A Jedi in Fairy cloth

by Rogue Pizza

This story has been suspended. I may continue it at some point down the line or I may take it down and start from scratch.

7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Blah, Blah, Blah. You know how this song and dance goes

Sidenote: I have read some of my previous chapters to find that I have switched the color of Ryu's magic circle several times. The color is brown, not green. I associate green with more plant magic.

Chapter 7

The Fairy Queen, the Flute, and the Reason why Ryu hates trains

12:11 PM, Ryu's Bedroom

Ryu woke up again feeling refreshed and ready to take on a day of doing nothing. It would start out by him heading down to the guild, ordering a drink. Maybe chat with a couple people if he was feeling friendly enough. Wander around town and eventually make his way to the park where the Sakura Tree was located and take a nap under the shade of the tree. At least that how he hoped his day would go as he retrieved clean clothes from his dresser before heading to the shower. He didn't bother hopping into the bathtub, it was past midday and he could take one later if he so wished. Before heading out the door, Ryu popped a couple painkillers into his mouth and downed it with some tea. His shoulder started acting up again and he could only hope it wasn't going to get any worse.

As Ryu started to tread down the dirt path to the city, he began testing how much power he had regained. To his own surprise, he had already recovered a good portion of his power. Not enough to drive a giant scorpion over a cliff edge but enough to hold his own in a fight should he need to. The walk through town was pleasant, the sight of people going about their business brought a certain calm to the city. A calm that would let everyone know that every little thing was going to be alright. The bandages on Ryu's neck had been reapplied after the shower to hide the puncture marks that remained on his neck. He would pass it off as 'tripping and scratching my neck pretty badly'. Units of the Detention Corps could be seen throughout the city but the common people paid them no heed as they went about their lives.

Either by sheer luck or careful timing, Ryu was only stopped twice by the Detention Corps. When someone would mention Fairy Tail in the Detention Corps, one of the first people anyone would think of was Ryu. While Ryu has never committed an offense (that he has been caught for), he publicly badmouthed the Detention Corps as well as made their job easier but also harder by beating them to the punch more than once on several major criminal activities. It made their job easier by taking the criminals into custody, it made their job harder by people starting to lose faith in the Detention Corps. It was because of this reason why the higher ups in the Detention Corps hated Ryu.

Upon arriving at the guild, Ryu was greeted by a few people as he made his way to the bar where Mirajane already had a glass of orange juice waiting for him, "So how you doing today? Heard about your little adventure with Natsu and Lucy yesterday."

"I feel pretty good actually, I've recovered a good chunk my power and energy then I thought I would from one night's rest. I got about two hundred and ninety thousand Jewel to throw around after I pulled some out for taxes. And with my little sister back with Cyton and Agitha, I can just relax. Have you heard anything about Erza's progress, do you know when she'll be back?"

"Actually yes, she'll be back tomorrow. She actually had a message delivered ahead of time for you." Mira replied as she reached under the bar.

Ryu took the piece of paper and shortly as a small magic circle appeared on it. A foot tall image of the red haired mage appeared with a stern look, "Ryu, I certainly hope this letter reaches you before I return. I need you to make sure Natsu and Gray are there when I get back, I have something important to discuss with the three of you. This is urgent."

The paper burst into flames as Ryu used Pyrokinesis, in a matter of seconds all that was left was the corner that he was holding which he let fall to the floor, "Damn it Erza! Today was going to be my day off, but nnnooooo. I have to babysit Hot Head and Ice Brain."

Ryu sighed and remained silent for a bit before he continued, "Although, if Erza needs help then you can be certain it's big. Where are those two idiots Mira?"

"Natsu took Lucy on a job to go steal a book earlier this morning. Gray left about . . . . an hour ago I think to go deal with some monsters threatening a small village. Knowing both of them, they should be back later today, their jobs are pretty close and they went in the same direction."

"Ha, the key word in that sentence is should. If they aren't back by later today, Erza is going to tear me a new one." Ryu finished his glass and brought with enough force to crack the bottom, "And if they don't follow me back, I'm going to tear them a new one. I think I know one of the jobs you're talking about, that Duke Everwhat-his-face. Better get going and collect two idiots."

Mira smiled and waved goodbye to Ryu as he made his way out of the guild, "Have fun! Watch out for robbers and bandits along the way!"

When he left, one of the nearby guildmates walked up to the bar, "With the mood Ryu is in, robbers and bandits better watch out for him. He doesn't like his happy time disturbed."

Since the job Natsu and Lucy took were closer than most towns, Ryu didn't even bother grabbing anything from his house. He found the nearest carriage and paid it to take him to where Natsu and Lucy headed. Knowing Natsu and Gray, they were bound to run in each other if their jobs were so close together. It was almost like a universal law: If idiots are within a certain distance of each other, then they naturally gravitate toward each other.

"If idiots gravitate to each other, what the hell does that make me?" Ryu laughed quietly to himself as he pulled his duster hood over his head to provide shade for his eyes. Soon he was leaning against the carriage wall, the only sound being the carriage wheels against the ground.

()()()()

Many Years Earlier, Jedi Temple, Youngling Training Room

Five small training drone spheres floated in circles a couple meters away from the lone youngling. The two practice sabers in his hands were held reversed and activated, a helmet covered the child's head with a the blast shield blocking his eyes from seeing what was around him. His stance was neutral, showing no hint of any offense or defensive action. The room was void of any other life besides the child, the hovering drones being the only other thing in the room. Nothing happened for a minute as the child stood there unmoving, until the drones stopped moving in a circle and hovered silently.

In a second, the child had moved into a combat stance. One training saber covering his front while the other was positioned behind him to cover his back. A single drone fired a bolt at the child which he promptly sent flying away from him with a minor adjustment with his wrist. Soon after, another drone fired which the child sent flying away as well. Then a third and a fourth, and then after the final shot, the drones began to spin in a circle once again. The time between each bolt fired began to steadily decreased until there was at least one bolt being fired every second from a different direction and the child managed to keep up. Not every bolt was deflected, some he side stepped to let the bolt harmlessly hit the floor.

Everything was going alright before a Jedi instructor walked into the room, "Youngling Ryu Krayt Nezuma!"

The boy faltered for merely a second causing a single bolt to hit him the waist resulting in the training simulation ending. The boy dropped his training sabers and grabbed his waist where the bolt had stung him while he used his other hand to rip off the helmet and throw to the floor then yelled, "What do you want?!"

The instructor's grew angry and his anger showed, "You will NOT yell at your instructors like that. Show the proper respect where it is due Nezuma."

Ryu gave a mocking bow, "What is it sir?"

The human instructor anger grew slightly but then he smiled mischievously, "I have been sent to tell you that you are hereby ordered to pack all your things and report to the entrance of the Jedi Temple immediately."

"What for may I ask, sir?" Ryu asked as he gathered up his training sabers.

"They wouldn't tell me, my guess is that you're finally being expelled from the order." The instructor's grin widened.

Ryu pulled the helmet toward him with his Force ability, "Bite me."

The instructor's anger grew once more, "What was that Nezuma?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, bite me sir."

The instructor was about to speak when a hand was placed on the instructor's shoulder, "Remember to control your emotions, and have patience."

The instructor's expression immediately change as he gave a respecting bow, "Master Plo Koon, I didn't know you were coming here."

"It is alright, however, I want you to reflect on what you could have done today. Please head to the meditation and reflect."

"At once, master." The instructor gave one more angry look at Ryu before leaving the room.

Plo Koon turned his attention to the kid who was trying to slip by him quietly, he merely extend his hand to the side which Ryu ran into, stopping him in his tracks, "You know, you have caused a lot of problems here."

"And?" Ryu replied, annoyed.

"It's that attitude that has caused those problems. You have started fights, disobeyed instructors, and have been a general annoyance to many people here. Yet, you're top in your class when it comes to lightsaber combat and your connection to the Force is stronger than I was when I was a youngling, not to mention your knowledge in lightsaber crystals exceeds any other youngling by can't you be more like your parents, they were some of the top students as well."

Anger coursed through Ryu as he slapped Plo Koon's hand away, "Don't you ever compare me with my parents! They're traitors to the Order! Their names were stripped from the records and they were exiled to who knows where because they were stupid enough to have me!"

Ryu continued walking out of the room and stopped at the doorway and turned to face Plo Koon, "Do you want to know why I'm always angry? I am the result of something that should have never happened! I am shame incarnate for the Order! I should have never been born!"

"I am well aware that you had a vision of your parents being exiled from the order. Your behavior only worsened as a result of the vision. But what about your behavior before the vision? You seemed to always be rebellious from a younger age."

Ryu turned his back toward Plo Koon and remained silent for a time, the only sounds coming from the people passing by the training room from outside. Plo Koon stared at the child and he could have sworn that he saw a tear roll off Ryu's cheek.

"Not once." Ryu began, "Not once did anyone ask me if I wanted to become a Jedi. I was forced into this before I was even a year old. And I'm trapped, trapped until someone chooses me to become a Padawan or I stay here until I'm eleven and then I'm shipped off to be a damn Force using farmer."

Ryu whipped around with red eyes, "I'm either forced to become a Jedi and die defending a doctrine I don't even believe in or I'm stuck farming for a Order I don't put my faith in! Now tell me, what kind of a future is that for a six year old?!"

