Fairy Tail - Twilight Empire

Chapter 52 - The Incident at Bosiore Station

The train slid into the easternmost terminal of Bosiore Station. It was a train unlike what Erza was anticipating, with a great deal of modernity put in place that made for a wonderfully smooth ride—for most. Everyone's gear fit well in the overhead compartments and most had a generous amount of room with which to sit.

The rails were all flat, powered by magic that let the train gently glide overtop. This, according to Yukino, was merely the standard. The high speed train, which they'd take to the coastal station, was the real marvel of the technological world the Twilight Empire was hurtling toward. It moved so far the group would arrive at the far southern station in less than two hours, where normal travel could take nearly half a day.

The Dragon Slayers spilled out of the train with a great deal of glee. Hopefully, their stomachs would settle soon.

Before they disembarked, Erza made sure to put disguises on everyone. She didn't have proper sizes or dimensions for Yukino but the woman was more than content to slip into a long robe and cloak that tied up around her waist, hiding her most noticeable features to anyone possibly looking for her. Erza was in one of her favorite disguises—her hair was tied up in a tall tail at the back of her head, while she wore a shirt proudly showing off her midriff. Her skirt lowered only down to the middle of her thighs and tube socks flowed up to cover the rest of her leg. Slung to her back was a fine small sword she could easily replace with her true blade. A lone fit of bangs hung down to cover her false eye.

Juvia had the most stylish, and pretty, dress of the bunch—a sleeveless blue dress with a plunging neckline and long skirt. She happily styled her hair to match, and Erza even noticed Gray giving a few more looks than normal.

Natsu and Wendy were given similar styles of outfits, with Natsu's shifting his scarf down from around his neck to wrapping around his waist like a belt while still granting him his preferred style of open-chested, cutoff shirt, though he had to wear shorts and light boots, plus another hat to hide his outstanding pink hair. Wendy had a similar outfit wherein she wore a belt about a small set of pants and a long-sleeved patterned shirt. Her hair was tied up in three small ponytails.

And Gray...well Gray wore something of a standard shirt and shorts combo because Erza didn't want to bother giving him such a complicated outfit if he was going to continually discard it.

The group was easily recognizable to Erza but Yukino commented on their ability to hide well enough from someone who didn't know them too well, as she didn't. Erza felt bad she didn't give Yukino a better disguise; it felt like an insult, in a way. It was as if she was telling Yukino that she still didn't fully belong, so she couldn't have a specialized, custom outfit. One day, Erza thought. She'd originally considered giving one of Lucy's, but some of Yukino's features and proportions were just barely dissimilar from Lucy's so to hold her back.

While Juvia and Carla helped Natsu and Wendy catch their breath, Erza traveled with Happy to the ticketing booth. The man there was half-awake. People were with other attendants, speaking softly. Erza could see why.

The tracks headed south rode the border of Fiore and Bosco. On the western, Fiore side of things there was a small flourishing of life, a few shacks set up down the line as places for rail workers to stay. On the Bosco side was nothing more than a desert, an absolute void, for as far as the eye could see.

"We'd like tickets down to Akane Beach, please."

Yukino stood behind Erza, keeping her head bowed while no doubt listening in.

The high-speed train was installed in some stations that existed before the Empire, but in an effort to maintain expansion and grow their reach within Fiore, the Empire had built up new stations all throughout the country. Where Akane Beach was once a small ride from Hargeon away, it was now connected to far more places.