[Last updated: 05/07/18]
The wagon I had ridden in for a while finally came to a stop at one of the exterior gates in Magnolia, and I hopped out. Having already used some of my pay to bring myself back to Magnolia (I had to have help … it was rather embarrassing), I left for the guildhall and ran into Mirajane, who I had seen coming on my motion tracker. She was carrying a rather large basket in one arm; it looked like it held more than a few items. 'She must be out doing errands.' I like her; she's always a cheery ball of sunshine. She caught sight of me and waved as she walked over to me. "Oh, Jai! Hello! We received word that you were returning to the city after your jobs. I was hoping I'd run into you. So, how did the job in Lynna Village go?"
I glanced at her and replied, "I'm happy to say it was a resounding success. The thieves were brought in, the children were reunited with their families, and everything they had stolen was returned. However, in order to do so, I had to deal with someone by the name of Lahar of the Custody Enforcement Unit; and by the way the men around him acted, I surmise he was in charge." I knew that much because one of Lahar's men had given me a few papers to sign and, surprisingly enough, it said so at the top … just like every other official document I've ever read. It seems bureaucracy doesn't change no matter where you go.
She nodded, "Yep. He's in charge of that. So … the Magic Council was involved. The master is going to love that. Ah well, I suppose it couldn't have been helped. Good work on your first job, though. Now, since it's your first job, you can keep the earnings; but from now on, the guild will have to take a cut … but, we can go over all that at a later date."
I looked around and asked, "Um, Mirajane? Where's the master? I mean, it's great to see you again, but … I just thought he'd be here or something when I came back. I mean after all that trouble he went through to see me off ... you know?" She thought for a second as we walked, "Hmm, well he did say that he wanted to meet you when you came back, but he had to leave town for a conference. Until he gets back, I'm covering for him. If you find a job you're interested in taking, let me know."
I asked what kind of conference he was going to. She replied , "One for guildmasters. Every once in awhile, they all get together to talk about the state of things." She tilted her head with a finger lightly to her lips in thought. "It's like the magic council, but not." There's that phrase again. "Hey Mirajane? I've been kind of meaning to ask someone about this for a while, but what exactly is the magic council? Everyone keeps talking about it; is it some kind of ruling body?"
She nodded, "Ah, yes. Natsu and Lucy did say you weren't from around Fiore." As we walked, she went on to explain that the magic council – otherwise known as Era, for reasons unknown to me – was the most powerful organization in the world; it was one step below the government. I guess it was their equivalent of ONI. The magic council had ten members and it was their job to uphold all magical rules and regulations. If a wizard were to break magical law, they would be tried by the magic council. After the magic council, there were the different guild master leagues, which were local groups of wizards that worked together. After them were the individual guild masters: it was their job to pass on the decrees of the council. They also communicated with other guild masters on a regular basis; they appeared to keep everything together. All in all, it sounded like a stressful job. "What about dark guilds and wizards? I've heard a little chatter about them." She fell silent for a moment, thinking, "Well, they're the bad apples, I suppose. They've chosen not to join any of the leagues; most of them are even involved in magical crime." Initially, I was surprised … but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I suppose criminals – no matter where you go – would take any advantage they had over law enforcement, up to and including the use of magic. Although, I suppose that would start a magical arms race between criminals and law enforcement … but, I guess that wasn't my problem.
We walked about ten feet before I turned to her and said, "Hey, uh … Mirajane?" She looked over to me as we walked, "Yes?" I hesitated for a moment before I continued, "There's been more than a few things I've wanted to tell you – all of you – for a little while now, but for the sake of caution, I didn't know whether or not I should, so … I remained silent." She stopped and looked at me, "Well? What is it?" It wasn't said with impatience, just … curiosity – like she'd been expecting me to say something on my own time. She must have been talking with Makarov. "Well … it's not something I can just tell you. You're going to want to gather the others and sit down, this could take a while … you're going to want to hear what I have to say." She asked me how long this was going to take. "Well, in all likelihood, you guys might want to clear your afternoons. It is … quite a tale."
