Edolas

The throne room was earily quiet.

"So it didn't work..."

Faust scowled as he placed his elbow on his throne's armrest and rested his cheek on his old knuckles. His eyes narrowed at the useless servant that was shaking at his feet. A messenger of bad tidings; who seemed keen to try and absolve themselves of the consequences.

"I am sorry, King Faust, but the anima was closed prematurely. The majority of what came back was dirt and magic of unknown origin-"

"You're dismissed."

Faust said with an uncaring breath, ignoring his servant's wide eyes and frantic scurrying as he glanced out the window. Barring Extalia, his kingdom was the strongest in the world, but it was dying. Magic had long since been a scarce commodity. These days, it was nearly nonexistent; that's why Faust needed to continue the anima project.

"Foolish son of mine..."

Yet his traitor of a son seemed keen to try and stop him, stalling his plans of wiping Extalia from the sky with each failed anima portal. At the rate magic was being collected from Earthland, one clump of dirt at a time, it would take years to progress his plans.

"One day..."

Faust was patient, though; he had spent a lifetime conquering the human world.

"You'll pay dearly for your transgressions."

He could wait a few years to conquer the world above.

Earthland

Mystogan had a choice to make.

He's dangerous...

Mystogan stood before a dark mage who wanted to kill him; he looked ready and eager to kill everyone associated with him. So Mystogan could bet on winning in his already weakened state from both the snake bite and the exhaustion caused by closing the anima or bet on time.

"Wendy..."

He made that decision swiftly.

"Run towards Cait Shelter."

Mystogan ripped a stray bandage off his arm and wrapped it around his right bicep. He tightened it with his teeth as the dark mage only watched amusedly. It was as if he decided to wait for Mystogan to finish his little speech before finishing him off, an action Mystogan took full advantage of as he finished giving directions.

"Don't stop running till you get help."

Raubol's probably noticed the storm by now. Hopefully, he sent someone to check on Wendy.

Mystogan grunted as the poison slowly trickled up his arm and into his bloodstream. His makeshift tourniquet stalled it as he took out his staves, his eyes never leaving the waiting threat as Wendy stood up hastily behind him and sputtered, "But your arm! Let me heal it, and we can-"

"Will you be able to run after you heal me?"

Mystogan asked knowingly, hearing Wendy's defiance fade into a whimper. Mystogan gave a tired sigh as he kept his eyes set on the surprisingly patient poison mage. Meanwhile, he reached behind him and ruffled Wendy's hair, choosing not to mince his words as he spoke: "I can't focus on fighting if I have to protect you at the same time, Wendy."

Wendy had a strong heart; she would be stronger than Mystogan one day. He knew that better than anyone; he had seen her tough through losing her mother, and never once did she give up. Mystogan had faith that one day, Wendy could take on more than just the dark mage in front of them.

"Please leave Wendy."

But that day wasn't today.

"I'll be able to handle myself."

Mystogan heard Wendy clench the back of his clothes before muttering her movement spell and dashing away from his side and towards the edge of the field. Mystogan's eyes glinted dangerously as the poison mage cackled and whipped a stream of snake-like poison toward Wendy's retreating figure.

"Where do you think you're going!? I never said-"

"Your opponent's not her."

Mystogan saw the dark mage stiffen in surprise as he appeared in front of the attack through a cloud of flickering mist. Purple energy bathed the end of his cloud staff as he lowered it and fired a beam of power at the vicious attack. The resulting explosions shook the ground and unleashed a surge of air that whipped at Mystogan's clothes, yet he only met the poison mage's surprised eyes and lowered his staff gently to the ground, drawing a line in the dirt beneath his feet.

"If you aren't going to take me seriously, leave."

The line that Mystogan wouldn't let him cross.

"Don't waste my time."

Mystogan watched as the poison mage's grin turned ecstatic, and he gave a cackling laugh as Wendy disappeared into the forest. Eventually, the cackles died as the poison mage stood eagerly waiting, watching with a hateful gleam in his eyes. The two stood alone in the muddy and damp field with only the moonlight to witness, a silence building until Mystogan broke it.

