Here's the longest thing I've ever written for a single chapter. I honestly never intended it to be this long, but ahh well. :p Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Don't own it.
Five years flew by without a second thought. Gray could barely believe how much the guild had changed. For starts, there were a lot more kids his age roaming the halls. So much so that it made him miss the good old days when it was only him and Cana ruling the guild. Now there was Elfman and that stupid flame-brain running amuck and it annoyed the Ice Wizard to no end. He wouldn't lie, Gray had no issue with Levy or Lisanna, but other than that there wasn't really anyone he didn't have a desire to punch. New rivalries had been formed. Erza and Mira were known for locking heads every now and then, resulting in every wizard taking cover. Speaking of taking cover, most of the guild members were currently hiding out in the far corners of the guild hall. Why? Natsu had just returned from a job with a bag full of cash and an explosion of ego. There was no way Gray could have resisted punching his godforsaken face. Everything about the pinkette just pissed him off. From that stupid Lost Magic of his down to his odd fashion choice. Seriously, who wears a vest and sandals with a scarf? Then again, he wasn't one to talk.
"Gray the least you could do it put some damn pants on!" Cana roared from the bar.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Gray shrugged her off. This was a usual occurrence now. Cana was always the one to point out when he lacked in garments, anyone else (bar Erza of course) just felt too uncomfortable doing so.
Speaking of the red-haired devil, she was just returning from another job well done. And she was not happy with the sight she was met with. "NATSU, GRAY, ARE YOU TWO FIGHTING AGAIN?!" Her voice boomed through the walls, sending chills down everyone's spines.
Both teens instantly panicked and threw their arms around one another. "N-no Erza," Gray mustered, forcing a smile through the gallons of sweat that was now running down his face. "We were just uhh... Training. Right Natsu?"
"A-aye!" The Happy copycat chimed.
Erza gave them both a sceptical glance before ushering them both back to their tables. Other guild members took a sigh of relief. The fighting was finally over... Well for now at least.
"You do realise that as long as Erza's around, you two will never get away with anything?" Cana teased, swigging yet another pint of booze.
"Doesn't mean I won't try," Gray shot her his signature grin before grabbing his own beverage and chugging it down.
"Wanna go on a job?" The brunette suggested. "It's been a while since we've done any serious team work, plus I'm low on cash."
"Gee, I wonder why?" Gray sniggered, gesturing to the empty barrel behind her.
"Shut up..."
"Well, while you sober up, I'll go find us a decent job," rolling his eyes, the raven rose up once again and shuffled his way through the property damage until he came face to face with the request board. As per usual, the requests were overflowing with all kinds of jobs. It seemed that Fairy Tail were most clients' first choice business wise, which was surprising since most of the wizards hired would end up losing money upon completing their job. Luckily, there seemed to be one job that stuck out from the rest.
"Defeat the group of bandits hiding out in the forest. 600,000 Jewel. Wow, decent money!" Gray chimed, snagging the sheet off the board and skidding back over to his brunette partner.
"Quick, pick a card!" Cana indicated upon his arrival. The Wizard's signature deck of cards had been shuffled and placed across the table in an orderly fashion.
"No way!" Gray protested. "Your little games are rigged as shit! C'mon, grab your things. I found a good job for us, not too far away either."
"Alright alright, I'm coming," Cana whined. "But hypothetically, if you were going to pick a card, which would you pick?"
Gray sighed; arguing was futile at this point. "Fourth from the left." He rolled his eyes and made his way for the door.
Cana remained behind for a moment to gather up her cards. As she turned over Gray's selection, she gave a satisfied grin upon seeing the ever popular 'Fool' card present itself. "Glad to know nothing's changed," she chuckled before packing away the rest of her cards and dashing off after the Ice Wizard.
The duo was trudging through a forest not far from Blue Pegasus' home town. Upon their arrival, the Fairy Tail wizards had been rather confused as to why their client hadn't gone to a closer guild, though Cana had insisted that it was due to the guild's not-so-perfect reputation with male clients. From Sorcerer Weekly's rumours, the majority of Blue Pegasus' Wizards were "lady's men" bar for a fair few female wizards - and that total had shrunk quite recently. The news of Karen Lilica's death had shot straight to headlines, devastating their members. Gray could only assume that they were too busy mourning the loss to even think about work; it would explain the overflowing requests back home.
"Okay so," Cana began, "according to the request, the bandits should be somewhere near here."
"Any idea where to start looking?"
"Absolutely not..." She sighed.
