Chapter-27
Perfect hiding place?
.°•~Destinations~•°.
~•~
Merry Christmas! And, to celebrate it, take this chapter 2 days in advance lol
"Don't let them escape!!" A council mage yells, finally pointing her magic wand towards Kage. Without a moment of delay, she shoots the concentrated magic orb at him.
But it was of no use. The orb passes right through Kage, leaving some shadowy trail around it.
"Darn it! Report about this to sir Laharl immediately!!" The women who tried to shoot Kage yells to her comrades... but no reply came.
The spell Kage casted was slowly accomplishing it's goal. In annoyance, that women turns around to face his fellow council mages... but what she saw was unexpected.
The other council mages were frozen with fear... the absurd gap of power between them and that lone fairy. Even if Gildarts was no longer using his magic, the residual of his aura was still lurking in the air... and it was intense.
They didn't wish to catch him for glory... not anymore... instead they simply wanted him to leave. His presence was making them uneasy. They knew that it was stupidity to even try to stop him.
That council wizard realized that she was the only one who was moving. She jerked her head back towards those 3 wizards... Kage was smirking. Only his head was above the ground by now.
The council mages watched the easiest escape of these three wizards from under their noses. They could do nothing against the force of nature.
"Damn it... if only it was someone other than Gildarts." One of the council mage says.
•••
Near the foothills of Magnolia, a shadow of a giant tree spitted out Gildarts, Kageyama and Jacob. Out of them, Jacob was unconscious.
Gildarts quickly stood up and examined the situation. He could not sense anyone around... they were alone in this forest.
He sighs out of relieve and looks at Kageyama. He was lying on the ground, heavily exhausted.
"That's some great magic you have." Gildarts says lending him a hand.
"That's something from your mouth." Kageyama smiles, gladly accepting the hand to for support. "Though I will avoid using that spell frequently."
"So... Kageyama was it?" Gildarts asks walking towards Jacob.
"Yes." Kageyama replies sincerely following him.
"Kageyama. I know it is a little late, but who are you? I really hope that you aren't an enem-"
"No! I am not..." Kageyama snaps in between. Gildarts nodded and remained silent, waiting for him to continue.
"I am... the real spy... the one who was responsible to provide information to Blue Pegasus." Kage says hesitantly. Maybe he still wasn't sure about revealing his identity to Gildarts.
Gildarts doesn't react at first. He continued to pick Jacob up, putting him on his back steadily.
"I see... so this baldy was fake. But how did you end up in that pocket dimension?" Gildarts asks. He takes a glance at Magnolia, from the cliff. The town was not lit up, like it used to be in the night. He sighed and started walking away from the main entrance.
And for Kageyama, this was unusually going perfectly. He thought that he would get at least a nice scolding or a death warning for messing up... well this man is Gildarts, the strongest in the west. But he isn't anything like the stories he heard. His uneasiness decreased gradually.
"I-I was caught by him. It was more than a week from now. He must have used the advantage of my anonymousness and relayed wrong information to Blue Pegasus." Kageyama replies catching up to Gildarts.
"Captured huh... must have been rough to survive in that place for a week." Gildarts smiles, looking briefly at him.
Kageyama blushes a little and replies, without maintaining the eye contact, "It was not a big deal. I am a spy. I had some emergency food stored up."
Gildarts grinned at this reaction. He, looking ahead again, says, " So he tricked Blue Pegasus into thinking that he was the real spy and passed the information about Grimoire Heart being in Worth Woodseas and Galuna Island to confuse the alliance."
"Yes. Though it was by luck that the team chose the forest's route first." Kageyama adds.
This changed the pace of conversation. As he completes, Gildarts stops suddenly in his tracks. Kage stops along with him, confused.
"What hap-" Kage stops speaking. It was the face of Gildarts... he had an unbearable rage on his face. The Sam rage with which he finished Jacob.
His expression was enough to scare a grown man.
"W-What?" Kage asks immediately, feeling uneasy once again.
"How do you know that the coalition team took the route of the forest?"
Kage really thought that Gildarts would calm down when he starts speaking... but his voice was even more terrifying than his face...
Kage takes a gulp and steps back. "W-What do you m-mean?" He asked hesitantly.
"1 week... For this time you were trapped in that little dimension. Which means you weren't here when the coalition was . You can't possibly know which route the team took... don't tell me... Were you a part of Jacob's plan?..." Gildarts asks putting unconscious Jacob back on the ground.