Before I could speak more though, we heard clapping coming from around the corner as a lone figure appeared. They were in Mjolnir that I recognized very well – it was Alice; that much was clear. However, there appeared to be some kind of glowing crimson … runes all over her chest plate; in the center of her chest, which everything revolved around in different concentric arrays, was a glowing emblem; it resembled a stylized 'g'. We then heard a sinisterly eloquent male voice emanate from her, it was ever so slightly distorted by the magic. The markings glowed brighter as the voice spoke; the overall effect was quite unsettling … though I suppose that was by design. "Yes, yes ... very well done. Not bad … well for a fairy, at any rate."
She didn't otherwise move, but Mirajane's face took on a fearsome expression at the sight. Check what I said earlier; she's a cheery ball of sunshine until you get her pissed. Adding "Pissing off Mirajane" to a list of things to not do. "Master Jose! Is that you?!" Alice did a little theatrical bow, "Yes, my dear, in the flesh. … eh, sort of." Mirajane took a step forward, "Just what do you think you're doing to that poor woman?!"
Alice gestured vaguely at me, "Well, I recently received wind that your little guild had just found itself a powerful new addition, as you see here. Now, I couldn't let the second-best guild in Fiore have all the fun, couldn't I? So I sent out my best men to find one of my own to match yours – but I couldn't find one. But imagine my surprise when I found this little one knocking at MY door. I brought her in, but she is a smart one; she quickly figured out that my guild wasn't – shall we say, traditional – and was about to leave. Now, I couldn't have so powerful a tool get away, so I placed her under a little spell of my own design."
"Anyway, I wanted to show Makarov what I could do with my newest acquisition … where is he, by the way?" Mirajane smiled sweetly and feigned ignorance, "Why, master Porla, you'd know where he was if you attended the guild masters conference anymore." I could hear the frown in his voice, "Bah. You know very well I haven't attended that conference of theirs since that fight. Well. Regardless, I've been waiting for awhile, trying to find Makarov but, I'm afraid I got quite bored. I found something to amuse myself with while I waited." I didn't notice this until I reflected upon it later, but her fists were stained with blood. Her hands were trembling slightly, and her whole body was stiff – unnaturally so. It was like she was being controlled by a marionette. I gritted my teeth. No, not again! I'm not losing another teammate! I would rather die before I lost another.
The whole thing left me wanting to find whoever was controlling her – this "master" Porla – and beat him into a thick paste. However my training took over and I calmed down quickly. I had to save that anger for when I actually found him; until then, it wouldn't do me any good to waste it on people who didn't deserve it.
Worried for Alice, I took a step towards her. "I don't know just who you think you are, or where you come from, but that woman that you are parading around like a puppet is under my command. I demand that you release her this instant." I then looked into her faceplate, "Alice, don't worry. I don't know how yet, but I'll get you out of there." She nodded almost imperceptibly.
Alice began to walk around us at a deliberate, slow rate, her head trained on me. He eventually said, "My, my … aren't we feisty?" I narrowed a look at her. "Let. Her. Go. Harm her further, and I will make you pay." To back up my threat, I spawned an M6, but pointed it towards the ground. Safety first. The entity laughed at me, "Oh, what are you going to do with that?! Shoot me? You do that, and the girl is the only one who will get hurt. Besides, I didn't come to fight … necessarily. I came to … chat with Makarov. However, he's obviously not around. I have other matters to see to, so I shall take my leave."
I could just about sense the menacing grin as she drew back her arm and threw a rather nasty looking dagger right at my head. Time slowed down as my mind raced to find an out. The distance was too short to activate and use an enhancement … so the only move left was to dodge. It was then that I felt the now familiar tingly feeling of magical energy, but this time in my left leg. I don't know how I knew it, but something deep inside of me was telling me to stomp the ground with my foot.
I took a step forward, focused the feeling on my foot, and brought it down, sending a spider web pattern into the road. As before, white tendrils of energy shot from my foot into the ground and around the paving stones that made up the road below us, lighting up the stones from below, breaking them up, and causing myself and Mirajane to quickly sink into the center of an eight foot crater in the ground that sent shards of rock flying everywhere. Thankfully, the dagger missed and embedded itself into the road.
The entity controlling Alice made her do a large jump back and away into the air and disappeared into the shadows between the buildings. The last thing we heard was the man's ominous laughter echoing off the walls around us. The whole thing sent the little hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Mirajane shook her head in disgust after Alice disappeared and said, "How repugnant. I've known for a long time that he was bad news. But this just takes the cake; to use such magic on that poor girl?" She shook her head and looked in the direction where Alice left. "From what she was wearing – that armor … she is with you, right?" I grimaced at what had befallen my comrade. "Yes. She's a member of my team." She drew forward and pulled the blade from the stonework.
