Disclaimers: I do not own Fairy Tail

A/N: Okay, this should be the last chapter for a while for Elemental Homecoming. Some of you might be what was the point of this story. Basically, it was just a way to help pass time while I was doing on-site work for my job without my laptop and only had my phone.

Elemental Homecoming Pt. 6

"So what can you tell me about him?", Laxus asks from his spot in the infirmary while looking over at Pantherlily who was currently lying down in the bed across from him, being seen by then elderly medical advisor, Porylusica, who was finishing up wrapping up his ribs not long after the exceed arrived at the guild hall clutching his sides.

Not much has changed about the Potion Mage other than a few more wrinkles on her face and her movements being a bit slower.

Even though there was the fact that she was now known as Porylusica Dreyar after she privately got married to Makarov Dreyer a few months after the Alvarez invasion. To say that everyone but Laxus was surprised when she walked into the guild hall with a gold ring on was an understatement which caused them to ask way too many questions and for the former hermit to swing her broom around like she was a knight, filling the infirmary to the brim afterward. For years afterward though she continued being the medical advisor even though Laxus, Makarov, and the others have tried to get her to retire and let Wendy and Kinana take over her duties but the elderly woman only answered with a glare every time it was brought up.

Anyway, as she finished up with Pantherlily and began to pack, the exceed look directly at the Second Generation Dragon-Slayer with a stern look.

"He is far faster and stronger than he appears to be and he seems to be wearing some type of armor underneath his cloak that can withstand the might of my blade", he relays, "I couldn't get a good look due to him keeping his arms underneath his cloak the entire time other than to block."

"He fought you entirely with just his legs?", Laxus asks.

"And without casting a single spell. If he is a mage he is proficient at hiding it", Pantherlily tack on.

"Hmmmmm", Laxus groans for a moment, before glancing at Porylusica walking past him as she took her leave.

"I'll be at the usual spot if you need me", she told him.

Laxus gives her a nod and waits until she was out of the room before speaking.

"Anything else?"

Pantherlily takes a breath, "He doesn't seem to be here looking for a fight for he gave me three chances to leave. I don't know whether he was trying to resolve things peacefully or he simply didn't see me as a threat."

"I'll take that into consideration", Laxus states as he turns around to depart, "Rest up, I don't need your Queen angry at me right now."

"One more thing!", Pantherlily shouts out, stopping Laxus in mid-step.

"I have fought a number of skilled fighters in my days and I have developed the ability to know when they are not going full strength", the exceed began to explain, "This Yamio person is definitely holding back and should be handle with the utmost caution. Slaughtering the Vulcans and fighting me may not even be considered a warm-up to him."

"Then I guess that means I can take the kid gloves off for him then", Laxus smiles as he goes through the door, "Been a while since I did that."

Meanwhile back with Romeo, he kept to the old guild hall the rest of the day and the next day, waiting for things to cool down a bit before venturing out. During that time, he merely sat around the abandoned building, letting the memories of days long pass play in his head.

FLASHBACK

He studies the flyer that Mira just handed him with such intensity that the barmaid/model/ace mage thought that he was going to burn a hole right through it.

"Um, Mira?", Romeo said as he scratches the side of his head in thought, " What's a Leviathan?"

For what it was worth, Mira was able to keep a straight face as she spoke to the boy.

"An ancient creature of unbelievable power that is rumor to stalk the waters around Hargeon. Its might surpasses that of even Acnologia himself and entire countries quiver in fear at the thought of it even being a thousand miles away", she spoke, her voice taking on an ominous tone as she leaned closer and closer to the young mage who instinctively began to lean back in response, "It is prophesied to awaken one day and drown the entire world."

Romeo's eyes grew wider with every word Mira spoke until they were as large as dinner plates.

"Of course, those are just the rumors", the S-Class mage adds in before smiling, "Anyway, the job requires you to meet up with Old Fisherman Jeb and help him locate the creature."

A strange cough emits from behind Romeo, but the boy pays no mind to it though Mira does as she briefly looks up. She spots both Macao and Wakaba doing their best to stifle a laugh as the two of them sat at the bar with mugs in their hands and frankly she couldn't blame them.

The Levithan was a local legend told to keep children from swimming in the more dangerous parts of the waters around Hargeon and Old Fisherman Jeb was considered crazy even by Fairy Tail's standards. It was only due to his long friendship with Makarov that the guild even hung up the job request. But he was a highly successful fisherman whose bountiful catches made him weal thy but he usually squandered it all on proving that the legendary beast exists, even paying guild mages absurd amounts of money to go out onto the sea with him for days on end. For Fairy Tail, taking on his request was considered a right of passage for new mages, something that even Laxus and Gildarts did in their early days if only to give them a quick boost in money.

