Months passed by quickly and before he knew it, it was July 7th X778, meaning a whole year had gone by since he parted ways with his mom and in the year that passed by a lot of stuff happened. He wandered around Fiore before running into one of the strongest people on the continent, a literal war hero and definitely one of the oldest people in Fiore if not Ishgar as a whole, he joined said mans guild and went on dozens of quests facing against creatures only recognised as legends in his past life, making acquaintances and friends with people all over the tiny nation

'…yet I still haven't visited Thallassia since I left, I'll ask Master If I can leave the guild for a while and visit, yeah I'll do that when I get back, for now I just gotta get through this forest, why did I even let Cana trick me into coming out here, I know that there's no Lions in the East Magnolia but I still went for some reason, I'm actually an idiot'

Despite his complaining Vali still took his time wandering through the forest, humming along to a song nobody but him would ever know - 'Well, for now anyways' - as he scanned his surroundings.

A month or two ago, around the time he and Cana return from their quest, a trio of siblings found their way outside of the guild hall, whatever happened to get them at the guild or what made them stay wasn't his business so he didn't pry, if they wanted to tell him their story then they would, what mattered is that they stayed

Anyways, Natsu ended up finding an egg in the East forest - The forest he's in right now - and brought it back to the guild claiming it to be a dragon egg, to keep a long story short Natsu and the youngest Strauss sibling - Lisanna - ended up raising the egg together, except what hatched from the egg was a little blue cat with wings instead of a dragon

Natsu and Lisanna would come to name him name it 'Happy'

Honestly Vali's happy for two of them, Natsu finally has to take responsibility for more than just himself and Lisanna ended up becoming much closer friends to everyone in the guild because of it, honestly the name for the little flying cat is extremely apt considering that with its birth it brought a lot of joy to the guild

Hell, even Laxus was reluctantly happy about the little guy and that's saying a lot

Shaking the thoughts away Vali continued through the forest, eyes wandering around in case any Gorians or other forest dwelling creatures decided they wanted to try attack him when he heard the loud grunting of what Vali recognised instantly to be a Gorian

'I hope this isn't the one Natsu fought, while Gorians typically aren't vengeful creatures Lisanna confirmed that this one had enough intelligence to actually make proper conversation so who knows what it'll do.'

Sighing Vali broke into a sprint, darting through the trees as he headed towards where the Gorian was, skidding to a halt as he saw the monkey like creature muttering - or well, trying to mutter - about something or other while reaching for an egg, an egg that Vali felt a hint of recognition at

Closing his eyes he focused on the Gorians words, a frown crossing his face as he heard the monkey repeat words and phrases that definitely alluded to Natsu and Lisanna. Sighing deeply he walked to where the Gorian was, a small clearing in the trees, his footsteps gaining the monkey-like monsters attention as it turned to him

"Human? It smells like the funny pink-haired human." The thought alone made the Gorian growl and glare at him, despite everything Vali didn't wait for the Gorian to do anything, simply calling upon his magic as he swung his arm across his body, a trio of crescent blade of water appearing from his hands, shooting towards the Gorian at rapid speeds, bisecting the creature with ease

Sighing Vali crossed the small clearing, stepping over the dead Gorian and reaching down to pick up the egg. Narrowing his eyes he observed it closer. The egg was large, a clear indication that it belonged to a magical creature of some kind, the shell of the egg being pitch black with small white lines crossing the shooting around it in random direction, occasionally glowing a faint colour

Glancing around Vali couldn't see any creature in the area apart from the Gorian he killed, meaning that the egg had either been abandoned, it's defected in some kind of way, it's parent died or it belonged to a race of creatures that leave their eggs to fend for themselves

Basically a survival of the fittest thing, getting rid of the weak ones before they're even born

Still though, as Vali observed the egg he felt a small voice in the back of his head urging him to take it in, to raise the egg and hatch it much like Natsu and Lisanna did their own egg

Sighing once again he cradled the egg in his arm, turning to walk out of the forest with more determination than before

-/-

"Master" Everyone looked up at Vali's shout, eyes bugging out of their heads as the black haired mage walked into the guild, egg in hand and a small smirk on his face "I found this in the East Forest after putting down that Gorian Natsu fought, decided to bring the egg back and raise it, who knows what it'll grow into."

