Oh my gosh, I am so late!

I am really sorry to all of you, but now you can get this chapter.

Gajeel: Took you long enough.

Hey, watch it! Anyway, I want to thank siulus18 for following Alternate Tail. I also want to thank Fin-Fish Jun-Tenshi, Ray Akaba 210, OneWhoCharms, and DeAmonQuEen for their reviews. First, I am glad how excited for the upcoming Tenroe arc some of you are. And second, I am glad you enjoy the connection between Lily and Carla.

Gajeel: Yeah, who would have though my cat was a dad…

Lily: I can assure my relationship with the queen was professional.

That was in canon. I did say I would implement.

Carla: And you just decided to come up with this idea?

Nope! Had it planned out halfway through planning phase!


Alright, I'll be having Rogue doing the disclaimer.

Rogue: Me?

Let's just say this chapter focuses a lot on you.

Rogue: Alright then. DigiXBot does not own Fairy Tail. Probably for the best. He would have turned me into a child otherwise.


Meeting Frosch

The pitter-patter of paws echoed through the night as the green-furred Exceed ran through the streets of Magnolia.

"There he is!" A woman's voice shouted. The Exceed ran even faster, even as bits of his fur dropped to the ground.

He turned the corner in time as he heard the snap of bandages hitting stone from behind him. A wolf's howl brought even more fear.

Sensing danger, he squinted his eyes, and two white wings appeared on his back, then he jumped up and took to the skies.

"Find him!" A deep voice echoed

A menacing roar and the sound of a chainsaw filled the air as the Exceed felt he had escaped from his pursuers. But his hope faded as his wings suddenly vanished, and he plummeted straight into the canals below him.

"Where is he?!" He heard the deep voice shout as he struggled to stay afloat.

"No idea, sir." The woman's voice said.

"That creature will bring good to our guild. Hurry up and get him!"

The Exceed couldn't hear this as he fell deeper into the water, pooling the surface with green hair and bubbles.


The next morning, the streets of Magnolia acted normal as usual, with the streets covered in a thin blanket of snow thanks to the current weather.

Walking alongside the canal was a black haired boy with red eyes, wearing a black parka with a hood up and purple gloves. This boy is Ryos Conbolt, the son of Fairy Tail wizard Macao Conbolt.

At the moment he was heading over to the guild where his father was hanging. It would have been a normal day if he didn't see a green object in the canal next to him.

"Huh?" The six-year old said as he got closer. His eyes widened as he saw the green-furred Exceed, unconscious and floating aimlessly.

"Hold on!" He reached over and managed to get a hold on the Exceed, then pulled him out of the canal. The Exceed was then shivering as Ryos held him close.

He doesn't feel so good. The boy thought. What do I do?

I know! He ran right through the streets. I bet someone at the guild like Lisanna-nee might know something! He smiled as he held the Exceed close, racing closer to Fairy Tail.


"And here you go," Lisanna said as she placed two hot cocoas by Macao and Wakaba

"Thank you, Lisanna!" Macao said cheerfully as he took a sip of his drink.

"Oh, Lisanna-chan," Wakaba said lecherously. "Please go on a date with me."

"Are you sure, Wakaba?" Lisanna said as glitter appeared on her body. "You wouldn't want your wife to find out." She then transformed into a round woman with brown, puffy hair.

"Gaah!" Wakaba shouted as he nearly fell off his chair while Macao and Lisanna (Who transformed back) chuckled. "Don't turn into my wife!"

"Like you had a chance." Macao laughed. "I'm sure that Lisanna here wants a real, single man…"

"You're not my type either, Macao." Lisanna said cheerfully, causing the purple flame mages to collapse.

"He doesn't learn, does he?" Bisca said from a couple tables over as she cleaned her rifle.

"Nope." Alzack replied next to her. "And neither does Macao."

"So cool!" Lisanna turned and saw Kinana talking to Kagura and Carla.

"Hey guys." The take-over said as she came over. "What are you talking about?"

"Carla's been talking about her precognition." Kinana answered.

"Precognition?"

"It's something the Exceed Queen Shagotte said that Carla had." Kagura said.

