I, Draugr Chapter 60

Lah didn't like fighting.

It was a new thing, really. Something he discovered only after spending a decade with that small, mortal woman that had sough his teachings in the Dragon Tongue, while she in turn taught him about Magic.

Before her, he liked fighting. He liked testing the might of his knowledge, of his studies, of his meditation, against worthy opponents.

But then… He didn't anymore. If given a choice, he'd rather not fight.

He was afraid of death. Of a permanent death. A possible event where he'd be taken away from Kara. From his everything.

What came after death, for a Dragon? What came for them, after their Souls were devoured for power and knowledge? What then?

Would he still remember her smiles? Her laughs? Her love? Their long hours of just talking, and talking, and talking?

He didn't wish to risk that. He didn't want to lose that. It was why, that day, when he had seen the effects of Time on Kara's face and hair… He had panicked. He had sealed her away, faster than he could think.

It tore him apart, but the panic was sharp, and cold, and merciless. He couldn't sleep, plagued by nightmares of standing by her grave. Of seeing her wither away completely.

He wouldn't allow that. He couldn't accept that.

So, as much as he didn't want to lose her, he also made sure that she wouldn't lose him.

Before her, he had Dragons he'd go to for battling and testing his growth. Now, he refused to battle these Dragons.

One of them was dead, and likely to return back to life soon.

The other? The other had changed his ways. Had gone against their nature, and conquered it.

And it was the one Dragon he never wanted to fight; Paarthurnax.

If Great Sages mastered dozens of Shouts, and each word until perfect mastery, then Paarthurnax wasn't that.

Paarthurnax was an anomaly, for he only knows one Shout. The Fire Breath Shout… And the ancient Dragon has spent his whole existence meditating upon it. Mastering it. Perfecting it.

And Lah did not wish to witness that kind of might. Or experience it upon his flesh.

His lover already had a bad habit of dropping scorching suns on him during their fun spars, and it was not nice.

Thus, when given the chance to spread his wings and fight something new, and that could lead to him learning more? He leapt at it… Though, it did leave him quite disappointed.

"Hon, you fucked the valley up." Kara not so helpfully points out the devastation left behind by a single Word of his.

There was only bedrock behind, where a lush and lively forest used to be. There was even a mountain, he was quite sure of that. Keyword being 'Was'.

"I tend to forget how… Fragile, everything is." He sniffs, claws stomping on the ruined, stripped bedrock as he approaches the disfigured, malformed form of the black dragon with azure tribal marks along its scales.

"The lil' lizard is still breathing though. To survive a love-tap from you is testament to its strength." Lah hums, drawing closer to the surprisingly durable and still living Dragon until his shadow looms over its broken figure.

His head tilts as he analyzes the beast before me, "Truly, he is different from us." His gaze saw through everything. Saw through the magic of the Dragon before him, and saw how it all was gathered in the abdomen. In two specific locations, akin to containers.

Unlike how the living beings of Nirn had their bodies drenched in Magicka, hence why some ancient monsters like Ysgramor were such physical titans that could reshape continents with their bare hands.

Here, the living beings in this world, had their Magic contained within these containers. It didn't drench their bodies, or empower them to horrifying levels.

Golden eyes gleam, watching as a radiant green glow soon envelopes the Dragon. Its own innate magic of Healing, which repaired torn muscles, ruptured organs and pulverized bones through sheer magical potency.

It was like using the simple Novice Spell called Cure, but pouring a gargantuan amount of Magicka into it to make it heal even the worst of wounds. It would work, in theory, but it would be a waste of time and energy.

The black Dragon stands with a demented growl, eyes now focused and fixed upon Lah's form, the sheer killing intent pouring off the beast speaking of a strange hate and obsession that made Lah curious.

Why would a Dragon hate its own kind so much?

Still, such a thing wouldn't do. This little lizard truly thought it stood a chance. "Come." Lah commands, wings spreading wide, baring his chest at beast before him.

They may not be brothers, scales of the same God, but Lah would still show some courtesy. He landed a blow, it was only right he takes one back.

The black Dragon lunged, a blur of murderous intent and physical might. His magic explodes out of his healed form in tidal waves, turning the sky dark and making the air flee.

Then its claw collided against Lah's chest. The bedrock shatters and pulverizes.

Lah does not flinch, nor move an inch.

Murderous claws grind against scales with a deafening metallic screech, creating a downpour of sparks that scattered everywhere.

