Chapter 35: A New Threat
"I don't know about you two but after all the fun we had I sure am thirsty" stated Cana while she walked through the crowded streets of the capital alongside Jay and Lisanna. Lisanna blushed at Cana's words, recalling all the lewd fun she had just engaged in with Jay and Cana. Jay smiled in response to Cana's words while he continued to walk towards the pub Fairy Tail was partying at.
"I could go for a drink or two but I definitely won't try and keep up with you" responded Jay with an amused smile since he was sure he would kill himself if he tried to drink half of what Cana could. Cana grinned in amusement at Jay, giving him a flirty look as they continued to walk through the crowded streets.
"Handsome and smart, he's the total package right Lisanna" asked Cana in a flirty tone, giving Lisanna a playful wink. Lisanna blushed at Cana's words while she thought of other reasons why Jay was an amazing boyfriend.
"Yes he is" responded Lisanna with a cute blush covering her face. Lisanna had to will herself to stop thinking about how attractive Jay looked naked, his hard and sculpted muscles never failed to make Lisanna tingle with arousal and lust.
"Speaking of packages" stated Cana in a teasing tone while she reached towards Jay's groin. Lisanna's eyes went wide with panic as Cana started to tease Jay with her lewd touch, they were in public. Lisanna quickly glanced around and was relived that no one had noticed what Cana was doing but she knew that could change in an instant.
"Cana! You can't do that here, stop that" stated Lisanna in a low tone so no one overheard her words expect for Jay and Cana. Cana chuckled in response to Lisanna's words, taking her hand away from Jay's groin.
"Relax Lisanna. You need to learn how to loosen up a bit" responded Cana in a playful tone before she gave Jay a flirty wink.
"I can think of one good way to loosen Lisanna, how about you Jay" stated Cana with a flirty wink, her words making Lisanna blush crimson.
"Cana" stated Lisanna in an embarrassed tone, her face covered in a crimson blush while Jay chuckled in response.
"I think that's enough teasing Lisanna for now Cana" responded Jay while he reached towards Lisanna. Reaching towards Lisanna, Jay placed a hand around her waist and pulled her close to him.
"You really are cute though when you blush like that Lisanna" stated Jay with a loving smile while he leaned towards Lisanna. Lisanna temporarily forgot that they were standing in the middle of the street as Jay pressed his lips against hers.
Lisanna moaned happily into Jay's open mouth, a giddy joy spreading through her as she happily kissed him. Smiling into the loving and heated kiss, Jay wrapped his arm tightly around Lisanna's waist as he kissed her. For a few moments Jay and Lisanna enjoyed kissing one another until they heard Cana clear her throat in order to get their attention. Leaning back from Lisanna's sweet lips, Jay turned his attention towards Cana while Lisanna did the same.
"Now who doesn't care she's in public" stated Cana in a teasing tone, her words making Lisanna remember she was in public. Realizing she was just heavily making out with Jay in the middle of the street, Lisanna blushed a cute shade of red as she stepped back from Jay.
"I think kissing is fine Cana, you were the one pushing the envelope" responded Jay in an amused tone. Making out with Lisanna might have drawn a few stares but if anyone caught what Cana was doing a few moments ago then they could have gotten in trouble.
"Yah maybe but that doesn't matter right now" responded Cana with an excited smile.
"What does matter is the pub is close and I'm going to drink until the whole place is dry" stated Cana with an excited smile while Jay reached towards Lisanna's hand. Holding onto Lisanna's hand, Jay gave it an affectionate squeeze.
"Ready to go Lisanna" asked Jay with a warm smile while Lisanna smiled back at him as she nodded her head. Once again walking towards the pub Fairy Tail was partying at, Cana smiled at Jay.
"I hope you are ready Jay, after what you did in the double battle you are going to be the center of the celebrations" stated Cana in a playful tone.
"You really think so" asked Jay in a curious tone while Lisanna giggled in response.
"Hehe of course Jay. You beat Sting and Rouge, all of Fairy Tail is proud of you" responded Lisanna in an amused tone.
"We are all happy you are a part of Fairy Tail now" stated Lisanna, glad that her boyfriend was a member of Fairy Tail. Lisanna and Cana thought that Jay being in Fairy Tail made the guild better, their guild family gained a caring and strong new member. While Lisanna had meant these words as friendly, she noticed a momentary look of sadness on Jay's face.
