A/N: So far so good. So, I'm going to go ahead and upload this chapter as well. Hope you guys like what I have here.
Review responses
Guest (Martyn): Glad you liked it. Not a bad idea for a backstory, but hope you like what I had in mind just as well.
HunterHQ: As usual, great to have your support.
"Natsu!" Happy, Gray and Erza were running down the path the thief had taken, and stumbled upon the queasy Natsu as he was trying to stand up. Gray grabbed his arm and helped him up. "You okay flame brain?"
Natsu then gave him the stink-eye. "What'd ya… call me… ya stripper?"
Gray then smirked at Erza. "He's good."
Erza nodded before turning to Happy. "Go get Lucy and bring her here, and if you see the thief on the way then let us know."
"Aye sir!" Happy flew off while they got Natsu better situated to adjust to his motion sick state.
Erza then knelt down to him. "Natsu? What happened? Where did the thief go?"
He shook his head as he tried to think. "No clue. It was just a bunch of twists and turns, and then he said something I didn't quite catch before I think he tossed me into this alley." He then looked at his landing point and gave himself a sniff before recoiling. "Ah, man! Now I smell like trash! He is SO gonna get it now!"
"Assuming we can land a hit on him." They both looked back at Gray, who was leaning against the wall. "That guy was just about unpredictable. There were way too many types of magic in play for him to be just any ordinary mage. How is it even possible to have magic that can do all that?"
Erza brought a hand to her chin in thought. "It is unclear. My own magic lets me change out different magic arms and armor, but what he did was nothing like requip magic. Perhaps a strange form of Take Over magic, but even then there were too many abilities for any single being to have at once under normal means. Cana can create a variety of effects depending on how she arranges her cards, but this was almost too random. I truly have no idea what this person is."
Natsu then punched the ground, burning away the filth covering him in anger. "Doesn't matter how unpredictable the guy is. If I can just hit him hard enough, then he'll go down easy! Just you wait and see!"
Before either of the other 2 could say anything, Happy came back with a worried look. "Guys, I can't find Lucy!"
After what felt like 10 to 15 minutes, they came to a stop, the board they were on disappearing slowly before her feet touched the ground. "Okay, we're here. You can take it off now." Freeing her eyes, Lucy looked around to see that they were in some kind of underground facility, and that the thief was just closing the passage that they entered from.
"Where are we?"
He then snapped his fingers, making the gauntlets and greaves disappear and some Lacrimas activated, producing light. "For lack of better word, my place."
Lucy looked around at where she was now. Aside from it looking like an underground bunker, she's surprised to see how livable it looks. There was even a kitchen and dining area on one side, into which the thief wandered over to. "Hungry? We're likely to be here for a while."
"Um, sure, thanks."
They then lifted a tray cover with a small Lacrima on top to reveal some fruit options, then walked over to a fridge and opened it, taking a look inside. "Any requests? Can't promise it'll be here, but might have something close."
"I'm fine with anything, so long as it's edible."
"Well they are certainly edible. I don't know about you, but I feel like pasta." He then pulled out a tub of spaghetti and brought it over to a black cover with a red Lacrima and put it underneath. He then tapped the Lacrima and walked back to the fridge. "Want anything to drink?"
"Water, please."
"Water, coming up." He then closed the fridge and created a pair of crystalline glasses, then held them under a blue Lacrima that filled them with water, before handing one to Lucy. "So, any other questions I can answer?"
"Well, I've been curious of your magic. I mean, you can go invisible, make a clone of yourself, and use multiple elements. Do you have multiple kinds of magic or something?"
"Haha, no, but it certainly does help when people assume so." They then held a finger to their neck, causing a band of crystal to go around it, before touching their helmet, freeing their mouth. When he spoke, he still had the echo in his voice. "I use an unusual type of Maker magic, similar to your icy friend." They then proceeded to take a drink.
"You make crystal constructs? That's so cool."
"Haha, thanks, I certainly think so. In fact, my magic is what led me to the Star Prisms in the first place." The Lacrima over the pasta let out a noise, prompting him to walk over to it.
"Was your magic able to sense them or something?"
"Not exactly." He then lifted up the cover and inspected the pasta, then nodded, creating 2 bowls and a large utensil to scoop out the pasta into the bowls. Finally, a fork for each before offering one to Lucy and taking a seat at the table. "I learned about Star Prisms years ago, and what they could do. My magic lets me use them for their intended purpose, but it doesn't tell me where they are. I have to figure that out on my own. But it does come in handy when Lacrimas are involved."
"Amazing."
He then looked at her. "The food or the magic?"
"Your magic, it's incredible."
The thief then grinned at her. "Thanks. Oh hey, wait one moment." They then got up and left to go through a door, then walked back with a rectangular, pure white Lacrima. "Hold this for a few seconds."
"Uh, ok?"
As she held the Lacrima, a light shone cross her body for a few seconds, before dimming down. She looked herself over, and saw that her dress had been completely cleaned from all of the running and going through Virgo's tunnel earlier. Even her skin and hair had been cleaned!
"Woah. What kind of Lacrima is this?"
