"THE SKY?!"
Ena's calm demeanor was probably the reason everyone was freaking out slightly about the island's location. Nodding slowly, Ena responded; "Yes, it is a large island in the sky. Since there are not many air ships in this world, it hasn't been touched by humans…well, for a long time anyway. But that's a story for a later time…"
"My, my…" Mii waved her hand, leaning against the railing of the ship with what could be considered a knowing smile. "Way to wait until the last second to spring this information on us! An island in the sky is unheard of, actually…" As she spoke, her voice trailed off.
"Ms. Mii, do you know something?" Ena questioned with a tilt of her head.
"No," Mii replied, giving a shrug. "In the end, I'm as clueless as everyone else here…"
"Certainly you wouldn't mind sharing your motive for wanting to join us?" Makarov held a skeptical eye towards Mii.
"If the reason doesn't work, I'll take the liberty of throwing you of this ship myself," Laxus responded in his usual calm tone of voice. "So, get talking."
"Pushy aren't we…?" Mii sighed, turning to lean against the railing, facing the sky. "It's simple…I'm just looking for something…something important…taking any lead I can get. Is that good enough for you? Or do I have to get all personal, too?"
"I believe that is a good enough explanation…" Ena nodded. "Though I cannot say you'll find what you're looking for here…especially during this time."
"It's the only lead I've gotten…" Mii responded.
"Fine…" Laxus silently huffed. "I'll let you be for now."
"Gee, your kindness leaves me at a loss for words…" Mii rolled her eyes, but because her back was turned Laxus couldn't see it.
Elsewhere on the huge ship, Wendy was still attempting to heal Lucy;s injuries. "You still shouldn't be moving, Lucy-san! You can't even take the bandages off yet, can you?"
"Wendy…" Lucy could only let out a small laugh at Wendy's concern. "I'm fine, I promise! The soreness has gone away, and I can move just fine."
"Yo!" Natsu walked over, giving a wave along with a wide grin. "You completed that job though, right Lucy?" It was as if he completely forgot that he and Lucy even had an argument. While he forgot, Lucy on the other hand did not.
"Hmph…" Lucy crossed her arms, cheeks puffed out while her head turned away. She didn't even want to speak to Natsu.
"E-Etto…" A sweat drop formed on Wendy's forehead, comically looking back between Natsu and Lucy as the tension in the small area rose. "A-Ano…Lucy-san…how did that job go again…?"
"Well!" Immediately brightening up, Lucy clasped her hands together and glanced at Wendy. "…Actually…I don't remember how it ended. It's all fuzzy, even now…I just remember some explosion, but that's about it…"
"You don't even remember making it back to the guild, do you?" Carla questioned while waving a paw.
"Not at all…I just remember waking up." Lucy said with a shrug. "But it doesn't matter now, does it? I'm fine and that's the only thing that matters!"
"…" Natsu scowled slightly at Lucy blatantly ignored his presence. "Hmph…" Turning, he began to make his leave, Happy following behind him.
"I'll go see how the others are doing!" With Natsu gone, Lucy was quick to go in the opposite direction.
"That was awkward…" Wendy let out a sigh.
"I hope those two get along again soon…" Cynthia said while sitting next to Wendy. "It's been like this for a while…"
"Me too…it's weird to see them fighting…" Wendy nodded, leaning against Cynthia somewhat. "Oh…that reminds me…how are you? You haven't been having that nightmare lately, have you? Your body hasn't been hurting, has it!?"
"No, no…" Cynthia shook her head slowly, letting out a small laugh. "I've been fine…you know I'd tell you if I wasn't feeling well!"
"Good…" Wendy nodded. Her concern for Cynthia overall skyrocketed after the incident in Crocus (end of Dealer Arc).
"How much longer until we reach this floating island place…?" Romeo complained with a groan, trudging along the ship. "I'm boooooooored."
"Romeo! Stop complaining!" Macao exclaimed. "We'll be there soon, right?" the Father's attention turned to Ena, who calmly continued to steer the ship.
"Yes, we should be there within 20 minutes," Ena responded without looking over her shoulder. "Surely you can hold out long enough, little one?"
"A-ah…yeah…totally…" A comical sweat drop appeared on Romeo's forehead, and he nodded.
"…The winds are picking up…" Wendy made this observation from the sidelines, catching everyone's attention. "I don't think it's a pleasant breeze either…it's a howl of discontent…"
"I don't sense anything…or smell anything…" Gajeel pointed out.