"Basically, this power allows me to see the future." Carla explained. "And since I have learned about it, I've been slowly developing control on it."

"So can you see who'll get married in the future?" Lisanna asked in excitement.

"I can't see that far into the future, yet." Carla stated. "Let's see She then pointed at Alzack and Bisca. "For example, Alzack and Bisca will be talking about a new type of bullet that explodes when in contact with the enemy." The girls leaned forward in the direction of the gunsmen.

"So what do you think?" Bisca asked her partner.

"Would improve our abilities." Alzack nodded. "Of course, there is the timing of ignition. We'll need a way to delay the explosion to avoid it erupting when we fire."

"I examined it, it gots a layer covering it that keeps the ignition in the bullet from lighting up in the shot and lasts right past when the bullet is out of the gun."

"So accurate…" Kagura gaped in surprise.

"Quite impressive, isn't- hmm..." Carla squinted her eyebrows. "I just got another vision."

"What is it?" Kinana asked.

"It involves that black-haired boy that looks up to Redfox. He'll run into here for an emergency"

"Ryos-kun?" But before she could ask more, the door burst open and Ryos ran into the hall.

"Ryos?" Macao said as he turned his head to his son.

"Help!" The boy shouted as he held up the unconscious Exceed. "He needs help!"


"You made a good choice, bringing him here, Ryos-kun." Lisanna said as she wrapped a warm towel around the shivering Exceed.

"Thank you." The boy said politely.

"So where did you find him?" Macao asked.

"He was in a canal, all wet and cold."

"You didn't go in did you," The fire wizard asked, concern traced in his voice.

"I didn't." The six year old protested.

"This one is certainly an Exceed." Carla stated, standing next to the green Exceed on the table. "But what was he doing there?"

"I brought some hot chocolate." Kinana said as she came over.

"Thank you, Kina-chan." Lisanna said while checking the Exceed's temperature. But when she pulled away, she saw that bits of fur had clumped to her hand. "Huh?"

"Is that from the cold?" Wakaba asked.

"No," Bisca said seriously. She gently rubbed the Exceed's head, who looked at her curiously. When she pulled it back it too had bits of green hair on it. "The little guy is suffering from fur loss."

"What?" Ryos asked in horror.

"It's nothing too fatal, but eventually he'll either have too little hair or none at all on his body. That'll make keeping in his body heat a problem."

"Hmm," Macao placed a finger on his chin, humming in thought, before snapping his finger. "Give me a second!" He then grabbed his coat and ran out of the hall.

"Where's he going?" Kinana asked.

"No idea." Alzack shrugged.

"If a guy's gotta go, he's gotta go." Wakaba suggested.

"How do you know that Frosch suffered from fur loss, Bisca-san?" Kagura asked her.

The green-haired sharp-shooter smiled. "I take in a lot of unique animals I run into on my missions. So I make sure to keep up to date on caring for them."

Much later Macao races back into the hall, this time holding a small, pink frog one-piece that had a hoodie with black frog eyes on top and black spots on the back.

"What is that…" Wakaba asked.

"Could this work?" The flame mage ignored him and thrust the outfit to Bisca.

"Hmm," Bisca examined the outfit, "it gots good coverage over the body, and its thickness will help it insulate heat. It's a little big, but it might work."

"But he also has a tail." Kinana pointed out.

Lisanna smiled at them. "Just leave that to me."


Much later the Exceed was wearing the same outfit, now adjusted for his body. It even had an extension that his tail can fit in.

"Wow!" Ryos smiled in amazement as the Exceed examined his new clothes. "You managed to make it fit him. Thank you, Lisanna-nee."

"No problem." The white-haired girl smiled back to him.

"So where did you get that outfit?" Alzack asked Macao.

"Ryos used to wear that when he was little." Macao answered, before pulling out a wallet from his pocket and fiddling inside it. "Here, take a look." He held out a photograph with a baby Ryos wearing the exact same outfit.

"Dad!" The six-year old protested as his face went red from embarrassment.

"Awww." The girls cooed as they looked at the photo. "You looked so cute, Ryos-kun."

"Don't stare!" He grumbled, then he faced the Exceed. "So what's your name?"

