Hello all! I return with a chapter at last! Admittedly, this is sooner than I thought it would be, but I'm sure none of you will be complaining about that. This is the final chapter of the Pirate Arc, and I hope the conclusion is satisfactory, because this was the only way the chapter wanted to be written. I was outvoted on any other potential endings by my muses.
Review Response: Dear TrackHer, greetings! Who's going to send him a bill? The captured pirates? Whitebeard certainly won't, he's just glad that he and his children are free. It's no problem, I enjoy answering reviews so long as they aren't flames. Poor Mest, his association with the Raijinshū won't end there either, I'm sure. Your question about Wren's scars will be answered in this chapter, as will the question of the Whitebeard's debt to Fairy Tail. Freed and Evergreen will be making an appearance very soon, actually! I hope you like it when it gets here! As for Romeo ... I'd have to check my notes. Half-a-tick... Romeo was six in X784, when the series started, so that means he would be born sometime in X778. Considering the current year in this story is X774, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a while before Romeo shows up.
Dear Guest, hi there! Ah, yes. I can see how that would make an impression. The rule would be really fun to include. Not sure when or how, but it would be fun. (bows) Thank you, I try. I hoped the conflict would seem real. I mean, Bickslow was raised on the streets for years with nothing but cruel adults for examples, I figured he was bound to come close to some lines if Wren was seriously injured. But you're right, that's one line they can't cross, it wouldn't have been right or in character for a Fairy Tail member. Oh definitely, his teleportation is way too useful for Laxus to just let him walk away. Plus, once you get stuck in a particular orbit of Fairy Tail Luck, you're pretty much stuck forever. They would, but I've noticed Fairy Tail only goes on the warpath if their own have been hurt and the bad guys are still on the loose. Once the bad guys have been beaten down by someone of Fairy Tail, the rest settle down. Therefor, I think Laxus would have already gotten enough retribution to satisfy the others. Unless Marcus breaks out of prison and shows his face around Fairy Tail again, then all bets are off. Glad you enjoyed the chapter, I hope this one is just as interesting for you!
Dear YumiKnowsBest, hello there! Glad you liked it. You'll have to read this chapter to find out about Wren's possible scars. Porlyusica is a miracle worker in some areas, but depending on the injury and how long it takes to get the patient to her ... you'll just have to read and see.
Dear TheHolyBlade, hello! Happy to hear it! I can see what you mean, unless there's some kind of outside factor involved (like gaining Cybertronian memory retention abilities) it would make sense for things to fade over time. But that doesn't mean Wren has forgotten everything or will forget everything, just that her memories on the anime will get fuzzy on some of the details. I like writing fluff. It's a pity I usually have to set up so much angst/violence beforehand to get it...
Dear Dragon Lord Draco, hi there! (grins) happy to hear you liked it so much! I enjoyed writing the fight scene, even if Marcus was a pain to defeat (I made him a wee bit too tough I think, but eh). Water and electricity. So many people forget the basic laws of physics/chemistry when writing about anime/magic worlds, but I like to use it once in a while. I had a lot of fun with the fluffy ending to the chapter, I figured a little fluff was needed after so much action and character-building drama. Hope you enjoy the update!
Dear powerrangersfan364, greetings! I was hoping it would.
Dear Ori Heartlyng, hi! Yeah, don't frag off Laxus and Bickslow. They may only be kids, but they're still Fairies. (holds up hands) Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a minute there! As much as I'm glad to see you so interested in the characters and story, don't you think it's a wee bit (or a lot) too early to be pairing anyone with anyone? I mean, physically Wren is only six and Laxus is thirteen. Both are too young for a relationship. Plus Laxus sees her as a little kid right now, and Wren things the same of Laxus because she's mentally so much older that Laxus. Let's wait until they're more grown up physically (and mentally too in Laxus's case) before we start picking pairings, ne? Plus, I still haven't introduced the full cast yet. You might come like someone else with Wren in that time.
Dear YourFriendBob, hello! (blushes) Really? Wow, I'm ... I'm really flattered. Thank you! I don't really mind reviewers calling her either one. Eventually though, it think Rihanna will transition to thinking of herself as Wren. For now, she keeps thinking of herself as Rihanna because it's kinda her last hold on her old life. She's attached to it. Glad you like Bickslow's backstory so much. I agree that Mashima should give some of his other characters more screen time and attention, but at least it gives me more room to work. Don't worry, I will not willingly abandon this story. Chapter will inevitably get delayed when Real Life demands attention, but I have every intention of finishing this story. Like I said to the reviewer just above, let's slow down and wait until everyone's older and the rest of the cast has been introduced before we starting throwing around shipping names, ne? It's way too early to be doing it right now.
Dear Guest, greetings! It could solve some problems yes, but Rihanna would actually have a lot of trouble learning Telepathy for reasons that will be elaborated on later. For now though, Rihanna has no one to teach her, so it's a moot point.
Dear shamwhoohoo52, hey there! I updated as soon as I could. I hope you like the update! No. I never intend for Rihanna's original voice to be fixed. Consider it the price she's paid in coming to this world instead of dying (not that she made a choice go to Earthland). Telepathy might become an option later, when Warren joins and can teach her.
Dear BizzyLizy, hi! Glad you liked it so much! Thank you for you patience and here is the next chapter!
