None of the Fairies bothered to take watch shifts while they were in the caverns below the city. Kip's senses were heightened and attuned enough that he'd catch any disturbance. Johan had already been in the cavern and was pointedly trying to hide from them. Kip set up defenses and barriers of his own making that would immediately notify him of a new arrival.
Gray, Elfman, and Gajeel were the first to wake up and stretch their sleep away before rousing the others. Happy was the most disappointed by this. He was apparently having a dream of eating a nice big fish in an underground lake. Juvia was all too delighted—she woke from being with Gray in a dream to getting to spend time with him in real life. How wonderful.
"Kip?" Gray said, nudging the Cavern Dragon Slayer. "Time to get moving."
He ignored the rumbling in his stomach. Everyone was probably getting a little hungry, Happy most of all. Kip, it seemed, would not be ignoring this, and, once he was up, led everyone down a ways toward a stream. Happy couldn't believe his eyes.
They all gorged on a school of small fish they quickly cooked up. Gray was all too aware of the time slipping by. Every moment that was spent was another that could've been the end for Natsu or Erza—though he doubted the Empire would ever really be able to do anything about them.
Wendy picked up Carla as Happy sat on Elfman's head.
"What's the best way into Crocus from here?" Gray asked.
"Hard to say exactly where we are," Kip said. "The city is far enough above us that I can't even make sense of any structures we'd be near. I'd have to start digging and hope for the best."
"There must be some sort of network of tunnels beneath the city for royal evacuation," Carla said.
"Or sewers," Gajeel said.
Wendy and Carla shivered at the thought.
"I had a good enough gauge of where we were before breakfast, so let's work our way up from there." He paused, glancing at Gray and Gajeel. "Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"
Gray pursed his lips. Getting into the city was the priority. If Erza was with them, she'd try and push for some sort of tactical maneuver, where they stealthily made their way in and didn't create much of a ruckus.
But Gray was dealing with Elfman and three Dragon Slayers, plus Happy. A quiet plan was out the door. They needed a distraction, one that Kip, simply by the nature of his magic, could easily provide.
"Juvia," Gray said. The Rain Woman blushed and acknowledged him. "If we can get close enough to the surface, would you be able to turn into water and scout ahead to see where we're going, like what building we're near?"
"Certainly, darling," Juvia said. She folded her hands. "Not a problem."
Gray nodded. "Let's run with that. Kip, you keep getting us close and let us know what you think is around, then Juvia can verify it."
"Way to take control of the situation, Gray," Wendy said.
"Strategizing, like a real man!" Elfman exclaimed.
Kip set off. Gajeel wasn't far behind, likely implementing his own strategy: being a drill, or a battering ram. If Kip ripped open the ground above them, Gajeel could throw himself forward with all the force in the world, knocking back whatever opponent got in their way. Then, they'd be struck by a quartet of power, between Gray, Juvia, Elfman, and Wendy, not eve able to see as the Exceeds got by.
Then again, there could be some sort of magical barrier around the city that they broke through without ever knowing, like a silent alarm. Outside of Wendy, few of the travelers were that attuned to the magical world. Carla wasn't about to have a premonition, it seemed, either.
Going back on the plan meant wasting time, simple as that. The way was forward. The only way was forward. Gray sighed and kept up with the group as they climbed through the dark tunnels to leave behind the graveyard and enter the capital of the Twilight Empire.
Natsu made the critical decision that could forever change his life: He decided jail was boring. Dreadfully boring, especially when it was done solo. At least other times he got put in a slammer he was with Happy, so the two could talk about something. Anything!
Ever since Yukino left, the only company Natsu got was some slop coming down the chute above him. There weren't even whispers. He was deep underground, based on the scent of the stone and layering of the earth around him, and probably forgotten about by most of the soldiers. It seemed like this was the Empire's way of trying to break people: to get them so desperate for light and life that they'd beg for more.
Natsu wasn't afraid of that. He wasn't really feeling anything other than boredom. See, the thing about jail was that it was all just a waiting game. He was in some sort of space outside of time, or something. It hurt his head to think of things like that.
Erza was going to break him out. The Empire could be on her back and trying to kill her but she'd still do it. Why? Because Erza wouldn't ever give up on something like that.
