The old Master of the guild sat on the counter, drinking from a large keg of wine.
"Gramps, keep drinking like that and Kana just might have competition," said Natsu as they all entered the guild hall.
"Oh, hello. What are you children doing here so late?" asked the old man, squinting at them in the dim light.
"We came upon a group of travelers so we brought them here. They claim to have been teleported here," Erza explained. "We were wondering if you knew how to get them back to..."
"Nevada," Maka finished for her. "Back to the DWMA."
"The DWMA, you say?" Master repeated, scratching his chin. "I can't say I've seen it myself, but isn't that the school run by the Shinigami, Lord Death himself?"
"Yes, sir," said Maka, her hope rising. Maybe they wouldn't be stuck here like Stein had said.
"Well, I'm a afraid I don't know how to return you there with my own power," sighed the Master, taking another swig of wine. "However, maybe Gildarts will. He's on a job right now, though."
"A job?" exclaimed Natsu. "So they have to wait another three years?"
Master Makurov chuckled. "No. He just needed booze money. He'll be back tomorrow. Until then, you kids are welcome to spend the night. There are a few guest rooms open, but you'll have to share. Erza, you mind showing them?"
"Of course," said the red haired girl, heading up the stairs.
"You gotta be kidding me," mumbled Soul as he pulled Black Star up the stairs.
"Here," said Erza, pushing open two doors. "Make yourselves comfortable."
"Thanks," smiled Maka.
The girls took one room and the boys took the one next door. They weren't really tired, but they figured they should get as much sleep as they could while they had the chance because they didn't know what awaited them in this strange place.
...
Maka woke to a crash from downstairs.
"Dammit, Soul. You're gonna get it, now..." she mumbled, still half asleep.
Looking around, she was momentarily alarmed that she wasn't in her room, but the memory of being teleported to a strange land called Fiore and being welcomed into the Fairy Tail guild hall came flooding back to her.
"What was that crash?" asked Liz, drowsily.
"YAHOO! Bring it on! I'm gonna be the biggest star and you can't stop me, even if you breathe fire!"
Maka grimaced. No doubt about it. That was Black Star.
"Oh. I almost forgot he came along," grumbled Liz as she got out of bed and went to the door, pulling it open in time to see Natsu flying through the air and hitting a wall.
"Same old Black Star. He starts a fight first thing in the morning," sighed Maka.
"Hey, look. They got us a change of clothes," said Liz, noticing the outfits on hangers hooked to the doorknob.
The girls all got changed and looked each other over before turning to the mirror.
"Not really my style, but I can deal," smiled Liz, turning her body so she could see all the angles.
"It's a little revealing," Maka commented, looking at her exposed navel and low neckline.
There was a knock on the door and Lucy came in looking bright and cheerful.
"Good morning," she smiled. "Sorry about the clothes. They're from the Celestial World so they might not be what you're used to."
It's not the fact that they're from a different world, Maka thought, shifting uncomfortably.
"I love them," squealed Patty happily.
"I'm glad you do," said Lucy. "The boys are already downstairs. Mira's making breakfast."
"Sorry about whatever Black Star broke," Tsubaki apologized. Out of the four girls, she looked the best in her new clothes, her hair hanging in a braid down her back and her figure was perfectly defined by the new clothing.
"It's okay. Fairy Tail's kind of known for tearing stuff down. If anything, he's fitting right in," Lucy giggled.
The four academy students glanced at each other wearily. If Black Star fit in, what kind of crazy place was this?
They followed Lucy downstairs to the main part of the guild hall. A bunch of people were gathered around a bulletin board which resembled the Assignment board at the DWMA. There were tables scattered all around the hall and Mages were sitting in groups, socializing and having fun.
"Guys, meet Levy, one of the smartest people I know," said Lucy, gesturing to a pixie-like girl with blue hair pulled back by an orange headband that complimented her dress. She was surrounded by books of various scriptures and she paused her writing to look up at her name.