After mulling their options, the two wizards eventually decided to split up. Cana had equipped Gray with one of her emergency communication cards in case they happen upon their target. The Ice Wizard traipsed along the beaten path, wary of any twigs or branches that could knock him off his feet. The crisp leaves coated the air and blocked the majority of the sky; only a few specks of sunlight were able to pass through the blanket of green. He had searched for what felt like an eternity – whereas in reality it had only been about thirty minutes – so he spun himself around and began retracing his steps. He managed to travel about half the way back to his starting point when a strange blaring noise resonated from his pocket. It took Gray a moment until it finally clicked in his mind. Crap! He thought. Cana! He sprung into a sprint as his fumbled with his pocket until he pulled out the emergency card. A chibi version of the brunette was printed on with a blinking arrow to direct him to her location. Hold on Cana, he thought. I'm coming!
It was quiet... A little too quiet for Cana's liking. There was no way these bandits would be able to camp out in these woods. The trees and bushes covering the area did prove as the perfect hiding place, but the terrain was so jagged and rough that it would be practically impossible to set up any kind of living arrangements, even if only temporary. It would also be ridiculously easy to get yourself lost within the sea of foliage. Everything just looked the same. If it weren't for Cana's tracking cards, she was certain that they'd never see the light of day again, and if they were having trouble then the bandits would defiantly be struggling. Thieves and con artists were never known to be intelligent, and Cana was sure these people were no exception. Sighing with annoyance, she decided to turn back and retrace her steps back to Gray – it was far too boring searching alone and she'd run out of booze to keep her company – when...
"Ooooooh, what do we have here?" A voice provoked from the rustling bushes. "A young lady has strayed too far from home?"
"'Bout time these assholes presented themselves," said lady grumbled, discarding her empty canteen. "Alright, which one of you first?"
It was only then that the brunette realised she was completely surrounded. Crap, she thought. I'm too drunk for this shit. Cana shot several cards out towards her many opponents as they charged her way. Lightning crackled and water spew through the forest air, yet nothing seemed to be doing any direct damage to the bandits. Was she even hitting them? At this point, Cana was far too drunk to even care. Gray should have picked up on the disturbance and arrive any second now, right? That's what the Card Wizard had assumed as she focused all her energy into dodging swords and daggers being pressed towards her by the enemy. It wasn't long until the damn bandits got the jump on the brunette and knocked her on her back. One of the bulkier males pinned her down to the ground and restricted her from any kind of movement, not that she'd know what to do with that alcohol brain of hers.
"What d'ya say boys?" He taunted. "Do we kill her now? Or maybe we should put her to good use over at the base."
"Gray, now would be the perfect time to come and save my ass," Cana groaned, scanning her blurred field of vision for any sign of that raven mop of hair.
"Kill her it is!" The man pinning her down swung his sword towards the brunette's neck and time seemed to slow. Cana watched the blade with bated breath as it tore through the air and grew closer to her form. Just as it was mere inches from her neck, a rough fist slammed into the man's face and sent him flying into the bushes.
"It's about time..." Cana muttered, though she came to an instant halt upon seeing the teen's features. This wasn't Gray. The male before her had a small cut of ginger hair and hazel eyes covered by a pair of glasses. Rings of a variety of colours adorned his fingers, one glowing with a green hue.
"Hey man," the stranger taunted. "That's no way to treat a lady."
"You're picking a fight with the wrong people asshole," one bandit snarled, readying his weapon.
"Oh is that so?" The ginger wizard retaliated.
Before Cana had a chance to blink, the man's fist once again collided with the bandits face, knocking his back into a tree trunk. This time, his allies actually came to his aid and the stranger was quickly surrounded. That didn't stop him, however. He twisted the rings on his fingers as brightly coloured lights illuminated the forest floor. Punches and kicks were thrown and this Ring Wizard (Cana assumed at least) was acting as if this was just second nature to him. Just how strong is this guy? She pondered, so infatuated by the fight that she didn't even think to help out. It wasn't until she caught sight of the familiar ice of her foolish partner that reality crashed back down and she rapidly pulled out her cards to offer her support. With all three wizards working side-by-side, it didn't take long for the bandits to be wiped out. The group all took a moment to admire their handiwork before Gray and Cana called up the village mayor to dispose of the littering of unconscious bodies. With everything well and truly sorted, it was finally time to discuss the elephant in the room.
"Cana, you okay?" Gray pressed for probably the fifth time since he'd shown up. The Ice Wizard felt all kinds of guilt for showing up late to the fight, if it weren't for this mysterious wizard, he would have had yet another death on his already bloody hands.
"For god's sake Gray I'm fine, quit worrying," the brunette rolled her eyes. "Thanks for helping us out... Uhh... What was your name again?"
"It's uhh..." The ginger male stuttered. An awkward silence settled between the trio as he desperately thought up a response. "Loke... I'm Loke."
"You sure about that?" Cana teased, picking up on his more than obvious uncertainty.
