Disclaimer: We do not own Fairy Tail.


Hunters of the Apocalypse

By: TheGlassKatana & FenrirSinclair

Chapter 3 – Staying A While


Gale let out a sigh as he and his current traveling companions walked further up the icy path that they had been walking on for far longer than his liking. Janus and he always seemed to fly across landscapes and now it felt like they were crawling like infants up this white capped mountain.

Hearing a low groan from his right side he looked at the source and sighed again as he took in Natsu's appearance. Natsu was coated in small cuts from head-to-toe and despite his earlier assurances that he never got cold, being the fire dragon slayer and all, his skin was a unique shade of blue and his teeth were chattering.

"I told you not to fight him," said Gale sternly, eyes on the pink-haired Salamander, "Though, I did tell him not to fight you too... Why does no one ever listen to me?" He said with another sigh, placing his head in a hand.

Hearing Natsu groan again as a form of answer, Gale let out a small chuckle as he recalled this morning.

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"Welcome back Natsu!"

Janus frowned as he observed the two newcomers enter. The male with.. pink.. hair seemed to be readily welcomed, lending credence to the thought that he was a member of Fairy Tail. The blonde girl with the large chest on the other hand seemed to be looking around the guild with awe, and after hearing no one call a feminine name made it obvious that she was a newcomer to the guild, just as he and Gale were.

Gale, however, jumped from his seat and dashed to the door, making everyone blink in confusion as they heard his geta clank loudly on the wooden floor. As he approached Natsu, Gale's face developed a large grin, "So, you're my younger brother eh?" He asked, stopping just short of Natsu who tilted his head in confusion.

"I've never seen you before?" Said Natsu slowly, confused by the randomness of someone he had never met in his life.

Gale blinked for a moment before letting out a laugh, "Right, right. I'm Gale Alldire, the wind dragonslayer." He announced grandly, giving the blonde girl an overly extravagant bow, "And you are Natsu, the fire-"

"YOU'RE A DRAGONSLAYER? DO YOU KNOW WHERE IGNEEL IS?!" Shouted Natsu, grabbing Gale by both his shoulders and shaking him.

With a frown Gale slowly took Natsu's hands off of his shoulders, before sighing, "Sorry lil bro, never heard of Igneel. The only dragon I ever spent time with was my own- Cyclonus, the wind dragon."

At this point most of the guild was listening in out of curiosity, having never heard much about dragons from anyone other than Natsu, who one couldn't always believe. Still at the table they had been sitting at, Janus was shaking his head slightly with a smirk on his face.

"Darnit, I should have known you wouldn't know where Igneel was. Did your dragon leave you too?" Asked Natsu, his right fist slightly clenched.

"Sort of, yeah," Said Gale, having decided on not telling Natsu about his leaving of Cyclonus on his own terms.

"Don't worry, we'll find 'em some day!" Natsu practically shouted, lifting the dark mood he had cast earlier, "So what are you doing here anyway? Do you wanna fight? I'm all fired up for a fight!"

Shaking his head warily, Gale frowned, "Not right now, and I'm here because I joined Fairy Tail," he said, jerking his head to the side to expose his guild mark.

"That's so awesome! The two of us can take turns beating that idiot Gray!" Said Natsu, grinning like he had actually just beat Gray at something, much to Gale's amusement, "Oh right, Lucky here-"

"It's Lucy!"

"Wants to join the guild as well!" Finished Natsu, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at her.

Looking her over Gale's eyes slowly drifted downwards until they remained at about chest-level, "It's great to meet you, Lucy-chan!" He said, eyes not leaving her chest the entire time, "I'm a new-member as well, and as you know we new members should stick togeth-" A smack across the back of his head silenced him as everyone else in the guild hall laughed.

Turning to yell at whoever smacked him Gale stopped short as he realized that Janus had gotten up, walked over and smacked him, all while malevolently glaring at him.

"Harass the woman on your own time," Said Janus, his glare causing not only Gale to freeze up but Lucy as well, "I'm Janus Timesgate, a pleasure to make the acquaintance of both of you."

"I'm Lucy Heartfilia, pleased to make your acquaintance as well," Said Lucy with a nod, extremely happy that at least one person in Fairy Tail seemed to be normal, despite his terrifying gaze.

"Wa-hoo! You joined too? Wanna fight?" Asked Natsu, grinning widely as he approached Janus and slapped his arm.

Rubbing his arm in irritation, Janus gave Natsu a considering look, "Fight another dragonslayer, huh..?" At Natsu's emphatic nod Janus couldn't help but grin, "Sure, why not? It'll be fun to compare you to Gale."

Stepping between them Gale frantically shook his head, "Woah woah woah! No. You two should not fight each other! Janus does not know how to hold back!"

If possible, Gale's words made Natsu's grin even wider, "That's awesome! A fight against a full powered opponent!"

"Oi everyone! Natsu and the other new guy are gonna go at it!" Shouted Grey, who had been listening in after hearing Natsu call out his name earlier.

