The Key Beyond the Skies

https://www.fairytail-rp.com/t39447p525-job-sign-up-thread#391775

In such a short amount of time, in a span of only a few months he didn't expect himself to get so far. Perhaps it was his teaching by his mother and his learning from others. Perhaps it was his drive and dedication as a wizard, but now he was now something he had dreamed to be. He was now an S Class Wizard. A wizard held in high regard with his guild and allowed to take on more dangerous, important jobs.

... but for now, Zachary sought out a well-earned Celebration with his spirits for all their hard work and his appreciation to them. And what better place was to go to Rose Garden to celebrate. A city of magic, even more magical than Magnolia. It wasn't like a city of debauchery, but of wonderful, magical distraction from shows, to amusement parks, restaurants and a wide variety of shops filled with magical goods.

For that evening, Zachary choose to celebrate with his spirits in a nearby restaurant. While he was approached with some concern, due to his 'party', they allowed him a full table and lots of food.

"Let's Celebrate, guys!!" Zachary cheered. Luckily he had alot of money and he was willing to spend it on his friends-- and by friends were all his spirits out in their familiar forms. While smaller, less taxing forms to use to open their gates, they could be with Zachary without strain. And right now, a good majority of his summons were out and enjoying the meal.

Amethyst the Lynx, was the most eager to join in-- in the form of a smaller transparant pink cat. She ate her fill at the salmon that was delivered. Aquila, the eagle, nibbled on the beef kabobs that were in a yummy platter. Ruby Carbuncle, the little squirl looking carbuncle, nibbled on salads that were around the table, and nearby, Noctura the white snowy spirit owl observed from her perch on a table. She had a lighter appetite and looked on as the others ate.

Sirius the wolf, eagerly howled as he knawed at a potroast , bone and all as the ghostly-shade of a wolf enjoyed his treat. He already ate on the floor, enjoying it in true feral fashon. Showtime, aka Horolgium didn't eat but enjoyed the merriment making clock-work sounds around the table. For a spirit with a large face, it was odd he never had a mouth. Grizzly the bear, in the form of an adorable bear cub with a cap on, happily drank a honeyed beverage and snacked on finger food.

At the end of the round table, Zachary had his own meal. Spaghetti and meatballs, with delicious sauce and cheese. His favorite. The table was full of merriment and Zachary was happy to have his spirits around and though the gesture might be 'hollow' due to spirits not needing food, none of them refused the generous offer. Beside him, last but not least, Astral the Star Fairy enjoyed bite-size bits of raviolli the little star creature enjoyed. Being a coporeal creature, like Zachary, his need for food was genuine, but he was just as jubilant as any of his spirits.

As they celebrated, Nyx looked to Zachary with a bit of self-conscious concern. "Zachary, are you sure you want to do this ? This is very generous, even for you. This would cost most people a lot of money." Nyx said.

Zachary smiled as he put down his fork. "I don't mind at all, Nyx. This is a cause for celebration, and I couldn't do any of it without all of you. You all deserve to celebrate as well. Besides, I love to show my gratitude to all of my spirits. So this party is for you too!" Zachary said.

Still, it put the term "party animals' on a whole new level as the restaurant staff were surprised to see Zachary conjure a mess of chibi-like spirits appearing around him.

WC: 662

Professor Nyx still was a bit reserved as she gave in to temptation and began to nibble on some of the food on the nearest plate. Zachary was already enjoying the spaghetti he had, and so did Astral with his little shares of food that could fit for the star critter.

However, Zachary was aware of one spirit who didn't seem to want to join in. It was in the back of his mind and he hated to feel like the Spirit couldn't or wouldn't want to participate when he helped out a lot.

After he finished a bite of his and cleaned his mouth with a napkin, he turned to look behind his chair to the back of the room. There, leaning against the wall was Ajani, also known as Leo, with his muscular arms folded against his chest. The white lion dressed in tribal clothing seemed concent on his own, but stalwart and stern in his appearance, even while at rest and in his 'familiar form'. Leo was Zachary's strongest spirit and had been proud to enter a fair friendship and contract with him. However, he was probably the most uptight spirit he ever met.

"Hey, Ajani," Zachary said, looking over to his lion companion. He waved a hand to him and began to get out of his seat. "Come on, buddy. Join us! There is a lot of food and it's all for you guys. Please sit with us?" he asked.

Still, Leo was more reserved like Nyx was as he opened his eyes to look at his summoner. "That is quite okay. I am not interested," Ajani spoke, still pretty relaxed.

Despite the lion's offer, Zachary felt bad for the lion spirit. Out of all of them, he wasn't one to easily socialize, even after how reserved he was when they first met and how he had vowed not to let his key return to a human's ownership. Concerned, Zachary got up and approached the lion. "Come on, Leo," Zachary urged, "This celebration is for all of us. Especially all of you. Without you Celestial Spirits, I wouldn't have been able to advance as far as I did, so all of you are a part of this celebration. Besides, I want to show my appreciation and honor you guys. What's wrong with that?"

Leo didn't appear mad, despite his stern personality, however it was hard to tell as he directed a more attentive look to Zachary. "There is nothing wrong with it. But like Prof. Nyx says, this is a hollow gesture. We do not need food to sustain ourselves, so while it is nice, it doesn't have a point for us. I don't get it. " he said with a mild growl.

Zachary's reaction to this was a bit hurt, like his gesture was 'false' or a 'lie'. "You think my appreciation is ungenuine?" Zachary asked, his voice showing he was hurt by that.

Leo's expression rose a bit, alarmed by his response. "N-No! No, that isn't what I meant at all! It just isn't practical, and costed you more than what we are worth. You're thanks and care is all we could ask for. This is just a bit unnecessary, is all," the lion corrected himself.

It put Zachary's mind at ease that Leo didn't think Zachary was being duplicitous or unsincere with his actions. He took a breath and looked to Leo. "I see your point, but the whole point is to show how much I appreciate you guys. It doesn't matter if if there is a direct purpose beyond that. As long as you all have a good time with this, that is all that matters to me. So even though it might not be necessary, it shows just how much I appreciate you all. So take it like a lion, and have something to eat," he said with a bit of humor to his last words.

Leo looked to the food and all the other spirits around there. Overhearing the conversation, Aquila waved a wing at them. "Come on, Leo! Chow down before I eat your share!" the eagle joked,

Amethyst beside him leered up at the eagle. "You are starting to look like a plump chicken than an eagle, bird-brain," the cat growled, poking fun back at him. Aquila and Amythyst didn't always get along, hence why they bickered every now and again when they were socially out.

Still, Leo was more difficult as he continued to rest against the wall with his arms folded and head down. "I appreciate the gesture, sincerely, but I just am not really in the mood. My apologies," Leo replied.

