Fairy Tail: Nightmare Chronicles
Chapter 2: Empyrean Dawn
Sun was rising over Aurora Pistola and it was just about time for its mages to wake up and go about their days. But they wouldn't be risen by the sound of an alarm, or even the call of rooster. Instead their wakeup call took the form of a beautiful young redhead and her electric guitar. Zoey Sharp, the guild's resident musician, took her stage on the front lawn of the plantation known as Las Espiritu, home of the Aurora Pistola guild. With her guitar ready, she looked out at the open field before her and imagined a crowd gathered, waiting in anticipation for her song to start!
The imaginary fans didn't have to wait long. With a smile on her face, Zoey raised her pick and struck the first note. The sound rang out loudly through the open area, and was accompanied by many more like it. The notes dove low and soared high again, beginning at a calm tempo. But as her song went on, the speed and intensity of her playing quickly began to escalate. It was only seconds before what had started as an almost soothing tone had grown into an entirely different entity. Like bullets out of a machine gun her notes were fired rapidly and with expert precision, not one of them being even slightly flat or sharp. Her rapidly moving fingers traveled down the strings, driving the pitch higher and higher until the crescendo reached its climax. Zoey brought her pick up and right back down again, striking one final note to mark the end of her performance.
She imagined the nonexistent crowd before her screaming, cheering and applauding. But as nice a thought as that was, Zoey was almost startled when she actually heard someone clapping. Whipping her head around, she saw the sight of a familiar man with long, white hair sitting beneath the shade of a nearby tree.
"Oh, hey Koe. Didn't see you over there," Zoey said with a friendly smile. Then she set her guitar aside and took a seat there in the grass, kicking her legs out in front of her and staring up at the blue sky above.
"Hey, mind if I ask you something?" The redhead glanced over at Koe, who merely nodded silently in response. But being a mute, that was about as much of a response as he could've given anyway.
"I know dreams can be sort of a weird thing with Rem, but what happened last night was /really/ weird, wasn't it? I mean, I'm sure he gets nightmares like anyone else, but I've never seen anyone freak out like that in their sleep before. Has Mac said anything about it to you?"
Koe just shook his head, though Zoey wasn't fully convinced.
"No as in he didn't tell you anything, or as in he doesn't want you to talk about it?"
Koe shrugged his shoulders in response, and Zoe let out a small sigh, knowing that was as much as she'd get out of him. "That's fine. With you being the guild's ace and all, I figured he'd let you know if it was serious. Guess it isn't... Though I did hear him say something about talking it over with the other Saints. Isn't that meeting supposed to be today?" she asked, and this time Koe nodded in affirmation.
"Thought so... Well, guess we'll just have to let those guys handle it for now. This new bunch of Saints may not've been around long, but if anyone can figure this all out I'm sure they can. Don't you think?" she asked, and again Koe nodded.
Zoey chuckled, then picked herself and her guitar back up. "Cool. Hey, I'm gonna head back in and get some breakfast. You coming too?"
With a nod Koe picked himself back up and followed the redhead rockstar back into their mansion of a guild.
At the headquarters of the Magic Council in the city of Era, the ten Wizard Saints had gathered. The many previous conflicts affecting the nation had left the Council and even the Saints themselves in shambles. Since then, it had been decided that both groups would be reorganized. A handful of some of Fiore's most powerful mages had been selected as the new Saints. The ten were all seated around a large table in a dimly lit room, including Mac Chinegan of Aurora Pistola.
Having done several of these sorts of meetings already, Mac now knew about all of them, but there were still some he was considerably more familiar with than others. Many of them, like him, were masters of various guilds. But there were a select few who didn't fit this category, and who Mac knew little about other than their name. One was Kemuri, a green haired young man several seats away from him. The other was Lucious Kaiser, a man with light peach colored hair and a white suit, seated just to the right of Mac. He had no idea where Kemuri came from, but he knew Lucious had apparently recently become a high ranking official of the Council.
