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Chapter Text

Makarov signed in defeat as he ended the call. Once again, the defending of Earthland has fallen onto the shoulders of his children. If it were the old council he just talked to he would have thought this was another plot to get Fairy Tail in trouble. But considering that the council wasn't made up of old men not connected to the common folk anymore, but guild masters of top 10 guilds in Fiore, he knew that the threat was real and that giving the responsibility to his children was the last option they had. 

A lot had changed after the war. Alvarez had surrendered when Zeref had unexpectedly vanished from the battlefield. With their leader gone, the Spriggan 12 members had retreated, taking their deceased members with them. Alvarez troops stopped attacking, the Spriggan 12 vanished and the war ended with Acnologia still at large, Zeref vanishing and Fiore and Alvarez left to lick their wounds in uneasy peace. 

He sighed once again and moved to summon the ones he chose for the mission. As they entered his office he looked at his children. Lucy, Erza, Natsu, Gray, Happy, Wendy and Carla. Team Natsu. They had grown into their bodies, their magic. They were more confident and they moved like they were born to fight, to protect those who cant protect themselves. 

Then there was a knock on the door. That must've been the last member of the team. As he laid 3yes upon the future of the guild, he had to hold back tears from the sheer pride he held for his children. Admittedly, he had had quite a few kegs of beer after the meeting, but you have to admit, his children were amazing. He watched these young men and women fall and then rise again and again, each time brighter than the last. He watched them change for the better, he watched them live, cry, laugh and more. He knew how much they grew and he was so, so proud. 

He had watched these young men and women grow from tiny snot-nosed children, to these powerful, confident mages, and he knew that they could do whatever they wanted and they would succeed. As his children settled, he shuffled the papers on his desk and cleaned his throat, bringing their attention to himself. 

"I have called you here because there I have for all of you." he let his gaze wander from child to child, and they all looked intrigued. "As you might know, there have been mysterious ethernano fluctuations in the air even before the war ended. Our attempts to figure that out have been unsuccessful."

He stood up and handed each of them a file. Waiting a few seconds so everyone could skim over them, he continued.

"The council believes that it has something to do with what happened 3 months ago. Earlier this year there was a rise in dark guild activity, but they had stayed in the shadows until now."

"And it's our job to get rid of them." grunted Laxus. Makarov eyed his grandson and signed. 

"Not exactly. Our job is to take care of the group behind the scenes. The leaders, so to say."

Wendy furrowed her brows. "But… Why can't the other guilds help? Wouldn't we need backup?" 

Makarov smiled at her. Wendy grew from the shy meek girl she was back when she first joined. Now she was a confident, powerful, young woman ready for her enemies. Before he could answer however, Laxus chimed in. 

"Why call me here? You know damn well I'm not on active duty right now, since I'm stuck doin' your paperwork, old man."

Erza glared at him for his disrespect but Makarov shrugged it off and answered his question. "The rest of the council suggested I send out my strongest children to deal with the problem and I couldn't refuse." He turned back to Wendy. 

"The rest of the guilds are busy getting rid of the lesser dark guilds. The goons. You'll have an easier time getting to the leaders without a bunch of mediocre dark mages slowing you down, I imagine."

Wendy nodded to show she understood and he continued with explaining the situation.

"In the file I gave you is everything the council knows about the dark guild alliance. They started causing ruckus about a few months before Alvarez invaded. If you remember when many libraries were broken into last year then you should know that that was them." 

Sighing again, he mentioned for everyone to read through the first few documents." From what we could recover from the old council, we gathered that they had been looking for books on lost magics and history of times before Zeref. Before the dragons."

"I thought there wasn't anything left from that time period," said Gray. The man had already lost all of his clothes and was sitting on the floor in his boxers. 

"Gray, clothes." reminded Lucy. "In all seriousness though, I know such books exist. In fact, my parents used to own quite a few old tomes. it might be worth it if I check my dad's old contacts."

"I thought you didn't have any contact with people from your old life?" asked Natsu. He had been silent the whole time and Makarov was genuinely surprised as silent Natsu was a rarity. Well to be fair, out of all of them, Natsu had the hardest time after the invasion and he was not immature enough to not know when he shouldn't act childish. 

"No, I only stopped talking to the stuck-up nobles. My parents used to be in a guild, you know. They had a lot of contacts in the mage circles that they kept in contact." she answered. Makarov hadn't known that. He, as many others apparently, had assumed that the Heartfilias had stepped out of the mage business decades ago and cut all contact. 

"Well, that settles it. Lucy, if you still know where you can find those people, then you shall take Laxus with you." said Makarov. "I know you are a strong and independant mage, and can protect yourself, but I would feel better if you had someone with you to keep your back."

Turning to Team Natsu, who were about to rage about how Lucy was their teammate, he said: "Team Natsu is going to be a distraction, so to say. We can't let the dark guilds know before we're ready for them to know. Are we clear?" He glared at Natsu, who was the one who went after his teammates the most. The man mumbled an answer and sat back on the floor to sulk, as one does. "You are to go and complete a few quests at the locations we suspect have something to do with that period, and if you destroy a few places here or there, I will ignore it. I want you to divert the attention of the public and the dark guilds onto you. They have been getting more suspicions of us lately and that should divert their attention from the investigation."

Having made Natsu feel better, Makarov directed his gaze to the children he hadn't given a task yet.

"I've already sent a few others on their own tasks, you all are the front. Before you get going, talk to Cana so she can give you one of her recent inventions." He leaned back into his chair. "Please, be careful. This mission is the current top priority in Fiore. With Zeref missing and Achnologia still at large there are a lot of things that vould go wrong." he said. "Seeing that we have no idea what we are dealing with with this Pre-Dragon time nonsence, every thing we do might have giant consequences. Understood?" he asked. Everyone nodded. They knew what was at stake. "Good." Makarov relaxed and took out some papers out of his desk drawer. "These are the quests I've reserved for you, team Natsu. You can start tomorrow, we still have some things to work out."

xoxoxo

Lucy sighed as she followed Laxus out of the office. "Say, Blondie," she heard Laxus say. "When are you thinking of setting off?"

"Well, it will take me a few days to make sure my information is up to date. I'll let you know as soon as I know." She shrugged. There's no doubt her teammates were already waiting for her, judging by the way they all but ran out of the guild, dragging Carla and Wendy with them. Wendy was still too nice and shy for something like that, unlike the all of the brutes her team was made of. Sometimes it felt like they were more at her place than at their own apartments. Hell, Natsu even had a house, Erza owned 5 rooms at the Fairy Hills and who knows where Gray lived but he definitely had a nice place to stay. She was sure that Juvia made sure of that. "I have to go, unless I wanted Natsu and Gray to destroy my appartment." She said goodbye to Cana and Mira who were still at the bar and headed out.

Turning down Strawberry Street, she walked past her old apartment building and further down the street. The local fishermen called out to her when she jumped up on the wall along the river and she thanked them and assured them that she was perfectly fine. She glanced at her old appartment building and smiled as the nostalgia brought back the memories she had made there. Her new building was at the end of the street and was a pale blue colour. Her appartment was on the ground floor and had access to a nice garden. Opening the door she was greeted by her teammates lounging around the living room. Each one of them waved as she entered. Lucy, chuckling at her friends, went to the kitchen to prepare some tea. 

Heavens knew they were going to need it.

"So," she called out from the kitchen. "Are you guys ready for this quest?" 

Receiving enthustiastic positive answers (and a little bit of fire from Natsu), she brought out the tea to the spacious living room and sat down next to Gray. Her friends have stopped snooping through her stuff but they were still very happy to be in her home, as if they weren't over atleast four times a week. 

