Uhhhhh… so much college work…. Insert the standard Disclaimer here, my brain is a bit fried at the moment. I hate end of semester work, I had planned on being on Chapter 6 by now.
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Chapter 4: Welcome to Fairy Tail!
For all of his power, Erza just could not believe just how utterly clueless Goku was. How he had managed to walk off the edge of a cliff was just completely beyond her. Dumfounded, she just watched as he pulled his head out of the hole and climbed back up. He just started walking again, forcing Erza to jog after him as the boy rambled on about how different life was without a tail.
They duo had been on the road for a week now, and Erza was still unsure just what she thought of her new friend. He wasn't a complete idiot, he wouldn't have been able to survive alone for as long as he did otherwise. But his simple, scatterbrained nature left her wondering how he ever got anything done.
One minute he would be walking along besides her, the next he would be up in a tree trying to find fruit. A second after that he would be chasing a squirrel around in an attempt to get it to play with him. The first few times he had done this Erza had smacked him upside the head to try and get him to stop. He thought this meant she was challenging her to a fight.
After leaving several Erza-shaped imprints in the ground, she figured it would be better for her health to just let him be.
Goku was completely oblivious to Erza's confusion. For the first time in his life he was travelling, getting to see more of the world than just the small portion he had grown up in. In just a few short days he had already wrestled a bear, played fetch with a wolf pack, and had gotten to spar with Erza a whole bunch of times. He hadn't had so much fun since his Grandpa had died.
The pair hadn't had any trouble since defeating Ajax. The only thing unusual was that he'd continued to have those strange dreams. However, they were gradually becoming less frequent as he became more acquainted with his new surroundings. As though whatever was giving him these dreams was getting further and further away.
The sun was just starting to set when they first caught sight of a city in the distance. Erza allowed herself a small smile as they looked down from the mountain pass, she could finally see the Guild that Rob told her about so many times before. A great building proudly displaying the symbol Rob had on his back. Goku's face split into a massive grin as he took in the smell of all of the different foods that was drifting upwards with the wind.
As one, the pair broke into a run.
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Fairy Tail, one of the strongest mage guild in all of Fiore. The majestic building was located at the far end of Magnolia, one of the greatest cities in the entire country. For years it was recognized as home of some of the lands most powerful mages, including the Master Makarov and Gildarts. Under Makarov's care the members of the guild all developed incredibly powerful bonds, they were all practically family. These bonds were the only thing keeping Cana at Gray's side as they searched for his clothes.
"I was looking away for two minutes, three tops. How the heck did you lose your clothing that quickly?" The brunette was glaring daggers at the nearly naked ice mage as they searched, annoyed that she had been dragged away from a hot meal before even getting the chance to touch it. Gray was indifferent to her anger, instead he was poking around a stack of barrels, hoping to get a glimpse of his wayward garments.
"Hey! I'm doing you a favor, it's rude to not say anything when someone is talking to you."
"Yeah, whatever. I don't know what happens, one moment my clothes are there, the next they just disappear.
"That's not what happens! You just strip them off and throw them wherever!"
"I do not! They just disappear when I'm not paying attention!"
"I can't believe how big of a moron you are!"
"What? My clothes just disappear all by themselves! How the heck does that make me a moron?" Cana was about to respond, but her carefully constructed rant on just how stupid he was got interrupted when a crumpled piece of fabric caught her eye.
"Aren't those your pants over there?"
"Finally! Good eye." Gray dodged around some of the other guild members and grabbed the pants, quickly pulling them on to his fellow mages' amusement. Once they were on and buttoned, Grey looked down, hoping to find his shirt.
"My shirts not here. We're going to have to keep searching."
"No way, I paid for that food over there and I'm going to eat it before it gets cold."
"What's wrong with cold food?"
"Says the ice mage."
"What has that got to do with anything?"
"Ice mages like everything cold, normal people actual enjoy it when their meals don't freeze their insides on the way down. Now you are going to go over there and sit with me while I eat, or you are going to have to buy me another plate!" The two children glared at each other for several moments, their eyes locked, waiting for the other to cave.
