HOLY SHIT! It's been a while! I apologize for that you guys. Last weekend I was a tad busy seeing Ozzy Osbourne in concert and this week was insane busy with work. But now it's the weekend, which means I finally have time for a new chapter! So here you all go! Enjoy!

The Eternal Empire

Chapter 11

A Stupid Plan

Erza crossed her left leg over her right as she stared stone faced at the man sitting on the couch across from her. The morning sun streamed through the blinds of the Marek's living room window. Casting a bright orange glow on the bright room. The light helped Erza clearly analyze the man in front of her.

Galen Marek was not looking like his normal self. That was plain to see just from how much Meldy was fidgeting around beside him. He was usually very in control of every conversation and situation. He was never the inferior one in any interaction. But for the first time in a very long time, he was the lesser being as the red haired Jedi Master delivered a death glare that made chills run down his spine.

Galen glanced briefly up to see the righteous anger burning behind Erza's brown eyes before he quickly glanced away. Trying his best to make her disappear by not looking directly at her. He gulped, his gaze briefly returning to her.

"Erza I-"

"Do. Not. Speak." Erza growled, forcing Galen's mouth to snap shut while Meldy gulped nervously beside him.

Her eyes bore holes into him. She wasn't just looking at his almost cowering form. She was staring directly at his soul. Demanding an explanation for the deepest depths of his being.

The Jedi Master remained silent for a few more moments. Her fingers clenched the wooden armrests of her chair before relaxing.

"Why?" she asked, her voice quivering a little as she attempted to restrain her fury.

Galen clenched his jaw and glanced up at her, "To protect Maki."

"Protect her from what?"

"I don't know!" Galen barked suddenly before running a hand through his short hand, "Dammit, I don't know."

Erza scowled, "Did you seriously believe he could be that dangerous to those he cared about? That he would even touch a hair on Maki's head if he were alive?"

"I-" Galen glanced up, practically pleading with any higher power in the universe to deliver him from the woman's interrogation, "I never believed that about Joshua. But you and I both know what resided in him." Erza's face darkened, "We both know what happened at the Eclipse Gate."

Erza raised an armored hand, silencing Galen.

"You don't have to remind me of that." Erza sighed shakily while Meldy shuddered at the memory, "But that wasn't our Joshua. You know that."

"But it very well could've been." Galen replied, "What if Joshua died early in the battle with the Emperor. That would've given the evil entity plenty of time to hijack his body and escape the Death Star's destruction."

"I'm certain Luke would've told us if something like that occurred."

"But he didn't tell you about all of this!" Meldy suddenly blurted out causing Galen's face to blanch.

Erza cocked her head to the side, "What was that?"

Galen sighed and pursed his lips, "The whole… keeping Joshua from Maki and the other children… it was Skywalker's idea." Erza's eyes widened, "He worried that Plagueis survived and was out there in the galaxy somewhere. No doubt plotting some sort of vengeance on Joshua for whatever reason." Galen leaned forward in his seat, "All of this was done for Maki's safety. And that is not an insult to Joshua."

"It very clearly is!" Erza snarled.

"If she knew about him, a connection in the force could've formed and-"

"Connections cannot be made with the dead!" Erza shouted forcing the man to back down as the air went frigid. She swiftly clenched her jaw and swallowed hard. Her eyes fluttered closed then open again, as if she was in physical pain that she was attempting to conceal. She opened and closed her hands before resting them once again on the armrests, "At least… not that I know of." She stared off into space, clearly thinking about how she was going to discuss this with her superior, Luke Skywalker.

A long sigh left Erza's lips and she nodded, "I appreciate everything you have done for Maki. You obviously care very much about her… both of you." Erza gulped, "And I shouldn't have gotten as angry as I just became. Forgive me."

"Of course, Erza." Meldy smiled while Galen let out a small relieved breath.

The redhead nodded her thanks before brushing some of her long hair from her face, "So… you've answered my questions. I'm sure you have some for me."

Meldy quickly nodded. Meanwhile, Galen rubbed his calloused hands together and slowly nodded.

"So… are you here for Maki?" Meldy finally asked, ending the silence between the three.

"Possibly." Erza nodded, "It all depends on what I see."

"What you see?" Meldy questioned.

"You want to see if she'd be able to make it as a Jedi." Galen noted.

