Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

The First Job

Edmond trudged forward in the deep snow, the soft, pillowy surface crunching beneath his feet. He looked ahead on the path in front of him, but the snow storm kept his vision blurry. Some first job this turned out to be, he thought to himself.

He looked to his comrades who he had joined. Master Makarov instructed two other guild members to take him on his first job, a sort of initiation job, so to speak. Although the two that were assigned to him weren't exactly what he expected.

"Everybody doing alright?" Warren asked, his telepathic magic cutting through the snow. Said man was a slim-built, black haired mage with an undercut-like style to his hair. When Edmond had first met him at the guild hall, he had worn a high-collar red jacket with orange cuffs and shoulders. Now though, the jacket was overlaid with a thicker dark red jacket with a grey wool lining just barely visible on the edges.

"All good here, although this snow storm isn't making our life any easier." Laki responded, their telepathic link helping to make conversation easier in the high-speed winds. Laki was a young woman that looked to have just come into adult-hood, her bowl-cut style dull purple hair and brown eyes squinting as she looked through the storm. She had previously worn a light-colored coat with long blue strikes that ran down the arms, but had discarded that for a much warmer brown and purple fur coat she had that looked to be custom made for her color palette.

He wished that his duster was warmer, thicker, and didn't have as many holes, slices, or thinned out areas as it did. It wasn't ratty looking by any means, but the fact of the matter was that he was clutching his shoulder in the vain attempt to keep his body temperature high while his companions only looked mildly perturbed by the cold. Maybe its a magic thing. Maybe if I use my magic more it'll increase magic circulation… or something. Edmond guessed to himself, looking at the large expanse of white on discolored white that was the area in which they were conducting their job.

"So remind me what it is we're out here for again?" Edmond stated through the telepathic link. He actually found that to be a rather odd sensation, talking to others without actually moving his mouth, but he was glad he could. Not only was it hard to hear each other, but he felt like the further on they moved, the less distance he could see around him.

"We're searching for the location where some thieves hid the treasure they stole. Authorities already have them in custody, it's our job to find where they said they hid it and return it." Warren reiterated, a clear annoyed resignation in his voice about the nature of the job.

Edmond sighed, not that anyone could hear. He didn't appreciate the fact that his first job with the guild felt more like grunt work than anything. Although he supposed that given his ranking he can't necessarily start off taking particularly dangerous jobs right off, so he understood. Still didn't make him feel any better though.

"If the map we have is correct, we should be getting close to the described location by now, but given that we can't really see where we are exactly I would find it difficult to make that a promise." Laki then added, attempting to read the admittedly useless map they had been given which supposedly listed the location of the treasure.

"I'm gonna be honest Laki, I'm not really sure how you would be able to tell if we're getting close or not. I can't make out anything we would be able to use as a landmark." Edmond stated frankly. He looked over to Laki, barely able to see her through the storm, who seemed to be pondering what he was saying.

"To be honest I can't really say for certain, I'm just having to go on my own instincts." She responded, looking helplessly at the map.

"Yea… Not exactly any way we can find ourselves… Edmond, see anything yet?" Warren asked, Edmond merely giving a hum in decline. Laki hummed in frustration, seemingly ready to throw the map in her hands into the snow before the very snow she was thinking of as a suitable target caved in as she walked on it. A girlish yelp soon followed by a long cry as she seemed to fall down into whatever cavern that laid below.

"Laki!" Both males cried out loud, jumping to the hole she fell into, only to smack their head against each other in doing so. They backed off, rubbing their heads, and surprisingly for Edmond, it was Warren that recovered first and jumped after his fallen guild member, his falling cry joining Laki's even as it was becoming harder to hear.

