Interlude Gildarts – A Dangerous Man
The seasalt in the air stung the nose, but it was barely an inconvenience to someone like Gildarts. His bare upper body didn't even notice the chill breeze under his ratty black cloak. Idly, he stared over at the island in the distance with a fairly small boat docked on it.
A multitude of thoughts ran through his mind as he hid behind an easy smile. Nearby, he watched Makarov's grandson, Laxus, direct the navigators on the ship while trying not to throw up. It was rather funny to see the all-too-serious teen try to keep it together, and Gildarts chose to ignore his looks for assistance when possible.
He looked around for their other team member, eyeing all the darker corners of their ship. All he found were the Rune Knights that ambled around and stared at him with various degrees of awe.
Gildarts tried not to pay too much attention to those gazes; he had gotten used to the looks of idolatry and respect for his strength and magic, but he was rather sick of that attention. He wanted nothing more than to use the magic he trained all his life for and to see the various spectacles of the world. All the fame and fortune was something he had no feelings for beyond annoyance.
It was one of the reasons he didn't try to be anything beyond a mage of Fairy Tail instead of donning an oh-so-illustrious title of Wizard Saint or Guildmaster. Despite that, his name and reputation still preceded him in certain issues like now.
They had tried to meet Locki in Hargeon, but his appearance had garnered the attention of the Rune Knights in the area. One thing led to another, and Laxus, himself, and their little mage, Cana, were swept in what he could only tell was a front.
Oh, he knew the tells of a fishy mission from a mile away. There were all sorts of signs that normal mages tended to ignore, and Gildarts had dealt with his fair share of missions whose purpose was suspicious at best. From how they received the mission, the extremely little details on who spread the fact that a couple of girls were smuggled out onto a ship from a dangerous part of town, and to the very fact that he didn't like the look the Rune Knight in charge gave to Cana right before she showed that she was a Fairy Tail mage.
It was one of the reasons why he respected Master Makarov; the man seemed to be able to deal with individuals who Gildarts couldn't immediately attack on sight. Well, he could…
In any case, the mission was fishy from the beginning, and he half expected to come up with nothing. However, Laxus' nose was stronger than he gave him credit for as the artificial Lightning Dragon Slayer led them almost on a straight path to the island where a supposed Pirate Queen's base was.
If he was a more scheming man, Gildarts would have thought to somehow turn this situation in his favor. He knew that Makarov, after they attributed the death of their friend, Rob, to the Tower of Heaven, had been in contact with that young mage and his group. At first, Gildarts didn't really expect anything to come of it, adopting the attitude that any news they gained would be good news.
How wrong he was when apparently the very same mage seemed to grow an information network out of nowhere. The blonde mage gave them information about a group of Dark Guilds forming around something called the Balam Alliance, the ties the Alliance could have to the Tower of Heaven, and possible theories on how the Zeref Cults tied into this. If that was not all, the young man had found the strongest lead they had gained.
The Pirate Queen. A force that rose up against the Dark Guilds that ran Hargeon's underworld. They should have been a force of good, but instead they were branded as anarchists and "threats to the peace."
It left a sour taste in the back of Gildarts' throat as he thought of that. Now, he was supposedly here to bring back the very same women who had escaped the torment of their lives. Even if there was a supposed dead mage involved in this case, Gildarts never liked taking missions that dealt with appeasing those in political standings. The only thing that stopped him from giving a very firm no was the thought of "what if."
What if they actually were kidnapped? What if he was overthinking things? What if –and he found it rather surprising if it was the case– this mission wasn't because of corruption?
In addition, he had to deal with Laxus' desire to prove himself and their smaller charge's unwavering desire to do the right thing. Gildarts wasn't used to teaming up with anyone enough to try to argue his side, so… here they were. In a ship headed toward an island that supposedly protected thousands of men and women in Hargeon's poverty-stricken areas.
"You are thinking?"
Gildarts controlled his impulse to jump as he found his and Laxus' last member. A small, brown-haired girl who went by the name Cana. Ever since Laxus revealed she could hide her magic signature in her surroundings, she had taken to wearing darker clothes like the eldest of the Take-Over mage siblings. Cana learned to hide even more of herself over the course of the trip, and had grabbed a few Holder-type items from stores within Hargeon. To hide from even himself till she was right next to him, Gildarts would say that she was certainly scary in her own right.
"Yes. I was." Gildarts said, eying the girl as she fidgeted next to him. Her eyes were familiar to many before; awestruck and respectful. However, there was a different characteristic he couldn't quite place. Not since… Gildarts shook his head, clearing those memories from his head. "Did you need something, Cana?"