"And why now of all times are you admitting this now?" Plo Koon asked.

"Because, even though I hate this place and everything it teaches, it's the only thing I know! And now they're kicking me out!" Ryu said nothing more as he ran full speed out of the door and through the crowd of Jedi that had gathered there due to the shouting. He ran all the back to his room and started throwing everything he could into his bag.

Ryu may have hated almost everything about the Jedi Order but as he said, it was the only thing he knew in his life. It was the only thing that was taught to him, how to be a Jedi. And now he was about to thrown out into the world he knew nothing about. A cold cruel world which evil lurked behind every corner. He thought the Temple walls would always protect him, but now he was being locked outside those walls all on his own. Or so he thought.

Once he was finished packing, Ryu started to make his way to the main temple entrance. He said goodbye to no one since he was an outcast by his own initiative. He didn't stop at any rooms to reminisce the good times he had in because there were none. All he did was walk toward the entrance and toward his future.

Ryu stopped in the archway that was the entrance to the temple and looked out over the city. It was distant and foreboding. Not once had Ryu left the temple since he was brought there, it was only from the temple archway that he had seen the city that spanned the planet. But he had heard of the people that lie in wait around every corner in the city, ready to kill at a moments notice.

What Ryu didn't anticipate was someone suddenly cupping their hands over his eyes and pulling him close. He felt his two mounds of flesh weighing down on his head and a familiar voice whisper in his ear, "Guess who?"

Ryu pushed the hands off his eyes and walked a couple feet away before turning around, "I'm not in the mood Etro."

The black haired Miralukan put on a pouty face unbefitting of a Jedi, "Che, you're no fun."

Etro and Ryu had met many times before, Ryu considered her an oddball among the Jedi which was saying something. She was a outgoing person and constantly reminded people that she was female by always wearing clothing that seemed a little too tight on her, showing off her figure. Either no one cared or seem to mind it but Ryu certainly did whenever she would surprise him and pull him into her cleavage. One day when Ryu was being punished for starting a fight, he was sent to bed without dinner. Normally he would have been fine but that day he had missed lunch. But as he was laying on his groaning from his empty stomach, in walks in possibly the last Miralukan in the galaxy carrying a tray full of food for him. That was the first day Ryu had met Etro, and from then on, Etro always seemed to make her presence known to Ryu. And because of this constant presence, Ryu grew attached to Etro like she was a big sister.

"Looks like you're all packed up." Etro stated, "Are you ready to go?"

Ryu looked down, "As ready as anyone will be just before they are thrown out into the cold cruel world."

"Yeah, it's tough out there. But on the brightside, at least you'll have me as your teacher." Etro responded cheerfully.

"Sure, that makes me feel all th-" Ryu stopped for a second, "Wait, what do you mean?"

Etro looked puzzled, "What do you mean 'what do you mean'? Today marks your first day as my padawan."

Ryu's jaw dropped, "What?! I thought I was being expelled from the order!"

Etro laughed, "Of course not, they would have you attend a meeting to discuss it. I asked master Plo Koon if I could become your master and he agreed on it. He said that he would update the records and tell you himself. But, from what he told me before you arrived here, you had a bit of temper tantrum."

Ryu's jaw clenched shut and a look of slight anger appeared on his face, "Bite me."

Etro leaned in closer with a mischievous smile, "Where?"

Ryu fell over backwards and landed on his side, but before he could yell at her, Etro extended a hand to him with a reassuring smile on her face, "Shall we begin our little adventure?"

This meant more to Ryu then Etro thought, with this hand she was offering him he could finally be rid of the temple and go on an adventure with someone he trusted more than anyone in the temple combined. Ryu could further his Force and lightsaber training while remaining in the protection of someone he somewhat considered family.

Ryu reached out with his hand but stopped just before he grabbed her hand, "But why me?"

Etro continued to smile, "Ryu, do you know my full name?"

Ryu shook his head, Etro continued, "My full name is Arianna IobairtNezuma. And before you ask, I'm not related to you."

"But why do I have your last name?" Ryu asked with shock.

"I made a deal with Plo Koon not long after you were born that I would train you. I wanted to have an early claim on you just in case. You are different from everyone else Ryu, it's that difference that has made me . . . interested with you." A sly smile made its way across Etro's lips.

Ryu gulped slightly at that, "And what difference is that?"

Etro closed her eyes and smiled cheerfully as she brought her finger to her lips, "That is a secret."

After contemplating for a minute, Ryu finally took her hand and she pulled him up with minimal effort, "That's not the only reason is it?"

"Aw, I love a cute padawan who knows what he's talking about." Etro's smile lessened slightly before she continued, "You and me are more alike than you think. I don't necessarily believe entirely in the Jedi's doctrine either. Mainly, 'there is no emotion, only peace'. I believe without emotion, we can't have love, family or loyalty."

"I'm pretty sure we have loyalty. We haven't had anyone betray us recently . . . have we?" Ryu asked just to be sure.

Etro laughed and shook her head, "Not the loyalty that comes from order, I'm talking about the type of loyalty that derives from love for one another. You may think I'm crazy for this and you may not understand but-"

"Your definitely crazy," Ryu deadpanned, "And you're right, I don't understand, but I want to."

Etro grinned, "Alrighty then, lets get started."

()()()()

3:24 PM, Forest Road

Ryu's eye opened at the sound of the carriage door opening, the driver had a perplexed look on his face, "I'm afraid we need to head back. The place we need to go to is being blocked off by the Detention Corps. I wasn't able to get much but what I could gather, Duke Everlue's mansion was destroyed by some mages."

A low groan came from Ryu as he stretched his arms, he poked his head outside the carriage to see the sun start to slide down to what he assumed was the west, "Bout three or four?"

"Three thirty." The driver responded.

Ryu hopped out of the carriage as a wagon carrying some marketable goods passed by. Ryu looked passed the carriage to the direction the wagon came from. A stopped column of wagon and carriages extended for a good bit until it came to a group of twenty men dressed in Detention Corps uniforms. Various people could be seen arguing with what looked like the leader of the group but each one was refused passage and eventually turned around and went back the way they came from.

"Great, now how in the hell am I going to find those two idiots? I could try going through the forest around them but who knows how many men they have patrolling the woods around here. And by the Force, I don't need to be getting in any more troublewith the Detention Corps for now since I beat them to the punch with Eugene. Better to let them simmer alone." Ryu continued to think for a few minutes to what he should do, he was going to bring Natsu and Gray back either way. Thing was, was he going to be dragging the Detention Corps along with him as well?

Darkness overtook Ryu's eyes and for a minute he could see nothing. Then three images began to cycle through his vision. The first picture was a small group of people traveling through a swamp, then he identified the figures of Natsu, Happy, and Lucy sitting inside some sort of clock which he assumed was one of her celestial spirits. The next image was the group of people sitting around near a ravine cliff edge, with - surprise - Gray in nothing but his boxers. Ryu had always been indifferent about Gray's stripping problem, but he got a good laugh out of it once in awhile. The last image was a bit worrying though, Happy was tied to a spit sitting above a camping fire. A frightened look was on the cats face, several blurred out people stood around the fire with hungry looks on their faces

Ryu snapped back to reality as his vision caused by the Force ended and quickly turned to the driver of his carriage, "Is there a swamp or a ravine near here?"

The driver shrugged his shoulders, "Don't know, not from around here. Why do you ask?"

"Can you ask around? I really need to know." Ryu continued, ignoring the drivers question.

"I guess I can." Without another word, the driver wandered off up the group of wagons and carriages. It wasn't much later when the driver came wandering back down to Ryu.

"Looks right you're right." The driver pointed back a little ways into the forest, "If you head straight about that way, you should come across a swamp, keep going and you'll come to a ravine. That what ya wanted to know?"

"I hope so. Keep the change, I'm going on foot." Rotated his neck a couple times as he started to walk off in the direction the driver pointed in.

"Good luck to ya." He heard the driver call him as Ryu started to make his way through some bushes.

Ryu continued walking for awhile, the sounds of forest animals, branching creaking and leaves swaying from the wind filled his ears as he trudged through the shrubbery. A couple of animals made it into his field of vision before the creature would quickly flee into some more shrubby or skitter up a tree to safety. About a half an hour of walking a strange scent began to fill his nostrils, the type of smells you would expect from a swamp. The amount of shrubbery began to diminish but the ground he was walking on became muddy and tougher to walk on. It wasn't long before after that when Ryu found himself standing before the water filled part of the swamp that he saw Natsu, Happy, and Lucy traversing.

Scum, lilypads, catweeds, water striders and other things filled the water in front of Ryu causing a look of slight disgust crossed Ryu's face as he looked at the water, "I'm not wading through that water, gross."

Even though Ryu knew he shouldn't use his magic, he didn't want to get in this water at all. A brown magic circle with a angular inside erupted at Ryu's feet and expanded underneath him. Ryu felt a slight rumbling under his feet before two flat stones erupted out of the ground, picking him up as well. And with a slight adjustment in his magic, he was floating over the swampy water. Toads, frogs, fish splashing in the water, and the sound of bugs whizzing by filled his ears as he floated through the swamp, dodging the occasional tree.

"I wonder what Erza needs us for? If she can't handle it herself, then it has to something big. Then again, it's Erza. She was always a oddball just like us. Getting into fights with Mirajane because she stole her cake, those were always amusing to watch."

