Howdy all! Thank you to all of those who gave this story a chance and either reviewed, favorited, and/or followed this story. Hopefully, guys will enjoy this newest part as it introduces some of our main characters. And for those of you who are curious, yes this story does take place in a different country than Fiore where I have mashed up some of my favorite games to create this story, so give a shoutout if you recognize a feature from a movie, story, game or some other media!
Please enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail in any way, shape, form, or deviation. This also applies to Pandora's Tower and other recognizable works.
Chapter 1: Things Just Got Interesting
—Unknown PoV—
Footsteps light, Rubellite Warrick sighed as she walked away from the lights of her home, letting the tension seep out of her shoulders, though some part of her remained somewhat on guard despite that. She could feel a headache brewing behind her eyes and felt extremely thankful for the cool night air on her face, despite how bone dry it was.
Gotta love living in the middle of a freaking wasteland, she thought sardonically, the smell of dust and desert sun tickling her senses. Interlocking her fingers behind her head, the young woman, who looked to be barely out of her teen years, craned her neck back as she gazed up at the starry night sky, which shone with stunning clarity due to the lack of light pollution. Slowly but surely, a soft smile spread her features. Then again, it does have its perks.
Sighing once more, she let her hands fall back to her sides as she lackadaisically kicked a couple rocks out of her path, not even bothering to see how far they landed as she continued on her way, wandering aimlessly in no set direction. She wasn't worried about getting lost; she knew this desert like the back of her hand.
Things had been getting boring lately, too predictable. Day in and day out, Rubellite—better known as Ruby to her friends and family when she wasn't in trouble—felt like she was stuck in a time loop, doing the same monotonous routine, which consisted of: eat, sleep, train, go on mission's, help her dad, and maybe do a little research on some random topic. Sure, she played the occasional prank with her twin brother (or on him occasionally as well), and hung out with their team like she always did, but they always seemed to be doing the same old stuff over and over like a playlist stuck on repeat. The songs and days may change, but it was the same old tunes and stuff day in and day out.
Heaving a great sigh through her mouth, Ruby looked back towards the dark sky for a moment, eyes tracing the constellations.
Sometimes, I wish something new would happen, she thought wistfully. Maybe I should take up gardening or get a dog or something. A huff escaped at the thought of something so mundane, the exact opposite of what she wanted. I just want to do something new for a change. Things are getting way too boring.
Just then, she stopped, keen senses flaring to life in the eerie silence that followed.
Tense and on high alert, her fingers carefully reached towards her waist where the makings of what looked to be a long knife was strapped.
Then quick as lightning whip, Ruby drew the weapon and slashed outwards in a wide arc, just in time to intercept a large monster which had been about to kill her. An ogre—a hulking razor-toothed creature a foot or two taller than the average human and reminiscent of a hairless, stubby-legged gorilla with odd armor covering various parts, no neck, and a misshapen head that looked like someone tried to do a shark-human hybrid with clay and gave up half-way through. It had no visible eyes or ears, and the nose and forehead had been melded into one piece that jutted out a bit like the chin, and no lips whatsoever to cover the wicked row of teeth it displayed.
Nonetheless, the thing didn't even have time to make more than a half-strangled growl before it crashed to the dry, cracked ground, its throat slit. Dead.
Ruby sneered at the thing, flicking black blood off the oddly-shaped knife in her hand with a sharp flick of the wrist.
"I didn't mean I wanted that to happen," she grumbled, pulling out a rag from her trousers to clean the weapon more thoroughly. "Typical."
Just another day living the dream here in nowheresville, she thought with no small amount of derision, eventually sheathing the weapon and stowing the rag back in a pocket once more. She would have left right then and there, but then another smell reached her, this one much different than the fetid stench of the corpse lying near her feet.
Quickly setting the monster's carcass ablaze with a flick of her hand—she didn't want the stench to attract anymore 'carrion feeders' to the area—Ruby walked several paces away from the site after ensuring the pyre wouldn't burn out before the body was first reduced to ashes. Monsters, especially wasteland monsters, were notoriously ruthless. They would even eat each other if given the chance, so it was best not to leave another 'meal' lying around and attract more of the carrion feeders, especially since her home was only a couple miles away. Mind you, the smell of burning flesh that followed wasn't exactly something to write home about either, particularly when you took her heightened senses into account, but that was beside the point.
