A/N: Wow, I did not expect to get that many reviews, followers, or faves for my fanfic. But the response is great! Now I'm hoping I can keep going with this fanfic all the way up to at least the end of the Tenrou Island arc. Then I could start a second part that goes all the way through the GMG, and the Tartaros arc. Now keep in mind, I'll be going by the anime mostly so you can expect a couple of the filler episodes to appear in my story along with a couple original story arcs of my own. Anyway, here's chapter 2!
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
So, after dodging the army guys that chased us, we made a quick pit stop to Lucy's hotel where she gathered up her stuff. Thanks to the Connect ring I had, I managed to recover my backpack from where I left it in Hargeon, despite being completely soaked from Lucy's Celestial Spirit's attack. Oh yeah, I suppose I should explain that.
You see, just after we had gotten away from the army, Lucy explained that she was a Celestial Spirit wizard; a wizard that summoned spirits based on the spirits of the constellations in the night sky. But I'll get to them later. Anyway, I also explained to them how I was able to make sure my bullets didn't hit Natsu when I fired them at Bora's men. I told them that I controlled the bullets' trajectory with my mind so that I could avoid hitting any unintentional targets like a friend. Natsu, however, insisted we explained more at the Fairy Tail guildhall, which I agreed to.
So, after a long trek we arrived in a town called Magnolia; the home of the Fairy Tail guild. At first I wanted to go there in the hopes that they may have someone or know of someone who could send me back home since it was probably magic that brought me here in the first place. But little did I know, on this day I would encounter an enemy I thought I would never see.
-v-v-v-v-v-v-
Chapter 2: Fire Dragon, Monkey, Bull, and Phantom
"Welcome to Fairy Tail!" Happy said proudly as the four of them stood outside of a massive building near the lakeshore where Magnolia was located.
Marcus had to admit, Magnolia for all of its archaic buildings, looked like a beautiful place. It almost reminded Marcus of the town he visited whenever he went to visit his grandparents. It also seemed very peaceful; everyone was going about their business at a slower pace than they would in a place like Detroit, where he was from. He also noted the massive church in the middle of the city looked quite beautiful itself. The guildhall itself was a sight to see too.
The building itself looked like it came out of a combination of Italian and Arabian design. It had three sections going from big to small as it went upwards. The roof was covered in clay tiles and the front looked like an Arabian restaurant's front. There were three banners hanging on the top section; the middle of which had the same fairy-like symbol on it as Natsu's arm so Marcus assumed that this was the guild's symbol. Over the front door stood an archway sign with the words "Fairy Tail" written on it in between to fairies with tails. Marcus couldn't help but look up in awe at the place.
'Wow, so this is a magic guild hall.' Marcus thought to himself, standing next to Lucy who simply looked at the building in wonder.
"Well, let's go on in!" Natsu said before he approached the doors and promptly…kicked them both open shouting, "WE MADE IT BACK ALIVE!"
"We're home!" Happy followed as the people inside turned to greet the two of them jovially.
'Was kicking the doors really necessary?' Marcus deadpanned in his mind as he and Lucy stepped inside.
If the exterior of the guild hall was impressive, the interior was just as amazing. The inside was similar to a large lunch hall, and mainly consisted of wood, possessing a parquet floor and a mezzanine held up by wood beams overlooking it. Over in the back was what looked like a bar with drinks of different kinds right next to a staircase that undoubtedly led to the second floor of the building. The people inside all dressed in a wide variety of clothes designs that were both familiar and unfamiliar to Marcus but he paid no mind to that. From the way they all greeted Natsu, despite his unorthodox entry, they were used to him coming in like that and seemed to know him quite well.
'Whoa…' Marcus marveled at the place. 'The cafeteria of my old high school doesn't even come close to this place!'
"So I heard you went all out in Hargeon, Natsu!" A bucktoothed member, Krov, said. "Had to go starting trou-."
But before Krov could finish his sentence, Natsu kicked him square in the face knocking him back and wrecking the tables much to both Marcus and Lucy's surprise!
"He kicked him!"
"Why did you do that!?"
"You lied about that Salamander!" Natsu yelled, flexing his arm at his fellow guild member. "I oughtta kick your butt!"
Krov sat back up and yelled back, "Don't get mad at me, I'm not the one to blame here! I was just passing on a rumor I heard!"
Everyone else just simply watched the exchange as though it were normal.
"It was just a rumor!?"
"You wanna fight? Let's go!"
With that, the two of them clashed sending more members flying from their exchange and sending tables, benches, and dishes flying all over the place.
"Now, now, Natsu I think you need to calm DOOOWWN!" Happy started before he was hit by another member and crashed into other members of the guild like a furry pinball.
This caused a chain reaction that pretty much turned the fight into an all-out brawl. Tables were being overturned, dishes, bottles, and glasses were being shattered, and chairs and benches were being used as weapons. All in all, it looked like your average barroom brawl that Marcus would see on TV back home. Yet for some reason, no one was getting seriously injured throughout the entire fight.
Despite the chaos, Lucy managed an excited smile despite her dumbfounded shock of the fight.
"Oh wow, I'm actually standing inside the Fairy Tail guild hall!" She said gleefully.
"And you're happy about that?" Marcus deadpanned, not keeping his eyes off of the fight currently going on.
-v-v-v-v-v-
Marcus' narration
Yep, this is the Fairy Tail guild hall; and fights like this are actually normal, believe it or not. Despite something like this, it actually has some nice people; allow me to introduce you to some of them.
-v-v-v-v-v-
"So Natsu made it back huh?" A young man about Natsu's age said and, much to Marcus and Lucy's embarrassment was only wearing his boxers!
He had spiked black hair, a well-built body, and his Fairy Tail guild mark was stamped on the right side of his chest in dark blue. He also wore a necklace with a pendant that was a tiny sword.
'Dude, where are this guy's pants!?' Marcus shouted in his mind.
-v-v-v-v-v-
This guy wearing only his boxers is Gray Fullbuster. He has an unusual habit of taking off his clothes…and not even realize it! Strange, I know, but even I could never figure out how he never notices.
-v-v-v-v-v-
"It's time we finished this once and for all, Natsu!" Gray said as he approached the dust cloud where Natsu and the others were brawling.
"Gray, your clothes!" A girl from the bar called out. Marcus looked over and immediately his eyes turned into hearts at the sight of her
'Whoa! Babe alert!'
The girl in question was about his age with brown hair that ended past her shoulders, a pair of purple (yes purple) eyes, and fair skin. She wore just a light blue skimpy bikini-like shirt, dark red pants with a single belt, a pair of sandals, six matching bracelets and two matching armlets on her biceps. Her Fairy Tail guild mark was stamped on the left side of her waist in black. She held a wineglass in her hand and was sipping from it. All in all, the girl was hot in Marcus' eyes!
"I don't have time for that!" Gray shouted at her, stopping his approach to the brawl.
-v-v-v-v-v-
This lovely young lady is Cana Alberona. Don't let her good looks fool you; she holds Fairy Tail's title of "heaviest drinker". Don't believe me, just watch.
-v-v-v-v-v-
Cana gave an exasperated sigh and put her wineglass down. "See, I don't date the men in this place because they have no class." She said before proceeding to pick up an entire keg of alcohol and drink from it, much to Lucy and Marcus' disbelief.
'And she says the men here don't have any class?' Marcus was shaken out of his thoughts by someone else's voice, Gray's.
"Come here and fight me Natsu!" He shouted, kicking a wrecked table away.
"Not until you put some clothes on!" Natsu yelled back, gripping Krov's head.
"It's only noon and you boys are already whining like spoiled babies!" Another man's voice said, catching Marcus and Lucy's attention.
Behind them was a very tall, muscular man with semi-dark tan skin, spikey white hair and blue eyes. He wore, what Marcus supposed, was a Japanese school boy uniform with the top collar unbuttoned and a pair of wooden sandals. Under his right eye was a scar that went from bellow the eye to his lower earlobe. His Fairy Tail guild mark was stamped on the left side of his neck in black. To Marcus, he looked like a lightly muscled wrestler!
-v-v-v-v-v-
This big guy is Elfman Strauss; this guy is all about muscle and manliness. He believes that all a wizard needs is two strong fists. He also has the tendency to call things manly even if they're not men.