The Exceed tilted his head to the side. "Name…" He parroted back.

"Huh?"

"Guess he doesn't have a name." Macao said.

"Well, that's not right." Ryos pouted, then smiled. "I know, I'll name you… Frog."

"Frog?" Most of the Fairies gapped. "Why Frog?" Carla asked skeptically.

"Because he looks like a frog now."

"I don't know." Wakaba said. "Looks more like a salamander to me."

"I don't think 'Frog' would work as a name." Macao said, causing the boy to frown.

"But it might be a good start." Alzack said.

"What do you mean?" Ryos asked curiously.

"Instead of using 'Frog' literally, go with a name similar to it, like 'Rana'."

"What about 'Kaeru?'" Kagura suggested.

"I'm kinda partial to "Grenouille.'" Wakaba said.

"Maybe either 'Kwado' or 'Kodok?'" Bisca added.

"There's also 'Loscann,' 'Zaba,' 'Palakâ', 'Frosch'..." Lisanna listed.

"That one!" Ryos smiled.

"Huh?"

"'Frosch!'" He turned to the Exceed. "What do you think?"

The Exceed smiled back with childlike wonder. "Fro…"

"He likes it!" The boy beamed. "Okay, from now on, your name is 'Frosch!'"

"Fro! Fro!" The newly named Frosch jumped up in the air in joy.

"So why were you in the canal?" Ryos asked.

At this, Frosch frowned. "Bad people…"

"Bad people?"

"What did they look like?" Kagura asked.

"Bad…"

"I don't think he is much able or willing to share that information." Carla said sadly.

"He just needs to forget about those bad people." Ryos said. "Frosch, do you want to look around Magnolia?"

Frosch smiled and jumped again. "Yeah!"

"Hold on, Ryos." Macao said cautiously. "If the people that were after Frosch are still out there, it may be too dangerous to go out."

"But dad, I'm the son of a wizard. Frosch and I will be fine…"

"It could still be dangerous."

"Carla and I can go with him." Kagura suggested.

"I don't know…"

"Please…" Ryos begged. "Kagura-nee is very strong."

"I'm not that strong." The swordsgirl said sheepishly, then smiled. "But I'll do my best to keep Ryos-kun safe, Macao-san."

Eventually the father relented. "Alright, but be careful. All of you."

"Thanks dad!" Ryos picked up Frosch and ran out of the guild hall, with Kagura and Carla quickly following once they grabbed their coats.


"And that's the bakery." Ryos explained to Frosch as he pointed to a building. "Erza-nee gets all her cake from there."

"Ohhhh." Frosch awed in partial understanding.

"He does know, doesn't he?" Carla asked Kagura in a whisper

"Hmm?" Kagura frowned, holding her partner closer to her pink parka.

"Frosch is obviously an early refuge Exceed sent here six years ago, just as I was. So most likely he would have parents that are searching for him."

"True." Kagura frowned in understanding. "And they would really miss him, too. We shouldn't keep Frosch from them. But on the other hand, he and Ryos-kun are getting along so well."

"The only thing we can do is negotiate when the time comes."

"Maybe they could let him stay, like Happy's parents did."

"Not all of them will have the same opinions."

Suddenly they heard loud footsteps approaching them. Footsteps that caused Frosch to shiver in fear.

"Frosch?" Ryos asked in worry.

"Bad people. Bad people."

Kagura took a deep breath, and held out her sword as three figures approached them.

The first was a black-haired, pale-skinned woman wearing a ragged, white opera dress that had no sleeves. But her arms and legs were wrapped tightly with brown bandages, and half of her face was covered with a broken white mask.

The second was a tall, lanky man wearing a bodysuit designed like green fish scales, ending with webbed talons on his hands. Over it he wore black pants and a brown open shirt about to fall apart, and a hockey mask over his face. His body was dressed with black slime like vinegar over salad as he held tight to his sludge-covered chainsaw.

The last man in the center was a giant wearing yellow skin that seemed to decay, long black hair, and pure white teeth with canines as sharp as daggers. His face and arms was covered in grey fur, his hands ended with menacing claws, and his predatory eyes glowed as if by his fury. Over his hulking form he wore black pants and a winter cloak.