Shaking her head, Ruby paused again when that other odd smell tickled her nose once more, coming from a different direction than the pyre behind her. Closing her eyes, she drew in a small breath through her nose, attempting to trace the odd aroma.
It seemed to becoming from close by, practically calling her attention now that she actually focused on it. In fact, it almost surprised her that she hadn't picked up on it earlier. This new scent seemed foreign and so out of place with its surroundings as she inhaled deeply again, picking up ozone, petrichor, and a coppery scent that vaguely reminded her of—wait, is that blood?
Without a second thought, Ruby went on alert, drawing her weapon once more as she followed her nose, barely making a sound as she trekked towards the next sand dune. But when she reached the top of the small sandy hill, her mind came screeching to a mental stop as she openly gaped at the sight before her.
Shit! How did he get past the barrier? was her first thought as she mentally panicked, racing over to injured man's side, taking in the scant few yards between their current position and the magic barrier that surrounded her home. It should have been impossible! "Heck, how'd you make it this far with all those injuries?" Ruby asked rhetorically as she ran an errant hand through her already messy red hair.
It was true. Despite having his face half-planted in the ground of the rough terrain, the unconscious man's body sported a litany of injuries, seemingly from head to toe. Several of which still bled out sluggishly, the blood staining the dirt beneath him, as the man remained unresponsive, clearly just unconscious since she could still hear him breathing.
Bandits, she surmised with pursed lips and narrowed eyes, instantly recognizing the handiwork as she surveyed the numerous injuries.
Having grown up here, Ruby knew quite well about the dangers of the desert, not just the monsters that prowled the Okanos desert but the tribes of wandering bandits that roamed the edges of the wasteland, preying upon unsuspecting travelers. Most people were lucky to escape the desert with their lives, but the unconscious man lying before her had obviously managed to survive such an attack and then some if the small trail of blood was anything to go by. Combine that with the fact that she knew quite well that a strong magical barrier was in place, which kept all but the strongest wasteland monsters out, and Ruby found herself somewhat impressed if a bit curious.
…Not that she'd ever admit it aloud.
Glancing around to assure herself that no one else (and nothing else) was there, Ruby inched closer to the man's prone form. Then with all the care of a jackhammer, the red-blonde girl then hooked her booted foot under him like one would using a spatula to flip a pancake and kicked him over so she could see his face.
Her first immediate thought upon seeing the man's face was: Damn, he ain't too bad on the eyes.
Blonde and spike-haired as mentioned before, the man looked to be almost broad as he was tall, with muscles showing visibly even through his purple button up V-neck shirt he wore, hinting that his escape from the bandits hadn't been just luck. In any case, he looked to be around Ruby's age, with a slight natural tan that had been enhanced by obvious time in the desert sun, spiked ear phones covering his ears, and a distinct lightning bolt-shaped scar running over his right eye which gave him a sort of rugged but handsome sort of look. Ruby could only just imagine all the gorgeous women that this guy had hanging off his arms all the time.
Of course, her perusal of his features stopped when she took in the other injuries he had, cursing when she noted how serious the were.
Impressive he may be, but the spike-haired man before her wouldn't make it through the night if left to his own devices.
But unfortunately for him, Ruby was not a doctor. Sure, she could clean and bandage small cuts, read the labels on pill bottles to figure out which one did what, possibly make a splint or two depending on which limb was broken, and maybe do a couple stitches if she wasn't feeling too squeamish. But that was the extent of her very limited medical knowledge.
And this guy definitely needed more than a couple bandages and a bowl of soup.
Only one problem. The only doctors she knew of were back in her hometown, and unfortunately, the people back home had one very clear standing rule: No outsiders allowed. Period.
Emotionally torn, Ruby spat out a couple more choice curses, biting her lip and messing with her hair some more. In a way, the manner in which she shifted nervously from one foot to the other was almost similar to how a horse would prance restlessly when anxious too.
As far as she saw it, she had two options: she could bring him home and hopefully get him seen to by someone who actually knew the difference between a migraine and a headache, or she could abandon the guy, pretending that she never saw him, and hope by some slim chance that he would make it out of there, despite how low she knew his chances really were.
She shook her head.
