Hey guys, Somebody here again. After 6 MONTHS! *sigh* I know, I know, I haven't posted in forever. While I can't promise a concrete schedule, you have my word on me posting more regularly. Possibly every 3 to 4 weeks. (again no promises) But I thank you all who have stuck with me. I know my writing can be pretty bad sometimes, but you're still here, which means a lot. Again I'm so sorry.
I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please leave a like and follow my story if you're interested.
Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima.
Previously
Romeo walked into his apartment, and locked the door behind him. He slid down the door. Romeo smiled and thought about his upcoming date. "I can't believe she liked me too. What are the friggin' odds. I have to make this date perfect. Luckily I have the rest of the week to prepare." Romeo got up and looked at the window. Snow was falling out of the clouds. "This is the best Christmas ever." he thought.
Now
"Fire Dragon's ROAR!" yelled Natsu. Romeo dodged a flaming vortex of super hot fire. Well, barely dodged. The fire burned the tips of his hair. Romeo got back into fighting position.
"That was a close one!" Romeo shouted.
"Well that's not my fault!" Natsu shouted back. "Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" Natsu lit both of his hands on fire and put them together. This time, Natsu created a giant fireball. But Romeo was ready this time. Romeo charged the giant fireball, only to maneuver his way around it.
"Indigo Flare: Explosion!" Romeo used the explosive power of the Indigo Flare to propel himself towards Natsu. As he approached him, Romeo lit his right foot on fire. "Red Flare: Flaming Kick!" Romeo kicked his foot up and at Natsu. Unfortunately, the fire mage had grabbed Romeo's foot.
"Crap," Romeo said.
Natsu smiled. He Romeo spun around, and then threw him into the nearby tree. Romeo groaned and clutched his side.
"That was a nice kick. It almost burned me," Natsu chuckled.
Romeo chuckled as well. "Yeah right. I didn't even give it my all," he replied.
"That means you're getting stronger."
Romeo took a second to think about that. He was right. Even though it was barely a powerful attack, it was a stronger compared to one a month ago.
"Yeah, I think you're right." Romeo said. "Indigo Flare: Pillars of Doom!" Romeo snapped his fingers and created 6 pillars of constantly exploding fire from the remaining sparks left from Romeo's previous attack. They surrounded Natsu and blocked his vision.
"Finally an opening," Romeo thought to himself. Romeo lit his hands up with his Red Flare and charge Natsu. But before he could reach him, the pillars of fire disappeared. Natsu wiped his mouth and smiled.
"Crap. Again," Romeo sighed.
"Fire Dragon's Roar: Indigo Flare" yelled Natsu. Out of his mouth came a vortex of Romeo's constantly exploding fire. Without enough time to react, Romeo was hit by the attack. He was once again knocked back into the tree, but this time had to endure the impact of the many explosions going on all at once. Once the attack stop, Romeo fell to ground in pain.
"Ugggh," Romeo groaned. Natsu chuckled. Romeo saw him walk up to him.
"That was a good fight. You lasted longer than last time," Natsu said, stretching his arm out to Romeo. Romeo took it and got up.
"Thanks, I guess. I let my guard down. Again," Romeo sighed.
"Yup, you did," Natsu agreed. They started to walk over back to the guild hall. They had just finished that week's training session. "Like I said before, you're getting better. Given more practice and time, you'll be a top mage before you know it."
Romeo laughed. "Yeah, maybe." Once they had made it to the main doors, Natsu went to open it. Right when he did, both moved to the right. Nothing.
"No chair?" asked Romeo.
"I guess not," replied Natsu.
With that the duo walked into the guild and soon made their way to the bar. They both grabbed a cup of beer.
Natsu sighed. "Man what I would give to have Luce right about now," he mumbled.
"Yeah. Wendy too," Romeo said somewhat sullen.
"Speaking of Wendy, how are your preparations going?"
"Great actually! I've already reserved a table for two at Freed's Flora and Fauna. The fanciest restaurant in the whole city. I've also bought a suit. So I've done pretty much all I can think of."
