Whaz up ladies, gents an' other! I've been makin' a pattern that I for one think's doin' pretty well, so I'mma keep usin' it 'til I don't need to anymore. By that time, ya'll'll be even more wrapped up in this story than 'fore if ya're actually interested in it. If I haven't mentioned this than I will: when I use the words 'First, Second, etc.', I'm referrin' to the order of guildmasters as their place in the history of the guild. Let's see what's goin' on after little Wendy's entrance into the guild, shall we?! Le'go!
Thoughts or emphasis
'Paraphrasin'
"Normal speech"
"Nonhuman speech"
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(Cue: Breaking Benjamin-Without You/Nickelback-Far Away/Hinder-Lips of an Angel/3 Doors Down-Here Without You/Daughtry-What About Now/Nickelback-Never Gonna Be Alone) Like any other day in our guild, I was working. Unlike any other day in our guild, I wasn't repairing damages to our guild. I was outside, looking for a good spot to start making our tribute to those who remained with my shed scales. Placing down a few of my shed scales on the ground, I arranged them in a certain manner to make it easier to build upon. With that done, I stepped back to let everyone start the execution of our tribute.
The first to start building was Macao, Wakaba and Romeo. Smoke, purple flare and rainbow-colored fire began to envelope my shed scales, melting them down a bit to make the foundation. Next came Mickey, Joey, Wan, Kinana, Laki, Chico=C=Hammit, Droy, Jet, Bora and Wanda. Laki placed her hands on the ground and whispered just loud enough for animalistic beings to hear, "Wood-Make...," She sobbed slightly, shaking her head as if she didn't want to say the last word, making Droy place a hand on her shoulder as he threw out a few seeds that created magic circles around themselves, colored both green and brown. Closing her eyes, Laki uttered out the last word, "Memorial!" From the ground between my melting scales came up wooden, humanoid statuesques. The seeds Droy had thrown grew into vines that covered the statuesques in a manner like clothes.
After their turns came Wan, Joey and Mickey. Joey, whispering a few incantations, made a now iron-dog-armed-Wan and a few civilians more muscular as they all went and got the large stones we had decided to use. Mickey, seeing a few of the large stone-getters, summoned a large bird to help them carry it to the spots the statuesques and my melting scales hadn't touched yet.
Jet, Kinana, Wanda, Nab, Vijeetor, Max and Bora were the next ones to go. Wanda, letting her black sand turn into weapons, began slicing the large stones into specific shapes that Bora carried to certain areas with his Soul Chains. Once the slabs and shapes were in place, Kinana breathed out a purple and black haze near the bases of a few statuesques as the roots of the wood began to weaken enough for a few of us to move them to certain areas. Jet was one of the people moving the statuesques about, keeping his pace slower than he normally would out of respect but being faster than everyone else so as to make sure none of the statuesques were missed.
Vijeeter was dancing to give some of us more energy while also carrying the statuesques to their place. Nab had transformed his arms and legs into those of a bear, giving him more strength than normal while Max sanded down the stones so they were ready while also sanding away anything underneath the statuesques that Kinana's haze hadn't weakened to break-off-ability.
Second to last was First, myself, Wendy, Chico and Salamander. Salamander, swooping down from the air, breathed a light flame down on the statuesques, stone and melting metal scales to make sure everything was as it should be. The fire wasn't dark like it was normally anymore, it was light and comforting. The materials started to melt and burn into place, making me transform my arm into a mace and slam it into the ground for it to appear at the center of the tribute to those who had remained. Wendy, floating of her own ability, and First, staying aloft with his Lightning Body, sent a concentrated whirlwind and lightning bolt into the center of my mace-ended arm with First feeling the pain with Organic Link until I shed my mace and retracted my limb, letting them hollow-out my shed Iron Dragon's Mace.
From the hollowed-out, shed spell spewed forth water from a geyser we had discovered underneath the guild. Almost finished, Chico finished up the tribute as she extended her arms and closed her watering eyes, reaching out to where the few who remained had remained a year ago. Souls of the deceased gathered around Chico before she directed them towards the now melting metal as the spirits entered it and began to make it rise into vaguely humanoid and feline forms, tears leaving her eyes as First came to her side and held her close. To add insult to injury, a few of the souls came up to us like it was just another day and they were just going for a quick walk, their original forms becoming visible to all of us. My teammates and I saw our former leader as well as my flying feline companion, her short hair held back by a hairband and her attire like that of the day I met her when I fought Sal for the first time. Reaching out to brush aside a lock of her hair, I passed right through her, making her look to me sweetly like it was just another day. The human-sized feline nodded to me like a soldier, saluting to me as he and our former leader walked into their statuesque counterparts.
