With the remnants of Etherion’s control system and the Council’s surveillance database destroyed there was no reason for Arthur to stay in Era. The doctors wanted to keep him for surveillance, but as far as they could tell he had had a minor case of magical anemia caused by the sudden plummeting of internal ethernano due to magical barrier particle poisoning, but that his dragon slayer nature had helped him consume the darkness of the barrier particles and his demon genes had made him resistant to it. Throw in his use of takeover magic and he had simply over-strained himself slightly when he had pushed himself to create the voids, pressing past his safe magical output.
Seilah’s spontaneous existence failure had shocked him. She’d fallen, screamed out in pain, writhed in agony, and then broke apart into curse power. It had to be something done from afar. His Archive presented it almost like she had been a projection and the projector had been turned off. Her book had been destroyed.
Two of the demons of Tartaros were gone forever, barring Arthur purchasing the Books of Zeref from the jump document and getting a copy of them each. Or possibly learning Living Magic the hard way and restoring them from digital back ups on his Archive. Not that he was likely to restore either. He’d gone over the files representing Seilah’s memories of her finest achievements.
It wasn’t possible to blame the human-dragon war on her specifically, it probably would have happened sooner or later, but she had helped stir the pot that led to it. She’d corrupted the Yakuma clan, converting one branch to worship of Zeref and causing them to slaughter the others, and used her curse to drive a survivor to seek out power above all else. It wasn’t Jiemma, but given his use of the Yakuma clan’s signature magic, and the same rosary beads, Arthur suspected it was Jiemma’s ancestor. She’d been involved in Crawford Seam’s placement on the magic council, and the murder-suicide which had gotten rid of his wife and child, and left him with only one love left in life. And these were her fondest memories. Every single one of them had been a memory of betrayal, suffering, and heartbreak. Of forcing someone to become a monster for her amusement.
Jackal’s fondest memories were simpler. He had blown things up. Preferably people. And preferably in ways that had made survivors suffer. He contemplated deleting both of the mental backups from his Archive. But good or evil, keeping them was practical and could save people.
With Enif’s contract renegotiated, flying to Crocus was less tiring than usual. It was still disorienting and uncomfortable, but it did not leave him drained and tired. Well anymore than being strapped onto a living rocket for a transcontinental flight on its own.
Minerva needed to lay down for a while when they landed. So far she did better than most riding Enif, but across parts of 2 countries and the sea was rough on anyone. Arthur took this chance to open his Archive. He’d had it open in a runic form through the ride. He’d accidentally seen Grimoire Heart’s airship on the way to Era, not that he had realized that until he was trying to find Tenrou Island by comparing it to where Crawford Seam had gone; information that would have been lost if not for Minerva’s defense of the Archive from Jackal’s explosion. He wanted to start his Archive running on whether he’d seen anything on the way back.
He also wanted to get in contact with Sorano and the Thunderbolts. Give them an eta and request they muster. He’d gotten their report of a successful mission, but that hadn’t been a proper debriefing, and he sort of missed them. Then he had to petition King Toma for an audience to try and get his plan to attack Grimoire Heart cleared; Gran Doma was hesitant on it, he still thought that the Thunderbolts would be more likely to make the continent break out into war between Light and Dark Guilds, but it was ultimately a matter for the royal court as the Thunderbolts were attached to it and they needed to stay that way when pursuing Dark Guilds.
His Archive was probably now the biggest in the world. Almost certainly the most powerful. It was still in scanning mode and fully opened it was picking up magical information from the air. This was finally what he had hoped for when he purchased it and more. It’d make compiling the books in Diabolos’s library easy. Though that goal from several months ago felt like another lifetime now.
He flexed his darkness hand. Or tried to. He’d had a dream about dragons last night, and he was beginning to worry that using dragon slayer magic almost 24/7 even if only at a low level would hasten his dragonification. Maybe it was just paranoia, but he thought that part of the skin on his fleshy wrist was becoming hard and scale-like.
He opened the telepathy link with Sorano and told her he was there, even as he started to run the program to see if he had passed Grimoire Heart again. It’d not finish by the time Minerva had recovered but it could continue in the background once he closed the full physical manifestation.
Sorano’s obvious relief that he was back was worrisome. The report said everything had gone fine. No injuries. Captures the dark guild. Captured their mobile headquarters. Arthur had to wonder what had actually gone wrong.
As it turned out MacBeth had decided to teach Lilith a lesson by putting her in the line of fire. She was alive, and the doctors said she would make it, but the Thunderbolts were down a member due to her injuries, and she only got out of there alive because Jellal had gone against the plan, demonstrated some of his old magic, and saved her.
