Hello there, I'm back everyone on time and the second chapter of "The Celestial Rune Knight" is here as I had this done. Thank you so much guys for the early support and reviews, and it's greatly appreciated. Damn, I never really expected this AU story would garner such interest. Hehehe. It's gonna be totally different. I'm not gonna take over all of the canon arcs and try out original arcs if possible.
Belated Happy New Year 2019 by the way!
Guest: Thank you very much, friend and don't worry, it's here. :D
Thaqif 1: Sorry about that but Mashima may be a really good manga artist in his own right but he does need to work on his flaws of the series. Fix-it Fic doesn't sound like a bad idea. And I'm aware FT is one of the most popular shounen mangas. However Reality Ensues can work on FT's constant tendencies of recklessly destroying properties and potentially endangering lives.
It ain't funny either, it's serious business. Despite all the good they have done and the world would have been a goner if it weren't for them which we are all grateful of, Fairy Tail needs to learn the hard way that their way of doing things has negative consequences and will bite them in the ass one way or another.
Thaqif 2: I did notice and it doesn't seem to be a bad idea for One Piece inspirations. Like the Seven Warlords and the Supernovas for example. As for "Path of the Wizard from Alvarez", I will be getting back on it later to revise and edit the chapters. Lorgar Aurelian opened my eyes and I looked back on it which I cringed and decided to restart the story from the ground up.
Thaqif 3: Aye, that I will do. I'm kinda getting sick of the typical old and corrupt members of the Magic Council and will have to replace them with fresh boobs, er I mean blood in the new and improved Council perhaps after Tower of Heaven arc where it needs to clean house thanks to betrayal of "Siegrain"/Jellal and Ultear, and the incompetence of the other Council members as it should have.
If the Rune Knights can change, the Council can too as well. Although Org can stay since he's a decent guy and old wise man needed to be around a new roster of younger Councilors, the rest can retire and let the youngsters take over while Yajima can retire and open the 8-Island Restaurant. Michello and Crawford can go to hell. Although at least Crawford had useful Magic with potential for character development while Michello has nothing to offer other than being an insufferable jackass.
Gran Doma, I'm conflicted and still thinking what to make of him as Reasonable Authority Figure instead of following through his dogma against Fairy Tail in his first manga debut. Mashima could have made good use of him instead of just killing him off right when Gran Doma started to become the Reasonable Authority Figure
RandomRuneKnight: Why, thank you my good sir. I hope I do justice for the Rune Knights in this story. XD And yeah you're right about one thing, what's the point of the Rune Knights when crazy strong Mages, as you say, are in Guilds and far outclassed them all in the canon?
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail and its characters as they belong to Hiro Mashima yours truly.
Enjoy and don't forget to review.
:D
Chapter 2
Arriving at the large city of Era where an old and imposing palace that was made from light blue and white stones which is the main headquarters of the Magic Council situated on top of a giant mountain with no little difficulty of passing by the checkpoint with Tyson and Amber, Lucy Heartfilia finds it beautiful and unlike any other place she has ever ever seen after she made her decision to join the Rune Knights and accompanied Colonel Amber Celadon and Major General Tyson Hammer for enlistment.
The Celestial Spirit Mage couldn't help but feel amazed of the city's elegant and pristine structure as it was sunny out and the light shone down brightly on the buildings and the people bustling within their everyday life. Even the stonework on the streets was refined and artistically put together but not to the point of gaudiness or vanity.
It would be seen and regarded as the symbol of light and beacon of hope and justice in the World of Magic.
According to Amber's helpful information, Era is quintessentially a massive city-size military base so to speak. Barracks all over the entire city, large guard-towers and the likes surrounding the perimeter of the city, Rune Knights and affiliates bustling all throughout the busy streets and corridors, and some small aircraft patrolling the skies at all times.
Fiore is not like other nations such as Pergrande Kingdom or Minstrel for example, so the funding for Era is significantly less than those nations, so the magi-tech is also substantially less impressive. There is more of a focus on raw, magical defenses and incorporation. i.e. Jutsu Shiki barriers that protect the city. Those towers having Lacrimas supercharged with raw magic that can throw bolts of Magic at targets on command.
And according to Tyson, Era houses important officials of the Rune Knights of Fiore, and even those from the branches of Ishgar in some cases. It also houses non-combat personnel of the Rune Knights, a lot of times; family members of higher-ranking officials who live in some of the finest parts of Fiore for essentially free. That is certainly appealing for Lucy as she won't have to rent an apartment once she rose up the ranks which caused a short-looking old lady with an ugly face sneezed indignantly as she wondered who's been talking behind her back.
Traders, businessmen and shop-keepers who are vetted and allowed entry also peddle their wares there, as this is still a city, and despite high security and careful checkpoints, people are allowed to freely enter and leave Era whenever they please.