The guild let out a roar of approval at getting to watch a second match in a single day, throwing their arms up in the air in cheer. As various members returned back outside to watch the second match, Lucy looked around in confusion, having no idea what to do.

"Natsu-san said you wanted to join, right?" Asked Janus, who had returned his gaze to her after exchanging glances with Natsu, who was already running outside.

"Uh, yes! Is there someone I should talk to or something? I kinda feel ignored," Sighed Lucy, frowning as Janus's face grew a smirk.

"Sorry, the guild seems to be full of battle-ready fools. Kind-hearted fools, but fools nonetheless. After the match I'll make sure to remind Mira-san about you," Said Janus, smiling slightly as he saw Lucy nod in agreement.

"Well then, shall we get this over with?" Asked Gale, who looked at Janus as if he were a traitor.

Janus only smirked.

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As Janus entered the circle of guild members who were happily talking loudly about how they expected the fight to go, his smirk softened into a smile as he saw Natsu's full blown grin.

"Let's go already! I'm sick of waiting!" Shouted Natsu, as flames erupted from his clenched fists.

Surveying the group around them, Janus gave a short nod, "Of course, though I do recommend that everyone steps back a little further. My spells don't exactly discriminate.."

The sly tone of voice coupled with the intense look in his eyes made everyone nod in agreement before the circle dispersed wider around them, giving Natsu and Janus plenty of room to fight.

"Just one question, if I might, Natsu-san?" Asked Janus, the light tone in his voice betrayed by the incredibly serious look in his eyes.

"Uh, sure, I guess?" Said Natsu, settling down a little and tilting his head at Janus, inquiring him to ask his question.

"Your.. Father? Igneel. What color was he?" Asked Janus, making Gale tense so badly that Mira noticed it out of the corner of her eye.

"Uhh. Well, his scales were mostly red, but his stomach and tail were white in color. The scarf I'm wearing now is made from his scales!" Said Natsu, grinning as he gripped his scarf in an attempt to show it to Janus.

With what almost seemed to be a relieved sigh, Janus nodded, "Curiosity sated, shall we, Natsu-san?" he asked, giving Natsu a wide grin.

"Finally!" Shouted Natsu, launching himself forward at a breakneck speed towards Janus, a small cloud of dust kicking up behind him. His flaming hands left a glowing trail behind him.

With an almost imperceptible nod, Janus withdrew his Grimoire from within his cloak and flipped it open, pages flapping in the wind, "Let's see how you do."

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"This is going to end so badly. Why does no one listen to me?" Murmured Gale quietly from the sidelines, drawing a curious look from Mira, who was standing next to him.

They watched as Natsu drew closer and closer to Janus, who had yet to make a move aside from drawing his grimoire.

"Why's Janus-kun just standing there? Does he have a plan or something?" Asked Mira, looking at Gale who just sighed and jerked his chin towards the fight, telling her to watch.

Natsu, though slightly disappointed that his opponent wasn't going to give him a good fight, grinned before pulling back his right fist, increasing the size of the flames, "Karyuu no Tekken!"

Most of the guild released a gasp of surprise as Janus still didn't move, Natsu's fire-wreathed fist drawing closer and closer to his face.

If one looked close enough, they would have noticed the small smile that appeared on Janus's face.

Just as Natsu's fist was about to make contact, an extravagantly designed golden magic seal appeared before Janus, shining just as brightly as the fire before it.

Natsu's fist clashed with the seal, sending a shockwave reverberating through the air that made most of the guild jump slightly as they looked on with awe. With a roar of effort Natsu pushed harder and harder against the seal, causing a backdraft of fire to erupt behind him.

"Not bad, Natsu-san," Complimented Janus, his tone slightly mocking, "But not exactly good enough."

Grunting angrily Natsu used his fist as leverage to push himself backwards, jumping away from where Janus stood.

Flicking his grimoire to a specific page, Janus smirked as the shining seal in front of him vanished, "Bind and contain, enchain and restrain—" He chanted, noting Natsu's confusion as multiple purple and blue magic seals spread across the ground, "Chains of ice with frozen will; suffocate my opponent with unbreakable steel!" He finished, his eyes gleaming golden as his right hand suddenly dipped and swerved, reminiscent of a music conductor.

The rattling of chains was all everyone could hear as massive amounts of black ice chains erupted from the seals, converging on Natsu- whose face split into another large grin.

Like a monkey, Natsu jumped and grabbed onto a nearby chain using it as a swing to propel himself away from the others, before he inhaled sharply, eyes locked onto where Janus stood.

Having fought another Dragonslayer more times than he could count, Janus knew exactly what Natsu was about do. Releasing the power of the spell that fueled his chains, he expertly flicked a few pages in his grimoire before nodding, "Aegis of the king, come forth! Guard, shield, protect-"

"Karyuu no Houkou!" Roared Natsu, breathing out a massive amount of flames that shot directly to where Janus was standing, his mouth still moving as he fished his spell, "Let none who stand before you be harmed!"
Standing sideways and raising his right arm in front of him, Janus grinned as a massive shield of black ice rose before him.

