Chapter-49
Counterattack
.•°.•Control•.°•.
~•~
Heavy footsteps overlaps the yells of the soldiers who were pleading for mercy. In the corridor elegantly walks a queen, splashing her armored boots in the pool of blood. Not a emotion of fear, not a emotion of pity. Just a cold contempt.
•×•
In the room of the king, Akira made everyone sleep, including Hisui on request of Kin.
Right now, while she was playing around in the room, Kin was trying not to sleep. He was sitting on the ground, his back against the wall under the window. He, and Hisaki couldn't't sleep last night because they had to do a task all night.
It was tiring...
The dawn was slowly rising into morning. The sun was pouring in that room, accompanied by occasional chirping of birds. The day was cloudy and cold... the wintery atmosphere was dominating the day.
The air was dry and still.
Kin suddenly raises his head and looks at the ceiling. His eyes remain focused for a while, and then he quickly jumps on his feet.
Akira notices this and then asks loudly, "Kin-nii?"
"Get ready Akira..." Kin announces walking towards the gate. "Cyanb-... I mean the queen is coming."
"The queen?!" Akira says loudly, following Kin.
Once he reaches the door, he sighs and takes a gulp. Slowly, he places his hands on the door handle. He lowers his eyes and opens it slowly.
The gate opens and a silhouette of a women appears. A rattling sound follows it as a long saber fall on the ground.
Akira's eyes widen as she sees the women in front of her.
Majestic...
Her white dress under her armor was stained with red. Her hair that are usually tied into a nice bun were open... her hair clip was in her hands. It had blood trailing off it's edge too.
"Glad to see you, Queen Cyanbell." Kin whispers, without looking at her.
But Cyanbell was not interested in his greetings. She was glaring at Akira. In a cold tone, she commands, "Bow down."
"Huh?" Akira mumbles, tilting her head.
Kin clicks his tongue and lifts his left hand, ready to lower the head of Akira. But it is grabbed by Cyanbell and stopped in it's way. "STAY LOW."
Akira gets chills from this voice. Kin clenches his fist and lowers it back reluctantly.
Cyanbell then lifts her hair pin and swiftly moves it towards Akira. At this point, Kin was ready for the worse outcome. His cape shone with a strong dark blue light as Cyanbell's hand reached closer.
She didn't notice that murderous aura... or more like someone didn't let her do it.
Kin was just about to pounce on her, planning to take her down before her hair pin could touch Akira's face. But a wind barrier, surrounding those three individually, prevented any contact between them for that moment.
Suddenly, he heard a whisper in his ear, "Have yoh lost your mind, Kin... queen Cyanbell... she is our mother..."
This... this made the cloak of Kin turn normal. His aura calmed, and his eyes closed. That's right. Cyanbell... is just like his mother... ah shit... that flashback once again...
A boy crawling in the streets...
A women clad in armor...
Cyanbell...
A helping hand...
A place to belong...
Years of training...
Disappearance of king...
Mission away from home...
Home... That's right... he is just giving up his only way to return back...
"I AM SORRY FOR HER!" Yukio yells making Akira forcefully bow down. She just arrived here from the window, like breeze traveling across fields. Silent and smooth.
The winds enveloping those three vanished. Cyanbell hissed at this and lowered her hair pin. "She was one step away from death."
"She is a new recruit!" Yukio replies, bowing down too. Her voice was wavering. "She hasn't learned everything about discipline... and... she is my little sister. She isn't fake..."
Cyanbell almost jumped back at this. "For real?! She is Akira? She was a toddler when I last saw her! Look how you she has grown up. I almost thought this girl was impostor. Ha! It's difficult to find obedient little children like you. Takes me back when I used to train you four... being the queen is really killing me."
Yukio and Kin sighed out of relief and raised their heads. So did Akira. Her face had an expression of curiousty more than fear. Little did she knew she almost died a moment ago.
Cyanbell walks inside the room and says, "That's right... Akira it is. You were not under my wing when I trained these four... Your magic... the mind manipulation user. Yes... This was your sorcery. Prodigy if I must say."
"And you were about to kill her for some stupid reason..." Kin curses in his mind but then sighs. The debt of Cyanbell on his head was above anything... he can't possibly repay it in this life.
Yukio adjusts her cap, and leans towards Kin. In a light tone, she says cautiously, "Don't waver."
"I am not." Kin replies quickly.
Cyanbell walks over to the royal officials. They were sleeping. She realizes that they are under Akira's spell.
"Come to think of it-" Cyanbell begins. "Where are Himari and Hisaki? Their absence, and this silence in this room is really bothering me."
Yukio and Kin look at each other. Yukio gave Kin a panicked nod. Then Kin nods back and says, "Hisaki... was just strolling around near the back entrance of the city. He should be returning any moment now."
It was a lie.
