Koree's First Job:
AN: I'm back! Mom and brother are fine now, they are well ont he road to recovery and should be as good as new soon. So I'm back home and it's time to get back into a semi-normal pace of life. (You know, as normal as it can be with Covid).
Anyways, enjoy! I'll try to have Persephone's up tomorrow.
Farrah Lee-Dreyar: 16
Benedict Orlando: 16
Nashi Dragneel: 13
Storm Fullbuster: 13
Cato Dreyar: 13
Roman Fernandez: 12
Persephone and Koree Redfox: 12
Bianca Fullbuster: 11
Portia Orlando: 10
Lorelle Strauss: 10
Eva, Minette, and Von Fernandez: 9
Layla Dragneel: 9
Igneel Dragneel: 8
Meeko Fullbuster: 8
Vera Orlando: 5
Isla Conbolt: 5
July Dreyar: 3
Luna and Kyri Dragneel: 2
Juven Fullbuster: 1
Vance Strauss: 1
"Here we are, Malba town!"
"UGH!"
"Oh, are you two alright?" the carriage driver asked as both of his passengers tumbled to the ground.
"Yup, we're great!" Koree answered in a strained voice as she gave him a thumbs up.
"Koree, don't lie to the man," Gajeel huffed as he held his stomach.
"Uh…" the driver mumbled. "Should...should I get help?"
"No, we'll walk it off here in a second," Gajeel said as he tossed a handful of coins at the very confused driver. "Here...for the mess in the back."
"Right…" the driver arched an eyebrow. "Are you two sure…"
"We'll be fine," Gajeel replied.
The driver finally gave up and drove his carriage away.
"Ugh," Koree groaned as she sat up. "So, where's the job at?"
"Gimme a second," Gajeel huffed. "I still can't see straight."
"Me either," Koree whined as she stood to her feet.
"Where do you think you're going?" Gajeel asked his daughter.
"To go on my first job!" Koree answered before tripping over her feet and face-planting into the ground.
"Not like that you're not, give yourself a second," Gajeel grumbled. "You're gonna get yourself in a world of hurt you keep pushing yourself like that, kiddo."
"C'mon, I've been waiting twelve years for this!" Koree whined.
"So waiting twelve more minutes for your old man to get his bearings back shouldn't be too hard, huh?"
"Daddy!"
"And yourself."
"Man, why I gotta have motion sickness! This sucks!" Koree grumbled.
"Been asking myself that since before you were born," Gajeel chuckled.
"How can you ask me questions about me before I was born?" Koree asked.
"You knew what I meant smartie pants," Gajeel playfully snapped as he pushed himself to his feet. "Alright, kiddo. Let's go do this."
"Yeah!" Koree cheered as she stood to her feet…
...and instantly tripped over herself and face planted again.
"I'm fine!" she grumbled. "Totally fine!"
Gajeel just chuckled and shook his head.
"C'mon, goofball," he said, picking Koree up and tucking her under his arm.
"I can walk! C'mon, Dad, how lame am I going to look showing up to my first job like this!"
"We've still got a ways to walk, you'll be fine," Gajeel assured her.
"I can still walk!"
"No you can't. You just tripped over yourself twice in a row!"
"C'mon, dad! Third time's a charm, right?"
"Alright, well let's see it," Gajeel said as he set his daughter on her feet.
Koree managed to get three steps in before tripping again.
"Aw, man," she grumbled.
"That's what I thought. C'mon," Gajeel chuckled as he tucked her under his arm again.
They continued along their way, Gajeel finally letting Koree walk once he was good and sure her motion sickness had faded. It was only a little while afterwards that they reached their destination.
"The Malba Smithery Headquarters?" Koree asked. "What's that?"
"Our stop," Gajeel said.
"Really? This is where our job is?" Koree wondered.
"Did you not read the poster, Koree?" Gajeel asked.
"Kinda…" Koree rubbed at the back of her neck. "I just saw 'job' and 'lots of jewel' and said 'YAHOO!'"
"Why am I not surprised?" Gajeel sighed.
The door to the smithery opened and a stout man in a smart business suit approached Gajeel.
"Yes sir, can I help you?" the business man asked.
"Yeah, we're here for your job offer," Gajeel said as he flourished the poster out of his pocket.
"Oh, right," the man said. "I've been expecting you. But...there must be a misunderstanding. I could have sworn Fairy Tail said they were sending two wizards to complete this job."
"Hey, I'm right here!" Koree shouted.
"What-" the man gasped as he turned to the little girl. "You? A wizard?"
