The sun began to set on Joya. Multiple lacrima screens appeared across Crown City. It was Count Waltz, addressing the people after the event they no doubt saw earlier in the day. "Hello, people of Joya. I have no doubt you witnessed a frightening event of a Dragon intruding upon the city. As you can see, it has been dealt with. I swore to you all that I would protect you no matter what threatened this country. My word is absolute. Please do not be concerned, nothing like this will ever happen again." With that, the transmission ended. The people of Crown City appeared pleased.
"Count Waltz always protects us!"
"Not even a dragon can stop our King!"
Similar compliments rang throughout the streets of Crown City. Lucy rubbed her arm as she heard the joyous cries for Count Waltz. The Fiore group was in their hotel room, simply biding their time until they were ready to return home in the morning. "He's not even giving credit to Pergrande for the assist?"
"It's for the best right now." Hisui said, standing at the balcony while looking at the setting sun. The events of the day left a very sour taste in her mouth. "The Heracles Cannon hasn't been made public yet. Something that large would scare the general populous."
"Where did your father go?" Erza asked the princess.
"He wanted to discuss something with Queen Vena and King Ceros. I suppose that's where he will be for the rest of the evening." Hisui replied.
"That meeting sucked." Natsu sat cross legged on a bed. He had some choice words for King Ashnard that Erza and Mira together wouldn't allow him to say.
"It's a good thing we came, though. Who knows what would've happened if that dragon had free reign." Cynthia didn't want to think about that.
"Yeah, but we also got wrongly accused by those Royal Guards." Gray let out a tsk of annoyance. Even if the encounter was brief, being overpowered by a wizard from a different country was a humbling experience.
"Juvia isn't a fan of this country so far." Juvia grumbled under her breath. Losing to Fugue was not a memory she was going to look back on very fondly.
"At the very least, Crown City is a nice place." Mira saw the silver lining there. It wasn't very long until there was a knock at the door. Mira went to open it. "Oh? Did you need something"
Standing at the door was Jazz. Behind him were Tuba, Rondo, Fugue and Allegretto. "Apologizes for disturbing you at this hour. But my subordinates have come here with something important to say to you all."
"Don't speak for us." Fugue sucked his teeth, adjusting his monocle slightly.
"I'm not. You'll be the ones speaking." Jazz said with a firm tone.
"What do you want now?" Gajeel narrowed his eyes at Tuba. The two of them exchanged a glance. The tension was pretty thick between Fairy Tail and Joya's Royal Guard, but Jazz was remaining calm and keeping the peace.
"We've come...to..." Rondo felt the rising words get stuck in her throat. "Apologize...for our actions...we attacked you on false information, and...I am sorry."
"You know, watching her fast contort like that makes it kinda worth it." Gray whispered to Lucy. She tired not to laugh, but she definitely nodded a few times in agreement.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I was just following protocol, but I didn't feel good about it. I hope this doesn't soil anything." Allegretto told Erza. "You're a pretty sharp swordswoman! I'd like to cross blades with you under better circumstances, if that's alright."
Since they were apologizing, Erza wasn't going to let things stay sour between them. "Yes, I would like that."
"Well, we should be going." Tuba said, turning around with Fugue. However, Rondo grabbed the both of them by their collars.
"Nu-uh! If I had to spit the words out, so do you! The Count demanded we apologize as well!" Rondo glared at her two companions. As such, the two of them sighed.
"We're sorry." Tuba and Fugue said together, in the most monotonous voice imaginable. Did they really mean it? No. But unfortunately that was as good as it was going to get.
"I apologize for them. Listen, Joya is holding a musical festival in an hour. This happens every month." Jazz said. "To ensure your memories of your brief stay in this country are delightful, the Count has extended an invitation to you all."
"Really?" Wendy blinked in surprise. Based on the attitude Count Waltz displayed earlier, she was shocked that he'd extend something so kind.
"It would be rude to say no." Carla crossed her arms, although she wasn't to happy about it.
"Today was the day of the meeting also for this reason." Fugue explained. "Even if the mood between countries is less than ideal, this is his way of attempting to lighten the mood."
"That does sound nice." Hisui admitted.
"But I didn't come ready for a party...!" Lucy panicked. She only brought enough clothes to get her through two days. Knowing her, she expected some sort wardrobe mishap.
"Neither did I..." Mira placed her hand on her cheek.
