The Elemental Master
Chapter 1:
"Genis! It's time to go! Get your camping gear and let's move out!" Alrudin called into the small house before him. His wife stood next to him as they both patiently waited for their son.
"Wait for me! I'm coming!" The boy cried out as he ran out the door, tripping and face planting on the hard ground right in front of his parents, letting out a little "oof". Alrudin chucked as Genis pushed himself to his feet, holding his nose.
"And just where did you think we were going without you?" The father asked, ruffling his son's spiky brown hair.
"After all, it is your favorite spot, right next to the waterfall and the tall trees!" Genis' mother, Ana added. She smiled sweetly at her only child, the young boy returning it with a wide grin.
"Well, what are we waiting for!?" Alrudin yelled, turning with a ridiculous pose, causing little Genis to giggle. "Let's GO!" They all shouldered their packs and began walking the familiar route through their small town to their favorite camping spot. Genis smiled as he fell into step in between his parents. He always looked forward to their annual campouts. The green grass, the cool animals, even the interesting rocks made a lasting impression on the boy. He could barely contain his excitement at going back and carving another mark onto his favorite tree. As they began walking through town, they stopped at the local market to grab the last few things they might need, like some extra food or light lacrimas. They approached one of the vendors.
"Ah, Alrudin!" The vendor called out. "Going on another campout?" Alrudin nodded, chuckling.
"Don't you know it, John." He replied. Genis sighed impatiently as they mad small talk. The vendor noticed and chuckled.
"Hey, Al, I think your kid's getting tired of listening to us dinosaurs gabber on." He said, winking. Genis immediately found the ground very interesting, blushing and grabbing onto his mother's hand. Alrudin openly laughed with the vendor.
"Well I guess we should be heading out." He said, handing over the jewels and grabbing the bag of produce. "We'll need to hurry if we want to make the old campsite by sundown." As the family turned to leave, John reached out, grabbing Alrudin's shoulder.
"Just be careful out there." He said, his smile gone. "There's rumors of a monster in the northern part of the woods." Alrudin nodded.
"Well, then it's a good thing we're going to be in the western region." He turned and knelt, facing Genis. "But we don't have to go if you don't feel safe." Genis immediately shook his head.
"No! It's alright. I'm not afraid." He said quickly, fearing that his father would send them home. Alrudin smiled and ruffled Genis' hair once more.
"Alrighty then!" He stood, posing once more. "Let's move out!" Genis laughed at his ridiculous father, glad that he was with his family. Genis' mother hesitated.
"Alrudin, are you sure?" She asked quietly. Alrudin wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She smiled at the comfort.
"I'm sure. It'll probably not even come anywhere near us." He took an exaggerated step, causing his son to laugh and his wife to groan. "Now let's go already!"
Genis ran ahead of his parents down the path. They made it! He entered the small clearing next to the waterfall, the towering drenches of water cascading down the Cliffside creating a nice cooling air. He immediately set his small pack in his favorite spot, under the big oak tree. His parents followed suit when they entered. Genis immediately began climbing it, and within seconds, was high in the branches.
"Gen!" His mother called out. "Be careful! I don't want you falling and hurting yourself!" Genis sighed, rolling his eyes.
"I'll be fine, Mom!" He replied. His father was busy setting up the campfire and the small lacrima stove they always brought, so he was too preoccupied to interject, though Genis knew that his father didn't mind his climbing. As Genis climbed higher, he made his way to a thicker branch that was surrounded by other branches, making an impromptu nest for the boy. He immediately turned to the trunk and pulled out his pocket knife. He added a small mark, next to five others. He sighed, looking at the marks, and all of the memories contained within them. Eventually he climbed down, causing his mother to let loose a small sigh of relief. She immediately changed into a swimming suit. Taking the hint, Genis changed as well, and they headed over to the small pool that was created by the waterfall. While Ana simply waded in, Genis took the fun route, jumping in with a loud cry. The splash hit his mother, making her gasp at the coldness. When Genis surfaced and saw his mother still spluttering, he began to laugh.
"Hahahahahaha! Mom, your face looks funny!" He gasped out as he continued to laugh. Seeing his innocent laugh, his mother joined in. Eventually, Alrudin called them over, and they had dinner.
"See?" He said to Ana as they sat down to eat. "I told you there would be no monster." In that instant, the fire died out. Genis looked around. Something felt off.