"One of my own design." He then sat down and started eating again. "My magic also allows me to modify Lacrimas, seeing as they are crystallized magic, so I made one for cleaning. This one really saves time when doing laundry or maintaining hygiene. I typically keep that one it the bathroom, but I figured you wouldn't want that dress getting any dirtier, especially since I don't have any spare women's clothes."
"Amazing."
"Yeah." He then froze, before looking at her. "Hang on, did we let your friends know that you were coming here with me?"
"Oh, I knew I forgot to do something." Lucy laughs sheepishly.
The thief brought a hand to their head and sighed. "And since 1 of them has a nose that's as good as a bloodhound, they will probably be here within an hour, if not sooner. Great."
"Don't worry, if they do find us, I'll try to talk them down."
"Appreciated, though I think I'll ere on the side of caution." He then created a bowl, then held his palm open. "Crystal Make: Ruby Top." A ruby-red top then formed in his hand, which he tossed in the bowl where it began to spin around and produce flames.
Lucy looked at it in awe as the thief explained. "Natsu said he found my flames tasty, so I think I'll offer some to him as a peace offering. Now then, any of the others have any favorites you can think of?"
"Um, Happy likes fish, and Erza loves strawberry cake, though I don't know what Gray would like though."
He checked his fridge at that. "I guess I'll just ask if he wants anything when he gets here. Lucky for me that I have some Salmon that I picked up recently, and some cake I've been saving for a special occasion."
"Although, I am curious as to where my friends are."
At that moment, a Lacrima started beeping and flashing yellow in a corner near the entrance. The thief looked at it. "Well, I'd say maybe 5-10 minutes away. Those guys work fast."
"Well, you were right about Natsu being a bloodhound."
"Well, yeah, but with how green his face got I thought he'd be out for a little longer. Not to mention we crossed a river on the way here."
"I wouldn't know, I was blindfolded, remember?"
"Well that was kinda the point, but since they are about to get here anyway I guess that whole thing was pointless." The Lacrima then started flashing orange. "Huh. He's moving faster than I thought he would. I think it would be best if you met him at the door."
"Um, ok." Lucy moved over to the entrance.
As the host went and prepared the fish and cake, the Lacrima started flashing red. "Go ahead and open it, I don't want him breaking the door down in his haste. Just tap the Lacrima that will be on your right."
Lucy does as she was told, making the entrance open.
"RAAAAGH!" "AAAAAAGH!"
When the entrance opened, Natsu had been charging straight at it, but ended up running into Lucy instead. As the collided, they rolled on the ground for a bit, going past the dining area and right into the living area, Natsu above Lucy. "Huh? Lucy! You're alright!"
"Of course I'm alright! Now get off me!"
"Right, sorry." Natsu then got up and helped her up as Happy flew in right behind him and threw his crying self at Lucy.
"Lucy! We were so worried!"
"I'm OK guys, seriously, they haven't done anything to me."
"Unless you count serving dinner." Natsu and Happy turned at the voice to see the thief setting the table for 4 more seats.
Natsu then pointed at him in anger. "Hey there you are!" He then brought his fists back and ignited them. "Now I'm really gonna beat you for taking Lucy!"
"Wait, Natsu! I went with him willingly!"
The guy then looked at the fire-breather with his hands in the air. "She's telling the truth. I even have a peace offering if you're willing to listen."
"Can it! I'm not gonna listen to another word you-" Natsu was cut off when he noticed the bowl of fire.
The thief noticed this and smirked, lowering a hand to nudge the bowl in his direction. "You did mention that you liked the taste of the fire I can make, so I thought I'd offer you some."
Natsu immediately lunges toward the bowl and starts slurping it up.
The thief then started laughing. "Careful about the top spinning around in there. The longer you leave it in to spin, the more flames you can eat up."
Natsu simply nodded and kept stuffing his face with the flames.
The thief then turned to the floating cat that looked at him nervously. "Your name was Happy right? I got some Salmon here for you if you want it." He then picked up a crystal plate with the Salmon off of the counter behind him and showed it to the cat.
"FISH!" Happy exclaims happily and pounces on it, taking a large bite of it.
The thief blinked at Happy, now sitting on the plate in his hand and eating the fish in joy. He then slowly put the plate on the table, Happy included, and looked at Lucy. "You weren't kidding. This guy really loves fish."
"Yeah, well, he is a cat."
"True enough." He then looked in the direction of the door. "Huh, I would have thought the other 2 would be-"
"Hey pyro! Slow down would ya!?" "You mustn't keep running off and leaving us behind like that." At that moment, Gray and Erza ran in through the door and saw everyone.
Gray and Erza's eyes then widened upon seeing the thief. "You!" They exclaimed in unison, getting into battle stances.
The thief just blinked at them. "Well there they are." Then looked at Erza and reached behind him, pulling out a crystalline plate with a cake and holding it out to her. "Peace offering?"
Erza looks at the cake, hands trembling.
Gray looked at her, seeing this. "Erza, come on, don't you dare!"
Erza shakes her head and raises her swords more. "You're coming with us thief, whether you like it or not!"
He kept looking at her, as he held out his other hand and a fork appeared. "Did I mention it's strawberry?"
