𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙜: 𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙭 𝙗𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙨𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙯𝙖
❛ 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘺. ❜
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"Natsu? You ready to go?" Rose questioned when Natsu emerged from the infirmary. He nodded in response to her inquiry, a determined glint residing within his dark eyes.
"All set. Now let's go win this thing and make everybody in Fairy Tail proud!"
Rose smiled at his decidedness. It was nice to see that the male had bounced back somewhat, considering how devastated he had been when the fight with Minerva landed Lucy in the infirmary.
"Natsu!"
Rose and Natsu both turned around, noticing Happy standing a little bit away. Rose determined that he was probably there to encourage Natsu.
"Hey, Happy." Natsu greeted in his normal manner, albeit a bit confused. "What's up?"
Rose realised that it would probably be awkward for her to listen in on their conversation. "I'll wait up for up ahead."
She walked a bit further down the hallway until both Natsu and Happy were out of hearing distance. When she was just a little away from the entrance to the arena, she stopped and leant back against the cool stone wall.
Why was she of all people here?
What could have gotten the Master to choose her to compete in the Grand Magic Games – the games which would announce Fairy Tail's re-emergence to the rest of the world? She hadn't been in Fairy Tail prior to the Tenroujima Island incident, and the time she had spent with Fairy Tail was short.
She stood there in silence for a while, her mind swarming with questions, emerging from her dazed state only when Natsu jogged up to her.
"Let's go!"
Rose pushed herself away from the wall, mentally swatting at the pesky thoughts which were bothering her. Insecurities, doubts, fears...
'Shut up,' The dark-haired girl though to herself. 'This is nothing. Why are you so nervous now?'
'Because people actually rely on you now,' echoed a part of her mind, 'You're scared you'll lose them, aren't you?'
Rose cursed herself as the light from the arena surrounded her and Natsu.
'Why do I care so much?' She pondered this for a moment, catching the bright, encouraging cheers from the Fairy Tail guild's balcony. 'Wasn't I supposed to leave? I wasn't meant to become friends with them...'
"And now, the battle which everybody has been waiting for!"
Rose and Natsu stood beside each other in the centre of the arena, facing their designated opponents – the twin dragons from Sabretooth, Sting and Rogue.
"One guild was considered the strongest in Fiore seven years ago, and the other currently holds the title. This is going to be a great match. It's Fairy Tail's Natsu and Rose, versus Sabretooth's Sting and Rogue!"
The silence was deafening. Anticipation gave the atmosphere an almost electric feeling, as if lightning was about to strike at any moment.
"This is going to be a battle of epic proportions. These aren't just any mages – all of the competitors here are users of ancient slayer magic!"
The crowd roared in appreciation. Rose grimaced at the uproar. Did they have to be so loud? Her irritation immediately vanished when she noticed the Fairy Tail members up on the balcony, waving their arms wildly.
"Give them a thrashing, you guys!"
"Get some hits in for us, too!"
"Win this one for Fairy Tail!"
Rose felt a warm feeling welling up in her chest. Like that warm feeling, the one you get when you're wrapped up in a fluffy duvet with a warm cup of hot chocolate clasped between your hands. She felt content.
It was oddly addictive.
"This is it, ladies and gentlemen! The slayers are on the battlefield – now the only question is, who will be triumphant? The Fairies, or the Tigers?!"
"Everyone's dying to find out who will win! Remember, you only have 30 minutes!" the pumpkin man yelled into his microphone. Rose didn't like him, though why she felt that way was unknown. The phoenix slayer forced herself to stay calm, knowing that the match was a few seconds away from beginning. Being tense would slow her movements.
"Let the match... begin!"
Before the Sabretooth dragons could attack, Natsu and Rose were already gone. Rose grinned when her fist collided with the face of her opponent. Sting was flung back by Natsu, and the same went for Rogue.
Rogue looked bewildered, his expression quickly shifting from cool indifference to anger. He must have underestimated them.
Natsu was a blur of pink, sending Sting back a good few metres with a kick right to his stomach. Rose was, at this point, certain that the dragon slayers were underestimating Fairy Tail. Why else would they have been so shocked?
