"Hisui," Laxus called.
Hisui snapped her attention back to Laxus. She'd watched Irene settle in with the others, trying to ignore the nagging voice that didn't want to trust her, that suspected some sort of foul play brewing just beneath the surface.
"Do you think this'll work out?"
"I do." Hisui folded her arms. "Considering how many people we've held back, we have a great chance to let Tartaros drop their guard if they approach Magnolia. We can hit them as hard as we can with you and Gajeel."
"And the Thunder Tribe."
Hisui nodded, but before she could speak up, Laxus continued.
"I'm serious. I know you've put a lot on yourself, but you need to remember that, in their own right, those three are remarkably powerful wizards. They single-handedly took down half of Fairy Tail once upon a time. Not a shining spot, for any of us, but it should at least speak to their abilities. I have something I need to do, so I want to make sure you know they're at your disposal."
"Something you need to do?"
Laxus let his hand drift toward the sword at his hip. It looked disjointed there, not quite fitting his muscular frame.
"I have to kill Ezel. He's a stepping stone to finally figuring out how I can beat her."
"Dimaria."
"I can beat her at her own game. She wants to play around with swords? Fine. I know I have the power to get her, now it comes down to the skill. Ezel is a perfect testing ground for the training I've done."
Hisui sensed her own sword at her hip. She held her tongue. Much as she wanted to encourage him, she couldn't muster the courage. As a princess, against her father's wishes but at the behest of Arkadios, she was trained in swordplay. Dimaria and Ezel were bred by the sword—Ezel quite literally.
But he was motivated. And if Hisui knew anything, there was little that could stop a motivated Fairy Tail wizard.
"I believe in you, Laxus," Hisui said. "And the Thunder Tribe. They can certainly help us level the playing field regarding the numbers we're up against."
"Exactly. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to tell them the plan so they can be prepared."
Hisui nodded.
She let her gaze linger on Gajeel, who slowly made his way over to Levy. The Broken Wizards were gone—Makarov and Erza were bringing them along so Bob could undo their Broken minds right away. It helped ease Hisui's mind as it came to abandoning their little outpost.
She was left with all of Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayers, the Thunder Tribe, and Irene. Plus, the Exceeds—Lily was particularly handy in a fight. Each, in their own right, could level a serious blow against the Empire. As one unit?
It was a fighting force designed to pulverize Tartaros.
"Queen Hisui!"
Hisui spun. Oh. And there was this one, Sherria Blendy. Her protege, her God Slayer. She sauntered up to Hisui with a curt nod.
"Good morning," Hisui said. "Finished your exercises?"
"Yup, and I'm ready to go!" Sherria exclaimed. "Where'd everyone else go?"
Hisui smiled. "Come. I'll explain to you along with the others. Best we get a move on. We have a big day ahead of us."
Erza sat at the front of the empty high-speed car while Makarov was at the other end. Bisca and Warren, still bound by Gray's cuffs, were separated from one another across the car.
It was a train that rarely ran in the morning—Erza took it as a good sign that they were able to get on at all. They were going the right way. They were doing the right thing.
Still, she couldn't ignore that her friends were out fighting. Gray, that fool, was alone. She trusted Master Makarov that he would receive backup, of a sort, but was unsure how that could be possible. Or how Master knew.
She'll be waiting for you, Erza. She has a job to do.
Warren's voice had rung in her mind all morning since he woken up. It taunted her, vexed her. He couldn't inject images into her brain but he was sure that he would only need to cycle the constant scene of Mirajane slaying Elfman to break her.
As if it wasn't constantly on her mind, too.
She kept her arms folded while the world zipped by.
She has a job to finish.
"Just so you know, things have been a lot better since we joined the Empire," Bisca said. "You know how much pain we've avoided? You know what we're not thinking about? Anything y'all are. And you wanna take that from us?"
You want to give us back the memory and feelings of losing everyone all over again?
"I think," Bisca said as the car rattled but stayed the course, "that soon, ya'll will be feeling the same way as us. Fighting a good fight until it all goes up in smoke. Cuz ya'll ain't gonna beat the Empire. Ain't nobody on Earth Land who can."
