Chapter 22

Don't Own Fairy Tail or anything else Only The Oc

'thought'

"Speech"

"Powerful Creatures Speaking, like a dragon or a god"

"Text via book or newspaper... when those are around..."

Three sets of eyes lock onto a white haired teen as he steps out of his house, offering a greeting to the small group of girls who have knocked on the door.

Merlin Ambrosius. Relative to one set of the eyes, Etherious to another, and just plain attractive to the third- not to be confused with the second set of eyes who is ALSO quite infatuated with his hotness-

He usually starts his day quite early, leaving the house before seven at the very least. Ten on weekends.

He's a creature of habit. He wanders briefly every morning, stopping by a bakery to grab something light to eat, then heads to the guild hall where he will remain for an hour or two at most. Then more often than not he will leave with his blue haired friend.

He has some sort of horned cat as a companion that one of the three is almost certain is an Etherious of some sort while the other two think it's just some sort of baby monster.

Today is... a little unusual as he stayed in today and a group of five showed up outside his door.

The first, the person who hangs around him all the time, Levy Mcgarden.

The next, a blonde who tends to be around quite often. Lucy Heartfilia.

Next, a purple haired girl, known only to one of the three sets of eyes, Laki Olietta.

The fourth, is a well known person, even the rabbit demon knows of her, the red haired Tatiana, Erza Scarlet, queen of the fairies.

And the final member is a green haired gunslinger, Bisca Mulan.

Merlin scratches the back of his head and allows them all inside.

One of the stalkers who is cloaked in illusion sneaks inside after the group, the next strains her rabbit-like extra pair of ears, trying to hear the noises inside the home, and the final one peers in through the window, body mostly made of water.

"Alright." Merlin begins. "Did Levy walk you through character creation?"

He gets a wave of confirmations from the girls.

"Alright. Keep in mind that this is relatively new and unbalanced, sooo uh... if you have any concerns throughout the game, please tell me."

"Oh! And I picked up illusion magic for this." The white haired mage smiles. "I also spent all morning making food."

"You cook?" The blue haired girl questions.

"I dabble... plus I had a few simple recipes knocking around in my head. Should probably mention, though... I didn't bake the cake. I picked that up at that bakery down the street."

"THAT BAKERY?!" Erza's eyes seem to glow.

"Y-Yeah?" Merlin mutters.

"You really didn't need to go through all of this." The green haired woman states.

"Nah. It's fine." He waves off. "Shall we get started? I'm sort of excited to get into the thick of things."

"Alright... how does this work?" Lucy mutters.

"Like this." Merlin begins, snapping his fingers, pointing towards a nearby table.

With an explosion of light, a map seems to form on it, a large flat obscuring screen appearing at one side which he quickly approaches and opens the book that was already there. "So, can you introduce your characters for me?"

Lucy looks in awe of the room as it seems to shift. The floor appears to be a dirt pathway- although it still feels of wood, beams of light seem to shine down from the ceiling.

One of the stalkers feels pride that he knows magic similar to her own, the other two are jealous of the five women in his home.

"Well. That was stressful." I admit to Levy.

The others had already left.

"That was fun!" She smiles. "I had a really good time, and I think the others did as well."

I scratch the back of my head, a small smile on my lips, as we both sit there in silence, quietly snacking on the leftover food that remained after the game.

Erza took the rest of the cake with her. Nobody was willing to fight with her on that. The fact that everyone got at least some of it was already a victory in and of itself.

"So..." The girl eventually speaks. "Have you decided on that choice you're making?"

"Yeah... I did." I nod once. "I eventually decided to go with metamagic."

After all, if Edolas happens, technically speaking my 'takeover' is nonmagical, being treated similarly to a barbarian's rage more than a spell.

Plus, I also have my demonic limit breaker.

"Awesome! Did you figure out anything yet?"

My eyes stray downwards as I cup my chin.

Meta-Magic Addon:
Metamagic is a truly wonderful thing. It's just a shame that Pathfinder has fewer options than the likes of 3.5. but. You don't have to worry about that anymore, now do you?
Grants access to the full library of 3.5 metamagic feats and access to Third Party Pathfinder ones. You gain one free feat purely for metamagic, plus one per 4 levels you have.

"I've been thinking a bit on them... but nothing's really come to my mind, yet."

