Starry Heavens: Bonds of Friendship, Magic & Love
Episode 003: Tigress, Monkey, Crab, Stars & Bull!
This chapter will cover the following episode:
Episode 002: Fire Dragon, Monkey and Bull!
It will also be a bit different since Natsu isn't around at the moment. I hope you enjoy!
In the town of Era, home of the Magic Council...
It was the next day after the events of Hargeon and the meeting with Lisanna, Lucy, Happy and their new friend Aspen. As the group made their escape from the army, they made their night filled trip back to Magnolia, the site of the Fairy Tail guild. The girls were back in their regular clothes after the night and were walking to the guild hall on foot.
But before all that, located in the town on Era, a large town, built around a high, rocky mountain. The mountain nested the headquarters of the highest authority in the world of magic, the Magic Council. The rocky mountain is located in the heart of the city, and features a jagged pathway that encircles the circumference of the mountain as an entrance into the Council headquarters. The town is surrounded by forestry and snow-peaked mountains, which can be seen from the Magic Council headquarters' meeting room. The building's appearance is that of an imposing palace, composed of both pure white stone and light blue bricks, with large, elongated windows with arched tops being placed over its walls, some complete with glass, others hollow. The front part is a large facade, dominated in its center by the entrance, consisting of a double door topped by a pyramid-shaped roof, adorned by a bas-relief portraying a naked male figure taking the hand of a naked female figure, with a large shell being placed behind them. The roof is sustained by two massive, rectangular structures, plus a smaller pair of columns directly at the door's sides. Leading to the door it was a staircase, split in two by a concave part in its center. At the entrance's sides, linking it to a pair of simple, rectangular towers, were two colonnades. Towering above the entrance were three balconies, with their lower parts partially hidden by the entrance itself; the central one was topped by a roof similar to the one topping the entrance, similarly adorned by a bas-relief, this one portraying the Council's ankh-like symbol, while the side ones were less imposing, consisting just of large, rectangular windows complete with light blue curtains. Sitting at the outer balconies' sides were two imposing, rectangular towers covered in hollow windows, with pitched roofs consisting of light blue tiles, and sections protruding outwards in the central part of each of them. Two more, similar towers were visible on the backsides of the building. In the building's center, surrounded by those four towers, was a round one, with its conical, tiled roof topped by a high, slender, golden decorative structure, extending several meters up in the air, and having curved protrusions jutting outwards from it.
Inside one of the rooms, the members of the Magic Council were discussing the events of yesterday. The each stood from one another, on top of a large light blue magic circle with their own magic circles they stood on top of.
"Those idiots from Fairy Tail have gone and done it again." spoke one of the seven members, a short old man with brown hair and a mustache. His tufts of hair resemble ears and what appears to be a light-yellow tail gives him a cat-like appearance. Like the others around him, he wore a many layered robe that belongs to the Magic Council his name is Michello. "This time they've destroyed an entire port!"
"What is the matter with them?" another member, a tall middle-aged man, who always wears small, round, dark shaded glasses, wears a white and blue Magic Council cloak, and has it with the hood up asked in response to the first member. He also has large thin lips and tan skin. He has black hair and huge sideburns that almost hit his lips. On his chin are small chin hairs. He also has small eyebrows that always point down. This man's name is Leiji.
"I'm actually quite fond of those dimwits and their crazy fair attitude." said a third member with his arms folded, eyes closed, and spoke in a calm cool tone. He dressed himself in elegant yet simple robes; consisting of a long white tunic with black stripes across the edges and on the upper part of the arms, a decorated collar, large straps connected to decorated buckles closing the inducement on the front over a dark shirt, and matching pants and shoes. He also sported a ring on his right hand's middle finger, and had a medallion hidden under his collar. This man's name is Siegrain.
Beside him, a fourth member, a small old man with thick flesh-colored eyebrows and a small toothbrush mustache that reaches halfway to his mouth groaned with his arms folded before adding on. His clothes were different unlike the other members, consist of a brown long sleeve shirt with black vertical stripes and a black three-spiked hat, "They may behave like fools but we mustn't forget that they're an extremely capable lot." This man's name is Yajima
On his left stood one of two lone female members of the council, a pale-skinned woman with dark purple hair and brown eyes. She wore a white kimono with s short skirt and a yellow bow tied around her waist. This young woman had a rather voluptuous figure, and had her hand to her hip in a bored expression. This young woman's name is Ultear Milkovich.
"Yes, that's true they present quite the quandary." spoke up another member in the top of the room, a tall old man with a large gray beard and mustache. He has pointy ears and only opening one eye. On his head is a small bat-like creature. The elderly gentleman's name is Org.
"I think we should leave them be." remarked Siegrain in response to the others while smiling, "After all if it wasn't for those fools, think how boring this world would be."
Back in Magnolia with our group...
Aspen was smiling all the way through the town of Magnolia. Lucy and Lisanna couldn't help but notice this as the blond Celestial/Star Make Wizard speaks up toward their new friend. "So Aspen, you seem really excited. Are you getting pumped up to actually be able to join a guild?"
"You know I am Lucy. You and Lisanna are so powerful! Are all your wizards as powerful as you two?" Aspen asks toward the blond girl.
"Oh there are plenty of more powerful wizards besides Lisanna and me in the guild. You will meet most of them when we get there. Truth be told, we aren't really as powerful as we showed in Hargeon. The reason why we were so powerful then is because we were trying to defend the honor of our lost friend. It really wasn't right the way he took our friend Natsu's nickname. Our Salamander was goofy, loving, and gung ho at the same time, that Salamander had nothing on him."
"I understand, you were just trying to defend the honor of your lost friend, that makes a tone of sense," Aspen stated truthfully then turned to the Takeover/Elemental Empowerment Wizard and inquired curiously, "Lisanna, are you sure Fairy Tail will accept me? I really am not so sure I would be a good fit for Fairy Tail."
"Aspen, are you kidding me? The way you helped Lucy and Aquarius bring Bora's yacht to shore was amazing," Lisanna chimed in happily,then continued, "Any guild who says your magic isn't worth having in a guild that's crazy just to think about. Having magic that can control weather and climate is something that is not very common at all. Also you did your own fair amount of damage to the port town as well. You will fit right in at Fairy Tail."