Immediately, she was at the cake in just mere seconds.
Gray watched in shock as Erza sat down and enjoyed the cake, then took notice of Natsu and Happy eating their own offerings as Lucy stood off to the side, an apologetic smile on her face. He then turned to the thief before him, whom shrugged in apology. "Sorry, I didn't know what to prepare for you. Any requests?"
Gray simply stares at the thief, then at his teammates, before sighing and sitting down in a chair. "Can you make something that's cold?"
"I'll see what I got." The thief then took his finished dishes and put them into a sink where they dissipated and the remains fell into the water, before he walked over to the fridge and looked in the freezer above it while the fairies gathered to talk at the table.
"So what exactly is this guy's deal? Why did he steal the Prism?" Gray asks Lucy.
Lucy used her fork to push her food around as she recalled his words. "Apparently, by somehow using the Prism with his magic, he plans to lift a curse from some people he cares about."
"How's a big hunk of rock like that, gonna help lift a curse?"
"He didn't explain how, only that they hold the key to helping him save them. With what he's told me about his magic so far, I'm not so sure if it's really that hard to believe."
Erza cast a look over at her as she continued to eat. "What about this 'curse'? Did you find out anything about it?"
Lucy shook her head. "He wouldn't tell me. But I heard the sincerity in his voice, the emotions he was feeling as he talked about it. I don't think he's making this up." She glanced at the thief in question as he was pouring something into a rectangular crystal construct.
"... So, we're gonna wind up helping this guy, aren't we?" Gray states.
Erza looked over at the thief as they added what looked like sticks to whatever they were doing before putting a pure white cover with a light blue Lacrima on top over it, then tapping the Lacrima. "Let's determine the whole truth of the situation first. They are keeping a few too many things quiet for my liking." She then took another bite of cake with a smile.
"Me too, we don't know if they're actually telling the whole truth." Gray agrees. "What about their magic, got any info on that?"
Lucy nodded. "Yeah, he even showed me a little about what he can do. Apparently, his magic is Crystal Maker magic. Hence all the weapons and even the silverware-or rather, crystal ware-we're using to eat."
"Maker magic?" Gray questions in shock.
"Yeah. He even showed me a bit on how he makes use of several other elements as well." She then turned to Natsu, who was still slurping the fire, but paying attention. "Hey Natsu, reach into the fire and pull out what's inside."
Natsu looks at her in confusion before complying.
Feeling something, he grabs it, causing the flames to die out. "Huh?" He then pulls his hand out from the bowl and shows everyone the ruby top. "What's this?"
"That's what was causing the flames. Put it back in the bowl and spin it, the fire will come back up."
Natsu complied and the bowl was full of flames once again. Gray looked at the bowl in surprise. "You gotta be kidding me. Maker magic that can create other elements? I've never heard of anything like this."
"Neither have I, and it's quite intriguing." Erza says, taking another bite of cake.
"Thanks." They turned to see their host walking over with the crystal container from before, with a dozen sticks poking out from the top. He then brought it over to Gray. "Sorry, don't have a lot of options for cold snacks, so I took some juice and froze them into pop-sickles. Hope you like them."
"Thanks." Gray says gruffly, starting to take one.
"Of course." He then moved over to the last open seat, apparently between Natsu and Erza, grabbing an apple on the way. "All right, what questions do you all have left. I'll answer as best I can."
"I'm guessing asking for your identity is out of the question, isn't it?" Gray asks.
"Sorry. Maybe after I've managed to return Star Prisms to the people I've stolen them from, but not before." He then took a bite out of the apple.
"Wait, you're the one who stole the other Star Prisms?" Erza questioned.
He nodded as he kept snacking. "And I fully intend on returning a Star Prism to each of them. No point in hiding it any longer. I used the same trick Salamander here caught me in the middle of to steal them before. None of the other security systems utilized a sense other than sight or Lacrima. And my magic allows me to sense, identify, and manipulate Lacrima."
"Interesting."
"Yeah, certainly came in handy setting this place up." He then turned and pointed at the black and white covers he was using. "Freezing and Heating Lacrimas, to get food at just the right temperature, as well as to insta-cook or freeze food." He then turned in the other direction and pointed at the tray cover next to the fruit. "Preservation Lacrima to maintain freshness for as long as the Lacrima lasts." He then turned back to the table and indicated the white Lacrima that he showed Lucy earlier that she left next to her on the table. "And that Cleansing Lacrima for cleaning laundry or removing grime and such from skin and hair. Feel free to use it if you feel like it."
The mages, even Natsu, were looking at the Lacrimas in awe. The thief looked at them with a grin. "Alright, any more questions?"
Erza turned to him, cake still in hand. "Exactly, who is it you are trying to save? Family? Village?"
The thief looked down, a hand absentmindedly reaching for his left crystal eye, silent for several seconds. "… Family."
"Why can't you tell us about this curse?"
He then put the apple down and gripped his hands together, as they tried to work out how to say their next words, before looking at a wall on the other side of the room. "… Because it isn't technically a curse." He then stood up and started walking to the wall.
This causes everyone to look at him. "Then, what is it?" Erza questions.
