Chapter 13

Warning: A few questions at the end.

Diederick's school

Diederick was diligently taking notes as his current teacher was explaining the history of Magnolia to his entire class. Unlike most, if not everyone else, Diederick was listening intently to the teacher, making notes whenever possible.

It's been months since his mothers went around Magnolia to see which schools were best for him and they decided it would be the first one they went to, Rosary elementary school. Aragor had been pleased that they had chosen his school for their child and promised the twins that he'll make sure that Diederick would feel right at home with the year most appropriate for him as well as help him adjust to the school.

And so, with Aragor's help, Diederick was able to fit right into his chosen year and learn how to interact with some people. Much to the man's satisfaction, Diederick was studying hard in his classes. So far, the boy was getting good grades in his classes and was becoming a favorite of the teachers because he was actually attentive to his classes, even the boring ones.

The only thing that he wasn't excelling at was his social life. The boy, despite having friends in Fairy Tail, or rather perhaps because of it, wasn't exactly popular with most of the other children. The reason being that Fairy Tail mages, both children and adults, have caused property damage for their families. Although all of it was unintentional, the fact remained that the Fairy Tail guild has caused some heavy costs to their families in terms of replacing what they lost and repairing what they can from their brawls. So, when people found out that Diederick's mothers were part of Fairy Tail and he was friends with some of them, made him a target of bullying for those that suffered because of Fairy Tail's little friendly brawls.

It annoyed and angered Diederick and his mothers that such things were being done to him. Aragor was also disappointed and made sure to talk and punish those that did so frequently. Bullies had no place in his school and Aragor made sure they know about it. Still, the bullying happened and it was getting on Diederick's nerves. So much so that he asked Naestra what to do, knowing that Arahan would say something akin to beat them up or scare them to submission and that wouldn't look good on him with the teachers.

Naestra, of course, told him to just ignore them. Telling him that they simply weren't the energy or effort to confront them about all the bullying. She said to him that to give them any attention was to give them victory. She explained that to give them attention meant that they were successful in getting a response from him and that was what they wanted. They wanted him to respond, to know that they can get something out of him and rile him up, thus making them want to go further. To make him eventually lose control and get him into trouble. She told him that, to achieve his own victory, he needed to ignore them. Ignore their taunts and insults until they give up. And only tell on them when they've taken things too far, otherwise, they'll use that as another way to bully him. That was the only way to achieve victory.

Diederick, following his mother's advice, did just that and ignored the bullies. So far it worked, some of them gave up when it was clear that Diederick wouldn't crack, no matter what they used against him. Eventually, all that was left was a handful of persistent individuals that did whatever they can to rile him up. So far, nothing worked, but Diederick knew that it was only a matter of time before something drastic happened. He just knew it. Thus, he had his mother help him control himself should the worse come to pass. So far, nothing too drastic happened. Just insults to his person and his affiliation with Fairy Tail, but Diederick knew things were going to get worse somehow.

Eventually, the class was over and the teacher began handing out assignments for everyone to do. After acquiring his assignment, Diederick went to get his book bag. It was his last class of the day and now that he was free to go, Diederick was eager to get back home and do his work so he can go to Fairy Tail and hang out with his friends and mothers. He heard that there were some new members to Fairy Tail, all of them children, and he was eager to see them. Already Fairy Tail received a new member, a scarlet-haired girl by the name of Erza. The girl, after getting adjusted to Fairy Tail, became a source of fear to both Gray and Natsu for her strictness and ability to beat up both of them without so much as a sweat. Initially, however, she wasn't like that at all.

She came to the guild around when Diederick started school. When she first joined, she was meek reclusive to everyone. Even Naestra got this treatment when she attempted to help the girl open up.

Eventually, after a few repeated times by Natsu and Gray to get the girl to open up by picking a fight with her, they claimed that a friendly brawl can make anyone open up, Arahan eventually had enough and confronted the little girl. After nearly scaring Erza by just being herself, Arahan told her to stop being so meek and to start acting like a warrior. She told the little girl that, now that she was a Fairy Tail member, she had to toughen up lest she becomes a liability to whatever team she was assigned to. Of course, she said her words a bit harsher than stated, but Erza got the message, though she did cry a bit, enraging a few people, like Natsu and Gray. The two were so angry that they challenged Arahan to a brawl right then and there. The looks they gave to Arahan that day would have scared any normal person, but Arahan was anything but normal. In fact, Diederick suspected that if the two hadn't challenged Arahan right then and there, Erza wouldn't be the fearful girl she was now. He recalled what happened when the two fought Arahan and how it caused Erza to idolize the white-haired elf.

