Disclaimer: I wish I owned Star Wars and Fairy Tail . . . but I don't so no lawsuits
Chapter Two
Two Pairs of Dark Green
Escape Pod above the planet Graylin 33 which is being destroyed
Ryu bounced around in his seat, staring out the now cracking pod window. The pod was being pulled apart, or squished into nothing, Ryu didn't know. He looked at Maverick who still was clutching his severed leg, all Ryu did is a slight nod and Maverick understood. Maverick's head fell into the padded seat, there was no escape best make your peace with it now.
The warhawk clone sighed, "Well this sucks, I never even got to kill my first droid, just finished training and was shipped here. Did either of you kill any?"
Maverick thought for a moment, "Couple dozen, I have only been on a few missions with my master."
The clone's gaze shifted to Ryu, "Well, I think I'm up to seventy-four. They are pretty easily to disassemble with a lightsaber, easier to deactivate if you redirect one of their blaster bolts back of them."
Maverick chuckled, "Was that a joke Ryu? Must suck, starting to turn over a new leaf and then you die." The lights started to flicker as the pod began to tear apart from the black hole.
"Well, shit happens." The clone stated simply, Ryu and Maverick nodded in agreement.
The three of them could hear the metal tearing from the outer lay of the pod, the lights flickered a couple more times before they went out completely. None of them spoke another word as they continued forward, they had said what they all wanted to and now it was time for the end. All their eyes closed and waited their final breath as well as the pain they would endure for a couple of seconds before feeling nothing, until they were gone from the galaxy.
Seconds passed and the tearing intensified and the cracking of glass, it was then Ryu sensed incredible power. He didn't know where it was coming from but he could feel where it was going, the black hole.
His eyes shot open toward the black hole and he couldn't believe his eyes, a second hole emitting a multicolor pattern was being torn open in the middle of the black hole using the Force.
()()()()
A minute earlier, Etro's POV
"Goodbye master . . . and thank you for everything." Etro continued looking out the Republic cruiser's window as tears streaked down her cheeks. Not only had she failed Ryu, but she had failed her friends. The amount of tears intensified as she saw the tiny pod which contained her precious apprentice move toward the black hole. The cruiser which picked her up managed to be on the edge of the black hole's gravitational pull and therefore was able to maintain a safe distance. Although the pod was already out of tractor beam range and even if they could reach it, the pull from the black hole would be too great.
Etro cursed herself over and over again, what could she done differently to save Ryu, "Why didn't the Force guide me, the Force is supposed the most powerful energy in the universe. Then why couldn't I save him?!"
She fell to her knees and cried some more, there was nothing she could do, nothing at all . . . or was there. A single thought popped into Etro's head, it was a theory and hadn't been tested. To be fair the theory was basically impossible to know if it was a success. If the Force was the most powerful energy in the Universe, could a hole be torn in a black hole and a ship sent through and survive?
Etro stood to her feet and started gathering all the energy she could, this was the only chance Ryu had to survive, if it could be done. She then reached outward toward the black hole, once she thought she was 'connected' with it she started to pull. Etro pulled with all her might and will, she let her emotions take over her to give her more power. She wanted Ryu to live, to be able to do what he wants, to find what he searches for in the universe, to experience love with a girl he loved, and to find a new family where he trust them with his life.
Tears of Determination flowed from her eyes as pulled, even if she was to die as long as Ryu lived on she would be happy. Then something began to finally happen, at first it was small but as seconds past the hole grew larger and larger. The second hole could be seen by all on the cruisers, its colors reflecting in everyone's eyes. It was a beautiful sight, a brightly shining beacon of hope in the middle of a light consuming darkness.
Etro watched as the pod entered the second hole and disappear, then she released her grip. The multicolored light disappeared instantly, "May the Force be with you Ryu." She then collapsed out of exhaustion onto the cold metallic floor, she found it oddly soothing.
()()()()
Ryu's POV
Ryu still couldn't believe what he was seeing, someone or something managed to use the Force and tear a . . . well he didn't what kind of hole it was or it was some type of portal. As they got closer to whatever it was, Ryu looked to his compatriots, "Why do I feel like this going to hurt?"
The moment the pod came into contact with the portal, the pod disappeared and they were instantly pulled into the portal. Ryu felt like all his molecules were torn apart but also like he was being squished together, like he was everywhere and nowhere. He couldn't tell what he felt like except there was an extreme amount of pain. Infinite amounts of pain. So much pain. Pain, pain, pain . . . nothing.
Blue skies and white clouds?
Ryu was brought to attention as he felt himself falling, and quite quickly. He was falling with his face upwards and his back toward the planet, spinning around in mid-air was easy and Ryu almost shit himself from what he saw.
Dragons and quite a few of them.
Ryu used the Force to guide his descent, dodging wings, tails, heads, and the backs of the dragons. Once he was through the flock of dragons, he looked back to see they were all flying in one direction, although he no clue where they were going or where he was for that matter. As he was looking up, something caught his eye, it was moving at the same speed he was but it was slightly larger in size. It was Warhawk guy.
To reach him, Ryu tilted his body so he would slowly move under the clone. Once he was there, Ryu spread his arms and legs as far out as he could in order to slow him down and allow the trooper to catch up. It worked, a little too well. The clone slammed in causing him to spin out of control for a moment but after using the Force he managed to stabilize himself.
Ryu was shocked to find the clone was still holding on to his rifle, "He must love that thing to death." It was then he noticed the clone wasn't moving around, just plummeting straight down . . . he didn't know what they were plummeting to. They were still lost amongst the clouds and weren't able to see the ground just yet. Again Ryu angled himself so he was drifting toward the clone and was able to grab the man's arm as he drifted passed. Luckily Ryu remembered to put on his utility belt before today's incidents so he was to tie himself and the clone together using his grappling hook rope. As he checked if the rope was secure, he felt around his waist and was shocked to find his lightsabers were no longer attached to his waist.
