Chapter 34: Emperor Spriggan/Zeref's Plan
Phyllis landed delicately in the lush green courtyard and Riku slid off to stretch. It had taken him a longer time to get to the western continent than expected. Under Master Rikyu's instructions, he had used the two months after Natsu's departure to prepare for the trip. Then it had taken Phyllis almost a month to arrive here, needing breaks among the uninhabited smaller islands between the two continents. Finally he'd made it to the continent and to the kingdom of Alvarez.
Riku looked around as he let out a low whistle. The capital spread out beneath him, as far as his eyes could see. It had to be twice, maybe three times, the size of Crocus and all of this was the domain of one kingdom?
"Impressive, no?"
Riku turned to see a bespectacled man with most of his long, blue hair bunched up into a ponytail on his shoulder which was held in place by a golden brace. Uneven bangs fell down the sides of his face and between his eyes, which had red irises. He was dressed in trim and spotless attire made up of a simple pair of dark dress pants and a white collared dress shirt, completely buttoned up with a blue tie hanging from the neck. To top all of this was a trench coat that matched his tie, which was tucked neatly into the coat.
"Invel," The man said holding out his hand to Riku. "Chief of staff, consul, and one of the twelve shields of the Emperor."
"That's a hefty amount of titles," Riku said as he took the outstretched hand, noticing that the belt wrapped around Invel's trench-coat was covered in diamonds. "You must be really impressive."
"You have met the Emperor," Invel said, unmoved by the compliment. "So you know he is quite impressive himself."
"True," Riku agreed, letting his hand drop. He looked around the courtyard. "Is the Emperor here," Riku asked. "He told me not to respond to the letter, but I'm not sure-"
"We've been expecting you," Invel interrupted. "The Emperor has been out for some time, but word has it that he is on his way back now and should arrive any moment. I've been instructed to show you to your room and treat you as a guest until his return. If you'll follow me," Invel motioned to the pathway leading from the courtyard into the castle.
Riku patted Phyllis before following Invel into the castle entryway. Riku inhaled sharply at the decorated entryway which was centered around a massive marble stairway.
"We're currently in Vistarion, one of the major cities located in the Empire," Invel explained in a bored tone as they moved up the staircase. "As you saw from your view, it houses a significant population and boasts stability and order, thanks to Emperor Spriggan's, consistent care over the years. The capital city consists of many tall, skyscraper-like castles, though not actually castles in reality. This is the only true castle, located in the center of the capital. It boasts ten towers and over fourteen distinct sections. You landed in the courtyard section of the palace garden, filled with numerous plants in a floral scenery. I would show you the inside portion, but currently another guest is being entertained there and I wouldn't want to bother them."
They reached the platform at the top of the stairs before moving up another set of stone steps to the right as Invel continued. "To the left are a number of bathrooms, libraries, and the living quarters of the rest of the Spriggan 12, though most only stay there when they are called for duty. Most of the time they can be found in their local regions or areas of control across the kingdom. You may get a chance to meet some if you end up extending your stay once the Emperor returns."
They reached a large door decorated in golden designs and Invel pushed it open, allowing Riku to enter first. The room was royally fitted with luxurious carpet and a large bed covered in silken sheets. Matching silken curtains covered the floor to ceiling windows allowing soft light to enter the room. Riku walked around the room mesmerized before returning to where Invel stood, as stoic as ever.
"This will be your room while you are here," Invel said, motioning to specific aspects of the room. "It includes a restroom with a bath and shower, as well as a small library and of course, a bed with the finest sheets available. If there isn't anything else you need, then I must go," he said. Invel paused for Riku to shake his head before bowing his head slightly. "Feel free to clean up after your long journey and when the Emperor has returned and is ready to see you I will send someone to get you."
