Chapter 12: Shades of a Dragon
Gaudy. That was the best way to describe what Phantom Lord used as a guildhall in its host Oak Town. How else would you describe an old, historic castle that Oak Town was born from? The town itself extended from the thirty-foot curtain wall that surrounded Phantom Lord's hall and populated a gently sloping hill that tapers off into the bank of a calmly flowing river. It was said that there was a time, long ago, that this castle was one of the most easily defensible positions in Fiore before the world of magic became the status quo of what power was.
Gajeel Redfox didn't give a single damn about any of it.
Looking through his sharp red eyes, Gajeel saw the castle of Phantom Lord as one thing: a statement. If there was one thing that his father taught him, it was to respect power and that which exudes power. What better displays power than having a guild occupy a damn castle? Even as he walked through the massive double doors that stood no less than two stories, was at least a yard thick, and was reinforced with bands of iron into a wide courtyard, Gajeel couldn't help but chuckle at the fact that half a dozen bodies stood at the top of the wall to swing the massive, heavy doors open to let him through. The castle's courtyard wasn't filled with colorful gardens, a water feature, or anything decorative to give returning members or new visitors a warm welcome. What was displayed before him was a field of dirt as scarred as any battlefield with debris of countless structures that once were. Yet, the grand display of the castle impressed him only until the front doors.
There was no pride in Gajeel as he saw amateur mages through themselves at each other to no end, watching some stone structures get devastated by an overcharged spell, or when he saw the leering from the railings of the wooden walkway that perimetered above the courtyard and makeshift training yard. These were nothing but extra bodies that would cling to the coattails of Phantom Lord's popularity and eventually convince themselves they are a part of why it is known as one of the strongest guilds in Fiore. Maybe it wasn't something he should have had much care for, two years ago he definitely didn't, but his competitive nature had been spurred by his participation in the last two Grand Magic Games. Summer was leering at them around a corner and these idiots played make-believe in a yard like children. It had Gajeel grumbling to himself all the way to the smaller set of double doors that opened into the humble hall of the castle, not a speck of dirt from his fellow guild members landing itself on his ragged sleeveless black tunic that split at the waist or his stained, once-white pants underneath.
The hall was more populated than the courtyard had been, with bodies filling nearly every table that stood atop the old stone floor. Barmaids danced themselves between the always shifting space between bodies and tables to serve the Phantom Lord members from the bars that lined the walls on either side of Gajeel; the bars lined with stools and piled with refreshments being an addition to the hall since it was repurposed from a lordship to a wizard's guild. At the end of the hall opposite to Gajeel sat a throne carved from stone that seemed to grow from the floor itself and decorated with worn and aged furnishings that told of a once great seat. It was a seat that went unused for countless years, and one that would likely be degraded into nothingness before it can be sat upon once again. Behind that throne were shadowy openings that led further into the castle over either shoulder of the chair, openings that Gajeel knew were limited to a precious few. Even on the walkways above the courtyard, many passageways deeper into the castle were clear and obvious, but without the proper rank within Phantom Lord, those passageways were as good as any thick stone wall. If he were to bet, Gajeel would say that only a few of the dozens of bodies that lined the railings in the courtyard were able to use those passages, the others being relegated to using the rickety stairs to stand on the walkway.
Gajeel, personally, didn't have an issue with any passageway in the entire castle. He was the Ace within Phantom Lord. He was the strongest that bore the Phantom guild mark in pitch black on his left shoulder outside of the guild's master, and was trusted to wander freely. He went unimpeded across the hall, past the aged throne, and into the dark path on the right side of the chair. Whether he wanted to or not, sharp ears heard countless conversations, a sharp nose smelling all it could manage in the hive of people, and keen eyes spotting and locating everything seeing as he drifted past. He smelled the copious amount of alcohol that stained clothes and addled brains, saw inebriated steps and careless maneuvering through tight spaces, and he heard boisterous conversation and grandstanding. Gajeel acutely noticed a shock of spiky blond hair paired with an obnoxiously bright orange coat lined with cheap fur boasting about Fairies he encountered and tossed around for a few laughs, the same man he saw only days ago in their Master's solar whining about a Fairy Tail fire mage that attacked him and his third-rate team on a job with the flesh on his cheek raised, wrinkled, and peeling from a nasty burn.
Pathetic.
Gajeel easily walked down the halls of the castle that served to be a maze for those unfamiliar. Every turn down a branching hall, every step taken upward on a staircase, and every door opened was an action taken with years of experience and familiarity. It took no more than a few minutes to find himself at the solar of the Phantom Lord master, the door designed with the swirling figure of the Phantom Lord guild mark in dark metal that emitted a sweet aroma inhaled greedily by Gajeel's nose, as was usually the case with castle-forged steel. A single knock on the door was immediately responded to with a demand to enter.