The one thing they shared was a guildmark in the form of an orange coffin with two black rifles crossing behind it. The woman had her on the forehead of her mask, the slimy man's on the back of his neck, and the giant's over his heart.

"Who are you?" Kagura questioned with all the courage she could muster, standing protectively in front of the others.

"Hmm, it vould be rude to act vithout introduction." The giant replied in a sophisticated voice. "Very vell, I am Frankenvolf."

"I am the Mummy of the Opera." The woman introduced herself, then pointed at the slimy man. "This is Jason of the Black Lagoon."

Jason gurgled as he activated his chainsaw for a few seconds, which spit out black sludge into the snow.

"What odd names and odd costumes." Carla muttered cautiously as Ryos held tight to Frosch.

"Und ve are members of Transylvania Claw, a hunter guild." The giant concluded. "Ve have come for ein purpose, the acquisition of the strange cat in your possession."

"Why do you want Frosch?" Ryos asked, trying to hold down his fear.

"He is a rare one." Mummy answered clearly. "How many cats you know have wings and can talk."

"Maybe he does not want to come with you." Carla replied back coldly.

Jason gurgled some more and Frankenvolf nodded. "Ja, Jason, I agree. Die she-cat must be of the same species as der Grunne."

Carla took a step back. "Just leave us alone…"

"Ve cannot."

"Stay away!" Kagura demanded.

Mummy tsked as she shook her head. "Ah, little girl. You have no idea who you are facing, do you?" She trusted her hand forward, and the bandages of her arm extended and launched towards Kagura. But the swordgirls simply ran towards the attack, swinging Archenemy in front of her and cleaving the bandages in half.

"Impossible!"

"She cut through vithout even unsheathing." Frankenvolf gasped as Kagura threw a roundhouse kick that sent Mummy to the ground.

The swordsgirl then heard the loud sound of a motor as Jason swung his chainsaw down at her. She quickly swung her sword to block it, gritting her teeth as she struggled to hold back the weight. But then Kagura squinted her eyes, and Jason was pulled towards the building behind him.

But she was so distracted that she did not see the giant behind her, allowing Frankenvolf to swing his hand and send Kagura flying into the snow.

"Kagura/Kagura-nee!" Carla and Ryos cried out, while Frosch had tears pooling in fear.

Kagura spitted out the blood in her mouth as she got up, then charged at Frankenvolf for an attack. But she became startled when she passed through him as he dissolved into black smokes and mirror shards.

"Impressive, no." Her eyes widened as she saw Mummy, unharmed, standing next to her risen guildmates. "How easily smokes and mirrors can easily confuse the masses."

"How is that possible?" Carla asked in shock. She looked at where Kagura kicked "Mummy" to and saw only a mannequin in her place.

"I can use performance magic, making the world my stage, while Jason specializes in slime magic. Both handy in capturing our prey."

Kagura tried to attack with her gravity, but the fish-man then sprayed her with his slime.

"Gah!" She screamed as she tried to wipe it off, but her movement caused her to slime on the slime below her.

As she tried to get up, Frankenvolf grabbed her by her parka. "Just surrender, little vone."

"I-I won't…" She protested, despite shivering in fear.

"Leave her alone!" Carla screamed as she flew towards them. But she was then wrapped in bandages mid-flight and sent crashing down.

"Sorry, little cat." Mummy said in feign-guilt. "But at least bringing you back will be easier."

Ryos watched the scene in complete horror as he held Frosch tight to him. They're hurting Kagura-nee, and then they'll take Carla and Frosch. What do I do? What would anyone do?

What would Gajeel-nii do...


"Gajeel-nii." The boy said to the dragon slayer, who was sitting atop of the lumber during the rebuilding of the guildhall.

"Huh," Gajeel looked down and saw the younger boy. "What are doing here, Ryos? Your old man's over there." He pointed to where the said man was talking to his friends.

"I heard that you beat that Natsu guy. The one that burned down the old guild."

"Sure did," Gajeel smirked. "Course I had some help from Shrimp."

"Weren't you scared?"