Aspen thought to herself and smiled continuing to think to herself, 'Really? What am I worried about? By the way Lucy and Lisanna make it sound, I will fit right in at the guild I've always wanted to join.'
You know Lucy and Lisanna have a point, I mean if I did that much damage to a port town, I could definitely be of help to this team. I wonder if we will have anymore members join. From what Lisanna and Lucy have told me so far about the guy they were looking for, Natsu I think his name was. I now am anxiously awaiting the day that I will be able to meet the real Salamander of Fairy Tail!
Lucy, Lisanna and Happy smile at their new friend smiling widely. It seems she really is anxious.
I wonder what Aspen will think of the guild when she sees all the fights that tend to happen inside the guild hall. I just hope the fights don't scare our new friend away. It will be interesting to see Aspen's reaction when she enters the guild.
Aspen is in for a surprise when she enters the guild. It seems that she will fit in perfectly well with our guild!
The group continued on and three hours later they had finally made it to the front doors of Fairy Tail.
Outside the Guild Hall in Magnolia...
'I can't believe it took us three and a half hours to get here,' Lucy thought to herself, 'I guess that's what we get for using up a ton of our magic in that fight.'
'Oh man,' Lisanna thought sadly to herself, 'I was hoping to see Lu bust the door down like Natsu used to, I guess it's better this way.'
We have a few things to say to that jerk Krov, sending us on a wild goose chase, though we better keep a cool head…
The group of Lucy, Lisanna, Aspen and Happy arrived at a building with the shape reminiscent of a pagoda, with each floor being smaller than the one below it and sitting on the latter's roof. The roofs also bear great resemblance to those of real pagoda, consisting of extremely long, arched tiles lined up one after the other and possessing simple curved protrusions jutting upwards on the building's angles. On the highest roof, topping the summit of the building, sat a simple, round and pointed dome, highly reminiscent of those seen on Arabian buildings, which bears a flag on its point. The roof below the one with the dome, the middle one, housed a large banner with Fairy Tail's symbol on it, held up by a pair of vertical poles. The building's large entrance was again Arabian in design, with its shape being reminiscent of that of the dome on the summit, and above it was the guild's name, topped by a protruding, stylized heart shape and flanked by a pair of carved fairies. Stylized heart shapes were also visible on the frames of the numerous, large pentagonal windows located on each floor, with the top floor housing smaller, arched windows partially covered by banners.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail!" Lucy stated as she was about to activate her Star Make Magic, but thought better of it since she was low on magical power, she then gently reached for the door handles and opened them, she was still strong enough to announce the groups presence though, but wasn't strong enough to use her magic to bust in, besides she really shouldn't bust in the way Natsu always used to, that was his schtick so she decided to keep it that way, "We made it back alive everyone and we brought a new friend."
"Welcome home Lucy and Lisanna," several Fairy Tail Wizards stated happily as they waved happily, "Oh yeah can't forget about Happy too!"
"Thank you so much," Lisanna said happily as her, Lucy, Happy and Aspen entered the guild hall and gently closed the doors behind them, "before any of you say anything, I know we made a mess in Hargeon chasing down a fake lead, but we had to defend our fallen friend's honor."
"Aye Sir!" Happy exclaimed having to put in his two cents as always.
The inside of the guild is similar to a large lunch hall, and mainly consisted of wood, possessing a parquet floor and a mezzanine held up by wood beams overlooking it. Several long benches and the related tables stretched across its length with a bar at the end. Many members greeted the Takeover/Elemental Empowerment and Celestial/Star Make Wizards. "Welcome back Lisanna and Lucy! Can't forget about Happy too!"
On one of the benches were two young men of the same age. One of them had his back to the young man was of average height with orange hair, kept jutting backwards at the sides of his head. He has a sharp face, a prominent, flat and defined nose pointing downwards, and distinctive teeth, with a protruding, sharp, triangular-shaped upper molar complemented by a chipped portion on the lower row, something which allows him to close his teeth completely despite such peculiar irregularity. He donned an open, light-brown coat with yellowish fur trimmings on its edges and sleeves, which reached down below his elbows. Below it was a high-collared purple shirt, with its collar mostly left open, which was sometimes seen left hanging over the checkered belt below it, with a rectangular buckle, and others tucked inside the buggy dark pants covering his legs, in turn tucked inside dark boots. He was sometimes shown with a bracelet composed of thin ropes around his right wrist, and a watch around his left. The most distinctive piece of his attire is probably the fancy, extremely high hat matching his coat, with a large brim and fur trimmings over its entire length, at regular intervals, plus a large furry ball on its top. This Young Man's name was Jet.
The one the orange-haired young man was facing was a tall, slim young man with black hair kept in an unusual, distinctive hairstyle, with a tuft of hair on top of his head jutting upwards and then curving frontwards, being reminiscent of a plant's stem. His hair extends in a rounded form on his forehead, and was cut on both sides of his head, dark eyes and thin dark eyebrows pointing downwards at their outer edges; his rectangular-shaped face sported sharp features, with prominent cheekbones. His attire consisted of a simple white shirt, green checkered pants, and dark shoes with lighter soles. He also sported a pair of distinctive belts crossing his chest, each passing over one of his shoulders. These belts were reminiscent of bandoleers, sporting rectangular cases on them. This Young Man was named Droy.
Another person was sitting and talking with members of the guild, he was a tall man sporting curly, light orange hair. His outfit consisted of a large, white shirt fitting his chests size, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, dark pants, dark, pointed shoes adorned by light crescent moon-like motifs on the inner sides, and a distinctive dark hat, with a large brim, a curved point hanging down on his left and a light orange band around it, highly reminiscent of those worn by fictional sorcerers. This person was Reedus Jonah
Another member facing the returned group, a man of average height distinguished by his brown hair, which is kept in a pompadour-like style that protrudes frontwards from the top of his head in a large, curly and fluffy tuft. His eyes were closed, but he had light colored eyes. His physique is peculiar in the fact that, despite having quite a large belly, his abdominal and pectorals above it are well-defined. His outfit consists of a loose, light green shirt decorated by many motifs of stylized dark-colored flowers with five petals; a pair of pants cut down below this man's knees and held up by a light belt adorned by many black stars partially hidden by his shirt, and sandals held up by striped bands. His name was Wakaba Mine.
