Gray had mixed feelings about the high-speed trains of the Twilight Empire. On the one hand, they were an incredible achievement that really connected Fiore in a way that felt impossible before. On the other…it was a product of the Twilight Empire. The trains probably carried dark magic, darker people, and maybe even slaves.

They caught their train at a stray station several miles from the FACE base. Yukino knew where to go; she recognized coming to the region before and claimed to know Onibus quite well. She didn't have the happiest expression to admit that.

She'd stared out the window longingly while they took their ride. Juvia rested her head on Gray's shoulder, occasionally asking him frivolous questions or reminding him that his clothes had suddenly vanished. Gray watched the land blur; within an hour, they were at Onibus.

It hadn't changed much, save for all the typical Imperial trappings. The theater was completely destroyed while the station was as modern as anything Gray caught a glimpse of in Crocus. Elite men and women strolled about with their noses up while groveling peasants or servants roiled around at their feet.

Gray stuffed his hands in his pocket.

"This way," Yukino said before Gray could think to ask. "It's a bit of a walk. We actually went by it on the rails but there's no way you would've seen it without knowing where to look."

"Been here before?" Gray asked. A stupid question but he had to poke.

"Yeah," Yukino muttered. "I led an op here, once, a long time ago. I thought we took the outpost out. There were no—anyway, um, yeah, I'm surprised it's still operational."

She put her hands together and hurried along. Juvia sighed and followed. Gray let out a small breath and did the same.

They were in meager disguises; Yukino was the most dolled up out of all of them, wearing a brunette wig with a sundress, of all things. Juvia and Gray didn't feel the need to mask themselves too much, given that they weren't going to be in high-population density spots that much.

Yukino guided them out a secret side door meant only for Imperial personnel that, really, was just a shortcut out of the station. Gray managed to catch up to Yukino at the same time as Juvia.

"If you need to hang back because this is all a little too intense, that's okay," Gray said. "We're just getting some people out, Juvia and I can handle it."

"I was assigned to help and so I will."

"Yukino," Juvia said, her voice soft. "Please. Don't hurt yourself for our sake. Coming back to this place, to any of them…it can't be easy."

"It's impossible," Yukino muttered.

They made their way out of the station and into the daylight once again. The border of the town wasn't far off. A few small gates permitted their leave of the town.

"I'm walking in the shadow of a memory I don't even remember having," Yukino said. "The raids, the fighting, all of it is such a blur. It all blends together in my mind. I can't remember anyone I fought, anyone I killed. How am I supposed to look at the faces of the people at this outpost?"

"Like someone who just wants to help," Gray said. "Because that's who you are now."

"They won't trust me."

On that, Gray couldn't fault the rebels. Why would they? Hisui probably still had some animosity about Yukino being around, which was fair. She hadn't been around Yukino as much as Gray, Juvia, and the others. It wasn't like Irene, whom nobody trusted. Not even her own daughter, which was something Gray was still wrapping his head around.

Juvia, thankfully, picked up the slack of Gray's silence.

"They can place their trust in us as we've placed our trust in you," Juvia said.

Gray nodded. Pretty smart thing to say.

"I can't ask for their forgiveness."

"Don't. Ask for their acceptance."

"What's the difference?"

It was Juvia's turn to fall silent. Gray shrugged, nudging Yukino toward the edge of town with his hands at his side.

"That they can suck it up and fight alongside you, then we can handle all the rest later."

He nodded. That was a smart thing to—

"Gray, darling? Your clothes are gone again."

Gray stomped hard on the stone pavement. "Oh, come on!"

Yukino burst out into laughter as Juvia leered at her to find enjoyment in Gray's near-nudity. He quickly recovered and slipped back into his clothes while Yukino recovered.

"You must have this looked into, Gray," Yukino said.

"Yes, darling, you must learn to keep your clothes on…" Juvia said. "Around other women."

