Fairy Tail Origins Episode 1: The Eternal Journey

"He uses Illusion Magic, but he has an artifact of some sort that makes his illusions more real than they should be." Grigori explained, but even he was unsure of the specifics. "He layers his illusions as well, and he's very private about his operations. Cowboy knew the most about him, but a certain someone killed him despite having ample opportunity to capture him instead. He should also be in possession of several other powerful artifacts and isn't afraid of collateral damage. If you want to minimize casualties, you need to take him out quickly without him noticing."

"Instead of performing a direct assault, you can send us in, and we can apprehend him without alerting him beforehand." Shogun took over the explanation for Grigori.

Orion smiled as Eden suddenly began to put her hair up, using a headband he'd never seen before. He moved his hand away from her hair and rested it on her shoulder, and then began to gently massage her shoulders.

"You have beautiful hair," he said softly to her, almost as if he could read her mind. "You should get some rest as well," he added after a moment, trying to get her to relax. "You need it, Eden. Don't worry, we'll handle things just fine while you rest."

He lowered his voice to a whisper, and leaned down to whisper into her ear. "Do it for me, alright? I can't bear to see you so worried and exhausted."

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Senna's eyes narrowed dangerously. "So you can both turn on me and help him escape? Just how stupid do you think I am?"

"I'll get some rest, but I'm staying right here. You should at least sit down too. I know you're not doing very well either," she said, remorseful for having to use her magic on him during the fight and causing him so much pain.

"We're going to need to make our circumstances of return believable as well." Grigori continued. "I-I don't want to do this, but we're going to need Eden."

"Abyss is receiving orders from another guild." Shogun took over again. "Grigori was given orders by the same guild to assassinate Eden in order to draw the attention of Orion and Abyss knows this. However, if I bring Eden up to the ship to make her 'execution' more public, then Abyss might come out and do it himself. He usually hides himself from the entire guild, which is why drawing him out is the top priority."

"It's not my decision to make," Senna answers finally, after a long moment of thinking. "It's up to the General, whoever's in charge of Silver Chimera while their Guildmaster is out cold, and it's up to Eden herself."

She thinks for a moment longer, then motions for them to follow her. "Come with me. We're going to see the General."

Senna ordered her Knights to remain behind and stay on guard, and once she made sure they were following, Senna guided Grigori and Shogun into the town. The other Seraph Knights under General Auron's command were busy searching for any remaining townspeople who hadn't been evacuated and setting up magical barriers all over the town, in case the giant ship hovering in the sky fired again. General Auron himself was standing near the docks by the water, along with another Wizard in an elegant white suit whom Senna assumed was another member of Silver Chimera. Although... He was wearing Sunglasses too, despite it being already dark out, which she found very odd.

"General Auron Sir," Senna called out, raising her right hand in salute.

He turned and smiled, and returned her salute. "Captain."

His eyes wandered to the two following her, and he arched a single eyebrow. "Is the hill secure?"

She inclined her head. "Yes Sir. Though it will require a bit of explaining."

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After said explanation was finished, the General bore a thoughtful look for a moment, as he turned to look up at the ship in the sky. It had moved from where it had been before, though Senna couldn't even begin to guess why. But she did sense traces of powerful magic lingering in the air, almost like crackling electricity floating through the air. It could be from an ongoing battle on the ship, but from this distance, even Senna had trouble pinpointing anything.

"We'll sort all this out once the town and her people are safe," General Auron said to Grigori and Shogun. "You have my word. But for now, dealing with your former Master is my top priority. Tell me Captain, what do you think of their plan?"

"I'm against it Sir," she answered immediately. "If at all possible, I would prefer to use our own forces to attempt the capture, rather than use an innocent civilian as bait- Wizard or no. I believe the Wizards of Silver Chimera have done enough. This is our responsibility now."

She also didn't completely trust either of the turncoats behind her as far as she could throw them, but that wasn't exactly a secret. There was no need to point it out.