As for Lucy in the meantime, she decided to come clean and revealed her last name as Heartfilia to the two Rune Knight officers whom she befriended and trusted on their way to Era back then. Even Lucy knows that she might get in trouble with the Council if she didn't told them sooner or later just because she kept her little secret of being a runaway rich girl from her friends.
Tyson whistled in amazement as he adjusted his new trucker hat after learning the revelation, "Wow I plum-gone-damn-done don't see that one comin'. To be perfectly honest, it wasn't that much of a big secret you have there compared our little undercover mission. You definitely do not look like the rich girl type there ta me, blondie."
"Yeah I kinda ran away from home, away from my Dad who didn't care for me when Mom died. All he cares about is his business and marrying me off to some arranged marriage when I come of age which I obviously do not want. Originally I planned to join Fairy Tail but after meeting you guys and coming here to Era,... I guess that plan is rendered moot.", Lucy explained with a sheepish look on her face.
Amber nodded in agreement with a bright smile. "Well, it's important to not withhold information from the Council. You would have gotten into trouble if they had found out the truth after checking your background. You did the right thing Lucy."
"Thanks, Amber. I feel really bad if I didn't tell you and Mr. Tyson the truth about me like you two did back at Hargeon when I thought you were Independent Mages on a freelance job. It just didn't sound fair.", the blonde girl said with a sigh of relief.
Patting her in the back with a bit of force that nearly knocked down Lucy but Amber caught her on time, the trucker hat wearing Major General heartily laughed, "Good point there, darlin'. It really doesn't sound fair if ya didn't tell us about it. No hard feelings! It's not like ya have some super dark secret to hide from the Council that would shake the foundations of the world or something cliche like that. Hahahaha!"
As the three kept walking towards their destination, conversed with one another and purchasing some snacks and water from the vendors they passed by on short stops, Lucy was so sidetracked by Amber's recommendation of good places to eat, Magic shops that sold good quality items unlike other ripoffs, and also checking out Era's library she ended up bumping into something hard and metal.
"Ow!", she hissed in pain with a small bump on her head forming.
"Watch where you're going, little human. You might get hurt.", a smooth mechanical tone voice called out.
Soothing her head that suffered a small bump, the blonde teenager looked up to see a tall and intimidating looking human-like being with blue hair, orange eyes, and has a metal-like body though his left arm is a flamethrower. He also wields a warhammer that also functions like a smithing hammer that was strapped on his back, and wears a tight-fitting blacksmith's attire.
"Meep...", Lucy squeaked in fear of the large being before her.
"Major Gorian. I apologize on my friend's behalf. She didn't mean to bump into you intentionally.", Amber addressed respectfully.
"It is alright, Colonel Amber. From what I can tell, she must be new on Era. It is natural for humans to act such manner when they stepped on this prestigious city here for the first time, am I right?...", Gorian accepted the apology as he assessed the Celestial Spirit Mage analytically and helped her up gently.
"Yup, sonny. She's here to enlist in the Rune Knights. We're leading her to the recruiting station before heading off to report to our superiors in charge.", Tyson explained as he tipped his trucker hat as a greeting.
Eyeing on Lucy still trying to not lose her wits after she got up with his help, Gorian deeply hummed, "A new recruit. Interesting. I'll be looking forward to work with whatever weapons or items you would soon need in the future as a fellow Rune Knight, young human."
"Uh, thanks mister. Looking forward to it.", the blonde woman spoke with a small nervous smile due to how intimidating looking he is. The metallic being nodded in approval before walking away, leaving the three alone and disappeared among the crowd in Era.
"Is that a...", the Heartfilia girl asked in wonder.
"A Machias, blondie. Yes, a race of sentient machines that use Magic and looked like humans too as well to some extent. That one ye bumped yer head into was Gorian Starforge. Known as The Runesmith Knight. From what I know on his profile that Major Gorian was found by the Rune Knights 50 years ago and he volunteered to work in their forges to create a vast arsenal of weaponry and military equipment for its members after he joined the Council. He rarely participates in fights and missions due to his line of work but ain't a slouch if needed.", Tyson explained.
Amber then stated, "His Magic, Blueprint allows him to create or reforge all kinds of weapons and equipment after scanning the schematics given to him in order to better grasp it than normal humans, allowing Gorian to upgrade a weapon and recreate broken or missing parts of a ship, making them into great exquisite or practical pieces of work worthy in the Rune Knights. I am very grateful for adding upgrades commission on my Adaptive Magic Pistols, Makuro and Makoto and they work well with my Guns Magic."
"Oh, are there other races besides the Machias?", Lucy asked again.
The trucker hat wearing Major General answered, "Well, some few actually. Giants, Lizardmen, Frogmen, Dragonites and Beastmen, etc. Of course ya have not seen them yet but ya will soon enough I promise you that. Right now, we should get you enlisted first, darling."
The Colonel and the Celestial Spirit Mage nodded in agreement. After such bizarre meeting with a mechanical being, the trio had finally reached to their destination, the female Colonel gestured to the large building, "There it is, Lucy. The academy and recruiting station for Rune Knights."