Cyanbell lifts her eyebrow. She runs her hands through her hair, making a bun out of them. "Strolling... he should know better than that. This mission is something we can't afford to fail... you all 5 had to gather here by now...BThis is bad."
"What's taking you so long, Hisaki..." Kin swears silently.
"What about Himari?" Cyanbell continues.
Yukio opens her mouth and then says, "She... was kept as an extra member. We needed 5 members to participate in games, but only 4 members to commence the plan, the 3 acts. So... we decided to let her do her own personal investigation."
Cyanbell sighs. She ties her hair neatly with the hair pin. She didn't care to wipe the blood off the pin. "You let your sword roam away... that's disappointing. That girl... well... she won't fall into enemy hands due to her bratty nature. But what if-"
"Rest easy." Kin interrupts. "She is strong."
"I know. I am the one who trained her." Cyanbell closes her eyes,"I, and some other Stellian soldiers have wiped the royal palace of it's guards. There is no soul alive right now inside this building, except us. But... for some reason we can't find any civillian."
Yukio and Kin simply kept quiet. They didn't reply.
Cyanbell opened her eyes and carried on in the same tone, "I just hope... none of you 5 were involved in letting them escape."
"No." All three of them reply almost instantaneously. Akira's confident voice made it more convincing.
Cyanbell folds her arms and smiles. "Good. We will find them, and make them hostages."
There was no reply this time either. The expressions of Kin and Yukio were neutral. Their eyes were lowered. Akira raises her head and looks at her sister. She was looking sad.
"At any cost-" Cyanbell went on, "-we need you 5 together. Always. That was the point of making the guild, Radiants." She pauses and then sighs, "I just hope Hisaki and Himari won't end up fighting."
"They never fought in front of me..." Akira says. "They are siblings! Like me and Yukio-nee!"
Cyanbell grins. "Little sweetie, you don't know what happened in their lives. I was the one who raised them into remarkable wizards... I know everything about them. They might be twins... but they always ended up quarreling among each other... like babies geez. If it wasn't for this mission, I have no doubt that at this moment, they must have been gotten into a fight."
•••
"Yo..." Hisaki finally opens his mouth. "Been a while, Himari."
At first, Himari didn't reply. Their was an eye to eye interaction between the twins. The burning rage in Himari's eyes, and the cold hatred in Hisaki's was intimidating both of them.
Finally Himari decides to speak up.
"I am older." She says taking our her wand. It's color was still vivid as always, just that the shade of red was prominent than usual.
"Don't get cocky for just be in born one second earlier." Hisaki curses. He unhooks the first button of his shirt and takes out a pendant he was wearing. It glows brown as he clenches it. His fist gets enveloped in that light, which gradually envelops his earthen gauntlets.
This pendent was made from the same material as Himari's wand. It was just as vivid and vibrant.
Himari sighs. She lowers her wand and says, "Don't. If we both use that, you know what will happen."
"You were the first one to pull out that wand." Hisaki hisses, releasing the grip on his pendant. The earth gauntlet falls of his skin like the shell of a boiled egg. "So, why are you here?"
"Act 3 has begun. The guards who were leading me to that shelter were killed by Stellian army." Himari replies. "...So I came to check on you."
"Don't lie." Hisaki says coldly. "That rage you had when I was fighting that girl named Lucy... you have something to do with her, don't you?"
"She is friend." Himari replies. "Much better than my foolish twin brother."
"Kin-San, Yukio, Akira... don't tell me you betrayed all of us." Hisaki asks.
"I am free to do whatever I want on this mission." Himari says.
"...why did you lie?" Hisaki asks.
"Lie about what?" Himari whispers.
"About mother, to her." Hisaki replies.
"I said the truth. I didn't lie to Lucy. Our mother is dead." Himari states.
"But she didn't die from the strain of giving us birth." Hisaki sighs.
"..." Himari didn't reply.
Hisaki glances around him. The rocks were still burning, producing a strong smell. With a sigh, he asks, "Let me guess. You didn't knew that this girl was from Fairytail?"
"She can't be from that guild." Himari states sternly. "The one mentioned in the list was Lucy Heartfilia. Her name was just Lucy. There was no picture of hers in the list to conf-"
"Bullshit." Hisaki cuts in between. Himari's eye stares at him with an irritated gesture. Hisaki, unfazed by that stare goes on, "I confirmed it myself in our brief fight. She is indeed Lucy Heartfilia. She even uses celestial magic. That blue cat was an exceed named Happy."
"The keys that she has are just showcase." Himari protests. Her confidence was dropping as she said this. "She is an alchemist. She must have used illusion magic."
Hisaki's facial features relaxes as a natural laugh follows. Himari just watched him laughing in front of her. Her heart was pouding, she could feel it in her throat.
In a agitated voice, Hisaki said, "Stop convincing yourself, Himari. You know it already... you must have known it for a while now. Drop the act, and face the truth."
