Natsu led the charge, running swiftly through the forest with Erza watching his back. Both boy and girl mages hurried with beating hearts as Natsu's uncanny sense of smell picked up a smell most unpleasant. One he could recognize that he got a variety and exotic mixtures of – with hints of blood – while there was another, one that smelled old.
"Natsu, what is it?" Erza asked as she followed him in her armor.
"I don't know, but I do know one thing." He huffed as he jumped over a shrub. He pressed on. "Whatever is going on, it's got something to do with…him."
Erza caught the notion quickly. She knew who 'him' was, and if she was being personal, recalling those sharp teeth and menacing attitude left the knight more than a little unnerved. Remembering his dinosaur-like roar was icing on the cake of bitterness.
The redhead picked up her pace, nearly running side by side with Natsu. "Let's hurry!" She shouted.
"Gotcha!"
The two moved faster as their ears rang from the sound reverberating in the distance up ahead. It was a blood-curdling sound that clashed with another. Already, flocks in the trees left in terror.
The battle of dominance and survival had not even begun for the two animals engaged in the shallow waters of the river. Water splashed constantly as two beasts conquered space and continued their ground-gaining assaults until the other was dead.
The reptile and Craig had their sharp incisors sunk into them; Craig snapping on the neck while the predator was biting his shoulder. Both viciously snarled at the other, with screeching reverberating through the atmosphere. The carnivore and Craig backed off from their most recent bite war, their steps clogged by the knee-deep water. Both stepped anxiously in the water, circling around the other and hunched over. The predator and Craig circled with their anxious stepping above gravel in water stopping when they found footholds.
Their battle wasn't even a minute long, and already Craig and the carnivorous creature were bloodied. Craig's shoulder was definitely red, with his pants a little torn up from the toe claws that clawed his shins. The carnivore, however, had definite bleeding from Craig's monster jaws on its neck. Craig's biting was brutal, as skin was dangling, with red beginning to sleep slowly into the river.
Cana watched from the edge of the river, paralyzed by the battle of animals. She stared at Craig, crouched down as though she was gonna fall onto her large rump. "Craig…"
The carnivore shrieked out again, and Craig retaliated by lurching forward, exerting a far deeper roar that resembled a monstrous predator.
Both charged yet again, lunging with long and high strides through the river. The raptor jumped up and sprung down onto Craig, yet Craig leaned forward as its claws and teeth were targeted for him. He sprung up and tackled the raptor's abdomen, knocking it out of midair and fumbling back into the water with a loud splash.
The raptor hurriedly got up, shaking its head as Craig stomped and charged through the water. It turned its head just to see Craig towering over with a harsh snarl, startling it yet again and rendering it open for Craig to bring his head down and snap his jaws onto the snout. The raptor shrieked and moved its head constantly, churning water while trying to get Craig off. The beast howled and sneered as it could feel its snout bone take in intense pressure, making blood drip from the sides of Craig's mouth.
Eventually, the raptor raised its right claws up to its side, where it raked Craig across his ribs, grating grizzly claws sharper than axes into his flesh. Craig lost his hold as he hollered out in pain. As he felt agony, the raptor took a step back and gained footing, finding the chance to turn the tide and rammed into Craig's gut, throwing him back into the water with a violent splash.
Roles reversed, and Cana stared with wide eyes at the scene of sheer instinct. Craig wasn't even aware that she was there; he wanted to fight to the death with the raptor, yet what is compelling him? She never saw him so grizzly around the mouth and eyes. This was the look of a predator in the works.
"Cana!"
The shout coming from behind caught Cana's attention. The brunette turned her head to see Natsu and Erza running over another shrub and reaching the riverbank. "Natsu! Erza!" Cana exclaimed in shock.
"Cana." Erza said, showing equal shock. "What are you doing here?"
Cana shifted and pointed at the scene that was a literal bloodbath. "That."
"What's she talking a…bou…" Natsu trailed off, unable to finish as his shock severely overwhelmed him. Slowly, his eyes widened as he saw the raptor in the water staring and hissing as Craig stood back up, shaking his head and hollering back with a more hostile roar. To say the Dragon Slayer was baffled would be putting it mildly. "What the heck…?"
"I can't believe my eyes." Erza muttered. "Just what kind of creature is that?"
"I don't know, but Craig and it seem to be in a little struggle." Cana summarized.
