By the early afternoon of an average day, the guild was packed full to the brim, making it hard to find a place to even sit. Fortunately, Mercury had stolen a stool long ago and was sitting behind the bar rather than at it, once more taking over the role as a barkeep that he'd maintained while Mira was gone – though, in this instance, he was just acting as her assistant. With one hand, he stirred the pot (for once in the literal sense rather than making the others act up) of stew that she'd put on while halfheartedly reading a book with the other. Whenever Mira asked for anything, he set the book down with glee and filled whatever mug was closest with the requested pour, then set it on the edge as though asking for it to be knocked over. Afterwards, he'd return to his book and frown at it while willing the words to miraculously appear into his brain.
As expected, they didn't. Despite Mercury usually being an avid reader, this book was so ridiculously dense that he couldn't get more than a page or two without zoning out. And, as though to add insult to injury, it was in a language he had little experience with translating. If not for him being as old as he was, Mercury definitely wouldn't know how to speak this language, let alone read it.
Eventually, he gave in and set it down underneath the bar's counter. The book was important, but only vaguely; rather than a tome on magic or even a novel just for fun, it was a history book of all things – a history book that focused on the Fiore of four hundred years ago, back when Dragons still roamed the earth. It certainly wasn't an actual published book, not with how little information he was getting for so many words littered the page. Perhaps it was the only copy of this particular manuscript in existence. Mercury wouldn't even be surprised if he learned it was written by someone who was high off their ass at the time of penning it for how much it seemed to go off on rambles about nothing in particular.
It hadn't been written in a dead language for nothing.
His purpose in doing such a thing still felt unclear, but Mercury definitely thought there was something he could get out of it. With about a quarter of Fiernen's memories swimming around in his head, he'd figured that if he could get some context behind what was going on at the time, he might have been able to lay them out in a more chronological sense. As it turned out, getting a bunch of memories slammed into your head meant absolutely nothing if you hadn't the faintest clue what order they were supposed to come in, and right now they were floating around like loose book pages in a river. The feeling was akin to being on the verge of remembering something, yet not knowing what you're trying to remember. While it wasn't exactly a pressing matter, it was still something he wanted solved eventually, so he'd been making it a habit of picking through the guild's private library for history books when he had the time.
Of course, the amount of time he had to do so was now limited only by Anemone, but the going had still been slow. A lot of the guild's collections weren't in the public section of their library – the one that was free for residents of Magnolia who were in good standing to use – because they weren't in any of the common Fiorean languages. The number of people who could read them was mostly limited to scholars and those nose-deep in academia, but those were the sort who wouldn't brother dirtying themselves with guild affairs anyway, let alone getting close to such a building, so most went unread. That being said, Mercury was one of maybe six people who'd attempted to read these books in the last decade.
And it sure was a headache.
But the noise of the guild wasn't helping any, and he wasn't particularly in the mood to dig through dusty old lexicons anyway. With approximately eighty percent of the guild's active members suddenly pouring through the door, the odds of him getting a quiet second to translate were pretty much zero – especially when the roar of the crowd were beginning to get a little too loud, in his opinion. Macao was nearby getting scolded by Romeo for drinking too much, with Wakaba laughing at him and Cana taking the drink intended for the blue-haired man instead. Behind them, Elfman threatened Warren for staring at Lisanna for too long, prompting both the telepath and woman in question to vehemently deny any sort of wrongdoing. And, as usual, Anemone was off playing with Asuka, who in turn was playing with her parents.
… So long as he wasn't bugging Mercury, the water mage would've let the boy do anything he wanted at that moment. For all he cared, Anemone could have run around naked while slinging his barely-developed water magic at anyone who looked at him funny.
In a strange twist, the only people who were in a serious mood were those at the bar. Makarov and Erza's solemn, quiet conversation could only have been overheard by Mercury with his great sense of hearing, though he had little context for the conversation itself other than the fact they were talking about a guild that Fairy Tail had faced off against during the Grand Magic Games, Sabertooth. Familiarity with the guild meant nothing when the actual names of people were a mystery. Just who was Minerva? And why did it matter if she'd joined a dark guild?
At least Mercury could figure out who "Sting" was when Laki squealed behind Makarov, proclaiming he was a "young and good looking Master," much to the older man's ire. Too bad, Master Makarov; you're neither young nor good looking anymore.
(Mercury was just glad he was at least one of those things.)
The conversation at the other end of the bar, however, was just as serious, and the participants weren't exactly people that Mercury expected. Team Natsu plus Gajeel, Levy, and the Exceeds huddled around a book, with Levy narrating out loud.
"E.N.D…" she trailed off, finger slipping down the page. "It doesn't go into much detail, but it seems that it's on a completely different scale than Deliora or Lullaby."
Wait, wait, wait.
Wait.
