Six of the seven Tenhei gathered around in the meeting room they were in when this all began. The only one missing in action being Balrus, since he was stationed at one of the fortresses. The room was darker than usual, due to the evening sky covering the country. However there was a small torch on the middle of the table that luminated the room, it was conjured by Arya. Everyone was just informed and brought up to speed regarding the current events.
Hahlos was staring down at the table while covering his eyes with one hand. "I see…so those humans really are here…" He realized.
"That mark on the girl's shoulder…it's from a place called Fairy Tail?" Torian wondered, leaning on one arm. "That their base of operations?"
"But how did they even *reach* here?" Arya questioned, adjusting her monocle. "No human has ever even got close up ever!"
Argus was caressing his chin as he thought out loud. "Now that you mention it…were those guys I met at the bar human too?"
Sync curled up in a ball on her chair while holding her scythe like a teddy bear. "I'm sorry…I didn't realize those guys were Wendy's friends…" She apologized.
Hahlos sighed, lowering his hand and turning his head to Sync. "None of us could've predicted this, I can assure you that you've done the best you could." He smiled. "Keep up the great work, Sync."
Sync peered up at Hahlos and gave a small smile back.
"In any case…" Stark interrupted, crossing his arms and leaning back. "You need to spill the beans, Hahlos." He shot a glare at the green haired angel. "What happened while you were down there?"
"Y-yeah…" Torian pointed at Hahlos. "I remember seeing you a little roughed up."
Hahlos paused and glanced at the ceiling. He began to recall his encounter at Fairy Tail. He clearly remembered Natsu's dark eyes and nearly getting hit by a devastating attack. It was like he powered up once Wendy was knocked out. There were also the other two mages with him who nearly outsped him.
"I will admit, I was cornered." Hahlos admitted, to the surprise of everyone. "They must have seen me use my Heavenly Body spell. I wouldn't have been able to retrieve the Sky Sorceress here otherwise."
"No way! Even though you had your Clairvoyance?!" Sync exclaimed.
Stark closed his eyes and sighed exasperatly. "You really screwed this one up, Hahlos. They must've somehow recreated that spell in order to get here." He slammed one palm on the table. "This was one of the reasons I didn't accept this risky plan!"
"Hey now, let's all calm down alright?" Argus urged, raising both of his hands.
"So what do we do then? We could arrest them or get rid of them altogether." Torian suggested, clenching a fist.
"No. If we harm them then the Sky Sorceress won't oblige to our demands." Hahlos argued, lowering his head. He glanced at Stark before folding his hands together and leaning his elbows on the table. "Which is *why* you shouldn't have treated her the way you did, Stark."
Stark rolled his eyes. "She should've known what was coming after she attacked me." He peered his pupils towards Hahlos. "But you know we can't just let them do what they want."
"The Sky Sorceress kid, she has a deep bond with her friends." Arya commented, puffing out a smoke. "It was one of the things I learned when I used my Intellect on her."
Hahlos narrowed his eyes to the side. "I am well aware of the bond she shares with her friends. They won't up and leave so easily. Even with the denser Ethernano." The tall angel brought up.
"So how are we gonna get them to scram without arresting or taking them down?" Argus asked.
The six sat and pondered their move to deal with this issue. Stark then began to chuckle which got the attention of the rest.
"Oh, I may have a way to deal with this little blunder." Stark grimaced. "And we can use the information we got to our advantage." He lifted a finger up.
Hahlos glared at Stark. "After what you did to The Sky Sorceress earlier, I don't think we should leave this to you."
Stark glared back. "Don't forget that this is *your* blunder." He shot before standing up. "Besides, have you forgotten my role here?" He pushed in his chair and began to walk towards the door.
"How about I pay our 'little hero' a visit? Don't worry though, I won't hurt her like last time."
