Chapter 28- Magnolia

"Are you sure this is a wise idea," Gabriel asked nervously as Riku packed the last of his supplies, tucking his sword in its scabbard. He tightened it in place across his back, but didn't reply to Gabriel. He'd allowed Gabriel & Master Rikyu to keep him an additional night, mostly to try and stop the foreboding look that kept flashing across Gabriel's face. It had given Riku some additional time to think and plan, which was never a bad idea. Still, he was limited. The letters were obviously old and who knew how old Emperor Spriggan's news was. What would he find when he returned to Magnolia?

"Riku," repeated Gabriel, following as Riku left his room and made his way to the exit passageway. "How will you even get there? Have you even thought about it?"

"Same way I got here," Riku replied. "Walking, but this time I won't stop."

"So you won't rest at all," Gabriel demanded. "You'll be exhausted when you get there and that's no help to anyone. You should just stay."

"Can't," Riku said shortly. He pushed his way through the storage room, moving down the stairs into the darkness below. It felt like ages ago that he'd followed Master Rikyu down this hallway and into the training facility, but in reality it hadn't been that long at all. In the short time he had grown enough to complete his Dark Dragon Takeover and stand up to Emperor Spriggan. Riku clenched his jaw at the thought of the Emperor. There was a guy who really made Riku nervous. It wasn't just that he vanished without a trace after their battle, nor that he refused to explain how he'd come to posses both of Erza's letters. What really bothered Riku is that he had been completely unharmed during their battle, even after his strongest attack.

"And that magic he used," Riku muttered to himself. "It was like it wasn't magic at all."

"Riku?"

Riku paused at the base of the steps, turning to Gabriel's timid voice. The cat's eyes were wide and even in the dim light of th epassageway, Riku could see they were wet with tears.

"You're going to come back, right," Gabriel asked, fidgeting with his paws.

Riku scratched Gabriel's head confidently as he replied, "of course I'll be back, I'm not done training yet! Think of this as just a quick vacation. When I get back, you'll have to make me a huge welcome back dinner!"

"You promise?"

"I promise.

"Okay," Gabriel nodded, running his arm across his eyes to dry them. "You'll have to keep your promise because that's what friend do!"

Riku was momentarily surprised by the title, but he liked it. His own smile broke across his face, almost as wide as Gabriel's. "That's what friends do," Riku agreed.

Gabriel didn't move. Instead he watched from the passageway as Rikue turned and began his climb to the world outside.

...

Master Rikyu was waiting for him in the tea shop, a serious look set on his face. He motioned for Riku to sit next to the kettle he had arranged. Riku hesitated, glancing to the pillows on the floor, then to Master Rikyu, and finally to the door. Master Rikyu gestured again, more firmly this time, and Riku took a seat. He made sure to keep his pack on his back.

"I've arranged a faster way for you to return to Magnolia," Master Rikyu said, pouring Riku tea. Riku accepted it, smelling a lavender scent. He'd never had this tea before. He glanced at Master Rikyu, who gestured for him to drink without question. Master Rikyu continued, "Phyllis will take you back in half the time it took for you to arrive here. She knows the way and has been instructed to wait for you where ever you leave her. Should you need her assistance from a distance, a simple whistle will do. She will arrive to retrieve you. And if you should find that you need her to return without you, for whatever reason, simply tell her and she shall do so."

"That's very nice of her," Riku said. "And of you. Thank you, Master Rikyu."

Riku moved to put down his cup, but Master Rikyu shook his head sharply. "Finish the tea, there is more," he instructed. He continued as Riku replaced the cup to his lips. "There is still much you have to learn about your powers and ability. I do not know if you are ready to face Acnologia, let alone defeat him. But, I know what the Emperor has shared with you and I know you will return to your family no matter what warnings I give."