Arthur couldn’t actually blame her for saying she couldn’t work with MacBeth again. Not that that was an option. Arthur was dreading having to interrogate everyone starting with MacBeth, but MacBeth confessed immediately, even gloating a bit about how clever the plan was because either she’d die, or she’d learn a valuable lesson and grow strong enough to contribute. And if she couldn’t do that. Well she’d die next time.
Arthur tried to make it clear to MacBeth that she was Draculos’s granddaughter and they really needed to not alienate her to the point of driving a wedge between them and their benefactor who was keeping them out of jail.
“I signed up for putting my life on the line, and betraying my former fellows, for the chance to do some good in this world and make amends. Not for the sake of babysitting some fucked up granddaughter of someone because they have influence. Anything else?” MacBeth said, rising to leave.
“One thing. Your lesson didn’t work. All you did was make an enemy in your own ranks, and demonstrate an unpreparedness for command. You should have given her some level of proper backup or support; let her think you were relying on her and she failed because she’s not ready. Throwing her out into a dangerous situation with no support and leaving her to die only taught her not to trust you. And me that you’re not ready for command.”
MacBeth scowled. “Is that all, sir?”
“I should discipline you, but… honestly I was wanting to throw her to the wolves myself, so care to help me think of a way to discipline you without really punishing you?”
“What?”
“She’s a pain, you went too far. You should learn that. But I don’t think taking away your privileges or giving you corporal punishment would teach you that. But if I’m going to salvage this situation, and maybe get her to actually learn to contribute I’m going to need to show her you’re being taught. So mind being locked in solitary for a nap? I’ll make sure you have a book or two, maybe come visit you for some Darkness magic practice if I can find the time between the headache that fixing this is going to be.”
MacBeth chuckled a bit. “And if I say no?”
“I’ll try to find something else.”
“Well I could catch up on some sleep. I’ve only been getting 10 hours a day recently.”
Arthur sighed and slumped after MacBeth had left to report to solitary confinement. Next up was getting Lilith some proper treatment. The capital’s doctors were pretty good, but they weren’t healing mages. There was only one of those he knew of in all of Fiore.
He’d seeded Magnolia with his space before, and his Archive made it easy to identify the location of one and open it enough to translocate to it. At least from inside of Fiore; he could reach across a country at the moment, at least from the center, beyond that it began to get more difficult. It still took a few minutes instead of the instant that a shorter range would have allowed. From there Fairy Tail’s guild hall was just a twenty minute walk.
He walked into the guild hall, and moved to the bar to talk to Mirajane about proposing a job. He’d only made it a third of the way through the main tavern-hall of the guild before Lisanna had walked up to him instead.
“You lied to me,” She said accusatively.
“Uh…” Arthur froze. His mind shot in a dozen different directions. He wasn’t overclocking, and he had grown too reliant on overclocking. It felt like his brain was flowing through molasses.
“You told me that big sis and big bro had hired you to come and bring me back, but they didn’t even know that I was in Edolas.”
“I… well… I was going back to Edolas and my Archive had picked up that you were from Earthland, and I knew they missed you, and…”
Lisanna’s face softened into a smile. “Thank you,” She said. “I wanted to thank you properly. I’m not really sure how I can, but I wanted to.”
“And wait, I never claimed it was a job. Just that they asked for you back.”
“Yes you did, you told that creepy ash guy it was.”
“Oh… that was just to get them to accept your presence and my finishing taking you back in dereliction of my duties,” Arthur’s stomach sank. It was that dereliction that had let Honami, Ike, Roy, and Byaku die. Well not bringing Lisanna back in specific, but his general dereliction. He could tell himself it was to research dragon seeds, but he’d gotten distracted from that by side quests.
“Thank you for taking care of me, and if there’s anything I can do to repay you, don’t hesitate to ask,” She placed her hand on Arthur’s arm, smiling warmly at him.
“Could you tell Wendy I have a job I want to offer her. I have someone who needs healing, and…”
Lisanna’s hand slid off his arm, her smile slipping to something more neutral. “Of course. I don’t really think that counts as repaying anything, though.”
“It’d help me though,” Arthur said with a smile.
“Alright, right away, have a seat, order a meal, and I’ll be back as soon as I can. Just got to run to Fairy Hills and see if she’s home,” Lisanna said, her smile returning.
It was around the time that Mirajane came to take his order, that Arthur realized she was hinting at something more. “I’m dense,” He muttered under his breath.