Gray, again, shrugged. "Come on. We're burning daylight, we gotta evacuate these people before any Imperials start sniffing around."

Juvia and Yukino followed. The guards didn't pay any of them attention while they slipped out of town and onto a poorly beaten path through a grove, leading to a small meadow brimming with tall weeds and scratchy grass. They walked only a few minutes until Yukino pointed out a tiny outcropping that was hardly visible against the rest of the environment.

She let out a sigh she seemed to have been holding for some time.

"It's still there," she said.

"Still there," Gray said with a nod. Good. They had made it in time.

"It's okay to tell us you're concerned, Yukino," Juvia said. "You're around friends."

"I—know. I guess I'm still working on it."

Juvia shared a look with Gray. "Well. If this was the old world, or if we can put things back to normal, I dare say you'll make a great wizard of Fairy Tail."

Gray turned around to Yukino and gave her a big grin, as did the Fairy Tail hand symbol. Yukino blushed and insisted they carry on with their mission. Gray agreed and led them toward the rebel base.

Lucy had only been to Freesia once, while Natsu had been twice. The first time, on a quest, he destroyed their grand, historic church. Nowadays, with the Empire in charge, nobody cared much about that.

Back then, his face was well-known and well-disliked. Yet as they walked the small, tight streets, nobody seemed to regard them whatsoever. Lucy was, thankfully, out of her Imperial wears and into something more befitting her—a sleeveless blue blouse with a short white skirt. Her hair was down and held back by a single headband, while her keys dangled at her side.

Happy sat atop Natsu's head while they made their way through the city.

"Everything seems pretty normal to me," Natsu said.

"It should," Happy said. "It's like they know what's coming."

"If anything is," Lucy muttered, though she was sure that Tartaros would. The Empire was merciless, and August knew everything. He probably had countermeasures against Hisui already in place.

Lucy stared at some of the soldiers and elite with cold eyes. Her stomach rolled, but she could already calculate and predict their conversations. She guided Natsu and Happy through the city she hardly knew with marked efficiency, surprising the two of them.

She did have to come to a stop as a group of soldiers congregated to discuss the guard change. Lucy examined their surroundings.

"You know, Lucy, I really thought it was gonna be Wendy that was the next best ninja to join our ranks but you're moving around like a pro," Natsu said.

Lucy's reaction was hardly happy. She wanted to kick him, to tell him to get his head in the game. This was the Twilight Empire they were dealing with, not some little band of wizards. Everyone around them had the propensity to be killers or traitors.

She balled a fist, but let out a breath of air.

She was out. She wasn't with them. She was with Natsu and Happy, she was with the two who made her belly laugh the loudest, who stressed her out and relieved her all at once. The two who brought her into Fairy Tail and changed her life infinitely for the better.

"Well," Lucy said. "What can I say? All I needed was a bit of training."

"But I don't think we need to be sneaking around these guys. We can take them!"

"It's not about that." Lucy waggled her finger. "If there are other re—others like us, we don't want to get any of the guards going and on the lookout. We have to find them and get outta here. Simple as that."

"Still weird that nobody seems to care about what's going on," Happy said. "Look at them. It's like the Empire isn't even here."

Lucy shook her head. "No, Happy. I think you've got it all wrong. Look closer."

Natsu and Happy wouldn't know where to look, but Lucy did. It was in the autonomous way people walked and talked. Each step was part of a drill they'd run. Market transactions had no small talk. Voices were hushed, heads were down. Nobody minded anyone else's business and they certainly knew to stay clear of the guards.

"This is one of the worst towns of them all," Lucy muttered.

"Bastards," Natsu spat, a bit of flame flashing out of his jagged teeth.

"Do you think what we're looking for is in this area? Hardly feels like I can breathe!" Happy exclaimed.

"Come on," Lucy said. "This little thoroughfare looks like it takes us out of the market. They're probably on the perimeter, so we'll need to make sure we're careful about leaving."

