Chapter 3 : One step after another
At first Zoro was mildly annoyed. But throughout this small skirmish , the man before him has catched his interest. This stance the leader had mimicked was one of his own. Lion Song huh? Where did this Wrack guy learn it? Now, before challenging him Zoro planned to just Dragon Shock him and be done for the day. After all he still needed him to get of this empty island, so needlessly harming him would be just counterproductive, but that all changed. Now he wants to test this captains strength and skill. If the redhead had the gall to use Zoro's own technique against him then the least the captain could do was show Zoro what kind of man he really is.
"One Sword style: Lion Song " mumbled the Captain under his nose, before he rushed Zoro head on, but the Pirate Hunter was prepared, and in one smooth motion ,like drawing on the air itself, a flying wind slash was headed towards the copycat at alarming speed.
The eyes of the captain were filled with shook, he was completely caught off guard and was not prepared to take this attack head on, not from such a small distance at least. The green haired woman's attack cut the very ground they were standing on open, which told Wrack that this attack had no magical properties and was just pure strength and technique alone. Dodging this slash was impossible up close, guarding against it suicidal, so that left the poor man with only one choice. In an instant he unsheathed his sword and hits the opposing force, trying his best to deflect this massive attack in any way possible.
It was not an easy task, the moment the blade made contact Wrack felt like his arm would fall off at a moment's notice, but he did not give up. Using every ounce of strength left in his body, using all his willpower to hold his ground, he manage to narrowly survive the clash, yet because of this he had lost his balance and landed face first on the ground, sliding on top of it due to the massive speed he had built up. The deflected slash was carving the ground behind him ,before it disappeared in the wind, like a whisper, never to be seen again.
Zoro just looked at this guy in silence, as the captain just lay there before his bare feet. A small grin formed and the Pirate Hunter was somewhat satisfied with this guy, having survived and all. Still he needed to know where this guy learnt his technique. Last time he checked the only people who have successfully learned his style were his daughter and those Humandrills at Hawkeyes place. The former couldn't have done it, seeing as she never left to go out to the sea , and she definitely didn't meet up with some forty year old dudes without Zoro knowing about it. She was still just sixteen years old, so no, no way in hell.
That just left those monkeys… which would be silly, but if life has taught him one thing, than it was that nothing in this crazy world was impossible, but first things first. Zoro was still hungry and the cold of the night was starting to get to him, so he crossed his arms, which was somewhat awkward with his new bloated chest he forgot he now had.
"You have lost, big guy. You know what that means, right? From this day forward you listen to me" the addressed giant was silent for just a moment before he answered.
"You, girl, are something else" he laughed bitterly "couldn't you have gone a little easy on this old man? My bones aren't what they used to be."
"Don't lie to me, we both know perfectly well that this means nothing."
"Huh...Yeah, you might be right on that one... Well then... master, I see that you are in a terrible shape. I cannot possible leave you like that" started Captain Wrack "So let's get you dressed before you catch a cold. Oh and you are probably also extremely hungry. My men, will give you with whatever you desire. Just follow them to our ship and if you need anything just ask. CUTTER, BRONZ ! bring your asses over here and bring them to the Hasty Monkey"
The captain was becoming a little pushy, despite Zoro winning this duel and all, the redhead still tried his best to get the best outcome of this situation. While Wrack may have lost the opportunity to catch the most wanted man in the country, the tower remains were still invaluable to him, so the best course of action would be to distract his newly acquired 'master' and scalp as much as possible, before the dogs of the council grow a pair and paddle their way out here.
Having no idea how long this woman might take ,before she wants to get of this island, Wrack will need to push his men to the limit. He promised them an easy job ,but life wasn't fair sometimes and neither was this woman.
"That sounds great and all, but before I go, I want your sword " pointing at Shigure, the captain reluctantly gave up on this sword. A deal was a deal after all and starting on a bad foot with her could be disastrous in the future, so for the time being it was best to just be the obedient little puppy she wants him to be.
Seemingly satisfied Zoro, alongside with Jellal ,who was just dumbstruck with what he had just witnessed, left with two of Wracks men and when they were finally out of range Captain Wrack shouted to the rest.