-v-v-v-v-v-
"I'm a real man, want me to prove it to ya!?" He yelled, flexing his muscles.
"I can't believe he's encouraging them." Lucy groaned.
"I guess all that muscle affects his brain." Marcus commented with the same look.
But Gray and Natsu turned to him and yelled, "Butt out!" before punching him clear across the room as if he weighed as much as a football!
"They knocked him out that easily!?" Lucy exclaimed stunned at what just happened.
"I guess he's not as tough as he looks." Marcus said dryly.
"Jeez, it's so noisy in here." A suave voice said over the din of the fight. Marcus and Lucy looked to see a young man with light blue tinted sunglasses and two young women hanging on his sides sitting on a bench nearby.
The young man in question wore a green jacket with white fur on the collar. An orange shirt with some sort of emblem on it. His hair was orange, short and spiky. The two women hanging off of him swooned as he held them in his arms.
-v-v-v-v-v-
This guy with the chicks hanging off him, that's Loke. He's ranked high on Sorcerer Weekly's 'Most Eligible Bachelors' list. If only he weren't such a playboy.
-v-v-v-v-v-
A glass mug suddenly hit Loke on the head knocking him back a little and startling his two lady friends.
"Are you alright?" One of them asked, while he scowled before getting back up.
"I'm gonna go fight, only to protect you two." He said flirtatiously to the two of them.
"Good luck Loke!" The ladies said as he posed for them.
"And he's definitely off my list." Lucy said, crossing Loke's picture in what looked to Marcus like a "possible boyfriends" book, much to his surprise as to where she got it. She then turned to survey the chaos still going on. "What the heck is with these people? There's not one sane person in the whole place!"
"No kidding," Marcus agreed folding his arms while also watching this strange event. "Why doesn't anyone stop them?"
"Hello, are you two new here?" A friendly female voice asked the two of them, making the two of them turn.
The person before them was a beautiful young lady about Marcus' age with long flowing white hair that had a top ponytail and ended at the small of her back. She wore a red sleeveless dress that showed off her curvy figure but still kept her modest. She had soft blue eyes and pale skin and wore a flower bracelet and a necklace just above her well-endowed chest. She carried a tray of drinks and smile as she approached the two of them.
"It's Mirajane!" Lucy all but squealed with hearts in her eyes. "In the flesh!"
"Whoa, what a babe!" Marcus said aloud, not bothering to hide his thoughts this time with hearts in his own eyes making Mirajane giggle.
-v-v-v-v-v-
This beautiful young woman is Mirajane; she's works part-time as a model for Sorcerer Weekly and works mostly at the guild hall as a bartender and waitress. I tell ya, if she lived in my world she could very well end up on the cover of Sports Illustrated and have a centerfold in Playboy Magazine.
-v-v-v-v-v-
Lucy quickly composed herself and pointed at the chaos. "Umm, don't you think we should try to stop them or something?"
Marcus also quickly recovered. "Yeah, they're kinda getting outta hand here."
"It's always like that around here, I just leave them alone." Mirajane said looking at the fight before turning to the two of them again. "Besides…" She didn't finish as something slammed into her and knocked her to another table and bench. It was none other than Elfman who had been thrown at her.
"It's kinda fun don't you think?" She said weakly before fainting a little.
"AHH DON'T DIE MIRAJANE!" Lucy shouted desperately before someone crashed into her. When Marcus looked to see who it was he immediately covered his eyes.
"Dude, I do not need to see that!"
It was Gray, no longer wearing his boxers seeing as how Natsu had them and was twirling them around in his hand while standing on Krov, who was now out of the fight. Needless to say, seeing the young man in his birthday suit was something neither Marcus nor Lucy needed to see as she covered her eyes but allowed one to slightly peek blushing the whole time.
"Damn it Natsu, give me back my underwear!" He yelled before turning to Lucy. "Excuse me miss, but can I please borrow your underwear?"
"AS IF!" She shouted batting him away with a paper fan.
"You don't go asking a girl for her panties, it's indecent!" Marcus shouted at the naked young man, shaking his fist before being pushed out of the way by Loke as he picked Lucy up bridal style.
"These guys are so insensitive, a girl has needs…" He said before being punched away by Elfman, making him drop Lucy.
"Real men speak with their fists Loke!" He yelled before he was kicked away by Natsu!
"I told you to butt out!" He said before Marcus recovered.
"Damn it, Natsu, cut it out!" Marcus shouted with a nerve tick on his head.
"Aye!" Happy said, popping up out of nowhere.
"Ugh, it's so loud, so much for having a drink to relax." Cana sighed in disgust before pulling out a card and putting some of her magic into it. "That's enough you guys, I suggest you knock it off!" She called out to them as a magic seal appeared in front of her.
Gray smacked his right fist in left palm causing a blue mist to appear along with a light blue magic seal to appear next to him.
"Oh yeah, says who!?"
Elfman roared as a magic seal appeared above his hand before phasing through his right arm turning it into stone. Meanwhile Loke brought a ring of his own to his waist and a green magic seal appeared in front of it.
"You punks can be such a nuisance!"
Lastly, Natsu clenched his fists causing torrents of fire to erupt around them just like what happened back in Hargeon.
"I'm ready for ya!"
Lucy brought Happy up in front of her with a sign around his neck that said 'shield' on it as though he would protect her from the attacks that were about to occur while looking frightened by this whole thing.
"They always fight like this?" She asked Happy.
"Uh huh." The cat answered plainly.
"You don't seem worried!" Lucy cried.
'Okay, this is way getting out of hand! Time to get myself involved!' Marcus thought to himself before putting one of his rings on his right hand and quickly brought it to his belt.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" He shouted as he scanned his ring.
BIND-PLEASE!
Marcus threw his hand out and all over the guild hall magic seals appeared and from them shot metal chains that wrapped themselves around each of the guild members fighting, restraining their arms, legs, and upper torsos; especially the ones who were about to launch magical attacks. The chains that wrapped around Natsu practically wrapped the kid in a cocoon of chains. And just like that, the fighting in the guild came to an abrupt halt.
"What the hell, where'd these chains come from!?" Gray shouted as he struggled against the chains that had wrapped themselves, conveniently, around his waist and covered his manly jewels.
"Who is that guy?" Elfman asked as he too struggled to remove his stone arm from quite a few chains that held onto it.
"What the hell did you do that for Marcus!?" Natsu shouted struggling to get out of the chains holding him. "I coulda taken them!"
"Yeah, and destroy half the building while you were at it, Natsu!" Marcus retorted, continuing to hold his hand out to maintain the spell. "I'd rather not have what happened in Hargeon happen here!"
"Thank you, young man." A booming voice said from behind the ring bearing Kamen Rider, making Marcus to turn around…and stare into the eyes of a gigantic black figure!
"HE'S HUGE!" Lucy screamed with a frightened look on her face.
"I appreciate you stopping the fight, but now I must ask that you remove your spell at once!" The Giant said with a note of warning in its voice.
"Y-yes sir!" Marcus stuttered with an almost squeak before cancelling his spell, making the chains around the guild disappear.
But just as they did, Natsu decided to make a fool of himself again as he stood with his hands on his hips laughing.
"HAHAHA What a bunch of babies! Looks like I win this fight by…" He never finished his sentence as he was quickly stomped on by the giant, making Marcus and Lucy hug each other in fright.
'Man, that's gotta hurt! Then again, he kinda deserved it since he started this mess.'
"Oh I'm sorry; I forgot that you were still here master." Mirajane said, causing both Marcus and Lucy to look at her in shock.
"Did you say master!?" Lucy sked in shock, causing the giant to look at her.
"I see we have a new recruit."
"Yes sir!" Lucy squeaked herself just as the giant began to shrink down with a loud groan.
As the giant continued to shrink down to size, Marcus noticed that he became a rather short man with gray hair, a mustache, and wizened looks. He wore what Marcus could only describe as a jester's hat with light orange and blue stripes, a matching jacket and pants, brown shoes, and a white t-shirt with the guild's symbol on it. Lucy and Marcus were just dumbstruck as the giant was now a small man who looked no taller than a child.
"Nice to meetcha both." He said raising his hand to the two of them.
"He shrunk!" Marcus said with astonishment.
