Chapter 2: Fairy Tail

A/N: I was going to update The Empty Sea, then M1N470, and then come back to this, but I'm not inspired enough to finish the chapter of The Empty Sea I had started. M1N470 is in the works, but not yet fully written. This story seemed to be getting popular, so I thought 'Why not update this? I feel inspired.' And I have very little writing time lately due to college apps and tours, so... yeah. Life sucks sometimes. Now...

ONTO THE STORY!

"Your power is unique. It's like the number zero... It's empty, but at the same time holds infinite possibilities. You, my boy, are able to possess multiple Personas, and summon them as needed. And when you have defeated your enemies, you will see the faces of possibility before you. There may be times when they are difficult to grasp... But, do not fear. Seize what you have earned. Your power will grow accordingly... Be sure to keep that in mind."

— Igor

Minato woke up with a start. It was odd. He had partially been expecting to see a familiar blue room or the bland scenery of when he had been the Great Seal. It had been horrible, being trapped as that statue. The inability to move his limbs for who knows how many years was not a pleasurable experience. Erebus was constantly bothering him as soon as it reformed and it was just plain annoying. He couldn't talk, complain, or even greet his friends when they visited him for the first and last time. Elizabeth had been his only companion for years, but she vanished too, leaving him alone for all eternity. Or that was what he had thought.

Perhaps she was the reason behind his unsealing? He didn't know how he had arrived at this strange place. He didn't understand what their definition of mages were, why he had collapsed after only using healing magic (and a small bit of combat magic), or where he even currently was. He took in his surroundings, trying to get a grasp of where he was. He was in a comfortable bed in a blandly decorated room. White sheets and a similarly colored blanket covered him and his head lay on a thick, fluffy, white pillow. It was soooothing. The place looked like... 'A hotel room? Or is it an inn here in this world?' He thought to himself. There was a old, wooden cabinet directly across from him. To his right was a window. He peered out of it to find that he was in a city of sorts. It was a bright, colorful town. People were bustling about, going through their daily lives with smiles on their faces. Vendors had stalls lining the streets, trying to sell their interesting goods. It definitely was a medieval setting. It was peaceful. This wasn't the world he fought for, he was sure of that now, but it was a good ideal world. There was no perceivable crime or pollution, no hidden hour in which water turned to blood, and no Shadows. Minato almost wished he lived in this world. He could live a nice peaceful life here if he wanted. He turned his head away from the window. There was a door to his left. He heard footsteps coming.

The door opened. A redheaded little girl walked in, carrying a tray of food. She was the girl Minato had saved last and freed. 'Her name is... Erza, right? Why is she here?' She looked surprised when she noticed he was awake, but then smiled and continued forward to place her tray on the nightstand near the bed. Minato hadn't noticed the nightstand. He mentally shrugged. Wouldn't be the first time he didn't notice something. Erza was wearing a white blouse with a blue ribbon around her neck and a blue skirt. She looked very pleased to see him and sat down on his bed, the bed slightly sinking under her added weight.

"I'm glad you're awake. You had us all worried. You've been sleeping for a whole week, Minato! Do you do this often, scaring people like this?!" She suddenly went from cool and pleasant to outraged. 'Oh, please don't tell me she's like Mitsuru. Please, please don't!' Minato thought, fearing an Execution. He had experienced one of those Executions after him and Ryoji were caught in the hot springs. Ryoji tried to talk his way out of it, but he couldn't talk his way out of a paper bag with holes in it. Akihiko and Junpei somehow got away... the bastards. Executions were the worst thing you could possibly experience. It was literally being frozen alive and left for a night. The freezing was due to Persona magic so it couldn't kill you, but it kept you awake, aware, and cold. It was like being trapped in the Great Seal except you couldn't sleep and were constantly shivering from the intense cold. Minato, deciding she was probably as impatient as Mitsuru was as well, decided to answer her and not keep her waiting. Girls can be scary, no matter the age!