Gray broke first.
"Fine, you can eat your stupid food before we go try and find my shirt. But if my pants disappear again while you're eating, you have to help me find those too." Cana just rolled her eyes, smirking at her victory.
"Deal."
The pair sat down at Cana's empty table near the middle of the room, Gray grumbling to himself as he craned his head around, still trying to find his clothes. Cana just munched on her food quietly, trying to work out just how someone could manage to be as dense as the ice mage. He had to be the dumbest person she knew.
It was at that moment that the doors to the guild opened, drawing the attention of the pair out of their inner musing and towards the strange pair that were walking through the entrance.
The first was a girl with startlingly red hair. Her clothing was little more than rags, frayed and looking as though they could fall apart at any moment. She had a small bag slung over one shoulder, and a worn iron blade over the other. She was gazing around the guild, scanning each and every face as she walked forward. Her expression was hard, as though she was preparing herself for a fight.
The boy with her was the complete opposite. It was a wonder how he didn't get whiplash with how quickly he kept turning his neck, trying to take everything in at once. His eyes were wide with wonder, and a giant grin split his face. A small red staff was sheathed on his back, covered by a backpack slightly larger than the girl's.
The two stopped once they reached the center of the guild, the girl positioned slightly ahead of the boy. Cana looked her over and noticed a slight tremor in the redhead's hand. She was nervous about something.
"Hello, we are looking for Master Makarov. Is he here?" The girl's voice lacked any of the nervousness that her body betrayed, she sounded cool, calm and collected. The guild members regarded her for a moment, then Gray slid off of his chair and stepped forwards.
"Why are you looking for the old man?"
"I was sent here by an old friend of his, he told me to talk to the Master and see about joining this Guild."
"You want to join Fairy Tail? If an old friend of the Master sent you, why are you dressed up like you just broke out of an orphanage?"
"That is none of your business and you would do well to not question me about it." Gray saw the look of anger in the girl's eyes and backpedaled. If she really had been sent by a friend of Makarov's, then it would be a good idea not to insult her.
"You said that he sent you here. What about him?" The girl looked over to see her spikey haired companion staring up at the ceiling. After delivering a sharp elbow to his gut, she turned back to Gray.
"I got into some trouble on my way here, and he saved my life. His helping me cost him his home, so I asked him to come along with me." Gray opened his mouth to reply, but he was interrupted by a deeper voice behind him.
"I'm sure that's quite an interesting story, but it seems Gray has forgotten to ask you one of the most important questions. What are your names?" The girl looked over at the short man that had appeared on top of the bar, carefully regarding him before responding.
"I'm Erza Scarlet. My companion over there is named Goku." Said boy had wandered off and began exploring the building during the conversation, but out the sound of his name he turned to give the little man a wave and a big smile.
The old man looked at the pair for a moment before letting out a quiet chuckle.
"I'm Fairy Tail's Guild Master, Makarov. Tell me young one, who is this friend you spoke of that sent you to me?"
"An old man named Rob. He helped me out, and it's because of him that I first discovered how to access my magic." Makarov froze at the name.
"Rob… I haven't heard from him in years. Tell me child, where is he now?"
"He… he passed away far from here. He told me that I needed training in my magic, and that this is the best place for me to go."
Makarov closed his eyes, clearly stricken by the news. "I see…" he sighed. "That sounds like something Rob would say… very well child, I would be more than happy to welcome you both to Fairy Tail!" Erza's guarded expression cracked, and a look of genuine relief and happiness swept over her face. The red head looked around the room to see her friend's expression, then suddenly froze.
The sound of her palm smacking her forehead could be heard throughout the hall.
"Look Erza, I'm a ninja!" The assembled guild members turned to look at the young child, and for a brief moment a complete silence settled over the hall.
Then almost everyone in the building broke out in laughter.