Auron inclined his head, seemingly satisfied with that answer. "I tend to agree. Besides, the plan our new friends have come up with has one glaring fault: the master of the Dark Guild known as Aboleth Tentacle, the one called Abyss, has already shown himself and is currently engaged in combat with one of Silver Chimera's most powerful Wizards, the Dragon Slayer Velia Ferro. Attempting to lure him out now would be pointless. So now we wait, for our opportune moment to strike."

Cenric suddenly teleported into existence next to them, almost as if on cue, surprising Senna. He inclined his head to Senna and the General, shot a brief look at Grigori that said in no uncertain terms that he didn't trust him in the slightest, and then turned to the Wizard in the white suit.

"Lucian, I've been able to reestablish contact with Velia," he says, much to the one called Lucian's obvious relief. However, that relief didn't last long. "But... She's still fighting. And it's not going very well."

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Orion barely had time to finish telling her to get some rest, before Eden fell asleep on his shoulder. He smiled, and without really thinking about it, he placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. After that, he seemed to have a moment of realization, and looked away.

... What in the world is happening to me? I used to be perfectly fine with wandering from place to place... The loneliness was made bearable by all the good I accomplished over the years. I had even managed to calm my need for vengeance... Or, at least, to put it aside. Now I'm willing to endanger a whole town for people I've only known for a little over a month? No... I can't fool myself. While I do consider everyone in Silver Chimera friends, it's Eden I really stay for. She's the reason I don't want to leave... Which is insane when I think about it rationally. How many times have we come very close to killing each other in the few weeks we've known each other? It's not like she's some starry eyed maiden fawning over me- that's for sure- and I'm not even sure how I really feel about her... But when I think about what happened in the park, I...

He closed his eyes, and suddenly recalled one of the few things he remembered his father had said to him, back when he was still a young child, before his life had gone to hell in a patchwork handbasket. It was when he had asked his father what the word "love" meant. He had given Orion an odd, almost amused look and replied with a laugh, "It's when a woman walks into your life, and like a tornado, turns everything you know upsidedown and rearranges your entire life, and you realize, you don't mind at all. That's love, my boy."

Orion thought about that for an extremely long moment, then laughed. Well... S***.

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Several minutes earlier...

Velia cursed as she suddenly found herself plummeting feet first towards the ocean far below. "Shadow Dragon Secret Art: Archwing Excursio!"

Dark, shadowy wings suddenly sprouted from her back, tearing a fairly large hole in her dark green tank top. Velia cursed in annoyance. Another perfectly good shirt ruined. You're gonna pay for making me use this, you slimy bastard.

Velia's changed to a dark, glowing red and her appearance took on the form of a dragon... Minus the tail, thankfully. Her skin hardened and developed scales, and her hands and feet developed claws... Which, again, damaged her boots. Which made her even angrier.

She pulled up just as the ocean grew dangerously close, and shot back up into the sky, causing the ocean to erupt below her in a giant column of water. A few seconds later, that flying monstrosity of a pirate ship reappeared in a different part of the sky, a few meters from where it had been before. Velia aimed for the ship's location and shot towards it like a living lightning bolt, landing on the deck with such force it splintered the wood and sent a shockwave in all directions, knocking the ship's main mast down once again.

"You not only attacked my town and threatened my family, you ruined a perfectly good shirt and a pair of my favorite boots! And for that, I'm not only going to kill you, I'm going to mount your head on my wall as a trophy!"

If I can't destroy the ship... Then I'll just destroy him! Illusions be damned!

She quickly honed in on Abyss's location and changed back to her normal form, drawing her sword and swinging it towards his general direction. A devastating shockwave burst from her sword, creating a sudden windstorm. The shockwave tore the deck of the ship to shreds and sliced cleanly through everything in its path, seemingly obliterating the entire upper half of the ship with a single strike.

"My sword can cut through anything!" Velia shouted. "It's why I rarely use it, but you've forced my hand! It doesn't matter how powerful your illusions are! Eventually, they'll be cut to ribbons as well! Let's see whose magic outpaces who... Yours, or mine?!"

Still... There's something different about his illusions... But I can't quite put my finger on it... It's almost like... No, that couldn't be... His magic doesn't feel anything like Lucien's... So why do I feel like I'm fighting him?