"So I heard you and Lisanna went all out in Hargeon, have to go on and on starting trouble." said a slim man of average height with dark hair pointing upwards, bushy eyebrows, and very prominent upper central teeth, reminiscent of a rodent's. He wore a light, zipped sweatshirt with a high collar and dark lines running down the sleeves' upper parts, bearing the letter "J" on the left part of the chest. He also appears to be wearing light pants and shoes.
"Why do you insist on pushing our buttons Krov?" Lucy asked curiously with an angry look in her eyes as she ignored the man, and headed to the bar, "Why do you constantly confuse me with him? You know I am not like him now please leave me alone, I really don't want to fight."
"I can't believe you are Salamander's friend!" Krov challenged the blond-haired wizard, causing Lucy to stop where she was, turn around walk up to said rodent-faced wizard and slapped him across the face
Aspen saw this and asked Lucy a question, only to see her huff and head up to the bar. "Why did you go and do that Lucy?" Not getting an answer from the girl, the Weather Wizard followed her to the bar and asked the same question to Lucy again, "Why did you go and slap him Lucy?"
Lucy sighed and shook her head as Aspen approached and asked the question, she gave her answer, "Ever since that incident two years ago where we lost our friend, that guy has been grating on my nerves, if he's not careful I'm going to blow, he's so annoying, I just choose to ignore people like that since I'm not a fighter."
"You could've fooled me by the way you acted in Hargeon," Aspen said calmly then realized that Lucy may be wrong so she asked the blond another question, "What do you mean that you're not a fighter?"
"I already told you Aspen," Lucy said as she ordered a drink from Mirajane, then addressed the brunette, "The reason why we acted the way we did in Hargeon is because of the way Bora was throwing around Natsu's name in Hargeon. We were defending him."
Aspen nodded in understanding, "so you two were basically running on adrenaline and anger am I right?
Lucy nodded toward the newcomer and smiled.
Seeing that he was nursing one cheek, Lisanna walked up to him angrily and slapped the buck-toothed wizard across the other cheek angrily, "Krov! You idiot! You lied about the Salamander in Hargeon!"
"He didn't even look like Natsu! He was nothing but a dirty old man that wanted to use girls to turn into slaves!" Lucy shouted back toward Krov, who was now nursing his other cheek from the slap that Lisanna had just given him. "How could you say that was Natsu?"
"Hey Lucy!" Krov exclaimed as he pulled his hands from his now swollen cheeks making him really look like a rodent and put them up in a defensive position, "Don't blame me! I was just passing along a rumor I heard!"
"It was just a rumor?" Lucy asked angrily as she reached toward her key and her whip only to be stopped by Lisanna putting her arms around her in a hug calming her down as Lucy looks into those blue eyes, she spoke up, "Lisanna what are you doing, I am getting really tired of Krov, you can't tell me that you aren't tired of him as well."
"You're right, I am getting tired of his fake leads," Lisanna said as she released the blond seeing that she had calmed down, "but we have already used up a whole bunch of our magic, it takes more than one night to replenish the amount of magic we used up in Hargeon. Remember, what we are, we have to keep calm and not go overboard like we did in Hargeon, yes we were angry and running on adrenaline, but that was nothing like how we really are."
Lucy sighed in defeat, she knew that Lisanna was right. What was she doing? This is not like her at all. Tears came to her eyes as she cried into Lisanna's shoulder.
"Li, it's just so hard," Lucy sniffled as she continued to cry, "I've been trying to be a good girl like I always am when it comes to not getting into fights, but *hic* Krov makes it so hard, I was lucky I only slapped him and didn't kick him like I wanted to do. What is wrong with me Li? *Snif*"
Lisanna then patted her back in a loving way, realizing that Lucy has calmed down now, "Nothing is wrong with you Lu, the ways of this guild are causing us to begin to change for the worse, we can't let that happen to us."
Lisanna then started to cry as well as she hugged the blond. Seeing both girls crying, Gray got angry and shot an Ice Make Lance at Krov sending him into the wall causing him to have a bump on his head along with the puffy cheeks.
"You made Lucy and Lisanna cry," Gray exclaimed angrily as he pulled his hands back and prepared to do a spell, "two of the three sweetest girls in Fairy Tail are now crying because of your stupid fake leads. Do you have any idea how much he meant to those two girls? You don't do you! I will show you! Ice Make knuckle!"
As Gray said that, a light blue magic appeared underneath him as he slammed his hands into the ground sending multiple Ice fists toward the direction where Krov flew only to catch Happy and several other members off guard igniting an all out brawl that Lucy and Lisanna thankfully decided to stay out of.
A large, muscular man with tan colored skin, whose height causes him to tower over most of his fellow guild members walked toward the group of brawlers. His long white hair is kept styled upwards in long, wavy spikes, and his dark eyes possess no visible eyebrows, and his rectangular, elongated face has a stitched scar running down its right side, crossing his right eye. His black Fairy Tail stamp is located on the left part of his neck. His outfit resembles that worn by fictional, Japanese high-school hooligans: it consists of a dark blue jacket with purplish blue inner material, held closed on the front by a line of large buttons, with similar buttons on the sleeves' back and the zipper located on the high collar left open. The back of his jacket is adorned by large, light kanji, which read "The greatest" and the jacket itself seems to be worn over a light red shirt. His outfit is completed by loose pants matching his jacket, held up by a simple belt, and traditional Japanese geta sandals, held in place by bands colored the same as his jacket's inner material comes up to the two best friends and begins to speak. This giant of a man is Elfman Strauss, Lisanna's older brother.
"You two are the Man! That's what Fairy Tail Assignments always entail!" Elfman exclaimed as he pumped his arms then got a gentle look in his eyes, one from his younger days as he saw the two girls remaining calm. "I am proud of you for not fighting, I know how hard it is for you being in this guild, I never wanted to fight when I was younger, but now I'm a MAN! I LIVE TO FIGHT!" With his last words Elfman leaped into to the massive brawl.
Mirajane then walked up to the two best friends and smiled, "You two did cause a lot of damage in Hargeon, but you had to do what you did to defend our friends honor," Mirajane said as she lowered her voice so only the three of them could hear, "so any luck finding Natsu and Igneel?"
