Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail or Danny Phantom
Warning: Contains spoilers for the Alvarez Empire arc of Fairy Tail. Alternate ending for the series as well.
Walking through the streets of Amity Park was a new resident. With dark black hair, a black t-shirt, and faded black jeans, he looked like an average teenager. The boy carried a white backpack slung over one shoulder, with his hand gripping the strap. The sidewalks were clear and the sun was just rising over town, an ordinary day for the residents within.
Gazing around, the boy's black eyes scanned his surroundings. This place had changed so much, he realized. After his failure during the war, Zeref had fled Fiore, hiding within neighboring nations and trying to quiet things down for a while. At the very end, he had finally seen Mavis again. Her words, her insistence that she both loved and hated him stuck with him to this very day. Even when she offered him the opportunity to die, he could not accept it. That burden was not hers to bear, not when he could clearly see how terrified she was of that very outcome.
A few cars passed by him in the street, making Zeref's hair blow slightly in the wind. Magic had been forgotten about, these days. In a way, that was his fault as well. He may have fled to avoid causing further destruction, after Mavis reminded him of the reasons he had valued life originally, but that did not mean the damage had not been done. Fearful of the power of wizards like Zeref, the Council had begun putting in new regulations on wizards. All of them had to be registered with the Council, regardless of if they were a part of a guild or not. In addition, they required each wizard to go through a careful analysis of their mental state and abilities before they could have any instruction on how to advance their power, or enter a guild.
Eventually, all of those regulations broke the careful peace that had been established. Wizards no longer practiced their arts, not willing to terrify the majority of the population with their power. Treated as monsters, wizards went into hiding until eventually, they faded away into the sands of time, nothing but myths in the eyes of the world. Zeref was a relic from those days, the last surviving wizard.
He paused for a moment, tilting his head at that thought. Perhaps that wasn't quite true, though he had no way of being certain. Mavis should be alive as well, though he had not seen her since the war. If he did see her, he knew he would need her help, however. There was a problem rising, an energy that had to be stopped. Only a wizard could handle this, and at the moment, Zeref was finally taking the initiative and attempting to help the world. He simply hoped it didn't backfire on him like it always did, with the curse he lived with.
Zeref continued walking down the sidewalk, passing a woman walking their dog. This city had once been Magnolia, he remembered. Nothing looked the same, though. More buildings had been built, the originals all demolished. Cardia Cathedral was nonexistent, and the landmark guild known as Fairy Tail had ceased to exist. In essence, Amity Park had completely destroyed the place Zeref remembered. It made him smile slightly, relieved to see that he wouldn't be haunted by old memories while he was here.
He was silent the entire time he walked, finally stopping when he stood before a much larger building, set apart from the residential homes of the town. It was rectangular in shape, with a dying field of grass in front of it. A sign on the building labeled it as Casper High, the words written just below the proudly waving flag of their country. This place was going to be difficult to adjust to, Zeref noted. There were few places these days where he could find isolation, but recent developments in the world had given him a new mindset.
Ghosts had suddenly sprung into existence, shocking Zeref. He knew from experience that death was not something that could be easily overcome, and as a result, he was now here. This city, Amity Park, was known for the unusually high ghost activity. Here, he could learn why people were coming back after death, in an entirely different form.
In a way, he could at least be grateful to their existence. Ghosts gave Zeref a way of not caring it people died, safely assuming they'd have a second chance at life as a different type of being. It kept his curse quiet, and allowed him to live peacefully amongst the growing population of the world. Isolation simply wasn't an option, but it didn't mean he was comfortable.
Walking passed a group of students, Zeref approached the front steps. He kept his head down, avoiding their curious gazes. Getting enrolled in a high school had been rather simple. Magic still came to him with ease, so after sitting down with the principle, he had managed to convince the woman that he'd been homeschooled until now, enrolling in Casper High. A bit of illusion magic on blank sheets of paper, and she was convinced that Zeref Dragneel was a resident of Amity Park, living with his parents, Irene and Invel. Since he had no documentation to prove his identity, that was exactly how it had to remain. Other students may be mystified by his sudden appearance, but that suited him just fine.
Bumping into a student in a varsity jacket, Zeref thought it would be fine to pay them no mind. However, the kid's blue eyes turned harshly towards him, glaring as he stood tall. "Hey, watch where you're going!" he shouted, putting a hand on his waist. "You better apologize. I could have fallen and injured myself just now."
Frowning, Zeref turned to gaze at the man for his stupid comment. This was another reason to dislike humanity these days. It seemed as if people had grown dull and boring over the years, lacking the intelligence that he used to remember seeing on others. "Yes, I suppose that is true." He wanted to keep his speaking to a minimum, despite his mild irritation with the man.
However, the athletic boy stepped forward, using his height to his advantage. Zeref silently cursed himself for being trapped in his teenage body, realizing that everyone would see him as weak for all of eternity. It had become more common in recent years, but it had started over the last few centuries.
"That didn't sound like an apology. Maybe you'll be taking the beating I had planned for Fenturd today." Dash insisted, pounding a fist into his hand. "After all, you do kind of look like him, and that nerd deserves it."
