Fairy Cannon

Chapter 4: Trial by fire

Disclaimer: I do not own anything previously seen in another work of art. This is used under Fair use.

Author Note:This chapter was a lot of fun to write and I hope you all enjoy it too. So I recently watched RWBY and I have to say it is awesome and you all should watch it too.

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Natsu opened his training pack to reassure himself that he was prepared. He had his light lacrima that he had received last week in his Light Magic class, some pearls and weapons to use in his Equip Magic, and a box of matches to help him with his elemental manipulation. Seeing all his training gear accounted for, Natsu proceeded to dress in his new combat outfit. Unlike his previous set of clothing, which had been simple white with only a slight amount of metal mesh to protect himself, they were quite elaborate.

His new clothing consisted of a pair of black slacks with a dark red collared short sleeved shirt. His shirt was reinforced with some runic seal that both protect him from damage and automatically repairs the clothing outside of combat. His pants had a completely different rune set. They also had the automatic repair but instead of offering protection, they were designed to allow mages to activate a mobility boost. His normal footwear and scarf remained the same as they were before. His pants had the usual pockets instead of the cargo pockets that most combat clothing normally had, but then again, who need pockets when you could just store stuff in a pocket dimension.

Natsu finished getting ready and grabbed his bag off of his small stone desk. His room was still plain with stone walls and stone furniture. His door opened and he saw his friend Keiji MacGrath waiting on the other side of the doorway. They had planned to go on a joint training expedition on this day they both had off. Natsu left his room as he spoke to Keiji, "Hello Keiji, did you remember to reserve a field for us to use?"

"What kind of idiot do ya take me for? Of course I got us a field, how else are we going to train in thatLight Magic exercise?" Keiji responded in his usual friendly way. His blue eye pulsing in a steady rhythm for once.

"Okay then, but would you want to do some sparring as well. I kinda want to incorporate these new magics into my fighting style. By the way, have you decided yet what your going to focus on for next week's light magic focus classes?" Natsu asked, keeping track of the winding path of corridors and hallways that the duo were taking to reach the chosen training field.

"Well, I was tinking that the illusions might be really cool, since I am not a physical fighter. I only need this to fill out my support magic. So if I can help people by tricking the enemy, then so be it. Let me guess, your going to focus on luxin based magic?" Keiji responded, turning around to look at Natsu while they walked forward.

"The way I see it, I am not the most subtle person, so not only would fooling people be difficult for me, but also wasted. I mean, my Dragon Slayer Magic is all about using fire to enhance my combative ability. So with luxin I can create shields and weapons to support my allies."

"Did you hear de rumours about da new scavenge team?" Keiji asked as they began going down a rather large set of stairs.

"No, who is on the team" Natsu asked.

"Jinx, and Taric, bocha which you know. With dem is the Frost Fire Dragon Slayer Shyvana and two others that have yet to be announced."

"Are you implying that we have a chance?" Natsu asked, a sinister smirk forming on his face.

"Think about it, your a dragon slayer and we both use Light Magic. It makes sense to have us join dem" Keiji responded, making a noticeable effort to drop his accent.

"What are the odds that we are going to see some serious action if we join this team?"

"Considering dat full scavenge teams are normally allowed ta go on riskier missions and that with two dragon slayers with a dedicated healer, well, we would be one of the best combat teams. So kinda high." Keiji replied, plotting a method to get either Jinx or Shyvana to recommend them for the team.

They had arrived at the training grounds that Keiji had reserved for the duo. It was a fairly sparse room with a couple stone trees and loose dirt on the ground. Apparently this field was copied from the lair of the gorgon, who could turn objects to stone with a simple glance. The presence of Evergreen from Fairy Tail supported this myth. Evergreen could turn people into stone for a short while if she could maintain perfectly direct eye contact, also meaning that any form of lens blocked the ability.

All the training fields in the organization were warded with several layers of enchantments that prevent any damage by repairing potential damage after a period of an hour. It was also able to block all magical signals from being sensed from outside the field. This also stacked with the enchantment present within the framework of the underground fortress. These enchantments prevented magical signals from being tracked to or from the area within a dozen kilometres of the headquarters. This was also explained by the psi energies that still remained after the Institute annihilated the Ionian guilds.