Tears that seemed to disappear welled up again in the two girls eyes, they grabbed onto each other and cried into each other's shoulders.
"W-we failed Mira-Nee," Lisanna said, tears flowing down her face, her blue eyes clearly distressed as she looked into the blue eyes of her big sister.
"It was nothing but a wild g-goose chase Mira-San," Lucy cried as well her brown eyes with a very sad look to them and tears rolling down her face, "just a crusty old man too full of himself to realize that what he was doing was wrong."
Mirajane nodded her ever present smile very visible as she nodded, "just try to cut back on the collateral damage next time?"
Lucy and Lisanna wiped away each others tears and put on their smiles that always light up the room, "we understand Mira-Nee/Mira-San."
Mirajane smiled and went back to her rounds as the fight picked up a notch as Happy was knocked into the back of Lucy with swirls in his eyes, Aspen saw this and gasped.
"Lucy, Lisanna, Happy is hurt," Aspen said toward the two leaders of Team Lucy.
Lucy and Lisanna turned around on their bar stools and looked at Happy, seeing the distress from the blue kitty Lisanna picked him up and took Happy to the infirmary with Lucy following close behind worried about her son.
While the two girls were heading toward the infirmary, the fight got out out of control and a very familiar dark purple-haired girl, dark purple flying cat, green spiky-haired guy, and a green flying cat joined in. In the process, Gray had lost his underwear and Shigeru was standing in front of him swinging them around.
"Give me back my underwear you Green-haired freak!" Gray said as he glared at Shigeru.
Shigeru ran the other way with Terra close behind, "You have to catch me first stripper!"
"Aye!" Terra said as he flew closely behind his friend.
Gray eventually caught up and got his underwear back as well as the rest of his clothes.
Roxie was with Chisame fighting when she spotted Happy being taken to the infirmary by Lucy and Lisanna, "Hey Chisame, we better go see if Happy is okay, let's leave the rest of the people to fight."
Chisame nodded as she and Roxie pulled themselves out of the fight and headed toward the infirmary, apparently Lucy and Lisanna felt they had to remove themselves from the situation before they lost control again like they did in Hargeon.
"You're right Roxie, let's go check on those three," Chisame said to her best friend as she followed her.
While the Poison Beauty and her partner headed toward the infirmary to check on their friends, the guild wide brawl continued as a beer bottle hit Mirajane on the head causing her to get knocked out and her soul begin to escape her body.
Aspen saw this and gasped, waving her arms in the air in distress, "no don't die Mirajane!"
Fights continued to break out as Gray was now fighting Droy instead of Shigeru, Jet was fighting Elfman. Wakaba was sitting having a beer as was Cana. Gray continued to fight Droy with his Ice Make Magic as he continued to lose his clothes. Soon enough he was in his underwear as Cana took notice.
"Gray! Your clothes!" Cana remarked as she continued to guzzle down a keg of beer.
Soon, Gray lost his boxers yet again, and was standing their buck naked. He happened to stop in front of Aspen as the new recruit gasped covering her eyes, but peaking through the spread out index and middle fingers of her right hand. He then went on to ask Aspen and embarrassing question. "Um, this may sound a bit sudden, but can I borrow your underwear?"
"What? Heck no you perv! It's time you got a life and started bugging someone else!" Aspen said as she activated her magic by crossing her arms over her chest. "Weather Climate Change! Intense Heat Warning!" As Aspen said that, a yellow circle materialized in front of her chest. The circle got brighter and brighter and eventually turned into intense heat in the shape of the Sun. The waves of sunlight bathed Gray giving him a serious sunburn and sending him against the wall yet again. "Stay away from me you pervert!"
"You guys are so insensitive, a woman has needs." Loke said as he picked Aspen up Bridal Style. "These guys are so insensitive."
Loke then set Aspen down on a bench as far away from the fight as he could then walked over to the two girls that he had his arms around earlier, "I am going to enter this fight to protect you my dears."
"Be careful Loke!" The two girls exclaimed.
"Don't worry, I'll be careful," Loke said as he put his left hand to one of his rings as he activated his magic. Only to be knocked up into the air by Elfman.
"Real men fight with their fists Loke!" Elfman exclaimed as he punched Loke into the air.
Gray and Shigeru, now fighting again, saw this and punched Elfman into the air. "You stay out of this Elfman."
And it went on like that for a while, the guild wide fight broke out into even more violence with tables(yes tables), chairs, and benches flying everywhere.
Coming down the Stairs a giant black monster interrupted the brawl...
"You brats are fighting like babies! Now settle down! I am very disappointed in all of you!" A giant black monster ordered in anger.
The huge monster looked around at his children. Most of them had spent their entire childhood here because they were runaways like Lucy for example. As he was looking around he saw the girl that had just sent Gray into the wall with some sort of temperature magic? She can control climates? Now that was an interesting person to have in his guild. "So I see we got a new recruit." The black monster said as he began to shrink into a diminutive old man with a very prominent white mustache above his lip. On his head was a blue and orange jester-type cap. He was wearing a pair of pants, a white T-Shirt with a black Fairy Tail Symbol on it. Over his T-Shirt he wore an orange and blue vest. He then had a list of complaints that was piled high in his hand.
"All of you need to watch what your doing on your missions! I have gotten complaint after complaint from the Magic Council!" Makarov said angrily before he immediately switched to a smile and burnt the complaints to ashes. "But we are Fairy Tail! We have to continue to strive to get better. Forget what the Council says! Just keep doing what your doing."
Makarov then turns his gaze toward the new recruit. "Hey young lady." Makarov says as he he addresses Aspen. "When you are ready to be inducted please meet me in my office, or you can just have Mira apply it when she wakes up."
Aspen nods in acknowledgement as she continued to stare at the fighting in awe. She notices that Mirajane had gotten up and addressed the Fairy Tail Centerfold. "Um Mira is it?" Aspen asked as Mira nods and approaches her. "Shouldn't you stop all this fighting? Is Fairy Tail always like this?
"It sure is! Isn't it fun! This is what Fairy Tail is all about." Mira says as she pulls out her Fairy Tail Stamp. "So what color do you want your stamp, and where do you want it located?"