"Who are you, and why are you attacking me?"

Mystogan's question echoed through the field as he watched with mild interest as the poison mage seemed to gnash his teeth angrily, and a vein began bulging in his forehead. The snake coiled around the dark mage's neck like a scarf, hissing in agreement as the air saturated with poison. The corrosive magic leaked around the mage as he yelled with a fury that made Mystogan more aware of his current predicament.

"Eh!? You don't know! You don't remember!?"

The poison mage had mistaken him for Earthland's Jellal. A mistake Mystogan was starting to see becoming a problem in the future if he went off the poison mage's vicious reaction.

"I'm Cobra of the Oracion Seis! What!? Was I too pitiful to cross your mind!"

This 'Cobra' absolutely despised Mystogan's Earthland counterpart.

What did this world's Jellal do?

Mystogan furrowed his brows at the thought, taken out of his head, as he saw the Cobra start to take in a big breath and expand his chest. Mystogan's confusion changed to understanding as he heard the telltale sound of Cobra buildup and what sounded like a gargling of toxic chemicals.

He's building up poison in his lungs.

It was just like what Wendy used to do with the air when she wanted to show him a big attack. It was a sign of an attack only Dragon Slayers could utilize.

"Poison Dragons Roar"

Mystogan acted swiftly as Cobra unleashed his pinkish breath of lethal magic, burning the air and charring the ground with its corrosive force.

"Three-layered magic circles"

Mystogan's three staves circled in front of him with a blue reflective mirror in the middle as the breath of corrosive barreled towards him. The ground trembled as the breath hit his mirror and was dutifully sucked in, swirling in a vortex until it had vanished into the reflective surface of his spell.

"Water Mirror"

Then it was spit back out and slammed into the poison mage who hadn't expected his own attack to be directed back at him. The impact leaving an explosion that shook the ground and billowed above the muddy field in a smoky cloud. Mystogan narrowed his eyes as the aftershock blew his hair and whipped at his clothes, the smoke hiding the wreckage from Mystogan but unable to conceal the loud hiss and cloud of toxic gas that spewed out from the smoky area.

Is he...

Mystogan waited in a foreboding silence as he saw the smoke fade and the toxic cloud being sucked up and devoured by the poison mage who had injuries that were already fading thanks to the snake hanging around his neck like a scarf. The scene confirmed that Mystogan was dealing with a Dragon Slayer, just like Wendy, and because of that, he quickly recognized the most troublesome ability in Cobra's arsenal.

He can eat Poison to heal himself.

Mystogan frowned at the thought, his eyes narrowed on the snake that would become a problem if left alone. All the while, Cobra stood opposite with a shark-toothed grin and maniacal laughter as if admiring his partner's handiwork. Cobra's voice rung with pride at the thought of what he had become in the short time since he'd left the tower; only a year or so, and he had already mastered the power Brain had given him.

"I finally did it..."

Cobra was a genuine, second-generation Dragon Slayer.

"I'm not some helpless slave anymore!"

Cobra grinned sharply as he bathed his hands in poison, Coballios giving a confident hiss from his side as Cobra taunted his past oppressor with a fanged smile: "I finally have enough power to get back at you for all you put us through!"

Cobra grinned as his magic flooded the air, the scent of poison and utter venomous hatred wafting over the lonely moonlight as he glared at Jella. The shitty monster who used them as tools for his damn tower. Only to try and change his fucking name like that would wipe away all his sins. It was sickening; Cobra wouldn't live with himself until he killed that fucker.

"I'll kill you for what you did to us!"

Cobra wouldn't let him move on, he wouldn't let that fucker forget. Not after he kept Cobra and Coballios from escaping that hellhole when they had the chance. Not after he kept them chained in that shitty tower with no one but each other to keep themselves company. Cobra wouldn't let Jellal move on or let him have something as gracious as a family.

"Then I'll kill that little first-generation you seem to care oh so much about!"

That bastard didn't deserve it.

