The New World Pt. III
"We're still moving northwest from last rendezvous point; we'll be keeping you posted with anything new Erza. Blue Squad out." Gray relayed as he finished his check in that Erza had placed for him, starting up the Jack Rabbit as Wendy and Carla climbed on.
"Understood and remember to address me as Commander Scarlet next time, alright Gray?" Erza replied and the ice mage rolled his eyes in turn as he turned off the comm-lac.
"How far do you think the next village is Gray?" Wendy had kept tabs on the distances of each of the villages they've come across and most had a relative distance of a few miles.
"About the same distance as the last one if anything, hopefully this one isn't razed into the ground yet." Ever since they started this mission, all teams had reported to have found the remnants of villages that were burned to the ground. "Whatever happened to them doesn't sit right with me."
"What do you mean?" Carla had an idea to what the ice mage was alluding to, but she wanted to confirm it for herself.
"If it were a creature doing all of this, the damage wouldn't be so well contained to just the villages and their main resources. This was done intentionally and I'm having a hard time believing that the villagers would set their own homes on fire." The ice mage knew someone was behind this, but he wasn't sure how far they'd go to slow them down.
"Do you think this is a plan to try and get to us?"
"Most likely in an attempt to stop us from resupplying, which is stupid considering that we have a steady supply line from the Gate." It would be obvious to anyone that having a gate that connects back home would only benefit them.
"So, all this razing is just kicking people out of their homes and destroying them?" Wendy couldn't believe how low their enemy would stoop to try and have an advantage against them.
"Pretty much and I'm sure whoever thought that this was a great idea thinks it's actually working."
The trio rode on in silence and made it their priority to stay off the main roads as Imperial troops would still be lingering about the routes. They wouldn't pose much of a problem to them if they did have a confrontation, but it was always best to avoid unneeded combat whenever possible. It made the job much easier when you're not fighting for your life every so often.
Wendy and Carla took the time to admire the clear blue sky above them and would've wanted to enjoy what this world was like if they weren't in the process of rescuing innocent people. Gray on the other hand kept his focus to what was in front of him, if only to stave off the lumbering sense of death he could feel emanate from a region west of them. It nagged at his mind and Zero would hum at the negative energy, but they both slowly droned away as the flat grasslands and hills gave way to trees and mountainous cliffs.
"If I may, now that it's just us, care to explain why you and Natsu are greatly at odds?" Carla had decided that now was better than ever to strike up this conversation, especially as it was a prime subject amongst the others who had caught them butting heads.
"The idiot and I haven't really shared the same views ever since we met each other. I don't think much has changed."
"You know what I mean, there is more here than what you're letting on. Natsu is easier to understand because of his personality whereas you make it difficult on purpose." Carla watched as Gray gave a minor glance behind him before turning back to look ahead.
"I've got my reasons; I want to avoid putting myself in positions I know nothing good will come from them."
"But sometimes we need to face it head on, we can't avoid things forever." Wendy chimed in this time and Gray was actually taken aback by her words for a second.
"That is true, like you accepting that you can't save everyone. No matter how hard you try." Carla was about to argue in defense of Wendy as he belittled her struggle, but the teen stopped her.
"Just like that and sometimes you need to take them to save many more." Wendy could tell that Gray wasn't being mean spirited, she could sense that he was empathizing with her struggle. "Gajeel told me as much and I think it's helped me grow stronger."
"I'd bet he did, the guy's got a knack for telling it how it is." The iron dragon slayer was insightful if anything else, so he could understand the shift in Wendy's behavior over her old indecisive self. "My problems on the other hand are for the sake of who I am."
Wendy wished to know what he meant by that but found it best to let it go and try to appease Carla who was still miffed with Gray's earlier remark. Pretty soon Blue Squad had found themselves in a forested area and followed the only trail they could see, which was lucky for them as they hadn't been able to find the main road ever since the trees grew in greater number. The trail led them through a grove that soon paralleled a creek, but before they went any further down the trail Gray stopped the Jack Rabbit. His two companions looked questioningly at him as he pointed towards a cottage just ahead of them, where the trail itself ends besides a waterfall.
"We've got a cottage up ahead, nothing beyond it as far as I can tell. You and Carla stay with the cycle, I'll check it and if anything happens then back me up." Gray instructed the duo as he led the Jack Rabbit behind a few trees and bushes.
Carla and Wendy nodded their heads as Gray made his is way up the trail, keeping tabs of his distance to cover and clear line of sight for the girls to watch over him. From what he could tell, it looked like a comfy home with a water well out front and it seemed that whoever lived here was leaving. A pack mule reined in to tug a wagon filled with books stood before the door, no doubt making it easier for the inhabitants to load up and as he approached, he saw a tuft of light blue hair peak slightly over the mound of books.
He drew closer, hands free in order to quickly create a form of defense and tried to see the person before they saw him. With a bit of Magic Sense, the ice mage discovered that this person had an affinity for magic and he was positive that they sensed him back as the tuft slightly shifted in two directions. Gray got close enough to see the tip of a staff and before he could see more, his stealthy movement was broken when he toppled a small pile of books. He cursed at himself for not watching where he was going and stopped moving as the light blue hair came around the wagon and Gray got a look at his "opponent".
Standing just a few inches shorter of Wendy stood a girl with bright blue eyes that just seem to exude curiosity as she took in the sight of the ice mage and tilted her head just enough to show it. She wore a dress with a blend of blue and green, her winged tipped staff in her right hand and blue boots at her feet. Gray had a light remark in his thoughts that the girl liked the color blue very much, but soon realized that they had been staring at one another for a solid minute.
