bringing up team shadowgear had given the Dragneel pause, but mentioning Levy made him go pale. His skin started to turn a ghostly white, while his mind started to see red.

"But wait it gets better. After I had finished crucifying her friends I turned to her, and boy oh boy was she a pain to get up there. The girl just wouldn't stop squirming, but I managed it somehow. And after I drove my steel through her arms, after I nailed her to that tree, I told her a joke. Nothing crazy just something to break the ice before I left, you know."

Every muscle in his body was contracting ready to tear through this bastard's skull. To disembowel him and leave his entrails out to dry for what he'd done. For what he was gloating about.

"Sorry to leave you hanging, I told her. Hehehe, I didn't think it was that good of a joke but apparently, she loved it. She laughed so hard, hollered so loud, honestly thought she was gonna rip her vocal cords with how much noise she was making hehe... oh wait. Now that I think about it she probably wasn't laughing. I mean her and her friends' bodies had just been impaled onto a tree so."

He'd never felt the need to kill someone so strongly, and it was taking every shred of willpower he had not to give in to that erg. But Gajeel just couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Nah, you know what it was, she wasn't laughing... She was screaming."

*Snap*

At that moment something broke in the dragon's mind. Suddenly it didn't matter to him what other people might think of his actions, how Erza or Makarov would react, what the magic counsel would do in response. No none of that mattered. The only thing that did matter, The only thing that was important, was separating this prick's head from the rest of his body, and turning what remained of this guildhall to ash.

So in contrast to his ever-paling skin, his mind for just a moment went dark.

The fire lacrima in his hand dropped to the ground.

And all human thought left him.


Gajeel watched in barely contained glee as the Salamander fell further and further into his own rage. And he couldn't help but think of just how amateurish the kid was for letting him mess with his emotions so easily. After all, in the real world getting angry doesn't guarantee you a win, in reality, it just makes you sloppy. Which is exactly why the iron dragon was convinced this was gonna be a quick fight.

He ended up being right, it was a quick fight.

The Redfox watched as his opponent seemed to lose focus on the world around, and the lacrima fell from his hand.

Once the crystal struck the ground it exploded in a torrent of flames, blocking his rival from view.

And as the fire stole his vision he knew something was wrong.

His instincts picked up on it long before his senses did, and they were screaming for him to run. But he didn't understand why, that was when his senses started to register the change as well.

From the same place, his enemy had just been standing, came a wave of vial magic. It brought with it this sensation of fear like he'd never felt before. He wanted nothing more than to run from this place, to get as far away as possible, but his feet wouldn't move, and the oppressive aura coming from across the room wasn't letting up.

He could hear painfilled groans coming from just behind the wall of flames along with the sound of cracking bones and tearing flesh. Something awful was emerging just out of his sight.

In the end, he resigned himself to just watching how things unfolded, and waiting for the inevitable.

He didn't have to wait long.

The flames across from him having once been a bright crimson had shifted and were now much darker, having traded that orange hue for one that looked more like blood than any shade of red he'd seen before. It was captivating to watch the dark red move in whisps and flickers, the fire more alive than anything he'd ever seen before.

But quickly that life faded away and brought forth the sight of what he could only describe as the End of all things.

Natsu Dragneel, the once normal-looking boy had changed for the worse.

Starting with his skin large portions of it had been seemingly replaced with dark red scales. The jagged plates weaving together and forming a near-impenetrable exoskeleton.

from the tips of his fingers protruded savage claws, the weapons slicing through what remained of his own skin as he clenched and relaxed his fists.

Along the parts of his body still left bare of scales he was decorated in sharp tribal tattoos. The pointed black lines danced along his arms and torso, racing for his neck as they stretched toward his face. Coming to a halt as two-bladed points just under each of his now reptilian eyes.

His once onyx orbs were now yellow and slited giving off the appearance of a true predator. And those yellow eyes only stuck out more as they contrasted with his now pitch-black hair. Gone was his salmon mane, in its place rested a midnight covering.

From his back emerged what appeared to be the start of wings, but instead of flesh, they were only a collection of bone and cartilage held together by nothing more than ligaments and loose fascia. It was as if they hadn't had the chance to fully develop yet.

Finally, the last change Gajeel was able to take in was that of horns sticking out from the top of his head, their base covered by his dark locks. The horns appeared like that of a markhor, twisting out as the antler grew higher, before finally stopping at a wicked point.

