Surprisingly, we did not encounter any more mishaps in our escape from Mercurius. We even managed to return back to Crime Sorciere's hideout in the mountain without getting detected by anyone. It really was a miracle.

"Who are you people?! How dare you-mfph!"

I simply stuffed a bundle of cloth into Arcadios' mouth and dragged him to somewhere out of sight in the cave where we hid ourselves from the world. We had taken precautions when it came to restraining them because we were aware that Arcadios and the princess both possess magic. They wouldn't be able to access their magic anytime soon, not with how I had stamped those seals on them with my Light magic. Now, they are nothing better than magic-less civilians.

I left the princess alone with Crime Sorciere and knocked Arcadios out when it became obvious that he's the type to stubbornly not breathe a word about the secrets he knew. They wouldn't know how we looked because we hid our faces using the hoods of our cloaks and in my case, I even weaved a simple illusion around me that even if my hood were to fall, the face that they would see wouldn't be the face of Fairy Tail Argus.

"Got nothing out of her?"

"She's stubborn," Meredy shrugged her shoulders and the Princess continued to glare at us in defiance when I returned to reconvene with the three other mages. One look at her and I knew that Crime Sorciere was too gentle with their methods, and they were supposed to be ex Dark Mages.

Fiore's really too peaceful. If it were Alvarez… Nevermind.

"Where's Arcadios?! What did you do to him?!"

"You guys," Ignoring the Princess, I pointed to all three of them to emphasise my point, "suck."

"Like you are any better."

"Watch me," I growled, still feeling a little pissed because today was simply not my day. Fighting a Wizard Saint, trespassing into the Royal Palace only to get discovered, kidnapping a Princess… I really woke up on the wrong side of the bed today and who knows what other kinds of shit might happen from here onwards.

"What are you- Ah!" The Princess yelped in pain when I grabbed her by her hair and proceeded to drag her out of the cave, ignoring the look of disapproval Crime Sorciere was sending me under the shadow of their hoods. I threw her onto the ground outside, lifted her head up so that she could see the capital from the top of the mountain where we currently are which overlooks Crocus. It's a very beautiful sight from here, especially at night.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" I lifted her head up by her jaw, forcing her to look in the direction of Crocus. "A real pity that it might go up in flames soon."

"You won't have your way-"

"You know what I think about Fiore?" I interrupted the Princess as I released her, giving her a short break as she heaved for air from where she was kneeling on the ground to finally be able to catch her breath, hands tied behind her back. "It's a comparatively peaceful place, better than my homeland, at least. When I first arrived I thought that maybe, I could build a new life for myself here, until I learnt that the rulers of this country are dabbling around with things relating to Zeref."

The look on the Princess' face was grim but still, she did not utter a single word.

"Have you seen it, the things that the remnants of Zeref's artefacts or magic could do? Because I did," I continued with my monologue, knowing that the Princess was listening. "Believe it or not, Zeref's legacy could be found in most parts of the world. I've seen the aftermath of the massacres his demons conducted in his name, I've seen magical relics containing traces of his black arts losing control, I've fought against people who wielded cursed weapons that were said to be once made by or enchanted by the Black Mage himself and every single time, without fail, a tragedy would happen. This time, it would seem that this same tragedy will befall Crocus, all because their little foolish Princess couldn't keep her curiosity to herself and decided that messing around with whatever Zeref left behind was a fun thing to do."

"You don't know anything!" The Princess had an outburst, just as I expected her to. She's still too inexperienced, still too foolish and naive, still too susceptible to be goaded and led around by the nose by someone who knows how to fuck around with people's minds. At least this time, she's starting to talk.

"I don't know anything?" I let out a mocking huff at her words. "Fine, let me lay it out for you what I know. You are gathering magic, a large quantity of magic. You had been doing it for years, to power up something left behind by Zeref for whatever purpose or reason and I'm betting it relates to that Eclipse Project you were talking about with your knight. That cannot be anything good, because by my estimation the quantity of magic you collected this entire time alone would already be enough to blast the entire capital to smithereens, and you are using it to fuel Black magic. In case you still don't understand what Black magic means, my dear foolish Princess, people will die."

