Disclaimer: Fairy Tail does not belong to me. If it did, you would see Cobra act like this :D.
Woo, Important Poll introduced at the bottom, which'll be open for a week as I take a week off to revise for my exams. SO CHECK IT OUT:D.
Plus, I'll give a list of what OCs have been introduced/mentioned, just to give you guys a heads up on when your OCs will be a thing - but you'll only know if they are in the next chapter if I state it in the Author's Note at the bottom of the chapter~
So without further ado, enjoy~
It's a sad day when you realise that you've been reduced to waiting in alleyways.
For shady men.
It was almost as if Cobra was trying to make him into a prostitute through association, and Carbuncle swore that when they meet again, the pointy man was getting punched in the face. He had been propositioned twice by dodgy men, who thought that he was a gigolo, because he was lingering in the alleyways like he belonged there.
That and he had been offered some questionable powder by a scary looking individual. He didn't look like he was a drug-addict, did he? If he did then he might seriously consider letting Jayne give him a makeover.
And it's an even sadder day when a guy needs to get a make-over. Though he doubted that he needed to get one, in his own honest opinion he believed that he didn't need it– he was attractive no matter the weather.
Except rain. In the rain he looked like a cobalt-blue fuzz ball with the amount of hair he had. And with the current weather being as it is, it was the look that he has currently got going for him.
He didn't know when exactly it started to rain, but if he had to guess then it would be about half an hour ago, potentially more, but his day had been so hectic that he honestly couldn't keep track of what was going on.
Hell, he was still in his Aquarius costume, which didn't even make sense because he was an Aries, and he was absolutely freezing. His bra did little to cover his skin, which was turning an awkward shade of pale-pale-pale, so much so that it was edging into the realm of blue, and he couldn't feel his toes any more.
And they were wet too. They were wet and numb – a glorious combination, obviously.
Shivering, indicative of just how freezing the cerulean haired boy was, he hugged the wall tightly, trying to avoid as much of the rain as humanely possible. It worked, just not to the degree he would have wanted, and he was slightly afraid of whatever disease he may get as a result of being this tight to the wall.
I swear, if he isn't here in the next few minutes someone dies. Glaring vociferously at a menacing homeless person prowling the back-alleys after some easy prey, he made it very clear not to approach him lest the man wanted to never get back up again.
It worked, just not in the way he had intended, as the man sidled up towards him conspicuously.
If it is another person enquiring about my 'services' he dies.
Carbuncle had to give the guy props, however, for approaching someone who could very well kill them. Eying him up, he saw nothing that should set off his alarms, and labelled him off as just any other individual that roamed the streets.
"Hey, bub, got any dosh?" Carbuncle was legitimately surprised – he didn't think people called people 'bub' and that was just a stereotype. "I need it y'know for some 420."
"420? What is that supposed to be" Whilst he may deal with the darker aspects of life, that didn't mean he was up-to-date with the slang they used.
"Mate you don't know what 420 is?" He tried to put his arm around his shoulder, but Carbuncle was not about to let some strange person who most likely had some sort of infection touch him.
Carbuncle had this thing called a 'personal bubble' – something this guy was trying to invade with his presence – and these things called 'standards' when it came to the people he associated himself with.
Shrugging the 'Irritant'- his new name for the guy who just won't take a hint - off, he didn't waste any time before pushing him away, watching in vicious glee as the fool landed in a large puddle.
It may be juvenile humour, but that still didn't mean it didn't make him laugh. He was too vindictive to care about such petty things after all, and he was angry. Angry at waiting for psychotic individuals who think they can hear thoughts. Angry at the rain. To be frank, he was angry about everything at the moment, and he was not about to take anything from a 'nobody' who didn't even matter in the world.
And he was so hitting on me as well. Plus he was also hitting on him, with the same old manoeuvre of putting his arm around his shoulder.
Feeling a bizarre sense of De Ja Vu, as if he had once had a similar thought before, he locked it away and focused on the present. He was flopping like a fish (sometimes he had to laugh at his own genius when it came to jokes), and it looked to be the first 'bath' the man had gone through in a very long time. The 'Irritant' looked mad, but he was beyond caring – after all, it wasn't like he was anybody important.