Ryu looked up through the trees to catch glimpses of the blue sky that was hidden from him by the foliage, "I wonder how Etro is, it has been seven long years since I first came to Earthland. Did we win the war against the Separatists? Did the Jedi Order go back to the way it was before? Or did we lose everything?"\

A laugh escaped Ryu's mouth, "What do I mean 'we'? Whatever problems they have are no longer any problem of mine anymore. They'll be fine, the Jedi Order has been through worse."

Eventually, Ryu found solid ground on the opposite bank. And with solid ground under his feet, there was no longer a need for the floating stones. But as soon as his feet touched the ground, he thought he heard a familiar voice crying. Ryu moved swiftly as he moved through the shrubbery toward the voice. It only took a minute for him to find the source the voice in distress.

Peering through a bush on the edge of a clearing, Ryu saw a small scene unfold before him. A small group consisting of two identical ginger haired men in maroon robes, a man with a crystal ball, a imp-ish looking guy and what appeared to be a large yellow thing in suspenders carrying a staff were gathered around a unlit fire with a familiar blue cat tied to the spit above the fireplace.

Ryu wasn't able to make out what they were saying from this distance, but from the looks of it, they were going to cook and eat Happy. What Ryu didn't know was the location of Natsu or Lucy and Gray for that matter who he had seen in the second image presented to him by the Force. Although, the vision could have been false and only showed Gray there as well since he was looking for him as well.

"Well, if I can find one idiot then my job is half done."

With a small flash of gray light, his black and orange sabers appeared in his hands. After taking a couple steps back out of the shrubs, Ryu flicked the weapons to Neural Shock and crouched down, resting three fingers from each hand on the dirt and whispering, "Stone Pillar."

A clear-cut pillar of rock shot out from underneath his feet at an angle, rocketing him forward toward the group. The first to be aware of his presence was the ginger twins who were closest to him. They both managed to draw daggers from their waists but before either one could do anything else, Ryu's sabers slammed into one of the twins. The force from Ryu's swing combined with the momentum he was moving at, caused the first man flew backwards knocking over the spit which Happy was tied to and then tumble into the man holding the crystal ball. The second man however jabbed the at Ryu's gut but missed as the Jedi managed to push himself backwards by pushing off the first man when his sabers connected. The second man lunged as Ryu started recover after landing, the plunging knife never reached Ryu as a quick but focused blast of telekinetic energy slammed into the second man causing him to fly over the fireplace as well and slam into the crystal ball man who was just getting up from the ground.

Ryu quickly looked at Happy who was on the ground and looking up at him with watery eyes, "Ryu, I'm so glad to see you. Please hurry because I really need to pee."

"What happened to you, furball? How did you get captured?" Ryu quickly asked.

"We were ambushed an-" Happy started.

The Impish looking guy thrusted his hand forward, "I have you now!"

Suddenly, Ryu found himself encased in thick whirlwind of sand. Ryu wasn't ready for the sudden amount of sand and managed to inhale some. His sabers deactivated as they fell from his hands to the ground where they were swept away by the raging sand. Both of Ryu's hands flew to his mouth and nose in attempted to form a air pocket for him to breath in. His eyes stung even though he had them closed and his constant coughing from the sand wasn't helping him breath either. The coughing forced him to fall to his knees and then his side. Ryu desperately needed a breath of fresh air but he was confined to the ground.

"Air! I need air! I'm going to pass out if this keeps up. What can I do?! I can't even focus because of this sand! If I was encased in stone this wouldn't matter because I could break out! Wait a moment, sand is just broken down stone! That's it!"

Ryu took as much air as he could from the air pocket in his hands before he thrusted his hands deeper into the sand, "Solidify, solidify, solidify, SOLIDIFY!"

In an instant, Ryu became encased in solid stone. One thought later and the stone cracked and started to crumbled around him. Ryu then started to channel the Force around his body and built up the power until he felt like it was enough. Force energy pulse outwards in a sphere around his body sent the crumbling stone in every direction. As soon as he was out, Ryu took a deep breath of fresh sand-free air and loved it. He coughed some sand up a second later and went back into a coughing fit but at least he had fresh air this time. It wasn't much later when he heard the rocks around him being kicked out of the approaching persons way. Ryu looked up to see the Impish looking guy and the big yellow thing wearing suspenders in front of him.

The Impish guy pointed his hand at Ryu, "Any last words?"

Ryu looked up at the two before looking up at the two, but as he looked up some things caught his eyes that were behind the two, "Beh-" Ryu started but started coughing again.

"What was that?"

"Beh- -ou", Ryu let one final cough out before looking back up at the two, "Behind you."

A second later, Ryu's sabers lept from the ground, activated, then slammed the blades of light onto each of the standing enemies back causing them to twitch every which way due to the neural shock feature that came with the Non-Lethal setting. The two continued to twitch until Ryu deactivated both sabers allowing the both of them to fall to the ground, unconscious.

Ryu stuck his pinkie fingers in each ear in attempt to get rid of the sand that had collect there, "And that right there is why I love having the ability to use the Force. Don't even need to have hands to use lightsabers, although it does help to have them." The young Jedi said to no one in particular.

"Ryu, please hurry, I can't hold it for much longer."

The silver haired teen quickly moved over to the cat who was half submerged rocky debris and used his hands to untie him, not wanting to accidentally cause an unwanted burn mark or a dead cat if he sneezed. Happy flew into some nearby bushes as Ryu began to remove the sand that had collected in all his pockets. As he finished, the man with the crystal ball groaned as he moved to his feet. Although before the man could do anything else, a beam of black light hovered a few inches in front of his chest. Ryu walked over to his floating saber and took ahold of it while he recovered his other saber..

The man in front of started to shake with fear, "Please don't hurt me, I'm not a fighter! I promise I won't resist!"

"If you're not a fighter, what the hell are you doing with these guys?" Ryu questioned the man.

"I'm was in the same guild as them, I can see the future using my magic and this crystal ball." The man held out the glass sphere, "Shall I tell your fortune in exchange for not harming me?"

This man was being awfully friendly Ryu thought, he could be trying to trick Ryu and blindside him when he was least expecting it. Although, this man did get knocked out for a short while meaning he truly had no fighting skills or he lacked reflexes. Ryu mauled it inside his head for awhile before coming out with an answer, "Sure, why not. Try anything funny though, and you will regret it."

The man nodded quickly nodded before focusing his gaze into the crystal ball and a purple magic circle shot out from under him and remained there, silence hung heavy between them as man peered into his crystal ball. After a minute, Ryu began to doubt the man of his ability and considered whacking him over the head with the hilt of one of his lightsabers then go look for Happy. Just before he began the movement, the man's eyes widened.

"I see three things in store for your future. Deep under the sea, you will have an interesting encounter. In a forest, your decision will either be the destruction of the forest or the savior. Finally, you will find yourself face to face with the one you fear most: Yourself."

The strange man blinked rapidly for a couple seconds and took a couple steps back, "Oh my, I haven't had a vision like that before. So vivid, so detailed, it was certainly a strange experience but wonderful experience. It was like-"

The poor man wasn't able to finish as a fist engulfed in flames rocketed into the man's jaw line sending him flying several meters. Natsu smiled his usual toothy smile as he turned to Ryu, "What ya doing out here Ryu? Did you cause all of this? By the way, have you seen Happy, I think he was kidnapped by these guys."

Ryu didn't answer the Dragon Slayer as his gaze was currently on the man who was just sent flying several meters away. His mind was centered around that last fortune he was told, 'You will find yourself face to face with the one you fear most: Yourself.' The other fortunes interested him but this caught his attention the most. What did he mean by yourself. this question circled around Ryu's mind endlessly like a ferris wheel. Ryu was so transfixed with his thoughts, he didn't respond to Natsu's questions, nor did he notice Happy fly out of the bushes and into Natsu's arms with tears streaming down his cheeks, or that Lucy and a almost completely naked Gray arrived to the scene either.

What did bring him back to the present was the gentle shaking on the shoulder by Lucy, "Are you alright, I've been trying to get your attention for a minute now."

Ryu shook his head to help him get out of his own thoughts, "Sorry deep in thought. Wait, when did Gray get here?"

"Natsu and I met him awhile back after we managed to get out of the swamp, Happy said this was a shortcut of some sort. Gray confirmed it. What are you doing all the way out here in the middle of nowhere, Happy filled us in on what happened but why are you here?" Lucy asked.

"Quick question, are you and Natsu responsible for a recently destroyed noble's mansion?" The question caused Lucy to jump slightly and then quickly look away with an embarrassed face. Ryu merely laughed and he patted her on the head, "First job and already destroyed something of great worth, you'll fit in perfectly."

The embarrassed look was quickly replaced with a smile, "Well, Natsu did the the destroying, I merely used my celestial spirits to defend myself."

"I'll believe that in a heartbeat, speaking of the fiery headed idiot." The two of them looked over to Natsu and Gray who were currently butting heads with each other and arguing over something about their abilities compared to each other.

"Hey you two idiots!" Ryu yelled.

"Who are you calling a idiot?!" Their voices came in unison.

"Erza wants us back at the guild asap, she wants to speak with us about something."

