Well, this being my first story in this genre, you get my "New Story Rant."
Anyways, I am not completely familiar (no pun intended) with this series, however I am reading the manga, at least all I could find, and I am gonna watch the anime when I locate a copy of it. So, to avoid angering the canon lovers, it will be original.
The summoning of a human familiar will be the same, but with new OC's and storylines.
In other words, something interesting to read.
Without further stalling, The Ballad Of Romero Peacekeeper.
He stares out the window, his face as blank as the day before. Illuminated in the sunlight, the smoke from his cigarette swirls around him, the breeze coming in keeping it from filling the room.
He waits for a breath, taking his time to reflect on the matter at hand, an eternity of suffering approaches, passing in a blink of his eye.
A life of time and choice, brightened by the memories he has of this strange world is all he has now, the memories of his own long forgotten. For whatever reason, it was him who was chosen, chosen to be familiar to the Duchess of Dunwich, an event that had happened plenty of times, all at a great turning point in the existence of the world, leaving him to be the salvation or destruction of it's inhabitants.
No matter what they convey to each other, hidden behind a smile and the glancing of eyes, he is just a familiar, summoned to protect his master. To forgive but never forget, her wounds becoming his scars.
Try as he might to justify his existence, all it comes down to is the fact that he only serves one purpose.
To keep her peace.
She stands in the doorway, quiet like yesterday. The effect of the nightmares taking their toll, leaving her half awake from lack of sleep and worry.
For the first time in days he moves, pulling his weapons from the desk, the 'clinks' signaling he made his decision. He continues loading them, each bullet sliding into the magazine, each bullet dropping into the cylinder, another reason for him to do what he must.
Gunslinger. She remembers the word all to well. Despite her attempts to realize what he is, that is what it comes down to. The one word he said all to easily, as if describing feeling. When asked what he is, however, 'Killer' is his reply.
The battle is beyond winning, she knows that. He knows it as well.
As a familiar, he must obey the orders of a noble. Maybe if she commands him to stay…
No.
She knows it's useless. All she can do is send him with her love.
For to be invincible, he needs her love.
[][][]
He pushed open the door to the bar, the air hanging heavy with cigarette smoke and the lack of ventilation. Looking around, he sees his contact wave him over. He nods slightly, and adjusts the backpack on his shoulder.
As he moves to walk in a large man stops him, "Hey, you're not old enough to come in."
"It's okay, Jesse. He's with me."
The man glances to the contact.
"Come on, Jesse. I'm with him."
Jesse mumbles something and lets him pass.
He crosses the dusty floor and drops into the battered chair at the table. As he sits down, three more teenagers join them.
"You made it, Romero. Glad to see it."
He leans his backpack against the wall, careful not to damage the guitar, "I need the money."
The man nods, "Fair enough. You newcomers, he's busted his cherry doing this sort of work. You follow his orders to the T, got it?"
Everyone nods.
"Okay," he begins as he pulls the schematics to a building from a file and unfolds them on the table.
"This is the floor plan of my liquor store. The new lottery started this weekend, so there's close to fifty grand in the safe in the backroom," he says, pointing to it's location on the paper.
"The code is Left 44, Right 29, Left 32."
"Now, this is an insurance job, so you don't make a move on the place until I've left town. Which should be," he takes a glance at his watch, "In about five hours, so you hit the place about 4:30. It's a strange hour for a robbery, so you'll get the jump on'em."
The man grins, "The guy on register will just be starting his shift, so it'll look suspicious to the police. Also, he's so little, he'll probably piss himself. If you get caught, point the finger at him, saying he planned it. If you get the balls to talk and I get picked up, you'll be dead before the trial, capiche?"
Romero glances at the newbies, who all nod, doing their best to cover their nervousness.
"If you get caught and do everything correctly, I'll drop the charges and you'll get a slap on the wrist. If all goes as planned, you'll be paid handsomely. Ten thousand each, except Romero who's experience warrants more. Not too bad, eh? Alright, I gotta get ready for my flight, I leave the rest to you, Romero."
He leaves and Romero turns the map, "Okay, this is how it goes down."
He points at one of them, "Redhead, you go into the back at 4:26 and pretend to be microwaving something. Take a magazine with you, and don't look around at all. It'll seem suspicious, but if you do everything right, he'll let his guard down in a minute or two."
"You," Romero says, pointing to another, "Blondie, you go in at 4:28 and buy something. I have special glue you'll put on your fingers to keep from leaving prints on the money. Buy something from the back and get a count on the number of pedestrians. Don't react to seeing him, give a simple 'How's it going' and he'll nod. After you paid, come outside-"
He stops, another idea coming to mind, "While you're paying for whatever you get, put ten on a gas pump. We'll park the getaway car at the pump, and you'll pretend to fill it. Park it facing the building so the camera won't get the plates. After that, go put gas in the car and wait. Send a message to the number I'll give you before hand, and tell us how many people are in there."