With that, Riku was left in the room alone to marvel at the luxuries in this new capital and continent. Riku started by taking a nap on the bed which felt like it molded perfectly to his every muscle. Then, he moved into the bathroom, running a bath and thoroughly soaking the bird smell from himself. When he exited the bathroom he found a tray with tea waiting on his bedside table. He picked it up carefully, noticing a clock on the table showed it was barely passed noon. He walked to the windows, pulling the blinds back to see below. He seemed to be just over the courtyard he had landed in. when he moved to the farthest window he noticed that it was actually a glass door that opened onto a balcony. Riku opened it and let out a content sigh as the breeze entered the room. The breeze brought in a refreshing coolness and the smell of the garden below. Riku sneezed as something familiar tickled his nose. He sniffed the air again, sifting through the smells and trying to find the familiar scent.
Riku dropped his cup as he hurried out onto the balcony, his eyes and hears confirming what he already knew. Below in the courtyard were two figures: both facing away from Riku. Emperor Spriggan was looking out across the capitol below, still dressed in the same tunic he had worn when he had visited Master RIkyu. The other figure was watching the Emperor, his hands behind his back and bald head shining under the afternoon sun. Though he was dressed differently and Riku couldn't see the old man's face, Riku knew who it was: Master Makarov.
Emperor Spriggan turned to face Master Makarov, his eyes flitting from the old man before him up to Riku on the balcony. A slight smile appeared on the Emperor's face as he moved his eyes again to Master as he spoke. Riku strained his ears to hear their conversation, heart pounding as an uncomfortable feeling began to tingle the hairs on the back of his neck.
"All to get Lumen Histoire," Master asked.
"There is no need for secrecy," Emperor Spriggan said. "I know it's real name: Fairy Heart."
"Now it all makes sense, your empire is after Fairy Heart because of who you are, Zeref."
"Yes, but I only recently decided on this course. The empire was originally suppose to be my weapon against Acnologia," said Emperor Spriggan, his eyes again flitting to Riku, who was frozen in shock. "As well as the Spriggan 12 and a few other tools I felt would be essential to successfully destroying him." He moved his eyes back to Master. "I never intended to invade Ishgar a decade ago, it wasn't yet time."
"So you weren't stopped because of the council's weapons?"
"That was an additional concern," agreed Emperor Spriggan. "But I feel certain that the Alvarez of today can handle both Ishgar and Acnologia."
Riku's mind was moving a mile of a minute, his hands gripping the balcony's ledge so hard that his knuckles were white. Is this where Master had been since Fairy Tail disbanded a year ago? Was our disbanding related to this? I'm a part of this plan to defeat Acnologia? But... what about Ishgar then? Is Alvarez planning to attack Ishgar? Riku's mind flashed with the mirage images of his fallen friends and family, they're bodies bloodied and bruised. In the mirage, it had been Acnologia who had killed them, but now Emperor Spriggan posed a more immediate threat. Riku was brought back to the present as Master yelled out.
"I won't let you have our first master!"
Emperor Spriggan held out his hand and a dark orb encircled the Master, who looked suddenly in pain. Riku let out a loud cry of surprise, throwing himself over the balcony's rails. He fell two stories to the courtyard below before he landed with a painful thud, rolling to break his fall. He leaped up again and charged towards the master. As he approached he felt the same death energy from the orb that Riku had felt before in his fight. He picked up his pace, seeing the ground under master begin the fracture and crack with the force of the energy within the orb.
"You hideous demon," Master called through clenched teeth.
"Close," Emperor Spriggan replied "Spriggan actually means hideous fairy."
Riku lunged forward just as a flash appeared and disappeared. The orb shrank to nothing as Riku tumbled forward, eyes moving up to the figure who was momentarily frozen in the air. Mest stared at Emperor Spriggan, his arms wrapped around Master, before they teleported away.
Riku leaped up, dark energy rushing to his fists as his body covered itself in dark scales. He was breathing heavily, but his mind was clear. He was going to destroy this Emperor before any war began. Emperor Spriggan watched him transform,a soft smile on his face.
"I had hoped we could meet and discuss the Dragon Festival plans without such ugliness," Emperor Spriggan said. "But I hadn't expected Makarov to come here and interrupt my plans."
Riku charged at the spot Emperor Spriggan stood, but in a flash he was gone. Riku turned to see that Emperor Spriggan now stood where Makarov had been.
