A/N: I said April 26, and I meant it! I am not late! Okay, maybe a little late in the evening the day of, BUT! I have an excellent excuse. What's that, you say? Oh, just that I have a daughter as of Sunday morning, and I've been very busy and not sleeping. Any complaints? No? Didn't think so.
Couple of quick announcements- first being that I've made an into video for this story on my YouTube channel, which you all can access from my profile page on this site. I know it's not the best one that I've put together, but it was made with sincerity, and I hope you enjoy. The other thing you can find on my channel (especially for if you left a review for the last chapter) I have a video of me reading and responding to each individual review as to answer questions, comments, or concerns about the story. I plan to do this for each chapter for this story, and maybe for some of the other ones, too.
Now, enjoy the chapter, as was promised!
P.S. TFS references inbound!
OP Song: Peace Sign (cover) by Jonathan Young
Prologue: Chapter 2
What We Missed
Time Nest Year 856
"He took… what?!" The Elder Kai was beyond livid. Trunks didn't think that in the whole scroll of eternity the elderly god had ever been recorded to be so furious.
"It appears that Gorun… well, raided your personal vault," Trunks told him while scratching his head nervously. "The insides were scorched, so we think he destroyed whatever he didn't take with him."
"How could you let this happen?!" Elder Kai demanded, practically spitting with fury. "I'd been collecting valuables in that for eons, you know!"
"If by 'valuables', you mean dirty magazines, I'm pretty sure that's what Gorun torched," the Supreme Kai of Time said with a badly concealed smirk. The smile faded as she added, "I'm afraid that his scroll revealed what he did take, and two items in particular worry me."
"Did he steal a time ring?" Trunks asked, paling.
"No, nothing to do with the flow of time, fortunately," the female Kai assured her friend. "However, the items in question are incredibly dangerous for him to have, especially given his heritage."
"Wait, what'd he steal that was so dangerous, if not a time ring?" Trunks asked.
Magnolia Year X791
Gorun was whistling merrily to himself as he walked down the path that led to Fairy Tail's guild hall on the outskirts of town. The wind blowing through the warm summer day tousled his long black hair, both the bangs and his ponytail that he kept tied back.
He had let it grow out ever since he had found a new home in Fairy Tail, more than a year prior. These days he wore a set of dark blue jeans that he had altered to hide his tail better with a dark green shirt that he topped with a matching blue jacket. The color theme was reminiscent of his uniform that he had worn as a part of the Time Patrol, but he far preferred his new clothes- they were much more comfortable, and he never really saw the point of armor when his opponents could be capable of destroying planets.
He grinned to himself as he remembered the job he had just completed- and more importantly, the nice little payload that had come with it. The finances he had secured would hold him over for some time, even after he gave a portion to the guild to help with their financial deficit. He had made it part of his routine to donate extra to the guild's well-being since he could go on more dangerous and lucrative jobs that anyone else in the guild- jobs that payed more than enough for him to live comfortably in an apartment complex that sat near where Fairy Tail's original guild hall stood.
He loved his home- even though he hadn't been there long, relatively speaking, he had crammed a good deal of pleasant memories into the place. He knew that if he ever was forced to move, it would be a sad day indeed. His memories of the bachelor pad included a lot of shared conversations with Kinana over a delicious meal, and it was these remembrances that he treasured more than visits from other guild members.
I should actually ask her out sometime soon, he thought as he rose over the last small hill on the path. The girl was admittedly very attractive to him, not only because of her hourglass figure and wonderful cooking skills, but more so because of her gentle personality. Even though Gorun had come to know each of the other guild members quite well, she had become his closest companion in several regards- though he had not even told her the truth about where he came from.
Gorun had always been told that Saiyan men were attracted to strong-willed, stubborn women, so he supposed that stereotype didn't apply to him. This wasn't to say that Kinana was weak-willed, just that she preferred the quiet life. So for someone who had been trained for battle since the day he could walk- literally, Vegeta had been there to begin training him in flight as soon as he could stand on his own- the idea of being close to someone who preferred a peaceful existence was a welcome one.
Girls like her don't come along every day, he thought as he walked into the yard, where some of the chickens were feeding. He was just finishing this thought when he noticed that something in the picture didn't quite fit the image he was used to.
The doors were wide open to admit a scene that got his Saiyan blood boiling. Five men from Twilight Ogre were inside, kicking over the furniture, laughing at a downed Macao, making a vulgar pass at Laki, one of the female wizards, all while the rest of the dozen or so guild members looked on with helpless fury and humiliation.
Gorun recognized the leader of the group as Teedo, the man with the massive club that he had decked during his first day in Fiore. I should have known this would happen when I took a job that lasted three weeks, he thought, angry with himself and the thugs. Twilight Ogre never sent their lackeys in if Gorun was in town, always waiting for him to leave so that they could terrorize the few members remaining without the threat of his wrath falling on them. On Macao's orders, Gorun had never attacked the bully's guild hall, and the guild continued to make payments to their debtors- it was the honorable thing to do, the guild master insisted.
Stepping into the guild hall, though, he could stand it no more. He raised his voice to carry clearly as he shouted, "I think that's enough, ogres!" The five men paused in what they were doing, looking to see who was interrupting their fun. Four of them laughed as they saw a teenaged boy standing in the doorway, looking angry. Even Teedo seemed amused, though he didn't openly laugh at the young man.
"I don't recall your guild receiving an invite from us," Gorun growled, his fists clenching in his pockets. "Get out now if you know what's good for you." As he spoke, his eyes roamed the room for Kinana, whom he saw tending to Macao. Her soft green eyes met his, and she nodded once to let him know that she was okay.