To be honest, the fact that they had been looking down on her guild had pissed her off... Rose shook her malicious thoughts away, keeping a sharp eye on Rogue.
Sting shot a white laser of energy at Natsu, though the salamander managed to dodge by a hair's breadth. One problem – Sting wasn't aiming for Natsu. The beam curved through the air straight at Rose. The phoenix slayer heard the sharp sound of something cutting through the air and leapt upwards instinctively.
She landed on the ground in a not-so-graceful manner, blowing her fringe out of her face with an annoyed huff.
"Shadow Dragon's Slash!"
Rogue spared her no time, swiping a ball of shadows straight at her face. Wrinkling her nose distastefully, the dark-haired girl slashed her arm to summon a wall of flames. His attack dissipated and he was forced to stumble away from the blisteringly hot inferno. Rose kicked him in the side after circling around the wall. The shadow dragon slayer was flung towards Natsu.
Natsu appeared from the dust cloud, dragging Rogue through the dust. The dragon slayer flailed around to free himself, but it was too late. Natsu leapt at Sting, using Rogue as a human weapon. The twin dragons were sent crashing into the far wall by a blast of flames.
"Woah!" Chapati exclaimed. "I can't believe what is happening right before my eyes! The illustrious Sting and Rogue, the twin dragons of Fiore's mightiest guild, have been overwhelmed by Fairy Tail!"
Rose flitted to Natsu's side as Sting pushed himself off the ground. She could hear the guild cheering them on.
"You guys are tough, that's for sure," Sting smirked and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. A smudge of blood stained his chin. "Makes it more fun."
Rogue was at his side again, having managed to pull himself off of the ground. "I wanted... to fight Gajeel! Why are you here instead?!"
Rose rolled her eyes at him. Natsu straightened his posture, his eyes glinting with a hidden resolve.
"Tell me something... did you really defeat your dragons with that measly power of yours?"
Sting's smirk widened. Rose felt a chill run down her spine. "We didn't just defeat them... we killed our dragons, with our bare hands!"
Rose wondered if that was something to be proud of. Killing your own parents? The person who had raised you? Dragon or not, surely they had some kind of bond? Considering how Natsu and the other dragon slayers at Fairy Tail talked about their dragons, she had thought that the same would be universal... but apparently not.
'I guess there are people like them, too...'
Then again, she couldn't really judge them for killing someone. She'd done far worse than simple murder.
"Didn't you think of them as your parents?" Natsu questioned. Rose felt a few flames stirring on the ground around her. She was beginning to feel impatient. Why were they talking, again? She wanted to fight!
"That's none of your business. But if you losers want to see our dragon-slaying powers, I'll be happy to show it to ya!"
Rose could tell that Sting had a trick up his sleeve. He wouldn't have been acting so cocky otherwise. He was sure that he had something which could defeat her and Natsu. Sting had finally taken a break from monologuing.
"White Drive."
His words triggered a response from the environment. The air around him hissed. Rose could sense the eternano in the atmosphere, tensing like a coiled spring. Energy manifested around him in the form of a blindingly bright light.
"Shadow Drive."
Rogue's spell was much the same, though his abilities were of a darker appearance. Shadows intertwined themselves around his legs, swirling through the air as visible patches of darkness.
Rose backed away slightly. They were out for blood now – she could tell. She'd experienced both ends of that particular state herself. Hopefully, she'd never do so again. Cylene would be disappointed in her, and so would...
The phoenix slayer was broken out of her thoughts by Chapati's loud commentating.
"You can cut the tension in the arena with a butter knife! Who will be the first to make a move?"
It was Sting. Scale-like patterns dancing across his skin, the dragon slayer fired a punch at Natsu. He blocked. "Feel my holy white judgement!" Sting threw another punch, this time hitting Natsu's jaw. Before the salamander could recover, Sting was already upon him.
Rose felt her mind beckoning her in two completely different directions. Either she'd help Natsu, or she'd engage in a fight with Rogue.
