Hello everyone, and welcome to the next chapter of "The Death and Life of Erza Scarlet"! Once again, I must apologize for the delay on this chapter, I've just been a tad bit overwhelmed working on so many things. However, I will do whatever I can to ensure this story reaches a proper conclusion, and I hope to make it a fun journey.
So, without any further do, let us begin.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach of fairy tail. Those belong respectively to Tite Kubo and Shounen jump and Hiro Mashima and Weekly shounen magizine. This is just for fun!
The Guild hall was awash with noise and cheer, even as Natsu and Erza got themselves patched up. Momo put in what healing kidos she knew while scolding Erza every step of the way; Natsu got a similar treatment from his wife. The two of them, exhausted, bruised and bloodied, flinched and winced as their injuries were treated, but could not stop smiling at each other all the same where they sat. Erza had at long last come home, really come home, and even though they both knew it could not last, it was forgotten in this moment. Now she was just Erza, back with a family she had long since thought lost, feeling like everything was… normal. That was the weirdest part; all it had taken was getting her teeth kicked in for her to remember just what it felt like to be part of this large, boisterous, unruly found family.
Spontaneously around them, in an example of the sheer chaotic energy that so exemplified Fairy Tail, a party was erupting. Tables were slammed together, the pantry was being empties, beer was served in great quantities, and music was being played all around them. There was dancing and cheer, the room being drowned in exuberant noise, the whole guild transitioning seamlessly into senseless celebration.
"Are you happy now?" Soifon muttered disapprovingly, sliding down next to Erza.
"Yes," Erza said, smiling widely. "Like I never have been."
"I was scolding you," Soifon said irritably. "You just got yourself beaten half to death for no reason, in a way that did nothing to advance our mission. And now we're… partying."
"Well, welcome to Fairy Tail," said Erza, refusing to be anything but happy. "You get used to it. Or don't. We won't stay long, I think."
"Erza-"
"I needed this. I needed it more than I knew. With the utter hell I've put myself through, becoming the damn hero of the Gotei and all that nonsense, with losing my everything and going through over a century of struggle and nearly dying repeatedly, only to get some kind of terminal illness that might just kill me or worse, turn me into some kind of monster- with all that, don't I deserve a night of happiness? With my old family?"
"I… I suppose one night can't hurt," Soifon conceded, taken slightly aback.
"Thank you," Erza said sincerely. "Now, why don't you go out there and mingle?"
"You can guilt me into letting you have fun, but you can't make me do it," Soifon said, so sternly that Erza burst out laughing.
"Fair enough! Brood in a corner, then. Plenty of people who will find that cool," Erza chuckled.
Not everyone was in such a festive mood. Lisanna Strauss was doing her best Soifon impression, brooding in a corner and sipping a stein of beer, staring down the chaos of the guild. Unlike Erza she had been very young when she had died, and had had far less memory and attachment to the guild. She had found purpose in the Gotei as a soldier, had been hammered into a good soldier and leader where discipline, hierarchy and authority had meant everything. She had played that game and gotten good at it.
So it was that she watched the anarchy of the guild with mixed emotions. This was home, and it stirred a deeply nostalgic feeling inside her, an ache with such an emotional weight that she felt it tugging at the very foundations of who she was, threatening to unravel a century's worth of development.
On the other hand she watched an undisciplined rabble milling about without purpose or direction, wasting their potential. With such power, what could they do if they were well organized? They could control the whole country, turn it into a proper state, make it something better-
But it wouldn't be Fiore anymore, she knew. She shook her head. The vast majority of her life- afterlife; existence- had been spent doing the complete opposite of what this guild stood for, and while Erza had defiantly retained the same spirit and fit in easily, Lisanna had no such luck. This was no longer her home, wouldn't be, couldn't be even if she was free of her duties.
As she scanned the guild hall she saw across the room in the opposite corner, on the sidelines, her two siblings. There was Mirajane and Elfman, looking right at her. Mira looked away when Lisanna returned the look, as if she hadn't been looking. Her brother, her sister…
Following some strange, thoughtless compulsion, Lisanna stood up and walked through the partying crowd with purpose, weaving out of the way of the dancing guild members with ease. Finally she reached her siblings, who looked at her strangely. There was a nervous energy about them, as if they expected her to disappear at any moment, as if saying or doing something wrong might make her disappear like a mirage. They hadn't had a chance to talk since her return, and Lisanna both dreaded it and wanted it, needed it.
