Chapter 60: The Battle Begins

The Nation of Pergrande, A Few Miles South of the Excalibur Estate:

On the plains sat the ruins of an ancient castle. Rumor had it that it was the original home for the royalty of Pergrande, a family line that relocated when their kingdom grew and the capitol city was established. Now, the metal and stone castle stood half-demolished in the center of the grassy plains, not far from the Excalibur Estate, secretly housing the transported Nikolana Device and its diamond casing.

A militia stood before the castle gates, led by the younger son of Arturus Gallavantia Excalibur. He raised his fist to the sky and addressed the raggedy warriors who stood guarding the castle. Most of them looked young, skinny, and terrified. Slaves forced into battle by the King of Diamonds.

"You've made a grave mistake, starting war with the Excalibur Family! Boys, let's get back our baby girl!"

There was a roar of excitement as the group of thugs cracked their knuckles and charged the main gate of the castle.

Their presence on the battlefield would give the retrieval group a little bit more space and time to do their job. To find Syllestra. To put an end to Resmond's reign of terror.

Fiore, The Fairy Tail Guild Hall:

"Dammit!" Master Makarov of Fairy Tail slammed his fist down on the table in front of him before putting his face in his hands. "How could I have been so foolish?"

Before him stood Erza, her scarlet hair hanging down, fist trembling at her side. "You are not to blame, Master," she said with a quaver. "It was I who fell for the planted evidence."

Mirajane collapsed weekly onto a bench, tears rolling down her cheeks. "They have to fight him all alone… Dreamer, Syllest…"

"Isn't there something we can do?" This was said by Cana, who was uncharacteristically sober.

Makarov shook his head, grimly. "The trip to Pergrande is three days by train. There's no way we could make it there in time to have any kind of effect on the battle." He sighed, heavily. "All we can do is place our faith in them, and pray for their safety."

Mira wiped her eyes, though the tears continued to fall. "They'll win," she whispered. Then louder, "They're members of Fairy Tail, and Fairy Tail never loses and we never give up on our friends!"

"Yeah, Mira's right," Cana nodded and gave a smile. "We gotta have some faith. There's some badass wizards on that team. Mac, Gajeel, Cobra, Pops, Dreamer. There's no way they'll lose!"

Erza's hard face broke into a tender smile. "You're right. We must have faith."

The Tunnel:

The group raced through the underground tunnel, following the trail of diamonds. Turning corner after corner, chests heaving for breath as they rushed to rescue the innocent child who was in over her head.

Suddenly, Jezran's steps began to slow. "This is incorrect."

"Pops! We ain't got time! You break a hip or somethin'? Get movin!'"

Jezran stayed rooted to the spot. He shook his head slowly. "I assure you, dear me, that we have been down this corridor already."

"What?" Dreamer looked back at him. "No, we haven't made any loops!"

Jezran narrowed his eyes. "I am quite sure," he said, darkly. "Look." He pointed at two rocks in front of him.

"So what, old man?" Gajeel snapped.

"The rock on the left is approximately five inches wide and three inches tall. It has a point on the top right side, giving it the appearance of a strangely shaped dog head. The stone beside it is about one meter away, and half the size. The footprint in the middle belongs to a man of substantial weight, based on the depth of the print and the size. We have passed this area once before. I do have an eye for detail, dear me."

Dreamer and Macbeth shared a look.

"Jacque."

"It seems we have been duped into traveling in circles."

"Where is the bastard?!" Gajeel pumped himself up for a battle. "Come out and fight, coward!"

"Gajeel," Pantherlily said. "Can you smell anything?"

The dragon-slayer's nose twitched. He bared a canine and shook his head. "All I smell is dirt and baby-blue's cologne." He shot Piper a sharp look.

"Erik?" Macbeth glanced at the redhead.

"No. It's those black diamonds… Tch." He closed his eyes in irritation. "I can't hear through dark magic. And it would be impossible anyway, with all of you shouting internally right now."

"Coward…" Macbeth said, quietly, in reference to Jacque. He looked suddenly at Dreamer, his eyes wide with realization. "He's a cowardly swine." His expression was expectant, waiting for her to catch on.

"We already knew that," she pointed out, not catching his meaning.

"Dreamer, use your magic," he ordered.

"Wha—but I can't use if it he's not even—"

"You should be able to sense his fear, shouldn't you?" His eyes flicked back and forth between hers. "He reeks with it, and if anyone can follow the scent of emotions, it's you."

Her eyes widened, then she nodded in determination. "Okay." She closed her eyes and willed forward her magical energy, sensing the emotions of those around her.

Fear was everywhere. All of them were exuding it. Fear, worry. How was she supposed to locate one person's fear when they were all practically drowning in it? It wasn't like her magic was fine-tuned enough to be able to identify the emotions of individuals in a group. She wasn't even sure that was a possible feat.

"I… I don't think I can…"

"You can," Macbeth said.

"You got this, doll!" Piper encouraged.

"We believe in you, dear me." Jezran assured.

Suddenly, she was overwhelmed with feelings of faith and determination. Her friends' emotions all spiked at once, filling the air with a fire of hope. It was warm—the crackle of a campfire on a cold night. Powerful. Refreshing. The sensation of a sip of lime juice on summer's day. She felt it—basked in the glow of the courage of her friends.

