Chapter III: Resistance
In the capital city of Fiore, Crocus…
Wendy Marvell looked at the late morning horizon as she stood before the doors of Mercurius, the home of the King of Fiore; and she enjoyed the fresh air and beauty of the surrounding gardens for another brief moment before the two guards posted by the doors escorted her inside. The moment she entered, Wendy looked ahead to see her partners Romeo Conbolt and a human-form Carla; and the flame-wielder smirked as he made eye contact with the slightly embarrassed Dragon Slayer.
"It's about time." Romeo teased her, "We were worried we'd have to see the king without you."
"We'd have done no such thing." Carla told Romeo realistically before turning to Wendy, "Did you find your reading glasses?"
"I did." Wendy said with a slightly embarrassed nod, "I think they fell out my bag when I tripped."
"You're lucky you found them." Romeo reminded her, "Those 'Gale-Force' things are pretty pricey. You gotta watch your walking"
"I know." Wendy replied
He smirked in response, but decided not to continue goofing around after Carla chimed in.
"Now that we're all ready, I suppose we shouldn't keep the king waiting." The Exceed suggested, and Wendy and Romeo agreed with her.
After recounting everything that occurred during their job to the king and his daughter before socializing with them for some time, the three were given a total of 750,000 Jewel before they were escorted out the palace by Princess Hisui. After saying farewell to her, the three made their way out through the gardens.
"That's awesome." Romeo remarked with a grin as the guards closed the palace's entrance behind him, "I can't believe they gave us an extra 150,000 for taking down those dark wizards on our way here."
"I know," Wendy agreed, "I thought we might get some kind of payment for it, but not that much."
"In times like these, dark guilds can't be tolerated." Carla reminded the two as she walked behind them, "And we may be Fairy Tail wizards, but it's still impressive for the three of us to take down some forty wizards on our own."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Carla, 'on our own'." Romeo stated, "I remember Wendy took out thirty of 'em by herself before we even caught up to her."
"You're not getting out of trouble by just complimenting me this time, Romeo." Wendy replied, grinning at him as she walked and talked.
"Really?" Romeo asked jokingly, "It worked last time."
"Last time probably worked because you at least showed up for the job." Carla reminded him, "And sleeping while the train we're supposed to protect gets attacked is the exact opposite of showing up."
"I'm thinking Carla and I will take six hundred this time." Wendy suggested as the trio finally exited the garden.
"Aww," Romeo whined, "But I owe Mira thirty-thousand Jewel for everything I helped smash in that fight last week. 120,000 means I'm going to have to work next month…"
"Sucks to be you, I guess." Wendy said, slightly surprising Romeo when he saw her straight face as she spoke, "Because Carla and I will have four months off with our share. We might even go to Ryuzetsu Land; I heard it's finally been fully rebuilt since Natsu blew it up."
Walking right behind them, Carla looked ahead to see Romeo giving Wendy a pleading expression, about to beg her again until the bluenette giggled.
"I'm just kidding." She revealed with a smirk before changing to a more serious tone, "I just wanted to get a little payback for making me do all the work on that train. You know how hard it is to deal with my motion sickness, right?"
"I do," Romeo said apologetically, "I'm sorry."
"I know you were up all night training, so I'll let it go." Wendy accepted his apology kindly before adding, "But if Sherria's magic had worn off; Carla would have had to deal with those bandits by herself. The only reason I was mad at you is because of that."
"But you're not mad at me anymore?" Romeo questioned hopefully.
"Of course not." Wendy assured him with a smile, "I can't be mad at you for long, Romeo. And you'll get the three hundred like we said before."
The fire mage grinned and leaned into the Sky Maiden's left shoulder, "You're the best, Wendy. I'll make it up to you somehow."
"Sure." Their Exceed friend remarked disbelievingly.
"What?" Romeo asked the humanoid as he turned his head to look at her, "I make great apologies."
"You shouldn't have to be good at them." The Exceed quipped.
"But you're still saying I'm good at them, right?" Romeo asked with a humorously dismissive tone, though he had not ignored her remark. She was right, and he still felt guilty for making them do their job without him. He was about to respond to Carla when Wendy interrupted them.
"Go easy on him, Carla." Wendy asked her friend, "You know he already feels bad about it."
The Exceed wasn't arguing anymore; but she still had a skeptical look on her face.
"I'm serious." Romeo added after seeing Carla's unconvinced expression, "I promise I won't screw up like that again."
"Fine." Carla gave in before saying decidedly, "Just make sure you keep your word."
"Thanks, Carla," Romeo said genuinely. Wendy looked towards the sun to see what time it was.
"It might be getting kind of late for lunch." She thought aloud so her friend could hear her, "What do you guys think?"
"I think we should get something before we gotta take that long ride back to Magnolia." Romeo suggested; and Carla shrugged indifferently, but Wendy was worried about more than lunch.
"I don't think I want to eat before I get on a wagon." Wendy admitted.
"How's the lacrima looking?" Romeo asked, "If it's still got magic in it, you should be fine."
"I know, but I'm thinking about not using it." Wendy explained, "Every time Sherria and her guild make one of these for me, I owe her a favor; and they're usually embarrassing to repay."
"I think I understand." Romeo replied, sounding unsure, "But do you think losing your lunch every time you get on a vehicle is better?"
"That's what I'm trying to decide right now." Wendy answered, taking a couple of seconds before reaching a decision, "I think being hungry and not sick on the ride home might be the worst outcome."
Carla shook her head at her friend before Romeo grinned and said something similar to what Carla was thinking, "That's a Dragon Slayer for you."
In the city of Magnolia…
Lucy sat over her desk, slowly writing down a few more words as she fought off her embarrassment; and she was thinking of what to write next when Happy broke her concentration by entering from the window.
"Hey, Lucy." He said as he landed on her bed, greeting her happily before looking closely at her, "Hey, are you okay, Lucy? You look kinda red."
"I'm fine." Lucy replied nervously, only blushing redder as Happy grew suspicious of her, "How are you?"
"What are you reading?" Happy questioned, "It must be a pretty good book to affect you that much."
"I wish." Lucy admitted honestly, not realizing that she was about to regret doing so, "I'm trying to write a book right now."
"Really?" Happy asked curiously, "What kind of book?"
He gave Lucy a questioning look after her face went bright red; but she never answered.
"Lucy," Happy restated his question, "What kind of book are you writing?"
There was a tense and quiet moment before Lucy saw the cat's wings reappear, and she instantly moved to grab the pages she had already written. She was not fast enough to stop Happy from snagging some of them, however.
"Let me explain this before you read any of it!" Lucy pleaded with him, and he looked up at her from the papers with a grin.
"Go on." The feline said amusedly.
"Last Christmas, when we played Truth or Dare, Erza dared me…" Lucy confessed slowly, inching closer to the hovering feline as she spoke, "She dared me to write an erotic novel…"
There was brief, tense pause before the slightly stunned Happy finally reacted.
"No way!" Happy shouted before Lucy lunged for the pages. She managed to grab a few more, but not all of them; and Happy darted away to hover outside her window as he read the few pages he still held.
"Wow…" He said, trying hard not to laugh, "Lucy, I didn't know you ever thought about stuff like this!"
