East Forest: Morning

Ika did not sleep at all after that nightmare. He just laid there on his tree all night, thinking about his current situation and dream. The balloons under his eyes were quite big too.

"I should just leave… yeah… that's what I'll do. And I should try to find the others. Yeah! And save my pa!"

He climbed down the tree and made his way through the forest. Along the way, he went through several scenarios as to how he could get the guild sign off his back.

"Thank you for your hospitality, but I need to make my leave… No that's too formal. I will leave and I won't take no for an answer!… Too aggressive. Oh I got it! Please let me go! It only took a week for things to go to shit! Imagine if I stayed any longer!... No! That sounds too desperate! If I say that then they'll probably glue me to Erza or Gray or something."

He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Maybe I should try to sleep again."

And so he turned back. He stumbled a bit on the way back due to how tired he was, but when he saw his tree on sight, he also saw two people looking up at it. It was Erza and Gray.

"Great… just what I needed."

Ika took a deep breath and walked towards them.

"Ika," Gray noticed, "We've been looking for you… you look awful."

"Thanks for stating the obvious genius."

Erza hummed, "That is not how you speak to someone."

Ika yawned, "Excuse me for being grumpy. I didn't sleep well last night."

The two mages looked up at the tree then back to Ika.

"A tree wouldn't necessarily be my first choice for a bed." Erza commented.

"It's not too bad…" Ika defended. "High up, always covered by the leaves. It is quite relaxing actually."

Gray rubbed his chin in thought. "Then, does it have anything to do with a nightmare?"

The boy held his breath for a few seconds and widened his eyes a bit. The two guild members held a knowing nod.

Erza stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ika listen, we've only known each other for less than a week, but we need to stay together now. We'll protect you and find your family. As long as it takes."

The boy looked up at her then at Gray, who nodded in agreement. He shook his head and took her hand off his shoulder.

"Thank you, Ms. Scarlet, but out of respect, I need to leave. The longer I stay here the bigger chance it is for people to know me."

Gray countered, "But if someone like Erigor knows who you are, then they might just wait for you to do just that, leave."

Ika looked down in thought. "You're… right."

The boy then started to grab and pull on his hair rather roughly. He then screamed to the heavens.

"WWWWHHHHYYYYY!"

"Ika please calm down." Gray called out.

"It was a simple plan! Lay low, hide from everyone, stay conspicuous. But nooooooo, I had to help some dumb blonde from falling into the river! No, I just had to be dumb enough to drope my stuff into that river! Maybe then she wouldn't feel the need to help me! You Fairy Tail freaks are too kind for this world!"

At the end of his rant, he sat down on the ground and covered his eyes with his hands.

"Why can't you just mind your own business?"

He heard footsteps get closer to him, but didn't bother to look up from his hands. Then once again, a hand was placed on his right shoulder.

"Listen," it was Gray. "Maybe you're right. We shouldn't have stuck our noses on a stranger's business. But that is what Fairy Tail is about, helping others even when they don't want too."

Ika moved his hand to look at the ice mage. "That is kinda creepy."

"It's not perfect," Gray admitted, "But it hasn't failed us yet."

Erza then got to his left side and wrapped an arm around his neck in a semi-hug. Gray followed the motion.

"Besides, as long as you wear that esignia on your back, you're one of us." Erza stated cheerfully.

"Yippy." Ika "cheered".

Then they raised their other arm and bonked Ika on the head. "Ow! What did I do know?"

"It also means to never insult the guild with it on, unless you can make a funny joke out of it." Gray explained.

Ika smiled. "Ok. Fairy Tail? More like… Fairy Fail..."

*bonk*

"We're not little kids."

"We're not little kids."

Makarov's Office

"You look awful."

"Yeah I know."

The guild master had sent Erza and Gray to look for the boy and bring him over for further questioning privately. Fortunately for Ika it was still early in the morning, so no Dragon Slayers would be seen for at least an hour longer.

"A nightmare kept you up last night?" The old man asked. "What was it about?"