Zachary looked a little disappointed, but there wasn't much he could do. It did seem strange how the other spirits didn't mind eating at all, and yet he wouldn't. However, curious to the conversation, Astral floated up to see. Though he wasn't a hundred percent sure what was going on... the little star took a meatball from the platter near him. In his tiny hands, he floated up towards Ajani with the food. The little star fairy gave a happy smile and offered him the meatball. Leow-Leow! Come eat with us! Astral chirped with his telepathic talk.

Leo gave a soft grunt as he saw the 'too-cute' appearance of Astral. It was embarrassing for him to get too wrapped up with things like 'hugs' from Zachary, or showing affection too much. He tried to not pay attention to Astral. However, the longer he didn't answer, Astral loomed closer with the food, the smell now reaching Leo's nose. It smelled good, and as he looked up-- he had no choice but to look at Astral's now huge, watery eyes that made it impossible to say anything negative to the little star. Pweeeeaaase, he asked, slurring his word of 'please' as if he was trying to get free candy.

A grunt came from the Lion as he gave up. "Alright... I'll come eat something," he said and gently took the meatball from Astral with one of his claws. He popped it into his mouth and chewed it easily. With a lick of his lips, he actually made a satisfied sound. "It's actually pretty good."

Yaaay! Leo, fwiend! Huggies! Astral cried, flying towards Leo to give him a face-hug...

... which Leo easily stopped by putting his large paw out to catch Astral before he could tackle his face. "Nice try, butterball," Leo scoffed but decided to finally join the table.

Zachary smiled as Leo found a free seat and sat down. Amythest was extremely happy the lion sat next to her. She gave a happy purr as she pushed a plate of salmon towards Leo. "Leo, come have some of the salmon. It's delicious, and I am sure you will love it," she said, and ended with a gentle nudge of her head against him.

Watching, Aquila got coy when he saw the cat nuzzle the somewhat reserved and reluctant lion. "Daww-- Leo and Amythyst, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N---"

GROWL! Amythyst tried to take a swipe at the eagle, but Aquila was too fast and flew up into the air, circling the table playfully.

Leo just kept his arms folded, but still helped himself to small bits of meat and breads that were around. Zachary smiled as he watched t his, glad to know that Leo felt welcomed enough to enjoy the celebration.

WC: 1240

The celebration for the spirits continued with merriment. Even Zachary could fit his familiar form of Pegasus-- the alcorn horse happily eating the beat salad that was served too. THough Leo's appetite was limited like Nyx's, he sat and ate with the other spirits. As Zachary enjoyed his own food with Astral by his side, he couldn't be more happy to see them having a good time.

About around when they had the food 3/4ths eaten-- the waitress entered the room. Though polite and pleasant, the strain on her face suggested the spirits made her a bit nervous. To her credit, it was a lot of people and roudy than most guests in a restaurant. "Um, sir-- is there anything else we could get you and your... um, guests?" she asked, her gaze over at Aquila who would flap his wings , looking untamed and rowdy. Her gaze at Leo, though the lion was rather calm and tranquil, a yawn from him that showed his sharp teeth made anyone nervous.

Seeing that, Zachary smiled shyly and rubbed a hand behind his head modestly. "Um, thank you... some more water would be nice please," Zachary said, sensing her unease, "I'm really sorry that we are such a roudy group. I can help clean up if you want." he offered.

"Oh-- no no, its fine. Just an rare group for visitors," she said as she smiled at the Fairy Tail wizard, "I'll be right back with your waters and if anything else you need just feel free to---"

CRASH! Bang! Whoosh!! "AAAAAAAGHH!!"

The scream was certainly a mood breaker for things as Amythest jumped from the table, Carbuncle scurried up Zachary's back in fright, and Pegasus gasped and caused the mug of juice he was drinking to splash back out. The alarm of the group soon caused the waitress to check and soon saw that things were spiraling out of control outside.

As Zachary's spirits stopped eating at the disturbance, Zachary rose from his seat quickly. "What's going on? " Zachary urged the waitress to answer.

"I-I'm not sure. Please, stay here and calm. It's best we probably stay inside but ... " she said, though clearly frightened by something going on. Was it some drunken patreon trying to cause trouble, or something far more nefarious?

"I'll go check it out!" Zachary urged as he jumped up to his feet. He took his jacket off the back of his chair and threw it on. "Leo, Pegasus, Grizzly-- come with me, will you? " Zachary urged, hearing the sounds become louder and more violent, "The rest of you stay put and keep an eye on Astral or go back home!"

Zachary rushed past the waitress, and the spirits he called too joined him. She jumped out of the way, despite a cry of protest to tell him to not to get involved and stay safe. She likely didn't know he was a Fairy Tail Wizard, despite the summons he had present.

As they left, Astral blissfully unaware, and blinked as they left. Once more, the star happily popped in a piece of a meatball into his mouth. As he chewed, he looked to his left-- next to the snowy white owl Nyx. Generous, the little star fairy offered her too a piece of his food.

"How did I get stuck here baby sitting..." the owl hooted lightly as she shook her head, a wing reaching over to coddle the little star in her soft feathers.

***

The inside of the restaurant was not damaged-- but many were alarmed by the sounds of destruction coming from outside. Of course, Zachary moving through the restaurant with a Lion, a transparant pegasus, and a small bear cub didn't inspire much ease among the other patreons of the place. However, they soon reached the doors and emerged onto the street. What Zachary found there, was indeed surprising.

People were running and screaming down the street, the sounds of smashing and blasted areas caused trouble as Zachary looked to its source. What he found were a collection of odd, white creatures. They moved and slithered in irregular patterns, as if they were flags or cloth. They were hard to see-- almost as shifty as a ghost. However, when they were not jumping around, they appeared humanoid. They were white creatures, oddly humanoid or deformed, appearing like whisps or enlarged parts. What parts of their 'faces' would be revealed, but looked like headless robes. However, on them all were an odd emblem-- an upside down ace symbol -- mixed with a 3 point cross. While they were causing chaos and even attacking people, they also seemed to be looking around , as if searching for something and working in groups.

Zachary gasped as he saw the creatures, never once seeing things like that before. Needless to say, his Spirits were off guard by the appearance of them. It was unnatural for such creatures to appear in a city, in Rose Garden of all places too! How they appeared and what they wanted, was beyond them at the moment.

"What the hell is this?!" Zachary cried in shock.

Leo growled as the wave of creatures pushed further down the street. "Zachary, we have to stop them before they hurt anyone else. We must act now," the lion encouraged, growling and unshealthing his claws intimidatingly. In agreement, the little bear growled too with closed paws and Pegasus gave a neigh in excitement.