"The winds are blowing in the opposite directions…" Wendy continued, eyes widening once she made the realization. "Oh no…! Ena-san…!"
"Wha…?" Ena was about to reply, but before she could a vicious current of wind began to shake the ship, causing it to steer off course from Ena's control. "Gah…!? What the…!?"
"A sneak attack!?" Gajeel's lips curled into a smirk. "In the sky no less! I like their style!" Pounding a fist into an open palm, Gajeel stood on the railing of the ship, cracking his knuckles. He glanced around; spotting winged blurs flying around the ship at high speeds. "Lily, let's get going!"
"Right!" Pantherlily nodded, wings sprouting from his back; he flew to Gajeel's back, lifting im into the air.
"Happy!" Natsu shouted while running towards railing, leaping off without a second thought. Happy caught him before he fell too far, lifting into the air right after Gajeel.
"Carla! We have to help!" Wendy stood up, and Carla was quick to lift her into the open sky to assist the others.
"W-Wait for me!" Cynthia ran towards the railing, only to almost lose her balance and fall over.
"S-Stay on the ship, Cynthia!" Levy wrapped her arms around Cynthia's waist, tugging her back to eventually fall on her back with Cynthia on top of her.
"B-But Levy…!" Cynthia flailed in Levy's arms. "I have to help…!"
"You can't fly!" Levy protested. "Stay on the ship and let the others handling it!"
"Keep her here," Erza demanded, unsure of how Cynthia would act without being held down. A heavenly glow wrapped around her being for a split second before fading away, revealing her in her Black Wing Armor, which she used to take to the sky.
"Stay back…" Mirajane told her siblings as a magic seal appeared over her head; not even a second later and she was standing in her Satan Soul takeover. Wings flapped once, and Mirajane took off to the sky to assist her friends.
"We can't let them all the fun, right guys!?" Bickslow glanced over to the Raijinshu, giving his signature wild grin. "Come on, babies! Let's go have some fun too!"
"Oi, let me in on this!" Mii grinned excitedly, placing a hand on her hip. "I can show that I'm more than just a pretty face!"
"You'll get in the way. Just stay where they can see you." Laxus stated, turning to those who couldn't enter the sky. "Support us from here if possible. Keep an eye out if you spot anything." With that, Laxus and his Raijinshu took into the air.
"…!" Mii's expression turned sour at Laxus' statement. "Jerk…"
"How's the ship looking!?" Gray asked Ena, who frantically began to attempt steering in another direction, only to fail.
"The wind is blowing in all directions…I can't steer the ship in any direction until this turbulence dies down…" Ena stated.
.
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"Alright you flying bastards! Let's rumble!" Natsu roared out into the sky, loud enough for the winged marauders to hear him. Glancing around, Natsu spotted a blur whizzing past him a few yards away. "That way!" Natsu exclaimed to Happy, who quickly flew over in the direction Natsu pointed, closing in on the winged being, flames covering his dominate arm. "Iron Fist…of the Fire Dragon!" Once close, Natsu swung his flaming fist towards the face of the mysterious attacker; before contact was made, the winged assailant suddenly flew off to the side in the blink of an eye, causing Natsu to whiff. "What the…!?" Turning his head, he received a harsh elbow to his face, causing him and Happy to spiral around before regaining control. "Quick bastards…!"
"Ha! Yah!" Erza grunted while slashing her sword at the beings. They were well built and all wore what looked like casual clothing, but there was a cloth around their eyes. Erza blocked a punch with the blunt side of her blade, attempting to strike with a quick counterattack. To her surprise to the being evaded by flying up, faster than Erza could follow. "What…!? How can they move so quickly?!"
"They're hard to keep up with…" Freed said while glancing around, barely spotting the blurs flying past the group of airborne Fairy Tail wizards. "I'll box them in so they won't have so much movement!" With his sword extended, a bright violet hue shone from the blade, creating a box of runes in the sky. "There we go."
"Excellent work Freed!" Evergreen exclaimed with a thumbs up and a wave of her fan. With the area boxed in, the movement of the mysterious assailants was vastly limited. Some of them even ran into the edges of the box, leaving them stunned. "Fairy Bomb: Gremlin!" Evergreen swiped her fan, sending some sparkles along the sky, which caused a few explosions in the sky.
"Now we can kick some ass!" Natsu grinned in excitement, lunging towards a stunned attacker, finally landing a fiery fist at their jaw, sending them spiraling upwards. "Yeah! Here I go!" With Happy flying up, Natsu's foot ignited in orange flames. "Talons!" He swung his foot down in an axe kick-like motion, but just as before, they dodged before he could strike. "Tch!? The bastards are still moving quickly?!"