"Huh, the wind picked up there for a second. Let me get a match to light the fire again." Alrudin said as he got up. He made his way over to the oak. Genis was shaking. Something bad was about to happen, he just knew it.
"M-mom?" He asked, turning towards her. "I-I have a bad feeling…" Ana scooted over to him, wrapping her arms around him protectively. "It's ok, honey. Everything's going to be-."
RIIIIPPPP!
"AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" They heard Alrudin cry out. He stumbled over to them, and collapsed. Genis was frozen in shock. Where his arms were supposed to be were only stumps. Ana screamed, the sound echoing around the clearing. Genis heard laughter, high-pitched like a hyena, but raspy and malevolent. His mother turned to him, a look of horror on her face.
"RUN!" She screamed out in a panic. Genis stumbled to his feet, but before he could so much as make to turn, a black blur rushed by in between him and his mother, and she fell to the ground, headless. Genis slowly opened his mouth in horror as he watched the pool of blood slowly grow larger. Tears formed at his eyes and he fell to his knees.
"M-mom?" He whispered. "D-dad?" Neither of them moved. Tears ran down his face as he reached towards his mother in shock. "Come on. Wake up!" He cried out. He shook the shoulders of the headless corpse of his mother. "Don't leave me! Please! Help!" He screamed. He herd it again. That laughter. That horrible laughter. It was coming closer. In a daze, Genis staggered to his feet, and ran. He didn't know where he was going, but he needed to get away. Get away from that laughter that echoed in his very mind. He made it about ten steps before he saw it. It had landed in front of him. As the moon came out from behind the clouds, the creature stood to its full height. It was black, like the very shadows themselves. It had four horns, two pointing up and back, and two curving forward. Its bat-like wings extended out to either side, and its long black claws dripped crimson blood. Its barbed tail lashed excitedly beside it as its red eyes glowed and its smile widened, showing off its needle-like teeth. Genis stepped back in fear.
"No! Stay away!" He cried out. "Leave me alo-!"
Shiick!
Genis looked down to see its claws embedded in his stomach. He gaped at it.
"How? I didn't even see it move!" He gripped the wrist of the living shadow. He felt a surge of power coming from within him. The shadow's smile vanished as it sensed the power.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" It cried out, thrashing wildly, trying to get away from the boy, who was also screaming as what felt like lava was flowing through his body. There was a flash, and the monster was gone. Genis looked down at his stomach and watched as it healed, leaving four scars. He collapsed, and everything faded.
Mirajane entered the small town of Ember. She glanced over the job request once more, double checking the information.
"A monster in the woods, huh? Easy money." She thought. She put the job request away and headed into town. She approached a small house near the market and knocked. The door opened, showing John standing there. He looked haggard and worn out, his once gleaming eyes dulled with grief.
"Hello? Who are you?" He asked. Mirajane put on her best smile.
"Hi there, I'm Mirajane, a wizard of Fairy Tail. I'm here for the monster." She said. John's eyes widened as he took in this girl in front of him.
"Are you sure, miss? It's going to be dangerous." He asked. Mirajane laughed.
"It's alright, I'm not afraid." John seemed to wince when he heard that, as if it was painful to hear.
"Alright, don't say I didn't warn you." He replied. "You'll find traces of it in the western part of the woods, most likely. The rumors had it in the northern part, but…" He sighed, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. "A friend of mine took his family on a weekend campout last week, and they haven't come back yet. The longest they've been gone is three days, and it's worrying me." He looked her in the eye. "If you find them, I'll add on an extra ten thousand jewels." Mirajane nodded.
"Of course. Leave it to me!" She turned and left, heading for the woods outside of town. It took her several hours to find anything, but when she did, she wished she hadn't. In a clearing, right in front of her, knelt a small boy, and in front of him, were two corpses. She gasped as she saw their condition. They were rotting and torn apart. The boy seemed to be oblivious to everything around him. She took a cautious step closer.
"Who are you?" The boy asked, all emotion gone. The sudden sound scared Mira, and she froze. "Who are you?" The boy asked again. She gulped. There was something wrong with this child.
"I am Mirajane, A-Class wizard of Fairy Tail." She said. "I'm looking for the monster that's rumored to be in these woods." She got no reaction from the boy.
