Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1

A man watches the night sky. He was young, too young to experience what he was feeling right now. He felt the cold ground underneath him as he lay on it, the sounds of sirens and the panicked and rushed shouting of people were gradually fading from his hearing. He saw someone out of the corner of his eye, dressed in an ambulance garb, thick coat with it as well, due to the winter weather.

That was probably why the ground felt so cold, among other things.

He saw the man, no, woman actually, shine a light in his eyes. It was so bright and kinda hurt, but even the briefest hint of pain was fading. Everything was fading.

He could hazily recall what happened. He had a late shift at the shop, and wanted to score some extra cash to finish his Christmas shopping early. He went to a hobby store and got the last series of gifts for his little niece.

She liked tcg games, like he did when he was her age. Magic, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and as of recently, Digimon. He didn’t think she played with them just so long as she could look at the cool artwork on the cards. Regardless, he got her a massive amount of Digimon cards that would keep her entertained for a good long while.

Though…he was probably not gonna be able to get them for her now. He remembered what happened while he was walking home and he turned his head as far as he could from where he lay, seeing the car that hit him had crashed into a light post. He saw the firemen pull someone out through the driver’s window, they were swinging their arms like they were trying to swat at bees, not seemingly bothered by their injuries or the damage their car received.

‘A drunk driver,’ he thought, almost casually, not having the strength to be sad or angry. He was hit while walking home, the car drifted off the road and onto the sidewalk where he was. He remembered flying for a moment before blacking out, now he was on the ground and feeling cold, well, colder actually.

He saw the ambulance worker gesticulating for more help, that was nice of her. He saw others come up with more medical supplies. He couldn’t make out what they were saying and even the sense of coldness was disappearing.

He was dying, he realized. He didn’t need to be a doctor or a medic to deduce that, after all, he was feeling it. He couldn’t even muster enough strength to say a word.

He had enough in him to think of regrets, for which there were many. He wanted to graduate from the university like his older brother and sister did, he wanted a career he and his parents would be proud of, he wanted to find a good woman to spend his life with, he wanted a family of his own one day maybe a house, a yard, a dog, or cat.

He wanted so much…but knew he wasn’t going to get the chance.

Everything was getting darker around his vision and what little sound he could hear, stopped completely.

As he laid on the ground, he looked up into the winter night sky. Seeing the bright moon and clouds. It was the most beautiful thing he’d seen, the moon’s light shining with such luminance that the clouds floating in front of it were rendered back by contrast.

‘What a nice sight to see,’ he thought , ‘a nice final image for myself.’

His vision was getting darker and darker, and he could only now barely make out the moon’s bright light now.

This was it…this was the end.

As he felt the last vestiges of life leave his being, he made a final wish for himself.

‘Please. Let me have another chance.’

His strength left him, he gave his last soft breath, and the darkness finally covered his vision.

He was dead.

The smell of grass was certainly not the first thing one would expect when passing into the afterlife. He frankly imagined clouds he could walk on, comfortable atmosphere, and contentment that could not be disturbed.

A little on the nose in some places in terms of cliche afterlife, but still.

He opened his eyes and nearly closed them again at the intense light that shined down on him. He brought his hand up and shielded his eyes from the sun’s rays.

“Sun? What?” he asked, surprised. It was dark last he checked. Dark and cold in fact. Now it was…pleasantly warm? If he had to guess. He was feeling so many things right now, he didn’t even know where to start.

Eventually he decided that seeing was more important than feeling right now and so began to open his eyes so he could get used to the light. He blinked tiredly at the light slipping through his fingers, no longer as intense, and decided to lean up.

With a groan he felt way too much of, he moved to a sitting position, his hand falling when the sun no longer burned his eyes. He blinked and everything was starting to look a bit clearer now so he finally gave a study of his surroundings.

“Woods,” he said, plainly, “I am in the woods,” he glanced up, seeing patches of light and shadow break through the tree line and onto the ground, “around midday, I guess? The sun is almost overhead.”

Looking around some more, he saw that the trees looked far more exotic than the usual oaks and pine he was used to. And the word ‘exotic’ was a generous way to put it.

“Never seen any trees like that,” he said, standing up, his legs feeling like jelly. He saw limbs and branches that twisted and turned in crazy ways, he saw trees with fat stumps and thin alike, he saw palm trees that were actually in order from small, to medium, to large, to absolutely gigantic!

What kinda palm tree grows to be taller than most buildings he’s se-

‘Palm trees!’ he thought in sudden shock, ‘then could I be near a-’

He took a whiff of the air, feeling the sharp sting of saltwater as he did. He turned to where he thought the smell came from and walked, his sore legs gradually soothing into normalcy. He pushed aside branches that blocked his path. Walked over stones that were in his way, and just nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw some small animals run away from him.

‘I don’t think…squirrels? Are supposed to be that color,’ he thought, seeing a brick-red one with a pink tail run away from his charge. Shaking his head, he continued on.

The scent kept getting stronger and stronger as he moved on. He eventually found a clearing in the forest and with another burst of speed he passed it to see what was beyond.

His jaw dropped at what he saw.

Before him, just maybe a mile away, was a city unlike any he had seen. It was a port city, built along the ocean that extended past the horizon. It was beautiful with rich and unique architecture. He could see canals here and there alongside streets and roadways, with small boats or gondolas transporting people or supplies to who knows where. 

At the port proper, he could see a variety of large boats and vessels that ranged from a modest fishing boat to a massive cargo craft. All were coming and going in an organized and steady regularity.

And back in the city…was that a train he saw?!

He shook his head and took a step back, feeling himself hit a tree. He took a breath to calm his heart, which was beating like mad.

It was so much. It was almost too much.

He…died. He knew that! He felt the pain, the cold, the numbness, the gentle feeling of everything just stopping all together. He remembered his eyes closing for their final time and now he opened them to…this?!

“Is this…Heaven?” he found himself asking, “Or…something else?”

He suddenly paused, realizing something, “Hello,” he spoke again, hearing himself, “is this my voice?” he asked aloud, “I sound so much younger than before.”

In his old life, crazy to think that if that was true, he was in his middle twenties, his voice long losing its youthful intensity that he once had. Now he had that voice back, in fact, it seemed like it was in his prime youth of eighteen or nineteen.

Suddenly curious, he felt at his face, looking for familiar marks that came from stress, worry, caring, or even smiling. Smooth, his face just had the youthful smoothness that just seemed ready to be carved once again by life itself.

Looking down at himself, he realized, to less surprise now, that his body looked as youthful as his voice. Lean and limber, though not possessing the muscle mass he once had, it was still a young man’s body. Just not his old body.

He grew more curious and wanted to see something, reaching up to his head, he realized his hair had changed too. Becoming a spiky mess rather than the short and careful buzz cut he used to have. Plucking out a few hairs he looked at its color.

“…Is my hair…orange?”

Okay, that might be the strangest thing so far.

“Hey, young man!”

A voice called out to him, breaking his musings. He looked and saw an old man sitting upon a cart being pulled by…

‘Is that a boar the size of a draft horse!’ he internally exclaimed with wide eyes , ‘Why is it blue and shaggy?!’

The mystifying creature was munching on some grass that stuck out from its mouth, the fur on its head drifting down and seemingly covering the creature’s eyes.

“Young man! Hello? I asked if you’re alright? You ain’t def are you?”

The old man’s voice broke through his thoughts and the man replied, “I’m…okay. Thank you for asking.”

The old man gave a hum and looking closer he could see he wore a pointy hat with stars up the face of it.

“Given the awkward pause and completely lost look about you, I’d say I disagree,” the old man said, “don’t got to lie son. I ain’t going to hurt ya,” he smiled and reached in front of him to rub at the board backside, making the creature emit a pleased sound and having it tap its back hoof on the ground, “though Lily here may harass ya for pets and snacks.”

The man smiled at seeing the playful sight but frowned when he registered the initial words, “I’m sorry,” he apologized, “it’s just that I don’t know…how to answer that.”

The old man hummed, his gaze contemplating. A moment later he asked, “You from around here?”

The man had no reason to lie and replied, “No I’m not.”

“Where ya from then?”

The man winced awkwardly, “That is…a complicated question. One that…I think I need to get used to the answer.”

The old man stared at him passively, looking him over and deciding something, “you got anywhere to go?” he asked, “A place to live? Any family nearby?”

The man grimaces and feels a hollow pain in his chest, “No,” he replied, realizing something he was ignoring, “I don’t have any of that. It’s all gone.”

He looked up into the old man’s face, he saw some compassion in the gaze and it urged him to at least try to explain that somewhat, “Or more accurately, I’m gone from them.”

A moment of silence passed between them and the man was left to ponder that sad fact at that moment.

His family, his mom, his dad, his brother, his sister, his nieces and nephews, and his friends and more, were all gone. He was gone from them in truth.

How would they react? How sad would they be? What would they do? Would there be a funeral? Who would attend? How long will they mourn? 

These thoughts plagued his mind now and each one only hammered in a dreadful fact that he was slowly realizing with cold clarity.

He was all alone. In a completely unknown land with clothes he never had and a body that wasn’t his own.

Was he in…Hell instead?

“Get in,” an old voice called.

He looked up to the old man, who patted at his side where an empty spot was on the cart.

“Come on, get on,” the old man gently said with a smile, “you got nowhere to go? Well now you can come with me. At least I know where I’m going. Figured you could come along and get going where I’m going. That’s a start.”

The man blinked, shocked and warmed by the gesture, “Are you sure?” he asked, “You don’t have to.”

The old man laughed, “Of course I don’t ‘have to’,” he said, “but I want to, and there ain’t nothing wrong with wanting to help someone. Especially someone who could use some help.”

The man had no words to reply, the kindness he was experiencing was so simple yet so raw that it pushed back the dark truth he was experiencing. It was still there, make no mistake, but it got…easier to endure in the face of this old man’s benevolence.

“Alright,” he found himself saying, a smile making its way to his face, “thank you.”

He moved to the cart, walking around it and to the other side where he stepped up and sat alongside the old man, who looked up at him with a happy smile.

The man looked down at the old man, realizing something else now.

Was he…taller too? Or was the old man just that short? Maybe both?

The old man gave a shake of the reins and the boar moved at the gesture, dragging the cart. Its speed surprised the man, having expected the animal to move much slower given its size.

“Well young man,” the old man began, “I suppose since we’re traveling companions now, you could do me the courtesy of introducing yourself. My names’ Havel.”

The man nodded and introduced himself, “August…August Theriot.”

A month, a whole month had passed since waking up in this new world and August Theriot was certain of one thing.

He was reincarnated in what was probably the strangest but most wonderful world he had ever seen.

For one thing, he was in the port city he first saw when waking up. It was called Hargeon and was a popular trade and fishing town, despite being city sized. The people were kind and hardworking, enjoying each day the best they could.

August was happy to be there along with them. Since being picked up from the forest, he thought that the old man, Havel, who helped him would just let him off at the first sight of a shelter or intersection, letting him fend for himself in this strange new land.

Instead, he was brought to the man’s place of business, told to help unpack his cargo and set what was in them on the shelves or display stands.

That was when August first saw what the shopkeeper was stocking up on. Unique and strange items that did things that boggled his mind. Like changing the color of one’s clothes with a small mirror, or a lamp that simulated natural rising or setting sunlight, or a bag that could hold a piano provided the material could stretch over it.

These items were insane and he found himself laughing at the ridiculous descriptions of what they were supposed to do. Soon he found himself asking Havel what exactly made these things do such feats.

The shopkeeper gave him a curious smile and a tilt of the head before answering, “Why magic of course.”

Magic…he was about to laugh that off until he realized that the old man was serious and he was reminded that he wasn’t in his old world anymore. These items were magical.

Magic was real.

That took some time to process but once he was able to accept it, at great struggle, he found himself curious about it.

But that curiosity didn’t go far when he realized he had a new problem to deal with. His living situation.

He only had the clothes on his back and nothing else. No money, no I.D., no nothing!

No family.

That last realization sent an ice cold spike through his heart. He did his best not to let it show but that was a struggle in the most extreme. His family was gone, or more accurately, he was gone from his family, and in a world that was as strange to him as if he were born anew.

‘Calm down,’ he chided himself , ‘turning into a nervous wreck now isn’t going to help you at all.’

He nearly vomited at the word ‘wreck’.

Thankfully his salvation came to him once more.

“Given the nervous sweat I can see pouring down your back,” Havel spoke, bringing August’s attention towards him, “I’m guessing you don’t got much of a plan going forward, huh?”

August could only nod in both fear and some embarrassment. He must look like a mess.

Havel just smiled at him all the more, a gleam in his eyes, “Then how about you do this then?”

And that was how he was offered a job at the only magical store in the town. Complete with a room for himself on the floor above it.

It was…pretty amazing. This offered an opportunity for him to adjust properly to his new surroundings and not worry about sleeping in the streets or the woods!

So that’s how it’s been so far. He’d wake up, get dressed, open the store, and serve whatever customers that may come. It was familiar work and it gave him a better feeling of adjustment with its repetition.

In addition, it also let him form relationships with some interesting individuals. Havel’s store was basically the only up-to-date magic shop in the town and with such exclusivity, certain clients were regulars and shared interesting insights or news about this world of magic, or at the very least this land of Fiore as he came to find out later.

When he was serving some magic lamps for a garrisoned soldier in the city, he was asked a surprising question by the old veteran.

“So when are ya gonna start practicing with that magic of yours?” he gruffly asked, “Me and the others have been coming here a lot and that whole time you haven’t even touched that power we sensed within ya. Seems kinda wasteful ain’t it?”

August did not have a reply to those words, too busy thinking about their contents.

He had magic? Really?

When he next saw Havel, he asked the old shopkeeper.

“Huh? Yeah, you have magic,” the old man said much to August’s shock, “you mean you didn’t know? Everyone’s got some magic but you definitely got enough to work as a mage,” he paused, humming a thoughtful tone, “let me know what kinda magic you got. Depending on what it is, I just might have a new promotional idea for the store.”

Ignoring that cunning business strategy, August asked, “How do I know what kind of magic I have? Is it something I’m just born with?”

Havel shook his head and looked at August like he was missing a few screws, “No one is really ‘born’ with their magic abilities,” he answered, “but you definitely can tell what you got the most talent for with a little work,” he moved to a bookshelf and picked out a few books, “read these,” he said, offering the books, “there basic instructions to magic and will help ya find what your best with, provided you got the patience for them,” he moved to the counter and the cash register, waving him away, “I’ll be nice and give ya the rest of the day off, so go on. Get to figuring it out.”

With that offer presented, August took him up on it and just found a nice place outside of town and began to read up on magic.

‘Magic,’ he thought with some wonder, ‘still hard to believe.’

Yet believe he would, especially with what he was reading up upon. He read up on the numerous types of magic and practices, as well as some of the more famous practitioners of the craft, the Ten Wizard Saints chief among them.

By the time he finished some of the books, the sun was already starting to set. He looked back to the books he read, a plan forming.

“Tomorrow,” he said to himself, “I’ll try practicing tomorrow,” he walked back to the store and his place of residence, “after that,” he turned to look at the orange sky and the stars just barely visible coming through, “we’ll see just how much bigger this world can get for me.”

Now four months have passed and August can confidently say that this world has gotten a hell of a lot bigger since learning magic.

Magical, him, even now after practicing it for so long it still bogged his mind. Especially with the surprise that came from his study of it. Needless to say, he was shocked and briefly afraid at what he discovered.

For starters, he had a natural ability to use something called ‘Take Over’ magic, the ability to completely or partially transform into creatures and use their physical or mystical traits.

What he was able to turn into? Well…that was the shocking part. Especially with how he was able to obtain more forms to transform into.

Unconventional in the extreme.

For now though, August was busy at work. Having taken over for Havel for the day while the old man was at a ‘special meeting’.

August smiled, straightening out some Sorcerer Weekly magazines that some customers browsed through, he knew where and who that old man was with and he didn’t blame him for wanting to skip work today.

‘That old florist is a good catch,’ he thought, moving to wipe the front counter, ‘good luck to ya.’

He heard the bell sound near the door, another customer. He stood straight and began to greet the new arrival, “Hello! Welcome to Hargeon’s sole magic shop, how can I help you?”

A curious pair of brown eyes turned to stare at him and August had to maintain his professional demeanor with a bit more effort at seeing the beauty attached to those eyes.

She had long blonde hair that went past her shoulders in a pragmatic but stylish way, with a blue ribbon on one side. Her white and blue shirt had no sleeves and hugged the generous body beneath it comfortably. Her short blue skirt and long dark boots completed the look. 

August blinked suddenly and corrected himself, noticing the belt around her waist that held a coiled up whip on one side and a pair of keys on the other.

He looked at those keys, his study and practice of magic coming to the forefront. Those weren’t normal keys, their design was too purposeful to be just a key. Extending out his senses, another neat trick he learned from his practicing, he confirmed his suspicions upon sensing the magic within them.

‘A celestial spirit mage,’ he thought with some interest , ‘don’t see too many of those around here.’

“Um, hi,” the woman greeted him with a friendly smile, “nice to meet you. Are you the owner of the shop?”

August smiled his best salesman smile and replied, “I’m afraid not, the owner is out right now and he’s left me to man the station. I promise you though I have just as much knowledge of this shop’s equipment as he does. If there is anything you are looking for, please feel free to ask.”