Aspen thought about the question for a second and reached her hand out to Mirajane as she bends her right hand under so Mira can get a better look at her wrist. "I would like it to be dark blue and on the top of my right wrist please."
Mira nodded happily as she took the stamp in her hand and stamped Aspen in the desired location. The stamp glowed for a second before Mirajane removed it. Once Mira removes the stamp, Aspen's new dark blue mark glows again and officially inducts her into Fairy Tail.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail Aspen!" Mira exclaimed happily as she puts the stamp away. All of a sudden several more beer bottles head Mirajane and Aspen's way as Aspen dodges out of the way.
As Mirajane put the stamp away, she noticed several more beer bottles heading her way. She gracefully dodged out of the way as she placed some more beers on various tables, put the tray away, and went back behind the bar and stood by Makarov. "We surely have a lively bunch of Wizards here don't we Master? They certainly like to party like all of us do."
"We sure do Mira," Makarov said to the Bar Maid, "have you and Elfman thought about going out on missions again my dear? I'm sure Lucy and Lisanna would love to see you back in action and going out on missions with them again."
"As tempting as that sounds Master," Mirajane said from her spot next to Fairy Tail's Guild Master, "Elfman and I still aren't ready to go out on missions again. Maybe someday. I'm not sure about Elfman, but I'm happy seeing Lucy and Lisanna growing up right before our eyes. Natsu would never have admitted that he destroyed an entire port. I honestly think Natsu's absence have helped Lucy and Lisanna grow as wizards. Don't you?"
"I certainly do my dear," Makarov said, then continued, "I'm sure you and Elfman will be ready to go out on missions again someday, it's just a matter of time. Both of you need to take your time before you make any decisions about going out on missions. Mira, could you grab me another beer?"
"Certainly Master," Mirajane said as she went to the bar, dispensed some beer from the Tap and handed it to Makarov.
Lucy, Lisanna, Chisame, Happy, and Roxie made their return from the infirmary after they found out that Happy was okay and sit down at the bar.
Makarov was sitting on the bar top with Mirajane right next to him standing and looking on at the antics of what the Guild has become known for over the many years since its inception.
"Master, I really don't think we can stop our Guild from causing a lot of damage on their missions. It really is a miracle that we haven't been shut down by the Magic Council for all the damage we cause," Mirajane whispered to Makarov so only the two of them could here. Continuing her low speaking tone of voice, Mirajane continues speaking to Makarov, "Sometimes I forget that I used to be part of the massively destructive group of guild members prior to two years ago."
"Agreed my dear," Makarov whispered back as he continued to sit on top of the bar, then continued to speak with Mira in his lower tone of voice, "we just have to count our lucky stars that it hasn't gotten too serious. This guild has kind of mellowed out on the destruction over the last two years. All of us know exactly why. It's especially hard on Lucy, Lisanna, and Gray, those three were really close to Natsu. Lucy and Lisanna being best friends with him, and Gray seeing him as his rival. We have to thank our lucky stars for Ur being here, she really seems to mellow out Gray when it comes to these guild wide fights. Although, it's very good to see that Gray hasn't lost much of his spark when it comes to starting fights."
"Very true master," Mirajane said to Makarov then continued as she looked over to Lucy and Lisanna sitting at the bar, "those two girls, they certainly have gotten a bit stronger the last couple of years. I think their drive to find Natsu and Igneel has really helped them mature. I'm so proud of my little sister and her best friend. Those two have gotten so much closer over the last two years. Though, I don't suppose it's possible that those two swing that way? It would certainly make this guild hall so interesting. I need to start making plans for those two to go out on a date.
Lucky for Lucy and Lisanna the sounds of the Guild wide fight are hampering the two girls from hearing what Mirajane is saying about them, but they couldn't help but sneeze as they could barely make out the whispers between the Bar Maid and the Guild Master.
"Achoo!" Lucy and Lisanna sneeze as they rub their noses as they whisper to each other, "I wonder if someone is talking about us."
After finishing their drinks, Lucy and Lisanna head over to the request board to search for a job.
"Hey Li," Lucy said to her white-haired friend, "which job do you think we should take?"
"I don't know Lu," Lisanna responded to her friend, "there are so many jobs on here that it's hard to pick just one."
"I know right?" Lucy asked as the two friends continued to look at the request board.
Aspen, having been officially inducted into the Guild walks up between Lucy and Lisanna, "hey Lucy, Lisanna, look at this, I'm officially inducted into the Guild."
Hearing the Weather Manipulation Wizard's voice, the two girls turn around and smile. They see Aspen proudly displaying her guild mark with a big smile on her face. "
"Wow Aspen, congratulations, welcome to Fairy Tail," Lisanna said to her new friend.
Lucy smiled in agreement with Lisanna as she suggested something to the newest member of Fairy Tail, "hey do you think you would want to go on a mission with us when we find one to take?"
Aspen shook her head no and smiled, "not right now, I kind of want to just bask in the glory of finally being accepted into a Wizard Guild. I'll see you two later."
With that Aspen waved her hand and took off to see about finding a place to stay. Lucy and Lisanna smiled as they turned back around and continued to search for a job that would peak their interest.
A young boy, no older than six years of age ran up to the master who was perched on the bar next to Mirajane.
"My Dad isn't back yet master! He said he'd be gone for only three days and now it's been a week, you need to go find him! I want my Daddy!" The young boy wearing a black shirt and tan shorts with black tennis shoes exclaimed angrily. His hair was straight and short. His shirt had an S imprinted on the front of it. This was Romeo Conbolt.
"You have to trust your dad, he will be back! He is a Fairy Tail Wizard after all!" Makarov exclaimed angrily, "Now go home an have some milk and cookies or something."
"No! Send someone after him! He should've been back by now!" Romeo said as he punched Makarov in the face and exclaims angrily toward Makrov, "Stupid jerk!"
With that, Romeo ran out of the guild hall calling to all the Guild Members, "I hate you all!"
Lucy and Lisanna are at the request board and hear what's going on. They get angry and punch the request board chipping a piece off of it. Lucy and Lisanna then head toward the exit and motion for Happy to come with them. As the two girls head toward the guild doors, a muscular wizard in tribal clothing glares at the retreating forms of the girls. "Lisanna, Lucy, watch it you almost broke the request board!" The man in tribal clothing that said that was Nab Lasarro who spends the entire day pacing back and forth in front of the request board never taking a job.
