Beach Filler Episode (OPEN)

[Gildarts]

Dream Sequence in spoiler tag!

Omni's Forgotten Toy, A Nightmare

Inspired by Tearen's prompt -

'What would your Prime do if they were suddenly booted back into their homeworld, right where they left off, exactly as they are (powers, memories) in the OV?' (Quick dream answer edition!) small side note Gil's character has just changed notably because of his obliviousness taken out, so he can have monologues that make sense and isn't as oblivious.

PS slight FT spoilers.

[spoiler]

Gildarts had fallen asleep on the beach in the Vasty Deeps, his eyes shaded both by sunglasses and a silly looking beach hat that the brawny warmage wore quite well, all things considered. It felt natural, like the dream was real. Though this was the first time he'd slept with his mind so clear in his entire life, that had to be the reason for the dream's lucidity. Yes, that alone had to be it.

He was catching up on his Z's and for some reason, he heard Molly's familiar giggle frolicking over the dunes, caught by the ocean breeze and mingling with the roar of crashing waves. His senses hummed with the scent of the ocean, the layered feel of the breeze with the warmth of the sun sizzling his skin. The dream was lucid, or wasn't a dream at all.

He fell asleep to that laughter in the "dream," it belonged to Molly, his pseudo-daughter of the Omniverse's Ambrosia and awoke at the island of Tenrou, back home in Earthland.

Above him, a colossal dragon loomed with the size and merciless vehemence of a hurricane, meanwhile all his guild mates channeling magic, hand in hand. Begging for their lives. Their expressions desperate and yet, also full of love, compassion, and hope.

The beastly dragon swirled dauntingly above. Aconologia. The one of his nightmares. The one that made his two empty limbsockets raw with throbbing pain the moment he had looked up to see the swooping umbra darkness its black wings cast. This dragon was responsible for that pain, and the agony of the physical therapy that followed, and on top of that, the constant pain Gildarts felt every time he sent his magic through his false limbs. He usually tuned it out, forced it from his mind, rejecting the pain that was not worthy if sourced by a beast more devastating than Gildarts himself. Yet now he was again looking at the beast who had cost him an arm and a leg, stolen a valuable fragment of his sanity, and now would stand to murder most of his guild.

"Tch. No. I refuse. I refuse to believe that it's over here and now. I won't lay down and allow your lives to end. I can't. I believe in Fairy Tail and my own strength. I am Gildarts Clive and we as a guild are stronger than you know, together when we unite I will convict this dragon with my own magic, and I need you all to stand with me. Fight with me so that we not only win but we survive and rid this world of that monster. This dragon never deserves to triumph, his curse began as a blight, then massacred continents as he spread like an epidemic plague. I will not become one of his victims, and if I'm anyone who you ever believed in, you'll know my words carry truth. That I'll never allow you to fall at the hands of such an evil beast. No... Never again."

He had relived that torment all too long. Since his first arrival in the Nexus. He had filled in that empty, missing puzzle piece. Knowing they had died. Having to live with that. All of them slaughtered without him there to stop it. In the three-way battle of magic miracles, verses his own vanity, verses the logic he knew to be true, for Gil had battled Aconologia and had been slain. He. The strongest mage. It was hard to hope for the impossible outcome to win when logic and vanity played with one another so well against the logic of miracles. Hard, but not impossible. Still, his mind bore eternal witness as he was cursed to theorize the ending to the story he'd been torn from.

Gildarts delivered his speech with striking execution, something he'd lacked previously and in turn had always needed to resort to force. His guildmates seemed to gape in awe but their hearts united and he could feel his magic growing. Cana was here. She was alive. Looking at her father with sheer starry-eyed wonder and tears in her eyes. He'd lit a flame of hope in them all.

"I now know what must be done. Nastu. Stand with me. Only a dragon slayer can defeat this dragon in this world, Earthland." They were perplexed, he spoke as though he had traveled to a place like Edolas. Gildarts was no Planeswalker, though this truth would have explained more than couple of things.