"Is something wrong Jay" asked Lisanna in a concerned tone. Jay flashed a warm smile to Lisanna; he didn't want to bother her with his misgivings about today.
"No, nothing's wrong Lisanna" responded Jay with a fake smile. Lisanna and Cana weren't convinced by Jay's words, it was clear something was bothering him.
"You aren't a very good lair Jay" responded Cana, giving Jay a knowing look as they continued to walk towards the pub.
"What's wrong Jay? Please tell us" stated Lisanna, wanting to know what was wrong so she could comfort Jay.
"Are you worried about Lucy" asked Cana, thinking that Jay must still be worried about Lucy's condition since she was badly beaten by Minerva a few hours ago. Jay shook his head in response to Cana's words.
"No that's not it. I know that Lucy will be fine, us Heartfilia's are made of strong stuff after all" responded Jay.
"Then what is it Jay" asked Lisanna in a concerned tone, hoping that nothing was seriously wrong.
"I'm happy to be a part of Fairy Tail, I'm just bummed that Sabertooth turned out to be so rotten" responded Jay in a somber tone.
"Sabertooth might have been seriously messed up but it was still my home, it was my guild" stated Jay, Lisanna and Cana understanding where Jay was coming from. Lisanna and Cana could understand what Jay was feeling, Fairy Tail was their home and it was hard to imagine having to leave it for any reason.
"I'm sorry it turned out the way it did Jay" responded Cana.
"You know Sabertooth wasn't all bad, there was some good" responded Jay with a far off smile, recalling the good times he had in Sabertooth.
"There was Yukino of course, she was the friendliest person in the guild. Falling in love with her was amazing" stated Jay, Lisanna and Cana silently listening. Lisanna and Cana both gave Jay's hand a comforting squeeze in order to remind him of their support and presence.
"Going on jobs with Sting and Rouge were a lot of fun. The triple dragon threat of Sabertooth defeated anyone who stood against us" stated Jay, recalling all the strong enemies that he defeated while working alongside his fellow dragon slayers.
"Rufus always had a good book to recommend" stated Jay, recalling all the hours he spent reading the various books that Rufus told him about.
"It sounds like Rufus would get along with Levy" responded Lisanna with a comforting smile, Jay nodding his head in agreement.
"Yah they probably would" responded Jay, thinking the two bookworms would have a lot of shared interest.
"Orga is a really fun drinking buddy, plus the guy knows how to sing" stated Jay with a fond smile.
"Really? Could have fooled me, the guy wasn't that impressive when he sang during the games" responded Cana with an amused smile.
"Trust me, he can sing if he haves a few pints. There were a lot of times we'd drink together and end up singing karaoke at a bar" responded Jay with a fond smile.
"Now that is a sight I'd pay good money to see" responded Cana with an amused smile as she pictured Jay drunk and singing at a karaoke bar. Jay chuckled in response to Cana's words while he smiled at her.
"Trust me, that is one show you would ask for a refund. Orga is a good singer drunk, I'm just a bad singer no matter how much I drink" responded Jay, Cana and Lisanna chuckling at his words.
"Maybe but it would still be fun to see you sing sometime. I bet you aren't as bad as you think you are" responded Lisanna, thinking that Jay would look cute singing.
"You would lose that bet Lisanna, I can't carry a tune to save my life" responded Jay with an amused smile, Lisanna and Cana were glad that Jay's mood was improving.
"It sounds like you had a lot of good times in Sabertooth" stated Cana, Jay nodding his head in agreement.
"Yah I did. You all just saw one side of the guild during the games. Truth is everyone could be a lot of fun when they weren't being jerks that were obsessed with winning and being the best all the time" responded Jay.
"What about Minerva? Was she a nice person sometimes" asked Lisanna in a curious tone, she knew her question was the wrong thing to say when Jay's smile faded.
"Minerva is the one person in the guild I don't have any good memories of" responded Jay.
"She's always been cruel and only concerned about strength. Once I proved how strong I was to the guild, Minerva would take every opportunity to flirt with me because she was attracted to my strength" stated Jay, recalling all the unwanted advances Minerva made on him.
