Chapter Seven: A fairy's wrath
Looking around the platform as he stood on beside Erza, Lucy, Natsu and grey as they waited for the train that would take them to the next town over where they would eventually end up marching on Eisenwald, he looked around and sighed as he thought back to what had led him to this point.
Sheesh. I know Erza said she wanted me to come along as they marched on Eisenwald to figure out what this 'Lullaby' magic she heard about is, but did they really need me? I just have a feeling…..
As he was lost in thought, he heard someone's voice sound in his head!
"Jack! Can you hear me, Jack? This is Warren, from the guild! Gramps told me before he left to get in touch with you and tell you something!"
Regaining his composure, he glanced back in the direction of Fairy Tail and absentmindedly twiddled with the gears in his wrist as he thought back.
"Really? Didn't he go that meeting of the masters? What did he wanna tell me?"
Hearing a pause before he heard Warren's voice in head once more, Jack raised an eyebrow as he heard Warren speak to him again.
"He wanted you to come to the meeting with him. He said he had a feeling he couldn't shake, so he wanted you there in the area, watching for anything suspicious. Not sure why he'd want you there when there would be so many powerful masters around, but hey…don't argue with gramps I guess."
Closing his hand in determination as he looked back at everyone as they seemed to realize he was speaking to Warren, he thought back a reply.
"Gotcha. Thanks, Warren. Oh, how would I get there?"
Putting his hand over his ear, Jack listened as Warren replied.
"Just take the next in the opposite direction Erza and them are going. It's the next town in that direction."
Saying thanks and closing the link, Jack turned back to Erza and everyone as they looked at him and began to speak.
"Hey guys, Warren just told me Gramps wants me to come to the meeting with him and watch the surrounding area to make sure nothing strange happens. Not sure what that would entail, but I guess I'll be heading in the opposite direction as you guys will be. "
Hearing them all sigh sadly, Erza smiled as she nodded and clapped him on the back.
"No worries, Jack! If gramps wants you to watch over the meeting, he must have some suspicions about lullaby like I do, or some other concerns. I have faith in him."
As Natsu and Gray bid him goodbye as they got on the train, he soon found himself standing on the platform all alone, deep in his thoughts as he waited for the train that would take him to the meeting of masters.
I haven't had that dream where I'm surrounded by the gears in a while….I wonder if that means I'm done getting new gears….
Looking down at his hand absentmindedly and opening and closing it a few times, he sighed as he felt the gears under his skin ticking away like always.
I doubt it. This body can't be done growing and evolving, so I'm sure something will happen eventually. Until then, I suppose I'll just need to make do with the two Gears I have now…
Just as he came out of his thoughts he realized the train was waiting on the platform! Hearing the whistle bellow as the train began to pull away, he managed to spring across the platform fast enough to leap onto the very back of the train as it pulled away from the station, sighing as he leaned back onto the railing and looked out at the scenery as he sped by him. Enjoying the view all the way to the town where the meeting was taking place, he hopped off the train as it came to a stop in the station and looked around the town for a good vantage point to survey the area. Seeing the building where the masters meeting was and noticing the large clock tower not too far from it, he smiled as he switched into gear two and flew up to the top of it, coming back to a solid form as he knelt on the very top of the tower and looked out over the town below him.
Not really a place you'd expect to find enough trouble to disrupt a meeting of Guild Masters, huh? Still…If there's to be any trouble here, I'd expect it would come from the railway…
Falling deep into thought as he surveyed all potential danger spots and routes that trouble could enter town from, he didn't even notice anyone had snuck up behind him before he heard a voice that he could only describe as velvet speak from behind him, feeling a sense of dread as he listened to the voice.
"Calm down, Jack…I'm not going to hurt you, I just need to ask you a few questions…"
Realizing this person knew him, he spoke calmly back to the man, but made it clear he was on edge.
"Mind telling me who you are? I don't like be threatened from behind by someone I don't know."
Feeling the stranger dial back his threatening aura, he turned around saw a man in a strange outfit, a hood and mask covering his face and many Staffs slung over his back as his eyes narrowed and he spoke once more.
"Relax, I'm from Fairy tail, okay? I doubt anyone's told you about me, and I usually make it a policy to not associate with the guild much, but from the moment I saw you I knew you demanded my attention."
Sensing the truth in his words, Jack relaxed and nodded as he spoke.
"Yeah, okay. What is it? Am I really that special?"
Hearing the man chuckle, the man with the staves spoke with a nod.
