And here we go, the great gathering of the guilds has begun! Please enjoy!
"Do you have any idea why Master sent me along with you?"
Cole questioned nervously, Wendy shrugged from the opposite side of the train car they were riding in.
"I guess she wanted someone to have my back, I dunno." The sky dragonslayer guessed as she thought back to the Master giving her orders, she'd also insisted that Charles stay with the other exceeds at the castle, Charles was one of the quickest exceeds at Draconem, and if she needed to send any information to the teams abroad, she was one of the first choices.
"But I'm hopeless in a fight, I'll do more harm than good."
Cole insisted, allowing his gaze to slide out the window as he fidgeted with his headband, which, along with his clothing, was currently tuned to Wendy's magic, and thus was coated in blues and whites.
Wendy gave her new friend a warm smile and shook her head, her pigtails bouncing, she donned her red jacket with the orange tie and black pleated skirt. The little animal ear hair clips holding up her pigtails were red, as they normally were when she wore this outfit.
"Your great, Cole! You read minds! You can absorb other peoples energy, right?"
"But if we go up against someone strong the transfer will be horrible and I'll probably pass out and become a dead weight when I run out of power. Also, I don't read minds, I sense intentions, I can't scan for a specific thing like other mental powered mages can, I just know what the person, or dragon, I'm sensing wants the most, and what their plan is to gain that thing."
Cole grumbled, scowling as he slouched back in his seat and crossed his arms. His headband scrunched down onto his forehead and he didn't even bother to push it back into line.
Wendy wanted to give Cole a pat on the hand or a hug, for this was her nature, but as these idea's crossed her mind, she realized they were blocked to her due to the fact that if she touched Cole directly, their was a chance of him absorbing her magic. Though she never liked to boast, Wendy knew she was powerful, and though the transfer couldn't harm her unless Cole wished it too, the strength of her dragonslayer power funneling into him could be grueling to the dark skinned boy.
Wendy chose to attempt talking Cole out of his grump inside.
"I don't see why you hate your magic so much." She began.
Cole sniffed at the thought, rolling his eyes.
"Sure you don't, you don't know what it's like to not be able to shake hands with someone when you meet them, to be looked at like your a freak when your hair, eyes, and clothes change from green to red to yellow to blue in the space of minutes in public. People think I'm a show off, that I use magic in public to rub in everyones faces that I'm a mage and they aren't. But I'd give anything just to be a regular everyday human. Anything to be able to walk up to someone and shake their hand without fear that they'll collapse or I'll collapse when I so much as brush their skin." Cole growled.
Wendy looked at him with a saddened smile.
"Your right."
Cole's currently watery blue eyes darted up to Wendy's chocolate brown with a look that spoke his confusion at her words.
"I don't know how that feels. I love my magic and would never want to not be a mage. But think about it this way, how many people can you help with your power? You've already saved so many wizards's lives because you sensed Shadowlogia's intentions. Also, when we band together and defeat Shadowlogia, than it'll have been you, you, Cole Wingheart, by warning us, that saved every last person in Fiore from this dragon. You'll have saved an entire continent, all thanks to your 'curse', your Transfer magic."
Cole snapped his head to one side to look out the window again.
"Whatever." He mumbled irritably, but Wendy knew she'd reached him, and given him something to think about.
They finally arrived at the guild they'd been sent to warn, Lamia Scale, and practically ran off the train.
"Oh, great..." Cole groaned as the colors in his outfit began flashing and other people in the crowded train station shot them sideways glances.
"Does that happen whenever your in public?"
"Only when there's several wizards nearby, and it doesn't happen at the guild anymore because I'm used to everyone, I just pick one person in the guild and use their magic to stop myself from going all chameleon."
He sighed as his clothes finally stopped on white and with trimmings of sheer blue.
"What's that?" Wendy asked.
"Depends, what color's my hair?" The Transfer mage questioned.
Wendy blinked.
"White." She replied, for the boys longish head of hair had turned the color of snow.
"Some ice or snow mage, something to do with winter. If my hair was blue it would have been a frigid water mage or perhaps a wind mage instead." Cole reported, for he'd figured out the color code of his clothes and hair and was able to puzzle out the type of mage he'd been tuned to.
"That must be one of Lamia's member's, I remember him, Lyon!"
The bluenette exclaimed.
"Well what are we waiting for?" Cole tossed his brown tasseled backpack, adorned with several feather charms dyed with different colors, over his shoulder, and took off, Wendy right behind him with her duffel, towards the Lamia Scale guild hall.
Wendy burst through the doors.
"We need to speak to your Master! It's really important!"
"Wendy!?" Cheila asked in shock.
Cole had suddenly turned pinks and blue.
"Oh, come on!" He screamed indignantly.
"Okay...why is your friend pink? I thought only Natsu rocked hair like that." Sherry asked.
"Also, is there any love with you guys, Wendy? Oh, I knew you'd find it!"
Cheila threw her arms around Wendy in a hug.
Wendy hurriedly hugged her back while crying out.
"He and I are good friends and nothing more. We're here on Master Dracoya's order and...if Cole starts changing color don't judge him, ok?"
"I can talk for myself!" Cole barked as he refocused on Wendy's magic, changing back to blue.
Only for the new color to be transmuted to rocky browns and grey's as Jura approached from behind.