"Nice to meet you," said Maka.
"You too," grinned Levvy. "I've read a lot about the DWMA but I never thought it actually existed."
"I've never heard of Fiore," Maka admitted. "But I've seen that sort of writing before."
"Really? Do you think you could help me crack this spell? I've been working on it since last night," Levvy asked hopefully.
"I don't know a lot about spells."
"It's actually just scrambled up words mixed with different scriptures and as soon as you're able to translate it, it's really easy to counter," the girl explained excitedly.
"Oh, in that case, I'd be glad to help," smiled the scythe technician.
"It's best if we leave them to it," said Lucy to the other girls.
"Wow, your Ice Make magic is flawless," said Kid, his eyes sparkling as he gazed in awe at the arc Gray had just created with his magic.
"Thanks," Gray grinned.
"Gray, your clothes," Lucy said as they approached him.
"Oh, good morning," said Kid, smiling at the girls.
Lucy simply waved, the slightest hint of pink rising to her cheeks.
Tsubaki had excused herself to go help Mira Jane make breakfast and Patty had wandered off somewhere.
"Do you always take off your clothes?" Liz asked Gray.
"Yeah. I do it unconsciously now," he replied, laughing sheepishly.
"Well, Kid has an equally annoying habit. He's a perfectionist to the max," said Liz, sitting down next to the Ice Mage.
"Is it true you guys are from a school run by Lord Death?" asked a girl with blue hair, approaching their table.
"Liz, this is Juvia," Gray introduced her. "She specializes in water magic."
"Nice to meet you. And, yeah, actually. We got sent here by our crazy professor through some teleporting device," Liz replied, admiring one of Gray's Ice-Make sculptures.
"I see," mused Juvia. "Are you waiting for Gildarts?"
"We think he might be able to help them get home," said Lucy as she put some drinks down on the table for everyone.
"Well, best of luck," smiled Juvia.
Suddenly, the room went dark and a spotlight appeared on the stage. A man with piercings on his eyebrows and down the sides of his nose sat onstage with a guitar.
"Oh, not this again," groaned Lucy, a sour look on her face.
"I'd like to dedicate this song to the newcomers of our guild," said the man, strumming his guitar.
"Um, hold on a second!" called Levy, running up to the stage. "Since we're apparently having a welcoming event, we should let one of them perform something. Please?" The last word came out pleadingly.
"I'll give it a shot," said a husky voice. Soul Eater stepped onto the stage. "Do you guys have a piano?"
"Sure. But no one here can play so we haven't used it in a while," said Levy, snapping her fingers.
The curtains withdrew to reveal a glossy grand piano.
"This is so cool," grinned Soul Eater, taking a seat on the bench.
"Alright, let's go Gajeel. You can have your turn later," said Levy, relieved, as she dragged the man offstage.
"Wow, Soul's actually gonna play," said Liz. "I haven't heard him in forever."
"This is called Selenic Soul," the pianist said as he started playing a rather sad melody that silenced the room.
By the time he finished, almost everyone was in tears.
"That was so manly," sobbed Elfman, tears streaming down his face.
"Wow, that rocked," said Levy as Soul joined her and Maka at their table.
"Thanks," the scythe said with a sheepish smile.
"What's this? Soul Eater's blushing?" giggled Maka.
"The lighting in here must be bad," grumbled Soul as he twirled a knife between his fingers. "Or maybe you need to ask Ox where he got his glasses."
His partner grimaced. "Hey, Levy, can I borrow one of these books for a sec?"
"Sure, what for, though?"
"This." Maka raised the book above Soul's head and hit him about as hard as she could.
"Ow. Man, could you get out of that habit, Maka?" groaned Soul, rubbing his throbbing skull as Levy laughed daintily.
"So when is Mr. Gildarts coming back?" asked Maka.
"I haven't heard the title Mister in a while," said a voice behind her. "You can just call me Gildarts."
