Chapter 1: Prologue
Chapter Text
“Hey, remember that thing that I wanted to do after the fighting was over? Well, we finally got permission to do it!” Natsu exclaimed happily as Erza nodded in agreement, with Gray standing besides her overflowing luggage. “100 YEAR QUEST, HERE WE COME!” He yells into the air, accompanied by an “Aye sir!” from his blue flying friend, as they march off to the quest of a lifetime.
———————————————————————
The dust swirls thickly in the air, dashing away quickly alongside a few scattered rats, as a blonde-haired man falls upon a pile of disheveled boxes. Releasing a confused groan, which turned to discomfort as the dust filled his nostrils and the wood pieces dug into his naked body. As the boxes slid away underneath him, the discomfort quickly turned to a sharp pain as his back collided with a metal box, one brimming with a mysterious magical power.
Larcade tumbled to the side as he still struggled to make out his surroundings, for his vision struggled to focus on anything around him. He coughed out the dust and dirt as his vision slowly began to clear. However, It was difficult to see much of anything, due to the pitch darkness of the room. The only source of light being the slight glow from the magical box, many questions raced his mind as the pain in his back continued to throb. Breathing heavily and raspy, he slowly climbed to his knees and created a ball of light to illuminate his surroundings.
Storage boxes lined the walls, accompanied by a strange musky smell. Storage shelves were strewn about on the walls, covered with a thick layer of dust. The objects on the shelves were clamored with spiderwebs, though they looked abandoned by their arachnid owners. A creaky lamppost swung slightly from the ceiling, filling his nostrils with more dust. Each raspy cough blew more dust across the room as a lightheaded feeling overtook him. Looking down at the pool of blood underneath him, he pulled the splinters out of his back with a slight wince each time. The cold clung to his skin, as if hands of ice were gripping to whatever life they could find. Struggling to his feet, he dug through the boxes strewn about him.
Pulling out bandages and a pair of pants, he dressed himself the best he could and wrapped up his injuries. As the dust in his mind started to clear, memories of what happened to him attacked him like a wild animal, as he fell to his knees once more.
———————————————————————
He was on the ground, his blood pooling around him and climbing into his clothing. His own father, his creator, just attacked him! He looked to Natsu, the man he despised, only to see a look of pure shock and pity on his face. As he began to think, his father stomped his foot into his chest, sending pain sparking throughout his entire body. “I have no children.” Zeref stated, cold and plainly. Tears welling in his eyes, Larcade breathed out “that’s- not true. I am your son, and you are my father…”
“You’re merely another one of my demons, on the path to creating Natsu. You are no child of mine.” He felt Zeref’s fist collide with his face, as he was kicked into a wall. He barked, “You are worthless, you’re nothing but a failure!” Larcade fell to the ground and more tears streamed from his face, both from the pain and in shock of what he was hearing. Natsu yelled at his father to stop, but was ignored as Zeref stretched his hand out towards Larcade.
He let out another cry of desperation, begging his father to stop. But to no avail, as a bright purple light surrounded the room and he felt his body disintegrating away, like a flower being blown away by the wind. As his vision started to blur, he let out one last cry for help from his father, and everything went black.
———————————————————————
Tears started to pool in his brilliant red eyes, and over the edge of his eyelids as his breathing intensified. His hands gripped the top of his head, tugging at his hair as he let out a scream so loud, even the dust seemed to be startled. The tears poured out onto the floor as he collapsed to his side, holding himself into a ball and laid there sobbing.
‘Why? Why did he try to kill him? Am i really a failure? Why am I still here? Why can’t i do anything right?’ These thoughts raced around in his head, as he wailed so hard it was difficult to breathe. He laid there weeping until everything went black again.
———————————————————————
Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Summary:
Larcade starts to settle from what happened, and prepares to adventure
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
__________________________________________
His vision flickers to life, as the dusty interior of the basement appears once again. Wiping away his tears, he creates the ball of light once more and walks over to the mysterious glowing box. But the box wasn’t mysterious to him, he knew exactly what it was. Inside that box, his demonic book lay there, undamaged and untouched. It took him months to save up for that box, but it was well worth it. As long as that box stayed undamaged, his life would be safe. Which is why he must keep it safe at all costs.
