Chapitre 94: Getting Back into Shape
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
September, x781.
A little more than six months have passed since Gildarts accepted the 100-Years Quest. Since then, there has been no word from him. However, considering that he was the strongest member of the guild, no one was particularly worried about him.
During that time, however, a few things of note happened. First, A country from another continent, the Alvarez Empire, gathered an army and crossed the sea to attack the Kingdom of Fiore. More specifically, Fairy Tail in the Kingdom of Fiore. However, thanks to a new weapon that had been developed in secret by the Magic Council called Etherion, the invasion was stopped before much progress could be made.
More locally, Macao's wife, Enno, divorced him. She had grown tired of being left at home alone to take care of their son, Romeo, while he spent most of the time he was not on a quest at the guild hall drinking with his friends. Naturally, Macao did his best to change her mind. Unfortunately, his efforts did not bear fruit.
Lastly, Alfonzo was cleared by Porlyusica to start taking quests again. Meaning, Alfonzo's injury from the Leviathan had been healed completely. And that led to the current scene at the guild hall.
Currently, Alfonzo was standing opposite both Gray and Natsu on the training ground behind the guild hall.
"Why do I have to team up with the streaker?" Natsu grumbled.
"You think I wanna team up with you ether, flame brain?"
"What did you say?" Natsu shouted as he turned to Gray.
"You didn't hear me?" Gray shot back. "I guess all that fire in your head burned your ear drums."
"You wanna fight, Snowball?" Natsu shouted.
"Any time!" Gray shouted in return.
"*Sigh* I just wanted to spar with them to knock the rust off." Alfonzo muttered as he watched the wizards of fire and ice argue. "But this was probably a bad idea in hindsight."
While Alfonzo was complaining about his bad idea and Gray and Natsu argued, the rest of the guild, who thought a match between them would be entertaining, watched on in bewilderment. Eventually, Alfonzo grew tired of waiting and began to speak once again.
"Alright, look." Alfonzo said, pulling Gray and Natsu's attention to himself. "If you guys team up and can beat me, I'll cook whatever you want for a week… Free of charge."
At that moment, silence fell between Gray and Natsu while each of them gained a level of clarity that no one in Fairy Tail had ever seen in their eyes. Then, the two younger wizards made eye contact for a moment before nodding to each other.
"Look at that." Elicia said with a smug smile on her face. "I told you Fonzie's cooking can bring world peace."
Meanwhile, the other wizards of Fairy Tail's younger generation all rolled their eyes at Elicia's boast. Then, Ultear and Mirajane looked at the left ring fingers of Elicia, Cana, Erza, and Sun with envy.
By now, Alfonzo had proposed to Erza as well. Plus, he made a ring for Sun, who he was engaged to him after the incident with the Leviathan.
Meanwhile, Ur and Ren, who were standing with Gozaburo and Masa, watched the younger wizards with nostalgic smiles.
"Ah… It's good to be young." Ren said.
"Isn't it?" Ur replied.
Around that time, Gray and Natsu took some distance from each other. Then, they both took their fighting stances. Alfonzo followed shortly after, creating a pair of Eskrima sticks in his hands.
"Are the participants ready?" Makarov asked after seeing Alfonzo, Gray, and Natsu take their stances. "Then, let the match begin."
As soon as Makarov gave the signal, Natsu shot forward while Gray made the proper hand gesture for his [Ice-Make Magic]. Meanwhile, Alfonzo prepared himself to engage Natsu in close quarters combat.
"[Ice-Make Magic: Floor]." Gray said as he slammed his palms on the ground, freezing the entire fighting area in a matter of seconds.
At the same time, Natsu started emitting high temperatures from the soles of his feet, melting the ice just enough that he would not lose his footing. Alfonzo also countered the frozen ground easily enough, creating a thin layer of metal on the soles of his boots with ice spikes extending from them.
A moment later, with is hands covered in flames, Natsu arrived in front of Alfonzo.
"[Fire Dragon's Iron Fist]." Natsu chanted as he threw a flurry of punches at Alfonzo.
In response, Alfonzo changed the metal sticks into flame resistant metal. Then, he used them to parry Natsu's punches, before dropping down and attempting to sweep Natsu's legs out from under him. Reacting quickly, Natsu jumped high into the air to avoid the leg sweep.
Meanwhile, still from a distance, Gray had made his hand gesture again.
"[Ice Make: Lance]." Gray chanted, causing a dozen ice spikes to form and extend toward Alfonzo from the magic circle in front of his hands.
In response, Alfonzo jammed the ends of the sticks together, causing them to fuse. Then, he made the new, short staff elongate into a long staff before he began spinning it in front of him to destroy the incoming lances.