"I should have known something like this would happen." Edmond said to himself, the infamous ability for Fairy Tail mages to find themselves in some kind of trouble coming to his mind, reminding him of the conversation he had with Laki and Warren on the way to their job, where Edmond made a striking realization…

"Geronimo!" He cried, surprised that instead of a straight drop, the fall smoothed out into what could only be described as the coldest tunnel slide he had ever been on. He shivered as he kept sliding down the tunnel, Warren's cries just ahead of him, hoping that the fact he couldn't hear Laki's voice wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Thankfully he heard it again right as Warren stopped yelling himself and they both exclaimed with an 'oof'. By the time he realized why, it was too late, his form barreling into his fellow guild members, slamming into their backs right as they turned their head to the entrance of the ice cave they were now in. "Ow." Was Edmonds simple statement as he moved Laki's foot from his face. And once he could properly see, his eyes widened with a sense of both fear and exasperation.

...The realization that the main cast wasn't the exception when it came to crazy missions that took turns for the worse/better that not many would have seen coming. No, it was like that for the whole guild, something that Edmond would now learn personally.

"Intruders!" A large ape-like creature yelled, it's fur white with a blue chest, face, and belly, along with blue circles that lined it's arms. Plus nearly a dozen others that looked similar to it exclaiming similar words as the three mages managed to pull themselves together. "Intru-hu-hu-hu-ders!" Another exclaimed, beating his chest, before another one pointed a large finger right at Laki. "Woman!" They all seemed to only now notice that fact, at which, they all seemed to grow large perverted smiles. "Woman!"

"Welp… This just got interesting." Edmond stated with dry humor as he got into his fighting stance, Laki cringing at the looks she was getting from the Vulcans, and Warren gulping as he got into his own fighting stance, which was reminiscent of a kung fu stance. Then the Vulcan's charged the group, most of them going after Laki, hearts practically in their eyes.

"Wood make: Spike Trap!" Laki's exclamation was followed by a pulse of her magic and a large array of wooden spikes springing up in a semi-circle around them, and catching the Vulcan's off-guard, several of them being sent flying. Most of them however only stopped temporarily before destroying the wooden spikes that had impeded them.

"Don't let up! Cosmic make: Warhammer!" Edmond exclaimed, the large warhammer appearing in his hands as he swung wide, catching the closest one and sending the Vulcan into a nearby pillar of frosted stone. Edmond was about to repeat the action before a large blue fist collided with his stomach, sending him into the wall behind his guildmates, still clutching the warhammer in his arms.

"Edmond!" Warren shouted in concern, the man moving to engage, flawlessly dodging a Vulcan's punch before retaliating with a flying roundhouse, the strike snapping the ape's head in the opposite direction, the creature howling with pain. Another went for him at the same time, and again, he easily dodged the strike, and punched the ape in the gut, lifting the creature up a few inches before stepping back and palm-striking it hard, the ape being sent flying into another.

"Wood make: Flails of forbidden desire!" Laki shouted, as three tall wooden poles sprouted from the ground, each of them with hinges along their length, and a wooden chain with flail on the end of each one, the three flail-towers all bent down thanks to their hinges and began to rotate quickly, the Vulcans, who had gotten too close for Laki's comfort, were struck repeatedly by the flails, but managed to hold their ground before they grabbed the poles, and tore them apart.

"Pretty woman! You're coming with us! Ooo Hoo!" The lead Vulcan declared, hearts in his eyes, reaching for one of Laki's arms.

"Wood make: The Dam of Shy Love!" Those same Vulcans who had gotten so close were suddenly launched into the air as several dozen large wooden blocks sprouted from underneath them, sending them hurling toward the ceiling.

"Alright!" Edmond encouraged, watching as the Vulcans slammed into the ceiling before collapsing into a pile in front of the mages. "My turn now! Cosmic make: Anvil!" He shouted, pulling hands back before throwing them forward to give his creation the momentum it needs as it sails forward, striking the pile of stunned Vulcans like a bowling ball to pins. He was rather happy with how things were going so far, and it seemed like they might be able to continue their search soon. A solid smack of flesh on flesh drew his attention away from the Vulcans he had just 'struck' and to where Warren delivered another solid punch to one of the two Vulcans he was holding off. After another roundhouse kick to the other, that Vulcan went down with a groan, and didn't seem too keen on getting back up. It must be useful to be able to read your opponent's minds. Edmond thought as he watched Warren fight.

