A Rift Between Worlds
We don't own Fairy Tail
CHAPTER THREE
Our favourite brunet's eyes slowly open as he awakens. Sitting up and stretching, Tre changes into an outfit consisting of a long-sleeved black top that hugs his muscles, a pair of dark brown trousers, black boots and a long dark blue coat.
Making his way into the livingroom, he initiates the conversation with his grandfather "Mornin' gramps, are we having breakfast at the guild?" He queries.
"Something tells me that Neomi isn't up yet. Why don't you pick her up from Fairy Hills and meet me there, so she won't be late? Also, you can get Juvia as well," Makarov intones. He picks up his keys then heads towards the foyer. "For some reason, I feel like the Raijinshuu won't be bothering you much during this trip."
"Alright gramps, see you in a while" The brunet waves as he begins his walk towards Fairy Hills.
Even as he keeps an optimistic pace on his way, he can't help but question what his grandfather meant by 'the Raijinshuu won't be bothering you much'. Had something happened while he was knocked out? Did Neomi have problems while she was at Fairy Hills? Well, if it was the latter, then Tre knew he would be the one to clean up house over his new comrade in arms.
Walking up the main path towards the building, Trevet chaps on the door with the back of his hand. In a few seconds he was greeted by a redhead, but it wasn't the one he was looking for.
"Yes?" Erza wonders with suspicion in her voice. "Did Makarov not tell you this is an all girl's dorm?"
"I'm here to pick up Juvia and Neomi" Tre says blankly.
Sudden flush crosses Erza's face, but she opens the door up anyhow. "Come in then. If Master says it's okay, then you can be admitted this once. But, what you may find in Neomi's room might not be what you'd expect." Erza steps through the foyer and towards a set of stairs. Easily enough, she ascends but keeps an eye out to make sure Trevet keeps close behind her. She wasn't going to let him go sight seeing. Not on her watch.
"What do you mean 'not what I'd expect'?" The brunet asks curiously.
Stopping in front of Neomi's door, Erza gulps. "You won't speak a word of this to Master Makarov. Do you hear me? If he knows what Neomi has in her room…"
"What is it?" He asks.
"It's much simpler if you just see it…" Erza takes a moment to suck in a breath of air. After seeming to ready herself, she opens the bedroom door up for Trevet to see… Bickslow.
Tied up to a post on the bed, Neomi sat in front of him. Her lips were upturned into the most sadistic of grins, and she was cleaning her revolver before the Seith Mage. "Tell me, my love. Who is the biggest badass in all the lands?" she wonders to the man.
"Ahem!" Tre clears his throat loudly, drawing Neomi and Bickslow's attention towards him.
Neomi casts her victim a dark yet strangely seductive grin then places her revolver on the dresser she was perched atop. "We'll continue this later on tonight," she mentions to her victim.
A muffled squeak was her answer before Neomi glanced towards Tre. "Hello, Trevet," she purred, sadism still glistening in her blue eyes.
"Umm….what's this?" The brunet asks with a slightly scared look in his eyes, his amber orbs soaking in the scene.
Loading her revolver, Neomi hops off of the dresser. She makes sexy strides over to Bickslow. Pulling a gag from his lips, she pinches his chin. "You see, Trevet, the Raijinshuu infiltrated Fairy Hills last night. Freed was in drag. Bickslow and Laxus were in the rafters. Sadly, those two got away, but Erza brought this one back to me." She scratches Bickslow under the chin. "We've been having fun all night long. Haven't we, Bickslow?"
"Isn't Freed's natural habitat in drag?" Trevet smirks.
Neomi takes a knife from a sheath on her thigh then slices Bickslow free from the bonds on his wrists. As soon as he tries to make a break for it, Omi slips her hands around his shoulders. She rests her head against his while keeping him in a lazy chokehold. "Hmm. Maybe, but this was in order to let the guys get a big enough distraction to sneak into the dormitory. They might have gotten away with it had they not fallen into my bedroom through a secret hole in the ceiling. I think this pervert has met his female match."
"You get intense when you're on a roll, awesome…" Tre grins in awe.
Neomi presses the tips of two fingers against Bickslow's skull like she's holding a gun to his head. "Ya know what they say in video games. Boom! Headshot." Her fingers shift like she's pulling the trigger.
"Shots fired!" The brunet laughs.
"Also, Bickslow said that he would be happy to take Freed's place on this mission. I think his ego took a shot last night. Poor thing." She sighs, "That's another thing I'll have to punish you for. Isn't it?" Bickslow whimpered.
"That's a bit kinky…." Tre mumbles to Erza.
"This is the exact reason I want you to say nothing when you get to the guild. This never happened. Bickslow was never here. Now, do you need me to show you to Juvia?" Erza gives a glance to Neomi.
The female was leaning close to Bickslow. Her plump lips were purring something in his ears, and by the slight trembling wracking Bickslow's body, Erza was positive she did not want to know what they were discussing.
"Y-Yes please! Can we leave now?" Trevet whispers to the redhead.
Neomi releases Bickslow from her clutches then puts her gun in her holster. "Wait up!" she cries as the two mages rush out of the bedroom. Her hands hastily stretch to snag her wings, jacket, and hat. Thanks to the agreement she struck with Bickslow, the items fly on her via his beautiful spirits.
"Okay okay!" The brunet exclaims as he stands still and waits for Omi.
Happily, she walks over towards Erza and Trevet. Bickslow follows close behind like some kind of whipped dog. The smile on her face was of someone who should have been dancing in a field of daisies while wearing a cute summer, sundress. It was not the face of someone who had a Seith Mage on a metaphorical chain while she sported mechanical wings and pinstriped skinny jeans.
"Quite a personality change" Tre claps as he observes his curvy, redheaded friend.
She sings, "Revenge is the most important meal of the day. Serving it up Omi's way!" Spiky lashes bat in the direction of a silent Seith Mage.
"Wow….just wow...you okay Bickslow?" He asks sympathetically.
