Hello! I'm back again, with a new chapter! I think I got this chapter out a little earlier this time... This time around, Zancrow's going to find himself in a whole new place, with a few new faces...
He knew that he had won now – it was all over – he had the book, they had nothing. His magical energy was frightfully low, and as he lurched forwards to inspect the damage that he had caused, he fell flat on his face, panting. Closing his eyes gently, and resting his chin on the back of his hand, he wondered how the hell he was going to get off the island now. He was weak, he had gone all out in his fight, using his very strongest techniques. Exhausted, Zancrow knew that his magic power was utterly drained – he didn't think that he could move, at least not for a while. How could he have released all his magic power in a couple of bursts? Even the most powerful and difficult to work spells wouldn't do that. Actually, that was a point. Wasn't it a bit too easy? Rustyrose and Kain had gone down from a hit each, and weren't they all supposed to be elites from the same guild? Yet they were defeated with ease… Though, he had used about half of his full power on each… Confused, and pushing himself up into a cross-legged position, he stared at his palms, almost expecting them to provide him with an answer.
They did.
His hands were ghostly white, almost like bone, and he could have sworn for just a second, before the normal pink blush rushed to his skin, that their structure was more skeletal, as if his skin and muscle had melted away… Was this some sort of effect of demon blood? Did it really only work if you were aware of it? Zancrow was musing about his blood though, when he had smashed down Rustyrose, he recalled with vindictive pleasure. Did that trigger an ability of some kind? Before he could mentally delve any deeper into the topic, he felt a sharp pain jolt up his right side. Wincing, he yanked his shirt up to take a look, but as soon as the pain had appeared, it had promptly vanished. There was no wound there, but pale white figures drew themselves onto his skin, and when the invisible brush had finished carving its mark, the symbol vanished, sinking into his body. The mark? A burst of remembrance ensued, recalling his younger days, stuck in the vast library of the ship, forced to study book after book on subjects that seemed miles away from his ability. The unmistakable sigil he knew that he had seen many times on the covers of the many volumes of tomes he had pored over in the library of Grimoire Heart. The mark of the demons. A oddly terrifying mix of strong lines and elegant curves, combining to make the symbol that was ultimately feared in the magical world that he belonged to. What was their symbol, often a warning of impending doom, doing on his body? Shaking, he rearranged his shirt and pulled his quaking body to its feet. There was something evil at work here, why else would he have a hellish mark emblazoned across his side? Did a demon, beast, or perhaps even the devil himself help him to fight? Zancrow had never been truly religious, he considered himself a god without any shred of modesty, after all. But what about the devil? Had he subconsciously performed a ritual that had somehow bound him to the underworld, or sold his soul? Well, if he had one. Zancrow chuckled softly, despite his bleak situation. He raked his eyes over his palms again, secretly hoping that nothing else strange had transpired during his brief moment of thought. Thankfully, the effects seemed to have worn off now, his hands and side looked as normal as he remembered. But the blonde god could not shake off his concern, after all, the demon's mark could only mean bad news.
Knowing that he had to get off the island now before Kain made his way back up, or Rustyrose awoke, Zancrow approached the now-slightly-mangled wall. Pressing his hot nose up against the refreshingly cool window, he saw a surprising sight. Towns were rushing by underneath, lakes and rivers flying past. The flight had been so smooth, and he had been so absorbed in his fighting, he hadn't even noticed that they were moving. With a flash of panic, Zancrow wondered who was guiding the ship through the night. No one, that's who, from the looks of it. Rustyrose and Kain had appeared to be working alone, without the vast numbers that Grimoire Heart usually possessed, judging by the size of the ship. It would most likely be the best course of action to merely jump out of the vessel and leave it to travel wherever it desired, he had no idea how to control the monstrosity, and he wasn't going to start learning now. The sky was just turning to night, the purple that had streaked the heavens like soft, inky brush strokes had faded away, leaving the world above a deep black that seemed to stretch for ever and a day. At this time, Zancrow didn't know why, he felt that he was just a little closer to the land above the clouds. Perhaps it was the darkness that calmed his mind and set his focus, or perhaps it was the flickering, but ever present light of the stars that filled him with a sense of the beyond, a world that humans could maybe never reach, but in the dead of night, perceive better than any other time. He liked night far more than any other time of day, and maybe that was the reason. In the middle of the night - the sky stretched out like a vast painting above - one felt that all their dreams could come into creation, all their endeavours would succeed, simply, or maybe not so simply, because of the bitter wind and the sharp light of the celestial bodies that seemed to stiffen one's resolve, and the sky above, like eternity set out before them, making it seem like anything was possible, as if forever was right on their doorstep. Zancrow could achieve anything, if forever was this close.
