Makarov placed a Sleep charm upon Evergreen while they hurried in their travels. She would be awake for some portions of the day, but at the onset of feeling that horrifying power brewing in the back of her mind, she'd inform Makarov who would put her under. Thankfully, the charm had no side effects. She scarfed down food and water to get her necessary nutrients in for the day.
Laxus would scout ahead for miles to let the wandering group know if there were signs of Blue Pegasus or Bob. Makarov was headed for the guild's former base, so that they could, at the very least, have a sense for where they went if the place was abandoned.
When they had a chance to catch their breath, Makarov and Freed set to work studying Evergreen. Makarov was hesitant to go too in-depth as he was unsure how to properly study magic circuits, though Freed was an expert at noticing tampering.
Naturally, there was quite a bit.
"Master," Freed said while they stood over Evergreen as she slept one night. "I'm beginning to believe that this isn't some sort of all-encompassing corruption."
"No?" Makarov asked. "Her magic is mostly intact, isn't it? Not twisted by any means."
"This is Evergreen's magic," Freed said. "Plain and simple. And that's why I believe it's rooted, in a singular spot." He pointed to her brain, then her chest. "Her mind. Or her soul."
"Broken," Makarov said. "By the Empire."
"It would be bad if it spread," Freed said. "Because my fear is that, however this process works, it is mean to consume body and soul. However, we interrupted the process. I believe it is Evergreen's soul that is corrupted."
"It wants to do harm, it wants to do the Emperor's bidding," Makarov said. "Which is why she is unaware of what's happening when she uses her magic against us."
He rubbed his temple. This was no good. Freed was right—if this corruption, this breaking, spread, it would lead to the end of Evergreen as they knew her.
The way to prevent it came through understanding what'd been done in the first place. Makarov knew of twisted wizards before, wizards that were taken under by the spell of a Dark Wizard. This was different.
Evergreen would live on. She would have her memories and heart, but it would be so completely controlled by Zeref's whim.
"Erza mentioned some sort of black lacrimal," Freed said. "But I've never heard of such a thing."
"Nor have I," Makarov said. "Levy, perhaps, in her infinite wisdom. In times such as this, even Porlyusica may know the secrets of what ails poor Evergreen."
"I wish they were here," Freed said. A howling wind swept the landscape. For miles and miles, there were no signs of civilization. They were truly alone out there.
"My hope is that keeping her mind inactive for some time, at least keeping it away from her magic, may spur whatever is happening to stay rested," Makarov said. "Until such time it is that we may attack it."
What did they do to her? What, in those vile dungeons beneath a once holy spot, did that accursed Empire to do Evergreen? What did she see? What did she hear? What did she feel, writhing beneath the torturous ire of that Ethereal Witch?
Almost unconsciously, Makarov took a seat. He let out a long sigh. Freed stepped around the observation table he and Makarov had created with magic.
"Master?" Freed said. "Bickslow, come here."
"I'm fine, boys," Makarov said. Bickslow rested a hand on Makarov's back. He heaved out another sigh. "It is simply a heavy heart I'm carrying."
He'd cried himself to sleep since the journey began. He thought being around Laxus would cure him of that, given that he would be with the last remaining family the two truly had. Instead it served a grim reminder that he'd left much of his family behind to wallow, suffer, and ultimately be crushed beneath the Imperial heel.
To watch as Evergreen was stripped of all that she was, stripped of this time once more with her friends while they kept her inundated in the realm of sleep for their, and possible her, own protection, ate at him. But they had no choice. She suffered them the wrath of the Empire.
Makarov tried to pick himself up but found no strength to do so. Why must these children be burdened like this? To him, not a few days ago, they'd been eagerly celebrating the coming arrival of one of the great time-honored traditions. And then, in a blink…
They arrived in a nightmare. They arrived in a place that erased a future, that snuffed and hunted down the very hope Fairy Tail had been founded on.
"We're here for you, Master," Freed said. "We will not forsake Evergreen."
"I know," Makarov said. It was what made this next generation so brilliant. "I know."
"I believe we can end the research for today, we'll let her rest," Freed said. "Come, Bickslow, let's get the fire burning a bit warmer."
Bickslow patted Makarov on the back. Not a few moments later, Laxus returned again, having reported that there was a tiny village with seemingly little Imperial occupation to the east. They'd check it out, like always.
