Geoffrey's Legacy
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Fairy Tail - all rights and stuff belong to Hiro Mashima. If I was the one to start Fairy Tail, fan-service wouldn't be so prominent and there would be side-series' focused on Irene's ascension to a Queen, how the Mermaid Heel, Lamia Scale and Phantom Lord guilds came to be, Makarov's rise to Guild Master and how Gildarts joined Fairy Tail and became Guild Ace. I only own self-made characters, magic and storylines (I don't).
"My hope is that the 21st century will be the first century where there will be no violation of human rights, and to that end, Japan would like to do our outmost." - Shinzo Abe.
Chapter 19.
(Jose Porla's Office - Phantom Lord Main Guild)
Jose was sat in his chair, slumped back, as he waited for his newest guild member to enter the room and explain herself to Rune Knight Captain Lahar.
The young, pretentious brat had barged into his office, demanding a meeting with Lorraine Xanthine within the next three hours. He'd agreed to the meeting, and they'd been waiting for the past 45 minutes.
He had better things to do!
Like driving Makarov Dreyar up the wall, upsetting the Magic Council on a daily basis, continuing the reorganization process of his guild after the Dreyar brat had destroyed his branch in Magnolia Town, and attend to his lovely, but incredibly needy, wife.
When asked about the problem, Lahar simply said that it was a serious matter.
When pestered, Lahar's defences crumbled and he said it had to do with the fact that Lorraine had recently used a form of napalm magic in an altercation with Erigor.
The Guild Master was more interested about hearing about this fight with Erigor the Death God than being bothered about a trivial matter like the use of napalm.
Although, if his memory served him correct, the King and Magic Council had passed a ruling to make all uses of napalm, magic or not, illegal.
It was nonsense anyway.
White phosphorous caused similar injuries to napalm, yet nobody had ever complained about its use. Well, except for people who happened to be on the wrong side of its use during combat.
Jose let out a loud, exaggerated sigh and rolled his eyes.
Lahar glanced at him, let out a small, dismissive grunt, then went back to looking at the doors as if he didn't exist.
How absurd!
Who did this stuck-up, pretty boy think he was?
However, Jose wouldn't dare try anything against him. Lahar was notorious for his blatant dislike of Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail, mainly thanks to the amount of property damage their Dragon Slayers caused on a weekly, if not daily, basis.
There was no need to give Lahar the material needed to shut down his guild.
"I could be doing better things." Jose muttered, under his breath.
"Acknowledged." Lahar replied, unblinkingly stoic.
Apparently, he had the acute hearing of a cat. His comment was meant to have gone unheard.
Both men perked up - Lahar had gone even more rigid than he currently was - when someone knocked on the door from the other side.
They looked at each other, and when Jose shrugged, Lahar looked back to the door and spoke.
"Is that Lorraine Xanthine?"
"Yes... sir." Came the reply from the other side.
Jose cleared his throat, "Come in, Lorraine."
Upon receiving permission from Master Jose, Lorraine swallowed down the tension in her throat and pushed the door.
Slowly entering the room, Lorraine pushed the door closed behind her.
Master Jose was sat behind his desk, clearly bored out of his mind and looking like he'd rather be anywhere else at the moment.
The young man stood by the desk, the Rune Knight Captain if Totomaru's words were anything to go by, with lavender eyes behind circular lensed glasses, long, black hair which had been tied back into a high ponytail, and he was dressed in really expensive robes.
His face was totally devoid of all emotion, making it impossible to get a proper read on his emotions.
However, he had a rather irritated air about him, suggesting that she'd been keeping him waiting.
Without a word, he cocked his head towards the seat on the other side of Master Jose's desk.
Obeisantly, Lorraine sat down and didn't meet his gaze.
It was probably the smart thing to do; a stare-down, how unintentional, might've been seen as a defiant challenge.
Over the next five minutes, neither of the men spoke, and tight anxiety in Lorraine's chest grew with every passing second.
Then, Lahar finally spoke.
