Third Person's P. O. V:
Thanks to Wendy being able to take turns at healing Natsu's motion sickness, he hadn't really suffered from it during the train ride. Although, it was still a bit awkward because Éclair didn't seem too into conversing with Lucy.
Team Natsu were pretty excited to go back to the City of Rose Garden. Night has now fallen.
"Whoa! This place is awesome! I hear that there's magic practically everywhere you look," Gray says as he stands beside Hope.
The group split off to explore the sites of the city again. Alec goes with Gray and they explore the city. Gray buys the both of them a sausage on a stick.
Alec and Gray go up on a hill to get a better look at the city, only Gray ends up stripping to his boxers. A guard then shows up and Alec just has a deadpan look on his face while heaving a mushroom shaped sigh as the guard berates Gray for his stripping habit.
Hope wanders the city with Erza and they look around a weapons and armour store. One guy shows them a finely crafted Katana, while the other guy shows them a suit of armor.
Erza puts her hand on her chin in thought, while Hope just tilts her head with a quizzical look on her face, one silver eyebrow raised. Eventually, Erza and Hope spot two gorgeous wedding dresses in display windows. One of them was a strapless dress with gloves that stop below the shoulders, silver heels, and a rose wreath atop the stand's head, with a white veil and bouquet of red roses.
Another was strapless with detachable short puffy sleeves and hood designs along the chest. It also comes with a bouquet of roses.
Erza and Hope gaze with blushing faces and wide eyes at the two wedding dresses.
The clerks hold the dress out to Erza. Erza adds her dress to her requip storage space. Hope throws her a sly smirk.
After they leave, Hope spots a music store across the street, making her eyes light up as a grin crosses her face. Hope grabs Erza's arm and drags her to the store.
Wendy and Charlele pause to watch the S-class wizards walk out of the store, a satisfied smile on the redhead's face. Wendy feels curious about Erza buying a wedding dress.
Hope browses the shelves and racks for the guitars. She wants to buy all of them but refrains from doing so. Hope soon picks out a hot pink guitar. Erza smiles as she watches the Foster buy it.
A little while later, Team Natsu and Éclair and Momon meet up at Hill's Hotel, where Erza is booking their rooms. "Your room key? Yes. Just a moment, please," The clerk replies.
"Thank you," Erza responds as she leans against the desk, smiling.
Natsu sighs as he sits back in the seat and says, glancing at Erza, "Well, Erza seems like she's in a way better mood than usual."
Hope gives a knowing smirk. Wendy says thoughtfully, flicking her eyes to the silverette who has a knowing look in her eyes before looking back at Erza, "I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the wedding dress she bought earlier."
"WHAT?!" The others, minus Hope, Éclair and Momon exclaim in disbelief. Alec immediately gets a beat red face as he glances at his girlfriend.
"Problem?" Erza asks from the desk.
"Err, nothing!" They say quickly as Hope snickers.
Hope and her brother both have a room together. Hope sits on the bed while playing with the new guitar she bought, testing it out. She glances up at Alec as she asks teasingly, "So, did you and Gray have fun?"
Alec responds with a sigh, "I don't wanna talk about it. So, um, Erza-chan bought a wedding dress, huh?"
Hope smirks as she nods. "Yup!" She says, popping the p. Alec blushes as he gets closer to her eagerly. "So, did sue say anything?!"
"Nope!" Hope responds, popping the p as well.
"Oh." Alec looks down with disappointment.
Hope sighs softly before she puts her hand on his arm and tells Alec, "Listen, nii-san, we both know Erza loves you. There's no need for you to worry, okay?"
Alec nods as he agrees, "Okay."
Suddenly, they hear a scream that they recognise as Lucy's.
They look out the window just in time to see Lucy in only a towel jumping down from her balcony with Éclair and Momon. They race down a street as a cloaked and masked figure throws kunai knife-like projectiles at them.
The Foster siblings race after the mysterious figure. They were caught up by Natsu, Gray and Happy who'd also heard the scream. Hope and Gray both launch attacks at the cloaked figure, but he manages to avoid all of them.
Hope, Alec, Natsu, Gray and the Exceed land in front of Lucy, Éclair and Momon. "You guys! Thank god you're here!" Lucy breathes in immense relief.
"Who the hell are you?!" Natsu demands to know.
The figure flicks his eyes to Natsu's right shoulder where his red Fairy Tail guild symbol is, and says, "Knowing will not help you."
"You guys stay here and make sure she's okay," Natsu orders, and the Foster siblings nod.
"Aye, Sir!" Happy says.
"Okay," Hope and Alec reply. They know that they're the only ones who are able to protect Lucy and Éclair, along with their Exceeds, because Lucy didn't have her keys with her.
The Fosters turn to Lucy as Akira asks in concern, "Are you okay?"
Lucy nods as she replies,"Yeah." Éclair Just nods her head while Momon mutters his own agreement. Lucy stands up as she says, "I hope Natsu and Gray are able to catch that guy." Lucy looks at Happy when he snickers, and notices Hope and Alec have flustered expressions on their faces. "What?"
"You feel a breeze out here?!" Happy asks, snickering.