Goku was standing on top of a table in the corner of the room, a black shirt tied around his head like a mask. Cana took all of a second to figure out where the shirt had come from, and the next second had her rolling around on the ground in a fit of giggles.
Gray stared at the young boy, his fists slowly tightening. His face was slowly turning red, and a burning rage filled his eyes.
"That's my shirt you idiot! Give it back right now!" Goku looked over at the boy, pulling the shirt off of his head and grasping it in one hand.
"Well why did you take it off?"
"I didn't! It just disappeared!"
"How did it disappear?"
"I don't know how it disappeared, it just vanished when I wasn't paying attention!"
"So you didn't notice that your shirt was gone?"
"I noticed! That's why I was looking for it!"
"You weren't looking for it, you were sitting at the table."
"I was taking a break!"
"You got tired looking building for your shirt? It's not very big, you must not have a lot of energy if you get tired that quickly." Gray's face now resembled a tomato, and Cana was struggling to remember how to breathe from her position on the floor.
"You… you… I'm gonna tear you apart!" Gray rushed forward his fist cocked back, his rage leaving him blind to anything besides the confused looking boy before him.
His charge was halted by the quick appearance of Erza's fist. Gray went flying sideways and crashed into a pillar, slowly sliding down it and landing on the ground with a thud.
"See, I thought he was weak!" Erza let out a snort, then a chuckle, and then she was just laughing at her friend. Goku looked from the stunned Gray to her and started laughing too.
"That… that was a cheap shot, I wasn't even going for you!" Gray had one hand clutching a large bump on his head and the other pointing an accusing finger at Erza. The happiness instantly left her face and she turned to face Gray with cold eyes.
"I regard any attack on my friends as an attack on myself, and I respond accordingly." Goku hopped over some tables and landed next to Gray, handing him the shirt.
"It's not that big a deal being weak, it just means that you need to train a whole bunch so you'll get really strong. I want to get really strong, just like Grandpa wanted me to. If you want, I'll train with you, we can get stronger together!" Gray's eyes narrowed and he rose to his feet.
"I am not weak, and I'll prove it! Fight me, right now!" Goku saw the hard determination in the boy's eyes, and he had only one response.
"Do I have to take my pants off too?" Startled, Gray looked down and discovered that his pants had once again vanished.
"DAMN IT!"
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Makarov desperately wanted to take young Erza aside in order to question her about his friends passing, but it was clear that now wasn't the time. Once he had managed to get everyone settled down about the outburst, it was decided that they may as well let the fight go through. Gray was absolutely set on battling one of the newcomers, and after Goku's comments on his strength, the conflict was inevitable.
Most adults would argue that letting two kids beat each other up was a terrible idea. Most people weren't Makarov, it was best to just let the brats beat each other up and hope for the best. The aged guild master had been able to delay the battle long enough for everyone to relocate outside. Makarov had lead the group a short ways from the city, coming to a stop at a small meadow. The guild members had assembled into a rough circle, plenty of room to watch the fight and dodge any stray attacks. Cana had taken some initiative and quickly made up a betting pool on the walk over. She was standing next to Gray on one end of the clearing, a pot of money in her hands and a devious look in her eyes. Goku stood across from them, quietly stretching out his muscles and preparing himself for the spar. Makarov smirked to himself; just the boy's movements indicated that he had a certain degree of experience, experience that Gray lacked. Still, Gray was quite the talented ice mage, any fighter could be taken down by a trick that was new to them. He'd just have to wait and see how Goku handled Gray's ice.
Erza was standing next to Makarov, her expression somewhere between annoyance and worry. The tiny man was having difficulty not laughing at her, he just couldn't understand how someone so young could so serious. She was the exact opposite of her traveling companion, who seemed to be as innocent and naïve as a baby. He had absolutely no sense of social grace, any degree of manners, and little knowledge of the world in general. In fact, from what had told him, fighting was the only thing the boy really knew.
Cana finished counting the bets she had collected and stepped out into the center of the circle, snapping Makarov out of his inner musing.