The woman smiled and walked up to the counter to do just that. August had to turn his head down to look at her.

‘Why do I keep forgetting how tall I am now?’ he thought to himself, ‘I think I was this girl’s height in my old life.’

“I’m looking for something specific,” the woman began, “something that I hope you have.’

August gestured for her to continue, “Well, tell me and I’ll see if we have it in stock,” he said, “this may be the only magical store in town but we pride ourselves on having the latest magical items available for sale.”

“I’m looking for celestial spirit keys,” she said with an eager and hopeful look, “do you happen to have any?”

August thought for a moment before remembering something, “Yes we do,” he replied, much to the joy of the woman. He reached down below the counter, looking for something, “I caution you though. We only have one and it’s not really combat oriented,” he found what he was looking for and drew out a small box, opening it to reveal the silver key that lay within, “I do hear that the spirit in this key does make for a delightful companion, however.”

The woman’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the key, her eagerness on full display now. August found himself smiling at the sight of such an expression.

This job had its perks and seeing the joy on a customer’s face was certainly one of them.

“I have to have it,” the woman said, looking up into August’s face, “how much is it.”

“Price is twenty thousand jewels,” replied August.

The woman’s face and body froze as he spoke the cost. August internally winced at the sight. He agreed it seemed overpriced for such an item, especially when one considers the…content in it.

Poor thing inside the key looked like it could be blown away by a soft breeze.

The blonde looked back to him, her eyes becoming focused with suspicion, “I’m sorry,” she began, “is that ‘really’ the price for the key?”

August nodded, “I’m afraid so, Miss,” he replied, “celestial keys are rare in these parts. When we get one, it’s a considerable boon. Hence the price.”

He never got a straight answer out of Havel on where he got such an item in any case.

The blonde suddenly got a cunning gleam in her eyes, before it melted into something more charming and seductive. August could tell what was coming a mile away and raised a hand to stop her.

He’d fallen for that trick too many times as is since working here, one more and Havel will never let him live it down.

“Wait, wait, Miss!” August said loudly, stopping the woman before she did something embarrassing and potentially effective, “I can already tell what you’re about to do,” he gave her a friendly smile, “let’s not do something embarrassing and simply go for the try and true method of merchant-work.”

The woman looked at him curiously, crossing her arms over her generous chest and her look changing into a suspicious one, “And that is?” she asked.

“Negotiation, of course,” he said, doing his best to keep his stare at her face, “you clearly want this key, but not enough to jeopardize your finances,” he nodded his head at her, “I can agree and I for one would like to see this thing sold to someone responsible for it,” he shrugged, “full price or not.”

The woman nodded, understanding, “So what do you want in exchange for you to reduce the price to half?”

‘Girl knows how to play,’ August thought with a smile. He never said he would drop the price in half but clearly that was this girl’s game.

“Well, how about a talk for starters?” he asked, “you share a story of two and in exchange you get the key.”

The woman looks at him skeptically for a moment before asking, “Why do you want stories in exchange for a magical item?”

He shrugged, “Well not ‘stories’ per say,” he said, “more like some word on anything interesting going on outside the port,” he gestured to her, “who better to tell me than a prospective mage.”

Her skepticism didn’t ebb and August found himself sighing and admitting, “Look, to be perfectly frank, I’m planning on leaving this town, sometime soon ideally. Gave it some hard thought and I’ve decided to stretch my wings and join a guild.”

The skepticism vanished on the girl’s face and surprise replaced it, “You’re a mage too?” she asked.

August pat himself on the chest proudly, “Yep! A take over mage to be exact,” he replied, “the only one in this city to boot.”

The girl’s eyes sparkled in amazement, “Wow!” she exclaimed, “So that means you can transform and stuff, right?!”

August nodded, his smile widening at the girl’s enthusiasm, “Yes it does!” he replied.

“Can you do it now?!”

He frowned and replied, “No I can’t.”

The blonde woman looked like she just experienced whiplash and her next question was an obvious one, “Why?”

August looked suddenly sheepish and he rubbed the back of his head and in awkward admittance, he replied, “My magic is a bit…potent and I can’t just use it as I please,” he eyed a passing magic knight outside the shop’s window, out on patrol most likely, “I’ve been told not to use it within the town’s limits, unless I have to or if I’m requested to.”

The blonde blinked in surprise and with maybe just a tinge of caution, “Is it,” she started, “really that…bad?”

August gave a laugh, “No!” he replied with a grin, “It’s not…bad! Just a bit too much for me to just use carelessly around the city.”

“That sounds bad!” she exclaimed, eyes wide with fear.

“It’s not!” August replied, his eyes wide with emphasis, “Honest! It’s not! The magic knights just want to play it safe with me is all. At least until I get myself registered with a proper guild. Avoids any…liabilities that could fall on my shoulders if I’m reckless with my magic.”

He was glad he hadn’t caused any property damage with his magic so far. With the exception of the time where he first figured out his magic.

Those shrubs looked so beautiful too…

The fear left the woman’s eyes and sudden curiosity overtook them, “Oh, that’s right!” she said, “You said you wanted to join a guild, right? Any catch your fancy?”

August just shrugged, “No idea,” he replied, smiling at her, “I don’t know much about magic guilds in general besides some names and a few specs of information. I know there all over those sorcerer magazines but I don’t really pay much attention to them,” he looked up, as if beseeching the heavens, “if only there was someone that had more reliable knowledge on any prospective guilds. Someone outside this town with experience in the outside world,” he lowered his gaze and rolled it to the woman, “if only someone like that was around right now.”

“Okay,” the woman said with a smile, “I get it, I get it. I’ll be happy to tell you some stuff,” her eyes went back to the spirit key, “with the right…encouragement of course.”

August smiled and held the box that contained the key, “What a coincidence,” he said, his voice playful, “I just so happen to have a box here with a little bit of ‘encouragement’ in it.”

The woman smiled widely , her brown eyes shining with mirth and joy. She held out a hand, not to take the key but a gesture to shake, “Lucy Heartfilia,” she greeted herself properly.

August held out his hand and shook hers, “August is my name,” he replied, “August Theriot.”

“And that’s Lamia Scale,” concluded Lucy, finishing her talk on the guild, “very versatile with members to match, though I don’t know many,” she ended sheepishly.

The two were walking down one of the many coastal streets that gave an unobscured view of the sea. A very nice walk to any interested at this time of day.

Though August interest was in something else, namely the guilds Lucy had told him about so far.

“Very interesting,” muttered August, scratching his chin in thought, “I’ve heard snippets here and there about them but not this much,” he looked to Lucy and gave her a polite nod and smile, “you’re really well informed.”

Lucy just laughed modestly and rubbed the back of her head, clearly embarrassed, “Not at all,” she replied, “I really only know about the big guilds in the world like Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, and-”

“Fairy Tail?” August asked with a teasing tone.

Lucy blushed and laughed awkwardly, looking aside, “Y-Yeah,” she admitted, her face getting redder, “I-I especially know a lot about them.”

“Enough to keep a swimsuit edition of Sorcerer Weekly with you at all times? One that features one of their famous members.” August asked, his grin widening with mischief, “Can’t say I expected to see that today.”

Lucy pouted, “Stop it,” she grumbled, unhappily, “you’re making fun of me.”

August didn’t mean to but when the name Fairy Tail came up earlier, Lucy was ecstatic in talking about them. Naming famous figures, incredible accomplishments, and the overall reputation of such a mighty guild. Not to mention Lucy’s very very clear intentions of joining such a guild.

August found it enduring and actually praiseworthy. Lucy clearly did her homework about the guild. Looked up figures, the guild’s reputation, and considered her chances of joining such an establishment and was pushing on towards it. There was very little to make fun of such convictions.

But there was definitely enough to tease her with.

Still, he decided to lay off, “Okay, okay I’m sorry,” he apologized, his hands raised in acquiescence, “it’s just your enthusiasm for them is very…clear. Couldn’t help but tease you a bit, otherwise I think you’d be gushing about them all day.”

Lucy turned her head up at that and gave a scoff but was still clearly embarrassed, “I wouldn’t gush about them all day,” she said, “I have to eat and sleep eventually, right?”

‘Is that when you’d stop?!’ August thought, outraged, ‘Does that mean you would if you didn’t?’

“Well I guess I could tone it down a bit,” Lucy admitted, idly kicking a stray rock to the side, “but it’s just…I really want to join them.”

August noticed a change in Lucy’s voice, something about it almost sounded…desperate. Like joining this guild was this girl’s sole goal.

That was a bit much. Especially considering the other prominent guilds she informed him of that potentially rivaled them. Should Fairy Tail not work out surely the others would accept her. Why was Fairy Tail so important?

“Sounds like there is more to this guild than what you told me,” surmised August, slowing down to match Lucy’s pace, “is there more to Fairy Tail than what you told me?”

Lucy started and stumbled upon her words, trying to pick the right ones, “N-no! What I said about them is pretty much the whole deal about them,” she replied, “except that-” she trailed off.

“Except what?” prompted August.

“Except that the guild is known for just…being happy,” replied Lucy, a smile forming on her face, “that everyone there is having fun, laughing, joking, smiling,” she looked up to August, her smile was bigger and full of undisguised joy, “it sounds silly but that’s the major reason I want to join. To feel that joy, that excitement, that-”

“Family,” August suddenly interrupted, contemplative, “what you described sounds like a family,” he smiled, “a rambunctious one from what I hear.”

Lucy blinked at him, before a laugh escaped her throat, “Yeah,” she agreed, “it sounds like a crazy family, doesn’t it?”

August laughed now, loud and full of belly, “Lucy, if there is one truth in the world,” he said, “it’s that a crazy family is often the best family,” he grinned at her, “especially if you can be as crazy as them.”

Lucy stared at him for a moment before covering her mouth as a laugh choked out of it, “‘Crazy as them’?” she asked between giggles, “Where did you hear something like that?”

August just smiled, “Just now, from my mouth,” he pointed at the orifice, a twinkle in his eye, “didn’t you hear it?”

Lucy shoved his shoulder but another laugh escaped her, “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

August nodded, as if suddenly understanding something, “Ah I see,” he gestured to the air around them, “to be more accurate, you heard it on the air and I simply vibrated it with my voice. That is how sound works, yes?”

Lucy gave another laugh, “Anyone ever tell you you have a smart mouth?” she asked between giggles.

August just smiled at her as another joke came to him, “No but I’m told that I’m intelligent elsewhere,” he shrugged, “that’s why they call me ‘smartass’, right?”

Lucy just laughed again and August found himself laughing along with her. This was nice. It’s been too long since he shared a laugh with someone, especially someone who was easy to get a laugh out of.

This was turning into a very good day. He might even just give her a bigger discount than just half.

Lord knows Havel has given plenty of discounts to a pretty face before, especially that florist.

A commotion from down the path took them out of their laughter. Together, they saw a large crowd had gathered ahead of them. Looking closer, they could see the crowd was all women.

“Huh,” August said, “wonder what’s going on over there.”

“Is there some kind of event going on?” asked Lucy, “Like an event or something?”

August shook his head, “No,” he replied, “haven’t heard of anything like that happening today. Wonder what this is.”

He was rudely bumped on the shoulder by a passing duo of women, “Ow,” he commented. It didn’t hurt but that was just rude, “hey, the streets are big enough for everyone, thank you!”

They barely noticed him, continuing on to the big crowd ahead. August and Lucy managed to catch what they were saying as they passed, “He’s here! He’s here! Salamander is here!”

“I know!” the other woman said, “How lucky are we to see him today of all days!”

August furrowed his brow at the words, “Salamander?” he asked loudly, “Like the lizard? Wait, no, the newt?”

“A celebrity!” Lucy suddenly exclaimed, sparks of excitement in her eyes, “One that uses fire magic that you can’t get anywhere else! Not even in stores!”

“Uh,” August intelligently began, “Not much of a flex considering really strong fire magic can only be gained through training and-hey wait! Lucy! Where are you going?!”

As August tried to explain, Lucy had already begun to fast walk to the crowd of women, eager to see this Salamander in person.

August sensed there was something strange about all this and moved to see what the hubbub was about and who this Salamander person really was.

It took some effort but after moving through the crowd he finally saw who it was. A man with dark blue hair seemed to be putting on a display of some kind with his magic and sure enough it was fire magic. He was tall, a bit taller than August, wearing a stylish cloak and clearly expensive clothes. One notable thing about him was a strange tattoo above his brow that looked like a pair of tongues.

‘Odd tattoo,’ August thought , 'thought a fire mage would have something more…fiery.’

Another notable thing was how this crowd of women seemed to be borderline looking at this man as if he was the best thing to happen to them their whole lives.

Very weird.

He found Lucy in the crowd and made his way towards her. He stopped when he noticed her gaze was just a reverent as the other women around them.

August had only known Lucy for a short while but already knew enough about her to know one thing for certain.

A showy pompous guy like this? Definitely not her type.

“Hey, Lucy,” he managed to just tap her shoulders, “you alright?”

That action seemed to disrupt Lucy’s state of mind. She blinked in surprise and shook her head, as if removing some loose obscurement over her eyes. There was still something there that was affecting her somehow but August didn’t know what it was.

He wasn’t allowed to ponder it for very long though, when something else caught his attention.

“Igneel?!”  

A loud and joyful voice cut through the air. August looked to see another man had an appearance.

‘Pink hair?’

Emerging from the crowd was a young man, maybe a year or two younger than August, with pink hair and wearing traveling clothing that was open up in the middle, leaving the torso visible and showing a strong body underneath. Another notable feature was a white scaled scarf around the man’s neck.

Something caught August’s attention and he looked down near the newcomer’s sandaled feet…he had to blink twice at what he saw.

‘Is that cat blue?’

“You’re not Igneel,” the young man’s voice said aloud, disappointment clearly evident in his tone.

The man known as Salamander just laughed, not at all bothered by the brief interruption. Surprised, yes, but not bothered.

At least not until the newcomer informed him he had no idea who he was.

August tuned it all out and focused on Lucy, who now seemed to have come out of whatever stupor she was trapped in.

“You alright?” August asked, concern in his tone, “You looked like you were in a daze there.”

Lucy nodded, “Because I was,” she said, prompting a raised brow from August, “I think that guy was using some kind of charm spell. I couldn’t hardly think straight,” she looked up at him with a gratifying smile, “thanks to you I was able to fight against it.”

“Wasn’t just me,” August corrected, looking at the newcomer, “it was also that guy…getting eight shades of shit beaten out of him.”

Sure enough, the pink haired man was getting stomped, punched, kicked, and unceremoniously tossed around by a good gaggle of the enamored women. Just as they finished beating up the newcomer, with the blue cat just looking on, Salamander made some kind of boastful announcement about a ship in the harbor and launched himself up on a teather of purple fire.

August watched the boastful man depart, watching as the fire that carried him moved like it was rope frozen in the air.

“Damn,” he found himself muttering, impressed, no matter how many times he sees it, magic is still awesome.

He looked down to the bedraggled stranger, the women seemed done beating him up and were dispersing, forming up into small cliques and discussing a party on Salamander’s ship. August paid them little mind and walked to where the young man was sprawled on the ground.

“Hey pal,” he began, reaching down with a hand to lift him up, “you okay? Took a bit of a thrashing there, didn’t you?”

The pink haired man reached up and grabbed his hand. August had to pull a bit harder to lift him up, else he would have been brought down instead.

‘Guys’ got muscle on him,’ he thought , ‘can’t believe he got beaten up so easily.’

Offhandedly he reasoned that this man just may not have wanted to hurt any of the women in self defence. A common enough reasoning.

“Thanks,” the man said, rising to his feet, not looking at all bothered by the previous beating he was subjected to. In fact he barely looked scuffed at all.

‘What’s this guy made of?’ August thought with curiosity. You just didn’t take a beating like that and not get at least a few bruises.

“Man,” the man said, wiping dirt off his pants, “those girls were crazy. All I did was say no to an autograph. Why’d they beat me up like that?”

“Fans of a different sort,” August said, “the violent kind at that. Sorry that happened to you but I was busy with someone else, otherwise I would have stepped in.”

The pink haired man just waved off the words with a lax smile, “Don’t worry about it,” he said, “I’ve taken worse hits than that before. Takes a lot more than that to bring me down!”

“I don’t doubt it,” August commented, smiling at the man’s proud boasting. He reached out a hand, “sorry your first day in our town was so unexpected. Names August by the way.”

“Natsu,” the pink haired man greeted in kind, shaking the offered hand, “and like I said, don’t worry about it, I’m tough!”

“I’m Lucy,” Lucy suddenly greeted, coming by August’s side and staring at Natsu, “and I have to thank you for helping break that charm spell that guy was casting,” she looked to where Salamander flew off, “that jerk. Using illegal magic like that,” she put her hands on her waist and huffed, “when I see him, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”

“Let’s not try and go out and fight the guy who nearly had you fall into his web of sycophants,” August placated, putting a hand on Lucy’s shoulder, “I have some friends in the magic knights, some superior officer ones, I’ll let them know what happened and see if they can investigate.”

Lucy looked to August in surprise, “You have friends in the magic knights?” she asked, surprised.

He nodded, “Yep, quite a few actually. Remember when I said I couldn’t use my magic within the town limits unless I have to or I’m requested to. Well, who do you think made the requests?”