Clearing his throat, he whispers, "She made me her… bitch…"
"Yup! And, if he does anything that displeases me, I get to workout a fabulous punishment. But, Bixie is a good boy. Aren't you?" She got on tiptoe to scratch him under the chin.
"Woof!" he yelps.
"This is some kinky shit right here" The Gem Mage says.
"Well, if they're going to go sneaking around looking for naked girls, they should at least become our slaves. It's only reasonable," Neomi defends. She skips towards Erza. "Are we almost at Juvia's room? I would love for us to turn Gray into a dog, too."
As the four make their way to Juvia's room, Cana passes by. She's in her regular attire except she's swapped her Capri pants for a pair of Capri short shorts. She drags a finger across Tre's well-sculpted chest in a sultry manner before smirking and saying, "Morning big boy" before walking off, her curvaceous hips swaying as she walks.
Neomi clucks her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "Uh-huh. Someone's getting some noticeable glances. Must be that Dreyar sexuality oozing. Funny how the attractiveness skipped two generations before coming back."
Bickslow smirked, "Are you implying that Master Makarov is not a hot piece of ass?"
"Ewww" Tre gags.
Snickering, Neomi shakes her head. Her eyes glance towards Erza. The Requip Mage appears completely unsure of just how to deal with her current situation. In hopes of getting everything somewhat normal, Neom realizes just where they're standing. "Time to get Juvia," she mentions while rasping her knuckles across the door three times.
Trevet waits with arms crossed. He impatiently taps his black-booted foot against the floor. After a few seconds and the sounds of something skittering about the room, his eyes are graced with the sight of a fully dressed Juvia holding a small doll of Gray in her arms.
"Good morning Juvia, are you ready to get going?" The brunet asks with a bright smile.
"Yes, Juvia is ready. Why are there boys in Fairy Hills? If boys are allowed where is my Gray?" she wonders, looking at Bickslow and Trevet.
"Bickslow is Neomi's dog now and I came on the request of Master Makarov. Neomi suggested you and her make Gray into your dog" Tre sighs in exasperation.
"Love Rival wants me to have Gray as my dog?" Juvia tilts her head at Neomi. Looking her from foot to top of her aviator hat wearing head, Juvia gives a subtle nod of her head. "You've moved down the chart for now, Love Rival. You're no longer Number Two. You're… Love Rival Number Ten."
"I'm assuming Love Rival Number One is Lucy?" Neomi wonders.
Teeth grit, and Juvia hisses, "Blonde bimbo."
"Ya know Juvia, I saw the two of them walking home together last night. Something about Lucy 'taking a ride on Gray's disco stick'." Tre explains.
A hand pulls on the string keeping Neomi's wings under lock. Sure enough, she releases them only to curse, "Damn it! I really need to work on that ejection mechanism. Tch."
Against her original plan, Trevet had actually dodged "Hah! Dodged this time!"
With a yawn Neomi stretches her arms to the sky. Her movement sends her wings flapping forward to slap against gemstone skin. Grinning, she easily retracts the wings. "Good job, Trevet."
"Anyway Juvia, they walked home together and Lucy 'took a ride on Gray's disco stick'." He says plainly.
"NOOO! GRAY-SAMA! DAMNED BLONDE BIMBO, JUVIA'S GOING TO KICK THE BITCH'S ASS!" The blue-haired Rain Woman screeches in clouds begin to darken. Shadows pull deep into the hallway the group stands within.
"Calm down, that never happened Juvia" Neomi says in an attempt to calm the Gray-obsessed woman.
"It didn't? Yay! Gray-sama is still loyal to Juvia!" She exclaims.A shadow crosses over her face as she growls, "But, I'll make sure that bimbo says nothing about my Gray's disco stick."
Tre snickers at the rage of the Rain Woman, hiding his mouth with his left hand.
Clearing her throat, Erza turns to the group. "Well, if that's all, you have to leave. I'll tell Makarov you left for the train. Gray told me he'd meet you at the station. Greater Minor is a half day trip because the tracks don't run through it. You'll be stopping last in Clover Town then go west before you hit the mountains."
"Alright, are we all ready to go?" The brown-haired Dreyar asks with a pinch of curiosity in his voice.
Looking towards Juvia and a lip locked Bickslow, Neomi makes the decision. "I'm good. They look good. Guess that it's time to head out. Eh?"
"Yeah. On the way, I can tell you embarrassing things and stories about Laxus" Tre smirks as the five make their way through the wooden halls of Fairy Hills.
"Embarrassing stories about Laxus?" Juvia wonders, not able to conjure up anything on the topic.
"Mhmm, like why he turns down most girls that ask him out" Trevet adds as they exit the dormitories and head through the streets.
"I feel like this is going to go one of two ways," Neomi intercepts. "Option A would be that some girl broke his heart. Option B would be that Laxus has some kind of issue with himself."
"It's actually neither" The brunet says with a sly grin, attempting to egg the others into asking him.
Taking the bait, Bickslow crosses his arms over his broad chest. "Alright. I'll give. What's the reason?"
"Laxus….bear with me for a second…" Tre says as he stifles laughter "...has a maid-girl fetish"
Neomi shrugs while Juvia's eyes widen and Bickslow snickers. "So, what? That it? Cosplay is the bomb. I'll have you know that the last Comic Con that I went to, I dressed as Cat Girl. Guys that didn't even have fetishes got their meter running."
"It's not just that, Laxus….likes being on the bottom" The brunet says.
Hysterical laughter erupts from Bickslow's lips. "I called it! I so freaking called! I know a masochist when I see one!"
Juvia's face blushes as she breaths, "I wonder which position Gray-sama prefers…"
Face palming, Neomi winces at the reactions around her. "Really, guys? Really?"
"Anyway anyway, there's Gray" Tre says as the raven-haired half-naked man comes into view along with the train station.
A hand lays itself on Juvia's shoulder. Leaning close to the Rain Woman, Bickslow snickers, "How about you go ask Gray what is his prefered position in Kama Sutra?"