Hisaki... a 16 year old. At first sight, he might look a easygoing, cute, calm and slightly clumsy guy. But that's a deceiving mask of his. After Kin, he is the most observant memeber of Radiants... and that's the annoying part about him...
"I didn't... I still don't believe..." Himari says looking away from Hisaki.
Hisaki shrugs and says, "There's your old habit. You can't lie while looking in the eyes of a person. Himari... you just confirmed your lie yourself."
"Shut up... Lucy isn't a bad person..." Himari whispers.
"Don't." Hisaki says sternly. "It's time. We have to assemble with the rest of our comrades."
"Lucy... Natsu... they aren't bad guys... they are not..." Himari kept mumbling. Her eyes were still not fixated on Hisaki, but on the ground instead. Her head was feeling heavy, and her eyelids were flickering. Now even her heart was starting to pain.
And to add fuel to this, Hisaki suddenly appeared behind her. In a cold tone, he whispered in her ear, "We all need to be good children if we want to go back home... you won't destroy the dreams of our real friends for the ones you made a day or two ago? Will you... Himari?"
"I won't... they are my family." Himari whispers slowly.
Hisaki smiles and backs away from her. "Cyanbell ordered us to kill anyone hostile we find once Act 3 begins. Wizards and civilians were supposed to be taken hostage... most likely for later execution or slavery."
"And you made a plan with Yukio and Kin to let them escape..." Himari asks in a light tone.
Hisaki nods. "Yes. The entrance and the middle part of this town barely has any locals or tourists above ground. The main density was in this area, and I worked my ass off to let them escape from the back exit."
"I see..." Himari replies keeping her hand on her chest. "Does the Stellan army know about underground shelters?"
"Yes." Hisaki says, "But I think that guards must be keeping the citizens at bay for now."
Himari nods and lets her hands loose. She looks at the sky and closes her eyes. Slowly, she says, "In exchange of the lives we have saved... we have to take the lives of Fairytail wizards. Otherwise, it will be awfully obvious to Cyanbell."
"Yes. Capturing the master of the guild is priority... but the rest who don't open their mouths about our king are just fodders meant to be thrashed. That includes her too..." Hisaki says starting to walk towards the royal palace. Himari follows him gloomily.
"Lucy... she was just like our mother..." Himari mumbles.
"Huh?" Hisaki says glancing at her. "Like mother?"
"The good side of hers." Himari says.
"You were an infant when mother died..." Hisaki whispers back. "You can't possibly know what she was like."
"She wrote a diary..."
"I read it too... it was really enjoyable to see how a whore lives her life, and a shitty father who leaves his pregnant wife alone. Those two adults were living in the deepest chasm of lust and desire."
"They were our parents."
"They left us alone to die..."
"Lucy isn't like them."
"Then she isn't like mother... that's a relief."
"Lucy writes a diary too. She even has the kind and warm attitude that mother wrote about in the diary... she is working on a novel named Iris. It was good... she likes raw fish. She has a friend too living with her. She loves talking about books..."
Hisaki didn't reply anything. The earth that petrified his shoes slowly wore off. The street they left behind was completely destroyed. Flames on the rocks slowly extinguished as cold winds began to blew.
The sun got covered with dark clouds again...
It was a bad omen.
•••
Freed finally sheathes back his Rapier with a heavy sigh. He would have fallen backward, flat on his back if it wasn't for Elfman.
With a swift leap, Elfman catches Freed in his arms. Freed had sustained heavy injuries. His cloak was ripped from the swordfight. Many cuts on his arm and legs were giving an outlet to his dark red blood. He was gasping for air.
Elfman was the same. Just with more cuts and bruises.
"That was close..." He whispers, putting Freed down on the ground.
"Yes..." Nab says, huffing wildly.
"Well then, now that this is over-" Macao says pointing at the door to the shelter that was still intact. Wakaba completes the rest, "-let's inform the citizens in the shelter about it."
Freed moves his head sideways. The pebbles on the ground, which was now destroyed, made it a little uncomfortable. Some remaining Royal guards of Fiore gather around them. This refreshes his memory from a while ago...
Freed was just about to begin his fight against a full fledged unit of Stellian army. But he sensed 4 people lurking behind him, at some distance. A stall of clothes... it was made with the use of one single white cotton sheet. Their shadows were quite visible through it.
But as Freed announces him having sensed those people, the sheet tore up as Elfman rose upright. With a manly yell, he jumped out of the stall. Macao, Wakaba and Nab had a troubled expression... but in the end... it all turned well. They supported Freed resist the army of Stella.
Their support increased later as a vast amount of Fiorian soldiers, originally aimed for reaching the entrance of the city, and seizing it to stop any more intrusion of Stella, stopped by and helped them... ignoring the fact that they were from Fairytail... but barging in a battle against elite unit of Stella costed lives of many such soldiers.