"Lorraine Xanthine. Once an independent mage; now a member of Phantom Lord. Given your... rebellious personality, I'm surprised you didn't joined Fairy Tail." Lahar said, his voice a slow, smooth drawl.
The blonde looked up and offered him a smirk, "Guess I'm full of surprises."
Lahar didn't smile back.
"And Mermaid Heel?"
"It's not as established as Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord." Lorraine admitted.
"I see. So you'd rather start at the top, rather than near the bottom. Promote and strengthen an already powerful guild." Lahar mused, his eyes flickering to Jose.
"Well, yeah. The lesser guilds don't get as many job requests as the guilds at the top do. The rewards aren't as substantial either."
Lavender eyes narrowed, "Greater income? Would you consider yourself a person run by greed?"
Lorraine raised an eyebrow, "That's rich coming from you. You're a Rune Knight Captain. I bet you're paid well. More so than the average enlisted sailor in the navy or most civilians."
A loud snort of amusement came from Master Jose.
"I am," Lahar said, unfazed, "However, I'm in the position because I accepted and understood the responsibility and risks associated with my rank. And because I want to help keep my country safe. I couldn't care less about how much I get paid."
Lorraine felt as if she'd just been slapped across the face.
"However, I'm sure when it comes to picking a job, you'd go for the one with the highest reward, and overlook the ones which paid less in reward for doing simple, good deeds."
That was another heavy blow to the face.
Then, for a good thirty seconds, there was a pregnant pause.
"The seven deadly sins are a dreadful thing, but nobody can escape them." Lahar said, breaking it.
Lorraine warily looked at him, "What do you mean?"
"Pride. That's one of the sins, and I take pride in my job, perhaps even too much. Furthermore, I'm... well aware of you familial situation and, ah, certain people are concerned about you."
The blonde scoffed, "They think I'll go after my father?"
"Now, no. Eventually, when your stronger to not get yourself nearly killed by people like Erigor, yes. Just don't lose yourself to wrath. I know Amber would hate to arrest you on the basis of first-degree murder."
"Hmm." Lorraine found something else to look at.
'No denial? My my, she actually intends to kill him. Best hope I don't find a body.' Lahar thought, his lavender eyes narrowing with disgust.
He took off his glasses and began to clean them with a spectacle wipe.
Jose still looked like he'd rather be anywhere else at the moment.
Lorraine didn't seem to care about the fact that she'd practically admitted to wanting to murder someone in-front of a figure of authority.
With the lenses clean, he slipped his glasses back on and refocused on the Phantom Lord mage.
"Arrogance brings down all men and women, no matter how powerful they are." Lahar whispered to himself.
"And being too humble can lead to one being fooled, ignored and taken advantage of." Lorraine countered, shooting the young Captain a smirk.
Again, he didn't return it, but this time Lorraine caught the flicker of amusement in his eyes.
Then, it was gone, and the serious light returned to his eyes.
"That aside, I'm here on the basis of other matters. Your use of napalm during the raid on Erigor's hideout." Lahar said, his voice serious.
Lorraine winced, "Yeah, about that, I'm not even going to deny what you heard or saw."
"Understood, why?"
"Excuse me?"
Lahar's face settled into a light scowl, "What possessed you to use something illegal, whilst aware of the consequences?"
"I underestimated Erigor and his goons. I didn't expect him and his buddies to be so strong; I hoped showing him that breaking the law might get him to back off." Lorraine answered, hoping Lahar wouldn't catch onto her lie.
Of course, she hadn't begun fighting Erigor until after she'd taken out some of the men who'd been with him.
However, that wasn't something Lahar needed to know.
"And given that Gajeel Redfox had to take over the fight, meant that he called your bluff." Lahar mused.
The blonde scoffed, "I wasn't bluffing. If it wasn't for his mastery over that massive scythe of his and Wind Magic, I would've had no problem setting him on fire."
Lahar's cold gaze hardened and Lorraine felt a chill run down her spine.
Then, the Rune Knight Captain looked away from her and turned his attention to Master Jose.
"And you have nothing to say about this? Aren't going to discipline your subordinate?" He inquired.
