Wendy surged her magic out so that it touched Natsu and Yukino, both of whom took off at Erza's command.
"Ile Arms, Ile Vernier!"
Both moved with speed to almost match Erza's lightning. The Ethereal Witch quickly took to singling out Yukino by blasting magic toward her. The three other Hunter's Division Generals moved toward two targets who stayed stationary: Gray and Juvia.
That left the Oni guard exposed, and behind them, the Crystal Division Generals and their soldiers. Jellal seemed to be on top of that—they all focused their primary attention on him, anyway.
The Oni flared with purple eyes. Wendy stayed back, wary of jumping into the fight with them. One braced against Natsu's fiery punch with its shield, holding strong despite the power boost Wendy gave him. Erza cut across one's blade and then deflected another. Despite their size, they were able to move quickly, and could easily overwhelm the two if given the chance.
She continued to feed them through her magic, wary of Irene, who drifted atop the train near her.
"Go on, young lady," Irene said. "I won't interfere. I'm simply watching your magic. Impressive enchantments, and enhancements."
Natsu and Erza tore across the Oni but they hadn't taken one down yet. Irene hummed.
"Such a powerful force," Irene said. "Built to last, you know. I know you've poured your heart into these spells, Wendy, but what it is compared to truly lending a hand?"
"I don't think it's a good idea to turn my back on you," Wendy said. "Not while you're studying us like this."
Irene opened her hands and let her staff fall. "That's fair. But I've taken a vow of noninterference in this fight for now. I want to simply observe what my daughter and her friends are capable of."
Wendy almost forgot that Irene was Erza's mother, even though most of them didn't want to believe it. Still, it wasn't the time to think about it. It was time to focus.
She was so far from the fighting, watching it all play out. She reached out and managed to extend her spell to Erza while Yukino actually cut off from it. It was as if her own will was telling Wendy that she'd handle Minerva alone—or, with her Spirits as her support.
Wendy let it go. Natsu and Erza did need the help, it seemed, which was strange to think. Natsu and Erza were the most capable fighters in the entire world. They'd singlehandedly helped in sending Crocus into a huge tizzy.
But why couldn't they break through the Oni guard?
Wendy's eyes widened, and she saw Irene smirk in the corner of her eye.
The Anti-magic didn't simply involve their weapons. It was their armor. It billowed with anti-Ether nano power that slowly chipped at Natsu and Erza's strength. A mere stream of magic from Wendy wasn't going to do anything.
Wendy closed her fists. Right.
"Deus Eques!" she called, and placed a hand on her chest.
Strength flared in her. She shot forward from the top of the train, ignoring Irene. Her friends needed her. Irene was a problem for another time.
Wendy swung in, casting, "Sky Dragon Wing Attack!" as she slammed into a guard about to pummel Natsu. Natsu, instead, took the chance to knock another back.
"We're going about this all wrong," Wendy said. "It shouldn't be you guys on the front line right now! It needs to be me!"
"What?" Erza asked.
Wendy nodded. "They're slowly draining your magic. But if I keep their focus, you two can fire at range at them. Hit them with precise strikes so that you can recover your magic between them and come back for another."
"No way! You think you can hold the line against ten of these things?"
The Oni all focused on her. Wendy set her stance and let her magic flow easily.
"You've done it for me," Wendy said. "When I needed you. Let me do this! You have to trust me!"
She turned, her eyes pleading, to her friends. Their hesitance was gone. Erza nodded, Natsu too, and they both leaped back. Erza took up position on the top of the train, away from her mother, and Requipped, this time into her Giant Armor, taking up a massive lance that'd easily skewer any of the Oni guards.
Happy got the plan from Natsu, who didn't have many high-impact range spells that wouldn't catch Wendy in their blast. Instead, he flew away with Natsu, then turned, and started rocketing back at top speed. Natsu wouldn't need an arrow.
He'd simply become one.
The Oni moved their attention down to Wendy, and all launched their assault. Well, all but one. A lance blew off one's head and it immediately toppled over. Wendy blasted the Oni closest to her with a Sky Dragon Roar to knock it back a few steps and tee it up for it to be obliterated by Natsu. Happy continued, then turned around again.
