Author's notes: Ahh Fairy Tail! How do I love thee, shall I count the ways?
Nah, don't feel like it. Hey guys, Silentvex here with a new story just for you. So I've finally gotten 100% caught up with Fairy Tail and wow. Just. Wow. I really have to say that this show to me is better than Naruto, Bleach and any others in this genre. The music, the characters, the number of times it's made me cry, it's all there!
Anyway, kiss ass time over. First: the title. Just in case anyone out there doesn't know, activation energy is the minimum required amount of energy needed in chemical reactions for bonds to break and form and I am so happy that I managed to relate that to the story (not gonna lie, I feel quite clever for it. Ehehehe) I'm not going to explain any further than that as you can see for yourself by reading the story.
There's also a little bit in here that I included... no, you know what, I'm not going to say anything just yet.
To finish, I hope you guys enjoy and reviews would be appreciated!
Vex out!
Activation Energy
Edolas Royal Palace - X772
The young, blue haired boy propped himself up in the four poster bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He would have been asleep longer but he had been woken by the knocking at the door.
''Come in...?'' he called out drowsily.
The door opened and in walked a maid who bowed and walked over to, and opened, the curtains. ''Good morning Prince Jellal. Did you have a good night's sleep?''
Jellal moaned as he shielded his eyes from the light. ''Yeah I did...'' he answered in a pained voice.
The maid laughed at his reaction, ''I'm afraid you had best wake up quickly, Captain Pantherlily asked me to wake you up.''
''Lily did?''
''Yes and I think it would be best not to keep him waiting. He said he'll be in the central courtyard,'' and with that she left.
Jellal changed out of his pyjamas in record time and walked quickly through the grand palace corridors towards the central courtyard, saying hello to anybody he passed. As he got close to his destination he passed by a pair of soldiers talking.
''Hey, I think they're still going.''
''You serious? Mid-morning drill ended an hour ago.''
'An hour ago!?' That meant that it must've been nearly eleven! 'Wow I really must have overslept.'
The central courtyard was where the first division would have their drills everyday, led by Pantherlily who was the captain of said division. It was a large, square-shaped opening which connected to many other areas of the palace as well having baloneys on multiple floors overlooking it.
Before he even walked onto the first floor balcony he could hear them.
''Do not allow the weight of the spear to control you! You will never master it that way!'' a male voice boomed.
''Right! Hya!'' cried out a girl's in response.
''Straighten your posture!''
''Okay! Hya!''
''Don't slow down!''
''Got it! Hya!''
In the centre of the opening was a large black Exceed and beside him was a small, redhead girl who held a training spear. At the time that Jellal arrived she seemed to be practising her thrusts under the Exceed's guidance.
Jellal walked down the stairs and joined them. Pantherlily saw this and said, ''all right, that's enough for today.'' No sooner than he had said that, the girl fell onto her back breathing heavily.
''Good morning Lily,'' Jellal greeted.
''Hardly,'' he replied. ''You've already missed most of it. She, on the other hand, has been out here all morning.''
The girl raised her head at the reference. ''That's right,'' she said panting. Using her spear she got herself back on her feet but would have fallen again if it weren't for Jellal holding her up. ''Thanks.''
''No problem Erza.''
Erza Knightwalker. When they met a year ago she had been an orphan on the streets of the Royal City without even a last name. One day when he was out in the city, Jellal had managed to slip away from his escort in order to go exploring. Needless to say with him being a child in a city as large as it was, he got lost very quickly. It was then that he met her. With her knowledge of the streets it was easy for her to take him back to the palace.
On the way there they had got talking and quickly become friends despite the huge difference in social standing. Having found out that she had nowhere to call home, once they arrived Jellal asked his father to let her stay in the palace. It was surprising just how easy it was to get his consent, but that was most likely because Pantherlily volunteered to keep an eye on her.
It was three months after that when Erza decided that she wanted to start training as a knight, even though she was only a child. When he asked why, she told Jellal that she wanted to ''become a strong knight to protect you when you become king. That'll be my way of thanking you for what you've done.'' Once Lily had heard this he personally took her under his wing, making her an unofficial member of the First Division. That was also when she took on the name 'Knightwalker'.
''If you keep this amount of effort one day you'll make a fine knight.''
''Thank you sir.'' It was rare for Lily to give praise so it was important to make the most of it.
