You know after walking aimlessly through a desert and collapsing from dehydration, being tied up and held captive in a shady spot by the Dune Raiders isn't so bad. They even splashed some water on my face. How nice and refreshing of them. You know, I should probably rewind to make some sense, right? No? Yes? Screw it, we'll go with that option anyways. So to recap, I accepted a job a week ago to finally stop the Dune Raiders and the trouble they cause. The Dune Raiders are little more than a bunch of thugs who break shit and disrupt the lives of villages and towns. Nothing out of the ordinary for non-magic using gangs, and their activities are usually more tame.
Lately though, things became exceedingly aggressive with more incidents involving people being injured and greater levels of thefts and threats. There were also reports of a possible mage among them, which is mainly why there was a posting. It wasn't a large sum being offered, but I was bored so I decided to stake out one of the villages within their territory waiting for them to strike. Plus with Fullbuster and Dragneel bickering all the time, it helped to get away. I swear the two love birds needed a room.
While I was there, I mostly watched the perimeter of the meager village where the enclosing sandstone wall met the tidal sandy sea and the day-to-day activities of the locals. It was average. Homes enough for twenty or so families. Some were obviously large to accommodate more people. A decent-sized church was planted roughly at the center of town. Two or three bars and taverns as well as various stores located around town. It wasn't much, but it was enough for the people who lived here. Speaking of whom, the locals would give me the occasional odd or dirty glance, but I guess a guy hanging out atop the roof of a bell tower would be strange. If anyone asked, I nonchalantly explained my situation, granting me a few 'thank yous' here and there. One or two did say to get it over with, but I preferred to err on the side of caution for now.
The only other thing to do was hang out at the local bar and watch the viewing lacrimas. Good thing they kept a good supply of grape juice. I had grown quite fond of Gallant-brand grape juice, an Alvarez based company with them expanding into Fiore within the last couple years. The beverage had a stronger taste, compared to Fiore vineyards who distilled noticeably more bland or watery tastes. Fortunately I had this to drink at all. I had heard locals talk of people getting weird and drunk off cactus juice and I did not want to experience it myself. Maybe Lena could be convinced to try it out. She takes after uncle Natsu more than auntie Lisanna after all. Should be easy enough. Maybe I can get him too when he visits.
On my first day of stake out, a show on the lacrimas was recapping the Fiore Grand Magic Games from months back. One of the highlights was my clearing the Pandemonium challenge. The second person to ever do that. I was proud when mother allowed me to participate in the games to represent Fairy Tail. My excitement soared when the team let me tackle Pandemonium. Everyone on the team knew I was going to challenge all 100 monsters and I succeeded at defeating every single one of them. Including the S-rank monster which was a poor choice to leave for the end but that was the plan going in. A horrible plan, but the one I wanted nonetheless.
Even though I was exhausted and was running dry on magic from the drawn-out fight, I had an overwhelming sense of euphoria that was unmatched by anyone for days. Then taking out a bunch of people from the other teams during the battle royale, I left the games with my head held high and Fairy Tail taking home their 20th consecutive win. But right now, not many would have recognized me at the bar because of the cloak I wore over my signature Heart Kreuz light armor.
After waiting and waiting for days with nothing happening, I threw caution to the wind and hastily hopped out into the scorching desert to look for the Raiders personally. Despite my rash action, I did have a lead to start with. I looked up where all the attacks were happening and was able to find a central location where the Raiders may have made their home base. Just had to triangulate the distance between each incident reported to involve them. I can't say if it worked because I misjudged the distance trudging along with little clue if I was still going in the right direction. Combine that with how much I also misjudged the amount of water I had, and I collapsed from dehydration, landing face first into the hot sandy sea.
When I awoke, with a refreshing splash of water to my face, I was tied up at the hands and feet, both behind my back, and lying on my side in a decent sized tent with a rug or tarp comprising the floor. My helmet sat alone off to the side. Struggling to sit up, I analyzed the two people in front of me wearing loose-fitted, goggled attire. The laid back, almost carefree attitudes of the people. The only thing separating them are the difference in hair. One was dark, medium length, and hung smooth against his head while the other was short blonde but unkempt and curly.
