Chapter 28
"You can't eat it like that…" Mason groaned as he watched Gajeel lift a crab leg up and into his mouth.
CRUNCH! Gajeel bit down on his meal shell and all. "Sure I can. I like my food to have a bit of crunch to it." The Iron Dragon Slayer said as he lifted the Crabs body towards his mouth.
"I changed my mind, I don't wanna watch anymore…" Mason swiveled around on his bar stool so he wouldn't have to watch Gajeel eat any longer but the sound of his comrade's CRUNCH! MUNCH! CRUNCH! Sent chills down his spine but there was soon another sound to take his mind off of it.
DING! DONG! DING! DONG! A loud bell began to ring through the guild hall and all across magnolia. "Huh? The bells actually work here?"
"Yep!" Mirajane chirped up as she polished a glass mug. "But it only rings for two reasons and it's not christmas yet so that can only mean one thing."
"HAHA! Old Gildarts is coming home!" Natsu cried out as he leapt into the air.
"Gildarts?" Mason muttered as Gajeel stuffed the rest of his crab into his mouth. "What's a Gildarts?..."
"Gildarts is the strongest wizard in the whole guild!" Levy said as she jumped out from behind the two Dragon Slayers, almost scaring the lunch out of Gajeel's mouth. "He's never around though, he's always out on these crazy long jobs. He just got done with a quest that was supposed to last a hundred years."
"A hundred years? And how long was he gone?" Mason couldn't help but find intrigue in this mysterious new wizard.
"I don't really know? Not any longer than a few years though." Levy said as she thought back on the subject.
"So it only took a couple of years for this guy to tackle a hundred year job? Now I understand why Natsu is so pumped to see this guy, now I'm kinda getting excited to meet him." Mason said as a grin of anticipation formed across his face and he didn't notice Cana approaching from behind him. SMACK!
The brunette wizard smacked Mason hard on the back. "Hey snowflake you ready to go on a job?" Cana asked as she began to tug at the Dragon Slayer's arm.
"A job?" Mason muttered in confusion as Cana pulled him out of his bar stool. "But the strongest wizard in the whole guild is about to show up."
"Who Gildarts? He's not that great, I'm sure you'll see him later." Cana said as she dragged the Dragon Slayer towards the door. "We're going on a job, no complaining." Cana then shot Mason a look to let him know that she was not going to let up on this.
"But I… Fine, lets go…" Mason eventually relented but not before he had already left the guild hall.
(a few days later)
"6800...6900...7000…" Mason muttered as he counted out stacks of paper money in his hand as he and Cana walked through the streets of Magnolia. "Hey I thought the reward was supposed to be 20000?"
"Oh it was." Cana said with a hum as she opened up a small flask she hid in her pocket and began to sip.
"You know when two wizards share a job it's usually customary that the reward is split in half…" Mason looked over expectantly at his partner.
"We did split it in half but there was some left over so I decided why not help myself?" Cana said as her attention was drawn to the sky. "Is that normal?" She asked as she pointed up to swirling clouds in the sky.
Mason looked up at the peculiar weather but he soon returned to the topic at hand. "I don't need you changing the subject here? What could you possibly need the money for?"
"What do YOU need the money for?" Cana said as she playfully pushed the Dragon Slayer on the shoulder. "You don't even pay rent, your apartment was prepaid by your soldier buddies. Plus drinking is a more expensive hobby then you'd think, especially since the cheap stuff doesn't do it for me anymore."
"Both fair points I suppose…" Mason rolled his eyes as he was willing to overlook Cana's thievery. "Just out of curiosity, what exactly are you drinking right now?" Cana slowly handed the Dragon Slayer her small flask and he took a sip and his eyes quickly widened. "Ack! Ack! HOLY! WHAT?! What is that?"
"Yeah it's good right?" Cana said as she pulled the flask back to her mouth and downed the rest of its content in one go. "It is a little rough going down but it makes me feel warm inside."
"Warm is right, I think I burned my tongue on just alcohol, I don't know that that's even possible." Mason said as he wiped the residue of whatever beverage he had just sampled. "I don't know how you drink that stuff?"
Cana cracked open another flask of booze and quickly partook in her second helping of booze. "Ya know I could probably show you how if you wanted? There's this fun, little watering hole downtown and we can start your training there in earnest…. Maybe tomorrow night?"
"Training huh? I'm not sure that's a talent I really wanna…" Mason's eyes widened as he did a closer examination of Cana's invitation. "Wait, are you asking me on a….What?" Mason turned to look at his friend but before he could finish he noticed small rocks and dirt began to float up from the ground before WHOOOSSSHHH! A large gust of dark wind rushed through the town and encircled Mason to the point where his comrade was no longer visible. "What's going on?!"