"Wow, it certainly looks amazing.", Lucy can only say when she looked upon the place where Mages enlist in the Council military. It has an elaborate design and color scheme of blue and white on its exterior walls along with two tall statues of armored knights with long halberds and an ankh symbol of the Magic Council on the front door.
"Major General Tyson and Colonel Amber!", a voice called out to them revealing to be a Frogman Messenger that hailed from a race of strange, humanoid creatures, reminiscent of anthropomorphous amphibians, partially covered in spots and they worked for the Council as envoys, guards and magical technicians.
Its uniform consist of a wide-collared dark jacket, with wide sleeves and edges and cuffs adorned by a series of light stripes, over a light shirt, held closed on the front by a multitude of laces ending in a bow knot in the upper part, and a long, light skirt-like cloth covering the legs along with a small, elongated dark hat matching the jacket, which gets larger near its top and has a bow knot remaining in the form of an ornamental ribbon.
The said messenger scurried to the two Rune Knight officers and gave a military salute before holding out letters for each of them. "You two have been summoned to meet with the Chairman Crawford Seam and Grand General Siegfried Karn within 1 hour after you make your reports to Lieutenant Generals Peshkatz Fireman and Phelia Blendy.", it announced before them.
The letters even had an elaborate seal on them, signifying their importance as Tyson and Amber took them and opened to read their contents meant for them. While Lucy can see Amber being her professional self outside her optimistic and timid outlook even without her Magic guns drawn, she could have sworn seeing Tyson briefly displaying a worn look that of a tired soldier on his normally smirking face.
"Right then, tell the higher ups that we are on our way up there ASAP. Understood boy?", the Rune Knight Major General tipped his trucker hat which the Frogman Messenger gave a brief salute again before running off again.
The Rune Knight redneck turned to Lucy, back with his trademark smug smirk as he intends to fly up to the Council HQ with the female gunslinger, "Well see ya later, blondie! Me and Amber are gonna report to our respective superiors about our mission back at Hargeon. We'll be back later. Just make sure you got yourself enlisted and you're good to go for some basic training."
"Good luck Lucy. Don't withhold information from the recruiters when you're next in line. Trust me, they are very thorough at the background checking and they don't take well with newcomers purposely hiding or falsifying information from them when they join the Rune Knights. The Grand General does not tolerate liars and spies among the rank and file in the Council as a part of his policy.", Amber tells her before she bade goodbye with a polite bow.
"Thanks! I'll keep that in mind!", Lucy complied.
Meanwhile in one of the offices at the Council HQ, a certain scar-faced Rune Knight officer and best friend of Lahar loudly sneezed which caused his bundles of paperwork flying much to his dismay, and it didn't help his case when Lahar came in and he was not amused. And in the Fairy Tail guildhall, a certain diminutive old man in a jester's costume sneezed too for some reason and thought he's getting a cold or the place needs some serious dusting after all the mess his "children" had made every time they go on a brawl again.
And finally two certain young Councilors sneezed in the middle of the Council meeting complaining about Fairy Tail's other infamous acts of reckless actions to clean up and recompense the affected, embarrassing themselves before the elderly members who milked it for all its worth.
After watching the young Colonel leaving with the trucker hat wearing Major General who carried her gently in a bridal fashion and flew towards the headquarters of the Magic Council, Lucy gulped a bit and calmed herself down before she made her step into the recruiting station where there is a line of Mages, "Well, here goes nothing..."
At Rune Knights Enlistment Center and Academy
When it was Lucy's turn to enlist, it wasn't that too long of a process as she thought. She had to indeed give the recruiters her accurate information as Amber advised her and background checking wasn't that long either. They didn't even bat an eye and took it in stride professionally when the runaway heiress shared her last name Heartfilia and Lucy is officially enlisted in the Rune Knights as a Cadet.
After she was done with her enlistment, the Celestial Spirit Mage was assigned by one of the instructors to a building for Cadets and noted there aren't a lot of people inside. It would seem there aren't too many recruits this year that Lucy had noticed. Oh yeah, Guilds are widely more popular in Fiore and most wizards had shown more interest of a reckless lifestyle in a Guild compared to the Rune Knights. Still, I did not regret my decision of not joining Fairy Tail. It doesn't stop me from thinking what would it be like there if I did not enlist..., she thought.
On their way to find Macao lost on Mt. Hakobe, Natsu suddenly made a large flaming sneeze that burned down the whole icy cave in the middle of his fight which hilariously got the Vulcan's ass caught on fire and running around like a headless chicken as it tried stop, drop and roll maneuver. Happy was shocked before he laughed his furry ass off which the Fire Dragon Slayer did admit that it was funny when he saw the results and proceeded to knock it out immediately... only to reveal it was Macao being Taken Over by the Vulcan and his ass is still on fire even after he was free.
Natsu and Happy laughed for an hour as a result before they helped the poor man of his injuries.