All caught up? Yes? Sweet. Now then on to business. "You're the Dune Raiders, right?" I asked the two guys standing over me.
"And what if we are, boy?" The guy to my right answered.
"What are you gonna do? Cry to mommy?" the guy to my left said in a condescending tone, followed by a chuckle from both.
"Well, I am going to ask that you stop being a pain in the ass or I will have to kick the crap out of you. I won't lie, I kind of want you to turn my offer down."
They both started howling with laughter until they fell over and rolled around laughing more. Apparently my generous offer of surrender was funny. Can't entirely blame them. In their eyes, I was seemingly helpless and completely at their mercy. But that's far from reality.
"I take that as a 'no?'"
The dark haired one managed to get on his hands and knees and look at me. "Are you serious? The best you seem to do is give us laugh attacks. What the hell do you think you're going to be able to do?!"
I smiled devilishly and responded "This. Requip: Stone Demon Armor." My magic reacted to the command and my armor donned. It was one of my more imposing pieces. It resembled a large brown bulky, scaly, spiked bipedal lizard-like demon with a set of horns curling back and towards the sky and thick, prehensile tail made of armor. The suit added a little extra height and body mass and changed my eye color to a deep crimson. It was especially unique in it granted not only increased strength, durability, and stamina. The uniquity of this armor comes from the Stone Demon Slayer magic it grants me. Hence the name.
Standing up, I pulled my arms from behind my back, breaking the meager bindings worn down by the suit's physical characteristics. As I stood over them and looked down, my red eyes glared onto them in menacing fashion. Their expressions fell into dismay as they realized they bit off more than they could chew.
"Earth Pulse," I said softly. My spell being used on a wide area, sent a weak vibration through the sand and created a mental map of the surrounding the area. Despite how hazy the shifting sand below made things appear, I could still easily see where the camp was and my location within it. Noting what I wanted to do, I raised my arms simultaneously and then slammed them through the floor covering into the sand below. "Stone Demon's Bulwark!" The spell radiated out from my place and formed a 50ft wall with an overhang erupting from below the sand, surrounding and entrapping the Raiders and their home base.
The two raiders present ran off like bats out of hell from the tent almost immediately after. Chuckling and walking after them, I patiently strolled through the seemingly deserted camp while I decided on my next action. I could turn Flame Dragon and burn everything to a crisp, couldn't I? No, that option would make mother whine about collateral damage. Paladin might be just enough if a bunch of ragtag idiots is all I have to deal with. And against a mage, it would do well at judging their caliber, if not handle them. I won't bother with the King armor. I still have little control over it and the stressful toll it places on my body. Not to mention it would be straight up overkill for a pesky group of desert bandits.
I took a moment to examine the numerous crates, plentiful tents and a stable with animals reigned. A random thought popped into my head wondering how much of it was theirs to begin with. At least until a surprising blast of wind crashed into me, causing me to stagger. Looking forwards, I saw a slender-built man with unruly shoulder-length peppered grey hair in ragged clothes mostly comprised of worn cloth wrappings. He stood with his side to me, with several of the Raiders taking shelter behind him.
I looked on him with a raised brow from a smidge of surprise, all concealed behind my murky helm. This is almost stereotypical. The (supposed) menacing leader who thinks so highly of himself he could take on anyone. I wanted to chuckle but he then spoke. "Mind tearing down that wall?" He asked with a thumb point and some attitude. "It makes it hard to do our jobs."
Counting out each point on my hand, "You terrorize people, take or break their possessions, and overall are a pain. You're little more than thugs who just recently caused enough trouble to get my attention." Shrugging my shoulders, "So nah, I won't."
He smirked, his tone showing increased attitude. "Bad idea!" He released a gust of wind that crashed into my person pushing me back, but did little else. He then started throwing a barrage of wind blasts. By instinct, I raised my arms to shield my head and stood my ground actually trying to keep from moving. For all of two seconds before I dropped them and the raised brow returned. I just stood in the path, doing little more as the attacks coming were just that pathetic.