Craig and the raptor went back on the attack, biting into the other once more. Craig went for the neck, biting hard as the raptor sank its sharp fangs into his right arm. Their skins were pierced, again blood spilling as water churned. They pivoted constantly to overpower and turn one another in their direction. Their hollering was beyond blood-curdling.
"Well what are we just standing here? Let's go help him!" Natsu began a charge into the river, but was halted by a gauntlet stretched out.
"Wait." Erza enforced.
"Wait, what?! Erza!" Natsu shouted.
"She's right, Natsu. Stay away from Craig." Cana enforced. "…he's in enough quarrel as it looks."
"Isn't he in trouble?! Just look at him! He's in a red river for crying out loud!"
"Natsu, this isn't our fight!" Erza exclaimed.
"What the-how could you say something like that?! This is Craig we're talking about, isn't he one of us?!" Natsu retorted.
"And that's precisely why we need to stay out of this." Erza's glare was dead set on the scene ahead, her intense sight stiff as a board as she watched Craig tussle and maim the raptor. "Just look at him. This isn't a fight of Fairy Tail…but of Craig and instinct."
"What? I don't…" Natsu looked back at the scene, paused in the moment of Craig and the raptor in a bitter quarrel. Both sides were dragging themselves to kill one another. The Dragon Slayer stared ahead with shock as Craig didn't at all seem like the man he was before…well, whatever he was anyway. The bloodlust on Craig's face as he was snapping down on the beast was a point made that if they were in fact ready to interfere, odds were that Craig would break their bones, along with their faces.
Ultimately, the Dragon Slayer began to see that while Craig is a loner, it was the best thing when it comes to these fights. A good fight was what Natsu loved, but a killing spree was not up his alley. "Fine." He huffed, gazing at the gross quarrel.
Ultimately, Craig was feeling his arm get torn into, but nevertheless he didn't stop. With all the jaw power and muscle he had, he tilted the raptor by the neck and shoved it into the river. The impact made the raptor let go, freeing his arm. The beast and Craig's head squirmed in the river, thrashing about until Craig eventually lost his footing beneath the bedrock, slipping into the knee-deep abyss.
The raptor resurfaced before Craig could. The reptile pivoted and swung its tail right into Craig's face upon gasping for air. The impact again knocked Craig into the water, slamming his left side into the unleveled rock.
Craig struggled to get up as he was momentarily beneath water, which was the perfect opportunity for the raptor as it pounced onto Craig in the river, snapping down onto his neck with vicious fangs. Craig roared out as his neck and oxygen was cut off.
"Cranky!" Cana shouted.
The brunette felt sore in the chest as she watched him regain footing. Despite his will to stand, the raptor still had a tough hold onto his neck. Blood gently streamed through the distilled water of the river, Craig struggling with a heinous shout and reserved for no assistance. As much as Cana wanted to interfere, she and the others knew that Craig may in fact tear them to shreds.
As the raptor snapped down onto Craig, he could still make usage of his sight. His neck felt great pain, his head getting light from all the blood he's lost. As he was caught in a disadvantage, he looked off to the side, where Cana was. When he saw the worried look on the brunette's face, it spelled out clearly what it meant.
He got that look a lot; the face of those who are worried, those who wanna be there for his life and wished to help. There were people who appreciated his hard work, and yet they may have been powerless and could only watch in horror. They didn't want him to die, and that was the same look Cana was giving him.
Craig's eyes sharpened. 'Not again.' Unable to stomach another blunder, he used his left arm and snatched the arm of the raptor. There was a struggle added on, but Craig hunched over didn't stop him from using the advantage of stronger iron grips. "Choke on this, you lizard freak!"
With a mighty turn, Craig's hold on the raptor's wrist completely bent over, bending it so hard and so fast that he broke it. The bones snapping was a clear indication. The raptor let its hold go and it hollered up to the sky in intense pain. Natsu could definitely feel his ears go sour from that shout. Craig arose back up, roaring aloud as his fangs went crashing down onto the raptor's neck. The bite was vicious enough to again make the reptile shriek. It lost ground as Craig trudged through the water, shoving it back until he finally let go, allowing the raptor a breather as it shrieked in accumulated agony. "You're a real piece of work." Craig raised a foot and kicked the raptor's lower stomach area, making it lurch back and clutch its stomach with the one good claw. "You may not belong here." He backhanded the raptor across the face, bending more bone from the impact as the raptor stumbled backwards. "But if you wanna ruin the present…" Craig trudged ahead, stomping through the water and quaking the ground like a large carnivorous dinosaur would. "YOU'RE DEAD WRONG!" He roared so violently that it sounded like a beast was ripping through everyone's fiber. Everyone watched in sheer shock as Craig's mouth was wide open and he brought his upper jaw down like an axe on the raptor's skull. He drove the large lizard into the water, a violent splash that was blue mixed with red flared. It sprinkled everywhere, and no one dared to flinch as Craig thrashed in the water, constantly flipping and churning the raptor. After a minute of hostile thrashing and flesh tearing, the water began to settle, and the results were in.