Hope says, "I really don't think that's a great choice of an outfit." Hope and Alec already get flustered enough when Gray strips; they hate it even more when someone else does it.
Although... if Rogue stripped, she wouldn't mind one bit...
A deep blush spreads across Hope's face at that thought. Sure, she and Rogue did it a few times during make out sessions in his and Hope's bedrooms, but it's not like they plan to make it a habit of stripping all the time... certainly not out in public...
"I second that," Alec mutters, face stilo red.
Lucy blinks her eyes and looks down. "AAAHHH!!" Lucy screams, feeling mortified as she grabs her towel and wraps it around her body. "I'm so sorry!" Lucy gives everyone an apologetic look.
They mutter that it's alright, and Hope turns her attention to Éclair. "Do you know why that guy was after you?" She questions.
"Hey!" Natsu calls when he and Gray return. "Is everyone okay?"
"What was that about?" Gray asks.
Lucy, Hope and Alec exchange glances. They then share unsure looks with Natsu and Gray. They look at Éclair who hasn't spoken a word for a few minutes. They decide to go back to the hotel to tell Erza and Wendy what happened.
When they get back to the hotel, Éclair explains to them what she was starting to remember, and that she needs to take the stone back to Kalard who lives in the Boundary Forest. However, Éclair still doesn't know of the significance of the stone.
After battling the many monsters that live in the forest, the group manages to make it to Kalard's home, and they stand in the entrance of it.
"Whoa! He lives here?!" Natsu asks in surprise.
"There's a great wizard in this place?" Lucy asks. They follow Éclair into the ruined building and gaze around. There was no roof on it and the walls have practically crumbled down, most of them being covered in green moss.
"It looks super old," Happy comments.
"More like ancient," Gray says.
"Hey!" Lucy hisses at him.
"He's right, though," Hope says. "This is a ruin of a building. From what I can gather, I'd say this place has been around for a very long time."
"Look," The Fullbuster says as Éclair runs over to a staircase in the floor, leading downward and crouches in front of it. They walk down the steps and into a room that has a table and chairs, plates and jars on the tables as well as books. There was more of it on the shelves against the walls. Riots from trees as thick as Gray's arm grow in the room.
"This looks more like the home of a wizard," Erza comments, gazing around. They turn around when Éclair gasps, her brown eyes glued to a painting of a man, woman and a small child that looks just like Éclair.
"You find something?" Lucy asks.
Team Natsu gather around the brunette as she presses two fingers to the painting, a solemn look on Éclair's face. "That's me," She murmurs. "A picture from when I was a small child."
"Are you sure?" Natsu asks. At that second, a blue light emits from the orb on the table that was in front of Éclair. "Get away from it!" Natsu yells warningly as he stands protectively in front of Lucy and Happy.
Alec pulls his sister back while Erza pulls Wendy and Charlele back, Gray rushing over in case anything bad happened.
"Éclair," Says a man's voice as his holographic image appears before them, from the orb. "So you've come. If this message is in fact reaching your ears, child, then what I was told is indeed true. Many people came here searching for you. Survivors of the Fire Village told me of the events that transpired. It brought me great joy to hear you've survived. However, when I think of your fate." He coughs.
Gray asks, taking a step back from Wendy, "Hold on. What's he mean by that?"
"Oh, my darling sweet Éclair. The time we shared together blessed me with the most precious memories of my entire life. Alas, as Fate would have it, the people of Fire Village needed you to serve as maiden, and I was given the task of dispelling the Phoenix Stones."
"Dispel Magic. Nullification," Éclair murmurs.
"I have no doubt that you're a most spectacular maiden. My Dispel Magic was finally completed. But I fear I shall never have the chance to use it. I've fallen ill. I will clutch dearly to the life I have remaining until you return, bearing the stone. But if you're seeing this... oh, Éclair..."
"He's already gone?" Wendy murmurs, feeling disheartened for Éclair. "So sad..."
"I have a simple prayer... that happiness finds you, and you find people that care deeply for you. Darling Éclair... my dear beloved daughter..."
"Father! I'm here!" Éclair gasps as she begins to reach a hand toward the hologram. Just when she touches it, the orb breaks and the hologram disappears.
While Natsu, Alec, Hope and Gray tried to find more answers on Kalard's Dispel Magic to give Éclair time to grieve, Lucy comforted her. Afterwards, Éclair makes a request to the Fairy Tail guild to help her destroy the Phoenix Stone. They manage to arrive back at the guild early the next morning, and explain the situation to them.
Macao says as he studies the Phoenix Stone, pinched between his index finger and thumb, "Can't say it looks that dangerous to me."
Happy suggests, looking at the Dragneel, "Maybe breaking the stone will break the curse?"
"Now, that's using your brain! Let me see!" Natsu says as he snatches the stone out of Macao's fingers and throws it up in the air. Natsu leaps into the air as fire envelopes his fists. "Fire Dragon: Wing Attack!" Flames burst forth and hit the stone, but it has no effect whatsoever when they die out and Natsu sits cross legged on the floor.
"Natsu, you idiot! Do you seriously call that using your brain?!" Macao snaps from opposite Wakaba, glaring at the pinkette.
