It was a couple of days after the tragic event took place. Natsu stood in the palace behind the balcony Igneel was standing on. He was shaking, having been unable to stop after seeing Firesoul's death. At the jaws of Irene, no less.
As soon as the announcement was made, anger and fear spread like wildfire.
"The Queen is dead! Queen Firesoul has been murdered!"
"Who could've done such a thing?!"
"Rumors say it was Queen Irene!"
"That wretch! First she steals the Prince's egg and curses the Hatchery, now she murders our Queen?!"
"What are we going to do-"
"SILENCE!" Igneel bellowed.
'Why would she do such a thing..? Was dad right..? Was Irene bad this whole time..?' Natsu thought anxiously. The Dragon that raised him and the others…
Was she really a murderer?
"This blatant act of war will not be tolerated!" Igneel announced. "We know where Irene is. We know who's housing her after her theft of our kin all those years ago! We have made her pay once before! We can easily do so again!"
"And this time, she has no Kingdom to back her up!" Ignia stated. For some reason, the nasty scars on his face stood out rather blatantly. Natsu was shocked he never noticed them sooner.
"We will not stand by and let the Sages disrespect us like this!" Zeref snarled angrily. "Who's with us?!"
Several Fires in the audience roared, shot flame, and flapped their wings aggressively.
'Irene.. I don't know why you'd do this.. but I swear you'll pay for it,' Natsu thought.
For the first time in a while, an image of Lucy's face flashed through his mind, putting him at ease.
For a moment.
His doubts started to take over. Was she involved? Why would she be? She was the one who found the eggs. But she was a child at the time!
"What's the plan?" he asked.
"We go down there and make her pay for this," Zeref said.
"But the rest of the city doesn't have to be punished, right?" Natsu asked warily.
"Unless they stand in our way, no. But I doubt they'd give up Irene without a struggle," Zeref said.
'Lucy..' Natsu thought, looking at the horizon. 'I'm sorry for what I might have to do. I hope you understand.'
xXxOxXx
Emri stalked around the crowd, trying to find Emberious. When she spotted him, she gestured with her wings to follow. The two of them ran to a private part of the palace–which wasn't hard to find since everyone was up front–where Emri slumped heavily, "This doesn't feel right.."
"It doesn't feel real," Emberious said. "Our Queen? Gone overnight?"
"No. Just.. I don't think Irene did this. It feels wrong. I can feel it in my soul, Emberious," Emri stated.
He shook his head, "What else could it be? The Princes saw her. Many Fires saw her as she fled from the Kingdom."
"I did too. Her eyes were weird. Like she was being brainwashed..? But.."
"Who could brainwash a Sage Queen? That's just not possible," Emberious said.
"I felt like I could resonate with the magic coming from her body. A Champion did this. And Irene is no Champion."
"The Sage Champion, maybe?" Emberious offered.
"I don't know, but it's likely. Who else could do it?"
"Dragons of Elements that can hypnotize. Waters with bioluminescence can, Nights can, I think Poisons could.."
"Poisons mesmerize, not hypnotize," Emri said.
"So you were paying attention in Elements 101," Emberious said incredulously.
"Focus!" she hissed. He flinched and nodded, "Right.. What element did you feel?"
"That's the thing. None. It was like I was just feeling magic itself," she said. "I don't think it was brainwashing either. Did you see how she moved? She was like a weird human machine. Her movements were jerky and she shouldn't have been able to escape with the King and his guards on her tail."
"So what do you think?" her brother asked, the flames on his back slowly flickering down.
"I think we have to find a way to stop this. Atlas always told me to do the right thing, and that's what I'm going to do," she said.
xXxOxXx
Erik yawned, lounging in the sun. The warmth was amazing on his scales.
Now he just needed to do something about the noise.
Prince Cobra was pacing angrily, muttering angrily to himself, "Who does that foolish Prince think he is..?"
"What's the matter, my Prince?" Vipress asked, looking up from her herb organization.
"Prince Ignia showed up earlier than scheduled the other day. He came to demand some Poisons for some frivolous scheme."
"And you said..?"
"No, obviously!"
"What could he need Poisons for?" Cubellios asked.