Cana went wide-eyed as Craig hovered over a corpse. The raptor was up against a rock, its head, skull, and neck completely bloodied and torn to ribbons. Its grizzled form was looked over by Craig, whose shirt was torn apart, revealing his unimaginable scars that covered his body, including the deep cuts and bite marks fresh on his arm. His face, mainly the mouth, chin, and nose, was drenched in red hot blood. He opened his mouth, letting a low growl escape. The growl shivered everyone's core as he pressed a foot on the raptor's abdomen.
Craig let out a violent roar to the skies, echoing for miles, a signal of his victory.
"What the heck…?" Natsu was at a loss for words.
Erza stared with vivid horror. "What is this?"
Cana said nothing, but rather she stared with horror and shock and Craig looked down at his defeated foe.
As Craig glared down at the dead raptor he watched as its corpse suddenly began to sparkle. Raising a brow, he lifted his foot and backed away from the monster. He, Cana, Erza, and Natsu all stared with wide eyes as the monster's body was glowing a golden color, the red in the water fading as the raptor's remains slowly disappeared in a glowing fashion. Once it fully faded away, Craig was left startled.
"It…disappeared?" He questioned.
"What?! Where'd it go?" Natsu looked left and right, but to no avail.
"It vanished…" Erza trailed off.
"Yeah…but look." Cana said. She referred to the blood stained on the rock and still on Craig. "Not all of it has left. Its blood spilled is still staining. That means it wasn't a projection nor inorganic." The brunette squinted. "But then what was it…?"
Craig had narrowed eyes, unnerved as he stared at the blood still set on the rock. While what just happened did linger deeply within his mind, he was still inclined to what he fought. 'The hell did I just kill? There was no mistaking it, but how was it here of all places?' He lowered his head to the water, washing away the blood all over his face. Stirring up the water and cleansing his face and body of offensive liquid, Craig turned towards Cana and the others, leaving the river as waterlogged as a dog.
Everyone stared at him, mixed shock and curiosity over what they've witnessed.
"Craig…what just happened?" Cana asked.
"What was that thing? Why did it attack?" Natsu asked.
"What's going on?" Erza asked.
Craig lowered his head, grunting as he felt a sore head. He ignored their questions while turning around to look back at the river, seeing rest if the raptor's blood wash away by a big splash against the rock. He was lost as he imagined a bunch of people and a lot of old fossils that he knew all too well.
"…a velociraptor." He muttered.
"A what?" Cana asked.
"A velociraptor." He clarified louder, looking back at them. "What you saw, it was meant to be extinct, millions of years ago. It was a dinosaur."
The three stared in silence, shock in the eyes and unable to hold back any surprises. They were all horrified beyond recognition, with Cana looking the most startled.
"A…" Erza's eyes widened. "Dinosaur?"
"You're kidding, right?" Cana asked. When Craig looked at her, it clicked. "…oh, right, you don't ever joke around." She despondently groaned.
"Look who's catching on." Craig huffed.
Natsu intervened. "A dinosaur?! What kind of crap is that?!" He shouted. "How can there be dinosaurs when they're not supposed to exist?!"
Craig raised a brow at Natsu, looking as irritated as ever. "Can it you bull-headed hypocrite. Why do you think people don't think dragons exist anymore?" He retorted. When Natsu didn't think of a reply, Craig got his answer. He rolled his eyes away. "Yeah, because unlike those overgrown lizards that lived hundreds of years ago, dinosaurs roamed Earth Land millions of years ago. There were hardly any traces of fossils around anywhere around the world."
"Fossils?" Natsu tilted his head.
"He means aged bone, something like skeletal remnants engraved into rock permanently." Erza said.
"Oh…" Natsu was silent for a few moments as realization was creeping upon him. At that instant, his eyes widened and he gasped. "Gah! What! You mean that what you saw was older than a dinosaur, and you killed it?!"
