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CHAPTER START---
"I hate you so much…" Laxus says as he glares at Oberon.
Laxus was in his seat on the train, his arm and shoulder wrapped in bandages, along with part of his midsection, a jacket thrown over his body as he struggled to stay awake.
And across from him, Oberon, who was originally hurt more than him, was perfectly healed and sitting with a book in his lap.
"Not my fault you don't heal fast, guess being part lizard didn't come with that, huh?"
"I do heal fast, but you sat and meditated for a few minutes and all your wounds healed, that's unfair," Laxus says.
"It looks easy, but it takes a big mental strain on me, not to mention the amount of Magic Energy I use, it's pretty intense."
Laxus looks away, seeing the last passengers boarding the train. "Psh, for normal people, doubt a freak like you even felt the loss of Magic Energy."
"I did," Oberon says as Laxus takes out his headphones. "I'd say the bigger freak is the guy who tracked a Lizardman from a drop of blood, now that's creepy, and your hearing."
"I can also see in the dark," Laxus says. "And when I focus Illusion Magic has a harder time tricking me, since all my senses are amplified."
"Hmm, that makes sense," Oberon looks around, only seeing a few people in this train car before he whispers quietly. It was too quiet for even someone sitting beside him to hear, but Laxus heard it clearly. "What about wings and claws, maybe a tail?"
Laxus shakes his head, "Gramps says it's impossible for me to get that kind of stuff, I just get the basic senses and some of the Magic, nothing more."
"That's kind of disappointing," Oberon says, still whispering. "But I guess that's good, Acnologia attacked my village for some kind of super-powerful Dragon Lacrima, if you went full Dragon he'd probably come find you too."
"Gramps said the readings from that Lacrima was different, way different from the one I got, as if it was still alive, with its power a couple times stronger than mine."
"That's—" Oberon stops as they start moving, and Laxus immediately plays his music and leans back in his seat, using all of his focus not to throw up. "---Nevermind."
—1 Hour Later…
"Get ready, I heard the conductor say we're a few minutes away," Laxus says, getting Oberon to stop writing for a moment.
"Damn, you're like a hunting dog," Oberon says.
"Well, Dragons were apex predators."
"You mean they 'are', apex predators, doubt Acnologia has to be careful of where he goes," Oberon says.
Laxus doesn't respond, instead, he takes out a Communication Lacrima -a softball-sized Lacrima Crystal in the shape of a translucent blue crystal ball-.
He focuses some Magic Energy into it, and Master Makarov's image appears, with some of the guild members moving about behind him.
"Are you at the station already?"
"Yeah gramps, we'll see you at Porlysusica's place."
"Alright, I'll head over there now," Makarov says as the call stops.
"How much does that thing cost anyway?" Oberon asks as Laxus stores the Communication Lacrima away.
"Not as much as you'd think, but the problem is storing it. Wizards usually don't carry anything fragile on them, because Jobs usually involve fighting. Or people like Gildarts exist who sometimes break anything they touch."
"Well we've got our cards, I think it's a good investment," Oberon says.
"Definitely, this one belongs to the Guild anyway so I was already thinking about getting a personal Communication Lacrima," Laxus says as the train stops, and he rushes to get onto solid ground.
"Ok, which way to the healer, Porlyusica?"
"Yeah, and she's not really a 'Healer' like with Magic," Laxus says as he begins leading Oberon through Magnolia. "More like she specializes in treating things caused by Magic, she mixes ingredients to make potions and stuff, that kind of thing."
"Ahh, so she's a Magic medicine woman, that makes more sense, since Master Makarov said Healing Magic was lost centuries ago."
"Oh, one thing, she uhh…she's kind of cranky," Laxus says.
"She can't be that bad."
"She is," Laxus says as he speeds up.
Ten minutes later the duo are walking through the forest just outside of Magnolia, to a part of the forest with a clearly used dirt path.
Large trees almost a dozen meters wide were all around them, with enough space between them for wind to move through the woods and for them to walk comfortably.
Oberon enjoyed the fresh air after spending so much of his time in the Guild Hall studying lately, and eventually, they came across a tree with a door and windows, and stone stairs leading up to it.