In the end, every piece of the transformation came together like a vial symphony, and Gajeel's only thought at seeing such a monstrosity was to flee. But as the demon before him spoke and its awful voice rang out, it was made clear, that wouldn't be an option.

The demon's amber eyes started to focus, and as they moved in a far too calculated fashion to be human they finally came to rest on their target.

Its jaw opened and as sharp teeth flashed in front of him the beast began to speak. But when it spoke the sound that came out of his mouth was much closer to that of a creature of the night than the boy he was before. Even so, something both Dragneel and this monster standing in his place could agree on was their absolute hatred for Phantom Lord's Iron-Dragon.

"Black Steel, I promise, there won't be enough of you left to bury!"

The threat was proven real as the obvious build-up of Ethernano became all too apparent and all too oppressive.

"FiRe DragON'S- "

Gajeel was quick to activate his Scales but nowhere near fast enough to dodge what was coming.

"-ROOOAAARRR!"


Erza was alone, seated on a pile of rubble just taking in some calming breaths. Her shaking legs had settled and her worried mind was just a little more at ease. Today had been a very long day.

First finding Levy's team in the middle of the night, followed by their little scuffle with Kinzo.

Next a failed Raid on Phantom Lord where they had lost their master and were forced to retreat.

Patching up wounds, and forming a plan at the bar. Only to have a key part of that plan walk out on them. It still irked her. To some extent she understood the assassin's choice, but that didn't mean she approved.

But of course there wasn't even any time for a real break with all that, because the next thing she had to do was fend off a Jupiter Cannon.

Thankfully a big part of the blast was handled by the Spear Kinzo had given her as a parting gift of sorts. The more she thought about it the more she realized how much that gift had saved her.

She was tired right now, yes, but she didn't even want to think about what state she'd be in if Kinzo hadn't given her that Ace. And the more she thought about it the more she realized that Lucy's words might be true. Maybe he did actually care about how things ended here today.

She wouldn't go so far as to say that he cared about any of them on a deep sentimental level (Well, maybe Gray), but he did care enough to give her some assistance.

In the end she still didn't know what to make of the boy. He wasn't friendly, that's for sure. But after what he did to help Master and the other wounded today, maybe she should stop thinking of him as a liability or potential threat.

"If I make it out of this I'll need to talk with him."

"If being the key part of that sentence Ms. Scarlet."

As soon as she heard the voice she was on her feet twisting to look in its direction.

She locked onto a large hallway, but no matter how hard she looked she couldn't see into it. It was like the room itself was swallowing the light, holding the entire area hostage to the dark.

She could feel it though, something awful was coming. And in one fell swoop, the darkness opened up. Almost like curtains on a stage, it pulled away, revealing a sinister-looking Jose Porla.

His eyes had turned a solid black, and his grin promised pain, but most frightening was the cruel aura around him. Once he'd stepped into the room everything felt cold and she couldn't hold back a shiver.

"Heh, I'm impressed Ms. Scarlet. Lesser mages would have fallen to their knees begging for death. It isn't often that I meet one so young who can handle this kind of power."

This was just his presence!? This was just what happened when he wasn't keeping it all locked away? He was that strong that his latent magic could affect the environment and her to this extent?

Oh, she felt sick.

"Oh come now Ms. Scarlet, don't tell me a little pressure is going to make you run. Though I wouldn't mind, I'm not against hunting you down before setting your soul free."

He wasn't wrong, she had been considering running away, but that comment alone was enough for her pride to keep her rooted here.

As she prepared for battle the structure around them began to shake-

"ROOOAAARRR!"

- and a savage roar could be heard. The room's temperature returned to normal for just a moment. And the smell of smoke filled the air.

"My what an unruly Dragon you have." Jose commented with yet another smirk.

That was Natsu, there was no doubt in her mind, and she couldn't be more proud that he was fighting so hard for their family.

"Heh, I'll admit Jose you had me ready to give up a second ago. But how could I cower after hearing one of my allies do that."

"Oh? Well then, let's start shall we?" Without a word, not even a spell, Dark arms shot out of the shadows surrounding the room. Twisting and extending at different angles, all with the intention of grabbing her.

"Re-Quip: Black Wing Armor!" she cried before taking to the sky, arms of darkness close behind her.

