A/N: Whoo! A new chapter!
I don't own Fairy Tail!
Please enjoy!
Chapter 48: Welcome Home
April 20, X792 – Afternoon
The guild had been navigated away from Caligo at full speed the opposite way they had come towards it, hoping that their speed and direction would put enough space between themselves and the Black Skulls. It seemed that so far, their plan had worked. They had seen no sign of the Black Skulls. So, they were either still waiting for the guild to leave the Caligo the way they had gone into it or they had gotten enough of a head start to Caelum that the Black Skulls were too far back to see.
Either way, Cordelia was happy with their current state. It had allowed her to complete a few things that needed to be done before arriving at Caelum. She practically skipped across the deck of the large middle ship of the guild, causing a few people she passed to quirk their eyebrows at her.
"Isaak!" she sang his name cheerfully as she approached the table that the silver haired mage sat at with Ajax and Mac. Ajax had his fisherman's hat hanging around his neck while Mac had her wood staff leaning up against her chair.
"Hello, angel!" Isaak said, returning her bright smile with one of his own. The trio set their cards down on the table, having been playing some poker to pass the time.
"I need your help with something!"
"Of course!"
The pair walked over towards the edge of the ship, but still within eyesight of the table that Ajax and Mac still sat at.
"I wish Judec would come back to the guild already," Mac said, watching the pair smiling and laughing at each other.
"Not sure if that's gonna happen anytime soon, unfortunately. He seemed pretty set on being with the navy," Ajax said, glancing over at the auburn-haired woman, "Why do you want him back so badly anyways?"
"It just feels weird without him, I guess," Mac shrugged, picking up her cards again to study them, "I liked us going on missions with him and Isaak. He was also Isaak's best friend, next to Cordelia, so I'm sure that's been hard for him, along with…well…you know," she said, glancing back at Isaak and Cordelia.
"Yeah," Ajax agreed, knowing she was talking about the pair's relationship, "Judec won't be too happy about that. If she actually starts dating Eli, that dude is gonna flip."
"No kidding! He thinks Eli is a giant waste of space."
"That's putting it lightly," Ajax mumbled.
"I don't think that Eli is the worst person ever…it's just…well, look at them!" she said, motioning towards the pair across from them. The sun was shining down on them, practically making them glow and their eyes sparkle, "Have you seen anything more goddamn perfect?"
Before Ajax could answer her, the scene she had been commenting on was interrupted by a swirl of darkness and the sudden appearance of a rather large, black falcon, its piercing red eyes fixed on Isaak.
"Thank you for coming, Falkschlimm," Isaak said, bowing to the Elemental of Darkness.
"I do not want your gratitude, human," the falcon spoke, sounding offended that he had been summoned, "Just tell me what you called me for so I can leave your plane of existence as quickly as possible."
"We need your help with delivering some message to some people," Isaak said, pointing to the sparkling squares that Cordelia held. They looked like blocks of crystal at first, but upon a closer look, they were devices designed to record hologram messages.
Falkschlimm glared down at the blocks then to Cordelia and then back to the blocks before turning back to Isaak with a look of hatred, "How dare you summon me for something so trivial, human! I am no carrier pigeon! I will not deliver your messages!"
"Alright, demon bird!" Cordelia said, pulling on some of his feathers. Falkschlimm screeched loudly at her, snapping his beak in her face. Cordelia didn't flinch at his actions and simply stared him down, "You are going to deliver these messages because you are the fastest thing we have right now to deliver them both in time. And that was NOT a compliment, you are simply the best tool we have for the job. And YES I said tool! If you have a problem with the order Isaak is giving you, you can take it up with Rozenolf. I'm sure she'd loved to hear how you're once again defying your master!"
Ajax and Mac exchanged shocked looks before Ajax smirked.
"Also, who else could handle a woman who argues with demon birds on a daily basis?"
Mac grinned in response.
