Zeref's Sister

Chapter 14: S-Class

A/N I don't know how I just realized this but I messed up the order of the chapters, but it's fixed now. Just a heads up.

X780

"Who are you hoping to have in battle?" Gildarts asks Zinnia as they prepare for this years S-Class Mage challenge.

"You know exactly who I want to fight. I'm not going easy on her either." Zinnia smirks watching the ship come into view from the sea.

"That's if you get her. We don't get to pick who we fight you know." Laxus huffs, he's been annoyed with the fact that he's stuck helping with these challenges since Makarov told him about them this year. It's only been two years since the boy had become an S-Class Mage himself.

"I know that, if we did I wouldn't have let you past me." Zinnia rolled her eyes at the teen. She still thinks that Laxus got off easy, not that he isn't an amazing Mage, she just doesn't think he understands the responsibility of being S-Class.

"Oh, here they come. I just watched the first one come off of the ship. Into your places everyone." Gildarts says walking away from the two of them.

"Don't go easy on her. She'll be mad at you about it." Laxus smirks.

"Don't go easy on Mira." Zinnia smirked and winked back on him causing the younger boy to fluster and storm off. "Kids, what can you do." She snickered to herself sitting on a rock as she waited for her opponent. She didn't care who she fought, she just wanted to fight Erza.

•

"You shouldn't keep your elders waiting for so long Erza." Zinnia says as the redhead comes into her view.

"I'll be faster next time. That puzzle was something else you know." Erza smirked taking a seat across from Zinnia.

"Thank you, I worked very hard on that. Some of my best work if I do say so myself." Zinnia smiled to herself. She had set up different puzzles for all of the participants of this year's challenge, completely guessing what everyone would take. She prayed everyone picked the one for them or the crowd will thin quickly. Master told her not to make them too hard.

"What you gave me in training was harder." Erza rolled her eyes.

"Well, I didn't want you too tired before our fight. How is your eye doing?" Zinnia asked looking at Erza's brown eyes, you would never tell that one was false. 

"It's doing really good. Now, let's get down to business, this is going to be my year." Erza readied herself, she was excited about this battle, she had spared with Zinnia many times, but she knew that the older girl was holding back. Now, there was no holding back, this was either beat Zinnia or not become an S-Class Mage and have to try again next year. She wasn't coming back next years unless she was an S-Class standing with Zinnia ready to fight her fellow guildmates to test their strength.

"I'm not holding back Erza, so you just let me know when you've had enough." Zinnia grins beginning to show Erza something that she has never seen before.

"I'm not holding back either. Requip! Fire Empress Armor!"

"Animal Creation! Water Dragon! Animal Creation Stone Dragon!"

"Pulling out the big stops already. I see you're favoring dragons today." Erza smirked as the Stone Dragon rushed at her.

"Well I've never used them against you, for this exact moment, they are my strongest creatures. These two still aren't even the strongest." Zinnia stood watching as Erza changed her armor finding a better tactic to take down the Stone Dragon and go after the Water Dragon. Erza made quick work of the Water Dragon rushing up to Zinnia in the blink of an eye.

"Give me a challenge Zin. Actually, try." Erza growled taking a slash as the older Mage.

"You want a challenge. I'll give you one. Animal Creation! Shadow Dragon, lend me your strength!" Zinnia made an exact replica of her old friend, tears coming to her eyes seeing the shadow dragon standing in front of her. It's been so long.

"This is my strongest Dragon that I will use against you. If you can defeat Skiadrum you can move on. Good luck Erza." Zinnia wouldn't dare bring out a replica of Igneel against Erza, anyone who she considers family for that matter, he was too strong even as a fake. Her animals feed off of her power, but the dragons, always seem to come out with their own sense of power. Zinnia likes to believe that it's her gift from her dragons, how they will help her keep the children safe. 

•

Sometime later Zinnia sits with Erza after a very long battle, Zinnia is healing Erza to make sure she has all the strength that she'll need for the rest of her challenge. "Were dragons really that powerful?" Erza asks breaking Zinnia's concentration.

"Oh, um, yes. Sort of. My replicas are only as strong as I am. With the dragons, they are different, they seem to have their own source of power." Zinnia sighs finishing resorting Erza's strength.

"So you don't really have control over them?"

"I have full control over them, it's just, they seem to have just as much power as the real dragons did. I do try to tone them down, each one I use against different foes. I didn't want to give you my weakest, but I wasn't going to give you my actual strongest. I'm afraid that I can't actually control him sometimes." Zinnia tries to explain.

"I thought you said that one was your strongest." Erza huffed feeling cheated. It was a hard enough battle so maybe she shouldn't feel that way.

"Let's continue this another time? You need to go become an S-Class Mage so we can go on more missions together!" Zinnia said changing the subject and getting Erza back on track.

"Right! I'll see you later Zinnia! Thanks again!" Erza grins running through the cave continuing her challenge.

•

"So did you go easy on her?" Gildarts asked taking a seat at camp with Zinnia.

"Yes and no. I gave her what I was comfortable giving her. You have to remember who I am Gildarts, I could easily destroy this whole island if I wanted. I want her to succeed." Zinnia sighed.

"So could I. But then again, I'm not nearly 400 years old with some crazy experience under my belt like you." Gildarts laughs.

"Yeah." Zinnia looks down at her hands.

"I'm leaving after this Zinnia."

"What do you mean leaving?"

"I'm taking a 100-year mission right after we get back."

"You aren't going to be-"

"No, I promised you that I would leave anything with the word dragon to you. This one is different. Not saying I won't run into-"

"Gildarts, if you run into him. You need to tell me. I'll be there in a heartbeat. You cannot handle him on your own, my dragons and I couldn't even fight him, I lost so many friends back then. Stay away from anything that has the slightest hint of Acnologia to it. Please, for the guild." Zinnia knew what would happen if Gildarts tried to fight that monster, she couldn't stand the thought of losing another friend to that monster.

"I promise you that I will call you. I'll take one of your little fairies with me and everything. You have my word Zinnia."

"Good." They were silent the rest of the day waiting to see who would come out victorious.