ASS 17

Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Though that wasn't an accurate description, considering he was surrounded by a world of green upon entering the dimension. Fire just didn't seem to fit the theme here.

"Hopefully, no wild Pokemon would jump me," a nervous chuckle escaped Will's mouth as he observed the grass that was as tall as trees. "Or something even worse, for that matter," he muttered, seeing the trees that towered above the grass, each one the size of a mountain.

"I'm starting to doubt if this was the correct choice," he bit his lip as he cautiously looked around. Will hadn't had much of a choice in the first place, it was either this or risking it with the she-dragon, and he chose the enemy he couldn't see over the one he could.

The dragon sent shivers down his spine, giving him a feeling of a predator playing with her prey. There was a chance she meant him no harm, but she could've turned his astral form into a snack just as well. He was willing to bet it was the latter since she just gave off that wicked vibe from her tone alone.

Will would've risked a confrontation with her only if he knew what would happen if his astral form was damaged or even killed. Without having that knowledge, he made the decision of playing it... safe. At least the owner, or guard, or whoever had responded to him, had done so with kindness. Maybe he hadn't doomed himself... yet.

"Woah!" Will exclaimed and stepped back with his hands raised when a being suddenly appeared out of nowhere in his vision. One moment, he had been just looking at the tall grass, and the next, there was a... creature standing in front of him. The upper half of the thing was that of a monkey with fur that looked like grass. While the lower half resembled the legs of a goat with a coat as black as night.

"Hiya!" The half-monkey, half-goat creature stepped closer, deep brown eyes staring at Will inquisitively while a black and green tail excitedly danced behind it.

Will took a step back as it got closer to him, but the being cared not, increasing his pace and getting in his face. He gulped, not knowing what to expect, but at least he hadn't been attacked yet, so there was still hope.

"You're a human!" It excitedly chirped in revelation, a large grin spreading on its grassy face.

"Ah, yes, and-"

"Woah!" It just gaped at him for a brief moment, its eyes darting back and up rapidly as it studied him. "I've never seen a human before!" It exclaimed as it started jumping from his right to his left foot over and over again.

"You look weird!" It poked him on the shoulder, causing him to flinch back as it confirmed Will's theory that he could indeed be harmed in astral form. "Are you as evil and as stupid as the Eldest says humans are?" It then asked him before he could even respond to the previous accusation.

"What..." Will gulped, feeling no small amount of dread fill him up. "What do you mean by that?"

"Humans are stupid and evil," it explained before raising a finger to his mouth, calming itself for a second. "Because they wantonly destroy nature, taking whatever they desire for themselves without giving anything back," it then explained as if just repeating the words of someone else.

"No, no, no," Will vehemently denied. "I definitely don't do that," he said, despite there being an argument that he had since he once did work for someone that cut down trees for a living. "I even grow herbs in my free time, which is something I really enjoy doing," he added with a nervous chuckle.

"You are a smart and good human?" It replied with its eyes growing wide. "Woah!"

"Yep!" Will shot the weird teleporting monkey-goat man a thumbs up. "That's definitely me! A smart and good human!"

"Wow!" It returned back to its erratic and hopping movements before stopping in place. "Oh, my name is Korakora, by the way." Korakora introduced himself with a grin. "Some call me Kora, or Kor, or Koko, or Rara, or Korako..." he then proceeded to rattle off all the possible names one could call him.

"And I'm William," he extended his hand, feeling a tad bit better about his situation since Korakora seemed friendly for the most part. Though Will was still on guard as he was sure the energetic monkey-goat wasn't the one that answered his call.

"That's a weird name," Korakora tilted his head left and right as if trying to understand it. "Like, what would others even call you?"

"Will?" He questioned back.

"Hmmm, doesn't make sense. It just doesn't sound right..." Korakora replied, shaking his head. "How about Liam?"

"That's just..." Will paused, sighing in defeat. There was just no point in arguing with what could potentially be someone very dangerous. "Yeah, that sounds okay."

"I know," Korakora pumped his chest in pride. "I'm very good with names."

"I've been meaning to ask, but... what are you?" Will questioned, hoping it didn't come out in the wrong way.

"Oh, I'm a god," Korakora replied, his fists on his waist and his head held high. "And my element is grass!"

