The long night was finally over. It was morning again. In stark contrast to the previous day, it was now sunny with a clear blue sky. Which only served to highlight the destruction that had occurred the day before. The area around the Fairy Tail guild had been damaged from magical attacks, among other things. The guild itself was in decent shape, but had a few noticeable holes in its walls from where the monsters invaded. This drew the attention of random citizens who would stop and stare. Because of the late hour and the rain, most people had been inside their homes when all of this was happening, and were unaware of what had gone on.
Inside the guild, various members of Fairy Tail were gathered. Despite the sun, it was getting cold, so most were dressed in long sleeves and jackets. Not everyone was there, but most of the people from the night before were. Evergreen and Bickslow were there too. They had both left before the fighting started and didn't find out about it until after the fact. Makarov was there, and several other mages were gathered around him in a loose circle. This included the four that had gone to fight the Oracion Seis. But it also included two extra: Wendy Marvell, and her companion Carla. They were both standing there looking somewhat uncomfortable. Makarov addressed them.
"Wendy, Carla, welcome to Fairy Tail. I only wish it were under better circumstances." He said. He was referring to the state of the guild, and the fact that several members had died the night before. But there was another element that cast a pall over things. Makarov didn't know all the details, but Gray, Lucy, and the others who were with Wendy knew. Lucy, Gray and Juvia were standing near each other, and exchanged glances. None of them said anything since the master was talking, but they each contemplated the situation in their own way. Lucy looked at Wendy and remembered what had happened.
After the fighting was over and everything had been sorted out, they all made it back to Wendy's village. They met Wendy's master and the other members of Cait Shelter there. They were all pretty friendly. Wendy seemed happy to be back. Brain's plan had been thwarted. They also now knew where Nirvana was, and the magic council was in the process of figuring out how to destroy it. But first they would need to break through the barrier around, it, which they said should take a couple days. It looked like everything had been resolved.
But then the other shoe fell. The master of Cait Shelter revealed that it was not a real magic guild. The master himself was a ghost who had stayed there until Nirvana could be neutralized. And the other guild members were just illusions who had been created for Wendy's sake. She had been abandoned here years earlier, and needed friends, so the master created friends for her. But now they had to go. Wendy was terribly upset over this, finding out that none of friends were real, and now they were all disappearing forever. Wendy's master tried to console her by saying that she had real friends now, and a real guild to join, just before he too disappeared. But in that moment, this provided little comfort for her. She fell to her knees and cried her heart out in front of everyone. As far as she was concerned, she had just lost everyone she was close to. Even her guild mark disappeared.
As Wendy cried, everyone else just stood there, watching her. Nobody said anything. Nobody knew what to say. How could anything comfort her in that moment? And yet, Lucy couldn't help but think of Erza Scarlet. Somehow, Lucy felt that if Erza had been there then she would have known what to say. She would have been able to comfort Wendy in a way that no one else could. Lucy wasn't sure why she believed that so strongly. But Erza wasn't there. So Wendy continued to cry until she was exhausted. Then, she just sat down and stared blankly for a time. Finally, Lucy and Gray awkwardly walked over to her and told her that she was welcome to join Fairy Tail if she wanted. Carla encouraged this. Wendy looked up at them and nodded weakly. She gave a faint smile and said, "thank you", but it sounded half-hearted. Lucy tried to come up with something reassuring to say, but still couldn't find any words. So instead she just put a hand on Wendy's shoulder as a comforting gesture.
After that, the teams comprising the coalition went their separate ways. Team Fairy Tail, now including Wendy and Carla, took a train back home. Most of the team slept on the train on the way back. But Wendy spent much of the ride sitting there, looking sullen. By the time they got off the train and entered the city, Wendy didn't look as bad, perhaps because she was distracted by the new sights and sounds around her. But when they got back to the guild hall and saw the state it was in, she seemed distressed. The rest of the group shared in this feeling.
