A/N Would you look at that two more chapters, Cool thing about this fanfiction, its officially the longest thing I have ever written. So that means you should review, tell me if you enjoy it so far, with all that out of the way, enjoy chapters 3 and 4

Chapter 3

X779 July 19

Eisenwald Guild Hall

I sat at one of the tables in the guild hall. I was fiddling with the tubing for my new mask. The mask was part of a custom gas rig, even though my own spells don't affect me this will make me immune to airborne attacks. By using control buttons sewn into my gloves I can fill the mask with a number of different gaseous potions. An emergency relief valve at the top of the gas canisters would allow me to quickly dump their contents. The gas rig is discrete enough to wear under my usual overcoat, when not in use the mask just hangs around my neck. Erigor had given me this as payment for the job. He warned me that it was a powerful and expensive device and as such I should never rely on it. Still, I was excited to try it out. After securing everything in place like Erigor taught me I stood up and headed over to where Kageyama was lounging with Karacka the phase mage. Kageyama noticed my approach.

"Careon, what's up? What's with the mask?" he asked, taking a closer look at me.

"Magic gas rig that Master had ordered for me, I was actually looking to spar so I can test it out." Kageyama gave the harness a good look.

"Karacka," Kageyama nudged the other mage with his foot. Karacka woke up with a start.

"Calm down you idiot, take the kid out for a sparring match,"

"What! What about you? You're a lot stronger an-" Karacka stopped with a gulp when Kageyama glared at him.

"I'll be coming along anyway, I want to see how well Careon does with this new gear.

"Actually this is a fine challenge, your ability to phase through things will make it quite difficult to catch you with toxic gas." I turned and started walking deeper into the building towards the courtyard missing Karacka's face paling.

Karacka ran to catch up with me, we walked in silence to the courtyard. We entered a large outdoors area surrounded by pillars, an unkempt lawn and patches of rot. Kageyama separated us and started the countdown for the match. I placed the breather on my face and felt it lock into place. I thumbed a button on my hand and my nose was filled with a powerful aroma, my body felt weightless as I glared down at my opponent. The exhaust steaming slightly as I exhaled, I waited for the last of Kageyama's countdown. Kageyama lowered his hand and shouted "Go!" to start the duel. Before I could give Karacka a second to think I shot forward, my muscles magically enhanced by the potion I had just inhaled. Karacka's eyes widened in surprise by my sudden burst of speed but remained rooted to the spot. I took a mighty leap towards Karacka, my hand outstretched and the drain spell on my tongue. Right when I should have collided with Karacka I passed right through, I had to plant my feet and dig my hand into the ground to stop my momentum.

"You're a lot faster than I remember," Karacka said, still surprised. He was sweating a little but still looked fresh. I stood back up and grit my teeth, his phase ability really was something, even if he barely knew how to use it. I launched myself on the offensive again, this time trying to stay within his guard and fight melee. I crossed left and right hooks, throwing in kicks to try and keep him off balance. Karacka's flaw was that he's lazy, he'd rather rely on timing his phases so as to not run the power continuously and tire himself out. While a good strategy, he hasn't practiced expanding his ethernano storage to make it viable for long. However I eventually slipped, he had waited for me to throw a predictable punch expecting it not to land anyway, he immediately capitalized on this by grabbing me by the forearm and shirt. He took one step forward twisting as he went, I ended up taking a very quick flight through the air that ended with me slammed on my back. I felt the wind get knocked out of me and Karacka didn't let up. Recognizing his opening he wrestled his way on top of me and was now sending blow after blow at my face. I struggled under the assault but managed to press another button on my glove, an icy feeling filled my body taking the pain with it, while the damage would remain while under the effects of this potion I wouldn't feel the effects of pain. "Pestilence" I grunted, a black magic circle appeared beneath me and began pouring out its toxic fog. Karacka gagged for a moment before the moment I was waiting for happened, Karacka sank to occupy the same space as me as he activated his phase ability across his whole body. I rolled away from him and focused on expanding the range of the fog. Karacka looked around terrified, like this was the moment he was afraid of, by now my fog had filled the whole courtyard. Kageyama had jumped to the rooftop where he sat peering into the smoke trying to keep track of what was happening. Karacka realized suddenly that my plan was to drain his stamina and suffocate him within the fog, of course he's a guild mate so I would dispel the fog before it went that far but the win would be mine anyway. He then decided that the best course of action would be to take me on in melee despite the fog. I smiled underneath my mask, I hadn't shown anyone this new addition to the pestilence spell. Right when he reached me I felt his phase power drop, that's when I uttered a single word. "Spark"

To say the explosion was big would be a gross understatement. I had been working on a way to make my fog combustible. 'Spark' was the keyword to trigger the explosion. I had pumped quite a bit of power into that spell to fully consume the courtyard with fog. The detonation shattered all the windows facing the courtyard, whatever rotted plants that remained had turned to scorched ash. Burn marks darkened the pillars all the way up to the roof where a still rising black mushroom cloud slowly curled in on itself as it rose into the sky. Kageyama sat covered in ash on the rooftop staring down, alarmed at the sudden explosion.

