Fairy Tail Bluemage (Chapter 19)

"With this magic, you need incredible control and patience." An elderly man begins, lecturing a much younger wizard, one who has green hair and wears only a bikini and a large fuzzy coat. "You need to be more careful. I won't always be around to negate your magic should you allow it to run out of control." 

"Y-Yes..." The girl nods slowly, looking a little embarrassed. 

"Next... put on some actual clothes! You are going to catch a cold!" He chastises. 

 The girl seems to shrink in on herself. 

"I-" 

He pauses, feeling a gentle tug of his magic. 

Normally... no-one would be able to feel such a thing, however with the nature of his original magic, the ability to copy all caster magics he sees... such an effect is easily noticeable. 

His eyes narrow as he locks onto the magical signature. 

Vampire Magic. One of those damned wizard saints from across the sea has found a way to inconvenience him. Well. That just won't do. He'll be forced to learn this, improve it, and send a blood curse back far stronger than- 

Hang on... 

This... 

Isn't curse magic at all... 

His mouth opens briefly, then closes. 

"Grandpa?" The girl whispers, snapping him out of his daze. 

Ahem. he coughs, looking away. "I don't recall having a granddaughter like you." 

"But you're like a grandfather to me!" The girl protests as the man idly works through the spell. 

Some sort of blood identification spell? 

Let's just tweak it a little and that should make it a little more effective... toss in some archive, telepathy and Divine's Eye. 

"Yes, yes... just be careful with your magic, Brandish." The man states as he turns and begins to slowly walk away, staff in hand. 

He waves his hand idly, a magic circle appearing above his staff. 

A small cut opens on his finger and floats into the circle. 

A large tree opens before him, numerous screens in motion appearing. 

A black haired man sits alone in a forest, he pauses, casting the sensor a confused gaze as he can apparently see it. 

There's a blonde girl, trapped in purple crystal. 

She doesn't so much as twitch. 

There's a pink haired wizard face down as people party around him, he seems loosely connected to the black haired man. 

Then... there's him... and connected to him is... a greyed out screen with a skull on it. 

Next, is a white haired boy with red eyes sat across from two of Ishgar's wizard saints. 

He pauses, head turning. 

His red eyes widen slightly, then narrow and start to glow dimly. 

Chhhrzz 

The screen showing him starts to crackle slightly, a distorted fuzz beginning to distort whatever it is showing. 

The fuzz stops, the boy seeming genuinely surprised. 

The glow increases, and this time the spell seems to crumble. 

The old man is silent for a long moment, his eyes wide. 

He... 

Has a son? 

[Split] 

Makarov is pale, while Draculos stares at a certain figure, eyes narrowed slightly. 

"Master? What is it." 

"O-Oh... sorry, my boy... this woman here, your grandmother... she... was the first master of Fairy Tail... Mavis Vermilion." He begins quietly, quickly shaking off his shock. 

"..." 

"Fuck. That would have been something really good to hit Laxus with when he was being such a bastard." I hiss under my breath. "Anyways, who's this guy, Natsu's brother, right? Speaking on that, why does he look so young? How is Natsu so young if he's apparently my grand uncle?" 

"That... I do not know, my boy." Makarov sighs. "Our first master died before she could have any children... or at least... I thought..." 

"That... is the emperor of the Alvarez Empire." Draculos suddenly speaks. 

"And... how did the emperor... that is apparently Natsu's brother... meet the first guild master?" I question slowly. 

"I don't know." Makarov sighs, shaking his head. 

"You seem to have quite the family line, young Merlin." Draculos rumbles. "The emperor of Alvarez as a grandfather, the fairy tactician as a grandmother and the strongest of the Spriggan Ten, the emperor's most elite and powerful guards, as a father." 

There is one spot empty on this little tree, the one who is assumed to be my mother. It is lightly greyed out. 

"I am sad to say this, but it appears your mother is also deceased." He continues. 

"It's... probably for the best." I admit. "My father appears human, so it's more than likely her fault that I'm like this." 

"I..." I pause slightly. 

Blood Magic: Magna Arbor Vitae  
Spell Level: 5 
Casting Time: 1 Minute 
Range: See Text 
Target: Blood of a living or deceased creature. 
Duration: Concentration 
Saving throw: (See Below) 
Spell Resistance: None 

With this spell you can determine the familial connections of the creature who shed the targeted blood. 
This spell will show two generations both forwards and back. From grandparent to grandchild. 

