Alright, with the Halloween chapter out of the way, I want to say in advance that we will go to one or two worlds before refocusing on Traveler's mission.
So, let's continue.
Chapter 17: Meanwhile
Earth Land: 2099-D
Democratic Republic of Fiore. Neo Crocus.
X2600, May 16.
The city of Neo Crocus is bustling with activity, men going to work to provide for their families and homes. Women and children walking in the parks, teens going to school and university students preparing themselves for the exams that awaited them. Some streets were noisy with construction workers repairing the damage done by the riots and protests. Shopkeepers boarded their stores with barricades to ensure their safety and many others went about their daily lives.
Although things had been hectic for the last few months the general populace felt optimistic with the exception of some people trying to convince others of some kind of 'End of the World' but dismissed as crazy or extreme.
"Man, things have been crazy don't you think?" Gildarts asked his partners as he sat in a café nursing a mug of beer, wearing modern clothing. His friends nodded as the man took a gulp of his beer, his old prosthetics replaced by newer ones at Natsu's insistence. And he had to say, they worked very well.
"Yeah, well you know just why it is like this." Jellal said with a cell phone in hand, looking up news on anything that might interest him.
"All of this because of the actions of several people." Laxus muttered as he ate his roast beef and potatoes, wearing a purple shirt and blue jeans. He looked around, seeing people looking at the three men, with women having looks of interest at the sight of three handsome men.
"Let's not talk about that. I don't want to hear of that anymore." Gildarts said with a serious voice putting his mug down. The blonde and his friend nodded as they understood what he meant. Ever since that day, things kept getting more and more annoying, not to mention what happened to their friend's granddaughter.
"Okay, okay. Say, have you seen Gajeel and Gray anywhere? I haven't seen them for the last few weeks." Laxus asked as the older man shrugged.
"Don't know. Levy said they have some sort of night shift job now. Didn't say what kind of job though." Gildarts leaned back on his chair feeling relaxed. He sighed as he stretched slightly and heard 'pops' in his back.
"Oh. Finally. Had that crank for a while now." He muttered as Laxus chuckled.
"What's wrong old man? Your old bones can't handle your new job?" Gildarts scoffed at him.
"No, construction work isn't that hard. If anything, I would say it is too easy at times. I just haven't had much of a sleep due to the crazy stuff happening for the last several months. That and our neighbors are a bit too noisy." He said as he rubbed his neck.
"What about you Laxus? How are you holding up in your own job?" Laxus shrugged as he took a gulp from his drink.
"Not bad really. Honestly, being a gym trainer isn't the worst job there is. There are a lot of people in this city who want to get ripped or at least gain some muscles. Though I do wish they would stop calling me 'chad' or other names." The blonde said as his friends looked at him in confusion.
"'Chad?'" They both asked as Laxus sighed in annoyance at the word.
"Yeah, apparently people here have something called memes, which are funny pictures that are used to simplify or portray a situation. 'Chad' is one of those words and it apparently refers to someone who is very muscular, handsome, nice and charismatic. A man who is apparently above other men and all women want him, or at least that's how they explained it." Laxus explained finishing his lunch and putting his plate aside. Gildarts thought about the word and smiled slightly.
"Well, I would say that it suits you, you know? You are almost all of those things, as well as an arrogant asshole." The man said as Laxus face palmed.
"Not you too old man." He grumbled under his breath as Jellal put the phone down.
"Why are you acting like that? What, did the word annoy you already?" The blue haired man asked as Laxus looked at him.
"How would you feel if someone kept calling you a 'chad' nonstop for three months no matter how much you asked of them? I practically had to ask my clients and the others to stop calling me that after a month, yet they still keep doing that. Not only that, but people used some pictures of me for a stupid picture to prove their beliefs." Jellal raised an eyebrow.
"So you hate the meme itself rather than the fact that you are called one." Laxus sighed as he shook his head.
"It's just stupid! I will never understand why people do it! How does it make sense if you call someone a meme name or use a meme to describe a person who might be more than meets the eye? Do you know how many people called me 'alpha' or 'chad' or 'feminist nightmare' or other kinds of things? It's really annoying, especially with things going crazy in the last months. Heck, some asked for my testosterone levels to put on their websites to prove their awful beliefs which is really creepy." Jellal gave him a deadpan look.
"Laxus, do you see this?" He asked, pointing to his blue hair. The blonde looked confused but nodded nonetheless, "Do you know how many people called me derogatory terms when they met me in real life and on the internet? Some people assumed that I was NPC or 'libtard' whatever the hell that means. When I first made an account on Dover, people began to focus on my picture and told strange things like 'triggered' or 'facts don't care about feelings' when I asked simple questions or made statements. I had to deal with that for two months, I am still dealing with it as we speak. Heck, I couldn't get a decent job because people assumed that I was some sort of a 'socialist' all because of my natural hair color. It got so bad that I was late on my rent and I had to ask Natsu for help to get a stable job. Even now, I still have people insulting me on the internet. All because of this." Jellal finished his rant as he pointed at his hair. His two companions looked shocked at his words. They knew that fitting in in this new age wouldn't be easy but to have THAT kind of things happen to you? They pitied him.
"You did at least get a job right?" Gildarts asked as the blue haired man sighed.
"Yeah, Natsu hired me as a security guard of the main building. The pay is decent and the job is somewhat entertaining, at least I don't have to worry about my rent anymore." He muttered as he drank his soda.
"I gotta ask, why did you move from the penthouse? There was enough space for everyone." Laxus asked as Jellal put the bottle down.
"I didn't feel comfortable living with so many people, and I guess I just wanted to live on my own for a while. See how everything is like." He said as a waitress came up to them.
"Would you like anything else guys?" Lisanna asked, wearing a waitress's uniform which also had cat ears on her head.