“Definitely,” Mirajane said, giving Arthur a look that scared him more than a little. Just how protective was she of her little sister? Was he in danger? “Now can I get you anything?”
Lisanna returned with Wendy before Arthur had had too long to stew in his thoughts. Still he’d been thinking about that touch and that smile. He might be reading it all wrong. She wasn’t necessarily flirting with him. And if she was… Was it just out of gratitude? He had helped her. She felt indebted to him. It was the same basic problem with Sorano. He knew Sorano would say yes if he asked, but he was fairly certain she’d only be doing it out of a sense of owing him it.
Of course with Sorano there was the looming factor that he was in effect her parole officer at the moment. He held a dominating hand over her fate, and that just felt wrong for anything long term… and made anything at all a risk because short term would ruin the set up and the balance.
Lisanna… It was just that nagging feeling she would only be doing it out of obligation. He didn’t hold any special power over her. He didn’t have some life or death authority over her. He wasn’t trying to make her do something. If she felt grateful… well that wouldn’t be enough on its own. Would it? Or did it have more to do with thinking that willingness to put himself out there for her without asking for a reward was an attractive quality?
She was… well she wasn’t gorgeous like her older sister, but she was cute, and definitely attractive. She was young, though. It’d not be clearly inappropriate with his physical age. But he probably had over a decade on her, and while she was an adult by the standards of this world, she was at most borderline by the standards of his own. It definitely broke the one-half your age plus seven year minimum rule of thumb. Whether he was beholden to the standards of his world or this world was a question he could debate, but it went against the moral standards which he had been indoctrinated in throughout his life.
It was all moot anyway. He had under a month left in Ishgar at this point. It wasn’t worth fretting over romance when he needed to go deal with the deal with Selene. Once he was certain that Acnologia wasn’t going to cause an apocalypse he could think about kissing girls.
Of course a part of him had the nagging complaint that this was ultimately all fear of rejection and intimacy. He didn’t want to go out and try, because if he failed it would hurt, and secretly believed he would fail if not on launch then sooner rather than later. That even now he wasn’t confident she was being flirtatious and not just grateful he’d helped her. In the back of his mind he was kicking himself for being ultimately a coward.
Arthur had just realized the idea of asking a cute girl out on a date had him more anxious and scared than declaring war on the most powerful Dark Guild in Fiore, and that he needed to rethink his life choices and behavior, when Lisanna brought Wendy to him.
Lisanna lingered nearby as he explained the basic situation to Wendy. He had someone who needed healing and he was willing to pay the standard rate if Wendy would heal her.
“Arthur you don’t need to pay me for my help,” Wendy said almost as if the suggestion had hurt her. Carla, the exceed sticking to Wendy’s side as was her wont, nodded as if proud of Wendy’s moral uprightness in declining payment.
“Fair, but that’s your choice not mine. It’d not have been right for me to just demand it for free.”
“So where is she?”
“Back in Crocus, I’ll take you there and then bring you back here, ok?”
“Alright. Shall we go now?”
Arthur’s eyes flickered to Lisanna. She was beautiful. But… It was already December. He didn’t have time to deal with romance. Or he was just a coward like the nagging doubt in his mind told him.
“It’ll be easier from where I arrived if you don’t mind a little walk.
“Not at all, we can catch up a bit. You didn’t even stop to talk to me last time you were here.”
“Sorry about that. You’ll have to fill me in on how it’s been going.”
Once Lilith was healed, Arthur sent Wendy to visit with Minerva and catch up with her, even giving her some jewels for them both to get ice cream. He needed to talk to Lilith.
She, understandably, had complaints about MacBeth. “I’ve put him in solitary for the next few days,” Arthur said. “Though I’ll have to take him out of it for a while to give him a stern, and thorough talking to. But from what I hear Jellal, or one of the former Oracion Seis would have been able to get them out of and survive that position.” It wasn’t really fair, from what he had heard it’d have been hard for most of the Oracion Seis to do it. MacBeth would have been fine, but MacBeth was the 2nd most dangerous of them and his Reflector magic was considered an almost invincible shield for a reason. Sawyer would have probably been able to get away, but he’d have needed help to do more than scramble to safety with only the Ten Commandments Spear giving him a chance of fighting his way out. Richard… well Richard was in his element fighting underground. Erik and Sorano would have had trouble. They’d have had a chance, but victory and safety would have been chancy at best. It hadn’t been a fair situation. Even the other Thunderbolts had admitted that.
