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CHAPTER START---
---November 15th…
Sitting at a corner table within the Fairy Tail guildhall, Alana focuses on finishing her homework while Laxus and Oberon chat beside her.
She glances over to them, then takes a cookie from the large plate on the table before going back to her work.
All while the guild is as lively as ever around them, with a horde of Wizards crowded around Guildarts, pestering him for any bits and pieces of advice they could glean from their Ace.
Oberon floats out of his seat, flipping upside down and looking at the map on the table, studying the few marked locations.
"Look here," Laxus points at Crocus -the capital of Fiore-. "If we do my Job first, then we can catch a connecting train and head north. Your client said they'll be there for a few more days, right?"
Oberon frowns and crosses his arms, still upside down, although his clothes and hair act as if he were standing on the ground. "But the Prism Bird migration is to the south, so I wanted to go there, then go to the mission."
"That would take us on a completely separate route."
"Exactly. But if we leave today, we can get to your Job, finish it, then double back to the migration, then go to Crocus."
Laxus holds his head and squeezes his eyes shut. "Ugh, this is so annoying. Why do you want to go see some dumb birds anyway?"
"Because they have innate Magic that causes them to glow."
"Not what I meant." Laxus slouches back into his seat. "Alright, we haven't called the clients yet, so let's just do your Job, and if mine is still here when we're done, Gramps can call us and tell us. That way, we can go straight to the client instead of having to come all the way back here."
"What's the big deal?" Alana asks, closing her notebook and giving them her full attention. "Since when do either of you need money that badly?"
Oberon crosses his legs and sits in the air, floating down beside her. "It's not about the money, Laxus just—"
Laxus transforms into lightning to appear beside Oberon and put a hand over his mouth, which surprises Oberon, but even with Laxus's hand there, it doesn't hinder him.
"The Job is from the manager of a rock band he likes," Oberon says while Laxus glares at him. "He wants a connection for cheaper tickets."
"Stupid barrier crap," Laxus mutters as he walks back to his seat.
"You like rock music?"
Laxus frowns and focuses back on the map.
"He's shy about his music taste," Oberon says in a teasing tone. "You should see the posters in his—"
A yellow lightning bolt slams into Oberon's face, shattering against his barrier.
He gives Laxus a bored look. "So touchy."
"Says the guy who gets all red-faced when anyone touches his books."
"That's different!"
"It's the same thing!"
Laxus and Oberon trade a few insults as Alana sits back and eats another cookie, enjoying the show.
'Boys are so weird…' she thinks while staring at Oberon.
"Why not go alone?" She asks, breaking up their friendly fight. "You've gone on the last few Jobs together, but before that, didn't you guys always work solo?"
"Nah. Oberon goes solo, I normally go with Macao or Wakaba. But those guys are doing solo Jobs since it's that time of year."
Oberon smiles mischievously. "Lightning Boy can't go to the other side of Magnolia without someone to babysit him."
"You're not a babysitter!"
"If you say so…"
"You're not!" Yellow sparks dance around Laxus as he floats above his chair, then drops back into his seat, calming down.
"But you need a partner?" Alana asks.
"It's because of my Magic. I'm still getting used to it, and I'm pretty strong for my age. But, usually kids my age don't even get to join Wizard Guilds, at least not officially. So I'm way ahead of the crowd, but not enough to go on solo Jobs."
"But Oberon can," she says. "Does that mean he's stronger than you? But aren't you the next Guildmaster?"
Laxus rolls his eyes and focuses back on the map. "Yeah, but he's Oberon. Magic loves him…"
Alana turns her attention back to Oberon, smiling up at him.
"What?"
"How strong are you?"
"How am I supposed to answer that? Like, how hard can I punch or how much can I lift?"
"In Fairy Tail, obviously."
"Ohhh," Oberon turns in place, looking around the Guildhall.
He sees Master Makarov sitting on the bar with a drink, and Gildarts nearby being hounded by younger Wizards.
"Master Makarov and Guildarts are stronger than me."
"And?"
"And what?"