The fire met the ice with a loud boom, which dulled down to a low hiss as a large cloud of steam rose up, the heat of the fire washing over the guild members who were still watching.

"Pool the blood before my feet, eat away the life we so greedily protect!" Janus's voice chanted from within the steam, his silhouette barely visible as the glow of magic circles formed a wall behind him, "Stab, Puncture, Wound! Rain down, steel of the end!"

"Janus-kun really doesn't like to waste time, does he?" Asked Mira, looking at Gale, who was watching the battle with concern in his eyes.

A low whistle was heard through the air as the silhouettes of swords rained down upon where Natsu had been standing before the steam erupted, a few bangs being heard was the swords clashed with the chains that had been laying there.

"Janus says talking in the middle of battle is just a good way to get yourself killed. He says that to me all of the time," Said Gale slowly, surprising Mira with the serious tone in his voice. In the entirety of the time she had known him, she hadn't seen him so serious- not even when he fought Laxus.

"Ha! You think that's enough to take me down!" Shouted Natsu as he emerged from the steam, his body coated in small cuts from head to toe, both arms behind him and wreathed in flames, "Never underestimate a Dragonslayer!"

"Karyuu no Yokugeki!" Shouted Natsu, jumping up in the air and swinging his arms downwards, causing the flames that coated his arms to launch forward towards Janus, looking like dragon wings.

Janus spread his legs before moving his arms behind and in front of his body, smiling as a different gleaming golden seal appeared before him, this one taking the shape of a cone.

As the fire hit the tip of the seal it spread outwards and away from it, making fire ravage the air around Janus, but not come close to touching him.

"This has been fun, Natsu-san, but I think it's time to end this," Said Janus, a grin on his face as he took in the sight of Natsu breathing heavily, coated from head to toe in angry cuts. With a nod Janus flicked his grimoire back open before flipping pages slowly, looking completely as though he were browsing a new book and not picking a spell to cast.

"Drown in the endless abyss, fall into the brink you stand before!" He shouted, a far cry from the soft murmurs he had cast his spells with previously, his magic aura exploding around him- causing his cloak to float gently.

Natsu looked around warily for any sign of a magic circle, before belatedly realizing that the entire area he was standing on was now covered by a black and purple magic circle.

"Suffocate, enclose, embrace- be still, forevermore..." Finished Janus softly, as the entire area the magic seal had been on erupted ice that quickly rose upwards, forming a small crystalline hill.

Standing backwards to admire his work and closing his grimoire with a snap, Janus smirked as he saw the entire guild looking at him with surprise in their eyes, "I should probably mention; I have no way to get Natsu-san out of there.." He said in a sly tone, causing most of the guild to facefault- with the exception of Grey who was looking at Janus with something akin to awe.

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Unable to stop laughing at the memory of Natsu's face once they finally managed to break him out of the ice, Gale turned back towards Natsu, who was still shivering as they got closer and closer to the top of the mountain, "So, what did we learn today, Natsu?"

"T-that Janus is just a-as scary as E-Erza..." Stuttered out Natsu, still cold from the time he spent in the tomb of ice.

"Aye! He turned you into a Natsicle!" Added Happy, floating up behind Gale, who freaked out at the sight of the blue talking cat that was now floating.

"Well, look on the brightside, we're finally at Mt. Hakobe," Said Lucy, who was shivering just as bad as Natsu was, a pleased look in her eyes at the thought of being able to return back to the warmth of Magnolia.

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Having turned down the offer to hunt for Macao with Gale and Natsu, Janus realized that he really had nothing to do around the guild. More and more members were leaving on missions, something he didn't want to do without Gale around, and he didn't exactly have a place of residency to return too. He didn't want to drink any more tea without at least being able to pay for it, and he was more than a little strapped for funds. So with a sigh, he merely sat at the table that he and Gale had taken from Jet and Droy and relaxed, unsure what to do.

He nearly jumped in surprise when Makarov jumped from the second floor to the top of his table, a large grin on his face, "I heard you gave Natsu quite the thrashin," Said the short master, a mildly bemused look on his face.

Janus shrugged, "He seemed to be very confident in his strength. Despite what you might have heard Gale say, I do know how to hold back. Natsu-san should be just fine, after he finally warms up."

Makarov nodded, his smile fading away as a serious look replaced it, "Earlier, I had a talk with Gale to get to know him better. I was hoping we could do the same? In my office, of course."

"I suppose that if Gale did I should as well," Said Janus, nodding to the short man and standing up.

The two walked up the stairs to Makarov's office, but just before he reached the final step Janus noted that Mira seemed to be watching them with a bit of worry. Frowning, Janus turned and gave her a small smile before turning to follow Makarov, hoping that would alleviate her concern. To his surprise Makarov was watching him with a knowing smile on his face.