"Ah, Gajeel. I knew to expect you back soon. Monster hunts never seem to take you long." A voice dripping in a toxic sweetness nestled into Gajeel's ears from across the solar, his hearing prowess serving to cut that space to nearly none. Gajeel approached the voice, further entering a room that was shrouded in darkness and depending on memory of the room's layout to approach a desk entirely unseen. A long, finely-crafted wooden table extended the length of the first part of the room that had bookcases bursting full on either side before the floor rose two steps. He knew there to be only three steps before he reached the chair and Gajeel merely had to extend a hand to grasp the chair and settle himself within it. When he sat on the plush cushioned seat, the darkness that shrouded the room was suddenly lifted to show candelabras burning brightly behind either shoulder of his master and a chandelier dangling with countless small flames hanging above the long table behind him. Behind the mighty desk that seemed to fill the entire nook at the back of the room was Jose Porla with a wide, head-splitting smile surrounded by a blood red mustache that seemed to overtake the entire lower half of the man's long face. "There is much to discuss about the coming days."
There was an eagerness in the guildmaster's dark, piercing gaze. It was an eagerness that Gajeel rarely saw in his master and one that paired dangerously with the painfully stretched face that proudly displayed two rows of tall white teeth. Despite the newly found abundance of light, Jose's face was shrouded in the darkness cast by the wide brim of his deep purple hat that bore a long, pointed cone that sagged to the side with its point drifting around the man's elbow. The same shade of purple was shared by Jose's coat that reached high with its collar and drifted low in its jagged cut at its tail that was matched by similarly jagged flaps that draped on the coat's shoulders. Red pants with pinstripes and a fine white buttoned shirt collared with the gleaming blue medallion of the Ten Wizard Saints.
"What do you need from me?" Instinctively, Gajeel ran his hands through the thick black hair that cascaded down his back in wild black spikes, readying himself for his Master's orders. Gajeel has been a member of Phantom Lord long enough to know when Jose Porla was prepared to give an order that was questionable, to say the least.
"I followed up on my hunch after that little story one of our members told us the other day, the fire-user." Jose whipped his hand at his lacking memory of who exactly it was he tried to remember. It was hard to remember the passing faces that filled their guild these days, especially when their magic was as immemorable as some random brand of fire magic. Yet, Gajeel knew exactly who his Master was speaking of, even if he couldn't bother himself to remember a name. It was the same snot that was bragging in the hall only moments ago, with a bright burn mark still painting his face. "It seems the Fairies have found themselves a new pet. A pet that is known as the Akuma."
Mischievous dark purple lips shrunk into a more shrewd grin than the broad smile that once was. The mention of Fairy Tail clarified everything to Gajeel that needed to be clarified. That was all he needed to be told. Jose Porla, and Phantom Lord as it was, had some burning hatred for Fairy Tail no matter the instance, no matter the year. As far as he knew, there was some bad blood that happened when the two guilds formed, but that was over a century ago. Only being a member for four years, Gajeel didn't feel like that had anything to do with him and he didn't get why even the green mages barely stout enough to stand up to a Vulcan were as animus toward Fairy Tail as the founding members of Phantom Lord would be. The only issues Gajeel had with the Fairies was the number one that sits by their name when talking about the strongest guilds out there. Anything else had nothing to do with him as far as he was concerned.
That Akuma, though, that was another matter entirely. Gajeel has heard the stories that followed him, the whispers of the destruction that follows the wandering mage, and his ears always perked at it. After his father left him in the lurch with nothing but an empty stomach and a whole lot of anger, Gajeel was something of a wild child. Twelve years old, wielder of a powerful magic, and a fury to fuel that magic left scars on a lot of people before Old Lady Belno took him in. The Akuma drew Gajeel's attention like it was a window into another world, like it could have been Black Steel Gajeel that was being spoken of in hushed whispers. It also gave him an itch of battle. Testing his mettle against a man spoken like a demon spawned from one of the hells was something that boiled from deep within.
"You want me to rough him up a little? Show him Phantom's superiority, or something like that?" He tried to hide it, how much he wanted Jose to give him the word so he could be on his way, but by the amusement plain on the guildmaster's face told him that he didn't hide it well enough. Long, slender fingers of Jose ran themselves through the blood red hair that fell from under his hat to brush along his collar bone, a quiet thought passing through the guildmaster's mind before he responded to Gajeel's ill-hidden request.