These things were quick but she was faster, and she planned on abusing that speed. Circling around the room she made it appear as though her intention was only to dodge. But in the middle of a sharp turn she changed direction aiming straight for Jose.

The man didn't even seem to react to her approach, and as she swung her sword it didn't even seem to register in his eyes.

*Shink*

It was stuck.

Her sword was stuck mere inches from the Phantom Master's face. Stopped by a black hand extending from the man's own shadow.

"Heh, you'll have to do much better than that," He taunted, as she was blown back by another hand.

Her body slid against the ground and when she finally stopped moving she tensed, waiting for the inevitable. She wouldn't be able to escape the shadow's grasp.

But when she looked up, nothing happened. The darkness was still there but it wasn't chasing her. It was just waiting.

That was the moment she realized that Jose really was just playing with her. Like a child pushing their food around before eating it, that's all he was doing with her. He could end this at any moment, but he wanted to draw it out. He wanted to savor the taste.

"Come now Ms. Scarlet, I would get up if I were you. Because the moment I'm no longer entertained, is the moment your life ends."


His scales had melted off.

Let me say that again.

They hadn't broken, they weren't cracked, they had MELTED OFF!

That thing's flames took everything, he was lucky to still have his pants but that's all he had.

The air was superheated to the point it singed his skin. And as for the room they were in… Heh, what room? What used to be part of his guild's common area was now a collection of half disintegrated walls and burning floorboards.

His arms were heavy, legs were screwed to the ground, and his gut. Holy Hell, the previously fist-sized bruise was now extending up toward his sternum.

"Oh you're still alive? Lucky me." That dark voice rang out once again, though compared to the ever-shifting sound he'd heard before the attack the demon's current voice seemed far more stable.

Gajeel's eyes shot forward again, trying to find the source of the voice, but there was so much smoke.

He attempted to use his nose as well but that only resulted in smoke filling his lungs at a faster rate. He was starting to freak out on the inside. He needed to find this, this, this thing… but even if he did, what good would it do. He couldn't fight right now, he could barely stand.

Even so, what else was he supposed to do?

Visibility was low, and no scents could be tracked, but maybe he could sharpen his ears to listen for him. Focusing in on the sounds around him he started to grow conscious of their noise.

The sound of sizzling metal, and what he knew was a number of still lit fires eating up the wood. The cry of weakening beams as they struggled to keep the room in one piece. Even the sound of ocean waves crashing against the shore outside reached him. But there was no sign of the Salamander, almost like he had disappea-

"What are you listening to?"

In his ear, someone had whispered right into his ear. For a moment his body went stiff, but in the next the creature had used his serrated hand to grip Gajeel's face and smashed him into the floor.

The impact cracked the ground and knocked the wind out of him, but those were the least of his worries. No, there were two things far more important than his current discomfort. The first was the son of a Dragon staring down at him with a look that promised far more pain, and second was the feeling of the entire floor about to give out underneath him.

Shit, if this thing fell he'd be crushed under hundreds of tons of material!

And based on the way his attacker grinned as the structure shook, he knew it too.

"There's not enough room in the sky for two dragons, and I couldn't agree more," he mocked. "So to fix that problem… one of us has to fall."

Raising a hand he coated it in blood-red fire, ready to send his adversary to the distant ground.

"...stop...please." The Phantom mage managed to gasp out, still trying to breathe normally again.

"Did Levy ask you to stop, when you nailed her to that tree?"

He could only look back in horror as he realized he'd dug his own grave.

"Gajeel, if you survive the fall, consider your debt to Fairy Tail paid…"

"Fire Dragon's-"

"No no, wa-!"

"-Grip Strength!"

As the ground exploded and the fallen dragon was consumed by fire, Phantom Lord's guildhall began to collapse.

Dragneel moved quickly, dashing to a different part of the structure which was more stable, he didn't even bother to see what had become of Black Steel. But he knew the man wouldn't die, he was far too durable for that.

A strong leap pushed him through the smoke allowing him to land on the metal shoulder of Phantom Lord's Mech, and as he reached the outside, he breathed a sigh of relief relishing in the fresh air. Before dropping to his knees, and taking in shaky breaths.

Quickly the dragon's hands shot to his head and his clawed fingers started to dig into his own flesh as a skull-splitting pain shot through him.

