Mira's POV:
It had only been a few weeks since the Master had returned and he had been coy on the details of what had happened when he visited the Empire, he had said that while the initial hospitality was good but then he met the Emperor who turned out to be Zeref. He hadn't mentioned much about Aisha and it drove me crazy, he had said she would be here for this but hadn't told us anything else.
There was something else the Master was hiding, I have no idea what it could possibly be. When the team rescued Makarov they fought someone called Ajeel who looked very similar to Aisha and her magic was almost identical. It disturbed me, Aisha had talked about her family a few times when she was here but she never went into detail. Surely she wouldn't have kept her family a secret if her brother was in the Twelve. She had mentioned her Brother and Grandfather were the only family members she still had but she hadn't said anything more about that.
I looked around the guild and it was in absolute chaos, the first wave of the invasion was almost here and some members had been sent to the hills around the city to prepare and attack the Empire. Erza, the Conell's and the Dragon Slayer's had been sent out. If anyone can stop the Vanguard, it would be them.
When I was deep in though, Warren screamed out.
"There's a giant concentration of magic that's snuck through the barrier, it's heading straight for the guild!"
The members of the guild shot up to attention and prepared to fight, I used my Satan Soul to transform and prepared to defend the door. I cannot believe that they've gotten through that so quickly, it was strange though. The barrier was still standing, the Twelve were all equal in strength to God Serena who was the most powerful mage in Ishgar. Is it possible this person is stronger than everyone else in the guild? There's surely no other way they'd have gotten through the barrier that effortlessly, especially if they hadn't been tracked until now.
I moved closer to Elfman and Lisanna who were also ready to fight, they were strong but it is a big sister's job to protect her family. I wish Aisha was here though. We need her to win this war, Aisha wherever you are. Please come home.
The doors of the guild swung open and a massive gust of sand rushed in, and before anyone could react. Six figures materalised in front of us, I looked closely at them and examined them. They were all soldiers from Alvarez, they all wore the same block robes covering their entire bodies and wearing facemasks. The Imperial emblem on the right side of their chest and on the left, a Harpy.
Before anyone could react, the Master stepped forward. He wasn't ready for combat, he hadn't transformed. He looked at the group and looked at the tallest member.
"So you have made your decision?"
The figure nodded and stepped forward, whoever this person was she was powerful. The sheer magical power contained is incredible, it seemed familiar but alien all at the same time.
"What is your decision?" Makarov Dreyer looked forward and he almost looked sad, who was this person and what are they talking about. Did the Master meet this person when he was in the Empire?
The Imperial soldier put their hands to their mask and pulled their facemask down, revealing none other than Aisha Alyamani. I couldn't believe it was her, she had arrived at the perfect time. I could've cried right there, my prayers had been answered. I needed her here, and here she was. What does the master mean when he said that she needed to make a decision? I felt the tears well up in my eyes, I wanted to run over and wrap my arms around her again. It had been over a year since I last saw her and she hadn't changed at all, though the familiar smile she wore around me was gone. She looked solemn.
"The Empire is too far gone, you're right. I will fight for Fairy Tail, even if it means I have to fight my friends and family." Aisha didn't smile at all, she looked right at the master and looked guilty.
I looked over at Aisha confused, she didn't turn her head to look at me. I saw her eyes quickly glance at me before shooting back to look at the Master. The only time I've ever seen her like this before was when she was trying to confess to me, that was one of the happiest moments of my life. This moment right now might be one of the worst, I had a gut wrenching feeling about this whole thing.
"Thank you, we need you here. I appreciate how hard this is for you, but I can promise we will end this war together. I cannot promise there won't be any casualties but we can stop this madness, we will stop the Empire and Acnologia in the coming days." Makarov smiled and walked forward and put a gentle hand to her leg, Aisha bit her lip before looking at the rest of the guild. Everyone was confused, myself included. She stepped forward in front of all the gathered members, pulling down the hood of her mask and letting her hair come out. She had it tied up tightly and still had her hair braided.
Makarov came and stood by her side facing the guild, the people the Aisha had come with stood behind and hadn't moved at all since they had entered the guild. They stood still with military discipline, I had no idea who they were and I had no idea what she was going to say.
"I want to start with an apology, to the guild and to you Mira." Aisha looked directly at me for the first time and I saw in her eyes that she was dying inside, her nails scratched her palms. She always did that when she was nervous, but what was she nervous about? "When I arrived at Fairy Tail, I told you I had been told by my Grandfather about the guild and that is why I joined. That was a lie, I was sent by General Invel Yura of the Spriggan Twelve to spy on Fairy Tail and gather information about the guild and the rest of Ishgar. That is what I did, for the months I was in the guild I kept detailed notes about every member, this included your magic, weaknesses, fighting style, appearance and personality. I took this information back to the Empire when I was sent on a mission by Master Makarov, and I handed it back to the Twelve."