"I don't!" Lucy defended herself, "I'm just writing this junk so Erza doesn't beat me to death!"
"She's just kidding about the killing part you know." Happy reminded her, "You can always just take the beating; and if you go down fighting, maybe it'll be quicker too."
"I'm not going to try to fight Erza." Lucy stated, "But I'm not going to let her beat me up either, so hand me back those pages and let me get back to work."
The two were silent as Happy hovered in the air, glancing between Lucy and the papers before concluding, "Well, I'll see you at dinner, Lucy!"
He quickly shot off with the pages as he yelled, and Lucy shouted at him as he took off.
"Happy!" She yelled at him angrily and desperately before slumping into a heap on her bed and whining, "Great, now I'm dead AND humiliated…"
Levy, Pantherlily, and Gajeel were at the Fairy Tail bar together, with Gajeel standing behind Levy as she faced Mirajane across the bar with Lily sitting between them. Erza was across the hall, eating a late lunch by herself as she watched the guild. Cana was sitting to Levy's right, downing a few bottles of beer as she listened to the three chat and planning to jump into the conversation after she finished the drinks. She did not get the chance; however, because Happy barged through one of the doors into the guild hall, shouting excitedly as he did.
"Mira! Mira!" He declared to the takeover mage as he flew to her, "You've gotta read this!"
"What is it, Happy?" The white-haired woman asked as he landed next to Lily and handed her the papers he had been holding.
"Just read it." The blue Exceed told her, "And then hand it to Levy when you're done. She's definitely going to want to read this."
"What is it?" The script mage questioned while Mira quickly skimmed over the pages.
"Happy, these are part of a…" Mirajane remarked before blushing brightly, "Where did you find this?"
"Guess." Happy replied with a smirk as Levy took the pages from Mirajane out of curiosity.
"Oh," Levy remarked as she read the first page quickly, "Wow."
"What's on those pieces of paper?" Gajeel questioned as Lily took one page from Levy; and the Dragon Slayer saw his feline friend's eyes widen as he read the paper.
"Oh my." The Exceed said with some shock before quickly handing the sheet to Levy.
"Oh, you don't want to read this stuff." Levy assured Gajeel before turning back to the blue feline, "Where did you get this, Happy?"
"I told you already," Happy reminded her, "You have to guess."
"Wait a minute…" Mirajane declared as she took back another page from Levy to examine it, "I recognize the handwriting. This…"
"This is Lucy's handwriting!" Levy revealed first, and Cana almost choked on her second-to-last bottle before she broke out into a fit of laughter.
"Let me see that." Cana requested, holding out a hand before Levy handed her some of the pages for her to read, "That's pretty impressive, actually; and it's really detailed… I didn't think Lucy would follow through on it."
"So this was the dare Erza gave her?" Levy asked the women in the group, "I wasn't here while all of you got drunk together; so I never knew what it was."
"Yeah, you were too busy 'working' with Gajeel." Happy replied before adding, "It was weird that you made Lily train with me and Carla for most of the holiday season, too."
"I bet they managed to step under a mistletoe or two along those 'patrols' the Council gave them." Cana joined the feline in teasing the two as she enjoyed the reddening expression on Levy's face, "Maybe you should go tell Lucy all about it; it would probably make for good source material."
"Cana!" Levy replied, completely embarrassed, while Gajeel looked away and pretended to ignore the entire conversation; but he didn't have to tune anyone out for too long, because Erza suddenly cut into the conversation.
"What's all this commotion about?" The Knight questioned demandingly from behind the group.
"Not much really." Mirajane answered for the group, "We were just enjoying Lucy's newest novel, a work inspired by Erza Scarlet. I really wish Happy had stolen the title page, though."
"Inspired by me?" Erza questioned, wondering aloud as she grabbed some of the pages from Levy.
"Huh." Erza remarked as she read the few pages she had, "I see Lucy has finally played her part of the game. The pages here are not that bad, surprisingly."
"I didn't know Lu had such a…" Levy added, taking a moment to find the right words to describe her friend, "Vivid… imagination."
"I guess 'vivid' is a word for it." Mirajane agreed before looking at Erza's thoughtful expression.
"Well, it appears that Lucy was actually going to follow through, so I'll tell her she doesn't have to write anymore." The Knight decided aloud before adding, "Although… it couldn't hurt to ask her to finish it…"
"Good luck with that." Cana remarked as Mirajane passed her another bottle of beer, "I can only imagine Lucy's red face as she wrote every single word."
"She's probably dying of some kind of stress." Levy agreed humorously before turning to Happy, "Does Lucy know you've got these?"
"Yep." Happy replied, "She stopped me from bringing you guys more, unfortunately."
"I should return them to her." Erza suggested, and Happy made a depressed sigh before she continued to speak, "Even if she won't finish writing it, I can keep what she wrote."
Erza asked for the pages, and nearly everyone cooperated. One thief in particular was Mirajane, who snuck a page under the bar just before handing Erza the other papers she had. And as Titania walked away, Mirajane looked to Happy.
"You should probably go with Erza to Lucy's." The bartender suggested to the feline, "You're not going to want her angry at you for long if you plan on having a bed tonight."
"I guess that's a good idea." Happy agreed, telling the group he would see them later before exiting the guild hall as well. As soon as he had left, Mirajane looked back to the remaining crowd by the bar.
"What's up, Mira?" Cana asked curiously, seeing a hint of mischievousness in the takeover mage's eyes, "You've got that look again."
"You two," Mirajane said as she looked to Gajeel and Lily, "Can you go sit somewhere else for a minute or so? We girls need to have a chat."
Levy and Cana suddenly grew interested, practically shoving the two away as they waited for Mira to speak. The white-haired woman waited until the two men were far enough away before she pulled the smuggled page out.
"You kept one too?" Cana remarked, pulling a folded up page from her bra, "I knew Erza and I weren't the only ones that liked it."
"It's not half-bad." Mirajane conceded with a faint blush before clarifying, "But no, that's not why I kept a page. Read the description of the guy closely."
"Average height, a bit of a tan, vibrant and boyish, cute face, pearly-white teeth…" Cana listed off after Mira let her read the paper with Levy, "Mira, what are we looking for here?"
"The guy's eye color is black." Levy said, "I don't know many people with that eye color, but that's not too weird."
"The guy's got some scars," Cana pointed out, "But Erza said she wanted the guy to be some kind of tough guy."
"And where does this guy have those scars?" Mira asked.
"There's one on the right side of his neck," Cana answered before Levy added the other half, "And there's a cross-shaped scar on his abs..."
"That sounds familiar." Cana remarked as Mira smirked, hoping to see the revelation strike them before she realized she had to inform them.
"I don't think the guy Lucy was originally imagining had blonde hair, spiky hair; but definitely not blonde." Mira pointed out for them.
"She was thinking about Natsu while she was writing…" Levy realized, keeping her voice low so only Cana and Mirajane could hear her, "Do you think she meant to do that?"
Mirajane shrugged as Cana began to speak again.
"So that's why this became girl-talk." The card mage thought aloud before adding with a sad sigh, "It's been years and she still thinks about him so much."