"She hollowed out a tree to make her house?" Oberon asks.
"Gramps made it for her, she doesn't actually use Magic," Laxus says as he goes up to the door and knocks.
"So she works with Wizards but doesn't use Magic, weird," Oberon says as Master Makarov opens the door.
"Glad to see you boys are in one piece, come in," he says while leading them into the house.
Oberon sees medical books and instruments neatly packed in every corner of the house, taking in everything as he walks through to the living room behind Laxus and Master Makarov.
"Alright, which one of these idiots is up first," Porlyusica says, drawing Oberon's eyes to her.
He sees the tall elderly woman, wrinkled face and pink hair, wearing a simple green top and dark burgundy skirt, sipping her tea in a rocking chair.
"Laxus is still a bit hurt, I'm fine," Oberon says. "It's a pleasure to meet you, by the way, I'm Oberon."
"I don't care, and no, it's not a pleasure," She sets down her tea and glares at him. "As for your health, we'll see about that after I'm done with this one," she grabs Laxus by the ear and pulls him into the next room."
Oberon and Master Makarov just stand there awkwardly as she drags the boy away.
Then Oberon looks at the set of curtains they disappeared behind, then to Master Makarov, then back to the curtains, then back to Master Makarov—
"No, she's not his grandmother," Makarov says as he leads Oberon to the couch.
"That's not what I was thinking," Oberon lies.
"That's what everyone thinks at first, and any time someone asks it pisses her off, and we never hear the end of it, so don't ask."
"Got it," Oberon says as he sits beside Master Makarov.
"So, how did the mission go?"
Oberon immediately gets excited as he animatedly tells Master Makarov everything.
The man's face goes from intrigued, to surprised, to very very surprised when he explains that they fought a Lizardman, and not a regular Lizardman, but the leader of a Clutch.
"But don't worry it was already pretty beat up, it had some scars from a recent fight or something," Oberon quickly says as the man glares at him. "Plus we agreed that if it got too dangerous we'd run away and call you for backup."
Makarov stares at him for a few moments, then relaxes, "Good. Too many Wizards foolishly throw away their lives over silly things such as pride, I'm glad the two of you have more sense than to do something stupid like that."
"Yeah, I'm learning about Magic so I can protect the people I care about, that means I have to live for them, right?"
"Exactly, and so long as you're fighting for others, you will continue to grow, for there is no greater reason to fight than to protect the ones we love," Makarov ruffles Oberon's hair.
"Oh, and on the way there I figured out something, while we were on the train!" Oberon says before realizing how loud he got, and quickly lowering his volume.
"Oh, and what's that?"
"This," Oberon makes the Light Sphere Construct in his hand.
"You focused on the Light Barrier?"
"Nope, watch," Oberon moves his fingers and it transforms into the rod, then a stick figure man that walks on his palm, then a cube that hovers above his hand.
Makarov's eyes widen in surprise, "How did you manage this on your own?"
"Well, none of the books you gave me had anything about Light Constructs, so I use the Light Barrier spell as the foundation, since it's solid. Then I wrote this," he projects the Magic Formula into the air, dozens of lines of Runes and math.
"Incredible," Makarov mutters.
"Yeah, then I used that as a basis for this, and now after I cast the Spell I mentally change the Magic Formula and cast it onto itself again, but it's not very efficient like this since I'd rather be able to recycle the Magic Energy," Oberon says with a sigh. "Maybe after a few more days, I'll figure that out."
"My boy, you're a real freak of nature," Makarov says, still staring at the Magic Formula in amazement. "To extrapolate all of this from the most basic of Light Magic Spells…it took me years to do this while studying spells at the summit of Light Magic, and even with access to Fairy Law I still needed help from Master Precht to create the Radiance Formula."
"What's the Radiance Formula?" Oberon asks.
"It is something I planned to teach you after you'd become S-Class, however, since you would clearly create your own long before that, I suppose I should explain it to you tomorrow, that way you won't repeat the mistakes I made and waste years slamming your head into a wall."
Oberon looks at Master Makarov with stars in his eyes, yet again, "You're the best teacher ever!"