But far and away the presence least appreciated among them was that of the new Chairman of the Council, Siegrain. Once a mere thought projection of notorious fugitive Jellan Fernandes, Siegrain had somehow managed to become a compete being independent of Jellal. How he had managed that, and acquired a position as Council Chairman and Wizard Saint, no one seemed to know. There wasn't a single mage among the Saints who was unfamiliar with Jellal, and not one of them was fully ready to trust that Siegrain was really on their side. However, he had been appointed to this position by the Council itself, and no evidence of foul play had been found. So for now, everyone was just going to have to try to get along. And if Siegrain did try to step too far out of line, the rest of the Saints would be there to prevent it. As for the blue haired Jellal-lookalike, he sat with a smug smile on his face, acting as if he didn't even notice all the weary glances focused right on him.
"It's wonderful to see all your smiling faces once again," he said, looking around at all of them. "I'm sure the feeling's mutual, but lets skip the smalltalk and pleasantries, shall we? I believe we have a few things we need to discuss. Isn't that right, Mac?" Siegrain asked, casting a glance at Aurora Pistola's master. Nodding in response, Mac stood from his chair, towering over all the others as he spoke.
"I've got a mage named Rem n' my guild who uses dream-based magic. Last night someone managed t' get inside his dream n' said he was gonna come after him. Somethin' 'bout havin' plans for that magic of his. Didn't think much of it at first, but he said the guy's name was Kaiho. Sounded familiar, n' I was hopin' some of y'all might know somethin' useful 'bout him." The story seemed to have been going over most of their heads until Kaiho was mentioned. All eyes now looked at Mac much more intently now.
"He's the leader of a dark guild known as 'Empyrean Dawn,'" said Calium, master of the White Eclipse guild. He was seated directly next to Mac, had brown hair and was wearing a white cloak. "I believe the Council started an investigation on him a few weeks ago, isn't that right?" he asked while glancing back toward Siegrain, but it was Lucious who answered.
"That would be correct. We don't know how long Empyrean Dawn has been around, but they've started making their presence more and more known as of late. It started with a few damaged buildings and simple robberies. But they've started delving into much more serious crimes," he said, and Siegrain nodded before chiming in.
"A few of our units have come into contact with their members, but all of them were killed before anyone could be apprehended. All we have on them are the I.D.s of a few members, and of course, the name of their leader... Tell us about this dream the boy had. I suspected thought we'd find a lead on Kaiho this way, but maybe there's something to it."
Mac nodded in response, then relayed them everything Rem had described about his dream, from Kaiho's appearance down to the horrifying images that had flared up. When he finished telling the story, concern had meshed with the curiosity on the faces of more than a few Saints in the room.
"This is rather troubling..." Siegrain said, tapping a finger against the armrest of his chair as he pondered the information.
"How do we know this Kaiho is really such a serious threat?" asked Leon Shi, acid dragon slayer and co-master of Black Phoenix. "It doesn't sound like we know much about him, or his guild. Should we not wait until we know more before we decide that he or his threats are anything to be worried about? Maybe they're not as bad as you're making them sound."
"Leave it to a dragon slayer to say something so nonsensical," chimed in Satoshi Kazeyama, a kimono-clad man with long black hair, and the master of Shaman's Haven. "Did ya not listen? The Council's been focusing investigations on this guy for a while now. Think they'd do that if he wasn't worth the effort?"
"You shouldn't be so quick to chastise him for being a dragon slayer," said Avani Kanemoto. She was a black-haired woman who once was the master of her guild, Radioactive Decay. And being an earth dragon slayer, she appreciated Satoshi's anti-dragon slayer sentiments about as little as Leon did.
"Whatever," Satoshi said while waving a hand dismissively. "The point is the Council's been lookin' into this guy, and we've been talking about them since this meeting started. I highly doubt that'd be the case if this was just some nobody."
Siegrain nodded. "Right you are. We still know little of Empyrean Dawn's goals or motives, but we can confirm they are a legitimate threat to the security of Fiore. Lucious, go ahead..."