Mercury knew both of those names. Deliora and Lullaby, two demons that had caused quite the stir when their domains intersected with Fairy Tail's; one had been killed almost two decades ago by Gray's former master, though someone had attempted to revive it on Natsu's disastrous stolen S-Class quest, and the other had been destroyed by Erza Scarlet at the guildmasters' annual meeting eight years ago. The extent of the damage they'd caused hadn't been anything to sneeze at, so why were they being brought up now?
"Please don't tell me that you've accidentally resurrected another demon," Mercury interjected dryly. For some reason, he couldn't help but stare only at Natsu.
If anyone was going to do it, it'd be him – intentionally or accidentally, though the former was more likely so that the Fire Dragon Slayer could test his strength or something like that.
"Ah, Merc. No, we're not going to resurrect anything," said Levy as she looked up. "These guys just heard about something called 'E.N.D.' on their last mission, so they asked me if I knew anything about it, but the only mention of it that I could remember was from this book." She gestured vaguely to the hefty tome in front of her. It wasn't much younger than the one Mercury had just abandoned, though it appeared to be in much better condition – and in basic Fiorean.
"Somehow, that doesn't make me feel any better," the water mage sighed. "I think I should ban you guys from leaving the city until you somehow manage to convince me E.N.D. or any other walking natural disaster isn't going to pop out of nowhere now that you've spoken us into existence."
Even he wasn't sure how much he was joking.
"At least hear us out first!" Lucy cried.
Mercury cleared his throat. "Your track record doesn't exactly allow for me to just 'hear you out.' You're zero-for-two on demons and way lower than that on making sure things don't get destroyed. If you were a race-horse, you'd get ejected before the race even started."
"Well, hear us out this time, please!"
Under her breath, Levy grumbled, "Isn't that a little harsh?"
Ignoring the comment from the blue-haired mage, Mercury gave the blonde a hard stare, then motioned for her to continue with a forlorn sigh. If they already had information, then perhaps that meant that it was something they could deal with preemptively.
Or so he hoped.
"We heard about it from a dragon called Atlas Flame," Happy said from his spot across the bench.
Natsu made a noise of agreement. "He said he knew Igneel!"
Igneel, huh? Mercury opened his mouth to comment – he, too, had heard of Igneel recently, though he hadn't yet mentioned it – but Natsu wasn't done talking.
"E.N.D. is the thing that Igneel was tryin' to destroy, apparently," the Fire Dragon Slayer continued. "I figured we'd be able to find Igneel if we found E.N.D."
"But if this E.N.D. is still out there, wouldn't Igneel have destroyed it already? If he hasn't, doesn't that mean he's –" Pantherlily started to say, but Gajeel clapped a fist onto the Exeed's head, promptly cutting him off.
No one wanted to say it – to crush Natsu's hopes, not even Gajeel. If E.N.D. was still out there, whatever it was, that meant Igneel had failed in his goal, either because he couldn't find it, or because he'd lost in a fight to it. The most logical conclusion to draw was that Igneel… wasn't around to complete the goal anymore.
That he'd died somewhere along the way.
"So," Mercury said somewhat awkwardly, "then E.N.D. is a demon, and it could still be out there?"
Lucy and Levy nodded, but only the former spoke. "Does that mean that E.N.D is Zeref's strongest demon?"
"What are the demons from Zeref's book, anyway?" Pantherlily asked while rubbing a paw to his head. He seemed to have understood the indirect command from his partner; of the three Exceeds, he was the one able to take things in stride the most easily, so he didn't seem very annoyed.
"Like I'd know," Gajeel grumbled. "First I'm hearin' of the damn things. Aren't they closer to myths?"
Carla, as usual, had an answer. "They're demons that Zeref created. All the magic needed to summon them have been imbued into books."
"So if we have that book, we can call out these demons?" Happy asked.
"I suppose… one demon per book seems more likely. And the one that has E.N.D. could possibly be in the possession of Tartarus."
"And, since Igneel tried to destroy E.N.D. – " Natsu started, but this time it was Mercury who cut him off, his eyes wide and brain seeming to stall.
"Wait. Go back one step," he said.
The Fire Dragon Slayer tilted his head. "Since Igneel tried to destroy E.N.D. –"
"No, back one more time. What did Carla just say?"
The small white cat cleared her throat, attempting to remain regal despite not being able to clue in on what was causing Mercury's confusion. "The book that has E.N.D. could possibly be in the possession of Tartarus…?"
Tartarus.
That was definitely a name that Mercury knew. He knew it well enough that he could say his next words without even pausing to think about it. "No. You guys need to stop looking into E.N.D."
"Huh?"
Mercury grabbed the book from Levy's hands, carefully closing the cover and slipping it on top of the one that he'd just put down so that the pages wouldn't be damaged – even though he was near certain that the only way to stop these kids from looking into E.N.D. would be doing just that. Levy protested, but didn't make a move to grab it back.
"Zeref is one thing," the water mage said, looking at each member of the group in front of him. "If anything, he's like a boogeyman – there's no proof that he's real. But Tartarus is very real, and you're all going to end up pretty dead if you get yourselves wrapped up with them, so you should quit while you're ahead."