Now, she may not care much for total strangers, but even Ruby admitted that she wasn't completely heartless. She couldn't just leave him to die; and her father had always taught her to never abandon others in their time of need. So surely it would be okay…right?
Making a split second decision, Ruby scooped up the man's abandoned rucksack before going over to the man himself. Admittedly, it wasn't an easy task, and several times she had to drop the bag to prevent the man himself from pitching face-first once more into the sand while she tried to heave him onto her shoulders. But eventually, Ruby managed, taking all his weight onto her slim shoulders despite the man's somewhat cumbersome, bulky frame. She just thanked her lucky stars that she trained as often as she did. Otherwise, the young woman would probably have had to drag him out of the desert by the ankle instead of carrying him like she did now.
Well, looks like I got my wish, she thought with a soft snort. "I just hope dad doesn't freak out too much about this 'puppy'."
—Several Days Later, Laxus' PoV—
"How...he...?"
"...out...it...woken...up."
"...lucky...you...found him...worse."
"Where...him?"
"He...injured...found...lying there."
"How...barrier?"
"...know...impossible."
"What...we...-ith him?"
"...should not...here."
"...-o?...leave...die?"
"...-e's...outside-...not belong."
It took a while before Laxus became fully conscious. Several times, he had awoken in a daze, unable to recognize anything or even himself before he felt his mind being dragged back under the waves of oblivion, powerless to resist their call. On the few occasions that he did wake in a somewhat more aware state, Laxus heard things. It took him a while before he realized that he was hearing voices, people speaking to each other. They sounded distant, not like they were spoken from an actual distance but muffled, as if he were hearing them through a wall or something. Sometimes, he could just barely make out what they were saying, though for some reason the words kept coming in and out of focus. Oftentimes, he would forget what was being said, having trouble grasping reality as his mind seemed to bob between wakefulness and the alluring waters of sleep. Half of him wondered if they were even real or just a figment of his imagination.
But each time he woke, Laxus became increasingly more aware, able to stay awake for longer periods of time, occasionally noting certain differences each time he woke. Eventually though, it came to a point where the dragon slayer finally managed to return to full consciousness, if albeit slowly.
Senses gradually trickling back to him, Laxus managed to crack open an eye with a little effort, only to immediately close it afterwards when he was assaulted with blinding sunlight. Damn that hurt. Bit by bit though, he tried again, allowing his vision to adjust this time; his sluggish mind slowly clearing a bit more, as he inhaled deeply, scenting dust and fresh linen and detergent. Eventually, Laxus managed to pry his eyelids apart all the way without wincing, blinking a couple times to get rid of the sleepy fog that clouded his vision as his eyes adjusted to his surroundings.
Where the hell am I? he thought groggily, looking around.
For a moment, he almost thought he was in a hotel room of some kind. The room was not considerably large but still a comfortable size, with minimal embellishments, grey walls and a large beige tapestry that hung on the wall opposite from the foot of his bed, depicting a map of Fiore on it. To the left of the bed, there was a simple nightstand made of pale wood that housed a bulbous mint green lamp and…his coat.
Laxus made to lunge for it, only to wince when there was a sharp, uncomfortable tugging in his right side. What the heck?
Then, it all came rushing back to him in a flurry of images. What the fuck? Where the hell was he? The last thing he remembered was taking down several bandits who had attacked him while trekking the vast desert wasteland of Seven before everything went black after he put a couple miles between him and the weak idiots.
Carefully sitting up, Laxus noted how sore he felt, like he had done a full body workout or something of that nature to make almost his entire body feel like a walking bruise.
More than a little wary now, he cautiously peeled the lavender covers back, wincing a couple times when he moved too sharply or accidentally pulled at something. He did his best to ignore all that as he chanced a look down. Dressed in an unfamiliar red shirt and pair of dark grey sweatpants, Laxus gingerly lifted the hem of the shirt and found several bandages wrapped around the middle of his chest, right around the lower part of his ribcage, which was where most of the annoying pulling sensation was coming from.
Someone had bandaged him up? But who? He didn't recognize the scent, but he highly doubted that some random person had just come along and decided to help him out of the goodness of their heart. No one but those idiots back home did that.