"Who else?"
"Just them."
Alana is perplexed for a moment, then looks around the Guildhall. "Wow, so Fairy Tail is just a bunch of losers, huh…"
Laxus snaps at her, "What the hell gives you that idea?!"
She leans away, startled. "What kind of Guild has its third strongest member be a nine-year-old kid?"
"Hey!" One of the nearby Wizards chimes in, raising her mug at them. "Fairy Tail is plenty strong, Oberon is just, well, uh—"
"A colossal freak of nature!" Master Makarov yells, stirring up the entire Guildhall.
Guildmembers begin their usual playful teasing, causing Oberon to blush and turn away from them.
"And this is why I normally work solo," Oberon mutters. "Although I've been cutting into the missions Makao and Wakaba would normally take, so I guess relaxing for a while is alright too."
A few moments later, the guildhall settles back into its usual energy, and Alana sees a few people enter.
They walk over to the Job Board, take another poster, clear it with Master Makarov, and then are back out the door within a few minutes.
"The guild really is super busy. What's going on?"
"Solo Mission season," Laxus says. "The S-Class Trials are next month, so everyone is trying to impress Gramps."
"Trials?"
"S-Class Jobs are too dangerous for most Wizards so you need to pass the trials first. But most people don't even qualify. Gramps makes up a new test every year, and nobody's passed since Gildarts. Some people even quit the Guild because it was too hard and made S-Class in other places."
"So different Guilds have different standards? But wouldn't it be better to have more S-Class Wizards?"
Laxus turns to her. "If a regular person goes to a S-Class Job, they'd die. So, it's better to have super-high standards. That just means you value the lives of your Wizards more than the fame or money, and Fairy Tail has the highest standards."
"Yup," Oberon says. "They even considered making Gildarts a Wizard Saint, but only if he quit Fairy Tail, so he refused."
"I get it, so since you two can't become S-Class because you're kids, you're going on jobs together."
"Yup. Everyone is too busy to babysit Laxus."
Laxus grumbles under his breath as Oberon and Alana laugh at him.
"And I'm just taking it easy for now. Master Makarov said he'd let me know if anything challenging for me shows up. Plus, it gives me time with my new Grimoire."
Minutes later, the trio is chatting while having lunch, and Master Makarov leaves the main hall to take a call in his office.
Gildarts then gets a Telepathic message from him, and pushes off his spot on the bar.
"Alright, that's enough for now," he silences the crowd and pushes through them. "Hey, Oberon!"
Oberon turns to see the man already walking toward the stairs while waving for him to follow.
"The master wants to see us, c'mon!"
"I'll be back in a few minutes."
Oberon flies over to join Gildarts, entering Master Makarov's office one step behind the man.
They see Makarov sitting on one of the couches, writing in a ledger. He doesn't bother to look up as the door closes behind them.
"What's going on?" Oberon asks.
"A special Job came in just now, for you."
A smile splits his face as he sits on the couch opposite Master Makarov.
"From The Brokerage."
His eyes widen, and Gildarts frowns.
"What's the Job?"
"They want you to collect a stone tablet that was recently uncovered, and bring it to them."
"Sounds easy enough."
"It's an Open Job."
"No," Gildarts says. "He's not ready."
"Ready for what? What's an Open Job?"
Makarov stops writing and looks at Oberon. "Jobs can only be posted in one Guild at a time, that's how the system works, and it prevents people from fighting during Jobs. Open Jobs are sent to many people and places, and normally, the closer you get to the prize, the bloodier it gets."
"Which is why this isn't happening, right?" Gildarts asks. "He's only nine. He shouldn't be in situations that may force him to do or see things like that."
"True, and Fairy Tail avoids taking lives unless absolutely necessary, as sometimes situations do unfold in unsavory ways. Not to mention the other problems this Job could cause."
"Uh-huh," Gildarts narrows his eyes at the older man. "But if you were going to block it, we wouldn't be having this conversation, so what's the deal?"
"The reward they've offered Oberon, is a Celestial Spirit Gate Key…"
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]