Chapter 1: Reality Check

A dragon's power is one that's both magnificent and awe-striking. As it goes to move, it flies up and off the ground with such ground-breaking force; it becomes a force of nature in its own right. It wields so much power, something that many humans can't grasp, and becomes both feared and revered. Something with so much potential either chooses to create or destroy and anything can happen when one takes this direction. After a long war between their relations with humans, dragons started to teach humans how to wield such magic; it came to be known as Dragon Slaying magic. The dragon's that choose peace did this so that they could stop the destruction of the ones who wished to end humanity, but that was a long time ago.

As time went on and life continued, a dimensional split took place. A vast majority of the humans inhabiting this planet suddenly vanished and fell into a new dimension. In this dimension, everyone became stripped of the ethernano in their bodies, and they managed to build a society and lifestyle that revolved around the use of everything but magic. The history of being in the same dimension as before was permanently erased and was instantly forgotten, never to be remembered by anyone. They could only connect to it through means of fictional stories, but that's all they believed it to be.

Following the lifestyle of an individual who feels a stronger connection to such fiction than most, we have Kyousuke Watanabe. For him, it was a secret that he held inside; he couldn't control how attached he got. He held onto the belief that maybe there's something more, but considering his past and childhood, perhaps it was all he had. He was 18 years old, lived in his parents' home and went to high school. That's what most people would see; what they didn't understand is how much he had to do on his own. He would cook and buy himself his meals on a daily basis, he transported himself to and from school by foot, and he worked a job outside of school that earned him the money he could use for the things he wanted. Even if it sounded like he was putting his life in gear, he wasn't happy. There was so much that made him feel alone, outcasted, wrong for being who he was. How could anyone understand though? Nobody knew what it was like to be him; everybody else was too wrapped up in their own story to look outside.

On a typical day walking back from school, as usual, he took a long route that led him back home. He didn't have to go to work tonight, so he was just planning on heading home like he was supposed to. Kyousuke didn't have individual freedoms like other people, such as being able to go out and see the world and what not. When someone asked him to do something, he had to do it; there were no excuses. It wasn't a discipline issue either. Kyousuke would look on at people socializing, talking about random things he thought were superficial, he'd see people driving and going about and doing things, having fun with friends and what not. It was anything but inspirational; it was frustrating to watch. He couldn't help but think to himself about how bad it was.

"They're all stupid as hell; I don't even know where to begin." Kyousuke thought to himself in frustration. He couldn't help but feel as if they had no idea; it was like they lived in a bubble that shut them out from reality. Kyousuke always looked around and saw that they took every single positive thing they got for granted; he couldn't feel any genuine appreciation for what they had in front of them. He saw so many things that he wished he had but didn't, and that upset him. If anything, it made him feel more disconnected with society and more within himself.

As he mulled over these tense feelings he regularly dealt with, he headed home as usual. He walked on a dirt road that led down the neighborhood he lived in; the sun reflected his darker blonde hair and the electric blue eyes he had. It complemented the navy-blue jacket he was wearing with his cargo jeans, an outfit he wore often. He wasn't the type to get fancy with clothing unless it was something important, which was rare. Kyousuke mulled over random thoughts running through his head as he made his way home.

"Just another day with the same crap, what a surprise." Kyousuke thought to himself in disappointment. "If there's anything my life's not gonna do, it's not going to change." He stopped for a moment and looked up in the sky, seeing the blue sky and the clouds passing by, along with the bright sun shining and illuminating the earth as it took its half-day trip around this region of the planet. When he looked into the sky, he could feel something calling to him; Kyousuke felt like there was something else out there. It was this everlasting feeling that there was something or someone that could pull him out of this mess, something that would happen that could change everything. He just imagined the very sight of his life-changing before him, and the fact that just maybe there was something out there that everyone was oblivious to, that they weren't willing to believe. As alleviating as it felt, only disappointment followed.

"If only," Kyousuke muttered to himself, "I'm just getting my hopes up again." He stood there and thought about all the things that could happen, the various scenarios that his imagination could create. It made him feel connected to something, and that's what he wanted, and it was what he needed. It was better to do it that way than try finding it where there is none. Just as he was about to continue with his trip back to the household, he heard a strange sound. It was difficult to describe, almost like a laser in some way.