He scanned the area around but wasn't able to spot anything due to still being in clouds. Then a thought came to Ryu, he then plunged into a nose dive and fell faster. Although as he fell faster, a metal cylinder crashed sideways into the side of Ryu's head. After overcoming the initial impact, Ryu managed to keep sight of the metal object and dived for it. Using the Force he managed to slow it down enough so he could grab it as he flew past.
"That's one down, now to get the other." Ryu thought as the wind messed up his hair and caused the braided segment of his hair to whip around in a frenzy.
Finally after a couple minutes of falling, the two them finally broke cloud cover and found themselves over a ocean with what looked to be a small island directly below them. Ryu continued the nose dive for a couple of seconds before whipping around to look toward the sky. The sun was shining so if he focused hard enough, he thought that he might be able to see the glint of the second lightsaber from the sun. He scanned the sky carefully, moving his gaze very slowly over the mostly clouded sky.
A glint.
Ryu thrust his empty hand forward and started to 'pull' the lightsaber closer. Seconds past but the glint kept getting closer and closer until it slammed into Ryu's hand. This time Ryu made sure the sabers would stay on his belt and not going flying freely. Once they were secure Ryu whipped around to face toward the ground and was horrified.
At that moment, he was probably no more than one hundred feet above the island. There was no time to react and Ryu hadn't yet learned Force Flight even he had spent many hours trying to learn, "Maybe the trees will break my fall." He thought in a second but at this speed he was falling at, even hitting water would kill him instantly.
But just before hitting the tree tops, a mysterious orb of yellow light surrounded him and Warhawk guy stopping them instantly but not killing them from the sudden stop. The orb then started to fly sideways toward the edge of the island, Ryu was worried at first that the orb was going to drop them but then thought that if whatever is making this orb wanted him dead, it would have just let him hit the trees. His assumptions were correct as it started to descend slowly once it went over the edge. It was then Ryu saw something in which could only describe as 'An island sitting atop another island'.
From what it looked like, tree roots from the island below spiraled upward and now were holding the second island up with no difficulty. While the island above was heavily forested, the island below was still forested but had a lot of rocky terrain along with some old ruins dotting its landscape. The orb continued to slowly descend into a forest grove and stop a foot or two above the ground before dissipating and dropping Ryu on the ground. He landed on his feet but was soon crushed by the clone by the weight of his armor alone.
Ryu attempted to squirm out from underneath but wasn't able to because the grappling rope was still wrapped around both of them. As he fumbled for the knot that kept the rope secure he sensed someone step out of the tree line, it was strange though, one moment the entire area was empty and the next moment there is someone standing less fifteen feet away. Ryu tried to look up at the person but his head was also being pinned down by the trooper, but he could see their bare feet and their long blonde hair that extended to their ankles along with the bottom of their hot pink dress. The ankles were slender and the skin looked amazingly smooth so Ryu came to the conclusion that whoever this person was, they were a human female.
After fiddling with the rope a little longer, Ryu was able to get it undone. Ryu immediately rolled out from under the clone and away from who ever this strange person was. After he was a good distance away, he pushed himself to his feet and activated his lightsabers, assuming his combat stance as he did.
The girl whoever she was looked to be eleven years old. Her wavy blonde hair extended to her ankles, her dress was entirely hot pink with a red ribbon tied at her neck and along with three sashes that had a blue diamond on the tip of each sash with two blue triangles above each diamond. Her second most curious feature was what looked like wings going out the sides of her head through her wavy blonde hair, in Ryu's opinion she looked good with them. But the most curious feature on this strange girl was her eyes, a dark green exactly like his own but she had no irises which took Ryu by surprise at first. She looked pretty cute in his opinion. Normally Ryu would have attacked but stopped initially because she looked like a harmless girl, then decided fighting would be the worse thing he could do once he sensed the amount of power this girl had. If she could use it, he would be crushed in a matter of seconds, didn't matter if she was trained or not in whatever power she had.
"Are you quite finished staring at me?" The girl suddenly said causing Ryu to whip back into focus.
"I am Padawan Ryu Krayt Nezuma, who are you and where am I?" He demanded.
"So demanding." The girl giggled, she sat on the ground cross legged and patted on the ground next to her, "Come on, sit. There is no need to worry, no one will harm you here."
Ryu hesitated at first but deactivated his lightsabers and clipped them to waist. He moved over slowly and sat down on his legs as he usually does when sitting on the ground. The two of them remained silent for awhile, the girl just sat there smiling at him. Looking around to avoid the girl's gaze he found himself looking at Warhawk guy. Ryu started to get up to check on him but the girl put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head.
"He was dead before you even broke cloud cover." Ryu sat back down with a grim look on his face.
"He saved my life and I didn't ever learn his name." He said gloomily.
"I'm sure he was a great man who ever he was." The girl said putting a hand on Ryu's shoulder.
Ryu scoffed, "Yeah him along with the million other clones."
The girl was confused, "What do you mean?"
"This guy was a cloner in the Grand Army of the Republic, there are literally thousands of guys who are exactly like him. They made up the bulk of the Republic's army, how could you not know that?" Ryu asked confused, had this planet not yet achieved space travel or were they isolationists?
"Grand Army of the Republic? What are they?" The girl asked with her head tilted.
"They are military forces that serve under the Galactic Senate and the Jedi Order. Although I'm guessing you don't know what any of those are?"
The girl shook her head in response, "Why don't you tell me about them." The girl laid down on her stomach and placed her hands under her chin to keep her head propped up, her smile never disappearing from her face.
Ryu would had said 'no' if the girl wasn't as cute as she was, "Fine. It's going to take a while to talk about so you better pay close attention because I'm not repeating any of it."
The girl smile widened, "I'm ready."