With a nod Lucious pressed a button on the table, and from the middle a lacrima projected a security recording in the air for all of them to see.
"This was taken from a bank in Shirotsume that was robbed by two of Empyrean Dawn's members a couple weeks ago," Siegrain explained, then the footage began to play. A pink haired woman and a black haired man walked into view and approached a vault in the back of the room while everyone else in sight stood with their hands held up over their heads. While the pink haired woman worked on opening the vault, a pair of fireballs flew in toward them, only to erupt several feet before reaching either of them. The black haired mage turned to see several guards closing in, and with a wide grin he drew a katana and lunged straight at them! In the blink of an eye every guard was cut down, leaving a collection of mutilated corpses on top of a thickening pile of blood on the floor. The pink haired woman hadn't even flinched, and finally opened the vault at that point. She reached in and grabbed everything she could, and the two walked right out.
The footage stopped, and Siegrain again addressed the Saints. "We aren't sure what protected them from the guards' attacks, but we believe it has something to do with the woman's magic." With the push of a button, a projection of her was now floating above the table in place of the security footage. "As for the man with her, it's difficult to tell what his magic is, but as you can see he's proficient enough with a sword to take trained mages down with ease with that alone. They've done this a handful of times now, and every time the scene plays out the same, no matter how many people try to stand in their way."
"Why banks?" The sudden question came from Kemuri, who had been silent to this point. "If Empyrean Dawn's after this kid from Aurora Pistola, what do they need all this money for?"
"Perhaps the two aren't connected," suggested Draco, master of a guild known as Spacial Radiance. "But it seems to early to tell either way. For now, I think we should focus on this new development with Rem. If he's somehow a part of their plans, whatever they are, we can't let them get their hands on him. I think it might be a good idea to put him in protective custody for now."
Siegrain held a hand up to stop him there. "Just a moment, Draco. I appreciate the suggestion, but I have a different idea. The Grand Magic Games are scheduled to begin in a few weeks. Mac, will Aurora Pistola be participating?"
"Hadn't planned on it," Mac answered. "And that seems even more doubtful now with all this goin' on."
"You should put your guild in," said Anri Tachitsu. She was the other co-master of Black Phoenix, and the last Saint to break her silence on the subject. "Like, you should totally..." her voice trailed off as her stomach growled loud enough for all in the room to hear. "...Ugh, hold on. Be right back." Suddenly a portal formed around Anri and transported her right out of the room. Seconds later, the portal opened right back up again, putting Anri back where she'd been, now with a sandwich in hand. "What were we talking about again...? Oh yeah! You should let the kid compete in the games. It'd be easy to keep an eye on him, and all that shit." Then as if she no longer cared about the subject, she happily began to munch on her sandwich and tuned everything else out.
"That's exactly what I was thinking. He'll be easier to defend, and we may be able to draw out some of Empyrean Dawn's mages. If we can catch them, then maybe we can learn more about the guild and Kaiho." Siegrain replied.
"Are ya outta 'yer goddamn mind?! There's no way n' hell I'd use my own kids as live bait!" Mac retorted.
"Keep in mind this likely is the safest thing you can do for him," Lucious interjected. "With dozens of powerful mages, multiple masters, the Council AND the royal guard there, he'd have considerably more security than he'd have anywhere else."
"I should also mention we've located two more of Empyrean Dawn's mages, and I've personally called on Sabertooth to apprehend them. Between them and anything we can get during the games, this could be an important opportunity for us to stomp out a dark guild before they really become a thorn in all our sides." Siegrain added.
Mac was just about to retort, when Siegrain interrupted. "Seeing as this is a matter that could potentially concern the safety of the nation, I propose we take a vote. All in favor of Rem Akumu competing for Aurora Pistola in this year's games?" Siegrain, Lucious, Kemuri, Anri, Leon and Satoshi all raised their hands. Six out of ten, with Mac, Draco, Avani and Calium as the minority who kept their hands down.