"I can't fight you and risk destroying such a valuable asset," Emperor Spriggan explained. "To destroy a walking energy bomb, especially one connected to the very source of magic we hope to destroy, would be a foolish strategy indeed. No one will stop you from going to help them, but once we invade, I can't be held responsible for your death through collateral damage." In a flash, Riku felt himself pushed against the edge of the railing, Emperor Spriggan's face suddenly just a few inches away from his own. "Riku, are you willing to throw it all away for your guild? Possibly ruin the chance of victory against Acnologia? Will you lay down your very life and survival?"
Riku threw a punch at Emperor Spriggan's face, making contact as hard as he could muster given his uneven footing.
"If you're so sure then you'll want to leave soon," Emperor Spriggan said, completely unaffected by the punch as his smile grew across his face. "Even now one of my shields is headed to intercept your master and his eight companions."
With that Emperor Spriggan gave him a forceful push and Riku felt himself fall over the rail entirely, turning once in the air. Riku let out a loud whistle as he fell. In an instant Phyllis caught him, bring him up to the courtyard level to find it empty. Emperor Spriggan, or Zeref, was gone. Riku let out a string of cuss words before turning the bird to try and find where his friends and master had gone.
Riku's heart was pounding as they flew. He scanned below looking for any sort of clue as to where they could be, but he couldn't find any. Mest, Master, and whoever else had come were too far away to smell or hear or see. If he remembered correctly (and he had no idea why the memory was so fuzzy), Mest could only perform so many teleportation within a certain distance. Riku let out an annoyed sound. That didn't limit his options.
"If their purpose was to rescue Master," Riku reasoned aloud, "Then they'd need to head towards the coast to escape."
Phyllis turned slightly, facing the broad expanse of land between the coast and their current position. She flapped her wings, pausing in the air and waiting for the next instructions.
"I don't know," Riku said through clenched teeth. "I don't know where they'd be." He closed his eyes. Think Riku, think. What sort of signs could I look for? Explosions? If it is a covert operation they won't have any. Magic signature? But if Mest was too tired it would be too faint. What do people use to find things when they have normal senses?
The answer Riku was seeking appeared as he opened his eyes again. Despite his distance, he could see a huge monster towering above the trees, moving rapidly as it reached forward towards some unknown thing below the treeline. Riku blinked bewildered for a moment. It couldn't be this easy, could it?
"Phyllis," Riku began, but he didn't need to finish. She headed towards the monster and the massive magic coming from it. Riku watched it determinedly, even as it was suddenly encased in ice.
"Gray is there," Riku observed. A shard broke off as a small figure leaped from inside the ice. The figure was still too far away to see, but they obviously attacked with their magic because in response celestial light shot from below the treeline. "And Lucy," Riku noted. He was close enough now to feel the a familiar heat shooting up towards him, sending Phyllis slightly off balance. "And Natsu," Riku added. "That makes four, plus Happy is five."
Finally, Riku was close enough to see. They were in a clearing and Master Makarov had grown to giant stature. Riku could hear calls and protests from inside his fists, thought he voices were jumbled and muffled. Master was facing a tanned, relatively muscular young man with large, thick, brown hair that juts out wildly in every direction. He wore a thin light gold cloth tied around his neck and upper torso, leaving his bare chest and abdomen exposed, as well as large, baggy, brown-colored trousers. Riku could see the symbol of the Alvarez Empire below his right shoulder.
"Get closer," Riku commanded, but Phyllis paused at the sound of a deep rumbling. Riku turned to see a tidal wave of sand, taller than master's giant form headed their way. "Phyllis, we have to go closer," Riku urged, but the bird refused, moving to rise away from the sand. Riku clenched his first. There was no helping it. Riku took careful aim and leaped from the bird, falling through the sky.
"This is the end of you, maggots," shouted the opponent. He looked up to the sky and for a moment, his eyes opened wide in surprise before Riku landed directly on top of him. In a flash, Riku pulled out the winged sword, pushing alchemy dark energy magic into his hands and through the blade. With a quick slice, the wave just in front of himself and Master turned into glass, still frozen in the form of a wave just about to break on the shore. Riku raised his sword again and a lightning bold rained down from above, dissipating the rest of the tidal wave.