Erza held her tongue. Makarov glowered at them but also said nothing.
All you can do is join them, Warren said. "And hope that everyone else does, too. We've got power and authority and safety now. Never had that before, not even with the Magic Council."
"It's good to hear your voice, Warren," Master Makarov said. "Truly."
"We're going to save you," Erza said, mostly to herself, but her voice echoed around the car.
"We were already saved," Warren said.
"After we lost everything," Bisca said. She sat up further. "Just like ya'll."
Erza shut her eyes and shook her head.
Just like Lisanna did. Because you let that happen, Erza. Think about it. You could've saved Elfman. How many of us have you saved before?
"Guess it doesn't matter. Because you weren't there for any of us when the Empire came knocking a first time."
Erza balled her fist.
"And you won't be there when Tartaros comes knocking again."
Erza slammed her fist into the wall, nearly caving it in around her. Neither Bisca nor Warren made a sound. They didn't even smile. They couldn't bring themselves to feel joy, nor hatred, nor even pity. They were drones carrying out the message of their Empire.
Nothing more.
It was harrowing to watch her friends go, or prepare to leave, into danger. But as Wendy sat over Natsu, watching as his slow breathing continued and his chest rose and fell at a steady pace, she knew this was the place for her.
It was familiar. Not that she'd been in this situation before, but spending time with him, and just him and a nearby Gajeel, feltright. It felt like she was at home. Nostalgic, she thought. That's the word.
But, she'd always had that feeling with Natsu. Like she was seeing him for the first time in a long time; only, they were, by all intents and purposes, still recently friends. How could she feel like she'd reunited with an old friend within just a few minutes of meeting him for the first time? The same for Gajeel.
Wendy tucked her legs in closer to her chest. The Exceeds idly chatted with one another. Ms. Porlyusica was preparing food for Natsu to have whenever he woke up. She had no estimations on when it'd be. He was beyond her care and had to take his life into his own hands, apparently.
A shadow loomed over Wendy. For a moment, she mistook it for Erza. The moment was instantaneous, as the dark clothes and large hat easily gave away the person's true identity. Irene stepped out of the shadow of the sun and knelt next to Natsu. She rested the back of her gloved hand on his forehead.
"Not ill, at least," Irene said. "His magic has been disrupted."
"Is it, um…what's it called?"
"Magic Deficiency Disease?" Irene asked. "No. But I suspect this one's hubris in trying to stave off Larcade's Pain magic dug its way into his very magical system." She rested a hand on his chest. It was gentle enough that she put no pressure on him. Her eyes flashed with concern or surprise, then she removed her hand, as if realizing something. "No. Nothing to worry about."
"You're sure?"
"Yes." She smiled. "Everything is normal in there. He's just working through it. I believe he'll wake soon."
"Oh, good! I'm sure he'll be shocked that everyone has already left."
"Certainly."
"And I wish he were around for your story. He always loves hearing little things about Igneel. He's still looking for him. Or, he was, before we went to Tenrou Island."
"And you've been looking for your dragon?"
Wendy bowed her head. Ms. Porlyusica approached.
"Grandeeney awaits you, little girl," Ms. Porlyusica said. "Trust me."
Irene eyed her. "Ah. I'm surprised I never noticed it before."
"I was wondering when you would, Irene," Porlyusica said.
Wendy shifted her gaze between the two old ladies. "What's going on?"
"I wouldn't worry about searching for your dragon," Irene said. "You've been close for some time."
"Close for some time?" Wendy muttered.
"In some form," Ms. Porlyusica said. "Not quite the one you knew but—"
"Grandeeney?" Wendy burst. She spun and stood up at the same time.
Ms. Porlyusica held Wendy back for just one moment. "Erm, yes. But, Wendy, not the one you knew. I am the Grandeeney of Edolas. Some time ago, I came through to Earth Land and then—well, then I joined Fairy Tail."
"I—I can't believe it."
