Chapter 1: The Hidden Mage Returns

Hello everyone! The Dark Dragon Emperor here with a new story for all of you! This time it's gonna be a Fairy Tail story, where I will be introducing an OC into the mix.

Now I don't really have much more to say other than the fact that this is going to mainly start out during the Phantom Lord Arc, because that's where I've decided that my OC's gonna come back.

I do not own Fairy Tail, for it belongs to Hiro Mashima. If I did own Fairy Tail, I would have made a couple of changes.

Now let's begin!

(Somewhere in Fiore)

A lone figure walked along a dirt road that went right through the forest. He was covered up in a dark blue cloak and had a bandanna that covered the top of his head that had a silver plate of metal on it. His arms and legs were covered in bandages, and he had a staff in his hand that was resting on his shoulder.

This was Mystogan, an S-Class Wizard of the Guild known as Fairy Tail. He was heading back to the Guild to take a mission or two before he disappeared again.

He heard an explosion and saw smoke rising from some distance away. Mystogan deviated from his original path and raced towards where the explosion occured.

Several minutes later, Mystogan arrived to see what appeared to be the remains of a Dark Guild known as Hunting Crow. He had heard that they were making trouble for a nearby town and was going to see if they needed any help. He saw a figure emerging from the smoke and readied his staff, but lowered it once he saw who it was.

The new figure was a young man in his late teens. He had uniquely colored hair that was spiked backwards, as it was red in the middle, but on the left and right sides had tufts of gold. He wore a gold, unzipped jacket with the mark for Fairy Tail on the back of it in black. Underneath that he wore a red shirt with a black collar, and had black pants with black boots. Around his neck were lacrima headphones that were currently turned off. He looked up and his blue eyes widened when he saw Mystogan.

"Mystogan? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Hello Neo," Mystogan greeted. "I was just passing through when I saw smoke rising. I assume that this is your doing?"

Neo nodded and explained, "Yes, this Guild has been bothering the people of the nearby town and asked me to help them. Being who I am, I just had to help out, not to mention it would also look bad on Fairy Tail if I refused a mission."

Mystogan nodded in agreement. "I'm heading back to the Guild, shall I tell the Master that you've been doing well?"

"Sure, and tell him that I'm almost done with my training too," Neo asked. "I should be done in less than a month."

"Has it been 4 years already?" Mystogan asked.

"You would know if you actually stayed in one place for more than a day," Neo told him.

"It is in my nature to wander," Mystogan defended.

Neo scoffed and began to walk away. "By the way," he called out, "keep an eye out for Phantom Lord, they've been acting suspicious when I last saw them. And I heard them muttering something about Fairy Tail also."

"And you didn't interrogate them?" Mystogan asked.

Neo stopped and turned around with a deadpan expression. "Last time I checked, I'm not Erza or Natsu. Besides, Juvia of the Element Four was nearby and I didn't want to start anything without it escalating."

Mystogan nodded and watched as Neo departed from the area before leaving himself.

(Later)

"Thank you young man, how can we ever repay you?" the mayor asked as Neo returned to the town and reported that the Dark Guild had been taken out.

"There's no need to thank me," Neo told him. "I did this only because you asked me, not for any reward."

"Still, it wouldn't feel right if I didn't reward you in any way," the mayor protested.

Neo sighed, he realized that the mayor wouldn't take no for an answer, resigned to his demands. "So what are you offering?" he asked.

"A nice sum of 50,000 Jewels plus a lacrima containing several songs, I noticed the headphones around your neck and figured that this would make a nice bonus," the mayor told him.

"That's fine," Neo said, glad that he wasn't being given too much. "This will make my training much more enjoyable."

"Training?" the mayor asked.

"That's right, I'm on a four year training trip to improve my skills," Neo explained.

"That's some commitment young man," the mayor said.

Neo shook his head. "It's not that big of a deal. Other members have done more things than me." He took his reward and thanked the mayor before exiting the large building. Neo then walked towards the town gate to continue his journey when he was stopped by a small group of children.

"Hey! You're that wizard that took care of those bad guys right?" one of them asked.

"Yeah, that's me," Neo said to them. "There something you guys need?"

"Can you show us your magic?" Each of them asked in unison. Neo grinned and motioned for them to follow him. He lead everyone to a small park where he put his stuff by a tree before facing the children again. He noticed that a small group of adults, most likely their parents, had followed as well.

"So you guys want to see my magic?" Neo asked. The children pleaded with him and Neo laughed at their antics. "Alright, just back up a bit.

Once everyone was at a safe distance, Neo took in a deep breath before he slammed his fists together and a red magic seal appeared in front of him.

"Elemental Soul: Fire!"

Neo was engulfed in a bright light before it faded. What was in his place was a large figure made completely out of fire. His eyes and mouth could be made out as they were both a bright white.

