Lisanna flew through the night sky. It was a quiet night, so she heard nothing but wind blowing past as she soared, high above the ground. Of course, she couldn't actually fly high enough to leave the valley due to the barrier above. But she still wanted to fly high enough to avoid being seen by anyone who might happen to be below. Something told her it would be a good idea.
When she first took flight, she didn't really have a specific destination in mind. However, she found herself flying towards Sael's tower. She could see it looming in the distance. She wasn't sure if he would be awake at this time. She knew that he was upset about his tower being attacked. Apparently, it was done by people from Fairy Tail. She wondered if it was anyone she knew. Another thing she wondered, was whether or not Sael would even want to talk to her right now. They had gotten to know each other to a degree, and he did seem to like her. She wouldn't exactly say they were close friends though. She didn't know if this was a good idea. But she wanted to know who she could trust. She was pretty certain now that she couldn't trust Boudica. But Sael was Boudica's ally. What did that mean?
As Lisanna was having these thoughts, she realized she had reached the tower. The door was below her. Instead of going down to the door though, she flew around the tower. She wanted to see if anyone was awake. She didn't want to knock if everyone was asleep. She flew to the other side of the tower, and saw the broken window. She hovered there for a moment, looking at it from the side. There was a light on. She could also hear voices. She strained to listen. She wasn't trying to eavesdrop, she just wanted to see if she could hear Sael. After a few seconds, she realized she could indeed hear him talking. She was glad he was awake, because she wanted to see him. She started to fly towards the window, until she heard another voice.
"They did a lot of damage here, didn't they?" the voice said.
"Yes, the celestial wizard and her spirits, so I'm told." Sael said. Lisanna could barely hear them.
"And after you worked so hard on your machines. Such a shame." The other person said. Lisanna realized that she recognized the other voice. It was Boudica.
"Are you mocking me?" Sael said. It quickly became obvious that this was not a good time for her to visit Sael. But since Boudica was there, she felt that she had to hear what they were saying. She hovered over to the edge of the tower, and found some jutting stonework she could plant her feet on. She used her claws to hold on to the side, and eased closer to the window, careful to not be seen. She listened in.
"Are you mocking me?" Sael asked. He and Boudica were on the top floor of the tower. He sat in the middle of the room. The large window had been partially boarded up, but the glass would still need to be replaced. He was considering adding bars to it as well after the latest incident.
Boudica was standing several feet away from him, arms folded, regarding him with a serious expression. "I am not." She said in response to his question. "I know how important your work is to you, Sael. Frankly, I'm insulted that you think I'd mock you over this."
Sael adjusted his spectacles. "It's a little hard to tell with you sometimes, Boudica. Charismatic as you may be, you sometimes tend to come off as… superior, above it all."
Boudica stood there a moment, looking at the window, and the damaged machinery around the room. After a moment, she spoke. "We've known each other a long time, Sael. We've helped each other. I trust you more than… well, anyone outside my own family. Certainly more than those other two."
Sael nodded slowly. "I can agree with that sentiment." He said.
"I know you've been hurt by this." She said. "And not just your machines. There is also Selene."
Sael turned to look at her. "You heard about that."
"Of course." She said. She walked over towards the balcony, looking down the stairwell. Sael moved his chair over nearby. "She fell down during a fight, it seems. Broke her neck. And yet, she survived. Barely. She is paralyzed from the neck down. At least I can still use my arms. She doesn't even have that. She's being monitored on a lower level right now." He paused, and took a deep breath. He adjusted his spectacles again.
"If I had been here at the time, I likely could have healed her." Boudica said. "By the time I got back… A broken neck is difficult even for me. Bones are always hardest to heal. She's lucky to be alive. That being said, I could always have Nikodias look at her. Maybe he could help."
Sael turned his head toward her. "Thank you, no. I know what that entails."
"Is it so bad?" Boudica asked.
"There's no guarantee she would survive it. And if she did survive, there's no guarantee she would still be… herself. I'd like to think there's a better way."
Boudica nodded. "I understand your reluctance. I do feel that we're getting better at it though. Just look at Lisanna. One of our best works."
Sael moved his chair away from the edge, and moved towards the center of the room again. "Is that how you see her, a work?"
Boudica took a few steps towards him. "Don't misunderstand me. I would like her to be happy, and healthy. But I am responsible for her being here. She was dead, and I brought her back. She lives now because of me."
"Yes, that is true." Sael said. "You keep her confined though. Keep her away from her family."
Boudica moved closer to Sael to face him. "As I said, I would like her to be happy. However, I can't have her interfering with our plans. I was willing to have her sister come and join us, but… That was difficult. Everyone in that guild is so difficult to deal with. Natsu in particular has been a problem for a while."
"So I hear." Sael said. "And what do you plan to do about that?"
Boudica closed her eyes for a moment. "I was hoping that eventually he would come around to seeing things my way. But he's very stubborn, childish. While also possessing great power. A bad combination. After Erza is revived, he'll likely be too weak to affect anything anymore. He might even become comatose. That would be for the best."
"And if he dies?" Sael said. "Your effort to revive Erza will be in vain. And what about Lisanna?"
Boudica looked at him. "You care about her, don't you? In the event he dies, I have a workaround that can sustain them. With the help of my family, of course. Ideally, it would be nice to have Natsu, Erza, and Lisanna all under my command. But Natsu is a loose cannon. And Erza… Just in case, we won't restore her memories. Too risky. We'll have her power, and I can mold her how I please. That's good enough. For all intents and purposes, she'll be a different person."
"That's rather cold." Sael said. Boudica frowned slightly.
"I am being pragmatic. It's not as though I would be killing anyone. She's already dead. By my hand, she would live again, just with a different personality. I don't need to deal with another Natsu."
Sael said nothing. He turned his chair around, looking around at the wrecked room. So much work, undone. He and his subjects would need to work hard to salvage this. He sighed.
"For what it's worth Sael, we have all been affected by this attack." Boudica said. "However, I recognize that you and yours have suffered more greatly. As I said, I've known you a long time. I've always thought it was a tragedy you weren't able to achieve your dream for your society. Once again, outsiders have barged in and destroyed your hard work. I'll offer you whatever assistance you need."
Sael slowly turned toward her. He looked at her for a long moment. "Thank you. I appreciate that."
Boudica nodded. "Also, I – " Boudica paused.
"What is it?" Sael said. Boudica said nothing. She slowly turned around toward the boarded up window. Sael didn't see or hear anything, but it seemed Boudica did. She walked over toward the window. She stood there for a moment. She pressed a hand against a board, and turned her head as if she were intently listening for something. She listened for several seconds, and a perturbed look flashed across her face.
