Gray Fullbuster wasn't one that can be easily unnerved. He was once just as reckless as Natsu, he has long since abandoned such attitude under Ur's tutelage. He has adopted a far more cautious outlook to life and handle arising problems carefully, as opposed to Natsu's preference to dive head first and be in the thick of it all.

This one, however, had done just that.

The head swivels around, surveying the scene with its coal black sockets, listening with a ghost of its ears. Its tricorn hat sits atop the skull yet did nothing to hide the clear mark of a sword slash, the line stretches from its forehead to its jaw, through the right socket. The bony hand poking out of the wide sleeve that held on the door made some barely audible clicking noises, its nails, not what can be considered long but with its skin completely stripped, it certainly has an unnatural length to it, dragging across the wood, adding a grating sound. The rain has long since washed away the dust, and he could imagine what is hidden behind that black frock coat, even with the layers of cloth he could tell how empty it is inside.

Thunder lit the black sky behind as the neck snapped to them. It quickened its stride, teeth gnashing as it moves toward them, shouting in a foreign language.

Erza already has her sword drawn, Gray was ready to defend himself, and so did Natsu. The skeleton however, simply walked past them, ignoring the frozen Lucy, one hand grasping the railing.

"Hold tight."

The front of the ship rises suddenly, threw them off their feet, sending them to the ground and rolling back to the captain's cabin. They hanged desperately on whatever they could cling on as the bowsprit kept on rising to the air. Their backs now firmly fixed onto the wall and door of the cabin.

"At this rate the ship will flip!" Gray cried out, his heart racing.

"Stay calm!" Erza shouted back, unfazed by it all.

Natsu has one hand on his mouth, wheezing in his spot, "I don't feel-"

The rise stopped and not a second later, the tip came soaring back down, sending them tumbling off yet again. He could feel his soul leaving his body along with the dive the ship just made. It took a good minute before the showering rain and booming lightning brought them back to reality, and they were at where they started, on the ground by the feet of the skeleton and the railing.

"Thank Nereus we were on the high sea. Closer to the shore and that wave would've smashed us to splinters." The skeleton muttered in a croaky voice, watching the passing wave through a small telescope intended for naval uses. A pair of rope slithered around Natsu's foot as it speaks. "Don't stain my ship!"

A wave of its hand, and the rope whipped out to the sea, with the Dragon Slayer hanging near the ship's hull, emptying out his lunch into the water.

"Who are you?" Erza asked, stabilising herself with the railing.

Another motion of his hand, and Howard had the pink-haired mage's head in the ocean, before pulling him back, with the mess wiped clean. "Howard Asquith, the captain of this vessel."

"Bastard! Are you trying to kill me!?" shouted Natsu, trying to untie the rope to no avail, hanging from the mizzen helplessly.

Gray could feel his lips curling up in amusement, Erza doesn't seem too terribly concerned about it, and that means neither should he, pinkie will be fine.

"I should be the one asking questions." Howard took a step toward Lucy, who just got up with the out-cold Happy in her arms. "Which one fed the mouse? No Austellan in their right mind would do so, and that leaves you lot."

She shied away fearfully, the way his neck craned with the sound of joints cracking, how the skull titled to an unnatural angle and lining the empty sockets with her eyes. The terrifying sight only heightened by the pouring rain and flashing lights behind him.

"We all did." Erza replied calmly, relieving Lucy of the attention she received.

"Macaron isn't it? How many?" Howard snapped back to Erza. "Four? Five? Six?"

"15."

The captain's mouth hung open, yet no words came out, with or without a face, they can tell the evident shock from him. He whipped around, striding to the stair leading down to the main deck where two naval officers rushed up to greet him. They show no sign of nervousness in front of the abnormal skeleton, clearly familiar with him and have grown accustomed to Howard's presence. None of the crew bat an eye at the sight, if anything, they seemed to be relieved, before moving back to their stations at the officers' behest.

Howard spoke quickly, if there was any sign of panic none could be found in his voice. Erza couldn't understand the conversation, but how the officers' countenances turn graver with each passing second were any indication, they have a large problem on their hands.