"He's tiny! This little guy is really in charge here?" Lucy questioned, not believing what she's seeing either.
"Of course he is," Mirajane cheerfully answered, as though it was normal seeing him like that. "Allow me to introduce the Fairy Tail Guild Master, Makarov."
'Makarov? Like the pistol?' Marcus absentmindedly thought as Master Makarov leaped into the air towards the balcony in a flip only to hit his head on the railing causing Marcus to wince. 'That's gotta hurt!'
The old man quickly recovered before standing on the same railing he hid his head on and cleared his throat and stared down at everyone like a scolding father.
"You've gone and done it again, you bunch of clods!" He scolded to everyone in the guild, who had started paying rapt attention to him. He then pulled out a stack of papers from behind his back. "Just look at the amount of paperwork the Magic Council sent me this time! This is the biggest pile of complaints yet!"
'Magic council? Must be this place's form of government.' Marcus mused as he too listened to the old man.
"Have you lost your minds?!" He shouted at them as his body trembled with anger. "All you kids are good for is getting the higher-ups mad at me!" This made everyone in the guild look down in shame as though they were children being scolded by a parent.
'Wow, I guess with what Lucy told me about how destructive Fairy Tail is; I can guess being given all of that paperwork has given this guy a lot to complain about.' Marcus thought as he looked around the guild hall at everyone's guilty look.
Makarov, however, calmed down a bit and grinned. "However, I say to heck with the Magic Council!" He said, igniting the papers in his hand on fire and tossing them out allowing Natsu to leap up and start eating the fire. This made Marcus and Lucy really pay attention now.
"Now listen up, any power that surpasses reason comes from reason right? Magic isn't some miraculous power; it is a talent that only works when the flow of energy inside of us and the flow of energy in the natural world are in perfect synchronization. To perform magic, one must have a strong mind and the ability to focus. It should take over your being and come pouring out of your soul! If all we do is following rules then our magic will never progress!" As Makarov gave his speech, Lucy and Mirajane looked at each other with smiles and Marcus just listened in, almost inspired by what he was saying. "Don't let those blowhards on the council scare you! Follow the path of what you believe in! Because that's what makes the Fairy Tail guild number one!" He finished his speech raising his hand in the air with his thumb out and index finger up and the back of his hand facing everyone. The rest of the guild cheered and mimicked his gesture.
Marcus couldn't help but feel moved by the old man's speech. Despite being in this world for only a day, he seemed to have mastered the use of his magic rings as though he had been trained to use them for years. But then again, he had seen Haruto do it dozens of times on the show so it just simply came natural for him. But after hearing what Makarov said, he couldn't help but smile.
'You know,' He thought to himself. 'I think I'm actually beginning to like this place.'
"Well, now that that's settled," Mirajane said, breaking Marcus of his own musings. "Why don't we get you two your guild marks?"
"Just like that?" Lucy questioned, wondering if she heard wrong. "No interview, no questions, or anything like that?"
"Nope," Mirajane said with a shake of her head. "If you're looking to join our guild, all you need to do is ask."
"Cool!" Lucy said cheerfully before composing herself. "Oh, where are my manners, I didn't even introduce myself. My name's Lucy Heartfilia."
"Welcome to the guild, Lucy!" Mirajane welcomed her with her bright smile before turning to Marcus. "What about you, are you here to join the guild too?"
Marcus suddenly remembered what he was there for in the first place. "Oh! Umm, my name's Marcus Tyson and I'm…actually not here to join the guild." He said sheepishly catching Lucy and Mirajane off-guard.
"You're not?" Lucy asked him. "But didn't you say that you needed a job or something?"
"Yeah, about that, Lucy…" Marcus started before telling the two of them why he was really there.
"WHAT!?"
-v-v-v-v-v-
"So let me see if I understand you correctly Marcus." Master Makarov said sitting on the bar counter with his arms crossed and looking at the young Kamen Rider, whose story he had just told to the entire guild, including Lucy.
"You say you're from another world," He started recalling everything Marcus had told him, from being transported to their world to what happened in Hargeon. "You were somehow transported to our world through a magic portal of some kind and wound up in Hargeon and met up with both Lucy and Natsu before coming here?"
"That's right Master Makarov." Marcus nodded in confirmation.
"And you came here hoping that someone in my guild or someone in our guild might know of someone else who has the power to send you back home?" Makarov finished, raising his eyebrow questioningly at Marcus.
"I know it sounds hard to believe but…" Marcus started; wanting to reassure the old man his intentions were pure.
"Calm down, Marcus, I believe you." Makarov interrupted him.
"Y-you do?" Marcus stuttered with a blink. Before gaining a hopeful look. "Does this mean…"
"I'm afraid there's no one in our guild with that kind of knowledge though." Makarov interrupted him again, knowing what Marcus was going to ask dashing the boy's hopes. "I don't even know of any other wizards with that kind of power. Even if I did, I'm unsure if they would believe your story."
"I see…" Marcus said in a downcast voice.
"But don't give up hope so easily, Marcus." Makarov said catching the boy's attention. "While no one in our guild doesn't have that kind of knowledge I'm certain that someone on the Magic Council may have so I'll send them a letter requesting that they look into it."
"Really, you'd do that?" Marcus asked excitedly knowing that he may not have to wait long to go home.
"Of course," Makarov nodded with a friendly smile. "It may take a while, but I'm sure they'll find some sort of spell that could send you back home."
"Gee, thanks!" Marcus thanked him looking a bit happier than he felt.
"In the meantime, you're more than welcome to stay here in Magnolia for as long as they look." Makarov offered him. "You're also more than welcome to join the guild if you wish to."
Marcus thought about it for a moment but shook his head. "I appreciate the offer to join the guild, but if this Magic Council does find a way to send me home I honestly don't see the point. But I'll stay here knowing that I have friends here."
"I understand," Makarov told him with a disappointed sigh. "But the offer will still be there if you change your mind."
"Thanks again, Master Makarov." Marcus thanked the old man again before shaking his hand.
-v-v-v-v-v-
So after introducing himself to the other guild members, Marcus sat at the bar and was offered some juice curtesy of Mirajane. She didn't even charge him because of his situation. So there he sat, drinking a juice while watching Mirajane place the Fairy Tail guild mark on Lucy's hand in bright pink. The way she did it though astounded Marcus. At first, he thought the marks were placed on a person's body similar to how a tattoo was placed on there; but to his surprise it was less painful than that. All she did was ask Lucy where she wanted it placed and in what color; then she took this stamp and pressed it down on Lucy's hand and 'poof' the mark appeared in the desired color.
"There you go," Mirajane said cheerfully. "You're now an official member of the Fairy Tail guild."
Lucy looked so thrilled that she practically danced over to Natsu to show him.
"Hey Natsu look!" She practically squealed. "Mirajane just put the official Fairy Tail mark on my hand!"
Natsu, however, didn't even turn to look at her considering he was staring at a bulletin board containing fliers for job requests.
"Oh yeah? That's cool, welcome to the guild Looney." He said blandly, not even bothering to sound enthusiastic.
"THE NAME'S LUCY!" Lucy shouted indignantly.
Marcus shook his head at Natsu's lack of congratulatory tone at Lucy's excitement. He then took a sip from his juice before taking a look at the bulletin board Natsu and Happy were staring at along with another member of the guild, a tanned tribal-looking man named Nab, looking for a new job. This was the Fairy Tail request board, where the wizards of the guild could find a job that's good for their own individual skills as well as pay for good money and other rewards. Marcus had to admit, it once again reminded him of something out of an MMORPG that he would play back home on his computer.
"So, Marcus, was it?" Cana's voice interrupted his thoughts making him stare at her, while at the same time trying not to stare at her cleavage. "What kind of magic can you use? I mean that really was impressive with that binding spell you used on us but what else can you do?"
Marcus grinned and pulled out a ring with an image of a red bird. "I'll show ya." He then placed the ring on his right hand and then brought it to his belt and allowed it to scan.
GARUDA-PLEASE!
The moment his ring was scanned by his belt, a red holographic rectangular shape appeared out of the buckle. The image then solidified into what looked like a tray with the pieces of a plastic model you would find in hobby shops that looked as though it was ready to be put together. The tray then disappeared and the parts began to come together into a bird-like shape that floated in front of him. Marcus then took the ring off and placed it into a slot on the creature's chest and it immediately came to life with a happy little chirp while flapping its wings.