"Hi there"
"Hello"
Immediately, Gray was at a bit of a loss as he had come to think that she'd have more of a reaction to give about him. Questioning who he was, how'd he got here or what he wanted. Instead, it was a simple greeting in reply without another word.
"Are you by yourself, by chance?"
"No, my master is inside the home."
"Can I speak to him?
"Unlikely, he's very busy packing precious belongings at the moment. I could assist you with any matters you have."
"Straight forward, aren't ya? Well in any case, can you tell me if there are any villages nearby?
"Following this path will lead you towards a fork in the road, take the left path to arrive at Coda Village."
"Thanks for the directions, kid."
"Correction, I'm a young adult of fifteen years. Also, you won't encounter much in the way of assistance at the village."
"Okay, why is that?"
"The Green Ones came to warn the village that the Flame Dragon has been awakened and everyone is evacuating."
"That's just great, a fire dragon of all things. At least the idiot's a lot more useful now." Gray had expected as much, but if the flaming lizard was awakened then other powerful creatures must also exist in this world. "Then I guess I should get going, by the way who are the Green Ones?"
"Unsure, villagers claimed that they are strangers with black metal staves that came in metal carriages. I haven't seen what they actually look like in person." Any information was helpful to Gray and from this he could assume that these individuals must be some type of nomadic people that use green as a form of camouflage in the forests.
"Thanks again...um, I didn't get your name."
"My name is Lelei La Lalena, and what is your name?"
"My name's Gray and like I was saying, thanks again Lelei." It was best to leave it at his first name as he wasn't keen on letting a lot of people in this world know who he was.
Lelei watched as the stranger, named Gray, turned to walk down the path towards Coda Village which was odd as it would take him quite some time to do so. Aside from his means to walk to the village, he was also dressed very oddly in a type of uniform though she was unaware if the Empire had changed the dress codes for officers. He went only a few steps before she heard her master call her name from within their home.
"Lelei please help the cat carry the books, would you? He looks like he's ready to keel over." The light blue haired girl turned to look at the doorway to see her new cat companion near ready to collapse as he lugged four large books out into the open.
"Happy are you okay?" The speech barrier was still there, but the blue cat looked to be learning a decent amount of words to understand basic verbal cues and nodded to her in response.
"Gray?" Lelei looked at Happy questioningly as it was similar to the strange man's name and she followed his line of sight towards the dark-haired man.
"Gray?" She repeated and turned to see Happy's eyes swell with tears, the second time she's seen him do so before the unimaginable occurred.
Happy looked to have gotten his second wind as he stood up excitedly and did something Lelei had never seen any cat do in her life, aside from talking. He sprouted a pair of bird wings and took flight, all the while calling out Gray's name in joyous sobs. The oddly dressed man stopped in an instant and turned to look with an astonished face before the blue cat glomped it entirely.
"Is it really you Gray!? You found me; you guys finally found me! I'm so happy to see you, I can go home!"
"Yes, it's me Happy, nice to see you too." Gray replied, albeit muffled by the blue fur, as he tried to pry Happy off his face.
"You don't know how much I hoped that Natsu or someone would find me." Happy cried as Gray held him in his arms.
"You'll have to settle with me for now, but how'd you get to the Special Region?"
"Special Region, what's that?"
"It's a whole new world, Happy. We're not in Earth Land anymore but more importantly, tell me what happened to you after the battle."
"All I remember is Natsu telling me to look for survivors and fly them to safety." Happy scratched his head trying to dig through his memories of that fateful day. "Oh! Plus, there was this scary guy riding a small purple dragon that chased me through the sky until he stuffed me in a sack."
"That can explain how you got here, but then how did you escape?"
"I'm not really sure. The people who caught me ruffed me up while I was in the sack and threw me onto a cart. I guess I fell off it while I was knocked out and Lelei found me."
"The main thing is that you're safe and it seems your new friend is good people, that much is good to know." Gray began to pet the blue cat as he could only guess at how hard the journey was for him. "There's a lot we need to tell you, but for now we should get going."
Gray signaled towards the two hiding within the bushes and tree line, causing Happy to smile even brighter at the sight of Wendy and Carla. The teen led the Jack Rabbit over as Carla gave a warm smile to the blue Exceed, no doubt stricken with happiness and hope after coming into this world. Lelei who had been watching this unfold couldn't make sense of the metal object on wheels being brought over by a girl around her age. She was also in wonderment at the sight of another bi-peddled cat, which she could correctly assume was just like Happy.
The girl next to the white feline had caught her interest the most though, she wore a uniform distinctly familiar to Gray's if only altered for a woman to wear. Her dark blue hair was a contrast to her lighter one with her twin tails bobbing with the occasional step. What's more was the fact that the newcomers and Gray spoke in Happy's language clearly and yet, could speak her own rather fluently as well. Lelei had to wonder who these people were that she had just met.
"Hey Lelei, thanks for looking after Happy. We're glad he's okay and I'm sure one person's going to be glad we found him." Gray said as he turned to face Lelei once again, the young mage bowing her head lightly in understanding as the new pair came in. "These two are Wendy and Carla, since you know about Happy then she won't be much of a surprise."
"Nice to meet you, it looks like Gray believes you to be trustworthy for us to meet." Carla said as Wendy greeted the young girl as well.
"We don't get many visitors like yourselves; I wish to keep a conversation with you going but we are short on time."
