The night was still relatively young, a fresh evening breeze dancing through the streets of Magnolia, undoubtedly to the enjoyment of its inhabitants. Still, there was more to this day, and indeed, to this night, the streets of this normally so quiet and peaceful city lit up with flashing and glowing neon colors, all while heavy sounds of electronic music and bass echoed through crowds of people dressed in Cyberpunk attire, essentially turning all of Magnolia and its streets into a single, gigantic rave party. Taylor wondered what could have inspired this particular festivity. Was it a cultural tradition that the people of Fiore would partake in every year? Was it a special occasion? Or did it simply develop out of opportunity and circumstance? All of these were plausible possibilities, but it was likely that she wouldn't get a definitive answer to her question, so all that would be left to her was to keep theorizing and asking questions without explanations. Still, the girl would remain curious. Every last one of the people that partook in this festivity was a person with experiences to share and viewpoints to understand. If she herself would partake in this, then of course, she was bound to learn something, was she not? The ever-curious mage from Bellum couldn't help herself.
Taylor, or rather, Freya Akerley, who was now an official guild mage in Fiore and went by this alias, had been gone from her home and family for a short while now, a few weeks, perhaps. So far she had heard nothing from them, which was a good sign. Everyone had held it together and kept their mouths shut, meaning that she could trust those that she had involved in her plans, a fact that was a pleasant surprise, really. She had honestly expected her plans to fail, her parents to catch onto them or ruin them in some other way, or alternatively, find her and use their political standing to bring her home not long after she'd escaped. Honestly, even this latter scenario, it would've still been worth it. She finally got to leave the confines of her conceptual golden cage and could see, could experience what the world was really like first-hand, not just stories she would hear from people or the things she read in books. Every day was a new surprise, a new series of fascinating discoveries, and even though the girl that now went by the alias of Taylor was, in many senses of the word, overwhelmed, there was no end to the continued intrigue with her new surroundings. So, of course, it would happen that the girl had found her way into the midst of this party, the redecorated city of Magnolia serving as yet another playing field for her to explore as she maneuvered through the crowds of eccentrically dressed people, who readily enjoyed their night out to its fullest.
Naturally, the fair-haired girl of Fairy Tail was here to partake in some of these activities, as well. Some of them, at least. Deducing that some of the stalls offered alcohol in a variety of forms that, while admittedly intriguing, seemed equally eccentric to the rest of this event, she knew that this wasn't her kind of thing. She disliked alcohol, and while she wasn't inclined to abstain from it entirely, cocktails and shots, which seemed to be the mainstay of many menus here, were decidedly too strong for her. The very distinct flavor and the pungent smell of alcohol made it practically undrinkable for the girl, who seemed sensitive to those particular things, in bigger doses as opposed to most of the partygoers, many readily indulging in ungodly amounts of the intoxicating stuff. Either way, she was sure that there were other things to enjoy. Things that stood out to the girl were massive crowds that seemed to gather at every corner. Some were listening to creative DJs remix their favorite songs, the constant and seemingly ever-present thuds of heavy bass a feeling in Taylor's chest that she couldn't get rid of, and, she was sure, neither could all the other people around her, others had formed circles with some room in their middle, where contestants of various levels of either intoxication or eccentricity seemed to compare their skills in dance-offs. Regardless of the activities, the crowd, in general, appeared to enjoy them greatly, readily participating in all manners of wild, loud, and perhaps most importantly, fun things that, Taylor was sure, were only part planned and part improvised.
"'Ey, lil' Miss!", a voice would ring out from Taylor's right side, the girl turning her head and, through her glasses, staring at the origin of the call. A tall man with friendly features and brown hair, half-hidden under a strange piece of glowing headwear that flashed with neon hues, seemed to wave at her, the girl pointing a finger at herself questioningly. He was stood atop a small pedestal that had been set up and raised a platform some inches off the ground, something the girl definitively recognized as drums set up beside him. "Yeah, you! We just finished setting up these paint drums. Do you wanna try it?", the man would grin at her, pointing at the instrument to his immediate side. Taylor tilted her head curiously, admittedly surprised, though her seemingly insatiable curiosity would instantly take control, resulting in the girl turning towards the fellow and his instruments before getting closer. "What are paint drums?", the girl asked, eyeing the instrument. Well, it was clear that they were drums tat involved paint, that much anyone would've been able to gather from the context, though how exactly they functioned were beyond her. "First time at an event like this, eh? No worries, I'll show you, lil' Miss". Without hesitation, the man would grab a drumstick before spinning it in his hand, and, in one swift and powerful motion, would bring it down on the drum. The sound and noise were expected, but the resulting explosion of paint was something that Taylor had not anticipated, a small "Ohhhh!" involuntarily escaping her lips. Was this some kind of magical construct? Or was it simply a cleverly designed device meant to entertain partygoers? "Do you wanna try it?", the man asked her through her obvious awe. The girl wouldn't have to think about the man's offer for long, nodding her head in excitement. The man stepped away from the drum with an inviting gesture, the girl eager to ascend the pedestal and try it for herself.