"On your feet, Gramps," Laxus said, striding by with his arms folded. "Not throwing in the towel yet, are you?"
"No," Makarov said, staring up at the hulking Lightning Dragon Slayer. He had no smile, no hint of hope or joy or anything. He simply had the stalwart stubbornness of his great-grandfather to never give up. "Not ever."
"Then get some rest," Laxus said. "If you're that tired to just sit around."
"These old legs could still outrun you, lightning lad," Makarov said.
That got a chuckle out of Laxus. "Sure they can, old man. I'm sure they can."
He strode toward Freed and Bickslow, sitting around with them. Makarov did stand, but did so near Evergreen, if only to serve as protection, and to let the others enjoy the moment.
One day, he promised Evergreen, she'd be right back by that fire, too.
Per Tayaka's request, and Mirajane's incredible insistence, Hisui and Mest arrived to take them to the one who would aid them on the quest to find the Fairy Slayer.
Mirajane was surprised, disheartened, yet also, oddly, reassured that it was the responsibility of two men: Zeref, and a mysterious, lone, other.
"The man you're going to meet is going to, likely, belittle you," Hisui said. "It's taken me all this time to simply get him on my side in a conversation."
"Lucky you," Mest said.
"Gather your things," Hisui said. "You've the start of a brief journey for now, but the road ahead will be unbelievably difficult."
"To be honest," Levy said, "I didn't think you'd allow us to do this."
"I can't deny you your right to vengeance," Hisui said, then pointed to Mirajane. "And honestly, if she weren't involved, I'd absolutely bare you from doing anything. She is one of the most fearsome of your guild, yes? What they used to call S-Class? I trust Mirajane to get the task done."
"Oh, thanks," Lisanna said, her feathers ruffled.
"Let's go," Mest said. "This person runs a tight ship."
Tayaka and Flare remained in the room with them while they checked over their meager supplies they'd gathered, mostly clothes and, for Levy, a few spare pens with which to write notes and memorize spells for her true weapon, her Light Pen.
"Thank you for your incredible hospitality," Mirajane said, curtsying to the two.
"It's been a pleasure," Flare said, her wicked eyes falling upon Lisanna. "Come back when you need some respite, my kitty."
Lisanna gulped, but couldn't hide her blush. "O—of course."
"Be safe, please," Tayaka said. "What you're doing is dangerous, but, I understand your desire to do so."
"A word of advice, Tayaka, if I may?" Mirajane asked, and the girl nodded. "Time is fickle, and not well-spent wasted."
She turned from Tayaka while the girl bristled.
"I'm not!" Tayaka said. "Not wasting my time! I'm…I'm…biding it! Hiding!"
"Then when I return to you," Mirajane said, glancing over her shoulder. "I expect you to become the great Time Wizard we know you to be."
Tayaka nodded. Mirajane gave her a thumbs-up, then paused in front of Hisui and Mest. She shrugged.
"Figured she could use the pep talk," Mirajane said. "Wouldn't an ultra-powerful Time Wizard on our side be great?"
"Incredible, given some circumstances," Hisui said. "Lisanna? Are you sure you're keen to go? People like Flare are hard to come by in the wider world."
Lisanna sighed. "I honestly doubt there are other people like Flare in the wider world. I'll come back, for sure."
But Mira swore, as Mest teleported them, that Lisanna said for her.
In an instant they were away and then back, in a room so grand, tall, and cylindrical Mirajane almost lost her marbles trying to get a sense of where exactly she stood in the place.
Shapes took form. A massive globe just off-center of the room near a desk that was semi-circular. Row upon row of books climbed to the high-vaulted ceilings above. A musty, but homey, smell permeated the air. Everything was neat, organized, save for a few books left open on some tables nearby.
"This place is incredible," Levy said. "I think I could spend my entire life here."
"Welcome to the Urdstatz Library," Hisui said. "We're well beneath the surface."
"How does the Empire not know about this place?" Lisanna asked. "It's huge!"
"They can't," Hisui said. "It's one that constantly moves and shifts."
"Makes it a good hiding spot, then," Levy said. "How come more rebels haven't come here?"
"Because of how hard it is to find," Mest said. "Consider us lucky I got us here in the first place."