The night had progressed far enough now that it was as dark as the vessel he was inside. Not one person would see the airship, or see him leap out, especially if he chose to do so right at the outskirts of a settlement. He needed to land near a town at the least, or he would have nothing to eat and nowhere to sleep. One such place was fast approaching over the so-far, bleak horizon, and Zancrow knew he had but a few minutes to pack some clothes, food and other bare necessities before he made his escape. He bolted to his room, just about remembering the way, and dove under the bed to see if he could find something to pack things in. He was in luck – there was a black backpack under there. In a hurry, Zancrow threw that onto the bed and started tugging clothes out of the drawers. In there, he found a second pair of his red trousers, a pair of knee length, laced boots, a black t-shirt with the collar and short sleeves fringed with yellow, and a rather nice coat that almost reached his ankles. It was black on the torso, long sleeved, with a high collar and hidden hook and eye fastenings down the front. Below the waist however, the coat billowed out, and had the same colours and patterns as the cloth he wore around his middle. The patterns upon the fabric looked like huge paintbrush strokes from the waist of the coat, it was very well done. Folding this treasure up most carefully of all, and placing it gently into his bag, Zancrow had finished packing clothes and blankets, and so wondered if he had enough time to search for food. Hmm, the pale orange lighting of the town still looked far away… He had enough time. Dashing through the doorway, hastily pulling his backpack on, he attempted to locate some sort of kitchen or food storage, oblivious to the lives of the people who lived in the town ahead.
It's simple!' yelled Natsu Dragneel, the feisty fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail, slamming his palm into the table. 'We grind 'em into a pulp and smash 'em into the ground!'
'I don't think that it works like that, Natsu…' reasoned Lucy Heartfilia, raising her dainty two hands with a somewhat nervous expression on her face, imagining all that could go wrong with that sort of tactic.
'Listen to Lucy, flame brain, that sort of stupid plan ain't gonna work,' an exhausted Gray Fullbuster added. He was more than a little sick of Natsu's overaggressive plans, he never took the quieter jobs seriously, insisting on entering some sort of fray, or making a fight where one wasn't needed. As Erza Scarlet finally decided to argue with the hot head, Gray sighed, and decided that he needed some air. His group barely noticed that he had left, too busy bickering amongst themselves. The ice wizard headed for the exit of the Fairy Tail guild's building, Gajeel Redfox eyeing him suspiciously as he left. Gray didn't show it in his expression, but inwardly, he squirmed a little under the iron Dragon Slayer's gaze – Gajeel's sideways glances always made you feel like you'd done something wrong. The night was crisp and cool, making Gray's breath condense in the light winter breeze. He loved this time of year more than any other time. Being an ice wizard, he flourished in the cold, and tonight was just perfect. Thrusting his hands into his pockets, consciously reminding himself not to strip, he thought he'd take a good walk, and forget all about the pink-haired menace he'd left behind. Turning to look behind him, he realised the others still hadn't noticed that he was not present. Smiling a little bitterly, he took a slow walk into the night, letting it swallow him up and engulf him.