"You mean we need to be sneaky?" Natsu asked, donning his ninja scarf.

Lucy flung her hair back and nodded. She felt warmth in her chest again. Excitement? Definitely. "Yes. Exactly, fellow ninja, exactly!"

For being merely a town, Oak Town seemed to be as large as Magnolia or some of the other cities Erza had visited. It was all centered around the Phantom Lord building—the centralized, urban branch, as the old guild had several wings, according to Gajeel and Master Makarov. Their guild hall had been a castle, an impressive one at that.

But it was now ruined, though the town itself continued to, seemingly, thrive around it. Gajeel was nonplussed by the sight.

"Looks better now," Gajeel said.

"Do you think any of your old guild mates are prowling around?" Lily asked.

"If they are, they're with the Empire," Gajeel said. "I can't see any of the other Element Four working with the rebels, that's for sure. Basically, if they're around, I'm not sweating it."

"The rebels will be in the castle," Erza said. "According to Hisui's reports."

"Not very subtle, is it?" Lisanna asked. "Wouldn't the Empire want to take it back? Oak Town is a pretty big trade center, isn't it?"

"Porla made sure it was going to be a hard nut to crack," Gajeel said. "I imagine whatever rebels are in there had to go through some major headaches to secure the place. If the Empire's throwing regular goons at it, they'll never get in."

"A demon of Tartaros isn't just a goon," Lisanna said, her voice sharp.

Erza nodded. She was the only one who had experience, albeit from a distance, with a true demon of Tartaros, one of the Demon Gates. Erza, of course, had fought against Mirajane with Elfman, but that felt like a different circumstance. Mirajane likely didn't have the pull that one of the Demon Gates, a General rank, had.

"We need to be careful about our approach, even if everyone down there doesn't know us or is willing to be familiar," Erza said. "We have to assume that Tartaros is right on our heels, if not a little ahead of us. They could have agents anywhere."

"Bad guys hiding out around Phantom Lord?" Gajeel said with a sneer. "What a shock."

Erza led them down the hill sloping into the valley that would, eventually, crest back up into the mountains with the rest of town.

It was clearly, once, a resplendent place, and not just for the Phantom Lord guild hall. The town was still quite vibrant, tucked away into the forests of the mountainside while standing out in its own glory. Imperial flags and walls marred its appearance, and the castle was in ruins—collapsed but livable for a small group of guerrilla fighters. It was likely even more difficult to get into than before, given that the terrain was nearly impenetrable.

Still, Erza considered, Tartaros wouldn't hold back. They were a ruthless sort, bent on twisting and destroying the souls of any they encountered. No matter how meager the force, the demons would seek to wipe out those rebels.

Hopefully, the rebels would be compliant with leaving. They'd been comfortable for some time in the fortress and could think themselves invincible. It'd be foolish to stick around.

Erza had sensed it from the moment Irene came back with the rebels, from the moment Lucy came back into their lives with the devastating news about their friends in the capital. Something in the world was stirring, readying for a change. The rebellion had to keep up.

Mest was apprehensive about the move, clearly, and Master Makarov had his issues with such rapidly unfolding events. Erza understood, though. They had to strike first, had to land the first blow against Tartaros, even if it meant not coming into direct contact with them.

Thankfully, she had a good enough team to pack a punch if mostly anyone from Tartaros came knocking. Gajeel had recently been given a stellar boon in the form of the Purgatory Dragon Slayer magic, rivaling Natsu's dual Dragon Slayer ability. Erza figured she could probably take any one of the Demon Gates—after all, Mirajane did so, and she had the disadvantage of being at the sea, where, Lisanna said, that one was powered up. Given that it was all a level playing field, they were headed for a fair fight.

Unless, of course, the demon that came for them was Mirajane herself.

In which case… no matter how much Erza steeled herself, she could not come to grip her sword at the thought of fighting Mirajane again.