"No, I'm afraid that is a matter of another day, ferocious Gajeel." A growl rumbled through Gajeel's throat in immediate response to the playful tone Jose spoke with. His guildmaster was strong, one of the strongest in the country, but Gajeel wouldn't be patronized or talked down like a child would be. Before a word could come out about it, Jose's hands rose and placating words came easily from a barely restrained smile. "Worry not, Black Steel, I merely have other avenues to pursue before you can have your fun. I have no doubt that a dragon would make easy work of a demon."
As always, Jose's words halted Gajeel's frustrations for the moment. He was the son of Metalicana, the Iron Dragon, and his fury always ran hot. It was something that Belno had to work around when she looked for places for him to go once she received the call to the Magic Council. "There are few stronger and fewer craftier than Jose Porla," she had told him, while giving caution to the guildmaster's more volatile traits.
"No, I want you to have a conversation with Akuma and learn what you can. I imagine you're both of the same rough ilk, use that and find an understanding with him. Attempt to draw him away from the Fairies." Jose sat forward in his chair, elbows resting heavily on his desktop as all amusement shed itself from Jose's face in place of unwavering seriousness. "I do not care if you can bring him to Phantom Lord, but I do not want Makarov Dreyer's old, gnarled fingers on another promising mage."
The gravity in the guildmaster's tone wasn't lost on Gajeel, nor was the barely restrained twitching of firmly gripped fingers that now clasped themselves on the desktop. This was only a demeanor seen from his Master that Gajeel would see when Fairy Tail would be brought up. Only when they lost to Fairy Tail at the Grand Magic Games did he ever see the man lose control of his temper. The eastern wing of their guildhall only just finished its reconstruction after the "small slip of self-control" that led to its demolition.
The rough pads of Gajeel's fingers played at the studs of steel that lined themselves in trios to form would-be eyebrows. They were the same studs that paired vertically from his lip to chin, paired on either side of the bridge of his nose, lined the outer shell of his ears, and danced up and down the boned edges of his appendages. It brought peace of mind to touch the spots of his learned element, especially when his Mater looked ready to flip his lid at any moment. Talking wasn't his strong suit, everyone knew it, but he was supposed to talk someone he didn't know out of joining a guild they already joined.
He was fucked.
"Yeah, I'll see what I can do." Gajeel stood abruptly, not really thinking before the room fell into pitch blackness again and he was staring into nothingness where he knew his master to be. His left hand went to fan through the burst of black feathers that protruded from the sleeveless hole of his tunic. "Don't even bother calling any of the Four. They'll just throw me off when I'm trying to find the guy. None of them know how to keep their mouths shut."
Gajeel already turned toward the door of the solar and was walking to it as he threw his last words toward Jose over his shoulder. He didn't need to hear the man's arguments on Gajeel's "seeing what he can do" when it came to this assignment. He would be pressed and pressed and pressed until he said that he'd get the Akuma out of Fairy Tail by any means necessary. He wouldn't do that. What did he know about convincing anyone of anything if it wasn't a fight? Fighting and dragons was everything that Gajeel knew. No Phantom or Shade could change that fact.
Instead of walking the path he came to head directly to the train station of Oak Town and take the next to Magnolia, Gajeel instead pushed to the western side of the castle where the dwellings of the higher ranking members of the guild resided. No rent, no bills, just the loyalty to Phantom Lord paid for lodgings that would have to be found elsewhere. They were likely nicer that most apartments found in the growing castle town outside their walls. When Gajeel opened the whining door with hinges in desperate need of oil, he was welcomed by the sitting room fashioned with unused furniture and a hearth that was constantly burning and bathing the room in an orange glow. Walking through the sitting room and into the bedchamber, a large bed with a canopy that was ripped off and piled in the corner awaited him with disheveled covers. There were a few things here and there that made the place unique to him. A portrait of a silver dragon flying across a blue sky was hidden under a pile of clothes, bars of precious metals with suspicious chunks missing in the form of bite marks, and a fine tunic that was black and bore the pattern of midnight scales hung alone in what was supposed to be a closet. All were things he found in his working travels over the years, except the fine tunic which was a gift from the Old Lady.
While all of those things were important to him in one way or another, Gajeel walked by them all to kneel on the stone floor next to the left side of the bed. In a quick burst of magic, Gajeel's right hand morphed into a black blade with a vicious edge and point that dug easily into the thin gap between the stone and pried the stone out of place to reveal what should have been a broad opening of empty space. Instead, the brick removed was less than half of the bricks around it and in that empty space was a hefty sack filled with jewel. Reaching into his back pocket, a comparatively smaller sack of jewel was removed and Gajeel emptied the majority of it into the bag in his floor before slipping the stone back into its place.