That immediately changed both of their tunes, instead of butting heads they switched to holding eachother closely out of fear, "E-Erza wants to speak with us personally?" Their voices came again in unison.

"Yep, so lets get going or would you like me to explain to her that I was late because of you two?"

"L-Lull-" Ryu looked over to the imp who was starting to regain consciousness, "Lullaby is-"

"What are you talking about?" Ryu started walking over to the imp, but he never made it as his extra sense kicked in allowing him dodge the unforeseen attack. Using his Force ability, Ryu jumped high up above the trees in the area. He then learned the attack wasn't meant for him or his comrades but instead for the group of five he had just defeated. Shadowy hands engulfed all five members of the group and in the blink of eye, pulled them underground.

A brown magic circle quickly erupted from his hand as he neared the ground. Once his fist touched the ground where he landed, the surrounding ground around Ryu broke apart and caused the ground to shift. But Ryu didn't find what he was looking for, he couldn't find any of the five he battled. Either the attacker buried them deeper underground or had somehow taken them with them or possibly worse since he wasn't familiar with Shadow magic.

"Anyone see the guy?" Ryu asked quickly.

Gray shook his head, "I sensed him for a second but now he's gone. He's quick for sure."

"Who in the Force was that? And what the hell is Lullaby, a children's bedtime song. What did that imp dude mean by Lullaby? What's going on here?"

()()()()

6:57 PM, Shortcut back to Magnolia

The group decided to move on back to Magnolia since nothing else could be gleaned from the situation. They would have to worry about it when it became relevant or if they happen to come across more information. The entire way back to the guild, Natsu and Gray continued to bicker with each other but never escalated beyond words whenever Ryu would remind them that Erza was showing up tomorrow.

Sometime into the trip back, Lucy hung back from the two bickering fools and fell in step with Ryu. The first thing Ryu noticed was that she was holding a small white creature with what looked like a drill for a nose. Ryu continued to stare at the strange creature until Lucy caught him looking at her celestial spirit.

"Isn't he adorable? His name is Plue." Lucy commented.

Adorable isn't what Ryu would call the strange creature, it looked extremely frail and if his eyes weren't deceiving him, 'Plue' as she called it was constantly shaking very slightly, "What is Plue?"

Lucy seemed happy talking about her little friend, "Celestial spirit, his species is Nikora. Nikora are commonly used by mages like me as cute pets."

"There's more than one? Oh good god. This thing looks like it has trouble breathing. I seen a lot of weird things in my universe as well as Earthland but 'Nikora' certainly made the top ten. Right in front of Kel Dors and behind scorpions the size of ten bull rancors stuck together."

The creature stuck out its paw toward Ryu, "Plue Plluuee."

"He's saying 'nice to meet you'."

Ryu slowly took Plue's paw and shook it very lightly. Ryu was correct about the small creature shaking constantly, "Nice to . . . meet you as well . . . Plue."

The two . . . three of them continued on in silence for awhile, the only sounds coming from the two idiots in front of them and the crunching of the foliage under their feet. A question continued brewing inside Lucy for awhile and she wanted to get a third opinion on the matter but was a little nervous at the answers she might receive, eventually she decided to go for it.

"What is Erza like?"

Ryu could detect the nervousness in her voice and chuckled, "What exactly did you hear from those two?"

"Well . . ." Lucy said as she recounted the details, "They told me that she was a monster that she could destroy two mountains with a single kick."

Lucy saw Ryu go wide eyed, "You have no idea do you?"

Nervousness crept more into Lucy's voice, "W-what do you mean?"

Ryu's went back slightly as he scoffed, "Where do I start? It's more like four mountains with a single kick. And she won't hesitate to pummel anyone who so much as looks at her funny. Her brutality is known throughout the whole guild, even the guild master is terrified of confronting her. You saw Natsu and Gray quake in fear right? You should have seen what she did to them, scarred them for life. And once she finds out you were just recruited . . . ohh boy. Let's just say, there's a reason why we haven't had any recruits in awhile. She isn't known as Queen of the Fairies for nothing. She's Fairy Tail's strongest female mage by a long shot, maybe the strongest period."

Ryu paused for a second to see Lucy had stopped in her tracks and was now quaking in fear, it looked like her legs were about to give out at any second. Her face had a terrified look on it and it looked like tears were about to burst from her eyes.

A loud tearful laugh erupted from Ryu, his hands fell to his knees as he bent over from laughing. Lucy's almost tear ridden face change to a more confused one as Ryu continued to cry tears of laughter out, "Y-your face was priceless! You looked like you were about to cry!"

Lucy became infuriated with silver haired man, she had been made the butt of his joke. She began to storm past him but was stopped when he shot out a hand which caught her in the stomach. Ryu continued laughing for a bit before he was able to stand to his full height, he wiped away the few remaining tears before placing his hand on her shoulder and slightly pulling her along. Lucy was very reluctant letting him touch her but Ryu seemed like he had more to say which she wasn't sure she wanted to hear.

Ryu regained the rest of his composure before continuing, "But in all honesty, Erza is a great person. Remarkable person. I wasn't kidding when I said she was Fairy Tail's strongest female mage, but she uses her power for good. She's a bit innocent to a couple things and may be a bit too forward at times and a bit of an airhead but she is a person to look up to. Even I look up to her sometimes, she taught me a bit of her magic which I am forever grateful for. Although our powers are pretty on par, I have a one to three ratio when it comes to winning battles against her even with both of my magics. She is willing to lay down her life to protect her friends and the guild. She is great person considering her past."

With all anger gone, Lucy tilted her head slightly, "What happened to her?"

Ryu recounted the memory of when he first shook hands with Erza and seeing the image of the tower and her with one eye. It sat uncomfortably in his mind and he would rather forget it but if Erza ever wanted to talk about it, she would most likely come to him to talk about it since he knew more than anyone else.

"I know very little myself, but I promised I would keep it a secret. In fact, I would like it if you forgot this part of the conversation." Ryu's face held a grim look, "That woman may think she's strong but one day her strength is going to shatter and who knows how she's going to respond. But when she does, I need to make sure I'm by her side when she does."

Lucy smiled slightly, "Sounds like you may care for her more than a friend. Am I right?"

"I will admit, there was more than one time I caught myself staring at her. But my heart is for a different girl." Ryu confessed.

Lucy elbowed Ryu in the gut lightly, "Come on, you can tell me who it is. I won't tell."

"Ha, that is restricted information that is so deep in my mind, that only two people have ever traveled there."

"What?"

Ryu chuckled, "In short, hell no."

()()()()

The next day, 12:45 PM, Fairy Tail Guild

Ryu had sat at his usual spot at the bar drinking a glass of orange juice while enjoying a ham sandwich made by Mira. Today was just another ordinary day around the guild, people conversed with each other and had a overall good time. People came and left either leaving or returning from a job. Levy and team Shadow Gear had yet to return leaving Ryu a little empty inside.

"Hey Ryu." Ryu turned to see Mira holding a Light Pen describing what looked like the structure of 'Guild Government Structure' (as Ryu called it) to Lucy.

Ryu took a small sip of orange juice before responding, "What's up?"

"Why don't you team up with Lucy? She's new here and could use some help getting into the swing of things around here."

Ryu had gotten a couple requests to join multiple teams - even from Levy - but turned them all down. It's not like he hated everyone who sent him a request, it was more like he wouldn't work well with others. Not to mention, he didn't want the Detention Corps associating his comrades with him. In the Detention Corps, there was Fairy Tail, and then there was Ryu. While Fairy Tail caused many disturbances, Ryu one upped the Detention Corps multiple times which set Ryu into a different category for them. There was also the fact that S-Class mages tended to operate on their own, excluding Laxus.

One of Ryu's eyebrow shot up, "Not to be rude, but why should I help? There are plenty of other groups she could join, besides I try and work alone unless the situation calls for it."

"Well, she is new to the guild and you are a S-Class mage. You could teach her a couple things." Mira replied with that smile she always seemed to wear nowadays.

Ryu was puzzled, "But why doesn't she just team up with Natsu and Happy, they already know each other and went on a mission together. Why not Gray as well? He isn't in any group as well, so why not just join him. Either of them would do."

Currently, Natsu and Gray were having at each other once again which was certainly not unexpected. Ryu, Lucy, and Mira merely watched them as they continued to pummel each other until Natsu was sent reeling back and tumbled over Lucy, taking her down with him. Ryu began to rethink having her pair up with either of them, they were known as some of the most chaotic members, although he was one of the chaotic ones himself. Ryu took another bite out of his sandwich when his senses kicked in, telling him that someone powerful was approaching the guild. Without even thinking, he knew who it was.

A grin broke out across Ryu's face, "She's baaaack."

This statement sent a chill up almost everyones back who could hear him, namely Gray and Natsu. The both of them froze in place and looked toward the closed door and soon the sound of heavy footsteps echoed throughout the guild causing everyone else to quiet down. Ryu merely swiveled around on his stool so he could watch the door and the show that would soon follow. Lucy started to get nervous again until she looked to Ryu who was completely relaxed while almost everyone else was tensed up. His words about how Erza truly acted echoed through mind and her nervousness soon dissipated and then returned slightly when she thought if Ryu was telling the truth or not so she would lower her guard for what was about to come.

