AN: So I remembered a request for some CS/LS interaction, and, to be honest, I didn't intend to have Lamia Scale do much more in this story, but then I remembered something: I love those guys too. Plus, there's just so much room for bro-ness. I mean, Richard and Jura, Merudy and freaking everyone, Sawyer and his inability to stop snarking at people, Jellal and his issues (that's a canon ship, no matter what anyone says), Wendy and Erik, etc. While I haven't come up with anything for that yet, I had decided to bring back our favorite child-eating losers (look up 'Lamia') at some point. If anyone has any ideas for that, go ahead and send 'em in. Remember, they can contradict things that have already happened. I don't really care about continuity with this one, since most of this will be disproved by canon (or already has been). I just rewatched some of the GMG episodes, and, in the dub, when Cobra shows up, Kinana actually says, "It's my Erik!" and it's like the greatest thing ever and I need some Kinabra right now. So, finally, another main character appears, leaving everyone else to wonder when the hell Erza's gonna show up. Patience. It will happen sooner or later. Eventually. Probably. Maybe. Eh.
Story the Eleventh: Over the RainbowEver since Erza had told her that the Oración Seis had joined up with Crime Sorcière, Kinana had had absolutely no idea how to feel. On the one hand, she was happy that they were out of prison and not on the side of evil. On the other hand, she, a former member of the Oración Seis (though she didn't really remember much of it), also no longer had a guild, as Fairy Tail had disbanded, which made her wonder if she should join Crime Sorcière as well. She might not be able to remember it, but she was fairly certain she committed a crime or two, and she kinda felt bad about that. She definitely felt bad about nearly killing Erza.
At the moment, though, her biggest regret was that she did not know where she (or anyone else) was. She had come to Crocus with Laki, but they had gotten separated, and now Kinana had no idea what to do. And, apparently, it showed.
"S'cuse me, miss," she heard. "Ya look a wee bit lost." Looking up, she saw the last thing any relatively defenseless ex-snake wants to see – an old drunken guy. It seemed that there were quite a few running around.
"I'm fine, thanks," she mumbled, turning to leave. Her heart leapt into her throat as she felt his hand firmly attached to her wrist. "Please let go."
"C'mon, luv," another man stepped forward, grinning at her. "Don't go an' be like that. We jus' wanna have some fun, 's all." Tugging at her wrist, Kinana drew a breath to scream for help. A hand covered her mouth. Oh good. Now there's three, she thought to herself.
Three what? Someone thought back. Kinana started. Oh. Right. There was that weird mental link with Erik. Cubellios? Is everything all right?
No, she thought back. How far from Crocus are you?
About half an hour's worth of me running really fast, Erik admitted. Do you need me to bully Boss into helping you out? Kinana nodded, even though she knew he couldn't see her.
That would be nice, she replied. There're three guys here, and I think they're all drunk. Laki-chan is here somewhere, but I don't know where.
You feel scared, Erik said. Boss is on his way. We're right behind him. If they touch you, I'll tear them limb from limb.
"My friend is nearby," Kinana bluffed. Half and hour was a long time to stall, relatively. Of course, Jellal would probably only take a few minutes with his Meteor, but she didn't want to get Erza's not-boyfriend in trouble. In reality, though, Jellal was about as subtle as a train wreck. On a boat. With Natsu involved. At least, judging by his reckless behavior during the Grand Magic Games.
"Does she wanna join in?" the second man slurred. "'S always room fer more." Kinana swallowed.
"Actually, she's pretty weird," Kinana said, actually being honest this time. "I think I already said 'no', though, so if you could just let me go…"
"No means yes," the man covering her mouth whispered in her ear. He was significantly less drunk than his buddies. "Ev'ryone knows that."
"And yes means no?" Kinana asked hopefully. All three of them snickered.
"Yes means anal!" the first man exclaimed, practically falling over in a fit of drunken giggles. He really did fall over when Kinana's foot placed itself firmly between his legs.
"You little cunt!" the second man yelled, raising his hand to hit her. Kinana flinched away from the blow, but it never came. Jellal had caught the man's wrist.
"That," the fugitive said quietly, "is no way to talk to a lady. Or anyone else, for that matter." All three attackers stared at him.
"You- you're-" the first one mumbled, obviously recognizing the infamous criminal even in his inebriated state.
"I am Jellal Fernandes, yes," he said. "And this young lady is a member of Fairy Tail and a friend of my guild. I am not sure who would be worse to piss off, but I suggest you do not attempt to find out." Grumbling, the men slithered away.
"You're not going to report them?" Kinana asked, not sure of what else to say.
"I am on the run for terrorism, murder, attempted murder, and betraying my country," Jellal said dryly. "I do not believe that I am in any position to be reporting anyone. Erik, however, likely intends to hunt them down and kill them; thus, I would like to get out of here as soon as possible."