"I know that better than you do!" The Princess snapped back, now obviously agitated and not in her best state of mind after I had successfully riled her up. This is good for me, because my words must have provoked something within her for her to lose her sense of reason and as long as I can get her to continue talking, I will eventually be able to fish out the information we need.

"So what, your people are a necessary sacrifice to your grand plan? What will it be, I wonder? Reviving another demon from the Books of Zeref, invoking a spell that could level an entire city? Bring back the dead? And here I am, foolishly thinking that the rulers of Fiore at least have a decent head on their shoulders. In the end, you just showed me that you are no different from the power hungry tyrants I had met on my journey. I'm disappointed."

I shook my head and gave a long sigh to add more credence to my tale of half-truths. As long as I can keep her in this agitated state, continuing to poke and provoke her, something will show itself eventually.

The Princess looked like she would bite me and drink my blood dry if she could, that was how angry she looked. She was about to say something but to my surprise, suddenly went still as a look of shock and surprise marred her face.

"Wait… You guys… You are not a follower of Zeref?"

"You only just realised? We wouldn't go to all this trouble if we were, would we? I'm starting to worry about Fiore's future if her future monarch is this daft, my dear Princess."

The Princess continued to glare at me, as if staring at me would allow her to dissect my true identity or learn something new, until she finally spoke again.

"What is Zeref to you?"

"My personal opinion? Anything relating to him is just bad news. We make it a point to remove anything that has relations to him as long as we have knowledge of their existence," I replied because there's no need to lie to her about this aspect of Crime Sorciere. "And then lo and behold, imagine our shock and surprise when we learnt that we sensed traces of Zeref's magic in Crocus, and imagine our disbelief when we learnt that the Princess was the one behind everything, thinking that messing around with Black magic was a brilliant idea. I truly woe the day you wear that crown."

The Princess stared at me with wide eyes as if in disbelief, and to my surprise this time, started to laugh.

"So you've finally gone insane."

"No… I… I just…" The Princess actually had to make an effort to take a deep breath to stop herself from laughing before she continued. "I'm glad, I'm really glad."

"Glad?"

"That we are on the same side," The Princess tried to blink away the wetness in her eyes that came from laughing too hard earlier. "The four of you wish to eradicate anything that has relations to Zeref, and trust me when I say that I support that goal. I wouldn't have resorted to relying on the Eclipse Project if I really had no other choice."

"You got to be more specific, my dear Princess," I replied, glad that my impromptu tale of lies and half-truths finally got her to willingly share the information we need. To trust me just like that and taking my words at face value simply goes to show that she's a foolishly naive girl, and this is the person that is going to be the future monarch of the country? There's still a lot for her to learn.

"Very well," The Princess conceded. "Let's just start from the Eclipse Project, and what's it for."


"So you are telling us, that you plan to use this so-called Eclipse Gate to… travel back in time, and to send people to kill Zeref before he attains immortality?"

"That is Plan A, if all goes well," the Princess nodded. "Like this, everything that is going to happen in the future can be prevented, and so would all the tragedies in the past that occurred due to Zeref's existence."

"You are changing the entire timeline that resulted in everything that's happening in the present. Ever heard of the Time Paradox?" Ultear could no longer remain silent as she finally made her opinions known. As a Time Mage herself, she knows better than anyone about the consequences of messing around with time.

"It's either that, or we have to face an army of ten thousand dragons," Hisui E. Fiore reiterated herself. "Of course, we could rely on Plan B, which is to use the Gate as a magical cannon to wipe the dragons out, but I really do hope that it wouldn't come to that because even I have no idea just how reliable that cannon might be."

"You guys ever heard of this Eclipse Gate before?" I looked towards Ultear and Meredy, because they were from Grimoire Heart and that was a guild whose sole goal was to harness Zeref's power for their own. If anyone in this world would know about this bit of information, it would be them.

Unfortunately, both Ultear and Meredy shook their heads.