"But –"
He cut Lucy off, too. "No 'but's. I know you guys normally just charge in headfirst, but Tartarus isn't your run-of-the-mill dark guild, you know? I'm not saying this just to be a killjoy." And even if Team Natsu managed to pull their usual antics and get out of things mostly unscathed – which, for once, Mercury actually doubted was possible – Fairy Tail itself wasn't going to be spared the retaliation. They'd get themselves dragged into another guild versus guild battle – a battle that held no guarantee they'd win.
Tartarus wasn't an enemy that Natsu could just challenge because he wanted to. That being said, Mercury didn't expect the pink-haired boy to simply give up just because he'd been told to. If he did, that wouldn't be Natsu.
"They've got to have a clue about where Igneel is!" he protested.
"Grandeeney too!" added Wendy.
Even Gajeel huffed out his denial. "Metalicanna might be connected somehow, too."
"I get that," said Mercury, sighing. "But you have to think of the position you'd be putting us in, too. Think about the guild a little, okay?"
"I am thinking about the guild!" Natsu shouted. His fists caught fire, signifying his passion for the matter. "You're just gonna let that thing roam around? Wouldn't it be better to take it out before it starts doin' damage?"
"No, Natsu, Merc's right. We don't even know what type of people Tartarus has," Lucy pushed in. "Besides, E.N.D.'s been around as long as Zeref has and there's basically no record of him. Wouldn't that mean that he hasn't been doing much?"
She had a point.
"But even if we ignore all of that stuff, I doubt that Igneel has anything to do with E.N.D." Mercury crossed his arms, leaving back on his stool. He realized that he'd completely forgotten to keep stirring Mira's stew, but that could wait for now.
"And what makes you say that?" Natsu pressed. "I know what Atlas Flame said – Igneel was chasin' after E.N.D. for some reason!"
"Come on, Natsu. I'm not saying that Atlus Flame or whoever lied. I'm saying that Igneel was probably too busy with you to go after some demon from the Book of Zeref."
"Oh." He made a noise like a tire deflating, coming to the same realization.
"So maybe he had something to do with E.N.D. in the past, but he probably gave it up to raise you. Assuming that E.N.D. is even real, I don't think it's possible to fight a demon while protecting a little kid, even if you're a Dragon King," Mercury finished.
They paused for a moment, digesting the water mage's words. It was probably true. For as big of a deal as people were making about this supposed 'demon,' he was probably ridiculously strong – far too strong to be defeated by one being, dragon or not. Add in a kid as rambunctious as Natsu into the mix, and the odds of getting it done, let alone getting it done and not getting killed himself, were miniscule.
"I guess that makes sense…" Lucy admitted. "Plus, wouldn't Natsu remember if Igneel was tracking down E.N.D. or something?"
"What if he's been tracking E.N.D. since after he left Natsu?" Wendy asked.
"I don't think that's possible, either," said Mercury, crossing his arms. "I've, uh, got it on pretty good authority that Igneel is a lot closer than you think." Metallicana and Grandeeney, too. Far closer than they could have ever imagined.
"What are you talking about, Merc?" the youngest Dragon Slayer asked again.
"Yeah, what? And how do you know what a Dragon King is, anyway? Wasn't that something from the Games? Thought you were, uh…." Gajeel searched for the right words to convey what he was thinking without being rude, but there wasn't a good way to phrase it without risking getting smacked by either Levy or Lucy.
"That's the Dragon King Festival," Lucy corrected. "If Igneel is a Dragon King, does that mean that he participated in it, too?"
Levy leaned forward, putting her hands to her chin and becoming lost in thought. "But wasn't that four hundred years ago?"
"Yes," Mercury agreed. "It was four hundred years ago."
"Wouldn't that mess up your timeline then?"
"No, it all fits. Listen, there's something that I've been thinking about for a while now, and –"
But Mercury was interrupted once more as the doors to the guild slammed open, draggin the group's attention from the conversation to the noise. A heavy thud rang out as Droy tripped through the doorway, but it was easily drowned out by the fervent and shaking shout of Jet, who very nearly knocked the guild's front doors off their hinges with his entrance.
Before Mercury could scold him for not being more careful, he shouted, "Big news! This is bad!"
Thus, any hope of continuing their very important conversation was destroyed by the news that the entirety of the Magic Council had been decimated in one day.
.
.
.
With the immediate chaos that followed, Mercury didn't get a chance to finish his thought.
Fairy Tail promptly jumped on damage control. There was little they could do considering that the Magic Council's base, Era, was destroyed along with the lives of the entire Upper Council, but an emergency meeting was planned with the other large guilds of Fiore for the very next morning. It was a bit risky to have so many powerful mages in one place after the entirety of the Council's leadership died in the span of five minutes, so they communicated through lacrima, which was made exceedingly more difficult by the fact that half of the guildmasters were over the age of sixty and didn't know how to properly use one.