"Nah, thanks Lisanna." Jellal said as he checked his time on his phone, "Anyway, I gotta go. See you guys later." They waved at him as he put on his jacket, cap and went towards the Drago Industries building.
"What about you two?" Gildarts sat up straight and looked at his mug.
"One more mug of beer."
"A cup of coffee for me." Laxus asked as Lisanna nodded and took their orders.
"Got it. One mug of beer and a cup of coffee to the table outside." She said as she went away from the table to the bar, leaving the two men alone.
"You know, I expected Lisanna to have a different job than being a waitress." Laxus said as Gildarts shrugged.
"And I didn't expect my darling Cana to become a model and be so popular in a span of several weeks. Sometimes, some things come out of nowhere." He replied while rubbing his head as he saw a magazine with a picture of Cana wearing lingerie on the first page.
"I did." At Gildarts's glare, he shrugged, "What? She was bound to become popular here with the kinds of clothes that she wears. Would you rather that she become popular as a porn star?" At that Gildarts clenched his fist.
"Not while I'm alive. I just thought she would get a job that wouldn't have her appearing almost naked at times. Do you know what it is like to look up a models' magazine and see your own daughter on one of the pages? Shit like that can turn you off faster than old women wearing swimsuits." Laxus had a look of disgust at that.
"I didn't need that image in my head, old man."
"Yeah, well deal with it. You aren't gonna hear anything more ridiculous than that." Gildarts said as Lisanna brought them their drinks.
"Unfortunately, I already did." Laxus said with a sigh as Gildarts raised an eyebrow.
"Really?" Laxus nodded at his words, "Well, what is it then?" The blonde sighed as he ran his hand through his hair.
"You remember how I told you about 'chads' and the other things that people call me?" Gildarts nodded, "Well, apparently there are memes for men who aren't really muscular." The man frowned at that.
"I have a feeling I'm not going to like what I am going to hear." Laxus sighed at that.
"You won't. Apparently, some people call these kinds of men either 'virgin' or 'beta' or even something like 'soy boy'." The moment he heard the last two names, Gildarts had a look that could be called 'cringe'.
"Okay, 'virgin' I can understand, but 'soy boy'? That sounds like something that a bunch of thirty year old fat insecure men would come up with to make themselves look better." Gildarts said as Laxus nodded while some men around them heard his words. They frowned and one of them took out a camera to record what they were saying.
"I know right? I looked up those terms and found out that 'beta' is apparently taken from a book about wolves. Maybe some people decided that humans are like wolves and decided to use the terms 'alpha' and 'beta' for their own gain, but it sounds incredibly stupid. We aren't animals, we are much more complex than wolves and labelling people under those categories is one of the saddest things I ever heard." Laxus said, as men around them looked at the blonde with mixed looks.
"And 'soy boy'?" Gildarts asked as one of the men holding a camera zoomed in on Laxus's face.
"You are not gonna believe this but apparently there is a bean called soya bean and many people think it lowers testosterone levels and spikes estrogen if you eat them." Gildarts choked on his beer and spat some of it out. He grimaced as he saw the spills on his shirt.
"Damn it, this is my favorite shirt." He took a napkin to wipe it off, "So is it true? About soya?" Laxus shook his head.
"Here is the thing though. It does nothing, at all. I decided to try some soybeans and soy milk to see if it is true and guess what? Nothing. I don't feel any different, I don't feel anything weird. I even looked up information and found no actual evidence of soy lowering testosterone. If anything, I feel embarrassed because I believed some assholes who are afraid of losing their muscles and nearly jumped on a bandwagon on harassing a poor kid who would come to our gym every other day because of him bringing soy milk. Do you know how awful I felt when I did that? I was the kid's personal trainer and he got harassed all because he was lactose intolerant." Laxus ranted as he drank his coffee, whilst men around them listened closer.
"So why exactly is it used as an insult then?" Gildarts asked.
"Apparently, there are sites in the internet that like to write the same thing. From what I read, they are afraid to lose their masculinity and are not afraid of shaming any guy who isn't muscular or anyone who likes soy. It's basically a circle where people can sit and comfort each other on their beliefs with false evidence while making themselves look rational. If anything, this is the most unmanly thing I ever heard of. If Elfman was here, he would probably beat those guys up for thinking like that." Laxus said before noticing the men around them looking at the two of them and sighed.
"Alright, listen up assholes. You can just turn back and mind your own business or things will get real ugly real soon." He racked his knuckles to emphasize his words as Gildarts glared at them and they all turned away from the two men. Some glared at the two but ultimately chose to look away.
"Sheesh, some people are just ridiculous. How the hell did Natsu or his grandkids not go insane after this, I have no idea." Gildarts said as he put down his finished, "Lisanna, can you bring us our bill?" The white haired girl nodded and went to get the bill as Laxus put his empty cup down while rubbing his forehead.
"I need to take a break today, too much bullshit in one day." He said as Lisanna came up with their bill.
"Here you are." Gildarts looked at the prices and whistled at the surprisingly average price.
"Huh, cheaper than I thought. Maybe I should bring Cana here one day. Share the bill?" He asked Laxus who nodded.
"Sure." The two men each paid their half and began to leave.
"You want to go to the penthouse to hang out with Jaune, Natsu and Yang?" Laxus asked as he put on a jacket.
"Maybe, it depends on my work. See you later, youngsters." Gildarts said to the two as he went to a bus stop.
"I will see you later Lisanna." Laxus said as she nodded at him while taking the money.
"Okay, be careful." She said as Laxus leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the lips.
"Sure." He said as he went to his apartment. The white haired girl touched her lips with a smile, holding a tray in her hands.
"Strauss! Get back to work." Her boss said, snapping her out as she turned around.
"Sorry ma'am!"
"Alright, just a few more shots girls and we are done." A photographer in a studio said as he focused the camera on Cana who made a sexy pose while wearing a bikini, standing before a hologram of a beach. Several 'clicks' rang out as the camera man took the pictures.