The shadow dragon slayer made the choice for her. A fist fired at her stomach. Rose stepped out of the way, feeling his fist skim past her side. She attempted to counterattack, but Rogue was continuously switching between shadow and flesh.
When she pivoted on her heel with a kick aimed at his side, Rogue was suddenly beside her. A kick sent her bounding back a few meters, though she managed to direct the force of the blow away from herself with a hasty block.
"Look at that! No matter how much she tries, Rose just can't seem to get a hit on Rogue's Shadow Drive!"
Rose felt the beginnings of a scowl turning her lips down. This fight was... sort of boring. She couldn't really be bothered wasting energy on a transformation spell like the Sabretooth wizards had.
"Try as you might, you can't catch a shadow..." Rogue suddenly disappeared. The red glow in his eyes was mildly disturbing. Rose set her hands alight.
Rogue was behind her all of a sudden. Rose spun and swiped her arm through the air, flames crackling. His corporeal body flickered when her fist came in contact with it before splitting in half. She gritted her teeth. It was a fake.
The actual Rogue darted towards her, taking a swipe at her jaw while she was distracted.
Sting dealt a kick to Natsu's jaw, forcing the mage to stumble away. His back collided with Rose's.
"You okay?" Rose wiped a few droplets of blood away from her jaw.
"Yeah."
Rose glanced up at the sky, where the two dragon slayers were floating. Since when could they levitate? The spell earlier must have been the cause...
"Your fight is with us, losers! Show some respect!"
"Sure," Rose remarked, "Mr my-ego-is-bigger-than-my-hair."
Sting scowled at the insult. Both dragon slayers rocketed towards the pair of fire mages. They collided with the ground like meteors of sheer stupidity. A cloud of dust swirled up, obstructing the audience's vision. The dust cleared away to reveal four warring figures on the battlefield.
"Didn't anyone tell you it's bad manners to hold back on the battlefield?" Natsu questioned, blocking Sting's attack. The opposing guild member used his arms as a platform, flipping over to deal a kick at Natsu's open back.
"You're one to talk. What's the deal with that pitiful defence, huh? Do you and the phoenix slayer not know how to defend yourselves?" Sting's smirk grew wider.
Meanwhile, Rose was still struggling to get a hit on Rogue. She threw a few fireballs at him, though they went straight through his transparent body.
The twin dragons fought with bared fangs, fighting with renewed energy. Rose found that her regenerative abilities couldn't keep up with the barrage. A cut on her cheek bled crimson. She wiped the blood away with her sleeve.
The phoenix felt that she was beginning to tire. She glanced at Natsu. Sting had used his magic to create a strange glowing rune on his stomach. Natsu burned it off with his flames.
Rogue began to speed up. The time between his attacks was growing shorter.
"In the end, a shadow dragon will always get his prey."
Rose flinched at the sudden intrusion of her personal space. She spun around to face him, flames wreathing her fists. He'd disappeared.
"...you won't even see it coming."
Rogue reached out to attack her. Rose caught his punch. Her flames roared aggressively.
"What—" Rogue was unable to finish his sentence. Flames crept up the arm she was holding, stifling the shadows. With a jerk of her arms and a twisting movement, Rogue was flipped over her and onto the ground. His back hit the ground, hard. Oxygen was forced out of his lungs.
Sting rushed at Natsu. The fire user's arms lit up with red-hot flames at the last second. Natsu lashed out with a fist, forcing Sting back with a bright red fist mark in the middle of his face.
"Argh... you shouldn't be able to move!"
"You're not half bad, I'll give you that," Natsu criticised Sting, "but you'll have to do better."
Sting growled like a caged animal.
"What happened to that confidence from earlier?" Rose smiled at Rogue, who was lying on the ground wheezing. Her hand curled around his leg. With a sudden jerk, he was sent flying into the far wall. Sting followed shortly after, having been thrown by Natsu.
"And just like that, the tide of battle had turned once again!"
Sting got up, using the wall to support his weight. A trickle of blood dripped from his mouth.
"You guys are pretty awesome, alright? No shock there. Looks like we have to give you everything we got."
Published: 19/11/2017
Edited: 17/06/2018