Curious, I asked, "So … eh, what was that all about?" She sighed and placed the dagger carefully into her basket. "In a nutshell, Fairy Tail is currently the number two ranked guild in Fiore. Number one is a massive guild called Phantom Lord; it has branches all over Fiore, but its main building is right here in Magnolia. It is headed by another of the ten Wizard Saints, Jose Porla – that's him we just talked to. He, and his guild, have been our rivals ever since the annual guild master meeting six years ago; not to mention a general source of misery for those in Fairy Tail, and obviously the master, as well. The way I heard it, Jose and the master were drunk along with a number of other guild masters – as these things go – and he eventually started boasting loudly about his guild and badmouthing Fairy Tail. Needless to say, the novelty of it tarnished quickly. Now, he wasn't going to have any of it, so they ended up in a fight with master Makarov emerging the victor."
She then wondered aloud, "But I wonder about what he said about amusing himself?" It was then we heard a weak groan come around the shadowy corner that Alice had come from. To our horror, we rounded the corner and found a man sitting on the ground; he was leaning against a building in a small pool of blood. It looked like he was beaten savagely. I got closer and I recognized him. Not only was he a member of Fairy Tail, but he was the man Natsu had fought with when Lucy and I had first entered the guildhall. Of course, he was in considerably worse shape now than when I saw him last; but to know the full extent of the damage, I had to use a diagnostic medical scanner I would find in a field medical kit. I would've just used the bioscanner, but it wasn't designed as a full medical diagnostic device; as such, it just read the comparatively simple things that a soldier in the field quickly used to check on his squad, like heartbeat, body temperature and other minor minutia – this device performed an in-depth, comprehensive full-body scan.
I knelt over him as he groaned and tried to speak, but he could only get out a strangled, anguished rasp. For his effort, he coughed and spat a small amount of bloody saliva. Mirajane gingerly placed a hand on his shoulder, "Shhhh; you've been badly hurt. Don't try to talk." He merely groaned and complied. She sighed and ruffled through her hair with a hand as she did so and looked over to me with a worried expression. "I have had my fair share of fights, but what has been done to him – I know this is bad, really bad. He isn't in a fit enough state to move, I can tell that much. Any ideas?" I looked down to injured man below. "In the interest of time, I'll keep this short; you're about to see some things that I will explain after this. But know that above all else, this man will live if I have any say on it." She paused for a moment and the man started coughing up more blood. I could see the questions in her eyes, but she knew that now wasn't the time to ask them. She looked up at me and nodded with a serious expression, "Do whatever you can." I nodded curtly. "Right. I'll need your help to hand me things."
I activated the holographic display on my forearm and spawned several white octagonal boxes that had a large, thick, red plus mark in the center. On one of the sides, it read, "EMERGENCY FIELD MEDICAL KIT" in bold, black lettering. I rummaged through the box nearest me and grabbed a canister of biofoam from inside and held it up so she could see, "I'll need you to go through the boxes and hand me these; I'll need as many as you can find. While you're doing that, I'll lay him flat and sedate him before I scan him with this." I held up the medical scanner for her to see: it was small enough device that it fit comfortably in your hand: you pointed the unit at the patient and pulled the trigger, traveling from head to toe as you're doing so. After it compiles the information, it gives a readout of what was wrong with the patient, along with suggested means of treatment. As a bonus, if the person diagnosing was wearing Mjolnir or comparable technology, it would sync with the suits' holographic projection capabilities and display a rendering of the damage above the body that would be updated as treatment progressed; progress was sensed through an uplink with the suits' sensor array.
I scanned him with the device and turned my head to look at Mirajane who was watching intensely. "Let's see what we've got to deal with, eh?" She nodded with a worried expression. I reached toward and grasped the air above the man's navel, and made a twisting motion before pulling up and out; the gesture needed to activate the hologram. Above the man appeared a ghostly double of him. The render wasn't good indeed. According to the many leader lines, he had a mild concussion, cuts and bruises were everywhere, his arm was broken just below the right elbow, his left shoulder was dislocated, and he had two shallow stab wounds … one in the belly and one in the left leg and some internal bleeding evident around his diaphragm. Finally, I noted with some interest that defensive wounds were evident on his knuckles and arms; at least he went down swinging.
