[Days before the Grand Magic Games.]
Cynthia and Wendy meekly approached Makarov and Mavis, who were discussing potential strategies for the opening Games. Noticing the girls approaching, Mavis smiled at them. "Hello, you two! Is there something we can do for you?"
"Um..." Cynthia poked her fingers together. She glanced back at Wendy, and there was also Carla in the background who nodded. With a deep breath, she asked her question. "...Is my power evil?"
Mavis and Makarov blinked from this sudden question. Mavis then opened her mouth to speak, but Makarov stopped her. "Allow me, First. She's my brat, so I should be the one to answer."
Mavis smiled slightly. "Of course, Sixth."
Makarov was sitting on the bar counter of the guild, and motioned for Cynthia to sit next to him, which she did. "Power is neither good nor evil." Makarov began, which caused Cynthia to tilt her head. "That is why the heart of the wielder depends on how it's used."
"The wielder? But I..." Cynthia began.
Makarov held his hand up. He wasn't finished. "Your power was used for evil purposes by an evil man. But what did your heart feel in those moments?"
"...I hated it." Cynthia closed her eyes, recalling every single second of that horrid day. "The pain it caused me, the pain I probably caused other people. I have no means of knowing what sort of destruction was left because of what my power did. I could've hurt people, or worse...and I don't know...and I..." She felt herself tearing up, but Wendy took her hand to comfort her.
"Then your heart is in the right place." Makarov said calmly. "It is your power, Cynthia. It was used against your will. If this is how you feel, then you know how you want your power to be used. But I want to hear the answer from your own mouth, in your own words. What is your power to you?"
"My power..." Cynthia stared at her free hand. "I...I want to use my power for good. I want to use it to protect people important to me. When my power is used for bad things, so many get hurt. I want to use it for good and help people...I know it's possible. I want it to be, in my heart of hearts."
"You will succeed." Mavis said with a sweet smile. "Your drive is already proof of this. You must will it to be so, and I am certain that you can overcome the challenges ahead. You are not alone. You have me, Sixth, Wendy, and everyone else."
"Never forget." Makarov said firmly. "You did not do anything wrong. It was that man and his lust for power. You are greater than what he intended for you. You are a Fairy Tail Wizard."
"That's right. We're here for you, Cynthia. Your power saved me. So that's already proof enough." Wendy said with the sweetest smile. That made Cynthia tear up.
"Thank you..." Cynthia said while sniffling.
[End flashback]
While the ten minute intermission between the third and fourth matches took place, Cosmic Star stayed in the hallways near the arena, and Gaia started to pace around nervously. "Gaia, calm your pacing…you're creating mini craters…" Magnus pointed at the floor underneath Gaia, which was somewhat cratered under her.
"Are you nervous about Alex, Gaia?" Karma asked as he approached the earth dragon.
"I'm worried about her and Cynthia," Gaia replied. "You see…some years ago, Alex was…abandoned…by her father; Aiden Viscard. It appears that Alex was supposed to be some sort of fail safe for Cynthia in case the child grew out of control with her power, but it seems as though she didn't meet Aiden's expectations, and was thrown out as a result…"
"Ah…So you took her in because you couldn't bear to see her like that?" Hiruka, Daryan's exceed, asked curiously.
"Mhm…She was only a child at the time, but she could remember her sister…and that was the issue…whenever Alex loses control of herself, or in a situation where she is now, she turns into that…" Gaia replied. "I've been doing my best to help keep that under control, and thanks to you all, it's been made much easier."
"Heh…" Daryan smirked slightly. "And, unlike those other dragons, you didn't just abandon her either. That's true love right there!"
"She's like a daughter to me," Gaia replied.
"So, you're worried Alex may take things too far?" Yakuza asked while chewing on a piece of ice.
"She knows not too…but…I guess only time will tell…" Gaia replied, a soft sigh escaping her lips after. "If things go well, Cynthia will lose without too much injury, and we'll skyrocket into first place, and take the Games by storm after."
"You know he's around just in case we absolutely HAVE to bring him," Karma replied as sly grin appeared on his lips. "But I'm not worried. After all, we will win this whole thing, whatever it takes. Alex will do this. I know the rest of you will too." The group fell silent for a moment.
"Of course…." Magnus sighed somewhat.
"But wait." Daryan lifted a finger. "Which Alex is the real Alex? The red one, or the white one?"
"The Alex with red hair is the real one." Gaia said firmly. "When her hair goes white, I believe it's just a stress response from whatever she had to endure. And now she's about to enter the arena with the object of what she was prepared for. I have no idea how this will go."
"Alex will win." Magnus stated. "I've already seen it. She refused to listen to what I had to say, but the outcome of this match is already certain."
.
"I'm so pumped!" Cynthia grinned as she and Wendy walked around during the intermission, meeting up with the other Fairy Tail members.
"You're going up against their strongest S class!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Sis may be strong, but I can beat her, just watch!" Cynthia nodded. "I'll have to go all out..."