Eight to go.
And then all moved to Wendy at once.
So, she became like the wind, dodging and weaving through their spears, swords, and shields. All the while, she felt the tug on her own magic, at her very spirit. She continued to pour her power out, to purify the air, to make it so she could outlast and beat back the anti-Ethernano particles.
Two more down as Erza and Natsu finished off another set. Wendy had to block yet one more strike. Beads of sweat appeared. Breathing became difficult. But he didn't stop moving. She couldn't. So far, her presence continued to be a nuisance to the Oni.
She had to launch an attack at one that managed to slip by another, deflecting the attack into another Oni before Erza's lance killed them both, and Natsu destroyed one more. How many were left? Wendy wasn't sure. She danced back and the Oni pursued.
She blocked one shield with her magic, feeling it quickly burst out of her control while the particles ate away at her. She blew more air around her. It was so beautiful, the wind that surrounded her. It'd breathe life into any of her friends, but they had to be away.
Wendy had to be the shield this time, the one to hold back the mighty titans that'd look to crush them. And as those titans fell, as Wendy danced in the beautiful light of day, she thought only of the happy days when they were all together, when they showed her that her strength came from them and their faith in her, even when she doubted herself.
At last, she slid to a halt, falling to a lone knee, sweat pouring all around her. A massive knight collapsed by her, the purple eyes burning out to a solid black, like the rest of its armor. Wendy heaved in another breath and smiled.
She held.
Briar's clones approached at speed, but Dobengal was quicker, moving with masterful precision across the battlefield in an attempt to dodge Gray's attacks. He stepped back, moving toward Araña as the woman attempted to latch him into a massive spider web.
Gray swung his arms down. "Ice-Make: Wall!"
The giant wall appeared in front of him and blocked the web, forcing Dobengal to take a step back and reassess where to go, while Briar scrambled over the wall, diving down on Gray with multiple daggers. Gray watched and didn't move.
"Come on," he muttered, bracing, "just a little closer."
Araña dashed around the wall. Gray closed his fist.
"Go!" he shouted, and from the soaking ground around him, Juvia launched up, a furious wave that slammed into both Araña and all of Briar's clones. He opened his hand, and the two women froze at once.
Quickly, he dropped the wall of ice. Dobengal wasted no time in throwing darts, probably poisonous, at them, but Juvia launched in front, catching the blow. Gray would reprimand her in a second as he stepped forward and managed to make Dobengal slip, then slammed an Ice-Make: Prison down on him, locking him down.
He sprinted for Juvia, who'd fallen and lay still. No! Had the darts been poisoned?
He turned her over. Her hair splayed over her face. It was—remarkably soft, her skin, her face. Her hair. He brushed it aside, looking for the wounds, but they weren't there.
Where—
Juvia lurched up, holding his face with two hands, and hugged him.
"My darling, my love, you came to rescue me!"
"Are you okay?" he asked. She wasn't letting go.
"Of course," she said and looked at her torso. "Oh? The darts? They simply moved through me, darling. I'm made of water. How could they harm me?"
Gray slumped back and was surprised to find a sigh of relief leave him. Of immense relief.
Jellal turned to the gathered Generals. He recognized their sigils, their lapels, their rank. Recognized their power. The Crystal Division was one of the quieter ones in the Twilight Empire. The Hunter's Division one would assume was the truly silent one, but everyone knew to fear them and their reach from the shadows.
It was the Crystal Division that held the brutes, the ones capable of besieging an enemy fortress or stronghold and holding for months or weeks.
Jellal would know. He fought against enough of them to remember.
Most of them sniggered. He still had his cloak up and knew that, though it wasn't much, his appearance had changed during his time on Edolas. He was slimmer, his hair longer, and he discarded almost all of his clothes from Earth Land. He wore meager traveling man's clothes, nothing befitting a warrior like Erza nor a former guild wizard-like Gray or Natsu.
To them, to these touted Generals, Jellal was a man who fell from the sky and promised victory. How many of those had they seen killed?
