Chapter 6: Fire & Love!
Special thanks to Keira N. Nascele, for the cross pairings, and the idea of the Straw Hats joining Ft. Thanks, Keira-chan, little sis!
Thanks to Kurogane Tsubasa for the idea of Ace's arrival. Don't worry, I still have your other ideas in storage for later use. Thanks for your suggestions, my man.
It has been a week since last time we have seen the Straw Hats and Fairy Tail, and things have yet to get interesting. For one, the Straw Hats received a letter from the Magic Council, and after some investigation in the southern seas where they appeared, and they yielded no results for their situation.
"What do we do about getting back home?" asked Franky.
Makarov strolled over to the group. "Well, teleportation magic could work, but it demands a great amount of magic energy and that's just with a location in Fiore; nothing about another world apart from our own."
Well, that put some of them in a slump. Luffy was busy stuffing his face with Natsu, Zoro was having a drinking contest with Cana with interesting results, and Robin was out with Levy in the city. Sanji, however, was still recovering from Cana's Sexy Girl card magic which put him in bandages for days.
Cana slapped another empty mug of alcohol on the table just as Zoro finished off his. "You've got some skill," Cana chuckled. "but you won't beat me."
"Oh yeah?" scoffed Zoro. "I ain't going to be beaten by a woman in a drinking contest either!"
"Moss Head..." went a hoarse Sanji.
"Those two..." muttered Nami. "Why can't things ever be normal around here." At those words, Gray entered the guild hall in his underwear, all the while stalked by Juvia.
"Oh, Gray-sama," she whispered under her breath. "Your body makes Juvia's heart leap for joy, to be locked in your embrace..." She then saw him sit down next to Nami, now dressed again.
"Oi, Nami, how about you and I go on a mission together?" he asked her. Nami sipped some coffee as he continued. "You know, earn a little cash to help pay Lucy's rent and more."
"Sounds inviting," Nami answered. "Let's do it."
Juvia was furious at what she was seeing. "How dare that minx attempt to steal Juvia's Gray-sama! She will rue this day forever!" Juvia went into hiding as Gray and Nami exited the guild hall with a job parchment in hand. "I will wait for my chance to teach Nami-san a lession!" Despite being made of water, Juvia could feel a spark ignite her body on fire, fire of fury.
Robin and Levy returned with bags of books hooked on their arms, both grinning with anticipation. Imprinted on Robin's left arm was a purple Fairy Tail insignia, marking her as an official member of Fairy Tail; all of the Straw Hats got themselves an imprint of their own, sealing their bonds of friendship with Fairy Tail.
"So, Levy," started Robin, placing the books on a nearby table. "You seem to be obsessed with this particular author, Izlawake Nascele. Mind explaining a bit about him? He seems like an interesting fellow."
Levy's eyes lit up. "Oh, he's one of the most amazing authors in Fiore! He has written many fantasy novels, some fiction, some horror, and a couple suspense novels as well. He is always traveling in search of adventure to write into a novel; it is thought that many of his fantasy stories were his own actual adventures. He is always accompanied by his companions; his love Miari Skye, and his best friends Drake Firenze and Ellie Morin, all of them spectacular swordsmen and wizards." Levy prattled on for quite some time, but Robin kept her full attention on her.
Elsewhere, talk of Natsu and Lucy's date swept across the guild hall, and soon everyone knew about it. The two lovebirds are going out tomorrow night, and, well, things have gotten tense. For one, Elfman gave Lucy one suggestion that seemed like the only way HE knew to impress a woman.
"Now, if you really want Natsu to like you," he said one time. "just show him that you're a strong woman, able to hold your own against any opponent. Bring him the carcass of an Alpha Dire Wolf and he'll fall into your arms. Real men love powerful women!"
"Um, that doesn't sound like a good idea. I'd rather use my sex appeal instead," Lucy answered.