Still, Arthur hoped to salvage something. And, even including Minerva who was a child, Lilith was noticeably the weakest member of the group by a wide margin. Arthur was far from certain that they could afford to bring her against a big name like Grimoire Heart, Tartaros, or Raven’s Tail. Making matters worse she showed no desire to ameliorate this situation. Arthur needed to fix this. It was quite literally his job. But he wasn’t good with people. He’d much rather have been fighting Hades, or Mard Geer. Well… Maybe not. Takeover magic made him feel unclean and with both he would be using it. He had no idea what it would feel like to bathe in Mard Geer’s soul.
“So what are you saying?” The dark haired woman said, glaring at him. She’d not forgiven him for bringing her in. He didn’t really think she wanted to reform. Just like she resented him for her presence here, he resented Draculos for foisting her on him.
It was a struggle to pretend not to, as he forced himself to look her in the eyes. “I’m saying, if you want to survive you have two options. Quit the Thunderbolts and serve your jail time.”
Her face soured. “Should have known. None of you ever wanted me here in the first place.”
“Or,” Arthur continued pointedly ignoring her and cutting off whatever rant she was going to begin, his voice holding a growl that was probably angrier than it should be. An animalistic - or draconic - side of him was growling that he should tear apart the insubordinate little piece of shit, and show her her place with a brutal, one sided beat down. “Or you can work to get stronger. Every other member of the Thunderbolts is doing so. Even Erik is at least training and working with the others, trying to get better at playing team coordinator and in combination tactics. I will be honest. The only way you, as you are now, will survive the next mission I have planned if it gets approved by King Toma is for you to sit at a safe distance, on the sidelines, as potential reinforcements if you’re brought along at all and not deemed a liability to bring within a mile of the combat zone. I cannot see any other way you will survive it. And honestly I can’t see any situation where teleporting you into the fight would be worth the miniscule magical effort it would take.”
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“So don’t bring me,” She said.
“Do you think the Council will give you early parole if you never go on the missions? Do you think anyone in the Thunderbolts will cover for you and vouch for you if you do that?”
“I’ve got my charms. The boys understand that Sorano isn’t actually interested in any of them and just likes playing queen bee. I’m sure that I could…”
“Juggle them as lovers as you drain them dry like the vampire you are?” Arthur was running a simulation of the demoness, Seilah, on his Archive, letting it feed him responses tinged in manipulative cruelty. She stopped, glaring at him again. “If I had to guess Erik has heard your heart and seen through you. The others will as well. They like Sorano. I honestly think even Richard would kill anyone who really hurt her. Do you think they’ll like you that way if you try and manipulate them?” He was not saying all, or even most of the things that Seilah would have. The Seilah-Simulcram kept suggesting using her curse to manipulate Lilith into secret, and total, obedience.
“So what are you saying?”
“I’m saying why not try and get stronger.”
“I don’t even want to be here.”
“Then quit. But if you want to get stronger,” He opened one of the screens of his Archive. “This should be able to maintain itself for a few hours if you don’t do anything particularly energy intensive or hit it.” Images of Draculos’s bats were appearing. “I didn’t get much from Draculos during Edolas, but he sat in on some training sessions and used a bit of magic. You use vampire magic just like him, right? Well this is everything my Archive picked up about his magic in our encounters, maybe it’ll help you learn something.”
“You’re… I almost died and you’re giving me homework?” She said, “I’m the one being punished?”
“How did you survive the underworld? You’re being given a chance at power. Seize it or don’t. That’s up to you. But you’ll have to go on a job sooner or later, and if you don’t at least try to get stronger, I can’t see anyone risking their own life to save yours. That’s all I had to say. I’ve got other business that needs to be attended to.” He turned and walked from the room. Hopefully she would study. Or better yet quit.
Arthur found Wendy and Minerva at the training range that the Thunderbolts, and by extension him and Minerva, had been given to work with. He was uncertain what part of getting ice cream had led to the ground being torn up here and the two girls looking scruffed and bruised, but given Wendy’s complaints he had the feeling Minerva was responsible.
When they were back in Magnolia, it was Carla who pulled on his hand. “Are we really likely to have to fight demons?”
“It’s possible,” He said. “Me and Minerva weren’t intending to and we ended up fighting three. Others may be back to take revenge for their fallen, and it’s possible they will target Fairy Tail since I have friends there.” He hadn’t checked the friendship bounty in a while. But he felt like he had friends there. If no one else was, he was certain Wendy counted. “I’ll do what I can to prevent that, but I can’t…”
Wendy tugged on his hand. “It’s alright. There’s strong mages here too. And if you need help, don’t be afraid to ask for it. I might not be anywhere near as strong as you, but I can heal, and I can fight a little too.” She was putting on a brave face, leaving Arthur to wonder how scared she really was of the potential for demons to attack.