"Iron Dragon's Pole!" Gajeel extended his dominate arm out, morphing it into an iron pole that rushed through the sky towards a winged assailant. At the last possible second, the target's speed increased suddenly and they flew off to the side, causing Gajeel to hit the barrier Freed created. A painful shock ran up his extended limb, causing him and Pantherlily to both shake in pain. "Gah! Annoyin' shits…how are they moving so fast…"
"It's the wind…!" Wendy replied, causing everyone to turn to her. "They're riding the wind currents, which allows them to move quickly…"
"I can't tell which way the wind blows, dammit…" Gajeel grunted in annoyance.
"Wendy, can you do something about this wind?" Carla questioned.
"I think so…" Wendy replied with a nod. "I can control the wind, which should stabilize it and make it easier for everyone to fight…but I need some time to focus…"
"Buy Wendy some time!" Carla exclaimed to the others.
"You heard the kitty!" Bickslow shouted. "Let's keep the kid safe!"
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"I wish I could do something from here…" Lucy huffed while leaning a little too far on the railing, watching the battle in the sky intently. She finally realized she was leaning a little too much and started flailing to keep her balance. "G-Gah!?"
"It's a shame, really…" Mii said while walking over, gripping the back of Lucy's shirt to pull her up. "But since this battle doesn't have anything to do with us…" Walking over to the shirtless Gray, Mii took a moment to observe him before coming a conclusion. "You know…for an ice mage…you're pretty hot…!"
"HISSS!" Juvia suddenly rushed in, glaring at Mii with the death stare. "JUVIA KNEW IT! LOVE RIVAL! Gray-sama belongs to Juvia!"
"W-Wait a minute…!" Gray waved his hands at both females before shooting a glance towards Mii. "Geez…! Don't you take anything seriously!?"
"Oh, so she belongs to you?" Mii had a coy smile on her lips before stretching and yawning, waving a hand dismissively afterwards. "Ah…I tried to help, but your short circuited friend over there didn't want me getting in the way…so why even bother right? I'd rather just flirt with the cute guys here and you're one of them." At that comment, Juvia lunged towards Mii, but Gray held her back from absolutely clawing Mii's face off. "I'd flirt with the cute girl here, too. I love women like her! But I can't ruin the happiness of a couple like you two!" With a giggle, Mii began to walk off.
"Juvia doesn't like her…!" Juvia huffed before coming to the realization that she was in Gray's arms, and immediately began to take it the wrong way. "Oh, Gray-sama is embracing Juvia to show he cares!"
"W-What…!?" Gray immediately released Juvia, rubbing the back of his head. "I was trying to stop you from killing her…"
.
"I can feel the movement of the wind…." Wendy thought to herself while closing her eyes, taking in the energy she felt from the wind into her being. "If I can just control it with my movements, I'll make things easier for everyone…I have to focus…."
"Agh…" Carla had to keep still, despite how much of a sitting duck she was she needed to remain still so Wendy could focus. One flying assailant attempted to take them out there, but luckily Laxus had them covered and flew in with a powerful electrical kick. "Whew…Thanks, Laxus…!"
"Don't thank me; I'm doing what whatever I can to ensure the kid can focus…" Laxus replied as lightning enveloped his body once again and he flew off to rejoin the battle.
"Just a little longer…" Wendy mumbled.
The shift in the winds became apparent soon enough; the turbulent currents faded, and it was clear this caught the winged assailants off guard as they attempted to ride the wind, only to fail and be caught off guard by the simultaneous attacks of the Fairy Tail wizards. "Wendy's plan is working!" Mirajane said while turning her head to Wendy's direction.
"Finish them off, Wendy!" Natsu grinned.
"Sky Dragon's…." Wendy began while raising her arms; in the middle of her incantation, her body began to give off a bright azure glow, completely unfamiliar to everyone. "Wing Slash!" Throwing her arms down, a violent hurricane of wind expelled from the young girl's arm, completely swallowing the assailants, sending them hurtling away just as Freed dispelled the barrier. After such a feat, Wendy panted heavily, glancing around at her body. "W-What was that light…?"
"The turbulence is gone." Ena stated. "We can move again. Thank you, everyone. I apologize for the actions of those people…they will recover soon enough."
"You know them?" Erza asked while returning to the ship.