Keiji went to the far side of the field to begin his warm ups, so Natsu went through his more basic exercises. His first action was to take out a simple 9 mm pistol and some extra ammo clips and store them is his pocket dimension. This filled his pathetically small pocket dimension. Then he took out his light lacrima and used it to double check his light magic. Once that was complete, Natsu used his other hand to create four floating orbs of light, his current limit. Finally, he lit one of the matches and practised manipulated external sources of fire without contact or consumption. Overall, his lack of advanced techniques allowed him to prepare in a simple fifteen minutes.

Once Natsu finished his warmups, he saw Keiji creating some sort of sphere out of electricity. That was the odd thing about Keiji's magic, well in Natsu's opinion. At first he had assumed that it was lighting manipulation from draconic heritage, but after seeing the techniques up close when they first trained together, Natsu saw that there was no elemental energy in the magic.

When Natsu asked about this all he got in return was a, "It's not lightning, it's electricity." From what he could gather from watching Keiji practice, it was a form of direct energy manipulation granted through celestial heritage. Unlike Laxus, who used the elemental lighting, Keiji could manipulate the energy both from a distance and in a complicated, tiered process.

"Yo, are ya ready?" Keiji shouted across the field to Natsu.

"Yeah, lets do this!"

Keiji started the duel with a simple bolt of electricity. It was a simple projectile that was barely thicker that a small stick. Natsu simply rolled to the side before dashing forwards at Keiji in a rush. Keiji created a wide breath blast of electromagnetic energy at Natsu. Natsu covered his body in flames and launched upwards by blasting the floor with his flames. Once in the air the flames around him flew backwards, expelling Natsu over the blast and closer towards Keiji. Keiji respond by creating a large missile of electrical energy before launching it at where Natsu would land.

As Natsu landed, the ground around him exploded at the electricity burnt the ground and shocked Natsu. It was only thanks to his Draconic endurance that he could endure the explosion head on. Keiji began backpedalling as soon as the dragon slayer landed, creating more difference between the duo. Natsu's head snapped up as he flew forwards and brought his fist back. When Natsu was right in front of Keiji, his fist went sailing into Keiji. The flame covered fist travelled straight through Keiji, dispelling the weak illusion.

Natsu's nose picked up an alien scent, and he darted his head to look to the right. Keiji was standing there, a simple pistol held in his right hand. Between the two of them there was a bullet speeding towards Natsu. The bullet smashed into the collar of his shirt, causing the runes on the shirt to flash red as it dispersed the kinetic energy of the projectile. Natsu grunted as he felt the shirt drain slightly and allowed some of the force to damage him.

Keiji fired another trio of bullets at the dragon slayer, but Natsu jumped to the side and bolted directly at him. Keiji activated the runes on his pants, then disappeared in a blast of electricity, only to reappear on top of one of the stone trees. "Induction Storm" Keiji panted as his magic took a toll on him. His pants had speed up his reaction time to allow him the chance to cast the difficult spell.

Natsu growled was Keiji avoided him yet again. It seems that he was aware that most dragon slayers used melee abilities. Luckily his pants runes were still fresh. Natsu jumped towards Keiji, and in response Keiji launched a simple sphere of energy at Natsu. Natsu's runes activated as he gained traction on the air itself. Using his brief moment of air manoeuvrability, he jumped over the sphere and landed right beside Keiji, clearly surprising him.

Natsu smashed his flame covered fist into Keiji's side, sending him flying and burning him slightly. Keiji recovered in the air and converted his kinetic energy into electrical energy, slowing him and grant him the ability to throw more spheres for free. Natsu jumped forwards and landed in front of the attacks.

When Natsu landed he felt electrical shocks hitting him from behind, knocking him over. Turning around he saw that these latest spheres would bounce after him if he dodged. Taking the initiative, Natsu used his Flame Dragons Roar to force the sphere to collapse before they got close enough to damage him. When he smelled around to find where Keiji went, what he saw made his blood run cold.

Keiji stood at the edge of the training grounds with thirty of the bouncing spheres coming after him. Natsu ran threw his own spells and dragon slayer techniques and found only one ability that could stop all of these attacks before they defeated him. He moved his hands in a circular motion, dragging flame after his fists. He flared and released most of his magical power to activate this spell, "Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!"