Craig looked away, disinterested. "Use that head. That thing lived millions of years in the past, not for millions of years." He stated.
"How many millions are we talking here?" Cana asked, putting a hand to her hip.
Craig looked quizzically up, as if pondering. He then looked back at Cana. "Tough call. Maybe 56 or 65 million years ago?"
"Gee, that's quite the gap. I can hardly tell the difference between so~ many millions of years." Cana sarcastically groaned.
Craig snarled, showing his sharp fangs.
"Wait, hold on." Erza interrupted.
"What now?" Craig said tiredly.
"Those these. And I also noticed something off about your attack style at times. It's peculiar as to someone such as yourself has almost all canines and incisors, with few teeth meant for vegetable churning." Erza recalled his biting prowess, and how he could roar like a dinosaur. "Your trudging is unlike anything we've seen, and your jaw strength is strong enough to rip into flesh. And lastly that roar…" Her eyes narrowed, suspicion crawling upon the Requip Mage. "Craig Crius, what is it that you are aware of about these creatures? How do you act like one?"
Natsu raised a brow and crossed his arms. "Huh? Hey, yeah, she's right. Why do you always roar and bite so much?" He demanded.
Craig again turned away, more annoyed than ever apparently. "Are you all that big of dumbasses? I thought you'd learn a thing or two from your…raid…on my brain." He most certainly did not sound pleased when he mentioned that. As he looked away, many could feel the pressure coming from him, though only mild. When he got no answer, he looked over his shoulder, staring at 'Brownie' as he would put it.
"…fine. Guess I've gotta yet another history lesson, to you children." He sighed.
As much as they wanted to rip him a new one, the two girls and guy remained silent as Craig lethargically went on over towards a nearly boulder with a flat top. He rest himself down, huffing and taking off his thin jacket, moving it up so that it covered the fresh wounds on his ribs, hoping to slow down the bleeding. He hunched over, huffing.
"You okay man?" Natsu asked. "You're looking a little, uh…pale."
"He's lost a bit of blood." Cana pointed out. "We gotta-"
"I'm fine, Brownie." Craig grunted, hands to his knee caps. "Just let me speak so I don't have to screw you over later." There was yet another minute of silence before Craig finally caught his breath. He was still worn out, yet nothing keeps him down from doing whatever he wanted.
Finally, after one more sigh of relief, Craig found his composure again.
"…okay, where do I start?" He began. "Eh…" He narrowed his eyes, looking stumped for a moment. "Okay then, let's start with this. You know from my history that I was mutated with a number of things, right? You know, stuff that gives you night-vision, see thermal regulation? Heat signatures? All that stuff."
"Uh huh…" Cana muttered.
Craig continued to look down at the ground, frowning. "Well in one of those mutations, I was infused with dinosaur DNA."
That factor alone was enough to make Cana and the other stop in their tracks. They stared with immense shock as Craig revealed one big news.
"Wait…of course, now that explains a lot." Erza exclaimed.
Natsu was equally as shocked. "You mean that you're actually part dinosaur?!"
Cana couldn't believe it…okay, she could, but it was still intense information to take in. Craig was freaky enough as he was. To think he was part dinosaur – a creature millions of years long-since dead – was defying all odds.
Craig slowly nodded. "Yeah, pretty much." He summarized.
"But…how?" Erza asked.
"Yeah, I thought dinosaurs were extinct as you said?" Natsu pointed out.
Craig put his hands up, feigning innocence for a second to cool everyone's heels. "Look, how the heck I became part dinosaur involves a number of stories that I don't have the heart to explain at the moment. Let's just say for all good intentions that my reasons were the 'cliché' kind that involves saving the world and busting up things for survival's sake."
Once again, there was a stiff silence that fell on the group. What was there to say after that brief explanation? Craig was part dinosaur. That explained way too much about him then.
Cana spoke up. "So, Cranky."
"Yeah? What?"
"So…what kinds?"
It was an open-ended question, in the case of Craig of course. He looked off to the side as he tried to think of the various DNA samples he's been infused with. It involved so many needles, and so many in all the wrong places as well. He began to recall the images of all those monstrous creatures he's endured long in the past. They all had such sharp teeth, and killer appetites.
"I was infused with too many. Tyrannosaurus. Spinosaurus. Carnotaurus. Gorgosaurus. Velociraptor. Tarbosaurus. Allosaurus. And I think Mosasaurus." He raised a brow while closing his eyes. "Case and point, all those big, powerful carnivores that ruled ages ago."