In walked the strongest female in the guild carrying a massive jewel encrusted horn. Everyone around the guild gawked at the massive horn with the exception of Mira and Ryu, the only other two S-Class mages currently in the guild. The horn came the ground with a massive thud that shook the entire guild. Erza began to gaze around the guild with a stern look, a couple people shivered when her gaze glanced over them.

"I have heard some disturbing things about the members of Fairy Tail while I was on the road. . ." Erza began, "You guys are causing a lot of ruckus and while the Master may not care, I certainly do."

Then began Erza's routine of going around the guild and chewing out certain people that she deemed was causing a disturbance inside the guild or if they did something she heard about on her travels. The process lasted about a minute as she went around to individual members of the guild, each of them looking ashamed of what they after getting a talking to from the stern mage. After about of minute of going around, her gaze fell on Ryu and her look became more stern as she began to walk over to him.

Ryu looked over to Mira and Lucy with a glass of orange juice in his hand, "Uh-oh, looks like I'm in trouble." Ryu said sarcastically.

"Ryu, I heard you caused some trouble for the Detention Corps. Again. Am I correct in hearing this information?" Her gaze left Ryu unphased.

"It's not my fault that I beat them to beating up the bad guys. Maybe if they didn't have so many sticks stuck up their asses, they could find it in their hearts to actually thank me once in awhile."

Ryu was one of the few people in the entire guild that would talk to her like this, almost everyone else feared what might of happened to them if they did. Although Erza seemed indifferent to his attitude, "Ryu, you are egging them on. While you may find it funny, you need to be more careful and think of the repercussions that could happen to the guild if you're not careful."

"Are you saying that I should have let those girls get kidnapped?"

Everyone who could hear his statement jaw's dropped. Erza again showed no change in facial expression, "Don't twist my words. You know exactly what I meant."

"Angering Lahar is easier than angering you." Ryu joked. He then looked past the red haired mage toward the horn before looking back at her, "The scorpion I killed was still bigger."

A small smile crossed Erza's face, "It seems that scorpion you always talk about keeps growing in size whenever I defeat something big. Or is it just me?"

Lucy leaned in closer to Mira, "Why was Ryu talking to Erza like that? It was like he was trying to start a fight with her."

"It's just Ryu, he can be a jerk sometimes . . . okay often actually but he really is a good person. Erza is one of the few people that can tell when he's just trying to aggravate someone."

"But do you know why he is like that? One moment he is making fun of someone, next he is throwing himself at the enemy to protect his friends, then he is on purposely angering his friends. Why does he do that?"

"Well actually, before Ryu joined the guild, he lost his memory for a time. From what he has told me, his original personality was very hostile and he made very little friends. When he lost his memory, his new personality was very selfless. He continued to have this personality for some time and when his memories came back, his personalities clash and created . . . well Ryu."

Lucy looked back to Ryu who was now shaking Erza's hand with a smile on both their faces, "Is that really what happened?"

Mira continued to smile, "Welllll . . . that might be what I think happened from the facts he told us."

Ryu grinned before standing up and held his arms open, "In all honesty, it's good to see you again."

Erza accepted his hug with a smile mirroring Ryu's, "It's good to see you too." Erza pulled back after a couple seconds, "How did your job go?"

"Minor difficulties, another slave ring down." He gestured to a stool next to him, "Care to join me for a drink?"

"Perhaps another time, right now I need to talk to you, Natsu, and Gray."

Upon hearing their names, the two mages quickly walked over to the two of them. Natsu was the first to speak, "What did you need?"

Gray was a bit more cautious, "Was it something we did?"

Erza raised her eyebrow, "Did you do something I should hear about?"

"Uh . . . no."

"Anyway, what I have to talk to you guys about is very important." Her face became serious, the kind of face Ryu knew not to take lightly, "And I don't think I can handle it on my own."

"Want to clue us in?"

Erza shook her head, "Not now, tomorrow. Meet me at the train station tomorrow at nine in the morning. I need to rest up. Tomorrow, the four of will set out, understand?"

Ryu sunk a little in his seat, "So . . . we're forming a team is what you're saying aren't you?"

"Is that a problem?"

"You know how I am with teams Erza." The four of them stood in silence until Ryu spoke once again, "But if you say you need help, then I know the situation calls for it."

"Thank you." Her gaze shifted to Natsu and Gray, "And you two?"

"I'm in, I have nothing else to do for awhile." Gray replied.

Natsu showed signature wide toothy grin, "I'll help, under one condition." Erza nodded slightly for him to continue, "When we get back, I want to fight you."

A couple seconds past as Erza continued to stare at Natsu, as if she was sizing up his abilities, "You have certainly grow stronger since last we fought. You have my word."

Natsu's expanded slightly if that was even possible. Ryu grabbed the remaining part of his sandwich and made his way to the exit, "I'll see you guys tomorrow at the train station."

Lucy couldn't help but notice Ryu's disdain for the word train. Once he was gone and the rest of the group had gone to do their own things, Lucy turned to Mira once more, "Is it just me or does Ryu not like the word train?"

Mira laughed slightly, "No, he hates using trains as transportation. He has ridden on trains about nine times. And for some reason or another, every time he has gotten on a train, something bad has happened to said train. Bandits, the train derailing, the locomotive exploding and setting fire to nearly all the train. Things like that."

Lucy shivered slightly, "That can't be a coincidence."

"Hey, can I ask you a favor Lucy?" The blonde was a bit shocked at her sudden request.

"I-I'll try to help however I can. What is it?"

"Can you go with them tomorrow? Gray and Natsu tend to fight each other when Erza's not looking as you can see. And sad to say, Erza is rather oblivious to it herself." Mira indicated to the two boys who seemed to be close as brothers one second and butting heads the next. Lucy also saw Erza not too far away talking with someone else and after Lucy stared for a bit longer, she could tell whenever Erza looked over to the two boys, they seemed to become 'Happy 2.0' as she called it.

Still, the request confused her, "Why exactly do you want me to go?"

"I want you to try and keep them from fighting, would that be alright?"

"Why can't you ask Ryu to do that?" Lucy started to rethink that question as soon as she finished it, Mira could see this and only laugh as a response.

"I just hope nothing happens to the train while I'm on it." Lucy said as her face sunk into her arms which rested on the bar.

()()()()

9:12 AM, Magnolia Train station

Ryu had arrived first and claimed an entire bench by laying down on it and using the armrest as a footrest. About a quarter of an hour later, Natsu, Happy, and Gray showed up and the two teens proceeded to start butting heads with each other and throw verbal insults. Not long after that, another person showed up but not who he was expecting. Lucy made her way over to Ryu with the thing known as 'Plue' continuously shook in her arms. Happy had already flown over to Ryu and currently sat on his stomach with no protest.

Before Ryu could even ask his question, Lucy answered it for him, "Mirajane asked me to go along with you guys and keep Natsu and Gray from fighting."

Ryu looked past her for a moment at the two squabbling guildmates before shifting back to Lucy, "I don't think you're doing a very good job."

Lucy merely sighed and went to sit down on the bench only to find Ryu taking the whole bench up, "Don't suppose you could . . . uh . . . sit up?"

Ryu remained still for a moment and only stared at Lucy with unblinking eyes. Finally, Ryu swung his feet out as he sat up, forcing Happy to switch positions from his stomach to his lap. Lucy quickly sat down next to him but not too close as to possibly annoy him as she moved her roller suitcase out of the walkway. Lucy desperately thought up a topic for them to talk about as to end the awkward silence Ryu had started.

A couple topics flew through her mind before she settled on one, "I just want to say thanks for lending me your coat when we were up on Mount Hakabe."

"It's called a duster and thanks for not losing it." Ryu didn't so much as turn to look at her when he spoke. Lucy desperately thought of another for them to talk about, she wanted to be on good terms with everybody but she was having trouble with Ryu since she had no idea what to think of him. Either a friend she could rely on from time to time or a sarcastic, over confident, jerk that seemed to crack a joke at someone whenever he could.

"Oh, Mira told me that you lost your memory for a time."

"Yep."

"How did you lose your memory." Lucy asked with curioscity.

"Piece of wood hit me in the back of my head."

"Well . . . how did you get it back?"

"Same way."

Ryu just didn't want to talk to this girl, he was on the verge of telling her to 'shut up'. He just wanted to be alone with his thoughts which he didn't have much time for since he was either on a job or at the guild where it was usually so chaotic that you couldn't think. Not to mention he did not want to go on this mission with two overzealous idiots. Mt. Hakabe was under different circumstances, Macao was in trouble and had the possible chance of never returning causing his son to become an orphan since Macao was divorced by his wife and she went off to god knows where. But now, he was stuck with two idiots, a mage whose magic relied on someone else doing the fighting, a blue talking cat which he had no problem with, and to top it all off, they were all going on a train. The ONLY reason why Ryu agreed was that he had a lot of respect for Erza, and he couldn't deny a request from her if she truly needed help.

"Where did you come from before you joined Fairy Tail?"

That question caused Ryu to jump slightly in his seat. He had only told Zeke and his family where he had come from and they had kept it a tight secret themselves. Literally no one inside the guild knew of Ryu's true origins. Not only would they most definitely not believe him but Ryu found no harm in lying to the guild about it. It wasn't like he was hurting anyone with his misinformation anyway.