"The dragon is a threat to regular people; I should radio Erza and-"
"That damn dragon doesn't give me a moment's notice and now I have to pack all my books! If I was twenty years younger and my magic was greater, then I woul-!" The ramblings of an old man coming out of the cottage were cut short as he tripped and fell down a set of stairs onto the ground.
"It looks like you finished retrieving the last of the books Master." The new trio were already aware of Lelei being a magic user due to her aura, so it only made sense that she was under someone's tutelage. "Do not mind him, he's more composed than this."
"Oh...Hello there. I'm Kato El Allestan, elder mage and Master to young Lelei."
"Pleasantries should be held until we disembark and are in safety from the dragon. Time is precious and if you can idle around then you're wasting time, isn't that right Master?"
"Y-Yes, right you are Lelei. Forgive the short introduction, but we must leave unless we want to become food for that blasted dragon."
"Couldn't agree more, we'll follow you to the village. Maybe we can help you get to safety." Gray offered as he hopped onto the Jack Rabbit and started the lacrima engine.
"What can a youngster like yourself do against a dragon?"
"Trust me, we've been through our own fair share of deadly situations before. Besides, dragons aren't anything new." Gray replied as Wendy followed suit with Carla on her back and Happy tentatively sitting in front of Gray.
"Hubris does a person well in the right situation, knowing one's limits keeps them alive. Do well to remember that young man." Sagely advice if Kato ever thought and Gray was reminded of Gramps for a second there as it did sound like something the old guild master would say. "Now let us be on our way!"
Lelei snapped the reins for the mule to get going, but after tugging to go forward for a few seconds did it stop in its place. Gray looked back at Wendy with a puzzled expression as the teen merely shrugged her shoulders and the ice mage took notice of how the rear wheels were submerged into the dirt. They overloaded the cart.
"We aren't moving..."
"I believe we're overloaded Master, you did want all of your books on the cart."
"I guess I did, but it's nothing a little magic can't fix. We are wizards after all."
"Magic is the world's most sacred thing, it should never be used for trivial matters. You said something to that effect to me earlier for punishing your lewd thoughts about my sister. These were your words if I remember."
"Yes...well..."
"It's fine in this case, we're out of options to use anyway." Lelei picked up her staff and swung it forward, releasing her magic to engulf the cart in a teal light as it levitated slightly off the ground and the mule began to move them forward.
"I'm sorry..."
"It's fine, I've gotten used to it."
Gray could only chuckle to himself at their interactions as he followed behind him, feeling a sense of nostalgia at the way the master and student spoke to each other. He allowed the feeling to pass and began to explain the events after the battle in the capital and Fairy Tail's new role in the FEF to Happy who couldn't believe it all. He made the comment of knowing that they were here by the powerful and familiar magic he felt towards the south, where Wendy had chimed in to say that that was where they were based at. Happy made his way to the back so that he, Carla and Wendy could continue their conversation and the ice mage took this time to notify Erza of the recent development.
"This is Blue Squad, calling in to Commander Scarlet, you read me?"
"I hear you Blue Squad, anything to report?"
"We're on our way to make contact with an evacuating village, looks like troubles on the rise here. I need you to keep in close range to my squad, the idiot might come in handy."
"Clarify for me Gray, why is Natsu going to be useful?"
"We've got information that a fire dragon has been awakened in the vicinity, my squad will travel with the evacuating village for their protection and hopefully a lead to a settlement that offers better protection." There was a pause of silence on the other end before Erza's voice came through once again.
"Very well, I'll make sure to stay a relative fifteen minutes away if you need us. We're moving into position now and avoid showing off any remarkable skills. Simply put, avoid using your slayer abilities Gray. We don't want information about us leaking out into the world while we're still trying to learn it."
"I'll keep that in mind, Blue Squad out."
As Gray drove the cycle, he took the time to appreciate the nature of this world to find some ounce of peace over thinking about his mission. He let the conversation behind him drone out of existence and watched the slight bickering that was happening between Lelei and her Master, hoping that his concerns weren't going to be that big of a deal.
As for the two in front, Lelei humored her tantrum prone master with simple words and replies, but her curious mind couldn't stop thinking about the vehicle Gray and the others were riding on. It moved like a carriage on just two wheels, but it wasn't being pulled by anything to get it along. Not to mention how it roared to life like a wild beast and would keep a steady hum as it followed behind them. Theses strangers were vastly different from any person she's ever come across and it went for the magic she felt from them as well.
The group had finally arrived at the tail end of the caravan that would be evacuating Coda Village, though they had taken into account that they weren't moving for some time. Kato made the obvious remark about it, while Gray and Wendy had taken notice of a different scent lingering about. This one in particular was vastly different from any of the ones they smelled from the Special Region and pinpointed it towards the front of the caravan.
"Master Kato, Lelei the road is being blocked by a carriage that's broken down. Someone had overloaded it and snapped their axel." A villager had come to inform the two of the current situations and Lelei had overheard a strange language and caught sight of one of the Green Ones.
Gray saw them too and could easily make them out as soldiers, the basic shape of the supposed "staves" they had were clearly guns, so all that was left to figure out was who were these people? He watched as Lelei hopped off her cart and decided it was best to follow her, maybe he could figure something out for himself if he went along.
"Carla and Happy, watch over the cycle and guard it. Wendy, you're with me." Gray ordered as he got off the Jack Rabbit and trailed after Lelei with Wendy right behind him.