Erza nodded, "Not everyone who is force sensitive can make it in the Jedi order. Luke has decided to be very selective with who he lets into the order. He prefers to have several weeks of observation to occur before even bringing a candidate to the temple to be further evaluated."

"Is that really necessary for Maki though?" Meldy asked, "I mean, she is Joshua's daughter. We all know how powerful he was."

"It's not about power." Galen noted as Erza nodded in agreement, "It's all about temperament and behavior."

"Exactly." Erza replied before stopping as the sound of a door opening then loudly closing rang through the house.

All three adults glanced over to the hall to their right to see, Kento Marek sleepily shuffling towards the kitchen.

"Good morning." He mumbled as he rubbed his right eye and yawned.

"Hey kido." Galen smirked, "You look like you had the sleep of a lifetime."

"I actually got to sleep in a little bit. So yeah… that was nice."

Galen arched an eyebrow and glanced at the clock in the room while his son made himself a bowl of cereal.

Seven? Galen glanced at Erza, "This is sleeping in for him?"

Erza nodded, "Our missions usually involve some long hours and early rises. But when I can, I let him rest. He needs it after all. He's still growing."

Another door opened and closed. This time loudly. The sound of shoes clopping against the wood floors rang down the hallway as Maki came sprinting by the three adults and barely awake Kento.

"No running in the house!" Meldy shouted as the girl flew by Erza.

"Sorry! I'm running late!" Maki replied breathlessly as she snagged a granola bar from the kitchen and rushed out the door. The sound of it slamming startling Kento, causing him to drop his bowl of cereal.

"Late?" Erza asked.

"She works with Kinana at the guildhall." Meldy explained, "And she is late. The guild hall is already open."

Erza nodded and rose from her seat, "Well… then I suppose I should get started myself then." She bowed to Galen and Meldy, "Thank you for allowing me into your home. If you need me I will be at the guild hall." She glanced at Kento, "When you are ready, you will join me."

"Yes Master." Kento replied monotonously as he finished cleaning up the cereal mess and began fixing himself a new bowl.

Erza quickly exited the Marek's house and stepped out into the warm morning air. She took a deep breath and turned to head towards the guild hall. As she strode down the roads she knew all too well, her fingers continuously tapped against the small hologram communications device she had attached to her belt.

She wanted to contact Luke. To confront him about his deception regarding her brother. But she decided against such an action. She felt it inside of her. The monster that paced to and fro deep in her subconscious. It was using her current volatile emotional state to peak out and rear it's ugly head. Talking to Luke would only serve to release the beast once again. She needed time to process all of this. To see the logic behind Luke's decisions.

Years of being by his side had taught her that the Grand Master did not do things without good reasons. If he truly believed that Plagueis may have survived the Death Star's destruction, then perhaps she should call and thank him. After all, Maki was blissfully unaware of the galaxy and it's dangers. And that was the purpose of all of this. Wasn't it?

She sighed and stopped alongside the main canal in Magnolia. Her gaze turned to the crystal clear waters beside her. It was ages ago since she had been home. She was just entering her twenties when she had last looked into this canal's waters. She still had a hard time fathoming how much she had changed since those good old days.

Her gaze tore away from the water as she heard the sound of wings beating furiously in the air. She glanced to the town's main gate and saw a friend she had been waiting to see for a while. A blue cat with angelic white wings came soaring towards the guild hall. Erza grinned widely at the sight of Happy. But that grin quickly disappeared as the little exceed drew closer.

His blue fur was filthy and matted down with muck and… Erza's eyes widened. Black patches of dried blood crusted his fur coat. The blue cat didn't even acknowledge her as he raced towards the guild hall, tears streaming down his from his large eyes. A sinking feeling hit Erza's stomach. Happy was crying, he was injured, and he was flying as fast as his little wings could carry him. She broke into a sprint towards the guild hall, keeping pace with the frantic Exceed. All the while, she prepared herself for the worst.

Clearly, something had happened to her old friend.

….

"Nashi... what are you doing?" Maki sighed, exasperated with her best friend. This was record time for her too. It wasn't even eight o'clock yet and Nashi Dragneel had managed to push Maki's last nerve.

"Um…" Nashi smirked sheepishly as she hid behind a stone pillar, "I kinda liked the whole spying thing we did with Strawberry lady." Her fingers tapped nervously against the cold rock.