"CANA!" Mason called out as he pushed through the dark swirling winds but he received no answer, at least not one he could hear over the sound of rushing air. "CANA! Are you okay! I'm gonna shoot up a flare!" Mason pointed his head up into the sky and fired a purple energy blast which was quickly consumed by the black air as the wind seemed to be closing in around him. "What the hell is this? It's no wind storm…" Mason muttered before he was swallowed by the mysterious phenomenon.
(Later)
"Ughhh…" Mason groaned as he lifted his head off of what seemed to be white dust and immediately grabbed the top of his head. "Aghh! What a headache…" Mason stood up and observed his new terrain, the sky was a dark navy and mountains and hills of the strange white dust that surrounded the Dragon slayer also decorated the horizon but before he could fully analyze his new environment he remembered something important. "...Cana!..."
"Cana! CANA! C'mon she couldn't've just disappeared on me…" Mason groaned as he began to search the fields of dust. "Did that freaky storm carry me to this freaky place or am I just dead?" Mason wondered as he bent down and picked up a handful of the odd dust, letting it sift through his fingers. "I mean I'd think I'd know if I was dead right? That's kinda my whole deal." SNIFF! SNIFF! Mason smelled the remnants of dust left on his finger. "Nothing… This day just keeps getting freakier and freakier…." Mason continued his walk through the strange lands until he discovered something else he wasn't expecting to see that day.
"Um.. Sir…" A strange creature with a head shaped like a house and a thin moustache who appeared to be mostly buried underneath the white dust called out to the passing Dragon Slayer. "Would you mind lending a helping hand to an old clock?"
"Uh.. Sure…" Mason muttered hesitantly as he grabbed a hold of the clock man and pulled him up out of the dust. "There you go?..."
"I thank you sir." The large clock said with a polite bow. "Well Miss Lucy I do believe this will be farewell for now." The clock said as he opened the door on his stomach and out fell the Blonde Celestial wizard before he disappeared in a flash of light.
"Hey! Horologium! Where do you think you're going?!" Lucy shrieked as her spirit abandoned her.
"Hey I know you…" Mason muttered as he looked over the Blonde wizard. "You're Natsu's little girl friend right? Layla or something…"
Lucy turned around with an angry scowl on her face. "First of all Natsu's just my friend and second it LUCY! You should know that we were on the Nirvana job together!"
"Really? I don't remember you being there…" Mason said as he scanned the area around him and Lucy. "So do you have any idea where we are, or where the rest of our guild mates are?"
"Awh man…" Lucy groaned as she hunched over. "I was gonna ask you the same question…"
"Our guildmates…" A mysterious voice answered Mason as an unmasked Mystogan emerged from the dusty fog. "...Along with as everyone else in Magnolia at the time has been transformed into a giant lacrima and they're being held in the capital city of Edolas, in a world entirely different from our own…"
"Jellal!" Lucy's first instinct upon seeing this strange man who had at one time been there enemy was to reach for her Gate Keys but she was stopped by Mason.
"It's not Jellal, he's telling the truth." Mason whispered to Lucy before he turned his attention to the blue haired man. "If our friends are in another world then how do we get them back?"
"I will send the two of you through to Edolas and you'll be able to retrieve them but you must hurry, the Kingdom of Edolas means to drain the lacrima of Magic power and if that happens then Fairy Tail along with all of Magnolia will be gone." Mystogan warned as he fished something out of his pockets, a small bottle filled with golden beads. "Here, eat one of these." Mystogan tossed two of the small beads out, one landing in Lucy's mouth and the other in Mason's hands and the Dragon Slayer quickly swallowed it. "Good luck!" Mystogan waved his staff and with a flash of blue light the two Wizards were gone.
"Huh?..." Lucy groaned as she opened her eyes in the new world and immediately took note of the massive floating islands that decorated the sky but she soon realized her current situation, pinned by her shirt and dangling from a large mountain over a massive ravine. "WAAAHHH!" She shrieked.
"Grab my hand!" Mason called out as he reached down from atop the mountain and the Dragon Slayer quickly pulled the blonde wizard up and onto solid ground.
"Thanks…" Lucy said as she dusted herself off. "So? What do we do now? How are we gonna get to the capital."
"Easy…" Mason muttered as he flipped his hood up over his head. "We walk…."
(Later)
The two walked through the mountain range and into a desert area before they eventually came across a town filled with buildings that appeared to be carved from stone. As soon as the two wizards entered town they were immediately bombarded with strange looks from the townsfolk.
