{Author Notes}
(Gets out of Fire Emblem Three Houses Hell by climbing out a hole.)
Huff! Huff! Oh my god. Why do I want to go back in there? *Squints at calendar*
(Sighs and shakes his head.) It's Super Smash all over again.
(Looks at Fairy Tail Fic.) What the hell is this?
... And that, my friends, is how I remembered this story exists.
"Yo, Levy!" The script mage turned her head over to Fairy Tail's Lawyer and their zombie savior. An odd thing to say and think, but by now Levy acclimated to these bizarre moments. "I know it's getting late, but we could use your help."
She found the idea of the two wanting her help more extraordinary than the idea of a zombie and a lawyer having a civil discussion. Levy pointed to herself. "Me?"
Kain nodded. "Of course. I remembered before we left the others volunteered you to be the leader. You did well while Wendy and I were helping the panicked crowds."
Levy felt happy at the compliment, but she then felt dread as she remembered how she handled that situation. How would Kain react to knowing she used the power of a madman that specifically caused him nightmares? "W-What do you need help with?"
Kain motioned to Jeremiah. "I was asking Jeremiah about any information on the first piece of Arjuna's Staff he found. I want you to hear it too."
The red-head continued. "As I said, Sir Horus informed me that he gave the pieces to the royal family at the time. They informed him of only two locations: one in their castle. Another they planned to use to seal up Arjuna." There was nothing more to be said about the second piece. Especially considering what had transpired earlier that day. "The third piece, Sir Horus speculated they might have hidden in a sacred area, but I never asked him further on what it was. Who knew such detail would cause problems like this?" He shook his head. "Let me focus on the first piece. It's more than likely hidden in Veronica's Capital city and castle. The castle is beautiful even from the outside. I've never seen a castle that uses water to reflect its aesthetic in such a way that it feels like a religious experience."
To Kain, it wounded like the Taj Mahal. Visiting that place was in his bucket list, which was cool. The downside was if things went wrong, he could see them raiding the castle as terrorists would. He did not like the idea of making Fairy Tail international criminals. No amount of legal loopholes could get them out of that. "I'm guessing even with your warp magic; the castle has special defenses, doesn't it?"
A nod was his answer. "Metal here in Veronica has more than just religious properties. The Ivory material lined up in all of the walls suppresses Ethernano. Their guards have bracelets that allow them to channel magic even in the castle. And that's only the surface. Who knows what other layers of defense they have?"
Levy put a hand on her chin before asking, "Was there a tour guide by any chance?"
The two men looked at her before she continued. "I mean, I've heard of the Ivory Halls before. I thought there would still be a tour guide that shows the castle to the public?"
Jeremiah had this blank stare until he slowly pressed his palm into his forehead. That spoke in volumes without a sound.
Kain decided to break the silence. "Good thinking, Levy." He patted Jeremiah's shoulder. "Hey, hindsight is 20/20 as they say."
The man born over three centuries ago looked to the boy from another world. "I have never heard of that phrase in my life. Is it a new generation slang?"
Kain decided to direct. "I'm just saying it's easy to miss obvious things from time to time."
"Oh. Thank you for that. I was never at the gallows back in my time. A shame I'm still not now." Those born in the current century shared a look before deciding not to comment on that.
Kain raised a hand. "Moving on. We can apply for a tour, but that what are the chances that they'll show the piece to the public?"
"I feel 50/50 for those odds."
Kain opened his mouth to argue but found no words coming out of it.
"To be honest that does sound like something that would happen for us," Levy added along.
The brunette shook his head. "Alright, even in the annoying chance that they leave it around for everyone to see, stealing it would be a problem even without Arjuna breathing down our necks. Kage is our best bet either way, but we have to go to the palace for this to work." He looked back to Jeremiah. "Is there anything else you can think of that's worth mentioning?"
"Now that you mention it, the capital is on high alert."
"That sounds like something you shouldn't have almost forgotten." Kain deadpanned.
"In my defense, I was doing my best not to be seen. What I heard was fascinating now that I know about silver. You see, a group of thieves has been plaguing the city. They call themselves the Mataki, and they've been stealing silver all over the capital city. It's so bad that they had to ban silver all over the city."