Mest led them through the first two levels of the library. Levy could not stop gawking at the rows and rows around her. Perhaps her plans of vengeance would be totally maligned if she got coaxed enough into staying there and studying for the rest of her life, or at least catching up with all the magic she missed out on that'd been discovered in the last seven years or so.
Hisui, though she walked forward with her head held high, grazed her fingertips along some of the spines of the books. She paid them hardly any mind, but touched them as if skimming the fringes of a past more peaceful, of a time when books like this could be written and not conscripted to Imperial review.
They came to a stop at an empty desk riddled with notes. Faint magic circles were carved into the wood and carpet as if ready for immediate use.
A man stood at a nearby bookshelf. He had a slender face, and his body matched it, with long hands holding a book up with his magic. He moved one hand to touch his temple, then shut the book.
"I've been expecting you, dear Hisui," the man said. "It is good to see you once more."
"Everyone this is Rufus Lore," Hisui said. "A former spy of mine under the Empire."
"Former?" Mirajane asked.
"Hard to be under Zeref's watch," Mest said.
"Rufus is a master of Memory Make magic," Hisui said. "He was one of the greats in the old Sabertooth guild."
Rufus set the book down. He had a flowing robe on, and looked quite cozy and at home in the library.
"I do remember your faces," Rufus said, approaching the group. "And you've been gone quite a while. Fairy Tail, yes? You're Mirajane Strauss, the greatest beauty Sorcerer's Weekly ever knew."
Mirajane smiled. "Thank you."
"Levy McGarden," Rufus said, nodding to Levy. "Great writer of magic."
"Oh, you've heard of me?" Levy said, curling her hair and trying not to blush.
Rufus then came to Lisanna. "And you? A woman returned from the grave, no?" He tapped his fingers to his head once more, then nodded. "Yes. An article in the Magnolia newspaper said as much." He glanced at Mirajane. "You must've been elated."
"I'm still in shock," Mirajane said.
"That's some memory you've got," Lisanna said.
"Yes, it is," Rufus said. "The finest in the world."
"Then you'll be able to tell us who killed everyone in our guild," Levy said at once.
Ah. Well, so much for Levy's vengeance ending in the library.
"Indeed," Rufus said.
"And bring us to them?" Mirajane said. "Mest?"
"No," Mest said.
Rufus sneered. "You don't need that one to bring you anywhere. As it happens, my hiding here has been a boon for the rebellion. I've memorized a Teleportation spell. It's one-way, and I may only cast it on other individuals."
"Then we're ready," Mirajane said. "Take us there."
Rufus touched his hand to his temple again but Hisui brought the man's hand back down. Her great jade eyes bore into Levy, then Mirajane.
"You're sure about this?" Hisui asked. "You realize what danger I'm sending you into? Not only that, but what I'm about to do puts this whole thing at risk as well. You must swear to me that you will not reveal Rufus's location."
"We swear," the three Fairies said at once.
It was hard not for Mira to harden her heart around Hisui, who stood tall despite her diminutive stature. She was only a tad bulkier than Levy, yet had held her own in combat quite well. She commanded, with respect, every member of Fairy Tail, including Gildarts. Her time off the throne hardened her beyond belief, it seemed.
Mira balled her fist. It was indeed time for them to take a stand. The others would make noise. Mira, Levy, and Lisanna would silence one who slew their family, and would relieve the burden of vengeance from everyone else. What was a bit of blood to one whose soul was tainted by devils, anyway?
"Then go, and be strong," Hisui said.
Rufus raised one hand while he used two others to touch his temple. "Then go, to Cedar Airfield! Memory Make: Transport!"
Hisui folded her arms as the three Fairies vanished in a flash of red and yellow light. Ethernano particles drifted down into the ancient wood flooring at their feet.
"I know your memory, Rufus," Hisui said after a moment. "It's never wrong."
"No," Rufus said.
"The Fairy Slayer is not at Cedar Airfield."
"No they are not. But what is there is a valuable commodity to the Empire. Many valuable commodities, and those three are well-suited to the task of ruining such things."
Hisui did let her gaze fall from Rufus. He had no reason to send the Fairies into the trap, no need to fling them into even greater harm. Hisui wished for a tiny bit of Rufus's memory to know what was at Cedar Airfield for it to warrant an attack there, but her mind drew a blank.