"And done. Good job Cana." The man said as the hologram vanished while Cana sighed in relief as she put on a bathrobe and sat down on a nearby chair. She took a drink from a nearby table while the workers started setting up a different shoot.
"So how do you like your new job Cana?" Mira asked, sitting next to her while wearing a white skimpy dress that covered most of her body.
"Well, it's a bit more exhausting than I thought it would be." The voluptuous brunette replied as she sipped on her drink as Mira giggled, "You had to do all of this when you were a model back then?"
Mira cupped her chin in thought as she looked around.
"Well, yeah. Sort of, there wasn't so much technology at the time and we had to go to beaches to make some of the shoots work. Sounded good at the time but not so much when you got a photo or photos wrong and have to do it all over again. Then there was the often uncomfortable gazes that you get from others, don't get me started on how some swimsuits or clothes are often uncomfortable or leave too much skin open." She listed everything while Cana calmly sipped her martini, listening the white haired beauty talk about all the problems.
"Sheesh Mira, seems like you didn't like the model job very much. Why bother if it isn't so good?" At her question Mira shrugged.
"I just got used to it. I mean, yeah it's exhausting and I felt really uncomfortable seeing many men and women leer at pictures of me in provocative poses and swimsuits. But I just decided to not care about it so much and live on." She replied while leaning back on her chair, legs crossed as the two beauties had gazes of several people around them, "Say Cana, why did you decide to pick this job instead of all other available jobs?" The lush put her drink down and crossed her arms.
"Well look at me. I don't have good cooking skills like you or intellect like Levy's. I don't want to do a mundane job like janitor or other kinds of jobs for the rest of my life so I decided to try for a modelling job. Probably should have warned dad first." Mira gave her a questioning gaze.
"About that: how did Gildarts react to your job?" Cana gave an award head scratch.
"Well, first he was shocked when he saw a picture of me in one of his magazines. Then he got angry and asked me why I have this job now. Then he got conflicted and asked me if I was okay with this job and not being blackmailed to do it. And after that he said that he was fine with it, as long as he warned him first on what magazine I will appear in. Apparently, he is fine with me wearing a bikini and no shirt but not fine with me being in an adult magazine." Cana said as Mira tried to suppress her giggles at what she heard.
"Yeah, yeah laugh it up Mira. Your turn by the way." She said gesturing to the new set.
"Mira, come on. We got a few more shoots." Their agent said as Mira stood up and went to the set, her dress fluttering as she took poses in a beach setting.
"She seems to be in her element." Cana turned to see Dimaria standing behind her wearing a skin tight, blue and gold full body wetsuit.
"What are you doing here? Don't you have another job?" The blonde looked at her and gave a smirk.
"I have a part time job here, doing photoshoots with either surfing wetsuits or skin tight clothing. Sometimes Brandish comes with me to do a photo shoot together or separately." She explained as she sat next to her.
"I think I've seen several magazines with her on them but I haven't seen you in any of them."
"That's because mine are for wetsuits or other outfits, not adult magazines. I agreed only on a swimsuit contract, besides my other job as a lifeguard doesn't bring as much income as I hoped and the rent isn't cheap so I got this one to get some extra money." Dimaria replied as the agent waved them over.
"Dimaria, you are on time. Cana come here and stand next to Mira. We will take yours after theirs Dimaria." Cana went to the set, taking off her robe and stood next to Mira as the photographer took pictures.
Xxx
In the penthouse apartment, several of the former mages sat around, either looking up laptops or watching holograms of different channels.
"Any luck on finding a job, Levy?" Gray asked as he and Gajeel played a co-op console game. The blue haired former Script Mage sat at a table with a laptop in front of her, hands pulling at her hair. Next to her Juvia prepared ingredients for dinner, cutting vegetables and meat.
"No, I haven't. I try to find a job and I get rejected the moment the employers see me." Levy complained as she then planted her face on the table, "Why is it so hard to find a job? Gajeel found one, so why can I find a good one for myself?" She moaned as Gajeel paused the game and went to his girlfriend.
"Why don't you be a librarian? I think that would fit you." He suggested. Levy looked up at him with a small red bump on her forehead.
"You think I haven't tried? I did try to be a librarian at a local library or at some schools, but the moment they see my hair color, they think I'm a socialist or someone who wants to get them 'cancelled' or something like that. I get kicked out before I can even explain and end up looking for another job!" She said as Gajeel frowned at what she said.
"Why are you looking for one anyway? I have a job that could support us, you don't need to be so desperate for a job." His girlfriend sighed and leaned her head on her hands.
"I know Gajeel. I just want to do something else aside from sitting around the apartment and looking up the internet. It gets boring after a while. Plus, I want to help get money for an apartment for us to move into." She explained as Gajeel sighed before he sat down next to her. He then proceeded to pick her up and put her on his lap, getting a surprised 'yelp' from her.
"Come here, midget." He turned her around and hugged her. Her face leaning on his muscular chest and arms on his abs with his own wrapped around her waist and back. Levy gave a yelp of indignation and protested slightly before simply relaxing in her lover's arms.
"Better?" Gajeel asked, running his hand through her hair and feeling her nod her head.
"Yeah. I needed this." She said as she closed her eyes and simply sat comfortably in his arms. Juvia, who had finished preparing the meal, looked at the two lovers and smiled at them. She gave a thumbs up at Gajeel and he gave a tiny smile, holding his lover close as she made humming noises while still in his arms.
"Man, get a room you lovebirds." Gray said as he went to get a drink from the fridge, earning a grunt from Gajeel before he grunted as he felt Levy hit him.