But the surprises didn't stop there. Not only had someone bandaged all his injuries, Laxus felt surprisingly good, clean even, like he had just taken a bath despite having just woken up. Heck he even smelled clean! His skin devoid of all traces of dust, sweat, and other unsavory smells and grime that had previously covered it like a second layer of clothing, replaced by fresh detergent, linen, and something sweet.
Weird.
Searching the room at large, Laxus noted that aside from his coat, his rucksack was also present, lying innocently on top of a desk he hadn't noticed earlier which sat in a corner of the room.
Perhaps he was going soft, but the sight of the two familiar objects brought some semblance of relief to him despite the fact that he was in an unknown location, at the mercy of an unknown host (or hosts), and was currently still injured despite how much better he felt compared to when he initially received said injuries. He needed to determine if these individuals were friend or foe.
Without further ado, Laxus decided to get out of bed. Of course, that was easier said than done, as another arc of pain would shoot through his body each time he moved too quickly or did something to irritate his injuries. However, true to his stubborn nature that he was, Laxus merely took a couple deep breaths before pushing through, though he moved at a more sedate pace this time thanks to all the soreness and pain. In any case, managing to swing his bare feet over the left side of the comfortable bed, he could just feel the residual little tingling prickles of numbness in his legs and feet as his toes dangled over the tan rug underneath his bed.
At any rate, as the slayer gingerly tested his weight, Laxus took note of the window not too far away that hung over the desk. The blackout curtains were tied back, revealing a faint green landscape and what looked to be an equally remote sunrise. How long had he been out? One, maybe two days?
He made a mental note to ask his host when he got the chance as he finally made for the door, marginally satisfied that he could at least walk without tripping over his own two feet, though he did limp a little. Damn fuckers.
Stepping out into a hall with a polished wooden floor, Laxus caught scents of at least three individual people who frequented the area as well as the smells of freshly cooked breakfast coming up from a set of stairs a couple feet to his left. As if to attest to that, he could also make out the sound of soft footsteps coming from downstairs and the occasional clanking and metal rasp of someone handling pots and pans as they moved about the kitchen, meaning there was at least one person in the building with him. But aside from that, the house was quiet with no trace of the previous voices he had heard once before.
Shaking the thoughts away, Laxus made his way downstairs, doing his best to keep an ear or eye out for any signs of trouble. Back when he had been in Fairy Tail, he had been on a couple missions before where some of the people actually causing the problems for his clients had pretended to be on his side to gain his trust and get more information on him and his team. You could never be too careful.
At last, he made it down the steps. But instead of finding himself standing before some evil, cackling madman who went on to declare he had just walked into a trap, the slayer found himself standing in on very homey-looking first floor of someone's home, in the midway point between the combined kitchen and dining room (on his left) and the wide living room (on his right) with the front door directly in front of the stairs. The curtains were all drawn back. Sunlight streaming through to make the scene a little more surreal.
Hearing a throat clear to his left, Laxus found himself looking into some of the most amazingly brilliant green eyes he had ever seen.
"Good morning. It's nice to finally see you awake."
Tall, lean, with ash blonde hair pulled back pulled back in a short ponytail, the man, who had previously been occupied with cooking breakfast, smiled kindly at Laxus, gaze warm and welcoming behind his thin square glasses. Honestly, he almost reminded him of Gramps a little with that air of open welcomeness about him.
"Uh, yeah," Laxus replied, unsure what exactly to say in this situation. The man didn't seem hostile.
The corners of the man's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "Please, have a seat. You must be hungry," he said, gesturing towards the set table with the spatula he held.
Hesitantly, Laxus did so watching the man's every move carefully.
Like the rest of the place, the kitchen (and connected dining room) was spacious, allowing for multiple people to work there in relative comfort without too much hassle, and a large dining table that could seat at least eight to ten people at it if he had to take a guess. Suggesting once more that, the building housed more than just one occupant like tall man who was currently fixing a plate for him. Not only that, but like the rest of the house, it had a very homey vibe to it all, with the sunrise visible through the windows.
Once again, Laxus found himself drawing similarities between this place and the guild (back before he had become an A-class jerk).
"Here you are." A plate of food and glass of water were set before him, snapping the blonde out of his thoughts. Everything smelled so good, much better than Freed's horrible cooking.
"Where am I?" he finally asked, picking up a fork and cautiously starting on his scrambled eggs. It didn't smell poisoned, so he ate what he could in case he needed to make a quick getaway.