"SEE IF YOU FORGET ME THEN JELLAL!"

Cobra's roaring declaration thundered over the field as Mystogan merely hummed, his eyes narrowed as he took out a stave with a look at its end, letting the illusions of himself flicker into existence around the field. His cold voice echoed from his five mirages as he calmly prepared to defeat the poison mage before him; it was the least he could do.

"Just try it."

To protect the little girl that he had abandoned in these deep and dark woods a year ago.

Sparks flew in the depths of the deep and dark forests, and the clanging of blades echoed under the moonlight. The two combatants were trading blows, yet only one had lost blood so far, being littered with minor cuts that came from glancing blows he couldn't avoid or parry in time.

I can't keep up...

Siegrain frowned as he blocked another knife, only to have a new scrape catch his fingers. Siegrain ignored the small nick and attempted to counterattack, only for his opponent to blur out of vision again. Siegrain defended the attack that followed as best he could, earning another cut for his troubles.

It has to be speed magic.

Siegrain thought plainly and logically as he moved his body in a rhythm. Letting the bloody dance continue for a few moments before he switched his tactics. His eyes locked onto Racer as their blades crossed for the umpteenth time before Siegrain did something he usually didn't do

"You're very..."

He taunted his opponent.

"Predictable."

Siegrain preemptively backed away, tossing his daggers into the air, one in front of him and one behind him. The words barely left his mouth as a slightly pissed-off Racer vanished before his blades even had the chance to hit the ground.

"Thread Magic: Binds"

Siegrain heard a muffled curse behind him as the daggers exploded in a web of threads. Siegrain's eyes flickered behind him as he saw one of Racer's daggers get caught in the net, forcing the speed mage to abandon one of his weapons to save his arm. An annoyed growl came from the speed mage as he met Siegrain's dull gaze before vanishing with a gust of wind.

That's one...

Siegrain forced himself to relax, his hands still empty as he let his threads slip towards his face. Allowing him to react on a dime if Racer attacked his head, but everything else would be exposed. His entire torso was open for Racer's knife to pierce at his leisure.

Well, to try and pierce.

"What the fuck," Racer muttered as his knife sunk into the back of Siegrain's white frock coat like it was a block of wood. What should have been a lethal strike had become a small gash as Racer pulled his blade out and only saw a trickle of blood at its end. Racer's eyes were wide as he saw the boy turn behind him with deep, dark eyes and a cold mumbling, "That's two."

"Shit!"

Racer cursed as he dropped his last stiletto knife, dashing away as he saw a thin thread attached to its blade whip around and dice it into pieces. Small bits of metal clattered to the ground as Racer only grimaced; he had liked that blade.

"Great..."

Now I need to ask Brain for new knives...

Racer clicked his tongue as he created distance between him and Jellal's annoying brother in a single move. Racer then cracked his knuckles as he leaned downwards and touched his fingers to the ground, his covered gaze shifting past the nearby trees and onto the thread mage who no longer cared to make daggers. Instead, Siegrain let ten razor-sharp whips fall from his fingertips and writhe around like dying snakes.

"You're the one who fucked with my knives..."

Racer spoke with a growing smile as he watched the razor whips take inches off the ground with every snap. Racer probably should have been worried; they could easily take off his skin if they hit him.

"So don't blame me for what happens next!"

If he let himself get hit by them.

"Gear Change"

Siegrain stiffened as the words left Racer's lips, his neck prickling and his eyes wide as he backed up instinctively. Contorting his threads together as he coerced his ten razor-sharp whips to follow his fingertips, his eyes narrowed on the overgrown path before him as he siphoned a chunk from his magic container; this spell cost more than most.

"Thread Magic"

It had been a while since he used this particular spell.

"Dismantle"

Siegrain whipped his arms forward as his threads shot like a bladed fishing net out of a cannon. The crosshatched threads carved up the ground as they barreled towards Racer, dicing stray trees and leaving a path of carnage, yet Racer wasn't shaken.

Let's see how much scrap metal I can make.