The boy was completely illogical, but Zeref still didn't push him. "Is that so? I will not stop you, however, it would not be wise to attack me. If you proceed to do so—" A bell rang, cutting off Zeref's comment. Glancing up, Dash pointed towards him with a scowl.
"I'll let you off with a warning this time, since I've never seen your face around here." he stated, moving to leave. "Make sure you watch where you're going, or next time, there's going to be a beating involved."
Letting the man pass, Zeref sighed and glanced at his own schedule. Thanks to that boy, he was going to be late for his first class. Shaking his head, Zeref moved through the halls, finding the room number posted above the door for his room. Walking inside, Zeref stopped for a moment as heads swiveled his way, staring at the intrusion. "Well, it looks like our new student finally decided to join us." the instructor stated. He was an older man, with little hair and a round belly. He had a blue shirt on with a tie and gray slacks. "Mr. Dragneel, I will let you know that tardiness is not going to be accepted in my class. Please, take your seat."
Without a word, Zeref nodded and moved to the empty desk in the room. It would be pointless to try and explain. Sitting down, he glanced around and heard a few whispers within the class. "Now that that's settled, let us dive into the wondrous world of algebra. Numbers are always so fun to work with, aren't they?"
A groan was heard echoed around the room, while Zeref felt tempted to join them. Magic required far more complex calculations that he was talking about. Theories behind development of spells and how they worked required intense focus, examining the energy required for something to be done by an actual person, then translating that force into terms of ethernano, and from there, converting that into a formula that decides exactly how much of that energy would be wasted within the casting of a spell. From all of those calculations, Zeref could determine if a specific spell was possible for use, in theory. Simple algebra didn't even touch on the logic required for that.
Tuning out the teacher, Zeref pulled out his notebook and began writing his own thoughts for the moment. He had not collected any data about ghosts yet, but he was working on theories about how they had come into existence. Resurrection was something he understood quite well, and certain systems were simply impossible due to the power required to activate them. Others, however, that were already supplied with outside energy, were slightly more plausible.
One theory he had was that this was someone who had managed to retain their magic after all of these years. With how hidden wizards had to remain in the past, it would not be entirely impossible that generations went by, keeping their magical talents hidden from the world. This wizard then decided to toy with life and death, creating their own versions of Zeref's demons with a similar spell. From that point on, their rational would be similar to his own all those years ago. Still, if that was the case, their name would be known by now. It had only taken about six demons for his name to become well-known, and for wizards to begin hunting him down in the past.
With that, he paused, his pencil stopping. If not a wizard, then what? Closing his eyes, he sensed outward, looking for anything that might give him a clue. There was a strange energy in the air, almost like magical energy but not quite the same. That, however, was not what caught his main attention. There was a lingering trace of magic mixed within it, one that felt familiar to him. A spell he had sensed before, but Zeref could not place it. Memories had become a blur, and it was difficult to determine what it was.
As he frowned in focus, centralizing his attention to that energy, a voice cut through his meditation. "Mr. Dragneel! First, you come in late to your first day, and now, I find you sleeping in my class." Mr. Lancer declared, making Zeref's eyes flash open. A few kids grinned and chuckled at his expense, but Zeref paid them no mind. Instead, he focused on the half-finished problem on the board.
Rising to his feet, Zeref walked to it with a calm look on his face. "Do not make assumptions. I dislike having to focus on tedious lectures." he stated, picking up a piece of chalk and scribbling on the board. The problem was basic algebra, likely for introducing the subject to these students. 5x + 3 = 7. Quickly showing his steps to gratify his teacher, Zeref easily solved the equation. X=4/5 or .8
Dropping the chalk back into the slot of the board, Zeref turned around and returned to his seat. Mr. Lancer stared with his jaw dropped at the board, clearing his throat after a moment and straightening his tie. "Well…I suppose there's no harm done. Anyway, let's move on…now that we've finished your introduction to algebra, let's move into the wonderful world of literature!"
Thus, Zeref's first day began. Letting his gaze wander over his peers, Zeref questioned if this would actually be of any value to him. The football squad in the back seemed to be where the bully from before was, glaring at him as a warning. Right next to them were the cheerleaders, seeming to be headed by a girl with dark black hair and curves that would normally draw any man to her for her looks. Far away from them, however, was another group of friends. A boy with black hair was staring over at him, frowning with confusion. By his side was a girl dressed entirely in black, and a boy with a red hat, glasses, and a yellow shirt. His blue eyes gazed into Zeref's black ones, frowning as Zeref returned to his theorizing. Let the boy wonder, he decided. No one here would ever figure out the truth, not when Zeref was nothing more than a fairy tale come to life.
Hello again! This is probably one of the weirdest crossover ideas I had amongst my scattered inspiration that kind of died off. Once again, I really have no clue where I want to go with this, I just wanted to try writing something with Danny Phantom, even though I am not all that familiar with that universe (I've watched the series, but keeping up with timelines is just weird when it involves cartoons to me). Either way, credit will be given if any of you help provide ideas that inspire me to keep moving forward with this story! A poll is also on my profile if any of you wanted to tell me which story you would prefer for me to focus on right now. Feel free to review with any feedback you may have!