Lucy could tell this question made him uncomfortable but continued to push, "What town did you come from? What was it like? Was it close to the sea?" She might have been pushing her luck but her previous question was the only question to not get a monotone reply.

Ryu continued to remain silent for a moment until he thought of an idea and decided to roll with it, "I came from a different universe where we had ships that could travel through space, we also had energy projectile weapons as well as the ability to travel to different solar systems in mere hours, if not minutes."

Lucy remained silent for a couple seconds before she burst out laughing, "That went about as well as I thought it would." Ryu thought.

Happy looked up to Ryu, "I never heard that one before." The cat turned to the laughing girl, "The most we all have been able to get out of him is that he came from a secluded mountain village that isn't on any map. They have their own small army of 'Jedi', whatever those are. He left his village because he didn't want to become a Jedi. But before he left, his old master who he called Etro came him a little magic cube thingy that teaches him stuff."

Ryu looked a bit annoyed "One: The Jedi are peacekeepers, not soldiers. Two: The magic cube thingy is called a Holocron." He then pinched the cats cheeks, "And three: If you ever tell anyone where I came from without my consent, your tail is going to get a lot shorter."

Lucy thought for a minute, there was a lot of things that were unanswered, like what was his town like, what did he think of the town, did he have any friends. One main question that Lucy had in her mind was if Ryu had left because he didn't want to become a Jedi, but he did not say anything else. Did all men from his village become Jedis? Was he forced into it by his family? Couldn't he have chose a different job if he wanted?

These questions continued to float through her mind until the fifth and final person in their party showed up. Lucy was on her feet in seconds to greet Erza but stopped a few feet short when she saw the massive amount of luggage she was lugging behind her in a large cart. Lucy only stood their with her mouth gaping at the amount of luggage that was that twice her height.

Ryu stood up as Happy flew off his lap, as he passed Lucy he quickly whispered into her ear, "Remember the airhead part I was talking about?"

Erza addressed Ryu as he approached, "Sorry I'm a bit late, I forgot to pack a couple things and had run back and get them."

"Whatever." His gaze momentarily shifted to Gray and Natsu who were performing 'Happy 2.0' as Lucy called it. After watching that little routine his gaze rested back on Erza, "Mira asked Lucy to come and help us. I'm okay with it but seeing as you're the leader of this little operation, it still needs your seal of approval."

"I talked with her yesterday, she seems like a good person." Erza looked past the silver haired man toward Lucy, "You're help will be greatly appreciated."

"O-oh . . . I'll try my best."

The sound of metal grinding metal filled their ears as the train they needed to board pulled into the station, "Well, here we go."

()()()()

9:45 AM, Train to Onibus Station

The train was packed to say the least, luck must have been with them that day because the only open seats they found were two seating areas that were across the aisle from each other. Lucy, Gray, Natsu, Erza and Happy sat on one side while Ryu sat across from them. And to make sure no one else would sit with him, he propped up his feet on the opposite seat. To top it all off, he pulled his hood over his head to provide shade for his eyes to make it like he was sleeping. He did close his eyes but instead of sleep, all he did was think. He would think about every separate component of his lightsaber, the time he spent together and hoped to spend with Levy, his old master Etro, and sometimes he would think about thinking. His mind travel at an amazing pace and thoughts flew through his mind only to be replaced by a different thought a second later. It was one of the few things could do to calm and relax himself, just thinking.

At this time, Erza had punched Natsu in the stomach, causing him to pass out and rest his head on Erza's lap. Gray pretended not to notice as it happened and pretended to have something catch his attention out the window. Happy quietly nibbled on a raw fish as it was his favorite. Erza simply rested her hand on the DragonSlayer's head. Lucy shot a couple a glances toward Ryu, she could tell he was trying hard to seclude himself from all outside contact. No matter how hard she thought, she just couldn't figure out Ryu. Swords of light, the silver braid that ran down the side of his head, his open friendliness followed shortly by the wanting to be secluded and/or the insulting of others.

Erza noticed Lucy shooting some quick glances toward Ryu, her mind obviously took it the wrong way, she kept her voice to a low so Ryu wouldn't be able to listen in, "Developing feelings for Fairy Tail's Dancing Swordsman?"

"What?! No!" It was almost too much for Lucy to match Erza voice.

"I saw you looking at him a couple times though."

"It's just . . ." Lucy paused for a second, "I just can't figure Ryu out."

Erza chuckled which surprised Lucy, "You too? I have been trying to figure him out for the past seven years."

Lucy titled her head, "Seven years? Not to be rude but how have you not figured him out?"

Erza's smile continued, "You may think it's hard now but a month from now, you'll be left with more questions then you started with." Erza looked over to the hooded guild member, "In my time with him, I have figured out six sure facts about him."

Lucy leaned in closer as Erza continued, "One: He has two primary powers, Earth magic and another which I have heard him call it 'The Force'. While his Earth magic is just like any Earth magic, 'The Force' is not any natural magic that I know of. All magic, even your Celestial magic, uses magic circles to focus its power. Not once have I seen a magic circle appear when he used that power. Two: This Force is extremely versatile magic - if I can call it that-, one of the most common things he uses it for is telekinesis. Not only that he has started to learn how to fly with it, I have also seen him light objects on fire, then there is the green lightning he can conjure. And it goes on and on. Three: Ryu is more wise than he lets on. When Ryu was on a job last year, he came across a bank robbery in progress and volunteered his services. Seeing he was from a guild, the local police thought he could help. Then you know what he does next, he gets captured by the robber on purpose. Three hours goes by, and then the next thing the police sees is the man coming out of the bank crying and let the police capture him without any resistance. Ryu had managed to talk the robber down and let him atone for his crimes. He could have easily taken down the robber but chose to talk him down instead. Four: The gauntlets on his arms aren't any normal armor. While they don't have any magical presence on them, I have found them to be as strong as my Adamantine Armor which can withstand almost any attack. Five: Ryu is hiding something from us about his past, it most likely has something to do with The Force. There is something that happened to him before he came to Fairy Tail that gave him the power of The Force. The Force . . . it's like its power isn't even of this world."

Lucy was hooked on every word, every detail. She could barely hold herself back from the last fact, "A-and what is the six fact?"

Erza's smile returned, "The sixth fact is that even though Ryu may be a jerk, he has a heart of gold. While he did struggle when he first joined the guild, he is kind to everyone in the guild at certain points. Even Jet and Droy, who he seems to fight more with than Natsu or Gray, I have seen him tend to their injuries on more than one occasion. And his kindness goes beyond the guild, I have witnessed and heard from other people that he helped them lost for their lost puppy or gave them some Jewels when they couldn't make ends meet. Though he tends to hide those acts of kindness. Like he is about to right now."

Lucy looked to where Erza was, a pair of old couples probably in their seventies had opened the door from the car ahead of them and steadily made their way looking for a seat they could all share. Lucy felt bad for them since they had probably been looking for a seat since they left the station but to no avail. Then something caught Lucy by surprise, Ryu was no longer in his seat. She heard the train door that was opposite to the couples close and when Lucy swiftly turned to look, she only caught a glimpse of the silver haired man through the window of the car door as he enter the next train car down and continued walking. The pair of old couples noticed the now empty seat and move to it as quickly as their old bones would allow.

Ryu had to move to the last train car before he found another completely empty seat. And when he did, he assumed the same position as he did last time. Although this time, Ryu was sweating, "Fuck, I had no idea Erza was that sharp. I always thought she was more of a airhead. She has no idea how close she actually is who I really am. But I'm not the only one with a secret past am I Erza? Since you know so much about me, I might have to try and trigger a vision to get a little more dirt on your past."

Using the Force to enhance ones hearing was one of the first things you learn to do with the Force, Ryu had done it thousands of times back at the Jedi Temple. It was such a simple technique but it had gottenRyu plenty of juicy information just by sitting back and listening to certain conversation that seemed interesting.

"You think you can get one up on me Erza? I show you, and then you'll regret having come so close to fig-" Ryu stopped thinking as he became horrified with himself, "What the fuck am I thinking about?! How could I think that about Erza, about anybody?! . . . Fear . . . fear caused me to think that."

Ryu took a deep breath in before slowly letting it out, "Control your fear Ryu or it will control you. Remember what Zhuses taught you. Alright how to properly deal with this . . . maybe . . . maybe I should just tell her. And only her. Or I could just tell her to stop. I have kept her past a secret, it's only fair that she does the same."

The sweat on Ryu's face slowly disappeared as he calmed down, his mind now thinking clearly. And he couldn't help but chuckle when he knew Erza was right about him giving up his seat to the old people, even if he hadn't been able to hear her. It wasn't long after he calmed down that he heard the train wheels screech as they came to a stop. The place they had stopped at was the halfway point as well as a place people on the train could buy some food before continuing on. Ryu had a large breakfast and felt no need to purchase food and about five minutes after the train had stopped, it had started up again. Ryu could have gone to rejoin his comrades but decided that he didn't want to get nervous, and he knew which stop to get off at although it was the first actual stop. His legs started to go numb from keeping them propped up so he decided to set them on the ground to allow blood to start circulating through them again. And with the charade of him pretending to sleep was over, he pulled his hood down. Not long after, his eyes began wandering the contents and inhabitants of the car. Various luggage was stored in the overhead ledges above the people in the seats. The people were all shorts of ages ranging from one or two years old to possibly people in their late seventies. But what Ryu decided to focus on was a map that was pinned up beside him instead of a window, possibly the reason why nobody sat here. The map had the different train routes spanning all over Fiore, the train line he was on was one of the smaller ones. It included Magnolia, Onibus, Kunugi, Oshibana and finally Clover Town before it turned around.