"I've wondered how the dragons may fare in a land of opposites without them," Irene said. "I heard whispers of a great armor made of Dragon Slayer magic, but never of a true dragon."
"They don't exist in Edolas," Ms. Porylusica said. "In fact, I never encountered the ones that you all are aware of. I never knew Igneel, Metallicana, or the others. However, I have met the Grandeeney of this world."
"You have? Where?"
"In a dream. In another place, I suppose. I do not know where she is, and she would not tell me. But she loves you, Wendy, and she wishes you nothing but great courage and strength."
Wendy sat back down. Her knees buckled, and tears welled in her eyes.
"I never met Grandeeney or the others," Irene said. "I merely watched them as they fought valiantly, as you have, for what they believe in. By the time the fighting was done, they'd gone away, hidden away with a plan to defeat Acnologia."
Wendy wiped the tears from her eyes as she fought through her fumbling words to ask, "A plan?"
"Yes. A desperate gambit." Irene shook her head. "It's a story for another time, I'm afraid. To tell it now would be unfair to Natsu."
Wendy pursed her lips. Irene stepped back, blocking the sun from falling on Natsu once again. But it was still warm around her—within her. Ms. Porlyusica rested a hand on Wendy's head. She couldn't fight the grin that came to her face, nor the tears filling her eyes again. Wendy reached up and held her hand there.
"Will you sit with me?" Wendy asked. "There's so much I want to know."
"About what?"
"You, Grandeeney."
Ms. Porlyusica let out a sigh, then sat with Wendy next to Natsu.
"Alright. Ask away, child."
The doors to Hell's Core slithered open. Lamy turned to attention as Mard Geer eased into the room. Kyoka flanked him. Seilah was not far behind him. Torafuzar remained at his post near the healing pods. They were empty—unused, despite Mard Geer's generous estimation that at least one of his demons would fall in combat.
"Where is Franmalth?" Kyoka asked. Mard Geer held his hands behind his back.
Lamy remained stiff, her salute strong. "Wandering!"
"Bring him," Mard Geer said. "We must mobilize."
"Mobilize!"
Mard Geer turned away from Lamy the fool. Kyoka nodded to him.
"The troops are ready. Where are we going, my Lord?"
"Magnolia. Yukino Agria and Lucy Heartfilia are leading a group of rebels in an attempt to take back the town as we speak. I have no doubt that this is a little bit of a play on Hisui's part. She will not be far behind."
"I'll muster the Demon Gates."
"Inform Keyes only to march to Magnolia. With any luck, we'll wipe them out without much problem, but should they become an annoyance, I'm sure an army of the undead, commanded by fellow demons, will snuff them out. Plus, they can destroy any rebels along the way."
"One has already fallen, my lord."
"Good."
The tapping of a walking stick filled one of the corridors nearby that led into Hell's Core. Mard Geer did not acknowledge the one-eyed demon making its way into the dark chamber. Kyoka did, inviting him to their conversation.
"Is the Cube ready for departure?" Kyoka asked.
"As ready as ever!" Franmalth exclaimed.
"Then let us be off the moment the final Demon Gate is aboard," Kyoka said.
"Well, there is the other matter. The Crystal Division has advised utmost care with the handling of STAR."
"My understanding is that it is not so volatile," Kyoka said.
"Indeed. However, it is still in its infant stages. Ruining our key to victory before we can march to battle is foolish."
Mard Geer let Kyoka answer for him, "Very well. But speed up the process."
"Our key to victory lies within our own strength," Mard Geer said, "not in whatever machine those wizards created."
Orders had come down to include the STAR weapon in their next attack on Fairy Tail. The logic was sound. So long as Hell's Core was intact, which, given Torafuzar's placement and Mard Geer's monitoring, was always going to be the case, the bomb detonating would only kill the Fairy Tail wizards. Its power was great and would certainly ensure their demise.
