Chapter 2: I'm A Fairy Now!

Previously...

Levy smiled at him. "I'm a member of Fairy Tail, and Makarov is our Guild Master!"

Ramza's jaw dropped. "Wait, what?"

Currently...

Levy laughed at Ramza's expression. "Yup, you heard me right!"

"That's unreal..." He muttered.

"So, do you wanna meet Fairy Tail?"

Ramza's mouth opened in a grin. "Yeah!"

"Then follow me!" Levy led him to a relatively small wooden building.

"Here we are!" She opened the Guild doors, revealing an area similar to a lunch hall. Tables and chairs filled the area, complete with a bar to the end. Guild members were dotted around, drinking, eating and conversing.

"I'm back!" Levy waved hello to the guild members, who promptly responded in kind.

"Welcome back, Levy. How was the mission?" Said a small man sitting on the bar, clutching a piece of paper.

"It went pretty smoothly!"

The small man took a sip from a nearby mug. "Well done, then."

"I also met a new friend!" She held Ramza by the shoulders, "Say hi!"

"Uh, hello?" He waved awkwardly.

"Guys, this is Ramza!" Levy tapped him on his shoulder, "He took out the lizardmen with me!"

"Then I guess introductions are in order." The small man hopped off the bar, "Hello Ramza, I am Makarov, guild master of Fairy Tail."

"Makarov as in Makarov Dreyar?" Ramza asked.

The guild master tilted his head, "Yes, how come you ask?"

"My father told me to give this to you." He passed the slip of paper to Makarov, "He said that when I would do so, everything will fall into place."

Makarov opened up the paper and read it. As his eyes scanned the words, Makarov's eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "Interesting... Have you read this?"

Ramza shook his head. "No, I haven't."

"I see." Makarov rolled up the paper and stowed it inside his clothes. "However, let us discuss this tomorrow. The sun has set, and night has fallen upon us. Do you have a place to stay the night, Ramza?"

"Uhh... None, as of right now." Ramza replied.

"Mirajane!" A beautiful white haired lady at the counter perked up, "Please escort Ramza to the guest room. He will stay here tonight."

"Ah, thank you Master Makarov!" Ramza smiled at the Master.

Makarov smiled back. "It is the least we could do. Now, have a restful sleep!"

Mirajane then gestured for Ramza to follow her to the back, where the guest rooms are kept. She opened the door to let him in.

"We're here." Mirajane said, "Please make yourself comfortable."

Ramza nodded. "Thank you."

As she closed the door, Ramza promptly plopped on the bed. As soon as his head hit the soft pillow, he was out like a light.

...........................

Ramza opened his eyes to a bright morning sun.

"Urgh..." Ramza pushed himself up, sitting on the bed. He glanced outside the window, where sunlight poured through. Inspecting it, he realized it was relatively early in the morning. He stood up and approached the bathroom, but was interrupted by a loud noise coming from outside.

Looking down the hallway, he suddenly heard the crashing of something to his left. 'What's happening?' Ramza thought. He quickly ran towards the noise, and opened the door. Ramza could hear shouts from the other side. He opened it and what he saw was truly bizarre.

The entire Fairy Tail Guild was in chaos. He saw the members of the guild fighting in all directions, fighting against other Fairy Tail members. They were punching, kicking, throwing tables and chairs, and casting spells everywhere. Ramza ducked as a shadow loomed over him, landing with a THUD on the wall. It was a chair, thrown by probably one of them. Ramza stood open-mouthed at the sheer incredulity of what was going on.

"What..." Ramza gawked.

He then walked towards the bar, where a familiar face stood wiping glasses.

"Uhh, Mirajane?" He asked nervously.

She swiveled to meet him. Despite the chaos that was ensuing, she was taking care of the bar like nothing was happening. "Yes, Ramza?"

"Shouldn't you guys be, I dunno, trying to sort whatever is going on here?"

Mirajane stopped cleaning for a moment. "Oh, you mean the fighting?" She smiled cheerfully, "That's normal. Would you like a drink while waiting for this to be done?"

He blinked. "Yeah, I guess. I'd like some coffee."

