White Sea had their plans all in place, the almost full moon was just starting to come out as the sky began to darken. Thankfully Mest didn't have to use his powers to make it look like an army of White Sea mages were looming off in the horizon because they would now be using that strategy for tonight. Every willing and able female mage would be the first line to go into enemy territory, tripping the system so the potions were released early. The second and third waves would contain the remaining men that would either be heading into the Warqueen's estate or help take out warriors in the surrounding area. Lucy's elite team of mages would be heading straight into the compound, to Vander since she could feel the strongest pull from him. After testing out his gate hopping abilities they discovered she could take up to eight other people with her, even if they didn't share a kin marking. After much debate, it was decided she'd be taking Zen, Emzadi, Wendy, Juvia, Cobra, Bickslow, Thane, and Gajeel.
They were currently waiting of the edge for Arman to give the order that the Boscan airships were in position so they could begin being teleported down by many of White Sea's talented mages. The Pradesh patriarch would be watching things from afar, relaying messages to the group via Angie a newer telepathic White Sea mage who was studying at the Academe Celestine. Arman was also going to be there for when White Sea defeated their enemy so he could try to work out a treaty with the Warqueen. Getting a foot in the door with Joya would be something to strive for once they had rescued the four missing men. Farron was staying in White Sea to man the guild since Thane had been tasked with assisting Lucy and Freed was there to help him along the way if needed.
Freed had been working around the clock with Xally to create an amulet that would absorb the toxins that may be thrown at the mages. Xally had been busy recreating the anti-venom for all the men to take and an antidote for the mages to carry on them just as a precaution. Arman had pulled a few strings to get the King of Seven to lend a couple of his talented alchemists to help Xally the past twenty-four hours, with the agreement they could take several samples with them and further study it. Arman agreed as long as he and Xally were privy to the information gathered. The King agreed to the terms and Thane went to pick up the two men and two women who made the antidote possible in such a short amount of time.
"We are all in place," Arman called to the mages aboard his aircraft. "Be safe!" He nodded as Lucy gathered her magic around her, searching for Vander as she let her thoughts of him consume her. In a blinding flash of gold, the nine mages were gone, Arman gave the order for all the teleport mages to start descending with the first wave of mages. Angie gave the go ahead and magic began to explode all around the aircraft and the night sky. Arman sent a silent prayer to the heavens as he waited for a positive outcome.
Lucy landed with her company in a white room, staggering slightly from the pull of her magic and carrying so many people. Zen held her upright as she gathered her bearings. She gasped when she saw a naked Vander strapped to a medical chair, several tubes hooked up to his arms. "Open, gate of the firebird, Phoenix. Can you check to see if Van is alright?" Lucy bit her lip as Nix ran his magic over Vander's entire body.
"They've been trying to drain his magic from him but they haven't been very successful. I can remove the lines they have in but it'll take some time. I'll need to ensure that each line disconnects with his magic properly and then heal the wounds. Solar dragon slayer, once I am done I want you to torch everything in this room."
"With fucking pleasure!" Emzadi's ears twitched as she turned her body to the door, taking a defensive position. Gajeel, Cobra, Bickslow, and Zen followed suit while Wendy was helping Nix heal Vander. Juvia, Thane, and Lucy stayed close to the two working on Vander as two Joyan women walked into the room, surprised to see someone else in there. Gajeel used the shadows to slam and lock the door behind the women, no need to let them sound an alarm. Emzadi and Zen launched themselves at the two women, swords clashing as they began to battle.
"Nix how's it going?" Lucy whispered to her spirit.
"I need at least ten more minutes, even with the sky dragon slayer helping it's taking more time than anticipated."
"Guess we have a little time to play around then," Emzadi smirked at Zen who smiled back at his sister. Lucy watched the four mages battle but it wasn't even that riveting since the dragon and the angel seemed to be faster and more precise in their movements. Lucy turned her attention back to Vander as she held his hand in her own, his mark flared brightly on his chest as the lines were pushed out of his skin allowing Nix and Wendy to heal him in record time.
"What the fuck was that?" Gajeel asked genuinely confused.
"Princess saved the shadowquip mage a while back and this mark is what protects him from himself and the shadows that try to consume him," Nix explained as he began to unstrap the magic cancelling belts that were holding Vander down. "I suspect that this mark is what was preventing them from siphoning off more of his magic and what's been protecting him. The skin on skin contact allowed the mark to absorb some of Lucy's raw energy and repel the last of the lines."