Yeah, a hoarding dragon with his hidden treasure. He was a walking cliche that no one would know about.
After making his deposit, Gajeel left his room and made for the castle's exit to get his trip to Magnolia over with. His steps were strong and sure, pace never lessening as he twisted through the halls of the castle, and he didn't think to slow down when the smell of fresh rainfall hit his nose from deep inside of a stone castle. A nimble hand grasped around his right arm, lightly holding on to it as its user fell into step next to him without a word of introduction. In truth, the introduction would be a waste of breath. Only one person in the guild dared to act so familiar with him, mostly because she was one of the few in the guild he could tolerate. When he finally decided to look at her, Gajeel was met with the dark blue gaze of Juvia Lockser as her impassive face gazed up at his with nothing but the smallest of frowns tugging at her lips.
"Juvia suspects that you're leaving already after just getting back." The third person thing. Juvia has been in Phantom Lord longer than he has, and as long as he's been here Gajeel has yet to hear Juvia not refer to herself by name. It was strange, but at this point he was more than familiar with it.
"Juvia is right. Master wants me to spy on some Fairies." He confirmed to her, the pair not breaking stride or missing a step as they both turned through the halls of the castle and grew closer to the growl of the voices emanating from the main hall. Comfortable silence reigned for a few moments as Gajeel practically heard the gears in Juvia's head turning at his response. She was good people, she was one of the few in Phantom Lord, but conversation came easier to Gajeel than it did her. Which said a whole lot.
"Is Master planning something with Fairy Tail?" Her tone shifted from something comfortable and conversational to one more seriousness. The hand on Gajeel's arm stiffened and it made the man instantly reach over and slapped a heavy palm down on the navy blue cossack hat she wore over her bright blue hair, effectively rattling the head beneath it.
"Don't worry about it. Master doesn't even know what he's going to do yet. All I have to do is talk to a new guy they recruited and see if he won't come over to us." Gajeel wasn't someone that could be considered comforting, but the growing smile on Juvia's face showed that he wasn't useless in it. He chose to ignore the grumbling under her breath as she pulled her hand away to straighten the hat he disheveled and gleamed proudly at his work. "And if it turns rough, I'll just have to teach the guy a lesson or two in dancing with a dragon, gihi."
When he said his second piece, Gajeel's eyes strayed from Juvia to look ahead at where they were walking. That proved to be a mistake. His negligence at not keeping an eye to his right made him woefully unprepared for the belting laugh of the woman on her right as she keeled over with her hands wrapping around her stomach. The hat on her head was precariously close to falling off of her head. Shoulder length blue hair that curled tightly and uniformly above her shoulder fell over her face to cover the beet red mask of laughter that covered a normally pale face from Gajeel. The fine, and usually untampered, blue coat that covered her form from high collar to a rigid skirt belled at her knees over black leggings crumbled and strained at the puffing breaths of the woman, the tight dark blue shawl around her shoulders following suit. Gajeel could only look down at her with an unseen glare as he waited for her to gather herself, as long as that seemed to take.
"Juvia…Juvia thinks that Gajeel is just perfect for persuading someone." When she rose, Juvia had caught her breath just enough to talk, her face was still red from exertion, and her eyes glassy with unsprung tears in her enjoyment. Gajeel's scowl only deepened at her words before he continued forward to walk into the large hall just as filled and busy as it was minutes ago.
"Juvia is a damn liar." He spoke under his breath, hearing more titters of laughter behind him as the woman caught up to him with heavy footfalls beneath the heels of her sturdy leather boots. "Look, I don't know what Master is thinking with all this Fairy Tail mess, but get the others of the Four ready just in case. He'll want to move fast the moment he decides he wants to move at all."
Jose Porla always had a vision. He had a vision for how things should be, how things are supposed to be, and how to accomplish it. If he wanted to move on something, or someone, it would be immediate and deliberate. Doubly so when Fairy Tail was involved. The Element Four were the highest ranked members of Phantom Lord outside of Gajeel himself. They represented the highest classes of elemental wizardry you could find. While Juvia was only just bent over, breathless from laughter, she was still the most prolific water-based mage Gajeel had ever met and would be quick to ready herself and her peers when Jose said the word.