He points at the last guy, "You'll go in with me. We'll pretend to be in the middle of a loud conversation, taking the cashier's attention. At this time, Redhead will walk up to any pedestrians and show them his gun, quietly telling them to leave and remind them to look away from the cashier."
"Then, at 4:30 exactly, we put on our masks and get the jump on him. Assuming there's anyone in there, they'll most likely call the police after we force them out, so we have an estimated five minutes before they show up."
Romero folds up the map, "From there we force the cashier into the backroom, pretend to pick the lock on the safe, and lock the front doors. After that, we escape in the car and get to the drop point. You'll all take your money, and I'll dispose of the car."
Redhead raises his hand and Romero nods.
"Uh, you said I show them my gun. I don't have one."
"I'll give each of you one before we start."
Now Blondie raises his hand, "We're not killing anyone, are we?"
Romero shakes his head, "Not in this instance. The cashier needs to be alive to tell the police the owner is out of town. Your guns will not be loaded, if we run into any trouble, surrender and let yourself be arrested. Don't say anything, even to your lawyers. Our contact will get you out of trouble if you don't say anything. They will probably hold you until he gets back in town, so don't panic."
The last guy doesn't bother raising his hand, "What about yours?"
Romero looks at him a moment before answering, "Mine will be loaded, just in case. I can't get arrested again or I'm done for, so I have to avoid capture. I won't kill anyone, to make it easier on you if you're caught."
He looks them over, seeing there are no more questions.
"Okay, it's 10:30 now. Meet me here at two, and we'll go over this again."
[][][]
She was too excited to sleep. To think, she'd have her own familiar tomorrow. She wasn't the most skilled at magic, so a wind dragon or golem knight was out of the question, but she felt she was skilled enough to warrant at least a C-Class familiar. Maybe a fire wolf, or possibly a swan.
She sighed and rolled over, grabbing her glasses from the night table beside her bed, deciding sleep wasn't coming for quite a while. Sliding from her bed, she crossed the room and sat at the desk, using her wand to open the secret lock on the drawer with her diary.
"Dispel."
A brief flash of light told her it was safe to open. After opening to a blank page, she stood up and waved her hand, causing her wand to hover over the paper.
She cleared her throat, "March eleventh of the twelfth year of the blue moon. 11:45 PM."
As she spoke, the wand moved over the paper, transcribing her words onto the paper.
"I can't believe how quick this time has come. Me, Julia Monterey, Duchess of Dunwich, will be receiving my very own familiar. To think, in several hours, I will have my very own partner. I am so excited, that sleep can't find me. It seems like the good news is piling up. I already moved into my new room. It should have enough space for whatever familiar I get."
She stops for a moment and sighs as she runs a hand through her red hair.
"Though excitement keeps me awake, it is not all. Worry is also affecting my sleep. Though I am skilled in all four of the elements, my skill ends at basic spells for each. I am unable to master any one element, no matter the strength or devotion I put into it.
"I can only continue to train, and hope with my new familiar by my side, I'll have the ability to further my training and return to Dunwich a skilled mage, capable of protecting her people."
There's a loud knock on the wall near her bed and a muffled female voice shouted, "Hey, shut the hell up, I'm trying to sleep!"
"Sorry Catherine!"
She looks toward her diary, "Don't write any of that."
The wand stops and draws a line through everything after the end of her sentence, causing the ink to dissolve in the paper and disappear.
She grabbed her wand and returned her diary to the drawer, remembering to apply the spell.
Returning to bed, she replaced her glasses and wand to the table and closed her eyes. But it was no use. This would still remain a sleepless night.
[][][]
Everything was going as planned. The text message said there wasn't any pedestrians to get in the way. When Romero and Lasty passed Blondie at the pumps, he didn't even look towards them. When they entered, Redhead was still flipping through the magazine.
These guys could make it far in this business.
At 4:30 exactly, they put on their masks and stormed the register.
Redhead locked the door and taped a pre-written note to it, reading "Back in five minutes."
"All right, you know the drill. All the money in the register and open the safe," Romero said as he pointed his gun at the cashier.
He nervously raised his hands and stepped away from the open register, "I-I don't have the code for the safe!"
Romero nodded, "In the back room. Lasty, empty the register and watch the door."
Redhead pushed him into the room where he stumbled and crashed into the desk.
"Alright, Redhead, pick the lock."
He nodded as he knelt by the safe and began to input the code.
Romero kept his gun leveled on the cashier but kept his focus between Redhead and Blondie.