And despite the trouble caused by trying to organize a meeting in the first place, not much of note happened. If anything, it was almost all speculation; no one had the faintest clue who might have been responsible for the tragic deaths of the Council Members, but the list of people who could have been responsible were near endless. Plenty of people hated mage society. Plenty of people hated mage society enough to want to flip it on its head, too. It was honestly a miracle that this hadn't happened earlier. But with no definitive culprit, there was little anyone could do but be on their guard. To make matters worse, no one knew who would be the next target, either, which was something that the guilds that were slightly on the smaller side – or guilds with something to hide – were terrified of.
Mercury could tell that this whole situation was going to be far more difficult than it initially appeared, too.
Afterwards, a secondary meeting with only guilds of high rapport was held. That was entirely made of the guilds that had made it to the finals in the Grand Magic Games, either by coincidence or simply because the event had drawn them closer together. While Mercury functioned more as a secretary for this event, he still listened intently to the discussions held by Fiore's largest guilds while also providing information to the members of Fairy Tail – the members that cared, at least.
Unsurprisingly, many members were more worried about the destabilizing effect the loss of the Magic Council would have rather than the gross loss of life that had occurred. Mercury found himself one of them.
It was soon decided that the guild nearest the capital – Sabertooth, as it turned out – was to hold down the site and make sure that the rest of the prisoners held in Era didn't get any ideas about escaping with their captors gone. That was the first interaction that Mercury had ever had with Sabertooth's new guildmaster, even inadvertently, but it was quickly forgotten among the myriad of other things that happened in short succession after – a minor prison break in which Fairy Tail's former spy in the form of Mest-slash-Doranbolt was the most likely culprit, civil disrest in both Era and many cities that housed major guilds, and a sharp spike in minor crime that happened only because petty criminals thought the guilds would be too busy to deal with them.
Spoiler alert – they weren't, but it was a hassle and a half with everything else going on.
That being said, it was no surprise that Mercury didn't manage to get a wink of sleep for the day and a half after the news broke, and only a couple of hours at a time for the two days after that. Though Mercury wasn't the only one working to get things up and running again, other than him and Master Makarov, there were few others within Fairy Tail with enough knowledge of how the Council worked to even dream of attempting to get it up and running again; the best the others could do was take care of guild matters before they showed up so that neither of the older men had to bother wasting their time with trying to figure out even more solutions to problems that seemed to pop up like moles when things already weren't going well. By the time that they got to a point where things weren't going to crash out if someone stopped paying attention to them, Mercury was so tired that he nearly passed out in Makarov's office. That's why he gratefully accepted Elfman's shoulder guiding him to the Strauss house where Anemone had been staying until things calmed down.
It was probably the one time that he was glad Anemone didn't bother trying to bug him. He wasn't sure how Mira had done it, but she had; Anemone greeted Mercury once when he walked in, then went off to do his own thing, giving the water mage a moment to rest. The moment that he found a soft surface to lay down on, he fell into a dreamless sleep that even a rampaging elephant wouldn't have been able to wake him from.
And despite being certain that nothing could go wrong while he was passed out, things did. It was typical Fairy Tail fashion, and yet Mercury was so caught off guard by it that he physically could not bring himself to speak for several minutes after being told exactly what occurred while he was unconscious.
He'd be the first to admit that he didn't think it was something that could have occurred even in his wildest dreams.
"You're telling me that…?" The water mage couldn't even finish his sentence as he stared down at Makarov, who was just as pale as Mercury felt. If it were anyone else, he'd accuse the man of lying – because surely that's what this was, right? A lie? A dumb prank?
Something that just couldn't be true.
Surely.
But, as though to confirm, Mercury slowly tread up the stairs to the infirmary that had been his home for almost a month, pushing open the door with a fist that refused to stop shaking no matter how much he tried to calm himself. No one else said anything. Perhaps they knew he wouldn't believe it unless he saw it for himself, or, the more likely option, they knew nothing they said was going to stop him from laying eyes on what was inside.
"What the hell?" Mercury breathed out in a language no one else could understand. It was entirely accidental; his mind was lagging too far behind to properly think the words in a human language.
Because what he was looking at was clearly so impossible that he had a hard time even comprehending it.
The first thing he noticed were the usually-empty beds, now full. Though the infirmary generally only carried two beds due to spacing issues, it now had four, and all of them were crammed against each other and occupied – occupied by people who probably hadn't ever been in here for themselves, no less.
Evergreen, Bixlow, Fried, and Laxus… just what had they done?
"It's anti-Ethernano particles," said Makarov from the door. He didn't seem to dare to go any further in, either afraid of disturbing the room's tentative peace or disturbing Mercury's… whatever. "They were attacked while helping out at Yajima's restaurant… I'm sure you remember."