"Eh?" He rose an eyebrow at the boy. "What'cha mean?"

"Fighting someone like Salamander must have been scary Especially since he hurt a lot of people like my dad and-"

"Doesn't matter if I was scared." Gajeel replied. "I had to stop him."

"How does that help."

The dragon slayer groaned. "Look, when you have people you watch for, you just get an, inner strength or something like that. When that happens, you use that to protect who you want to protect."

"But how do I know if I have it?"

"You just know, alright." Gajeel sighed in irritation, so he didn't see the boy pondering over it.


Protecting people. Ryos thought. Just like Gajeel-nii would…

"It seems I must put you down for gut." Frakenvolf then prepared to throw Kagura when-

"Rahh!" He didn't notice the charging six-year old until he clamped his teeth onto his ankle.

"Aaahoooh!" The giant let out a tortured howl as he threw Kagura and kicked Ryos away, sending them flying towards a wall.

"Ro!" A pink figure flew past the hunters and intercepted the two, causing them to crash into the snow instead.

"Ow." Kagura groaned as she rubbed her head.

"Are you okay, Frosch?" Ryos asked as he held the green Exceed close.

"Fro okay." The Exceed replied with spirals in his eyes

"That's enough." To the three's shock, Frankenvolf now had the tied-up Carla in his grasp.

"Let her go!" Kagura shouted as Carla squirmed.

"Hand over zhe grunn vone, or ve will crush zhe weiss vone."

Before Kagura could say anything, Ryos shouted "We won't surrender! We'll protect our friends!"

"So be it." Frankenvolf increased the grip onto Carla, and Kagura and Ryos rose to fight-

But then a set of metal knives structed into his back, while a whip made from purple flames snatched Carla from him.

"Was in Himmel?!"

"Picking on little kids," Kagura, Ryos, and even Frosch beamed at the sound of Gajeel's growl. "You creeps got some nerve." Another set of whips pulled them back to their comrades of Fairies.

"Especially since they're under our watch." Macao boasted, with Wakaba, Alzack, Bisca, Lisanna, Levy, and Lily behind them.

"Dad!" Ryos cheered. "Gajeel-nii!"

"Everyone!" Kagura said cheerfully.

"You guys are from Transylvania Claw, aren't ya?" Bisca questioned as she summoned her rifle.

"You know them?" Lisanna asked as she activated her cat-soul.

"A hunting guild that went dark when they decided to capture rare animals for sport, then sell them to the highest bidder." Alzack explained

"In this case, it might as well be slavery." Lily growled as he transformed into battle form.

"Guess these guys need to be taught a lesson." Wakaba said as smoke came out of his cigar.

"You think you can take on all of us?" Frankenvolf questioned.

Gajeel smirked as an intimidating aura radiated from him and his guildmates. "You bet!" And with that they all charged, while the members of Transylvania Claw did the same.

Lily slashed at Jason, but the fishman either block the strike with his chainsaw or let it slide off him by his slime.

Dammit, Lily growled. Can't let a hit on him.

"Need a hand!" Several hands of smoke came from Wakaba's cigar and grabbed a tight hold onto Jason.

Lily smirked as he summoned his stave. "Thank you, Wakaba. Now then," Jason gurgled in fear through his mask. "Two Layered Circle: Blitzheart!" The fishman screamed as he was electrocuted by hundreds of volts.

"Hold still!" Mummy shouted as Lisanna nimbly avoided her bandages. The cat-girl smiled as she batted an attack with her paws. She then charged at her opponent only to see her collapse to smoke and mirror shards.

"Huh?"

"My power over you grows stronger." Multiple Mummy's appeared around her, confusing her more. "Though you turn from me to glance behind."

"Shouldn't be that hard to find the real deal!" Alzack shouted past the illusions. "Gun Magic: Mud Bullet!" He fired straight at the center of the circle.

"Lisanna, get down!" The white-haired girl followed Bisca's direction, while the sniper fired from above, sending a bullet that hit Alzack's dead center, then broke it apart and sprayed mud all over.

While the mud went through most of the Mummy's, it stuck to one of them. "Arghh!" She screamed as she tried to wipe it off her dress. "My tomb has been defiled!"