Despite the desire to summon three spirits at once, he realized there was no choice. "Okay-- let's do this!" he said and drew out his keys. One between each finger he held the Key of the Lion, Bear and Winged Horse. "Open-- Gate of the Garnet Bear, Gate of the Winged Horse, and Gate of the Lion!" Light shined from the keys as he poured his magic towards the three spirits-- and their present forms glowed with light.

As the light vanished-- their forms changed. Leo remained the same, but now glowed with a powerful aura of white sun-magic and now wielded his bladed polearm on both sides, ready for combat. Pegasus, was no longer transparant and now a solid creature. He flapped his wings and flew into the air with a neigh. Grizzly, changed most of all as he was no longer a bear cub-- but in his place, became a massive grizzly bear with garnet red armor. He let out a feral roar, intimidating the enemies around him.

WC:1082

"Take em down!" Zachary ordered, holding the keys forward in earnest. With that, the three summons took to the street! By then, the mysterious white monsters caught sight of the three creatures now charging towards them. They didn't seem to show emotion but zip and zag whenever convienent. However, it wouldn't stop the Celestial Spirits.

Brandishing his bladed weapon, Leo struck to the right side of the street, cleaving at the white monsters with a sun-soaked weapon of light. It would burn and sear as it cleaved into the enemies, but hardly any sound eminated from the beasts when struck. They were silent even as Leo sliced one in two pieces. However, the ones he didn't hit didn't even seem bothered by pain. It 'bent' to his weapon, as if the bodies were hollow-- empty.

To the left of the street, Grizzly went to work! Stronger physically than most spirits, Grizzly slashed and clawed using brute force, trying to smash them into the ground but some would 'inflate' back to size. The bear gave a growl of frustration as his efforts wouldn't really keep them down. However, that was only the beginning. More of them were drawn to the two combating spirits. Whatever these creatures were, they were multitude, swift and sturdy to brute force attacks.

As some even pushed past the two beastly spirits, they tried to slither further down the street and towards Zachary. However-- Pegasus was one step ahead of them as he hovered well near Zachary's area. "Sapphire Storm!!" the horse neighed as his sapphire horn and wings glistened. with a flap of his wings, a wicked gale of wind swept across the area of the street, intensified due to the narrow space. The wind blew into them, and due to their 'wavery' cloth-like forms, they flapped in the breeze like flags. They were tossed backwards down the street, back towards Grizzly and Leo.

"Whatever they are-- there too many and too tough to strike down directly!" Leo growled over as he tosssed one of them back with his bare paws-- however one wound around his other arm, trying to bind his limbs. They appeared flimsy but sneaky for creatures that appeared to be drones.

Grizzly growled in frustration as he bit into one and tossed it aside, the body soon crushed into smoke. However, the wave of them continued, stretching all the way down the street. Annoyed, the bear reared up on his haunches high and let out a growl-- slamming his paws down to the ground. The ground heaved and trembled with the sudden seismic magic it had. The violent earthquake tore up the street and knocked into the monsters, the flying debris hitting some and stumbling them up. However, while stunned and giving them some breathing room-- it wasn't destroying them.

From the far back, Zachary grimaced as he tried to think of a way to stop them. He couldn't use his Arc of Cosmos magic with these narrow quarters, and he couldn't use it recklessly as there were still people and bystanders in the other buildings. Using that here would be reckless, even with his aim. "Do i have to use Stellar Evolution already? No... I can only use it on one spirit at a time, but..."

Overhearing the thought aloud, Pegasus shouted to his master. "Zachary-- don't it would consume too much of your magic power and exhaust you. Let alone having three of us out at once. However... what if you only use it on our gates little at a time. A smaller amount of that magic divided to each of us? " the horse suggested.

Zachary gave it some thought. While he could apply a single enchantment from each gate to each summon, he never tried it before. Instead of a dramatic transformation, it would just enhance each spirit enough to do more damage, than a full powered Stellar Evolution. "Well, it's worth a shot." he declared. Holding up the keys-- he began to focus. He couldn't draw each constellation at one time, the method he used Stellar Evolution but holding the keys alone and drawing just a part of it to their gates, might be enough. "O gates of the lion, the bear, the winged horse-- I call upon you. Grant your champions more of your strength, and eclipse those that threaten us with your light."

The rough incantation caused the keys to shine as Zachary applied the enchantments of their gates upon them. Leo's body began to shimmer-- as starry light laced into his armor and white fur, appearing more celestial in nature. He roared with renewed power as it surged through him.

For Grizzly, his armor soon changed, the transformation giving him a newer armor shape that covered much more and increased his strneght more. As he charged forward, the vicious swipe of his claws cleaved through his enemies like a hot knife through butter.

Finally, with the key aimed high to Pegasus, the power of Stellar Evolution caused the horse's wings to glisten and shine with starry magic. His wings were almost that of the starry sky above him as he raised them high. "STAR SHOWER!!" he cried with a neigh and flapped his wings-- instead of a gale of wind, a barrage of star-shaped lights shot out towards the enemies. THe searing brilliant shooting stars flashed into the enemy-- and those that were hit were instantly dissolved into puffs of white smoke. While sturdy against physical attacks, they were more vulnerable to magics of some kind.

Zachary felt the strain to his magic, performing partial Stellar Evolutions on three spirits at once-- but he smiled at his accomplishment. While not as strong, his enhancements to them was enough to give them much needed energy and strength to help push the enemies back for now.

WC: 971

Through either excessive strength, Pegasus' stars that showered the street, and Leo's solar-empowered strikes, they were starting to make a dent in them. While they didn't show fear or pain in their attacks, they seemed to scurry around faster and slippier than before. They were in a sense into their defensive formation, and began to move away. Surging with starry might, Leo growled in irritation. "YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE!!" Ajani roared as he lunged high into the air. With a death-defying leap, he landed into the mess of them, swinging his polearm about-- but that wasn't his main move. His entire body began to surge with star-lit fiery fury. Solar magic pulsed outward as he arched back and roared. "REGULUS NOVA!!" A fiery, bright flash illuminated the street as if daylight had broken through the night. The blazing heat scorched the surrounding street and flash light upon the creatures.

Under the light of the sun-magic, the white creatures whithered, shrunk and burned away by the intense focused nova. Those caught became puffs of white smoke, vanishing all together from view.

As the light from Leo faded away, the hulking man-lion was the only thing standing, with yards of burn on the street around him and a few shops singed with the blaze he generated. What remained of the enemies, some slinked off or vanished in the same odd smoke. The lion slowly calmed down, the starry magic used to empower him fading away as most of Stellar Evolutions did when the fight ended.