Natsu squinted. He looked to be concentrating hard. "Uh…I'm still stuck on that first one. Turbo-what now?"
Erza put a hand to her chin. "All those dinosaurs you detailed. They sound smart, if not powerful. If you have all those DNA inside you, then…"
Cana's eyes widened, the realization dawning. "Cranky?"
Craig looked at them, as though nonchalantly. "Yeah…" He craned his neck and gesticulated in an 'obvious' manner. "Isn't it clear? I was designed to be the world's deadliest predator. You'd think you'd stand a chance against someone who has a roar of a dinosaur, stomps like one, or perhaps has the jaw strength of a Mosasaur, or at times leaps and jumps like a Velociraptor."
Cana crossed her arms, raising a row. "So, you're basically a screwed up mess, right?"
Craig looked at Cana as though it was talking to a five-year-old. "Brownie, you have no idea on how superficial that scratch on the surface was."
Cana squinted. "Eh?"
"There was a brief time before when I interacted with dinosaurs, before I got all that DNA in me. I had to…take action, one might say."
"Oh please~, we have all the time in the world." Cana nonchalantly exaggerated. Craig of course snapped his jaws at her, proving his point of jaws and razor-sharp teeth for a reason. The brunet huffed while Craig backed away, remaining still as to make sure his wounds closed.
"So…?" Natsu rolled his wrist, insisting Craig resumed.
"Gotcha. Anyways…"
2 Years Ago
Stumbling upon confines unknown, Craig found his grounds met with the confines in the western side of the world, a side whose continents were a mystery, where technology had yet to be disclosed to the world. Another world brimming with mystery and turmoil. A world Craig was familiar with all too well.
Many didn't believe in the time machine, no, but if you have enough lacrima to power an Etherion Cannon and instead used it on a space-time portal, where did you think it'd take you? How far into the past could one go? These questions had no answers, thus Craig got himself in a mess with a research-military team that has cooperated to exploit where this would take them.
Of course when it did happen, they'd expect maybe another thousand or two thousand years into the past to uncover lost secrets. Only the problem was that they added a little too much fuel to the fire. They were instead back in time 66 million years into the past. Clearly way too much magic was used.
Lost in a primal world, there was maybe 20 to 30 guys who were lost in a world of jungles, odd climates, and worst of all, monstrous predators. The climates were bad enough, but the things they had to put up with were about the sizes of dragons roughly, only they had far thicker bone mass and superior jaws. Aquatic creatures and insects rivaled in size, including giant spiders and flying dinosaurs that can put a wyvern to shame.
There was one deadly catch no one could've guessed. The huge beasts were unaffected by magic it seemed. Magic was still in a primal state at this time, almost non-existent. No one had anything to defend, thus led almost all of them to fates most unpleasant.
With almost half the team succumbed to fates best left unsaid, this left a majority in the claws of a Spinosaurus. Fending with heavy machinery, the beast was still unable to go down. Craig of course had only the few sharp teeth and swords at the time. Still, they weren't much help against a monstrous dinosaur, especially given inexperience.
Eventually Craig was thrown off the Spinosaurus and dangled against some vines in the trees. When the Spinosaurus turned its body towards the guys on the ground, its tail swung and got Craig in the legs. With just that one casual turn, Craig let out a primal scream of pain, howling as the mass of the tail nudge shattered his shin bones to fragments. To add insult to injury, he fell in his legs, shattering them to unrecognizable lengths.
Later, the survivors of ten or so managed to escape, finding shelter and overlooked Craig as he was down on rock, biting and gritting his teeth so hard so as to not scream and give themselves away to predators.
"Hey, stay with us buddy! Come on!" A dark-skinned military man said. He was Surge, and he was pretty much the one in charge…well, second in charge. The higher up, Brute, who was more assertive and survival of the fittest, was lost in the Spinosaurus attack.
Craig's grip was heavy on the ground. He never felt so much pain, yet he felt nothing. Nothing, yet everything. It hurt, and with each breath, his legs flared with pain.
"Just look at that." Another guy said. "He's a mess."
"His legs are permanently shattered." Another scientist said. "Bones are broken beyond repair."
"Crap." Another said.
Craig grunted in pain, his skin becoming pale. "Great." He groaned. "Just what I needed-GAH!" He put a hand over his mouth, covering his shout to make it quiet. So much agony went on for almost fifteen minutes now. There wasn't any means of resources to fix his shattered bones.
