Chapter 6
The light was blinding, everyone had to turn away and try to block it out, the only exception was Lord Death who was watching the light carefully, whispering to himself "could the legend be true?" Then the light began to recede, eventually the wizards were able to watch as it receded further and further, until only one figure was visible, Natsu. Happy was gone and Natsu wasn't the same as before, the clothes he had been wearing had been replaced by a suit of armour, it was red in colour and was adorned with gold images, which if looked at carefully appeared to be drawings of fire and dragons and fire. Then there was the back, it had a pair of red metallic wings that would've looked like they were made of feathers if they weren't so close. Being an equip mage herself, Erza could tell just by looking that this armour was incredibly strong, incredibly light and just as manuverable as his normal clothes, in fact she was a little jealous of his new armour. Natsu had started looking around shouting "HAPPY!? HAPPY!? WHERE ARE YOU?" Suddenly they heard a weak response, "N-N-Natsu? I feel really weird." It was Happy's voice, but it was distorted and sort of metallic, almost like Cal's was in his sword form. That's when Lucy realised, her eyes widened and she turned to Cal who nodded knowing what she was thinking, Happy had transformed into the armour.
Lucy walked over to Natsu who was still frantically looking and shouting for Happy. "It's alright Natsu" she said reassuringly, she placed her hand on Natsu's chest plate and gently knocked, "Happy? Is that you?" "Yeah it's me" he weakly replied causing everyone to look in shock, she placed her hand on Natsu's chest plate and gently knocked, "Happy? Is that you?" "Yeah it's me" he weakly replied causing everyone to look in shock, "Lucy I don't feel good." "I'm not surprised" she answered, "after all you just blinded us and transformed into armour, I'd be more worried if you felt fine." She smiled reassuringly, hoping that Happy could see it, in truth she was worried about the little blue exceed, when Stien stepped forward saying "so the legend is true?" "What legend?"asked Natsu with a mix of confusion and fear, "it's an old legend" answered Lord Death, "it tells of how the original dragon slayers possessed an armour as light as a feather but stronger than any known material, even dragon scales. It was believed to be some sort dragon equip magic, but the last slayer said to be able to use it died centuries ago." "Wait a moment father" spoke Kid, "if the ability was a form of equip magic then how has this happened? Correct me if I'm wrong but slayers in those days didn't have exceeds." "No they didn't" Death replied, "this appears to be the result of 'soul resonance'." Stien, Cal, Kid, Liz and Patty all nodded, the rest however just stood with blank faces, it wasn't until tumbleweed rolled past them that Cal said; "perhaps a bit more explanation is required" sweat dropping as he spoke. "Ah yes" began Lord Death, "Soul Resonance occurs normally between two or three people with a powerful bond, usually a weapon and his / her wielder. It is when souls of the persons in question began to resonate at the exact same frequency and in perfect synchronicity, the result being that the magical power of each person is reflected and amplified by the other, creating a huge increase in power." "The amount of power increase varies from team to team" Stien said taking over from Death, "an average team here would increase in power by roughly 100 – 200%. Our elite teams however, one of which is Kid's, usually increases by 300 – 400%. There is more to learn of resonance but that is for another time." The former Fairy Tailers nodded, they hadn't been expecting a lecture when they arrived but they were all quite interested by this new power. "What about us?" asked Panterlilly, everyone turned to the exceeds, "indeed" agreed Carla "if any slayer needs protection it is Wendy, now, if we were to consume one of these...horrific looking souls would we gain this power too?" Before anyone could answer the two remaining exceeds began to fly towards one of the other black crosses, "NO!" shouted Death causing them to stop, just then Natsu's armour began to glow once again and seamed to melt away, pooling on the floor it re-moulded into the shape of a cat. The glow faded and Happy was back, but he looked weak and sickly, the second Natsu saw him he rushed and picked him up to keep him safe. "As you can see" continued Death, "the effects of the Keyshin eggs are quite dangerous and until further study of any negative effects on young Happy are done, I cannot allow you remaining exceeds to consume any." The exceeds agreed reluctantly and returned to their slayers, "now" Death continued, I believe it is time you started your new guild, Professor Stien shall show you the way to the buildings we thought would be suitable, though they might need a little re-modelling. But before you go, I know you have yet to choose a guild master but I will need to know the name of your new guild." They all sweat dropped, with everything that had happened they hadn't even named their guild yet, when Laxus stepped up. "Isn't it obvious?" he asked, they all shook their heads, "when Fairy Tail hears about us they'll more than likely declare us their enemies, especially with this whole corruption deal. So I say we take the name 'Fairy Eater' to show them we're not afraid."
They whispered to each with smiles on their faces before agreeing it was the perfect name. "Very well" Death replied, "and one other thing, Death City is magically protected so that only people magically so that only people affiliated with it can locate it. As such you will need to ask me to contact anyone on the outside you wish to invite to your guild, is there anyone at the moment?" "Yes" replied Lucy as the others were thinking. She put her hand into her bag and produced a piece of paper with two names and some contact details on it. "I'd like to invite these two please" she said handing the paper to Death, "they were special entries in the same round of S-class exams as me and what's even better is that they're Dragon Slayers." "S-class slayers huh" said Laxus with a hint of surprise, "which elements are they?" Lucy placed her hand on the back of her head and laughed nervously, "that...I don't know, I wasn't allowed to watched their exams and when I asked they said it would be a surprise. All I know is they both completed their exams in record time." "I see" replied Death, "very well I shall contact them, anyone else?" "If I might" said Professor Stien, "I'd like to invite one of our elite three teams, specifically Soul and Maka, they are very capable and have been taught by myself and former Professor Cal" "Yes that sounds like a good idea" replied Death. Kid stood there thinking for a moment before saying; "we'll join too." Everyone looked around with a hint of surprise on their faces, "we've always worked well with Maka and Soul and since they'll be up against corruption, having two of the academies elite teams wouldn't be a bad idea." Death thought to himself for a moment, nodded and said "alright then, I shall have Maka and Soul join you at the new guild if they accept. Now off you go, and welcome to Death City, Fairy Eaters." With a smile of pride on their faces they turned to follow Stien out of the room. It took about 30 minutes to get to their new guild building but once they arrived they got a pleasant surprise. It was the size of a nobleman's manor house, 3 floors high and had 2 rooms each side of the front door (A/N think 2 semi detached houses, about that wide), it even had a garden at the back. "Here it is" began Stien, "10 years ago it belonged to a wealthy and influential businessman, he was a great friend to the academy, but what we weren't aware of was his affiliation with a dark guild. When the guild was destroyed documents were found that proved he not only gave financial support but had committed several crimes himself including rape and murder. When the evidence reached Lord Death he was a little less than pleased, as you can probably guess from the structural damage he ordered an assault and captured him, last I heard he was rotting in a Fiore jail cell." Moving inside they found the tell tale signs of a battle long since past, that being said, the building only really needed a little repair work, some re-modelling and some decorating and it would work nicely. Stien continued once he had looked around a little, "we've organised some builders to come the day after tomorrow so you have a chance to decide what needs doing, but for now we've set up some temporary accommodation for you. It's a hotel about ten minutes away back towards the academy, no doubt after your long trip and everythiong that's happened today you'll be in need of rest, just let me know when you're ready and i'll lead the way." They all nodded, then split up to investigate their new home.