"Lisanna-" Mirajane began nervously, but Lisanna cut her off.
"Outside," she said, nodding toward one of the side exits to the guild. "It's a bit too… rowdy in here."
"Of course," Mirajane nodded. Lisanna led the way, and the sunny outside felt like a huge relief; the overwhelming noise from inside was much dampened, replaced by the serene green of the Fiorean summer afternoon.
"So…" Lisanna began, having to force the word. "So uh… how have you guys… been?"
"It's been, uh…" Elfman said awkwardly, scratching his head. "Good? For the most part. The guild has had a lot of struggles, but we came out on top and uh…"
"But we- we never forgot you," Mirajane said hastily. There was an awkward silence.
"Ah, to hell with it," Lisanna said, shaking her head. "I can't take it. I'll just say it out loud, alright? What I really feel."
Mira and Elfman both nodded nervously.
"I all but forgot about the two of you," Lisanna said bluntly. "A hundred years is a long time, especially when you lose someone when you're so young. I never forgot about you, and… and I do love you both. But…"
She had to pause to take a breath to compose herself, as a well of emotions erupted inside her, unexpectedly and with the force of a dam bursting.
"Your faces became a blur. Who you were, what you were like, all of that became kind of a… vague mesh of good things. Without clear character. I don't know who you are anymore, and you most definitely don't know who I am either. But I still feel- I feel connected? To you both? I… seeing the both of you, it makes me feel- it makes me feel- I don't know how to even describe it!" Lisanna almost shouted the last part in frustration.
"Happy? Sad? Torn up? I don't get it. I… I've grown up, I did my growing up in the Gotei. It's a military organization. You're meant to keep things bottled up to a degree. I'm not like you anymore, that ship has sailed. But looking at you, you are- you are-"
Lisanna paused again as her voice was breaking up. She trembled a little, trying and failing to hold back the tears.
"God damn it," she muttered, as tears began to fall, "god damn it, god damn it!"
"It's okay," Mirajane said softly, and then her arms were wrapped around Lisanna. "It's okay, it's okay. Shh…"
Although Lisanna resisted at first, stiffening up at the touch, she eased into the embrace. She sobbed there for a few seconds before composing herself, gently putting her hands on her sister's shoulders and easing out of the hug, still keeping close.
"I'm good. I- I'm- I just got a bit- it's a bit much, you know?" She said weakly.
"You don't have to be strong," Mirajane reassured her. "It's okay to let your guard down a bit and feel. It's… this whole thing is a lot for us too. You were dead to us for so long- literally dead and buried, and now you're back? How the hell are we supposed to feel about that?"
She smiled, and Lisanna laughed faintly.
"It's just… I don't know how to say it- it feels bad to do that-" She murmured.
"Please," said Elfman. "You can talk freely. We… we're just glad to have you back."
"Well, that's just it," Lisanna sighed. "I'm not back. When this mission is done and I'll be leaving. I might come back and visit but… probably not often. I'm a completely different person to… to almost anyone in this guild, I think. I look at you, at everyone here, and I see people who are not me, who value things that I don't. I like things neat and ordered. I like the discipline and self-control. I see the guild, and… I see the kind of person I might have grown up to be. But I'm not. This… this isn't home anymore. And it feels cruel to say that, with how… with how easily Erza just fit back in. It makes me feel… ungrateful? Callous?"
"You're not," Mirajane said softly. "It's not your fault. It's not anybody's fault. People just… change with time. You went in a different direction. I'm just glad you found happiness. I… I often thought about you, especially the first years after you passed. I never knew if there really was an afterlife, I'm not that religious, but… I'm glad you found your way there. By the sounds of it you got pretty far."
Elfman nodded.
"I don't know what you've done, but… at the end of the day, you're still Lisanna. Our sister, and a good person. I think- no, I know you've done us proud."
Lisanna almost wept again, but composed herself after a long breath.
