Well hello to all you lovely readers, got a few comments to respond to before we get this chapter underway!
Webzayne717: Tournament arcs are a bit of a pain to make entertaining in a written format as opposed to a visual one. I primarily used this arc to gague how I wanna do GMG since I know it's a lot of people's favorite arc. Currently still deciding how I wanna handle it, so we'll see when we get there, but I don't think I'll be doing it the same way. POV shifts are also something I'm working on making smoother as well since it's kinda hard to not have them in a story with a cast this big.
As for your concerns with the Fairy Book, there is a purpose and I vaguely hinted as to why it was so spontaneous in this chapter, but it does also serve a purpose down the line.
The magic limitation mostly stems from the A: me personally not liking the idea of a character just spontaneously learning dozens and dozens of magics since that opens a real rough corner of, "Oh, if this _ is a problem why didn't he just learn _ Magic?" Both sides create their own problems, but I'll take the side I've chosen over the other. And B: I already have a solid plan for what his magic will become. Discounting the obvious stuff for Duel Monsters, Replication magic will be delved into more deeply after this next arc. Everyone has also already seen some examples of what I wanna do with it as well. So I hope it does some justice in your eyes as it becomes more its own thing and not just fun references.
Ss for the whole Chekhov thing, yeah I have some problems with that. Mostly it stems from me either just forgetting to add in a few lines, or me just not having the raw experience in writing things that keep the reader guessing and excited. I definitely hope to improve upon this down the line, so I do thank you for pointing it out.
Also if you liked the first 9 chapters, then you'll probably dig the 3rd major arc which is gonna be long, but has a lot of smaller, more personal stories for bonding between Matt and the cast.
Middernacht: Yeah I'll just nip this bud now, it's an OC. I do have plans for "Pegasus" that we'll see before too long, so look forward to that. As for Mark, I never actually considered doing anything with him at least for pre-canon. Maybe I'll find a way for him to pop up in canon, maybe not. My plans for canon are still in the works right now.
Okay, with that done, on with this absurdly long chapter! Enjoy!
"Ah, see you read it this way instead of reversing it." Matt corrected the young girl he was sitting with at a table.
"Oh! I see it now!" She beamed as she wrote the proper translation down. "Thanks a ton!"
"No problem Levy." He smiled as he stood and walked over to the bar.
The guild had gotten quite a few new faces lately. First off there was Levy who joined about a week after Matt got back from the Tournament. Jet and Droy followed soon after her, both literally and metaphorically as they were certainly fans of hers.
A girl named Evergreen had joined in September along with someone named Bickslow. The former was certainly... unique to say the least. She proclaimed herself Queen of the Fairies. Everyone just kinda went along with it so no debates would happen.
Bickslow meanwhile was certainly a character. His magic unnerved the hell out of Matt from how creepy the idea of it is. But, to his confusion, the man had recently started to avoid Matt rather heavily for some reason. Given their very few interactions ending rather smoothly and without incident, the decision from him perplexed Matt, however he decided it wasn't a problem for now and let it be.
Lastly, just a week ago, a new person joined named Freed Justine. He was thankfully pretty normal and on the calm and cool side, something Matt appreciated amongst the colorful cast of headache-inducers.
Aside from a member spike, there'd been some rather… peculiar developments in Matt's social life. It was hard for him to not be widely recognized at least in Fiore anymore. Though he'd gotten used to waving at some passerbys from being in Magnolia. However, that's not the somewhat unnerving part.
Two weeks ago:
Matt was returning from a recent shopping trip to restock the guild's kitchen once more. A few of his spirits helped him carry the bags which contained enough food to feed a small village for a month.
'Those damn guys eat way too much for their own good.' He internally groaned as he walked down the main street of town, giving nods of acknowledgment to some vendor owners that knew him from years ago.
As he strolled down the street, he noticed a crowd not too far from the guild. A sight he'd actually never even come close to seeing before, even after all the guilds shenanigans and various noise complaints that made the building the isolated structure it was.
"What's going on?" He voiced out loud as he took a closer look at the crowd. One thing stuck out rather plainly: they were all very clearly on the impoverished end of the social spectrum. To his surprise, they were actually the minority of the three social classes in at the very least this country. But as he gazed closer, he clearly saw that these people weren't just from Fiore, they were from all over the damn continent.
To what would eventually become his dread, one of the group noticed him.
"Ah! It's the King!" With that sentence uttered, a stampede followed suit as the teen was swarmed by people. They all either spoke in tongues he flat out didn't understand, broken Pergrandian or perfect Pergrandian.
"Please you have to help my baby!"
"You must help us overthrow the slave drivers!"
"Only you can stop those damn demons!"
"Monsters are-!"
"My family is-!"
"The king must die-!"
They eventually started talking over each other, words devolving into mindless noise as Matt couldn't even raise his voice to be louder than the collective hivemind.
A saving grace came from his spirits though as a blinding light shut the group up and made then cover the organs. When they could see again, they noticed Matt was gone. They desperately looked for the teen in the street.
"There!" One shouted as they all gave chase.
"Wait!"
"Take responsibility!"
"Ungrateful bastard!"
Countless profanities and what he assumed were slurs got chucked at the Illusion set up by Dark Magician.
Matt peered behind the corner to see them all no longer around.
"What. The fuck. Was that?" Plain and evident confusion wrote themselves upon his face.
"That my boy, is the consequence to your kind of Magical fame."
Matt turned to see the familiar Makarov gazing down the street where the people once were. He likely seen the commotion and came out to investigate.
"The hell do you mean by that?" This was certainly new to him.
"Matt, we are the minority in this world. Legal Wizard's are given jobs from both the Council and the general populace. However this system has lead to some… unfortunate side effects." Makarov sighed before continuing. "The first of which, as you just witnessed, were those who simply can't afford, or receive the employment of Wizard's for assistance. Requests must both be approved by the Council and have a reward involved for the scale of the job. So if one or the other can't be met, desperation begins it's consumption."
"So what? They looked to me to solve all their problems because they saw me on a Lacrima screen in an event payed by their tax money?" The teen tried to piece together that mentality.
"On a base level? Most likely. On a deeper level? Well... let's just say no one likes to talk about it." The older man ominously implied.
"Still doesn't justify everything they said at the end there." He scowled in their general direction.
Now that caused Makarov to really get a headache, not at Matt's ignorance to the picture or his understandable distaste towards their attitude, but because that was a can of worms no one liked to open. Especially not when regular people were all around the Wizard's.
"For now, let's just get back to the guild." The old man gestured for Matt and his spirits to follow suit.
The teen kept his gaze locked on where they headed off for a moment.
Just what the hell was going on with this world?
Currently Matt was talking to the familiar small man at their usual discussion spot, he was adjusting the white gloves he'd recently invested in while speaking to the man.
"A shipment?" The teen finally looked Makarov in the eye after getting the gloves just right.
"Correct, I need you to pick up some books I ordered for the Archives." Makarov handed him some papers.
Matt shrugged after a quick glance of the papers, "Seems pretty basic. Why not have someone else do it?"
Instead of replying, Makarov gestured to the guild hall. Where everyone was either drunk, fighting, drunk fighting or unconscious.