"MEN, we don't have much time, all of you need to bring your A-game on this one. This kind of merchandise doesn't graze us every day, so move your asses or you will get to know the pain of having a broom sticked up your butt really feels like" having said that the redhead started to help them, something he rarely did nowadays. In the meantime his mind was worried what's to come from this point forward with his new master, before something clicked in his head. She called herself after that swordsman, didn't she? and this tower is also known as a tool to revive…, but she doesn't look like that feared man unless …. Soon enough he will get all the answers he wants, now was the time work his ass off.
The morning sun was rising further and further into the sky, staring into its beautiful orange glow made Lucy forget for just a moment about all the horrors she encountered today or to be more exact yesterday. It had only been for a few months since she joined Fairy Tail and the young celestial mage was sure she had already experienced more in that timeframe than one 'veteran' A-class Mage in his entire live. She has witnessed one of Zeref demon up close, threatening and almost succeeding in killing of all Guild masters in Fiore, saw almost another one of his demons ,this one at least stayed dead for good before she met him, while illegally rescuing the inhabitants of an island , was in the middle and the cause for a guild war between two of the strongest Guilds in the country, has saved the life of one of the 12 Golden Spirit Key spirits by getting an exclusive audience with the Spirit King himself, who mind you hasn't been summoned on Earthland since centuries, and convinced his majesty of sparing the by himself declared guilty spirit ,and now as the cherry on top what should have been a simple rescue mission turned out to be a quest to stop the resurrection of the biggest threat that has ever walked on the same ground as humankind. So you could have been forgiven that all Lucy wanted now was some peace and quiet and a nice long bath, that will no doubt be disturbed by her annoying teammates.
Despite that the young mage was thankful for having such strong and reliable friends at her side, ignoring their somewhat comedic antics. Who knows where she would be without them. A small smile formed as she looked down at her lap, gently stroking the pink hair of the sole reason her life has become this lively.
"What the…help" cried out Millianna as an unseen force levitated her suddenly out of the boat. The girls arms where put behind her back as she was visibly struggling. The same fate did also befall Sho and Wally, the look of discomfort clearly painted on their faces.
"Threats restrained, dropping the reflect" came a monotone voice from all directions, before a young man wearing a blue nightgown and a stripped bucket hat suddenly materialized beside Milianna , magic cuffs ready at hand to cuff the little wannabe Catgirl. The first to react was Juvia as she tried to launch her signature Water Slicer spell at him. The key word was tried. When her Magic Seal appeared instead of launching her stonecutting blades meant for slicing her enemies apart, the only thing generated from it was a tiny stream of water ,that did not even reach the flying Wizard. Stunned Juvia just looked like a fish out of the water. Her current display mimicked more her first attempts at magic than that of an experienced ex-S-rank mage.
"Now, now dear please drop the hostility" came a more motherly voice as another person appeared out of thin air next to the boat with her gloved arm outstretched, runes adorning her entire left arm. This time it was chubby ,small woman with shoulder long curly hair , kept in place by an bandana with a the letter 'LS' printed on it ,surrounded by a certain star like symbol, Lucy thought looked quite familiar. Now looking more closely the bucket head guy had the same symbol printed on his hand, only his star was a different shape.
"My name is Anna and we were looking for you, Fairy Tail , but please understand that we also need to capture these criminals first. Now step aside and let me see the conditions of Titania and Salamander in the meantime"
Not waiting for any replies ,she stepped onto the wooden eggshell, her sight already locked on the injured as she tried to approach them until Gray stood before her. He clearly did not trust her in the slightest, blocking the Elderly woman from taking another step forward towards his friends.
"Boy, please step aside. I cannot possibly help your friends, if you won't let me see them" said the woman a little more annoyed.
"NO, first you tell us who you are and why were you looking for us" demanded the now naked Ice maker mage warily, having somehow lost his underwear when no one was looking, before pointing at the floating guy picking his nose next to the immobilized Sho " and tell that flying bastard to release our friends "
"First of all you are naked " said the woman holding his boxers in her hands, which she tossed unceremoniously back at Gray, his face steaming red from embarrassment.
