Marin clasped his hands together, giving a simple grin towards Brandish. "Oh my, Lady Brandish…looking wonderful as always." And then Brandish brought her foot down near Marin, who in reality was tiny thanks to her magic. "Eeeep!"
"Could you do this side for me then?" Brandish asked while reaching out for a magazine of some kind. She was bored and her nails needed to be painted.
"Why of course!" Marin nodded. "Please let me paint them with as much love and care as possible~ Ahh…such beautiful legs...but before that…may I asked to be returned to my original size?"
"Are you for real?" That was Zelos, who was also tiny. "This really isn't so bad. I think I'm into this…it's not weird that I'm into this, right?"
"…And may I also ask why you brought him along as well…" Marin kept his forced smile, but it was clear that he held some animosity for Zelos just for being a dude in Brandish's presence. Zelos was aware of this but ignored it.
"He said he'd do anything in his power to appease me, much like you do. I saw no reason not to take him along." Brandish shrugged while flipping through the magazine. "He passed, in your words. Besides, he had no affiliation to those spies we encountered…I can't imagine anyone acting like him if they were a spy."
"I see…" Marin wrinkled his nose. "But he could be a spy going deep undercover…!"
"Oh, trust me, I don't go deep into anything…well, that's not true…" He let that train of thought trail off a bit. "Look man, if you're not gonna paint her toes, I will." Zelos grabbed the brush, hoisting it over his head.
"NO! You're not allowed to touch her! Failures like you aren't worthy of even being in her radiance, so consider yourself lucky! She's mine, don't forget that!" Marin spat.
"…Dude, that's creepy." Zelos stared with a blank expression.
"Don't say gross things like that." Brandish's tone was still flat, but she meant every word.
"…Oof…" Marin's shoulders slumped over. That didn't go well.
The door to Brandish's room then opened. It was Dimaria. She returned and calmed down after her encounter with White Eclipse, but she wasn't exactly in the best of moods since they slipped away. "Randi~"
"Marie." Brandish didn't even turn to face her fellow Spriggan. Her eyes were glued to the magazine. "I see you're back."
"Those mice you let escape…they were a real nuisance." Dimaria said, some harshness to her tone.
"I didn't let them escape. It was a pain so I didn't bother stopping them. I did give them a warning though…which I suppose they failed to heed." Brandish shrugged.
"Oh, I did tell her you know!" Marin swayed from side to side. "Ahh…you're looking great too, Lady Dimaria!"
Dimaria glanced at Marin and sighed. "…Return him to his normal size won't you? It's disgusting having to feel like I'm talking to a bug."
"…This place just has hot women for hot women, I'm in paradise." Zelos swooned.
"…?" Dimaria's gaze then went to Zelos. She had to keep from laughing. "…What have we told you about picking up strays? No wonder everything is such a pain for you; you're a couch potato and nothing more."
The mere thought of returning Marin to his normal size exhausted Brandish. "Ugh…what a pain…"
"Don't say that…" Marin whined.
"But you need him, don't you?" Dimaria started to make her exit. "The Spriggan 12 have been summoned We're gonna need his magic too, so bring him along. I guess you can bring your new pet, too." The door then shut, slammed a little forcefully since Dimaria blamed Brandish for the trouble she went through earlier in the day.
Brandish stared at the door for a moment before grabbing both Zelos and Marin between her toes, lifting them up a little. "W-What…wait!?" Marin flailed about.
"…Yeah, I'm into this…" Zelos didn't even try to fight it.
"I hate her. She's so uncute." The Spriggan told the both of them. "In your words, Marin… 'she fails.'".
"Catfight? I'd pay to see that…" Zelos could see it already and his eyes twinkled. Luckily with his size, Brandish didn't see it.
Natsu was boasting about his secret plan and it was only natural that everyone was curious about it. Something capable of defeating Zeref? They just had to know! "…So…?" Lucy tried to egg him on.
"What's that plan you're going on about…?" Erza asked.
"It's a secret." Natsu bragged, but he was completely confident in his own plan. "That's why it's called a secret plan."
Gray couldn't stand this attitude and immediately tackled Natsu. "QUIT WASTING TIME!"
"What have you got hidden in that arm!?" Elfman asked.