Natsu chuckled. "That's good. But speaking from experience, Wendy might nit-pick a few things."
"Not going to lie, I seriously doubt that. As long as there is food, she will be happy," replied Romeo, "That's what I like about her. She isn't too fancy and enjoys the simplest of things."
"Can't argue with that." Both of them laughed and drank some beer. Romeo smiled at the seemingly very quiet guild today. But of course since when did the guild stay quiet. The minute the sound of a bottle being broken was heard, all hell broke loose. Chairs, tables, and even people were being thrown.
"What I would give for a moment of peace and quiet," Romeo cried.
"Amen brother," Natsu chuckled. Romeo sighed and thought for a bit. After a moment of silence, Natsu asked a question.
"Hey Romeo, you've never really mentioned your life before joining guild. If you don't mind me asking, what was it like?"
Romeo perked up at the question. "It wasn't bad. Not too much at least," he replied.
"Any family or relatives you lived with?"
"Well I used to live with my dad, and my two older sisters. They're twins."
"Were they nice?" asked Natsu.
"Umm, I guess? I don't really know how to answer that. I've always been the odd-one-out of my family, so my sisters teased me a lot," Romeo answered, "And my dad was always super strict. He was always trying to get me to push my limits when it came to magic. He was also always super busy, so I never really got to know him."
Natsu frowned at the response. "That sounds kind of sad, Romeo. Where was your mom in all of this?"
"I think she left my dad soon after I was born. Some of my old guildmates said that she got mad at him prioritizing his work over his family. I can't disagree with her, but I wished she had stayed. By the way my sisters talked about her, she sounded like the sweetest soul."
Romeo sighed. There was a reason why he never brought up his family life with others.
"If you don't mind me asking another question, but who were your old guildmates?" asked Natsu.
Romeo looked up at him. He opened his mouth, but hesitated. Natsu sighed in understanding.
"Don't worry I get it. You've had a rough life. It was wrong of me to pry into your life uncalled for," Natsu said, "I hope you can forgive me for being inconsiderate."
Romeo smiled. "Of course I forgive you Natsu. And it's fine. Sure I didn't have the ideal childhood, but it wasn't the worst. It's just one of those topics that I struggle to explain," Romeo replied.
Natsu smiled as well. "Yeah. I get that." They both sat in silence as they both drank.
"Hey Natsu?"
"Yeah what's up Romeo?"
"Me and Wendy were talking recently, and she mentioned that when she was fighting that woman, Etheris, she used a Dragon Slayer attack. Are there other dragon slayers as well? And how did Dragon Slayer Magic come to be?" Romeo asked.
Natsu took a deep breath and sighed.
"You remember when I said that me and Wendy were 1st generation Dragon Slayers?" he asked.
"Yeah I remember. You said you guys were over 400 years old. I still don't get that," Romeo replied.
"Well over 400 years ago, dragons ruled all of Earth Land. In an attempt to even the playing fields, the Queen of the Dragons, Irene Belserion, created Dragon Slayer Magic. This magic gave humans the ability to mimic and create their own dragon-based attacks. She sent these soldiers, now called Dragon Slayers, to fight in the war now known as, The Dragon King Festival. The humans, with the help of many dragons themselves, won the war and peace was established," Natsu explained.
"Oh yeah, I learned about The Dragon King Festival when I was in school," Romeo ssid.
"Yeah, but they don't tell what happens after. After a treaty was made, one of the Dragon Slayers went rogue. His name was Acnologia. He had a deep-seeded hate for all dragons. So he went around killing all the dragons he could find. For every dragon he killed, he would bathe in their blood, making him much more stronger. Soon after, he himself became a dragon."
"What!? How?" Romeo exclaimed.
"A side-effect of Dragon Slayer Magic is that if not prevented, the user will become a dragon themselves. With that, comes a huge power boost. With it, Acnologia went on a complete genocide of the dragon race. Soon he had gained a new power. The ability to take souls," Natsu continued to explain, "Taking advantage of this, he spared those who had sided with Humans by stealing half of their souls." Natsu sighed.