"Now, we are from the Magic Busters Organization, on request of the Director of Akane Resort we, The Lorenz Squad , were send to bring back the guests, which means you, back to safety. Now having that out of the way, STEP ASIDE" said Anna after she touched Gray, resulting in them traded places with each other. While Gray was stunned for a moment, Anna was checking Erza's condition, as a strange orb was flying above the downed redhead.
The name Magic Busters finally made Lucy remember. They were once her family's personal hired body guards ,since she was still in her mother's womb. Thanks to her father being the richest man in Fiore ,he could quite easily afford a Messier Star and a few Giants and Dwarfs to guard his whole family against all threats imaginable. Since then no one dared to mess with her family ever again, be it a simply thief or a dark guild. Wherever her father resided for a business trip, the crime rate around him would drastically drop. People where half-jokingly calling the Heartfilia Konzern the second best guarded place on the continent, second only to Draera ,the city where the MBO main base and their version of a master, the manager, resided. She heard only rumors about him, but apparently he's as strong or even stronger than the strongest Wizard Saint, having declined the offer of becoming one ,because 'he didn't like having a title that meant less, than what he already was'.
"Stop it-" shouted Gray ,before Lucy grabbed his hand, stopping him in his tracks.
"It's, okey" said Lucy.
"What do you mean its okey, we have to-" started Gray only to be silenced be Lucy.
"Gray, you trust me, don't you?" asked the Celestial Mage softly, a warm smile forming on her face as she was looking with hopeful eyes toward Gray, while trying her best to ignore the daggers that Juvia send her from the sidelines.
"Yeah I do, but…." being at a loss of words ,the half-naked mage loosened up and sat down , trusting his Guildmates judgment "yeah. I do."
Practically grinning ,all Lucy could answer was a small thank you, his trust in her wouldn't be misplaced. The elderly woman was now standing before Lucy, the orb which appeared to be made out of steel was levitating next to her. When Ms. Anna reached out with her hand and touched the exposed chest of Natsu, her calm demeanor changed into one with horror in seconds.
"LORENZ!" shouted the older woman, startling everyone near her as she slapped Natsu on the forehead. "We need to immediately take him to Margett"
The demeanor of the nose picking wizard changed as quickly as he launched his bogger into ocean, then with his other arm extended he pulled Natsu, who now had a blue sticky note on his forehead, from Lucy's lap into his custody and disappeared ,after saying the following words.
"Ben, take them back to camp"
Slowly behind Juvia, a tall humanoid entity emerged from the depths below, startling her as she hid behind her beloved. He was more or less the size of a street lamp with shining yellow eyes, thin gloved hands that got up to his shoulder and were the only piece of clothing that weren't just random pieces of cloth covering his thin inhuman like body.
Not wasting any time he placed his hands on the back of the boat ,after which he pushed it forward by extending his arms rapidly. The slow pace from before was replace with neck-breaking speeds that could be more accurately described by saying Happys Aera: Max speedspell was like five times slower in comparison. The trip that would have taken hours was crossed in just four minutes. Everybody was understandably feeling really sick , after being launched so suddenly without warning, making Lucy sympathies with Natsu so much more what he had to endure every time he just touches a vehicle.
Anna stepped out of the vessel seemingly without issue. During the entire trip she was standing upright, while everybody else were gripping to wooden eggshell for dear life and not wanting to fall into the freezing ocean.
While the Fairy Tail mages were still wobbly on their legs, Anna tossed 5 sheets into the air. Each one becoming larger as runes started to appear on them, transforming the every paper into a flying carpet of sorts.
"Miss Lockster, seeing that you are the least injured could you please place Miss Scarlet on one of the sheets?" hearing the Magic Busters request Juvia summoned her magic and gently placed the still unconscious S-class mage on it. Immediately a giant bubble started to form around Erza, but no one had the energy to be surprised by it.
"The rest can also take one, these magic hammocks are fine-tuned to make its users feel relaxed and make even the biggest headache disappear in seconds" seeing no harm in it everyone just accepted this free service and just melted inside it when they touched the soft material. Lucy couldn't believe how comfortable it really was. In comparison to her twenty million jewels bed she had back in her mansion, this was on another level.