"Y-You don't think that I betrayed yo-"
"Precisely." Gildarts replies getting ready to fight. "I just hope that you didn't lure me here intentionally..."
Kage grits his teeth, but doesn't replies. That look on Gildarts' face... he couldn't even maintain the eye contact with him. Silently, he shifts his gaze to the ground.
This pisses Gildarts even more.
"Listen you-"
"YES! THEY REALLY ARE HERE!!" Before Gildarts could complete, he hears a voice behind him. It was actually a combined yell of many people. People were here, this close to him, and he didn't notice it until now...
But this wasn't the worse part. The part that actually made Gildarts more alarmed was the drastic change in Kage's personality.
"Atleast 30..." He smiles looking at Gildarts. Kage then continues with a laugh, "At least 30 people are here to greet you, judging from the footsteps. Don't you think it's great?"
Gildarts stomps the ground in annoyance. "You are gonna pay for this..." He curses as a torchlight falls on his face, forcing him to shut his eyes.
•••
Gildarts now finds a new situation to deal with in the outskirts of Magnolia. But, he isn't the only one who has to face something tricky as we speak.
It was night. The tides of the oceans and seas were calm and low. The sky was cloudy, blocking the star light and the moon light altogether.
"You are pathetic." Levy finally says. She had been holding Gajeel, who was swinging on the railing of the ship that was headed towards Bosco.
"S...h...r-" Gajeel tries to speak but couldn't. He had been vomiting from the start of their journey, and right now they were halfway done with their sail. A halfway journey of hell was still left to achieve.
"Oh? Motion sickness is one thing that even the great Gajeel can't win against." Levy teases with a cheerful laugh.
Gajeel tried to spit out some words, but ended up spitting puke instead...
"Maybe you shouldn't tease him that much." Juvia giggles, standing beside Levy. "He is going to pay it back when the ship stops."
"Ha. That maybe so, but right now is my time." Levy replies, shaking Gajeel's body, making his sickness even worse for a few moment.
Juvia smiles looking towards them. She began to think something, and that something turned into a pretty and nostalgic smile.
"Gajeel-kun... you have changed so much. Even a outcast like you found someone... There is someone for everyone... Huh? Will Juvia be able to find her true love too... will Gray-Sama miss Juvia on his lone journey?!!"
Juvia mutters hugging her body, aroused by her weird fantasies. Her cheeks soon got red.
Levy, who didn't understood a word, does a awkward smile and continues to shake Gajeel. All Gajeel could do was curse his life choices in his mind... even that was a bit hazy too.
"Ugh... can't you girls lend a hand here? We can really use some help!" Droy yells, struggling to keep the mast in place.
"Huh? Don't being us maidens into this." Juvia replies, coming back to reality.
"What?! Don't even try to say that. You are a former S-class member of Phantom Lord!! Of course you can help!" Jet yells in between. He was pulling the mast too, with Droy.
"Hehe." Levy laughs a bit but then stops. She looks at Juvia, who completely ignored the plead of Jet and then sighs.
Levy was just trying to balance Gajeel safely on the railing so that she could help her teammates somehow, when Pantherlily announced.
"Don't worry. We will handle it ourselves."
"Alright!" Juvia replied instantly. Levy sighed again at the behavior of Juvia. Was it really for the best to include her in this team?
"Lily!!" Both Jet and Droy moaned. Lily smirked a bit and then continued what he was doing. He was carrying a stack of boxes back to the cockpit. "Don't complain."
Right now, everyone was looking at the exceed doing his job. Jet and Droy were really done with this ship and it's mast. They were meant to be the customers... tourists! But they ended up doing this hard and boring job.
Luckily, not everything was boring. Things took an interesting turn here on.
Before Lily could open the door of cockpit, the sailor himself comes outside. He looked anxious.
"What's the matter?" Lily asks, intrigued by that anxious face. "Is everything all right?"
The sailor was a short, middle aged chuby man. He jerked his head towards Lily and said with shuddering lips, "T-These winds and clouds... We are going to face that storm ahead... I told him not to visit Bosco at this time of the year... not once bymut many time! But that scary man forced me into this!!"
The sailor looks around, his eyes searching for Gajeel so that he could give him a piece of his mind. But as soon as he spots the ferocious dragon slayer in his pity condition, he started to panic again.