Riku finished his tea and placed the cup down as Master Rikyu held up his fingers, counting his warnings as he spoke. "First, you will perhaps be in areas with your family and friends, do not forget what you have learned in your fight. If you try to control yourself instead of accepting your power, you will destroy the very thing you hope to protect." Master Rikyu seemed to be glowing as he spoke and Riku could feel the magical energy rising around his person. "Second, stay calm in the face of the destruction you may see. If there is enough chaos to attract Acnologia, then there is more than you have seen before." The energy seemed to be expanding, almost pushing into Riku. Riku couldn't help but feel a small thrill of terror deep in his gut at the magnitude of the magical energy coming off of Master Rikyu. This didn't feel like the usual tea magic. This was something different, something he'd never seen or felt before. "Third and finally, take this and eat it." Master Rikyu's energy froze before suddenly condensing in a rush in his palm, where it formed a disc the size of Riku's head. It sat spinning on Master Rikyu open palm, which was held out to Riku.

Riku found that the disc of magic was surprisingly sold as he grasped it. Master Rikyu watched him expectantly. Carefully, Riku brought the disc to his face and he took a small nibble. It was delicious! Like some kind of deep dark chocolate taste: more bitter than he'd ever had, yet still with a sweetness and spice Riku couldn't place. He'd never had magic so tasty. He hurriedly consumed the rest.

"That will only last you a few attacks," Master Rikyu warned. "So use it wisely."

"That was your magic," Riku said, grateful for any extra help he might have and honored by the gift.

"Yes," Master Rikyu agreed. "Alchemy magic. Now come. Phyllis is waiting."

Riku jumped up, following close behind Master Rikyu as they left the tea house. Once outside, Riku scanned for a woman who might be some sort of mountaineering expert to get him over this terrain in such a short time. Instead, he found Master Rikyu gesturing to a monstrous brown eagle, twice the size of a train compartment.

"Phyllis," Master Rikyu said motioning to the bird, whose dark eyes looked at Master Rikyu. Master Rikyu moved his hand to Riku. "Riku."

Riku looked from the bird to Master Rikyu. This had to be a joke, right? As if in answer, Phyllis let out a screech to the sky, spreading her wings out to show their full extent.

"She's ready when you are," Master Rikyu observed, giving Riku a stern look, but Riku could see the laughter twinkling in his eyes as Riku mounted the bird awkwardly.

...

Riku was surprised to find that riding a giant eagle caused him no motion sickness and even allowed him to sleep peacefully as it flew. By the start of the next day, he had decided that this might be the only way worth traveling. Who needed a boat or a train or a carriage when Phyllis could swoop you through the clouds in half the time! Not to mention you could feel the fresh air whip past your face and watch the clouds go passed. It was ultimately the most relaxed he'd ever been on a journey. That is until a strange rumbling caught his ears.

"Phyllis, what's that sound," he called over the wind's roar. He saw her dark eyes turn up to him, even as her beak and head continued to face forward. "Can we go beneath the clouds?"

Phyllis complied, breaking through an especially fluffy white cloud and approaching the ground at neck-breaking speed. Just when she was a few miles away, she gracefully tipped her wings, catching a gust to have them soaring straight once again.

"No need to try and kill me," Riku said. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest from the descent. They were just outside the village on the edge of Fiore and Seven, but something felt different. There was a strange energy in the air. Below them was a canyon and inside was...

Riku narrowed his eyes to see.

"Phyllis, without giving me another heart attack, can you land us down there," Riku asked. "I just need to see- what in the world..."

Phyllis let out a call and pulled up, refusing to approach any closer than they were. Yet they were close enough for Riku to feel energy vibrating in the air around them and in the center of this energy was a tall gray stone tower. At it's peak was a stern face staring up at them. Riku followed the lines of the face, feeling an unnerving feeling of dread moving about in his chest. He looked across the land before them and felt the feeling grow. Across the landscape before him, Riku could see identical structures growing from the ground like stone weeds.