"Just be careful." Wendy said worriedly.
"I will be! I have a good grip on my power." Cynthia replied.
"Don't push yourself, though, Cynthia." Erza said with a stern nod. She didn't want Cynthia to overexert herself trying to win. She wanted Cynthia to do her best, but to not injure herself to do it.
"Ugh….Fine…fine….I knew you might say that, so I brought a secret weapon with me!" Cynthia said with a nod.
"Secret…weapon?" Mirajane tilted her head to the side curiously.
"You'll see!" Cynthia said with a giggle as she started to skip off. "My battle is about to start, you guys will cheer me on, right!?"
"Knock 'em dead, Cynthia!" Lucy said while waving to Cynthia; after the girl left, she turned to the other members, a slightly worried expression on her face. "We should be worried, shouldn't we?"
.
.
"We apologize for that intermission, but the arena is back in shape-kabo!" Mato shouted, pointing to Alex and Cynthia as they walked into the arena from opposite sides. "Now, it's time for the final fight of the second day, Fairy Tail's Cynthia Rose vs. Cosmic Star's Alex!"
"Alex is Cosmic Star's second strongest mage, only weaker than the ace herself, Gaia!" Chapati explained. "Cynthia is a powerful Fair Tail mage, with an interesting set of history to boot…but let's not get into that, and enjoy the fight!"
"This is gonna be COOOOL!" Jason shouted as he wiggled in his seat from excitement.
"Something bothers me about that Gaia…" Luke said while tapping his chin. "And it's not the same bothersome feeling I get when I'm around the other people of that guild…"
"She's a dragon," Adam replied, and the way he said it immediately caused everyone to believe him.
"A dragon…!?" Aria's eyes widened.
"I guess it's no surprise she's the ace then…" Sidney merely replied.
"Are both fighters ready, kabo?" Mato asked as he glanced from Cynthia to Alex.
The white haired Alex nodded, a smirk on her face. "I'm ready."
"I'm ready!" Cynthia said with a nod before looking at Alex, blinking a few times. "Wait, Sis, didn't you have red hair just ten minutes ago…?"
"Begin!"
And at that mark, Alex rushed forward, her fist morphing into a giant black hammer fist, throwing it towards Cynthia's chest, landing a direct hit as Cynthia slid back across the ground slightly. "Gah…! Okay, I guess that doesn't really matter right now does it! Gimme a good fight!" Cynthia replied as she started to run forward, red fire surrounding her fist as she pulled it back, throwing it forward once she was close enough. "Iron Fist of the Omega Fire Dragon!"
"Too predictable…" Alex replied as she sway her body to the side, avoiding Cynthia's punch, and grabbed her arm after she passed by. "You're out of your league, Sis," Alex said to Cynthia with a smirk as she threw the girl back to where she started, changing her arm into an extendable claw after, sending it shooting towards Cynthia.
As Cynthia flew back, she twisted her body, catching herself in midair. "Don't count me out just yet!" Cynthia smirked as the claw came in; she swayed her body just slightly, allowing the claw to pass her, only cutting off some of her hair. She grabbed Alex's extended arm with a smirk, allowing her red flames to flare, attempting to burn Alex's arm.
Alex was annoyed, not because of the burn, but that Cynthia avoided her attack. For the burn, it was basically nothing to Alex, as she had high tolerance for fire, Cynthia's being no exception. "Easy…" Alex whispered to herself as she flung her arm up, sending Cynthia into the air, pulling her arm back after.
"Whoa!" Cynthia yelped as she flew into the air, flipping around a few times before she caught herself, a brow raised as she thought to herself. "Haven't I seen this magic somewhere before…? And it doesn't seem like my fire is having any effect on her whatsoever right now…" Cynthia then snapped out of it, allowing her red flames to trail behind her arms, now dive-bombing towards Alex, using her wings of fire to slash her. "Wing Slash of the Omega Fire Dragon!"
"Guah!" Alex grunted as she slid back from the force of Cynthia's attack, but she caught herself, flipping back a few times as she turned her fist into a heavy set of fists once again, and charged Cynthia, now engaging in hand to hand combat with the girl.
"It's the walking disaster again…how quaint…" Kiora said with a shrug.
"I'm surprised they still kept the brat in the guild after what happened…" Ruika replied.
"Sora wasn't to be friends with Cynthia!" Sora exclaimed happily.
"Tch…annoying child…" Zancrow said while crossing his arms.
"You're just upset because you lost to her." Tobias said with a smirk.
"Shut up, Tobias," Zancrow replied.
"And it seems the two girls have gotten off to an explosive start already," Yajima said while keeping his eyes on the two fighting girls.
"Come on, Alex, make quick work of her!" Daryan shouted.
"Cynthia's got this!" Natsu shouted over to Daryan.
"And I'm weaker than you, as if!" Daryan replied with a grin.
"You wanna go right now?!" Natsu roared as he stood up, but Lucy held him down.