"Minerva certainly has an attractive body, but her personality is a total turn off. No matter how many times I told her it wasn't going to happen, she would persist. I knew she was cruel, but I didn't know how cruel until today" stated Jay, feeling anger flow through him as he remembered what Minerva did to Lucy.
"I honestly don't know what's wrong with Minerva. I know her father is a bastard and must have put a lot of pressure on her but that doesn't excuse being a total bitch" stated Jay. Cana and Lisanna remained silent as they shared a look, neither of them knew what to say in this moment. Jay sensed the awkward silence and felt guilty for bringing down the mood.
"Sorry for bringing the mood down you two" stated Jay in a guilty tone.
"Don't worry about it Jay" responded Cana with a friendly smile, Lisanna nodding her head in agreement.
"You don't need to worry about that Jay. In Fairy Tail we want to be there for each other, so you shouldn't feel guilty about sharing your feelings with us" responded Lisanna with a kind smile.
"Thanks you two, that's nice to hear. Despite feeling a bit down about my old guild, I'm honestly really happy to be a part of Fairy Tail" responded Jay with a friendly smile. Despite only being a member for a short time, Jay could tell that Fairy Tail was completely different from Sabertooth.
"I bet you are big guy, a guild full of sexy and pretty women. What's not to like" asked Cana in a flirty tone, her words causing Jay to laugh.
"That's a benefit for sure but I was talking about how you guys all support one another, it's nice" responded Jay with a smile, Cana and Lisanna glad that Jay felt at home in Fairy Tail. Soon after Jay said these words, they all arrived at the pub Fairy Tail was partying at. Standing in front of the pub, the three of them could hear the loud celebrations happening inside.
"Are you ready big guy? You are going to be the center of attention after today's big win" stated Cana in a teasing tone.
"Yah, I'm ready" responded Jay with a smile, looking forward to partying with his new guild. Letting go of Jay's hand, Cana eagerly strode towards the front doors of the pub.
"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's get our drink on" responded Cana, excited to engage in one of her favorite activities. Throwing open the pub doors, Cana shouted to be heard over the loud celebrations.
"We brought the man of the hour" shouted Cana with a wide grin before she strode over to the bar, quickly getting lost in her drinking habit. Almost every eye in the pub turned towards Jay and Lisanna, the celebrations falling silent for a moment.
"Everyone is staring" stated Jay to Lisanna, his words making Lisanna giggle to herself.
"We told you everyone would want to celebrate with you after your victory today" responded Lisanna in an amused tone. Shortly after Lisanna said these words, the pub erupted into cheers. All the gathered members of Fairy Tail cheered for Jay and his victory. Soon Jay was surrounded by members of Fairy Tail, all happy for the victory he brought home.
"You were great out there today Jay" stated Levy with a happy smile.
"That was some great fighting out there" stated Erza with a proud smile, glad that Fairy Tail had a strong new member amongst its ranks.
"You showed those losers what happens when you mess with Fairy Tail" stated Gray, Jay smiled as serval other similar statements were said about his fight against Sting and Rouge. Amongst all the praise, a question was asked.
"I got to know what sort of move you used at the end of the match, what was it" asked Gajeel with an eager smile. Gajeel prided himself on the fact he wasn't afraid of much but whatever sort of spell Jay used was unreal, it made him feel genuine fear.
"Yah I was curious about that spell also. It felt like I couldn't move with how afraid I was" responded Levy, recalling the chilling fear that washed over her when Jay used his spell. Lisanna was still standing beside Jay, a curious look spread across her face.
"I didn't feel anything at all" responded Lisanna in a curious tone, turning towards Jay to wait for his explanation. Jay smiled at the people waiting for an answer, he scathed the back of his head in embarrassment.
"It's not a spell I like to use since it shows my monstrous side" responded Jay before he continued with his explanation.
"My Apex Aura spell is a secret art for water dragon slayers. It basically uses my magical power to reveal my bloodlust. Imagine you are a small fish in the ocean with a shark in your presence, the spell is essentially the feeling of being hunted by a predator with no chance of escape" stated Jay.
"Okay that much I get but how come I didn't feel a thing while everyone else was affected" asked Lisanna in a curious tone.
