Chapter 62 - Date Night

Fairy Tail: Paths of the Soul

Despite waking up half way through the night, Amber awoke the next morning feeling fully rested. She got up early the next day, even through she had no real reason too; the excitement of the Red Moon Festival was beginning to get her. She'd never been one to enjoy parties, counting her phobia of loud noises and total aversion towards alcohol as the reason. Given the events of the prior night, despite her apprehension, she felt herself looking forward to having a good time.

She spent most of the day on the couch, with Armeria sitting on her lap. Axel and Zeke had headed out early, saying something about helping Geno with whatever job he'd been assigned a few days ago. Needless to say, the time alone gave Amber the chance to think on what she wanted to do that night.

She'd thought about dressing up, remembering Kat's words to her and Shelly, but that came with a problem; it being that Amber didn't have any fancy clothes. She'd never considered going on a date before, and as such had never put much thought into her wardrobe. The clothes Isa had bought her where nicer than her old ones, but still of the same style. Ultimately realizing that Axel probably wouldn't pay much attention to what she wore, Amber decided to drop the subject all together.

Thinking on what they'd do that night, as well as occasionally flicking through TV channels, occupied most of her day. Axel and Zeke came back around six-thirty in the afternoon, just as the sun began to dip low in the sky, and together they set out to meet up with Shelly.

"So what're we going to do tonight?" Zeke asked excitedly, swooping down to Amber's shoulder.

"Don't know." She shrugged. She'd assumed it would be best to let Shelly make the decisions, seeing as how this was essentially her date with Jak. Now that she and Axel had made plans through, Amber had begun picking out places she wanted to visited as they walked past the stalls along the street.

Though the festival didn't look like it'd kicked off quite yet, the smell of delicious foods and music from practicing street bands filled the air. The first thing Amber smelled was meat. Particularly, sticks of it being grilled on a stove. She couldn't tell which stall it was coming from, but she swore that she would find out before the night was done. The next where sweets, all manor of baked goods that she couldn't name. It was a good thing she didn't bring too much spending money, because with all this she feared she'd eat herself sick again.

The three of them continued along the path to the Harbors Café, and Amber spotted Shelly sitting with her elbows resting on the table with her chin in her hands. Something had changed since the last time they saw her though, as her usual cheery attitude was nowhere in sight. Shelly's face looked flushed, and her cheeks where puffed out in her typical pouting face. She seemed annoyed as well, which made Amber question weather it was a good idea to call out to her.

Oblivious to all of this however, was Zeke, who jumped off Amber's shoulder with a grin. "Hey Shelly!" He came to a skidding landing in front of her, beaming up at her with a childlike glee. "We're here!"

This seemed to shake Shelly out of her funk, but she still seemed to be annoyed when she saw them approach, even through her smile. "Hey, thanks for coming..."

Axel glanced at Amber over his shoulder, but she just shrugged and shook her head. "Is... Something wrong?" She knew the answer already, but didn't want to just assume. "Where's Jak?"

"He's... Over there..." She huffed, nodding down the street, but slowly rose out of her chair and gave Amber the most pitiful look ever. "I asked him to come with me the tonight, and told him that you, Axel and Zeke where going to come too... But..."

"Hey guys." Jak waved to them from the other end of the café patio, clutching an over-sized soft drink in his hand. Rift stood behind him, absentmindedly staring up at the reddening sky through his dark shades, and Geno was already digging into a french-fry basket from a nearby stand. They both turned to look at them when Jak called out, and the astonishment was fairly universal. "Guess we're all here."

Amber's mouth hung open in disbelief. "Yeah..." Shelly mumbled under her breath, and the source of her annoyance became apparent. "I told him I invited you guys... And... Jak invited those two."

"Yeah." Geno nodded. "Lad said you had plans or something, right?"

"I did..." Shelly huffed in disappointment.

Geno tilted his head sideways in confusion, but one look at Jak's blank smile was all it took for Rift to understand the situation. They both burst out laughing, and Shelly's face turned beet red. "Oh, oh my god..." Rift wheezed between laughs, slapping Jak hard on the shoulder. "Dude, you really are a dumbass."

Despite being called that quit frequently in the past few days, Jak still didn't look like he had any comprehension of what that meant. "Hey y'all!" One of the waitresses called to them, zigzagging her way through the crowded tables to their group. She had her shoulder length red hair tied in a pair of ponytail, and carried a table trey tucked under her arm. She focused on Rift first, leaning in and giving him a smell peck on the cheek. "I told you I'd be busy today, didn't I?"

