Within the mansion of the hidden oasis, Levy and Lily brought Erza and the others to another room that is a bit far from the chamber where Yuuko is with Ikki.
Levy slides the door open as to reveal another chamber that is filled with shelves full of scrolls, a fireplace, and a single large table with many seat pillows surrounding it.
"take a seat and we'll tell you guys everything you need to ask about" said Levy as Erza and the others entered in.
"you guys can start with how the heck are you guys here" said Gray as he sat down with Juvia beside him. "I thought you guys went off on a mission with Gajeel?"
"about that" said Lily as he sat on the table while Levy sat behind him. "there's been an unfortunate incident when we were about to head on our mission"
Flashback
Gajeel, Levy, and Lily are within the Sakura Caves as the place is desolated with life except for Ash and his family, the wyverns are resting from their injuries.
"the Sakura trees…" said Levy with a frown while beside a Sakura tree's stump, the tree got cut down while surrounded with dying Sakura petals.
"they will regrow but at a longer time.." said Lily, feeling sad that such beautiful sakura trees were cut down with no heart.
"I smell Salamander" said Gajeel as he sniffed the air. "he's been here, trying to regrow them"
"that's good…" muttered Levy with a small smile, glad to know that Natsu is recouping after losing Ikaruga, Haruka, and Haruo.
"guys" said Lily while pointing to the river. "look at that"
Gajeel and Levy looks by and sees static forming around in the air by the river before a black portal appeared and started sucking air in.
"what is that!?" said Levy in surprise before she suddenly get pulled into the portal with Lily.
"it's sucking us in!" exclaimed Lily as he rolls around in the air while flying towards the portal.
"Shrimp! Lily!" shouted Gajeel as he tried to get them and pull them away from the portal, but it sucked him in too. "what the!?"
The three instantly get sucked into the portal that vanished when they went in
Flashback
"Gajeel-kun is here too!?" said Juvia in surprise to hear the three getting sucked into the portal.
"yeah," said Lily with a head nod "he's probably getting the others here"
"we're not the only ones who got to Lingyue by the portal too" added Levy "Gildarts, and Laxus. they got sucked into the portal too before the three of us"
"them too, huh? The portal sucked them all in and transported us all to Lingyue, huh?" said Charla while crossing her arms.
"that would explain why the portal went rampant," said Erza while cupping her chin. "that many people getting sucked in would cause the portal to go rampage, huh?"
"anyway, when will Gajeel get here?" asked Gray before the door slides open to reveal the Iron Dragon Slayer himself alongside Lucy and the others.
"I'm right here, stripper boy" said Gajeel with a grin.
"Lu-chan! Everyone!" said Levy as she got up and gave Lucy a hug, the blonde mage looking surprised.
"I thought Gajeel himself got teleported here but you too, Levy-chan!?" said Lucy in surprise.
"good, everyone is here now" said Lily with a nod as everyone sat down around the table which has a scroll laid upon it by Levy.
"alright everyone, we're going to tell you all what we gathered from the scrolls in the room and what is going on upon Lingyue" said Lily as he with Charla are near the scroll that showed many symbols of ancient writings. "first is that there is a rebellion rising against the Emperor's rule upon Lingyue"
"a rebellion?" asked Wendy as Levy takes out another scroll and rolled it out to show the lineage of Emperors of Lingyue.
"turns out that the current emperor isn't who he is" said Levy as she pointed to Nagano's name that isn't connected with Ryujima's name. "whoever this Nagano is, he isn't a bloodline member of the Emperor lineage, meaning that he's an impostor or whatsoever"
"we don't know the full details, but this Nagano is planning to invade Fiore and conquer it all" added Gajeel with a serious look as this got everyone's attention.
"they plan to invade our home?" asked Gray as Levy and Lily nodded.
"a fake Emperor who has conquered Lingyue and plans to conquer our home" said Mira while clenching her fists hard. "that's not something we plan to let him do!"
"we need to take down the fake emperor!" said Elfman while clenching his fists.
"no, we can't" said Levy. "not without the complete preparation of the rebellion"
"the rebellion is about 90% completed" said Lily while crossing his arms. "we need to be patient before we can stop the invasion of our home"
"then what are we supposed to do now?" asked Gray as he sees another scroll rolling out and this one showed a human surrounded by 8 circles with 8 varieties of colors. "what's this?"
"the seal of the 8 Deities," said Lily "this seal is a type of healing magic that can revive one who is deceased"
"wait, why do we need to know this?!" said Lucy, not getting how the point of stopping an invasion turned into the revival magic seal.