I looked over the damage and nodded. All in all, nothing immediately fatal; he got off lucky. In a bout of serious close combat with a Spartan, not many people could do so and walk away to tell the tale. However, an important caveat should be noted here: Alice wasn't the one fighting him, and so Mr. Porla was limited to simple hand to hand combat. Even so … even burdened with that limitation, he really did a number on this poor man.
I started the procedure by injecting him with the polypseudomorphine from one of the boxes and then set up a sterile field emitter I found in my box as a safety measure. I cut his shirt off and ripped the fabric of his pants away from the stab wound in his leg. I set his shoulder (With careful instructions from Mira) and then his broken arm. I brought up my can of biofoam to bear, cocked the armature, and thumbed the release mechanism before wrapping his elbow in white foam that hardened quickly. She handed me another can, watching intently. After priming it, I inserted the tip into his belly and filled it with a portion of foam, sealing up the wound. As for his leg wound, I used the stitch kit and the battle dressings. I dealt with the internal bleeding and finished the process by treating as many of his larger cuts as I could with what remained of the battle dressings. All that done, he looked much better than when I started; the readout agreed. With him stabilized, I deactivated the device and looked him over before I grunted in approval.
"There. I'm no medic, but the biofoam should hold him until we can get him to a qualified physician." I looked over at Mirajane, who looked rather bewildered, and up till now was silent. I sighed and said, "Let's get him into the guildhall and I'll answer any questions you or any of the others have. I owe you all that much, at least." She paused for a second, thinking, blinking rapidly. "Well, you're in luck. As far as I can recall, most of the members are back from jobs today and should be just milling around."
I gingerly picked up the wounded man and carried him bridal style in the direction of the guildhall. We got close to the guildhall and Loke came into sight. He fixed me with a weird look; I could tell he wanted to ask, but gestured for me to hurry. He opened the large doors and yelled, "I'VE GOT BAD NEWS! It's Erza! She's on her way here!" Everyone present practically yelled and raised a commotion.
I set the man down on a table that they cleared and he was quickly seen to medically. I turned towards Mirajane, "So, uh … who's Erza?" She closed the doors behind us before she responded, "That's right. You haven't met her yet. She's the strongest female wizard we've got in Fairy Tail; she uses requip magic." She chuckled slightly, "And she can be a little more than intimidating sometimes." The entire guild went completely silent as each head was turned towards the doors. 'Oh come on, she can't be that bad, can she?' I don't know … these people look pretty concerned about her. Perhaps she's just really intense?
Pretty soon, the sound of heavy footsteps can be heard. I could hear people muttering in low voices about it. Jeese, from these reactions, you'd get the idea she was some kind of demon! Soon enough, the doors opened and bright light shown from outside. A feminine silhouette could be seen holding a massive horn over her shoulder that was about five times her size; it was a rather impressive feat for someone who wasn't a Spartan. She walked forward and set the horn down with an audible *thud*. She shut the doors and placed a hand and lightly leaned on what I saw to be an enormous jewel and gold encrusted tusk. I was finally able to get a good look at her.
She was a young woman with long, scarlet hair and chocolate brown eyes. She had a very gifted bust and a slender, amazingly voluptuous figure. (What I could see of it, anyway; her armor was a little bulky but appeared well-made) She appeared to be wearing a custom-made steel cuirass with a thin yellow cross on it off to one side, steel gauntlets, steel bracers, steel pauldrons, a blue knee high skirt, and black boots. There were even wing-like decorative armor on her elbows. I saw her Fairy Tail stamp was blue and was located on the middle of her left upper arm.
