I realized that I had broken the schedule when I posted The Sun Thief a day early. I thought it was Thursday...fail.
Anyways, here we are with another chapter for Of Body and Mind. Expect a chapter of We Stand Alone later this week as well. And I decided that Crime Sorciere will have be involved in this story. Brilliant. Now lets go.
The town of Gasbos was almost completely destroyed and many of the men in the city were dead as well. By then, many people should have realized that it was a dark guild that destroyed the city but instead, people started to blame Lidia and the government.
This was all too familiar with what happened with Toy Box a very long time ago. There was even a theory developed on it. It was known as "The Toy Box Theory". The theory said that if one group causes enough destruction, then the people who have suffered will shift the blame to the government for failing to stop it even if the government is working as hard as it could.
Clearly this was true. Tartaros must be stopped.
Adrianople, the fortress
Lidia was almost in tears. This had to be one of the most depressing moments in her life. The shouts of anger that carried over the wind made her head hurt with disappointment. Had she failed? Had she failed her duties as queen? Tate sat next to her, her fists clenched and her face grim. After all, she was a queen as well. Hyde was standing behind Lidia, his eyes closed.
Outside the fortress, was a large group of civilians, demanding the surviving members of the Flarina family be returned to their throne. They said that the Flarina family would never have allowed the city of Gasbos to be destroyed.
"Down with the Garlan invaders!"
"Long live Flarina!"
"We need a real ruler!"
"Death to the Evadeus dynasty!"
These were only a few of the outraged cries that came from the huge crowds of people gathered at the gate of the fortress. The group of three were sitting in a chamber that overlooked the city, seated a plain wooden desks facing a solid wooden door with the windows open. Suddenly, the door opened and in walked the most unlikely of people to step foot in a palace.
Hyde opened his eyes and raised his eyebrow as the group of three bowed and the man at the head smiled. Hyde would have smiled too if the situation wasn't as bad as it was now.
"Well, Jellal, its a pleasure to see you for the first time." Hyde said as the outlaw mage nodded his head.
"I'm sorry but I couldnt afford to show myself until now. I also apologize for failing to capture at least one of the mages. We were close but they managed to escape." Jellal said, looking at Lidia who nodded slowly.
Tate looked at her fellow monarch and looked at Jellal and the other members of Crime Sorciere. They were an odd bunch they had proven themselves trustworthy and Tate didn't give her trust easily.
"But do you know who they were? Perhaps what guild they were in?" Tate asked, her brain working furiously for any small clue for anything that could identify the mages.
Jellal looked at Ultear and the former Grimoire Heart member stepped forward. She held a small lacrima in her hand and she placed it on the wooden desk. Upon contact with the wood, the lacrima glowed and projected an image. It was of Jack, the chains snaking out of his cloak sleeves. But undeniably, there was a tattoo on his wrist. Ultear looked up at the two queens.
"This man, is "Jack". We dont know if that is his real name. However, from this image, we get this tattoo." Ultear said coolly as she pointed to the small tattoo visible in the image.
Everyone nodded their head. Tattoo, useful for identifying guilds. They were the telltale mark of any guild, legal or illegal.
"Well, what guild uses that tattoo?" Lidia asked, anxious to get any sort of clue.
Jellal answered this question, his voice dark as he told the Garlan queen the name.
"This guild calls themselves "Tartaros" and they are the strongest dark guild in Fiore." Jellal said, getting stares from the royals before them.
Tartaros. This was a wakeup call for Hyde and the two monarchs. Lidia just looked at Jellal in disbelief.
"Tartaros? But...I heard that they were disbanded after their final defeat at Fairy Hills!" she said, refusing to believe this madness.
Jellal shook his head regretfully. He knew the history of Tartaros and he blamed himself for not finishing them off when they were weak.
"Tartaros was the weakest but also the smartest of the Balam Alliance. Unlike the other two guilds that held leadership with them, Tartaros lay low, avoiding the watchful eye of the Wizard Council. The only official time in which they rose to fight was when they joined with Worm Wood. Their leader, Abutuum, suddenly disappeared and Tartaros fled. But they didnt die out like the others of the Balam Alliance and the Dark Trinity." Jellal said, the air hanging heavy between the two groups.
Hyde grit his teeth and he looked out the window over the fortress.
"Tch, they fooled us. And now, they hold the power. Smart move Tartaros...I wont deny that. Who is their leader? Do we know?" Hyde asked, the consort wondering if there was any way to defeat the dark guild.
Meredy shook her head sadly. That was the only piece of information that was missing.
"We only know that Jack seems to hold the power. For all we know, he could be the leader." Meredy said sadly.
Lidia nodded and smiled. There could be something to take care of the situation...
"Well then I have good news Crime Sorciere. There are a few mages at Fairy Tail that fought with Jack. Perhaps you can get some information from them. I would also be best if you allied yourself with a team at Fairy Tail in order to work as a team. Therefore, I am freeing you from your status as an outlaw." Lidia said, gaining smiles from the members of Crime Sorciere.