One hushed conversation after, the officers parted with a curt nod, one heading to the main deck and the other down under it. The rope clinging on Natsu loosened as Howard sauntered up the stair leading above the captain's cabin, toward the ship's wheel.

"What should we do?" Gray asked, turning to Erza.

"Find out what is going on first." She replied, striding toward the stair. "We can deal with the anomalies later."

"A talking mouse, a living skeleton, and a ghostlike person." Lucy followed close behind, her body shudders at the thought of Howard, droplets of rain prickling on her skin. "And I'd thought that nothing can get weirder than Happy."

The captain has taken on the position of helmsman, standing by the wheel, one hand steering the ship and a compass in the other. A closer look and anyone could see the marks his skeletal fingers left on the wheel, the number of scratches a testament to how long they have been with each other.

"Captain Howard, what's happening?" Erza questioned, stopping in front of the skeleton, with Natsu trailing up behind, a hand easing his stomach.

A good distance away, of course, it's still quite unsettling standing in the presence with such being.

Howard turned to the heaving sea, then to the black clouds sprawling across the sky, glancing at the water dripping off his hat, and back to the red-haired mage. "It seems that we're getting a little damp."

"You know what I'm talking about." She pressed on, eyes narrowing. "You asked about a mouse, Aiken, what does he have to do with anything?"

"That rodent in my cabin holds an immense quantity of ethernano inside him. He is hard-pressed to keep everything under control, and some inevitably leaks out, but not by any stretch significant." Howard turned the wheel, keeping one eye on the spinning compass. "He's fond of sweets, but a large intake of sugar would rouse him, weakening his control. The power came pouring out is precisely because of that, resulting in this storm."

Lucy's gulped, it's no wonder he got angry. "We didn't know-"

"Of course you didn't." The captain cut her off, sending a glance at the crow's nest, there's no use venting his anger on things that can't be helped. "It shouldn't have been possible for any of you to step into my cabin in the first place. Someone let you in."

Another streak of lightning split the sky, striking far too close to the ship for comfort, sending them skipping a beat of their hearts.

Howard reached for his hat, steeling it against the violent wind. "I'm far more concerned about a different matter."

Gray pointed to the shifting waves, keeping the railing in front of the wheel in a tight grip. "What is more pressing than this?"

"We didn't get two days of peace on this treacherous ocean because the divines felt nice, boy. That mouse is an intimidating presence to all the monsters lurking beneath, but with so much power seeping out, they won't sense a predator to be avoided with what's left behind, they would sense a prey to be devoured."

The sky lit up once again with thunder flashes as he finished the sentence. A great shadow loomed over the horizon, they could make out a massive horn, and two flickering shade of teal that made up the silhouette's eyes, lurking beneath a colossal rolling wave.

"Massive…" The black-haired mage uttered.

Lucy's eyes widened as the form grows larger by the seconds. "It's coming toward us!"

"That horn looks familiar…" Natsu squinted his eyes, scanning up and down the form.

Gray turned toward Erza, "Isn't that the one you brought back to the guild before we chased after Lullaby?"

"Yes…" The Titania confirmed. "It has the same horn of the monster I vanquished."

"Hoh?" Howard would've raised an eyebrow if he had one, "That is an impressive feat."

Erza gave a simple nod of gratitude in response. "This one seems... larger."

"The coastal breed is nowhere near as formidable as the ones on the high sea." Howard steered the wheel, turning the ship away from the beast as he speaks. "Only the strongest can survive in the unforgiving sea, competing and preying on each other for food. This will not be pleasant."

Lucy, for her part, was already sweating bullets, heart pounding like never before. She could only wonder how her teammates could behave so calmly in these sorts of situations. Natsu even seems excited, a grin on his face. Is it how professional mages were supposed to act, or were they just not right in their heads?

"Leave it to us! We'll beat it and send it back to where it belongs!" Natsu declared.

…and there it is.

Lucy sighed, then smiled, she couldn't help but feel uplifted, even in this grave situation. Hanging around them couldn't possibly be good for her health, but she would never ask for anyone else to be her teammates.

"Go back to your cabins, we will handl-"

"It's our fault that this happened in the first place, it will be a stain on Fairy Tail's reputation if we don't clean up the mess ourselves." said Erza, full of determination.