"It's quite a story. I… I would hope you'd be proud of it, but it's a hard life. Harder than you had to go through, I think. Darker. The kindness and openness of this guild is not… it's not quite the vibe of the Gotei Thirteen. I've had to do some things I'm not proud of but…"
She shook her head.
"No. I'll give myself that much credit. I always did what I thought was right, even if it was hard, even if it broke the rules. I… I suppose at heart I'm still a lot like you, even if there's… a lot of ways I'm not."
"That's our Lisanna," Mirajane said warmly. "Would you tell us all you've been through? If you can. We have so much catching up to do."
"Well, it's a long story…"
"We have all night," Elfman said with a shrug.
"Well… well, I landed outside this village, wearing only rags. It was a pretty poor place, but…" Lisanna begun. Her siblings nodded and listened, sometimes interjecting with questions, and Lisanna found herself engrossed in her own story. It felt good to tell it- and somehow she had no trouble sharing any part of it, even the dark and difficult ones. She was Fairy Tail at heart still, and even if this was no longer home, she felt she had just taken a first step to reconnect to what had been lost. Before she knew it, the sun was going down, and she was nowhere near done telling her tale. They continued deep into the night, sharing, reconnecting, finding their way back to each other.
"…so you're really from another world?"
"Oh, yes," Kisuke said, only half listening to the conversation he was having. This girl- Levy?- had sat down opposite him by a table at the outskirts of the wild, rowdy partying, and Kisuke had responded offhandedly with his eyes firmly glued to the notes he'd been taking. The sheer implications of what he'd gathered from that fight alone could keep him busy for years. Just imagine that- a whole separate font of spiritual power, crudely called magic, widely available to the people of this world. Had it arisen spontaneously? Had an artificial well of external power been created in some age past? Was it drawn from the land, or some other natural force, or was it extradimensional in nature? The questions were as endless as they were fascinating, and even with the most basic conjecture he could draw on, he could tell you could spend a lifetime studying this.
"How did you get here?"
"It's all… very complicated. It's sort of a wibbly, wobbly, science-wiencey kind of… thing," Kisuke shrugged. "Frankly I don't fully understand the process myself; I know just enough to operate the forces at play here."
"You traveled to a whole other world… without knowing how it would go?"
"You never make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, and what's life without a bit of risk?" Kisuke smiled. He looked up, and seeing her intrigued look he added,
"It was time sensitive. Erza's condition… it requires action, and soon. Normally, I would spend at least a year on something as complex as interdimensional travel, given I've never attempted it before, but you make do."
"You… you made a whole new magic for something you've never tried before?"
"For something nobody had tried before," Kisuke corrected, a little smugly. "And no, not magic. Science."
"What's the difference?"
Finally convinced the conversation was worth at least a little attention, Kisuke put his notes down.
"Well, magic implies it's… arbitrary. Mysical. Science is a method. It's about taking what is knowable, poking and prodding it for information, then taking and applying that information and trying to prove it wrong until what you're left with is, to keep it simple, what passes for true. Until somebody brighter takes your work and proves you were wrong all along." He smiled at the notion.
"It's a method based on rules, structure, order and reason. Magic makes it seem like something that's… not that."
"Well… magic is kind of like that, though?" said Levy, sounding a little uncertain. Kisuke radiated confidence and knowledge, and although she was a mage, she was hardly an expert on the theory behind her power.
"Is it?" said Kisuke, and to her surprise he seemed genuinely interested.
"Well, sure. I mean, there's rules to it. A lot of rules, actually. You can't just do whatever you want. You learn one particular type of magic, and get good at that through practice and discipline. It has a lot of clear limits, you know? And you have to figure that out with um, within… like this framework of what you can and can't do? And we figure out new things using that framework. A lot of us have specialized magic that is like this custom version of a pre-existing school of magic. That is how it works for most of us, I think."
"Really now," said Kisuke, flipping his notebook open and beginning some new scribbles. "Do tell me more."
"Well… well, some people do summoning, right?" Levy said, feeling both encouraged and nervous, "Like Lucy does. And that involves using your magical talents to strike a bargain with some sort of powerful creature, or family of creatures- or just many different ones. And once you specialize in that, you're not going to be all that good at other types of magic."
"And could you change that specialization at will? Is it a matter of being good at what you practice, or would you be locked into a certain type of magic?"