Jose shrugged, "I might. However, it's none of your business whether I do or not."
Lahar clicked his tongue and turned back to Lorraine. She widened her eyes and squirmed in her seat as Master Jose's magic power crashed into her like a tidal wave of despair, cruelty, death and every child's worst nightmare.
Glancing at Lahar, she noticed that he seemed barely fazed by Master Jose's magic power.
'My goodness. A-And to think I didn't take this man seriously when I first met him. No wonder he's the Guild Master of Phantom Lord! H-He's a monster. This magic power... this is the power of a man with decades of experience. Compared to him, I'm just an ant underneath his heel.' Lorraine thought.
Lahar twitched as the magic power increased with intensity.
Sweating profusely, Lorraine found herself struggling to breath as the room began to darken. A sick, purplish-black aura enveloped Master Jose and the moans of the damned began to echo in Lorraine's ears, begging her to either save them or give up and join them.
The walls began to melt away; wallpaper and paint being torn down by an invisible force as they morphed into masses of spirits who howled in anger and agony.
Master Jose's oak table suddenly splintered under the pressure and then spontaneously combusted; hungry, purple flames growing in size as they licked eagerly at Lorraine's face.
Lorraine couldn't even muster the strength to retreat and move away from the burning table.
Her mouth opened, but she couldn't even remember how to scream.
Then, to her horror, Lahar's flesh appeared to be decaying and falling away in chunks, his eyeballs melting and dripping down his face, and his clothes falling onto the floor in a mess of expensive silk, fabric and bodily fluids.
A bleached skeleton was left behind and Lorraine found herself panicking as it moved, bones grating as it walked until it loomed over her.
They stared each other down, eyeball to eye socket.
Its teeth clattering in excitement, cold and bony hands grabbed her by the throat.
The bones around her neck tightened their grip, cutting off her diminishing supply of air. A loud hiss ripped through the skeleton's teeth as it continued to apply pressure to Lorraine's throat, the blonde noting that the edges of her vision were beginning to dim.
In the back of her head, Lorraine was slightly aware of somebody with a feminine voice calling her name.
The skeleton removed one of its hands from Lorraine's thought and, as the other hand tightened even further around her throat, cocked back the unoccupied fist.
She let out a choked gasp as the skeleton punched through her chest, snapping ribs as it did so, and shoved her beating heart out of her back.
Then, the overwhelming pressure let up and the skeleton vanished.
After taking a few deep, greedy breaths to recompose herself, the Phantom Lord mage was suddenly aware that everything was tilted by 90 degrees and she was looking at Master Jose's feet.
'I-I've fallen over?'
Aware of the dull pain in her right shoulder, Lorraine shakily picked herself up and looked around the room.
Lahar, thank goodness, hadn't been reduced to a murderous skeleton and looked incredibly unimpressed.
The table was intact with no sign of having ever been burned.
The room had brightened up again.
The spirits of the damned weren't trying to claw their way out of the room's walls.
There wasn't a fist-sized hole in her chest.
And Master Jose, once again looking bored and reclining in his chair, his horrific, purplish-black aura had vanished without a trace.
'W-Was that a hallucination, induced by Master Jose's magic power? He truly is on another level.'
On violently trembling legs, Lorraine picked up her chair and sat on it, gripping her thighs in an vain attempt to stop them from shaking anymore.
With one arm, she wiped her forehead and ignored the wetness on her forearm, then took several more deep breaths.
There was no need to check her neck for a pulse because she could feel her heart pounding away within her ribcage at something like 114 beats per minute.
Lorraine looked back at Lahar and Master Jose, the former of whom was looking at her expectantly.
"She's got a pair of lungs on her." Lahar deadpanned, rubbing at one of his ears.
Master Jose nodded, humming an unknown tune to himself.
Mortified about the fact that the two men had watched her scream helplessly, Lorraine felt her face become hot.
Unwillingly to trust her voice, she kept her head low and stared at the floor.
She heard footsteps approach, but refused to look, even when they stopped by her side.
"That's your punishment." Lahar's voice said.