"Ha!" Now Teedo laughed as he walked up to Gorun, his club at the ready. The boy took note of the weapon, as well as his companions, before looking the man in the eye with great contempt. "I've been trainin' for this, you little punk," the offender said as he came within striking range. "Time to get payback for what's owed, right boys?" The others laughed darkly as they began to bunch up around the young warrior.
"That sounds like an excellent idea to me," Gorun agreed, smiling with all the charm of a Frost Demon. "I think we're all owed a little something here."
"Gorun, don't!" Macao protested as he sensed the boy's rising magic power. "You'll just make things worse!"
"Nothing is worse than watching those you care about taking a beating when you can do something about it," Gorun snapped. "These guys have stepped over the line, Master. And I won't watch this ANYMORE!" Energy blazed to life around him, giving the other men pause for a second as his magic power began to palpably shift and multiply.
"Hey boss?" said one of the thugs, perhaps a little smarter, or perhaps simply more fearful than the others. "I thought you said this guy don't use magic?" At this point, a bright red magic circle had appeared above Gorun's head, the light shining down on his raging face.
"So he learned a new trick, big deal," Teedo shrugged, trying to hide the fact that he was getting nervous- he remembered Gorun's blinding speed and wicked strength from before he had displayed an ability to use magic. If he really had learned to use it, he might be more of a challenge than he'd originally thought.
Still, there were five of them, and one of him- the rest of his guild was already beat by the looks of things. This kid might give them a few bruises, sure, but they could take him. They were Twilight Ogre for crying out loud! "Get 'im, boys!" he shouted, already swinging his club.
Gorun replied with a single word; "Kaioken." The red magic circle hovering above his head vanished, but the boy seemed to now be emitting the blazing red aura himself.
"Kaio-what?" The next thing Teedo knew, he and his boys were all outside of the guild hall, scattered like so much trash, most of them with broken ribs and something like vertigo.
The one responsible glared down at them with disgust from within that raging aura of his as he said, "Let this be known, Twilight Ogre. Anyone who harms Fairy Tail will be dealt with by my hand- harshly." He paused to make sure that the message had sunk in before he added, "Tell your boss as much."
"Th-The hell…?" One of the men, previously armed with a hammer, which was now lying inexplicably in pieces beside him, clutched at his ribs feebly as he groaned, "He's… not human…"
Under his breath, Gorun muttered, "You're not wrong." Speaking up, his eyes adopted a wicked gleam as he settled into a stance and said, "Time to clear out the trash, I think." Stretching out his right hand so that his palm faced the lot of them, he willed the energy to gather before he shouted, "Big Bang Attack!" A deep blue magic circle spawned in front of him before it spat out a sphere the size of a bowling ball.
The resulting explosion sent the men flying all the way back to Magnolia, possibly right into their own guild hall through the roof. "Much better," Gorun smirked as he released the Kaioken.
"Dammit Gorun!" Macao shouted as he walked up to the boy, looking exasperated. "Now Twilight Ogre's gonna have it out for us!"
"They already had it out for us," Gorun said dismissively. "They only thought they'd get away with stuff if I wasn't around."
"I'm more worried about the crops!" Wakaba cried as he ran out into the dust-ridden yard. "You went overboard, Gorun!"
"I didn't harm the crops, don't worry," the boy said dismissively. He paused, then added, "Though we might have to fix the stairs." He gestured to the set of stone stairs that led up to the final stretch of the dirt path that ended at the entrance to the guild hall. Sure enough, some of the stones were missing, having been violently dislodged and hurled to places unknown.
"I'll get to it," Max grinned wearily. He was about to move to do the job when they all noticed an unusual shadow being cast from overhead.
"Okay… Everyone else sees the flying pirate ship with a horse's head, right?" Gorun asked as they all looked up to the source of the shadow. "It's not just me?"
"Unfortunately," Max said, sounding exasperated. "What's Blue Pegasus doing here?" When Gorun glanced a question at him, the sand mage explained, "That's Christina, the flagship of the Blue Pegasus guild. They were one of our allies in the fight against the Baram Alliance seven years ago, and they helped search for our guild mates longer than anyone else other than Lamia Scale." The Saiyan boy nodded his understanding now. He'd read about both of these guilds, even though he'd never had any personal contact with them.
"Blue Pegasus is the one with all the playboys, right?" he asked.
"That about sums it up, yeah," Warren, a telepathy mage said as he came to stand with the onlookers, along with Laki, Kinana, and the other wizards. "And I think I sense-"
"Hey, is that a troll?" Gorun asked as he pointed to a stocky figure who was standing at the bow of the airship, atop the white pegasus' head.
"Troll?!" a deep, silky voice called from where the figure stood, sounding highly affronted.
"Something like that," Macao sighed as the little man jumped from the airship, diving headfirst towards the ground, long reddish hair streaming behind him in stark contrast with his clean white suit.
Gorun watched him fall for a second then started to ask, "Should I catch-?" Scrunch! The man's head connected with the pavement, putting a hole in the road that led to the guild hall. "…Guess not."
"Sorry to keep you waiting, man," the little figure said, apparently unfazed by the fall and resulting trauma to his skull as he struck a strange pose and pointed at Macao with both hands. "But Sir Ichiya… is at your service."
Gorun blinked once before asking, "The hell's with this guy?"
"Gorun, this is Ichiya, one of the S-class wizards of Blue Pegasus," Macao said by way of introduction. "Ichiya, this is Gorun, our newest recruit." He paused before asking, "So did you come alone or-"
"You know sir, there are better ways to travel than taking a swan dive," called a lighter, lazy voice from above. Gorun immediately took note of the three wizards descending in an air sphere, all of them with respectable power levels. Two of them were fair skinned with blond hair, though one was shorter and fairer than his comrade. The third was dark-skinned with black hair, styled in a similar manner to his own lengthy locks though Gorun's hair was definitely longer.