Reflecting on all this, Lucy sighed. She then noticed Makarov was talking, and she hadn't heard what he'd been saying. "And now we need to talk about the tragic losses from yesterday. Nab Lasaro, Joey Fullborn, and Mickey Chickentiger. Members of our Fairy Tail family, tragically killed in battle. A funeral will be held for them later this week." Makarov continued speaking. Lucy felt sad that there was even more death and tragedy. It hadn't even been that long since Erza and Freed. She hadn't known Nab that well, and she was barely even aware of Joey and Mickey, if she was being honest. They were still a part of Fairy Tail though, and now they were dead. She couldn't help but feel sad about that. Gray had his own feelings on the situation. Instead of feeling sad, he felt angry. He felt anger at the ones who attacked Fairy Tail. And also anger at himself for not being there to help. He knew that he had no way of knowing what would happen. But he couldn't help feeling that if he had been there then he could have made a difference. Maybe things wouldn't be as bad as they are now.
Makarov finished talking about the upcoming funeral, and turned to Wendy again. "Wendy, you probably want to get situated right now. You just got here, you don't need to hear all of this." Wendy looked at him. "Its fine. I don't mind." She said awkwardly. Bisca walked over towards her. "I can show her around. Find a place for her to stay." Makarov nodded at this. Bisca escorted Wendy to another part of the guild while the meeting continued. "That poor girl." Juvia commented.
"With everything that she's been through, I figured it would be good to give her time to rest and readjust before overwhelming her with the current crisis." Makarov explained. No one objected to this. The master gathered his thoughts, and then said, "Now, we need to talk about the biggest issue. These people that attacked our guild yesterday. They need to be dealt with."
"We don't even know who they are." Cana said.
"No, but we can find out. People like that shouldn't be too hard to find. I'll contact the magic council and see if I can get any information from them." Makarov said. "There's gotta be something we can do in the meantime." Gray said.
"I think it would be a good idea to look for information on dark guilds throughout the kingdom." Makarov said. He looked over to Levy, standing behind the circle. "Yeah, I can do that. But are you sure we should limit the search to Fiore?" she said.
"What do you mean?" Makarov said.
"Well, Seraiisa, the little girl, said that she and her family were from Bosco." Levy said.
"That's assuming she was telling the truth." Gray said.
"Can't trust anything she said." Elfman added.
Makarov considered all of this. "You can look for dark guilds in Bosco too, just in case." At that moment Lucy stepped forward. "I can help you look, Levy. We can use the speed reader glasses. We should be able to find something." Levy smiled at this. "Thanks Lucy. But you know, even with speed reader glasses this might take a while."
"I know." Lucy said.
"Well then, you two can look into that." Makarov stated. "But first, there's one last thing we need to talk about: Mystogan. Or maybe I should say, Jellal."
"Didn't Mirajane say that he's not Jellal though?" Cana said. They turned to look at Mirajane, sitting at the end of a table nearby. She hadn't said much during the meeting, and appeared distracted. She noticed everyone looking at her. "Oh, Mystogan? Well, he didn't exactly say he wasn't Jellal in so many words, but I don't think he's the same guy."
"But you don't know that for sure…?" Gray said. Mirajane looked uncertain. "Well, no. I didn't get a chance to question him with everything that was going on." Mirajane said.
"We will question him. He's recovering from his injuries right now. Apparently, they were worse than they looked at the time. Maybe Wendy can help him later after her magic has finished recovering. We don't just need to ask him about his identity though. We also need to ask him about the attackers. He said that he had been following Seraiisa, and had information about them. Maybe there are other things he can tell us about them." Makarov finished speaking, and sighed. "Now, I need to get ready to leave for the magic council. I think its best if I talk to them in person."
"Be careful, Master." Mirajane said. Makarov nodded. "I will. And you all be careful too." Makarov paused a moment, and looked down at the floor. "You know, with everything that's happened, its made me think. How life is short, and fragile, and can end without warning. You can't take anything for granted. If there's something you want to do, or need to do, then do it now. Because you never know what might happen tomorrow." As Makarov finished talking, the rest of the gathered mages reflected on his words. Some of them appeared more affected by what he said than others. Makarov looked up, and noticed the maudlin atmosphere.