Jellal raised a hand toward them, then to the invisible stars. The daylight was bright, unobscured by clouds.
"Let's just gut this guy," a guttural voice said.
Magic of all earthen elements rose up around Jellal. The very ground he stood upon shook.
Once, maybe, even with all his might, Jellal would've wavered and contemplated a different approach. He did, indeed, consider a different spell. Yes, the new one would do well.
He held his ground, even as two of them moved forward. A weak Maker wizard was among their rank, he recognized, as was a wizard capable of turning any blade of grass into a formidable weapon of war.
"Jiu Lixing," Jellal said, permitting his body to sing as it'd done when he used Meteor to race from the Edolas portal to the train station.
Prior to that, it'd been over a year since Jellal cast a spell. A year, yet he knew his spells as well as he did the moment he abandoned Earth Land. And the magic remembered him, as it'd lay dormant in his very soul.
In that time, though, it still grew. It didn't take a year off.
Contrary to what some, particularly those in the Empire wanted to believe, magic did not come about purely because of might. Jellal took the lessons he learned from Fairy Tail to heart, and dedicated his passing moments in Edolas to honing his magic through his heart and mind. He contemplated it, took care of himself, he progressed through meditation.
Sure, there was the physical training of it—which Jellal knew he'd have to exemplify as another General moved around his spell to him—but that was far less critical than the spiritual side of it. Both came together to create the aura around him that, it seemed, still had no effect on the Generals.
Good.
Let them be wiped out by their own hubris.
Jellal happily caught the fist of the incoming General while his nine magical swords lanced through three of his allies. Jellal knocked him aside as he darted in, his body brimming with magic. An explosion wizard? Probably.
Jellal side-stepped his fist, which launched out an explosion of pure stone. It'd have crushed Jellal, like an oncoming train. Jellal punched the General under the jaw.
"Abyss Break!"
The magic circle, small this time, formed at Jellal's open hand, and then the dark blast shot through the General, sending him flying away, far beyond anyone's line of sight.
Meteor kicked back in as the Generals realized what was going on, but it was too late for them. Jellal punched one across the face, then quickly took to the skies, feeling the air race through his hair.
Yes.
He'd missed this.
Not the death, not the fighting. Those were sacrifices he'd have to make up for later, those were consequences for later contemplation.
In that moment, as Jellal watched Erza in her full splendor lead Fairy Tail—and Yukino, which was still odd to him—toward their inevitable victory, Jellal felt alive. He felt the sun and sky greet him like an old friend several decades removed after he'd been lost to so much shadow for so long.
Seven dots lined the sky until a consolation connected them. Jellal landed.
"Grand Chariot!"
The Generals and soldiers tried to run. Jellal stood as the heavens rained down upon them. He placed the heels of his palms together, forming nine points on his fingers.
"Orion!"
The magic shot out of his hands, eclipsing the soldiers making a run for it. They ran no further, littering the ground as their Generals did.
Jellal lowered his arms, not even having broken a sweat.
Yeah.
It was good to be back. And soon, even more of the Empire would know he was back for good.
Minerva's laugh worked at unsettling Yukino while she pursued Minerva away from all the fighting that Fairy Tail was doing. Let them worry about all that.
Let this be a fight to determine the final fate of Sabertooth.
Yukino dove around landmines Minerva planted that would've erupted in her face. She jetted across the plain with blasts of water coming from her feet. Minerva howled a laugh while Yukino closed the gap between them, and launched an attack that Minerva easily deflected.
Yukino side-stepped two of Minerva's swings and then the Ethereal Witch blasted Yukino back. She was mad, speaking as if incoherently. Something about Rufus, about Orga...what was she even talking about?
She re-engaged her old ally. She hesitated to call Minerva a friend. Even at their best, the two were only ever colleagues, and Yukino was still pretty sure Minerva saw Yukino as some sort of competition, as she did all members of Sabertooth back in the day.
Yukino ducked under a strike, one that ran wild and away, exploding in the near distance. Yukino blasted Minerva back with a typhoon of heavy water, but Minerva quickly absorbed it into a spell and released it, pressurized, onto the battlefield, spilling mists everywhere.