"Pretty cool, don't you think?" Neo asked as he showed off to the kids.

"I think you mean, very hot!" a kid shouted before everyone laughed at his joke.

"Hey mister, can you teach me how to do that?" another kid asked.

Neo ended his transformation before kneeling down in front of the kid. "What's your name kid?" he asked.

"I'm Raymond, but everyone calls me Ray!" Ray introduced himself.

"Well, Ray, my name's Neo, Neo Banshin, and no, I can't teach you my magic," he said.

"But why not?" Ray asked. He was disappointed that the wizard wouldn't teach him.

Neo smiled as he recognized the look on the child's face. "Because I think that you should find a type of magic that would fit you. For example, I've got a friend who tried out several different types of magic before she found the one she liked. You get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah," Ray replied, though he sounded a little upset.

Neo took a look at the sky and saw that he needed to get going. He ruffled Ray's hair before collecting his things and waving goodbye. He exited the town and continued on his way to continue his training.

"Talking to kids is easy, I don't know why Master says it's too hard," Neo wondered. "Maybe it's because I'm still a kid myself."

(One Week Later-Magnolia)

Mystogan stood before the Guild Hall before he took his staff and activated a sleep spell. Once he was sure that all of the normal members had fallen asleep, Mystogan entered the Guild and approached the stairs to the second level.

"Why must you do this every time you enter Mystogan?" a short man in an orange outfit asked. His eyse were slightly drooped as well as the spell came suddenly.

"I like to keep my privacy," was all he said as he picked out a job. As he walked away, he stopped and raised the spell over Makarov and said, "I ran into Neo a week ago."

"How was he? I haven't seen him since Lisanna's funeral," Makarov asked.

"He seemed stronger, I met him as he finished taking out a Dark Guild," Mystogan told him. "He said that he should be home in less than a month."

Makarov smiled as he said, "That's good, he's been away for far too long. A child like him needs to be home more often."

Mystogan nodded and walked out of the Guild, lifting the spell when he was out of the doors. As he walked away, he could hear them all beginning to shout and yell as he smirked under his mask.

They'll never change.

(Several Weeks Later)

Neo smiled as he saw Magnolia in the distance, he was feeling very happy to see his home after several years. He wondered if any of them managed to destroy the Guild while he was gone. He hoped not, because then he probably wouldn't recognize it.

When he entered the gate, he could feel that it was very tense, and that everyone seemed worried.

Neo approached a man and asked him, "What's going on?"

"There's a Guild war going on between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord," the man answered. "Phantom Lord destroyed Fairy Tail's Guild Hall and injured three members. Fairy Tail then marched onto Phantom's home and attacked, but I heard that they had to retreat because something happened to their Master. Now Phantom's attacking Fairy Tail with their Guild Hall!"

Neo said nothing as his anger began to grow. Magical energy erupted from him as he glared darkly in the direction of his home. He could see that there was a large cloud of black smoke rising up, meaning that something big was happening. A red magic seal appeared underneath him and flames from underneath his feet propelled him into the air like a rocket.

Neo aimed himself at the Guild Hall, where he could see his Guild destroyed and a large mechanical robot in the ocean that was overlooked by the cliff his Guild was built on. It was drawing a magic circle in the air, one that Neo recognized as Abyss Break. He then saw that many of his Guildmates were fighting specters in purple robes as they tried to defend the Guild. Anger coursing through his veins, Neo shot forward like a rocket and aimed himself at an opening in the giant robot.

(Fairy Tail)

Cana Alberona cursed as she took out more Shades. She was beginning to run low on energy and they just kept coming! It didn't help that the Abyss Break was almost done as well.

"Cana, what are we gonna do now?" Wakaba asked. He was showing signs of exhaustion due to the Shades stealing his magic.

"I don't know, but all we can do right now is hope that Natsu and the others stop that thing or we're done for," Cana answered.

"And what about the Shades?" Macao asked.

"All we can do is just take them out as fast as we can!" Alzack yelled as he shot more Shades.

Suddenly, a streak of fire appeared in the sky and shot towards Phantom Lord's Guild Hall. It burst into the giant machine and caused it to shudder due to the force that was behind the fire.

"What the Hell was that?!" Wakaba shouted.

Cana smiled happily as she recognized what that fire was. "It's Neo! He's back! We can win now!" she shouted.

"Neo!? I thought he was gonna be home next week!" Wakaba shouted.

"Apparently not!" Macao told him as he took out a Shade with Purple Fire.

"Who's Neo?" Bisca asked them.

"He's one of Fairy Tail's S-Class Wizards," Cana answered. "Only a few people in the Guild know about his existence because he likes to keep it that way. He's arguably one of the most powerful members of the Guild."