And since their emotions had changed, she was able to pinpoint it. All the emotion she was sensing had become that fire of determination—all except one strange sense of terror that still echoed around them. Instead of growing hopeful, that sense of fear had tripled when her friends stepped up to support her. If the feelings of her friends was a warm campfire, then this was a splash of cold water. No, it was grimier than that, like being spattered with mud. This gross fear could only come from one place. The enemy.

"There." She pointed at a wall.

"The wall? You're losin' it, Dreamy…"

"No, I'm sure." The wall oozed with it. The splattering mud of terror, coming from a cowardly swine.

Macbeth raised a hand to manipulate the wall, but was interrupted by an iron rod shooting right into it. There was a grunt, and the fake wall evaporated—an illusion all along. Behind it stood a round man, wearing a black diamond necklace.

"Pig." Macbeth's voice was a seething hiss. He approached Jacque, who was still dizzy from the punch to the head. When he regained consciousness, he fell to his rump, cowering before Macbeth. "I should have killed you on that rooftop."

"L-Listen, I don't want to fight, Mr. Night Terror, sir!"

"Who's the beach ball?" Gajeel asked.

"Make yourself useful," Macbeth ordered, casting a dark shadow onto the other man. "Or I'll send you into oblivion."

"Alright, alright!" He waved his pudgy hands in defeat. "You've got to understand! Resmond scares me, okay! I do what he wants because he's… he's terrifying!"

Macbeth laughed out loud, that sadistic laugh reserved for moments like these. "Terrifying? Don't you remember what true terror looks like, Jacque?!" He manipulated the man's collar, tightening it around his chubby throat.

"Okay, okay!" he squealed. "Listen, down this tunnel is a door! It leads to the basement of the ruins, but the King is in the tower! There's no way you'll make it there! He's got slaves and soldiers waiting for you everywhere. A lot of them are wizards!"

"Where is he keeping Syllest?" Dreamer asked, moving to loom over him at Macbeth's side. From Jacque's point of view, the demonic glint in her eyes was even scarier than the Night Terror's…

"Y-You don't want to know…" He swallowed hard, causing rolls on his neck to jiggle.

"Trust me, bubs." Piper approached and put his heel against Jacque's balloon belly. "We wants ta know."

"He's probably already started the process!" Jacque cried. "Which means she'll be above the device! But you'll never make it! I might be a coward, but the others aren't! Even if you can get past Giseld, Racer, and Angel, you'll never beat Sânge. And if you do…"

Resmond would be next.

"We've heard enough," Pantherlily said. "We don't have time to waste!"

Jezran quickly tied Jacque's hands and feet together before they continued to race toward the end of the tunnel, leaving the "pig" hog-tied behind them.

"So, Angel and Racer stayed…" Erik said as they ran. He scoffed. "Look at what you did to the Seis, Midnight."

Macbeth didn't glance at him. "If you want to change sides, tell me now so I can kill you and get it over with."

Erik's face broke into a smirk. "Nah. I'm stickin' with you fairies, through and through."

They skidded to a halt when the tunnel narrowed and ended with an iron door.

"Look at that." Gajeel stepped forward and ripped the handle off before sticking it in his mouth. "I needed a snack." He ate the door open for them, then sniffed the air. "Girly's been through here alright."

They pushed their way into the dark storage room. The lights had been turned off, and it was pitch black only a few feet in front of them. Erik's eyebrow twitched as sounds reached him.

"Don't move." He hissed. "And shut up."

The group paused, holding their breath as he listened.

"Keep to the left wall. It'll take you to the stairs. Don't get bit."

"Bubs… What do you's mean, don't get bit?" Piper started to tremble. "God dammit, it's the snake-chick ain't it? Snakes in the dark, it figures!"

"Go now!" Erik snapped.

"What about you?" Dreamer asked.

"I'll keep her busy." He stepped into the darkness. "I don't need eyes to see."

"But how can you hear her if she's wearing one of the diamonds—"

Macbeth shoved her forward, against the left wall. "Erik knows what he's doing." There's no one more reliable than he is.

"I appreciate that," Erik said, in response to the unspoken thought. "Now go get your kid."

"Hey, pointy-ears!" Gajeel said. "Don't die before this best friend shit is settled!"

"Shut up, will you? I can't hear a thing with you roaring like an idiot."

Gajeel smirked before following along the wall.

"I think not," said a hissing female voice. Green eyes glinted in the dark. There was a hiss as snakes lunged to attack the group heading for the stairs.

Macbeth pulled Dreamer against his side and created a reflector shield around them, which he maintained as they navigated the wall.

"Your fight's with me," Erik said, somewhere in the dark.

There was a crash of crates falling as the battle commenced. The group couldn't see what was happening or who was winning. They simply took the opportunity to run toward the stairs, stumbling in the dark along the way.

They tripped up a metal staircase. Piper screamed like a little girl when he touched something slimy on the railing. Macbeth nearly dragged Dreamer by the folds of her dress until he felt a door in front of them. They pushed through and emerged into the first level of the ruins.