Bag now packed with some tinned food – he didn't know how long it would before he would be able to find anymore – Zancrow stood at the edge of the ship, waiting for a good opportunity to jump. He wasn't scared or even a little nervous of leaping out of a airship perhaps over a hundred feet above the ground, it seemed to Zancrow one of those things you just did, like climbing a tree, or swimming. Many pieces of primitive knowledge were a still part of Zancrow's memories, but he still could not remember much about people, or even his guild. It saddened him slightly, but he did not dwell on it. Now was not the time to feel sorry for himself – now was the time to focus on timing and landing positions. A row of perfectly tall houses were fast approaching, and Zancrow, knowing that these would be excellent to land on, sprang out of the ship, arms and legs spread out wide, and began his descent. As he neared the roofs, he slid his legs underneath himself and crouched to hopefully to absorb some of the shock. He had landed flawlessly, not even feeling a quake up his calves as he dropped onto the grey, slated roof. Brushing himself down, he proclaimed, perhaps a little too smugly. 'I give myself ten out of ten for that landing.'
With a wonderfully executed front flip - just to show off a little, even if he was alone - he launched himself off of the roof, and with minimal noise, landed smoothly in an alleyway. He was quite impressed that he hadn't slipped and lost his balance, it had begun to rain quite heavily all of five minutes ago, and the roof had been slick with rainwater. Knowing that his guild mark was on show, and knew now that it was not the best mark to be sporting, he backed further into a slightly sheltered part of the alley, and began to change into his warm, dry clothes that he had packed in his bag. He fervently hoped that no one would come across him as he was changing. He went a little red at the thought, and pulled on his new clothes as quickly as he could. Successfully changed, mark hidden, Zancrow looked cautiously left and right, then started to stride down the dark, wet alleyway, trying to find a dry place to rest.
Gray was starting to find that he was walking in the backstreets, the dangerous ones at the edge of Magnolia that everyone knew not to walk down. He however, wasn't really that fussed – he was a powerful wizard, and was well known in the area. No one would want to mess with him, or incur the wrath of Fairy Tail, who would attack the offenders without mercy. Gray smiled despite his current thoughts, he really was lucky to be a member of Fairy Tail, after all. Even so, he couldn't help but be a little worried, it was really dark out now, and there was a real risk that he could be jumped. Better hurry back. Gray quickened his pace, and as his boot scuffed the floor, he heard a faint, echoing tap, like someone else's shoes upon the stone, a few feet ahead, down another alleyway that branched off to the left. Was there someone up there, getting ready to attack? The moment he had stopped walking, Gray heard no more noise, making him instantly suspicious. There was a magical presence, but only faint. There were a lot of wizards in Magnolia, thanks to Fairy Tail, so it wasn't out of sight that another wizard had been down here today… It was probably just his mind making things up. Despite his reasoning, he trudged carefully down the alley, making as little noise as possible, readying his magic in case of an attack.
Another wizard? At this time of night? The moment Zancrow had heard footsteps, he had crept down the path in hopes of sneaking a glance at them, perhaps they'd help him remember, or being a fellow mage themselves, make a recommendation on where he could sleep. He didn't fancy sleeping in a tree again, he truly desired a real bed, and well, some human company. But since this wizard was being so cautious, something told Zancrow that he should be on guard as well. From the quick glimpse he got before he had been detected, he saw that the mage was male, had short black hair, was around his height and age, and wore a longish white coat. He wondered how on Earthland he didn't catch sight of his own bright, blonde mop. It was raining, mind you, making his hair sopping wet and hang lank and dark against his pale skin, but still… Zancrow had pressed himself flat against the freezing stone wall, hoping almost feverishly that the mage would go straight ahead and not turn left where he was concealing himself. It was also a dead end, so no escape. It would look terribly suspicious if he was found by this wizard, so Zancrow decided that the best course of action would be to step out and reveal his presence – even if he passed straight by, this guy would be bound to see him. He had no mark on show, and one of the few advantages of lacking many of his memories meant that he was a pretty good liar. Hopefully.