Meanwhile, Natsu, who had reached the peak of his leap, engulfed his right leg in flames as he lifted it above his head.
"[Fire Dragon's Talon]!" Natsu shouted while falling toward Alfonzo.
Alfonzo, instead of receiving the kick head on, side stepped the incoming axe kick, causing Natsu's foot to slam into the frozen ground, melting quite a bit of the surrounding ice. Then, before he could recover, Alfonzo spun on his left foot and delivered a devastating roundhouse kick to Natsu's chest.
"Gah!" Natsu groaned as he flew back towards Gray with saliva leaking from his mouth.
A moment later, Natsu slammed into the frozen ground and rolled the rest of the way toward Gray. Instead of stopping him, however, Gray sprinted forward, jumping over Natsu as he passed. He knew that giving Alfonzo time to act was a bad idea. So, he intended to keep the pressure on with close combat.
"[Ice-Make: Cold Slicer]." Gray chanted as he ran forward while making the hand gestures for his magic.
A moment later, Gray separated his hands, flinging them outward. Then, a barrage of crescent shaped ice blades were sent flying toward Alfonzo. In response, Alfonzo released his left arm from the bow staff. Then he pointed his palm at the incoming projectiles.
"[Electromagnetism Magic: Chidori Senbon]." Alfonzo chanted with a battle thirsty smile on his face.
As he chanted, Alfonzo's left hand was covered in crackling blue lightning that sounded like the chirping of a thousand birds. Then, like Gray had done, he swept his arm to the side, causing thin needles of electricity to fly toward the crescent ice blades.
*Psssh!* *Psssh!* *Psssh!*
As the projectiles collided in mid-air, the sound of the ice superheating and turning directly to steam could be heard throughout the training ground. Meanwhile, Gray continued his dash, ignoring the hot steam as he approached Alfonzo.
A moment later, Gray was standing in front of Alfonzo with his hands in the signature [Ice-Make] gesture.
"[Ice-Make: Seven Slice Dance]." Gray chanted as a curved blade grew from each of his forearms.
In the next instant, Gray moved his arms while gracefully spinning in place, slashing the blades on is arms at Alfonzo a total of seven times. Unfortunately for Gray, Alfonzo, a practitioner of Eskrima, knew exactly how to deal with a dual wielding foe.
Returning the bow staff to the form of two Eskrima sticks, Alfonzo parried the seven slashes. Then, before Gray could recover, he thrust the tips of the sticks into Gray's chest while electrically charging them with his [Electromagnetism Magic].
"[Electromagnetism Magic: Shock Impact]." Alfonzo chanted as the ends of the Eskrima sticks landed on Gray's chest.
"Argh!" Gray screamed in pain as electricity coursed through his body.
A moment later, Gray fell to the ground, twitching. At the same time, Natsu was finally able to stop himself. Then, he jumped to his feet and placed his hands in front of his mouth in the shape of a tube before taking a deep breath.
"[Fire Dragon's Roar]!" Natsu chanted before breathing into the space between is fingers.
A moment later, a jet of fire was shot from Natsu's hands toward Alfonzo and Gray, who was still twitching on the ground.
Since Gray was in no shape to avoid the attack, Alfonzo casually kicked him toward Ur. Then, he dispersed the Eskrima sticks. A moment later, a trap door on Alfonzo's upper arm opened. Then, a large volume of dull, golden sand ground from Orichalcum flowed out.
"Is that gold? No… orichalcum?" Makarov asked. "Where on Earth Land can you find that much orichalcum?"
"Fonzie made it, Gramps." Elicia replied.
"How? When?" Makarov asked in confusion.
"Well, when he wasn't able to train or go on quests, he would use up all his magic power making orichalcum." Elicia explained. "Because it's such a powerful metal, he couldn't make much in one sitting, though. So, instead of melting it down with the other pieces, he ground it all into sand and stored it in his arm."
Back on the battlefield, Alfonzo willed the sand to flow in front of him.
"[Metal Magic: Metal Sand Wall]." Alfonzo chanted, causing the Sand to compact itself into a wall.
At that moment, Natsu's breath attack collided with the orichalcum sand wall, melting some of it into a molten mass. However, the attack was stopped, nonetheless.
"Oh, Thanks, Natsu." Alfonzo exclaimed happily. "I'll be able to use that for something later."
"I wasn't trying to help you out!" Natsu shouted as he dashed forward.
While he ran, Natsu spread his arms to his sides. A moment later, a flaming orb appeared in each of his outstretched hands.