The scientist was listening attentively. Unwilling to let him down, Levy scoured her mind for a good answer.
"I think you could. But most choose not to? Magic isn't just about learning a trade, it's more than like… a job. It's a reflection of who you are. Once you find a magic that fits you, it becomes part of what you're all about. Natsu was raised by a fire dragon, he was practically born with it, and the wild and powerful nature of his magic is in sync with his personality. Reckless, powerful, all consuming…"
"Fascinating. So magic syncs with identity, and that has an effect on the practitioner's level of skill over time?"
"Yes, I suppose."
"This is brilliant," Kisuke said, scribbling furiously. "Do go on."
"Well…"
Soon, Levy found herself endlessly prodded with questions, feeling first hand the sense of Kisuke's scientific method.
Unlike his stiffer companions, Grimmjow had not elected to sit out the celebrations. He'd gotten right into the middle, drinking and laughing. He was currently straining his arm against a tall, dark, mean-looking mage named Gajeel, the two of them locked in a fierce arm-wrestling contest. The table groaned and strained under the pressure of their bulging muscles, the wood threatening to come undone from the sheer force. Gajeel's face was a mask of strained, disciplined focus, putting his everything into the context, bracing himself against the table with his free hand. Grimmjow for his part had a huge, shit-eating grin on his face, as he very slowly began to edge out the mage. The table was abuzz with shouting, cheering and cries of encouragement, all of them urging Gajeel on, but Grimmjow knew it was done. The mage- some kind of dragon slayer type, which was apparently very elite- was strong, but Grimmjow bulged with a kind of raw power that few of the humans in here could hope to match, magic or no magic. Cracks appeared in the table as Gajeel's hand slowly began to get pushed down toward the table edge.
"Come on GAJEEL!" Bellowed Natsu, a beer stein in one hand as he led the cheering crowd in their encouragement. "You got this, don't let him push you down! Push, push, PUSH!"
"Trying here," Gajeel growled between gritted teeth. Just for the hell of it, Grimmjow eased the pressure, allowing the dragon slayer to regain lost ground until he was almost back to a neutral position.
"Attaboy!" Natsu cried, taking a swig of beer. "Almost there! Now we bring it home, don't let this outsider get you!"
And that was when Grimmjow flexed his muscles to the fullest, a burst of spiritual energy boosting his power momentarily. He pushed hard and fast, and Gajeel's hand slammed into the table. The furniture cracked and broke from the hit, nearly shattering, and a huge surge of noise, booing and cheering both, erupted.
"You're seriously strong there, huh," Gajeel muttered, looking Grimmjow in the eye. "Didn't hold back, did you?"
"You made me try pretty hard," Grimmjow said magnanimously, giving the dragon slayer an encouraging pat on the shoulder. As the noise quieted down, a beer mug was placed in front of him, as a busty, black-haired woman plopped herself down next to him.
"Figured you earned a drink," she said with an inviting smile. "Name's Cana. How about you?"
"Grimmjow," Grimmjow said, his grin taking on a different characteristic. She was very good-looking, he noted. The guild had no shortage of young, attractive women, but with her huge bosoms and scant clothing… well, Grimmjow was a simple man with simple wants and needs, and Cana fit them perfectly.
"So what's with the hole in your stomach?"
"It don't freak you out?"
Cana shrugged.
"You see all kinds of things adventuring as a guild mage. I've definitely seen weirder than this, although it's up there. Sort of. You'd think you would, I dunno, keel over dead?"
"See, I died a long time ago. Same as everyone in my group, except I weren't no shinigami."
"Yeah? I'm still not understanding that kind of thing. You're like… a bunch of ghost sword wizards?"
Grimmjow laughed loudly, and Cana chuckled along with him.
"What?"
"It's just funny how true it is," Grimmjow snorted. "They all cloak themselves in all this dignity and rules and shit, but at the end of the day? Yeah, they're just a bunch of sword wizards. Doesn't sound as cool though, eh?"
"And you're all… dead."
"Passed on to the other side of our world and everything, yeah," Grimmjow shrugged.
"But you're not like them?"