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Koree screeched.
"Aren't you a little young for this line of business?"
"Don't worry about her," Gajeel said as he set a proud hand on her shoulder. "She might be young but my Koree could run circles around most wizards."
"I take it then you are this child's father?" the man asked.
"Hey, I'm twelve! Almost a teenager!" Koree pouted.
"Yeah, I'm her dad," Gajeel replied, ruffling a still pouting Koree's hair. "So don't worry about it. I wouldn't have brought her along if I didn't think she could handle it."
"I see," the man said, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiping his nose, staring down at Koree with a look of disapproval. Still, he stuffed his handkerchief back in his pocket and turned towards the building's door. "Very well, follow me."
Gajeel and Koree followed along behind the man as he began explaining.
"As you can probably tell, we are the headquarters for all the metal workers this side of Fiore," the man explained as he opened the front door and led the two wizards down a long hallway.
"Whoa, did he just say metal!?" Koree gasped.
"Gi-heh!" Gajeel chuckled. "Why do you think I picked this job out for you, Koree?"
"Sweet!" Koree smiled. "I foresee a feast in my future!"
"Well, something like that," Gajeel answered.
"What's that mean?" Koree asked.
"Just keep listening."
"Recently, we began developing a new type of furnace that would be able to melt a higher quantity of metal at a quicker pace than earlier, thus improving our speed and production. But...things didn't quite go according to plan."
The man chuckled nervously as he pushed a door at the end of the hallway open. On the other side of the door was a large room that housed a factory.
Or it would, if it hadn't been covered from top to bottom in hardened, lumpy-
"METAL!" Koree cheered. "I don't think I've ever seen this much metal in one room! And so messy too. Looks like it just exploded and then dumped and burned!"
"As odd of an explanation as that is, it's not too far off the mark," the man explained.
"Really?" Koree asked.
"Yes," the man nodded, wiping at his nose with his handkerchief again. "As I said, we were testing a new furnace. But things went...badly. The furnace exploded, thus spreading metal everywhere...and then it caught fire."
"Whoa!" Koree gasped. "No one was hurt, right?"
"No," the man answered. "Thankfully we were able to evacuate everyone and turn off all the other equipment in the factory. So no one was harmed, and there's no longer any danger here. But, obviously, if we want to get things back to the way they're supposed to be, we need to get this mess cleaned up. That's where you two come in."
"Alright!" Koree cheered.
"Of course, I must ask you to try and leave the equipment and tools alone. I only want the metal expelled by the dysfunctioning furnace gone."
"That shouldn't be a problem," Gajeel said, before turning to his daughter and narrowing his eyes. "Right, Koree?"
"Yes sir!" Koree cheered, saluting both her father and the man, before clasping both hands in front of her. "Can I get started now please?"
"Well, I suppose…" the man muttered.
"YAY!" Koree clapped before taking off.
"An excitable little creature, isn't she?" the man asked.
"Eh, it's her first job," Gajeel smiled as he watched his daughter skip towards a large lump of metal. "She has reason to be excited."
"Are you certain a little girl like her should be here?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Gajeel asked, eyes narrowing towards the man.
"I mean, she's so young and tiny! Do you think she'll be able to handle wizarding work?"
WHIZ!
Both men turned to find Koree had turned her arm into a spinning sword, and had sliced right through the lump of metal with a single swipe.
"Oh my!" the man gasped.
"Yeah, I think she'll be fine," Gajeel said as he walked to join his daughter. "Like I said, I wouldn't have brought her if I didn't think she could handle it. Come back in a few hours and we'll have this place clean as a whistle."
"Hey, Dad!" Koree called. "I bet I can eat more of this metal than you can!"
"Oh, you're on, kiddo!" Gajeel grinned as he went from a walk to a sprint to catch up with his daughter.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Gulp!
Koree let out a satisfied breath before looking over her shoulder. "And that's my 22nd lump of metal!" she called.
"Great job, Koree, and working on number 25!" Gajeel shouted back.
"Aw, no way!" Koree shrieked as she took off to find more metal to clean and eat
"You better hurry up unless you want to get left in the dust!" Gajeel called after his daughter. He grinned as she jumped on top a bit of factory equipment to begin peeling back the layer of lumpy metal.
She's gonna be bouncing off the walls after eating all this metal, Gajeel thought to himself as he took a bite out of his newly cut bit of iron. Guess she and I will have to spar a bit to get her to run that energy out. Gotta admit I'm impressed. I didn't think she'd be able to keep up with me. She must be hitting a growth spurt soon. Her appetite's gotten bigger.