"Especially with my air magic," intoned the dark-skinned fellow in what could almost be described as a sultry voice. As they drew closer, Gorun recognized them from news articles as Blue Pegasus' poster boys, Ren, Eve, and Hibiki. All of them were noted to be skilled wizards, though they were more often featured in the tabloids for their frivolities involving the fairer sex.
The Saiyan decided to ignore them and focus on the troll-like man that was now twitching uncontrollably, an apparently delayed consequence to his foolish exit method. "D'ya want some ice?" he offered as the man lay there, shaking randomly.
Any further thoughts of hospitality were driven from his mind as he noticed that the three pegasus boys were gathered around Laki, each one offering what they seemed to think were compliments, but only making the girl uncomfortable as she stuttered and failed to come with a response for their advances. He felt his power level rising on reflex, and he didn't bother to stifle it.
"Did you seriously come all this way to hit on girls?!" Max asked, apparently unaware as to his comrade's building anger.
He was ignored as they moved on to Kinana, who was even shyer and less outspoken than the wood-make wizard. At this, Gorun could not contain himself. "Hands off of her, punks!" he shouted angrily as a red magic circle appeared above his head.
"Punks?" Hibiki sniffed. "How rude. We, as gentlemen, simply wish to provide this delicate-yet-gorgeous flower with all the attention and care that she deserves."
"Gentlemen, my monkey-tailed backside!" Gorun sputtered, confusing the onlookers a bit- it seemed an odd insult to them, but in the heat of his anger, he didn't notice. The red magic circle above his head flared brightly for a moment before two more, each one slightly larger than the one underneath it, appeared over his head. "Three-layered magic circle: Kaioken!" This was, in essence, his way of tripling the effects of the Kaioken in this world. Now he appeared to be ablaze with red energy as he took a combat stance against the three young men, who looked slightly baffled by his behavior.
"That's enough, men!" Ichiya called out, surprising everyone present. "We're here on business, not pleasure!"
"Yes sir, sorry sir!" the three wizards called out in unison as they backed away from Kinana to stand behind their leader.
"Down boy," Macao said sternly to the indignant teenager who was still emitting an angry red aura. "These guys have my respect. I don't need you starting any more fights today." Gorun was tempted to argue that he hadn't even started the altercation with Twilight Ogre, but he knew from his experiences with the guild master that it would be a fruitless effort.
Reluctantly, he released the Kaioken once again, choosing instead to settle for grumbling angrily while he eyed the other young men with suspicion and distrust. Seeing that Fairy Tail's resident hothead had settled down, Macao finally breached the question that was on everyone's mind: "What brings Blue Pegasus all the way to Magnolia?"
"Man!" Ichiya exclaimed as he struck another bizarre pose. "I remember the sweet parfum of friendship that we once shared in standing against the Oracion Seis! It is because of this that we have come bearing tidings most glad!"
The members of Fairy Tail looked at one another, mixed expressions on their faces. However, if they could agree on one thing right then, it was that they could all do with some good news. "What's happened?" Wakaba asked, curious as he took the cigar out of his mouth.
"Part of it's to do with Christina and my archive magic, see," Hibiki explained as he stepped forward. "One of the ship's functions is to record ethernano levels whenever they go above what's considered the normal range. We've been noticing some interesting patterns lately, so when I extrapolated that data and combined it with certain facts uncovered by Archive, we came to an inescapable conclusion." He grinned lightly, and it seemed that there was genuine happiness in the expression now, not just a desire to show off his absurdly perfect teeth.
"Are you ready for this?" Ichiya asked as he pointed at Wakaba and Macao. "Tenrou Island still exists!"
Shocked silence followed his words, broken eventually by Gorun asking, "So are you saying it exists in smaller pieces? Cos last I checked, it was vaporized by a dragon!"
"You all sure have a lot of faith in that little troll guy," the young man said as he leaned lazily against the railing of Fairy Tail's boat. He, along with Max, Warren, Bisca, Alzack, Jet, and Droy, were following the instructions on a map given to them by said man. Accordingly, they had taken to sailing towards the place where Tenrou Island had supposedly been. "Especially considering how he basically told us, 'sail in this direction until something happens!' Seriously, how much faith do you have that this is going to pan out well?!"
"Not much," Max admitted.
"Same," Warren nodded.
"We don't like the odds, but it's not like we can ignore this," Bisca said as she lowered her binoculars. "They would've done the same for us."
"Somebody might wanna tell those two that," Gorun said flatly, jerking his thumb at Jet and Droy, who were practically dancing at the thought of seeing their team leader again. He turned a baleful eye on them as he muttered, "They are going to be very disappointed if they keep that up."
"You're usually more upbeat and optimistic about these kinds of things," Alzack said as he walked over to stand beside his younger comrade. "What's biting ya?"
Gorun shrugged before muttering, "I just don't think those Blue Pegasus guys are reliable, okay? They seemed way more into flashing their pretty boy smiles than helping us find your friends. They didn't even offer to come with us, you know? How do we know this isn't a wild goose chase?"
"Despite their appearances, those guys are capable wizards, and they'd never give us a lead unless they thought it was worth following," Alzack told him. He sensed that there was more to the boy's animosity towards the playboy guild than him doubting their Intel, but he decided to keep quiet on that front. "Their guild master and Master Makarov were good friends, so I'm sure they want him back almost as much as we do."
"Plus, Hibiki mentioned that the island is only supposed to be discoverable to people that have the Fairy Tail mark, or that have been there before when they were part of the guild," Max said as he peered at the map Ichiya had given them. "I remember Master Makarov saying something similar, but since I never qualified for the S-class trials, I never really paid much attention to it."
"The place is like our guild's sacred ground, right?" Gorun asked.