The boy took a deep breath. "A dragon and kraken fight, but everytime that dragon hurt it, I felt it too. One attack in particular," he rubbed his neck, ", was not pretty."

Makarov hummed. "Dreams and nightmares are complicated. When did the nightmare start?"

"When I touched the medallion…"

"The Kraken's Eye, Erza told me about it."

Ika's eyes brightened up. "Really? Do you know more about it?"

But the Guild Master shook his head. "Afraid not. We went through our library last night, but we didn't find anything."

The boy powered his head in disappointment. "This is just so weird."

"I couldn't agree more… you need rest. Please use one of our infirmary beds."

The boy held up his hands and shook his head. "Thank you, but I'll be fine. Knowing your guild, I am sure they are almost always full."

"One would think, but surprisingly enough that isn't the case. They just get bandaged up and return to the main hall. Although, you almost made one of the rare exceptions."

The Kraken Soul user lowered his head a bit. "I'm sorry."

"I was also told of your reckless jump to action. Our guild is full of reckless individuals, and I do admire your bravery, but each of them have proven themselves capable to do so. Especially Wendy. You may have defeated Natsu a few days ago, but you are still young and inexperienced. "

As Makarov explained, Ika couldn't help but slightly disagree. "I understand what you mean, but come on. Wendy?"

The room then stood still with the air suddenly getting heavier.

Ika pressed the wrong button.

"Wendy may be younger than you," the old man started, ", but she has gone through so much already. You mentioned their dragon parents yesterday, but with the info dump you gave us, that flew over our heads. It wasn't until after you left that she started crying. It took a great deal of restraint from the team to not make Natsu beat you to a pulp."

Ika gulped. He was calculating just how fast he had to be to fly through the window. But fortunately, Makarov sighed and leaned forward on his desk.

"I won't take the comment personally against you. I am assuming you don't know what happened to the dragons."

The boy shook his head furiously.

"We don't know ourselves, but according to slayers (for the exception of Laxus) they disappeared seven years ago for no apparent reason. They were left to wonder for who knows how long before finding a new home. Wendy was five when her dragon parent disappeared…"

Ika lowered his head in shame. Dragon Slayer or not, that couldn't have been easy for her. He probably wouldn't last a day outside his village at that age.

"I am sorry. I didn't know."

The old man waved his hand. "Don't apologize to me, apologize to them."

The boy raised his head to look at him in the eye.

"You're a good kid Ika, your actions on the mission prove it, but you need to choose your words more carefully. I am also aware that there seems to be a natural hatred towards Monster Soul and Dragon Slayer mages, but I do believe that you can all fight through it. Hatred only brings chaos."

The boy nodded his head in agreement. "Yes sir."

"I will be expecting you to apologize to them, especially Wendy, as soon as possible. For everyday you don't, you will be helping Mirajane in the kitchen and serving from opening to closing. Starting today."

Ika's jaw hit the floor. "Y-You can't do that!"

The old man laughed and gave him a smug grin. "I just did. Now hurry out, more people are coming in soon."

"B-But what about the bed?" Ika stammered.

"You'll get to spend the week here. Now go!"

Kitchen

The kitchen was fairly large, holding all kinds of stuff. If he didn't know any better, Ika would've assumed this is how large restaurants' kitchens were.

Mirajane Strauss paced back and forth, like a sergeant to their soldiers. In this case, Ika is that soldier

"Makarov told me about your punishment and he's expecting me to push you to your limits!"

Ika raised his hand.

"Yes! Private Densetsu!"

"Where's everyone else?" He asked while addressing the empty kitchen.

The eldest Strauss smiled widely and puffed her chest with pride.

"There is no one else! Six days out of seven, it is I who cooks and serves everyone in the guild!"

The boy's jaw hit the floor for the second time that day.

"But… how? Does that also include the bar?"

The woman scoffed. "Yes it does! ANd how do I manage? With a lot of hard work, determination… and luck…" her eyes widened as she shuttered, "Lots of luck."

Ika sweat dropped. "That doesn't make me feel better."

