Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Situated on Fiore's Northeast border deep in the densely forested mountains stood the prosperous town of Forest Rose. The region was known for its unique and abundant minerals, botany, and rich soil as well as having a higher than average magical potency.
Normally life was quite peaceful for the inhabitants of this plentiful region; so when some unruly mages started causing trouble, many of the townsfolk became stricken with consternation. The mages seemed to appear overnight, making themselves at home in the beloved twin castles of Forest Rose. Both castles- Rose Mountain Château being the older of the two and Rosewood Château being the larger one- were hubs for research and scientific discoveries. These architectural wonders were renowned for being places of knowledge with their impressive libraries and research laboratories; frequently attracting scientists, eager scholars, and students from all over Earthland. Sadly it's understandable that when the troublesome mages first arrived, their presence wasn't even given a second thought, most just assuming they were a group of wizard researchers… that is until it was too late.
As the situation escalated, Mayor Larkspur- the mayor of Forest Rose- realized they could no longer deal with the problem internally, and thus decided on requesting the assistance from one of Fiore's great wizarding guilds. Due to the precarious nature of some of the documents stored within the castles' walls, the consequences had the potential to be devastating if that information were to fall into the wrong hands. That fact, as well as the increasingly violent acts against his beautiful town by these dark mages, weighed heavily on Mayor Larkspur's mind as he wrote out the request; classifying the mission as Double S Rank, and requiring that the S-Ranked mage be accompanied by at least seven other high ranked mages.
Mayor Larkspur's request was issued out to guilds all over Fiore including Blue Pegasus, Sabertooth, Lamia Scale, and Fairy Tail. The reward for the mission was a jaw dropping 777,000,000 jewels. Unfortunately for the other guilds, Fairy Tail was quickest to the draw and swooped up the mission the second it became available.
Flashback:
Mira-Jane waves excitedly at her friends, still drying their hair, as they walk towards the bar. "Hi Lucy! Hi Erza! How was your morning swim?"
Erza smiles sweetly at the Take-Over Mage, "Hello Mira-Jane, it was a beautiful and productive way to start the day."
Lucy groans and then laughs, "Ugh, Mira! Erza is so cruel! She made me swim 100 extra laps with a weighted vest on because Plue accidentally sat on her strawberry cake… hahaha! I'm exhausted! Whatcha putting up on the Request Board?"
Lucy casually chucks her wet towel on the stool next to her, and stretches her arms over her head.
Mira giggles, "Lucy you're so dramatic, she didn't really make you do a 100 laps with the vest on… did she?"
Both Lucy and Erza's nod of confirmation at Mira's inquiry.
Mira-Jane playfully scolds Erza, "Dearest me, that's just mean Erzyy hehe. Oh sorry, Lucy, you asked me about this job? I was just getting ready to put it up."
Smiling over at the Celestial Mage, "The mayor of Forest Rose is requesting help with some unknown dark mages, looks to me like they're rogue wizards that decided to gang up and cause some trouble. Oh yes, and the reward is 777,000,000 jewel."
Before Mira could move a single muscle to finish her task, she was tackled to the ground by Lucy who looked as though she had jewel shaped symbols in her eyes.
Straddling the very startled Mira, hair fanned out in a curtain around them; Lucy screeches with way too much enthusiasm, "WE'LL TAKE THE MISSION!"
Wincing at the shrill pitch of Lucy's voice as well as being pinned to the floor by the Celestial mage, MiraJane gulps and responds with a laughing voice, "Lucy! Oh my goodness! I thought you said you were exhausted!? Please don't be angry but it's a double S-Rank. You'd need an S-Rank mage to join you as well as several others too…"
Mira wasn't surprised at Lucy's reaction, thinking to herself, 'Well... Luce certainly wouldn't have to worry about rent with a reward that big even with it being split…'
Erza suddenly stood directly above the two girls on the floor; her eyes were dark and foreboding.
Lucy wasn't deterred by Erza's ominous aura- jumping up to her feet and grabbing both Erza's arms.
Lucy begs her best friend adorably, "Please Erza! Please, please, please say yes!"
Eye's pleading and mouth pouting, Lucy put on a full show… which turned out to be for nothing because the Requip Mage had already made up her mind.
Erza still emanated a foreboding aura and her eyes looked to be deeply shadowed, "Mira-Jane. We shall take on this job. Now, with poste haste, mark it as accepted before our cake-I mean job- is stolen from us."