"You didn't feel anything because the spell doesn't affect my mates. Just like an actual water dragon, I can use overwhelming fear with this spell to paralyze my opponents. The spell and original ability from the water dragons were designed to only affect enemies and prey, not mates" responded Jay, his response making Lisanna blush.
"Well, I guess that takes away any doubt about you and Lisanna then" responded Gray with a smirk, Lisanna was blushing a cute shade of red.
"Sorry about casting the spell, I can't control who it affects once it's active. I hope it didn't affect you all too much" responded Jay with a friendly smile.
"Don't worry about it, the important thing is you secured an important win for Fairy Tail. I know it couldn't have been easy going up against your old guildmates regardless of what happened, for this you have our thanks and gratitude" responded Erza, Jay returning her friendly smile.
"Although I am curious about something else. Your spell seemed to paralyze Sting and Rouge in fear and many others. While it was hard for me to move, I was still able to do so. Why could I move while others could not" asked Erza in a curious tone.
"My Apex Aura spell uses my magical power to emit an aura of fear. If someone has the same or more magical power than I do then the effects are lessened" responded Jay, Erza nodding her head in understanding.
"That makes sense" responded Erza while Jay flashed her a determined smile.
"Don't think this means you are stronger than me Erza. Even though I am an ally now, I'm still determined to beat you in battle" responded Jay with a determined smile. Before Erza could respond to Jay's challenge, he felt a slap on the back of his head.
"Hey, don't start any fights with Erza. You're a part of Fairy Tail now, act like it" stated Lucy in a stern tone while Jay turned his attention towards her. Not caring about the slap Lucy just gave him, Jay smiled from ear to ear at his little sister.
"Lucy! You're okay" stated Jay with a relieved smile, glad that Lucy was well enough to walk around. It appeared that all of Lucy's injuries were healed for the most part, just a few bruises here and there.
"I was cleared to walk around a little bit ago, it was thanks to you" responded Lucy, grateful that Jay donated his magical power to increase the effectiveness of Wendy's healing spells. Turning her attention towards Wendy, Lucy flashed the young dragon slayer a grateful smile.
"And I can't forget about you Wendy, thank you" stated Lucy while Jay nodded his head in agreement.
"Yah, thanks Wendy. You helped my sister when she needed it, I'm in your debt" responded Jay.
"It was nothing, I was glad to help" responded Wendy with a cute smile. For a while Jay celebrated his victory along with the rest of Fairy Tail, until Natsu finally walked into the pub. Jay was currently sitting at a table with Lucy, Happy and Erza when Natsu walked up to them.
"Natsu! There you are" stated Happy, flying over to his friend while Jay turned his attention towards Natsu.
"About time you showed up Natsu. What was with suddenly leaving me alone in the middle of a match" asked Jay while Natsu flashed him an annoyed look.
"I should kick your ass for what you did" responded Natsu, angry that Jay pushed him down a minecart.
"Oh yah I guess it was sort of my fault, sorry" responded Jay with an amused smile, Erza was carefully watching the exchange in order to prevent a fight.
"Natsu I feel I should remind you that fighting is not acceptable" responded Erza in a stern tone, her words forcing Natsu to let go of his anger. Natsu wasn't the smartest person around but even he wasn't an idiot, he wasn't going to go against Erza's instructions. With a sigh, Natsu shifted his attention to what he saw when he was pushed down the mineshaft.
"Yah I won't start any fights, besides there's something I need to show Gajeel, Wendy and Jay" responded Natsu in a serious tone, Jay and his fellow dragon slayers curious what Natsu wanted to show them.
"Did you see something down that mineshaft or something" asked Jay in a curious tone, voicing the same question on Gajeel and Wendy's mind. Soon Jay was walking deep underground along with Gajeel, Wendy, Lucy, Gray, Happy, Carla and Natsu who was leading the group.
"Are these dragon bones" asked Jay, shocked how massive they were. Natsu had just shown them a dragon bone graveyard, the remains of dragons were scattered everywhere.
"Yah these are dragon bones alright, I just don't know why these are all under here" responded Natsu, Jay now understanding why he wanted to show his fellow dragon slayers what was underground.
"Man, I can't believe how big they are" stated Jay since he was the only dragon slayer present that never actually saw a dragon with his own eyes.
"Do you think Ingeel is down here" asked Happy before he realized what he said and apologized.