"Our Master is away, something about a spinning contest she had to win."
"SHE'S ALWAYS DITCHING US FOR THAT CRAP!" Toby screamed.
"Don't get angry about it." Yuka sighed, shaking his head and scrunching his insanely huge eyebrows.
"So, what's the issue?" Lyon questioned, for he'd just entered the room as well.
In a flash, Cole had returned to white and blue.
"And what's up with him?" Toby questioned curiously.
"Jeez, haven't you people ever seen a Transfer mage before!?" Cole yelled, hating to be the center of attention when there was something far more important to discuss.
All of the Lamia mages shook their heads in perfect unison.
"No."
Cole groaned.
"I can't help it. I'm white and blue because the dude who just walked in, I assume, is a snow or ice mage. I was brown because Mr. Neekis is a rock mage, than before that was pink because of Wendy's friend's. Ok?"
"Wait...how is that useful in a fight or a..."
"NO TIME!" Wendy wailed.
"Oh, sorry, got off track, I guess." Cheila giggled.
"Ok, please do not interrupt us!" Wendy said.
Everyone nodded, and the Draconem wizard's explained of the quickly approaching threat.
"You guys finished at number four, and since our resident dragon tracker says it's going from seventh to first, you guys aren't a target for at least a few days, but we didn't want to risk it, so we came."
Cole took a few moments to realize that the 'dragon tracker' was him.
"W-Wait. I can't say for sure that Shadowlogia is going from worst to best, I mean, do dragon's watch the grand magic games or what?" He stuttered.
Wendy sighed, "He's not very confident." She said to the Lamia mages.
"Hey! Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Cole ordered.
"Ok, but anyway, Cole's been inside the dragon's head."
"Read it's intention." Cole corrected.
"Right, sorry, read it's intention." Wendy agreed.
"It only wants the people who were on the team. Not the other members, it doesn't want to bother with them."
"Hold on...I know where this is going." Lyon said suspiciously. "You want to take us somewhere you think we'll be safe from the attack, look, we appreciate the concern, but we can't leave our guild to face the dragon alone!" The ice mage said measuredly.
"No, I don't think you understand." Wendy said, trying to get the white haired man, who was well known for being infamously stubborn, to see sense.
"If you come with us, the dragon won't attack you guild at all! I read into it's intention throughly as I could, to a point that I actually blacked out. It wants nothing to do with the rest of your guild mates, just you five."
"And where exactly do you plan on taking us? I mean, not to be cocky, but Jura is a wizard saint, and the rest of us aren't exactly push overs, even for a dragon. So what kind of safe place are you dangling in front of us?"
Wendy glanced at Cole, and the two of them matched eyes for a moment.
"Draconem Heart, a place not even the dragon of nightmare's can find. A place that's stayed hidden away from the rest of the world for thirty years."
"F.Y.I, I hope it goes without saying that if we do take you, you can't tell anyone we're there." Cole added on to Wendy's statement.
All of their eyes were a bit wider.
"The Draconem Heart guild hall?" Cheila asked, already letting her imagination run away with her as she pictured an enormous fortress atop some distant mountain.
She didn't realize how close she was to the mark.
Wendy nodded, "Master Dracoya told us to bring each of the seven top teams to our guild hall. It's the safest place on earth to weather out a dragon attack. Mystic runes, safeguard spells, fourteen slayers of three different types. And just think how much more powerful we'd be if we all worked together? We'd add two more slayers to our ranks! More wizards, plus all of our guild."
"Which is number one at the moment." Cole yet again added.
Wendy gave them all a confident smile, fisting her hands beneath her chin in a signature pose, "We could finish this dragon once and for all!" She cried.
Lyon glanced around uncomfortably.
"I don't know. You say that the dragon won't attack if we leave, but how can we be so sure?"
Cole looked up to meet Lyon's concerned, flitting eyes.
"I know you don't know me, and I don't know you past the fact your an ice mage. But I was, ok, fine, inside it's head for a moment. I saw it's plan, it's intention. Thats my magic, that's what I do. I can read your intention right now, your worried for your guild mates, curious about our guild hall, and, even though you refuse to admit it, scared about the dragon. You can't decide between standing with your guild mates or a strategic withdraw that could save your guild the grief of battle. Your also wondering if Gray will be joining us in our final stand, to which the answer is yes, a team from Draconem Heart is heading for Fairy Tail as we speak. You were relieved by me saying that because you were very concerned about Gray's safety, for you view him as a brother of sorts. Do I need to keep going? Because I can."
Lyon was speechless, as were the rest of his teammates. Cole had just riddled out exactly what had been shooting around inside Lyon's mind.
"That is impressive, young man." Jura rumbled.
"Thank you, sir." Cole said politely, secretly excited that a wizard saint found his unique magic intriguing.
"Well, I think I'll be taking command of this decision." The mountain of a man continued.
Jura looked down at Wendy and Cole.
"We'll come with you to Draconem Heart."
Yes! Picking up speed! I'm gonna follow it all the way through with the Lamia guys that way I can pull a 'and meanwhile the other guild's were arriving' to avoid like fifteen chapters of useless inviting. I will, of course, include everyones reactions to the protection spells and Draconem Castle.
And maybe even Toby falling in the electric moat. ;)
So, please favorite, please follow, please review! Thanks!