"Araaaaa-aauuugh!" he screeched not realizing his voice was changing back as he did. In the moment he didn't notice a lot of things. For example, the young Dragneel failed to notice the dark tattoos decorating his body recceed into nothing. He was oblivious to the large horns atop his head and the claws in his hand retracting back into his body. He didn't realize that the scales which had replaced at least half of his skin were falling off and landing on the ground beneath him.

He wasn't aware that his once predatory eyes had returned to their warm and welcoming onyx color, or that his dark hair had once again changed to salmon. Through the pain, he didn't notice the skeletal wings fall from his back and turn to dust. He was totally oblivious to the fact that he now appeared like a normal human. But that was hardly what he was focusing on at the moment, no he was far more concerned about

"What the hell just happened to me?" he asked himself in a barely contained panic.

His head was fuzzy, it was so hard to focus. He was registering what had just happened but couldn't quite process it. He'd turned into some kind of beast that much he knew, but that was basically all he knew. The actions he took, the fight he'd just won, it was a haze.

Well, that's actually not quite accurate. He could remember everything clearly, but it was like he had watched everything in the third person. That's not to say he didn't approve of the actions taken either, no he'd attacked Gajeel exactly as he wanted to. It's just that it felt like he was watching a video rather than actually doing it himself.

God there were so many questions, the most pressing of which being, since when could he transform like that?

other questions flew through his mind as well, but the main one was "Should I tell someone?" should he tell someone what he'd turned into?

It's possible Mira or Elfman might understand what was happening, I mean their magic was all about transforming. Maybe Gramps or Erza could help him, they were pretty smart... No, no he didn't want anyone else to know, he would figure it out on his own. Act like nothing had happened for now and look for an answer in his free time. But he would not be telling master or anyone else about what happened.

Finally he breathed a sigh of relief, as the head ache left him and he made his decision. But something felt strange. While his head had stopped hurting he still felt uneasy, and as he tried to stand he could of sworn he heard cruel laughter coming from the back of his mind.


"Moon Flash!"

As the spell was called out Erza sent a sharp wave of magic from her sword heading for Jose.

The man didn't even bother to raise a hand as once again tendrils of shadow moved to protect him.

The Scarlet mage was tired, evident from her labored breathing. She wasn't sure how long they'd been playing this game, but she hadn't pulled any punches. Regardless, her attacks seemed pointless. It honestly felt like she was just wasting magic at this point.

The irritation and anger at being so helpless was starting to get to her, but her attention was quickly redirected as her tormentor started to speak.

Jose raised a hand to his face looking at the watch on his wrist.

"7 minutes and 28 seconds. I must say, I am impressed. Most people don't make it past 4 minutes but you, Ms. Scarlet, have been particularly entertaining. Even so I find myself less and less engaged as this goes on, so let's end things here before I start to grow too bored shall we."

Black limbs shot from the ground attempting to drag her down, but still she was faster. Forcing her wings to take her into the air, sadly her maneuver was all part of his plan. While she busied herself avoiding the danger below, she was unprepared for the ambush from above.

Ghostly hands shot toward her, and before she could react the Dark Magic pulled her from the sky. She struggled but, it was hopeless. Countless limbs fought against her already exhausted body.

She was pinned to the ground totally defeated, and forced to stare up in fear of what came next. All the while listening to the sound of soft footsteps growing ever closer.

Soon Jose filled her vision standing over her, and his cruel grin only widened when their eyes met. "Well Ms. Scarlet I do believe we're done, but I think there is a way for me to squeeze another minute of amusement out of you."

He simply chuckled to himself before raising a hand, and for the first time casting a spell "Shade Entanglement."

For a moment nothing seemed to happen but quickly the arms that held her down began to tighten their grip. Powerful hands started to pull her further into the ground, compressing her body more and more.

She gasped at the pain barely stifling her screams.

Soon enough her armor started to groan as the metal was warped from the Shades' strength. And when her own limbs began to feel the harsh pressure, only cries of pain escaped her mouth.

"Ahhhhhh!"

"Hahahaha!"

The two displayed vastly different reactions to her suffering, and as she looked up toward her captor she couldn't help but think of death.

She didn't want this man to be the last thing she saw. She wanted to see her team, her friends. Lucy, Gray, Happy… Natsu.

She couldn't stand to look at the face of her soon-to-be killer, so instead, she averted her eyes. Doing everything she could not to cry out again in pain.

The ceiling was the only thing she could look at instead. Rafters high up, and shadows covering most of it. The only notable feature being what looked like a glowing red dot. She watched for only a moment entrapped by the sight, and thankful for the distraction.