"Where's Karacka?" Kageyama asked, looking slightly worried. I reached out with my senses and noticed Karacka's faint aura against the nearest pillar, he had chipped part of it from the impact and now lay unconscious on his side. Kageyama hopped down from the roof as I ran over to check on Karacka. I knew the explosion would be big but maybe I underestimated the strength of that attack suddenly becoming explosive.

"Karacka! Are you ok?" I called out as I ran up to him. He groaned as he rolled over.

I moved to grab him and check his condition.

"WAIT!" Kageyama shouted. I froze in my place.

"Your gloves," he said pointing to my hands. I looked down and realized that my hands were pitch black almost up to my elbow. As if covered in a thick oil. I knelt back making sure I didn't touch Karacka or Kageyama. As Kageyama looked over Karacka I grabbed my gloves and slipped them on, covering the dangerous liquid. My magic is gross, I know. Kageyama helped Karacka to his feet and supported him as he stumbled out of the courtyard. I followed behind not really knowing what to think. I had hurt Karacka, he was a guild mate and not one the master had ordered me to hurt. As I stepped out of the courtyard I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. Erigor stood above me. He guided me away from the others so that we could walk and supposedly talk alone. After we had left earshot he stopped me.

"Impressive work, you've been improving at a quick pace, you're fourteen now right?" I nodded. Tinka would be thirteen now.

"You've proven yourself as of late, I've been thinking of sending you on more dangerous missions. You could make some connections yourself. I know you've been waiting for word of your sister." I stiffened slightly at those words but nodded.

"I'll train harder," I said in response. Erigor held my gaze a moment longer before nodding.

I visited Kageyama shortly after my talk with Erigor. I ran into him as he was leaving the infirmary.

"Is Karacka alright?" I asked, unable to keep the worry out of my voice. Kageyama ruffled my hair as he walked past me.

"He'll be fine, Eisenwald mages are stronger than that. I smiled slightly behind him feeling a bit of relief. We walked together back to the main hall taking a seat at one of the tables. There was scattered conversation, mostly about that small tremor that just happened.

"You weren't in the infirmary." Kageyama stated.

"Master Erigor stopped me," Kageyama's eyebrows lifted at that.

"He wanted to congratulate me on my training progress and to let me know that he'll be sending me on more dangerous missions." We sat in silence for a bit after that. After a few minutes Kageyama broke the silence.

"What do you think of it?" Kageyama asked.

"Think of what?"

"Being sent on assassination missions," Kageyama clarified.

"Oh," I thought for a moment. I always saw this as a means to get Tinka back. I guess I'm a bad person but being a good person doesn't get my sister back.

"I'm fine with it," I shrugged.

Kageyama nodded but didn't reply.

X784 July 10

Eisenwald guild hall

Everyone stood around restless in the guild hall. Master Erigor had made an announcement that our time to rule over the weak is near. All of our strongest mages were called back to build up our strength. Over the years I had made a name for myself. Part of my job means staying out of the limelight, the more people notice me the harder it is for me to work. Still, rumors of 'The Plague Master' have spread far and wide. My ability to quickly and silently kill is nearly unmatched. Master Erigor has done much to help me over the years, offering leads when he hears them. Usually this leads to dead ends or captured cultists but I still haven't found Tinka. I pulled my hood up as the room became more crowded, my silver hair just visible underneath. These days I keep to myself and kageyama. So many people have come to the guild since I joined. Master Erigor fed me the weak ones.

"Hey," a voice I recognized called out. I turned to see Kristo the fortune teller walking towards me.

"I see destruction, victory and pain in your future. This will be a glorious fight, yes?" Kristo stared deeply into my eyes while holding his crystal ball.

"Uh, yeah, I'm looking forward to this. I'm hoping the fairy's send Titania. I've always wondered how I stack up against her. Kristo coughed a little.

"Maybe that much opposition should hopefully be avoided." He said slowly.

"Why? Do you think we're not strong enough to take her?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"I have full faith you will succeed." Kristo said after a short pause. With that he left me to talk with Big Chicken. I stood mulling over what Kristo had said, He made it sound like I specifically would succeed, that's good right? Ugh, I don't like talking to him for this reason. My thoughts were interrupted when Master Erigor took the stage. Silence filled the guild hall as his ominous presence settled over us all.

"Finally!" he shouted, raising his fist to the roof. Clenched in his hand was an eerie looking wooden flute. It had a three eyed skull on one end. With it just being inside my new fifty meter sensory radius I could tell it was surrounded by a near tangible death aura. Just being near the thing made me slightly queasy.

"Thanks to Kageyama the seal of Lullaby has been broken! This is the dawn of a new age for Eisenwald! Gone are the days of cowering in the darkness, scrounging for jobs and looking over our backs for the magic counsel." There were mutterings of agreement from within the guild.