"What's the deal with this storm anyways. No way it can sink our ship." Lily says, transforming back to his original size, putting the boxes down.
Seeing Lily that small makes the sailor even more agitated.
"Hey mister... Please calm down. We will pass through it, believe in yourself." Levy says pulling Gajeel away from the railing. "I know you can d-"
"THE STORM AHEAD IS SEASONAL!! OF COURSE IT IS GOING TO KILL US!! THERE IS A REASON WHY NO ONE SAILS FOR BOSCO AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR!!! NO ONE HAS-"
"Ever... survived i-it right?" Gajeel says, barely able to stand up. The man nods slowly. The fear of Gajeel sank into his head once again as he heard that smirk.
"Gee-Hee... in that case... we will be the first ones to survive this..." Gajeel falls again on the ground as he says this. Jet and Droy rush to his side too.
The sailor still looked conflicted. With low tone, he mumbles, "W-What are you saying... I don't get any of this..."
He was so panicked that even his vision blurred. But when he did regain it, he saw hope. A hand was in front of his face.
"We are Fairytail. Of course we will pass through this too." Levy smiles, lending a hand to the sailor, helping him to stand up. Her cheerful smile, just for a moment, forced optimism into the sailor.
The sailor accepts it with trembling hands. As he gets up, he looks at the sky. It was dyed black... covered with gloomy clouds. The winds were increasing at an exponential rate. The climate changed drastically... he could predict just the eye of the storm, which was slowly swallowing the ship towards itself.
Even if it was nowhere in sight, the sailor was really experienced to figure this out.
"H-How... Are you going to...?" He asks to Levy.
Levy smiles and replies, "By believing."
"Believing? Not even god can save-"
"By believing in ourselves... believing in her." Levy cuts the sailor in between and points at the edge of the deck.
The sailor rubs his eyes to see what this girl was pointing at. As his vision clears... He finally sees it. It was a Fairytail wizard.
"Water dome." Juvia says slowly, lifting both her hands in the air cautiously. Her concentration was evident from her body language.
As she says so, the waves on which the ship was riding covers it in form of a sphere, protecting it from high speed winds. The atmosphere inside the dome suddenly bacame normal, the storm became irrelevant.
"She was once nicknamed as Juvia of the great sea." Levy whispers with a smile as she sees the blown expression of the sailor.
Everyone cheers up as the ship gets completely covered in water dome, cheating even the storm.
"So this is the strength of a Fairytail wizard..." The sailor mumbles, walking unconsciously towards Juvia.
"Sir... if would you now please return back and guide this ship to it's destination?" Levy asks tapping the shoulder of the sailor.
He immediately gets back to normal and looks at Levy. "Aye!" He yells, running back towards the cockpit. He took a glance at his right before entering. "The storm's center is that way... with the slow pace of winds inside this dome... we can go around without being sucked in."
"Leave it all to Juvia." Juvia announces confidently. The water dome grew even bigger and thicker now.
The others watch her in astonishment. Gajeel smirked, feeling proud for some reason.
Levy looks at Gajeel and then sighs. "Maybe teaming up with Juvia wasn't that of a bad idea..."
•••
"Who are you!" Gildarts roared, hopping away from the mob and Kage.
"I-It's really him!! It's Gildarts!!" Someone in the crowd yelled. The others cheered up.
When the cheering increased, Gildarts got confused... why aren't they attacking?
"Umm... Gildarts, listen to me. It isn't what you think it is." Kageyama explains stepping towards Gildarts. "I can sense hostility from distance."
"Huh?"
Gildarts was pissed right now. Kage knew this, so he proceeded with caution.
"Please calm down. I can explain. I knew that the coalition team that went for the hunt was destined to forest because I was the one who reported that location to Blue Pegasus." Kage says softly. "I was not captured by that time."
"What about the Island? And the question still remains, how did you know that the team chose forest over the island." Gildarts says taking fighting stance once again.
"Jacob used my identity and delivered the fake information about the island. The fact that this team went to forest was my guess... I mean it would only make sense to take the shorter route first!!" Kage replies in one go. "Plus it wouldn't be like master Bob to leave the first piece of information unexplored."
At last, Gildarts calmed down. For a second, Gildarts felt dumb. His talk finally made sense. But he was still doubtful.
"What about these people?" Gildarts asks pointing at the mob. Kage gave a glance to the mob and then walked to stand beside Gildarts. Gildarts was now confident that this man was not really betraying him.