"Are you two done yelling in here?" Porlyusica asks as she and Laxus leave the medical room. She hands Makarov a small packet of pills, "Make sure he takes one of those after every meal, that will deal with the infection."
"Is he fine otherwise?" Makarov asks.
"Dragons heal fast, he won't be out of commission for long," Porlyusica says as she walks over to Oberon and takes out a syringe, which instantly makes him nervous. "Where did you get slashed by the claws?"
Oberon points to his arm, not taking his eyes off of the needle.
"Hold still," Porlyusica moves to insert the needle, only for Oberon to instinctively fly off the couch away from her. "That's the complete opposite of what I said!"
Makarov enlarges his hand and grabs Oberon, then stretches his other hand and gently flicks him on the side of the head, knocking him out.
"Stupidly powerful, and still afraid of needles, seriously?" Porlyusica asks as she takes some blood from Oberon.
"He is still a child."
"Yeah," Laxus chuckles. "And I'm definitely going to make fun of him for this."
"You're just like your grandfather," Porlyusica says as she heads back into her medical room."
"Thanks."
"That was not a compliment!" she yells from beyond the curtains.
After a few minutes, Oberon wakes up on the couch beside Master Makarov, with Laxus in a single seat across from them.
"Ugh, what happened?"
"You tried to fly away from the needle so I knocked you out," Makarov says, causing Laxus to laugh.
"You didn't have to knock me out, I can handle a little needle," Oberon lies.
"Well I'd rather not risk your Gravity Magic making her house into a blender, she already charges me enough as it is," Makarov sighs. "Anyway, I believe the three of us have something important to talk about…"
Laxus immediately looks away, "Sorry Grandpa…"
Makarov sighs, "I'm not upset or disappointed Laxus," he says, surprising both the boys. "If anything it's good that this happened around one of the few people you consider a friend, and who can keep it a secret, yes?"
"Definitely," Oberon says. "Having a friend with dragon-killing Magic is perfect for if Acnologia shows up again."
"And, about the Lacrima," Makarov says but his voice falls silent. "It's, a bit complicated…"
"You don't have to tell me that stuff, I really don't care," Oberon shrugs. "I don't care about how he's got it, but he has it now, that's all that really matters to me."
Makarov isn't surprised by this in the least, 'As usual, he's not nosey about people's private business unless it concerns his Magic lessons….oh how I wish more of my children were like him, would give me a lot less headaches!'
"Uh, Grandpa, you're crying," Laxus points out.
"Oh, I am?" Makarov wipes his cheek, now feeling the tears. "I must just be so happy that at least one of my brats won't be a troublemaker!"
"Uh, thanks?" Oberon isn't sure how to respond, and looks to Laxus only to get a shrug. "So uh, who else knows about 'dragon boy'?"
While Makarov wipes the tears from his face Laxus answers, "Just the three of us, Porlyusica, Gildarts, and my dad," Laxus says.
"Your dad, is he in the Guild?" Oberon asks.
"Yeah, he's a Wizard too!" Laxus says.
"My son, Ivan," Master Makrov's voice gets surprisingly serious for a moment. "He's away on a very important Job Request for a certain king, he won't be back for maybe another few years," he lies.
"Wow, your dad sounds pretty cool," Oberon says.
"Of course he is, he's my dad!" Laxus boasts with a broad smile that lights up the room.
"Do you humans ever shut up?" Porlyusica asks as she walks back into the room. "But, it seems that of all the damned humans in this world, you are the most tolerable existence, which isn't saying much," she says to Oberon.
"Me?"
"Yes, you, because your Self-Healing Magic cleared any potential infection, it may even work on poisons, but don't test that willingly," Porlyusica says. "All I know is of all the people in this world, you have the least amount of reasons to ever knock on my door…now get out, both of you, I need to talk money with this old fossil."
"But aren't you—" Oberon's words die in his throat as she glares at him. "We'll see you back at the Guild, Master Makarov."
"Go freshen up before you head back there," Makarov says as both boys leave the home.
Porlyusica immediately takes her seat and passes her cup of tea over to Makarov, who gently touches a finger to the cup, heating it up for her.
"Thank you," she says, drinking her tea.
They sit in silence for a few minutes before Makarov relaxes, "Laxus is far enough away now, he can't hear us."