"Ignore her," Gray waved his arm over to Cana, initiating her to silence. "That's some nice magic you got there."
"I could say the same thing to you," Loke praised. "How'd you learn?"
The raven paused for a small moment, a remorseful look flashed through his eyes, if only for a second before it faded once again. "Let's just say I had an excellent teacher... You?"
"Passed down through the family..." Loke responded, though his hesitation did not go amiss.
"So what's someone like you doing wandering around the forest?" Cana questioned. "I don't see a guild mark on you. You a freelance wizard?"
"Kinda..." Loke shrugged. "I used to be a member of Blue Pegasus but..." Gray saw a quick flash through his eyes of a similar guilt he'd seen in his own before he continued. "Things happened that resulted in me leaving the guild. I was actually travelling over to Magnolia. Master Bob thought that it would be in my best interests to give Fairy Tail a looking at."
"Heh, must be your lucky day," Cana joked.
"If it wasn't obvious already," Gray gestured to their more than visible guild marks. "We're both from Fairy Tail. We're actually about to travel back over to the guild if you want to join us."
"Hey..." Cana muttered, scowling over to her partner.
"You sure you don't mind?"
"Not at all."
And with that the trio went on their not-so-merry-way. Cana kept her suspicious gaze on their new 'companion' until she felt a familiar pair of black eyes boring into her side.
"Don't gimme that look," she grumbled, being wary of the volume of her voice. "I'm just surprised as hell that you of all people offered to bring him to the guild. You're usually the skeptic one of us. How can you be so quick to trust him? You actually believe that bullshit he was spurting?"
"Absolutely... Not," Gray rolled his eyes. "You saw his hesitation, there's definitely something up with this guy. But if he's specifically signalling out Fairy Tail we can't just let him walk away from us. Plus there's no way he could take on the two of us, let alone the whole guild. If there's more of him Gramps'll wanna know about it."
"Ahh, I see," Cana smirked. "Playing the Oblivious Fool. I like it."
"Okay when are you gonna stop with that "Fool" nonsense? It's getting annoying."
Maybe when you stop playing the Oblivious Fool, Cana chuckled to herself as the duo caught up with their 'friend.'
It must have been at least two hours since Makarov and 'Loke' had disappeared into the Master's office, leaving the pair with an onslaught of questions from their guild mates.
"Is he joining our guild?" One asked.
"Can we really trust him?" Another speculated.
"How'd you guys find him?" Someone wondered.
"When do I get to fight him?!" Natsu roared.
Gray and Cana had both silently agreed to keep their mouths shut regarding their suspicions towards the ginger as not to start an uproar. There was still the slightest possibility that Loke was just an innocent wizard looking for work. They had, of course, hinted to the Master on their hunch, to which they received an understanding look before the pair had retreated to his office. The surrounding guild members eventually gave up and returned back to their own table to reengage in whatever activity they were previously partaking in. It wasn't until at least another hour later that Makarov and Loke finally emerged from the office and approached their usual table. The Ring Wizard remained on the sidelines, fumbling away with the many rings adorning his fingers. The old man hopped up onto the table and lowered his voice. "Alright you two," he began, "I can't explain the circumstances but we can trust Loke. You two both should understand why he isn't comfortable explaining himself to strangers so I beg that you will make him feel welcome. I hope this isn't asking too much of you two, but would you mind taking him out on a job to help him get accustomed to how we work here in Fairy Tail?"
"It can't be that different from other guilds, can it?" Gray raised an eyebrow, not entirely thrilled about having another person to put up with. Sure, Cana was perfectly fine now, but how long had it taken the two of them to start getting along? Just imagine what it was going to be like this time round.
Makarov ushered Loke forward, who had seemingly already picked out a job request.
"There's a thief steeling Jewel's and booze from bars all over the country. Your job is to find him and turn him in. The reward money is fairly decent, plus as many drinks as you want on the house. This should be right up your alley, Cana." The Master winked and grinned at the Card Wizard as she fantasised of the endless possible combinations she could make to see how fast she could get wasted.
"Alright," Gray caved. "We'll do it."
"Great, train should be leaving soon; I'd hurry if I were you." The tiny master leapt off the table and wandered over to the bar for, surprisingly, his first drink of the day.
Loke crumpled the job request around in his palms before awkwardly making eye contact with the raven teen. "Look you don't have to go on this job with me if you don't want to. You have every right to be suspicious of me; I didn't exactly give off the best first impression. I know how guilds work so it's cool if you wanna stay here."
"Nah we need the money," Cana slurred. "Plus we need to get a better look at your power level so we can see where you stand against the rest of the guild."
"I'm sorry?"