Gray had finally come across the wizard girl as she kneeled before a little girl breathing heavily, judging her to be greatly injured. He heard Lelei mumble "life threatening injury' and nodded to Wendy to help the poor girl and as she kneeled down to help, one of the different scented people joined in. It was a woman who had dark hair and a blue ribbon in it, and she examined the child with a keen eye, checking her vitals and coming to a conclusion.
"It looks like she's sustained a concussion with the possibility of fractured ribs." Her speech was somewhat broken, but they got the gist of it and Wendy was already prepping her magic to heal her wounds.
Lelei on the other hand was mesmerized by the woman's ability to discover what exactly were her injuries so quickly and hadn't expected a female soldier to also be a healer.
"You're a healer?" She couldn't help herself, but to say it out loud, ignoring what another one of the green soldiers was asking of her, but this in turn gave Wendy pause.
Wendy hadn't even produced her magic yet and Lelei had already figured out what she was capable of? She wasn't prepared for the girl they just met to figure out one aspect of her magic so fast, but then the world moved in slow motion. Not only for her, but for Lelei, the woman and the man as the horse that was originally pulling the cart freaked out and was about to trample all of them.
In an instant, the air around Lelei dropped in temperature to a point that it felt freezing and three loud explosions rang out. Lelei who had closed her eyes slowly opened them to see the horse frozen solid in place and near its rear hooves were three metallic pieces that had been flattened out. Lelei turned to look at how Wendy had taken all of this and noticed her staring up at Gray with a thankful expression as the dark-haired man lowered his arm. It wasn't hard for the blue haired girl to connect the dots to know Gray was responsible for freezing the horse solid, but now she was intrigued by his talent to wield the power of ice in such a way.
"Jeez, the thing was just spooked. No need to pump it full of iron if you can just calm it down, would have been a waste of a horse if you asked me." Gray said to himself as he picked up the three flattened metal pieces into his hand, looking over towards the older man who shot at it. "He was accurate, I'll give him that much for an old man."
"Hey, are you two okay?!" The woman asked worriedly as Wendy nodded in response, but Lelei was fascinated by not only the people in green, but Gray as well.
"These people... these people just saved my life." Lelei said to herself, even though the ones in green had attempted to while Gray did actually save her.
"Wendy you're in the clear, best to start healing the little girl's wounds while you can." Gray said as he went over to inspect the horse, sighing to himself when he found the three scuff marks that were left behind. "Nothing serious, just scratches."
Wendy's healing magic had actually garnered more attention than Gray thought when he looked back at her as the woman and Lelei hovered over the twin tailed girl. Watching as the girl's breathing stabilized and the more apparent bruises and scuffs she had slowly disappeared. When the young dragon slayer finished, she turned to the worried mother off to the side with a caring smile on her face.
"She's all better now, she just needs to rest for a bit and will wake up in no time." The mother burst into tears of gratitude, glad that her daughter was safe from harm and thanked Wendy overtly for all she had done.
Wendy accepted the thanks, although sheepishly since the surrounding villagers were amazed at the healing capabilities of such a young girl. The dark blue haired girl also received a quick word of thanks from the soldier woman, knowing that saying more would be difficult for her. With a nod from Gray, the dragon slayer finally went back to the Jack Rabbit with a very curious Lelei following right after her.
The ice mage went about on dealing with the wild beast of burden by creating an ice lasso to rein it in and calm down the horse as soon as he unfroze it, but he was confronted by the older man who fired at the animal and two other people. A man with a carefree look about him, almost reminding Gray of Natsu and a short woman with a steel gaze in her eye just like Minerva.
"My name is Itami, this woman is Kuribayashi, and the old man is Kuwahara; we want to say thank you. Kuwahara didn't know you had it under control, thought people were in danger and acted fast." The medic woman's speech was somewhat broken in Gray's ear, but this Itami person was a whole different story.
"Don't mention it, but he does have good aim and fast reflexes." Gray replied to him in the Old Fiorean language as it seemed he was trying to communicate with the people of the Special Region too.
Gray could only assume that the man translated what he said since the older one nodded his head forward in what the ice mage guessed as acknowledgement and went about his original plan. With the soldiers in green before him, Gray unfroze the wild horse and held tightly onto the lasso until he had control over it. Though difficult at the start, the ice mage managed to calm it down and saved the family a good horse, but the next problem came with the overturned carriage.
An easy enough fix as the village men used all their strength to put it back on its wheels, but with the broken axle it was just an obstruction. They didn't have the time to get it lifted and repaired as the danger was real, and the longer they stayed the more dangerous it became. Gray contemplated if he should use his ice magic to help them repair it to make things go on quicker or he should avoid using any real talent.
With a short back and forth in his mind, Gray had decided to help in the end as Erza said he shouldn't use his slayer skills but nothing about his regular magic, so he quickly propped up the carriage on ice blocks and replaced the broken axle with an ice one. He added a bit of devil slayer ice to make sure it held for a much longer period of time, best option in the long run over having to redo the spell later on. What Gray didn't really account for was the amazed faces of both the villagers and the soldiers at what he had done.
The ice mage finished his job, put his hands inside his coat pockets and made his way back to the Jack Rabbit, doing his best to ignore the occasional comment that was made about him. Even though they were mostly kind ones and at times those of "catching a young lady's fancy" which was such a dated thing to say that someone was attracted to him. Gray felt that Old Fiorean really made things sound pretty cheesy for his tastes, but what could he do about it aside from dealing with it. Though he did wonder what the soldiers were talking about in their foreign language, finding that the speech barrier was useful in their favor in this situation.
