xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Hemlock, 11:54 a.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Setting up her four wheeled Magi-cycle for a ride, Camilla put on a black collared coat on her upper body as she rolled out her bike towards the gate of the guild. As she walked along the way, she turned around and noticed Marlene and Pietro arrive to see her.
"So you're going on the job in Oak Town?" Marlene said with curiosity.
"Yup, making the drive is going to be a piece of cake on this bad boy." Camilla said as she patted the seat on the Magi-cycle with her hand.
"And are you sure about bringing Lil Bern with you by himself?" Pietro asked out of intrigue as he scratched at his chin as Camilla looked at him with a concerned face. "It's an S-class quest regardless and to see you and him just by yourselves on a job of this level..." He continued.
"I know, I know." Camilla said as she attached the SE plug of the Magi-cycle to her right wrist as she sat on the bike and proceeded to pump it with her magic, revving the handle.
"Dang this thing is cool." Marlene said as she looked at Camillas Magi-cycle.
"And that's the reason I bought it." Camilla said with a smile in response.
"Didn't Anatoli beat you in that race on his ball when you first got it awhile ago?" Marlene asked as Camilla put her hand on her face.
"Don't remind me, please... I want to scrub that memory from my brain." Camilla said annoyed.
"Too bad for him that beating you in a race doesn't make him S-class. Hehehe." Pietro joked as the girls smirked in response. "But like I said, is it really a good idea to go alone with Lil Bern on a job like this?" He questioned.
"I already told him about the job and he is coming along with me, just us. And his pets, of course." Camilla said. "I... Best not say anything else for now..." She thought as she looked away from her friends.
Hearing footsteps approaching, the trio looked back to notice Anatoli, approaching on his rolling ball, and next to him on foot was Bernard. Looking at Bernard with a level of surprise in their eyes, Pietro and Marlene were taken back by the sight of Bernard with a wide smile and a positive attitude emanating from him.
"Uhh…" Marlene muttered as she looked at Bernard as Camilla rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Is something wrong?" Pietro said with a raised eyebrow.
"He's been like this for almost an hour!" Anatoli exclaimed with confusion.
"Oh I'm fine. Totally fine! Hehehe." Bernard said with a smirk full of happiness. As he finished chuckling, Pietro glanced at Camilla and noticed her sighing as she continued to rev up her Magi-cycle.
"Hey, Bernard." Camilla said as she sat on her bike as Bernard looked at her.
"Yeesss?" Bernard humorlessly said with a smirk as he looked at his girlfriend with the others still disturbed by his mannerisms.
"Your slime monster, Formosa, it has a speed form or something right?" Camilla asked as Bernard nodded with the same smile on his face. "I'm going to slap that dumb smirk off his face if he keeps this up!" She thought with agitation forming on her face as she looked at him. "Mind bringing it out? I want to race it."
"Oh?" Pietro muttered.
"You guys are going to race all the way to Oak Town?" Marlene questioned.
"300 Jewel on Camilla!" Anatoli jokingly said out loud as Bernard pressed on his Lacrima pacemaker as the slime monster Formosa had arrive from out of his body.
"Formosa, speed form." Bernard commanded as he pointed his fingers at Formosa, transferring energy into the massive beast as its fluid body begun to shift down from its spiked golem-like form into a large puddle-like ooze with its green eyes and a pair of spikes on top of it. As it shifted around, Bernard proceeded to climb on top of Formosa and held onto both of the spikes like a pair of handlebars.
"Okay, Oak Town is southwest from Hemlock so we'll head that way along the trail out of town. First one there wins." Camilla said as she revved up her bike once more as she continued to pump more energy into the SE plug.
"This a part of what we talk about?" Bernard said with a cocky smirk as Camillas eye twitched.
"No..." Camilla said with annoyance as she proceeded to drive off on the bike.
"Hey! No headstarts!" Bernard exclaimed as Formosa proceeded to speed up on the ground and give chase, leaving behind the others.
'"What was up with him?"' Anatoli, Marlene and Pietro thought simultaneously with continued bewilderment.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Oak Town, 6:17 p.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Situated on a hill in southwest Fiore as the sun was starting to go down was Oak Town, an old castle town nearby from lush forests, several mountains and with a river flowing nearby from it. Consisting predominantly of stone buildings from a bygone era, a majority of which looked like small castles, the town appeared to look like it was stuck in time.
Arriving at the entrance to the town was Camilla and Bernard, each riding their different modes of transportation, with Bernard managing to reach the way into the town before Camilla.
"Ha! Yes!" Bernard exclaimed in joy as he jumped off of Formosas speed form and had his arms raised in the air in a celebratory fashion with massive droplets of sweat dripping off of his face.