He pulled open an old crate resting in the corner, filled with various supplies. He dug to the bottom of the crate and put the precious box in the bottom, then sealed the crate shut once more. He looked towards the stairs leading up to the rest of his home. taking a deep breath of dusty air, he climbed up the steps, each one groaning under his feet from the stress. As he made it to the top, he looked around his home, pulling splinters out of his feet from the angry wooden steps.
He felt for a light switch on the wall. Locating one, he flicked it on, but with no results as the darkness sat, untouched. He increased the brightness of the ball of light in his hand with a sigh as he looked around his home.
In the living room, the bookshelves and couches were lain with a blanket of dust, that stirred awake as he walked through. Looking at the walls, he noticed spiders crawling to their webbed homes built in the corners. In the kitchen, dusty dishes sat untouched in the drying rack. An awful smell came from the fridge, which he made a mental note to tend to eventually as he quickly moved out of the kitchen. Larcade’s bedroom, though simple and neatly tended to, was met with the same dusty, arachnid-filled fate.
“How long have i been unconscious for…” he breathed as he rubbed his temple, the awful smell still in his nose. He knelt down to his bedside and opened up his night stand, pulling out his phone. Knowing it was pointless to try and turn it on, he located the charger plugged in near his bedside (a charging block) and dropped his charging phone on the bed, as he walked back out. He moved back into the kitchen and, with a trash bag in hand, tossed all the expired food inside the bag. He quickly disposed of the bag and cleaned the inside of the fridge.
He moved to the other rooms, exterminating any rats he found and cleaned up the dust lingering on every surface. Besides the creaking wood underneath his feet, and the utilities not functioning, the house seemed to be better than it’s previous state. He moved back into his room and picked up his phone. “45 percent, it’ll work…” he sighed, which turned into unfiltered shock when he opened his phone.
Above the notifications bar, which showed hundreds of missed texts and calls, was the date, displayed boldly and plainly. The phone fell out of his hands as they went into hair, as he blared out petrified: “It’s been over a year?!” His breath was caught in his throat, unable to escape. When it could finally escape again, he croaked, “I thought it was a couple months, but this is insane….” Larcade sat on his knees, to catch his breath again. The clock ticked on for countless minutes as he processed this information.
Finally, picking up his phone again, he looked at the notifications once more. Most of the calls and texts were from a couple Spriggan 12 members and other associates, Brandish being the name that appeared the most. He became confused as he realized that none of the notifications were from August. I wonder where he’s at….. Larcade tosses his phone into his pocket with a sigh. He picks up a photo frame, with a painting of August, him, and Zeref together. He chuckles a little, remembering how they had to convince Zeref to do it (it wasn’t fun). With a shiver, he places the framed painting on his nightstand, and pulls open his drawers to change into real clothing.
A hiss escapes his teeth when he saw how many of his clothes had holes chewed through them. After some time spent digging, he found a sleeveless hoodie with a white dove on front, and some dark green cargo pants. I guess this will have to do…. he muttered as he pushed through more of his belongings, packing some essentials into a black shoulder bag with a golden-yellow trim. After he was satisfied, he made a trip to the basement and grabbed his cross weapon. He always made sure to keep spares of things in case he lost something.
Trying to push aside the memories of his fight with a certain blonde, he climbed back up and headed towards the front door. Taking one last look back at his home, he threw the cross on his back and kicked the difficult door open, which had rotting wood on the inside. Walking down the grassy path, he headed off, unaware of what may await him, but confident that he can overcome it.
——————————————————————————-
“That was so worth it!” A woman says with a blissful smile on her face as she eats the last of her ice cream. Leaning back in her chair with a stretch, she hears a buzz from her phone sitting on the table. Curious, she picks it up, the spoon still in her mouth.