With a sigh, Freed says, "Don't."
Everyone looks at him. "Why...?"
Freed closes his eyes and replies, "Most of them must have already noticed. If we tell them now, then their doubts which turn into reality will cause panic... and that's the last thing we can afford."
"Wait..." One of the royal gaurd says in a low tone, "...weren't you the intruders destroying the town initially? The princess said it herself... so why are you-"
"We are not." Elfman cuts him, slightly annoyed. "That's not at all manly."
"Yes. Moreover the princess didn't take our name." Macao adds.
"Yes... but..." The guard mumbles and then stops. He takes a deep breath, calming down his mind and then says, "We are sorry."
The rest of them too, said together, "Sorry."
Nab shook his head slowly and looked around. "This massacre is what we must stop for now..."
Everyone run their eyes over the battlefield on which they stood. Over the gruesome deaths of both Fiorian and Stellian army. The slaughter was indiscriminate... grieve was shared by both sides...
Freed's joints creak as he suddenly pushes his body up. But it hardly pained him... everything felt numb...
Everyone watched him as he stood up and looked at them. Hair were messed up. Slowly, he runs his hand through them, and says as causally as he could, "We are not what we were before. Our hands are stained with blood... we are murderers..."
"Yea..." Wakaba replies, smoking his cigar. But Macao snatches it from him with a pissed look.
"We can't hold back now..." Freed went on, "-this isn't a personal war anymore. Our master... he just had one wish of not involving common citizens with us. And for that... we must join forces."
The royal guards got nervous as Freed's empty eyes turned towards them. They at first tried to ignore him... but Freed's gaze was unwavering. Finally, one of guard stepped forward from the ground and said,
"We know the heat of the situation... and have a rough idea that for some reason, Fairytail isn't the enemy... but that being said... we can't do anything without the orders of the king or colonel Arcadios... we don't even know who the real enemy behind the scenes is..."
"Bastards..." Elfman curses faintly. For a moment, there was just silence. Some moanings of the army men who were still alive were audible. They looked at each other, waiting for a response.
And that response arrived late.
Macao crossed his arms and said, "So, in the end you are going to throw us into prisons, even after what the current situation is..."
"As long as we don't get new orders-" The guards replied, "-we can't help you... but that doesn't mean we will turn you into prison. From here... we will rush towards the entrance and support our comrades there. For all we know... we never encountered Fairytail."
The other guards nodded in agreement.
"That will help." Nab said with a sigh.
Freed nods. "Alright."
The guards nods back, and then ask, "So... what are you going to do now?"
Freed slipped his hand on the pocket of his hand and said, "From now on... We will find the head of the Stellain army... and capture him."
"How?" Everyone ask in unison.
Freed smiles as he takes out a stone from his pocket. The stone glows green and starts to revolve around him playfully. "About time I used this."
"What will it do?" Macao asks raising his eyebrow.
"I don't know... but I trust Bickslow and Ever's plan. I will risk everything on this stone." Freed replies.
"What is even that...?" Wakaba asks pointing at the stone. "Looks weird."
"It is one of Bickslow's souls." Freed says with a smile as the doll starts to hover above him, "And for now... it is out guide to the man who the Thunder Legion suspects for helping the intrusion of Stella."
"GUIDE!!!" The high pitched voice of the stone says.
Freed takes the stone in his palms and says, gently rubbing it. "Bickslow said that to some extent, all his souls are connected."
"Yes... All the souls used in Seith magic are binded by the common magic of the caster." Nab explains.
Freed nods and then looks at the stone, "So... what do you know about that man?"
"That man...?" The guards, and even the rest of Fairytail mumbled in confusion.
The stone glowed brighter and it's playful movements stopped. Everyone watched it with patience.
And after about a minute, after the stone almost became a light bulb, it's color calmed down and it rose from Freed's palm.
Then with a louder voice then ususal, the stone said, "Radiants... kill Radiants... before they assemble..."
This left all those witnesses speechless. The guards finally realized who the princess meant was the enemy... who they must destroy. The stone continued to drift in the direction of the royal palace.
"I M A GUIDE!!!"
•••
~20 minutes ago~
Jack narrows his eyes as the dust around those two figures settle down. They were standing on the edge of a giant hole made on the ceiling of the floor he was in. Those two were looking at them, but weren't clear.
"Must be the twins." Sai whispers.
"The twins don't get along." Jack whispers back. One of his eye was still focused on Wendy and Gray. "Don't drop your guard. It can be someone else."
Those Fairytail wizards knew charging in without a proper plan or opportunity will become their demise. So, they did no unnecessary movement. Only observing the strength of their enemy with full concentration.
But that concentration broke as a yell echoed in that room. It was accompanied by a laugh of superiority. Normally, it wouldn't have had much impact of Gray, but things weren't normal.
