I do not own Fairy Tail.
So I'm back for another adventure type story. I know this chapter is short, sorry about that. Really it's more of a prologue, except it's not "technically" a prologue so I'm not counting it as one.
Enjoy!
Golden morning rays shone through the stain glass windows of the cramped guildhall of Fairy Tail. A majority of the guild's mages were currently away, taking on various jobs according to their possessed skills. Others remained in the building, chatting idly with close friends or enjoying a drink or two at the bar, despite the early morning hours. A particular group of mages, a group recognized as the strongest in the guild and that were well respect throughout their town of Magnolia scanned over the request board standing on one side of the building. A certain shapely blonde haired beauty had mentioned a few words, or rather a plea for help, on paying her monthly rent. A prominent armored knight had remarked on her growing boredom and how a job might relieve her of it along with the tight money situation her blonde friend was in. Above all, a few mages, namely older members of the guild, were tired of the constant fighting between two friendly rivals and had practically begged for them to leave for the day and grant them a few hours of peace. Even if that peace wasn't tranquil, it would be of better quality than of what a certain fiery dragon slayer and a cold ice mage was allowing them now. Now four pairs of eyes and one set of cat eyes gazed at the panel holding jobs ready for grabs, not taking interest at any particular work available. Current employment opportunities were nothing short of being described as dull. At best they could accept a job that would only manage to make them laugh at the simplicity of it.
"Perhaps this one." A slim finger tapped one of the yellowed requested pages. The owner of was no other then Fairy Tail's Titania, Erza Scarlet. Her long, brilliantly crimson colored hair trailed down her back in long, straight locks. Her silver gleaming armor placed firmly on her svelte frame.
"I suppose so…" Lucy trailed off, brushing a strand of blonde hair over her ear absentmindedly. The celestial mage wasn't one for jobs requiring strength or bravery, but that didn't mean she was a fan of jobs that an Exceed could do by their self.
"Say Erza," the pink haired dragon slayer spoke up, the young mage being known as Natsu, or Salamander among some citizens, or the town of Magnolia's local pyromaniac. "Couldn't you take on an S-Class mission and bring us for company? We haven't technically done that yet."
"I hate to agree with him, but that idea sounds tempting." A pale skinned ice mage approved. He ran a calloused hand through his tangled raven locks. Most of his body was in contrast to the armored knight, as he was partly (as in almost completely) exposed. His shirt long forgotten and thrown casually to the side, victim of his recurring stripping habit.
"Perchance I will at a later date. As for the moment let's remain on lower rank jobs. I do not feel like dealing with you two and your questionable antics on a serious S ranked job just yet." The team's celestial mage let out a relieved sigh at hearing the scarlet's decision. S-Class was just above their heads at the time being.
Natsu grumbled something about doubt which the scarlet ignored. Erza plucked the aged paper from the board and waved over the white haired bartender, a silent way of telling of their departure. Gray obediently followed the knight out the door, not in the mood to put up much of a fight with her about such a low down job.
The three, now less enthusiastic mages, followed the scarlet down into the heart of Magnolia where the transportation hub was located. Train whistles split the air mercilessly and the screeching of metal on metal assaulted the ears. He fire mage grumbled something about motion sickness but with a stern look from Erza and a kick onboard from Gray all four, plus the light blue feline were now onboard, by choice or not.
After the train lurched forward and began its short journey to their destination, Gray finally bothered to inquire what mission they were doing. Erza silently handed him the flyer and Gray glanced it over. Happy looked over his shoulder and read along with him.
"Help! Wizards wanted to take down terrorizing monster." Happy quoted.
Gray dropped his gaze to the bottom of the paper. A rough sketch was done of the demon. "Is it me, or does that look like the worst excuse for a monster I've ever laid my eyes on?"
"Aye!" Happy agreed cheerfully.
Erza gave the two a warm smile. "Taking a little pride in your skills?"
Gray shrugged. "It's not like this is going to be difficult."
"I wouldn't gamble on that." The scarlet warned. "We've been on enough missions to know to expect the unexpected."
"I seriously doubt anything will go wrong." The ice mage muttered.
…
Gray ran a pale hand thru his tousled hair. A steady wind blew lazily through the dense trees and over the road cutting through the middle of the green forest they were in. After talking to the individual that posted the request, the four of them (five if counting the cat) traveled down a dirt path to the heart of the woodland. According to the proprietor of the request the prodigious creature was known to hang around that area.
