Hi everyone! This is Kit again with a new story! Before I get into it, I would like to clarify that A Moon-Marked Wolf is officially discontinued. I'm sorry for anyone who enjoyed it, but I just lost inspiration and motivation for it, and I just couldn't think of a reason to continue it if I didn't enjoy writing it. So I'm sorry about that, and I hope you'll enjoy my new story! ^^ Also, this IS a FT Next Gen story, just to let you know, so the characters from the original FT series are of course NOT mine. I don't own Fairy Tail at all, I only own the OCs, such as Soren, Calypso, etc. The amazing Hiro Mashima is the creator, so go give him some love! Anyway, enough rambling, enjoy the story, and leave a favourite and/or review if you liked it!
"Do fairies really exist, Mom?"
She had asked her mother that question so many times, but her mother had only smiled and said that she didn't know. But today was different. The past couple of days, her mother had been stressed out, always arguing with Calypso's father and brother. The scientists wouldn't take orders from her anymore, and she was forbidden to leave her home. Calypso was nervous. Did her mother do something wrong? Were they going to banish her? She had questioned her mother about that many times, but Mother would only reassure her that she wasn't going anywhere, and that Calypso's father was extremely busy and was a bit short-tempered. But the young girl could feel, in her heart, that her mother was bluffing. She could see it in her eyes. Once calm and blue as the sea, they were now dilated and darted around, like an animal being hunted by a predator. Calypso felt protective of her mother and wished she could do something to help her.
"Well, my dear, I don't know for sure if fairies exist or not, but I know some people that might know."
"Really? Who are they?"
Her mother leaned in with a big gentle smile, the one Calypso had grown to love so much. "They're another wizard guild, one full of kind and strong people with big hearts. Ones that will die to protect their friends and family." At this her mother's eyes clouded over with grief. "The complete opposites of our guild."
She put her head in her hands. Calypso slipped into her mother's grasp and hugged her. "Don't worry! I'll protect you from Daddy and the other mean people! Someday I'll be big and strong and we'll go live with the fairies and we'll be safe from the bad monsters!" Her mother laughed. "You do that, my little butterfly."
Three days later...
"Mommy? What's going on?"
"Not now, Calypso. This is important."
Her mother was stuffing things into a sack at lightning speed, a stressed and nervous tone in her voice. Calypso frowned. "Is it Daddy? Is he angry again?" Her mother bent down and hugged her tightly. "Oh, it's not Daddy. It's just a promise I made so long ago." She grabbed several pictures off of a high shelf and threw them on the ground. Calypso bent down and picked them up. "These are pictures of big sis! You said never to remove them!" Her mother patted her head. "A while ago, I would have said to never touch them. Things have changed, my dear precious flower. Your Daddy and brother need me to leave. I can't disobey them." Calypso's mouth trembled and tears began to spill from her eyes. "You said you'd be with me forever! You'd come with me to find the fairies!" Her mother froze. For a second Calypso thought she had passed out, until she went down on one knee and wrapped her up in the biggest, warmest hug Calypso ever had. "I'm sorry, my dear, I can't do that now. But you," she looked her directly in the eyes, "You, Calypso, are a strong, beautiful, clever, and passionate person. If anybody can find the fairies without my help, it's you."
Tears began to fall again from the young girl's eyes. "But where will I look?" she sobbed. "I don't know where to go to find them!" Her mother smiled. "Oh, I don't think they'll be that hard to find. Did you know that they defeated Sabertooth and won the Grand Magic Games after being dead last for seven years?" Calypso's eyes widened. "No way..." she gasped in awe. "They're that strong?" Her mother nodded. "They are, sweetie. I saw them win with my own two eyes. They were amazing! No one could beat them! And even when it looked like they were about to lose, they still got up and fought with all their might! And..." she trailed off with a twinkle in her eye "...I heard that some of them can even... fly."
By now the young girl's eyes were as wide as lacrimas. "Are they really that special?"
"They sure are! So when you're out looking for them and don't know where to go, just ask anybody where to find Fairy Tail. They'll know what you're talking about!"
Calypso's eyes shone. "When can I go? Can you and me go right now? I can't wait for the two of us to find them!" Her mother smiled sadly. "I'm afraid I won't be able to go with you, young one. I have to leave soon." The young girl seemed to droop like a flower. Then she perked up. "Then when you're back from your journey, can we go?"
Her mother blinked for a second, then laughed. "Of course, young one. When you are ready to leave for your search, I will guide you through the first part of your journey. But once I have, the rest of the road is up to you. Do you think you're strong enough to make the journey alone?"