Yukino flourished her Black Key. Ophiuchus, the Serpent.
Minerva attacked again, moving in with great speed as she darted from orb to orb, teleporting, constantly trying to keep Yukino on the back foot.
Yukino considered changing her Star Dress but didn't have the time as Minerva slammed her spell into her crossed arms and continued the barrage. Her attacks hurt but were wild. Most missed. Yukino kicked Minerva in the gut to back her off and summoned another torrent of water, but this time slammed it onto the ground, flooding their immediate area.
"Star Dress: Libra!"
In a golden light, Yukino's outfit changed and she danced away from Minerva's strong punch. Yukino twisted her arm up.
"Gravity Change!"
Minerva flipped over and soared into the air, along with all the rainwater Yukino poured into the ground that hadn't yet been absorbed.
"Open, Gate of the Twin Fish! Pisces!"
The mother-son duo appeared above, their scaly forms swirling in the air around Yukino as she quickly reverted the gravity back down. Minerva tried to save herself, but at that moment, the two fish transformed into their human forms and redirected all the water Yukino held in the air to Minerva, spraying her with a blast stronger than even Yukino had mustered.
Yukino increased the gravity around Minerva, forcing her to hit the ground even harder. Minerva vanished into the ground, into a portal. Yukino slid to a halt.
She punched behind her, decking Minerva in the face, and stunning the woman. She was resorting to horrible tactics. Why?
Minerva was a wise fighter, she was conniving. She was meant to be the best of the Sabertooth guild.
Ah.
But, she wasn't fighting her, was she? No.
Yukino was fighting a Minerva exhausted by how the Empire broke her, about how August used her. All that she said about killing Rufus, killing Orga...as much as she pursued it, it clearly ate at her to the point that she rushed into a fight against Yukino without giving any thought to how she'd win, only that she had to win.
So, Minerva, the Ethereal Witch, felt she had to fight recklessly.
Yukino wove around more spells and landed a decisive blow to Minerva's head, knocking the woman down. Yukino kept Minerva pinned to the ground by a heavy gravity field.
"It's over, Minerva," Yukino said.
Lights were going off like crazy behind her. Magic power flared. None of it was familiar, nor Imperial.
"You lost."
"I haven't. I can't."
"You can." Yukino pursed her lips, staring down at the woman. She was horribly pathetic. Not quite frail, but marred by a darkness not entirely of her own doing. But one she entirely accepted. Yukino balled a fist. "Or, you could've."
"Why bother? I am Captain of the Hunter's Division. Do you think this spell can hold me? You're wrong, Yukino! You have no idea what I'm capable of."
"I think I know exactly what you're capable of."
Once, Minerva was so stoic and proud. She was the example everyone in Sabertooth strode for.
But that was years ago. That was a different life.
Yukino was no longer the shy, quiet woman that stood behind Sting and accepted that she was, merely a tool for the Empire.
Minerva was no longer the big woman that stood for her own ideals and power.
Where Yukino found freedom in these new friends, Minerva eliminated any who could have possibly been hers to make way for a power that was never going to come.
"I don't pity you, Minerva," Yukino said. "And I don't hate you, the person. I hate what you are. What you represent. You're everything twisted and wrong that the Empire produces. So, I have to thank you. You took the fall where I might've."
"You don't deserve to be where you are. You should be dead!"
Yukino grimaced. "No. I don't."
She dropped her Star Dress, and the gravity around Minerva fell, too. Yukino sighed. What had to be done next was...inevitable.
"But you do."
Minerva moved, fast, but not fast enough. A bolt of magic ran through her head, knocking her back and killing her instantly. Minerva Orland, Ethereal Witch, Captain of the Hunter's Division, lay dead as the meager men and women on the battlefield behind Yukino, ones that nobody would remember, ones that Minerva certainly didn't know, but certainly treated as her lessers.
A goodbye fell upon Yukino's tongue, but she didn't utter it. She instead turned away, and let Minerva's corpse begin to rot beneath the shining sun.