A scientist looked unnerved as he stared at Craig. Slowly, he shook his head. "This isn't good. Healing Magic to the highest level won't even begin to fix this amount of damage." He looked towards the others, his gaze turning mournful. "I'm sorry…but Craig can't be of any help, not in the way he is now."
Surge glared at the scientist, his composure a mix of shock and disbelief. "What are you getting at?" He gestured to Craig. "You saying we leave him behind?"
Another morbid silence fell onto the group. It was a cold atmosphere that filled the open cave they ducked under. Despite the hot and humid climate, everything around them seemingly chilled.
Another military man began to speak. "M-maybe we can-"
"There is no other way. Craig is no good to us, if he can't fight or run, then there's only a handicap we need to discard to better our chances." The scientist, Nubleck, advised.
Surge confronted him with a hostile demeanor plastered onto his face. "Now what kind of crap are you talking about? Answer me!"
"Do you want me to spell it out for you? What I'm saying is obvious! We must move on without Craig." Nubleck stated.
Craig grunted again, trying to lean up without moving his lower body. He looked at everyone with an ungrateful look. "Don't count me out yet, you jerks-!" Another harsh pain that rivaled a chainsaw entered his lower body. His eyes dilated, using all his willpower to refrain from hollering like a madman.
"Damnit." Surge cursed.
"My point is made. We have to keep going. For all our sakes." Nubleck said.
Surge narrowed his eyes, glaring daggers at the scientist. "Listen here you filthy biology freak. I didn't come here, to stick my neck out so as to collect a little piece of data, and end up with only a third of us left. I did not sign up for this, okay?" He said it in a very slow, threatening tone, breaking sentences. "Okay, I need YOU to fix this."
Nubleck raised a brow. "Me? What do expect ME to do?!" He factitiously exclaimed. "I'm just as guilty as all of you! I don't know how to get back, nor how to fix this guy's jelly legs!"
Craig clawed at the ground, holding in the flustering pain. "Gnnngh…shut up." He grunted.
Surge looked down at Craig. "Hey, buddy, don't move." He advised.
"Shut up!" Craig shouted.
Another pressing silence fell onto the group of survivors. They all looked at Craig with shock.
"I…have an idea." Craig continued.
"You? An idea?" Nubleck questioned, albeit with shock and heavy sarcasm.
"Just can I already you psycho." Craig sneered, his tone startling the scientist. He looked towards Surge, a small look of exasperation and inquiry on his face. "Now look…do you guys remember that raptor pack we fought?" Nobody honestly wanted to recall it due to those seven or eight raptors knocking off two of their squad, but they did recall killing one, if not two, and driving the rest off thanks to Craig. "What if…we take what is theirs?"
Surge raised a quizzical brow. "Hold up. Are you saying to-"
"I'm saying…" Craig grunted for a moment, faltering. "…to get those raptor legs."
Nubleck nearly paled. "Are you saying, to just drag you back to that place, do a surgery on the spot, and take out the tibia of those raptor corpses?!"
"You have any better ideas?" Craig yelled. "You came here for some research, right?" He cocked his head, mocking the scared scientist. "Well now we get to do a little experiment."
Nubleck stepped back, slow shock surmounting him. "You…you're insane."
"Sometimes a risk is worth taking if you wanna get ahead in your short little life." Craig persuaded. He got up again, pain flaring as he felt his shattered tibia and other shin bones rattle in the tissue and muscle.
And that's precisely what happened. They carried Craig all the way back to the raptor corpses, while evading giant spiders it seemed and the large predators. When they made it to the part where there was thankfully a raptor still in one piece, they men shot away the scavengers while they proceeded with the bones. To Craig, it was the most painful experience in his life. If not ranked third or fourth. They used a scalp and cut open his legs right before his eyes. He had to stay conscious, which was even more gruesome to bare. The scientists all removed the shattered bones, each one flinching Craig, and they put the raptor bones inside. Craig barely made it through the operation, but they stitched his legs and he looked good as new…but walking was gonna take awhile.
They all hurried and escaped more predators, though some were still not as fortunate. Nubleck fell prey to a Tyrannosaurus. And what was left was Craig and Surge when a portal opened up, the present-day scientists finally fixed the problem after nearly three days.