"Flames in my right hand! Flames in my left!" Natsu shouted as he ran forward. Then, he brought his hands, that were now holding one large orb of fire, together. "Put 'em both together, and what do you get?"
"Sorry, Bruh, I don't have time to find out." Alfonzo said. "[Metal Magic: Metal Sand Coffin]."
"[Fire Dragon's Brilliant---]. Gah!" Natsu said, starting to chant the name of his spell before he was interrupted.
Before Natsu could finish his spell, a cocoon of orichalcum sand surrounded him, leaving only his head visible. On top of that, the sand that was melted together by the flames in Natsu's hands were used to create cuffs that restrained Natsu's hands and feet inside the cocoon.
"Ahh~~~! Damn it! Let me go!" Natsu shouted, completely unbothered by the heat from the molten metal.
"Well, I think that's a wrap." Alfonzo said as he glanced over at Gray who was still convulsing due to the electric shock.
"No, I haven't lost yet!" Natsu shouted with flames leaking from his mouth with every word.
"Give it up, Natsu." Happy said, flying over and landing on Natsu's head. "You can't even move. And this is only a spar. You lost."
"But my food." Natsu muttered in a defeated tone.
"Poor Natsu." Happy said while patting Natsu on the head with his front paw.
A moment later, the orichalcum sand flew away from Natsu. Then, it returned to the trap door on Alfonzo's arm. Meanwhile, Alfonzo was approaching Gray. When he arrived next to the downed ice wizard, he placed his right hand on Gray's chest. Then, all the electricity was sucked out of the twitching wizard's body.
"Take it easy, Gray." Alfonzo said while patting Gray on the shoulder. "You'll be numb for a few minutes. But other than that, you should be fine."
Unable to respond, Gray simply closed his eyes and lay on the ground without moving. Meanwhile, Natsu rushed toward Alfonzo once he was free.
"Come on, Alfonzo!" Natsu shouted as he drew near. "Let's go it again! Gimme another chance to get that week of free food."
"Sorry man, that ship has set sail already." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "But you and Gray really helped me out. Though I'm not completely back to where I was before the injury, yet. I feel like I'll be there soon."
"But… The free food…' Natsu whined.
"So, as a thank you for your help, I'll cook something for you, and Gray before I take a quest." Alfonzo said. "How does that sound?"
With that, Natsu's depressed expression disappeared. Then, his eyes lit up.
"Alfonzo, you're the best!" Natsu cheered happily.
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Chapitre 95: Fed Up
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
September, x781.
Shortly after the spar between Alfonzo, Gray, and Natsu, everyone had returned to the guild hall and resumed doing whatever it is that they liked to do In their free time. Meanwhile, Alfonzo headed to the kitchen immediately to fulfill his promise to Gray and Natsu. At the same time, the other young members of the guild sat around their usual table and chatted about the spar.
"Damn, getting hit by that last attack was no joke." Gray said while rubbing his chest, still feeling phantom pain from the strike.
"Yeah, it looked like it." Lisanna said. "But more importantly, you should put on your clothes, Gray."
"Damn it… Not again." Gray muttered as he started picking up his clothes.
"But seriously, for someone who hasn't fought in over half a year, Alfonzo is pretty impressive." Levy said.
"He's not that great." Jet said immediately after hearing Levy praise another guy.
"yeah, I bet Jet and I could have beat him if it were us." Droy added.
"Oh, you think so?" Mirajane said derisively. "Does that mean you could beat Gray and Natsu?"
"Yeah, of course." Jet and Droy replied simultaneously.
"Oh yeah?" Natsu asked while rubbing his right fist with his left hand. "Why don't we put that to the test?"
"The flame brain is right for once." Gray added, starting to get dressed. "We should see if you're all talk or if you can back up those lofty words."
"Ha! I can take them on my own." Natsu said. "I don't need your help, Ice Cube."
"Considering how fast Alfonzo beat you, I think you'll need all the help you can get." Gray shot back.
"At least I could move on my own after the fight!" Natsu shouted.
As Gray and Natsu's argument escalated, the rest of the young wizards could only look on in bewilderment.
"Weren't they supposed to be challenging Jet and Droy?" Elfman asked in a confused tone.
"Don't pay them any mind, Elfman." Elicia said with a smile. "Fire and ice never coexist together for long."
"More important than that, didn't Fonzie say he was going to take a quest?" Cana asked after chugging down half a mug of ale. "I wonder what quest he's gonna take and who he'll take with him?"
"If I know Fonzie like I think I do," Elicia said while supporting her chin with her right hand, "He'll take n A-Class quest and go alone."
"Aww… Seriously?" Cana whined. "It's been so long since I went on a quest with him."