Lah hums, studying the magic trying to tear at his body. He was a different kind of Dragon, but this Magic was still somewhat affecting him.

It was like a virus, infecting his natural protective magic layer and tearing at it from the inside, trying to grow and become a powerful poison that would further weaken him from future blows.

It didn't work well, due to his Divine nature. It naturally resisted the effects of this Dragon Slayer Magic, but that might also be due to his immense natural might.

This Dragon… Might actually be able to fell a Dragon Sage after a mighty, lengthy battle. Might.

Its demented state made it forgo technique and reasonable thinking, all for sheer, murderous desire. As if it knew that its strength was enough to allow it to bathe in Dragon blood, no matter the opponent.

"This Dragon Slaying Magic might require some tweaking, dear." He informs her, startling the black Dragon, who notes the lack of damage from his blow and how nonchalant Lah was in front of it.

He feels Kara peer down from the top of his head, "Good, else Skelly Boy would have felt bad." Then the world started rumbling, "But how dares this filthy guinea pig-to-be lay a hand on my precious hubby?!"

Lah winces, and instantly closes his eyes to send a mental prayer towards the black Dragon.

Kara snaps her fingers with a cold snort, and the air before them howls. A vacuum forms, and the air compresses into a dot right before the black Dragon's chest, faster than it could perceive or even react to.

Then the compresses dot of air is ignited. The valley flashes white, and the stripped bedrock is flash-melted into steaming, glowing slag.

Then the deafening shock-wave bloomed as an expanding cloud of hyper-compressed air. It was so loud, yet also wasn't. For those standing at its epicenter, they would either be deafened, or the sheer pressure would leave a sharp ringing in their ears.

Lah doesn't even flinch from the sound and sheer force of his lover's Spell. Instead, his eyes blink over to the mangled body of the black Dragon.

Scales stripped off its now charred flesh, a missing arm and wing, a missing eye, and nearly disemboweled. Yet still living.

Though, the sheer force and power behind the Spell had stripped away the Dragon's remaining magic. It had a lot, but Lah had noted – even with his eyes closed – how the Magic within its body had rushed to protect it from the offensive Spell.

Such a thing didn't happen in their world, hence why defensive Spells existed in the Restoration School. Plus, Lighting Magic was known and feared as the Anti-Magic Element, thus such protective measures wouldn't matter much.

Still, for a Mage of sufficient power and skill, such a thing was actually quite interesting. An automatic defense measure that relies on their immense reserves? Lah found that worth studying.

He moves forward, ready to finish the fight and capture the Dragon before him, only to pause when he notes its body starting to shrink.

Before his wide eyes, the Dragon shrunk more and more… Until a human appeared. Tanned skin, with those same azure marks across his body, and long untamed hair of the same color.

"It became… A human…?" And then he remembers what Leonidas had told them. About how certain people that use Dragon Slayer Magic can become Dragons themselves due to overuse.

Kara moved faster than him, having had the same realization. A sphere of light soon envelopes the unconscious human male and captures him, healing his wounds and making him stable to move.

"Oh, just you wait, Hubby…" Kara cackles, hugging the sphere of light like it was her child. But her face was downright horrifying, "Just you wait… Hehehehehehe…"

Lah shuddered and closed his eyes.

He was not looking forward to the future… Not one bit…

...Okay, maybe a little.

~XXX~

A groan makes me perk up, and I shift the Folium Discognitum out of my eyesight, the words on its pages trying to follow my line of sight.

It was still a useful tool, especially since I now want to learn Illusion Magic. The majority of idiots that went insane when holding this book had all lost it while researching the limits of Illusion Magic.

I wonder why…

Hell, one dude's last words, recorded in the book, were 'It's all a Dream?!' Before he got Zero Sum. And he ain't the only recorded Zero Sum case in the book.

I tilt my head, watching as the figure on the bed stirs and rises, "Hey, you. You're finally awake." 'Tis only right to use this legendary line in such cases.

Gildarts startles and flips towards me, before his eyes widen and his body locks up, face paling until he looked like a corpse.

Right, people here can sense magical auras, so I must feel absolutely fucking horrifying to his senses.

"Apologies, but I do not know how to retract my aura just yet. Take a deep breath and calm yourself, you are safe and have been healed." Slowly, Gildarts follows my instructions, color returning to his pale face.