"What?" Kyousuke wondered, turning around and coming face to face with something he never expected to see. His eyes widened as he became full of shock when he saw what was in front of him: a large white portal that appeared out of nowhere. "What the hell?" He thought to himself in wonder. He shook his head to try to get himself to think straight and looked again; it didn't disappear. "What in the world...this is really happening...what the hell is going on?" He questioned in shock. His head ran with thoughts like mad, and he was so shocked by it that he quickly became skeptical. It just seemed too unrealistic to be true. As soon as he started walking, something came falling out of the portal. Within a few seconds of falling out of it, the thing hit the ground as the portal it came out of disappeared. Kyousuke ran up to see what it was, making it out to be a person. Despite being so startled that he couldn't even think clearly, he knew what he was dealing with here.

"What the hell..." Kyousuke said in shock, his eyes widened in utter disbelief. He held these kinds of feelings in before, but he was so shocked that it happened, he didn't know how to take it. "It can't be true; it's really happening. What the hell..." He thought to himself over and over again. It was the body of a male with long, black, spiky hair. He was wearing a black attire with beige pants and black boots and had iron studs on his forearms. It was Gajeel Redfox, just lying there on earth unconscious before Kyousuke of all people.

"Well...damn, this was the last thing I thought would happen," Kyousuke said in amazement, feeling some sense of hope. With as surprising and unexpected as this was, he couldn't help but only think about what was in front of him. Getting himself into further trouble because of this now didn't matter to him. "Now I need to find out how the hell I'm going to get him out of here," Kyousuke muttered to himself, getting down on the ground. He tried to pick him up, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him to wake him up.

"Yo Gajeel, wake up! You're out in the middle of nowhere." Kyousuke said in an attempt to wake him up, further shaking him. It was to no effect. Kyousuke, realizing that it would be a while before anything happened, decided to go with plan b. "Looks like you're coming with me." He told him as if he were awake, moving in to grab him. He went to carry him and drag him back to the house, putting his arms around his shoulders and attempting to drag him back to the house. "How the hell am I going to do this?" Kyousuke thought to himself, attempting to drag him and tripping in the process, falling to the ground with Gajeel falling right on him. Frustrated, he instantly got up and tried again, trying with all his might to carry him back to the house, even if it was physically straining. "He's heavier than I thought; it must be all of that iron he eats." Kyousuke joked to himself, dragging Gajeel back to the house with him. It took far longer to get home, but it wasn't with regret. His first trip was to head to the barn outside of the house. Kyousuke couldn't have anyone finding out about Gajeel being here, so the barn was the best place for him to be right now.

"Sorry Gajeel, I don't want to put you in a barn where it smells like garbage, but there's nothing else I can do," Kyousuke told him as if he was listening. In the barn was a large garage space, the garage space containing tools for various uses. There were trash bins, lifts, compressors, etc. There was also an area where there were chairs to sit, and Kyousuke managed to get Gajeel sitting in one of them, even if he happened to be passed out. As he "got him comfortable" Kyousuke planned to leave him there for a while; it's better than leaving him out on the road like a corpse. "I'll be back, so just stay here. If you do wake up then, whatever." Kyousuke said, leaving the shop as he closed the door and went to the house. He went around and went through the garage door to make things seem less suspicious, especially with what was going on. Going inside, he went upstairs and put his stuff away. After at least getting all his stuff put away, he was called down by someone.

"Kyousuke, get down here right now." Someone demanded, to which Kyousuke responded and followed down. He went down the stairs and came across a larger man that looked more mature, presumably his father. He looked angry, stressed, and not clean-cut. He also seemed to have a smoking problem; he had a cigarette in his hand and an ashtray with about 15 in already, one that he empties on a daily basis. He looked at Kyousuke with a look like he was on top of him or something, one that conveyed that "I'm better than you" attitude. Smoking his cigarette at least once, he went to ask Kyousuke a question. "So when the hell did you decide you can come home whenever you want? Making your own rules around here?"

"Sorry," Kyousuke said with a disappointed, yet slightly irritated tone, "we have an assignment in science class over physics and the solar system; people were asking me about the earth and gravity." His dad rolled his eyes like it was utter crap, even though it wasn't. They bore no similarities physically, except maybe for their dissatisfied attitude. He put out the cigarette he was smoking and tried to taunt him with it.

"I don't care what some stupid kids think or are doing; you get home when the hell I tell you to. You're lucky I'm not going to punish you for it." His dad went off. Kyousuke just sat there and took it; he had no real power in this situation. The only thing he could do is defend himself.