Thus, they had to be efficient. They couldn't linger to give Tartaros time to find them and send those that would cripple them. Erza hastened the group and they emerged through the border of Oak Town unimpeded.

Malba City was a tiny place, one so small Laxus hardly even remembered it existed. It was a favorite of Evergreen's in their travels from a long time ago, as it had some wonderful clothing stores and several of her favorite brands stemmed from the city.

That could still have been the case, but the place would have to have been set up for Imperial clothing. And armaments, it seemed, though the amount of guards and soldiers moving about the place was few.

The group mostly skirted around the city, as they figured the rebels wouldn't have any activity in it. Besides, Wendy, who'd been leading them, wasn't giving it any mind. Carla, in her arm, was acting the same way.

"What gives, kid?" Laxus asked.

They were well beyond Malba, moving toward a crooked forest teeming with dead trees and dense with overgrown, scraggly weeds.

"Safe to say we came to the right place," Wendy muttered.

She came to a stop, her legs quivering. Laxus rolled his eyes. She was still that quivering little girl from before. He heard stories that she stared down Kagura, of all people, with a brave face, and even dove headfirst into battle against some of the top guards from the Empire. But there she was, shaking.

"She's right," Freed said. He strode up next to Laxus. "There's great evil afoot, Laxus."

"Tartaros is here," Carla muttered. She blinked, shaking her head. "I—I've seen them."

"Your visions, I almost forgot about them," Evergreen muttered.

"Two of them," Carla said. "There will be two of them."

"Any idea what their powers are?" Laxus asked.

"N—no. I saw one, who chose to rival Wendy for the winds. And another who boasted naught but pure strength. Both were humanoid but in so many ways were not. Were…"

"Demons," Bickslow said.

"Precisely."

Laxus folded his arms. "Well if it's just two of them there's not much to sweat. We'll have this wrapped up in no time. This vision, it was in the forest?"

"Yes.

He shrugged. "Then what're we waiting for? Let's move."

The Sun Village was, unsurprisingly, incredibly grand. Builds were massive, stairwells could fit entire armies on them. Cana, Max, and Laki gawked at the sight as they made their way down a humongous thoroughfare.

"Man, how cool would it've been to come here for a job back in the day?" Cana asked rhetorically.

"Indeed, this has always been one of the more incredible sights to behold," Makarov said. "I came here once as a younger man. They helped nurture some of my magic."

"What better place to learn to fight like a giant than with them, I guess," Max said. "How long were you here, master?"

"Not long, perhaps a summer or two. It was inspiring, to say the least. The Giants here have wonderful culture."

Cana rested her hands at her side. "Yeah, well, you'd think for Giants they'd be a bit more noticeable."

Makarov hummed. "A long shadow has been cast over this place. We must be careful. A threat to the Giants is no meager one, children."

"I hear that," Max said.

He wove his fingers between Laki's, and the two set off. Makarov watched them, then followed, while Cana lagged behind.

"Let me start making a perimeter around here," Cana said. "In case any of those Demons try to sneak up on us."

"Good thinking, Cana," Laki said. "We'll head further in."

"Yes. I wish to see what has happened with the Eternal Flame," Makarov said as they strolled down the street.

Cana waited for her friends to be out of sight, then sighed. It'd been nice to travel with Laki and Max, to continue chatting with them. Having Master around was also relieving. It was sort of like having her father around, only…actually comforting, not overbearing and obnoxious.

On the train ride, Makarov kindly listened to their chatter, never poking questions but always having an inquisitive and caring ear out. It helped ease Cana into the conversation, even without the need for booze.

She, of course, still quenched that thirst when she found some drinks on another train car, but that was neither here nor there.

Cana flicked her wrist and cards scattered around the village while she made a slow walk about it. Anyone with magic power that stepped foot over them would trigger the cards' ability, notifying her, immediately, of coming danger.