At that moment, wind blew in from an open window to gently blow her hair off to one side as she surveyed the room. All of a sudden, the world slowed way down; the only thing I could focus on was this beautiful, immensely strong woman in front of me. It took a few seconds for me to realize Mira was talking to me. Jai! Jai? Hello? Can you hear me? Earthland to Jai, come down please, there is this chick in your head who wants to talk to you! That snapped me out of my reverie. 'Oh. Um, hi. What's up.' What's up. What's up?! I've been trying to talk to you for about a minute! Why did yo- She paused briefly, Oh. I see. 'Wait. What do you mean "I see"?' She projected her face onto the top corner of my visor with a mischievous smile on her face. She spoke to me inside my helmet with a teasing lilt, "You like her, don't you?" I felt my face grow hot at that remark; what the hell? "So you do like her …" Confused, I looked at her, "I didn't … I mean … what? Ugh. Can we talk about this later?" She rolled her eyes but maintained the smile, "Sure, loverboy, sure. But we're not done with this conversation; you can bet on that!"
Back in reality, Erza said, "I have returned. Where is master Makarov?" Mirajane spoke up, "Welcome back, Erza! The master's at a conference right now." She nodded once in understanding, "I see." One guy near her asked her about the giant tusk. She fixed him with a withering look, "It's the horn of a monster I defeated. The locals were so thankful that they decorated it and gave to me as a souvenir. Do you have a problem with that?" He raised his hands in a gesture of defense and shook his head frantically; obviously, he was intimidated. I could just about feel the annoyance coming from her right now. However, I don't think she was like this normally; something was up.
Erza cast a stern look to those around her, "Now listen up! While I was on the road, I heard a few things. Word is, Fairy Tail is causing nothing but trouble as of late. Master Makarov may not care, but I most certainly do." She then looked around; Cana was chugging away on a cask of something. "Cana!" The woman winced and quickly set the cask down. "You need to start controlling your drinking." A man I hadn't seen before wearing some kind of black one piece jumpsuit was dancing in the background behind her. "Vegitor." He stopped dancing and looked up. "Please take the dancing outside." Smoke wafted over from one of the other tables. She inhaled, "Wakaba! Get rid of that filthy habit!" A man nearby winced as she yelled at him. He was a thin man with a cigarette in the corner of his mouth. The most notable thing I saw about him was his hair, being styled in what looked like a large light brown pompadour. She then cast a look over to the job board, I saw Nab lurking nearby. "Nab!" He flinched visibly and looked over his shoulder at Erza. "I suspected I'd find you dawdling in front of the request board. JUST PICK A JOB!" I could see Macao nearby, trying to quietly edge himself away from her wrath. He didn't edge far enough. "Macao!" She was silent for a moment before she tilted her head to one side and sighed with her eyes closed. Macao blurted, "Just please say something!" Erza put a hand to her forehead, shook her head at him, and said in tired voice, "I don't even know where to begin with you. You cause so much trouble I've almost given up." Wow. She's really tearing into everyone. I guess she helps keep order around here.
By then, Mirajane and I had made it to the bar; she went behind the counter and started filling orders as I gently took a seat near Lucy. I asked for some more of the tasty fruit juice. (I'll say hi to her and Natsu in a bit, I was curious where this was going.) Erza looked around, "Are Natsu and Gray here?" Happy emitted an "Aye" nearby the duo in question, giving their position away. Gray had his right arm over the back of Natsu's neck, and Natsu mirrored the image; their other arms were clasped in front of them like they were congratulating … something. (Perhaps some kind of dance or cultural … thing?) They were both facing Erza with a forced smile. Gray spoke up with a cheery voice, "Oh, hey there Erza! We're just hanging out here, like good friends tend to do!" Natsu nodded, "Aye!" Lucy loudly asked why he was talking like Happy. Erza – either used to this behavior from them, or just not noticing the artificiality – crossed her arms and nodded approvingly, "That's great. I'm quite pleased to see you two getting along so well. However, it's only natural for even the best of friends to lock horns every now and then." Gray stiffly commented, "I don't know if we're the best of friends …" Natsu, meanwhile, hadn't progressed from a scared sounding 'Aye'. Did he break?
Lucy asked what had gotten into Natsu. Mirajane giggled and said, "He's scared. A few years ago, he challenged Erza to a fight and she beat him up pretty bad." Lucy flinched slightly, "That was a stupid thing to do!" Macao chuckled at a table nearby, "After that, she found Gray walking around naked, so she decided to beat him up too!" Cana, who was sitting next to Macao smirked. "And let's not forget that she also beat up Loke for trying to hit on her." I suddenly got the mental image of her punching him in the face with a deadpan expression. She continued, "He totally deserved it, though." Lucy did a small shrug, "Yeah; I can't say I blame her."