Swallowing down the bitter lump in her throat - which was sore now that she was paying attention to it - Lorraine looked up at the Rune Knight Captain.
She must've had a questioning look on her face, because Lahar spoke once more to clarify.
"Allowing your Guild Master to punish you, but make no mistake, your use of napalm will be on your record." He said, voice stern.
Mutely, Lorraine simply nodded.
Lahar continued to pin her with his icy stare, "Consider this a 'slap on the wrist'. If you are caught using napalm again, I will ensure that you will be excommunicated from Phantom Lord and thrown behind bars. Am I understood?"
She nodded once more.
Lahar's icy stare grew in intensity.
"I didn't hear you, mage." He hissed.
The blonde gulped, "Yes."
"Yes, what?"
Once more, Lorraine felt her cheeks burn in shame.
"Yes, sir."
"Sir?"
"I-I mean, yes, Captain."
Apparently satisfied, Lahar backed off and glanced once at Master Jose, before walking over to the door behind the Phantom Lord mage.
"Hm, glad we've come to an agreement." He said, voice hard as stone.
Then, with that, he left the room, leaving Lorraine behind with Phantom Lord's Guild Master.
She winced, almost expecting him to leap over the table and beat her half to death.
Rather than lashing out at her, Master Jose just anticlimactically stretched and groaned as several bones in his body clicked and popped.
"Goodness, that boy is stuffy. He needs to learn how to lighten up."
Lorraine opened her mouth to reply, but she could think of nothing sensible to say, so she just closed her mouth.
"I do apologize if I terrified you. It had to be done." Jose said, yawning as he tilted his head to one side.
She shot him a questioning look.
"The boy was quite insistent that I punish you. So I did," Jose clarified, waving a hand around, "Please, just try not to bring any of those uptight law-abiding morons over here if you could. It would be greatly appreciated."
Quietly, Lorraine nodded, still feeling her heart racing in her chest.
That... certainly wasn't something she ever want to experience ever again.
Master Jose peered at her from his seat, "I didn't take you for the 'stunned into quiet, even at the visage of ones death' type. Would you like a cup of tea?"
She shook her head.
"Hmm, coffee?"
Again, Lorraine shook her head.
"Okay then, a hot chocolate?"
She swallowed down the next lump in her throat and forced her voice to emerge, "I-I think I'm going to have a drink in the main hall."
Master Jose chuckled, a sly grin on his face, "Ah, yes, alcohol. The cause and solution to all of life's problems. Off you go now."
Lorraine nodded, then - without trying to come off as far too eager to get away from the Guild Master - stood up, pushed the chair up to Jose's desk and left the room, shutting his office's door behind her.
Without warning, she dropped to her knees and vomited into the bin that was right outside the door.
'Fucks sake, now my breath is gonna smell of vomit and shit. Eh, fuck it, I still want that drink.'
She flinched as a gentle hand began to rub comforting circles into her upper back.
"Woah, easy there. I don't need to ask to find out what happened. We all felt Master Jose's magic power sweep through the guild." Emilia voice's commented.
Her stomach still doing somersaults, Lorraine looked up to see Emilia and Totomaru standing over her.
She could hear Aria going on about how sad the current situation was.
Sol was rambling in that strange language of his, going on about how much trouble she'd been in.
"Heh, you two saw me vomit into a bin. How undignified is that?" Lorraine commented, mustering up a light smirk.
Totomaru shrugged, "Honestly, if it makes you feel better, I've seen worse, especially when the whole guild gets absolutely wasted."
They led her over to an unoccupied table, with Emilia still rubbing circles into her back.
Lorraine had to stop herself from pulling away, "Seriously, Emilia, you can stop with the back rubs. Nice as they are, I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" Emilia asked, hesitant.
The blonde nodded, "Positive. Master Jose's magic power was just a massive shock to the system."
"Oh?" Totomaru cocked his head to one side.
"I just... I just wasn't expecting it to be so vile and dark; as if Master Jose has lived his life seeing nothing but death and destruction. I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything less of one of the Wizard Saints."