"...Dang it..." Camilla said quietly with agitation as she wiped her forehead of sweat from using her magical power to power her bike.
"Guess we know who's faster! My slime thing versus your bike!" Bernard said with glee as Camilla rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, ha ha." Camilla said sarcastically. "Note to self; go all out on pouring in magical energy into the bike or you'll never win a race..." She thought with annoyance at her lack of trying harder with her bike.
"Boo... Yah! Boo... Yah!" Bernard exclaimed with joy as Camilla walked away from him celebrating like a dork over his victory in their little race, Formosa returning into his body at the same time as Bernard danced around.
"Oh knock it off already!" Camilla exclaimed as she turned to look at Bernard continuing to smirk.
"Excuse me?" Said a random voice of an elderly individual as Camilla and Bernard stopped and turned to the side to see someone had approached them.
A small man with a balding gray spiky hair style and a small moustache in a gray suit and black tie with round sunglasses had appeared near the pair as they looked down at him.
"Hello there, I am Mr. Zant. I am the mayor of Oak Town." Zant said with a calm attitude as he looked at the pair.
"Uhhh? Hi?" Bernard said, unsure of how else to respond.
"Are you the one who sent this request?" Camilla said as she took out the S-class quest flier and showed it to Zant.
"Ahh just as I thought, you are both wizards who have come for the job request the town put out." Zant said.
"The entire town put out this quest?" Bernard thought with a raised eyebrow.
"Please, come with me to my office, I'll explain there." Zant said as he walked away with Camilla and Bernard looking at eachother with concern.
After walking through the town and reaching the home office of the mayor of the town, Bernard and Camilla sat in chairs in front of his desk and listening to the story behind the job request.
"So this request is to get rid of some weird ghost stuff happening at the castle at the top of the town?" Bernard said.
"Correct." Zant replied.
"What building is this?" Camilla said with interest.
"...Are you aware of Oak Towns prior history from around a decade ago?" Zant said as he bent forward over his desk towards the pair.
"Not really. Refresh my memory?" Camilla said as she looked at Bernard.
"Oak Town... Former home of the once largest and strongest guild in Fiore; Phantom Lord." Bernard said towards Camilla.
"Oh yeah, I remember them... Their guild master went nuts right?" Camilla said as she talked to Bernard.
"Incredibly insane, he had built this giant robot of sorts out of one of the guild halls and nearly destroyed Magnolia just to destroy the Fairy Tail guild I heard." Bernard said as the two gossiped.
"Uhm… Could we please not?" Zant said as he caught back the Psycho Circus pairs attention. "To be completely honest, I have heard enough stories of Phantom Lords downward spiral and frankly, it's brought enough shame to our town given the fact we have housed them for years as one of their many satellite guild hall locations..." Zant said with a tone that sounded like it was growing with depression.
"Oh uh... Sorry, didn't realize we hit a nerve." Camilla said with an apologetic tone.
"It's alright... It's just... Let me get back to business. At the top of the town, the largest building in Oak Town lies there; the former home of the Phantom Lord guild." Zant explained. "For the last five or six years, I have been trying to get projects to tear down the guildhall to revitalize the town to get rid of the Phantom Lord image that has loomed over the town since the disbandment of that guild." He continued.
"...And this "ghost" problem at the guildhall is keeping you from doing that?" Bernard questioned.
"Precisely... I want to fix up my town and clean up this place, make it better and bring in more commerce, add improvements." Zant said with a serious expression that caught Bernards attention. "But the issue is that guildhall has become a living embodiment of my nightmares and after sending as many wizards as I can over the years from a bunch of other guilds, I still haven't found a single bit of success with ridding that guildhall from my town!" He said as he slammed his hand down on the desk, startling Camilla and Bernard.
"Hey, calm down... Can I ask a question?" Camilla said as she started to become serious. "You said you sent other wizards and they failed to do the job you needed. Any ideas as to why they failed?" She asked as Zant bit down on his lip.
"I do not know... As they all never came back from going in there..." Zant said with a serious expression as he scratched his head with Bernard and Camillas eyes widening.
"...You... Are you serious?" Bernard said with shock as Camilla looked with a similar level of surprise.
"As I said... This request has been shuffled around for years and when I originally posted it, it was 4 million Jewels..." Zant said as he put his hands over his eyes in shame. "I've had to spend taxpayer money from the people of Oak Town towards this job and I have lowered it over and over again... The S-class marker I thought would get someone strong enough to handle it but still nothing..." He continued.
Upon seeing this display by the mayor, Bernard made a face of concern before glancing over at Camilla. Looking at her expression, she made a face that looked as if she was telling Bernard not to go through with the job as he swallowed spit as he begun to think.