Gray was nearing the path on the left now, the dank gaping maw of the entrance and the unnerving grey stone made the alley seem as if it contained some great threat, as if there was something ready to pounce from within. The closer that he got the more apprehensive he grew, when suddenly, taking him by complete surprise, a man swiftly stepped out. He was overwhelmingly tall, definitely over six feet, with flaming-orange hair and a puckered scar down his burly left arm. Gray, fearing the worst, prepared to use magic, and the man requipped a long, cruelly sharp knife.
Oh no way. Not another one. Two wizards in one night, and the black-hair looked like he being threatened. So his left turning wasn't the first left turning. There was a left path before his, and then his path a little further on. This explained why he hadn't noticed fire-hair, and Zancrow berated himself on not concentrating and not sensing his magic. Well, he supposed that a severe arse-kicking was in order. Black-hair could most likely look after himself, but he had the element of surprise on his side. He quickly raised his magical power and waited for the perfect opening to appear.
Gray leapt back from a strong knife swing when he refused to hand his belongings over. This guy wasn't particularly powerful or fast, and was perhaps just a sour Twilight Ogre member. Dodging another blow, Gray crouched and placed his fist into his flat palm, his chilling ice magic's aura swirling around, even audible.
'Ice make…'
'Enjin no Kagutsuchi!'
A burst of black fire caused chaos in the midst of the two preparing their attacks. The wave of magic tore the alleyway apart, sending rubble flying, and Gray's assailant was thrown over his head. He scrambled to his feet looking fearfully and frantically at the attacker behind him. Gray followed suit, looking towards this odd source of aid, barely able to make them out in the thick dust that had been kicked up by the rubble, and the streetlights were dim. The first thing that he saw was bright burgundy eyes, glowing ominously through the screen of dust, and as it cleared a little more, he could see the outline of a young man, around his height and age, with a shock of huge, waist-length blonde hair. His position was still, knees bent, holding one arm backwards and one forwards, palms up as if to halt one's progress. His expression was strange and hard to make out. It was fearsome, but disturbingly cruel, and almost as if he was enjoying the scene before him, shivering slightly in anticipation of the carnage he hoped to cause. Gray had never seen someone make an expression like that before, and a strange squirm inside of him told him that he never wanted to see it again. Eventually, the shadowed stranger spoke.
'Leave.'
There was a horribly pregnant pause, and a cold smile curled the lips of the stranger. Gray was starting to wish that he was back fighting the mugger.
'Leave now, or risk angering the gods more than you have done, you insolent rat.'
The stranger spat the last word. The orange-haired mugger wasted no time scuttling away as fast as his legs could carry him, the fastest Gray had seen him move. To be honest, he could have handled him by himself, but he appreciated the help, no matter where it came from. But this man… Gray's intuition was telling him something very bizarre. Something, bubbling just beneath the surface, heavily repressed, was very wrong about his saviour. But why, if he was so… unusual, would this man help him out? He had to be good right? Obviously this wizard was strong, and he was helping those in trouble, nothing dark about that. Still, Gray felt his heart sink to somewhere around his stomach… Undeniably, he had done a good job, he had gone overboard, utterly wrecking the alley, and subtly reminding him of a certain someone…
Zancrow felt amazing. Not your normal, 'I'm so excited, I had such a wonderful day' sort of amazing. The sort of amazing that you get when you've rent your enemy in two, listened to their cries of pain, and gloated in their anguish. Again, not your normal kind of amazing. But the rush that he was getting was incredible. He knew that he shouldn't feel that way, but he couldn't help it. It was just a natural, healthy part of his personality, everyone likes a bit of vengeance. See, he had helped someone in trouble, that was good. But was he enjoying it a little too much? The part that was lapping up the chaos quashed that little voice instantly. No. Healthy. Everyone's a bit like that, but it's seen as socially undesirable, so people squash that feeling down. That's what it was. He needed to stop worrying. Looking around aimlessly for a distraction, he spotted the tuft of black hair beneath. He dropped his attacking position immediately at the sight of the wizard's slightly shocked, slightly surprised look. Oops. Shouldn't lord it over him. He dropped off the roof and turned to leave, suddenly a little embarrassed and abashed. He didn't really want to talk with anyone at all, needing time to sort his confused feelings out. Zancrow started to clamber over the mess he'd made, when black-hair shouted:
'Hello? Are you just going to leave?'