To Wakaba, Macao, and Romeo came the Ace's daughter and the Ace's ghost himself, kneeling to hug Romeo who could only reach out to hold her only to find she could touch him but not the other way around while the Ace only nodded with a kind smile. As the ghosts left them to enter their statuesques, Romeo reached out only for his father to halt him in his effort with a hand on the crying boy's shoulder. To First and Chico was a short ghost, his face that of a grandfather feeling proud in his family, as well as a trio of ghosts with four floating dolls who smiled admiringly at First before they then strode into the statuesques without hesitation. To Salamander, Kinana, Wendy, Wanda and Bora came the spirits of the key-user, Devil Slayer, knightress, the floating felines, the rain mage and-although I was the only one to notice-only two of the Takeover Siblings before they left into their statuesques. Standing in front of everyone was the ghost of a man who had thought himself a servant of the gods-forsaken Magic Council, when he was really one of us before death.
Just to name a few were these spirits visible to our guild. After they all entered the tribute, the metal, stone, wood and vines fused into one statue. In front of this tribute stood Warren, Bisca and Alzack. "We build this in honor of the few who remained on Tenrou Island to protect everything the island stood for..." Images of the results of what happened to Tenrou flashed before my eyes, the faces of faith the few who remained had worn like there was nothing to it and that like everything else they would survive. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I grit my teeth, self-loathing in my being as I resisted the urge to sob in the middle of this moving speech. "They were proud, they were stubborn, but above all they were family and they will never be forgotten by those they've touched. Joining us is Sphinx Refuge, our sister guild and ally guild of the few who remained." Through the gate strode the Guildmaster of Sphinx Refuge, her daughter, her husband and the members of her guild who could attend.
"When we hear the name Fairy Tail, we're struck with a feeling of intrigue and a strange sensation of butterflies in our stomachs. It was their strength and determination to stand when the rest had fell that lead them to reach the heights they did." Tears left Warren's eyes, his voice choking from being strained to this extent compared to the norm. "And though many will forget who they were, we who have survived and live with them in our hearts will never lose sight of who we depended on in our darkest times for inspiration," A gunshot left the two gun-slinging mages' weapons, their faces somber but not letting tears escape their eyes. "Trust," Another gunshot left them. "Determination," Another resounded. "Loyalty," And another. "And most of all, the willingness to let nothing stand in the way of living life to its extent. With heavy hearts, we carve their names into the stone, metal and plants we dedicate to them in memory of all they've accomplished. Their guild's name, Fairy Tail, was chosen in dedication to their first Guildmaster and her search to discover whether fairies do indeed have tails. And," He bit his bottom lip, taking a shaky breath before continuing, "now we can say for sure, they don't for if they did, we would have gathered every fairy's tail to bring them back..." And one, last shot left the firearms, their wielders letting their tears stream down their cheeks.
First, letting go of Chico's hand, came to the smoothest surface of the tribute, the First Guildmaster of Dragon Arc kneeling to let electricity course through his fingertips to carve in the names of his grandfather, bodyguards, the Ace, the Ace's daughter and the would-be spy before standing and walking to the side. Next was Salamander and Wendy, their hands becoming claws as elemental energy formed talons around their hands as they carved in the names of their family, biological or not, and their closest lost friends. Finally, it was my turn to carve in names. Turning my hand into an iron-scaled talon, I carved in the names of my feline companion and my blue-haired bookworm of a friend. It was now that the air began to dampen as the clouds rolled over the sun and began to thunder away with no rain. It was then that I caught sight of-what I had assumed was a trick of my mind-a woman with long locks and blue eyes staring at the tribute sadly as a man held her in his arms compassionately, before a civilian moved in front of the two and they were gone as the civilian moved again.
A baby began to cry, making me turn to see Wanda holding her infant son with Bora at her side as she lifted up a cloth over her breast to begin nursing the boy when a mew made me look to see Chu come out of hiding in First's jacket to begin whistling the tune Chico had taught her. (Uncue music. Cue: Dragon Age Inquisition-The Dawn Will Come) Salamander, quietly at first began to sing, making everyone look to him in shock as he turned his head to the sky with his eyes closed, tears leaving him as they rolled off his cheeks. "Shadows fall and hope has fled. Steel your heart, the dawn will come. The night is long and the path is dark. Look to the sky, for one day soon the dawn will come. The shepherd's lost and his home is far. Keep to the stars, the dawn will come. Bare your blade, and raise it high. Stand your ground, the dawn will come. Wer thurkear ui drong vur wer donoap ui whedab. Vorq ekess wer svant, ihk ir kear leirith wer dian geou confn."