"Don't worry about that." Jazz said with with a knowing smile. "Joya has some very fine tailors. They can whip you up a dress just in time for the festivities to begin." He and the others stepped to the side, only for two young women to step forward. They were short, near identical sisters. One of them had pink eyes and hair that reached to her upper back; the other had blue hair and eyes. They both had pointed ears and wore color coordinated dresses.
"I'm March!" The pink haired girl said.
"And I'm Salsa!" The blue haired girl said. "And we'll be in charge of getting you lovely ladies ready for the evening!"
"What about us?" Gray pointed at himself, Gajeel, and Natsu.
"We work magic, but we're not miracle workers." Salsa said while wagging her fingers.
"You don't need to worry about me." Erza said with a content grin. "I came prepared for exactly this scenario." Whenever she goes traveling, she always brings a mountain of suitcases with her. She came prepared.
"How..." Rondo opened her mouth to ask the question, but something told her she was better off not doing so. "You know what, I don't wanna know. The festival is in the city square, so don't be late!" With that, all but March and Salsa left.
"...You boys need to leave, now!" March placed her hands on her hips. She ushered Gray, Gajeel, Happy, and Natsu out of the room, and closed the door behind them. Once they were all kicked out, they just stared at each other, dumbfounded.
"What the hell are we supposed to do now?" Gajeel groaned.
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Crown City's activity was very high. The sun set, it was night time. There were lights all around the city, along with the sounds of music that echoed all throughout. The people were taking the time to dance and enjoy all of the festivities. Lucy and the others, all wearing special dresses, stepped into the city square, almost surprised at how vibrant it was. "Wooooow!" Lucy exclaimed, her eyes sparkling at the sight of Crown City. "It's so pretty here!"
"Crocus is never like this. It's so different." Wendy said while looking around with a great big smile.
"C'mon, Wendy! Let's go explore some more!" Cynthia took Wendy by the hand and already started to pull her off. Wendy didn't fight it. They just went off to enjoy the festivities on their own.
"Don't get lost." Carla was in her human form, wearing a nice dress courtesy of March and Salsa. She figured she may well indulge along with everyone else.
"It almost reminds me of the guild, in a sense." Mira placed a hand on her cheek while looking around. Where was she even supposed to begin?
"There's one more special thing about this festival." Polka said while guiding the group. "I know that the prices in Joya are a little steep for tourists, but in this case, the festival makes all food free!"
"That's what I wanted to hear!" Natsu didn't mind a good party. But free food? Sign him up!
"Why is everything in Joya so expensive anyway?" Gray turned to Polka, who scratched her cheek.
"Joya is the trade capital of Ishgar. It is right in the middle of the continent, after all." Polka replied. "There are a lot of deals and trade routes through Joya and everywhere else. It was a deal struck with the other countries. I guess that's why, since it already makes so much money?" She really wasn't sure. That was just her guess. "But don't worry about that! Please, I implore you to enjoy yourselves at our music festival!"
"Gray-sama!" Juvia clung to Gray's arm, swaying her body. "We should spend the whole night together!"
"Er...!" Gray blushed as Juvia instantly took this chance to cling to him. "I...I guess..." He didn't really have a reason to say no. Plus, he knew that Juvia was probably still feeling sour about her loss earlier in the day. So, he reluctantly conceded to her whims. He did care for her, after all.
"YAY!" Juvia beamed and started to pull Gray away. He did follow with a slightly nervous sweat drop. It was too late for him to back out now and he knew it.
"Peh." Gajeel crossed his arms. Levy wasn't here, so he didn't exactly have much interest in dancing. But, he DID get one idea. A slow grin crept on his lips. "This place wants some music? I'll give them some music."
"That doesn't sound good." Happy looked at Gajeel with an expression of worry. Gajeel's music in this nice music festival? He could only see this going poorly, but it was already too late. Gajeel was gone.
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With the festival getting underway, Mira took the time to look around Crown City. "I wish Elfman and Lisanna had the opportunity to see this." She'd have to tell them all about it next time. "Maybe I could bring them here, too. Although we'd have to save up a lot to stay here." She had been eying the prices in Crown City alone, and they were...a lot.
"Oh, excuse me." A voice called out to Mira, causing her to turn. It was Takeba. The pink haired woman abandoned her witch outfit for a fancy purple dress, with a slit on her left leg that went all the way to her upper thigh. "How are you enjoying the festival?"
"Oh, hello." Mira gave Takeba a smile. She vaguely caught a glimpse of the woman in Crown Castle. "I believe so. Everyone is enjoying themselves, and I'm happy watching them."