Dear WanderingMage011, hello there! I do spend a lot of time in Wren's POV don't I? Can't help it though, she's the main character and the one I'm the most comfortable with. Glad you enjoyed Laxus's POV though, I was worried about getting it right. I love the dragon lacrima/magic/instincts thing. I have so many head-cannons about it I would like to use someday. I know that scars in real life can be pretty devastating, but considering this is a universe where a guy can have most of his internal organs, an arm, and a leg ripped off by a dragon when he's miles away from any hospital and still survive it ... I think any scars Wren gets from this would be very small and faint. Not deep enough to inhibit her like scars in the real world would. You have a point on the emotional impact scars though, funny how that works. You mean like as something you want to see? Or something you want to write? Because, no offense, I wouldn't be comfortable giving permission for you to use my characters in a story. But if it's something you want to see ME write, then no worries. I really like the Whitebeards, so they'll definitely be showing up again at some point farther down the line.
Dear ChubbyPanda10, greetings! Well, I was going for a scary factor for her eyes, so I'll take that comparison as a sign I succeeded. Wasn't intentionally copying either of those though. Uh ... do you mean how long do I expect this story to go on? If that's the case, then settle in for a long haul. I intend to go all the way past the Alvarez Empire Arc and considering that by the time I get to that point this story will be decidedly AU and I'm starting from several years pre-series ... yeah. This story is going to be really long. Just look at my Transformers one for comparison. All those chapters and I STILL haven't even left Cybertron.
Dear Guest, hello! Yep, Whitebeard pirates ahoy! I'm with you on the crossover episodes. One of my favorite Fairy Tail episodes/OVAs is the one where they crossed over Rave with Fairy Tail. I couldn't resist doing one (or more) of my own. While there are limits to word magic (creativity, concentration, time for setup, size of the mages magic reserves...) it IS a very underutilized magic. On-call chef (snorts) a little bit callous in the wording, but depressingly true. Oh well, hopefully I'll have a chance to fix that in my story. I'm so gad to hear that! I've worked very hard on Wren's character and I practice my writing a lot. It's fine to write a long review, I enjoy reading them! ... eww imagery indeed. Though I'm not sure why it sounds so much worse than "talking your ear off", because if you really think about it, both of those phrases are kinda gross... (shrugs). I hope you enjoy the newest chapter!
Dear RedApple435, hi there! Aw, thank you! So happy you enjoy this story!
Author's Note: So, an explanation of sorts for something at the bottom if you're confused. If your confused on anything else, feel free to drop a review about it (but be polite please, courtesy costs nothing and makes me so much more cooperative). As stated above, this is the last of the Pirate Arc chapters. But don't worry, this won't be the last time we see the Whitebeard (not)Pirates! I've grown to like them too much to leave out, so they'll be dropping in once in a while as the story progresses. Also, for my AMOSC readers and my BOTFF readers, don't worry, I haven't forgotten you. I have a chapter waiting to be edited on Transformers and I'm ALMOST finished with the next installment of BOTFF. I've just been busy lately, so I ask for your continued patience. Anyway, enjoy the newest update everyone and see you next time!
Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, One Piece, or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs, who have run off with my plot.
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Chapter Twenty-Four: Whitebeards and Fairies.
(Three months, three weeks, two days since joining guild.)
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Makarov was worried.
That was actually a rarer occurrence than one might think. Yes, his guild caused a lot of trouble and got into a lot of trouble, but he had learned years ago that for all the craziness Fairy Tail Luck brought them, its flip side meant that they could almost always handle that craziness with only moderate injuries. And lots of property damage that he had to pay to repair, but that was beside the point.
Most of the time, when Makarov was "worried" it could be translated to the automatic concern that every parent felt for their child, no matter how safe the current activity or location might be. This time however, Makarov's worry could only be equated to "pacing around the guild building and generally scaring the shirts off of the other guild members with his heavy aura".
Laxus and his budding little Raijinshū had been gone for ten days. The mission they had taken should have only had them away for five. At most. It was a day's train trip to the location of the job and another day's trip back. Three days was plenty of time to locate the item the client desired, turn it in, and collect their pay before boarding a train the next day and coming home.
Five days. Instead it had been ten. Ten days with no sign of them, no word or letter to explain that they would be late and why, not even any articles in the paper about a pack of children blowing up a town or a historic monument or some such chaos.
Usually, even when Fairy Tail Luck struck and a member could not write back to the guild to say they would be late, all he had to do was check the newspapers for stories of mass destruction, giant monsters, wholesale arrests of underworld criminal organizations, or the occasional cult being exposed and beaten up en masse in order to get a rough idea of where they were and how they were doing.
But for the past nine days, ten if he counted the day Laxus and his Raijinshū left, there had been no articles hinting at the whereabouts of his grandson and his friends. No random thunderstorms, no possessed tiki dolls scaring innocent pedestrians, no shadowy poltergeists chasing cats, not even single cabbage cart set on fire via tarot card.
Makarov was close to pulling what little of his hair remained right out of his head.
He was just debating whether or not to call the other guild masters he knew to see if they had heard anything, or maybe even send out some of the other Fairy Tail members to search for the missing children, when little Levy cannoned into him with a shriek of, "Master Makarov! Master Makarov!"
Makarov caught the bluenette before she could bounce off of him and topple to the floor, "Easy there, child, what ever is the matter?"
Levy waved her hands wildly and panted, "S-ship! There's a really, really big ship!"
Makarov blinked, "Eh? You mean someone sailed across the lake and docked in Magnolia? That isn't so unusual-"
Levy shook her head so fast her hair slapped her face, "No-no-no! There's a really, really big ship coming!"