"…Fair." Matt sighed as he stood with the papers in hand. "So I just show these to the shopkeeper and that's it?"
"Yup! They're already paid for so don't worry about that."
Matt nodded. "Guess I'm heading out then. I'll be back later." Folding the papers and putting them into the inside pocket of his coat, Matt made his way out.
"Hey Matt! You going on a job?" Natsu asked the teen.
"Nope. Just picking up something for Master." He ruffled Natsu's hair before walking out and to the train station.
As usual, Hargeon was as busy as ever in mid-October. With Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas all coming up, shipment orders for decorations, food and such were massive.
Thankfully the small magic shop Matt was visiting, the only one in town oddly, wasn't quite so busy this time of year. Summer is the real rough time for these stores; as they get rather busy once school gets out for the general populace that love to window shop, along with the Magic Schools in the country that have very eager students. Turns out Fiore actually has one of the lowest amounts of Magic Schools on the continent. Apparently it's due to there being far more villages than Cities. Meaning he council wouldn't waste money on schools only a dew kids would maybe attend. Every major city had one sure, but that wasn't a real substantial number compared to somewhere like Caelum, which had one of the highest.
The door of the shop opened with a bell ring.
"Welcome, how can I help you today sir?" The shopkeeper asked.
Matt took out the papers, "I'm here to pick up an order for Fairy Tail's Master." He handed them to the shopkeeper who quickly looked them over.
"Ah yes, they just arrived from port. Just one moment please, feel free to browse." He smiled and went into the back.
'No thanks, got enough out of those two books as is.' Matt sighed. 'That Fairy Language book is pretty wild too. None of it makes any sense right now, but I got an odd feeling when I showed it to that girl in the crystal that she was very excited to see it. For some reason that also makes me really happy.' A mental sigh made itself apparent on his face. 'So many things still aren't making any sense to me. How the hell did I get here? Who or what sent me here? And why? So amy questions and no answers in sight.' He thought as he leaned on the counter and waited.
"Here you are." The man came out with a stack of five books all wrapped up together neatly with some sturdy string.
"Thanks." Matt grabbed it and made his way out.
"Thank you for your business." The old man said before the door closed.
"Well that was simple." Matt was slightly relived by that as his brisk walk to the station continued.
However all said relief was chucked out a window as he passed by a girl with a despaired look on her face. She was sitting on a park bench all alone in a yellow skirt, brown top and yellow shoes.
'Don't do it Matt. It's not your problem. It'll solve itself. You can't do this every time you see these kinds of things.' He adamantly thought as his role wasnt to help everyone.
Unfortunately, the teen gave one more glance at the girl and what he saw shook his entire being to its core.
There was no longer a little girl sitting at a bench.
In her place was another depressed teenage girl going through her blatant phase with dyed hair, black clothing and lots of… well black everything.
She sniffled as she rubbed her nose yet again. Young heartbreak strikes the young girl's heart for the first time, and she just didn't know how to handle it. She didn't know who to talk to, how to talk about it or even if she should talk about it. A nasty spiral of negativity that was eating her up.
That was until an older teen sat next to her.
This 17 year-old with short light brown hair that would make most people think of milk chocolate got in a rather comfortable position as he licked an ice cream cone.
Matt knew this man well, as they were one in the same. However something was… different. If he compared the looks each of their eyes held, the old him had much more control of himself. Like his emotions had been tamed and were fully under his jurisdiction. Nowadays though? It felt like everything flip-flopped and remained stuck on senseless things.
"So, how'd he do it?" The teen inquired to the girl.
"... Text Message." She bluntly responded.
In response the boy let out a hiss of pain, he knew that kind of feeling a bit too well himself.
The girl look up at the boy with a slight scowl.
"What the hell is that on your face?" Her anger rose as she saw the decoration on her brother's face.
"What? Do I have a spider?! Get it off!" He feigned ignorance to her growing annoyance.
"I mean those stupid glasses with that dumb big nose and mustache!"
"Ah." He nodded and removed the Groucho glasses, "I'll have you know these are the pinnacle of high-brow comedy, but I don't expect someone that finds no amusement from Christian Bale blowing his gasket on set to understand."
Knowing she'd never get an inch, the girl shifted the conversation to the other thing her annoying older brother had with him.
"What? Didn't get me one too?" She dryly chided him as he enjoyed the ice cream.
"Don't you give me that fake sass, you're lactose intolerant." He took a lick of the vanilla, "But you're also the type that doesn't eat anything processed, because you believe "The Man" puts bad stuff in them." The boy returned with his own jab.
"…They do though." She pouted and looked away from the teen.
"Yeah, yeah, and Fall Out Boy will get back together." He rolled his eyes.
"THEY WILL DAMNIT!" She yelled at the boy who lazily plugged an ear with his pinkie.
With the girl thoroughly occupied with his nonsense, the older teen changed the subject to what he was actually there for.
"Look, relationships with boys and girls are but temporary things, but you know what's eternal?" he reached into his pocket. "Watching how a bunch of idiots waste millions of dollars on a bad horror film." He widely grinned as he held a pair of tickets in his hand. "I hear Grudge 3 has a ton of bad gore effects and plenty of awful acting. You in?"
The girl looked at the tickets in surprise for a moment. "Sure I guess." She looked away, not daring to make eye contact as her face morphed into a faint smile, the pieces of her brothers actions falling into place.
"Well c'mon then," he stood. "We gotta get some candy from the dollar store first to hide in all those useless pockets of yours."
The girl decked his leg, eliciting a yelp from him. "They're fashion damnit."
He rubbed the spot she hit with a cheeky grin, "Alright, geez, let's just get going already."
She stood and followed the older boy closely.
"Hey Matt." She barely muttered.
"Hm?" He responded while looking ahead.
"Thanks."
The younger sibling half-hugged him as they continued walking, any thoughts of breakups overwritten by bad movies.
"Any time Little Sis."
Matt bit his lip and dug his nails into his hand and drew blood, using every single ounce of willpower to keep himself from losing it in the middle of the street.
'Goddamnit… why?! Why am I remembering this now?!' He roared at the mind that dared to bring up his old life in that manner.
The vestige of the sister he missed so dearly was gone now, and in her place was the familiar girl who was still just as lost and sad.
Was this the universe telling him to help her? Was that sliver of his own mind demanding he give back to the world that part of him still desires to abandon? No… he refused to believe such a ridiculous notion. It was impossible for such a minute thing to have such a strong hold of his mind… right?
After standing there for what must've been a good bit, sifting through the maelstorm of his mind, Matt finally decided on what to do next after a sigh escaped his lips.
"Hello there little lady, what's wrong?" He squatted and asked her gently.
"I... can't find my mama." She said with evident depression.
'Well at least it doesn't involve a Dark Guild.' Matt mentally sighed in relief.
"Well when did you last see her?" He inquired.
"A few months ago." She recalled while fighting off the tears.
And immediately that relief he felt was horribly murdered via firing squad in his mind.
Matt stood and scratched his head before sighing, knowing what he needed to do next.
"Stay here okay?"
The girl didn't even respond as Matt went back to the shop.