"Yes, I've done this before. Don't worry. I'm a trained professional... at sleeping. I'm sure many people could vouch for me on that. Anyway, mind telling me where I am and where all the other slaves went after they were freed? Because right now it's just you and me and... I'm not your daddy." He said, rubbing the back of his head as he spoke. He wanted the girl to be calmed. If there was anyone better in the world at sleeping then Minato was, they must be dead or in a coma. The last time he slept for a week was his after he first awakened his power. Coincidence? Maybe. His life was already weird enough as it was without him asking to many questions. Leave it to some other Wild Card to find the Truth of everything.

Erza blushed furiously. Was this... a crush? Or hero worship? Or even embarrassment? Minato had enough little girls promising to grow up and marry him (Maiko was more than enough! It was just... creepy.). She opened her mouth and began to speak, "We are in Magnolia Town. Rob, one of the slaves you freed, is part of a mage Guild called Fairy Tail here. After you freed us we all went our own ways. Rob and I came here and brought you with us. My friends and I decided to be great mages...", She blushed an even deeper shade of red, now matching her hair color," like you." Her blush lessened considerably as she continued, but was still constant for some reason. "We all decided to go our separate ways and learn our own magic in our own Guilds and then we would become the strongest mages in the world together. We played rock-paper-scissors for who got to go with you. I won." She finished seeming proud of herself. Minato was impressed she could speak so calmly while blushing (and also noticed she avoided the whole 'daddy' comment completely). They just handled him like a prize?!... Well, he didn't really care. He had nowhere to go anyway. Maybe he could join a Guild and use Persona to save people just like he used to? He could look for a way home, but at the moment it seemed impossible. If anyone were to know a way for him to go back, it would be a mage anyway. Yeah. New Plan: Join Guild, sleep, save people, sleep, learn a way home, and then sleep. Good plan.

He started to get out of bed. Erza jumped off his bed. The white sheets fell off him, revealing he had been sleeping in his clothes. He shrugged. It wasn't the first time he slept in his clothes and it wouldn't be the last. He stood and stretched his arms, rolled his neck back and forth and twisted his upper body left to right. One always has to stretch after a good nap. He looked at his food. There was tea, bread, and a soup of some sort. It looked chicken soup. And it all was seemingly homemade. Odd.

"I brought you food. Now you finally get to eat it! And it's not like I was bringing it everyday or anything! Or I spent hours trying to make it or something! It was just you... uh... me... Rob!... uh... I was just... uh..." Minato smiled. She was a bit socially awkward from what he gathered, but she was a good kid. She'd grow up to become a fine mage. Probably powerful too. He could sense she had some sort of power. It was a skill he had acquired ages ago. Normally he could only sense the power of Persona users, but this place was different. Perhaps he had been sensing magic the whole time? Which reminded him..

"Thanks for the food. As for you being a mage, who exactly is going to train you?" Minato asked, genuinely curious. Do these mages go on apprenticeships or is there a school? Did she already have someone in mind to train her? If so, then who? Maybe this mage could teach Minato a thing or two. Like teleporting or flight. That would be awesome.

And it would make Junpei totally jealous. Score. Oh, wait... Junpei wasn't around. No Score.

"Please be my teacher!" She suddenly dropped to the floor and bowed, a position used when asking an extremely big favor. She was submitting her future to him. He had her life in his hands. How unfair. She wanted him to be her teacher?! Minato could sense that the power she had wasn't related to a Persona. What could he possibly teach her? The only thing he did was shoot himself in the head to summon deities and demons to destroy things! And she didn't have the Potential to do that. He checked her power again. There were several familiar fluctuations in it. It seemed more related to...

Minato smiled. He knew what to teach her. And it was the most awesome power he had aside from Personae.

"Stop prostrating yourself. I'll be your teacher," She stood up instantenously, eyes shining brightly. She was pretty much bouncing in joy. He held up a hand and continued, "I can only teach you a few things. You'll never be able to summon beings like I can, but I can teach other stuff that I know. You'll hate me while I teach you. But I think you'll like it after you learn it." He smiled, mirroring her expression. Erza looked a little bit nervous.

This was going to be fun.

"We're going to activate your magic. It feels dormant. So we need to wake it up." Minato said as he finished tying the final knot. Stress was always the best way to wake up a power. Persona required you to shoot yourself in the head. So the same rule must apply to all magic, right? He stood back and looked at his masterpiece.