"Not exactly the skin on skin contact I want but I'll take what I can get from Stella," Vander uttered as he began to sit up slowly, pulling shadow clothes around his body.
"Idiot," Emzadi called as she finished off her opponent, Zen following suit. Both hugged their brother, happy that at least one of the three were now safe. "Do you want Thane to take you up to the ship? Dad's up there along with Xally and other medical mages."
"Give me five and I should be good to go," Vander cracked his neck before diving into Gajeel's shadow, replenishing magic that he'd lost the last while. "Let's find the other so we can get home. I am so looking forward to real food and sex, not necessarily in that order." The mages laughed at Vander, happy to have his spark in the group. Angie, Lucy called out to the mage, Can you let Arman know that we have Vander and aside from being hungry and horny he's perfectly fine. Angie snorted and agreed to relay the message.
"I feel Cristoff off to the left of us and," Lucy hummed in thought, "and I think Kaleb is to the right of us. Split up into two teams, each with a slayer and a shadowquip mage. I want extra senses and someone who can get to the teams to communicate with them in a hurry."
"Vander, Juvia, Cobra, Emzadi, and Bickslow will head left in search of Cristoff," Zen stated while thinking about the best teams, "I'll go with Lucy, Wendy, Thane, and Gajeel and see what we can find on Kaleb. If no one hears from the other in an hour we'll send shadows or spirits to the other team to communicate." They all nodded in agreement and went their separate directions. Emzadi took the lead followed by Juvia, Cobra, Bickslow and Vander bringing up the rear. Vander has sent shadows out to see where Cristoff was being kept, but so far he hadn't any luck, they also hadn't run into anyone in the hallways they were travelling. It was too quiet and the group of five knew that nothing good would come of that.
Arman was getting reports in from the field mages, courtesy of Angie, and the women were fairing quite well thus far against the Joyan warriors in the forest that were guarding the main compound. A couple of injuries but no fatalities as he was gearing up waive two to head on in. Ensuring everyone had taken the anti-venom an hour before they headed into the field he was about to let Angie know to give the command when he heard her snort. Bright lavender eyes held laughter as he listened to what Lucy had just told her, a smile forming on his lips while his tense shoulders relaxed a bit. One down, three to go.
"Angie, please give the command for the second wave. Ensure they know what will happen if they do not take their anti-venom."
"Right away Ambassador," Angie smiled back as she relayed the information. Her telepathic magic was nowhere near as powerful as her guildmasters was, but then again he was a mindbender. Angie was good at relaying information hundreds of miles away to another person and distorting the truths people could see but there was no way she could turn a person's brain to mush. It just wasn't her style, so she had opted to do some training at the Academe in hopes of finding another use for her magic.
"Mest, how is the illusion holding up?" Arman asked the man who was staring out of one of the plane's small windows.
"It should be good for a while. I women at the outposts were knocked out so no alarms have been sounded, as of yet. I'm assuming that one of these mages in the forest will make it inside to give them a heads up before we can enter."
"I have mages starting to state that there is a magical barrier around the outside of the compound and they aren't able to get through."
"Tell them to hold their positions, Angie," Arman stated as he began to mull around some ideas. "Joya isn't known for their defensive mages so I doubt the barrier will be very strong, but what lies behind the barrier has me anxious. We haven't encountered that many strong mages in the forest which leaves me to believe they are inside, close to the Warqueen."
"We have a commotion in the forest," Angie bit her lip as she tried to listen to everyone shouting at her. "Some mages named Sting, Rogue, and Orga are here at the request of Gajeel." Arman raised an eyebrow, unfamiliar with the names.
"They're from Sabertooth in Fiore," Mest smirked knowing Gajeel had asked for help and not knowing who he'd get. "Light and dark dragon slayers as well as the lightning god slayer. All amazing mages, all on our team, and one of them can easily topple the barrier without using more magic than what's in their pinky."
"Tell White Sea to let them in to bring down the barrier." Angie did as Arman asked and within moments lightning was crackling along everyone's senses as the barrier fell. "I have to say that was impressive, granted he's still not on par with Laxus." Mest outright laughed at the ambassador's comment. "Hopefully we'll hear something soon from Lucy's team."