"Yeah," Warren nodded, his pointer and middle fingers touching his temple while he frowned in concentration. Seeing the look, Max asked him if he was having any luck making contact, to which the telepath shook his head in the negative. "I can't sense anyone out here but us," he said.
"I think your telepathy needs a tune-up," Gorun said as he peered hard at the horizon.
"Whaddya mean?" Warren asked, sounding insulted.
"Take a look," the boy said as he pointed past the bow of the ship. The others followed his direction, and were more than little surprised when they saw what looked like a small figure, apparently hovering over the water's surface.
"That's… weird," Max finally said. "Are they actually standing on the water?"
"It looks like a little girl," Bisca said, having taken a look through her binoculars again.
"I should be able to sense them from here, but I got nothing," Warren frowned. "Maybe she's an illusion?"
"Has anyone else noticed that the wind has stopped?" Bisca asked as she looked up at the sail with Fairy Tail's insignia. Sure enough, the massive canvas, only moments ago having been filled with wind, now sagged heavily from the mast.
"This is certainly strange, but… ah," Gorun grinned as he stared intently at the figure. "Now I get it."
"Get what?" Max asked, feeling supremely confused as to just what was going on right now.
"That's a person out there all right- I can sense her energy, though it's pretty faint, which is pretty telling about her status," he said casually.
"Status?" Alzack repeated.
"She's incorporeal," Gorun said matter-of-factly. "You know- a ghost."
"A ghost?!" everyone else shouted in shock. Max managed to add, "You mean she's…"
"Dead?" Gorun nodded. "Oh yeah. I've sensed enough spirits' energy among the living to know when they're there. Her presence is faint, but she's strong, too. It's almost like- whoa!" He was cut off as the water behind the girl began to stir violently and glow with golden light. Even by Gorun's standards, there was a huge amount of energy erupting from the sea, taking shape in the form of a massive golden dome. Emblazoned on the mass of energy was the symbol of Fairy Tail, further decorated by the image of two gargantuan wings on either side of the symbol.
"Do dead people usually do that where you come from?!" Max shouted incredulously to be heard over the rushing waves that were racing away from the disturbance.
"This is actually a first for me!" Gorun admitted. Fortunately, the violent churning of the seas did not last long, though when the shimmering energy dissipated, the crew of the ship were greeted with an equally spectacular sight. A gargantuan tree, easily the size of Porunga, was now towering over them from an island that had appeared from out of nowhere.
"That's gotta be Tenrou Island!" Alzack shouted to be heard above the crashing waves.
"No really?!" Gorun called back. "I thought for a second it was a sandstorm!"
"Sarcasm's not helping!" Warren shouted in his head.
It took a few moments, but eventually the sea surrounding the island had settled enough for the crew to get the ship under control and begin making their way toward the spit of land, even as the massive energy dome faded from existence. As they began making their way to the sacred grounds of Fairy Tail, Gorun noticed that the ghost from earlier was slowly making her way across the water, just with enough speed for her to stay in their sights.
Just who are you? He wondered. A fairy, perhaps? He knew the old legend that told of Fairy Tail's original purpose- to discover if fairies, in fact, did have tails. The beings themselves were spoken of often in this world's folklore, but no one really seemed to think they existed. Then again, islands weren't supposed to simply vanish for seven years without a trace, only to magically reappear- even in a world that relied heavily on magic.
Gorun grinned as he felt the familiar thrill of an impending adventure. This world is awesome, he thought.
Unfortunately, Max had to ruin the moment by saying, "Guess you owe Blue Pegasus an apology for doubtin' 'em, huh?"
Gorun turned slowly to look at his comrade for a long, long moment. Eventually, he said, "You've seen what my Kamehameha can do to people, right?"
They made landfall quickly enough for Max to avoid getting reminded exactly what happened when Gorun's favored attack spell came in direct contact with a human body. The group quickly focused on running after the girl, who was now disappearing over the edge of a stony rise on the beach.
"Don't lose her!" Alzack called out as they chased after the ghost. Now that they were gaining on her somewhat, they could all see that she was a short girl with massive amounts of blonde hair that rippled all the way down to her ankles. Her body was clothed in a flowing white dress with splashes of pink and blue. They couldn't see her face since she had her back to them, but something about her seemed to indicate that she was very young.
Now she was heading into the trees that made up the island's forest area, and while the distance she had put between herself and them was decreasing, there was no way they would be able to spot her if she lost them in the woods. Well, Gorun could always sense her energy, but it was more of a chore to detect dead people than living ones, and he really didn't feel like wasting that kind of time.
"Gorun, Jet, go!" Max shouted. The two of them needed no further invitation. Jet kicked in his high-speed magic while Gorun took flight, accelerating enough to effortlessly match his guild mates' new pace.
Despite this, as soon as they hit the tree line, they lost sight of the ghost. Gorun swore angrily as he started sensing for her energy, then was surprised as he encountered several middling power levels, as well as three larger ones. There was actually one close enough that it made him pause in mid-flight, causing Jet to do the same just before he made a right turn that would lead him deeper into the forest.
"Well, would you look at that?" Gorun muttered as he felt his feet touch the ground. The sight of a young man with pink hair lying half-buried in the dirt had drawn the comment out of him.
"Guys!" they heard Max calling out. "Did you find anything?!"
"It's Natsu!" Jet called back. "We found him!"
Gorun was already moving, bounding over to land next to Natsu and grabbing his shoulder. "Hey!" he said loudly, noticing that the boy was unconscious. "Wake up!"
"AAAARGH!" Natsu screamed angrily as he sat up suddenly. "Lemme sleep, jerk!"
"He's okay!" Gorun called to the others. Then, noticing the thick bandages that covered multiple wounds, he added, "Actually, he's less than okay!"