Unknowest to the events currently transpiring at the castle, the wizards of Fiore were currently at the front counter of the inn hoping to get a room. A young female angel with brown curly hair and glasses was sitting by the front counter. She was thrown off by how many people entered the building at once. She began to wonder if she was going to be robbed.
Sting approached the lady and gave his usual handsome guy smile, teeth shining and all. "Heya! We're hoping to stay the night here!"
The angel paused for a moment as she scanned all the distinct looking people in the room. "...Are you all together? What kind of room are you wanting to have tonight?" She pulled out a pen and a slip.
"Er…" Sting hesitantly pulled out the Dalla and placed it on the counter. "What can we get with 300? We're kind of on a tight budget here." He sheepishly chuckled.
The receptionist looked down at the Dalla with scrunched eyebrows. She rolled her eyes back up, followed by lifting her head. "That can only get you one small room with a single bed, I'm terrible sor-"
"We'll take it." Erza approached and slammed one palm on the counter. The receptionist jumped a little and looked up at the armored woman's face. The angel clearly could tell she was serious about this.
The brunette noticed how no one else was objecting to this and reluctantly signed the slip. She gave Sting a card. "Your room is on the second floor, number four one six. Have a…relaxing night."
Jellal was the first to enter the room as he immediately investigated the room to see if there were any security lacrimas. He checked every corner and window but found nothing.
"What are you doing?" Natsu asked, as he and the others began to enter.
"This land has strict laws. You never know how much they keep tabs on the civilians here." Jellal answered, turning to the pinkette. "Plus, we don't exactly want others overhearing our conversation do we?"
"Aye, he brings up a good point." Happy flew in and sat by the window.
"Isn't it a little crowded in here?" Rogue asked, noticing how small the room actually was. He could barely move around.
Erza sat on the bed. "That doesn't matter, now sit down." She demanded.
A sweat drop slid off Rogue's head as he and the rest managed to fit in the room and huddled in a circle. Natsu, Lucy, Chelia, Carla, Sting and Rogue all sat on the floor while Juvia, Gajeel, Gray and Jellal stood and leaned on the walls.
"So…" Erza started. "What did you all gather?"
"This place sucks." Gajeel scoffed.
"Other than that."
"Well…with our group, we ended up at the front of town." Sting recalled. "We decided to stop by the bar and get refueled. That...was sort of when I learned this place uses a different currency…heh heh…"
"Aye, there was this *really* big guy who came in!" Happy raised his paws, showing how big he was. "We thought we were in trouble, but he was the one who gave us that money! The people around seemed to really respect the guy!"
"Juvia recalls him calling himself one of the 'Tenhei'?" Juvia remembered, tapping her chin. "He told us that this country's ruler was dying from an unknown illness and Wendy was brought here to heal him."
"The nerve!" Carla hissed. "They're making up this ridiculous story that she came here herself, like some sort of 'hero'! She was kidnapped by that green haired cretin!"
"That sounds pretty similar to what we've encountered." Jellal commented. "We landed in this country's farmlands and we met two of the residents."
"There was this brown cat! She tried to knock my head off with a rake!" Natsu exclaimed. "The other guy was one of those angels, apparently he can use the old tree guy's magic."
"We too came across another big angel." Lucy continued. "He also was one of those 'Tenhei' people. It was because of him we got the ticket after discovering we used magic." She waved her hands in an irritated manner.
"Supposedly, this place's boss got some pretty out there laws." Gray mentioned. "Those farmers gotta give up most of their crop in exchange for them to just use their magic. Even then it seems like magic in general is straight up outlawed here."
"And the punishments, they're so unfair!" Chelia huffed. "If we didn't pay that ticket earlier, we would've gotten in even more trouble! Why does Wendy have to help out such a terrible ruler like him!?"
"I recall hearing that this country's ruler has a distaste for magic." Erza said, crossing her arms and closing her eyes. "The people here even refer to him as a 'god.' Is it because of power, or is it something else..."