Racer smirked and watched it all cascade towards him with a calmness, a confidence that put Siegrain on edge; something felt wrong, even as Siegrain watched his magic close the distance.

What's he trying to do...

It looked like Racer would sit there and die.

He's going to-

"RED ZONE"

Siegrain's vision flickered as a bloody fist came out of nowhere and planted itself in his nose, and his head snapped back. The force rocketed him further backward into the woods before he tumbled to his feet. His eyes were wide as a drop of blood fell from his nose, not even able to hit the ground before another fist was planted in his face, and an unhinged laughter hit his ears.

"HAHAHAHA!"

Siegrain barely caught the image of Racer, with bloody gashes along his right arm and a split chin. The speed mage was seemingly on an adrenaline high as he laughed like a madman and glared at Siegrain through broken shades.

"You crazy bastard!"

Racer didn't come out of the attack unscathed, but that wasn't reassuring.

"I almost died!"

He wasn't supposed to come out of it at all.

He's getting faster...

Siegrain reinforced the threads in his clothes, covering his face as best he could as Racer seemed to vanish and throw a punch every passing second. Siegrain could only take them as he weathered the storm and let his mind gather under a barrage of consecutive punches. He wasn't able to react any more, Racer had gotten that much faster.

Or...

Siegrain replayed the scene in his head: his attack had already been completed when the first punch landed. He had seen a glimpse of the aftermath before his head initially whipped backward: the carved-up area littered with torn tires and diced-up metal debris that shouldn't have been there.

I'm getting slower.

It was like a horde of motorcycles took his attack, so Racer had enough time to escape.

His magic is probably slowing me down.

His mind could process all this information quickly, even as a new bloodier dance began where every punch Racer threw was guaranteed to land and add a new bruise to the growing collection. The pain was negligible compared to everything he'd been through, so Siegrain could look at the situation logically.

Siegrain's head was clear as the dance drifted to a small circular clearing underneath a branched overhang. Siegeain waiting until he was in the center to plant his feet, lock his guard in place, and clench his fists. The punches continued to rain down on him as a loose thread crawled from his index finger and into the sleeve of his coat, away from Racer's prying eyes.

It doesn't make much difference though...

It was because of what he had been through at the lab that he could let his mind slip, almost seamlessly, into the depths of his tortured past. To a time where his body was numb and his mind was number.

He'll stop running once I take a leg.

Back to a time where all he had to do was wait.

Cobra's patience was wearing thin.

This coward and his lllusions...

Cobra tore through the first three without trouble, using his poison to make those illusions disappear in clouds of toxic waste.

They keep reappearing...

Cobra gnashed his teeth. He heard another Jellal swiftly move behind him, Cobra ducking what sounded like a swipe of a wooden stave before turning with poison-soaked hands. Blood splattered across the muddy battlefield as Cobra's poison fist pierced through Jellal's body with absolutely no resistance, and Cobra's eyes twitched in irritation as he watched the illusion fade.

So damn annoying!

Cobra growled as he turned and decapitated another illusion, his annoyance mounting as he was surrounded by more. It didn't matter how many he destroyed. They just kept forming. The real Jellal was somewhere around him, but he couldn't fucking tell which one; they all looked and sounded the same.

"Oh?"

Actually, they didn't sound exactly the same.

"What's with you, Jellal?" Cobra asked as his ears twitched and poison exploded from his feet. The poison rocketed Cobra through three illusions and straight towards the real Jellal, standing behind his mirages with an observant step. Cobra smirked as Jellal's eyes widened in surprise, confirming his earlier revelation: "You sound awfully quiet!"

Jellal was quieter than his illusions.

"Cat got your tongue!?"

Cobra grinned viciously, his eyes harrowing like a snake's as he saw Jellal dash backward in an attempt to create distance.

"Poison Dragons"

Cobra flooded his hands with poison, shooting off two snake-like whips of poison magic that Jellal quickly met with a beam of purple energy from his fanned stave. The beam was quick enough to hit one side, resulting in an explosion between the two mages, but the other whip arced past it, blurring past Mystogan as he dodged past it a second too late.