"Oh no, I was one of the monsters," Grimmjow said cheerily. Talking about how terrible he'd been, he found, tended to get women interested. It was counter-intuitive, but something about it seemed to draw them in like flies to honey. "I died with regrets, see? So my soul chain eroded and I became a masked monster. Still got part of it left," he said, pointing to the jawbone fragment on his cheek.
"Spent god knows how long eating, killing, fighting other hollows. It was a brutal, dog eat dog kinda world where you had to be on edge all the time. So I fought and fought, and killed and killed. Humans, hollows, anything I had to do to get stronger…"
He proceeded to, in short, summarize his life's story, with certain embellishments. He made sure to edit the part where he switched sides a bit- now it was because Aizen was just too evil, and it crossed a line even for him- and played up the part where he reformed. Cana listened, enthralled, only interrupting with small questions here and there, but otherwise listening with rapt attention.
"…and yeah," Grimmjow shrugged, "I might not look it, but my dark past haunts me. I still have to live with all these horrible things I did. I can't undo what I've done, only look forwards and hope to do some good in the world."
It was bullshit, of course. Not just bullshit, but flagrant, unashamed bullshit, a massive lie coming out with practiced ease. Grimmjow did not miss his old life terribly, but he also didn't care one whit about the people he'd had to kill along the way. Hueco Mundo did not grow people with compassion, and even though the former espada had slowly begun to find his humanity a little, that only went so far. However, it seemed to have its desired effect.
"You poor baby," Cana said, rubbing his back gently.
"I… thank you," Grimmjow said with a solemn expression. "Sometimes at night, all I wish for is companionship… but all my old friends are dead, and I see their faces every night…"
Grimmjow looked down, suppressing a smile.
"You know… it does seem like a shame that you should have to go through the night all alone," Cana said, her tone soft and maternal as she continued to rub his back, her other hand taking his. "Maybe I should keep you company?"
"Would you?" Grimmjow said, giving her a look of the most insincere earnestness.
"I mean, you're a good person now. You changed. You don't deserve this misery. And if I can help…"
"Truly, you would," Grimmjow said, squeezing her hand.
"So…"
"You know, I feel quite tired from today already," Grimmjow said with a wink. "It's been such a long, overwhelming day, and… I could go for a nap."
"I have a place not far from here," Cana said, smiling knowingly.
"Lead the way," Grimmjow grinned at last, letting Cana pull him along. Hell yeah. This place weren't half bad. Full of hot women, and people who loved both fighting and a good time- what was not to love?
It was late in the evening, and the party had long since died down. Half of them were asleep down in the hall, passed out drunk and sure to wake up with pounding headaches. Erza, still sore and recovering from her injuries, had quit the festivities a good couple hours ago and had headed upstairs. Laxus had shown her to her room, a guest room on the second floor. Wearily she had sat down on a chair by the window, staring out at the Fiorean scenery as twilight began to set in. It was overwhelming, like everything else this day had been, but at long last it felt like a good thing. She drank the image in greedily, like a man who had wandered the desert and found an oasis at last- the green of the trees, the brown and grey of their bark, the color of the dirt road leading up to the guild hall, the grass around it; the buzzing of flies and mosquitoes, the calls of birds…
She was back home. What was long buried had come back, and finally she had the calm and quiet to realize that it was profoundly good. It had been scary to come back, to not know how she'd react, but if this illness had brought one good thing with it, it was this: to know her guild was still around. That they were all okay, that life had gone on without her.
Behind her, the door opened and Momo stepped inside.
"How are you?"
"…good. Overwhelmed, but… good," Erza said honestly.
Momo walked up to her, pulling up a chair to sit down next to her; Erza made room. Together they sat there, staring out at the approaching night. Erza reached out and softly took Momo by the hand. Her girlfriend smiled, and squeezed it.
"I waited a while to follow you. I got the sense that you needed some time…" Momo began.
Erza nodded.
"You know me so well. I… yes, I did need the time. Sometimes, you need to think, and…" She trailed off, not sure what to say.
"You really love it here, huh?"
"I do. It's… it's home, Momo. It's like coming home to your parents' house after the longest time. I… I never knew my parents. I don't remember my first home. This is my family home, as far as I'm concerned."
"I think I understand you a little better than before now," Momo said quietly, her voice little more than a whisper. "You fit here like a hand fits a glove. They're all like you."