"And show off a little cleavage Juvia, Gray seems like the kinda guy who likes that. You seen the way he eyes Lucy's pair?" Trevet nudges the bluenette lightly.
As Juvia struts her way over towards the awaiting Ice Mage, Bickslow comments, "I'm more of an ass man myself."
Two hands shoot out to twist Trevet's and Bickslow's ears. Once she had to hissing in pain mages walking/stumbling behind her, Neomi proclaims, "Alrighty, boys. That's enough perversion for today. How about we start on this train ride?"
"Sure. I'm getting bored anyways" The brunet shrugs, walking off the pain like a champion.
"I'm sure you are," Neomi grumbles back. As the train conductor howls for all passengers to board, she releases the boys. "Good morning, Gray," she greets a slightly confused Ice Mage.
"Morning, Neomi. Where's Freed?"
"Some things happened, and he couldn't make it. He sent Bickslow in his place," Neomi explains. She searches the train and after a second spreads herself out along it. Whipping a magazine out on mechanics, she states, "I'm still not sure that this mission is going to go without something horrible happening."
"I get that feeling too" Trevet says casually whilst lifting his face from an issue of Sorcerer Weekly.
Bickslow takes a spot after Neomi points it out for him. Gray's brows rise even higher at the strange relationship that those two suddenly have. Even so, he goes to take a seat only to have hands clamp down on his bicep. "Gray-sama, we should sit here. Together!"
"Uh…. Sure…." he makes out before being hauled off in a flit of smoking footsteps.
"Bickslow, Gray, gotta a little game we could play to pass the time" Tre says as he looks between the raven-haired man and the visor-wearing man.
"Really now?" Bickslow wonders. A hint of a grin teases the half of his face that is visible, and Neomi's eyes narrow on two of the most perverted males she has yet to ever meet.
"Alright. I'll say the name of a girl, and you say if you'd bang her or not" The brunet smiles "Comprende? Let's start, Erza"
Before any of the guys can get a word out, the two females decide to cut in. Juvia cries, "Juvia doesn't think that she likes this game" at the same time that Neomi protests, "Oi! It ain't fair if the guys are the only ones in the game. Let us in on it." Her eyes cut to Juvia. "Even though we know what her answer will be every time."
"Alright we'll alternate, one question for the ladies and then one for the guys. Got it? Okay, Natsu" The brunet says.
"Hell no! Also, I suggest that we give a reason for why or why not. My reason not is that he probably doesn't even know what his dangly bits are good for," Neomi explains with a smirk playing on her lips.
"Juvia has to say no as well. Natsu is not half as lovely as Juvia's Gray-sama."
"Alright, for the guys, Levy" Tre says.
"No," Bickslow remarks to the utter amazement of the men. "Too cute. I'd feel like I was with my little sister. Sick."
"Yes actually, she's caring and adorable, and her intelligence is a boon too" The Ice Mage says calmly.
"I wouldn't. She's nice and all but Gajeel would tan my hide if I even got close to her" Tre shudders.
Grinning, Neomi states, "Alright. But, what about Lucy? I'd ask a guy, but Juvia will say no to anyone but Gray. Right, Juvia?"
"Neomi is right. Juvia only has eyes for Gray-sama."
"I'd go for Lucy," Gray begins "She's sweet, kind, caring, has a great personality and a good body"
"Bimbo!" Juvia hisses. Her teeth audibly grate against each other as Neomi's eyes widen in fear for the young novelist's life.
Ignoring Juvia's antics, Bickslow agrees, "Hell yeah. Best pair of tits in the guild."
"She is pretty hot and seems like a good person too" Tre adds.
"Alright. Gimme a guy. I don't care who," Neomi responds. She leans from her lounging position, and as soon as the train begins to chug itself way down the tracks, she tucks her magazine into a pocket next to the window.
"Alright, Gray" Bickslow grins. "And, you have to answer honestly. My babies and I will know if you're lying." He gestures towards Neomi's five spiritual sentries.
Eyes narrow in his direction when Neomi feels daggers sinking into her back. Gritting her teeth, Neomi admits, "Yeah, but it would never happen out of respect for Juvia. The only reason is because he has a good body, but the fact that you're always stripping and the fact that you're super moody is a total turn off. I could never date you."
"That's understandable," Gray mentions with a nod of his head.
"Love Rival!" Juvia hisses, inching towards Neomi like she's ready to go in for the kill. She likely would have tossed a leg over the faux leather seat to get to her had Gray not held her hand to cut her off.
"Juvia. Here's an ultimatum; say Gray was either gay or in a relationship/married, who would you date?" The brunet Dreyar asks curiously.
Blue eyes widen as Juvia considers it. "Gray-sama couldn't be gay, but if he was happy with a Love Rival… Juvia does not know who she would be with. No one strikes Juvia but Gray-sama."
"Doesn't Lyon have a thing for you? How about him?" Trevet asks with a slight smile.
"Totally bang!" Neomi cries out. "Just because of the nice hair. I have a thing for guys that spike their hair up. Mohawks are the bomb!"
As if Neomi didn't just proclaim anything, Juvia presses a finger against her bottom lip. "Juvia… finds him attractive, but… Maybe, yes? He is kind to Juvia."
"That means you'd go for me if I took of my visor more, eh Neomi?" Bix asks with a sly grin.
A foxy grin creeps up her face as she checks out the mage. Neomi replies, "Of course, but not just because of the hair. You've got the best shoulders in the bizz."
"So….anyone want more facts about Laxus?" The younger Dreyar sibling asks in order to break the sudden sexual tension in the air.
"You have Laxus facts? Wait. This isn't like that Cat Facts spam that hacked into my lacrima TV. Is it?" Gray wonders, warning in his voice at something strange that must have happened to him a while back.
"No. Wait, what?" The brunet laughs slightly "Cat Facts?"
"Ya know. Just forget about it. All I'm going to say is that someone hacked my TV. I'll leave it at that," Gray replies, narrowing a look at a snickering Neomi. "Did… You! You hacked my TV?"