But there was something about it that didn't sit with Mard Geer quite right. Though Hell's Core guaranteed the lives of each member of Tartaros, throwing away their lives was not something the members of Tartaros looked forward to doing. This set an ugly precedent moving forward: Tartaros could be on the front lines of any major confrontation, and so long as they had STAR and Hell's Core, they were effectively invincible.
Therefore, the world would be led to believe that they were not powerful because of the cunning and strength they'd been imbued with by the almighty Zeref, their great creator, but because of something August the Wizard King and Ajeel the Desert King concocted in a lab.
"Ah, and there's one of our chief engineers now. Is the weapon aboard?"
The man approached. He kept his distance from Mard Geer and Kyoka, rightfully fearful of their presence. He looked haggard, but was cleaned up. His garb was not that of a typical engineer—it was prouder. He wore a cloak covering what appeared to be a bit of armor, with a tiny rapier at his side and a belt lined with pouches fitted with various magic tools, gems. Anything that, Mard Geer figured, could be used to touch up the weapon. The sword at his side was a standard affair for the Crystal Division.
"It is being placed in the antechamber not far from the east wing of the guild hall," the man said. He pushed his glasses up. "Per Franmalth's advisement."
"It was initially going to be near one of the old studies, but Seilah promised she'd have my head if we left it here, so we moved out a few of Torafuzar's things and placed it there."
"Hey!" Torafuzar grumbled.
Kyoka raised a hand in his direction. Mard Geer felt no remorse for the demon. He had failed and would suffer punishment until further notice.
"Good work, Franmalth. You, wizard, shall attend to the device?"
"Yes."
"With Franmalth's oversight," Kyoka said.
"Yes," he said, the faint hint of reluctance in his voice.
"Do treat it with respect," Kyoka said. "It's going to usher in the end of the rebellion, after all."
Surely he had no traitorous thoughts, Mard Geer considered. To act against the will of the Empire within the bowels of Tartaros's command ship would be stupid beyond belief. The reluctance probably came from the acceptance that he was going to die, and there was nothing to be done about it.
"Enough chatter," Mard Geer said. "I'm going to my seat. Kyoka, ensure the Cube is gone within five minutes. Summon the Gates by force if you must."
Kyoka bowed her head and accepted her request.
"Come, human," Franmalth called. "We have work to do."
Mard Geer made his way through Hell's Core, still getting a salute from Lamy. He whisked through the corridor and was finally alone. Kyoka, he often didn't mind—she was a loyal soldier. The rest? They tended to linger, or let their personalities show in often aggravating ways. Particularly the weaklings. But they were useful, so they could be kept around.
He needed time alone to think. Once this was over, in a mere few hours, he needed to have a plan on how to deal with August and STAR. Tartaros would have proven itself arguably the most valuable Division in the Empire with Hisui's demise, and would be in high demand for more high-profile missions. Perhaps that alone would mean they'd proven their strength enough not to need STAR.
Or, Mard Geer considered, they would be a bit conservative in Fairy Tail's obliteration. How useful would it be to have many more demons like Mirajane? Or, better yet, to have a demonized Hisui? They would hold many diplomatic cards in their hand.
Mard Geer stopped just before another corridor and raised his two fingers to his head.
"Kyoka," he said.
Yes? Kyoka asked.
"I want you to lead the Demon Gates onto the battlefield. Spearhead them."
As you wish.
"Ensure the battle is set, then we're going to remove a piece from the board."
Which one, my lord?
Mard Geer grinned. "The Queen."
Levy wallowed as Gajeel approached her. Wendy and Ms. Porlyusica were busy chit-chatting with one another while the others sulked. He stopped in front of Levy, who couldn't even face him.
"You're safe now, Levy," Gajeel said. "And we've left you alone long enough. I think it's time you started sharing what's been going on. Why were you with August all that time?"
Levy pursed her lips. She bowed her head further.
"Come on," he said. "You can trust me."
He leaned against a tree and waited. But Levy said nothing. She plucked a piece of grass out of the ground and crushed it in her hand. Gajeel snarled. Levy did it again, letting it go in the breeze.
"Damn it, Levy, people are about to get hurt and you're just sitting here not helping us at all, I thought we were a family!"
