It was the night before the grand final battle against the mighty Alvarez Empire. All of the Fairy Tail members had gathered at the guild, spending quality time with one another. The air was joyous and peaceful. It was quite a pleasant feeling. Everyone was doing their usual routine at the guild.
Natsu and Gray were fighting while Juvia affectionately cheered on her beloved. Cana drank from her large barrel of liquor and laughed. Erza sat peacefully, eating her favorite strawberry cake and Mirajane and Lisanna giggled as they watched the two boys squabble.
Happy ate some fish while sitting next to Lucy. He purred as Lucy patted his soft furry head. Lucy, herself, was discussing a new book she started reading with Levy. Gajeel sat right of her with a blank expression on his face. He tried his best to understand their conversation somewhat but failed miserably. He wasn't much of a book guy.
Wendy and Carla sat together, eating a meal, and enjoying each other's company as they have for years now. Wendy sweatdropped as she watched Natsu and Gray fight. It was only a matter until they bumped into the wrong person.
On the other side of the hall, Laxus relaxed with his arms behind his head and legs up on the table while listening to Freed explain his upcoming battle strategy. Bicslow paid no heed to them and instead played with his magic dolls.
Elfman was ranting about what it meant to be a man while Evergreen rolled her eyes in annoyance, explaining women also existed. But right before she could go into a rant, he was sent flying to the corner into group of members, knocking them over. They shrieked in surprise as the muscular man landed on top of them.
It didn't long before the entire guild erupted into a full-blown free-for-all.
Chairs, tables, and even people were flung across the room in an uproar. Everybody laughed and giggled as they beat each other down, temporarily forgotting the troubles that awaited them. After what seemed like an eternity, the fighting finally died down. The losers were Natsu and Gray, who were both knocked out by Erza.
Everyone returned to their group of friends. Once again, it felt like old times. Times that happened not so long ago. Little did they know of the horrors that awaited them from this night onward.
Natsu got up and rubbed the bruise on his head where Erza had bonked him. Everyone gathered around him in hopes that he would finally tell them his ultimate plan.
"So? What is this 'secret' plan of yours?" Erza asked. Natsu's demeanor revived itself at the mention of this. His eyes simply sparkled as he held his arm up, "Can't tell ya! If I did, it wouldn't be a secret anymore," he responded gleefully.
Happy, the Blue Exceed came out of nowhere and began confidently chuckling. Panther Lily crossed his little arms as he looked at him, "It seems you're on this big secret plan."
Happy just played it off, "You could say that."
Carla sweatdropped as she looked at the goofy blue cat, "I wouldn't look so proud. It isn't your secret, after all."
Natsu confidently explained his secret plan for defeating Zeref. The group of wizards around Natsu oohed in fascination. Natsu had one chance and he to make it count.
"Natsu is our ace in the hole," one guild member said. They all cheered for Natsu. He was their ultimate triumph card. He's the one who would be able to end the final battle and finally return peace to Fairy Tail.
Minutes later, the doors opened up, and Master Makarov and Mavis entered the guildhall. Everyone fell quiet and stared as the First and Seventh Master walk past them.
Makarov jumped onto the bar and sat down, "Gather around my children. We need to begin discussing the strategy to combat the Alvarez Empire."
The mood went from calm and quiet to serious and tense. Lucy decided to break the silence to ask Makarov an important question.
"Master?" She asked, an anxious look on her face, "Could you tell us what you know about who we're going to be fighting?"
His eyebrows furrowed, "Hm… I suppose I should. I will tell you the little information I know."
He stared at all his children. They all had mixed expressions. Some looked ready to fight, others scared, a few with blank faces, but most looked uneasy but nevertheless determined to defend their town and guild.
"First, Emperor Spriggan," he started, "He's known in Ishgal as the greatest of black wizards, Zeref. Under his command, he has handpicked a squad of top tier wizards called the Spriggan 12. In the year I spent there, I was only able to meet six of them. It's because the empire is vast. They are hardly ever in the same place at once."