"You did, Sammy. It ain't that." He nodded, kissing her forehead. "Apparently we had a bit of a mix-up."

"Oh?" The waitress turned slowly to scan over the group, stopping on Shelly. "Sorry love, but we're too busy to make reservations right now, even for one of my favorite regulars."

"That's OK..." Shelly sighed. "We where just meeting up here. Sorry to bother you, Samantha."

A sideways glance told them all that she'd picked up on the tension in the air as well, but one quick look at Rift shaking his head told her better than to ask for details. "Alright, well... Have fun tonight." Quickly looking to leave the uncomfortable mood, Samantha gave Rift a quick hug and turning back to the café patio. "I'll call ya when I'm off work."

Abruptly turning around, Shelly stomped off down the street. Rift pushed Jak along to follow her, and Geno absentmindedly followed along as well. Amber, Axel, and Zeke waited behind a moment, not really sure what to think. "Uhh... What was that about?" Asked Zeke.

"Just... Forget it..." Amber shook her head. They definitely should've seen something like this coming. Sure, he was nice, but Jak had to be the most clueless person she'd ever met. And Shelly probably didn't have the heart to turn the others away now that they had shown up. Apparently, Rift and Geno hadn't made any plans either, and seemed to only be tagging along to be amused by the next mistake Jak made. Shaking her head, Amber took a quick step forward to catch up with the others before the crowd separated them. "C'mon, we can still have fun, right?" Axel nodded and followed along, hoping to salvage some part of the night.

"And... That should be the last of it." Davin hummed, clapping his hands together to shake off the dust. He'd been working to clean up some of the clutter that had gathered around the Guild property over the last year, and had just finished sorting the last of the small stuff into boxes to dispose of. It amazed Davin how much broken furniture they had lying around out behind the arena. Either they needed to buy better quality chairs, or he'd have to have a serious talk with the other guild members about roughhousing.

"Is this really how you wish to spend the evening?" Jon questioned, having just returned from taking out the kitchen garbage for the night. "You'd probably be done in twenty minutes if you had someone around to help you, you know?"

"Oh, I don't mind so much." Davin shrugged. "I don't go out on Jobs anymore, and Isa handles most of the paperwork. So, every once and a while I like to do something to make it feel like I'm contributing to the guild as well. Make it a nice place for my kids to hang out, you know?"

"Hohoho, that I do." Jon chuckled, adjusting his thick glasses. "You're sure you don't want a hand through? I may be an old man, but I'm sure I could assist with something."

Davin chuckled, smiling in appreciation, but just shook his head. "Naw, go enjoy yourself. Elligr mentioned you two where headed to the pub to reminisce about the good old days, so I won't keep ya. Someone's got to keep that big oaf from getting too drunk, after all." Nodding his head in agreement, Jon made for the door. Just as he was about to leave, however, Davin called after him. "Oh, and if you happen to run into Shelly, could you remind her that I want her home by eleven?"

"Of course." Jon nodded again. "Goodnight, master Vamiro."

As the doors swung shut, Davin hulled two huge boxes up under his arms and headed for the side door. The enclosed walkway would protect them from the rain, but hopefully they wouldn't be outside for too long while he found them a new home. The attic was getting pretty full, after all, and the Vamiro household was already home to a number of things that both Jaina and Isa had insisted the guild would no longer need.

"I wonder if building a storage shed would be a bad idea..." He wondered aloud, clapping his hands together again and heading back inside. He made it all the way to the center of the building, to where the rest of the boxes sat, before he noticed someone else was there with him. "Oh, uh... Hello there." They had their back turned to him, standing facing the job board, but looking straight up at the ceiling. "Can... I help you with something... Sir?"

"It's here..." The man mumbled in a weary voice. Davin was put off, he sounded dazed, like how someone would sound if they where talking in their sleep. He was thin as well, sickly, even. "I can feel it. Something's definitely here."

Davin took a cautious step forward. "I'm sorry, I don't know what you-." As he took another step forward, the man disappeared in a dull flash. A short buzz above him drew Davin's attention to the second story balcony, from which the man now stared down at him. "Are... You alright?" Davin mumbled again, noting the man seemingly staring out into space. Of course, that was a hard distinction to make; the man's face was obscured by a smooth, metallic helmet, a single luminus strip of light running from chin to crown. It made his expression impossible to read, which Davin found somewhat disturbing. What he was wearing was, by comparison, rather plain. A brown, thick coat that hung down ot the back of his knees, and large, metal gantlets protected his hands and forearms. Brown, baggy cargo pants that where torn and frayed at the end, pulled over black combat boots. If it weren't for the unsettling vibe he carried with him, Davin would have sworn he was a vagrant. "Do you need help?"