Calypso puffed out her chest and did a little dance similar to a rooster. "I'm strong! I can do it! Besides," she turned to her mother. "I'll have you right by my side all the way!" Her mother smiled.
There was a loud rap at the door. Calypso turned around to see the door flung open, and her brother walked in, accompanied by one of the many scientists.
She shivered. Her brother, Cronos, used to be funny and nice. Until the day he was taken to the labs, to "endure the Dragon Force Test", one of the scientists had told her. her mother hadn't let her watch it, but she had heard screams and yells of pain from the lab. When her brother had walked out, he'd looked hollow and emptied out. The next day when she had asked him to play with her, he had swatted her aside and said that he had better things to do. As the days turned to months, he became increasingly cruel and cold, eventually so much that her mother had forbidden her to go near him.
Now, the same person was standing right over Calypso and her mother, with the disdainful look of someone who had found a nasty surprise on the heel of his shoe.
"Hello... mother." He drawled. "And Calypso... you're much bigger then when I last saw you." He grinned, showing his sharp teeth. Calypso yelped and hid behind her mother. "Now now, that's rude. Hiding from your own brother." He reached one hand over to pat her, but her mother slapped the hand away.
"Don't. touch. her."
Cronos stared at his mother in surprise. The scientist behind him brought out a metal stick with a yellow orb on the end, sizzling lightning. The hairs on the back of Calypso's neck stood up.
His brother stared at her for a bit longer, then withdrew his hand and laughed. "I should have known. Anyway, the lab is ready. let's go."
Her mother began to get up, but Calypso grabbed the hem of her dress and hung on tight. Cronos stared at her for a second, then glared at her mother. "Make it quick." She nodded.
Calypso stared at her mother, tears beginning to gather in her eyes again. "I don't want you to leave! What about us looking for the fairies?" Her mother smiled painfully. "Remember what I said, about me guiding you when your journey began? Well, I need to go on my own journey for a bit. But when I come back, I'll light some of the way for you."
Calypso nodded, tears spilling from her eyes.
"Just remember, Calypso. There is always good in this world, No matter how far away from your home or your friends you are, you are never alone. The fairies will teach you that."
She wrapped Calypso in one more warm, protective hug, then stood up and followed Cronos and the scientist out of the room and towards the lab. The same lab that transformed Cronos, Calypso realized with a jolt. She wanted so desperately to follow her mother, to reassure her that everything would be okay, but she couldn't. Her mouth trembled. She opened it, cupped her hands, and called to her mother.
"Do you promise to guide me to the fairies?!"
Her mother turned around one last time, smiled through her tears, and whispered so Cronos and the scientist couldn't hear.
"I Promise."
...
...
...
That was ten years ago.
My mother never returned to guide me.
Today was the day I was supposed to die and join her.
But I didn't.
Instead, the fairies rescued me.
...
...
...
"SHE WENT THAT WAY!"
"FIND HER!"
Calypso stumbled through the hallway, clutching the deep scratch in her arm from where she had cut out the life-support cord. Red lights were flashing everywhere. She could hear the scientists and guards shouting orders and stumbling over each other. Above all the chaos, Cronos' voice sounded over the intercom.
"Grab your weapons, you useless buffoons! Catch her!"
Calypso smiled as a guard pulled out a lethal-looking weapon similar to a harpoon and aimed it at her. The moment he pulled the trigger, a bundle of slimy seaweed shot out in front of them. The guards ahead slipped and stumbled on it. Most were unable to keep their balance, and went flying, simultaneously taking out any guards ahead of them. Calypso smirked. She had had to go swimming through the lab's nearby quagmire for two hours to collect all of the seaweed, but it had been worth it.
Looking up, she spotted a vent in the ceiling. Vaulting upward off the wall she kicked out the frame and swung into the vent system. The shouting and confusion down below told her that the guards hadn't noticed her quick escape. I guess all those gymnastics/ martial arts lessons you had me take weren't so useless at all, huh big bro?
Cronos' voice erupted on the intercom again. "Who had the smart idea to let her out of her cell, huh? Who was it?" There was a call in the background, some whispering, and a couple times Cronos exclaimed "What? I gave the order?" and "Wait, really? Oooooh... riiiiiiight..." before his voice (a bit more flustered then usual) came on again. "New orders, troops! Father has decided Subject #115 has no more use for us anymore, and she is to be killed on sight."
OOOOooooh crap.
Calypso crawled through the vent system as fast as she could. Has no more use to them? I'm useful! Who cleans out the exceed's cages, huh? Who wipes up every speck of dust that you seem to "find" on the ground?