Mirajane huffed. "Good! It means you'll be at peak performance!"

Ika couldn't even blink before a small notebook and pencil were shoved into his hands.

"Now go outside and take those orders!"

As he was being forcefully pushed out of the kitchen, while also burning his feet, a thought occurred to him.

"Wait! Doesn't this count as child labor!?"

"No time for the legality of labor! We have mouths to feed!"

Main Guild Hall

How does one start with a minor disaster? How about with how some of the members DID take his comment about the dragons personally. Making Wendy cry is a big nono in the guild. Message received loudly and clearly.

They weren't out right horrible, they just made it harder for him. They mainly consisted of making large orders, some of which made him trip. But Ika learned something else that day.

They're also a bunch of softies!

The few times he tripped with the big orders, the ones who made them would drop their hardened facade and help Ika up just as fast as he fell. Some even insisted on eating the dropped food so he didn't need to go back.

"This guild is so weird!" Ika thought, "Pa would've loved this place."

There were a few people that stood out though.

"I need another drink over here."

"R-Right away!"

Cana Alba-something, the guild's drinking champion. Just how much does she drink!? This would be the THIRD BARREL he had to roll back. He doesn't drink, last time he snuck a sip from his father's stash, he woke up cuddling a half eaten wing fish on the roof of the mayor's house. He was thirteen when that happened and his entire village refused to tell him what happened.

"If Shiryo laughs every time I bring it, then it can;t be good."

He rolled the fourth barrel towards the woman and slammed it on the table with a huff.

"There you go…"

Cana smiled and eyed the barrel with greed. "Thank you!" And she casually picked it up and chugged, Ika slowly backed away.

"Is her blood made of alcohol?" he asked himself.

"Honestly, it might be." A voice admitted.

Ika turned to his left and looked down at the sitting voice. She had white hair, just like Mirajane, so this must be her sister.

"Should I be worried?" Ika gulped and Cana slammed the barrel with a burp.

"Probably not?" She sounded unsure herself. She then stood up and bowed. "I am Lisaana Strauss, nice to meet you."

He followed the motion, "Ika Densetsu, but I guess everyone knows that by now."

"We do, yes… you look awful…"

The Kraken Soul mage sighed. "Third time today."

"I'm sorry we couldn't find anything on your magic." She apologized.

The boy looked at her with slight disbelief, "Wait, you helped the master last night?"

Lisanna nodded. "Of course! My brother and sister did too. Especially my brother Elfman. We Soul Take Mages have to stick together right?"

Her smile made Ika blush and face away. "Y-Yeah, I guess we do."

But then her hand landed on his shoulder, sending chills up his spine. He hesitantly turned his head to face her. He was met with a dark eyed Lisanna now.

"Although, no one appreciated the fact that you made Wendy cry."

"Oh would you look at that!" Ika pointed at his non-existent watch. "I have other tables to serve. See you later!"

And he left in a cloud of dust.

Lisanna hummed. "Was I too creepy?" She turned to the few people who watched their interaction. They all gave the so-so gesture.

Another member that caught his eye was a dark skinned woman that danced on the tables with a few of her, mostly guy, fans. Not that he blamed them… And if he was ever caught watching for more than a second, the other guys would throw knowing smirks, leaving the young mage walking faster with a red face.

Then there was a blue haired girl that was always surrounded by books. She introduced herself as Levy McGarden and another member of the library search party.

"That really isn't necessary." he tried to plead.

"Of course it is!" she exclaimed, "I was already curious when you first came here, but after what you told us yesterday, I knew that this was my calling! The sooner we get to learn about your magic's history, the sooner we can help you and the slayers overcome that hatred."

Ika was moved by her words. "I… appreciate that… thank you. Would you like anything?"

Levy shook her head and dismissed him.

However as he turned away, he could barely make out one of the Dragon Slayers shooting daggers at him… Gareal? Gajle?... Gary?

Whatever…

But then there was… one group.

"Hey you! Over here!"