"Bahahaha! Yes! I did! After the Raijinshuu got kicked out of the dorms, I hacked everyone in Fairy Tail's TVs with Cat Facts! Did you know that the cheetah is one of the fastest land mammals? Did you, Gray?"
"Was there anything about lions being lazy fuckers and lioness's doing everything? Because gramps was talking about that this morning" Tre sighs.
"Of course! Oh and did you know that homosexuality is actually a thing in lions? If Levy was here, I'm sure she would tell you the same thing. She's always reading nonfiction. I'm sure she's come upon the Cat Facts book in the guild."
"Wow. Gay lions" Bix says.
"Indeed. So, Tre, are you going to get on those childhood Laxus stories or what?" Neomi wonders. "'Cause if you're not, I'm going to start reading my magazine again."
"Yeah. Any questions about Laxus before I begin?" The brunet asks.
Adjusting from his perch, Gray states, "Yeah, I've got a question. Why does he always act like someone shoved a stick up his ass? He's the moodiest guy I've ever met."
"It's because he doesn't want to show weakness. As a kid he was a massive scaredycat and all the kids in our hometown mocked him for it" Tre explains "So he toughened up and beat their asses before, like the dick he became, he abandoned mom with that sick psycho from whose seed we were forged"
"I can see that actually," Neomi mentions. "I didn't have the best childhood growing up. I was the girl that cried too much. Next thing I knew I got into all kinds of bad stuff, hung out with the wrong crowd, and became the bad kind of rebel. Failed classes just because I was too busy trying to rebel against the system.
"Yeah and not to mention when Laxus was at gramps' house for the week, I saw that man do unspeakable things to mother" Trevet grits his teeth.
"Abusive household?" Bickslow questions. His eyes find their way to the floor of the train. "Yeah. He told me about some of that. Kind of why we get along so well actually... My family sucked… But, aren't we all just a bunch of misfits in the end? Good family. Bad family. We all grow up to be nothing more than ourselves…"
"I understand you totally Bix, so any more topics for discussion?" The brunet asks.
Stretching his legs out in front of him, Bickslow reclines in his seat. Long arms span the top of the leather pressed against his back. "After that depressing bit, I don't know. What about y'all?" He turns slightly towards the rest of the group.
"Nothing," Gray replies.
"Juvia feels too bad for Tre and Laxus that she can't think of anything to change topics with…"
Neomi reaches to her pocket to withdraw a screw driver. Her eyes settle on some strange gadget instead of even answering. When she realizes that people are waiting for her to say something, she mentions, "The Dreyars are big boys. The last thing I want to do is pity you."
The group's attention is drawn to the Seith Mage, who is currently rifling through his bag for an object. He pulls a large box which Neomi automatically recognizes, as the words 'Cards Against Humanity' are printed onto the front. Except, in this dimension they're called 'Cards Against Fiore'.
"No way," Neomi breaths, setting her newest gadget into her lap. "There is no way that you have a version of 'Cards Against Humanity' in this dimension."
"We do. Now let's play!" Bickslow exclaims as he takes out the white cards, shuffles them and deals them to everyone in hands of sevens.
"Juvia does not know this game. Bickslow, could you explain the rules?" Juvia asks as she gawks at a few of the cards in her hands.
"You choose a card and set it face down in correlation with the black card I read out. Which ever I deem funniest wins. Lets do best of five" The Seith Mage says.
Snickering at his hand, Gray says, "Got it. Let's do this."
"Alright, First one. _ + _ = _" The Seith Mage says. He waits patiently as each person gathers three of their cards. After receiving them all, he states, "Gray Fullbuster + Juvia Lockser = Clothes off, penis in vagina. Bickslow's tiki dolls + Laxus = Basic Human decency. A shot of vodka + piss stained sheets = a hell of a good night in Crocus. And finally, Yaoi fans + Natsu = Sabertooth" The Seith Mage says.
"So, who's the winner?" Neomi wonders with a suggestive raising of her brows.
"Yaoi fans + Natsu = Sabertooth, who put that?" Bix asks curiously.
Gray's hand promptly raises. "This guy!"
The brown-haired Dreyar leans across the table, his hand extended for a high five whilst exclaiming,"Nice one!"
"Aw. Come on. I swore that I had that one," Neomi whines with her competitive personality showing.
Juvia wonders, "Which one was yours?"
"The shot of vodka."
"Alright. Alright. Next hand." Bickslow's eyes scan across his cards. Smiling to himself, he states, "My mom came in and checked the history on my lacrima computer. As soon as she saw _ .com, I was grounded for a month."
"Oh, this one's good," Trevet snickers. He hands over a card at the same time that Juvia places hers down.
"Alright, here we go. Gruvia fanfiction. Pixelated Bukake. Freshly greased Jura Neekis. And finally, Discount Thunder Beads," The Seith Mage says. After drawing a card from the stack, he asks, "Who wants Discounted Thunder Beads?"
Beaming wickedly, Trevet snickers, "I've got a coupon for that."
"Ugh! My cards suck!" Neomi grumbles. "Also, Juvia, could you be a little more original?"
"Juvia's hand is perfect," the Rain Woman cheers gleefully.
"Who wins?" The Ice Mage asks.
"Trevet. Definitely Trevet," Bickslow responds, jabbing a thumb in the direction of a victorious Trevet Umbridge-Dreyar. "Alright. Next group. Ah. One of my favourites; After seeing nudes of _ in Sorcerer Weekly, I _ violently into my _."
"This one's got it for sure," Neomi promises, whispering more to herself than anyone else.
"We'll just see about that," Trevet smarts as he turns his card in right on top of hers.
In a few seconds Bickslow collects his samples. "Alright, everyone. After seeing nudes of Ooba Babasaama in Sorcerer Weekly, I vomited violently into my toilet. Next, comes up After seeing nudes of Duke Everlue in Sorcerer Weekly, I screamed Bloody Murder violently into my brother's sock drawer. After seeing nudes of Makarov Dreyar in Sorcerer Weekly, I ripped my eyes out violently into my neighbor's cat's litter box. And finally; After seeing nudes of Mirajane Strauss in Sorceror Weekly, I masturbated violently into my sock. And, drum roll please?"