"Why do those girls wear those clashing accessories to their outfits?! Also why were they so angry? I've never seen them act that way, not even in Hargeon." Aspen inquired to no one in particular, Mirajane sees this and walks over to her.
"Well you see, a very dear friend gave those to them. A very dear friend that died two years ago during a mission they went on with my brother and me. My name is Mirajane Strauss by the way." Mirajane said as she pointed to Elfman. "That's my little brother Elfman. He is also Lucy and Lisanna's older brother. Though Lucy isn't related by blood, she is an honorary takeover sibling. In other words we didn't really adopt her. Also Lucy and Lisanna see themselves in Romeo. So do Elfman and I, when Lisanna, Elfman and I were really young, our parents died. We traveled from village to village trying to find a place to stay. While we would stay in one location for a while, something would always happen and we would be banned from village after village. That is until we finally arrived at Fairy Tail. As for Lucy, she too arrived when she was a lot younger. Things got really bad at home, so she decided to run away at the young age of ten. She too eventually arrived at Fairy Tail, about one year before we did."
"As Mira said my name is Elfman Strauss. What is your name?" Elfman asked curiously.
"My name is Aspen and I use Weather Manipulation Magic." Aspen remarked as she introduced herself.
Mirajane and Elfman nodded as they shook hands with the new recruit and go back to what they were doing before.
Outside the guild on their way to Mt. Hakobe still a bit angry...
"Macao should've been back by now! Where did Romeo say he was?" Lucy asked her best friend.
"I think he said he was on Mt. Hakobe." Lisanna responded back to her best friend.
"We should fly there! Open Gate of the Silver Eagle: Aquila!"
Once again a silver circle materialized from the tip of Lucy's key and the massive bird appeared.
"Where do you wish for me to go my dears?" Aquila asks curiously.
"Please fly us to Mt. Hakobe, a guild mate of ours is concerned about his father being gone for over a week."
"I understand Lucy. Happy, do you want to ride with Lucy and Lisanna or do you want to fly after us?" Aquila asked of the blue cat.
"I will fly with Lucy-Mama and Lisanna-Mama." Happy remarked cheerfully as he sat in between his two mothers.
Aquila nodded and the three wizards were off to Mt. Hakobe.
I still can't believe Macao isn't back yet! He is leaving poor Romeo alone. It's a good thing Li and I decided to go after him. He really needs to be around more for his son since he is the only parent that Romeo seems to have. At least I don't think Macao is married now, but he had to be at one time to have a son.
Let's check back with the group at the guild hall while we try and find our friend Macao.
Back at the Guild Hall...
Seeing the the fighting wasn't going to stop, Makarov jumped off of the bar and landed on the floor and activated his Titan Magic, "YOU LITTLE BRATS BETTER QUIET DOWN OR ELSE! SHUT UP AND LISTEN!" Makarov exclaimed Angrily causing the whole Guild Hall to quiet down quickly.
"Now that I have your attention," Makarov said in a much quieter tone than before and now back into his normal tiny form, "I have an announcement to make, please give a warm Fairy Tail Welcome to our newest member, her name is Aspen. Please come up here young lady."
"Sure thing Master," Aspen said as she went up to the front of the Guild Hall and stood in between Makarove and Mirajane, "my name is Aspen, it's so nice to meet you."
With that Aspen smiled and curtsied.
There were several voices whispering all of them male as they looked on, "wow, is she the one who helped Lucy and Lisanna destroy Hargeon? Wow, she's kind of cute."
"What kind of magic did she say she used?" several female voices asked in the same tone of voice as the males, "Temperature Magic or something?"
"Now my dear," Makarov said to the newcomer, "please tell everyone your name and what type of magic you use."
"Of Course Master," Aspen said as she waved to everyone, "hi everyone, my name is Aspen and I use Weather Manipulation Magic. This is the first Guild Hall that let me join with no questions asked. A lot of the Guilds I've tried to join turned me away in no time flat because they didn't see my magic as very strong or worthless. I'm so glad I was able to join Fairy Tail, thanks to Lisanna, Lucy, and Happy."
Everyone cheered and smiled as those that were drinking beer raised their mugs up into the sky, "Weather Manipulation Magic is awesome! Not only is it rare, but it can come in very handy! Welcome to Fairy Tail Aspen!"
Mirajane and Elfman smiled from their spots as the brother and sister chimed together, "welcome to Fairy Tail Aspen, we hope you have a fun time here!"
Aspen blushed out of embarrassment and turned away as she found a seat at the bar her face burning red as she ordered a Strawberry Smoothie from Mirajane. Once Mirajane fixed her smoothie and gave it to her, she went back to serving beers to everyone.
I have to say, I never expected to be welcomed with open arms into Fairy Tail. It's very comforting that I actually found a Guild that accepts me for who I am. My time in Fairy Tail is going to be an adventure of a lifetime!
The closer Aquila, the girls, and Happy got to Mt. Hakobe, the more blinding the Snow Storm got. She landed at the foot of the snow-covered Mt. Hakobe and looked at the three wizards on her back apologetically, "sorry you three, but this is as far as I can go because beyond here I can't see anything in front of my face. I hate white out conditions. May I take my leave now Lucy?"
"Of course you can Aquila, thanks for bringing us this far."
Lucy then swiped Aquila's key through the air closing her gate.
"Well we better get dressed into something warmer." Lisanna remarked.
"Exactly how are we supposed to do that Li-Chan?" Lucy asked as she looked around for a place to change
"Think about it Lu, we have tents, why don't we use them to change?"
Lucy nodded at the great idea and set up her tent followed closely by Lisanna.
Once the girls close their tent flaps, they get changed. Lucy comes out wearing a gold sweatshirt with the Fairy Tail Mark on it. She is also wearing Natsu's vest over her sweatshirt as to keep warm. Lisanna on the other hand comes out in a purple sweater and long pants. She has the muffler around her neck as she re-attaches her staff to her back after changing. Lucy then realizes how cold it is and goes back into her tent and comes out with gold skinny-jeans with wool-lining in them to keep her warm. The warmth of the wool lining kind of reminds her of one of her mom's favorite spirits as she wipes another tear from her eye. Now that Lisanna and Lucy are nice and toasty warm, Lucy asks Happy a question.