"No fighting." She said before relaxing again as Gray sat on a chair, a soda can in hand, an amused smile on his face as he watched the scene. He took a sip of his drink before he grunted as he felt something on his lap. Looking down he saw Juvia sitting on his lap, leaning on his chest with her eyes closed. Gajeel chuckled as he saw his best friend make Gray slightly uncomfortable.
"Uh Juvia? What are you doing?" Gray asked as Juvia looked up at him.
"Hugging my beloved. What's wrong? Are you uncomfortable?" She innocently asked as Gray had a slight blush on his face before he wrapped an arm around her waist.
"No…I'm quite comfortable." He brought her closer as Juvia beamed happily and leaned closer. Gray sent a slight glare at Gajeel as Juvia wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing her breasts into his chest.
"Here you go ma'am. One strawberry cheesecake and a chocolate cake." Erza said as she stood behind a counter wearing a baker's outfit.
"Thank you." The customer said as she paid the bill and left the shop. Erza sighed as she removed her hat and her apron, her shift ending as her coworkers went about their business.
"Nice job on the first week Erza." Her coworker said as he removed an empty tray from the stands.
"Thanks. I honestly didn't expect it to go so well." She replied as she removed her gloves and washed her hands.
"Don't be like that. It's not really that hard, if anything you are kinda lucky that you haven't dealt with worse customers." A female coworker said as she too removed her hat and apron, "Trust me, if you think this job is easy, you haven't dealt with obnoxious kinds of customers. Those are the worst." She said as Erza nodded.
"I will take your word for it. See you guys tomorrow!" She said as she left the store wearing a white long sleeved shirt, blue skirt reaching past her knees and a jacket to cover herself in slightly cold weather.
"Man, she is so beautiful." Her coworker said as he looked at her going up the street, seeing her scarlet red hair flutter in the wind.
"Don't even think about it. She is way out of her league." His colleague said as they got out of the bakery with their boss closing it.
"I would listen to her Mark. A girl like her probably has a boyfriend." He said before they all left the place.
"Ha ha! Look at this girl!" Wendy sat shyly in her seat, a sandwich in hand and a backpack with books next to her. She sat in one of the school's outside tables as several students pointed and laughed at her. First few months in school had not been the best experiences for her, not helped by Natsu's insistence that she go to school to help her find friends and get a bit more social, as well as learn some things.
So far, things had been average, but she didn't expect others to start making fun of her.
"Please, stop." She said but they kept laughing.
"Or what? You are gonna cry little girl? You are gonna tell the teacher?" One boy mocked as he and cronies then grabbed her by her hair, "What's up with your hair? You think you can be special here with a stupid hair colour? Are you one of those cry-babies that dad talks about who always talks big?" He mocked her as he pulled on her hair causing Wendy to yell out in pain.
"Let me go!" She said as she slapped him in the face, causing him to let go of her. Wendy glared at him as the boy now had a red handprint on his face, he glared at her and slapped her back, causing Wendy to yelp as the slap left a mark on her cheek.
"You think you can slap me just because you are a girl? Let me tell you this: I don't care if you are one, no one hits me and gets away with it." The boy said as Wendy looked back with a few tears in her left eye and a stinging slap mark on her cheek.
"What kind of a person are you?!" She asked as she went to get away from her table only for the boy to trip her. Wendy fell to the ground, hitting her face on the ground.
"Ow!" She mumbled as she stood up, her uniform covered in dust and dirt, a bruise on her forehead and a red nose, "What was that for?!" She shouted at him and he slapped her in response.
"That's for being a brat! You think you can run away like that! Dad was right! You and others like you are just cowards." He said as Wendy had a look of anger on her face and punched him in the face. The others around her looked shocked at what she did as the boy stumbled back while covering his nose. He took his hands off and noticed that his nose seemed to be bleeding slightly. He got angry and looked at her with clenched fists.
"You bitch!" He shouted before he tried to attack her, but she dodged him. He went to tackle her again but she dodged again, unfortunately she ended up tripping due to hitting a rock jutting out of the ground and fell on her back. She winced and tried to stand up only to get punched in the face by the boy, hitting her square in the nose. She covered her face and curled up as the boy grunted at her.
"That's what you get for thinking that you are better, fucking snowflake." He said before footsteps were heard behind him as the teacher came up to them.
"What's going on here?!" The students looked over and saw one of the teachers standing behind the bully. His eyes looked at the boy to Wendy lying on the ground covering her face and his eyes darkened.
"Marcus! What do you think you are doing?!" He asked as Marcus scoffed while the teacher went to Wendy, helping her get up and removing her hands. His eyes widened as he saw her bleeding nose and tears in her eyes, her blood leaking from her nose as the teacher looked at the bully.
"Marcus! Principal's office, now! Your father's gonna hear about this!" He shouted as he led Wendy to the nurse while grabbing Marcus by his arm.
"May I ask what led to this situation?" The principal, a man in his late fifties wearing glasses asked as he looked at his two students. Marcus sat in one seat with Wendy sitting opposite with two plugs up her nose to stop the bleeding.
"I'm sure that Marcus is innocent here." Marcus' father, a man in his forties with a balding head and slightly portly belly said as he stood next to his son. He looked at Wendy, noting her hair, coming to conclusions about her.
"It's not my fault. She is the one who thinks that she is special just because she is new and has stupid colored hair." Marcus said as Wendy glared at him, the slap mark still visible on her face.
"Me? I did nothing! You are the one who's been bullying me for weeks!" She said, her voice nasally due to the plugs in her nose. The principal sighed as the two began to argue back and forth, removing his glasses, he cleaned them and slammed his hand on the table, silencing the two students.
"Miss Marvel, let's wait for one of your parents to come, then we will hear everything." Wendy nodded as several minutes passed before several knocks broke the awkward silence.
"Come in." The principal said as the door opened. Now the principal expected to see his secretary to bring the paperwork or one of the teachers to talk about something. He expected anyone out of his school to come in.