He stopped just in front of the wall, looking at it as he raised a slightly trembling arm, before clenching it into a fist and touching a Lacrima none of them saw before, causing a part of the wall to drop, shocking everyone at what was before them. Behind the wall, were 4 large chunks of multicolored crystal the size of large coffins, and each one could see a vague humanoid shape within them. "… It is the price, of saving a life."
"W… what the hell?" Natsu asks in shock.
The thief let out a tired sigh. "My family consists of my father, my mother, my older brother, my older sister, and me. My parents were treasure hunters who met on the job, trying to one-up each other at every chance, quickly becoming friends and rivals, and eventually falling in love. They still continued doing what they did best and went delving into ancient ruins, eventually bringing their children along when they reached the age of 8. I was 11 when it happened."
"What caused it?" Lucy asks, looking at the thief in sadness.
"I was with my family delving into a new dungeon, something from a civilization we had never heard about, and were nearly at the final chamber. I was the first inside, my small size allowing me to fit through spaces the rest of my family couldn't and find a way to get them in. Once I had established a way for them to get inside, I turned and saw what the treasure was. That was when, I saw my first Star Prism.
I was so caught up in its beauty, the likes of which I had never even comprehended before, I hadn't even noticed I was walking forward, until I had already tripped a trap. I managed to dodge most of it, but I wasn't fast enough, and it took my eye," He then lifted up his shirt, revealing to them a chunk of multicolored crystal above where his heart would be. "And a nice chunk of my heart."
The Fairy Tail mages stared at him in shock, the last of the fish falling from Happy's mouth.
He lowered his shirt as he continued. "My family managed to get to me, and my siblings kept me alive for a while, while my parents looked around to see if there was anything that could help me. They then saw the Star Prism, and my mother was able to translate the writings in the chamber to figure out what it could do. So, my entire family used every ounce of energy they could and performed a ceremony using the Star to save my life. However,"
He then placed a hand on one of the crystal coffins. "The ceremony was meant to be performed by a Crystal Maker mage, and no one in my family had an ounce of magical blood, until that Prism gave me mine to help me survive. As a result, after my life had been saved, each and every one of them began to be encased in this crystal, that shares its coloration with the Prism, and my new eye and heart. The last words I heard my family say was that they loved me, as I was powerless to do anything in my weak state."
Now the mages looked at them in sadness, three of them knowing the pain they're going through.
"The one cardinal rule that my parents ingrained into each of us, was to always be on your guard when in an unknown place, and I forgot all of it when I saw the Prism. I let my guard be lowered, and my entire family paid the price for it. Fortunately, my new eye allowed me to perfectly understand everything that was written down there, so I spent a week committing to paper what I couldn't commit to memory. And that was when I discovered the full truth about the Star Prisms, and if I could gather enough of them, I might be able to free them from the prisons that you see before you. Which, eventually, brings us to the present."
He then created a chair and sat in it, not even wanting to walk back to the table at this point.
He then felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look over and see it was Lucy.
He then took a deep breath, before looking again and nodding. "Thanks. First time I've ever really told anyone that."
"Yeah, sometimes it helps when you talk to others about it."
"Yeah, I guess so…"
There was silence for a little longer, before Erza came to stand beside him, a sorrowful look on her face. "How long ago did this happen?"
Sora looked up in thought. "Let's see… I turned 17 a few months back so… about 6 years now."
"Wait, you're only 17?!" Lucy asked him in shock.
"Heh, yeah. The funny thing is, one more year and I'll be older than both my siblings were when they… you know."
"So, how many of these Prisms do you need?" Gray asks.
He shook his head. "Not sure yet. All I know is that every Star Prism I can get my hands on will help make my magic more potent, eventually reaching the point where I should be able to remove the crystals around them. This sort of thing was never recorded there as far as I can tell, so mostly operating on 'get every single one I can and hope for the best'."
"But you don't know if it'll kill." Erza says.
"According to the writings, a skilled and powerful Crystal mage can make pre-existing crystals bend to their will. If even a slight amount of resistance exists, the crystal won't budge without forcing it off. But if they can bypass all resistance, then it flows like water. All I need to do is to reach that state, and I can save them, and using the Prisms is trivial if you are a Crystal Mage. There won't be any killing from using them."
"Can your body even contain that much magic?"
He shook his head. "I didn't say it increases my magic, I said it augments my powers. By that, I meant it increases the number of Gem-types I can utilize, as well as my control over the magic itself."
"So is that how you can use all those different elements?" Natsu asks curiously.
He nodded before getting up and walking over to the table, holding their hands together. "Crystal Make: Citrine Top, Sapphire Top, Ruby Top." He then flung his hands open, releasing 3 tops, the first being a clear yellow, another a light blue, and the last being the red that Natsu had been eating from earlier. As they hit the table and spun, the clear one emitted light, the blue one was covered in a spiral of water, and the last one was also coated in flames.
"I acquired one of these types for each Prism I have come across. I started with Citrine, allowing me to make use of the light element, which I eventually found a way to use it to bend light around me, creating invisibility. The second one allowed me access to Sapphire, letting me make use of water, though no matter how much I make it will always disappear in time. Finally, the one from the capitol gave me Ruby, to which I found a way to be completely immune to fire." He then turned to Natsu with a smirk. "Which is how I survived your roar by the way."