"One coffee, coming up!" Mirajane went to the side to prepare his drink.

Ramza looked at the fighting of the guild again. He put his hand to his forehead, rubbing it. "This is giving me a headache..."

He heard a chuckle to his right. A woman wearing pants and a bikini top looked at him. "I'd agree on that."

Mirajane served Ramza his drink. "Ramza, this is Cana. She's one of our members."

Cana took a swig from a large mug of beer. "Yeah. But I haven't seen you here before. You new or something?"

"I'm not a member of Fairy Tail." Ramza explained, "I was told to come here and meet Makarov."

Cana took another drink from her mug. "You mean Master Makarov. The old, short guy who runs Fairy Tail."

"Yes. Although I did not think Master Makarov would be tiny, he seemed pretty nice."

Cana laughed. "The Master is really nice when you get to know him."

"Where is he though?" Ramza realized that Master Makarov was nowhere to be seen in the chaos. "He's not here..."

"Oh, the Master is usually out for business and things like that." Cana said.

"Then he-" Ramza was cut off when a huge man slammed into Cana, smashing her through the wooden counter.

"Cana!" Ramza stood up and ran to her side, still under the large man. Surprisingly, she had held her beer mug in her hands and it had not spilled a drop. He blinked at her loyalty to her drink.

"Get off me, Elfman!" Cana yelled underneath the man.

"You aren't man enough to do so!" Elfman taunted.

"Uhh... Excuse me?" Ramza asked Elfman.

Ramza let out a small "Eep!" as Elfman looked at him. "Yeah?"

"Could y-you please g-get off her?" Ramza stuttered. "She was t-talking to me..."

Elfman opened his mouth wide. "I would... If you were a MAN!!!" He yelled out that last part, getting a jump from Ramza.

"If you beat me, I'll get off her." Elfman stood up, cracking his knuckles. "Simple enough."

"B-but you just-" Ramza stepped back as Elfman threw his fists downwards, creating a small crater in the floor.

"Just fight him." Cana sat back again at the counter, seemingly unfazed at having a grown man slam into her. "He ain't gonna back down 'till he loses. Good luck."

"What?" Ramza yelled at Cana. "Fight this guy?"

"Yes, me!" Elfman proudly pointed his thumb at himself. "A man!"

"Hey dude, I don't wanna fight you."

"You will, if you are a man!" Elfman challenged. "So, what it'll be?"

"Uh, I guess?"

"Good!" Elfman then charged forward towards him, hands outstreched.

Ramza sidestepped, avoiding his wide arms.

Elfman stopped his charge and then yelled at Ramza. "Don't dodge, if you're a man!"

He then ran again, shoulder-first. Ramza then placed his hands in a catcher position, and met Elfman's full force with them. He was pushed back a few feet, but he held his ground.

"You're good, but not good enough!" Elfman then launched a punch at him, but Ramza tilted his head to evade the blow.

"Take this!" Ramza countered with a kick to Elfman's face, but he barely even budged.

"Ha! You aren't a man with that kind of kick!" Elfman struck again at Ramza, but was interrupted by a loud voice. He dropped Ramza on the floor.

"WE MADE IT BACK ALIVE!!!" Yelled a pink haired figure as he entered the guild hall.

Two other figures stood behind him: a flying, talking cat and a blonde girl. The entire guild momentarily halted their fights and greeted the newcomers, Natsu, they called him. One of them attempted to talk to him, but instead Natsu kicked him right in the face.

"Why'd you do that!?" The blonde girl shrilly complained.

"You lied about that salamander!" Natsu yelled, raising his fist. "I'm gonna kick your butt!"

The guild member sat up, "Don't get mad at me, I'm not the one to blame here! I just passed along a rumor I heard!"

"It was a rumor?!" Natsu looked even angrier.

"You wanna fight?"

"Let's go!"

And the chaos had resumed. Natsu threw a punch, letting loose a cloud of dust. Subsequently, smaller skirmishes had continued in the guild, causing things to fly. The flying cat got knocked over to the side, lost in whatever the heck was going on. The blonde girl just stood there, seemingly lost in her thoughts. That is, until a dude in nothing but his underwear glared at the girl, who jumped slightly.