Flashback

Fairy Tail guild

"You made her cry!" Yelled Natsu as he glared at Arahan, catching her attention. Looking around, Arahan saw glares of anger and disappointment directed at her, but the ones that were most prominent were the glares from Natsu and Gray. Seeing both of them glaring at her caused Arahan to narrow her eyes.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Asked Arahan as she glared at the boys. Normally this would have culled them, but their anger was too great for them to be culled this time.

"We're going to beat you up!" Announced Natsu, pointing his finger at Arahan, causing some people to look at him in shock as well causing Arahan to snort in amusement. Naestra, upon hearing this, attempted to stop the fight lest the two children get hurt.

"Natsu. Gray. Don't do this." Said Naestra as she got between both Arahan and the boys, leaving Diederick alone, who was there as well, having finished school for the day. "You'll only get yourselves hurt. Arahan will not hold back against you, regardless if you're children. Please reconsider. If you wish to lodge a complaint, just relay it to the master. Violence in this situation will not solve anything."

"No way!" Yelled Natsu. "This white-haired woman has been nothing but a bully the moment she got inducted as a member. Even after the master warned her about being a jerk, she still does it. It's time someone else gives her a piece of their mind." Upon hearing that, Arahan chuckled before grabbing her weapons and placing them away safely.

"If this is what you all want, then so be it." Said Arahan as she tightened her hood around her head, so that it won't fall off, revealing her ears. "Both of you fight me at the same time and you're allowed to use your magic. The first one to knock the opposing side first wins."

"Arahan." Started Naestra, trying to stop her sister. "Don't do this. They're children. And to be fair, you did make this one cry." She then placed her hands on Erza, causing the red-haired girl to look at Naestra in surprise. "Please, be rational. Makarov won't…"

"Makarov can just complain it the next time we talk." Said Arahan as she looked at Gray and Natsu. "You both go first." Before Naestra can talk again, Natsu pounced on Arahan with fists covered in fire while Gray fired ice shards at her. Anticipating this, Arahan nimbly dodged the first set of attacks and it all went down hill for the children from there.

Continuing to dodge Natsu's' and Gray's attacks, Arahan didn't so much as blink as she dodged the attacks from the two children, weaving herself between their attacks and edging herself away from danger in perfect symphony. Everyone watching was looking in awe as Arahan weaved around the attacks in perfect harmony. It was like she was a dancer that spent decades mastering the arts of dancing. Erza herself was looking in awe at Arahan, even more so when she began to fight back. Sort of.

Putting herself right between the two children, Arahan watched as Gray was prepared to fire another ice-based attack on her while Natsu charged at her with his fists on fire. Then, just as they were going to connect with her, Arahan weaved out of harms way, shocking both boys. They attempted to get out of the way, but they were too close. Natsu's fist connected with Gray's face, knocking him out, and Gray's ice attack turned Natsu into an ice cube, taking them both out of the fight.

"Tch." Said Arahan as she looked at the knocked-out boys before going to her things. "Are you happy sister? I didn't touch them like you thought I would." Upon hearing this, Naestra just sighed.

"I would have preferred if you didn't fight them in the first place, but this will have to suffice." Said Naestra as people began murmuring in awe at Arahan. While this was happening, Naestra was going over to the two boys to help tend to their wounds, or rather their wounded pride. While all this was happening, Erza was looking over at Arahan as she went to her son, her eyes containing awe in them.

Present

Things then took a turn for the worse, or better depending on how you look at it, when Erza saw Arahan beat Gray and Natsu without so much as attacking them once, she began to emulate her. Trying to be so much like her At first, Arahan was annoyed with the red-head for doing so, but after a confrontation and learning why she was doing it, Arahan eventually took her under her wing and trained her in the art of swordplay and archery, though she stopped doing that when Erza always nearly shoot Makarov in the rear whenever they practice, even when it should be impossible to do so, becoming a sort of role model for the girl. As a result of Arahan taking the girl under her wing a bit, Erza became more open to the guild as her confidence built up and she began to socialize with the other children, including Diederick. Although, because of Arahan, Erza became a sort of disciplinarian. Trying her very best to try to get Gray and Natsu to stop their fights when it becomes clear to her that it'll only end in unnecessary destruction. Eventually, she became just as scary to the boys as Arahan, a hint of pride for the little girl.