"They were there to help, not get attacked – just who the hell would have done this?" There was a pleading edge to Mercury's voice. He wanted answers, but he also wanted Makarov to roll over and tell him that this was all a joke. Because of all the things he thought could have happened, this was the last thing he expected.
But it was certainly no joke. This was as real as it could get.
"It was Tartarus," said Makarov.
Mercury expected that even less. "Tartarus?"
"They were after Yajima. If not for Laxus and the others, he'd be dead right now."
Mercury could say nothing. How ironic it was that he'd just been talking to Natsu and the others about the dangers of going right up to that very same dark guild to search for answers when now all he wanted was to do the same. Now, he needed answers – needed an explanation, and one of the supposed demons of Tartarus was going to be the one giving him one even if it meant he had to walk through their base and tear them apart limb from limb.
But someone else owed him an answer first.
Someone here – right in front of him.
The water mage hesitantly approached the bed closest to the door, which housed Laxus – or a version of him that was less than a shadow of his normal self. Gone was the normal tan tint to his skin from hours and hours of training and fighting; gone was the arrogant tilt to his face that usually rubbed others the wrong way; gone was the rippling confidence that screamed "I can do anything, and if you think I can't, just watch me." All of that had been torn away and replaced with a thick layer of sweat on his brow and a grimace on his unconscious face.
It made Mercury feel sick. His throat felt like it was closing up, like there was no room left to breathe, because what he was looking at was not Laxus.
It just couldn't be.
"And he's got the worst of it?" Mercury asked without turning his back from the unconscious man.
"Indeed," Makarov confirmed. "Fried woke briefly. Said that Laxus breathed in most of the anti-Ethernano so that it wouldn't spread to the rest of the town."
The sheer pressure of whatever the water mage was feeling forced an uneasy grin on Mercury's face. He couldn't help it. Though it was the complete wrong emotion to be showing – and definitely the opposite of what he truly was feeling – he could no longer steel his face into a neutral one.
He was just… so angry.
Leaning down, he gave Laxus's pallored cheek a tiny test poke; if the man was awake, he'd definitely have snapped at Mercury, grabbed at his hand, and squeezed hard enough to break it, but there was no reaction at all.
"Hey, you're kidding me, right?" Mercury asked a man who couldn't answer. "This is all just a stupid joke. It has to be. The Laxus I know wouldn't do that sort of shit, so you have to be messing with me. Right?" Those trembling hands of his felt desperate to grab something – anything, so he did, his fists tightening around an unconscious Laxus's bare shoulders.
The skin there was hot. Uncomfortably so.
He searched Laxus's unconscious face for any sort of indication that this was all some sort of sick, terrible prank that he was playing. Even the gods knew that Mercury would deserve it. How many times had he inadvertently done the same thing as this man? How many hours had Laxus spent worrying about him? No, not just Laxus – the entire Thunder God Tribe, who were now resting next to him. How long had Evergreen spent dabbing the sweat on Mercury's brow? How long had Fried spent reviewing all of his notes, trying to find a solution for him? How long had Bixlow spent sitting in a chair by his bedside, uncharacteristically quiet just so that the water mage wouldn't wake up alone?
How long had they felt the same trembling rage that Mercury now felt in his chest? In his limbs, in his mouth, in his eyes – yes, the room, it was shaking, and that wasn't him trying to throttle Laxus awake, right?
Right?
"Mercury, you need to calm down," Makarov said from the doorway. He took a step inwards, but no more than that, an uncharacteristic hesitancy in his step – this was just as uncomfortable for him as it was for Mercury.
"I am calm." His voice shook. He was not calm – not in the slightest.
"If you injure her patients any further, Porlyusica is going to be very upset."
Mercury bit his lip so deeply that he could feel the blood begin to well up underneath his teeth. Truthfully, he couldn't give fewer shits about that woman right now. She'd done a lot for him, but this – he needed this.
Needed answers.
His hands were still on Laxus's shoulders, pressing the unconscious man into the bed as though daring him to get up and throw him off.
"It's… not funny any more, Lax," he said – pleaded. "You already got me back for being an idiot – there's no need for you to go this far, man. Wake up. Wake up." Mercury's desperation quickly began to morph into something far uglier – a feeling he wasn't sure he'd ever experienced so strongly in his life. His blood began to heat up and the infirmary walls started prickling with humidity, a sure sign that he was letting his emotions run too wild.
Yet he didn't bother trying to stop them.
"You made me promise to stop being such a self-sacrificing fool and then you go do this? Are you fucking stupid?" Mercury asked as his voice began to rise in intensity and volume. He couldn't help it. His throat spasmed as he stared down at the unconscious blonde, recalling the promise that they'd made not too long ago. "What's the point of making me promise something if you're going to go right ahead and do it yourself, Laxus?"
"Mercury…" Makarov trailed off, unsure of what to say.
Because what was there to say to a man who was grieving for someone who was still alive?
"You're the biggest fucking hypocrite on this planet," the water mage shouted so loudly that those downstairs could probably hear him, too. He didn't care – not one bit. "I hope you're fucking happy – rot here, asshole. See if I care."
