Hello once again readers Sky Fable here bring you of my Fairy Tail next gen: Children of the Flame!

This chapter is an alternate POV of the last, but it kinda progresses the story... a bit... kinda...

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and the new character I debut!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters. All credit goes to Hiro Mashima, although I'd really like the rights to Laxus for my birthday. What? I only own the original characters that appear within this story.

Children of the Flame

Simon: Part 1

Simon Scarlet trudged along in the direction of Magnolia, armor clattering with each step. His mission completed, and his reward collected, he was more than ready to plop down, face first, into his comfortable bed. No one would ever be able to tell from observing his actions, but Simon valued sleep very much. Considering the amount of it he actually got, every second was treasured just as a starving cat treasures its fish.

Simon spent most of his days training and keeping the peace around the Guild. That task was handed down to him from his mother, Titania Erza Scarlet, one of the Ten Great Wizard Saints. Her long missions usually kept her away from the guild for weeks, sometimes months on end. He had been told by many of his fellow guild members that he had inherited her 'make others submit to her will with a glare' attitude, and he used that to his advantage. No one in the guild doubted his strength, which was probably why Mirajane Strauss was surprised at the ease of the mission he had 'selected.'

He didn't want to take a job. It was going to rain and rain hard. Simon didn't like being wet. It just didn't appeal to him. Nevertheless, here he was, drenched to the bone, dragging his exhausted feet along a muddied path towards home. The job he had taken took longer than anticipated, and he missed the last train for Magnolia. Knowing that Kunugi Town wasn't too far away, he swallowed his hatred of rain and made his way west.

'I'll have you washing the rust off of my armor for weeks when you get back.' He thought bitterly at the reason for him taking a job in the rain. Olivia Dreyar, unlike himself, loved the rain. Or, more accurately, loved storms, and that's exactly what Simon found himself in an hour into his mission. It was one of the more embarrassing jobs he had taken, posing in his underwear to promote a new clothing store that had just opened wasn't exactly his idea of a mission. But the excited dragon slayer had grabbed two jobs off of the mission board as soon as the blue sky turned gray with rainclouds.

Sighing, Simon laughed to himself. Honestly, he was glad she hadn't looked at the jobs before taking them. Surely she would have insisted on taking this one on the grounds that Simon was too talented or too uptight to properly pull off a modeling gig. He was pleased to find that many an onlooker, male and female alike, found his form to be pleasing and endearing, and he was able to draw a great many townspeople before the sky opened its water filled clouds.

He wondered how she was handling her job. Knowing Olivia, she had accepted the 'rough-em-up' job that she usually went with, and was having the time of her life instilling pure, unadulterated fear into the poor, unfortunate soul unlucky enough to have her to deal with. Thinking more about the awful things Olivia would most likely do to the poor man or woman, he allowed his mind to drift onto other subjects as he walked. One of the things he thought about, and actually looked forward to was the upcoming S-Class mission she had promised him. Though his features would never show it, he had been very excited and touched when she proposed they go on a mission together. It had been longer than Simon cared to remember since the two had been the team they formed as children, and even longer since their last S-Class mission. Simon was especially excited about this one, because Zuma Dreyar was going to tag along. Though the silver haired bar-tender couldn't use magic, he was quick and strong without it, and could hold his own against any monster or even mage without magic entirely. His lack of magical prowess pushed his desire to help the guild. During his younger years, he still took jobs and completed them with flying colors, even though they rarely involved fighting.

Sadly enough, he was left out of last year's S-Class Mage test on Tenrou Island. When Simon fought for his friend's right to join him as an S-Class mage, Master Laxus was indifferent and did not let up in his decision in the least. It wasn't until Olivia had passed the test and became an full-fledged S-Class mage that he learned that Zuma himself had asked not to be chosen for the exams.

Though he wasn't an S-Class mage, Simon once again pushed and pushed the guild master to allow his son to accompany him and Olivia on their next S-Class mission. Once the dragon slayer relented, Simon had to convince Zuma to attend. With his natural aversion towards violence, it took Simon a much longer time to convince his white-haired friend than it did the grumpy guild master. Nevertheless, his tenacity bared fruit, and in three days time, the trio would set off for their mission.

So lost was Simon in his thoughts, that he almost walked straight through Kunugi Town. The once tiny train station had blossomed into a bustling town with shops, living areas and even a town hall. The red-haired male stopped at the local inn to change out of his rusting armor. Knowing the contents of his bag helped when he didn't feel up for digging through the messily packed clothes. Usually Simon was a very neat person. Everything was as it should be and there was no disorder among his belongings or the people he watched over. His bag's current status was a testament to his exhaustion. 'Who knew modeling took so much out of you?' He thought to himself.