Vali let the smirk on his face grow as people finally started snapping out of their shock, looking at him like he was insane for following the example of the dim-witted Dragon Slayer but the look in Masters eyes told him that the Old Wizard Saint recognised the interest and suspicion that Vali held for the egg

"Hmm, very well Vali I take it you wont need Lisanna to help you raise this egg no?" Vali chuckled slightly, shaking his head in response as he sat the egg on the table before him, eyes narrowing once again as he stared at the egg, taking in all of its features with interest

'Well if nothing else, this'll keep me entertained while I begin preparing to go back to Thallassia, oh wait, I still need to ask Master about that.'

Scanning the guild Vali quickly noticed the red haired mage he had become close friends with, calling out to her the red haired mage appeared with a smile

"Can you look after the egg for me for a minute Erza, I need to talk to Master about something" The red haired mage responded quickly in the positive, promising to keep the egg safe as he quickly walked over to the Guild Master

"Master can I talk to you in your office for a minute?" The wizard saint did little more than sigh, placing down the tankard of ale as he hopped off of the bar, motioning for Vali to follow him as he rolled up the magazine in his hands.

-/-

It took about a week before the egg showed any signs of hatching, he had noticed it the day after he found the egg but throughout the week the white lines started growing more and more constantly until eventually they were all fully lit up and the egg started shaking

"Come on now, show me what you are little guy" Staring at the shaking egg on his bed, Vali felt excitement and nervousness fill his veins before calming down, he didn't recognise the egg to belong from any of the more dangerous creatures but that didn't stop the possibility of it belonging to a monster he didn't know of, however as the egg slowly started falling apart Vali conceded himself to his fate, sending a brief prayer up to Lady Tiana for good luck

Focusing on the egg Vali felt his eyebrows shoot up as, from inside the egg an creature that looked faintly like an Bald Eagle appeared, except instead of the eagle being brown and white the creature before him had pitch black feathers, so dark that Vali himself could barely see where one feather began and one ended with its tail feathers being a pale purple like colour, the thing that had his complete attention and shock as he looked at the creature was the small white sparks that flickered across it's feathers, a single thought running through his head as he stared at the magnificent creature laying innocently on his bed

'That's a Thunderbird, one of Lady Arianne's sacred animals'

-/-

It took Vali a good 10 minutes to snap out of his shock, eyes lightning up in joy and hesitation as the tiny bird leapt into his lap, a laugh escaping him as a bolt of electricity shot through his body

"If this is some kind of sign or something then… thank you Lady Arianne" Turning his head from the ceiling and down to the baby eagle he released another small chuckle a bright smile crossing his face as he named the chick

"I think I'll name you… Raijin, after the Shinto God of Lightning, Thunder and Storms"

"I'm surprised you asked me to come with you Vali." Said Blackett turned to his red-headed companion, a small smile on his face as they sat in the carriage. It took about an extra week before Vali could begin his journey to Thallassia due to Raijin being born and him looking after the little guy, after he had gotten over his shock he had immediately headed to the guild to get some help from Lisanna on how to raise the little thunderbird before leaving it in said girls care as he began his journey

Before he fully bean his journey he decided he may as well invite somebody to come with him on his journey, he'd never visited home by himself and figured that he may as well take someone with him to see where he had been born, that someone just so happened to be the crimson haired mage Erza Scarlet

"My mom and I used to visit every few months, but since we parted ways I haven't went back, figured that I'd go back at some point during the year and just thought 'Hey, why not bring someone along' and well, you were the first person I thought of, to be fair though I wouldn't bring Natsu or Grey and as much as I like Cana and Levy one of them is a raging alcoholic and the other would be asking question after question, not that I'd mind but… well, you'll understand when we get there"

The duo descended into silence as he finished speaking. Had Vali told anyone in the guild that his home was destroyed 10 years ago? Yes, he had told Master Makarov soon after he first arrived, figuring that Warrod had probably informed the younger Wizard Saint at some point and he had later told Macao when he had been staying with the man at his home

As sad as it is, Vali had long moved on from the demise of his homeland, oh he still wants revenge don't get him wrong, the moment he sees that scaled bastard he'll rip it's eyes out and feast on it's flesh, that he promises, but he had long since finished grieving the loss of his kin. Did he feel sorrow when thinking about them? Yes, who wouldn't those people raised him for at least three years, treating him fairly and kindly and not caring at all about how weird he was and how fast he learned but at the same time he had accepted that they're dead and that they'd want him to move on