"Juvia will get it done." She said stiffly, despite not needing to, and walked forward into the crowd of people dining and barking at each other before she was lost in the sea from Gajeel's sight. When she was rigid like that, he could suppose that she seemed to fit right in with Phantom Lord. Jose's harshness, his ideals as a wizard, and his goals for the guild draw a specific type of person to Phantom Lord. Gajeel is not excluded in this. Rarely was there ever the sound of joyful laughter that didn't have some undertone of harshness or inherent cruelty. Even now, Gajeel could pick up on countless conversations about kicking this ass or that because they were weaker and in the way. Has Gajeel done his fair share of that? Naturally; a dragon stakes its claims and shows its strength whenever it sees fit and he was no different. Yet, he could admit that it was refreshing to hear Juvia's laughter that came from genuine humor without any of that. It made him feel lighter, even if he'd never say it to anyone else.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Gajeel exited the castle walls of Phantom Lord's guild hall and climbed down the hilly trail into Oak Town. It was a compact town that started as a small, humble settlement that huddled under the shadow of the castle walls. Through time it grew outward and further down the hill the castle stood upon, but its roots were still clear. Old, creaky, log-founded buildings with intermittently replaced thatch roofs huddled close to a path that was far narrower than one would expect of a full town with fair traffic. The road had been newly replaced with fine cobblestone that eventually widened as Gajeel walked deeper through the town and into the newer portions. Further up the hill one was, the longer they and their families have been in Oak Town and the more scarce of people it was. As buildings showed to be more of brick and mortar, the more people filled the widening path and the more bustle that surrounded Gajeel.
It was an easy choice of which part of the town Gajeel preferred.
The distaste he had for the newer, more commercial, and populated portion of the town was nothing to the raw hatred Gajeel felt once his feet reached their destination at the bottom of the hill. Suddenly there was little care for the moving bodies, the dull roar of casual conversation layered upon itself, and even the scents of the bodies surrounding him turned into a blank aroma that sat insignificant before the thing that stole the entirety of Gajeel's gaze. He was the son of a dragon, a fabled Dragon Slayer, and yet he stood rigid at the sight of the train that blew its whistle as its doors opened to release its passengers.
It was a weakness he didn't know he had until he was already with Old Lady Belno. No matter what form it took, no matter how it was done, if Gajeel was tasked in riding a mode of transportation he was nothing but useless. His head went empty, his stomach rose to his mouth, the world spun around him, and he was sure that the hells themselves became nothing more than a walk in a park. As high as his hatred boiled, walking to Magnolia would take far longer than he would be allowed to take for such a basic mission and there were no other ways to get to the town unless his father suddenly decided to show up again. Like that dirty bastard would give a damn. The venomous voice echoed through his already torn mind before he took an evening breath and stepped forward with his head held high.
Even when walking toward his doom, Gajeel would never let anyone see him whimpering. None would catch him backing down or let them think they might've seen a hint of cowardice or fear. He stood tall and prideful all the way into his booth, sitting so the splayed feathers on his right shoulder separated him from the rest of the cabin, and was strong until the final whistle blew and the train surged into motion. Once it had, however, the blood left his face, knots formed and then doubled within his stomach, and a sudden flood of saliva filled Gajeel's mouth as the length from his mouth and stomach felt like it shrunk entirely to leave little space between open air and his last meal.
He knew that a trip by train to Magnolia from Oak Town was only a few hours. Gajeel wasn't stupid. Yet, if anyone were to ask him how long he sat in that booth trying his damndest to keep what little composure he had left in-tact, his response would have been no less than three days. How could time possibly work like that? Didn't matter. All he knew was that he was a changed man when he stumbled off of the train and on to the calm, unmoving train platform in Magnolia. If Gajeel lacked pride or shame, there would be little stopping him from dropping to his knees and hugging the ground where he stood. Instead, Gajeel's shaky knee remained unbent as he stumbled through the crowd of the large town of Magnolia, doing his best to navigate himself toward the Fairy Tail guild hall.
Magnolia wasn't a new destination. Gajeel has made his rounds to every major town or city in Fiore at some point over the years, but to say he was familiar with it would be a lie. Paths were numerous and arcing as they danced across streams that flowed through the town, buildings were tall and lavish, the road crowded no matter where he turned, and the only saving grace was the building that seemed to stand above almost all others. Granted, next to a castle the Fairy Tail hall was nothing special, but it did stand out amongst all the others across the expanse of Magnolia. It gave a sense of direction to Gajeel as he wandered through the paths trying to muffle out the noise of countless conversations around him.