"So that justifies creeping on Storm?" Maki nodded her head over to the blue haired teen who lounged in a booth with his Father and Mother.

"I-I I'm not creeping!" Nashi stammered, "I'm merely… um… crap."

Maki snorted, "Yeah sure. You aren't creeping." She shook her head, "Come on to the bar, I'll get you a fire shot. Maybe that'll help get your head back on straight."

Nashi's mouth watered, "Fire shot!" The pinkette tore herself away from the pillar, leaving small flames licking against the stone as she rushed over to the bar where Kinana was already preparing her beverage.

Maki couldn't help but laugh to herself. Despite her near constant irritation with Nashi, she couldn't help but admire the carefree nature of her friend. She wished she could live life as carefree and happy as Nashi. Nothing seemed to bother the girl. Any problem washed over her like water on a duck's back.

Maki sighed, glanced at the small flames on the stone pillar before quickly putting them out with the wet towel she had wrapped around her apron.

Better. She thought.

Just as she turned to go back to Kinana, the doors to the guildhall burst open.

"MIIIIIIIIIIRAAAAAA!" A high pitched voice squealed.

Maki's head jerked over to the doors as she saw a blue blur rush into the guild hall. Right as the small creature screamed her name, the doors to the guild master's office burst open. Master Mirajane looked down and saw a blue cat collapsing on the cold floor near the bar, exhausted from flying so far so quickly.

"Happy!?" Mira gasped as she rushed down the stairs to the exhausted Exceed.

"Uncle Happy!" Nashi cried as she jumped down from her bar stool, igniting it in the process. The pinkette dropped to the ground beside the blue cat and cradled the poor creature in her arms, "Uncle Happy! Are you ok?"

Uncle Happy? Maki thought perplexed by the situation. A blue cat had just screamed, flew in, and was somehow her best friend's uncle. If it wasn't for the amount of worry etched on Nashi's face, Maki would be more concerned with how strange the Dragneel Family was. Instead, she was worried about Nashi. The usual cheerful grin was completely gone.

"Happy!" Mira reached the blue cat and knelt beside Nashi, "What happened!? Are you ok?"

The blue cat coughed loudly, "Natsu… in trouble."

Nashi's eyes widened along with Mira's. Meanwhile, Maki drew closer so she could hear what was going on. The others that were in the guild hall were all giving Happy their attention. The possibility of Natsu Dragneel, the Salamander, running into something he couldn't handle worried everyone in the guild hall. As this was occurring, Erza Scarlet rushed into the guildhall and ran up to stand beside Mirajane, her hood drawn to conceal her identity.

"What do you mean in trouble!?" Mira asked.

Happy opened her eye a crack, "D-dark guild… Waas Forest." He passed out.

"Uncle Happy!" Nashi cried as she cradled the small cat.

"JET!" Mira shouted, "Run and get the old woman now!"

"Aye!" The resident speedster of Fairy Tail replied before running out of the guild hall faster than the eye could see.

"Come one, Nashi. Let's get Happy to the infirmary." Mira said softly to the anxious dragon slayer.

The girl nodded and quickly carried the small Exceed to the infirmary. Behind her was Erza and Maki while Mr. Fullbuster, Storm, and the Redfox's watched from their booths.

As Nashi laid the Happy onto one of the soft cots, Mira got to work. Bandages came flying out of the first aide kit as Mira did her best to patch up Happy while they all waited on old lady Porlyusica to arrive with Jet.

Nashi sat shaking in the chair beside the cot, her eyes swollen and watering as she stared at her Uncle. Maki gulped and walked up to her best friend.

"Hey, it's going to be ok." Maki said quietly as she squatted beside Nashi, "I mean… you dad is possibly the most powerful wizard in the guild. I'm sure he will find a way back."

Nashi gulped and took a shuddering breath, "I'm scared Maki." She glanced at her friend, "This is eerily similar to the circumstances of-"

"Hey! Your dad is like ten times stronger than my Mom ever was!" Maki exclaimed, "He will be fine. Master Mira will organize a search party and-"

Suddenly, Nashi bolted up from her seat and marched towards the infirmary doors.