She continued through the vents till she came upon another set of bars. Quickly banging them open, she observed the room she had entered. Aw crap. Speak of the devil...
She had landed in the Exceed Corral.
...And the devil will appear.
She loved the exceeds, but she would've loved them even more before the experiments.
Most of the exceeds here were grotesquely mutated due to the experiments they had endured. Some had had their usually feathery wings replaced with scaly dragon-like ones, while some had scaly skin instead of fur. Some were so mutated they didn't even look like talking and flying cats. Hell, some couldn't even TALK or FLY anymore.
What hurt her the most was the fact that the one behind a good swab of the experiments was her brother, Cronos. He and the scientists were extremely curious about the effects Dragon Force Essence could have on living beings that weren't Dragonslayers. They had tested it on anything they could get their hands on: kidnapped children from nearby villages, animals caught in bear traps around the lab forest, scientists and soldiers in the guild that acted disloyal, they had even used it on her older sister. Calypso had found out about the true cause of her sister Rea's death when her brother had threatened to test the Essence on her. She had only been eight years old when she accidentally broke a jar full of lab rats that were to be mutated with the Essence. The scientists hadn't been able to retrieve the rats after they escaped. Her brother had slapped her and yelled a bunch of nasty words. When he walked away, leaving her crying on the ground, he turned around and spoke in a soft and deadly voice: "If you ever do something like that again, you'll be the next subject for the test, like your foolish mother and sister." She had been even more scared of him ever since.
Calypso wound her way past a giant scratching post that looked like it was a least three decades old. She grimaced as she stepped carefully around the piles of rotten food scraps, exceed waste, and other disgusting items that lay on the floor. The stench in here was awful. Sometimes she wondered if it would've been better if the exceeds had died during the experiment instead of being forced into these poor conditions to be studied like a new species. Most of the cats seemed to have given up and lay trembling in their cages, all scaly and bony-looking. Others fought viciously with each other for whatever food was actually edible. She winced as she slipped past a group of snarling and hissing cats that were fighting over an old moldy chicken bone. There was a crunch, a screech, and it was all over for one of the fighters. The other exceeds fell upon the bone, clawing and scratching each other for the biggest bit.
One exceed broke away from the others and flapped-hopped over to her with giant dragon wings that were two times too big for his body. Calypso's eyes lit up as she recognized him.
"Aaron!"
The exceed hopped into her arms. "Calypso!" he squeaked through several oversized dragon fangs. "You still moving!"
Calypso smiled. The poor exceed had been captured from his tribe and put through the experiments when he was very young. He had never been taught how to speak by anybody until he was two years old. Therefor, he had terrible pronounciation. But she loved him anyway.
"Are we gonna find berries today?"
"No Aaron, my brother is after me. We need to leave here now."
Aaron turned to the rest of the exceeds. "But... my tribe..."
"We can't do anything for them now, Aaron. If we tried to rescue all of them, they'd slow us down."
Aaron nodded sadly. Calypso pulled out the emergency exit key for the exceed corral out of it's hiding place. The key had been put there in case an unlucky scientist had gotten stuck in the corral without a way to get out. She was glad that it was still here.
Unlocking the door, she and the mutated exceed jumped out of the corral and ran down a brightly lit hallway. If my memorization of the map is correct, we should be able to find the exit somewhere around here...
A few minutes later, the main exit door came into view, and a rush of excitement passed through her. She was actually going to make it! She turned to her exceed.
"Aaro-"
A blast of magic shot through the air and struck the exceed. Deep red blood flew through the air as Aaron fell from the air.
Time slowed.
Aaron hit the ground with a thump that seemed to echo through Calypso's soul and being. She froze in her tracks as she looked up to see her brother standing there in the hallway, holding up a vibrating metal staff. Her heart jumped in her throat.
Aaron raised his head weakly as the staff began to charge up again. "Go..." he gasped. Calypso felt the tears begin to gather in her eyes.
"Run..." Aaron gasped again. This time Calypso obliged. Her feet took on a mind their own and began to run. She was out the door and into the woods before she knew it.
Behind her, guards shouted to the lookouts. Craaaap. She hadn't planned how she was going to get around the stationed outdoor guards. She had just hoped that she didn't get caught.
One of the sentries raised a weapon at her. A static seemed to fill the air...
All of a sudden, the guard dropped his weapon with a cry of pain. Several grey and brown birds flew from the forest and began pecking and scratching at his face. The guard threw his weapon away and ran back towards the building, closely pursued by several other guards with their own personal swarms.
Calypso kept on running. Soon she was deep in the forest with no idea how far away she was from the lab. Her wound was throbbing painfully. I should have thought of bandaging it.