"Sigh. I can't even sleep without one of you barging in for a sleepover. Why do you still treat it as a novelty? Thank god this apartment is much bigger than my last one, otherwise you wouldn't fit." Taking a sip of her tea, she gestured to the files on the coffee table. "What do we do about that? We just recovered from the war?" 

"It's pretty straightforward, isn't it." said Gray. Find the dark guild, fight them and go home. An average day for a Fairy Tail wizard."

"I don't know Lucy. Something is missing and I'm afraid it's gonna become a problem later." said Erza seriously. "It is ever so suspicious that the old council was even interested into that era."

"You're right." said Charla. "We don't know all the facts, we barely know anything about this mission. We're almost going in blindly."

"Do you think maybe Master withheld information about the quest?" asked Wendy. She was perched on the corner of the couch, next to Natsu.

"I don't think gramps is hiding anything. That's not what he does. It's most likely that everything was destroyed, again." added Gray. 

"Yeah, I heard the old man complain about that." chimed in Natsu. "I didn't get it at the time, but he was really angry that the old council of bastards didn't have a spell or something protecting everything."

"So, Lucy, how sure are you that your parents had anything that could help us? I'm confused about that. They couldn't have been that connected" asked Gray. "Well, while dad might have lost everything when he wen't bankrupt, he was still the founder and owner of Heartfillia Railways for many years, and a shrewd bussiness man. Plus, heartfilias are an old family, our family tree goes all the way back to the age of Dragons" she answered. In truth, she wasn't sure. It has been years since she or her father contacted anyone. There is no way to know if the contacts were still alive, or if the information was still accurate. 

With a shake of her head at her thoughts, she realised she was asked a question and keyed back into the conversation, resolving to think about it later. 

xoxoxo

Somewhere deep in the caves of Bosco, there sat a figure in front of thick dusty tome. The figure was dressed in a black cloak, the hood hiding their face. Two hands, one pale and the other a grayish colour and clawed, came up and closed the tome shut, sending dust into the air. 

"How interesting. With the rate we're going, I'll be able to achieve your goal soon, master. I will finally kill you and show you how useful I am." they said. 

Their pendant shone in the candle light. Triangle, circle, line. 

Chapter Text

Knowing their luck, Erza really shouldn't have been surprised how a very normal quest turned into whatever bullshit she was looking at right now. The quest they were on was the last quest they got from master, but it was an S-Class quest and required strong, capable mages to clean out a ruin from monsters and bring back anything they might find. It all started when they met their contractor.

Their contractor was an old man by the name of Rhvvat, a scholar from some university in the Fiore capital. The reason the master gave them this quest was because the ruins were estimated to be older than the age of dragons. No one has quite been able to explore the ruins due to the runes that kept them off limits, but during the 7-year gap, a team of scholars and rune mages from Bosco managed to crack the runes and enter the ruins.

Only a few managed to come out alive, however, because the ruins were filled with ugly monsters they hadn't seen before. The monsters were relatively weak, but the scholars were quickly overrun. The few that survived sealed the ruins once again and no one had gone back in since.

Usually battling monsters such as these was an A-Class quest, but the sheer number of the monsters and the size of the ruins made this quest dangerous enough for it to be an S-Class quest. The scholar that made the request was not on that team. He was a professor from a university of Magic in Fiore and was researching life before the known history. They met up with him at his temporary house in the small nearby town. He was very accommodating and seemed to take no insult in her teammates' behavior, which struck her odd since most scholars of his caliber seemed always very insulted by Natsu's brand of idiocy and Gray's stripping habit.

The professor said that the ruins used to be some kind of a government building or a bank, though most of it was underground and only accessible while following unlit tunnels. From the surviving ruin mages from Bosco, he found out that the tunnels seemed to be like a maze. He hadn't done anything else weird, but the entire time that Erza had spent in his presence, she felt like she was being judged. Not that the questions about their magical powers helped much, though she had to admit that any scholar would be interested in a Fairy Tail mage. They were quite famous.

After the talk with the professor, they went to the mayor of the town to request a place to stay, since the rather tiny town didn't have an inn. The mayor, who used to be a guild mage, made them a shelter with his stone magic on the outskirts of the town. They spent the rest of the day resting. In the morning, they met the old man at the edge of the town and he led them deeper into the forest. It took them around 20 minutes of walking to reach the ruins. The mayor didn't lie, they were close to the town.

The ruins looked like any standard ruins. The remains of what looked like a cobblestone road paved through the forest towards the actual ruins. On both sides of the road, there were remains of building foundations, all overgrown and almost unrecognizable. At the end of the road was an opening, and in that opening stood the ruins they were there for.

A weird sort of quiet was in the air. It seemed like not even the woodland creatures dared to disturb the peace. The old man led them through the ruins to a half-broken-down building. What might have long ago been glistening white marble was now withered down by the elements, blackened by grime, and covered in vegetation. The entrance to the building was sealed shut, the glow of the runes visible even in the daylight. 

"Aww man, I can't wait to see what's inside!", yelled Natsu. "Bet it's gonna be some nasty big monster we gotta beat up, huh Happy? I'm fired up just thinking about it!" 

"Shut up, moron. It's too early for you to yell." Gray wasn't a morning person.

Erza sighed. There goes her quiet morning. She mentally prepared herself to hit both of them on the head when Ryvvat spoke up.

"Please do not fight, I've managed to unseal the entrance. You'll need your strength to get through this alive.", he said, with his back to them.

Miraculously, the boys shut up and turn serious. They have grown up. Erza remembered a time when they wouldn't have even acknowledged anyone besides her fist to the head. Turning to the scholar, who has finished with his task, she nodded to indicate they understood.

"I will be waiting for you back in town. I'm not so young anymore, to be able to camp outside." Then, he departed.

They watched him walk away until he went out of sight, then they turned to the entrance. Past it, it was dark. Erza could only see that it led to some kind of room with bookshelves. Beyond that, it was pitch black.

" We are gonna need to set some rules before we go in," she said. "We don't know what is in there. We have absolutely no information and it is going to be very dangerous."

"That's why we gotta stay together, right?" said Wendy from her right. Erza nodded. "We mustn't touch anything. We have no way of telling if it's cursed." She turned to Natsu. "Promise me you will listen to me this time. For our survival and the success of the mission."

He nodded in understanding. Requipping a few unlit torches, she handed them to Natsu, who quickly lit them in short bursts of fire from his mouth. Making sure everyone had a torch, she led them into the dark ruins. The inside of the first room was trashed. Paper was everywhere and the shelves on the walls were empty, broken, and rotting in places. There were cracks along the walls and the room was slightly tilted. She spotted remains of a camp in one corner. It looked like a standard camping set. Must've been from the researchers who unsealed this ruin in the first place.

The door of the room was missing, so they could just exit into the hallway. One end of it was caved in so they headed the other way, which led to a set of stairs going down. Along the way, they encountered old unlit torches along the walls, so they lit all they could, so they could find the path to the exit easier. The further they went in, the colder it got. They were all familiar with cold and have become a bit resilient to it, but this type of cold reached deep, almost to the soul, just like the frost of the tallest mountain in the country of Iceberg. Erza had the misfortune of chasing a monster to the top of one and almost died. Not even she knew how she had survived.

The condition of the ruins didn't improve much as they went further in. There was a lack of vegetation and little critters that usually occupied ruins like these. It all seemed fishy to Erza, and judging by the stiff shoulders of the mistrustful gazes of her companions, they thought so too. 

After a bunch of stairs, they finally reached a long corridor. On both sides, there were rather well-kept doors. Natsu immediately went to open one, but Gray gripped his arm and held him back.

"We can explore later. We have to check if there are any monsters, remember what the old man said?" he said. Natsu scoffed at him but didn't go back to the door.