Romeo gulped. The story was getting kind of intense. How strong was Acnologia?
"What's wrong Natsu?" asked Romeo.
Natsu sighed. "It's just that he also took the soul of my adoptive father, Igneel."
"O-oh. That's horrible."
"Yeah. It is. But it wasn't just him. It was also every other dragon that had sided with him. Acnologia showed very little mercy. For all we knew, once he purged all dragons, he might go for humans next. So one thing was clear. He HAD to be stopped."
"How did they stop him?" asked Romeo.
Natsu gave him a serious look. "With Dragon Slayers," Natsu explained, "I forgot to mention this, but Acnologia had killed the other Dragon Slayers just so they wouldn't stop him. And with all the remaining dragons having only half a soul, which means only half the power, Irene Belserion created new ones. She entrusted each dragon with an orphan, so that the dragons could train the orphans. Me and Wendy were one of them."
"How many orphans were there?" Romeo asked.
"There were about 120 dragons left, so probably around that many," Natsu answered, "And so, after 6 years of training, we were ready. And on the fateful day of July 7, XXX7, we fought Acnologia. And we won, but at a price. We were all so injured, that in order to heal, we had to be sent into the future where there was a great amount of ethernano to heal with. And so, the dragons and wizards sent us all into the future. I think you know the rest."
"Yeah. You woke up on a field, with Wendy there as well," Romeo said.
"Yes I did," Natsu chuckled.
So that was how it went. Romeo would've never imagined the war had played out like that. There was so much that he didn't know, that it kinda scared him.
Natsu sighed again. "Romeo, there's been something I've been needing to tell you," he said.
Romeo sat up. "What is it?" he asked.
Natsu took a deep breath. "Those dragons slayers, the ones that were also sent into the future. I think that some of them are planning something bad. You know how you mentioned that Etheris girl used a Dragon Slayer attack?"
"Yes?" Romeo tensed up.
"Well she's not the only one. I have reason to believe all the other Dragon Slayers are together. Possibly in a guild. And they are obviously up to no good," Natsu said. "They obviously tried stealing the souls of an entire town. And from I've gathered, they were also responsible for Harspurus."
Romeo reeled back in shock. "W-what are you saying?" He asked.
"I'm saying that I think that they sent those vulcans. You know how you mentioned how there were different vulcans and how they had a power boost?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I think that they sent them. Probably to test Fairy Tail. Again, I think that they are planning something sinister, hence the reason why they tried to steal a whole town."
Romeo didn't know what to say. Someone had deliberately sought to hurt other people to reach them. This was some next level evil scheming.
"You may be wondering, 'Natsu, why did you tell me this?'"
"Not going lie, yeah a little."
"Well Romeo, here's the reason. I need your help." Natsu answered. This caught Romeo by surprise.
"W-what? W-why me?" Romeo asked.
"Because, you're the only one who actually knows of their presence. You would know what to look for. Plus right now you're one of the only people I can trust." Romeo's heart almost skipped a beat. Natsu, THE Natsu, had just said that Romeo was one of the only he could trust. His idol said he was worthy of his trust.
"T-thanks Natsu. What do you need me to do?" Romeo asked.
"I would need you to help discover their location and such."
"Ok, got it."
"Good," Natsu replied, "Thank you Romeo. You do not know how much of a relief it is to have someone help me with this."
"No problem Natsu," Romeo answered, "By the way, do you know what they're planning?"
Natsu sighed. "Sadly no. If I did, it would make things so much easier."
"Well no need to worry, cause you've got me now!" Romeo said in an excited voice.
Natsu chuckled. "Yeah, I know kid." With that Natsu got up and walked over to the mission board. Without anything else to do, Romeo went to look for his friends. But as misfortune would have it, they were all gone on their own missions.