It was a trick her father helped her with—actually, most of her more recent spells were concocted by Gildarts. He didn't want to curtail her abilities to be similar to his at all. In fact, it was hardly about power, but about the utilization of her spirit.

"Cana, you're a good enough wizard to have passed the S-Class Wizard Trial for a Wizard Saint's guild," her father told her at the dawn of their training, "I don't care about growing your might. Besides, you still have access to Fairy Glitter, one of the three great Fairy Spells. Look, what you need to harness is that core of magic: belief, and spirit. Look at Natsu and his circle of friends. With the exception of Erza, not the toughest kids around, but they were capable of defeating Master Hades on their first go. If we can get you to a level of spirit and belief in yourself similar to theirs, I'd say you'll be unstoppable."

With that belief, Cana learned, came creativity, came flexibility with her magic, as well as a mastery of her fundamental skills in Card magic. Setting the perimeter wasn't a skill was something she already had in her arsenal—keeping it connected to her own magic was something she had to stretch for. Sure, she could've made the card just explode or set off an alarm, but she had the ability to do that and tap into her own senses.

Cana twirled some cards between her fingers while she rounded a bend, staring at some of the beautiful and titanic structures of the Sun Village. Everything was so quiet in the village. Cana frowned. Well, duh. It was surrounded nearly on all sides by desert. Makarov made sure to inform the wizards that the reason there were any trees around had to do with former Fairy Tail founder, and Wizard Saint, Warrod Sequen. Must've been one strong dude.

But not strong enough to tango with the Empire.

She stopped as she finished the bend and tossed one more card, holding the next in her grip when she saw a silhouette stretching toward her. Cana lowered that hand and with the next prepared a Multiplicity card, which would split into five cards each bearing a basic element of the natural world to attack with: earth, wind, fire, water, and lightning.

Of course one of their enemies would sneak in before she was done. Great timing.

She raised her hand, poised to strike, when a slender figure emerged, hand up not in anger but in greeting.

"Oh, hey Cana, good to see you again," said the large-eyed, flame-haired Flare Corona, who walked with tepid strides.

"Oh, damn it, Flare, I almost killed you!"

"Sorry. I didn't want to startle you. I saw a few of the others heading into the village while I was out and wanted to catch up when I spotted you."

"Out? Where?"

Flare's expression flattened. "Just for a walk. These days it gets a little lonely in the village since my family is…"

"I'm sorry." Cana balled a fist. "How long has it been since they were killed?"

Flare played with her hair. It was so long, it nearly touched the floor despite its taut braids. "A few years. They were one of the early targets in the invasion since the Empire was afraid of what they could do. To be honest, I think so many of them fell because they wanted to protect me, and the Eternal Flame. It's much easier to hide me than their own, right?"

The sunken look, the nerves, the hesitation to really step forward and be herself—except around Lisanna, who made that easy for everyone—it all clicked. Cana didn't have a family until she came to Fairy Tail and even then was more of anothermember rather than someone truly a part of the family until the last few years—well, relatively speaking.

Having the entire support system she had as a little girl crumble around her would've been beyond devastating. She probably wouldn't have been holding together as well as Flare. Cana was ready to abandon all of it, ready to run away and let the darkness of the world do as it would, all because she didn't think she was good enough.

Meanwhile, there stood Flare, one who was told to be good enough, one who shouldered the burden of the Giants' sacrifice on her shoulders. They wanted her to live not out of an expectation to avenge them or be strong, but out of love. Flare, having to fight in this war, couldn't see it that way.

Cana approached Flare and clasped her bare shoulder. Flare flinched. Cana smiled.

"Come on," Cana said. "Let me wrap up around here and we can go with the others. Sound good?"

Flare kept fiddling with her hair but let a grin shine on her pale face. "Yes, sounds good."

"Is that ice?"