I almost fell to my knees right there, Aisha how could you? You have betrayed the guild, you have betrayed everything Fairy Tail stands for and you've betrayed me. I felt the tears welling up in my eyes and I heard the uproar this caused in the guild, they were furious.
Cana stepped forward and stared Aisha down, she had been warning anyone who would listen about Aisha being suspicious. "Aisha, how fucking dare you stand here and say that?! After everything I said about being sorry with how I treated you! You were actually a spy!"
"I'm sorry Cana, you were right. At the time I thought I was doing the right thing by completing my mission, I see now that was a mistake." Aisha looked at Cana with an apologetic face.
Cana stepped forward and the Master stepped between them. "Let her finish, there's other things Aisha needs to say."
"My name is Aisha Alyamani, but if I was to go by my Father's name it would be Aisha Raml. I understand some of you have already met my twin brother Ajeel, I want to apologise for him. He is brainwashed by the Empire and with Emperor Spriggan's poison. The thing is, Ajeel and I are members of the Twelve. There are thirteen members in total and I am one of them, I'm part of the Vanguard who was sent to destroy the Guild. I separated from the main force that Ajeel is leading and I had to warn the guild." Aisha looked back over at me, I walked forward and slapped her in the face. The Master looked up at me, not stopping the hit. Aisha didn't move away or use her magic to stop me, she accepted the slap and looked away from me. I stormed away from them and went back to my original position. I wanted nothing more than to run away right now or turn her into dust, but I just couldn't.
Aisha didn't speak up but instead Makarov did, looking up to address the guild. "I found out Aisha was a member of the Emperor's personal guard when I arrived in Vistarion. When we spoke she agreed to help me investigate the Empire as she didn't want to go to war with the guild. When we investigated the Empire we found traces of Zeref's magic everywhere, we didn't know at that point that Zeref was the Emperor and even Aisha herself didn't know that Zeref was the Emperor." I looked over at Aisha and I could see she was shocked, how could she possibly not have known that. She was a member of his personal guard, she had to have met him a few times. His magic is unmistakable.
"I first had suspicions during the Eclipse Gate incident, when I felt the energy of the Gate itself it was familiar. I have only met the Emperor a handful of occasions but I felt his magic from it. I should have known then something was wrong. I don't know if I was being willingly ignorant, not willing to accept someone as evil as him was the man I was serving or if I just didn't know. When I fully realised who he was I knew I couldn't side with him. I would've stepped in during the rescue mission but I was outside of the capital when that happened. I could've stopped Ajeel from attacking you, or went after you myself and joined you on the airship to give you more time to prepare." Aisha came to stand tall in front of the whole guild, she still looked ashamed but she had fully admitted to her mistakes. That was one of her best traits but I wouldn't praise her for this.
"Thank you for that Aisha, we need you. You can atone for your mistakes by helping us here, you're still a member of Fairy Tail and we don't abandon our own." I looked over at the master with contempt, she abandoned us. She might have come back but betrayal like that is unforgivable, her information could make us lose the entire war and help destroy the world.
"Thank you master, I will do everything in my power to help Fairy Tail and defeat the Empire. I have brought as much information I know about the Twelve and the Empire's military strength as a whole, and yes that information includes everything about me." She handed a lacrima tablet to the master who took it and went over to Warren who had been monitoring the barrier even during this whole exchange.
"There is one more thing I have to do though whilst I'm in Magnolia, August who is one of the strongest members of the Twelve has put a tracking mark on me. There's no way to simply disable the mark, but there is a way to transfer the mark. Master, if I may I'd like to leave one of my personal squad here so that she can keep the mark. That way it'll look like I've been captured at least for the beginning of the war and stop the Empire tracking me"
"Of course, August was big enough of a problem already. With the information you've given us and the spoofing of the signal, we need to try and get as much of an advantage over him as possible." Makarov had turned around to face Aisha as Levy had rushed over to Warren to read through the data before having it transferred through to us through Warren's telephony magic.
"Perfect we will get the preparations ready for this, whilst we're getting everything ready I did want to speak about August. There is a chance we could potentially pacify him, he isn't one for senseless violence and could potentially join our side as we fight Acnologia though be warned he will not betray the Empire itself." As Aisha was speaking, one of the soldiers from her squadron stepped forward and bowed her head before Aisha.