There's certainly a few interesting effects I could get... Chain Spell is probably one I'm going to get as, well, for an extra three MP any spell I cast bounces to one additional target per caster level- to a maximum of twenty.

That's like... fucking insane.

Toss that on a buff spell and I could reasonably buff all of the guild's best fighters in an instant even now.

There's also multiple variants of feats.

Like for chain spell, there's a couple. One that's three extra MP and one that's four. The three has a maximum cap of twenty total chained targets. The four doesn't but has the caveat that the spell is far more limited. It can only be applied to area spells that allow reflex saves.

I'll really need to look through the massive list thoroughly.

Something catches my eye.

Stack Metamagic

Fucking excuse me?

Stack Metamagic:
Prerequisite: Knowledge Arcana 1 Rank, any two metamagic feats

Description:
You can add some metamagic feats to a spell more than once. Only spells that increase one of the numeric values of a spell by a set amount can be stacked. Thus you can stack multiple Defensive Spell, Empower Spell, Enlarge Spell, Extend Spell, Profane Spell, Sanctified Spell, and Widen Spell feats onto the same spell. Each additional use of the metamagic feat adds the same total amount to the numeric value of the spell effected. Thus an "extended extended" spell has triple the duration of a normal spell (each Extend Spell adding a duration equal to the spell's original value), and a "profane profane" spell deals all unholy damage, and good creatures are at a –2 penalty to saves against it.

When stacking metamagic feats, the spell uses up MP equal to its normal MP + the total number of levels added by the metamagic feats +1. Thus an "extended extended" spell uses up three MP. (+2 for the two uses of Extend Spell +1).

"You know what... scratch that... I think I just got something." I admit.

Only to pause "Wait a fucking second-"

Thanks to that other ability... empower only takes one additional MP... and with my bullshit MP cap...

"What'd you figure out?" The girl questions.

"Observe." I grin.

"Extended. Extended. Extended. Extended. Extended. Healing Ruby." I point to her.

"What did- huh?" The girl blinks as her body begins to glow red. "What does extend do?"

"Double the duration."

"D-DOUBLE THE DURATION?! Then- then you just-" she sputters.

"No. It's not a double every time, sadly. That would have been awesome, but no... think of it as more 'Adding the duration on top of itself. So one extend is times two, two extends is times three."

"So you made your spell have six times the duration?" She questions, looking over herself.

"Yep. I used as much Mana as I'd need to make that glow last twenty four hours. I could push the duration to times eight if I needed... but to be honest, at this point there's no reason why I wouldn't just make it last twenty four hours."

"How... long does this last normally?"

"A little more than a minute... maybe a minute and a third"

"So... about seven and a half minutes?" The girl questions. "That's... not as impressive as the twenty four hour thing..."

"Mage armor lasts thirteen hours naturally." I admit. "Now, I could either spend a ridiculous amount of mana to make it a static twenty four hours... or I could spend the same amount and get a spell that lasts seventy eight."

"You- You have a spell that lasts SEVENTY EIGHT HOURS?!"

"Yep. Soooo realistically, if you ever want it, just ask I'll regain my magical power loooong before the spell ends. Hell, I'll probably start giving it out at the guild for free if we aren't planning on doing a job or anything."

The girl stares at me for a long moment. "Merlin you're absolutely ridiculous."

"Hey Luce." I greet. "What brings you to my neck of the wood-"

I pause, my easy-going smile quickly falling as I take a look at her face. "What's wrong?"

"Unlock my second origin." She demands.

"What's wrong." I repeat.

"I-" the girl whispers, there's a deep determination in her expression.

"Recently... I had to face a guild of dark wizards. I-I nearly lost."

"Want to come in and talk about it?" I ask, stepping aside, causing the girl to slowly nod and come inside. "I'm baking some cookies. They'll be out of the oven in a couple of minutes."

"Thank you... Merlin." The girl whispers as she steps inside, taking a seat at the table in my kitchen.

I make my way back to the kitchen. "So... what's got you so... well... sad? Mad? Distraught?"

The girl takes a deep breath, then exhales. "Where... do I start?"

She thinks for a long moment. "A while back... I have been feeling like someone was following me-"

"You too?" I ask.

My question seems to take all the wind from her sails.

"Wait... what?"