Wendy went to Natsu to give advice. "Always be polite and courteous," she said. "women love that in men. Second, always offer her food first, and don't gorge on everything and don't eat too quickly..." Wendy continued on, Natsu nodding in agreement, though it seemed like it all was going in one ear and out the other for him.
Luffy, Natsu, and Lucy went out for a mission together, seeing as the two offered Luffy and Nami to join Team Natsu now they are official members of Fairy Tail. Erza did not go with them, instead taking Franky, Brook, and Usopp back to the Thousand Sunny, curious about the typhoon that brought them here.
They all took a train to Hargeon for the ship. "How are we supposed to sail without our navigator, Nami?" Usopp asked Erza.
Erza chuckled. "Don't worry about it, I have some friends who would be happy to commandeer the ship for us." They headed to the port where the Thousand Sunny was occupied by Erza's pirate friends.
"Ahoy, madam Erza!" called the Captain.
"Ahoy yourself, Cap'n!' she called back, waving her hand in the air. The crew broke into cries of joy at Erza's return.
"How do you know these friendly pirates?" Brook asked.
"I borrowed their ship back in the Galuna Island arc, but I suppose you three wouldn't know that."
"What is she talking about?" The others shrugged.
"Where shall we be taking ye', Erza?" said the Captain.
"I need to head south. I want to scout out the sea for any sign of typhoons in the area."
"EH?! Typhoons? What drives a lass to seek out typhoons?" exclaimed a crew member.
"Well, will you help a lady out?"
"Of course, anything for you, Erza," spoke the Captain. Erza and the men climbed aboard the Thousand Sunny and set off southbound.
Portgas D. Ace puttered about on the Grand Line in his fire-powered boat. He sat back in his seat and inhaled the salty air. He sped off at a quick speed. "Ah, good weather we're having today," he wondered aloud. "Blue skies, barely any clouds, and calm seas. Hm, I wonder how Luffy is handling himself after the news of Thriller Bark." Ace dug into his hat and pulled out his vivre card and held it flat in his hand. It did not move an inch.
"Hm? What is this? This has never happened before. Where are you Luffy?" Ace's mind wandered away, and he did not notice the skies grow dark and the sea began raging with fury. Ace strapped himself to his boat and held on as a monstrous storm began brewing. "What the hell is going on here?!" Suddenly a raging typhoon swept through and lifted Ace and his boat up with no difficultly. Ace braced himself to be thrown out into the sea for a watery grave, but the storm slowly calmed, and Ace found himself nestled back into the sea like a falling feather.
"What kind of storm was that?" Ace felt his palm tickle, as the vivre card was still clenched in his hand. Looking at it once more, he finds the card lifting itself up and pointed towards north. He also noticed that his log pose ceased function, yet his old compass which he held onto for no reason started back up.
Did that storm throw me somewhere outside the Grand Line? he thought. With little choice, Ace steered his boat around and headed north. Along the way, he spotted the Thousand Sunny off in the distance, and his mood brightened. He headed for the lion ship, but stopped short when he noticed that she did not carry her actual crew.
"Oi! What is going on up there?" he called. Erza and Usopp ran starboard side to meet Ace. "Ah, Usopp, good to see you! Where's Luffy and who are these people?"
"A friend of yours?" said Erza.
"Ace? What-? How-? How did you get here to Fiore?" Usopp asked.
"Fiore? You hit your head or something?"
"Never mind, it's a long story." Usopp turns back to Erza. "Ace is Luffy's brother. I suspect he was caught in the same typhoon as us, yet we have not seen one sign of it. Should we return to the guild hall or continue investigating?"
Erza hummed to herself for a minute. "Let's return and assess all this; Luffy would want to see his brother when he gets back, anyway." Ace docked his boat onto the Sunny and climbed aboard, introducing himself to Erza and vice versa. They charted a course back to the Hargeon port with a new member onboard. What adventures will await Ace when he meets Luffy and the others at the Fairy Tail guild?
Remember to leave a review, it helps a lot, and I'll see you next time readers.
If you have any ideas for future chapters, let me know and I'll leave an acknowledgement in your name.