"UGH! I NEED TO KNOW!" Mest said, his unhealthy habit of chewing on people rearing its ugly head. Gajeel was the victim this time.
"Stop chewing on me before I punch you." The iron dragon groaned.
"But…I'm sure it's something really powerful if Natsu-san is so confident about it…" Wendy chimed in.
Happy was privy to this information. The knowing smile and laugh said it all. "Hehehe…"
"You know what it is, don't you?" Lily questioned.
"Well, sure…" Happy was clearly trying to avoid the subject, but it was also noticeable that he was bragging about knowing the secret that they didn't.
Carla deadpanned at this. "It's not like you're the one with the secret, so what's with that face…?"
"Hold up." Mii stood up, leering at Natsu a little bit. "You're confident that whatever you're hiding in that arm of yours is capable of killing an immortal?"
"Yup!" Natsu grinned.
Mii stared, wondering how Natsu could truly be so dense. "So you're gonna sit here and tell Mii that you had something that could have potentially beat that Alvarez thug and Em and didn't use it when we were cornered?"
"….Yeah, I probably could've beaten them…" Natsu trailed off. "Although, I'm pretty sure Emmeraude could tell I was hiding something and tried to egg me on. But even then, I couldn't use it. I can only use it once."
"Huh…so I guess everyone was just gonna die since you were so adamant in holding back." Mii said it so casually, but it was how she phrased it that was irksome to a few. But it didn't faze Natsu. Mii said a lot of things, some she didn't mean, some the meaning of which had to be interpreted a certain way, but no matter how she tried to phrase it, she usually meant well. That's what Natsu learned about her during her time at Fairy Tail.
"Of course not!" Natsu said. "I wasn't going to stand there and let them win!" He then stared at Mii, keeping that grin of confidence. "Trust me, Mii. I can definitely take Zeref out with this, don't worry. I have one chance, but I'll make it count!"
"…Who said I was worried?" Mii huffed and took a seat. "You guys are crazy."
"Once…"
"So he really has his aces hidden…" A few people started to murmur.
"Well, if Natsu is so proud of it, I guess we've gotta believe in him." Bickslow chuckled.
"And his confidence is somewhat encouraging for us in a way…" Freed nodded.
"Amazing how one man can raise so much morale…" Evergreen remarked.
"That's just how he is…" Laxus didn't let anyone else hear him, though. But Natsu's confidence inspired the others, giving them the confidence needed to head into the coming battle.
"I have a few plans as well, but let's trust Natsu for now." Mavis said with a smile.
"Master." Lucy began.
"Yes." Both Makarov and Mavis responded, making things a little awkward.
"Er…The 8th. Please tell us more about what we're going up against…" Lucy asked. It was important to go into the battle with any information they could get.
"Hmmm…yes." Makarov closed his eyes, recalling all of the information he could gather during his time in Alvarez. "Let me tell you want I know then. First is Emperor Spriggan. We know him as Zeref here in Ishgar. He has a small elite force under him called the Spriggan 12. I only spent a year there, but I've only met six of them. It could be because the continent is a lot bigger, so it isn't often that they gather."
Speaking of gathering, the Spriggan 12 gathered in a large meeting room. Unfortunately not all of them were able to attend; some were simply too far away to make it on time, while others…well. "…7 Spriggan." Zeref said. "Thank you all for coming despite it being last minute."
"Actually, Lord Neinhart is somewhere in the palace, but…" Yajeel trailed off.
"It's fine." Zeref brushed it off.
"It's not." Invel scoffed. While the 12 were responsible for their own actions and listened to Zeref, he could not stand their informal and sometimes disobedient nature towards him. "How could one of the 12 go against His Highness' words?"
"That's not for you to say, Invel." Speaking of disrespect, Ajeel was leaning back in his seat, feet propped up on the table. "Let's start the meeting with everyone here then! It's always easier with smaller numbers anyway."
"There are a few more people I'm waiting for before we can begin." Zeref said. "They're within the palace and coming as we speak."
"Oh yeah. Who's holding us up?" Ajeel asked.
Emmeraude stepped into the room, taking one of the empty seats. She needed a change of clothes after the encounter earlier, sitting herself next Dimaria. "I apologize for the wait…I needed a suitable change of clothes and my mother would not let me go…" Speaking of Emerald, she was lingering in the room as well. She overheard what was happening and was concerned for her only child.