Gildarts extended his hand to Natsu and a flash of light appeared, merging the two men together into one approximately thirty year old, buff, shirtless man with Natsu's classic checkered scarf, paired with both wizard's Fairy Tail signals, one midnight blue on the fused being's chest, the other pink along the fused wizard's organic army. The other was covered in a steel gauntlet. While Natsu felt the power he's wielded within him surge with destruction, he also heard Gildarts' guiding, wise voice.

Steering the unleashing aura of power Gildarts has activated as his Tier Two power up which blast the ground below him to bits, Gildarts' mindful advice acted as a steady hand.

"Do not be afraid of this power. I can control it so much better than I used to once before. Natsu, we will power our magic together to make crash-fire dragon slayer magic and we will unleash everything we have into him. The guild is channeling their magic to us. This will be enough. You saw how powerful I was when we battled, this power is within us now. A part of you also saw how strong you could become. Someday you will surpass even me. But for now we've combined and I need you to believe that we can slay this dragon. I was close when I tried it before, but I didn't have the one thing I lacked, dragon slayer magic. This is the only way. This is how we save not only Fairy Tail, but the entirety of Earthland. Do you understand? I am controlling the unyielding power from my magic. You need not hold back. The guild is safe. We must fight to live, if only for them. Understand, son?"

"Gildarts..." he spoke with the the fused Gildarts-Natsu's lips. The boy nodded bravely, if only courage was enough, "Let's do this."

Gildarts coordinated the movements, jumping high into the air, stepping on pockets of gravity as the epitome of the combined wizards' powers were finally being used to their full potential.

Finally they stood before the Dragon of Death, square in the face as blue light charged in its mouth, recognizing the thread before him. But, it would never get to finish.

"It doesn't even deserve a countdown," Gildarts spat as he extended his hand, a magic seal forming in divine light and holy gold. "Yet it still breathes. That will be one thing to end."

Countdown? Natsu was confused but trusted the silver hand extended before him. It was his and yet he was not alone in this form. A hand he shared with magic. Fusions felt kind of squishy since he was inside, yet, the hand remained extended as though by another brain and light poured between the fused dragon slaying warmage and the dragon of death.

The question remained, who would survive?

"Three..." Gilsu's voice growled together.

"Two..." the super mage's teeth bared.

"One... FAIRY LAW AND ROAR OF THE CRASH-FLAME DRAGON !!!!!!"

There was black.

The question remained. Which monster would be the one to die?

As much as I like tragedies, and embodying them and giving them meaning in my writing, I'm a sap for a happy ending. Someday I hope for his.

Also I included it in the beach thread instead of astral because RELEVANCE! (it's where he fell asleep)

[/spoiler]


As Gildarts awoke with a start, his shade-covered eyes swept the beach as his single arm gripped the gritty sand and clasped it until it was mush. All was normal, the warm sun beat down on his skin, and yet the mage had goosebumps from what he'd just witnessed... Experienced... Dreamt.

The question remained... Had Gilsu's/Nadarts' Dragon Roar combined with Fairy Tail's strongest ancient spell (Fairy Law) been enough? It was agonizing, for Gildarts would never know. His stomach crunched with the nausea of fright... And a mixture of something... More.

Gildarts wiggled his body to life, unsure if even his Omniverse experience was a dream in the end, or a nightmare. As his gaze followed the extensive mountain range of sand, otherwise known as a beach and a spark of recognition fell on someone who was wearing swim trunks. The chocolate-skinned man was unmistakable for the aura he cast.

Tearen.

Gildarts stood, unsure quite how to approach yet the sense his singular foot lead him there anyway, never one to deliberate. Soon the distance had closed between the two formidable Primes. The crash mage hadn't expected to rendezvous with the god-mind so quickly. But Gildarts was here, and so was Tearen. His riv-ally.

Gildarts extended his hand in a shake and was met with the hand not holding the cone of ice cream. Gil hadn't meant to intrude, but such trivialities had never truly occurred to the crash wizard and perhaps, never would.

"Tearen. You haven't changed a bit," Gildarts amicably spoke with a smidge of humor added in there.

It wasn't 'witty' but Gildarts was only rediscovering that part of him again. "I see you still haven't showered," Tearen appraised, bantering back.