"...How difficult can this job really be? It's just a ghost haunting a building but... If people have died just trying to do this, is it worth it...? Wait... A ghost..." Bernard thought as he started to think it over as he looked at the mayor. "How much has the job declined to?" He questioned as Camilla looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"It's only 360,000 Jewels... I know, it's not much but-" Zant said before Bernard spoke up.
"I'll do it..." Bernard said with a serious tone as Camilla and Zant looked at him with surprise.
"Wha-what?" Camilla said.
"Really?! You'll help?!" Zant exclaimed as he stood up from his desk.
"Yes. I'll help you with your problem. I just need some specifics for the job." Bernard said as he stood up from the chair.
"Yes! Anything!" Zant said in a hysterical fashion.
As she was still sitting, Camilla clutched tightly at the arms of the chair she was in as Bernard and Zant talked, showing signs of worry forming within her.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Boarding House, 8:14 p.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Nightfall had arrived in Oak Town as Camilla and Bernard, along with the luggage that they brought and Camillas Magi-cycle on the side of the building, had set themselves up in a small room in a boarding house for the evening. Within the small room they were in, Bernard and Camilla sat apart from eachother on two separate small beds.
"...Are you sure?" Camilla said as she sat with her legs off the side of the bed as she looked at her boyfriend.
"Huh?" Bernard remarked as he laid back on the bed. "Sure about what?" He questioned.
"You know what I mean... The job at the old Phantom Lord guildhall..." Camilla said with concern.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I take it?" Bernard said as he looked at Camilla.
"Because it sounds incredibly more dangerous than I thought it would... I think we should call off this deal we made. I'm not comfortable with letting you deal with this by yourself." Camilla said with a serious tone.
"What? No way!" Bernard said as he sat up and looked at Camilla. "I only came out here because of this job and we had an agreement if you let me handle it." He said as he looked at Camillas bothered expression.
"That was when I thought this job sounded simple, even for an S-class quest." Camilla argued. "But I'm not going to be alright with you and the creatures dealing with this by yourselves after what I just heard from the mayor." She explained.
"You promised..." Bernard said with a serious gaze to a worried Camilla.
"I know already but... Are you seriously expecting me to not feel concerned?" Camilla questioned.
"No... But this deal we have is too good for me to pass up!" Bernard exclaimed with a serious tone as Camilla bit her lips in frustration.
"Is it really that much of a big deal?" Camilla asked.
"Hell yeah it is! 360,000 Jewel and my "enslavement" to the guild to be over? It's totally worth it!" Bernard said with an ecstatic tone.
"...Which "reward" is the one that's exciting you so much?" Camilla said with an offended expression forming on her face as she crossed her arms.
"Oh come on, you can't be getting bothered by me saying that. You're the one who made the deal back at Psycho Circus." Bernard said.
"I know... But the only reason I made this deal was to not make you feel like Psycho Circus was a "prison" for you..." Camilla thought with a twitch in her eye. "Let's say you succeed..." She asked as Bernard raised an eyebrow.
"And you know I'm going to do as much as I can to make that a reality." Bernard remarked with a snarky attitude to Camillas chagrin.
"If you succeed and you aren't "bound" to Psycho Circus and the "punishment" will finally be over... What happens after that?" Camilla asked.
"Probably to get back to what I was doing with Corvus and Vulp before you guys picked me up." Bernard said as he laid back down on the bed.
"Sending them off to some random Celestial Spirit wizard who never met them and could very well not use them?" Camilla said with a raised eyebrow.
"It's the reason I even left Hargeon in the first place." Bernard replied.
"And the reason you've saved a bunch of peoples lives alongside them... Not even related to Psycho Circus." Camilla remarked as Bernard looked over at her before back to looking at the ceiling.
"That's..." Bernard stuttered, not sure how to answer.
"Look... I promised to talk to Master Barnum and wipe the slate clean of your status as "prisoner" so you'll no longer be stuck to the guild and all the punishment stuff from awhile ago will be done... But after that..." Camilla said as she looked down at the ground, unsure of what to say next.
"After that?" Bernard said with a raised eyebrow as he looked back over at her.
"...Nothing... Just forget it." Camilla said as she laid back onto her bed and then proceeded to get under the covers, facing away from Bernard. "After the punishment has been lifted... He won't feel like he is obligated to stick around..." Camilla thought as she closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep.