The name Clover Town struck a familiar tune with him, he had heard the name of it spoken somewhat recently but could not recall where. This soon did not matter as a familiar face walked up to him, Ryu found himself looking up at Gray, "We were wondering if you're going to stay back here by yourself or come back and join us?"

"Aren't the seats full up there?"

Gray shrugged, "We could just throw flame brainup in the luggage compartment."

Ryu chuckled at that remark, "Thanks but no thanks, it'll only be another half an hour to forty-five minutes until we reach Onibus. Has Erza filled you guys in yet?"

"Want the long or short version?" Ryu's face said it all, "We are taking down a Dark guild called Eisenwald."

"Sounds fun." Gray started walking back to the group but was stopped by Ryu, "Wait, could you do me a small favor?"

Ryu continued before Gray even turned around, "Could you send Erza back here for a little bit, I have some things I want to discuss with her."

Gray nodded before turning around and moving up to the next car. Ryu closed his eyes, trying to think of what he should say to Erza when she came. He didn't have long since she arrived approximately a minute after he closed his eyes. Ryu motioned for her to sit down, "I want to talk about something personal with you." Erza sat and motioned for him to continue, "Stop trying to 'figure me out', okay?"

Her only reaction was the slight rising of her eyebrows, "So you heard us?"

"The Force can also be used to enhance my senses as well, using it to enhance my hearing one one of the first things I was taught." Ryu leaned forward as he made direct eye contact with the red haired mage, "Please stop trying to figure out who I am or where I came from."

"What are you hiding?" She asked bluntly.

"Do I ask you about what I saw in my vision when I first met you?" Erza looked away as if she was ashamed, "I thought so. I will say though, you are a lot sharper than I gave you credit for. But enough, alright. I'm keeping it a secret for a reason and I may share with you guys someday but not anytime soon."

A heavy silence hung between them, the only sound was the other people in the car chatting amongst themselves, paying no heed to the two Fairy Tail mages. Ryu needed back in his seat but kept his eyes on Erza who was still looking away from him. Minutes passed and Ryu began to think that this was a bad idea but he was already knees deep in it.

"At least answer me one question." Her eyes came back into contact with Ryu's.

"As long as this stays between us and I get one question as well." Erza thought for a moment then nodded, Ryu gestured towards Erza, "Ladies first."

"Is what you call the 'The Force' actually magic?"

Ryu couldn't help but give a half smile in response to her question, then he shook his head, "No, it isn't. Not in any way shape or form, that includes lost or dark magic as well if that's what you're thinking."

Erza contemplated that answer for a couple of minutes before gesturing for Ryu to ask his question. Ryu smiled mischievously, "Are you a virgin?"

"What?!" Erza's face lit up bright red and it seemed that steam was coming out of her ears, not red as in anger but extreme embarrassment, it took her all she could muster to keep her voice down, "What do you think you are asking about?!"

Ryu's held up his hands innocently and smiled, "I never said the question had to do with our past."

Erza continued to be bright red as Ryu started chuckling, "Well, let me hear it. I answered your question, now answer mine."

A couple of minutes went by as Erza sat in her seat like a embarrassed schoolgirl. Eventually Erza managed to muster up enough courage, looking sheepishly at the ground, muttering a short,"Yes."

Ryu was about to start laughing when a flash of light blinded him for a second. Once he recovered he found one of Erza's swords at his throat, her face looked dead serious, "If you tell anyone . . ."

The Jedi merely smiled, "A deals a deal, I won't breathe a word."

Erza quickly nodded before leaving in a flash, Ryu kept his eyes on the mage as she practically ran to the train car door. But before she passed through, she took one last glance at the strange man. Who was Ryu, and where did he come from? But what concerned her the most was, is Ryu even human? To command a power that rivaled magic, could Ryu be blessed by god himself or was he possessed by the devil. Either was a possibility or it could be something else entirely. Ryu had notice her staring at him, he merely gave a sly smile in response.

"Definitely a devil." She thought as she made her way back to her companions.

()()()()

10:23, Arriving at Onibus station

Ryu was baffled he had gone the entire train ride and nothing bad had happened to him. Was his curse over, did he finally break the cycle of the 'train curse'? Then Ryu started laughing at himself for calling it the 'train curse'. The train wheels started screeching as the train decreased its speed as it pulled into the station. Everyone in the train car he was in started retrieving their luggage as the train slowed down, Onibus must have been a really popular place for people to travel to. Or perhaps they were merely switching trains to their real destination. It didn't matter for Ryu since this was his stop and he was grateful for it since nothing had gone wrong for once. But sadly, the universe just loves to make fools out of everyone.

()()()()

Darkness overtook his sight and a second later he found himself standing in the train car, the same exact one he was in just a moment ago. There was only three differences, the train hadn't yet pulled into the station. And the more obvious one was that there was another Ryu sitting in his seat, staring at the map on the wall where a window should have been. The map was the last difference, it was entirely blank all except for one town; Clover Town. He said the name over and over again trying to trigger some memory inside his head. He knew he had heard that town's name and he knew that its name was said to him in the last two days but Ryu could not put his finger on it and that pissed the hell out of him since this was the entire point of the vision. Or was it? Ryu quickly glanced around the car only to find it was empty, his gaze shifted back to himself in the seat but recoiled when he found himself replace by none other than Makarov. And then it hit him, where he had heard the name 'Clover Town'.

()()()()

Yesterday, 11:59 AM, Fairy Tail guild house

Ryu sauntered in through the open doors and made his way to his usual spot at the bar. Before he reached his spot, a fresh glass of orange juice awaited his arrival in its normal place. As he sat down, Ryu nodded toward Cana who sat a couple seats away from him. She returned his nod just before she started drinking from a wine barrel. The Jedi couldn't help but shake his head and smile at the sight. From the shouts he could hear behind him, Natsu and Gray were already in the guild having at each other. His stomach growled slightly at him, missing breakfast had started to take its toll on him.

"Hey Mira!" The white haired spun gracefully at the sound of her name, her million `dollar smile shown across her face, her little ponytail on her head moved from side to side. It rather obvious that Ryu would be lying if he didn't enjoy the little spin.

"Yes Ryu?"

"Bit hungry, what's on the menu right now?"

"Variety of sandwiches, nothing other than that really. We're going to get a food resupply tomorrow."

"Hmmm, is ham sandwich on the menu?"

"Why yes it is."

Mira picked up cooking not long after Lisanna died, it helped move her mind away from the grief. Everyone grieved in their own ways, Cana drank more, Levy attempted to dive into her novels, Wakabe smoked more, and the guild moved on but never lost that bit of emptiness that always stayed with them all. Ryu handled the grief a little differently, he attempted to turn his grief into a weapon by turning to Dark Side techniques that were stored on his holocron. Everyone copes differently, some just tend to turn to more negative methods.

It wasn't long after Ryu had requested the food that it was placed down in front of him. While Mira was the main chef of the guild, on busy days other guildmates would help her keep up with the orders, one of them was Ryu. While he didn't have Mira's mastery or the art, he knew enough to get around.

Ryu bit into the sandwich and savored the taste of it, the ham was juicy which he loved. Mira saw the satisfaction on his face and smiled at him before turning to wash some dishes she had forgotten about. The guild was its usual noisiness but at least they weren't fighting yet which gave him time to enjoy his meal. If a fight did break out, he hoped that Makarov would be able to end it quickly. It was then Ryu noticed his guild master's absence from his usual sitting spot on the bar. Ryu kicked off the bar wall and did a quick glance around the guild as his chair spun in place.

Makarov wasn't in any of his normal places and as Ryu came to face Mira once again, a questioned popped out of his mouth, "Where's Makarov?"

"He left for the regional guild meeting in Clover Town to discuss any rising problems, why do you ask?"

"Meh, just wondering."

()()()()

"Excuse me sir, are you getting off?"

Ryu shook his head quickly as he was brought back into the present. He turned around to see a family of three with bags in hand trying to get passed him, he was blocking the exit. Ryu stepped back out of the way and let them pass. They moved out the door in back and down the three stairs onto the station platform. The next thing to do was to decide whether to get off now or take to train all the way to Clover Town and see what would happen. There was a chance that the vision was just showing him where Makarov went or it could be something important. Was it a coincidence that he just so happened to be on the same train line Makarov took to Clover Town?

The train whistle rang throughout the station letting everyone it was last call to get off or on. Erza said she needed his help but what if this vision was hinting on something big, could Makarov be in danger? While he owed Erza, he owed Makarov even more for taking Ryu into his guild. Ryu walked out the back door of the train car and placed his hands on the railing as the train started moving once again. He managed to find his group as the train passed them mainly because of all the luggage Erza was currently pulling behind.

"I'm sorry Erza, I need to be sure of something!" Ryu yelled out as the train continued to carry him away.

He then heard Lucy yell something back at him that confused him at first and then caused him to burst out laughing, "Natsu is still on the train!"

Ryu moved back into the train car and continued on forward to where the group had forgotten Natsu, "That motion sick idiot."