They continued down the corridor, peering into the rooms with open or missing doors, but not entering for now. After a few minutes of walking, the corridor opened into a large open space. Their torches could only light up so much, but as Gray lit up a torch on the wall, there was a whoosh and all of the torches in the room lit up at once. Erza gasped and she heard Wendy let out a small scream. The lit torches revealed how big the space is. 

The roof of the room was shrouded in darkness, but Erza could tell the room was bigger than the main room of their guild hall. The floor of the room was cracked in places, and there was rubble and trash all over the place. Near the entrance where they came from were the remains of some kind of counter. Giant pillars stretched up to the top of the room, some unharmed and some broken in places. Opposite the hall, they came from was an opening in the wall. There was a piece of broken down metal doors attached to the side. Erza walked over and noticed something written on the wall to which the doors were attached.

The characters were weird, but the words shifted into the language of Fiore. Some kind of spell, presumably. Erza suspects that if Levy was with them, she would've been salivating over it.

The words shifted into Fiore's script, it was faint, the letters withered by age but she could make out a few words. "..take heed of what awaits the sin of greed…Thief, you have been warned…"

That, coupled with the layout of the room, reminded Erza of a bank. She required a lacrima camera and took a photo of the script. She turned to the doors to inspect them more, but a scream from the direction Wendy went into drew her attention. She required a sword into her hand and ran as fast as she could in toward where she could now see Wendy battling a thing. Wendy let out a roar and the thing sailed through the air and hit the opposite wall with a wet-sounding thud. She grouped up with Wendy and the others as they watched the Thing slowly get up. It was a humanoid shape but it had black horns coming from its head, and spikes coming from its limbs, but it was covered in this black goop that dripped onto the floor as it moved. It had no eyes but as its maw opened when it let out a shrill scream, Erza saw two rows of sharp teeth. 

The Thing charged at them. They prepared themselves to fight but just as it lunged at them, something hit it in the head and it swerved to the right and hit the floor, dead. Something ran out of the shadows and took out the axe that hit the Thing and hit it twice more, presumably to make sure it was dead.

Erza didn't let her guard down, who knows if this new person killed the Thing so it could kill them and not share the loot? She gripped her sword tighter and pushed Wendy behind her.

"Who are you?", she asked. The person was short, stocky, and was wearing a hood over their face. "I'll tell ye once we're safe. Follow me.", they said with a weird accent she had never heard before. Glancing at the dead Thing, she was surprised to see it dissolve into nothing. Carla, who was in Wendy's arms, gasped at the sight.

The person led them back to the hallway they came from, then into one of the side rooms, Natsu had wanted to check out initially. The room was dimly lit, and the wall to the right was gone, connecting the two neighboring rooms into one, kind of like what Erza had done with her rooms back at Fairy Hills. On the far right wall, a few weapons were hung from pieces of metal nailed into the wall. The only shelf there was filled with knick-knacks. There was a big bowl of rusted old keys on the floor beneath the shelf. The rest of the room was decorated as their guild hall basement had been back when Gajeel had ruined their guild hall. The person that led them in closed the door behind them and put a big plank over it, basically barricading them in. The area was illuminated by a soft glow from what looked like oil lanterns that were put around the room.

Then they took off their cloak to reveal a short, stocky old man, with white hair and long pointy ears. He had a scar going from his temple, over his eye, and down to his chin, with another scar crossing it on his cheek. It was a grizzly sight but very impressive, considering the man has survived. Erza repeated her earlier question, but the man ignored her and instead hit his knuckles against the wall quickly 4 times, and then again 2 times after a short break. 

3 other short people popped out from their hiding places. They all had similar white hair and long ears like their savior, but there was a clear age difference. The ones that hid under the tables were younger and had fewer wrinkles on their face, and one of them was missing an arm. The last person was older than anyone present and peering into their eyes, Erza found out that they were milky white. Looking away, she faces the man who brought them into this room.

"Who are you, and why did you help?" she asked again. The man cleared his throat. "My name is Bonescythe. Those are Bloodfang, Acidcrow, and Riphook." he introduced himself, and then the rest. Bloodfang was the one without an arm and Acidcrow was the person with milky white eyes Erza saw occasionally on her quests. Riphook was the youngest out of the four, as far as Erza could tell. The man continued without prompting. "I helped because ye didn't deserve to die such a slow and gruesome death.", he said.

"Those awful monsters, the Tainted, they're a fate worse than death. Getting infected by them is as good as a death sentence." 

"But you just said two different things! You said they're a fate worse than death and then you said that we'd die a painful and slow death if we get infected by those monsters!", explained Natsu. Erza had to give it to him, Natsu was right, but there was something that was nagging her. "You said monsters. As in multiple.", she said.

"There are more of them?!" said Gray, shirtless, gripping his shirt in his hands. Typical Gray, she'd have to remind him of his habit later. Wendy shrieked softly and held Carla and Happy, who had migrated into her arms, tighter. 

"Yes, there are more Tainted than there aren't. Hidden deep down like we are, yet eternal like we aren't. Only Death himself may send them to rest." said an old, rough voice. Acidcrow had spoken for the first time since they arrived there. "What do you mean? What are those monsters anyway?", Gray demanded. "You keep calling them the Tainted."

Bonescythe groaned and walked over to the wall and hung his axe on it. He gestured to the makeshift table and chairs and said to make themselves at home. "You won't be able to exit anytime soon, anyway. The Tainted are drawn to the magic in that area like moths to a flame. I hope ye don't mind that we have nothing to offer, we don't usually get guests down here."

Natsu slammed his fists together and exhaled a short stream of fire. "Alright! I'm done w talkin' nonsense. Tell us who these Tainred or whatever are so I can beat them up and be done with this quest!", he yelled in outrage. Erza slammed a fist gently into his stomach. He wheezed out a small "Sorry!" and slumped in his seat. She turned back to Bonescythe. "You haven't answered what they are yet. How do we fight them?"

This time it was Riphook that spoke. "Tainted is what happens when the curse gets you." She whipped her head towards him. "The curse?", she asked. "No one told us about the curse."

"They couldn't," he said. "This curse has been active since before the age of dragons. It affects anything magic enough, and once you've been tainted, once it has depleted all magic in your body, it will use what remains to move around and search for new magic sources until there is none left." Bloodfang sighed. "We've lost a good many people over my time alive."

Wendy put a finger on her chin. "So, if it's such an old curse, then are we affected too?" she asked fearfully. "I don't wanna become like that Thing." Erza put an arm around her and Carla hugged her arm. "Don't worry young one, only those of olde blood have been cursed, but the Tainted can still kill you, so you must be careful.", said Riphook.

"How did you get cursed then?", asked Happy. He had taken out a fish from his little backpack. Erza was surprised he managed this long without any fish whatsoever. "You don't look almost 800 years old."

"We're goblins! I am around 150 years old myself! We used to be a proud race, known for our brave wariors and beautiful craftsmanship! Yet, it took just one week for it all to fall apart. Any being with olde blood in their veins was affected by that blasted curse " said Acidclaw. Wendy gulped. "What happened then?" asked Natsu. He seemed very interested in the story. Erza couldn't fault him. She was intrigued as well.

"My grandmother used to tell us stories.", started Acidclaw. "Of the time before the curse. A time where we could freely exit the building without the fear of getting Tainted. It sounded magical and impossible, but the books she had did not lie." They coughed a little into their fist. "No knew why the curse was cast, not how to get rid of it. Countless people have tried over the years. From prodigy wizards to curse breakers we employed, none could get rid of the curse."