"What a cutie!" Mirajane cooed as she also witnessed this little show of his magic.
"That's really cool." Cana agreed as the little bird flew around the three of them. "Loke's ring magic doesn't even come close to this. What is this thing anyway?"
Marcus held out his hand for it to land on his palm. "This is one of my Plamonsters, Garuda."
"Plamonster?"
"It's a type of familiar based on a plastic model you build, except they can come alive." Marcus explained allowing the girls to nod.
"You got any more of these little guys?" Cana asked after taking a quick sip from her drink.
"Three more actually." Marcus nodded pulling out the other rings and scanning them.
KRAKEN-PLEASE!
UNICORN-PLEASE!
GOLEM-PLEASE!
Like Garuda, three more trays of plastic assorted pieces appeared and assembled into different shapes of animals. One shaped itself into a blue unicorn-like creature, another became a yellow squid-like creature, and the last one became an ape-like creature. Marcus then inserted the rings into the slots on the creatures bringing them to life. Kraken and Unicorn seemed as curious about their new situation; Golem, on the other hand, immediately scrambled behind a mug to hide but briefly peak its head out.
"They're cuties too!" Mirajane said picking Golem up and rubbing her cheek to it, much to the little guy's shyness and delight. Marcus couldn't help but chuckle at this.
"How come my dad hasn't come back yet?" A little boy's voice said over by Makarov, catching Marcus and his Plamonsters' attention.
Sure enough, standing in front of the bar looking at Master Makarov in a pleading and hopeful look was a boy about 7 years of age with narrow blue eyes, dark violet hair, and wearing a pair of brown shorts, sandals, and a green t-shirt with a stylized 'S' on the front.
"You're starting to work my nerves, Romeo," Makarov told the child in an exasperated tone. "You're a wizard's son; have faith in your father and wait patiently for him."
"But sir," The boy, Romeo, said. "He told me he'd be back in three days, and he's been gone for about a week now!"
"If I remember correctly he took the job on Mount Hakobe." Makarov recalled as Lucy came and sat at the bar.
"That's right and it's not that far from here so why won't somebody go look for him!?" Romeo yelled desperately at the elder man.
"Listen kid, your old man's a wizard!" Makarov all but shouted back. "And like any other wizard in this guild he can take care of himself! Now go home, have some milk and cookies, and wait." He said with a note of finality
But Romeo clenched his fist and delivered a right hook into Master Makarov's face knocking him off the bar and startling Golem into hiding behind the counter.
"JERK!" He shouted as he ran out of the guild hall with tears in his eyes. "I HATE YOU ALL!"
"That's gotta be tough." Lucy said as she watched the boy with a look of pity.
"Yeah," Marcus nodded with the same look before turning to Mirajane. "Who was that kid anyway?"
"That's Romeo," She answered him. "He's the son of one of our most prominent wizards, Macao Conbolt. He comes to the guild with his dad a lot and he's been asking the master if his father has come back from that job Master had mentioned."
"Master Makarov didn't have to be that harsh though." Marcus commented finishing his drink and his Plamonsters all listened in. "It's like he didn't care that Romeo's worried."
"I know it sounds like he doesn't care," Mirajane said as she cleaned a bottle with a cloth. "But he really is worried…"
SMASH!
Their thoughts were interrupted and they all turned their attention towards the request board where Natsu had punched a dent in the board. The sound resounded across the whole guild prompting everyone to look at him and made Golem hide again, this time it hopped onto Mirajane's back and hid behind her. Not that the barmaid minded.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Nab yelled pointing at the damage Natsu caused. "You almost broke the board Natsu!"
But Natsu ignored him as he and Happy walked out of the guild.
"This doesn't look good master; you know how he can be." Nab said as he joined Makarov at the bar. "I bet he's going up to Mount Hakobe to save Macao."
"When is that kid ever gonna grow up?" The bucktoothed member, Krov, said in exasperation.
"Who knows?" Nab shrugged. "Going after Macao isn't gonna do anything except hurt his pride."
"Remember Nab," Makarov said softly to the tribal-looking man. "We can't choose another's path. Just leave him be."
Marcus watched the exchange with confusion and worry. "What's with Natsu? I can understand he's frustrated about what Master Makarov said, but why is he taking this so hard?"
"Yeah, why did he get so upset?" Lucy added.
"Probably because he and Romeo have a lot in common." Mirajane said, her tone becoming more solemn prompting both newcomers to look at her. "I think he sees himself in Romeo. Just because we're members of Fairy Tail doesn't mean we don't have our own personal issues. We've all had our fair share of suffering and loss." Marcus noted that Mirajane's voice started to get a bit softer, almost melancholic. Elfman, who was sitting at the bar with them, had almost the same look but with a twinge of guilt etched in his features.
Marcus was silent when he heard that. 'Wow, from the sounds of it she's saying that as though she's got personal experience. What could've happened for her to feel this way?'
"But how does Natsu see himself in Romeo?" He finally asked, but keeping his tone soft.
"Many years ago, Natsu's father left and never came back." Mirajane explained as she rearranged the bottles in the back, with Golem's help, surprisingly. "Well technically it wasn't his real father, but the one who raised him; he was actually a dragon."
This stunned both Lucy and Marcus.
"He was a what?!" Lucy exclaimed in shock. "Natsu was really raised by a dragon?" Mirajane nodded to her query.
"Wait was this dragon Igneel, the one that he and Happy were looking for back in Hargeon?" Marcus asked a little more calmly recalling what happened when the three of them met.
"That's right." Mirajane nodded once again in confirmation. "When he was a little boy, Igneel found him wandering the forest. He took him in and taught him all about language, culture, and magic." She explained to them. "But one day, Igneel disappeared and never returned."
"Wow, it's no wonder he went to Hargeon." Lucy commented.
"Yes and Natsu lives for the day when he sees Igneel again." Mirajane finished as she picked up Marcus' now empty glass.
Both Marcus and Lucy were silent for a few moments, processing what Mirajane had told them. For Marcus, this was not something he was expecting. He had heard of people being raised by apes and wolves, but never dragons. But for Natsu, this dragon was more than a teacher; this dragon was a father he never could replace. So it made Marcus wonder as to what had happened to make Igneel disappear like that. His thoughts were interrupted as Lucy got up out of her seat.
"Where are you going Lucy?" He asked her.
"I'm going with Natsu to Mount Hakobe," She answered looking at Marcus. "Maybe I can help him find Macao."
Marcus didn't say anything at first, but then turned to two of his Plamonsters. "Kraken, Unicorn, you two go with her, help them find this Macao guy." His squid-like Plamonster and unicorn-shaped Plamonster nodded and hopped onto Lucy's shoulders, surprising her a little but she thanked him and walked out of the guild. Marcus then turned to his bird Plamonster. "Garuda, you go look for Romeo and keep an eye on him; if you find him, come find me and take me to him." His bird-like Plamonster chirped in affirmation before flying out of the guild. He then turned to his little shy Plamonster. "Golem, you can stay here and help Mirajane around the bar, if she doesn't mind that is." He said with finality looking at her.
"I don't mind at all," She nodded but looked at him confusedly. "But where are you going?"
"I'm gonna go keep Romeo company." He said getting out of his seat. "I'm not a member of the guild, so maybe he can talk to me."
"Okay," Mirajane nodded just as Marcus exited the guild hall.
-v-v-v-v-v-
Romeo watched as Natsu left town. The older boy came up to him and told him that he would personally go to Mount Hakobe and search for his father and bring him home. Romeo had his doubts at first, but he allowed Natsu to go and placed all his hopes on him finding his only parent left. He idly fingered something around his neck that was hidden under his t-shirt.
"Hey there, Romeo." A voice said prompting the boy to turn to see who said it.
Coming up to him was a tall man with an all-too charming smile. He had spikey red hair and was wearing a business suit with fur outlines. He seemed friendly enough and Romeo certainly knew him.
"Oh, hi Mr. Toros." Romeo greeted the man glumly.
This made Toros frown. "What's gotcha down kiddo?"
