Chapter 2: Departure.
'WHAT?!' said quite a few many mages in the guild. It was then that Natsu woke up from his quick slumber.
'Yes..' replied Dr. Tatsuo, 'You heard right, the Legendary Maruda is an ancient mage that was in slumber for a long time, 100 years to be exact. Now here comes the bad news, the Legendary Maruda is supposedly going to awaken from his slumber on the 5th of May, that is, 4 days from now. The good news is that Maruda is not as powerful as Zeref himself!'
It was the Master who gave the reply this time, 'Hmmm….I see, but why choose Fairy Tail? There's always Saber Tooth and Mermaid Heel.'
'But you guys are the best! Even if your key members have disappeared for 7 years, you still managed to win the Grand Magic Games! And besides, Fairy Tail has got more than 5 strong members, which is more power than the other guilds!'
'We're honoured that you have come to Fairy Tail and we gladly accept to take down Maruda.' Said Makarov. Knowing Makarov, he's more interested in the prize money rather than the details.
'Thank you so much Fairy Tail, I'm highly grateful to you.'
'How far away is Rexnoia, Dr. Tatsuo?' asked a curious Lucy.
'It's about 2 days from here, so we'll have to leave within the next two days.' Answered the thankful Doctor.
'Then we shall depart tomorrow morning! Is that alright Doctor?' asked Master Makarov.
'That will be splendid! I'll meet you at the station at, say, 8 am?'
'Most certainly. Thank you for coming all the way here Dr. Yama. We're so honoured you chose Fairy Tail' replied the Master.
After an exchange of good byes, Dr. Yama left the guild. There was obviously much that was left to be discussed within the guild. Master Makarov didn't waste a minute, cause preparations were clearly needed.
'Gather around everyone!' commanded Makarov, 'We need to discuss a lot about this unusual request. Keeping in mind the power of Zeref, we must choose a team of mages who can hold their own!'
'I'm all fired up!' roared Natsu. 'I'll defeat this Maruda guy in one punch, tee-hee'
'Now Natsu, we mustn't underestimate this Legend. Remember Tenrou Island? We got wiped out without landing an effective punch!' said Makarov.
'The Master is right, Natsu! Don't get fired up for nothing.' Agreed Erza. 'Master, who do you suppose should go to Rexnoia with doctor?'
'Hmmmm…good question. The mages to go to Rexnoia will be:
'Natsu, Erza, Gray, Lucy, Wendy.' Obviously, with amazing team work, these members are no surprise.
'Juvia,' The water mage. Made of water, Juvia is one of Fairy Tail's best.
'Mira Jane, Elfman, Lisanna,' The Strauss siblings, all use Take –Over Magic. Mira uses demon takeover, Elfman uses Beast and Lisanna uses Animal takeover. Their sibling love knows no bounds. Additionally, Mira Jane is one of Fairy Tail's S-class mages.
'Gajeel,' Fairy Tail's Iron Dragon Slayer along with his Exceed, Pantherlily.
'Laxus, Evergreen, Bixlow, Freed,' All members of the Thunder God Tribe Team headed by Laxus Dreyar – The Master's very own grandson and Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic user. Evergreen uses Fairy Magic, Bixlow uses Seith Magic and Freed uses Dark Écriture.
'Cana and Levy.' Cana Alberona, the daughter of the S-class mage Gildarts Clive, the Card Magic user. Levy McGarden the ever-so-talented Solid Script Magic user.
'That is all. I hope the 16 of you try your level best to stop the destruction of Rexnoia. Prepare well, all of you. And make sure you don't go overboard and destroy the city or else, we'll have to pay for damages!'
'Yes Master!' said all 16 in Unison. The 16 chosen mages were greatly excited and knew that this job was no easy job. As a lot more than a few building were on their shoulder.
Despite knowing that there was a mage waiting to awaken from his slumber whose magic has the same prowess as Zeref, they were confident that they'll do a good job. The only thing that worried them was the kind of magic that this so called Legendary Maruda possesses. No light was thrown upon the finer details of this mage and hence formulating a strategy was not possible. The Fairy Tail mages would just have to go and get surprised.
2nd May X792. 3 days till the awakening.
The following day had the Fairy Tail mages ride on the train, Rexnex Express, which was the fastest means of transport to Rexnoia.
Natus, after being cast my Wendy's Troia, didn't face any motion sickness. Instead, he stared out the window, along with happy, at the lush green fields that passed them with Happy sitting on his lap and gazing outside too! Opposite Natsu sat Lucy and Wendy, while next to Natsu sat Gray.
Fairy Tail had a whole train coach to themselves with a small little lavatory, a mini refrigerator (which was half empty courtesy Natsu and Happy) and a little cabinet stuffed with medical supplies and various eatables. Thankfully Freed wrote a rune on the cabinet, such that Natsu and Happy weren't allowed to open it.
Erza, Cana, Levy and Juvia were sat adjacent to Natsu's seats. The four girls tried to contemplate possible plans or courses of action! Though they didn't have a clue as to what was in store for them, they tried to divide the remaining 12 mages into teams of 3. In culmination with Cana's tarot card reading and keeping in mind possible team strengths, the teams which were formed were as follows:
A TEAM: Natsu, Erza, Gray, Lucy, Wendy and Juvia.
B TEAM: Gajeel, Mira Jane, Elfman, Cana, Levy and Lisanna.
C TEAM: Laxus, Freed, Bixlow and Evergreen.
The three teams were then announced to the mages present. Juvia was overjoyed to be with her Gray, though was furious with the fact that her rival in love was also in the same team. The Thunder God Tribe was happy and content to be left as they were. The Strauss siblings were welcoming to have Gajeel, Cana and Levy join them.
'This is a man's team!' exclaimed Elfman.
'Gray-sama! It's so nice to be with you again!' said Juvia with hearts in her eyes. Gray had mixed feelings, he liked Juvia but wasn't sure about it all.
Dr. Tatsuo, who for most of the day sat down in one corner quietly reading one of his books, finally spoke, 'Sounds like a good idea. Though, there's one fact that I should probably let you know!'
'I knew it.' Said a confident Erza, 'You've hidden something from us this whole time, haven't you?'
'Yes' confirmed Dr. Tatsuo. He continued, 'You're quite the smart one! Well, according to legend, Maruda was often seen with a dragon. He was on extremely good terms with this dragon and could very well be a Dragon Slayer himself!'
'A Dragon Slayer? Then he might know a thing or two about Igneel!' said Natsu.
'Highly unlikely.' Commented Carla, 'Maruda went off into slumber 100 years ago. The dragons disappeared 15 years ago. I doubt we can find out anything! And even if he did know, I doubt a guy who wants to destroy the world!'
'Exactly. Don't get too foolish and ask him anything! Remember, we must find a way to prevent his awakening. If that doesn't work, then we must fight him to the death.' Said Dr. Tatsuo.
The day had finally come when they were going to reach Rexnoia i.e the 3rd May X792. The Rexnex Express what about to reach the station in another 20 odd minutes. The mages with determination and sleep in their eyes were all ready for what awaited them.
It was 11:43pm when they departed the train. Being extensively tired, the mages dozed off as soon as they reached their rooms. The next day was the beginning of something big….