The curiosity turns into a smirk appearing on her face, when she reads who the message is from. “So, you finally appear again, Larcade…” She mutters under her breath as she reads the message. The message reads, “Did i miss anything, Brandish?” She sighs amused, and pulls the spoon out of her mouth. “You know what, maybe i’ll have one more…”
Notes:
By the way, this is NOT a ship fic of any kind so if that’s what you’re looking for, this isn’t for you :)
Chapter 3: Chapter 3
Summary:
Larcade finally leaves his home, and travels both internally and externally to who knows where…
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The only sound to be heard is the long since disturbed dirt path, dead piles of leaves crunching under old boots like a frozen capsule of time. As Larcade moves along the path, away from the home still trapped in dust and plants, he tells himself he’ll take care of that sometime. He’ll be damned if the first thing he does after over a year is clean more than he already has. His bag shifts awkwardly on his shoulder, as if it’s unsure of this journey as well. In his right pocket sits his wallet, which doesn’t have too much money in it. It’ll do, but he’ll have to do some jobs sometime soon to catch up.
He breathes out uncomfortably, his throat feeling scratchy. It must have to do with him coming to life again. He still ponders about how he was able to summon himself from his book, as he picks up his communication lacrima from his left pocket. he mutters to himself… “I never knew i could do that… also I guess you have no sense of time when you’re reduced to words in a book” He shivers at the thoughts running through his mind. He hasn’t thought like that in a long time… Flashbacks of the war and what happened in it start creeping up like the vines covering his house. Reminders of the past. Zeref’s words seep in like a bloodsucker’s fangs, draining the energy out of him that he used to always have.
His steps slow to almost a drag, leaves brushing past his boots and legs like the earth trying to comfort him. But the invisible words are lost in the fog that’s consuming his inner world. Just a demon, that’s all… nothing but a defective piece of crap… nothing but the words from my book… his eyes glaze over, like the fog has reached his very vision. And to him, it’s all he can see as he blindly walks along the path, his destination irrelevant as he’ll never be able to truly reach it. Maybe it would be better if i wasn’t created at all.
His mental onslaught is paused for a moment as the earth and leaves shift to stone and pavement. A shiver crawls up his body, looking up at the now darkened sky, the moon shining into his soul. It’s full tonight, acting like one big star among the darkness. It shines in his dark red eyes, twinkling amongst a red canvas of nonexistent hope. He looks around, and even in the night air he can recognize this place like the back of his hand. As his boots trudge along the stone slabs of Vistarion, he can sense the confused gazes of a few passerby, all of which seem to be doing late night shopping or just simply enjoying the night air.
He picks up his communication lacrima again, lowering the brightness as he checks his messages. Sitting on the screen is a message from Brandish, reading: “We need to talk. I’m currently at the Northern Continent, eating some yummy ice cream :> *attached is a picture of Brandish holding an ice cream sundae cup that’s a couple scoops high and covered in so many toppings he’s getting a toothache through the screen* Tell me when you’re ready, and we’ll meet at these coordinates. And don’t you dare disappear again.”
A link is sent to a set of coordinates in the Northern Continent, and he eyes it for a second before sending a thumbs up emoticon. He tosses the phone back into his pocket with a huff, as he reaches the entrance of the Capital building. Outside are several guards, one or two asleep but are instantly woken up by the others as Larcade approaches. “Who goes there?!” Barks one guard. Larcade steps into the light from a lamppost, and all of them freeze instantly. They recognize him instantly, and it sends their heart into several twists. They instantly stand upright fully, saluting to him.
“Larcade, Sir? You’re here?!” One guard speaks hesitantly, before the other guards share glances, and he can almost see their brows furrow under their helmets. “Respectfully, Sir, how do we know you’re the real one? Show us some ID!” The guards prepare themselves for whatever will happen, gripping their weapons. Larcade pulls out his wallet from his pocket, all eyes nearby are on him, including a curious passerby.
He slips his ID out of his wallet, and hands it to the closest guard. The ID reads at the top “Larcade Dragneel”, a photo of him on the left hand side, his birth year (fabricated to make him seem 22, approved by Zeref) His height (6’5), his eye color (dark red) the Spriggan 12 symbol stamped on the right side, and an anti- counterfeit strip along the top.
The guard inspects it under the light, alongside some other guard members, while the others keep an eye on Larcade cautiously. With slightly shaky hands, a guard hands him back his ID, as Larcade promptly slips it back into his wallet. “We’ve verified it’s authenticity. He’s the real one… You may enter, Sir.” That soldier nods to the other soldiers, who promptly stand to the side, letting Larcade enter the building.