Stumbling to his feet, the sopping wet man sent a glare that promised death, before stumbling away. But not before throwing back a curious warning about a 'Crimson Nail', saying that they will 'get their revenge' for the humiliation of 'one of their best' and for 'him to be afraid' of the 'retribution'.
He wasn't afraid of them, if the 'Irritant' was one of the best they had to offer.
"Kitten has claws, it seems."
"Are you sure you aren't gay?"
Startled, Carbuncle twisted his body around, eying the newcomers with an air of disdain.
Cobra and Angel looked immaculate – they hadn't even been touched by the rain. Though that could be in part due to the woollen umbrella hovering over the two by a soaked through girl, who's sheep like features made her even more drenched as the wool absorbed the liquid like a sponge.
The two of them quickly degenerated into mad arguments, much to Carbuncle's irritation. It was rude to ignore someone who had been waiting for them.
"Are you sure you two aren't married? You certainly argue like a married couple." It was almost painful to force the clichéd phrase out, but it certainly did the job, as they quickly rounded on him, eyes burning in rage.
"Married?" They said it in unison, quickly causing them to return to their petty little argument whilst Carbuncle was left trying to figure out the logistics of what he just said.
After all, how exactly would a marriage between a male prostitute and a (after a quick look, Carbuncle deduced that Angel had the correct get-up for a stripper) stripper work? They would be constantly cheating on each other, and that sort of philandering would make that relationship end faster than it started.
So yeah. Guess like they aren't a married couple. But he still holds true to what he said: Cobra is a male prostitute and Angel is a cheap stripper.
"Whilst this isn't interesting and everything, why exactly did you tell me to come here?" Eyes widening, he almost wasn't able to react in time, as he sprung himself out of the way of a purple tail that had just tried to smash him into a wall.
"What have I told you about watching your tongue?" Carbuncle just barely managed to dodge the behemoth tail, eyes trying to keep up with the extreme-speed that it was travelling at, but that didn't mean he couldn't throw a glare at the pointy man.
Crystal Magic: Aquamarine.
Non-verbally casting the spell, a familiar set of armour glittered into existence, angry shards jutting out from his body as he welcomed the boost to his abilities.
"Cubellios, poison." Dark miasma oozed from the snake's mouth, and Carbuncle could only stare, stunned at the sheer size of the snake. Large, powerful wings flared out, the soft, barely inaudible pitter-patter of the rain bouncing of the titan's vivid amethystine scales as it aimed to kill.
It was almost as if they wanted him dead. That and he didn't know Cobra had a Pokémon - that knew a move called 'Poison'.
Flipping out the way of a ray of purple sludge, he could only sigh in relief as he watched the caustic substance eat away the ground that it landed on. It was now more than ever that he cursed himself for not knowing any damaging spells.
It was a race against time, and if he was going to survive he needed to act – and fast. Ignoring the rain obscuring his vision, he fumbled around for his lacrima, grinning proudly as his hand gripped the rough crystal tightly.
Now all he had to do was find the right moment to strike.
There! Trusting in his instincts, he began his counter-attack.
"Crystal Magic: Ruby Flare." Enunciating the spell correctly, he smirked in satisfaction as a bright light emerged from his forehead, searing the winged-snake's eyes. And that of the two criminals who were spectating, as they were not prepared for the bright light either.
"Fly!" Throwing the lacrima like a shuriken, the crystalline substance shattered above the snake's head, releasing a large explosion as it did so. Covering his eyes from the fierce explosion, and from any debris that may have been kicked up as a result, he wasn't prepared for the sight that met him.
You have got to be kidding me! Far from amused, he straightened himself out, trying to erase the damnable wool shield that protected the snake from the explosion.
"…What in the name of ZEREF DO YOU CALL THAT?" Panting, Carbuncle stomped his way towards the two, the aquamarine crystals falling off his body as the magic gluing them together faded away. "How was that a smart idea?"