He continued in Draconic, soon being joined by Wendy and Kinana. First came next, singing in English with all who didn't understand the dragon language. Sphinx Refuge joined us, the civilians too, as I soonafter followed with my deep voice reaching lower pitches than most could attain without my desire to showboat my voice breaking glass. The mages of Sphinx Refuge came around to the back of the tribute, joining hands with ours until we were a large circle surrounding the circular steps to a geyser vent. At the bottom were the partners of the actual S-Class competitors in a circle in different poses fitting of the once-living counterpart. The second level were the competitors, each of them brandishing a spell they were proficient in, all of them seeming too real to be made of stone, plant, and metal, some even looking like they weren't touching the base. And at the top were the S-Class mages, publicly known or otherwise, standing there like proud guardians over those below them and around their tribute.
Finally, when the song was finished, the Slayers released their breath spell as strong as possible at the spout of the geyser which lifted up our power into a dome around the grounds of the guild, facilitating our safety as we saw and felt the love the few who remained had for us. I sighed heavily, my feeling of a burden lightened but also weighing down on me more. Coming up to me was First, Chico at his side and Chu on his shoulder adorably. "It's only going to get better, Gajeel. You have to remember that!" First said consolingly, his hand on my shoulder as the yellow Exceed cub padded over his arm and onto my shoulders to speak her first words.
"Uncle Gajeel-Pika." She said this so easily as if she were destined to, making me smile and nod as she rubbed against my brow before being returned to her adoptive mother and father. I could only smile somewhat sadly now before we all went our separate ways as the sky began to rain down its tears on us...(Uncue music)
Scene change
(Cue: Jason Derulo-Don't Wanna Go Home) A blonde boy was throwing everything he had at Salamander, said salmon-headed Guildmaster was just barely using much power to put the bastard in his place. Salamander was still depressed even though he had given up his memories to stop the emotional suffering he was living through, so he wasn't easy to rile up but this boy was about to piss him off. "TAKE ME SERIOUSLY, BASTARD!" The boy then flipped and sent his foot flying for Salamander's head before he blocked the attack with just the back of his hand before lightly throwing the boy back a fair distance.
"Nope." The boy launched himself at Salamander with a glowing fist that my current Guildmaster only grabbed, twisted quickly and tossed back to me which made me dodge the soaring child. He landed with a crash that was followed by a shriek of pain from the cub he'd landed on.
Getting up, the boy said with tears in his eyes full of pain, "If you take me seriously and beat me, I'll join your guild!" And like that, Salamander was pissed and ready to make a fucking point. Making the first move, Salamander moved from his place underneath the tree in the park and was in front of the boy with a look that could kill and it made the boy look about ready to cry in terror.
"Don't," He said menacingly, making the boy and his red Exceed cub back up in utter fear as the fiery red aura became dark. "You ever try to use my guild as a reason for me to kick your ass! If you want to join my guild, that's your business, but don't make me the fucking reason! GOT IT?!" With that, Salamander grabbed the boy and flung him into the tree, knocking the little tyke out like a light. With a look to me, he said sternly, "Let's go..." I followed after him silently, my heavy feet leaving deep footprints in the dirt as my steps made little to no noise.
"Already late for the Guildmaster's meeting, might as well get there quicker, right?" I asked calmly, smiling as I noticed Salamander nod. Without another word, he took to the air while I just stood and stared while keeping my senses honed for anyone watching the current Dragon Arc Guildmaster soar. Turning to see the boy's black-haired friend staring at me seriously, I merely asked, "Are you really as dense as the dumbass?" He shook his head and helped the blonde up to his feet to walk with him as they left. (Uncue music)
Scene change
(Cue: DanParthenis-Instinct of Battle I/DanParthenis-The Momentum. Ally's gonna be quotin' this AMV, I own nothin' of it) Standing in the stadium, I looked at the thin crowd blankly. Ever since the Crash, mages were becoming fewer and fewer, as if all we had worked for was to be forgotten overnight. In the ring were Ally and Lisanna, the former grinning maniacally as he cackled insultingly at the Animal Takeover mage's rage-filled face. "Come on, show us your true colors-or rather-lack thereof, girl!"
Lisanna, gritting her teeth in fury, charged at the red-garbed male as she transformed into her Frostvern Takeover, taking flight and rushing the Sphinx Refuge mage with everything she had. A sadistic grin coming to grace his face, showing off his sharp fangs as he opened his arms and took the blow from the flying female without budging from his spot, his internal organs bursting out through his back before Lisanna passed right through and his organs regenerated before our eyes. "Damn you! What are you and why can't I beat you?!"
Snickering sadistically, he answered simply as his body turned into a mass of eyes in a red-black substance, rows of teeth dancing around his multiple eyes. "Blood..." Returning to his human form, "DEVIL'S RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGEEEEEE!" With that, his chest inflated somewhat before he lunged his head towards her and released a stream of blood, bloody mist and bone shards. The attack came right for Lisanna, her eyes wide as she froze with fright from the power she felt him exude as he performed the spell. It hit her full force, bathing her body in blood and bone shards that started to cut away at her until he stopped releasing the stream and strode towards the now on-her-knees Strauss. "If you were to go back in time, how far would you go?" He asked simply, curiously.