Craig made it through, but Surge had to stop the monstrous carnivore heading their way. With a farewell, he armed himself with a grenade and the Tyrannosaurus snapped down, exploding them both, much to Craig's horror.
Cana stared with intense surprise. She was flabbergasted with what information had been spilled into her ears. She stared at Craig with intense surprise. "Cranky…what the heck?"
Natsu looked ahead at Craig, namely his legs. "You mean your bones…"
Craig shrugged. Nodding his head. "Yeah, you guessed it." He raised his feet off the ground, dangling his legs. "My legs are raptor bones."
Natsu's eyes widened. "That is…so AWESOME!" He screamed. "How come you didn't share that before?! It's like bragging you're an actual beast!"
Craig glared at him despondently. "It's because I am a beast, you pea-brained idiot." He retorted. "I was infused with all that DNA, so what makes you think that I'm even remotely glad I'm a bunch of carnivores in one body?"
"Uh, well…" Natsu fumbled on his words, trying to think of a reason. He of course took immense pride as a Dragon Slayer, bragging and boasting about it if and when he ever gets the chance. Yet when it came to Craig, he never boasted. Not even once. He never spoke of his achievements, or his genetic makeup. What made him pass through that one shield during the Essence raid was a good reason. The Dragon Slayer reluctantly empathized and backed off.
"Exactly. Why be proud of something that made you take away lives?" Craig veered away, staring at the blue sky. "You wouldn't know, but I hold nothing against you…for now. As for now-!" He tried standing, but faltered as he still had accumulated blood loss to deal with.
Cana stood up, astonished. "Cranky, what are you doing?"
"Stay still." Erza urged.
Craig bared his fangs, emitting a snarl as he'd rather not put up with them at the moment. He limped away from them, caught by Cana as he was about to trip. Cana looked down at him, staring with intense uncertainty. "Cranky, stop pushing yourself."
Craig looked up, staring blankly. "Whatever."
"Do you want me to drop you?"
"Go ahead, and while you're at it, just leave me here. I could use the peace and quiet anyway."
Cana looked away with what one could say be a small pout. "…just where do you think you were going anyway?"
Craig lowered his gaze, continuing to look blank as he stared at Cana's monstrous valleys that were inches away from his face. Any guy would feel pleasured, but Craig wasn't so easily amused. "Where else? To see if those nimrods are okay."
"Nimrods?" Cana questioned. "You mean the guild…oh."
"While I do hold offense to Craig labeling Fairy Tail as 'nimrods', he does uphold a reasonable argument. It's best that we see if these raptors in fact reside elsewhere." Erza pointed out. "Perhaps if we capture one, we'll find an answer."
Without any means of hesitation, Natsu sped off. "Well what are we waiting for?! C'mon! Fairy Tail isn't gonna check on itself ya know!" He blitzed off, rushing towards the guild in hopes it was okay.
Craig stared ahead, his head a little light from the blood he's lost. "Stop being energetic." He huffed.
Deep within the hills that overlooked Magnolia, there was something large that appeared to be off. It was tough to make out for anyone, but it had light refracting off it. Thus, one could describe as camouflage. Within the camouflaged vicinity, there were a number of windows that gave view to the forest that lied beyond the hills that led towards Magnolia in the distance. Dividing the windows in the black research area was a large screen, looking very similar to a radar monitor, a red signature suddenly disappearing. The numerous men in lab coats sat in their chairs, looking calm and collected as they typed away on translucent keyboards made of Archive Magic.
"Project B has been terminated." One of the scientists called out.
"Project A has also been confirmed disposed." Another announced. "Both simulations have been notified as erased."
"Retrieving the data and signal, ma'am."
Walking down a flight of silver stairs from an observation point of view was the one in charge. She was a slender woman with moderate curves. She had on a white skirt that went down just below the knees. She had a periwinkle tank top beneath a white lab coat. She had dark red lipstick on, with her green eyes complimented by her auburn straight hair that was cut orderly and clean to above shoulder length.
"I understand. Did we at least get the data and DNA scans downloaded?" She contemplated as she walked down.
"Yes, ma'am." One of the nearby scientists said. "The two data signatures have been coded and reserved within memory."
The head of the research team looked at the view if Magnolia with an unemotional yet seemingly stressful gaze. "Okay, then the field test was a success. The DNA reanimation program has been accomplished."
Many of the employees and scientists wanted to congratulate and pat themselves on the backs for their achievement, yet they didn't due to the strict atmosphere the woman had around her.