Bonescythe took over. "Everyone was in danger. People died left and right or suffered a worse fate and got Tainted. There was no safe haven. Magic or not, everyone was affected." He sighed. "I was born 150 years ago. By that time only a little part of the goblin nation had remained. The rest are gone and their bodies roam the deep caverns beneath this building."

Gray turned to look at him from where he was leaning next to the door. "Half of this building is underground. How did this happen if you are still here?" he asked. "The dragon war took a toll on the land. At that time we were still deep underground where it was safe." answered Acidclaw. They were drinking a liquid that strongly smelled like some sort of herb tea. 

They signed and put their cup down. Erza didn't know how long it had been since they entered the ruins, but she was getting tired and her internal clock was mostly on point. It should be sometime around the evening now. "How about we rest and talk more in the morning, we've all had an exhausting day." she said. It wasn't easy setting up a place to sleep, since the 6 of them made the two rooms very crowded, but it worked. Erza noticed that even as the three younger goblins prepared for bed, Acidclaw was still sitting at the little table. 

Erza requipped a few blankets for them. Next to her Gray and Natsu have already started snoring. Sometimes, Erza was jealous of their ability to fall asleep anywhere easily. In a corner Happy and Charla were conversing quietly. Wendy was next to them looking lost in thought. She watched Wendy out of the corner of her eye, as the girl stood up and quietly walked to where Acidclaw was still sitting. She couldn't quite hear what she asked Acidclaw but she saw how the goblin smiled gently in her direction before gesturing to Wendy to sit. Erza smiled and laid down to rest. 

With one eye open, she fell into an uneasy slumber. Wendy would be fine. She was strong and could take care of herself. Not that the goblins seemed like they'd attack her. It was just a habit to mistrust anyone who does anything for them without expecting payment. 

And if they do attempt anything, then Carla and Happy are still awake and taking the first watch. They'll be fine.

Waking up on a cold hard floor had never been a nice experience. Erza's joints cracked as she got up into a sitting position. Looking around the room, she noticed two of the goblins sitting at the makeshift table and conversing in a language she couldn't understand. It was full of harsh sounds and vowels. The goblins noticed her staring and nodded to her before continuing their conversation. She looked towards the corner to the right of her and saw Happy and Carla curled up next to a still sleeping Wendy. To her left were Natsu and Gray. Natsu was sprawled on the floor like a starfish, his mouth open and drool down his face. He was snoring really loudly and she wondered how it did not wake her. She was probably used to it by now.

Gray was sitting next to him, awake. He was leaning against the wall and reading a book she didn't recognize. He felt her watching him and at her inquiring look, he gestured at the goblins and mouthed "Asked for a book to read." She nodded to show she understood and slowly got up. Gathering all of her and Gray's blankets, she requipped them back and stretched. Not her first night sleeping on the floor, but it never gets better. She was definitely going to spend at least 3 days in the onsen when they get back from this quest. It has been 2 and a half weeks since they started the quests and she was absolutely done. 

She walked over to Wendy and gently shook her awake. Wendy groaned but got up, shaking Carla and Happy enough to wake them up too. Then Erza woke up Natsu and made them a quick breakfast from the food they packed before they went into the ruins. They couldn't possibly ask more of their hosts, since they have so little already. It took about two hours for them to eat and pack everything back up and by the time they were done, Bonescythe had joined Bloodfang and Riphook at the table.

Erza looked around to see if she just missed Acidclaw. "Where is Acidclaw?" asked Wendy. Bonescythe looked at his fellow goblins and then back at the girl, with sadness in his eyes.

"Acidclaw passed away in their sleep last night. There is nothing we could've done." he said finally. Erza felt sadness she shouldn't feel for a person they had known for a day, but it was hard to not feel sad that a kind soul like Acidclaw was lost.. Wendy gasped. The teen had become friends with the old goblin really fast. She held Wendy close as the girl sobbed. Besides for the sobbing and the background sounds one would usually encounter deep underground, the room was silent as they mourned.

After a few minutes, the sobbing stopped and Gray cleared his throat. "We really should be going. The faster we finish this quest, the sooner we can return home." he said softly. Erza nodded, still hugging Wendy tight. Bonescythe grunted. "What are you here anyway? Never got to ask last night." he said.

"We need to go deeper in. Our quest is to find a specific book that is supposed to be deep underground in these ruins." said Erza. "We know not its looks or its contexts and, frankly, we don't care."

"Mhm. Our job is simply to find the book, and being it and any other things we find, to our contractor and get out of here alive." said Gray.

"Yeah! The old man gave us a map, too! Said it won't be very accurate 'cus of stuff." said Natsu, playing with his flames by the door. Erza assumed he was tired and bored, but years of doing quests with their team has finally screwed it in his thick skull that talking could result in information critical to the quest. "We got a lactrama picture of a weird vault door as well! It has a big thirty-four on it or something."

Bonescythe grimaced. "Vault 34 isn't that low in comparison to the younger vaults, but the original hallways leading there are full with rubble or too dangerous to go through. You are going to have to take the railway system, which isn't that safe either, but it's easy to defend yourself there." he said. He looked at the other three goblins. Ripclaw nodded and Bloodfang shrugged. They all stood up and Ripclaw turned to her. "We are coming with you. Can't leave you to die here, we know the halls here like the back of our hands."

Only then Erza noticed that the goblins had their weapons and armour on them. It's a bit concerning that she hadn't noticed it before, but considering she hadn't had a good night's rest in two weeks now, she let it go. There was no time to waste. Erza nodded in understanding and stood up. Wendy was calm as she could and Erza held her shoulder in silent support for a few moments.

"Then let's go, we've been away from home for way too long."

And so they went. The hall they saw yesterday was as empty as they found them, the torches gone out shrouding the big space in darkness. There was nothing to show the presence of the Thing (Tainted, she reminded herself, that's how they are called.). The goblins led them past the counters and pillars to an opening the Tainted had come through last night. Bonescythe assured them it was safe. "Better keep your guard up though. To kill 'em, hit them in the head hard enough." They continued through the narrow passageways, taking a left three times and then a right until the hallway opened up into a big cavern. 

They were walking on a rather narrow bridge, thousands of metres below them. Erza doesn't get scared easily, but something about how if one thing went wrong all of their lives would be snuffed out made goosebumps raise on her arms. There were hundreds of similar paths all around her, weaving and swerving around the giant stalagmites and stalactites of the cavern, some crumbled down in places, others with old, unused iron carts on the places where the tracks were still in place. The cavern was oddly lit up in places by giant fire torches, probably magic powered. Natsu kept staring at them every time they came to one close enough, but he knew if he ate one that they would be left in darkness until the next one came close enough.Erza had to give him credit, he had come a long way from the Natsu he had been on that first mission they had as a team.

Bloodfang and Riphook were at the back of the group, letting Bonescythe lead the group. Everyone was tense, not trusting the quiet that befell the space. With no one talking, it was easy to see how there were no natural sounds that should be in a cavern like this. There was no dripping water, no sounds of shifting rocks and, if one of them dared to talk, their voice fell flat and didn't echo at all. However, it was way too late to go back. They were nearing an opening in the wall, and through it, Erza could hear faint shuffling sounds, though she had to concentrate really hard to hear them.

Riphook walked past them and said something to Bonescythe in that guttural language. Bonescythe nodded and told everyone that they seemed to be Tainted up ahead. Everyone got ready for combat, keeping Wendy, Happy and Carla in the middle of the group and protected. A few metres ahead they came across a skeleton. It was dirty and the clothes, which looked more like rags at that point, were dark with muck, but you could tell they used to be a lighter colour. Erza crouched down and noticed a patch on the outfit. It was the patch of The Royal University in Seven. Erza knew people had lost lives exploring ancient ruins but it never gets easier seeing the bones of the people who hadn't managed to get out.