Pegasus soon landed beside Zachary, and his wings returned to their normal white and sapphire hue-- as did Grizzly's armor faded back to its former state. With things now calm, Zachary let out a long held breath of relief. He had used a good bit of magic to maintain his enhancements on his summons, let alone to use Leo and the others as well. It was not the plan for his celebration. At leastt he got to eat to replenish some energy before he had to do this. He fell to the ground in a sitting position, cross-legged to the street without any issue. "Well, that is one way to end a party...In true Fairy Tail fashion..." Zachary sighed.

Pegasus let out a neigh as he looked around. Though the monsters were gone for the time, the horse was concerned by the state of the street-- and the people who now came out. While grateful to be rid of those mysterious invaders, they were distracted by the result of the fight. "Yes... true Fairy Tail fashon, right down to the overkill tactics... neeeigh..." the horse sighed.

Zachary looked up from where he was-- and saw the result of the summons he caused. Meteorite impacts from the shooting stars-- the torn up street from Grizzly's earthquake, and last but not least the bits of fire now lingering in the scorched street from Leo's Regulus Nova. A look of shock showed on Zachary's face, as the lion and bear looked to one another.

"Oops..." they both said almost in unison.

Whump! Zachary fell backwards onto the street, exhausted and now dreading the clear follow up of questions that would follow with the Rune Knights. "Great... I'm so screwed..." he groaned.

As Zachary reeled from the night's disaster, and the citizens of the bustling magic city recovered from the frightening monster attack-- a person hid among the crowd. A figure, cloaked completely in a black jacket and hood observed as many of the observers. His face was completely hidden as while everyone was fixated on the battle scene, he slipped away without anyone noticing him.

At that exact same time, another stranger also had watched the invasion of the white creatures. "Oooh, this is bad. I will have to keep searching..." the voice spoke. He wore another black cloak, but he was different. He appeared to be a small person, almost like a child. His black hood stood out-- with two round parts like a pair of ears. He looked over the city in concern, part of his face exposed as a small nose.

***

The events of that night were not pleasant following the strange monster attacks. Beyond merely paying for the dinner that was ruined, the Rune Knights came and Zachary was immediately brought in for witness interrogation. Since he was a Fairy Tail wizard, he got no short amount of scrutiny and suggested hints of his destruction -- even for the defense of the people who were being terrorized. One of them even suggested HE had conjured the creatures.

Zachary's answer to that was straight-out angry as he scolded them for being stupid that any wizard could summon a legion of those things, whatever they were. This went on for most of the night into the early morning, as Zachary would occasionally doze off while in holding. Eventually, they finally let him go-- as witnesses there did defend Zachary for fighting against the attack.

As he left the Knight's outpost in Rose garden, he went right back to the inn he was staying at and slept there till the afternoon. By then he felt rested enough to make something back on his day... but something still bothered him. The monsters, what they were, what they were after, and how did they just appear. The Knights had been patrolling the city, and magical enchantments kept creatures from the wilds out of Rose Garden-- so how could any sort of beast enter the city and in such numbers without cause or reason?

WC: 926

Zachary had rolled out of bed in his small inn room in the Lavander Inn-- a cozy place to rest that was close to the Rose Garden Square. He hadn't even had his pajamas on and had fallen asleep in his usual clothing to save his jacket. As he woke up, he looked beside him, finding his jacket piled next to him-- asleep inside it was Astral, curled up in it like a bird in a nest. The little star critter had a busy night and stayed up far later than Zachary would have allowed as he was stuck with the Knights. Most of his Spirits had returned to their world. With Zachary tired, they didn't want to strain his magic power further, even with their miniature forms. The only spirit there was Prof. Nyx, the white owl perched upon the desk chair of the room. She seemed asleep too, her head and wings tucked in as she clutched the chair below her.

Zachary smiled at them both, glad they had a good night-- while it lasted. Still, Zachary couldn't imagine why it all happened. It baffled him, and while not 'hired', he felt involved. The knights told him to return to his trip and not get involved... but he wasn't one to really listen to their advice. When he would fall into trouble, he would work his way to solve it. Like a Fairy Tail Wizard, he took it personally. The standards of the guild might have fallen-- he certainly would not.

After a moment of thought, Zachary picked up his Ilac and began to scroll through its info. Searching up summoning, Zachary tried to figure out something. These creatures must have come from somewhere. They were there one minute, in a swarm and they just appeared out of nowhere-- invading a city without even causing a ruckus up till that point. It was too sudden and too fast. That only meant one thing. They were summoned. The Knights probably had the same suspicion. Had Zachary's mother not been a member of the Royal Knights, they probably would have to grill him more since he likely had a profile with them saying he was mostly had no offenses prior to Fairy Tail. As he searched, he looked up for magic data on summoning and how to summon a mass of creatures like what happened last night. The trouble was, not only was there no record of what those white things were last night-- but the method to summon a whole swarm of beasts like that took a great deal of magic. High-level, raise the dead-level magic power with more magic that a single human could muster alone. Such a summoning in terms of magic wasn't possible.

As Zachary placed his Ilac on the bed-- he heard the hoot of Nyx stirring. "Please tell me you are not playing 'Angry Chocobos' again, Zachary..." the owl hooted. Zachary turned to see the owl stretch her wings. He smiled at his owl companion.

"Funny, Nyx..." Zachary said as he sat on his bed. He gave it a moment and turned to her. "Nyx, I need you to help me with something. Can you do a search? Ilac info isn't pulling up much on summoning techniques. I think those creatures that attacked last night was the act of a summoner, but there is no way a single wizard could summon that many of them. Could you do a search on summonings, and if anything comes up about those creatures last night?"

The owl flapped her wings softly. "That is a tall search order. May take me a while-- if I can find anything," the owl said kindly.

"That's fine. With any luck, maybe the knights may find something and we can go back to celebrating.. but till then, I'm gonna go look around town while you search. I may find something." Zachary explained.

"Okay now, but don't get yourself into trouble," Nyx said before she gave a soft flap of her wings-- and her form vanished to return to the celestial world.

As she left, Zachary reached over to his jacket and picked up Astral. Slowly, the star opened his eyes and yawned. At the sight of Zachary, the star chirped. Zachawy! Goowd Mowning! he squeaked in his head.

"Glad you had a good night too.." Zachary replied and held on to him. He put on his jacket and placed Astral in the hood in the back, a little pocket for the star to ride around in. With that, he took off to search the town.

WC: 764

Despite all the chaos and destruction of the monster attack caused in the market district, the city was still alive with energy, tourism, and magic. it was like it never happened as much of the city was not severely destroyed-- save for Zachary's use of Leo's magic to fry the monsters there. Everything was left to the knights, as they seemed to have more authority in things than others. Either way, he was able to travel the town without much issue and hardly any following trouble seemed to be around due to last night.