"Boudica?" Sael said. Boudica stood there a moment, and then turned around again.
"I thought I heard… a bird. Or something similar." She said.
Lisanna was once again flying through the sky, a little faster this time. She had taken off quickly, and missed the end of the exchange back at the tower. She would need time to process what she had heard. She didn't want to go back to bed though. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. So, she flew. She flew farther and faster than she had ever done, with no clear direction in mind. For a little while she wasn't even really paying attention to her surroundings. She was too busy trying to sort things out internally. She wished she could talk to Mirajane. Mirajane had always been the older, wiser sister, taking care of her. As Lisanna moved through the air, she realized that she was going to have to figure things out herself this time.
After some time, it occurred to her that she had flown to a part of the valley she had never been to before. There was a building in front of her she had never seen. It was a mostly wooden building, with an unusual architectural style. She hovered there in midair a moment, but then realized she was getting tired from flying so much. She flew a little closer, and saw that it was actually a few connected structures, with a courtyard of sorts in the middle. She was so curious about this that she momentarily forgot what she had been thinking about, and drifted closer. She flew over to the highest roof she could find, and perched onto it. It was late enough that she was hidden in darkness up there. She looked down, and saw many people in the courtyard. They were dressed in familiar samurai armor. Lisanna was starting to realize who lived here.
As she looked down, her suspicions were confirmed. The gathered samurai were all directing their attention towards one person in front of them all. He was also dressed in armor, but more ornate. It was Lord Yoshimoto. Lisanna crouched down on the roof, trying to hide behind the architecture to avoid being seen by those below. Fortunately, it was dark out, and she was covered in shadow. If it had been daytime, they probably would have noticed her. The courtyard, however, was lit by flames in what appeared to be stone lanterns jutting out of the ground.
Lisanna listened to them from where she was. Yoshimoto was speaking. She quickly realized that she couldn't understand what he was saying, because he was speaking a foreign language. His samurai seemed to be listening intently though. She saw Yoshimoto pull out his sword and make a stance of some sort. He was saying something, and everyone else was quiet. This went on for several minutes. Lisanna was starting to get bored watching this, when suddenly Yoshimoto changed his position and slashed his sword at the air. A rift of some sort opened in front of him, and the air distorted. Two figures appeared. They were silhouetted. At least, she thought they were initially. But quickly she realized that they weren't covered in shadows. They were shadows. The same kind Yoshimoto had summoned before. That's not all: she felt she recognized them.
The samurai lord had summoned two figures, both male. They stood there in front of the gathered crowd, and then began sparring with each other a little, to the seeming amusement of those watching below. One of the figures then used magic. It created magical shields. Lisanna gasped, realizing who it was. The other figure then raised its hand, and a lightning bolt came from the sky. There was a loud crack sound. Lisanna was not expecting any of this. She knew, intellectually, that Yoshimoto had the power to create shadow copies of dead warriors and mages. But actually seeing two people she had met, even if only briefly…Made worse by the fact that she had killed one of them herself. She suddenly felt a little sick. She felt herself lose her footing and stumble a little. She gripped onto the roof to avoid falling, and held on. She stayed like that a moment. She looked back down into the courtyard. No one seemed to notice her. She guessed that her stumble happened at the same time as a lightning crash, so they didn't hear her. Lucky me, she thought. She decided not to press her luck any further. She quietly got off the roof and flew away. She didn't want to see any more there anyway.
She flew away from Yoshimoto's building. Now she was even more upset. She shivered a little, despite the warm weather. At least I learned a few things, she thought. She wanted to find someplace to think things through. As she flew, she realized she was coming up on the edge of the valley. She couldn't go further due to the barrier above. She was running out of magical energy too, and would need to revert to her normal form shortly. She looked up, wishing she could get outside the barrier for a little while, away from this place. As she looked upward, she noticed something. Above her, but below the barrier, was an opening of some sort. Curious but cautious, she drew closer. There was a small cliff, and the cliff led into a cave. She didn't know how deep it went, but at least it might be a place to rest. Using her now tired wings, she drifted onto the cliff, which was sparsely covered in grass. She landed on the ground, and changed back, having used much of her power.
Lisanna sat down to rest. She had stayed in her harpy form longer than usual. It would take her time to recover her magic. She sat there and sighed, looking out on the valley below. She could still see the samurai compound not far off. This was the first time she had ever come to this part of the valley. This was also the first time she had ever just gone out wandering by herself this way. She felt it was a little unnerving, but also liberating in a way. She had time to be alone, truly alone, and think about things.
She thought about what she had seen and heard that night. What Boudica had said about her plans for Erza. What Yoshimoto had done with the forms (spirits?) of Luchuck and Strike. They're bringing the dead back, and using them for their own purposes, she thought. They don't care about bringing back the people they once were, just so long as they can use their power. That's how it appeared, at any rate. Lisanna still didn't want to believe that Boudica was an evil person. She had seen Boudica do some good before, and wanted to believe that her intentions were ultimately good. Then there was Sael, who seemed like a decent man, and was smart and creative. Although, she was aware that there was something darker within him. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Where did I hear that from?
Lisanna sat there with her legs dangling off the edge of the cliff, looking out. She was wearing a plain looking dress, along with boots and gloves. It wasn't a flattering look, so she didn't mind the clothes getting dirty. She took the gloves off, and felt the grass and dirt beneath her hands. She tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and sighed deeply.
"Mirajane, Elfman." She said aloud. She suddenly found herself thinking of them. She was silent for a moment, and then said, "I am Lisanna Strauss." She wasn't sure why she said that. The words just came out. "Lisanna Strauss." She repeated her own name. She opened her eyes, and suddenly saw something fly overhead. It snapped her out of her thoughts. She wasn't sure what it was. A few seconds later, something else flew past, just above her. It was a small, winged creature. As she watched it, she realized that it was a bat. She turned around. They must have come from the cave. She could faintly hear screeching inside. Definitely a bat cave. In the valley. Who knew?
Lisanna stood up, and slowly walked towards the cave. She looked inside. There was some light from outside lighting the cave, up to a point. She walked in. The opening was fairly large, and the cave grew wider as she walked further in. However, it also gradually got darker. She didn't know how deep it went, but she didn't intend to wander around in a pitch-black cave. Something drew her in though. She stood there for a minute, looking around as her eyes adjusted to the dark. She could hear them. Sounds of fluttering, and clicking, and even a short screech here and there. Bats. A few of them flew overhead. She watched them.