Gajeel made it to a more sparse road, where he wasn't pushing through bodies to make it to his destination, as he walked alongside a calm stream that occasionally accommodated a paddled float with wares to buy. He felt a calming breath settle in his chest for a moment, reveling in the calmer environment, only for his eyes to shoot to a burst of blue. It was a softer blue than Juvia's on a head of wilder hair held back with an orange headband as a gleeful face led a blonde haired woman down the opposite direction on the other side of the road. The blonde was dressed vaguely like the traveling performers that would make their way from town to town with their synchronized dancing that made the civilians in Oak Town become intolerable for days. She, however, wasn't worth so much as a glance while red eyes focused themselves on the smaller woman taking enthusiastic lead. Something about the scene almost made Gajeel come to a halt. Almost. But with the shake of his head, Gajeel set his mind right and continued to walk in the direction the pair of girls came from.
It took little time to reach the end of the lines of marketplaces and stores before the road opened up into a miniature cobbled yard that lay in front of the red doors of the Fairy Tail guild hall. Although not a walled castle, the hall stood three tall stories that looked down upon every other building in the town of Magnolia save for the pristine cathedral on the opposite side of the town. The small courtyard before the guild seemed to be filled with equal parts passersby that continued on their way past the building and tourists that stopped to gawk at the sight. Gajeel likely seemed like the latter as he inspected the building and everything else around it as if a solution was hidden in plain sight around him. Walking right in there and demanding for the Akuma won't fly… He wanted a way to be able to spot the Akuma before he found a place to wait him out, but the windows around the hall were limited to say the least. A guild full of experienced mages would be able to notice him prying around it, even if he was a Dragon Slayer. Instead of forcing the issue, Gajeel leapt to the top of the nearest building that fell just short of the opening to the humble courtyard. Its roof was flat, the brick and mortar sturdy and untarnished, and the signs around it gaudy. Being some novelty magic trinket shop with the Fairy Tail symbol plastered all over it, Gajeel was sure that the eyes of those around would be drawn elsewhere but the roof he chose to sit upon with his eyes focused on the door across the bustling courtyard.
Maybe he should have thought about what he was doing for the day before he sat down on the roof to gaze at the red doors that seemed to have burnt themselves into his eyes and memory. No food, no drink, and no company to endlessly talk his ear off as he sat staring at the door. Bringing Juvia might have been the better call. Gajeel mindlessly thought to himself as a hand absentmindedly dug into a leg pocket to pull a chunk of wrought iron that soon earned itself a distinct bite mark with the sound of loud munching resounding from his mouth. It was something he tended to carry on him in case of an emergency. If he was caught up in a nasty fight or long winded job, a stray chunk of iron could save his life. It certainly did here. Eyes were unmoving from the door, but the rest of the Dragon Slayer was itching to do something. Anything, really. But he knew that there was nothing else to but wait for the head of pink hair that existed as the only worthwhile detail of the Akuma's appearance. Minutes could have dragged by, hours could have flown, and neither could be recognized.
CLAP!
Whatever time had passed, however long he had been unrelentingly gazing at the door that swung open countless times to reveal every shade of hair that wasn't pink, it was cut short as a massive thunderclap echoed through the air and reverberated within his sensitive ears. Light bathed the roof of the shop, and surely a fair distance around it, and in an instant Gajeel flew to his feet with his right hand glowing a steely gray magic. When the light cleared and the echoing crackles of the thunder died down, the tall frame of a blonde man with a lightning scar cutting over his right eye was revealed with a deep scowl on his face. The sight of the man almost made Gajeel regret going through his iron so soon before throwing that thought away and matching the scathing look back at the man.
"What would you be doing here stalking over our guild hall, Black Steel Gajeel?" The man called in a rough voice devoid of any casualness or true curiosity. "I would hope Jose's Ace would be comfortable enough to come to us with any issue he may have." Gajeel let his lips curl slightly into a smirk at the act of diplomacy. The Council only made them keep the peace, playing nice was the job for guildmasters, yet here they were.
"I was just admiring the scenery, gihi. There's no crime in that, Laxus Dreyer. Unless 'Thunder God' has gotten to your head, Fairy?" There wasn't much to go off of when it came to Laxus Dreyer, not that Gajeel knew. Even in the Grand Magic Games, Gajeel has never seen Laxus take the field for longer than a few moments to get rid of some poor bottom dweller that got tasked to handle him. He was simply the grandson of the guildmaster and a lightning user to Gajeel. People and journalists liked to stick an alias to names that catch their attention, but there was never much substance to it. Still, while he wasn't impressed by the short list of accomplishments Gajeel knew of Laxus Dreyer, there was something off about him. His scent, his magic, and his presence always seemed like it was hiding something more.