From a surprisingly dim corner, three guild members eyed him with interest and disgust while giving out a dark aura. Maybe that's why their corner is so dim? Ika didn't notice the wondering eyes, some filled with worry, as he made their way to the mysterious trio.

"Y-Yes? What can I get you?"

They went straight to the point.

"So you are the new kid we heard SO much about? *about*" The man had his helmet on, but still had his tongue out revealing the guild symbol on it. The other odd thing was the four floating totems around him.

The woman with a green dress to his right eyed the young mage from head to toe.

She scoffed, "Yet another brat added to this guild. And this one doesn't have shoes. How revolting."

Ika started to get angry. "Ok, if you don't want anything, then I'll just leave." He turned to leave, but the totems stopped him and turned him back.

"Not so fast." The last one started. This one had long green hair with it covering one of his eyes, two lightning bolt strands on the sides, a red coat and a sheathed sword.

"We are informed of your situation and we do pity it."

The other two nodded.

"And we are also aware of how you defeated Natsu."

Then the totem man and the totems laughed like crazy.

"You just proved how weak he is! *is!*"

"And the apparent situation between Monster Soul and Dragon Slayer mages. But let me tell you this: you will never be able to defeat Laxus and we will never let that happen."

"What? You don't think I can take him?"

The four of them looked up to see the man of the hour, Laxus Dreyer. And the trio's own facade fell apart. From cold and mysterious, to stammering idiots.

"N-No! Of course we don't!

"He means that we know you can!*can!*"

"You are too good for him!"

The Lightning Dragon Slayer looked down at the Kraken Soul Mage and scoffed.

"I must admit. I can respect anyone that can put Salamander in his place."

"Y-Yes we do too!"

"Respect!*respect*"

"Shoes or no shoes!"

Laxus frowned. "But you are an exception."

"The biggest exception!"

"No respect! *respect*"

"Shoeless brat!"

"Let me make something clear. No matter how strong you get, I'll always become stronger."

The young mage growled. "Oh yeah?"

But right before we could make that mistake, someone came to the rescue.

"Are you bothering him? Aren't you supposed to be on a mission right now?"

The group turned to Mirajane, who had her arms crossed in annoyance.

Laxus huffed, "I am, but I need a team for it. And this small fry of a squid was in the way."

Ika puffed his cheeks, "I am slightly below average for my age!"

"Whatever, you three with me."

The trio then squealed like little girls.

"He noticed us!"

"We are worthy!*worthy*"

"I love you guys!"

And the trio left for their idol, leaving an annoyed Mirajane and a super confused Ika.

"The audacity of some people. Are you alright?" Mirajane looked over to see Ika sitting down and staring at the table.

"This is too much for me. I need to get out of here. Please tell me I can still leave."

The girl shook her head. "Only the master can do that."

He groaned. "I keep repeating this, but this guild is so weird! I might die of confusion."

Mirajane giggled. "I'd say you did pretty good for your first hour. Come on, we still have work to do."

"Yeah."

…

"FIRST HOUR!?"

3 P.M.

"You should take a break Lucy. Or your eyes will be glued to the book forever." Gray warned the blonde.

"Very funny." She said sarcastically.

"At least look up from the book more often."

Gray and Lucy walked towards the guild and chatted. Gray left the guild to find the rest of his team. But Lucy was the only one that came along.

Natsu decided to stay in for the day with Happy keeping him company. The same was for Wendy and Carla, although their reason unfortunately started with an 'I' and rhymes with paprika.

"Things were moving too fast yesterday." Lucy commented.

"I know. I was surprised Erza didn't drag him back to the guild."

They were now just a few paces from the entrance.

"We all had a lot in our minds, but I am still going to give him an earful." Lucy proclaimed.

A shirtless Gray nodded, "The whole guild is giving him a rough time, at least when I left."

"Put your shirt on."

When they opened the door, they were met with the same chaos as before. Laughing, shouting, eating, Ika hugging an uncomfortable Elfman with Lisanna holding her laughter, and Cana drinking. All normal on Fairy Tail...

Wait a minute….