“You’re a good kid, Wendy.”
“Kid?” She said petulantly, stomping one foot.
“And as the adult you shouldn’t endanger her recklessly,” Carla chided.
“Hey, I did not try to get attacked by demons.” Arthur and Carla stared at each other for a few moments.
“Did Minerva really help against them?” Wendy asked.
Arthur hesitated. “She did well against them. She held her own until I got there, and didn’t just sit and hide once I did.” Even if he’d have preferred she’d run.
“I won’t fall too far behind. Let her know that.”
Arthur ruffled Wendy’s hair, getting an irritated look from both her and Carla. “I will,” He said, continuing to walk her back to her guild. It’d mean an extra 40 minutes to the trip. But… he hadn’t really had a break to decompress since Edolas. Not a good, solid one.
His dreams had gotten worse if anything. He didn’t remember them most nights, but when he did it was guilty dreams about the blood on his hands, or Honami’s team and their deaths. He tried to play at being confident in his power, but the demons of Tartaros had forced him to spend points, and he didn’t have the points for another big purchase if Grimoire Heart did. He had less than 2 weeks now to find Grimoire Heart. Stopping Tenrou Island and giving Igneel’s plan time to succeed was the best option he had against Acnologia. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if he failed at it.
Just walking with Wendy and talking to her about her time at Fairy Tail was soothing and de-stressing at this point. Something that let him stop thinking about the apocalyptic threat still on the horizon.
By the time he got to the guild hall he had made a decision. When Lisanna popped out of the woodwork - in a cute blue dress - to ask how it went, Arthur gave her a smile. “I was hoping I’d get to see you again,” He said. “You wanted to repay me somehow, right?”
“Yeah,” She said with a nod.
“Know any good places to go around here for entertainment? Maybe somewhere nice to eat? Life’s been hectic for a while, and I could use a night off and someone pleasant to share it with if you’d care to join me.”
Sometimes dice had to be cast. Sometimes rubicons had to be crossed. And he really could use a night to relax.
Arthur wasn’t sure if things actually counted as a date or not. He was buying her dinner, but it was almost more of a guided tour of Magnolia than a date. Plus her older siblings were not-so-subtly stalking them the entire evening.
Still he tried to show her a good time. To converse. To interact. To make himself actually engage with her as another person. She asked him what Guiltina was like, and he found himself talking somewhat about the dragon eaters of Diabolos, but there was the painful realization that not only did he not really know them too well - introvertedly hiding in a library under the cover of ‘research’ is not the way to get to know friends - he couldn’t really talk much about it at all because he’d been in Ishgar almost as long at this point.
He turned the subject back towards Lisanna herself, and what it was like to come home after so long.
“Wonderful. I mean Edolas big sis and big bro were nice, and they obviously loved me and cared for me, but it was always different. I was filling someone else’s shoes. Now I’m back and it feels like I’m back where I belong with big sis, big bro, and Nat… su…” She deflated a bit at that and went quiet.
“Something different with Natsu?”
“Well…” She looked at the dining table. “Nothing I’d like to think about too much.”
“Then don’t. For tonight, let’s just enjoy ourselves. What would you suggest we do after dinner?”
“There’s a nice dance hall, but… I think you might not be dressed properly for it.”
“I’ve got jewels to spend,” the council had paid him for his work in Era. He could splurge a bit, even though Sorano had ‘convinced’ him to split his (lion’s) share of the reward from the Kobold Snout mission with the members of the team who had actually been there. “I mean I didn’t end up having to pay Wendy. I can probably afford a change of clothes if you know a place where I could buy something appropriate. Though I should warn you I have no idea how to dance.”
“Maybe dancing isn’t the best idea, then. Any decent play would have sold by now…”
“No, if you want to dance, I’m perfectly willing to dance. You just might have to show me how, and where to put my hands.” There was a moment of silence, where . “Or well hand.”
Lisana shook her head. “I don’t really know how to dance much myself, it’s just… Well, I’m not a very good guide. I haven’t been here in a while, and even before my idea of fun was a little unusual.”
“Oh? Let me hear it. Weird ways of having fun can be pretty, well, fun.”
“I liked hiking and exploring; seeing what lay beyond another hill or just going about the woods and fields. It’s pretty basic really, and not really the sort of thing you’d probably want to do tonight.”