Lorraine ran her hands down her face and let out another lengthy sigh.
"A-And that was just him exerting his magic power. I'd hate to see him in direct combat." She added, wary.
Totomaru hummed, "Oh, yeah, I've seen Master Jose fight a couple of times. Just seeing his magic in action feel like you've descended into hell."
The blonde groaned, "Wonderful, just another thing I need to be scared shitless about."
Perhaps she should've continued with her life as an independent mage.
Somewhere, deep in her soul, Astrid was laughing.
'Stop laughing at me. Stupid life choices.' Lorraine thought, then looked at Totomaru who seemed to be deeply scrutinizing her.
"You look like you could do with a drink." He deadpanned.
Emilia coughed into her hand, suppressing a laugh.
"Wow, thanks," she replied, just as dry, "any suggestions for me to drown in my sorrows?"
He shrugged, a smirk tugging at his lips, "I can't read your mind, and I haven't known your as long as I've known Emilia. Still, I'm guessing you're up for a gin and tonic, or a Fiorian rum and coke?"
"Hmmm, I think I'll have the rum and coke." Lorraine said, her mouth watering at the thought.
The dual-colour haired mage whistled and snapped his fingers, catching the attention of the bartender who looked their way.
"A Fiorian rum and coke mix for the blonde here, some white wine for myself and..." Trailing off, Totomaru looked at Emilia.
"I'll just have a lemonade."
Nodding, he turned back to the waiting bartender, "...and a lemonade for Emilia. Put it on my tab." He finished.
The bartender immediately got to work.
For a moment, the was a calm silence, until it was broken by Lorraine.
"So, where's the angry porcupine?"
Emilia smiled, "Gajeel? After he dropped you off, he left with Boze and Sue on a job involving the capture of the A-Class dark mage called Katherine Queens. Responsible for the destruction of the sloop-of-war and flagship of the Royal Fiorian Navy, RFNS Crocus."
"A-Class dark mage? I believe there's been a mistake." Lorraine said, shaking her head.
Totomaru's brow furrowed, "A mistake? How so?"
"Either someone purposely gave the wrong information to make the job more appealing, or certain records haven't been updated. Two months ago, Katherine Queens' ranking was upgraded from A-Class to S-Class. I guess word hasn't fully gotten out yet." Lorraine explained.
Emilia gasped, looking horrified, "Oh no, Gajeel will be fine, I'm sure of it. It's Boze and Sue whom I'm more concerned for."
"Neither of them are cut out for combat against an S-Class individual and a seasoned killer. Heck, even for Gajeel, that'd be pushing it." Totomaru added, grimacing.
Lorraine twitched and Emilia's hand was suddenly pushing against her.
"Don't even think about it. You've just woken up, and you might get yourself killed if you go blindly rushing after him." Emilia said, sternly.
Lorraine slumped back in defeat.
"Gajeel can definitely handle himself. And I haven't seen them in proper combat, but I reckon the other two are doing just fine." She said.
Totomaru raised an eyebrow, "How so?"
"Boze and Sue have been in Phantom Lord longer than I have. I doubt Master Jose would let them stay if they were weaklings who couldn't hold their own in a fight."
"Good point, I guess."
The bartender arrived with their drinks.
An empty glass was set down in-front of Lorraine, slightly larger than her first, followed by a bottle of rum and another bottle of coke. A glass of wine was set down by Totomaru, and a cloudy lemonade was placed in-front of Emilia.
Totomaru handed a small bag of jewels to her.
"Oh, I'll need to count-"
"Don't bother counting out the change. I've got more than enough." He insisted, swatting at the hand which went to open up the bag.
She gave him a nod and a smile, then returned to the bar.
Lorraine smirked as she filled a fifth of the glass with rum, then filled the rest with coke, "Look at you, Rich Boy, refusing change. Somebody must be stacked?"
"Heh, what can I say. The good jobs catch my eye, and being a landlord also helps." Totomaru admitted, shrugging and raising his hands in a 'what are you gonna do' gesture.
"A landlord? How many people are you renting out to?" She inquired.
