Chapter 5: Ch5: In the Archives

AN: Ok, before we get this show on the road, reviewer replies! I want to preface all of these by saying thank you so much to everybody who has liked this story, and especially to those of you who are leaving comments. I can't tell you how much they make my day every time. :D

Reptil: I'm glad you enjoyed! Writing Levy and Team Shadowgear was fun, the trickiest bit was figuring out how and why Levy was selected for the S-Class trial in canon, because while we all love Levy, we never really get to see her do very much that's badass prior to the S-Class trials, and even then she had to share the spotlight a pretty good bit. So my theory is that she's actually not just the brains, but also the powerhouse of Team Shadowgear, with Jet and Droy acting as her sidekicks. Jet and Droy strike me a bit as comic relief characters, especially later in the story, so I thought, "Hey, what if they're both bumbling goofballs, but Levy always pulls their chops out of the fire and that's why they love her so much?" Then that line of thought led to Levy actually using their goofs and mistakes in direct combat to set up her own much better attacks, example "Oil Slick" and "Anvil". We will be seeing the Vanish Brothers again, but they're going to be busy healing and then training their butts off for a while, so it will be a few arcs before they make their return. Don't feel too bad for Lucy about her not getting Leo and Virgo. Can't say too much about it now, but given that Jerry is a Celestial Mage as well now, there is going to be considerable exploration of Celestial Wizardry, and with Lucy being one of Jerry's teammates, she will of course benefit from what he learns, and learn a few things on her own as well!

The watcher earth C-137: Glad you're enjoying and very happy that you liked my explanation! It really did strike me as a little bit odd that a mere hissy fit could overturn such a serious legal judgment and while I was ecstatic to see Leo (my birth sign) added to the main roster, it just never did sit quite right with me how that was handled. So, I fixed it. :D Now wait no longer, for here it is! Chapter 5 has arrived!

An Old Crow: You know that face Makarov made when the mayor gave back the Guild Hall after the Grand Magic Games? That's the face I made when I read your review. Thank you so much for your kind words, I think that may legit be one of the nicest reviews I've ever gotten. Worry not about the future of this story, I can guarantee that my weekly posting schedule will continue at least through Christmas of this year, so you won't be left wanting for regular updates this year. :D

Now without further ado...

Chapter 5 – In The Archives

I wound up just crashing in the Guild Hall that night, it was almost dark by the time we got done negotiating with the Celestial Spirit King for Leo's pardon and explaining what all had happened to Master Makarov. Mirajane gave me a beat up old blanket and told me there was a couch in the archives. Then she showed me the archives and I'm not gonna lie, I started drooling as I excitedly exclaimed, "BOOKS!"

The archives were in the Guild Hall's basement. It was a huge room, probably thirty feet tall and stacked to the roof with shelves laden with books branching out from massive wooden beams that looked almost like they had been grown into that shape (given that I was in a wizard guild, that didn't seem too farfetched).

I had seen entire public libraries with fewer books than what I was looking at right now, hell, this was big enough to be two or three libraries on its own! It had massive ladders on tracks and wheels to reach the top shelves, and I guess it really had to unless everyone who ever went in knew how to fly. The floor was down even lower than the rest of the basement and as soon as one walked through the door there were book shelves on the left, a wide staircase leading down to a landing before going even further down to the floor of the massive room, and a nice little reading area set up in the middle with a coffee table, a lamp and a pair of blue velvet sofas. There had to be tens, no, hundreds of thousands of books in that room.

"Oho," Mirajane grinned, "A bookworm like Levy?" I nodded, utterly enraptured by the absolute mountain of books before me, "Back home I had hundreds of books, and my mom and grandparents had hundreds each, altogether we had a few thousand between us. My dad only had fewer because he was so busy with work. We had more books than anyone I knew, but this... So. Many. BOOKS." I grinned, "I might not sleep tonight…or tomorrow…or the next day!"

Mirajane smiled, "Well, there's a pair of wind reader glasses on the table there if you decide you want to read. Please put them back in their case when you're done." I nodded with a huge grin, "Thank you, so, SO MUCH!"

Then I realized Mirajane was smiling and I found myself suddenly flat on the floor looking at the ceiling again as Mira laughed. This fainting thing was going to make an issue of itself wasn't it? Mira crouched down over me, still smiling, "Am I really that beautiful?"