"Oh yeah, I sort of feel like someone's watching me like... all the time these days." I admit with a small shrug. "Continue. Sorry. I won't interrupt anymore.

"A-Alright... I found out who it was... who was following me... it was my father and... He lost everything. My childhood home is gone. My mother's original grave. Repossessed. All of the people I grew up around... fired..." She begins again. "He told me he was going to start over- and that he needed some money from me... I... I told him to get lost a-and that I didn't want to see him again... t-today I heard that a dark guild has taken over the place he said he was going... I-I- that thought shook me... I didn't want potentially the last thing I ever said to him to be that!"

"I was scared." She admits. "So I rushed off to Acalypha Town."

She seems to notice my slight frown. "I-I know... I should have asked for help... but... You, Levy, Natsu and the others... You are all so selfless... you help me without a second thought and- and there's nothing I ever do to pay you back!"

"I don't want to take advantage of our friendship!" She exclaims. "I don't- I don't want to be weak anymore Merlin! I-I barely won. I barely managed to defeat the dark guild... and it was only through Agrias' help... it was only through the Star Dress that YOU got for me. It wasn't even an entire dark guild! It was just like ten guys!"

"Lucy..." I whisper. "You are never a burden. Nor do you need to pay me back. I help people because I can. Not because I am expecting some sort of compensation or assistance in the future. I just... like the nice feeling I get when doing nice things for other people... It fills me with pride to help others. To make lives better if I'm able. Going off on your own... that was stupid. Especially when you knew you were facing a dark guild."

"But... I understand." I eventually speak with a single nod. "I'll unlock your Second Origin... if that is what you want... are you sure?"

"I spoke to my spirits over the past couple of weeks... some didn't even know a 'second origin' existed, but the older ones and the wiser ones gave me a little more information about it. I refuse to be weak anymore. I'm going to get strong enough to be worthy of Draco The Dragon! I don't want to squander the potential of my spirits any longer!"

I stare at her for a long moment, then let out a quiet sigh. "Alright. I'll set up some sound dampening runes after I get my cookies out of the oven."

"OI! Merlin! Fight me!" Natsu roars.

"Ah. Is it that time?" I ask slowly as I rise to my feet. "Alright, let's take this outside."

"AHAH! Get ready to eat dirt, Merlin!" The fire wizard turns, rushing out of the guild hall.

I slowly rise to my feet, glancing over to Levy. "I'll try and finish this up quick so we can go on that job."

"Don't hurt him too bad." She calls after me.

"I'll try." I reply.

I follow Natsu outside spying the dragon slayer stretching.

"I'm going to kick your ass Merlin!" He declares proudly.

"How do you want to do this?" I call out. "Takeover? No takeover? Should I not use Meteor?"

"ALL OUT!" He grins. "I want you to go full force!"

"Alright... you asked for it. Sorry if this ends... too... quickly?" I huff only to pause as I see a large group of people walking down the street. It looks to be a small army... at least a platoon comparable to what was sent to take on the Eisenwald Guild. "Lahar? What are you doing here."

"I am here to make an official request to your guild about an important mission. Do you know where your guild master is... Merlin you are being requested to take part in this as it is of the upmost importance."

"Agh! Damn it!" Natsu growls, slumping over slightly before perking up. "Oh well... maybe another day."

He turns walking back into the guild. "Oiiii Gramps! The magic council's here!"

"WHICH ONE OF YOU BRATS BROKE SOMETHING YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE!" Master Makarov's booming voice seems to shake the guild hall, causing me to snort as I make my way inside.

Heh...

I slip inside, making my way across the guild hall, taking a seat next to Levy who looks over in confusion. "What is it?"

"Some big mission." I shrug. "Apparently I'll be taking part. Not sure when or where, but do you have everything that you need?"

"Ah. Yeah... I do... but, they requested you, right? Would it really be alright if I come with you?"

"I assume they're going to request other people as well. Natsu probably. Erza and Gray if they are around, you're among the top percent in our guild, so you should also be a good pick."

"Merlin." Makarov calls out, causing me to rise from my spot at the bar I look to Levy and gesture for her to come with me. We quickly make our way over.

We come to a stop in front of Lahar and Makarov as we are led into the office.

"Merlin, you're being made the leader of this mission. Who are you bringing with you?"