"Four properties and four families. Per month, J55,000 from each." The fire user stated.
"Goodness, you must be rolling in money. How long have you been doing that as a side job?" Lorraine asked
Totomaru scratched the back of his head, "Eh, only 2 years ago. And not really, I donate a lot of that money to charities supporting the homeless and hungry."
The blonde nodded and took a sip of her drink.
"So, surely charity donations isn't the only thing you must be doing? Any personal investments?"
"Yeah, I brought a magic book regarding Inferno Magic, essentially a stronger variant of Fire Magic, but with more emphasis on heat and the sheer destructive power, to complement my Rainbow Fire." He admitted, sipping at his wine.
Emilia appeared to be slightly perplexed, "Inferno Magic? I've never heard that one before. What's it supposed to be like?"
Totomaru intertwined his fingers and hummed, allowed multi-coloured flames to burst to life and leap from his fingers.
"Fire Magic relies on blunt force to take down most foes and never exceeds temperatures of 1,250 degrees Celsius. Inferno Magic is much hotter, relying on the heat produced to deter most foes, has a much longer range and burns past temperatures of 1,400 degrees Celsius. It'd effectively be my ace in the hole against S-Class foes and the stronger beasts roaming around Fiore." He explained, taking another sip of his drink.
Lorraine snorted into her own beverage.
So Totomaru could happily roast people and monsters to a crisp, but she couldn't use napalm - not even against a notorious serial killer and assassin - in a fight?
Bullshit.
"Sounds... dangerous." Emilia supplied.
"All magic is dangerous. Some more so than others." Lorraine replied with a nonchalant shrug.
"Yeah, what she said," Totomaru deadpanned, "I'm also partly doing this because Master Jose wants a 4-man elite team created."
"An elite team? What kind?" The blonde inquired.
"A team and strike force capable of taking on a force much larger or individuals who would be too much for a single S-Class mage to handle alone Mages who can control fire, water, earth and air. Apparently, it'll be known as the Element 4." Totomaru replied.
Lorraine downed the rest of her beverage, then poured out more Fiorian rum and coke into her glass.
"Well, it's obvious that you'll be the teams fire user, but who'll make up the rest of the team?" She asked.
"Aria is the designated leader. He's the guy with the bandages over his eyes and is known for going on about how sad everything is. He uses Airspace, which allows him to teleport by dissolving his body into air currents, drain others of their magic power, and even cause the air around an enemy to explode." Totomaru explained.
"Given his proficiency with Earth and Sand Magic, I'm assuming Sol is to be on the team?" Emilia asked.
Lorraine cocked her head to one side, "Huh, Sol, have I met him before?"
Totomaru looked contemplative, "Probably not. But, he's the guy who speaks with the strange accent, always hides his right eye behind a monocle, and as a piece of advice, don't let him know what upsets you the most."
"Why not?"
"Sol... well, once he has an understanding of your fears and regrets, he'll grab a hold of it with both hands. He dislikes direct fighting, whether it be magical or physical, and excels in psychological warfare. Friend or foe, he'll drown you in your nightmares until you break." The fire user explained.
Lorraine snorted.
"Goodness, he sounds like a nice guy."
A giggle slipped past Emilia's lips and Totomaru's lips stretched into a smirk.
Taking a drink, Lorraine smiled.
"So, this to-be team has yourself, Aria and Sol in it at the moment. I assume Master Jose is on the hunt of a user of Water Magic?" She asked.
Totomaru nodded.
"Yup, but he hasn't had any luck so far. But, knowing Master Jose, he won't give up until he finds one. Either that, or he gets his son to learn at form of Water Magic."
The blonde nearly choked on her drink.
"Wait, wait, wait, slow down... Master Jose has a child?"
Emilia let out a small laugh.
Totomaru chuckled, "Given our Master's... ah, personality, I can see why that'd be hard to believe, but he's also married."
"That's it. You're pulling my leg, aren't you?"
"Nope. Master Jose is married and has a son. They don't live at the guild, however, but resides in Crocus instead. They always come down on Christmas or when it's Master Jose's birthday." Totomaru explained.