Breathing heavily, weakly, Lisanna glared at him distrustingly as she said between gasps, "Go fuck yourself, what does this have to do with anything?!"
He only kept moving until he was standing a few feet in front of her, "Several decades ago, I wanted those days to keep going so I could enjoy the company of my companions and fellow Slayers. Even if you could go back," Everyone looked to him in confusion as his voice was heard through the visual lacrima and he continued. "You would only replace the victim, causing someone else pain and making others suffer your mistakes..." Around the stadium floated images of people familiar and foreign to those viewing, many of them from guilds that Dragon Arc and her sister guild had encountered before while others were complete strangers. All of a sudden, the face of a young Salamander appeared on the screens with a young Lisanna and freshly hatched Happy before the screens became grey. "Would they choose to be replaced?"
The extra screens and images vanished, leaving the stadium focused on Ally and Lisanna. "Keep them out of this, bastard!" Lisanna wheezed and gasped angrily. She stood up shakily, holding her stomach in pain, before crumpling back to her knees again with a grunt. "What did you do to me?!" Was her demand for an answer.
A slight widening of his eyes was all the audience had to figure out that he was as confused as we were. Regaining his composure with a mild smirk on his face in understanding, he said calmly, "Time waits for no one. I've told my companions, current and former, that I don't want to just die...I want to die happily, with a smile on my face and tears of joy-not sorrow-in the eyes of those around me. As I have done so many times before for others, gritting my teeth to fight back my selfish tears, I want one day for someone to wave me off as they say 'I'll see you on the other side.'" He let his arm turn into the black-red substance, an unholy glow at the connection of his 'arm' and his shoulder. "Being left behind is unbearably painful, especially when it's because of you. Your mate knew that more than anyone else, until you discovered his plight firsthand, but everything that happens has a reason and just like a clock life going in a circle..." His 'arm' reached out to the pained Strauss, touching her stomach and making her look of suffering end temporarily. "Where one life ends another begins anew."
Removing his 'arm' from the Animal Takeover mage, he was met with a look of gratitude before Lisanna stood to her full height and spread her wings intimidatingly. "It's up to to you whether you live and die with a reason...but if you are then start running ahead instead of falling behind towards your future!" Lisanna looked to him, her eyes slits as her body began to glow before her Takeover vanished leaving her in the clothes she had chosen to show off her guild colors with the addition of her soul taking the form of a feline-reptilian cloak.
"Fine..." She said plainly, her eyes narrowed with determination that made Ally smirk triumphantly. "I'll show you what I've been hiding for years!" And with that, the stadium was lit up with a bright, blinding light in a show of power. I could only watch with wide eyes until I looked to an equally wide-eyed Salamander as he gripped his head in pain, making Wendy go to his side in concern for him. "People's dreams...NEVER DIE!" Was Lisanna's warcry, making Ally cackle out of honest amusement along with many of us as well as Salamander who grunted in pain between laughs...(Uncue music)
Scene Change
My heavy feet left indentations in the stone floor as we strode through the prison quietly, not paying any mind to the inmates who reached for us and begged us to let them out. I kept my features impassive, needing to make sure the inmates didn't feel my pity or sympathy. First was behind me, having stepped down recently and needing to make sure I was prepared and aware of all of my duties. This, however, wasn't one of them. Coming to a stop at a seemingly random cell, a dark, sarcastic chuckling emanated from within the shadows that hid our target prisoner.
"I didn't know visiting hours started so early on weekends?" Said the inmate, his voice still as sharp and taunting as ever, but the atmosphere he emitted wasn't one of a proud hunter or dangerous predator. The air surrounding his cell reeked of regret, hatred, humility, depression and solitude no creature deserved. "So," He began, moving towards the light slowly, chains clanking around his ankles and wrists as he winced at the dim light of the torches outside the mostly walled-off cell. "Are you here to gloat? Or have you come to finish the job your pink-haired bastard didn't finish?!"
That last comment, my slitted red eyes narrowed and my jaw clenched as I bared my now gritted teeth, I reached into the cell, breaking a few of the bars in the process, and grabbed him by his throat, ultimately shutting him up for a second. To the side of the cell stood First, his eyes unsurprised and his face not giving anything away. After the destruction of Tenrou Island, everyone had taken a change to their personality and become more mature in some manner. First was no longer slacking around or acting like a douchebag, Wendy had become the little big sister or mother figure for everybody when they needed to talk, Salamander was serious most of the time or trying to be to do his forgotten family justice, and me...I'd been told by most people who knew me that my personality had done a complete one-eighty.