He shrugs and whispers, "No idea."
This gives Gildarts chills. What the heck...?
"Well, that was a surprise. If you all are council men, then I suggest that you return before someone gets hurt." Gildarts says looking at the crowd.
The crowd first steps back out of fear. But then a man steps out and speaks sincerely. "We are not from the council. We are just normal citizens of Magnolia."
This confuses Gildarts even more. "So... what are you doing here?"
"Some of us saw you when you arrived with the magic automobile. We wanted to confirm our suspicions that it really was you, so we started our search here.
Soon as you left, some council members discovered the vehicle... We were worried and have been here since then, searching for any clue. Just a while ago, we saw a shadow transforming into you... So we rushed over here..." The man tries to explain.
The confused expression of Gildarts turns into a boastful laugh, "So you basically wanted to meet me?"
The rest of the crowd nods, making Gildarts more cocky. Kage didn't like this... Or more like he was jealous.
"Haha... I know that you are my fan and all, but I don't really have time to stay here." Gildarts says as the crowd of his fans circle him.
"Yeah we know. I have thought of something that might help you." The man from earlier says. Gildarts nods.
"Go straight from here, to the village ahead of the station. My relatives live there... They own a bullock. It may not be as fast as the magic mobile, but it will be safer since magic council can't track vehicles without magic easily." The man says handing Gildarts a piece of paper.
Gildarts was impressed. He gladly accepts the paper and goes through it briefly.
It was basically a request of this man... But one thing caught his eye. On the end of the letter, this man has witten this,
"YOURS SINCERELY,
MAYOR OF MAGNOLIA"
Gildarts' eyes widen. He immediately jerks his head and looks at that man again. "Y-You are the mayor?"
The man shyly nods his head. This leaves Gildarts jawdropped.
He probably wanted to talk more, but Kage had it. He drags Gildarts out of the crowd in suddenly with his magic.
"Wh- Wait!" Gildarts yells, as Kage drags him with a shadowy hand.
"Just hurry up! You don't want the council to discover us do you?!!" Kage yells for the first time, annoyed with Gildarts.
Gildarts sighs and jerks his hand out of Kage's grip. He then walks to pick up Jacob, who was still lying out cold and gives a last goodbye to the people of Magnolia. They gave a cheerful goodbye back.
After this Gildarts walks towards Kage. It was clear from his face that he was annoyed.
Gildarts laughs a bit and pats Kage's head, "Yeah yeah. Let's go!"
Kage sighs and nods.
...
Soon, they were away from the boundary of Magnolia, towards the station.
"So... why are these people so obsessed with Fairytail? I mean they could have just informed the council and got the reward for assisting in capturing you." Kage asks, putting his hood on properly. He tried to sound least offensive as possible.
Gildarts scratches his head and then replies doubtfully, "It has something to do with past. Our first master really helped this town... Maybe that's why they allowed us to continue as a guild here even if we made more rampage than any."
"That's just...." Kage mutters, clearly unsatisfied.
Gildarts gives a brief glance and then playfully slaps his back, almost making his fall on the ground.
"What was that for?!!" Kage yells, somehow balancing himself.
"You are just as thankful to this guild, aren't you kid? I don't see any other reason of you helping me till now." Gildarts smiles.
Kage's pain on his back vanishes suddenly. He feels nostalgic for some reason.
He turns away from that grin of Gildarts' and mumbles, "I see... that explains it..."
•••
And so, the night passes. For most Fairyail members, it still was the hour of journey. But one of them had already reached their destination... Or rather they never had a journey to begin with.
(Timeskip to day)
"At last..." Lucy and Wendy sighs together as Erza's team departed from the mountains of Hakobe.
"Don't act like that, Lucy, Wendy." Erza says leading them once again.
"Well, you did made them sleep in the blizzard..." Carla says, somewhat relived too.
"Aye!" Happy nods in agreement.
Lucy and Wendy look at these two exceeds with satisfaction. At least someone was with them...
"Really? I think it was just fine." Gray says, removing his hood.
"I wish you didn't have cold resistance for just a minute there." Lucy scolds. "And don't strip here!"
The others laugh a bit, but not for long. They had to keep their identities anonymous. Erza commands Gray to put on the hood too. Gray sighs and slowly puts on his hood back.
"Clothes are uncomfortable." He complains slowly.
