Aisha's POV:

It has been months since I've been here, Vistarion. It really was a beautiful city, it was called the Jewel of the Empire for a reason. I was proud to call this home before I left for Magnolia. The hot dry air was a nice change from Fiore too, it made me feel at home. It had been so long since I'd been here but nothing changed on the surface but when you looked underneath all the gleaming buildings and clean streets everything had changed. There were more patrols than there were before, there were more navy ships in the harbour.

I walked down one of the wide boulevards towards the castle, I could smell the sweet scent of cooking lamb. I could smell the spices on the wind, I could've cried. It was hard being away from Mira but I was homesick underneath all of that, this place felt like home maybe even more than Magnolia. I looked around and I could see how happy the people were here. The shops were all busy, families were walking. Vistarion couldn't be better, a war wouldn't affect this city on the surface, but when men and women are returning home in boxes the atmosphere would change.

I approached the castle's main entrance and two guards approached me and before I could say anything they bowed their heads, I nodded at them and walked through the main gates and into the entrance hall. The walls were decorated richley with insignias and emblems from the different nations of the empire, I counted them. I saw the crocodile of Mora, I saw the Elephant of Wathgow, the Mammoth of the Northern Tribes and finally the Harpy of Hijaara. It still made me bitter they had us next to the Northern Tribes, but we joined the Empire willingly, they joined the Empire under conquest. I was the one who brought back their banner from their capital.

I continued walking through the palace, heading up a set of stairs. The bag that was on my back was beginning to feel heavy, I had been preparing for this day for months. I came close a few times to destroying it but I couldn't do that.

I opened a set of heavy wooden double doors and headed into the main garden of the castle, the garden was beautiful. It always makes me feel relaxed when I'm there. I could hear the birds chirping and it made me feel at ease and more than right about the decision I'm about to make. I walked through the garden and I saw a tall figure, he was hunched over a book reading peacefully. I couldn't hide my smile, and walked over quickly. The figure looked up from his book and turned to face me.

"Aisha!"

I ran over to him and wrapped my arms around him in a tight embrace, my smile growing even wider. It had been months since I had seen him, I missed him dearly.

"Grandfather! How are you feeling? It's been far too long."

"Oh my child, I'm old so I feel sore. But seeing you makes me happy, how did you fare in the east?" My grandfather Yajeel smiled at me as we broke off our hug, I placed my bag down on the floor next to us.

"It was a great experience and you'll be glad to hear I was successful. I didn't manage to learn everything but we have a lot of information about Fiore, the Royal Family, Magnolia and the Fairy Tail guild."

"Very good my child, they will be happy to hear that. Many of the twelve are out right now but."

Before my grandfather could finish his sentence I heard the sound of doors swinging open, before I could turn around I could hear who it was.

"Aisha!" I smiled widely and turned around at the person who was running towards me, it was my brother. I could barely contain my emotions, it had been so long since I had seen my family.

"Ajeel!" He ran towards me and wrapped me in a tight hug, I reciprocated and wrapped my arms around him. I rested my head on his shoulder, enjoying this moment. We had been through so much together, we were born on the same day, we fought in wars together then we joined the Twelve together.

"Aisha! I didn't think that mission was worth the time it took to get done, but I'm glad you're back now. Invel might be in a slightly better mood if it went well." I let go of Ajeel and smiled at him, my decision had been vindicated. The love that I hold for my family, and the love my family gives me is enough. I loved being in Fairy Tail but the Empire was for a greater purpose, if the Empire didn't exist then Acnologia would win. If there was a situation where we could work together, then I'd do that in a heartbeat but alas there isn't. With the coming of Aconologia there was nothing we could do, the Empire had to stand firm and take the Lumen Histoire. We wouldn't win otherwise.

"You'll be glad to hear then, I have information about everything. The Lumen Histoire was the only thing I couldn't locate, the only two people who know the location are Mavis Vermillion and Makarov Dreyer. But if I was to take an educated guess it's underneath the guild, there's many tunnels underneath the building itself."

