[ON HIATUS] Dangerous - A Romeo Conbolt Fairy Tail FANFIC

Chapter 2: No Fear [ROMEO]

Everyone decided to attend my Tenrou Trial, with the exception of Kinana and the Thunder God Tribe. As if I wasn't nervous enough, now I have to worry about the immense crowd that will be watching my every move.

Gajeel....Gray....Lisanna....all three are fairly exceptional wizards, and now I can't help but doubt myself. No fear. No fear. No fear.

As the boat arrives at the dock, I am the first one led off along with Erza, Lisanna, Gray, and Gajeel. We walk to a conveniently placed open clearing and stand in the center while everyone else gathers around the trees. Erza climbs on top of a large tree stump to tower over the rest of the guild as she announces the order in which I'll be fighting Gajeel, Gray, and Lisanna.

"You will fight Lisanna first, then Gajeel, Gray, and finally me. Any questions?" I shake my head. Erza nods, signaling to get started, and the guild quiets down until all is silent, and until all that we can hear is the whisper of wind as it blows the leaves past. And suddenly....

"Animal Soul: Cat!" Lisanna springs at me, swiping with her claws. I shift from side to side, duck under, and jump over to dodge her flurry of attacks. I start with immobilizing my opponent. "Purple Net!" It hits Lisanna straight in the chest, and she falls to the ground, struggling. "Rainbow Fire!"

But it's too late. Lisanna manages to get free before my Rainbow Fire can make contact, and she jumps behind me and swipes at me with her claws. I jump and do a twist in midair to escape her claws; they only just miss me.

I crouch down and perform an sweeping kick enforced with my fire magic aimed at Lisanna's legs. She flips and dodges.

"Purple Flare!" A purple flame extends from the palm of my right hand which I manipulate into forming a giant hand. I grab Lisanna with the hand and launch her into the trees.

However, it has no effect. Lisanna lands on the side of the tree feet first and pushes off from it, now rocketing straight towards me. Before we make contact, she yells, "Animal Soul: Harpy!" We make contact, and she pins me to the ground with her large red claws.

I rear up my legs and attempt to push her off, but Erza's familiar stern voice says from the top of her tree stump, "Enough. Romeo, you have lost." I clench my teeth in frustration.

Lisanna transforms back to normal, and she gazes at me with a sympathetic expression.

"Gajeel, you're up next," Erza barks. "Wait, he doesn't get a break?" Lisanna asks.
"No. In a real battle, there wouldn't be any breaks."
Lisanna shrugs at me and whispers, "Good luck."

Gajeel strides over to the middle of the clearing and offers me his hand to shake. We shake hands. Suddenly, he yanks my hand forward and leans forward to whisper in my ear.

"Listen, runt. You may think you're ready, but you're not. Not if you can't even beat Lisanna."
"Are you saying Lisanna'a weak?"
"Compared to me, she's a slime." Gajeel grins sadistically. "Kid, you're way in over your head here." I glare at him.
"We'll see about that."

Immediately, Gajeel punches my stomach. The wind is knocked out of me for a second as he walks to the other side of the clearing.

I stand at a ready stance. Gajeel dashes forward and yells, "Iron Dragon's Club!" His arm turns into a large steel club, which punches forward as it elongates. I lean back just in time to dodge it, but I can still feel the wind caused by the force of the blow.

I can't rush in this time. I need a plan. As Gajeel performs blow after blow, I dodge one after the other while I form a plan. "Come on! Hit me!" Gajeel yells.

First, I'll immobilize him. Then I'll freeze him with my Blue Fire. I'll surround him with my Yellow Fire to make him sick, and I'll finish it with my Rainbow Fire.

"Purple Net!" I aim the fire at Gajeel as he jumps toward me to punch me with his steel club. Since he's in midair, he doesn't have anything to push off of to dodge it. His eyes grow wide as he realizes what I have done.

After I fire my Purple Net, I immediately conjure my Blue Fire in the palm of my hand. Once Gajeel hits the ground, I fire it at his club to freeze it, and I perform a sweeping kick to break the club now that it's ice.

"Yellow Fire!" I manipulate the yellow flame to form a circle around Gajeel to surround him in the strange smell it gives off. His face begins to turns green.

"Rainbow Fire!" The flame makes direct contact with Gajeel and explodes in his face and upper body. It's one of my strongest spells, and now Gajeel is lying facedown on the dusty earth, most of his strength exhausted by the power of my spell.

Or so I thought.

Gajeel sits up slowly and starts....laughing. He looks barely scathed. "I like you kid," he says.

He turns his head towards Erza. "I think he's passed." What?
"B-But...."
"But what, kid?"
"I didn't beat you!"
"Do you think you can?"
That puts me off guard. Do I think I can?

After a few moments of silence, I say, "No. I don't." Far from looking disappointed, Gajeel's expression is respectful. Almost full of....admiration.

"You've lost to Lisanna, passed Gajeel....This fight with Gray will determine whether or not you will fight me. Do your best," says Erza.

This test....it's almost over. But fighting Gray is a whole other thing than fighting Lisanna or Gajeel. Lisanna doesn't have much pure strength, and Gajeel only uses his pure strength. He doesn't have any strategy or tactic at all. Gray, however....he has both. He's a Demon Slayer.

"One piece of advice before we start...." Gray says, "Strength isn't everything, and neither is strategy. You need to find a balance between the two."
"Right."

I'll use my Purple Flare to get closer to him and then engage him in hand-to-hand combat so Gray can't use his Ice Make Magic.

"Purple Flare!" I begin to dash to a different locations in the clearing, firing my purple fire and manipulating it to strike Gray.

"Ice Make: Shield!"
None of my shots make contact with him.
"Ice Make: Floor!"
I slip on the newly formed ice and fall on my back.
"Ice Make: Arrows!"

Arrows made out of ice fly towards me, and pain explodes on my sides and back as I curl up into a ball in an attempt to protect myself. I blindly shoot flames out from my palms towards where the arrows are coming from, and soon enough, I hear a grunt of pain. I hit him!

I cautiously glance over behind me to see Gray clutching his side. My eyes meets his. They are cold and sharp....like ice.

He strides over to me, dodging my panicky attempts to stop him with my fire, and lifts me up by my throat. I glare at him angrily as he inspects me with an uncaring expression. Finally, his gaze settles upon my eyes.

Suddenly, he relinquishes his grip, and I hit the ground. Silence.

"Romeo has passed."

I look at Gray with astonishment. "I....passed? How?"
"Your eyes."
My silence signals Gray that he needs to explain.

"Lisanna tested your reflexes against a quicker opponent. Gajeel tested your tactic against a stronger opponent. I tested your spirit. When I looked into your eyes, I saw a Mage that knew he was beat. Yet you didn't lose face. You weren't beat. You lost on your own terms....and that's what counts. And now, you'll have to use everything you've learned from these three battles to fight Erza....because that's the only fight in this trial that actually matters."

Erza steps down from the tree stump she had been standing on and places herself in the middle of the clearing. Her Fire Empress armor glows in the sunlight as she stands in an experienced ready stance. But as I gaze into her narrowed eyes, I suddenly realize....

This battle cannot be won. It cannot be passed. It is impossible.

The purple flames that blanketed my arms and fists dissipate into the air, and I speak one single word.

"No."