He paused for exactly three seconds – the period of time that it took for Laxus's chest to rise and fall – before he turned and stormed out, pushing past Makarov in the process. Mercury didn't dare try to glance at the look on the guildmaster's face. He was too terrified to see something in it that would make him feel worse, and clearly, Makarov was doing the same.
He didn't even follow the incensed mage out, merely standing in the doorway while looking desperately at his grandson.
The air in the hallway slammed into Mercury's face, which told him just how upset he was. Inside the enclosed walls of the infirmary, the air was thick and humid because he was struggling to control himself – or, rather, the rampaging ocean of magic within himself. He took about five steps away from the stairs that would lead him down to where the rest of the guild was waiting with bated breaths before he couldn't hold it in anymore and slammed his fist into the wall so hard that the plaster practically disintegrated under the pressure.
It didn't make him feel any better. Nothing probably would.
"Merc," came Mira's gentle voice from down the hallway. She stood at the top of the stairs as though waiting for him to snap. Had she been there the whole time, or did the sound of the wall breaking summon her?
Mercury wasn't sure, but what he did know was that seeing her nearly made him snap. The tension in his body, the anger, the worry, the anxiety – all of it suddenly cracked in two, and he found himself sinking into a crouch, unable to hold himself up any longer.
Why had it come to this? What did the Thunder God Tribe do to deserve this?
(Why them? Why not anyone else? Why not Mercury?)
Mira approached. He expected her to be hesitant in her movements – anger was terrifying, especially coming from powerful people – but there was something soft about it. Mercury tried focusing on the sound of her feet scraping the floor to give himself something to hear other than the thundering of his heart in his ears, unable to even bring himself to look up at her.
Her footsteps stopped right behind Mercury. "That was pretty harsh of you to say."
The water mage nearly laughed – and not in a good way. Of course she'd heard. He wasn't exactly being quiet, and knowing her, she'd probably been listening for it. Mira was a lot of things, and a good friend was near the top of her list; she probably just wanted to be able to lend a shoulder if need be.
Plus, Mercury knew that this hurt her, too. Laxus wasn't a friend that just belonged to him anymore – there were a lot more people rooting for him than even he knew.
"Yeah," the water mage admitted. The singular word left his mouth like the air leaving a balloon, the remainder of the strength he'd regained seeping back with it.
Mercury turned to face Mira and allowed himself to sit down fully while leaning against the wall. Shards of plaster were stuck underneath his butt, but he didn't care at all. If anything, the sensation was grounding – almost as much as the deep breaths he began to take shortly after.
Anything to stop his hands from trembling.
"You should go apologize," Mira said. "He'd be mad if he heard what you said – all of them would be."
But Mercury wouldn't apologize, ever. Not for this. "That was the point," he explained, his voice coming out almost like a whisper. "He was supposed to get up and punch me for being a dick. That's what he – that's what he always does."
That was just the kind of guy that Laxus was. Even if he'd apparently changed enough to go and pull a stunt like this, he was still the same person underneath – prideful, arrogant, and haughty. He wasn't the type of guy to go sacrificing himself for others, and he definitely wasn't the type of guy to let himself get taken out by a mere demon. This just wasn't like him, but it wasn't like him to lay in bed like a hospital patient, either.
Perhaps that's why he didn't get up and sock Mercury in the jaw the moment it seemed like he was losing confidence in the promise that they made.
After all, promises went two ways. They meant nothing if there was no one around who remembered it being made.
Mira made a noise that sounded like she was choking, but didn't add anything else. There was simply nothing else to say. In response, Mercury leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. This was quite possibly the most upset he'd been since Chloe and Marissa died, and it wasn't even a guarantee that Laxus and the others were going to die too – they still could fight their way out of this. No, they would fight their way out of this. Just like Laxus wasn't the type of person to sacrifice himself, he also wasn't the type to give up, and neither were Evergreen, Bixlow, and Fried.
They would be fine, and Mercury couldn't let himself mope around while telling himself that they weren't – even if just the act of trying to stand up when faced with such terrible news reminded him of that day on the beach.
"Porlyusica said that she can make a vaccine, right?" he sighed.
"Yes," agreed Mira. "She said they'd need a blood sample. But promise me you aren't going to go looking for trouble."
Mercury laughed again. The sound came out dry and brittle, much like the state it felt like his breath was in. "I won't. Those four are already in enough trouble."
But knowing how the story usually went, trouble was going to come for him anyways.
It was only a matter of time before someone brought the trouble to him – or, more generally, brought the trouble to Fairy Tail. They wouldn't go long without it.
.
.
.
Mercury sat on Natsu's back, ignoring how the boy beat his fists into the guild's floors while trying to throw the water mage off of him to no avail. "Get off, fatass! Let me up, or I'll knock you down, too!" he screeched.