"Never," I threatened with my eyes like that of a monster, making the inmate's purple-black eyes widen in fear. "Ever insult him or act like his showing you mercy was a mistake!" Although I was still a cocky bastard, I wasn't prone to instigating fights or pissing people off. Instead, I was calmer, quiet most of the time and more sensitive to emotional bursts. This was obvious as I flexed my claw-like hand, making the sharp-tongued fucker emit a choking sound before the voice of a familiar Slayer reached my ears.
"Don't kill him!" She called down the hallway, her voice filled with concern for the male whose throat I had in my grip. "You said it yourself, 'There are too few of us left and we need to stick together.' Don't become the monsters that nearly wiped us out, please..." Her eyes pled for me to let go of the man's throat, pulling at my heartstrings more than the fucker's insulting of my friend and surrogate brother. Inhaling deeply, I growled as I exhaled and let go of the man's throat, getting him to cough and for our guild's bartender to run to the cell's bars with a look of concern as she reached inside and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"
His only response was to cough a few more times and then look to her in extreme confusion, trying to understand why she gave a damn. "Who the Hell are you and why the fuck do you care?" Instead of answering verbally, she opted to instead breath out a purple and black haze that made his eyes widen before he began to devour the substance with gusto, sighing in relief as he recognized the flavor with even wider eyes. "...how..."
Smiling at his understanding, she simply said, "It's a long story."
Waking world, Gajeel's apartment
Suddenly awake with a gasp, the adopted son of Metalicana rose from his bed and looked out his orange-tinted windows with wide, shocked eyes full of confusion. He had at first when he was just starting out in Fairy Tail gone looking for a place near his former territory to make a dwelling and to act as a long-distance member of the guild, but Shadow Gear had directed him to the apartments for rent near the river. This had been the cheapest and the easiest to patch up. When he'd first found it the place looked like it was once a refuge for poor and sick people. The windows had been tinted by the elements and the natural aura of the mages nearby, the wood was gnarlier than a mangled limb and the supports looked ready to break any moment.
But with some time and a nice amount of food-A.K.A. metal-the place was a nice place to live in. Looking out the window, he saw that Bora and Wanda were exiting the building next to the Celestial mage's home, peaking his curiosity slightly when in all honesty he didn't care too much to really worry about it at the moment. His long, raven-black hair was a mess from tossing and turning in his sleep while his joints ached like Hell until he stretched, causing the joints to pop, releasing the pent up pressure from being remaining in one general position for too long, and the muscles to loosen up.
Getting up to stand on his bed, the clothes from the day he had first fought Salamander still on his back, he stood to his full height and yawned with his long tongue extending outward as well before he opened his window and leaped into the river where he sank to the bottom for a little bit. This has got to be one of the most efficient ways of waking up and getting clean in the morning! Crouching to the river bottom, letting out a few bubbles of breath to depressurize for his next action, he jumped to the side of the river with the wall closest to his apartment where he turned his hands into iron talons with which he climbed out of the river onto the empty, morning streets.
Returning his arms to normal, he shook his entire body to get a good portion of the water out of his clothes and off his body before grabbing a towel he'd hidden near his apartment's front door to dry himself off the rest of the way. Looking to the sky blankly, he muttered to himself, "Naeck ui gethrisjir ekess qe birk li salamander ui ti tenpiswo...kwi algbo, ehis si shilta tir zahae coi jaka batobot si mi svern." He placed the towel back where he hid it and went for a stroll, making sure to air-dry himself off the rest of the way.
Heavy footsteps echoed in the empty streets, his presence being the only thing within his neighborhood for the time being which suited his needs just fine. Although he acted selfish and assholish a good portion of the time, Metalicana had been a pretty good influence on the raven-haired Slayer, his lessons having been nailed into Gajeel's mind with each bolt in his body. That's how the Iron Dragon had taught his adopted son: through trial and error with success being rewarded with one of his father's shed scales rolled into a bolt pierced into his body. It had been Gajeel's idea to use the shed scales as body piercings, but it had been Metalicana's idea to use it as a reward system for paying attention to lessons and orders.
Although seeming morally wrong, it had actually been a form of bonding as the red-eyed Slayer never lost those bolts and they reminded him that his father was literally a part of him. Their relationship would have seemed gravely at best and craggy at worst, but really they actually cared deeply for one another. When Gajeel had been caught by S-Hunters, Metalicana had gone searching without a moment of rest for his heavy wings and the worry in his eyes as he had reunited with his son had been that of a father who cared for his son.
The last lesson the Iron Dragon had taught his son was that no matter how harsh the world might be, his dignity was what could never be robbed of him and would always show that all his enemies should fear him for it. After that lesson, Metalicana had vanished without a trace, a single scale left in his place with the words 'Iteshk ui zarlathil, shar svadrav wux ulnot ekik di coi, coi xkhatic fekiwvi. Vi plythu ganim ui ti okh, coi ui wurunwada sari tlues.' These words were what he lived by. Feeling sad about things is natural and understandable as long as the feeling of sadness doesn't get in the way of what's being done and as long as there is a perceived weakness, it exists as such. That's why he usually had a scowl or an arrogant grin on his face, to drown out his sadness that he existed in ignorance and to not let his sadness become a weakness to be exploited.