"Jack, me and you are the same, I can sense it."
Raising an eyebrow, Jack cocked his head questioningly.
"I don't follow."
Feeling the man's hesitation, Jack waited until the man spoke about a minute later.
"You don't remember anything I think, but Jack…."
The man's voice suddenly became deadly serious.
"You aren't from this world."
Shocked into silence for a full two minutes, when Jack finally got his voice back he could only croak out a few quiet words.
"What….? No…What?"
As silence once more descended upon them, the man bowed his head as if deep in thought as he continued.
"Your existence here raises many questions…..far more than I am prepared to answer, but questions nonetheless. Before I left and came here, I remember reading about a race of people who had mastered the ability to put magic into items, and lived far outside any known territory in Edolas, but such fairy tales were thought to be myth…Interesting…"
Shaking his hands helplessly, Jack spoke up as the man's words drifted off.
"Whoa whoa, slow down! What are you talking about?" Edolas? What are you-"
Before he could finish, he suddenly doubled over in pain as he felt himself slipping into a flashback as he said the word 'Edolas'….
Jack found himself floating above a massive island, an Island the size of a continent that seemed to be floating In the middle of the sky, and as he looked around he could only barely make out what he somehow knew was a massive gathering of islands that houses a great kingdom in the distance, so far away it was merely a dot on the horizon. Looking around the Island below him, he saw a few tiny islands orbiting it, islands which could be mistaken for mountains!
"Mountains….Just like in my dream…"
Floating around some more, he found himself coming closer to an island that was surrounded by mechanical creations that were comprised of innumerable gears and levers, the same magic runes covering them that he had seen on the inside of his body! Seeing dozens of people scurrying around beneath him, he only watched as he saw the people below him racing around and saying things he couldn't make out as they gathered around a massive crater at the far side of the island. Feeling a strange sense of Nostalgia as he looked at the cities of gleaming bronze and grey, before he could think about it anymore he found himself falling back into reality…
Once again finding himself on the ledge beside the man with the strange Staves on his back, the man spoke to him as his eyes fluttered open.
"Well? Did you remember something?"
Nodding slowly, Jack sat up and rubbed his head as he spoke drowsily.
"Yea….I saw an island covered in cities made of gears and levers, surrounded by technology that looked ultra-advanced…I think that was….home?"
The man's eyes narrowing and his finger tapping his chin, he seemed to be speaking to himself.
"Hrmm…Then the legends were true….they do exist. Fantastic…"
Realizing that Jack was staring at him Slack Jawed, the man suddenly addressed Jack as he began to turn away.
"Jack, you must tell no one you spoke to me, or what you have just seen. You may not know it yet, but you hold the key to finding a people once thought lost to my Kingdom, and all of Edolas. Do not forget this, and I shall be in touch with you. Be safe, and remember….tell NO ONE. If Gramps asks, you can tell him, but no one else. See ya."
As the man turned into mist and vanished into thin air, Jack sighed and sat back on the ledge of the clock tower and ran his hand through his hair.
I'm remembering more and more now….and I think that man was right. I may not remember much, but I do remember what Edolas is, and I do know that my home is there….at least I think so. What I don't know is what he was talking about, or what that island is….was that my home? I don't know. Even if that is my home….I think the technology in my body is important, and that I'm unique. I also have a feeling…..a feeling that's telling me that there's more to that island than what I saw…Not to mention, in my last dream I saw that same island surrounded by the ocean, no mistaking it! But that island couldn't exist in two places at once….right?
Shaking his head to clear the thoughts from his head, he realized that someone was motioning for him down below, in front of the clock tower. Looking down and squinting his eyes, he realized it was gramps, so he let himself drift down to the ground and landed beside gramps as he spoke.
"Jack my boy, was that Mystogan I just sensed up there talking to you?"
Scratching his head as he remembered that he could tell Gramps if he asked, he sighed and nodded.
"Yeah. He wanted to talk about who I am."
Seeing Gramps's eyebrows shoot straight up, Gramps's voice went serious as he got closer to Jack and spoke.
"Really? And What'd you guys talk figure out?"
Sighing, he sat down on the grass and looked off into the horizon as he spoke, not even bothering to hold the confusion in his voice back as he did so.
"From what he said, I'm not even from this world, gramps."
Stunned into Silence, Gramps seemed to be deep in thought as he stood right in front of Jack, his eyebrows furrowed as he scratched his chin and stared into space. Finally coming out of his thoughts after about a minute, Gramps looked down at Jack sitting on the ground and smiled his big smile Jack had seen so many times before and laughed as he spoke and began to walk away.