"Something about how the Fires are going to war, so he wanted us in the Kingdom to take out the guards and threaten the citizens. Something to put his father in a position where he'd be forced to give up his crown to Ignia without a challenge."
Definitely a frivolous scheme, Erik thought as he closed his eyes.
"I said no, because Igneel would obliterate us Poisons! It wasn't happening! My Dragons are not getting involved in Fire drama!"
"Why are they going to war?" Vipress asked. "It sounds so unlike King Igneel."
"Their Queen was murdered by the Fallen Queen, Irene."
Erik's eyes shot open.
"What? Why would she do such a thing?" Vipress demanded.
"I don't know. All I know is that they're going to hunt her down and likely execute her for it," Cobra said.
"What about the rest of the Dragons? And the humans? She's in a human city right now!" Erik exclaimed, shooting up to his talons.
"If they refuse to give her up, the Fires will likely burn through them."
"But you said Magnolia has that barrier, so they'll be fine, right?" Cubellios asked.
"I wouldn't doubt Igneel's strength. If he wants the Dragons behind that barrier dead, he can and will destroy it," Cobra stated.
"I have to go back! I have to warn them!" Erik exclaimed. He launched up into the air, only for Cobra to drag him back down by his tail. "Did you ignore me when I said I didn't want my Dragons getting involved?!"
"This is my home! These are my friends! My people!" Erik snapped back, forcing himself out of Cobra's grip. "I'm not going to sit by and do nothing!"
"If you get involved with the Fires-"
"You wanted us to stop being complacent, and now you're backing down like a coward?!"
Cobra reeled back, eyes wide at the insult.
"If you cared about your ideals at all, you'd do the right thing," Erik snapped, "All of you."
With that, he flared his wings and took off, heading back to Magnolia for the first time in seven years.
xXxOxXx
"Thank you, dear," Grandeeney took a basket from the Poison trader. The other Dragon nodded her head, "The best herbs the Queen could offer. It is such a relief to be able to trade with you all again."
"Indeed, it is!"
Wendy listened idly as her mother spoke with the trader while she helped Windrider organize herbs.
"I also bring news. Apparently the Fires are planning to attack a human city."
"What for? Igneel was never the type to attack humans."
"This human city houses the Fallen Queen, Irene! And she murdered the Fire Queen!"
Wendy violently flinched, "Irene would never!"
"I'm just telling you what I heard," the Poison said.
"If it's true that the Fires are attacking them.. Then I need to go down there!" she ran to her bags, "They need someone to warn them!"
"Wendy, you can't fly into a warzone!" Grandeeney said. "I can't risk losing my daughter again."
"And I can't risk losing Magnolia. I have to do this."
Without another word, Wendy took off. She dove down below the clouds and flapped her wings, trying to speed herself up. She wanted to go get Laxus, but she wouldn't make it through the Lightning Kingdom.
"Hey look! It's her again!"
Wendy ignored the Lightnings that really seemed to have nothing better to do than roam the mountains. She just kept moving forward.
"Hey, get back here! We're talking to you!" One of them darted in front of her.
She growled, "Get out of my WAY!" She summoned magic, and with an overly aggressive flap of her wings, used the wind to send the Lightnings flying every which way.
With them no longer bothering her, she kept forward.
'I'm coming, guys! I won't let anyone hurt you!'
xXxOxXx
"And then she blew right through us as if we weren't even there!"
Laxus huffed, "Were you skipping training to go harass Skies again?"
"No!" The younger exclaimed, only to wither under Laxus's gaze, "Alright, maybe. But they usually don't barrel through us like that! What got her so worked up?"
"Yeah, Sky Whisperer," another one said, "What's got her feathers in knots?"
"Beats me. Which one was it?"
"The small one with white feathers and blue crest. I think you called her Wendy?"
That didn't sit right with him. Wendy didn't barrel through Dragons unless she had a damn good reason for it.
"Didn't you hear?" A strange looking Lightning with a deep voice and blue eyes said. "The Fires are all worked up because their Queen was killed by a Tamed. Irene."
"Irene would never do such a thing!" Laxus said.
"Her old Kingdom was burned to the ground by the Fires. Would you not have sought revenge yourself?"
"So that must be why Wendy is in such a panic.. Magnolia must be in danger if Irene did that!" Laxus turned and took off into the air.