He doesn't hide what happened to his village because he doesn't want the pity, oh sure that's part of it but it's also because no one asked about it, people have asked what his home is like and he responded with the truth but none of them asked if it was still around, where his parents were, the questions that would get real answers

So when he said to Erza that she'll understand when she gets there it's more to show her that, while yes, Thallassia was a beautiful island full of life and love, it's no longer like that, the land is covered is charred and covered in ash, the forest will never truly grown back, the entire island is so damaged that it'll never be what it once was without magical help or divine intervention

"So Erza." A gleam entered his eyes as he broke the silence, looking at Erza with mischief in his eyes "Want to try another game from my home?"

Seeing the interested look in her eyes, Vali fought down an evil cackle

"Let me introduce you to Chess"

-/-

Chess may not have been his favourite game in his past life, he could never remember all of the rules and how the pieces moved and whatnot but one that he has a near perfect memory and can remember all the rules, strategies and pieces? Well, It's always fun watching people try to play chess for the first time and while Vali is definitely no Grandmaster - hell he's basically a Novice! - he's a very adept player compared top Erza

Plus, chess is a fun game if you know what you're doing and have the patience to play it, it's a good way to improve strategic thinking and decision making as well as improving foresight as it makes you try to predict your opponent's moves, he could very easily see Master Makarov dominating the game with ease with ease, just thinking about it gives him shivers

That said, Erza was still a very good player for a beginning, much like Cana she had him on the ropes a few times but while Uno is definitely more a game of chance then Chess, it's still goes to show how quickly they picked things up

'I need to 'make' more games or something, maybe Monopole would be fun to play, especially with how competitive the guild is, God I'd fear introducing DnD to the guild hall, that would be pure chaos with how sadistic some of them are'

"So where are we going from here Vali, you said you grew up on an Island so I assume we'll be hiring a boat" Breaking out of his thoughts he turned to face the red haired mage, a smirk crossing his face as her eyebrow twitched, clearly still upset by her loss against him

"Yup, it's either that or I can use one of my spells to help us walk the ocean buuuuuuut I'd prefer to just hire someone to be honest" Erza nodded her head, her face a small bit uneasy at the idea of walking across the sea, surprising him slightly though he easily ignored it

"Can't help but hear that you kids need a ride" Vali would be lying if he said he didn't jump, judging by the sudden shock on his partner's face telling him that Erza was also shocked.

Shooting his head around his eyes widened slightly as he faced the person who spoke revealing t him a large man, around 6 foot 6 if he had to guess, with long, shaggy black hair and a thick bushy beard, the man wore a pair of loose black pants, comfortable shoes and a simple red and black coat lined with white fur, an eyepatch sitting over his right eye showing off a his singular, amber eye

Despite his appearance he looked completely genuine in his approach, showing no sign of being a type of predator or pirate, instead just a simple sailor looking to help out some kids which Vali respected

"Yeah, looking to visit an Island north west of Fiore called Thallassia, don't think you'd be willing to take us would you?" The man raised an eyebrow, a small smirk on his face as he contemplated Valentines offer before motioning them to follow him, glancing at Erza who had remained silent during the small conversation he twitched his head, motioning to follow

"Nobodies visited that Island in a long while Kiddo, surprised you'd even know about it" Vali nodded along to the mans words, Thallassia hadn't had contact with the mainland for centuries before he was born so he isn't surprised that the man was curious

"I was raised on Thallassia, came to Fiore about a year ago after some incidents and decided it's time to visit the island." Silently, Vali sent a prayer up to Iva, asking her to remove the veil around Thallassia that prevented people from finding it, judging by the sudden sea breeze and changing tides Vali assumed that his mom had done as he asked

He doesn't exactly need to hide the island after all, sure he'll keep Colosseum Island to himself - 'Maybe, I'll tell Master Makarov and the other guild members or something, it'd be a good place to train. Then again it could also be a safe place to escape to if I ever had to, eh I'll think about it' - but he didn't mind people being able to see Thallassia, he'll just ask Master Makarov - or even send a message to Warrod - to kindly explain to the magic council that Thallassia is off limits and if they do try anything with his home Island, he'll happily introduce them to a God Slayers Wrath