"Not surprised the old lady held us up, but why is she here? She's not even a Spriggan!" Ajeel scoffed.
"Maybe not in official rank, but I believe you and the others are both aware of her strength." Zeref responded before Emmeraude could make a snarky remark. "In title, she isn't, but in strength…she was one of the Pergrande Kingdom's finest members."
"You flatter me." Emmeraude flipped her hair, a confident smirk stretching on her lips.
"I quite enjoy her company. It's nice to have someone around who actually does her job and not halfheartedly." Dimaria smiled, clearly taking a shot at Brandish.
"Yes, it is." Brandish simply replied, firing the shot back.
"Then we have the Winter General, Invel. Zeref's closest aid and council. And as his name suggests, he uses Ice magic, but that's all I know." Makarov explained.
"Ice…" That immediately caught Gray's attention.
"Next is the Desert King, Ajeel. He's someone who we already encountered during our escape…a wizard with the power to control sand. One of few in the 12 who's always looking for a fight…" Makarov continued.
"That guy…" Natsu found himself scowling.
"He offed one of those Eclipse mages." Mii commented. "And got sand in my everywhere…it'll take years before I can wear that bikini again…"
With Mii's first comment in mind, Makarov kept going. "The Nation Demolisher, Brandish. Hates fights, but she has the power to wipe a nation off the map if she needs to."
"…That's pretty metal." Cynthia gulped.
"We met her back at Caracall…" Erza had a flashback of what happened to both Zelos, Marin, and the island itself. "And if I'm not wrong…she likely has the power to manipulate mass itself."
"And then we have the War Princess, Dimaria…" Makarov paused. "I don't know anything about her magic, but she's a female knight that has survived and triumphed in many wars, thus earning her that title."
"So she isn't a wizard?" Erza asked.
Cana, on the other than, just deadpanned at Titania's question. "That's not the problem, isn't it?"
"…I think White Eclipse would know more about her. I vaguely recall Ajeel being interested that they managed to escape from her…" Wendy tapped her chin. "But I don't know if they're ready to talk…they did just lose someone after all…"
A veil of purple flames erupted in the room. Prometheus and Pandora stepped out of the flames and the first thing the Grim Reaper did was cackle. "HYAYAHA! I hope we're not late!"
"Oh, wonderful…the one person who manages to be louder than Ajeel…" Dimaria rolled her eyes.
"Prometheus. Inside voice." Pandora chided before sitting on her floating scepter, while Prometheus assumed the same position as Ajeel in a seat. "I apologize for our tardiness. We were tying up some loose ends."
"It's fine. I'm glad you could make it." Zeref told the pair. This was everyone he knew he could get present, so it was time to begin at last. "Most of you probably already know but…it's time. Our attack on Ishgar begins soon."
"Such a pain…" Brandish groaned.
"Don't say that, Brandish. What happened to listening to me?" Emperor Spriggan asked.
"Of course." Brandish simply nodded. "How I feel and my actions are two different things. I'd do it even if it's a pain, as long as you ask me to."
"Nobody likes a person who doesn't think before they speak, Randy." Dimaria shot.
Brandish then turned her head to the time goddess, eyes wide with a quizzical expression. "Huhhhh? But the one I don't like is you, though."
"I see…I guess we'll never be friends, huh?" Dimaria didn't seem to care too much though. But the tension between the two of them was pretty high and Emmeraude was tempted to cut it with a knife.
"Oooh, how feisty…" Prometheus snickered.
Zeref then turned to another member of the 12, one who had yet to be properly introduced. The former first Wizard Saint: God Serena. "God Serena. Was it painful for you to burn down your home?"
God Serena was…an eccentric man. Before even answering the question, he slammed his hands on the table, and crossed them, taking a dramatic pause. "It…." He then spread them out with vigor. "WASN'T!"
Brandish, Dimaria, and Emmeraude all stared at God Serena with deadpanned looks. The women were struck with silence. "Ew." Brandish uttered.
God Serena then drew his entire frame to the right before dramatically pointing forward, a wry smile on his face. "Thanks."
"…I'm sorry, I'm still having a hard time believing that this man is considered one of the strongest in Ishgar to this very day." Emmeraude shook her head, now pointing to the plate of food God Serena had in front of him. "…Is that a kid's meal?"