"But you should enjoy yourself as well. It's not very often you come to Joya, now is it?" Takeba smiled, taking a step forward and extending her hand. "Music is playing, and there's only one thing to do in that case. Would you care to have a dance with me?"
"My, aren't you forward." Mira snickered, but she did accept Takeba's hand. "I don't see why not. It's as you said, I don't get to have this sort of experience very often." She then placed her other hand on Takeba's shoulder, while the witch's hand fell onto her waist. With that, Takeba began to lead their dance. It was slow, but enjoyable.
"I think it's important to take advantage of an opportunity like this. You're from Fiore, aren't you? Mirajane Strauss?" Takeba asked as they danced together. There were plenty of other things going on around them right now, but Takeba was capable of keeping Mira's focus on her.
"That's right. And you're from Pergrande, aren't you?" Mira asked. She did see Takeba standing near Ashnard for a brief moment. Before she knew it, Takeba twirled her around, and she snickered.
"That's right. I do apologize for what my King said. I know it offended you and your friends. I've seen a few magazines from Fiore and you were on the cover. I must say, you're far more beautiful in person." Takeba grinned and Mira smiled. "Pergrande has many beautiful women, but I've never encountered one as stunning as yourself."
"I model occasionally." Mira replied. Mira could tell when someone was being sincere, and Takeba was. As much as she disapproved of Ashnard's words, Takeba was not Ashnard. As such, she wouldn't allow that to spoilt he moment they were having together. "I don't do it much anymore. But thank you for the compliment." She'd heard it all before, but Takeba's tone was a bit more sincere than the usual compliments. "You're rather beautiful yourself."
"Thank you. How sweet." Takeba's lips curled up into a slight smile. She spun Mira around once more, before dipping her down as well. This did make Mira gasp softly, as the witch leaned in pretty close. They stayed that way for a few moments, before Takeba lifted her back up once more. "Wasn't that fun?"
Mira paused for a moment. It was just a simple dance, and yet... "Yes, it was." She placed her hand on her cheek, aware that her face was slightly warm. What just happened?
"Thank you for the dance. I had a great time." Takeba placed her hand to her lips, and blew a kiss towards Mira. This kiss took the form of a small heart that hit her cheek, remaining there for a moment before vanishing. "I hope we can see each other again." Before giving Mira the chance to respond, Takeba turned on her heel and walked off.
"Ah, wait..." Mira tried to call out to her, but it was already too late. She placed a hand on the cheek where Takeba's kiss left the heart mark. "I never even got her name."
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Wendy and Cynthia were enjoying themselves within Crown City. With the free food present, they decided to once again indulge in something sweet. They sat at table together, with a few different kind of cookies in front of them. "Should we be having this much?" Wendy looked to Cynthia with a sheepish smile. Not that she was opposed, but it definitely felt like they were going just a little overboard.
"Ah, c'mon! We're not kids anymore!" Cynthia pointed at herself proudly. "I'm 16 and you're 15, we can have a little dietary freedom!"
"I don't think you're wrong." Wendy said. There was a part of her that did find it a little objectionable. Still, she grabbed a cookie and proceeded to chow down on it. She and Cynthia did this at the same time, both of them letting out content hums at what they they ate. "Uwaaah! The chocolate chip cookie is so soft..."
"This peanut butter cookie is soooo good!" Cynthia said with wide, sparkly eyes. She then eyed Wendy's cookie and had a mischievous smile. She leaned in and took a bite out of it. "Mmm!"
"Hey!" Wendy chided Cynthia playfully, but she was quickly silenced when Cynthia put her cookie into her mouth. She couldn't complain. They both pulled back with content expressions. "That really is good."
"Isn't it?" Cynthia giggled.
"Aren't you two adorable?" That came from Alex, wearing a red dress while her red hair was tied up into a bun. She didn't exactly want to intrude on the moment, but she did want to say hello to her sister and her friend.
"Hey, Alex!" Cynthia beamed. "Good to see you! Sorry I missed you earlier, things got crazy."
"No kidding!" Next came Jack Corvus, groaning. He only really approached because he saw some familiar faces. "What a crappy event that was."
"Hi, Jack." Wendy gave Jack a smile. She offered him a cookie. He stared at it for a bit, before taking it and grumbling.
"What are you doing wandering around here?" Alex asked with a raised brow.