Gray chuckled at his drunken team mate. "Cana and I have been in the guild longer than the others, at least from our generation. Every time someone new joined the guild we'd give them a ranking based on their power levels. It especially helps when some assholes show up boasting about how strong they are only for us to put them in their place."
"You see," Cana smirked evilly. "You say that, but you've never actually beaten Natsu have you?"
A vain bulged from Gray's forehead. "Well I've never lost to him either."
"What about Erza?"
"Whatever..."
Loke raised a bemused eyebrow at the duo; they were a strange pair indeed. "Well, if you're sure, I'm not gonna say no to some assistance."
"Good," Gray folded his arms. "Now let's get going before I change my mind," he glanced over to Cana as the both heard the annoying shouts from a certain flame-brained idiot. Looks like yet another fight was about to begin.
All three wizards scurried out of the guild hall – not before the raven slammed his fist into his rival's jaw a few times – and dashed over to the train station. It was a miracle in itself that they hadn't missed their train, and after buying a few snacks for their journey, the team were good and settled in the middle train carriage.
"So does that happen a lot?" Loke eventually spoke up after a fairly awkward silence... Or at least he thought it was.
"What, the fighting?" Cana leaned back in her chair. "At least several times a day... Everyone's got their own rival to fight and usually if one pair starts, the rest will join in."
"And I'll take it that pink-haired guy is your rival?" Loke asked, nodding to Gray.
"That obvious?" He chuckled.
"Who's your rival then?" The ginger turned to the brunette.
"Hey that's for me to know and you to find out... In due time my friend," she cracked open yet another bottle of alcohol and chugged it all down in one fell swoop.
Loke stared at the duo with a mixture of confusion and concern. Something had been bothering him for a while now and if he didn't say anything, it was only gonna get a whole lot more awkward. "So uhh... If you don't mind me mentioning... You two... You seem to have a... Lack of clothing."
Cana's face instantly creased into a smile and she gave the newbie a flirtatious wink. "Eyes up here, dude."
Gray's reaction was more of surprise and annoyance. "Shit, when'd that happen?"
"You've been shirtless for almost two hours now, you fool."
"Would you stop?!" The male playfully punched his partner.
The three then fell back into a more content silence. Cana had nodded off, hoping that a quick power nap would sober her up in time for the job, and her head lolled onto Gray's shoulder. Said raven didn't seem fazed at all by the gesture and mainly put his attention into sight-seeing. It was definitely odd seeing this side of the two wizards. From what Loke had already gathered, the two were of a more sardonic nature. They gave him a 'too cool for school' kind of vibe. To see this softer side, however slight it was, was strange to say the least. Maybe there was more to the pair than he'd initially thought?
"Okay..." Cana mumbled as the trio strolled down the streets of the town a few hours later. "So apparently, these thieves' next target is going to be the Purple Cave Bar in the west part of town."
"So what's the plan?" Loke inquired. "Hide amongst the shadows until the thieves make their move or track them down before they have a chance?"
"I think," Cana grinned. "I think we should have a drink."
Loke stared at the brunette in bewilderment. He turned to Gray, waiting for him to laugh or dismiss her comment, but all he saw was the raven nodding in agreement. What were these two thinking? "You're joking right? I don't think drinking before a fight would be a good idea."
"Oh relax," Gray chuckled. "We're not going to get drunk." He glanced over to their female companion and face palmed when he saw her already chugging down the extra beer she'd packed for their travels. "Well... We won't. Going undercover as some innocent bystanders is probably the best way to approach the situation. We need to catch them in the act before we approach the thieves or it'll just look like guild wizards attacking harmless townsfolk. Plus, it will give us time to inform the bar tender of the possible threat."
Loke had to admit, that wasn't a bad idea. These guys were smarter than they looked, and considering they were both half naked out in public, it wasn't exactly hard. So when the moon finally rose into the glistening sky, the team made their move.
The doors to the bar slid open; it was clearly beyond its time when it came to technology. Lights of different colours flared in every direction with music booming away through the loud speakers. This place seemed to be more club-like rather than your typical bar, but Loke wasn't one to complain. The ground floor was mainly used for the bar top and people mingling on the dance floor, whereas a second floor appeared to have been recently added to give more open space to sit and eat.
"It's like a futuristic Fairy Tail," Cana snickered over to Gray who rolled his eyes and chuckled in response.
"Alright, Loke and I will blend in with the crowds, Cana; can you go talk up the bar tender?" Gray instructed.
"Can I? Piece of cake," the brunette waved off her male team mates before doing a flirtatious stride over to the bar, her mind already muddling over what drink to buy.
The Ice Wizard made towards an empty table but just as he took a single step, a firm hand met his shoulder, halting him in his tracks.
"Hey," Loke murmured, keeping his voice low. "There's two girls sat over there. Let's go sit with them."