"We don't have time for that." Nashi said lowly. Her eyes looked back at Maki, "The spot… tonight. Seven sharp." Out of Nashi's sight, Erza bowed her head, listening intently to what the dragon slayers were whispering to each other.

Maki's eyes widened, "Nashi we can't just-"

"Show up or don't." Nashi replied, "Either way, I'm going to go find him." She pounded a fist into her open hand, "And I'm going to deliver some serious payback to the people who took him!" The fire dragon slayer marched out of the infirmary then out of the guildhall, with Maki watching in worry.

As Nashi exited the guildhall, she brushed past Kento, who initially tried to say hi to her before he saw the fury on her face. Kento arched an eyebrow and shrugged as he walked into the guildhall.

"You know what that was all about?" He asked Maki.

"It's personal." Maki replied instantly, choosing to keep Nashi's plans a secret. She knew once Nashi had set her mind to something she would see it through. There was no convincing the dragon slayer to do otherwise. She turned to Kinana, "Um Kinnana, do you mind if I go make sure she is-"

"Go ahead." Kinana nodded, "I can handle the place."

"Thank you!" Maki replied gratefully before rushing out after Nashi, leaving Kento even more confused than he was before.

He frowned before sighing and taking a seat at a booth that he thought was open.

Strange start to the day.

"Ahem!" Kento jumped as a teen a couple years younger than him cleared his throat. He had dark blue hair with dark eyes and wore a long white coat with dark pants, "You are sitting in Storm's spot."

Kento raised an eyebrow at the kid. He then saw a small teen girl shuffle up beside the guy, her nose buried in a large book, concealing everything about her except for the large red glasses on her nose.

"It seats four." Kento replied before scooting over to allow room for the girl to sit beside him.

Nervous beads of sweat poured down the girl's forehead. Meanwhile, the guy sighed.

"She doesn't like interacting with new people."

Kento frowned, "Well, I wouldn't be a new person if I was introduced to her."

The nervous beads of sweet began to come down like a waterfall. A small, quiet, high voice frantically whispered over to the boy. The boy just sighed and shook his head.

"Dammit all, Ellen! You gotta stop being so shy."

"Ellen huh?" Kento smiled then held out his hand, "Pleasure to meet you, I'm Kento."

"EEEP!" She hissed before burying her nose further into the book.

"Uh…"

"That's impressive." The boy noted, "You actually got her to respond to you." He took Kento's hand and shook it, "Storm."

The pair firmly shook each other's hands. Then Storm took a seat across from Kento. Ellen made a small squeal, someone looked back and forth between the two boys despite the fact that her eyes were hidden behind her book, then nervously took a seat beside Storm. She sank low into her seat, practically attempting to disappear underneath the table.

"So… Kento," Storm took a toothpick out from his pocket, unwrapped it, then placed it between his lips, "Who are you and why are you here?"

"I'm-"

"He's with me."

Kento glanced over to see his Master taking a seat beside him. The toothpick fell from Storm's lips as he caught a glimpse of the woman beneath the hood.

"No way!" Storm breathed, "You are-"

Erza put a finger to her lips, "I'd prefer to keep this quiet."

Ellen leaned over and whispered to Storm. Whatever she said made Storm's eyes widen even further.

"Is it true that you took a blast from a jupiter cannon, caught it, then shot it back at the old guild, Phantom Lord!?" Storm exclaimed breathlessly.

Kento looked confused while Erza just chuckled.

"Those stories have been told too many times." Erza sighed, "To sum it all up, I did take a blast from the Jupiter Cannon. And it messed me up pretty badly at the time." Storm looked disappointed while Ellen's shoulder's visibly sagged.

"Oh…" Storm looked at Ellen, "Storm thinks that story is far less impressive."

Ellen shrugged the flipped a page in her book.

"Can she even talk?" Kento asked.

"Of course she can talk." Storm replied gruffly, pulling out a new toothpick and placing it in between in teeth, "She just doesn't like to talk. Storm has been friends with her since we were just babies. So she talks to Storm… occasionally."

"Did something happen to her to make her that way?" Kento pressed.

"Kento…" Erza said in warning, "Stop prying."

Kento sighed, "Yes Master." He muttered.

Storm shrugged, "No one knows why she doesn't talk. It could be she just doesn't like to. Simple as that." He flipped the toothpick in his mouth, "So… do you guys have any idea what's going on with Nashi and Maki?"