Still as he brings Macao home to Magnolia and reunite with his son Romeo, the son of Igneel wonders why he felt odd as if there should be someone he should be bringing them home and join Fairy Tail. He shrugged it off as some fuzzy feeling and headed off to pay respects to Lisanna's grave near their old childhood house where they used to hang around and help with Happy's hatching back in happier times.
When Lucy got assigned to a bunk for six people with her designated room number, she deposited her things which isn't much other than her small luggage she pulls around in her travels and headed off to the training grounds with the other Cadets. Upon entering the said grounds, she saw dozens of young men and women who had also signed up in joining the Rune Knights and are standing around, talking and socializing with one another as they waited for the Rune Knight officers in charge of their training show up.
"New here?", a voice called out next to Lucy and she is a young woman with lavender hair that flows down to her shoulders and hazel eyes with pale skin and an almost permanent smile which seems upbeat and happy. She appears to be in the same age as Lucy and has a decent sized chest but not too big. She wears a white shirt with a knee-length skirt, modesty pants, and traveling shoes.
"Yeah, I am. Nice to meet you, my name is Lucy Heartfilia.", the Celestial Spirit Mage greeted.
"I'm Gloria Palburn. Nice to meet you too as well, Lucy.", the blue-haired teen gave a friendly smile after taking and shaking Lucy's hand.
"Thanks. Wow. Big day for us newbies in the Rune Knights, right?", Lucy chuckled, feeling quite nervous despite its normal atmosphere in the Council training grounds since this is indeed different from joining a Guild and it totally doesn't escalate into big time brawls most of the time if she had seen what Fairy Tail is like.
"Yup. Big day indeed. Can't believe I'm seeing new faces around here!", Gloria cheerfully smiled as she glanced at the recruits all around her at the gathering area. "Uh-oh! Duck!", she shouted when she grabbed Lucy and narrowly avoided a speedy blue teleporting blitz from almost hitting them that would have knocked them into disorientation.
"Sorry about that, luvs. Getting myself a little too excited here. Whoopsie! Hehe.", said a short petite teenage girl with spiked brown hair and wears a skintight jumpsuit with an aviator's jacket, white line stripes and a glowing cylinder chest-piece. Lucy could wonder what kind of Magic Item she is wearing and it is certainly beautiful from the looks of it.
"Hi there! My name's Lucy Heartfilia. What's yours?", Lucy said with an extension of her hand to another new friend.
Eagerly shaking a hand of a new friend she made, the brunette Cadet with googles said with a flirty wink, "Elena Theobold at your service, luv! Lucy Heartfilia, quite a cute name you got there."
"Yeah, thanks.", Lucy feeling kinda bashful at such compliment from such bold and confident looking fellow Cadet.
"Aw, don't worry about that luv! We're all friends here! Oh I'm from Caelum Kingdom by the way! Immigrant to be exact. Got myself enlisted and shipped off to Era to get trained here!", Elena reassured with peppy smile and looked at the small numbers of Cadets as she somberly noted. "Too bad we don't too get too many Mages joining the Rune Knights here around while Guilds snagged them left and roight... The world could always use more heroes."
Lucy can sense some hint of sadness from the brunette about the state of the Council's military as she thought, Were the Rune Knights looked down upon like that? That's really mean. Mr. Tyson did say that Guild Mages aren't the only ones protecting Fiore and no one disses the code of the Council too as well. I kinda feel sorry for them. It must be a thankless job and they take them for granted.
Gloria nodded sadly with Elena, "I agree, the Rune Knights are so overshadowed by the Guilds in Fiore almost as if they don't matter at all and thought to be complete jokes. Guild Mages being public celebrities hogging all the attention to themselves and only did good deeds just for the fame and fortune it brings them..." She then extended her hand to Elena, "Before I forget, the name's Gloria Palburn."
Taking her hand and shook it, Elena cheerfully noted and grabbed the two to come with her, "Pleasure to meet you as well. Name's Elena Theobold and don't you forget it luv. Before I forget, meet my other new friends. She is not much of a talker but she is a nice lass. The bloke on the other hand got good music and he is an archer. Like Robin Hood and his Merry Men!"
Elena introduced Lucy and Gloria to a young woman with pale blonde hair and black highlights, and amber eyes, and has a Rune Magic-engraved metal brace on her left arm and she wears a loose suit with tie and pants. She seemed quite somber and adjusting to her new position after joining the ranks of the Council's military. While the young man with tangerine hair is wearing a garb that of a medieval archer yet he carries a ukulele alongside his bow and arrows, and he seems pretty normal looking among them.
Lucy could have sworn seeing some strands of white hair on him as if it looked like his hair was dyed.
"I'm Ashley Aurora. Nice to meet you.", she introduced herself with a soft-spoken voice.
"My name is Alaric Cain. Part-time bard and archer at your service, miladies.", he said in a polite manner with a bow.