Turning around, after hearing a yelp, Lucy could only smile as Juvia practically pushed herself on Gray, her arms locked around his ,forcing him to share one hammock with her.
"Hey ,old hag" came the voice of Gray , while he tried to get free of Juvia's grip unsuccessfully " what about our friends?"
Turning around, Anna was not bothered by Grays rude comment. In her line of work she had probably met worse insults directed at her from employers and enemies alike, so instead she just answered professionally, just like they were trained to do.
"For the time being they will stay with Ben until our squad leader picks him up and brings them to our HQ for questioning or if he feels like it, he will just bring them to us. I can't really promise you which one he will most likely choose, but don't worry their safety is guaranteed. Now ,enough with all this questions and let's bring you back to your rooms. You are not doubt exhausted, aren't you my brave little fairy's ?" The older woman feet were kicking up the sand as she was bringing the exhausted mages to the hotel, the flying hammocks following behind her.
Comfortable in her flying carpet , Lucy closed her eyes and silently prayed for Natsu to come back. She did not know what has happened for Miss Anna to react in such horror, so all she could do was hope. Not that Natsu would kick the bucket that way. He is just too stubborn to end like this.
"HOW did you manage to get lost? I told you to follow me " came the cry of the big boned older woman, who was known as Cutter on the Finders crew. She just couldn't believe this, it was just a ten minute walk and somehow this girl managed to get lost on five different occasion, this one marking the sixth one.
"Shut up, your direction are just too confusing" came the equally loud cry of this Erza Scarlet twin. Cutter has met pigs who had better hygiene, than this girl had a sense of direction. Seeing just no other way, she took the hand of this confused girl and proceeded to drag her along in the right direction.
"Hey, knock it off " said the girl to the woman, as she was becoming red with humiliation, but Cutter was having none of that. She was once a mother and she knew exactly how to discipline children no matter how mature they think they are.
"Girl, you are not leaving my side until we get to the ship and nothing will change that, you may be the captains master or whatever you think you are to him, but to us the captain orders are final, so just shut it and follow my lead ,unless you want to waste more of our time"
This somehow got through her thick skull ,as she was reluctantly following Cutter, while mutter phrases 'that she didn't get lost' or 'that the terrain was confusing' and other ridiculous statements that were in all honesty just sad. That's right Cutter pitied this girl, who just moments ago humiliated her captain with a piece of rock. At least this curse was not contagious, seeing that Jellal was following quite nicely, his stonelike poker face never revealing his true thoughts on this matter, but his eyes told the elder woman everything she needed. He was in complete disbelieve, thinking about how he ended up with this kind of idiot, while also knowing he will need to put up with this kind of attitude for a bit long time.
After a five minute long walk they finally arrived at the Hasty Monkey, in all honestly it looked like a normal medium sized paddle ship, with a monkey face as a figurehead additionally with a pair of monkey paws holding a cymbal in each hand ,just like that one toy children loved to play with. Still holding the girl by the hand Cutter brought them into the Captain's cabin and told the greenhead to stand still while she was measuring her. In the meantime Bronze was going into the kitchen to prepare a meal for their new residents, while Jellal was standing outside of the room. What a gentleman.
"Stop fidgeting so much and hold still" it was like reliving the old days with her son, as the girl was fidgeting whenever the elder woman touched her butt naked body.
Having taken her measurements ,Cutter used her requip magic to summoned a plain, knee-length white dress from her personal space storage and also the only piece of clothing she had at hand that could fit the beauty before her. This brought her back in time, when she herself was once a beautiful flower and a lowly B-class mage, who was more interested in fashion than fighting mean monsters. This very piece of clothing she was holding in her hands was the very first present her boyfriend and later husband gave to her. Those were the good old times, but in all honesty she was ready to part with it, seeing that she couldn't fit inside it anymore and letting this poor girl remain any longer in this state was just unbefitting.
"Forget it, I'm not going to wear that!" how ungrateful, but Cutter could deal with her.