"So you were basically fireproof?! That's cheating!"
"Haha, I was only safe from the fire, and I can only be that way for so long, so I only used it while your roar was going on. Besides, even if your flames couldn't hurt me, the fists underneath those flames could still pack a punch."
"Damn right!"
"Hahaha." He then dismissed the tops, allowing them to fade way, before moving to the back wall of the living area. "Anyway, regardless of whether or not I can save them with this Star, I still intend to give Stars back to the people I took from in the next few days, though it will be a bit tricky to do so."
"How so?" Happy asks.
"Because every other one I've acquired has been destroyed."
"Wait, then how are we supposed to bring that rock back if you destroy it!?" Natsu yells.
He turned back to the mages with a calm look. "By making new ones." He then touched a second hidden Lacrima, dropping another wall, this time revealing a kind of workshop with four clear, star-shaped objects.
"New Star Prisms?" Erza asks.
Their host continued to walk over to the workshop and checked everything. "The Star Prisms were invented by some of the first Crystal mages as a way of helping each other grow in power and ability, sort of like magic instruction manuals on what they've learned, each Star holding some of the wisdom and experience of the maker. By offering each other a Prism they made with their own power, they would forge a strong comradery, each more powerful from it. Following that logic, I also possess the power to create Star Prisms, so I simply need to make new ones to replace all the ones I've stolen."
"That's actually not a bad idea."
"Thanks, it was my plan since the start of all this. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to reach the proper state of quality until after I acquired the one in the capitol. And if I came out as someone who could create Star Prisms, then that would add a whole other class of problems for me. But now that I have the right quality," He then pulled out his most recent acquisition from his pouch. "And something to look at while I work, I can recreate the Star Prisms I've used and can keep one for future reference."
"So you copy what this one looks like, and then we bring the fake back, and no one could tell the difference between them?"
"Pretty much, since it would in every way be exactly the same thing. I even found the recipe for creating them all those years ago. Just need do the finishing touches and no one will be the wiser, especially since it's impossible to even determine the age of these things. After that, I'll be free to acquire the power from the Star I took."
"As far as I can see it's a win-win. We bring a Star back and get paid, while you are one step closer to reviving your family." Natsu says.
"Yeah, which is more or less what I intended when I promised Lucy that very thing since I should only need a day or two to be done. Granted, I had originally planned on not telling you lot any of this either, but nothing to do about it now."
"Well, in all honesty it is your fault." Gray says, eating another popsicle.
"Technically it's Natsu's for sniffing me out back at the Museum. I had planned on delivering it to you guys once I heard you were in town so you could take credit, but the moment he revealed I was there was when my plan went to shit." He then sat down and reached for one of the constructs for inspection.
"You still stole asshole!" Natsu yells.
"And am giving them something of equal value in return. So in this way, it becomes more of a delayed payment. And besides," He then turned to Natsu. "What lengths would you go to for your family?"
This causes the Fairy Tail mages to fall silent.
The Crystal mage sighed. "Look, I know what I've been doing was still wrong, but no other path was available to me. No one would believe my story at first glance, and back when this all began I could barely create a ball-sized crystal, let alone prove what I knew. Stealing them was the best possible option at the time when I started, and remained so until now. If there was another way that would have worked, I would have taken it." He then turned back to the desk. "But it is too late to worry about 'what if's'."
There was silence for a few moments, before one of them noticed something. "But still, how did you knew we were in the city?" Gray asks.
That caused the mage to freeze for several seconds, before turning to them. "I'm very good at gathering information." Then quickly turning back to examine the crystals before him.
"So you were spying on us?"
The mage didn't look at them once. "I was making sure that nothing unexpected came into play, so I kept a close eye on the trains just in case. I happened to see some people with the Fairy Tail guild mark and worked from there. Turns out it was you guys."
The mages still looked at him suspiciously.
The thief then turned to look at them. "Anyway, how about-?" He froze as he noticed something, then swiveled his head around the room as if searching for something.
"Is something wrong?" Lucy asks.
He then looked straight at Gray. "I know you took your shirt off earlier at the museum, but I could have sworn you were wearing pants when you got here."
Gray looks down and starts panicking when noticing he was only in his underwear. "Gah! Why does this always happen!?" He starts looking for his pants as Natsu laughs at him.
The Crystal Mage blinks at this, then looks at the others. "Is this a common occurrence?"
"You have no idea." Lucy sighs.
The mage blinked, then blinked again, before laughing. "Haha, hahaha! Oh man, your guild must be a riot to hang out with if there are more people like you guys there." He then got Gray's attention and pointed at a door. "There's a closet with spare clothes over there if you can't find your own pants. Help yourself."
The ice mage nodded and went back to searching for his pants.
The Crystal mage chuckled some more, before addressing all of them. "Anyway, while I work, feel free to make yourselves at home. If you have any questions, I'll answer as best I can. Otherwise, try not to break anything."
They nodded and sat in various spots.