"Right," Kinana mumbled. "Um, thanks." Jellal shook his head.
"Not at all," he replied. "I am always happy to help a member of Fairy Tail."
"Fairy Tail's over, though," Kinana said, looking down. She'd thought that Erza would have told him. Jellal smiled at her.
"I do not believe Fairy Tail will ever be 'over'," he said. "So long as Natsu is around, at least." Kinana was about to tell him that no one knew where Natsu was, but before she could, someone interrupted.
"Kinana-chan!" Laki ran up to them. "I thought my ears were penetrated by your voice!" Jellal blinked.
"That means 'I thought I heard you'," Kinana told him. Laki turned to the blue-haired man.
"Oh, uh, hi, Mystogan!" she chirped. "Weird seeing you without your mask."
"Actually, I am–" Jellal began.
"Erza said you were Mystogan," Laki said flatly. "I'm not arguing with her. I like my lungs right where they are, thanks." She glanced at Kinana. "Look, he's cute and everything, but I wouldn't piss off Erza either. This isn't that guy you were talking about, right?" Kinana blushed.
"Um, no, that's–" she started, but, like Jellal, she too was interrupted. This time, however, it was by Erik, who had apparently decided to make his entrance by falling out of the sky.
"FUCK YOU, YOU NARCOLEPTIC SHE-MALE!" he bellowed. The other three stared at him. "Took Macbeth's stupid flying carpet," the maroon-haired male grumbled. "Fucker apparently doesn't like making it go fast."
"Oh, we're here," noted Macbeth, lowering his carpet to hover a few inches above the ground. "I only threw you off because I thought you were going to vomit." Erik's ears reddened.
"That was one time, you asshole!" he hissed. Kinana giggled, and Erik turned to her. "Everything all right, Cubellios?" he asked. She nodded.
"Jellal-san scared them all off," she said. "I was a bit nervous, though."
"Who'd he scare off?" Laki asked, leaning in. "More importantly, which one of these hotties is your boyfriend, Kina?" Macbeth and Jellal pointed at Erik.
"Best friend, not boyfriend," Erik corrected. Laki frowned.
"Well, you'd better start being her boyfriend, because the 'best friend' position for Kina is filled by yours truly." Laki informed him. Erik glowered at her.
"Look, four-eyes, you don't wanna pick a fight with me," he growled.
"Nobody is picking a fight with anybody," Jellal interrupted. He crossed his arms and gave Erik his best 'Boss says no' look. Macbeth booed.
"Somebody should kill something," he complained.
"Well, Mystogan just killed the mood," Laki pointed out. Macbeth shrugged.
"Good enough," he muttered. Jellal sighed.
"Want me to go chase down the guys who were bugging you?" Erik asked Kinana. She blushed, half wanting to say yes, but not wanting him to get in trouble.
"No," said Jellal. "If you two like, you are welcome to spend some time getting to know one another, but I would rather not do so in the middle of a city where three of us are likely to get arrested."
"Ooh, can we go to your secret lair?" Laki asked eagerly.
"If by 'secret lair', you mean 'shitty cave'," Erik muttered. Macbeth patted his flying carpet; he was glad to have been reunited with the old thing.
"You two can ride the carpet," he told them. "Senpai says you can visit, so it's okay with me too. Erik can't ride." Erik flipped him off.
"How the fuck am I gonna get back, then?" he demanded.
"Walk!" Laki chirped, hopping on the carpet. "Ooh, comfy!" Macbeth's lips twitched into what might have been the world's smallest and creepiest (but somehow still sincere) smile.
"I can carry you," Jellal offered. Erik gave him a look. "Or not."
"Come on, Kina," Laki said, grinning at her friend while simultaneously smirking at Erik. "The carpet's great." Kinana glanced at Erik.
"Go ahead," he grumbled. "I'll figure something out." Kinana nodded, and scrambled onto the carpet, which wasn't really big enough to fit three people. Laki sat on Macbeth, who didn't look like he cared. As the carpet began to lift off, Erik grabbed onto the bottom.
"Dick," Macbeth grumbled, freezing the carpet in place. "Not moving 'til you get off." Jellal grabbed the back of Erik's shirt, and prepared to activate Meteor.
"We will meet you there," he said. Erik opened his mouth to complain, but quickly shut it as Jellal's Meteor kicked in and the two disappeared in a burst of light. He didn't want to catch flies, after all. Laki and Kinana's flight with Macbeth was speedy enough, but very serene as well.
"Nice view," Laki noted. Macbeth snored. Kinana sighed.
"He's asleep," she told her friend. Laki blinked.
"When did that happen?" she asked. Kinana shrugged.