"Hello there." She said to the creatures. They made a noise, almost like they were responding. She held out a hand, palm down. She stood there like that for a moment. To her surprise, one of them actually landed on her arm. It looked at her. She had gotten used to animals being afraid of her; birds, squirrels, etc. The bats didn't seem afraid though. A few more landed nearby. They watched her, as she watched them.
"What does this mean?" she asked. Then, something occurred to her. She made an impulsive decision then and there, and acted on it.
A short while later, Lisanna emerged from the cave. Not the same as when she entered though. She had transformed again. She stepped out into the night. She was wearing a long, yet revealing, black and purple dress. It was slit on either side, revealing her legs. It was a low-cut dress, with straps that went up to her neck connecting to a choker. She wore long dark gloves. They, like the dress, were made of a silky, elegant material. She wore short, dark boots as well. Her hair now had black streaks in it, creating a contrast with the white parts. And she had grown fangs. Her teeth had already become sharper after her resurrection. But now, she had actual fangs. Four of them, protruding from her mouth.
The form actually seemed to reduce her demonic features, at least on her limbs. Her eye still appeared distorted though, but now with a more intense shade of orange. Oddly, her dress was also accessorized with a loose-fitting belt. Finally, she also now had wings. Giant, leathery bat wings, similar to the ones Mirajane has in her demonic form. Lisanna regarded herself, looking at her new animal spirit form. She looked down at her dress, along with the other accessories. She decided she liked it. Of course, she couldn't see how her face looked. She knew that that she would need to look in a mirror when she got back to her room. In the meantime, she was pleased with her new form. She also felt that she may have learned something about herself that night.
She felt that it was time to head back, now that she had some magic. She'd had enough excitement for one night. Besides, there would probably be more tomorrow. She flapped her wings experimentally. They felt strong. She flapped them again, and gradually ascended from the ground. After a few moments of testing them, she flew off into the night once more.
Evergreen sat in Elfman's bed, as he still slept beside her. It was the morning after their night together. She had woken up ten minutes earlier, but hadn't done anything but sit there. She didn't regret what happened between them. However, it did change things between the two of them. They had gotten to know each other more intimately, in every sense. It wasn't her first time, so she didn't feel different in that respect. She knew that it was Elfman's first time though. She wondered if he would feel any different. She put a hand on his shoulder.
"Elfman." She said. She didn't say it loudly, and yet he immediately started stirring. He turned and opened his eyes, looking up at her. He blinked a few times, and then he said, "Hey. Morning."
"Good morning." She said back. He slowly started lifting himself out of bed, and rubbed his head and eyes. He yawned and stretched while she sat there. She was wearing a night gown while he was just wearing boxer shorts. "So, how do you feel?" she said. He turned to look at her.
"Um, I'm good." He said. "Do you feel… good?" he asked awkwardly. She smiled a little.
"Yes Elfman, I'm good." She said. He nodded and smiled. But then, he looked more thoughtful suddenly. He became quiet.
"Is something wrong?" she asked. Elfman sat down next to her. After a moment he spoke.
"There's something I wanted to talk to you about." He said.
"Sounds serious." She said. He nodded.
"It is. I think it is." He seemed uncharacteristically anxious. Evergreen waited for him to continue. After a few moments, he did. "So, there's something I wanted to say to you. I've been thinking about it. And now, we've done… I mean, we had sex. But that's not what I want to say."
"So, what are you trying to say?" she said. Elfman took a breath, and then looked straight at her.
"Evergreen, I love you. I just wanted to say that." Before Evergreen could respond, he continued. "So, I just want to know… how you feel, about me."
Evergreen looked up at him. She sighed. "Of course I love you, Elfman. That's why I came here last night." Elfman smiled.
"Man, that's great. I was worried you might think I took advantage of you or something."
"Took advantage of me? It was my idea to come back to your apartment, remember? I knew what I was doing. And I used birth control. What do you think I was doing in the bathroom?"
"Huh." Elfman said.
"I even brought a night gown." She said. "If anything, this was more my idea than yours." Elfman considered this briefly.
"Damn, and I was supposed to be the man here."
"What's that supposed to mean?" she said, slightly irritated. "Don't get me wrong, nothing would have happened if you hadn't made the first move. I was willing to set things up, but you still had to follow through."
"Yeah." He said. "Well, I'm just happy to know you love me." At this point, Evergreen's irritation ebbed. "Yeah." She said. "I do love you, Elfman."
After another minute, she spoke up again. "So, what now?"
"We could plan another date I guess." He said.
"I meant what are we going to do today?" she said. "Do you have any jobs?"
"Oh. Nah, not really." They both sat there a few seconds, and then Elfman decided to get up and start getting dressed. Evergreen followed suit.
"So, Ever." He said as he was putting his clothes on. "Can I tell people we did it?" She paused and looked at him.
"What? I… I'd rather you didn't. It's none of their business." She said.
"Well, they're probably going to figure it out sooner or later." He said.
"Then let them figure it out on their own." She said. "I suppose if you want to, you can tell Mirajane. She probably won't gossip about it." Elfman tilted his head.
"Yeah, but its not as much fun telling your sister." He said. Evergreen looked over at him.
"Elfman, I do love you, but… shut up and get dressed."
Outside of a small town miles away from Magnolia stood Gajeel, Juvia, and Flare. The three of them had come to this town after travelling some ways, partly by carriage and partly by foot. There was a job request on the board stating that something was attacking the townspeople here, mainly on the outskirts. It appeared to be wild animals. Unusually aggressive animals that attacked on a regular basis. Naturally, someone had requested a magic guild to come and deal with it, and Gajeel and the other two had all agreed on this job. It didn't sound too hard, but the reward was decent enough. Gajeel thought it sounded like a waste of his time, but Flare seemed pretty interested, and Juvia was game. So, he just shrugged and went along with it. He would still get paid, after all.
The town they were about to enter wasn't exactly a backwoods place, but it was poor. Many of the buildings looked rundown. The streets were paved, but not well maintained. A few of the houses looked abandoned. There were not many people walking about either. The town had apparently not always been like that though. There was a sign just outside the gate with a picture on it. The picture was of the town, but with nice buildings and clean streets, and many people busily moving about. Underneath the picture it cheerfully said, "Welcome to Burkwood, enjoy your stay!".
"Enjoy your stay, huh?" Gajeel said. "I wouldn't want to stay here."
"I've lived in worse places." Flare said cryptically.
"Maybe it used to be a tourist spot." Juvia mused.
"Maybe, but it sure as hell ain't now." Gajeel said. "Anyway, let's quit wasting time and get this over with."
"Sure thing, boss." Flare said.