But soon whatever was producing that slight glow moved into the light, and shot down toward her.

Kinzo.

It had been Kinzo hiding in the rafters. The red glow coming from his golden eye. The boy shot down toward the ground, clearly aiming for Jose. An emotionless look on his face and a glistening blade in his hand.

For a moment she felt relief, glad that he would be able to free her from this pain. And once he had forced the Wizard Saint to back off she could get up and they could fight Jose together. With the two of them working together perhaps they could come out on top.

But as quickly as the thought occurred she realized how foolish it was. Kinzo didn't work like that. If he was attacking from the shadows like this it wasn't to get someone to back down, he wouldn't be forcing Jose to simply stop or be trying to knock him out.

No

Kinzo was an assassin. His only intention was to kill.

"No Kinzo, Stop!"


He'd found them, Erza and Jose. And just as he'd expected the girl was trying to fight him alone.

It amazed him just how stupid these light mages could be sometimes. Who did she think she was helping by throwing her life away like this?

Regardless it didn't matter, he was ready. Hiding in the rafters was his strategy, it gave him a clear line of sight on his target. A sword was his weapon of choice this time around. He planned on carving through the back of Jose's neck while he finished busing himself with Erza.

Which by the looks of things would be very soon. He had the girl pinned to the floor and was slowly making his way closer. When he finally came to a stop that would be the perfect time to strike, the perfect time to end this bastard's life.

Even so, he felt uncertain. Not about killing Jose, he was more than willing to do that, but about the Contract he and Makarov had agreed to. One of the requirements was that he not kill people otherwise the Contract would kill him. Though when he thought about it the actual language Makarov had used, it seemed like he was only prohibited from killing on jobs.

"... Do you Kinzo give your word to stay your blade, no longer taking orders from those who would have you take life?"

It seemed like as long as he wasn't taking orders from someone else he was allowed to do what he wanted. That would explain why he didn't feel the Contract telling him to stop when he considered killing Lyon back on the island.

Even so, he still didn't like it. Magic Contracts were fickle things the slightest offense could set them off. But he didn't want to just leave Erza there to die either. He'd already dragged himself this far, why pull out now?

Plus there was another part of the Contract he thought might even things out.

"... defend my 'children', and will you vow to never bring harm to Fairy Tail so long as this Contract is binding?"

If he was helping Fairy Tail maybe the Contract would let it slide. Regardless he'd already decided to kill Jose, and now was the perfect time to strike.

His back was turned, completely distracted with tormenting Erza. He would apologize for leaving her in pain for that long later. But for now, he had work to do.

With power, he shot himself down; and with precision, he moved to strike. Everything had come together. Jose was unaware, and his sword was lined up, all would be over soon.

"No Kinzo, Stop!"

Erza's shout reached his ears, and his anger towards her skyrocketed.

He had no intention of listening to the plea, but that wasn't the problem. No, the problem was she'd tipped off Jose!

The man was already starting to turn, but Kinzo was moving at breakneck speeds. And he was still set on hitting his mark.

*Bu-bump* It was within his reach.

*Bu-bump* So he swung the sword.

*Bu-bump* Steel met flesh.

*Bu-bump* And blood coated the ground.

*Bu-bump* Before a piece of his body fell as well.

...

"Damn It!" the boy roared in his head.

He'd been fast, but not fast enough. Porla had moved, reflexes saving his neck. So that instead of taking off his wretched head, the steel took his arm.

...

"AHHHHHHHH!" Jose screamed while holding the stump that used to be his right hand, watching as red poured from it.

"YOU FUCKING INSECTS!" He screeched all the louder. Quickly calling his Shades toward him and using the shadows to wrap around his wounded limb. The black mass acting as a tourniquet, stunting the blood loss.

Kinzo was furious. That was nowhere near enough damage to end the fight, only enough to give the man a real reason to kill them.

All he could do was glare down toward Erza. "You Stupid Girl!" he spat before grabbing one of her arms and dragging her away from a mass of Shades trying to crush them. He ignored her obvious signs of pain at the contact, far more worried about how he was going to get them out of this alive.

Coming to a stop he forced the girl to her feet. "You can stand." He commanded her.

"No my legs ar-"

"You can stand and you can fight! Because if you don't, both of us are going to die!"