"24!" Koree shouted as she chewed through another shrapnel.
Shoot! She's catching up! I can't get beat by my 12-year-old daughter!
Gajeel ripped another bit of metal off the floor and began chowing down. "26!"
"Darn it!" Koree shouted as she raced off to find more metal. She found a big splash of metal against the wall and began peeling it back.
"Hello?"
Koree gasped and jumped back. Did that wall just talk to her.
"Hello? Is someone there?" a weak voice asked.
"Uh…" Koree stepped back to the wall and placed her ear against it. "Hello?"
"Someone's there!" the voice called again. "Oh, thank goodness! Guys! Someone's here!"
"What?" another voice asked.
"Someone's here?" yet another asked. "We're saved?"
"Saved?" Koree asked. "Wait, what do you guys need saving for?"
"We've been trapped in here for five days!" the first voice replied. "We ducked into this closet to take cover when the furnace went crazy! But the door's been sealed and there's no way out!"
"We've gotten water from a leaky pipe," the second voice said. "Until yesterday when it ran out. We haven't had any food since we got locked in here. Please let us out! I don't think we'll last much longer in here."
"Hey...uh...Dad!" Koree shouted.
"28!" Gajeel called.
"No, Dad! This is bad!"
"Did you eat some rusty metal again?" Gajeel asked. "I told you to stop that!"
"No!" Koree shouted. "And this isn't just bad! It's REALLY bad!"
"What are you going on about it?" Gajeel sighed as he began walking towards his daughter.
"There are people trapped in the wall!"
"What?" Gajeel arched an eyebrow as he reached his daughter's side. What was she talking about?
"Please, sir, let us out!" a voice called from the wall.
"What the heck!?" Gajeel called, pressing his ear to the wall. "I thought the manager said they evacuated everyone!"
"Please! We've been without water for a whole day. And no food for five days! If we stay stuck in here much longer we'll die!" the third voice sobbed.
"Alright, Koree, stand back," Gajeel said as his hand transformed into a metal sword.
Koree nodded and took three large steps back.
"You folks step back, I'm about to bust you out!" Gajeel called.
"No, don't do that!" the first voice screamed.
"I thought you said you wanted out," Gajeel said.
"We do, but when the furnace blew up it damaged the floor above us! It's leaned up against the wall you're standing at. Take it out and the floor will collapse on top of us and crush us!"
"So how are we supposed to get you out?" Koree asked.
"I don't know! But you have to come up with something! Please hurry!" the third voice cried again.
"This is bad," Gajeel muttered. These folks would die of starvation and dehydration if they didn't get them out soon. But if he broke this wall then they'd be crushed to death. What were they supposed to do?
"Hey, how far down is the floor?" Koree asked.
"What do you mean?" the first voice called.
"If we cut a little hole at the bottom would you guys still be okay?" Koree asked.
"Maybe a very little one," the second voice said. "But cut a hole too big and this wall might give out. I doubt you can make a hole big enough for us to climb out. We're pretty hefty dudes."
"That's okay so long as I can get in," Koree said.
"Excuse me!?" Gajeel asked.
"Dad, if I can get inside I can create some metal poles to hold the floor up. That way you can break down the wall and let them out."
"If you think I'm gonna let you walk in there by yourself, you've got another thing coming young lady!" Gajeel declared.
"But how else will we get them out?" Koree asked. "They can't escape unless we open a hole in the wall. And we can't do that until we make sure the floor above won't fall on them."
"Listen to the girl. She sounds smart," the second voice called.
"And if something goes wrong what happens to you?" Gajeel asked.
"Nothing's going to go wrong," Koree said. "I can make enough poles to keep that floor in place."
"And you know this how?" Gajeel asked. "Have you ever held up a collapsing floor before?"
"Well, no, but it can't be that hard, right?" Koree replied.
"That's not making me feel better, Koree!" Gajeel grumbled as he put a hand to his forehead.
"I can use my iron scales to protect me if it makes you feel better," Koree suggested.
"You're not going in there!" Gajeel insisted. "We'll think of something else."
"I don't think they have that kind of time," Koree said. "We need to work now. We can't wait around for a new plan to come to us."
Gajeel pinched the bridge of his nose. There had to be something else they could do other than send Koree into a dangerous-
Gajeel felt a small hand on his arm. He looked down to find Koree staring up at him, a small smile on her lips and a look of sincerity in her ruby eyes.
"I know I can do this, Dad," Koree said. "I'll be okay because you taught me everything I know."