So, Natsu didn't even have to bother sitting around wondering how he'd get out. He did try to think about what he'd do when he got out. Probably, he figured, it was best to go find and get Lucy out of there, and then he and Erza could meet up with the others, assuming they made their way into the city, too.
He paced around the cell to try and keep his body occupied while his mind went elsewhere. He wondered what Happy was up to, got frustrated thinking about how it was taking Erza so long to show up, and finally wondered what Lucy was doing. Maybe she was living it up in some luxury kinda suite.
That almost made her laugh. The Lucy he knew would much rather be down with everyone else than in some stuffy dress. She appreciated the nice dresses, sure, but that wasn't for her. Not anymore, it seemed.
Natsu tapped his head against the cold iron bars while holding his arms back. The anti-magic locks were such a nuisance. Natsu wished he could punch the guy who invented them in the face, but, he was probably dead.
He sighed, pretending to spit out some fire, when there was a commotion down the hall. Raised voices followed. Natsu's heart swelled.
A blinding light shone throughout the room. Natsu winced and picked up a somewhat familiar scent, one he recognized from the Grand Magic Games.
That blonde Dragon Slayer guy, Sting, came rushing down the hallway. A man in all black, with black hair and red eyes, followed, looking pretty annoyed.
"What are you thinking?" the man in black asked.
Sting slammed his hand against the cell bars. "What do you think you're doing, Natsu?"
"Waiting to be let out?" Natsu asked.
"What did you say to Yukino?" Sting asked. "Where is she?"
Natsu blinked. Yukino? That woman from before? He tried to remember what he told her. He could see in her eyes that she knew the truth about the Empire, one that all of its members liked to look away from. Did he tell her to run away? He didn't think he did. He wanted her to.
"A lot of things," Natsu said, "but I don't know where she is."
Sting took hold of the bars.
"Sting," the man said. "Think rationally."
"Shut up, Rogue," Sting said. "This is me being rational. The Empire wants to see us really make a statement against Fairy Tail. How's about giving their strongest Dragon Slayer a public beatdown?"
Natsu smiled. "Now you're talking, pal."
"Better yet," Sting said and clamped his light-filled hands around the bars. "Let's just parade his corpse around the entire place! Maybe that'll get Yukino's attention!"
With a mighty roar, Sting ripped the iron bars out of place. A white aura blasted around him. Natsu stepped back from the strong gust of wind it produced. Rogue slid into place in front of Sting.
"You're not thinking straight!" Rogue said. "Calm down! Natsu didn't have anything to do with Yukino leaving."
"He was one of the last people she spoke with, and he probably gave her some Fairy Tail bullshit to listen to!" Sting roared. "Who do you think you are, Natsu? You ripped her away from me. She was all I had left. And it's gone."
"Buddy," Natsu said, "sounds like there hasn't been much left of you for a while."
Sting's eyes widened, and his aura flared.
"Shut up!"
He lunged at Natsu, coming at full speed. Natsu quickly lunged forward as well, diving in front of Sting while he kept his arms up. Sting's attack landed right on the anti-magic cuffs.
They shattered with a small burst of blue sparks and the chains clinked to the ground. Natsu spun free, sneering at them. Rogue's eyes widened as he realized what'd happened while Sting continued to seethe within his aura.
"Good," Sting said, "now this is a bit more fair!"
He made to move, but a sudden, second eruption at the door gave him a slight pause. Then, a much larger explosion sent the wall crashing around Sting and Rogue.
A woman in black armor swung a dark blade down at Rogue who blocked it with his own sword basked in shadow. He flipped back, away from the ambush.
Erza slid to a halt next to Natsu.
"About time," Natsu said. He ignited his fists.
"Erza," Sting growled.
"You need to leave," Erza said. "Find Lucy and bring her home. I can handle these two myself."
"No way," Sting said.
"You know where Lucy is?" Natsu asked.
"The west tower of the Dragon Division, located at the palace in the heart of the city," Erza said. "Look for the apartment with drapes lined with diamonds."
"Got it. I can probably find her scent, then, too!"
Erza slammed her sword into the ground. "Good. Now get moving!"