Natsu's new spell had just been finished the day before, so it was not all that well optimized. Unlike the typical spells that Igneel taught him, this one was designed to be a ranged finisher move. The circle his arms had made release a double helix of flames that expanded to become a solid cylinder. Every electrical attack that came near the pillar was burst from the sheer heat of the spell. As Natsu fell to one knee from exhaustion, he saw his attack hit what should have been, but instead, it appeared that Keiji had once again used an illusion to fool him, only this time it was one of the most powerful attacks he could have wasted.

Keiji was obviously drained from the fight, and all his clothing was scorched and ruined. While it could still provide the benefit of cloth, the runes were completely burnt out from just being on the edge of that last attack. Keiji brought his hands up and yelled over to Natsu, "Yo, wanna call this the 14th draw? Clearly we are both almost out of energy. I want to have a brief breakfast break before we focus on our assignments."

Natsu took Keiji's words into consideration as he replied, "Only if I get a rematch afterwards!"


Jinx looked up at the towering form of the fallen watchtowers of Urtistan. They had been searching for one of their long lost allies in the ruins but all they had found were dead bodies and already looted buildings. After she and Shyvana had gotten over their initial aggression, Shyvana was able to remain professional, even if she was only motivated to meet her brother. Taric had decided to try to get the whole team back together, but they could not seem to find where Zilian was at the moment, which made the whole task difficult. They had already tried the usual training fields of old Ionia, but it seems that he was not there.

She felt a pulse from her runic guild mark. Jinx bolted in the direction of the pulse, hoping to aid her teammates. When she arrived at an intersection between a preserved tower and the rest of the ruins she saw Shyvana with her blue flames coiled around her arms, Taric is his full battle gear, consisting of his gem armour and large hammer coated in gems. Across from her allies was a strange creature. It was a giant floating, purple eyeball that had it's rear end covered with golden plates that covered the sides as well. The plates had three smaller eyes in on the crown of the golden plates, resting within raised, angled plates that connected to the main casing.

The creature produced and monotone voice with an inhumane echo to it, "Interesting, lifeforms able of primal manipulation. Preparing for dissection." Three purple tentacles appeared from behind the creature as they glowed white with energy. They were a plain grey that had lines running around the circumference of the appendage. The lines showed the inner pulse of purple energy that ran through them.

Jinx had already grabbed her fishbones out of her pocket dimension when Taric held up his hands in a placating manner. "Hey now, just calm down. What is it that you want? If it is lacrima I would be happy to trade."

"Intriguing, lifeforms attempting to begin transfer of materials. Based on limited interaction, they seem to view me as a consuming class voidling." The creature had lowered the tentacles and floated around as it's main eye darted around to the other two mages. "Lifeforms! Would you be willing to exchange knowledge with me? Preferably on the life and unique abilities on this plane."

"You want information? On biology and magic of all things. Are you sure you are not a member of the Institute of war?" Shyvana asked.

"I do not possess any knowledge of this 'Institute of War' however I may seek them out to gain the knowledge I seek." The oculothorax responded.

"I am an unofficial representative of the organization. I am offering you a position in our research and development team. That would allow you to research and dissect to your hearts content, but in return you have to share you findings with the organization and not kill any of our member." Taric said, causing Shyvana and Jinx to stare at him in shock.

"I find that deal to be dubious. Would this organization possess any facilities to expedite my research?"

"We got labs with equipment for experiments, life test subject, and books to help build fundamental knowledge." Jinx threw in from the sidelines.

"Would you be willing on giving me a lunar cycle to view these laboratories?" The creature replied.

"Sure, as long as you keep you end of the deal for this trial period. Do you have a name you would like to be referred by?" Taric answered, mentally sighing.

"Vel'Koz is my commonly used identification. If you wish to converse with me, you may use that name."


Gray looked up at the sky. Since Natsu had disappeared two weeks ago, he had begun taking Happy with him on missions. The guild hall was being rebuilt, but with the loss of Natsu, it was far more reserved that usual. Currently Gray was on a simple courier mission with Happy to deliver some valuable gems from one owner to the next. Happy was lazily gliding above Gray's head.

Since Natsu had been captured, all his old friends and thrown themselves into their training. Happy could now have his wings active for much longer than usual. Gray could create more ice, and the ice he did create was much stronger. Erza increased her magical power and as such gained more room in her pocket dimension. Lucy had been working and increasing her celestial summoning capacity, but could still only maintain one spirit at a time.