"So, Old Man, the youngster beat you to the punch in saving them, huh?" Itami joked, but Kuwahara shook his head in disagreement.
"I'm afraid not Captain, my rifle was already trained on the horse well before the young man made a move. It all happened in just seconds and I can only assume that he froze it in the instant I discharged my weapon." He's heard of individuals with lightning-fast reaction times, even meeting a few in person but Kuwahara hadn't seen instantaneous freezing on a living creature like that before.
"There's also the fact that the ice he created was bullet proof, regular ice would have impact marks and that horse would be nothing more than shards on the ground." Kuribayashi had taken notice of the scratch marks on the ice when the guy went to inspect it. "I say we should be weary of him, he's affiliated with an army given the uniform, so we need to be aware of his actions."
"Well done with your deductions Kuribayashi, keep it up and you'll get a promotion one of these days." Itami went on with his previous behavior, but she wasn't wrong about keeping tabs about their new charges. "We'll continue with the escort and be mindful of the more "military" affiliated newcomers, they use magic so we have no real idea what they're capable of."
"Yes, Sir"
"Captain, all the villagers are ready to evacuate and the little girl's condition is stable for travel. Awaiting your command to disembark." Itami turned to address their combat medic, Kurokawa, as she came up to the group with her report.
"Understood Sergeant and good job on helping that little girl."
"I simply diagnosed her, if you want to thank someone than you should thank the teen in the uniform. She's apparently a healer and a well-practiced one at that if she's able to heal a concussion and maybe a few broken ribs." Kurokawa was a woman of medicine and in turn what science has accomplished in this field, but magic healing out did what practical means were limited to without the proper equipment.
"Well, let's get this show on the road. Higashi take point in leading the convoy, I'll take lead once I join you at the front." Itami might as well speak with the two while they were still in the village and it wouldn't take him long to get back at the lead in the HMV at the general speed everyone else was going.
"Kurata, keep the engine running and be ready to move out when we get back."
"Yes, Captain!" Both men replied as they moved out to do their respective orders and Itami decided to take Kurokawa and Kuribayashi with him.
Itami went from carriage to carriage asking the villagers where the duo went and he was pointed towards the end of the line every time. It seemed that everyone had gotten quite the look at them both and weren't so confused about Itami's question as they were with previous ones he had. The captain was closing in on the end of the convoy, finding the duo talking with the light blue haired girl from before and waved to them as he approached.
"Hello, we came to thank you again." Itami gauged the young man's reaction as he merely nodded his head and began moving for the rear of the blue haired girl's cart. "You came in time when needed most."
"You're welcome, but you didn't need to come all the way down to say that." Gray replied, watching as Itami was making his way around Lelei's cart with Kuribayashi and the medic in tow. "We did what needed to be done."
"Still, you did it out of your own free will. Helping people needs to be acknowledged for the good deed that it is." The medic began speaking this time, Gray being thankful for the fact that her speech is much clearer than Itami's. "I'm Sergeant First Class Mari Kurokawa of the JSDF by the way and I personally wanted to thank the teenager that is with you for her diligent work on the injured girl."
"It was nothing, helping those in pain is top priority for any healer. She needed the help and I'm always willing to give it." Wendy said as she sat herself on the Jack Rabbit, knowing that Gray was letting her speak for herself when he turned to look at her. "My name's Wendy, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Kurokawa was about to continue when she had taken notice of what Wendy was sitting on, her surprise shared alongside Itami and Kuribayashi. The teenager was sitting on what was recognizably a motorcycle with an interesting design but was strictly superior, technologically wise, in comparison to anything they've seen in the Special Region that wasn't their own tech. The JSDF trio was fully aware that Wendy and her companion weren't native with the people of this region, making them assume that they were from a different country outside of the Empire's control.
"I'm Happy, nice to meet you!" Now that got a rise from the trio that was much more noticeable as they had initially ignored the blue furred cat that sat behind her until it began to talk.
"You know, you could've waited for your turn to be introduced. In any case, my name is Carla and I hope we can get along." Itami's interest came about at the sound of the white furred cat's voice and made a mental apology to Kurata that his dreams of the Special Region's cat girls were literal cats.
"Since everyone's introduced themselves, that just leaves me. The name's Gray and like Carla said, I hope we don't have any problems." The ice mage had made sure that Wendy only uses her first name for the time being, best to hold some things back for personal safety.
"So, Gray, what are you two doing out here? It's a bit dangerous for young teens like yourselves to be roaming about." Kuribayashi questioned, finding that Gray's attitude might clash with hers if he kept it up. "Even if you can use magic or whatever it is that you do."
"For starters, I'm twenty-three and it's personal business. We heard these people are in danger from a dragon and decided to help them as a detour." Kuribayashi had the stern gaze of Minerva, but a close attitude like Erza and Gray wondered how well the two would get along.
"So, you think you two can deal with a beast like a fire dragon on your own?" Kuribayashi didn't know whether Gray was being boastful or downright reckless, but she knew that it could put Wendy in danger.
"Trust me, we've both been through a lot. I know we can handle our own." Itami couldn't help but chuckle nervously at the two; Kuribayashi's flaming temperament was a polar opposite to Gray's cool demeanor.
"Now, now you two it's all fine. Kuribayashi's just worried and Gray, I can tell that you have faith that there isn't anything to worry about. So let's just leave it at that, right?" Itami tried to settle things as the last thing he wanted was an argument breaking out when they just wanted to say thanks.