Makarov frowned in confusion, still not understanding why that would cause his newest charge such distress, "I don't understand, child."
Levy took a deep breath and then shrieked at the top of her lungs, "There's a giant ship coming down the street toward the guild!" Oh. That is unusual. Levy wrung her hands together as she added nervously, "A-and, Master, there's a Jolly Roger on the sail! There's a pirate ship coming right to the guild!"
Makarov yelped, "What?" His eyes went wide and he gaped at Levy for a moment before he recovered himself and ran for the guild entrance. Shoving his way to the front of the large crowd that had gathered in the double doors, Makarov looked out and saw that, sure enough, there was a huge ship steadily rolling down the street toward them, barely fitting between the buildings of the city. He had no clue how it had managed to maneuver around the twists and turns of Magnolia, but there it was, limping up the final stretch toward the guild hall with only two functioning masts and a battered sail with a huge Jolly Roger painted boldly on the center of it.
"By the First," Makarov breathed in shock. What in the name of Mavis did we do to trigger this much Fairy Tail Luck? Shaking off his surprise, Makarov barked at the other guild members, "Get the children inside and barricade the door. Enno, Richardo, Katsuki, guard the children. Everyone else, outside and prepare your magic. But don't attack unless I give the word."
There was a mass of shuffling and curses as everyone scrambled to obey his command. Still, despite the reluctance of some of the children to go inside, by the time the ship rolled to a halt in front of the guild hall, the door was solidly barricaded and the rest of his adoptive children were arrayed around him, ready to fight.
There was no sign of anyone on the deck, but it was so high that Makarov couldn't see over the edges of the railing, so he couldn't be certain the deck was unoccupied. After several long moments with no movement or challenge from the pirate ship, Makarov gathered air in his lungs and bellowed, "Who are you and what do you want with Fairy Tail? Show yourselves!"
There was a pause after he spoke, then a soft scuffling and a head popped over the top of the ship's figurehead, spiky blond hair glinting in the sun as the small figure leaned an arm over the railing to wave lazily down at Makarov, "Oi! Jiji! Look what we found!"
A dark mess of blue hair popped up next to the blond, a tongue with Fairy Tail's distinctive mark wagging cheerfully as the second figure called down with glee, "Can we keep 'em, Jiji? They're already housebroken and everything!"
Makarov opened his mouth, shut it, opened it again, then slapped his face hard, "Stupid brats. I am never letting you out of the guild building again…"
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Rihanna sat on a bed in Fairy Tail's infirmary, her back exposed to Porlyusica's "tender" ministrations while Bickslow, Laxus, Mest, and Cana sat on nearby beds awaiting their turn for inspection. The cranky healer was in fine form as she unwrapped Rihanna's bandages and got a good look at her injuries, "Of all the- Why Makarov let's you out of his sight is beyond me. Stupid humans. So? Is one of you brats going to tell me how this happened? Or am I going to have to guess? Not that I couldn't, moronic Fairies. A worse kind of trouble-makers I have never seen."
Rihanna winced as Porlyusica ran cool fingers over her back, lightly nudging the edges of the whip marks while Laxus relayed the story of their exploits to the misanthropic woman. Porlyusica had no reservations about thoroughly lecturing them all over their stupidity once the story was told, but Rihanna thought she detected a note of concern amid her biting insults and waspish demands to know who had been treating Rihanna's back up until that point.
Mest was sent out to fetch Marco, and as soon as the blond had arrived, Porlyusica bombarded him with questions about how he had treated the children's injuries, what the original injuries had been, and what symptoms they had displayed while on board the ship. Rihanna was impressed when Marco didn't so much as blink under Porlyusica's verbal assault, merely answering the questions as promptly and thoroughly as he could.
It wasn't until Porlyusica demanded to know what kind of disinfectant he had used on Rihanna's injuries that Marco finally showed a touch of discomfort. Averting his gaze for a moment he lifted one shoulder as he answered, "I … used my magic, yoi."
Porlyusica went very still, "What."
Marco rubbed the back of his neck, "My magic. I used my magic on their injuries to keep them clean."
Porlyusica turned away from Rihanna's back very slowly, her voice still flat and expressionless, "You have healing magic."
Marco shook his head, "Yes- No- … Not really, yoi. At least, not anything I can use on other people." He paused, sighed, and continued, "I use a magic called Phoenix Magic, yoi. Most of it is fire spells and a transformation spell, but there are some purification spells too. I didn't know what Marcus might have added to his whip with those runes of his, so I thought that my magic would be the safest bet to ensure that their wounds were clean of poison something like that, yoi."
Porlyusica stared hard at Marco for several long seconds before she sighed through her nose and hissed, "Fine then. Get out. There are too many humans crowding the area anyway. Go back to your ship and wait for your captain to be finished speaking with Makarov." Marco, perhaps sensing the danger of crossing Porlyusica, dipped his head politely and beat a hasty exit.
Turning back to Rihanna, Porlyusica worked on her in silence for a while, mixing various herbs she had brought and beating them into a paste with a vindictiveness that made the children in the room nervous. Finally, Porlyusica spoke again, "So. Finish the story. What happened after you finished fighting the whip-wielder and you all decided sleeping on a pirate ship with strangers was safe?"
The boys all exchanged glances before Mest was elected the unofficial spokesman, "After that, we had to wait a day for Newgate-san and his crew to make some emergency repairs to the ship. Then we sailed on it to the nearest town, where we dropped off Marcus and his pirates at the local Rune Knight Precinct with the stuff they had stolen and a long note about their crimes and warnings about Marcus's magic."