"Ummm… What's with the staring?" Lucy said as she tried to act normally.
"It's your outfit." The cloaked Mason muttered. "It's not exactly discreet, is it?"
"Hey what's that supposed to mean!" Lucy roared back.
"How many of these townspeople do you see dressed head to toe in pink?" Mason pointed out, getting Lucy to quickly feel flustered.
"I'm not dressed head to toe in pink!" Lucy cried back but Mason simply ignored her. "It's not my fault these Edolas people don't understand true fashion! I bet they're all just captivated by my stunning beauty!"
"We're here!" Mason said as he pushed open a large dark door that led into a dark dingy bar.
"A bar? Isn't it a little early to have a drink? I think you've been spending too much time with Cana. MMMFFFF!" Lucy was quieted when Mason placed a hand over her mouth.
"Hey, what's the name of this town?…" Mason asked out loud to the bar.
"Travelers from far away huh? Welcome to the fine city of Louen. Can I get you something to drink?" The bartender asked as he put down a glass mug in front of Mason.
"Ummm…" Mason groaned, not having any Edolas money on but he quickly remedied the situation as one of the bar patrons passed by him and the Dragon Slayer used his telekinesis to swipe said Patron's wallet. Mason opened said wallet to find a couple bills of paper money that he didn't quite recognize but luckily he could count. "Looks like I have enough for one drink."
Mason plopped down on the bar stool as the bartender filled his mug with a frothy brown beverage, Lucy nervously took the seat to his left. "So I was wondering.." Mason struck up a conversation as he lifted his drink to his lips and took a sip before immediately and discretely spitting the bitter beverage back into its mug. "Ahem! Umm… Say a couple of travelers were hoping to reach the capital city, where would we go from here?"
"Oh that's easy." The bartender commented as he polished a new glass mug. "All you have to do is…"
"THERE!" One of the townspeople busted through the front door and pointed towards Mason and Lucy. "There they are! Those are the Fairy Tail wizards! The blonde one! That's Lucy Ashley!"
"Lucy who?!" The celestial mage cried back as nearly a dozen soldiers dressed in blue and silver, wearing silver helmets ran into the bar and surrounded the two Earthland wizards.
"Freeze Fairy Tail!" One of the soldiers declared as all of them pointed their large spear-like weapons towards Lucy and Mason. "You two are under arrest!"
"You're outta luck Fairy Tail!" Another soldier taunted. "I hope you don't have any plans cause the two of you are gonna be rotting in the royal dungeon for a long time!"
"Royal dungeon?" Mason whispered to himself before he began to smirk.
"Hah! As if we'd just surrender!" Lucy said confidently. "Fairy Tail never gives up without a fight!"
"I give up!" Mason declared holding his hands out to be cuffed, much to Lucy's horror and the Dragon Slayer was quickly carried away by the soldiers.
"Don't just leave me here!" Lucy cried out as she waved one of her gate keys in the air. "OPEN GATE OF THE GOLDEN BULL!" Soon Mason was forced out of the bar and Lucy had been left behind to fight all the soldiers except the two charged with escorting The Dragon Slayer.
"Hey!" Mason called out to his two captures. "The royal dungeon wouldn't happen to be in the capital would it."
"Of course the dungeon is in the capital. You that Fairy scum!" The soldier said as he whacked Mason in the back of his legs with his spear. "Just keep walking…"
"Hey?" Mason asked again, getting the two guards to groan. "How long do you think it's gonna take to get there?"
"You sure do have a lot stupid questions don't ya!" The guard roared as he whacked Mason again. "Don't worry you'll be locked up tight before sundown, it won't take more than a couple of hours to get there via airship."
"A-Airship!" GULP! Mason swallowed hard as he could already feel his face turn pale.
(Later on the Airship)
"Ughh…" Mason groaned as he suffered from motion sickness as he rode in handcuffs, surrounded by four Edolas soldiers.
"Seriously!" One of the soldiers exclaimed. "They let Lucy Ashley get away? We had ten men on her!"
"Apparently she summoned some sort of demon…" Another soldier added. "Then a couple more fairy tail members came to her aid."
"Well at least we aren't coming home empty handed." The third soldier added as he gestured to the sickly Mason. "We got this one, that should make the king and the Fairy Hunter happy. Though I don't recognize him from any of the wanted posters. Come to think of it I've never even heard of a white haired Fairy Tail wizard."
"Maybe he's that Ice guy." One of them chipped in.
"Nah, he's not wearing enough clothes…" The other soldier pointed out.
"My name is Mason.." The Dragon Slayer groaned weakly.
