A/N: So you know in Chapter 437 of the manga (this is not a spoiler) Warren says he invented the "compact communications lacrima"?
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
"Welcome to the Guild!"
Levy smiled. She was going to like it here.
.:.:.:.
The lunch passed without incident and Levy met all of the tycoons. She found they were really interesting and quirky. They just seemed like regular people.
Take Gray, for instance. While he was cool on the outside, he had a strange habit of losing his clothes (much to Levy's embarrassment). To her amusement, the men got into brawls a lot were super scared of Erza.
It was the most fun she'd had in a long time.
.:.:.:.
After a few days working for Mr. Redfox, Levy got used to the ebb and flow of work. So when he asked her to come to the labs with him, she was surprised.
"What?"
"Do ya wanna come down to the labs with me?"
"Uh, sure!" grabbing her notepad and a pen, she hustled into the elevator with him. "Which floor are we headed to?" she scanned her ID and hovered her hand over the buttons.
"GL3." Punching it in, Levy stood back as the elevator fell.
"What does that stand for?" she asked.
"What?"
"GL3."
"Ground, lab two."
"But the lobby is L, so what's ground?"
"The MetaTech labs are underground."
"Really?" Levy gasped. "Wow."
"Yeah. We have three underground levels." Gajeel grinned. "They're massive. Only two are used for the scientists. The uppermost one is the parking garage."
"Oh, I see."
The elevator flashed the levels. 20…19…18…17…
As they got closer to the ground level, a heavy silence fell over them. It happened a lot, really. But that still didn't make it any better.
"So… what are we checking up on?"
"The new lacrima telephone. Doctor Warren Rocko wanted to get it approved before they start mass producing it." Gajeel said, straightening his suit sleeves.
"Mr. Redfox, you're really bad at tying those things." Levy motioned to his tie. The knot was wrinkled and crooked. "Let me?"
"Fine, fine." He sighed, and Levy handed him her notepad. "Hold this for me."
.:.:.:.
They got out of the elevator and Gajeel exhaled. Elevators always made him nervous.
"Ah, Gajeel!" a young man in a lab coat greeted them, "Glad you could make it."
"Rocko." He grunted.
"You must be Miss McGarden." He smiled and shook her hand.
"Y-You're so young!" she stammered, "Uh, sorry."
He chuckled. "Yeah, I get that a lot. Gajeel here hired me right after I got my degree."
"And he's the best damn thing that ever happened." It was true. Warren invented half of the tech they sold, and reimagined the other half.
"Wow! That's amazing! So, what are we looking at?" the shrimp asked. Her eyes were already getting shiny with excitement.
"Well, you know of lacrimas, right?" Warren said. "Do you have a fire lacrima in your house?"
"Yes, why?" the short stack's curiosity was sparked.
"Well, the new cell phones use a lacrima compound. It's exciting stuff, I mean, we're the first people to even think about this. Lacrima is such an abundant resource, and we use it for so many things but we've only just scratched the surface." He was waving his arms around wildly. "Our research opens up a whole other world of possibilities! New medicine! Faster, smarter tech! The prospects of this idea are enormous!"
"Wow…" the shorty was nodding, enraptured. What the fuck?
"I know! We can make fuel to last us millions of years into the future! It's incredible."
"Yeah, yeah. The phones?" Gajeel waved his arms, motioning to another door.
"Ah, yes." The scientist grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. "This way, please."
He led them through a steel door to a room that looked like a security check in airports. Gajeel set down his suit jacket and emptied his pockets, stepping through the scanners with practiced ease. The shrimp stood at the doorway, staring. "What's all this?"
"It's security." Gajeel shrugged, glancing at her.
"MetaTech Labs have cutting edge technology. This is just a safety precaution," Dr. Rocko assured her, "to ensure that none of our competitors get ahold of our work."
"O-oh." The midget nodded and put her stuff on the conveyor belt and walked through the scanner.
Gajeel nodded to the guard, and they headed into the labs.
It was nothing he hadn't seen before. The ceilings were tall, and droves of white coats milled around. Rocko flitted off to find his prototype.
"Gajeel." One of Laxus's assistants was here. Fuck, what was his na-? Right, Fried.
"Fried. What brings you down here?" he asked.
"Just taking a look around." he answered, "And checking if your chargers for this new miracle worker are up to regulation."
"Go ahead. But if ya have questions, ask Rocko here." He jabbed his thumb at the shorter man.
"Here it is!" Rocko held up a small box triumphantly. "Come, have a look!" he pried it open, and nestled inside was a phone.
"It doesn't look that special…" Gajeel frowned.
"Have a go." He handed the device to Gajeel. "Careful, careful!"
The thing lit up and Levy gasped. He forgot the short stack was standing next to him. The display was bright and the colors seemed to pop out at him.
"Nice."
.:.:.:.
"That was amazing!" the shrimp was gushing. They had left the lab and were heading back to the office.
"Yeah." He grunted. And it kind of was. "Now you need to plan a gala."
"Huh?"
"We're going to announce this to the world."
A/N: …that was a weird ending…
Sorry about that! I've had a busy couple of weeks and now am going on hiatus. I've had major writer's block lately. :(
Thanks to Maviea and Lexie and the anime for reviewing.
Signing off,
Miss Quiet Writer