“I don’t know. Secret spots in the woods,” Arthur immediately wanted to take back those words; they made him sound a bit like he had some nefarious intention. “A pretty lake.” Another inward kick as he realized what people did in lakes at night according to all the slasher movies he’d ever seen. “Or you know a wonderful view.” He reached up scratching the back of his head feeling awkward as could be. “There’s lots of fun stuff in the woods. Strange plants, cute animals, er… pretty flowers.”
“Interesting monsters,” Lisanna suggested.
“That too. I’d be happy to protect you from them.”
“I am a Fairy Tail mage myself, you know,” Lisanna said, scrunching up her nose. Then she grew more somber, a melancholic look flowing across her face like a shadow across a pond. “Natsu would protect me from monsters when we went hiking together.”
“And something’s changed there?”
“I… Yeah. Me and Natsu we were… Well we’d never really dated, dated, but everyone thought we were a couple. Well everyone but Natsu. Then in Edolas… Well he, er the Edo Natsu, was with the Edo Lucy and let’s just say you didn’t get much sleep if you had the room next to theirs when they were both in the guild at the same time. But I figured the worlds were so different, but I came home and Lucy was there and she and Natsu were a team.”
“And it’s like she took your place in his heart?” Arthur suggested.
Lisanna shook her head. “No. It just made me realize I never had it in the first place. We grew up together, but he didn’t ever really want to team with me. We’re friends, but… I never was going to have his heart. It still hurts, though… you know?”
Arthur nodded. A part of him wanted to pull her in and hold her close. Just give her a big hug. But he wasn’t really sure that was appropriate. He didn’t really know her that well.
“You think you have something. Have someone. That you’re special to them, or at least they’re interested in you being special to them and your heart wants to be with them and then to realize they never really felt that way about you is… Well I won’t say it’s more painful than having something and losing it, but at least then you gotta have something.”
Lisanna blushed a bit. “I… Sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“I mean… You asked me out on a date, and then I spend it complaining about how the guy I liked doesn’t like me.”
“Is this a date? I never called it a date,” Arthur started. She gave him a look that made him think of an eagle eyeing its prey. “If you want it to be a date it can be. I… Ok, I thought you were flirting, and figured, worse came to worst, I’d have had a pleasant dinner with a lovely companion. And look, I had a pleasant dinner with a lovely companion. I was not trying to say I was feeling that pain. We don’t really know each other. I never thought there was something, or even really the chance for something. I have to go back to Edolas, and Guiltina. You’re a wonderful girl. Cute. Pleasant. Charming. But until I can make sure I don’t turn into a draconic engine of destruction I can’t really commit to anything.”
Arthur stopped to breathe then, nerves screaming on higher alert than they’d been since… Well ok, only since yesterday but still he had to ask himself why talking to a girl was almost as nerve wracking as fighting demons.
“So then why did you ask me out?”
“Because I thought you were flirting with me, and if you’re single and a beautiful girl is flirting with you… You’d not be a man if you didn’t at least give it a shot.” Arthur noted to himself that the situation with Sorano complicated things. Besides, Sorano flirted with every guy around her if she thought they might have something she could benefit from.
“I sort of was,” Lisanna said, grabbing her arm with her opposite hand and looking down. “I just… Well I was feeling down, and thought that if someone showed interest in me… I’d feel less like there was something wrong with me. It’s silly. I’m sorry.”
“Still willing to keep me company for a bit while we look for something fun to do?”
“You still want that?”
“I wasn’t lying when I said I needed something to destress, and I can’t really think of a better way than with the company of a lovely lady. It doesn’t have to be going anywhere more than just a good meal and a break from thinking about the future.”
“What’s so bad about thinking about the future?”
“I’ve got to track down and…” Arthur stopped himself. He was willing to tell Lisanna what was technically a state secret, but the Thunderbolts project was black ops, and they were still sitting at an outdoor restaurant. “Security matters actually mean I can’t go around talking about it in public, but let’s just say I have a pending deadline, and then there’s my inevitable return to Edolas.”
“You make it sound like going back there is the end of the world.”
“Hopefully it will be the rebirth of one. But when Selene arrived I got myself entangled with her, and… Let’s just say I ransomed my life, and potentially that of Edolas itself with an offer of service. She gave me a bit of time to put things in order here, but when I’m done I have to go back to her and… Well if all goes well she’ll teach me magic, and Edolas will actually have eternal magic.”
“Then let’s hope all goes well, and not dwell on the future tonight.”
“Care to take a stroll and see if there’s any place that seems fun?” Arthur asked, offering his arm.
“Definitely. You really think I’m lovely?” She answered, looping her arm with his.
“Yes,” Arthur said and was rewarded with a beautiful smile.