"I just got out of the guild," The kid replied, kicking a patch of dirt. "I asked them if my dad had come back yet."
"I see," Toros nodded in understanding. "So, did he come back?"
"No," Romeo grumbled. "They wouldn't even bother to send someone to look for him. But Natsu just left saying that he'd look for him."
Toros chuckled and ruffled the boy's head. "Ahh don't let it get you Romeo, I'm sure your dad's fine."
Romeo groaned and shook off the man's head. "But it's almost been a week, what if something bad happened to him!?"
"Well, knowing Natsu he'll probably beat the crap out of anyone or anything that did anything to him before bringing him back." Toros said with a grin bringing one to Romeo's face too. "Why don't you head off to the park? I'll stop by Fairy Tail later and ask if Natsu came back with your father."
"Really?" Romeo asked in surprise. "You'd do that Mr. Toros?"
"Sure," Toros nodded to him. "I'm your neighbor; I'll be there to help in case you need it."
"Gee, thanks Mr. Toros!" Romeo thanked the man before running off, not noticing the smirk that etched itself onto Toros' face as he walked off to an alleyway.
Garuda had been flying overhead and had spotted the boy and the mysterious man, but almost immediately stopped when he saw the man. It then saw where Romeo was going and flew off. Had it stayed a little longer, it would've seen what happened next.
-v-v-v-v-v-
Toros had strolled to a secluded area in Magnolia; far away from any prying eyes that were unfortunate enough to see where he was or what he was doing. In this spot he met two people, a girl and a boy who both looked about Marcus' age, sitting on barrels waiting for him. The girl got up and strolled to him.
"How goes your progress with the gate?" She asked him.
"So far, so good." Toros answered her with a sly grin. "I've got the kid eating out of my hands. It won't be long before I deliver the final push."
"Excellent," The girl asked with a sly smile. "Anything else to report?"
"Nope," Toros shook his head. "Other than the fact that one of those losers from Fairy Tail decided to go look for my target's father."
"Then you should've gone after them!" The boy finally spoke up in a yell, getting up from his barrel. "If they come back with the gate's father…!"
"They won't," Toros said with reassurance. "The odds of them surviving up in that frozen wasteland is slim even with the proper gear. If the cold doesn't get them, then the monsters on that mountain will. We've got nothing to worry about." He then shrugged dismissively. "Besides, it's not like any of the wizards in this world can be a match for us."
"Perhaps not," The girl said crossing her arms. "But I've heard a disturbing rumor from one of our contacts in Hargeon." She turned to him. "There was a rumor that a ringed wizard appeared and took down Bora of the Prominence and his men alongside one of Fairy Tail's strongest wizards." This caught both men off guard.
"A ring wizard?" The boy asked incredulously. "You don't think it's…?"
She shrugged. "Like I said, it's only a rumor."
But Toros still didn't look worried like his younger counterpart. "It's probably just another one of those wannabe ring bearers. Wizards like that are a dime a dozen around these parts; the odds of that ring wizard being who you think it is are very slim." He then chuckled. "Hell, I doubt he's anywhere in this world."
"That is still no reason to let your guard down!" The girl chided him harshly, while marks of some kind appeared on her face before fading. "He may or may not be in this world, and the wizards of this world may or may not be able to stand against us; but that doesn't mean we can allow ourselves to be complacent!" She then paced the hidden alleyway with a scowl on her face. "Many of the wizards in this world have proven that they can be dangerous if properly motivated," She then turned to the two males in the alley. "I wouldn't even be surprised if one of them landed a lucky hit on us and cause one of us to be destroyed." She then stalked up to Toros giving him a piercing look. "Which is why we can't let our guard down, nor can we begin to actively start turning potential gates into more of us. So until then, we must play it safe. Is that clear?"
"Yes," Toros nodded with a gulp. "Of course, Lady Medusa."
"Good," The girl, no identified as Medusa, slowly nodded before turning away from him. "Now, how soon can you succeed with the boy?"
"I should be able to get him wallowing in despair by this evening." Toros answered her with confidence, but kept his tone even.
"Excellent." She nodded to him. "You may leave now, Minotauros; and do not fail."
Toros' features then changed from that of a human, to that of something…not human. His features changed to a blue skinned, bull-horned, humanoid creature with piercing red eyes. He bowed to the girl in respect and walked away before changing back to that of Mr. Toros.
Minotauros grinned in his human form as he walked out of the alley and back into the streets of Hargeon.
'Lady Medusa is worked up over nothing.' He thought to himself as he observed the citizens of Magnolia go about their business. 'Ever since we came into this world and started turning gates into more of us, we have yet to encounter a wizard who was a match for even one of us. Granted, most of the wizards we encountered were no-name rookies who could hardly conjure up a proper spell, let alone an all-out attack.' He then watched as a group of kids ran down the street. 'Still, I suppose if that rumor about a ring wizard appearing is true, then I better be ready to get little Romeo into despair before sunset.' His grin turned almost predatory-like. 'And once that happens, we'll have another Phantom to add to Lord Wiseman's cause and then this world will become ours within no time!' He snickered quietly as he walked around the streets.
-v-v-v-v-v-
Not far from Magnolia, Lucy, Natsu, Happy, and the Plamonsters were traveling by horse-drawn cart towards Mount Hakobe. While Lucy, Happy, Kraken, and Unicorn were mostly enjoying the ride; Natsu on the other hand…was not.
"Ugh, why did you come with us?" Natsu said weakly, trying his best to hold in his stomach contents.
"I thought maybe I could help." She answered him with a shrug, but looking in a mixture of pity and humor as she saw Natsu lay across her not feeling very well. "Wow you really do have a serious case of motion sickness." She then held her cheeks and shook her head in pity. "It's just another reason to feel sorry for you."
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Natsu groaned indignantly.
"Oh nothing, nothing at all." Lucy composed herself with a dismissive wave.
"By the way, what are these things that came with you?" He asked weakly, eying the two Plamonsters.
"Yeah, the squid thing looks yummy!" Happy said, eying Kraken with a hungry look and drooling.
"Don't even think about it cat!" Lucy snapped at the feline. "They're Marcus' familiars and he sent them along to help us find Macao." Unicorn neighed and Kraken spun around in agreement with her. She then glared at Happy. "So I don't think he'd appreciate it if you tried eating one of them, Happy."
"Aww…"
So after about a few more minutes of staring at Natsu while reflecting on what Mirajane had told her earlier, the cart suddenly came to a stop.
"I guess we're there."
"ALRIGHT WE'VE STOPPED MOVING!" Natsu suddenly shouted, his motion sickness all but gone now, surprising Lucy and the two familiars while dancing around.
"I'm sorry, but this is as far as I can take you." The driver said, allowing Lucy to open the doors…to an actual blizzard!
-v-v-v-v-v-
Romeo sat on the swing set with a sad sigh. It had been a couple of hours since Mr. Toros, his neighbor, had suggested that he go to the park for a while. But he didn't feel like playing on the playground with the other kids, considering they were the reason he was down in the dumps. Idly, he fingered something underneath his shirt for what seemed to have been the umpteenth time since his dad left for that job.
"Hey there, Romeo." A voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see Marcus approaching him.
"I know you," He said looking up at the older boy. "You were at the guild."
"That's right," Marcus nodded as he sat down in the swing next to Romeo's. "My name's Marcus, and you don't have to worry I'm not part of the guild."
"You're not?" Romeo asked in surprise.
"Nope," Marcus shook his head. "Just somebody passing through." He then looked at Romeo. "Just thought I'd keep you company for a while. At least until Natsu and Lucy come back with your dad."
This made Romeo look glum again and he stared at the ground sadly. "If they find him."
"Hey," Marcus chided him slightly. "They will find him, you just gotta have hope."
"Yeah," Romeo said fingering the item underneath his shirt, and Marcus seemed to notice.
"What's that under your shirt?" He asked, indicating the area where Romeo had his fingers.
"Oh," Romeo pulled out what appeared to be a locket of some kind with a tiny imprint of the Fairy Tail guild's symbol and opened it to reveal an image of an older man with scraggly hair looking down at something with a happy smile. He almost looked like a carbon copy of Romeo. "This is a locket my dad gave me."
"Is that him?" Marcus asked, pointing at the picture.