As they entered the office, Makarov hopped onto a small pile of books that wobbled dangerously as he did so, yet remained perfectly still afterwards to Janus's amusement.

"I see that Mira's quite taken with you," Noted Makarov, a gleam entering his eyes as he examined Janus carefully.

Janus simply shrugged, "I merely helped her clean up before she left yesterday. Has no one else ever actually done that? Any sensible person would."

Makarov sighed, seemingly done with his inspection of Janus, "Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, our guild is filled with people without any sensibility. Anyway, I wanted to ask you about your past, standard guild guidelines and whatnot." he said, pulling out a sheet of paper and pen.

Janus raised a brow, "I don't recall Gale mentioning anything about this after his 'talk'?"

"Dragonslayers are a bit of an exception. We know where the magic they learned came from, as well as what they've done most of their life- that is, train with their Dragon. Standard mages however, get asked a simple set of questions in order to make sure they had no previous involvement in a Dark guild. Children are usually exempt from this as well- they've had no time to learn magic or have been in a Dark guild. Usually, anyway. You're arguably young enough to not need to do this, but your level of strength requires it." Explained Makarov, watching Janus intently.

Janus's face had set into a mask, giving nothing away, "Very well, then ask away, Makarov-san."

"Have you ever been a member of a guild previously, and if so, for how long?"

"Yes, a small guild known as Gryffon's Wing." Said Janus, ignoring Makarov's gasp, "And only for a few years."

"Gryffon's Wing disappeared years ago- they went on a 100-year mission and never came back. I was good friends with their master, Sally. Any idea what might have happened to them?" Asked Makarov, desperate for some sort of information on what might have happened to his old friend.

"None. They left and never came back."

"I see," Muttered Makarov, disappointed. He was a little confused that he couldn't remember hearing anything about Janus from Sally, but let it be, "I was told you use a special type of ice- black ice. Could you tell me more about it?"

Janus frowned for a moment as if considering something, before he nodded his acceptance, "It's more than just Ice magic. It's the perfect combination of Ice and Shadow magic- making the Ice more resistant to the other elements as well as retaining the shadow magic's power."

Makarov raised an eyebrow, "Shadow magic? I assume that means you can use that as well then?"

"Yes, but I prefer to not use it. Haven't used it in years."

Makarov could tell by the tone of finality in Janus's voice that he wasn't going to get anywhere further on that subject, "Very well, what's this I hear about you using golden seals as a form of protection?"

"An ability I've had since as long as I can remember, I've never actually given it a name," Explained Janus wearily, a sigh escaping his lips.

"And your parents? They were unable to explain it to you?" Asked Makarov, genuinely curious.

"The last I saw of my parents they were being dragged away by slavers. So no, they wouldn't have been able to explain such things to me," Said Janus, a bittersweet smile on his face, as if he was appreciating some strange irony.

"I-I'm sorry." Said Makarov, completely surprised to hear such a thing, "Though you wouldn't be the only one here to suffer such a thing, I'm afraid," he said, a sad tone entering his voice as he thought of Erza.

Janus waved his arm in front of him, "It's fine. It stopped bothering me a long time ago- I wouldn't be who I am without that having happened to me."

Makarov nodded, grateful to not have offended his new child, "Last one- Any plans for the future?"

Makarov decided that he was disturbed as a manic gleam entered Janus's eyes and he sat forward, "I will create the world's most delicious tea."

Blinking in utter confusion, Makarov seemingly broke as he roared with laughter, making Janus look at him resentfully.

Wiping away tears from laughing so hard, Makarov nodded, "I see, I see. That was Sally's dream too, wasn't it?"

Janus merely nodded, still feeling a little insulted that Makarov had laughed so hard, "If that's all, I'll just be going now.."

As his hand touched the doorknob, however, Makarov's voice boomed from behind him, "Just one more question- this one is just for me," he said, pushing the pen and paper away from him, a truly serious look in his eyes.

"Gale said that you two 'have an interest in the comings and goings of Dragons.' Might you be able to explain why?" Asked Makarov, looking at Janus who still had his back turned to the short master.

As Janus slowly turned back to face Makarov, Makarov was unable to contain the flinch he got from seeing the look on Janus's face. His left eye seemed to be covered by shadows, leaving Makarov only one completely manic-looking gleaming golden eye to see. His mouth was set in a slightly insane grin, exposing gleaming white teeth.

"Because Makarov," Said Janus, his voice lowered to an eerie whisper, "We're going to slay a dragon.."

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Closing the door behind him with a sigh, Janus took step after step away from Makarov's office, irritated that he had lost control of himself towards the end of the conversation. Heaving another heavy sigh Janus stepped back down the stairs, trying and failing to keep the irritated frown that had formed off of his face.

Mira, who had been concerned as she watched Janus and the Master walk up the stairs, had kept her eyes on the steps. She nearly flinched when she noticed the dark look and scowl that pervaded Janus's face, his body tensed in a way that seemed to emit irritation.