"Alright, all the bets are in, and it's time to start the match! To my left we have Fairy Tail's ice make wizard Gray!" The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, motivating Gray to take a bow. For the moment his clothes remained on his body, but everyone knew it was only a matter of time. Cana had even made an additional betting pool to see who could get the most accurate guess of how long Gray would take to start stripping.
"To my right is one of Fairy Tail's newest recruits… though we haven't actually given them the tattoo yet have we? Anyway, he's Goku!" The applause were slightly more subdued than those for Gray, the loudest coming from Makarov and Erza. Goku smiled slightly, but most of his attention was focused squarely on Gray. He had already assumed a fighting stance, his feet spread and one arm out in front of him at the ready. His other arm was behind his back, hovering inches away from the Power Pole. In contrast, Gray seemed totally relaxed, a confident smirk on his face. His body was loose, he hadn't even bothered to get himself into a ready stance yet.
"Ready… GO!"
Goku quickly dashed forwards, his fist cocked back and ready to strike.
"Ice Make: CANNON!"
Goku was sent flying back as a chunk of ice slammed into his face. He landed on his feet, his hair and clothing glittering with shards of ice. Goku was on his feet again quickly, ready to charge once more. He took a single step and froze. The color slowly drained from his skin, leaving him completely pale.
"COLD! COLD COLD COLD COLD COLD!" Erza face palmed as her friend started hoping around in an attempt to warm up. The boy's arms were wrapped tightly around himself and he was shivering violently. Gray just looked at his opponent incredulously.
"Seriously? It's not that cold, what are you freaking out for?"
"A-a-are you j-j-joking? "I-It's, e-even colder th-than the t-t-time that Grandpa p-p-pushed me i-i-into a g-g-glacier!" Cana was the first to decipher Goku's reply through his shivering, prompting her to ask "Where did your Grandpa find a glacier to push you into?" Goku took a moment before responding, sighing in relief as he managed to return feeling to his numb limbs.
"Well, Grandpa wanted ice one day, so he told me to wait for him at the house while he went north for a few days. When he came back he was carrying a big glacier, it was three times the size of our house! He asked me if I wanted to see it up close, and when I said yes he threw me into it!" Cana opened her mouth to respond, then closed it. She tried to talk again, but was unable to think of an appropriate response. Gray saved her the trouble.
"Hey, are we fighting or not? Come on, it was just getting interesting!" As Gray talked he casually lifted his shirt off his chest, bringing out a series of happy cheers and disappointed muttering throughout the assemble mages. Cana barely managed to contain a triumphant cheer as Grey's pants followed his shirt. Her wallet was getting fat tonight.
"Oh yeah, sorry I got distracted. Here we go!" Goku leapt forwards, catching the annoyed ice mage by surprise. Gray's head snapped back as Goku's fist connected with his face, sending him tumbling backwards. Before Goku could press his advantage Gray rolled to his feet, his magic flaring to life around him.
"Ice Make: CANNON!"
Goku's Power Pole was in his hands in an instant, swinging through the air to connect with the attack like a baseball bat. The chunk of ice went flying off towards the crowd, slamming into a bored looking blond teen and sending him to the ground. A few of the girls snickered as the boy spat out grass from his unplanned trip downwards. Across the circle Makarov sighed
There was no way his grandson would let that go.
Grey snarled in frustration as Goku dodged two more cannon blasts, the smaller boy was just too nimble to hit unless he was caught off guard. Switching tactics, Grey dissolved his cannon and raised his arm into the air.
"Ice Make: SWORD!" An icy blade sprang into existence, a faint mist radiating off its entire length.