"Everyone's doing their own thing." Jack replied. "Sis and Ace are being gross and mushy, and I don't want any part of it. So I just decided to wander around for a bit."
"Joya's pretty, isn't it?" Cynthia giggled, taking Wendy's hand in her own as they sat together.
"Very. I'm glad we get to be here." Alex grinned while taking a cookie for herself. "What happened earlier was pretty crazy..."
"Yeah, that sucked." Jack crossed his arms. "Why the hell would a dragon from the Isle attack anyway? I thought that a majority of them couldn't fly anyway."
"Well, Gaia has an idea..." Alex started to speak, but her gaze shifted to Wendy and Cynthia's joined hands. OF course she was happy to see her sister, but she didn't want to intrude on their moment. As such, she turned around. "But I can talk about that later. This is a party, so we should have a good time. Jack, wanna dance with me?"
"HUH!?" Jack's eyes went wide. "Why would I do something stupid like dancing!?"
"Oh, come on." Alex rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you're still at that age where you think girls are icky?" She leaned forward, giving him a cheeky smile.
"No, I just...don't know how to dance. It's stupid." Jack huffed while glancing off to the side. Before he knew it, Alex was pushing his back to shove him along. "Ah! Hey!? What the hell!?"
"You're gonna learn how to dance today, buddy!" Alex snickered, before looking back at Cynthia and winking. She and Jack were off, leaving the two of them alone again.
"It was nice to see them." Wendy giggled.
"Yeah." Cynthia then got an idea, standing up and extending her hand to Wendy. "But they had the right idea. Wendy, do you wanna dance with me?"
Wendy's eyes followed Cynthia as she stood up. For a moment, they softened. The way the light hit Cynthia, and the image of the moon behind them. In this moment, Wendy wasn't sure how to describe this feeling, but she smiled while accepting Cynthia's hand. "I'd love to, Cynthia."
.
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Hisui was taking this chance to try and relax. She had only been to Joya once before in the past, so it was nice to indulge in this festival. The events of the day were still weighing heavily on her mind, but she found herself enjoying seeing those from Fairy Tail have fun. From Gray and Juvia sharing a...strange dance in which Gray was being dragged around, to Erza taking part in having as many strawberry cakes as possible. "I'm glad they can all enjoy themselves, at least."
Natsu managed to convince Lucy for a dance. "See? I told you! I got better at this!"
"I guess you did." Lucy was pleasantly surprised. It looked like Natsu was actually improving when it came to social things. She was proud of him!
"And it's time for the big finish!" Natsu's grin widened. Lucy's smile instantly faded.
"Wait. What are you-!?" Before Lucy could question what Natsu was about to do, he spun her around. A little too hard. She became a mini tornado that ripped through the festival grounds. "GAAAAAAAAH?!" She yelped out, unable to control her own spin. As she spun around, she passed the likes of Diamond, Spade, Ace, Tia, Daryan, and Magnus. "HEEEEEEEELP!" She cried out.
"What the hell..." Rondo watched as Lucy spun around uncontrollably. She was about to laugh, but then, Lucy slammed right into her! The two went down together in an awkward position with Lucy on top of her. "Owww..."
"Oooow..." Lucy said in unison with Rondo. The two of them had swirls in their eyes as they lied in KO together. "That's the last time...I trust Natsu with anything..." She shook her head slowly, realizing that Rondo was actually out cold underneath her. "AH! I'm so sorry! R-Rondo, wake up...!"
"Urrrrgh..." Rondo let out a low groan. That impact completely knocked her out.
Before Lucy could panic too much, a hand was extended to her. She looked up, only to see Jazz. "O-Oh. I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to...!"
"It's alright." Jazz said. "I have no doubt Polka saw what happened. Rondo will be fine, and I'll tell her it wasn't your fault."
"Thank you..." Lucy breathed a sigh of relief. She took Jazz's hand and he helped her stand up.
"But of course." Jazz replied with a nod. As he helped Lucy to her feet, he felt something. He briefly saw something as well; an outline of something terrible behind Lucy. Coming from her. His eyes widened for a moment, but that figure also vanished just as quickly. "..."
"Is something wrong?" Lucy tilted her head. Whatever Jazz saw, she had no idea. Nor did she realize the brief flash of her eyes flickering from brown to red.
"No. Nothing." Jazz shook his head. As he did, Polka arrived to help heal Rondo. "Go and enjoy the rest of the festival. Get as much in as you can since you'll be returning home soon."