"Trust me, Hisui. It is for the best for them. They are not prepared for that fight. They may never be."
In her heart, Hisui always knew that. She was hesitant to give them this charge, but held belief that they could do it.
No plan was too desperate, no fight not worth fighting, against the Empire. They lost ground everyday, either by stagnation or true loss. What should have been a simple retrieval mission, one where Hisui and Mest and the Three Stars found Fairy Tail and brought them up to speed and allowed them to train for months, had been thwarted in mere hours by the Empire.
Fairy Tail deserved its vengeance and shot at this new world.
"Mest, with me," Hisui said. "We must be off. Rufus? Good work. I'll be sure to be in touch."
They emerged from the magic circle at the top of a small building, not too far from both a beach and a long, open strip of land that came to a halt among a half dozen massive buildings. The town was not too long, moving in a crescent along the shores of a beach with a wipe-open gap running in the middle that ramped out almost into the ocean. The remnants of a port were there, though docked were only tiny fishing boats.
"What is this place?" Lisanna asked.
Mirajane shook her head. Cedar Airfield, Rufus called it.
The massive, open plain around them had stain-marks that looked like burns from excess magical heat that could come from overexerting a lacrima. Dozens of people worked in the town, but hundreds were on the plain and, more specifically, within the buildings.
"I've read about these," Levy said. "Those are ships, flying ships."
"Blue Pegasus had one of those, right?" Mirajane asked.
"Yes. Looks like the Empire has even more of them. They run on magic power, sort of like Magical Vehicles. The Empire probably has some big lacrima to power them up, too. I think those people are running maintenance on the ships."
Few, but powerfully armored, guards stood about the place. Mirajane shifted to watch the city below, where she realized that many of what appeared to be shops and other places to go to were actually various factories, their roofs and walls comprised of a thick material meant for no escape. More soldiers tehre there.
One dragged a worker out of building, then flung them to the ground while another came with a magically-charged staff and beat the worker with it. Lisanna gasped.
The worker, after the beating, got up of their own volition, and moved back into the building.
At the airfield, few things were different. Raised voices came up, and some sparks flew from one of the ships. Two of the guards pinned a worker against the wall and beat her senseless, then cast her body out.
"They're slaves," Levy said. "Slaves of the Empire."
"We have to stop this," Lisanna said, and moved but Mirajane caught her arm.
"An airfield like this has to be important to the Empire," Mirajane said. "And the Fairy Slayer."
"Who must be running the show here," Levy said. "I don't see anyone that stands out, though. Do you guys?"
Mirajane shook her head until she fell upon one, lone figure at the airfield moving with an entourage of guards down the ramp toward the city. It was a hulking thing, with a pointed head and what appeared to be blades, or sharp points, sticking out of its arms. It appeared, too, to have scales, and stood much wider than a normal human.
"What is that thing?" Levy asked.
"No idea," Mirajane said. "But probably the one in charge."
"Can we get a closer look?" Lisanna asked.
Mira nodded, and the three darted down the building and moved through the shadows and thin alleyways to come to a halt where the creature and guards stopped.
"Production must increase," the creature said, its voice low as the depths of hell. "There shall be no further delays, or you shall suffer a fate worse than those we've got here."
"Yes, Master Torafuzar," the guard said. Their uniforms did not allow any light in.
"Find more villagers if you need," Torafuzar said. "Find what these ones love and dangle it over their heads as the meager dogs they are. When I return, I expect the work in Hanger Gamma to be complete."
The guards saluted, and Torafuzar dove into the water. Some of it shifted color upon contact, as if it were poisoned, and he was gone.
"I couldn't get a read on any magic power from that thing," Levy whispered.
Mirajane sneered. "No. I sensed something else, something similar to my Satan Soul magic. We may be dealing with a creature like me, then."
"What should we do, sis?"
Kill the Fairy Slayer. Or, at least, Mirajane wanted to say that. She wanted to dive in the water and defeat him right then and there.
But the guards moved back, delighted at the idea of how they may torture those captives.
No other families had to be separated or wiped out under the Empire. They came to kill the Fairy Slayer, but would stay to save the people.
"Looks like we're joining the workforce," Mirajane said. "Nobody else will die here."
A/N: Hey! Someone got some Tartaros mixed into my Grand Magic Games!