Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail
A/N: This story has been in Romeo's Life for over quite a bit now and I feel it has gotten good enough to stay on it's own two feet, so let's give it a try.
And I like to thank Tenryu No Hoko for helping me.
Elemental Homecoming
Ishgar.
A land of magic, wonders, and monsters. Fill to the brim with incredible marvels and untold dangers, it is the center of Earthland for culture, technology, and the arcane arts. In this land, there are mages that are recognized through the strength of their spells and the titles that are bestowed upon them because of that. But for a majority of the magic-users who call this place their home, all they could do is live in the shadows of their betters with nothing more than an unreachable dream in the depths of their hearts.
I should know, I used to be one such mage.
Due to the millennium-long overuse and abuse of magic throughout the peninsula, the balance has been thrown in disarray and the barriers between Earthland and the other realms have been broken and it is in dire need of repair. If this is not done, the results will be catastrophic and all will suffer.
Ishgar is in need of a hero…..
But they already have entire guilds full of those so instead they'll get me.
I will do what must be done regardless of the consequences just like I have done so time and time again.
When I grew up in the land of Fiore, I was ridiculed and treated unfairly due to my low level of magic by both friend and foe alike. I tried to prove myself to my peers and ended up paying the ultimate price as a result and had a chain place around my neck.
Now thirteen years later…
I have returned.
And I swear to the Divine Heavens, the Nine Hells, the Endless Abyss, and the realm of Abaddon...
No one will ever look down on me again.
The Swift Dolphin.
A merchant vessel that was at least two decades past its prime sail toward Haregon Bay on its final approach toward the harbor. It had left the country of Sin a week ago and thanks to some unusually strong winds and calm sea, was able to make a routine month-long journey in a quarter of the time. The captain, barely a step above the rest of his backstabbing, cutthroat crew, was said to have given thanks to the sea gods for this safe journey, stating that he would give a proper offering to the local church once they hit port.
The man standing at the ship's bow drape in a black cloak that encases his entire body knew that would be highly unlikely to happen as he stares off into the wide blue ocean and takes in the breeze. His gaze falls upon a patch in the water, some five hundred yards directly in front of some old rundown dock that has long since been abandoned and stays there for a time. He could sense something slumbering underneath the waves in that general area, just waiting to be awakened, but he paid it no more than a passing thought.
"There will be time to deal with that later", the man told himself as he glances behind him to see a dozen members of the ship's crew approaching him from behind. They were led by a large porky man who smelt of saltwater and rum, the First Mate if the man's memory serves him right.
"Excuse me, kind sir", he said, the stench of his breath insulting the air around him, "The captain asks me to pass along a message to you."
"He's suddenly speaking properly for some reason", the cloaked man thought to himself as he briefly recalls that he could barely understand the words coming out the man's mouth most of the time prior to this moment, "And what message would that be?"
"That he believes that extra payment is in order for delivering you safe and sound", the first mate answers.
"I have already paid the amount we agreed upon in Sin", the cloaked man spoke, "In advance as you ask."
"Aye, you did. But the captain feels you should pay a little more for our efforts", came the reply.
"And if I refuse?", the mysterious man asks.
No verbal response came from the first mate. He merely snaps his fingers and the men around him started to brandish an array of rusty swords, knives, and even a club or two.
Letting out a sigh, the cloaked man turns fully around to face the group, "Well, if that's the way you want this to go down, so be it. Just remember you brought this on yourself."
A lone dock worker, Jeb was his name, watch with a baffled expression on his face as he watches the ship sail into port...with no one at the proper stations that needed to be manned to do so.
But it wasn't veering off-course or anything, it was going perfectly straight and at a reasonable speed, almost as if the sea itself was guiding it.
But Jeb was a veteran of this profession, having done it for over ten years and before that, he was an experienced sailor himself.
So when he finally notices that the boat had at least two souls on it standing at the helm as the ship slowed to a complete stop, curiosity got the best of him. Grabbing the rope ladder that was hanging off the side he made his way up only to be greeted by a sight that completely befuddle him. Sprawl out across the entire main deck was probably the entire crew of the vessel all with various degrees of injuries. Some had broken limbs while others were beaten black and blue. Alongside them laid dozens of weapons though more than a few of them were slice in half or the blades were broken completely off their hilts.