(Inside Phantom Lord's Guild)

Erza Scarlet, the Titania of Fairy Tail, and sole female S-Class Wizard of the entire Guild, was facing off against Jose Porla, Guild Master of Phantom Lord and one of the Ten Wizard Saints. Behind her were the unconscious bodies of Gray Fullbuster, and Elfman and Mirajane Strauss. A loud boom echoed through the area as pieces of rubble began to fall from the ceiling and walls. Erza's eyes widened as she recognized the magical energy that just entered the Guild Hall.

"You're Dragon's quite loud," Jose said calmly.

"He may be unruly, but he's an extremely powerful Wizard," Erza proclaimed as she pointed her sword at the Guild Master, she was clad in her Black Wing Armor and was prepared to take down Jose.

"He's also making quite a ruckus of my Guild Hall, if he keeps this up the ceiling will fall right on our heads," Jose told her.

Erza began to chuckle, much to Jose's confusion. "You're quite mistaken if you think that Natsu is the cause of this, then you're quite mistaken."

"Oh? And who is it then?" Jose questioned.

"One of our Guild's strongest members," Erza told him.

"So either Laxus or Mystogan have decided to join the battle then? No matter, I'll defeat them just as I'll defeat you," Jose said as he aimed an open palm at the red haired woman.

"You're still wrong, the person who just entered this place, is stronger than both of them!" Erza shouted as she dashed towards Jose and swung her sword at him. The Wizard Saint simply vanished and reappeared behind Erza before sending out a pulse of energy at her, sending her flying into a wall.

"Surely you're bluffing, there's nobody like that in your Guild. Makarov is out of magic, and Gildarts Clive is still out of the country," Jose said as he sent out small orbs of darkness at Erza. The Titania quickly moved out of the way as the orbs shot right past her and destroyed pieces of rubble.

She slashed at Jose and he simply vanished once more before he reappeared and had a purple seal over his hand. Three skull-like ghosts shot out and wrapped around Erza, electrocuting her on the process.

"To think that Fairy Tail would try to hide a Wizard of that caliber. Makarov must really want to be the best in the country, especially if he's got the heir to the Heartfilia Family in his Guild," Jose sneered. "So now he wants to buy his way to the top, does he? I refuse to let that happen! I will not allow my Guild to be called equal to Fairy Tail of all things!"

Erza began to laugh at him. "It's laughable at how badly you're concerned with your Guild's ranking, but it's even more amusing at how misinformed you are about Lucy! She came to us as a runaway, she doesn't have access to her families fortune! You don't know anything about Lucy or the tears she's shed due to her past!"

Jose snarled as he electrocuted Erza once more, this time more harshly. "Well I'll find out soon enough, I'm going to make her my prisoner and bleed the Heartfilia Family dry! And then I'm going to watch Makarov drown in despair once he sees all of his 'precious children' dead and gone! And I'll start with you! Any last words dear?"

Erza opened up one eye and, despite the pain, grinned. "Just...two..." she said.

"Piss off!"

Jose felt incredible pain on his right side as he was sent flying towards the wall. He crashed through the wall and lost hold of the spell holding Erza. She fell to the floor, only to be caught by a figure that was made out of stone.

"You alright?" Neo asked as he reverted back to normal.

"I'll be fine," Erza said as she tried to stand, only to fall down to one knee in pain.

"That's enough, just take the others and get out of here," Neo told her. "I'll take care of Jose. Now where's Natsu?"

"He's rescuing Lucy, our new member and Phantom's target," Erza answered.

"I take it she's the Heartfilia girl you two were talking about?" Neo questioned. Erza nodded and Neo turned back to where Jose was. "I've managed to wake up Mira, now you two need to take the others and get out of here. The situation outside is getting worse."

Erza looked over and saw that Mira was indeed awake and was supporting Gray. Erza nodded and grabbed Elfman before both girls escaped from the area.

Neo looked over to see Jose pulling himself out of the wall. "Who are you?" he asked as he dusted off his cloak.

"Me? I'm Neo Banshin, Fairy Tail's secret S-Class Wizard. I'm pretty sure Erza told you about me a minute or two ago," Neo told Jose as he got into a fighting position. Jose just grinned darkly and summoned more skeletal beings to his side.

"So you're Makarov's secret weapon eh? I have to say, the look on his face when I present him your corpse will be priceless," Jose said.

"First off, I'm nobody's secret weapon, I'm a Mage like everyone else in our Guilds. It's not my fault that I'm more skilled than others," Neo said as a magic seal appeared in front of him, this time it was a brown one."

"And secondly, there's no way I'm going to lose to a guy like you!"

Alright, here's the first chapter. I think that it turned out pretty well considering I'm starting later in the series than normal.

The main pairing for this will be Neo x Wendy. You guys may be confused by this, but you will understand in the next chapter. So please be patient, and you will get your answers.

So what do you guys think? Good, bad, okay, wonderful? That box is down there for a reason!

Please Review! Ciao!