Jellal bowed low, feeling the weight of his sins lighten just a bit.
"We will not fail you."
Raymond
The two mages who were conscious looked at the man, getting ready for battle although they were tired and possibly outmatched. The man in the fedora just grinned coldly and looked at the two mages with pity.
"I apologize for tiring you out like that. It really isnt fair but life isnt either." the man said darkly.
Asura and Azami could only stare at the man with fear and they knew how bad of a situation they were in. The man started to laugh slowly.
"You really caused problems for us. We thought you would die easily against Walther but I wasn't expecting," The man pointed at the child on Asura's shoulder, out cold. "That."
Asura suddenly got angry and Azami was starting to reach her limit as well. The two glared at the man as he lit a new cigarette and put it in his mouth.
"That? You think Raymond is a 'that'? You really have no respect for life do you." Asura growled in anger as Azami nodded in agreement.
"Thats right! You have no respect for a life and thats why you decide to kill!" Azami shouted, her anger about to cause some serious damage.
The man just looked at the two and he smiled slowly. He was really enjoying the anger coming from these two.
"He is a 'that'. More like a 'thing'. Born a devil in the body of a young child. That just isnt natural I'm afraid." The man said as he took the cigarette from his mouth. His face was calm and he seemed to have no problem with disrespecting Raymond. "The names Gin. I'm afraid thats all you really need to know. So, who will be the first challenger? Because I guarantee none of you will escape without fighting first."
Azami rushed forward first, shouting anger. Gin smirked and his right arm turned into a sword.
"And so it begins..." Gin said quietly.
?
Bael didnt like travelling with Ferdinand. He was the most recent member but for some reason Ferdinand had appointed him his personal bodyguard. The two were currently walking through a dark cave, barely illuminated by a small lacrima Ferdinand was holding and the guild master was talking to Bael. That was why Bael hated going anywhere with Ferdinand. He constantly talked about his old days and Bael was forced to listen. But otherwise the talking, Bael didnt mind the guild master. Currently Ferdinand was talking about his past, something Bael found a least half interesting.
"4 concrete walls, all day Bael. Can you imagine that? It would be like living in this cave but much...more uncomfortable." the guild master said as the two navigated the dark corners of the cave.
"I would stare at the walls for the entire day, only two meals and they were barely nutritious and I was starving. I spent most of my life in that damn prison and lived like a rat. The conditions were terrible Bael. They really were. But then there was that one day..." Ferdinand said as they went deeper and deeper into the cave.
"What prison did you say you were in again?" Bael asked, forgetting the name.
Ferdinand grinned, his memories flooding back to him.
"Duckensford, only the most notorious prison in the world. I spent most of my first lifetime staring at concrete walls or being tortured. But then there was that one day, when we all escaped. The guards went insane, the cell controls went haywire and the prison started to fall apart. My life was about to really start." Ferdinand said to Bael as Bael listened, interested for the first time. He had never heard Ferdinand's story like this.
Ferdinand nodded his head, ducking under a large rock formation, the lacrima casting a white light across the floor and everywhere the light could reach.
"Once I got out and had my own position in life, I started looking for the person who had saved me from a life of misery and torture. But I never found him. But then I got an idea. As you know, I am a visionary. And I intend to see my visions come true, legally or illegally. Do you know of the world known as 'Edolas'?" Ferdinand asked Bael.
The new recruit nodded. He had heard to Edolas before. Many people believed in the parallel world and the words of the Fairy Tail mages who had entered were more than proof. But what about Edolas?
"Yes, I have heard of Edolas. A reverse world to ours. The Last Nightmare Mage came from Edolas did he not?" Bael said, wanting to hear more about Ferdinand's story.
The Tartaros guild master nodded his head. He was getting to the best part of the story.
"There is indeed a world known as 'Edolas'. However, what many people dont know is that there is a third world that is unreachable by ANYONE. The Void is this world's name and nobody has EVER stepped inside. The only instance in which the void was opened was during the Toy Box conflict. Cocoon opened the void and escaped through it. How? I will never know." Ferdinand said as Bael listened quietly, wondering where the guild master was going with this.
The two finally arrived at a large stone chamber with a medium sized hole at the very top, yellow light streaming from the top into the middle. Ferdinand looked at Bael, smiling.
"But I found a way to get in. All I need, is the Blood Diamond Key. And to do that, I need to take care of loose ends." Ferdinand said as he took a black key off of his golden rope that hung across his chest.
There was a growl from the darkness and Bael took a step forward, ready to confront whatever made the noise but Ferdinand held him back. The guild master looked into the darkness and he smiled as he held up the key.
"Well hello Serex. I assume you are not even at third of your original power, seeing that you were summoned on accident. This will not be very difficult at all." Ferdinand said as he held out the key and smiled.
There was a shout from the darkness and the sounds of running. Ferdinand smiled and twisted the key.
"Open! The Gate of the Terror Mother!"
Difficult chapter although it was an easy concept. More of a background chapter than a fighting chapter. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed it and I will see you all next time. FF