After Lucy and Gloria introducing themselves, they have gotten along quite fine after they just met and it will take time to know each other better once they have the time for it, becoming a part of the crowd's socializing atmosphere. Of course that will be another story for another time when everyone hit the bunks for the night and we will get to see them getting to know each other.
Overhearing an announcement with loud gong bell-like sound, the four girls and a boy noticed that the Frog Messenger in robes has appeared after having gathered attention to the audience of recruits. "May I have your attention, please? Thank you. As for now, all Cadets must cease all social activity at once. Your trainers will be arriving shortly."
Almost immediately on cue, the officers of the Rune Knights were spotted as they've entered the field and assessing the batch of new recruits standing before them.
"Well, look at these new people here, Tina. Fresh meat to the grinder.", amusingly commented a young man in his mid 20s with a short, slim build, bowl-cut-length black hair and thin, blue eyes with two gold hoop earrings. He wears an orange bandanna around his neck on his proper Rune Knight officer's uniform like Lahar with another belt with a gun holster and another pouch.
Rolling her eyes, the female Rune Knight officer smacked him behind the head, "Can it, Chase. We're here to train them, not make them your personal punching bags. Bad joke by the way. Very poor taste."
She is a slender, curvy, and beautiful woman of above-average height and fair complexion with pony-tailed blonde hair that parts over her left temple, which she generally keeps tucked behind her ears where they small gold hoop earrings, and wore the same proper uniform just like her twin brother except she has a knee length skirt and pants.
"Eh, no pain, no gain sis. Besides like you're one to talk about me making these newbies personal punching bags. We can ride on the high horse all day long.", Chase shrugged after rubbing his head with Tina feeling an unconscious tick on her eye at his smartass remark.
A deep booming voice from a bulky heavy suit of full plate armor that has the symbol of the Council on its breastplate with a plumed feather on its helm whose eyes glow golden sternly chastised them, "Enough of the foolish banter, you two. After this is over, I'm doubling your training schedule and the beating of your asses shall be thorough and merciless. No pain, no gain right?"
The Connors twins cringed, "Yes, Captain Brosnan..."
"Don't be so stiff all the time Brosnan. You ain't Lahar you know. Besides what would Mason think of you when he sees you like this. Even Giants are not that dense.", the black haired older woman in her 40s who also wears the similar uniform like Amber Celadon albeit with some finger-less gauntlets of a blue-grey leathery material covered in shiny steel stud teasingly remarked.
"S-shut up Bella!", Brosnan shouted back almost in a flustered tone, which sounded quite feminine despite the voice for some reason.
"Always play the denial card huh tough guy? If it weren't for the fact you chose to wear that bulky looking armor for intimidation purposes, I'd say you're compensating for something.", prodded the purple haired young woman in her early 20s who wears a custom Rune Knight uniform that looked like a spysuit with a coat cape draped on her shoulders.
Brosnan growled at the woman's cheeky jab with his eyes glowing dangerously golden ready to to fire, "Kerrigan..."
Kerrigan made a playful face with a raspberry at the armored giant and only stopped when Bella gave her a dope slap, scolding her as if she was a child.
"Rune Knights are weird...", Ashley murmured, looking confused about the situation with a sweatdrop. Lucy, Gloria and Elena and Alaric, and pretty the rest of the Cadets share the same feeling at the display shown of their trainers.
After calming down and meeting the newcomers, Brosnan announced to the group of Council enlistees as his eyes glowed golden, "Greeting Cadets, my name is Captain Brosnan and I'm the one training you greenhorns into full fledged Rune Knights. My associates here, Majors Chase and Tina Connors, Captain Kerrigan Campbell and Division Commander Bella Rust will be overseeing your training. Prepare to be pushed to the breaking limit and surpass that. You may be a small batch of recruits this year. But that does not mean things will be easy for all of you. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir!", they all shouted. Every single Cadet including Lucy and her new friends understood this and they are gonna learn from their trainers to be the next generation of Rune Knights.
All except one unfortunately...
"Wait, wait, wait! Let me get this straight here! So we're gonna start out training as Cadets, right?", questioned a young man with brown hair and single cowlick sticking out and drooping on one side. He wears a hunting jacket, a beige sweater over a gray t-shirt, black jeans and leather boots, and wields a a medium-sized shortsword sheathed behind his back.
And the guy had just dramatically jumped out of the crowd of Rune Knight enlistees and made a superhero landing before the trainers.
"Oh no...", Gloria can only say in exasperation.
"This is not gonna end well isn't it?", Lucy rhetorically asked.
"Yup.", Ashley answered with a deadpanned look.
"The poor bloke is in for it now...", Elena said.
"Even I am not that dumb to do such a thing.", Alaric said.
Tina snarked at such an obvious question and the ballsy move made by the insubordinate Cadet, "No shit Sherlock. All the new recruits enlisted in the Rune Knights are required to undergo basic combat training to know the ropes here. And what do you mean by that, kid? You think you're special?"