"To be fair, it's been a while for everyone.'" Ultear interjected.
"Yeah, but Lici and Erza got to go on a quest with him before he got hurt." Cana said, a pout appearing on her face. "No one else has gone on one with him since last year."
"Well, I haven't been on a quest with him yet." Marin said with a shrug. "So, it's not that bad."
"Neither have I, ya see." Sun added.
Earlier this year, when Sun and Marin entered the guild, they were both tested to have a rank assigned to them. While Sun, who had been taught how to defend herself received a B-Class designation from Makarov, Marin was only given a D-Class designation.
Although Marin had quite the reservoir of magic power, on par with even elite B-Class wizards, she had no idea how to use it. So, she had to start with the basics. Luckily, she had everyone in the group to help her train. And now, eight months after joining the guild, she had raised her rank to C-Class.
"You really shouldn't worry about it." Elicia said with a smile. "Both of you are improving quickly. You'll be able to take quests with us in no time."
"Plus, with the way you're combining water magic with your swordsmanship, Sun, you'll be an A-Class wizard in no time." Erza said with a smile. "And when you master it, I'm looking forward to a spar."
"Yeah, the only issue that I can see is the rhythm of your breathing." Alfonzo said, approaching the table with two plates of food. "Once you get that ironed out, you'll really be a force to be reckoned with."
"Ah! The food is here." Natsu exclaimed, no longer bothering with Gray. "Oh man! I'm so hungry."
"You're gonna share, right , Natsu?" Happy asked while wearing a pitiful expression.
"Nope, I earned this with abut kicking." Natsu replied as he watched Alfonzo's every move.
"Natsu, you're so stingy." Happy said while flying into Lisanna's arms.
Naturally, Natsu paid Happy's complaints no mind. Instead, he was only concerned about the food that Alfonzo was placing in front of him. Shortly afterward, by the time Natsu had already started eating, Gray returned to his seat and Alfonzo put his plate on the table as well.
"Well, enjoy your meals." Alfonzo said before he walked away.
"Where are you going?" Mirajane asked with a slight frown.
"To take a look at the quest board." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "I still got rust to knock off."
"Can I go with you?" Sun asked. "I wanna take a quest together."
"We'll see." Alfonzo replied.
A few moments later, Alfonzo was standing in front of the quest board on the first floor. Unsurprisingly, Nab was also standing in front of it.
"Yo, Nab." Alfonzo greeted.
"Oh, hey, Alfonzo." Nab replied. "Good to see that you're all healed up."
"Yeah, sitting at home like that was a pain in the ass." Alfonzo said with a smile. "So, have you found the perfect quest for you, yet?"
"No, not yet." Nab replied. "I've taken a few that I thought were the one, but none of them were."
"Well, I really think you should take more quests." Alfonzo said while scanning the quest sheets. "I mean, you're still only at B-Class. But I know you're stronger than that."
"*Sigh* You just don't understand." Nab said without further explanation.
"I guess I don't." Alfonzo replied. "Well, even though Lici hasn't asked in a while, the off---"
Before Alfonzo could finish, a certain quest sheet caught his eye. In fact, no matter how hard he tried, he could not look away from it.
Investigate the Unknown Disease
Rank: A
Client: Pinako Rockbell
Objective: Investigate the cause of the disease afflicting the miners.
Location: Resenbool Town.
Notes: Recently, several miners working in the black iron mines have come down with a strange sickness. Their skin has been taking on a metallic hue. At the same time, their skin, muscles, and tissues have been hardening, as if they have been turning into metallic puppets. Then, after only a few days of showing these symptoms, they die after the condition spreads to their vital organs.
Reward: 1,000,000 Jewels. 500,000 Bonus for finding a cure.
'Damn, just how many worlds are packed into this one?' Alfonzo asked himself as he pulled the quest sheet off the board. 'Either way, a disease that turns people into metal? This sounds like a perfect quest for my come back.'
"Anyway, like I was saying, Nab." Alfonzo said as he turned around. "Feel free to join us when we train in the mornings. I don't think you'll miss that perfect quest of yours if you spend a few hours training with us."
With that, Alfonzo made his way toward the bar and showed the quest sheet to Makarov.
"Hey, Gramps, what can you tell me about this quest?" Alfonzo asked.
"Hmm…" Makarov hummed as he took the quest sheet from Alfonzo , stroking his beard as he read it over. "The only thing I can tell you is that it hasn't been up for long. A week at most."
"I see." Alfonzo replied.
"But why are you bringing it to me?" Makarov asked. "You're an S-Class wizard, you only need my approval for 10-Years Quests and up."