"We had to make sure that you were the same guy." Nonchalant, Cobra smirked down at the Crystal Mage, whilst Angel tittered to herself. "And if you weren't, Cubellios would have killed you."
"Wait, are you saying that I could have died there?" Slightly stunned over how callous the two mages are, he had to remember that they were indeed Dark Mages.
And as Dark Mages, they could kill others without batting an eye – something that he had almost forgot.
"So what do you know about Oracion Seis?" He started it off casually enough, and if Carbuncle didn't know better he would assume that it was just another pick-up line.
"Oracion Seis? What's that?"
Act like an idiot, act like an idiot act like an idiot act like an idiot act like a –
"We know you know. Your little friend, Jade was it? She isn't the best at keeping secrets. Hoteye found out that you and your little gang of munchkins know about us." Eying the approaching Angel, Carbuncle cringed at her mere presence, not even bothering to hide his disdain for her.
"…I'm sorry, what did you call us? Munchkins? I'm sorry, but what? Are you trying to be insulting, because the only thing insulting at this moment in time is your dress-sense?" He couldn't help it, it just slipped out.
He had forgotten that it was his mission to get on her good side, not on her bad.
Oops.
"N-Not that your dress-sense is bad – just that my poor eyes cannot handle its…amazing-ness?"
Nailed it. She seemed somewhat placated; though from her glacial gaze it was obvious she was sore over it. He didn't see why she was so annoyed, considering there were more serious things he could have said.
Like, he could have called her an ugly smurf, or say that her dress looks like it was made from the remains of Furbies, or say that she looked like a wannabe Cruella De Vil.
See. He was being nice by calling her dress insulting. The things he sacrifices for people – even if they were evil.
"Ughh, I'm going – you can give him the missions!" Swanning off, she dragged the pink-haired sheep-girl away as well, leaving the two of them alone.
"Well I wonder who pissed in her Cheerios today" Flicking an errant strand of wet hair out of his face, it took him a minute to realise what she had said before. "What did Jayne tell you about us?"
"It was Bear Grylls" Throwing a confused glance at the taller man, Carbuncle wondered who this 'Bear Grylls' man was, and what relevance he had to the conversation. "And she just mentioned you guys, nothing for you to be worried about."
Whilst Carbuncle made no outward sign of relief, internally he was having an absolute party over the news.
"Well, she is right about that – we are interested in the group. We hope to join it, after all."
Feigning ignorance, he sighed, before nudging the maroon haired man into action. "Come on, we should go inside now."
"Come, Cubellios." The titanic snake hissed, before slithering along the soaking ground towards the duo. "And I have to give you your missions."
Nodding, the duo (and Cubellios, oddly enough) didn't have to walk far to get inside, where the agent quickly took note of his group at the back. Winking at Jayne, who gave an almost imperceptible nod back, he left it to her to sort out the kids and to make sure that they didn't break anything.
"You know what's odd?"
"What?"
"Nobody noticed my massive snake."
"…Cute Cobra. Real Cute."
"Seriously. It's bigger than twelve inches."
"Cobra, you aren't even drunk yet and you're acting like an idiot."
And so Cobra and Carbuncle got drunk. Again. In the exact same spot whilst served by the exact same bartender.
It was almost as if it was destiny.
"…I can't hear you…"
"Shut up Cobra and drink your alcohol."
"…So who do you think will be the top then?"
"Oh my God I don't even know, but I think the tall one."
"You are so right!"
"It works right? Carbuncle x Cobra OTP?"
"Defo!"
Now Carbuncle suddenly remembered why he was afraid of meeting up with them. Thankfully he was still sober, as Cobra had long since left with his 'gigantic snake' – most likely to pick up some clients for his rent – but that meant that he would have to go through one of the hardest events of his life.
Surviving a Team Crystallux meeting.
Or more specifically surviving the insanity.
Taking his spot next to Jayne, who gave an exuberant greeting that he returned with a nod, he eyed the only member that he hadn't seen. Eevee.