"Twin Fang"

It left a small cut on his cheek, nothing dangerous, but Mystogan could already smell the toxins mixing with his blood. Even a graze could eventually turn fatal, but Mystogan didn't have time to worry about it.

"Where do you think you're going!?"

Cobra had already charged at Mystogan. His eyes narrowed and bloodthirsty as he charged a poison fist, only to stop as Mystogan burst into flames. The sight stunned Cobra enough that he momentarily forgot to be weary of the illusions his opponent practiced, and by the time he realized, there was already a presence at his back. The air vibrated with energy as Cobra turned and saw an eye staff clad in purple energy being swung down like a mace.

'Hiss'

Cobra might have gotten his head caved in if he was alone.

'HISS'

Coballios hissed ferally from around Cobra's neck and billowed out a wave of acidic smoke that washed over Mystogan and stunned him long enough for Cobra to get out of the way. The sound of the ground cracking echoed as Cobra hid in the noxious smokescreen, knowing he was the only one who wouldn't be affected by staying in the poisonous gas.

"Thanks, buddy."

'Hiss'

Cobra smirked and started to eat the free meal, hoping to gain some power while he was inside the acidic clouds. He got to the third bite before he heard a swift footsteps barreling toward him.

Is he insane...

Cobra cursed as he gave up on his meal, his ears working overtime as his head whipped to the right. He raised his guard to block a hit from a wooden staff. His arm throbbed as it caved under the purple energy that bathed the totem's end, sending tremors down his forearm cracked his bones.

Fuck that hurts!

Cobra's teeth clenched as he was flung off his feet and back from the blow; Cobra ignored his fractured, probably broken arm and twisted in the air as two poisonous whips flowed from his feet.

"Poison Dragon's Spiral Jaw"

Arcs of poisonous magic flew from Cobra's feet, whipping across the poisonous battlefield as Mystogan did a few hand signs before he dissipated into a flickering mist. The toxic gas cloud was quickly replaced by blooming fog as Cobra vaulted to his feet and lost sight of his slippery opponent.

"That all you got, Jellal!?"

Cobra released a sharp grin as his vision was covered by the mist that billowed around him like a giant cloud. Cobra's ears twitched as he sidestepped as a staff bathed in purple energy that slammed down where he once stood. The force cracked the mud-crusted earth while Cobra turned back, meeting Mystogan's surprised gaze with a predatory eye.

"Poison Dragons"

Mystogan took a quick breath as he took a gloved hand and brought his cloud staff, reinforced with purple energy, between him and Cobra's poison-soaked hands. Mystogan's teeth clenched, and sweat dripped down his chin as a poison-laced fist slammed into his stave with the force of a dragon.

"Iron Fist"

Cobra smirked as he heard creaking wood, his eyes glinting joyously as he watched Jellal's feet leave the ground. The sound of Jellal's cloud staff nearly snapping in half helped to hide the minuscule, near-silent words that escaped Jellal's lips.

"Fan of Hypnos"

Cobra's joy was quickly replaced with bafflement as he saw Jellal instantly take his free hand and swing a fanned stave downward. Sending a slight breeze at Cobra before Cobra's blow sent him crashing into the surrounding woods. The exchange only took a moment yet left Cobra with a sense of confusion.

What was that-

Cobra's thoughts froze as his knees buckled, his head foggy as his eyelids began to close against their will. His adrenaline plummeted as his thoughts turned to a groggy cloud of drowsiness, his mind as foggy as the mist lingered in the air.

Why...

Cobra squinted through his eyelids, which suddenly weighed a hundred tons, trying to keep them open, only to fail. His eyes shut as he drifted further and further from consciousness.

Am I so...

Cobra's face numbly hit the dirt as his muscles relaxed against his will, leaving him as a defenseless heap on the ground underneath the moonlight.

Tired.

The last thing Cobra heard was his friend's panicked hiss before he fell into a deep and sudden sleep.