"I can't blame her. He was finally back with her after that whole year; just for this crazy war to start and make her lose him again..." Levy remarked honestly, "You know she's been doing jobs and stashing parts of the payments away for Natsu this whole time, right? It's something about giving Natsu time to recover after we manage to rescue him, I think."
"I didn't know that, actually." Cana replied, "How'd you find out about it?"
"I overheard her and Happy talking about it once." Levy said, and Mirajane nodded as she remembered the conversation as well.
"Those two were always more than teammates," Mira chipped in, "Even if they never said it."
"Do you know how many hot dates Lucy's turned down just to hang out with Natsu?" Cana remarked in agreement, taking a swig before adding, "Some of those guys were pretty rich, too."
"By the way, Mira, has Lisanna found a way to get Natsu back yet?" Levy asked the takeover wizard.
"I don't think so." Mirajane answered with a shrug before declaring, "But I think she's busy working on something, because Elfman and I haven't heard from her in a little while."
"And who's this guy that's been helping her?" Levy questioned, "He sounds like a nice guy."
"Lisanna says he is," the bartender answered with a shrug, "But I've haven't met him in person yet. To be honest, I can't even remember what his name is."
"I heard a rumor about four years ago," Gajeel chimed in, stepping towards them as he spoke, "A man with bright blue hair fought Edo back then, and two other people took on his goonies."
"Have you heard about this before?" The Dragon Slayer questioned.
"Not a word." Mirajane lied, almost completely coolly with her signature smile.
Gajeel furrowed his brow at her in response as he watched her body language.
"You guys ever hear anything about this?" Gajeel asked, a little less forceful this time.
"I don't think so." Levy answered first.
"I heard Erza talk about a man in blue with Bisca," Cana volunteered, "She said the guy signaled Bisca with Erza or something, but the weird part was that he knew Bisca's name. Erza asked if she knew who he was, but Bisca said she couldn't recognize him in her scope; he was just a blue blur."
"You want to know what's the craziest rumor I heard about that battle?" Mirajane chimed in, hoping to steer the subject away from Gohan, "We all know Acnologia showed up and killed God Serena, but the rumor is that someone showed up just after that. Whoever that was, they beat him up and dragged him away. Master Makarov heard that from the Council; but they're trying to keep it under wraps, so don't tell anyone I told you that."
"That had to be one of Edo's men." Gajeel declared sourly, "Or the creep himself."
Levy sighed before commenting, "To think that's something stronger than Acnologia…"
An hour later, only a ¼ mile from the Magic Council's Fiore Branch HQ…
Standing at the top of a rocky hill of her own design, Cel Rhea looked over the exterior of the Council's magical structure in detail one last time before she waved her hand upward lazily, making a slab of rock rise from the ground before a dark portal opened onto it.
"Are you ready, Orga?" She asked through the rift, knowing her partner could hear her.
"I am." He answered gruffly, making Cel grin in response.
"Perfect." She remarked eagerly before giving him the order, "Now do it."
The next instant, the Council employees at the headquarters that were outdoors or near a window watched as a massive thunderstorm filled the sky over the building in a matter of seconds. Finding the sudden change in weather odd, multiple people stopped their work to investigate the anomaly; but before anyone could figure out the storm was magically created, a few of the people outside noticed the shadows the black clouds were casting seemed to be getting darker. The shouting in panic and confusion began when the entire perimeter of these shadows suddenly began to rise from the ground, rapidly blocking any view of the outside world as it encased the entire structure in a dark silo.
"What's happening?!" A random man asked everyone near him, but no one had an answer.
"We're being attacked!" Another man pointed out.
"What do we do?!" A woman shouted before a third man yelled after her.
"I can barely even see!"
In the midst of the chaos, a new sound and sensation caught the people's attention. The ground began to tremor violently, cracking in a few places, before suddenly calming after barely a minute.
"Was that an earthquake?" Someone asked her coworkers, who mostly shrugged in confusion.
"No," Mest Gryder said grimly as he replied to a guard who asked the same question, looking out a window from one of the top stories on the floating tier with apprehension as he spoke, "It's worse."
"We've got to get out of here." He decided aloud, recalling some of the rumors about the battle over Magnolia to himself as he began to deduce the possible culprits of this shadow magic.
"What is this, Doranbolt?" Another guard near him questioned, but he didn't bother explaining his concerns to them.
"There's no time," He informed them before instructing them, "Come with me, now."
Needing no more convincing, the guards and other Council officials that heard him flocked to him before the whole group teleported away. The moment the highest ranking of the Council officers in the building had been evacuated, Cel Rhea finally made her presence known. Casting her voice through the shadows, the people trapped inside the darkness heard her voice coming from all directions.
"So this is the Magic Council's strength," She taunted, feigning disappointment before pointing out with amusement, "Your leaders left you behind without even trying to fight back… It's a shame, really. This is just too easy now.
"I would say I'm surprised that you've been abandoned," She added insult to injury, "But then again, you people are more like sheep than soldiers; so I can't really blame them for not wanting to waste their time."
"What do you want from us?!" A few people asked in several different locations, each in their own ways. She replied by giving them a weak laugh before speaking.
"I'm not here to take anything important from you, just a little bit of your time." She began to explain before amending her statement, "Or your lives, if you vex me."
People all across the building began to mutter amongst themselves as they tried to assess the threat that was speaking to them; and several were starting to wonder if the shadow magic was just for show.
"Oh, I wouldn't try escaping; it'll only get you killed." She warned them with finality before adding, "And for the little schemers in the crowd, I can hear and see everything inside this darkness; so good luck with keeping your plans secret. The only way any of you are ever going to see daylight again is if I allow it."
"And just to make sure you stay cooperative," She continued as people began to hear and feel a faint tremor again, "I've made some new friends to help me keep an eye on you all."
The rumbling increased in intensity from all sides of the structure; but the source of the rumbling made even more noise: it was the marching of a large army, which consisted of about some two hundred, seven foot tall, jet-black stone golems. In a circular formation around the entire building, the faceless golems emerged from the dark border before moving at a trudging pace to take over the entire building on the ground floor. After she had positioned her "men", Cel spoke to her captive audience again.
"For anyone thinking that they could take these big guys, just don't. They look big and slow; but I promise, if you move in any way one of my golems doesn't like, you'll be splattered onto a wall before you can even scream about it." She advised them honestly, "Your best option is to just stay calm and be patient; I'm sure someone's going to come along and try to save you. I'm counting on it, really."
Hours later, outside of Magnolia…
Wendy Marvell was laying across the right side of the wagon, resting her head on Carla's lap while Romeo Conbolt watched the two from his spot across from them. The wagon rocked slightly as it rolled down the road to Magnolia; and Romeo glanced out the back, leaning out slightly to see the sun was just above the horizon to the west.
"Sun's about to set." He told the two, looking back at them as he thought aloud, "We'll probably get back pretty late."
"I don't think that will be a problem." Carla replied to him, "Unless we get attacked on the road with Wendy like this."
"Sor…ry…" Wendy muttered sickly.
"Save it, child." Carla told her, "It's not your fault the lacrima finally wore off."
"At least your magic makes it easy to refill your stomach." Romeo offered with a shrug.