Maka spun around in her seat to see a man wearing a brown cloak and high boots. He looked like he'd just had the battle of his life.
"HEY GILDARTS" yelled Natsu's voice as he dived at the man from the second floor.
Erza knocked him out of the air before he could reach him. "Natsu, now isn't the time to challenge him to a fight. We need to see if he knows a spell to get Maka and her friends home."
Natsu nodded weakly as he got to his feet. "Well, guess I'll have to wait to kick your butt."
"What's the deal about a spell and getting someone home?" asked Gildarts as Mira handed him a beer from the counter.
Maka proceeded to explain their situation to him, and the man listened to every word carefully, his demeanor suddenly serious. Unfortunately, he didn't have the response they'd hoped for.
"I'm sorry, kids, but I'm afraid I don't know very much about teleportation magic," Gildarts told them. "From what you told me, your professor's working on getting you back there, right? So in the meantime, how about you ask the Master if you can be temporary members of the guild?"
"Members of the guild?" Kid repeated, leaning against the counter.
"Yeah. You know, take jobs, rent a place," the man shrugged.
"I think that's a great idea," said the Master, coming down the stairs. "You're welcome to join. We'd be glad to have you."
"What do you think?" Kid asked Maka.
"It's a pretty cool offer," Soul added.
The team's leader nodded. "We're sorry to bother you."
"It's no bother at all," smiled Mira as something like a stamp pad appeared in her hand.
She put the Fairy Tail emblem on each of the seven DWMA students and explained the rules of the guild to them. There weren't as many guidelines as Maka had expected, but everyone else seemed fine with it.
"Hey! Lucy, Erza, I got a job for us!" said Natsu, waving a piece of paper in the air.
"I got a better one," Gray snapped, holding up his own paper. "And it pays higher."
"I kinda need the money, so I think I'm going with Gray's," said Lucy.
"What? Come on, man," Natsu whined. "We're a team! I had her first, Gray, you bastard."
"Natsu's does look more challenging," mused Erza, standing in between the two boys to stop them from lunging at each other's throats. "I'm always up for a challenge."
"An easy job with a higher reward sounds way better," Lucy pointed out. "Besides, I think you can handle one job without me, can't you?"
"Lucy, don't do this," said Happy. "Pleeeeaaase."
Erza sighed and cleared her throat. "Alright, gang. I have a plan. Since we've got new guild members who have never been on any jobs before, we can split up and take both jobs. Natsu and I will take Kid, Liz, Patty, Black Star, and Tsubaki with us on the job Natsu found and Gray and Lucy, you can take Maka and Soul Eater with you on the job Gray found. Sound fair?"
"How did we get dragged into this?" asked Maka, wearily.
"I'd go along with it," laughed Levy. "There's no stopping Erza once she's on a roll."
"Guess we're teaming up for now, huh?" Black Star grinned, high-fiving Natsu.
"Yeah. We can finish our fight when we get back," replied the Fire Wizard.
"I suppose some experience would be nice before we start working solo," shrugged Kid as he followed Erza out the door.
"Hey, popsicle, last one back to the guild hall loses!" shouted Natsu as he raced out the door with Black Star on his heels.
"I won't be outshone, dragon slayer," Black Star laughed as he raced Natsu to the train station.
"If only he was around for the 24 hour endurance run," Levy said to Soul.
"He's an idiot, but when it comes to working out, the guy's unbeatable," he shrugged.
"Hey, Soul, we're leaving," called Maka from the hall's entrance.
"Coming! See you around, Levy," he added before joining his team as the exited the guild hall.
She smiled and waved before turning to her own team (known as Shadow Gear), shaking her head. "Would you two stop sulking?"
"I can't believe Levy's into that guy," moaned Droy, almost in tears. "Damn."
"I am not into him," Levy denied, her face turning bright pink. "We should take a job, too. Let's get going."
"Yes, Levy," both boys said in unison as they followed her to the Request Board.
"Those two are so lame," grumbled Gajeel as the three walked pass him.