Howard levelled them a measured look, eyeing the mages present up and down.

Does it matter, he wonders, whether they live or die, win or lose? It doesn't matter, does it? The ghost and the mouse have many ploys, but none has ever contradicted the Republic's interest. Knowing them, this meeting was deliberately arranged, from the moment the ghost peeled off the seal locking the door to the gathering storm. The question is, what for?

He has a couple of ideas in mind, but in the end, the retrieval of Lelouch vi Britannia takes precedent over all else. He will play along, for now.

"There's one more thing-"

"That's the spirit!" A high-pitched voice cut him off, a majestic white owl swooped in, landing on the railing, with the well-dressed mouse hopping off its back.

Erza's gaze darkened at the sight, and the Fairy Tail mages all took a step back, consciously or not.

"You didn't tell us anything about this."

"About what?" queried Aiken innocently, wiping the water from his monocle with his sleeves.

"This storm, where you-"

"Ah, yes, yes…" The rodent stroked his whiskers, droplets of water dripping down, eyes growing glassy. "Pardon me, I'm getting quite old, my thoughts get all jumbled when I see the sweets dangling in front of my eyes."

There was nothing she can say to that sort of reply, but still-

Aiken smiled. "Nevertheless, I trust we have everything under control… well, save that ghastly thing over there, yes?"

"So it seems." Howard replied curtly.

Erza shook her head, turning back to her fellow guild members. "We need to prevent it from reaching the ship and ensure that no lives will be lost. Gray?"

"Yeah, my Ice-Make magic will be useful here, there's water everywhere." Gray glanced at the swirling ocean, with this, he won't have to pour out much magic to create ice and mould it. "I don't know if my ice will last long in a sea like this. The ice platforms will move around a lot, and stronger waves might just outright smash it, we need to move fast."

"I have something that might help." Aiken snapped his fingers, a bottle twice his size appeared in his hand in a blue flash.

Natsu bent down, eyeing the transparent green liquid. "What's this for?"

"This will smooth the flow of magic inside your body for a time, increasing usage efficiency and cut down on wastes." He said, tossing the bottle to the ice mage, "Drink. It'll help."

Gray sent a questioning gaze to Erza, to which he received an approving nod. And so, he chugged down his share, handing it to Natsu, then to Erza.

"Lucy?"

"I'm fine, you guys should share the rest, you need it more than I do." Lucy declined with a smile, if not a bit strained.

"What sort of mage are you, girl?" Howard questioned from the behind the wheel.

"I-I'm a Celestial Spirit Mage." stuttered Lucy.

"I'm sure you have some summon that can be of use." The captain said reassuringly, as though he fully understands the thoughts running through her mind. "We could use some muscles moving things around, there's no shortage of spirits like that."

The blond-haired mage pulled out the Golden Bull Key, and a tall, muscular humanoid with features reminiscent of a bull materialised from the smoke.

"Lucy! It's been so… long." Taurus trailed off as the rain splashed onto him. It didn't take long for him to realise the situation his summoner found herself in. Perverted as he is, when the time calls for it, he would act like a proper spirit and do his summoner's bidding with utmost seriousness, and this is one of those time. "How can I help?"

"Taurus, we need your strength down below, help the sailors out where you can." Lucy instructed, pointing to the deck.

A naval officer was scaling the stair as the summoning was taking place, stepping toward the spirit, giving Taurus a light tap, and gestured for him to follow.

"Go, Harvey will take over from here and direct you to where you are needed." Howard said, and Taurus' gaze lingered for a brief second on the captain before he left.

"Isn't that a gold key?" Aiken mumbled, his eyes on Taurus' back. "Lucy isn't it? Do you happen to be in possession of the one with power over water as well?"

"I-I do." The blond-haired mage replied, evidently surprised by the question, she didn't expect anyone to know about the keys save other Celestial Spirit mages. "Aquarius is really strong, but I don't think she will listen to me."

"I see…" The rodent gestured to the bottle, "Regardless, it would greatly aid you in maintaining your spirit in this world, you need it as much as the others."