"Don't call me that." Gajeel said. He wasn't sure if Flare was being sarcastic or not, but somehow it still irritated him. At any rate, the three of them began walking towards the town, the dirty buildings and spotty streets becoming closer and clearer to see. They passed the sign, and walked up to the entrance of the town. There was an archway, but no actual gate. As they entered the town, there were only a few people walking about, none of whom seemed to care about the visitors.
"At least we won't have to worry about crowds." Juvia said.
Gajeel looked around, left to right. "We were supposed to meet up somewhere around here. Where are they?" Nearby, Flare pulled out a folded piece of paper. It was a map of the area, including the town, that they procured shortly before arriving. She unfolded it and inspected it.
"It should be over there." She said, pointing rightward. Gajeel looked down the street.
"You sure?" he said. She nodded. "Alright, let's do this." He said, and began walking. Juvia and Flare followed.
They walked down the street, which was mainly residential, but with a few small shops here and there. There were a few people out hawking products, and a few kids playing in the street. The children did stop and stare at the visitors for a minute, being a little less jaded than the grown ups around. Otherwise, the trio went on without incident.
After walking for a few blocks, they came to a guardhouse off the side of the street. It was bigger than the houses, but still smaller than many of the buildings in Magnolia.
"This is it. Pretty sure." Flare said. The area around the guardhouse looked even worse than the entrance. The road was mostly dirt, the pavement largely gone. There was overgrown vegetation, and a general lack of care.
"I don't like this place." Juvia said. "It looks unsafe here."
"Unsafe? You're right outside of a guardhouse." someone said. The three of them turned. Someone was standing in the doorway to the guardhouse. He was dressed in a guard's outfit, making it obvious what he was. The man walked down the few steps leading to the building, and stood before Juvia and the others.
"No offense, sir." She said.
"Eh, that's alright." The guard said. "This place is a dump, that's true. Its not dangerous though. At least, it wasn't until recently." The man appeared middle aged, and had somewhat of a gut. He also had strong looking arms though, suggesting he was in better shape in his younger days. He looked the three of them over. "So, do you three need any help? Are you looking for directions or something?"
"Nah, we're here to work." Gajeel said. "Were you the one who put up that notice asking for help with the town being attacked?" The guard's expression changed, turning to a look of realization.
"Oh, so you answered the job notice." He said. "Hold on." He turned around, looking back at the guardhouse. "Hey Zeke, we've got visitors. Say they're here to answer the job request."
A younger looking guard came out of the door, and joined the older man. He looked the three mages up and down. He turned to the other man and said, "They're here to do a job? Are you sure? They look like they're from a dark guild. Especially that one." The three mages all exchanged looks, unsure which one of them he meant by "that one".
"I assure you we're not from a dark guild." Juvia said.
"Anymore." Flare added in a low voice.
"Look, we're from Fairy Tail." Gajeel said. "Do you want us to help or not?" The older guard looked at him a moment, and then coughed awkwardly.
"Well, this is something." He said. "First, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Ray, and this is Zeke." He said, pointing to his younger partner. "I'm the captain here." Ray added.
"Oh. The people here are so casual." Juvia said. "I'm Juvia, and that's Flare, and this is- "
"Forget my name." Gajeel said. "Do you want to hire us or not?" Now the two guards exchanged a glance.
"That's the funny thing." Ray said. "Someone else already showed up. From another guild."
"Another guild?" Gajeel said. After he said that, two more people stepped out of the guardhouse. Gajeel recognized them. "What are you two doing here?"
The two mages at the door stepped outside to greet Fairy Tail. The two of them were Lyon and Sherry from Lamia Scale.
"I could ask you the same thing." Lyon said. "You're a little far from your guild, aren't you?" Gajeel didn't answer. He just folded his arms and glared.
"And Juvia, you're here too." Lyon said. "That's a nice surprise, at least."
"Oh, no." Juvia said, suddenly remembering Lyon.
At this point Sherry stepped forward, looking at the other three. "I recognize Juvia and Gajeel, but…" She put her finger on her chin, looking at Flare. "Who's this creepy girl?" Flare looked back with her round, red eyes for a moment, and then quickly took a few steps forward, right up to Sherry. Sherry suddenly backed up a few steps, almost stumbling.
"Flare Corona." Flare said, while flashing a smile and doing a curtsy with her dress.
"Well, aren't you…" Sherry said.
"Aren't I what?" Flare said, still smiling at Sherry. Sherry started to speak, but just sputtered instead. She then turned to Lyon.
"Lyon." Sherry said in a pleading voice. Gajeel started laughing, finding the whole exchange funny. Flare exchanged a look with Gajeel, and she snickered as well.
"Enough." Lyon said. "You three are here for the job? Well, too bad. We got here first."
"Is that right?" Gajeel said, turning serious again. He looked at Lyon, and then looked over at Ray. Ray held up his hands.
"Alright, everyone calm down." Ray said. "I can explain. We were desperate, so we sent out requests to a couple different guilds. These Lamia Scale people showed up around an hour ago. And then, you Fairy Tail folks came along. And now, here you all are."
"Yes, but we were here first." Lyon said. "This is our job. You can go home now."
"We didn't come all this way for nothing." Gajeel said. The two men stood there, neither budging.
"Maybe we can compromise." Juvia said. "Work together?" Lyon turned to look at her.
"Together? I'd be happy to work with you, Juvia. The other two, we don't need."
"Hey." Sherry said, nudging Lyon. He ignored her.
"We're a team." Juvia said. "At least for this one job."
"We'd really like the extra help, but I'm not sure if we can afford to pay all of you." Ray said. The Fairy Tail group all looked at him. "But I'm sure we could work something out." He added quickly. "We could really use the help."
"Before that, how about telling us some more about these 'wild animals' you can't handle." Gajeel said. Ray looked around the streets. He may have been checking to see if they still had privacy. There was no one else around. The town still seemed somewhat lifeless.
"Yeah, okay." Ray said. "We already explained everything to the Lamia scale mages. We'll just give you the bullet points. These aren't exactly wild animals. Doesn't seem like it. I'm pretty sure I've seen people around them when they attack. Just one or two, staying back in the distance, but they're there. And the animals themselves, well… There's something really off about them. They look diseased or something. Maybe changed by magic."
"Oh. That sounds like…" Juvia said.
"Would you say they look decaying or rotting, stuff like that?" Gajeel said. Ray shrugged.
"I guess you could say that." Ray said. "They've been coming here the past few weeks. Not everyday mind, but a couple times a week, usually in the middle. There's a good chance they'll be here tonight, given what I've seen. They always come at night, or just around sunset. Never during the day."
"Doesn't sound too hard." Gajeel said.