As the crew's roans of pain fill the air, Jeb spares a quick look to the helm where he took note of the man manning it. The hat and clothes he was wearing allowing the worker to quickly identify him as captain but the man was pale white and trembling while the cloaked figure next to him was as calm as a gentle breeze.
And that was when the figure turns his body to look directly at him.
At this point, every fiber in Jeb's body was telling him to run away as fast as he could and never look back. When part of his mind told him to pick up one of the undamaged swords for protection, the other part berate him for even thinking that such a foolish notion would be helpful in such a situation.
"Excuse me", Jeb suddenly hears behind him.
Spinning at a speed he previously thought his body was incapable of doing, the dock worker came face to face with the hooded figure that was standing at the helm mere moments ago. Briefly turning his attention back to said location he finds that only the captain was still standing up there, still gripping the mechanism as if his life depended on it.
"Can you see to it that these men get medical attention?", he then hears the mysterious figure say, "Their injuries aren't life-threatening but it would be best if they saw a doctor soon."
When Jeb turn back around the man was already making his way to the side of the ship jumping onto the railing as he kept speaking.
"I'm sure the captain would gladly handle on their expenses, with them being his crew and all. Good day to you!",
And with that, the man leaped over the side.
For what seems like an eternity, Jeb stood there as the groans of the men around him and the shaking of the helm was the only sound that could be heard. At this very moment, the man's mind was still trying to comprehend a great number of things. Such as the boat pulling into port expertly while most of the crew was incapacitated. How said crew seem to have been beaten effortlessly by a single man. How said man seems to be able to move faster than humanely possible.
But it wasn't those parts that amaze Jeb the most. It was the fact that the man that just recently jumps over on the side that was facing the water and he didn't make a splash.
He could see the top of Kardia Cathedral coming into view as he made his way down the road; it being the tallest building in town this was given. He immediately picks up the pace in his legs almost breaking into a sprint.
The young man could have ridden, swan, even flow. He could have traveled here in half a dozen different ways to but something in him decided to walk down that same dirt road if only for old times sake; as if he was walking down memory lane.
He was nearly there, nearly home after being away for thirteen long years.
He has been all over the world learning about the different cultures, exploring lost long civilizations, seeing places that one couldn't imagine even in their dreams, and discovered significant events of the past that would challenge the history of entire countries if not continents, but all that was behind him. He has journey beyond this world and repeated the process all over again. While he has encountered countless unique individuals in his travels and while some have become his lifelong friends and allies, others were now considered his worst enemies whose grudge against him would last an entire lifetime and more.
But none of that matter, he was home.
He was...finally...home.
His thoughts came to a screening halt and so did his feet as all he could do was stare out at the building behind the church, the second tallest in the town.
The guild hall.
Where all his friends and family were at. Over the years and even when he was thousands of miles away, at best, he heard tales about the guild.
He was told how they stop the Starry Star from occurring. His brief travels with Professor Jean through the Great Jeruta Desert and his encounter with the Zeptoia Legion ensure him of that.
He learned that they won X791 Grand Magic Games while he was in the tropical Syumeria Islands; how his idol took on two mages that were nearly equal in strength to him and prevailed. It was due to this that they were able to regain the original guild hall.
He overheard about their battles with Tartarus while he himself was battling the Azur Assassins in the Crane Kingdom and he learned of their temporary disbandment right after defeating their leader a few months later.
This nearly broke his heart, but by that time it was used to it.
When his travels took him across the ocean to the mostly unexplored continent of Asteria, he picked up bits and pieces about their reopening and how they push back the Alvarez Empire's invasion and finally ended the reign of the Dragon King.
Hearing these tales about their valor and bravery spur him on while he was on his own adventures and allow him to keep pushing forward against his adversaries.
But now, here he was, and yet he couldn't bring himself to move as he merely looks out over his hometown.