"Is he alive?!" Warren asked worriedly. "If he is, we'll take it!"
"Setting you standards kinda low, aren't you?" Gorun asked as everyone finally caught up to them.
"NATSU!" Max, Jet, and Droy all cried out as they tackled the dragon slayer.
"OW!" he screamed. Shoving them all away, even as Jet and Droy started crying from happiness, he growled, "Would ya mind tellin' me what's goin' on?! Why are you guys on the island?!" His eyes bugged as he took in his comrades' appearance, adding, "Why do you look so much older?! And Droy… why are you so fat?!"
"Ugh… Is it morning already?" a quieter, sleepy voice mumbled. "Can I have some fish for breakfast?" Gorun noticed the speaker immediately, a small blue-and-white cat.
"Happy!" Bisca and Alzack exclaimed as they went to dig the little feline out from the dirt.
Huh, Gorun thought, bemused. So they have talking cats here, too. Cool!
"I don't understand!" The Saiyan boy noticed Natsu, now on his knees, hands clutching his head. "It felt like we were just hit by Acnologia's attack! But now… I'm so confused!" Suddenly, a look of horror passed over his face as he exclaimed, "Wait a sec! Where's everyone else?!"
"That way," Gorun said as he pointed.
However, at the same time he spoke up, so did another. "They're over here." Everyone turned to see the ghost from earlier, the young girl, whom they could now clearly see had large green eyes. Her voice was gentle, serene even, yet carried clearly to every one of them.
Natsu and Happy looked at her, then at Gorun, then the ghost, then the boy again. They repeated this motion several times before they asked, "Who're you?"
The girl and Gorun looked at one another before the boy said, "Please, you first. I'm curious about that part, too."
The little girl smiled brightly and said, "I'm Mavis Vermillion- Fairy Tail's first master." Everyone around Gorun reacted with shock, and a tinge of fear.
The teenaged warrior, on the other hand, was grinning broadly. "I knew this guild was gonna be awesome," he chuckled. "I mean, how many other guilds have a guild master that'll actually kick open their own casket?"
"Aye sir!" the blue cat saluted.
"Name's Gorun," the boy said, before Natsu could ask him who he was again. "I'm Fairy Tail's newest member."
Natsu looked him up and down, almost as if appraising him before saying, "Prove it- where's you guild mark?"
"We wouldn't have brought him if he wasn't a member!" Max shouted. "Give us some credit, Natsu!"
"Nah, it's all right," Gorun said as he rolled his right sleeve further up his arm to expose the emerald-colored emblem of Fairy Tail resting there. "Look right?"
"Awesome!" Natsu grinned as he shot to his feet. "Welcome to Fairy Tail, Gary!"
"Gorun," the other teenager said with a slight frown. "How could you possibly get my name wrong after just hearing- you know what? Never mind. I used to know someone who would have done exactly that if he hadn't known me from birth."
"Er-hem." Mavis coughed to get their attention. "Should we go wake the others?"
"Yeah!" Jet and Droy exclaimed, all too eager to follow Mavis to the others now.
They found the others, all relatively unharmed, scattered within a half-mile radius. Gorun made sure to register each person's name to their face as he was introduced. When he was introduced to Makarov, the guild master from seven years ago, he was slightly surprised to note that the elderly man had one of the three highest power levels in the group. Often his guild mates had spoken of Makarov's gentility, wisdom, but rarely of his prowess in battle, though the boy had suspected the man to be very strong based on scattered readings of the guild's history. However, the power he sensed housed within the man rivaled his own, though if it came down to it, Gorun was confident that he was the stronger of the two of them.
A young man named Laxus was practically ablaze with energy, enough so that Gorun did a double-take when evaluating his power level. Even if I were to fight him as a Super Saiyan, this guy might have it in him to match me, he thought as he looked the blond man up and down. Laxus noticed him staring, but failed to comment, instead choosing to focus on the ghostly guild master as she moved to address them all.
"When the dragon attacked, I was able to convert the bond between all of you into pure magic power," she said with a gentle smile. "The bond was so strong that it activated Fairy Sphere, one of the three Grand Magic spells of our guild." She glowed softly as she added, "It is an absolute defense mechanism, designed to shield the guild from all manner of harm. Those inside of the energy field were put into a kind of stasis, preventing them from aging. Though it has been seven long years to the outside world, the spell has finally been lifted."
"My word!" Makarov said with a joyous smile on his battered face. "To think that we were saved by our guild's founding master!"
"No, no," Mavis said with a shake of her head as she began to float upward and glow brighter. "I am incorporeal. I simply used what little energy I had left to activate the spell with the energy you all provided. It was your love and faith in one another that called forth this miracle." Looking at Makarov directly, she beamed as she added, "I'm so proud of the guild you've created. They're wonderful!" The old man looked as though he could die happily right then and there. Even as he smiled back at her, the little girl floated upward and disappeared.
"Well, that was a surprise," a deep, lazy-sounding voice said from beside Gorun. The teenage Saiyan turned to look at a man slightly taller than him with broad muscles, orange hair, a metal arm and wooden leg. As was his habit, Gorun attuned his senses to lock onto the man's power level, and what he found shocked him. The man held a monstrous amount of energy, almost more than the rest of the formerly missing guild members combined. This man, he knew, would require an ascension to Super Saiyan Two to bring down.
While Gorun had no trouble unleashing the power of his Super Saiyan form these days, he didn't have very many opportunities to practice with it, and by extension, no chances to push himself past his current limit. Even within Fairy Tail, he kept the transformation a secret, entrusting it only to three people; Macao and Wakaba, because they needed to know his full range of capabilities, and Kinana, because he trusted her. Another reason was likely because he wanted to show off, but he would never admit that to anyone.