"I'm 18 years old; I think can handle myself out there."

"Did I say you could talk back to me?! Get the hell out of here." He yelled at Kyousuke, which he did immediately. His dad went to smoke another cigarette, as usual, muttering to himself about the failure Kyousuke was as the latter quietly made his way out of the house. He immediately went back to see how Gajeel was; it had to be better than dealing with this other kind of crap. In that instant, he went into the shop and closed the shop door, turning on the light inside and shutting the door behind him. Already upset with what had just happened, his expression immediately changed when who he brought in confronted him himself.

"Huh?" Gajeel said, turning to Kyousuke and seeing him there. In that instant, he immediately went up to him and grabbed his shirt, looking at him angrily like he had done something to him. Kyousuke looked at him in shock and slight fear as Gajeel breathed down his neck. "Where the hell am I, you better start talking or else!"

"Whoa..okay, you need to calm down. If weren't for me, you'd be out on the road looking like a corpse." Kyousuke said, prompting Gajeel to let go of him but still shoot him a stern look. It was like he was analyzing him, and with Kyousuke taking in all of this so quickly, he didn't know how to take it.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Gajeel questioned. Kyousuke went on to explain.

"I don't know what you know, but I was walking home when all of the sudden, a white portal opened up out of nowhere behind me and out you came. I didn't want to leave you on the ground just lying there, so I brought you here." Kyousuke explained, clearing things up for Gajeel. He didn't understand exactly how it happened, but it was enough to clear things up.

"A portal huh? I can't remember a single thing before now." Gajeel said, stretching as he tried to remember something. Anything that led up to how he fell into the portal escaped him. Kyousuke didn't know anything about it, nor expected it in the first place, so he tried clearing some things up.

"Well Gajeel, you're on a different planet. Your guild isn't even here so don't go trying to search for it." Kyousuke questioned. Gajeel shot Kyousuke a look of surprise, concerning his name. However, it suddenly turned to skepticism as Gajeel started pressing Kyousuke for answers.

"Hold on, how the hell do you know my name kid?"

"On this planet, everyone thinks you're a fictional character. Your like a character from a storybook that exists in real life." Kyousuke explained, to which Gajeel spat. It sounded too stupid to be true.

"Ridiculous." He spat, to which Kyousuke replied.

"As ridiculous as it sounds, it's the truth. I know about you Gajeel, the fact that you're an iron dragon slayer, go to the Fairy Tail guild and have an exceed named Pantherlily that you have as your partner." Kyousuke explained to Gajeel, who looked at him in shock. The idea was so weird and unusual that even he didn't know how to take it, but it was what it was. Gajeel looked at Kyousuke with his arms crossed, raising a brow as he looked at him confused. Even though Kyousuke was spot on, Gajeel wasn't the trusting type.

"You ain't wrong, but why the hell should I believe you?"

"I just told you about yourself, that's not convincing enough for you? If you stopped getting so defensive with me I could help you out," Kyousuke complained in irritation. That was enough to provoke Gajeel to get up in his face without hesitation.

"You looking for a fight kid? I'll give you one right here." Gajeel threatened, to which Kyousuke backed off. He didn't intend to start a fight.

"I'm not trying to start anything,"

"Then what the hell are you saying?!" Gajeel said in confusion. Eventually, Kyousuke just sighed. He calmed down and tried to explain it in the best way possible.

"Look, I'm just as confused about this as you are. I know that you really don't want anything to do with me and don't want to be here, but if you listen to me and let help you out, I can get you through this place. It's like I said, people think you're a fictional character. You go out into the world without thinking, and you're just going to attract attention. I know you don't want that." Kyousuke explained. Gajeel, hearing him out, decided to give in and just let him help out, as much as he didn't want it. Kyousuke's point was convincing enough for Gajeel to work with him on this.

"Alright fine..." Gajeel said calmly, crossing his arms once again and standing back. Kyousuke didn't know how to feel about it; it was full on Gajeel for sure, no imposter here. "So what am I supposed to do now?"

"Just stay here. There's a large bin full of metal over there for you to munch on if you're hungry. I'll explain everything to you later, as for now, just wait here. I'll be back with some stuff that you'll be better off with." Kyousuke explained. With all said and done, he left the shop and closed the door behind him, leaving Gajeel just standing there with his arms crossed as he watched it happen. He stood there in wonder, wondering about who he was and how he managed to know so much about him. The idea of being a fictional character, or at least have that kind of identity, was strange. However, something else was more intriguing to him.