The man disappeared again, reappearing barely a few feet away from Davin. "Is it you?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. Davin took a sudden step back, but the man didn't react to this. "Are you what I'm looking for?"

"I'm... Uh..." Davin stuttered. "I'm not sure what you're-." The mans hand suddenly shot out, reaching for Davin's chest. Davin felt his nerves freeze, swatting the mans hand away and taking another step backwards. He'd put more effort into it than he meant too however, and ended up slapping the man across the floor. Davin stared at his hand, wondering what it was that compelled him to react like that, but quickly realized what he'd done. "I-I'm sorry. I don't know what I was-."

He tried to help the man up, but the man disappeared again. Davin twisted around, finding the man hovering in the air just above the bar-top. His hands where clasped behind his back, and he stared at Davin with a strange fixation. "Hmm... Hostile, yet caring. How strange." He mumbled, rubbing the chin of his mask. "But you're definitely a powerful mage."

Davin didn't know what to think. This man seemed... Unwell. The few times he'd moved on his own, his movements where shaky, stiff. Almost machine like. His tone when he spoke was unreadable, a mix of cheerful and confused, but driven. And to top it off, there was a strange chill in the air that Davin couldn't explain. "Sir, if you could just come down for a moment, I think we should talk." He gestured to a nearby table, hoping he could solve whatever this was without letting things get ugly. In the back of his mind, he knew that probably wasn't an option, but it was just in his nature to avoid conflict. "Maybe we should start with introductions. My name is Davin. I'm the guild master of Blazing Soul."

"Oh... Yes, how rude of me." The man seemed to be surprised, almost disappointed with himself for having overlooked such a formality. He sank from the air, coming to stand on the bar-top, and placed a hand over his chest. "I am called Vax Culhorn. A... Craftsmen, of sorts." He began to chuckle to himself, rubbing the side of his mask where his eye would have been. "I'm here to gather some materials, you see. And I can sense you've got quite a bit of what I need."

Davin took another step back as the man's chuckling grew louder. Something about him was definitely wrong. "I'm sorry, Mr .Culhorn. But we don't really have much here." The chuckling stopped, and Vax seemed to hunch over in disappointment, his arms hanging loosely by his sides. "What material are you looking for, exactly?"

"Magic!" The man roared, shaking and twitching in what seemed to be a fit of anger. "I can feel it. Somewhere here, in the property. You have it! A great abundance of it. So much that I-." Vax stopped suddenly, ending his short outburst. He stood up straight, clasping his hands behind his back again, and tilted his head to the side. "But... I'm not sure where exactly, so I'll have to just look for it." A sudden calm filled the guild hall, and Davin slowly clenched his fists. Vax's suddenly swung his arm out to the side, and a large sword appeared in his hand with a flash. "I'll start with you."

Vax flew high into the air, his sword held at arms length, and spun down on him like a saw. Despite preparing for the clash for the duration of the conversation, Davin had been caught off guard. He took a quick step backwards to get out of the way, but it wasn't nearly enough. His arm glowing with magic, he caught Vax's sword with the back of his wrist, stopping his spin.

There was no blood, Davin's magic shielded him from the blade. But it had a weight to it that a diminutive man like Vax shouldn't have been able to produce. He threw the man away, but he disappeared in a moment. There was another buzz behind him, and Davin raised his arm just as Vax swung at him again. "Oh..." Vax mumbled, turning his head to the side. "You're quite fast as well." Davin reached out to grab him, trying to bring this to an end, but Vax disappeared again.

There was another buzz, and Davin felt the tip of Vax's sword job him in the back. Once again through, the sword failed to pierce Davin's magically protected skin. Grunting slightly, Davin moved to grab him again. This man obviously wasn't just any old mage; he had skill, was quick on his feet, and despite his questionable sanity, seemed to have a strategy in mind.

A strategy, which Davin had picked up on. He turned and made a quick swipe with his arm, and Vax blinked out of sight. Spinning with his momentum, Davin swung his fist outwards and turned on his heal. Just as he'd predicted, Vax appeared behind him, poised for the strike. This time through, the back of Davin's closed fist swatted the man straight out of the air.

Vax crashed across a table on his short trip across the hall, reducing it to splinters before crashing into one of the guilds corner booths. The table, the seats, even the wooden siding on the wall, it all splintered upon impact, burying the masked man in wreckage.