"Oh? Is something wrong?" The owner asked.
"No, I just need to know if you have some paper and a pen I can borrow." He placed the books on the counter.
"Of course." The old man reached under the desk and pulled out the requested items.
Matt quickly wrote something on it and returned the pen.
"Thanks a ton for this." The teen slid the paper under the cover of the first book. The corner of it stuck out so it could be easily noticed.
"Of course sir, come back any time."
Matt exited the building and noticed the girl was still there. He pulled out Winged Kuriboh.
"Kuri!"
"Take this back to Master at the Guild for me." He handed them to the flying fuzzball.
"Kuri!" It nodded before flying off.
Matt saw it off before sighing and slapping his face with both hands.
"Alright then, time to deal with a missing parent for once."
Matt approached the girl once more.
"Do you know where your Mama was when she was here?" At the girls head shake, he racked his brain for other options.
"What's your mama's name?"
"Grammi." She barely muttered.
'Okay that's good. A name does a lot for looking for someone.' He went through the mental paces.
"What does she look like?"
"She looks like... an older me." The girl began to sniffle thinking about her missing mother.
'Alright, green hair is pretty distinct.'
"Is your mama a mage?"
A nod was all he got in response which immediately made some nervous tension leave his body.
'Well that fact just made this much easier, I have a good idea where to go now.' He mentally let out a sigh of relief at the much easier job on his hands now.
"C'mon, I think I know where we can look for your mama." He extended his hand out to the girl.
"Re-really?" She looked up at him, the faint glimmer of hope returning to her eyes.
"Yup! I'm a pretty resourceful guy, so I know we'll find her!" He smiled widely at the girl. "I'm Matthew by the way. But everyone calls me Matt. What's your name?"
The girl took his hand without much hesitation. "Brandish Mu."
"Well then Brandish, let's go find your mama." He spoke warmly to her.
"Okay!" She happily smiled.
The pair walked off to the Rune Knight station in town.
"Here you go sir." The man handed Matt a folder.
After Matt had presented his Guild Stamp and told the man what happened, he quickly went to find any recent documentation related to her. In the meantime, Brandish was occupying herself with some toys they had.
'Let's see here. Independent Mage. Early 30s. Celestial Wizard. Ah! Affiliations: Heartfilia Family. Huh. Well that certainly speeds this up.' Thankful that the universe seemed to be going easy on him for once, he handed the document back to the man.
"Thank you, I got a good idea where to go next." He smiled at the older man.
"Oh it's no trouble. I just hope that girl is reunited with her mother." He spoke with clear pity.
"Don't worry, I'm on the case y'know." The teen pointed to himself with a grin.
"Yes, I suppose the King would have no issues with this eh?" He smiled cheekily at the teen to his dismay.
"Please don't use that nickname." Matt groaned as be approached Brandish. "Let's go, I think I found some people that know your mama."
Brandish smiled and walked out with him. They made their way to the train station where Matt got them tickets. The Heartfilia manor was not far at all from the main rail line in the country, so the job will probably get done by the end of the day... he hoped.
"Are you a Mage?" Brandish asked curiously as the train made its way to their destination.
"Mm-hm. I'm part of Fairy Tail." Matt showed her his Guild Stamp.
"Oooo. What magic do you use?" Her child-like curiousity was front-and-center.
Matt pulled out a card and summoned Kuriboh. Sure it wasn't his only magic, but gling into the intricacies about replication magic is not exactly an entertaining topic.
Brandish's face lit up like a light as she looked at the monster.
"So cute!" She hugged the fuzz ball, nuzzling it with a wide smile to the surprise of Matt and Kuriboh.
"I guess my magic is kinda like your mom's. These cards let me summon the Spirit associated with them." Matt explained simply as the girl froze like a statue.
"Do… you have any mean fish ladies?" Brandish asked, practically petrified.
"Uhhh. No." Matt tilted his head and a raised a brow.
The tension visibly left the girl's body as quick as it had come. Her cuddling of the creature in her arms continuing.
"So where are you from Brandish?" He tried to strike conversation.
"I'm from across the ocean." She simply said.
"As in from Caelum?"
She shook her head. "I've never heard of that place."
Matt pondered for a moment as he recalled something he'd overheard from one of the traders in Magnolia. "Are you from the Western Continent?"
She thought about his wording for a second and then nodded.
"Wow, that place ain't really talked about a lot around here. What's it like?" Now the teen was genuinely interested.
The girl shrugged, "It's nothing special, the person who us supposed to live in that huge castle isn't ever there is what my mama told me."
'A country without the king present? That's certainly odd.'
"There's a lot of desert. I don't like the desert." She pouted, her face half-visible above the Kuriboh she still hugged.
"Oh? Do you get allergies?" He took a vague guess.
She nodded causing Matt to chuckle. This current body of his did not fortunately possess the same allergies his old one did, so he'd forgotten all about hay fever.
"Yeah the desert ain't fun. We don't have one around here. It's all mostly big forests, mountains, snow and the ocean in Fiore." He recalled the various landscapes he'd seen over the years.
"That sounds nice." She thought about his words, trying to visualize them.
"Yeah, though it gets pretty cold in parts of Fiore since it's right by the water." Matt remembers his first winter here being particularly brutal. Gray took to it like a fish in water. Kagura, Cama and Erza all handled it okay. Matt worried for Natsu a bit though since the season was right around the corner.
"So what's your-" Matt went to ask, but he saw the girl had fallen asleep. He smiled at the rather innocent sight. Kuriboh certainly didn't mind being her pillow, bless the little guys bleeding heart and ridiculously deep voice. That still threw Matt off from time to time. It was like if Morgan Freeman and Sam Elliot had a vocal love child.
As he and Brandish rode the train, a figure atop the vehicle glanced down at where they were, primal fury on the cusp of being unleashed, but now was not the time. To the man's relief however, the time would soon come to complete his revenge for Layla Heartfilia.
Brandish yawned as Matt picked her up and carried her piggyback after they exited the train. She'd practically gotten no sleep ever since coming here to find her Mama. The girl honestly had no idea what she was gonna do if Matt hadn't shown up.
She still softly slept on his back, his heartbeat soothing her. It reminded her of whenever her Mama came home late and she'd tried to stay up late to welcome her home. She'd be half-asleep and her Mama would carry her to her bed just like this. By the time her Mama got her to her room, she'd already be out like a light thanks to her heartbeat.
Matt didn't wanna wake up Brandish as they entered the insanely massive property of the Heartfilia family. Thankfully he didn't have to walk for a long time before he came across a maid, exiting what he assumed was a supply shed.
"Excuse me ma'am." He approached her.
"Oh, may I help you?"
"I'm looking for someone named Grammi. She's a Independent Celestial Spirt Mage with an association here."
The maid racked her brain momentarily before frowning.
"I'm sorry sir, but the person who could best tell you about matters like that is Mrs. Heartfilia, and…" She suddenly stopped as a lump in her throat formed.
"Is something wrong?" He tilted his head.
"Mrs. Heartfilia passed away a month ago."
"Oh." He teen stood there, surprised by that blunt truth, "My sincerest apologies for bringing up bad memories then." Matt bowed his head in apology.
