Fairy Tail: Falling Towards the Chaos

Chapter 35

Taking a sip of her water, Lucy relaxed amongst the loud chatter and noise around her. The guild was bustling, as always, and everyone — it seemed — decided to drink the day away and muse over memories and what ifs. It was just supposed to be another regular day at the guild.

Yet, of course, despite their best efforts at keeping the conversation light and flowing, the topic always seemed to delve into the latest problem Fairy Tail was facing. Tartaros. That mission Master had sent Gray and Natsu on had been a success, but what they had relayed to the guild about their findings had everyone concerned for what may be coming.

"We know too little about Tartaros," Lucy sighed, interjecting, "we don't even know how powerful they are or what they are."

Everyone surrounding their table fell into silence as they pondered her words. Suddenly, the guild doors burst open revealing Jet who ran in, out of breath and completely flustered. Levy and Droy rose immediately, rushing over to the man, who seemed to be in a state of complete and utter panic.

"Big news, guys! This is bad!" He screamed frantically.

"What on earth is going on?" Master demanded, hopping down from his place sitting on the bar, Erza by his side.

"I-I c-can't believe it, b-but the Magic Council h-has been decimated," Jet stammered, holding out the newspaper for everyone to see and read.

Magic Council Destroyed in Horrific Bombing.

Lucy gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Not a single person left alive?"

"Did someone really take out the entirety of the Magic Council?"

"This is crazy! The wizarding world will be spun into chaos!"

"This is horrifying," Erza confirmed grimly, watching as Jet handed over the newspaper clipping to Master, who read it over pensively.

"Without the Magic Council, no one will be managing or overseeing the wizarding world," Levy thought aloud, and Master nodded in agreement, a dark look on his face.

"Who could it be? Targeting the Magic Council like that?" Juvia chimed in, hands clutched tightly to her chest in worry.

"Who else? Tartaros," Lucy spoke, drawing everyone's attention to herself, "They warned Natsu and Gray of the danger that was to come; the timing — everything lines up, don't you think?" Lucy bit her lip anxiously, crossing her arms over her chest.

"They're trying to destroy the magic world, break up all order and authority, but what's their goal? Eradication?" Natsu asked pointedly, "we need to think of the bigger picture."

"For once, I agree with Natsu, what is their true goal?" Gray inquired, stepping forward out of the crowd.

"Whatever it is, it can't be good,"

-----

"I can't believe the Magic Council has been destroyed," Lucy whispered, tapping the end of her pen against her desk anxiously. Even after writing her anxieties and deepest thoughts onto her notebook, the scribbles did almost nothing to placate her mentally. There was still a gnawing sense of impending doom lingering over her.

The conversation she had with Carla was... interesting for lack of a better word.

"Lucy, could I speak with you for a moment?"

Lucy paused, looking down at the white exceed thoughtfully, before she nodded. They sat down at an empty table together in silence for a few minutes before the wise young cat began to speak.

"I  —  I think there's something bigger happening here," Carla confessed, "more than Tartaros."

Lucy nodded slowly, unsure of how to respond, but encouraging Carla to say what needed to be said.

"My visions, they come and go as you know, but I remember key moments like Jet running into the guild panicked, Cana crying, Natsu standing off with a dark entity and you..." She trailed off, "You were surrounded by the stars, Lucy."

"S-surrounded by the stars?" Lucy spoke carefully, confused by the exceed's words and phrasing

"Yes, all things will be revealed in due time, I suppose," Carla concluded, sending the girl a slight smile before she hopped off the table to rejoin Wendy, jumping into her arms gracefully.

However, she couldn't afford to linger in her thoughts.

A crash sounded from the door of her apartment and Lucy shrieked as her team barrelled through the door. Her hand flew to her chest while the other rested protectively on her keys as she took in the panicked faces of her teammates filled with grief and pain.

"Lucy, we need to get to the guild right now! Something happened to the Thunder Legion!" Gray shouted. Slipping on her boots with haste, Lucy and the rest of Team Natsu ran across Magnolia, bursting through the doors of the guild much like Jet had done a few hours earlier.

"How are the others?! Tell me they're going to be okay!" Master pleaded with Porlyusica, Fairy Tail's resident healer, but even she grimaced at the loud volume of his voice and the situation at hand.

"They were attacked by something, something not human according to Freed," Wendy explained to Lucy quietly as they walked towards the infirmary, the crowd led by Porlyusica.

"They're alive, but their organs have been heavily damaged by mashou ryuushi, it's a type of deadly poison," Porlyusica stated with a tired sigh, "even a little is enough to kill a person but surprisingly, they're alive. Laxus' body is the most severely damaged, it's a miracle he's even breathing right now."

The four members of the Thunder Legion writhed and panted in their beds, stricken with pain, as they sweated profusely. Clutching her hands to her chest, Lucy felt déjà vu to the time when she sat by these same beds with Jet, Droy, and Levy after Phantom Lord had attacked. It made her stomach twist in knots. Even as Natsu wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close, she felt queasy. Wendy stuck by his side too, a calloused hand placed on her head reassuringly.

"L-Laxus... h-he saved t-the t-town," Freed spoke shakily, it was clear the pain was taking a toll on him.

"Yes, we know, thank you for bringing back everyone safely Freed," Master commended him.

"E-everyone i-is okay, r-right, M-master?" Freed smiled weakly. Lucy turned away as Master lied to his face. No one had the heart to speak the truth that the majority of the people living in that town perished, and they'd risked their lives in the name of false hope.

To be continued...