She seemed to listen to his words as the next thing he heard was a shaky "Re-Quip: Heaven's Wheel!"

She was standing on weak legs, but she was standing nonetheless. And not a moment too soon, as another wave of Shades charged toward them. She prepared to dash away again, but Kinzo moved first, stepping in front of her. And as the attack approached them, he simply swung his sword.

As quickly as they appeared the Ghostly apparitions simply vanished, the magic giving them life having been absorbed.

She was happy for the protection, but Kinzo's still very irritated voice made her focus. "Stay on your feet, and stay mobile. Speed is life. After that just follow my lead and pick your shots carefully. I won't be able to save you if you overextend yourself."

She had to blink a few times. It hadn't really set in yet that Kinzo of all people had come to help her, and that he was saying he would keep her safe as long as she was smart about how she decided to attack. But she reigned in her thoughts and gave him a quick nod, before they started on the offensive.

The blade master moved first, approaching Jose at lightning speeds. The Fallen Saint responded with rage.

"Raaagh! Dark Pulse!" He cried, moving his left hand and releasing an explosive wave along its path. He watched in satisfaction as it closed in on the hooded boy approaching him, and almost laughed when he didn't make a move to stop it.

Kinzo waited until the attack was nearly on top of him, because now he was only a few feet away from Jose and because the attack was between them, the man's guard was down.

Pushing his sword forward it met the explosive attack, and as they touched it was absorbed. The previous spell the weapon held was pushed out, the unaimed Shade Magic simply fizzling out as the Dark Pulse came to rest in his sword.

With his hindrance gone and Jose's protection missing he pushed forward, intent on slashing through the man's torso.

But his target was quick, having reflexes befitting a Wizard Saint. He moved to the side, despite his shock at his spell simply disappearing. He had managed to avoid the sword thrust if only barely, but made sure to keep his eyes on the boy as he shot past him.

His back was open, and so raising his hand he intended to crush the now defenseless boy into the ground. But he forgot one important detail, that boy wasn't alone.

"Blumenblatt!" Came the cry of an experienced knight as she tried to strike him with dense magic swords.

He quickly moved to block her with his right arm, having replaced it with one of his Shade's hands, and once her attack was thwarted he went for the kill.

"Time to die fairy!" Driving his hand forward, he seemed to forget once again that she wasn't fighting alone.

Though that mistake was corrected as he felt what seemed like one of his own spells slamming into his back. "Auugh!" and the unmistakable sensation of his flesh being cut.

He threw the girl away, hearing her slam against the ground before twisting yet again to deal with the boy who was becoming a true nuisance.


Kinzo had timed it all out perfectly, and he was happy to say that Erza didn't disappoint. The girl delivered by stopping Jose from taking a swing at his back, and instead letting him stab the Phantom's back.

The first thing he did was send the man's Dark Pulse ahead of him. Watching with satisfaction as the attack collided with his form and he contorted in pain.

Next came the sword strike itself. He was aiming for a kidney, and was very pleased to feel his weapon cut through flesh.

But the sensation didn't last long. Once again the man's reflexes saved him as he contorted his body to get out of the way. And as the Phantom King turned he let loose a savage backhand with enough magic behind it to crack bones.


Jose was very ready for this boy to die. His description matched that of the person who'd been getting in his way since the start of his operation. He'd wounded Gajeel, stopped the retrieval of the Heartfilia girl, and now he had taken one of his arms.

Normally he would take his time to repay him for everything he'd done, but at this point he was content with just sending him home in a body bag. And so he forced a massive amount of magic into his hand ready to liquefy the pest's body on contact.

Even so, as his strike approached, the boy dropped beneath him; dashing back. So he was left to feel only empty air, and to hear the sound of something rolling at his feet.

He looked down quickly enough to see an orange lacrima resting on the ground beneath him befor-

BOOM!

A smokescreen and debris covered where the man once was, and all was qui-

"ARaaaaaAAAH! You treacherous little shits! I'll hang your lifeless bodies from my tower as an exam-!" The man began to rant but was forced to stop as yet another sword came close to his neck.

The boy had used the smoke to get close before leaping in. He'd missed but even so there was little Jose could do to counterattack. The assassin had jumped from one section of the smokescreen to another, still invisible.

He hunted for a moment, trying desperately to find the insect he intended to squash. But he was forced to turn back as he heard another assault coming.