“That’s amazing,” a new voice said, high pitched and full of energy, “the magic knights usually don’t ask just a random mage for help. You must be pretty strong!”

“Well I don’t want to brag but-” his reply cut off once he looked at who was talking. More accurately, look down at who was talking.

The blue cat he saw by the other man’s feet was looking up at him. For a moment they just looked at each other until the cat raised a paw in his direction.

“Hi! Name’s Happy! It’s nice to meet you!” ‘Happy’ said with a smile.

“Nice to meet you, Happy!” Lucy said, not seemingly bothered by the sight of a talking blue cat, “How would you like it if I treated you all to a meal? As thanks for helping break me out of whatever charm spell that was.”

“Free food?!” Natsu asked, standing excitedly at attention.

“Free fish?!” Happy equally expressed his joy.

Lucy nodded and gestured for the two to follow her. They had walked only a short distance when she realized they were missing someone. She turned and saw August, still staring at where Happy once stood.

“August, come on! Let’s get something to eat!” she called out.

August stirred from his stupor and shook his head. He really had to stop acting like that whenever he saw something new in this world that he couldn’t explain.

…well, he could explain but at this point the explanation was annoying as it was obvious.

“Magic,” August said below his breath, “I really just got to accept that wholeheartedly by now.”

Watching Natsu and Happy eat was definitely…unique. If August was trying to be polite. He watched as the pair practically inhaled the platter of food they had before them. Enjoying each bite and drink with clear enjoyment.

He thought he would get something to eat too, on his own bill of course, but just looking at the mess these two were making was having an effect on his appetite.

“You gonna be okay?” August asked Lucy, who sat next to him in the booth of the restaurant they were in, “these two look like they could clean this place out if they were so inclined.”

Lucy just laughed, it was a bit tinged with worry at his words, “Don’t worry,” she replied, “I’ve got enough to cover this. They haven’t ordered anything more than this so I’m hopeful that this is enough.”

“Small miracle,” commented August, “hope that’s true,” he looked up in thought and Lucy took notice.

“Something wrong?” she asked, noticing his expression.

“Kinda yes and kinda no,” he replied, “just remembered that most of the magic knights in the town are out in the sea right now. Investigating supposed pirate activity,” he hummed and tilted his head to avoid a flying fish bone from Happy, “so I’m thinking about who to report it to. In all likelihood the response won’t be significant enough to deal with Salamander for now,” he tilted his head again to avoid a stray chicken bone courtesy of Natsu’s ravenous eating, “not a good outcome.”

Lucy frowned at his words but gave no response to them. August couldn’t blame her, it was a tricky situation to navigate.

But it wasn’t a hopeless one. August knew that for sure.

“Well Lucy, today has been fun,” he got up from the table, “but I should head back to the store. Only so long I can leave it closed for a lunch break.”

“Oh,” Lucy said, suddenly realizing that she had taken up a bit more of his time than planned, “sorry about that.”

August waved aside her worries, “Don’t worry about it,” he said, “I actually had a lot of fun and I learned more about the guilds thanks to you,” he gave her a rye smile and a raised brow, “a lot about their shenanigans more than anything.”

Lucy just laughed at his choice of words, “Yeah,” she replied, looking happy and excited, “but that’s what makes them amazing.”

“One more so than the others?” August asked, a tease in his tone.

“Yeah,” admitted Lucy, a sheepish but quite happy, “just a bit.”

The orange haired shop worker smiled at her, more genuinely and honestly this time. Without hesitation he took out a small box and handed it to Lucy, the blonde stared at the box uncomprehendingly for a moment before realizing what it was and hurriedly reaching for her wallet, only to be stopped by a raised hand from August.

“That won’t be necessary,” he said, putting the box on the table and sliding it towards her, “I’d say I’ve been more than over fed by what you’ve told me today.”

Lucy looked down at the box that contained the celestial spirit key, her eyes glowed with joy and excitement. She suddenly realized something and looked back to August, “But what about-”

“My boss will be okay with the loss,” August said reassuringly, “to be perfectly honest I doubt we’d ever find a decent buyer for this key in any case,” he patted the box, “not many would want something like this. Given how it’s not really helpful in a fight,” his smile became more fondly, “but you don’t want it in a fight, do you?”

Lucy shook her head, her smile turning as honest as it was grateful, “Nope,” she answered, “I just want another friend,” she tapped at the keys dangling by her waist, “just like I did with them.”

August…honestly was pretty speechless after that answer. He had expected something playful as a pet, given the creature contained in the key, but not something like ‘friend’.

Maybe it was the cynic in him that still persisted somewhat since coming to this world that led him to think that.

Still…he was happy he was wrong.

August left the gate key in front of Lucy, “Take care of the little guy,” he said, “he’s a little…everything but he seems to have a good soul in him.”

Lucy picked up the box with a fond if a little excited smile, “I will,” she promised, “thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” August replied, “and I hope you get into the guild you wanted,” his smile gained a tinge of mischief, “and that your name appears in some magazine somewhere.”

Lucy blushed at the expectation, though more it was a tease. She then began wondering what kind of article in Sorcerer Weekly would she be in and soon fantasized about the idea, making excited and happy sounds all the while.

August chuckled at the excitable girl at the table before turning his focus to Natsu, who was looking at Lucy with curious and amused eyes. All the while chewing on a large piece of meat on a bone.

“You take care as well, Natsu,” August said in farewell, “try not to get mobbed by an angry crowd of women next time.”

Natsu looked at him and nodded, swallowing the mouthful of food before replying, “Don’t worry! Next time I’ll just blast my way out of the crowd!” he held out an arm and grasped his bicep with the other, “I’ll show them how strong I really am next time!”

…that was concerning and August only had this to say in reply, “Maybe just scare them off instead. I’d hate to see you arrested by the magic knights. Besides, it’s probably funnier.”

Natsu seemed to agree with that, given the wide smirk he now wore from such a scheme. It was lost shortly after, when Natsu resumed his savage eating once more.

With a final wave to the table, August left it peacefully.

Once he was outside the restaurant, he made his way to the nearest magic knight outpost and later the magic shop to return to work.

“Well damn,” August muttered, leaning against the railing that overlooks the port town and the sea, “I should have expected that but I still hoped for more.”

It was as he feared, the magic knights didn’t have numbers right now to perform a proper investigation but there was at least some good news out of this little venture.

Apparently there was a contingent of magic knights from out of town that were coming in to make up for the lack of numbers, if only temporarily. The problem with that is that the knights here didn’t know exactly when their reinforcements would arrive.

‘Between the next hour or the next few days,’ he thought with a sigh , ‘meaning Salamander would probably smarten up before the heat falls on him.’ he chuckled a bit at that last part. A fire mage running from the heat, now that would be a sight.

August looked up into the night sky overhead, enjoying seeing the many stars that glistened up above. After making his request he returned to the magic store and wrapped up business there. It was an otherwise uneventful day all things considered.

Minus meeting an eccentric celestial spirit mage, a pink haired stranger who ate like a man three times his size, and a talking blue cat.

…the more he thought about it the more he realized just how insane it all was.

“A magic world,” he said to himself, running a hand through his orange hair, “it’s a magic world, those probably won’t be the strangest things I see in the next year.”

He had the sudden urge to knock on wood, just in case but unfortunately there was only the iron rail and the stone buildings surrounding him in this area.

Dropping his gaze to view the sea, he silently hoped well for Lucy. She seemed awfully upset about whatever charm spell that ‘Salamander’ person was using on her. He hoped she wouldn’t do anything reckless in response or be otherwise ‘persuaded’ by that weird character.

Shaking his concerns off unsuccessfully, he let his mind focus on the peaceful ocean before him.

He blinked at a surprising sight before him. Out in the water was a sole ship, a yacht in fact. A huge one too! Even from this great distance, August could see lights on the deck. Bright and ostentatious in their design and the crowd of people dancing or standing in their luminosity.

“Whoever is the owner of that thing,” August muttered, “clearly likes to party.”

There was something bothering him about the ship, he didn’t know what but he felt that it was strange for a pleasure yacht to go that far out to sea just for a little partying and this late at night no less.

“Ahhhhhhh…” a tired and discontented voice drew out from beside him. August looked and saw Natsu leaning his head against the rail, looking tired and disappointed. Happy stood on the rail itself, perfectly balanced and patting Natsu on the head comfortably.

“Rough day?” August asked, surprised to see the salmon haired young man out at this hour. Granted it wasn’t that late all together. It certainly wasn’t midnight at least.

Natsu turned his head, still pressed against the railing, and looked at him. His eyes widened slightly in recognition and he addressed him, “Hey! You’re that guy we ran into today. What’s your name?” he scratched his head in thought before snapping his fingers, “Gusty! Right?!”

“August, Natsu,” Happy helpfully corrected, shaking his head at his friend's cluelessness, “he said his name was August.”

Natsu snapped his fingers again, this time in realization, “Right! August!” he looked at said man again, “you’re the tall skinny guy that helped us earlier.”

“Helped you, Natsu,” Happy corrected again, paws on his waist and looking proud, “I was perfectly fine.”

August decided to ignore the cat, “That’s me alright,” he said, “though I wouldn’t call myself tall. Just above average,” he realized something else with what Natsu said, “and I’m not skinny. I got some muscles on me,” he raised an arm, pulled up a sleeve, and flexed, showing a decent amount of toned muscle, “see! I’m not that skinny.”

Natsu cocked his head, looking at the arm, “I dunno, man,” he said, “I’ve seen taller people than you and they’re built like brick houses.”

August just huffed, lowering his arm and pulling his sleeve back down, “Well I prefer to be a whipcord than a brick house,” he replied, a bit defensively, “all that muscle can be too cumbersome at times.”

Natsu just shrugged, not really caring for the response and looked out to sea, “Man,” he muttered dejectedly, “I came all the way here and didn’t even find who I was looking for,” he gave a low growl, “when I get back home, I’m gonna sock the person who gave me that tip.”

“What tip?” August asked.

“Apparently, someone with incredible fire magic was sighted in this town,” Happy answered, “that goes by the name ‘Salamander’. Natsu thought it was someone he knew and rushed over here as fast as he could,” he looked at his friend, “he even took a train to get here, despite his horrible motion sickness.”

Natsu turned a bit green and covered his mouth at the mention of the word ‘train’. He swallowed and nodded, agreeing with Happy’s words, “That’s right,” he said, “I came all the way here to find someone and it turns out it was,” he grimaced, recalling the person, “some weird looking guy.”

‘This coming from the guy with a talking cat,” August thought, “Who were you looking for in any case? I’ve been in this town for a long time and I know a great deal of people here. Maybe I could tell you where this person is?”

August had no problem helping this person, especially since he looked so lost. He’d been there before and he recalled asking so many people for help before he was able to gain some semblance of understanding to his new life and new home.

“Thanks but I don’t think you can,” Natsu commented, “the person I’m looking for is pretty hard to miss.”

August was bemused, “Try me,” he said with a smile, “I’ve seen my share of characters in this town and know most by name.”

“Alright,” Natsu said, shrugging, “I’m looking for a dragon named Igneel. He’s big and red and breathes fire,” he smiled at his description, like a kid proud of his successful parent, “he’s the best! The greatest dragon in the world!”

August was still as he heard Natsu’s brief description, honing in on one word in particular.

‘Dragon?’ August thought with no small amount of incredulity , ‘He’s looking for a dragon?! Did I mishear him?’

“Just to clarify,” August carefully began, “you’re not looking for a person but a flesh and blood dragon, correct?”

Natsu nodded eagerly, “Yeah! Yeah! And he’s huge too!” he stood straight and spread his arms wide in emphasis, “bigger than any of the buildings here…I think,” he looked around, trying to spot any large buildings for comparison.

August shook his surprise away, with difficulty, and continued, “Well, I hate to say it but I’ve never seen a dragon in this town,” he shrugged awkwardly at the strange topic, “and I’m sure this town would be a buzz if there was one here at any time.”

He was certain this town would brag and boast of any such creature ever here. Hell, if someone saw one flying overhead it would cause an insane stir.

Natsu did look down at that and sighed, returning to leaning on the railing, “Yeah, I know,” he grumbled, “Lucy said something similar to. Made finding that Salamander guy all the more disappointing.”

“Why?” asked August, “Is Salamander supposed to mean something?”

Natsu looked at him as if he said something stupid, “Duh?” he rudely replied immaturely, “A name like Salamander is supposed to mean you’re a great fire mage,” he flexed his arms in emphasis, “it’s a name not everyone can get, in fact it’s one of a kind!”

August blinked curiously at that. One of a kind? Then why was Natsu talking about the name with such pride?

Unless…

“Hey Natsu,” August suddenly said, “how do you know that name is one of a kind?”

Natsu blinked at the question, “Huh? Oh that’s because it’s my name,” he replied with a proud toothy grin, “I’m known as the Salamander back in my guild. I’m pretty awesome!”

And none too modest but that was beside the point. August continued, “But that guy earlier said he was Salamander. Don’t you think that’s strange?”

Natsu thought about that and simply shrugged, “Eh, maybe he just wanted to have an awesome nickname for himself,” he put his hands on his waist and wore a happy smile, “I can totally relate! And he picked an awesome name to imitate too!”

August wasn’t convinced, “I don’t think that’s why,” he said, “Tell me Natsu, did he ever actually tell you his real name?”

The salmon haired youth thought about it but soon shook his head, “No he didn’t.”

“And did he say what guild he was from?” August asked, worry on his mind.

Again, Natsu shook his head, “Nope and I didn’t even bother to ask,” he replied, cocking his head curiously at these questions, “Why? Is something the matter?”

“Maybe,” August muttered, hand on his chin in thought, “you said your nickname is Salamander and so did this guy but you said you belong to a guild but this guy didn’t say whether or not he did, at least in public,” he gave Natsu a look, “something’s not right about all that. All the more since you said your nickname is supposed to be one of a kind.”

Natsu blinked at those words before putting the pieces together in his own mind. It took him a bit but he eventually found himself nodding in agreement with August’s words, “Yeah,” he said, “yeah, you’re right. Something is fishy about that guy.”

“Fish!” Happy none too helpfully said aloud. Perking up his head as if hearing a sacred word. August chose to ignore him again.

Two voices from another portion of the railing soon caught their attention, “Look out there! You see that?!” a female voice exclaimed, “That’s Salamander’s yacht! Man, I wish I could have gone!”

“Salamander? You mean the one that’s from Fairy Tail?” another female voice asked in tones of disbelief, “He was in town today! I can’t believe I missed him and it looks like an awesome party there too!”

August’s ears perked up at this sudden drop of information. He now had the guild name of Salamander and it was a famous one too, according to Lucy.

“Alright,” August muttered, “now we got the guild name he’s from. Fairy Tail huh? Only know what I know about them thanks to Lucy. But this at least is a good starting point for an investigation,” he turned to walk down the street and back to the magic knights outpost, “I’ll inform the magic knights and we’ll-”

A solid and firm hand caught him by the arm before he made it two steps. August gave a wince at the iron-like grip but soon covered the expression. He looked behind him to see Natsu staring at him with an intense and serious look.

“Natsu?” August asked, surprised at this sudden reaction, “What’s wrong? Why do you look like you wanna-”

“That guys’ not Salamander,” Natsu said, seriously, “he’s no Fairy Tail mage either.”

“fight…” ended August, now wearing a look of surprise on his own face, “Natsu…how do you know this?”

With his other hand, Natsu pointed at himself with his thumb, his expression becoming more aggravated, “Because I’m Salamander!” he exclaimed, “and I’m from Fairy Tail!”

Before August could ask anything else, Natsu released him and rolled up the sleeve of his travel wear, exposing a strong shoulder. But August’s attention was focused on something else on his arm.

The red guild mark on his shoulder, its depiction stylized to look like…a fairy.

August was suddenly glad Lucy showed him the guild emblems from those sorcerer weekly magazines, otherwise he’d have no idea what he was looking at.

He silently cursed himself for his ignorance. If he bothered to open up even one of those magazines, he might not be so clueless about mages and guilds.

He was too focused on bettering himself as a mage and hadn’t cared about learning anything else about them except some rudimentary basics.

August let the chastisement of him stew in his stomach for a bit before giving a loud exhale and looking out to sea, his mind racing.

‘Salamander’ wasn’t Salamander, he was a fire mage but one with a fraud reputation. He has an ego and had used illegal magic earlier to lure in a crowd of women and invite them onto his yacht. A yacht that was sailing farther and farther away this very minute.

With no small amount of guests on it.

All of that together didn’t lead to anything good and August’s apprehension was at an all time high.

He couldn’t wait for the magic knights, not when the suspect was getting further and further away with so many potential victims.

A loud smacking sound cut through his thoughts, making him wince at the volume of it. He turned to see Natsu, his fist planted firmly in his other hand, a look of anger on his face.

“That jerk,” he said, his voice low and full of undisguised menace, “who does he think he is? Dragging Fairy Tail’s name through the dirt just for his own benefit! He’s gonna pay!”

August smiled at the man, agreeing with him but with different motivations. He didn’t care about the man impersonating a famous guild member. He cared that this jackass came to his town and is risking the lives of the inhabitants.

‘Time to stop that,’ he thought with determination, looking out to the yacht , ‘immediately.’

“Well we can’t let him get away now can we?” August said, reaching over and giving Natsu a hearty pat on the shoulder, “How about we go and give him a reality check?”