"I see. Say no more, my boy! As far as I'm concerned, you're one of my fairies, and you always will be! If you need to talk I'll be here, but don't worry about that, ok? We'll figure it out when the time comes…For now, just continue to make sure nothing strange happens. This bad feeling isn't going away…"
Nodding as Gramps meandered back towards the building where the master's meeting was, Jack flew back up to his watch point up on the clock tower and settled back into his sentry position, his thoughts wandering to Erza and those who had gone to fight Eisenwald.
I wonder how they're doing….Knowing all of them, I'm sure they'll be fine.
After a few hours of watching the people below him go about their daily lives and nothing particularly exciting happening, his eyes snapped to attention as he heard some static in his head, followed by the familiar voice of Warren, his voice sounding slightly panicked.
J….ack? Jack! Oh good, I got through….Listen, I need you to head back across the train tracks to where Erza and them are, I think they need help! And don't worry about the master's meeting, the people who're targeting it are where Erza and them are, so you can protect them by going! Now hurry!
Not even bothering to reply, Jack simply let himself gracefully fall forward off of his position on the clock tower, closing his eyes as he felt himself falling quicker and quicker, his body spreading out into steam as he hit the ground and shot off in the direction of the train station. As he raced through the town and eventually began racing alongside the train tracks, his mind began to race as he thought about what could be happening when he saw a deadly-looking man on a scythe shoot past him, the winds around him dispersing Jack's mist form as he reconstituted himself and looked around. Watching as the man shot towards the masters meeting, he saw Natsu shoot past him not even a second later on Happy, chasing the man on the scythe with a fury in his eyes that Jack could only assume meant that he was the man who Warren had warned him was dangerous.
Looks like I found a target!
Changing direction and shooting off after the man on the scythe, he quickly caught up with him and shot past him, flying far enough ahead so he could turn around and shot back towards him, the man finally noticing the cloud of steam in front of him was unusual, but it was too late. Before he could react, Jack switched from first to second gear and solidified his body, his entire body interlocking and turning harder than steel as he continued to fall towards the man, his momentum carrying him as he grinned and snapped his right leg and caught the man right in the neck, tearing him off his scythe as the two tumbled down onto the train line. Finally getting a grip as his now-immensely heavy body dug into the tracks and slowed him down, Jack got up in time to see the man looking angry as he summoned his scythe to him once more, the winds whipping around the two as he rose into the sky.
"You dare to fight the death god? I shall rend every ounce of flesh from your bones, fly!"
Digging his legs into the ground as the man continued to whip the winds into a frenzy, he was in the middle of holding his footing when he heard Natsu land beside him, his voice sounding surprised to see Jack here.
"Jack? You lookin' to rumble with this guy too? Good! Whaddya say we do this together?"
Looking at Natsu and grinning, Jack nodded.
"Let's do this."
As Natsu's flames suddenly flared up and stood their ground against the Scythe man's winds, Jack turned and picked Natsu up with one hand and threw him like a bullet into the raging winds of the man on the scythe, watching him cut through them like a hot knife through butter as Natsu's flaming fist caught the man square in the Jaw and sent him flying back across the tracks. Leaping high into the air before the man could get a chance to get back up, Jack came down upon the man with all his might, his leg slamming hard into the man's chest as he felt all the air leave his lungs, his eyes rolling back into his head as Natsu came up beside him and cracked his knuckles as the two looked down at the man's prone form on the ground, the sounds of a magic car coming up behind them as they did so.
"We got him good, huh Jack?"
Looking at Natsu and grinning as they bumped fists, Jack nodded and laughed.
"Oh yeah! We do seem to make a good team, huh? Oh hey, what's this…?"
Kneeling down and picking up a strange-looking flute as it rolled out of the man's pack, Jack was in the middle of examining it in his hand when Erza came up beside him and took it out of his hand, her voice deadly serious as she looked at it.
"We must be careful with this, it's something from the books of Zeref! Anyway, I must say that it's nice to see you so soon, Jack…."
Nodding, Jack was about to reply when he saw the Magic car shoot past, a strange man in bandages laughing as he snatched the flute right out of Erza's hand and drove off down the tracks, his voice trailing off as he drove.
"You flies let your guard down! Ha!"
Instantly on their guard, all of them gritted their teeth as they watched him drive away. Turning to everyone else, Erza gestured for them to run after him.
"Come on, we need to get that flute back!"
