CH2: Castaway

The seemingly lifeless form of the God Slayer washed up on the beach. As Zancrow became self-aware again, he could hear the waves crashing on the shore and the wind sifting through the palm trees. The smell of the sea helped Zancrow fully regain consciousness, but not his strength. He dragged himself facedown from the water onto the beach and turned himself face up towards the sky.

"Natsu, Meredy, and a freaking dragon. What else could ruin my day today?"

He used his outstretched arm to block the sun from his eyes only to notice he had several burns on his arms and his clothes were scorched as well.

"What the hell happened?"

He remembered Tenrou Island and how Acnologia managed to obliterate him and the entire Fairy Tail guild.

"How ironic, that a Flame God Slayer can indeed be burned," he thought.

He felt the wet sand beneath his body and heard the waves crashing on the shore while seagulls squawked overhead. He got up and scanned his surroundings. "Where am I," he asked himself. He remembered being enveloped in a flash of light just before Acnologia's attack vaporized the island. And now he was in a small cove miles away from the warzone he was just on.

The beach was composed of sand spliced together with small seashells and smooth pebbles. Over to the east he could see a small dock with fishing nets hung up for the day. "I guess this cove is used frequently which means its near civilization." The sun was setting over the ocean and Zancrow deduced that he was out for at least several hours. With nightfall approaching, the God Slayer marched up a makeshift trail which was cruelly made with gravel and small stones. He trudged onward up the trail until he came up to what looked like a main traveling road. He could barely make out the carriage tracks in the dirt due to the dark. He had no idea in which direction to head in so he chose to walk in the direction of the moon.

"How is it that I survived while the rest of the island was completely disintegrated?" Zancrow trudged along the road in the early night contemplating all that had happened. "Unless… I'm not the only survivor. Surely if I'm alive due to a flicker of light… the others must have survived as well with the goddamn source of light practically at their center."

Zancrow figured he would have to get his bearings by eventually making his way to town, and finding some sort of map to make heads or tails out of. Perhaps he would spend the night at a local inn so that he may recover from his many near death experiences. Perhaps he would even buy some new garments to replace the ones burned by that damn lizard.

Zancrow walked for what seemed like hours, but he finally made it to civilization. 'Welcome to Hargeon Town' the sign read.

"Hargeon Town… isn't that in Fiore," Zancrow pondered. "That stupid dragon blasted me across the ocean and half the goddamn continent!"

He eventually found an inn that he deemed worthy of housing a God Slayer such as himself and got the biggest room that was available for no charge. How did he manage that? He "persuaded" the inn keeper in his own manner and got the bargain of his life.

The room he was placed in had marvelous white marble floors and had a dining room, two king size beds, and among other things, a bathtub the size of a small pool. "This place looks like it would cost an arm and a leg to stay if I was an average person. However I am anything but average," Zancrow chuckled to himself. After a much-needed shower, he jumped into bed and passed out for the night.

…

The next morning Zancrow woke up feeling better and refreshed. He marched down the stairs of the inn and made his way to the dining room which had no food served whatsoever. "Hmph, what lousy service. The sign says 'breakfast ready at dawn.'" He made his way to the kitchen and after cooking up a storm of half a dozen eggs, a package of bacon, and an army of pancakes, he ate to his heart's content.

When he finished he made his way down the main hall, surprised that there was no one else in the inn. No other customers, no attendants, even the cute receptionist he talked to last night seemed to have disappeared. Once he stepped out the front entrance, he was greeted by a bright sun, nice ocean air, and a squad of anti-magic soldiers armed and ready to take him down.

"That's him sir, the one who threatened me last night!"

Zancrow peered through the ranks of the squad and saw the inn keeper talking to the man who seemed to oversee this small brigade of soldiers.

"Are you the one who threatened this gentleman last night?" the officer asked.

"What if I am?" Zancrows sarcastic tone immediately got on the bad side of the officer as he began to lose his calm composure.

"Then I'm afraid I will place you under arrest for verbal assault and not paying what you owe to this fine establishment."

If Zancrow was going to have a peaceful day of errands, he would have to lose the soldiers or at least get them off his case. He could easily incinerate all of them, but that would only draw more unwanted attention to himself. If he was on the run from the government as a labeled criminal, it would make it that much harder for him to exact his vengeance on Fairy Tail.

"I asked that gentleman for a room but he denied me service since I had no money at the time."

"As the establishments owner, he has every right to deny service to anyone, especially those who possess no funds." The commander retorted.

'This guys is a douche bag.' Zancrow thought. "That's just it, I do have money. But I've been out on a job on behalf of my guild and refuse to carry ridiculous amounts of money with me as I travel. I told him my guild would take care of any expenses I amass during my stay but still he denied me service. I tried to talk some sense into him but then he started mouthing off at me and threatened to have me thrown out. So being exhausted from my quest I "persuaded" him for the best room he had and made myself at home. If he wants to file charges for threats, I would like to counter those charges with discrimination, verbal assault, and harassment."

The inn keeper immediately started mouthing off calling the God Slayer a liar and how he feared for his life which is why he called for the soldiers.

The officer was tired of the "he said she said" and finally told the inn keeper to shut up. He asked the God Slayer, "What guild are you with?"

Zancrow smirked and retorted, "Why I'm with Fairy Tail of course. I recently finished a job off the coast of Fiore and have since been traveling back to my guild hall."

Both the officer and the inn keeper's composures seemed to have calmed down when he stated this so obvious lie. But Fairy Tail was known for saving the day more than once. The whole Lullaby scandal orchestrated by the dark guild Eisenwald, the Tower of Heaven plot conjured up by Jellal, and Nirvana utilized by the Oraceon Seis, were all taken down by Fairy Tail.

After clearing out the accusations from both parties, arrangements were made to bill Fairy Tail and the inn keeper apologized to Zancrow most likely out of fear. After all, everyone has heard of how powerful wizards from Fairy Tail are. And you simply do not argue with a member of a guild that powerful. Besides, their reputation as honest daring do-gooders precedes them. It's no wonder the magic council soldiers and the inn keeper dropped their guard the moment Zancrow mentioned them.

After his setback in the morning, Zancrow finally made his way downtown. His main priority was to replace his tattered clothing as well as to find a map to make his way to eastern Fiore where the Fairy Tail guildhall resides. He looked around several stores all of which had nothing he really could see himself wearing. He eventually found a privately-owned shop where he did see a better selection of clothing. He went through several robes until he finally found one he liked. It resembled his old robe except the back was slit like a trench coat and opened like one too toward the front. The top part of the robe covered only his left shoulder like his previous attire exposing his muscular chest and a few of his abdominal muscles. "This will most certainly do," he stated cockily.

He found a black sash he wrapped around his waist that kept his new robe from unraveling and bought new pants which were not as bulgy as his last pair. His final acquired asset was a pair of leather boots that made him look an inch taller. He looked in the fitting room mirror and declared himself the sexiest God Slayer in all of Fiore.

He also managed to find some gauntlets which supposedly amplified magic power by a small percentage but he mainly got them because they looked badass. He also wanted the shoulder guard that was on display in the armor section of the shop. He Told the cashier to make the bill out to Fairy Tail.

Zancrow left the shop. A newly attired, changed man. He had a set goal, and now that he was recovered and reequipped, he would accomplish it. "I'll find them. It may not be today, nor tomorrow, but eventually I will find you and even the score, Fairy Tail."