As the blasts kept coming, I kept getting more and more bored. And annoyed. There is no skill. No variety. Is this as all I have to contend with? Seriously?! How did these guys became a problem in the first place? Ending his assault, he charged and launched his wind magic for a desperate attempt to break my defense. Enough of this ridiculousness! I thought, beginning my counterattack. "Requip: Four Winds Spear," I said summoning a weapon. The tip of the spear consisted of four large and long blades converging towards a single point. A wide-flanged conal guard just below the tip kept me from slipping and slicing my hand open. The elongated sky blue handle was wrapped in a comfortable, padded grip. And the bottom end carried a smaller spear tip with no definable traits. I spun the spear in my hand several times before I lunged forwards to intercept the blast of wind, completely dispersing it.
"Who the hell is this guy?" He said worriedly, taking a step back.
"I am an S-class mage trying to relieve boredom and you have done little more than prove this is almost a waste of my time. More to your concern, this spear can completely deflect wind-based magic, in essence making your specific brand of magic pretty damn useless. By comparison, I don't even to change armor to counter you. Requip: Holy Dragon Armor." My armor resembled a lightly armored knight complete with an enclosed helmet complete with decorative horns. The suit is well decorated with light and sun motifs and engravings. Similar to my Demon Armor, this armor was imbued with Dragon Slayer magic. "But I want this over quick. Holy Ray!" I roared casting my spell directly at the wizard in front and at the raiders behind him. The countless bolts of light each picked their targets, pummeling them time after time after time for what felt like minutes. When the deathless slaughter finished, they all fell over from serious pain and exhaustion.
I walked to the now downed wind wizard. While he reeled from my attack, I kneeled down and spoke to him. "I'd recommend not doing anything further. Just wait for the arresting team to arrive and take over the scene. After that, cooperate and you'll see tomorrow." He just groaned in pain and did nothing for the remainder of my stay.
I recast Stone Demon Armor briefly to clean up my mess by dispelling the wall, and then reverted back to my standard light armor and hooded cloak. I also casted spatial magic to summon enough rope to tie up all the Raiders. Finally, I used a messaging lacrima to contact the Alvarez government to have a team come and take care of the Raiders. While I waited for their arrival, I scrounged through what remained of the camp to see if any food or water was available. Guy has to survive after all and I did share with the captives. It was freaking hot out after all.
It was hours later when the team arrived to take control of the scene and it was not who I expected. There were seven of them and each one stood out from each other. One was a guy wearing a distinctive white trench coat and had large spiky maroon hair. Another man had a very blocky face with a large head of hair that was showing signs of greying. Another man among them had short wavy black hair and looked noticeably effeminate. The next had pointier features, namely his nose and chin, wore sunglasses, and had a long golden mohawk. There were two females among them, one had long white hair and a dress with an excessive amount of feathers decorating her blue dress. The other was a little shorter and had long pink hair in a curvy ponytail.
But it was the leader that drew my attention most. And my ire. A man with blue hair, a unique red tattoo over and under his right eye. He wore a tight fit shirt, loose grey pants held up by a belt, the bottoms tucked inside his boots, and wore a dark high collared cloak with the symbol his guild over the heart.
Said leader approached with an outstretched hand, "Crime Sorcière. We were in the area and asked to pick up the convicts. I'm-"
"Jellal Fernandes," I said interrupting and swatting his hand away. He didn't seemed surprised at my recognizing him. But he did notice the sour tone on my tongue.
"I'm sorry, do I know you?"
"You would if you ever visited mom even once during the last eighteen years." I pulled back my hood and removed my helm, tossing it carelessly to the side, revealing my short, unkempt scarlet hair. My glaring brown eyes piercing through his dark green. I could only think of how much I hated this man.
Erik came up to his side. "Hey, Jellal. This kid looks kind of-"
"Like him?" I interrupted again, pointing to Jellal. "My name is Kane Scarlet. I'm the son of Erza Scarlet, the Guildmaster of the Alvarez branch of Fairy Tail. And Jellal happens to be my father."
He stared dumbfounded at me. The subtle resemblances between us were unmistakable, after all I have been compared to him many a times. But he was more than likely too busy coping with the fact he had a son of eighteen years. And didn't know. I could see the guilt slowly welling up in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn-"
Before anyone knew what happened I connected a right hook into his face, dropping him to the sand. I have waited a long time for that. It felt fantastic. I can already feel a change in the level of tension in my body. Standing over him, everyone in shock, I began to tear into him with my words.