"How did this start?" Juvia asked. "Did something happen that triggered this?"
"That crazy religious cult showed up here." Lyon was the one who answered her. "The town refused to cooperate with them, and they were driven out by the guards. They said they'd be back though, and shortly after that the attacks started. Does that answer your question, Juvia?"
"I suppose it does." She said.
"I was going to tell them…" Ray said.
"Feel free." Lyon said dismissively.
"No, you already did…" Ray said quietly.
"Excuse me." Juvia said. "Did one of the people from the cult happen to be a tall blonde woman with strange eyes?" Ray furrowed his brow.
"Tall blonde woman? I don't recall seeing anyone like that. There was a tall man though. Wearing weird clothes, and had orange hair. Called himself Hot Eyes or something."
"Oracion Seis." Gajeel said in a low voice. Flare didn't say anything, but looked unusually pensive. "All right, I'm in." Gajeel said.
"As I said, we were here first." Lyon said.
"Its not about who got here first, its about who's best for the job." Gajeel said.
"Look, I'll pay whoever can do it, as long as its taken care of." Ray said.
Lyon stepped back and exchanged whispered words with Sherry. He looked back at the others. "You do what you want. Just stay out of our way." The two of them then walked off.
"So, you three still gonna help?" Ray said.
"Sure." Gajeel said. "But we damn sure better get paid, because I don't work for free."
Ray looked at the younger guard, and then back at Gajeel. He smiled a little stiffly. "Uh, sure. Just do your best." The two guards then walked back to their guardhouse, leaving the three mages standing in the street.
"So now we have to compete with Lamia Scale." Juvia said.
"Yeah right." Gajeel said. "We're better than them, and there's three of us. At least, I know you and me are better, Juvia." He then turned to Flare. "What about you, redhead? Are you good enough?" Flare looked at him, not smiling this time.
"I'm good enough, when I'm motivated." She said.
"And what are you motivated by here?" he said. Flare looked from Gajeel to Juvia, and back again.
"I need money. I don't want to starve, or be homeless. I want to go home eventually." She stopped talking suddenly, and just looked at them curiously.
"That sounds like a pretty good motivation." Gajeel said. "So its agreed, we'll kick ass and get the reward." The girls both nodded.
A few hours passed, and it was now sunset at Burkwood. Gajeel, Flare, and Juvia were near the middle of town, at a small circular fountain. Like so much of the rest of the town, it looked like something that had once been nice, but had since fallen into disrepair. The surrounding area consisted of various shops and stalls. Currently, the area was bathed in orange light from the setting sun.
Lyon and Sherry had decided to wait at one of the town gates for the attackers to come. Ray and his deputy had decided to wait at a different gate in another part of town. The Fairy Tail team decided against that though. They decided that since they had no way of knowing which gate the attack would come from, it didn't make sense to wait at a specific gate. So, they decided to wait near the center of town and head to whichever gate was attacked from there. This wouldn't be practical in a larger town or a city of course, but for the town they were in they felt it was the better option than having to potentially run from one side of the town to the other during an attack. At the moment though, they were doing nothing but sitting around waiting for something to happen.
"So Flare, how are you liking your first job with Fairy Tail?" Gajeel asked with a mixture of teasing and impatience. "Pretty exciting, huh?" Flare sat there at the edge of the fountain, and didn't respond.
"Why are you teasing her?" Juvia asked.
"Because she's the one who picked this job out." He said.
"I didn't think those guys would be involved in this." Flare said.
"Are you going to be okay with this?" Juvia asked. "You could sit this out if you don't think you can handle it. I know that forest incident must have been traumatic."
Flare waved her hand. "Eh, its fine, Blueberry. I knew I was going to have to face them again sooner or later. I just thought it would be later." She then stood up from the fountain and stretched. Then, she did something unexpected. She put her arms in an odd position, closed her eyes, and started muttering something. Gajeel and Juvia looked at each other.
"What the hell is she doing?" Gajeel whispered. Juvia looked at Flare. She couldn't make out most of what Flare was saying, but she heard the words "Please protect" and "Eternal Flame".
"I… think she's praying." Juvia whispered back.
"Huh. Didn't think she was the type." Gajeel said.
After that, they stood there for a little while longer, as the sun dipped below the horizon, giving way to twilight. The town, which was already low on activity and foot traffic from its people, became even more barren as darkness approached. Then, a bell began to toll. Several in fact.
"Is that the signal for the attack?" Juvia asked.
"Probably." Gajeel said. "But where…?" Just then, a speaker system activated. A voice could be heard coming from somewhere above.
"Attention citizens, the north gate is under attack. I repeat, the north gate is under attack. Find a place to shelter immediately."
"That's our cue." Said Gajeel. "You better be ready."
"I'm ready." Said Juvia.
"Ready or not, here I go." Flare said in an odd turn. All three of them began quickly moving towards the north gate. Even running though, it would still take them a few minutes to get there. They had no way of knowing if the guards there would hold out that long.
After running through the streets for several minutes, they made it to the north gate. They came upon a scene where several guards were battling viscous creatures. Ray and Zeke were not among them. Most of the creatures appeared to be wolves, although the trio were surprised to find that there were a couple vulcans there as well. All of them looked mutated or deformed in some way. One of the guards was already dead. There were four others there as well. As the trio approached, one guard lost his nerve and ran away, going straight past them.
"What a loser." Gajeel said. "Shouldn't be a guard if you're too afraid to fight." Juvia and Flare didn't respond. They were already preparing their magic. Juvia produced streams of water from her arms, and Flare let her hair loose. At that same moment, a Vulcan noticed them and quickly charged. Flare and Juvia both attacked it. Juvia shot a water blast at its abdomen, and Flare whipped her now fiery hair at its head. The creature barely flinched and kept coming. It was upon them before they could prepare a second attack. However, Gajeel turned his fist into a hammer and struck it into the beast's chest, knocking it back a few feet.
"Water Lock!" Juvia called, casting her spell. The Vulcan was enveloped in a giant water bubble, trapping it. "It should suffocate in there." She said.
"Does it actually need to breath?" Gajeel said. Juvia looked at the bubble, hearing the monster pounding against it.
"I'm not sure." She replied.
"Whatever." He said. "I'll take it down. Just get ready to drop the bubble." He transformed one of his arms into a sword.
"Okay." Juvia said. He gave her a signal, and she dropped her spell. The monster immediately came barreling towards her, faster than she was expecting. Before she knew it, it had already picked her up with one hand, holding her in the air. She panicked, trying to conjure a spell. The Vulcan roared in her face. Then, a blade sliced into its neck, coming close to Juvia's own neck. It cleaved through the monster, its head falling to the ground. Its body fell forwards along with Juvia. They both hit the ground, Juvia pinned under one of its arms.