They continued on and the shuffling sounds became louder and louder the further in they got. Bloodfang informed them that there were likely Tainted in front of the vault they needed to enter. The reason for that being that there was likely a magic item in the vault and the Tainted feed on any magic available." As soon as we get close enough where they can feel the magic in our blood, they will attack us. Be ready." Riphook dropped to the floor into a roll just a dark blur fell onto the place he was standing in. It was a figure they had seen only once before, but it's hard to forget the twisting, slimy substance dripping from the limbs of the Tainted and the creepy perpetual smile it had.

It screeched and Riphook yelled at them to run towards the vault and leave him to deal with the one Tainted. They hesitated a little but ultimately decided that Riphook could hold his own against the Tainted. They burst into the next clearing, making every Tainted turn to them. Gripping her sword in one hand, she nudged Happy and Carla towards the vault door. They rose into the air and into the shadows of the ceiling without her needing to say a word. She focused her attention back onto the Tainted just in time to skewer one right through head as it charged at her. It dissolved before it even hit the floor. 

She couldn't help but notice the countless skeletons scrawled on the floor as she fought. On her left, Wendy blew 3 of the monsters towards Gray who froze them solid. On her right, Natsu and the two goblins were fighting a tainted each and she noticed the vault door get pushed aside and two shapes ducking in. Suddenly, her sword got knocked out of her hand, and the Tainted grip her arm. She ripped her arm out of the thing’s hold and requipped into her Heaven's Wheel armor and sent 5 swords at its head, killing it instantly.

It had been only a few minutes since the battle began, but it became evidently apparent that they were getting quickly overwhelmed. In just a minute, they had been bunched up into a circle, almost surrounded by the monsters on all sides. Hard not to when it felt like, for every Tainted they killed, three more took its place. Erza said as much and Gray pointed out a different entrance where there were more Tainted scrambling in. Erza felt her stomach drop. They were in a completely unfamiliar location, surrounded with monsters no one had ever seen before with only 3 goblins they met yesterday as a backup. It really wasn't looking well for them.

"Happy, Carla! You need to get out! We can't stay here anymore!" she yelled, hoping the exceeds heard her through the rusted, but still thick, vault door. 

"Gah!" Erza fell into a roll as one of the monsters tried to grab her arm again. They were getting closer and closer, with no sign of stopping. For being an SS-class team, they were quickly getting overwhelmed, almost too quickly.

She remembered Riphook saying how the Tainted were attracted to magic, how they would drain anything and everything of magic until it turned to ashes, and swore loudly. "The bastards are stealing our magic!" Gray made a giant ice barrier around them to give them a breather. Although, the loud thumps from the Tainted running into the ice kept her tense. "Happy and Carla came back with the loot. There was nothing but some trinkets, a few sticks and a sealed book inside." Erza panted a little. "Cool, we've got the stuff. Now what?" he asked.

"Now we get out of here." However, it became evidently clear that there was no chance in hell that they would get out of that mess alive. The Tainted were surrounding them from all directions. For every one they downed, three others took its place. They were all exhausted and were becoming slowly magic depleted. Back to back with Bonescythe, she slashed one of the Tainted that jumped at them.

"Have a secret path we could take to get out of this mess?" she asked. Bonescythe grinned. "No but we can get you out of here."

Erza grimaced. He said "you" and not "us", which made it clear that only her team was getting out. "You're not planning on surviving are you?" Next to her, Gray threw a block of ice at a group of Tainted. Not waiting for an answer, she shouted at Gray to get his attention. "I need a barrier around us. Think you can do it?" He frowned but nodded. "It won't be able to hold long, probably around five minutes." Without hesitation, he slammed his palms to the ground and a dome formed around them. The others drop their stances in relief.

"So, what's the plan?" asked Natsu. His skin shone from the sweat and vapour that curled up from various parts of his body. Next to him, Wendy was clutching her arm gingerly, the pale glow of her heeling magic lighting up the area. Making the decision to mention that later, she turned to Bonescythe. The goblin grinned. "Back in the day, there used to be this magic… device that could teleport anyone in an instant to whichever destination. It just happens that I have one on me right now, in case of an emergency." Wendy perked up. "Does that mean we can get out?" she said.

"Yes. All you need to do is touch this. Hold it and don't let it go, until you are safely on the ground again." With that he pulled a piece of long rope out of his pocket. "They were called Portkeys. Grab onto it and say "Gringotts". It will get you out safely." He handed the rope to Erza. Everyone crowded around the rope. There was barely enough space for all of them to put their fingers around it. "What about you?" asked Happy. "We've got a job to do, don't worry."

Seeing the barrier around them begin to crack, she nudged Natsu and Gray. "Boys, it's time to say goodbye." As they yelled out the activation word, the last thing she saw was the barrier shattering and the goblins drawing their weapons. Then everything went black and she felt the most uncomfortable feeling of being squeezed through a tube. The feeling lasted for a short amount of time, but Erza made a mental note to never do that again.

When they surfaced, her legs gave out on her and she sprawled onto the grass. She heard Gray groan and Wendy retch a bit of distance away. "Ugh, I am never doing that again, not even under the threat of death" said Gray.

"Yeah, this is worse than being in a vehicle…" groaned Natsu. Slowly they got up, clutching their heads in pain. Not even a second later a bright white light flashed from the treeline. Coming quickly to their senses, they ran directly towards it. They burst into the familiar clearing, only to find no sign of the ruins they were just in. There was nothing to show that the building was there, nothing to show that they weren't crazy but some trinkets and an ancient book.

Erza looked at her companions. "The ruins… They're gone. How?" asked Wendy in confusion. How, indeed…

Chapter Text

Bluebell Town looked like a typical Fiore town. The streets had flower-themed names, and the residents were helpful. Laxus and Lucy were able to find a good inn to spend the night in while waiting for the Thunder God Tribe to arrive from their quest near-by. They could've made it to Hogsmeade without a break but they didn't have an idea of the situation once they arrived at the village. With their luck, they could encounter anything at this point. Laxus frowned as they checked in. They had talked about their quest a bit when they set off from Magnolia, but he still had some questions.

-

"So, what's the plan?" he asked when they boarded the train. He was feeling a little queasy from the motion, but the motion sickness pills he got from the old hag just hadn't kicked in. Lucy rolled her shoulders and took a notebook and a map from her backpack. "So, we are taking this train to Bluebell Town, where we will switch to a different train that will take us to Hogsmeade, our destination," she said, pointing out Bluebell Town and Hogsmeade on the map. Laxus concluded that it would take them around a day to arrive there. He also took notice that one of the towns on the route was the town his team took a quest to.

“There is a big possibility that my team is still on a quest here." he pointed at one of the smaller towns near Bluebell. “We might even catch them as they leave,” Lucy made a humming noise. “If they aren’t too tired, they might even be able to join us." It’s always good to have a backup.

"Anyway, how many people were you able to get in contact with?"

Lucy grimaces. Only a few, she had said. The only person who answered her letter with anything useful was Ursa, who lived in Hogsmeade. Ursa was a friend of Layla Heartfillia and still had the books Layla entrusted to her.

"So, this Ursa person. Are you completely sure she has the information we want?",he asked Lucy after they showered and ate.

She nodded. "She has to. If not, I don't know where else we can look for it." Sitting down into an armchair, she continued. "This stuff is dangerous… That symbol that was in the file the Master gave us?I didn't say anything in front of my team because they would've demanded to come with us, but I know that symbol. Mom had a necklace with that symbol, but I never saw it again after she died."