Ryu started going through the Galactic Senate and how power was distributed among them, then he went through the core races that made up the majority of the population on Coruscant. Then he had to explain what Coruscant was and explain a few major landmarks including the Senate building along with the Jedi Temple. He then explained who the Jedi were and what they stood for, along with the various Jedi Corps and the difference between them and Jedi Knights. And once he was explained all that, the girl had one final question.
"And what is the Force?"
Ryu was a little annoyed, "You know with all these questions you're asking me, I should at least get a couple."
"Fine, you have three questions, go."
Ryu was taken back at first but quickly recovered, "Your name is?"
"I am Mavis Vermilion, first guild leader of Fairy Tail." The girl stated proudly.
"Guild leader? How old are you?" Ryu stated in shock.
The girl shrugged, "Don't know, lost track a long time ago after I passed away."
Ryu reeled back and shot to his feet, "After you passed away? What are you?!"
"A member Fairy Tail." The girl replied calmly. "I do believe your questions are up, now sit down and tell me about 'The Force'."
"That's not what I meant when I said, 'what are you'." He sighed
It took longer for Ryu to walk back over and sit down next to the girl but by now the girl's smile was starting to reassure him. He resumed his sitting position and took a deep breath, "Can I have one mo-"
"Nope." Mavis interrupted, "You can ask me all the questions you want after you tell me about 'The Force'."
He sighed once more, "I'll give you the simple version of my understanding of the Force." Ryu took a deep breath before continuing, "The Force . . .it binds life together, and creates it. The Force is both the cause and effect of life. Midichlorians exist inside the body of all living beings. Those with high levels of midichlorians are able to manipulate the world around them with the Force, for good or ill."
Ryu looked back to the girl who was still staring at him with her gentle smile, "Well, that's what my know-it-all master says anyway."
"Interesting, the Force sounds somewhat like magic." Mavis responded after a moment of silence.
"Well, Jedi have been called magicians before although people meant it as an insult." Ryu scratched his head to satisfy an itch.
Mavis corrected herself, "No what I meant was that the Force sounds like something a mage would use."
Ryu was confused, "What do you mean mage? Explain."
"We have magic in this world, for a lot of people it is just to help with day to day life. But for some, they have a natural ability to use magic to a great extent. For example, some mages can control fire and bend it to there will allowing them to use it however they want. And it isn't just fire, but ice, water, earth, wind, and hundreds of other combinations. Although mages only usually focus on one thing and doing so allows them to become powerful in that element. They can branch out if they want but the more they branch out, the weaker each type of magic they use is."
Ryu was even more confused at this point, "What are you talking about? Magic and mages? Where am I? What planet is this?"
"This is Tenrou island, if you're wondering about the planet, it's called Earthland."
Ryu began to freak out, "I don't know what any of those are, how am I suppose to get home?!" His thought for a second then remembered his utility belt, "Right! I have my distress beacon, the Republic can send a ship down and get me."
"That won't work." Mavis said while sitting up.
"And why not?!" Ryu challenged.
"Because you're not in your own universe anymore."
Silence
Silence
And more silence
"WHAT?!" Ryu screamed, "What in the name of the Force do you mean I am not in my universe anymore?!"
"What I said, I am not sure how a portal opened on your side but on our side it is possible that the dragons leaving may have had something to do with it on our side." Mavis replied.
Ryu stood from his walking position and began pacing around, "Do you know how absurd th-. How is that even possi-. And how do you know I came from a different universe, I may have just traveled to a different part of the galaxy?!"
"One thing I know for sure, the magic we have is universal. You have a type of magic that does not come from our universe from what I can sense about you. Logical explanation, different universe."
"Logical my ass. For all I know you could be lying to me and I'm on a Republic controlled planet in the middle of an ocean." Ryu shouted.
Then Mavis began to cry, "Y-you don't believe me? But why would I lie to you? Mavis began to whine loudly causing Ryu to take a step back.
Ryu facepalmed, "Wow, a ten year old made a eleven year old cry."
"I-I'm not eleven years old, I am much older but I lost track." Mavis said through the tears.
Ryu sighed once more, "Just shut up will you? I'm sorry ok, it's just hard to believe."
"I'm not lying!" Mavis screamed.
Ryu recoiled a step from the scream, "I said I believe you okay. If you say you're much older than eleven years old then act like it for crying out loud!"
The tears began to halt and Mavis began quickly wipe them away, "You really do believe me?"
"Yeah I guess." Ryu walked over and sat down next to Mavis once again, "Let us continue, I still have a couple questions."
Mavis hid a smile, "Sucker, and who says crying won't work on anyone?"
"Alright, my next question is how are you able to create an artificial body for yourself if you are dead? Magic I am assuming."
She nodded, "Correct, I do have some Ethereal abilities which have allowed me to make me a body."
Ryu took a deep breath before continuing, "You said anyone can use magic, is it possible I could?"
Mavis shrugged, "I don't know, this is my first time meeting a person from a different universe."
"Fair enough." Ryu thought for a moment, "Did you see anyone else fall from the portal, there was three of us. . . well two now." Ryu finished glancing to the dead trooper.
"No, I only saw you two. It is possible he wound up somewhere else in this world. Or he could been sent to a third universe." Mavis started playing with her hair, twisting it between her fingers.
"Hmm. What do I do now?"
Mavis had been waiting for this question and smiled, "You know, if you're looking to join the best guild, you should join Fairy Tail."
"Hmm."
Mavis stared at him before continuing, "What do you say? We may be a rowdy bunch but we all have good hearts."
"Hmm."
Mavis become a bit pouty, "Are you even listening to me?"
"Hmm."
Mavis became even more pouty, she brought a chop on Ryu's head. After the initial blow, nothing happened, Ryu continued to just sit there thinking. A few moments past before Ryu was brought back to reality, "Did you say something? And why is your hand on my head?"
Mavis let out an exasperated sigh and fell onto her back, "I give up!"
They both remained silent for awhile until Ryu had an idea, "Tell me more about guilds."
"Simple or Complex?" She asked still laying on her back.
"Simple for now I guess."