"You guys doing okay?" Warren asked over his shoulder, dodging another punch and delivering an axe kick to the offending creature.

"Yep, we're pretty good over here!" Laki said with rising confidence, the easily handled Vulcans having boosted it. Edmond merely nodded before rubbing his shoulders, as the ice cave they were in, while slightly warmer than outside, was still below freezing. Several of the Vulcans actually got up, eyeing the wizards with tense glares, but were now much more wary of them.

"Guys. I think they have the treasure horde we're looking for. Apparently their boss is guarding it further into the cave." Warren stated, Edmond giving him an incredulous look, but Laki was rather ecstatic.

Edmond looked down towards where the cave continued, the dark, cold corridor sending a chill down his spine. "How far down do you think that is?" Edmond asked, Warren giving a slight shrug.

"No idea, but if that's where the treasure is then we gotta press on." Warren stated "But at least we won't have to deal with the snow storm outside." Then the three glanced at the re-approaching Vulcans. "After we take care of these guys of course."

As the trio continued onward into the cave, they found it odd that they hadn't encountered anymore vulcans by now. If their boss were further into the cave, they would've expected to meet further opposition as well. Overall though things seemed relatively quiet.

"Almost too quiet," Edmond stated aloud, the sudden sound of his voice breaking the eerie silence.

And indeed this cave was silent. Where one would expect a normal cave to have faint drips of water and the sound of rocks sliding as the earth shifted, this cave had no such sound. Only the echoing footsteps of the three mages as they continued to progress deeper and deeper still.

"Amazing how smooth these cave walls have formed," Warren stated, admiring the faint crystal-like beauty of the ice cave. Laki hummed in agreement, but had something else on her mind.

"This must be some important treasure if you were going to go through all the trouble to hide it out this far." She stated, getting the listening attention of her two companions "I mean, who would go through all this trouble? And not only that, but give it up to the authorities almost immediately after they're caught?" As Edmond listened to Laki ponder this outloud, he couldn't help but ponder that himself. What could be so valuable that someone would have to go to such great lengths to hide it, but then not have enough incentive to keep it hidden even after they're caught.

"Perhaps they weren't particularly worried about anybody finding it, even with its last known location." Warren suggested.

"Or they've sent us in the complete wrong direction on purpose." Edmond then stated, his fingers covering his mouth in thought. As they Trekked further into the cave, the area seemed to get just slightly warmer, something Edmond was extremely grateful for. After only a minute more of walking, they came out into a larger expanse of the cave, much like the entrance they had discovered on accident. The main difference was that there was a large pile of sacks and crates, that appeared to be behind an area for a camp, complete with tents, a cold fire lacrima, some lamps, impromptu seating arrangements, and several dirty pots. However, what truly stood out in the cave was the massive Vulcan at the back of the room fiddling with a large metal chest it was handling like it was nothing.

"Stupid thing. Open!" The Large Vulcan yelled, and Edmond had a moment to take the sight of the creature in. It looked near-identical to the ones they had fought before, but this particular Vulcan was nearly twice the size as the others, and instead of having a darker belly, hands, and dots along its arms as opposed to it's white fur. This larger Vulcan however had dark red in those same places, as well as a large scar along its closed right eye, giving the Vulcan a much grimmer look. The large metal chets he was holding was nearly as big as the thing's arm, and was silver in color with gold accents, and very fine designs all along it's surface. The three of them quickly dove behind a large icy stalagmite in order to prevent them from being seen.