It had been so long since he'd run across any beings with a power level that rivaled his own that it was almost like a wake-up call. Since when did I become so complacent in raising my power?! He wondered, startled. He sighed a little bit as the answer came to him. Ever since I got here. Maintaining his power level had been little enough of a problem with a healthy diet and exercise. Increasing his power would require hardcore training, something he had not subjugated himself to since coming to Fiore. He had begun to take his vast amounts of raw power and talent for granted.
That settles it, he vowed. As soon as I get home, I'm taking a break from jobs to train until I reach Super Saiyan Two so I can match this man. He had grown quite used to being Fairy Tail's strongest wizard, and he wasn't going to give up the position without a fight. The Saiyan blood in his veins was practically humming with excitement as he thought of the day when he would be able to match this man standing beside him.
Turning to face him, he said, "Hello there. My name is Gorun."
"Gildarts," the man said with a friendly smile as they shook hands. "I don't remember seeing you around the guild hall when we left. You a new recruit?"
"Pretty much the only one since you guys vanished, apparently," the teenager grinned ruefully. "I joined about a year and a half ago, and the people that are left keep saying that you guys were there during the glory days. Maybe now we'll get to them come back, huh?"
"Well, with a kid like you, we just might make that happen," Gildarts chuckled. "You got some real powerful magic, don't ya?"
"I've been told that," Gorun grinned wider. "Care for a demonstration on the way home?"
"I'd love to see what you've got, and I'm sure Makarov will, too," the middle-aged man grinned back. "Heh. You're kind of like a calmer Natsu, now that I think about it."
"The guy with the pink hair?" Gorun asked.
"He loves fighting," Gildarts laughed. "I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't take a swing at ya on the way home."
"If he does," Gorun smirked while cracking his knuckles, "he'll need a new set of bandages when I'm done with him."
"Oh, I don't know," Gildarts said knowingly. "Natsu has a tendency to surprise people, especially when he's backed into a corner."
Outwardly, the teenaged warrior said nothing. Inwardly, he thought, And we Saiyans physically become stronger every time we find ourselves in a jam. I wonder if this Natsu character can match the tenacity of my bloodline, if we were to fight?
"By the way…" Gildarts said with a decidedly goofy grin. "Mind if I introduce you to my daughter?" Without waiting for an answer, the man grabbed Gorun by the wrist and dragged him up to bring him face-to-face with an attractive purple-eyed brunette that was wearing a shade less clothing than the young Saiyan was comfortable with. He almost said something about it, but then remembered Gildarts' power level, and decided that any negative comments about his daughter- who was being introduced as 'Cana'- should be kept to himself.
The rest of the afternoon was spent getting to know the various members of the guild that had vanished during the S-class trials seven years ago. Each of the people that had been trapped in stasis were curious about the friendly, powerful new member of the guild. He was happy to share his experiences of being a part of Fairy Tail, but as usual, he spoke little of his past before joining the guild.
He, in turn, was fascinated by the various magics used by the lost members of the guild, in particular the wizards that practiced Dragon Slayer Magic. In each of them he sensed an undeveloped potential, akin to a saiyan that had never released their golden aura. Not to mention that their base magic power levels had leagues to advance, though he said nothing on the matter for the time being.
The boys in the group, he found, were mostly competitive and eager to get into a brawl, even with their injuries, the exceptions being Laxus and a green-haired man named Freed. The girls mostly looked on while the boys fought each other, occasionally making the odd remark or two. One of them in particular, a blue-haired water mage named Juvia, endlessly cheered on an ice wizard named Gray as he traded blows with Natsu, though he didn't seem to enjoy the attention.
As the brawl on deck continued, Gorun briefly considered joining in, then decided against it. An accidental ki blast could very well sink the ship, and he did not feel like flying everyone back to the mainland. He could use instant transmission on himself, but he had never gotten the hang of transporting other people along with him, something that frustrated him a great deal. It would be a great advantage in battle to retreat for a moment, only to come back seconds later with reinforcements. I should have visited Yardrat with Dad when he offered to take me that one time, he sulked.
"Why the long face, pal?" Gildarts asked him, watching the others fight with something that looked like pride. "Don't you wanna jump in and show 'em what you got?"
"Honestly, yeah, I would," Gorun chuckled lightly. "I just don't think that the boat would live to see us back to shore if I did."
"Oh, so you have an issue controlling your magic too, huh?" the older man nodded. "I thought I was sensing some pretty respectable magical pressure from you earlier."
Gorun's smirk turned into a proud grin. "The level I'm at right now is nothing," he said. "One of my spells lets me amplify my magic power up to ten times its base strength." He didn't mention that his Super Saiyan form could take his power level well beyond the limit of the Kaioken.
"So you can manipulate your own strength, is that your magic?" Gildarts asked curiously.
"Sort of," Gorun shrugged. "I call it 'ki magic'. It lets me control not only the raw energy in my body to amplify my martial skills, but I can also project the ethernano inside of me to create pure etherion blasts."
Gildarts whistled, suitably impressed. He'd never met anyone that could manipulate the magic particles themselves, and he'd seen a lot of crazy things in his lifetime. "My crasher magic seems kinda lame compared to that," he laughed, rubbing his head.
"Oh, I've read about that," Gorun said as he clicked his fingers. "Your magic breaks down anything you come into contact with into little pieces, right?"
"Smart kid," the older mage nodded. "Plus side is that I've developed it so that if it hits a person, it'll just turn them into bunches of smaller versions of themselves- ask Natsu if you don't believe me. I accidentally did it to him one time."
"So did you get carried away, or did he?" Gorun smirked.
"Both," Gildarts admitted. "It happens a lot in this guild- especially around Natsu. And me. And Laxus. And-"
"I get it," Gorun assured him. Gildarts just laughed again.
