Ace was supposed to find a partner to work with, because that was the best course of action according to the Master, but it was kind of hard to do when nobody wanted to work with him, or already were in groups. Even those that Ace was liked by and did like himself didn't fit with him. Erza didn't want to work with him, either. He was all alone and felt really bad.
He was in the basement, pouting in the corner fort. While he was down there, Elfman came, which was a surprise. He'd been mourning his pet parrot a lot. He came to sit with Ace in his fort. The guest part, Ace's personal place was off limits to others. "Are you okay?" Elfman asked in a sad voice.
"Nobody wants to be my partner. Laxus said I was a useless wizard and didn't count," Ace said quietly. "I want to go on jobs and travel places, but I can't go by myself and nobody wants to take me with them," he explained further. Elfman was unhappy with the way Laxus had spoken to him, but he'd never liked Ace since he was scolded so thoroughly for swearing for many months. Ace annoyed him, but it seemed everybody annoyed him in some way.
Elfman apologized for not taking him with them. His group was just the three siblings and their magic worked together well, all the same type. "I'm not mad, just kind of hurt by the ones who had no group. You three work together all the time and all. I just wish someone needed me, too," Ace lamented. "Sorry I'm being so sad."
"I don't think it's wrong to be sad." He was sad too, after all. They just sad in dreary silence until Mira came to get him to go on a job. Elfman asked her if Ace could come, and she said no. Mira was mean sometimes, and Ace didn't like it. So they left, and Ace was again all alone. Excluded by the majority and the only one in the minority. The only one with no magic.
He sighed, and got up to go draw or something in his room, since it was later and he didn't think anyone else would be going on a job that day. Maybe he could convince someone tomorrow to take him with them, he couldn't be worse than Natsu who destroys everything. It just wasn't fair.
The next day, nobody took him again, and he begged the Master to let him go on his own job, but it was declined. Finally, he was sent with Erza, who didn't want him but didn't say it in a mean way. She packed a lot of things and Ace did wonder if she'd use it all, or if it got in the way. He'd never been on a job with her before, though, so he had no idea.
When they walked to the station, it was awkward, and Ace felt kind of like a burden. They got in their booth, Erza's things in the baggage unit near the back of the train. It was quiet, and Ace tried talking, asking if she knew a lot about the job. "It's a simple one. The job is clearing out an infestation of tiger-ravens."
"What's that?"
"Small, flying tigers. They infested an old library." Ace didn't think tigers would be happy in a library, but that left Ace pretty useless, as he wasn't a fighting type! "Don't worry, I'll do most of the work. You can help finding them, perhaps." Ace nodded, looking down. He put his hands up, staring at them. He was weak, a dragon, but weak.
He wondered if it would be better to just be a dragon, but then knew that was not the case because dragons were gone. At least, to everyone else. Though Natsu continued to search, with Ace being no help, since Makarov ordered him to stop harassing Ace over it. It had made Ace feel really bad that he couldn't find Igneel, but Ace had no idea what he smelled like, or what any other dragons smelled like.
When they got off the train, both having fallen asleep on the long ride, Erza dragged her cart of luggage behind her as they made their way to the big library. Ace could smell it from a mile away. It reeked of dust and mildew. He plugged his nose at it, and could also hear the tigers inside. "Does it smell?"
"Yeah. And the monsters are inside," Ace replied honestly. Erza said she wanted Ace to tell her where they were, and she'd take care of getting rid of them. After all, she was better at fighting than Ace with her magic. Ace couldn't fight at all. "Okay." They walked closer, and Ace stood outside the huge front doors, which were boarded up with a warning on it. Warning of the dangerous creatures inside.
It looked old, so Ace wondered when this happened, and why they wanted it fixed now. The two walked around the back, and Ace listened closely. The place was big, so it would be hard to pinpoint them, if that was even possible, since they were living, moving things. And had wings, meaning they could just fly around and make Ace's senses useless.