"Thieves that steal silver?" Levy repeated.
Jeremiah explained further. "I thought the same until I found out silver can harm Arjuna. Their name is a dead giveaway: Mataki and Mahika. I don't think they're thieves; I believe they are followers of the Mahika."
Kain pinched the bridge of his nose when he realized he and Fairy Tail had to deal with more trouble. "Basically, a cult? Of course." They totally needed this.
"Ooh! Why don't we tell the royals about the revival of the Mahika and Arjuna! They can help us if it's their mortal enemy!"
The lawyer looked to the zombie after hearing the mage's idea. "Will that work?"
"Well, they might think you're crazy and a heretic, but maybe?" That was not a very convincing answer. "Veronica is a barren country where between each city is nothing but deserts. Even with communication Lacrima, I doubt the cities are that connected to know if one fell or not."
Kain sighed before looking to Levy. "We can try to find a less," he paused to think of the right word. "Crazy way of telling them that if we're allowed to meet them."
Levy nodded.
"Well, let's all get some rest. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."
Although they went asleep, there was still someone awake in the camp. Éclair stared into the night sky of Veronica. As she did, she felt this sense of belonging and familiarity with the way the stars shined.
She felt like she was finally home, but why didn't any of this satisfy her? Maybe it was because she had a faint hope that if she found her home, she would come back to a warm, loving family. But Jeremiah's words struck her heart without meaning to; her family died in front of her, and she completely forgot about it! All those hopes and secret wishes, long gone before she even knew they were.
And all she had left of the past was a demonic sorcerer wanting to kill her!?
It wasn't fair! ...It just wasn't fair.
At that moment, Éclair quietly sobbed into her hands. She silently cursed the world before she felt a warm blanket over her back.
She looked up to see Kageyama sitting down on the ground next to her. "I've always liked looking at stars, you know? When I was a kid, I always thought that I could one day pluck them out of the sky and eat them. So when I got my magic, I thought I could launch myself up at space and reach for the stars. Instead, I ran out of stamina and ended up falling face-first into the concrete with a broken nose." Kageyama ended up giving a short laugh at the memory. The way he said it also made Éclair laugh for a second. "It was a good thing I didn't try and fly any higher than a three-story building or else I might have broken a bone or something."
"It must be nice to have good memories." The dancer wiped her tears from her eyes.
Kageyama sucked in his breath. "Yeah well, for me, the good memories are easy to remember because there's so few of them in my life."
The amnesiac looked towards the former criminal before he continued. "You weren't wrong in calling mages vile or stuff like that. My dad and mom were some of the worst mages around. They make me wish I had centuries of amnesia."
By instinct, the former priestess touched Kageyama's shoulder. She had this ability long before she could recall that allowed her to see glimpses of the past of people she chose to see. She used this in a fortunetelling pitch a while back and hasn't used it since joining Fairy Tail. When she peeked into Kage's past, she saw darkness and a boy, beaten and bloody, huddling in shadows.
She saw enough. A child should not find comfort in solitude and the dark shadows. "I'm so sorry." She didn't know he went through something like that.
"I was," He paused. "Born in the wrong place at the wrong time. Can't really do much about that." A smile appeared on his face. "That was my life; until all those wrong times and places got me to meet with Fairy Tail."
Kageyama looked to Éclair. "You and I are kinda similar. We're both born in the wrong time and place. But that means that eventually, the right time and place will come for you too."
"You think so?"
"Hey, even if you weren't immortal, I'd help you out."
The dancer felt happy, but she also felt confused the more she thought about something. "Why are you so nice to me even after the way I treated you?"
Kageyama paused for a second again. He looked up to the night sky and answered, "There was a kid I beat up, tortured, and belittled, but he saw past all the bullshit and believed in me. I'm only paying that punk's kindness forward."
The shadow mage stood back up. "Go to sleep. Fairy Tail is just going to do what it always does, mess up so bad things work out fine."
"Should I be worried this all is working too well?" Kain whispered as he, and the rest of Fairy Tail, bought their tickets for the public tour for the Ivory Halls.
"Kain, you're too paranoid," Levy whispered back as they walked down to the area they would meet their tour guide. "Not everything has to go wrong for us."