Lucy appeared hesitant, but nevertheless complied with Aiken's proposal, taking a step toward the red-haired mage to receive the potion. Erza's encouraging smile did much to ease her nervousness, and she returned a smile of her own before finishing off the rest.

They chat amongst themselves, discussing their course of action and drawing up plans for half a minute as the beast close in. Before they could spur into action however, their body gave out, their consciousness robbed away as all four collapsed to the floor.

Aiken gave the owl a light pat. "Right, Sablier, help us along, that thing is getting closer and I don't like that at all."

Sablier hooted, spreading his wings and took off into the sky. Howard could feel the veil of magic pulsing through his form, all around them the motion of the pouring rain slowed down along with the waves, but the moment the droplets came close enough to the ship, the drops continue streaming down, as heavy as ever.

"The bull?" Howard asked, tapping his foot impatiently.

A cloaked figure emerged from the stair, its steps silent. The steel in its gloves glinted with a spark before it whipped the dagger back into the attire. "It has been sent back to where it belongs."

"We don't want them blabbering to the Magic Council about the young master. What changed?"

"My heart. It's a bit cruel, I think, sending them to one of Nereus' leviathans." Aiken said, a bored look on his face. That horn was just the tip of the great sea serpent, commonly mistaken for the tamer breed inhabiting near the coast, its real size must be at least four times larger than the Britannia. "That aside, Aquarius will notice the serpent's presence and warn them of the danger soon enough. She's no stranger to the god of the sea and his monsters."

Howard frowned, a finger stroking his chin. "And? They won't know until it is far too late, they cannot flee from the serpent's jaw."

"No, a deal has been struck, we have secured their silence." Walsingham explained calmly, if the negotiation were to fail, that would've been the fate awaiting them. A heroic sacrifice to save the defenceless Austellan crew would serve as a great explanation to justify their disappearance, something one like Makarov Dreyar would accept. Thankfully, such measure is no longer necessary.

Howard pointed to the mages slumbering on the floor. "It's settled then, haul them back to their cabins. The young master is waiting for us, we've wasted enough time as it is."

"Walsingham, be a good man, take them back, the task is far too gargantuan for one of my size." Aiken clapped once, the sound somehow made its way to them despite the battering rain and his tiny hands. "Weather's already shite as it is, it can't possibly get worse, I'm off to the kitchen-"

"Leave them. Harvey will find someone else for the job, you go and find a dark cabinet, then lock this mouse up."

Walsingham nodded, snatching the mouse off the railing before one could blink. "Gladly."

"Traitorous fuc-"

3 days later…

Walsingham pulled the drawer open. The rose-pink light of dawn slipped through the curtains, just enough for him to make out the form of its occupant, bound and gagged, lying on a scarf made from silky fox fur.

Muffled curses and inaudible profanity exploded at him, and he simply stared, until it had enough and stopped, before plucking the piece of cloth out.

"That man sleeps at night." Aiken whispered to the unmoving fox in utter disbelief. "How do you live with yourself? This is animal cruelty."

"You brought this on yourself."

"It's a part of the bloody plan!"

"Two or three would've been more than enough to catch the serpent's attention. You chomped down 15."

"You can't blame a bloke for a tad of overindulgence. It's been months since the last time I had a bite of sugar." The mouse huffed, holding out his hands expectantly. "It took decades, but I managed to learn how to manipulate the content of the storm. Sablier can still work his trick because I reined it in, we were never in any danger."

Walsingham severed the bind with a cut so quick Aiken couldn't even make out the weapon in his hand before it was tucked back to the cloak.

"They should be awake right now, it won't be long until they're done changing and knock on the door. Get dressed and expect an audience."

Aiken opened his mouth, primed and ready to shoot out another witty remark, but he realised that he just couldn't be bothered and promptly stopped. Two meals a day is hardly enough, he just doesn't have enough strength to keep his usual antics up.

So, he turned around and discarded the pyjamas, rummaged through a tiny cabinet to the side and changed into a new set of suits as Walsingham strolled out of the room, fixing the hat on his head and picking up the monocle, an old gift he dearly treasures.