"Hey Happy do you want to use Horologium to keep warm?"
"No thanks Lucy-Mama, at least not right now, maybe later."
Lucy nods in understanding as her Lisanna, and Happy begin to trek up Mt. Hakobe.
All of a sudden a very familiar looking creature attacks them, but this one was white.
"Where is Macao! Tell us now you big white monkey!" Lucy remarked as she pulled out one of her Zodiac Keys. "Open Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!"
"Moooo! What do you want me toooo dooooo my nice body?!" Taurus asks his wizard.
"Time to fight! Chop down that big white monkey until he tells us where Macao is!"
Taurus nods and attacks the Vulcan. He notices that the two girls are taking fighting stances as Lucy removes her whip and Lisanna removes and expands her BO staff. "Elemental Empowerment! Fire mode!" Lisanna remarks as not only her BO staff turns reddish-orange, but her outfit becomes outlined in reddish orange. "Let's rumble snowman! You better tell us where Macao is."
"Max Speed Attack!" Happy exclaims as he flies really fast up to the Vulcan and attacks with his feet and hands. This knocks the giant monkey for a loop. Leaving the Vulcan wide open for Taurus and Lucy to attack together. Lucy smacks the giant white monkey with her whip and Taurus uses the flat of his Ax.
The Vulcan roars as he gets up and starts to attack both of them. He strikes Taurus hard causing him to be sent back to the Celestial Spirit World and grabs Lucy causing her to drop her whip. He then takes Lucy away from the scene. "Li! Help me!" Lucy continued to shout, but her mouth was shut with the hand of the giant monkey. He then whips up a snowstorm and sends it after Lisanna.
"Not going to work monkey face! Take this!" Flames engulfed Lisanna's staff as she spins it around like a top and threw it in the air. "Fire Cyclone Attack!"
A Cyclone of flames erupts from the thrown staff and burns through the Impromptu Snow Storm. As the snowstorm subsides she notices that her best friend is gone and her whip is on the ground where she had been standing. Lisanna picked up Lucy's whip, rolled it up and clipped it to her belt. She then followed the footprints to find that white monkey and her best friend after she caught her BO Staff with skill, collapsed it and clipped it back on her back.
She follows the footprints to a cave where she encounters the giant monkey as she sees something white coming out of Lucy and heading into the nostrils of the Vulcan. Lisanna then switched to her Tigress form and caught the white ghost like thing as she puts it back into her partner. Lucy regains consciousness as she sees the Vulcan trying to take Lisanna. She pulls out one her Zodiac Keys and uses it. "Open Gate of the Giant Crab! Cancer!"
A guy wearing a blue striped shirt, dark pants with Aquamarine Stripes on either side, combat boots, sunglasses as well as a necklace appeared out of a blue magic circle. On his waist he has a pouch that has hair styling tools inside. His hair looks like cornrows with what looks like crab pincers on either side. In his hands are two pairs of scissors. Happy has been knocked out while trying to protect Lisanna. "What do you want me to do baby?"
"Attack that monkey and save Li."
Cancer nods and does as he is told. Using his scissors, he does some serious damage to the Vulcan causing him to drop Lisanna who was on the edge of consciousness/unconsciousness. Lucy then rushed toward Lisanna as she fell and caught her. She then thanks Cancer and with a swipe of her key through the air, she sends Cancer back to the Celestial Spirit World.
"Li are you going to be okay?"
"I'm fine Lu thanks for saving me again."
"Hey you're my best friend, it's my job to protect you. It's our job to protect each other. So Li-Chan shall we combine attacks?"
Lisanna nods as she hands Lucy her whip back. Lucy then puts her hands together forming a gold circle underneath her. "Star Make: Star Katana!"
"Elemental Empowerment! Fire!" Lisanna exclaimed as she expanded her staff to its full length while activating a reddish-orange Magic Circle and spinning her staff around like a baton.
Lucy bangs her sword against Lisanna's staff as a reddish-orange circle engulfs the smaller golden yellow circle.(1)
"Combination Attack! Fire Star Flaming Tornado Slasher!" The two attacks combine as a gigantic tornado materializes from the power of both girls. It then heads straight for the Vulcan striking it hard and burning it. With one slash of Lucy's sword, and one swing of Lisanna's Bo Staff, the vulcan is knocked out. the Vulcan loses hold of the person he had taken control of and turns into an unconscious Macao. Lisanna and Lucy dispel their magic as Lisanna collapses her Bo staff and places it once again on her back while Lucy re-clips her whip to her belt and dispels her Katana. The dual noises wake Macao from his slumber as he sees the two girls happily standing over him and smiling, while also laboring from their battle. Perhaps they weren't as recovered from their escapade in Hargeon as they though they were. He struggles to get up as the girls help steady him. Just as they are doing that Happy wakes up from his slumber and looks at the girls steadying Macao.
"Aye sir! We found him where was he?" The flying cat asked.
"We were fighting him the whole time. The Vulcan took him over and was controlling him." Lucy stated as she and Lisanna help him out of the cave and help him down the mountain. Once they get to the foothills of the mountain where the snow is no longer flying, Lucy pulls out her newest Silver Key before Lucy can call our Aquila, Lisanna takes her hand and pushes the key down.
"Lisanna what are you doing?" Lucy asked curiously as she studied the worried blue eyes of her companion, "did I do something wrong?"
"No Lu, you didn't," Lisanna said as she looked straight into the brown eyes of her best friend, then continued, "You do realize that we used a lot of magic don't you? If you use Aquila, you won't be able to go with me to search for a house for us to live in together. You will be way too tired. I'm tired to even use my Takeover forms let alone my staff again. It's crazy for either of us to use anymore magic right now."
Lucy sighed and nodded knowing her best friend was right, "I guess your right Li, we did use a lot of our magic with that combination attack and I did summon three of my spirits earlier and then used my Star Make Magic. Thanks for looking out for me. You are definitely a lifesaver. I guess we either have to find a carriage or walk there." Lucy then turns to Macao and asked him a question, "Macao are you going to be okay to make the trek back to Magnolia in your condition?"(2)
"I'm going to be fine," Macao said as he was being steadied by the two younger girls, "how about you are you going to be okay with steadying me all the way there?"