"Yeah," Romeo confirmed with a nod. "This was taken when I was born; my dad has a similar locket with his half of the picture."
Marcus couldn't help but smile at the sentiment. "You and your dad must be pretty close if he gave you that."
Romeo returned the smile. "Yeah, my dad's the coolest wizard I know. And when I grow up, I wanna learn fire magic just like him and Natsu and join Fairy Tail when I'm old enough." His smile dropped and he looked down again. "But the other kids don't seem to like wizards that much."
Marcus quirked an eyebrow at that. "Why not?"
"They always make fun of me because my dad's a wizard, saying that wizards are nothing but drunks and stuff like that." Romeo explained to him with frustration in his voice. "My dad told me that the other kids were just jealous because their dads weren't wizards like mine. He even took that job on Mount Hakobe just so I could brag to the other kids."
The more Marcus heard about Macao, the more he began to like the guy. But then he had to pose another question.
"What about your mom?"
Again Romeo sighed sadly, "My parents divorced when I was really little. I don't remember why they did, but it's been me and my dad ever since then." But he perked up again. "But I'm glad he's my dad, because he's always looked after me and taught me a lot of cool stuff. He even lets me go with him to the guild every day."
Marcus nodded and then looked at that locket again. "So I guess that locket is your assurance that he'll come home huh?"
Romeo nodded. "Yeah, when he gave it to me, he said that as long as I have it, I'll know that he's safe and will come home."
"I see," Another voice slowly drawled, catching both of their attention. Sure enough, there was Mr. Toros approaching the two boys slowly. "So that locket is your hope."
"Mr. Toros?" Romeo got up from the swing and approached the man.
Marcus, however, was starting to get a bad vibe out of the man. He couldn't explain it, but for some reason he could feel that this man's intentions were anything but nice. He quickly got up from his swing and stood there watching the whole scene, but would jump in if something happened.
"Is something wrong sir?" Romeo asked him.
"I'm sorry to say this Romeo," Toros said in an unconvincing somber tone. "But your father is dead."
Romeo's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "No…it can't be…"
"I talked to Master Makarov himself, he said he died from facing too many vulcans." Toros continued, his grin turning almost predatory. "So, you won't be needing this anymore!" He suddenly reached for Romeo's locket and yanked it off his neck snapping the chain.
"Hey! Give that back!" Romeo shouted reaching for the locket.
"Hold it right there pal!" Marcus shouted as he charged at him.
"Out of the way, boy!" Toros backhanded Marcus' chest, causing Marcus to go flying about twelve feet away much to his surprise.
"Oof!" Marcus rubbed his chest area, perplexed at the man's inhuman strength.
"Stop it Mr. Toros!" Romeo pleaded to him trying to reach for his locket again, but then his face became pale as he saw marks appear on Toros' face as the man grinned evilly and suddenly changed shape.
Marcus' eyes widened at the sight. 'No way! It's not possible!'
In the man's place was a bull-headed monster that had appeared in that hidden alley earlier. It glanced down at Romeo with its red eyes glinting maliciously. Romeo fell to his rear and began to crabwalk away from the creature.
"Who the heck are you!? Where's Mr. Toros!?" He asked frantically, fear just oozing from his voice.
"The one you call Toros died a long time ago," The monster said approaching Romeo slowly. "I was born in his place. I am called Minotauros, and soon you will become like me, Romeo." The creature then dropped the locket to the ground and before Romeo could reach for it, he stomped on it breaking it to pieces.
Romeo suddenly stopped and clutched his chest as though he were in pain and then just as suddenly; purple glowing cracks appeared on his body! From what anyone could see, the cracks were growing and in between them, something was moving as though something was trying to get out of them!
"Yes," Minotauros said maliciously, as though he was enjoying the pain Romeo was in. "That's it, fall into despair! Allow that Phantom within you to come out!"
Snapping out of his stupor, Marcus quickly placed his on his Connect ring and then scanned it over his belt.
CONNECT-PLEASE!
Marcus then placed his hand to the side as the magic seal for his spell appeared next to him. He quickly placed his hand through it and grabbed his Wizarswordgun, pulled it out, and aimed it at Minotauros firing three shots at the monster. Minotauros was too busy reveling in Romeo's suffering that he didn't know what hit him as the bullets struck his body causing sparks to erupt on his chest and sent him flying. As he rolled on the ground, he clutched the areas that the bullets struck in pain.
"Gh…silver bullets?" He grunted, finally eyeing Marcus. "But how?"
"I think you know perfectly well how…Phantom!" Marcus growled at the beast, his weapon trained on Minotauros.
"So," Minotauros growled back, getting back up to his feet. "You know what I am."
"That's right," Marcus confirmed before placing his Driver on ring on his right hand and his Flame ring on his left. "And I know how to beat you too!" He then brought his right hand down to his belt and scanned it.
DRIVER ON-PLEASE!
And just like that, his belt buckle changed to his wizardriver and Marcus then switched the levers so that the hand was pointing right and the palm lit up.
SHABADOOBIE TOUCH TO HENSHIN! SHABADOOBIE TOUCH TO HENSHIN! SHABADOOBIE TOUCH TO HENSHIN!
"That belt…you can't be...!" Minotauros stuttered, fear evident in his voice.
"Oh I'm him alright." Marcus said bringing up his left hand and flipping his ring's visor down. "Henshin!" He then brought his left hand down to his wizardriver and scanned it.
FLAME-PLEASE! HII! HII! HII, HII, HIII!
With that, Marcus allowed the magic seal to pass through him and he transformed into his armor once again.
"Impossible…the ring wizard, here!?" Minotauros backed away slightly in shock seeing Marcus in his armor.
"That's right," Marcus said bringing his left hand close to his head. "Now, it's Showtime!"
With that, he charged and switched his wizarswordgun to sword mode and Minotauros summoned his halberd weapon before their weapons clashed. Minotauros then brought his axe up to slice at Marcus, but the Kamen Rider blocked with his sword and countered with a left kick pushing the monster away. The phantom then tried stabbing at him with a thrust of the spear tip, but Marcus grabbed the weapon, twirled it away and then slashed at Minotauros' chest causing sparks to fly from the slash he had made. The two continued to dance around each other's weapons before Marcus made a twirl and thrusted his sword against Minotauros' weapon and destroyed it and struck the monster in the chest sending it flying back.
Minotauros grunted and got back up quickly and glared at the Kamen Rider. He then stomped his foot down and charged at him with horns pointed at his chest. Marcus held his sword and managed to block Minotauros' head before the horns could touch him. But like the bull he's based on, Minotauros' superhuman strength started pushing Marcus back causing little trenches in the ground to be made from his feet!
"Whoa!" Marcus shouted in surprise as Minotauros pushed him. But like what he had seen in the show, Marcus did a forward flip over the bull-headed phantom before switching his rings on his left hand. "Okay, time to ground this bull!" Marcus then switched the levers twice and scanned his ring.
LAND-PLEASE! DODODON, DODODON, DON DODODON!
Marcus then changed into his earth armor and switched his Driver on ring with his Defend ring knowing that Minotauros would charge again. However, unlike Haruto, he didn't activate the spell in time. Minotauros charged again, but this time his horns connected with Marcus' chest and he was sent flying into a jungle gym totally decimating it!
"Hmph," Minotauros snorted. "You may be the ring wizard, but so far I'm not impressed."
"Says you, cow-breath!" Marcus retorted switching his weapon to gun mode and fired a few rounds at the Phantom, causing sparks to erupt around the monsters body and making his stagger back.
"Grr…You'll pay for that!" Minotauros shouted as he charged again. This time, Marcus was ready for him and activated his spell.
DEFEND-PLEASE!
Like with Bora's men, a block of stone appeared in front of Minotauros and he ended up crashing into it, trapping him in it. Marcus snickered before delivering a roundhouse kick into the Phantom's face knocking him out of the block of stone and flying back. Marcus then switched his Land ring with an Emerald style ring and made his switch on his belt again.
SHABADOOBIE TOUCH TO HENSHIN! SHABADOOBIE TOUCH TO HENSHIN! SHABADOOBIE TOUCH TO HENSHIN!
"This will blow you away!" Marcus punned before scanning the ring.