Gajeel wanted to keep arguing, but something about the look in her eyes made him bite his tongue. Besides, he couldn't think of another plan.
"Alright, but you've got to come out when I tell you to, okay?" Gajeel said.
"Okay," Koree nodded.
"Please hurry!" a voice called from the other side of the wall.
Gajeel used his iron dragon sword to cut a small hole in the bottom of the wall. Koree laid on her stomach and crawled through the hole, pushing her way to the other side.
Gajeel knelt down and peeked into the hole. "You okay in there, kiddo?"
"Yup!" Koree called, poking her head down to look at her dad through the hole. "A-okay in here!"
"Speak yourself," the second voice grumbled.
Koree stood to her feet and looked around. There were three metal workers, dressed in dusty overalls, muscles bulging through their shoulder straps.
Yeah, there was no way they would fit through the hole she just did.
"What? This girl's a shrimp!" the man with the first voice said.
"Funny, that's what my dad calls my mom," Koree replied.
"How are you going to help us?" the first man asked.
"Well, watch and learn, my friend!" Koree said as she skipped to the middle of the room and cast a magic circle. "Iron dragon club!"
A giant iron pole grew out of the magic circle and embedded itself in the ceiling. Koree repeated the process until about ten iron poles stretched from the floor to the ceiling. As each pole cemented its place, the ceiling began to rise up just ever slightly. Koree continued planting the poles in place until the ceiling above stopped creaking.
Gajeel waited impatiently for her to finish up. He could hear her iron going to work inside, and was praying that she'd be done soon so she could climb back out to safety. He was already regretting his decision, but even now he couldn't think of another plan.
"I think that's enough," Koree finally said.
"Alright, get out of there," Gajeel ordered, his heart rate lowering just a tad.
"See you on the other side, guys!" Koree smiled as she skipped back to her hole and squirmed her through it.
Gajeel set his hand on her head, letting himself have a sigh of relief at seeing her safe. His heart rate finally went back to normal. His little girl was safe.
"Okay, Dad, let's get them out," Koree said.
"Step back," Gajeel said, motioning for her to stand behind him. She obeyed and took several steps back.
Gajeel turned his hand to a sword once again and cut a hole through the wall. The ceiling and floor above creaked, but did not fall. The three men stumbled their way out of the closet and crawled to freedom.
"Thank you!" the third one whispered, his bottom lip trembling.
"Don't mention it," Gajeel said. "I just don't understand why the manager didn't tell us there were people trapped in here."
Never would have brought Koree here had I known…
"He probably didn't realize," the first man said.
"Didn't they do a head count and notice you guys missing?" Koree asked.
"Nah, he doesn't care about us," the second man said. "We're just like his machines to him. Replaceable."
"I knew I didn't like that guy," Koree muttered, crossing her arms.
"Well, we better get these guys to a hospital," Gajeel said as he set his hand on top of Koree's head once more.
Just then a creaking noise came from above.
"Oh, no!" the third man gasped. "The power generator must have clicked back on when that girl put the upper floor back."
"HE SAID HE CUT THE POWER TO ALL THE MACHINES!" Gajeel thundered. So that was two lies that punk had fed them!
"That generator pumps the gas needed to keep all the machines running!" the first man said. "It's located on the second floor, so it probably has a piece or two knocked loose when the floor collapsed. But now that the floor's back in place, the generator's back together and running. Which means it's going to pump this place full of poisonous gas soon!"
"Poison, huh?" Koree grinned. "I got this!"
"Koree, no!" Gajeel shouted, but too late.
Koree jumped onto a pile of dilapidated walls and projected herself onto the second floor. The floor was slanted and unsteady, but she still managed to keep her footing as she noticed a large generator. A green gas was already emitting from the machine. Koree took in a deep breath, inhaling the smoke. As she did so, the roots of her hair turned red, her iron scales appeared on her skin, only now they were outlined in red. Koree grinned as she ran to the machine. More gas began seeping out, but she inhaled it as well, keeping it away from the men downstairs. She reached the generator, climbing over it.
"Come on, there's got to be a power lacrima here somewhere," Koree muttered. More poison seeped out, Koree ate it.
"Ugh, after all the snacking I've done all day I'm starting to get full. I don't know how much more of this poison I can eat."
Koree continued looking all over the generator. "Come on, where is it. Oh, here!"
She finally found the lacrima and, using her iron claws, reached in and ripped it out.
"And done!" The generator clicked a few more times and then stopped. Koree let out a sigh of relief as she let the lacrima roll away. "Ugh! This job is definitely not what it was cracked up to be."