Rihanna snorted faintly at that. By "dropped off", Mest literally meant "had thrown overboard and sailed away before they could be caught themselves". That had been more than a little interesting.
Mest shot Rihanna a look at her snort, but continued his story, "After that, Newgate-san was kind enough to make a quick stop at the location of the Raijinshū's original job and Marco-san and Haruta-chan helped them retrieve the desired item and return it to the client. That took about a day and a half. From there, Newgate-san had the ship sailing all through the night and most of today in order to reach Magnolia as quickly as possible."
Porlyusica hummed neutrally at the end of his story, but for once that day did not express her opinion of their actions. She finished smearing a strange herbal paste on Wren's injuries and bandaged them tightly before she announced, "Well. Thanks to the quick thinking of that young man, Wren-chan's injuries are not as bad as they rightfully should be. That being said, I've added a paste to further bring down the swelling and accelerate the healing, but those wounds are still going to leave faint scars."
Rihanna shrugged at that, she had been expecting something to that order, then winced as the motion pulled at said injuries. Porlyusica lightly swatted Rihanna's head for her action while Bickslow and the others seemed to teleport to her side and hover worriedly. Rihanna waved them off and soon they were too busy surviving Porlyusica's "tender mercies" to hover and baby her like they had been for the past several days.
While she appreciated the sentiment, it had been very smothering at times. Even though Mest, Bickslow, and Laxus had all received worse injuries that she had, it was Rihanna that everyone had treated like some kind of glass doll. Though Laxus had his accelerated healing factor and the other two boys were physically older than her so she supposed she could see where the worry came from … but still. Mest trying to carry her everywhere, Bickslow trying to make sure she didn't do anything remotely strenuous, and Laxus hovering in the background glaring at any non-Fairy who came too close had gotten very tedious.
Even Cana had gotten in on the mother-hen antics of the boys, actually threatening to seal Rihanna in one of her cards if the girl didn't sit quietly in their temporary room and wait for them to complete the job for which they'd originally set out.
Eventually, everyone had been treated by the darkly muttering Porlyusica, who had then left as soon as her work was complete. She had barely stopped long enough to leave instructions on how to care for each of the children's remaining injuries, warn Mest that his facial scar was going to be permanent, and give Laxus a brief lecture about how even if he had accelerated healing, he shouldn't go about doing stupid things that would dislocate his shoulder and fracture a rib.
The look of surprise on Laxus's face at that last part seriously worried Rihanna. How could he have not known that he had fractured a rib during his fight with Marcus? Granted, the thing was already healed to the point there was only a mild bruise left, but still.
For a long moment after Porlyusica swept out, muttering curses against humanity's stupidity the entire way, none of them spoke. Bickslow just moved to sit protectively next to Rihanna, his tikis squeaking unintelligible mutters as they looped lazily through the room.
Finally Cana cleared her throat to gain the attention of the others and asked shyly, "So … what do you think the Master and Newgate-san have been talking about for so long? I mean, we got back to the guild three hours ago, do you think they're done yet?"
Laxus shrugged, "No idea. But Newgate-san did say something about owing the guild for our actions. Maybe they're working out a payment."
Mest tilted his head skeptically, "With what? The stolen money and loot we dropped off at the Rune Knight Precinct? Aside from the ship and their skills, Newgate-san and his family don't have anything to pay the Master with. Besides, Master Makarov isn't the type to demand money in compensation for this kind of thing. He's more likely to insist that Newgate-san doesn't owe Fairy Tail a thing."
Cana chewed her lip, "Newgate-san doesn't strike me as the type to give up just because Master said something like that."
Bickslow tilted his head, "So what would he do?"
Mest shrugged, but Laxus slipped off of the bed and made for the door with a curt, "Let's find out."
Rihanna sighed as she followed along behind, deftly dodging Mest's attempt to pick her up and carry her. Bickslow hovered nearby, looking both curious as to what Laxus intended to do and worried over his little sister possibly tiring herself out. Rihanna wished she could tell them all that she was not going to drop dead simply from walking on her own two feet, but she knew that the lecture would be lost on everyone but Bickslow and he wouldn't listen anyway.
The group slipped quietly through the guild building, avoiding the guild hall where their fellow Fairy Tail members were having a welcome/thank you party for Newgate's crew. Laxus led the way to a room next to Master Makarov's office and Rihanna looked around curiously as he herded them inside. Putting a finger to his lips to indicate silence, Laxus padded over to the wall the room shared with Master Makarov's office and carefully fiddled with something. The thing turned out to be a small knothole of wood that had been carved out of the rest of the wall and could thus be pulled out at will.
Everyone crowded around the hole with varying degrees of eagerness save Rihanna, who was forcibly herded away by Bickslow so as not to risk her back getting bumped. Instead, one of Bickslow's tiki dolls floated by her ear and whispered everything Bickslow could hear through the hole.
Most of it went over Rihanna's head to the point where she strongly suspected that Bickslow was mistranslating. She did manage to understand that Makarov and Newgate were in fact working out some way of both repaying Newgate's debt to Fairy Tail and keeping Newgate and his adoptive family out of jail for their unwilling parts in Marcus's crimes. Words like divisions and regular visits were bandied about as well as other words Bickslow didn't know, which led to the tiki just muttering gibberish before continuing.