Natsu nodded, but a wall of shadow loomed in front of him. Not a second later, Rogue leaped out of it. Natsu slid back, and launched forward with his flames, catching Rogue off-guard with their quickness. He struck Rogue across the chest, then whipped around and kicked him into the wall.
Sting dashed forward but was slammed by Erza, who was in her Flight Armor, moving at top speed to dart in front of Sting again.
"I can handle you two myself quite easily," Erza said. "If I must. Natsu! Stop dawdling."
Natsu sprinted out the way Erza came, smelling the fresh air. It was faint, but there nonetheless. One of the other Dragon Slayers roared, but the clang of Erza's sword against their magic reassured Natsu.
Finally, he could see Lucy and they could finally be on their way!
Natsu decided he could reconsider his position from before about jail. With the right people around, it could be quite fun after all!
The two dragons closed in on her. She swung her Heaven's Wheel blades up, parrying their blows and forcing the two back. They slid to a halt next to each other, flaring their auras. The white and black light crackled, shaking the very dungeon itself. Erza remained stalwart and didn't bother flinching, even though the power was impressive.
The rest of her friends hadn't arrived in the city yet. Easy enough though it'd be for her to get into the Dragon Division tower and free Lucy, she would then be forced to bring that liability around while she went to free Natsu. He was more than capable. Would he do it subtly?
Probably not.
But subtlety went out the window when Sting and Rogue made an attempt on Natsu's life. Now, she had to pay them out for that. She could hold the line until the others made it in and cleared a way out for them all to run free from Crocus. Maybe Kip could even help, though he seemed far more interested in staying in Crocus for some sort of mission.
"Rogue, get out of here, you can hunt Natsu down," Sting said. "Let me handle Erza."
"Right," Rogue said and basked himself in shadow.
Erza's heart dropped. Damn it! He could move through shadows! Her mind raced, trying to consider any armor she had that could keep up with—
The ground shook, but not from any exertions of power. It was like a thump, a bump coming from beneath them. Rogue plunged on anyway. Erza reset her feet to try and attack, and then, the dungeon collapsed.
As if the earth were attempting to reclaim this bit of the land, a gaping maw appeared and swallowed the dungeon itself. Erza and the Dragon Slayers leaped back. Erza was caught, almost immediately, by the tiny paws of a black and white Exceed. A young woman with blue hair dashed out of the hole while a much larger individual with white hair punched Sting so hard in the face his nose broke immediately, and he was flung out of the dungeon.
"Sting!" Rogue roared.
"Ice-Make: Cannon!"
A shimmering ball of ice slammed Rogue through the crumbling layers of stone all around them.
"What's going on?" Erza shrieked as the Exceeds flew Erza free of the debris.
Happy flew alongside them. "We were just busting our way into the city! What a coincidence!"
"Where were you?"
"It's a long story," Carla said. "But we have Kip to thank for this."
"Really?"
Below, Rogue bounced from rock to rock, doggedly pursued by Gray and Gajeel, though Gajeel split off in the same direction as Wendy. Erza watched the movements of her friends—Kip was noticeably absent, despite this all somehow being his responsibility—and realized the attack pattern going on.
Elfman was keeping Sting back while Gray and Gajeel pressed forward like a drill, making their way to the surface of Crocus. Happy a small vial of ice in his hands all nice and frozen. Wendy was clearing away the rubble with her magic.
"We just need a favor from you, Erza," Happy said. "We were going to ask Natsu for this, but…"
He gestured at the vial of ice. Ah. So that's where Juvia was.
They cleared the dungeons, which had entirely sunk into the ground and soared into the free air.
"Understood!" Erza exclaimed. "Alright! Let's clear a path for Natsu! Requip: Flame Empress Armor!"
Lily and Carla let Erza go as she morphed into her armor, surging enough heat to freeze the vial and unleashing the water within it.
Juvia sprung free of it, sloshing water all around as she caught herself and her balance. Erza slammed to the ground.
Alarm bells rang across the city. Already, she heard the marshaling of soldiers and felt the electric energy of charging lacrima. The Empire was bearing down on them.
Lily transformed, too, brandishing his blade as Juvia joined their side.
"We're off to help Wendy and Gajeel," Happy said.
"We must ensure the gates are open," Carla said. "You all make sure Natsu and Lucy make it to us safely."
