N/NN: And here we are with another chapter of The New Fairy Tail! Hope you guys enjoy!

*Disclaimer: neither duodragoon nor I own/have any affiliation with Fairy Tail; all rights go to Hiro Mashima. Seriously, we just do this for fun*


The New Fairy Tail

Chapter 7: Ghost from A Past


Duo and Hikari turn to the two doors. Duo then asks her, "So which one do you-" "Duo, I may be younger and not as well trained as you, but I'm still a Dragon Slayer. We're close enough now that I can smell what's ahead of us, and that path to the right has a certain smell. I think that smell is something you would want to check out. So, I'm going left and you go right, deal?"

Duo nods then holds out his fist, "I believe in you Hikari; go show that guy what's up." She grins and fist bumps him back, "With pleasure." They both sprint down their paths. Duo arrives in the throne room we have seen many a time before. The room is void of people except Duo and the man sitting on the throne across the room. The man in the robe is the first to speak, "You finally made it…the famous Iron Dragon Slayer is in my throne room. I am honored." Duo replies, "So it is you I've been smelling the whole time…I wasn't sure."

Puzzled the figure states, "Oh you believe you know who I am, but truthfully you do not." Angrily Duo snaps, "Cut the crap! I know it's you. You're Metalico Redfox, son of Gajeel and Levy Redfox..."

The figure gets up and removes his hood; his face looks almost like a clone of Gajeel. He has short blue hair, one red eye, and a glowing purple eye. He looks to be in his early twenties. He then speaks, "That was once my name, but I have abandoned that reality." He lifts his hand and a dark purple aura surrounds it, "My name now is Excel, I live in the world of darkness. My goal is to cover this world in my darkness and rule all of it." Excel then begins to laugh maniacally.

"Please, you don't have to do this," Duo says trying to reason with him. "Oh but I do, and you of all people know this. I saw what you saw in Herticon's illusion; I remember that day too, when you and your sister were being bullied and all little Metalico wanted to do was protect his little siblings."

*Flashback*

Two little kids are running down the street being chased by some bigger kids. The two kids come to a dead end, and the girl falls to her knees and begins to cry. The boy turns around and says, "Don't worry sis I'll protect you." We look at the little boy and see it is a younger Duo. The group of kids circle around and begin to close in around them. One of the boys, the biggest and the apparent leader, says, "Come on dragon freaks, do some magic for us." Duo then shouts back, "NO! We're not your toys to be played with!" The boy snickers, "Too bad I like toys more than you two, but I still break toys. So, guess what I'm gonna do to you?"

"Hey!"

Just then a bigger kid with blue, shaggy hair shows up, "Would you like it if someone picked on you guys?" The boys, frightened, gather around their leader, and one of them whispers, "Boss, what do we do?" To which the leader replies, "There are more of us than him; jump him!" They all lunge at the blue haired boy, but all of them are clobbered very easily. They all run off and the one bully who was the leader yells, "I'll be back you meanie!" The boy walks over to Duo then asks, "Are you two alright?"

Duo nods then says, "Yup, thanks big brother." Metalico looks down the street where the bullies ran off. He then comments, "I hate bullies. Why do people have to be so cruel?" Duo looks at his brother and notices that he is injured. Duo asks, "What's wrong big brother?" Metalico then turns and smiles at the small Duo, "Nothing come on you two let's go."

*End Flashback*

Duo clutches his fist, "This isn't you Metalico! You used to be nice and caring, what happened to you?" Excel stops laughing "What happened? The world is what happened. This world is filled with evil and hate; no matter how good you are there will always be more, so why fight it? Why not control it instead? That's what this is all about: complete control. Join me, little brother. Help me rule this world, betray your friends, and give up all loyalty to this world." Duo looks down. For a few moments, the room is silent. Duo reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pair of gloves.

They are black fingerless gloves with a metal band across the back and a metal band around the opening to protect the wrist. "Father gave these to me, and said, 'When the time comes, you'll know what to do with them.' For the longest time, I thought that meant I was meant to give them to you. But now I know…" Duo puts them on then slams his fist into his hand and turns to steel. He looks up with a new resolve in his red eyes, "You are not my brother anymore. Anyone who can forget about the bonds they shared in their life is no kin of mine! Excel, it's time I show you the power of those bonds; the power of family; the power of FAIRY TAIL!" Duo lunges at Excel who grins, "Well I guess those bonds want to get you killed…COME ON!" He lunges towards Duo. They clash in the middle of the room.

*Meanwhile*

Hikari walks into a large room, and on the other side of the room is a huge cannon and at its base is an old man sitting at a table eating. Hikari is wary as she walks forward. The man jesters and says, "Come little one, sit. I'm in no condition to fight you." Hikari walks a little faster but still cautious. Just as she sits down the old man finishes, he snaps his fingers and the plate disappears. He then looks at her.

He chuckles and then says, "I've been watching you guys, and I know you're the smart one. Which makes me assume you know which gate I am." She nods and says, "You're the Gate of Violence, aren't you?" He chuckles and answers, "Indeed I am, but I'm also so much more. You see, I'm not the leader but you could call me the coordinator. I gathered all the others and showed them their true desires and told them how to obtain them." "So you lied to them? I'm assuming, because that's how plans like this usually go," Hikari answers back. "No I simply stretched the truth. You see if the plan actually works then all they want will be achieved, but only if I wish it."