"I don't care where you've been or what you've been doing, but you abandoned mother. You forced her to care for a child on her own without any help and even less care about what may happen. Hell, if you were dead I would've understood your absence. But you weren't. Your overwhelming need for redemption left her to spend years from being a regularly active member of Fairy Tail. Occasionally, it costed her financially. Thankfully, the other members helped support her when things got bad and when I was about five, they were finally able to convince her to let them babysit while she went back into the field. Even if for short missions."
I continued to glare down, my vision locked only on Jellal. Everything else faded beyond my tunnel vision. "I spent years wondering what kind of man you were. As a child I thought you may have been a hero doing your heroic thing around the world because that's what you were supposed to do. Or maybe an adventurer like Gildarts used to be who would be back anytime, full of stories and souvenirs. But none of that was true. You were just gone. Gone with no intent of coming home. I hated you when I found out. Now I just don't care."
"You know, I don't fully blame you. Mother attempted to to send various letters and scry your location but they were misses time and time again. I'm not going to blame you because you were left out of the loop by no fault of your own." I could feel the tension in my body loosen as I thought of the number of letters written that came back. It's impressive and somewhat hilarious to think about and even more so when you see them.
My mind honed back in on the motivation for this rant. My eyes daggering into his "But you never came back. That's what I blame you for. Never trying to be part of our lives. Not one birthday, mine or mom's. Not part of my training in magic. Not at the guild hall with friends and family. Not at home after class got out. Not at the dinner table or just with us. Gone. Just gone. And now, after so long, we don't need you. We don't want you."
Jellal looked away with sadness in his eyes and painted all over his face. I think I may have gone too far with those last comments. Letting out a sigh, averting my gaze, and massaging the back of my neck, "Look, if you want to run around the world saving people or doing good to clear your conscience, be my guest. I can't think of a good reason to stop you and mom would tell me to let you be. But in your absence, life happened and you lost your place in mine and mom's. I do sincerely hope this rag tag team of idiots is sufficient enough to fill that void." I cast Meteor, light shimmering around my form. "I do wish things were different, but they aren't and I just can't imagine forgiving you. Good day, Jellal." I blitzed off without another word and especially before someone else could say one.
As I crossed the desert that slowly turned to dirt and grass, guilt welled up. I didn't regret telling Jellal off but I did unwind on him without warning. And literally with my fist. What can I say now? 'Sorry for punching you after you missed everything for the last two decades including birthdays and other important milestones. And let's not forget not being there and being a decent role model!' Cool it cool it. Don't be like Lena or Natsu. There's a reason why mom knocks sense into them from time to time with her fists. How does Lisanna put up with them anyways?
I once thought most of my anger towards that man was lost ages ago. Apparently there was just enough for a blow-up moment, and now I couldn't help but hope for no more. It is kind of embarrassing in hindsight. When I saw him, part of me wanted to say 'Stay away from us for good.' And another part wanted to give him a chance. I had to compromise to stay as calm as possible. Perhaps I should be nicer. Even a little. I know mom would want me to. Maybe I'll start by acknowledging him as I should. It'll at least make her happy-er.
It was a couple hours later when I was over solid land and not shifting sands. Another half a day later and I was finally back in the city of Daedalon. Fortunately, Meteor sped up travel time otherwise I would have spent about a half to full week just walking home. Daedalon is a fairly large town, comparable in size to Magnolia especially as it is the home of Fairy Tail's Alvarez guild hall.
And our home: Scarlet Manor. A house mom and I commissioned for us two. It is roughly the size of a small mansion with two floors and an expansive basement. It was built with a renaissance style, using primarily red brick (you know, because we are Scarlets) with some light blue ones emblazoning a large Fairy Tail crest above the door. The 1st floor has a foyer, kitchen, living room, dining room, two bathrooms, and small study with several bookshelves and a desk for myself and mom. A display room houses some of our armors we don't usually use but a security spell is placed on them to ensure they aren't stolen.
The top floor is home to our own individual master bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. There are also a couple guest rooms upstairs as well in case we have visitors. Each room also has king size beds in the event of couples a large enough closet space to accommodate. Especially if Uncle Natsu comes to visit since he typically crashes wherever he feels.