"Yeah…" Wendy agreed slowly, "I guess…"
The Sky Maiden put all her strength into her hands after placing them under herself and slowly forced herself to sit upright. Romeo watched her, impressed yet slightly concerned.
"Are you sure you don't want to lay down, Wendy?" He asked her, "You might feel a little better that way, and you look a little green."
She shook her head as she tried to ignore the dizzying and sickening sensation coming from her stomach before speaking, "I'm okay, Romeo, I'm getting the hang of this."
"Barely." Romeo observed with a smirk.
"Don't discourage her." Carla told the young man, "She's trying very hard right now."
"It's fine." Wendy replied to her Exceed friend, "He's just teasing me."
"Yeah, Carla," Romeo commented playfully, "Stop being such a mom; last time I checked you have a teenaged human form, and why's that?"
"It certainly isn't an indicator of my maturity." Carla remarked, "And if you're planning on using the 'act my age' bit again, save it. It won't happen."
"Sure." Romeo quoted, imitating the disbelieving look the Exceed gave him earlier. Wendy giggled at the slight frustration Carla's face showed, knowing her friend was secretly amused as well.
"And look at that, Wendy's feeling better." Romeo said in response to Wendy's laughter, "I guess my sense of humor is good for something after all."
"I am feeling a little better." Wendy admitted with a faint smile. Romeo returned the smile before it suddenly changed into a grin; he had a great idea.
"Hey, Carla…" He said dramatically as he moved to sit between the two girls, turning in his seat to face Carla as he spoke, "What's the situation with you and Happy? It took me a while to notice how close you two have gotten recently, but I did."
Initially surprised by the question, Carla's face only hinted at some surprise and embarrassment for an instant before she crossed her arms and looked away with a stern face.
"It's not like that." Carla insisted, "He just has more spare time now that Natsu's not here. And since Lucy doesn't work as often as Natsu did, that gives him even more free time on top of that."
"I know he's had a lot of free time for a while now," Romeo replied with a grin, "But he never spent nearly all that free time hanging out with you until a year ago, but I'm guessing training with him really helped with that."
"Yeah, Carla," Wendy added, her humor and genuine curiosity overrode her motion sickness, "You've never told me what you do when you're with Happy either."
"Errands mostly," Carla informed them, "I helped him dust his and Natsu's house the other day, while you two were off doing who knows what."
"We told you what; we were having dinner." Romeo reminded her.
"Oh really, why does Wendy seemed to be blushing?" Carla questioned with a smirk before observing with a less amused expression, "It's making her face look sort of brown, actually."
"You shouldn't discourage Wendy, Carla." He replied, wrapping his right arm around Wendy's shoulders jokingly, "'She's working very hard right now'."
Wendy giggled at Carla's face, pressing into Romeo's side in the process. She did not know exactly why, but the physical contact with Romeo was helping abate her sickness; so she intended on leaning into him as much as she could before he'd release her. But to her surprise, Romeo didn't. She thought of saying something about it, thinking Carla might start making teasing or disgusted comments soon; but his soothing aid against the motion sickness was too effective to resist.
"Don't worry, Carla," Romeo said while smirking faintly at the feeling of Wendy resting against him, "I'm sure Wendy and I will find out what you and Happy are really doing, sooner or later."
After sundown at Era, on the roof of the Magic Council H.Q…
Warrod Sequen was standing alone, looking over the eastern horizon and enjoying the view for a few moments until Jellal had finally arrived to meet him; but Jellal was too quiet in his approach. Instead of a normal 'hello', Warrod met the leader of Crime Sorciere with a gasp of surprise.
"You're going to cause an accident, one day, you know!" the Wizard Saint told an apologetic Jellal in annoyance, "I'm more than a hundred years old, and you're trying to scare me to death?"
"I'm not-"
"Just kidding!" Warrod said jokingly, "I saw you coming a mile away."
"Right." Jellal remarked half-heartedly before getting down to business, "You asked for me?"
But while Jellal was speaking with Warrod, Merudy was watching the two from an inn that operated in the city below. She rented a room on the top floor with a balcony facing the H.Q. as planned; but she had some spare Jewel after helping a neighboring village with some monsters, so she decided to spoil herself. The plan was for her to rent a room at a cheap little inn that no one would notice; but Merudy had enough money to afford more middle-class housing. The balcony railing had been starting to rust at least a year ago, and the rooms were tiny; but the bathroom was clean and functioning and the twin-sized bed was pristine and insanely comfortable. Merudy decided to actively avoid it to ensure she would not fall asleep on the job.
And now, she was sitting on a chair and leaning her left arm against the rail carefully as she watched the two Wizard Saints; until something stole her attention from them.
"Meldy," A quiet voice said from behind her.
She jumped and spun around, ready to fight when she saw her guest had put his hands up in a surrendering posture.
"Zancrow?" She said as she immediately recognized the God Slayer, "What are you doing here?"
"That should be obvious." Zancrow said with a grin as he lowered his arms, "I came here to see you."
"You can't just show up whenever you want, you know." She reminded him, "I'm going to hurt you by accident one day."
"And what would Jellal do if he saw me here?" Zancrow asked curiously,
"Nothing but complain, as long as you didn't try to hurt me." Merudy answered honestly, "I told him that we meet up every now and then; and he understands, even if he hates your guts."
"I'd never try to hurt you." Zancrow said seriously.
"I know that." Merudy assured him before adding, "Even though I know who you work for."
"Let's not talk about my Master." He pleaded, "I've got enough to worry about as it is."
"You're Master's responsible for all of this, including all of the people that have been hurt by the war." She continued stubbornly, "I need you to listen to me for once."
"I'm always listening, Meldy." Zancrow said; and she was somewhat surprised to notice he had sounded slightly hurt by her secondary statement. She decided to let him talk first.
"You know how many times I've told you this," Zancrow replied, slightly frustrated, "I have to serve him, Meldy; and I have no real influence on him, I've tested that before."
"Look," Zancrow added, stepping closer to her as he spoke, "I want to tell you the real reason I'm still working for Master Edo."
"It's because he brought you back, right?" Merudy asked him.
"Not just that," Zancrow informed her, "I learned something important while I was training a few months ago."
"What is it?" She questioned, glancing to see Jellal was still conversing with Sequen before stepping closer to Zancrow.
"Before my Master fights Gohan again," Zancrow explained, "He intends to grant a part of his essence to someone else. And if I remain his most loyal and strongest warrior, I'll be the one he gives his power to when he dies."
"You're doing this just so you can live forever?" Merudy remarked.
"It's not just so I can live forever, Meldy," Zancrow revealed, "It's so you can as well."
"Me?" Merudy asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"
"There's a spirit that's bound to my Master; it's what gives him his immortality." Zancrow told her, "He can keep a part of this spirit in a very rare sort of lacrima and give it to someone else for their own use; if my Master were to die while someone else has a part of the essence, the rest of the spirit that was bound to my Master would flee to that person so it could live on. The spirit teaches how to create the right form of lacrima; and when I earn the right to be my master's successor, should he fall, I'll have the knowledge and ability to do the same thing."
"And you want me to share Edo's power with you?" Merudy asked tentatively; she was nervous for a reason that felt strange to her.