''Now, as for you young prince-''
''Look out!'' Crash! ''Sorry!'' Clang! ''Whoops!'' Thump! ''Owie!'' Screech! ''Lily!''
He sighed and shook his head, then looked up. ''What is it Coco?''
''His Highness wants to see you!'' the little girl shouted.
''What about?''
''About the... uhh.. the.. the-super-ultra-important-thing-that-I-don't-know- because-I-wasn't-listening-okay-bye!'' she shouted and then whizzed off again.
Lily rubbed his face as the two beside him just giggled. Coco was a few years older than them (even if she didn't look it) and she always managed to be funny.
''I swear that girl... I guess it'll have to wait. I will talk to you later my prince,'' he said and walked off to see the king, leaving Erza and Jellal alone.
''Say,'' he said, '' want to go get some breakfast?''
''More like lunch,'' she said teasingly. Her rumbling stomach then joined in the conversation. ''Okay I'm hungry let's go.''
''Sure.''
X777
As the pair of patrolling night watchmen passed, Jellal emerged from the shadows.
'That was too close,' he thought to himself and resumed his sneaking. On his back was a large backpack filled with the essentials for where he would be going, as well as a bandaged, round-headed magic staff.
It had taken some time and planning but he finally knew what he would do. Over the years he had become more and more aware of the actions that his father was taking to ensure his kingdom's superiority and magical might: namely the Anima project.
Using Anima the king could open a gate to Earthland, a parallel version of Edolas, and transport all material that it was aimed at to Edolas. This method was devised to take advantage of Earthland's infinite amount of magic energy to increase the finite amounts in Edolas. To the vast majority, Anima was their saviour but it had never sat right with Jellal.
He would always thing about what may have been taken from the other world. Was it a forest that had just been taken? An ocean and all its wildlife perhaps? What about people? No one knew because as soon as it arrived, the... whatever it was, was transformed into a lacrima for refining. Most people didn't think about it – so long as the magic didn't run out, there was nothing to worry about – but Jellal couldn't shake that uneasy feeling.
It had taken some thinking but he eventually decided. He would go to Earthland and stop Anima from hurting anyone. He wouldn't stop every shot, just those that would endanger lives because Edolas needed magic too, he understood that.
He wasn't even sure if his plan to get there would work, but it was worth a try. That was what led him to the walking in the dark underground; his footsteps echoing quietly down the maze of stone hallways.
It didn't take him long to reach his destination, thankfully without encountering any more guards.
He entered the large chamber. There was just the one walkway to the centre platform. Directly above was a large orb glowing a pale blue, encircled by five huge statues of his father with their arms raised as though worshipping their creation.
Standing directly below Anima, Jellal grasped his staff and raised it high into the air. 'I hope this works.' A few seconds later Anima showed clear signs of reacting, turning from blue to a lime green.
''Jellal, what are you doing?''
He closed his eyes and sighed. ''Of course it would be you who found me.''
''I'll ask again: what are you doing?'' Erza repeated. She was wearing her standard-issue military armour and a spear in one hand but didn't look at all hostile to him. ''Are you trying to destroy Anima?''
''Don't worry, it's nothing like that.''
''Then what is it?'' she demanded. A green light shone down on Jellal and she realized what was going on, dropping her spear in shock. ''No Jellal don't!''
''I have to Erza''
''We don't even know if reverse-transportation is possible, let alone safe!''
He cocked his head and smiled at his childhood friend. ''Well we're about to find out. Goodbye Erza.''
In a flash of green, he disappeared and Erza Knightwalker dropped to her knees, tears pouring down her cheeks.
X784
Jellal looked upon the sight that lay before him proudly. From the balcony he had a perfect view of the city in which hundreds of people were working together to rebuild after the attacks of the 'Great Demon Lord Dragneel' and his cronies 'Redfox' and 'Marvel'. It had been several months since magic had left Edolas and here they were, not only surviving but flourishing even.
Being king was... well it involved a lot of meetings and not a lot of free time. It took some time to adjust to it all, more so than if he had actually planned to become king, but seeing the joy in the faces of the people made it all worth it. Of course, there were some people who were less happy than others...
Three loud knocks came from the door. ''Erza Knightwalker, reporting.''
''Enter.''