"In short, it's when a group of people band together into a new family. They support each other, protect each other, love each other. Also they help others who are not in a guild by going on quests, these quests help guild members to support themselves financially."
"Hmm."
"Why you . . ." Mavis leapt at Ryu tackling him ground, again Ryu didn't react.
Mavis sat on his chest until he came back to reality once again, "What are you doing?"
"What am I doing?! What are you doing?! You asked me to explain something to you and you ignored me completely!" Mavis said still sitting on his chest.
"You are crushing me and I was having a vision."
Mavis tilted her head and got off Ryu, "A vision?"
"Yeah, the Force allows me to see visions. I was listening to you but I was also focusing on the vision."
"What was the vision about if you don't me asking?"
"Well it was a blurry vision, but I know what happened. The tree in the center of the island, the one holding the other island up-"
"It's called Tenrou Tree." Mavis interrupted.
"Whatever, the base of tree had been partly destroyed but that was enough for the tree to lean and fall into the sea."
Mavis's eyes shot wide open, "Are you sure?"
Ryu glanced back at the giant tree, "Unless there is another tree like this one then yes."
"Do you know when it's going to happen?" She placed a hand on Ryu's shoulder.
He casually brushed off the hand, "No bloody clue, sometimes my visions come in like that, hazy and only able to discern one thing. Other times I can nail down the location within a couple feet and on the second."
"Are you sure you can't tell me anything else? This tree is very important to Fairy Tail." Mavis pleaded.
Ryu closed his eyes and recounted the vision.
()()()()
Ryu found himself floating over the island but not as high as the second one. Seconds floated by with nothing happening, he was too far above the island below to clearly see what was going on but he could see a couple people, two groups. One was standing near a pavilion and the others were running down a pathway. Suddenly, a tremendous crack rang out over the island and the tree started to slowly lean to one side, then over time it picked up speed until it hit the water. Soon after the tree fell, both groups collapsed and laid there unmoving.
()()()()
"The only other thing I can tell you is that there was two groups of people on the island but I couldn't see their faces. Sometimes the visions are very selective on what it wants me to know and wants me to figure out."
Mavis stared at the ground thinking, Ryu stood up and moved over to his dead ally, the man didn't have any form of identification on him much to Ryu's chagrin, "Probably didn't have any time grabbing his things before jumping ship. Hey Mavis, whatcha thinking about?"
The girl stood up and trotted over to Ryu, looking him dead in the eyes as she did, "Will you join Fairy Tail?"
Ryu seriously considered the notion, cut off from the Republic he didn't have many options, then there was the matter of Maverick missing, "What about Maverick? What if he's here, on this planet? I can't very well leave him alone, not after I cut part off his leg off."
Mavis's eyes widened again, then Ryu quickly added, "If I didn't, he wouldn't have made it through the portal. Desperate times call for desperate measures."
Mavis laughed lightly, "You seem awfully mature for a ten year old."
Ryu shrugged, "The Jedi code is strict, I'm mature when I want to be. Not that the code matters much out here, and I didn't exactly choose to be in the Jedi Order."
"I'm giving you a choice here, to join Fairy Tail."
Ryu placed a hand on his head as he started to think, "I'm probably never going back to my universe, and the probability of the Jedi Order coming here is none. I could use a group of people to watch my back while I get set up in this world. So far I can't think of any negatives . . . except Maverick. If he's here then he needs my help, but where do I start? He could be dead now for all I know. I'll just have to keep my eyes and ears open until I catch wind of something. How hard could it be finding the single other Force user."
"I'm in."
Mavis cheered and jumped into the air, after calming down then assumed a more serious tone, "But just saying you're in doesn't mean you're in the guild. You need to talk to the current master, Makarov Dreyar."
Ryu nodded, "I understand but I need to do something first. I need somewhere secluded to bury him. He saved my life, all I can do now is make sure he isn't disturbed in death."
Mavis smiled, "That's very noble of you, I have a place you can bury him."
Ryu shifted his bag on then stood over the clone, he placed the rifle on the man's chest and placed the arms over the rifle. Then he focused his energy he lifted the dead clone off the ground and followed Mavis. The trek took a while through the woods, Ryu had to stop a couple times and set the clone down. While Ryu was good at the Alter skill, he couldn't keep objects forever. It was much simpler giving a quick blast of energy then holding them in the air. After a couple minutes had passed from the last break, Mavis and Ryu had stepped out of the forest into another clearing except the grassy ground was replaced by a more barren dirt area.
Ryu set the trooper gently, "Don't suppose you have a shovel or something I can dig with?"
Mavis shook her head, her blonde hair swaying from each side as she did, "No. But I want to see if you can use magic."
Ryu laughed, "Doesn't it take years of training to do the simplest thing with this kind of stuff?"
"Normally but if you allow me to enter your mind, I can give you knowledge of earth magic. Not anything fancy, just to be able to move tiny bits of earth, you're own your own after that."
"Can you really just, 'give me knowledge'?"
"Even though I may look a kid, I am extremely powerful. Getting Ethereal abilities wasn't easy you know. And I'm giving you knowledge of Earth magic that I've read in books, I've never used it myself."
"Terrific." Ryu joked.
"Will you stop acting like a brat?! That may be how you normally act but you really need an attitude change. I'm giving you knowledge for free, the ability to tap into a power you have never experienced before."
Ryu was going to reply with a witty retort but realized that this girl, if she was telling the truth, could give him a new ability. Being able to command the ground could be useful in some situations, "I'm sorry, go ahead."
Mavis's face lightened into a smile, "That's better, now hold still, I've never done this before."
"What was that now?" Mavis planted the palm of her hand on Ryu's forehead, then a golden light erupted from her palm blinding him in the process. After a couple seconds passed, Ryu felt a strange sensation. Like having your eyes already open to see what was around, but then a second pair of eyes open to reveal a hidden world. As the knowledge was passed to him, he felt like he 'understood' the earth more, he could feel himself becoming more with nature as time passed. For a short time, Ryu felt at peace, he was happy. Then just as a smile was about to break out over his face, the transfer stopped and the warm feeling disappeared.