Mest, who was second closest to the hole, seemed to understand the missing words just fine as he suddenly gasped. Laxus slapped a hand over Mest's mouth with an urgent look and Bickslow's tikis squeaked in terror, which made Cana slap the back of Bickslow's head and hiss at him to be quiet. Both were given a death glare by Laxus and everyone in the room held their breath, hoping that the faint noises hadn't been heard by Master Makarov and Newgate.
Just as Rihanna was beginning to think they were in the clear, Makarov's voice shook the wall, "Alright brats! I know you're in there! Get over here!"
Rihanna winced, great, now we're going to be in trouble for eavesdropping on top of our latest bout of Fairy Tail Luck. Laxus's shoulders slumped in defeat while Cana cuffed Bickslow's head and stomped on Mest's foot for giving them away. Bickslow automatically retaliated with a firm tug on Cana's hair and a brawl between the two was only prevented by Rihanna getting between them and giving them The Look.
Mest muttered an apology as they exited the room and moved one door down to Makarov's study. Laxus reluctantly led the way inside, his gaze fixed on the floor. Master Makarov glared down at them from his desk while Newgate somehow managed to look comfortable and amused in an armchair three sizes too small for him. One of Makarov's bushy white eyebrows went up expectantly, "And just what are you kids doing, hmmm?"
Mest bowed in apology, "I'm sorry, Master. I know I shouldn't have let them listen in, but I-"
Bickslow shoved his hands in his pockets and looked rebellious, "We were just curious. You've been up here for hours." His tikis immediately took up the agitated chorus of "hours, hours", causing Cana to twitch for her tarot cards in annoyance.
"Cana." Master Makarov's voice was solemn, with just enough edge to it to be a warning, but not quite enough to be reprimand. Cana lowered her hands and folded them behind her back with a muttered apology. Master Makarov shifted his gaze to Laxus, "Well?"
Laxus lifted his gaze from the floor long enough to say defiantly, "I didn't do anything you wouldn't have done." Master Makarov sputtered at that and Rihanna sensed that there was some kind of story behind the phrase and reaction. Newgate just chuckled his deep, floor vibrating chuckle as he watched on.
Master Makarov recovered from his sputtering and shifted his gaze at last to Rihanna. She met it calmly. She felt no guilt at listening in to the conversation, mostly because she hadn't actually heard anything. Even if she had, she was certain Master Makarov and Newgate had already known they were in the other room before Laxus had even removed the knothole. She had seen Master Makarov's prodigious magic sensing -or perhaps it was child sensing- skills at work before. There was no way Makarov at least had not known and Newgate seemed to have the same kind of radar when it came to his crew.
The only reason they'd been called in now rather than earlier was because Mest and Bickslow had given up the game. Besides, if it was really supposed to be a secret, Makarov shouldn't have had it in the guild building. Everyone in Fairy Tail knew that everyone else was a snoop at heart.
Master Makarov's other eyebrow joined the first in a raised position, "You regret nothing." It was more of a dry statement than a question, but Rihanna nodded her head anyway. Master Makarov sighed heavily, "Of course not. Little scamp. At least you're honest about it."
Newgate's chuckles grew louder at that, his smile curving to match his impossible mustache, "Children."
Master Makarov nodded sagely, as if he knew exactly what Newgate was talking about. He probably did. Master Makarov was a parental or grandparental figure to the entire guild in some way or other after all.
"Fine," huffed Master Makarov, "since you kids want to know so badly. Come along." Master Makarov paused and looked over at Newgate, "Unless there are any other details that need to be clarified?"
Newgate shook his head, smile still in place, "Not at all. You covered everything perfectly. I'm sure my children will be delighted. So long as you are certain this will work?"
Master Makarov gave a sharp nod, "Absolutely." With that, the short guild master jumped off of his desk and led the way out of the office, Newgate calmly following while Rihanna and the children trailed behind. Rihanna took a moment to marvel over the fact that Newgate actually fit down the hallway. Certainly, he had to bend his head a bit and there was no room for anyone to walk beside him, but she hadn't realized that the hallways and doorways of the guild hall were so … big. At least until there was a giant of a man to stride down them with booming footsteps.
Her renewed awe at Newgate's size sputtered and died in favor of annoyance when they reached the guild hall. Really? The rest of the guild hasn't even known them for more than a few hours and it's already come to this? Laxus gave a huff of laughter while Mest groaned in embarrassment at the chaos before them and Bickslow flung himself into the middle of it all with a whoop.
A gust of wind sent a table flying as Haruta leaped into the air, cackling wildly until she was felled by an expertly thrown slice of cake. Thatch had engaged Wakaba in a "battle of the pompadours", which basically entailed dueling with frying pans she had no idea as to the origin of, arguing over which hair products were better, and bragging about who's pompadour was bigger.
The hulking form of Jozu, coated defensively in his crystal magic, glittered in the sunlight and scattered rays of light throughout the brawl like some kind of living disco ball. The man looked utterly baffled as to what course of action to take while Fairy Tail's native kleptomaniac sat on his shoulders and threw things at anyone who dared come near "her newest treasure". Macao separated briefly from the throng, yelling loudly as one of Newgate's sons, a distinctly shark-like fellow named Namur, clung stubbornly to Macao's left leg with his teeth.
Vista appeared to have challenged the bartender to a duel with brooms over who got to guard the alcohol and Rakuyo was being dragged around the room by his living spiked flail, which was trying to catch the flying object that looked suspiciously like the words "Flying Stick".