"Good, you can tell Invel when he arrives. One of his spies saw you at the docks, so he'll be down soon." Ajeel smiled, he may be lovely when around his family, but he was bloodthirsty. I can't say I blame him though, with what we've been through it's very understandable.

"That excited for the invasion?" I smiled at my brother and sat down on the bench with the bag between my legs.

"Of course, if God Serena is the strongest mage that the east has then this will be a cake walk. He's a fucking clown." I laughed when he said that I hadn't met God Serena yet. From his reputation in Ishgar, he is supposed to be inhospitable to put it nicely.

"So who of the twelve are in Vistarion currently?"

"Invel, Larcade and Jacob. Though including us two, there's five. Invel is in the palace but for Larcade and Jacob, I have no idea where they are."

I nodded back at my brother, it would've been nice to see them. I was good friends with both, I didn't like everyone in the Twelve but I did have a soft spot for those two. I'm just glad Irene isn't here, I cannot stand that woman. It's like she's a second away from cleaving me in half everytime I'm around her. I might've been the strongest member in Fairy Tail, but in the twelve I was one of the weaker members. I will say that honestly. The Spriggan Twelve was an exclusive group.

"I still don't like how they include us in the same seat, we may be twins but we are different people."

"I agree though with August, he has a fascination with the number twelve. He says it gives us good luck, fat fucking chance."

"I wouldn't say that around August, Ajeel."

Ajeel laughed, he was brash and sometimes acted before thinking. Ajeel was strong though, but I don't think if we combined could beat August or even come close.

Almost on queue, Ajeel and I turned around and the wooden doors opened again. This time a cold air emerged, as Invel appeared and walked towards us. I smiled, I did like Invel, but he was very uptight as a result of his noble birth. Ajeel and I could've been the same way, but war changed me and Ajeel never listened to our tutors about anything other than fighting.

"General Invel, it has been far too long."

I reached out my hand, Invel approached and took my hand and knelt down and kissed it.

"Aisha, it's a pleasure as always." A small smile appeared on his face. "How fared your mission?"

I nodded and took my hand back, a smirk on my face. "It was beyond successful, I managed to successfully infiltrate Fairy Tail. When I was there I took part in a tournament called the Grand Magic Games where I was exposed to the Fiorian Royal Family and other guilds in the country. I have taken detailed notes about every mage, politician and soldier I encountered."

Invel looked back at me with an enigmatic look on his face. "When you took part in this games, did you expose your true power?"

"I didn't, I held back the whole time. There was also a magical incident when I was in Ishgar, I'm sure you'd have felt the effects here."

"A magical incident? We did feel something like that but we weren't able to determine what it was, if August or Emperor Spriggan was here we'd have figured it out." Invel stood at attention with his hands behind his back.

"There was an artifact called the Eclipse Gate, it was essentially a gateway to the past. An eastern mage by the name of Rogue had traveled into the past and used something called Dragon Tamer magic to take control of dragons. The dragons came from the past through the gate and caused chaos, another mage by the name of Ultear used Arc of Time magic to go back in time for a minute." As I finished my report I looked over Invel's face and it was unreadable as ever.

"I see, that's what caused the ripple. I expect all the details in your report, alongside detailed dossiers about every person of importance you met during your mission."

"It is already done, General Invel. Everything you need is in this bag. If you need any other information then I will be at the Grand Palace." I handed the bag to Invel who took it effortlessly from me and walked back out of the gardens into the labyrinth of the palace.

I sighed and looked at my feet and thought about what I had just done, I did what was expected of me. My job was to spy on Fairy Tail, gather information and prepare for the Invasion. I felt happy about completing my mission but in the back of my head I couldn't help but think about Mira. I really do love you, I hope you can forgive me. You're one of those dossiers, every single member of Fairy Tail I've met is on there. I will try my best to make sure Fairy Tail isn't hurt, but we need to defeat Acnologia.

I laughed and thought to myself.

"Cana, you were right from the start."