The day the team made it to Benos was a rainy one. Lucy stared out the window of the train car, watching rain drops make patterns against the cool glass. The others were either sleeping or trying not to throw up or, in Gray's case, staring at the rain and thinking of a certain rain woman he had left far behind, leaving Lucy to be the only one to notice the approaching station.
"Hey! Guys, wake up! We're almost there!" Her voice roused her companions and caused Happy to fly into the window trying to get a look at this new country. "Happy!"
Natsu groaned from the floor, rolling onto his back with his hands wrapped around his stomach. "Good," he moaned, "cause I'm about to die." There was a flurry of motion in the compartment as everyone got all of their things together, excited for the actual start of their quest. Even Natsu managed to pull himself together slightly. Only Wendy still moaned, her skin pale and clammy.
Erza cast a worried look over the young girl, sitting next to the Dragon Slayer and placing a hand on her forehead. "Wendy you're burning up." The girl could only groan slightly, opening one eye to look up at the scarlet warrior. Erza frowned, but she lost the chance to say anything when the train rolled into the station, coming to a halt that caused everything in the compartment to fall forwards.
"Come on, come on!" Happy called, pulling on Lucy's shirt sleeve to try and get her to move faster. She batted at his paws, reaching down to help Natsu to his feet.
Erza slid away from the young Dragon Slayer, keeping an eye on her state. "Gray, can you help Wendy? I need to get my bags." He nodded, moving over to the young girl and positioning her arm over his shoulders.
"Come on, you can do it. Once we've gotten our mission, let's find you a nice room to sleep off this sickness, huh?" One look back showed that Lucy had grabbed his bag and was thrusting Wendy's suitcase in Natsu's arms, not giving him a choice in the matter.
Wendy made an affirmative noise, forcing her eyes open and leaning on Gray as the two left the train. "Yeah, that would be nice."
Natsu was already on the ground, praising gods he didn't even believe in that he was finally off of that abomination. Happy stood by Natsu's head, snickering as Natsu made a fool of himself. Carla hovered by Gray and Wendy, watching Wendy anxiously as the girl blinked furiously, trying to make herself focus.
Everyone gathered by the entry to the station, surrounding themselves with their (Erza's) mountain of luggage. "Alright, so we're supposed to meet up with this guy, um... Lennox. Yeah, I think that's what Gildarts called him." Lucy started talking to herself, rummaging around through her bag in search of the notebook containing everything Gildarts had been able to tell them about this quest.
"While you look through that, let's at least get out of this train station and into Benos. Then we can find an inn, let Wendy relax a little, and we can meet up with this guy." Everyone seemed to agree with Gray's suggestion, and at that, the group started towards the exit.
Each step they took brought another ten pounds on Natsu, and he felt like he was about to fall over from weariness. That's not right, he managed to think through the haze of exhaustion. Why the hell am I so tired right now? And my head, God it's pounding. Is this what it feels like to die? Maybe all that motion sickness caught up with me! Ugh, I knew trains were going to be the death of me!
Erza stumbled ever so subtly, but she stumbled nonetheless. She shook her head, clenching her fist even tighter around the handle of her wagon of luggage. Get a hold of yourself Erza! Why do I feel so weak all of a sudden? It's not like I ate anything weird, and I just slept on the train... I don't think I could even summon a dagger right now.
Gray found himself barely able to hold himself up, let alone Wendy. He went to ask Carla or Happy to help, but he noticed how they were drooping, hovering barely a foot above the ground and wings moving at a snail's pace. Now that he noticed it, everyone in their group was starting to sag, Natsu rubbing his head and Lucy her eyes. What the hell...?
"Guys....?" Lucy muttered, eyes beginning to close. "I don't... feel really weird... uhhh..." She crumpled to the ground, passed out before she even hit the wooden floor.
"Luce-" Natsu mumbled weakly, reaching to try and catch her before he too collapsed. One by one, the seven fell to the ground, losing all traces of consciousness. They lay sprawled in the gateway between Coracre and Benos, strangers in an unfamiliar land.
XXX
"Ugh, my head," Natsu groaned, sitting up and forcing an eye slightly open. His nostrils flared as he breathed in the new air. As soon as he understood what scents he was smelling, his eyes flew open the rest of the way and he leapt to his feet. Well, he would have if he hadn't fallen straight to the ground. Groaning again, Natsu finally took in his surroundings. "What the hell?"
He was in a room he had never seen before, but that wasn't the confusing part. If you were in a new country, you would expect to be somewhere you had never seen before. Besides, Natsu never knew where he was. That was why he had Lucy, to keep him straight. No, the part that got him was that he had just been lying on a bed before he had tried to stand up and fallen. That bed was in the middle of the room, and if he didn't know better, he would say he was in a typical inn room. That doesn't make sense. We never made it to an inn, we all...