"Do you know what that symbol means? And does Gramps know?", he asked. If she withheld information from Gramps then she could possibly put them all in danger. She sighed. "Yes, he knows. I told him after our meeting. I don't really know what it means, that is why I need the books my mother owned." A bright light shimmered next to her and Loke materialized. 

"Listen, Princess. You have to promise to be careful." Laxus frowned at him. The ginger had to know something. "What do you know?", he demanded.

"I'm not allowed to say anything, as per a magically binding contract signed by the Celestial King many years ago. But you need to promise to be careful. I never saw that necklace of your mother, but Capricorn told me it reeked of death." Lucy's eyes widened. "Like Zeref?!", she exclaimed. He shook his head. "No, more like natural death. Nothing like Zeref, but still dark." And with that, he closed his gate.

The two were left in deep thought. What did they get into now, of which not even the Celestial King can speak?

-

The morning arrived and they set off to meet the others. Last night they had gotten confirmation  that the Thunder God Tribe had finished their quest and were staying at a different place, all through Cana's newest Call Cards. Way less fragile than Call Lacrimas and way easier to transport, they were finished just in time for this. Once they met up with the Tribe, they boarded the next train to Hogsmeade. "What kind of name is Hogsmeade anyway?", said Bickslow, echoed by his dolls. Freed closed the book he was reading.

"Hogsmeade is one of the oldest recorded wizard villages. Due to the enchantments the ancestor wizards left throughout the centuries living there or passing through, the whole village has survived not only the dragon era but countless natural disasters. It is unknown how old exactly the village is, but it is rumored to be over 1000 years old.", he said. Bickslow whistled, and Laxus's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Lucy smiled in excitement. "I've heard that the buildings are still the original buildings from before the dragon era. I've always wanted to visit." She looked out of the window and at the sky. "It's just so fascinating, the fact that humans could use magic even before the dragons."

The dragon era had wiped out a lot of the history, but researchers theorized that the era had followed some kind of cataclysmic event, which had allowed dragons and magical beings to rise above humans in power and number. So Hogsmeade was a rare sight, though protected by law and magic from greedy researchers or thieves. 

"Hmph, as long as there is a nice place to stay in while we are there, I won't have any complaints.", said Evergreen. Bickslow grumbled "You shouldn't have come then." and she hit him at the back of his head with her fan. "I can't just not come. What would you do without my beauty.“ Bickslow snorted at her. „I doubt Hogsmeade needs your 'beauty‘.“ he said. She sniffed and hit him with her fan. It vibe felt just like Team Natsu, but without the sheer chaotic energy of Natsu and Gray getting into a fight every five minutes.

„In all seriousness, we don’t know what we will encounter there. There is a reason only mages strong enough are allowed to enter.“, she said, looking out of the window at the passing greenery. “Magic here is a lot different than anywhere else in the world. My mom told me once that people here practice magic that is closer to The One Magic than ours.”

Freed chimed in. „I’ve heard of this. Multiple studies show that magic a thousand years ago used to be much broader, in a sense. Mages we’re not limited to one or two magics. They could cast any spell they wanted, as long as they studied it.”  Master had sent most of the kids in Fairy Tail to school to learn basic knowledge they needed in life, but Laxus knew Freed well enough to know that he was a bit too obsessed with ancient history and lost magic. „I don’t see the connection with One Magic, though.“

Lucy hummed in thought, when suddenly the train shuddered and the lights flickered. A strange chill went through their bodies as their innate magic sense picked up something new, yet not unfamiliar. A voice announced that they had passed the magical barrier surrounding the village and the lands around it, and were about to arrive at their last stop, Hogsmeade. 

„I guess this is it.“ observed Laxus.

The train station was in the middle of nowhere. Trees surrounded them, their crowns hiding them from the sun’s rays. There was only one path that led further into the forest.  The area was well lit with oil lamps that were significantly brighter than normal oil lamps were and emitted a slight magic signature. “How strange.”, murmured Freed next to him. A nearby sign pointing in the same direction the path lead had „To Hogsmeade“ written on it.

„Oh my, this is so creepy," bemoaned Evergreen, shivering and hiding partially behind Freed. The village was quite the walk away from the station. About a twenty minute walk later they started hearing the bustle of a village. The path had widened as they walked closer, the houses looking incredibly old yet the style was similar to Fiore style buildings. There were a lot of people around, many seeming to notice them. Some even waved as they went along with their daily chores. Lucy walked up to an old lady, talked to her for a second and started walking down the street, waving back to the group to follow her. She led them to a quaint, little house, with pale yellow fassade and beautiful, white lilies blooming on the window sill.

Knocking, they heard footsteps coming towards the door. The door opened abruptly, revealing a young teenager, with pretty, ginger hair and bright, brown eyes. She looked at them in confusion. "Who are you?" 

"We are from the magic guild of Fairy Tail," replied Lucy. "I'm Lucy. I think your mom and I exchanged letters? She should know why we are here."

The girl grinned and opened the door wider. "Ohh, you mean my grandma!" she exclaimed. "Please come in while I go get her." The group walked in, looking around at the decor of the hallway. Many decorations graced the walls, like photos, weird thing-a-majigs and trinkets. Close to the entrance door stood a tall mirror. Bickslow walked closer and started checking if his helmet was on correctly, when suddenly, the mirror moved and formed eyes and a mouth. "Lose that helmet, young man!" Bickslow flinched and took a step away from it. Laxus would tease him about that after the quest is done.

"Don't be scared, young man. The mirror only means the best." The voice came from the end of the hallway, where the teenager from before stood next to an old woman with gray hair and glasses. She wore an apron over a colorful, patched up dress. Her gray hair was up in a bun and her warm, brown eyes gazed upon them. “Now come in, you must be exhausted! I prepared some tea for you.” She gestured them into the room she came from, revealing a cozy living room with mismatching, yet fitting, furniture. The color scheme of the living room was all reds and warm browns, with old accents here and there. The old lady sat them down and waved her hand behind her. There was a spark of magic in the air as a floating tea set came flying out of the neighboring room, presumably the kitchen, and poured tea for each one of them.

“You must be the lovely Miss Heartfillia, aren't you?” she asked Lucy who responded with a nod. “You look just like your mother had at your age, dear.”

“Thank you Madame Ursa, did you know my mother well?” 

The old lady smiled. “Yes, she spent quite a few years here studying magic. You Heartfillias seem to end up here one way or another.”, she responded, chuckling warmly. “Hogsmeade is a… peculiar village, I am sure you have noticed.”

“Our magic has been acting up, but not enough to be dangerous. It started when we crossed the barrier.” commented Freed and Laxus had to agree.. His magic had gotten warmer, his inner dragon instinct almost vibrating out of excitement. Even the air smelled different here. Last time he had felt anything like this had been on the Tenrou Island, but never this clear. Granny Ursa let out a short hum. “Yes, I assumed so.”

“You see, all magic, no matter dark or light, came from The One Magic, I'm sure you've heard of it.”, she explained. “The One Magic is the true essence of magic. Centuries ago, before the Age of Dragons, those capable of using magic could access magic way closer to Primordial Magic.” She took a sip from her teacup. 

“The residents of Hogsmeade cannot safely do so anymore, but that doesn't mean we have abandoned the ways of our ancestors. A spell here or there couldn't hurt anyone.” 

“That's not what you said yesterday!”, exclaimed the girl. Laxus couldn't quite remember if she had even introduced herself. Old granny Ursa chuckled in amusement. “Well, when I said to clean out the backyard, I hadn't quite meant for you to blow it up, Lyra.”

Lucy blanched. Thank all the Stars above that Natsu wasn't there. If he were, there would be no backyard to explode.