"I assure you that it's true," Hisui insisted. "I wouldn't risk my people if I don't have good reasons to believe that ten thousand dragons would arrive on the last day of the games. I-"

"Your so-called "informant from the future", who is he, or her?" I cut her off before she could carry on because if there's one thing I'm certain, it's that although this girl has her heart in the right place, she's really too naive. If I, a stranger and her kidnapper, was able to get her to willingly spill all her plans with a partially made up story, I wouldn't be surprised if somebody else did the same to her too for her to embark on this Eclipse Project. She's too trusting and that is not a good quality to have for a future ruler.

"You don't trust me."

"I trust you, but I don't trust your informant. There's a very distinct difference between the two," I corrected her. "You said Celestial Spirit mage is a key factor to your plans?"

"To be more precise, it's the zodiac keys that I need for the plan to succeed."

"I see," I nodded as I stood up and walked off.

"Where are you going?"

"To verify something," I replied to Jellal's question. "To ensure that our information is as accurate as possible so that shit doesn't hit the fan."

I took off into the night sky in a ray of light, heading straight for Crocus. Whatever the naive Princess revealed to us had answered most of our queries, but I think I finally remembered just what made me so uneasy back at the mines.

Her words made me remember something. I don't remember the how, or the why, or what on earth led her to believe that what she was doing was the right thing to do, but now I am sure that I remembered that in canon, she was being used. I don't remember the details but I think I remembered that she was tricked into believing that she was doing the right thing. That is something that I am now very certain of but sadly, have no evidence to prove my hunch.

So that's what I will do. It's fortunate that we managed to learn all of these on the first day of the games because now it will give us the precious time that we will need in order to prepare. The fastest way to stop this would be to provide indisputable proof to the Princess that whatever she was doing, it was wrong.

When Fairy Tail was just a fictional series, it was a tale of magic, of dragons and Celestial Spirits. As such, the answers we seeked would definitely be hidden there. Fortunately, I know where to find myself a Celestial Spirit mage because although I don't remember the extent of her family's involvement, I do have some very vague memories of Lucy's family, the Heartphilias, also being involved with Zeref to some extent. Even if Lucy is ignorant to that particular part of her family's history, I'm sure her spirits would know something. They are beings that have existed since the formation of the stars and the heavens. Aquarius would definitely know something, seeing that she is one of the spirits that has been with Lucy the longest.

It wasn't hard trying to locate where the morons of my guild were at, partying at a local bar like there was no tomorrow. I simply strode through the door and immediately spotted my target, the reason for me being here. Her bright blonde hair was too eye-catching.

"Oh, ARGUS! You are finally here! Come, have a-"

"Later," I replied and walked towards Lucy with hurried steps. I guess the tone in my voice had conveyed to Macao that I am really in no mood to party because he immediately stopped trying to get me to drink with him.

I grabbed onto Lucy's wrist, startling her and also the Fire Dragon Slayer beside her.

"Sorry, but I'm gonna borrow you for a sec."

"E-Eh?"

"Hey, it's Argoo! FIGHT ME!" Natsu yelled the moment he spotted me. His feline companion joined in on his partner's shenanigans instantly, trying to act as referee.

"Natsu versus Argoo! Round one, start!"

"Fire Dragon Slayer's-"

'Give me a boost.'

'Sure.'

I don't have time to deal with his antics. I pointed a finger at the trigger happy pyro and a huge ray of light promptly blasted him through the roof of the bar before he disappeared into the night sky like a twinkling star. Not sure where he will end up, but knowing just how tough this idiot is, he will be fine.

"AND HE LOST!"

I ignored Happy's shocked scream and pulled Lucy out with me, also ignoring Makarov's frustrated scream about damages and the money needed for repairs for what I just did earlier. His scream rose in volume when I simply kicked a hole into the nearest wall to drag Lucy out with me.

"H-Hey! W-Wait up! Where are you bringing meeeeee-!"

Lucy screamed and held onto me for dear life when I suddenly took off into the skies and pulled her along for the ride. God, she really has a very healthy pair of lungs. Her scream never once stopped throughout the entire flight and I was wondering if she had no need to breathe at all.