They watched as Cordelia argued with Falkschlimm a little longer while Isaak laughed nervously on the sideline. Eventually, Rozenolf appeared to clear up the issue, and in a matter of minutes, Falkschlimm was taking off, the two hologram devices gripped tightly in his talons.
"Who did you send messages to?" Ajax asked when the pair returned to the table.
"One was to Bern Eversaw, letting him know to meet us on Caelum at Port Solis," she answered, taking a seat at the table with them, "We need him for the fight against Madmartigan and the Black Skulls, and we need to meet up prior to the fight to work out some sort of plan with him and his crew."
"Why Port Solis specifically?" Mac asked as Isaak sat down. The card mage began shuffling the cards in order to include Cordelia in their game.
"I spoke with Devin earlier and he confirmed that is where Van Black is supposed to be now with her band. I need to meet up with her again in order to finish up the map and find out where the treasure is."
They nodded at her as things made sense so far.
"What about the other message? Who was that for?" Ajax asked.
"That's a surprise!" Cordelia said with a sly smirk, Isaak joining in on the smirk. He knew Cordelia was pulling out all the stops for their finale with Madmartigan.
"Oh, come on, at least give us a hint!" Ajax said, picking up the cards Isaak dealt him. He then turned a glare on Isaak, "And is there a reason you dealt me shit this round?"
"Luck of the draw?" Isaak said with a small laugh while Ajax rolled his eyes at him.
"No hints! You'll just have to be patient! Just know I have some aces up my sleeve!"
Ajax and Mac left it at that, knowing Cordelia wouldn't budge on the issue. Instead, they turned their focus on taking out Isaak in their poker game, considering he had also dealt crap cards to Mac.
. : + : .
"Sir! There's a giant bird flying above us!"
Bern Eversaw looked up from the paperwork he was in the middle of to give the man that busted into his office a flat look.
"You interrupted me about a bird? If it's attacking us, then just shoot the damn thing out of the sky," he said, waving man out of his office.
Before the navy officer could move or say anything else, there was a loud thump that could be heard on deck followed by a loud screech.
"I…I think it landed, sir."
"Tch," Bern grumbled, biting down hard enough on his blue toothpick to snap it in half. He pulled out a fresh toothpick and began chewing on it as he stood from his desk. He walked out the door, walking past his subordinate without looking at him. When he came up on deck, he saw that a huge, black falcon was perched on the side of his ship, men and women surrounding it, including his Captains.
"Are you the one that they call Bern Eversaw, human?" Falkschlimm asked, his tone cold and stinging.
"I am. What the hell are you supposed to be?"
"Do not take that tone with me, human! I can rip your throat out before you can scream if I so wished it."
"Not before I turn you into dinner," Bern said, preparing himself to knock the bird out if needed.
Falkschlimm screeched again before snapping his beak at the large man, but like Cordelia had done earlier, Bern did not flinch and simply stared the bird down. Bern watched as the falcon twitched in irritation before it flung a crystal block at him.
"That is from Cordelia Murdock. Be thankful I did not crush it on my way here, human," and with that, Falkschlimm spread his wings and took off into the air.
Bern stared down at the block in his hand, having seen devices just like it several times throughout his time in the navy.
"Ohhhh, a hologram message," Kira said, tucking a lock of brown hair behind her ear, "Let's hear what the guild master has to say!"
"Like it is anything worth our time," Desmond huffed, his golden eyes narrowed at the block.
"Don't get your panties in a bunch just because Cordelia chased you off her guild the last time you saw her," Kira said before laughing at him.
"Shut it!" Bern snapped, creating a sudden silence across the deck before he placed the block on the ground and pressed the button to start the message.
"BERNIE!"
The loud shout from Cordelia Murdock's translucent figure caused most of the crew to jump in surprise while it only caused Kira to start laughing again. Bern simply felt his eye twitch right before he threw a fist forward, only for it to go straight through Cordelia's head.
Cordelia's image began laughing as Bern withdrew his hand, "I bet you just tried to punch me!"
"Just get on with it already," Bern said with a low growl.