Laxus didn't say anything for a moment, choosing rather to simply stare at Gajeel with eyes that shifted from the magic saturated hand and Gajeel's intense gaze. Something seemed to click after a moment within Laxus's head as realization filled his eyes and a scoff was released into the air.
"You've come for the Akuma, haven't you? Jose can't stand that he joined Fairy Tail, can he?" A humorless chuckle fell from his lips and any tenseness left Laxus in favor of blatant amusement. "You missed him by a few hours, but he should be back before the end of the day. Keep an eye to the east come nightfall and you'll see him."
Gajeel imagined that his eyebrows were well on their way to close the distance of his forehead to his hairline as they shot up in surprise. Laxus's word almost didn't register before the man turned his back to leave. The Dragon Slayer had to scramble to get his response out quick enough.
"Not playing nice with your newest member, Thunder God? What happened to the family of Fairy Tail?" A snort came from him at the laughable thought. Fairy Tail members always stood on the high ground of being a guild of strong bonds and family. A guild with more publicity and popularity than Phantom Lord had more than its fair share of tagalongs only there for notoriety, yet they tried to say that they were all so interconnected. It was almost sweet to hear Dreyer give up their newest member so easily.
"Worry about your own problems, Black Steel. Just remember that there isn't a place in this town you can go that we won't know about." With a final glance over his shoulder, Laxus left the store's roof with another deafening clap of thunder and blinding light of lightning that crackled in a bright yellow. Gajeel couldn't help but scoff at the warning, as if it meant a damn to him or anyone else. If Gajeel didn't want to be found, then he wouldn't be. No one more than a Dragon Slayer knows how to keep a tail off of them.
Not paying Laxus's words anymore mind, Gajeel sat back down on the roof but with less of an intent, unflinching gaze being sent to the door of the guild. What use was there if the guy wasn't even there? Instead, Gajeel sidled closer to the edge of the roof that looked over the road that trekked through the heart of the town and let his eyes wander lazily. If all he had to do was watch east when the sun went down, there wasn't much pressure on making sure he caught sight of the man. All it fell to was patience.
Hours dragged by, but they went uninterrupted as Gajeel saw and felt the sun's slow descent back toward the horizon. Long growing bored of watching people walk by him, Gajeel's back now laid over the flat roof as his eyes looked to the sky. There was a time he got to fly through the bright blue expanse above him. On the back of a dragon covered in metallic silver scales as it easily cut through the air high above the sky. After all these years, that was the freest and most powerful Gajeel had ever felt as he gazed down toward the ground so high up that trees were simply green blotches on green fields. Gajeel wanted nothing more than to reach that point once again. Above it all, drifting aimlessly without a care in the world, but he couldn't help but be hesitant. He feared that it would be different when he made it up there again and he was alone.
Fire. Smoke. Ash. Three smells saturated his nose more than any other that made his nose scrunch and his body tense before he carefully pulled himself off of the ceiling. Eyes peeked over the edge of the ceiling to see a group of four that stood out from the rest of the crowd around them. Mirajane Strauss, Erza Scarlet, and Gray Fullbuster, all of which premiere names within Fairy Tail, walked up the road with a pink haired man draped in white and red who emitted the strong smell still filling his nose. He don't look like much, Gajeel couldn't help but think to himself, all those stories for a runt no older than me. For how long he's heard the whisperings of the wandering mage that torched dark guilds and left nothing but ashes in his wake. He assumed they were exaggerated, most stories that get around are, but he still thought of the guy as some hulking destroyer that carried a few years on him. Disbelief remained in Gajeel's gaze as the quartet wordlessly walked to the guild's entrance and slipped behind its doors.
Gajeel easily slid back into attentive waiting as the sun continued to fall with the Akuma remaining within the walls of the guildhall. There was a brief thought that Laxus could warn the guy about Gajeel, but something told him it wasn't something to bother with. Laxus seemed more than fine having Gajeel remain where he was after figuring out why he was there. He also wasn't there to hunt the guy, just have a nice chat, so he probably didn't have to care what the Akuma was told so long as he left the guildhall that night.
He truly couldn't remember when the light that bathed him shifted from natural to artificial. He didn't know when the bodies that seemed to fill the road in its entirety through the length of the day thinned to show only the barest hints of life with the occasional sound of lone steps clacking across a cobbled road. All he knew was when that artificial light illuminated a head of wild pink spikes and those lone steps were the sandaled feet of the Akuma as he followed the road to the east. As eager as he was to leave the roof that had been his perch almost the entire day, Gajeel let his target gain a lead ahead of him before dropping down and silently following behind.
