Cathal VS. Laxus

The entire Fairy Tail was now outside the guild, everyone watching the two figures standing face to face a ways away from the group. Nobody was worried about them, but they were all thinking the same thing. Would the new guy be good enough to face Laxus? 

After all, everyone new of Laxus power and, above all else, his potential. Wielder of Dragon Slayer magic, one of the Ancient Magics or Lost Magics, Laxus was in a league of his own. While still not as powerful as some of the better S-Rank Mages, he was well on his way to reaching that level of power. Cathal on the other hand, they didn't know anything about. They could feel his magic power, dancing in the line before reaching the S-Rank, much like Laxus. But magic power alone didn't dictate strength or control, so they kept their doubts close to their hearts. 

Only one thing was for certain. The fight was about to start.

*

"Are you sure you want to do this new guy?" Laxus asked in mock worry. "I don't want your first interaction with the Guild being you getting humiliated." 

"Oh don't worry you prick." Cathal answered, returning Laxus' venom with his own. "I just want to see how hard it is to beat down the only person around my level in here." 

Arrogant? Maybe it sounded like it, but it was reality. Cathal already knew that, besides Laxus, nobody in Fairy Tail could pose a challenge to him. Not yet, at least. Makarov and Gildarts, of course, were taken out of the equation. After all, Cathal didn't want to get beat up, he wanted a challenge. Someone who could help him polish his new powers. And the blonde prick before him was perfect for the job. 

"Heh... don't regret it." Laxus said before charging at Cathal, his first charged with lightning. "Lightning Dragon's Iron Fist!" 

"Volt Soul!" Cathal called, transforming into Volt, the warframe that could manipulate and control electricity. Immediately pumping his system with an electric charge, his perception became sharper and his movements faster. Seeing Laxus' fist coming, he dodged it and created an electric current, trying to zap Laxus. 

"Take Over Magic, huh?" Said Laxus, ignoring the electricity that had hit him. After all, it didn't have any effect on him. "Interesting". 

He immediately used his breath magic to return the same attack to Cathal. Seeing it coming, Cathal decided to try a theory of his, and stood there. The Lightning Dragon's Breath reached him in a instant, engulfing him in electricity and...

"We might have to stay here for a while like this." Cathal said, unaffected by the electricity, just like Laxus. "We're both immune to this."

"That's no fun at all." Laxus answered, clearly annoyed at his attack having no effect on Cathal. "You got any other transformations?" 

"Let's do that, yeah." Cathal said, undoing his transformation and calling a different one. "Mag Soul!"

Cathal's thought process was simple. He was checking for compatibility, possible weaknesses of his own, and counters to other types of magic. 

"Didn't expect you to be a crossdresser." Laxus said, mocking Cathal's current appearance. Mag was, after all, a female frame. 

"It's not like I chose this form to be female." Cathal said, only to immediately create a magnetic field around Laxus, pulling him towards the center. 

Laxus, seeing his current situation, was quick to understand what was happening. Arrogant and muscle-headed were two things he definitely was, but that did not mean he was stupid. So, immediately, Laxus sent out a lightning blast in all directions. Unfortunately, Cathal's magnetic field was stronger than he thought, and his electricity only got sucked into it. Without many options, Laxus decided to overcharge it. After all, magnetism and electricity were connected and reacted to each other. He started to constantly release lightning, quickly overcharging the magnetic field, burning through both Cathal's and his own magic reserves. After all, they were now competing to see who would give up on this strategy first. 

Seeing that there was no point in continuing said futile struggle, Cathal decided to drop his magnetic field. Without undoing his transformation, he called a new one. 

"Excalibur Soul." He said, his voice dropping an octave as he called the only frame that he knew he would be able to fight as. "I guess it's come down to this now. Raw power versus raw power."

Not allowing Laxus the change to process his new form, he dashed towards him in an upwards slash, his Exalted Blade forming in his hand mid-way. Laxus brought up his arm, charged with his Lightning Magic, and threw a punch towards Cathal's blade. The two forces clashed in the middle, sparks of lightning and raw magic power coming to life from their point of contact. 

Being once again brought to an impasse, Cathal used a bit more force and jumped backwards, pushing Laxus at the same time. Mid-air, Cathal sent an energy slash towards Laxus, who turned into lightning and dodged to the side. Where he stood now was a huge scar on the earth, at least five meters in length and quite deep. 

"Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!" Laxus exclaimed, charging both his hands with lightning and sending fists of lightning towards Cathal. 

Instead of dodging, the former decided to answer in kind with his slashes, though this time they were more measured. After all, he was having so much fun he didn't wand to run out of magic power. 

Each time a fist and a slash collided, everyone could hear a small explosion going off, their attacks cancelling each other out. Slash met fist, fist met slash, and Cathal and Laxus lunged at each other in the midst of the explosions. 

"Come on new guy! Use more power! This is so much fun!" Laxus yelled, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit. 

"You too, prick! Show me your strength!" Cathal yelled back. 

This time they both charged their attacks to the fullest, putting their everything into one last attack. 

"Lightning Dragon's Iron Fist!" 

"Exalted Slash!" 

Just when the two attacks were to clash, two giant fists hit both Cathal and Laxus square in the head, knocking them to the floor. Cathal undid his transformation and grabbed his head, where a huge goose egg had formed. 

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Laxus exclaimed, also grabbing his head. "Old man, why did you hit us?!"

"My head..." Cathal said, still focusing on the pain of the hit. "Master, that was not nice." 

"You idiots!" Makarov said, looking at them like they were, in fact, two idiots. "It was supposed to be a friendly spar! Are you trying to destroy the place?!" 

Only then did Cathal and Laxus look around, realizing the area around them now looked like a warzone that had seen too much combat. Trees toppled, the ground full of pits and slash marks, parts of the grass and trees burnt by lightning. They knew they had overdone it, but they couldn't care less. They were having fun. 

"He started it." Cathal said unapologetically, pointing at Laxus. 

"Huh?! You bastard, you also provoked me!" Laxus answered. 

Then Cathal started laughing and stood up, walking towards Laxus and offering him a hand to get up from the floor. Laxus, in turn, smirked and took his hand. 

"You're strong, Cathal." Laxus said, calling him by his name for the first time. 

"And so are you, Laxus." Cathal answered, knowing that they had just formed a bond. 

And in Fairy Tail, bonds were for life. 

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What did you guys think? I tried to do my best, but I always feel iffy about writing fights. Though I have to admit I reaaaaally enjoyed writing this one!