Kain wanted to believe that. He really, really wanted to believe that. The Ivory Halls were beautiful. Even though they weren't inside, Kain could tell the designers made the castle to symbolize a golden oasis in a desert. The garden was beautiful, every part of the walls decorated with old art and majesty. Kain could see why some people thought of it as a religious experience because there was something heavenly here.
So why didn't he feel at ease? On the bright side, he had Nab, Gajeel, Pla, and Kageyama stationed outside in the capital. If things did hit the fan, they were the backup.
Soon, Fairy Tail arrived in the center of one of these oasis gardens. Kain remembered that they were to meet their tour guide here.
"Hello, my friends!" A handsome man stepped out with hands wide open. The description alone didn't do him justice because just looking at this man could make other men have their heart skip a beat. "I am truly blessed to be your tour guide."
"No, we are." Kain noticed the sigh that escaped from Bisca's lips as she said that. He supposed it was a good thing Alzack wasn't here.
He laughed a very melodious laugh before his eyes fell on Éclair. "Ah, madam! You must be a powerful mage to be able to use magic here in the palace, for you have captured my heart with nothing but your presence." Holy crap, the way he said that felt so smooth to many of the ladies.
At the same time, everyone in the backup team wondered why Kageyama looked irritated.
"I," The amnesiac pulled away and stepped behind Kain. "Thank you. I'm flattered you feel like that."
The handsome man gave a polite bow and stepped back as well. "I apologize for making you uncomfortable, allow me to introduce myself: I am Ravanas Maricha, the Prime Minister of Veronica."
"Oh, it's nice to meet yoooouuu," Levy responded politely before her brain caught up to what the man just said.
"WHAT!?" Everyone but Natsu, Wan, Éclair, and Momon screamed out loud.
"I know what you're thinking: I'm too young to look like a Prime Minister, yes? Unfortunately, some traditions still plague my country. One of them is that the royal family must always lead the people of Veronica. It is practically still a monarchy. But that is part three of our lovely tour; come, come! Let us begin!"
Éclair spoke up at that moment when he turned his back. "Are you really the prime minister? I thought you would at least have bodyguards? And why are you doing the tour guide?"
Ravanas turned back and smiled, making some people of the group have their hearts skip a beat. "Yes, I am the Prime Minister. I am doing the tour guide because I always have fun doing it. And lastly, my bodyguards are already here."
Natsu was the first to look above. The rest of Fairy Tail followed his line of sight to see atop of one of the trees. Something moved, but all they saw was a change of glimmer in the light.
Camouflage. There were more than one of those glimmers.
"Come along, friends, I have much to talk about!" Ravanas went ahead, prompting Fairy Tail to follow after him.
While Ravanas kept talking about the Ivory Halls and placing several flirting lines to Éclair, Levy whispered to Kain. "This is the best chance to tell him about The Mahika!"
"Alright, I think I have something, it's pretty weak but maybe if I had more time," Kain couldn't finish that sentence when Natsu suddenly had a look of realization on his face and pointed a finger up.
"Ah! Hey, Prime Minster guy! Your country is under attack by Arjun—" Bisca and Wan moved in to shut up him up, but by then it was far too late.
"Why didn't you leave him with the backup group!?" Lucy whispered to Kain.
"I couldn't risk him fighting with Gajeel while I was gone! It was more urgent to them when Éclair went missing; I didn't want to risk them being forced together for long!" Kain whispered back.
"What was that?" The handsome Prime Minister asked.
"Uhhhhh," Kain loathed how everyone looked to him for an answer. "You know, Sir Maricha, I just wanted to ask you a question! A purely rhetorical one!"
The Prime Minister turned. "What is it?"
"By any chance do you know about something called the Mahika?"
The handsome man relaxed and gave a soft laugh. "Oh, he's just an old fairytale boogeyman in our religion. I don't quite believe in our old traditions."
"I see, I see," Kain nodded along before quickly continuing his train of thought, "So what if, and it's purely rhetorical still, The Mahika was real, his greatest follower returned, and said follower was heading his way here to take the second piece of his long-lost staff?"
...
"Kain, I thought you were the smart one," Lucy whispered in disappointment.