Everyone gathered near the trains again. Irene, her staff smoking with some sort of red mist as she'd just randomly fired off magic, joined them. Yukino was slow to do so, and as Erza looked at her, she nodded.
Natsu wasn't sure what that was about but believed Yukino would be fine.
"Unfortunately, our train sustained heavy damage during the fighting," Irene said.
Jellal landed behind Gray and Juvia, perfectly fine. Happy was sagged over on Natsu's shoulder, and his own muscles ached from the repeated, perfect strikes on the Oni.
"Moving via this method will prove difficult," Irene said.
"We can't risk your boisterous teleportation again," Erza said. "It might be what tipped the Empire off to come find us."
"So bring it on, I say," Natsu said. "We can take 'em!"
"This was a meager force," Irene said. She sneered. "If I had to wager, I'd guess August is actually happy that some of these fools are out of his way. Weeds that had to be pruned."
Yukino seemed to take exception to that, as she shifted her gaze elsewhere and her shoulders slumped a bit. Wendy reached out and squeezed Yukino's hand. Yukino warmed.
"We can move on foot until we reach another station," Erza said. "If everyone is okay with that?"
Irene narrowed her eyes, then relaxed.
"That won't be necessary. I believe our ride is on their way."
A second later, a man emerged behind the group. Irene didn't turn to view them—she didn't have to—but all the others did.
Mest stood there, his eyes wide at the sight of Irene and Jellal, but the others were as happy as he was surprised to see him.
"I—oh. Um. Well, this makes sense."
"Long time no see!" Natsu exclaimed. He rushed toward Mest. "Come to pick us up?"
"I sensed several large powers coming in at once and Hisui sent me to inspect. I sort of suspected some of you but not Jellal, not..."
"Not hostile," Irene said, raising her hands. "If Queen Hisui wants to detain me, she's free to do so. Fruitless though it may be."
Natsu rolled his eyes. How the heck was this woman gonna keep saying she was Erza's mom if she kept up with this ego? Erza was nothing like that.
"Yeah," Mest said.
Erza gave him a curt nod, and he accepted the situation.
"I guess the mission to get Jellal was all good," Mest said. "Ready to go home? There's a few faces I'm sure would love to see you."
Natsu shrugged. "Sounds good to me. I was looking forward to beating up a few more Imperials but..."
Mest reached his hand out, and everyone grabbed a part of his arm. Even Irene, and as he held onto Mest, he shivered.
"I'll give you a little boost, so you don't feel the drag," she said.
Even Natsu shivered at that. Did she have to be so creepy?
They blinked away from the train station, and were, immediately, in an unfamiliar spot. It was a nice build—hey! This was a guild hall.
Natsu recognized all the trappings. The tables, the banners, the open space for wizards to tussle with one another over stupid arguments. He didn't recognize what guild it was—that was stuff for Lucy or Levy to figure out—nor any of the people, save for his friends. Not even Hisui was around.
It didn't take long for a familiar figure to walk up, though. Master Makarov, alongside Gajeel and Lily, who rested on Gajeel's shoulder. Gajeel nodded to the group but smiled quite malevolently when it came to Natsu.
Oh.
That couldn't be good.
"I'm happy you're all safe," Makarov said. He peered at Jellal. "Including you. Welcome."
"I'm glad the base is still standing," Jellal said. "And that you're in good health."
Makarov let out a heavy breath. "It's...yes. It's been a journey for most of us, no less you lot, I'm sure."
"Is Laxus around?" Natsu asked.
"Recovering," Makarov said. "He took on a member of the Spriggan Twelve by himself."
"And survived?" Irene asked. The group parted, revealing her to Makarov. He poorly held back a scowl. Did he recognize her?
"Yes," Makarov said. "Now, what is Irene Belserion doing with the rest of you?"
Erza stepped forward. "Apart from insisting she join us, neither for nor against us, she is also attempting to impart a story that she is my mother."
"And she's right."
Everyone stepped back, aghast. Irene bowed her head.
"Knowledge I—I did not know until now," Makarov said.
Natsu couldn't believe it. How'd he know, but, not know?
"An enchantment," Wendy muttered, looking at Irene. "You're also an Enchantment wizard, aren't you?"