"Sensei! How is this going to wake up anything!" Erza was squirming beneath her bindings, her voice incredulous and outraged.

Erza was tied up and hanging upside down over a waterfall. The roar of the waterfall was deafening. Minato stood at the nearby cliff holding a rope that was connected to the large pulley system he had constructed that was keeping Erza from falling. Next to Minato was a small knife on a pedestal. Minato smirked and sat down, still holding onto the rope. 'Thank you for buying all this, Rob.' He thought. Rob was fairly wealthy and more than happy to give Minato, his hero, the money needed to buy supplies to train Erza. Minato's money was no good here, so he would take what he could get.

"Well, the waterfall is fairly loud. The noise alone could probably wake it up, but I strongly doubt that. I researched a bit into the magic of this world and used the knowledge of my own magic to construct this surefire way to awaken your magic. I can sense that your magic has something to do with equipment. So... you need to equip this knife and cut yourself free within 2 minutes. I tell you now that I am insane. I will let go if you fail. If you cut yourself free, then grab onto the rope and use it to swing over here. It's fairly simple." He shrugged and turned a small hourglass upside down with his left hand his right still holding the rope. Erza began to struggle fervently, but found it useless.

"Use your magic." He said plainly, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. Erza growled.

"Stop saying that like it's easy! Who taught you to use magic?!" She screamed at him, exasperated. Minato shrugged again and stated, "Myself." The look on Erza's face was priceless. She began to wriggle even more furiously.

She continued to struggle as the sound fell in the hour glass. There was now one minute left. Nothing was happening, no magic was awakening. The sand continued to fall and nothing was changing. Then there was no more sand left to fall. Minato sighed. He had a feeling he'd be doing a lot of that. He couldn't let her go, but time was running out. Minato loosened his grip on the rope before quickly tightening it, causing her to fall a few feet and almost scaring her to death.

"Aaaaaah!" She screamed in a high-pitched tone as the dagger shot off the podium and straight to her, floating around her head. Minato smiled. He did it. He was never going to let her fall, that was just to scare her. This had been a perfectly safe training exercise. And then he noticed that the dagger she summoned slice straight through the rope holding her up. She plummeted, screaming at the top of her lungs the entire way.

"Oh, shit!" He cursed as he leapt off the cliff side and dove after her. "Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit!" He fell faster and faster, trying desperately to grab onto the rope binding Erza. He drew closer and closer to her as they fell, both screaming. He reached out, his hand barely missed the rope the first time. The force of him thrusting his hand out cause him to spin in the air, causing him to lose precious time. They were running out of cliff side fast and closing in on the water. He reached out his hand once last time. If he didn't make it this time, Erza was as good as dead. He might survive the fall, but she had no chance. Erza's face turned to him, tears leaving her eyes and flying up into his face. He had to make it. He mustered all his strength and pushed forward to grab her. His ar was getting closer, closer, and closer still before...

He grabbed her. He hugged her to his body and turned in the air so that they would fall on him. He would at least shield her with his body if his idea didn't work out. Minato quickly pulled his Evoker out of his body and summoned a Persona, he didn't care which and wasn't going to pay attention to what he had summoned as long as it had-

"Magarudyne!"

A large amount of air rushed upwards underneath them, cushioning their fall and forming a large pillow of wind beneath them. They continued to plow into it, slowing down as they did so. 'Come on! Make it in time!' They stopped in midair for a moment a few feet above the surface of the water before they fell, this time with far less momentum. Minato emerged from the water still holding the tied up Erza.

"I'd say that was a successful training session." The glare Erza gave Minato was indescribably deadly. Minato laughed and swam over to the edge of the water. Next was learning how to use her magic. Minato felt he really was insane sometimes. It came with the multiple residents of his skull. Which, since he had obtained the Universe Arcana, numbered 170. He still didn't know what else the Universe Arcana had changed about him, but he had a feeling it would change things drastically.

"Sword! Summon your sword now!"

"Ah! It's not coming out!"