"Hey uh, look. I was just thinking out loud. I don't want you all to get hung up on what I said. You're all still young, and I'm sure you all have long lives ahead of you. I just want you to stay safe is all." Makarov said. He then got up and wished them good luck as he went to prepare for his trip to the magic council. After he left, many of the group stood there a minute, still thinking about his words. He had tried to reassure them, but its obvious that at least some of them took what he said to heart.
As the group dispersed, Elfman walked over towards his sister and sat down across from her. She still appeared distracted, and he also noticed that she looked a little sad. "Hey." He said. Mirajane looked up at him. "Hey." She replied. Elfman felt awkward. He was unsure what to say. "Sooo… how are you doing? I mean, are you okay?" he said.
"I'm alright, I guess." She said. Her tone conflicted with her words. Elfman spoke up. "Look, I know last night was hard. But we'll get through this. And we'll make them pay." Mirajane smiled faintly at his words. "Yeah. But… I am getting tired of losing friends and guild mates. And then there's her…" she trailed off. She looked down at the table, twirling her finger in the whorls of the wood. Elfman rubbed his chin, choosing his next words.
"You know Mira, I've gotta be honest. I don't know why you got so attached to that girl. You didn't even know her that well."
"Maybe I didn't know her at all." Mirajane replied.
"Well, yeah. She was plotting all this behind our backs. Honestly, I thought she was kind of creepy to start with. I don't get what you saw in her." He said. Mirajane thought for a minute. Now it was her turn to consider her words. "I know she was strange. But I also thought she was charming, and clever. I enjoyed her company. Besides…" Mirajane hesitated, looking uncertain if she wanted to finish the thought. "Besides, she kind of felt like… like a little sister." As soon as she said it, a silence came up between them. "Oh." Was all Elfman could say. The two of them just sat there. Elfman didn't know what to say. He was never good at emotional talks. But this particular subject was something he never liked to think about. As they sat there, he could see tears in her eyes. He felt he had to say something. "Mira, I…" he began. But Mirajane cut him off.
"Its fine, Elfman. I'll be alright. I should go ask the master if he needs help with anything." She got up from the table and started walking off. "Mira, wait." Elfman said. But she kept walking. He put his hand to his face and sighed.
Elsewhere, there was a gray stone building situated within a field, which in turn was surrounded by a great forest. The building was long and wide, but not tall. No more than three stories. There were two other buildings nearby, both bigger and more impressive. But it was in the three-story stone building that a different sort of meeting was being held. It was in a wide-open room on the second floor, with a few large windows. Because of the position of the sun and the size of the room, natural lighting was often not enough. There were several magical lights emitting a cool toned glow around the room. Even then, it was not a brightly lit room. There was a large table at the center, with maps and tools piled together, and several chairs around. The chairs were large, and more like thrones.
Currently, there were four people in this room. They were the only four people who ever used the room, and only during meetings like this one. Two of them were sitting at the table, while the other two chose to stand. At one end of the table sat Lord Yoshimoto, the samurai lord who had attacked Fairy Tail the night before. He was not wearing his helmet now. He was middle aged, with dark hair and a beard. "This Fairy Tail guild, I dealt them a serious wound yesterday. It should be easy to go back and finish them." He said.
Standing at the other end of the table was Boudica, the woman who had interfered in the plans of the Oracion Seis. She regarded Yoshimoto from across the table. "Really? If its so easy then why didn't you do it then and there? From what I understand you retreated, quite shamelessly." Boudica said. She didn't sound annoyed. Instead, her tone expressed a combination of disappointment and amusement. Yoshimito however felt insulted by her comments.
"You weren't there. You didn't see what happened." He said, defending himself. Another voice interjected. "If I had been there, there would have been no retreat. And there would be no Fairy Tail guild still standing." This voice came from a man standing at one side of the table. He was a very large man, around seven feet tall. He was dressed in primitive clothes. Animal skins and furs, with his torso and legs bare. He wore a red cloak, and a necklace of bones. He was muscular, with tanned skin, and tattoos on various parts of his body. He had long dark hair, and a face that some may consider handsome in a rugged sort of way.
Yoshimoto stiffened at this latest comment. "You were not there, Arnok. I was." Arnok looked straight at Yoshimoto. "Yes. There's the problem. Sending a coward to do the work of a warrior." Arnok spoke in a masculine voice.