"Like me?"
"Wild. Free. Strong. Good-natured, chaotic, violent, but deep down they're kind. I am going to guess that the way you always do the right thing even if it kills you came from here. They all seem quite… firm on that."
Erza nodded. "That's Fairy Tail. Strongest of them all, freest of them all, wildest and least put together but always there for you at the end of the day. Best damn guild on the continent," Erza smiled pridefully.
"…this runs deep for you."
"Hm?"
"I…" Momo hesitated and took a breath, as if trying to decide her words. "What I mean is… you really like it here. It's… I mean, you've given so much to the Gotei. A hundred years, and saving it from destruction. If… if you decided you'd done enough, that you should… go home, I think… I think people would understand that."
"Momo-"
"I wouldn't blame you," Momo added hastily, "you've earned it, you really have. But if you did, if that's what you really wanted, I'd come with you. No matter what, even if I had to desert. Even if-"
"Momo, no," Erza said firmly, shaking her head. "No, I… I can't go back. I know I can't. Hundreds of people in my division, and they all depend on me- on us. The Gotei is weak, and even if it's flawed and wrong in many ways, it needs me. I've started to change it for the better, and… if I leave, who's to say that will last?"
Erza sighed, pausing to think for a second.
"Do I want to go back? Very much so. It would be like a dream come true. But it'd mean sacrificing everything I bled and fought for, for all my life after death- which is ten times longer. Or well, at least five times. This… this is just a dream. It's not my life anymore. I could do it, and a large part of me wants to, but… the right thing to do is to stay and fight for what I built. Going back now would be incredibly selfish of me. Too many people depend on me, and… it would hurt just as much to leave behind all the friends and loved ones I made in the Soul Society as it did to lose the guild in the first place. No, you have nothing to worry about, Momo. Once I am cured, we're going back. It'll hurt to do so, but… well, it is what it is."
Momo breathed out a sigh of relief.
"I uh… I thought that was what you would say. But I… it's not that I doubted you, but-"
"You needed to hear me say it. I get it," Erza said with a smile, squeezing her girlfriend's hand. "No, I… well, I'm leaving, but I am definitely coming back to visit. Now I have a reason to take out vacation time, eh?"
"I've been telling you that since forever," Momo said, half exasperated, half happy. "You know what? I'd like that. You could show me around. Maybe we could even get wrapped up in one of those adventures your guild keeps getting into."
"I think we're already there," Erza chuckled, shaking her head. "Man… I can't believe the way time moved on. Laxus, guild master? He was a punk with a bad attitude and more power than he should have. Natsu? As a father? And they have a new strongest female mage, and she even has a girlfriend too…"
"You know, I think they're married," Momo said, as if apropos of nothing. "With a kid and everything. It's a really nice, long term commitment kind of thing…"
Erza was dense, but not that dense. She cleared her throat awkwardly.
"That uh… that's a conversation we can have," she muttered, "but maybe after we're sure I won't die or turn into some kind of monster."
"Of course."
"Well after."
"I'm not even sure what you're talking about," Momo said innocently.
"Let's… let's just watch the sunset," Erza muttered, suddenly a little flustered.
"Of course, love."
And so they did, and when they went to bed, Erza slept sounder than she had for the entire last month.
Zeref walked the halls of his grand palace, two elite guards following close by- more for show than anything else; who could seriously threaten his life in his own palace? He had chosen a relatively humble outfit, a flowing black robe lined with red and gold. When he held court as emperor Spriggan he would go the whole nine yards, dressed to the nines in an elaborate white robe covered in an even more elaborate swirling pattern of gold threads, with that heavy, uncomfortable imperial crown and clumsy scepter to go with it. It was an irritating sham, but a necessary one. He much preferred the smaller council room he was now headed to.
This was where the real decisions were made, where he discussed and took counsel from his ministers and closest men and made his decisions with absolute authority. This humble chamber was, unbeknownst to the public of his vast empire, by far more vital than anything seen in the ostentatious throne room.
Zeref stopped by the chamber doors. His guards promptly pulled them open, then wordlessly took position outside. He appreciated that; they knew his desires well, and knew their place as servants without him having to say a word.