Shaking away his thoughts of the past, Gajeel looked to see his clothes and hair had dried, letting him know it was time to head to the guild. "Sva gekip si shilta xoal ekess ehtah vi kobtish batobot janik qe diwhaf...Jakina, xsiol si kiwieg juanth!" With that said, he twisted his center to the right and left which caused the sounds of cracking to be emitted loudly, making him groan in relief. "Batobot ui desta." Heavy footsteps still being the only sound in his neighborhood for the time being, he made his way to the guild without any issues besides the occasional stray cat that came his way which got him to stop and treat them to being pet. A few cats almost caused him to trip, but they soon came to the understanding he needed to be somewhere.
Opening one of the guild doors, he entered silently and made his way to the request board before growling under his breath, "Metalicana nurti ankua ve svanoa ekess urcaxa, xsio!"
"Who didn't teach you how to read?" Came a voice from behind the Slayer, making him turn around while shifting his arm into an iron claw with a bestial snarl only to find-
"Turasjir vilklvi, svanoa tira wux marinx svern ekess ve?" He asked in Draconic, forgetting other people were in the guild and could hear him due to how loud his voice was.
Levy looked at him plainly and said flatly, "To answer the question of how I snuck up on you, it's because I'm quiet and don't emit my power like a volcano unlike you, Wendy and Natsu. Also, thanks for only teaching me baby words! Wendy's better at teaching than you are, by the way." At the mention of being the same/lesser as Wendy and Salamander, the Iron Dragon Slayer released an even nastier snarl with his teeth bared and his claws flexed.
"Si mi ehis hefoc Salamander usv Suaci, tir ti wux rinov yenta batobot si mi!" His snarl was met with a disinterested look from the blunette, getting his eye to twitch after he finished snarling and smile maliciously. "Re wux xoalir ekess relekihl ve ekess vi slathalin, lev? Tagoa sjek wux re, si shilta yenta ihk vi ywrats wux geou hawg." Those words, those growled out words, made the Solid Script mage freeze in place with a look of fear.
Her magic required her to know words, and she knew a lot in a quite a few languages, but that didn't mean she had the power to back that up. Due to her size and the rarity of which she took jobs, she didn't have as much mana to spare as her teammates and Gajeel knew this. The look of fear in her eyes made said Slayer grin even more maliciously, his slitted red eyes gleaming with hunger for a fight. Even though Salamander had been away only a few days, the guild had become pretty dull and altogether a huge bore for the metallivore as well as the aerovoric Wendy, so the prospect of a fight was a possible relief from the boredom and dullness that he wasn't going to miss out on.
Before poor, little Levy could refuse the accusatory question, Gajeel said aggressively, "Si filiik si itrewic ekess tepoha vi smunsoua di diwhaf mrith wux hak, tir ti si?!" And that spelled out the bookworm's doom.
"Zarachiiir!" Called Wendy from the second story, strapped to her hip the linguistics book that she swiped from Lucy who was stalking the forcibly-maturing girl with the intent to reclaim her book. Looking over the edge, she saw that poor Levy was frozen with fear and sporting an immense blush on her face at the way her teammate had phrased his last sentence.
Said Iron Dragon Slayer was glaring up at his fellow First Generation Dragon Slayer irritably, calling up, "WUX TUOR EKESS GETHRISJ?!"
"Thric," Wendy said maturely, vaulting over the edge and landing on her feet safely on top of the wide-open door beside the request board. "Shar si tir ti hefoc wux jatil-cotuir sia bautwael, pluvt!" She glared at Gajeel as she said the last word insultingly, making his eyes widen with rage and his claws clench into fists as his teeth were grit so hard it looked like he was going to destroy them.
"Wux clax batobot spical, NUWA'JIMOS!" He roared the last part, making Wendy glare even more at the male Dragon Slayer with a harsh aggression in her eyes at the insult.
"Ergiff," Came Wendy's retort slowly, anger in her eyes and quivering fists as she refused to make the first strike. "Ir darastrix shilta wiap persvek nomenoi svanti, wux vucot..." Gajeel grinned dangerously at her as she reciprocated with a deranged sneer, the two of them turning away from each other and returning to where they had been and what they had been doing respectively...A two-Slayer war beginning within Fairy Tail as the rest of the guild tried to make sense of what they'd just seen.