Phyllis beat her wings to pull them above the clouds once again. Riku watched the details of the face-tower shrink until they were out of sight, another cloud rushing between Phyllis and the view below. Even with the towers out of sight, Riku was left with the uncomfortable feeling in his chest. He watched the sky above him, touching the pocket where Erza's letters were, muttering to himself.

"Erza... Master... Fairy Tail... What are you getting yourself into?"

...

Riku was jolted awake as Phyllis landed abruptly throwing Riku to the grassy floor. He must have fallen asleep at some point, he considered as he pushed himself to a sitting position and glanced up at the bird. Phyllis seemed unperturbed by Riku's new position. She took the time to groom her feathers. Riku could take a hint.

Pushing himself up he found himself at the top of a small hill just outside Magnolia, looking down into the city as the sky slowly began to turn orange with dusk, but Riku didn't have time to recognize the beauty of the sky above. Instead he found his mouth hanging open at the cube-like beast floating above the city. The outside of the beast was covered in almost decorative patterns and scaly protrusions. On the lower half of the Cube, were protrusions of long, plated tentacles and dark spines, which hung down like legs. On the top of cube were protuberances that looked like the fins of a fish, and flare out on either side of the island almost like hair. In addition, crag-like formations rose from the top of Cube, creating large cliffs that jutted from the top of the structure. Most notably, a section of the lower face of Cube had broken away completely, opening up one of the side faces to resemble a humongous mouth with over-large teeth and fangs. As an entirety, the building resembled a huge demonic creature.

"That's a Plutogrim," breathed Riku. He glanced back at Phyllis, who turned away slightly, throwing Riku a sideways look. "I see, you won't go near it, huh? Fine, I'll find my own way there, but if I need you I'll whistle."

With that he rushed into the city, trying to keep the Plutogrim in his eyeline as he ran. He was sure someone at the guild would have some ideas of how to get up there. Riku's progress was slowed by the flood of Magnolia residents rushing the opposite directions, jostling him this way and that. Just as he was about a mile from the guild, the Plutogrim opened its mouth and roared.

The sound was painfully loud, even more so for Riku's sensitive ears. He hadn't realized he'd dropped to his knees or closed his eyes until he found himself on the floor. His ears were ringing terribly when he opened his eyes. Just a block away was a disaster scene. The building and cathedral were shattered and some of the houses looked as if they had barely withstood a tornado. The mass of people who had been rushing away had scurried off just in time (he hoped). The streets in front of Riku were empty now.

Riku could barely hear anything from the ringing, but he could see people trapped in the building in front of him. He drew his sword and used it to create an entrance. Inside a woman was sobbing and pointing frantically to another collapsing wall. She was saying something, but Riku couldn't hear her over the ringing. Maybe someone was in the next room? He hoisted the woman out of the building unceremoniously and hurried into the next room.

There was a figure crouched in the room, a man a few years older than Riku. Riku moved closer, pushing some supporting beams out of the way, but careful not to bring the structure down on them. He could tell something was wrong before he got tho the man. The scent of death was there already. Riku turned to go, but something else caught his nose. There was something really smelly near this man, and not dead smelly either.

Riku went to investigate, pulling the man's body over his shoulder to find that he'd been shielding a crying baby. Riku swooped it up in his arms before rushing from the house. He handed the woman her child and laid the man out carefully. The ringing was still there, but quieter now. He could hear muffled sounds. Above him, he could see the Plutogrim opening its mouth sluggishly to roar again.

"You have to go," Riku yelled over the ringing. "GO!" He must have been louder than he thought because the woman's face paled in fright and she rushed away, the baby held close to her chest.

Riku moved to follow, but saw another building with someone trapped inside, and then another. Distantly he could hear their calls for help as he rushed towards the next building, pulling off the door. This house had two young boys. They rushed out after Riku created an exit. Riku sniffed the air, but it seemed like an empty house.

BOOM!