Larcade thanks them and wishes them a well night, as the door shuts behind him. The guards begin to whisper amongst themselves as Larcade walks further inside, as they speculate and wonder where he’s been. Larcade moves over to one of the guards inside and speaks with him, asking for permission to speak to whoever the current emperor is in the morning. The guard, who looks appalled to see him, hesitantly nods. He then turns around, his back turning to the guard who still studies him in shock, alongside the other guards he passes by. He pays them no mind as he moves carefully upstairs, wondering if the room placement is the same.
He walks down the halls like he’s traveling the back of his hand, and after some twists and turns he reaches the Spriggan’s rooms, eyeing August’s room. He still wonders, where he’s at and how he’s doing. A chilling thought dares to enter his thoughts, but it gets swept away as Larcade reaches his own room. He’s not called the Wizard King for nothing after all! I’m sure he’s fine… He pulls his key out and opens up the door, slipping inside before shutting the door behind him carefully and quietly.
Everything was where he left it, naturally… albeit with a layer of dust coating everything. Another scratchy exhale leaves him, as he flops onto his back, on the bed. He rests there on his basic bed, as the bags under his eyes rest equally. Everything but his mind. Everything but the storm swirling and tearing at his insides. Tears threaten to spill over his eyelids, and they start to do just that. Until alongside the tears, memories spill out just as strongly. The memories of more tears…
he wipes away the offending droplets and rolls over to his side. He doesn’t even bother to change out of his clothes, not that it even crosses his mind as the mental and physical fatigue finally overpowers him, and nightmares claw at his insides, as if laughing at any attempt of rest.
“You’re a weapon, and weapons don’t weep.”
Notes:
Guess who’s back…
back again!
Soooo i may have abandoned this for over a year but shhhhh that never happened… Few things i should add. Yes, he’s a bit ooc but that’s intentional as the only way we saw him act was before the incident with Zeref happened, and he died during that. And surviving that would brutally mess up anyone. Second note is his height. yes, he’s tall as hell in this because in the second Fairy Tail game, you can mess around with a camera mode and put characters next to each other and pose and etc. I put Zeref next to Larcade and Larcade is close to a head taller than him. Also it doesn’t matter much to the story like at all. Anyways i hope you enjoyed! sorry for the shortish chapter again, i’m getting back into it
Chapter 4: Chapter 4
Notes:
trying to do weekly chapter updates on Fridays! Also sorry for the shorter chapter again, this one was intended to be just talking. You’ll get some fighting soon! ;)
Chapter Text
The world slowly forms around Larcade, as he rubs his bleary eyes to the sound of knocking on his door. The nightmare he experienced claws at his mind, gifting a splitting headache alongside it. He slowly sits upright, groaning as he tries to shake off the headache. His eyes travel downwards to his attire, as he notices he didn’t bother to change out of his day clothes. He hears another rapping on his door, and he calls out.
The voice behind the door responds “The Emperor would like to meet with you now, Sir.” Larcade picks up his phone, eyeing the time displayed. it’s 7:24 am. He notes that the Emperor must REALLY want to see him. He calls out to give him a minute, before climbing out of what was supposed to be a safe nook, it failing to protect him from his thoughts. He barely manages to push his thoughts aside, though the bags under his eyes stay. He quickly changes out of his current clothing, changing into a simple button up shirt alongside simpler black pants. He doesn’t have anything fancier on him, not that he ever cared for that sort of thing most times.
His phone is tossed into his pocket, and with a click, the door is shut behind him. Awaiting him outside the door is a soldier who looks as surprised to see him as Larcade is to be awoken, his messy brown hair half covering his face but his pupils are wide as saucers in shock. He quickly adjusts himself and clears his throat, as he speaks to Larcade. “Thank you sir, i’ll show you the way to the Emperor now. Please follow me”
He turns around swiftly, his polished boots clicking against the floor. Larcade pauses for a second, his mind wandering at everything that’s happening, before quickly catching up with the guard, the guard’s sword swaying slightly with his pace. They pass by a few more guards, who all give an equal look to the guard leading Larcade. Eventually, the two of them reach a large double door, surrounded on both sides by soldiers, who quickly block the way.