Natsu suddenly remembered what happened at the train station, and this time he really did leap to his feet. "Lucy?" He called, frantically looking around the room for his friends. "Happy? Wendy? Anyone?" His voice didn't reach any of his companions, but it did bring in new faces from the hall outside.
Stepping through the door was someone Natsu definitely did not recognize, much to his disappointment. He raised his fists in front of him, flames licking his knuckles as he prepared to defend himself. Or, he tried to. Even as he pushed at the very limits of his strength, not even a spark left his body. He swallowed before settling back on his heels. Just like Edolas then. God I really hoped I would never have to do this again. What's up with us and always losing our magic?!
The man who just entered the room lifted his hands in surrender, shutting the door behind him. Before he did, Natsu caught sight of the guard standing outside the room. "Don't fight. Trust me, I have no plans to do anything to you or your friends. Only talk."
"Where are my friends? What the hell is going on?! Why isn't my magic working?!" He tried to step forward and be all threatening, but his strength failed. He stumbled forward, catching himself on the wall before he could fall again.
"Come, let's get some food into you. Losing your magic isn't a very pleasant experience." The strange man held out his hand, offering to help Natsu up from his position against the wall. Instead, he frowned and pushed himself up.
"What do you mean losing my magic?! And I'm not going anywhere or doing anything until I know where my friends are. And who are you?"
The man sighed, lowering his hand only to reach for the door knob. "Your friends are all safe and awake. I'm actually trying to bring you to them, so if you would follow me...?" Natsu reluctantly started to follow the man, all the while trying to force at least a spark out. The man turned back with a smile, glad to see the young mage finally listening. "And my name is Lennox. I believe you seven were sent to find me."
XXX
Gray paced the length of the large room, trying and trying to make at least a shard of ice. He clenched his fists and made the motions over and over again, trying so desperately to make his magic work, goddammit. He knew that it was no use; he had been trying for the past twenty minutes, ever since Lennox had brought him to this room. But he hadn't lost his magic in Edolas. He hadn't expected the feeling in the pit of his stomach now that his magic vanished. The closest feeling he'd experienced was during the S-Class wizard trial when that guy had knocked down the Tenrou Tree, but even then, magic still ran through his veins. Now it felt like each pulse of his heart pushed the ice out of his body until eventually he would be nothing but a normal guy.
He hated feeling so useless. What was he without his magic? Ever since Ur had taught him Ice-Make magic, he had always had the feeling of ice coursing through his entire body, bringing him to life. Now he was stuck, pacing in a room while the rest of his friends sat on couches, picking at the buffet laid before them and trying to use their magic while they waited for the flame-brain to finally wake up. What a great way to start a quest. Why would they need wizards to go on this 100-year quest, if our magic doesn't even work in the place?!
"Gray?" Lucy called, drawing his attention to where the young woman sat beside Wendy, the latter currently drifting off into sleep again while she leaned against Lucy's shoulder. "I know magic isn't working, but do you think you could come sit by Wendy? Isn't your body temperature like, cooler, than normal? Or is that just Natsu who's hotter?" She sighed, running her hands through her already tangled hair. "Whatever it is, she's burning up, so please? Give it a try?"
Gray was glad for the distraction, and he immediately crossed the room to sit next to the young Dragon Slayer. Lucy was right, her skin was definitely feverish. God, I hope this isn't serious. Wouldn't that be perfect? Having a sick Wendy on top of losing every ounce of our magic all in one blow. And why the hell is Natsu taking so long to wake up?!
Almost on cue, the door swung open to reveal the salmon-haired mage following the man who had introduced himself as Lennox. The man's light eyes were glinting, and it was hard to tell if it was out of humor or annoyance. When it came to Natsu, it could just as easily be both. "Oh, you're all here!" Natsu sounded very pleased with himself, but Gray didn't even bother with finding out why.
"Natsu!" Happy ran across the room and jumped on Natsu, obviously very happy to be reunited again. It was also very obvious how awkward the Exceeds could be without their wings. Natsu laughed, patting Happy's head.
"Well, Natsu, some people don't sleep forever," Erza added, standing from the chair she had chosen by the fireplace that dominated the center of the room. "But now that you have finally joined us, do you think we could get an explanation? I was promised one an hour ago.
"And a doctor for Wendy," Carla added from where she sat on the girl's lap. " You said you would send someone in to look at her." Lennox's gaze seemed to soften at the sight of the sick girl. He nodded, putting his hands up in a placating manner.
"Yes, yes. Hyacinth, go and find our healer, hm?" A young man standing in the doorway, nodded before disappearing, closing the door shut behind him. "Now, let's begin, shall we? Please, make yourselves comfortable. We may be here for a while." He motioned for Natsu to sit down, but the mage remained standing, instead crossing his arms.