Vander's shadows were finally able to get a hit on Cristoff's location, so he and Emzadi traded places so he could lead the group and follow what his shadows were telling him. It was still awfully quiet so they were all on high alert as the weaved in and out of corridors. They had no idea what they were going to run into but the scene before them wasn't one they were expecting. Granted with the moon in the stage it was they shouldn't have been surprised to see dozens of women basking in the glow of Cristoff's overflowing magic. Cristoff was chained to a cross, the moonbeams causing his naked flesh to glow from the power he was absorbing. Women were pleasuring themselves or others as one of the Warqueens walked out in a black silk robe.
"How much of this is the moon and how much is the poisons you think?" Bickslow whispered to his siblings, both shook their head. "How many anti-venom vials are we going to have to put in him?"
"None," Cobra whispered as he observed everyone in the room. "There's a small stream running behind him, if Juvia can use her water magic to lift me up I will give it to him directly. Juvia, think you can . . . Juvia? Awe shit." Cobra looked out to see that Juvia was walking right up to the lunar dragon slayer, no one was paying her any attention as they were all caught up in their own sexual encounters.
"What the fuck do we do now?" Vander asked as they watched the bluenette.
"Nothing," Bickslow said with a sly smile on his face.
"Bro, what the hell?" Emzadi eyes glowed brightly as she glared at her brother.
"We do nothing. You want to see a fight than wait until that Warqueen advances on Cristoff." Bickslow was smiling happily as his babies laughed and twirled around his head. "Water woman strong. She cray-cray! She's gonna strip. Possessive. Gonna get her man." Cobra smiled as he realized just what Bickslow was getting at. Juvia may have changed her stalkerish ways when it came to guys after her incident with Gray but her ability to just know when the guy she was interested in was being encroached on by another female was uncanny. Cobra started to let off a small sleep spell, spreading it amongst the writhing women. He wasn't totally unaffected my Cristoff's moondrunk superpowers he was throwing off, actually, he was looking forward to tomorrow's full moon because he was going to get an extra dosage of dragon lust and Evergreen would be his by the end of the night.
"What do you think lunar dragon slayer? Are there enough women here to satisfy you for the next three night?" The Warqueen purred as she stood before the naked man.
"So many women yet not the right one," Cristoff whined in pain. He was painfully hard yet his dragon was going crazy because he just wanted their mate. His natural healing abilities were slowly starting to breakdown whatever the hell he had been injected with the last twenty-four hours but it wasn't fast enough. His dragon knew this wasn't right and to some small degree Cristoff knew too but the drugs were making him want a release, any release right this damn minute.
"My poor Boscan dragon. You'll be mine by the end of the night, bound to me for all eternity."
"Not fucking likely!" A female voice raged as the Warqueen's eyes fell on a strange bluenette.
"Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?"
"Juvia is here to get her mate back after you stole Cristoff from Juvia!" Blue eyes hardened as she took in the Warqueen before her.
"I, Warqueen Lanni, will not allow you to do so because you'll be dead before you even reach the steps," she summoned the stone that was beneath her feet and began to build a fortress to hole herself away with the slayer while throwing pieces at the woman who dared defy her.
"Ju . . . Juvia?" Cristoff looked at the second woman before him. Her long blue hair and matching eyes were so familiar to him yet he couldn't place her. His dragon's roar was fading into the background.
"Juvia will save you!" She dodged all the pieces of rock that were being tossed at her, slicing through some here and there. She heard the other woman cackle as the last piece formed around the two of them. Random pieces were still coming her direction, keeping her at arm's length as she continued to try to get closer to save her mate.
"Do we go help her?" Emzadi asked as she took a step forward only to have Bickslow grab her elbow.
"I wouldn't do that right now if I were you sis. Juvia is just getting warmed up." Bickslow watched as Juvia became angrier by the second before she pulled the water from the stream and encased the stone dome before her. The water soon disappeared within the cracks of the water, a female scream sounding from within its confines before the entire thing blew apart. Lanni was flung across the floor, sliding a ways from all the extra water as Juvia strode up to Cristoff. She summoned a ball of water, they stared in awe as it changed from blue to white as she pressed it into Cristoff's chest, spreading it throughout his body and pulling it out through his feet. They water black with the toxins it had cleared from his blood and when Cristoff opened his eyes they were their normal dark blue with silver specks glowing in the moonlight.