"Try harder! No! You're not doing it right! You know what? You don't need me for this. Wake me when you need me."

"Sensei! You just woke up a few minutes ago! I need your help!"

Rob sat in his chair outside, smiling. They were in a grassy clearing just outside of Magnolia Town. Sitting beside him was Makarov Dreyar, the Guild Master of Fairy Tail and old friend of Rob. Each had their own lawn chair they were relaxing in. They were watching the hero, Minato, teaching his new apprentice, Erza. Minato was apparently trying to each her a form of Requip magic that instantaneously worked for armor and weapons of all kinds. It sounded good in theory, but seemed nearly impossible to teach (this could be attributed to the fact that Minato was sleeping nearly the entire time he was supposed to be teaching her). Erza was trying to summon forth a broadsword that Minato had apparently shoved into her head. And it disappeared inside her without leaving a wound. According to Minato, this was a skill put into his brain by "two weirdos in a blue elevator" and that it worked by storing the weapon (or armor) inside the subconscious and using the subconscious and conscious parts of the brain simultaneously to bring it out of "the realm of the subconscious through the rift between the subconscious and unconscious realms". It sounded absurd and impossible. At least until Minato began summoning a multitude of weapons. He summoned spiked gloves, guns, rapiers, broadswords, axes, knives, and katanas of all kinds out of thin air. He was a walking armory.

"I already told you what to do. Stick out your hand and visualize where you want it to appear. In your hand. Once you get good enough, you should be able to do things like arm other people, bring forth armor, or summon multiple weapons at once. After that, who knows what you will be able to do. Now, goodnight."

"Seeeensei! Wake up! You're supposed to be teaching me! I'll punish you!" Erza was yelling at Minato, who was now laying on the ground.

"I don't care. I'm your sensei. You asked to be my student. I can stop teaching you whenever I want. Think of this as independent study." He curled up into a ball and began to sleep.

"Awwwwww!"

Makarov and Rob chuckled at the scene before them. Minato was trying very hard to go to sleep. Very, very hard. He was laying on the grass, snoozing softly, curled up into a ball. Erza kicked him in the stomach, only to grasp her foot in pain as she squealed. And she was wearing shoes. She bounced around on one foot as Minato continued to sleep peacefully. It was like a comedy. Rob chuckled.

"What do you think, old friend? Are they Fairy Tail material?" Rob asked Makarov, his eyes still watching the scene with a tint of amusement in them. Makarov laughed.

"They will be a fine addition to the family. Grey and Cana are tired of being the only kids around, Erza will be a welcome addition. I'm curious about Minato's power, though. It is unique. He does not summon Celestial Spirits or uses keys, yet he summons beings and uses Requip magic. Once Erza learns her magic she can join. Minato can join immediately. Although I'm sure he'll be too preoccupied to join until he finishes his lessons." He said, grinning widely. He was always happy to let another person into the guild. He was now getting two more members! They would have to have a feast! A big one! The members of Fairy Tail were always looking for reasons to party. But then there were the property damages he would have to pay for...

"I did it, Sensei! I did it! Were you watching?!" Unfortunately, her sensei was asleep, yet again.

Poor Erza. It would be worse when Minato would start to teach her how to use the weapons. It's really embarrassing to lose to a teacher who fights you while he sleeps. And then wakes up and wants to actually "start".

(One month later)

Minato walked in to the Fairy Tail Guild. It was a nice looking place, like a bar and restaurant. There was a lot of wood everywhere, it all looked flammable. There were several wooden tables and chairs, each filled with unique looking people, and a board off in the back filled with pieces of paper. There was a second story that Minato couldn't see anything on. Minato really hoped they kept any fire mages they had or under control. Minato wasn't jealous of anybody who would have to pay for the damages fire would cause here. Minato looked beside him at Erza. She stood confidently next to him in shining armor with her hand on the sword at her side that he had given her as a reward for learning the magic he had taught to her. It would be her first and favorite weapon. It was called Balmung, the legendary sword of Seigfried. It was very powerful and gave the user increased health, making it take much more blows to down them in combat. Was Minato actually worrying for her safety? Yeah. He wasn't going to let his only student die when he could have stopped it. He had let Erza pick her own armor. She really liked Heart Kreuz armor for some reason. Minato chalked it up as a girl thing. Erza smiled. She wasn't nervous or shy. Her teacher, her sensei, was with her. There was nothing scarier than his combat training. She strode boldly up to Makarov in the middle of the room and opened her mouth to speak.

