The Cosmic Star guild building was a two story one. Ever since Cosmic Star became the top guild in Bosco, they were getting a flood of new members. But at this hour, it was pretty empty, minus those who had been with the guild since the very beginning. Gaia returned to Cosmic Star in the dead of night. The others were waiting her return, and rushed over once they saw her. "Gaia! You're back!" Daryan said with a grin. "So, how'd it go?"
Gaia's expression was calm, but she was mildly stressed as she looked over at Magnus. "Fairy Tail and White Eclipse helped quell the civil war on the Isle."
"So my Foresight was mistaken?" Magnus asked. But when Gaia shook her head, his eyes narrowed. "What happened?"
"You were right. Something terrible did happen." Gaia sighed while taking a seat. The others crowded around her nervously. "I thought things would be settled when they defeated Gaius and Nasir, but it was all a ruse. An elaborate act they put together under the pretense of fate. They played everyone, and now, there's an island of dragons just waiting to march onto the mainland and raze the ground."
"What!?" Hiruka gasped. The Exceed flew around in a panic.
"That's...pretty bad." Yakuza said with a sweat drop.
"So what's the plan? Do we sit here and wait for the end?" Shadowlore asked.
To that, Gaia shook her head. "No. Fiore is already working to head back to the Isle, and I think we should join them. We need all the help we can get. Dhegensea, while always refusing to fight, is a mighty dragon. I don't think I would be able to defeat him on my own."
"Say no more." Alex gave a firm nod. "I want to help, too. If Cynthia and her friends are going, then I won't let her fight alone!"
"Guess we're doing this." Yakuza shrugged. "How much time do we have?"
"According to what Erza told me...only until sunset tomorrow." Gaia said that, and everyone tensed a bit. "Everyone, rest up. I'm going to try and recruit some help as well. It will take us longer to get to the Isle than the others, but we will make it there. Of that, I assure you."
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Only after a few hours of rest, Fairy Tail sat in their guild hall at the crack of dawn, earlier than they were supposed to be up to preparing for their next trip to the isle. "A part of me wants to say that meeting went by pretty well…" Lucy said with a sigh of relief.
"It could've gone by worse." Mii spoke with a simply shrug, causing everyone to cut their eyes at her.
"I should've had Vigro bind you…" Lucy spoke while shaking her head. "I can't believe you, you can't just go walking into the middle of the Wizard Saints like that!"
"Making our job a little harder than it needs to be…" Levy said while pinching the bridge of her nose.
Mii merely shrugged once again, giving that annoying smile of hers. "What can I say?"
Meanwhile, Natsu sat along, arms crossed as he thought back to that brief encounter with Dhegensea before they were forced to retreat. The power from the Black Dragon King was incredible and it was enough to completely snuff out his attack. "Tch…when we cross paths again, I promise it won't be the same, Dhegensea…"
"Don't think you're getting all the glory, Salamander…" Gajeel said with a sly grin. "I wanna throw a punch at that bastard too, you know."
It was around then that the doors opened; Hisui wearing her pumpkin disguise. Arcadios was not by her side… "Oh, I'm glad to see you're all still here…" Her voice sounded a little stuffy and she was sniffling.
"H-Hisui…?" Lucy tilted her head. "W-What are you doing here?"
"I heard what happened at the meeting…" Hisui removed the pumpkin head, setting it on a table nearby. "I would've come to put my piece in…but I'm just getting over a cold. My father is worse off than I am..."
"So you were sick during the meeting…" Wendy did wonder why Hisui wasn't around during such an important meeting.
"But I'm feeling much better now…" Hisui nodded.
"Did you come to see us off?" Gray asked. "Actually…I don't even know when we're leaving. Erza had us get up early for some reason, but we haven't seen her yet…"
"Sorry for the wait…" Erza then arrived, placing a communication lacrima in her pocket. "I was finalizing some plans…"
"Plans?" Makarov questioned.
"Yes," Erza nodded. "I contacted Jellal and told him of our situation…Crime Soricere will be fighting alongside us."
"How are they going to get to the isle…?" Asked Levy.
"They have their own method of transportation ready, worry not…" Erza responded with a reassuring smile. "The other guilds have also agreed to pitch in…White Eclipse is obviously going back, but we will also be having assistance from Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, Sabertooth, Mermaid Heel, and Quatro Cerberus."
"Everyone's getting involved…" Lisanna muttered.
Elfman raised his hand in the air, glad to hear that there was a lot of support behind them. "Man!"
"That still doesn't explain why you had us wake up early…." Gajeel grumbled with a small yawn, glaring towards Erza while expecting an answer.
"It was only partially my idea…" Erza replied. "I wanted us to get a head start on the countdown Siegrain put us under…"
Lucy then spoke up. "The other part of it was mine. I called in some extra help to get us to the isle…"
"Extra…help…?" Happy blinked.