Mira-Jane hastened over to the binder and marked the job as accepted, "Ok it's yours girls... Hee... hehehe. That sure was fast! Let me know who else will be joining you so I can add them to the log."
Inside Erza's mind she was dancing in a cake paradise wearing new armor, 'with that kind of reward… I can visit all the top bakeries in Fiore and finally get to experience the best cakes in all of Earthland!'
Lucy couldn't contain her excitement, "OH MY GODDESS! THANK YOU SO MUCH ERZA! Who else will join us on the mission? Oh and I guess we should read through the request."
…
Lucy skipped over to the Take-over mage and literally sang her follow-up about the job to her, "Alright Mira! We talked it over with the others and assembled the rest of our team: Natsu, Happy, Gray, Juvia, Cana, Wendy, Carla, Levy, Lily, and Gajeel! Forest Rose will be back to normal in a flash and we're going to be 777,000,000 jewel richer; muahahaha that will give each of us 64,750,000 jewel!"
End of Flashback.
…
At the town of Forest Rose after having just completed their mission... or so the Fairy Tail Mages thought...:
The mission to get rid of the dark mages plaguing the beautiful town and inhabiting the castles seemed to go without a hitch. For once, the destructive Fairy Tail mages (Natsu, Gray, Gajeel *cough-sometimes Erza-cough*) were wise enough to heed Lucy's threats of dismemberment and death if they caused any type of collateral damage that would result in a reduction in their reward. Lucy, Levy, and Erza devised a successful strategy plan that everyone followed to the T.
Lucy wanted to be celebrating with the rest of her guildmates but something was gnawing at her... she couldn't shake the feeling that things were going far too smoothly for a double S Rank Mission. The air had a thickness to it that made her skin crawl and her instincts felt like they were sending her warning flares.
The Celestial Mage couldn't help but think to herself, 'Something is definitely off...'
Reaching out to her close friend, the blonde lightly grabs Erza by the arm.
The Requip Mage instantly halts her forward progression at Lucy's touch. Turning to her friend, Erza feels the breath stall in her chest at the look on Luce's face.
Lucy's manners always impressed Erza, and this was exactly one of those moments that left her feeling in awe of her dear friend.
Lucy calmly asked, "I know this is sudden... but can I have a word with you please?"
"Of course Lucy, what's going on?" At Erza's response Lucy releases a deep sigh... Lucy's observations coincide too closely with Erza's own internal contemplations...
Lucy shares her concerns with her friend. "Erza, this might sound strange but I've got a bad feeling that something is seriously off here. Don't get me wrong, I think we all did a great job and all ... ugh... and I hate to jinx us but this mission shouldn't be this easy. And it's not just that… The air… it feels thick, like it's oozing with evil intent…"
The rest of the team stopped talking, and listened in to Lucy and Erza's conversation.
Shaking her head in worried dismay, Erza admits "I sense it too, and yes, Lucy, this most certainly is playing out in a way that's too good to be true."
Erza let out a deep sigh, yes she too was becoming more and more aware that there was in fact something very off about this whole mission.
Erza drags her right hand down her face in exasperation, "This is unsavory to admit aloud... but... I believe what we thought was the completion of this mission was merely us scratching the surface of something much more sinister than we have been made aware of..."
Speaking this aloud instantly darkened Erza's mood. The Requip Mage started to radiate a deadly fury that made Gray and Natsu cower in fear.
The Requip Mage's thoughts causing shadows to obscure her face, 'I was so looking forward to having some of the strawberry rose cake from that quaint bakery for lunch today. I swear, if I find any more criminals- I WILL MAKE THEM PAY FOR GETTING BETWEEN ME AND MY PRECIOUS TREAT!'
Taking a deep breath, Erza stomped to the front of the group with her hands braced at her hips.
"Alright everyone. We really can't ignore this any longer. I'm going to assign teams. We need to investigate this, let's split up to cover more ground, that should make this all go a lot faster too…*in a muffled voice* perhaps in time to make it to that bakery before it closes… and meet up at the town center in 4 hours. Lucy, Natsu, and Happy take the west wing of the Rose Mountain Château. Levy, Lily, and Gejeel take the east wing. I have a feeling there is something vital we're missing here. I know this country is rich with minerals and the magical potential here is greater than other parts of Earthland, but I fear that there's more… Cana, Gray, and Juvia I want you three to explore the Rosewood Château, focusing on the lower levels. Wendy and Carla, I will join you as we investigate Rosewood's library. If anything, and I mean anything suspicious happens you are to send out a call on our communications Lacrima. If any more enemies show up, wait before engaging- we need to get a better idea about what we're up against." Erza hoped that she and Lucy's suspicions were foundless, but her gut was telling her otherwise. 'I've got a bad feeling…' she thought as they each went to their designated areas.