"And do what? We didn't come here to pick up chicks, idiot."
"We'll look less suspicious that way. If we wanna take this thief by surprise we should hide amongst the crowds and act as natural as possible. And hey," Loke winked. "I can always be your wingman if you're too shy."
"Shut up," Gray batted the ginger's hand away before grudgingly following him over to the table of girls.
These two young ladies, seemingly of a similar age, both had long jet black hair that could easily rival Gray's raven locks. They were both of the same height and had near identical facial features. The only difference the two had was their clothing. Whilst they both shared the same design of a short-skirted, sleeveless dress, one girl wore a dark crimson shade of red whilst the other wore a lighter teal coloured one.
"Hello ladies," Loke greeted, lowering his glasses slightly and earning some strange look from his team mate and both girls.
"Hmph... Whatever," the sisters huffed simultaneously before pushing themselves out of their seats and moving over to the stairway.
"Smooth," Gray rolled his eyes as the duo plopped themselves down in the now vacant seats.
A tense silence arose amongst the table, both males waiting for any sort of suspicious activity. Neither could bring themselves to indulge in some awkward small talk so the wizards just sat there, not making eye contact, not saying a word. The raven had been mulling something over in his mind ever since he met this mysterious Ring Wizard, yet he just couldn't muster the courage to ask. It wasn't exactly his place to know and he definitely didn't want to dig up any skeletons from his past. Then again... Tough love was always an option. It always worked with Cana; maybe he should just give it a shot? Okay, he thought. It's now or never. "So uhh... What made you leave Blue Pegasus?"
"Oh uhh..." Loke stammered. "No reason really, just thought it was time to start somewhere new."
"Really?" Gray raised an eyebrow, yet kept up his solemn demeanour. "It doesn't have to do with the tragic passing of a Karen Lilica?"
"Why would you think that?" Loke was quick to respond.
"Because I'm not an oblivious fool, despite what Cana might say. When we first met you, I saw it in your eyes. Remorse, guilt, regret. I'm not asking for a full blown confession but..." How could be put this lightly? "Everyone in Fairy Tail has their own story. Natsu, Erza, heck even Laxus. That's what makes us such a good guild, y'know? In some way, everyone can relate to what we're going through and pretty much knows exactly what to do to make us feel better. Whether it's breaking out into a brawl or going out for a drink or two. And hey, if you're not comfortable getting all emotional on your guild mates there always Gramps. He'll always have some words of wisdom to deliver." Gray was honestly impressed with that little speech of his. Maybe his past experiences were good for something after all?
"Master Bob said something similar," Loke gave a sad smile. "He said that Makarov hit a rough patch in his life when he was a kid, which is what drove him to start taking in a bunch of innocent kids looking to get their lives back on track... Though Sorcerer Weekly would say otherwise..."
"Please, that shitty magazine doesn't give the old geezer enough credit. There was one time..."
The two acquaintances continued talking into the night, almost completely forgetting that they were out here to work. They were honestly having more fun they'd had in a long while, forgetting about their past troubles and just enjoying the here and now. Little did they know that their supposedly hammered friend had her ears perked the entire time and heard their full conversation. "Maybe he's not as much of a fool as I thought..." Cana mumbled to herself before ordering another drink.
It had been two hours and still no sign of the thieves; maybe their client had it wrong? However, the night was still young for Cana as she ordered her... Well she'd lost track of how much she'd had to drink an hour and a half ago. A fresh mug of booze was slammed down on the bar and the drunken brunette lifted her gaze to slur a thank you. When she met the bar tenders eyes, she raised an eyebrow in confusion. This man had short black hair with a thick beard and moustache. He was wearing a black waistcoat that made his blood red tie stand out. She could have sworn someone else had been serving her beforehand.
"Aren't you a little young to be in here, missy?" He grunted, leaning down to her level.
The teen wizard scanned his appearance and managed to catch a small name tag he'd so obviously attempted to hide. "Aren't you a little old to have a name like Junior?"
"Clever," he gave her a sardonic smile.
Cana continued to stare at the man quizzically. She was almost positive that someone else had been serving her beforehand. Upon further inspection, she noticed a red mark peeking out from the man's crisp white collar, a mark far too suspicious to be just your ordinary tattoo. Instantly sobering up, the Card Wizard rapidly scanned the room for anyone possessing a similar pattern somewhere visible. Her eyes eventually landed on a very awkward looking boy, whom looked to be no older than fifteen, fiddling with his black suit and yanking off his gloves in discomfort. Big mistake on his part. Right there stamped on his left hand was a black wolf head with three claw marks slicing through the image.
This place is home to a dark guild, Cana thought, regaining her composure and returning to her casual drunken demeanour. Damn, was this whole job a set up?