God Serena posed once more, speaking in faux elegant tone. "Nonsense. This is a GODLY meal! There is nothing else in the world that could appease my God Tongue! I will not settle for anything less than this."
"But…it's one of those tiny lunches that they serve young children…" Emmeraude couldn't wrap her head around this abnormality of a man.
"I know you haven't been here long…but it's best not to question his methods and madness…" Dimaria told Emmeraude.
God Serena aside, the man known as the Magic King, August, spoke. "Your Highness…We are prepared for Raganrok."
"God Serena. I guess you'd call him someone deplorable…but his strength is nothing to be taken lightly, trust me on this." Makarov let out a heavy sigh.
"…I still can't believe he turned into an enemy, though…" Levy had a sweat drop roll down her forehead.
"I wonder why he left Ishgar…" Juvia wondered aloud.
"We won't know until we meet him I guess…" Evergreen shrugged. "He left a few years ago, didn't he?"
"DAMN TRAITOR!" Elfman growled. Treason; the most unmanly of actions.
For the next Spriggan, Makarov was struggling to even speak about him. And the Magic King, August…he's on a different level! His magic is nothing like the other 12's." That…didn't inspire confidence. The air in the room grew extremely tense as Makarov spoke about the Magic King. "Rumor has it that he can control magic of every element, even the ancient ones. If compared to Zeref in terms of the types he can control, it's even more than Zeref himself." Yeah, Makarov wasn't painting a pretty picture, but this was the reality of what they were up against. It wasn't going to be pretty. "That's all I have on 6 of them. For the other 3, I only know their names. Bradman, Neinhart, and Badd…"
"So, you want the body of your former lover…" Badd chuckled quietly. "Sinful, sinful…"
"No no…" Zeref corrected the Spriggan known as the Judge. "Fairy Heart is a magic, not a person. Fairy Heart isn't all I want, though. I want Ishgar's destruction too. Mankind must perish."
"Mankind, huh…?" Dimaria mumbled.
"We are pawns." August stated.
"That's a very interesting way of putting it…" Badd smirked. Brandish and Emmeraude remained silent.
"Perfect." God Serena chuckled.
"HYAHAHA! I can't wait to reap their souls!" Prometheus cackled.
"I await your orders." Pandora used her inside voice, giving a curt nod.
"Let's start planning." Invel said.
Ajeel practically jumped at the chance, leaning on the table while slamming his hands on the ground, an eager grin present on his face. "Could you leave it to me then!?"
"There's also Emmeraude…" Lucy trailed off. "I know she's not a Spriggan…but there's a very high chance we'll be encountering her again, I feel it in my stomach…"
"It doesn't make any sense, though…" Lisanna furrowed her brows. "Why would she join with Zeref of all people? Their ideologies are complete opposites. Zeref wants to bring about the end of the world, while Emmeraude wanted to make it all peaceful. I don't get it…" She then remembered something and gasped. "What if she's coming after the Fiore throne again!?"
"…That wouldn't be good." Carla crossed her arms. "She already turned the country against us once…and since there are people who still adore her…"
"…We wouldn't be able to fight a battle on two fronts like that…" Mavis put a hand under her chin. "Emmeraude was already a difficult opponent, but…"
"I don't think you'll have to worry about that." Lucy said. The way she said it caught everyone's attention. "The Emmeraude we fought back then and the Emmeraude we saw in Alvarez…it's not the same person. By that I mean…she doesn't have the same level of determination. I saw it in her eyes. She probably doesn't even want to fight in this war, but she will anyway because it means being able to fight us again. After all…I…er, we…were the reason she fell. Everything that she worked on and was dear to her was taken, and I don't think she's recovered from it yet. Everything she worked for was snatched when she was at the top…"
"That sounds like Em." Mii leaned back in her seat. "She'd definitely do anything to get back at someone who wronged her, even if it goes against her principles. She's got some determination all right…or maybe her and Zeref's interest do align in one way. Perhaps just destroying Fairy Tail again is all she wants to do."