The first thing to note was that she is small, very small, and if he had to guess her height it would be around five foot one. Similarly to Jayne, she has long, dark brown hair, though hers is up in a high ponytail with bangs that reach just past her eyebrows, and dark chocolate eyes that are framed behind a pair of plastic-framed glasses.
She seemed earth-y, if that was an adjective. This effect was only amplified by her brown-sleeved shirt and maroon V-neck, and with her schoolgirl black shoes and white socks.
All in all, she had this aura of earthy innocence that was curious, to say the least.
But he was indeed interested in the jade pendant – there seemed to be some history behind the piece of jewellery that set his Crystal Magic on edge.
"You are?" Lounging backwards on his seat, Carbuncle relished the comfort it provided his tired muscles.
"…I'm Eevee. Pleasure to meet you." She was smiling nervously. Carbuncle pitied the girl, as it seemed as if she didn't know how to go about introducing herself.
"The name's Carbuncle – pleasure's all mine." She seemed to relax at that, as if she was happy that she hadn't made some grievous mistake in introducing herself.
"Come on Eevee – don't be shy. Tell him about what sort of magic you do." Encouraging the girl to speak more, she slipped the agent a look that said 'don't embarrass her', something which he wasn't planning on doing anyway.
"So why are you still in costume?" The cold one (Blaine, his brain supplied) said, small smirk engraved on her face as she did so. "I didn't realise that such things were the fashion – I'll have to take notes."
It seemed as if the confused stare on his face was obvious, as Zimi quickly jumped into the conversation.
"Oh don't worry about her – that's just Blaine." She sing-songed. "When I told her about Yaoi she started to talk about 'culture' and how 'everything was so new'" She waved it off as it just being her, but it seemed as if it was a bit of an abstract personality trait for this day and age.
"So is it true?" This time it was from Jayne, who had unsuccessfully tried to get Eevee to open up.
"Is what true?"
"Is what true?"
Sharply turning their gaze upwards, all conversation on the table dropped, as they all met eyes with the interloper. For Carbuncle, it was like looking in the mirror – the copycat even managed to get his voice down correctly. He was the exact same size, the exact same shape the exact same everything. He had the same long, aqua-blue hair, the same emerald eyes and even the same clothes. He was impressed.
But it was far too easy to spot it was a fake. He didn't have the magic fin-
Sorry, crystal finger.
"I commend you on your technique. Maybe try looking at their hands next time." Carbuncle graced the mirror-image with a victorious smirk, which he mimicked before returning to his true form.
Short, metallic white blue hair framed his face in an 'M' shape, for Carbuncle himself didn't quite know the hair-style and that was simply the only way he could describe it. Green eyes, much darker than his own, gave of this aura of oppression and aggression that was similar but not quite up to standard just yet. His clothes were what the teens would call edgy – his ensemble consisted of a long sleeved white shirt, black pants and a black leather jacket.
In other words, he was teenage angst wrapped up in an angst-y ball. He was a teenage boy (by the looks of it, and if he was being presumptuous he looked around fifteen or sixteen), and to Carbuncle all boys were the same.
"The name is Arrow." With that said, he just took a seat next to Zimi, who gave him an incredulous look – as if asking 'who on earth are you?'
"…Why exactly are you sitting here?" Jayne demanded, hands on hips. "Can't you see we are having a conversation here?"
"Ditto." Ferocious glare on her face, Zimi rounded on him as well whilst the other two just stayed silent.
"…There are less of you here." Short and simple, he got straight to the point, falling back to his silence.
"There'll be none of us here in a minute." Gathering their stuff together, the new team Crystallux stood to leave, heading in an orderly fashion towards the stairs off to the side.
Leaving Arrow by himself. Alone.
"Don't you feel bad about leaving him alone?" Eevee said, poking her thumbs together nervously. "I mean, don't you think he's sad about being alone?"
"Eevee, he is a teenage boy, half the time they want to be alone, and the other half of the time they're angry people." Carbuncle was about to protest, but fell short. He was much the same – he would rather not have this 'Team Crystallux' be together, proving Jayne's point exactly.
After all, he was seventeen – so he still counted as a teenage boy.