"Oh no no, I should apologize for bringing it up, it's not what you needed to hear." She waved her hands. "Unfortunately outside of that, I'm afraid I, nor anyone else here, can help you."
"Do you at least know when she was last here?" If he could at least get a rough timeline, then he could maybe trace her steps.
"Well if the person you're looking for is that girls mother, than someone resembling her came around about three weeks after Mrs. Heartfilia fell ill. After that, she left as quick as she came."
"I see..." 'Take off time for the boat ride from the Western Continent to here and that adds up.' Matt sighed. "Thank you for your help anyways." He bowed once more before leaving.
'It doesn't make sense then. If she stopped by and left in a hurry then why didn't she return home?' Matt paused and stopped moving. Based on how Brandish is, she clearly loved her daughter, that means either something else came up, which he doubted since all signs pointed to this place being her primary stop. 'Unless…' His eyes widened as the truth finally dawned upon him. Grammi wasn't missing, she was dead.
A rustle in the trees by Matt drew him from that thought. His gut screamed at him to jump away, so he did, just in the nick of time as a figure divekicked the spot he was formerly at.
A goat man wearing a suit was standing atop the broken ground where Matt and Brandish had been.
"Who are you?" He asked placing himself more prominently in front of the sleeping Brandish.
"I'm here for the girl. Hand her over or die." His tone dripped with malice as Matt could physically feel the bloodlust coming from the thing in front of him. Thankfully, fighting Serena had made him immune to such an intimidation.
"How about you answer my questions first Goat Boy." Matt retaliated without fear.
"Silence! Hand her over! I must also rid the world of the spawn of the woman who killed Layla Heartfilia!" The man did a full 180 in his tone as he roared at the teen.
Matt eyes widened at that information. He then remained silent while he walked over to a nearby tree and placed Brandish down against it. His face covered in shadow and his back to the murderer behind him.
"Good. I'm glad you see it-" As the goat man approached, Matt had spontaneously moved from where the girl was to him and delivered a punch with enough force to send him crashing through numerous trees, the bottoms of the teens feet and the inside of his glove glowing the entire time.
The Fundamental Rune for Force was carved into the soles of his shoes, allowing for a colossal short-distance speed boost that allowed him to quickly catch opponents off-guard. Meanwhile the Fundamental Rune for hardening was on the inside of the glove, making the material to be like steel.
Matt fixed his stance and summoned Dark Magician. "Guard her while I take out the trash." He didn't even see if his loyal partner responded as he marched into the forest to finish what he had started. Not even a shred of mercy or sympathy was present in his gaze as he continued through the forest, shattered trees guiding him.
The Magician watched his Master disappear into the treeline before directing his attention to the girl behind him.
"You can stop faking that now." He spoke without averting his gaze.
Brandish slowly stood up, having been awake since arriving at the Heartfilia property. The girl remained silent as she gazed in the direction Matt and her mother's murder went. After a moment, she began to follow them, her trek stopped by Dark Magician's staff blocking her path.
"And what are you planning to do?" He asked the girl.
"… Please." One word was all she could muster up as a response.
"Please, what?"
"I… I need to know." She clenched her small fists in frustration.
"What do you need to know that you haven't already been told?"
"I need to know why. Why? Why did he kill my mama?" A typhoon of emotions and thoughts tore the girl's mind asunder. "Please, I deserve to know." She pleaded with the spirit.
"…" He gazed at her for a moment before sighing.
When Matt got to the bastard, he was barely staying up on all fours, coughing up blood rather violently.
"So, you killed her mother did you?" Matt asked, just to confirm what he heard from this thing was correct.
"Of course I did! Because that bitch wasn't there, Layla got sick and died!" The monster didn't even attempt to butter up the situation to try and sway Matt to have mercy.
"So, you're blaming her illness on someone's absence and feel the need to not only kill her, but her innocent daughter too?" Matt wanted to make absolutely sure there was no need to show even the faintest idea of mercy or courtesy.
"Naturally-" Matt kicked him in the face before he could finish, pure rage seeped from him. The man twisted midair and launched himself from a tree in retaliation, blood cascading from his nose.
"Bastard!" He went for an attack, but Matt had again vanished. By the time he realized the teen was a fair distance away with his bow drawn, it was too late for him to do anything.
The arrow smashed into the goat man, audibly breaking bone. He collided against a nearby rock wall hard, leaving an indentation in it. As Matt approached to finish the job, something unexpected happen.
"Kill me!" The man suddenly shouted in not only a different tone, but even the feeling he gave off was different. This caused Matt to stop in his tracks cautiously.
"What?" Matt was genuinely dumbfounded as he couldn't tell if this was the single greatest ploy in history, or something was very wrong.
"I'm not who you think I am." He clutched at his head in clear pain. "I am a Celestial Spirit being possessed by a madman!"
'That certainly explains the look.' He scowled at the Spirit.
"Please kill me before he makes me do something I'll regret forever!" Capricorn begged the teen to end him.
"How would you die though? Won't you return to the Spirit World?" He vaguely recalled how Celestial Spirit magic worked.
"No!" He groaned in pain. "Because of the possession, my spirit cannot return to the Spirit World. He broke a taboo, but he's never been pushed this far so his hold weakened momentarily. Now kill me I beg you!" Just as he finished pleading for death, the other personality took hold.
'Shit. Well now this just even more complicated.' Matt clicked his tongue. 'I can't kill this asshole now since he's possessing that damn Spirit. More importantly: if he uses Possessin Magic, then close range is a bad idea. I got my test drive out for those new combat runes anyways. Best course of action for now is to disable him temporarily and figure out something more long-term later.'
Matt prepared his bow for another attack when he heard sniffles from behind him. Brandish had been there the entire time. Dark Magician was by her side with a guilty expression on his face.
"Get the hell out of here! You're both vulnerable to his magic!" He fired an arrow at the Goat who dodged and leapt into the forest, out of his sight. "Come on!" He recalled Dark Magician and carried Brandish in his arms as he ran.
"Is what he said true? Did the person controlling that goat kill my mama because of some woman?" The poor girl was barely hanging on to not ugly crying at this point, the full truth having been laid out to her.
'This is bad. If she starts wailing, that bastard will find us. I gotta get us out of here!' Matt's mind raced as he tried to figure out his next course of action.
He didn't get a chance to respond as a group of Knights began to chase the two. Matt gripped one of his new swords in his free hand, a fairly slim blade with no guard and black handle that was incredibly lightweight.
He kicked off one tree and decapitated one Knight with a midair twist, stabbing the blade into the headless torso afterwards. Immediately landing and impaling another with another copy of that sword as he ditched said blade in the creature and continued running.
The teen began to throw and impale the Knights that gave chase into the trees and ground, immobilizing them for the time being.
Seeing a duo of knights with axes blocking his path, Matt instead sped up as the duo swung the oversized weapons. Holding Brandish as close as possible and free forming a duo of blades midair, he perfectly passed between the swings and kicked the free falling blades into the Knights as he rolled into a continued sprint.
Matt once more summoned that same sword from earlier as he heard the trees to his right rustle, the familiar murder launching himself at the duo with a group of his Knights.