At the west wing of the Rose Mountain Château:
Touching her keys, Lucy sends out a silent request to Crux to begin investigating the history, lore, geology, and everything else about the land of Forest Rose and everything close to it too.
The Silver Celestial Key responds tiredly to his lovely master, "Why yes of course Miss Lucy, zzzz"
Smiling at his antics, Lucy "Thank you Grandpa Crux"
"Luchy is talking to herself again Natsu… what do we do?" Happy worriedly confided to his best friend.
A comical look flints across the Dragon Slayer's face as he responds to his little blue friend.
"I know little buddy, just pretend that you haven't noticed, you know how she can be," Natsu loudly whispered back to Happy.
Lucy couldn't believe them, 'They're really such punks! Why do they always do this to me... jerks...'
Slamming her fists to top both their skulls, Lucy yells in frustration at their stupidity, "DUMBASSES! I CAN HEAR EVERYTHING YOU'RE SAYING and what the hell *pouting* you two are so mean! I was talking to Grandpa Crux, he's looking into information about this land to see if he can find anything useful."
Happy looks at her with mock sincerity, "I'm sorry Lushy…" giving her his best puppy kitty baby doll eyes.
"Oh happy, of course I forgive you!" Lucy swipes her little friend out of the air and into her arms for a tight hug.
...
Lucy, Natsu, and Happy continue walking along the strange corridor leading to the west wing's research library when Natsu suddenly thrusts out his arm- halting their forward progression.
"What is it Natsu?" Lucy asks as she releases Happy to begin her own energy scan.
Years of intense training following their seven years stuck on Tenrou Island had paid off, Lucy's skills were vastly greater than she could have ever imagined before losing those precious years… and with the help of her family- her spirits and friends at Fairy Tail- she was able to hone her current skills, develop new magics, not to mention her skills with her whips and her signature Lucy Kick.
Natsu sniffed the air, and the scent drained his face of all color. Turing to Lucy and Happy he growled, "I don't want to believe it but Luce... It's those ugly bugs from Tartaros, those demons. I can smell them but they're different from before."
"No… it can't be." Happy's voice quivered with fear.
Looking over her shoulder at her best friend Lucy releases a worried sigh.
The Celestial Mage reiterates the dragon's sentiments, "I can sense it too. I'll never forget their distinct energy signatures, but it's definitely worse than before… it feels like… it's poisoning the air with malice and not just bane particles. Natsu" turning to look her best friend in the eyes, "We need to contact the others immediately."
Natsu nods his head while he reaches for his Lacrima, at the same time Lucy sends a silent request to Virgo, Leo, and Capricorn to warn the others and provide backup if needed. Just as she heard their affirmations and felt them go to each of her friends, a cold feeling crawled up her spine…
An eerie voice emanating from every corner of the corridor halted Natsu before he could contact the others "Not so fast, Fairy Tail."
Lucy immediately reached for her whip but stopped short when she saw Jackal slither down from the ceiling, his body oozing a sticky substance that melted everything it touched.
"How lovely to see you again beautiful Lucy, oh how I've longed for your explosive demise." Jackal's voice dripped with aroused anger.
...
...
...
Things took a turn from bad to worse for the Fairy Tail mages battling out against a new-old enemy. Hours pass, and the grueling fight continues.
In the midst of a ferocious battle against an unknown underground dark guild that shockingly housed the reanimated demons from Tartaros. Seeing their old enemies back and sporting what appeared to be highly upgraded to deadly perfection bodies. Their strength and ruthlessness was horrifying, the dark mages working with the demons turned their backs on their humanity for a chance to be stronger and work alongside the Tartaros monsters.
Blind-sided by a sneak attack just as Lucy was going to make a killing strike against Jackal while using her Star Dress Mix: Leo x Virgo Form- a magic circle created by Jackal and his dark mage groupies has an unexpectedly violent reaction to Lucy's Celestial Magic. The opposing magics appear to create an alchemy-like reaction engulfing the entire area in an unstable magic circle dripping with sinister deadliness. Lucy and Jackal get sucked into the center of the seemingly living magic circle, sending them both across space and time to another violent battle in another world.