Glancing down at the man with the scythe as he moaned on the ground, his eyes spinning, Jack shook the doubts out of his head about this whole thing and followed everyone else as they sprinted off down the tracks after the man who had managed to take the flute that was supposedly from the books of zeref. After chasing after him until it became dark outside, when they finally arrived they saw the man kneeling on the ground and gramps standing beside him, looking slightly drunk as tried to walk. Watching as Erza and them went over and began to see how the man in bandages was doing and asking the same of gramps, Jack was busy staring at the flute as it seemed to be laying unattended on the ground, a strange feeling he couldn't quite describe welling up in him as he walked over to the flute, almost in a trance, and picked it up and looked at it. Almost the instant he made contact with it, the runes that he knew were on the gears inside of his body suddenly showed up on his skin, their forms shifting and moving as they swirled around his hand and onto the flute as he felt his body moving against his will. His mouth flying open, he heard a voice that wasn't his own began to speak.
"Anomalous magic energy emanating from foreign object…..Initiating quarantine protocols…WARNING! CPU still incomplete, unable to isolate and lock down foreign magic signature….escape of foreign item-bound entity unacceptable, initiating absorption and dispersion protocols…."
Unable to control his own body, Jack could only watch helplessly along with everyone else beside him as the flute began to pulse and vibrate in response to the runes swirling around it, and suddenly a massive demon shot out of the flute! However, it didn't even manage to get halfway out before the runes swirling around Jack and the flute pulsed brighter, somehow sucking the demon back into the flute as the runes began to turn purple, demonic energy radiating from them as they retreated back onto Jack's skin! Turning to gramps, Natsu looked dumbfounded.
"Gramps, what's going on? Was that a demon?"
As gramps scratched his chin and set his mug down, he narrowed his eyes and stared at the runes.
"Since that flute was from the books of zeref, I would assume that a demon was bound to the flute…It looks like the machinery in Jack's body was unable to isolate it since it isn't at full power or something, so it's trying to draw it into Jack's body where it has the home court advantage and try to defeat it that way…"
Suddenly realizing what Gramps was saying, Erza suddenly turned to gramps and looked worried as she looked back at Jack, raising her hand to her chin as she mumbled to herself.
"What….what is he?"
Gramps gave no reply, only narrowed his eyes as he thought about how Jack had told him he wasn't of this world, his thoughts racing as he watched purple, demonic energy stream from Jack's eyes and mouth.
If he's really from Edolas like Mystogan, then I can only assume that he would have experience with magic bound to items…hence this situation. I can only hope he's up to surviving a demon inside of him…
Jack could feel the demon writhing around inside of his body as the gears and mechanical parts inside of him began rapidly shifting and moving in an effort to trap and contain the beast. He could almost see it happening in his mind's eye, the gears shifting, moving, interlocking and changing in response to the demon's every move, the runes flashing each time the demon lashed out to protect Jack's body. As his body twisted in jerked in response to the demon's every move, Jack suddenly felt himself activate gear two against his will, the damaged CPU in his brain managing to force it on to help his body resist the demon's attacks, and to help stop the erratic jerking of his body on the outside as well as it locked his limbs in place. Now that the gears were as strong as steel, they began to weave together and form massive, interlocking walls that began to surround the demon on all sides, the immense magic power the beast continued to spit out merging harmlessly into the runic markings on the gears as they continued to box the demon in. As all of this went on inside of Jack's body, he continued to watch the demon rage and spew demonic magicks all around his body, the gears absorbing most of it as they continued to close the newly formed box around the demon, finally clicking into place and trapping the beast as Jack felt his limbs slowly unlock, the mechanical voice returning to his throat as it spoke, the tone of it much less dangerous than it had been.
"Anomalous magic entity successfully contained….Beginning dissection and magical analysis of entity…Stand by."
Feeling control once more returning to him over his own body, Jack groaned as he collapsed to the ground, his vision dimming as he suddenly felt all his strength leave him.
Man, that must have took a lot of my power to contain that beast….I'm glad it was cooped up in that flute for so long….But does….this mean….I have…. A demon inside of me?
His thoughts then began to drift off into darkness as he felt himself blacking out, most of his magical and physical energy reserves completely exhausted by the machinery inside of his body….
A few hours later…
After he had blacked out, Jack felt himself having another one of his visions, only this time he felt himself floating in the middle of the sea of gears like before, but this time he saw a massive box in front of him. Occasionally, a loud and ear-splitting roar would come from it and the box would shake and glow, the runes flashing to life to absorb the power of the demon contained within. To his great surprise, he saw the runes on the box flash to life once more, only this time they were readable, and seemed to be beckoning him to read them. Floating over to them, he began to read out loud.