"Die!" The Goat dived right at them.
Stuffing as many of the slim swords between his fingers as he could, Matt kicked off a tree and dodged the Goat midair. All the while, with impressive precision, he stabbed each knight with the quickly lightening cluster of metal weapons that populated his free hand.
All of this occured in the span of mere seconds, more than enough time for the Celestial Spirit body Zoldeo possessed to recover and launch another attack while Matt was still in the air.
Matt threw the final sword in his hand at the man, which he easily dodged, but didn't notice the vague smirk upon Matt's face in his murderous glee. The Goat's cocky smile soon turned into confusion as he suddenly fell to the ground, all momentum spontaneously lost on top of the fact he couldn't move even the smallest muscle.
"Wh-wha?" He tried to move, but found himself barely able to even talk. The knights which had been impaled had all also stopped moving as well, mirroring his movements perfectly.
Matt didn't even respond or capitalize on this chance as he continued to run away from the goat, his goal achieved for the time being.
"I WILL FIND YOU!!!" He roared with unbridled rage at the two.
'Thank you Fundamental Runes.' The teen thanked the first combination rune he'd learned. By taking the runes for binding and shadow and tinkering with the manner they'd combine, Matt effectively created a rune that could bind a target as long as the binding agent, in this case those light and easily throwable swords, was in their shadow.
After escaping, Matt just kept running and running, not stopping until they were somehow two towns over. On the outskirts of the nearby town, he finally stopped and placed the girl down. He breathed pretty heavily as she just stood there, silent.
"Why?" She asked.
"..." Matt didn't respond.
"Why didn't you kill him!!" Tears rolled down her cheeks. Matt couldn't tell if they were tears of sorrow, or tears of frustration. Either one being justifiable in this situation.
"I couldn't do it without killing the Spirit he's possessing. Innocent people don't deserve something as rough as death." He explained rather plainly.
"I DON'T CARE!!!" She roared so loudly he could tell her throat was in pain.
He stared at the mess of a girl at him for a moment before responding.
"Would you be able to live with it?" He bluntly asked.
"Live with what?"
"Knowing that you did something your mother would never want you to. Spilling blood for her when she would've wanted you to live in peace."
"Shut up!! You don't know me or my mama!!"
"You're right, I don't." He nodded at her words.
Brandish looked confused by the lack of his rebuttal.
"But I know what it's like to loose people you love. I must've been half your age when it happened to me. Waking up by myself in the middle of the woods. No idea where I was or what happened. My family was gone. My home was gone. Everything I ever knew and loved was gone. Like that." He snapped his fingers. "At first I was confused. "Why did this happen to me?" Then, I was angry. "Who did this to me?" Next, I was scared. "I wanna go home." Lastly, I was sad. "I miss my family." So many questions and feelings raced through my head I could hardly believe it. Nothing made any sense at all anymore." Nothing had made any sense back then to Matt. Hell, some things still don't make any sense, but at least his bearings had been caught.
"Did you ever find your family?" She asked between sniffles.
"...Nope." He bluntly admitted before bitterly sighing, "And I don't think I ever will." Matt sadly admitted.
"How do you live with it then?!" She less demanded an answer from him, and moreso begged for one. "How do you go on being all alone?!"
"All alone eh?" Those words rang true to a more pessimistic side of Matt, but that was something a little girl didn't need to see. "Well, having a group of people that look out for me when I'm down certainly helps. It's amazing what having some people that'll pick you up whenever you fall can do." He smiled at the girl. "Do you want that too?"
Brandish didn't respond as she quickly latched onto him and poured out her grief. He held her close, letting her know he wasn't going to be letting go.
'This rain... I'm getting sick of it.' A seed, long dormant in Matthew Atlas sprouted that day. One that would grow into a fierce anger towards those who would enact their malice upon innocents for their own devices.
Once the girl's floodgates dried, he stood and extended his hand as she wiped her wet eyes.
"C'mon then, let's go."
"Where?"
"Home." He smiled as she took his hand and they made their way back to Magnolia under the beautiful sunset.
"Damnit! Damnit!! DAMNIT!!! When I find that bastard I'll kill him!" Zoldeo roared in fury as he was still stuck after hours a d hours. Nothing he did worked. He tried every possible route and nothing worked. Magic, physical power, waiting, it all failed!
"I see you're in a bind."
The body snatcher could barely move his eyes in order to see an old man in robes standing nearby.
"Who are you?" He growled.
"Someone that can free you and give you what you want, if you assist me that is." He spoke ominously.
A mere second of hesitation passed before he nodded, making his deal with the devil.
The old man walked over and broke the sword impaled into his shadow, causing it to dissipate into Ethernano and return to the planet.
"Binding via shadow eh? Clever." He praised the work of whoever did this. Naturally he needed no such tricks, but a Mage can admire the cunning of another Mage regardless of power or standing.
"Who are you?" The Goat asked as he stood and moved his sore limbs.
"I am Hades, master of Grimoire Heart."
"I'm back!" Matt lazily kicked open the doors to the guild the next day. A series of cheers and greetings came from his guild mates as he strolled across the building, Brandish in tow.
"Looks like Mama Duck added another to the flock." A snide remark came from one of his guild mates as they took notice of the girl latched to his side.
'I swear those guys are lucky I don't hit them… more than I do these days.' What? It wasn't his fault they'd been pretty annoying lately with the whole "King" shtick and how the young teen was oddly popular amongst older women. And by "older women" the teen meant 30-somethings. It seems as though the preconception of the whole "Christmas Cake" thing was around in Ishgar. Matt never understood that in his old life and he still doesn't these days.
"Yo, Master." He greeted the older man at the bar casually.
"Ah, good to see you're back Matthew." He glanced at the younger girl and gave a look to Matt, wordlessly inquiring about the note he left in the book.
The teen subtly moved a hand up by his throat and swung his thumb across it.
Makarov understood the gesture with a sad nod before directing his attention to Brandish.
"Well young lady, can you tell me your name?" He smiled at the girl who nervously hid behind Matt.
"Brandish Mu."
"Well Brandish, do you happen to know any magic?" He inquired.
"Ah, I don't think she-" Matt went to respond, but was cut off by himself as he blinked awkwardly at the sight before his eyes. "Well that's uh… new."
"Hm? What is it?" The old man seemed genuinely confused by some odd looks coming his way.
"Ah! There you are Matt!" Natsu excitedly yelled as he rushed at the teen before stopping with his mouth agape at the sight before him. "GRAMPS! HOW ARE YOU GONNA DRINK OUT OF THAT?!"
Natsu pointed the the mug of alcohol next to the man that went up to the second floor in terms of its size.
"HUH?!" The old man had wondered why he couldn't lift the mug just a moment ago.
"That's some pretty impressive Magic." Matt marveled at the sight as Brandish sheepishly avoided looking at him.
Makarov however, saw different potential.
"I can have all the booze I want with this-" The old man was cut off by Matt smacking the back of his head with a paper fan.
"Don't exploit your mages for cheap alcohol." He chided the older man.
"I'm sowwy." He muttered with his head in the wood.
