Fairy Tail - Twilight Empire

Chapter 50 - Team Lucy

There existed an old training ground beneath Mercurius that was untouched by the hand of Twilight Empire. It was a fairly rudimentary thing—an oval-shaped arena layered with sand atop gruff dirt. Bleachers extended only three rows deep surrounded it. There were two entrances and exits on either side. It had an indoor atmosphere despite being outdoor, considering how tightly it hugged the base of Mercurius.

Scars of old soldiers and wizards training remained marred along the bleacher stands. The dirt still sizzled with the hints of old magic begging to be reawaken. Burn marks lay everywhere. Centuries ago, no doubt, dragons came to train alongside their human companions. Or, dragons came to hunt. The arena could probably fit, comfortably, only one smaller dragon, so it was more likely that humans were the only ones who'd used it.

It was one of the more striking areas in all of Crocus by virtue of it holding no Imperial insignias. Even the begotten training grounds that were at least used had one or two flags. But there was no sigil nor indication of the Twilight Empire's presence in sight around the training ground. Having that weight removed off their shoulders helped Lucy, Levy, and Kip meet there from time to time and train.

Lucy discovered it on accident, while on one of her walks away from Axel as she was attempting to master more of her Star Dresses. Axel, finally, allowed her to have all of her keys back so that she could dive into the Star Dresses she desired. After two weeks of hard work—lots of sweat, soreness, vomiting, and laying in bed wondering if she was about to keel over from Magical Deficiency Disease—she'd mastered the ability to wear two Star Dresses: Aries's and Sagittarius's. She was getting close to Taurus, as that was one she'd wanted to focus on from the start, given the power the Bull had. Aquarius was going to be a distant goal simply from the Spirit's stubborn nature.

She accomplished Aries first on purpose—to throw Axel off any scent he may think there was of treachery. Aries's magic was hardly offensive in any measure, so, if she were mastering a "weaker" dress, it wouldn't come off as problematic.

Their training didn't start immediately, but the three regularly meeting up did. Lucy made it a priority for Levy to know not only Kip but also that he was on their side. A real mole in the Empire, unlike Lucy and Levy, who'd essentially been planted there (if forcibly). Kip was able to assure them of their friends' escapes and their ability to fend off the Twilight Empire. He was quite giddy to talk about their adventure breaking into the city.

"How'd you get Johan to forget that you know, you attacked him?" Levy had asked.

"When you're a General of the Twilight Empire, simple things like wizards with memory magic aren't hard to come by," Kip told her. "Cost me a pretty penny, but Johan forgot all about me, and thought he simply got beat by Gajeel and Gray."

Kip was, for all intents and purposes, Axel's confidant in ensuring Lucy's dedication to the cause, and the dedication to her training. It made their meetups far easier.

Invel was apparently reluctant to let Levy around Lucy so much, believing that they were scheming—which was true. But August didn't mind. August believed in Levy's dedication far more than Lucy's, maybe even Kip's.

Plus, as Levy told Lucy when she mastered her first Star Dress, Lucy was going to be groomed for inclusion in the Twilight Division soon enough, perhaps even prior to her marriage to Axel, which loomed like a tidal wave over her.

All that aside, Lucy had a perfect situation: Levy attended to her and taught her the methodology of the Twilight Division while Kip was basically Lucy's training instructor. No, he couldn't help her with her magic, as only Yukino was going to help with that, but he could get her in greater physical conditioning. Lucy could hardly believe the beating her body was able to take.