Pause.
'Who are you? I'd like to thank you for your help. I've never seen you around here before, I'd like to have a look at your face.'
Silence fell around their ears, and Zancrow did not turn back around.
'If that's okay with you?'
Zancrow sighed. He wasn't going to let it go. What harm could it do if he lied? And he'd just saved the guy, he wouldn't exactly betray him, let's hope.
'Zag, that's my name.' he lied, a little apprehensive. Ha ha, wow. I wonder what his name could be? What a completely different name, that no one could guess where it came from. This is why he should have left when he had the chance, not stuck around and got himself into this mess.
'Well mine's Gray. Get over here, I wanna have a look at ya.'
You're kidding. He actually swallowed that obvious lie? Maybe he was faking it. Maybe he was going to be arrested. Or maybe this guy actually didn't know about him. Or he was just stupid. Zancrow hesitated, considering the wizard's offer, then obediently turned to face him and went to meet this new face.
Woah. He was quite scary-looking up close. Those ringed scarlet eyes pierced right through him, the long, sharp-toothed smile and the spiky yellow hair making his appearance seem exceedingly… evil. Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to put on a bravado and meet this man. He would say thank you and leave. As soon as possible. Come on Gray, be polite, just say thanks.
'Thanks for your help back there, I wasn't really expecting that.'
'Oh, uh, no problem.' Zancrow made an attempt to smile in what he thought was a modest way. This was awkward for the both of them.
'So, Zag? I've never seen you in Magnolia. You a part of a guild nearby?'
'Nah, I'm not a member of a guild. Free spirit and all that. Though I was once.'
No! Why did he say that?! He'd let anything slip in a conversation, he was not, by any stretch of the imagination, silver tongued. This 'Gray' could be anybody! A dark guilder from an enemy guild! An informant for the magical government!
'Once? Why did you leave, if you don't mind me asking?'
Zancrow clamped his lips shut, making sure he wouldn't say anything else stupid. Yes, thank you, he did bloody mind him asking. Gray observed him closely and warily for a couple of seconds, then said, perhaps trying to make his voice sound soft:
'Would you ever consider joining another? There are plenty of guilds out there who need strong wizards.'
Zancrow decided to word his answer very carefully. You're not buttering me up. I'm not letting anything else slip. Just watch me, he thought determinedly. He needed to give as little personal information as possible, yet craftily imply that he needed somewhere to go. Zancrow hoped that Gray would point him in the right direction, and he would be on his way. He supposed that if the worst came to the worst, he would simply sleep on the street, but where would he get money, and more food and clothing? At this point, that tree on the island was starting to look pretty damn comfy…
'Maybe. After all, I need some income. And a place to live.'
'Why, what happened? Is this all because you left or something?'
Time to tread carefully. Now, what to answer? Perhaps I should inject a little truth into it… Zancrow reasoned to himself.
'There was just bad blood between me and another member. Nothing really. Just decided to leave, so I've been wandering around looking for a job. Wasn't sure if I wanted to join a guild,' here he shrugged, 'but I might as well put my magic to good use.'
Well the bad blood bit was true, at least. He was full of the demon's blood, almost feeling it pump around his veins like an evil taint. However, adding the fact that he still wanted to use his magic may perhaps make Gray guide him towards a possible job. Then he could earn some money, and find somewhere to live for a while. He was quite uncomfortable now, hoping Gray wouldn't press him for anymore answers as he doubted that he was a convincing liar – lying to Rustyrose and Kain had gone terribly wrong, after all.