He didn't expect to see the CEO of Drago Industries and a candidate for Fiore's President at his school.
"Sorry for being late, got held up due to work." Natsu said as he went to stand next to Wendy, frowning as he saw the plugs in her nose and the dirt on her uniform as well as the traces of blood left on her upper lip.
"E-Excuse me, Mr. Dragneel. W-Why are you here?" The principal asked with slight fear in his voice as Natsu looked at him.
"I came here due to the call from the school's nurse telling me about Wendy getting into a fight. As I am her legal guardian, I would like to know why she was in a fight and with who." He explained standing next to her and wiping some of the dirt from her face. The principal and Marcus's father looked shocked with Marcus looking confused while Wendy gave him a glare. The principal then gathered his bearings and coughed into his hand.
"R-Right. This revelation aside, please tell me how this started." He said while looking at the two students.
"She is at fault. She is the one who always acts like she is superior to us." Marcus started before Wendy interrupted him.
"Me? Since when did I act like that? You are the one who has been picking on me and bullying me and others for weeks now!" Natsu raised an eyebrow as he looked at Marcus, then to his father who flinched slightly under his gaze. After a few moments, the two students looked ready to fight again.
"You are a damn snowflake, that's what you are! Always act superior, can't handle criticism so you always resort to violence, just like those people that dad talks about." At those words, Natsu understood and gave a look of exasperation, while looking at the father with an incredulous stare.
"Snowflake? Do you even know what you are saying? I'm not any of those people he talks about! You are just a paranoid bully who likes to fight others and always wants to make yourself look big!" Wendy said as the principal gripped his coffee mug to the point that his knuckles turned white before he slammed it on the table. The mug nearly shattered as the two students looked startled.
"Enough! I will not stand for childish banter! Either you tell me coherently or you both get detention for two weeks." He told the two as they looked at each other.
"Do you have any cameras around the school?" Natsu asked as the principal looked at him.
"Yes, there are many across the school territory. Why?"
"Good, then let's watch them and see what really happened." Natsu suggested as the principal nodded and pressed several buttons on his desk. Several holograms appeared above the table and he scrolled through them and came up on today's video.
"Here it is." He pressed it and it widened to show what really happened. Natsu's eyes narrowed as he saw what happened, he looked over at the father and son with a critical look. The principal removed his glasses as the video ended and he looked at Marcus with disapproving eyes.
"I expected better from you Marcus, picking on and hitting a girl when she is defenseless is NOT okay. I've been getting reports on how you bullied some kids but chose to put them aside because you seemed like a model student, but after this you will be watched closely. Detention for two weeks with additional homework," Marcus tried to protest, "Don't make me give you a task to clean the classrooms." Marcus shut up as the principal looked at his father.
"Mr. Ferguson. Perhaps you should stop pushing your beliefs into your son and teach him to not be so violent." He said firmly before looking at Wendy.
"Now, I can't say too much to you Wendy since you only tried to defend yourself. However, next time if you get harassed, please run to other teachers or me instead of starting a fight. Detention for three days." Wendy nodded as Natsu nodded as well.
"If that is all, you are free to go." Wendy stood up as Natsu took her hand and left the office and the school, getting looks of shock from the school staff around them. As they left the school grounds towards the car, Natsu saw the father and son getting to their own car.
"Hey." He called out as the father turned to him, "Maybe you shouldn't lump people in the same category to please your beliefs, and stop pushing your agenda to your son, you are no better than those you hate if you do so." The father frowned at that.
"What makes you think you can teach me?" He asked, getting on his face as Marcus looked from the car expecting his father to destroy the man.
"If your son hits girls just because they have different hair colors or just because he thinks he is on the right because of your beliefs, it's obvious that you are a horrible father." Natsu calmly responded, glaring at the man who flinched at his words.
"How I raise my son is not your business." The father said, jabbing his finger at Natsu, who grabbed his hand and clenched his hand tight, causing the man to start shouting as Natsu grabbed his hand tightly to the point of crushing them.
"It's my business if Wendy is the one he hurts because you indoctrinated him. Maybe I should remind you who you are messing with and who you work for, punk?" Natsu said with a dark look in his onyx eyes as the man fell to one knee as he felt his bones start to break under Natsu's grip.
"I give! I give!" The man said as Natsu let go of his hand and looked at him with unimpressed eyes before looking at Marcus who watched from the window.
"Try hurting Wendy again, this is what will happen to your father, kid." Natsu said as he fixed his suit and went to his car where Wendy sat in the back seat. He pressed the ignition as its tires glowed and folded in the car as it began to float. Natsu drove the car away to the penthouse as Wendy sat in the back with a downtrodden look.
"I am proud of you, you know?" Natsu said as Wendy looked up at him, "You tried to defend yourself and didn't take shit from him. I guess he is the one who has been picking on you for the last few weeks." She nodded at him.
"I thought you didn't listen." Natsu raised an eyebrow at her.
"Wendy, just because I am busy doesn't mean I didn't listen to your experience at school. I put you in that school specifically because it treats all students equally. Though I hoped you would have had a better time there." He told her.
"I didn't think a school would be like that. Why are there people like him?" Natsu sighed at that.
"Because there will always be some asshole who thinks he is better than everybody else. Although, how they were raised is a major part of why they are like that. If you think he was bad, wait until I tell you of the times when Yang and Jaune used to be students. These two gave me all sorts of headaches, all the fights, all the detentions and other such things. I gave the two harsh punishments that sometimes…went a little too far. Though they did have reasons to fight because of being bullied but still. I hope you are not gonna take after your siblings Wendy." He jokingly said as Wendy blushed.
"No, I won't. Although I don't know why you put me in school. Don't I have friends already?" Natsu chuckled at her.