"W-Where are we?!" Lucy exclaimed when we finally arrived at Crime Sorciere's little hidey hole and our feet finally touched some solid ground.

"I really don't have time to explain," I replied and pulled her into the cave, finally allowing her to meet the people within.

"You brought her here?!" Was Jellal's first reaction when he spotted Lucy.

"She said Celestial Spirit mage would be a critical component of the plan, and I do happen to know where to find one," I replied.

"Lucy Heartphilia," Hisui mentioned Lucy's name in an audible whisper. "The holder of ten zodiac keys."

"Um, and you are…?" Lucy asked hesitantly because she spotted how the Princess was sitting on the ground with her hands tied behind her back.

"The Princess of Fiore," I answered the question for her, and I'm glad that I had the foresight to cover my ears with my hands when Lucy screamed a deafening "WHAAAAAAT?!" at me.

"Yes, we kidnapped her from the palace," I affirmed Lucy's suspicions and she looked as if her soul had left her body when the realisation finally hit her, her face paler than the moonlight shining outside.

"K-Kidnapping… a… Princess…"

"Deal with it," I snapped my fingers right in front of her face, forcefully bringing her attention back to us once more. "We have a crisis on our hands here, Lucy, and we need the help of you and your spirits. Can you do this or not?"

That seemed to finally sober her up.

"Crisis?"

"I will explain later. First, do you have any idea what the Eclipse Gate is?"

"Uh, no…? I never heard of anything like that before."

"Okay, fine. Would your spirits know anything about it?"

"I can try asking. I have a spirit whose expertise lies with searching for information as long as it concerns both the spirit world and the human world," Lucy offered as she took out a silver key. "Open, Gate of the Southern Cross! Crux!"

A spirit whose head was a literal giant metal cross appeared upon Lucy's summon. Lucy wasted no time in asking Crux the same question which I asked her, and the spirit fell asleep right after.

"Crux will get back to us with answers when he wakes up," Lucy told us before she took another glance at the Princess. "So, what's going on here, Ar-"

I immediately slapped a hand on her mouth.

"You idiot. Don't, say, my, name. Or I will kill you."

Lucy was definitely not dumb like Natsu is. She took a look at how all of us were hiding our faces with the hoods of our cloaks, at how Hisui was tied up, and how we revealed that we had kidnapped her, and she immediately drew her own conclusion.

"Am I allowed to know why you decided to…" She gestured to the tied up Princess with her hands, and said Princess looked very unbothered at the fact that she was now kidnapped after all that had happened thus far, believing us to be on her side. In a way, I guess that's true for now.

"In short, we found her messing with Black magic relating to Zeref. She told us she's desperate because that is the only thing she knew that might be able to help Fiore fend off the crisis that would happen on the last day of the games. We decided that we need more information, and Celestial Spirits or their summoners might know such information, so I seeked you out."

"Crisis? What kind-"

"Ten thousand dragons will appear on that day to destroy Fiore," Hisui stated calmly and this time, Lucy really looked as if she might faint on her feet.

"T-Ten t-thousand… dragons?!"

"Yes," Hisui nodded her head once with the grace and elegance as expected from a member of the Royal Family. "Your powers as a Celestial Spirit mage will be needed then."

"O-Okay…?" Lucy winced, obviously still very lost and confused about this entire situation and I don't blame her for it. I would be too if I was in her shoes.

"I'm glad," Hisui actually smiled and I fought the urge to roll my eyes even though she wouldn't have seen it either way. "That there are people in my country who are still willing to do the right thing, even if it means going up against authority. I'm glad that this misunderstanding occurred."

"Naive fool," I cannot help but let out a snort and Lucy elbowed me frantically to keep my mouth shut. This Princess… really is too naive. That's not a quality that a ruler should have.

"After we resolved this entire situation, would you guys be willing to work for me?"

"To offer your kidnappers a job… You either are a fool, or an idiot."