With Happy and Natsu
A blue tiger roared loudly, his large, angellic wings spread wide as he made himself look bigger than he was. "Wux itrewica coi, Deevdru!" Natsu said angrily as he set his body alight with fire and launched himself at their opponent, knees first. "Ixen Darastrix Valignatir Thran!" His fiery kneecaps hit their enemy without fail, followed by the sound of bones breaking and a pained shout, before the opposing mage grunted with a cocky smirk as his arm shifted into a mass of flesh, bones and blood that began to encase Natsu before he exhaled a plume of hot flames that burned the male's mass to ash.
"Damn," Said the male half-disappointedly, still wearing that arrogant smirk. "This could've been a quick and painless kill, but you've forced my hand...for that I'm sorry." Even as he apologized, he wore that smirk like he was honest yet didn't care about his own feelings as he grew his destroyed arm into a writhing length of tendrils that went for Natsu and his son, making both of them take to the skies where the tendrils followed close behind. "YOU CAN'T ESCAPE WHAT YOU CAN'T COMPREHEND, SON OF FORMER FIRE DRAGON KING IGNEEL! YOU CAN'T EVEN PROTECT YOUR KIN FROM ME, WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN ESCAPE ME?!"
Saying that would be the end of their quarry because after saying that, Natsu snuffed his burning wings and dived down into the tendrils with his soul forming around him as a cloak of fire, a roar of hatred leaving him as he dove through the tendrils and went right for the source of them. "SVABOL RE WUX UKRISIR ZAHAE,YOBOLAT?! SVAUST DE SIA SVIHELEN TIRE WUX SVENT?!" As Salamander grabbed the man and burned away all of his extensions, leaving him a torso and head with cauterized wounds where his arms and legs would be, the male laughed in sick amusement before he sprayed a stream blood, bone shards and bloody mist at the Fire Dragon Slayer in an attack.
Taking every blow from the stream, he cauterized every scratch and cut with his soul-cloak's flames. "ANYUI VE!" More laughter answered Natsu's enraged roar before he received answers in between chuckles.
"I'm-hehehe-," Said the male with a glaze over his eyes, euphoria in his smile. "The one who the Magic Council bribed to lead the forefront of the killings of most Slayers during the Secret Slayer War-Hahaha-I won't ask for forgiveness or redemption from you...nor will I blame you for killing me after this, after all I've outlived the Magic Council's usefullness of me and they can't control me. That's why you're here, isn't it-hahaha!-? To fill in the space you'll make by killing me?! Because that's why the request was sent to every guild in Fiore-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!-I'M TOO OLD AND TOO POWERFUL TO BE LEFT ALIVE WITH WHAT I KNOW AND WHAT I'VE DONE, RIGHT?!"
Every word he said. Every cackle he got out. Everything this bastard did made Natsu sick and pissed! A bad combination. "TRELK SVERN!" Cocking back his fist, he began beating the living shit out of the monster-in-man's-clothing before him, his fists burning with flames of hate and regret until he was tired out while the male's body regenerated and healed some of the wounds as others turned into scars.
Sighing as Natsu shuddered sorrowfully, Happy having landed and reverted to normal to comfort his father, the male spoke softly. "Not even when you're full of the drive and power to...you can't kill me either. Such a shame, too. You seemed almost perfect for the job...Oh well, I guess it's back to your guild with you, Salamander." Natsu looked into the man's orange eyes, his hatred rekindling as his body shook with the attempt to regain the energy it had just burned through. "Don't bother, boy, you're exhausted and you're out of mana. Trying to kill me in this sorry state will only kill you more than you already are..."
"Shut up..." Natsu muttered, his aura blowing lightly.
"Fine." Said the male, waiting for his opponent to speak.
After a few minutes of silence and shuddering, the pyrovore asked heatedly, "How did they bribe you and why did you accept their terms, motherfucker?!"
Looking into the enraged Slayer's eyes, he said guiltily, "They offered me salvation and I was desperate. I was-"
Natsu grabbed the Slayer of Slayers' throat, eyes full of hatred and depravity. "Don't you dare give me an excuse! Don't try to make yourself the victim when you know you're the complete opposite!"
The sounds of choking escaped the male before he glared defiantly into Natsu's eyes. "I'm-erk-not! You wanted to know why and I'm answer-eee-ee-ee-ing you, Salamander!"
"Then speak!" Shouted the pyrovore.
"Alright!" Shouted back Natsu's target. After the pink-haired mage let go of his throat, the man regained his breath and said, "I was dying. My magic was tearing me apart and I was going to suffer unbirth, as my magic's consequences for mistakes are unique in that they don't destroy...they degenerate and devolve the user until their nothing but a pool of lifeless blood. I needed blood, bone, flesh...At first I tried just taking out the sick, dying and wounded, but that couldn't sustain me since they were weak and I needed healthy blood instead of just infected or nearly all-drained-out blood."