Moving the remainder of the scrambled eggs from the pan to a plate already piled high with them, the man took his time before answering, putting the pans away in the sink before grabbing another plate of food for himself and taking a seat to the right of the slayer at the head of the table.
"Well to be honest," he began thoughtfully, "this place doesn't really have an official name. But those of us who live here mostly just call it "Knight's Town". We're in a bit of a remote area somewhere in the middle of Okanos Wasteland, so not a lot of people hear about us, much less take the time to put our little community on some map."
The blonde slayer grunted a little around his bacon, which was delicious by the way. "I see."
Green eyes twinkling behind his glasses, the man seemed more amused by his short answers than annoyed as he piled scrambled eggs, sausage, pancakes and hash browns onto a plate for himself before sitting at the head of the table with Laxus sitting on his left.
"How are you feeling by the way? You gave us quite the scare when we found you," he told him in an amicable tone. "Not many people make it this far after being attacked by bandits, suffering from both blood-loss and dehydration."
"I'm fine," Laxus grunted. He almost missed unnamed man's use of the word 'we'.
He received a knowing smile for his terse response, like the man knew exactly just how sore he really was. But he didn't comment or even react to the dragon slayer's brusque tone.
In fact, before either of them could say another word, the door suddenly burst open with a crash, ricocheting off the frame as two voices yelled,
"We're home! What's up ya'll?"
"We're still alive! You miss us?"
Laxus winced at the sheer volume of the two voices, seriously regretting the fact that he didn't have his soundpods to help muffle the sounds like he usually did. How could people be so loud this early in the morning?
"Alright you two, take the volume down a couple notches," the man chided gently, though there was a clear warning in his tone. "And close the door please, gently this time."
"Yes dad," they chorused together, and the door was finally shut, revealing two people who could not have been more different, though they both appeared to be around the lightning dragon slayers own age.
Standing only a couple inches shorter than Laxus' own height, the taller of two was a young man with a well-groomed mop of sapphire blue hair that fell just below his ears, complimenting his azure eyes, though they were only a couple shades lighter. He was dressed like he expected it to snow or something, with an ultramarine scarf wrapped around his neck, a white trench coat that had a high collar and blue and yellow trimmed edges, matching boots with a similar color scheme, a skin-tight black shirt underneath, and belted jeans the color of a dark purple bruise.
The young woman standing next to him, however, seemed to be his polar opposite, sharing only a few select features with him like the pale hawk-feathers sticking out of their hair, but otherwise the two shared little else in common.
Decked in a white bolero half-jacket, form-fitting scarlet spaghetti top, and a golden belt holding up skin-tight black pants that only had one leg, her outfit shamelessly showed off her curvaceous form, including the tops of her very generous assets instead of covering them up. To add to the contrasting image that the two created, the woman was much shorter too, despite the couple extra inches her gold-trimmed black heeled boots afforded her. She wore black, fingerless gloves with dangerous golden spikes along each of the knuckles and a pair of ivory bracers that covered over half her forearm and had at least five very sharp points on each them too. It was almost ironic that way, as her hair was an unruly mess of natural spikes that reached down to the middle of her back, colored a very vibrant shade of red that would have put Titania's to shame had it not been for that fact that it looked to be possibly dyed a sunny-blonde about halfway down its length.
And then Laxus got a look at her eyes.
Unlike the bluenette, her eyes were not cobalt but an oddly familiar and stunning shade of green, which seemed to stand out even more because of the red and gold accents on the outfit she wore.
All in all, the young woman was very beautiful (in a dangerous sort of way).
"How did the mission go?" the man asked the two calmly as the duo, regarding them both carefully as if inspecting for injuries.
The bluenette shrugged as the duo took off their shoes before making their way over to the sink to clean up and grab their own plates.
"Easy peasy," he commented easily, taking a seat in the chair directly across from the one on Laxus' left, while the red-blonde sat on the unnamed man's direct right. "Though we'll have to pick up some more weapons from the armory until Blaine feels well enough to fix them."
"Yeah, the monsters were mostly asleep, and we didn't have to deal with any of those infernal rose-bushes this time," Red said, diving into her food with gusto. "It was mostly just several dozen servant-class beasts or so; nothing unusually powerful at all."