"Thats a really expensive looking chest. And a really powerful Vulcan." Warren said telepathically, not wanting to alert the Vulcan of their presence if they could help it. Laki and Edmond merely nodded, looking around for anything else of interest within the cave.

"It doesn't look like there's any other Vulcans around. So it'll be a three on one." Edmond said through the mental link with a smirk, and Warren nodded, but did not seem overly confident.

"Maybe so, but this guy looks bigger, plus, he looks experienced as well, and given his color, he's probably absorbed a mage before with its take-over magic. We should come up with a plan." Warren suggested, Edmond nodding in response, before pausing as he re-played that last statement.

"Maybe a trap of some kind, one of us could be the distraction, while the other two flank it and hit it hard?" Laki suggested mentally.

"Sound like a plan to me." Edmond agreed with a thumbs up, and warren mirrored the action. In the back of his mind though, Edmond couldn't help but think about Warren's statement about how the Vulcan has probably absorbed a mage before. If so… that means that this thing has killed before, although, we might be able to save the person thats been 'taken-over' so to speak. Edmond thought hopefully. While he wasn't naive enough to believe death somehow wasn't existent in this world, he was surprised to encounter a Vulcan that's killed before.

"I'll be the distraction since both of your magic types are better for dealing damage while I get it's attention with my telepathy." Warren said, Edmond and Laki smiling at the formulated plan, ready to take it into action, eager to use his magic against a real opponent again. Laki went over to the left side of the room and hid behind a large ice pillar, while Edmond snuck around the stalagmite in order to get a better vantage point, and warren stepped out between the pillar and stalagmite, aiming a glare at the Vulcan as it smashed the chest against the ground in a feeble attempt to break it open, the chest proving extremely durable.

"Hey! Dumbass!" Warren's shout got the Vulcan's attention, as it froze, before looking up to see the mage standing there, seemingly ready for a fight. "Why don't you stop beating that chest to death and let me beat you black and blue instead."

"What'd you say!?" The Vulcan roared, the stereotypical insult causing the Vulcan to drop the chest and start making his way over to Warren, an angry scowl upon his face. As he approached, his left hand became wreathed in fire, shocking Warren. "I can tell you must be some mage. I'll just absorb your power like the last few that came after me!" The Vulcan roared, Warren suddenly becoming more on guard. He thought that the Vulcan might have killed a mage before given it's unique color, but multiple? This was going to be harder than he thought. Then the Vulcan suddenly stopped, and began to sniff audibly, another moment of sniffing the air passed before he smirked lecherously. "And you didn't come alone!" Before Warren could react, the large Vulcan struck the ice pillar to his right, Laki flying away briefly from the shockwave before being caught by the magical creature's large fist.

"Laki!" Warren shouted in alarm, watching as the Vulcan looked lecherously at his new captive, The wood make mage struggling in the magical creature's strong grip, unable to cast a spell. Edmond decided to act.

"Cosmic make: Warhammer!" Edmond yelled from behind the creature, a warhammer of cosmic energy forming near-instantly, the weapon striking the Vulcan's back with a mighty thud, the red-tinted Vulcan letting loose a grunt as he lost his grip on Laki, the mage dropping onto her arse unceremoniously before rising up as quickly as she could.

"Why you!" The Vulcan roared, seemingly more annoyed at the attack than anything, raising a fist and sending it towards the cosmic make wizard.

"Wood make: Wood Wall!" Laki shouted, a large wooden wall sporting in front of Edmond, blocking the fist heading for him, But cracking heavily. Edmond got out of the way as the Vulcan's second fist hot the shield as well, completely destroying the magical construct. The Vulcan smiled cockily as Edmond clumsily held his warhammer. He was still not used to the feeling of really holding a weapon, but was not going to let it stop him from trying.

"Your going to have to do better than that little-" The Vulcan began, before he stopped, and gripped his head in agony. "M-My head Arg!" He groaned, Edmond looking at the Vulcan with confusion, before turning his attention to Warren, who was concentrating hard on the Vulcan while keeping both of his hand's index and middle fingers on his temples.