The council’s surveillance database had been destroyed. But the sensors weren’t on the ground. They were up there with Etherion. His Archive was fully capable of contacting Etherion. He didn’t have the authorization codes to fire it - though he could almost certainly hack it if he needed to - but he had been authorized to use its surveillance capabilities.
He found Grimoire Heart’s airship on the 10th. He cut back on the training sessions, for himself and the Thunderbolts, afterwards. If he couldn’t get authorization to go, he’d do it alone on the 14th. That should give him more than a day. Which should be enough. It’d mean jeopardizing the Thunderbolts program, something he hated to do, and burning bridges with Fiore, but if it had to be done he would do it as much as the thought kept him up that night.
Still it meant he could finally truly turn his Archive’s resources to the purpose he had come to Ishgar for. He had access to one of the finest libraries in Fiore, possibly the finest now that the Magical Council’s Fiore headquarters was destroyed, and given the damage to Era a contender for the finest in Ishgar. He’d let his Archive devour all the information it could on dragon slayers, dragonification, dragons, and the like from it.
He also had a somewhat illicit option of hacking magical databases from afar. It was a risk. He had to not get caught, but census records could possibly tell him where Rogue and Sting were. And maybe even Yukina. He was preparing to burn bridges anyway, and was fairly confident he’d not be detected. It took him a day of agonizing over it, and an hour of work but while he failed to find Yukina - or more he found a whole list of Yukinas of the right age - he did manage to find a pair of dragon slayers accompanied by talking cats. If he made it through facing off against Grimoire Heart alive he could bring them in.
But with Tenrou Island looming, and his own waiting for authorization that may or may not come he wasn’t doing that until after he had faced Grimoire Heart. On the next day, the final day he was willing to wait and risk it, the 13th they gave him authorization to mobilize the Thunderbolts against it.
They were having a group training session when the authorization was given. It was a variation of capture the flag with magic. Minerva, Erik, Jellal, and Sawyer against MacBeth, Lilith, Richard, and Sorano. Arthur had rigged the randomization process to force MacBeth and Lilith to work together.
She was still the weakest link. That was simply undeniable. But she was learning. She had long relied on the - illegal - charm aspect of her vampire magic; controlling minds and forcing obedience. Now she was at least trying to master the other aspects. But in under a week she was not ready for fighting Grimoire Heart. Feeling a touch godly, Arthur decided that when he raptured the others to the battle she would be left behind.
The others he hoped were ready.
Minerva was anticipating getting to tag along. She’d been training hard for it, though Arthur worried. She wasn’t quite up to the level of the Seis when it came to unconstrained, total conflict. It was a matter of experience. He didn’t really want to put her into the fray, but she was determined to be a warrior. She’d resent being pulled back, who knew how much, and truth be told she was getting pretty good with her territory barriers; she might save someone else’s life. She’d only been allowed to use them in today’s group training, but despite that she’d been able to present a significant obstacle for Sorano and MacBeth.
The Oracion Seis were experienced mages. With Brain, and Zero, backing them they had been powerful enough to not be profitable to forcibly absorb. MacBeth was struggling to replace Brain. The man had been a foster father to him; a tyrannical and abusive one, but he had been a figure of support and stability. MacBeth saw himself as the natural successor to lead the Oracion Seis, and seemed to be angling for the position by studying darkness magic like Brain had. He had a natural talent for it, picking it up with ease, and Arthur had been working through it with him over the course of the last few days. Just like Minerva he had been given a restriction; he’d only been allowed to use Darkness Magic.
Sorano had been limited to silver spirits, and a training weapon. Sawyer was actually allowed his magic freely, though he was using a training weapon. Richard was required to wear the black armor. Jellal, Erik, and Lilith had not been limited except by the basic rules against injuring each other. They weren’t trying to learn anything in particular where preventing them from defaulting to something else was important. Jellal had dominated. He was beginning to remember his magic, and Jellal was a terrifyingly potent mage. If Arthur was completely honest with himself the only mages he’d seen that likely surpassed him were Georg, Serena, and Draculos. All of whom had decades of experience over him. The rate at which he absorbed magical knowledge was prodigious. He was what Arthur had cheated to become, or he had the potential to become something close at least. In all honesty there wasn’t a question of who the most powerful Thunderbolt was if you removed Arthur from the equation.
But now it was time to give the briefing. Arthur wasn’t really confident he knew how to do this, but it was the job he found himself in.
Arthur’s Archive had opened up a display of the information he had managed to collect on Grimoire Heart and its 7 Stakes of Purgatory. The projection dominated the center of the table that the Thunderbolts were assembled around.