It was then that he registers my words, and looks down at his body. Arm and leg regrown, organs back in their place, and no vicious scars to talk about, "My wounds… Did you heal them?"

I nod and set the Daedric Artifact on my lap. I am glad that I can still keep it thanks to my connection to Sheogorath's Realm. "It wasn't an issue. How do you feel?"

I watch as he turns and stands off the bed, his chest bare. His bones pop and crack as he flexes, stretches and gets rid of the stiffness, "I feel several years younger… Never heard of such potent Healing Magic before."

I chuckle at that, "I'd be surprised if you did!" After all, it's magic from another world! "Name's Leonidas, by the way."

"Gildarts Clive." He nods in greeting, before curiously looking away, "May I ask where I am?"

I stand and set the book aside, motioning for him to follow me, "Same place you got your ass kicked by the black Dragon. We just used magic to create a make-shift little hut for you to rest in." I lead him outside, watching as he whistles at the surrounding ruined landscape due to Lah showing Acnologia what a real Dragon is.

Of all the damn places for us to appear in, I did not expect to appear somewhere close to their battle and first meeting.

Plus, it seems that we appeared here before the start of Canon too. Maybe a year or two before its start, I think?

"I remember another Dragon, and a small lady riding on its head…?" Gildarts inquires, scratching the back of his head in clear discomfort.

"Those would be Lah and his wife, Kara."

"...Wife?"

"Don't question. The lady has weird tastes."

"Who has weird tastes, you cunt made of bones!?" I don't even react at the kick that hits my ass, and instead turn around to look down at the fuming, freckled shortstack with way too much power in her hands. "I'll have you know that my hubby is the sexiest there is!"

"Uh-huh…" I nod, then point down at her while looking back at Gildarts, "This is Kara." Then I point behind her, "And that is Lah."

The red-haired man follows the direction my finger is pointing, and promptly pales once more when his gaze lands on Lah's towering royal blue and golden form, who was staring right back at him.

"Uh… What about the Dragon that attacked me?"

Kara blinks, then perks up, "Oh, the guinea pig? He is fine. For now." She snorts, then lets out an evil cackle, "Yeah… For now."

Lah sighs deeply behind her, "Honey, your evil side is showing…" Leave it to the Divine Dragon to be the voice of reason.

"But, honeybuns!" Kara flips around, hands on her hips, "Imagine how sexy I will be once I can turn into a Dragon too!"

And now Lah is daydreaming. Great.

"Aaand we lost the guy…" I sigh deeply and shake my head, then turn back to Gildarts, whose eyes are empty. His world-view has been shattered one too many times in a few seconds. That isn't good for the mind.

Sadly, I am going to enjoy being a headache.

"By the way, quick word of advice." I start, patting Gildarts on the shoulder, "Acnologia is much stronger than the other Five Dragon Gods you are supposed to hunt, but those guys are still strong as fuck. May want to return back home to relax a bit!"

The strongest Mage of Fairy Tail freezes, blinks, then slowly turns towards me, "How do you know about the details of the 100 Year Quest…?"

I shrug, "Knowing shit and making it everybody's problem is my favorite pastime."

I heard you grumble under your breath, Kara.

Gildarts just gapes at me, suspicion within his eyes, so I edge him further with my usual 'punch me in the face' voice, "Wanna bet?"

"Fine, count yourself vicious. Hit me with it." He snorts, crossing his arms before his chest.

With an evil cackle, I snap my fingers at him, "You have a daughter." His eyes widen, "With your ex-wife." His face pales, "Her name is Cana." His mouth falls open, "And she is in Fairy Tail, and knows you are her Dad."

His mouth opens and closes. He raises a hand, and points a shaky finger my way, "Y-You… You're bullshitting me, right?"

I wiggle my fingers conspirationally, "I even know where Natsu's daddy is~!"

"What?!"

"He even has a brother, you know?"

"No fucking way!"

"And before he got to Fairy Tail, he had this absolute Milf of a blonde as a teacher!"

"And he never told me!? That little fucker!"

"Oh, and lemme tell you about Erza's mother!"

"A redhead Milf?!"

"Lemme tell ya about her-" A hand lands on my shoulder just as me and Gildarts started cackling to each other.

I look at the hand, then follow it to the owner. Aurelia is staring at me with a wide, beautiful smile colder than the Sea of Ghosts. Hildr is standing right behind her, handing a flaming knife to Gretel while pointing my way.