After a while, Erza glanced back at the mage, whom was focused on channeling magic to color the new Star, then back at the others and spoke quietly. "So, we don't believe his explanation for how he knew we were in town, correct?"
Various words of confirmation were the responses.
Happy flew and landed next to Natsu with the rest of his Salmon, while Natsu was once again slurping fire from the bowl and top offered to him. "But how could he have found out? I don't remember any of us telling anyone we were from Fairy Tail."
Gray nodded. "Yeah, and the fact is we were hired by the curator alone, so none of the staff should have been aware of who we really were. So how did he know?"
Lucy then shuffles nervously. "I, uh, I actually did tell someone else we were here."
Gray and the others then looked at her in surprise. "What?! When?!"
"Remember when we split up? I went to a store that sold crystal accessories and tools and someone there saw my guild mark."
Erza set the last of her cake to the side as she leaned forward and folded her hands. "What happened? How many people were there?"
"Only 2. The owner Loral, and this freelance craftsman named Sora."
Gray raised an eyebrow. "Freelance craftsman?"
"Yeah, a lot of the stuff in the store was made by him, and he says that he doesn't like to stay in one place for too long. The stuff he made was incredible, I'd never seen anything like it. Apparently he even does commissions from small jewelry items, to full-blown crystal sculptures."
Erza narrowed her eyes, then threw another glance at the mage at work. "A crystal craftsman who doesn't like to stay in one place, you say?" She then looked back at Lucy. "Were you able to see his left eye?"
"Yeah, and it was silver, just like his right eye."
Gray held a hand to his chin in thought. "That would say otherwise, but this guy is able to make himself invisible. It might be possible for him to make his eye look completely normal for all we know to blend in better."
"Wait, are you guys saying that the thief and Sora are the same person?"
Gray shrugged. "That, or one of the people at that shop wound up telling someone. Can't say which it is, but it would at least explain how this guy knew we were in town."
"Sora did actually look sad when I brought up family." Lucy said slowly.
Erza looked at the mage in thought. "Hmm, if we simply asked them such, they could try and deny it. But…" She then looked at Natsu, who was confused as everyone glanced at him. "All we really need to do is have Natsu meet this Sora and check his scent."
"But how am I supposed to find this guy? I mean like Lucy said, he loves to move around."
Lucy held a hand to her chin in thought. "He said that he does jobs on commission, so if he still has commissions to do in town, then he should still be going to the shop for a bit. And since Loral is a frequent customer, Sora is there often. We can probably go there saying I wanted to check in on them and introduce you guys as an excuse?"
"Sounds good, but first we need the replacement Star Prism." Gray says.
"Hey guys?" They turned to see the mage walking over with them, a frown on their face and the Star Prism in their hands. "There isn't anything wrong with this Star Prism from the Museum, right? It's in the same condition from when you first saw it?"
Lucy got up and took the Prism, not seeing anything wrong with it. "It looks the same to me, and as beautiful as before as well."
"Well the thing is," He then reached into his pouch and pulled out a Star. "This is the one from the Museum," He then flashed them a big smile. "And that's the one I just finished."
The mages looked at both of the Prisms in awe.
Gray rubbed his eyes and looked at them again. "No freaking way. I can't tell the difference one bit!"
"Yep, I'm just that good." The thief gloats, looking pretty confident.
Erza looked at him with a smirk. "Humble, aren't we?"
"I just like how astonished I made you all look." He then chuckled a little. The mage then looked at the Star in his hand. "Okay, now that I've done it once, I can do it a few more times without a reference. Which means it's time for the… interesting part."
The mages looked at him curiously.
He took a deep breath, before walking over to a part of the room that was mostly bare, aside from a small stand he put the Star on, and a mat that he sat on in front of it. "You guys remember when I said that the ones I've found so far were destroyed?" He then leaned his head one way, then the other, then shook his hands in front of him before holding them out to the Star. "Well, you're about to see how it happens."
This causes intrigue and excitement for the mages, as they try to get a closer look while staying behind him.
The mage stopped for a moment, then turned back to them. "By the way, whatever happens, remain calm." He then looked back at the Star, ignoring the looks on their faces.
"Wait, what? Why?" Erza asks.
Not answering, the mage then thrust their hands out towards the Star, releasing a surge of magic energy that hit the Prism, causing the colors within to move and swirl, looking even more beautiful as it floated above the stand. He then moved his arms to the side, as it rotated and the tips began to turn to dust and flowed to his chest. Upon contact, he let out a hiss of discomfort and strained his arms to remain in their position and resisting the need to close his fingers in pain.
The Fairy mages looked on in concern and worry as they noticed his apparent discomfort, but remembered he said to stay calm, so they waited and watched.
As the Star continued to slowly turn into dust and flow towards him, the mage resisted the urge to shout as he moved his arms even further out, teeth grit tight and in pain, causing the speed of the Star's destruction to increase in speed. As it did so, he began to breathe a little more raggedly as the Star lost its protrusions after a while.
After about another minute of this, he thrust his chest out with a growl, letting it flow even faster, as the now round crystal began to shrink as it flowed into him. As the last of the Prism finally became dust and went into him, a small pulse of magic surged out, hitting the mages like a small wind, knocking them down and sending Happy flying, and the Crystal mage fell back in exhaustion.