It was loud enough to make Mercury's head hurt, but he didn't get up. In fact, the only thing he did was cross his arms and lean back, putting more weight on Natsu's shoulders, which squeezed the last remaining air out of his lungs. He made a small pitiful noise that sounded like a tire popping.
No matter what, the Fire Dragon Slayer wasn't going to be getting an inch out of him. Of that, he could be certain.
Though Mercury wasn't the first to try to stop Natsu, he was the last – and, apparently, the only one with enough weight and strength to stop a Fire Dragon Slayer's rampage. Having attempted the same thing before the water mage was roused to help, a couple of their guildmates still laid about, sprawled out on the floor or on benches while groaning and grabbing at whatever part of exposed flesh the boy had managed to get ahold of in his attempt to escape the confines of the guild and go on a mad rampage. Max nursed an already blackened eye, and Nab rubbed out both of his legs where he'd been the recipient of rather harsh kicks given by the raging boy.
But unfortunately for Natsu, his fists couldn't get through Mercury's tough scales, and even if they could, Mercury couldn't feel too much at the moment.
He just felt cold. A familiar feeling.
"If I get up, you're going to run off and cause trouble for someone," he said without a hint of his normal grin. "Just chill out for a little bit."
"I can't sit still! My friend got hurt! Let's attack them right away!" Natsu practically wailed. He attempted to twist his body and slam his fists into Mercury's thighs, but it was no use. He was thoroughly pinned. Looking for any extra help, he caught the gaze of Master Makarov, who only frowned.
"I agree with you, but we have too little information to make a move at this point," the guildmaster said.
From beside him, Erza voiced her own agreement. "We don't know Tartarus's goal. And not even the Council knew where their base was."
"Besides," Mercury leaned in really close to Natsu's face, getting right next to his ear, "my friend got hurt, too. Do you think I'm not planning on doing anything? This isn't the sort of thing you can rush into without thinking."
"Well, you're right, but…"
"You see, Natsu? We don't even know where they are, so how could we attack them?" Max joined in. Mercury glared at him for starting the fire back up – almost in the literal sense – but it was too late.
"We'll just attack other dark guilds!"
"And where are the HQ of other dark guilds?"
"No idea!"
"Then who should we attack? Geez, man, use your head a little."
"Shut it, Max," Mercury hissed when Natsu started writhing on the floor again. "You're not helping. If you wanna go rile someone up, go force Laxus out of bed."
Max made a noise like he'd been punched in the stomach, then put his hands up in a show of surrender. Picking on someone who couldn't get up and fight you was only fun when they weren't the type to sock you in the jaw for doing nothing at all. If he did manage to wake Laxus up – something that would be nothing short of a medical miracle at this point – he certainly wouldn't get out of it scott-free.
But honestly, the water mage would have been plenty willing to take the punch for the sand mage so long as it meant their blonde friend was up and moving. Other than that, it was a poorly made joke told in pure seriousness, or another way of telling Max to shut up if he wasn't going to be helpful.
In truth, there actually were some merits to his ideas, though no one was desperate enough to voice them yet. Mercury was pretty sure Fairy Tail had a compiled list of every bit of dark guild information they'd ever come across secured in Master Makarov's office somewhere, so the idea of hunting them down wasn't entirely unfounded – and their list wasn't exactly small, all things considered. Perhaps half a decade out of date, but the world of dark guilds didn't change that much. That being said, it wasn't likely to be of any use in this situation considering that most of the dark guilds these days wouldn't be caught dead interfering with Fairy Tail, and if they gave Natsu access to a list of groups that might have been able to solve anything, he'd probably go challenge every one of them outright right away.
The water mage caught Master Makarov's gaze. He was probably thinking the same thing if his furrowed brow was any indication. Assuming he ever managed to get off of Natsu's back – a feat that seemed unlikely at this point – Mercury would look over what they had to see if any leads would pop up.
"The only thing we know is that they want to attack the Counselors," Lucy said. "And not only the current ones, but the previous ones, too."
"Well, if that's the case, if we go to the homes of the ex-Counselors, they might just come," Gray pointed out. "But their addresses are top secret, so it'll be hard to find any of them."
"Why?" asked Happy in a low voice.
"Some bad people might go there to get revenge," Carla explained in an even lower voice, as though she was embarrassed to have to explain it at all. "The addresses are likely secret – and there's no way they'd let a bunch of hoodlums like Fairy Tail know them."
Cana set her nearly-empty barrel down on the table and sighed heavily. "A stalemate."
Mercury heard the twinkling of bells that came with Celestial Spirit magic, but a glance at Lucy showed that it wasn't her who'd used it. Instead, the familiar shaggy mess of hair that belonged to Loke – Leo the Lion, that was – appeared from behind the gathering mass of people, dressed in his usual suit and looking far more serious than usual.
"I know the address of the previous Counselors," he said. "Though, not all of them." Mercury had to wonder if he'd been listening to the whole conversation through Lucy's keys or if he'd been there the whole time. Probably the former, given Lucy's surprised exclamation of his name that soon followed.