He hopped off the drawer and onto the table, Howard is nowhere to be seen, navigation instruments and documents were gone from the surface, the large map now hang on the wall by the table. He imagined Howard must've buggered off to one of the luxurious cabin below, the dusty sea dog hates it when his days-long sleep gets disrupted. The sea is a large place, aye, but after decades it gets stale. One of these days the captain might just wandered off into the depths for months again, it seldomly happen but it happened before.

In front the table sat four wooden chairs, and four sets of breakfast, comprised of back bacons, pork sausages, fried eggs, fried mushrooms and two slices of fried bread. There is a smaller portion of the fry-up for him on the miniature version of the piece of furniture, and six pieces of fresh salmon sashimi set aside for the cat. A bit too heavy for breakfast if he had anything to say about it, but after three days of sleep, and for his part, locked in a drawer?

This is sorely needed.

He sniffed, taking in the pleasant aroma, they better not mess up the yolk, it ought to be a bit runny. They should build a shrine to the fellow who brought mechanical refrigeration to Austellus, he could never imagine this kind of meal on a ship without that brilliance, using sulphur as refrigerants to replace the need of magic? Ingenious.

The door swung open without a single knock, and the Fairy Tail mages stormed in, not happy in the least. The Titania has a particularly dark expression on her face, but really, it's hardly intimidating, he'd spent a long time in worse company. A cat, a viper and an owl, all of them predators to his kind. He often wondered if Lelouch's choice of pets was deliberate all along, to always have one to keep an eye on him in case his power-

…

He should reconsider the decision to rescue that twat.

"That potion sent us to sleep." Erza growled, her shadow looming over him.

He gave them a confused look, before letting realisation dawned on him.

"Ah, yes." He pointed to the potion sitting on the far corner of the room, the content within consisting of blue liquid. "A mishap on my part, I seem to have mistaken that one for the other."

"You drugged us." She accused, eyes narrowing.

"A mistake." He said regretfully, curling up, making his form smaller under their gazes. "I didn't mean to do that... besides, we got out, didn't we? The ship is safe, no one died, cargo loss is minimal, nothing of value was lost."

"It doesn't mean that you can-"

"I even got all your breakfasts ready as an apology…" He took off his hat, holding it close to his chest. No matter from which angle one looks at, he is now nothing but a harmless tiny mouse. His ears lowered, eyes looking up helplessly, his body trembling now and then. "Y-you're not going to shout at poor old Aiken over a tiny mishap, are you?"

The performance garnered a look of pity from Lucy and Happy, understanding for Natsu's part, but Gray remains suspicious. It was when the other three turns to Erza that she wavered, a bead of sweat dripping down her temple.

"Everyone is safe, I suppose…"

His ears perked up whilst he beamed at them, and by the way the girl turned away from him, he dares say she even felt a bit guilty for lashing out.

He smiled, gesturing to the food. "You all must be hungry, well, let's not dally, enjoy yourselves."

And enjoy they did, judging by the pace they go through the food, chattering amongst themselves happily, his past offence quickly forgotten.

'Food really is a wonderful weapon.' he thought to himself as he chewed on the piece of bacon.

He can't count all the times Austellan chefs have soothed over negotiations with other kingdoms with their expertise. Who'd have thought that cooking book Lelouch wrote would be so revolutionary and influential, especially when the norm in his world is a completely exotic cuisine in this one, really, the same could be said for the mountain of documents he left behind.

"The fish is so good!" said Happy… happily. The sentiment shared by the others toward the food offered to them.

"What are these black things?" Natsu frowned, poking at the grounded spice on the egg with his fork.

"Natsu, that's black pepper." Lucy answered, "It's fruit from a flowering vine, native to a series of small islands south of Enca."

"I've seen it once or twice in the capital's restaurants, it's a rare sight." Erza said.

"I'm not surprised if you haven't seen it… Natsu." Aiken said after a slight pause, hand reaching for the piece of bread, hopefully he got the name right. "The sheer distance pepper has to travel make the price for the northern countries absolutely exorbitant. It first head to Austellus via ships, then the southern countries, and from there the caravans must travel through Minstrel's great plains before hopping on another ship and sail to Fiore, which take months. It remains a luxury item, affordable only to the wealthy for most of Ishgar."