"Wendy, if you haven't noticed we aren't really your age. Physically at least. You need to find some friends of your own age and start socializing more. Even in the past, your only friends of your age were Romeo and Chelia, doesn't help that you were-and still are-really shy." He explained as Wendy pouted in her seat.
"It's just hard to find friends, especially when I don't know most of the stuff they talk about." Natsu nodded as he thought about it. They had already arrived at the penthouse's roof as he got out of the car.
"It's not that hard really. Just be yourself and be friendly. Who knows? You might find some really good friends one day." He said while opening her door and she came out, holding her backpack.
"If you say so." She muttered as Natsu ruffled her hair as he opened the door to the penthouse. He let her in first before coming in and closed the door behind him. He removed the business suit, leaving him in his white shirt and black pants as Wendy took off her jacket and put it on the shelf. They both took off their shoes and went to the living room where they saw Mira, Laxus, Lisanna, Gray, Juvia, Gajeel and Levy in the kitchen setting up a table for dinner.
"Natsu, you are just in time for dinner." Lisanna said as Laxus put the plates on the table.
"Smells good. Wendy, go clean up and change your clothes." She nodded and went to her room as Natsu rolled up his sleeves and cleaned up his face and hands using the sink. The door to the penthouse opened and closed again as Jaune came in with his guitar and a bag full of medicine.
"I'm home. I brought the medicine that Ms. Nicole prescribed." He said, putting it on a stand.
"You are on time. Bring your sister from her room." Natsu asked as he sat down. Jaune put the guitar next to the couch and went to Yang's room just as Wendy came down from hers wearing her daily clothes.
"A dinner for a whole family. Hope you are all hungry." Lisanna said as she and Mira put the food on the plates.
"Let's wait for Jaune and Yang." Natsu said as the two sisters and Juvia put the plates in front of them. After a few moments, Jaune came into the kitchen wheeling a bandaged Yang into the kitchen. The blonde and pink haired woman looked better since the accident, much of her burns on her upper body slowly healed but the lower parts suffered quite a bit of damage, causing her constant pain and forcing her on a wheelchair. Nicole did her best, but the fuel used in the Molotov that hit her severely limited even the advanced medicine of the future.
"Alright, we are here." Jaune said as he put Yang next to Wendy. He carefully undid the bandages on her hands, wincing as he saw the burns. He then took out a napkin and put it over her neck to make sure she didn't dirty her bandages, with that done he then put the breaks on the wheels of the chair to make sure she didn't slide backwards.
"Thanks, Jaune." Yang said as her brother nodded as he sat down next to her, bringing the snacks closer.
"Anytime Yang." He replied as Natsu put a napkin over his own shirt and pants. The elder then gave a small prayer, the rest following suit as everyone began to dig in.
In Drago Industries, Irene sat behind a desk in one of the lower floors, tablets around her as she answered calls or worked on the computers.
"Ten minutes till the end of the shift. Anyone who wants to work overtime, warn in advance." The voice over the entire building said. Irene sighed as she looked over the many papers and tablets she had to work with.
"I will have to take them with me. Erza must be waiting for me at home already." She muttered as she finished all the paperwork she could and after ten minutes, the clocks rang, ending the shift as many of the workers began to leave. She put all of the papers and tablets on her bag, put on her jacket and began to leave her work place.
"See you tomorrow Irene." Her colleagues said as they left with some remaining to work overtime. She shook her head and went to the bus station to go back to her apartment.
'Lucky for me that Natsu allowed me to work in his company.' She thought as she took the bus and arrived at her apartment complex. Fishing her card out, she slid it over the door as it opened and went to look for hers.
After a few moments, she came up to it and opened the door to a smell of food.
"Erza?" Irene called out as Erza came out of the kitchen wearing an apron and a spoon in hand.
"Mom, you are just in time. Dinner is ready." She said as Irene put her bag down and removed her jacket, placing it on the shelf. She went to the kitchen where she found Erza putting food on the table and a machine cooking food.
'Glad we had that installed. I didn't think I could take Erza's cooking.' She thought, remembering how her daughter nearly burned the kitchen down and made an inedible slop.
"Sit down, I will put it on the table." Erza told her, putting the dinner and taking the teapot from the stove.
"Thank you Erza." The mother said as she stretched in her seat as her daughter sat down on her own chair, putting steaming hot food in front of her.
"Bon appetit." They said as they dug in the dinner.
"How are you feeling?" Natsu asked as he sat down besides Yang. They had finished dinner and the others left to do their own things, leaving Gray, Juvia, Natsu, Wendy and his grandchildren in the penthouse.
"I'm fine, for the most part." Yang replied as Jaune put the prescribed medicine next to her bed as well as replace the I.V drip.
"You really scared us back then you know sis." Jaune said as he sat down on the opposite side of Natsu.
"I know, you keep telling me every time you visit." Yang replied as Jaune chuckled.
"Well, excuse me for worrying that I might lose my only sister. Well one of my two sisters." He said as Yang raised an eyebrow.
"I adopted Wendy a few months ago. Now she is a sister to both of you." Natsu explained as Yang smiled.
"Sweet. Always wanted a little sister to spoil." She said as both men smiled, "I heard that you are running for President now?" At her words, he nodded.
"Why? I mean, you only had to sue the guy who burned me and that's all. What's up with applying as a candidate?" He sighed at her question.
"First of all, I knew that if things continued to be this way many more would be hurt. Second, suing someone would only fuel the fires more and though we sued the one responsible for your injuries and put him behind bars, there are many who will riot to release him. I literally had to threaten some people in order to ensure the bastards stayed behind bars for using illegal components for his Molotovs as well as hurting people." He answered, his metal hand clenching and unclenching.
"There is more to it than that isn't it?" Jaune asked, seeing his grandfather look like he was reliving some traumatic event. He took deep breaths and looked at the two.