"So vicious," Cordelia said with a smile, "Anyways, I'm reaching out to you now since our treasure hunt is coming to an end, which means we will be facing Madmartigan and the Black Skulls soon. So, time for you to come help us! We're headed to Port Solis on Caelum. We should make it there in a day or two, so hopefully you didn't go wandering too far off!
"Come ready with some plans that we can go over together. I have to find someone once we get to the island, so I may not be there to greet you. But you know what my guild looks like and I'm sure my mages will great you properly!" she said this with a sly smile, "I hope you and your crew are ready for some serious fighting! See you soon, Bernie!"
Bern slammed a foot down on the box immediately after the message finished.
"Such a waste of some good tech," Kira said before looking up at her Vice Admiral, "So what's the plan?"
"Get this ship moving to Port Solis! NOW!" Bern bellowed, his Captains both smiling in agreement, knowing that they would finally get to take out the Black Skulls.
. : + : .
Rhouth stood on the edges of Angel's Cove, the siren holding the hologram block the falcon had just dropped off to her. A number of sirens stood behind her, watching and waiting for her to play the message on the device. Once she found what looked to be a button on the block, she set it down on the ground and pressed it, unsure of what it would do.
"Hello ladies," Cordelia's image said with a smirk.
Several of the sirens hissed at the image, but Rhouth threw a hand up to silence them.
"I do hope you are doing well and that you have been picky about what you've been eating as of late."
Rhouth could feel the tension in the group rise, but no one made any interruptions.
"But I trust that Rhouth has been keeping her word to me. I'm reaching out to you now as I need your help with a battle that is coming up. I'd like to ask you nicely to help us fight against Madmartigan and the Black Skulls, but I will order you if I have to," she said, showing off the marking the proved her to be queen of the sirens, "But the job has some perks. You get to battle to your heart's content against the Black Skulls, and you may eat them if you wish. I don't really condone that part of your lifestyle, but if it will get you to help me in this battle, then so be it.
"You are still to touch no one with a Storm's Helm marking or anyone in the navy as they will be joining us in battle. And no civilians in the area either. You are to head to Port Solis on Caelum by two day's time. Rhouth, you will meet me on my guild once you arrive. The rest of you will need to stay hidden away on the island somewhere. We will go over battle plans once you arrive. See you soon and happy flying!"
Cordelia's image disappeared and the group was quiet for a long moment.
Finally, Rhouth turned to face her sisters with a smile wide enough to show off some of her sharp teeth, "You heard her. We have a battle to prepare for and a feast to look forward to."
. : + : .
April 20, X792 – Dusk
That evening, the guild was filled with the usual, comfortable air. People were drinking, eating, and laughing with friends. There was the occasional rowdiness from some of the groups on the guild, but nothing out of the ordinary.
And just like an ordinary day, John was finishing up with some chores around the guild, feeling much better now that he was out of the infirmary and keeping busy like usual. He had just finished placing some empty barrels along the side of the ship used for sparring when he noticed something out of the ordinary.
In the dying light, he saw a small boat floating towards the guild. Within the boat was a motionless lump that looked to be human shaped.
"I think we got ourselves a sleeper," John called over to Securus, the man smoking a cigarette just a few feet away.
"Hm?" Securus mumbled as he moved to join John. He looked down into the water to see the small boat and the figure it contained, "Hopefully they're not dead."
"We should bring them aboard, right? It doesn't look like they have a lot of supplies in the boat with them."
"Whatever floats your boat," Securus shrugged as he moved to help John wrangle the boat with ropes and begin pulling it up out of the water, "Jesus, they weigh a lot more than I thought they would," he said, both men having to put a bit of effort into pulling up the boat.
Once the small boat was level with the side of the ship of the guild, the figure began to stir. They sat up first, flipping a tattered brown cloak over their head. This revealed a middle-aged man with brown hair that fell to his shoulders in a shaggy mess and a thick brown beard. He scratched the beard while dark green eyes stared at the space between the two men before looking up at the sky and then eventually falling on a large metal case next to him. He grinned at the case before grabbing it and standing up.