Although Mira wonders sometimes why Lucy never took up such a job whenever she was low on cash.

"Oh well", Mira thought as she looks back down at Romeo who was still looking over the request, "So will you take the job then?"

The young fire mage mulls over the request in his head. Sure it paid well, it was no doubt his highest paying job to date, but something didn't seem right about this. Something in the pit of his gut was telling him not to take it, but unfortunately, the chance to show that he was old enough to go on solo jobs was too promising and he chose to ignore it.

He had no idea have much he would deeply come to regret that decision.

END OF FLASHBACK

"I have a question, Kit", Kasai asks from his position in the middle of the room, where he was laying down.

"Okay then, ask it", the summoner said from the tavern or what was left of it anyway, only paying mild attention to his spirit.

"How come you only let me and Frosty out since we been here? I'm sure the others want to see where you were born."

"I too wonder why it has only been the two of us out here", Rhew voices from his spot by the entrance.

"Simple, I don't need you guys going around and causing trouble", Romeo answers, "I already seem to be getting in trouble on my own, I don't need you guys to add to it."

"What? Little old me causing trouble? Whatever made you think I would do something like that?", Kasai smiles, his teeth shining like knives.

"The incident at the Galauna Islands. The burning down of the Yiuona temple. The scorching of the Golden Fields of Tawa", Rhew began to list off.

"Almost as old as time itself yet you still can't tell when someone is being sarcastic", Kasai mutters to himself as he shakes his head.

Later that night, while Rhew was patrolling the perimeter of the rundown building, Romeo and Kasai were inside discussing the plan for tomorrow.

"I'm going into town in the morning", Romeo told the kitsune as he sat across from him, using the warmth from his body in order to forgo making a campfire.

"My, my, aren't we ballsy all of a sudden? And here I thought you were going to spend your entire year of freedom hiding in this shitty place", Kasai snickers.

"Ha, ha, you're hilarious", Romeo counters, "Anyway, I feel that I need to get a better scent of the current situation in Magnolia before making any bold moves. It is no different than what I did in Tyuraga."

"You were trying to get a princess being held hostage out of that city in order to attain the right to enter her country's sacred temple without shedding blood", Rhew points out as he came inside, the room temperature instantly dropping in his presence, "This scenario is entirely different."

"Trust me, I remember the details of that time", Romeo said with a grin as he recalls just how "thankful" the princess was for him getting her out of her prison.

After a moment he shook his head and turn back to Kasai, "I'll be going alone, by the way."

"You're no fun, have I ever told you that?", the Fire Spirit replies.

"Many, many times", Romeo answers as he throws his hood on and reaches into his cloak. Moments later he pulls out two crystals, one black along with a smaller blue. After throwing his hood back, he takes the black crystal in one hand and easily crushes it into a fine powder, and began rubbing it into his hair. It took a moment but after a while, Romeo used a broken piece of a mirror laying next to him and check his reflection. His natural purple hair has change colors and now matches the darkness outside. Once he was satisfied with the results took the blue crystal and snap it in half. Doing the same thing as he did with the other he crushes each piece of the blue crystal into powder and then throws it into his eyes.

It was quite irritating at first, a burning sensation would describe it best, but eventually, the pain subsided and Romeo examines himself in the mirror and see that his iris were no longer black but now a light blue.

"Huh, that should do it", he said before throwing the hood back on and once more reaching into the confines of his cloak and pulls out a small vial filled with a green liquid.

"You really think that will be necessary, Kit? You already change your hair and eyes", Kasai questions.

"With some people that live in Magnolia, it will most certainly be necessary", Romeo replies as he takes the cork off, dips his finger in the small bottle, and then begins rubbing the contents all over his neck, "While I'm hoping to see some of these people tomorrow I don't want them recognizing me just yet."

"Fine then, suit you-", Kasai began before snapping his head to the east, "Hey Rhew, I think a pack of your lesser kin are chasing something and they are coming this way."

"I fail to see how something like that is my concern since they will prove no threat at all to us", the Ice Spirit replies before looking over back at Romeo, "Unless of course…."

"Just go see what it is and keep them away. I'm in no mood to deal with this right now", Romeo told him, "Use your alpha spell set if you have to; That should be more than enough."