"When I saw Yang burned up and near death…it reminded me of how Lucy and some of my descendants died." Yang gasped as Jaune's eyes widened. Their grandfather looked at them with a tired look in his eyes.
"Back then, during the age of Magic, when Pergrande first declared war on the rest of Ishgar there have been many atrocities committed, some of which I did personally. Lucy at the time, due to being my wife and having close friendships with Zodiac spirits, had her life extended so we could spend as much time as possible with each other. When the war first broke out, she stayed in Magnolia with some of our descendants while I went into the frontlines. We expected the war to be over due to Ishgar having mostly mages as soldiers. We were wrong." He leaned back on his chair, hand on his face as he remembered those days.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" A wall of flames unleashed upon the battlefield towards Pergrande soldiers as Natsu and the other mages unleashed their magic upon the marching men. Waves of magic of all types rained on the invaders. Dust clouds settled as the mages expected to see a broken army.
"Pergrande had managed to advance itself enough to counter mages."
To the shock and horror of the mages, they saw the soldiers standing inside a barrier that glowed brightly before it launched all their attacks back at them.
"TAKE COVER!" Natsu shouted as his comrades ran from the blasts, some ended up being unlucky and unable to escape in time as the amplified magic tore them to shreds.
"What the hell?" Natsu muttered as he saw the invaders march forward, their weapons drawn and their banner held proudly. Natsu lit his hands aflame as he turned to his own soldiers.
"Hold your ground!" He shouted as the Pergrande soldiers came closer and closer to the mages who all prepared their magic for a bloody battlefield. Natsu roared as the first soldier charged at him and he launched him back with an uppercut.
"A war that was supposed to last for a few years, became a struggle for a decade. Lives lost in all the countries of Ishgar, horrible acts committed and a siege nearly lost."
"Hold the line! Don't let them win!" Natsu shouted over the sounds of battle and explosions.
"The western wall can barely hold! We have no chance of winning!" One of his soldiers said as he shot a magic blast from the rifle he held. He then ducked as an arrow went past his head.
"We just need a bit more time. Just a bit more till the special spell is ready." Natsu said, dirt in his hair and beard with holes in his uniform.
"Sir, with all due respect, we need to leave! We can't hold out for much longer." He replied as he threw a magic bomb behind the walls and ducked back as it exploded behind them.
"Sir, the spell is nearly ready! But we need one more person to amplify its power!" A private came up to him and said as he ducked under the fire.
"Lieutenant, take charge. I am going to the casters to help them!" Natsu said as he then ran to the spell casters who all glowed as they prepared the spell.
"Captain! The spell is ready! You need to use it now!" Natsu nodded as he stepped into the circle, his body absorbing Ethernano and the circle beneath him glowed with his own appearing over it.
"Captain! WE CAN'T HOLD ON MUCH LONGER!" The lieutenant said as the casters began to chant.
"Oh, gods above, grant us the power we beg of you!"
"To smite our enemies with immense might!"
"Grant this strong willed one power to burn the landscape!"
"Give us the might to protect what we hold dear!"
Natsu breathed in as he felt power surge through him.
"I am the dragon who shall burn the damned in hellish fires!" His fists clenched as his flames burned with intensity.
"I am the demon who shall devour all life in black flames!" his hands turned black with cracks as E.N.D's power amplified his dragon fires.
"I shall drag you to the burning pits of hell! Burn in repentance!" he brought his hands together as a small sphere formed in the center.
"Etherious Dragon's…" His fires compressed into the sphere, "EXPLOSION!" The sphere burned hot as it launched out of his hand, out of the walls, towards the enemy at high speed. As it touched the ground, it glowed…
"TAKE COVER!" Natsu shouted to his soldiers as he defended the casters with a flame shield.
Before a mighty explosion shook the ground, a giant pillar of fire forming over the besieged city with the defenders falling to the ground. The invaders' shields tried to withstand the blast, but after several seconds, the shields shattered and the explosion enveloped them all. The pillar visible from outer space with the whole country feeling the quake unleashed from the explosion.
"Had we not defended Crocus that day, we would have probably lost. But as Ishgar began to fight back and advance upon Pergrande we learned the true atrocities that they committed while occupying the countries. Turns out Bosco allied with Pergrande, they had taken all mages and put them in concentration camps and as we advanced they decided to do the unthinkable." He looked up at his grandchildren and who seemed to understand what he meant.
"The Final Solution."
Natsu and the rest of the Fiore soldiers marched through the streets of Bosco, fighting off Bosco soldiers and destroying the remaining resistance. As they did so, they came upon a peculiar sight.
A camp full of soldiers, seemingly rushing to do some kind of task. Natsu paid no mind to their pleas and ordered the soldiers to clean through the camp. But as they opened the first cabin of the camp, horror filled them as they saw who was inside.
"No." Natsu whispered as he saw the corpses of civilians, marks on their bodies to signify what country they came from. All of them Fiorian.
"These are our citizens. How did they end up here? We made sure that they all stayed in secret bunkers." One of the soldiers said as Natsu saw something that filled him with horror. His eyes widened as he slowly approached one particular body. The dark of the night tamed it hard to see but Natsu saw clearly who it was.
"Lucy." He whispered as he fell to his knees beside her body, his hands cradling her mostly burned face. Her body is covered in burns and thin to the bone.
"Lucy." Tears came to his eyes as he shook her slightly, trying to wake her up. To his horror, no answer came from her, her body cold to the touch. His soldiers bowed their heads as their captain seemed to break down. And then his eyes snapped open, pure hatred present in them as he gently put her body down and marched out of the camp, hands burning with magic.
That day, the population of Bosco nearly went extinct.
"I found some of my descendants dead in the camps. I lost control and burned Bosco and nearly half of Pergrande. After the war, I was put on trial for the atrocities and imprisoned for seventy five years." The two young people had horror in their eyes as their grandfather told them of what he had done.