In addition, this spell functions as an active scrying spell, showing the current actions of the family members in question. A successful will save allows you to notice the scrying mote, while a second will allow you to break free of the spell. 

Overcharge: For each additional 2 MP you spend on this spell, another generation (Both descendant and ancestor) is added to the tree. 

Oh. That's bad. 

The spell appears in my spell list as I narrow my eyes slightly. 

Mana is spent as I attempt to dispel the effect. 

It... 

Didn't work... 

I try again, putting more magical power into it. 

With that I can feel the sensor break and disappear. 

"What is it my boy... you look distracted?" Makarov asks. 

"Oh... someone cast the same spell you just did... but... it was more advanced." I admit quietly. 

Draculos pales slightly, which is a sight considering the fact that he is already deathly pale thanks to his vampirism magic. 

"Oh... I see... yes. August has the ability to copy magics... but... to improve them so drastically..." A frown appears on his lips. "I was unaware he had that capability." 

"If it's any consolation... if he's anything like me he can't copy Holder magics... or something like Takeover. Magics that have a requirement to use them." I explain quietly. 

His eyes widen minutely. "That... yes that makes sense. Thank you. I will certainly remember that. We knew he could copy magics, but without any true conflict with him, we were unable to determine his specific strengths and weaknesses." 

I do a few motions, waving my hand with a small frown as my finger splits open again. 

After a few more seconds of casting, the spell activates full force, showing Natsu face down in the other room, in addition it shows an old man looking concerned... and a black haired man quietly staring at the spell sensor while sat next to a grave. 

"WH-" Makarov gasps as he leans forwards. "That- but-" 

"So... you can copy spells as well." Draculos hums. 

The black haired man's eyes glow red. 

Pain. Pain pain pain. 

The spell explodes. 

"FUCK." I curse clutching the wrist of my casting hand with another. "That fucking asshole! That hurt!" 

The slightly charred skin of my palm begins to quickly mend. 

I slowly close my fist, letting out an annoyed breath. 

"So. Couple questions..." I frown. "One. Why is my father an old man, but my grandfather looks to be barely even a year older than I am?" 

"Second... does Natsu even know?" I run my hand through my hair. 

"Draculos, I apologize, but something has come up." Makarov begins as he rises to his feet. "Thank you for coming here." 

"No. This trip has been worthwhile. Even to get a hint on the powers of one of Alverez strongest... our only defense against them when they tried to invade a few years ago was the Etherion Cannon. I fear a direct confrontation with them. Their ten are quite more advanced than our own Ten Wizard Saints" 

"I'll... be taking a job to go clear my head." I admit before bowing my head. "Thank you for your help, sir." 

"Think nothing of it, boy." The second most powerful wizard on our continent states as I turn and let myself out of the office. 

I slowly turn, making my way to the bar where Levy is sat and sit down next to her. 

"So?" She asks after a moment. 

A long sigh leaves my lips as I rub my forehead. "I need to clear my head... you still up for that bandit job?" 

"Sure!" 

~~Linebreak~~

I stare out the window of the train, trees rapidly pass by. It's late. The last train to magnolia. We're the only ones in this train car. 

So. 

I'm related to fucking Zeref. 

That's... 

I mean... 

Huh... 

I mean, the copy magic sort of checks out with August... 

"Merlin... are you alright?" Levy cautiously asks. 

"Ah- I-" I begin quietly. "Sure?" 

"You've been really distracted, and I'm getting a little worried." The girl admits after a brief window of silence. "You even made a few mistakes on our mission... that arrow mage would have normally never hit you had you been at the top of your game. And, sure, you healed immediately after, but what if you couldn't? That's dangerous!" 

"I've just been thinking, I guess." 

"Jewel for your thoughts?" She questions. "It might help to voice them." 

I inhale briefly then exhale. "Alright... so... basically Natsu is my granduncle." 

"Pardon?" 

"Natsu's my grandfather's brother." I reiterate causing the girl to slowly blink. "Wha-" 

"And my grandfather barely looks even a year older than I am... while my father is an old man." 