"How is the date modifier?" She asked. "Has it been able to affect magic?"
One of the scientists turned around towards her. "All the test subjects with Magic Power were halfway affected." He turned around, clicking on his board. "I am afraid the only effects the date modifier has as of yet are to alter physicality to that date."
The woman shook her head. "So…we can't modify to what extent?"
"Ma'am, the modifier's limitations are still strict. We can only seem to have physical memories of those with blood and-or magic with alliances to animals." The scientist showed a random Take Over Mage that was probably dead by now, where he stood frightened in front of a large alligator he used a Take Over spell on. Thankfully the video was cut off as the poor fool was cornered. "The lasting time it had was half an hour."
The woman let out a huff as she crossed her arms. Her fingers fiddled and she looked away with a thinking face. "Hmmm…okay. We should still be on schedule to have renovations set for the next month on the affects permanent. Today's test went well, so, let's gather up the data and just…"
Sudden beeping came from one of the monitors of the associate and he turned towards the head scientist. "Uh, excuse me?" He got her attention.
"What is that?" She asked. She marched closer towards the lone scientist, getting a closer look at his monitor. He turned back around and began to read the data script.
"Uh, we've just analyzed the complete data. You…might wanna take a look at this."
He skootched over towards the side to allow the head of the program to look at the monitor. There were two helixes, and below them two digital figures that resembles Weretiger and something reptilian. Her eyes narrowed as she was inclined to the raptor that was scanned. She stared, as if she was seeing completely of foreign object.
"That can't be…" She muttered.
The scientist raised a brow. "Can't be what?"
"That DNA sample, there's no mistaking it." The woman slowly stood up, getting away from the dinosaur image as she breathed in and out. She looked off to the side, her exasperation growing. 'That was a Velociraptor. That DNA is too clear, but…?' "Reroute those two sample origins. Who was it that we tested them on in this area?" She sounded so rushed, it was almost frightening. Everyone turned around and pressed keys on the archive screens. They all were hurrying to her orders. Eventually, the big screen in the center abruptly zoomed in on two beeping figures, where the samples of DNA were originally from the trial run. Two pictures popped up, revealing Elfman Strauss and Craig Crius.
When the image of Craig popped up, the head of the program stared with an intense level of shock hidden behind her sturdiness.
"The Weretiger DNA originated from Elfman Strauss' Take Over Magic. Elfman Strauss, second sibling in line of the Strauss siblings. Fairy Tail Mage. The unknown reptile DNA resided from culprit B…"
"Craig Crius."
The scientist talking looked up to the woman. "Beg your pardon?"
She slowly stepped in her high heel shoes slowly passed the others, slowly waltzing up to the large screen. She stared at Craig's screen, her shock continuing to rise. She stared with a quiet disposition, and yet at the same time, images of past events came across her mind.
She remembered the familiar face of Craig, and a bunch of fossils and dinosaurs roaring. She even recounted her authority, and yet Craig punched her across the face. The fact she recalled two giant dinosaurs quarreling was another aspect she recalled that left bitter scorn in her belly.
She swallowed, nervousness rising. 'So he's back.' She thought. "Well…I guess now we'll see who benefited the most from exploiting the past then." She turned around swiftly, marching back up towards the steps. "We're making a change of plans. We're heading into Magnolia. Follow that signature, and don't stop for nothing, until we see Craig Crius for our own eyes!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
AT that instant, everyone converted energy of their Archive Magic into funding the DNA and data of the men who were their guinea pigs and began getting images of gears and camouflage. They all pressed buttons like no other, hurrying with haste as their location began to react to the Archive Magic.
The camouflage outside faded away, revealing a white hybrid of a lookout research vicinity and a large van. It was perhaps what one may see as a vehicle that was a guild hall on wheels, only white, and equaled the size of Fairy Tail's guild hall. Atop of it was a symbol that many would recognize as the Magic Council symbol.
The woman inside sat in a chair high above the observatory where everyone controlled everything, and the vehicle traveled on its wheels powered by the magic that was its fuel. It traveled along the hills towards Magnolia, the head maintaining a calm composure as she remembered that scowling face all too well. 'Craig Crius.'
Here's a new chapter, hope you all enjoyed! I wanted to make it longer, but I figure under 8K for once after a long while would suite to be a nice breather. Of course that means there'll be more to squeeze in next chapter. Still, hope you all loved Craig's revelation of another mutation he went through. Review as always and thanks!