It was during this time that a large red magic circle appeared behind him and out forth from it came a fearsome entity, preceded by a burst of flames. It was as large as a horse and its fur was a mixture of red and orange. It had a pair of pointed ears along with a nose and it stood on all fours. It possessed a terrifying array of claws and teeth sharp enough to tear through flesh and bone with the greatest of ease and at the place where a tail should have been there was only a giant mass of fire burning away. Despite all of this though, the most unusual feature of the creature was the fact that its eyes were closed yet it didn't seem to be hindered by this as it was looking directly after the man.
"Really? You mean after all the stories you told over and over again in our travels and how you went on and on about how you couldn't wait to get home, now you get cold feet?", the creature laughs, its breath as hot as the high noon desert's sun, as it looks down at the young man, who was still observing the town, "You have face down monsters that were the stuff of nightmares and yet here you hesitate, Kit?"
The person that was known as "Kit" takes off his hood and ruffles his spiky purple hair while taking a breath.
"It's not that simple, Kasai", he says after a long pause, "So much has changed since I have been gone including myself. I am no longer the same person I was the day I took that solo job to Haregon."
"You're still short, scrawny, and whiny from where I'm standing; no different than the day you appear before my siblings and me", Kasai replies as he gives him a look over.
A smile cracks across Kit's face and he lets out a laugh, "And you're still the same bastard fox."
"I'm a kitsune! Don't you dare compare me to those derange abominations that have forgotten their pride!", Kasai snaps back, clearly offended by the word despite the fact that the creature has been called it countless times over the years.
"Call me by my real name for once and I'll think about it", Kit says back and the two of them began to descend into yet another bickering sessions right as a white magic circle, identical in size to the Kasai came from, materialize in front of Kit and after a wall of ice came blasting out of it, powerful entity burst forth from it.
The creature was an icy white wolf the size of Kasai with billows of frozen air came off of it as though it was steam. Unlike Kasai, its eyes were wide open and shining white and its very fangs resemble ice. But just like Kasai, it had no tail. Instead, there was an ensemble of ice that took the form of the appendage.
"Pup", the wolf said in a voice so cold that ice droplets form in its breath and fell to the ground, "Must you and my kin do this here and now?"
"Must you call me "Pup", Rhew?", came the reply.
The wolf known as Rhew gives a slight bow, "Forgive me. Summoner, must you and my kin do this here and now?"
The man rolls his eyes and shakes his head, "Will any of you ever call me by my real name? I expect you guys of all people to do so."
"First of all, Summoner, my siblings and I are not people. Second, we came to the agreement that we would address you by the name bestowed upon you by your parents the day you reach at least one-twentieth of our age", Rhew reminds him
"Okay, at the time that promise was made I didn't know how old you guys actually were!", Kit/Pup/Summoner shouts.
"I fail to see how that is my problem, Summoner", Rhew says before turning around to finally face the town, "Now I suggest we attend to the matter that brought us here and then be on our way."
Whatever feelings of happiness, no matter how big or small, the boy had vanished upon hearing those words.
"Can't we stay a little longer? At least in Haregon or something?", he asks.
Rhew shakes his head, "I am sincerely sorry, my Summoner, but as you humans say, rules are rules. Your time here is limited."
"Jeez, could you have at least told him a bit nicer?" Kasai groans.
"Whether I said it nicer or not it does not change a thing", Rhew replies.
"Welcome home, Romeo", the young man mentally grumbles to himself, "For the short amount of time you are allowed to stay."
I am he who will restore the balance.
I am he whose actions will be remembered for generations to come.
I am he who will make the necessary sacrifices that others don't have the courage to do so otherwise.
I know no fear of death for I have already seen what awaits the living on the other side.
I am the latest of the Elemental Summoners, servant of the Emperor, and may the immortal beings who rule existence have mercy on all who would stand in my way for I will not.
Be they friend or foe.
A/N: Now this is just an idea I did on my phone and while there was more chapters coming, it will probably just be in Romeo's Life story and one to help pass the time until I get back home.