Irene ignored the question. "I heard that Erza was roped into business at some sort of tower off the coast but when I inspected I did not find her there. I tracked her to a ramshackle little guild and told the Guild Master of our relationship. However, I soon wiped his memory of our meeting. I wanted to see how he'd react. It went poorly for him. So, I hid that information from him until he and I could reunite, and he could reconsider how to react."
"I would do so just as violently again," Makarov said. "A parent abandoning their child...that's a despicable act. But I won't attack you, Irene. Not if Erza is your guest."
Irene smiled. "A wise choice."
Mest had stepped away, probably to find Hisui and catch her up on everything they'd been up to.
"Natsu," Makarov said. "Everyone. Follow me. There's someone you must see."
"Someone else?" Gajeel asked.
Maybe Gajeel had only just arrived, too. He looked worn down—battle-beaten, and fatigued from...manual labor? What was that layer of soil on his clothes?
"Yes," Makarov said. "Come."
He led them to a small room with lots of maps and paper discarded. In the corner, huddled with a blanket and being held by a woman with pink hair and a bright disposition, was a blonde woman with the biggest brown eyes Natsu had ever seen.
She raised her head, and without another word, Natsu and Happy sprinted. Tears streaked down her face.
Lucy, Natsu, and Happy embraced. Happy and Lucy were a mess of sobbing while Natsu nuzzled into Lucy.
"We missed you!" Natsu exclaimed, sitting back.
Everyone rushed into the room. Wendy and Carla managed to get their hugs in as well.
"So, did you manage to get that Axel guy what good?" Gray asked.
Lucy continued sobbing into Natsu's chest, but they were not tears that fell easily. Nor happily. She gripped tighter to his vest. Her tears were hot, surging.
"Natsu..."
He wrapped his arms around her.
"What is it, Lucy?" he asked.
"My...my dad. Kip." She raised her head, at last, to the rest of the guild. "Levy."
Gajeel slammed his fist into the hallway wall. Lily stood in the doorway while Lucy continued to tell her story, of how she escaped.
But first, how Levy was there, with August, as a member of the Twilight Empire. Only for her to be vaporized right in front of Lucy, nothing to be done of it.
"You...idiot!" Gajeel shouted. "You idiot, pipsqueak!"
He covered his eyes. No. Of course he wasn't crying. He didn't...he couldn't...
"Levy, come on," Gajeel said as his chest got heavier. Everything was heavy, it was too heavy. He had to stay standing for her, but she was gone. What'd she even care? "Why'd you...why'd you have to go and be a hero?"
He punched the wall again. And again. And again, each punch becoming weaker, until he at last rested his head on the wall.
"Gajeel," Lily said, forcing Gajeel's gaze down. "I'm here."
"I know," Gajeel said and felt a tear slide down his face. It hit the ground, the same as Lily's. Same as the others in that room.
The throne room was quieter than usual. There were fewer officials. The greatest presence was August's, and he was joined, as usual, by Levy. The woman was damaged, now a reminder to all others that he would not be trifled with.
The rest of the Twilight Division, and Ajeel, stood with him. A few Oni lined the walls. Some trainees had been sent out with Minerva, but, as August finished telling Sonya, she, and the rest of the Hunter's Division, had been eradicated by Fairy Tail in their surprise return home from Edolas.
Jellal Fernandes was with them, too.
"Fairy Tail has become a nuisance we can no longer merely tolerate," August said, "and with Lucy on the run, we can now make precise attacks against them. Judging from their recent efforts, I would estimate that they have all convened, somewhere, and are likely to make another assault."
Gajeel Redfox and Kagura Mikazuchi successfully repelled, and killed, several in the Dragon Division. Kiyl, Kristine, and Axel were all that remained of the once proud division. Laxus Dreyar got away from Dimaria, not unscathed, but alive nonetheless. She was, mostly, unwounded, but not eager to waste her time again in a fight.
"It is time to muster Tartaros, my Queen," August said.
