Back again with another Monday update for you guys! Can't wait to see what kinda cliffhanger I pull out today!
Enjoy!
"This is such a fucking joke!" Drake winced as Natsu kicked over a table in anger, causing it too fly high into the air. "I can't believe they'd pull something this under handed!"
"Can you really blame them, though?" Gray asked. Despite the calm in his tone his face showed he was livid himself. "Of course they'd want to minimise the odds of defeat."
Yes, they certainly had. It had only been half an hour ago that Hermes had delivered his message, meant for everyone currently present. The message in and of itself was simple.
Hand Luna back over to us, or we'll commit mass murder at several different cities across Fiore.
Hermes had told them in no uncertain terms that Luna was to be given back to them at the ruins of Magnolia, and no one over the age of 25 was to leave the city Sabertooth resided in. Despite the anger clouding his mind, Drake had to give The Olympians credit for being crafty. Wanting her handed over at Magnolia made sure no one unwanted came out, and the age limit also ensured no one outside of people like him, the non threats as it were, would come along. Limit the costs and you're likely to come out on top. But God it pissed him off.
Luna had been largely silent since the announcement, mostly playing with her hands as Lucy rubbed her back for support. He could only imagine what she was thinking.
"We need to come up with some sort of plan," Erza said, taking the reins of the conversation as Natsu raged angrily. "We can get out this."
"How?" Sting demanded, looking depressed himself. "They've cornered us."
"There has to be something we can do!" Natsu shouted as he came back to the conversation. "Think!"
"We have been," Sting replied as he rubbed at his eyes and sighed. "Let's go over it one more time. Hermes said she was to be delivered back to Magnolia, and no one over the age of 25 is to leave the guild. Am I on the mark?"
"Pretty much," Laxus replied gruffly.
"What about an illusion?" Wendy asked, paying attention much more calmly than Natsu beside her. "Perhaps we could cast one and escape under it's over, and take The Olympians by surprise."
"Won't work," Drake replied, making several people look at him. "They've been watching for who knows how long. They'd know once the spell was cast that we were up to something."
"That's assuming we had someone strong enough to cast a spell of that size over the city," Minerva added, crossing her legs. "Which we do not."
"You said the weapon they utilised was a satellite, right Drake?" Rogue asked him, Drake nodding. "Would it be possible to take this weapon out?"
"Not unless you guys have a way to take out a satellite orbiting the planet without them noticing," Drake replied. "Besides, we don't even know how it's aimed at us. It would take countless tries of high level magic blasting into the air to hit it. And they'd notice too quickly." This cast silence over the entire guild, no one knowing what to say or what to do. It was natural of course. It the absence of a plan usually came panicked silence.
"What if we do as they ask?" Sting asked, staring at the floor.
"No," Natsu replied immediately, glaring at Sting. "Don't even suggest it." Sting glaring right back, not willing to back down.
"Hear me out," he said.
"Not a chance," Natsu replied. "I'm not handing my daughter over to them right after I got her back. Not a chance."
"If you want her to survive the week, you'll listen to me." This made Natsu go quiet, allowing Sting to speak. "Don't mistake my compliance for not wanting to help. I'd fight them one on twelve before handing her over if I could. But that's not the point. Right now, they've cornered us. And we're running out of options."
"What do you suggest, then?" Lucy asked, authoritative tone telling Drake she was also uninterested in handing Luna over.
"We give them Luna," he said. "And we figure out what to do after that. I'm sure we'd be able to get her back."
"No way in hell!" Natsu said. "I was hoping you had a backup plan to sneak out and follow them, but just complying?! Not a chance!"
"Maybe you've forgotten because Magnolia was destroyed, but this isn't just about you Natsu!" Sting shouted, also getting to his feet. "Now not only my guild and family is involved, but so are all our allies! If we don't give The Olympians what they want, we die! It's that fucking simple, and unless you got a plan rattling around in that head of yours, I don't see any other out!"
Sting's outburst made everyone go quiet again, but Drake knew he was right. Just like they had a year before, The Olympians were using their vast knowledge and foresight to corner them before the fight even began. Magnolia was simply a show of power. To show they'd do it. And now that their capabilities had been showcased, they could be diplomatic. More like authoritarian.
"...Sting's right," Laxus finally said, breaking the silence.
"Laxus what the-?!" Natsu started, whirling on Laxus as well.
"Hold your tongue, Natsu!" Laxus shouted, silencing the Dragon Slayer. "We have no options. Our only option is to hand her over." Natsu looked devastated to here it from someone supposedly on his side, but Drake could tell that the devastation was two fold.
Hearing it from Laxus was one. Knowing we was right was the other. Sighing, Laxus looked down at his lap.
"Hermes gave us until tomorrow at dawn to say our goodbyes," He said. "I'd like to ask the adults to reconvene in Sting's office. We must get a head start on our rescue operation plans." Standing, Laxus made his way for Sting's office, adults following closely behind. Lucy had kissed Luna's forehead before standing up, whispering in her ear before leaving to go to Sting's office. As soon as this was over, Drake went right to a table nearby, as did everyone else. They all figured without saying that leaving Luna be for now was best.