"That is a very specific set of rhetorical questions, my friend." The Prime Minister spoke up. "Though if any of that was real, it would be quite the conundrum. What made you think of that?"
"Oh, you know, I just wonder a lot." Kain shrugged his shoulders and gave an awkward laugh that no one wanted to join.
"There might be something now that you bring it up! Because you brought it up, friend, I'm going to bring you all to a detour." He motioned Fairy Tail down a different path. As he did, everyone watched as the Prime Minister led them further into the lower levels of the Ivory Halls. No one cared at first, but then they started moving lower and lower. Then, they passed by more security guards and doors, each more elaborate than the last.
"Umm, are we allowed to be here?" Lucy asked.
"Ehh, I can keep it a secret. I would like you all to see this, though." Kain wondered why the Prime Minister was so whimsical for someone in an important position of power. Something felt off about him, but what?
Eventually, they reached what looked to be an underground temple: worn-out walls with old paintings, a statue of an armed diety at the far end of the room, but most curious of all was a giant crystal and embedded on it's top was some ornate broken-off staff.
Levy and Kain shared a look. That was the staff they were looking for!
"Were you looking for this staff?" Fairy Tail slowly looked to the Prime Minister as he faced the crystal in front of him. "Generation after generation, the royal family was told to guard this piece of junk."
No one liked how the tone of the man changed. "They kept saying it was for the good of Veronica! What was so good about spending tax money from the hard-working people on this!?" He yelled and screamed. Fairy Tail took a step back, but then Natsu and Wan both turned around.
They could barely see, but they knew who was behind them, the invisible bodyguards. They were surrounded by them, weren't they?
"And then one day, I touched the crystal." Ravanas didn't just say that he reenacted the event and placed his hand on one part of the giant crystal. The crystal glowed around his handprint, showing that something was horribly wrong.
"I do not like where this is going." Kain looked around and saw that some of the other Fairy Tail members tried to get into a fighting stance. But the problem was the Ivory Halls prevented mages from using their magic.
"The crystal, it told me secrets! Secrets that my ancestors refused to believe, the truth!" Ravanas turned, and they all saw his eyes changed from beautiful pools into swirling vortexes of madness. "The Mahika is not a destroyer, but a savior! He will lead our people into a new era! Since that day, I help found the Mataki, They Who Worship!"
The bodyguards uncloaked and revealed themselves to be wearing long, faceless robes with symbols of eyes like that of Arjuna's third eye. Fairy Tail was understandably speechless at the sudden revelation. Kain had a slightly more mundane reaction.
"Okay, the Prime Minister of Veronica is, in reality, the leader of the Mataki." Kain was surprised even though he didn't act like it at all. "I hate this world so damn much."
At that moment, everyone in Fairy Tail was pinned down by what seemed to be gravity magic.
Ravanas grabbed on to Éclair and pulled her off the floor. However, she didn't seem to have any strength to resist. Kain tried to reach for his Morpher, but he couldn't move his other hand.
"And we've all been preparing for this day! The day when the accursed sealer returns! She will undo the seal cast upon the Great Arjuna's Apostles: The Carbuncle!" Éclair tried to resist, but Ravanas placed her hand into the crystal, causing it to start to crack under her touch.
Kain saw this and screamed, "Well, time for plan T! Nab!"
Out of Kain's hand, something crawled out: a black shadow in the shape of a spider. That morning, Kain realized that palace prevents mages from using their powers. He believed they wouldn't stop a spirit summoned by a shaman!
The Spirit moved and slammed on Kain's Morpher. A flash of red light later, and Kain was up and knocked everyone else, including Ravanas down.
"God do I love super speed!" Kain exclaimed as she had both Éclair and the staff in his hands. He put her down while the other Fairy Tail members got back up.
"We need to leave now!" Carla shouted and pointed past all the beaten up guards.
Fairy Tail heard a large crack and turned back towards the crystal. They did not like seeing four pairs of eyes opening behind the crystal as it was close to breaking.
"By now, she meant yesterday! Run!" Levy screamed as Kain went ahead to beat up and bust down doors and guards.
As Fairy Tail left, the crystal exploded and the second it did, a foot stepped out of the now hollow crystal.