As he took his final step down the stairs his eyes swept over the guild hall, stopping and softening slightly as his eyes locked with hers. With a small sigh Janus seemed to change appearances on the fly, his eyes softening and his mouth forming a small smile. He approached the bar, "That was a little more than I was expecting, I will admit," He said, another frown worming onto his face.

Mira giggled a little at the unhappy frown that looked more like a pout on Janus's face, "Had your talk with the master then? I suppose everyone has something they don't want to talk about..." Said Mira, frowning as she recalled Lisanna's death.

Just as the air around the two grew tense, Mira shook her head and flashed him a bright smile, "Hey Janus-kun, help me go and get groceries for the guild."

Janus blinked momentarily, confused by her words, "Uh- what?"

"I can show you around town! I'm guessing you still don't know much about Magnolia?" She asked, and at his confused nod, continued, "So it would be good for you to get a better feel for the area! Not to mention that it would be a good way to help pay off your tab- unless it's just that you don't want to accompany me?" Asked Mira, schooling her features into a pout that made Janus blush and look away.

Missing the victorious smirk that Mira flashed Janus nodded, "I suppose it would be good to learn of the surrounding area, and I guess I can't complain about the company.. Much, anyway."

Now grinning at Mira's small pout, Janus sat on a barstool and waited for Mira to finish up what little tasks she had before the two set off, not noticing the few surprised faces of what guild members were still there as they left together.

Janus mostly just nodded as Mira pointed out the various shops and buildings, making small notes in his head about the layout of the town. A delicious sweet scent of strawberries caught him off guard, making him look around to figure out it's source. Mira seemed to notice his actions, however.

"Smell the sweets, huh?" Asked Mira, causing him to look over to her and nod, "Erza has a sweet tooth as well. What you're smelling is the strawberry cake that she gets almost daily, from that shop over there," She said, pointing at a small cafe that had a pink awning, "Personally," She started, leaning over to him with a conspiratory whisper, "I think Erza's gonna get really fat eating all of that cake."

Letting out a short bark of a laugh Janus grinned as he imagined the Titania complaining about her inability to fit into her armor, "I doubt she'll put off training long enough for her to put on too much weight," He reasoned, grinning a bit as Mira pouted at his logic.

"That's so not fair. You have no idea how much effort I have to put into my diet in order to maintain my cover-girl looks," Said Mira, striking a pose that made Janus roll his eyes as more than a few nearby males stopped to look at her curiously.

Seeing Janus's exasperated look Mira grinned and motioned for them to continue, to which Janus nodded in agreement. The two continued down the main road of Magnolia, only stopping to discuss the various landmarks that Mira seemed to think were interesting.

Noting a large cathedral in the distance that they had somehow skirted around, Janus pointed a finger to it, "What exactly is that?" He asked, curious.

Mira turned to face where he was pointing, her expression darkening a little. With what seemed to be an almost tired sigh Mira started to walk in it's direction, a surprised Janus hurrying to catch up with her.

Mira was quiet, eerily so, Janus noted- the two swiftly moving through the crowds as they continued to approach the cathedral. As they drew close Janus noted the small graveyard that lay all around the base of the church. His eyes widened in realization as Mira opened a small gate that led to a portion of the graveyard. Mira walked through the graveyard with practiced ease, making it seem as though she had been here many times before.

They stopped before a grave, Janus frowning as he read the name on the tombstone, 'Lisanna?'

"Lisanna, Janus. Janus, meet my little sister," Said Mira softly, her eyes shadowed.

"Oh-" Was all Janus let out, completely caught off guard.

"She died while she was on a mission with Elfman and I. Elfman attempted to perform a full-beast takeover on something he couldn't control. Despite my warnings that she should stay away Lisanna believed that her brother would never hurt her," She spoke softly, her voice wavering, "She.."

Mira was cut off as Janus put a hand on her shoulder, a surprisingly understanding look on his face, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want too," he said softly.

"It's not exactly like it's some kind of secret, the whole guild knows about it.." Trailed off Mira, sounding uncertain as she stared at the tombstone in front of them.

"Talking about the deaths of the ones who are dear to us is painful, unbelievably so." Affirmed Janus, nodding his head in agreement with his own words.

"You sound like you've lost others, Janus-kun." Stated Mira, switching her gaze away from the tombstone towards Janus's own.

"I guess you could say something like that happened at one point or another.." Said Janus awkwardly, lifting his eyes to the sky to escape Mira's.

Mira seemed to understand his reluctance to discuss the subject, as she quietly let the subject fade away as both fell into a comfortable silence, content to stare at Lisanna's grave. It didn't take to long for the silence to grow awkward, however, as both tried not to say anything that might bother the other.

"What exactly was that whole 'tea cup conversation' you had with Gale earlier about?" Asked Mira, suddenly remembering her confusion about the situation.

"Hmm? I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. Gale tends to just blather on, honestly," Said Janus slyly, a smirk growing on his face making Mira wonder the truth of his statement.