Activating his magic, there was a brilliant flash of light, and suddenly he was in dry clothes. Well, dry armor. Much like his mother, Simon rarely wore casual clothing, and preferred the thick, full-body metal of a suit of armor. Complete with cuirass, tunic, and a hooded cloak to shield his scarlet hair and exposed skin. With a satisfied nod, the requip mage made his way back out into the rain. This time however, he was prepared. Hood up, he made his way through the lit streets to search for transportation.

Just as he feared, many of the carriage owners would rather not make the journey with such a violent storm about. Simon suspected as much and returned to the inn to wait out the storm. He had just reached the doors when the small lacrima in his pocket began to glow red as the hair on his head.

'What the hell?' Fear and worry gripped his chest, but he immediately infused the small stone with calm, reassuring energy. 'There's no way I can reach her in time! Unless...' Seeing no other viable option, Simon breathed deeply and steeled his resolve.

Wasting no time, Simon turned and assumed a specific pose. He fell to one knee and pounded a fist into the ground. Resting his free arm on his raised knee, he closed his eyes. Reaching into the depths of his magic reserves, he mustered forth all available strength he could. "Combination." He said quietly, and his body began to emit a light much more brilliant than that he had created earlier. "Requip Secret Art," The rays of light condensed until his silhouette was a radiant gold, "Paladin of the Seven Stars!" Coming from seemingly nowhere, gold, glittering armor covered Simon's body from head to toe. It was sleek, but powerful, and etched with scarlet lettering of an unknown language. Rising from his position, he traced the distress call back to its location.

'Hargeon?' Simon thought confused. Refusing to dwell on the topic, and unable to sustain the heavenly armor for much longer, he faced in the direction of the small town. "Meteor!" He shouted and virtually disappeared from where he had been standing. He cut through the air at blinding speed. In no time, he could see the glow of Magnolia's city lights and he passed over the whole town in less than a second. Hargeon was in his sights only seconds later. Suddenly his requip faded, and sent him crashing, quite painfully into the ground almost a mile outside of the town. Cursing at his inability to hold his combination for more than thirty seconds, the nearly broken requip mage caught his breath and rose on his shaky legs. Willing his body to move, he broke into an unsteady sprint.

Within a few minutes he reached the town's entrance and wildly looked for his blonde-haired friend. Seeing no sign of the she-dragon, he made his way to a boisterous tavern. Upon entry his stomach hit the floor. Half of the occupants shot hard glares towards him, while the other half lay unconscious on the ground, drunk out of their minds. There was a large hole in the back of the tavern that went through many walls and led to the downpour outside, only increasing his fear.

Their glares turned into expressions of terror when he dropped his hood, revealing his blood red hair. From the look of the group as a whole, Simon reasoned that they were not from Hargeon. "Who are you people?" He asked commandingly.

"H-h-hey!" One man stuttered, visibly shaking. "Aren't you T-T-Titania's kid?"

At his question, uneasy chatter spread around the room. "He has the same hair." One man observed.

"He probably dyed it!" A tall man with a very messy, black bun yelled seemingly unafraid. "The wannabe little kid reads too much Sorcerer Weekly!" Slamming an empty mug down onto the bar among dozens of similar mugs, he stood and turned to face Simon. "Have no fear, mates! Second-in-command of Phoenix Rising, Jarvo, will teach this punk a lesson!"

Simon's eyes widened. "Phoenix Rising?" He asked. "The dark guild?"

Jarvo laughed "What's wrong, little Titania wannab-"

Scraping the literal bottom of his magical barrel, Simon summoned a massive battle spear and leaped towards the tall man faster than the eye could see. His hand covered the black-haired man's mouth, who was knocked to the ground as a result of the collision, and the blade of his spear pressed lightly into Jarvo's neck. Rage gave him strength, but somehow he managed to not plunge the elongated weapon repeatedly into the trash he now held to the ground.

Wearing his mother's trademarked death stare, Simon spoke to the incapacitated mage. "When I remove my hand, you are going to tell me exactly where your master is. If I deem your response useless in any way, this spear right here is going to sink into the floorboard as if it was made of butter. Since your throat is between there and my blade, I suggest you tell me what I want to know. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

Once Simon was satisfied with the amount of fear in his enemy's eyes, he removed his hand and allowed Jarvo to speak. "L-l-last I saw him he was fighting some blonde from F-F-Fairy T-Tail." Simon's spear pressed deeper, breaking skin and causing tears to form in the large man's eyes. "They both were out of here real quick, I heard them fighting by the town hall, that's all I know I swear! Please don't kill me!"