He said the infestation seemed worse by the back shed, where it was the noisiest. Erza was about to break in before Ace stopped her quickly. "What is it?" she asked, not accusingly.
"I think there's somebody inside," Ace answered. She called out if anyone was inside, to say something. There was no response, Ace heard nothing, before a rhythmic tapping near the other side of the building. Ace ran that way, and heard where the tapping was. He pushed one of the boards aside just barely, and saw the face of a terrified looking blonde boy. He was pressed against the window behind a few bookshelves. He was trapped!
He called Erza over, and she easily ripped the wood off, which angered the tiger ravens. Ace yanked the boy out, and the two of them fled, hiding behind a statue while Erza eradicated the beasts. The boy was dirty and smelly. He must have been trapped in there awhile. He was also looking hungry, and had a bad burn on his face.
"Are you okay?" Ace asked in worry. He looked to be Ace's age, if not a bit shorter.
"Y-Yeah." Ace pulled out the water and snacks from his backpack, and gave them to the boy, who gratefully drank the whole bottle and ate all the food. He asked how long he'd been in there. "Four days. I'm Sabo."
"Ace. How did you last so long in there? Four days is a long time!" Ace said. Sabo looked ashamed, and said it was from his magic. "You have magic?" the freckled boy asked in curiosity. Sabo nodded. He could copy things he could touch. So he thought being able to copy all the books there would have provided endless reading. He underestimated the amount of tiger ravens that were inside, and became trapped. But Ace saved him, and he was very grateful. "Can you copy living things?"
"No, only objects," Sabo said. "Do you have magic?!" he asked excitedly. Ace shook his head sadly. "How'd you know I was there?"
When told about Ace's super senses, Sabo reasoned that those were their own magic. He didn't press about where he got them from if he had no magic, which Ace appreciated. Erza came back, and Ace saw the building was incredibly damaged and on fire. "I got rid of them, but it seems they set a fire on their way out."
There was no way they were getting the reward. Maybe being on Erza's team wasn't the smartest in the first place. Gray and Natsu always wrecked things, too. "Who are you? Why were you trapped there?" When given the reason, she admonished Sabo for being reckless. The boy looked kind of annoyed, but nodded, knowing he was stupid for doing such a thing. They left, and went to tell the client about getting rid of the tiger-ravens.
She didn't give them their reward because Erza set the place on fire. "It wasn't me, it was the tiger-ravens," she said bluntly.
"You're still not getting the reward!" Erza said she understood, and Ace was annoyed they weren't getting the money, even if he'd not done too much to get rid of them himself. They were bummed, and the conversation turned back to Sabo. He ran away from home, because they were abusive to him.
Ace asked, "If you have magic, why don't you come join our guild?" His face was bright, seeing Sabo could become a good friend, and was his age. Erza didn't protest, and Sabo agreed happily, beaming. He had a backpack, but all that was in it was three sets of the same outfit, since he could duplicate things. Though there was a limit on how much he could do.
The two six year olds and one twelve year old left after getting some food, going back to the station. Ace talked with Sabo the whole time, Erza opting to stay quiet and let Ace speak. He was bummed about not having magic and another person having it without real training when he tried so hard, but he couldn't be angry about it. It wasn't Sabo's fault Ace didn't have magic. On the train, they ate chips that Sabo continued to duplicate so they had endless food. Ace thought it was really funny. Sabo did, too. Erza was just content to sit and let them have fun.
"I wish we could have gotten money, but we got a new friend, so that's enough," Ace declared happily. The red haired girl nodded in agreement. "Sabo, Erza's magic is super cool. She has all sorts of different costumes and armors that she uses."
"It's called requip magic," Erza said with a tone of pride in her voice, glad to explain about her magic ability. Sabo was amazed, and looked forward to meeting other wizards, as he'd always been all alone with it. Ace was happy Sabo would have friends and family now. While they were on the train ride, Ace took a pill out of his bottle in the backpack, and took his medicine right on time.