"Nah, Ingeel isn't here" responded Natsu in a serious tone, confidant that his adoptive father wasn't dead. Suddenly a sound of realization from the youngest dragon slayer drew everyone's attention towards Wendy.
"That might work" stated Wendy in realization.
"What was that Wendy" asked Lucy in a curious tone, all eyes were on the youngest dragon slayer.
"The milky way spell, it's one of the new dragon slayer secret arts that I learned" responded Wendy.
"When I was first learning it I assumed it was some kind of attack but I just had a thought. What if it's something else entirely? It's possible that the spell can let us hear the voices of dragons who have passed on" stated Wendy, Jay impressed that sort of magic was possible.
"Wow, that would be incredible. You really think you could do that" asked Jay in a curious tone, voicing what everyone else was thinking. Wendy nodded her head as she continued with her explanation.
"If we can somehow commune with the spirits of these dragons then one of them might be able to tell us what happened here" responded Wendy, her words making sense to Jay and the rest of the crew.
"We also might be able to find out why our dragons vanished" stated Wendy, Natsu and Gajeel becoming more interested at the mention of an answer to a question they have had for a long while.
"Your dragons vanished right? Sting and Rouge killed theirs" responded Jay, confirming he was correct in remembering the details.
"Yah, all our dragons vanished on the same day" responded Natsu.
"July 7th, 777" responded Gajeel, that date striking a cord within Jay as he turned his attention towards Lucy.
"Wait hold on" stated Jay, recalling something he read in his father's journal.
"Lucy isn't that the same day mom started to get sick" asked Jay in a curious tone. Jay was very little when his mom fell ill, Lucy was a bit older so she might remember more clearly. Jay's words caused Lucy to gasp with realization.
"I never thought of that, I think you might be right" responded Lucy, thinking it was strange that the dragons vanished on the same day their mom got sick.
"I will have to confirm it when I get back home. Dad left me his journals when he died but I'm fairly certain that date entry was when he first mentioned mom getting sick" responded Jay, thinking if there was any sort of connection between the two events.
"If it's true then that is really strange that date keeps coming up" responded Lucy, feeling a bit sad remembering the death of her mother. Sensing his question brought up some bad memories for Lucy, Jay turned his attention back towards Wendy.
"Anyways, do you need any help with the spell Wendy" asked Jay, curious to find out why they were standing in a graveyard full of dragon bones. Soon Wendy was finished drawing a magical circle, it seemed her preparations were complete.
"Here we go" stated Wendy with a smile before she made a motion for everyone to step away from her.
"I need everyone to step away from the circle" stated Wendy, everyone following her instructions. After everyone had stepped away from the circle, Wendy started to cast the milky way spell. It seemed that it was hard for Wendy to complete the spell given that the bodies of the dragons were so old but eventually the spectral form of a dragon appeared before everyone. A dragon suddenly appearing before them was shocking, when the dragon let lose a mighty roar Jay made sure he stood between the dragon and Lucy.
"Stay behind me Lucy" stated Jay, taking a defensive stance just in case the dragon turned hostile. Jay's worry was for nothing since the dragon showed that he couldn't touch anyone since he was just a ghost.
The dragon's name was Zirconis and apparently he knew what happened to cause all the dragon bones remains, unfortunately for everyone Zirconis refused to talk to humans. Luckily Zirconis had no issue talking with cats. Zirconis explained that four hundred years ago dragons ruled the world until a civil war between dragon kind erupted. The civil war was over if dragons should rule over humans or coexist with them. After the civil war threatened to destroy everything, the dragons fighting for coexistence taught humans dragon slayer magic. This worked out for a time until one human rose up and killed countless dragons until he became a dragon, that human was Acnologia.
"That's the dragon that almost killed you guys right" asked Jay, recalling the stories of Tenrou island.
"Yah, back then none of us could do anything against Acnologia. Every single person tried their best, but we didn't cause a single scratch on Acnologia" responded Lucy, her words shocking Jay. Jay was aware of the people that were on Tenrou Island during the attack. Knowing that the best of Fairy Tail combined didn't do a thing against Acnologia was a scary thought. Shortly after Zirconis finished his explanation, his ghostly form vanished. While everyone contemplated what they just heard, Natsu started to speak up.