"I have a question, Meldy." Zancrow stated calmly as he stepped within arm's reach of the young woman.
"What is it?" She asked, nervous at how close he had come to her.
"When I asked you what Jellal would do if he saw me…" He said slowly, hesitating to step closer to her, "And you said 'nothing' because 'he understands'. What does he understand, Meldy?"
"It's probably not what you're thinking." Merudy remarked dismissively, turning to lean forward against the rail to avoid looking at him, "Don't try to make it sound like there's something between us."
"Really?" Zancrow questioned quietly, stepping very close to her left and lightly touching her shoulder until she shrank from his touch, "If you know I'm not going to hurt you, then why are you scared?"
"Look at me, Meldy." He requested gently, and she gave in to his pleading. As soon as she turned around, he stepped a little closer to her before speaking again.
"Look me in my eyes and tell me that there's nothing. After all the time we've spent together in these little meetings… you can really say that there isn't something between us?" He questioned.
She could see he was restraining himself from doing something, but she was becoming curious as to what that something was. She met his gaze confidently before trying to say exactly what he told her to; but something in her resisted, and she stuttered before she could begin the statement.
"You know why I want to give you Edo's power." Zancrow stated, boldly inching even closer as his confidence was bolstered, "I've never been subtle about it…"
"Zancrow, stop…" Merudy told him, pushing her right hand against his chest to keep some space between them. Even through the fabric of the cloak and hood he was wearing, she could feel that his chest was firmly muscular; and she began to remember seeing him shirtless, firmly counter-acting her attempt at distancing them as the contact sparked feelings she'd been restraining.
"No." He said boldly, gently swatting her hand aside with his left arm before leaning closer to her face and placing both hands on the railing behind her.
"Zancrow, we can't…" Merudy stated, fighting the urge to give in, "Not while you're working for Edo."
"I'm not working for him, Meldy, I'm working for you." He said quietly as he lightly squeezed her left elbow with his right hand. Though she knew Zancrow had changed just as he claimed to, she was still surprised at how gentle he always was in dealing with her.
"Jellal's watching you now." Zancrow informed her after he glanced away from her for a moment, only moving his right hand back to the rail as he spoke; and she began to worry until he added, "Don't worry about getting embarrassed, as long as the lights stay out around us; he can't see me."
"He's waiting for an all clear from me." She replied as she remembered her job, turning in her tiny amount of personal space to give Jellal a thumbs up. The two watched Jellal nod in response before he jumped off the tower, glowing yellow mid-fall before landing and racing towards the opposite side of the city.
"He's going the wrong way." Zancrow pointed out questioningly.
"No, he's got somewhere else to be tonight." Merudy answered, hesitating to decide whether to turn around or not.
"And what about you?" He asked her coolly, "You've got somewhere to be, too?"
"I wish, but I'm unfortunately stuck here for the night, trying to stop myself from doing something stupid." Merudy remarked in a last-ditch effort to ward him off, but it was a half-hearted attempt at best, "I should be on a mission of some kind, though; I'm better at fighting dark wizards than I am at-"
"I'm sorry; but I want you to promise me something, Meldy." Zancrow declared, slightly surprising her that he cut her off, "Even if aren't with each other…"
"What is it, Zancrow?" Merudy asked, almost feeling the hurt in his voice at the thought of his last remark. The question she had asked herself a number of times came up once more in her head: did that thought also hurt her? She had been asking herself the question for nearly two years; but she was only just finally beginning to reach some form of conclusion.
"If I do get my Master's essence," He asked as she weighed all her options, all the while wondering what he was going to say, "Will you please accept the immortality anyway?"
She was slow to react as she tried to form a decent response; and she was still trying to figure out what to say when he spoke again.
"Use your sensory link on me." He suggested to her before sounding more commandingly, "Use it."
She hesitated, already having a good idea of the sensations he was probably feeling at the moment; but she was slightly afraid to feel them as well. More importantly, she did not want him to notice her own internal struggle. It took a long moment, but his pleading and desperate gaze made her cave in and humor him, knowing he was not going to leave her alone unless she did. The moment the pink bands appeared on their wrists was also the moment where she lost all control of the situation.
She could feel his muscles were tensed as he fought to avoid touching her, her breath was warm against his face, and there was a tingling sensation in his lower lip. She could also feel he was afraid or nervous; his stomach was tightened with anticipation, but she could feel a layer of sweat on his skin and his heart's reverberation as it beat rapidly. She deactivated her magic almost immediately after all the many sensations crashed into her.
"You can't answer my question…" He said with realization after he felt her senses leave his body, "Because you haven't even answered your own yet."
"Zancrow…" Merudy pleaded, embarrassed and conflicted, "Stop…"
"Never…" He told her with a hushed but desperate tone, "I can't."
He lowered his face only inches from her face; and Merudy struggled with herself to not close the gap; her resistance to him was crumbling.
"Meldy… I want you to live forever," Zancrow reminded her, "Because the only way I could live forever is if I knew you were still around…
"And I know this is all selfish of me," He admitted, bringing his right hand up to her face, just barely stopping himself from touching her, "But imagine the good we could do together with all that time, never aging and only growing stronger and smarter…"
"Zancrow," She asked nervously and quietly, trying to hide the suppressed excitement in her tone as he lowered his hand to the rail again, "If I say yes... it's an answer to more than one question, isn't it?"
"If you want it to be." He whispered back before leaning forward until the side of his face was next to her left ear, "And I think you do, because you love me… It's been that way for years now."
Time seemed to stop for the two; and a tense moment passed as Merudy tried to argue, but found she could not. Zancrow pulled his face back, showering her a slight, triumphant grin that she found to be cute. Before she could question what she was thinking, her desires took over and she used her hands on the rail behind her to shove herself against him, planting her lips onto his and knocking his hood off in the process. He instantly returned the kiss, leaning back into her as he moved his hands. His right hand removed her hood to reveal her pink hair and set aside her earmuffs before returning to her face to hold the left side of her head softly, and his left hand glided over the rail until it lowered onto her right hand. Eventually, tongue-tying was not enough for Merudy; and she backed against the railing before moving her hands as well. Her left hand reached to hold his right in place; and her right hand turned over and grabbed his left, bringing it closer before he grabbed her waist with it. Even through the cloak and other clothing that was partially covered by it, she could feel the warmth of his hand on her side just as well as she could feel the warmth of his other hand on her face. Moving her left hand next, Merudy brought it up to run it through his wild yellow hair, surprised at how soft it felt. The hand on her waist snaked upward, rubbing across her body and bunching up her cloak as he massaged her.
Merudy began to moan before she needed air, and she pulled her mouth away from his with a faint gasp. He breathed heavily with her as he held her close against him; and he moved his right hand down to help his left, pulling her by her waist and wrapping his arms behind her. If he looked down, he knew he could see the white and gold trim at the top of her red dress; but he knew he could also see an ample amount of her cleavage, which he decided earlier to avoid looking at for fear of staring too long.
He was thinking of what to say as she moved her hands, and he began to speak as she wrapped her arms over his shoulders.
"I knew it." He said with a smirk before getting serious, "I always thought you did, but I need to hear you say it… Please, Meldy, answer me."
