11 months ago.
One month after the incident and it was finally time for the woman known as Emmeraude to face her crimes. While her aspirations were supposedly for a better world, her methods were anything but legal. So now, there was the woman, standing in the middle of a room in Fiore, where Hisui, Toma, a number of councilmen and Lucy sat around her. The only reason she wasn't sent to public execution immediately was due to Hisui fighting hard for the woman's life, and King Ashnard didn't care enough to show up in person, so he was participating via lacrima screen. To ensure she wouldn't try anything funny, she was bound with magic sealing cuffs.
"Must we really go through with this?" Even though he was only present on screen, Ashnard's boredom was plainly seen. "The execution of her cohorts has already been carried out, it's only natural that the leader of such a rebellion follows suit. She could have suffered on her own, but now I must be involved because members of my army decided to get involved, thus making the situation difficult for me."
"I'm sorry if this intrudes on your very busy schedule, King Ashnard." Hisui stared at the screen with a serious expression. "But we must decide on a swift punishment for Emmeraude that doesn't include an execution."
"Wearing your heart on your sleeve, what a naïve thing to do…" Ashnard sighed. "I don't see why I'm here then, because I am not budging on this regard."
"Because we need to hear our witness speak." Toma said with a firm nod. The person in question was Lucy of course, since she was one of the biggest victims of Emmeraude's plot. "When we hear the story, we can decide how to punish her."
"Oh, is that how it will be?" Emmeraude finally remarked, causing all eyes to turn to her. The woman was well aware that her dream was dead, but she was going to remain as petty as possible until the very end. "If that's the case, shouldn't things be the other way around. I'm a victim because of that woman. My daughter is dead, and so are my companions all because she put her nose into a situation that never concerned her. I've never taken a life, but she's taken four, yet I'm the guilty party?"
"I-I didn't…." Lucy frowned, lowering her gaze as Emmeraude glared into her soul.
"Oh no no, you don't get to look away, Heartfilia." Emmeraude placed her hands on her hips. "I want you to look me in the eyes as you explain everything you've done. If you feel guilty about it, then that just means you know what you did was wrong."
"You're making it very difficult to keep you alive." Hisui cleared her throat. "Please, refrain from making any unnecessary comments unless spoken to."
"I've said what I wanted to anyway." The woman scoffed and crossed her arms, tapping her foot along the ground.
"A spoiled brat she is." Ashnard couldn't help but snicker at her defiance. It was making this dull meeting enjoyable.
Lucy stood up, clearing her throat as she was required to speak. "Ahem…it all happened a little over a year ago. I took a job that asked for someone to find out why people were disappearing and bring them back if possible. So I made my way to an underground lab…and that's when I saw Emmeraude working on what was the Lambda project. All the people that were reported gone were dead…"
"Because they were all failed test subjects." Emmeraude spoke out of line again. But this caused Correll to use his gravity to make her heavy. She grit her teeth, but continued nonetheless. "If you want the long story short, I intended to rule the entire world. It all started with Fiore and I planned to rule the world, in the process, my former companions from Pergrande wished to follow me to the ends of the earth. But…in the end, they died. My daughter died, my friends died, and my plans went awry. All because that blonde and her guild stood in my way. You can look at me as the bad guy, but they went ahead and threw away peace for the sake of guild pride. Guilds aren't heroes because they choose to be…they only do what suits their best interest."
"Emmeraude…!" Hisui shouted.
Hisui's concern was appreciated, but in the end Emmeraude simply gave a shrug in response. "What? I'm only explaining what happened. I'm not going to deny my 'guilt' in the matter either. If I had the chance to do it again, I would."
"And that is precisely why we cannot let such a menace roam around the world. She truly will attempt to dethrone everyone, just as she did you, Toma." The end of Ashnard's statement was a taunt, but it would not rile up the King of Fiore so long as his daughter was adamant about keeping Emmeraude alive for a suitable punishment. "She is a resident of no country…a dangerous wanderer who intends to tip the balance of the world. Her actions could be comparable to that of the Black Wizard."
"Even so…she was stopped and she can change." Hisui was firm on this. "I don't wish to send a woman to death if I can help it. Even time in prison is more humane than a public execution. I don't wish to make a twisted show of power with my decisions…that is what my father taught me."
"…Soft as ever, I see…" Emmeraude sighed. Honestly…at least her mother was still alive. That was the only thing keeping her going when she lost Sophie, Drayden, Ross, and Marisa. "Whatever you want to do with me, will you make it quick? These cuffs are uncomfortable and standing for so long is a pain."
"Kehehehe…" An unusual laughter came from Correll as the situation dragged on. All eyes were strangely on him for this out of character action.
"…Captain Correll? Is everything all right?" Toma had a worried expression on his face.
"So, are we settled on a punishment for the prisoner yet?" A dark purple aura slowly started to flow from Correll's body. The chill of death crawled up everyone's spine, but Lucy was the first one to stand up.
"Something's wrong with him!" The celestial wizard had a grip on her key ring. "Stand back, everyone!"
Correll let out a heinous laugh before his body erupted into a skull of purple flame. Everyone stood back as a scythe cut through the flames, revealing the Grim Reaper himself, Prometheus. "HAHAHA!"