Lucy was the first to ask, "Why is he hugging you? And is his shirt stained?"

"Because hugs are neat!" the boy shouted.

"Help meeeeee." Elfman whispered.

They turned to Lisanna for an explanation.

She tried to hold it in. "Ika's drunk."

They couldn't believe it.

"Is he even old enough to drink?" Gray asked.

"It was an accident." the large Strauss started, "He was carrying a lot of food and drinks over until lost balance and fell. A wine bottle broke on his head."

"H-How much did he drink then?" Lucy stammered.

Elfman sighed. "I don't know! Before he got so… huggy, he said that he doesn't handle alcohol too well. NOW HELP ME!"

"I am helping by hugging you!" Ika responded and tightened his grip.

"Aw come one, it looks like you needed a hug." Lisanna laughed.

The older brother growled and thought of something. He reached over for a spoon and hit his sister hard enough to make her yelp.

"What was that for?!" She shouted, rubbing the small bump on her head.

"Ika look, it looks like Lisanna needs a hug too."

Ika turned to Lisanna.

Lisanna looked at her smug faced brother.

"Aw don't worry! A hug makes everything better!"

"No Ika, you're drunk."

"Nothing is too unforgiving for a hug!"

The young mage then hugged her sides rather tightly, making Lisanna uncomfortable.

"Elfman I am sorry… get him off!"

Her brother laughed. "I don't know, it looked like you needed a hug."

Lisanna squirmed as her brother laughed at her expense, leaving Lucy and Gray sweat drop at the event. Then Mirajane came to the rescue with a marker. Not a magic one, just a marker.

"I got this." She then drew a frowny face on a nearby pillar. "Ika look! This pillar needs a hug!"

Ika turned to face said pillar.

Lucy scoffed. "Ok, there is no way he's THAT dr-"

"Don't worry pillar!"

And he clung onto the thing for dear life.

"Now that that's over with…" Mirajane then scolded both her siblings for not helping each other out.

Lucy and Gray sat on the table Lisanna was.

Lucy asked first. "So how long will he stay like this?"

Elfman sighed, "It wasn't a lot of wine, so not too long I hope."

Gray chuckled, "I hope so, because if that pillar doesn't smile after this then we might need a therapist."

SIX HOURS LATER

"My head… my neck… my back… what happened?" Ika wheezed. He tried to get up, but was stopped by a throbbing headache. "My head."

"It took you long enough."

His eyes were blurry, but he was able to barely make out Master Makarov.

"What happened to me?" A pair of arms helped him up.

"You got drunk."

It was Erza.

"Drunk? Oh no… what did I do?"

He stumbled in his feet but Erza was there for support.

"You hugged that pillar all day. It's night now." Makarov informed.

He rubbed his eyes a bit more and sure enough, the guild was all empty.

The guild master smiled nervously, "I suppose you more than earned that spot in the nursery beds."

"Did I at least apologize to them?" Ika groaned.

Erza shook her head. "No. Gajeel was the only one that came over today. And even then you didn't come near him."

The young mage sighed. "So I guess I still have to help Mirajane out right?"

"Yes you do, but at least you can take it easy for tonight."

Makarov and Erza helped him through the guild to the infirmary. As they did, Makarov explained that he will have to close the guild for the night, but he'll be over early in the morning.

As Ika plopped into the bed, he couldn't feel anymore comfortable.

"A tree can't top this." Ika sighed and snuggled into the blankets.

The old man smiled. "We'll see you tomorrow."

As Makarov and Erza walked away, Makarov frowned.

"He didn't hug that pillar all day."

Erza crossed her arms. "I know it is best for him to never know he tried to hug Gajeel."

Makarov couldn't agree more. "I am more surprised he took that hit well. An attack to the back like that will definitely be felt in the morning."

Meanwhile: Secret Location

William Cabot was sitting down on his desk, looking over an old worn down book for the umpteanth time.

"We are so close." He told himself, "Just a little bit longer."

Then someone was knocking on his door.

"Come in."

From the door stood a skinny bald man, his skin as pale as snow, a thick black beard, and sunken eyes.