"You're sure she was a Fairy Tail mage?" Simon asked. The other members of the Dark Guild all stared in silence at the commotion with sweat dampening their brows.

"Yeah! Scorch said she s-smelled like one and his nose is never wrong!" Simon could barely understand the scum between his sputtering and crying for his life.

Lifting himself from the dark mage. Simon turned to leave. An audible sigh of relief rippled through the entire tavern. Jarvo didn't move from his position on the floor and began to laugh with relief. 'Time for a little emphasis.' Simon thought with a smirk.

He stopped at the doors causing every member of the dark guild to hold their breath. Turning quickly, Simon sent his spear soaring through the air, heading directly for the grounded body of Jarvo. Many of the guild members looked away or gasped in horror when the blade hit its target with a sickening Thunk!

No one moved. No one even breathed. The only sound in the tavern was the light thud of Simon's boots on the wooden floor as he approached the unharmed, but thoroughly traumatized Jarvo.

Squatting next to the dark mage, he stared hard into his glazed over, gray eyes. "Can you hear me, second-in-command, Jarvo?" Simon spoke the name in a disgusted, mocking tone.

Without meeting his gaze, Jarvo nodded slowly.

"Excellent." Simon wore a dark grin. "I'm going to kill your guild master. The bounty on his head is quite high, and I intend to take it. I have no quarrel with the rest of you, but if I return and you all haven't left Hargeon and disbanded your puny dark guild, next time," The red-haired requip mage ripped his spear from where it was embedded only inches from Jarvo's head, "I won't miss."

He turned and started walking towards the doors. Glancing to his right, he noticed a number of Hargeon natives staring at him fearfully. Having witnessed a darker side of his personality, he didn't blame them, but he walked over and, even when they flinched and shied away, he smiled warmly. "Come on now." He said. Gesturing to the semi-conscious members of Phoenix Rising, he continued. "They won't bother you anymore, but it's still not safe here. You all should head back to your homes before the storm gets any worse."

"Y-y-you aren't one of them?" Asked an older woman, protectively clutching two small boys. Their expressions were not fearful, but the two regarded him with wide, sparkling eyes.

"Me? One of them? Of course not!" He activated his magic, much to his own strain, and dispelled the polished cuirass to expose his toned abs and gold Fairy Tail guild mark. It started at the lower left portion of his abdomen and wrapped around to end on his back. Surrounding it was his unusual birth mark. His mother had told him that his father had the exact same one, only surrounding his right eye. When Simon was old enough to become a Fairy Tail wizard, he thought what better place to put his guild mark?

"Fairy Tail!" The two boys shouted excitedly.

"Oh! Oh thank you!" The look of relief on the woman's face brought a warm feeling to Simon's chest.

An extremely loud explosion ripped that warm feeling away. Instead replaced by the icy claws of fear. Without sparing the family or the dark guild a second glance, he requipped his breastplate, tightened the grip he had on his spear and dashed out of the tavern. Once outside, Simon whipped his head about to try and pinpoint the direction of the explosion. Another, larger blast directed him towards the town hall, just as Jarvo said.

He dashed down a path of destroyed buildings. 'I suppose I didn't really need a sound cue.' The mage thought as he hopped over fragmented wood and fallen support beams. Thankfully the houses appeared empty.

When he turned the corner towards the town hall, the same rage he felt before welled within Simon's gut. The girl he had known since she took her first breath of Earthland air, was bloody and burned. Her limp body was being held by a hand, aggressively clenched at the base of her long, golden hair.

Simon could have sworn a vein had burst in his brain when he saw the pink-haired demon summon his evil magic. It manifested as a compact ball of flame right in the middle of his gaping maw.

"Olivia!" He yelled as, for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day, he found magic power where there was none. Requipping into his powerful Susano'o water armor, and calling forth his giant greatsword Thunderclap, time seemed to slow and he was behind the demon spawn instantly. Without uttering a noise, with pure hatred for the monster holding his beloved teammate, he plunged the massive, two-handed sword into the back of Scorch Dragneel. He kept pushing far enough so the large, ebony blade impaled the dark guild master, and stopped just short of Olivia's nose. Simon noticed the small movement of his head as Scorch looked down at the blade protruding from his chest. Turning his head so he could view his attacker, Scorch's eyes were filled with frenzied hatred directed towards the red headed mage that met his fury with a rage of his own. The demon made a strange gurgling sound, causing even more crimson liquid to pour from the demon's already injured jaw. Simon lifted the giant blade and twirled it in his grasp. He brought the tip of Thunderclap crashing down into the earth. Scorch was definitely dead, but the fury-fueled adrenaline high would not let his body stop. His veins sizzled and cracked with magic power. Raising his free hand to the black clouds above, he called forth a massive bolt of lightning that split the sky from whence it came. There was an explosion of electricity and a deafening crash of thunder as the storm powered attack vaporized the broken demon. A pile of ash slowly disappeared, fading with the rain and mud. Simon felt calm once more, and turned to the lightning dragon slayer.