"Ah!" she gasped. "You could have killed me!" she said to Gajeel. He laughed.
"I know what I'm doing." His arm turned back to normal, and he moved to lift the beast's arm. Flare used her hair to help move the Vulcan, wrapping around its body. Juvia was freed and got to her feet.
"Thanks." Juvia said in a tone suggesting she was not happy with how that turned out.
"We've still got the rest to deal with. No time to waste." Gajeel said. They all ran over towards the fray. The wolves were attacking the three remaining guards, and the guards were losing. The other Vulcan, oddly, seemed to be just standing back by the gate. The mages decided not to question it and just focus on the wolves for the moment.
The wolves were on top of the guards, biting them, drawing blood. It was a desperate situation for the guards. Fortunately for them, Gajeel and Juvia intervened. Gajeel spat metal spikes at the wolves, piercing into their flesh. Juvia also shot a powerful blast of water at them. Unfortunately for those same guards, there was some friendly fire. The bulk of the attacks landed on the wolves, but due to the close proximity of the fight, the men got part of the attack as well.
"We hit them too." Juvia observed.
"At least they're still alive." Gajeel said. "That's what counts."
"Okay, but what if we try this?" Flare said, stepping forward. Her hair grew longer, and she sent it flowing in several directions towards the wolves. She grabbed each of them all at once, lifted them into the air, and then threw them against the wall, away from the guards. "Separate the good from the bad, right? Seemed like a good idea." She said, sounding increasingly enthusiastic.
"Yeah, yeah." Gajeel said.
"And now…" Flare said. Her hair coiled back, but then went up into the air and twisted into an unusual shape. Her hair then ignited, and the shape became apparent.
"Is that a wolf?" Juvia said.
"Fight fire with fire." Flare rasped. The wolves had now gotten up and started running towards her. She propelled the giant flaming wolf towards the flesh and blood creatures. It struck down into the ground around them, crushing them and igniting them in flame. The wolves howled and struggled. Flare brought the fire wolf up and slammed it down once more. The howling ceased. By this point, the other Vulcan had also retreated further back away from them. The fire in Flare's hair extinguished. Her hair returned to normal. Flare smiled widely at her handiwork, and even laughed a little. Nearby, Gajeel was also smiling.
"Alright, I'll admit that was a little cool." He said.
"A bit flashy." Juvia said.
"It got the job done." Gajeel said. "And you seem like you're having fun now." He said to Flare. Flare gave him one of her usual strange looks.
"This isn't as bad as I thought it would be." She said.
"I can agree with that." Juvia said. "We got off to a rocky start, but overall this was fairly easy."
The guards nearby began to get up. They were injured, but still able to stand. They looked around at the bodies around. "Thanks for the help." One of them said. "Glad that's finally over."
"Oh, its not over." Another voice said. Someone was outside the gate, in the shadows. They began approaching.
"You all had to jinx it." Gajeel said. "That's okay, I'm ready for another round."
"Glad to hear it. Oh Yeah!" the voice said.
"Oh." Flare said. Both Juvia and Gajeel noticed the change in Flare's demeanor, her smile gone.
"Flare?" Juvia said. "Is that man…?"
"Oracion Seis." Gajeel finished.
"You can call me Hoteye." Hoteye said. "Although, I've already met the red head. Still alive, I see. We can fix that." Gajeel stepped forward to say something, but someone else came running up from behind. Gajeel quickly turned and changed his arms to weapons, preparing for an attack. However, the people rushing in from behind were Lyon and Sherry. They both looked winded.
"You finally showed up." Gajeel said. "For a minute I forgot you were here."
"Be quiet." Lyon said. "We had to run all the way from the other side of town." Gajeel considered making a snarky reply to this, but decided against it. After all, they had more important things to worry about right then. Hoteye was right outside the gate, just a few yards away from them.
"If you all surrender now, then I might be willing to spare some of you and take you prisoner." Hoteye said.
"Ah, shut up." Gajeel said. "There's one of you and five of us."
Hoteye laughed. "First of all, I can take all of you single handed. Oh Yeah! Second, I am not alone." As he said that, he motioned with his hand. The other Vulcan came back over. Two figures in robes also approached. Finally, one more person came near. He wasn't wearing a robe like the others. He was wearing a dirty blue suit, and cracked sunglasses, despite it being past sunset. He also appeared to have an oddly shaped face, similar to Hoteye.
"Say hello to my brother, Wally." Hoteye said.
"Wait, I know him." Juvia said. "He was at the tower of heaven. He was one of the people who kidnapped Erza Scarlet. But then he escaped with us, and…" Juvia trailed off as she was talking.
"Oh, so you know my brother?" Hoteye said. "What a small world. Wally, do you recognize that woman?" Hoteye pointed to Juvia. At the same time, Flare gave Juvia a quizzical look, having no idea what any of them were talking about.
"Hmmm." Wally said. He shambled forward. "W-Water lady. Water lady, Richard." He pointed at Juvia. Wally then groaned. Gajeel looked at Juvia, raising an eyebrow.
"He wasn't like this before." Juvia said in a low voice. As they looked closer at Wally, it became obvious there were other things off about him. His face was always odd, but his skin was now different. Discolored. Something was wrong with his mouth too. Like his jaw didn't properly align with his face. And they also noticed two small protrusions on his head.
"Are those horns?" Gajeel said.
"Is he a demon?" Lyon asked. Hot Eye seemed to become irritated by this.
"Wally is a man. He's just gone through some… changes." Hoteye said. His eyes began to glow an orange color.
"His eyes." Juvia said.
"I think I might know what this is." Sherry said from behind. "Its sort of like my magic with my puppets, and how I control them, right?"
Hoteye suddenly turned to look at her. "What did you say?!" he said, quickly turning angry. His eyes glowed brighter and began to spark with magic. He motioned with his hands towards the mages. "Wally is not a puppet!" he shouted. The ground in front of him began to move, and it quickly spread out towards the mages. The earth turned to a liquid mass, swallowing everything.
"Run, idiots!" Flare said. She was already running. The others were caught off guard, and ended up getting caught in Hoteye's spell. All four of them were caught up in the liquified earth. They struggled, but it seemed to do little good. Sherry was pulled up, with the liquid earth enveloping her. She was held there, unable to move.
"Who's the puppet now?" Hoteye said. He motioned with his hands again. The earth surrounding Sherry contracted, squeezing her. She made sounds of pain, but it was difficult for her to yell out. Hoteye smiled, pleased with himself. Suddenly he cried out. He had been struck with something: several spiky objects had hit him. He looked up, and saw Flare. She had climbed up one of the guard towers near the gate. Hoteye suddenly forgot about Sherry, and dropped her.