The entire group did a thumping of their feet on the floor of the train.
"The grand winner would be Makarov Dreyar with ripping eyes out in the neighbor's litter box! Who's my champion?"
"That would be me!" Neomi howls with her hands in the air. "Who has two thumbs and a place in this game? This girl."
"Next question," Bickslow begins, "When the _ plague came to Fiore, people began growing large _ on their skin." The Seith Mage once again gathers the cards and coughs loudly "Alright. When the Sting Eucliffe plague came to Fiore, people began growing large vaginas on their skin. Next, we have... Who the? Ya know what, whatever. I'll say it. When the twerking plague came to Fiore, people began growing large rubber dildos on their skin. Okay what the hell?! Anyway, When the swollen butthole plague came to Fiore, people began growing Ooba Babasaama's hairy private areas on their skin. When the All Fired Up plague came to Fiore, people began growing large Happy's on their skin. The winner of Round Four goes home with one large rubber dildo! Winner, please, step up and take your prize!"
Trevet mocks walking up onto a stage then draws a few more cards from the ones on Bickslow's seat. "I would like to thank the academy for this honor."
"Aye! Speaking of prizes, what does the winner get after all this? And, what if someone ties with Tre during the next turn?" Neomi wonders.
"The winner gets treated to a meal by the person in last place, and if someone ties with Tre they'll both get a free meal" Bix explains.
Gray and Neomi share a glance over their cards. At the same time they mouth, "Your ass is going down."
Gray whips his head towards Bickslow. "Bix, call out the last card!"
"The final card is; What does the Exceed say?!" The Seith Mage exclaims. Four hands slap cards down on the table. "Okay. What does the… Really… Someone had to use that card." Juvia's faint giggling comes from across the alley between the seats. Releasing a sigh, Bickslow continues, "What does the Exceed say? Wapapapapapow."
Hysterical laughter explodes at the deadpan tone of Bickslow's voice. "Continuing on," The Seith Mage coughs "What does the Exceed say? GRAY-SAMA!" Bix laughs slightly. "Next. What does the Exceed say? Jet fuel can't melt steel beams. And finally; What does the Exceed say? Fuck her right in the—Carla!" The Seith Mage waits for the laugher to die down before announcing, "And the winner fucks her right in the Carla!"
"Boom!" Neomi cries. Jumping from the seat, she snatches the used cards up from the table. "Makin' it rain!" Her hands shoot the cards out from the stacks where the land atop a groaning Gray, confused Juvia, and two snickering male mages. "Juvia owes us supper!"
"Cough it up in Clover Town, Rainwoman" The brunet smirks as he high fives the redhead.
The sharp hiss of a train's brakes enters the Clover Town station, and a group of possibly the most ragtag teammates ever known to the Fairy Tail guild steps onto solid ground.
"Dang it feels good to get off of that thing" The muscular brunet sighs in relief as he stretches off, loosening his muscles for the upcoming job.
Slender palms rise into the air within the decorated station. Standing up on her tiptoes, Neomi yawns, "Yup! So, how many hours are we from the town?"
Juvia tilts her head off to the side while cradling her face in her palm. After thinking for a moment or so, she states, "Erza said that it would take us about half of a day to get here. So, we shouldn't be but a couple of hours or so from there. Right, Gray-sama?" Her answer came in the form of a short head nod.
"You're right Juvia" The raven-haired mage nods as he and the rest of the group follow their Dreyar leader closely, only for them to bash into him a few minutes later.
Gritting her teeth, Neomi's body gets plastered tight between a Dreyar, Seith Mage, and a pair of water mage boobs. With her face buried between Trevet's shoulders, she growls, "The hell is with the traffic jam, Tre? And, Bickslow, get your hand off my ass!"
The rest of the group can see the anger and seething rage emanating from the younger Dreyar as he grits his teeth and spits out, "It's them."
As the rest of the group tries to dislodge limb from limb, Neomi remains in her spot behind Trevet. Her hands grip his shoulders, and she hauls herself up on tip toe to peer at just what the Dreyar was snarling at. "Raven Tail?" she whispers.
"Mhmm. Damn bastards. When the Grand Magic Games rolls around I'm going to take them all down" The brunet growls as he begins to walk again, attempting to hide his rage as he passes the red-headed member of his father's guild.
"Something wrong brownie?" Flare asks mockingly, only to receive a fist to the face from Tre.
"You shut your whore mouth Corona!" The brown-haired Dreyar snaps.
Like the many snakes that once graced the head of Medusa, Flare's hair rises. It slithers around her skull like multiple vipers, but before the Raven member can do anything, Neomi steps between the two of them. Her hand lays flat against Trevet's chest, and she narrows crystal eyes down on Flare. "Whoa! Chill out, guys. We're just walking through. No need to start shit. Alright?"
"Okay Omi. But do something again Flare and I'mma shave you bald." Tre snarls, "Come on guys." He says as he shoves past the rest of Raven Tail and heads off down the street.
Even as Neomi turns to carry on, she can't help the feeling in her chest. Unlike the rest of these guys, she knew Flare's personality. She was just weird. She wasn't rude… But, that was in the manga. Maybe, in her hallucination Flare was the bad guy.
Biting down on her bottom lip, Neomi catches up to the rest of the team. With one last lingering glance at Flare, Neomi hisses, "Flare didn't start anything, Tre. You did. You have worse mood swings than a teenage girl. Also, don't act like you're the leader here. No one assigned you anything."
"Can I just say that I have a valid reason for attacking that bitch? She's the reason my parent's marriage fell apart and the reason mom fell ill." The brunet glares, his amber eyes as sharp as daggers.
Not bothered by the classic Dreyar Bitch Face in the slightest, Neomi rolls her eyes. Her hands find their way to her pinstriped pockets, and she steps away from Trevet. Taking her place was Bickslow, he wondered, "So, how'd that all go down?"