"Koree!" Gajeel called from downstairs.
"I'm okay," Koree said as she stood back to her feet and jumped down to meet her father.
"YIKES!" the three workers shouted when they saw her.
"What happened to her hair?"
"And her skin?"
"What's with this kid?"
"Koree!" Gajeel shouted as he ran to meet his daughter. He snatched her into his arms and held her close.
"Gosh, Dad, I'm fine!" Koree said. "Sheesh, you worry too much."
The sound of running footsteps came down the hall. Gajeel and Koree turned just in time to see the manager and a few other men running back inside.
"What's going on?" the manager asked.
"That's what I'd like to know!" Gajeel said as he stormed towards the manager. "You told me it was safe here!"
"Well...I…"
"That generator just kicked on and nearly poisoned us!" Gajeel shouted. "If it hadn't been for my daughter we'd all be dead!"
"Wait, why are there three workers here?" one of the men with the manager asked.
"They've been trapped in the walls for five days!" Gajeel said. "Which leads me to another issue, didn't you tell me that everyone had been evacuated?"
"And us?" the other man with the manager added.
"Oh! Well, I-"
"I knew you were cutting corners somewhere," the first man said. "But I thought it was just in regard to buying shoddy equipment. Who would have thought you would have cut back on safety protocols too."
"Oh, well, you see, what happened was-"
"I think you better save it for the board," the second man with the manager said. "I'm sure they'd be thrilled to hear about this."
"Do we really have to bring them into this?" the manager asked in a high pitched voice.
"Oh, yes, we do!" the second man with the manager said as he dragged him out.
"I knew he was no good," the other man who'd walked in with the manager said. "I guess I should be thanking you and your little girl for finally exposing him."
"Hmph," Gajeel huffed. "You're just lucky my little girl didn't get hurt."
"Aw, come on, Dad! I'm fine!" Koree complained. "And quit talking about me like I'm a baby!"
"I know you haven't finished cleaning up," the man continued. "But allow me to go ahead and give you your payment. Now that we have confirmation that his fellow hasn't been following safety protocol we'll have to completely redo this facility. So there's no reason for you and your little girl to finish peeling off all this metal."
The man pulled a bag of jewels out of his pocket and held it out to Gajeel.
"Please take this."
"Thanks, but we can't-" Gajeel began, but Koree cut him off by jumping up, grabbing the bag, and skipping off.
"Woo-hoo! Pay day!"
"Koree, come back here!" Gajeel called.
"Time to go shopping, baby!" Koree cheered as she raced out of the factory.
"Koree!"
The man chuckled at the sight. "Let her go. You two have certainly earned it."
"Yeah, well, we didn't finish the job we were employed to do. There's still metal all over this place."
"But these three workers would be dead and there'd be poison leaking out everywhere if it weren't for you. Not to mention that villain would still be harming people from behind the scenes to line his own pockets. So please, take it as a thank you if nothing else."
"Well, I can't really do that either," Gajeel answered.
"Why not?" the man asked.
"To be honest I didn't do that much. It was mostly Koree that saved the day."
"Well, then, let her keep it as a thank you. I think she's already made up her mind that it's hers anyways."
"Yeah...she kinda did, didn't she?"
"Hm," the man glanced around the room and the three workers panting out of relief on the floor. "That little girl was your daughter, yes?"
"Yeah," Gajeel answered.
"Well, you must be proud. She's quite a remarkable wizard to be able to save three men on her own at such a young age."
"Yeah, that she definitely is," Gajeel grinned.
"Well, you and your little girl take care. I hope to see you around in the future."
"Sure, catch you later," Gajeel waved as he started off to catch up with his daughter. He found her on the road just outside the factory, and standing in front of-
"Koree! You are not buying a case of fireworks!"
"But I just got a big jewel payday of jewel!"
"That doesn't mean you can just buy the first thing you see! Especially when it's fireworks!"
"But they look pretty when they explode. Besides, aren't we supposed to go to Nashi's house this weekend?"
"NEITHER YOU OR YOUR PYROMANIAC FREIND NEED EXPLOSIVES! NOW PUT IT BACK!"
"Aw, man! Can we atleast get some lunch?"
"You're still hungry after all that metal and poison you ate!?"
"So you admit I won the eating competition."
"No! That's not fair, I can't eat poison!"
"So? You can eat shadows and I can't!"
"Alright, alright, let's just start heading home before you break anything else."
"But breaking things is fun…"
"Koree!"