Gray himself was feeling very odd. This 'Zag' was quite charming in his own strange way, but he couldn't shake out of his mind that terrible look he had plastered all over his face minutes ago. But he looked and sounded perfectly friendly now. Part of Gray wanted to invite Zag to be friendly, and to perhaps get a little closer to him, but another part said to invite him so he could be watched by the most powerful wizards in the country. He'd made his decision.
'I'm sure that you've heard of Fairy Tail?'
Fairy… Tail? Nope, doesn't ring a bell. But Zancrow supposed that it must be famous around here, he'd probably heard of it, but of course could not remember now. Play dumb, maybe he's get an explanation. But be polite. Oh yes, ever so polite. He wouldn't be giving away any information now. No, he'd be getting it.
'Ah, Fairy Tail? I must confess, I really haven't heard of it. I'm sorry.'
I suppose wandering the way he has means that he has heard very little… Gray mused to himself. Zag must know nothing about the Grand Magic Games. Perhaps I should tell him a little more?
'Fairy Tail's a great place, you know, when you get used to how rambunctious it is.' Gray began out loud.
He's a member?! Zancrow did not see that coming.
'We're recognised as the strongest guild in Fiore as well. If you're looking for somewhere to stay, I could give you a recommendation to the master, I'll tell him what you did.'
He kind of… destroyed the whole alleyway… But a personal recommendation! Here it was – a chance to start a new life. Couldn't turn this down. He wouldn't even be there that often anyway, the funds would be used to travel and find Chiroptera, his father demon. That's what he had decided to do with his life. He would search for this Chiroptera, and would get all the answers. 'Why?'. 'How?'. And what he considered most important, 'Why me?'. But back to this Fairy Tail... If this guild is strong, then it must have a lot of members. Even better, someone might be able to help him discover what he is, or perhaps where he could find more of his kind! But a new life… The name Zancrow has to go of course… And he'd have to find a way of getting rid of his Grimoire mark... Zancrow desperately wanted to know more about his past life, but he would have to give that up now. Time to start afresh. Anyway, he could always research himself in private, he supposed…
'So…? What about it?'
With an edge of anxiety to his voice, Gray pulled Zancrow out of his fate deciding thoughts, and the blonde god felt more than a little pissed that he was being rushed to make such a quick decision.
'Alright. Sounds like a plan.'
Grinning a sharp-toothed smile, Zancrow folded his slender, yet muscular arms.
'I'd love to join this Fairy Tail, and I'm not going to turn my nose up at your offer.'
Gray mirrored him and crossed his arms in reply, then murmured:
'Let's go then. To Fairy Tail.'
Zancrow made a gesture for Gray to lead on, and as he did, Zancrow fell into step at his side. He found that he quite liked this ice wizard, and felt a twinge of guilt that he was using him a little. He was only joining Fairy Tail to use it as a refuge, really, he had no interest in joining a guild. But he didn't let it get to him too much. He shrugged off the turmoil easily, and carried on walking with a spring in his step. At his side however, another, stronger, surge of guilt passed through Gray Fullbuster, when he solemnly reminded himself that he'd invited Zag to Fairy Tail so that he could be watched. There was something odd about him, and Gray wanted to know what... But still, he quite liked Zag, he seemed quite friendly, but perhaps a little reserved and blunt. Gray told himself firmly that he had done a good thing – now Zag would have food, money and somewhere to live. It wasn't just to make himself feel better at all. But a feeling of slight gloom and betrayal had settled around him, and try as he might, he could not keep it at bay. He tried to keep his head up though, and stay as cheerful as he could. Zag looked content. That was all that mattered really.
Zancrow himself was slightly irritated by the fact that he had been pushed to join this guild, but no matter. Where he was going had to be better than what he had left behind. Or so he hoped. He would leave his past behind him now, and reach for the future, this Fairy Tail being the first step. The two wizards lapsed into melancholic silence as the threads of fate twisted and coiled, intertwining them all.
I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! I've been ever so busy at the minute, but the workload has really dropped off as of late, which means... More chapters! As always, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and give it a review if you'd like!