"What the…" Emmeraude was just as confused as the others, which was a first considering how calculating she was.
"That…person…is from the demon attack in Crocus two years ago…" Hisui recalled Prometheus. "But…what just happened!?"
"What did you do to Captain Correll!?" Toma demanded to know.
"That fool has been dead for a long time now." Prometheus explained. "When someone dies, their soul leaves their body. As long as there is no interference, that soul goes directly to me. I am the one who claims the lives of the living after all. I can also use these departed souls in my favor…I granted the soul belonging to that Council Captain life again as my puppet to fill me in on everything this country was doing. My liege demanded that I do so…and his usefulness has come to an end at this very moment, so back to Hell he goes."
"We've been compromised…" The Jade Princess stood up, but Lucy placed in arm out in front of her.
"Well this is quite the situation." Ashnard yawned. "If it is an assassination attempt, I care not…don't call me again unless you advocate the execution." With no more to say, Ashnard cut the transmission.
"I can't really blame him for that one." Emmeraude shrugged. "Although I'm very curious as to what this guest wants."
"There's only one…I can take them." Lucy said with a firm nod. No time was wasted as a golden light illuminated around her body. As the light faded, Lucy was revealed to be in her Star Dress: Cancer. The two blades that came with the transformation were held tightly within her hands. Jumping down from the stand, Lucy pointed a blade at Prometheus, scowling the whole time. "So…what was the purpose of that little trick? Just to spy on Fiore? Who this liege you spoke of?!"
Prometheus' smile widened, teeth shown to the blonde as she continued to question his motives. "My liege is one you'll find out soon enough. But I've been tasked with two things…to destroy this building and leave no survivors. And then…the Emperor wishes to speak with…her." Prometheus pointed at Emmeraude, causing everyone to blink.
"…Me…?" Even Emmeraude was surprised at this, but then she rolled her eyes. "I'm tired of royalty right now…"
"I've heard enough." Lucy pushed forward, swinging both blades at Prometheus' midsection. "You won't be killing anyone today!" Both of her blades were blocked by Prometheus' scythe, and the Grim Reaper faced her with a deranged grin.
"If you're going to kill anyone, please let it be her." Emmeraude remarked, and it only annoyed Lucy.
"I'm not in the mood for your remarks…!" Lucy growled before leaping back.
"HAHAHA!" Prometheus' insane laughter filled the room as he twirled his scythe around before swinging it forward, unleashing a crescent blade of energy that shot towards…Hisui and Toma!
"Watch out!" Lucy stepped forward, bringing her swords up to cross them into an X, defending against the powerful beam. It was strong and Lucy was barely able to hold her ground before uncrossing her swords, deflecting the beam into the ceiling. Even though it was the best possible outcome, the ceiling was completely destroyed and started to fall in. The debris scattered along the floor but didn't hurt anyone. "You all must get out of here! I will hold him off! Make sure he doesn't get to Emmeraude either."
"You don't have to break your back for me." Emmeraude leaned on the stand, watching the scuffle play out. But of course Hisui was going to try and tug her along to safety since it was unknown what Emmeraude was even wanted for. "You simply won't yield, will you?"
"Your punishment has yet to be decided." Hisui's tone was more of a stern one. She was serious about not letting Emmeraude get off free for her actions.
"Very well…" Emmeraude wouldn't fight. She was just along for the ride at this point.
"Hurry!" Arcadios exclaimed, leading the way to the exit.
Lucy was doing well at keeping Prometheus busy. She refused to allow any more of those beams to shoot from his scythe, so she kept close range, slashing at him fiercely. Unfortunately she was unable to keep any leeway on him, but she forced him onto the defensive with her movements. "Yes! Just a little longer and we should be in the clear!"
"I hope that you weren't thinking 'Yes! Just a little longer and we should be in the clear'!" Prometheus' remark caused Lucy's eyes to comically buldge out of their sockets before a sweat drop rolled down her forehead. "If I were alone, then this would be a difficult job. But I knew this task would be difficult…and I am never alone! Pandora!"
On that call, Pandora appeared from the hole in the ceiling, twirling her staff around and wasted no time swinging it forward, releasing blasts of lightning and ice towards Hisui and Toma. "On it."
"Sagittarius!" Lucy had to turn her attention away from Prometheus to protect the royals! Sagittarius appeared as soon as his gate was open, bow and arrow at the ready.
"I won't allow a single shot to get through moshi-moshi!" With his masterful archery skills in play, Sagittarius released a volley of arrows to collide with the elemental blasts, resulting in an explosion!
The explosions caused Hisui and Toma to tumble forward. A stray beam of ice was coming towards Emmeraude, but she lifted her arms up and allowed it to strike the magic sealing cuffs on her wrists, freezing them over to allow them to break. "Oh…that's convenient." Emmeraude spoke while rubbing her wrists.
"Nice!" Lucy had a small grin, but the little victory was never hers to begin with. As soon as the explosion occurred, Prometheus stepped forward, slipping past Lucy while his scythe was already charged for another slash.