"Why do you know them?" Wendy asked pensively.
Mercury didn't need to hear the man's explanation to know the answer. Wendy's face lit up in shades of red that meant she was just as embarrassed at being told the response as Mercury was to have already been aware of Loke's tendencies.
If there was a more frivolous man in Fairy Tail than the Celestial Spirit, Mercury didn't know who they were. The word that often came to mind when describing Loke was "whore," but he'd never expected that sluttiness to be a benefit to them one day.
Someone rolled out a map of Fiore on the table that Cana had just been occupying, pressing heavy mugs on the edges so it didn't curl in on itself again. With Loke's somewhat ill-gained information, they managed to stick pins into the approximate locations of the former Counselors. Even if it was only a handful, it was still more than they'd had previously.
And considering exactly how much of it was gained, Mercury was surprised that they hadn't had more Councilmen attempting to shut down Fairy Tail. It seems that nobody's family members were safe; daughters, cousins, aunts, moms, grandmas – none of them were safe from Loke's advances.
… Actually, it wasn't even limited to just women. Loke had managed to learn some addresses in a more… direct manner than others, and Mercury wasn't going to think about it more than that.
Only when they finally had a plan in mind and were beginning to form groups did the water mage let Natsu up. He earned a rather stiff glare, but other than that, the boy didn't do much. Mercury had expected a rather childish slap or kick, not… Natsu cursing under his breath, giving him a pat on the back, and the statement, "I'll make sure to leave some for you."
It left Mercury more confused than anything. Several moments passed before he even realized what the boy was talking about – and what, exactly, he was being left. Tartarus's demons, as it turned out. Though Natsu spoke as if he were going off alone to take on each and every member of the dark guild, it sort of touched Mercury's heart. Whether Natsu had been able to tell that he'd been acting off as of late (because if it were two days ago, the water mage would have certainly been sitting on Natsu's back and continued to provoke him) or whether the comment about Laxus being his friend too had made him realize something, he didn't know.
At this point, all he knew was that he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, so to speak. If Natsu did manage to use his freakish tracking skills to get to Tartarus before he did, then Mercury would accept it gratefully.
He, too, had debts – debts that could only be repaid with the blood of his enemies.
So, despite knowing that there was no way in hell he'd let Natsu beat him – not with his friends involved and a recovered water mage more than ready to join in on the "fun" – Mercury said, "I'll hold you to that."
Natsu didn't grin as he expected, but then again, neither did Mercury. They both turned from each other and got right to their respective tasks; the Fire Dragon Slayer went to pester Lucy and begin making plans, dragging Wendy right along with him, while the water mage started formulating a plan with the guild's leadership.
For now, it was all that he could do, but he wasn't going to selfishly take on more than he could chew. No, there'd be time for that later. For once, Mercury would let the others in the guild do the heavy lifting because he knew there'd be no complaining when he swooped in at the last moment to take on the demons of Tartarus with his own two hands.
When it was finally decided who was going where with input from nearly every active member of the guild, Master Makarov slowly made his way up to the guild's stage, each step bringing a further hush over the gathered members. By the time he made it to the podium, the whole room was dead silent. Mercury could pick up the near-frenzied breathing of his guildmates as they waited for what would come out of their beloved guildmaster's mouth.
And they were in no way disappointed.
The speech was short. Mercury couldn't repeat any of the words used, nor could he recall the exact contents of it – he was too enraptured by the energy of those around him to pay attention to the exact details of what Makarov was saying because the crowd seemed to shift and shuffle in accordance with the man's words. There was no lofty language nor calls to a higher standard of morals, as most leaders would use.
Instead, Makarov simply spoke the words that they were all thinking. In classic Makarov fashion, his words were fiery enough to turn the already-lit hearts of his listeners into crackling bonfires and roaring wildfires intended to set even the seas ablaze. And it was simple, too. Despite being unable to repeat any of it, Mercury knew it boiled down to two points – two points that he could feel throbbing in his chest before Makarov had even said anything.
First, that the fighting they were about to take on wasn't for any sort of justice. It wasn't for a lofty goal intended for others to comprehend or commend them for; it was for one thing and one thing alone – revenge. Revenge for those hurt. Revenge for being looked down upon. They'd make sure that those that had attacked their precious family would understand with their whole being that they'd made an enemy of someone they shouldn't have.
Much like their Balam Alliance counterparts, they'd soon find themselves in the exact state of those that came before them – those that had already crossed Fairy Tail and thought they could get away with it.
Mercury struggled to remember the names of people who'd made it their goal to get in the guild's way. He was sure that, in time, the Tartarus and Balam Alliance itself would face the same fate, but not before he sent what they'd given him back tenfold…
Which was exactly the second point that Master Makarov made. He made it rather simply, actually:
No matter what happened in the coming days, Tartarus was fucked – and they'd soon rue the day they crossed Fairy Tail.