“Yeah!” Natsu yelled, making the nearby women yelp at the loud man, “Let’s go kick his ass!” he turned down the street, ready to run to his next destination. Before pausing with one leg up, mid-run. He looked to August and modestly asked, “Uh, where is this guy anyway?”

August pointed out to the water, “That yacht over yonder,” he said, “bit of a trip but we should reach it before it gets too far.”

Natsu turned to look out at the sea and the yacht upon it. He turned green, gagged, and leaned back on the rail covering his mouth.

August suddenly felt flat footed at seeing his now ally in such a state. He recalled Happy’s earlier words and suddenly remembered, “Your motion sickness is really that bad?” he asked.

Natsu did not respond verbally, he only nodded, keeping one hand over his mouth in case a catastrophic and messy accident would occur.

“Don’t worry about Natsu,” Happy said with a smile, “he may not be too great with boats, or trains, or carts, or anything with wheels or moving parts in general, but he’s perfectly okay with me taking him!”

August blinked at the blue cat, “You take him?” he asked disbelievingly, “No offense but you’re a bit on the small side to try carrying him,” he looked back over to their target ship, “not to mention there’s a good chunk of water separating us from him. So I don’t know how you’d plan to take him over.”

“Oh! Like this!” Happy happily answered, pointing a paw at his back. In front of August’s eyes, he watched as a pair of white wings suddenly popped out from Happy’s back. With little effort in moving them, Happy soon left the ground, flying aloft as carefree as the wind, “I can carry Natsu there. I know I may not look it, but I’m pretty strong too!” 

August once again found himself speechless. A talking blue cat with little wings was right before his eyes. Oh, right, it could also freaking fly!

August took a deep breath, calming himself. He’d been in this world for months, he’d seen a lot of strange things, a talking blue flying cat shouldn’t surprise him this much.

…who was he kidding? It surprised him greatly but now wasn’t the time to be surprised.

“Think you can handle Happy carrying you?” August asked.

Natsu recovered from his bout of wooziness to take on a look of offense, one that Happy replicated.

“Happy isn’t transportation!” exclaimed Natsu, “He’s a friend!”

“Aye!” agreed the blue cat, “I’m his friend! Not his transportation!”

August just stared dumbly at the two, trying to process what he heard, “But you said-,” he pointed to Happy, “and you get-,” he pointed to Natsu. Finding no use in arguing and realizing he would hurt himself overthinking, August just sighed and lifted his hands in defeat, “okay, fine. Then I’ll let you two fly over to the boat,” he turned his attention back towards said boat, still visible even at this distance, “I’ll swim out to it and try to push it to shore. Best to take the fight to solid ground then open water. Good for us and the victims.”

Natsu blinked in surprise at his words and looked at him closely, “Uh, you sure about that?” he asked, “it’s a long swim out there and besides,” he poked at his arms, feeling the muscle there but still skeptical, “I don’t know how you’re going to push a whole ship to shore.”

August smirked, “With magic of course,” he answered, “thought that was obvious.”

Natsu’s eyes lit up with excitement, “Oh! You’re a mage, that’s right! What’s your magic?! Is it something awesome?!”

August wanted to say more but they’ve already burned up enough time talking as it is. Now was the time for action, “No time to talk anymore,” he moved from the rail and prepared to run down the street, “just don’t attack any strange creature you see when you’re out there.”

With that said, August ran down the street, ignoring the calls of Natsu who wanted to ask about what strange creature he was talking about.

August ran down the road, turned into pathways, cut through alleys, and took every shortcut he knew to get to the town’s docks. Soon, he was running down a pier. A sound caught his attention overhead and he saw Natsu being carried by Happy, the blue cat effortlessly carrying his friend over the water and to the ship a great distance away. August gave a whistle, impressed by Happy’s surprising strength and fast flying.

Soon he approached the end of the pier and the open sea ahead. He slowed his pace but didn’t stop moving, focusing on the magic within himself and calling it forth with an effort of will.

He crossed his arms over his chest, his wrists crossing into an x shape. A light began to glow from where his wrists were crossed and he uncrossed them just as he reached the end of the pier and jumped out into the water. The light soon enveloped him and he shouted…

“Take Over Magic-Digital Soul!”

Just as he landed in the water, the light became massive in size and luminosity, even underwater. Soon it dimmed and ceased.

The water bulged slightly as something large moved beneath it and a wake of great size soon followed as it made its way to the yacht out at sea, its great size belying its speed.

Lucy had to admit, she should have planned this better.

Shortly after paying for Natsu and Happy’s thank you meal. Lucy found herself meeting Salamander out in a nearby park. She was, of course, cautious and skeptical of the older gentleman. He had used charm magic on her as well as a few other women who were probably clueless at what had happened to them.

She was more than willing to tell this creep to plow sand until he mentioned something to her. He could get her into her dream guild. He could get her into Fairy Tail.

She lent him an ear after that sweet promise and he was more than happy to explain more, provided she came to his yacht party tonight.

Lucy accepted and Salamander soon flew off in a burst of purple flames, completely missing the cunning look in the young woman’s eyes.

She’d play his game for the moment, then kick him to the curb once she had her opportunity to get into Fairy Tail.

However…things clearly went awry. Salamander wasn’t affiliated with Fairy Tail, he was a slave trafficker, he had tried to put her to sleep with a spell which she foweld, he had taken her celestial spirit keys and promptly tossed them off the ship, and now he was gloating while his men held her captive.

…yeah, she definitely should have planned this better. What she wouldn’t give for some cosmic intervention right about now.

Something crashed through the ceiling just as she pondered her wish, surprising her and the room’s occupants. When the dust and smoke cleared from the impact, she gave a gasp of surprise.

“Natsu!” she exclaimed, seeing the familiar salmon haired young man, “How did you get here?!”

Natsu didn’t answer her, his gaze was focused on the man called ‘Salamander’. For a moment the two stared the other down, neither breaking eye contact, both waiting for the other to make a move.

The boat dipped to one side slightly as it went through a wake and that spurred Natsu into action!

By collapsing onto the floor, curling in on his stomach and moaning piteously.

“Please,” Natsu moaned pathetically, “stop the boat,” he held back a burp, scared for what could come up with it, “I can’t…last much longer~”

Lucy, her captors, and ‘Salamander’ stared dumbly at Natsu in silence for a moment, unsure of what to do next. Soon the silence was broken by a different voice, one belonging to a blue cat that gently flew down the hole Natsu made. One look at his friend and Happy just sighed and shook his head, “I told you, Natsu. You should have had a better plan than landing on the ship and finding the imposter. Geez, you even ignored your motion sickness.”

Natsu just gave a groan, unable to respond to his beloved but harsh friend.

Happy soon saw Lucy and waved at her with a smile, “Hi Lucy! I didn’t know you were here,” he said, “what are you doing here anyway?”

The question stirred Lucy from her surprise, she pointed at the blue-haired ‘Salamander’, “I was looking into this jerk before he tricked me, he said he’d get me into Fairy Tail,” something else just occurred to her and she stared at Happy with new focus, “and hold on since when did you have wings?”

“I’ll explain later! We have to get out of here!” at those words, Happy flew behind Lucy and grabbed her before beginning to fly off into the opening of the roof.

“Wait! What about Natsu?” Lucy asked, casting her gaze down to the ship, seeing said man still collapsed on the floor groaning in nauseous pain, “We can’t just leave him like this!”

“Don’t worry! Natsus' pretty tough,” Happy looked behind him at the retreating ship and paled, tightening his grip on Lucy, “besides, I couldn’t even if I wanted to right now!”

Happy moved swiftly to the side, dodging a tendril of purple flame. Again he moved swiftly, maneuvering quickly to dodge several other tails of flame coming towards him and Lucy. 

Lucy yelped as she found herself jerked this way and that by the surprisingly strong feline. She did her level best not to scream but it was becoming harder and harder the more she was tossed about. Soon enough however, the fire attacks stopped, allowing Lucy and Happy a chance of recovery.

“Lucy,” Happy began, his voice tight, “this might not be the best time but..”

Happy’s wings vanished.

“My transformation just ran out!”

Together they screamed as they plummeted to the drink below, landing with a splash. Lucy was thankful her dress fanned out a bit upon her moment of impact, lessening her descent into the water and letting her find her bearings faster.

Happy wasn’t so fortunate, he fell much deeper and hit a rock. 

Lucy swam under the water, looking for something. When she spotted a reflection of light along an undersea rock she swam towards it as fast as she could and picked it up.

It was her spirit keys, they had landed near where the fake ‘Salamander’ had thrown them. It must be a sign her luck is finally beginning to turn around.

She was about to head up when a sudden object hit her in the side, making her gasp and lose precious air.

‘Okay! Screw calm ascent!’ Lucy thought with clear panic as she raced towards the surface, emerging in a splash and a gasp of precious air. When she heard a similar, albeit smaller, gasp she looked down to see someone latching to her torso.

It was Happy, who looked like he had no intention of letting go at all costs. Lucy was about to say something to the blue cat but stopped when she noticed something. He wasn’t looking at her, he was looking out at an empty stretch of ocean. He wasn’t shaking from the cool water that was surrounding them, he was shaking out of fear, an expression made obvious on his face.

“Happy, what’s wrong?” asked Lucy, any anger or annoyance at his crash into her vanishing at seeing his face, “You look like you saw a ghost.”

Happy turned to look up to her, “I saw something big in the water!” he exclaimed, “Something really really big and swimming fast!”

Lucy felt some fear at that, “Was it a shark?” she asked, clutching her spirit keys in preparation, “Or a sea serpent?”

Happy shook his head, “No,” he answered, “it looked like-” he looked up in thought, trying to find the right words, before answering, “like…a walrus and a unicorn!”

Lucy stared down at the cat, her eyes full of skepticism and doubt, “You didn’t accidentally swallow sea water, did you?”

Happy emphatically shook his head, “No no! I’m being serious!” he exclaimed, “There’s some kind of big walrus-unicorn heading towards the ship!”

Lucy looked back towards the ship, trying to spot anything remotely matching Happy’s description. She found none but the ship itself, the steady tide, the wakes caused by the ship, the large wake heading towards the back of the ship-

“Huh!” Lucy shouted in surprise, seeing a large swell of water heading towards the back of the ship, directly against the swells the ship was making. She saw something break through the large swell somewhat and she caught the sight of shaggy snow white fur before it dived into the water.

She looked to where it was for a moment before seeing the ship rock, as if it struck something below the surface of the water.

Or more likely something struck it from below instead.

“Lucy,” Happy began, getting her attention, “I vote we swim to shore as fast as we can.”

Lucy was surprised, “But what about Natsu? That fake Salamander is still on that ship,” she pointed out, “not to mention whatever that thing was.”

Happy began to push Lucy, prompting her to move, “Natsu is tough, he can handle himself,” he replied confidently, “that thing under the water…I don’t know why but I don’t think it’s dangerous, at least to us. I think it’s only going after the ship, not who’s on it.”

As if to point out this theory, the ship suddenly lurched forward as if it was struck from somewhere behind it. Soon it began to turn with great speed, nearly tipping the vessel. It soon righted itself and was now going back towards Hargeon.

Coming a little too close for Lucy’s and Happy’s liking. Who were nearly in the direct path of the ship.

“Swim!” Lucy screamed, stroking her way out of the ship's path.

“Go faster, Lucy! It’s almost on us!”

“On us?-hey! Get off my back you stupid cat! Swim with your own paws!”

“It’s no use! We’re going to be pulled by the ship’s current! We’re going to be crushed by it!”

“Stop saying such scary things!”

True to the cat’s words, they soon found themselves being dragged back by the current of the ship. Being pulled closer and closer to its underside.

And be crushed under wave and wood.

“Lucy! Happy! Swim here and get on, quick!”

The rough, thick voice cut through their panic and they looked to where the voice came from.

At the back of the ship, the strange creature repeated its request, “Hurry and swim over here! I’ll slow a bit and let you get on but you gotta hurry!”

True to its word, it lessened its pushing on the boat and the dragging wakes lost much of their strength. Whether by the stress of the situation or the desperation to escape a near inevitable end, Lucy and Happy swam towards the back of the boat and towards the creature.

It was large as they had thought but smaller than the yacht, but certainly had enough mass to move the large vessel. It was covered in Snow White shaggy fur that was soaked through by the water, with loose trails of it floating on the surface. Looking at its head, Lucy and Happy saw a mammal- like face, similar to a walrus but more furry, with massive ivory tusks that dipped into the water. Standing proud and pointed on its head was a long black horn that looked like it could punch through the haul of the ship with little issue. Such a fierce looking creature would have scared Lucy silly were it not for one thing.

The blue eyes that shone with concern and compassion just as it was intensity and focus.

Lucy approached the creature’s side, cautiously. Once she was close, she reached out to grab some fur, unsurprised by how thick it was. With some effort she pulled herself up. Once she was on the creature’s large back she shook off Happy, who landed on the white furred back creature with a look of amazement.

“Good,” it said, flexing itself and returning to its task, “now let’s get this boat to the beach, huh?”

It pushed the ship again and Lucy could now see it was pushing the ship not with its head but with its large paws, each sporting three digits tipped with large red claws that could fell a tree.

She could hear voices of confusion from the boat, the crew wondering what was happening.

“I tore off the rudder,” the creature said, “now they can only drift in the waves,” it laughed, the sound surprisingly gentle despite its roughness, “or pushed by a generously sized monster in this case.”

Lucy was speechless for a moment before curiosity got the better of her, “Um, excuse me,” she began, “but who and…what are you.”

A wet snort came from the creature, as if it choked back a laugh, “What? You don’t recognize me,” it turned its head and Lucy could see the smile on its face as well as on its eyes, she was surprised it could smile with tusks that big, “and after I gave you that gate key too.”

Lucy processed those words and her features morphed into shock, “August?!” she asked, “Is that you?!”

August laughed at Lucy’s expression and the burst of joy he got from seeing her expression made him push the ship harder across the water, “That’s me alright,” he laughed, “told ya I was a Take Over mage.”

Lucy and Happy were stunned silent by the revelation. Lucy hadn’t expected August to be able to transform into something like this and Happy had never expected such a person to transform into something so strange and powerful.

August redoubled his work, getting the yacht closer and closer to shore, “Oh and by the way,” he said to the two, “when I’m in one of my forms you can call me by my forms name if you want. Adds a little flair to the mystique of my magic don’t you think?”

“Wh-what should we call you then?” Happy asked, nervous and curious at the same time.

“Ikkakumon!” August said proudly, pushing the ship onto the sandy beach.

August had to admit, he was having fun.

He didn’t get to use his magic as often as he liked. Sure, he trained outside of town with it on occasion and he used it whenever he was asked to assist the magic knights. But to simply use it on his own volition gave him a cathartic sense of satisfaction.

All the more considering what his magic was.

Take Over magic was amazing by itself, the ability to turn yourself into monsters or creatures was amazing enough. To be able to turn yourself into monsters that only existed in another world was something else entirely.

He could turn into digimon! He could transform into freaking digimon!

Discovering this when he first tested out his magic was…jarring to say the least and embarrassingly clumsy at best. Still, the excitement and wonder he felt at that moment overwhelmed him more than anything else.

How he was able to transform into more digimon…was really the only complicated part and even now after so long with the power it still boggled his mind sometimes.

But that can wait until later. For now…

He had a smuggling operation to crush.

With a grunt of effort, he pushed the ship until it was far up the sandy beach and away from the tide. It was still a large ship, bigger than Ikkakumon, but he managed to do his best.

Once escape was no longer an option, August shifted backwards, the motions strange for a colossal sized walrus like creature.

“Okay you two,” he said, glancing back at Lucy and Happy, “time to get off. I’m going to change back.”

Lucy and Happy didn’t need to hear more and swiftly left his back. Lucy climbed down using the thick strands of hair Ikkakumon possessed. Happy just activated his wings and flew down softly. Once both were down on solid ground, August activated his magic and in a burst of light and color he was back in his human form.

He shook his arms and legs, getting used to the returning sensation of being a biped once more, apparently it was a common sensation among Take Over mages who transformed into beasts. He was told it would pass eventually but eventually was quite a bit of time so far.

“Alright,” August said, proceeding to walk around to the side of the ship, “let’s see if we can’t end this now.”

Lucy and Happy watched him go, the two wondering just what he was planning to do next. Would he transform into something else? Maybe a partial transformation? Happy briefly thought of a partial transformation of Ikkakumon on August. His mind conjured the funny image of a shaggy man with a large horn sticking out of his head.

August stood beside the ship, looking up and seeing the scrambling passengers. Who were looking around themselves and wondering what had just happened. He saw quite a few look nervous at being back in a town they had just victimized for their own gains.

“Attention!” August called up to them, “you under suspicion of participating in illegal and illicit activities,” he reached into his pocket and pulled out a badge, on it was a magic knight crest, “on behalf of the city of Hargeon, l’m asking you to surrender peacefully so that an investigation can be conducted.”

For a moment silence was the only sound besides the waves hitting the sandy beach. Until finally a familiar and obnoxious voice sounded out from the deck of the ship.

“You’re no magic knight,” said fake ‘Salamander’, who walked up the deck railing, followed by a large number of subordinates, “magic knights don’t carry badges. They wear their emblem on their armor and their weapons,” he peered over the railing, looking at the badge August was holding, “but they do give out badges to those they trust in a provisional sense. Must have earned some respect to carry that little piece of metal around.”