"We were eating dinner. The fire went out. Dad went to get a match from our bags. I thought something was wrong. I warned them. Mom said that everything was going to be OK." He stated. Mirajane felt a chill go up her spine. "The monster took Dad first. Mom screamed. She told me to run, then she was dead too. Then it laughed." The boy began shaking. "That laugh, it was horrible. It still echoes in my head!" He clutched his head, swaying from side to side. She could finally hear some emotion, and it pulled at her heart. "I turned to run, but it was in front of me." He said. "It stabbed me with its claws. It was smiling." He put his hands on his stomach. Mirajane started forward. If this boy was hurt, she needed to take him back to the town. "I felt something in me. It burned." This caught her attention.
"What happened next?" She asked. The boy flinched, having forgotten that she was there.
"It stopped smiling, and tried to get away, but it couldn't. There was a bright light, and it was gone. Then everything disappeared." She gasped. This boy, had subconsciously used Take Over magic! He was just like her! She was torn from her thoughts when the boy stood and turned around, facing her. What she saw was almost as bad as the corpses. She gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. Half of the boy's face was an inky black color. His right eye was red, and he had tiny horns on the right side of his head.
"This is worse than what happened to my arm!" She thought. She got herself back under control, straightening.
"What's your name?" She asked. The boy blinked.
"Genis Laverion." He said. She smiled and extended her hand.
"It's nice to meet you." Genis shook her hand limply, no emotion showing on his face. She sighed. "Well, what you did is a form of Take Over magic. It allows you to absorb, or take over a monster of some kind. I use that magic as well." She explained. Genis shook his head.
"I don't want magic, I want my family." He said. She sighed, then stepped forward, putting her hand on his shoulder.
"I know what it's like to lose my parents. The town I and my siblings lived in chased us out because of my magic. It made my arm look like a demon's. Remember, you're not alone. If a family is what you're looking for, then come to Fairy Tail. We won't replace the family you've lost, but at least you can be happy again." She smiled. Genis nodded. She turned to leave, since the monster was gone, but she felt arms wrap around her waist.
"Please don't leave me." He whispered. She was about to shake him off, but thought better of it. This boy had been through enough without her being mean. She sighed.
"Well, can you at least let go?" She asked. Genis immediately jumped back, blushing and looking at the ground.
"Sorry." He mumbled. She sighed again.
"Come on." She ordered, walking off. Genis followed, turning once to see his family, one last time.
Magnolia
Genis looked around in awe. The city was huge, at least twice the size of Ember. As he followed Mira through the crowded street, he subconsciously pulled his hood lower to cover his face. While he had been able to make the black skin and horns disappear, thanks to Mirajane, he was unused to the amount of people around him. The two children made their way through the town, heading towards a large building with the same symbol on it that Mira had on her thigh. Genis could only assume that it was the Fairy Tail guild hall. As they grew closer, Genis heard noise coming from the inside of the building.
"Wow, they're really loud if I can hear them from so far away." He thought. When they reached the giant doors, Mira stopped, turning to face him.
"Ok, just a warning, some of these people are pretty crazy, so just go to the bar and you'll be fine." She said, then proceeded to open the door. Genis looked inside, and his jaw dropped. Everywhere, people were fighting, drinking, and talking. Tables, bottles, and chairs were being thrown around with abandon, knocking out several people. Mira walked inside, followed closely by Genis, and headed towards the bar. When they arrived and sat down, a short man that had been sitting on the bar counter looked up from his drink.
"Ah, hey there Mira, welcome back!" He said, raising his mug. Mira smiled at him.
"It's good to be back Master." Genis tilted his head in curiosity.
"This old man is the Guild Master?" He thought. Makorov nodded at Mira's words.
"So, how did the job go?" He asked. Mira shook her head, catching the Master's attention.
"I would actually like to tell you about it in private, Master." She replied. Makorov nodded.
"Well, before that, who is this?" He asked, gesturing to Genis. Mira smiled and patted his head.
"This is Genis. I found him in the woods. He can use Take Over magic like I can." Makorov's eyes widened at those words. Genis shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Really, now?" He pondered. Makorov turned to Genis. "What kind of souls do you use, Genis?" Genis shrank back from the old man's stare, stammering nervously.
"I-I don't know. There was a flash, and the monster was gone." He said. Makorov nodded.