She loved the way he said her name softly; and even in the middle of a demanding statement, her name would still be used gently. That small fact was one of the many reasons for her answer:
"Zancrow… I never wanted to, because we are going to be on opposite sides of the war… and we could both die." She explained, and he could see she was holding back tears, "I never wanted to because I don't want any more pain; but somehow I still did, I still fell in love with you."
"Ice Queen Senior's heart would be broken if he learned that." Zancrow joked with a grin.
"I give you a serious answer to a very serious question, and that's when you decide to start making jokes?" Merudy remarked humorously, blinking water out of her eyes as she spoke, "And about poor Lyon too?"
"You're smiling," Zancrow pointed out in response, "So it seems to have worked to me."
"But I do understand." He added seriously before she could reply, "I tried my hardest to distance myself from you at first; but it never worked."
"You know we can't be with each other very often." She reminded him sadly, "I don't know if we'd even be around each other enough to even say we're a thing."
"There's no requirement for you to say we're together to anyone," Zancrow informed her, "In the end, it only matters that we know we are."
"And that you know I love you, Meldy." He added at the end before putting his lips to hers once again. She began to return the kiss when he pulled back from her and added with a chuckle, "Even if you haven't answered the other question yet."
"You know how big that kind of decision is." Merudy reminded him gently, "I think it would be amazing to do all those things you've suggested, but I also think I should just take some time to think about it."
"I think I understand." Zancrow agreed honestly before adding, "And you'll have all the time to think about it while my Master lives. For now, I'm more than happy with just knowing how you feel about me."
"Thank you." She said gratefully, relieved that he was not going to demand an immediate answer from her, "And I do love you, Zancrow, it's just that we barely see each other; and I don't like the separation…"
"That's why I've always tried to make every moment with you count." He informed her, pressing her tighter against him, "It's how I've been coping."
Merudy looked into his eyes as he spoke before something in his advice sparked her imagination, which became over-active after Zancrow moved his arms to wrap the around her waist again; but this time between her cloak and dress. Feeling his hands more directly now, her body began to heat up under his touch.
"You know, the feeling of heat is normally a strange concept to me." He told her, "But when I touch you, you're warm. When you look at me, I feel hot. And when I look at you, among the million other good things I could say about you, the word 'hot' is usually the first that comes to mind."
Merudy giggled embarrassedly at his joke before she began to feel a sensation that she had not been personally familiar with until not so long ago. Wherever it had ultimately come from, she did not know; and she was slowly deciding if she should give in to the feeling or not. He could see she was thinking about something by her expression, so Zancrow spoke to give her time to think.
"You're probably right about ending up on opposite sides of the fight;" He admitted before swearing, "But I promise, I will make sure that no one touches you."
"I'd try to do the same for you, Zancrow," She replied after having thought to herself for a long moment, "And, um… I also think you're idea of making things count is a good idea. That's why... I-"
She stuttered and stopped talking, making Zancrow look at her with curiosity and interest before asking her, "What is it, Meldy?"
"I wanted… to know… if," She declared, nervous and embarrassed as she spoke before managing to get out a single phrase intact, "Maybe you'd like to stay here… tonight?"
Three main emotions ran through Zancrow's mind as he heard her question. The first was amazement at her even asking the question, the second was triumphant pride that she had asked it to him, and the third was the desire to make her as happy as he was.
"My Master did say I could spend tonight however I wanted…" Zancrow replied, giving her a seductive grin as he squeezed her body against his again before lowering his lips to hers. They toyed with each other's mouths for a moment before Merudy took control. She walked Zancrow backwards until his back was pinned against the glass door to her balcony, kissing him passionately the entire time. Her hands were not satisfied with touching the cloak that covered most of his body, and they fumbled with the clasp holding it together at the top of his chest. Zancrow helped her with his cloak as she pulled back for a quick breath before he brought her back in for more kissing, shrugging off the hooded garment as his lips found hers once more. She was delighted to find he was shirtless under the cloak, and she celebrated the fact by running her right hand along his muscular side while her left hand pressed against his chest.
She felt Zancrow moan in her mouth as she played with his muscles, until she gasped into his mouth as she felt his hands boldly reach up the short skirt of her dress and lightly squeeze her buttocks.
"Your clothes are as soft as your skin," He observed after they slowly parted for more air, "I can barely tell the difference between your dress, your skin… or your underwear."
"Stop!" She said playfully yet slightly embarrassed, looking down at his stunning physique to also see he was wearing black, baggy pants and matching color boots. There was a scar on his left abdomen that caught her attention for a moment before he could steal it back.
"You should leave the ogling for me, you know," He told her jokingly before admitting, "I've already done enough of that for the both of us."
"At yourself or at me?" She asked jokingly.
"Both." He answered humorously with a dumb smirk; and she giggled in response before looking around and thinking aloud, "It's getting pretty late, and kinda cold. We should take this inside."
"Are you sure?" Zancrow asked caringly. She nodded an affirmative, and he grinned seductively in response.
"Anything for you, my love." He said, honestly yet teasingly. She gasped in surprise the next instant as Zancrow grabbed her around the top of her black stockings and lifted her by her thighs, making her wrap her arms around him for support as he spun around to face the door with her in his arms. Thinking Zancrow might need help with the door, Merudy looked down to the handle of the sliding glass door to see it being pulled by a small fiery hand before they passed it on their way inside; and the hand disappeared once the door closed behind them, as Zancrow's mind began to focus on making a different kind of magic.
Meanwhile, outside the Magic Council's Fiore Branch…
Mest Gryder had finally gathered his reinforcements, and he appeared with a group of wizards just a few miles from the building, which was visible on the horizon. One of the first in the group to comment on the sight in front of them was Gray Fullbuster.
"That's his magic alright," The ice mage remarked as he recalled his memories of Edo, "I was wondering when he'd turn up again."
"This doesn't look good." Juvia chimed in as she moved to stand by Gray's right before returning to their argument from a few minutes ago, "Are you sure you have to do this without me, my darling? I've heard about how powerful Edo and his God Slayers are; and I know you are strong, my love, but seeing this…"
"I'll be fine." Gray replied, feigning confidence before turning to the rest of the group and trying to change the subject, "I'm just glad I won't be alone. Do we know who we might be dealing with in there?"
"That lightning definitely looks like Orga's." Sting Eucliffe noted from behind them; and Yukino Agria, who was to the Dragon Slayer's left, nodded in agreement before he whined sourly, "I can't believe I've let that creep control him for so long…"
"There was nothing you could have done, Sting; and everyone knows that." Yukino reminded him, grabbing his left arm reassuringly before adding, "But we've got the chance to do something now."
"There's an earth wizard here too." Mest pointed out as he stood between the four and looked at the new terrain around the captured building, "I had wondered what the tremoring was from, but I didn't think I'd find some mountains surrounding the place."
"I've never seen anything like it." Yukino admitted; but Gray wasn't impressed, he was simply puzzled.
"I have." He informed the group as he also explained his confusion, "I saw an Earth God Slayer fight Gajeel and Videl that could do stuff like this; but I saw her get killed too."