"Look, honey, this is all we have right now, if you prefer another piece of clothing than say what you want and I will create it for you, I'm a Thread Mage after all." After producing white long floating threads from each of her finger tips, the girl was silent for just a moment as if in deep thought, before she just grabbed the clothing herself. It seemed she herself was sick of staying nude all this time, if it was from embarrassment , shame or something else Cutter couldn't tell.
"Now spin around and let me see you" teased the woman, but of course the girl as not having any of that and just ignored her. This dress fitted her really well and not seeing it from another angle was a shame, but the big woman knew when she should leave the matter be and started taking notes what kind of clothing the Titania twin told her she preferred.
Jellal was still standing outside of the room, no doubt not wanting to disturb them in any way. After telling him to come in, he was trying his best to avoid the young girls annoyed gaze. At the same time Bronz brought finally some food and some beverages for the pair. Looking at it from the outside ,it looked like a loving couple eating together in silence with each other, that is, if you would ignore the terrible table manners of the young girl and her partner body language showing everybody just how uncomfortable it was for him to sit there, before this gorgeous young woman. Letting her thoughts be, she wasn't going to start playing matchmaker at her day and age.
'This beer was just amazing' thought Zoro as he was requesting his tenth one from the tall tanned man with a blind fold around his eyes. How he knew where he was going was not on Zoro mind right now. This earthy ,spicy drink with this tad of grassy ,almost lemony aftertaste was just the type of beer he never knew he wanted, screw that last part, needed . The flavor of this beer just blew him away, it was as if the devil himself decided to go into business and create a beverage so good ,anybody tasting it would be forbidden to go to heaven and Zoro just couldn't stop himself from requesting more.
After his eighteen barrel came the horrifying truth. Having lost control, the revived Swordsman had drunk the whole ship dry of his newly found treasure. Apparently this type of drink was the Wracks guy favorite and he was hording it for a special occasion. Knowing that he made it all available for Zoro created a new found respect for this guy. Anybody that would give the swordman this type of drink was alright in his book.
'I'm starting to think like Luffy' came the immediate afterthought , having just displayed the kind of thought process his idiot captain would use to justify his questionable actions. After all, one of the reasons Luffy rescued Dressrosa was because Rebecca gave him some food and the situation at Whisky Peak was just on another level of stupid itself.
'Well ,whatever' mumbled Zoro, after laying on the floor with the decency and care of a rowdy sailor, not even glazing at his partner who hadn't touched his plate all this time.
It didn't take long to wake up Zoro from his nap ,when the redhead Wrack opened the door with as much force as one could muster after half a days' worth of work. His giant grin he just had changed into one of dread as he realized in just which kind of barrels where opened in his time of absence. Zoro could have sworn a small tear formed under his eyes, before the giant turned away, no doubt whipping it away ,and after more or less counting to ten turned to face them again, trying his best to avoid looking at the empty barrels laying everywhere in his personal quarters.
"Now , master, I have a few questions I need to have answered" the captain was uncharacteristically more serious than when they fought, it reminded him almost when Luffy shouted at Usopp at Saobody ,when the longnose tried to learn if the One piece was real or not, only he was more excited than angry if that made any sort of sense. Zoro also just now noticed that the redhead was holding several rolled up papers in his hand and from the looks of it they had seen better days. Looking a little more closely the state of them reminded him of those shit old treasure maps some pirates had ,when he was still a bounty hunter. Having catched his interested ,the revived swordsman stood up and met the captains eyes. The morning sun was shining bright and form of the goliath have cast a shadow on the two time smaller moss-head. That day Zoro learned a few key things he wasn't prepared for, making him regret drinking all of that delicious drink from before he surely now needed more than ever.
Lorenz and his squad were standing before their current customer, Don something, not that he bothered to remember such meaningless names. While Anna gave the report, something he did not like to do , his thoughts were wandering about when he dropped the pink haired fairy in Margs care at HQ. His cousin was specialized in healing magic , but it didn't mean she was dependent on it. If Lorenz remembered correctly she studied under some old hag from Fairy Tail who owed their grandpa a favor.