"Understood, Captain" The ice mage couldn't help but roll his eyes at the woman's reaction, now finding an all too familiar personality shared between her and another hot head he knew.
"Well, I guess we should start heading out then. Hopefully we can get the chance to speak some more when evacuating everyone's over with."
"We'll see"
With that simple reply by Gray, the JSDF trio excused themselves and the caravan began its long trek to safer lands. The hours drew on from the first day of the journey, Gray already informing Erza about these "JSDF" individuals and their current status of setting up camp for the night as he heard all the other squads report in for the last briefing of the day. When it was over, Gray returned to the camp they decided to share with Lelei and her maser by the request of Happy who trusted the teenage wizard. Wendy found herself in quite the conversation with the blue haired wizard before lights out and the ice mage looked out onto the night sky, illuminated by this world's vast stars and guessed as to what the next day would bring.
"Hey mister, do you do magic with ice like Master Kato and Lelei?" Gray turned to look at a group of kids that wanted to meet one of the strangers that came to their village.
"I sure do, but it's nothing special." The innocence of children always had a soft spot with Gray and he knew that the Empire was different as a whole when compared to the people it ruled over.
"Why do you say that? Momma says that magic is special, and you need to have talent to use it." A boy said as he tilted his head in confusion since not a lot of people knew how to use magic.
"In that case, I don't see it special unless I'm using it to help people." It was best for these kids to still think that their parents were right and even he had been told that magic was a special gift to any mage.
"Are you a prince?" One little girl asked out of the blue and that had actually caught Gray by surprise since he was expecting another question about his magic.
"Do you think I am one?"
"I don't know, that's why I'm asking. In the stories my Momma tells me, she says that princes are handsome, brave and saves people." The little girl replied and to his surprise, Gray found that all the kids agreed with her on that explanation.
"Big Sis says that you're her prince and she's waiting for you to save her from the dragon." A boy from the group spoke up this time and the ice mage tried his best not to laugh at the boy's indirect way of teasing his sister.
"My sister said the same thing, so they know you are a prince. She says she knows about a lot of things like Momma and Papa, so it means she knows that you're a prince." The group mentality these kids have made Gray curious since they all seemed to agree with the little boy and girl that talked about their sisters.
"I don't know about that; I don't believe that I'm as great as a prince is."
"Papa sometimes says that Prince Zorzal doesn't act like a "noble" prince, but I don't know what that means." That little girl just gave Gray a vital piece of information, making it out that the subjects of the Empire might not be happy with the royal family.
"Don't let it bother you too much, just let your idea of a prince stay with you and then you'll know who a prince is and who isn't." Gray wasn't so sure what he should tell these kids as he couldn't remember his own innocence after Deliora so well.
"Then tell us a story with a prince that you think is a prince." As confusing as that request was, the ice mage came to realize how his words might have sounded to these kids.
"Yeah! Tell us a story!" The whole group of kids agreed once again for a story and Gray wondered where their parents were. The ice mage could already feel himself caving in, but he wasn't very well versed when it came to fairy tales.
"I don't know many stories about princes that are like the ones you know, but I do know about the story of The Foolish Prince." Gray sat himself in an ice chair and prepared himself to tell a story he was making up on the spot.
"Once upon a time, a young prince lived happily in his kingdom with his parents, the King and Queen. All was well for the prince until he was eight, when everything he ever loved disappeared. A monster attacked his kingdom during the night, all the knights and even the King went off to protect everyone from the monster but were defeated in the end. The Queen hugged the prince tightly before making sure he got to safety while she tried to stop the monster too."
"The prince watched as his kingdom burned to the ground; his subjects, his loyal knights and his parents all gone and he was left all alone. A prince with no kingdom left with nothing but himself, and yet he stood up and buried everyone he lost. He was sad, very sad that everyone was gone but he was also mad at the monster that took them away from him and wanted to avenge the King and Queen. But the Prince was very weak, and his body was very tired until a kind sage and her student found him and helped heal his body."
Gray looked over as the children were engrossed with his story, more so to the fact that he was using his magic to illustrate some scenes for them. Of course, he fell back on his life story, but he was going to make sure it had a happy ending for their sake.
"The Sage could feel the anger in the Prince's heart and wanted to teach him her magic of creation, the opposite of the monster's magic of destruction. She wanted to help heal his heart and soul so that he could live a happier life, but this was the first time the Prince acted like the fool. Months went by and the Prince took the Sage's teachings to heart as a way to take his revenge and the Sage's first student warned him to let it go since it wasn't worth it. He ignored the student's advice and this was the second time he acted the fool, but his third time was what made him see the bigger picture."
"He was upset that the Sage wouldn't teach him stronger magic to defeat the monster and made it clear that she would blame herself if he died trying to defeat it. This was his third mistake when he thought he was strong enough to fight the monster but learned too late that he was no match. He stood in fear at the giant monster before him, knowing it was his end until the Sage used her creation magic to protect him from the monster's attack."
The children were visibly happy when the Sage had come to save the day, but this was the story of the Foolish Prince so he still needed to learn from his mistake. That's why he couldn't end the story with the Sage beating the monster since the Prince had to learn what he was failing at.
"The Sage's great wisdom in magic allowed her to know a powerful spell that would defeat the monster for good, but it came at a terrible price. As she casted her spell, she turned to look at the Prince with a warm smile and said, "Go on and live your life to the fullest, I've sealed away your darkness." And like his kingdom and his parents, the Prince watched as the Sage disappeared in a flash of blue light and the monster was defeated at the cost of the Sage's life. The Prince sat there in his tears realizing how big of a fool he was, now finding out that the Sage wanted him to live a happy life with her teachings of magic to create his own bright future."