The Fairy Tail mages groaned as they got back up. "Is everyone alright?" Erza asked as she helped Lucy up.
Natsu sat up with a hand on his head. "Yeah, I'm good."
Gray got himself to a kneeling position, one eye closed. "Just peachy."
Happy wound up upside-down on his head with eyes as swirls and images of fish spinning around his head as he responded a little weakly. "Aye sirrr…"
"Hey, what about the crystal dude?" Natsu asked.
They all looked to see him breathing raggedly on his back, his arms and legs spread out. "... Ow..."
They all quickly went over to him to see if he was alright. "Hey man, you OK?" Gray asked.
The mage slowly tried to sit up, then gave up after 3 inches. "Ugh, more or less. I may have… left something out about Star Prism usage."
"Let me guess, the part where there's an explosion?"
He chuckled weakly at that. "That was a pulse at best, signifying the end of the assimilation. Though I did learn that the process was supposed to be painless and easy." He then flashed them a tired smile. "Though, apparently, the older a Star Prism is, the more… uncomfortable, it is to use."
The mages nodded, before looking at him curiously. "Uh, dude? Your mask is kind of, cracked." Natsu says, pointing at his mask.
Their eye widened in shock as they felt the air through the crack. "Uh, oh shit." The mage then tried to raise a hand to the mask to repair it, but could barely get it by his chest.
At that moment, their mask and even the crystal around their neck cracked even more, before both burst into sparkles.
Everyone looked in surprise, as a familiar face looked to Lucy in shock, then tried to play it off with a nervous smile, the echo no longer hiding his voice. "Uh, heeeyyy Lucy."
"SORA!" Lucy yells in shock.
Sora, with a silver right eye and a crystal left eye, winced from the volume. "Okay, I get that this is surprising, but I already hurt all over, so can we please leave my ears unharmed?"
Lucy was about to argue, but then thought better of it.
Natsu leaned over and looked at Sora closely. "So this was the guy you were talking about Lucy?"
"Yeah, this is Sora, which actually explains how those accessories and tools were so well crafted."
The mage in question shrugged while on his back. "Kinda. To be honest, it's mostly the eye and my own hands, though I sometimes use my magic to help with the shaping."
"Yeah, I get that."
"Yeah, this thing does a bit more than just let me see through it." He then looked straight up at the ceiling. "If I focus my magic into it, it can act as something of a microscope, letting me see tiny details on a surface, or objects that are far away. It comes in handy with work and stuff."
"Wow." Lucy and Happy say.
Gray shared a look with Erza. "So much for trying to get Natsu to confirm this guy's scent."
"I wonder what element you got from that Prism?" Natsu asks.
Sora let out a deep breath. "Not sure yet. If I focus my magic, I can figure it out. But as we can all see, I'm not exactly in a good condition to find out right now, hehe."
Natsu and Gray then wrapped his arms around their shoulders to pick him up.
"Thanks guys, over to a chair please?" They helped him to the table and let him slump over onto the table a bit. "Thanks." He then turned to Gray. "Hey, are there any pop-sickles left?"
Gray goes over to his previous spot on the table, before coming back with one in hand. "Last one." He says, handing it to Sora.
Sora manages to get himself upright and accepts the pop-sickle. "Thanks man." He then took a bite, enjoying the cold and the flavor. "Mmm, damn, I need to make these more often."
"Yeah, they were actually the best I've ever tasted."
"Hehe, thanks. Especially since I just froze some juice." He then took another bite, before leaning back into the chair as everyone gathered around him. "Well, seeing as you guys now know my name and face, I guess I got nothing left to hide from you guys. Anymore questions for me?"
"Is that how you were able to get close enough to the Star Prisms? You use your job to get as close as you can before putting on that costume?" Erza asks.
"Not exactly, but I do use it to at least gather rumors and information about them. That, and it really does make me more money than you'd think. As for getting close to the Prisms, I use a combination of Lacrima manipulation and invisibility in order to get them."
"Interesting." Erza said as Gray steps up.
"Well, we saw what you can do so far, but what else can you do?"
"Hmmm." He took another bite as he thought. "Well, you saw me using stronger tops to create those water and fire twisters earlier, even if you didn't realize that was how I was doing it. I can make just about any weapon or item I can think of, or even form walls if need be. I'm pretty sure Citrine has the potential to heal, but I haven't really tested that. Though since it is my first Gem-type it is supposed to be the most potent of the ones I can use. Not much more than you've seen already, though I do have some ideas for later constructs. But I was able to confirm that Sapphire could let me breath underwater and move through it like air, so long as I maintain it."
"Cool." Then Natsu jumped in front of Sora and pointed at him.
"Alright, fight me! I still need to get back at you for what you did to me earlier!"
Sora blinked at him, remembering that he used his motion sickness to take him down, then smiled at him. "Alright, but later. I'm sore all over and have my magic exhausted right now." He then winced a bit and reached his empty hand to where his heart was on reflex.
"Are you okay?" Lucy asks in concern
He then gave a comforting smile. "Yeah, all good. Small side effect from sending magic into my heart with no more magic to stop the aches."