I turn back to Gildarts and jab a thumb behind me, "These two are my ladies, by the way. Beautiful, aren't they?"

Gildarts crosses his arms and nods seriously, "I'll see you in the afterlife, my friend."

I sag my shoulders, "Kinda hard for me to die, ya know?"

He raises a curious brow, "Why is that?"

I toss my hood back, "Cause I'm already dead-!"

He screams like a little girl, and I get yanked back by a hand gripping my frozen skull like a vice.

All the while, I cackle like the little shit I didn't get to be for a long, long while.

"Release me! I seek to spread mine madness across the Multiverse!"

Deinmaar sighs deeply, twisting the chains wrapped around my body while shaking his head in disappointment, "Why be like this, brother?" He then looks to the side, at the small Snow Elf playfully tying the shoelaces of my boots together in a strangely expert manner despite her blindness, "Dinok, don't do that."

I nod in agreement. That's gonna be a bitch to undo later.

The small cutie pouts and sags her shoulders, but Deinmaar's next words make her perk up, "Just use the Unrelenting Force Shout on him when he frees himself."

"Ayo!?"

Why are there such counter-measures in place to stop me from doing… Me stuff!?

Since when did they even exist!?

….

"You want us to go ahead first?" I nod as Serana blinks my way in confusion.

I jab a thumb behind me before answering, pointing at the large swirling abyssal portal into the mountain side, "Me, Kara and Lah will have to stabilize the portal first before moving. It shouldn't take long, but you ladies can go ahead first."

I've left a rib of mine here and back in the secret room at the College, so that the portal can be kept active at all times. Luckily, opening it is what takes an enormous amount of Magicka, it is keeping it active that takes very little.

Yet, a part of me is back at the College, where the Eye of Magnus resides, so feeding the Magicka from that other side isn't a problem.

From this side, Kara is analyzing Ethernano, which is different from Magicka. Already she has theorized some form of Array to gather more in a certain location.

Plus, we'll have to fortify and hide this area. Can't risk something going through… Not that anything in this world is strong enough to be much of a threat back in Skyrim.

But if knowledge spreads, it can get annoying to deal with, and we are here just for a vacation, train, and relax.

Serana hums, then turns her gaze towards the other, "What do you think?" Aurelia shrugs, her gaze clearly saying she'd prefer sticking around me, which made me want to pamper her lots.

Hildr gazes down Gretel, who was gnawing on yet another bone, "Might be nice. Plus, Leo said that Gretel will love this Fairy Tail Guild." And I wouldn't want to keep the little gremlin around here until she gets bored.

"It won't take long to get there either." Gildarts reassured as he adjusted his repaired shirt and cloak, having gotten used to our sheer presence after a while.

He only struggled with Lah's and Dinok's presences still, but that is quite natural. One is a literal Divine being born from the scale of a God, the other is an ancient Snow Elf who is so in tune with the Thu'um that she can't even properly speak lest she cause a disaster.

"Y'all got trains here, so that's obvious." Man, Kara is gonna go crazy over all this technology that makes use of Magic to move. She'll be able to give the middle finger to the Dwemers too.

Sad that I'll miss their reaction when they see trains at work. I've already told them how advanced this world was in terms of technology, where they could put even Dwemers to shame in certain levels.

It wasn't as advanced in Magic, though.

"Getting to relax a bit would be nice." Deinmaar rumbles out, patting the legs idly swinging off his shoulders. He was enough of a titan that Dinok would sit on one of his shoulders without problem. It had become her favorite pastime, and it was mad cute.

"Yup, so go on ahead. Me and Kara can catch up easily with Lah's help." Pretty sure the big fuck can cross the entire continent with a single word of the Whirlwind Sprint Shout…

Everyone considers it for a bit, before their minds are made up. While I too would prefer we'd all stick together, I'd rather they start winding down from all the stress as soon as possible.

"Anything we should be careful of?" Hildr asks softly, and I take one of her hands in mine, while the other pats Gretel on the head, earning me a cute little growl from the gremlin chewing on the bone in her grasp.

"Don't give Hircine any offerings." I tell her softly, making her lone eye widen, "We can't risk causing issues between him and the Gods of this word, after all."

So far, I only that that two Gods in this world actually exist. The God of Time, Kronos, and the God of Life and Death, Ankhseram, who might get annoyed or pissed off at having a Soul be sacrificed for a foreign God.