"Speaking of the magic laws, it's strange…" Jellal continued. "As every single angel here bears an average amount of magic. I'm pretty sure any one of them is capable of casting spells."
"Woah, you serious?!" Sting exclaimed.
"I believe I can understand why." Erza stood up before glancing over at the window. "Happy, can you shut the curtains of the window?"
"Oh! Aye sir!" Happy obliged as he flew up and closed the curtains so no one outside could see any of them.
Erza took a deep breath before raising her arm. She proceeded to summon a broadsword effortlessly. However shortly after, she clenched her chest but didn't show any major reactions to it. "As I thought."
"Uh, what do you mean?" Gray tilted his head.
Erza releases the sword as it vanishes in a yellow light. "Lucy, do you remember when you summoned one of your spirits? You began to feel a burning sensation in your chest right?" She turned over at the blonde.
Lucy tapped her chin for a moment. "Now that you mention it, I did get a case of heartburn after releasing Virgo. Does it have to do with the atmosphere here, like you mentioned earlier?"
"I'm pretty sure the Ethernano here is much denser here than it usually is down below." Erza disclosed. "When we use our magic, our bodies absorb more Ethernano than our containers really need and handle. I have a feeling that is we overuse it, it could cause internal body damage."
"Are you kidding me?!" Natsu exclaimed. "So even *using* magic here is dangerous?"
Carla looked at her wings and stroked one paw on them. "I see, so that must be why me and Happy's wings have not vanished. In fact we're not even able to, which was extra strange."
"I can't tell for sure how dense it is here. But we shouldn't use our magic recklessly." Erza suggested.
Chelia twitched slightly before her eyes narrowed away from the rest.
"Tch. Seems like just about everything isn't in our favor." Gajeel scoffed.
"There is one more thing. Me and Sting came across the tall green haired angel you all fought against." Rogue informed. "He didn't realize we were with you, but we did learn that the healing process is being done tomorrow. They're holding some kind of festival and ceremony about the whole thing."
"I did remember hearing that this 'job' Wendy was forced into would only take a day…" Gray recalled, when Erza kept pressing Hahlos back at the guild. "They're really keeping to this story of her being some hero, gimme a break."
"I recall being told that they even held a ceremony after Wendy was taken here." Rogue explained. "We were also informed that Wendy is currently staying in the castle as we speak."
"So what do we do then?" Juvia asked. "Juvia assumes we're not just gonna wait until it's over."
"There's something still fishy about this job. If they're holding a festival and ceremony, then we should try to get as much information about it as possible." Erza informed.
"We could ask the townspeople around." Jellal suggested. "If they're preparing for a festival then I'm sure some would know about what's going on."
"We may have to be quick about it…" Carla sighed. "There's a chance we're already suspected, given everything that occurred to us."
"We'll keep as low of a profile as possible. Avoid talking to any of the soldiers here." Erza swung her arm. "We'll make several small groups but stay in the general area as we don't need to get separated again. Signal if things get hairy, is that all clear?"
Everyone in the room nodded in agreement.
Once the twelve fully understood their situation, they set off to a more open area. The first stop was at the fountain area Sting's group was at earlier. They split into four smaller groups with one being Natsu, Lucy, Happy and Carla. Since the sun was beginning to set down, there weren't many angels out and about. Luckily there didn't seem to be any soldiers on patrol in this particular area.
Carla and Lucy were already talking to a couple, so Natsu was left with nothing to do. He spots an older male angel and approaches him from behind.
The elderly angel noticed a shadow looming behind him as he shakily turned around. He saw Natsu with a smirk that showed his sharp teeth.
"Hey! Old guy!" Natsu greeted him unprofessionally. "I wanna ask you something!" However the angel simply backed away before flying off while screaming. The pinkette stared at the fleeing old angel with a deadpan confused expression.
Lucy and Carla approached Natsu from behind with blank stares. "I think you should leave the information gathering to us…" Lucy advised.