"Theres only one thing I want to know" stated Natsu in a serious tone before he turned around to face everyone.
"Does this mean we are going to turn into dragons" asked Natsu in a panicked tone.
"How should I know" shouted Gajeel while Jay thought about the fact he could turn into a dragon.
"I don't know, being a dragon might be kind of cool" stated Jay to himself while Lucy slapped him upside the head.
"Don't think about that! You don't want to be a dragon" responded Lucy. Jay was about to respond to Lucy before he noticed a scent in the air that made him stop in his tracks.
"Wait that scent" stated Jay to himself, sniffing the air to confirm his mind wasn't playing tricks on him.
"What is it Jay" asked Lucy in a concerned tone, noticing the shift in Jay's mood.
"Turning into dragons is not a strong likelihood" stated a new voice that Jay or the others didn't recognize. Looking towards the direction of the new voice, Jay confirmed that the scent he was smelling wasn't his mind playing tricks on him.
"Yukino" shouted Jay with an excited smile, relief flooding through him seeing that Yukino was okay. Jay was about to rush towards Yukino before the man standing next to her raised a hand to halt Jay as he spoke.
"I'm sure you are happy to see your girlfriend again but allow me to introduce myself first. I am colonel Arcadios, leader of the sacred cheery blossom knights of the royal army" stated Arcadios, Jay wondering what this man had to do with Yukino.
"And I am Yukino Agria, acting Sargent in the cherry blossom knights" responded Yukino, her words confusing Jay and the others.
"Hold on Sargent? Yukino did you join the army" asked Jay in a confused tone.
"Did you join the army after Sabertooth kicked you out" asked Happy.
"Yes in a manner of speaking" responded Yukino in a steady tone, Jay was unable to read any emotions from Yukino's expression. While Yukino wasn't showing it, she was happy to see Jay again and wanted to rush into his arms, but she couldn't. Yukino knew that her mission was far too important, this time she would prove herself useful and save the man she loved.
"Please allow me to clarify" responded Arcadios, Jay deciding to withhold his questions for now. The important thing was that Yukino was safe, he would get the answers to his questions later.
"For the past serval years, I've been working on a highly classified project but it's success required only the power of a celestial wizard can provide. Luckily Sargent Yukino is able to lend her assistance in this undertaking" stated Arcadios. Jay nodded his head in understanding, that at least explained why Yukino was suddenly a Sargent in the army.
"A celestial wizard? What for" asked Lucy in a curious tone while Jay stepped towards Arcadios.
"What is this plan? It better not endanger Yukino or else" responded Jay, not trusting Arcadios yet. Stepping between Jay and Arcadios, Yukino began to speak towards Jay.
"Jay please calm down; I am in no danger. Please just hear Arcadios out" responded Yukino, her words calming Jay down somewhat. Still not trusting Arcadios, Jay studied Yukino for any hint of doubt or coercion.
"Okay Yukino, for now I'll hear him out" responded Jay before he turned his attention towards Arcadios.
"If I don't like this plan or find out you are intending to harm Yukino then you will regret it" stated Jay, glaring at Arcadios. Arcadios wasn't worried about Jay's threat, he simply smiled at the water dragon slayer.
"Jay Heartfilia, it's an honor to meet your acquaintance. That drive to protect those close to you is something that can help in the project I've been working on" responded Arcadios with a smile. Stepping past Yukino, Jay got close to Arcadios.
"Skip the nice talk. Tell me what this project is or Yukino and I are leaving right now" responded Jay, determined to drag Yukino away if Arcadios was endangering her. In response to his words, Arcadios turned away from Jay and began to walk in the other direction.
"Follow me please" responded Arcadios as he walked away.
"Hey, answer my question" shouted Jay, getting annoyed that he was being ignored.
"You should come to Lucy" stated Yukino, thinking that she would be needed since she was also a celestial wizard.
"You as well Jay. If our plan is indeed successful then both Zeref and Acnologia will be defeated as a result" stated Yukino.
"What? Are you for real? What sort of plan is it" asked Jay, shocked that Yukino was involved with something like this. Deciding to follow along for now, Jay followed Yukino along with the others. As Arcadios led the group through the royal palace, he began to apologize for trying to kidnap Lucy.
"Hold on that was you" asked Lucy in a curious tone while Jay recalled something.