"That doesn't- how did-" 

"And, to top it all off, my mother- which is where my unique traits come from is one, dead and two..." 

I lean over, whispering into her ear. "I'm fairly certain she was a demon from the books of Zeref." 

"Oh." 

"Then I found out WHO my father is... and my grandparents are... turns out my grandmother was the first guild master of fairy tail." I admit quietly. 

"S-Seriously?!" 

"Mhm." I nod slowly. "And... my father, well. He's the strongest mage of the Alverez empire." 

The woman blinks twice. 

"And my grandfather is the emperor of said empire." I finish. 

"That- that is..." Levy weakly tries before letting out a low breath. "Fuck." 

"Yeah." I agree quietly. 

I stiffen slightly as she wraps an arm around my shoulder. "Just know that I an the guild will always be here for you." 

"Thanks..." I weakly smile as she goes back to her own personal space. 

"..." 

"So. First guild master's grandson, hm?" Levy hums after a moment. "Bet you wish you'd known that before you picked a fight with Laxus, right?' 

"I knooooow" I groan. "Fuck that would have been so good to slam into his face." 

"It'd totally give him an aneurism. After all, he's supposed to be the guild's only Nepo baby." Levy quietly giggles. 

"Ouch." 

"Hey, that's sort of what he is if he expected to be guild master just by being Makarov's grandchild. You might have been really antagonistic with him, but nothing you said was really wrong per say." The girl shrugs. 

"Yeah... maybe I went too hard on that... it's just... he's one of the only people in the guild to truly irritate me." I admit after a moment. 

"Surprisingly... he seems to have gotten a bit better after your fight. Maybe you were right about him changing." The blue haired girl gains a thoughtful expression, tapping her chin. 

"Sometimes you need someone to knock some sense into you, I guess." I shrug idly. "Maybe hearing it from me was different than hearing complaints from Master Makarov. Maybe it took me to truly put it into perspective for him. Maybe it took me spitting in his face, a person that he wrote off as 'weak' and played around in my fight with him... also, if you're still mad about that, he asked me to leave the guild... which I would have done so only to turn around like... the day after and rejoin it. He told me to leave. Not stay gone." 

"Yeah. I thought about that for a bit after the fact." Levy sighs. "That would have been my argument had you lost." 

"I wouldn't have lost." I reiterate. 

"Haaah. Agree to disagree. But whatever it's in the past now. No use continuing to whine about it... so. How are you going to tell Natsu?" 

"I... honestly might just not." I admit. "For one, he might lord it over me like 'oh, do what your uncle says' if he even knows what an uncle is, that is." 

"Heh." Levy huffs before pouting slightly. "Look, he's not that dumb." 

"He's simultaneously the smartest and dumbest person in the guild." I deadpan. 

She opens her mouth to reply, then closes it. "Huh... that's... sort of accurate, actually. He's dependable. A genius in a fight. But he did sort of go to Hargeon because he expected his dragon dad would be there, right?' 

"Oh, and let me clear this up, I wasn't insulting him even slightly. He's probably one of my closest friends, honestly. Still... Natsu's the type of guy I would call to help me beat someone when they owe me money. Not the type of person to have philosophical conversations with or deal with anything diplomatically or subtly. Everyone has their limits. Mine is large crowds of people, Natsu's is public transportation and anything that requires a subtle or patient hand." 

"Then what am I?" 

"The smart, attractive, dependable bookworm who is somehow insecure enough to fish for compliments and whose magic is so versatile every time I look at you, I sort of fear my head's going to explode." I deadpan, causing a small flickering of pink to cross her cheeks. 

"Now. Do you need me to inflate your ego more or are you good for now?" I hum, giving the girl an amused half-lidded look, the corners of my mouth turning upwards. 

"I-I'm good." She quietly mutters. 

I roll my eyes, gaze returning forwards. A weight feels as if it had been lifted off my shoulders. 

~~Linebreak~~

An old man steps off a magic broom, landing in the grass with a quiet crunch. 

He gazes at a young man with black hair sat beside a large grave. 

"This land is Fairy Tail's Holy land, I hope you know." 

"..." The black haired man doesn't reply, simply sat before the grave. 

Nothing is said for a long moment. 

"You must have had some connection to the first master, right?" 