"As you wish, Pup", Rhew bows before turning around and taking off into the woods.

After a moment of silence, Kasai focuses on Romeo.

"I know that it really rich coming from me but was it smart to send just him? I got a feeling that whatever those wolves are chasing isn't a deer and Rhew usually doesn't give a fuck in these types of situations and will probably just kill everything that moves", he states.

Romeo places his fingers on the bridge of his nose and thinks for a moment before letting out a sigh.

"Eh, it will be fine. No one I know around here has to worry about wolves and no one I know is stupid enough to be out at this hour anyway if they do", he says before going quiet for a moment, "But then again I have been gone for a while."

Deep within the forest, a pack of dire wolves, monsters as large as horses and blacker than coal, close in on their prey. For years the various wolf packs in the area have played second fiddle to the larger, more powerful Vulcan tribe in this particular part of the forest, but ever since the majority of them were massacre by some unknown force they have become the dominant species and they wasted no time feasting on the remains of their former adversaries and establishing their dominance over the forest. But while the Vulcans meat has filled their stomachs for the past few nights, it had started to rotten and no longer drew the pack's attention. They now craved fresh meat.

Red meat.

And they found it in a certain little boy who has gotten lost in the woods.

Ur was running for his life, a physical aspect that never brought out the best in him and one he actively avoid. Unlike Nashi, he didn't have boundless energy, and just the thought of going faster than a brisk walk sent shivers down his spine. But at this very moment, he is sure that his current pace was putting his Uncle Jet and the Speed Triplets to shame. He had been out in the forest practicing his magic at the lake when he realized that in his attempt to become more proficient with his craft he lost track of time and that the sun had nearly set.

He quickly put his books on water and ice magic back in his backpack and made his way back home, hoping to get there before his mom got worried about him. He was near the main road that led to town when he heard a growl from behind him that stopped him dead in his tracks. He then slowly turned around and saw a dozen pairs of red glowing eyes staring menacingly back at him and in the light of the moon, he saw rows of fangs glisten. In that split moment, a thousand thoughts raced through the boy's mind all led to one decisive conclusion…

Run.

And so he did.

Ur tore through the forest, his backpack bouncing up and down as he fled from the ever-approaching pack. At one point he saw a pair of the dire wolves running alongside him a couple of yards away for a few moments before slowing down This easily convey to him that the pack could have caught up with him at any time and they were merely toying with him simply playing with their food before digging in. And it soon looked like that time was drawing closer as the wolves pick up speed and were now only a couple of inches behind him, the pack leader jaws snapping at his neck.

The boy could tell that he was getting farther and farther away from Magnolia, from safety, but his body just kept running and he couldn't change directions. He just kept going and going, hoping that something would happen to get him out of this predicament. He couldn't use his magic for even if his spells were strong enough to actually hurt the animals, by the time he could gather enough magic to cast them the wolves would have been right on top of him.

So now he was at the point where he would take anything that would guarantee him the chance to see another day.

Anything at all.

And as he came running into a clearing, his thoughts came to a screening halt as did his body as his eyes fell upon the figure standing before him and it wasn't just him who did it either. A dozen dire wolves came to a dead stop behind him, but their focus was no longer on the potential meal but was instead on the possible threat watching them from atop a large rock formation that laid in the middle of the field, their body bathing in the moonlight.

"Listen and listen well you lot.", Rhew spoke in a frozen voice as he stares at each of his lesser cousins with his emotionless eyes, barely sparing the boy a glance, "I am Rhew, the Elemental Spirit of Ice and my summoner does not wish to be annoyed this night by your presence and has sent me to deal with you accordingly. Take your business elsewhere and you will be allowed to live. Continue forward and you will die. These terms are simple and straightforward enough that even your inferior minds should be able to comprehend them."

Rhew's statement received the typical reaction that he has gotten used to seeing over countless years. A majority of the wolves began to slowly back away in fear though the pack leader and a few others bare their fangs at him while letting off a series of growls. The Ice Spirit paid them no mind, they would be dealt with accordingly if they did not behave themselves. For a brief second afterward, he scans over the lowest threat in the area, the human boy, before returning to the pack leader.

...

And then Rhew refocused his attention back on the child for in that split moment he saw the boy looking at him with an expression he has never seen someone direct at him. Rhew was currently on his seventeenth Elemental Summoner and has pretty much seen it all during his travels. He recalls mortals and immortals looking upon him with expressions of anger, fear, gratitude, disgust, joy, and even suspicion. But what he saw in the human now was something completely foreign and the closet thing he could compare it to was...