Sonya gripped her chair. Tartaros. The division of demons capable of wiping out an entire country in days. They'd recently bolstered their ranks with a member of Fairy Tail, Mirajane Strauss, who was as powerful as any of the Eight Demon Gates. Then, there was that other recruit, one fresh off the boat to them.
"Their latest," August said as if reading Sonya's mind, "is Tartaros's key to victory over Fairy Tail. Mard Geer has assured me of a plan that will not only eliminate the rebels in their compounds but guarantee progress for the Empire in future...imperialistic endeavors."
"My understanding," Sonya said, maintaining her composure as August attempted to assert her will over her own. Animus thrummed within Sonya, "Is that Tartaros did attempt attacks upon various rebel bases, only for Meredy and the wizards of Crime Sorciere to stop that effort in its tracks?"
"You're correct, but that was a precautionary measure," August said. "Mard Geer believes they've now isolated the only remaining active rebel bases around. He has prepared the Eight Demon Gates, Mirajane, and is preparing their newest recruit for deployment." He let out a small cough, then added, "Larcade has also expressed severe interest in joining this. He alone must face Natsu Dragneel."
Larcade. Zeref's child, if he could be called that.
Sonya hated sending the Tartaros Division. They were demons, defilements of the magic world with their curse magic, and yet...
The rebels were causing a problem. They were forcing August to give her a headache when all she wanted was to figure out the secrets of the year she'd been asleep. When all she wanted to know was there Zeref was.
She was the Queen of the Twilight Empire. She was meant to protect her people.
"Promise me," Sonya said, "that their mission is to seek and destroy the rebels. Only the rebels."
August stayed his tongue a moment, then nodded. "That is all. I will see to them swearing as such."
Sonya gripped the arms of her chair. "So be it. Inform Mard Geer he may proceed."
Erza was caught by Irene later in the evening, after dinner. The two stood alone in a corridor, faint torchlight the only thing exposing their features to one another.
Her mother. Her real mother. They obviously bore striking similarities before, but Erza chose to ignore them. Staring at Irene was like staring into a warped mirror, but a mirror nonetheless.
"Erza," she said. "I've overhead Hisui. She plans for more fighting, she plans for a strong assault soon."
"Good," Erza said. "We've wiped out the Hunter's Division. We need to keep moving."
"You can't," Irene said, "without the information I have to give you."
Erza raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were neutral."
"I am. I don't care about Fairy Tail, the Twilight Empire, or Queen Hisui. I don't care about Fiore or Ishgar. You matter to me. And I will protect you, like I promised."
"Alright," Erza said and folded her arms. "Then what it is?"
"It's why I left Earth Land."
Erza immediately unfolded her arms. She let Irene continue.
"A year ago, Zeref went into battle with Acnologia. I wasn't there, I was strictly told to stay away and I followed my Emperor's orders. But after he left, he vanished. I waited for so long for him to return but he never did. Sonya was unreachable. The Empire, I thought, was lost, so I fled. I went to Edolas after Jellal."
"Acnologia fought Zeref?"
"You're missing the greater point here, Erza. The Empire's leadership, their entire current mission, is a sham. There is no Emperor."
Sonya woke with a start, feeling the faint echoes of a scream in her...mind. Not her voice, not her physical body. But she'd been screaming, in the dream.
She clutched her head. Magic poured out of her. Why? What was going on? It was as if she'd been casting a spell, or as if the magic had been awoken from within her, as she watched the dream, the same dream she could not remember.
Yet this time, she saw something new. Someone new.
It was in a place that was so familiar, as she'd been there recently. It was a with a fell wind, where doom was laced throughout every trace of magic around her.
It was where she last saw Acnologia. In this dream, he, too, had been there. And standing beside her, proud and in his great Imperial wares, assured by a smile that spoke only of victory, was her husband, Emperor Spriggan, Zeref Dragneel.
And it was the last time she, or anyone else, had ever seen him alive.
END OF ARC 4 "FAMILY"
A/N: Thank you for reading! The series is going on a bit of a break for a moment, but will return soon as we finish out the second half of the story! I hope you all enjoy! Also, I apologize for grammatical hiccups in the last few stories, I had to rush to get them done by today!