“And a little authority too,” August replied, his tone turning cold, “one that I would be more than willing to demonstrate if you don’t surrender now.”

Fake ‘Salamander’ laughed at what he perceived as arrogance from the young man. Who didn’t even flinch at the disrespect. August expected such a reaction and he steeled himself against it.

…though he wishes that the extras surrounding the jerk wouldn’t laugh too.

‘Be professional, August,’ he said to himself , ‘can’t go busting skulls just because you get a little upset.’

‘Salamander’ eventually stopped laughing and pointed at August, who tensed when he saw a magic sigil followed by purple and blue flames forming at the tip of the man’s finger, “You clearly don’t remember who I am,” he gestured to himself with his other hand, “I am ‘the’ Salamander of Fairy Tail! You think I’m scared of some small town mage with a little badge? Please!”

August regained his composure and was about to say something until someone else caught his attention. He smiled and nodded his head to someone on the ship, “I guarantee someone there has an opinion on that.”

Before ‘Salamander’ could respond, a loud explosion came from beside him, knocking him back along the ships deck and knocking most of his crew out cold or overboard into the beach. He looked up to see a surprising sight.

Natsu, on his own two feet again, looking much better than when he did landing on the ship.

And looking hella pissed off too, with the glare he was directing towards the fake ‘Salamander’, one could argue he was trying to burst the man into flames with anger alone.

But the fake didn’t seem bothered by the furious glare and gestured towards his men, “Take care of this nuisance,” he ordered, “he’s more than overstayed his welcome.”

Three burly men quickly charged at the salmon haired youth, confident they could bring him down.

That confidence lasted about as quick as Natsu swung his fist in a sharp backhand, knocking all three men to the side and off the railing of the ship.

August watched with wide eyes as the men plummeted and landed unconscious in the sand. He stared at them before looking up at Natsu, “Damn,” he said, “maybe I really should have left this to you instead.”

Natsu continued his stride towards ‘Salamander’, removing his travel shirt and revealing the black vest he wore open underneath. Incidentally revealing the guild mark as well, surprising the crew around ‘Salamander’.

“B-Bora,” one muttered fearfully nearby, pointing at Natsu, “this isn’t good, he looks like the real deal.”

The fake ‘Salamander’, now named Bora, gaped at his lackey, “Don’t go say my name out loud you idiot!”

“Thought he looked familiar,” a voice said from beside and below August. He looked to see Happy by his feet and Lucy standing a short distance away, “that’s Bora the Prominence. A mage who was kicked out of the Titan Nose Guild for bad behavior and illegal conduct.”

August returned his gaze to the now named criminal, Bora, “Guess he didn’t learn after getting kicked out,” he said.

Natsu was nearly within spitting distance of said man, “I don’t know what you’re doing here and I don’t care,” he said, his steps measured and even, “whether you’re a good guy or a bad guy, it doesn’t matter,” his glare increased with each stride, anger was radiating off him like a burning torch, “I’m not gonna stand by while you dirty the Fairy Tail guild’s name.”

“Enough,” Bora said, his voice serious, “time to shut you up for good,” he spread his arms wide and shouted, “Prominence Typhoon!”

A swirling pillar of purple flames shot from the magic circle Bora summoned. His men dodged out of the way or jumped off the ship all together. Natsu stared ahead as the flames approached him, not even flinching. The attack impacted and burst into a fiery explosion that lit the deck aflame.

“Natsu!” Lucy cried out, shocked at seeing such an attack on a person.

August didn’t react like her, he was shocked sure, but not for the reasons Lucy was. Since this confrontation started, he’d been extending his magical senses out to get a feel for any powerful individuals he should be concerned about and to get a measure of their power. It wasn’t a surprise to him that Bora was one such individual. He was an arrogant bastard sure but he had enough power in him to back some of it up.

Natsu however…was on a different level.

August watched in shock as the fires that consumed Natsu initially were suddenly morphing in and around themselves, as if a vacuum was sucking them in from the inside. Once enough of them had vanished, it revealed a strange site.

Natsu, inhaling the fire and looking no worse for rare after taking such a powerful magical attack. In fact, he looked rather annoyed about something, like he had bitten into something bitter.

Once that last of the flames were consumed, Natsu rubbed his mouth and grimaced, “Man that was awful,” he complained, “those were some of the worst flames I’ve ever tasted. Are you sure you’re a fire mage?”

The comment normally would insight a bout of anger from Bora but he was too busy picking his jaw off the ground from what he just saw.

August admits; he was one of them.

“Natsu has a very rare kind of fire magic,” Happy said knowingly, “a kind that lets him eat and produce powerful fire that can blast away anyone. It’s called-”

“Dragon Slayer magic,” interrupted August, looking at Natsu with amazement, “magic that was created to combat against dragons by using their traits against them,” he smiled, as if he was soon to be watching a very anticipated show, “I’ve only read about it in books, to see it in action is so surreal.”

Natsu decided now was the time to attack and slammed his fists together, reeling back his head, “Fire Dragon’s ,” he began, voice raised before dropping his head forward, jaws wide and host to an inferno, “ Roar!” he ended with a shout, a large pillar of fire launching out of his mouth and towards Bora.

His men scattered out of the way, with almost all of them leaping off the ship now. Bora could only watch as the flames got closer until it was too late, the blast impacted him and sent him flying with explosive force. He hit the bow and smashed through it with fire and wood bursting around him, landing on the beach in a puff of sand and smoke.

Natsu ran and jumped off the ship in pursuit, knowing instinctively that attack wouldn’t be enough and that he would have a fight on his hands. He grinned happily at that realization.

August watched Natsu in pursuit of Bora and saw the inevitable confrontation and retaliation of the fire mage. Soon, blasts of fire and bursts of sand sprinkled across the beach as the two mages clashed.

He was suddenly glad he decided to take the ship to the beach and not the port. His town definitely wouldn’t come out unscathed from this conflict.

He felt a tug on his arm and he turned to see Lucy getting his attention and looking nervously back at the ship.

August turned and saw a crowd of Bora’s goons ahead of them, each looking eager to run away from this location as fast as possible and looking aggressive enough to stomp on anyone who got in their way.

August looked over them all then raised his voice to be heard, “Last chance to surrender. Lay down your weapons peacefully and wait for the magic knights to arrive. You’ll be in a lot less trouble if you do.”

The crowd looked to one another before looking back at August with determined looks and cocky smiles.

“Sorry kid but you ain’t in any position to tell us what to do,” one said.

“You can’t stop us! Not you, the girl, or the cat!” another said.

“Step aside and we promise not to mess you up too badly. We’ll just knock ya around until you can’t remember our faces. Sound fair?” another asked, sounding generally sincere about causing bodily harm.

August just looked at them all and sighed. He tried, he honestly did.

“You guys should have asked yourself a question earlier,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest, “‘Who or what destroyed our rudder and pushed us to shore?’” light gathered at his crossed wrists, “I’m about to show you you.”

He uncrossed his wrists, a magic circle appearing just for a moment before August shouted, “Take Over Magic-Digital Soul!”

August was surrounded by an orb of light, causing some to look away from its brightness. It swirled with flat geometric shapes and multicolored patterns before it suddenly burst open.

Everyone nearby, including Lucy and Happy, looked to see the new figure that stood before them. A creature unlike anything anyone has ever seen.

What now stood in August’s place was an animal-like person. Maybe a head shorter than August was originally but far more wide and robust, it was covered in light fur with the exception of fur around the top half of its head that was green and went down to just near the end of a pair of large floppy ears, looking like a mask more than anything. Upon its dog-like face were red marks like military stripes with the exception of a red diamond mark on its forehead. 

Its accessories are what really stood out upon it though. On the end of each arm were a pair of multi-barreled vulcan machine guns with a trio of mechanical digits at the center of each of them, the bandolier it wore across its chest solidified the firearms’ potent presence. The thick blue jeans it wore stood out just as much as the powerful legs it housed with the large three clawed feet acting as examples.

“Gargomon!” the creature that August transformed into shouted, its voice higher than his original one but maintaining a similar tone. It set itself into a combat stance, arms slightly bent but not raised, feet ready to kick off the ground.

The shockingly sudden appearance of such a strange creature didn’t stun the crowd very long and they prepared to charge. Lucy and Happy got ready the best they could, with Lucy ready to call upon her contracted spirits, and Happy hiding behind her whispering words of encouragement to both her and August.

August, now Gargomon, smiled and acted first. He kicked off the sand, sending a cloud of silicates into the air and launching himself towards the group. They were shocked at this sudden surprise attack but got ready to strike quickly nonetheless. With a flick of his ears, Gargomon adjusted his trajectory and was soaring over their heads instead, impacting against the ship, feet first, and digging into it with the sound of crunching wood. Once he was secured and anchored, he raised his arms and pointed his multi-barreled guns at them all. The crowd watched as green light glowed brighter and brighter inside each barrel.

“Gargo Pellets!” Gargomon shouted and fired his weapons at them. Green bolts of energy rapidly fired from the vulcan guns, the sound an echoing staccato of fire across the beach.

Bora’s minions were soon barraged by a seemingly endless storm of bullets, or energy pellets in this case. Many were struck down as the fast and heavy rounds collided with them. Some ducked and tried to find cover only to realize there was very little cover to find in an open beach and were shot into the sand itself. Some tried to run but found energy pellets striking them down too.

August wasn’t going to let a single one of them escape. This town had been there for him since coming to this world and since discovering his magic he’d been protecting it whenever possible. Pirates, bandits, and more, he’d been there to lend a hand, or a talon, or a claw, or a fang; depending on what he transformed into.

He shot into the slavers until the last man was down. Once he was sure none were left standing, he kicked off the ship with a flip and landed with a flip in the sand. He gave a giggle at the sensation of such a feat. Something as rotund as he was now shouldn’t move so athletically, yet he did.

His long floppy ears twitched as he heard the chorus of moans and groans of pain from around him. He mentally patted himself on the back. Good, he didn’t kill them. He throttled back his attack just enough.

It wasn’t his plan to kill these men, just make sure they couldn’t move until the magic knights arrived. Scummy and despicable their actions were, their judgment should be handled by the law, and August was familiar enough with the law to know these fools would get a nice long sentence if they were lucky. With their ringleader getting worse.

Gargomon looked around, suddenly realizing something, or rather two somethings, “Lucy, Happy!” he called out, looking around the beach for the two, “Where are you?!”

“Here!” a familiar female voice called out. Gargomon turned up to see Lucy back on the ship, Happy by her side along with a large group of women, all looking scared and confused as they took in their surroundings. Some saw Gargomon and gave gasps of surprise at seeing such a strange and admittedly cute creature, despite the smoking machine guns attached to its arms.

“We went back on the ship while you were confronting those jerks,” Lucy said, pointing at said jerks in pain on the ground, “we found where they took the women and freed them,” she looked towards the group with her, “they were asleep but came around when they heard the gunfire. Guess the sound helped wake them up.”

“Aye!” Happy exclaimed, paw raised in agreement.

Gargomon nodded before looking around again, bringing up a weapon of a hand and scratching the back of his head in confusion, the action looking somewhat adorable and causing a few of the rescued women to coo and aw at the sight.

“Have any of you seen Natsu?” Gargomon asked, looking at Happy and Lucy curiously, “Last I saw he blasted that Bora guy away, where’d he go?”

Happ pointed a paw upwards, “Bora should be back down any second and Natsu shouldn’t be too far behind.”

Gargomon blinked curiously at the cat before seeing Lucy and the gathered woman follow the cat’s gesture. Before he could do the same, a loud crash came from behind him, kicking up sand. He turned and flicked away the cloud of sand with one of his large ears, raising one of his hands and readied to fire. He stilled his aim when he saw who it was in the sand.

Bora the Prominence was face down in a crater of sand, covered in burns and sporting a large bruise on his cheek, along with an indented fist mark. He was out cold and defeated.

Someone else landed beside the crater and began to laugh proudly, “Hahaha! That guy wasn’t so tough,” Natsu said loudly, looking no worse for wear, “a Fairy Tail wizard wouldn’t be taken down that easily! This guy was a total chump!”

Natsu’s comments seemed to cause the unconscious body of Bora to shed a few tears. Words hurt after all, especially to an inflated ego.

“Good job Natsu,” Gargomon commented, lowering his arm, “with the ringleader down and his stooges out of the fight, this’ll be an easy cleanup for the magic knights.”

Natsu nodded happily before suddenly noticing something. Namely, the large stout rabbit looking thing with guns on its hands and wearing jeans and a bandolier.

“Holy crap! What are you?!” Natsu exclaimed, shocked at the sight of Gargomon, “Where did you come from?! I didn’t smell anything like you on the ship! Why do you smell so weird?!”

Gargomon looked at Natsu, slightly offended. It was rude to comment on someone’s smell after just meeting them. Granted, he never bothered to smell himself in any case…what did his transformations smell like?

Shaking his head, Gargomon spoke again, “Natsu, it’s me,” he pointed at himself, the machine gun drawing Natsu’s eyes, “it’s August, I transformed into this.”

Natsu’s eyes widened and he dashed towards Gargomon, looking him over, “August? That really you?” he asked, his curiosity bleeding to surprise and excitement, “Awesome!! I didn’t know you could transform. You must be a Take Over mage, right? Man that’s a weird form! How can you be shorter but bigger at the same time?”

“By being both of course,” Gargomon commented, waving aside Natsu’s hand when he moved to grab one of his ears, “I think it’s time to end this form for now. Dangers’ past and all that.”

Gargomon was soon enveloped in a green glow of light, the sudden light show surprising Natsu and he jumped back. He and everyone else watched as the light morphed from Gargomon’s form into a familiar human form. Once the shape was settled, the light died and August stood before everyone, smiling, “Hope that wasn’t too bright for everyone,” he commented, “I’m still working on dimming it when I change back.”

“That was so cool!” Natsu said again, loudly, “It was like watching light bend before my eyes! Does it hurt?”

August shook his head, “No, not really,” he answered, “feels a little weird at times depending on what I change into but I’ve gotten used to it for the most part,” he gestured to the crowd of unconscious slavers around him, “but questions can wait, we need to make sure none of these guys get up and run away,” he looked up to the ship, “Lucy, Happy, any rope up there?”

“Yeah!” answered Lucy, “We found some where they were keeping the women.”

“Great! Bring as much of it down as you can,” he looked around him, counting the men unconscious in the sand, “let’s make sure none of them run off until-” he cut off as a sight on the sea caught his eye, making him smile, “actually, cancel that request Lucy.”

Lucy was about to turn to get the rope until August spoke, “Why?” she asked, “Shouldn’t we make sure they can’t escape?”

August pointed out to sea and Lucy, Natsu, and Happy followed his gesture. Coming towards them was a trio of ships, sails unfurled and magic engines running and full speed. On each of the sails was a familiar emblem.

The emblem of the magic knights, the town’s magic knights. They had returned early.

“Something tells me,” August began, “we won’t have to worry about these goons running away for very long.”

August sighed in satisfaction as he finished the last of his packing. His clothes and personal possessions all stuffed neatly into this suitcase. That could hold far more than one would think from its appearance.

“Magic,” August commented with a shake of his head and a smile, “it really is amazing.”

He looked around the room, his room. A room that Havel was kind enough to let him stay in while he got his bearings. While he worked at the shop downstairs. While he learned and studied his own magic. While he helped wherever he could with his newfound skills and abilities. 

This room had been here for him and he for it and now…it was time to say goodbye.

He grabbed his suitcase and walked to the door, patting the doorway fondly as he passed, “Thanks for putting up with me,” he said before making his way to the first floor and the shop proper.

Entering the floor, he wasn’t surprised to see a familiar face. An old face that took him in when he was confused, scared, and had no place to go.

Havel, wrinkles and silly hat and all, smiled at August, the magic shop owner wearing an expression that was both happy and a little bit sad.

“So the days’ finally come,” the old man said, “ready to strike off on your own, finally?”

August nodded, smiling kindly at Havel, “I’m afraid so,” he replied, “finally grew the nerve to do it.”

“Oh you always had the nerve,” chided the old man good naturedly, “it was just a matter of finding it is all,” he walked up to August, taking in his appearance, as if saving a mental image of him, “Fairy Tail though, huh? Didn’t think you’d choose those crazies.”

August chuckled, “Normal is boring, don’t you know?” he replied, “Crazy is where you can have the most fun.”

“And make the most difference,” Havel said, “remember, Fairy Tail is one of the top guilds in the country. That reputation doesn’t come from just being a clubhouse for unruly mages. They are competent and capable with quests to match such people. You will hardly find an easy time there,” he looked up at August and the young man could see worry in the old man’s gaze, “are you sure this is what you want?”

August had asked himself that question before, more than a dozen times in fact. It had been two days since the incident with Bora and after much deliberation he decided to take a chance with some new friends.

It hadn’t been an easy decision but it was one he thought was best. He’d been protecting this town since he discovered his magic, clumsy at first but overtime he was proficient enough to fight alongside the magic knights, within an unofficial capacity of course. He was proud of the work he did, both within the shop and with the knights, but he always felt he could do…more. More than what this town had seen, more than what August had read, more and more and more.

He wanted to be more and it was something he was battling with himself for nearly half a year!