"How did you get up there?" he said. Flare smiled at him. Unlike the others, she had been expecting his attack, and quickly ran. Of course, there was still a good chance it would have gotten her if it weren't for the fact that she was surprisingly fast and agile.
As Flare looked down at him, her hair grew longer. She was only a couple stories up, so could still reach him. However, Wally had produced a gun, and was aiming it at Flare. She noticed, and moved her hair to defend against shots. Wally fired, multiple times. His shots went wild, scattering about. Flare watched him incredulously. Even if she didn't have her hair to defend her, Wally couldn't hit her. Wally looked at his gun, and shook it in frustration.
"Sorry Richard." He said slowly. Hoteye put an arm on Wally.
"Its okay, you tried your best. You'll do better next time. Let me take care of this." Hoteye turned and quickly did another hand motion. The earth under the guard tower shook, and the tower began to shift, with Flare still inside it.
"Did you think you would be safe up there?" Hoteye said. Flare held on to a railing as the tower tilted. Something suddenly hit Hoteye below. It was Gajeel, who had used an iron club attack. Hoteye was knocked back a little. He looked up, and saw that the mages had escaped the liquid earth, which had begun to solidify again. Sherry was still hurt though, and laying on the ground. Lyon prepared an ice attack.
"That's enough." Hoteye said. The Vulcan nearby charged ahead. Lyon was forced to redirect his attack towards it. He sent a wave of icicles from the ground toward the beast, hitting it. That slowed it down. The nearby guards decided to get involved again, and charged the creature. It picked one of them up, and tossed him into a wall, leaving two guards left.
Lyon prepared another attack. As he was charging, Juvia ran up to him. He paused, and listened as she made a suggestion. He looked quickly from her to the creature, and nodded. She stood in front of Lyon, and he finished his spell. The Vulcan turned to them, just as Lyon fired. He shot a large blast of ice right at Juvia, who turned to water. Her water body combined with his ice and hurtled toward the monster. It stood there stupidly as it was hit full force. It was knocked back onto the ground. It twitched slightly. Lyon walked over and produced an ice hammer, cracking it across the skull. It stopped moving.
Meanwhile, Gajeel was facing down Hoteye. Gajeel turned his arm into a sword again, and charged. The ground began to melt again. Gajeel jumped, but was unable to make it all the way. He swung his sword at his enemy in vain. He was sinking fast. Hoteye smiled. He moved his hands in a way that Gajeel was pretty sure indicated crushing. He braced himself. But Hoteye's arms were pulled back. The ground stopped moving. Gajeel took advantage and quickly climbed out before the earth solidified again. When he got up, he saw that Hoteye was being restrained by Flare's hair.
"Gajeel, hurry up and finish him." Flare said. "He's strong, and I can't hold him for long."
"Don't have to tell me twice." Gajeel smirked. He brought out his sword again, and ran towards Hoteye. Gajeel leapt and swung his sword down. At the last second, Wally got in the way, and was hit instead. After the sword connected, Wally crumpled to the ground in front of his brother. Hoteye roared, and threw Flare off of him with all his might. She fell to the side. Hoteye got to the ground and held his younger brother. Gajeel stood there, not sure how to react. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, Hoteye began shaking. His eyes glowed orange, brighter than before. They glowed so much that he no longer looked himself. He yelled and quickly stood up. The ground around him began to melt. Gajeel quickly backed away.
All of the ground around Hoteye, including the ground he was standing on, began to liquify. He didn't seem to be focusing on what he was doing. The power spread out, going up to the town walls, which started to crumble.
"He's going to destroy the town!" a nearby guard said.
"Ah, damnit." Gajeel said. After backing up several feet, he quickly charged an iron dragon roar, and blasted it at Hoteye. He gave it everything he had, because he was running out of power and it would be hard getting close to Hoteye if the spell spread any further. After a few seconds, Gajeel stood back, and noticed Hoteye's attack had stopped. The ground was turning solid again, and Hoteye was unconscious.
Gajeel approached, and the other mages all gathered as well.
"It looks like we did it." Juvia said.
"Yes, we work well together." Lyon said. Sherry had gotten to her feet, but was not in great condition.
"Sorry I couldn't be more help." She said.
"It… was just bad luck." Lyon said. "I'm sure you'll do better next time."
"Yes, I will." She said.
Gajeel looked at the unconscious forms of Wally and Hoteye, along with the various mutant animal corpses strewn about. "Guess its about time we go and collect our reward." He said. "We're gonna have to carry this big bastard back somehow." He was referring to the unconscious Hoteye.
"Yeah, but you know-" Flare said, stepping closer to Hoteye. However, she was cut off by something. Two figures suddenly crashed down in front of everyone. They were mechanical things with wings. Flare quickly backstepped, startled by the machines. Gajeel quickly prepared to attack.
"What the hell are those?" Lyon asked.
"Gray and the others told us about those." Juvia said. "They're from that place. They're supposed to be quite dangerous."
"Then we'd better take care of them." Lyon said. He fired a blast of ice at one of the machines. The ice blew over it, freezing its wings. It stood in place. After several seconds, the ice cracked, and it spread its wings violently.
"They're strong." Lyon said. Flare then set her hair afire, and assaulted the other machine closer to her. She whipped it several times. It took a step back, but otherwise didn't appear seriously damaged.
"Looks like we're in for another fight." Gajeel said. He prepared to launch an attack of his own. But the machines suddenly backed away. They flapped their wings, and lifted off the ground. The mages prepared to defend themselves. However, one of the harpies grabbed Hoteye in its talons and lifted him, flying into the air. He was heavy, and lifting him was difficult, but the machine managed.
"The hell?" Gajeel said. The one machine flew into the air with Hoteye. The other machine then flew over to Wally and grabbed him. He was lighter, but the machine still took a moment to lift him.
"No you don't." Gajeel said. He turned his arm into an iron club and extended it to hit the machine. He knocked it square in the abdomen. The machine dropped Wally, and faltered in its flight. The other mages followed his cue and also began attacking it, launching ice and water and fire at it. This seemed to have a greater affect on it. After falling to the ground for a second, it took flight again, and quickly flew away, leaving Wally behind.
"What the hell was that?" Gajeel said.
"What the hell is that?" Flare asked, pointing to something nearby. Several yards away, in a group of trees, was something watching them. It was a bug like machine.
"Another one." Juvia said.
"I think I've seen that before…" Sherry said.