"They were…" Ena started, but something caught her attention. "…Everyone, get to the ship! NOW!"
"Eh…?" Ena's sudden shift in tone caught Wendy's attention. Before she knew it, something faster than a bullet flew by, knocking her from Carla and into the sky stunned.
"WENDY!" Cynthia acted on pure instinct. Leaping onto the railing of the ship before leaping right off, aiming for Wendy without any second though.
"CYNTHIA!?" Erza's eyes widened before leaping after Cynthia, still in her Black Wing Armor. "That girl…!"
"Carla, wake up!" Cynthia exclaimed, snapping Carla out of her dazed state.
"Wha!?" Carla took a second to realize what happened; she was falling and Wendy wasn't in her arms. Without a second thought, she flew to Cynthia's back to keep her in the air. "Where's Wendy!?"
"Over there!" Cynthia pointed, and the two immediately made their way over to Wendy as quickly as possible, but the wind was against them, forcing them at a slow pace.
"Ngh…" Wendy shook her head, bringing herself back to her senses. She was a in a free fall, but that wasn't even the worse part. She could see something rapidly approaching her; without thinking she knew she had to defend herself. Rearing her arm back as wind began to surround it, she waited for the right moment…."Sky Dragon's Claw!" She swung, but it was a miss before she even through the move. The figure moved behind her and slashed her back, bringing forth a near scream of pain from Wendy as she spiraled around. Catching herself in the air, she found herself above the mysterious attacker. Trying once more, she now aimed an upside down kick towards the foe, unleashing a spiral of wind towards them. "Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang!" Was this one a hit? No, far from it. Another miss before she could see what happened. "Agh…Sky Dragon's…ROAR!" Opening her mouth, the sky dragon unleashed a tornado down to her attack, also using it to rise into the air. At the same time, the attacker mirrored her actions, unleashing an even bigger hurricane in Wendy's direction. The two roars clashed, and it wasn't long before Wendy's was overpowered. A scream of pain escaped the young girl as she was thrown upwards, feeling the attack rip through her. She passed out at some point, now beginning to fall back to the sky.
"Nasir, enough…!" Ena left the helm of the ship and dove off herself, similar wings sprouting from her back as she flew towards Wendy, blocking what could've been the life ending blow with her own arm. Wendy's attacker was a large male with white hair, tan skin and blue eyes, using a robe to conceal his appearance.
"WENDY…!" Cynthia caught the injured Wendy in her arms, glaring towards this Nasir character. "You…"
Erza flew in front of Cynthia, placing one hand out to stop Cynthia from moving while the other had the blade pointed towards Nasir. "What was your purpose for this? You should know you won't be let off easy for hurting one of our comrades." Following Erza was Natsu and Happy and Mirajane.
"…" Nasir glanced towards Ena, wearing a skeptical look. "My skies were invaded, and I felt the need to defend my territory. I didn't realize these people were with you, Ena. My apologies."
"Sorry doesn't heal Wendy!" Cynthia yelled, feeling her flames starting to flare up.
"Cynthia." Erza voice was stern. It caused Cynthia to calm down a little; she was holding Wendy after all and couldn't risk injuring her more.
"It seems you've taken care of all my men…me injuring one of your comrades will suffice as equal compensation." Nasir nodded before flying off. "I suppose I'll be seeing you at the castle if you are the ones Ena chose. A little bit of a shame, but oh well…"
"I…" Cynthia's hold on the unconscious Wendy increased.
"Carla, get them back onto the ship please…" Mirajane asked and Carla nodded, carrying Cynthia and Wendy with some difficulty back to the ship.
"Who does that asshole think he is!?" Natsu growled. "Tch…" He then turned to Ena, pointing at her wings. "And why do you have those!? What are you!?"
"…" Ena remained silent, making her way back to the ship with everyone else. "I will explain that in due time. Just continue to trust me for a little while longer, please." Once back on the ship, it began moving once again. "We're almost at our destination." The clouds ahead parted, revealing a floating island off in the distance.
"Whoa…!?" This caught everyone's attention even though they were told of it before.
"What's the name of this place? I've never seen it before…" Makarov asked Ena.
"This is the Isle of the Dragons…" Ena responded.
Mii looked on towards the island with a serious visage. So many years later, and the fabled land was within her sight at long last. "Finally..." She thought to herself.
.
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Another startling revelation has been made before the Fairy Tail wizards! Floating island in the sky that is the home of dragons? What else will be revealed to them?
Next time: Isle of the Dragons!