Yukino trepidatiously touched the door to the rebel base that'd completely frozen over. Gray narrowed his eyes. Juvia checked over her shoulder. It was a chilly ice, one pretty much as cold as his. That was rare, to say the least.

"Definitely," Gray muttered. "Someone else has been here."

Yukino closed her hand. "It couldn't be…"

"Does the Empire have an Ice wizard?"

Yukino nodded and reached for her keys. "The second-in-command of the Twilight Division, the Winter General, Invel. But it was supposed to be Tartaros who was on the assault, right? Invel doesn't have anything to do with them."

"Could be part of a distraction, to get us thinking we're fighting Tartaros but in reality it's a swerve," Gray said.

"Can you get in?"

"It's impossible," Yukino said. "Invel's ice can't be undone. He is capable of freezing ice."

"That's stupid," Gray said and placed his hand on the ice. Nah. This wasn't anything out of the ordinary. In fact, there was something pretty familiar about it. "I'll take care of this and—"

"Look out!"

Yukino shoved Gray away as Juvia whirled around, her arms up and water whips flaring at her side. A long shadow loomed over the door as a figure stood against the sun, twinkles of ice showering off their aura as they had two fists closed.

"Step away from the door!"

Gray recovered. Yukino stepped aside from Gray—and was given a little push aside by Juvia when she realized what'd happened—and raised an eyebrow. Gray sighed.

"Of course," he muttered.

The figure visibly relaxed as he scanned the area, then nimbly dove down into the trench where the base was. Juvia took a step back, but couldn't move out of the grasp of Lyon, who took her hand and gave it a delicate smooch.

"It can be no mere coincidence that we run into each other, my dear Juvia," Lyon said. "It is destiny."

"So, I guess you're feeling better," Gray said. "No longer Broken."

Lyon kissed Juvia's hand again. "All I would have needed was the sight of this undersea angel and—"

"Would you get up?" Gray asked, kicking Lyon's leg. "We don't have time for messing around."

"What are you doing here, Lyon?" Juvia asked, taking her hand out of Lyon's grasp and trying to slide it into Gray's, who stepped back to avoid it.

"I was supporting the rebels that are here," Lyon said. "Or, rather, were. I managed to get them on the latest train away from Onibus. They'll be safe. There weren't many of them left, but…"

"How'd you know to do that?" Gray asked. Suspicion rose. Were they actually safe, or were they being sent to another Imperial camp? Lyon seemed normal but—

"Look," Lyon said, "I get it. Hard to trust a guy you've only been fighting against since we saw each other after your world ended and my new one started. But it's me, Gray. I wouldn't have come to help the rebels otherwise. I'd have just killed them."

"Why bother sealing up what's inside?" Gray asked.

"My only goal was to get the people away, not their secrets, I didn't think I would have time," Lyon said. "I was coming back to recover whatever documents I needed when I heard that I wouldn't even have time for that. Plus, I sensed someone was touching my trap and came running."

As he spoke, Lyon, at once, stripped down to his drawers. Gray nodded—as he was also in his drawers.

Lyon was legit.

"Alright," he said, putting his clothes on as Lyon did the same. Juvia occasionally poked at Gray's muscles. "Good to know. We're glad to have your help, then. You can come back to Hisui with us."

"I would love to," Lyon said. "But I think I am the one in need of your help."

Yukino stepped forward. Lyon didn't seem bothered by her appearance. She was completely out of her Imperial garb and had the wear of the rebellious world around her.

"Tartaros?" Yukino asked.

"Yes, one of their Generals was recently spotted heading this way in their airship," Lyon said. "Perhaps coming for this base but I don't know why they'd need an airship for that."

"Who is it?" Juvia asked.

"According to the rumor? It's the necromancer, Keyes, and he isn't coming alone. He's already raised a formidable army." Lyon locked eyes with Juvia. "Your former master, Jose Porla, for one." Then, with a cold expression that could freeze Gray said, "And a resurrected Deliora."