"So you got a name, Sweetheart?"
"Yes Junior, I've got several," Cana teased as the man strolled out from behind the bar and leaned back on the table top next to her. "But instead of Sweetheart, you can just call me Sir." She hastily grabbed a hold of the man's nether regions and squeezed her fist as tightly as she could, causing a world of pain for the man. "The job requesting a wizard to capture a band of thieves targeting pubs, it was all a lie, wasn't it?"
It was at this point that Gray and Loke rose from their seats, confusion striking their faces. What the hell was Cana up to? Just as the duo we're prepared to take a step towards their team mate, the two seemingly uninterested girls from before reappeared and blocked their path.
"Tell me the damn truth and I'll consider letting you go," the brunette continued, giving the bar tender a sadistic grin.
"I don't know what you're talking about, I swear!" The man grunted through gritted teeth.
"Excuse me?" Her grip tightened.
"I swear, sir!"
Many of the suited 'civilians' had picked up on the disturbance and had gathered round the bar preparing to strike the girl at any given moment.
"Hmm, looks like we have an audience. This must be kind of embarrassing for you, huh? Awkward!"
"Listen Missy... Sir... If you wanna make it out of this place alive... Then I suggest you let me go... Now!"
Cana sighed in annoyance, growing bored of this man's shenanigans, and yanked her hand away.
The bar tender groaned as his privates were finally freed from her clutches. "You'll pay for that." He waved her off before somewhat limping past his men.
"Oh Junior, I was just playing with you, don't be so sensitive. C'mon, let's kiss and make up, okay?"
"Huh?" His perverted side was practically beaming when the brunette innocently giggled his way. "Okay..."
The Card Wizard leaned right in towards him and closed her eyes. The man studied her for a moment, a bewildered yet excitable look on his face. Ah, perverts at their finest. Smiling ever so slightly, the bar tender leaned down to her level and pursed his lips. The pair got within an inch away from each other when Cana's form suddenly shifted and the next thing the man knew, he had a fist slammed into his face, knocking him into the wall on the other side of the room. Innocent bystanders rushed out of the vicinity in a flurry of screams, only the black suited dark guild members remained. Well, this definitely got the boys attention as they were quick to shove their way past the two girls and approached their guild mate.
"Cana what the hell?" Gray yelled, still in shock from the sudden aggressive behaviour of his longest friend. How drunk was she?
"This whole thing was a set up," she stated bluntly. "These assholes are a dark guild."
"Oh shit!" Loke exclaimed. "We're in trouble now. What's the plan?"
"Let's show these bastard's the power of a guild more terrifying that any dark guild out there," Gray grinned maniacally as his pressed his fist down into his palm. Similarly, Cana slot her cards in between her fingers and moved into her usual fighting stance.
"You're joking right?! There's no way the three of us can take in a whole dark guild! You're crazy!"
"We're Fairy Tail." Both wizards proclaimed, springing into action.
Several of the black coated men dove at Cana, readying swords and hammers of varying styles. The brunette kept her distance from their weaponry and mainly focused on her range shots, shooting cards left and right. "Summon Lightning!" She cried as multiple electrical beams struck down upon her opponents and shattered the light systems around them. It was a good thing she had a few luminescent cards hidden amongst her deck or the sudden blackout would have definitely been an issue. Loke, on the other hand, was having no issue, his rings lighting the path of his fists as he swung punches towards the pack of enemies. These assholes seemed to be thinning out fairly quickly and the ginger wizard didn't like that one bit. They were just playing with them, letting them use up their energy fighting these small fries and once they're low on power, Loke had no doubt that the main forces would make their appearance. He took a quick glance at Gray; he must share a similar suspicion. The raven had almost completely neglected the use of his magic by this point, only using it form defensive measures. He must be pretty confident in his hand-to-hand combat, Loke assumed as he twisted another ring around his finger. Cana grew a bit too arrogant as the fight progressed, taking on a far more casual and careless attitude, so much so that she didn't notice when the girl in red – that the boys had previously conversed with – snuck up behind her and struck the brunette with her claw-like weapons.
"Cana!" Gray cried as he watched her crash into the bar, clutching her arm in pain. Anger flaring through his veins, and the Ice Wizard charged at the girl with an icy sword in hand... Only to be parried by the girl's twin sister and the sharp spikes reaching out from her boots.