“Anyway, you came all the way here for your mother's book, haven't you?”, asked Ursa, standing up after sending away the tea set with a wave of her hand. “I stored them in my personal library, you are welcome to search through my collection for anything of use.” The group stood up and followed the lady out of the room and down the corridor, and to a beautiful hardwood double-door.  Ursa and Lyra pushed the door open and revealed a beautiful, yet cozy library. The shelves were over-spilling with tomes and books of all kinds. Laxus could spot multiple of them written in languages he was sure had died out long ago.

“Now dears, make yourself at home, and holler if you need anything. Lucy, your mother’s books are on the shelf to your left.” With that over, the two left the group to their own devices.

It didn't take long for everyone to get lost in the research. Even Laxus took a look at some of the books because the chance to come across a collection this unique again was pretty low. The old man told them to look out for anything about the Old Ages, and specifically about the symbol the weird cultist dark guild was using as their guild mark. It was in the shape of a triangle, which had a circle inside of it being divided by a line. None of the books they read so far had the symbol but they learned quite a few interesting things and theories about the Old Ages. 

Laxus looked up from the book he was reading at Lucy’s exclamation. “Woah guys, look at this!” She showed them a stack of papers that she had just picked up. “It says here that Hogsmeade used to be really close to a magic school before the calamity that wiped out most of humanity in the Old Times. During one of the last expeditions into the area around Hogsmeade before the barrier was erected they found an area not far away from here with ruins of an older area of Hogsmeade, and in one of the ruins they found a book about the school.” Freed came closer to Lucy and gave the papers a closer look.

“Huh, apparently the school was supposed to be a huge castle just a walk away from Hogsmeade but we didn't see any castles on our way here.” 

“Well, that would be because Hogwarts vanished years ago.” 

They startled at the sound of the voice and whirled around to face Lyra, who was leaning on the door frame. “What do you mean vanished?” asked Evergreen. Lyra chuckled and walked into the room. “When I was a kid, my parents used to tell me a story about a magical castle in the middle of the forest surrounding Hogsmeade. Its name was Hogwarts and according to legend it used to be a school for magic that mages all over the continent came to to study magic. Gran gran says it's not real, but if you ask me and some other folks here, I believe it still exists somewhere out there.”

“Why isn't anyone looking for it then?”, asked Laxus. He would've thought that researchers and greedy businessmen would've found the place already, if it existed at all. She just shook her head at that and sat down at the table. “Well, the forest around Hogsmeade is pretty dangerous. The only reason we've been able to live here for centuries is because we have spells, wards, and stuff protecting the village and some of the surrounding land. Any further away from that will result in death of anyone who dares to go in.” She looked down at her hands. “My parents decided to go search for the castle. They, uh- they didn't return.”

“I'm so sorry for your loss.” said Lucy somberly, reaching out to hold Lyra’s hand. “We have all lost someone here.” Lyra gripped her hand and smiled. “Thank you, but I don't think they were in the wrong. Hogwarts does really exist.” She stood up abruptly. “It must exist.” To Laxus, she sounded determined to find out, but wasn't ready to accept that it could mean that her parents died chasing fairy tales.

At that moment, Granny Ursa decided to interrupt by coming into the room with refreshments. Though it seemed that she had overheard Lyra talking, hence the worry and exasperation clear on her face. “Lyra, you know very well to not get caught up on bed time stories. There hasn't been proof of the castle still existing and it's best left in the past, where it belongs.”

Lyra glared at the old woman, her face full of anger. “So, are you saying mom and dad died for nothing? she yelled, the fury in her voice palpable. Granny Ursa set down the tray onto the table, the drinks rippling at the force. “Your parents went onto a fool's quest and lost their lives for nothing! Can't you see what they have left behind? It is not worth it, Lyra, it never was.” Her expression became gentle as she gazed into Lyra’s blue eyes. It had seemed as if both of them had forgotten the audience was still in the room. Lyra's gaze hardened as she opened her mouth to speak. “The forest is a dangerous place, who knows what monsters hide deep in the woods.”, interrupted Ursa.

Lyra stomped her foot in frustration and rushed out of the room, slamming the door closed behind her. Ursa signed and sat in Lyra’s abandoned seat. “I am sorry you had to witness that.”, she said, putting her hands on her lap. “This argument has been going on for years. She believes that her parents must have known something that made them go out there.” She looked up at them. “Do I believe Hogwarts is still out there? I can't say no, it was a huge magical castle rumored to have been at least over a thousand years old by the time of the calamity. Who knows what kind of protections the wizards of old had put up.” She sighed once again in shame, or sadness, Laxus couldn't tell. “I should have stopped my son and his wife from ever stepping foot in that god's forsaken forest. But I had raised him too curious for his own good, and both he and his wife wanted to be the ones to find out whether the mythical castle was still standing, I just- I didn't have the strength to say no. The day they left I knew they wouldn't be returning. But, how to tell that to a child who had just lost their parents?”, she asked. Laxus had no words, knowing a child would want to see best in their parents. Hell, he had been that way too. 

Ursa sighed as she got up from the chair, gesturing to the refreshments still untouched on the table. “Please, take some. You've been holed up in here for hours, it's nearly night time.” She heads towards the door. A faint sound from behind the door caught Laxus’s attention, but a quick glance towards the others showed him that only he had caught it due to his advanced hearing. He decided to bring it up later, but promptly forgot about it as Granny Ursa told them about the two guest rooms she had prepared for them and left. They spent a few more hours in the library, reading about a world that is so different from theirs, a world where magic was something to be hidden from the rest of the world, something to be feared. Afterwards they cleaned up all of the notes they made from the books and went to sleep. It had been a long day. Laxus laid in bed, the snores from Freed and Bickslow breaking the silent ambience of the room. 

He fell asleep to the thoughts of generations of mages learning powerful magics in a giant castle. However, it felt like he had slept for just a minute when loud knocking startled him awake. He rushed to the door, not bothering to put a shirt on and opened it to the sight of Granny Ursa’s tearful face. “She is gone! Lyra has gone into the forest!” she told him, frightened out of her mind, as the door across from him opened to Lucy and Evergreen’s sleepy faces. “Don't worry Granny, we're going to go save that pipsqueak.” He reassured Ursa, nodding to the girls. Laxus turned back into the room to see Freed and Bickslow already getting up. Explaining the situation, he got ready in record time. It was dawn, and the sun’s rays were barely lighting up the sky. Who knows when Lyra had sneaked out, and where she even was. The forest at this time of day would be as dark as night.

They met up in the living room where Ursa stood in her nightgown, clutching a piece of paper to her chest. “I shouldn't have said that about her parent's yesterday. Now she is gone and I don't even know if I will ever see her again!”, she cried out, tears dripping down her face. Lucy gripped her shoulder. “We are going to find her no matter what.”, she said, Bickslow’s totems echoing. “But, the forest is dangerous!”, Ursa cried out. “Listen lady, we are Fairy Tail, we can do anything.”, rumbled Laxus as he opened the front door, the rest of the team behind him, with Lucy taking the rear.

“So, how are we going to find the girl, she could be anywhere at this point?”, asked Evergreen. “Lucy smiled and raised her hand, revealing that she was holding the shirt Lyra wore yesterday. “Don't worry, I've got this.”

A small maroon magic circle shimmered into existence over her other hand, materializing a silver key. She swiped it up, activating another magic circle, this one bigger and a shining black in color. “Open, Gate of the Canis Major: Sirius!” A turn of the key in the middle of the circle resulted in a very large black dog to land on the ground in front of them. 