Aisha began to remove her robe and underneath the fur lined robe, she wore a thin layer of mail and silk. She really couldn't deal with the cold, I guess she was more used to dry scorching heat. Though I do remember she complained about the humidity of Fiore. She pulled up the layer of mail and I could see the golden tattoos that covered her body, but there was a glowing red mark that resembled the mark that Imperial banners flew. "Amine, begin the spell to transfer the mark to yourself. Thank you for this, there's really no other words I can say for this."
The mage who had stepped forward looked up at Aisha and nodded. "For the Princess, I would be honoured. I have been in your squadron for years and you have saved me more times than I can count, it's time for me to return the favour." Princess? Is Aisha actually a royal? I could tell she was from the nobility by her mannerisms but surely she wasn't actually a royal.
"It's been a while since I've been a Princess, Amine. The kingdom of Hijaara is part of the Empire now, Ajeel is no longer a prince and I am no longer a Princess."
"You're still a Princess to me, it's either that or address you as Priestess."
"Neither would be preferable." Aisha smiled for the first time since entering the guildhall, before the mark itself disappeared and the red glow emerged from beneath the robes of Amine. "Thank you Amine, now that it is done it's time to get to work." Aisha walked over to Master Makarov. "Makarov, I'm going to head north. That is where one of the invasions will happen, the Empire is planning to attack from all directions with around a million men in total, the Twelve are spread around these armies."
"Which of the Imperial leadership are in the North? Also, which ones are in the Vanguard?"
"In the Vanguard there are four in total. Ajeel, Brandish, Wall and myself. In the North the situation will be different, the frontal assault will be carried out by Bloodman and behind him there will be Invel, Irene and finally the Emperor himself. I could possibly take Invel and Bloodman, but Invel will be by the Emperor's side. Irene is a different story, she alongside August are the strongest members. If it comes down to it, I will fight her but I most likely won't be coming out of it alive."
Really? Someone as strong as Aisha is so convinced that she stands no chance, how strong must she be. I still have lost all my trust for Aisha but I can't help but deep down sense that I still care for her. I surely couldn't care for her like that, after everything she has done.
"I see, go north but I'll send a team behind you. I imagine other guilds will be heading there. Sabertooth and Blue Pegasus are based in Northern Fiore so hopefully they can help us there."
"Thank you Master, any support will be appreciated. I'll head north with the rest of my team and prepare to fight." Aisha nodded and left the Master, she headed back to her team and spoke in a foreign language to them. They eventually headed towards the door and they turned into the same gust of sand they entered the guild with and left.
The master walked over to me and sat down on the bar, in his usual spot as the guild came down from high alert and talked amongst themselves about what they had heard. They weren't happy with Aisha and despite what the master had said believed that she was a traitor and couldn't be forgiven.
"Mira, I'm sorry I didn't tell you when on the airship over to Fiore. I wanted her to tell you in person." He looked up at me with a sad look on his face.
"I understand why you did it master, she should've told me herself but I still cannot believe she was a spy that whole time. Was our whole relationship a lie?" I felt the tears well up in my eyes again as I began to cry, Lisanna noticed this and put a gentle hand on my back. Behind her Elfman watched and he was just as angry as the rest of the guild, we had welcomed her into our house then she did this.
"Honestly, I don't believe it was a lie. When we first encountered each other in the Grand Palace in Vistarion. We spoke about the guild and she told me everything, when I mentioned you and your relationship she was defensive. She didn't want to fight you and said what she wanted was to be with you. She understands what she did and how wrong she was, but I do believe she loves you. She also understands that after everything that things won't be the same."
How can she understand, I don't even know if I care if she really loved me or not. She had betrayed everything, the person I fell in love with during the games was Aisha Alyamani, the person who travelled across the sea with nothing to join the guild. I didn't fall in love with Aisha Alyamani, the spy who's a member of the Emperor's personal guard.
Before I could reply to the master again, Warren shouted out. "That's the first wave here, Ajeel has arrived in the air! The other members will be arriving soon!"
"Mira we'll talk about this more later, I need you to take a team and support Laxus and the Thunder Legion at the Cathedral. Erza and the Dragonslayers will deal with Ajeel and hopefully by the time Brandish appears we'll be done with one of them atleast and we'll get her next."
"Thank you, Elfman and Lisanna." My brother and sister stood up and we walked out of the guild and into the night. This war wouldn't be over tonight, this will be hard but we will get through it. I need to push Aisha to the back of my mind, I can't be distracted by her and must focus on protecting what I love.