"He realized who he was; a foolish prince and stood up in respect of his master's last words to live his life to the fullest and traveled far away from the place he called home. He was back to where he started, now the Foolish Prince with nothing to his name until he found a place that took him in as if he was already one of them. A guild that treated each other like family and though the Foolish Prince became one with the common folk, he learned a whole new way of life with them. He became a strong magic user, like his master, the Sage, and went on many more adventures thanks to the guild."
"The Foolish Prince met many people along the way; a red-haired knight that wanted to protect the weak and followed a path of justice, two dragons that controlled the sky and fire who wanted to protect the humans who had become their friends and a celestial princess who befriended the stars above to come to her aid. There was also a lonely Sea Witch that he made a special bond with as a commoner, one he would never trade away for anything in the world. That included his chance to return to his old ways of being a prince and getting back his former kingdom, but they sadly lived in two different worlds and in the end, she returned to the sea."
"Even though he was saddened to see her leave forever, the Foolish Prince would always remember her in his heart and as he walked on into the future with his friends, he knew they'd live happily ever after. The Prince may never be one again, but he didn't mind it at all and gladly left behind his former life of being one. Only leaving the title of Foolish Prince to carry on remembering where he came from and never forget the mistakes he made. The End."
Gray looked over at the children before him, some had fallen asleep thanks to the story while others were still bustling with fascination as he told his tale and created representations with his magic. He could easily tell that these kids enjoyed the story and the ones asleep might have found it boring or had fallen asleep, given the time of night. He allowed his last creation, which was the forms of five figures interlocked by their arms over each of their shoulders, to disappear into thin air. The ice mage did his best to keep his cool once he realized that Wendy, Lelei and some villagers had also come to listen to the story.
"That was different from the ones Momma tells, but I really liked it! Does the Foolish Prince marry the Ce-Cel...the Princess of Stars?" One of the few girls that was still awake had asked and Gray chuckled to himself about its implication to his personal life.
"The Foolish Prince actually loved the Sea Witch, but they lived very different lives and would sadly never see each other again. The Celestial Princess on the other hand sought adventure and would find romance when she knew the time was right."
"You said a fire dragon was friends with the Foolish Prince, how could it if they're just really big lizards." One boy said and he wasn't wrong from his point of view, so it was up to the ice mage to clear things up.
"That's true in most cases, but this fire dragon decided to take on a human form forever so that he could live alongside his friends. The same thing could be said about the Sky Dragon as she followed his example."
"Well, we enjoyed your story mister wizard and we think that the Foolish Prince was a noble prince in the end when he decided to give up his chance at the life of royalty, for the memories of the woman he came to love. Alright children, it's late and it's time to get to bed. You've all gotten your fair share of a good story." One mother from the group of villagers who decided to listen to the story began as she led the children back to their families making sure they thanked Gray for his story.
"Many will remember the Foolish Prince and if they don't, I took the liberty of writing everything down to tell others at a later time." Lelei said and Gray made no remark as he felt himself slightly flush at the fact that someone wrote down every word of his made-up story based on his life.
"Do as you please, I'm sure not everyone will enjoy the story." Wendy giggled at his reaction and the ice mage decided to leave it at that and go to bed.
"The visuals were somewhat hard to recreate through drawings, but I described them in detail for an artist to make copies."
"Like I said, do as you please. Doesn't matter much to me." With that Gray ended the conversation and got himself ready to sleep, hoping that he didn't make a mistake in telling that story to those kids.
Nothing of real note happened that following morning as they continued on with the journey, moving forward with sparse breaks every so often with the only eventful occurrence being that a few carriages got caught in the mud and needed to be pushed out. Gray drove the Jack Rabbit at the sides of the caravan, mainly staying nearby Lelei's cart and had taken notice of the curious stare she had about the magicycle when she got the chance to look. The ice mage knew it was the simple fact of the cycle just existing that had her curiosity, no doubt being followed by her want to know how it worked and what made it move. That or she was figuring out a way to talk to him after his sudden change in behavior last night when she said that she recorded The Foolish Prince.
"Gray there's something going on at the front." At Wendy's claim, Gray came out of his musings and looked up to see the caravan had stopped where a carriage was leaning at an odd angle.
"Looks like another broken carriage, I could try to see if I can fix it like the last one or it might just be stuck in the mud." Gray revved up the jack Rabbit as he sped up to the leaning carriage and as he came up to the site, a family of three came up to him begging.
"Please young wizard, use your magic to repair our carriage; the axle is beyond repairable and the elder says that we must abandon our belongings. We ask of you to help us as you did our neighbors the day before." The family deeply bowed to Gray and the awkward tension began to build as he didn't feel right being asked for a favor so desperately, especially from a family in this situation.
The problem, though, is that now his magic could be seen as an exploitable means of fixing a problem and the ice mage wasn't willing to become a village's easy life cheat. But he would come off as a hypocrite if he didn't do anything to help them when he was willing to do so for another stranger's family. He was starting to see what Erza might have meant about showing off his magical prowess of it meant that things like this would crop up, but there was no turning back now so he got straight to work and finished just as fast as the last one.
The family thanked Gray profusely for coming to their aid and Gray merely said that it was no problem and made it clear that they needed to find a place to stay before his magic wears off. Of course, that was a bit of a lie since his ice can keep its shape for extremely long periods of time without melting, but it was just to make them believe that there was a risk to using his magic. Gray looked around to see what the JSDF had in mind, but as he looked towards Itami's lead vehicle, the ice mage had caught sight of a mass of crows on the horizon and a struggle happening where Itami was.