"What about Gray and Elfman?"
"They'll handle Sting. Kip estimated that Rogue will be busy trying to hunt Natsu down, which Natsu can deal with should the need arise."
The armies of the Empire appeared, blitzing toward them. Magic users were mixed in with regular soldiers. Erza raised her blade, the Fairy Tail symbol igniting in the air above them.
"Then we shall hold our ground. To war, Fairy Tail!"
The soldiers roared. Commanders surged their magic. The might of the Empire launched at Fairy Tail, and three of its proudest members stood tall.
And strong.
Lucy heard the explosion from a great distance away, long before the bells started ringing. Nobody had told her what the bells scattered around the city were for, but she imagined it wasn't a good thing. That, or it was similar to the reason Magnolia had bells for Gildarts. Was the Emperor finally back or something?
The smoke informed her otherwise. A large tower of debris pillared into the sky. She rushed to the balcony to get a better view and was startled to find it was already open. She'd been standing in the kitchen working up a snack after a long, and productive, meditative session.
Her instinct was to find her keys. When she remembered that was impossible, her second instinct was to properly dress and see if she could find a way to take action. Lucy hurried into her room, and let out quite the yelp when she saw a young man tumbling through a window into her room.
"Assassin!" she exclaimed. She flung forward with a kick, connecting with the assassin's gut. The attack grunted and slid back, but caught her strike with warm hands.
"Ah, dang, Lucy, you sure did get strong. Been working out?"
Lucy gasped and stepped back. There, in her room, was Natsu, all smiles. He looked a little dirty and dusty from the dungeon, no doubt but…he was there.
A tear sprang to her eye without her realizing it.
"W—what are you doing here?"
Natsu gestured. "Getting you out, of course!"
"And you came alone? You thought you'd just sneak into my room! That's so creepy!"
Natsu chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, didn't really have much of a plan. Figured this would be the best way to do it. I am a pretty good ninja, after all."
Lucy's stomach churned. "I can't believe this."
"Well, quit wasting time!" Natsu exclaimed. "Got your keys? We've gotta go, everyone's waiting!"
Everyone.
Lucy had no idea who exactly everyone was. Had all of Fairy Tail come to the city just to save her? Just a few people, her closest friends? Wouldn't Hisui have let her know about…
Oh.
Of course, she didn't know. This was just her friends being reckless, storming the city because it was what they felt they had to do to save Lucy.
Natsu grabbed her hand, and Lucy surprised herself by not budging. She thought of Hisui again.
Her mind flashed to her and her friends laughing together on a long walk away from a job, of everyone singing and fighting and jeering in the guild hall. Her life flashed to a time before the Twilight Empire before she knew Hisui.
Natsu kept his hand on hers.
"Lucy?"
That life wasn't going to come back just by running away with her friends and ignoring what was going on. She'd seen it plain as day, she saw the power and hold this Empire had over the people of Ishgar. And Hisui had entrusted her, of all people, with the responsibility of learning more so that, one day, people could go on jobs and spend their days laughing until sunset with their families.
Why did it have to be Natsu? The one who dragged her into a life full of…
Well…the best thing that'd ever happened to her: A life full of Fairy Tail memories and moments.
"I can't go," Lucy said.
Natsu blinked.
"There's something going on in the capital, Natsu," Lucy said. Bits of her heart continued to break while she said it. "I've gotten word to Hisui. She's entrusted me with a mission, and if I leave, we may set everyone back so much. We'll lose so much. I know I'm just one person, but if I can do any good, do any harm…well, I'm willing to stay for that."
He continued to stay silent. She balled her fists.
"I know everyone thinks that I'm just Lucy, that I'm just a girl who can summon strong spirits, but I can be strong, too!"
Her fists and lips trembled, but she held her composure.
"This is what any one of us would do, so why not me? Why can't I?"
She almost looked away from Natsu, but as she tried to do so, to tell him to leave, he took a single step forward and wrapped a long arm around her, burying her face into his shoulder.
"Cry if you have to," Natsu said. "It might be the last chance you get for a while, which means you'll have to hide your true strength."
"N—Natsu?"
"I'll see you soon, Lucy. If you can get word to Hisui, then that means you can tell her when you're in trouble, and we'll run this all back, right?"