"Now that this is done..." Erza announces making a sudden stop, and turning back to here comrades, "Our next location will be the Margaret town!"
Gray flinches as Erza announces this. The exceeds and Wendy had no idea where this was... But as for Lucy, she was done.
"No way! Hand me the map!' Lucy says walking towards Erza. Erza was confused... but hands her the map anyways.
"You know that we can't go there, don't you!" Lucy asks running her finger across the map, hoping to find any other location.
"Umm... But what's the problem in that town?" Wendy whispers slowly while stepping next to Lucy.
"Huh? You really don't know?" Lucy asks quickly. Wendy shyly nods her head. Lucy, still a little surprised, explains,
"Every big town has it's own guild. Just like Magnolia had Fairytail. As for Margaret town, it is under the supervision of Lamia Scale."
Wendy's eyes widen. She smiles subconsciously and then looks cheerfully at Carla. "Charle, does it mean...?"
Carla sighs and nods her head, "Yes, child, Chelia should be in this town too."
This makes Wendy even more happier. She looks at Lucy and then says excitedly, "Can we please visit this town?"
"Wha-?"
"Then it's decided. We are heading for Margaret town to hide for the time being." Erza announces, cutting out Lucy.
Wendy and Carla nods in agreement. Then Erza looks at Lucy... she looked really confused.
"Is it a problem, Lucy?" Erza asks to her.
Lucy immediately replies, "Yes! Of course! It is a problem!!"
"I agree with Lucy on this one." Gray adds on.
Erza sighs. "Why so?"
"Because Lamia Scale is an accomplished wizard guild. Them finding us will only be a matter of time... Be it the day we arrive or the day before we leave!" Lucy explains. Gray nods his head in agreement.
"Well... It's not like we will talk to them or anything. We will maintain our distance from them..." Wendy mumbles.
"That maybe so... but that freak Lyon has known me and my magic for years. He can sense and identify it from distance!" Gray argues.
This argument goes on for about a minute, until Erza suggests someting,
"Alright, calm down, everyone. Let's just vote for this."
"RIGHT!!" All of them yell together.
"I agree for heading to Margaret. More importantly,-" Erza says, and then with a blushed face reveals her true intentions, "-They haves best qualified strawberry cakes."
Lucy and Gray suddenly became more disappointed than fussed as Erza revealed her true intentions.
"I agree with Erza-San." Wendy adds.
Everyone then looks at Carla. Carla takes her time to think, and then says, "...I am with Wendy. If we keep our distance, it shouldn't be a problem. Afterall, no one will expect us to be there."
Lucy sighs. "Alright... then it's a tie since Happy will-"
"I am with Carla!!!" Happy yells in between. Gray gives him a glare that he probably won't forget for his entire life.
"What was it again... don't tell me you forgot all the fishes I gave you as a treat after missions!" Gray says kneeling down, still staring at Happy. "Chang-"
"Cats have short term memory..." Happy mumbles, looking away from Gray.
"Why you-" Gray was about to grab Happy, but Erza kicks him away before he could do anything.
"Eh..." Lucy whispers as Gray goes flying into a tree.
"So then, its finally decided. Majority of us agree to stay in Margaret for some time." Erza says, clapping her hands to grab attention.
Lucy agrees without a word. There was nothing she could do anything anymore. She glances again at Gray... He seemed alright for some reason. His durability amazed Lucy... But it was only expected since he had worked with Erza many times in the past.
"I am sorry Lucy-San... But I really want to visit this town at least once." Wendy says bowing down in front of Lucy.
"It's alright." Lucy sigh... which was a lie, obviously. She then asks, "Is it because of Chelia?"
"Yes!" Wendy replies immediately. "She is my first friend who is of my age too!"
"I see... I had this same energy when I met him..." Lucy says with lack of energy, tired from just thinking about it all.
"Natsu?" Gray asks, suddenly getting interested in the conversation.
"Hmm." Lucy replies.
"Come to think of it, you never told us how you met him." Erza says while starting to walk towards their destination.
"Oh?! Really?... sorry about that. It happened about 11 years ago... He was in the garden, near my mother's grave..." Lucy's voice slowly dies into silence as she says this.
"Your mother is...?" Wendy whispers hesitantly.
Lucy sighs and smiles. "Yes. She died when I was a little kid... But don't worry! It was a really long time ago."