"Wait was that why a group of masked people tried to fight me" asked Jay in a curious tone. At the time Jay thought he was being targeted by other guilds, but thinking about it some more it was more likely he was mistaken for Lucy since he was also a Heartfilia.
"My intention was to never put you in harm's way, but I was far too aggressive with my orders. I falsely believed you were our only hope for the celestial wizard that we so desperately needed. This was a lapse of judgement; I ask for your forgiveness" stated Arcadios while Lucy and Natsu huffed in annoyance. Arcadios went on to explain that the grand magic games was a ruse to gather magical power from the participants. While everyone voiced their disagreement with this information, Jay spoke up.
"Let's just hear him out everyone, I trust Yukino" responded Jay, thinking that Yukino must have a good reason for being a part of all of this. Yukino flashed Jay a grateful smile, she was reminded of why she was a part of the plan. No matter what Yukino would protect Jay and that meant defeating Zeref and Acnologia. Soon the group stopped in front of a colossal door.
"What is that" asked Wendy, staring in awe at the massive door.
"Eclipse, the door that will change the world. Without massive amounts of magical power, it never could have been constructed" responded Arcadios.
"Where does the door lead to" asked Jay in a curious tone.
"What the sun and moon intersect we will then use the celestial zodiac keys to open this door" responded Arcadios. Jay continued to listen to Arcadios, he at least understood why a celestial wizard was needed for the project.
"What lies beyond this door is time itself. It will allow us to travel four hundred years into the past and slay Zeref before he gains the power of immortality, his destruction is our ultimate goal" stated Arcadios to the shock of the gathered group minus Yukino.
"How is that even possible" asked Lucy in a shocked tone. Yukino went on to explain that they intend to use the unique time flow of the celestial world to open the eclipse door and travel into the past. Arcadios then explained that with the power of the twelve zodiac keys, the door will be opened three days from now.
"This will occur three days from now, on July 7th. We ask for your help miss Lucy" stated Arcadios in a serious tone.
"The 7th of July" asked Natsu, voicing what was on everyone's mind. The same day the dragons vanished, and the same day Lucy and Jay's mother fell sick.
"This door needs the power of a celestial wizard to open it and it is opened on the same day mom feel sick" stated Jay mostly to himself as he thought about how huge of a coincidence it all was considering his mom was also a celestial wizard. While Jay was pondering this coincidence, serval members of the royal army suddenly surrounded the group.
"Stay right where you are" shouted a member of the royal army while Jay and the others took a defensive stance.
"What the hell is going on" shouted Jay, ready to jump into action if anyone made a move to hurt his friends.
"It would be wise of you to surrender before things get messy Arcadios" shouted a short man as he walked toward the group.
"Defense minister, what is the meaning of this" shouted Arcadios, it was obvious this was a surprise to Arcadios. Apparently not everyone on the army was on board with Acrcadios's plan.
"Arcadios you are under arrest for treason against the kingdom of Fiore. Take the celestial wizards into custody as well, they are accessories to this crime" shouted the defense minister.
"But I haven't committed any crimes" shouted Lucy in a worried tone while Jay began to channel his magical power.
"Over my dead body, you aren't touching Lucy or Yukino" shouted Jay, channeling his magical power into his fist. It didn't matter if Jay was against the royal army, he was going to do anything to protect Lucy and Yukino. Luckily Jay wasn't alone, Natsu was just as ready to fight the royal army.
"Wait don't! You can't use magical power here" shouted Arcadios but he was too late. Suddenly Jay and Natsu felt all of their magical power leaving them, they collapsed completely drained away of their strength.
"Didn't you know? Using magic in the presence of the eclipse door will completely drain a wizard of their magical power" stated the defense minister while Jay and Natsu collapsed to the ground.
"I hope you won't cause any more trouble. Afterall a wizard drained of magical power is hardly a threat to a group of trained royal soldiers" stated the defense minister while members of the royal army walked towards Jay and Natsu who were collapsed. The last thing Jay was aware of before he faded into unconsciousness was the royal army dragging Lucy and Yukino away.
"No, stop" stated Jay in a weak tone, unable to move an inch. Soon Jay lost consciousness, Lucy and Yukino being taken away before his very eyes.
End of Chapter 35