Zachary figured he would go and search around. Keep his ear to the ground and see if he could hear any news or find some clues. For the moment, he just was a regular tourist there-- unless a knight recognized him. Considering his attire with the jacket and the fairy tail logo on it, it wouldn't be that hard to spot him out. Reaching the square of the town, he found a food stand-- something that Astral insisted they go to. After getting the little star-shaped critter some cotton candy and a kabob for an actual meal, Zachary sat at the edge of a large fountain in the center of town. As he watched people go by for a bit, he didn't hear anything relevant to the attack beyond people's concern about how they were and how scared they were.

As Astral began to nibble on his cotton candy, Zachary realized it was time to try another approach. Taking out one of his keys, Zachary knew he couldn't blindly wander the streets-- and no way the knights would let him back in the same street to investigate. However, he simply needed a bird's eye view of the city to help him search for anything strange. While he could fly now thanks to the Arc of COsmos-- he would stand out to the knights flying around. Luckily, he knew a spirit who could fly about without rousing suspicion.

"Open-- Gate of the Eagle! Aquila," Zachary called out and swiftly slashed the key before him.

A flash of light appeared and the sound of a gong rang out-- and with a puff of smoke, Aquila appeared, softly flapping his wings. "Z! G-afternoon to you! Shame about the party last night, ya know? What's shaken your bacon?" the eagle yapped on, who had always been a loosely lipped bird.

Zachary rolled his eyes as Aquila yammered. "Focus, Aquila. We got a job to do today. " he said with a firm resolve. "Those monsters that attacked yesterday... I'd like you to fly above and keep an eye out for anything off. If you see them anywhere, suspicious people, anything out of the ordinary. I'll use my Stargazer eyes too to keep in touch with you and see what you see. That way too-- you can see the magic of others. "

"Ah-- that way i can see if anything out of the ordinary is clear, since looking for shady people in a city like this is like asking to find a needle in a haystack." the eagle said. "Fine-- I'ts a deal-- if you give me a yummy treat too." the eagle added, seeing Astral chowing on cotton candy.

Zachary sighed. "Fine, I'll buy you something after the flight, okay?" he said, "Now please-- It is important."

"Okay-okay, don't get your feathers ruffled, kid. Be back before you can say 'freebird'." the eagle cawed and took flight high above the city.

WC: 583

Aquila soared high into the sky and above the city, now to search for any signs from those creatures the previous night. To anyone looking, it looked like any other bird. However, one of the reasons Zachary appreciated the insight of his feathered friend was that Aquila had eagle eyes. He could see things with extreme detail, zoom in, and even see through through things like X-ray vision. The eagle allowed himself to glide easily on the upper heights of the city, and his eyes gently gazed over the cityscape. No matter how high he soared, he could see people clearly, objects and buildings with ease as if he was mere feet away.

After a few minutes, back in the square, Zachary took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He focused on the power inside him, reaching out to Aquila in the distance. With a definitive purpose, he opened his eyes-- the eyes transformed into black and starry corneas, his irises now as a nebula inside them. His sight zoomed forward beyond his sight-- and at that same time as Aquila gazed upon the city-- so too did the eagle's eyes change to a similar state and appearance.

In that split moment, Zachary saw what Aquila saw, sharing their vision together. To Aquila-- the sight of the city also 'exploded' into the same vision that Zachary had. In place of a city, he saw specks, stars, and shapes of constellations-- which represented magic and spirits. However, there was a flaw in this method.

"Uh... Zachary, hate to punch a hole in your plans but..." the eagle said as he looked down, seeing the entire city alight with many different colors. Rose Garden was a city FULL of magic, from items to people in the city. No matter where you looked, there were many hues of colors, lights, and energy that swirled and moved around from his height, even as he zoomed in. There was too much for him to see things from afar and was making the eagle dizzy to just focus on them. "The whole city is lit up like a freakin Christmas tree! Ya know, it would have been helpful if you saw them before with these peepers of yours. "

Zachary grumbled as he heard his eagle's words, the eyes connecting not just their vision but their hearing and words between them. "Sorry, Aquila-- you know I can't always control or use these eyes on command. They don't work like that..." he explained.

"Yeah-yeah, no worries," the eagle replied, "I'll leave the magic sensing to you, Z-boy!"

As Aquila looked using his own regular vision, Zachary kept track on the starry energy he saw from Aquila's viewpoint. While only limited to where Aquila looked, it was enough to get a better view. Slowly, Aquila flew over the street where the attack was. As he saw the knights, Zachary focused on the odd magic. It was a rainbow of colors there-- between people and objects there-- but he tried to go off feel. To focus on the energy and sensation each color gave. When he used it on Medusa, he didn't merely just sense her magic, but the quality it had. Its energy and its malevolence. It was like it revealed shades of their very spirit and soul. So in this case, Zachary hoped to find something that felt just as irksome or off.

For a while, they didn't see anything. Nothing on the streets or alleyways, even in the surrounding districts. The blur of colors didn't ring out anything of malicious, even making Zachary feel lost trying to sift through all the different energies he saw through his eagle companion. Having a bird's eye view with the eyes was far different than from a single viewpoint as Zachary usually had.


WC:635

Zachary breathed as he tried to make sense of things. After about fifteen minutes of searching, Zachary was so focused he didn't notice that Astral was starting to be a bit restless. The star creature would hover in front of Zachary, looking at him as he 'stargazed' into the void. One would think he was in a trance, but luckily no one paid him any mind off on their own events and business.

However, after a moment, Aquila zoomed in one of the alleyways that were adjacent to the attack scene-- and that was when he saw it. A short, mysterious figure cloaked in black. Even in the shadows, Aquila saw him. "Pssst! Raptor 1 to Zeta Leader," the eagle said with lame humor, "Boggie spotted at 1 O-clock. Definitely not garden variety subject here. Persuing target. "

Zachary blinked for a moment, allowing his Stargazer eyes to follow Aquila's vision once more. THe blink allowed him to see in the astral-sense, and he was able to see his magical, starry aura. His whole body seemed an unusual shade of multi-colored stars, meshed together like a peculiar nebula. He watched as he skulked around, trying to observe things from the safety of the alleys. The fact this person's aura was so strong, indicated that he wasn't some simple thug or something. TO have that much magic in him, meant he was likely potentially strong enough to summon that amount of creatures-- or close to have the skill to do it.

His eyes blinked once more-- and his regular blue eyes returned to normal, the starry trails at his tear ducks fading away. He opened his eyes to the sight of Astra up in his face. Zachawy... you there? he asked.