Gray reached into his pants and pulled out a map. According to the figures, they should be approaching Onibus town, where he was supposed to deliver the package to. Replacing the map into his pockets, Gray scanned the area around him briefly. While Happy could see most threats from a grand distance away, that was no reason to be lazy. Seeing no threat, he reached into his white jacket and pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a simple match. With the disappearance of Natsu, he had picked up the habit again.

Gray sighed as he felt Happy land on his shoulder. Looking over at the odd cat he saw that the exhaustion was getting to Happy. Gray looked up at the sky as he considered the new dynamics of the guild without Natsu. Everyone was quite subdued as they felt the lack of Natsu's classic energy he gave to the guild. If anything, Natsu's disappearance made everyone train their magical skills. The air stilled around Gray as enemy magic began to saturate the air around him. Gray jumped back as he saw three mages in front of him.

"Hey, give us your valuables and we might let you live." The centre one said, the air it self bending around his hands. Ah, so they were bandits. The two women on the outside seemed to use some form of wire based magic. Gray didn't even respond as he spread his legs out and leaned forwards. As he placed his hands into the Make Magic position, he saw panic cross the bandits' faces.

Gray smirked as he spat his cigarette to his right. His magic flared as he declared the name of this spell, "Ice Make: Dragon Fury!" Usually Gray didn't use dynamic make magic, or living ice constructs, but with the loss of Natsu, Gray had made this spell in his honour. As Gray threw his hands forward a large blast of ice appeared we his hands stopped touching. From the blast, a large dragon made for ice burst forth and chomped down on the enemy mages. Gray panted in exertion as he saw the mages get trapped in the cage built into the stomach of the beast. This spell was still difficult to use, but useful.

Gray ordered the ice dragon to drop the half rate mages into the nearby lake. While not lethal, it would be annoying and keep them out of his hair. "Gray? I can't believe you finished that spell. Natsu would've loved it" Happy said from his position on Gray's shoulder.

"I hope he would. Now, come on we got a mission to do."


The training fields erupted into a blast of light. When Keiji eventually regained his sight, Natsu was right in front of him. Keiji shifted slightly so that the blunted katana would only strike his shoulder instead of at his neck. Grunting from the newly acquired bruise, Keiji released a blast of electricity that held Natsu at bay. When Natsu began moving forward, he ignited the blade in his hand as we launched another overhead chop.

"It's not a chopping weapon Natsu, a katana is used to slice at an opponent." Keiji lectured as he used his Copper Make magic. Unlike traditional elemental magics, using a metallic compound in his Make Magic increased both the cost and the difficultly. All he made was a simple net, then he threw the net at Natsu.

Natsu had not been expecting the net, and thus was caught by it. When Keiji energized the net, Natsu fell unconscious from the sheer number of electrocutions he had suffered today. With his current loss, it brought them to an even 29 each. Keiji fell on his back as the exhaustion of the days combat finally got to him. He was almost asleep when he heard people enter the room while talking.

"Are you crazy? You offered him a position in the organization." The first voice said, clearly feminine.

"I know what I did, and I figured that it could be useful for us to have another researcher working on the ethereal projects we have in the works." Another voice responded, being deep and baritone.

"Give it up Jinx, I thought you just had one of your mages join the organization, what would Taric not have one of his join?" A third voice answered. When Keiji heard the name Jinx, he jerked awake and turned his head to see a relatively young lady with blue hair walking into the petrified forest backwards, talking to two others that he couldn't see.

"Yeah, but Natsu is a frigging dragon slayer not a spacy alien. And Natsu is coming from a real guild with real ethics, not some weird other dimension." Jinx responded.

"Remind me to request some research into extra-dimensional travel. We might find some nice artifacts from either this 'void' or others we discover." The man said. The trio walked into the light, revealing them to be a dark skinned man with black hair and a grey skinned woman who also had black hair. They were Taric and Shyvana, the two most famous members of the organization.

"Hey, were is this runt that you said was Igneel's?" Shyvana asked, her voice cold.

"They said that he was training here, so look around." Jinx said, before she wondered around the forest. It was a couple of seconds before she made it to where Keiji and Natsu had collapsed. Jinx face was covered in an amused grin, while Taric and Shyvana simply sighed and proceeded to help the duo. Shyvana produce some tinder sticks that burst into flames when she snapped them. She then shoved them down Natsu's throat.