"..." 

"Yes..." The black haired man slowly announces. 

"I never met her myself." Makarov sighs. "Supposedly she left the day of my birth... nobody ever saw her again." 

His eyes narrow slightly. "Saw her alive, that is." 

"It is... my fault..." He admits. "That she died... I shouldn't have loved her... I had just thought... that with her being like me... that my curse couldn't take her from me..." 

"I can see now that it was foolish." The man admits. "I cannot be happy... the world forbids it." 

The man's face hardens slightly. "What do you want, guild wizard?" 

"I wanted to see the person who Master Mavis had a child with in person." 

"..." 

"What?" The black haired wizard blinks. 

"You... didn't know?" Makarov frowns. "You have a son... I think his name is August? You also have a grandchild as well by the name of Merlin." 

"That- that's impossible." He whispers, eyes darting around his surroundings, subtle cues and hints that lingered just out of his vision for over half a century rocketing to the forefront of his mind. "I-" 

He lets out a small hiss, dark magical power surging around his body, plant life dies, rushing out in all directions. 

It washes over Makarov's own thick aura of magical power that surged in defense. 

That... could have been dangerous. But Makarov was expecting something, just not that. 

"What have you done?" Makarov whispers. "What is this?" 

The black haired man cringes, slightly face becoming flat. 

Suddenly the aura is erased, the serene expression on his face vanishes, his eyes narrowed slightly. 

"My curse." He bites out. 

The black wizard rises to his feet. 

"Curse-" 

"Curse of contradiction... should I respect and care for life... it dies... if I don't... it doesn't." The man lazily scoffs, turning away from the older man. "You don't have to worry about the island anymore... I'm leaving. I have something to take care of." 

Makarov frowns, eyes narrowing slightly as he watches the Alvarez emperor wander off, disappearing into the forest. 

Makarov finds his eyes drawn to the plant life around him. What was once a lush grave surrounded by roses and grass is now brown and dead. 

He might not know a lot of plant magic, but he learned enough from Warrod back before he left the guild... more than enough to fix the damage done. 

"Is it true?" A voice suddenly speaks up behind him, causing the old man to clutch his chest. 

Makarov whirls around, coming face to face with a girl with long wavy blonde hair. 

"F-First master?!" 

"Is it true?" She demands. "Do... Do I really have a son? Do I really have a grandchild?!" 

"Yes, Master..." Makarov nods. "You do..." 

The girl lets out a quiet 'Squee' sound. 

~~Linebreak~~

"Hey Levy?" I ask.  

"Mhm?" The girl hums, quietly eating the breakfast Mirajane prepared for her. 

"Do you ever feel like you're being watched?" I continue. 

"In what sense?" She blinks, turning to look at me. 

"Sort of an eerie 'the walls have eyes' sort of way... or maybe I'm being haunted?" 

"Haunted..." She repeats. "Why would a ghost haunt you?" 

"I don't know... maybe I accidentally walked over a grave during one of our missions or something?" 

"If it was a ghost, it'd probably be doing more than just watch you... oooooh Merlin's got a stalker~" The word mage teases. "Doesn't feel so good, now does it?"

"Think it's that 'you're looking at me so aggressively. I'm going to get pregnant!' Girl?" I suggest. 

She chokes, pounding her chest with a fist. 

After getting her lungs under control she finally speaks, voice sounding a little hoarse. "It better not be." 

"Alright my children!" Makarov calls out standing atop the stage a short distance away causing Levy and I to turn slightly. "I have something important to say! Listen up!" 

"In three days time the fairy tail guild shall be participating in duel with phantom lord!" 

There's a violent cheer that explodes through the guildhall, shouting, laughing, whistles, hoots and hollers. 

"We've rented out an arena. Seven versus seven." Makarov continues. "I've already picked out those who will participate... Laxus." 

There's a small rumble of thunder somewhere on the second floor. 

"Natsu." 

"AHAHAH YEAAAAH!" The pink haired wizard cackles, fire shooting from his mouth. 

"Gray." 

"Heh. Alright." The guy in his underwear grins. 

"Grey, your clothes." Cana lazily drawls.  

"GAAH!" He gasps. 

"Erza."  

"I will not let you down, master." The red haired woman declares. 

"Levy." 