Would he become a wanted criminal if it means protecting his island? Fuck yes he would, that's his home and he'll defend it with everything he's got, even if it means leaving Fairy Tail and fleeing to Alakitasia, Guntila or even the Far East of Ishgar, east even of the Pergrande Kingdom

Nobody gets to own that island but him and he'll be damned if some upstart piece of shit tries to take his home, wreck its history and defile it's culture

"Huh, didn't think anyone would want to leave the place, nobodies been in contact with it for your lot for centuries, surprised you even know the Common Language" Vali chuckled slightly, admitting to the man that he didn't and had to learn it after he arrived in Fiore from an old dude in the forest

Ignoring the concerned looked from his partner and the sailor Vali chuckled evilly inside himself, fighting down the urge to smirk as he thought back to the Tree faced man

'This is revenge for leaving me to walk to Magnolia for weeks on end, Warrod! Now you'll forever be known as the weirdo in the forest teaching young, impressionable kids language skills!'

"Anyways, how much do you think the journeys gonna be… uh, actually what's your name anyways" Vali moved on from the topic as they reached what Vali could only assume to be the sailors boat

"Oh, I'm Edward, Edward Teach nice to meet ya" For a brief second Vali's brain failed to comprehend what the man said but once he did he fought the urge to break out into laughter

'Oh god he's a Sailor named Edward Teach, as in the Edward Teach, aka mother fucking Blackbeard, fucking hell what are the chances of that'

"As for journey costs… well It's been a while since I went out to sea so I'll give ya a discount, for there and back? 7,000 Jewels, fair?" Vali nodded his head, hand dipping into his pocket as he pulled out his wallet, taking out a couple of notes he passed it to the sailor who did a quick count before allowing them to step onto his boat

Dipping his hand into the water Vali sent a quick prayer to his mom asking for safe travels and good wind, judging by the small gesture made by the sailor, it seemed that he had done the same as well, making Vali smile

-/-

Everything said and done, the journey took a while to do, with the three of them arriving at the desolate island at the peak of dusk, thanking the sailor he stepped off of the boat, helping Erza out of the boat as well as he stood on the island, Edward pushing his boat out from the sand to get a far enough distance away so that he could fish in peace while they did their business

"Well this is it, my home. Come on, I'll show you where I was raised" The red haired mage didn't say anything, followed behind Vali in silence as he weaved through the broken streaks, stepping over the destroyed home and avoiding the piles of ash with practised ease

The two of them ended up staying on the island for quite a while, after showing the redhead around what's left of the village he took her to the cliff he cast his kins ashes off of.

"Thallassia was destroyed when I was 3" He broke the silence between them, the girl kept sending him concerned glances every now and then as they sat on the cliffside, watching the sunset over the horizon. She didn't say anything though, letting him talk without interruption which he was thankful for

"I have a near-perfect memory you see so I can still remember it vividly, I'd spent all day in the library at the heart of Town, reading anything and everything I could get my hands on before I was brought home by my mom, the islander were like one big family you see, so I knew everyone and everyone knew me, I'd gained the nickname 'Little Librarian' because of how much I would read. Anyways, when we returned home that night I fell asleep only to be woken up a couple of hours later"

He sucked in his breath, closing his eyes when he felt the girl lean into his side, a shaky smile crossing his face as he gave a weak push back into her

"When I woke up I found out that the island was being attacked by a dragon, massive thing with grey scales and poisonous yellow eyes, it used ash as it's element, turning everything it hit into statues, eating anyone it could get its paws on. My mom tried to get away, we ended up running into the forest but she tripped, I don't have much memory of what happened next, I'd been flung into a tree at this point but my mom had been swept up by the Dragon and tossed down it's throat like a late night snack"

Breathing out a shaky breathe he brought his free hand up, wiping away the tears that had started falling during his explanation

"I don't know how I survived to be honest, either the dragon didn't notice me or it didn't care, but when I woke up I found myself in some strangers room. Y'know how Natsu was raised by Igneel, The fire Dragon? I had been saved by the Goddess Iva, the patron deity of Thallassia. She took me in, raising me and teaching me magic when she suddenly declared that it was time for me to go on my own, I don't think it's coincidence that she left me on the same day Igneel left Natsu just like I don't think It's coincidence that we both found eggs in the East Forest."