While Natsu regained his energy and regenerated the minor damage done to his body, Taric walked over to Keiji. In Taric's left hand was a large emerald that pulsed with energy. Taric held the crystal over Keiji and a stream of green energies floated down into Keiji, completely rejuvenating him. However, unlike with Natsu, this process took several minutes and didn't effect his physical wounds.

"Hey kid, wake up!" Shyvana said, kicking Natsu to get a reaction. Natsu's eye shot open as he flipped himself so that he was now crouching in front of the group. When he saw Shyvana, there was a shimmer of recognition, but it quickly disappeared.

"Can I help you?" Natsu asked politely, standing up and stretching.

"Are you Igneel's dragon slayer?" Shyvana asked.

"Um, yeah why?" Natsu replied, scratching the back of his head then cracking his joints.

"I'm going to be handling your training, so I need to know what the dragon taught until now so that I have a period of reference." Shyvana said, gaining a strange look from Jinx.

"Sweet, what kind of dragon slayer are you?" Natsu asked, not picking up on the subtle misdirection.

"Frost Fire Dragoon. It's a lot different from your usual dragon slayer tho." was the only response Natsu got.


In the week since Natsu began training with Shyvana, he gain a great understanding on why dragon slayers seemed to be limited in strength for mages "able to kill dragons with their own might'. Apparently the true strength of the dragon slayers is the access to the evolution trait that true dragons have. Basically, each creature with a dragon soul, which includes dragon slayers, have an ideal element. When a dragon soul is 'off-element' they are a great deal weaker.

Initially Shyvana had been a simple fire magic user, but since she possessed a dragon soul, her magic was always weaker than it should have been. However in her travels she was forced to absorb water and ice magics. Those magics had combined to form frost fire, or the 'true' cold fire. If Shyvana was right about his dragon soul, then he was being stalled because he had yet to find his element.

The thing that made the evolution easier was the fact that one dragon soul would always react to another dragon soul that possessed an element that would bring them closer to their 'true' element. From his brief history, he knew that he did not need steel for his 'true' element, but other than that had no clue on which elements he needed.

While he was working on evolving his dragon slayer magic with Shyvana, he had finally learnt and mastered the basic level of Equip Magic. While he was no where close to a mage like Erza, he could at the very least use it to store his basic equipment. Also, the class for Light Magic had finally covered all of the general purpose spells, such as creating a light source and projecting simple images. While Natsu had yet to learn any advanced magic during his stay with the organization, he could feel the improvements during his spars with Keiji.

Unlike Natsu, Keiji had already completely mastered Equip Magic so he had actually been learning two support magics instead. First he had been learning Light Magic with Natsu, but now was also learning Restrict Magic. When Natsu had asked why he was learning such a specific magic, all Keiji could say was, "Cause I want ta." Other than that, Keiji was also gaining a wealth of combat experience during his near daily spars with Natsu.

It wasn't till the end of the week that any missions were given out. Natsu and Keiji just happened to be lucky enough to be chosen as Taric's rookies. The Organization had mandated that every none lethal mission be accompanied by at least two mages yet to finish their studying. It was the evening before the mission and Taric had gathered his team in one of the many briefing rooms available in the underground fortress.

The room was illuminated from glowing illusions that hovered over the central round table. They were currently showing a map of the country with several highlighted section representing enemy bunkers and encampments. The edges of the room had simple light lacrima that were currently inactive. Opposite of the door was a row of cabinets and hot plates. The cabinets held a variety of materials for briefing and food to be prepared during long briefing.

Jinx was rocking back and forth on a cabinet in the corner, a wide disturbing grin on her face. Shyvana sat quietly on a chair along the wall. Keiji and Natsu sat around the table. Taric stood near the table in such a manner that allowed to him view his team. Using the simple lacrima controls, Taric switched the illusion into a three dimensional map of the facility that they were discussing.

"We are attacking this Dark Guild research laboratory. According to our informants they are currently preforming human experimentation that violate our Organization's ethics. For starters I am going to need Natsu and Jinx to form our breach team. They will destroy this wall and allow our infiltration team to preform their objective." Taric lectured.

Shyvana stood up and took control of the briefing, "I will be leading the infiltration team consisting of myself and Keiji. We have a secondary objective that is not shared by the remaining members. The infiltration team are responsible for gathering as much research and information before stage three."

Taric nodded to Shyvana as he continued his briefing. "When the Infiltration team enters the building we will enter stage two. During stage two, we will use the shown path to enter the armoury. If our scout returns we will attempt to enter between shifts. While in the room, we are to steal as much weaponry as possible until the activation of stage three."