"Hey, what's the deal? Keep the knowledge coming, I could feel something happening." Ryu complained.
Mavis broke into a wide smile, "You CAN use our magic!"
"How do you know? I just feel . . . different like a second . . . well a third new sense was opened to me."
"Exactly, magic in this world relies on our emotions, not always but strong emotions tend to lead to stronger magic."
Ryu burst out laughing, "You're kidding me right? It's the complete opposite with the Jedi Order, you're suppose to block out all emotion and keep it locked away basically."
Mavis frowned, "Then this could be a problem if you keep your emotions locked up."
"It's not a problem at all, I didn't really buy into 'There is no emotion' stuff. Could be why I lack in Control skills."
"If it shouldn't be a problem, then try digging a hole with magic."
"I still don't know how to use magic. What am I suppose to do?"
Mavis thought for a second, "Hmm, Earth magic has a lot to do with peace with yourself emotion wise. Okay, here's what I think you do. It's best to close your eyes starting out, picture the ground in your head. Don't feel the ground physically but reach out to it, extend yourself."
Ryu chuckled, "It sounds a bit like using the Force." He shut his eyes tight, and 'extended' himself. The problem was whenever he tried to extend himself he always used the Force even when he didn't want to.
He opened his eyes but kept them squinted in anger, "Damn it, I can't do it. Whenever I try to reach out I end up using the Force."
Mavis scratched her head, "Hmm . . . You said you felt different when I transferred the knowledge right? I guess maybe you should try to use that different feeling when you try reaching out."
Ryu raised an eyebrow, "And exactly how do I use a feeling with magic? We use feelings with the Force too, how do I try and not mix them up?"
Her hands flew into the air, "I don't know! As I said you are the first person I've met from a different universe."
"Right. So I use what I felt and feel that way when I 'reach out'?"
"I don't know. Every type of magic is different, people learn in different ways. I guess you have to try and figure it out. What did you feel again?"
"What I felt was peace, when I have I felt at peace?" Ryu closed his eyes once again, he thought through his life and tried to figure out when he was at peace. He thought to his meditation hours but even then he would be restless, the reason why he spent many hours meditating was because he was trying to calm himself but to no avail. He turned his thoughts to when he would be practicing with his sabers, but this didn't work either. He was aggressive when he trained with his sabers, partly due to the forms he chose, and the rest of the blame is due to his mental condition. Then as hope of finding peace was lost he found when small glimmer of peace, a peace of when you accepted your fate. A peace of when you know you're going to die and you have no problem with it.
He recounted the memory of moving toward the black hole, knowing that there was nothing you could do to avoid the fate. The only thing you could do is accept it and hope the death was swift and painless.
A strange sensation swept over Ryu again, the same as before, a type of inner peace. Only this time it was much weaker but he feel himself reaching out to the earth below and around him. The 'reaching' didn't extend far, a little farther than an arms length but shorter than a standard sabers length. But the important thing is he could feel it.
"Now what?" He asked without opening his eyes or breaking his concentration.
"The next step in magic is to command it. Magic is vocal, our words have power and we use that power to command whatever element we are trying to use. Focus on the spot on the ground where you want the magic to happen, then using words command that patch of ground to do what you want it to."
Ryu focused on the area of ground in front of him, and while he focus on this spot he command it move, "Earth, I command you to move!"
Nothing
Mavis giggled, "You should probably shorten that. Taking too long to say the words causes the magic to dissipate and have little to no power. Try again but this time try saying, 'Earth Grave'. It's a good idea to also picture in your head what the final result should look like. Also sometimes it's a good idea when you start using magic, you should use words that closely describe what you have in mind. You can add fancy and lengthy names to it once you become better at using magic."
Ryu nodded and closed his eyes again. He conjured up the feeling of being at peace, extended himself outward with his new sense, focused on the area of ground in front of him and yelled, "Earth Grave!"
A brown magic circle erupted and spun slowly from under Ryu as he shouted the words. Ryu's magic circle was was very angular on the inside. The first layer was two squares overlapping each other, the corners mimic a compass it if had North, Northwest, West, Southwest, Et Cetera. The second layer was four obtuse isosceles triangles connecting at the legs with the peaks of each triangle pointing to the corner of the second square, the one with the corners pointing Northwest, Southwest, Et Cetera if it was a compass. Along the insides of each triangle, strange hieroglyphs of an ancient writing moved slowly around. The second to last layer was an octagon with even more strange hieroglyphs circling the perimeter of the shape. The innermost layer was not a shape, but a symbol, it was the symbol of the Jedi Order. The lightsaber within the symbol was pointing 'North' and the wings surrounding the saber appeared to be moving slightly. A couple seconds after the circle appeared, a rectangular impression appeared in the ground. The circle around Ryu disappeared and as soon as it did, Ryu fell to one knee breathing hard . Mavis jumped up and shouted with glee.
"You did it! You used magic!" Mavis run over and wrapped her arms around Ryu's neck.
Ryu then shoved her off onto the ground and pointed in anger, "Look at that! It's not even an inch deep!"
Mavis stood up and kept her cool, "Of course it's not that deep, you're still a beginner. What, did you expect to make a hole big enough to fit your friend in on the first try. To be fair, the impression on the ground seems long and wide enough to fit him in once the hole is deeper."
He took a closer look at the impression then back at the clone, it looked like the body would fit just perfectly. Ryu stood up and staggered for a moment, he felt tired and a bit drained but he also felt like he could lift could carry the dead clone a good mile with the Force.
"How come I feel exhausted yet I feel like I am to use the Force to stop a rock slide?" Ryu asked as he planted his feet firmly on the ground.
"It's just a theory, although what isn't with you at this point, that you're magic and Force power draws from two separate pools of energy."