Lucy nods, not completely realizing what he said, but Erza has a much different reaction to what he said as her eyes widen in shock. "Wait, you funneled magic into your own heart?!"
This causes the others to gasp in shock, getting Sora to wince at their reactions, then try to look at anything but them. "Uh, well…"
They were all then glaring at him, dangerous auras surrounding him that promised pain.
At that point, he was covered in sweat as he faced their glares. "Um, well, it may or may not be possible, that after I discovered what my new eye can do, I could have tried seeing if I could do anything with my heart out of innocent curiosity, which may or may not have led to me becoming invisible for a little bit, then possibly testing new variations when I could? Eheheheeeee…"
"YOU WHAT!?"
He then looked in fear at the mages before him, seeing as even Happy was unhappy. "Okay, so I may have been a little young and POSSIBLY reckless when I was younger. With maybe a pinch of curiosity and no idea what magic was capable of at the time of when I tried it."
Everything was silent for a few moments, before the mages just sighed and let it go.
Sora let out a deep breath as they stopped. "Sorry, I had no idea that doing such a thing was dangerous until later." He then looked sheepishly to the side and spoke quietly. "About few hours after I woke up…"
Cue anime face fault.
Sora chuckled nervously as they recovered. "Give me a break, I was a stupid kid back then. Besides, my new heart also naturally boosts my constitution somewhat, so I was completely fine after that nap." He then looked down at the table. "Though to be honest, the idea of being invisible was too good to pass up, especially if I was going to acquire more Star Prisms. So, against my better judgment, I trained a little in regulating how much magic I could channel into it comfortably while maintaining its effects. Now, I can currently maintain the benefits of what I call my 'Crystal Heart' abilities for a maximum of 15 minutes a day without feeling any discomfort."
"Still, what you are doing is very dangerous, and very stupid." Erza states, talking as if she were scolding a child.
Sora then eyed them playfully and pointed his now clean pop-sickle stick at her. "Hey, I've heard a lot of rather INTERESTING stories about Fairy Tail, so tell me honestly that none of you guys have done anything dangerous and stupid, and MAYBE I'll apologize for risking my life."
The only response he got was multiple sweat-drops and a few nervous laughs.
"Haha, yeah, I thought so. You guys have to be at least as suicidal as me if you can take on giant monsters like that Lullaby demon, saving all those guild masters at that conference." He then looked in the direction of a bin and tossed his stick at it, cheering slightly when he made it in.
"Well, that's basically the specialty of us Fairy Tail mages." Natsu shrugs with a smile.
"Yeah, you guys have a pretty good reputation for getting the job done while destroying a lot of stuff. Haha."
"Anyway, I believe we should go and bring the replica Prism to the museum, the client will want it soon." Erza says.
Sora nodded to them. "Sure, go ahead. I'll be here for the night. Need to let my magic recharge for a few hours before I can finish the rest of the Prisms, so that will take me well into tomorrow. Feel free to come on by at any time, just promise not to tell anyone about any of this please. Seriously, Lucy, not even Loral knows about any of this, not even about my magic."
They all looked at each other for a few moments, before they turned to Sora with a smile and Natsu nodded. "No problem dude, just get some rest." Getting a grateful smile in return, they left him to rest for the night.
After a little under an hour of walking from Sora's underground home out of town, they arrived to see the Museum at closing hours with Mr. Erickson walking out the front door, a solemn look on his face. Looking up, he saw the Fairy Tail mages and ho looked at them hopefully as he ran over to them. "You're back! It's been hours, where have you been?! Did you get the Prism back?!"
"Yes sir, we've managed to get the Prism back, but the thief got away from us I'm afraid." Erza says, presenting the replica as the others quietly held their breath.
Erickson's eyes shone as he laid eyes on the Prism, happily taking it with great care. "Oh, thank goodness it is alright!" He then rubbed his eyes with his arm, getting them to relax, then looked at them with gratitude. "I'm just glad it is back where it belongs. Thank you all so much."
They nodded. "So, when do we get paid?" Natsu asks.
Erickson nodded. "Of course, I'll have the money prepared tomorrow. I almost put it away after it was taken, but I see now that that would have been a mistake. You wizards are truly incredible!"
This causes Lucy, Happy, and Natsu to cheer while Gray and Erza smiled in satisfaction.
As the Fairies left the curator to get some rest, no one noticed the dark figure that had ducked into an alley and watched Mr. Erickson walk back into the Museum with the Star Prism, a dark smirk crossing their face.
A/N: Hope everyone liked the backstory I came up with, as well as how Sora got on good terms with everyone. The way his magic works is something I've thought about for a while, and not too unreasonable considering the other kinds of magic with similar versatility, such as Solid Script or Memory Make.
Now then, I have the next 5 chapters figured out and ready for posting, but still open to ideas on stuff I can do. Will even accept ideas on potential pairings, as I currently have no plans for one. Let me know what you think might be fun, either by review or PM, and show support for this story if you like it through either a favorite or follow.
Anyway, I don't expect to post anything else before Christmas, so see you guys in my next update.
Happy Holidays!