A flicker of motion above and to her right made Rihanna look up to see that a very unimpressed Marco had somehow escaped to the rafters with a giggling Levy perched in his lap, safely away from the chaos. A loud and familiar "zat" noise cut above the other hubbub and Rihanna distinctly smelled burning hair. She looked back at the brawl to see that one of Bickslow's wayward lasers had somehow managed to ricochet off of Wakaba's and Thatch's frying pans and set their pompadours on fire. Both men were now running around the room in a panic, cheerful green flames eating slowly away at the ends of their ridiculous hairstyles.
Haruta whipped by, having recovered from being hit with the cake slice, and accidentally sent Thatch sprawling into one of the other guild members. Some of the green flame on his hair transferred to the unfortunate member's pants, causing yet another shrill yelp of panic to pierce the air as that member too began running around frantically and spreading the green flame until one of Cana's slapped the man with a water card as she scurried by, having gotten involved in the brawl via Bickslow's taunts.
Rihanna and Master Makarov both facepalmed. Judging from the faint sound of flesh meeting flesh in the rafters, they weren't the only ones. Newgate just looked bemused by the entire thing, "Normal?"
Master Makarov heaved a sigh, "Yes. You?"
Newgate's smile took on a more reminiscent air, "Used to be. Though, I have not seen my children this rambunctious since… Well. It is nice to see them smile like this again."
Judging from the cries of relief and the green smoke that wafted by, Thatch and Wakaba had managed to put out their pompadours by rushing off to the kitchen sinks. Of course, in exchange for that brand of chaos dying down, Rakuyo's flail had spotted Bickslow's tikis and was now chasing after those instead the flying stick. Of course, the tikis and Bickslow were making their displeasure over the pursuit known. Loudly. So were the various brawlers who got run over by Rakuyo as he tried to stop his weapon and ended up getting flung around on the end of the chain instead.
Finally, Master Makarov and Newgate appeared to have enough of the building insanity and damage to the guild hall. The Master's fist hurtled into the middle of the fray at the size of a large table while Newgate clapped his hands together like a thunderclap and they both yelled, "That's enough!"
Rihanna, like the other guild members who hadn't been hit by Master Makarov's fist, held her hands to her ears at the volume of Newgate's clap. The brawl ground to a halt, both guild members and ex-pirates looking guiltily in the direction of their leaders from their varied and awkward mid-motion positions.
Master Makarov retracted his hand back to his side and waited until people had cautiously uncovered their ears to speak again, "Alright, if you're done making even more paperwork for me to sign," at this several guild members flinched in guilt, "then listen up, you reckless children! We have a proposition to make!"
Newgate and Makarov strode over to the bar and Makarov jumped onto it in order to be more easily seen while Newgate spoke, "In light of our current circumstances and debt to Fairy Tail, Master Makarov has offered a solution to both problems. This solution is not mandatory, and if any of my children disapprove, then we will find another solution. However, I believe it would be best for you to listen to him."
Everyone separated from their mid-brawl positions and clustered around the bar to listen, curious murmurs sweeping through the group as they did so. There was a soft thump beside Rihanna as Marco jumped down from the rafters, an inquisitive Levy in his arms. When everyone had gathered around, Master Makarov outlined his idea.
"Alright then. Newgate-san has explained your position to me in detail, and it basically comes down to this; you're broke, you're homeless save for a rundown ship that you cannot pay to repair, and you insist that you owe this guild something for the actions of my grandson and his Raijinshū. Now," Makarov leveled a stern look at Newgate's children, "as the Master of Fairy Tail, I do not accept debts nor do I demand money for the acts of kindness and bravery of my children. Especially not from those who are clearly unable to afford such a thing. However, as the Master of Fairy Tail, I do offer a place and a home to those who need one."
Rihanna's eyes went wide and startled noises went up from Newgate's children, Did he just? Master Makarov held up a hand for silence, "I know that after what you have been through, you are very reluctant to join a guild of strangers you have just met. However, your father has negotiated special conditions with me that would allow you to keep a good deal of your autonomy. Should you join Fairy Tail, the guild will fund the repairing of your ship and you will be designated as a special seafaring division, or sub-guild if you will, of Fairy Tail. Newgate-san will be your captain and as such would be the one to make the majority of day-to-day decisions and the managing of your division. You would be able to recruit new members as Newgate-san sees fit, take on your own jobs independently of Fairy Tail as well as accept jobs from our main mission board over there."
He folded his hands behind his back, "As a division of Fairy Tail, you would be required to check in with me at the main guild building every six months to give a set percentage of your collective job earnings to the Guild Fund and have any new members you acquire introduced to me and stamped with our guild mark."
Master Makarov paused to let all of that sink in before he continued, "Although you would have much autonomy from the rest of the guild, there would be certain guidelines and rules that must be followed without exception. I have explained these already to you father, and he has agreed to them. In a few years time, once you have established yourselves as reliable and legal mages, should you so desire you may separate from the guild entirely to start one of your own. I will even write a letter of recommendation to our more sea-orientated clients should that event occur."
His lips tugged into a gentle smile, "Or, you can stay in Fairy Tail. You would be more than welcome."
There was a long, stunned silence from Newgate's adoptive children while the guild members waited eagerly for a response to their Master's offer. Marco set down Levy and stepped forward, a frown in place of his usual, apathetic expression, "Why would you do all that for us, yoi? We are the ones who owe you a debt, not the other way around. Why go to all the trouble, yoi?"