Lorraine was stunned, and she could feel that Astrid felt the same.
"..."
"I sense a question incoming."
"What does Master Jose's wife do for a living or, um..." Lorraine trailed off awkwardly.
Totomaru snorted, "No, she's not a housewife who lives off her husband's money. She biologist who studies the monsters roaming around Earthland, capturing and dissecting them in the name of research."
"Um, cool." Lorraine suddenly found herself sweating, picturing a woman who acted as unpredictably as the Guild Master.
Emilia reached over and poked her in the forehead.
"Contrary to what you're thinking, she's actually the calm to Master Jose's madness. Yes, she'll have her 'excited, mad scientist' moments, but none of Master Jose's eccentric displays of... er, madness." The brunette said.
Lorraine felt herself relax slightly, "Oh, thank goodness. I was almost worried that little boy would grow up with two nutcases for parents."
Totomaru let out a small smile.
"Less little boy, and more pretentious and cocky fifteen year old who believes the world revolves around him because of who his father is." He corrected.
"Ah, so you type you want to punch in the face, the moment he opens his mouth?"
The dual-colour haired mage nodded, "Exactly. Kid needs to learn some humility before he tries to pull the 'because of who my dad is, I'm better than you' against someone like Gajeel, who usually ignores his presence."
Lorraine smirked, "Ha, Gajeel would definitely knock his teeth out."
Emilia suddenly perked up, "Speaking of knocking people's teeth out, Lorraine, I think you about to lose yours."
"What, why!?" She replied, suddenly feeling defensive.
"Gajeel's back, and he can no doubt tell from the fluctuations in your magic power that you're no longer awake."
"Um, help?"
Totomaru sipped at his wine and leaned back as if he were some kind of Roman leader enjoying a bloody gladiator battle.
"Nah, I think I'll just watch."
Emilia smiled and shrugged sheepishly as if saying, 'it's your problem, don't get me involved'.
'Traitors! They just want to watch me suffer.' Lorraine whined internally, feeling for Gajeel's magic power as it got closer and closer to the guild.
Totomaru eyed her as she shrunk in her seat, wishing the floor would open up and swallow her, the dual-colour haired mage finding great amusement in her despair.
The doors violently jerked open - it was a miracle they didn't come straight off their hinges - with a mighty BANG, as a long iron rod pushed them inwards.
A mage who'd been about to leave for a job, if the small sip of paper in her right hand was any indication, found herself knocked into a wall as one of the opening doors slammed into her and threw her aside.
One mage set down his drink, turned his head and slurred drunkenly while grinning.
"Oy, 'ey, little Gaj is back."
He was knocked out by a fist to the face for his troubles, and the man's drinking buddies immediately scooted back.
"I dare you to say that again, asshole. I'll put a knife where the sun doesn't shine." Gajeel sneered down at him, crouched on top of a table.
"Sheesh, somebody woke up on the wrong side of bed. Who shat in-" The Iron Dragon Slayer whipped around and knocked out another mage who clearly didn't believe in thinking before speaking.
Hobbling into the guild, behind the Iron Dragon Slayer, were Sue and Boze who were leaning on each other for support, looking like they'd been through hell and back, then through hell a second time.
"Yeah, don't mind us. We'll just... sit over here."
Lethargically, the duo dropped into a couple of empty chairs and groaned; bartender running over to see what they wanted.
Lorraine downed her rum and coke, hoping she might avoid a lecture from Gajeel by getting drunk quickly.
She nearly started sulking, feeling Astrid's - traitorous fire bird - magic power gently leaking into her own and gathering around her stomach, burning away most of the alcohol, long before it could enter her bloodstream.
'Don't look over here, don't look over here, don't look over here...'
Her last flower of hope wilted and died as a pair of ferocious scarlet eyes snapped over to her.
Gajeel hopped off the table, anger and annoyance swimming in his eyes as he approached, glancing briefly at Emilia and ignoring Totomaru altogether.
Next to her, Totomaru sniggered into his wine.