Ryu rubbed his eyelids and sighed, "So many new things, so many more questions."
"Don't worry, I believe you'll get the hang of magic in no time. Now lets try again, and this time don't make the dirt more compact. Try moving the dirt out of the grave instead of forcing it down."
After a couple more deep breaths, Ryu repeated the process of using magic and when he thought everything was right once again he once again shouted, "Earth Grave!" Instead of making a deeper impression in the ground, the ground shifted slightly in the impression before small chunks of earth moved up and out then settled to the side. Ryu fell to his hands and knees this time breathing even harder than last time.
Mavis was clapping, "Good job, you're getting it."
Ryu looked back at the hole, it was slightly deeper this time except this time there was loose dirt around the edges where the dirt had settled after being moved. His gaze shifted toward the sun, it looked like there was only a couple hours left before sunset, "Digging this with magic is going to take me the rest of the day."
Mavis walked to the edge of the tree line and laid her back against one of the trees and yelled back, "Then you better keep working at it if you want to bury your friend tonight."
A frown appeared on Ryu's, he was tempted to give her a piece of his mind but that wouldn't get him anywhere and he was determined to give his savior a proper grave. Ryu cracked his knuckles and began focusing again. While he dug his thoughts occasionally drifted to his old home, he wondered how Etro was and how she would take to his disappearance. Despite his attitude, he did look up to Etro, she had taken care of him since he was a small child and had gotten him out of trouble many times. She was like a high standards yet caring crazy aunt.
()()()()
Tenrou Island, Time unknown; shortly after sunset
Ryu collapsed onto his back, gulping huge amounts of air while sweat run down his neck and face onto his wet Jedi garments. The grave was now an arms length deep and had two fresh mounds of dirt on opposite sides to fill the grave once the trooper was placed in. The stars reflected in Ryu's eyes as he stared up into the now cloudless sky, "Stars . . . lots of them . . . none of them familiar."
"You sure are negative sometimes, you know that right?" Mavis had moved over from her tree and now sat next to Ryu, she clenched her nose shut after a few seconds, "You stink with sweat."
"You . . . try . . . doing . . . this . . .then." He managed to say in between sucking in breaths.
"Want to bury him now or wait until tomorrow?"
Ryu took a couple more deep breaths before sitting up and answering, "Now, let's get this over with."
The trooper floated silently over the ground toward the grave, just before lowering him in Ryu removed the rifle from the clone's arms and set it down beside the grave. Warhawk guy settled gently onto the bottom of the grave, parts of his armor were stained red from his wound but there was nothing Ryu could do to clean it. Once again Ryu reached outward with his new sense, it was difficult to do so having exhausted his magic ability but it was just enough. He strained his magic in order to keep the sense working as he said his final spell of the day, "Bury."
It was like something holding the mounds of dirt out of the grave was suddenly removed as the dirt slowly spilled into the grave, burying the clone from existence. Once the earth was resettled into place, Ryu picked up the clone rifle and slammed the butt of the rifle into the ground just above where the head was. Ryu said a few final words before shouldering his backpack he placed to the side and walked up to Mavis, "What now?"
"A bath for you." Mavis led Ryu through the trees again for a couple of minutes before coming to a river not too far from a couple waterfalls, "I'm going to leave for awhile, clean yourself up and get into some clean clothes. You can sleep on the island tonight, I wouldn't wander too far though. There are some powerful creatures on this island."
After Mavis disappeared among the trees Ryu stripped down and got into the water. The water was strangely a quite a bit warmer than he was expecting but found it comforting. Since he didn't have any soap to wash himself, the cleaning went by rather quickly so in a last minute decision Ryu grabbed his sweaty clothes and started to wash them in the water. Ryu didn't really know how to wash his garments by hand so when he assumed he was done, he found a nearby low hanging branch and draped his wet clothes over it. Luckily he already had spare socks and undergarments along with another set of garments packed, his winter set.
The winter set was fairly simple, standard Jedi garments at its base but with many more layers added onto it along with hidden compartments within the layers for smuggling small items you wish to go unnoticed Also a hood and cowl were added on to protect the head from cold winds. Ryu slipped his winter set on and leaned cozily against a tree with a perfect view of the ocean. The moon and stars reflected brightly off the still water causing a sort of 'mirror' effect.
A couple twigs snapped inside the treeline and Ryu turned his head to see Mavis moving toward him. She had that same smile on like the one he saw when he first met her, that smile widened when she got a good look at Ryu, "Those clothes look . . . poofy."
"It's my custom winter clothes, I designed them myself. They will keep me warm through the night."
"You make your own clothes?" Mavis asked curiously.
"Kinda, I make different garments for different environments made out of the same material. I chose to dive into making theses things when I got back from a ice planet named Hoth. Something about a secret Separatist base on that planet. Anyway the apparel they issued us was not to my liking so I decided to make some of my own. I had a couple sets, winter, jungle, desert, swamp but that was similar to my jungle ones, I even had for underwater."
"Impressive for a ten year old." Mavis replied, she had to admit, she was impressed by his skill for a kid at his age.
"Being in the Jedi Order restricts a lot of your freedoms as a kid. I found other interests though. Sadly training was suppose to be our 'fun' as a kid." Ryu scoffed before repositioning his back against the tree.
Silenced loomed between them for awhile, the only sounds were the waterfalls and river nearby along with the occasional sound of local wildlife. Ryu pulled out his father's lightsaber and activated it, a beam of pure white shot out and started pulsing slowly. He waved the saber around a couple times getting a good feel for one of his new weapons.
Mavis watched the beam of light with extreme curiosity, she had seen these weapons before when Ryu arrived but hadn't had the chance to ask him about it, "Interesting weapon, these are the lightsavers you said that is the primary weapon of a jedi, right?"