Admiration.

"Perfect", he hears the boy whisper, and in response Rhew arches an eyebrow.

"Most peculiar", Rhew says to himself before a loud growl snaps him out of his thoughts and he looks back toward the source of the commotion, "Oh? You are still here? Even after I gave you the chance to leave?", he asks the pack.

It would seem the alpha dire wolf has re-exerted his authority over the pack while Rhew's attention was somewhere else and now all twelve wolves seem poise and ready to pounce at the spirit. The ice wolf merely shakes his head before leaping off of the rock and landing gracefully in front of Ur, whose eyes only seem to widen at the movement.

"Do not make the foolish mistake of believing that just because you are the same size as me that we are equal in strength or the even more outlandish one that because you have me outnumber that you will prevail in combat.", he warns the pack as he began to walk toward them, sidestepping Ur in the process. As he did so the boy felt a chill in the air and not only could he see his breath he watched the moisture in it freeze up and fall to the ground. He then looks back up to see the pack slowly backing away and could easily see why as Rhew was now surrounded by a cloud of frost that turned the grass in his immediate vicinity to ice. The closer he got to the pack the more they backed away from him until they were nearly back into the forest, the trees themselves now turning into ice as they came into contact with icy cloud.

"I will give you one last chance to retreat", Rhew spoke directly to the alpha dire wolf as he came to a stop, "Take it if you value your life and those of your pack."

Just like Romeo did with Pantherlily, it seemed for a moment that the alpha was going to take the offer but unfortunately, it then realized that if he was to run now his leadership would be compromised and no doubt challenged. Instead, it bears its fangs and charges headlong at Rhew, leaping into the air at the spirit who remains motionless.

"Ice Shard", Ur heard Rhew said and before his very eyes something quickly formed in the air directly in front of the ice wolf's head. From the position the boy was standing it seemed to be a shard created completely from ice but before he had a chance to get a better look it shot out straight toward the oncoming dire wolf.

There was a loud squishy noise and Ur felt something splatter across his face. He reached a hand up and wiped it off only to see in light of the moon that it was blood and when he looked over at where it came from he had to fight down the urge to hurl to which he failed spectacularly as the contents of his stomach empty out onto the ground.

Meanwhile, Rhew regards the dire wolf's corpse on the ground in front of him for a moment, the ice shard deeply impeded directly into its head right between the eyes, a quick and painless death. It even still had a snarl on its lips as it lied motionless. The impact had been so great that when it caught the beast in mid-air it was actually rocketed back a few yards, straight into the midst of its former pack. Luckily, the blood splatter had completely missed him because the ice spirit did not revel in bathing in his enemies' blood like Kasai did. Turning his attention back to the others he once more spoke to them.

"It seems that your leader did not value his life. For your sake, I hope that you do not share in his beliefs."

The remaining wolves exchange glances with one another for a moment, eyeing their former pack leader's body every few seconds before looking back at Rhew. Then one by one they turn around and disappear into the forest without making a single sound, their tails tucked between their legs.

Once he was sure they were gone for good the icy cloud surrounding Rhew disappeared and he looked over his shoulder at the human child who seemed to be almost done throwing up as he was now just dry heaving. Curiosity getting the best of the spirit he silently moves toward the boy who doesn't even notice until the white wolf was standing in front of him and spoke.

"Why are you out here at night, child?", he asks and the boy's head snaps up.

The first thing that captured Ur's attention was the eyes. They looked down at him with the intensity of a raging winter storm and he felt like he was in the midst of a blizzard as he stared back into them. His attention soon shifted to the breathtaking white fur Rhew was covered in that reminded him of freshly fallen snow on the mountain peak, completely pure and untouched by any living thing. Memorized by it Ur's body began to move on his own as his hand rose up, his fingers reaching out to touch the absolute beauty the fur represented.

"If you wish to keep that hand then I suggest you cease your current action right this instant", Rhew spoke and that seemed to snap Ur out of his trance. Once more the boy looked up into Rhew's eyes, fixing his glasses as he did so.

"I will ask you once more, what were you doing out in the forest at night?", the Ice Spirit questions, "I will not ask a third time."

"I-I-I", Ur stammers out, realizing now that he might not be out of danger just yet, he merely traded one wolf for another.

"If you are worried that I would do harm to you, fear not", Rhew spoke, "You are even less of a threat to me than those beasts that were chasing you."