"Thank god," Blue muttered disdainfully, before following the girl's example in a much more respectful manner. Then, he glanced up and finally seemed to notice Laxus' presence at the table. "Well look who's awake," he commented with a grin. "Glad to see you up and about. I'm Lazulis Warrick." He reached across the table and shook Laxus' hand, much to the slayer's surprise. Then he jerked his thumb to his left and said in a dry tone, "And the scarlet-wonder on my left with picturesque manners is my twin sister, Rubellite, or Ruby as she prefers to be called. She's actually the one who found you."
For a moment, Red, or Ruby as he guessed she was called, said nothing as she simply regarded him with those brilliant green eyes of hers. Then, she finally opened her mouth and said in a deadpanned tone, "You drool when you sleep."
The man, who Laxus now guessed to be the twins' father judging by their similar scents and features, sighed heavily at that, pinching the bridge of his nose in barely restrained exasperation.
Lazulis just rolled his eyes, as if he expected that sort of response from his twin. "And with those pearls of wisdom…what's your name?"
Glaring a little at the ginger bitch, the lightning mage took a moment before responding. "Laxus. Laxus Dreyar."
"Nice to meet you."
Several minutes passed after that as they ate breakfast in mutual silence. However, every time Laxus glanced up, he found that Ruby bitch looking in his direction with a contemplative look on her face before turning away as if she hadn't just been caught blatantly staring at him.
Eventually though, Laxus got fed up with it all and finally snapped out, "Got something to say Blondie?"
She did not back down, meeting his gaze even when he directed patented "I could fry you with one finger" look in her direction, which usually had people cowering away from him in an instant.
"Yeah, I got something to say," she said, clutching the butter knife in one hand like she was going to throw it at him in the next second if he wasn't careful.
Then the strangest thing happened. Her hair changed color. Right from the tips of her hair to just a couple inches past the roots, her hair turned a very vivid, irritated-looking scarlet-orange color, which almost blended in with her already startling natural red and erased any hints of sunny-blonde she previously had. Though if he looked a little more carefully, he might have noticed the barest hint of purple at the tips of her spiky rat's nest.
"I'm wondering how mediocre scorpion-bait like you managed to make it this far into the desert," Ruby sneered, as she stood up, leaning across the table and pointing a red-painted nail at him.
Laxus jumped to his feet. "What did you just say, ginger bitch?" he growled, blue-greys flashing dangerously as the air around them became charged with tension.
"You heard me, small dick."
"Yeah and I want to hear you say it again to my face, flat chest!"
By now, they were barely a foot apart with only the table preventing them from taking things further. The air between them was charged with literal energy, and Ruby's hair was now a violently, angry red shade that belonged on warning signs, with a few stray hairs that were completely black.
"What the fuck did you just say?" she barked.
"Ruby, language," her old man chided in the background, which went completely unnoticed by the two of them.
"You heard me," Laxus snarled mockingly, echoing her previous words.
And just like that, she snapped, vaulting right over the table to get at him.
But even with his draconic healing still in effect, Laxus' body was still recovering from his previous injuries, slowing his reaction time greatly. So, after dodging a flying kick from the girl, it proved to be no surprise when she swiftly avoided his retaliatory blow and managed to get behind him. He didn't even have time to turn as he felt a sharp pinch as in his neck and everything went black after that, body going limp as he collapsed to the floor.
If only he knew that that meeting was just the beginning of his newest adventure.
A/N: And that's that folks! Whaddya think? Ruby can be a total bitch right? Don't worry though; she'll get better. (Eventually).
Anyways, if you are curious as to what the twins and their father look like, I am working on drawing them and posting their images onto my DA account (WhiteWolf815), especially the one for Ruby. For now though, look up Kaien Cross from Vampire Knight for a visual on Mr. Warrick, and Kaito from Vocaloids for Lazulis, and image a messy, red-haired Lily (also from Vocaloids).
Still, I hope you all enjoyed and I will see you all next time! Just please be patient with me for now because I do have a life outside of Fanfiction (unfortunately). In any case, please review, favorite and follow myself and this story at your leisure. I do enjoy reading all your reviews though I do ask you keep the flamers to a minimum unless they are helpful constructive criticisms.
Until then, Bianca out!