He looked up into Natsu's hateful eyes, pleading for mercy or forgiveness nowhere in his eyes as he continued, "My desperation lead me to start targeting random people and animals. Eventually I tried devouring a member of the Magic Council and nearly died trying, probably would've been better if I had, really. During our battle, the Magic Council member saw that I regenerate and regrow appendages at will, even if it was down-sized due to my lack of food. We fought for hours, my body taking almost all of the damage while she was untouched..."
"She?" Natsu asked, his interest now slightly peaked.
"Yeah," Said the male. "Grey hair and emerald eyes. A Takeover mage, believe it or not. She was quite the fighter, too, if her Takeovers were anything to go by. Hydra, chimera and manticore were the ones I faced. Regardless, she saw how I used the blood and flesh of those around me to heal as well as increase the power behind my spells and had an apostrophe-"
"I think you mean an 'epiphany'." Corrected Happy, sitting on his father's shoulder.
"My mistake," He nodded his thanks to the winged feline who glared at him in response. "Anyway, while we exchanged attacks, she asked if I wanted anything which I responded with 'for you to die!'." A cloud of self-pity came over Happy and Natsu's head, the male's monologue getting old fast. "But it was her counteroffer that's interesting...She offered me all the blood I could ever dream of in exchange for my services. Who on Earth could turn down such an offer, seriously?!"
"Believe it or not, just about anyone." Happy's comment was quickly ignored by the blood-drinker.
"Her offer was tempting but I was skeptical, until she used one of her claws to slice open her arm, letting all of that delicious blood dribble out before my eyes...Before I could get it however, she made me swear I'd do anything she and her associates asked me to without question. Still untrusting but starving for blood and still running out of time, I accepted hesitantly until I got a taste of that blood! Her bloodline still carries that delicacy in their veins and I can still taste it even now..." He licked his lips, drool leaking out of sharp fanged mouth.
"At first," He continued after remembering he was answering a question. "They only sent me on short missions involving single targets or really small parties, requiring almost no time to take care of. Although the targets seemed random, they weren't. Consisting of former convicts and users of illegal magic, it spiraled up into killing Slayers. I kept my end of the bargain, hunting down S-Class Slayers they wanted dead without question, and they paid me in all the blood I could dream of with a bonus of my victims...However," Muttering the last part guiltily, he continued. "After a while they began giving me fewer and fewer targets until they didn't have any and I was left sated and confused. It took me a century to realize that every Slayer I killed and ate was an innocent soul and that the rest of the Slayer population had been offed, including my kin as well."
"A century/century?!" The two Fairy Tail mages asked in unison, getting a nod from the male as he regenerated his limbs to stand. Rising to his full height, he nodded solemnly.
"Yeah. As you know, Slayers live longer than humans by default, what you don't know is how long. It depends on obvious factors of the individual's lifestyle and choices, but the biggest factor is what kind of Slayer, element included. God Slayers live for centuries but usually go insane before three of those due to the fact they didn't start out that way. Dragon Slayers, like yourself, usually live for about two centuries easily. Devil Slayers live for about a century or two before dying of old age unless they rely on organic materials that can heal and grow. However, your surprise is probably due to how long it took, and I don't mean a century after the whole thing went down; I mean in total, I was working for the Magic Council for a century in total and I didn't catch on because I'm an idiot."
"..." Natsu and Happy looked to each other, their anger forgotten in shock of how slow to the pitch this guy was.
"I'll be going now since you can't kill me." Walking in a random direction, Natsu called to him.
"Wait," He stopped and looked back to see Natsu glaring at him again. "I won't try to kill you as long as you help Slayers get back at the Magic Council! We're few and far in between so we need to stick together even if we hate each other. You help us, and your punishment and guilt might be alleviated as well as possibly make some allies, maybe friends if you play your cards right..."
Looking to Natsu in shock of his decision to give him a chance at redemption, he turned around to look at the mage directly. "What would you have me do, then?"
Grinning in victory, Salamander let his soul form a cloak around himself as he appeared in front of his former opponent, "Break your promise to the Magic Council and we'll talk..." He looked at the man questioningly.
"Alucard Bellmont of Cainhurst Castle, but my friends and companions called me Ally for short." He said this somewhat nostalgically before he grabbed Natsu's now outstretched claw-like hand.
"Ally it is then. Do as I've asked, and we'll talk about how you might redeem yourself and maybe...just maybe your sins might be made up for by your actions..." He said this sternly, distrustingly and aggressively. It was a new day and a new dusk for change...
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That's a wrap ladies, gents an' other! I know Natsu an' Ally's conversation's kinda shitty compared to what I've written in the past, so I'm sorry 'bout that. This chapter's been a pain in the ass recently an' I'm thinkin' I just need to finish this piece an' take a break so I can make somethin' ya'll enjoy instead'o the shit I just made here. Not a lotta questions I can think of so as always: thanks for bein' here, R&R, no flamin' my ass, constructive criticism an' SEE YA-G'NIGHT!