The path was tricky to navigate, even for Gajeel, as there was hardly any cover for him on the road the Akuma chose. Magnolia's town proper didn't extend too far either way once one got as far as Fairy Tail, leaving only an open field that led to the forest. A field that would make Gajeel's position obvious if the Akuma chanced a look at his back. Luckily, the man seemed content in his isolated stroll toward the tree line, not taking one glance of the shoulder before joining the thick of the woods. Gajeel didn't hesitate to launch himself into the trees with a sprinting leap that carried him to the lowest branch of the closest tree that he used to carry him across the wooded canopy of the forest. His foot was light, his movements careful, but there was no denying the agility and quickness Gajeel navigated the unfamiliar forest as he kept even with the man from a distance in the trees. They only needed to talk, yes, but if he was going to convince the Akuma of joining Phantom Lord instead of Fairy Tail they would need privacy.
Or that was the idea.
Maybe it was the task of navigating the trees, his distance from the Akuma, and his care of being silent and unseen, a list that many would be hard pressed to follow, but Gajeel somehow let the crimson inferno that seemingly appeared from his right catch him entirely off-guard. Flames that illuminated the forest, punching through trees and brush easily, spun in a tight spiral that seemed to rage with embers flying off of it at every turn. There wasn't time for a spell, a call for his magic, or anything more than a breath that pushed out his magic in a hasty defense from the red flames flying toward him. Shards and shrapnel of metal burst from his throat in a neutered form of a Dragon's Roar that acted as nothing more than a shield between himself and the fire. The shards of metal were tossed away in red-hot flakes, discarded in clumps of melted iron, and in harsh debris that shot back at Gajeel to bounce harmlessly off of his skin.
Then it all stopped. The fire stopped, then Gajeel's metal stopped, and then there was nothing but the sounds of a forest around them. The Akuma was nowhere to be seen, the area he filled along the forest path was empty and Gajeel not hearing or smelling anything that overwhelmed the countless other smells around him. Red eyes carefully surveyed from his still position, careful not to make any hasty movements, but there was nothing to be found. It wasn't until the red glow of a magical circle spread from under his branch that Gajeel quickly vacated without a second thought. The eruption of flames behind him told Gajeel all he needed to know now. Now he wasn't following anything, he wasn't hunting anybody, but the table seemed to have flipped itself in a moment.
"Who are you?" The voice was calm but held a danger in it that Gajeel rarely heard. It put a smile on his face as a silver magic circle erupted over his right hand to replace the hand with a two sided blade that bore vicious intermittent spikes along its edge. The smell of fire, smoke, and ash filled his nose again from the body standing rigidly behind him, too still for its own good.
"Someone who just wants to talk!" Gajeel whipped around with his blade swinging wildly at shoulder level, only air meeting its edge as a flash of pink fell to the ground and dark eyes looked up at Gajeel with the ominous red haze of flames illuminating them with the fist clenched near the ground. The Akuma rose with a violent fist aimed in an uppercut at Gajeel's stomach. His sword hand dissolved back into a fist and his other hand bathed in magic to cover itself with metal scales that opened and caught the flaming fist in its grasp as the man rose back to eye-level in a brief stalemate. Their gazes were fierce and unbreaking. Gajeel could see the danger that hid itself within the dark orbs of his adversary, one that he was all too familiar with. He chose to ignore the heat that was rising considerably in his fist covered in Iron Scales, knowing that there hadn't been a fire to reach so deep as he felt his scales shudder in the heat.
Magic spiked in the direction he came, a warning of those reacting to their brief scuffle already. He wouldn't have much time and the longer he stayed the more likely he would get pulled into a fight while on a diplomatic mission. Juvia's aggressive laughter echoed in his mind but was otherwise ignored.
"If you want somewhere to go that you can be what you are, Akuma, then look toward Phantom. Mages like us aren't for prissy Fairies!" He yanked his boiling hand away and lashed a foot out to kick the man in the stomach to gain space, only for his foot to glance off of a leaning side and a fist fire itself toward Gajeel's chin. It missed by inches, the flames making it feel far closer, and Gajeel let his backward momentum carry him into a roll before he leapt back into the trees and snaked away from the forest that was seconds away from being flooded by Fairy Tail mages.
Now look at what you did, Akuma. I'll be itching for a good fight for days, gihi.
Secret time, I wrote fuck all in the last week. I expected to be somewhat productive now that I had free time with spring break, but nah. We did jack shit and less while enjoying every moment of it. That being said, this has bitten into by 15 chapter cushion I have in stored finished chapters, whatever shall I do?
If it hasn't been made clear, Phantom will have some larger impact on this story than the original. Just a tad...