"You guys get the hits in, I'll keep him busy." Warren said with a bit of strain, the resistance to his telepathy magic rather strong with the Vulcan. Laki and Edmond nodded as they rushed forward, Laki preparing a spell while Edmond swung his hammer once again. It struck the Vulcan's face with a mighty smack, the creature gripping it's nose in pain. It swung blindly, and unfortunatly for Edmond, the creature found it's mark, sending the cosmic make mage flying for several feet.

"Wood make: Violent approach!" At her words, a large spiked ball of wood emerged from her hands and was sent hurtling towards the Vulcan, slamming against the Vulcan's chest. It staggered a bit from the force, but was able to stay upright, and as it regained it's footing, still dealing with the growing migraine, An anvil made of cosmic energy slammed into his face, causing him to lose his balance and fall onto his back. "Wood make: The Dam of shy love!" Laki exclaimed, placing her hands to the ground as her magic surged through it, reaching the vulcan, and forming several dozen large wooden blocks that slammed into it's back. The Vulcan cried out as it was sent flying a short distance.

"I think we've got this." Edmond said confidently, readying another spell to cast. Laki smirked as well, watching the Vulcan get upw hile rubbing it's head.

"Don't think this is over!" The vulcan roard, before it put it's two fists together, both of them turning to a brownish stone. He then sucked in a large breath, before letting loose a tremendous scream, the shockwave slower than the sound itself, but still faster than Any of the mages could react to. Laki and Edmodn were knocked off their feet, and Warren was able to brace himself, but lost concentration on his mind assault with the Vulcan. "I've got more tricks up my sleeve than you might think!" He then jumped towards them at surprising speed, raising his fists up and preparing to slam them down onto Edmond and Laki.

"Wood make: Wall!" Laki's shout was followed by a wooden wall of similar thickness to the last one she made covering her and Edmond in a dome like fashion. Unlike the previous wall though, this one did not survive for more than one hit. The Vulcan's fists broke straight through, and each one found purpose onto Laki and Edmond respectively, the maker-magic wizards cries of pain silenced by the fists currently covering their face along with most of their bodies.

"Laki! Edmond!" Warren yelled out, worry filling his voice, before he launched a powerful mind assault on the Vulcan, the creature yelling as it's hands turned back to flesh before they grabbed the sides of it's head. Warren grit his teeth, the magic flowing through his mind becoming a painful strain, thankfully Edmond and Laki both managed to get up and away from the Vulcan. Although after they did so, The Vulcan seemed to recover from the migraine, and growled dangerously at the two maker-wizards. The wizards in question looked back to see Warren was holding his own head in pain. "That spell took a lot out of me. Give me a second and I'll be ready again…" Warren said, his voice a bit strained before he backed away, his head still throbbing.

"Don't worry Warren, we'll finish this guy off, you did awesome man." Edmond said, readying another spell, magic gathering in his hands. Warren strained a smile at the compliment, Laki slamming her hands into the ground, already casting her spell.

"Wood make: The distance between two is forever!" Edmond raised an eyebrow at the long spell name, watching in slight awe as two large wood-sculpted hands emerged on the left and right of the Vulcan, locking it in place before it could properly react. The Vulcan seemed to be struggling to free itself as well.

"Damn wood! Let go!" The Vulcan growled out, The wood creaking dangerously as it struggled to keep the Vulcan in place.

"Edmond!" Laki cried, a bit of strain in her voice as she pumped a little more magic into her creation, trying to keep it from breaking. Said amatuer mage ran forward as he casted his spell with a cry.