He felt his requip fade and he returned to his usual garb, only this time, his magic was so spent that he couldn't bring himself to summon his bronze cuirass. Clad only in his armored tunic and boots, he focused on Olivia. Worry was the only thing keeping adrenaline in his veins, and ultimately allowing him to even move. He knelt by the blonde-haired dragon slayer and studied her body for injuries. As far as he could see, burns, scrapes, and bruises were the only obvious ones. That, and extreme exhaustion. Knowing that the best care would be found back at the guild, he reasoned that it would be best to take her there for a full examination.

He lifted her off of the wet ground and began to head for the tavern. Though the dragon slayer in his arms needed medical assistance, her wounds were not life-threatening and he would be damned if he didn't keep his promise.

"Simon..." A weak voice caught his attention. Knowing she was looking at him with both relieved tears and a weak smile, he did not avert his gaze from the path in front of him.

"Shh." He told her gently. "Don't speak. Your life isn't in danger, but it's a long way until we get to Magnolia. Rest now, Olivia."

There was silence for a couple seconds. Simon felt her gaze leave him. "I'm sorry." She said and buried her face into his bare chest, though she didn't seem to notice. Through the icy cold of the water that clung to his body, he could feel his friend's hot tears as they fell freely down her cheeks.

"Olivia." Simon tried to coax her attention towards him. He had looked down at her, and hoped that she could feel his gentle expression and warm smile. "There's no need to cry, everything will be okay."

Much to his delight, when her blue eyes met his brown ones, the tears streaming down her muddied and swollen face stopped almost instantaneously. "Okay." She matched his smile with another one of her own and pressed herself closer into his body. She was asleep almost immediately after she closed her eyes.

Carrying an unconscious dragon slayer, Simon continued to make his way to the tavern. When he poked his head in he was pleased to see it was empty except for a large, bearded man cursing at everything around him, tables and walls included.

He stopped speaking when he spotted the red-haired teen. "Sorry, I don't think it needs to be said, but we're closed for renovations."

Simon pushed through the swinging doors, careful to avoid hitting the girl he held with them. "Actually, I was just going to ask if you could spare any medical supplies."

Seeing the beaten girl in Simon's arms, the man's expression changed to one of realization before regaining his agitated countenance. "Hmph." He snorted. "Lemme see what we got in the back. Or what's left of it." The tavern owner disappeared behind a destroyed wall.

Laying Olivia down on a long table, he took the time to remove her large fur-lined jacket. She wore a purple, sleeveless, low-cut blouse and tight, dark-colored jeans. Feeling his cheeks heat at the sight of her fully clothed, Simon decided that he would only treat the wounds he could see.

'You're hopeless...' Simon thought to himself, well, hopelessly.

"Here." The voice of the tavern owner drew his attention. He tossed Simon a roll of medical tape, and a jar of some disinfectant liquid. "It's not much, but it'll do until you get her to a hospital."

"Right. Thank you, sir." With a grunt, the man resumed his cursing and his inspection.

It didn't take long for Simon to clean and wrap up any visible injuries, though he did break his own, self-imposed rule, when he lifted her blouse to get at the nasty burn on her stomach, which was still very much flat and toned much to Simon's despair. 'This is for her well-being. I'm not enjoying this, and I'm not embarrassed.' He repeated the phrase over and over until his job was complete.

Retrieving her in his arms, he set out of the tavern, and silently thanked Mavis when only a few rogue drops of rain hit him on his way out of town.

Well?! I don't now about you, but I ship it to the ends of the earth! In fact, I ship it so hard, I helicarrier it! Then again, it is my story, so I suppose that much is implied. Ah well. Write a review! and eagerly await the next chapter, where we'll take a quick step away from Fairy Tail. Like literally just that one chapter, and then we're back to where it matters!

Until Next Time,

Sky Fable

Edit: So, I was sitting in bed one night, and I was looking over my character design for Simon, and I really didn't like it at all. I changed a few things, like I shortened his hair and I made ure that he walks around in full armor just like mommy! If you don't follow me on my brand new blog on tumblr (ftnextgen) then do that! Or just try to imagine a kick ass gladiator type character with the sleeveless breastplate and the tunic (Man skirt). He's taller, buffer, and really fits the bill for Erza Scarlet's kid! I think so at least... lol