Gray revved the engine as he sped his way to help Itami, informing Wendy to get her magic ready as they drew closer at great speeds. The ice mage applied the brakes and skid to a stop, magic at the ready as he turned to face the assailant attacking Itami.
"Itami are you okay!?" Gray asked as his frost aura became visible for combat, but he ended up wanting to facepalm as he took a look into the passenger's seat where Itami was.
Itami looked over at Gray with a flushed face as a small, fair skinned girl in gothic Lolita clothing smiled widely up at the soldier. Gray knew what she was wearing thanks in part of Erza's desire for "cute" clothing, but there was a crime waiting to happen from his point of view. Wendy must have thought a similar thing since she was blushing madly into her hands when Gray turned to look at her. The goth Lolita turned to look at Gray and a devilish smile spread across her face as she took in the sight of the ice mage, a weird chill running up his spine by the way she looked at him.
"My, my now what do we have here. You're different from these men and women, you're actually dangerous and I want to know why." The short girl jumped off Itami's lap and walked over towards Gray and some instinct in his body was telling him that she was bad news, but Zero was having a different reaction.
"Don't cower away from her, assert dominance Gray! For the sake of both of us, hold your ground!" Zero wasn't being panicked in the slightest, far from it as he sounded more challenging than anything out of fear. "She's worthy of a fight, this is a battlefield right now Gray! You must keep yourself at her level or it is your loss for the future!"
Zero gave advice every now and again when the benefit was there for the both of them and when survival was key but in the time they've been linked, this was the first Gray's heard it be so aggressive. There had to be a reason and his best bet was to listen, Zero's been around for four hundred years so his knowledge was as good as any at the moment.
"Would it really matter for you to know? I see you've taken an interest to Itami, so I'm sure you wouldn't want to waste your time with me."
"He offers time to my curious mind and is simply a joy to tease from what I've done to him so far and yet; you stand before me with much more resolve than what I thought you'd have when I first laid eyes on you."
"That's me alright, playing the underdog from the get-go. Hope you aren't disappointed with what you got."
"On the contrary, I find you very interesting. I hope to see more of you later on, we might have something in common."
"I personally doubt that, but I could be proven wrong. Hope you got as much of an eyeful as you wanted."
"Not nearly enough, I want to see what you can really do."
"Lady's first"
"Hmm...Rory, Rory Mercury. Please do well to remember my name."
"Gray"
"Gray, huh? Fitting..."
Rory gave him another devilish smile before she boarded Itami's vehicle once again and the ice mage gave the poor soldier a thumbs up for luck. He'll need any and all that he could get his hands on. As for the ice mage, he started up the Jack Rabbit and made his way back to his original place near Lelei's cart.
"How did you stand up to that Gray?" Happy asked as he tried his best to relax his now bushy tail, glad that they were clear away from Rory. "She was giving off such intense pressure and you went and matched her for no reason. I thought my heart was going to stop."
"Happy isn't kidding Gray, I haven't felt that intimidated since I first went up against one of the Demon Gates." Wendy didn't want to cut in between their conversation and she knew she couldn't, but it felt as if they were sizing each other up in some way.
"It almost sounded like a simple conversation, but it seemed everyone else wasn't aware of how intense it was. Else they'd be pale with astonishment of what transpired." Carla added, trying her best not to think that the ice mage was being reckless for no reason.
"Hopefully that'll be the last time it happens, sorry about that you guys. Something inside of me said that I shouldn't back down against her and went with that feeling." Gray just hoped that he was right in listening to Zero, crossing his fingers that this doesn't come to bite him later.
"You did well Gray, most low leveled mages wouldn't be able to stand up to that pressure she was emitting, and it was a good thing you weren't one of them." Zero began and Gray had questions for it as there was something he was missing.
"What was that pressure anyways, Itami and his crew didn't react to it and neither did the villagers." If the others felt it, they did a damn well job not reacting to it and thinking less of the entire heavy conversation they shared.
"That was killer instinct, most predators use this as a way to intimidate their prey into submission by the sheer pressure of impending death. She zeroed in on only you so no one else felt it and since your companions are behind you, they got caught in the crossfire."
"Care to explain how I managed to stand up against that? I don't think I have much in the way of killer instinct to match hers." Gray was skilled in a number of things, but a predatory ability like that didn't sound like something he possesses. Even if he did, it would still be a low ringer.
"Of course you do, you had awakened your hidden potential for it when you went berserker against Invel which spread into your fight with the awakening might of E.N.D. as facing him one-on-one was a suicide mission. It's what kept you alive for the majority of the fight since you were ready to kill to end your fight, if you weren't then E.N.D. would've taken advantage of your weakness and killed you instead."
"Thanks for the clarification... and what of you? Why were you so eager for the challenge?"
"I'm an Etherious, to find a challenge like that causes my metaphorical blood to boil over and rise to it, plus there is something about her that is very interesting and I can't exactly pinpoint as to what that is. Be cautious; Scarlet and E.N.D. may pique her interest and then it'll become a shit show if things go south with them."
"I'll keep that in mind Zero, hopefully she's all I have to deal with for today. Last thing I want is to have that damn dragon on my ass and get the idiot involved with the fight after just meeting Rory."
"Fate is an asshole, so you're better off keeping your guard up. You never know when you've just jinxed yourself."