Hikari, now having a better understanding, says "So you're the true key to this...all I have to do is beat you, but what's the task for you? I know you must prove yourself against me. How are you going to do that? Since fighting violence is a losing battle." He smirks, "Very good girl. How about a game of chess?" He waves his hand and suddenly a chess board appears. The old man puts out his hand and says, "One game winner takes all?" Hikari shakes the man's hand and immediately feels some sort of magic fill the air. "Child, you have skipped a few major questions about me: who, how, and why. I'll answer one of these questions now. I choose chess because it reminds me of my youth. The strategy needed to out think your opposition in this game is the same as a battle field." Hikari looks at him curiously.

Who exactly is this old man and what exactly is she in for now?

The game starts off very fast paced. Hikari tries to get a strategy going, but she is stopped by the old man each time. The man smirks which angers Hikari, then he says, "Well well looks like the table is finally set; time for the real game to begin." Puzzled, Hikari looks at the board and realizes that not one piece has been taken; the only moves left are capture moves and it is the old man's turn.

"I know you felt the magic in this game as soon as we shook hands," the man says as he moves his piece. He takes one of Hikari's pawns; suddenly she feels a sharp pain in her side as if she had been stabbed. She looks down and sees she is bleeding from her side. She looks back up at the man, "What...how?" The man then answers, "It's a true test of intelligence: a game to the death, winner takes all! Now let's continue, shall we?"

*Back to the throne room*

A figure is sent flying across the room, hitting the wall and falling to the ground as a pile of rubble falls on top of him. Out of the rubble a battered and beaten Duo rises, panting. His jacket is completely gone and his shirt is barely hanging on, his pants have holes in several places, even his skin, which he had turned to metal, now has patches that are regular again. He looks up and sees Excel floating right in front of him. "What a shame, Iron Dragon, looks like you were not ready to face the darkness," Excel says in faux lament as he raises his hand to the sky. A huge ball of darkness starts to form.

As the ball grows, Duo could feel despair filling the room. The ball grew to an enormous size within seconds. Excel states, "I'd like to thank you and your friends for all this power you guys have been feeding me since you stepped foot in this castle. Now, I'll use it to send you into eternal darkness!" He flings the humongous ball at Duo. Duo seeing no other option slams his hands on the ground and regrows his metal scales right before impact. We see Duo sink into the eternal darkness. Excel turns away from the ball, then with a snicker says, "Don't worry little brother, soon this world will join you in that darkness. I wonder if the old man is finished with the girl yet."

*Back to the cannon room*

Several moves have been made. We see Hikari exhausted and torn, while the old man also has a few cuts but they pale in comparison to Hikari's. Seeing she is tired the man says, "Just give up child, save yourself the trouble. Many people have tried to out match me but none have." Hikari takes a deep breath and responds, "No one has beaten you at this game, right? Not even death himself, isn't that right? It took me a while to realize it, but now I know who you are. You're Wodys Nov Xam, the knight that was granted immortality by beating death at chess."

The man sits back surprised that this girl knew his tale. "Why yes. That is true; I beat death so you must know now that this game is futile," he says as he begins to laugh hysterically. He almost doesn't notice Hikari move her piece and say, "Check in three moves." He stops and frantically looks at the board, he had been so confident and looking to do damage he had forgotten the other ways to win. On the other hand, Hikari never lost sight of her goal. She had been placing pieces while giving up her pawns to take his King. She had put him in a corner and now there was no way out.

*As Hikari starts to talk, we flash back into the throne room with the ball and Excel*

"There are very few things that can really piss off us Fairy Tail Wizards, yet you guys have managed to do the top three." Excel, who had been walking towards the door, stops, sensing something wrong and turns around. He is amazed to see the ball somehow shrinking and he feels a magic presence rising.

Hikari's voice continues, "3. Make fun of Fairy Tail…" Inside the core you can see a figure begin to rise. "2. Calling us, or our guild weak..." The figure inside of the ball is Duo, and he is absorbing the power, but not by eating it. As this is happening, his scales are turning from metallic silver to a blacker steel. "And last but certainly not least…1. Never, EVER threaten our nakama." The last of the ball fades into Duo's skin, leaving an ocean blue steam aura around his black steel skin. He opens his eyes which are now glowing that same shade of blue, looks at Excel, and says "Ready for Round 2?"


N/N: That is a wrap! Let us know your thoughts on the story so far by leaving a review. Also, if you want updated Guild Cards for any character shown thus far, also tell us that in a review. Anyway, we have our final (for a bit (maybe)) Guild Member Information Card; this week is…Hikari!

Fairy Tail Guild Member Information Card:

Name: Hikari

Age: 15

Height: 4'11"

Gender: Female

Magic Type: Light Dragon Slayer

Affiliation: Fairy Tail

Favorite Snack: Éclair with tea

Hobbies: Reading and writing; decoding foreign texts

Until next time FanFiction, this is

duodragoon & SkyFlameDragon

Signing off