"So we hand her over then," Elise said quietly. Nobody did anything until Simon slammed his fist down onto the table they'd assembled at, making it shudder.
"This is bullshit," he hissed, sounding angrier than Drake had ever heard him. "I didn't spend all this time getting stronger just so I could lose someone again! I swore it'd never happen again, but I can't even do anything!"
"Join the club," Drake spat, allowing his own anger to poison his tone. "Do you think any of us like this?"
"Of course not," Simon replied. "Which is why it pisses me off so much that we can't do anything! There's got to be something!"
"Like what?" Juno asked, looking no more pleased than them. "Like Sting and Laxus said, we've been cornered. Nothing we can do." This only seemed to irritate Simon further, and he slammed his hand down again. Looked like his temper was going anywhere anytime soon.
"Drake! Drake! What the hell is going on?!" Drake turned to the door at this voice, knowing it full well. He watched as Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, Mermaid Heel and Quatro Cerberus all ran right for them, the masters and older wizards going for Sting's office. Winter had been the one who called out, and she was leading the pack.
"Hey," Drake greeted as Winter tackled him with a hug, not allowing him to say anymore.
"You worried the hell out of us!" She scolded, now opting to smack his chest angrily. Maybe it was because he hadn't seen her in a while, but Winter looked much more grown up than he recalled. Despite that she was still her old naggy self.
"Sorry I was blindsided by an attack." He muttered, only making her pout.
"Don't get snarky with me!" She snapped, pulling on his cheek. "Do you have any idea how strenuous it is being friends with you people?! I'm going to have a stroke by the time I'm twenty-seven!"
"D-Do you think we should discuss the more important matter, Winter?" Terra asked weakly, eyes fixed on something else. Drake had learned his lesson already. he knew the girl was looking at Luna, still sitting by herself.
"How did you do it, Drake?" Reyna asked, sounding drunk as her usual. Great, he had to explain himself again.
"I'll tell you later," he hissed as he stood. "Here, let me go and get here so she can say hi." Moving away from he group, he walked over to Luna and knelt down to be near to her, watching her warily. He managed a smile despite the fear he felt.
"Some friends want to see you, Luna." He said. "Want to see them?"
"Is there a point?" Luna asked, eyeing him weakly from behind her knees. "I'm going away tomorrow." Drake didn't let his smile fade, he just chuckled for her.
"Don't be ridiculous." he said. "Everything will be fine, you know that. Come on, they missed you." Not taking no for an answer, Drake grabbed her hand and forced her to her feet, dragging her over to the bewildered onlookers. "Luna, these are our allies we mentioned earlier. I'm sure they missed you." Forcing the girl into the spotlight, Drake just watched as she introduced herself, and everyone did the same to her. Looking back on the conversation held a moment ago, Drake knew they were right. There was absolutely nothing they could do except comply with The Olympians wishes. And no matter how badly that sucked, he knew they had no option.
"Enough talk!" Nami shouted, catching everyone's attention. "It's time you tell us what the plan is! Drake, what're we doing to strike back?" Now everyone was focusing on Drake, and in vastly different ways. His own guild members and Sabertooth and Bella were watching him with a pained expression, meanwhile the backup looked amped up and ready to go. And now he had to tell them there was no fight to be had. Taking a deep breath, Drake hung his head.
"We hand Luna over to The Olympians," he said, casting silence over the group. "We do what they want, and we find a way out of this at a later date."
"...Are you kidding?" Terra's voice asked. "It's already decided? Just like that?" Drake nodded.
"Yep," he said. "Just like that."
"We can fight, are you kidding?!" Nami shouted, seemingly pretty angry.
"No, we can't." Drake replied, looking up to see everyone confused and upset. "The weapon that destroyed Magnolia is aimed here. And every city you guys live in if we don't follow their rules." This seemed to shut down the wish to fight extremely quick, and now everyone looked dejected. At least they were all on the same page now.
"Is there really nothing we can do?" Winter asked him from his side. She looked pretty upset herself, hoping to find solace in his words. Drake nodded.
"We've been cornered," he said. "If there anything we could do we'd have thought of it by now."
"So after everything that happened, we just hand her over anyway." Mami surmised, making Drake nod. "Fuck this."
"Agreed," Simon muttered.
"This is bullshit," Reyna hissed. "With everyone that's here we could totally take these guys on. It's ridiculous that we can't."
Wait.
Wait.
Looking up, Drake did a quick head count. He looked around at everyone that was present in the little group, and did the math as quickly as he could.
And soon, he smiled and stood.
"Drake?" Ultear asked as me made for Sting's office. "What is it?"
"I've got a plan," he said as he walked away. It wasn't a solid plan, and he was certain no one in the office already would agree with him, but it was all they had. Arriving at the closed door, Drake slammed on it hurriedly. After a few seconds, the door was opened by Lucy, who frowned at him.