Velia walked over to the wall and opened the nearest door, and just as she expected, it lead to nothing; just a wooden wall. She smiled slightly, as a hint of understanding dawned on her. No, they're definitely illusions... But there's more than that, isn't there? Oh yes, there's definitely more to it than that... His illusions are almost... Real. I think I see now... His magic IS similar to Lucian's.

Velia suddenly closed her eyes, and focused her energy. In her mind, she could see the wooden hallway she was currently stuck in, and she could see the real world, the ship floating in the sky above Rose Hills. She remembered what Skiadrum had taught her, how to hone her senses and use them to see what others could not. I may not completely understand how your magic works just yet... But I understand enough to give you a nice surprise.

Her eyes opened, and Velia raised her sword, pointing it at the hallway and towards what lay beyond. There... Found you.

She slashed with her sword once, and then twice. Her feet moved carefully in an intricate pattern as she slashed again, and a fourth time. The strokes of her sword were elegant and delicate, yet also powerful, and with the way she moved, it was almost like she was dancing. Her strokes came faster and faster, until the seventh stroke, which she directed at the general direction of where she sensed Abyss.

"Moon Demon Annihilation Technique: Seven Gods Dance!"

A flurry of seven blinding shockwaves exploded from the tip of Velia's sword, each one splitting into a dozen more shockwaves, summoning gale force winds and tearing the hallway into tiny wooden pieces. However, the shockwaves did more than that, much more. The illusion imprisoning Velia shattered like glass, and Velia found herself standing once more on the deck of the airship, which, unfortunately, was good as new again.

"You made a grave miscalculation," Velia called out coldly, her voice calm and deadly. "I told you, my sword can cut through anything. If your illusions were the normal kind, they might have given me a bit more trouble. But they're not. You aren't even using normal Illusion Magic. On top of that, I'm the daughter of a Dragon. I never forget a smell. And I could smell your awful stench from a million miles away."

She adopted a fighter's stance, and held her sword out in front of her, ready to strike. "I may not be able to stop you from placing me in another illusion, but if you do, I'll just break out again. So it seems we find ourselves in a stalemate. Your move... You phony pirate."

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"I'm not sure," Cenric answers, shaking his head. "It's difficult to tell."

Lucian gives a dry laugh. "Not really. Velia has a tendency to outclass any opponent she finds herself fighting. There isn't a man alive who can keep that crazy Dragon at bay."

"You tried that once already," Velia answered mockingly, referring to when the ship had disappeared, and she had fallen. "Didn't work out very well for you, did it?"

"But let's just see you try to pluck my wings! Archwing Excursio!"

At least my clothes are already ruined... Bastard.

Her form changed again, her skin hardened into scales, and her long shadowy wings materialized once more. Using her feet and immense strength to propel her, Velia pushed off from the deck, causing it to sink and splinter beneath her, and shot towards Abyss and his doppelgangers at extreme speed.

"Moon Demon Slash! Shadow Dragon Wing Attack!"

Her wings and sword whirled around her simultaneously, creating her own personal hurricane; a maelstrom of shadow, wind, and shockwaves that tore the area around her to pieces, caused the ship to groan and lurch violently in the sky, and scattered all the many pirates to the four winds. Several fell right off the ship, and some of the "lesser" illusions were immediately dispelled.

"I'm just getting started!" She shouted and rocketed into the sky. She hovered above the ship and roared. For a brief moment, just a split second, there appeared to be a giant black dragon in the sky.

"Shadow Dragon's Roar!"

A massive beam of darkness shot towards the ship.

-------

Those on the docks below watched as the airship above lurched in a sudden explosion, as a wave of darkness rolled over the side and a pillar of wind shot into the air. A second later, what appeared to be a giant black dragon loomed in the sky, and a beam of darkness engulfed the ship.

Cenric's face lit up with relief at the sight.

"See? What did I tell you?" Lucian said proudly, beaming. "There isn't a man alive who can best her. That's my girl."

Cenric stared at Lucian for a moment, then looked away, his expression deflating like a led balloon. If she heard you say that Lucian, she'd probably kill you. And she isn't yours, dammit...