Its fur was as dark as the night sky, bursts of light appearing now and then like stars peeking out behind clouds. It held itself regally, as if they were below it. Huge maw opened, revealing sharp teeth, glistening unnaturally in the moonlight. It bowed its head to Lucy. „What can I help you with, Princess?“ It’s voice was deep and rumbling, it’s warm baritone oddly soothing. Laxus had no doubts that it could turn cold very quickly. The wolfdog, for what else could it be, raised his head to look at them. Its stormy blue eyes held wisdom, but Laxus couldn’t help but notice there was a hint of mischief hidden below the surface.

Lucy presented the t-shirt she still had in her other hand. „Sirius, could you track this scent for us?“, she asked. „This quicker, the better.” The wolf dog's stare hardened as it nodded, sniffing the offered piece of clothing. It looked around briskly before setting off into the forest.

-

The forest was honestly the creepiest forest Laxus had ever been in. Tall trees blocked out the sunlight, creating almost unnatural-looking shadows on the forest floor, thick fog obscuring their surroundings. Vines, roots and various shrubs blocked their path, Freed having to use his rapier to cut them. The wolf spirit led them down forgotten pathways, sniffing the ground every now and then. Laxus focused his senses, checking for any enemies or beasts that could have made this forest their home. His skin prickled at the feel of pure Ethernano that permeated the air. Everything was just saturated with magic, so much so that Laxus wouldn't be surprised if the trees themselves were alive. 

Not a sound could be heard as they trekked through this desolate forest, occasionally hearing soft rustles of the leaves. The spirit led them deeper into the woods, never bringing its head up from the ground. Noone in the group made any loud noise, no-one talked, not even Ever, infamously known for complaining. Even Bickslow’s Tiki Dolls were silent, for once. Perhaps even they were respecting the silence in these ancient woods, this forest that had stayed untouched by the Apocalypse centuries before. 

Lucy was at the front of the group, diligently following her spirit companion, her hand on the whip at her hip. She, to Laxus, even though he would not admit it, embodied the Fairy Tail spirit. She grew from that little meek heiress to a formidable mage. The strongest celestial mage there is, as lonely she is at the top. As he contemplated, the spirit stopped at the edge of a clearing and stared up ahead. They gasped silently at the sight.

In the clearing, illuminated by the moonlight, stood a herd of beings straight out of legends. Their manes and tails glinted with silvery light, their horns sharp and white as snow, as they peacefully fed upon the magic saturated grass. There, in the clearing, stood a herd of about five unicorns, four were presumably adults and one was a small, cute foal, that weaved cheerfully around their legs. Someone made an aborted step forward, unknowingly stepping on a branch, which alerted the herd. Yet curiously enough, they made no steps to run away. They simply stared in their direction, eyes as white as their horns. Laxus was startled as Lucy carefully moved forward, confidently, yet respectfully. The foal hid behind one of the adults, carefully peering at them every now and then.

Lucy slowly bowed her head, keeping it bowed as one of the adults slowly approached her. Once near her, it huffed and only then did she raise her head. Laxus raised his brow as the unicorn gently nudged Lucy until she put her hand on it, and started petting it. At that moment, he was slightly dumbfounded at the sight. Illuminated by the moon, both Lucy and the unicorn looked ethereal. It was but a moment, yet the memory would stay fresh in his mind for a while. The unicorn huffed again, nodded, and turned around to go back to its herd. And not even a moment later did the peace shatter, as a scream rang in the air.

The moment was over, their goal was clear. The kid they were looking for was in danger. They ran in the direction of the scream, leaving the peaceful clearing behind. Something in Laxus told him that they would be the last ones to witness the peace of that clearing.

They ran, feet pounding on the forest floor, the grim spirit hot on their heels, when they came across a scene that was so opposite from the moment before that it almost gave him a whiplash. Two ginormous spiders stood between thick trees, one of them gripping the lost kid in its disgusting pincers. Laxus would have nightmares over this, and he has lived through some shit. The spider holding the girl screeched as lightning coursed through its body, frying it from inside out. The girl, who wasn’t shocked because Laxus actually knows restraint, landed onto the wet forest floor with a thump.

Bickslow’s Tikis charged at the remaining beast, dealing swift and precise blows, the glow of their blasts glinting in its many eyes. Loke, who at that point had been called in by Lucy, retrieved the shaken girl, before she could get crushed by the body of the second spider. It collapsed with thump, and they surveyed the scene for more monsters, thankfully finding none. By now, the sun's rays could be seen as it slowly rose from its slumber, rays barely piercing the thick foliage. One of the spiders lay on its back, its legs curled in death, the other lie crumpled on its side, multiple holes in its exoskeleton smoking faintly. Lyra sat to the side, a blanket around her shoulders, shivering in the low morning temperatures.

“What the hell were those?!” yelled Bickslow. “No way a spider could get naturally that big.” Laxus concurred, he’d traveled all over Ishgar and nowhere had he even heard mentions of naturally giant spiders. “They were Acromantulas, a species of magic spiders. They don’t usually get this big but they’ve been in these woods for centuries.”, chimed in Lyra. “They don't venture close to our village, they mostly prefer the safety of the forest, but we are told to avoid them at all costs anyway due to their size.”

“So, why were you out here then?” Lyra sighed and avoided their gazes. She took a shuddering breath. “You know, my parents gave their life up to find Hogwarts. They spent my whole life researching it. I just… I just wanted to know if it was worth-” 

“If it was worth their life?”, interrupted Lucy. She was now crouching next to Lyra, her hands on the girl’s knees. “They might be gone, but there is still someone there for you. Your grandma needs you, Lyra.” She smiled, stood up and pulled her up. “Let’s get you back. This forest doesn’t seem that safe.”

Laxus looked around in suspicion as his magic sense picked up a sudden surge of magic in the air. A wave of pure magic surged through the forest, knocking them down onto the grass. Thick branches and tree trunks rained down as they were brutally broken off by the power of the second, even more powerful, wave of pure Ethernano that shot through their surroundings. A dome of earth rose around them, protecting them from certain death. A light illuminated the area, revealing a glowing Loke standing next to Lucy in what he assumed was her Virgo Star Dress. He wasn’t sure what powers it granted her, but nowadays he generally made an effort to know his guild mates. The rest of the companions were still on the ground, slightly disoriented. The magic in the air pulsed a few times as they gained their bearings, and then it went still. Like the still before a storm. Lucy lowered the dome, revealing the absolute carnation the surges had caused. The trees around them were completely flattened, revealing a beautifully haunting scene. In the distance, a large, dark lake surrounded partial ruins of what once would have been an impressive castle. The sun peeked from behind the mountains, yet the ruins remained shadowed by them, leaving them a mystery.

“I know I keep saying this, but what the hell was that!?”, exclaimed Bicklsow, holding a hand to his head. He was, thankfully, not injured, and seemed stable enough that his Tikis could feed on his magic enough to repeat after him. “It seemed to come from there.”, said Freed, pointing at the ruins. “We should get out of here and back to the village.”

“The Village! Grandma!”, yelled Lyra in horror. “We have to go back and see if they are okay!” She made a motion in the direction of the village, almost tripping on the stray branch under her feet, if not for Evergreen, who had made her way to her. Laxus motioned to his Tribe. “You three, head back to the village and see if they are alright. The two of us will go check the ruins out.”, he said. They motioned to protest but he cut them off. “The two of us are perfectly strong enough to deal with whatever is there, plus you still have that lacrima, right?” Freed nodded, and they reluctantly set off towards the village. The air was still as they silently surveyed the valley, Loke and her grim spirit having gone back to preserve Lucy’s magic. No sounds reached his ears, the surroundings silent, yet unlike before, the silence was not respectful. It was oppressing . The air was stagnant and the heavy magic tainted the air, tasting sour as he sucked in a breath.

Something was wrong.

A pillar of glowing dark light erupted from the ruins, magic washing over them, familiar. Death.