"We'd like to join Fairy Tail."

Makarov smiled. Then the whole Guild went nuts.

There had been a party afterwards, but Minato didn't remember anything at all about it. It all seemed to be a blur. The moment Erza had spoken those words, the place went nuts. Apparently Rob had told them about the powerful mage that single-handedly defeated everyone in the Tower of Heaven and freed all the slaves. Minato was assaulted with questions, challenged, food (the cook was apparently very enthusiastic) and a myriad of other things. Minato pushed the wooden table that was on top of him off to the side. He stood up and stretched, briefly considering going back to sleep. He looked around and noticed the Guild was littered with the sleeping bodies of his new comrades. His nakama. They were now all family. It was a bit moving for Minato. He never had a family before. He considered leaving if they were going to call him family. His family died before, so who's to say it won't happen again? He dismissed the thought and decided to go for a walk. He brushed his hand through his hair and turned towards the door. He then remembered where he had gotten his Fairy Tail mark in all that craziness. It was on his right eyelid and the area around it, underneath his fringe. What the hell inspired him to get it there?

He headed towards the door, watching his step carefully so that he wouldn't step on anyone. When he finally reached the door, there was a young black-haired kid standing there with his arms crossed. He wasn't wearing a shirt. His Guild mark was displayed proudly on his bare chest. It appeared as if he was trying to look tough and intimidating. It was hard to get the point across when he wasn't wearing a shirt.

"My name is Gray Fullbuster, mage of Fairy Tail. I challenge you to a fight!" Minato sighed. Apparently not everyone was going to take the stories of him at face value. He looked straight at the kid, his eyes boring into Grays'. Minato saw the fire, no, the icy determination in his eyes. Gray wanted a fight, it didn't matter who he fought. This kid wanted to prove himself, to get stronger. Minato would show this kid the error of his ways. It was way too reckless to challenge an unknown enemy unless you had friends to back you up.

"Okay kid, follow me. And put on a shirt, will you? Gosh, kids these days..." He trailed off as he left the Guild. He heard a singular cry of "Not again!" from behind him before Gray appeared beside him, this time wearing a blue shirt. The two walked together to their battlefield.

The two were in the same plain that Erza and Minato had worked in for the past month. They faced each other in dueling positions. Minato had no sword out. He had a feeling that cutting the kid open wouldn't be a good way to join Fairy Tail. The kid had a grim expression on his face as held one hand outward, palm facing upward. Minato wondered what his magic was.

"Begin." Minato said, tired of waiting for the dual to start. Immediately, Gray slammed his fist into his open palm and yelled, "ICE-MAKE: LANCE!" Lances made of solid ice short forward at Minato at astounding speeds. Minato stood still, allowing the lances to hit him. The lances all shattered on impact. Gray had focused on making quantity, not quality. Gray looked shocked. His eyes were wide open and he couldn't say a word. He couldn't believe his attack didn't work! It worked on Lyon when they sparred! What was this guy made out of?!

"Is that all?" Minato asked, tilting his head in a puzzled gesture. Gray grinded his teeth together and clenched his fist. Once more he slammed his fist into his palm. This time, however, a sword made of ice formed in his grip. He swung it in an arc, testing it's strength. He looked down at his sword and smiled. This would do the job quite nicely. He looked over to his opponent and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

"What's that?! Where did you get that?!" He shouted, pointing at the large object Minato was carrying. It was a long, steel pole with a red sign on the end of it that read, "STOP" Minato smiled brightly and hefted the object over his shoulder with one hand.