"Bah-- Astral!" Zachary said, almost falling back into the fountain from being startled by the star. With him recovered, Astral gave a soft flip in the air and smiled at him. However, Zachary didn't have much time. He returned his eyes there just for a moment, so he could communicate to Aquila. "Aquila-- keep an eye on him and let me know where he goes. We will try to corner him."

"One minor detail-- I don't think he is a human," the eagle spoke.

"Then what is he?" Zachary asked, taking a hold of Astral to put him in his hood.

"Can't say for sure... but he is the biggest snack I would love to snack on," the eagle joked.

Zachary rolled his eyes as he took off to try and went to try and find this stranger. "Honestly... sometimes you are as bad as Sirius..." he said and went to find this stranger.

Using Aquia's directions, he was able to tell where the target was going and on what street. Zachary walked at a rushed pace, trying to catch up to where Aquila was-- the eagle trying to keep an eye on the target and also direct Zachary where to go.

"The ally on your left-- no, my left!" the eagle squawked.

Frustrated following verbal directions, Zachary pulled into the alley, now off the main streets. He entered a straight run, trying to catch up. From Aquila's point of view, the target was moving at a steady pace, acting sneaky but not in a rush as he was examining the outside streets to try and search for something. That, however, gave them time to catch up. As Zachary now entered a clear run-- he snapped his eyes open to reveal his Stargazer eyes. Seeing through the walls, he spotted the starry mass that represented the target, moving towards him.

The short, robbed figure scurried down the alley, totally oblvious to being followed outside the cry of a distant eagle. However, as he slowly walked down the street to reach his next destination and was about to turn a corner--

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

Zachary's voice boomed as he looked right at the robed stranger. However, the robbed figure with the large ears jumped at the sudden outburst and surprise. "Going somewhere? Interesting how you were hovering around the monster attack site, hm?" Zachary asked.

The smaller person with the cloak looked alarmed that he was approached like this, in fact a 'squeak' of some kind escaping him. "Oh, excuse me? I am not sure what you are talking about? Can I help you with something?" he said to Zachary, startled by him-- his voice oddly sounding non-threatening.

"Ha! Don't play dumb with us!" Aquila cried. The Eagle soon dipped into the allyway to block the robed figure from behind. "I saw you slinking around looking around. Now talk-- or does the name Prometheus ring a bell to you?" the eagle said with another silly pun referring to him being the one who tormented the titan.

Despite Zachary's roll of his eyes, he kept on the stranger. "We know you were skulking around the monster attack-- were you responsible summoning them?! I know for a fact you have strong magic-- possibly one who could summon those things." Zachary pressed for more information.

Alarmed, the small robbed creature held out his hands in protest, his hands gloved black too. "N-No! I would never attack people! Please, this is all just one big misunderstanding?" he insisted with a pleading tone.

"Then why were you sneaking around? Afraid if the knights or a Fairy Tail Wizard spots you?" Zachary countered.

"Um... I , mean... that is to say..." the figure stammered... but in that instant it was all it took. Swift, the round-eared figure jumped and sprinted rightt for Zachary-- and slipped right past him to his left.

"H-HEY!" Zachary gasped, seeing the creature make a run for it. "Get back here, you dirty rat!!"

In that instant, as he ran, something flashed from his hand. Though too fast and too quick to tell-- it looked like a Requip spell as he struck some nearby boxes next to the alley wall-- and used it to knock them down, keeping Zachary from following to try and trip him up.

Luckily, Aquila was quick to chase him as he took off flying again. The eagle wouldn't have any trouble following him, but catching him was another story. "Aquila-- use your Breeze Blades to try and block his path if you can." Zachary urged as the eagle chased after him.

While Zachary had been slowed by the crumbled boxes and block in his path, he took the time to reach into his shirt and pulled out the cord around his neck-- revealing the golden key of Leo. "OPEN-- Gate of the Lion!" Zachary shouted and raised it high. "LEO!"

Celestial light shined from the key, and from a starry rift-- emerged the white lion Leo once again. He knelt on the ground and slowly rose to full height. "Zachary... What's happening?" he asked sternly.

"We found someone who was suspicious from the monster attack. He is on the run and Aquila is giving chase. Think you can help us catch him?" Zachary asked, pointing to the direction down the alley where they ran-- now long out of site.

Leo paused as he took a second to listen and looked up to the air. He could hear Aquila's cry and wind blasts nearby. "I'm on it," he growled and knelt down. The giant lion suddenly leapt up onto the bricked walls of the alley and scaled it upward. Using his sharp claws to dig into the stone and into whatever small footholds he found, he easily climbed up the walls and reached the roof-- where he would begin to chase the target down as well...

WC: 1269

Aquila gave chase just above where the buildings and tossed Wind Blades down upon the cloaked stranger. The wind blades were aimed at places in front of him, hoping to trip him up or block off alternate escape paths as the alley would split into two paths. However, whenever one would get too close to the target-- the strange light from him would create an odd weapon that he would use to divert the blade strike. As the eagle gave chase and Zachary struggled to catch up through the alleyway, Leo was the one moving into the right position.

Having reached onto the roof, like an agile jungle cat, he easily reached the rooftops and began to chase after Aquila-- as he could clearly see him from there. Moving to all fours, the lion easily sprinted across the roof and jumped with ease, never losing speed or momentum. Seeing where Aquila was flying, he could see the path of the alley-- and where to go to get ahead of them. Both spirits were far faster and capable physically than their summoner was at that point.

After about a minute of running, the cloaked figure continued to run-- soon spotting the exit to the street several meters ahead. He would rush to get there and possibly get lost in the crowd, even if it meant exposing himself to the public-- however, he didn't get that far.

A mighty roar rang in the air as Leo struck and jumped down from the rooftop. With an agile leap, he came down with a dynamic, almost super-hero like landing. Leo landed square in front of the smaller target, glaring at him with deadly anger like that of a true predator.

"YIKES!! " the suspect squeaked and turned to run in the other direction. However, that very instant Leo reached forward and grabbed him by the back of his coat. With a firm tug, Leo pulled up, effectively lifting the smaller person up and now prone in his grip.

Aquila flew in place, now relieved the chase was over but scoffed at Leo as he held the small, cloaked figure as easily as it was to hold a disobedient child by his shirt. "Show-off!" he scoffed to the lion, but Leo ignored the eagle.

It took Zachary a minute to catch up, following the target and Aquila's path of destruction and debris. As he arrived, he saw Leo now holding the smaller target up by the jacket. With Zachary there, Leo took the liberty of reaching up and removed the hood of the small creature they captured.