"I see..." Erza says, not wanting to stretch this part. She jumps to the next part instead, in hope to soothe the situation, "So what about your father? I hope he is doing well. I would like to m-"
"He is dead too." Lucy interrupts. Erza couldn't close her mouth. She didn't knew what else to say...
And so, the awkward moment of silence continues again. Livu didn't say anything, that made the wizards feel a little guilty.
"Hey Lucy... we are sorry for bringing this topic up." Gray says, standing in front of Erza. Everyone stops on the rocky path, looking at Lucy.
"No. It I fine. I don't have many memories of my mother because she died really long ago... So I don't feel that sad." Lucy snaps, trying to laugh.
"What about your father?" Happy asks out of curiousity. He regretted this. Erza intentionally steps on his tail and Carla slaps her paw on his mouth violently.
"Don't mind Happy. He is just like this..." Wendy says quickly.
Lucy shook her head and then says, "It's really alright! You can ask me anything since we are friends... I really don't mind it either. It is all past anyways."
This loosens up the awkward environment at last.
"He died about 18 months ago. He was really a workaholic... He was always busy, he didn't really have time for me. Maybe that's why I don't feel much about him." Lucy says slowly walking off course, towards a tree.
"Well, he was your father. I don't know if you should say something like that..." Gray says following Lucy.
Lucy smiles at this reply. She keeps her hand on the rough bark of the tree and slowly stokes it. "I don't know... I don't know if I love or hate him. He never paid attention to me... His family. My feelings are conflicted about him..."
"Natsu... that jerk knew this and still left you alone." Gray mumbles, regretting the decision of helping Natsu again.
"Well at least he is happy." Lucy smiles as she says this. The others went quiet as they saw this smile... they didn't knew whether to support Natsu or reveal the truth.
"I have a dream..." Lucy suddenly says.
"Dream?" Others repeat together.
"More like a goal. Before dying, my father lost all his fortune... All the property and estate, including our home. Right now, it is in the possession of the government. I really want to buy it back one day..."
"Huh? That's all? I am sure if we all combine our savings, we can buy it back." Wendy says excitedly.
Lucy laughs and pats Wendy's head. "It ain't one house. I am talking about the whole residence, the Heartfilia Konzern."
The others were frozen as Lucy spoke this name.
"You mean... you are the daughter of the man who was once the boss of the company that was famous for it's railway network around Fiore?!!" Erza says slowly. Her mouth was wide open from the shock.
Lucy blushes a bit and then nods. "Yes. I am Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of Jude Heartfilia. Oh come to think of it, nobody knew my last name either."
"Lucy, you were rich." Happy says, drooling for some reason.
"Hehe. I 'was'... right now I am completely different. I left the home soon after shifting all the belongings of our house in the celestial world. I really hope that one day... I can live just like before..." Lucy whispers, looking at her shoulder. But this time... her voice breaks. The sorrow was finally taking control.
"My mother... last of my father... both are buried there. My childhood memories-"
Erza gently rubs Lucy's back... but this totally breaks her. She started crying as soon as she felt the warm touch of a friend... Erza was about to hug her, but something stopped her from it.
Wendy hugged Lucy instead, and Gray tried to make her laugh. Happy and Carla were doing their best to console her too. But something... something striked Erza's mind like a lightning bolt. She got goosebumps from this sudden emotion.
She backs down and whips her head towards the sky. "This feeling... Jellal?" Her eyes narrowed as the feeling of restlessness and insecurity increased.
"What's wrong, Erza?" Gray asks, gesturing her to help Lucy. Erza, worriedly nodded back.
"You are alright, aren't you... Jellal?"
•••
Right now, most of the teams of Fairytail were planning their next approach, to stay one step ahead of the council. But there was one certain. team... a team that seemed a little too carefree.
"This is perfect ♡." Mira says, giving a thumbsup to Bickslow and Elfman. They were setting up a tent.
Team 2, comprising of the Mira, Elfman, Thunder Legion and Laxus arrived at Veronica last night. They, especially 'Laxus', were tired from the journey.
(Laxus managed to not puke a single time during the entire tour!)
Thus, they decided to spend the night in the forest and think about their course of action for the next 3 months. But when they woke up in the morning, they gave up the idea of booking a hotel. So right now, they are making a tent... a goddamn plastic tent... in the middle of a forest... a dense forest full of beasts...
"MANLY BLOW!" Elfman yells, hammering the last edge of the from of the tent.