"Firstly, the sick son of a bitch that is my biological father was growing tired of the 'severe lack of sex' in his and mom's marriage, so he took Flare as his little fuckbuddy. This angered mom obviously, yet Ivan and Flare Whorona had the audacity to say she was in the wrong! After he left, father had Flare return one night, restrain my mom, and poison her, I'll never forgive her." Tre explains with a heavy heart.
"Sounds like your Pa was one messed up son of a bitch," Gray comments. He may not have been looking much like it, but he was listening. Even with his passive expression in place and his hands in his jeans, Gray was likely absorbing more information than the ones that looked to be watching everything carefully.
"He was. And still is. Ivan Dreyar is the guildmaster of Raven Tail and the man I hate the most in the entire world." The brunet grits his straight white teeth.
For a moment a heavy silence fills the air between the members of the group. Neomi walks with her lips in a firm, flat line. Her eyes pass over the different shops that line either side of the road, and she plays with mechanical bobbles hidden behind the fabric of her jeans. Trevet steps with his eyes narrowed and brows furrowed. He takes in more of the cobblestone on the ground beneath his feet instead of the people in front of him. Bickslow, Gray, and Juvia aren't doing much differently than the two newbies. Bickslow checks out the shops. Juvia admires Gray. Her mouth wants to open to say something to shatter the silence, but it's so thick and heavy in the air that she can't think of a single thing. Gray just walks quietly. He checks out the path ahead of them like a tight-lipped sentry.
When the group finally comes across the Clover Town Square, Neomi states, "There's a pizzeria. Want to stop in to pay off that bet, Juvia?" Her thumb presses in the direction of an indoor/outdoor eatery where people are dining. Rock music is playing softly from lacrima powered sound systems, and Neomi looks like she's heading that way whether the group is or not.
"Juvia doesn't see a problem with that. Gray-sama, do you want to stop and eat before we keep going?" Her big, blue eyes round at the sight of the object of her affections.
When he finally lays his gaze down on her staring face, he grumbles, "Yeah. Sure. Whatever."
"Well, if the lovebirds are in it, then I'm game, too," Bickslow comments with a slick grin on his face. He wraps his long arms around the two younger mages. "There's nothing Gray-sama likes better than eating pizza with his beautiful Juvia-wuvia. Is there, Gray-sama?"
Snickering at the dread paling Gray's face and the flush running up Juvia's skin, Trevet adds in, "Sounds good to me. I'm about starved."
Once they enter the dining establishment, Trevet takes the lead. "Alright Juvia-wuvia, up to the counter and pay, please?" The brunet grins at the Rainwoman.
"But, Juvia doesn't know what you want to eat," the bluenet mentions in slight confusion.
"I want a barbecue chicken calzone with a side salad and… Oh! They have beer here! You have to drink beer with pizza. Hmm. Lemme see. Yeah. I want a Black Chrysanthemum," Neomi explains as she hungrily devours all the items on the menu.
"You would get the beer with the highest alcohol content," Bickslow notes. "Anybody want to share a pizza? I'll pay my share if you pay yours, Gray."
"Oh Juvia~ For me, I'll have Jack on the rocks and a margherita pizza" Trevet says in a teasing manner.
Sticking out her tongue, Neomi comments, "You actually like drinking liquified charcoal whiskey?"
"Fine fine, I'll have….Smirnoff with ice and kiwi" The brunet says.
After a short exchange of jewel between the visor sporting mage and Gray, Juvia collects her cash before stating the order and entering it into a lacrima powered orderer. Once finished with it all, Neomi makes her way out the door. She takes her a spot on the outdoor patio instead of asking where everyone wants to sit soon as her butt hits the seat, Neomi pulls out the metal trinket she'd been working on in the train and starts messing with it via her screwdriver.
"Hey Omi?" Tre begins, "What's that?"
"Parts of a toaster combined with an electric lacrima driver. The twisty part right here came off of a wine bottle opener," she explains without looking up. Her eyes focus on her work and her teeth nibble on her bottom lip in concentration.
"So, what's it meant to do?" The visor-wearing mage asks.
"Shoot arrowheads," she states simply. Moving the small piece in her hands, Neomi points to a small plate. "The pressure plate on the side will eject the heads when pressed down. Check it." Her thumb slips against a silver piece on the strange mechanism, and four pairs of brows raise—at least she thought so because she couldn't see Bickslow's brows—when a hidden slot ejects an arm-like appendage to release in the same spot an arrowhead would be placed.
"Coolio. So…..you're gonna use your magic as well as weapons?" Trevet asks.
"Hmm. Likely. My ex took me to the shooting range all the time, so I know how to shoot. And, my foster family went hunting with me a lot. I'm good with a knife, and I have great aim. Since I'm not sure how reliable my magic is, I'd be more comfortable knowing that I was armed," Neomi mentions. After tightening a screw on the bit, she pulls an arrowhead from her back pocket. Loading it down, she pulls back before slipping her fingers across the pressure plate. Sure enough, the mechanism worked. The arrowhead went launching out at a breakneck speed from the extra power given by the lacrima driver. When it hit its target—a road sign—the arrowhead went clean through the thin metal.
"Sweet! You could take someone's head clean off!" Bickslow exclaims in joy.
Blowing the top of the trinket off like it had smoke coming off it, Neomi snickers, "I dunno what you're cheering about. You're still on my List of People Who Need to be Put in Their Place."
"S-Sorry Ma'am" Bix says apologetically, "But in my defence, Laxus wanted to talk to you, so I came with."
"Laxus?" Neomi wonders in the same tune of Trevet's questioning voice. "What did he want with me?"
"He wanted to ask...questions about you, like how you know his little brother" The Seith Mage explains.