Early morning visits in Fairy Tail were popular today. Once again the doors flung open, revealing all too familiar faces that were sights for sore eyes: Queen Tia, Diamond Ice, Jack Corvus, Acid Ace, Heartless, Club Strong, Daigo, Spade, and Spark Magnus. The reformed Dealer! "We're baaaack~" Diamond chimed.
"D-Dealer?" Hisui's head tilted in surprise. "What a lovely surprise…A-Achoo! T-To see you again! How are you all!"
"Quite fantastic, if I do say so myself." Tia responded with a slight grin. "Though…I can tell Her Highness is a little under the weather…"
"We're here because we were told we could help!" Ace said while snacking on an off brand snack rather obnoxiously. Some things just never changed...
Carla was just as surprised as everyone else to learn that Lucy called Dealer over. "You called them over here? I hope you have a plan in mind by putting more people at risk, Lucy…" her tone was a little harsher than it needed to be, but she did want to ensure everyone was aware of the gravity of their situation.
"No such things as risks when we're involved!" Ace responded with a cheeky grin.
"Debatable…" Heartless muttered.
"Not really helping our case…" Diamond nudged Heartless.
"What about Gaia and Cosmic Star?" Gray asked.
"Gaia said she would try to recruit some help as well. Bosco is a lot further away, so it would take her some time, but they do plan on coming." Erza confirmed.
"Anyway…" Spade spoke, creating a lacrima in the center of the room. "We've been brought up to speed on the Isle business…" The lacrima formed a rotating model of the isle in question. "King had some information on that, surprisingly. I guess he was keeping tabs on it with his insane Achnologia plot." Spade pointed to the main city, where Dhegensea's castle was located. "If we're going to land, we need to make sure we stay as far away from the city as possible. In our airship we flew over the isle to get a glimpse at it, and well…it was heavily populated with full-fledged dragons…"
"They'd swarm us in an instant." Spark said with a sweat drop. "I don't think they noticed us at the time, though."
"I hope Ena and Kurthnaga are safe…" Erza silently mumbled. As far as she was concerned, they weren't apart of Dhegensea's scheme judging by their reactions when the shift happened.
"You know…" Mii hopped out from her seat, throwing off those who forgot she was there. "How about we try aiming for the jungle near the back end?"
"Who's this?" Tia questioned while giving Mii that disapproving stare.
"A pretty girl? Guess you haven't seen one of those, huh…?" Mii replied with that kind of smirk, causing her and Tia to immediately be head to head.
"You wanna repeat that…?" Tia's voice lowered.
"You sure you want me to?" Mii questioned.
"Okay, that's enough….!" Lucy began pulling Mii away from Tia, while Jack did the opposite. Ace was watching, wondering if he had to get involved.
"Calm down Sis…" Jack grunted.
Dusting off her skirt, Mii decided she had enough toying with people. "The name's Mii." She then went back to explaining her idea. "Anyway, the jungle at the other side. Were there any dragons there?"
"Not that we saw…" Daigo looked to the others and they shook their heads.
Strong finally made his comment, head tilted in a curious manner. "Ain't that jungle gonna be filled with other types of creatures though…?"
"Dragons do have to eat something…" Levy remarked.
"It's better if we aren't their next meal." Gajeel huffed.
"We have to find Laxus before then…" Freed muttered. "Though he'll be fine…"
"Mira-nee…don't worry; we'll be there soon…!" Lisanna thought to herself.
"I'll tell the other guilds then…" Erza nodded.
Sitting on the bar counter nearby was Mavis, legs swinging from while she carefully watched everyone devise a plan. "This island is rather troublesome…" She thought to herself before getting an idea, turning to Bisca. "Bisca."
"Oh…?" The female gunner turned with a curious brow. "What is it, First?"
"I'm going to ask a few of you to stay behind…but I just got an idea and I'm going to need your expertise for this to work. Would you and the others mind coming with me?" Mavis questioned.
"Of course…what is this idea you have in mind?" Bisca inquired. What was it that the First had so much confidence in her to do?
"You'll see when we get there. I don't want to spoil the surprise!" Mavis had that twinkle in her eyes.
"So what's the overall plan looking like so far…?" Cynthia asked. "We know how to get onto the island…but that's not really going to do us any good…"
"Cynthia-chan is right…" Juvia nodded firmly. "We must find a way to save all of those dragons as well!"
"Is there even a possible way to do that? They've been Dragonized, right?" Heartless looked towards Lucy.
"Mhm…" Lucy nodded slowly at Heartless' question. "There's a dragon named Drake…when he bites Dragons, or dragon slayers supposedly, they become Dragonized and controls them. I don't know if we can do anything about them unless we defeat Drake first…"
"He bit me, but I'm okay!" Cynthia said. "So I guess if you take care of it fast enough, it's no big deal."