"I'm not sure if was ever awake at all," she admitted. Laki raised an eyebrow.
"I heard him talking earlier," she pointed out. "And your boyfriend said he pushed him off." Kinana blushed.
"Not my boyfriend," she mumbled.
"Denial," the probably-still-asleep-but-who-knows-at-this-point Macbeth said. Laki looked between the two of them, and decided it was best not to ask.
When they arrived at Crime Sorcière's 'secret lair' (which was, as Erik had said, a cave), Erik was in the middle of yelling at a bored-looking Jellal.
"…Coulda ripped my clothes off, you dick!" he bellowed. "If we'd been goin' any faster, I'da been naked by now!"
"Some guys seem to really enjoy it," Sawyer said, between snickers.
"I! AM NOT! FULLBUSTER!" Erik roared. "Or Vastia! Fuck both of them, and their goddamn stripping! Don't fuckin' use your fuckin' Meteor without some fuckin' warning!" Jellal sighed.
"Erik, watch your mouth," he scolded. Sawyer shoved his whole fist in his mouth in an attempt to keep from laughing, Merudy was giggling behind her hands, and even Richard was trying to hide a smile. Sorano, however, was nowhere to be found. "We have company," Jellal continued. "Imagine what they must think of us."
"I think you guys are hilarious," Laki said bluntly. The group turned to look at the guests. Laki and Kinana hopped off the carpet, looking around the surprisingly well-lit cave.
"Hey, it's Cubellios!" Sawyer exclaimed, waving. "Long time no see!" Kinana shyly waved back. Richard enveloped her in a hug.
"It's very good to see you again!" he boomed. "Oh yeah! Though I must admit, you are significantly less scaly. Oh yeah!" Kinana blushed, and Richard released her.
"Well, I'm a human again," she mumbled. "Though I don't really remember much before Master Makarov turned me back." Erik glanced over his shoulder.
"Oi, Sorano!" he called. "Guess who's visiting?" The silver-haired woman stalked out of the back of the cave from where she had apparently been taking a nap. It was, Kinana thought, a surprisingly big cave. Upon seeing Kinana, Sorano squealed, and threw herself forward.
"Cubellios!" she exclaimed. "Oh my god, you're just as adorable as Erik said!"
"I didn't call her 'adorable'," Erik grumbled. Sorano ignored him.
"We need to catch up," she complained. "I never got to talk to you back in the Oración Seis!" Kinana giggled.
"Well, I was a snake back then," she reminded her. Sorano grinned, tugging her over to the other ex-members of their old guild (and Jellal). Laki was about to follow, but she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she saw Merudy beckon her outside the cave.
"Hope you don't mind," the pinkette said quietly. "But this isn't exactly a conversation you and I can be a part of." Laki tilted her head in confusion.
"What do you mean?" she asked. "I mean, Mystogan wasn't in the Oración Seis either, right?" Merudy shook her head.
"It's not that," she said. "They all grew up together, in the Tower of Heaven. It makes it awkward sometimes, since I end up feeling like I don't belong, but they're still a lot of fun. Anyway, I just thought that maybe you and I could find some common ground, but right now the only female friends I have are an overprotective older sister type, her crybaby little sister, said sister's guild mate, and a bunch of people whose locations are a complete mystery to me. Oh, and Erza, but she's more like my big sister, so…" Laki nodded.
"I get it," the Wood Make Mage said. "Friends need to be refreshed every now and then." Merudy sweatdropped.
"Not sure that's how I'd put it," she said. "But yeah, something like that."
"So…" Laki began, after a couple minutes of awkward silence, "is that Macbeth guy single?"
AN: What the hell I don't even. Yeah, I officially have no idea what I'm doing. I am not going to apologize. Also, I got a review from 'Morning Guest', who, as their name suggested, was a guest. I'd like to take the time to respond: Morning Guest, while I understand your view on the Lyredy pairing, I don't agree with it. Ultear's relationship with Gray may be reminiscent of siblings, but she doesn't actually know Lyon (well, he doesn't know her, anyway). Merudy and Lyon didn't meet until the GMG arc, when he was twenty-six and she was either in her late teens or her early twenties. They're about the same age (give or take a few years), have no familial connections, and could plausibly be a couple given their personalities. Luckily for you, though, I don't intend this fic to be based on romance, since these guys are funny enough without them. Right now, Merudy and Lyon don't know each other well enough to have much of a relationship at all. However, it's pretty much impossible for those two to avoid getting to know one another, seeing as they both have very strong connections to Gray and Juvia. Will the eventual "I know you" stage turn into a friendship? Probably. Will it become more than that? I couldn't tell you. What I can tell you is that, while I do think Lyredy is adorable, Lyon is not a major character in this fic, so it isn't something you should be too worried about.