Later in the journey home, when they could make out the shoreline of Fiore's mainland, Gorun was approached by Cana as he leaned on the railing to stare back out at the ocean behind them. "Hey, sorry if my dad was pestering you back there," she said as she stood beside him.
"No problem," Gorun replied, glancing over at her, then immediately looking away. Her lack of full clothing still bothered him, but he had been reluctant to comment on it when her father was nearby- he didn't want to criticize her and then be pulverized for it. Trying to ignore his discomfort, he kept staring at the water and added, "We were just discussing our magics, that's all."
"He didn't talk about me?" Cana asked, an unidentifiable tone in her voice.
"Well, not really," Gorun said, after thinking about it for a moment. Before he could stop himself, he added, "Honestly, I'm surprised. He seemed eager to introduce you earlier, so I figured he'd be the kind of dad that goes on about his kids."
Cana sighed heavily in response as she muttered, "Well, half the guild knows, so I might as well tell you that he didn't know that he was my dad until yesterday- er, seven years ago? Damn time-stopper sphere…" She seemed to be sulking, but without looking directly at the girl, it was hard to tell.
"How come?" he asked her, curious.
"He and my mom split before I was born, so he didn't even know I existed until I found him in the guild," Cana replied flatly. "Then it took me more than decade to tell him the truth. He reacted a little more… enthusiastically than I thought he would- he hasn't shut up about it to the others." Gorun chanced a look over his shoulder to see Gildarts in an animated discussion with Alzack and Bisca, whose jaws had hit the deck.
"Well, at least he's happy about it," the Saiyan hybrid shrugged, going back to staring at the waves. Discussing missing parents was bringing up memories of his, and he couldn't say that he didn't miss them. Still… "This is what you wanted, right? A relationship with your father? Why else would you have told him?"
"I dunno, I…" Cana paused. "Okay, I can't do this anymore. Why aren't you looking at me?" Her voice had an unexpected hostility in it when she asked the last part.
"Eh?" he asked, though he still refused to meet her gaze.
"This whole time that I've been talking to you, all you've looked at is my dad, or the water," she fumed. "What gives? Most guys can't take their eyes off me."
"I'm not most guys," Gorun muttered thinly. His opinion of Gildarts' daughter was deteriorating quickly. She seemed a rather vain individual. Maybe that's whys she feels the need to show off?
"What, do you bat for the other team?" Cana asked.
"Oh hell no," the young warrior said with a negative shake of his head. "No way."
"Then why won't you look at me while I'm talking to you?" she demanded. "Pretty rude, ignoring a cute girl like me while she's trying to make conversation."
"I wasn't aware that Fairy Tail wizards placed a whole lot of emphasis on being polite," Gorun sniggered. "And to be honest, I don't care very much for your taste in clothes. They do you a big disservice."
"Oh… I get it," she laughed. "You're one of those old-fashioned kinds like Freed that gets all hot under the collar when a girl shows some skin. You actually like what you see, but you're too embarrassed to look, right?" Her tone had become slightly… suggestive.
"If you want to see it that way," Gorun said indifferently. "But I prefer to stick to my original statement- that wardrobe does you a major disservice. You'd be much better off wearing something more… let's go with 'conservative."
"Why would I do that?" Cana laughed again. "What guy's gonna wanna take me out for the night if I don't do the right kind of advertising?"
"Maybe one that would be willing to walk you home from the bar and ask for a second date instead of asking for what's in your pants," Gorun said stiffly. "But if all you want out of life is booze and meaningless, mindless encounters, by all means, keep dressing like that's all you're good for."
He ducked the slap that she tried to deal him with inhuman speed, rolled forward, and then sprang into flight, landing quickly up on the lookout's nest. From up there, he looked down at her briefly and shouted, "One more piece of advice- don't try to push away the truth! It tends to come back around eventually and whack you in your blind spot." Then he retreated, a magic card slicing through the air where his head had been a moment prior.
It was late afternoon by the time they made it back to the guild hall. Gorun spent the time avoiding Cana, busying himself by making conversation with the other members that he had yet to spend any time with. As a Saiyan, it was in his nature to be confrontational, so the fact that he was avoiding a fight was anathema to him. However, his human nature also knew that while he could easily destroy Cana in a fight, beating her up would only invite Gildarts' wrath, which he had no desire to face- not yet, anyway.
Despite her animosity towards him, the crash mage seemed to hold no ill will toward the young warrior, still chatting with him easily whenever the opportunity presented itself, though he mostly encouraged Gorun to interact with the younger generation. The monkey-tailed boy did so readily, enjoying the newly grown camaraderie that he had found in the other guild members that he had heard a great deal about.
He and Natsu quickly made a deal to spar at the soonest opportunity- the pink-haired dragon slayer's addiction to combat could have rivaled Goku's, but Gorun didn't mind. Natsu had a great deal of unearthed potential, and he was interested to see just how strong the other boy could become.
Gray was another individual he enjoyed getting to know, though in a different way. While Natsu was hyper and confrontational, the ice wizard was relaxed and polite- unless his fiery rival spent any length of time around him. Like Natsu, Gorun sensed an untapped potential in the boy, though the nature of the power was very different.
The two of them were a part of 'Team Natsu', he found out, along with Happy, a talented celestial mage named Lucy, another dragon slayer called Wendy, her exceed, Carla, and even an S-class requip wizard named Erza.
The red-haired sword maiden caught Gorun's attention for a few reasons. One, he'd seen requip magic in action, and had considered learning some of the basics of it, but he knew that it was an advanced magic that was better practiced under supervision. Bisca used the same power to interchange her rifles, but Gorun wasn't interested in changing weapons- he wanted to use it on combat gear, and apparently the methods were different enough that Bisca couldn't help him learn. Now he might be able to figure it out, providing that Erza would be willing to teach him.