"Hell yeah I am! I'm not starting from the bottom to get to the top! I'm way too good for that!", the brunette young man shouted in declaration and unsheathed his shortsword in blatant display of potential aggression and showing off like a complete amateur that prompted some of the Cadets to brandish their weapons or Magic to defend themselves and also their friends.
"Uh oh, looks like we got a cocky greenhorn here sis.", Chase commented with a snicker as he approached him casually with his hands on his pockets and asked. "What's your name kid?"
The young man boldly declared himself in an arrogant manner, "Tetsuo Kogami, sir and I'm a very skilled swordsman. I also have Wyvern Soul as my Takeover! A very powerful Wyvern! With my awesome sword skills and my strongest Takeover Soul, I can easily be Captain in the Rune Knights! I do not need to do this stupid training."
Lucy and her new friends and the Cadets pretty much facepalmed in embarrassment of Tetsuo's poor opinion of himself.
"Tut, tut. The poor boy thinks this is like a Guild. But even Guilds don't give high ranks to their own members that easily as they have S-Class Trials of their own to judge their worth.", Bella shook her head at his foolish naivety.
"This is gonna be good.", Kerrigan giggled with rubbing on her hands, acting like a giddy kid or playing the cartoony villain for the heck of it.
"That's cute. By the way, thanks for volunteering. Captain Golden Eyes here will want to see if you're all bark and no bite. Unless you prove us wrong, then show us what you can do, kid.", the Connor twin brother cheekily said and right on cue, the heavily armored knight stood before the upstart Cadet without his large greatsword drawn for Tetsuo is not worthy of using his blade on him.
With that, the poor schmuck took the bait: hook line and sinker, and he is the first in line to face Captain Brosnan and prove his worth to be promoted by besting one of the high ranking Rune Knights with everything he got.
...Aaaand then he did not last within 5 seconds when he made the first move with his shortsword quicker than a normal eye can see towards the armored behemoth, thinking the big guy is slow and easy to take down.
Tetsuo Kogami, the guy who thought he could be Rune Knight Captain without needing the basic standard training, was knocked out flat on his ass in the personal crater with his body twitching and a massive comedic bump on his head while Brosnan stood there, looking unimpressed of the recruit's bravado which he paid dearly for it now that the Pecking Order has been established.
Brosnan just used Karate Chop on Tetsuo.
It is Super Effective.
Kerrigan laughed out loud in amusement and rolled down on the ground while the Connors twins winced at the Golden Eyes' lack of mercy but feels the newbie deserved it for being an overconfident loudmouth and Bella feels sorry for him, hoping he has learned his valuable lesson.
"Now that is settled. Any volunteers?", the armored giant rhetorically asked which all sweatdropping Cadets quickly shook their heads and refused after they saw what he had done to Tetsuo without even trying at all. "Good, now form up squads in accordance with the designation room number you are assigned and you will find your future teammates among you."
Starting now, the Rune Knight trainees then looked up to their respective numbers and they formed teams after finding those individuals with the same number together especially when they already made friends with even before the arrival of the Rune Knight trainers.
"WHAT?!", Lucy and her fellow teammates: Gloria, Elena, Ashley and Alaric were shocked with a jawdrop and surprised looks on their faces that the unconscious Tetsuo is also their new teammate too as well when Bella checked his room number from his pockets and it matches with their own. Oh crapbaskets, we're stuck with this guy..., they thought in horror.
Meanwhile at the Magic Council Headquarters
After arriving on top of the giant mountain where the Council HQ is situated via flying thanks to the Rune Knight redneck, Amber Celadon and Tyson Hammer entered the premises with the letters to the receptionist and split off to meet with their respective superior officers on separate offices before heading off to meet the Chairman of the Council and the Grand General of the Rune Knights themselves.
On that office, Tyson entered after knocking and formally addressed his superior with a military salute. "Major General Tyson Hammer, reporting in!"
Peshkatz Fireman is an older well-built man in his 30s with a gruff beard, amber eyes, tanned skin, an old fashioned samurai topknot hairstyle, a couple of scars that accented the side of his temples as well as his right arm devoid of any cloth, and wears an old fashioned yukata of a very musty yellow green with his left arm was even rested inside his clothes as though it were a sling.
Of course, he has his own standard officer's uniform to wear and has basic Requip to do so alongside his own signature weapon made from Stella only on formal meetings with the Council and mission time on the field. But ever the dashing rogue he is well known in his life, Peshkatz didn't feel like it and prefers to wear his casual clothing on office time much to Lahar's chagrin towards the quirky elites of the Rune Knights.
"At ease, Major General. So what'cha got for me? Any good news and bad news from your little infiltration mission with Colonel Amber at Hargeon lately?", the gruff man informally addressed his subordinate.
"Well, the good news is that Bora the Prominence had been found and apprehended with the slave girls freed and all evidence of his slave trade with Bosco had been collected enough for his life sentence in jail... And the bad news is that Hargeon got themselves a new crater nearby from my little skirmish. The folks of Hargeon might make it their new swimming pool if they want to make it as a resort.", the Council redneck explained with a cheeky look which Peshkatz made a hearty laugh of his subordinate's witty report.