As a result of her closeness to Arahan, she became close to both Naestra and Diederick, seeing the latter as a friend and the other as a mother figure for her kindness and tenderness around everyone in the guild, even those that are rather lecherous. Seeing that he had no female friends at all, Diederick was more than pleased to welcome Erza as a friend and so was the girl after some encouragement from Naestra. She, Diederick, Natsu, and Gray became fast friends, despite the latter two fearing her a great deal and her affiliation with Arahan.

Thinking about his friends, Diederick was considering what to do with them next when he heard some commotion. Walking over to it, he found a sight that disgusted him.

A group of boys was bullying a little boy, making fun of his outfit and hairstyle, which was done in a bob cut.

"Look at this hair." Said one boy as he messed around with the bullied boy's hair. "This has got to be the most disgusting hairstyle that I've ever seen in my entire life."

"Yeah." Said another boy as he looked at the hairstyle. "Who does a bob cut these days."

"Only people that have parents that don't love them." Said the final boy as he looked at the bullied boy with a smile on his face. "Right man? Your parents don't love you."

"Not really." Said the bullied kid. "They loved me very much. It's just that I kind of wanted this hairstyle when we last went to a barbershop."

"Then your parents didn't love you as much as you think." Said the third bully. "Because that is a very ugly hairstyle. They probably let you have that hairstyle so that you'll get bullied in school."

"Actually.' Said that bullied kid but was interrupted by the bullies.

"Come on, don't lie." Said the 2nd bully. "It's true, isn't it? Don't worry. You're among friends, right?"

"Well," Started the bullied kid, unsure of everything. Before he could answer, Diederick finally stepped in.

"Enough of this." Said Diederick as he made himself known, walking with his bookbag slugged on his back. "Leave him alone." Catching the bullies' attention, Diederick spoke again. "His hairstyle does not hint towards anything about the love between his parents and himself. Nor is it as bad as you three make it out to be. So leave him alone." Upon seeing Diederick, the three bullies glared at him.

"If it isn't the Fairy Tail fanboy." Said the 3rd bully, someone that Diederick recognized. He was Cardin Alfre, one of the few people still bullying him. And the other two were Robin Hales and Malfoy Pendleton. Friends of him, though they acted more like loyal dogs than actual friends as they did whatever he asked of them, which including helping him bully Diederick when possible. Aragor tried to make them stop before, either through punishments or trying to talk to them, but they never stopped their bullying, much to Aragor's disappointment. "Shouldn't you be going to your mage friends or something?"

"I would." Agreed Diederick. "But then I noticed you bullying him." Diederick motioned to the bullied boy, who was now silently moving away from everyone and was soon out of sight. "You couldn't just focus on me, couldn't you? You had to move on to other people. What? I was too hard to get something out of me, so you moved onto easier prey?" Diederick knew what he was doing was just making it easier for Cardin and his friends to bully him as he was giving them a way to get a reaction out of him, but he reasoned with that part of himself by believing that Cardin would never bully multiple people. That would get Aragor's attention and that would lead to serious consequences. Consequences that the teacher had never used before, but is willing to use if necessary.

"No, I did it because I thought you were already gone by now." Said Cardin as he walked up to Diederick. "But now that you're here, let's play a game. It's called, trying to figure out what makes you get angry."

"We played this before, Cardin." Said Diederick. "And the results will be the same." It was true. They've played this game many times before. Cardin used many things against Diederick to get him riled up and hurt him, thus giving Cardin an excuse to tell a teacher about him or something, therefore getting him into trouble. All of which so far failed. He attempted many things. He made fun of his name. He made fun of his looks. He made fun of his friends. He even made fun of him joining the school this year. None have succeeded in getting anything out of the boy.