Gray gritted his teeth upon seeing the girl's satisfied smile before he staggered backwards from the force of her attack. The next thing he knew, the twins were charging his way, one with spikes drilled into her boots and the other with sharp claws extending from her gloves. Luckily for him, Loke wasted no time in intervening, striking one of the girls with a blinding fist. That left Gray with the female version of Wolverine. He got into his prime stance and created an intricate sword, giving himself just enough time to block the girl from slashing his head clean off his neck. The duo exchanged blows, neither one managing to deliver a hard hit to their opponent. Damn, he thought. This girl's tougher than she looks. Every once in a while, the Ice Wizard would take a quick glance to his team mates in order to check up on their conditions. Cana seemed to be losing energy as her breaths came out in rapid pants. Maybe having all those drinks beforehand wasn't such a good idea... Men of all shapes and sizes had swarmed her either to knock her senseless or to attempt to fulfil their own perverted desires. Gray rolled his eyes at the simpleminded assholes he was ashamed to share gender with. Turning to Loke, he found that parts of the ginger's jeans had been torn at the seams whereas his opponent had rather a lot of upper body injuries. Must be a battle of endurance, Gray could only assume and it appeared that Loke was winning. As long as he finished up with this chick he could run over to protect his brunette companion from the horny bastards and they could sleep their troubles away on the train ride home.
"Ice-Make: Lance!" Gray cried as he left a good distance between him and his opponent. He figured that as long as he went with more ranged attacks then the girl would have a harder time blocking, and attacking him with her claws would be nearly impossible...
Well he was right about one thing...
The agile girl was able to summersault out of range of the first two icy weapons, but the third and fourth managed to sweep her off her high heels and crashing into the disco floor. However, the dark haired wizard was quick to her feet and threw her fist out in mid-air. Almost at the speed of light, the three claws extending from her knuckles grew in length and shot towards the raven, slicing through his right arm.
"Arg!" He grunted, immediately going to freeze the sudden blood flow. It's a good thing I'm a lefty, he thought, wincing through the pain whilst making a fresh sword. "Looks like close combat is my only option."
Loke had been in easier battles before... But he'd also been in tougher ones which seemed to keep his fighting spirit on a high. He still hadn't fully adjusted to life as a 'human' yet and was still struggling to grasp his new magic, and weaker magic at that. To say it was difficult going from the Leader of the Zodiac's to a half-baked wizard would be an understatement; he'd already gotten himself a few decent wounds that he could already tell would be a pain in the ass to heal. The girl he was fighting put most – if not all – of her energy into the powerful kicks she was delivering to the lower half of Loke's body, that of which he had very little protection against. All he could do was dodge and hope for the best. The Ring Wizard didn't have many ranged attacks at his disposal as of yet, making it practically impossible for him to even hit the girl without the risk of sustaining an injury himself. But that was just a risk he was willing to take.
The many bastards that had surrounded Cana weren't particularly tough... There were just a lot of them. The second the brunette managed to beat one down, another would pounce and throw her back into the defensive whilst she studied his strengths and weaknesses. Just how many of these guys were there? She caught glimpses in between strikes of the multitude of unconscious bodies lying across the dance floor. If she didn't get her act together soon, they'd only wake up and continue their assault. Cana didn't even have time to be concerned for her team mates. They we both more than capable wizards... Or at least Gray was. She was sure they'd be fine. She couldn't say the same for herself though.
Damn, Gray thought, dodging another claw swipe to his neck. We'll never get through this whilst we're alldivided. And that's when a plan began to formulate in his mind. Smirking, the Ice Wizard fell back into defensive mode, swerving around and teasing his opponent into making unnecessary swings. The two danced around the disco floor (metaphorically speaking of course) with the girl's aggression growing more and more as Gray ceased his attacks. The raven waited until he had a clear view of Cana's battle with the many thugs backing her into a corner.
"Ice-Make: Floor!" He yelled as a glistening sheet of ice coated the floor.
Cana instantly noticed the sudden drop in temperature and bounded into the air, watching in satisfaction as the dumbass dark wizards all stumbled over one another. "Nice Gray!" She gave a quick wink to her friend before planning an attack of her own. Whilst still air bound, the brunette reached for her deck and pulled out a cluster of cards. "Heaven! Reverse Death! Lovers! Summon Lightning!" She roared as bright yellow bolts of electricity struck the dark haired girl fighting Loke.
The Ring Wizard let out a girlish scream as the lightning crashed mere inches from his face. "A little pre-warning next time," he sighed, attempting to slow his breathing back to a normal rate.
Cana and Gray both rolled their eyes at the clearly inexperienced wizard before turning their gaze to each other and sharing a knowing smirk as their opponents pushed themselves back up to their feet. Thankfully several of the dark guild members had already been taken out by their lack of ice skating experience or the after effects of the lightning.
"Now!" Gray nudged the brunette.
"Prayer's Fountain!" Cana struck down her final card as a humongous spurt of water erupted from the miniature card. She then stood back and let Gray finalise their masterpiece.