“Grimoire Heart’s airship is shown here. Interior mapping has proven impossible at this time. Its minimum speed, acceleration, range, and known armaments are listed here. It is our target location. It is currently here,” The projection switched to an aerial map of Ishgar. “Moving west from Bosco towards the sea. I believe it is seeking out Tenrou Island.”
“Tenrou Island?” Sawyer said. “Where’s Tenrou Island, and why would it be after there?”
“Tenrou Island, also known as Fairy Tail’s Holy Land, is a site involved in the foundation of the guild Fairy Tail. Warded by powerful magic which I have failed to penetrate with the techniques which found Grimoire Heart’s airship and is currently tracking it. It is potentially the site of magical secrets. The wards can be lowered by the guild master, and I believe this will be done in 2 days for their S-Rank exam. I have no hard evidence this is Grimoire Heart’s goal, but if it is we must be careful. Fairy Tail is Fiore’s top ranked mage’s guild and if they are preparing to attack a site with all their most powerful mages they will be coming in force and with their most powerful members.”
“So we wait till they’re done with Fairy Tail and clean them up once they’ve exhausted themselves with those goody goodies,” MacBeth said.
“Erza will be on Tenrou. Won’t she?” Jellal said.
“MacBeth, you are the goody goodies now. Our goal is to prevent them from obtaining theirs. Grimoire Heart wiping out the foremost light guild in the country would be a disastrous failure and the council would be certain to look at it that way as well. Besides, if there really is some great power there we don’t want to risk them obtaining it.”
MacBeth seethed lightly. “Ok, ok. But this isn’t some little guild, this is the top guild of the Balam Alliance. If we included dark guild members, Hades would be one of the Four Gods of Ishgar, maybe the top one.”
“I beat Serena, and Draculos accepts that I’m more powerful than him.”
“Way I remember that fight, it was indecisive,” MacBeth said.
“When he tried to kill me, in Edolas, was fairly decisive,” Arthur said, the lie coming easily as he seemed to be starting to believe it himself. The Thunderbolts looked at him when he said that. Some of them had heard at the time; but it was hard to remember that he supposedly fought and killed Serena while they were lacrima. “We’ve also got Jellal here. His thought projection alone could make Wizard Saint. He might be at the level to compete for a title among the Four Gods. Not to mention you have all grown since your time in the Oracion Seis. Do not let Master Hades terrify you.”
Arthur eyed the group. They were all showing varying levels of concern, fear, or anxiety. “They may have gathered their forces, but we will have the element of surprise. While they have some familiarity with your abilities, your new capabilities should come as a surprise, and they do not have familiarity with mine. They also should not be expecting an attack of any sort. This means we will need to capitalize on the element of surprise.
“Moving on I have included an overview of the known magic and capabilities of each of the members of the 7 Stakes of Purgatory.” Seilah had known a fair bit on the matter. “That said I am a piss poor excuse for a leader, and a worse tactician. So let’s talk about strategy. MacBeth, Sorano, Jellal, I assume you will each have opinions.”
“You’re asking mine?” MacBeth said. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll throw Lilith into the meat grinder?”
Lilith tensed, her entire body tightening, as she went livid with rage, fingers squeezing until her knuckles stood out bone white.
“She’d be a liability. I figured we’d leave her here as dead weight,” Arthur said. “We can’t afford for Minerva or Jellal to have to babysit her.”
“Th-the child?” Lilith asked.
“She’s a combat capable mage. I think she’s prepared to come with us. But I can’t have her distracted with your welfare.”
“Bullshit. I…”
“Would die, and maybe get someone else killed in the process.”
Lilith, perhaps having realized she didn’t actually want to go, diplomatically remained silent. With that out of the way the discussion began in earnest as to what to do and how to do it. It would last until night. In the morning they would prepare for the assault.
“Now, let’s cover everything I’ve managed to put together about Grimoire Heart’s 7 Stakes and how to counter them.” He couldn’t remember them all from the manga; it’d been a decade or more since he’d read Tenrou Island. He could add nothing to the information he had found in this world about Dustyrose whose magic was nearly a black box to both the government and Tartaros. On the other side was Kain who he could add nearly nothing to the information of because he was so well known. Where his information was most key were Ultear, Meredy, and Caprico. The first two were simply ‘unidentified’ by governmental archives, and the third was believed to be some sort of beast-race. “Also I’ve reached out for some outside help. I’m not sure they’ll provide it, they were a little hesitant, but I’ll fill you in on them as well.”