"Cosmic make: Sword!" Edmond yelled out, wielding a longsword made from his magic, yelling as he swung the down onto the Vulcan's exposed shoulder, Eliciting a cry from the beast as the magic blade cut into it's flesh slightly. "Cosmic make: Anvil!" Edmodn said, casting that spell with his off-hand alone, the anvil forming imperfectly, but enough to where the dense magical object fell right onto the Vulcan's head. A comical bump appeared on his head, as the Vulcan seemed dazed from the attack. Edmond did not let up. "Cosmic make: Hammer!" Edmond yelled again, loosening his grip on his sword, finding his footing on the fingers of the wooden hands, and brought down his hammer directly onto the Vulcan's head, a crack filling the air as he did so. A moment later, the vulcan disappeared in a large puff of pink smoke, the magical gas filling Edmond's nose painfully. He backed away quickly, Coughing loudly, attempting to rid his lungs of what smoke had entered.

"Oh no! Edmond, are you alright?" Laki asked as she approached, dropping her spell, allowing the large wooden hands to disappear into splinters, and then into ethernano as it drifted away. Edmond nodded, before turning his head away from Laki to cough out more of the smoke. He was slightly lightheaded from the magical exertion, and was also still sore from the Vulcan's attack from before, but managed to keep himself upright. Warren walked up to him as well, having recovered earlier.

"That was awesome Edmond!" Warren said with amazement, looking on at the small number of craters, the result of their fight with the Vulcan. Edmond himself was rather impressed with their ability to defeat the creature, thanking whatever powers may be in this world he got that lucky hit on the Vulcan's head. The sound of that crack was somewhat echoing through his ears, but he did his best to ignore that. "Now all we need to do is secure the loot and we'll be golden!" Warren said with a thumbs up, getting a similar response from the cosmic make mage.

"Well, I try." Edmond said with a chuckle. Laki gave him a smile, before they began to gather as much of the stolen goods as they could.

"Hmmm." Makrov's hum was rather neutral in tone, but for some reason, it made Edmond rather nervous. After gathering up the stolen goods, thanks in large part to Laki's maker magic, they had been able to return all of the goods to the job lister, and came back several thousand jewels richer. Typically, lower ranked jobs don't need to be given a report on, but due to the status of the job lister, and the amount of jewels, a report was required.

"Impressive work Edmond. Taking down a powerful Vulcan like you managed is no easy feat." Makarov's praise somewhat surprised Edmond, considering what had taken place "But don't think that gets you off the hook for your reckless behavior!" Edmond's shoulders then slumped a little, knowing somewhat what was coming "I admire your tenacity, but as a new guild member, and inexperienced at that, you should have stayed back and let your more experienced guild mates deal with the situation."

Warren, being the leader of the job, decided to chime in "Well, if it wasn't for him we definitely would have had a harder time beating that Vulcan for sure." Then a giant hand bonked warren on the head, leaving a large welt atop it.

"Don't undermine my lecture Warren!" Makarov said loudly, "This guild already has a reputation for being reckless as it is," He then stopped mid sentence, and looked back towards Edmond "And I'm hoping that our older guild members will set a good example for our newer ones."

"Ugh, yes sir," Warren moaned out, rubbing his head.

"So, Edmond, I'm glad you're okay, but please try to be more careful next time, yes?" Makarov asked with a raised eyebrow, but with a tone that indicated there would be repercussions otherwise.

"Y-Yes master." Edmond answered, his voice only wavering slightly. He knew that this would be his last time to get off the hook, and he really didn't want to face the wrath of Makarov. The short man nodded, before ordering a beer from Mira, who had just gotten back to the bar after delivering drinks. Edmond turned back to Warren with a thumbs up, who returned it.

"Well, that definitely could have gone worse, why don't we grab a drink as celebration for the completion of your first job?" Warren asked, and Edmond nodded.

"Sounds like a plan, where's Laki at though?" Edmond asked, looking around for the purple-haired girl. "Did she leave early?" He asked, watching for any sign of the wood-make mage.

"Yea, she did actually, she said she was tired after the quest and went home. That just means more drink for us though!" Warren exclaimed happily, Edmond chucking as the two of them took a seat at an unoccupied table.