"Even now, the memories haunt me. I still see the bodies, burnt skeletons and burned cities." He finished before he stood up and went to the door.
"Jaune, check Wendy's homework. I want to be alone for a while." He said, leaving the two adults shocked as they looked at each other.
Meanwhile, Natsu sat in his own private room. Newsletters littered the room as well as old memories of simpler times. He went to the bed, taking out a gold ring out of his pocket, he stared at it for a while before he closed his fist around it and looked at the date.
"May 16, it would have been our one hundred and fifth anniversary. Our great grandchildren would have been with us, helping us celebrate it. I wish so much I had stayed with you." He said as tears started sliding out of his eyes and down his cheeks.
"I miss you, so much Lucy." He said as his body shook. The elder man who had witnessed some of the worst horrors of history, broke down after so many years of holding it all in.
Earth Land: 0101-A
He remembered it all. Down to every last detail.
He remembered how he met his guild, he remembered the adventures they went through. He remembered the happiness and thrill of battle that he experienced every time he went to some place with them.
But over time, things went crazy.
Advancement of technology made Ethernano obsolete, mages became useless as everyone relied on simpler, cheaper technology.
Guilds went extinct, numbers of mages became less and less as they either hid from the government or simply accepted new laws and gave up their magic. He remembered hiding, unwilling to give up the last remnants of Igneel's power. After so many years of hiding, he came out after he was forgotten, hiding his magic and forced to learn everything about the new technology just to survive in the densely populated places destroying most of nature.
Years passed, he became quite adept in mechanics and technology, eventually creating his own A.I and robots. He earned some renown in the world, largely thanks to Levy helping him after he found her.
Their inventions helped many, but as things became more and more advanced, it became obvious that some ideas needed to be let go.
And that, is when things started going to hell. All over the planet, for centuries, revolutions of different ideologies erupted, sometimes succeeding and creating new countries or sometimes failing and going back to the old ways. By that time, he was very old and near death so he decided to go out with one last invention.
An A.I that would surpass all others, one that could mimic and learn human behavior and even feel emotions. It would adapt to every situation, self-evaluate and learn from mistakes, improve upon his and other models, control many machines at once and surpass even the most brilliant minds on the planet.
It took him the rest of his remaining life but he finally accomplished it. He created his greatest invention and his most loved creation.
The A.I supreme. He didn't know what to name it though, a creation like this needed a name.
So he chose one that he lived by once.
E.N.D.
The A.I proved itself in many ways, surpassing all the expected results in tests, exceeding the other A.I and generally showing that it had done its mission and more. But the most surprising part was it started calling him father. It has learned to love and understand human emotion.
And there was its biggest problem. It learned human emotion and became attached to him, at his dying moments, it did everything to extend his life for grief was something it did not want to feel. But alas, it had to be. He died, leaving his creation alone to face the world on his own.
But there was something he overlooked.
A.I and robots feeling emotion is perhaps one of the worst ideas one could ever make.
"Creator, are you awake?" HAPPY asked as the monotone robot voice passed over the secret part of the lab. A minute later, something metallic creaked on the other side before the doors opened, revealing Natsu-5 standing on the other side with a new weapon in hand.
"What is it HAPPY? I am very busy right now." Natsu-5 asked as he put the blueprints of the weapon into the factory to start mass production and start arming his droids with the new weapon.
"The colony at the edge of the galaxy has sent a distress call. Apparently, an unknown assailant has appeared and started terrorizing the solar system in that sector." HAPPY replied as Natsu-5 looked over a hologram. His eyes glowed as he saw all the messages and alerts of alien presence.
"Any information on who or what they are?" He asked, waving his hand as the electronics made noises while doing their job on the double.
"No creator. Though initial information before the invasion describes it as an advancing army that devastates all life around it. The energy signatures show some kind of foul corrupting, energy. Like a virus that hijacks life and corrupts it." HAPPY said as Natsu-5 stopped in place as the lines on his body glowed bright.
"Corrupt huh? There are a lot of things that can corrupt in the universe, but we have cleansed the universe many millennia ago during the conquests. For something like that to appear under our noses is very strange." He wondered as his eyes switched colors to onyx for a minute before they turned back to their red color.
"Send in the Terminator droids, creator?" WENDY asked as Natsu-5 chuckled.
"Send the Hunters instead. They should take care of this problem. Ensure that the closest factory to the colonies under siege produce them as fast as they can." He ordered watching over the Earth Land through the window of his lab.
"Yes creator." HAPPY and WENDY said as they both left their creator in peace as he watched over humans working outside the lab.
"So many millennia. I have forgotten when exactly I fused with you my son." Natsu-5 muttered in a different voice to himself as his head twitched for a second.
"Don't dwell on it too much father. We have a lot to do right now." His original voice said as he then went back to work to upgrade his existing weapons.
Sometimes, an A.I with emotion is an A.I that will do horrific things. His 'son' put his consciousness in a robot, failing several times before fusing it to his program.
The result is an A.I with extreme intelligence and destructive tendencies of a demon.
Although, thankfully, it turned out for the better for humanity.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: Yeah, yeah I know. Short chapter, but at least it's a chapter.
The year is close to an end, let us all hope for a better year and for the virus to be cured.
Also, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in advance. Cause I am updating it in January and I don't know when so I might as well say 'Happy Holidays' to all my followers and readers who have stayed with this fanfic for nearly two years. That and I will be kinda busy with other stuff to update this fanfic.
On the other note, I wrote a new fanfic called 'Ideas'. It's not a Fairy Tail fanfic, rather it's a compilation of ideas for various fandoms that I had. I will probably write a FT chapter for it one day. The first chapter is for Akame Ga Kill and the second is for RWBY. If you are a fan of one of those, feel free to check it out.
Thanks for reading this chapter and until next year. I wish you all the best.