Shaking her head at him, Mira suddenly changed her head via transformation magic into a perfect replica of Gales, "You know I don't bruise easily!" she said, trying to imitate Gale's deeper voice and failing miserably, making Janus start laughing uncontrollably.

"Come on, let's go and get the groceries already," Said Janus through laughing fits, holding his stomach painfully and slightly bent over.

Mira nodded her assent and the two swiftly walked out of the graveyard, talking careful steps to avoid stepping over the many graves.

"Goodbye, Lisanna."

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"How the hell do you carry all of these by yourself normally?" Demanded Janus, huffing with effort as sweat ran down his reddened face. In his arms were four massive bags of groceries, weighing him down significantly.

Shopping for groceries had taken a significant amount of time, as an absurd amount of food was needed in order to feed the guild daily. Mira had rewarded his patience by buying more teabags than normal, something that had made Janus more than pleased to have come.

The walk back to guild was killing him though, even as he noted the evening sun reflect off of the river that ran down Magnolia in a particularly beautiful way.

"But these are all pretty lightweight, Janus-kun. Normally I have to get a lot more groceries for the guild than this," said Mira, smiling slightly as she strolled past him carrying eight massive bags with little to no effort.

"Lightweight? I feel like I'm gonna die..." Panted Janus, unable to stop sweat from getting into his eyes as he limped forward, trying hard not to spill the few bags he was carrying.

"Do you need to take a break?" Asked Mira, concerned as she doubled back to check up on him.

"It'll take more than this to finish me off!" Cried Janus triumphantly, drawing a few looks from nearby passers bys, "I just need to treat this like a battle. I'll never lose a battle, not even to you, bags of groceries!"

With his declaration roared, Janus rushed forward in the direction of the guild.

Seeing his wild advance made Mira slightly smile before she suddenly gasped, "Janus, watch out for the-"

Before she could finish her statement Janus went tumbling down a flight of stairs that he hadn't noticed.

"-stairs ahead..."

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Janus groaned slightly as Mira handed him a pack of ice for him to press against his right arm, which had an enormous purple bruise coating it.

Mira seemed to giggle at his pain though, making him frown before he realized she was laughing at his current state of dress. Janus had been carrying most of the liquids that the guild needed so when he fell down the small flight of stairs, many containers had burst open and stained his clothes, with the exception of his black cloak.

"I will never help you grocery shop again," He stated simply, ignoring Wakaba who had been nearly falling over in laughter for the last few minutes after he had seen Janus's appearance.

Mira seemed to pout at his words for a moment, before brightening up, "But if you never come shopping with me, how will I know what kinds of tea to buy?"

"I will write you an incredible detailed and precise list of my tea needs," Said Janus, refusing to meet her gaze lest she use his weakness against him.

"I'll probably just accidently lose the list then.." Said Mira slyly, causing Janus to look over at her with despair written on his face.

"I can see why they call you 'Demon Mirajane', now," He said with a sigh, causing her to give him an obviously false confused face.

"Whatever do you mean Janus-kun?" She asked loudly, drawing the attention of Loke and Elfman who had been arguing over something petty not to far away.

Seeing Elfman's attention turn towards them, Janus couldn't help but call out to him, "Your sister really is a demon, Elfman-san."

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"What happened to you three?" Janus asked as he noticed the bedraggled forms of Natsu and Macao slumped into the table, quietly sobbing. Gale was sitting with his arms crossed and smirking at the exhausted duo. Lucy was also there, and every few seconds she would shoot an awkward glance at the pink-haired dragonslayer and a blush would erupt across her cheeks.

"We just got back from a mission, these two got a little more than they expected and Lucy over there definitely knows how to have a good time. Right Lucy-chan?"

"Would you shut up!" Lucy shouted, her face growing even more red as blood rushed to her cheeks and ears.

"Why? I thought it was hilarious." Gale said, not noticing the vein beginning to bulge out of the blond's forehead. Before she could say anything else, Janus sat down at the unoccupied spot at the table and Gale immediately launched into his tale, brazenly ignoring Lucy's enraged sputters.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Natsu was definitely a rare kind of dragonslayer, Gale thought to himself as they continued to scale towards the top of the mountain on their mission to rescue a father who had not returned to his son.

How did he know they were getting closer to the top? Well besides the fact that they had been walking for a few hours now, it was clear that it was getting much colder.

Hell, Lucy had already retreated to huddling inside a large walking and talking clock thing, which Gale assumed was one of her celestial spirits. Even though that is what he assumed it was it still freaked him out that a clock could walk and talk, but that was the great thing about magic; it came in all shapes and sizes.

Natsu on the other hand didn't seem to have a care in the world as he sped ahead of them on the path, then somehow seemed to realize he'd left them behind with his fast pace and would be forced to either wait or quickly turn around and come back to them.