Master Makarov locked gazes with Marco seriously for a moment, "Fairy Tail has, and always will be, a haven for those who need one. A home for those with none. Debt, no debt, it matters not to me. In fact, one could even say that I owe a debt to you and yours for tending to the injuries of my children and bringing them safely home. If you wish to stay with us, you are more than welcome. If you do not, then you may go, but know that the offer will always be open to you. That is the way of Fairy Tail. I am only offering to you what has been offered to every one of us here before. I know that may not be much of a reason to you, but for us, it is enough. Though, if you insisted on a personal reason as to my offering you a place here…"
A large grin suddenly rose to Master Makarov's face, and Rihanna felt something warm blossom in her heart as she realized it was the exact same one that he had given her and Bickslow that day in the infirmary when he offered them a place in the guild, "I suppose it would be because you all remind me of my own children." He shot an amused look at Newgate-san, "and as a fellow father, I can tell that Newgate-san could use all the help he can get to handle you lot."
Newgate's lips curled upward and he gave a low bark of laughter, "Indeed." Newgate's gaze went back to being serious a moment later as he looked out over his children and raised an eyebrow in silent question.
Rihanna watched with bated breath as Marco exchanged long glances with the rest of his siblings, a silent conversation going between them while Fairy Tail watched on hopefully. Finally, a small, lazy smile curled on Marco's lips and he turned back to Master Makarov, "If the rest of your guild is anything like the Raijinshū, then we'd be glad to join, yoi."
The guild hall immediately shook with the cheers of the Fairy Tail members as they surged forward to officially welcome Newgate and his children into the fold. Rihanna felt a smile grow on her face while Laxus looked absolutely smug and Mest just gave a soft sigh over the increase in craziness. Bickslow and Cana pushed their way back to Rihanna's side, Bickslow wrapping an arm carefully but gleefully around her as he crowed, "We get to keep 'em! Jiji's letting us keep 'em!"
Cana crossed her arms as she watched the celebrations start, "That's great and all, really it is, but I have just one question…" The rest of the small group looked at Cana expectantly and she elaborated with something of a pout, "Why did just you three get all the credit for being a good example of Fairy Tail?"
Bickslow tilted his head, "What do you mean 'just us three'?"
Cana made an impatient gesture, "Marco-san said that if the rest of the guild was like the Raijinshū, he'd be happy to join! He didn't even mention Mest and me!"
Mest tilted his head in thought at her declaration and reached to scratch at his facial bandage until Rihanna glared warningly at him. Laxus gave a very slow blink, "But … he did mention you."
Cana's pout shifted to a baffled frown, "No, he didn't! I mean, I know it's not really important, but he only said-"
"Raijinshū," Laxus interrupted, "he said 'Raijinshū'. Which is us. I don't see the problem."
Cana and Mest stared blankly at Laxus for his answer for several seconds before their eyes both widened and Mest gave a nervous laugh, "No. No-no. No way. I am not part of your group." Laxus shot the older boy a bland look and Mest made an emphatic X motion with his arms, "No, Laxus. Never. I have nothing against you guys, and nothing against helping out a fellow Fairy in need, but any one of you three has worse Fairy Tail Luck in a week than I get in a year. So no."
Laxus raised an eyebrow, something amused flashing through his gaze that only Mest seemed able to translate. Mest shook his head, "No." Laxus tilted his head to one side, eyebrow creeping higher on his forehead as he did so and Mest made a strangled noise before he flung his arms in the air and teleported away in disgust. Rihanna shook her head and shared a glance with Laxus, poor fool. Still in denial.
"Cana?" Bickslow's concerned voice brought Rihanna's and Laxus's attention back to the Card Mage in an instant. Cana stood a short distance from them, her hands clutching her bag strap so tightly her knuckles had gone white. The noise of the celebration seemed to fade away for Rihanna, all that mattered was the little girl in front of her that suddenly seemed like she was two words away from shattering.
Rihanna gave a low whistle of concern that either Bickslow automatically translated or was thinking himself, "What's wrong?"
"Do you really mean it?" Cana's voice was soft, so soft Rihanna felt she shouldn't have been able to hear it, yet it somehow became the loudest sound in the room for the three standing across from Cana.
"Do we mean what, Cana?" Laxus sounded serious, his voice hitting the same low yet gentle quality it had had during Rihanna's panic attack after the Gildarts Incident.
Her hair had fallen over her face, so Rihanna could not see the other girl's expression. However, Cana's shaking, hopeful-yet-not-daring voice expressed everything she needed to know, "You want me … in the Raijinshū? I'm … a part of the group?"
Rihanna frowned, not understanding why this seemed so important to her. Why the insinuation seemed to shake her so badly, why there was such a desperate want in Cana's voice when they were already friends and fellow guild members. Did being considered part of the Raijinshū really mean that much to her?
Much to Rihanna's surprise, although she did not understand it, Bickslow seemed to. The bluenette stepped forward, the taunts and teases he usually aimed at Cana nowhere to be found as he held out a hand, palm up, to her, "Do you want to be?" Cana's head tilted up from her chest, watering brown eyes coming into view as she stared at Bickslow. A silent conversation passed between them and Rihanna felt certain that there was some aspect to the conversation that she was missing, something important only the two of them knew.
Cana bit her lip and looked down at the ground, one hand letting go of her purse strap to rub the bandages under her shirt, "I…" Her gaze flicked up to Bickslow again, then to Laxus and Rihanna. Rihanna felt something inside her chest squeeze tight at what she saw in Cana's eyes and the question shot through her mind of, Mavis. Has she always been this … broken? Cana's hand slid down to her side as she whispered, "Can I?"