"Why I know Tre? I just met him yesterday. I feel out of the sky after taking a drug and he became my buffer from me going splat on the cobblestone. We just decided to travel together since I have no clothes other than these and no money," she explains. Storing her new creation into a leather pouch on her boots, Neomi looks towards Trevet. She assumed the boys weren't the closest to each other. This was just confirming it. Any normal brother wouldn't resort to spying to get information. Laxus wanted something out of her. Neomi just wasn't sure what.
"I think he was jealous his little bro has a hot piece of ass, guess he was wrong" Bix shrugs.
Cocking her brow, Neomi shifts in her seat. She leans in to state, "S'cuse me, honey, but what do you mean he was wrong about me not being a hot piece of ass?"
"As in he thought you were Tre's hot piece of ass. But you're a hot piece of ass just waiting to be claimed" The Seith Mage grins.
"Honey, you can keep on making assumptions, but the only one claiming this ass is three people. Me. Myself. And, I," she snickers, batting those spiky lashes for effect.
Leaning in slightly, Trevet smirks and says, "The flanter is strong with this one"
"Juvia wishes that Gray-sama would flirt with her like that," Juvia sighs as she looks from Neomi to Bickslow. The two of them were grinning at each other with nearly lecherous smiles.
Ignoring them, Bickslow teases, "We can't make a four way outta that. Can we?"
"Excuse me? I want no part of this," Gray pouts as he leans over to grab something, only for Tre to knock his leg and cause his hand to land on Juvia's left breast.
"Looks like you do," Neomi points out. She leans back from her conversation with the Seith Mage to catch sight of a waitress carrying in their food. "Hell, yeah," she hisses. "Food time!"
"Wow Juvia...it's actually….really soft" The raven-haired mage says in what appears to be awe.
"Ya know. Isn't this the moment Neomi typically tells us to stop being perverted?" Bickslow wonders in Tre's direction.
The Gem Mage waves his hand in the direction of Neomi's stare. She was eyeing the food like a wolf starved. As soon as her plate hit the table, she dug in without caring what was going on around her. Mid-chew she mentions, "We need wings next time we eat."
Taking a slice of pizza in his right hand, Trevet adds, "Totally. Wings make everything better."
After swallowing a huge bite of calzone, Neomi snickers, "Yeah. They do help when I need something to smack you with."
"Wow, okay then." Bix mumbles as he takes a slice of pizza and begins to munch on it.
Neomi looks up from her food to question, "Has Makarov divvied all of you up for the Games? You know that you only have two months to train for them."
"It's three. Three months. And he should have by now, 'cause I wanna compete in the Games!" Trevet exclaims.
"That would be fun, but I wonder if I'll wake up from my hallucination by then. If I was on any team, I would want to be Fairy Tail B. It's the strongest team," Neomi points out.
With a sigh Trevet wonders, "Are you ever going to realize that you fell through a portal or something, or are you just going to keep assuming your presence is drug induced? Also, who is in Fairy Tail B?"
Four pairs of eyes all landed on Neomi. After wiping her mouth off with a napkin, she explains, "Fairy Tail has two teams they put in the games. Team A is Natsu, Gray, Erza, Elfman, Wendy, and Lucy. Fairy Tail B is Cana, Laxus, Juvia, Mirajane, and Gajeel. Eventually, they combine the groups."
"I hope those ain't final because I need to be in this! I could be Fairy Tail's ace in the hole, since no-one's heard of me," The brunet smiles, "Same with you Omi."
"Juvia will be in the games. Alongside Gray-sama?"
"Hell, yes. I can't wait to kick ass during this," Gray snickers with a look of triumph.
"Laxus has this in the bag. We'll get out of last place for sure," Bickslow mentions.
When the comments finally came to Neomi, the Rift Magic user just shrugged. "I dunno. I still haven't decided whether or not I'm going to join. I might just get a normal job after this. Maybe, work at the guild."
"C'mon Neomi, join Fairy Tail. You're awesome. Mermaid Heel have Beth Vanderwood, the girl throws vegetables at people for goodness sake!" Tre exclaims.
A lock of dark red-orange hair spun around Neomi's head, and she leaned away from her empty plate. "I dunno. I can't trust my magic. What if it backfires and one of my portals winds up sending everyone into my original dimension. That is, if this isn't all just some vivid hallucination."
"It ain't some vivid hallucination Omi, this is the real deal." The Seith Mage says with absolute seriousness.
Shrugging, Neomi sighs, "I don't know. Shit like this just doesn't happen in the real world. It's not all that great a place. Fun things don't happen there like they do here."
"Then why don't you live it up while you're here?" Gray suggests with a smile on his face. "There's no reason to be bummed out about leaving if you don't even know whether you can or not. Right?"
"Juvia agrees!" the Rain Woman replies with a quaint grin.
Abruptly standing from the table, Neomi turns her back on the group. Her hands snatch up her pack, and as soon as it's thrown over her shoulder, she states, "We have a mission to finish." Without waiting for anyone else, Neomi leaps the wrought iron fence around the outdoor dining area then stalks down the streets.
Trevet briskly catches up with the rest of his teammates and begins a conversation with, "So, how far are we from the location of the job?"
"According to the location on the mission flyer, we've only got a couple more hours," Gray points out. He shows off the map in his hands before tucking it back into his pocket. "When we get out of Clover Town, we just go through the forest. There's a trail to follow. Apparently, if we follow it, the town will be the first one we come across."
Juvia nods her head in agreement. "Juvia has been to Greater Minor before. It's a really small town."
"Then why is it called Greater Minor?" Bickslow questioned.
"Because the deeper you go into the forest, the greater the distance becomes," she explains.
"What do you mean?"
"Their town is hidden in the woods. If you don't know how to work a maze, you'll get lost and it will take days to get there. That's what happened to Juvia and Gajeel when we went there the first time on our first job."
"Back when you were in Phantom Lord, right?" Tre queries.
Blue locks go flying as Juvia shakes her head. "No. It was apparently the job that got Juvia into the S-Class exams. Juvia and Gajeel did a teaching job there to see which children were mages and which ones weren't."
"And how did that go? I imagine Gajeel had problems with the children." Bix snickers.