The yell was simply one word, "LOSER!" The one who yelled it was one of those shadowy figure. Light was still blocking their faces.
Gray dropped his sole weapon, the rod on the ground and sighed.
Wendy got alarmed. She asked without breaking her glare towards the enemy, "What's the matter, Gray-San?"
"Nothing." Gray smiles raising his hands. The chain which was handcuffed was dangling above his head. "This is gonna be annoying to deal with."
"Do you think... that's Hisaki?" Sai asks pointing at one of those figures.
"No... this man's voice was deep-" Jack was just replying, when something with a remarkable speed passed right besides his face. His eye saw it in slow motion.
It was ice...
That chunk of ice was followed by two more. Jack and Sai took a defensive position with their arms as that something passed them, barely missing their faces.
There was no doubt about it's source. It was those two figures.
Instantly, Jack bumped his palms and yelled, "Water Magic: GIAN-"
But those words of Jack couldn't complete. His body, almost in an instant froze underneath pinkish ice. It didn't take a second... no warning...
"My eagles weren't aimed for you." One of those two shadowy figure announces jumping off the ceiling. That person landed safely, in between the army & Gray and Wendy. "They were for my loser of a friend."
"Don't blabber nonsense, Lyon." Gray says shaking off the remains of the magic sealing handcuffs. The black markings appeared and instantly disappeared fromis body too as he did that. The eagles that Lyon made had destroyed major portion of those sealing stones. It no longer binded Gray's magic.
Gray keeps his hands on the sealing stones of Wendy, and freezes them into solid ice. Wendy easily breaks those handcuffs and sighs out of relief.
"I was scared for a moment..." She whispers slowly.
"KILL 'EMMM!!!" Sai yells in pure rage, charging towards them. The army men did the same, running past their leader, Jack, with the only emotion of revenge.
But they couldn't reach their target. A tornado, out of no where, broke their formation... it was a black tornado...
Wendy smiles as she sees this. With a delightful smile, she whispers, "Chelia..."
"Talking about me?"
Wendy hears a voice whispering this in her ear. She instantly jerks her head around and hugs the one who was standing behind her. Tear ran from her eyes as she felt the warm touch of that person, "I missed you... Chelia..."
And this person was indeed Sherria. She hugs her back and smiles, "Me too, Wendy."
Gray glances at them. That scene was so wholesome and heartwarming, that he couldn't help but smile. And that gave Lyon and opportunity to smack Gray.
It was painful.
"You are a disgrace to Ur." Lyon declares, pulling his hand back. "Enemy hasn't given up yet."
Gray swore and furiously whips his head in front of him, while rubbing his head to ease the pain. The soldiers were rising back on their feet slowly. While Jack was frozen to core, Sai, the other leader of the army was still well.
He was huffing. Cautiously, he raised his hand. His fist glowed white and a sword appeared in his hand. In a loud and heavy voice, he commanded, "PREPARE FORMATION 3 FOR BATTLE!!!"
The soldiers shuffled themselves into organized groups as Sai announced this.
"This is going to be a pain..." Gray mumbles taking his maker stance.
Lyon sighed and asked, "What were those black markings? Your aura... was almost unrecognizable. Using it again will fasten things up, no?"
"Devil slayer magic." Gray replies. "It's a long story... but know this. I am not losing to you at maker magic. Can't let you whine about it later, because with that I will leave you in dust."
Lyon smirked. He threw of his shirt and yelled. "WENDY, SHERRIA!"
Both the girls turned towards Lyon as he said this. "What?"
"Would you mind staying out of this?" Lyon asks taking his maker stance. Cold heavy mist escaped his palms, slowly spreading across the ground. "We pupils of Ur have some business to settle."
"Of course!" Sherria replies waving her hand cheerfully.
"You sure you don't want any assistance to carry your sorry ass?" Gray smirks as the soldiers start to charge towards them.
"Says the one whose ass was just saved by me." Lyon teases and then says in a serious tone. "The one who takes most out wins."
"Fine by me."
•••
And so, 20 minutes passed...
Lyon sighs picking up his shirt. He had a small wound, rather a cut on his back thanks to the sword of Sai. Sherria was healing it right now...
In the midst of the fallen Stellian army...
Everyone except Wendy and Sherria were frozen by either Gray's or Lyon's maker magic. In that dark underground basement, those giant ice crystals shone with the faint light that entered.
It made for a peaceful scenery.
Gray had almost the same cut on almost the same place. Wendy was healing it right now...
"Wear some clothes." Lyon says glancing at Gray. "Children are around."
"Says the one sitting stark naked..." Sherria mumbles.
"Lost 'em." Gray replies after failing to see his clothes lying around.
"You are indeed, a loser." Lyon sighs. "I won this one."
"No, I won." Gray replies glancing at Lyon.
Wendy taps his shoulders with her hands, gesturing him to not argue. But Gray was not losing this argument.