"Alright, I'll make sure to do that." Hildr smiles sweetly before hugging me, then stepping back and dragging Gretel back towards Serana.

Said Vampire is opening up more and more, and that makes me happy. Hildr is strangely sociable.

Aurelia hugs me next, before pulling back with a sweet smile, "Try not to do anything stupid while I'm away, okay?"

"No promises!" I cackle as she sighs fondly, adjusting my hood and patting my robes a few times before pulling away.

With that done, I look towards Gildarts, "Think you can help teach them how to contain their Magical aura? Can't have them go around scaring the shit out of every city you go by."

The Ace of Fairy Tail blinks, before clapping his forehead, "Shit, you're right! The big guy there will scare the crap out of everyone!" Deinmaar sags his shoulders at that. Besides Aurelia, he was the magical strongest among the group.

Hildr was growing fast, and Serana was still recovering from thousands of years of starvation, so they were still a bit off.

"Wait 'till you see him punch a fucker…" I snort to myself, remembering the way this big bastard tossed me around during our fight. Good thing I can't feel pain, else that would have been horrible.

"Man, now I really want to fight some of you guys…" Gildarts muses, wistful and excited smile on his face, "I'd just rather still be alive afterwards."

Gildart's a fun guy. He isn't blindly trusting us despite saving his life, and I have a feeling he'll likely take the longer route back to Fairy Tail with the others so to get to know them better.

Hell, the main reason he is going back to Fairy Tail is so to check on some of the wild stuff I jokingly told him, like the Cana matter.

"The closest town isn't far from here, so I can easily teleport you all there." I let my senses spread across the land, having enough Magicka reserves to just dump absurd amounts into each radar ping, which led me to discover this distant town.

Close enough for me to notice, but not close enough to get caught in the 'battle' between Lah and Acnologia. They likely still felt his presence, but that can't be helped.

"Oh, before I do that!" I turn to Gildarts, who perks up, "Can you tell me where the Magic Council resides?"

"...I have a bad feeling about this… Why?"

"Just a terrorist attack, is all. You'll see it on the news in a few days."

"Leo!"

"You son of a bitch, I'm in! So, it's near this place called-"

"Don't help him out!"

Haahh… Just wait, Fiore. Just wait.

I will be the most wanted criminal by the time the month ends. That I swear!

'I will be the King of the Pirates!' Nah…

I will be the King of Terrorists!

~XXX~

"So…" Gildarts starts, getting past the silence that felt awkward to him to glance at the other residents in the train car. "How did you guys meet uhh… Leonidas. And each other."

Gods were these people terrifying, each of them radiating an aura of pure power.

The titan of a man was one thing, but the small, pale blind girl always clinging to him?

Death incarnate. Just looking at her suffocated Gildarts.

It wasn't even a magical presence, for the girl had none. It was a presence born from something else, likely related to how he saw her words resonate with the world itself.

Then there was the white-haired woman, the one who was clearly deeply smitten with Leonidas.

Her presence was drenched in killing intent, yet her presence felt… Holy. Pure. Sacred. It was refreshing, but also terrifying.

The other two beautiful women had a more muted presence. One felt… Crippled, stifled, faint. As if wounded.

The other one, the redhead's, was fiery. Feral. And something similar to the Dragon that had saved him.

Aurelia blinked at his question, her gaze thoroughly flat, "I found him in an ancient tomb. Spared him. Regretted it that very night as he proceeded to terrorize a whole village, attack a chicken, a guard, an old lady in her house, and leave a Wood Elf hogtied to a tree all night."

The redhead was next, gaze just as flat, "My… Father requested his assistance to protect me and my little sister from a group of assassins. He proceeded to humiliate said assassins inside our city while acting as if he was on drugs, then proceeded to attack the lord of our city just a few moments later."

The giant of a man, Deinmaar, followed right after, "He kept walking up to me while I was in chains. Talked to me all night long for entire months, before making me snap by trying to do something I didn't want him to. We ended up punching and hitting each other for a while, then we bonded while fighting the personification of the Apocalypse right after."

Serana, then beautiful goth with glowing orange eyes, proceeded to tell hers with a fond and amused smile on my face, "He saved me from the seal my mother left me with a weird, smelly creature covered in blood and guts, then kidnapped me, made me watch as he insulted the God I used to worship to the face while also bullying my deadbeat father. It was quite lovely."

Gildarts gaped, openly, "Uhh… Insulting a God to the face..? Seriously?" Gods were real?