Afterwards the whole joining process went smoothly for the girl. She'd received her green guild stamp on her right forearm. She gazed at the stamp as she sat at a lone table, needing some alone time after the events of yesterday. Unfortunately for her, another girl wasn't so willing to let her be alone.
"Hi there!" Kagura smiled at the girl who was suddenly broken from her train of thought. "I'm Kagura Mikazuchi! What's your name?"
The greenette was stunned by the forward attitude of the girl for a bit before answering.
"Brandish Mu." She plainly responded.
"Oh! So you're the person Big Brother brought back!" She smiled as she realized who the girl in front of her was. "That means you and I are like sisters!" The parallel caused the greenette to spit take.
"H-Hold on a minute! Just because Matt brought us both to the guild doesn't mean anything like that!"
"Hm? Why not?"
Brandish couldn't tell if she was being brutally honest or being cheeky.
"Well the reasoning is simple, just because Big Brother-" She immediately realized what she'd done after saying that as the point-of-no-return had been crossed. Especially from nosy onlookers of the guild paying close attention and never letting such slip ups go.
Brandish had permanently locked herself in the same camp as the girl in front of her.
Outwardly she naturally tried to object and only conceded after enough time and puppy dog eyes. On the inside however? She didn't mind it whatsoever. In fact you could even say she enjoyed the idea. Being an only child, Brandish always wanted siblings, but since her father died before her birth, that option was never on the table.
The young girl was… happy. She had found a home and a family once again.
September came and went to give birth to a favorite holiday amongst the guild: Halloween. Apparently the origins of the holiday were pretty similar to how they were back in Matt's world, just replace Gaelic countries with Caelum and you're basically good to go.
With all the kids and teens in the guild now, dressing up and candy became a much larger role compared to Matt's early years where it was only partying with some spooky flair. It was kinda dull to the teen if he was being honest.
"Boo!" Natsu tried to scare some of the slightly tipsy older members of the guild to no avail. He was dressed up as a big bat, though he just called it a "hairy dragon". No one bothered questioning the logic as it was Natsu.
"Heh, looks like eraser head over there can't scare anyone." Gray shook his head with a smirk as he dressed up like an eskimo.
"You wanna say that again fish breath?!" The boy immediately took to starting a fight.
The duo continued the usual antics before they were stopped by a barely-mobile knight, back handing the both of them to the floor.
"Mrph frmem im pah gil." This person was also incapable of moving the face guard of the helmet to make their words more audible.
Natsu and Grey didn't even respond as they'd actually been smashed by real metal armor and were unconscious.
Macao and Wakaba dressed as a Werewolf and Frankenstein's Monster respectively sighed at the sight.
"Erza can't even move her arms enough to take off the helmet." The bluenette scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"Eh it's fine, Matt'll help her if she needs it."
"Speaking of Matt, where is he?" He looked around the guild for the teen, not seeing him anywhere.
The duo approached the bar where a prop Mummy had been stationed there. Likely as a joke by Matt or Master to make people blend their own booze tonight. Master was unfortunately handling some council business and couldn't party for the time being.
"Man this Mummy is really good for a prop." The smoker looked at the still thing, leaning against the counter with its head down.
They both sat down for a moment.
"What're you buyin?" It spoke with glowing red eyes at the duo.
""KYAHHHH!!"" The duo cried in terror as they hugged themselves and fell to the floor.
"AHAHAHAHA!!!" The mummy cackled as it pounded its fist on the counter and held its belly.
"M-Matt?!" Macao cried out, recognizing that voice.
"You want him you got him, what's up?" He moved the bandages a bit to reveal his eyes and mouth, still twisted into a grin.
"How the hell did you do that?!" Wakaba cried out as he desperately tried to recall if he swallowed a cigarette or not.
"Patience my friend. Lots and lots of patience." The teen sagely nodded at them.
As the trio continued speaking, Brandish sat off to the side, not opting to dress up as she found that idea rather dull. However her prudent snacking on sweets was a definite contrast to her dismissal of the holiday.
"Does her not dressing up but eating the candy make her more mature than us, or less mature?" Cana pondered while dressed up like a cowgirl.
"Eheheh, I couldn't say." Kagura awkwardly chuckled while dressed up like a princess.
Freed, dressed up like a vampire, sat at a table with Bickslow. The older teen's idea of a costume being a paper bag over his head.
"It seems as though everyone is enjoying themselves, I didn't expect the guild to get so lively though outside of new member parties." Freed looked around with a faint smile.
"Well I'd be surprised if they didn't. Rumor has it these guys have partied through some wild things."
""Wild things!"" His babies emphasized from behind him.
"Yo, Freed! Bickslow! You two want anything to drink?!" Matt shouted at them from the bar.
"No I'm fine, thank you though!" The former politely declined.
"Pass." Bickslow looked the other way from Matt.
This didn't go unnoticed to the other teen with him.
"I've been wondering about that, why do you avoid Matt? Did he say or do something to offend you?"
Bickslow sighed as he knew the question would eventually come up.
"No, it's nothin' like that. I don't have anything against him, hell I even kinda like him." He admitted to Freed's confusion.
"Then I don't understand."
"He just… creeps me out." The bluenette bitterly admitted.
"How so?" Matt being creepy? That was news to Freed.
"Look, my eye magic lets me see people's souls. So whenever I get bored, I look at them to see what they're like for everyone. Young people got lively souls bursting with energy and older people have calmer souls." He explained to the greenette.
"But, I took a glance at Matt's soul a while back and what I saw was…" He shuddered as a chill went up his spine.
"What did you see?" Freed was genuinely captivated by the story.
"His body is about your age, but his soul? That thing puts the old man's to shame in terms of age. It was practically motionless, like a statue."
"What? But how is that possible?"
"I dunno man, but it's gotta be at least five times as old as Master's."
The pair remained silent as they wondered just who or what Matt was.
The night proceeded as normal after this until the closing hours came and someone had come to a "brilliant" revelation.
"Natsu! Get down here with all the candy!" Erza yelled at the boy, her helmet off after reluctant assistantance from Matt.
"Nope! A Dragon must have his hoard!" Natsu was currently sitting on the rafters of the building with a big bag of candy that was meant to be distributed to the younger members.
"I'll get him down!" Gray was about to use his magic, most likely to massive property damage costs.
"No need." Matt spoke as he walked over with a chair in-hand.
"Bwahahaha! Nothing will take this candy from me-" Natsu was stopped mid-speech by a chair smashing into his head with scary precision. He then fell to the ground and left a Natsu-sized hole in the floor.
Matt easily caught the candy and handed it to Erza as they all stared at the property damage.
"…Welp, I'm gonna punch my card and call it a night." He started to walk to his room.
"DON'T JUST AVOID DOING WORK!" Makarov shouted at him from upstairs, having heard the commotion.
After a long debate, it was decided Natsu would fix the hole as long as Matt told him how to do it. Granted, there were many bruised thumbs as Natsu's hand-eye was not the best. Many nails, hammers and boards were harmed in the fixing if that hole.
And thus concluded another Halloween for the guild.