"You're the god of grass?" Will asked the Pokem- apparent god of grass as Korakora rapidly nodded in response. "Are there other gods around here?"

"Oh, yes!" Korakora replied. "Almost all nature-related gods reside here! And I'm..." he paused. "Well, I'm the youngest, but I'm almost a century old! I will soon be considered a grownup!"

'Oh, god! There's many more, and the youngest is almost a hundred years old?' Will could see this going very badly for him in a matter of seconds if he wasn't careful.

"And that reminds me that the Eldest wants to speak with you," Korakora said before his eyes grew wide in panic. "Oh, we gotta hurry! Follow me!" And then he disappeared, vanishing from Will's sight without him even seeing the young god make any movement.

"What?" Will just looked around in confusion, wondering what he was supposed to even do.

"What are you doing?" And Korakora returned just as he disappeared, simply appearing out of thin air. "Why didn't you follow me?"

'Follow you? How?! I couldn't even see you move!' Will raged in his mind, but he didn't dare utter those words out loud in an angry voice.

"I didn't see where you went," Will replied, trying to sound apologetic.

"Ahhh," Korakora tapped his head. "I forgot you can't move through the grass like me," he shook his head with a sigh. "Anyway, it's this way," he pointed to the right, and then he moved. This time, Will did see it, but the young god was nothing but a blur, disappearing from his sight in a second, the parted grass being the only sign of where he went.

'And this is the youngest one...' Will just stared at the path left for him for a moment before shaking his head and willing his astral form to follow after Korakora. He didn't get far before the young reappeared once more.

"Why are you so slow?" Korakora asked, his eyes blinking in confusion. "Oh, wait," he then said, nodding his head in revelation. "You are a human, so you are weak. I forgot about that."

"Sorry?" Will replied questioningly. It wasn't his fault that he was born a human.

"This is gonna take foreeever with your pace," Korakora complained before grinning wildly. "Oh, I know!"

"Wait!" Will exclaimed as Korakora extended his grassy hand towards him, the appendage growing massively in size, similar to when Makarov used his magic. Korakora did not listen as he captured Will in his now gigantic palm while his body grew to match its size. However, it didn't stop there, and mere moments later, the young god stood almost as tall as the trees surrounding them.

"Jesus Christ," Will muttered as the size of the trees made a lot more sense now with Korakora being able to grow to their size so easily.

"Jesus Christ?" A massive brown orb appeared in his face as the now booming, yet still chirpy, voice of Korakora rang out. "Who's that? Another human? Sure sounds like one with that weird name."

"Yeah," Will replied with a gulp, fully realizing how dangerous gods were if this was considered a young one. He couldn't even imagine how terrifying an old one would be, but he just might find out and very soon at that.

"I knew it," Korakora smugly replied before the brown orb disappeared from his sight, allowing him to view the rest of this dimension.

"Woah!" Will exclaimed, speechless at the sight before him. "This is beautiful," he muttered, seeing the dimension from a higher vantage point.

Green was the dominating color, but there was so much more than that with specific parts seemingly designed for particular groups of... vegetation. Yellow, blue, red, all kinds of colors were methodically spread around, giving the dimensions the appearance of a carefully sculpted garden.

'And so terrifying,' Will added in his thoughts. The trees he was greeted with upon entering this place - the ones as tall as mountains - were the smallest, the rest even larger in size the closer they got to the middle.

And there, in the middle, stood a pillar, a tree that connected the sky and the earth. Will couldn't really see its bottom part, but its top - the leaves and branches - literally formed the sky above, circling around the entire dimension. White and Yellow fruits hung from the tree, the latter ones glowing bright, shining like miniature suns.

"Yeah," the grumbling and reverberating voice of Korakora sounded out. "Yeah, this is my home." Even with his current booming voice, the fondness in it was easy to hear.

"Anyway, the Eldest is waiting for us," Korakora added.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Will yelled out, waving his hands in the air to make sure he caught Korakora's attention.

"What?"The brown orb appeared back in his sight, a bit of annoyance flickering inside it.

"I just wanted to ask, who is the Eldest? Can you tell me anything about him before we go and meet with him?" Will asked, both to better understand who he would be meeting with and buy some time to pump himself up.

"The Eldest... is the Eldest," the confusion in Korakora's voice was apparent even in his current form. "Isn't that obvious?"