This does nothing to calm Ur's nerve and he continues to struggle to speak a single word.

"I-I-I."

Finally, Rhew merely shakes his head in annoyance and moves past the boy, no longer wishing to waste his time.

"Go home, child. The forest is not a safe place for the likes of you at night", he calls back over his shoulder, the irony of him criticizing the other night for using those same words not lost on him.

The winter wolf was almost at the edge of the forest, ready to disappear into the woods when a voice broke through the night air, so soft and quiet that he almost didn't hear it.

"C-Could you walk me home?"

Rhew stood still for a moment, looking straight ahead into the dark forest as his mind tried to comprehend what he just heard. After a moment of this, he slowly turns his head around to look back at the boy, who is now shaking at the knees.

"Did I just hear you ask me to escort you home as though I was a common guard?", he asks as his shining white eyes illuminated the darkness around them.

This nearly gives Ur a heart attack but nevertheless, he persists.

"It-it-it just that I'm afraid of walking home right now and more of those wolves might be out", he spoke.

"I fail to see how that is my problem", Rhew tells him.

Ur's eyes widened at the harshness of Rhew's statement but then an idea struck him.

"But Mr. Rhew-",

"Mr. Rhew?", the Ice Wolf repeats to himself.

"But Mr. Rhew, you said your summoner doesn't wish to be bothered tonight. That means he is nearby and if you come with me you can get rid of any more things that could cause problems for him", Ur states, but quickly regrets words as Rhew levels him with a glare colder than any Ice Magic spell.

"I seem to be looking at a possible problem right now. You seem to be smart enough to figure out that my summoner is nearby and that alone could cause trouble", Rhew growls as his eyes began to glow white and he turns around to start walking toward Ur who began to back away, "Perhaps I should get rid of you here and now to prevent you from becoming a bigger problem in the future."

"Wait, p-please wait!", Ur begs as he begins waving his hands in front of him and backing away from the encroaching spirit.

"Do not fret. I will make this quick and painless. That much I prom-", Rhew says before sensing a presence directly behind him and when he looks over his shoulder he spots both Romeo and Kasai staring at him. His fiery sibling was grinning from ear to ear while his summoner was giving him a stern look and pointing a finger toward Ur then to Magnolia. He then opens and closes his fingers on his right hand like a puppet.

The message was clear and even the usually emotionless winter wolf could barely suppress a grumble as he looked back around at the human child who looked ready to pee himself.

"Tonight is most fortunate for you, child. It seems that I shall escort you back to your place of residence", Rhew spoke.

Ur stood there shocked for a moment before speaking, "R-really? This isn't a trick?"

"Believe me, child. I would not need tricks to dispose of you. But if you want to take your chances and try to make it home by yourself, then, by all means, go ahead", Rhew spoke as he walks past Ur and began heading toward Magnolia, "But be warn, I do believe another pack of wolves not too far away from where we currently are."

Ur was by Rhew's side a heartbeat later, actually impressing the spirit with his speed.

"Thanks a bunch, Mr. Rhew!", Ur says.

"You will cease and desist calling me "Mr. Rhew", child, for that title is unfit for one of my stature. If you must call me a name then it shall be either simply Rhew or Lord Rhew, Herald of the Endless Winter", the white wolf relays to the child while still looking ahead.

"If I call you Lord Rhew, do I have to add the Endless Winter part?", Ur asks and stops in his tracks when Rhew turns his head back around to look him straight in the eyes.

Before shaking his head and continuing on his way.

"Awwww! I think Frosty made a friend!", Kasai snickers as he watches his sibling and the boy leave, "It's a good thing we decided to check up on him!"

"Hmm", Romeo responds, "Why would Gray and Juvia allow their son to be out in the forest all by himself at this time of night?".

"Most likely he was trying to increase his magic level", Kasai says nonchalantly.

"What do you mean?", Romeo questions, causing the fire spirit to look at him.

"You didn't sense his magic level?", the kitsune questions only to receive a head shake in return from his summoner, "Huh, make sense I guess since you can only sense high-levels. But I could barely feel it myself. It was minuscule, I thought it wasn't even there. It was even way lower than yours was when you first appear before us."

Romeo looks back to Ur just as he was about to disappear into the forest alongside Rhew.

"Gray and Juvia's kid has a low magic level?", Romeo says before noticing Kasai looking over at the dire wolf corpse across the way.

"Oh boy, I think I found dinner for the night, just needs to be roasted a little."

A/N: Rhew is just great with kids.