"Find anything, Natsu?" Erza called over to the dragon slayer.
Natsu gave the air a few sniffs, breathing in the fresh air. A sharp scent reached his nose, sticking out from all the other smells mingling in the atmosphere. It smeeled of mud mixed with the unmistakable scent of blood. "It's coming from right over…there." Natsu turned sharply and narrowed his eyes menacingly in the direction the scent was coming from. Gray rolled his eyes; the fire mage could be so melodramatic.
Not a moment after Natsu's prediction a snarling, snapping monstrosity came barreling out of the thick vegetation. A large quadruped stood growling, a foreboding aura coming from its form. Sharp claws dug at the ground, uprooting any plant life that had made their home there. Teeth the size of Happy's wings were bared at the Fairy Tail mages. Both the fire and maker mage launched themselves simultaneously at the beast, each attacking the right and left flanks respectively. The ice mage saw a gleaming sword from the corner of his vision, indicating Erza had joined the fray. The creature snapped its head back violently and let out a piercing howl as a mixture of ice and blade cut into its side. In front of the creature Lucy summoned her celestial spirits, even Happy joined in on the fight, swooping down and giving a small kick to the demons head. The monster lashed out a heavy paw and came close to slicing the cat in two. Happy flew away, narrowing missing the blow by a few furs. A hind leg shot out and Erza dodged, jumping a few feet away from the beast and main fight.
The creature was beyond being compos mentis. It lashed out violently in all directions, feeling threatened by the continuous attacks to its body. A clawed mitt swung forward and smashed into Happy, knocking him out of the air. Lucy ran and caught the falling cat before he crashed into the ground. Evidently, the monstrosity possessed a brain. The beast snarled, detecting Lucy's attention being drawn away from him to the fallen feline. It lashed out, sending its teeth snapping at a distracted Lucy. Natsu jumped forward and shielded girl and cat from the approaching attack with a wall of fire. A high pitched whimper broke the air, serious burns covering its face, the monster turned away from the fire mage to face its next target.
Which just so happened to be Gray.
To say he didn't see it coming would be an untruth. He had seen the hefty paw aiming from him, aiming straight for his torso. The paw reached him at an unnatural fast rate. He wondered briefly if the beast could use magic. That was the only explanation. Animals just didn't move that fast. But this one did.
In a blink of an eye Gray found himself flying backwards. The force pushed him from his place on solid ground into the sky. He saw a few actions while he was in the air. He saw Erza plunge a sword deep into the monsters chest. He saw the monster arching its back and letting out a finally howl. He saw Lucy's eyes widened even from this distance as he sailed away from everyone. In the horizon he could just make out a town of two standing. He saw half the forest passing under him.
Then he was falling back down to the hard earth.
His back smashed into the tough ground and he found himself tumbling down a green hill before he could grasp that he landed. His own body refused to listen to his mind and stop. He rolled down the hill, smashing into boulders settled in the hillside, only to fly off those and back onto the slanted platform. His head slammed against something hard and a warm, sticky substance dribbled down from his temple to his cheekbone. His arm twisted under his weight and he felt the distinctive pain of his shoulder coming out of its socket. He tumbled across a sharp piece of rock, and a fresh cut was drawn across his unprotected back.
As his body tumbled down his vision blurred and images became foggy. Only colors could be picked out, but those were still swirled and mixed. He continued to roll downwards but at a slower pace. He could just begin to regain his sight and saw what he was falling towards. His eyes widened, his mind stupefied.
Because he was rolling towards an ominous emerald beam of light shooting straight down from the sky at a rate that and he couldn't stop by the time he reached it.
He tried unsuccessfully to dig his hands, heels, anything in the ground to stop his body. Thoughts ran thru his mind like a crazed animal from a predator.
Is that light a beam of fire?
He was closer now, maybe ten feet away from falling into the sinister appearing light.
Is that snow twirling in the fire? What…is that a vortex inside?
Five feet away.
Is this magic?
Without further warning he slipped into the glowing blaze. Every form of magic he ever imagined bore down on his form, crushing the life out of him. Vision of the country landscape of Fiore disappeared in the bright light and he could only see blinding flashes. His breathing hitched and he felt suffocation closing in on him.