"Ice-Make: Geyser!" Spikes of ice travelled along the dance floor growing ever closer to Cana's raging fountain. When the two collided, the entire building was covered with a thick, freezing fog as the ice shot out in all directions, knocking everyone off their feet and rendering their foes unconscious.
Loke watched the entire thing play out in a mixture of relief, shock and a tiny bit of fear. Just how strong are these guys? He thought, his wide eyes turning to face them with his mouth agape. "A little overboard, don't you think?"
Gray and Cana just smirked at one another yet again. "Yeah..." Cana sighed. "But it's far more satisfying this way."
"Well looks like there's nothing left for us here so we might as well head home," Gray concluded as he picked up his discarded shirt. When had he taken it off again?
"I think you two need to treat me to a drink after that fiasco," Cana draped her arms over the raven, who just rolled his eyes in response. "You think Master will make us pay for the damages?"
"Probably..."
As the two wizards made their way for the exit, Loke remained in his position, still completely stunned at the disaster his new guild mates just caused. This was nothing remotely like Blue Pegasus. Not wanting to be around when the dark guild members eventually woke up, the ginger male made a mad dash over to the others' retreating figures.
A dark pair of eyes slowly flickered open. Cana's perverted bar tender had finally come around after that intense punch has knocked him out. He stared out in shock horror at the state of his bar, grinding his teeth in anger as he saw the three guild wizards nowhere in sight... and his beer fridge completely empty.
"THOSE LITTLE PUNKS!"
It took a good few minutes for the adrenaline to run out and Loke actually took in what outrageous job they'd just done. They'd just fought a dark guild. A Dark Guild! Fights between guilds were illegal, dark guild or not. He couldn't even begin to imagine how much shit they'd get in for this, and frankly, he was surprised they'd actually won. The Ring Wizard was still getting a grasp of his new powers and he hadn't exactly adjusted to his 'new' life, not to mention his two companions were only in their mid-teens. If these two had so much raw magic power burning inside of them, just how strong was the guild as a whole?
"So what do you think the Council are gonna say about this little mishap," Cana slurred, downing a drink she'd 'borrowed' from the club.
"As long as the evidence points to self defence, then there shouldn't be an issue," Gray pointed out as he double-checked his bag for their job flyer. "Plus it's not like the first time this has happened."
"Wait this has happened before?!" Loke was baffled to say the least.
"What? Did Blue Pegasus never get involved with a dark guild?" Cana nudged the still stunned man.
"Not even remotely close to that. And the two of you are acting like this is a common occurrence..."
"Well then Loke, I guess this is where your life begins."
The ginger male's expression slumped at the sheer irony of the comment. It was hard to start feeling alive when he knew his life span was shrinking with every passing day. Gray seemed to pick up on the wizard's discomfort and slowed his pace to meet with his whilst Cana rambled on about the many types of alcohol.
"Loke, she's right," Gray frowned, keeping his voice low. "Whatever baggage you're carrying around with you... Don't be afraid to just put it down every once in a while. And I'm not gonna tell you to just move on from whatever happened in your past, believe me I haven't. But if I've learned anything from the years I've spent at Fairy Tail, it's that you shouldn't restrict yourself from having fun – or having friends for that matter. When I joined the guild, I had absolutely no intention of making friends or interacting with anyone. My plan was to take a few solo jobs in order to sustain a decent lifestyle and keep training to get stronger. But no matter how hard I tried, that drunken bitch and the others were just so damn persistent that I couldn't help but join in on the sheer madness. Like I said, I'm not saying to let go of whatever happened to you completely, but everyone deserves to have some fun once in a while. Whether that's sitting around the guild hall chatting with the members or fighting bandits or dark guilds. And hey, who doesn't love a little adventure in their lives?"
Well Loke certainly hadn't been expecting that. Gray didn't exactly strike him as a wise and knowing person, though he had to admit that the Ice Wizard's words did have some merit to them. It would be pointless to waste what little life he had left brooding over his past errors and by the sounds of it, he wasn't exactly alone in this either. Clearly he wasn't the only one with skeletons in the closet and while he could easily curl up in a corner until his demise, it would be insulting to the people around him who were trying so hard to move forward. The least he could do was try.
"Yeah... You're right," he mumbled, giving off a sad smile. "Thanks Gray."
The raven smiled in response and for a very brief moment, Loke got a glimpse into the raw grief and sadness that had been welling up inside of him over the years; however it rapidly dissipated as the teen was quick to spark up a new conversation of their previous experiences with dark guilds.
Unknown to the pair, the brunette had indeed been listening into their conversation. She could only assume that they thought she was already too wasted to make sense of anything around her, but she heard clear as day. You god damn fool, she thought. Why don't you take your own advice for once?
Props to anyone who got the not-so-subtle RWBY reference!
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