"I will!" Lucy smiled, completely unaware of what Jazz saw. "Sorry again, Rondo..." She whispered before scurrying off.
As Lucy ran off, Polka looked towards Jazz. He was so pensive... "Jazz, is something, wrong? You look so tense."
Jazz was silent for a moment, watching as Lucy started to comically yell at Natsu in the background for turning her into a force of nature. "That woman...there's a darkness inside of her. Something that's not even human. I can't say if she knows about it or not either..."
.
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Gaia stood in a room with Toma, Ceros, and Vena. With the countries having the closest ties to the Isle of the Dragons, Gaia thought it best to inform them of her findings before anything else. "That dragon...it was indeed from the Isle, just as everyone surmised. I could smell it."
"It was taken out rather quickly by use of the Heracles Cannon." Ceros crossed his arms. "To think that we had our arms twisted into allowing such a thing." He shook his head, but that's all he could do. Given the circumstances, it they had no choice.
"I still have something I'd like to wonder." Vena placed her hands on her hips, looking towards Gaia. "It was to my understanding that the dragons on the Isle could not fly at all. That was the reason they had to use that girl's power to bring the Isle to the ocean, where they would proceed to cross it to reach the mainland."
"That is correct." Gaia replied. "However, that was a condition Dhegensea created with Yggdrasil. Since Dhegensea was slain, I believe that pact no longer holds. As such, the dragons are capable of flight again. But I know Pri...Er, Queen Ena wouldn't allow even a single dragon to defy her new rules. Even if the others despise humans...if this was something anyone wanted to do, they could've done it at any moment prior to today."
"Are you suggesting...?" Toma trailed off.
"Yes. I believe this was a setup." Gaia said, staring out into the glowing lights of Crown City below them. "That dragon wasn't in their right mind, and the timing is just too perfect to be written off as a coincidence. I believe...that the dragon we encountered was kidnapped from the Isle, and forced to attack Joya today. And the one who benefited from that the most was..."
"That's a bold theory." Vena lifted a brow, cutting Gaia off intentionally. "As much as the pieces line up in my eyes, I'm afraid that alone isn't going to cut it. After all, the dragon is gone now."
"Yes," Ceros reluctantly agreed. He understood the train of thought, but there was nothing to back it up. "This was just a happy turn of events for King Ashnard at the end of the day. There's nothing we can say or do to even attempt to prove otherwise. The decision for the Heracles Cannon was already made. We were keeping an eye on Pergrande, but they managed to hide such a weapon from everyone."
"Indeed. There's no going back now." Toma sighed.
"...Yeah." Gaia gave a nod. They had no proof, but with how things were looking, there was only one country that gained the most today...
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A bit more time passed. While the festival was slowing down a little bit, there were still a lot of people about. Erza did notice one thing, however... "Has anyone seen Gajeel?"
"He said he had an idea, but we haven't seen him since." Happy pointed out. The answer to that question was soon answered as a spotlight shone in the middle of the street. "Eh?"
There was Gajeel, standing in his musicians outfit, and a guitar in hand. "You guys wanted some music! I got some for you!"
"Oh no." All of Fairy Tail said at the same time. But Gajeel was getting a lot of attention anyway as he began to strum his instrument.
"Shooby do..." Gajeel began to sing. There was an even split in terms of reactions. Some people were actually kind of into this, while there were others that wished he'd just up and leave.
"Boo! Get off the stage!" Voices like Fugue were no exception to this.
"This is not the worst thing I've heard." Daryan commented.
"Speak for yourself." Diamond, Alex, and Shadowlore all said in unison. At the end of the day, there were plenty of people that had to commend Gajeel for giving a performance in the first place.
"Hm..." Gajeel paused for a bit. Something felt wrong. "I need some backup dancers. This just doesn't work the same without. You two!" He gestured to Mira and Lucy, they were his best bets. "Get up here and dance to my song, the people will love it!" Levy wasn't here, so he couldn't draft her for it, and Juvia was not going to part from Gray no matter what. So this was his next best choice.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Lucy exclaimed, also making sure to hug Mira's arm so she didn't allow her niceness to win her over. Gajeel wasn't going to let it go that easily either, so some bickering ensued! Even in another country, the antics of Fairy Tail were still ever far reaching. And while they were all having a nice time, there was one thing they remained blissfully unaware of.
They had no idea what was waiting for them when they returned home...
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Next Time: The Client.