"Maybe Edo brought her back, like he did with Zancrow?" Juvia suggested thoughtfully, getting a shrug from Gray in response.
"I guess it's possible." Gray agreed as he recalled, "She was a friend of his too, if I remember."
"We're going up against a team of powerful dark wizards with no fear of death, huh?" Sting observed before sarcastically, "Sounds like a party."
"Do we have a plan of attack?" Yukino asked the group.
"I can get us anywhere in the building," Mest answered first, "But I have no idea what could be waiting for us."
"We'll need to split these guys up if we want to stand a chance," Gray explained next, "They'll be pretty nasty opponents by themselves."
"I'll take Orga." Sting called his opponent.
"And I'll help you." Yukino volunteered, but Gray disagreed with her idea.
"No," He said, getting a look of confusion from Sting and Yukino until he explained, "If this is the same friend of Edo's that made these mountains, your spirits might be useful against her."
"I'll help Sting with his friend, then." Mest decided next before looking to Juvia, who spoke before he could.
"And I shall stay outside and wait for the hostages." She said, showing Gray that she had finally given up her argument, though her tone still held some reluctance.
"Don't worry, we'll be back out here in no time." The ice wizard reassured her before facing his other companions and saying, "Let's go."
The four wizards appeared near the center of the lower tier, standing in the middle of a large courtroom, which had a familiar layout; but its ceiling was removed, and the room itself seemed to have been refurnished. The walls, furniture, and the floor all appeared to be covered in jet black stone; but the coating was jagged and spiky, making the courtroom look more like an oddly-formed cavern without a ceiling.
"What the hell? I barely recognize the place…" Mest said in confusion as soon as he saw his surroundings, "And where's the roof?"
Looking up, the rest of the group only saw black shadows overhead.
"What is this?" Sting thought aloud as he scanned the empty seats around the courtroom, "Some kinda trap?"
"No." Gray shook his head as he replied to the Dragon Slayer, "They're about to challenge us. Edo's guy are theatrical like that."
"Well, at least Ed will be happy to know someone's been paying attention." Cel' Rhea's voice suddenly filled the air, chuckling for a brief moment before adding, "Even if you ruined the surprise."
"Quit hiding!" Mest demanded in frustration.
"Hiding?" Cel repeated humorously, "I've been with all of you ever since you appeared outside the building; and longer than that, actually."
"What does that mean?" Sting questioned, slightly puzzled. In answer to his question, the ground beneath the group's feet began to quake; and the four heroes watched as every empty seat in the courtroom was filled by at least thirty Cel Rhea's, who had the replicas of herself emerge and stand in front of their own seats.
"My body is the earth, and all that belongs to it." Cel informed her enemies sinisterly, "I'm always with you, whether you like it or not. I even heard about your plan to split us up; but I'll entertain it. It's not like it'll make much of a difference."
"Like I give a damn!" Sting shouted before barking at the earth mage, "Where is Orga?!"
"He'll be here, I promise." She answered, successfully attempting to annoy Sting further, "He's been looking forward to seeing you again, actually."
"That's it!" Eucliffe declared before aiming an attack at some of Cel's moving and talking statues, "White Dragon's-"
"NO! Wait!" Mest immediately screamed at Sting, just barely in time to stop the slayer from casting his spell. Before Sting could ask him what was up, Mest teleported next to the replica that stood in front the chairman's seat, examining it closely while it grinned devilishly at him.
"What have you done?" He questioned Cel as his magic sense told him something sinister about the puppets, "Why!?"
Cel began to chuckle darkly while the others remained confused.
"Turn them back, now!" the Fairy Tail agent ordered her "They did nothing to you!"
"Those statues…" Yukino asked grimly as she deduced the source of Mest's anger, "Are they the hostages?"
The next instant, the air was filled with the sounds of stone cracking as all of the faces of the replicas fell off; but the next sound, a deafening cacophony of cries and shouts for help, revealed that each statue of Rhea was actually a captive under Cel's physical control.
Before the four could do anything to help the crowd, it went silent once again as Cel's face stretched back over all of the hostages'.
"What do you want?" Gray spoke next, sounding as if he was barely keeping his cool.
"Entertainment, mostly." Cel answered honestly, "There are a few other motives, rest assured; but I don't think you'd want me to spoil everything, would you?"
Before anyone could respond, the lightning storm from above began to intensify, snaking under the floating section of the building after it engulfed the entire structure above; and the thunder made the ground shake as the lightning cracked repeatedly, crackling closer to the top of the courtroom all the while. The sound was deafening; and the four had to cover their ears until one very large bolt of lightning struck the ground in the center of the arena, obscuring the area it struck with a large cloud of smoke. Once the smoke cleared, the group could see the Lightning God Slayer standing at the epicenter; and he was ready to fight.
"Orga!" Yukino exclaimed with some concern; but Sting cut her off before she could say more.
"Orga! Stop this!" Sting yelled at his friend, "This has gone too far!"
"Oooh… someone sounds upset." Cel's voice teased the Sabertooth master, making Orga chuckle in the process, before it added, "Perhaps you should listen to him, Orga; You know I'd be more than eager to kill them all myself."
"No way!" The male God Slayer replied enthusiastically, "You're not having all the fun!"
Orga turned to face Sting; and he gave the Dragon Slayer a challenging stare before taking a fighting stance and speaking, "I've been waiting for this, Sting."
Before either of the two could say anything more to each other, Mest appeared between them before challenging Orga, "You don't mind if I get in on the fun too, do you?"
Back on Earth…
"So yeah, that's pretty much it." Iga said thoughtfully as he wrapped up his summary of recent Earthland history, "An immortal death wizard rules most of the planet, probably as a front-man for my once-best-friend; and a guild's 'jobs' usually consist of military activities. If you're not guarding wagons and trains, patrolling, or scouting; you're doing the other jobs for what's left of the civilians, who are just barely scraping by in all this."
"It sounds pretty terrible, right?" Iga asked humorously, though everyone could tell he was forcing himself to sound positive. Only Piccolo humored his weak effort with a chuckle while the others began to question him.
"So Wendy is okay…" Goten thought aloud to himself, though he didn't mean to actually express his relief aloud, "And she's really kept training her ki all this time?"
"That's what I said." Iga affirmed, "Her energy is noticeable from anywhere on the planet, and 'noticeable' might be an understatement."
"I know how Mirajane and Elfman are doing," Trunks questioned his master next, "But how are Erza and Gray doing? And what about Juvia?"
"They're all just fine." The immortal assured his pupil, "Last time I checked, Erza's been busy doing high-level S Class work for the kingdom; and I've heard she's never failed a job, despite the current work environment."
"Gray and Juvia, after officially forming a team together, have figured out that they make a very lethal pair in combat; and they typically take on both military and civilian jobs, usually just to go wherever their guildmates need them." Iga finished his list for Trunks.
"Do you know how Jellal's been?" Gohan asked the redhead curiously, and the divine human gave him a shrug before answering.
"It's hard to tell with him sometimes." Iga stated honestly, "He's been keeping himself busy all this time, doing his best to hunt Zeref and Edo with his network of outlaws, and all that. But if you're worried about his mental state, well… To be honest, I don't think he'll ever be okay, not until Zeref's been taken out at least."