As the Jedi moved through the train cars, he found that everyone had gotten off. There were maybe two to six people in every car when a couple minutes ago, every seat was packed. A couple people looked at him when he passed, trying to find something to alleviate their boredom whether it be staring out the window or talking with someone close to them. Ryu continued making his way to the car he thought Natsu was still if he had not tried to move himself, but knowing Natsu he was probably still in the same seat, too nauseous to move. Once Ryu made it to the car Natsu was stuck in, he saw something that caused him to clench his fists. Some black haired individual with a ponytail wearing a white coat and aquamarine pants was currently shoving his foot in Natsu's face. From what he could tell, Natsu was not at all happy but couldn't do anything due to his motion sickness. Ryu on the other hand, could.

"You're in Fairy Tail, an official guild? HA, you guys aren't but flies beneath our feet. Soon, all of wi-" Kageyama wasn't able to finish his sentence when someone unexpectedly grabbed his coat cuff and hurled him back toward the train door he had come through before. Once he recovered from landing, he looked back up to see a teenager with silver hair with a single thin braid running down one side of his head and wearing a black duster tending to the man he was just 'talking' to.

"You okay there Hot Head?"

"urf . . . not doing too well right now. If it wasn't for my motion sickness, I would have already kicked his as- Urp-" Nastu quickly covered his mouth after a slight bump shook the whole carriage causing his motion sickness to kick in even more.

Kageyama started to rise to his feet, "You bastard . . . I'll show you what happens when you mess with Eisenwald."

Ryu took one look at the man before slamming himself against the roof of the train car with enough force to dent it and continued to hold him them using his telekinetic ability. He then turned his attention back to his friend, "Don't suppose you could just power through it?"

It looked like Natsu was about to say something back another slight bump in the train car caused him to cover his mouth with his hand. Ryu sighed, "I might, and that is a big might, be able to do something to help with your motion sickness. I don't know if there'll be any side effects or if it will even work. Want me to try?"

Natsu quickly nodded with his hand still over his mouth. Kageyama once again started recovering from the unseen attack, "Let me down you fuc-"

Ryu slammed the man on the ground hard, just to have him slam back into the roof, once again, hard. The Jedi planted his free hand on the forehead of the sick man and started focusing his energy. Natsu started feeling the effects immediately, it started at his head and slowly made its way to his stomach. His dizziness and nausea started to disappear, soon he felt like he could stand stand on his two feet. After a minute, the energy flooding through his body stopped, but the nausea didn't return although it wasn't completely gone either. But it was good enough that he could stand and fight.

Natsu rose to his feet, "I don't know what or how you did it but I'm fired up!"

Ryu turned around when he heard something wooden fall to the floor. A sicking looking flute rested on the ground below the man who was still pinned to the ceiling, he looked rather desperate to get the flute back. The flute had a skull on one end with three eye sockets while the other end reminded him of tree roots branching around in the ground. Ryu was able to lift it with the Force without so much lifting a finger, the hand was only needed to direct the Force energy but it was possible to use only one's mind to lift objects.

The evil flute floated over to Ryu outstretched hand, the man on the roof started to panic, "Hey, that's mine! Give it back now you bastard!"

"Now those aren't nice words, I might give it back af-" Ryu fell silent after the flute fell into his hand. A second later he was on his knees with his hands gripping his hair tightly, Ryu screamed in agony as the flute clattered to the ground. Kageyama fell back to the ground with a 'oof', he looked back up to see the pink hair mage trying to calm down the now screaming one that had humiliated him.

"Make it stop! Make it stop! They're all dying! Make the sound stop! Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Ryu screamed as if his entire body was being ripped apart piece by piece.

"What the hell is wrong with you man, get a hold of yourself!" Natsu screamed back at him.

Kageyama took advantage of the situation, he used his Shadow magic to grab the flute and bring it back to him. Natsu recognized the magic instantly and readied himself for a fight, "You're that guy from the other day! What happened to the others you dragged off?!:

Kageyama smiled, "They have been 'taken care of'. And now I have to eliminate you two for seeing Lullaby."

Natsu braced himself for the attack, but it never came as Ryu tilted his head skyward before letting out a scream that would have made a dragon sound like a kitten. The scream first destroyed all the windows in the car, then train car they were in began to shake, causing Natsu's sickness to kick in a little more. The last part of Ryu's scream literally knocked Natsu and Kageyama off their feet shortly before the full force of the scream blasted a sizeable chunk out of the train roof. Ryu slumped onto the ground before blacking out. Force Scream, a technique that Ryu had not even begun to learn, but had apparently been triggered by Lullaby. It could both a voluntary or involuntary action that was used primarily by the Dark Side. In short it was a scream of rage, strong frustration or in Ryu's case, grief, that was amplified by the Force that sent sent ripples the Force itself and would devastate almost anyone on the receiving end. Luckily, Natsu and Kageyama only caught the backlash of it.

The pink haired mage was the first to sit up, his ears rung like there was a high pitch bell ringing every nanosecond. Natsu stuck his pinkie in his ear to try and alleviate some of the noise. It didn't seem to help, but the ringing was fading slowly. He glanced around the train car he was in, it was absolutely wrecked. All the windows were blown out, a chunk of the roof was missing and debris littered the floor. The one who had stuck their foot in his face started to get to his feet.

"What the hell was that?" Kageyama said as he managed to stand to his feet, his ears still ringing from the scream.

Natsu looked at Ryu crumpled questioningly, "What happened to you?" Was all Natsu could say to the unconscious guildmate as he scooped him up and threw him over his shoulder. Then Natsu reached up and grabbed his bag from the overhead area and shouldered it on his free side. The bag managed to swing around and slap Ryu in the face.

Kageyama noticed the pink haired one grab his belongings,"A-and where do you think you're going? I'm not done with you."

"I'm done with you for now. I need to take my friend someplace safe, but I will come back and make you regret messing with Fairy Tail."

Natsu then did something Kageyama did not except, he jumped out the window of a moving train. What Natsu did not expect to see was Erza driving a magic-mobile right at him with Gray clinging on the top. Natsu collided head first with Gray, sending both mages sprawling in the dust. His grip on Ryu loosened, and Ryu to hit the ground hard and rolled for a bit before coming to a stop. Erza quickly stopped the vehicle and reversed it until they were close enough to the three. Lucy stepped out of the passenger area and ran over to the two whose heads had connected and were now sporting sizeable bumps. The scarlet haired mage quickly moved to Ryu's side and propped him up.

Erza shook Ryu, "Wake up. What happened to you two?"

Natsu rubbed his head as he sat up, "We ran into a problem on the train. Ryu found this weird three eyed flute and as soon as he touched it he started screaming. He screamed so loud it knocked me off my feet and blew a hole in the roof."

"He screamed . . ." Lucy started, "That's what we must have heard."

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"While we were chasing the train, the three of us heard a loud scream that came from the train. It sounded like whoever it was, they were in immense pain." Lucy shivered slightly, "The scream almost didn't sound human. And you're saying it came from Ryu?"

Erza looked closely at Ryu, he didn't seem to have any severe physical injuries. It could have been an attack on his mind or another one of his visions could have lead him to see something he didn't want to. Erza looked to Natsu, "Where did he get this flute from?"

Natsu started scratching his head, "He got it from some weird guy on the train. I think he said he's from some guild called Eisnwad or was it Esinworld?"

"Eisenwald?" Erza asked.

"Yeah, Eisenwald! That's what he-" Natsu wasn't able to finish before Erza slapped him across the face.

"You idiot, we're going after Eisenwald! Why did you let him go?!"

"Maybe because you knocked him out with a punch to the stomach before explaining things?" They all turned to see Ryu sitting up on his own, rubbing the back of his head where Erza had dropped him when she went to slap Natsu.

Ryu continued, "And people wonder why I hate trains, because whenever I get on one, shit like this happens!"

Erza quickly kneeled beside Ryu and whispered, "What did you see?"

Ryu was confused for a moment, then realized that Erza knew he had a vision, "That flute, it has death magic on it. The flute is Lullaby."

Lucy, Natsu and Gray were shocked by this piece of information. Ryu continued as he got to his feet, "And I have a sinking suspicion that they're going to use it at the Guild Master conference. We need to hurry, or Makarov may die."

Finally, I finished chapter 7. BANZAI, BANZAI, BANZAI. My Japan trip was amazing, I got to experience their culture both in the city and out in the countryside. I had authentic Ramen and it was GOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDD. I actually picked out a couple Fairy Tail items as well which made me really happy. The flight to Japan was ten hours but it could have been worse, got to watch a bunch of free movies on the way. I also stayed with a host family as well which was really fun. I walked around Tokyo and Hiroshima as well as an old Samurai school. Went to a lot of temples, fed a couple deer some crackers (Those bastards swarm you when you have crackers). And to top it all off, I got a Yukata from my host family the last night I was there and brought it back with me. Yay.

Anyway, the reason it took me so long to write this chapter when I got back was in short: High Schooler Summer Syndrome a.k.a I was very lazy. But I still managed to finish the chapter. . . and now I have school in little over a week :( I will continue to write but as I said before, I really don't have a set schedule with these things so I post a new chapter whenever I can.

Chapter 8

A licence to Kick Ass and Not Drive

Until next time, stay classy, RoguePizza out.