"This was the last one." Bickslow says sitting down on the ground. He looked tired. He and Elfman had to set up 4 tents without any breakfast. Mira was with them for the moral support... nothing else.
Laxus was in the main town, in hopes of gathering information about Tartaros or Cana or Seireyu. Not like he expected anything in a town like Veronica. Freed was setting up enchantments in a 1 kilometer radius to prevent any possible ambush. And as for Evergreen... she was sunbathing in a swimsuit.
"Hey! Are you just gonna slack there?!!" Bickslow yells at Evergreen, who was lying on a mat, not too far away from him.
"Slacker! Slacker! Slacker!" The so called 'babies' of Bickslow repeat after him.
Evergreen gives one glance and then ignores him.
Bickslow sighs and gets up. He looks around. Mira had finished making the breakfast. Elfman was just checking around the corners of the last tent. Freed was on the verge of completing the loop of his enchantment.
"Looks like Laxus is the only one late." Bickslow says.
"Hmm. He will return soon... hopefully." Mira replies.
•••
"Here." Laxus says handing over the money to a street vendor. This vendor was selling books.
He was short, and fat man. His voice was goofy and a little cracked. He had trouble speaking, indicating that he was a local of Veronica. He often used the native language while talking to Laxus.
The vendor counts the money slowly and carefully. After he was done, he leans slowly towards Laxus and whispers, "Brother, you don't live here, do you? I-I m-mean you are wearing a giant cape...?"
Laxus ignores him and continues to check the book he bought. It was really thin, short stories for children book.
"Ah... you see, brother, the story you just buy is bedtime story. Every citizen of Veronica, every citizen brother, knows about it... some even worship it... haha." The vendor chuckles, now climbing on his cart and slowly pushing his body towards Laxus.
Laxus finally gives him a little attention. He closes the book and gives a brief stare, "What do you want?"
"Oh! Nothing brother, nothing. Absolutely nothing!" The vendor snaps, stupidly shaking his hands.
"Then just do your job, don't poke your nose around." Laxus says coldly and was about to leave... but the next words from the vendor's mouth stunned him with shock.
"You know, brother, a guild named Fairytail was just declared as a dark guild...
They have high bounty on them you know. The guild mages are right now on loose... suspected hiding on the continent and abroad. Isn't it awful, brother?"
Laxus immediately turns and glares at the vendor, finally giving him a good look. He must be in his 30's. He looked poor by his clothing, but Laxus deduced that since he was selling books and could speak the non-native language, he must be educated.
"I see. Is is awful, indeed." Laxus says, walking back towards the man.
"You feel too so?" The vendor asks excitedly, "You know, those bastards shouldn't roam around! The council should catch them as soon as possible!!!"
"...yeah indeed." Laxus says, turning away. "Alright then, I will be goi-"
"Hold up brother!" The vendor says gripping Laxus's forearm. "Why are your emotions so dry?"
"What does this all has anything to do we me?" Laxus asks, jerking away his arm from his chubby arm.
"Na Na... you have nothing to do, brother. But you see, there was a man in that cursed guild, named uh... what was it... oh yes, Laxus! Brother, he looks exactly like... you know... like...." The vendor smiles and starts to point his finger at different people.
Laxus traces the movement of his finger with one of his eye.
Vendor's smile grew into a laugh as his finger finally stopped at the man himself, Laxus. "Hahaha! Gothya brother... No! Fairies!! Bounty is mine! MINE ALONE!!"
Laxus sighs. He scratches his head slowly... this vendor's laugh made him feel sick. Laxus jerked his head and looks around. Luckily, the street was busy. No one seemed to have heard anything.
He then looks at the vendor again.
This man was looking happy, but that smirk on his face was annoying.
"So... it seems you know me." Laxus whispers. He puts the book on the cart and keeps his hands on the hood, lowering it down... in the public...
"Yes brother! That's the face!!" The vendor yells, taking out a poster of Laxus labeled 'WANTED'. Laxus takes a brief look at his face in the poster and then asks,
"Is there one for all of us?"
"Absolutely brother! There's one for each one of you, all labeled WANTED!!!" The vendor replies. "When the others come searching you, I will hog that bounty too!!!"
This puts a smile on Laxus' face. He whispers to himself, "Seems you were right about scattering in teams, old m-.. no... gramps."
"Huh? Brother... what are you mumbling? Your last words? Ha!!" The vendor asks. His voice was breaking because of excitement by every passing second.