'What is with this bum?' John thought as he looked over at Securus, who was staring at the man much more intently than he thought the situation warranted.
"Looks like I made it a day earlier than I planned," he said as he jumped down onto the deck, a heavy thump echoing across it. He breathed in deep, closing his eyes briefly to enjoy the moment and let all the memories flood into him. His eyes then snapped open, looking over at Securus, "Thanks for the lift, prince charming," he said with a hand smacking against his shoulder.
Securus's jaw dropped as he let go of the ropes he had been holding.
"What's wrong with you?" John asked, watching the small boat fall back into the water.
"It…it's…holy shit!" Securus stuttered, making John even more confused.
"Now, now, don't go ruining the surprise," the man said, smirking back Securus before taking the bridge up to the middle ship. Securus slowly followed the man with John close on his heels, needing to know who this mystery man was.
He headed straight for the table that was being the loudest, seeing a green-haired young woman with a blue-haired man in a headlock. She was yelling at him with a smirk on her face, the crowd around them laughing at them. Drinks filled the tables around them, new cans, bottles, and freshly filled mugs constantly being added to the pile of empty drinks. Music and more laughter echoed in the background. It was exactly as he had remembered, so he couldn't help but smile widely as he made his way through the crowd.
"Say it! Say that I'm a better karaoke singer than you!" Cordelia said, looking down at the man she had in a headlock.
"Hell no! I definitely got more applause than you!" Eli shouted back, though it was partly muffled.
"You must be deaf because I clearly won that round with way more applause than you!"
"You wish!"
The two continued arguing, missing the large figure that had just sat down in front of them. Though, most of the crowd hadn't really paid much attention to the man that had plopped down in the middle of them, thinking that he was just another mage, especially with their focus on the arguing pair in front of them. It wasn't until the man popped his briefcase open and took out a cigar that people began to notice him.
He cut one end of the cigar, stuck it in between his teeth, and lit it. He sucked in a deep breath of it as he clicked his case shut and looked back to Cordelia and Eli, "It's good to see you're still the same as always, baby doll."
That was when the entire crowd froze in silence.
"Who the hell just said that?" Cordelia said, an angry look on her face, "There's only one person who can call me that and that's…"
Her eyes landed on the man and went wide at the realization of who sat before her. He grinned widely at her as he blew out a stream of smoke. A long moment went by where it felt like everyone was holding their breaths, until…
"DUUUUUUUUUKE!"
Cordelia shouted his name so loudly that he was certain even the gods had heard her. He barely had time to brace himself as she charged towards him, jumped on him, and knocked him out of his chair in a bear hug.
As soon as Cordelia had reacted, it was like a dam broke. Shouts and screams of his name were heard across the deck and a crowd rushed him, burying him in people that had missed him these past three years.
"WELCOME HOME!"
The guild said that as one, which brought a sheen of tears to Duke's eyes. He was home. After three long years, he was home.
A/N: And there we are! I hope you enjoyed it!
YYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSS! After so long, he's finally back! OMG! I'm just so excited! GAH!
I was going over and over in my head on how his appearance should go. I seriously battled it out in my head for a while because it is such a big moment. I thought about having him appear during the battle, but I felt like was too overdone. And I didn't want a dramatic sob fest either. Finally, the idea of him randomly floating in and being like, yep this is where I'm supposed to be, I made it, no big deal, popped into my head and I felt it fit him so nicely. I also had a bit of help from Dread on working out the details, so thank you for that! I think his appearance was just so great! It was funny and heartwarming all in one! So I hope you all liked it too!
Anyways, some other great stuff happened in this chapter! We're getting ready for that final battle!
I'll apologize now for any spelling errors. It's so late, but I was on a roll with writing tonight and I want to get this posted! I'm so excited about it! But I'm also hella tired!
As always, thank you for your awesome reviews! They were great and made me smile like always! Thank you!
That should be it for now!
Until next chapter!
Yours Truly,
MyDearWatson