"It's time we settle things once and for all!" Grumped the dude in his underwear.

"Gray, your clothes?" Cana commented.

"I don't have time for that!" Gray retorted.

Cana then, seemingly frustrated, lifted a barrel of liquor to her mouth and drank. The blonde's jaw dropped.

"Come and fight me Natsu!" Yelled Gray.

"Not until you put some clothes on!" Yelled back Natsu.

"It's only new that you boys are whining like spoiled babies!" Came Elfman.

"He just wants to fight, huh?" Ramza deadpanned.

Elfman ignored him and focused his attention to Gray and Natsu. "I'm a real man! Want me to prove it to ya?"

Gray and Natsu responded with a fist from both of them.

"Jeez, it's so noisy around here, huh?" Came an orange haired man who was surrounded by females. He then seemed to pose dramatically, only for something to bonk him on the head. The ladies worried about him, but the orange haired man just flirted in response. The blonde seemingly took out a magazine and crossed his face with the name 'Loke' under it.

"What the heck is wrong with these people?" Asked the blonde. "There's not one sane person here!"

"Hello! Are you new here?" Asked Mirajane.

The blonde seemed taken aback at Mirajane's appearance. Nonetheless, she pointed towards the fight and said, "Don't you think we should try to stop them or something?"

Ramza stepped forward and sighed. "Nah. She said that's useless."

Mirajane nodded. "It's always like this. I just leave them alone. Besides-" She got knocked over by a flying Elfman. "It's kinda fun, don'tcha think?" At that point, she conked out.

"Don't die Mirajane!" Yelped the blonde as she too suffered the same fate, getting hit by a flying Gray.

"Gimme back my underwear, jerk!" He shouted at Natsu, which the latter had taken the former's underwear. The blonde tried and failed to cover her eyes at the scene. Gray, noticing the blonde, approached the girl.

"Excuse me miss, but can I borrow your underwear?" Gray asked.

"As if!" The blonde smacked him, making him fly again. The orange haired man then approached and carried the blonde, bridal-style.

"These guys are all insensitive." Loke said smoothly, "A woman has nee-"

He got cut off as he was knocked back from a fist from Elfman. "Women speak with their fists, Loke!"

He was then cut off by Natsu's kick. "I told ya to butt out!"

The chaos ensued for a little bit more, until Cana took out a card that glowed green. "That's enough, you guys. I suggest you knock it off."

Gray put his hands together, preparing a spell. "Oh yeah? Says who?"

Elfman also casted a spell, turning his right arm into stone. Loke rubbed his ring, green magic emitting from it. Natsu set his hands ablaze, like roaring flames.

"They always fight like this?" Asked the blonde nervously, holding the cat in defense. The cat only responded with an 'Uhuh!'

The blonde sweatdropped. "You don't seem worried!"

As sudden as light, a large shadow of a monster appeared in the middle of a guild hall. "Will you fools stop bickering like children?!"

The blonde's jaw dropped, alongside Ramza's. 'How did that get in here?', Ramza thought.

"He's huge!" The blonde said in terror.

The entire guild stopped fighting, seemingly frozen in place.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were still here Master!" Came Mirajane's voice.

'Master?', Ramza thought. Then that must mean...!

"Ha! What a bunch of babies! Looks like I won-" The shadow crushed Natsu under its foot.

The shadow rose to its height. "It seems we have a new recruit."

The blonde jumped. "Yes sir!"

The shadow then seemed to transform into a smaller body, and it turned into Master Makarov. He then raised a hand to the new recruit. "Nice to meetcha!" He said with a wide smile.

"He's tiny!" Commented the blonde. "He's really the one in charge here?"

Mirajane smiled cheerfully. "Of course! Allow me to introduce the guild master, Makarov."

Master Makarov then backflipped onto the second floor balcony, with his back hitting said balcony. When he has recovered, Makarov coughed into his hand.

"You've gone and done it again, you clods!" Makarov yelled to the guild. "Just take a look at the amount of paperwork the magic council has sent me this time! This is the biggest pile of complaints yet!"