"Well, Levy obviously for one." I begin. "Her magic makes her probably the most versatile wizard in Fairy Tail suited for any situation. But beyond her, I'd like to know the overall situation first. What are we doing? Where are we going? What might we face?"

"This is a subjugation mission... one far more high profile than what we had for Eisenwald." Lahar begins.

"I see." I note. "So combat is incredibly likely. Location?"

"Worth Woodsea to the northwest. A forest that supposedly holds a magical weapon named Nirvana."

"So a dark guild is seeking a magical superweapon." I mutter, a frown on my lips.

"Not just any guild... the Oracion Seis one of the three heads of the Balam Alliance. You are to subjugate not only them but the numerous other guilds they have brought with them." Lahar begins.

"This is kind of a tall order for just one guild... is this a collaboration between multiple guilds?" I question.

"It is." The man nods. "We have already sent out requests to Phantom Lord, Lamia Scale, Cait Shelter, and Blue Pegasus."

"Ah." I whisper. "Phantom Lord might be a bit of an issue for us... but I'm willing to put aside my differences with the guild... if they are willing to do the same... I'm unsure."

"Will there be any buildings close by?"

"No." Lahar shakes his head. "Bring your most destructive wizards. There are no buildings inhabited for miles aside from the meeting point."

"Natsu Erza and Grey for certainty then." I nod slowly before looking to Levy. "Should we bring Lucy?"

Levy ponders for a moment. "She... could definitely help."

I nod slowly in agreement. "Even if she doesn't want to fight on the front lines she could be invaluable as support due to the fact that Agrias can heal... and so can she though the use of Star Dress. Virgo likely could be of great assistance as well."

"Master Makarov." I begin while turning. "Is Laxus here? This isn't something we can fuck up."

"I'm afraid not." The man sighs. "He and the thunder legion went out on an S-Class mission this morning."

"Ah. A shame." I state. "We should be able to manage with the group we have now, though."

"When is this mission taking place?" I ask.

I am handed a folded envelope "You will be expected to meet the other gathering guilds at this meeting point tomorrow at ten in the morning... you have one day to prepare."

"That's more than enough time." I nod slowly. "In fact..."

"Extend Extend Extend Extend Extend Extend Mage Armor." I place my hand on Levy's shoulder, causing a light to briefly flash around her. "Now. Let's go speak to Natsu, Grey, Lucy, and Erza."

I walk alongside our group as we trudge down a twisting forested path.

"It's... just six wizards, right?" Lucy questions quietly. "W-We can handle that... right?"

"Lucy." I frown. "I am aware that you are probably saying that just to make yourself feel better. But you need to harden your resolve... this is a serious mission. Firstly, no. We are not going to just be facing six wizards. We are facing one of the three heads of the Balam alliance. A guild that has numerous subordinate dark guilds. We are not facing six wizards. We are facing numerous dark guilds."

"Secondly... calling them 'just six wizards' is downplaying their potential threat considerably... you wouldn't call Master Makarov 'just one wizard' would you?"

Lucy is silent for a long moment. "But... he's a wizard saint... that- that's different."

"Sorry, Lucy." Levy begins. "But Merlin's right here... wizard saint positions aren't offered to dark wizards. You could be someone who could destroy all of Fiore in a single spell, yet if you are aligned to a dark guild, the magic council would never acknowledge your strength for what it is to keep unrest low."

"oooh no." The girl whimpers.

"Lucy. I don't expect you to fight." I begin. "You are definitely stronger, but you are here to heal any potential injuries through either Agrias- or her Star Dress- and boosting the strength of our allies through Vexillum."

"No... I'll fight." The girl declares. "I'm tired of being weak!"

In the distance we spy a large pink castle-like building with a large heart window near the top within a tower that normally might house something like a large clock.

Ah. This is Bob's villa, right? The Guild Master of Blue Pegasus.

We come to the door, pushing it open with a loud creak, stepping inside.

"Ding dong. Fairy Tail is here." I call out into the darkened foyer.

There's no response.

"So... the lights are out." I observe, my voice echoing out into the empty room. "So. One of two things... either blue Pegasus are the dramatic type and plan to have some sort of dynamic entry... or Oracion seis is stronger than presumed and Blue Pegasus wizards have already been defeated are we are now in a trap."