"Oh, because Sun asked me to take her with me." Alfonzo replied. "But I'm not completely sure about doing that."
"If Sun's coming with you, so am I!" Gozaburo shouted.
"No way in hell." Alfonzo replied without even looking in Gozaburo's direction.
"What did you say, Brat?" Gozaburo questioned angrily. "You think I'm just gonna leave my precious Sun alone with you?"
"Seriously, Old Man, shut the fuck up." Alfonzo said in an irritated tone. "I get that you love Sun. but all you ever do is cause trouble when she's involved. And I'll be damned if I'm gonna fail a quest just because you couldn't keep your shit together."
Before anyone could react any further, Gozaburo lunged at Alfonzo. In response, Alfonzo swung his left arm back, backhanding Gozaburo across the face with is prosthetic, causing the raging father to fall to the floor.
"That was just a love tap, Gozaburo." Alfonzo said, looking at Gozaburo coldly. "I still haven't said anything about the way you ruined Cana's birthday party. So, don't make me get serious."
"You little bastard!" Gozaburo growled in rage.
"That's enough!" Ren shouted angrily. "Alfonzo is right. All you ever do is cause trouble."
"Tch!" Gozaburo clicked his tongue after Ren's interference. "Fine… But if she's missing even one hair when you get back, you'll have hell to pay."
"Whatever, Old Man." Alfonzo replied dismissively.
"Ahem! Anyway, I think it should be fine to take her." Makarov said now that the tension in the air was gone. "With your magic, the danger level should be minimal."
"The way you say that makes me think you know more about this than you let on." Alfonzo said while narrowing his eyes.
"You're thinking too much, Kid." Makarov said, waving off Alfonzo's accusation. Then, he pointed at the notes section of the sheet and continued. "It's just because of the symptoms stated here."
Continuing to stare at Makarov skeptically for a few more moments, Alfonzo eventually took the sheet and walked away.
"If you're withholding information, gramps, that would be really uncool." Alfonzo said as he walked back toward the table where his friends sat.
In response, Makarov could only shake his head. Then, he turned his attention to Gozaburo.
"I have a child o f my own, Gozaburo." Makarov said as Gozaburo picked himself up from the floor. "So, I know how much you care. But if you keep this up, you're going to alienate her from your life."
Rubbing the side of his face where Alfonzo's back hand struck, Gozaburo took his seat.
"I know that." Gozaburo muttered. "But…"
"No buts." Ren interrupted. "If you don't get your act together, not only will you alienate Sun, but you'll lose me, too."
Immediately, Gozaburo looked up with disbelief in his eyes. But when he looked at Ren, he knew that she was deadly serious. Unfortunately, he was not sure if he could correct his behavior before everything spiraled into an irreconcilable mess.
Meanwhile, Alfonzo had just arrived at the table where his friends sat.
"Hey, Sun, get packed up, I'll take you with me." Alfonzo said with a smile.
Sun, on the other hand, looked at Alfonzo in worry. She, like everyone else at the table, saw Gozaburo antagonizing Alfonzo… again… And for the first time, Alfonzo retaliated. Though Sun had no question that it was her father that started the conflict, she was concerned about Alfonzo's condition.
"Don't look at me like that, Sun." Alfonzo said with a wry smile on his face. "He insinuated that I wouldn't be able to protect you on my own if I brought you with me. Combining that with the irritation I've felt for the last eight months or so being locked up in the house, I lost my temper a little."
"Are you sure?" Sun asked. "Should I go and scold my dad for what he did?"
"Don't worry about it." Alfonzo said while looking over his shoulder. "Judging by the expression on his face, I bet your mom already did."
Looking over toward the bar, Sun also saw the expression on Gozaburo's face. Then, with a nod, she stood up.
"Okay, let's go home and start packing for the quest." Sun said excitedly as she started walking toward the guild hall's entrance.
Seeing the enthusiasm in Sun's body language, Alfonzo could not help but smile. Then, he turned toward the table with the same smile on his face.
"Well, we'll see you all in a few days." Alfonzo said before turning around and following Sun.
Meanwhile, several people at the table were wore dissatisfied pouts.
"Why didn't he take any of us with him?" Ultear asked.
"Because you didn't ask." Elicia replied.
"Besides, don't you mean, 'Why didn't he take me with him?'" Cana added with a roguish smile.
In response, Ultear could only blush at how easily she was seen through. Meanwhile, Mirajane simply watched Alfonzo until he was no longer in view.
Laki, on the other hand, was planning something completely different for when Alfonzo returned.
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SixthSense1029
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Read 6 chapters ahead on my Patr3on at:
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Comments, Reviews, and Power Stones are always appreciated.
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