"Good one there, Tyson. Despite your unorthodox street-smart methods, you sure make the best results more effectively and efficiently. If only we got more guys like you in the Rune Knights, we would not be all stuck ups like Lahar the workaholic following the rules always by the book. They're more like guidelines to me anyway.", the older Lieutenant General commented with a grin.
Tyson made a mock gasp dramatically in response, "But that makes me one of a kind, sir. I will lose that status quo which has made me unique and lovable if there are more guys like your friendly neighborhood me."
"Sure, sure don't lose your hat there.", Peshkatz laughed it off before calming down and asked, "So is there anything else?"
"Just one. Colonel Amber and I got ourselves a new recruit for the Rune Knights. Lucy Heartfilia. Celestial Spirit Mage.", Tyson answered.
Raising his eyebrow with amusement of the report from the trucker hat redneck, the high-ranking Rune Knight officer said, "I see. Guess 13 should be your lucky number. Still, good job. Not only you and Colonel Amber apprehended Bora but also convinced a Mage that summoned spirits with those keys to join the Council. Impressive. Can't wait to see Brosnan whip her into shape and learning not to rely too much on her trinkets."
"Welp, now that is plum-gone-dad-gum settled. I better get going to meet with the Grand General and the Chairman. Can't keep them waiting. See ya!", the Major General said with a salute and heads off to the exit.
"Dismissed. Oh and Tyson try not to lose control of yourself like you did back 13 years ago. I really hate to do what I must. For our sakes...", the samurai-themed Lieutenant General called out off-handedly with a hint of seriousness when Tyson was about to open the doorknob and looked he wanted to squish it like a metal tomato.
The silver-haired older man lowered his face darkening in shame and remorse but the trucker hat covered it. "I know, sir. I went too far hurting my own team on a rampage on that day and nearly kissed my job goodbye behind bars.", he softly said before opening the door and left to wait for Amber and meet with the Chairman and the Grand General.
Man, I feel like an ass but it had to be done. That infamous incident with Sibir the Strongarm, one of Fiore's most wanted criminals in the Underworld 13 years ago. It happened when Tyson's Burst Magic went berserk on Strongarm and his gang during a botched Rune Knight raid operation to capture them and bring them to justice. I don't really know what exactly happened when I arrived on time but I saw him standing over the broken bodies of his teammates and Sibir's men whom he brutalized with immense abhorrence. Even Golden Eyes Brosnan and Silversmith Alethia could not contain him despite their best efforts. I acted accordingly to put him down hard and fast with Nullification Magic before he causes more damage and hurt more civilians. It wasn't easy to take him down in his berserker form but I was in charge of him as his superior officer for a reason., Peshkatz thought as he winced at the phantom inches of his scars on his toned body and the prosthetic arm that is made of metal that was concealed with synthetic skin.
The weary Lieutenant General sighed and got up from his seat and poured some wine on the glass as he drank it one gulp and put it down, Because of that, Tyson Hammer was known as the "Blue Berserker" and those who fight him in that state don't live to tell the tale. Of course no one in the present would believe the jolly trucker hat loving redneck would be that same guy and put two and two together. I will not be surprised if Sibir will rear his ugly mug soon and Tyson will finish what he started and avenge himself. Oh well, time to see the new members recently enlisted, and see if they have promise or not. , he finished.
Deciding to stretch his legs and get out of the office, Peshkatz shuffled his completed paperwork on his desk and headed off to the Rune Knight training grounds to see the new recruits especially the one Tyson had mentioned for himself. After all, he will milk all the fun of scaring the crap out of wannabe gloryhounds and cocky greenhorns every single time when he knocks them off their high horses.
On the other office, Amber also entered after knocking and addressed her superior with a military salute. "Colonel Amber Celadon, reporting in!"
Phelia Blendy is a fair-skinned woman in her 20s with shoulder-length pink hair in ponytail style and blue eyes, and wears another standard type Rune Knight officer's uniform that has white long coat over a black colored top that reached to the top of the upper thigh, a utility belt, white study combat pants that allows free movement and thigh high black combat boots along with white gloves and has armband on her right hand.
"At ease, Colonel. So how's the mission?", Phelia asked with a warm smile to her cute little subordinate.
The female gunslinger answered dutifully, "It went well, ma'am. Major General Tyson and I found Bora on Hargeon and arrested him after getting his butt whooped quickly by the Major General. I, on the other hand, helped free the girls enslaved in Bora's ship and tied up his goons already knocked out by my partner. And we also have a new recruit joining us after she met and helped us."
"I see. Good job, Colonel. You seem to have a knack of hitting two birds with one stone. Got the infamous slave trader arrested and recruited a future Rune Knight at the same time.", Phelia complimented the petite girl with a motherly smile much to the latter's bashfulness. "I know you have an appointment with the Grand General and the Chairman, so I won't waste your time here. You're dismissed."