"Laxus, wait!" Ilumina flew up with him, "I'm coming too!"
"I can't ask you-"
"You didn't ask," she cut him off bluntly.
The two flew, until Tormenta cut them off, "Where are you two going?!"
"Magnolia is in danger! Get out of the way!"
"Absolutely not! You're abandoning your kin for a human city?!"
"A human city that needs me more than my kin right now!" Laxus snapped.
"What makes you think-"
"For Elexion's sake, dad!" Ilumina threw her helmet off, effectively throwing Tormenta off. "What? Ilumina?! That's been you under all that armor this whole time?!"
She growled threateningly as electricity crackled around her body.
"We're going. You can either come with us or get out of our way," she stated, "But you are not stopping us!"
The two of them flew around the large General, and continued onward.
xXxOxXx
Rogue walked with Umbris. The wyvern-like Shadow nodded her head gratefully, "Thank you for helping me with these."
"What are friends for?" he smiled, watching her fit some bricks into place on a wall being built. Umbris was tasked with carrying bricks, and since Rogue was done with his own jobs, he offered to help Umbris with hers.
"So what's all this being built for?" Albumis asked, floating overhead.
"A new meeting hall," Skiadrum stated. "The Whites already have one of their own."
"But it gets tedious for the Shadows to go up to use it after a while," Umbris said.
"If you dragonets need a break-" Skiadrum said, only to be cut off by Rogue lifting his wing, "Dad, we're not dragonets anymore. We can handle it."
"If you say so. The Whites should have more supplies up above, can you go grab them?"
"We got it!" Sting said, bounding past Rogue. The Shadow followed him.
"You noticed him too, right?" Sting asked quietly. Rogue nodded, spotting a shifty looking Shadow following them up. He had eerie, glowing blue eyes and wore a strange smirk.
"Did you two hear?" he said. "The Fires are going to attack a human city."
"What for?"
"They're after Irene," he said quietly. "If memory serves, you two grew up under her wing, correct?"
"Why are you telling us this?" Rogue demanded.
"Just warning you. I want you to make peace with what will happen. Chances are, the Fires will tear that city down to get to her." His eyes gleamed coldly, "Or you can do something about it."
Sting growled, "We are!" he snapped, before turning and taking off.
"Sting, wait! We can't just leave without telling the others!" Rogue called. Sting didn't falter. The Shadow groaned.
"I will tell your friends," the other Shadow said, "Go after your friend."
Rogue growled. He didn't trust this Shadow. Something about him was just wrong. But he couldn't just do nothing and risk his home burning down. What's the worst that would happen if it was a lie?
"Faster! We need to get there before the Fires do!" Sting shouted.
xXxOxXx
Back in the Fire palace, the Royals gathered around a large, round table for their meeting. Emri, as the Champion, was granted access to join due to her status, as well as the fact that they might need her for this.
Emri listened, wanting nothing more than to say something. But what could she say?
"They have a barrier?" Zeref demanded incredulously. "How do we get through the barrier?!"
"Simple," Ignia pulled Natsu uncomfortably close, "This one can break through. If memory serves, that necklace helps you inside, correct?"
Natsu slowly nodded.
"He gets inside and breaks the source of the barrier!"
"What about guards? There's surely got to be some," Zeref argued.
"We can take care of that!" Ignia assured, "We cause a distraction, and you break down that barrier!"
"And what kind of distraction do you have in mind?" Igneel demanded.
"It has to be good," Atlas added, "Something that will cause an uproar."
As they all paused to think, Natsu was hit with a realization, "Back when you guys first found Magnolia, dad hit the barrier in anger. It flickered," he explained. "We might not be able to brute force the barrier, but we can scare them into thinking you can."
Every part of his conscience was telling him not to say that–to think of his friends–but he shoved them down. That ship had long since sailed, and if Irene was afraid of retaliation, then she shouldn't have murdered Firesoul–his mother–to begin with.
"Enough intimidation could cause a big enough reaction," Atlas said. "And what better than trying to break through their protective barrier? That barrier protects their way of life."
"If they think we can, they'll put everything into stopping us," Zeref nodded along.
"Sounds like we have a plan in place," Igneel stated. "Let's put an end to that Fallen Queen, once and for all."