Sabo wasn't pushy and didn't ask if Ace was sick. He was glad he wouldn't be pressed, though Sabo would find out about him being a dragon in a human body soon enough, being part of the guild and all. "I'm happy you came with me, Ace," Erza said sincerely when the rest of the train was asleep. Ace wasn't tired. Sabo was sleeping, but the two Fairy Tail members were awake and quiet.
"Me, too. We made a new friend. Even if we didn't get the money." Erza apologized for that, as it was her fault the place caught on fire. "It's okay. It was an accident," Ace replied honestly. He wasn't angry. A bit disappointed, but also not entirely surprised. Though, when he went on his own jobs, he'd do his best to not ruin things and properties.
When they got back to Magnolia, they wheeled her stuff back to the guild. It was late a night/early in the morning, so they entered the building quietly and put their things away. Wakaba was awake and smoking. "Oh, welcome back kids. Got someone new with ya."
"This is Sabo. He's gonna join us," Ace said, taking Sabo's hand. "He's my new friend, too." Sabo smiled brightly and nodded. "Come on, you can sleep in my room tonight," Ace added, taking him inside. He got some blankets and pillows out and put them on the floor next to his bed. It was better than where Sabo had been staying for the last couple weeks since he ran away from home, and was never going back.
"I'm really glad I found you and now you're my friend," Ace said happily. Sabo smiled and agreed, glad to be safe and sound, somewhere with nice people who would treat him well. Ace nodded, and fell asleep feeling relieved that he was no longer the newest member. Nobody new had come since Ace had. Gildarts had said that was a weird occurrence, but now that was no longer the truth.
And Sabo was a few months younger than Ace was, so he was no longer the baby of the guild, too. Many good things had happened with meeting Sabo.
-x-
"Really?! You wanna be my teammate?" Ace asked in shock as he and Sabo were in the fort. It had been a few days since he joined, his mark on his shoulder. He nodded brightly. He said they got along well, and Ace was fun to be around. "But that means neither of us are fighting or anything."
Sabo asked, "Who says you have to be a fighter to do jobs? We can use smarts instead! And your senses help, too, of course!" Ace beamed and nodded, thinking that was true. "I don't want to end up ruining the jobs and not getting money, though, so we have to be careful." Sabo was confident in himself, which Ace liked. It wouldn't do for both of them to be insecure and worried about failure. Sabo was a good guy to be around. "The youngest Fairy Tail members will make our own team."
"What should we name it?" Ace wondered.
"We can figure that out later! Let's go on a job, now!" Sabo replied brightly. Ace nodded, and they jumped out of the fort and gathered their things, going to the front desk. Ace told Makarov that they were making a team just the two of them. He smiled brightly, not having a problem with this.
They were just told to be careful, and went to pick a job. The two decided to do an easy one, and had already chosen to leave the hard, dangerous ones to the fighter guild members. Sabo was right, though. They didn't need to all be super strong fighters. For things that needed to be solved with smarts and not strength, well, they'd take those on. Sabo seemed really smart already. Hopefully people would take them seriously from their age. But they had Fairy Tail marks on, so they were clearly guild members. Sabo was a wizard and Ace was just a dragon.
But they wouldn't say that or anything because it might be bad for Ace. It was kept a secret, which was fine. They chose an easy job to help repair an old factory. It sounded interesting. Makarov told them both that failing was fine as long as they did their very best. "After all, my brats destroy everything and I still welcome them back. Ahaha!" the old man laughed. Ace smiled and nodded.
"Onwards!" Ace declared.
"Remember what to do, Sabo!"
"I know!"
They went on their way to the station to the next town over. It was fairly close, so it wasn't that far from the guild. The two of them didn't pack much, not needing much like Erza. It was much easier to move with such a light and small load. Someone sat in their booth since the train was pretty full.