The basement is by far the largest place in the house as it is several floors deep. The first level of the basement is a wide training room with various equipment to suit the needs of its users. The room also has a high ceiling to give more room for maneuverability. The training room also connects to what we have come to call 'the Armory.' The Armory takes up the remaining floors and is specially locked within a durable metal vault and even more durable protection spells that renders most any attempt to break in nigh impossible. Uncle Us keep tried once to eat his way through. Got one bit in before magic indigestion set in. And everyone else was dying on the floor. The only way in is through the door, which was designed with a magic blood seal that reacts only to mine and mother's blood. I still wonder from time to time if 'he' would be able to get through since I share his blood as well as mother's.
Inside the Armory is whatever armor and weapons we own that won't fit in our pocket dimensions or aren't on display elsewhere. I still hold onto my first suit of armor from when I was a child inside the Armory. It was the first one mom ever got me and had a hand in its overall design. I keep it because stands as my testament to continuing the tradition as a requip mage.
Arriving at the door to the house, I reverted back to my everyday clothes. No need for armor at home. A white short-sleeved shirt with a crimson fairy tail symbol just a tad to the left from the center, black slacks, and shoes. My clothes also revealed my pale white Fairy Tail mark just above the right elbow.
I walked through the door, into the open foyer, and saw mom on one of the couches in the living room enjoying a new book. The room had a traditional fireplace at the far wall, a coffee table positioned between two couches on the long sides. Mom had become quite interested in a series she heard about around so I bought them for her a couple weeks back. Been her favorite thing since.
If you compared her to a photo from two decades ago, you could tell a difference. Mom still looks young. I don't know how she does it but, I swear she doesn't look a day over twenty. She used to have long hair down to the small of her back, but as a child, I caused an accident leading mom to only have enough hair for a bob cut and her bangs covering her right eye. It does look good on her though and more importantly she likes it. Her choice of everyday clothes have changed too. She now wears a red tank top and black leggings but still has her knee high boots in her free time.
Approaching the couch across from her, I waved. "Hey mom."
"Kane," she said, a smile beaming while I slumped into my seat and throwing my arms on the top of the back-rest. "Good to see you're home. I was just about to start on beef stew. Mind helping?" I nodded yes and we walked over to the kitchen. It wasn't overly large but came with all the essential amenities and there was space for about eight to float around the island at the center. While she was preparing the meat, I sliced away at the vegetables. "So how'd the job go? You were gone for days."
Releasing a heavy sigh "It went fine, I guess. Things got heated. Before and after the measly bandits surrendered."
"What happened?"
"Well it was hot as hell!" I exaggerated eliciting a laugh from her followed by a smile from me. "But to the point, things got heated at first because I got into a brief fight with the Raiders' leader. He, apparently, came along and organized them more efficiently. Combine it with his embarrassingly weak magic, and they were a minor threat. Emphasis on 'were' and 'minor.'"
Mom was quick to connect the dots. "That explains why they were requested to finally be dealt with. Hopefully you didn't go overboard when taking care of the issue."
"I didn't destroy the area if that is what you mean. I know you would have garnished my wages if I had."
"Good to hear. What happened after?"
"I met dad."
Author's Note:
If it wasn't obvious, yes I am a Natsu-Lisanna shipper and we can discuss how canon that is later. The idea for this fic is mostly from a thought. "Hey what if Jellal and Erza had a kid and he still wanted to do his thing with Crime Sorcière? What could I do with that?" And this is what I came up with. Do I actually think Jellal would have been absent for so long? Nope. Do I think Erza would have let him? Hell no. I think he would have been spending far more time with Erza in all actuality after the end of the Alvarez War arc and may have welcomed a family life. But that is less fun and not EVERYTHING needs to be tied up at the end with a pretty bow. So along came me and I had my fun and also tried a few other writing techniques with this piece.
For the most part, I just want to see what kind of reaction this gets. If it goes well, I may continue writing more. If not, well no harm, I still like the concept. And may still write more anyways. Who knows?
Update Notice 3-15-18: a sentence or two were removed as they were related to content no longer in the fic