Ryu shook his head, "Lightsaber, not lightsaver. And yes, all jedi carry some sort of lightsaber although there are several types. You have standard which is what I use, Shoto which is a shorter lightsaber, Greatsabers which are freaking huge saber, Dual Bladed is pretty self explanatory, one on each end. My friend Maverick uses a Dual Bladed, pretty good with it too. But then you have a weird one like Lightwhips, you try using that without knowing how to use a normal whip and you have a high chance of cutting yourself in half. There are some types I didn't mention but you get the picture."
"Just how deadly are lightsabers?"
"In short, this can cut through pretty much anything with extreme ease. They aren't just weapons though but tools too, a lightsaber can save your life in many situations."
Mavis held out her hand, "May I see it please?"
Ryu was reluctant to hand over his lightsaber, it was a personal thing to him on many levels and wouldn't hand it over to most people. Although Mavis had one thing that most people didn't, his trust. Ryu deactivated the saber and showed the button to activate it before handing it to her. Mavis held the lightsaber out from herself a bit before activating it, the beam of light once again to shoot out and pulse slowly. She waved around a couple times and chopped off a tree branch or two out of recklessness, then the hand that wasn't holding the saber began to glow gold. Mavis raised the saber up and then brought it swiftly down on her hand that glowed, Ryu attempted to stop her but it was already too late.
The lightsaber stopped as soon it connected with the hand, Mavis tapped the beam of light against her hand a couple more times before deactivating the saber and handing it back to Ryu, "Add this to the list of things it can't cut through, magic. I'm guessing any weapons you come across infused with any type of magic will have a similar effect. It might even be stopped if the person channels magic through the weapon."
Ryu quickly stood and took the saber, "You idiot! You could have cut off your hand if the magic didn't stop it!" He yelled at Mavis.
"But-" She began.
"But nothing, I'm ten years old and I know that's one of the stupidest things you could have ever done." Ryu continued to yell.
"I was-"
"I was what? Trying to cut off my hand in an experiment to really see if a lightsaber could cut through anything! Jeez, I have seen some stupid things but that right there is easily in the top three stupidest ideas ever!"
Mavis began to tear up, she was trying to hold back but wasn't able to. Real tears started flowing down her cheeks, "I was trying to help you. To see if you should be careful of magical weapons."
"Well then . . ." Ryu didn't know what else to say, it's true knowing he should be careful of 'magic metal' is a useful thing. Many misunderstandings like this had happened before, when he was training as a youngling. People sometimes would try to branch out to him but something always happened causing Ryu to hate the person whether they accidently spill their food on him or ran into him in the halls. He knew that he was a very aggressive person, quick to resort to a fight and he has regretted it before. But he knew he couldn't change in one night, but if he was going to try might as well start as soon as you can.
"Sorry Mavis. Its just . . . you know, I had bad experiences as a child and those experiences really shaped out to who I am today." Mavis stopped crying and looked toward Ryu who was sitting on the ground with his back against the tree again, "There has been a part of me that has wanted to change but I never could. I figured after a while of people avoiding me that maybe if I was cold toward them then I wouldn't be lonely, don't know how I came to that conclusion but I did."
Ryu looked out over the ocean again and ran his hands through his silvery hair, "I know I'm a shit person but it's the only thing I know how to be. I've never been around open people, Jedi are very secluded about sharing their personal feelings. Maybe if I were to spend time with people who were openingly friendly with each other then I might understand why and how to do the same."
Mavis let a smile show on her face, "Then you need Fairy Tail. If you're looking for friendly open people, they are a bit rowdy from time to time."
Ryu sighed, "I'm not so sure about the rowdy part but, it's the best shot I got I guess."
"You know, once people get to know you, you aren't that bad." Mavis said trying to encourage Ryu.
"From what my master . . . former master told me is that I seem to do better with people if I talk to them one on one sometimes. But a guild? That may be a problem."
"One step at a time, find a single person and start with them. Then as time goes on, try to increase the number of people you talk to."
Ryu thought of Mavis's suggestion, it was a pretty good one and it would help him be more friendly although it wouldn't be instantaneous, it could take years for him to improve but everyone has to start somewhere, "Sounds good. Your the first person I really talked to about this kind of stuff. Thanks I guess."
"I guess being sent to a different universe makes you see things through a different perspective." Ryu and Mavis shared a laugh before Mavis left for the night leaving Ryu to fall into a deep sleep. What he did not know is that this dream would reveal his future and answer his question: Was Maverick alive?
()()()()
Ryu's dreams
Ryu had a strange dreaming experience, like having flashbacks but flying over them while you watch them. He saw his first day of training, every child had a smile on their face except his. Then it quickly flashed forward four days to Ryu's first fight, a Twi'Lek girl had bumped into him and Ryu took that as a challenge even when the other child apologized. The fight lasted a couple seconds before a pair of instructors broke up the fight, during the fight the Twi'Lek didn't throw a single punch but had a couple bruises. Another flash swept over his eyes and Ryu found himself staring down at a lightsaber practice session two years after the fight. By this point Ryu had managed to combine forms IV and V to make a form that combined speed and attack power. His opponent had been a Gran, the Gran's skill with a lightsaber was no where near Ryu's and was pummeled. The instructor at the time had to scream at Ryu to get his attention to say that the match was over. Everyone in Ryu's class shunned him and maintained a good distance from him even more after that. Another flash forward landed him several years later when he had been pulled aside by a couple Jedi who said for him to pack his belongings and report to the front of the temple. He had thought at the time he was being expelled from the Order but this proved false. He arrived at the entrance of the temple to find a familiar face, he had met Etro before but he had not been expecting the news that he was now her apprentice.
The visions continued to flash in front of him for awhile until he was suddenly thrust back into first person view, he was running at an alarming pace through what appeared to be a forest next to a mountain. Not only was he running, he was leaping over great heights and distances most likely by using the Force to propel himself. He could also see his arms, they were bruised, cut, and bleeding with a lightsaber in each hand and a gauntlet on each forearm.