It was this mistake that would almost ruin the job.
"Got it!" Redhead yelled as the door of the safe swung open.
Romero knelt to look inside, giving him enough time to draw his hidden weapon.
"Don't move!" the cashier yelled, his voice shakier than ever.
The small revolver he'd hidden was now in his hand, aiming it at Romero. He locked eyes with him and let his hand go limp so his pistol would slack and roll upside down. Redhead had frozen and stopped filling the bags.
Lasty turned and ran into the room, hearing a voice other than his comrades, "What's going-"
The sudden sight of him at the doorway caused the cashier to turn and fire. Blondie's shoulder erupted into a red mist as he stumbled backwards and fell.
Romero spun his pistol back into his grip and fired, his bullet knocking the gun from the cashier's hand.
"On the floor! You reach for it, I shoot!"
He was trembling so much that he fell backwards.
Romero nodded for Redhead to continue.
He walked to the cashier and picked up the revolver, "A .22? You coward."
He tucked the revolver into his waistband and started feeling inside his pockets where he found two boxes of bullets for it.
"Why were you carrying a .22? That's too small to carry!" Redhead yelled while opened the second bag.
Romero shook his head, "Unfortunately, a .22 is the most dangerous of the calibers. They're dead accurate and too weak to go in and out. So as Lasty knows, there's a small piece of lead bouncing around his chest right now."
"I… I di-didn't intend to shoot!" the cashier yelled, now in tears.
Romero sighed, "Neither did we. You move, I kill you."
He nodded and Romero walked to where Lasty was trying to sit up.
"Don't, lay back down."
"What was that?! It felt like a snake bite, only a thousand times worse!"
Romero ripped his jacket open and felt around the bullet hole, carefully prodding his way down.
"Ah! Stop!"
He looked where his hand was and nodded, "Okay, this is gonna hurt."
Lifting his shirt, Romero pulled a knife from his pocket and pressed the button, causing the blade to spring from the handle.
He seen the black spot under the skin near his third rib and realized after bouncing off his collarbone, it came to rest where it was. Unfortunately, it ran out of energy before it broke the skin.
Romero cut a small area of skin away and dug his finger into it to pull out the bullet.
Lasty winced and cringed, but managed to keep from screaming.
"Got it."
He rolled the little piece of lead in his hand, noticing it was missing a piece or two. Either it shattered when it made contact with the bone, or there was something wrong with the pistol that took it off as it fired.
"How's it coming, Redhead?"
"All done."
Romero helped Lasty to his feet, instructing him to be careful how he moves, before running to help Redhead with the bags. As they were leaving, the cashier was slowly rocking back and forth. He didn't even think he'd call the police right away, giving them more time to get rid of the car.
As they ran outside, Blondie was halfway to the door, "I heard gunshots. Christ, what happened?!"
Romero helped Lasty into the car, "Change of plans. We're going to the Butcher."
[][][]
'Okay, just calm down. Nothing to be nervous about…'
That was the seventh time she told herself that, and it was the seventh time it failed. Many before her had gotten a great familiar, and only a few had low, G-Class familiars. She was sure she wouldn't do that poorly.
"Poor little Julia. Already accepting that her familiar won't be worth the energy to summon it."
She scowled, "Shut it, Morgan. I'm going last by choice."
"Not your choice," she laughed back, satisfied by the effect her words had on her.
"Nicely done, Roger," said Ms. Francesca.
Roger remained silent, as usual, and walked of the spell ground, his new, oversized mantis familiar following him.
The girls of their class sighed and nearly fainted as he passed, the sun glinting off his silver hair.
"Alright, Morgan. You're up!"
"Allow me to show you the proper way to summon a familiar," she said as she passed Julia, flipping her blonde hair on her way to the spell area.
Julia growled and grabbed her wand, "Become a toad!"
Before she swung her wand, he arm was grabbed and pulled back to her side.
"Calm down, don't let her get to you."
Julia sighed, "Thank you Catherine. Where would I be without you?"
Catherine smiled, her Phoenix resting on her shoulder, "Half dead, bleeding in a ditch somewhere."
The flash of light told them that Morgan had already summoned her familiar. A black tiger with yellow stripes roared loudly.
"Very well done! As to be expected from the daughter of Madame Clemencia!"
She sighed as she passed the area where Julia was standing, "You shouldn't worry, my summoning was only the fastest yet."
Signaling the bond between it's master, the tiger growled as it passed Julia.
"Alright, last but not least, Julia! Please come to the circle!"
She sighed and started, walking slowly but confidentally into the circle. She readied her wand.
"My name is Julia Alexis Monterey. Pentagon of the five elemental powers, heed my summoning and bring forth my familiar!"