"I don't know about that." Said Cardin with a smile. "I got some new material that will surely get something out of you." Diederick just stayed silent as he allowed Cardin to say what he had to say, confident that he can handle whatever the bully can throw at him. What he got shocked and enraged him. "Your mothers must be pretty ugly to look at if they always wore those hoods of theirs' on all the time. Must be why they're members of Fairy Tail. They're the only ones that can tolerate members that ugly, even if they're weak." Upon hearing that comment, Diederick narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Demanded Diederick, to anger to realize that he was giving what Cardin wanted. A reaction from him. Cardin, realizing this, smirked and continued. "I mean come on. They're the only members within the entire guild that doesn't have access to magic. Therefore they can't do most of the jobs that Fairy Tail has to do. They have to rely on others to help them on those jobs. What a joke. Can't believe that the guild master took them into his guild. His age is finally getting to him."

"He still has his faculties, Cardin." Said Diederick, angry that he was now dragging the master into this. "And he's a lot wiser than you make him out to be."

"Can't be as wise as you make him out to be if he has your moms in his guild." Said Cardin. "Come to think of it, where's your dad in all this? Did your dad die in an accident or did he leave you with your moms, who I guess aren't your real moms either?" Diederick just stayed silent as he tried to calm himself down. Cardin was pulling cards that he had no idea were severe and something that should not be touched in such an insulting manner.

He knew a long time ago that he was a child of Man. A human, according to the books in Rosary, and that his mothers' were elves. Elves from another world different from that of Earthland and so was he. He also knew that his father had forced himself upon his birth mother and that she had died giving birth to him. He knew all of this before he started school, specifically a few weeks after both his mothers came back from their first assignment with Fairy Tail. It was a lot to take in. Well not the elven thing, but everything else was.

When he asked them why they were his mothers, they explained that they had taken him from his birth mother's husband as well as his true father to prevent them from leading him down a dark path. They also said that they traveled here, to this world, in order to prevent his true father from taking him back by force and that they did this through the powers of their queen, Ariel. They also told him that they had to leave everything behind in order to do so, much to his shock, but that it mattered little in the grand scheme of things. Naestra rather liked this world, finding it peaceful and beautiful in its own way while Arahan hated it, but that was her attitude towards most things in life. Hearing that his mothers abandoned everything to protect him made Diederick love and respect them more than he already did. This is why he can't stand the insults that Cardin was giving his mothers. And right now, he was considering punching the boy in the face for all that he said but was restraining himself through sheer force. However, what he said next really pushed him over the edge.

"And you know what I think?" Asked Cardin with a devious smile. "I think you're mothers are just there to just look pretty and give the real members some quality time." That comment confused Cardin's friends, as they had no idea what he meant by that, but Diederick did and it enraged him. Trying to calm himself, Diederick found that he couldn't and that his vision was going red. He felt a burning desire for vengeance and a need to kill this…asshole for daring to insinuate that his mothers were involved in such a line of work. But it wasn't just a burning desire found when someone insults your loved ones deeply. No. It was something more sinister. Something eviler and darker than just petty vengeance. Something that shouldn't exist but did. Something that demanded blood and skulls.

Before he could even act on those urges, he was stopped by a hand placed on his shoulder.

"Now, now. Let's not do anything we'll all regret." Said Aragor as he made himself known with a smile. Upon seeing the kind man, Diederick managed to calm himself a bit and the burning rage within him diminished, although it still remained. Aragor then looked at Cardin, who looked a bit scared upon seeing the owner of Rosary academy and frowned. "My office. Now." He then looked at Cardin's friend. "All three of you." Robin tried to protest at this, but Aragor remained firm. With that, the three went to his office with Aragor close behind. Once they were all gone, Diederick's burning urge for destruction and mayhem began to lessen now that the source of it was gone from his sights. It was almost gone when Diederick heard another voice.

"That was a close call, right?" Diederick heard from behind him. Looking back he saw that the boy that was bullied earlier came back and was now talking with him. "Any later and you'll be expelled from this school. Or worse." Upon hearing that, Diederick realized that he was the reason that Aragor arrived.

"You told Aragor of them, didn't you?" Asked Diederick, causing the boy to nod.

"Yeah. Went straight to his office the moment I was out of their sight." Said the boy. "Thanks for helping me back there. I really owe you one."