It honestly amazed Gale to some extent at just how much energy the pinkette seemed to have, and it scared him that it never seemed to fade in the slightest. How was it possible for a kid to have so much freaking energy? Was it because he was a dragonslayer?

No, that wouldn't make any sense, Gale himself was a dragonslayer and never seemed to have too much energy. Alright, maybe that was a lie, but still, just watching the kid run back and forth like a chicken with it's head cut off was starting to give him a headache.

"Hey Natsu," Gale called out the next time that the kid came running back towards them, a slight sheen of steam rising from his exposed skin. "Will you just calm down already? We're not going to get there any faster as a group no matter how far ahead you go."

"What!? But Macao could be up there and dying for all we know Gale-san! We should be running instead of walking! How can you just go so slow like this?"

Gale was actually slightly surprised by this response, raising an eyebrow at Natsu and stopping in his tracks. Natsu stopped as well, turning to face the older dragonslayer, as Lucy and her clock stopped just behind them.

The wind dragonslayer gave a long suffering look up and down Natsu's form and couldn't help but see himself in the kid. If it wasn't for his own masters would he have turned out like this? A strong but unguided youth with too much energy and willpower than he knew what to do with? Oh god, how would he have lived as long as he had without his masters guidance?

Gale's eyes went wide for a miniscule second as a stronger realization hit him. Natsu 'didn't' have masters like he had. Natsu was alone, his dragon gone before it could teach him everything it knew. No wonder the kid was so hyper. Dragonslayer magic was unique, each with their own quirks, and if Natsu didn't know how to handle and regulate his powers efficiently enough it only made sense that he was hyper all of the time.

Oh god, Master would kill him if he let this kids potential go to waste. Gale could see the scolding looks now, along with the phantom pains of the 'educational' beating that would have been sure to follow.

Gale took in a deep breath, causing the winds to momentarily redirect themselves directly towards him. He would do it, he would teach Natsu control first, it was the first thing that any student should have learnt when training in an art such as magic. But control started with the emotions, without emotional control there could be no room for logical thought. But to counter that statement without emotion one could not be a great fighter… oh great, now he was confusing himself. 'How the hell did my masters make me figure it all out?' he thought silently.

Only seconds had passed on the mountain slopes but even still Natsu already seemed antsy at Gales paused state as he was bouncing on the balls of his feet in innocent impatience.

'Well let's start slow then, and I'll pick this up as I go. But, I should probably talk to Janus, he's better at all this teaching stuff.'

"Look kid, I know you want to get there fast, but have you thought about what you are going to do once you get there? What happens if your friend is already dead? What if there's something that caused him to not be able to come back in the first place? Have you thought about what kind of monster that could be? Do you have a plan for anything?" These were all pretty simple questions Gale thought, easily each one could be logically possible, and his own Master had always said to be prepared for absolutely anything.

Natsu looked dumbfounded though. Like none of these questions were even sensical whatsoever. "What do you mean? Who cares about why anything happened. Let's just get there and save him. If we have to kick ass we'll just kick ass." The fire dragonslayer responded, his voice clearly indicating that he was telling the truth as he saw it. Clearly he didn't have any sense of forbearance. No willingness to think that things were impossible or ever dangerous enough to warrant a lack of action when saving someone's life was involved.

Gale could see all of these things in the young man in front of him, and could only resist the urges he had to both facepalm and smile proudly at the same time. It was a naive answer. One that Gale himself would have probably given if he didn't know better. It was one thing to risk your life for the sake of someone you cared about; that was a noble endeavor and a great trait in any warrior. But it also was an exceptionally stupid answer. If you didn't think ahead and plan your tactics accordingly, even if you had the most noble goals out of anyone, it didn't mean that you would be prepared enough to succeed even with your best efforts.

'But how do I get him to see that?' Gale thought to himself while still staring into the younger eye's of his newest pupil… well in his mind at least Natsu was already his pupil. 'How do I make such a thick headed kid understand that preparedness is not admitting defeat before you even start something. That planning ahead is actually just another way to increase your chances of winning.' It was a hard question, and looking back to his own training would be no help, he had already promised he would never teach anyone else the styles he had been taught, the styles where control was built into the movements themselves, so physical training to beat ideas into the kid was probably out of the question.

In the end, Gale supposed that he would have to approach this from a much smarter point of view. He didn't want to, letting out the logic in himself never seemed to make him many friends after all. But he would have to try… for Natsu's sake and to soothe his own conscience as well.

"Look kid, let's start small and take it from there… o-kay…" he trailed off. Natsu had left already and was walking twenty feet ahead, his flying cat Happy trailing through the air behind him.

Gale let out a big sigh, upset that he hadn't been able to start his first lesson after coming to the conclusion that he would teach the kid.

"Well no use crying about it now, I'll have to get him to sit still before I can even begin to teach him anything I guess. Let's catch up Lucy-chan."

Lucy, who had been watching Gale's internal battle play out across his features the whole time just nodded inside of her clock and wondering exactly what the new swordsman of the guild was thinking about.