Natsu turned towards the two and placed his hands on his hips. "I don't get what his problem was." Puzzled Natsu, rolling his eyes.
"We're in a different country, the people here more than likely act differently than the ones we're used to." Carla reminded him before the two girls went back to find more civilians.
Happy flew towards the fire dragon slayer and landed on his shoulder. "Y'know, maybe the angels here find you a bit freaky."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Natsu exclaimed.
"That was the third one you scared off." The blue Exceed chuckled.
"Rrrrgh…" Natsu groaned as small puffs of steam left his nostrils. He crossed his arms and watched on as Lucy and Carla were already talking to another resident.
Natsu was beginning to grow bored. He went over towards a wall and leaned on it, with Happy continuing to lay on his shoulder. The fire mage then came up with an idea to kill time.
"Hey Happy." Natsu turned his attention to him and smirk. "I just thought of something great!"
Happy turned to Natsu. "Oh! Oh! What is it?"
Natsu cleared his throat before proceeding to raise both hands, turn his head up and close his eyes. "Oh~ Dear child, It is I! Your guardian angel!~" Natsu began to give out a playful act to his Exceed buddy. "You've been blessed with one great gift! What do you desire, oh young one?"
Happy instantly understood the bit. "A lifetime supply of fish, please!"
Natsu raised his hands higher as an imaginary spotlight shined on him. "It is yours~, fair Happy! Use this gift well! A lifetime supply of cooked fish!"
"Aye! Thank you, great guardian angel!" Happy saluted, before dropping his arm and exclaiming. "Wait a second! Fish only taste good raw! What a ripoff!"
The two proceeded to stare at each other and begin to burst out in laughter. Their act got the two some weird looks from the few civilians around the area.
While laughing, Natsu's dragon slayer senses suddenly kicked in as he picked up a certain scent, causing him to abruptly stop laughing. He began looking around all over the place frantically, trying to find where this scent was coming from. Every movement caused Happy to slip slightly as the Exceed wondered what got his partner all acted up.
"Natsu? Is something wrong?" Happy wondered. However Natsu didn't answer as he paused abruptly.
The pinkette turned and faced one of the alleyways and he spotted an individual wearing a large black cloak that covered their body and head. As soon as they were spotted, they hopped out of the alleyway and ran off
Natsu squinted his eyes and without a second thought, he began to chase after the stranger. Happy was caught off guard that he fell off of Natsu's shoulder, but was able to reorient himself with his flight.
"N-Natsu?! Where are you going?!" Happy called out which got the attention of Lucy and Carla. Happy immediately booked it after Natsu while the two girls widened their eyes, seeing the two run off suddenly.
"Natsu?! Happy?! Didn't Erza say not to get separated again!" Lucy exclaimed.
Carla growled. "Those idiots! What are they even doing!" She complained before turning to Lucy. "Let's go after them before they get lost!" She suggested in which Lucy nodded and the two began to chase after the pinkette and blue feline.
While Natsu was chasing after the mysterious figure, he passed by Erza and Gray who were in their own group. The two witnessed Natsu ran by with Happy lagging behind followed by Lucy and Carla chasing after them.
"Huh?! Was that…" Gray realized.
"Those fools! What did I just tell them?!" Erza fumed before turning to Gray. "We're going after them! I'll drag them back here if I must!"
"Yeah!" Gray agreed, although he definitely felt a little intimidated by Titania's anger. The two also joined the chase after Natsu.
Natsu wasn't fully paying attention to his surroundings as well as the noise. The only thing he focused on was the oddly familiar scent coming from the figure he's chasing. He began to leap over objects and shoving people out of the way. He didn't get any closer to the individual as it seemed like they were leading him out of town. "Tch. If only I could use my magic to boost myself…" He thought.
Lucy and Carla were able to catch up to Happy with Natsu still farther ahead. "Happy! What's going on?!" The white Exceed asked.