Suddenly, a rustle came from the trees. Calypso took on a protective stance. She had hoped she didn't have to use her magic, but...
A flash of blue zipped out from the bushes. With a jolt, she realized it was a bluebird, her mother's favourite animal. A wave of nostalgia passed over her as she realized that the bird had the same colour of feathers as her mother's eyes.
When you are ready to leave for your search, I will guide you through the first part of your journey.
Thank you, mother. she thought. You kept your promise all along.
A smile beamed on her face as she set out through the woods with the blue bird on her shoulder.
...
...
...
She wasn't going to make it.
It had been three days since she had escaped, and Calypso was already regretting her decision.
Her wound had become festered and infected, and it stung when she moved in a certain way. she hadn't been able to find food at all, and the only water she had drunken was water from a nasty old lake.
No scientists had shown up to take her back, so she assumed they had given up. The bluebird twittered and flew around her in a worried way. It pecked her cheek lightly and brought up a berry in it's beak. With trembling hands, Calypso grabbed the berry and swallowed it. The sweet, tangy taste lingered before being instantly replaced with a wave of nausea. With a groan, she fell to the ground and curled up in a ball, waiting for it to end. The bird twittered and flew around her, as if urging her to get up.
"I... I'm sorry, mom. I'm not strong enough."
The bird sang a beautiful song as Calypso drifted off into a restless sleep. Once she was sure the young girl had passed out, the bird flew off into the forest.
About an hour later, it returned. But not alone.
"Why does this bird- OW! Don't peck me!"
"I dunno. But we've got to- OW! Stop it!"
"Dad's gonna be angry at us for- OW! Being late- OW! Watch it!"
"I swear, I'm gonna frickin kill this- OW!"
"Language, Nisha. That's what Mom would- OW! WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM, YOU DUMB BIRD?!"
Following the bird were two young wizards, about the same age as Calypso. When they saw her, they knelt down to get a better look.
"Who is she?"
"Beats me, she's probably just random per- OW! Let's leave her h- OWWW! THAT HURTS!"
The bird gave them one more peck before landing on a branch to observe what was happening. The boy stared at Calypso carefully, before lifting up her arm and looking at her wound. An awful stench rose in the air. "Hey Nisha? She's pretty badly hurt. We should probably take her to Wendy and Miss Porlyusica."
"Soren, have you lost your mind? Remember the last time we went to Porlyusica because you scratched your elbow?"
The two of them shuddered.
"Well, look at this wound. She won't survive for another week with that there. Porlyusica is sure to help. And if not, we can talk to Wendy. there's no way Wendy will refuse to help."
The boy (apparently called Soren) lifted Calypso onto his back when she let out a moan. The wound on her shoulder pulsed and bled. The girl (Nisha, was it?) groaned. "Oh, boy. Soren, put her down. We have to seal the wound." She lifted up her hand and placed it carefully on the infection. With a bright light, the girl's hand lit up in flames. Calypso shrieked as the wound burned. "Hold her down!" The boy grabbed Calypso's arms and pushed her to the ground as she struggled to break free from their grasp, screaming like she was being torn apart. The acrid stench of burning flesh rose in the air, and the boy choked a bit before turning around to throw up over his shoulder. The girl rolled her eyes at her brother.
After five painfully long minutes, the wound had been sealed closed. The girl sighed. "Good. now let's go."
The boy picked up Calypso and swung her on his back again, and he and his sister walked out of the clearing and in the general direction of a nearby city.
"Say Nisha, I know she's out cold right now, but what do we do if she wakes up? She doesn't now us so..."
"Ah, don't stress about it, Soren! I'd simply knock her out cold again!"
' You know, Mom's right: you DO act that most like Dad; violence first, ask questions later..."
As the two disappeared from sight, the bird rustled her feathers, squashing any doubt. She knew she'd made the right choice. Calypso would be well-sheltered from the lab and her guild. She knew it.
She knew she'd made the right choice from the moment she'd seen the marks on the sibling's shoulders.
The marks of a Fairy Tail wizard.
The bird took wing and flew off into the forest, never to be seen again.
When you are ready to leave on your search, I will guide you through the first part of your journey. But once I have, the rest of the road is up to you.
But you won't take that road alone... my little butterfly.
...
...
...
So how was that for a first chapter? Was it good? Was the intro too long? Was it too confusing? Let me know by leaving a review, and if you liked the chapter and/or story, leave a follow and maybe a like...? Please? Anyway, I hope you have a good day, and sorry for being inactive for so long!
-KitsuneSOUL has left the stage!