The other thing about her that caught his interest was her strength- not her magical strength, for even though it was above average, it was nothing compared to Laxus, Makarov, and Gildarts. No, her strength of character caught his eye in the way that she carried herself among the others, with eyes like steel that never hesitated, never wavered. She kind of reminds me of Grandma Chichi when she's mad, he thought to himself as he watched her knock out Gray and Natsu by smashing their skulls together. The others seemed to respect and fear her, and not without good reason.
There were others he took time to introduce himself to; there was Levy, the blue-haired bookworm and long-lost leader of Team ShadowGear, which Jet and Droy belonged to. There was Gajeel, the punk-attitude Iron Dragon Slayer and his exceed partner, Pantherlily. There was the trio of wizards that made up the Thunder Legion, and finally, the white-haired, blue-eyed Strauss siblings. Something about the voice of the brother, Elfman, sounded very familiar to Gorun, but he couldn't quite place it.
All in all, the time was spent so that when they reached the doors of their home, Gorun was slightly startled to see that the sun was beginning to set. Natsu- in what Gorun guessed was his typical fashion- kicked open the doors and shouted with a gigantic smile, "Look whose back!"
He was greeted with dropped jaws and wide eyes as the rest of the group filed in behind him. Happy floated in on glowing wings as added, "Sorry to keep you all waiting for so long!"
"N-No way!" Macao shouted, looking like he was trying to convince himself that it wasn't a dream. The others were a little faster in accepting, with the few members that has stayed behind rushing forward, eager to hear what had transpired.
"You look so young!" exclaimed Laki.
"It's like you haven't aged a day in seven years!" Nab cried, tears running down his face.
"Tell us what happened!" Vijeeter shouted.
"Umm, well…" Lucy began.
"…and that about sums it up," Makarov concluded from where he sat on one of the dining hall tables, having just concluded the tale of Tenrou Island's apparent destruction and subsequent return. Off to the side, Romeo seemed to be talking to Natsu, crying happily at the sight of his idol returned alive and well.
Already, Kinana was breaking out the drinks and preparing for a lot of food to be ordered as the others began to break into smaller groups to enjoy the reunion. The eldest Strauss sibling, Mirajane, moved behind the counter with a bright smile and offered to help the purple-haired girl.
Gorun nearly caught himself staring at the barmaid in the green dress when Natsu threw his arm around his new friend and said loudly, "Wait 'till ya try Mira's cooking! Hoo man, it's to die for!"
"I dunno," he said, making sure his voice was loud enough to carry over to the bar. "Kinana has set the bar pretty high- Mira's gonna have to work pretty hard to match her skill." He grinned at his friend, causing her to flush a little bit and smile back at him shyly.
Yeah, he thought with a happy smile. I need to ask her out- really soon.
Natsu, however, had completely missed the silent exchange in favor of hearing one thing, it seemed. "Cook off!" he shouted gleefully. "Fairy Tail's having a cook off reunion party!"
"Always count on Natsu to bring up the food," Lucy sighed, but she couldn't help the grin on her face.
"Hey, food is a wonderful thing," Gorun grinned easily at the blond. "I know Kinana's cooking is the highlight of my day."
"Is it the cooking or the chef that brightens things up for ya?" Lucy asked him with a mischievous grin.
"Both," Gorun laughed. Around them, the party was already underway, with seven years' worth of waiting finally coming to a close for the wounded guild. Even though Gorun hadn't been a part of the guild for as long as the others, he felt more at home in this vibrant atmosphere than he ever had in his life.
Closing Song: On My Way by Phil Collins
Gorun: Question.
Mataras: Good question or bad question?
Gorun: What? It's just a question!
Mataras: You just seem a little... testy.
Gorun: Hello, author, there's a friend I'd like you to meet. Last name Sherlock, first name No sh-
Mataras: Question is?
Gorun: Why'd you throw me into that situation with Cana? You know it makes me uncomfortable!
Mataras: Because Cana annoys me when she's being vain, and I wanted to take her down a peg.
Gorun: She is going to hate me! And by proxy, she will make my life more miserable!
Mataras: Kamehameha?
Gorun: I am NOT going to blast her into the stratosphere because she's annoying!
Mataras: Hey if you did, she wouldn't bother you anymore.
Gorun: Gildarts.
Mataras: Fair enough.
Gorun: Is there any point to this omake?
Mataras: Not really, it's just therapeutic for me- gives me a good chuckle.
Gorun: So having a laugh at my expense is good for you?
Mataras: Hey, I'm in this just as much as you are.
Gorun: That's it, I'm out! See you all next month!
Mataras: ... Hehe, he's so easy. Next time- Party Time
Next time on Saiyan Tail...
"I'll teach you!" the white-haired girl said happily, grabbing his hands and hauling him off to an area near Natsu and- surprisingly, Erza had switched out with Lucy while sporting a sky blue dress- before giving him a small curtsey. "Usually, it's polite for the gentleman to ask a lady for a dance," Mira continued. "But I'll let it slide this time since you're new to the whole dancing thing."
"I-"
"Now, hands go here and here, don't be shy," Mirajane chattered, overriding his protests as she placed his left hand in her right and his right hand just above her right hip. She quickly placed her own hands in their appropriated places and added, "Usually the man takes the lead, but since you haven't done this before, I'll help you along."
"You-"
"Here we go, let's set a nice, easy rhythm…" she continued, either ignoring or not catching his attempted protests. "One and two and three and four… One and two and three and four… Come on, don't drag your feet!" As it was, Gorun had no choice but to comply with the overeager Mira's orders, forcing his feet to mirror hers and follow the pace she had set.