"Stage three occurs when either the infiltration team or our team is caught by the defenders. Upon discovery we will receive a signal to begin. Stage three is a simple mission. Destroy the facility and kill all Dark mages. Secondary goals are to free human test subjects, but remember to exercise caution. The test subject may no longer possess their humanity."

"Whoa! What de hell! We just gonna kill them!" Keiji shouted in protest. Upon seeing Natsu accept the command, he turn on him. "Why are you so calm!"

"I am a dragon, or at least mostly a dragon. Dragons do not hesitate to end their enemies. Don't mistake me though, I still don't agree with pointless killing. However, these guys abandoned their fellow humans. I have no sympathy for them." Natsu explained, calming Keiji down slightly.

"We leave at dawn to begin the operation at sunset. Be ready for battle. Remember to keep enough room free in you pocket dimension for when we acquire important manuscripts."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

It was dark and misty that night. The trees around the building cast moving shadows, the wind through the leaves created a soft howling. Natsu and Jinx moved to the wooden walls. Natsu used a flame enhanced fist to carve a whole into the building. Once Jinx moved within the building a gave a silent 'clear' signal the rest of the team moved in.

Shyvana and Keiji grouped up as Keiji cast a weak invisibility spell on the both of them. They travelled down the long hallways until they reached an open door on the right. Shyvana sneaked in and froze the poor scientist solid in a blast of blue flames. While she let Keiji guard the door, Shyvana was grabbing all the notes and books in the room and placing them in her pocket dimension. When she and Keiji left again in five minutes, the only thing left in the room was a frozen corpse and a single pen.

Eventually, after clearing 3 more offices and labs, the duo made it to their main objective, the grand library. This time Shyvana guarded the only door as Keiji travelled around a shoved every single book he saw into a large burlap bag. As the items entered the bag, it didn't increase in size or mass. Shyvana calmly guarded the door for thirty minutes until a guard found the bodies they left behind and sounded the alarm. At the same moment she felt a tug from Taric signalling that they were to begin stage three.

Keiji had picked all the scientific books he could find, but ultimately had to skip the sections labelled 'bought' 'stolen' and 'fiction' to avoid missing the more valuable books that held all the inhumane research that had been done in this facility. When he heard the alarms go off, he quickly store the bag in his pocket dimension and brought out a silenced pistol. While firearms were normally magically powered, this particular firearm was a rare import that Jinx had given him.

Shyvana entered the large room expecting anything but the sight of Keiji loading gun powder bullets into a heavily modified pistol. The sight slightly calmed her, it seems that Keiji, for all his doubt, was ready to kill for the organization. A slight nod was all it took for Keiji to understand that is was time to begin destroying the building. Keiji began by blasting a wide blast of simple projectiles. Like his ordinary bolts, these were long and thin, but this had a spin as the launched. When the hit the wall they exploded into a shower of sparks that set the room on fire and ruined the support beam for the roof.

The first thing the guards would see is a woman with grey skin and black hair, and an average man with polychromatic eyes walk out of the grand library as it's ceiling collapsed. The mans blue eyed would shine a near white as he raised his hand and electrocuted the gathered guards. Afterwards, not that the guards would know this since their dead, the duo would continue walking, burning or otherwise destroying every single room or hallway they came across.

Eventually, Shyvana was blasted through the wall by a mage using some sort of air based magic, who had jumped out the opposite wall. He was fairly large and had both his eye covered by a strip of cloth. His tanned skin showed many scars as he towered over Keiji. Without even facing the smaller man, he launched him away with a concussive blast of air.

Shyvana jumped back into the hallway as the man squared off with her. She lifted her right fist in front of her face and grabbed her elbow. A quiet speech of "Dragon Talon" released a large plume of blue flames over her middle finger. The fire fell down her arm at an extremely fast rate, and before the man could blink her entire arm was covered in the flames.

Shyvana rushed forwards, her arm still covered in the frost fire. The man responded by proclaiming, "Airspace: Zero!". Shyvana could feet the air around her begin to drain away at an alarming rate. The man then used the created airspace to launch several projectiles at the dragoon. Shyvana only smirked as she raised he freezing fist.