"As the CPU of this unit is still too damaged to make any sort of decisions, final decision of this case shall be given to the organic. This dangerous entity is too dangerous, and cannot be contained forever. What do you wish to do with it?"
Realizing the machine was growing smarter each day, and finally was contacting him, Jack regained his composure and spoke to the runic markings.
"Uh….what are my options?"
Seeing the runes flash and change, he began to read the new markings.
"You can either:
If the organic so orders, this unit shall endeavor to absorb this beast and all of its power, but in doing so may pose serious danger to the mind and body of you, the organic.
You may order this unit to attempt destroy the beast, and in doing so you would be safe, as would those around you. This is the safest option, but you will gain nothing from it.
You may release this monster from your body and out into the world around you, which would cost you and this unit nothing in terms of energy, but would likely destroy much of the surrounding area. "
Scratching his chin as he examined the three options, he frowned as he stared at option three.
"That one's out. No way."
Now that his choices were down to either absorbing it or destroying it, he immediately felt himself drifting to destroying it, but he paused as he thought about how handy it would probably be to possess the power of a demon from the books of zeref. Looking back at the writings, he spoke once more.
"Is complete absorption of the demon's power even possible? How could it even be incorporated into my body without damaging anything?"
Seeing the writing pulse and change, he read it.
"That question is unanswerable, as this unit has incomplete memories of its origins or who made it, but this unit is sure that due to various properties it possesses, it is possible to draw the power out of the demon and into the surrounding machinery. However, to answer the second question….that is unknown at this time. Estimates cannot calculate how much damage attempting to incorporate the power of a demon into the machinery of this unit will cause, because this unit has lost all memory of its intended function, and how compatible it would be with the power of a demon."
Floating back a few meters, Jack scratched his chin and closed his eyes and frowned as he thought to himself. Knowing it would certainly be safer to destroy the demon, he still couldn't deny that gaining the power of a living demon from the books of zeref sounded awesome, not to mention it would be handy in any future demons they would encounter. Sighing, Jack put his palm to his face and muttered.
"Fine…Absorb it."
Seeing the runes change to simply say VERY WELL, Jack suddenly felt his chest begin to burn as he watched the box suddenly condense into the size of a small child, the demon inside wailing even louder as purple magic circle began to appear all over the surrounding gears as Jack began to fall back into reality, the roars of the demon haunting his mind as the runic markings on the gears pulsing in response…..
As his eyes snapped open and he began to scream, everyone around him gasped as his body began to take on a purple-ish hue, a demonic aura emanating from him as his body began the process of absorbing Lullaby into itself! His hands grabbing his face, Jack gritted his teeth as he felt indescribable pain searing in his chest as he felt the box surrounding the demon shatter as the machinery began to latch onto the demon's body to try and absorb it. Feeling the pain in his stomach subsiding as he felt the demon's power waning, the demonic aura around Jack's body didn't waver as Jack felt the demon inside of him shatter into a million pieces, the essence that had comprised it flowing out from it and into all the gears around it! Watching as the last of its power flowed into the machinery, Jack watched as a second set of purple runic markings appeared on the gears and such in his body, inside of the original, blue markings! Feeling the power subside and the demonic aura around him cease, Jack sat up and looked around the room, but only saw Gramps standing there with a few other people from the guild he didn't really recognize. Raising an eyebrow as he rubbed his shoulder and flexed his hand, he looked at Makarov and spoke to him.
"Hey gramps, where's Erza, Natsu, Gray and lucy?"
Seeing his eyes darken, Jack figured they had done something dangerous again.
"Natsu, Gray and Lucy took an S-class job from the board while we were tending to you, and I sent Erza after them to get them back…But now, you need to rest. I can sense that demonic energy inside of you, and it isn't stable yet, so rest. When you wake, I have something for you to do…"
As he nodded and felt Sleep once more edging into his mind, he sighed as he thought about Natsu and the others.
Those idiots….I hope they'll be okay…
And there's chapter Seven! Sorry if it's been awhile guys, I just got on summer break and I needed to work super hard to pass my classes. Anyway, Jack's kind of going to do something else while the Galuna island arc is going on, probably training with this new Demonic power he got. I loved writing, and thanks for reading, I appreciate it! I'll try to write more before too long, so look forward to it!