"Then it's settled. I suggest your guild start preparing soon, Mac. That will be all for today," he announced, and with that the saints picked themselves up and began to file out of the room, except for Mac. This wasn't sitting well with him at all, but it seemed there was nothing he could do. A sudden pat on the back caught his attention, and he looked down to see Leon smiling up at him.
"Don't worry. He'll have you and all his friends there to protect him, and all of us too. We won't let anything happen to him."
"I hope you're right, Leon," Mac replied with a heavy sigh, inwardly praying that would indeed prove to be true...
In Magnolia, Natsu Dragneel, Happy, Lucy Heartfilia and Gray Fullbuster had just returned from a job in a distant town. The train had pulled to a stop, and as soon as the door opened Natsu stumbled right out, collapsing in a daze on the ground. Evidently, Natsu's proneness to motion sickness had struck once again.
"Uuuugghhhh, I thought I was gonna die..." Natsu groaned while the blue Exceed stood by him with a calm smile.
"At least we're back now, Natsu. Now you can get back to training for the Grand Magic Games!" Happy said, though it got no response. Gray was next to exit, and scowled at the pink haired mage.
"Oi flamebrain, how about you get up already? You're holding everyone up." As if he'd never been motion sick in the first place, Natsu immediately jolted right back up, and instantly the rivals were forehead to forehead glaring right at each other.
"IF YOU GOT A PROBLEM HOW ABOUT YOU SPIT IT OUT, GRAY?!"
"I JUST DID! OR ARE YOU DEAF TOO?!"
"Guys, knock it off!" Lucy said, getting off the train and stepping between the two. "Sheesh, I'm starting to wish we brought Erza along too for this one..." she said aloud to herself, though the comment immediately brought Gray's attention away from Natsu.
"Oh yeah, why didn't she come again?" he asked.
"She said she was going to be meeting someone, though I don't think she ever mentioned who," Lucy replied. Meanwhile, Natsu had already lost interest. Hands casually rested behind his head, he and Happy were already starting to move toward the exit.
"Yeah, yeah. Come on, guys! Lets hurry back to the guild already!"
It wasn't long before they were back at Fairy Tail, and the second they pushed through the doors, the trio were happy to see the guild lively as ever. Merry voices and laughter filled the room, bringing smiles to the returning mages' faces as they walked in.
"Welcome back!" Macao called out to them from a nearby table. "How'd the job go?"
"It went fine, but Natsu almost screwed it up there at the end," Gray replied. Naturally that didn't sit well with Natsu.
"HUH?! WHAT'RE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! I WAS THE ONE WHO CAUGHT THAT THIEF!" he yelled out, getting right back in Gray's face.
"YOU DESTROYED HALF THE BUILDING IN THE PROCESS, DUMBASS!" Gray quickly retorted.
"WHAT'D YOU JUST CALL ME?!"
"YOU HEARD ME, MORON!"-
"ENOUGH!" The familiar voice of Erza Scarlet boomed out, immediately silencing both Natsu and Gray. "Honestly, you too can really get out of hand sometimes," she said with a sigh. Natsu and Gray turned toward her and were just about to apologize, but stopped when they saw who was standing there right with Erza. It was none other than Minerva Orland.
"Minerva?! What're you doing here?" Natsu quickly asked, before Lucy smacked him over the back of his head.
"You don't have to be so rude about it, Natsu," she said. Amused, Minerva merely chuckled.
"That's quite alright," she said. "I've been investigating a dark guild. Since they eventually tend to gravitate to Fairy Tail one way or another, I decided to stop by and see if anyone here knows anything that could be helpful. I don't suppose any of you have heard of Empyrean Dawn before, have you?"
"Empyrean Dawn?" Lucy repeated the name, then tapped on her chin while racking her brain for anything she might've heard about it. "Hmm... No, I don't think I've heard of them before. What about you guys?" she asked Natsu and Gray, though they didn't seem to know any more than Lucy.
"Beats me," Gray said. "Sound familiar to you, Natsu?"