"I took most of them." Lyon says, fully turning towards Gray. Sherria sighs and turns along the body of Lyon to get a better angle for healing his back.
Gray smirks. "Ah... I see. Ask Chelia and Wendy. Clearly I am the one who did a number on them."
Both Gray and Lyon look at their backs, towards the sky sisters. Sherria and Wendy look at each other with an awkward smile, but then a thought strikes in both their minds.
Together,
Sherria says, "Gray won."
Wendy said, "Lyon-San won."
Both Gray and Lyon maintain their dumbfounded gaze towards those two girls. But those girls just gave them a smile in return.
The cut, not being anything serious or even painful, healed quickly. Once it did, both Gray and Lyon jumped on their feet and pointed their fingers at each other.
"That guy named Sai was able to almost slice your back into two." Gray states, "If I hadn't paid attention, your ass might not have been the only two halves in your body."
"Hmph." Lyon smirks and states, "Well, I owed you, but not after I had to save your naked back from getting sliced too. And what's more, it was just some regular soldier."
Gray grits his teeth and steps towards Lyon, "I wouldn't have needed your help if I was not distracted for saving you from that Sai bastard!"
"You agree that I saved you, don't you?" Lyon asks with a superior smirk. "That makes me win the bet."
"Bet...?" Gray asks with confusion. "W-Wait. What bet? First of all, you haven't won!!!"
Lyon taps his forehead and throws his shirt he had in his other hand. In a victorious manner, he says, "Don't turn back on your word. We betted on Juvia's future."
"Juvia...? How did she end up here...?" Gray asks. He wasn't annoyed, just seriously disappointed.
Lyon tilts his head and says, "Juvia is the reason we made this bet. The winner gets to keep Juvia and th-"
Before Lyon could complete, Sherria pulls him down through his ear. "Alright, enough of this unlovely conversation."
Wendy pulls Gray's arm and says, "Gray-San, we don't have time to waste."
Gray suddenly got flashbacks of what has happened before they ended up in this prison. Max... Laki... Laxus... Sabertooth...
"Yeah..." Gray whispers and looks at Lyon. "What are the conditions outside... and before that... how did you two manage to find us?"
"The conditions aren't very good. Stella kingdom's army has started to cease the town." Lyon says with a sigh.
"So... they weren't kidding..." Gray whispers remembering what Jack and Sai told him. He glances at them for a second. They were encased in solid ice... calm as statues. Ironic to what they were when they bragged about Stellian army.
"And about how we got here..." Sherria says hesitantly. She takes a pause and points at the hole in the ceiling. It felt like a large pond of light from the floor of that dark basement. "Someone told us about this place."
"Someone...?" Wendy whispers looking at that hole. Nothing felt unusual... just a faint image of the roof of the floor above them was visible. Except that, the light was the only thing to it.
"Who was it?" Gray asks looking at the hole too.
"Is." Sherria corrects and then takes a deep breath. She was about to yell something, when a voice came from the ceiling.
"What's taking so long?"
A feminine voice. A figure emerged from one edge of that hole. It was followed by two more figures.
Gray gave Lyon a brief look. He nodded at him. Gray nodded back. These people were the ones who knew about such a secret place of the palace... who are they?
Suddenly, one of the figure makes a movement, and a giant sheet covers the hole in a instant. For that moment, the basement got engulfed under pitch black darkness. But it didn't last long.
The sheet started to lower down into the basement... Wait... that isn't a sheet. It is... a leaf?
A grumpy voice says excitedly as that leaf touched the ground of the basement.
"Whoa... these guys destroyed the Stellian army in like 20 minutes."
"This is just 2 of their units, Droy." The other one says.
Now that light was falling on their heads, their faces were visible. This trio was of one of the oldest teams of Fairytail, Team Shadow Gear.
"Levy-San?!" Wendy says cheerfully as Levy climbs off the leaf.
"And... Jet and Droy...?" Gray says narrowing his eyes. "When did they all arrive...?"
But those three weren't in a mood to waste time. Levy stepped in front of Gray and Wendy with a puffed face.
She was annoyed.
"What's this important matter you got here?..." Levy asks slowly.
"Matter...?" Wendy whispers.
"I meant to Gray and Lyon." Levy replied looking at those two boys. "Geez... we are in crisis and you want to waste time on some trivial argument."
"You better not make Levy angry." Droy adds standing beside Jet.
"She is cute when angry." Lyon thinks with a blush.
Gray glances at Lyon and sighs. He then says, "Sorry... but... wait... how did you know about this place?" Gray asks.
"Bosco had some really dangerously valuable information." Levy smiles. She keeps her hand on her bicep of other arm and says, "And I memorized it all."
"That's Levy for ya!" Both Droy and Jet cheers.
Gray, however didn't look excited. "I see. But first we need to find some members wh-"
"No." Levy cuts him sharply, walking back towards the leaf. "We have something more important... besides, I am sure that wizards of Fairytail won't go down easily."