"I'll stand, thanks." Lennox just shrugged, moving to an empty chair in front of the fireplace. He began pouring himself a cup of tea from the teapot sitting on the table before him, almost like he was surrounded by five very confused mages and two Exceeds. At that moment, Natsu seemed to finally notice the table off to the side of the room. His eyes glinted and he dashed off, eager to stuff as much food as he could into his mouth before this dude started talking again.
After a few minutes of him just sipping his tea, Lennox finally placed the cup down on the table and faced the group. "Years ago, there was magic in Benos. Now, we don't have time for the entire story, but suffice to say that, overnight, magic disappeared. No one knew what happened. And... we still don't know. So our country's been dying, deprived of ethernano."
"That's all very sad, but why are we here? I mean, do you expect us to bring your magic back?" Gray interrupted, trying his hardest to not disturb Wendy next to him who, by this time, had switched from Lucy and was now resting her head on his shoulder as she slept. Everyone grew silent as his question sank in, the realization that that was exactly why they were there.
Before Lennox could answer, the door swung open once again, and an older woman entered, a large bag clutched against her chest. "Ah, Ame, thank you Hyacinth." The same young man once again nodded in the doorway before shutting the door. The healer, for who else could she be, bustled across the room towards Wendy.
"Oh the poor girl," she mused, quickly shooing Gray and Lucy away from Wendy. Gray gently extracted himself, laying Wendy down on the couch as smoothly as he could. She was about to tell Carla to move, but something in the Exceed's countenance made Ame change her mind. "Are you all wizards?" Lucy exchanged a look with Erza across the room before she answered the healer. At Lucy's affirmative response, Ame sighed and began digging through her bag. "What kind of magic does she use? Am I correct to assume something elemental? Why else would she react so strongly to the loss of ethernano in our country?" She was no longer speaking to the group, but instead to herself.
"Don't mind Ame. Your friend is in good hands." Lennox drew their attention back to him, reminding them of the quest they were supposed to be learning about. "Now, to answer your question..." At this he paused, and it occurred to Gray that he was looking for a name.
"It's Gray. Gray Fullbuster. And this is Lucy, Natsu, Erza, Wendy, Happy, and Carla," Gray introduced each of his friends, and he was confused by the shock Lennox seemed to display when he heard each of their names.
"Are you from Fairy Tail? Like the last one, umm... Gildarts, correct?" Gray nodded, still not understanding why their names meant so much. "So you seven are the ones mostly responsible for the defeat of the Alvarez Empire, along with the death of the dragon Acnologia?"
"Yeah, what about it?" Natsu replied stiffly, still not completely sure if this man could be trusted. Lucy placed a hand on his arm, trying to calm him down.
She turned her attention to Lennox. "I didn't think that this far away would have heard about that."
Lennox laughed, the disbelief evident. "My dear, the whole world must know by now. Your guild is famous! The wizards who freed the world from the threat of Acnologia, the wizards who stopped the unstoppable Alvarez! Of course, that means you will have to go by different names while in Benos in order to be as covert as possible, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. I think, I think you will be the ones to finally complete this quest. If you can't succeed, you seven who have done so much, well then who can?"
"But that was when we had magic," Erza spoke up, moving to join Lucy on the couch instead of the chair she had been in. "Yes, we're all powerful wizards, but we've only been able to accomplish these sorts of things because we have magic that lets us do them. We're just like any other person in this country at the moment."
"But we have something they don't have," Natsu spoke again, the fire still burning in his eyes even if it had disappeared from everywhere else. "All of those other mages who took on this quest, they were alone. This time, we have each other. Besides, we told Gramps that we'd take this quest. We can't just go back on our word cause things get hard!"
Lucy couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm as she pushed herself to her feet. "I agree with Natsu. We have to try, especially for all of these poor people here. What kind of Fairy Tail mages would we be if we left and let them suffer?"
"But what about Wendy?" Happy brought up a good point, and everyone turned to look at Wendy, Ame still fussing over her. At the sound of the girl's name, Ame turned to address them.
"She's very sick. The magic-deficiency is hitting her hard. I don't know how well she'll be able to function like this."
"I want to go," her raspy voice spoke up, and they watched as Wendy struggled to sit up. "I'm not going to sit by and watch as you all go risk your lives while I lay here. I'll find a way around feeling this awful. Please, don't make me stay here." She looked awful, but the strength in her young frame was evident.
Carla looked up at her best friend, worry still the prominent expression on her face. "Wendy..."
Natsu grinned, throwing his arm around Lucy's shoulders. "Then let's go do this thing!"