"Silly me!" Will tapped his head, mimicking the young god's earlier action. "I should've thought of that!"

"Are you sure you are a smart human?" Korakora asked, completely missing the sarcasm in his voice.

"Just a little bit overwhelmed, that's all," Will replied, his lips spread in the fakest smile he could muster.

"Then just be whelmed then," Korakora replied, shrugging his massive shoulders, making the little human in his grasp feel like he was experiencing an earthquake.

"That's not... how that word works," Will replied, having searched it up in one of the dictionaries he had downloaded.

"Sure it does," Korakora confidently responded. "There's overwhelmed and underwhelmed, so that means that there must be whelmed as well!"

"You know what?" Will stared at the smug-looking monkey-goat man, deciding there was no point in arguing. "You're absolutely right!"

"But that doesn't answer my question," he then added before Korakora could reply. "Like, is the Eldest the one I spoke with before I was given access to this world?"

"Oh!" Korakora gasped, his big, brown orb visibly widening. "Ohhh! You spoke with the Parent!" He excitedly added. "What did he say? What did he say?"

"I'm not sure?" Will replied. "I didn't understand a single word."

"Oh, yeah," Korakora nodded. "The Parent speaks in a language long forgotten by almost everyone else, though the Parent is the one that names us after our birth! The first words the Parent speaks are what our names are! Only the Eldest can somewhat understand the Parent, but he can't really speak the language."

"I see," Will nodded, still confused about this, but it also explained Korakora's weird name.

"Oh, no!" Korakora flinched. "We've wasted too much time! I'm gonna get in trouble! We have to go!"

"Don't forget I'm a weak human!" Will quickly yelled. "Don't... kill me by accident!"

"Got it," Korakora nodded enthusiastically as grass extended from his palm, gently wrapping around Will in a protective cocoon before the young god jumped, heading straight towards the tree in the middle.

'This... is surprisingly comfortable,' Will thought in the soft embrace of the tall grass. The ride - he considered it as much - was surprisingly enjoyable, having experienced no bumps whatsoever, though he did have the complaint of not being able to see anything.

This world was truly beautiful to look at, all of the colors meshing nicely together, and he was missing out on seeing it. A part of him also wished to check if he could recognize any of the vegetation around. After all, he considered himself quite knowledgeable, having read the alchemy and herbology books.

That would've been a good test of knowledge since Will doubted he would be allowed to take any of the plants with him. He wasn't even sure if he could even use Requip in his current condition, and that was something he needed to confirm as it would change the value of his astral form depending on the answer.

The only sign of Will actually moving came from the aura that he felt. Maybe he had been too busy trying to figure out where he was and what was going on earlier, but the Ethernano in this world was noticeably different from the one from Earthland, feeling a lot more concentrated. And the closer they got to the middle, the more oppressing it became. If he hadn't been in an astral form, he might've not even been able to breathe in this place without passing out.

With such thoughts passing through his mind, they finally arrived at their destination. He had tried to distract himself as best as he could, but now it was time to face this Eldest Korakora told him about. Will really hoped the Eldest would be just as good-natured as the young god he had the pleasure of meeting first.

The first sight that greeted him upon his release was a massive wooden wall. Very shortly, however, he figured out that was the tree in the middle as he had to crane his head waaay back to even catch a glimpse of where it ended.

"Thank you... for bringing him... Korakora," a voice spoke from beside them, and Will turned to see one very unassuming tree standing there. Or maybe it was the exact opposite of that, considering it was the only one that was normal-sized. Plus, there was a face carved in its trunk.

Korakora raised his chin high, his hands on his waist and his tail excitedly dancing behind him, waiting to be showered with praises by the Eldest. Sadly for him, that did not happen.

"You may... leave now... Korakora," the Eldest told him, his voice slow and methodical, almost similar to the one that greeted him.

"But..." Korakora's started huffing as his eyes darted to Will then back to the Eldest. "But human!" He pointed at Will, looking as if his favorite toy was about to be taken away.

"Go back... to your place... Korakora," the Eldest simply said.

"Fine!" Korakora stomped on the ground once, obviously displeased by that, before he disappeared from his spot.

"Um, hi?" Will nervously waved at the Eldest, not sure what to do in his current situation. The Treant—at least he assumed that's what the Eldest was—looked ordinary. However, considering his title, he was anything but that.