"But...- alright." Gray gives up. Lyon pats his back and whispers, "Don't forget the bet."
Without waiting for a response, he follows Levy, Droy and Jet to that giant leaf platform.
Gray stood there like an idiot. His body was conflicting, not being able to decide what to do. But it moved along when Wendy and Sherria pushed him from behind.
"What now? Did you break your legs?" Sherria asks pushing Gray harder.
Gray leaps forwards, away from those two girls and sighs again. He finally decides to follow Levy.
Once those three reached the leaf, Levy said, "I have a plan... and it's our best shot for resisting Stellan empire."
"This situation... it's amazing that you were able to come up with a plan so quick, Levy-San." Wendy says climbing on the edge of the leaf. Gray and Sherria do the same. Once everyone was onboard, Droy snapped his fingers and the leaf started rising up.
"Levy is the smartest in our guild after all." Gray says with a smile.
"No really..." Levy says, a bit flustered, "...this is all thanks to the information we got in Bosco.
"Don't tell me... You knew about this invasion...?" Gray asks. His mouth was wide open.
"No..." Levy replies. "We did got a rumor that this is possible... but it was only a possibility. So, it wasn't completely out of the box. I was prepared to make a plan. And for that, I needed reliable members."
"I see." Gray whispers, looking at Lyon, Sherria, Wendy... but then his gaze stopped on Jet and Droy. His face just dropped. In an unsure voice, he asked, "What's this plan you speak of?"
Levy smiles and says, "It's simple. We divided into two teams. Gajeel and the others will gather our scattered members at one place, since we already got the news of what happened to team 4 yesterday. Our team will do the hard part. We break the pride, the greatest and most troublesome weapon of Stella first to mess the coordination, the spine of the enemy. The spy guild named Radiants."
•••
Lucy's eyes were partially closed throughout her journey in the sky. The speed of Happy's was one factor. But the smoke rising from the entrance was the main cause. The sky was already cloudy today, but thanks to this enormous emission, heavens were dyed black.
She was around the edge of middle part of the town, gazing at the burning walls of Crocus from high. The walls of hope that ensured people their safety were being feasted by flames of hatred...
On a positive note, the walls were disconnected at an interval of 3 kilometers. The fire would just spread across the front division.
But Lucy's mind was not at all concentrated on that. All her thoughts were about Himari... she is twin sister of Hisaki... the boy who tried to kill her... the Stellan invasion... Golden letters that commanded 'kill Himari'...
"They must have entered from that entrance." Happy suddenly whispers, slowing his pace until the point they were floating in the air.
Lucy fixes her furrowed eyebrows and shakes her head. She can't let herself worry about Himari... she has to save the citizens trapped in the underground shelter.
"Yes." Lucy whispers back, narrowing her eyes for a clear view at the ablazed wooden gate. She then glances at the deserted and quiet streets of Crocus. Not a sign of happiness that was bustling this town just some hours ago...
She then slowly looks around. The streets... they were incredibly... silent? Stella is small nation... with rare combat wizards. They should have relied on a vast army... like Hisaki stated... but there isn't any sign of them. It is just awfully quiet...
where's the Stellan forces?...
"There isn't anyone... nor the citizens or the army..." Happy says sadly, now starting to glide down on a lower altitude.
"Yes..." Lucy whispers back. "Was Hisaki lying about a full scale Stellan army attack?"
"I don't know..." Happy mumbles.
Lucy closes her eyes and swipe few strands of hair flying on her face. She closed her eyes and tried to think... why...
"Stella... a small nation... comparatively weaker than Fiore... but still attacks this nation. This fight will be a big loss for them even if they win... so why go this far?" She mouths slowly, "For their king... who is rumored to be captivated by Fairytail...?"
"Hey Luce... should we go back and wait in your apartment?" Happy asks slowing his gliding pace.
But Lucy was too tangled in her theories to reply.
"They won't risk their relations with Fiore, and safety of their own nation for a rumor that has no evidence..." Lucy goes on, "Until... they have something to cover up that. Something that guarantees them their victory."
"I am hungry..." Happy moans.
"Something...? A super weapon like etherion... or... wait... it can't be. They would have used it when the city was full. So... what is it that they take pride upon... no... can that weapon be the guild Radiants..?" Lucy opens her mouth, but then closes again. She felt like this wasn't complete story.
"Hey Luce... can we take a break? I have a fish in my bag." Happy asks, still wailing.
"No... they can't rely on just one guild... they must have known that today, the last day of Grand Magic Games, Fiore's strongest guilds were gathering. The chance of failure is strong..." Lucy goes on, occasionally rambling few partial words.
"Don't ignore me Lucy..." Happy says, wailing even more than before.