The man would readily hand her the drum sticks, Taylor taking her position behind the instrument. Of course, she had to consider the fact that she would inevitably be splattered with neon paint of all sorts of colors and probably end up in one healthy shade of rainbow, but it would be worth the experience, wouldn't it? Clothing could be replaced, paint could be washed off, but an experience would stay an experience forever. So, the girl set down the drumsticks against the instrument, preparing herself to play it and raising them up with the intent of smacking them down into the drums with full-force for maximum levels of paint explosion.
It seemed that fate had different plans, though.
Within the fraction of a second, Taylor's lightning fast senses would pick up the incoming threat, a pillar of pink flame erupting where she had stood just a moment earlier as she swiftly dodged, dashing out of the billowing smoke that followed the attack. It was safe to say that the drums were now thoroughly destroyed, as were her hopes to experience a new thing and discover it for herself, a fact that annoyed the young guild mage. Her head whipped around and scanned the crowd. Spotting the source of the tumult wasn't difficult. Civilians were in panic, running from the group of people that walked through the street ahead of her and came closer, the sound of glass breaking, wood and metal cracking, as well as screams of fear coming from their direction. "Citizens of Magnolia,-" a voice would ring out, echoing through the hysteria, "-this even has been transpiring for too long. We, PL4GUE, have been robbed of our perfect party. Indeed, it is offensive that you would misuse our plans by stealing them for yourselves. This is why we have come to take our revenge! Go forth, my brethren! Ruin this night!".
So much for fun. Taylor was curious about the things that the man, who she assumed to be their leader, was spouting so boastfully and the motivations behind his words, and indeed, his actions, but she didn't understand why their suddenly decided to attack this event. Something had been stolen from them? Was that a reason to attack random people and their property simply because they wanted to enjoy their night? No, she didn't think so. Regardless of the circumstances, this was in no way acceptable behavior. She had to put an end to this. Not to mention that this man had annoyed her personally, as well.
With no hesitation, Taylor would draw the sword that she carried at her side at almost all times, the metallic hum of a blade filling the air around her before, with a subtle glow, the magic would manifest around the weapon. Magical energy would flow through the girl's body and into her magic circuits, light blue, mechanical lines tracing across her skin before, as if a switch had been flipped, activating them. With the crackle of electricity, arcs of lightning began to dance around and across her body as well as her weapon, Taylor feeling the power of her circuits rush through her like adrenaline. Though she had expended a good portion of her Mana in this one instant, the power-up that it gave her was nothing to scoff at. Now, with the burst of magic radiating from her, it seemed like the leader had finally noticed her, a smirk spreading across the Cyberpunk samurai's face as he would point his blade towards her in a martial stance. "Ah, finally, an opponent. Have you come to stop me, my dear? I'm afraid I must disappoint you, then. My swordsmanship is-". The man wouldn't get to finish his sentence. With the low rumble of thunder, Taylor had moved with the speed of a lightning strike, entirely too fast for him to even perceive. Her attack, of course, was delivered at the same speed, pressing her index and middle finger against the other's forehead with any chance for him to react.
"Taser", she would speak with a neutral, objective tone, the magical command unloading a massive shock of sparking electricity into her opponent, arcs zapping across his tensing body that, without delay, would drop to the floor as he was knocked out cold, his arms and legs continuing to twitch for a few more seconds. "Hey! The boss is in trouble!", another of the group would say, his body entirely covered in strange armor, with a speaker embedded in the chest piece. Several others, who shared the look, would turn towards Taylor, readying a coordinated attack. Swiftly, she scanned her surroundings before, with another rumble, moving at insane speeds once more, dispatching the rest of them in the same manner as she had their leader without incurring a single scratch or expending a considerable amount of effort. Her circles could, if they would give her the opportunity, not only make her entirely too swift to ever fight in any effective manner, she could also generate potentially infinite electrical energy. The voltage required to deal with these ones was miniscule when compared to her actual magical talents. A few of the group seemed not human, and indeed had forms that appeared to be elementals of strange composition, though these were similarly quickly eliminated with a few precise strikes of her weapon, before, after only a few moments, the entire group had been defeated. Well, safe for a girl, it seemed, but she seemed too busy with her iLac to notice what was even going on. It didn't matter, the Rune Knights would probably take her away along with the rest of them. For now, though, Taylor would take a deep breath, her magic circuits powering down, the glowing lines on her skin fading away as she sheathed Blitz once more.
She looked around. The streets where this little incident had occurred were partially trashed and now entirely devoid of any people. She sighed. So much for an interesting time.
Word Count: 2,085