"Using this power we can take what we want! We will rewrite the rules and only the strong will reign supreme!" he shouted and the guild joined him. They roared their assent, stomping their feet and banging their fists on their tables. When the noise settled down Erigor spoke again.

"Now we must enact the plan at Oshibana station," he looked at Kageyama, Rayule and me.

"You three, I need you to steal a train for me. Then await my arrival." Erigor ordered. I caught Kageyama's eye, and he gave me a firm nod . The three of us left the crowd and the guild hall. Once outside Rayule spoke up.

"Crazy isn't it, it's finally happening,"

Kageyama nodded

"We do this and everyone will know our strength," he said. His eyes were locked on the ground in front of him for a second as if he were lost in thought. Before long he snapped out of it.

"Any news on your sister?" he asked me. I frowned at the change of subject. "She might be in the country, one of my sources says they spotted a woman matching the description but there's no way to really tell after all this time." It wasn't much to go on, pretty much nothing really, but I hang onto hope that she's alive. Kagayama seemed to sense what was on my mind.

"You'll find her, there's yet to be a target you can't track down."

"Yeah, kinda scary honestly," Rayule added. Kagayama and Rayule laughed and started to banter, leaving me to my thoughts. Fairy Tail, the top guild in all of Fiore. Home of Crash Magic Gildarts, Titania Queen of the Fairies, The Salamander, and Radiance. I frowned at that last one, Radiance had come onto the scene semi recently, not much is known about him other than he wears all white and a mask, and uses some weird form of light magic hence the name.

"Radiance, what do you know of him," I interrupted the two who had escalated from banter to arguing.

"The fairy flashlight? Not much, whoever he is he's strong though. Heard he took on a dark guild by himself, even their guild hall was in ruins. Imagine having the power to level a guild hall. Like sure It's not legendary or anything but it's still some serious firepower." Rayule pondered. Kageyama glanced at me but said nothing.

"Radiance and Titania are the two biggest threats to our operation," I stated.

"What about Blue Pegasus? They are closer." said Kageyama. I shook my head.

"They'll have their hands tied with the guild masters conference going on, in Clover town. But it's just typical of those fairies to stick their noses wherever they'll fit."

"I still don't think we are enough to take out all of them on our own," said Rayule.

"We're not going to, we're just being sent ahead to clear out the train for the welcoming party." replied Kageyama

"Something we are more than capable of," I added. Eventually we boarded the train. Kageyama led us to a near empty booth, just a single pink haired boy sat slouched over in his seat. I took my seat next to Kageyama across from the boy, Rayule sat next to the boy.

"Hope you don't mind if we make ourselves comfortable here," said Kageyama using one of his false smiles.
"Hey you're from Fairy Tail aren't you?" asked Rayule, noticing his guild mark for the first time. Instantly the vibe of the train shifted. I raised my hood suspecting I might enjoy the anonymity soon.

"You're from an official guild? Oh how I envy you." Kageyama said through the same false sincerity. The boy looked up, taking the three of us in.

"Who-" before the boy finished his sentence Kageyama planted his boot on the boy's face.

"Who are we? We are part of a guild that's truly free, Eisenwald." I glared at Kageyama, there's no reason to tell this guy who we are.

"Unlike you flies who bend over backwards for the magic counsel, you hear that? We call you all flies, because you're all so insignificant." Kageyama proceeded to slap the boy around like he was swatting a fly.

"That's enough!" the boy raged. He jumped up to his feet and fire engulfed his arms. I could feel his magic now, it was an inferno raging inside of him. However his burst of power was short lived as he suddenly wretched and slumped back over. Kagayama and Rayule laughed at the boy's expense.

"Haha what was that, are you allergic to your own magic or something?" Kageyama rose from his seat.

"This is what real magic looks like." Shadows stretched from Kageyama's feet, rising out of the ground they formed a solid shape and morphed into a fist. The shadow fist uppercut the boy while another slammed into the side of his face sending him to the ground. With an unexpected stomach turning lurch the train grinded to a stop.

"What's going on? The train isn't supposed to stop here" Rayule asked, looking worried. Before I could react I felt an ethernano spike coming from the boy. The pink haired kid leapt at Kageyama, his flaming fist smashing into Kageyama's face sending him flying and tumbling to the back of the train car.

"That was my fly punch," the boy growled out. With a soft whine the intercom system came to life.

"We apologize for the inconvenience. The stop was a false alarm. We will be continuing shortly." The boy looked panicked.

"Uh oh, I gotta get out of here." The boy quickly grabbed his pack off the rack.

"You think I'm just going to let you leave?" Kageyama sneered as he rose to his feet. I too stood up, I was beginning to have suspicions of who this guy was.

"You dug your own grave when you insulted Fairy Tail. And I'll remember your face, next time we bring this outside." With that he jumped through a closed window shattering it as he fled the train.

"What a weird guy," Raule deadpanned.

"Yeah, weird." I frowned

"Anyway we got the rest of this train to clear," said Kageyama, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Hold your breath," I said. Kageyama and Rayule's eyes grew wide but quickly did what I asked and covered their mouths and noses.

"Pestilence"