As it would turn out, people seemed to deem Edmond completing his first job as a good reason to celebrate, as everyone seemed to join in on the festivities, and while not planned out, there seemed to be an air of merriment around the guildhall. Mira brought Warren and Edmond their drinks, which they downed rather quickly. It made Edmond's stomach flutter at the thought that everyone was celebrating his success, a feeling that he believed he could get used to. After getting their second round of drinks, Edmond heard a voice call to him.

"Congrats on the quest completion!" Natsu's voice called to Edmond from nearby, and looking behind him, Edmond saw Natsu walking over to him with his usual smile, Happy floating next to him.

"Thanks man, although, it's not like I completed a super difficult one." Edmond said, scratching the back of his head. Nastu's smile didn't falter though, as he leaned against the booth that Edmond was sitting on.

"Doesn't matter how hard it was, what matters is that you got your first taste of guild life! And from here, you're only going to get stronger!" Natsu beamed, as Edmond suddenly understood why everyone in the guild, not only put up with Natsu's antics, but still held very positive opinions of the young dragons slayer. Not only was he a powerful friend, but he seemed to always try to cheer people up, even if he didn't realize it. Which, given this was Natsu, was likely.

"So. How much did you earn?" Happy asked inquisitive, hovering closer to Edmond, a paw on his chin. Edmond looked at the small envelope in his hand, the money within well hidden.

"I earned 40,000. When we split the reward between the three of us, this is what we all got." Edmond said fairly neutrally, an even smile on his face, although when he saw Happy and Natu's stunned expressions, he became confused.

"Jeez! Thats a lot more than what we ever bring home!" Happy lamented, Natsu trying his best not to look surprised. Edmond laughed nervously before taking another swig of his drink, the alcohol loosening his nerves.

"Thats because you go o jobs and then refuse the rewards numbnuts!" Warren admonished lightly, following it up with a laugh.

"Whats that supposed to mean!? You wanna fight!?" Natsu exclaimed, which only made Warren chuckle harder, Natus growling indignantly.

"He's just telling the truth, flamebrain." Gray's voice joined the fray as the ice make wizard approached them.

"Why don't you say that again!?" Natus challenged, getting in his rival's face, Gray, somehow losing his shirt in the process, snarled as his magic began to coalesce around his body.

"Alright, I will, Flamebrain." Gray said with a smirk, Natsu only getting even more frustrated at the ice-wizard. Edmond couldn't remember who threw the first punch, but what he did know was that chaos followed shortly afterwards. By the time the fight had started, he had finished his second drink, and was working on his third. While the beer wasn't terribly strong, it was still enough that he could already feel a good buzz coming on. Although this was a night to celebrate, he figured it wouldn't be any trouble.

"Dang. And here I thought this would have been a normal party." Warren said with a bit of amusement, watching as Natsu and Gray roughed each other up, getting more and more members of the guild involved as a result. "I might just want to hop out of here before I get involved… what about you Edmond?" Warren asked, before blanching somewhat as Edmond downed another full mug of beer. "Just how many of those have you had!?"

"Uhh… Buot the fourth one, a think." Edmond slurred out, his voice adopting a peculiar accent. Warren looked at the cosmic mage with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh. Think you should tone it down a-"

"Don't tell me ta tone down ma drinking ya bloody buzzkill!" Edmond's voice had gone full scottish as he downed the rest of his mug, Warren staring at him in shock. I suppose everyone has their own quirks… Warren thought with a bit of exacerbation.

Edmond currently couldn't really say why he spoke with an accent when he was drunk, but he knew that he did. Some people had found it hilarious, while others, annoying. Edmond couldn't remember the last time he was drunk, but he knew it must have been a hell of a time if he couldn't remember. Now though, he was far less concerned about the past, and much more concerned with the fact he was running out of drink again.