"Yes ma'am!", Amber saluted with a bright smile and made herself out to meet up with Tyson so they will go meet with the heads of the Council and its military organization.
After Amber left Phelia's office and headed off with her partner, a young woman with pale skin, and short blue hair in a regular Rune Knight officer's uniform entered and formally saluted to the female Lieutenant General. "Lieutenant Lulu reporting in.", she said.
"At ease. Lieutenant. Give me status update.", Phelia asked, knowing what she is asking for.
Lulu nodded and handed over the files and pics to the older Blendy. "Yes, ma'am. According to recent finding through the Council intelligence with the help of the Etherion's satellite mode, we have located your missing sister last seen on the port town of Cedar accompanied by a giant rat and bought supplies before we traced her which leads them to... Galuna Island. We also detected strange Magical energy happening on that island every night. It may be possibly linked to this Cold Emperor and his band of cultists being the cause of it.", she explained with a hint of familiarity of that island.
"I see. You're dismissed. Return to your duties, Lieutenant. Thank you.", the older Blendy ordered with a small smile which the female Rune Knight saluted and exited her office, leaving her alone to look through the recent findings regarding her missing sister and rumors about the so-called Cold Emperor and his cult of personality that had garnered attention due to three missing Lamia Scale Mages joining him.
Standing to glance through the window of her office where she can see the whole view of Era, Phelia thought quite agitated with her gloved hands clenching and threatening to explode her Magical aura when it comes to her missing sister, Why are there on Galuna Island, Sherry? You have gone missing since I last saw you in my visit to Lamia Scale. Once I get permission from my mentor Alethia among the four Generals or even the Grand General himself to go to Galuna Island with my forces, Stella the Bride and her fleet or even myself if I had to, I will drag you back home kicking and screaming, and demand to know why did you abandon little Chelia alone, one way or another!
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Lulu walked down the hallway and when she briefly passed by the reflective mirror, it showed a blue-skinned Demon with large prominent teeth, sharp eyes, pointy ears and a pointy chin in the same uniform of the Magic Council. "Finally, justice long overdue for my home Galuna Island has come at last...", she said with a vindictive smile.
Author's Note: Well, the second chapter of "The Celestial Rune Knight" is done and will get back to you with another update when I have time again and dealing with my other yet to update stories of mine. Man, that was tiring and it's certainly worth it. Lucy has officially joined the Rune Knights as a Cadet and met her new teammates, and their training is just the beginning. I will also have to expand more on the relationship between Lucy and her new Rune Knight Cadet teammates: Gloria Palburn, Elena Theobold, Ashley Aurora, Alaric Cain and unfortunately Tetsuo Kogami on the next chapter. I might also bring in Eve Tearm too as well since it's stated that he was part of the Rune Knight and joined Blue Pegasus as one of the Trimen after the Council collapsed post-Tower of Heaven crisis.
Originally I wanted Lucy to keep her last name a secret when she signs up in the Rune Knights, however I realized it would be unrealistic because the higher ups in the Magic Council might run some background checks on their new members joining and Lucy would get in trouble for it. Of course we all know of Siegrain/Jellal and Ultear who had managed to infiltrate the Magic Council and rose up to become its esteemed Councilors before they revealed their true colors in the Tower of Heaven arc.
Same goes for Mest Gryder when he infiltrated the Council and rose up as Rune Knight Doranbolt under Makarov's orders to find information about the Alvarez Empire. For me in the meantime, I will never see him as Mest Gryder of Fairy Tail for he will always be Doranbolt of the Rune Knights and best buddy of Lahar to me. It did not help that Mashima could not make up his mind on where his real allegiance lies and made it all too headache inducing.
Either way, Lucy cannot pull that off like the three had done successfully. Besides Lucy coming out clean early might probably save her the trouble of the Phantom Lord arc coming soon or maybe not depending on this story's direction. Who knows? Dun, dun, dun, duuuunnn! ;)
Thanks to Eden's Zero, Mashima's new series after Fairy Tail, I have some new interesting story material to make good use of for this story and also other stories of mine like "A Girl and the Machias", "Fairies and Sins" and "Fairy's Sin" which that I will be dealing in overhaul with big time after the big reveals from the Taizai manga.
I also plan on using some of the villains from Rave Master for my stories especially here too as well. Kinda wished there was a new Rave Master anime series like in the Fairy Tail X Rave Master OVA after the last one got cancelled with 50+ episodes from the 90s.
Credits for the OCs, ideas and inspiration goes to Lorgar Aurelian, Isane Dominator, LordNodrogLock648, sleepingfairy28 and draconichero21. Please, check out their stories and support them. They're awesome to read by the way. XD And credits for the OCs in this chapter as Cadets goes to Lord of the Roses, author of FT OC Guild story "Lunar Knights". Check out his story and support him too as well. It's really good and one of the rare FT OC Guild stories that you can enjoy reading it.
Enjoy and don't forget to review. :D