HURRICANE-PLEASE! FU-FU, FU-FU-FU-FU!
Marcus raised his hand up and another magic seal appeared over him before he jumped through it changing his armor's appearance once again. This time, his jewel-like armor was more triangular and was a vibrant emerald green color. Even the inside of his robe-cape was green! The visor on his helmet also became an inverted emerald triangle. As soon as he changed armor, a gust of wind began to surround his body and he immediately glided his way towards the Phantom at incredible speed. He then slashed his sword across Minotauros' body making sparks fly and did at least three passes before landing a few feet away from him.
"Had enough yet?" Marcus taunted the creature.
"Gh…I won't let you beat me here, ring wizard!" Minotauros shouted before he collected a few tiny stones from out of nowhere and threw them in the air.
Marcus recognized them immediately and tensed. As soon as the stones hit the ground they formed into a group of humanoid creatures with markings similar to Minotauros. However, these creatures were a pale gray and their horned heads had featureless faces. These creatures were Ghouls; they were minor nuisances when in comparison to an actual phantom; at least to someone with Marcus' abilities.
"Terrific, the bad guys always call in their grunts to get help." Marcus commented dryly as he readied himself.
"True, but it's a good stalling tactic." Minotauros said before indicating Romeo, who had developed a few more cracks on his body since the fight started. "It won't be long before Romeo there falls into despair and then you'll have two Phantoms to worry about!"
Marcus mentally cursed himself. He had almost forgotten about Romeo in all that excitement. This was his first fight against a Phantom and he could NOT afford to lose time here; nor could he afford to let Minotauros get away with this. Needless to say, he was in a real pickle.
"So why don't you be a good boy, and just die while you still can?" Minotauros taunted as the Ghouls readied themselves for a fight, but then something unexpected happened…
"FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!"
Out of seemingly nowhere, Natsu came in, fists covered in flames and slammed into the ghouls sending them flying in all directions. Even Minotauros was sent flying from the force of the impact. Natsu then landed in front of Marcus in a crouch scowling at the creatures.
"I dunno what the hell you guys are," He said with a snarl. "But you sure picked the wrong town to attack!"
"Natsu!" Marcus shouted almost in relief seeing his friend there.
"Romeo!" A man's voice shouted and Marcus turned to see the man who he saw in Romeo's locket running to the boy with Lucy and Happy in tow. He looked injured, but after seeing the state his son was in, his injuries were completely forgotten. "Speak to me, son, are you alright!?"
"D-dad," Romeo croaked, his voice straining between wonder and…hope. "Is that you?"
"It's me, son," Macao assured him. "Just hang on!"
"NO!" Minotauros shouted in surprise as he saw Macao. "You're supposed to be dead!"
"Good thing he's not thanks to me and Lucy!" Natsu said with a grin.
It was true. While Marcus had been busy looking for Romeo, Natsu and Lucy had made it to the icy cold wasteland that was Mount Hakobe. Once there they were attacked by an ape-like monster known as a Vulcan. These creatures had a magical ability known as take-over, which was a magic that allowed them to use another being's body as a host for their own. This ape was also a certified pervert since it kidnapped Lucy. After fighting the creature and managing to cancel its take-over of Macao, they had brought the man back home to Magnolia so they could reunite the man with his son. What they didn't expect, was a group of monsters neither of them had ever seen before attacking Marcus and Romeo on the ground with purple cracks all over his body.
"Dad," Romeo said, his voice starting to brighten. "It's really you!" As he said this, the cracks on his body began to stop forming. "You're alive!" With that the boy hugged his father, and almost immediately the cracks on his body completely disappeared much to Lucy, Macao, Happy, and Natsu's surprise and Marcus' relief.
"NO!" Minotauros shouted in anger. "This wasn't supposed to happen!"
Lucy turned toward the creature and asked tentatively, "Marcus, what is that thing?"
"That, Lucy," Marcus said with a growl, readying his weapon again. "Is a Phantom!"
"A Phantom huh?" Natsu inquired, cracking his knuckles ready to fight. "Well whatever they are, they're gonna end up being barbeque by the time I'm done!"
"I'll deal with him, Natsu," Marcus said switching his Hurricane ring with his Flame ring. "You can take care of the ghouls. They shouldn't be hard to take down."
"Fine by me, since you took down that poser's goons." Natsu nodded as flames erupted around his hands again. "I'm all fired up!"
"Then let's go!" Marcus shouted as he scanned his ring.
FLAME-PLEASE! HII! HII! HII, HII, HIII!
With that, he ran through his seal and changed back into his flame style armor and the two of them charged at the Phantom and the ghouls. Marcus slashed his way through them while Natsu launched flaming punches and kicks at them causing sparks to erupt from their bodies. Marcus went past the ghouls and went straight for Minotauros, who readied himself and charged back. Marcus then slashed his weapon at the creature a bit harder than normal sending him flying.
With Natsu, he had managed to destroy a couple of the ghouls with well-placed fire punches and kicks, much to the surprise of the other ones. They formed a group and tried to get away, but Natsu wouldn't give them that luxury. He took a deep breath and held his hands out as though he were holding something to blow in.
"FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"
With that, the same column of fire that did damage to Hargeon shot out at the ghouls completely engulfing them, reducing them to ashes. Not to mention left an explosion behind. When it was all over a few flames remained of where they were.
"You overdid it again, Natsu!" Lucy shouted as she also noted the damage caused by Natsu's attack.
"Uh…whoops." Natsu said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
Back with Marcus, he had managed to land a few more hits to Minotauros and it was obvious the damage he was inflicting was taking its toll on the creature. Marcus knew this had to be it, so he placed his fingers on the 'thumb' of the hand on his weapon, opening up the palm and his sword began to chant.
COME ON A SLASH, SHAKE HANDS! COME ON A SLASH, SHAKE HANDS!
"Here comes the finale!" He said as he placed his left hand over the hand author, allowing his weapon to scan the ring.
FLAME-SLASH STRIKE! HI! HI! HI! HI! HI! HI!
As soon as that happened, flames erupted around the blade of Marcus' sword and he charged one last time at Minotauros and with one mighty swing, he slashed the weapon clean across the monster's chest. This time a large column of flames erupted from his chest and he screamed in immense pain. Marcus made a pose from behind Minotauros and his magic seal appeared around the creature.
"Now, take a bow!" He said just as Minotauros fell forward and exploded leaving nothing of the beast left.
As the dust began to settle, Marcus removed the rings from his fingers and his armor disappeared. He then turned to where Minotauros was standing when he destroyed it. His thoughts running a million miles per hour seeing this. He could not believe his unfortunate luck. It was bad enough he had been transported to another world, but now he ended up fighting a Phantom of all things in this said world.
'I can't believe it,' He thought to himself as he stared at the spot Minotauros exploded. 'A Phantom; an honest to god Phantom!' He then turned to where Macao was holding Romeo, who had collapsed from exhaustion and the emotional trauma he experienced. 'If Natsu and Lucy hadn't come back with Macao when they did, I don't know if I would be in time to save Romeo myself from falling into despair.' He then eyed his wizard driver, which changed back to being a belt buckle. 'Does this mean…that I also have a Phantom inside of me; but I haven't even fallen into despair so how can I be able to use this magic?'
"Hey Marcus," He head Natsu speak up as the said dragon slayer approached him. "What the heck were those things, and what did they want with Romeo?"
Knowing he had to explain himself, Marcus sighed and looked at Natsu.
"I'll explain when we get back to the guild hall. Master Makarov will want to know about this."
-v-v-v-v-v-
After the group left the park and arrived at the guild hall, Mirajane immediately took Romeo and Macao to the guild hall's infirmary to patch up Macao's injuries and check on how Romeo was. Afterwards Macao explained to Makarov that after starting the job, twenty of those Vulcans appeared and he managed to fight off and defeat nineteen of them before the twentieth managed to use its take-over magic on him before Natsu and Lucy came along. Then Natsu, Lucy, and Happy explained how they arrived at Mount Hakobe and with a little help thanks to Kraken and Unicorn, were able to confirm that it was Macao that they had faced under that Vulcan's magic before coming back into town to see the Phantom and ghouls. Marcus then explained what he had experienced before coming back to the guild hall.
"…and that's when we came back here." He finished up his side of the story with Master Makarov and a good number of the guild listening in.