I nodded, "Definitely." Mirajane smiled and then a mischievous grin dominated her features and holy crap did it look hot on her!

"So when I smile you faint…" she mused, "What happens if I straddle you?" My brain screeched to a halt and all the blood from up top shot to rigid attention in a very different spot. Mirajane smirked, "Let's find out." I was very quickly caught in a limbo between fainting and being completely and utterly enraptured by what was happening as Mira proceeded to do exactly that. Mira put a hand over her mouth and shot me a smoldering coy look with a naughty little grin, "Oh my what an interesting face you're making! This is a fun little experiment…let's see what happens next…"

She laid down on top of me and cupped my face in her hands to make sure that my eyes couldn't escape her utterly captivating deep blue gaze as those perfect white curls fell down around us like curtains to block off the rest of the world and ensure that my attention did not stray. I'm not sure if my heart was hammering or doing a slow rythmic blasting trying to beat its way out of my chest to embrace the firm-soft-wonderful pressure pressed up against it, but with Mirajane pressed against me, my eyes utterly lost in hers, I am completely sure that I was at least one hundred and fifty two percent at her mercy. "I wonder what would happen…" she murmured. KISSKISSKISSKISSKISS! Every fiber of my being screamed.

"If I told you I have a boyfriend who would absolutely murder you if he found us in this position?" Mirajane finished with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes and a wicked little grin.

I think my heart skipped a beat. My brain screeched to a halt to loudly question that in very rude terms. Then both my heart and my brain looked at each other, nodded in unison and declared the hell with said boyfriend and the hell with dying! This was too good to miss!

I raised my hands, one to wrap around Mirajane's waist, and one to her cheek as I smiled gently, "Well then, I guess I'd just have to say, in for one jewel, in for 'em all, and die a very happy man." I rose and very gently kissed her. She jerked back in surprise for a brief instant, not enough to break the kiss, and then she smiled into it and kissed me back. If the aforementioned murderously jealous boyfriend had killed me right then, I wouldn't have noticed because I was already in Heaven.

Then before my body and instincts could get carried away with me, Mirajane broke off the kiss and grinned at me, "Well, aren't you lucky I'm single?" She sat up smiling, "Once you get settled in, maybe we'll go on a date sometime. I can tell that was your first time. You did alright, but there's still a lot of room for improvement! You know what that means…" she declared with a twinkle in her eye.

"Practice, practice, practice…" I answered excitedly.

"Yep!" Mira replied as she rose to her feet and headed for the door. She paused and looked over her shoulder at me, "Sleep tight handsome, see you in the morning!"

She closed the door behind her and I couldn't help staring at the spot where she'd been for a moment and then I covered my eyes as a massive grin split my features, "BEST! DAY! EVER!"

I sat there for several minutes just utterly high on the wake of Mirajane's kiss. Unfortunately though, my brain is a racing thing and I burned through all the mind addling endorphins in minutes. Then my attention reverted to my first and oldest love, BOOKS. I strolled over to the table and opened the case holding the wind-reader glasses. "Now then," I grinned as I slipped them on with my eyes closed, "Shall we begin?"

I opened my eyes and immediately began scanning the names of the books all throughout the archive, "Whiiich one… whiiich one?"

…

…

The next morning, I guessed it was morning…I was still sitting in the archive in the middle of a giant pile of books. The wind reader glasses had amped my already absurd reading rate to astronomical levels. I had blasted through over fifty books on magic, fifty textbooks on magic. Thanks to the wind reader glasses, my attention span didn't have enough time to waver, so I was able to blast through what would otherwise have been weeks and weeks of mind crushingly dull studying in no time flat.

I had sorted them by order of priority to learn through scanning the prologues and introductions to figure out what the magics did. I had read the introductions of I didn't even know how many books, but if it was in my pile, I had at least looked at it. The first one I had crunched into my head was called Archive, and it had made things SO much easier.

I had once seen a movie about a guy who'd taken a pill that made him an incredible genius with full access to all of his memories ever and the ability to apply the knowledge within them. That's what Archive was like. Once I had it, everything was right there, dredged up from the depths of my mind and bubbling below the surface of my consciousness just waiting to be relevant.