With Natsu already ahead of the two trailing members of the group, it wasn't a surprise when he found the entrance to the cave first. It was a surprise to Gale though, when Natsu began to actually shout back to them from the mouth of the cave.

"GUYS! I FOUND IT! IT'S THE CAVE THAT MACAO'S MISSION WAS SUPPOSED TO FIND!" Natsu yelled towards them from his vantage another thirty feet up above where him and Lucy were.

Gale could have strangled the kid in that moment. 'Are you kidding me? Finding the place where unknown variables are and then broadcasting to everything within hearing distance is probably one of the most stupid things I've seen anyone ever do.' A few moments later when a large section of the mountain began to shift he would revise his statement. 'Nope, causing an avalanche definitely makes this the stupidest thing I've ever seen anyone do.'.

Gale didn't waste any time either, he was clearly the most senior of the three members who had come along on this mission, and even though he had originally came along just to observe it didn't mean that he would let his new friends get killed for no reason.

Thinking fast, he grabbed the clock that Lucy had stored herself in to keep warm and with a heave he tossed it at Natsu. The maneuver worked almost too well as the young Celestial Mage smashed into Natsu and threw them both back into the entrance of the cave just as the cascading trough of snow began to barrel down the mountainside, gaining more and more momentum as it went.

The large mass of snow almost instantly covered the entrance to the cave in foot upon foot of compacted snow and ice, trapping the two youngest members of the party inside.

Unluckily, Gale was still stuck thirty feet below and in the direct path of the increasingly large cascade of white death.

There was really no escape that he could see, and his swords and dragonslayer abilities wouldn't do a whole lot against a mountain's worth of snow and rock barrelling down at him. So taking as much of a defensive posture as he could, he prepared himself for the worst.

"Fuck this is going to hurt."

And then it hit.

"..."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Gale didn't even have time to blink before he was smacked clean out of his chair. The huffing spectre of the newest female of Fairy Tale stood over his chair, hand outstretched and a dark look in her eyes that seemed inhuman.

"Oh, Gale-san, are you okay?" She asked in the least sincere voice Janus had ever heard.

"Ow, Janus, are you just going to watch this go down or what?" Gale asked from his position on the floor, one of his hands coming to caress the red handprint on his cheek and fake tears beginning to form in his eyes.

"She has my permission, please Lucy-san, continue," replied Janus with feigned nonchalance, as he took a sip out of his teacup which had somehow appeared from nowhere.

But permission seemed to actually detract from Lucy's ongoing rage at Gale, and with a large breath, making her notable assets swell and fall, she let her hand drop and flopped back into the chair she had been occupying before.

"It wasn't really his fault I guess. I'm just angry because my Celestial Spirit is a pervert and saw more than he should have. Now he just wants to come to this world all the time." Lucy admitted.

"And what exactly wasn't Gale's fault?" Janus queried further, taking another slow and deliberate sip while making sure to pin Gale with a sharp look.

"Nothing, after Natsu saved Macao from all of the Vulcans and broke the possession, all with mine and Taurus's help of course, this idiot," she gestured to Gale who was still on the floor and looking like he was debating getting up again, "decided it was a good idea to try and tunnel into the cave through the ceiling."

At this Natsu who had barely moved at all during the conversation stuck his head up and spoke through tired but still proud eyes, "It was hilarious, this giant icicle came loose because of Gale and fell towards Lucky over here, she only just managed to get out of the way but… but…"

The smoldering look and dark aura coming from Lucy stopped Natsu from finishing, but Happy spoke up in his place, not phased by her countenance at all. "The icicle ripped all of her clothes off. Natsu almost fainted."

Another resounding slap echoed in the guild hall, and in a moment Natsu was beside Gale on the floor, both holding their cheeks in a similar manner.

"What? What was that for?" Natsu asked bewildered he had just been smacked for something Happy had said.

"Because I can't hit a cat in good conscience." Lucy stated, and without any further comment she stood and walked out the guild doors.

"Aye!"

"Traitor/Bastard." Natsu and Gale looked at each other before grinning.

"Oi, hot head, you just got beat down by a girl, aren't you ashamed?" Gray's voice floated out from the silent guild.

"What did you just say stripper boy?" Natsu replied before him and Gray smashed foreheads together and immediately descended into a brawl. Within the space of a few minutes the entire guild had been roped into beating on each other, causing the large dust cloud to form in the middle of the room.

Gale and Janus somehow ended up seated at their usual table in the corner watching the ensuing chaos.

"You know, I'm really starting to like it here," Gale said with a wistful smile.

"Of course you would, they all act as intelligently as you do," Said Janus with but a hint of a smirk as he watched the guild descend into chaos.

"They really do don't they," the wind dragonslayer voiced his thought. "Let's hope they can stay this way with what's out there."

Janus merely let out a sigh in response, before lowering his head onto the table and placing his cup of tea on his head, "I guess we'll see, so long as we stick around long enough.."