"Who the hell is that kid and why does he smell familiar?" Gajeel said in surprise. He wondered, picking up on a familiar scent that he couldn't identify. Whatever it was, he couldn't figure it out now, so he just left it at that and went to chew on some iron.

Eventually, time passed, and it was night time. Kyousuke had to deal with more crap from his parents, it just being the way things were and managed to find some time to help Gajeel in the midst of it. When his parents were in bed, around 9:00 at night, Kyousuke managed to get some stuff for Gajeel and headed back out to the shop, quietly heading in and creating little noise. As he went in and shut the door behind him, he was met by Gajeel chewing on some iron, sitting on one of the chairs there as he did. He saw Kyousuke with some stuff and felt somewhat better about it.

"It's about time you showed up. What the hell were you doing in there?" Gajeel questioned. Kyousuke just dismissed it with a general answer.

"Dealing with people," Kyousuke stated. He went up to Gajeel and handed him some things, things he would enjoy and like to have for the night. "I got you a sleeping bag, a pillow, and the keys to the RV. Just unlock the door, and you can sleep in there; it's better than on the floor." Kyousuke explained. Gajeel just observed it quickly, setting it down as Kyousuke went and sat in one of the chairs across from him. The shop had a built-in bond fire that went down into the shop floor, and it looked like Gajeel had already figured out how to set it up. "I see you got the indoor bond fire going on your own."

"It was nothing." Gajeel simply stated. Kyousuke felt like the conversation wasn't really going anywhere, so he decided to say something about what happened. As reserved as he was, he felt some desire to talk with him. How could he help it with everything that happened?

"I don't mean to sound like I'm stalking you or something with all of this information I know about you, it's just a situation that was out of my control," Kyousuke explained. Gajeel didn't seem to mind; he was looking at Kyousuke calmly, the piercing red eyes he had cut through Kyousuke like a knife with their intensity. His presence alone made Kyousuke feel like he was sitting before someone he felt relatable to, especially regarding how he revered him.

"It doesn't matter to me," Gajeel replied calmly. Kyousuke looked at him a bit surprised, just as Gajeel went to ask him a question of his own. "So then, since you know so much about me, wanna tell me who you are?" Gajeel questioned. Kyousuke took a deep breath as he went on to explain.

"I'm Kyousuke Watanabe. I live in a household where my parents keep me from doing anything, I go a high school where I learn about useless subjects that won't do me any good for my future, and I work a part-time job after school so I can make money and actually do something with my life." Kyousuke explained. Gajeel kind of liked he sarcastic tone, he didn't sugarcoat anything, and he respected that, though he didn't understand his situation.

"If you hate living with your parents, why the hell do you still live with them? Why don't you just move out?" Gajeel questioned. Kyousuke sighed as he went on, explaining his predicament.

"It's not that simple, if it was, I wouldn't be wasting my time in this dump. I have to live with them until I graduate high-school, and even then, I don't even know if that will do anything for me." Kyousuke explained. Gajeel didn't seem to be surprised or convinced for that matter.

"Sounds like a load of bullcrap to me," Gajeel stated. Kyousuke just sat there and went on.

"It's complicated, not many people think it's true. The people here are just as stupid as back in Magnolia for you, so don't be surprised." Kyousuke cleared up. Gajeel chuckled a bit at that, grinning a bit as Kyousuke showed a slight smirk. It was the most he could do at this point. As he sat there for a little bit, he decided to get back up and head back inside. He got up and started to head out as Gajeel stopped him.

"Where are you going?" Gajeel questioned.

"Back inside," Kyousuke responded, turning around and looking at him. Gajeel's face was as serious as ever, not that it differed from Kyousuke's. "There's also some beer in the fridge if you want any. I'll come back in tomorrow morning again, so sleep well if you can." Kyousuke explained. With that, he left and went back inside, heading to his room as Gajeel looked down at the stuff Kyousuke brought him. He went into the RV and put it all away. He liked his demeanor, and he wasn't irritating like most people were to him, though he felt like there was something more. He was smart enough to know that not everyone viewed things the way he did. With that he went off to bed, ending that day. The next day was going to be quite the shocker.

A/N: Review if you want to, just don't be an ass :)