"H-Huh?" The bookworm blinks. 

"Elfman." 

"Aww yeah! I'm gonna be a REAL man!" Elfman grins, flexing. 

"And finally Merlin." The man finishes, causing me to grin and stand up.  

"You seven, please come up to the second floor. I'd like to speak to you briefly... oh, and be aware, I won't force you to compete. You may choose to sit this out if you wish." With that the old man hops down and begins slowly walking. 

"Not on your life, gramps!" Natsu grins, rushing up the stairs, beating Makarov to the top. 

Levy finishes her last few bites of breakfast, then joins me in walking up the stairs. 

Natsu is practically vibrating with excitement as Makarov beckons us over. 

I cross my arms as I come to a stop nearby. "So. Master, what's the plan here? How exactly will this 'duel' take place... a violent and chaotic seven on seven team battle? Or a series of one on ones." 

"Both myself and Jose will pick one wizard to fight. We will keep going until one side is unable to continue." 

A grin slowly crosses my face. "Any rules we should be aware of?" 

"Aside from the obvious ones, such as 'no outside help' or 'no killing your opponents' there's not many... we have hired expert barrier mages to protect the spectators, in addition I've sent a request out to Blue Pegasus for their Archive mage to allow the spectators to see more easily." 

"So... seven versus seven... honestly? I know who Jose is picking for the most part." I admit. "The element four and Gajeel for their first five positions... did they get any more impressive wizards recently?" 

"The only ones that I could see being on par with even an average fairy tail wizard would be those two wizards that follow the iron dragon slayer around." Laxus rumbles. "The mirror mage and the sound mage." 

"That is..." I agree. "Unless they've recruited someone new recently." 

"In addition, Master you sort of announced our lineup to the whole guild and anyone who might have been listening. They'll plan around us now." I frown. 

"Who cares!" Natsu grins. "I'm going to beat the snot out of that Iron dragon slayer for what he did for the guild hall!" 

"I suppose it doesn't really matter." I shake my head. "Even if they know who we are picking, they have so few good wizards we can know exactly who they are also going to pick for the most part." 

"In addition... Makarov... Jose had his dragon slayer destroy the guild hall. Why don't we show them what a real guild looks like?" I begin. "Wouldn't it be insulting for even a single mage of our own to take on every single wizard on their side? Giving them a crushing defeat. According to Laxus here, people are making fun of us for going to the magic council. But I'd imagine those mutterings will start to change if a single wizard on our side took out their whole host of S class." 

"I'LL DO IT!" Natsu grins. "PICK ME!" 

"It would certainly mean more if a Non-S Class on our side to do it." I agree quietly. "I know I can do it perfectly. But the others here might have a few bumps along the way." 

"Oi! Are you saying you are stronger than me?!" Natsu growls. 

"I'm mainly talking about Aria. Really their only threatening mage." I observe. "he was likely their plan to take Makarov out of the fight while they provoked us... he can scatter magical power which, you are all aware, is crippling to a mage. Plus Aria can turn into air making him hard to pin down... I can counter magics. I can stop him from turning into air, so I have the largest chance of clearing their entire line up." 

"I can do it!" Natsu growls. 

"Their fire wizard has Pyrokinesis whatever fire you create will be turned against you. Their water mage has their body turn into water and is just in general powerful enough that her emotions affect the weather. You could realistically get over her water body with enough sheer heat, but such a strategy would have a slightly more limited effect on Aria." 

"What about me?" Levy asks.  

"If you could find a way to get over Aria's wind body, sure. The others wouldn't really be a challenge to your sheer nonsense magic." 

"What?!" Natsu frowns. "I'm stronger than Levy!" 

"Solid Script: Cart." I deadpan. 

His face turns a little green. "She- She wouldn't!" 

"I would." Levy grins. "But ooooh that's a good idea on how to beat the Iron Dragon Slayer. I was just planning on hitting him with lightning as metal conducts electricity." 

"I could take them all on! I'm a REAL MAN!" Elfman grins, flexing slightly.  

"We've got some time to plan." I agree. 

"Well... I'll allow you all to decide who goes first." Makarov hums as he walks over to the railing, hopping up atop it. "Any plan to strike that little brat Jose in his pride is a plan I can get behind~ now. I'm off to drink."