After that I had quickly learned several other magics. Now I was not only a Light wizard, I had Archive and through it a degree of telepathy that I had yet to test. I had some simple transformation magic that I fully intended to master. I didn't have anything to Requip, but I knew the theory of how. I had learned the basics of telekinesis, and best of all, Teleportation.

Something else I'd found that I wasn't sure about was a research paper/thesis by someone named Precht about the possible mechanics of something called Slayer magic. I vaguely recalled Natsu having mentioned being a Dragon Slayer, and Natsu was a beast, so I studied the paper intensely. I hadn't gained a lot from it, apparently old Precht hadn't had much to go on, but I had learned how to amp my usual magic intake even higher than when I was meditating on a moment's notice, and I also figured out how to convert light into ethernano, which was apparently the appropriate term for magic particles, and absorb them to give myself a boost. Precht had theorized it was the basis of Slayer wizards' ability to devour their elements, and as I made the room go dim and felt power surge through me, I was sure he was right.

That and my new Archive were probably the only reasons I hadn't already long since collapsed from information overload and mental exhaustion when Mirajane came in. I didn't even realize she was there until she tapped me on the shoulder and scared me half out of my skin. She gave me a gentle smile and asked if I had slept at all. I had thoroughly lost track of time, but regardless of what time it was, I blearily shook my head and she sighed. Then she raised a hand to my head and before I realized what was happening I was sound asleep.

…

=-(zzzzz…)-=

…

I didn't wake up until Mira shook me awake later on. She smiled at me from where she was perched on the edge of the couch, "Have a nice nap?" It took me a moment to remember where I was and then I smiled, "I did. Thanks, I get goofy when I stay awake for too long. So…you use sleep magic?"

Mira nodded, "I learned it in passing. It's not my best magic, but I'm passable at it." I sat up and sat forward, looking over at my shoulder, "So what's your best magic?"

Mira smiled, "Have you ever heard of Take Over magic?"

"Nope," I replied, "From the name I'd guess it lets you take over things?"

Mira nodded, "Take Over lets you exert control over the things your Take Over specializes in, and absorb their essence so that you can turn into them and take on their strength. I have a unique Take Over called Satan Soul."

I raised an eyebrow, "Sooo…you can take down and steal the powers of demons to fight with?"

Mira nodded with a slightly sad look in her eyes, "Yes, they used to call me Mirajane the She-Devil. I was actually one of the six strongest wizards in the guild. Second youngest to ever make S-Class, and I was only second because Erza beat me by a hair's breadth in the S-Class Trial the year before. I can still do little things like transforming into other people and sleep magic, but…" she trailed off and bit her lip slightly as she stared at the coffee table.

I was quiet for a moment at the sad tone, "You've lost a lot of your magic haven't you?"

Mirajane started slightly, "How did you…?"

"The way you're talking about it," I said, "It's the same way people talk about a place they miss. You've clearly still got some magic or you wouldn't have been able to zonk me like that, but from the way you're talking, you used to be an absolute titan of a mage right?" I frowned and sorted through the knowledge of magic I had gained the night before. Magic's powered by emotions, so emotional turmoil can probably royally screw over a person's control of it…something really bad must have happened for her to have lost that much of her magic… I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into a hug, "I don't know what happened, but for what it's worth," I kissed her gently on the top of the head, "I still think you're pretty damn amazing."

Mira stiffened in my arms and then pulled away to look me in the eye with a thoughtful frown, "Are you reading my mind?"

I blinked, "Eh…no? Least I don't think I was…I mean, I might have an aptitude for telepathic magic, but I've never been able to before. I used to get my friends going by using logic and my knowledge of them to figure out what they were thinking or going to do next, but I don't think I've ever actually read minds. I certainly didn't do it consciously and if I did at all I apologize for the intrusion. You just seemed really sad about it, so I figured something bad must've happened and you looked like you needed a hug so I gave you one."

Mira raised an eyebrow and then smiled and leaned back into me, "Well maybe I need a good cuddle too." I pulled her a little closer and smiled, "I like cuddles."

I don't know how many hours I spent on that couch in the Archives, but between the reading, the sleeping all day and falling back asleep with Mira in my arms, it was probably upwards of forty.