Riku leaped out of the house at the sound, just in time to see a rainbow shoot through the Plutogrim, creating a hole right through it. The Plutogrim was falling from the sky. Riku was tempted to watch, but he remembered the other collapsing house and turned to enter, except, it was gone.

"Damn it, I was too late," Riku snapped, looking around.

"We got them out."

Riku turned to the familiar voice to see Sting and Rogue of Sabertooth, both watching the Plutogrim fall from the sky towards a hilly area just south of Magnolia.

"What are you doing here," Riku asked surprised.

"We got a letter about Minerva," Sting said, crossing his arms and looking at Riku seriously. "We did some research and were on our way to Fairy Tail to check in with Erza, but..." he motioned to the disaster around them. "We got distracted."

"That was Tartaros' headquarters," Rogue observed. "All of our leads point to our lady being on that creature."

"I'm headed to the guild now, if you want to see if anyone can confirm it," Riku said, turning to run the last mile to the guild. He could hear the other dragon slayers following behind.

"What is that," Sting gasped as a column of light shot into the sky, pushing away the dusk clouds above them.

"Celestial magic," offered Rogue. "Lucy did use that one attack against Flare, didn't she? With planets and stars?"

"This looks different though," Sting observed.

But Riku wasn't listening. As they rounded the final block, they found themselves facing the plot of land where Fairy Tail Guild should have been standing. In it's place was rubble. Sting let out a low whistle.

"That just confirms that they're fighting," Sting said, dropping a comforting hand on Riku's shoulder.

"Sting, we should go," Rogue said. Sting nodded.

"If you plan on fighting you can come with us," Sting offered. "We're happy to call a Fairy Tail mage a comrade. A friend of Natsu is a friend of ours."

"Go ahead," Riku muttered staring dazed at the rubble before him. "I'll find my way."

He stared at the rubble, his mind racing. He knew that once the Magic Council was attacked that his guild would do everything they could to protect those in need and stand against the attackers, but, he'd never expected this. Had anyone been inside when it had been attacked? He sniffed the air. The attack had to have been several hours ago, he couldn't pick up a single scent. He kicked a stone, sending it hopping over the pile and out of sight.

"I thought he said Tartaros was a library guild," he growled. He could feel a bubbling of rage in his stomach, a familiar buzz of energy creeping its way to his chest. The shadows below his feet were growing slightly as the first star appeared in the sky. "I'll kill them," he growled. He needed to go now. He took two finger into his mouth and whistled as loud as he could.

Phyllis arrived moments later, landing next to him and shuffling closer. Riku climbed on, before saying, "We need to go where the trouble is, you know where that is?"

In confirmation, Phyllis beat her wings and they were in the air, flying south of magnolia almost as quickly as the night's darkness was flying across the sky. Riku closed his eyes, trying to center his rage. He needed to stay calm, not to control himself this time, but to conserve power.

Phyllis stopped suddenly, landing on a cliff above the wrecked Plutogrim. Riku took a deep breath, eyes still closed as he searched for traces of his guild-mates. He could sense flashes of power as people fought or used their powers. There was Laxus' magic, and he could sense Gray's as well. He inhaled deeply again, continuing his search. There was Sting & Rogue with a strong energy Riku didn't know. He found Erza, she was somewhere in this mess, which relieved Riku (though he hadn't been conscious of his concern). And another power, so distant it was almost unnoticeable, but getting closer little by little. He knew this power, it felt so familiar but different.

Riku's eyes flew open as he placed the energy. He dropped his pack on the ground next to Phyllis, who was watching the sky ahead of her, equally determined. Riku stared into the dark night sky, scanning, scanning for what he knew was there but couldn't see or hear yet. But Riku knew he would, any moment now. They would all see and hear him soon.

Emperor Spriggan was right: Acnologia would come. He was on his way now.

Well, this turned into a longer chapter than I realized it would. Who knew there would be so many issues to get Riku back to Magnolia?! Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading & don't forget to review!