"Human... why have you... come here?" The Eldest asked, his voice now having an edge that was missing when he spoke to Korakora.

"I didn't mean to intrude," Will replied, biting his lip nervously. "I'm sorry for that," he quickly apologized after seeing the carved face frown.

A moment of silence followed, the Eldest simply staring at him as his frown slowly receded. "An apology... is not enough..." he then said, gazing at him intensely.

'Oh, no.' Sweat started dripping from his forehead at the implication of that. His mind went into overdrive, trying to figure out what he could do at that moment before remembering what Korakora had told him earlier. 'Take whatever they desire without giving back... does he want me to make an offering or something? Gods usually like offerings, right? Maybe it will work.'

"I have a unique herb that I could present to you as an apology," Will said, nervously gulping as he awaited a response.

"A unique... herb?" The Eldest asked, doubt oozing out of his voice. "Show me..." he then demanded, clearly not willing to accept 'no' for an answer.

"Um, yeah, just-" Will froze in place as a black root pierced through the ground and passed on the right side of his face, grazing his cheek and drawing some blood.

"Show me..." the Eldest demanded, the implication that he wouldn't miss next time obvious even to Will.

He took a deep breath. What would happen to his body if his astral form was destroyed was something he did not know as of that moment. It was also something he preferred to never find out on his own. Will, however, was unsure if he could use his Requip in this form, though... he had been using the simpler functions of Super Archive quite a bit.

'Okay, don't fail me now!' He pumped himself as he created the magic circle for Requip, quickly noticing it was a lot harder than normal, even with him using Super Archive to form it from his memory.

The problem more than likely stemmed from him being in his astral form, though it could also be due to his now increased magical reserves. He noticed the latter after using a spell that drained his magic more than usual.

Shortly, under the intense gaze of the Eldest, he managed to summon one of the Heart-Shaped Herbs from his pocket space. It was the only one in his possession, and he planned to study it before planting the Heart-Shaped seeds he had purchased alongside it.

A popping sound was heard as the Eldest's body withdrew itself, slowly turning into a more human-shaped one. Seconds later, he looked like how Will imagined Warrod Sequen -one of the Ten Wizard Saints and founding member of Fairy Tail - would look in real life. Though the Eldest had a lot more branches and leaves coming out of his body.

With slow and methodical steps, the Eldest neared Will, his gaze never leaving the herb in the human's hands. He stopped in front of Will and gently took the Heart-Shaped Herb from him, holding it carefully like a precious treasure.

"I do not... recognize this..." the Eldest said, a hint of astonishment in his methodical voice. "What is... it called?" He then asked, raising his gaze at Will.

"Heart-Shaped Herb," Will replied, breathing out a sigh of relief and feeling better about his situation. "It's not from around here," he then added as an afterthought.

"Yes... I have not... seen a plant... like this... before," the Eldest said, implying he knew of any plants in existence - or in the Fairy Tail universe in this case. "This..." he looked to the side, avoiding Will's gaze. "Is a... great contribution... the Parent... will be... pleased..." he sounded conflicted, glancing at the mighty tree as he said that.

"I'm glad," Will replied, feeling a massive weight being lifted off his chest with that. "I... um..." he started a bit nervously before mustering up his courage. "Could you perhaps tell me the best way to grow it?" He asked with a hopeful look in his eyes. "You see, I also have some seeds, and I don't want to waste them," he quickly added, creating another magic circle and struggling for a bit before summoning a single seed.

"You wish... to grow more... of them?" The Eldest asked, now visibly struggling with itself.

"Well, yes," Will nodded. "I'm an alchemist," he said after, noticing the gaze of the Eldest turning sharp as he did. "And I grow a lot of herbs on my own. I spend about an hour a day tending to them, and it's honestly something I've come to enjoy a lot. It's very calming in a way," he quickly added after.

The Eldest stared at him for a very long moment before looking to the side. "I suppose... I could... instruct you..."

"Thank you!" Will was quick to thank him since a nature god that was the oldest - besides the Parent - should, in theory, be the most knowledgeable when it came to plants. This was a one of a kind opportunity!