"Apparently something personal." Kento replied.

"Nashi's uncle is injured and her father is in trouble." Erza answered.

Ellen jabbed Storm's shoulder.

"Yeah yeah! You told me so!" Storm replied to Ellen. He leaned closer to Erza and Kento, "And if Storm knows anything about Nashi, he knows that she will do something stupid."

Erza sighed, "Like father like daughter."

"What does that mean?" Kento asked.

"Nashi's going to do something rash and search for her father on her own." Erza sighed, "At least, that is what Natsu would do if he were in her shoes. And it sounds to me like she is very similar to that flame brain."

Storm nodded, "Storm agrees." Ellen nodded swiftly as well, then turned a page. "Storm and Ellen have a feeling Maki and Nashi will be going on a search mission. Unsanctioned by Master Mira."

"You aren't wrong." Erza replied while Kento attempted to follow along, a sleepy fog still settled in his mind, "Nashi and Maki are meeting at the spot, tonight. Seven o clock."

"The spot?" Storm leaned back and took the toothpick out of his mouth, "Storm knows where that is. And, Storm wants to make sure those two don't do something stupid." Ellen nodded, "They're our friends after all. So Storm wants to make sure they stay safe."

"I want to make sure they are safe as well." Erza replied, "Kento, come, we must pack."

"Uh… why? From what it sounds like, you three want to try and stop Nashi."

Storm narrowed his eyes, "Stop Nashi? Impossible. Stopping Nashi is like trying to stop a river from flowing. It can't be done. So the best thing we can all do is make sure she is safe in her endeavors."

"So we are going to follow Nashi and Maki?" Kento asked before turning to his master, "Don't we have a mission to conduct here? I mean, I'm all for flagrantly disobeying the council but I also want to get home soon. We can't get distracted by-"

"Kento, just trust me." Erza reassured as he reluctantly rose from his seat, "This has everything to do with our mission." She looked at Storm, "We will meet you at the main gate tonight at six. I want to beat the girls to their spot."

Storm nodded, "Understood."

Ellen gave them a thumbs up… then turned a page.

….

Maki thanked her lucky stars that her Aunt and Uncle actually believed her story about staying for a couple nights at Nashi's place. She was amazed that they didn't recognize her lie. Her… Maki Marvell, going to a girly sleepover!? Yeah, that would happen when hell froze over. Maybe they saw it as a sign that she was attempting to be a normal teen and decided to not question her for it. If that was the case, then her guardians were very gullible.

She kept glancing behind her as she strode through the ferns and bushes in the forest towards the spot on top of the hill that overlooked Magnolia. It was the halfway point of her and Nashi's daily run that they did while they trained for the S-class exams. The old barn that the guild had at one time called home.

As she scaled the hill, she could see the rotting wooden structure coming up above the trees around her. Maki gulped then scrambled up the last bits of the dirt trail so that she stood directly in front of the barn. Her small hands gripped the barn doors and she carefully slid them open. She peered into the darkness of the barn.

"Hey… Nashi?"

A hand grabbed her by the neck of her shirt and yanked her inside of the barn. Maki yelped as she was dragged into the barn

"Great!" Nashi exclaimed to Maki as the girl started to calm down a little, "You made it!" She wrapped her arms around the still flustered Maki, "Thank you for coming Maki!"

"I-" Maki started before biting her tongue. If she was going to be honest, she really didn't want to come. But, she felt like she owed Nashi. After all, Nashi was the one who gave her an adventure for the first time just a couple days ago now. It may have been a brief experience. But that adventure had allowed her to access magic for the very first time. It was a gift Maki felt like she had to somehow repay. And this gave her the opportunity to do so. Even if she reluctantly did it.

"Nashi," Maki peeled the pink haired girl off of her, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Well… no." Nashi honestly admitted, "But… it's the right idea! It'll take at least a day for Happy to come to and explain everything properly to Master Mira. And only then will she send out a proper search party. And since it is apparently a dark guild that has my dad, then she will only send the S-class wizards and my mom. That's…" Nashi counted her fingers, "Seven wizards! Seven people who would have to search the entire Waas Forest! It could be too late once they actually find him." Nashi sighed, "That thought scares me."

"So you are going instead!?" Maki exclaimed.