Levy winced.
And stayed silent.
"What the hell's gotten into you?" Gajeel asked. "Were you this quiet when August was killing all of Lucy's friends, or when he was sending the Hunter's Division and Dragon Division after us? Were you this quiet when I almost got killed defending the Exceeds?"
Levy stopped what she was doing. She looked at Gajeel.
Her eyes were red, her cheeks puffy, tears ran down her face, and still, she was silent.
"I wasn't," she said. "Because I was giving them information the entire time."
Gajeel set his jaw and curled his hand into a fist.
"What would Jet and Droy think?" he asked. "Knowing that you turned traitor the moment you had the chance?"
"They're dead," Levy said. "What does it matter?"
"What's wrong with you?" Gajeel roared.
Levy swayed to the side and broke eye contact, but couldn't stop sobbing.
This wasn't her. It couldn't be. Levy was stronger than this, she was braver than this. She couldn't seriously be this into the Empire, no way was she this…delusional.
Laxus hollered something at Gajeel. He pushed himself away from the tree and, without another word, left Levy alone to once again wallow.
Lucy barely remembered the last time they were in Magnolia. It was all chaotic and hectic, but, looked mostly the same. The remnants of Laxus's fight were over in Kardia Cathedral—it'd been obliterated before, but that fight made sure the ruins would never be recovered in full.
They stood at the causeway leading into town. It'd once been home to several familiar markets that Lucy liked to go to before doing a little stroll in the surrounding forest.
The stands were, obviously, gone, but the homes that surrounded it were caved in, broken apart. Perfect place for some guerrilla warfare, she figured.
"Boy, not much to take back, is there?" Cana asked.
Max and Laki stopped short of the entrance to town. Lucy didn't ask, but wondered if it was the first time they'd been back, too. Romeo, certainly, had a haunted expression on his face.
Dark clouds had rolled in and stayed over Magnolia, just like the ones from before. Lucy couldn't help wondering if the place was cursed, or something, by Zeref. She didn't put it past him.
There wasn't a sign of anything Imperial in sight. No army, no guards, no command posts. It was simply ruins as far as the eye could see. Lucy's heart sank as it had many months ago.
What was there to even take back? What good could come of this victory?
She hardened her heart. A lot of good. It was their home, and there were lots of underground tunnels and networks they could use to stay hidden. Magnolia would be a decisive win for the rebellion.
"We should stay together," Cana said.
"I agree," Yukino said. "If Tartaros figures out we're here…
"And their magic is different from ours; there's no telling where they're going to come from," Laki said.
"Then we need to set some traps, babe!" Max exclaimed. "We're not gonna let those bastards sneak up on us again. Come on, we can set up a perimeter around the guild."
"The guild?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah. I bet they think we're going there first."
Oh, good point. War had really done a number on Max to think strategically. The guy didn't survive all these years out of sheer luck.
"Right," Laki said. She clasped his hand. "Come on!"
They raced off together. Romeo stepped up to fill their spot.
"It's still weird seeing them together," Cana said. "It's like we took a nap and woke up to them being married, when before they would hardly share a word with one another."
"It's not like it happened overnight," Romeo said. "But I think they realized that they really only had one another, and came to love each part of themselves."
"Damn," Cana muttered. "That was insightful, Romeo."
Romeo shrugged. "What can I do, guys?"
"There's not much more to do," Yukino said. "I guess we can make sure that the town is abandoned and go from there. Start setting up a base and whatnot."
It was all too easy. Lucy followed Yukino and Cana while Romeo scouted ahead. Distant memories came calling to Lucy, faces she hadn't seen or thought of in so long. But they were lost in the debris, ruined among the rubble. She couldn't find it in her to cry, though. As bad as Magnolia looked, because of the ruination and storm clouds, the rest of the kingdom was in a similar state.
She couldn't weep for what was, because they were going to get it back to something better, something more. Cana laced her fingers through Lucy's and together they marched down the place they once called home, and would soon call nothing more than a battleground.