As he entered, the men and women inside all rose and bowed, before falling to one knee. His mage elite, the Spriggan Twelve, were seated furthest up the table, while his ministers were seated further down. Calmly Zeref took his seat at the head of the long table, smiling confidently.
"Rise, my subjects," he said magnanimously. "Your emperor gives you leave to sit at his table."
"Your Imperial Majesty," the whole group said in unison, taking their seats again.
"I am sure the preparations to my armies have not gone unnoticed," Zeref began.
"They very well might have," Irene Belserion scoffed. "Your armies are vast, and eat up most of your tax revenue. We can't seem to go a quarter without you coming up with another military project."
Zeref smiled. He had deliberately created a more informal environment in these chambers, where his advisors could speak more openly, with less décor. A key to remaining in power was knowing what people thought, and while they should fear their ruler, they should not fear to tell him the truth. So it was that here, the busty dragon mage could be as familiar as she wanted- well, to a certain degree…
"We've all heard the minister of war grouse, haven't we?" said Dimaria, the time mage. "And your treasurer even more so. Yes, your majesty, we've all expected something to be coming. But what that is…"
"He loves keeping us in suspense," said Brandish Nu dismissively, leaned back in her chair. "The day our lord and master just comes out and says what he means, hell freezes over. He sucks on the surprise like it's a juicy lollipop."
"That's enough insolence from you," said God Serena, champion among champions of Zeref's mage elites. "Your Majesty, I am sure you have plenty to say on this matter. Else you would not have summoned us."
The emphasis was clear enough. The Spriggan Twelve were not summoned lightly; each one of them was a god of war and one of his greatest instruments, and each one lived busy lives. If their emperor called them, it was not on some fanciful whim.
"Quite right, my Twelve," Zeref said. "I have decided that, with our forces recovered, rebuilt and battle ready, the time has come to invade Fiore."
"Quite right, my Twelve," Zeref said. "I have decided that, with our forces recovered, rebuilt and battle ready, the time has come to invade Fiore."
"That went so well the last two times," Irene said bluntly. "Do we really need that continent? They're a lot of trouble, they're strong enough that they'll rebel the moment the army leaves, and they lack a centralized government to take over. It's a lot of effort for what, exactly?"
"We do need them," Zeref said firmly, eyes narrowing. "I will say only that much. I have designs for which they are vital." Irene shrugged, leaning back in her chair, knowing better than to persist.
"Nobody questions your will, Your Majesty," Serena said, brows furrowed with thought, "but there is no denying that the last two expeditions were costly failures. We would need to plan this carefully."
"That is why we are here," Zeref acknowledged. "Our last attempt went well enough before Acnologia intervened- and who could possibly have predicted that the mother of all dragons, a natural calamity given form, would wreak such havoc on our plans? If a storm came along to sink our entire invasion fleet, it would be more predictable. Acnologia was like an earthquake, devastating and impossible to ignore. With that out of the world, what is to stop us? Disparate guilds, disunited and weak? We can and will overwhelm them, one by one."
"As my emperor commands," Serena nodded. "I take it preparations are already underway? I've noticed at least partial mobilization already."
"Preparations are already well underway. As we speak, my fleet is assembling on our western coast, and my armies are mustering. All that is left is to discuss our overall strategy and approach. That is why we are here today- not to debate whether to go to war or not, but to counsel me on how it will be done. My mind is made up on this."
"As Emperor Spriggan commands, we obey," Brandish Nu said with a shrug. "Where do we start?"
"…Fairy Tail," Zeref said slowly, deliberately. "The strongest and most reputable. To break them would mean to show a message to all, that none can resist us and live."
As the meeting ensued, the details being hashed out; maps laid out, routes planned, concerns raised and addressed, tactics debated and considered, Zeref felt contentedness wash over him. This time, it would work. This time, no Acnologia would stand in his way. Just wait for me, Natsu, Mavis. I'll see you both again soon.
Uh oh. Looks like trouble is on the horizon for Erza and the rest of our heroes. As most of you are well aware, The Spriggan 12 and Zeref are absolutely no joke. If they aren't too careful, things could go south fast.
Here's hoping they have what it takes to weather this storm, because let me tell you…it's going to be a rough one.