"Got you now~" The youngest Strauss then pinned the woman to the ground. "Finish yet?" She asked the now terrified hunter.

"Raagh!" Frankenvolf roared as he tried to smash Gajeel and Levy. Both managed to leap away in time. But the giant was soon blinded when purple fire wrapped around his eyes.

"Hope this'll calm you down!" Macao said with a smirk. Frankenvolf, even though not harmed from the fire, was howling in fury as he tried to pull it from his eyes.

"Thanks, Macao!" Levy smiled. "Now it's our turn! Solid Script: Fire!" The attack quickly engulfed the giant's cloak.

"Iron's Dragon Sword!" Gajeel leaped forward and slashed at the giant, leaving a massive cut on the chest and sending Frankenvolf crashing back, who was soon joined by his guildmates.

"You insolent…" The giant growled, despite the fear radiating from him, Mummy, and Jason.

"Got something to say?" Gajeel taunted.

"This isn't over, Fairy Tail!" And with that the members of Transylvania Claw ran from the Fairies.

"Looks like it is." He quipped.

"Are you okay, Ryos?" Macao asked in worry.

"I'm fine, dad." He then smiled at Gajeel. "I actually felt it, Gajeel-nii!"

"Felt what?"

"The feeling the protect who I care about."

"Fro felt it too!" Ryos laughed at his new friend's comment.

"Oh, that," Gajeel smirked. "Good for you."

"I even bit that guy really hard like you would." Ryos boasted, causing his father's jaw to drop.

"Ghi hi, now that's doing it right."

"I really should limit how much time you two spend with each other." Macao deadpanned.

"How about you, Kagura?" Levy said as she helped Kagura up while Lisanna untied Carla.

"I'm okay." She then turned to the others. "I'm sorry, Macao-san!" She said as she bowed.

"Huh?" The purple-flame mage blinked.

"I promised you that I would keep Ryos-kun safe," She said sadly, "but I wasn't able to…"

"Don't sell yourself short." Levy consoled.

"You did what you could at the time," Carla added. "Plus, it was three against one."

"They're right." Macao said. "I know you did what you could, and along with you all being okay, that's what matters."

Kagura was confused for a second before smiling.


That evening Ryos was laying in his bed next to Frosch. Since the Fairy Tail wizards couldn't yet contact the other Exceeds, it was decided that he would stay with the Conbolt's until further notice. The green Exceed was already letting out a sleep bubble when the boy spoke.

"Frosch."

"Uh," Frosch rubbed his eyes awake as he turned to his friend.

"I want to be stronger. Just like Gajeel-nii."

"Why?"

"Even though I fought back, it wasn't enough to beat those guys. All I did was bought time until the grown ups arrived. I need to grow if I want to be a true Fairy Tail wizard."

"Fro want to grow, too!" Frosch explained.

"Huh?"

"Ro is Fro's friend, and Fro want to be strong to help, and not be burden."

"Then we'll be a team. Just like Gajeel-nii and Lily-san." The boy smiled. "I'll even have a cool nickname like he does!"

"Oh."

"Maybe something like, Black Fire! No, wait Black Bite!"

"Ro?" Frosch blinked in confusion, not finding those nicknames valid.

"Wait, that's it! Rogue!" Ryos smiled. "I'll be the Rogue Ryos!"

"Yah!"

And thus began the partnership between a boy and his frog-cat. But that is a tail for another time.

Ah, that was a good conclusion.

Gajeel: Eh, I seen better.

Rogue: I thought it was good.

Did you thought it was good because you enjoyed the quality, or because Frosch was in it?

Rogue: Yes.

...Okay.

Romeo: Um, dad. You don't keep a baby photo of me in your wallet.

Macao: Um, no. That would be weird. That would be weird, right?

Makarov: Nonsense. Nothing's wrong with keeping photos of your children right by you. I keep a photograph of each and every one of my brats.

That must be one big wallet. Anyway leave your reviews and follow and favorite if you enjoy. Stay tune for next Tuesday when the Tenroe Arc finally starts.

Gajeel: Try to do it on time, alright.

Grrrrr.