When the air collided with the flames, the flames were swiftly scattered from Shyvana's hand. However, what was under the flames made the man freeze in his tracks. Her arm was covered with serpentine scales, deep blue in colour. Where Shyvana should have had a hand their was three branching appendages, each tipped in a glowing claw. The scales simply reflected or ignored the blast of air, the anti-magic properties of dragon scales removing the threat of damage.

The man began to backpedal after he realized who he was fighting. He strengthened his airspace in hopes that the lack of air would either buy him time or perhaps even injure the 'Blue Flame Dragon'. He had increase his abilities since the fall of Phantom lord, but Aria of the heavens was no match of the legendary figure before him.

Shyvana frowned slightly as she felt her life force being stolen from her body. She rushed at Aria in a burst of speed that had even Shyvana surprised. The normal air resistance that a body would feel was lessened as Aria attempted to absorb her life force. In a moment Aria went from upright to imbedded in the wall in less then 3 seconds, frost spreading over his stomach, where he was hit.

Shyvana turned to find Keiji when she heard a strip of cloth fall to the ground. He spun on her heels only to be blasted into the far wall. Aria had removed his blindfold, and his pink eyes with a white x on them stared in hatred at Shyvana. Shyvana barely managed to right herself from the surprise attack, but when Aria disappeared, she began to activate her next dragoon skill.

"Ascend to the Sky" Shyvana said, her magic flaring as she began to hover in the air. Behind her, a pair of wings unfolded. They were made of frost fire and had a reptilian feel to their appearance. She felt blast from behind caused by another airspace projectile, but simply rose her scaled talon to block the attack. She then used her new wings to launch herself forwards. Aria was shocked as he saw the dragoon fly towards him, the frost on his clothing limiting this mobility.

The talon tore through Aria's body, freezing all the blood in the body in a blast of blue flames. His body seized and blood vessels around his body exploded, showering Shyvana in a storm of red snow. Shyvana released the body of her enemy, now certain of his death, and dispelled her wings and talon, turning around to find Keiji and bring him to the meeting point.


Natsu was sitting at the extraction point with an exaggerated pout. His team hadn't even found a single enemy during stage three. It just wasn't fair! Keiji got to fight a bunch of dudes yet Natsu was not able to fight at all! Natsu pulled out one of the books that had caught his attention during the raid. It was a simple leather bound note book he had pulled of a sleeping guard. Across the cover 'Juvia Lockser: Subject 1038' was writing in hasty markings.

Natsu began leafing through the pages of the book, finding complicated diagrams and notes full of scientific language he couldn't understand. It wasn't until he found the summery page at the end of the book that he began to understand the full measure of what these dark mages were doing to other humans.

' Subject 1038 was given food supplements created from ground water dragon scales and celestial spirit bones. The immediate effect were unparallelled water magic level, but chronically the subject lost control, causing rain by her mere presence. In the second stage of experiments her food supplements were replaced with simple iron and magnesium supplements to help balance out her diet for the final procedure. It should be noted that the decrease in water magic proficiency, caused by the removal of the dragon scale supliment, was not enough to return to the subject's original levels. Also, do to a lack of Dragon Soul found in her body, Subject's body began to show signs of elemental poisoning. Refer to similar experiments done to subjects 2830-3882 for more information on elemental poisoning.'

'The third and final stage of the experiments was an extremely invasive surgery that replaced every bone in the subject's body with the bones of a deceased water dragon. First time the procedure was preformed and it gave alarming results. It appears that in the brief recovery period the subject actually died only to revitalize in approximately thirty nine seconds. The direct result of this revival is the complete control over water magics as well as a complete recovery from the stated elemental poisoning. Upon further research, it was proven that upon completing the procedure, the subject's body had reconstructed itself on a spiritual level. Unlike true Dragon Souls, which fuse the element into the subject's very existence, this new "Elemental Soul" showed signs of fusing the subject's soul into the element of water.'

'Subject 1038 body was turned into a living, sentient creature formed of 100% pure water, with no contamination or magic holding it together. This new creature, the "Elemental" has proven to be unable to allow injuries to happen consciously, however said injuries may occur in direct combat against another elemental or Dragon Soul. In allowance to the deal made with the magic guild Phantom Lord, Subject 1038 was allowed to join the guild as a human, in return it was discovered that an elemental can indeed cause evolution in a Dragon Soul. Experimentation on subject 1038 has ended.`

Natsu sat still for a moment, his mind attempting to come to terms with what he had just discovered.

The End