Now that battle was over and he made his choice. It would be embarrassing and shameful to back out now.

Kneeling down until he was eye level with the old man, August smiled at him and responded, “I’ve been taking it easy for far too long. It’s about time I made my life a bit more difficult. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to appreciate it as much as I should.”

Havel didn’t react immediately to the words, only staring into August’s eyes as if to discern some hidden truth or lie. Eventually though, he nodded and gave him a grandfatherly smile, “An easy life can come when you’re my age,” he said, “go out and overcome life’s obstacles and enjoy every moment of it when you do,” he reached out a hand and placed it on his shoulder, “life’s a gift, whether short or long, no one can tell you how to live it, only that you live it well.”

August lost it then, he’d been holding back since seeing his old caretaker. With no warning, August wrapped the old man up in a hug. He didn’t squeeze too tight less he hurt the old man’s delicate frame. Havel was stunned for a moment before the dam burst for him as well and he returned the hug. August could feel wetness touching his shoulder but he didn’t say anything, nor did Havel when he felt something similar on his.

Soon they parted and August wiped his eyes. Havel did not, letting the tears remain on his face as well as the proud smile he wore. August returned that smile and fought back a wave of fresh tears, “Thank you,” he said, “thank you for being there when I was so lost and scared.”

Havel smiled graciously at the young man, “No thanks are needed,” he replied, “I was more than happy to aid a young soul in finding his way in this world. Now I can watch and wait to see how great you’ll become.”

“Thank you,” August said, “I promise, I won’t let you down.”

With very little else to say, August bowed his head to the old shopkeeper who took him in and left the shop.

Opening a door to his new life, just ahead.

August passed by some familiar faces as he made his way to the train station. Folks he had the privilege of getting to know while he was living in this town. He waved goodbye to them in passing, shared a few kind words, and laughed at some well meaning jabs from others.

He was going to miss this place, there was no denying that. He was just glad his departure was a pleasant one and with far less tears than it was with Havel.

He turned a corner that would lead him to a direct path to the train station and paused at what he saw.

Standing on either side of the road, spears raised in salute were the town’s magic knights. Each one dressed in their full suit of armor. Every one of them a familiar face to August, given he’d helped quite a few of these men during his time here.

He was stunned at this surprise. He had told the knight captain and a few others he would be leaving and starting his new career as a Fairy Tail mage, they had bid him congratulations and good luck but otherwise hadn’t reacted too strongly. It occurred to him now that they were only hiding how they felt and wanted to give him a proper send off.

He smiled ruefully at the assembled knights, seeing smiles on some of the knights as he passed them and over their raised spears. Were this an official send off they would have faces as stern as granite but given how he wasn’t an official magic knight, only a provincial one, they could afford to wear their emotions more openly with him.

Soon he arrived at the end of the line of knights and at the entrance to the train station, where some familiar faces waited to greet him.

“August!” Lucy cried excitedly, waving him towards them, “You’re finally here. Our train just arrived.”

“Train~,” Natsu groaned, cheeks puffed up and sweating sickly, “why can’t you just carry us, Happy?”

The blue cat beside Natsu wagged his paw chidingly, “C’mon Natsu, you know I’m not strong enough to carry more than one person. If I tried to carry two, it would be like carrying one Lucy.”

“What was that you stupid cat?!” Lucy exclaimed.

August chuckled at the exchange. These three were his traveling companions and his future allies and guild mates.

After the incident with Bora, the magic knights that were out to sea had returned that night and immediately spun into action once they saw the commotion on shore. In short order, they rounded up the slavers, Bora included, and interviewed the victims of their plot. Lucy provided more comprehensive information thanks to her infiltration, even if it was a short one. When it came to Natsu, he looked like he was ready to book it as soon as he saw the first knights land on shore. Thankfully, Happy calmed him down and happily told him ‘Not to worry! We only destroyed the bad guys' stuff. No property damage whatsoever!’

Thanks to the cats’ words, Natsu calmed down and gave his report to the knight captain. Granted it was probably the shortest report out of anyone’s, if a bit crazier. Given that Natsu came to town to look for a dragon, found out someone claimed to be a Fairy Tail mage for clout, and he promptly beat up the faker for his hubris.

August still couldn’t help but chuckle at the knight captain’s expression after hearing such things. He didn’t think such a stern person like him could look so bewildered.

Speaking of…

August turned to the side to see Hargeon’s magic knight captain. Standing straight as an arrow and as intimidating as a battle axe.

Helped that he had his battle axe strapped to his back, the large weapon complimenting the burly man’s size.

August stepped forward and gave a nod of greeting, “Knight captain,” he began.

The old knight raised a hand, stopping August, “Numitor,” he said, his voice the texture of granite, “I think as of now you can stop addressing me so formally,” he smiled, the long grey beard twisting with the gesture, “future Fairy Tail mage.”

August smiled at the words, “Only if you can call me August,” he replied in kind, “instead of ‘wannabe spell slinger’.”

“I’ll have too now,” Numitor said, “you’re finally choosing to be a full blown mage. Thought for sure you’d stay and run that shop until your hair turned grey,” he looked behind August, at Natsu, Lucy, and Happy, “still…didn’t think you’d choose Fairy Tail of all places. They’re mighty, yes, but they have a…reputation. Especially amongst the magic knights,” he looked to August with a raised brow, “the pink one didn’t swindle ya, did he?”

August clapped the man in the shoulder, grinning, “Come now that’s a little harsh,” he said, “and after he helped bring that Bora bastard to justice, you can cut him a little slack,” he pointed to someone else behind him, next to Natsu, “besides, she was the one to really sell me on the idea, Natsu just exemplified it best.”

Numitor looked to Lucy, looked perhaps a little too long for a man his age should and returned to August, “Fair,” he admitted, “anyone that beautiful could sell me my own feet if they tried.”

“Don’t let her hear you say that,” August warned, wryly, “she’s far more cunning than you think. She was the one that infiltrated the slavers after all.”

Numitor nodded, conceding the point. He held out his hand to August, surprising him, “I know you’re not one of my knights but…but you’ve been a great help to us and this town,” he smiled again, this one full of gratitude, “I look forward to hearing how you help this world of ours. Don’t disappoint.”

August smiled and clasped the forearm of the knight captain in a warrior’s grasp, which was reciprocated, “I won’t let you down,” he promised, “in fact, I plan to surprise you.”

Numitor chuckled, “You’ve already done that,” he gestured to Natsu, Lucy, and Happy with his chin, “you’re joining Fairy Tail after all.”

They shared a laugh before letting go of each other’s arms. August reached into his pocket, about to return something but a raised hand from Numitor stopped him, “Keep it,” he said, “it has more worth to it then you think. Anytime you run afoul with the magic knights, flash that to them. They may be somewhat lenient,” he shrugged, “of course not as lenient as I am. Not everyone can be as kind and accommodating as me!”

August shook his head and let the magic knight badge drop back into his pocket. He decided not to remind the ‘kind and accommodating’ knight captain that he threatened to use his skull to sharpen his axe if he used his magic for nefarious purposes. That would ruin this good hearted goodbye.

With little else to say, he bowed his head once more, an action Numitor returned, and made to return to his companions.

August watched the passing scenery from where he sat on the train. Taking in the surroundings with a fond appreciation. Letting a realization settle in his mind.

He felt almost stupid for not realizing it all those months ago. Kinda obvious now that he really thought about it. Especially after hearing a certain name on repeat lately.

He turned his gaze to see his fellow passengers. Lucy looked like she was ready to outrun the train with how excited she was, Happy was dozing off on a lunch tray after eating a generous sized fish, and Natsu was looking like he was ready to jump off the train just to escape the motion sickness he was experiencing.

He chuckled, finally putting the pieces together after all this time, and the answer was so obvious that it had been said over and over again.

‘Fairy Tail,’ August thought to himself , ‘I’m in the world of an anime.’

The revelation should have shocked him, coming from one world to the next, wielding powers that were related to another world altogether. But all in all he was just okay with things as they were.

He spent months believing he was reincarnated in just a crazy fantasy world, with powers to match. Never had he thought he ended up in another world that existed in anime and manga.

Though that had more to do with something else. Namely for one true specific reason.

He had never seen the Fairy Tail anime, or read the manga.

Sure he’s heard of it every so often but he hadn’t seen even one episode of the series. Never had an interest in another fantasy anime after seeing so many before it.

He’d seen Digimon, though why that old truth had any bearing on his magic remains to be seen. Especially given the caveats that came with gaining new forms with it.

But despite all of that, he wasn’t bothered by it all. His magic, this world, all of it was so new to him even now. He imagined that if he did watch the show, some of that magic wouldn’t be there like when he first arrived.

He was…kind of grateful for that. It meant he could continue to experience this world with fresh eyes and enjoy every moment to come.

He turned from the window, looking up at the cabin ceiling and closing his eyes.

For now, he’ll rest. It’s a decent train ride to 

Magnolia, where the Fairy Tail guild was located. He could afford a few winks between now and then.

And when he arrived, a whole new opportunity awaited him.

August Therion, Fairy Tail mage, Take Over mage, and whatever else he decided to become.

His real start in this life starts now.

A soul taken under moon and frost.

A new world where he was lost.

A time of contemplation.

A new determination.

A new beginning, no fear of the cost.

AN: Well…here you have it! The story I worked on while I took a break from another. A bit long in the tooth in terms of content I admit but this was me actually trying something on my own without someone suggesting it like my last story.

As for how this came to be…well it’s the darndest thing. I was perusing the Fairy Tail fics, given how that was the base I wanted to start, when I noticed something. There were next to no crossover fics with Digimon. So I decided to throw my hat in and make this…that’s pretty much it.

Boring perhaps in terms of reasoning? Yes but it’s one I stand by.

But seriously, this took a time to get done because I just didn’t know where to end. Any time I got to a good end point I spontaneously decided ‘let’s write a bit more!’ and did so accordingly. This is probably the longest chapter I have written, a feat to be sure.

Enough of all that! Back to the matter at hand, I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter for my second fic. Keep in mind this isn’t my priority fic. That honor goes to ‘Is it Wrong to Pick Up Waifus in the Dungeon’. Which I will return to soon. This fic was just an escape so I could refresh my batteries and to get back to working on my first fic.

In short, chapters for this story are gonna be…scattered and that’s putting it mildly. Nonetheless I hope you enjoyed this little story, both old and new readers. For now I will take my leave and continue on with my literary practice.

Take care and see you again!

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

Arriving in Magnolia was interesting to say the least. August had been so used to the coastal setting that to see a town that was landlocked for the most part, with surrounding forests, hills, and mountains enhancing the overall vista. He was pleasantly surprised to see the town had a large lake with flowing canals going through it. Not as many as Hargeon but still a nice amount to remind him of his old home.

“Wow!” Lucy exclaimed, stepping off the train with an amused Happy, “This town is so beautiful and so big!” she looked around herself to see the sights before her, absolutely giddy with excitement, “it’s no surprise that Fairy Tail would choose this place as their home. It’s so lovely!”

A few passing civilians overheard her and seemed to take joy from her words, walking a bit more proudly as they passed by. August chuckled at his new friend, her joy was contagious.

“Don’t be too awestruck,” he said with a grin, stepping off the train himself and carrying his luggage with one hand, “we have someplace to be in case you forget. Oh, speaking of which,” he shook his other arm, holding something else or rather someone else, “hey Natsu, we’ve arrived. The train ride is over buddy.”

Indeed, in August's other hand, held by his scarf, was Natsu. Who was looking a little too green to be considered healthy. The poor soul could barely walk on his own two feet with how dizzy and sick he looked.

“Demon transportation,” the Dragon Slayer mage muttered, “it’s cursed~hrg,” he gagged, swallowing back something unpleasant, “it’s all cursed~cursed transportation.”

August shook his head, absolutely astounded, “I even gave you some motion sickness pills,” he said, “heavy duty ones too. Did they even affect you a little bit?”

“Aye! They did!” Happy helpfully provided, “He only gagged thirty four times this time on the train, that’s six less than last time, and he only nearly hurled twenty times, that’s ten less than last time!”

“You’ve been counting how many times he-”, August shook his head, baffled, “that’s a strange way to pass the time.”

“Aye!” Happy said, seemingly to agree but proudly.

August adjusted his grip on Natsu, then on his luggage, “Well. Let’s get going,” he said, “Happy, you can lead us to your guild, right?”

“Aye!” Happy exclaimed, wings popping out so he could fly, “I’ll lead you right to the guild, at least until Natsu recovers. I know he’d really like to show you our guild himself.”

August nodded and moved to follow the blue flying cat, making sure to nudge Lucy into motion as well, “Well? Let’s get going,” he said to the Celestial Spirit Mage, “we got a guild to join.”

Lucy happily followed, making sure to keep to the opposite side of August and from a groaning but recovering Natsu.

“Here it is!” Natsu exclaimed, gesturing to the large building before them, “The guild hall of Fairy Tail!”

For the first time, August shared Lucy’s reaction. Both were gaping at the large building before them. A wonderful mixture of brick, stone, and wood, it somehow came off both powerful and charming.

“Like it came out of a picture book,” August muttered, a smile coming to his face, “like something out of a dream.”

Lucy nodded, her excitement palpable. Natsu laughed at their reactions, genuinely overjoyed. It always made his chest swell with pride and happiness whenever someone saw the guild hall for the first time. It reminded him when he saw it.

“Well? Come on!” he called, walking to the entrance, “you gotta come meet everyone!”

Lucy and August eagerly followed, smiles on their faces and hearts full of excitement and wonder. They entered the guild and awe once more overcame them.

The hall was large, very large, with two floors to its name on the main floor. Everything was made to be as hospital as possible. Soft wooden furniture, plenty of tables and booths for all to enjoy the atmosphere, a large bar at the far end with many drinks to choose from, and from the smell August was picking up plenty to eat to.

The people drew the eye next. All sorts of individuals each unique in their own way. August saw some dressed for a time on a farm, others in coats and jackets ready to travel, someone dressed like he came out of an old Japanese soap opera with wooden clog shoes to top it off, and someone…in a bikini?

“Wow,” August found himself whispering, “big crowd.”

Lucy, having heard him, nodded, her expression as bright as the sun. Together they stood, taking in the energetic and rowdy atmosphere.

Then Natsu kicked someone through a table!

Wood splintered and chairs went flying at the sudden attack, the man who Natsu kicked rose from the debris, a look of consternation on his face, “What’s the big idea, Natsu!” he asked, anger clear and plain.

“You lied to me about that tip!” Natsu called, completely unrepentant, “You told me he was in Hargeon but it was just some loser instead!”

“That ain’t my fault! I just told you about a rumor I heard!”

“You wanna fight?!”

“Let’s go!”

Bedlum suddenly occurred, as if a powder keg went off. Natsu’s fight somehow involved several others and then those fights involved several more and the next thing Lucy or August knew the whole guild was throwing hands with each other.

“Holy shit!” August exclaimed, ducking as a mug flew over his head, “How the hell does this happen? We haven’t been in the guild for a minute!”

“Amazing,” Lucy said from beside August, her eyes shining, “it’s just like everything I’ve heard of. They’re the most rambunctious mages ever!”

“That’s what impresses you?” August asked bewildered, “this sudden bar room brawl is what’s impressing you?”

“It’s just like what they say in Sourcer Weekly!” Lucy replied, “this is one of their defining traits.”

“Spontaneous violence? That’s a defining trait?” August asked, turning to look out at the brawl, “In that case, I might have met a mage or two back in Hargeon.

Magic bar room brawls, never a fun thing to try and break up, at least in August’s experience.

He looked around at the chaos gradually surrounding them, a nervous sweat beating down his face, “Maybe we should find somewhere-” a plat hit him in the head, stopping his words.

“Are you alright?!” Lucy asked, losing her excitement in place of concern.

August shook his head, shaking shards out of his hair, “I’m fine,” he replied, “but maybe we should-” a tankard smacked him in the head, its contents thankfully empty.

“Hey Natsu!” an angry youthful voice called, “I’ve been waiting for you! Come over here and fight me!”

“Not until you put on some clothes!” Natsu called back, finishing putting the beating on the one that gave him the tip from earlier.

August groaned, less in pain and more in frustration. Rubbing his head, he said, “Maybe we-” a bottle bounced off its face, unopened, very full, and very heavy on impact.

“C’mon you wusses,” a boastful and powerful voice called, “if you’re a man, fight with your fists! Quit throwing bottles and junk everywhere!”

August rubbed his face, cursing under his breath. That bottle clipped his nose and it was stinging something fierce now. He rose his head and looked out to the fighting crowd, his patience officially over.

“August?” Lucy asked, her tone careful as she saw his expression, “Are you alright?”

August turned to look at her, he tried to smile but given how the blonde recoiled, he knew he was scowling, “I’ll be fine,” he said, his voice even, “I’m calm, I’m cool, I’m as collective as can be.”

He launched himself towards the crowd, making Lucy sqwak in surprise, “After I kick some ass!” August called finding the nearest person and kicking them in the ribs.

“You’re not calm at all!” Lucy called but August couldn’t hear her, too busy in the midst of the battle around him.

He punched, kicked, and tossed those that came in front of him or he in front of them. He took a few hits, sure, in a crowd like this it was inevitable but he certainly made sure to pay it back in full.