Now long story short, he dropped the guy at her feet ,she read the sticky note on his forehead, Marg was talking something about Ethernano poisoning and in no time flat took the guy over her shoulder and under her care ,before telling Lorentz to buzz of. That was his Marg and oh ,it seemed Anna was also finished with her report, splendid. Now the blond fatso gave his thanks and all ,but Lorentz just wanted to get away, and so did apparently Ben when his head suddenly jerked to the side, after which he straight up sprinted into the wall in a mad fury, of course without damaging it and only passing through it. but this was bad.
Ben had a specific ability, he can feel the biggest threat in his area and wherever his eyes are pointed, that person posed the biggest threat to the squad, may it be a kitten, their own customer or the sun itself. The worst was ,if he felt any traces of forbidden dark magic, especially if they were left behind by one of Zeref spells or demons. Lorentz feared for the worst when the action of his squadmate told him that this threat needed to be eliminated ASAP, if even Ben couldn't keep his cool around it.
The rest of Lorentz Squad went after him, a trail of thorns where left on the ground, but the big explosion rocking the sea was enough of a waypointer. Arriving at the place, they found their squadmate having send his vines into a docking ship some 150 meters from their current position, trapping the vessel in its place. Ben was of course rushing heads first into them, as he dodged oncoming fire from the ship, after having closed the distance and boarded the vessel before he was met with a beam to the face. From the looks of it ,it was a Mars Cannon, an unusual piece of equipment you don't see all day, but something like that wasn't enough to take their front brawler out. His trust in his squadmate was repaid when another set of thorns encompassed the ship like a kraken, lifting it up from the water. Finally closing the distance, Lorentz and Anna both boarded the ship. A redheaded man was trapping in a binding made out of Ben's signature thorns. Judging by his facial features Lorentz recognized him as Morgious Wrack, better known as the Finder and a low S-class criminal of sorts.
Well that was a nice catch to be sure, but it seem Ben had not enough as he tore down the doors to the captain cabin open, only to be met with a sharp wind attack cutting his arm clean of. No that such a minor injury could stop him, as his arm was regrowing to his previous state in seconds, before he attempted to decimate the culprit, only to be this time pushed back, feet grinding the floor beneath him as he came to a stop behind Lorentz.
Coming out of the cabin was a beautiful, green-haired woman. Her long messy hair was kept in a high pony tail ,while she herself was dressed in some white baggy pants and a green belly warmer, while her top was completely exposed except her upper chest being held by what seemed to be bandages, no wait there was a name for it, it was… sarashi, yeah something like that. In her hand was a normal looking katana with not special features as far as Lorentz could tell, but the aura that young girl gave of herself was that of a battle ready demon. Every fiber in his body was telling him to not take this young girl lightly, so much so he didn't even register Siegrain or better known as Jellal Fernandes coming out next to the girl, who had a striking resemblance to the Scarlet gal from Fairy Tail he fished yesterday from the sea.
The grin the Titania twin send him was an unsettling one. This was going to be one tough battle and Lorentz was thrilled. This was a challenge to show the world what he was made out of, if he can take out those two maybe …. Well action speak louder than words and with a battle cry Lorentz rushed towards the woman, ignoring Anna's protest and blocking the slash aim at him with his gravity magic in hand, as a giant shockwave send multiply people from the deck. Their gazes never leaving one another.
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Now chapter 3 is finally here and from this point forward I can clearly see how many of you are still interested in my story. Like the saying goes once is an accident, twice is coincidence , but thrice is a deliberate choice. So thanks all of you who sticked with me through this. I'm not a native speaker myself , and lack any kind of beta to point out my mistakes I make on the way , so I hope you all can forgive my small brain. Also I have added a new feature to my profile no other author had the gall to implement. From this day forward all of you can see my progress and the expected release date of the next chapter, that's right, you have gained the right to clearly see how many words I wrote and when I'm a lazy ass or had no time to write and other important announcement. Also this me shows how many of you are still interested in it, no matter if you have a profile or not. Now this is it for now and remember, the more constructive your reviews are the better my writing will become. That's simple science. See you soon and I hope this story was to this point enjoyable.
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