It was an old woman, who asked them what they were doing without their parents. "We're going on a job. We don't need parents," Ace said, Sabo nodding. She looked confused and then both of them held up their arms to show the guild marks. She looked irritated, and began a rant over guilds using children to work for them. Guilds were wicked and dirty and selfish.
"You don't know what you're talking about," Ace said sourly.
"Don't you speak to me that way!" she snapped. "This is what happens when children don't have loving parents, you get bratty kids like you, thinking you're all that because you have magic!"
"Excuse me, you'll have to get off at the nearest station if you continue to shout and harass these children," a worker said in irritation to the old hag.
"Me?! I'm doing nothing wrong, it's these boys' parents that are the ones in the wrong!" The man asked her to move seats, and they were glad to be traded with someone else, the old hag ranting and raving to more people before she was not heard by them at all, in another train car. Sabo muttered that she had been unnecessarily mean.
Ace nodded in agreement, and looked down at the emblem on his arm. Well, he honestly didn't know any different. He was a Fairy Tail member for as long as he could remember. There was nothing to compare it to, and he liked his life there. They took care of him in many ways, after all. He hoped he and Sabo did okay, and didn't encounter any other mean people.
The rest of the train ride was peaceful and calm, the surroundings pretty as they passed deserts and forests. Not too far from Magnolia considering how far some jobs were. Gildarts was gone for a long time, and Ace wondered where his long quest took place. A ten or hundred year job would be a waste. Ace could never hope to focus on one thing more than a few days or so, let along years or decades.
Sabo fell asleep on the train, and Ace stayed awake, not sleepy. He was glad he didn't get motion sickness like Natsu did. Though he wasn't a dragon, and Ace wasn't a dragon slayer. He looked at his hands, wondering if his dragon form would ever be useful and not just needlessly painful.
Well, he'd be fine never going through that again. Yeah, he didn't need to be a dragon if it hurt him and was dangerous for him. He nodded once to himself and then looked back out the window as their station came up. It was the second one, they'd already passed the first. When the train stopped, Sabo woke up, and the two got off and headed to get some food and then go on their way.
This town was pretty busy, so there were a lot of places to get food and information. The factory that was being repaired was a mining factory, mining for old lacrima crystals. There were a lot of places those were made, so this wasn't some special, unique factory. It had just collapsed and they wanted to fit it somehow.
People on their way told them that it was dangerous and to make sure to wear the goggles. It seemed everyone here was just… nice. They were friendly with the two boys, but they were children so why be needlessly rude to them? Like that old woman was, just being so unnecessarily disrespectful. Old hag. When they got there, the man who had made the post showed they already had plenty of wizards working there. He sent out that flyer for not much reward because so many other places were getting it too, no doubt.
They took the goggles, and Ace was hit with the heavy smell the moment they walked inside. He plugged his nose and squint his eyes. Sabo took over. "Hello, sir. We're Ace and Sabo, from Fairy Tail! We took your job. What can you tell us to help?" Sabo asked.
"Just help me fix up the place. There's much to do that normal people can't do. If you can help in any way, it would be immensely appreciated," he said kindly, seeming genuine with his tone and manner. Sabo smiled, and nodded. Ace looked around, and sniffed deeper. "Is there a problem?" the old man asked. His name was Boodle and had white, curly hair.
Ace said it smelled like rotten eggs. "Well, we keep the place very clean. I don't know why it would smell." Ace turned red and apologized, not wanting to see rude. "Oh, it's no problem." Ace nodded, and he and Sabo walked to get some equipment and help where it was needed. Repairing damages and rebuilding the places that fell.
Sabo wondered why it was damaged in the first place. Ace shrugged. "Well, maybe something is unstable."
"Wouldn't he tell us all that?" Ace said he seemed nice. "Well, I guess. We should ask him anyways." Ace nodded, and they went back, and asked him what had happened. He seemed busy, and the two boys were kind of shoved around by all the other wizards. Most were adults and bigger than they were.