"Hey you're not supposed to talk!" One of the soldiers roared as he lifted his baton to strike the disobedient prisoner but Mason, even in his weakened state managed to sit up and catch the weapon.
"Yeah, yeah…" Mason grinned before sitting back down on the airship's bench. "No talking to the prisoners… I used to be a soldier too you know, back in my world that is. I had to follow all the rules back then just like you guys."
"From your world?!" One of the soldiers sat up in excitement. "You're from earthland aren't you! That's the place where the king's Anima took all that magic power from! I read about it in the newspaper this morning."
"You're from earthland huh? Likely story, then how do you explain that Fairy Tail emblem on your shoulder." One of the Grumpier soldiers pointed out. "If you're from earthland then prove it." Mason lifted up his hands to show off his hand cuffs before becoming invisible and leaving a pair of floating handcuffs in the air.
"Woah?! He's not even using a magic item.." The soldiers muttered to themselves before Mason once again made himself visible.
"So that's what natural Magic power looks like?" One of the soldiers muttered. "Sorry for doubting you but the king is gonna be thrilled to meet you but that doesn't explain why you were hanging around that criminal Lucy Ashley or why you have a guild mark stamped on your shoulder."
Mason smiled through his Motion sickness. "Her name is not Lucy Ashley, it's Lucy Heartfilla I think. We're from the Fairy Tail back in earthland and when I get off of this flying pile of junk I'm gonna kick the crap outta you and your stupid king king!" Mason taunted.
"What did you say! How dare you threaten the king!" All four soldiers stood up and readied their weapons. "You'll never get near the king, we're already above the capital and you're about to be locked up for a long time!"
"Haha!" Mason chuckled. "You're all just a load of idiots of aren't ya. You just told me everything I wanted to know. To even things up I'll tell you dumb dumbs something too. That lacrima you took from my world is made off all my friends so I'm gonna sneak into your kings dumb little castle and find out how to turn them back to normal, even if that means kicking the crap outta your dumb little king till he tells me."
"Why would you tell us this?" One of the soldiers thrusted his spear closer to Mason's face. "We could have you executed for talk like that!"
"I told you cause it's not gonna matter." Mason explained with a haunting grin on his face. "You guys wanna see some more magic?"
(Meanwhile in the Edolas Royal City)
A group of soldiers headed by a familiar looking wizard with messy red hair, carrying a spear watched as a lone Airship began its landing process towards the Royal Dungeons on the outskirts of the sprawling metropolis. "C-Captain Knightwalker." A nervous soldier said as he approached the red haired woman. "We've received confirmation that there is in fact a fairy tail wizard aboard the ship. Should we contact the royal executioner?"
"No need." Knightwalker declared as her grip on her spear tightened. "I will carry out this execution personally. Clipping the wings of these fairies is the only thing that still gives me a sense of joy. I suppose that's why they call me-" KABOOOM! Before the red haired captain could finish the airship above the dungeon erupted in a fiery explosion and began to fall rapidly to the earth a few hundred feet away. "What the?!"
"Captain Knightwalker! We've lost communication with the ship!" One of the soldiers declared.
"Send a squadron out to examine the wreckage!" Knightwalker commanded. "We can't let that Fairy trash escape!"
"Yessir!" A group of soldiers responded in unison before rushing to the crash sight, when they arrived the entire ship was consumed by flames but a single silhouette slowly formed in the fire. "Weapons at the ready!' One of the soldiers called out and the rest aimed there spears towards the silhouette.
"Ugghhh.. Gaahhh.." Out from the flames, limping on one foot was a single remaining soldier with a charred hemet and ripped uniforms. Upon seeing their ally, two soldiers rushed to support their injured comrade.
"What happened." The soldier in command asked as his injured comrade was brought before her.
"The prisoner… There was some sort of magic blast. He wanted to detonate above the capital. He thought he could escape, he threatened the king.." The soldier muttered through his pain.
"The prisoner? Did he escape?" The head soldier asked.
"No…" The injured man groaned. "The blast knocked him out, he's still in there." He added as he weakly pointed over to the crash sight before BOOM! Another flaming blast erupted from the destroyed air ship.
"Take this man to a doctor." The commanding officer said the two men supporting the survivor carried him off.
"Wait!" The injured soldier objected before CLICK! He snapped off the strap of his helmet and removed it, letting a mop of messy white hair fall out onto his head. "I'm fine sir."
"We'll let Byro and the royal doctors give you a look over regardless. Besides I bet Captain Knightwalker is gonna want to have a word with you." The soldier in charge declared. "So you'll be spending the night at the castle, consider yourself lucky."
"Yessir!" Mason looked up with a satisfied grin plastered on his face.
(end)