He blocked a chair that was aimed at his head, shooting a sharp kick out and bowing the person who took it. He picked up the chair and tossed it aside, uncaring of where it landed.

“Ouch! Who threw that?!” Natsu called.

August dodged a kick aimed at him by a guy in a full body dance suit. Shooting a fist out in a jab that his attacker elegantly avoided. Only for him to be tackled by someone dressed like a tribal warrior.

August instincts flared and he turned to catch a fist aimed at his head. 

“Huh?” the fist’s owner sounded surprised, the dark haired man that was pursuing Natsu earlier, wearing only a pair of boxers, “I thought someone as lanky as you would be easy to knock aside.”

“I’m not lanky!” August called, sounding offended and frustrated, “I’m lean,” he turned around, dragging the man by his arm and reaching over with his other to secure his grip, “and mean!” he tossed the man into the ground, cracking the floorboards.

The dark haired youth groaned but got up quickly, making August back up a few steps, “Not bad,” he said, smirking at the Take Over mage, “thought for sure you were just some wimp Natsu dragged in with him,” he took a fighter’s stance, “I can see that’s not the case.”

“You and Natsu got beef?” August asked, readying himself for another scrap.

“That’s putting it lightly,” the dark haired youth replied, “names Gray.”

“August,” he responded, “then I have good news for you, Gray.”

“What’s that?”

“Natsu clearly wants a shot at you too,” August said before leaning to the side and shouting behind Gray, “he’s all yours!”

Gray had little warning before Natsu tackled him, knocking into another crowd of brawlers. August grinned, he had to admit, he was having fun.

“Letting someone else fight your battles for you?” a deep and powerful voice spoke. August turned to see a tall white haired man, tan in skin, and large in muscle mass stand before him. Arms crossed but with a look like he was ready to fight and judge, “What kinda man does that?”

‘This was the guy dressed for a Japanese drama,’ August realized.

“The kind that knows when to avoid a fight when it isn’t his,” he took a step, standing up in front of the white haired man, noting that he was maybe a few inches taller than him, “and when to step up when it’s his fight. Names August.”

“Elfman,” the white haired man greeted, a confident smile coming to his face, “guess I’m the fight that’s yours, huh?”

“Apparently,” confirmed August, stepping back and getting into a stance, “don’t see anyone else ready to fight me.”

“Heh,” Elfman laughed, the smile one of confidence and respect, “you got guts,” he got into a stance, “but let’s see you back em’ up!”

With a roar he raised his arm and a magic circle appeared. Soon, Elfman’s arm was covered in light before being encased in large blocky stone.

August had to fight back his reaction to the sight in front of him. Elfman was a Take Over mage too it seemed. He had to admit, he’d never fought another Take Over mage before. Some minor to mid level casters to be sure, with some strong mages he helped vanquish a while back, but never another Take Over mage before.

He grinned, realizing the opportunity in front of him. What better way to test himself than against another Take Over mage. Get a better understanding about the power from another practitioner.

Granted, he admits, given what he could turn into as opposed to what others could turn into in this world, he might just hope to get lucky to understand.

Nonetheless, there was a fight to be had.

August raised an arm across his chest and his magic circle appeared as well. Uncrossing it with a sharp motion, he transformed his arm in the same vein as Elfman.

Only his arm seemed to be completely consumed in fire as opposed to stone.

“Partial Take Over Digital Soul-Meramon!” August shouted, feeling the power in his arm. He gritted his teeth as he used more effort than usual to maintain his control of his now slightly larger and fiery limb.

Elfman’s eyes widened at the sight, shocked to see another Take Over mage as well, looking at the flames that now covered August’s arm. He noticed something and clenched his stony arm in realization and confidence, “Not too great at Partial Take Over, huh?”

Indeed he wasn’t. August hated to admit it but he wasn’t great at all with Partial Take Over. Apparently it was very rare for a mage like him to have that kind of problem. Most Take Over mages struggled to maintain a full take over as opposed to a partial take over, given the amount of effort it took to transform into a full body entity.

August though? He found it much more difficult to partially take over simply because he was too used to full transformations. He had no problem with adjusting the size of his forms, to a certain degree at least, but transforming just one part of himself was still a fresh experience to him, even after a month of realizing this. 

Still, it's too late to regret now.

“Don’t have to be ‘too great’,” August replied, clenching a fiery fist in his newly transformed arm, brightening the flames with the action, “just great enough will do.”

Elfman laughed and reeled back his stony arm to strike, his smile wide on his face, “A real man doesn’t settle for anything less, only more!”

August reeled his own arm back, his fiery fist forming into an orb of wild red and orange fire, “I’ll just settle for this!”

Apparently they weren’t the only ones about to throw magic around. August saw multiple magic circles flash from around him and Elfman. Apparently everyone in the guild thought it was time to get serious too.

Elfman and August got ready, focused on their own fight ahead of them. But before it could really kick off, something big happened.

*BAM*

And something big landed in the middle of the crowd. Something that cast a shadow that enveloped everyone beneath it.

“What is the meaning of this nonsense!”

A giant stood right in the midst of the fighting mages. Its presence was enough to stall any hostilities in the room right then and there. No one was moving, not when such a behemoth was amongst their ranks.

Well…not exactly ‘no one’.

“Hahaha,” a familiar voice laughed. August turned to see Natsu standing proudly as he looked over everyone, a stupid smile on his face, “What a bunch of wimps! Guess this fights’ my wi-” the large foot of the giant crashed down onto Natsu, silencing any more boasting with a crash.

The giant gave a snort, a white cloud of steam emerging its nostrils. It looked around before noticing a terrified Lucy, “Huh? A new recruit?” it turned its head again, noticing August finally, “Two I see.”

“Yes indeed master Makarov,” a beatific white haired woman confirmed with a smile, her modest dress doing nothing to disguise her generous curves, “they came in with Natsu to join the guild.”

At the mention of his name, the Fire Dragon Slayer mage Natsu gave a groan underneath the giant’s foot. As if to confirm.

August blinked his eyes and deactivated his magic, his arm returning to normal, “Makarov?” he asked, “As in one of the Wizard Saints? Makarov Dreyar?”

“Hoh?!” the giant mussed, seemingly standing taller, casting a bigger shadow, “Heard of me huh? Then yes, if you must know, I’m Makarov Dreyar. Guild master of Fairy Tail,” suddenly he exhaled and smoke seemed to bellow out all over his body. His giant form shrunk more and more and more. Soon, once the smoke cleared, August looked upon the guild master with new eyes.

More accurately he was looking down at the guild master, who shrunk to a disbelieving height, coming up just shy above August’s knees.

Makarov was an old man, a very old man but August could definitely feel the power coming off him with his magic senses. It almost made him pass out with its potency. Hard to think this elderly person dressed like an orange jester was one of the strongest mages alive.

“Well it’s very nice to meet you,” Makarov said, his voice no longer titanic but instead carrying the tone of a genial old man, “hope I didn’t scare ya too bad. The whipper snappers can be a bit unruly but a gentle hand is usually enough to calm them.”

August looked at where Natsu was, seeing stand on shaky legs before regaining some semblance of balance.

“A gentle hand?” August asked.

Makarov just waved a hand at Natsu’s direction, “I said a gentle hand not a gentle foot,” he corrected, “there’s a difference.”

August didn’t know what to say to that but before he could even utter anything, the master of Fairy Tail moved towards Lucy, greeting her warmly and looking her up and down then up and down again…and again.

‘Oh,’ August thought, looking at the scene, ‘of course he’d be an old pervert,’ he then thought back to the power he felt from the old man, ‘an old pervert who could flatten me as if I were a bug.’

He watched as the old man suddenly flew up to the upper balcony floor and stood above the previously rowdy bunch of mages.

He then proceeded to lecture his charges about the trouble they’ve caused the magic council, even taking out a stack of papers full of complaints. Only to then say ‘screw the council’, burn the complaints, and deliver a speech on magic and their responsibility as mages.

After all was said and done, August was sold, even more so than before.

“And here you go!” the white haired beauty, who introduced herself as Mirajane, drew the magic stamp back from August’s forearm, the navy blue color contrasting nicely with his tan complexion, “and welcome to Fairy Tail!”

“Thanks,” August replied with a smile, looking at the mark on his arm with some warmth and excitement, “can’t wait to get started.”

Mirajane giggles, amused by his reaction, “My my, you sound ambitious,” she said, “though I thought you’d leap for joy like your friend did earlier when I stamped her.”

August smiled and turned to look at Lucy right beside him, the girl still admiring the guild mark she received on the back of her hand, “Well,” he began, a grin on his face, “I have something called self control,” he raised a hand and shielded the side of his mouth before whispering to Mirajane, “a trait I find is very hard to come by in my companions.”

“Hey! I heard that!” Lucy spoke, having heard August. To be fair, he really wasn’t trying to whisper ‘that’ quietly, “and I too have self control!”

“Really?” August asked, raising an eyebrow at the blonde, “is that why you were staring slack jawed at the brawl while going all bright eyed when you saw a few mages you recognized?” he gestured to Mirajane behind the bar, who politely waved and smiled, “like are now mutual friend here?”

Lucy turned red and sputtered, “Well-I-that is-I mean,” she suddenly huffed and looked away, a pout on her face, “sorry for being such a fan.”

August just smiled and shook his head, suddenly feeling a bit guilty with his teasing, “Don’t apologize when I’m the one that should,” he said, “but seriously, congratulations Lucy. I’m actually happy for you.”

Lucy looked to August and her frown lessened until it became a soft and grateful smile, “Thanks,” she replied, “I appreciate that and congratulations to you too.”

“Thanks,” August replied. He looked around the guild hall, taking in the environment now that it was no longer enveloped in a brawl. He was shocked to see the debris from earlier was almost completely gone and the tables and chairs that were destroyed were already replaced.

“This happens quite often,” Mirajane says, as if reading his mind, “but we have mages that are quite capable in cleaning up a mess quite quickly with their magic.”

As if to emphasize this statement, a mage in a fur coat and tall hat dashed around and seemed to sweep up the remaining debris at lightning speed. Coming to a halt at a table with two others, dusting off his hands with a few claps for a job well done.

“And we have a surplus of furniture in case any gets damaged,” Mirajane continued, still all smiles, “never hurts to be too prepared.”

Again, as if to emphasize this, a few groups of mages were coming out from somewhere carrying tables and chairs, promptly sitting in them once they were where they needed to be.

“How often does this happen exactly?” August couldn’t help but ask.

“Too often,” the aged voice of Makarov answered, sitting just a ways away and enjoying a drink, “far too often but hey, at least no one gets hurt,” he took a drink and smacked his lips, enjoying the flavor, “well…not too badly at least.”

“Comforting,” August commented, letting the matter drop. He looked around the hall before finding something that caught his attention. Walking up to it and finding a familiar head of pink hair and a blue furred companion.

“Ohhh this is a good one,” Natsu said, looking at a piece of paper tact to a large board, “a hundred and sixty thousand jewels to drive off some bandits?!”

“Aye! Easy money!” agreed Happy.

‘A request board,’ realized August, ‘how novel.’

August looked at the many sheets of requests and balked at the rewards offered for them. They ranged from the mundane, like a request that involved walking someone’s pet for a thousand jewels, to the outrageous, like hunting an unknown lake monster for six hundred thousand jewels. Each request was diverse and varied with very few looking alike.

He eyed the lake monster one, severely contemplating picking it, “That’s more than I made in months at my old job.”

But that seemed like too big of a leap and August had to remind himself that though he was experienced with his magic, he was still new to being a proper mage. Hell, he hadn’t even been one for a full year yet. Best to keep things simple.

“Now which one should I-” he was cut off when a fist smashed into the board, splintering the wood. August jumped back in surprise, “Shit! What the hell was-Natsu?”

Natsu was the one who punched the request board with a fierce look in his eyes. He lowered his fist and turned around, heading towards the guild’s entrance.

“Natsu?” August found himself asking, looking at the usually exuberant Fire Dragon Slayer, “What’s wrong?”

No answer, Natsu simply left the guild hall, like a man on a mission. Happy with him all the while.

“Jeez, when is he gonna grow up?” a guild mate said, watching where Natsu departed.

“Who knows,” a tall tribal dressed man answered. He leaned against the bar next to Makarov, who now sported a small bruise on his nose, “this isn't good, master. Natsu going after Macao isn’t going to do anything but hurt the poor man’s pride.”

Makarov sighed and finished his drink before answering, “Remember Nab, we don’t choose another’s path. Just leave him be, I’m sure it’ll work out.”

Now August was confused. What the hell happened while he was looking at the board. He looked to Lucy who met his gaze with a sad one of her own. Seeing his confusion, Lucy gave him a rundown, telling him about a boy named Romeo and his missing father all the way up in the mountains. She seemed to come to a conclusion after explaining and soon left the guild hall herself, following after Natsu.

August watched her go, surprised by her sudden zeal. He found himself thinking for a few moments before signing in resignation, coming to his own conclusion himself, “I’ve gone this far with those two,” he said, “might as well go a bit further.”

He went back up the bar, meeting the gaze of Mirajane who looked at him quizzically.

“Do you have a map of where Mt Hakobe is?” he asked, “I’m gonna save my friends a journey by carriage if I can.”

“Oh!” Mirajane sounded surprised before a soft smile and a nod answered him, “Yes I do; please wait right there.”

As August waited, a new voice commented beside him, “You sure you want to do this? Macao did take a rough quest. Think you can handle it?”

August turned to see the rough and tall form of Elfman, who sat at the bar enjoying a drink of his. The man who August was going to fight not too long ago stared at him curiously.

August answered, “Natsu is doing this for all the right reasons and besides,” he shrugged, “this will be a good experience to see how tough the quests from Fairy Tail can be, especially if they were able to keep a veteran from returning home.”

Elfman nodded but replied, “But it’s like Nab said, he won’t thank you, either of you, you’d just hurt his pride.”

August gaze hardened somewhat at those words, having heard those words too many times for his liking back at Hargeon with the magic knights he aided, “I’d rather his pride get bruised then his child be orphaned,” he said, his voice firm and unyielding, “it’s not a hard decision.”

Elfman stared at August in surprise for a few moments before a smile came to his face, one that was proud of such an answer, “A real man knows when to step up in a fight,” he said, referring to their earlier meeting, “you’re a man of your principles, I respect that.”

August gaze softened as a smile came to his face, “Thanks,” he replied, “I do try when I can.”

“If you’re a real man? Try and try until the sky is powder!” Elfman called, sounding sure of his statement.

August however wasn’t and was looking at Elfman in surprise and confusion. What the hell was that supposed to mean anyway?

His confusion didn’t last long because Mirajane came out with the map and happily pointed out where Mt. Hakobe was in comparison to where Magnolia was. Looking over the map again and again, he nodded before standing and moving towards the guild entrance.

“Wait, don’t you need the map?” Mirajane called, holding the paper up, “it’s a long journey over there and you should keep it with you if you get lost.”

August paused and looked back at her, a grin of confidence on his face, “It’s alright,” he replied, “I’m familiar enough with maps to make the journey confidently, and besides,” his grin became a bit more mischievous, “it’s like I said, I’m not going by carriage in any case.”

With those words, August left and made way to catch up to Natsu and Lucy. Telling them about his plan to get to the mountain.

The air was chill, the winds were strong, and the snow came down in droves with its intensity. It was hardly a pleasant environment to be in, even to those creatures that made the mountains their home. A stranger from a different climate and a different place should have found it difficult to navigate, even in the best conditions.

Yet August didn’t struggle with navigating the mountain range, or feel the worse of the hazardous effects that the snowy peaks brought down upon any wayward travelers. Sure he felt cold but it was hardly a sensation, especially when he was in the state he was in.

Or the form he was in if he was being honest.

“This is so cool!” Natsu called from his back as he looked down over August’s shoulder at the land beneath them, “I’ve never flown this high before!”

“And I’ve never flown this fast!” Happy exclaimed, feeling the wind race against his fur, “it feels funny!”

August chuckled, his voice sounding deep and near like that of thunder, “I’m happy you two like it,” he adjusted his body, picking up a draft of wind that pulled him up slightly before he corrected himself, “we should be close to the mountain by now, keep an eye open for it,” he turned his gaze slightly behind him to make eye contact with Natsu, “how’s Lucy doing?”

Natsu looked back behind him before looking forward again and replying, “She’s still in that weird clock thing she summoned earlier so I think she’s fine.”

“Good,” August replied, turning his attention ahead of himself again, “just give me some warning if she summons anything else, don’t need another surprise like earlier.”

Having some surprise weight suddenly plop on your back could ruin any frequent flyer, regardless of how big they were.

Indeed, the party was traveling through the air riding August like he was a majestic bird.

Which he was, a giant majestic red bird with powerful white accented wings, a strong white head and neck, a mighty yellow beak, powerful talons, and sharp curving horns.

Aquilamon, one of August’s flying transformations, was a mighty form to take on and though he had another flying form, Aquilamon was the best for this situation.

Feathers that helped insulate against the cold and telescopic vision like that of many predatory birds. Perfect for surveying the land and spot any clues for their missing mage.

Which there were little of…unfortunately.

“I’m not seeing anything,” Aquilamon said, the feathers on his neck ruffling, “you smell anything, Natsu?”

Natsu shook his head, “Not from this high up,” he replied, “if you can’t spot any sign of Macao up here maybe we should head to ground. I might pick up a scent then.”