"Well Arnok, you did say that you wanted Lamia Scale for yourself. And you smashed their guild hall. Good job." This comment came from the fourth person at the meeting. He was sitting at the other side of the table across from Arnok. He sat on a bronze colored throne. It made quiet noises, and occasionally hissed, indicating that it was mechanical. He was a young man with dark hair and spectacles. He was holding a book concerning the development of magic. He wore blue and black robes, and was good looking, in an intellectual way. Sitting on the table right in front of him was what appeared to be another mechanical creation that resembled a cat. It was a crude resemblance, and obviously a machine, but definitely modeled after a house cat.
Arnok ignored him. The samurai lord turned to the young man and said, "I told you not to bring those things into here." He was referring to the 'cat'. The mechanical creature turned towards Yoshimoto, and gazed at him with glowing blue eyes. They were in fact glowing with magic. "Its not bothering you." The young man said, petting his cat. Yoshimoto looked like he still wanted to say something. But Boudica responded first, changing the subject. "Arnok and Sael both did excellent work with Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus."
"And you recruited half the Oracion Seis. I'm impressed. All I did was stop them from reaching Nirvana with the barrier." the young man, Sael, said.
"An important contribution though." Boudica said. She then turned back to the samurai. "And I'm sure Yoshimoto had his reasons for his… tactical retreat." She said this pleasantly enough, but her eyes challenged him. He stiffened. "Nikodias interfered. He said he wanted a chance to talk to them. I indulged him. That was… a mistake." He said.
Boudica folded her arms and looked at him. "So, you're saying Nikodias is to blame then?" she asked, her tone serious. A sudden tension seemed to rise in the air. Sael glanced over at Yoshimoto, who hesitated. "Well…" he began. Boudica waved a hand. "I'm sure you'll do better next time." She said more lightly. Despite her light tone, he averted his gaze. "I have important duties to attend to. I must instruct my soldiers for the next battle." He explained.
"I think that's a good idea." Boudica said. They all watched as the samurai got up and exited the room, carrying his helmet under his arm. Sael put his book down on the table. "Any other business?" he asked. Arnok remained silent. He appeared disinterested.
"It doesn't seem like there is." Boudica said, responding to Sael. Arnok, still not saying anything, took this as a cue. He stalked off and left the room. "He was never very talkative." Sael said.
"He's a man of action, not words." Boudica said.
"Hmm. He is a monster on the battlefield. But he doesn't contribute much to these meetings. I'm not sure why he bothers to attend." He responded. Boudica was about to respond, but noticed there was someone in the doorway at the side entrance to the room. "How long have you been standing there?" she asked. Seraiisa Vannbar stepped into the room.
"Just a few minutes. Those two guys don't seem like they're on the same page with everything we're doing." She said this as she walked up to the table. She was also holding a long wooden object. She sat on the edge of the table, in between Sael and Boudica, and then laid down on it, with her feet hanging off the edge. Boudica smiled at her.
"Arnok is an important part of our cause, for better or worse. And Yoshimoto… he has his uses." She said. Seraiisa seemed to accept this answer, and turned her head towards Sael. "Hey Sael. You built a cat, huh? It have a name?" She looked at the cat, and it looked back at her with its glowing eyes. Sael adjusted his glasses.
"I generally don't name my creations. You can name it if you want though." He said. She looked at it. "Bitey." She said. Sael raised an eyebrow. "You know it doesn't actually have teeth. Of course, I could add them later…" he replied.
"Yeah." She said. Boudica looked at Seraiisa. "You remember that this table is meant for important business, right? Is there something important you needed to say?" Boudica said evenly. Seraiisa looked over at her and blinked. "Oh! Yeah! I almost forgot." She sat up on the edge of the table. "This stick. It belonged to that ninja guy from yesterday." She said. The stave she was holding had some kind of ornamentation at the end. She held it up. "He used this for his magic. He wasn't actually a mage, I sensed it. But he used this, and a few others. It was powerful." Boudica took the staff and examined it. "Well, I might be able to do something with this, but I think this is Sael's area of expertise." She handed it to Sael, who now examined it himself. He adjusted his glasses again. "I'll see what I can do with it." He said. Seraiisa then turned back to Boudica. "One more thing. Those guys you had supervising the new experiment said it should be ready tomorrow." Boudica nodded.