"Re-Quip: Purgatory Armor!" From the fog Erza descended upon him, holding her spiked club high before bringing it down on his head. He was fast enough to move out of range letting the mace strike the floor, and he thought that would be the end of it. He figured she would dash back into the mist, out of reach where he couldn't find her.

… But she didn't… no she came in for another swing. And oh how it made him smile.

He didn't even bother dodging her strike, he could see this one coming with no obstructions to his view. And as she swung he just reached forward with his left gripping her face and lifting her off of the ground by it.

She was an idiot. Hit and run tactics would have kept her alive longer, but in the end her fate would be the same either way.

He was done, no more taunting, no more one-liners, he only wanted her dead. Which is why he didn't say a word and only started to squeeze. He would squash her head like a grape and leave the bloody remains for someone else to find.

In less than a second she had dropped her weapon and was crying out in pain, but it was too late for her.

At least it should have been.

From the smoke Kinzo emerged, sword poised to strike. And his target of choice was clearly the Saint's left arm.

Jose almost popped a blood vessel at the move, as it only left him with two options. 1 kill the girl and lose his only remaining hand in the process. Or 2 let her go and dodge, keeping his arm but also letting his prey escape.

With a growl he relented. Releasing the redhead, and pushing himself back out of harm's way.

The rogue reacted without a moment's delay grabbing the scruff of her neck and dashing away as the dust finally settled and visibility returned to all.

...

The girl was in bad shape but still standing, and Kinzo was no worse for wear. Just looking at the boy who hadn't taken a lick of damage made him angry, and also impressed him.

"Hahaha! Boy you would have made a fine Phantom Mage, and if you hadn't taken one of my arms I would probably have made you an offer. But not now, now you have to die."


As the dust settled and their opponent spoke Kinzo assessed their current situation. In his estimation, they stood basically no chance. He was just as fast as him but Jose had far more magic at his disposal. And the only reason he'd landed any hits on the Saint at all was because Erza was acting as a distraction.

There was no feasible way to win this in his eyes. Until he looked back at Scarlet, and a memory played out in his mind.

"Scarlet," he whispered. "You still have that spear?"

She was busy holding her head in pain, after almost having it fractured, but she heard his words. Nodding in the affirmative she quickly brought the weapon out of her storage space, watching as the metal surface glowed when she held it.

Her companion wasted no time taking it from her grasp and focusing again on the man trying to kill them. "This is our last resort." he told her in a hushed tone "Do you have any kind of ranged attack?" he asked her.

"Yes," she affirmed.

"Then use it, I'm gonna need all the cover I can get."

"What else can I do?" she asked weakly.

"Pray." And he was off.

Bolting toward the dark wizard, with a planetary-level weapon in his hand.

As he moved he drew his gun taking shots at any Shades that tried to get in his way, and occasionally sending a round toward Jose himself, just to trip the man up. They weren't supposed to do any real damage only distract him long enough for Erza to step in.

And just as planned "Re-Quip: Giant's Armor!" Dressed in yellow armor far too big for her body, and holding a javelin as long as she was tall, she took aim. Rearing her arm back and using all the strength she had left to rocket it toward her target.

The dark mage saw it coming and chose to dash back, avoiding the blade. And raising an arm to shield him from the dust and debris the impact had kicked up. That choice was a mistake, as threw the dust came a boy with black hair and a golden eye.


He could feel it, feel the power coming off the weapon he held. This thing had blocked part of a Jupiter Cannon and absorbed that power in turn. He knew what he had to do.

And so the moment Erza made him an opening he took it. Dashing through the tossed up stone and smoke he emerged. And when he was within arms reach of the soon to be fallen Saint he jumped. Throwing his whole body into the lunge, he pushed the spear forward until it was only inches from the bastard's face.

And with a flash of his own magic, the Phantom burned.

"DISAPPEAR!" and all faded to black.


Author's note

Okay, guys there you have it. I'm gonna try to get out one more chapter by tomorrow morning which should conclude the Phantom Lord arc. So let's see if I manage to pull that off because as of right now I haven't even started writing it yet. Yay me. Anyway, that's not your problem so just let me worry about it. Until then stay frosty.


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.

Abilities

(1) Enhanced strength, speed, and senses. - under normal circumstances, Kinzo can act like a normal human in terms of strength and senses, but when he focuses on a particular trait it can increase its effectiveness. I.E. by focusing on his sense of Sight, he can see more clearly at much farther distances.