"Juvia was amazed, too. Gajeel is actually great with kids. We were teaching lower class children, and a lot of them were street kids. They loved Gajeel. Played with him like he was a jungle gym," Juvia pointed out with a fond smile on her face.
"Wow. I wonder if any of them will be mages now? It has been seven years since then." Trevet smiles.
"I bet that a lot of them are around Romeo's age now," Bickslow added in. His eyes shift in Neomi's direction. She was still silent. Her head looked straight forward, and her milky white teeth worried her plump bottom lip. That seven year gap… Neomi knew a lot about the future that was to come after it. Bickslow wondered just how much information she was keeping from them.
"Juvia thinks it'll be nice to see them and wonders if they'll recognize Juvia." The Water Mage smiles.
The silent female at the head of the pack suddenly stops. Her hands move to the gun holstered on her thigh, and before anyone could get a word out, she snaps, "We've got company." As true to her word as it was, five bodies shift in the trees overhead.
Neomi's gun stays trained on one of them, and as soon as a dagger gets thrown in the direction of an unsuspecting Juvia, Neomi fires a bullet at it. "Boomerang Rift," she calls out when her bullet kisses the dagger. As she bites her teeth and prays her magic will do what she wants it to, Neomi gasps as the dagger gets sucked up in a black rift then reappears to sink into the branch of the same tree it was thrown from.
Showing his magic off for the first time to people besides Omi, Trevet turns his hands into red gemstones as a fiery aura surrounds them and he shouts, "Garnet Burner!".The brunet's hands exude streams of fire as he punches them forwards, creating forceful beams of burning energy which launch at the trees.
"Go babies! Baryon Formation!" Bickslow exclaims as he floats into the air, his totems forming a ring in front of him and he begins to charge energy, releasing at the the trees, from which the figures drop like flies.
The younger Dreyar sibling rushes over to the fallen figures, hoisting one up by the collar and slamming their back into the trunk of one of the trees before snapping, "Who are you?! And who sent you?!"
"We got word some pathetic Fairies were coming to take us down so we sent a little welcoming party to take them down, you clearly ain't those fairies" The bandit smirks up at Tre, only for the latter to knock him out by smacking his head against the tree.
"No-one belittles Fairy Tail. Not on my watch, let's go guys." The Dreyar says as he drops the figure and begins to walk into the forest, his team close behind.
"Rainwoman, you said you've been here before, right? Tell us how to get there." A very impatient Seith Mage snaps slightly.
"Juvia is sure we are currently going the right way." The blue-haired woman says with a reassuring smile.
"You'd better be sure…" Bix grumbles.
After Gray freezes one of the bandits in his ice, Neomi pulls out a new trinket. Stabbing it into the icy shell holding a hissing mage, a lacrima powered propeller just in a similar fashion to her wings. "Just in case," she explains, "I think our new friend can direct us."
"Show us the way," Tre orders the bandit, "Or else."
"Ha! What are you gunna do? Beat me up. Torture me. I'm the one with all the information. Maybe, if you treat me well, I'll consider it," the bandit smarts with a snarky smile in place.
"What do you want?" The brunet rolls his eyes.
"That cute, little Rift Mage wouldn't be a bad reward. There's some shit going down in Crocus, and I think I could find a use for the lass," the masked bandit replies.
"I'm not selling my friend off to some two-bit wannabe slave trader," The younger Dreyar sibling glares, "Make with the directions or you lose a leg."
"Hold up there, Tre," Neomi chimes in. Taking a step forward, she adds, "You never asked my opinion on the matter."
"Oh, come on, Neomi. You're not really gonna give yourself to that guy. Are you?" Bickslow grumbles.
Shrugging, Neomi gets in front of her hovering icicle man. "I just might. What exactly do you need me for?" she wonders to the ice encased mage.
His smile is two parts lecherous and one part stunned when he grins at her. "Boss has got some big plans in Crocus. A Rift Mage is just what we need. You freaks only come out of the woodwork every one a millennia or so. The magic is so lost that it's considered extinct."
"What does your boss have planned?" The raven-haired Ice Mage asks, his arms folded across his chest.
"Heh," the bandit sneers. "That's for me to know and you guys to find out. Anyway, lass, we got a deal?"
"Hell, no!" Trevet barks. His hand comes down on Neomi shoulders, and suddenly the two of them are whisked away from the discussion. "Omi, the hell are you thinking?!" he hiss/whispers as they sit under the cover of a shade tree.
"I'm thinking that this guy knows more about my magic than any of you do. Maybe, if I stick with him and his goons for a touch, I can figure out a way to get back home," she responds.
"I thought you didn't want to go home?" The brunet begins, "And anyway. If you want information, go and ask Hibiki of Blue Pegasus for answers. You're cute, so he'll tell you anything you want," He finishes with light smirk.
"Well, it's not like I really want to go home. It's just that I have finals next week, and if this shit isn't just a hallucination, I'm missing study week. I need to get back there and soon. Besides, if there's three months until the Grand Magic Games, I have to go back before then. Why? Because I would miss my finals. I graduate in two more years. I can't miss finals."
"We've already covered this Omi; this ain't no hallucination. This is real. And what you're landing yourself in by associating with that kind of bandit scum is real deep shit. So the safest way to get info is to ask Hibiki," Trevet snaps/whispers to the redhead, "Wait. Pretend like you're going along with him and his buddies but backstab them in the end," The brunet smirks, "Yeah..that'll work."
"Duh, Captain Obvious. I was just wanting to follow him around, so I could infiltrate their base and see if they had any books on Rift Magic," she points out with her tongue sticking out. Rising back to her feet, Neomi helps her larger comrade up on two legs. In a whirlwind of dust, they rush back to the initial conversation. "You've got a deal, masked crusader."
"Don't damage her, ya hear?" Tre smirks, resting his hand on Omi's shoulder.
"Ha! As if," Neomi snickers. Leaning in towards her bandit friend, she states, "Alright, boy-o, tell us how to get to my new base of operations."
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