"Wouldn't be the first time he did it." They all say at the same time, much to his growing horror.

Hell, Aurelia sighs deeply and palms her face, "Where we come from, there is the God of Madness that is trying really, really hard to meet Leo. All the other Gods are working hard in making sure such a thing does not happen."

"Okay… What the fuck."

"Yeap. That's the general reaction you have after knowing Leo for…" Hildr scrunches up her nose, "An hour or two." She then snorts and throws a playful grin towards the Ace of Fairy Tail, "He really will go and do a terrorist attack on that Magic Council thing. He falters at nothing."

Deinmaar snorts, arms crossed over his chest, fond grin on his face, "He wants to beat up Akatosh. I find it funny when Brother threatens Lah's father before him, and he doesn't know how to react."

The redhaired Crush Mage drags a hand along his face and lets out a deep sigh, "What kind of loopy land did you guys come from…?"

Surprisingly, the one to answer him was Gretel.

"It's called Skyrim. Cold as fuck, filled with stupid-ass Dragons, was at war not too long ago due to a stupid fuck, and will soon go to war with an army of Dragons and their leader who wants to end the world."

Gildarts stares at the child. The child goes back to gnawing on her bone.

His desperate, near-manic gaze flicks to the other people in the train car, "She is joking, right?"

"Nope." Was their instantaneous response.

You know what? He didn't want to know anymore. These guys were weird. And terrifying.

And weirdly cool.

"Still… A war, huh?" His shoulders sag at that. Just the thought of it filled his mouth with a horrible taste. "And you kids are going to take part in it?"

Deinmaar shrugs, "It is our duty. Our Fate. I'll follow my brother and them until the very end."

Gildarts couldn't even imagine the sheer pressure they had on their shoulders.

Meanwhile, his life… It was nearly a joke, compared to theirs. Hell, if what Leonidas had said about Cana was true… Then he was also a failure of a husband, and father.

How was he even going to approach the issue? He'd have to ask Makarov about it…

It was then that the train finally came to a stop, making the red-haired mage perk up, a fond grin crossing his face, "Ah, we have arrived!" He stands up first, leading the way out, chuckling softly at the way Deinmaar's immense stature kept drawing so many eyes.

"Allow me to welcome you all to Magnolia-!" Gildarts called back just as he stepped out of the train, only for a loud alarm to start blaring the moment he did so.

And that's when he remembered the modifications that exist to the city. All because of him.

"Warning; Gildarts Clive has returned! Warning; Gildarts Clive has returned! Warning; Gildarts Clive-"

His cheeks flushed and his head drooped under the several intense stares thrown his way.

"Are you some kind of criminal?" Serana questions, her lips twitching in amusement,

"Uuhh…" The Fairy Tail Mage rubs at the back of his head while the city, and even the train station, promptly starts shifting before them, "Not a criminal… Just dumb."

"I uh… Get easily distracted and walk through buildings because of that."

And just like that, he felt their opinions of him suddenly go down the drain, each one staring at him with very unimpressed stares.

"T-To be fair, Brother has done worse-" Deinmaar, the good guy that he was, tried to come to Gildarts defense.

But it didn't work, "Leo does it and is aware of it. It's a conscious effort. This guy just starts daydreaming and walks through buildings!"

Okay, when they put it like that… Gildarts knew he had no chance to salvage his repuation.

...Oh well, that's kind of normal with Fairy Tail as a whole!

He has them wait patiently for the city to finish the full shift, creating a minor road that led to the massive one in the middle of Magnolia, which in turn led to the Guild Hall.

"This must've taken quite some time to make…" Serana muses, looking up the shifting walls that had moved the whole city aside just for one man.

Gildarts shrugs, "I tend to be away for months. Years, sometimes. One day I just came back and this thing existed! Nobody even told me anything!"

"I wonder why…"

"Still, sorry about that. Kinda forgot about…" He waves his hand – the one he should have lost – towards the walls keeping the city away from him, "This. I'll make sure you guys get to enjoy Magnolia in full once we get to the Guild."

He got to know them quite a bit over these days of traveling together, and they weren't bad people. They were honest, direct, and good people.

Though, they visibly didn't enjoy everything in full, and Gildarts could guess that it was because Leonidas was not with them. That strange man was the core and heart of the group.

Without him, it just wasn't as alive as it should be.