"And to be honest, we are dealing with very sensitive information here." At this, Blaine's eyes widened, as if she was going to say something, but stopped herself. But she seemed giddy for some reason, as if some amazing piece of information has just become new knowledge for her.
She wasn't the only one – the 'rock' behind her seemed to be interested too.
"Sensitive information?"
"Sensitive information?"
Carbuncle was ready to stab the teenager – as soon as he figured out which one was the real Blaine, and which one was 'Arrow'.
Luckily, Zimi was on top form, splitting the two of them up instantly.
"Blaine! Yaoi!"
One of them paled, whilst the other twisted her head out to the side and spouted this:
"Yaoi, also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homo-romantic male sexual relationships, usually created by female authors. As Yaoi works depict sexual relationships between males, the genre attracts an androphilic male audience as well; however, manga aimed at a gay male audience is considered a separate genre. The genre also attracts lesbian, bisexual and questioning female readers, and several prominent Yaoi authors are lesbian." She took a deep breathe at that, to get herself ready to finish off the lecture.
"The main characters in Yaoi usually conform to the formula of the seme that pursues the uke Material classified as Yaoi typically depicts erotic gay relationships between attractive male characters. Although the Yaoi genre is also called Boys' Love (commonly abbreviated as BL), the males featured are pubescent or older." She seemed immensely proud of reciting the definition, whilst Zimi was wiping a tear out of her eye from pride at her young pupil.
Carbuncle was simply too stunned to do anything otherwise, as he tried to digest learning more about Yaoi then he had ever wanted to before in his life. 'Arrow' (which Carbuncle knows for a fact is a fake name – like 'Cobra' or 'Angel') was in a similar position, having returned to his previous form.
"Look, Arrow, could you please leave us? We don't know you, and you don't know us – so could you please leave us alone whilst we are trying to figure this out?" Jayne implored the young boy, just daring him to make the wrong move and stick around.
"…Fine." Moving away, he was about to descend the staircase, but was stopped by Eevee.
"Do you want some company?" She may be shy, but he looked like he needed some company.
"No thanks, I can tell when I am not wanted." Descending the stairs, they waited until they could no longer hear his footsteps behind the din of the people, before turning around and heading inside the room Carbuncle had bought out for his stay in the city.
"…He really does know how to guilt trip people." Smug, Carbuncle was about to slap a silence rune on the door, before he was interrupted by the two he hadn't really truly met yet.
"We should also leave as well, since we ourselves have no real purpose to be here other than curiosity." Blaine, being a voice of reason, shepherded Eevee past Carbuncle – to his displeasure. "Just tell us what you are going to do later, okay." With that said and done, they too faded from view.
"…Considering everyone else is leaving, just text me in a bit – I want to talk to Blaine about something." Now Carbuncle was truly scared – though not for himself but for Blaine. He didn't want her to be scarred even more so than she already has been by the insane child.
"If that is what you truly want." Moving to the side, he let the girl run free, hopefully to disappear for a while.
And then there were two.
"So are we gonna plan then?" Jayne quipped, sitting criss-crossed on the bed whilst Carbuncle rifled around for the sheets of paper he was given. Pulling out three, he chucked them onto the mattress, where it was joined by a single sheet thrown on top by Jayne.
"I'm assuming those are the plans then?" Rifling through each of them, she couldn't help but laugh at the strangeness of some of them, and cringe at the sight of some. "Here, read." Shoving a particularly ridiculous request at him, Carbuncle nearly laughed at it.
Who knew that Oracion Seis were so interested in the inner-workings of Dora the Explorer?
Saving that particular request for Zimi if she proved to be annoying, Carbuncle separated the missions into 'easy' and 'hard', realising with a start that some of these requests were far too easy.
Helping an old lady cross the road isn't a mission that will end with death, is it? Or investigating a red nail? Or fighting off rabid fangirls? It seemed as if they were far too easy, and they were only patronising them.
"Aren't these a bit too easy?" Staring at them with disdain, Carbuncle was about to go off on one, before being stopped by Jayne.