He struggled as the creature was in fact a rather odd, almost 'adorable' mouse creature! The snout to his big round ears made him unmistakably mouse-like. It explained his 'size' and how swift he could be like real mice-- though Zachary had never seen a sentient or an anthro-mouse before. "Put me down! This is very rude, you know!" he replied, his tone though almost light-hearted.

"A mouse, huh?" Aquila commented, "I knew he looked tasty."

"Knock it off, Aquila," Zachary said, trying to brush the bird away.

"Hey! You're the one who held the party that got interrupted half-way through!"

Leo grunted as the eagle bickered, too comical for his taste. Yet as he was idle, his grip was solid on the mouse's coat. "You-- tell us, were you responsible for the monster attack last night? The white creatures that appeared out of nowhere. It was you that summoned them, wasn't it?" Leo asked, but adding a bit of implication to pressure the creature.

The mouse's eyes went wide with alarm. "What?! No-- never! I would never do anything like that! Many people could have been hurt. I would never do something that dangerous? " the mouse insisted, sounding hurt that they would accuse him of that. "In fact I am --" The mouse stopped talking, looking about a bit nervously at the three of them.

That loose lipped comment was enough to make Zachary suspcious even more. "Give it a rest, rat. We know you are involved in this-- so quit playing dumb," Zachary sneered.

"I am not a rat! I'm a mouse!" he shouted, kicking in the air as Leo held him.

WC:708

Zachary felt there was more to this mouse than meet the eye-- even for his eyes. As he looked with his Stargazer eyes, even though his control of it was not great, he could see the mouse's aura. It's magic was clearly nothing like Earthland, or rather it was something unusual and not unlike this world. However, his mannerism was indeed non-threatening, which made him likely not a threat. But still, his actions did warrant suspicion. "Look, we are investigating the strange monsters that appeared. I was there. And it is odd how you keep lurking at the same place. Even evading the knights, so what is your deal? What do you know? " he asked the mouse.

Leo never let go and his arm didn't tire as he held the mouse by the coat. The mouse wasn't very sure to talk as he glanced away, unwilling to share it. "Please, I mean no harm. In fact I am trying to figure this mess out myself. I need to find the one who control the nobo--!!" The mouse gasped, and covered his hands over his mouth.

He knew it. The guy was holding out on them.

"Enough games," Leo growled, "Even if you are not responsible for the attack, you clearly know more about it than you are telling us."

The mouse looked nervous, but hung there limp. "I'm sorry... but I just cannot say. " he said.

Zachary's frowned as he gritted his teeth. He gave a thought, but then had a fun idea how to get the mouse to talk. "Hey, Leo-- you hungry? " he said with a clear hint in his tone.

The lion's expression rose with surprise, the anthro lion not catching on till he glanced at the mouse, and soon got the hint. Though not the lion's style, he played along. "Hmm... I haven't had a meal in a while, and it's been ages since I had such a plump one," he hinted in a similar tone. It was then that the mouse's eyes went wide as he was lifted higher and got a good look of Leo's maw and sharp teeth beside him.

Me-too! Me-too!" Aquila cawed, joining in on the trolling. "Save me some good parts!"

"Whoh-whoh! Hold on! Okay-okay! Sorry, I'll talk! I'll talk!" the mouse squealed in a panic, kicking his feet to try and break free. Naturally, Leo not about to torment him further, pulled him away but still held him up. "Gosh. Don't you think that is a little mean, even for a giant cat? But I swear, I am not responsible for those creatures. I merely am following their trail."

Zachary felt his suspicions subside more, even now as his eyes returned to normal-- having been unseen by the mouse. "You know, I think he may very well be telling the truth. I mean, let's face it, saying "gosh" doesn't really encourage that of a sinister character."

Aquila looked to his human partner with a glare. "That's what you're basing this on?" the eagle cawed.

The human boy turned to the mouse. "If I have Leo put you down, will you promise to be honest with us-- and not to run away?" he asked.

"I won't! I promise," the mouse said.

As Zachary gave a gesture for the Lion, Leo gave a mild growl but obeyed and lowered the mouse back to the ground. He hopped down as Leo let go and the mouse bounced to his feet. He brushed off his black cloak as he soon looked up to Zachary and his spirits. "Thank you. I am sorry for not saying, but the mission and there are details I just cannot share, but I will share with you what I can. " the mouse said.

"Why don't we start with your name?" Zachary asked.

The mouse hopped up to Zachary with a cheerful smile on its face. "Oh! It's Mickey! Nice to meet ya!" the mouse said with a friendly extension of his hand.

THough Leo still was stoic and on guard, Zachary felt more at ease as he reached down and accepted the handshake from the mouse. "I'm Zachary. Thank you," he said and pointed to his spirits. "This is Aquila, and Leo."

With the tension now gone from the atmosphere, Astral finally peeked out from the hiding place behind Zachary, in the hood of his jacket. The little star critter poked his head and saw Mickey. Curious, the little star floated out and towards the mouse, who's head went up in surprise to see the floating cute, creature above him. "Almost forgot-- that is Astral," Zachary added with a laugh.

"Oh-- Hello there," Mickey said with a friendly wave.

The wave was all the encouragement that Astral needed as he gave a friendly squeak. Yay! New fwiend! the star chirped and fluttered around Mickey with enthusiasm.

Aquila let out a soft caw as he found a perch on Zachary's shoulder to rest his tired wings. "Well now I'm convinced," the bird replied sarcastically, making Zachary roll his eyes.

WC: 845

Astral fluttered happily around Mickey as the mouse took an interest. Still, the doubts that this mouse was some sort of crazy summoner capable of attacking a town pretty much vanished. Still, there were questions needing answers and Mickey seemed to know more than what they knew.

"Excuse me," Zachary said, "I don't mean to be rude, but can we please discuss those things that attacked the town and why you are after them."

Mickey stopped looking at Astral and turned to Zachary and his spirits. He now seemed cautious as he looked behind Leo to the street-- and the people walking by beyond the alley. "Okay... I will tell you," he said, but aware of the people, "But not here. Let's find someplace more private."

Zachary shrugged and allowed Mickey to lead. Still, Leo kept a close eye on him, as did Aquila. Though it didn't stop Astral from following Mickey with glee. The mouse led them down the alleyway once more, where they were chased. It took some time, but they soon reached another area...

The group soon found an isolated area. A small 'garden' nestled between an alley section where one could freely move around, the sunlight able to shine in the space. Vines grew out from garden patches and through the cracks in the cobblestone floor and up the walls. A small water fountain sprout out from the wall, with reliefs of ancient creatures in them and the water spilling out.

Feeling more comfortable and looking around, Mickey relaxed and turned to Zachary and his spirits. "Okay, this place is safe enough I think. " Mickey said as he greeted the others.