After a brief exchange between the guard and the others, they quickly back up to their previous positions and the both of them quickly make their way towards the double doors. “Emperor, Larcade is here now…” Larcade hears a familiar voice echo “Come on in then!” Where did he hear that voice before? Before he questions any further, the guard leading him here pushes open the slightly heavy doors with a grunt, waving his hand with a bow for Larcade to enter. Once he does so, the guard enters the room as well, shutting the door behind them with a heavy SLAM!
Larcade’s eyes fall upon a familiar tanned man, which makes Larcade’s knees lock in place. His hair is chocolate brown, long and spiky. It looks like a bed head, to be honest. Atop his head is a simple golden crown, and the next thing he notices are his large and familiar red ball earrings. Draped over his shoulders sits a yellow flowing cape with golden tassel plates on his shoulders. Under the cape is what appears to be a red button up shirt with white lines on it. He wears simple brown pants with a golden anklet and sandals.
As Larcade continues to walk closer, the guard following close behind, The light sliding in from the large windows like glowing snakes illuminates his face. Ajeel stares down, curiosity swimming in his eyes and plaguing his expression. “So, you’ve finally returned hm? It’s been well over a year, so it’s natural you’ve got some explaining to do!” His tone isn’t angry, but questioning, curious, and a bit suspicious. Larcade gulps, his boots shifting on the ragged stone-like floor. “I’ve been… busy, Sir. And i had no idea you were the Emperor, what a turn of events hm?” he coughs out with an awkward laugh, internally wincing as even he knows how flimsy of an excuse that sounds.
Ajeel lets out a big hearty laugh, standing from his throne. “You know that’s a bad excuse, and so do I. You’ve always been the mysterious one though, so it’s no shocker. However!!!” His sandals flop against the ground as he steps a bit closer to Larcade. “You need to explain better than that, Larcade.” Larcade feels his eyes peering into his soul, as if they’re clawing at him to gain his secrets. Little does he know, Larcade’s secrets claw at him just as hard.
“I’ve been… dealing with events. Personal ones. Respectfully Emperor, i’d prefer not to share if possible” His voice is unnaturally calm, and this grabs Ajeel’s attention. He puts his hands on his hips, and sighs, looking away for a moment. “Fine. Keep your secrets. But just so you know, Brandish has been looking for you. So you’re best to pay that back. Before you go though… I have a job for you. And as a citizen of the Empire, i expect you to cooperate. You’ll be rewarded for it, don’t you worry!” He grins a bit, and you can see relief back on his face again. Relief from knowing one of his comrades is alright.
His foot taps against the ground, his eyes still suspicious but also filled with a familiar livelihood. “Your task is to guard me while i make my rounds around the Empire, fulfilling my duties. Should be no problem, considering i’m mostly well loved here. But i need my precautions, and you’re the best one to fulfill that job.” Larcade nods warily, grateful to at least serve the Empire in some way again. And also he really needs some pocket money…
Ajeel claps his hands together suddenly. “Alright then!! Go get something to eat, then meet me at the entrance doors in 20 minutes. You need the energy for this one! Also, it’s on me. Consider it a thank you for coming back finally.” And with a slap on the shoulder from Ajeel, he walks out of the door alongside Larcade, surrounded by soldiers who march in a practiced beat. Larcade thanks Ajeel before he turns the corner down a hall, followed by a soldier as they split ways from Ajeel, who’s presence causes a wave of salutes from every guard he passes by.
The two of them eventually reach a dining hall, filled with a few soldiers who look up in shock to see Larcade, as they murmur amongst themselves. “… Rumors are true…” is the only thing he can make out from the conversation. After a brief conversation with the soldier that led him here, said soldier speaks to someone nearby, who in turn goes into the kitchen, appearing to speak to the cook.
Roughly 10 minutes later, pancakes are placed in front of Larcade with a quiet thump against the wooden table. Larcade thanks the cook, who smiles widely in return before returning to the kitchen. The overhead lamps quietly hum with magical energy, which fills the room with light as Larcade and a few soldiers eat. While he eats, he wishes his mind was as full of hope as his stomach. Dread threatens to resurface in the quiet room, being the only noise that he hears like a buzzing fly in his ear. And this time, it’s hard not to listen.