"Let's see how well you fight if that stupid stick of your's get chopped to bits!" The two boys charged in, throwing all of their power into their attacks. The Power Pole blocked the momentum of the blade, then swung upward, knocking the icy sword sideways. Grey quickly brought it back up, deflecting a jab that would have caught his gut and swung the sword out towards Goku's chest. The spikey haired boy deflected the blow, and then swung downwards straight towards the blade's hilt. Grey's eyes widened in shock as the sword shattered, sending shards of ice flying in every direction. He quickly threw out his hand, sending a burst of ice to spread out along the Power Pole's length. Goku quickly released his weapon and jumped upwards, spinning over Grey's head and landing back to back with him. Simultaneously they swung around to face each other, fists clenched and determination in their eyes.
As their fists collided together, Goku let out a cry of "ROCK". He dodged under Grey's next punch and lunged jabbed his hand towards the Ice Mage's face with two fingers extended. "SCISSORS!" Grey let out a cry of pain as Goku's fingers jabbed into his eyes, sending him stumbling backwards. The Ice Mage desperately rubbed at his eyes, trying to restore his vision. Goku stiffened his hand, launched a powerful palm strike straight for Grey's forehead.
"PAPER!" Grey's blurry eyes were just able to see the outline of Goku's hand before the blow struck. Then everything went dark.
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Gray woke up hours later on a bed in Fairy Tail's medical room. He slowly slid off the bed and eased his way to the floor. His head was throbbing from Goku's last attack, and his sense of balance was still shaky. He carefully made his way out towards the main room and saw a crowd surrounding the bar. Standing on top were Goku, Erza, and Makarov. Gray watched as Makarov presented the pair with the Fairy Tail symbol, placing it on Erza's left upper arm and Goku's right shoulder. There was a round of applause from the crowd, and both kids smiled towards the group. It was several minutes before Goku noticed Gray standing across the room, and the second he saw the Ice Mage the young boy's face lit up in a massive grin. He leapt straight over the crowd and dashed over to Gray's side.
"That was such a good fight! Your powers are really funny though, Grandpa never showed me anything like them. You are so much stronger than I thought, we have to spar more later!" Grey stared at Goku for a moment, thinking briefly that he should really dislike the kid for beating him. But Goku's happy attitude was contagious, and soon Gray found himself grinning right back at him.
"Alright we can fight again, but you better be ready because next time you're the one who is going to end up in the hospital!" Goku laughed and turned back towards the group, looking for either Erza or food, whichever he could find first. Before he get far, Gray reached out and tapped his shoulder. Goku looked back, and saw his new friend looking somewhat hesitant.
"Hey Goku…?"
"Yeah?"
"Have you seen my clothes?"
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DRAGON BALL Z EPIC ANNOUNCER MAN VOICE MAN: NEXT TIME ON ESCALATION! GOKU AND ERZA HAVE SETTLED IN WITH THEIR GUILDMATES AND NEW FAMILY, BUT NEW PROBLEMS ARE ON THE HORIZON. WITH THE ARRIVAL OF A POWERFUL TRIO OF NEW MAGES, CAN ERZA STEP UP TO THE CHALLENGE? CAN GOKU SURVIVE THE JOB SET BEFORE THEM? FIND OUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER: A FIERCE RIVALRY!
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AN: Alright, three quick things before I wrap this up. First off, I've got finals coming up over the next three weeks, so I'm probably not going to be getting any writing done at all during that time. Sorry about the delay in advance, but I really want to keep my scholarship and that means I need to get good grades on all of them.
Second, can someone please remind me when the Shadowgear team joined the guild? Did they come in before or after Natsu? I only have 2 or 3 more chapters planned with the kids before I get into the first arc of the main story, and for the life of me I can't remember who came first. If nobody tells me, I will have to use my author powers to alter the timeline of a fictional reality, and I'm not ready for that level of responsibility.
Lastly, and you can skip this one if you want, I have a poll up on my profile for my other story. I know most of you don't read it, but its currently in a five way tie for first, and I'm at a loss as what to do. I would appreciate it if a few of you guys could just pop over there for a minute or two and just pick the options that look the coolest. Don't even worry about context or anything, just pick the ones that are the most interesting to you. Thanks a bunch guys. See you next time!