"I have to beat it there, I can't let it destroy Wendy's guild." Ryu said but it wasn't himself who said it, what was happening in the vision was not under his control at all. Questions were already flying through Ryu's head, who was Wendy, what was it, and why was he beat up? At that moment in the vision, the Ryu in the vision had jumped out of the forest that he was running through and was now sliding down a steep and rocky slope. It was then he saw what the vision was referring to as it.
A city was sitting atop some sort of second circular structure, but that wasn't what was strange about it. The circular base that held the city had six long stone brick legs that each looked about the length of a Republic cruiser, and it was using these legs to move in the same direction as him, "Damn, I need to pick up the pace!"
The vision Ryu let two fingers glide gently over the ground before he shouted, "Stone Pillar!" The ground under Ryu shifted immediately and a pillar of earth shot out of the ground connecting with Ryu's feet propelling him forward. Ryu was launched forward through the air swiftly as the pillar stopped growing out of the ground, as he soared through the air he could feel sudden bursts of speed as the vision Ryu used Force Dash in the air to shoot himself farther.
He could see where he was going to land, it was in front of some single story buildings with thatched roofs and what appeared to be giant tent which looked like a cat, the tent was sitting in the back of the village. Ryu turned his attention to the giant spider city that was approaching, he gripped his lightsabers tighter, "I'm here, now what do I do?"
"Now you die!" Came a voice from above.
Ryu activated his two sabers, a white beam shot of one and the other had a bright orange. Ryu didn't understand why he had an orange saber, where would he get the crystal for that in this world. The two sabers rose above and connected with something not a second later with such force that it forced him on both knees. Ryu looked up at his opponent and was shocked to find who it was.
Ryu pushed the attacker off and he landed a couple yards away, "Damn it Maverick! Stay out of my way, I am not letting this village be destroyed!"
Maverick was currently looking at the ground, his blue Dual Bladed saber still in his hands. He looked six or seven years older now than when he last saw him. Moments went by before Maverick slowly raised his head, a evil grin was spread across his face. Then came the laughing, it was the laughing of a deranged man who had been insane for a long time. Maverick laughed with such enthusiasm causing his head to shake, his brown curly shaking with his head, "You left me for dead, time to return the favor."
The crazy Maverick raised his saber above his head and brought it down on Ryu who crossed his sabers and blocked. Maverick had a lot of power behind this strike causing Ryu to fall to one knee and slide back a couple inches. Ryu looked toward the spider city, a swirling purple light was pointed toward the village, and he was in the way, "Damn it all Maverick!"
A purple beam shot toward them but before it hit a final flash of light swept over Ryu's eyes. He was surrounded by darkness, he could see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing. Minutes went by with nothing happening, then when it seem like it would never end Ryu finally heard a voice but it was his own and it said, "Learn the ways of your ancestors."
()()()()
Location: Unknown Time: Shortly after sunrise
Ryu slowly opened his eyes, what he expected to see was the ocean but instead he saw the clear blue sky. He could hear wave washing across shore and feel that he was laying down in sand. He sat up slowly, groaning and stretching as he did. Most of the sand fell off his back but some still stuck to his clothing causing to brush the remaining sand off. He saw the ocean first when he sat up, then the newly risen sun that created another 'mirror' effect making it look like there was two suns. Ryu stretched his arms and looked around, from what he could tell he was no longer on an island or at least Tenrou island. From what it looked like he was on the coast of a continent or a really large island. He checked behind him what looked like a stone brick road that went forever in each direction, behind the road was what appeared to be a small forest and tiny movements from small creatures could be seen every so often.
He found his bag next to him with the garments he was wearing yesterday dried and neatly folded with a piece of paper on top. Ryu took the paper and examined it, it was blank on both sides. After a couple seconds of staring at it, a golden circle appeared on the paper and a mini version of Mavis appeared.
"Good Morning sleepy head! If you're wondering where you are, I haven't the slightest clue except you are now on the continent of Fiore. The magic I used to transport you was shall we say . . . not my forte."
Ryu rubbed his eyes before the message continued, "From wherever you were arrive, you must now make your way to the city of Magnolia. It just occured to me that you might not be able to read our language but you are a resourceful person and I have faith in you. Or if you happen to find anyone with this symbol-" Mavis's figure was replaced by something that appeared to be running with either wings or arms coming out its back and had either a spiky haircut or horns, "Then just ask them to lead you to Fairy Tail is."
Ryu stood up and brushed the sand off his legs as the message continued, "Don't be afraid to ask for directions and be careful of monsters. Oh, and a couple more things, when you get to Fairy Tail don't mention you have met me because I have been dead for a long time and Markov might think you're crazy. You also are going to want to make up a fake background for yourself because if you say you are from a different universe then they might think you're crazy. Finally, don't talk about the Force and it being a central part of life or whatever, call it magic because in my opinion that's what it is. If you call it the Force then well . . . people might think you're crazy. I think that's everything. Well good luck and remember, start out small then work your way up. With love Mavis."
"With love? Who am I, your brother?" The paper then suddenly began to fall apart in specs of gold, when the paper was all gone Ryu grabbed his bag and walked into the forest a little and changed behind a tree into his Kenobi garments. Once he finished he walked out of the forest and onto the road and looked both ways, each path seemed infinitely long. Ryu channeled his inner self and used the Force as guidance, it told him to go right. So Ryu began his journey toward Fairy Tail and a new life.
"I'm going to regret joining, aren't I?" Ryu asked himself as he began walking along the road.
WHHOOOOOO! Happy 2014 people. It's been a great year and a great time writing, so here is my new years gift to all of you who read this on New Years. I have some many ideas running through my head and I have so little space to put them all in but I will managed. I try to work on my stories whenever I can but I have to share this one computer to a family of four so that's why my chapters take awhile to write, but never fear, I swear upon my life that I will not stop in the middle or an Arc.
Anyway, join me next time on
Chapter Three
Who am I?
Stay Classy, Rogue Pizza out