The Ties That Bind Us
Chapter 1
"We don't have a moment to lose. We have to warn the Master and the rest of the guild to prepare for battle!"
Erza's pace quickened as the cadence of her heartbeat thundered in her ears. Lucy, carried by Lily, along with Natsu and Happy, went off ahead in order to get the celestial wizard's wounds tended to properly while the others followed behind on foot. Behind her, the Requip user could hear the sound of her friends' feet beating the ground, struggling to keep her already frantic pace, but she couldn't will her feet to slow down, nor push down her anxiety.
Unsure of how long she spent in that chamber to which Marin sent her, Erza knew she was there long enough to realize that "Emperor Spriggan" had something terrible in store for Fairy Tail, and she and her friends were the only advanced warning the guild would get. She also knew that the impending battle would be more than even Fairy Tail could hope to win alone, and Master Makarov would have the connections to bring in reinforcements to help. After all, if Fairy Tail fell, it would be but a matter of time before the other guilds followed suit.
They would have to call a temporary truce if they were to survive the invasion of the Alvarez Empire.
A sudden chill ran down her spine that caused the Requip wizard to shudder in her armor at the recollection of that horrid room in which she found herself. Overwhelmed with confusion and fear, the only thing she had failed to block from her memory was the voice of someone saying the phrase "Protect the Fairy Heart". Although Erza did not fully understood the importance of those cryptic words, her unease only heightened the urgency of their return.
When the sleepy town of Magnolia finally came into view, Erza paused and allowed herself to finally feel the slightest bit of relief: they had beat Zeref and his army home. Now, to find the master...
Driven by her desire to protect her guild and her family, Erza was on the move again, with the others not far behind, racing through the streets of town until the doors of the guild hall stood looming in front of her. Every head in the hall turned toward the entrance as the mighty doors were thrust open with enormous force from the outside and the threshold was crossed by Erza, followed by Gray, Levy, Wendy and Carla, and Gajeel.
Drying a plate from the other side of the bar, Mirajane's features beamed in relief as they entered, but upon seeing the serious looks on everyone's faces after what seemed to be the completion of their mission, her smile faded and instead replied, "Master is in the infirmary with the others."
Giving Mira a small smile, Erza thanked her and the group turned to make their way to the hallway that led to the infirmary.
It is said that it is a fine line between genius and insanity, and Zeref managed to walk that line perfectly. Burdened with circumstances that would have driven any other human being mad ages ago, Zeref wandered the earth like a vagabond, awaiting the day when Death would extend her kindness to him and allow him his long-overdue demise. For four hundred years, he watched as kingdoms rose and fell like the ocean tides, cursing his own existence as each time he would seek comfort through companionship with another life, be it human or animal alike, only to see it snuffed out before his eyes like a candle in a sudden gust of wind. It was during one of these wanderings that Zeref had his now fateful encounter with a young girl by the name of Mavis Vermillion, and although unbeknownst to them both at the time, their lives would be forever bound by fate from that day forward.
It would not be long before Zeref was confronted by Mavis' presence once again...
The Emperor Spriggan smiled at the thought; however, he dismissed it just as quickly, because they had now crested the mountains and were drawing ever nearer to the sleepy town of Magnolia, where deep below the guild hall lay Fairy Tail's darkest secret and greatest treasure: the lynch pin to the Emperor's plans.
On any given day it would seem that the beds were never completely empty on this wing of the guild hall; someone was always getting treated for a wound or illness he or she had contracted while out on a job, or just getting checked on by Wendy when she wasn't out on a job herself. And sometimes, it was solely because Natsu had started a fight that led to the guild hall being trashed and Erza knocking some temporary sense back into him. But this time, one of the beds was once again occupied by Lucy, who admittedly could have gone home to rest but Master Makarov insisted she stay at the guild so her physical - and mental - injuries could be closely monitored. When Erza and the others neared the end of the hall, she felt her unease intensify. Grabbing the knob gingerly, she took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves and let themselves in.
They were greeted with a smile from Makarov as they turned to look at the trio before them: Lucy, having her wrists and shoulder bandaged and in a sling, slept peacefully, her hair like a golden waterfall surrounding her head as it cascaded down her pillow; at the foot of her bed lay Happy, curled up like a kitten and softly purring in his sleep; and at her side, on an old wooden chair sat an exhausted Natsu, arms crossed in front of him and his head resting on the back as he ultimately failed in staying conscious until Lucy awoke. Erza felt her face brighten into a smile at the sight, but it quickly faded as she turned to ask the Master if they could speak in private.
But before she could speak, Makarov motioned silently for the group to follow him. Once back in the main hall, Gray and the others, having been told to visit Lucy after a rest, helped themselves to a seat at the bar, proceeding to thank Mira and Kinana for the drinks they set in front of them. Erza and Makarov continued on past the bar and up the stairs to the Master's Office. Only when they had reached his office and the door was closed and locked behind them did he give her a nod of permission to speak about what she really wanted to talk about.
"Has she spoken to you yet?"
Makarov gave a small nod in response. "Unfortunately, all she could tell me was that Zeref wanted to get to Fairy Tail, but she didn't know why. I have already contacted the other guilds about Zeref's invasion, and asked for their assistance. They should be arriving shortly."
"Well, I can tell you the why," Erza replied. "He's after Fairy Heart."
The old man furrowed his bushy eyebrows. "So...he knows she's here."
Erza's eyes widened. "She...?"
Makarov gave a nod as Erza's eyes met his.
Beneath the floor of the main room of the guild hall, several levels down a winding staircase and behind large ornate doors, Fairy Tail's greatest treasure and darkest secret was kept, its presence only known by the master of the guild, and the knowledge of it's existence only passed on to the upcoming master. Encased in crystal, her body and beauty were perfectly preserved, frozen in time for all eternity.
This treasure was Fairy Tail's First Master: Mavis Vermillion.