But he did reply to them, telling both that it had foundational issues in the base of the factory that had needed to be repaired. So, maybe the rotten egg smell was just someone farting or something. Ace was sensitive to bad smells more than good ones, unfortunately. People around were seen using their magic to work. Some to rebuild, some to move things about and support others.
Sabo fit right in, and started making copies of things for others, namely tools and supplies. Ace didn't really have anything to do, but in the back of his head, the smell issue was bothering him. He told Sabo he'd be back, and left in the crowd of moving and busy bodies. It was noisy and stinking, but he followed the rotten smell, not the scent of dirty and sweaty humans.
He followed the scent deep down a staircase and into a basement. There was nobody down there, but the smell reeked. He went inside, plugging his nose, and found the foundation issues he'd mentioned. Rotted wood that was moved aside and replaced by metal and stone. So he was being honest about that. But the gas was wrong.
He rummaged through a crate, and found rotted lacrima stones. They were in a crate half covered by dirt and debris from the original collapse. The moment the lid came off, a thick yellow gas came out, and crystalized on the walls. It turned into a solid the moment the gas made contact with the wall. The gas was gone, but the smell remained. Ace hurried back up the stairs and found Boodle.
"I found some rotted lacrima stones, and something happened to them," Ace explained. "That's what was smelly." Boodle wasn't a stupid man, and got a gas mask from the wall and fetched someone who was apparently a geologist. Ace lead them down, given a gas mask, too. It was too big for his face if he didn't hold it there.
When they made it to the seemingly forgotten room, both of them saw the lacrima wall. The geologist looked at the wall, and said they needed a chemist, since the chemical turned from a gas into a solid. Boodle's factory knew what it was doing with its employees, as they got who they needed.
The lacrima on the wall was chipped away, but was glowing brightly. Brighter than any normal lacrima. "It came from that crate. There are a bunch of rotten lacrima and then they turned into a gas when it came out and then into rocks again on the wall," Ace explained honestly. "I'm sorry I was nosy. The smell was bothering me, so I thought maybe there was something dangerous. I should have been helping in the other ways."
"Ace, was it? You just made a scientific discovery," the geologist said. The chemist was already gone with the substance. "Lacrimas have never been found rotted before." The crate was empty now, but the lacrima crystals were clinging to the lid of the crate, too. "Who knows, this could be a great discovery! And it could have been a safety hazard as well. It's just lucky you weren't hurt. If you smell a chemical, and are concerned, tell someone."
"I am ashamed to say this, but he told me something smelled like sulphur. I apologize, and will do better to listen next time," Boodle said genuinely. "I'm just happy nobody was hurt. But why don't we get back to work? In the normal way? I'll have special workers deal with that room you found."
Ace nodded, and went back up the stairs to do his best at the physical work. He was only six, and not very strong, so he was a good messenger around the room, bustling around and giving and receiving orders to share. He felt helpful, and Sabo had tired out his magic power and was drinking water in a lounge area meant for wizards who used up their magic.
Before he was asked, Ace explained what had happened. "Whoa! That's so cool!" Sabo exclaimed, and added he wished he could have seen something turn from a gas into a solid.
Suddenly there was a blaring alarm, telling everyone to put their things down and leave the main room. There was a bit of a panic, and the majority worried that another collapse was coming even if the foundation was built just fine.
But they did put the tools down and leave. When the fifty wizards were out of the large factory room that was being managed, Boodle walked outside, his face bright and eyes sparkling. "We'll no longer need help repairing this building."
"But, sir, it's not finished," someone said in worry. "Is everything alright?"
"Indeed. Something new has been discovered here that could help a lot of people. I would like the building to stay in this exact state so we can try and profit off of it. Here are all of your rewards. Thank you very much for your help on this boring job." All of them got the allotted amount of pay, and gathered their things, leaving happily.