His friend had certainly grown over the years that he was away; no longer did she wear the standard armour of the army, opting instead for a custom bikini-like make which showed off her beautiful body. It wasn't only her appearance that had improved but also her strength – she had become incredibly powerful, frighteningly so. It was always a bitter-sweet feeling that he felt whenever he saw her; on the one hand he was finally able to see her again, on the other...
''Your Highness, reconstruction on the down-town area is nearing completion and in addition...'' she gave her report, never changing that professional, emotionless tone that she had whenever they had spoken to each other since he had returned. Not once had she shown Jellal even the slightest bit of emotion over the past months, it would be easier if he knew just how she felt towards him, although he had a fairly good idea.
He thanked her once she had finished. ''If that is all Your Highness then I will be going.''
''One moment Knightwalker. Come over here.'' She slowly approached and stood a few feet away. ''It's beautiful, don't you think?'' he asked, gesturing to the view.
''Indeed it is Sire.''
''This is the world that I wished for all those years I was away, one where humanity doesn't have to rely on magic to live normally.''
''I see.''
Jellal stole a quick glance towards the redhead; she was still looking as passive as ever. He sighed and continued, '' Listen, I understand if you hate me for leaving.''
''I don't know what you're talking abou-''
''Don't give me that Erza, you know exactly what I'm talking about.'' If she wasn't going to make the first move then he would. He spun, staring her face on, ''We can't keep going on like this, if you hate me that's fine but I want to hear you say it!''
She just continued looking straight ahead, but he could see a clenched fist shaking slightly. ''Well Erza? Answer me!''
Whipping round she slapped him hard across the cheek. The look in her eyes were fierce as she followed up with a punch to the jaw which sent him sprawling across the floor. With a cry of rage Erza leapt onto him, hitting him repeatedly. The more this went on though, the greater the time between each hit became and the weaker they became until she gave up and just pressed her head against his chest.
''Just tell me why.''
''Why I what? Why I left?''
''No,'' she raised her head and Jellal could get a full view of her face. Her eyes were filled with tears as she cried, ''Why didn't you tell me?''
Placing a hand on her shoulder in an effort to comfort her he replied, ''I had to keep it a secret or else I would've never been able to get away.''
''You could have trusted me, if you had just told me I would have gone with you!''
The young king chuckled at the statement. ''Would you really?''
''Yes... maybe... I don't know...''with that, she descended into all out sobbing. He wrapped his arms around her shaking figure and pulled her close, her head returning to his chest.
''I missed you,'' her muffled voice said.
Flashback (Earthland – X779)
''Better?'' Mystogan asked his recently-assigned partner.
The black haired teen laughed loudly. ''You bet! I mean, it's still there but nowhere near as bad as before. Thanks man.''
Usually Jellal would have left it there. 'Mystogan' was a persona he created to stay under the radar and so his communication with the other guild members at Fairy Tail was near non-existent, but the person before him was interesting to say the least.
''Is it true what they say? That you don't remember anything?''
''Hm?'' He appeared surprised at the question and took a few moments before answering. ''Yeah that's right. I don't remember much past me coming to Fairy Tail.''
''Do you ever want to remember?''
''Maybe. I mean if it happens it happens and sure, I'd like to know who I am and where I come from but if that doesn't happen then that's fine. I've got a new name and a home in Fairy Tail – that's all I need.''
He looked at Mystogan and smirked. ''Ya know what, you're not as anti-social as you make everyone think.'' Mystogan just hummed thoughtfully in response. ''Hey-hey-hey don't go clamming up now! Come on, I told you about myself now you tell me something. Tit for tat right? Sooo, ummm, where're you from?''
''You wouldn't believe me if I told you.''
''Alright... what about family? You got any?''
''Possibly.''
''You're making this really difficult you know. You must at least have some friends back home right?''
A flash of scarlet hair appeared in Mystogan's mind.
''After what I did... I doubt it...''
GONG! GONG! GONG!
End of flashback
'Looks like I did have one after all.'
''Jellal?''
''Yes Erza?'' The redhead was looking up at him through puffy eyes.
''You can let go now, besides if someone were to walk in...''
Jellal suddenly remembered that he was laying on the floor with his arms around his childhood friend. They were promptly separated and silently standing once more. The silence was broken by a quiet laugh which Erza was unable to stifle.
''What?''
''This is just so absurd.'' Not giving him a chance to ask, she placed a hand on his cheek and planted a kiss lightly on the other. She pulled away and smiled, her cheeks having taken on a red tinge. ''Welcome home, Jellal.''