"It's a stop sign. So stop acting like an idiot and fight me." Minato taunted him. Gray was getting angry. Who was this guy?! Why was he so annoying and cocky?! He was a newcomer! He was Gray's junior! Gray rushed towards Minato, his sword of ice held high. He was going to show this guy who was boss! He was going to show this guy who was stronger! His years in Fairy Tail made him strong! Like Ur! He was going to-

Minato swung the stop sign in a horizontal arc, taking out Gray in single blow across the face. Gray bounced off the ground like a stone being skipped before he crashed. Minato sighed and scratched the back of his head. When was he going to fight someone strong? Besides gravity, of course.

Minato walked over to the downed Gray to heal him and then haul him over to Fairy Tail.

"Why am I always the babysitter?"

A/N: Done. I don't feel like writing anymore. I'm tired... do I have to write another author's note? No? I'm doing this to myself? Ah, screw it. I'm going to go have Minato get nearly killed by Gildarts later. Edit: Just kidding!

Minato: Hey!

Shut up. I'm tired. You might lose. Badly. But I honestly dount that you will lose. Universe Arcana does not make you god-like. It has the power to make the impossible possible. Minato used it to create a seal, not attack. As for Elizabeth being strong in P4 Arena, she's NOT human. And she's been fighting Erebus for years and getting stronger each time. If Minato and Elizabeth were to fight again, I dount Minato could win, having been stagnant for years. And 170 Personas? I doubt Minato will even use a quarter of them. But the weaker ones will be good so that he doesn't kill anybody if they aren't that strong.

Anyway, Erza split up with her friends. Jellal went on his way. They all want to be the best mages by going their own ways. This would have had to happen if Jellal wasn't insane and clingy in the canon Fairy Tail. I'll show more of Erza's point of view next chapter to show what happened when Minato was unconscious. There will be plausible reason as to why they split up happened beyond what I've already said. And Minato training Erza. I thought it made sense. How else does Minato randomly switch weapons inside Tartarus. Seriously. Tell me. Anyway, it's everyone's favorite...

REVIEW REPLY TIME!:

aurelia arisato: Gracias para tu palabras. Y mirajen es posible. Yeah! I speak Spanish!

Mzr90: Minato will probably be the only Persona user, but don't quote me on that. Things can change. Minato will not age normally. He has the Universe Arcana and he was resurrected using an unfinished, untested system. Can you imagine what that does to your body? As for pairing, I'll probably put up a poll later.

dracometeo: He will have his weakness for every Persona. 170 Personae is a ton of weaknesses and a ton of strengths. So... he's balanced.

NIX'S WARDEN: OKAY! I LOVE THIS IDEA TOO!

SlyTrinity: Nice little ending thing. And yeah, aging is a problem for him. It just won't work! :D

Guest: Here ya go. Enjoy. :D

RoyalTwinFangs: ALL OF THEM. 'Nuff said. :D

Just a Watcher: It's harder to write this stuff than it looks. And I have to apply for college... and I'm in the hardest classes in my school... Enjoy. Chapters come out when I feel inspired and have my computer nearby and time to write. :D

Yuuji Narukami: Yu Narukami! Again you have appeared! My goodness! Thanks for the kind words! :D

Chaple: You're probably going to point out something wrong with this chapter. *Sigh* People always look for the bad stuff. Can we all agree to look for the good things too? And thanks for telling me to "keep up the good work"! :D

Songbird of the End: In the Fairy Tail Universe, No Magic = No Strength. Simple as that. The stakes are higher for Minato now because he can't keep spamming stuff over and over again. The Excel spreadsheet would be wonderful (I use P3P and the wiki currently for convenience) and I wish you luck on your own story. :D

Windraider: You know... it's kind of funny. I really like your Persona and Fate/Stay Night Crossovers and now you're reviewing my story... I feel famous. :D The kids are all going to separate Guilds to learn their own magic. That way they can meet up and be all the strongest mages (10 Wizards Saints is their goal) together. They will all show up at one point or another. I considered having Jellal stick with Erza, but... meh. It will be much more awesome when they meet up later.

Okay! That's it for reviews folks! Now...

Question of the chapter: If you were a mage, what would your magic be?

REVIEW, FAVORITE, AND FOLLOW. Pretty please with Mirajane on top? (Sounds so wrong... yet so right. XD)