"No, they just look like that – see, some of them are riddles." Carbuncle figured that what she was saying had to be somewhat true – though investigating Dora the Explorer does not sound as if it is a riddle.
It just sounded like a SSS rank mission. Obviously.
"Well, investigating a 'red nail' seems like it could be investigating the Dark Guild 'Crimson Nail' – I've had some prior experience with them from my time at Blue Pegasus." Circling the 'red nail', she scribbled 'Crimson Nail' above it with a red pen she carried around with her at all times.
Nodding in agreement, Carbuncle decided to stay silent whilst she worked, wondering about how the others were doing downstairs socialising. He hoped that Zimi hadn't corrupted Blaine and Eevee too much, and if she had then there will be…
Stern words between them, to say the least.
"Done!" Looking at the triumphant girl, he couldn't help but feel a small smirk growing on his face as he took in the sight of her. She just seemed so happy and excited that he felt almost guilty about taking her on his mission.
Emphasis on the almost – when has Carbuncle ever been conscious about other people?
"Good – what's the bad news then?" Looking over her shoulder, it seemed that there were three core things to take into account when analysing them.
There was 'Burglary'.
'Subterfuge'.
And 'Murder'.
Knowing that he would be forced to take the murder mission on principle, he snagged it before she was done with it, eliciting a startled 'meep' out of her before escaping the room.
"Separate the rest among yourselves – I'm heading to the train station."
Without waiting for her reply, he headed out through the back entrance of the Inn, but not before hearing an ominous piece of information regarding Fairy Tail.
"Did you hear about Hargeon?" Normally he wouldn't stick around to hear gossip, but when it involved his birth town then he had to listen.
"What happened to it?" Yea, what happened to it?
"Salamander destroyed half of it." Salamander is going to BE destroyed when I see him
"Omg no way." ...Did a grown man just say 'omg no way'?
"Yea he was with some girl as well – who threw a tidal wave at the port as well!" They both die. Together.
"And that ice-dude was found stripping again." Gray…when will you learn?
"What about the Lunar and Shadow wizards?" Alice and Hale?
"Did they blow something up again..." They are Fairy Tail - it's what they do.
Getting bored of the conversation, he left, heading north towards the train-station.
He had a guild to murder, after all, for their betrayal of Oracion Seis.
"Mother...why is there a man dressed up like that?"
"I'll tell you when you're older."
Scratch that, Cobra dies too.
Chapter 3, Fin~
Guys, read this cause this is important. I'll be taking a week log break to revise for my exams, but I'll still read your reviews and stuff, which brings me on to my next two announcements.
The first is me being selfish and asking you for help on how to revise properly - like what sort of things work for you.
The second is important, so hear it out (geddit cause this story has Cobra in it? HURR DURR!) - Can you PM/review to me what you want the 'teams' to be? Like what characters you want paired together for the Mission Arc (the next one where we go through all the missions set out by the Oracion Seis members)? If you could that would be amazing.
And as usual, if you are confused by something, just drop me a PM or ask it in a review and I'll get back to you~
OH YEAH AND IMPORTANT NOTICE ON THE DRAGON SLAYERS! I'll have to tone them all down to normal, due to the fact that there is 7 Dragon Slayers in the Anime/Manga, and as 7 is an important number I'll have to make them normal mages without the 'Slayer' aspect to them.
If you have any problems with this, just drop me a review and we'll sort something out. I can make some compromises about this sort of thing however, so just talk to me about it~
So onto the OCs already shown in the story (other than Carbuncle):
The Lazy Bitch's: Zimi
QueenKazza's: Jayne
Hikari-Angel143's: Eevee
motordog's: Blaine
Arcobaleno-Lover's: 'Arrow'
Oc's mentioned:
Cute-Kawaii-Girl's: Alice + Hale
Saiyan-Styles': ? - (Hidden to avoid spoilers :D)
Now that that is done - THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT :D - Your reviews are awesome :D
So until next time,
HalcyonNight.
(P.S: I noticed that about the name to Saiyan-Styles, and it isn't a conspiracy. Or is it?)