"I'd love to drag your ass across the street but that can wait for now," Daryan replied.
Cynthia's feet and hands were engulfed in her red flames, while Alex used her expert hand to hand combat to match Cynthia, seeing as how her large fist weren't especially helpful for a quick fighter such as Cynthia. Cynthia threw a punch, but Alex dodged with ease, throwing her own punch at Cynthia, but Cynthia blocked it with her forearm, and ducked low, preforming a sweep kick on Alex, catching the girl off guard. Before Alex could respond to the situation, Cynthia grabbed Alex's leg and spun around a few times before sending her off into the air. "GAH!" Alex cried out as she flew into the air, but she quickly caught herself, morphing her right arm into a long blade, which she immediately dove back down with, attempting to slice Cynthia with it.
"Oh boy…!" Cynthia quickly rolled to the side, allowing Alex to slam into the ground with her blade, creating a large crevasse upon impact. After this, Cynthia smirked, snapping her fingers, creating a multitude of red magic circles around Alex.
"What…!?" Alex's eyes widened at the sight of the magic circles, but before she had the chance to respond to them, the circles unleashed waves of red fire that collided with her, exploding on impact, creating a large cloud of smoke.
"Got'cha!" Cynthia said with a smirk, but her smirk didn't last too long as Alex rushed out of the smoke, both of her arms now changed into razor sharp claws capable of cutting through anything if given the chance. "WHA!?" Cynthia's jaw dropped, but she quickly snapped into battle as Alex swung wildly, yet skillfully at her. Cynthia found herself taking multiple steps back as Alex pushed forward, her claws cutting through Cynthia's shirt, grazing her shoulder and arms. After about twenty seconds of this, Alex slammed her knee into Cynthia's chin, almost sending her into the air, but before Cynthia could, Alex grabbed her leg, and threw Cynthia onto the ground, pouncing on top of her after, her claws raised above her head.
"Cynthia!" Wendy cried out.
"Alex…" Gaia said while narrowing her eyes.
Alex brought her claws down, but before they could reach Cynthia, Cynthia grabbed Alex's wrist with both her hands, just stopping the claws before they could reach her. Cynthia's cheeks then puffed out as a vortex of red fire surrounded her mouth. "Roar…"
"Alex, move!" Daryan shouted.
"Of the Omega Fire Dragon!" Cynthia opened her mouth, releasing a point blank range funnel of red fire on Alex, the force of it causing Cynthia to release Alex as she slid back, covered in burn marks. "Sorry…I kinda had to…"
"Tch…" Alex shook off the sting from the burn before placing her hands on the ground, lifting up a large chunk of earth from the arena, lifting it over her head and hurled it at Cynthia.
"Since when could you do that…" Cynthia asked in astonishment as she lit her right arm on fire, pulling it back, and throwing it forward once the boulder was close, shattering it into pieces. This wasn't the main issue however, as after Cynthia shattered the boulder, her eyes widened as Alex ran behind the boulder, her arm morphed into a large hammer fist, which she slammed into Cynthia's face, sending Cynthia tumbling across the ground before coming to a stop, standing up with a little difficulty. "Ouch…" Cynthia puffed her cheeks out once again, unleashing yet another Omega Fire Dragon's Roar towards Alex, the roar cutting through the ground it traveled.
"That's not going to work anymore…" Alex replied with a smirk as she held her forearm out, morphing the entire arm into a black shield, which took the force of the roar completely. Alex only slid back a few inches from the force of the roar, but she and her shield were relatively unscathed.
"No way! She defended against that attack?" Luke blinked a few times.
"She's gonna lose, and that's going to give us the opening we need to take first again," Reve replied while crossing his arms.
"Hm…" Daityas eyed both Cynthia and Alex curiously. "Both are creations, technically human, but not. I can tell."
"So, you're saying the other one is a creation too?" Byron asked.
"It appears so…how interesting…two of his creations fighting it out, just like he wanted." Daityas replied.
"She blocked Cynthia's roar…" Erza raised a brow towards Alex, feeling uncertain about how she felt about the female. "Who knows what else she can do?"
"Doesn't matter, Cynthia's still got it, watch!" Natsu grinned.
Alex rushed forward, slamming her fist into Cynthia's stomach, the blow winding the girl along with causing her to cough up some spit. In the next second, Alex slammed her fist into Cynthia's cheek, and ended the combo off by raising both of her hands, and brought them down in swift motion, slamming them down over Cynthia's head, the impact not only causing a crater, but a miniature shockwave. After that, Alex jumped back, confident she finished the job. "Easy…Finally…"
"I-Is Cynthia down!?" Mato asked as he looked towards the dragon slayer.
"N-Not even…" Cynthia replied as she stood up again, blood trailing from her head from the blow she just received, but even still, she was smirking, now getting any stiffness that remained in her body. "Not bad, Sis…I can see why you're the strongest S class…but, I think it's time we quit the warm up, eh?"