Later that night, probably at some obscene hour of the morning before the sun rose, I woke up with Mirajane in my arms and became acutely aware that I was starting to smell rather funky. I didn't want Mirajane to wake up and smell me smelling funky, so I closed my eyes and did my first inventive transformation magic. I wasn't completely sure if it could help, but I tried to apply a bit of my scientific knowledge to the magic. I knew that body odor was caused by compounds in sweat and bacteria breaking them down into gases, so I willed all the sweat and odorous compounds on my body and in my clothes to turn into molecules of apple scent. I glowed for a brief moment and then was promptly slapped in the face with the crisp smell of apples.

It was a stark enough change that Mirajane woke up immediately and looked around. That or she felt the magic go off right next to her. Either way… "Do you smell apples?" Mira asked curiously as she sat up and looked around. Then she started sniffing and looked over at me, "Did you do that?"

I smiled and went to open my mouth before I realized how bad my breath probably was and immediately clamped it closed, put my hands over it and willed the same transformation onto all the stink in my mouth. It took me all day to get the taste out of my mouth, but it worked. I smiled at Mira, "Yeah, I woke up and realized I probably smelled pretty ripe since I haven't been off this couch in…hell how long have I been here? Anyway, I didn't want you to get blasted with my morning breath, so I used some of the transformation magic I learned last night to turn my breath and B.O. into apple smell."

Mirajane blinked, "And that worked? I've never even heard of somebody being able to do that…the closest thing I've ever heard of is deodorant lacrima that absorb bad smells and spray out good ones in their place until they run out of the scent stored in them…"

I thought about it, "Mmm…well I might know why that is. If people are thinking about it in terms of altering a smell without knowing why a smell smells the way it does, then it probably wouldn't work. I targeted the molecules that the human nose registers as a smell and changed them. Since they're so tiny it was really easy."

Mira tilted her head in confusion, "Molecules?"

I blinked, "You don't know about molecu-magic world. Sorry, I forgot, magic probably drastically reduced the need for scientific exploration in this world. Okay, you know how ethernano is teeny little particles even smaller than specks of dust that power magic?"

Mira nodded, "Yeah, everyone knows that." I nodded, "Okay, now what if I told you that everything else in the world except for light, fire, electricity and their cousins on the electromagnetic spectrum is made of particles like that and everything in the world can be broken down into less than a hundred and twenty or so basic types which can be broken down further into three types of particles that are even smaller than that?"

Mira thought about it, "That would be a little difficult to believe, but I've heard stranger things…can you tell me more?"

I nodded with a smile, "All you want! I learned this stuff when I was a kid and had it compiled upon all throughout my education. I may not remember everything, but I can at least give you a pretty good idea of how it all-" GRO-OH-AH-OH

My stomach growled at me loud enough that Mirajane and I both looked at it in surprise. It was then that I realized that I was really freaking hungry. "Can I tell you about it over dinner or breakfast or some sort of food though?" I asked with a small embarrassed smile, "I think my stomach's about ready to have very unpleasant words with me."

Mirajane smiled, "Alright, but first, let me try that smell change spell of yours."

I nodded, "Ok, you just gotta tell your magic to target the particles of sweat and the bacteria affecting them and then change them to a smell you like. Mine didn't require anything more than that, but I don't know how most people interact with their…" Mira closed her eyes and I felt a little pulse of what I later learned was magic right before the smell of roses washed over me and began to mingle with my apple scent, "…oh. Well, I'm glad it worked," I finished with a smile.

Mira cracked an eye to smile at me, "Got anymore little tricks like this one?"

I grinned and let some light magic play around in my hand, "Let's head upstairs and I'll see what I can do."

We headed back upstairs and the instant I opened the Archive door I could hear the noise, "Wow, they sure are loud aren't they?" Mira frowned at me, "I don't hear anything."

I raised an eyebrow at her and then shrugged it off with a smile, "Eh. Maybe the magic's sharpened my hearing." We proceeded across the basement and up into the Guild Hall proper. Then it became very clear to me why Mira couldn't hear anything. The Guild Hall was almost completely empty.