All of a sudden, Erza asked Natsu and Gray for a favor. "While traveling, I overheard something that has me worried. Normally, I would consult with the master before acting, but he's not here, and this is a matter of utmost urgency. The two of you are among the strongest wizards here; I could really use your help." Everyone was sent murmuring amongst themselves at that. "We'll meet at the train station tomorrow morning." Natsu and Gray shared a look.
All that taken care of, she looked around and nodded in approval. She walked over to the bar and took a chair a few down from me and ordered a drink. She took a sip and spoke into the glass to no one in particular, "You know, word of the guild causing trouble isn't the only thing I heard on my way back … I heard tell of a mage in strange armor from a far land traveling from town to town wielding gun-style requip magic using weapons and fighting techniques none has ever seen the like before. He was seen taking on high-ranking normal jobs single-handedly." She had the attention of everyone around us within earshot. "Word is, he alone took down an entire bandit crew terrorizing a small village out east; twenty five thieves and their boss were taken into custody. The kidnapped children of said village, and all of their stolen valuables were returned. No property was even damaged. On top of that, this mage is said to have joined our guild only a few days ago; does this description sound familiar to anyone?" My ears were practically on fire at this point; I could almost feel the weight of more than a few people looking my way.
Dude! She's talking about you! Say something! I sighed and put my drink down, not quite sure how to respond to so much flattery from a beautiful woman who was so well-informed. "Please, let's not exaggerate here: it was fifteen thieves and their boss, at max." Erza slowly turned towards me with a smile, "Do you deny it?" I shook my head, "No … just trying to set the record straight." Erza took another sip and asked, "Well, if you're not busy, I'd like to ask a skilled mage such as yourself on this trip as well." I nodded, "Of course. I'm always glad to help a friend." She smiled at me. "Good. We're meeting at the train station tomorrow." She then extended a hand, "Nice to meet you. I'm Erza, Erza Scarlet." I shook it, "Jai Mathers; likewise." I could hear someone comment, "Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Jai working on a team together? I never saw that one coming. This could be … the most powerful team Fairy Tail's ever seen!"
I asked Mirajane and learned that the fruity drink I like so much is the juice of a citrus fruit that is imported from the planet's tropical zones; which I guess in hindsight, would make a lot of sense, plus … I've always kind of had a sweet tooth. The name of the fruit, however I am just unable to pronounce no matter however many times I try; much to Mira's, Mirajane's, and Erza's endless amusement.
Mirajane asked Erza, "So you guys aren't leaving until tomorrow, huh?" Erza looked at her and nodded once, "Yes, that's correct." Mirajane responded, "Good. Jai here told me earlier that he has a long story to tell us. If I'm not mistaken, he wishes to open up to us; is that right, Jai?" I hesitated before nodding, "Yes, that is true. However, I warn you all that my tale isn't for the faint of heart."
Natsu and Gray snapped out of whatever state that they were in because of Erza, took interest, and walked over to me. Natsu had what looked like half a turkey leg in his mouth that he must have snagged from somewhere. He asked, "You've got a story to tell, eh?" He took on an appraising curious stance, "Well, I have been wondering where you learned to fight so well." Gray (Who was in his underwear again) came over with a mug and a pensive expression, "He has been keeping to himself ever since he joined, so I'll admit curiosity." Several other people voiced similar things about me. Mirajane raised her hands, "All right, all right. Let's go into the meeting room so he can tell his tale."
Soon enough, I was sitting at the head of a dark colored, medium-length table in what looked like a conference room. Gathered there were Lucy, Mirajane, Gray, Elfman, Erza, Natsu and a girl I haven't personally met yet by the name of Levy. She was a rather young, petite teenage girl of a slender build who stood at a rather below-average height for her age. Her shoulder-length blue hair, which had eyebrow-length bangs, was normally tied up with a colorful bandana around her head. Levy appeared to have a variety of outfits, but her most preferred type of attire appeared to be dresses and tank tops, both of which reveal the guild mark on her left scapula. (I noted that the two males I had seen normally within her vicinity weren't there at this time; they must be out of the building. Oh well, their loss.) I cleared my throat and began.
[Phew! That was a busy chapter! Now, it looks Jai's got some explaining to do … see you next time!]