Sabo wondered if it had anything to do with what Ace found. "Indeed! Come, come, let me explain." Only the two little boys were still there, and followed him dutifully, already having their money pocketed. The exact amount, and they'd only worked for a day. When they walked inside, there were already experiments being made. "I'm surprised you didn't notice, but the moment one of the wizards touched the new lacrima absorbed magic and stored it immediately! Can you imagine how powerful that could become in the future! Think, someone who can heal others, putting their magic into a lacrima that can enhance it! So many people could be helped, and it was all an accident.
"We're looking into what conditions exactly created this chemical reaction. You can bet the building itself is no longer the most profitable asset here!" Ace smiled, glad he could possibly help others. "Please don't tell anyone else of what happened here. We'd like to claim the discovery first and learn how to repeat it again."
Sabo asked if Ace would get the credit. "Do you want the credit?"
"No, it's okay. It was only an accident, I'm sure someone else would have found it eventually."
"Perhaps, perhaps not. It could be that at that exact moment you found it, any time later it would not have worked. The conditions were correct just at the moment you opened it. So, it is most likely that someone else wouldn't have found it at that time. Accident or not, it's not an easily repeatable situation!" Boodle explained enthusiastically. "If this develops into something larger, I will give you a cut of the profits. If you don't wish for it, then I will donate it to your guild. I always pay back my debts."
Sabo grinned and Ace nodded happily as well. Their first mission out was a booming success! "Let me treat you both to dinner and a stay tonight." He was really rich, it seemed. And he was nice about it, too. Both of them had some really nice food, and he dined with them. Not just toss his money at them in thanks and leave.
"So, what is your magic, Ace?" he asked. Ace took a long sip of his juice before saying his magic was just having enhanced senses. "Did you think it would work with this kind of job?" Ace replied he wasn't sure, but wanted to try anyways. "And it sure did more than help, hah. Who would have thought, huh?"
Ace smiled and nodded, enjoying the meal and positive attention. They both were in a great mood once the food was done and they were ready to go to bed in a spare bedroom with a nice view. "We're like old people on their honeymoon," Ace said. Sabo snorted, and they both laughed. "Do old people get married? Or is it only young people?" Sabo laughed at him more, and Ace blushed with a pout. "Don't laugh, I'm serious…"
"Sorry, sorry. I guess you can get married at any age?" Sabo said nicely. "This is probably way better off than most people and their honeymoon, though," he added. Ace giggled and agreed. He jumped onto the big puffy bed and sunk in. He said they should steal the bed. "I bet he'd be more than willing to donate to us a mattress."
"I don't wanna use him or anything. He's been so nice so far. All I did was be nosy and open a box," Ace replied. "But I'm tired now. It's been a long day." Sabo agreed, and both changed into their pajamas and then brushed their teeth, going to sleep on the huge single bed they both fit on just fine.
In the morning, they had delicious breakfast, and an escort to the train station. "I will send you the profit monthly. No, I want to do it. I don't feel the need to," Boodle said. "I wish you both luck on your endeavors! Your names won't be made public."
Ace bowed. "I sure hope all your money isn't wasted on it if it doesn't work," he said sincerely. The rich man said it simply opened up new possibilities when it came to lacrima crystals. "Bye bye, thank you for everything!" Boodle bowed dramatically as the two boys got onto the train to head back home. It was the third day by now. Ace was ready to go back and to his fort for a bit and relax.
The ride was smooth. "You should be nosy more often, Ace," Sabo said bluntly, and both boys started laughing. What a fun and fulfilling trip! They got the reward and then some. Ace really hoped Boodle's discovery could profit. If anyone deserved to be rich, it was someone like him. He was very nice and respectable. Ace would recommend him if they ever got another job from him.
He was the one who fell asleep on the train ride back. He could totally do jobs without having any magic at all!