Romeo sighed and started to walk around looking for any familiar faces. As he walked around, he couldn't help but think about what Natsu said. What were these Dragon Slayers planning? What did it have to do with the people of Clover Town? It all honestly scared Romeo. But it was for this reason that he had to try to stop them. After sometime of walking around, Romeo found Gray sitting alone, eating a steak.
"Mind if I sit, Gray?" Romeo asked. Gray looked up and then swallowed his food.
"Yes you may, young man," he replied. Romeo sat down.
"Soooooo, what's been going on?" Romeo awkwardly asked. At this point he was just trying to ease his anxiety.
"Well, nothing too major has been happening in my life. I just got back from my trip to see my girlfriend Juvia. Such a delightful and well-mannered woman. She is currently studying in Malba City," he replied.
"Oh ok. That's nice." Gray continued to eat his steak, while Romeo just sat there. No one said anything for a good full minute.
"Ahem! Well, um, how's your team doing?" Romeo asked.
"It is going just splendidly. We've been meaning to go on a team mission for while now, but situations just keep popping up."
"That must suck. Not being able to hang out with your friends."
"Well it does get frustrating at points. But we've all come to accept it as a part of being more strong and popular mages. Once you gain enough notoriety, your schedule suddenly becomes full with interviews, talk show cameos, photo shoots. Or in the case of Natsu or Samuel, you avoid those things by taking on as many missions as possible," Gray explained.
This surprised Romeo. He had thought being a mage was simply going on missions and hanging out with friends. He had completely forgotten that they were also in the public as heroes-of-sorts.
"Dang, never thought about it like that."
Gray chuckled. "I doubt any of us did. It's just something you learn about and grow with." Gray smiled at Romeo, who proceeded to smile back.
Then Romeo remembered something. "Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask something. Who's Samuel?" he asked.
Gray pushed his now empty plate aside. "Oh Samuel is one the other S-Class mages here," Gray replied.
"If he's that strong, then how come he's never here? Like you, or Natsu, or Erza?"
"That is because Samuel is quite the introvert. He isn't very fond of talking with others. I believe it has something to do with his childhood. In order to avoid contact with others, Samuel usually comes early in the morning or late in the night to always take another mission. Very rarely does he stay for a few days."
"Then why is he part of your team?"
"Erza met him when they were young and still in elementary school. She was his only friend, so when she left to join this guild, he followed suit. So when our former guild master, Makarov, assigned Erza, Lucy, and I to accompany Natsu on his next mission, Erza invited him as well. From then on, we were a team," Gray finished explaining.
"Wow, I guess there's a lot more I need to learn about the guild," Romeo replied.
Gray chuckled. "Yes young man, there is a lot about the guild that many of us don't really know." Gray got up and grabbed his plate. "While this conversation was very nice, I must get going now. You understand, don't you?"
"Don't worry, it's fine. You obviously have a very busy schedule," Romeo replied. Gray nodded, dropped his plate off at the bar, and then made his way out of the guild.
"Welp, guess it looks like I'm alone now." Romeo said to himself. He stood up and made his way to the main entrance. Making his way out, Romeo began to think about the Dragon Slayer guild again.
"What did they want with a whole town? I don't know what their big plan is, but all I know is that it's going to be bad." He thought to himself. "What if we can't stop them? How many more people will get hurt? Will I be strong enough to stop them?"
Romeo got to his apartment door and shook the thoughts from his head. He couldn't let these thoughts get to him. Plus he wasn't doing this alone. There was nothing to worry about. He had Natsu on his side. Romeo unlocked the door and stepped inside. As he put his things away, he saw a picture of him, Wendy, and Carla. He smiled.
"I can't worry anyways. I've got a date tomorrow."
Hey guys, thanks for reading this chapter of Another Tail. I hope you enjoyed. I'm sorry for the really long wait, I kind of hit a writer's block as to what I would do for the upcoming chapters, but I think I have an idea now. If you liked this story, consider following. Maybe even share it with your friends. Also check out my other story, B-List Superheroes. It's a My Hero fanfic, so I think many of you would enjoy. Anyways, thanks for reading and have a great life.