"Juvia has been training with Xally plus," he smirked as he watched his brother and guildmate, "Cristoff isn't the only one who pulls power from the full moon."
"You bitch!" A dripping wet Lanni stood up, pointing a finger at Juvia. "He is mine! He was promised to me so that I could carry on a strong female heir with his bloodline. Clanborn and a dragon slayer, you can't get any more powerful than that."
"Lanni is wrong. Cristoff is Juvia's mate and Juvia plans to be his as soon as we are home." Cristoff eyes went wide as she spoke. She had been hesitant to let him do much of anything besides kissing her and the odd ass groping here and there. He wasn't sure what changed but damn if he wasn't impressed by everything she was doing right now. He felt shadows wrap around his legs as pants began to form, looking around for Vander he spotted his brother along with Emzadi, Cobra, and Bickslow. "Juvia will only give Lanni one warning. Leave Cristoff alone and Juvia won't have to hurt her."
"Don't make me laugh. What is a mediocre water mage like yourself going to so against a powerful stone mage such as myself." Lanni pulled several stones to her, circling her above her head.
"Juvia will show you what a White Sea mage can do!" Dozens of small spheres of water formed in front of her and she got into a battle stance. Soon stones were being shattered by Juvia's water spheres that were turned into thin blades to slice through what was being thrown at him. After Lanni's third time using that attack Juvia became bored and sunk into the water that was covering the floor. Lanni began to panic as she waited for the woman to show herself again, instead, she felt something grasp her ankles as she was flung into a wall. Juvia's head popped up from the water, causing the Warqueen to shriek in fear before Juvia slapped magic cancelling cuffs on the woman.
"Juvia did try to warn you." The bluenette waited a couple seconds before a chime sounded and Virgo stepped through the gate to collect to Warqueen. "Juvia thanks you, Virgo."
"Of course, Miss Juvia." The maid spirit bowed as she left in a shower of golden sparkles.
"Damn Juvia!" Vander whistled as they came out from the doorway they were watching everything from. "Glad I didn't have to fight you when a full moon was out for your ranking test, feel like I would have had more of an issue otherwise." Juvia blushed at Vander's compliment as she felt familiar arms circle her waist, spinning to face Cristoff. His eyes shone with pride and happiness as he held her. Juvia pulled Cristoff's head down as her lips slammed against his own in a fierce kiss, one that Cristoff reciprocated in kind.
"Do we need to pull them off each other?" Bickslow asked as they watched Cristoff lift Juvia up by the ass, her legs winding around his waist.
"Shadow pants my dear brother. No way he'll be getting those off anytime soon," Vander cackled as he heard his brother growl at him. "Sorry bro, but I need to be a cock block tonight, we still need to find Kaleb and Laxus. Otherwise, I'd whisk the two of you off somewhere remote to fuck each other's brains out for the next week."
"Juvia is sorry she's a distraction. The moon usually makes Juvia have a power burst but the other strong . . . feelings are new to Juvia."
"That be my pull from the moon. Tends to make other people's libido's extra lusty, but I am quite liking how it looks on you, my mate." Cristoff chastely kissed her then tucked her into his side. "How did you get Virgo here?"
"Oh, Lucy amened Virgo's contract so that Juvia could call Virgo to help with the bad guys, just for this mission. What happened to all the other women?"
"Cobra put them all to sleep, so I doubt they'll be moving anytime soon," Bickslow snorted as he fist bumped the poison slayer.
"Will be lucky if they wake up in the next five days. However, we really need to find Tink and the others. Shadow boy, you got any leads?"
"I'm all man, I'd show you if you weren't so wrapped up in the fairy queen, but yes I do. Lucy got separated from the group who has Kaleb now, Wendy is just healing him. I'm sure he'll reach out soon and then we can be on our way."
"Juvia thinks something is not right."
"What do you mean? Emzadi asked the woman was taking comfort in her brother's arms.
"Juvia is going to assume that Sydelle wasn't with Kaleb, even though Sydelle has been after Kaleb since Kaleb was young." Everyone nodded their heads as she continued, "Which means Sydelle has lured Lucy away and the only lure Sydelle has is . . ."
"Laxus," the group breathed out, faces becoming serious as they all started to follow Vander to where Kaleb was at. They were all interested in knowing what happened to Lucy and knew they needed to save her before the selfless celestial mage did something that would get herself killed.