"EYAH!" Prometheus swung his scythe forward, sending another beam at Hisui's direction. "Hahahahaha!"
And Emmeraude didn't have much time to celebrate her freedom. Without even thinking on it, Emmeraude dove forward, pushing Hisui out of the way as the crescent slash cut deep into her side. The emerald haired woman landed on the ground with a groan of pain, wincing a little in the process. "You foolish Princess…"
"E-Emmeraude you…" Hisui had wide eyes. But before another comment could come from anyone else…time froze. Everyone was frozen in time except for…Emmeraude herself.
Click.
The sound of teeth clicking together was the only noise in the expanse of time. A woman with short blonde hair sauntered forward as though she owned the place, humming contently. "Your Majesty…is this the one you sought?"
Zeref walked forward, appearing from seemingly nowhere. "Indeed it is, Dimaria. Thank you, you have done well. You too, Prometheus, Pandora…"
"Thank you, Lord Zeref…" Pandora's monotonous tone held gratitude. The woman bowed and stood off to the side.
"The Black Wizard…" Emmeraude held her hand to her bleeding side, staying crouched since she couldn't be too bothered to move. "So…coming to personally erase me yourself, have you? Seems like a mundane task for someone such as yourself."
"Not at all." Zeref shook his head, a soft smile on his face. But that only served to unnerve Emmeraude. "I came for something much different. I've watched your efforts…and I must say, they were valiant indeed. You and I share a similar goal…we both seek to change the world."
"You should be honored. It's not often His Majesty offers praise." Dimaria held a smirk.
"His…Majesty….?" Just what was going on here? Emmeraude had no a clue.
"I can explain later." Zeref nodded while extending a hand. "You know very well that there is no peace in this world. Peace cannot exist as long as two things exist: Acnologia…and Fairy Heart."
"….?" Safe to say, Emmeraude honestly had not a clue as to what Zeref was going on about.
"Come with me." Zeref said. "You'll understand what I mean soon enough. You don't wish to stay here, do you? It would make this trip…quite a waste…"
When the Black Wizard of all people extended a hand to you…you took it. Emmeraude wasn't entirely sure what was going on with her life at this point, but she simply nodded. "Very well…"
"Hmmm…" Dimaria felt quite bored that she couldn't end of lives of anyone here. But she was going to have a little bit of fun before they departed. A blade was in her hand and she walked over to both Lucy and Hisui, slashing at their clothing. The results of this would be seen when time resumed…
Click.
Time resumed. Zeref and his subordinates were gone, their presence having never existed in the first place. "What the….?" Lucy glanced around but could see nothing. To her, as soon as the explosion occurred, the bad guys were just…gone! "What happened!?" Riiiiip. That was the sound of Lucy's top being shredded open. Luckily she was able to react on some strange instinct and covered her chest before anyone saw. "Ahhh! How did this happen!?"
"She's gone…!?" Hisui saw Emmeraude take a hit for her one second only to be gone the next. Riiiiip. And now, Hisui's dress was ripped in the process. She covered her chest with a flushed and embarrassed expression. "W-What…how in the…!?"
"Hisui my dear! Are you okay?!" Toma questioned with the upmost concern.
"…" Arcadios could only stare at what he saw.
"STOP LOOKING!" Hisui cried out. The situation went from bad to worse to…just plain strange.
.
.
Fast forward to 11 months later, where Lucy told the story to Luke and Tia, but obviously she was unaware of the key details such as where Emmeraude went off to. "And that's what happened."
"You mean…an explosion happened and she was just gone?" Tia quirked a brow. "She probably got free of her cuffs during the altercation."
"She got loose, and it was my fault…" Lucy sighed. Another reason she wasn't exactly in high spirits about the situation.
"You protected the King and Princess, I think you did fine." Luke reassured. "But still…that's weird. I wonder what happened to her…"
"She can't do much now." Tia yawned. "She has no assets…no comrades…and she can't get the drop on anyone now. Keeping an eye out for her is the best thing, but you shouldn't be worried about that. You should just enjoy your life now."
"Yeah, I guess." Lucy sighed. "I brought down the mood again, I'm sorry. I keep doing that a lot lately."
"It's all right." Luke stood up, stretching and yawning. "It's pretty late. I should go check in to the hotel."
"And take a bath while you're at it." Tia pinched her nose and waved her hand. "The stench is permeating around the room…and this is where I sleep when I stay here."
"OKAY! I get it!" Luke grumbled, slinging his bag over his back and waved to Lucy. "See you at the stadium tomorrow." And he left. The verbal abuse by Tia was too much for him to bear. He was a fragile dude after all.
"You need to be nicer to people…" Lucy sighed.
"No I don't." Tia shrugged, gathering her things to take a shower.
.
.
The sun shone on a brand new day. The Domus Flau was filled with people, all excited for Day 4 of the Grand Magic Games! "Good morning everyone!" Chapati yelled. "Today is the day! This is Day 4 of the Grand Magic Games! This is the last chance for any guild to make it into the finals! The top four will square off against one another today, and the winning pair will advance to the finale tomorrow! Fiore's new talent will shine here today!"
.
.
Next Time: Fiore's New Talent.