She shot him a look, then looked up at Gajeel as he stood by her seat.
"Hello, kid sir, how may I help you on this pleasant day?"
Emilia choked on air as Totomaru loudly guffawed.
Gajeel just punched her right arm.
Lorraine ignored the fact that she'd been punched hard enough so she'd end up with a dead arm in a few hours.
"What ungentlemanly behaviour is this? Please, I must implore that you get a-hold of yourself."
Totomaru wheezed, clutching at his stomach.
Emilia, teary eyed, was unable to hold back her laughter.
Gajeel's face twisted into a snarl as growled like an animal and socked her in her forehead, prompting a squeak of surprise from Emilia.
"Fuck!" Lorraine promptly retaliated by smashing her glass into Gajeel's face.
It shattered harmlessly against his metallic face, leaving Lorraine with the cracked base of her glass in her hand.
She threw it to one side, allowing it to break into dozens of pieces on the floor, then rubbed at her aching forehead.
"You absolute bastard, the hell's your problem?" She snapped at him.
"The fact that he's got too many problems, and one of them is you." Totomaru said, mostly to himself.
Gajeel's metallic skin reverted back to its usual cream complexion and he fixed her with a glare, "That's for being a dumb bitch who thought she could take on Erigor on her lonesome."
'That's for making me worry so much' went unsaid, but the message was clear as day in his scarlet eyes.
He was just too proud and stubborn to say it out loud.
Lorraine glanced at Gajeel's bare chest which was marred by dirt, dried blood and shallow scratches, before looking back up at his face which still looked unbelievably pissed.
"Uh, so, what happened to you?"
The Iron Dragon Slayer's brows furrowed, "We went to apprehend an A-Class dark mage who turned out to be S-Class. Boze, Sue and I fought her, and we fucked shit up."
Lorraine had to fight back a smirk, "Looks like your shit got fucked up."
Gajeel's eyes flashed with a warning, and Totomaru and Emilia took that as their cue to leave.
She bit her tongue to stop herself from saying anything else.
"Alright, I'll admit, I would've fought him myself - had I been in your position - but even I know when a situation has gone sideways. The fuck's wrong with you, woman?" Gajeel grumbled, huffing irritably.
Lorraine gently chewed on the inside of her mouth.
"I'm sorry if I made you worry."
Gajeel snorted as he sat in the seat previously occupied by Totomaru, "Whatever. I don't doubt that you'll do it again though."
The blonde pinched his arm, chuckling as he swiped at her, "You know me so well. Next time, however, I'll either call for assistance when the situation goes tits up or we'll go in and kick ass together. Fuck yeah?"
The Iron Dragon Slayer rolled his eyes, "Tch, fuck yeah."
"Great," Lorraine beamed at him and Gajeel was overcome by disgust, "by the way, and my memory's slightly fuzzy so I apologize if this comes across as moronic, but I recall a kid with pink hair when I woke up on the forest. What was his name - Nathan, Noel..?"
"Natsu Dragneel."
"That's it. Who was he?"
Gajeel grumbled something to himself, "A brat from Fairy Tail and a Dragon Slayer like me."
"You're kidding?" Lorraine asked, eyes wide with shock.
"Nope, dead serious. He's a Fire Dragon Slayer and one tough son of a bitch. In fact, if he weren't in Fairy Tail, Master Jose would happily have him in Phantom Lord." Gajeel replied.
"He must be strong then?"
Gajeel twitched, "Hn, as much as it pains me to admit, the punk fought me to standstill. Give him a few years and he'll no doubt be S-Class material. To be frank, I'm already itching to fight him again."
Lorraine chuckled, "Heh, looks like you've found a rival."
An eerie grin nearly split Gajeel's face in two, "Hell yeah, and the next time we fight, I'm smashing his face into the dirt."
A/N: And here's chapter 19. No action; being one of those talky chapters, with a small showcase of Master Jose's power. Review, favourite and follow, and maybe even share to those who might be interested in a Phantom Lord-centric fic. I'll see you again in Chapter 20.