"They must have an insurance... and it need not be a weapon. What is it that decides a winner? Power...? No..." Lucy whispers slightly louder, and then it finally kicks in. She jerked her head behind, and glanced at the royal palace, "No way... DID THEY CAPTURE THE KING ALREADY?!"
But, she didn't got time to ask Happy and turn around, towards the palace.
Happy flipped upside down suddenly, pulling Lucy sideways. But in the process, he fainted...
It wasn't the turn that made him lose consciousness. It was a bullet... a magic bullet that stricked his back while he switched it with Lucy.
If it wasn't for the quick thinking of Happy... the bullet would have shot Lucy...
Lucy didn't had any time to analyse, or know what happened. But just as the grip of Happy around her back loosened, she instinctively grabbed him with on of her hand. Since the exceed was flying rather low on height, Lucy managed to fall on the roof of a small clock tower.
That roof was tilted on either sides, forming a gable. Lucy barely cling to the peak of that small gabble with her free hand.
Her face went red as she used the strength of only one arm to pull her whole body upwards. It was difficult, but she managed to do it rather quickly. Power was surging in her body thanks to the adrenaline rush.
Lucy secured her balance on the gable, stabilizing her body with her legs. Only now did she had time to notice her surroundings.
She flips Happy like a doll and examines him. A burn mark was present on his back... round and small. The injury was only limited to the skin below his fur, which was rather lucky. It was the impact that made him fall unconscious.
"Hello, Lucy." A voice greets her.
Lucy clicks her tongue and looks at the ground. Happy was still in her hands.
On the ground was walking a women in heels, making a tapping sound with each step. A small handgun, rather a revolver was waving in her hand.
Lucy's eyes widen as she recognized those green hair...
In almost inaudible voice, Lucy whispers with a stern face, "Karen... Lilica"
What succeeded this was a laugh of Karen as she pointed her gun towards Lucy, who was trapped on a small roof along with wounded Happy.
•••
Several hours ago~
"Lyon!" Sherria calls out with heavy gasps. She exhausted herself by a short sprint, following Lyon who was walking aimlessly. "They are going to take Gray and Wendy to prison!"
Lyon glanced back with one of his eye and sighed. He leaned against the wall of a nearby shop and waited for Sherria to catch up. Once she did, he said, "I know. I saw him..."
"Then do something about it!" Sherria protests, looking back at the parade of royal guards in distance. They were taking Wendy and Gray after Minerva had switched their places with Orga and Rufus.
"Do something about it?" Lyon looks at Sherria. "Storm the palace? Are you serious?"
"...let's help them escape." Sherria says. "Right now. Before they reach prison."
"Forget it." Lyon replies. "It won't do much good."
"WHY?!" Sherria asks with disbelief.
"I told you... I saw him... and likewise, he saw me." Lyon says slowly. "That loser... Gray isn't in any condition to run after seeing me. He was more hopeless than I have ever known. Wendy was the same after seeing you, wasn't she?"
Sherria quietly recalled that short exchange of glances. Slowly, she said in a desperate voice. "Are we the ones... because of whom they have given up?"
"...you can stay strong against the world. You can fight to prove your innocence to the last extent... but..." Lyon sighs. "But you can't tolerate being a criminal in front of someone you love."
"It was hard on them..." Sherria whispers, her voice cracking out of empathy. "Surely, if we weren't there. Maybe they could have escaped on their own."
"I doubt it." Lyon say, a little worried. "Did you notice that kid beside Gray? It was a member of Radiants. A wizard of a guild that made it to the final matches in the games."
"...are you saying it's hopeless?" Sherria asks.
"What's done cannot be changed." Lyon replies, facing the parade of guards. He takes a maker stance, focusing his magic into his fists. "I will free them. If they can't run, I will make them crawl. I will-"
Sherria suddenly interrupts his stance up pushing his hands away. Lyon looked at her with a confused yet expected look.
"Together?" Sherria asks.
"...it won't matter. I alone am enough." Lyon replies.
"Together?" Sherria asks again with a smile.
Lyon sighs. "You just want to meet her, right?"
"Yes." Sherria replies with a dry smile. "That girl hasn't done anything wrong. I need to tell her that."
"...on that note." Lyon smiles. "I also have to teach that freak what it means to be a disciple of Ur."
.
End.
Note: Just revising the locations of some important guys in the Crocus that will help you understand the further story better-
Yukio, Kin, Akira, Cyanbell and royals: In the king's room, somewhere on the higher floors of the palace.
Laxus, Minerva, Rufus and Orga: Some dark confinement room in the palace.
Gray, Wendy, Lamia Scale and others: Ground floor of the palace.
Erza and gang: Still in Abyss Palace
Freed and others: Near the entrance, or front side of the city.
Lucy and Happy: Around the easter middle area of the city.
Natsu: At Lucy's apartment. Slightly west to the middle of the city.
Alright, remember these since they are actually important, no kidding.