Aquilamon made a sound of affirmation, the sound deep and making his passenger shake a bit, “Sounds good,” he said, “it’s gonna get colder though, so be prepared. I’ve been flying over the cold wind so far. It’s not gonna be pleasant when I go lower.”

“‘Can’t you just fly above the cold area instead of having us land in it?’ She asks, sounding despaired,” Lucy’s clock said in place of his summoner.

Horologium. A spirit that Lucy contracted with. Able to be summoned forth and protect their master by hiding them inside his body that was a large grandfather clock.

A pretty useful spirit, a pretty wasteful usage of him though. Lucy summoned him when things were getting too cold for her already. Now August was sure she’d come to regret that when they landed.

Aquilamon soon replied, “Sorry Lucy. We don’t have a choice,” he titled his wings and adjusted his tail feathers, “but look at it this way. You can at least brag to your friends that you rode on the back of a giant eagle.”

“‘That’s cold comfort!’ She replies, sounding outraged,” Horologium replied in place of Lucy.

“Really?” asks Natsu, “I know I can’t wait to tell the others about this. It’s so cool!”

“Aye!” concurs Happy.

Soon the party landed and once they were off his back, Aquilamon soon transformed back into August, who gave a shiver as the cold air truly hit him.

“Jeez,” he seethed to himself, shivering slightly, “I’ve been spoiled by the beach and coast. I almost forgot how cold the snow was.”

“‘Not acting so tough now,’ she replies, sounding quite smug,” Horologium says in place of Lucy.

“Next time we’re in the air, I won’t fly so slow,” August deadpans, knowing exactly how fast he could have gone. He looked at Natsu, his expression serious, "How about now? Are you picking up any scent?”

It honestly baffled August how Natsu could have a nose that could put a bloodhound to shame but now wasn’t the time to focus on that.

They had a man to find and a son to reunite with his dad.

Natsu took a few sniffs of the air, his face a mask of concentration. Soon he opened his eyes wide and grinned happily, “Yeah! I got a scent!” he exclaimed, “And even better, it’s close too!”

August looked ecstatic at the news, “That’s great!” he called, “So where do we find him?”

Natsu smelled the air again before replying, “Huh? That’s weird,” he said, sounding puzzled, “it smells like it’s coming from-”

Something landed between the two mages, kicking up snow and knocking the two back. Natsu and August recovered and looked to see what crash landed between them.

A  large monkey-like creature, a vulcan, covered in white fur with the exception of its muscular front torso. It grinned maliciously at Natsu and August, baring powerful teeth. It stomped the ground and raised its arms high, making savage noises as if to mock them. Then it stopped and sniffed the air, its grin turning into a…

Perverted smile?

It suddenly turned and ran to where a clock stood in the snow. It pressed its face against the glass and breathed heavily.

“Woman!” it shouted, its voice husky and unpleasant. It then picked up the clock and began running back up the mountain it came from.

Natsu and August were left standing in the snow and watching the retreating form of the vulcan, befuddled by what they just witnessed.

“Don’t just stand there! Help me!’ she cries angrily,” Horologium says in place of Lucy, still sounding calm despite being carried away by a large snow beast.

August and Natsu got out of their stupor, looked at each other, nodded, and proceeded to pursue the vulcan.

Together they found the cave it was hiding in and found Lucy still huddled inside her clock summon, the vulcan dancing around it with clear perverted glee.

“Geez this getting weird,” August muttered, “but at least Lucy seems safe inside that clock.”

“Tic toc, times up,” Horologium says calmly, disappearing in a puff of clouds and leaving Lucy defenseless and outraged.

August felt he spoke too soon.

“You chose now to leave!” she cried out, scurrying away as the pervertedly huffing vulcan approached closer.

August had seen enough, he swiftly crossed his arms and activated his magic, “Take Over Magic-Meramon!”

As soon as he uncrossed his arm, the light from his magic engulfed him once more before disappearing in a burst of light…and heat.

Standing near eight feet tall was what could essentially be called a man made out of pure fire. Red and orange flames dancing across its body like a never ending inferno, with tongues of flame licking out here and there. Despite the roaring flames that shaped its body, a face could still be made out of the fire. A mouth seemingly stitched up and a pair of intense blue eyes that glowed a frightening hot blue-white.

If Lucy were to be honest, it looked like a fire demon come alive from the old stories she read as a child.

Natsu’s reaction was…typical.

“Holy crap!” he exclaimed, eyes bright in amazement, “You’re made of fire! You turned into a fire monster! That’s so cool!”

“Aye!” Happy cheered, sounding just as amazed.

August smiled with Meramon’s mouth at Natsu’s enthusiasm, the expression coming off as sinister on a face that was a roiling inferno. He returned his focus to Lucy and the vulcan, who had stepped away from the blonde to focus his attention on this new threat, never losing its grin all the while.

“Gonna give you one chance,” Meramon said to the creature, his voice deep and kindling, “get away from our friend and tell us where Macao is. Don’t?” he raised a fiery fist and it brightened into a fierce fireball, “and you're grilled.”

“Hell yeah!” Natsu shouted, smacking a fist into his palm and letting out his own burst of flames, “Tell us where Macao is, monkey!”

Seeming unbothered now that it was faced with literally overwhelming firepower, the vulcan gestures to Natsu before pointing at a cave entrance.

“Oh! Is that where he is?” Natsu cluelessly asks, running to where the creature directed. Heedless of the looks of surprise on Meramon and Lucy’s faces. Just as Natsu reached where the vulcan was pointing to, and when Meramon and Lucy were about to raise their voices, the ape kicked Natsu into the cave.

Only it wasn’t a cave but an entrance to a large chasm.

“Monkeyyyy!!!…” Natsu yelled as he fell, revealing it was a vast chasm too.

The moment was enough to make Meramon face palm, the act splashing flames from his face, “Out of all the old tricks,” he muttered, completely in disbelief of his friend. He regained his focus and stood more firmly, ready for combat, “I’m guessing that’s your answer?”

The vulcan just hopped back and forth on its legs before settling on all fours, knuckles digging into the ground, its perverted grin turning more bloodthirsty, “Hot head get in way!” it called, “Nobody gets between me and my woman!”

“I’m not ‘your’ woman!” Lucy shouted, fiddling with her keys, “and I’m about to show you I’m more than just a damsel in distress!”

As Lucy finished finding what she was looking for, she raised a golden key high and brought it down with an incantation of, “Open! Gate of the Golden Bull: Taurus!”

In a flash of golden light, a new figure stood amongst a woman, a literal fireman, and an oversized monkey. It was a large humanoid bull carrying a massive axe, wearing a confident smile on his face.

“This is Taurus!” announced Lucy, looking more sure of herself now than before, “my strongest spirit and the one about to kick your perverted ass!”

“Wow, Lucy! Your body is still looking as fine as ever!” the bull, Taurus, suddenly commented, looking at Lucy, “How about you come and give me a little smoooch!”

Lucy facepalmed herself, “I forgot, he’s a big pervert too.”

Meramon couldn’t help but comment, “Running into a lot of perverts today I realized.”

The vulcan gave a snort of anger, “Ugly bull!” it shouted, “No talk to my woman!”

“‘Your’ woman?” Taurus asked, his gaze turning fierce, "Them's fighting words you mooonkey!”

“Get him!” Lucy called and August got ready to fight properly this time, hands raised and fire blazing.

Taurus charged ahead, massive axe raised. He slammed it down on the creature but the vulcan dodged out of the way, huffing a laugh all the while.

A laugh that didn’t last very long

“Burning Fist!” Meramon called, swinging a fire ball coated fist at the ape. It dodged just in time but the intense heat flashed a burn across its chest. It gave a cry of pain and panic before jumping away, patting at its chest.

Once the burn had subsided, it looked to Meramon and gave a growl before thumping its chest in a dominant display. Only to wince as it hit its burned chest too hard.

“King Kong you are not,” deadpanned Meramon, gathering fire into his palms, “but you are toast,” the fire in his palms reddened all the more and soon more than just fire appeared. He launched his hands forward and shouted, “Magma Bomb!”

Fire and rock both burst from his hand and rained down over the surprised vulcan. It leapt back from one, which blew a large chunk of the icy floor apart, before scrambling desperately to avoid the rest of the falling molten rock. It gave a yelp as one landed just behind it and scorched its buttocks in the following explosion. When it heard the last of the bombardment land it turned and stuck its tongue at the burning man.

Meramon smirked, the action pulling the stitches in his mouth menacingly. He just pointed behind the vulcan.

“I’m back, monkey!!!”

A burning fist impacted against the monster’s face as Natsu came barreling in, Happy latched to his back, wings out.

The beast gave a cry of pain before being skipped across the ice and frosty floor and impacting against the cave walls with deafening force.

When the dust and snow cleared from the impact, they were treated to the sight of a now unconscious vulcan, who gave only tiny groans of pain indicating it was still alive.

“That was a nice moooove!” Taurus happily complimented, shouldering his axe.

“Thanks!” Natsu happily replied before looking at the celestial spirit in surprise, “Wait! Where did you come from?!”

“He’s one of Lucy’s spirits,” Meramon helpfully provided, “it’s thanks to him we were able to set this monkey up to fail.”

“And now that that’s over,” Taurus said, “I think I’ll head on back,” he turned to look at Lucy, giving her a thumbs up and a wink, “don’t be afraid to call on me again. I’m mooore than happy to lend a hand to you, Lucy.”

The blonde mage smiled and thanked Taurus for his help, watching as he disappeared on a flash of golden moats of light. She turned her attention to the now unconscious vulcan, a frown of thought on her features now, “So what do we do about it now?” she asked, walking up to the monster and lightly kicked it, “This was what Macao was hunting?”

“Yeah,” confirmed Natsu coming beside her and looking at the beast as well, “and it reeks of him too,” he growled in his throat as he approached the downed monster, “I picked Macao’s scent on him just before it picked up you.”

“Kidnapped me!” Lucy cried, “It didn’t ‘pick me up’!”

Meramon crossed his arms and hummed thoughtfully, “Well,” he began, “technically it did.”

Lucy turned to reply to that but was caught off guard by a bright light that engulfed the vulcan. It was bright enough to make all who saw it turn away and cover their eyes. When the light died down they turned to see something else take the place of the vulcan.

Actually…someone else.

A dark blue haired man had now taken the place of where the vulcan once laid. Looking quite haggard and injured too. He opened his eyes with some effort and a smile formed on his face when he recognized one of them.

“Hey Natsu,” he greeted the fellow mage of Fairy Tail, “been a while, huh?”

“Macao!” Natsu exclaimed, recognizing the man, “You were the monkey?!”

“…That’s the first thing you ask after not seeing me in so long?”

Turns out, vulcans can use magic too. A frightening parasite-like magic that literally lets them possess someone and drains them of their magic and life force until only the vulcan’s remain, amplified all the more by their victims.

August made a mental note to get a bestiary or something later on. He’d hate to run into a creature like a vulcan again and be unprepared.

“Alright. There,” August said, finishing applying the bandages around one of Macao’s arms, “You got some bad cuts and bruises but the medicine is doing its trick. Just don’t use the arm so aggressively for a while. Seems like it’s close to popping out of its socket.”

Macao nodded and gave him a smile in gratitude, “Thanks for the patch up,” he said, “and sorry for my reaction earlier.”

His reaction being yelling at the top of his lungs ‘Holy crap! A fire demon!’ upon seeing the hellish form of Meramon. It took Lucy and Natsu to calm him down and give August enough time to transform back to normal.

August smiled and stood, offering the man a hand, “Don’t worry about it,” he said, “trust me when I say others have reacted much worse than that when seeing my transformations.”

‘Some more violently too,’ August added to himself with a grin, recalling a memory, ‘in captain Numitor’s case at least.’

Meeting the coastal captain of the magic knights via one of his transformations was definitely not the best first impression to make. 

Macao took his hand and rose up with August’s aid. He said thanks and made to move ahead but stumbled a bit. August caught him before he could fall, putting his arm over his shoulder.

“Sorry,” Macao said, sounding ashamed, “guess I’m not as well as I thought. Can’t even walk on my own two legs.”

“You’ll get better,” assured August, not bothered by helping the man move, “frankly I’m surprised you regained consciousness after all you’ve been through. How many did you say you took down? Nineteen? That’s no small feat.”

“Yeah,” agreed Lucy, walking beside them, “that weird monkey was tough. You should be happy you took out so many.”

“Except for number twenty,” sighed Macao, “geeze, how did I miss that one? That was the target goal too.I don’t know what I’m gonna say to my son after this,” he looked down, his self disappointment obvious, “I really wanted to impress him too.”

“Impress him by coming back,” Natsu spoke, walking close by as well, “your boy was really worried about you. Doesn’t matter that you didn’t finish the quest. What matters is making it back home to him and telling him how you kicked monster ass,” he shot Macao a grin, “so what if you missed one? You still wiped the floor with the rest. We just showed up and took care of only one.”

Macao’s expression changed and he started to smile a bit at Natsu’s words. Nothing else was said on their way out of the cave. Once they were out, August passed Macao over to Natsu, who readily took him.

“Alright,” began August walking ahead of everyone and stopping just a short ways off, “I think this time I’ll actually try to go fast.”

Natsu smiled all the sudden and was vibrating in place, his excitement on another level. Macao looked at Natsu in puzzlement before turning to look at August, wondering what was going to happen now.

“Can you please not,” Lucy begged, sounding fearful, “you were already fast enough the first time and besides, I don't have Horologium with me for the rest of the day.”

“Consider it a trial, Lucy,” August said, crossing his arms and gathering his magic, “besides, the sooner we reunite Macao with his son the better,” he uncrossed his arms and with a shout of, “Take Over Magic-Aquilamom!” he was engulfed in light that expanded into the shape of a familiar an avian creature, the light died and Aquilamon was there.

“Holy crap,” Macao said, an astonished smile coming to his face, “you’re some Take Over mage, huh? I don’t think even Elfman can turn into any flyers.”

Aquilamon looked at the others before lowering himself slightly and adjusting its wings so the others could climb on his back easier, “Flights going to take off soon,” he said, voice deep, “let’s head home.”

“Alright!” Natsu happily yelled, hurriedly coming up to Aquilamon and dragging Macao along with him.

“Dammit, Natsu!” Macao exclaimed, “Take it easy! I’m injured here, remember?”

Lucy and Happy followed suit, with Lucy looking more nervous than she did her first time flying.

“Don’t worry Lucy,” Happy helpfully began, “you just have to hold on really tight to the feathers. Don’t worry about them pulling out. They’re actually very sturdy.”

“Don’t try to eat them either,” Aquilamon added, his gaze directed at Happy, “this one found out the hard way why that’s a bad idea.”

“They taste terrible!” Happy cried out, not justifying his cat instincts, sticking out his tongue, “and they’re super tough! Worse than the time I bit a rock!”

“Why’d you bite a rock?” Aquilamon asked before answering his own question, “It was fish shaped wasn’t it?”

“Aye!” Happy unashamedly replies.

Lucy could now confidently say she’s had enough with today, “Let’s just go,” she said, going onto Aquilamon’s back and gripping the feathers beneath her, “I just want to go to bed after today.”

“About that,” Aquilamon said, preparing to take off, raising his wings, “another reason I should fly quickly is this. I don’t have a place to stay. Do you?”

He had planned to look into that when he arrived in town but with how hectic things got, it escaped his mind for a bit. Until now at least.

Lucy was suddenly still, realization turning into horror quickly. She looked up to the sky, seeing the sun was approaching the evening. With a panicked squawk she patted Aquilamon’s back rapidly, “Forget what I said!” she yelled, “Fly as fast as you can! I don’t want to sleep in the streets this soon as a Fairy Tail mage!”

“Why would you sleep in the streets?” Natsu asked, sounding genuinely confused, “The woods are so much more comfortable.”

“That’s not any better!” 

“It isn’t?”

“Natsu,” Macao began, sounding exasperated by his friend’s cluelessness, “not everyone is a wild child like you. Some people prefer a bed on their back and a roof over their heads.”

“Which Lucy and I need to find before the sun sets,” Aquilamon says, lifting his wings for takeoff, “I’m in the same boat as her after all,” he adjusted his stance, angling for the ideal moment of launch and acceleration, “and with that said, hang on!”

Everyone did as he said and with a mighty flap of his wings, they were airborne, with another they were off into the direction of Magnolia.

The third is when the screaming started as Aquilamon accelerated faster than anyone on his back had ever gone. 

Well…mostly screaming.

Natsu was laughing in joy the entire flight.

A meeting with those that follow the Fairy.

Turns into a fight that was ever hairy.

A son looking for his father.

A monkey that became fodder.

Quite the start for adventurers most merry!

AN: Not gonna lie, didn’t expect to update this so quickly. I expected at least another month or two while I worked on my main one but that also turned into a sludge to get through so now I have two updates relatively close together. Yay!

Hope everyone likes it. But to address a potential future concern, I am gonna stick somewhat to the main plot, far too many good moments to ignore. But this is August’s story first and foremost and he is still learning about his place in this world and finding things that have amazed him…and horrified him.

But that part comes later.

Soooo! Next chapter! We’re sticking close to August on this one and we’ll see how August gains a new form!

Spoilers! It’s both easy and not!

Look forward to it!

So long and take care!