Now in Familiar form, Aquila sat on a nearby relief and Leo leaned against a wall adjacent to the garden. Zachary sat at the base of the water fountain and looked to Mickey. "Okay, so I do believe you-- that you are not the one who summoned those beasts. But they were complete unknowns. Who or what were those creatures? It took a great deal of magic to even make them flinch and even more to defeat them." Zachary asked.

Mickey hestated a bit, but that soon ended when Astral landed on Mickey's head. The mouse was a bit surprised by the creature between his large ears, but all he did was snuggle against the mouse. Still, he told them what he knew. "Those creatures are called Nobodies. They are animated vessels of former people."

That news shocked Zachary, his expression obvious to hear that they were 'people'. "W-what? Former people? "

WC: 429

The shock of that the creatures were once former people made Zachary a bit nervous. The implications were dangerous as what these creatures unchecked could do. "What are you trying to say? That they are zombies or something?" Zachary asked, his mind already racing. They certainly didn't appear like the undead and if they did, more people would of added to their numbers. "Would being attacked by these things turn them into the same type of creature? "

Mickey however rose his hands and waved them. "No-no! Nothing like that. Calm down," the mouse said and Zachary calmed down with his denial of the question. "This is gonna take some explaining, but I will do what I can. Nobodies are the remains of people who have lost their hearts. As what I meant by being former people-- they are the result of what happens when someone's heart is lost or removed. They become shells of their former selves, or even completely unidentifiable. "

Mickey's example made things a bit more clear for Zachary. As he spoke, Astral atop his head just looked on, the words clearly going over the little guy's head. Ooooh? he chirped in telepathy.

Leo remained quiet and listened in his 'brooding, intimidating' demeanor against the stone wall. He didn't doubt or believe the mouse completely, but what he said made sense.

Zachary gave it serious thought as he recalled the creatures. "So they are essencially like living dolls, missing their mind and souls... but wait," Zachary mentioned, "If what you say is true, why did they even attack at all. If they are missing their 'heart' , either metaphorically or physically, why would they be running around attacking the town?" he asked.

Mickey looked nervous about that question. "Well, there is only so much I can elaborate on, but..." the mouse kicked his feet in the air a bit as he thought how to word his thoughts. "Normally, these creatures would be like you say. Nobodies-- creatures without will, drive, or motive. However, some Nobodies can become sentient and self aware. Those with strong enough wills can regain their memories and even their human form. These nobodies can control and direct lesser nobodies like an army and can summon them at whim." he said.

The Fairy Tail Wizard's eyes widened with realization. "So I was right. They were summoned by someone... er 'no-one'? " Zachary corrected, presuming the culprit was another 'Nobody'. "Then that means the person responcible for the attack is controlling them, and if I presume correctly, that is the person you are looking for."

"That's right!" Mickey replied with an excited nod, causing Astral to float up from the momentum and do a small flip in the air.

As Astral regained his aerial barrings, Aquila flew beside the little creature. "Careful, Zachary-- Don't just assume! " the bird replied, "It will make an ass out of us." Aquila flapped rather close to Mickey with distrusting eyes. "You're still hiding something mouse-boy! Spill or I'll pull a Prometheus meal out of you, ya get what I'm saying?" the bird squacked.

Zachary sighed as he saw Mickey look nervously at the bird. "Give it a rest, Aquila. If he really wanted to mess with us, he could of ran off a long time ago. His story makes sense really..." Zachary said to defend the nervous mouse.

"Should we choose to believe you," Leo interrupted, his stern and powerful voice breaking Aquila's annoying antics, "That means you intend to find the controller of these 'nobodies', and they are likely among us in this town."

"That's right--I been following them here. The organization is--" Mickey suddenly gasped and grasped his mouth for letting that word slip. The "organization".

"A-HA! Caught you red-pawed!" the eagle trolled on to the mouse, causing the little guy to get a bit nervous. "So rat it out already!"

"I told you, I'm a mouse!" Mickey replied, offended and not getting the term of 'rat' as the eagle said.

"Cool it, Aquila!" Zachary said firmly, now being more authoritarian to his spirit. "I'm sending you back to the Spirit World if you can't behave yourself."

"Aww... alright, alright-- Sorry! I was just trying to play good-bird, angry-bird," the eagle cawed and soared back to his perch.

A sigh escaped Zachary as he looked to Mickey. "I'm really sorry about that. Aquila is a bit... mouthy than he intends to be," Zachary apologized with a bow of his head to the smaller creature.

Luckily, the mouse didn't mind and smiled to Zachary. "Gosh, don't worry about it," he replied kindly, "I have a friend who is similar, with a much more shorter temper to boot." the mouse rolled his eyes at the comment.

Being the more serious and level-headed spirit, Leo brought back up the topic. "You mentioned an 'organization'. Could you explain?" the white lion asked, "Are there more here than what you suggest?"

The mouse hummed but soon spoke up. "As I said, some Nobodies can retain their memories and even their human forms that control the others. A number of them became a nefarious group. " the mouse explained. "They call themselves 'Organization XIII". Their true purpose is shrouded in mystery, but I know they been seeking the 'light of people's hearts'. Anyway... I learned they came here, so my friends and I went on a journey to find them and stop them from hurting other people. You can guess they do not care for the welfare of others to achieve their goals. "

WC: 923

Mickey's explanation indeed sounded dire. If these Nobodies were around and attacking people who were controlling them from a dangerous game-- then there was only one thing Zachary could think to do. Rising up from his perch, Zachary approached Mickey calmly. "Mickey-- why don't we help each other out?" Zachary offered, reaching a hand down to him, which surprised the mouse dressed in black.

G-gosh, really?" Mickey squeaked.

Astral flew aside Zachary and beamed with a cheerful smile. Zachawy nice! Mickey nice! We be nice togethew! Aye! he cheered in telepathy for them all to hear.

"The way I see it, you need help getting around and we can do our share to fight them. Let us help you, Mickey. If those things are a threat to us, you can bet we are on the same side-- so we should team up and help one another. Right?" he said with a smile, filled with kindness and optimism. "After all-- we can't just sit aside and do nothing, regardless what the knights say. "

Mickey seemed a bit unsure as he stood up. "Are you sure? It could be dangerous." he asked out of concern.

"Dangerous?" Zachary wanted to laugh out of confidence he had in his abilities and himself, "I'm a Fairy Tail Wizard! Dangerous is what we do!" he proclaimed proudly.

A smile came to the mouse as he reached out and shook his hand. "Okay. Thank you, Zachary!"

Aye-aye! Heehehe! Astral giggled, flying joyful circles around the two of them.

To BE CONTINUED...

WC: 255
TWC: 11,295