"it's because it's the only thing that can bring back Salamander's kid back to life" said Gajeel as this made Gray's eyes widen a bit.
"w-what? are you saying that?" said Gray as Gajeel nodded.
By the large and old Sakura tree that is growing within the mansion, Haruo's body is present by the base of the tree as the roots were surrounding his body in a cocoon like form.
"I don't know how it works, but the people here in Lingyue are very smart in performing healing and reviving rituals that goes beyond our understanding," said Gajeel in explanation. "shrimp here found records of many people getting revived with this seal"
"t-then! We can bring back Haruo, right!?" said Gray while standing up, understanding the chance to bring back the child from the dead.
"yeah, we can" replied Gajeel as Gray sat back down with a relieved and tearing up face.
"I see….Haruo….we can bring Haruo back" said Gray while tearing up even more as Juvia patted his back a few times.
"but the ritual isn't something very simple to do" said Lily as he pointed to the picture of the seal itself. "there are 5 conditions that we have to fulfill"
"what are they?" asked Mira, eager like Gray to know how get Haruo back.
"first is that the body of the deceased must be in the healing property of the Great Sakura tree which is the one that is growing inside this mansion" said Levy as she explained the conditions of the ritual. "the second is that we need the 8 Celestial Gems of Lingyue"
"8 celestial gems?" asked Lucy as Levy rolled the scroll out even further to show several drawings of 8 gems in the shape of animal heads.
"the 8 celestial gems are like Lucy's Celestial Spirit Keys, but they are only found here on Lingyue" Lily further explained as he pointed to the red gem that is in the shape of a Dragon's head. "each one corresponds with a specific Celestial Spirit who is a guardian of one of the eight islands"
Levy takes out a bamboo scroll and rolled it out to reveal an octagon symbol with a drawing of an animal on each point.
"first we have the Four Great Guardian Beast" said Lily as he pointed to the north, east, south, and west points that have the picture of a Dragon, a bird, a turtle with a snake, and a white tiger. "Draco of the North Sky, Houou of the East Sky, Genbu of the South Sky, and Byakko of the West sky."
"then there's the Four Animal Spirits" added Levy pointed to the picture of a monkey, a raven, an eagle, and a dolphin. "they're not like the Four Great Guardian Beast nor are they strong as the four but they're very strong to protect their own island."
"Monkey King; Enra, Black Raven; Tengu, Flashing Eagle; Taka, and Ocean Singer; Seicho, combined all 8 together, they're called the 8 guardians of Lingyue alongside the 8 Generals of Lingyue" added Lily as he pointed out the elements that each animal represented that is like with the 8 generals.
"so? we need to find their gems, right?" asked Cana not seeing the point of the whole explanation.
"their gems are only found with the member of the 8 generals, meaning if we need to get the gems, we got to take them from the 8 general member who holds them" said Lily as he walks to a shelve and opens its drawer to take out a round metallic stone bowl that has 8 holes around the side, but two are already filled with a red dragon gem and a brown monkey gem. Lily showed the item to everyone as he sets it down on the table. "right now, we have two of the eight; Draco of the North Sky and the Monkey King; Enra's celestial Gems"
"you guys got Draco's gem from Natsu, but how you guys got the other one?" asked Mira before the door slides open to reveal Ayame.
"you!?" exclaimed Gray in surprise as everyone went hostile except for Gajeel, Levy, and Lily.
"wait! She's not an enemy! She's with us and the rebellion!" said Levy getting in between to stop any possible fight.
"huh? What you saying, Levy!? This girl is one of them, isn't she!?" exclaimed Mira as her right hand transformed into a part of her Satan Soul.
"I'm not an enemy," said Ayame while holding her staff before she looks to the side as Haruka came into view. "I'm an ally"
"Haruka-chan!" exclaimed Lucy as Haruka tears up before she runs to the blonde mage.
"Lucy-neechan!" cried out Haruka in tears as she is glad to see Lucy and everyone.
"what took you so long?" said Gajeel to Ayame who went in the room and slowly closed the door.
"the Emperor ordered for full tight security around the palace and upon Ikaruga-sama. I had to stall time to get Haruka-sama away to safety" said Ayame as her staff shrank down to the size of a baton which she placed away inside her kimono. "the Emperor is planning to move on the invasion plan"
"that ain't good" said Gajeel while looking annoyed.
"what's not good? Explain to us everything" said Erza as she isn't letting her guard down around Ayame.
"explaining can be such a pain" said Gajeel while scratching his head.
Everyone sat down as Gajeel explained that Ayame isn't loyal to the current emperor, only to the previous Emperor and Ikaruga, and then how she is a spy to the Emperor, lastly to how they got the second gem which Ayame gave to them reluctantly.