"Nope, haven't heard of them," he answered with a shrug.
"I see. Well, thank you anyway. I think I've learned all I can here, so I'll be on my way," Minerva said, then started to walk toward the exit, but stopped halfway and looked back to grin at the others. "Oh, and good luck in the Grand Magic Games. You'll need it if you plan on taking us down a second time." And with that, she took her leave from the guild.
The conversation had left Lucy quite curious about what was going on, and she shifted her focus to her scarlet-haired guildmate.
"Erza, do you know anything about that guild she was asking about?"
"Not much, unfortunately. I've only heard about a few small incidents involving them. But apparently a few of its members have been sighted in a nearby town. She didn't say so, but if I had to guess I'd say Minerva's going to try to catch them."
"Huh?! Well why didn't she say so?! We could've helped her out with that!" Natsu said, now feeling disappointed he wasn't invited along.
"I think that's exactly what she wanted to avoid," Erza explained. "Whatever she's planning, the fact that Minerva didn't say much about it gives me the impression she wants to handle this without making much of a scene about it. Besides, I'm sure she'll bring backup with her from Sabertooth. Maybe we could help, but as it is I'm confident she'll be able to do what she needs to without us."
Natsu just pouted, clearly disappointed he would be missing out. Fortunately, Erza was ready for that.
"Besides, we still have to train for the Grand Magic Games," she said with a grin. Predictably, Natsu's fiery energy quickly returned once again.
"HELL YEAH!" he shouted, throwing a flame-covered fist into the air. "I can't wait to go back there and kick those other guilds' asses! I'm all fired up now!"
With the issue resolved, the four made their way out of Fairy Tail to begin what was no doubt going to be a rigorous training session.
As the sun set that night in Hargeon Town, nothing seemed out of place. People were returning home to their families after a long day of work, and the streets were becoming less and less crowded as time passed. But Minerva knew that amidst everything here that seemed so ordinary, something was amiss.
She stood on the rooftop of a tall building, alongside Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney. Near the edge of the roof, Minerva had her arms crossed in front of her as she looked down at what appeared to be an ordinary bar just across the street.
"You sure that's the place, Milady?" Sting asked, and Minerva nodded.
"I'm certain. Two of them are in there," she said. Two multicolored orbs of territory magic then formed in the air before the twin dragons, each containing a pair of photographs, which were dropped into their hands. One picture showed a tall, busty blonde wearing a small red and black top, with matching pants, boots and fingerless gloves. The other showed a slightly smaller brunette woman wearing a sleeveless, red and yellow dress, with a pair of matching gloves that extended up the length of her arm.
"Their names are Nina and Julia Roulette. Sisters, most likely. Several witnesses have spotted them going into that place every night for the past week," Minerva continued.
"They don't really look all that dangerous," Rogue commented. "Is this really something that will require all three of us?"
"Don't let their appearances fool you, Rogue," Minerva said. "Every town they've been seen in, they've leveled buildings and left dozens of people dead or wounded. Even more troubling is that it seems impossible to tell what exactly the magic they use is."
"What do you mean?" Sting asked.
"With each known crime they've committed, they used completely different magics. It's highly likely that what's been seen isn't the full extent of what they can do."
"So our objective's to catch them both and turn them in to the council, and we'll have to do it without even knowing what they're capable of?" Rogue asked. Clearly not nearly as worried about the circumstances, Sting grinned and gave him a strong slap on the back.
"Doesn't matter what magic they have. This'll be a piece of cake for us three!" he said confidently.
"He's right," Minerva replied with a grin, still keeping her eyes locked firmly onto the bar across the street. "I've got it all planned out. As long as you two follow my lead and act accordingly, this will all be over quickly."
A low chuckle rolled from her lips, as if there was something about the thought of confronting this mysterious dark guild that simply amused her.
"It's time for Empyrean Dawn to learn how it feels to be hunted by a pack of tigers..."
TBC in Chapter 3: Fight Club