The only people left were Master Makarov and Cana, both passed out at the bar. I could still hear so much noise though. Now that I was up there and could look around, I could tell a lot of it was coming from outside, but there was still a buzz emanating from Cana and the faint distant sounds of a party from Master Makarov. I stared, "What the…"

Then I heard Mira ask, "You are a telepathic mage aren't you?" I turned and saw that Mira had one finger over her lips and was looking at me discerningly. Then she spoke again without moving her lips and I realized that she was thinking it, not saying it. You're hearing their minds right now. I'm guessing it's something you picked up down in the Archives?

I nodded and tried to reply, Ah…yeah, it's actually even called Archive magic…can you hear me?

Loud and clear, Mira replied telepathically, So what's Archive magic like?

All the knowledge that's ever been in my head is right there at the surface now, I told her, I can remember everything I've ever learned and it's like having all the pieces of all the puzzles laid out in front of me. Everything I've ever known is right there for me to reach out and grab, it's almost like I've never forgotten anything because everything I had forgotten got dredged back up like a book from the back of a library. I read that it would give me some telepathic capabilities, but I had no idea it would be like this…I thought it would be like plugging in a computer when I wanted to and moving files…this is…vaguely unsettling actually. Oh and eh, Mira, while we're linked like this erm…

It accidentally flooded up to the surface, all the old disappointments of getting interested and honestly excited in the girls my family set me up with, only to quickly find out that they were simply incompatible beyond a mere superficial attraction. It had happened so often that I had become quite sour on the idea of ever finding someone to love. It wasn't something I liked to think about, but Mirajane was…wow. I'd never met anyone who pushed so many of my buttons so effortlessly and all at once. I knew I'd fall in love with her if she gave me even half a chance.

Mirajane flinched away and then smiled sympathetically as she quickly understood what I meant. She laid a hand on my cheek, You're cute and sweet and honest, I'd love to play around with you, but I'm not looking for anything serious. Is that alright? I nodded, appreciation for her forthright honesty warming my mind. Mira laughed slightly, You just grew to like me that much more didn't you?

I nodded and Mira laughed and kissed me gently, Don't get carried away Jerry, it's just casual fun for you and me. The memory of what my magic had done to Lucy sprang to mind and no matter how much I tried to quell it, not wanting Mira to see it and think I was some sort of super perv (even if I was), it would not go away.

"Ooh…" Mira purred aloud as she gave me a smoldering look, "That looks fun." It was then that I realized Mira was actively holding the memory at the surface so she could get a good look at it. Then a lot of information about what parts of her were sensitive shot across the link and I definitely felt the blush rise to my face as she leaned close and whispered, "There's something for you to think about next time you're alone."

Then she stepped on past me and went to start cleaning up. I stared after her for a moment utterly stunned and then a grin split my features and I hurried to help her.

AN: (Clears throat) Ok, so I know this chapter was probably a bit of a turn off for some people. It's fluffy, lacking action, and involves the main character getting involved with Mirajane, who is amazing and everyone wants. I understand how this could be worrying to some readers, but rest assured, this is not some ultra fluffy, harem or self-insert solely to get with a certain character crush fic. Rest assured, there is in fact an extremely good reason why Jerry and Mirajane are somewhat romantically involved now. I'm trying to keep the relationships in this one as realistic as I can, and it makes very good sense to me that Jerry, who has just been chucked into an alternate world, would naturally latch onto the first people he makes friends with. If you've ever been overseas with a group, then you are probably familiar with how much more quickly you can make friends with somebody from your own country simply because they seem more familiar. That's kinda what's happening here with Jerry getting so quickly attached to Fairy Tail. Also, there's just something about Fairy Tail that really draws you in which nobody can really resist for long. It's just one of those places. There is also a reason why Mira is not looking for anything serious, and before anyone thinks it, NO, it is not simply for the sake of multiple love interests. There's a VERY real reason, and it will be explored as the story goes on. This isn't a romance fic, but I'm not going to pretend there's nothing going on in that department.

This is also not a slice-of-life fic, but I am going to take opportunities to explore and world build, so for those of you who enjoyed this chapter, take heart, more are coming.

For those who want more action and bad assery, don't fret, there's lots more of that coming too!

More funny? Hell yeah, we got more of that on the way!

See you all next week!

'Til then, Ghost out! :D