She stabbed her wand into the air and the air grew heavy as the ground began to rumble. Everyone watching either fell to the ground, or had the insight to crouch down.
"What's going on?!"
"It's an earthquake!"
A light flashed from the tip of her wand, causing everyone to shield their eyes. The light soon vanished along with the quakes, a burst of pressure taking it's place. She remained standing in the circle, an red and black aura of electricity encircling her and striking the ground around her.
Suddenly, the portal of a familiar opened and her familiar dropped into the center, standing with his weapons still in his hands.
[][][]
He had salvaged the plan as well as he could, but it wasn't enough.
After dropping the group off at the Butcher and paying them for their work, he took the car to the crusher and pocketed the five hundred he was paid for it.
With his bug-out bag on his shoulder, he walked through the city, hoping to make it home before the police found him. Unfortunately, they did.
They chased him on foot as he escaped into the shopping center, hoping to blend into the large group of shoppers.
He stopped in the center and weighed his options. There were at least twelve officers moving to circle him in the center. If he was to escape, he had to act fast.
He sighed and grabbed the twenty thousand dollars from his bag and climbed onto a nearby kiosk, ignoring the yells from it's owner.
"There he is, get him!" yelled an officer as they began their approach.
Romero tore the bands from the money and held them over his head, "People of the Two Peaks Mall! Let there be rain!"
He threw the money into the air and watched as it slowly drifted into the large crowd. Almost instantly, the people went crazy. They began tackling each other as they grabbed at the money that fell from the sky.
Once someone had a large amount, they were attacked, causing the uproar to grow larger. The situation was so hectic that the police couldn't reach him.
He used it as an means for escape and left, ducking through the horde of people as he ran for the exit.
Now on the street, he walked slowly, avoiding any attention he might attract. Several blocks from the mall, a police car trailed by a riot van sped toward the mall.
He continued walking. Another police car screamed around the corner ahead of him and started toward the mall. However, it slammed on it's brakes and sped toward Romero, it's lights and siren signaling that it spotted him.
Romero knew he couldn't outrun them with the weight of his backpack, guitar and bullet-proof vest, but it was his only option, other than firing at them.
He ducked into an alley and found it a dead end. The sirens were getting closer and his odds were dropping fast. He always had a way out, and it seemed like that was all that was left.
Juvenile Hall wasn't an option any more. Now that he's eighteen, he'd go to prison, and he wouldn't survive a week in there.
He pulled the gun from his waist and chambered a round. He grabbed the second from the back of his belt and kicked the cylinder open. He flicked it closed and sighed as he began to raise them.
A bright light stopped him, his weapons only inches from his head. In front of him appears a weird pentagon with some form of strange writing around it. It rotates slowly on it's vertical axis and after a moment, a doorway opens.
He glances back, the sirens only a few yards away.
The choice is easy.
[][][]
The smoke settles and he's left standing in the center of a similarly shaped pentagon, surrounded by people roughly his age.
"Oh dear," says Ms. Francesca, already knowing what's happening.
Whispering and murmuring spreads throughout the group.
"Julia summoned a human?"
"What kind of familiar is that?"
"He sure is cute."
"What's going on?" Romero asks, stepping backwards.
"Catherine, hurry and get Old Osmond. Julia,"
Julia's eyes were locked onto the figure before her, unable to do anything else.
"Julia! Finish the ritual!"
She blushes and nods, "Oh, right."
She approaches him and touches her wand to his forehead.
"Hey, what're you doing?"
"Pentagon of the five elemental powers, grant your blessings upon this creature, and bind it as my familiar!"
Julia has to stand on her toes to finish the ritual, pressing her lips against his. Romero blinks, unsure what is happening, but in no hurry to stop it.
Another moment and she steps back, "There, finished."
"Is everyone here this ni-" he began to say but was frozen by a sharp tinge of pain.
He dropped his weapons, the heavy handguns clinking against the stone of the circle. He raises the hand he feels the pain in and watches as four shapes begin to appear, each glowing a different color. Green, blue, white and red. He raises his other hand, the same runes appearing. The pain was so great that he began to grow woozy, the runes appearing on his legs barely recognized by him.
Julia steps back, unsure of what to do.
Romero begins to sway, barely able to keep his balance as he says weakly, "I… Don't understand…"
Finally reaching his limit, he collapse forward, the weight of his backpack keeping him from attempting to stand.
Well, there it is. Not a bad start, eh?
I think I failed in what I was going for in the intro, but it's a reference to the song that the name is inspired from.
Anyway, I hope you like it, I'll try to get the next chapter finished soon, but I've already scrambled my order for updates, so I have to get caught up on that.
Thanks for reading!