The two descended into silence once again, allowing Erza to fully take in his story and his magic as they watched the sun finally descend out of view, disappearing behind the sea waves

"I grew up in Rosemary Village in Fiore…"

And like that, the two shared stories of their past, telling one another about trauma they hadn't told any other, whether that due to the atmosphere, heightening the trust between the two, their emotions running high or just simple want, the two revealed their deepest, darkest secrets to each other, watching the dark ocean waves for hours before finally returning to Edward, a silent promise to not tell anyone what they had told each other and a tighter bond forged than they had before

Boom!

I hope that this chapter was as Good I hope it is because honestly, I fell in love with this idea and just rolled with it!

So yeah, Vali got a pet thunderbird named Raijin! I hope y'all like it, I figured that this idea was much cooler than what I originally did with Law and having Eira send him a companion, this happened purely to chance, if Vali didn't intervene the thunderbird would've died, if he did he gets a companion in the form of a fucking epic bird that throws literal lightning!

I bet some of y'all were thinking he'd get a water based companion like the Underwater Panther and I mean I was too, but I thought this idea to be better

I also hope y'all liked the last scene at the end wit Vali and Erza heading to Thallassia, honestly it wasn't planned but I started it and then just fell in love with it, snow Erza knows the truth about Thallassia and Vali's magic and Vali knows about the Tower of Heaven, Jellal and her fake eye.

Bet y'all can't wait until the Tower of Heaven arc because boy is Vali gonna be pissed, Jellal ain't ready for the smoke that Vali's gonna show him, double so since the Tower of Heaven is literally in his domain

...now I really want Vali to pull an Escanor 'Apologise to me, That you were born into my world.' Oooh, maybe this can be where Vali activated God Force or whatever, like he becomes so pissed that he awakens the literal force of a God which could explain the overconfidence he expels, damnit now I wanna do it… fuck…

Don't worry for all y'all who want the exciting shit, I'll get right back on that next chapter with the X779 S-Cass Trials and the beginning of my very first, Original Arc. The Seven Sins Arc. I'm not gonna take credit for this idea, the whole concept came because of a PM left to me by Gobert600 so shout out to them!

Before I leave I have a question for y'all, so here we go:

Vali's gonna begin his singing career in the next couple chapters - well, after the Seven Sins Arc is completed anyways - so I want y'all to leave suggestions of what songs should be on his first album, I'll be picking the 12 best options/ones I like the most so leave reviews please

Right now I'm throwing Believer, Warriors and Monster by Imagine Dragons into the ring as well as Death of a Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco. I'm not saying they will be there but they're occupying my mind right now, if I find options better I'll chose them instead, obviously

But yeah, I just wanna know what y'all think

I'll see y'all next time!

Neo! (I'm seriously thinking of changing my name to Vali, this is the 3rd? 4th? time I've nearly wrote that instead of Neo)

P.S. Let me know If y'all want me to do more fun facts or whatever, like, leave them at the end of each chapter or whatever. Just because some of y'all liked my weird fun fact about the Greek Vampires last chapter so I wanna ask if y'all want to see some more. I won't do one this chapter but If y'all like the idea I'll start leaving some more I guess

P.P.S. I'm just saying this because I think it's a funny/cool idea. So I'm keeping the Demons in this story, obviously since they are an actual race - Galuna Island demons for example - and because we know Mirajane uses Satan Soul Take Over Magic. So I'm thinking of having the King of the Demons - Probably gonna call him Lucifer but idk yet - be a cool, calm person uncaring about the overworld and content to oversee the underworld instead of being some hellbent bitch obsessed with ruling everything. Like I can just imagine Vali meeting the king of the Demons a some point and just watching him complain about his disgust towards Zeref and the Etherous, calling them disgraces and shit

Idk I find it hilarious, plus I really want a scene of Vali and - for now named - Lucifer going to a bar and getting runk only to have one of the guild members - Probably Erza or someone - catch them and be confused and concerned

...god now I want to make the King of the Demons the Queen of the Demons, so we can see a jealous Erza try to impale the devil for seducing Vali, I have a problem, I need to stop thinking.

Okay I'm going now, byeeeee