Cana nodded her head. "This is the person that that Locki man would meet us with?"
"I am not sure. He mentioned the Pirate Queen before, but…"
"I don't wanna work with a villain!" Cana said as Gildarts finished. She waved her little fist in the air as if that cemented her position against evil.
Gildarts struggled to hold in a small chuckle at the sight. "Well, we don't want to make conclusions. Anything can happen, and anything can be not what it seems."
Cana's face scrunched up as she listened. "I don't get it…"
Almost as quickly her eyes drooped down as if the fact that she didn't understand was some world-ending event. Gildarts hurriedly knelt down, wondering exactly where he went wrong and tried to calm the girl down. However, his actions only caused the girl to blush in embarrassment and hide away from him.
"Hey, wait!" Gildarts called out as he lost sight of her between two Rune Knights. When they turned to him, the girl had already hid her magic signature and disappeared from his sight. He sighed, scratching the stubble on his chin. "... what did I do this time?"
Gildarts once again was stumped by how skittish the girl was around him. She always popped up from nowhere, questioned him, and then disappeared after a random amount of time. He didn't even have time to go to any bar or other establishment as he was scared the girl would follow him and later report him to Master Makarov.
"We'll be reaching the island soon, mister Crash Mage uhm, sir!" A random Rune Knight saluted Gildarts, drawing another sigh from the man.
"Thanks. Just have your men stand back and let me and Laxus do it." Gildarts said, waving placidly.
"We can't let you both do all the work, sir! I made a promise to devote myself to the Magic Council's upholding of justice, so I cannot sit back and do nothing."
Gildarts didn't want to unpack that, but he just shook his head. "Sorry, kid, I don't really work well in groups, and my Magic might harm you if you get in the way. If anything you'd get in the way."
"Ah," the Rune Knight stuttered, making Gildarts feel like he went slightly overboard. The redheaded mage scratched the back of his head, choosing to be silent in the end. Luckily, the knight continued on, "I… I see, sir. I didn't mean to– I mean, I just wanted to–"
"Something's coming!"
Saving the Rune Knight from his awkward explanation and Gildarts from the embarrassment he inadvertently caused was a sudden warning that came from Cana. Gildarts' stomach turned as he found girl on the railing of the ship, holding onto a few thick ropes as she pointed out to the island. The mage narrowed his eyes and found a small, white bird that flew directly towards their ship.
His hands clenched slightly, getting ready for a fight. Then, the bird came closer, and Gildarts relaxed and signaled everyone else to stop getting ready for a fight. He hadn't recognized the bird itself, but he knew that white, flower-embroidered cloth from his memory of it wrapped around a pretty, white-haired woman who went by the name Daki.
The cloth bird circled around their boat a few times before it dropped out of the sky and landed in Gildarts outstretched hand. He might not have recognized the Magic involved, but he got a familiar feeling whenever those two cloaked siblings used their odd abilities against him a while ago. The cloth unraveled in his hands to reveal a palm-sized white orb that vibrated like a Communications Lacrima would when it received a call.
Gildarts looked at the orb quizzically as it continued to vibrate. He knew they were on the Calm Sea, so most Lacrimas needed to either be super strong to connect to anything or they wouldn't even activate. Reluctantly, he connected to the other side, and then immediately felt a bit of regret as a two-dimensional purple portal appeared right next to his hand.
Suddenly, a familiar, tall blonde mage with red eyes stepped out from one side of the purple portal with an unconscious black-haired girl in his hands. Locki waved his hands and the portal disappeared. Gildarts' eyes locked onto the odd feeling he got from the purple pendant in the blonde's hands. Once again, he wondered just how mysterious this small-time mage was.
When they had first met, Gildarts had only attributed Locki as an overly cautious and somewhat sleazy-looking mage. Locki reminded him of those missions that always seemed to go south or support some other angle. A snake in all but skin. However, Locki had won over him and Master Makarov when he chose to abandon everything to comfort a crying girl.
Despite that, Gildarts never really put away his concern over Locki. He was a dangerous man. Not dangerous in the sense of strength and magic –though his odd ability to freeze Gildarts himself wasn't unsubstantial– but more dangerous in the fact that Gildarts knew Locki was someone who would do anything to achieve his goals. Whether it was to step over the bodies of those who stood in his way, or to manipulate even his closest loved ones, Gildarts had seen plenty of examples of people who desperately grabbed at anything to get what they wanted.
