Fairy Tail - Twilight Empire

Chapter 25 - Flight of the Fairies

Wendy's footsteps made no sound as she traveled down the abandoned street, each of the four Fairies walking away from the intersection they'd been brought to that signaled the heart of where the Battle Royale would take place. Four tall towers, with massive lacrima, surveyed their every move, while much smaller ones, drifting on magic devices as developed by the Empire, could be found all over the place in the sky.

The part of town they were set to fight in was far different than the rest—for one, it was actually separate from Clover Town, leading Wendy to wonder if this was the Clover Town of old from before the Twilight Empire. All of the previous Grand Magic Games Battle Royales showed their age, too, with battle marks ruining almost every building in sight. She could smell, faintly, the remnants of Dragon Slayer magic.

The stadium was not too far, and Wendy yearned to be able to see her friend's faces if only to have that reassurance that they were okay. It was strange to go to sleep that night without Carla, and Wendy hardly got any sleep at all as a result. She'd Enchanted some level of energy in her to keep her going through the fight and knew she'd have to depend on adrenaline to get her through the day.

She hadn't spoken to the others all morning. They each wore pretty concentrated faces. Wendy managed to keep her own hard expression, too. They were all keenly aware of the fact that the Empire was probably spying on them and none of them wanted to give the villains an edge. They couldn't talk about their friends, or even their fight, without cluing them in on more information about the Fairies.

The sun rose in the sky, casting shorter shadows from the desolate buildings around Wendy. She opened and closed her fists, her palms getting clammy already. She reached back, adjusting her hair a bit. Carla always helped her with it in the morning and Wendy didn't feel right with it, as if she'd done something wrong with it.

She came to a stop at a plaza that had the broken fragments of an old fountain. Old-world coins scattered everywhere, enough to pay for a meal at a fancy restaurant. Some of it almost looked embedded into the worn, old pavement. Wendy skimmed her hand over the gruff stone.

A distant bell rang out, signaling the start of the event. The stadium roared and was silenced as nothing happened at the start.

Then, there was a distant explosion and a howling pair of laughs that followed. The scent on the breeze caught Wendy's attention.

Erza Scarlet approached sword at the ready.

"It's time, Wendy," Erza said. "Are you ready?"

Sky Dragon Slayer magic swirled around Wendy's hands. She'd never be ready, or, at least, never thought she would be. Not for anything like this, anyway, and not without Carla at her side. But she stood alone in the memory of a world that they had to fight to bring back, in some form or another. Readiness didn't matter anymore.

"Yes."

***

It was impossible to see anything beyond the water wall. Lucy had gotten just a glimpse to some other building on the other side, where Sting came from. She could only hope it was whatever headquarters or base camp the Empire had in Clover Town.

She, Elfman, and Gray remained in place while Sting ran down what to expect of their upcoming trip to Crocus: they'd be kept without magic and sent to one of the deepest pits in the capital. From there, they'd become Broken Mages, serving whatever Division wanted them dutifully and they'd probably be forced to hunt down their fellow Fairy Tail friends. In time, Sting promised, all of Fairy Tail would fall under the Empire, be it by force or by their ability to realize that the fight was futile.

Lucy kept an eye on her keys while he walked, never putting them on his belt and always keeping them available to be stolen if one of them was quick enough.