"Good," she says. "The Dragon Lacrima in him is still stable, if anything it's more stable now than ever, it bonded to him perfectly."
"Good then, and should I expect anything unusual otherwise?"
"Medically, no, but he is part Dragon now, so I can't speak on that aspect of him," Porlyusica says. "Maybe go see a vet?"
"That's not funny."
"I was serious," She says. "Honestly Makarov, it seems that the Dragon likes him, from what I can tell everything should be smooth sailing from now on, at least in regards to his health."
"Oddly enough, that's not the part I'm most concerned about, I trust you to handle the medical side of things perfectly," Makarov sighs. "The question is how do I handle the other part."
"By being honest," she says. "How long do you expect that crap about his dad being on an important mission to last. The moment he becomes S-Class he'll start asking hard questions, and that's assuming he doesn't get impatient in a few years, months, maybe even weeks."
"I just don't know how I'm supposed to tell him," Makarov groans. "How do I tell my grandson that I expelled my own son, his father, from the Guild."
"By first explaining that his father used Sleep Magic to non-consensually perform a Dragon Lacrima implant on him, with a less than 1 in ten thousand chance of him living…"
"And completely destroy his image of his father?"
"Ivan did that himself," she says. "Besides, now that Laxus is able to take on Jobs, what's stopping Ivan from making contact while he's away from Magnolia?"
"That's why I'll be specially picking what Jobs Laxus can take solo, I don't want him going too far, and from what I know Ivan isn't in southeast Fiore," Makarov says.
"And what about the other boy?"
"Another headache, but maybe a welcomed one," Makarov says. "Mavis loves that little genius, and now I'm starting to see why."
"Because his name is 'Oberon', and she always wanted to find a real Fairy, and see if it had a tail?"
"Because he makes everyone around him feel stupid, just like she did," Makarov says. "At least when it comes to Magic. If I try to limit him to jobs in any one region he'll notice, but he's smart enough and will grow fast enough to handle himself."
"And if Ivan reaches out to him?"
Makarov's brows furrow at the thought, "Ivan knows better than to interfere with my children, that will be enough of a reason for me to actively hunt him down and have him thrown in jail."
"Family and the responsibilities of a Guild Master, all so complicated, I'm glad I mostly retired from Fairy Tail," Porlyusica says.
"You should come back, officially, especially if it means you charge us less."
"You rowdy animals are too bothersome to deal with every day," she says. "And, about Oberon…how much does Mavis like him?"
"When I put the Guild Mark on him, it glowed," Makarov says.
"She's not very subtle now is she, that's a first," Porlyusica says. "Does that mean you'll teach them to him?"
Makarov falls into deep contemplation for a moment as Porlyusica pours herself some more tea.
"The books, they all glowed when I first considered it, so she wants him to eventually learn them, but…I don't believe my normal criteria will work for him."
"Why not?" she asks, retaking her seat in the rocking chair. "Becoming S-Class, being trusted to protect the 'Light of Fairy Tail', does that not make him trusted enough to hold the three Great Fairy Spells?"
"The problem is not trusting him, in that regard, the issue is how young he'll be when he gets them," Makarov says.
Porlyusica raises a brow at this, "What do you mean?"
"The S-Class Promotion Trials are two months, and I don't foresee anyone passing them, but next year I already plan to include Oberon in the lineup—"
"And you don't think anyone competing against him will be able to beat him," she says. "Then just don't let him compete until you think he's old enough."
"This is the best compromise I can do, because if it were up to her—" Makarov lifts his shirt, to show the large and currently glowing Fairy Tail Emblem on his chest. "He'll be competing this year, but I'm going against her wishes to give him more time to grow and mature, before burdening him with such responsibility."
Porlyusica smiles as her friends looks exhausted just from thinking about all of this.
"You'd better hope that one isn't another Gildarts, I don't think Fairy Tail can afford the fines he'll rack up," she says with a gentle laugh as her friend groans…
END CHAPTER---
Discord: discord .gg /eHuxNeZfyS [Come chat with me]
pat.reon: Keanu_Eugene [Read ahead & support me]
You.tube: @KeanuEugene [Giving away all my writing knowledge]