The next holiday the guild celebrated was Thanksgiving. The origins of this mostly date back to early Pergrandian's and what would eventually become Dragnof making peace and sharing their culture. Nothing spectacular, but sometimes the simple meanings had the most importance.
Matt wasn't the biggest fan of this holiday in particular as it meant he, as the only decent cook, had to make enough food to feed an entire guild and a Natsu. Needless to say, he didn't stop cooking for over 18 hours.
The only help he received was from Erza and Kagura who helped chop up ingredients. Other members carried ready food to the massive makeshift table in the guild. Brandish had enlarged a napkin to act as their tablecloth.
"Is this the last of it?" Gray asked Matt as he pulled out the last of a dozen turkeys he'd made from the oven.
"Yup." Matt's hollow eyes bored holes into the accursed bird he never wished to see again.
"R-right then, I'll let them know you're just about ready." The younger boy desperately wished to avoid Matt as he pulled out a knife.
"Yes. You do that." A murderous smile came over his face as he carved into the dead bird ferociously, relieving some of the latent stress.
After a few, glorious, bird murdering minutes, Matt exited the kitchen with the last of the food and placed it on the table. He requipped away the apron and took a seat near the head of the table to Makarov's right.
The old man cleared his throat, "Firstly I'd like to thank everyone who decided to spend today with all of us. I know how hard it can be for some of you to be away from family, but I appreciate that you're willing to give this family some time as well. Secondly, I'd like everyone to give thanks to our wonderful Chef, Matthew for spending so much time to make sure all of this food would be ready for us."
Some words of thanks were given to the teen as Erza had to physically hold Natsu back from diving into the food, stars flying around his eyes as he stared at the feast.
Makarov chuckled at the sight, "Well then, let's not wait any longer and dig in-" He was cut off from the door suddenly opening.
At the door was a teen with green pants, a long sleeved black undershirt with a short sleeved yellow over shirt. His blonde hair was cut short and a distinct lightning bolt scar draped the right side of his face.
"Laxus?" Makarov seemed genuinely surprised his grandson would be here, let alone when Matt was.
The two teen's made eye contact as Makarov legitimately thought he'd have to break up a nasty fight.
Matt waved at the teen, "Yo, good to see ya. You're just in time, we were about to start eating, so grab a seat."
Laxus stared at him for a moment before pocketing his hands and taking a seat across from Matt at the table, already starting to dig in.
To say Makarov was shocked would he an understatement. He never thought he'd see these two in the same room again, let alone getting along just fine.
"U-Uh, yes, everyone dig in to the food!" He absentmindedly remembered to speak as everyone else started to devour the food in front of them.
The rest of the day went without incident. Laxus left after he was done eating and didn't say a thing. A few members stuck around to help on clean up and Matt also went to bed without even feeling the need to speak about the blonde.
In fact after that, Laxus had begun to stick around more often when Matt was present. Makarov couldn't believe his Grandson was so… mellow. He'd been gone for a few months on a job not long before the Tournament, so Makarov expected the worst when he returned. So seeing his Grandson whose temper was akin to his own back in the old days be so collected was oddly concerning. Makarov was thinking about asking Freed, who had a similar calm personality to Matt, stick around Laxus and keep an eye on him.
As for Laxus and Matt? Well the two coexisted together. They just never talked. Matt was fine with that honestly. He was just glad the older teen had maybe grown past what happened all those years ago now. But only time will tell if this was all for another purpose or not.
Christmas was certainly unique this year. Because of the massive influx of younger members, Makarov thought it'd be a great idea if someone was a Secret Santa. Unfortunately Macao and Wakaba refused along with most of the other male members over 18, Reedus left to visit some family in the north, Laxus wasn't an option and Makarov complained about his back. Which left only one option.
"Why do I get all the dirty jobs." Matt groaned as he crawled in the rafters of Fairy Hills. First, he needed to deliver the presents to all the girls, then go to each of the guys houses and deliver their presents. All in the span of eight friggin' hours. Matt will never question the work Santa puts in ever again.
Matt pulled out a piece of paper. "Okay so all the girls on the first two floors are down and the west hall is done, so that just leaves… Erza."
He crawled through the rafters and opened a secret hatch in the ceiling. What? He could have things in here others didn't need to know about. He always wanted to be a ninja anyways when he was a kid.
He dropped to the ground without making a sound. The redhead was sound asleep based on her breathing. Matt quickly pulled out her present with Requip and quietly placed it on her desk.
"No, don't go." Matt froze when he heard the girl speak. Thankfully, she was sleep talking if her closed eyes were any indication.
"Please, don't leave me." Matt looked at her with sorrowful eyes. She must've been having a nightmare.
The redhead kicked the sheets lower as she moved around harshly. Matt softly approached her once it had died down and tucked her in once more and kissed her forehead.
"Sleep well." He softly whispered to her and then left. If he had stayed, he would've seen her face turn into a smile as her nightmare ended.
"Haaa." Matt yawned as he opened up the guild. Overall he got about two hours of sleep and it showed... okay in his body language, not his face. The smell of the giant pine tree Master had placed there with his magic somewhat helped to stir him. It was decorated with lights, ornaments, including little ornaments with each of the Guild Members names on them.
"Merry Christmas Matt!" Makarov cheerfully spoke as he entered.
"Merry Christmas Master." He responded after taking a swig of coffee. The teen needed the caffeine if he was gonna cook today too.
"So how'd it go?" He asked as he took a seat on the bar.
"It went. Finished it with two hours left." Having Makarov give him the address list certainly made the process easier. Thank god he'd learned the street names to the city a couple years ago, otherwise it would've been ten times harder.
Thankfully money still wasn't an issue. After his whole King of Games naming, he'd been approached by a few companies for sponsorship. Drinking their things, wearing some of their clothes using their playing cards, board games etc, had earned him a very pretty penny.
"Big Brother! Look what Santa got for me!" Kagura ran in as she held up a Katana and Wakazashi. They had a white sheath, red handle, gold guard and the blades themselves were top-quality. Kagura had come pretty far in her Swordsmanship, so Matt felt it was time she had something more personal instead of hand-me-downs from Erza.
"Oh? Santa is pretty reckless giving out weapons like that." Makarov teased Matt. As the "Santa", he chose the gifts guild members got. So he went in pretty hard for some of them based on what they'd probably like the most. Not like he's using that money for himself by any means.
"Don't bully Santa Master!" Kagura pouted at the old man who apologized.
Slowly the guild was filled by people talking about their presents.
Natsu had gotten a compass to aid in his search for Igneel and with a press of a button, it automatically told him how to get back to the guild. He ran off for a solid week before coming back the first time.
Gray, while not bringing it to the guild, was given a music box that played an old lullaby native to his old hometown. That was a tricky find for Matt as the place was utterly wrecked. Thankfully a few tips lead him to some old residents that assisted him. Gray had cried when he first heard it and would play it whenever he missed his family.
Levy got a pair of Gale-Force Reading Glasses to help her read faster. She'd use them for years to come.
Evergreen received a beautiful necklace with the outline of a fairy bringing it all together. She only wore it with her absolute best clothing, no exceptions.
Cana got a new deck of Magic Cards that gave her more variety and options with her spells. She'd keep using these even as an adult.