Davin stood up straight, massaging the back of his knuckles and worriedly taking stalk of the damage. He hated resorting to violence, despite him being the one under attack, and he'd just finished cleaning up. "Oh boy..." He muttered, massaging the back of his neck. It didn't mater what the situation was, Jaina would probably chew him out for damaging the guild building.

He approached the back bar, heading for the lacrima phone sitting on the counter-top, when the wreckage in the corner shifted. To his disbelief, Vax popped out of the rubble on his hands and knees, looking like he was merely out of breath. That one fact disturbed Davin even further. He knew he hit him, and despite not meaning too, he hit him hard. Watching the masked man push himself up without any issue set off a massive red flag in Davin's mind.

"Well..." Vax hummed, sounding almost amused. "You're certainly powerful, Davin of Blazing Soul." He shuffled out of the destroyed remains of the booth, and with a dull pop his shoulder snapped back into place. "But I'm not sure you're what I'm looking for... You weren't holding back, where you? I'm not sure that's a good idea while your life is on the line."

Davin slowly crossed his arms, trying to deescalate the situation. "And... Why is my life on the line?" He asked slowly, hoping that understanding the masked man's reasoning's might help stop the fight from continuing. "I'm sorry, son. I really don't understand what you're saying."

"Son..." Vax clasped a hand on the back of his neck, looking at the floor and beginning to giggle. "Funny... That's funny. I don't think you know how old I really am." Vax's head suddenly turned to face the door, and his arm dropped to his side again. "Maybe… Maybe I was wrong. Maybe the magic I feel is elsewhere." Davin recoiled, he wasn't about to leave, was he? "Yes, the city... With all the lights. Maybe the source I seek is somewhere in the city."

Davin took a massive step forwards, putting himself between Vax and the door. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Get out of my way!" The fury in Vax's voice returned, and a bright flash emanated from his outstretched hand. Davin hunkered down and crossed his forearms over his face as a bright blue wave of magic washed over him. He wasn't hurt, but the furniture behind him was sliced clean in two, and Davin's magic was the only thing protecting him from sharing that fate.

He attempted to grab him again, but Vax blinked just out of his reach. He now stood by the back door, but instead of running, he held out his hand, where a small, metal object appeared in a flash. An array of lights lit up the front, and it stood up on eight, tiny legs. Glowing, insect like wings flicked up on it's back, and it took to the air.

The small machine, resembling a spider made of clockwork parts, flew through the air at him. Curiosity and disgust filled his mind, but Davin swatted the thing aside with his fist, not wanting to risk finding out it's purpose first hand. He looked up, only to find Vax surrounded by the tiny flying machines, with more appearing in his hand the moment the last took to the air.

"Get him, my Seekers!" Vax screamed, setting he swarm on the attack.

Thinking quickly, Davin grabbed the table next to him and used it to swat half the machines to pieces the moment they got close. Machine parts and splintered wood littered the floor, the table having been reduced to splinters with that one impact. More of the mechanical insects flooded forward, which Davin swatted at with his massive arms. One of them landed on his shoulder, it's eight legs clamping around his bicep. He had to use his other arm to deflect another oncoming swarm, so he was unable to pull the thing off him. He just stared into it’s glowing, lifeless, blue eyes.

"Detonate!" The masked man ordered.

Davin had just enough time to shield his face before the insect exploded in a flash of blue light. Davin dropped to the ground, unhurt but dazed. He blindly swiped with his arms, but found that the small explosion had done more damage to the swarm than it had to him. Grunting in annoyance, Davin hopped asside and rolled out of the way of another assault. He ran at Vax, who was in the process of digging his sword out of the rubble.

He looked up at Davin just as his hand landed on the hilt, disappearing as the guild master drew back his fist. "Smash..." Glowing steam came off Davin's fist, and he spun around the second he heard a familiar buzz behind him. "Hammer!" The same trick as before had payed off. Just as Vax appeared behind him, Davin spun and struck him with his magically imbued fist.

This time, Vax hit the ground, but that didn't stop him. Floorboards and tables where ripped apart in the tumbling man's path, before he ultimately collided with the spiral staircase in the corner. This too was blasted to pieces, but Vax stumbled out of the wreckage instantly this time. He was holding his head and appeared wobbly on his feet, offering no resistance as Davin's massive hand closed over his arm. Leaping high into the air, Davin turned and threw the masked man over his shoulder, sending him crashing through the wall above the bar-top, spilling glass and booze everywhere.