"You're as observant as ever," Gildarts challenged him with a compliment. Playful, yet was delivered with a sharp competitive edge. Tearen could taste the metaphorical blood.

"Moreso than you realize... I'm deeply sorry about your daughter," the man pushed up the sunglasses sliding off the bridge of his nose. Ending the layers of fluffy amusement.

He'd heard the unwanted noise from a passing secondary who had watched the strip of film on their tablet. That one moment of Gildarts' life did not need to exist for him to relive was there on the internet forever, it didn't need to be remembered by anyone but the man who had endured it. Tearen was considering what he could do about that and weighing whether it was worth intervening. Fame was a spotlight for ugly moments, or things that should lay behind closed curtains. Gildarts was a well known enough face, but damage to the OP Prime's reputation could harm the mage's ability to get a job in the future... Not that the God-mind assumed Gildarts would go back to work anytime soon.

Still, there was something wrong about Gil's moment of vulnerability being filmed by a fan and then published. It was appropriate to assume the mage would either not care, or eventually overcome it, growing stronger. However, there were more merciless enemies and Tearen was forced to consider that they would use the girl against him. Summon a lookalike. Summon the same Cana. Tearen had met at least one Prime who would be willing to pull that kind of unsportsmanlike behavior in order to win. To some, winning was everything. Especially when the cost was everything. Gildarts had the potential to be a chess piece in that fight.

And his assumption was correct, y'know, about the work deal, "Well, me and Dust are going to grab a drink tonight on a deserted island. It isn't too far but it is desolate. Out of the way. No real consequences if I accidentally sling a few spells. Come if you like, or don't. I think I still have your number in my phone."

Gildarts confidently strode off, holding the silver rectangle high in his hand and leaving the Enigma behind. No use drawing out the inevitable end of conversation plus the Fairy Tail wizard had realized he'd forgotten all about his little apprentice and was curious as to where Dust had wandered off to. Tearen could come and find Gil if he wanted to. Another sandy step was taken and the mage's amber gaze focused forward.

It was then his eyes fell on her. The sight of her face stopped the mage in his tracks.

He had felt alone his entire life. Alone in his mind. Alone in his power. That type of isolation wears on anyone, power or none, Gildarts was fundamentally still just a man. His entire life was full of lonely moments even when he was surrounded by his Fairy Tail family, their smiles still harbored meaning but it had only skimmed the surface of what that could have been.

Cana, in that one moment just a few ago, where he had held her in his arms, knowing he'd created her with his own so simple act of love and passion was the first moment that had cracked the surface, cut-deep, and delivered more meaning and richness to his life than ever before. In his arms, once, he got to hold his legacy. Before she was torn away from him.

Unimaginably, he mended the cracks, and looked at the little orphan girl he'd once found a home for in Ambrosia. But the truth was, when she smiled at him, it was he who was home. No longer lonely, no longer bound by fear of destroying that which he loved, no longer alone.

In this moment, he reached down, Gildarts scooped Molly up in his arms and squeezed her in a big, gentle hug.

This epiphanic moment revealed the truth. His daughters had always been the answer to his fairytale.

[spoiler]

Tearen (reluctantly) saw the video on the DV of Cana dying in his arms because Gil's famous and someone had a phone and was recording it, and read someone's mind nearby who was watching it. It's forever on the DV now so people of all species can ogle at his tragedy. (Sniffle.) Also god mind should infer summoning another "Cana" wouldn't be the same. Also Gil doesn't like the idea of summoning people to the OV, and stealing them from home as he was. He vaguely sees it as slavery Gil won't be letting you in his mind no more. (You can decide whether or not you saw his dream though <3)

SN to Tea: Gil is gonna find an island and possibly destroy it (though I want to make it a base so I may just have a little chunk break off) while he is drinking with Dust to mourn his daughter. You invited because you a prime. Anyone else can come if they want as long as they're over 18/21 and immortal. (I don't wanna accidentally kill a secondary, drunk gil will not have control.)

I would like to have G keep in contact with tearen because of the god mind academy thing coming up. I hope I can make it before the PM quest

[/spoiler]