"And, um, maybe you can help me with a few more herbs I have?" Will asked as he summoned a Moon Lily alongside one of its seeds. He would've had to figure out how to grow those herbs on his own, but he assumed a god of nature would have an easier time with that.

The Eldest froze, its gaze focused on the new herb he was presented with. Slowly, he looked back at Will. "You have... more?" He sounded astonished and would've been breathing hard if he breathed in the first place.

"Yes," Will nodded as the Eldest took the plant and seed from him. "This one is called a Moon Lily," he informed the old god.

"A fitting... name..." the Eldest said. "It needs... moonlight... to grow..." he informed Will, already having an understanding of the plant just from touch alone.

"Yeah, I figured," Will nodded as he summoned the next one, a colorful plant that had bright red petals with a purple base. "This one is called Nightshade, and it's poisonous if not consumed correctly. It has strong healing effects otherwise, and could even enhance the strength of those that consume it for a short time."

"The next one is a Death Cap Mushroom, a very poisonous fungus," Will took out a black mushroom, which was supposed to be a white-colored fungus. Though this one was supposedly grown in a magical environment, causing the change in its appearance and making it even deadlier than it already was.

"The last two go in conjuncture, both having minor, mind-healing effects," he said, summoning a shrubby flowering plant and a vine. "They are called the Ayahuasca and Chacruna."

"I..." the Eldest seemed speechless after Will handed him the last pair. He looked at the mighty tree, staring at it for a very long moment before returning his gaze back to the human. "I suppose... you deserve... to be instructed... No human... has ever... contributed as much... and given... back so much..."

"Thank you," Will replied, happy to be instructed by a nature god.

"Our magic..." the Eldest started as the various plants he held simply vanished. "Is hard... to learn... and it... takes a long time... to understand..."

"I see," Will nodded before narrowing his eyebrows. "Wait, did you say your magic? I thought you would be teaching me about plants?"

"The knowledge of plants... comes... hand in hand... with our magic..." The Eldest explained. "Do you not... want to learn?"

"I do, I do," Will rapidly nodded, holding himself from salivating at this opportunity. Learning God Slayer Magic cost ten times the credits he currently had, but he was offered to be taught for free! "I very much do, but..." he paused. "I don't know how much more time I have."

"What do you... mean? Are you not... a Thought Projection?" The Eldest questioned.

"Um, not exactly?" Will replied. "It's similar, I guess, but this is my astral form?"

"Explain..." the Eldest urged him to continue.

"It's like..." Will paused, wondering how to explain it. "Kind of like my soul? My body is currently resting, but my soul was ejected due to consuming an enhanced form of the Heart-Shaped Herb."

"Enhanced... how? Explain..." the Eldest was a lot more interested in this new information than the astral form itself.

"Supposedly, that one, in particular, grew on top of a mound of a magical metal called Vibranium. It somehow absorbed some of the properties of the metal and... became stronger?" Will explained to the best of his capability.

"Interesting... I will... experiment later..." the Eldest mused. "But for now... sit... and listen..."

"Oh, and one last thing," Will said, remembering the predator that forced him into entering this place in the first place. "There's a dragon outside this world that may or may not want to eat me? Could you perhaps do something about it?"

Will then crashed on the ground, experiencing for the briefest of moments the Eldest's magical power, and it felt as if a mountain was slammed on top of him, crushing his very being, and that was just from his presence alone. Weakly, he got up, ready to apologize for his request.

"It is... done..." the Eldest said.

"Wait..." Will replied, breathing hard. "Did you just kill it?" He asked, hoping to maybe even ask for some dragon blood or a dragon heart if the Eldest had eliminated it.

"No... I chased it... away..." the Eldest informed him. "Dragons are... a dying breed... they must be... preserved..."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Will nodded after catching his breath. Dragons were definitely a dying breed, with Acnologia having killed almost all of them. Maybe this was why he hadn't finished that white dragon? Will wasn't sure if that was the case, but that was the only explanation he had so far.

"Now sit... and listen..." the Eldest said as Will obediently sat on the ground…

Then he pulled out a steaming hot cup of coffee, his magical glasses, and an empty notebook, the Eldest shooting him a gimlet stare in response.

"To review for later," he said, shrugging as he somehow took a loud sip of his coffee while in astral form.

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AN: A little showing on what he got from the MCU, and ending on some FT humor.