It didn't take long to reach the Fairy Tail Guild Hall, and Gildarts stopped to look at it with a fond smile on his face, before looking back, "Welcome to Fairy Tail, folks! It ain't much, but it's home!"

And then he proceeded to walk through the fucking wall, instead of the door.

"Dude." Hildr palmed her face so hard that it hurt, making the red-haired man come to a pause, blink, and realize what he just did.

"Ah, shit! My bad!" It was too later. An uproar started within the Guild, mugs and chairs and tables were flung all over the place, and a giant hand crashed down on Gildarts faster than he could react.

"The doors are right there, you dumbass!" A furious roar shook the Guild, just as the rest of Aurelia's group made their way inside, eyes wide at the utter chaos going down before their eyes.

Hildr instantly understood why Leonidas said that Gretel would love this place. Why were they even celebrating by punching and attacking each other?

The Nords were truly everywhere, huh?

"We can't escape Jorrvaskr, can we?" Aurelia joked, clearly having thought the same stuff as Hildr, making them share a soft laugh between themselves.

Luckily, they had managed to suppress their presence after Gildarts taught them how to, though it wasn't perfect. Deinmaar still attracted plenty of gazes.

And Dinok's presence couldn't be contained, as it wasn't magical in nature. Yet, the people in the Guild Hall, while they did slow down their brawl, still kept going with their 'celebration' instead of jumping to conclusions.

"So, who did you bring along, you destructive bastard?" A very short old man ended up approaching Aurelia's group, his right arm massively enlarged and holding a very amused and grinning Gildarts.

"I met them a few days ago." The redhead's grin turns serious, and he lowers his voice so that only they could hear, "They saved my life. I likely wouldn't be here without them."

The old man's eyes widened, and his enlarged arm soon came down, placing the Ace of the Guild on the floor before turning to the newcomers, "Then I must thank you all deeply. Fairy Tail is a big family, so losing a member of it always hurts a lot."

Aurelia waved her hands with a gentle smile on her face, "It was another friend of ours that did it! We've just gone ahead since we've come here for a vacation! You should thank him when he comes!"

The old man nods, his face melting into a kind, grandfatherly smile, "Name's Makarov Dreyar, I am the current Guild Master of Fairy Tail. I welcome you all."

Aurelia swiftly introduced herself and the others, glad that she had given Gretel yet another bone to keep her mind and mouth occupied on something else.

"What about that other friend of yours? Is he alright?" Makarov questions, looking between them and Gildarts with a curious gaze.

"He stayed behind to make sure our way back home remains stable." Deinmaar answers, his gaze never straying away from Dinok as she curiously wandered around, "It shouldn't take much longer, so he should join us soon enough."

"Hopefully without making any trouble on the way."

Makarov blinks, clear confusion in his eyes, "Trouble? What troubl-"

"Huh, apparently the Magic Council was attacked…" A member of the Fairy Tail Guild mused to himself as he walked past them, completely engrossed in the newspaper in his hands.

Aurelia and the others looked at Gildarts, who started whistling while finding the floor very, very interesting.

Moving quickly, Hildr snatched the newspaper out of the man's hands with a quick apology, and spread it for all of her group to read.

Right there, taking up the majority of the paper, was a massive picture.

Of a giant phallus made of ice reaching up to the clouds, erected right on top of the Magic Council's building.

Makarov looked at the image on the newspaper. Then he looked at Aurelia's group.

Pure, dawning horror filled his eyes, "Please… Tell me that's not your friend."

"Huh, he left his signature on it." Gildarts points out, finger jabbing at the words written in the ice making up the giant phallus.

There, right in the middle of it, and written in big bold letters was; 'Leonidas was here, bitches!'

Eyebrows twitching, Aurelia turned towards the Guild Master with an apologetic smile, "I promise, he isn't that bad-"

"Huh, another giant ice dick appeared on the Royal Palace, apparently."

Serana looked at the newspaper.

Then back at her group.

"Why did we leave him unattended again?"

A.N. Leo gotta make his arrival in another world known, ya know?

He gotta be everyone's problem, or else it won't be him.

Hope y'all enjoyed this chappy!

As I said in the previous one, the feel of the fic will return back to the early days! The ones quite a lot of y'all loved!

Hope you've also had a lovely Christmas, and will have a lovely End of Year!

I'll try to get another chappy out by then, but we'll see!

Take care until then, and merry holidays!

Toodles!