Makarov was silent for a moment, taking in everything they had told him. It almost sounded incredible, but in his lifetime he had experienced amazing things that many wizards would only dream of. Plus he had known Marcus long enough to know that the boy isn't a liar. Still, what they had told him almost sounded impossible; a monster that had almost killed one of his own children and a guest. He knew the mayor would rant about the damage, but this took precedence over that for the time being. He then looked at Marcus with an expression that Marcus could not interpret.
"Marcus, just what exactly are these Phantoms?" He asked the boy. "Where did they come from and what do they do?"
Marcus took in a deep breath and let out a collective sigh. "Phantoms, for lack of a better word, are monsters born from the negative emotions inside of a person that has the potential to use magic; more specifically the emotion of despair." He began to explain. "As for what they can do, it all varies from Phantom to Phantom; no two phantoms are the same just as no human is the same."
"So basically anyone can have a phantom inside of them?" Mirajane inquired a little unnerved by this.
Marcus nodded. "In this world, that's a reasonable assumption. Considering there are so many potential people who can use magic in this world I'm surprised that I only encountered that one so far."
"How does a Phantom like the one you fought come into existence?" Makarov asked again.
Marcus winced; he had hoped Makarov wouldn't ask that. "The way a Phantom is…born, so to speak is if a Gate, a person with the potential to use magic that is, falls deep into despair. Once they fall into despair cracks, like the ones you guys saw on Romeo," Marcus explained indicating Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and Macao. "Are the signs of that person's inner Phantom is trying to break out."
"What happens when they completely fall into despair?" Gray asked, fully clothed this time. He looked a little apprehensive about what Natsu and the others had explained.
Again, Marcus winced. "If a person falls completely into despair…then they die and that phantom is born." When he said that gasps erupted around the guild hall and Macao's face turned completely pale.
"So…you mean to tell me…that I almost lost my son…because that thing tried to create another one like him?" He asked his voice cracking from the thought of losing Romeo.
Marcus nodded solemnly. "Yes, it's the only way a Phantom can be truly born."
"That's horrible!" Lucy shouted her hands covering her mouth.
"Is there any way to stop that from happening?" Makarov asked calmly, but inside he was almost terrified of what he was hearing.
Marcus nodded again. "There are two ways to prevent it from happening." He pulled out a ring that looked similar to his style rings with the visors down, but this was just one of his ordinary spell rings. "I can place this on the Gate's hand and enter their subconscious, or underworld, and destroy the phantom inside of them before it can break out in humanoid form." He then placed the ring back with his other rings on the chain holding them. "But if I do that, then the person either loses their potential to use magic; or in the case of those who can already use magic, it could make them so low on magic that they probably won't be able to use it for at least a week or less."
This made everyone uneasy. Considering that to a wizard, their magic is their life and to lose the ability to use their magic is considered the closest thing to feeling helpless. Needless to say, the idea of losing their magic sounded like a small price to pay for staying alive.
"And the other way?" Makarov asked his voice steady.
"The other way is what happened to Romeo," Marcus answered, indicating the boy as he slept with his head in his father's lap. "But the thing is it's so rare that aside from Romeo, I don't know of anyone else who was able to do it." He took in a deep breath to explain further. "That person can hold in their inner phantom by holding on to the slightest bit of hope they can find. In Romeo's case, seeing his father still alive was the biggest kind of hope he could ever get. So it's a good thing you guys came when you did," Marcus turned to Natsu and Lucy again. "Otherwise, I don't think I would've been able to save Romeo in time. But that also comes with a bonus, since he was able to hold in his inner phantom his magic should be able to ward off Phantoms. Plus, the Phantoms can't target him again."
That gave Macao a sigh of relief. "Thank God for that."
"Just how exactly do these Phantoms drive a person into despair?" Elfman asked.
"It all depends on what the person in question fears the most." Marcus shrugged. "For Romeo, it was losing his dad. If it were someone who wants to be more sociable, the Phantoms could make it so that person would never have any friends. It just completely depends on who their target is."
"Well, it's a good thing we took care of that one huh?" Natsu gloated with a grin. "Sure showed him not to mess with Fairy Tail!"
"I don't think so, Natsu." Marcus shook his head grimly, wiping the grin off the dragon slayer's face. "The one we fought was just one Phantom, yes," He then looked around at everyone. "But where there's one Phantom…there's usually more."
"MORE?!" A collective shout came from almost everyone in the guild hall.
"You mean there are more of those things out there!?" Lucy yelped, the prospect of running into more of what they had encountered at the park completely frightening.
Marcus nodded again. "Yes, but it's going to be difficult to even find one before they make their move."
"How's that?" Nab asked.
"Because they can disguise themselves as the humans they once were, memories and all." Marcus answered the man.
"Great," Gray grumbled. "As if things weren't bad enough about them; so now you're saying that it's almost impossible to detect them?"
"Not impossible," Marcus shook his head. "Just difficult." He then indicated his four familiars as they hovered around the bar counter. "My Plamonsters can detect Phantoms and let me know when one makes its move."
"That's good," Makarov said with a nod. "But this does pose as a problem. Because they can disguise themselves as humans, we won't know who they'll be before it's too late." He then frowned deeply at this prospect. "I was going to inform the council about this, but with this information it could mean that they wouldn't buy it even if one of them wasn't a Phantom in disguise."
"I think its best that you did keep a tight lid on this for now, Master." Marcus agreed. "It will make my job a whole lot easier if I didn't have them knowing who I was when I take on jobs and they're involved."
This caught everyone's attention.
"Wait, does that mean…?" Lucy asked her voice tinted with hope.
Marcus smiled and nodded. "Yes Lucy," He then turned to Makarov. "After everything that's happened, I've decided to join Fairy Tail!"
Makarov returned the young man's smile with one of his own. "Well then, welcome to the guild Marcus!"
The whole hall erupted into cheers at the prospect of gaining a new member. Even Marcus' Plamonsters were excited about this, even the shy Golem was happy to be joining the guild permanent. Mirajane then came up to Marcus with the guild mark stamp.
"So, where do you want your mark and in what color?" She asked him.
"On my right forearm, in red with a black outline." He answered holding out his arm for her. She nodded and then placed the stamp firmly on his skin. It glowed for a second and then she removed it with a pop! On his skin, was now the Fairy Tail guild emblem in the desired color and outline.
"There you go!" She chirped with a smile. "You're now an official member of the Fairy Tail guild!"
Marcus nodded and stared at his new mark with a smile; knowing that he now had a place to stay for a while.
-v-v-v-v-v-
And that's how I had joined Fairy Tail. I must admit, that I never expected to run into a Phantom in this place when I came here. Heck, I didn't even know I would be able to use magic! But there were a few things that still frightened me. How many Phantoms were there in this world? Who was their leader? What was their goal? But the one thing that frightened me the most, was what my inner Phantom was if I had one? If I had a Phantom that was incompatible with my Dragon forms if I got them, then I don't know if I could handle any of the very strong Phantoms I would encounter or any powerful wizards that my standard spells couldn't hold up to. Still, I was happy to know that I had some amazing friends to help me out at Fairy Tail!
A/N: And that's that for chapter 2! Now I probably got Marcus' explanation about Phantoms wrong, but I'm going by what I've seen in Kamen Rider Wizard itself and the Kamen Rider Wikipedia site. Now as for pairings, I will make this clear right now, THIS WILL NOT BECOME A HAREM! Harems are overdone way too much in fanfics and I don't like them! Also, one person suggested that Marcus will end up with Lucy; again this one will not happen. I will not pair the two of them together because I have someone else in mind. I won't say who, because that would spoil it. There won't be much romance in this fanfic, so don't expect any actual pairings until, possibly, the Oracion Seis arc. Until then, this is mostly what happens in the show with my character's actions added. So, with that said, here's the preview for chapter 3!
Lucy: Wow! That Phantom was sure scary!
Mirajane: It sure was, but now it's time for the two of you to pick your first jobs as members of the guild.
Marcus: Hmm...I wonder which job I should take.
All: Next Time, First Job!
Mirajane: So Lucy, what job are you and Natsu taking?
Lucy: Maid work...
Mirajane: Eww...
Marcus: Wait, what!?