"It wasn't my idea..." Natsu murmurs.
Hope snaps as she stands beside the pinkette with her arms crossed below her chest, "If it were truly that simple to break, don't you think Kalard would have done that?!" Alec stands next to Erza with his arm thrown over her shoulders.
Éclair takes back the stone as Gray mutters, "Real smooth."
Erza asks Éclair in a serious tone, one hand on her hip, "The other stone... do you happen to know whatever became of it? Or where it is now?"
Pressing a finger to her temple as she tries to remember, Éclair responds, "I'm not certain. But I think that it was stolen in a raid by... Vero... nica..."
Happy blinks his dark eyes as he says, "I've heard of that before. It's quite tiny. Veronica is a name of a country that's north of Fiore."
Loud booms ring out through the guild hall, destroying most of it. Immediately, everyone takes cover the second they realise they're under attack. Alec wraps his arms around his sister and throws them down.
"Who in the hell are you?!" Natsu demands as he gets to his feet and glares at the attackers.
"We are known as Carbuncle," Says a man in the middle of the group of three. "The garnet adorned beast that's forever lurking in the shadows. And you may call me Dyst!" Upon saying that, big and small rocks float up around Dist and his comrades. Before he fires them right at Natsu, knocking him back across the guild hall, pelting him repeatedly.
"NATSU!" Hope cries fearfully, upon seeing her friend get hurt badly, Alec's arm still wrapped around her waist.
The rocks pelt Natsu until he's knocked out.
"You teme!" Gray yells as the guy with the cannon stands in front of him.
"Yo, pretty boy! You're just in time for a hot date with the cannon," The guy with the cannon tells Gray.
"Say what?!"
Juvia says jealously as she steps in front of the ice wizard, "You will never win the heart of my beloved, so don't even try!" Juvia points at him.
The man looks dumbfounded as he mutters, "Uh. You got the wrong idea, lady."
Hope snickers at Juvia's jealously Alec looks dumbstruck.
"Liar!" Juvia yells before she thrusts her arms forward and water is thrown at the man. He fires bullets at the Lockser, who's body is now partially turned to water. However, much to her shock, they turn out to be magic bullets and they blast through her water attack, then her water body.
Gray appears in front of the Water Magic user as he throws up his Ice Shield, blocking the bullets. But then his opponent got two cannons over his shoulders and fires much bigger bullets. They break Gray's shield and he and Juvia go flying back with cries.
Most members like Bisca, Alzac and even Mira were defeated easily, despite the takeover mage being S-class. When Erza goes to fight the woman, requipping into her Black Wing Armor, the woman holds out her hand and Erza's armor disappears, just like with Mira's and Elfman's takeovers.
"It seems as though even the great Titania knows her place as to kneel before the Coordinator!" The woman says as a sword appears in her hand. She swings it at Erza who manages to jump back to avoid it. Both Erza, Alec and Hope were surprised when The Coordinator requipped into a purple and white outfit.
"Bow down!" The Coordinator kicks Erza into the wall, and Erza cries out.
"Erza!" Hope and Alec exclaim in worry. Alec scowls as he activates Paladin Armor spell as he gets to his feet and attacks the blonde woman as Goldenwave appears in his right hand. Alec brings it down on The Coordinator, But she raises her sword to block his attack.
They pull back and Alec swings his sword again but the blonde woman deflects it easily. Alec brings his sword down on The Coordinator, but she throws out her free hand and Alec's sword and armor disappear. Alec's blue eyes jerk wide at this.
"So not just Titania but also the great Black Swordsman knows to kneel before me!" The Coordinator swings her sword toward the Foster, but Alec leaps backward to avoid it. The Coordinator chases after him and lands a roundhouse kick to the side of Alec's head.
Alec cries out as he is sent flying after Erza, crashing into the wall before landing on the floor.
Before they fled, the Carbuncle group took Éclair with them.
Afterwards, Hope helps Wendy tend to their comrades' wounds. Alec has bandages much like Erza.
"Those teme destroyed our guild hall and kidnapped one of our friends!" Natsu yells as he punches the ground. "They are messing with the wrong guild! They're gonna pay for this!"
"How unfortunate." Everyone turns to see Makarov-sama standing in the hole that's the doorway, Gajeel and Panther Lily with him. He frowns not just at the destroyed guild hall but also at the wounds on the guild members. "They gave us a beating we won't soon forget."
"You're damn right! So now what?!" Natsu demands.
"What do we do?" Happy asks.
Erza runs over to the master and says sincerely as she bows her head, "Please, forgive me, Master. I wasn't able to protect the guild for you."
"Did Jet tells you what happened here?" Droy asks as he stands beside Erza, looking worried for his best friend.
"Um, no. Was he supposed to?" Makarov asks with a raised eyebrow. Droy jaw drops in disbelief.
Makarov then tells them that there are two Phoenix Stones. The other half being in the hands of Prince Cream, who plans to use the stone to summon the phoenix and gain immortality.
After learning that, Team Natsu, along with Gajeel and Panther Lily, decide to go to Veronica to rescue Éclair.