"Zeref's legacy had been a pain in the neck for a long time now and as much as I'm ashamed to say this, nothing the Royal Family had done so far seemed to be effective," Hisui elaborated as if she hadn't heard my words. "On the other hand, the four of you seemed to have made much more progress in this matter where we had failed. Furthermore, you are doing this for the betterment of the country, so isn't it natural for me to want to try bringing you to my side?"

"Leave me out of this," I muttered and took another glance at the sleeping Celestial Spirit, who still didn't look as if it would wake up anytime soon with the information we needed.

"By the way, may I know your names?"

"You really have a few screws loose up there- oof!" The air within my lungs was knocked out of me when Meredy smacked me on the back of my head, Jellal elbowed the left side of my ribs, Lucy doing the same for my right side, while Ultear pulled on my left ear.

"What's that for?!"

"Mind your words, she's the Princess!"

"So?"

"She's the Princess!" Lucy was on the verge of screaming at me. "I don't want to be executed just yet!"

"And I couldn't keep referring you to "he" or "you" or "hey", could I? And there's four of you," Hisui added nonchalantly with an innocent blink of her eyes.

"Fine," I conceded because the Princess does have a point. "Let's see… You can call me Invel, that taller woman there is… Dimaria. The shorter one is Brandish, and you can call the guy there… August."

"Those are definitely fake names."

"Unlike you, Princess, I'm not naive, nor am I stupid."

"AR-mmph!" I covered Lucy's mouth with my hand once more when she was about to let slip my name with another of her crazy screams.

"I think I found somebody else who is dumber than the Princess," I said dryly as I gave Lucy a dirty look, who realised that she had nearly slipped up once again.

"So… Invel," Hisui carried on with our conversation as though this was her own home and she's the host of this place. "What would I need to do to have you and your friends work for me?"

"You can't be serious," Meredy finally voiced her own opinion with her arms crossed. "I don't want to agree with the rude guy there, but in case you haven't realised, we kidnapped you."

"But like I said, this is all due to a misunderstanding, wasn't it?" Hisui cocked her head slightly to the side. "The only reason why you did that was because you were worried that I might do something to harm the country, even if it meant suspecting the Royal Family to be the culprit. And in a way, I guess you were right, we were messing with Black magic, something that we couldn't claim to fully understand. I need people like you to help me, people who aren't afraid to point out my wrongs when you have good reasons to believe that I might have strayed off the right track and are not afraid to do what is right. Fiore needs people like you."

"It's official, she's gone bonkers. We might have loosened a few screws in her head when we snuck her out of the palace," I said with a sigh and Meredy smacked the back of my head once more for the rude remark. Not that I really care though.

"No, now that I think about it, I think she has a point," Lucy clearly disagreed with me. "Look, Ar- I mean, Invel, think about it. If I were in her shoes, a Princess and the future monarch of the country, before I succeed the throne I would need to first build up my own personal faction who would share the same view as I do and aid me. It's the natural thing to do."

"The thing is, we are her kidnappers. What's stopping her from going back on her word and putting bounties on our heads the moment we let her go?"

"Uh…"

"That's true, you have nothing but only my word to go by," Hisui admitted, "but the only thing we can do is to trust each other. Just like how I can only trust that you would not take my life where I stand-"

"You are sitting on the ground."

"- you can only trust that I would not go back on my word after you release me."

"If we release you."

"You will," Hisui declared with a smile. "There's no benefit in keeping me hostage once we resolve this crisis, and you wouldn't want to have the full might of Fiore's military hounding after you once my father realised that I'm gone. You are smart enough to know this."

"So? If we kill you right here, right now, nobody will know."

"You won't. The downsides of doing so outweigh the benefits by far."

"Ar- Invel, stop messing around with her already," Jellal put a hand on my shoulder, signalling to me to put this stupid conversation to a stop. That spoilsport.

We waited for a while longer, and I was about to doze off from sheer boredom when Crux finally woke up. As Lucy had claimed, Crux really dug out the information we sorely need about the true nature of the Eclipse Gate. I knew I struck the jackpot by deciding to drag Lucy into this mess after Crux revealed to us what it knew because it proved that my suspicions were right.

This Princess really is a foolish naive girl.