"Nothing that concerns you." Laxus replies scratching his head, "I know it is a little late, but how do you plan to capture me?"
"What? If I just scream your name the the crowd will hunt you down!! You don't stand a chance brother!" Vendor replies frantically.
This was a mistake.
The sky was clear and sunny. Not a sign of clouds or rain. But as soon as the vendor spoke this, a lightning descended, out of nowhere, upon a statue.
The statue was of king like figure. Right now it was nothing but cloud of dust.
Immediately, commotion roared in that street. The sudden wrath of the god made the worshipers run amok. "Sudden lightning?! It must be the god of thunder!" They yelled in their native language.
Laxus opens his arm sideways, opening his cape. Static charges zap on his body. "You know me, huh?" He says slowly. "Alright. Then that means you knew that I am one of the S-class of Fairytail? That I am the grandson of Makarov Dreyar? That I can control thunder bolts on my finger? That I have killed some people on my jobs?"
The vendor's mouth shuts down. His laugh became nervous. He realized that he has to do something. He opened his mouth to yell for help... but knew that it was all over.
His eyes widen. The crowd that he was boasting upon vanished... Everyone ran away from the area where the lightning striked. The market that was buzzing with people is now barren... with just two of them.
"I-I-I will- You will regret t-this brother! I-I have c-contacts!!!" The vendor says desperately, backing away from his cart.
Laxus sighs. He covers his head with the hood again and starts to walk towards the vendor with a normal pace, not caring to catch him.
He takes a glance at the posters that the vendor had. They were kept in series on his cart. This catches his interest, as he starts to see each of them, one by one.
There was one for everyone... except her. This puts him at ease.
"Looks like they don't know about Lucy yet..."
The vendor was panicking. He tried to run... but ended up tripping and falling on the ground. He tried to crawl his way out.
He really thought that still, he has the chance of escaping. But in reality, it was over. In other instance, a thunderbolt strikes the path he was crawling on. And there stood Laxus, blocking the sun behind.
The vendor's eyes started shedding tears on their own.
"P-Please brother! I have a daughter waiting for me!!!" The vendor pleads, grabbing Laxus's feet. Laxus looks at the vendor. He was so confident just a while ago... now he is so miserable.
He sighs again and bends down. "I have a deal. Do me a favor and you live." Laxus says, lifting the man up.
The vendor joins his hands and nods instantly. "Everything you say brother!!"
"That's the spirit. It seems that only you know me in this whole town. Why so? And what are your contacts?"
"I-I know many underground dealers. Some of them have great influence of Veronica... Council sent many WANTED posters of each Fairytail members... but that person brother... That person... he sold most of them to other continents, earning money from the name of council."
"Huh? So is he a friend or a foe?" Laxus asks, confused.
"No... you are misunderstanding. He believed that if Fairytail ever dared to step their foot here, then he would kill them for the bounty effortlessly.
That's why he sold them off. He is the leader of Fallen Petals gang... and because of his great influence over the this city, most of us work under him..."
Laxus walks back to the cart and picks up his book. He then asks without looking back, "Name?"
"M-My name is Kritz-"
"Not yours. The name of your boss." Laxus interrupts.
"Draken!" The vendor replies immediately.
"Draken huh... this will be interesting." Laxus mumbles walking away from the cart towards the forest.
The vendor gives out a sigh of relieve. But freezes again as Laxus yells, "Kritz, I will visit again tomorrow!! Get the books I asked for ready. Don't try to back on your word...? Otherwise... you know already, don't you?"
The heart almost leaps out of his chest as Laxus finally leaves. This was the first time Laxus actually raised his voice. Kritz recalls Laxus' words again, trying to understand what he meant.
Suddenly, he looks around. The street was crowded again, specially near the statue, maybe to check the damage. It must have been here for a minute... but he noticed them just now...
"We must pay our prayers to the thunder god!" On of them yells, in the native language, joining both his hands. The others followed him.
•••
Laxus checks his hood once more. It was in place. He then checks the book again.
"A picture book that everyone in Veronica knows... huh? This should help a little to understand these people..."
He opens the book and reads the title in his head. "...pretty long title." He mumbled.
"5 Great Emperors of Apocalypse and Creation."
.
End.
And also, I personally don't like adding overpowered and countless OCs. So there will be less of them. If they are overpowered, it will be revealed why. Don't worry, won't make this story into a cringy one.
...HoPefUllY...