"right now the people aren't the only ones wanting a rebellion against the current emperor" said Gajeel to everyone before glancing at Ayame. "she's one of the few who started the rebellion in the first place"
"then, you followed the orders in order to not to compromise yourself?" asked Lucy to Ayame who nodded.
"I will apologize to you all with my life later, but right now, I plan to keep Haruka-sama safe and as well as completing the preparation for the rebellion," said Ayame with a serious look.
"you're a very loyal person, aren't you?" said Lisanna as Ayame nodded.
Now after the explanation and the tearful reunion with Haruka who now slept in another room peacefully to rest. The group is furtherly discussing with Ayame in it.
"then, all we got to do is help with the rebellion, right?" asked Cana with a smile. "sounds like a plan!"
"yes and no, we have to help with the rebellion while also retrieving the rest of the Celestial Gems" said Levy as she looks at the metal bowl. "we only have till 2 days if we can succeed in the revival ritual"
"what do you mean?" asked Charla.
"it's the third condition of the ritual" replied Lily. "the revival ritual will only work on someone whose body has only been deceased for 9 moons' time. Right now, we are in the 7th moon and there are only two days left before Haruo is lost forever"
This got everyone worried and anxious to know that they only have 2 days to save Haruo and bring him back to life.
"what's the plan?" said Erza as she knows that Gajeel and the others planned to do something.
"we got to split into groups" said Gajeel. "one group gets the remaining gems, another help with the rebellion, and the last one is to find Salamander"
"find Natsu? he's somewhere here, right?" asked Gray as Gajeel shakes his head in reply.
"he's going to find the Jinmenju's fruit, the item that is the fourth condition of the revival ritual" said Gajeel. "it's a legendary and rare fruit on Lingyue, without the fruit we can't bring the kid back"
"Gildarts is off to get him and help him get the fruit, but he hasn't come back for three days" added Levy with a frown.
"meanwhile, Laxus just went off today to the Thunder Island. He's planning to get payback for what the 8 General members of that island did to the Raijinshuu" Lily furtherly added in while imagining Laxus reaching the Thunder Island already. "he also plan to get to the nearby Light Island after he's done"
"alright" said Erza before Juvia interrupted in.
"you told us until the four conditions, Gajeel-kun. But what is the last condition?" asked Juvia, noticing how they only explained until four conditions.
"I'm getting to it" said Gajeel as he takes the scroll that explains the revival ritual in his hands before he rolls it further to show the drawing of a man and a woman. "the last condition is the blood of the deceased person's relatives, meaning that we need Salamander and his wife's blood if we want to complete the ritual"
"That means we got to save Ikaruga too, huh?" said Cana while scratching her chin.
"she's in the palace too, it won't be easy getting through those many guards, right?" said Lisanna with a small frown.
"understood" said Erza as she pointed a finger to the scroll that showed the light element symbol. "I will go and retrieve the Flashing Eagle; Taka's Celestial gem"
"wait a minute, Erza! Don't just go and decide it!" said Lucy in surprise to Erza's statement.
"we don't have time to argue" said Erza with a serious face. "there's not much time left if we want to bring back Haruo and stop the emperor. Right now, we have to get into groups and put a stop to everything"
"even with your skills, you might have trouble facing the 8 general of that island!" said Lily with a serious face. "the 8 generals don't use magic, they use Chi"
"chi?" said Gray as Levy takes away all the scrolls on the table before Lily rolled out a different one that shows a drawing of a human's body that has veins drawn with it.
"just like how we have our magic, the people of Lingyue don't rely on magic or anything of the sort, they rely on chi that is within all people the moment we are born into this world" said Levy as she looks to Ayame who showed everyone her right hand that is glowing green with energy.
"it is why they are able to wield the weapons that are similar to Chitetsu, they don't have magic to be drained with in the first place" said Lily while crossing his arms. "but we do"
"even so, I will go to this island and retrieve its celestial gem" said Erza with a determined face. "try to stop me if you can"
"when redhead becomes like that, looks like we don't get a second opinion" said Mira with a smirk before she pointed to the wind element symbol near the light island. "then, I'm taking the wind! The general there is someone I have a bone to pick with!"
"I'll take the fire" said Gray, determined to get revenge on Gojin. "I won't give that guy a breather when I'm fighting him"
"Juvia will go with Gray-sama" said Juvia. "Juvia's Water Magic will be very efficient against fire element"
"I'll go take the earth" stated Gajeel with a smirk. "that monk messed me up hard back at the guild, I'll repay him kindly"
"but Daichi-san isn't like the others. He's different" said Wendy with a frown, remembering the kind act that Daichi gave to them the moment that they arrived on his island.