"I'm guessing he and Erza aren't a thing then," Videl remarked with some disappointment, and she got another nod from Iga.
"What about Natsu and Lucy? And Happy? How are they?" Goten asked next; but the question got another awkward expression from Iga,
"Well," the redhead began after nervously rubbing the side of his head with one hand, "Lucy and Happy are doing pretty well, as far as I know. But, Natsu… Well, how do I put this…?"
The few in the group that knew the Salamander were concerned with Iga's reluctance to answer. Before anyone could pry the answer from him; however, the room's attention suddenly became focused on one stranger, who was wearing a shabby, large, and brown hooded cloak and standing at the very front of the atrium as he began to laugh aloud. Wondering if there was something funny that they missed, the party goers looked at the man by the front doors for a brief moment until they started to feel awkward as they realized his laughter was starting to sound derisive. A few of the older Z fighters moved to approach him as soon as they realized he was an uninvited guest; but it was the group in the back that noticed there was something more to this man.
Gohan and Iga gave the man identical scrutinizing glares while Trunks was slowly inching in front of Lisanna. Goten had notice Trunks' protective move; and he immediately began to move through the crowd slowly, wanting to be up front just in case something happened. Vegeta was standing off to the side, discreetly honing his ki; and Goku was doing the same, preparing to shield the people around him after he noticed that the other god-ki users suddenly had their guards up. They were the first in the room to recognize their unwanted guest for the threat that he was; and he was a very dangerous one at that.
"Please, don't let me interrupt." He pleaded with Iga humorously, "I really wanted to hear your answer before I gave mine.
"Where is Natsu, Igneel?" He questioned, and then he looked directly at Gohan before throwing his dusty oversized cloak off to reveal his identity.
But before the dark wizard could speak, Gohan's hands were latched onto the collar of his now-revealed fanged cloak before they slammed him against the wall to the right of the atrium's front doors, nearly breaking through it in the process. In response, he made a fake wince before he chuckled again.
"I missed this." Edo told the demi-Saiyan cheerfully; but Gohan was not amused.
"I didn't." He replied to the dark immortal, "Why did you come to Earth? What have you done?"
"I heard there was a party, an-" Edo feigned sincerity until Gohan cut him off by slamming him against the wall again, making more pieces of the wall crumble to the ground. Most of the group stood back to watch the interaction; but Goku was concerned, having only seen that angry face on his son one other time in his life.
"Gohan," the elder Saiyan asked as he stepped near the two, "What's going on?"
"This is him, Dad." Gohan answered without moving his eyes away from the dark wizard, "This is Edo."
"The pleasure is all mine." Edo introduced himself while giving the pure-blooded Saiyan a smirk and a friendly wave of his right hand, "I've always wanted to meet the great Kakarot in person."
"You know my Saiyan name?" Goku remarked with some surprise.
"I know a lot of things." Edo stated, locking eyes with Gohan as he spoke, "One could say that I know everything."
"And one could say you're just insane," Gohan retorted before restating his first question, "Now tell me why you're here."
"Gladly." Edo replied happily, "But it would be a little easier to do that without your hands around my neck, if you don't mind."
Gohan was reluctant to release him until Edo sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Fine; I promise I won't kill anyone while I'm here." The immortal swore; and Gohan waited for a long, tense moment before releasing Edo and stepping back a couple feet.
"Talk." Gohan said impatiently as Goku moved to stand to his left. Goten was just behind the two, about to move to Gohan's right; but Trunks and Iga stayed in the back, preparing for any appearance of Edo's God Slayer's.
"You know how to make a guy feel welcome, you know that?" Edo joked with Gohan before getting to his real answer, though only peaking after dusting off his cloak and adjusting his hood.
"I'm sorry about the fit of laughter I had on my way in," He apologized with some humor, projecting his voice so the whole room could hear him, "But I just find it funny, seeing how poorly Igneel keeps his friends informed. It's almost like he doesn't respect you, like you're something below him."
Iga muttered his disagreement with the statement; but he knew that now was not the time for squabbling, deciding to let his enemy continue despite his irritation.
"When I came in here, you were asking about Natsu Dragneel, correct?" Edo asked Goten, who was finally standing in front of him as well, "You wanted to know how he's been?"
Goten was apprehensive about the topic; but he gave the wizard a slight nod, still curious about his friend.
"Well, I'm glad I'm here now." Edo remarked cockily, "You see, if there's anyone that you should ask about the Salamander, it's me. Honestly, I'm probably the only person with any accurate information; given that Natsu's been my prisoner for some time now."
"What?!" Gohan, Videl, and Trunks exclaimed simultaneously; but Goten was a little angrier.
"You kidnapped Natsu?!" the young demi-Saiyan shouted.
"That's right." Edo affirmed with a sinister grin, "Ever since your brother has had that little ring over his head, I've had your pink-headed friend spending all his days and nights in my Shadow."
Goten moved to attack Edo; but Goku was quick enough to get ahead of him and try to calm him, blocking his path before putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Gohan's angered reaction, on the other hand, was directed more towards Iga than Edo; as Gohan gave the redhead a serious gaze before looking back to Edo, who only chuckled at the group's reactions.
"It seems my old friend is somehow better at keeping people in the dark than I am." Edo taunted the group, "I mean, I expected the youngest of the Son boys to be surprised; but to see that Igneel's pupil and his champion are also out of the loop… Oh, Igneel…"
Before anyone could reply, Edo disappeared into a portal that appeared under him; and a few suddenly became concerned, but Edo reappeared an instant later from a portal on the ground next to Iga, Trunks, and Lisanna.
"Tell me, Igneel," The dark wizard teased his rival as he watched Trunks step between him and Lisanna, "How long did it take you to convince Lisanna to keep such a secret from her beloved? What did you tell her that eased her guilt just enough to make her cooperate?"
Trunks glanced at Lisanna questioningly, and she gave him an apologetic expression before he looked to his Master.
"Is it true?" Trunks asked the redhead curiously, "Has he really been keeping Natsu prisoner?"
"It's true." Iga confirmed with a stern nod.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Trunks questioned, feeling slightly affected by Edo's words.
"I was worried you'd try to save him before you were ready." Iga explained himself; but Edo decided to interrupt their conversation.
"An amusing thought, at best; but it's another topic for another discussion." The dark wizard remarked, "What's important now is that people have realized exactly what they all think of each other.
"I know these people are just mere mortals, Igneel; but you could be a little more considerate about what you have your servants do." Edo poured salt into his rival's wound, "I'd hate to see you undermine such a beautiful relationship by making them keep secrets from each other. In fact, I think you're being a little hypocritical; since I know for a fact that you would have been destroyed to know Ves had kept things from you."
Trunks instantly gave his Master a confused look, not recognizing the name 'Ves', but understanding the analogy enough to realize that Edo's statement was a very personal dig.
"Don't you dare speak of her, Acnologia." Igneel warned his enemy darkly, "Not a damn word."
Edo only responded by chuckling at Iga before changing the subject.
"It's good to see you still remember; I guess that means there's still room for progress after all." Edo teased,
"And speaking of progress… let me show you something that I've been making progress with."