"I don't like to think of them as experiments. More like new allies to our cause. Speaking of which, its time to visit our special ally." She said.
"You mean Natsu?" Seraiisa asked. Boudica shook her head. "No, I'll check on him later. I mean Ms. Strauss." At hearing this, Seraiisa suddenly looked down and became quiet. Boudica stood up. "Do you want to come with me?" The little girl thought for a minute. "Okay." She eventually said. She got up off the table and started following the golden-haired woman out of the room. They walked down a long corridor. The corridor was better lit than the previous room, and had decorative rugs on the floor. As they were walking, Boudica noticed that the girl had become unusually quiet.
"What's wrong? You miss your friend, right? Mirajane was her name?" she asked. Seraiisa looked up towards her. "I don't think we're friends anymore after what happened yesterday." Boudica considered this.
"You knew this was part of the mission. You agreed to it. But… if it bothers you that much, then maybe I could talk to her at some point." The girl appeared uncertain. "I don't know if she'd want to…"
"I can be very persuasive. Maybe we can even find a way to negotiate with their master." Boudica said. She stopped at a door in the hallway. She opened it a crack and looked inside. Within, there was a shirtless bald man sitting on the floor, surrounded by a few other men in robes. The sitting man had eyes that seemed to be emitting a reddish color, as if there was something inside. He was twitching, and moaning, and seemed to be in pain.
"They said he'll be ready tomorrow? And the other one?" Boudica asked.
"Yep." Seraiisa confirmed.
"Good. I'll check on them later." Boudica closed the door. They then proceeded further down the hallway towards the end. They reached a door at the end. Boudica knocked. After a moment, a voice said "Come in." She opened the door and entered the room. It was a medium sized room. The walls were grey, like the rest of the building. But the room had some adornments. There was a wooden table in the corner with colorful rocks and jewels. There was an animal fur hanging on one of the walls. In another corner there was a small stone pedestal with a winged angelic figure atop it. None of it seemed to match.
Sitting on a bed at the end of the room was a girl in a black dress. It was Lisanna Strauss. She looked over at Boudica and Seraiisa as they entered the room. She got up off the bed as they shut the door behind them. "Hello, Lisanna." Boudica said.
"Hi." Lisanna responded. She then looked down at the other visitor. "Hi Seraiisa." She said. Seraiisa raised a hand and said, "Hey Lisanna." Lisanna couldn't help admiring Boudica's appearance. Her long golden curls, and intense but pretty eyes. She was wearing a long and tight dress, and an animal skin shawl. A blend of elegant and primal. Lisanna herself had somewhat short, white hair. Her lower arms were inhuman, and to a lesser extant so were her lower legs. Her legs were discolored, with what appeared to be a few small bones or spikes jutting from the ankles. Her upper limbs were more normal looking though. Her torso looked completely normal as well. Her face looked human, with two exceptions. Her left eye was still the same clear blue as before. But her right eye was red, with the white part of her right eye looking almost black. Her mouth was normal, so long as it was closed. When she opens her mouth, her teeth are obviously unusual. They are sharper than normal, almost fang like. Lisanna is aware of how abnormal her current appearance is, and is self-conscious about it. For instance, she tries not to show her teeth when smiling.
Lisanna stood there, unsure of what to say. Boudica spoke up first. "I like how you've decorated the room. Its eclectic." Lisanna looked around at the odd assortments she had placed in the room. "Yeah, I… I've just been trying different stuff. I guess I'm just trying to see what fits. What feels right for me. Still trying to figure out who I am." Boudica tilted her head slightly.
"How much do you remember now? When you first awoke, you were quite disoriented. But you've regained some memories now, yes?" she asked. Lisanna furrowed her brow. She thought the question over. Then, she slowly answered. "I do remember more now. Not everything. There's still a lot that's missing." Boudica nodded.
"Before we continue, do you mind if we sit down?" she said.