The two girls were about to nod, but fell to their knees exhausted as they spoke up toward the older gentleman, "um, well maybe not so much, we better find a carriage to go home. I hope Romeo won't be too angry at us for taking so long."
With that, Lucy, Lisanna, and Macao found a carriage and took it back to Magnolia. The two girls treated Macao's injuries while they were in the carriage.
Macao sighed as he spoke up, "I'm so pathetic, I defeated nineteen of those monstrous Vulcan, but the twentieth, the twentieth is the one that got me. I'm so embarrassed that I can't face Romeo.
"Are you kidding Macao?!" Lucy asked in disbelief, "seriously you took down nineteen of those monstrous pervert monkeys?"
"And the twentieth took you over?" Lisanna asked, "taking down nineteen out of twenty of those monsters is nothing to complain about. As long as the two of us have been in this guild, well three of us, we could never begin to compare to you. Romeo is going to proud of you for defeating nineteen of those twenty monsters. Let's get home to see your little boy."
Macao chuckled and nodded as he smiled, "I guess you're right, taking down nineteen of twenty monsters is nothing to sneeze at."
With that, the four Wizards made their way home to Fairy Tail.
Back in Magnolia, Romeo is sitting in the middle of a set of stairs as a bad memory enters his minds eye of some bullies teasing him about Fairy Tail.
"Fairy Tail Wizards are a joke Romeo!" One bully said to him.
"Everybody knows that they're just a bunch of drunken cowards!" The second bully taunted him
"I'm going to be a knight when I grow up, not some dumb Wizard!" the third bully said to him.
Another unseen bully taunted Romeo as well, "yeah they're dirty and they smell like booze!"
In another memory Romeo finds himself face to face with his father.
"Please Dad go to the board and take a job," Romeo pleads to his dad in distress, then continues, "I can't handle all this teasing anymore!"
Macao looks at his son with a wink and a smile, "sure!"
Romeo is sitting on the same stairs wiping his tears two very familiar voices call out to him, one after the other.
"Hey Romeo!" Lisanna called out while speaking through catching her breath.
"Look who we found and brought home safely," Lucy said to the young man. She was also trying to speak through catching her breath, "however, we used a lot of our magic looking for him. Macao, someone has been waiting for you."
"Hey son, I made it home safely," Macao said to his son, "it took me a lot longer than I thought it would, but I finished the mission."
Romeo jumps up from his seat and tackles Macao, "Daddy!"
The tackle from Romeo catches Macao off guard as he steadies himself with a smile, "whoa easy there."
"I'm so sorry Dad!" Romeo exclaimed as he hugged Macao's neck.
"No, Romeo, I'm sorry." Macao said.
"It's okay, I can handle it! I'm a Wizard's son!" Romeo said to his father as he hugged him.
"Next time those bullies pick on you," Macao started happily, then continued, "this is what I want you to say to them, can your old man defeat nineteen monsters all by himself, because mine can!"
Romeo looks back toward his dad and smiles with tears in his eyes.
"Lisanna, Lucy, Happy, thank you so much for bringing my Daddy back to me!" Romeo exclaimed to the two girls and one flying cat.
"You're welcome Kiddo," Lucy and Lisanna said together, "it was no problem at all."
"Aye Sir!" Happy exclaimed always having to put in his two cents worth.
July 4th, it was sunny followed by a Blizzard then sunny again. It's been fun being part of this guild the last seven years. I know someday, Lisanna, Happy and I will find our dear friend Natsu and bring him back safely. It will be interesting to see what he looks like now. I wonder if he is still gung ho about leaping first and looking later. Ha ha! I really wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. Fairy Tail is the best guild in all of Fiore, and I have a feeling it will remain so for a long time to come.
Well, Lu and I used a lot of our magic, but fortunately we were able to make it back in one piece. That mission was cold and exhausting. It seemed kind of odd that there was a raging blizzard on Mt. Hakobe in July. Our quest to find Natsu and Igneel continues, we will never give up until we bring our dear friend Natsu home! Lu and I know he's still alive out there somewhere watching over us. I can't wait to show him how much Lu and I have grown when we finally do meet again.
July 4th, my first day as an official member of the Fairy Tail Guild. I really do hope that I get to go on more adventures with Lucy, Lisanna, and Happy. It would work wonders for me. Considering I am still a Rookie Wizard, I could use all the training I could get. I wonder if that stripper person will help me with my Weather Magic. It's really fun to change climates for the sake of attacking. I just can't wait until I go on another job with Lucy and Lisanna! Being a part of Fairy Tail, really is a blessing in my book. I am really glad I met Lucy, Lisanna, and Happy!
Well what is in store for Lucy, Aspen, and Lisanna now? Find out as Lucy of Fairy Tail Continues.
The End of the Macao Arc
To Be Continued In...
Arc II: The Daybreak Arc.
Next Time: Lucy, Lisanna, and Aspen are now a team along with Happy as the group goes to the board to look for a mission. Which one will they find and what will their team be called? Only time will tell.
Next Time on Starry Heavens: Bonds of Friendship, Magic & Love - Episode 003: Daybreak of Destruction! Part One
Author's Note:
(1) I had to rewrite this entire chapter to dull down Lucy and Lisanna's powers a bit. Lisanna can't do anything with Lightning in this story right now. Her current elements are only Fire and Ice because of Natsu and Gray. I hope this chapter is at least a little bit better than the previous version.
(2) Originally, I had Lucy summon Aquila to take the group back into Magnolia. However, looking over it again, Lucy ideally wouldn't have the strength to summon another spirit so close to using her Star Make to combine forces with Lisanna. Lucy also used Taurus and Cancer in this chapter already to face the Vulcan. It led to the Vulcan brushing off the attacks and grabbing Lucy and taking her way leaving her whip. Ideally, Lucy wouldn't have the strength to summon another spirit, regardless of the key color. I hope this version of the chapter is at least a little bit better than the previous version.
The Next Chapter will cover the following Episode:
Episode 003: Infiltrate The Everlue Mansion