"As we breathe once more, we pledge ourselves to you, The Mahika, and your avatar, Lord Arjuna. Carbuncle serves only you."
"Can I just say that it's such a great thing that Kain is now a competent fighter!?" Lucy cried out as Kain dispatched incoming guards almost as if he was Erza.
"You know what? I haven't realized it till now! Kain, fight me after this!"
They all watched the lawyer perform an ax kick with excellent form. "No!" The lawyer yelled back before slamming into a group of guards like a bowling ball moving with enough power and precision to make a strike. "Just keep moving and escape through the entrance!"
Kain looked at their direction and then activated the Omni Tool to make a widespread shield. A second later, they were all pushed away by some invisible force.
Kain managed to get everyone back standing and pointed towards the exit. "Hurry up and leave! None of you can use magic here!"
The wyvern rider put down his shield as the attack faded. When he did, he regretted what he saw.
All four of them wore midnight blue cloaks while bits of black sand flew around them, similar to that of the constructs made by Arjuna. One man was massive, looking more like a behemoth than an actual man. Another hooded figure floated high in the air, but something felt amiss as no one could see anything beneath the hood of the flying mage. The third cloaked figure was obviously female since her cloak hugged her body in such a way her curves were noticeable. The final member was the leader of the four, as he walked ahead from these three with all the posture and power similar to that of Arjuna.
"An armored warrior wielding the same blade that slew through my master's heart," The one standing at the center pointed to Kain. "You must be that crusader's accursed descendant!"
"I am not!" The-not-descendant screamed back while everyone ran away, or for Natsu, Wan and Max forcefully dragged him away. The red rider moved the staff piece towards the Shadow Spirit on his shoulder. "Get this to Nab!"
The Spider swallowed it before vanishing into the shadow underneath the rider's chin.
The cloaked figure that was airborne dove into the ground, turning into a shadow himself before moving faster than Kain expected. The red rider sidestepped what he thought was an attack, but then he saw the moving shadow dive into his shadow.
"Shadow magic?!" Kain didn't have enough time to react to that as he suddenly felt something looming over him.
"Something's wrong!" Nab screamed at the same time Pla shifted into a battle stance and started beeping frantically. A second later, the shadows in the alley shifted into a large circle on the wall. A spider jumped out of the shadow before a dark hand snatched it in the air.
A metal sword hand cut the shadow hand. The spirit sider flew to Nab's shoulder before speaking in esoteric languages.
"Followed? How could something follow you?!" Nab didn't get a second answer as the shadow on the wall expanded to form some malevolent creature that looked more tentacles slammed together than a monstrosity.
"The. Staff." The shadow beast yelled before Nab's spirit flew back into his totem. When it did, an ornate, broken-off staff fell into Nab's hand.
"Take this instead, freak!" Gajeel didn't hesitate to punch the wall of the abandoned house.
"Gajeel, you can't punch a shadow!" Kageyama's cry fell on deaf ears as something flew past the iron dragonslayer and bolted right for Nab.
The cloaked figure pushed out his hand and multiple shadow hands launched themselves with the intent to take the staff and rip the not-shaman. However, another dozen shadow hands shot out to meet and counter the Carbunkle Mage's ability.
Kageyama felt a chill down his spine when the cloaked figure landed and tilted his hood over to him. "Away." He spoke in a tone so low, he thought it was a whisper, but then his hands started overpowering Kageyama's shadow hands.
The Carbunkle Mage felt light coming behind him. He turned to see Pla unleashing an eye laser at him in point-blank—
Kain always had a deep respect for culture and art from exotic lands. He felt guilty and hurt at the loss of art that defined a country, but in his defense, he didn't mean to get thrown in that direction.
"Alright, the big one's Super Strength and invulnerability, the woman is an arms expert, and I think their leader is telekinetic." The armored young man got up. At least the powers were simple; the last thing he needed was some bizarre power that was hard to beat like something that could spread molds the lower one went.
Kain shook his head and jumped before someone mistook debris for bullets, launching them as if he was unloading a minigun.
"Pay for the sins of your blood!" It was at that point Kain realized something about the telekinetic mage: he didn't have mind-reading powers as Warren did. If he did, he would have known that Kain wasn't Horus' descendant. (However, he did despise the fact this was the third time someone mistook—read as 'attempted murder'—him to be related to the Wizard Saint.)