Jet got some good, sturdy shoes that'll survive his speed magic. He never threw them away even after outgrowing them.
Droy got a book about how plants grow so he could better understand his magic. The boy would credited it with his first breakthrough for his magic.
Macao got a book on relationship advice written by someone named Ichiya. For some reason Matt's eyes started violently bleeding when he heard that name. Macao walked into the guild after reading it a far more determined man with relationships.
Wakaba got that magic pipe he'd been talking about getting for when he felt the time was right. It'd be his go-to for years.
Bickslow got a set of sturdy objects that combined into a large star and were far faster. He'd only replace his babies with the totem after it broke.
Freed had received a book about Advanced Dark Écriture. He'd mentioned how he was going surprisingly fast though the advanced level of beginner. So Matt future-proofed him and saved his wallet from some stiff cash down the line. With that saved money Freed was able to buy himself a nice coat.
Laxus got a new set of high-quality headphones. While he would rather kill someone than admit it, he appreciated the gesture a lot. Not many people got him anything.
Makarov, while not requesting anything, received vacation tickets to a resort in Caelum. He'd be using those before too long, citing a "Master Gathering" that would take a couple weeks.
As everyone talked about their gifts and exchanged holiday cheer, Brandish had approached him.
"Hey, Merry Christmas Brandish." Matt smiled at the girl.
"Merry Christmas Big Brother." She muttered out the last half, still embarrassed by the idea of it.
Without wasting a second, Brandish went and hugged him tightly.
"I mean I'm not against the hug and all, but is there a reason?" He asked, trying to play off her not knowing he got her that gift.
"I know Santa isn't real dummy." She pouted before smiling.
"I see." Matt admitted defeat as he returned the hug.
Matt's gift to Brandish was locket that held the sole picture he could find of her mother. Christ, the hell he raised with Jude Heartfilia was the stuff of legend. Eventually he got into the photos stored and found one of her mother smiling gently with some other woman Matt assumed to be Layla. He may end up on the shit list of the Heartfilia Family forever, but that smile on Brandish's face was worth it.
After that ended and Brandish went off, Erza was surprisingly the last to enter the guild.
"Merry Christmas Erza." Matt smiled at the girl.
She silently took a seat next to him after smiling and nodding.
Her gift was a very simple one: a nice comb. Matt heard about how she complained that her hair kept getting knotted and a bit rough. He thought it was a shame, her hair was really pretty.
"I had a wonderful dream last night." She spoke as they looked out at the rest of the guild.
"Oh? What about?"
"I was running away from a horrible monster, when all of a sudden I was in the guild with everyone. They suddenly all started to disappear, one-by-one until I was the only one left."
Matt almost commented on how that was a nightmare.
"But at the very end, I was saved."
"By who?"
She smiled at him, "A wonderful angel."
Matt smiled at her as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Merry Christmas Matt."
"Yeah. Merry Christmas Erza."
Welcome back to yet another chapter of this imminent catastrophe!
Holy shit this chapter was long. I did not expect it to break 10k while I was writing it, hence me writing at fucking 5 AM. So we got a lot to discuss this time around so let's not waste any more of your guys' time!... if you even read these.
So first up we had Matt's rather... odd interaction with that crowd of people. I know I'd brought up how the 90% basically fuel the Wizard economy beforehand, but I definitely wanted to show a dash of it's dark underbelly. We'll be tackling this idea a fair bit very soon, so I wanted to introduce it to everyone beforehand.
A flash into what Matt's old life was seen. I definitely want to explore the contrast between the pair as more events happen to show off just how... drastic some of the changes are at times. We won't see these too often, but Matt's mind is a rather cruel mistress he doesn't fully understand. It's rather odd though, how can one not fully understand their own mind? Perhaps there's more to the story than he knows.
Next up is Brandish! She's definitely a fan favorite and a personal favorite, so I couldn't resist the idea of her being around more often. Her story has also taken a very sudden turn. Not only does she know how murdered her mother, but she also knows why they did it. This'll definitely have an effect on her growth as a character, but maybe it'll also twist some of her old views as well from how we know them. Time will certainly tell.
We got to see some of Matt's growth the past couple of months. From sneakily engraving runes into his clothes to developing more tactical options, the fun is only just starting as he learns an entire new language from scratch.
A series of holidays passed by the guild along with some peculiar developments. Bickslow being genuinely creeped out by Matt's soul certainly doesn't bode well for the origins of the teen, but these are answers for another time.
Laxus has suddenly decided to acknowledge Matt once more after all these years. One has to wonder what spurred this on and what it all means. Perhaps Laxus is a better person now? Or maybe a different kind of fire is driving him forward?
Christmas was a time for Matt to chuck his useless money at things to make the people in his life happy. The gifts are certainly helpful to some, but beyond sentimental for others. I hope that fluff was enjoyable for you all.
Because we are on the cusp of that curtain rising after all...
Next chapter will finally see the completion of the main Fairy Tail cast and more shenanigans.
Anyways, for the first time in a long time, I have an Omake for you all! So I hope you enjoy this ridiculous one as I bid you all, adieu.
Other Possibilities (Non-Canon):
Matt had recently received a message from Dark Magician about an odd disturbance of the same nature that could have sent Matt to this world. Without even thinking, the teen immediately rushed off to the large forest clearing.
"Is this the place?" He asked as his trusty Magician was by his side.
"Indeed, whatever is affecting this place should appear in three... two... one..."
Space warped in front of the teen as a blinding light forced him to cover his eyes. When he could see again, he immediately wished he was rendered blind beforehand.
"I-Is that me?! And why the hell am I on a dinosaur?!" He yelled at the almost exact copy of himself atop a large, green, reptilian monster.
"Damn, this doesn't look like the place either." Matt Beta cursed.
A guttural roar came from the beast.
"Oh shut up Pickle, I'm trying alright?!" He stomped on the beast which had no effect.
Suddenly Dark Magician felt another disturbance. "Master, it's another!"
The same blinding light forced the group to avert their eyes. Once again, when Matt could see, he regretted it.
Yet another copy of him stood atop a giant golden dragon with... were those mechanical wings?
"Aw c'mon! This ain't the place either!" Matt Delta yelled in frustration. "Damnit Fury, you said this would work!"
The golden dragon ignored his Master.
"Are... are they ignoring me?!" Matt yelled as the pair of lesser copies couldn't even hear him from how far down he was.
"Hm, ah well, guess we'll try again." Matt Beta shrugged. "Pickle, away!"
The Dinosaur then proceeded to shoot out an incredibly powerful laser from its mouth, causing it to slowly fly into the air where it disappeared into a portal.
"That guy has the right idea, let's go Fury!"
The Dragon then blasted off into space, not using the moon as a tool to unleash its ultimate attack.
Matt Alpha blinked at the sight awkwardly.
"Dark Magician."
"Yes Master?"
"Please take me home... and get me a bottle of ibuprofen."
"For recreational use?"
"... No."
The two then plainly walked back to the guild.
Okay but seriously why has no one made an OC that can summon Monster Hunter Monsters or Final Fantasy Summons? IT WRITES ITSELF PEOPLE.