Taking a deep breath, Davin ran for the back door. A hole in the outside wall of the arena indicated that his plan had been successful. All that was left was to close himself in. Vax lay on his hands and knees in the center of the ring, mumbling something and shaking the derbies off of him. More of his mechanical insects lay scatted throughout the building, but they looked to be inactive now that their master had been thrown for a loop. Vax reared upwards, resting on his knees, and looked at Davin as he began operating the control panel at the far end of the room. "What are you..." He paused a moment to cough, a thin line of blood dropping out the bottom of his mask. "Up to?"

"Ensuring that you stay right where I want you." Davin cranked the dial on the center of the panel, and an electronic charging noise filled the air. He quickly stepped inside the ring as the four magic walls rose from the floor, meeting at the ceiling to close the box off with them inside. "I'm not sure who you are, Mr. Culhorn. But something tells me I can't let you roam as you please."

Vax stood up straight, a shaky motion that took him a moment. He studied the room around him, his head turning one way, then the other with a childlike curiosity. He suddenly disappeared in a flash, but reappeared with a reverberating thud next to one of the magic walls. "What..." He asked slowly, placing a hand on the wall and staring up at the ceiling. "Is this?"

"You use Teleportation Magic. As well as Requip." Davin said, knocking his finger against the magic walls encircling them. "This barrier keeps things from leaving. It won't hamper your Requip any, but it'll keep you from running away on me." Slowly strolling to the center of his side of the arena Davin put up his fists, his entire body emanating a glowing steam. "Now then... Why don't you and I... Talk."

Vax spun around, a strange glee plain in his voice. "Yes... This is it, this is what I've been searching for!" His voice calmed, as if someone had flicked a switch and reset his personality. A dull blue glow shown from the masked man's pant-legs, and he slowly floated up off the ground. "You shouldn't have hidden your magic from me, Davin of Blazing Soul."

The second the sun disappeared on the water, the festival was fully underway. Music filled the air, and the streets where illuminated by all manor of light, lantern, and magical apparatus. Despite the little hiccup the night had started on, everyone seemed to be having fun. Shelly led the group, with Jak trailing along behind her every step of the way. It didn't take that long for her to forgive him for inviting the others, and after a while her usual cheery attitude made its reappearance the moment they stopped to get something to eat.

The others hung back a bit, trying to maintain the illusion that it was just the two of them. Geno and Rift mostly wandered from one stand to the other, with Zeke jumping between the two of them each time they turned around with a new item of food. Amber meanwhile, stayed close to Axel. She'd kept an eye on Shelly for the first few minutes, wondering if the night would turn out alright for her, but she decided to focus on her date with Axel once she saw her smile again.

He'd bought what looked like a small plate of meatballs for them to share, but they where a little too spicy for Amber's taste so Axel ended up eating most of them himself. Their next stop was a little more successful, a stick with three small donuts for each of them. "So... You having fun?" Axel asked timidly as Amber smiled and rested a hand on her cheek the moment the sweet hit her tongue.

"Mm-hmm." She nodded her head, trying not to say anything with food still in her mouth. Her face turned a slight shade of red when she finished chewing, as Axel had begun to chuckle at her. "I think-."

A sudden, metallic ring filled the streets, and Amber clasped her hands over her ears in pain. She stumbled slightly, and Axel caught her by the shoulder. "Yeah, one more!" Geno bellowed. He picked up a ball and lobbed it over his shoulder, knocking a large, metal bell off a counter in a carnival game he was playing. Apparently, the owner of the stand hadn't anticipated someone of Geno's strength playing his game, so when it hit the ground the noise it produced sounded like a cannon going off.

The man working behind the counter begrudgingly handed Geno probably the biggest hamburger Axel had ever seen. Amber grabbed his arm just as he considered asking not to play again, apparently sensing her intentions. "I'm fine, don't worry about it."

"You sure?" Axel asked.

"Y-yeah." She nodded, putting on a small smile. Axel nodded as well, and after noticing the others where beginning to get a little far away, Amber grabbed his hand and leaned her face in closer to his. "C'mon, let's go get something else to eat."

He nodded quickly, and Amber tugged him along after her. Something in the air was different through, like the ringing from the noise Geno's game had made hadn't gone away. Normally a feeling like that told Axel about an approaching storm, which would really suck for everyone. He looked out towards the ocean one last time before carrying on, wondering if Jaina had caught the same feeling as well. Because whatever he had felt seemed to be coming from the direction of the guild.

Next Chapter - A Father's Fight