Rihanna moved without thinking, not entirely sure as to her own course of action and yet desperate to do something. Bickslow gave a tiny start of surprise as Rihanna cupped her hand beneath his, her eyes never leaving Cana's as she did so. A moment later, Laxus's larger, already callused palm cupped Rihanna's as he nudged his way to stand with Bickslow and her. All three looked patiently at Cana, waiting for her reply.
"Do you want to be?" Bickslow repeated softly.
Cana was blinking back tears at that point, several escaping to trickle down her chin anyway as she reached out a shaking hand to place it in theirs and whispered, "Yes." As one, their grips shifted, Bickslow's still firmly gripping her palm while Laxus and Rihanna laid their hands on top of hers.
Laxus looked … proud somehow as he said, "Then welcome to the Raijinshū." "Welcome home", his tone somehow conveyed and Rihanna felt her throat close a little at Cana's fragile yet brilliant smile. Laxus exhaled sharply and abruptly shifted his grip to pull Cana toward the celebration occurring on the main guild hall floor, dragging Rihanna and Bickslow along by extension, "Well, come on then. We've got new members to celebrate."
Cana looked as if someone had just gifted her the stars as she said, "Right!"
Rihanna let herself get pulled into the celebration alongside Bickslow and Cana. For a moment, she worried, fretted over the fact that Cana hadn't been part of the Raijinshū in the show. Worried that somehow this would ruin everything.
Then she saw the look on Cana's face as she bickered with Bickslow and let Laxus order her some cake. It was like someone had just given her a coat in the middle of a freezing snow storm, or a present on her birthday when everyone else had forgotten. The look in her eyes spoke of warmth and light in a way Rihanna didn't think they ever had in the show.
She thought the look was oddly familiar until it hit her that she had seen that look before. It was the same look Bickslow had had when the Raijinshū had just formed. It was the look that said "I'm home". At that, Rihanna realized she didn't care if Cana hadn't been part of the Raijinshū in the anime. That she didn't have to know why being simply a fellow Fairy Tail member hadn't been enough to soothe whatever had been steadily breaking Cana without Rihanna's knowledge.
All that mattered was that Cana was happy now. That she was one of theirs now, and somehow, that was exactly where she should be.
.
So, an explanation on Cana's behavior in the last part of this chapter: First off, I've noticed that among Fairy Tail, every member has their own sort of "family tree". While all of Fairy Tail is family, some see certain members as siblings while they see the rest as cousins/uncles/aunts/parental figures/love-interests. I think that's where the concept of individual teams within Fairy Tail come from. The sibling-like ones, or the ones with romantic interest, tend to group together. While all Fairies treat each other as family in some way or other, some are closer to certain members than others for whatever reason. Just look at Team Natsu. Erza is like the big, sometimes scary, sister of Natsu and Gray. Arguably she's like that to all the members in her age group, but especially those two. She gravitated towards them, just like Natsu and Gray gravitate towards each other in a "cats-and-dogs-brothers" sort of way. Lucy fits in as both a potential love interest and as a younger sister figure. She tries to keep the boys in line, but she's too inexperienced. In Shadow Gear, Jet and Droy clearly believe their in love with Levy, but she doesn't see them the same way. To her, they're more of her dorky siblings. See where I'm going with this? Basically, every Fairy Tail member sees the other members a little differently and gravitated toward members as siblings figures or romantic interests while everyone else are considered to be slightly more distant, but still loved and protected, relatives.
With that said, I've noticed that while Cana is very much loyal to the guild, is always willing to help out a fellow Fairy, and is well-liked, she seems kind of ... distant from everyone else in the anime. I mean, sure, she's drinking buddies with Macao and she's friendly when spoken to, but she is still not quite "part of the clan" in some ways, so to speak. I mean, she was in the guild for years, since she was a small child, and never told ANYONE her secret about being Gildarts daughter. The only reason she told Lucy was out of desperation. It was her last try at proving herself worthy of telling Gildarts, she needed to confide in someone or she'd snap.
That kinda tells me that while she saw Fairy Tail as a family, she didn't see members of her "generation" of Fairies as siblings like the others do. If anything, she was the silly, kinda crass but loving older cousin who liked to get them in trouble and tease them about their crushes. For all that she was a member of Fairy Tail, she was also alone (completely self-imposed because of self-worth and trust issues, but still). However, in this timeline, Bickslow knows her secret and accepts her wholeheartedly, even went out of his way to invite her to the Raijinshū's training sessions to help her reach her goal. He treats her like an equal and isn't afraid to squabble with her, even knowing her lineage and having seen her Aura Scars. Furthermore, while Laxus doesn't know her secret, he is surprisingly encouraging and accepting in his own way and treats her no differently than Bickslow and Wren. Namely, he treats Cana like one of His. His Raijinshū, his to train, his to protect, his to scold or praise. That kind of total acceptance, coupled with Bickslow's support of her secret goal and Wren's 'big sister' attitude (not that Cana realizes it's that role) changed how she saw the Raijinshū. The Raijinshū aren't just "fellow Fairies" anymore. They're a support system I personally believe she desperately needed (but never let herself have) in the anime. They are her missing sibling figures, and while that doesn't make up for her lack of a parent, it still helps a lot.
Does that make any sense at all? I hope so, because I have no other way of explaining it.