"Hmmm?" Bernard mumbled as he shrugged his shoulders and laid back on his bed as he looked at the ceiling once more. "Truth be told, a creature with tentacles and something that could fly would be nice replacements for Vulp and Corvus but... Then again, I already know how they work and they listen to- Wait, why am I thinking about this, I don't have to work for Psycho Circus anymore if I can get rid of this... Ghost... Wait..." He thought before suddenly sitting back up from the bed. "...But... What am I going to do then...?" Bernard continued to think.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Former Phantom Lord guildhall, 9:32 a.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Standing in front of the dilapidated castle that used to be the Phantom Lord guildhall was Bernard, staring at the front door as his beastly allies appeared from out of his body. Baurs and Vulp standing beside him on both sides and Corvus on his shoulder, as he looked on with a serious gaze.
"Yo." Corvus said as he greeted Bernard. "So what we doing about this ghost hunting thing?" The crow asked with interest.
"Hmmmm…" Bernard mumbled in curiosity.
"Something on your mind?" Baurs asked as Vulp looked up at Bernard.
"Oh hey, where's the hottie?" Corvus asked as he looked around for Camilla.
"Camillas staying in town, gonna try and see if she can find something to do while we work on this..." Bernard said as he continued to gaze at the abandoned castle that still had the old guild logo for Phantom Lord, a purple circle with horns and a tail at the bottom.
"Booo!" Corvus exclaimed in annoyance. "If she got spooked by the weird poltergeist we gotta get rid of, I was hoping she would cling to me for comfort. Hehe." The crow joked as Bernards eye twitched from his asinine comment.
"I highly doubt Mr. Bernards girlfriend will cling to you, given the size difference." Baurs stated casually as Corvus looked at the large rock lizard annoyed.
"Oh shut up!" Corvus exclaimed angrily.
"Hey." Bernard said, speaking up and prompting Corvus, Vulp and Baurs to look at him. "You guys know anything about Phantom Lord?" He asked as he looked at the creatures, prompting them to shake their heads left and right to signify a negative response.
"I mean, I heard Leo back in the Celestial Spirit world refer to fighting one of their members when he was in exile but I didn't get the whole story." Corvus said as he rubbed the back of his head with his right wing.
"Phantom Lord, nearly a decade ago, was the strongest guild in Fiore. It had hundreds of members and operated out of a multitude of satellite guildhalls throughout the country. Their leader was also exceptionally powerful, one of the Ten Wizard Saints in fact." Bernard said as he rattled off information about Phantom Lord.
"What's a Wizard Saint?" Baurs asked out curiosity.
"They're the top wizards in the kingdom of Fiore, based on their magical ability alone. One of the members was the leader of Phantom Lord, his name was Jose Porla. He was removed from his seat in the Wizard Saints after he tried to destroy Magnolia alongside his guildmembers." Bernard continued. "After he was kicked out of his seat and then his guild was disbanded, he just disappeared from the public eye after Master Makarov from the Fairy Tail guild defeated him for trying to destroy an entire town."
"...Whoa..." Corvus said bewildered.
"Quite the tale..." Baurs said as Vulp nodded in agreeance.
"Yeah but, why does that matter?" Corvus questioned.
"I was thinking on the way up here..." Bernard said as he looked at the entrance to the abandoned castle. "Mr. Zant said the ghost that has been inhabiting this place is extremely powerful and several wizards have been sent here over the years to try beat this thing and died trying... So that got me thinking... Jose Porla wasn't a young guy." He continued as the spirits looked at eachother.
"A powerful spirit haunts this place and has been killing wizards for years..." Baurs said.
"...Please... Don't tell me." Corvus said as he put his wings over his face as he realized what Bernard was building to.
"We're going to go into a haunted building to stop a ghost that may just happen to be the ghost of a Wizard Saint... And by ourselves when we aren't even actual S-class wizards..." Bernard said casually as he looked blankly at the building as he and the creatures looked at the guildhall with nervous tension building up within them.
"...The amount of money we are doing this for isn't nearly worth it, isn't it?" Corvus asked with an expression of anxiety.
"Nope, not really..." Bernard said through gritted teeth.
"...We're doomed..." Corvus said bluntly.
Okay... Things might not be in the best of circumstances for Bernard and his team of loyal creatures who inhabit his body. After a fun race to the town and a little bit of casual banter between Camilla and Bernard, the duo met the mayor of Oak Town and learned of its difficulty history since the disbandment of the Phantom Lord guild many years ago. If Bernard succeeds at ridding the ghost infested former guildhall, he'll be considered "free" from his punishment and "prisoner" status within the Psycho Circus guild but deep down, Camilla is worried about whether or not he will stick around once his punishment has ceased. Will Bernard succeed without the help of Camilla? And what of this ghost within the guildhall? Could Jose Porla still be alive or has he become a literal phantom? Answered asked and questions remain! Menagerie! Always questioning when the next chapter will appear!