"…We'll have to keep that in mind as well." Mavis nodded firmly. "She matches the enemy strength so…"
"…I think there is one way we can avoid having to fight her." Lucy continued as she just remembered something. "…Although, it depends on how she still feels about the Princess. The Princess was able to disarm her last time…"
"I see…" Makarov nodded. "Yes, there is a chance that could work. That would be one less thing for us to worry about…"
"But in the event it doesn't, we need to come up with a plan for her." Mavis stared at Lucy. It looked like she had more to say, but the blonde was silent after mentioning that potential method. Mavis then turned to Mii.
"…Is there anything else you can tell us about her?" Erza asked Mii for Mavis.
"Eh? There's nothing else I can tell you that you don't already know. She's tough, smart, hot, and will probably crush Lucy's skull under her heel if given the opportunity." Mii shrugged.
"Yeah…." Lucy rubbed her arm awkwardly.
"That aside, appealing to her mother complex is probably the best chance of getting her off your backs." Mii added.
"I have a question…" Lisanna raised her hand. "Would it be possible for us to get the help of Dealer…or Cosmic Star? I'm sure they'd be willing to lend a hand…"
"We can't involve them in our guild affairs…" Erza shook her head. "It's far too dangerous."
"I know Sis is gonna be worried though…" Cynthia sighed.
"…What about the Isle? They helped us destroy Face…" Lisanna asked again.
"They're a neutral territory…" Levy explained. "They only helped since it was their way of repaying a favor. As nice as it would be to have them help us, Princess Ena has been very firm in not involving the Isle in the affair of humans."
"Yeah, they love their neutrality." Mii said.
Mavis then walked towards Mii, staring at her. The First then glanced at Lucy and Erza, gesturing for one of them to ask Mii a question. Erza was the one who spoke up. "Will you be helping us…?"
"Nope." Mii immediately replied. "I'm only here because if you guys go down, I gotta report what Alvarez is packing to Pergrande. I'm not lifting a finger…plus, I doubt you guys really want Pergrande to have another reason to dunk on Fiore." She had a point…but that seemed to be the answer Mavis was expecting.
"We'll start planning then." Mavis said. "Please listen well everyone. We need everyone in the guild for this. We are at a disadvantage at this point. The enemies we're about to face are nothing like those we've faced before. But what we have is the courage and our bonds to pull us through! Let's show them what this guild is made of!" Mavis yelled. This was the rallying cry for Fairy Tail!
"No, you won't be doing it alone." Zeref shot down Ajeel's request. "We're going on an all out attack."
"WHAT THE!?" Ajeel objected. "I'm all you need! I mean, it's where God Serena and that old lady are considered top dogs, right!? How hard could that be!?" God Serena didn't take too kindly to that comment and side eyed the Desert King.
"How hard could that be, he says…" Emmeraude rolled her eyes. "Says the man who let them escape to begin with."
"Tch…!" Ajeel grit his teeth at Emmeraude's words.
"With your level of arrogance, it would be a repeat of their escape." Emmeraude continued to dig into Ajeel while Brandish and Dimaria just watched the drama unfold before them. Invel was going to say something but Zeref motioned for him not to. "You claim to have the situation under control, yet it allowed them to slip away from us."
"Oh yeah? Didn't you lose them to anyway!?" Ajeel spat. "I had them right where I wanted them!"
"In an airship flying away while you nearly died?" Emmeraude scoffed before letting out a sigh, realizing she was far too harsh for someone who was a comrade. The loss of her own comrades still weighed heavily on her mind. "…My point is…we all have our faults, and they are the types of opponents who will take advantage of these shortcomings…" She paused, recalling her climatic battle against Fairy Tail one year ago.
"…Is something the matter?" Invel stared at Emmeruade. "You aren't having second thoughts about this, are you?"
"Ishgar was your home once too, wasn't it?" God Serena inquired. "Don't worry; it's rather flimsy these days! There was once a man named Calium who a few believed could stand up to my godly might…although I heard he's vanished. There aren't many mages of such a high caliber in that country. Burning it down won't be painful or difficult, right?"
"It's nothing of the sort." Emmeraude shook her head. "There's nothing left for me in Ishgar anymore…no, that's not true. I do have another daughter there…"
"Whoa whoa…!" Ajeel interjected. "You have two? So why are you so mopey about the other one!"
"Oh Ajeel…you'll just never understand…" Dimaria shook her head.