The room was dead silent as Makarov began listing down the Spriggan 12 members and the roles they would possibly play in the invasion.
"First, there's The Winter General, Invel. He is Zeref's chief of staff and administrator."
Gray sat up in his chair. He whispered ice under his breath.
"As his title implies, it's thought that he uses ice magic, but I don't know any details."
"Next, It's The Desert King Ajeel. He's the sand wizard that we faced during our escape. He likes picking fights the most out of the Spriggan 12."
Natsu glared, remembering Ajeel nearly killed them all with ease. He's a dangerous threat, and he had to be defeated first if they wish to gain any small advantage.
"Then third, is Brandish the Nation Destroyer. I hear she isn't fond of battle, but apparently, she possesses enough power to make entire nations disappear."
Erza perked up when she heard this, "We came across her once on Caracol Island. It's my theory that she has the power to change the mass of objects."
"Fourth is The Warrior Queen Dimaria. I never heard of any magic mentioned with her but like the warrior goddesses of legend, and she's a female knight and a very skilled one at that."
"She's not a wizard, then?" Erza said as she comically stroked her chin.
"Fifth, The top-ranked Wizard Saint, God Serena. He is eccentric. His personality is considered a bit of disappointment. But all of that aside, I'm well aware of his strength."
The room filled with murmurs. "So the number one wizard we had, ran away to join the enemy?" asked Levy in disbelief. Makarov turned to her, "He is a traitor. If you encounter him, do not hesitate because he sure won't."
Levy gulped and nodded.
"Lastly, The Wizard King, August...He's the one,"
Everyone noticed the change of expression on Makarov's face to grim and fearful. He was hunched over and stared at the ground, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
"Even with what little I know, he's in a whole different class. None of the others even come close to his level of power!"
Everything had gone silent. Makarov continued, "From what I hear, he can use every kind of magic under the sun. He may even outdo Zeref himself in that respect."
"And those six are the only ones we know anything about. For the rest, I only know three names."
"They are Bloodman, Neinhart, and Wall."
Everyone in the room gasped, and the guild began to panic. Hearing about the might of the Alvarez Empire Army was horrifying. A few members even secretly contemplated running away.
Others were saying there was no hope. Amid the chaos, Mavis spoke up, "This is why we can't go into this battle without a plan. So I want all of you to listen very carefully."
"Zeref will strike with everything he has. According to all the information, I can gather, we are at no small disadvantage. This enemy is orders of magnitude stronger than any we've faced before."
She stopped. All of the guild members just stared at her. But her face lit up with newfound determination and hope, "We can't give up and run away. We have to fight our way through this with bravery and the strength of our bonds! Let's show them how strong our guild and family are!"
Even though the whole situation was terrifying, they couldn't just abandon their beloved guild. Fairy Tail is a place full of precious moments. Yes, it had it's fair share of good and bad memories but nobody wanted Fairy Tail to disappear once more. It was a family, and you don't leave your family behind! The guild erupted into cheers and roars of pride. It was time to for battle, and Fairy Tail rushed into preparation.
Somewhere across the ocean, Zeref stood silently on his deck of ship. Its destination heading straight to Fiore, Magnolia. Home of the infamous guild of Fairy Tail. Behind him, kneeled six of the Spriggan 12, patiently awaiting orders.
He kept his back turned but gave his speech, "We have two objectives tonight. The first objective is my top priority. To obtain the Fairy Heart located in the heart of their guild."
The 12 Shields nodded collectively.
"And the second objective," Zeref said, his voice trailing off. He radiated a humongous amount of dark magical power. The aura he gave off felt like heavy pressure that was slowly crushing the Spriggan 12. He glared into the distance.
"Is the annihilation of Ishgal. Just this once, humanity must be wiped out."
The Spriggan 12 rose to their feet and bowed, "Yes, your highness," they said in unison. He waved them off, and each of them went to take command of their legions.
'Mavis,' Zeref thought, 'I'll crush your pathetic guild and come for you. Fairy Heart will be mine.'