Ace shook his head while throwing the remainder of his off brand candy into the trash. "No…stopping the producer of the virus isn't going to stop the virus if it's already out there. It's like cutting off an infected limb after its already spread to the rest of your body...we have to snuff out the infection before dealing with the producer, but is that even possible…"
This was likely the biggest hurtle thus far…if they couldn't save the dragons they had no chance of winning. All feel hopelessly silent for a few minutes until Juvia's eyes snapped open. "The Mystic Water!"
"The what?" Tia blinked.
"The Mystic Water…Ena-san told us that the Mystic Water can cure anything…" Juvia was sounding really hopeful about this. "Juvia thinks…she could use that to help save those dragons!"
"Of course…!" Now Levy remembered. "She did say that…so we can save the dragons using that!"
"What about Dhegensea himself?" Natsu finally spoke, causing everyone to turn. The fact he asked such a question… "Bastard's something else…I have a plan, but…"
Mii walked over, flicking Natsu's forehead while puffing her cheeks out. "Don't be an idiot again. Your last plan ended up with you almost being crushed to death in his grip. I'm not bailing you out again. Everybody gets one, and you wasted yours."
"Ow…" Natsu groaned while rubbing his forehead. It was odd for him to be overly anxious about anything, but Dhegensea really did rub him the wrong way.
"We'll figure that out later. We have to save Laxus and Mira first, while White Eclipse saves their own." Erza nodded. "I think we're ready to go…
Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Juvia, Gajeel, Levy, Freed, Cana, Bickslow, Evergreen, Lisanna, Elfman, Cynthia, Wendy…Exceeds…Master, are you coming?"
Makarov shook his head slowly. "I'll be remaining here, there is something I have to discuss with the First. But if you need my assistance, know that I will arrive as swiftly as I can."
"Before we go…" Cana handed cards out to everyone. "These are emergency cards. Activate these whenever you're in danger, all right?"
"Wait…!" Hisui coughed before speaking up. "I…I wish to go with you…I want to speak to this Dragon King myself and see what his motives are. Perhaps there is a diplomatic solution to this whole thing!"
"That's a bad idea if I've ever heard one…" Mii said while placing her hands on her hips. "He's a Dragon who wants to rule humans from what I heard, and there's already someone else taking that diplomatic route…"
"It's too dangerous…" Lucy hated to say this to Hisui, but…
"Come…we're running out of time." Erza nodded before turning to Ace. "Take us to your airship; we don't have a minute to waste. White Eclipse is riding with Blue Pegasus, while the other guilds are taking the ships we docked. They'll be joining us."
"Right, this way…" Ace nodded, and those heading out to the Isle left. Hisui took there with her gaze averted to the ground before clenching her fist…before she knew it; she was following them out the door. She was joining them, and she wasn't taking no for an answer.
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Luicius Kaiser of the Magic Council made his way into a large, secluded mansion that was a few miles away from Dawn City, along the western coast of Fiore. Once stepping inside, his pink hair and eyes shifted to a vibrant blue shade, a small smile plastered along his lips. Lucius Kaiser's real identiy was…Kaiho Lazuli, the guild master of the independent dark guild Empyrean Dawn.
"I see you've returned…" A male with short blue hair and blue eyes remarked from his position staring out of the window; his attire was similar to that of a military general's. "How did the meeting go?"
"Surprisingly well, Hubert…" Kaiho responded. "Unfortunately, the isle is set to be destroyed later today. Those other Wizard Saints truly are something else with their opinions…"
"How unfortunate indeed…" Hubert sighed while adjusting his glasses. "What is the plan, then? Do we let this chance slip through our fingers?"
"It is a high risk, high reward job…" Kaiho answered. "If you think you and the other Gemas are up to the task, by all means…"
"Only a few of them have stuck around this time." Hubert let out a small chuckle. "But I'll speak to them and see what they want to do. Time is a tricky beast; sometimes the illusion of having more or less time than one thought can really put a hamper on one's performance…"
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"It's that time, hm…?" Desdemona let out a quiet sigh while filing her nails. She knew everything that was going on everywhere. She wasn't surprised to hear that the Isle of the Dragons fell to the land. "He's trying to rule the humans. I can see that old lizard has never changed. Clinging to false hope given to him by someone else. I wonder how this will turn out..."
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In the skies above Ishgar; a gray airship moved silently, slowly approaching one location: The Isle of the Dragons. Within this airship were a few of the commandants of Pergrande: Laura, Lex, Xen, Brax, Lucius, and Wes. Lucius was placed in command for the mission of taking over the Isle while the others followed along. "You're all keen on your roles for this mission, correct?" Lucius asked while turning to the others.