In a sense, Gildarts was reminded of a drowning man; flailing, grasping, desperate, and wholly capable of pulling whoever was close down to the depths with him.
The proof was in front of him. Locki stood on the deck of their ship, placidly eying the speartips that were pointing toward him as if they were barely an inconvenience. An easy smile spread across his face as he handed the unconscious Kagura to Gildarts, and the redhead was too shocked by the blonde's entrance to react beyond holding the girl in his hands.
"Gildarts, its good to see you." Locki said with a fake smile, shading his eyes as he looked over the ship. "I see you brought some help with you, too. Nice."
"W- who are you?" The Rune Knight that had been talking to Gildarts asked.
Locki smiled at him. "I am the guildmaster of Scarlet Hand, a Magic Guild associated with the kingdom of Fiore. Recently, I was going undercover to infiltrate the Pirate Queen's men, and found a more disturbing fact during my time."
Gildarts eyes widened alongside the Rune Knights around him, but he knew that their reactions were completely different in scope. He already knew exactly what idea Locki had, and the redhead once again was disturbed by how easily the blonde in front of him would try to twist the lives of those around him for his own benefit. Honestly, if he wasn't in it to protect Erza, Gildarts would want to have nothing to do with Locki.
"The Tower of Heaven." Locki said after a pause, confirming Gildarts fears. "They are a faction of a Zeref Cult, and have ties with human trafficking groups that operate within the Calm Sea. For peace and justice, won't you team up with me to eliminate our enemies?"
Gildarts shivered feverishly as Locki's words settled into the group like a plague. These Rune Knights were not the ones who called the shots, nor were they ones who had access to much information. Outside of the influence of the upper tier's corruption, Locki didn't spend long to figure out what base ideas motivated them. And the blonde twisted that.
"Is what he said true?" The Rune Knight looked over to Gildarts, staring at the girl in his arms as he spoke.
It was a little thing, but Gildarts completely forgot about Kagura's presence in his arms. He hadn't thought much of it when Locki did it. Looking back now, Gildarts could see how their familiarity with each other, the fact that he supposedly "saved" a young girl, and he didn't react negatively to Locki had seemed to build a sort of reliability in Locki almost immediately. And despite his better wishes to not deal with Locki, Gildarts adhered to the deal to help Locki and nodded while he hid his frown.
"S- such a thing…" The Rune Knights slowly lowered their weapons, and Locki stepped forwards. "What should we do about this? A Zeref Cult is not something we can handle… Should we call for support?"
Locki just laughed. "Its just a small group of people who prey on those weaker than them. You all are strong Rune Knights, and we have the Crash Mage with us. In addition, I was able to stage a revolt against the higher-ups of the Pirate Queen. They will help us in the fight against the Cult. Of course, I do not expect everyone to join us. Instead, I have a plan to completely negate their ability to predict our movements, which will require us to move fast."
"What is it?" The Rune Knight asked comfortably. It was as if their previous aggression had simply disappeared like smoke. Gildarts would honestly be impressed if he didn't wonder if there was some magic involved. There had to be; no one just removed all suspicion from himself so easily.
"I know an informant for the Tower of Heaven who is on the island now. Right now, she shouldn't expect the presence of such strong Rune Knights and Fairy Tail mages, so we can get her by surprise. My allies will be there, too. Watch out for two cloaked individuals. When we capture the informant for the cult we can then go to where I already tied up the Pirate Queen and her second in command."
"Rodger, sir!" The Rune Knight saluted as he began to organize people with Locki's command.
"First off, why is that guy over there and why is he throwing up?" Locki commanded, and Gildarts found Laxus passed out over the upper railing of the ship, vomit spilling from his open mouth.
Gildarts was once again struck with the idea he first had about Locki. He didn't know many people who could simply shift the entirety of a group's attention over to a different target, and then capitalize on that by simply taking direct command from himself. That was not even mentioned the odd purple pendant that seemed to manipulate space, the white orb that functioned in the Calm Sea, and the two siblings under cloaks who had abilities that didn't require a magic signature. Gildarts was someone who got used to expecting the unexpected, but Locki seemed to just keep pulling more things out of nowhere.
As they readied themselves to fight Locki's own enemies, Gildarts felt it more than ever. In more ways than he could see, Locki was a dangerous man.
Just a small chapter to highlight Gildarts' feelings. Next one should be where the group splits. I will then balance the two groups on the people who are storming the Tower of Heaven and Locki's own adventure with an unconscious, overpowered girl. I swear they won't be sidelined for the entire event.