"I-I apologize for my grandson…he's just…" Yajeel attempted to apologize for Ajeel's attitude.
"It's fine." Emmeraude waved her hand. "Sophie was a daughter I created. She felt like my own flesh and blood. She was created with a purpose, but in the end she exceeded my expecations and sacrificed herself for my own dream. As for the other…I guess you could say I adopted her as a daughter. I don't even know if she still feels that way about me after all this time. The only thing that's kept me going is the love of my mother. But nevertheless…my conviction to fight in this battle is the same. I still wish for a peaceful world, but I've come to realize that a peaceful world cannot exist so long as Fairy Tail does. So I will do everything in my power to destroy them. I will do what I can to make this world a better place."
"Em…" Emerald bit her lip. Her daughter had been through so much…
"The love of a parent…" August mumbled this very quietly under his breath. Nobody heard his remark, but Emmeraude's words and new drive struck with him for some reason….
"Well well…that's quite the motivation you have there." Badd said.
"We should have sent her after the spies…" Brandish shrugged. Clearly Emmeraude would have done a much better job than her…not that she cared. She did her job to an extent anyway.
"We have the tactical advantage…not only in strength, but in knowledge as well. Since I ran the Grand Magic Games in Fiore, I can give everyone a rundown of some interesting things you may encounter." Emmeraude placed map of Ishgar on the table. "But before we get to that, there are two places of interest I think we should strike first and foremost…our enemies have some allies after all…"
"Oh yeah…I like where this is going…" Prometheus cackled quietly.
"With her genius and Invel's, we should have a full-proof strategy." Dimaria said with a happy hum. If she had the chance to get revenge on the guild that embarrassed her while they battled Fairy Tail, then her pettiness would be sated.
"And there you have it." Zeref had a serious tone and expression. "Anyway, we're going all out. I have my reasons. We'll begin advancing…starting with the Dragon King Festival."
The members of White Eclipse who were present stood outside at Zalen's grave. They didn't have much to say…but the depressing mood was present. "…I'm sorry, Zalen." Was what Reve said. It was rare for Reve to apologize in such a tone, but the loss of someone close showed his human side.
"….That Spriggan bastard did it, right?" Cygnus asked.
"Yes…" Aira was wiping the tears from her eyes. "The only reason we were able to make it out was thanks to Zalen…but I wish he didn't have to die for us…"
"Alvarez…they're really something else…" Royal grunted. Of course Emmeraude wasn't something they could ignore, but it was clear that she didn't care much for them, and they didn't have any beef with her.
"They want a fight." Reve clenched his hand into a fist. "And if it's a fight they want…it's a fucking fight they'll get."
"So, Alvarez is coming, huh?" Kemuri took a drag of his cigar while staring at Warrod.
"That's right. I wish I could say this was a joke, but it's a very serious matter." The old man responded to the Chairman.
"I see…" Kemuri paused. "It's always something with that guild of yours, isn't it?"
"You could say Fairy Tail is the source of all of this…but that's just a joke!" Now Warrod brought forth his bad humor. It was in poor taste and Kemuri just scowled.
"I wish I could say it was a joke." Kemuri scoffed before putting out his cigar. "Whatever the case…if war is happening, it's imperative the people are evacuated elsewhere. I'll be giving an emergency broadcast to clear all the cities."
"You're quite a reliable Chairman. The people are smitten with you, Kemuri." Warrod chuckled. Not since Siegrain's reign had the people been so receptive to a new Chairman. It was actually a little frightening how well the people adored Kemuri within a year's time. "I trust the civilians will be safe with your plans?"
"Of course. I can pull some strings." The Chairman smirked coyly. "Just leave it all to me. Once I'm done with that, I'll begin mobilizing the Council's own force. If God Serena is coming back, I'll be sure to give him a warm welcome…"
In a cave miles away from civilization, Acnologia began to stand. "My arm is itching…the arm that the flame dragon took from me…" His mind flashed to the Isle of the Dragons, when Igneel ripped off his left arm in their final confrontation. "The Dragon King Festival…that's where I'll take everything back…" In a flash, his human form shifted to that of the terrifying dragon that everyone feared. "And the absolute one befitting of the title, the King of Dragons…I, ACNOLOGIA!"
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Next Time: Parental Role.