"Yeah, but we're even now." Said Diederick. "You stopped me from doing something that I was going to regret. I don't know how much you've heard but Cardin insulted my mothers. Implied that they were…"

"I know." Said the boy with a sympathetic look on his face. "I'm not as dumb as other people in our class are. I know what he was implying. Aragor did too and he wasn't too pleased with it. I'm thinking Cardin is getting into extra trouble for that. A lot of trouble." The boy then sighed before giving Diederick a smile. "Anyway, the name's Daxter. Daxter Ironcrow." Diederick then bowed his head at that.

"Diederick." Said Diederick simply as he had no last name, much like his mothers'. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Same to you." Said Daxter. "Though I wish we met under better circumstances." Diederick just nodded at that in agreement before speaking.

"Yes." Said Diederick. "I wish so as well." The two then looked at each other for a moment before Daxter spoke.

"Well, it's been nice talking to you. Hope to see you again." Said Daxter as he was about to leave. Just before he did, however, Diederick spoke.

"Wait." Said Diederick, realizing that this was a good opportunity to make a friend with another non-magic person. Something that Naestra would approve of as well as his other friends. "Perhaps we should get to know each other better. I mean, I'm visiting the place where my mothers' work. Perhaps we can go there together. See what the Fairy Tail mages really are when they're not out on jobs. And destroying things." Daxter looked at Diederick and pondered on the offer.

On one hand, Fairy Tail has a reputation of being so destructive that some people question why some hire them in the first place, but on the other, Diederick was friends with some of their members, so they all can't be that bad. Plus, his mothers seem to be pretty decent people if his reaction to insults toward them were any indication. Also, he kind of needed new friends. Ones that didn't abandon him because of his haircut. With that in mind, he agreed to the offer, and thus the two left to go to Fairy Tail once they acquired all their things. As they were leaving, both boys felt like things were going quite well for them. Quite well indeed.

Okay, so I was thinking of doing only two more chapters before we do a time skip to when the first couple of episodes of Fairy Tail occurs. Is that fine with everyone?

Also, does anyone like the little thing with Erza and Arahan? I figured that Erza, back as a little kid, would look up to Arahan for being so fearless when facing overwhelming odds and try to emulate her as much as possible. Perhaps leading her to become fiercer than in canon or be more reliant on skill than in magic. What do you think?

Thirdly, I'm stuck on where exactly to reveal Ceithin-Har and Gwindalor. I was thinking of introducing Gwindalor to Fairy Tail in the Phantom Pain arc while introducing Ceithin-Har in that strange anime-only plot with that fake dragon and weird cowgirl lady. My reasoning here is that the Twilight Sisters don't want to reveal their dragon to anyone, even Fairy Tail, because of it being a dragon, and…well people trying to go after him for a variety of reasons. And they don't want to have to deal with that headache. Especially from Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy when they see Ceithin-Har. Gwindalor, however, is just a giant eagle. Weird to see, but nothing too special. So, he wouldn't cause as much fanfare as Ceithin-Har would when people see him, thus allowing them to bring him for the war between Phantom Pain and Fairy Tail. Is that fine with people? Or should I introduce them sooner? If so, please present your reasoning as well as where I should introduce their mounts to Fairy Tail.

Fifth, let's talk about Diederick or Archaon for those that like to refer to him as such. What exactly should I give Diederick/Archaon? I was thinking of making him similar to Anakin or Revan from Star Wars. A character struggling with his darker side as it becomes stronger and stronger as they get older to be specific. Will that work? Also, what exactly should I give him for magic and powers? I know in Total War, Archaon was capable of using the lore of Fire, but I believe he's capable of more than that. He is the Everchosen after all and had the blessing of Tzeentch, the Chaos God of sorcery. So, was he capable of using all magic, baring the unique ones, like Nehekharan lore? And how strong was he before he went down the path to becoming Everchosen? Please help me with this. I'd like to do the best I can without making this too much of a wank for Warhammer.

And finally, other Warhammer characters. As I stated before, Chaos-aligned characters, baring perhaps Beastmen, are eventually making their way here, but that's going to be a long while. And I was thinking of adding a Warhammer character and faction here before them as a sort introduction for Fairy Tail of the cruelty and violence of the Warhammer world. The current chosen race is the Dark Elves. I'll keep hidden the details of how they got there, but I was thinking of having them appear during the Tenrou Island arc and having a three-way war between everyone there. What do you guys think?