"Forge has another weapon ready, this one is for you."

Cabot smiled and stood up. "Thank you Lazurus. I'll be right there."

Just before Lazuras could leave, he noticed the book on his boss' desk.

"Looking over the book again." He stated rather than asked.

Cabot nodded. "Yes I am. We are so close to victory Lazarus. Even if it's just a kid."

The bald man agreed, "No one here is too keen on killing children here, but we know that it must be done."

"Of course, let's go."

Forge's Forge

"Boss man! Boy am I glad to see you!"

The makeshift shop they had set up for the blacksmith was fairly large. It had enough space to hold three train cars by length and width. The forge itself was the same as Forge had back home and a large fridge to any beverages cool. But today Cabot noticed a large block of stone over a large wheel cart in a corner.

"What do you have for?" Cobt asked with hidden excitement.

The short man grinned. "You just wait."

He walked over to a table that had something large hiding under a cover. The blacksmith uncovered it to reveal…

"What is that exactly?"

"I call it, the Rail Cannon."

The weapon was fairly long, the barrel taking up most of the length. The base was bulky itself, where the power source of the thing was. In the barrel was a large bullet of magic energy.

"Wait right here."

Forge quickly ran towards the stone block and slowly struggled to push it.

"Give me a second!"

Cabot sighed as the man slowly pushed the stone into its desired location. After he was done, Forge then grabbed a piece of meat from the fridge, impaled it with a stick and placed it somewhere behind the stone.

"Ok," he panted, "shoot the meat."

Cabot blinked. "Are you sure? Through that block?"

"As sure as I am tired." Forge panted again.

Cabot shrugged his shoulders and grabbed the weapon. It was surprisingly lighter than he thought. Forge instructed him how to hold it and took aim.

"Make sure to plant your feet well. It's powerful." Forge instructed and took a few steps back.

Cabot took a deep breath and braced himself.

He pulled the trigger. And it was powerful.

He was pushed back a few inches and his arms hurt now, but that didn't matter. He looked at the block and was surprised to see it still intact! The meat wasn't so lucky.

"Did it go THROUGH the stone?" Cabot asked with wide eyes. He also noticed a cylinder load itself into the barrel

Forge smirked. "Yessir! There are more than one way to go through a wall you know."

Cabot laughed in delight.

"However. It is still a prototype." Forge said as he looked over some notes.

The man looked at Forge with surprise. "Prototype? So you're telling me that it can still be stronger?"

The blacksmith gave the so-so gesture. "More or less. You see, unlike most of my other weapons, I wanted to know your own input on this. It might be powerful, but what's the point if you can't even hit the target. Just like with any other wild animal, they won't just stand still and take it. As is now, you'll have to be extremely precise and lucky to have them close enough to use the cannon at its full capacity."

"They're not animals! THEY'RE MY CHILDREN!"

Cabot hummed. "I see. So is it either power or practicality?"

"Either way, it can only be shot two or three times before it overheats and possibly explode...:"

At the end of that comment, Cabot knew what wanted.

"Practicality please."

Cabot then left the man to his work.

"Please be safe, all of you. I am so sorry!"

Back at the Guild

Ika was sleeping comfortably in the bed, but through the window stood a large bat-like

creature with green goggles. It would then fly away right before he could notice it.

Ika yawned and lazily walked towards the window.

"I should've gotten my stuff first." He commented.

He opened the window and peered outside. He had no good reason to do so, but he felt like he needed to look outside. It was a moonless night and very dark, but he could still hear the ocean waves lazily crash onto the sand and the breeze gently hit his face.

"This is nice… maybe I should dive in the ocean one day…"

But then a mysterious scent filled his nostrils, one that made him slightly alert.

"Is anyone there?" He would call out, but no response.

He lifted his armpit and recoiled. "Maybe it's me. I need a shower… in the morning."

And he went back to sleep.

H-Hello everyone… it has been a while no? Expect this fic to be… a bit slower from now on. I hope I have improved since my hiatus.