"Oi! Another round!" Right as Edmond said that, a chair was flown in his direction, missing his head by a few inches. If he cared, he gave no indication of it. Mira approached and gave Edmond another mug of beer, completely non-pulsed by Edmond's new behavior.

"You okay Edmond?" Warren asked, watching as Fairy Tail's newest member downed yet another drink.

"Just fine! I'm just gettin started!"

"We'll see about that newbie!" Warren flinched a bit as Cana seemed to have taken notice of Edmond's growing pile of empty mugs. Edmond's gaze shifted to where Cana was, a whole barrel of beer by her, now only half as full. "How about a competition?" Cana said with a teasing grin, confidence oozing through her.

"We'll see bout that ya daft bitch!"

Edmond was severely regretting his life choices right now. It was late at night now, and around an hour after he and Cana had finished their drinking competition with both of them walking away effectively disabled due to their drunkenness. However, Ultimately Cana was still standing while Edmond was now puking his guts out behind the guild building. A fight had somehow started at the end of his and Cana's drinking game, and he had gotten punched right in the gut, accelerating the process of his body discharging the contents of his stomach.

He wasn't sure who had punched him, but he had narrowed it down to several possibilities. It was likely Cana who was the closest to him when the fighting began as payback for calling her a bitch. But it equally could have been likely that it had been Elfman when Edmond had called him a 'lumbering, imbecilic beast-man'. Then there was also the possibility it was Erza. Because Erza.

Edmond wasn't sure who it was, but he probably deserved it.

"You done over here?" Gray's calm voice cane to him, and Edmond wiped his mouth before looking over to the black-haired mage. Said mage now sported several bruises and cuts courtesy of the fight the guild had just been through, most of which undoubtedly caused by one particular mage.

"Y-Yea, I think so." Edmond said miserably, now more than before sober.

"Good. I don't want you coming to the apartment and throwing up on the carpet." Gray said matter-of-factly, Edmond nodding as he straightened up from his hunched position. Then right as Edmond took a step, he fell face first into the ground, completely out. Gray stared at him disbelievingly for a few seconds before sighing. "Jeez."

Gray silently hoped this would be the last time he would have to carry their newest member home.

"This place is such a bore." The secretary's voice somewhat echoed in the empty mayor's office. Ginville being a relatively sleepy town most of the time, she wasn't worried about anyone suddenly coming in and hearing her. And she certainly wasn't worried about the 'mayor' hearing her. It would be a matter of a few more weeks and her business in the town would be over with, and she could move on to more pressing matters, even if her purpose here was still a very important one.

She was picking at her nails, a small stack of undone paperwork before her. As much as she wished she could be rid of this place, she was more or less forced to wait for their seeds to bear fruit. The sound of footsteps and a cane hitting the floor behind her altered her to her colleague's approach.

"Couldn't agree more." The 'Mayor's' voice came to her, the portly man looking rather tired and bored. "But it won't be too much longer. That fool fell right into the trap. Before long, our old friend will be free, and it will all be thanks to him." He laughed darkly, the woman rolling her eyes. But he was right, as thanks to that over-enchant wizard's magical signature, the process of breaking the spell that had bound their associate would be gone.

"It was an ordeal to get them here, but ultimately…" she said, looking over in the direction where the entrance to the town's vault was. "It will all be worth it." her eyes glowing an unnatural magical hue.

Author's notes:

Oh boy, it's been a minute, but I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Holidays have been hectic, and I've been ordering presents like crazy, not to mention I've been playing some RPGs with some friends that have also taken up time. Needless to say, I've been doing my best, but writing has become somewhat more difficult.

We are still writing and I'm still planning on updating my stories. (For anyone wondering) Blades, I'm going to focus on it for a while as I've run into a bit of a writers block with this upcoming chapter of Shop Class. I don't know why, but I just haven't found the right words to put down, and I don't want to just post something just for the heck of it. But anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and as always…

Thanks for reading!