"No, of course." Lisanna said. She pulled up a chair for Boudica to sit in, which she did. Lisanna herself sat on the bed, while Seariisa just stood by the door. She seemed to be paying more attention to the curios in the room than the conversation. Boudica started again.
"What is the earliest memory you recall?" she asked. Lisanna thought about this. "The earliest memory I recall… is Natsu. I remember me and Natsu as kids. We used to go off and play together. And I remember Happy."
"Happy?" Boudica said.
"Yeah. He's this flying blue cat who talks. Natsu found him when he hatched out of an egg." Lisanna explained. Boudica raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. "So, you were saying about Natsu…"
"Oh yeah. Like I said, we used to play together and go off alone. In fact, I remember that we used to…" Lisanna trailed off. She was going to say, "we used to play husband and wife together", but decided against it. It seemed a little too personal to share. Besides, she wasn't entirely sure where she currently stood with Natsu. She shifted uncomfortably on the bed.
Boudica observed her for a moment, and then decided to shift the topic. "Alright then, tell me Lisanna; what is the most recent memory you have, before you were reawakened?" Boudica sat there with legs crossed, and hands folded, awaiting Lisanna's response. Lisanna sat there, and thought for a minute. "My most recent memory? I remember…" Lisanna broke off. Her face darkened. She finished the thought.
"I remember dying. I remember being killed. By… by my brother. Elfman." Boudica leaned forward, and looked pensive. "I see." She said. Lisanna continued.
"He turned into a huge monster. I felt… scared. I don't know if I was scared for myself though. I think I was scared for someone else. I think… my sister. She was there. Elfman was going to hurt her. Maybe kill her. I got in his way. He killed me instead. He didn't hesitate." A tear rolled down Lisanna's cheek as she recalled this.
"What an evil thing to do. I can only imagine how you must feel." Boudica said. Lisanna just looked down, without saying anything. For a minute, no one said anything. Lisanna composed herself. Boudica then said, "Now, if you don't mind my asking, do you remember anything else about Elfman? Besides this incident, are there any other memories you have of him, specifically?" Lisanna thought this over. Finally, she shook her head. "Not really. Sometimes I feel like I can almost remember something. An image, or a feeling." She held out her hand, as if she were reaching for something. "But its gone before I can hold onto it. Maybe its better that way. Sorry." Lisanna looked unsettled.
"That's okay. I'm only trying to help you. But you mentioned your sister. What do you remember about her?" Boudica inquired. Lisanna looked at her, eyes still teary. "I do remember her. Some things, anyway. But… Can we talk about it some other time? I kind of want to stop now." Boudica nodded. "Of course. There's no rush. Some other time then. I'm sorry this upset you. I'll give you some time alone." Boudica got up, and placed a hand on Lisanna's cheek. She leaned in. "It'll be okay. We'll help you." She said quietly, and wiped the tears from her cheek. Boudica then turned around. As she moved toward the door, Seraiisa walked over to Lisanna. She put a hand on Lisanna's knee. "Sorry about everything you've been through. You can always talk to me if you want." Lisanna smiled at her.
"Thanks. Maybe later." With that, Seraiisa walked back to the door. As Boudica opened the door to leave, she turned back to Lisanna. "One more thing. In the next few days, we're going to be dealing with some enemy forces. We'll be going out a few miles past the valley. I would like it if you would join us."
"Me? Join you?" Lisanna said. Boudica nodded. "Yes. I think you could be a great help."
"What about Natsu?" Lisanna said.
"He has his own role to play. I'm asking for you." Boudica said. Lisanna sat there considering the offer. Boudica continued. "You don't have to decide right now. Think about it, and let me know." She smiled, and left the room, followed by Seraiisa. They closed the door, and Lisanna was alone again. She lied down on the bed with her hands behind her head, looking up at the ceiling. There were still things she didn't remember, and didn't understand. But she felt that in time, things were going to become clearer to her, one way or another.
End Notes: In case it isn't obvious, there isn't really a central character in this story. Its more of an ensemble. Which means, unlike the canon, Natsu is not the "star" of this story. Although he does still play an important part. It would help if this site allowed more than four character tags (and maybe more genre tags), since it would make it clearer what to expect.