"Natsu. Be ready to blow shit up." I hum nonchalantly.

He perks up.

"Heh. HEHEHEH! I don't get to blow up mansions often! The last time I can think of would be with that Everlue guy!" fire crackles in between his hands, a sphere that steadily grows.

"It was a joke." I deadpan. "They're doing the first."

"Awww." Natsu sighs.

"You'll have more that enough opportunity to cut loose, Natsu." Erza begins, gazing around the dark room.

"This is a little scary." Lucy whispers.

"Oh. There they are." I observe as three figures step into the room.

"Where?" Gray scoffs. "It's pitch black in here- wait... can you see?"

"""You can't?""" Erza, Natsu and I ask at the same time.

*FLASH*

"Hello~ (Hello)" Three figures sing, a quiet rattle of a tambourine echoing out.

I see a really short man in the corner with a tambourine, one of the three are clapping "Fairy~ (Fairy) Taaaail~ (Tail) Wizards! (Wizards!)"

"..."

"We're so glad you came." All three speak at the same time.

"We are..." One of the three speak, faces obscured by the spotlight as they seem to be positioned just in a way that their hair casts shadows over their features.

"The Blue Pegasus..." A second continues, this one shorter, younger, with blonde hair, the prior boy having brown hair.

"Elite Crew." The final member finishes.

"""The Trimens."""

"Hundred Night Hibiki."

"Holy Night Eve."

"Still Night... Ren..."

Dark Knight... Batman...

Erza's face hardens, eyes sweeping the room.

"Wow..." Lucy gasps, eyes sparkling, she seems to have a slight blush. "It's the Trimens! That's so cool! H-Hibiki Lates is always near the top of sorcerer weekly's most eligible wizard bachelors list! He's been in the top three for the past few months!"

My gaze slowly flicks to Levy, she looks back, an amused smile on her lips as I gesture to Lucy's fangirling.

Levy lets out a small sigh and shakes her head with an exasperated look.

"I've heard tales of your beauty... and they're true." The brown haired wizard smiles with a snap of his fingers, causing steam to puff from Lucy's ears.

I wonder if jumping off the cliff outside would kill me or just break my legs...

"It's a pleasure to meet you... Miss Tatania." The smallest of the three teens, the blonde, smiles up at Erza, she continues scanning the room.

"Please come with me." She is led to a large sofa with a heart on it.

Lucy is knocked out of her fangirling and is genuinely dumbfounded.

"Would you care to freshen up?" One of the three kneel before the red haired woman.

"Or maybe something to eat?" A second pushes a large table into view and takes a seat beside Erza.

"No." She evenly replies.

"Ah, but there's cake... want some?" The first continues.

"No thank you." Erza is surprisingly diplomatic.

"Would either of you fine ladies care to take a seat?"

The final member makes his presence known behind Lucy and Levy, an arm around each of their backs, a hand resting on their hips.

Levy turns and with one nose-crunching jab she knocks him flat, causing a single snort to leave my lips

"..." She looks down at her hand, eyes straying from her knuckles to the wizard rolling around clutching his face. "I'm... sorry?"

She seems confused on if she should apologize after breaking his nose

"Don't apologize to him, Levy. In fact, hit him again." I sigh a ghost of a smile on my lips. "This is sexual harassment."

My eyes harden, my smile being erased. "Cut the shit. We're dealing with a dark guild. You're treating this like some party."

"My men. He is correct." The small figure that was playing the tambourine earlier appears at the top of the stairs.

He hops on the banister, sliding down it.

Erza is shaking slightly.

"Ah... Erza Scarlet... Lucy Heartfilia... Levy Mcgarden... it appears we are bound by fate!" He booms in his deep voice.

He looks to us. "You three can go."

"I'm going to bomb this building." I decide.

"..."

"..."

"So can you heal my maaaan." Ichiya continues, striking a pose where his arms are crossed over his chest, middle and ring fingers curled inwards.

I look down to the mage on the floor from Levy's punch. "Oh right. Forgot about him. Just know that if you don't cut the flirting shit out and give this the attention it deserves, I'm going to twist you into a pretzel before we go deal with the Seis ourselves."

WELL! Seis time! Plus we get a look into the daily life of Merlin! also! Happy Halloween!

Also, I have a Patroom where you can read stuff early. you can find it at Flameclawsxx