"Riku," Master cried in surprise.
"You," snarled the man leaping up and readying his stance.
"Mavis, I wish," Riku replied. He looked up and Master followed suit. Above them was a floating ship, seemingly held in the air by a number of dark sails. The hull's broadside was covered by a very large, dark stripe, bearing the writing Blue Pegasus in light characters. The ship's head was a highly elaborated figurehead shaped like a rampant Pegasus. Standing on the very edge of the ship was Laxus, looking smugly down. He nodded at Riku, who nodded back, mumbling darkly about people stealing his thunder.
"Mest," Cana's voice called. "Teleport everyone onto the ship!"
"Got it," called Mest and in a flash Master and the eight figures in his arms disappeared, leaving Riku and the strange opponent.
"Not so fast," called the man, moving his arms and making sand rise up as if to attack the ship. Riku rushed forward, turning each into glass before landing a hard roundhouse kick encased in dark energy across the man's face.
"Have it your way," the man said, shaking his head once to clear the blow before standing up and readying himself. "I'll kill you and then your floating friends."
Riku covered himself in scales, his hands growing into claws and wings sprouting from his back as he transformed into his dark dragon takeover. Power was pumping through his veins as he raised himself slightly in the air, every sense heightened and focused on the task before him. Riku could smell the magic coming off of his opponent and it was strong, but not strong enough to deter Riku. "I'd like to see you try," Riku growled as he lunged.
"Get him, Erza," Cana demanded. Riku was just an inch away from his opponent when he felt a cord wrap around his ankles, binding them together. Riku was pulled back with a jolt.
"Wait, I'm not done," Riku demanded. He sent a ball of dark energy at the opponent. The opponent blocked it easily, though he had a very confused expression, as Riku was pulled away up towards the ship above.
"We're going home. We don't want to be late for dinner," Laxus called. He sent a powerful electric blast passed Riku straight towards the opponent. The explosion created a huge ball of electricity, and Riku shielded his eyes. The rest of his body still being hoisted up even as the ship began moving above the clouds.
Phyllis arrived next to him, watching him curiously. Riku sighed as he felt his foot hit the side of the hull.
"Just go back, Phyllis," Riku instructed. "I'll be fine." She turned and flew away into the clouds as Riku crossed his arms annoyed at his means of arrival. "This is so undignified."
"Erza, went fishing and caught herself a big one," Cana laughed, taking his hand on one side while Gajeel grabbed the other, helping him onto the ship's deck. Erza focused determinedly on untying the cord around his ankles, ears as red as her hair.
"We couldn't just leave you there," agreed Freed. "You belong with Fairy Tail."
"Besides, he was too strong for just one person right now," Gray agreed.
Deciding the knot was too much, Erza pulled out a familiar dagger, its rubies glinting in the light. In a swift movement she cut through the rope.
"Nice dagger," Riku said with a smirk, rolling his ankles carefully to stretch them out.
"It was a special gift, I always-," Erza began, her blush from Cana's comment returning.
"Riku," Natsu said cutting Erza off as he bounced over. He put both hands on Riku's cheeks and brought his own face uncomfortably close to Riku's before whispering dramatically, "Do you realize what's happening right now?" He didn't wait for an answer before throwing his hands up. "We're on transportation and none of us are sick!"
"What a mood killer," Laxus said rolling his eyes.
Natsu turned to him, his confused look turning to one of determination as he called, "Laxus, fight me!"
"You can't fight here," Lucy scolded as Laxus rolled his eyes. "You'll bring the whole ship down."
"Fine," Natsu said, pouting slightly as he plopped down next to Riku's feet. "But when we get back to Magnolia, I'll beat all of you!"
"Who'll you beat, flame brain," demanded Gray, clenching his fist.
Riku rolled his eyes, though he couldn't help the slight smile pulling across his face. They were obnoxious, loud, destructive, and ruined ever special moment you could hope for, but Master was right when he cried out happily,
"Fairy Tail is the finest family I could ask for!"
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