He took a step back, smiling at her. She wiped the tears from her eyes.
"You mean it?"
"You're one of us, Lucy, which makes you one of the strongest wizards in the world. Of course, you'll do it. I wouldn't trust it to anyone else." He paused. "Okay, maybe except for Erza."
Lucy burst out a tiny laugh.
"Thank you," she said. "I'll be okay. We're going to beat this."
"Of course," Natsu said. He gave her a thumbs up. "See you soon!"
"Wait!"
Natsu stopped as he rushed for the door. Lucy gave the thumbs up back, then changed it, giving Natsu the Fairy Tail salute. He beamed at her and gave it in return.
Lucy opened the window, and with a burst of magic flame, Natsu shot into the Crocus skies in the direction of the massive carnage. She yearned to chase him, to see who all was down there. To be with her family.
But this was her way of keeping them safe. This was her way of helping, fighting.
"Lucy!"
The forceful voice meant nothing to her. She didn't even turn to face Axel until he was in his room, having likely run ragged all the way from his post along the far wall.
"Was—was someone just here?"
"No," Lucy said. "But I saw some of the rebels heading toward the Domus Flau."
"Y—you what? Rebels? Like…"
"Yeah, probably Fairy Tail," Lucy said with a shrug. She sighed. "It sucks but…look, I'd rather save my neck than theirs, right? August'll kill me if he finds out I just pretended to know what was going on."
Another explosion rocked the city in the complete opposite direction of the arena. Axel pursed his lips.
"Don't you trust me?" Lucy said, lowering and softening her voice.
Axel gulped. "Of course. I'll tell the other Generals in my Division. We'll take out Fairy Tail here and now!"
And he rushed off, a gallant hero, likely hoping that, in tearing down Fairy Tail, Lucy could finally give him what he wanted.
She sighed. Now, she just had to trick the entire Twilight Empire into getting her what she wanted. Unfortunately, they weren't all as stupid as Axel.
Guards and attendants banged at her door. She stood with her back to it, hand to her head, temple throbbing. Speaking with Animus again after so long was…troubling. Exhausting, even.
Worse yet was when nobody could leave her alone. There was always an emergency, always something going on.
So, she gave herself a moment. Not one of peace, of course, as that was shattered, evidently, the moment she awoke. Just one to be by herself, as Animus finally let her be.
Then, with a great intake of breath, she swung the door open. Everyone spilled in at once, the buffoons. All of them had the same news to give her:
Rebels in the streets causing chaos.
That was all? Was that truly what they were all so worried about?
Sonya pinpointed one of her attendants that she remembered having explicit military experience. She couldn't remember his name, but he'd know who to talk to.
"Muster the Crystal Division," Sonya said. She waved her hand. "Ajeel is probably too busy, isn't he? Who do we have on hand?"
"Lyon and—"
"Good, send Lyon and whatever platoon he can come up. Kill the rebels." She hardened her voice. "That's final. Now leave me be, all of you. I must rest."
The attendants and guards shuddered, but once her militarily inclined servant departed, the rest soon flocked out, and Sonya could have her moment.
She cast her shawl onto her bed and unfurled the hair from her ribbon. Sonya wiped her tired eyes. Where was Zeref to deal with all of this, anyway? She never had to deal with the little rebel outbreaks before. And what could be so different about this one?
Ah. Nothing for her to trouble her mind with. It was Lyon's problem, and he'd stomp out any in his path.
He was one of their finest Broken wizards, after all.
Sonya leaned against her bed, staring toward the rest of the unbothered Fiore countryside beyond the city's walls.
"Little one…"
Nimbly, Sonya stood up, checking the room. She glanced into a pair of mirrors yet saw nothing but her own reflection. Not Animus.
Then, who had spoken to her?
She waited several minutes more yet no further did that voice speak. Even Animus dared mock her for her fears. It was probably someone else in the castle, or, in fact, her mind was damaged from the amount of sleep she'd been plunged into.
Yet, why then was that voice distantly familiar?
Rest. She needed rest. Sonya nodded to herself and clambered into bed despite the daylight pouring in around her. But sleep did not come so easily to one waiting for that mysterious voice to return…or, worse, identify itself.