Makarov trembled in anger. "Have you lost your minds? All you kids are good for is getting the higher ups mad at me!"

The entire guild looked down in shame, reflecting on their actions.

"However," Then the paperwork that was in Makarov's hand suddenly burst into flame. He threw it into the air, which Natsu promptly snatched up and ate. "I say the heck with the magic council!"

Makarov now had the attention of the entire guild. "Now listen up. Any power that surpasses reason comes from reason, right? Magic isn't some kind of miraculous power. It is a talent that only works when the flow of energy inside of us and the flow of energy in the natural world are in sync. To perform magic, one must have a strong mind and the ability to focus. It should take take over your being and come pouring out of your soul! If all we do is worry about following rules then our magic will never progress. Don't let those blowhards on the council scare you, follow the path you believe in! Cause that's what makes the guild of Fairy Tail, NUMBER ONE!"

The guild master then raised his hand in the symbol of the number one, to which the members immediately followed with vigor. They then whooped and laughed as one, seemingly as close as family.

...................................

A little while after the Master's speech, the guild had calmed down enough and started to clean whatever they broke. The master stepped down from the balcony and approached Ramza.

"I take it you enjoyed my speech?" Asked the master.

"Yeah, it was pretty nice."

"Yes, now unto the matter at hand." Makarov took out the piece of parchment that Ramza handed him yesterday. "Your father told me some things for you to do in this letter."

Ramza turned to face Makarov. "Really? What'd it say?"

Makarov cleared his throat. "First of all, your father wants you to become a member of Fairy Tail."

Ramza smiled. "I see no problem in that, as seeing the people here are awesome!"

Makarov laughed. "Right you are, boy! Then onto the second request, your father wants you to train to get stronger, both physically and magically."

Ramza looked sad. "But I don't have any magic."

"Ah, you do remember what I said about magic a while ago?" Makarov questioned.

"The flow of our energy and nature yadayada, you mean?"

Makarov nodded. "Yes. That is all that is needed. And if it comforts you, Poinz was never a good magician."

Ramza's eyes widened. "What!? But he could use magic..."

"It took him a long time to learn, and an even longer time to master. But he had it, in any account." Master Makarov explained.

"And now onto the next request." Makarov gestured Ramza to move closer. He whispered quietly in to Ramza's ear, "Never tell anyone about the attack."

Ramza nodded. "I understand."

Makarov smiled softly. "And the final request is more of a test, if you will."

"A test?" Ramza cocked his head to the side. "What kind of test?"

"He did not say here. He just wrote that when and only when you become stronger than the day that he sent you here, is the time that you two will meet again."

Ramza accepted this fact with a grim nod. His father was good one, but he was strict too. Ramza couldn't just let this slide over. He had to get stronger, much stronger than today.

"That is all he wrote." Makarov then called over Mirajane, who was conversing with the blonde. "So let's start with making you a member here."

"Yes master?" Said Mirajane as she approached. She had also dragged along the blonde.

"Ramza wants to be part of our guild, so give him the mark." Makarov said.

"Oh, how exciting!" Mirajane clapped her hands together. "Lucy here also wants to join us!"

"You're joining too?" Lucy asked Ramza. "Guess we're going to join together, then."

"Yup." Ramza glanced at her, "I heard your name was Lucy?"

"Yeah! I'm Lucy!" She extended a hand.

Ramza took her hand and shook it. "I'm Ramza. Nice to meet you."

"Sorry to interrupt, but where would you want your marks?" Chimed in Mirajane.

"My right hand." Ramza and Lucy said in unison. They looked at each other while Mirajane giggled.

"Then what color would you like?" Asked Mirajane, still giggling.

"Pink." Said Lucy.

"Violet." Ramza said.

"Aww that's a shame. You guys didn't have the same color..." Mirajane said sadly. She then perked up as she stamped their hands, excited for the task. As the stamps shimmered into existence, Ramza and Lucy gazed at them with awe.

"I guess-" Ramza started.

"This makes us-" Followed Lucy.

"Fairy Tail members!" Said Mirajane happily.