Kain sped out of the building, sliding under a magic wind halberd from the woman as he did so. He threw all the cracker spheres at the three before vanishing in the flash of light.
The telekinetic mage turned to the other two. "Canon, Coordinator, pursue him."
"What shall you do, Sir Dyst?" The hulking man bowed but asked.
The one known as dust sat down with his legs folded. "I shall contact Lord Arjuna."
The other two raced after the rider while the black sand floating around Dyst started to encircle him.
The black sand formed into the face of Arjuna. The sand figure opened three of his eyes and focused on Dyst.
"You have awakened, Carbuncle."
Even sitting, Dyst bowed. "We have, my lord. We have to thank the Royal Family for that."
"The Royal," The head paused in a way that he couldn't believe his own words. "Family?"
"He is now a humble follower." Dyst could hear the smile in his voice even though his mouth stayed still. "But more importantly, my lord, someone has stolen a piece of your staff. The resemblance is too uncanny, so it must be that Crusader's descendant."
Arjuna recognized who his trusted student meant. However, Arjuna assumed if the descendant had even a little of his former enemy's blood—Kain didn't have an ounce of it—then he would do everything in his power to impede him as ancestor before. The lack of a special something in Dyst's hands proved this. "He has a piece of my staff, doesn't he?"
"I sent Chase after the staff. He will no doubt get it back." Dyst responded quick.
"He is not the only descendant you should worry about. There is a shaman amongst them, a Celestial Mage, and several who wield dragon magic. Fate has a sense of humor at who it sends against us."
"It does not matter who they are, Lord Arjuna." Dyst stood up, his stance showing how determined he was. "This time, we shall succeed and usher in a new era! Carbuncle shall dedicate our lives to this! Just as we did so long ago."
"Very well, I make my way there." The black sand unfurled then floated back to circling Dyst.
Dyst looked towards the way the red rider escaped. He narrowed his eyes, they will not fail this time.
{Author Notes}
I AM BACK!
Oww. Ugh, I'm so bad at this. My first chapter in a long while and it's a short one. I also have a nasty feeling this arc might drag out longer than I expect to.
I brought back Carbuncle from the movie. They're just a little different under my pen; I changed some of thier magic, but most of it should be the same. Next chapter: Fairy Tail tries to flee the capital city with Carbuncle and the Imperial Guard hot on thier trails. Meanwhile, Arjuna is closing in on our heroes.
Anyway, I forgot to mention it, but this story is now 2 years old! Whoo! Happy birthday Muggle Among Mages! I uploaded less this year! ... Oh. Probably should not be proud of that.
*Natsu and Co bust in.*
Natsu: Yo, author! We should celebrate two years of doing this story!
PG-13: I don't really have anything planned except a story chapter though.
Makarov: Nonesense! A party is all one needs! Bring out the drinks!
PG-13: Wait a second, did you invite everyone, including the villains!? Weren't you guys arrested and/or killed!?
Jose Porla: We quit when we heard about this!
PG-13: ... You quit being dead and/or arrested?
Zeref: Am I late?
PG-13: Zeref!? I haven't even written about you yet! That includes all of you guys in Fairy Tail's Canon Future!
Sting: Where Fairy Tail goes, Sabertooth will go there and do better!
Fairy Nail: Hey, can we from the Hundred Years manga come in?
Natsu: Come on in! The party's going strong!
PG-13: My word is being undermined, isn't it?
Kain: Welcome to my world.
PG-13: (Facepalms before sighing) Still, I gotta admit. Despite everything, even the flaws, it is nice writing about your adventures.
Makarov: Is it... fun?
PG-13: (Smiles even as all of Fairy Tail Canon and Fan Work party like it's the end of tomorrow.) I find it more of a hassle. But something's telling me it might be worth it. I hope it is.
Natsu: (Grabs PG-13 and Kain and hangs his arms around their necks in a hug.) It'll definitely be worth it! (Looks to everyone.) Right everyone!?
Everyone: RIGHT!
PG-13: ... Peace out, readers. Hope this finds you well.