"Drake?" She asked. "What is it?"
"Can I come in?" He asked, smiling even wider to reassure her. "I've got something to say." Making a face but nodding, Lucy opened the door to allow him to enter. As soon as he entered the eyes of the adults of every present guild were on him. Come to think of it, it was incredibly stuffy in here.
"What is it, Drake?" Laxus asked from the desk, seemingly looking over a map of the country.
"I've got a plan," he said. Everyone stared at him in surprise, just as he expected them too. How could he have come up with something if they couldn't?
"What is it?" Natsu asked, approaching him. "Leave nothing out." Drake nodded and pocketed his hands. He knew he'd face backlash from them for offering this, but it was all they had.
"When We have to hand Luna over, send the others and I." He said. "Everyone under 25 that wants to go can come. Once we get to Magnolia, we'll fight The Olympians there, and defeat them."
"Absolutely not," Drake's mother said as she came up to him. "I won't allow it."
"Please keep an open mind, Kinana." Kagura said from the window.
"You can't seriously be considering this!" His mother said, whirling on everyone else. "They're just kids, and this might be the strongest enemy we've ever faced! How can we just send our kids out there on their own?!"
"I don't like it either," Erza said. "It's risky, and you'll probably die."
"And if we stay here and do nothing?" Drake asked. Silence. "Exactly. I'm not going to sit around and wait to come up with something after the fact. We may never even find them. This is our best bet at coming out on top."
"Explain," Sting said.
"If there's one thing I've learned from my interactions with The Olympians is that their smart," Drake replied. "And way ahead of us in terms of information. What they did to Magnolia was not only a show of power, but a show of willingness. They will fire on us if they feel the need. And if they have half a brain, they're going to do it no matter what happens. Because they know that there's no way we're going to just hand her over and that's the end of it."
"So you're implying that they'll attack again no matter what?" Jura asked. Drake nodded.
"Like I said, they're smart. Not only that, but cautious. That's why they put an age limit on who could leave the city, and where the exchange was. By limiting all of you from going, they're taking the best route to success. And that road includes attacking us after they have her no matter what, because I'm sure they know we won't let them just get away."
Drake's words had cast silence over the room, everybody either looking at him or at each other. After a few minutes, Natsu sighed.
"Be careful kid," he said to Drake. "Take as many people as you can."
"Natsu-!" Drake's mother started.
"He's right," Natsu said to her, keeping his head level for once. "Sending them is the best thing we can do for now. Unless, of course, we come up with something better before dawn." Nobody spoke up at this, but Laxus finally sighed.
"Gather as many of the younger wizards as you can, Drake." He said. "Force nobody to go. If you do not have sufficient numbers, I will not allow it." That made sense to Drake. After all, they couldn't very well do much if they only a few people. Nodding, Drake turned to leave the ffice and recruit, but a hand on his arm stopped him. Turning, he saw his mother standing there, watching him with worry in her eyes.
"Come talk to me once you're done recruiting. I want a word."
"How're things going with our friends, oh Master of mine?" Hades asked as he casually tossed open the door to Zeus' office. The leader of The Olympians stared at him before gesturing to the screen in front of him.
"They seem to be planning," he said. "Sadly they've reinforced the guild hall with magic, so I cannot oversee everything." Hades laughed at this. It was a natural reaction, though, to prevent any information to slip into enemy hands.
"Are we to head to the city as well?" He asked lazily as he walked around the room. "Or are we leaving that to everyone else?"
"The others can handle it." Zeus replied. "Nine of us will suffice. After all, I'm not fool. I know they'll fight back."
"Ah?" Hades asked, looking over at Zeus. "So why not blast them and be done with it? Athena can calculate the blast to make sure she's safe."
"Our goal with destroying Magnolia was not mass murder," Zeus snapped. "It was to send a message, which has been received. However, I'm not worried about a few kids fighting our comrades. They can handle it."
"Demeter already died to one, didn't she?" Hades asked, smirking as Zeus winced at this. "So we actually only have eight allies there."
"Demeter died because she underestimated her foe," Zeus replied. "The others are not so foolish. If the children resist, they will die."
"Hm," Hades said. "I agree, at least. I think I'll go look into the preparations for our guest I don't trust Hephaestus to make an adequate room for her."
"Do whatever it is you want," Zeus replied. "As long as you do not jeopardise the mission." Bowing extravagantly, Hades took his leave from the room and walked away down the empty halls of Mt. Olympus.
After a few minutes of this, he smiled darkly.
"Don't jeopardise the mission?" He asked. "I would do nothing of the sort, Zeus!"
Laughing to himself as he continued down the hall, Hades made his way for the room set out for Nashi, smiling even wider to himself.
I just need to make sure the messages I sent were received well.
Little bit of a stall fest, but all in due time friends! I hope you all enjoyed, lave a review! Let's try and get five!
Chapter 314: Until Dawn