"I don't know! Natsu was acting all weird and he just suddenly ran off!" Happy answered in a panic.
Lucy looked ahead where Natsu was and noticed that he was chasing after someone. But she couldn't point out who it was. "Who's that…" She thought.
"Lucy!" Gray called out. He and Erza were the next ones to catch up. The three turned over and immediately had faces of terror when they saw Erza scowl at them.
"H-hold on!" Lucy exclaimed. "We're going after Natsu!" She pointed ahead. "He seems to be chasing someone!"
"That idiot! They could be leading him in a trap!" Gray chastises.
"Natsu!" Erza tried calling out to him, however it appeared he didn't listen. "Grr! After him!"
The chase didn't last much longer as it led to the outskirts of town. The cloaked individual crossed the stone bridge and went to the open cloudy area a bit away from the rancher's land. They came to an abrupt stop with their back turned which caused Natsu to skid to a stop several feet away from them. Shortly after, Happy and the rest caught up.
"Natsu! What do you think you're doing?!" Erza badgered, clenching both her fists and slowly marching towards him.
However the pinkette did not respond as he squinted his eyes at the cloaked person who led him here. He took notice how short they actually were before seeing them wearing red sandals and a green dress slightly poking out from the cloak.
"...That can't be…" Natsu realized.
The cloaked person turned to face the group as they slowly raised their cloaked head. The six stared at the person in silence for a moment before Carla slowly flew past Natsu. She was the first person to speak up.
"...Wendy?" Carla questioned.
The individual removed her hood which revealed to be Wendy with her long blue hair flopping out. However, her hair was clearly messy with one of her twin-tails missing. She looked up with her brown eyes and softly smiled. "...Hi guys…" Wendy muttered.
Carla flew right into Wendy's chest and gave her a tight hug. "Child! It's you! You're safe!" She blubbered, tears forming from her eyes. She looked up at her dragon slayer companion. "Your hair! What in Earthland happened to you!?
Wendy returned the hug and sighed. "I'm happy to see you too…Carla. And don't worry, it's nothing too bad." She chuckled.
Natsu approached the blunette with his usual big toothy grin. "Yo! Wendy!" He patted her head.
Wendy looked up at her older brother figure after releasing her hug from Carla. She felt waves of relief realizing that he and the rest weren't hurt. "You guys…actually made it."
"Of course! We're friends aren't we? We weren't just gonna *leave* you here!" Natsu chuckled. "It's not just us either! Gajeel, Juvia, Jellal, Sting, Rogue and Chelia are here too!"
Lucy, Erza, Gray and Happy all watched with relieved smiles on their faces. However at the same time, they were surprised Wendy was able to get here without being spotted.
"You looked all messed up, child." Carla pointed out, noting her messy hair and light bruising. "Did you have to fight your way out of the castle?"
Wendy shook her head. "No, this happened earlier today…I'm fine though." She reassured. However, Carla raised an eyebrow.
"Maaaaan! You made our jobs much easier! I don't know how much longer I'll be able to handle this place!" Natsu commented, giving a light chuckle.
"Indeed." Carla decided to toss the thought to the side, it was best to worry about that later. She grabbed one of Wendy's hands with both of her paws. "Come now, let's find the others and head home, quickly! Before anyone notices!" She lightly tugged on the blunette's arm.
Wendy however, didn't budge as she removed her arm from Carla's paws. She lowered her head where her hair shadow covered both of her eyes. She took a few steps back, to the confusion of her friends.
"Child? Is something wrong?" Carla worried.
"...Everyone…thank you, for coming for me…" Wendy started, voice slightly shaky.
Erza began to notice odd behavior in Wendy's voice and body mannerisms. Like she was extremely nervous about something.
Wendy took a deep breath before raising her head and giving a warm smile. "But it's okay! You don't need to worry about me!" She placed her hands behind her back. "I've decided to help them!"
Erza's suspicions were immediately proven correct.