"Yeah! Who knows my dad better than me!?" Nashi lifted a finger to silence Maki's response, "Yeah yeah, I know, my mom does. But other than my mom, who!? Besides," She gripped Maki's shoulders, "You and I have super senses. With those, we can find him way quicker than the others could!"

"Gajeel has super senses." Maki pointed out.

"But he doesn't have access to my dad's dirty laundry." Nashi grinned widely as she produced a filthy sock from her pocket.

"OH GROSS!" Maki cried as she covered her nose, "That smells awful!"

"Exactly!" Nashi smiled triumphantly, "It smells awful! Like my dad! That's how we will find him. You and I have better noses than Mr. Redfox. It'll be way easier for us!"

Maki nodded, "Ok so say that we find him."

"Uh huh."

"What do we do about the dark guild?" Maki asked.

"Beat them up of course." Nashi replied nonchalantly.

"They beat up your father! The Salamander! The guy who could practically be a wizard saint! And you plan to just waltz in there when you find them and try to beat them up! By yourself!"

"Not by myself." Nashi replied, "You'll be with me."

Maki narrowed her eyes, "I'm trying to decide if that is a compliment or an insult."

"Storm thinks it may be a bit of both."

Both Maki and Nashi jumped as the doors to the barn slid open, revealing the water make mage and his quiet companion, Ellen Redfox. Nashi's cheeks instantly turned a shade of pink while Maki frowned.

"Oh great! We've been discovered."

"No… we already knew you'd do this." Maki gulped as she heard the voice of Erza Scarlet ring out through the barn. She glanced to the far corner and saw her and Kento emerge from the shadows, "We just wanted to make sure you two actually planned on doing something this stupid."

"See Nashi! Strawberry lady agree!"

"Strawberry lady." Kento snickered beside Erza.

"You can't convince me to not go!" Nashi barked suddenly to Erza, "He's my dad! I'm not going to let some jack ass hurt him without delivering some pay back of my own!"

"I agree with you." Erza replied, causing Maki to stare dumbfounded at the Jedi Master, "That's why we will be going with you."

"Eh?" Maki croaked.

"A mission with three dragon slayers, two jedi, and a water make mage." Storm flicked the toothpick in between his teeth, "Sounds like fun to Storm."

Behind her book, Ellen audibly gulped then produced a quivering thumbs up.

"Wah! But…" Maki pinched the bridge of her nose, "I'm just going to be ignored and dragged along for the ride aren't I?"

"Absolutely!" Nashi exclaimed cheerfully, "C'mon!" She grabbed Maki's wrist and dragged the grumbling girl along, "We got a long trek ahead of us."

"Trek?" Erza questioned. The Nashi and Maki froze while Ellen began to suddenly shudder violently, "We aren't walking."

Nashi shakily turned to face Erza, "N-not walking?"

"Nope." Erza shook her head.

"Th-then that means…" Maki swallowed hard.

"The train… yes." Erza nodded.

A loud eep left Ellen's lips while Maki and Nashi's faces paled considerably.

"Please don't make us go on that death trap!" Nashi cried, "Have mercy!"

"Sorry." Erza jabbed a thumb behind her. It was then that Maki noticed the mountain of bags piled onto a small wooden cart. It had just been sitting there in the barn with Erza, "But I am not dragging that all the way to Waas Forest. So we will take the train." Erza strode out, her cart clattering against the hard dirt beneath her feet. Meanwhile, Maki and Nashi clung fearfully to each other.

"Maki?"

"Yeah Nashi?"

"Remember what you said about this possibly being a stupid idea?" The two girls reluctantly followed Erza, Kento, Storm, and Ellen towards the Magnolia train station.

"Yeah."

Nashi gulped as the sounds of trains ran through both of their minds.

"I agree now!"

And chapter! A slower chapter to start off this new arc! Apparently, Natsu is in some big time trouble and his daughter is all about coming to his rescue. Meanwhile, Maki is being dragged along for the ride and Erza is conducting her mission while helping the two girls in their quest. The question now is, what happened to Natsu? He was investigating some disappearances in the eastern edge of Fiore, right where the Waas forest is. Is that connected somehow? We will find out won't we? Anyways, let me know what you guys think! As always, I hope you guys enjoyed! Have a nice day!