"true, Daichi-san is one of the pacifist members of the 8 general" said Ayame with a slight frown. "but his convictions to obey is far greater than his pride"
"this leaves water, and darkness left" said Lily while squinting his eyes a bit. "the two generals of these elements are rather strong"
"I shall take on Mizuki" stated Ayame with a serious face. "Mizuki and I have been friends since we were children, i will try to persuade her and if i fail, I shall use force then"
"that leaves darkness left" said Levy while nodding
"I'll take on the darkness general! A man won't lose again!" said Elfman with a pumped up fist.
"better if me and Lucy come with" said Cana with a smile. "this big guy might need the backup"
"eh?! Me too!?" exclaimed Lucy in surprise.
"then me and Lisanna will stay behind to take care of Haruka and prepare the rebellion," said Levy as Lisanna nodded.
"while I with Kiara, Wendy and Charla will go and get Gildarts and Natsu back with the Jimeneju fruit. we need all the power we can get" said Lily as Wendy and Charla gulped nervously while Kiara squeals for their plan is for the sake of their home and that of Lingyue.
Everyone is outside of the mansion with Yuuko who is surrounded by 7 large Pop foxes who are all her children.
"my children can take you to each General's island at a fast pace" said Yuuko while petting one of the large foxes' head which had leaned down to her. "they will ensure that you reach the General's palace directly"
"be careful everyone, and don't die" said Erza as everyone nodded before the group who are getting the remaining celestial gems gets on 6 of the large pop foxes who started to run towards 8 tunnels while only going through six of them.
"let's go" said Lily as he with Wendy and Charla got on the last large Pop Fox who started running to hole that is far from the remaining 8 tunnels before as this one is more larger.
"everyone, good luck" said Lisanna with Levy beside her, the two praying that their friends can get the gems in time and put a stop to the emperor's invasion plan.
Somewhere on a small island that is in the outside borders of the Darkness Island and Fire island, the place is desolated with life as there is only an abandoned burned out village where Gildarts is by.
"this place seems pretty abandoned" said Gildarts while looking around before he started walking ahead. "Natsu, just where did you go?"
Gildarts went off as he is trying to find Natsu who is told to be here by Yuuko.
As Gildarts is trying to find Natsu, we turn our attention to the small island's forest where there is a large dark crevice that had dark aura oozing out of it. Before a minute could even pass, a loud echoing roar is heard from within the dark crevice.
Meanwhile at the Emperor's Palace.
Ikaruga walks within the hallway, passing by soldier guards before making her way to the Emperor's quarters for she was summoned by her uncle.
"Emperor, I have arrived as you wished" said Ikaruga as the door slides open by the servant inside, giving entrance for the pink haired woman to enter in.
Entering the Emperor's quarters, Ikaruga sat down on a pillow served by a servant as she sat right in front of the Emperor who sat behind bamboo blinds.
"servants, that will be all" said the Emperor as the servants bowed before they all left the quarter, leaving Ikaruga with the Emperor.
The atmosphere became quiet as Ikaruga didn't speak a word, nor did the Emperor.
Before the sound of a breeze enters the room from the window, the bamboo curtains that is covering the Emperor was suddenly cut in half by Ikaruga who holds a small katana that is hidden inside her kimono's sleeves.
Ikaruga had a hostile look as she disappeared and reappeared in front of the Emperor, her small katana's blade piercing right through the man's chest and through his heart.
The masked Emperor fell on the floor, the Emperor lying dead as he never uttered a word before his own death.
"I'm sorry..but I cannot let you engulf Lingyue in darkness" said Ikaruga with a small frown before she heard a cackle coming from behind her that caused her eyes to widen.
"that body served its purpose for as long as it is able to live" said a dark voice as Ikaruga took a quick glance at the Emperor's dead body, her eyes looking shocked in seeing that the Emperor's face which is revealed from the mask that fell off, the face looks shrivelled and withered as if the life is sucked right out of it. "I shall take yours now"
Ikaruga draws out her katana as she swung it behind her, only to cut nothing nor no one.
The evil cackle returns as we turn our attention to Ikaruga's shadow, the woman looking around before the shadow of something like a serpent appears behind her. The serpent's shadow move around before it strikes and enters into Ikaruga's shadow by her face.
Ikaruga fell to the floor, seemingly lifeless as her eyes were black and void, but inside her gaping mouth, a pair of glowing yellow eyes before the evil cackle sound returned.
That's a wrap!
Bye bye