"I'm telling you, you're sending the wrong guy…" Wes protested though it fell on deaf ears. No one was listening to him cry now.
"Look at the instructions I've given you. Follow them, and you should be fine," Xen responded with an annoyed sigh.
"If the subject fails to respond…use force?" Wes groaned. "I'm totally not okay with this…"
"Your complaining will get you nowhere…" Lex spoke with a quiet grunt.
"I think we should all relax. The King himself sent us on this mission, meaning that he's got nothing but faith in us," Brax chuckled while crossing his arms. "Least you could do is straighten up so you don't embarrass the name of Pergrande." Brax then walked to Laura, slipping an arm around her shoulder. "And you should lighten up, Lady Nercon ain't gonna do anything to ya!"
"Shut up." Laura shoved Brax away with a huff. She was still shaken up by Nercon's threat…
"We'll reach the Isle within the hour…" Lucius told everyone. "Prepare."
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Dealer's flying ship was enough to accommodate the Fairy Tail mages that were going along with those in Dealer. It was also fit for Dragon Slayers since they didn't have to suffer through Motion Sickness. "I can't believe she convinced us…" Lucy let out a sheepish laugh while referring to Hisui, who seemed to be content after convincing Fairy Tail and Dealer she should come along.
Cynthia peered over the railing down to the ocean where the two docked ships were sailing out. "So…the others are down there, huh?"
"That's right." Erza nodded. "They're heading to the jungle along with us. And…" Turning, she pointed to the Christina flying not too far away from them. "Blue Pegasus is carrying White Eclipse in that one."
"Whew…Good…to know…" Cynthia responded slowly, the color from her face beginning to drain.
"Are you okay, Cynthia…?" Levy asked the wobbly girl.
"I…I don't…feel so…good…" Cynthia fell back and collapsed. Her face was red and her breathing suddenly became weighted.
"Cynthia?!" Wendy was quick to respond, rushing towards Cynthia while placing a hand on her forehead. "Are you oka…" Wendy then drew her hand back, a soft sizzling sound emitting after making contact with Cynthia's skin. "Ow…She's burning up…!"
"What's wrong with her!?" Lucy worriedly asked.
"Uhm…" Wendy looked around before having a bad feeling. She pulled Cynthia's shirt down to her shoulder, eyes widening in slight horror. Red scales were beginning to form on and around where Drake had bitten Cynthia earlier. "O-Oh no…"
"That bite…" Gajeel grit his teeth.
"Drake…" Wendy's lip quivered. She was too slow to stop the Dragonization process after all…all she did was stall it.
"How long as it been since she was bitten!?" Carla asked, trying to recall. "It was about the afternoon, closer to the evening, so..."
"That would make it about over 12 hours, then." Freed's hand tightened its grip on his sword. "She's been infected for well over half a day."
"Juvia has to get that Mystic Water…" Juvia told herself while clenching a hand into a fist.
"Is there anything we can do…?" Gray looked around, but no one had any suggestions at the moment.
"First things first, let's cool her down…" Tia suggested.
"Look up ahead…" Mii pointed, causing Natsu to look forward. They were approaching the Isle, but just ahead was Nasir, using his wind to keep his wings flapping. He wasn't moving forward, which suggested that he was at the border of the runes Freed set up.
"Nasir…" Natsu clenched his hand into a fist.
"Anyone could tell you were coming back…" Nasir remarked with a shake of his head and a chuckle. "You left some precious things behind, I know, I know…"
"What do you want!?" Natsu growled while flames lit up around his hand. "Another beat down? Tell us where Mira and Laxus are, unless they slipped away from you."
"Oh…those two?" Nasir pondered the thought before bringing up one hand that was covered in blood. "I think something may have happened to one of them, I'm not entirely sure…"
"That's a lot of blood…" Evergreen said with an uneasy tone.
"That's a bluff!" Lisanna was calling out the sky dragon on his bluff. "That could be anyone's blood. He's just trying to psych us out!"
"You really believe that, hm…? Very well…since you have dragon slayers in your ranks…I'm sure at least ONE of you can tell me who this blood belongs to…it was a rather nasty spill and a lot of it just happened to land on me.." With a simple flap of his wings, a gust of wind was created to send the strong scent of blood towards the airship, where the Dragon Slayers could deduce if it was a lie or not. Almost immediately, the eyes of Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel widened once they caught the scent.
"T-That scent…" Wendy stammered with a horrified expression.
"No way…" Gajeel barely managed to speak.
"Who does it belong to?!" Jack shouted.
Natsu was slow to respond, his horrified visage slowly turning into an angered one. "That blood…I…its Mira's."
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Next Time: Premature Beginning!