"Well, it looks like Mira has already started showing you the ropes. I don't see any signs of the monster on you." Genis immediately felt his face, as if to double check the Master's words. Makorov stood up. "Well, Mira, come with me to my office, and we'll discuss your mission." Mira nodded and followed him, disappearing into a back room. Immediately, other kids surrounded Genis, making him shrink back. A boy with pink hair stepped forward.
"Hey there! I'm Natsu!" He said, giving Genis a wide grin. Genis smiled back, put at ease by the other boy's easygoing nature.
"I'm Genis." He said. Another boy with black hair and no shirt stepped up, taking his pants off. "Aah!" Genis cried as he jumped back. "What are you doing?!" The boy stopped, confused. Natsu sighed.
"Gray, you stripper! Put your damn clothes on!" He yelled. Gray looked down.
"Oh shit!" He yelled, looking for his clothes. As he left, another boy walked up. This one had white hair and a blue suit.
"Hello, my name is Elfmann. You came in here with my sister, Mira, right?" Genis nodded his confirmation. Next to Elfmann was another white haired girl. She smiled at Genis, making him blush.
"Hi, I'm Lisanna." She said. "Welcome to Fairy Tail. You are joining, right?" She asked. Genis, now crimson, shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know." He said. "Mira said that I used Take Over, but I have no idea how." Lisanna and Elfmann's jaws dropped.
"" You used Take Over!?"" They both yelled in surprise. Instantly, the guildhall grew quiet. Stunned by their reaction, Genis nodded, embarrassed.
"Oh man, it must be a really weak magic to make them like this! I should just leave." Then something unexpected happened. Lisanna and Elfmann smiled and cheered.
"That's awesome!" Elfmann cried out. Genis gaped at the boy in shock.
"Elfmann, Mira, and I use Take Over too." Lisanna said. Genis' jaw dropped, then a smile made its way across his face.
"That means you can help me!" He said, grabbing Lisanna's hand. She immediately blushed as Genis dragged her outside the doors of the guildhall and around the back. He let go and knelt in front of her, putting his face and hands on the ground as well. "Please help me with my magic!" He said. Lisanna blushed even deeper as she giggled. That sound made Genis smile.
"Alright." She said. Genis immediately jumped up, smiling widely. She then took a stance, her power rising. "Just imagine your magic like a bowl of water." She said. Genis immediately nodded and got into his own stance, with his hands raised in fists. He could feel something in him. It was like a deep pool, extending down farther than he could sense, yet he knew that it was a lot. "Now try spreading that power through your body, slowly." She continued her lesson, and a white aura surrounded her. Genis probed the pool, and was able to draw it out, letting it flow through him like a torrent of water as he exuded a large black aura. Lisanna was surprised by the amount of power he put on display, but shook her doubts away. "Now, repeat after me." She said. Genis nodded.
"Take Over!" She shouted.
"Take Over!" Genis followed her lead. A golden light surrounded her, then faded, revealing her to be a giant pink bunny. At the same time, all of the shadows in the area swarmed over Genis, obscuring him from view. When it cleared, there was no real difference in his appearance, except for two things. His hair was now black and spiked upwards fully, and his pupils and sclera were both pure black. There was also an aura of darkness constantly leaking out of his every pore. "… Elemental Take Over: Shadow Master." He said, as the words appeared in his mind. Bunny Lisanna gasped in awe and slight fear at the power coming off of him.
"Lisanna!" They both turned to see Mira and Makorov run around the corner, followed closely by the guild. Mira gasped as Makorov narrowed his eyes.
"Genis?" Mira asked. Genis looked at his hands and the darkness that flowed off of them.
"I'm using magic?" He asked himself. He then smiled. "I'm using magic!" He pumped his fist in the air, only for a beam of darkness to launch into the sky. He immediately flinched, looking towards the guild. "Sorry." He mumbled sheepishly. "This is my first time using magic." The guild stood in shock at the boy's new appearance. Makorov cleared his throat.
"Genis, I would like to speak to you in my office, right after you disperse your Take Over." Genis nodded, then turned to Bunny Lisanna.
"How do I do that?" He asked, blushing in embarrassment. Lisanna giggled, causing his blush to deepen.
"Just relax your body and your magic." She said as she was surrounded by a golden light. Genis nodded, and did the same, the shadows enveloping him once more. They both transformed back into their original selves, and Genis followed the Master to his office, closing the door behind him.