"I'm getting sick of these games." Gajeel said. He started walking towards the bug. It quickly retreated and left their sight. They all stood there a minute, waiting to see if anything else showed up. It appeared they were finally alone.
A short time later, they were all back at the guard house. Wally had been handcuffed, and the other men who had been there were in custody as well. Ray and his deputy Zeke were there as well.
"Good job." Ray said. "Couldn't have done it without you."
"We really owe you." Zeke said.
"Yeah, you do." Gajeel said. "Time to pay up." Ray and Zeke exchanged a glance.
"The thing is, we're on a budget right now." Ray said. "We can't exactly afford…"
"You're not stiffing me." Gajeel said. "You promised a reward, and you're keeping that promise. Wouldn't want things to turn ugly."
Juvia turned to Gajeel and whispered. "What's that supposed to mean? What are you going to do?"
"Hurt them." Flare said. "Burn stuff." Flare was not whispering.
"Are you two out of your minds? We're not in a dark guild." Juvia said.
"We're not going to hurt innocent people, just the guards trying to break their contract with us." Flare said.
"Sounds fair." Gajeel said. Juvia looked like she was going to say something further, but Ray spoke up first.
"Hey, wait a minute. There's no need for that."
"You're right, there's not." Gajeel said. "But I don't work for free, and I don't like being cheated. But I'm sure we can work this out civilly." Ray stood there a moment, appearing to think it over.
"There is something we can do." He said. "Hold on." He then went inside the guardhouse.
"I hope we don't get in trouble for this." Juvia said.
"Hey, we haven't done anything wrong." Gajeel said. A minute later Ray came back out holding something. It was a box with a lock on it. He set it down and opened it. Inside was jewelry, and shiny ornaments, and other expensive looking things.
"Its evidence." Ray said. "We took it after capturing a bunch of robbers. They had this stuff on them. No way of knowing who it belonged to. Not anyone here, that's for sure. Probably from other towns. Anyway, it's yours. This should cover the payment."
"And what about us?" Lyon said.
"You can take a share too. You'll have to decide how to divide it up though."
The mages stared at the sparkling, expensive looking jewelry.
"Should we really take this?" Juvia said.
"Yeah, we should." Flare said. "We earned it."
"Its not like we have any way of finding the original owners." Sherry said.
"Works for me." Gajeel said.
"So, we have a deal?" Ray said.
"Just one more thing." Juvia said. "We should take him with us back to Fairy Tail." She pointed to Wally, who wasn't speaking.
"Why?" said Zeke.
"Information." Juvia said. "You can keep the other two though." She was referring to the other two men who had been with Hot Eye, who had also been captured.
"Well, alright." Ray said. "As long as the attacks are over." Having settled that, the guards took the two men into custody, and Wally was left with the others. Lyon and Sherry began dividing their reward, when Gajeel spoke.
"Hey, before we go, I guess I should mention that the master has been trying to get in touch with you guys. He wants an alliance. You know, against the guys from Bosco."
Lyon looked up at Gajeel. "Yes, I know. Don't worry, we'll be in contact with you soon. I need to go report back to my guild, but you'll be hearing from us."
"Hopefully, we'll finally be able to put an end to all this soon." Juvia said.
Alrace sat alone in the garden outside the main building. As usual, it was quiet there. Even though it was a nice spot, other people seldom came there. They were often too busy, perhaps. He knew that Lisanna used to come there a lot, which is what gave him the idea to visit it. He had been thinking about her and Natsu lately, and their whole situation. He sympathized with them, especially Lisanna. She had been brought into all of this without being asked.
Alrace sighed, and ran his bony hand along a stone table. It had been almost a day since he had last seen her. She took off, and he didn't know where. He wanted to see her again though. There was something he wanted to show her. He wanted to help her. However, there was also something that he wanted for himself. Something that she might be able to give him.
He sat there for a minute, looking at the plant life around. It was calming. There was no wind though, except for a breeze that seemed to be in the distance. After listening for a moment, he realized it wasn't a breeze. It was the sound of flapping, from large wings. He looked up, suspecting who it might be. He did indeed see a shape, but it didn't look like Lisanna's harpy form. He became anxious, wondering who or what it might be. He stood up as it approached. It landed hard on the ground in front of him, feet first. There was a thud, and a gust of air. It had large leathery wings wrapped around itself. It unfolded the wings, revealing Lisanna, albeit different than he had seen her before.
"Hi Alrace." She said in a friendly tone. He stared at her a moment.
"L-Lisanna, you…" he held his arms, startled by her entrance.
"Did I scare you?" she said. "Sorry. I'm not used to this form yet. I need to work on landing."
Alrace nodded slowly, looking her up and down. "Yes, um. You've changed."
"Do you like it?" she asked, spreading her arms and wings to give him a better look.
"It… suits you." He said. "Lisanna, I want to tell you something."
"Oh, really?" she said. "Actually, there was something I wanted to talk with you about. But you first."
He nodded. "Natsu. You need to see…"
"See Natsu?" she said. "You can take me to him?"
He lowered his head, considering for a moment. "That is difficult. He's watched. Boudica… doesn't want him being around you too much."
"Yeah, I know." Lisanna said, folding her arms.
"But I spoke to him earlier. O-only for a minute. He has something for you. Wants you to see it. I can take you, but it needs to be tonight."
"Tonight." Lisanna said. Alrace nodded.
"Yes. Not sure when the next chance…"
"That's okay." She said. "I just don't want us to get caught again."
Alrace hesitated. "Risky. But, might be the only chance."
Lisanna paused for a moment. She seemed to be thinking about something far away. "Okay. Let's do it. Lead the way. I'll keep an eye out, make sure we aren't being followed. But first…" She turned back into her usual form. She wanted to keep her new form a secret for now. Plus, she wanted to conserve her power, just in case. "Okay, I'm ready."
Alrace smiled a little. "Yes, alright. This way." He walked back into the building, and Lisanna followed behind him. She wasn't sure what to expect. That night, she would learn many things, and receive answers to many of her questions.
End Notes: I feel as though I should choose a name for the Gajeel/Juvia/Flare team. Its hard to think of a name that suits them though. Then again, Shadow Gear (Levy's team) has kind of a random sounding name, so I guess the name doesn't really need to make sense.
As far as Lisanna's bat form, I tried to come up with something that was somewhat similar to Mirajane's demon/satan form, but more vampirish. I tried to make her outfit sort of like what you might see in canon, knowing that the creator likes to give the girls sexy outfits, but without making it a swimsuit or something.
This chapter ended up being pretty long, which is why it took longer. The next chapter should be long too. The next chapter will be "Natsu's Story".