The blond-haired mage has a thoughtful look on her as she eyes the map by the table. "Couldn't the caravans cut through Joya to Stella, then head west? It's a shorter route."

"Look closely, Joya is surrounded by treacherous mountain ranges, it's incredibly dangerous attempting to cross it. That country might as well cut the continent in half, north and south, separated from each other."

"Why don't they just sail there?" Natsu took a bite out of the egg, the spice makes it tastes much better, he thought. It's a waste if everyone can't enjoy it!

"This ship's quite nice isn't it?"

The dragon slayer nodded slowly, not getting the point laid out.

"Have Fiore got something like this?"

"No…"

"No." Aiken smiled. "Save the Republic, everyone on the continent is rubbish at deep water navigation. We just couldn't be bothered to sail so far up north, the profit hadn't been worth the trip, and Minstrel was more than willing to compensate us to keep themselves the sole provider of southern goods to the northern countries. Now, however, with technological improvements in ship construction and naval navigations, the trip is no longer that much of a hassle. The potential earnings now exceeded what Minstrel could offer, and not just for spices, but for other goods as well."

"But there isn't a lot of Austellan ships docking in Hargeon." Lucy pointed out.

"If everyone just plays nice and follow proper free trade, laissez-faire policies we would be all over that tiny port." Aiken said scathingly. "You seem knowledgeable, have you heard of the name Heartfilia Konzern?"

The name has struck a chord with her, and he could see her body stiffened up. The reaction has gone largely unnoticed by her teammates. How odd…

"I do." She replied, forcing out a smile.

"Jude Heartfilia." He stopped, waiting for a reaction, and he received just that. The girl twitched in her seat and tried so very hard to sit straight. Hmm… "The head of that organisation, one of the wealthiest company in Fiore, is a staunch advocate of mercantilism. A policy, simply put, place tariffs on foreign goods imported aboard, to force us raise the price of merchandise to make a profit, and thus no longer competitive in the market. Even if the quality is superior, you wouldn't pay ten times the price for a piece of glassware, would you?"

"I wouldn't." Gray confirmed with a nod.

"The man knows full well that Fiore's companies cannot compete with Austellan's excellence. Clothing, furniture, armours, weapons, beverages, glasses, porcelain, silk, not to mention exotic goods that Fiore cannot produce like gems, coffee, tea, tobacco, sugar, spices… You name it, the quality of our products is unmatched. Once you have a taste of Austellan's craftsmanship, you will never spare another glance for anything else sitting on the same shelve. So, the bellend marched to the palace with the other merchant guilds and demand that the king enforces their mercantilist policies. Absolute fucking nonsense, the economy isn't a zero-sum game, protectionism fuckwit-"

Aiken kept on ranting, words streaming out without an end in sight, macroeconomic and microeconomic theories laced with curses came pouring out.

Natsu clutched his ears as the words far beyond his comprehension came pouring in, he could already feel a headache rising, Happy didn't fare much better. Gray's face were blank, he likely already filtered out all of it and is simply putting up an act.

"What is Austellus' response to the act?" Erza inquired, she doesn't know much about politics and economic policies, but conflicts and disputes often lead to violence.

"The High Council contemplated on blasting Fiore's ports to pieces and force a treaty."

Erza stood up from her seat, a dangerous gaze directed at Aiken. The rest react with varying degree of alarmed look, depending on how much they understand the situation at hand.

"I jest, I jest~" The tycoon chuckled, waving his hand dismissively. "It will be a diplomatic disaster with the other countries, no, they wouldn't do something like that, surely. The High Council await the return of Lelouch vi Britannia, they will hear what he has to say about this."

After all, they have worse ways to force Fiore to the negotiating table, far worse than a direct war. It won't do if they impoverished potential trade partners the mean to purchase their goods and harm the infrastructure they'll be using, extortions could never top mutually beneficial agreements in the long term.

A blaze of white soared through the open window, and in a flash snatched the rodent off the table. It left in the same quick, decisive manner that it arrived, and they could only blink in bewilderment with Aiken's scream echoing about the room from the distance.

Natsu opened the door and stepped out of the captain's cabin, moving toward the forecastle, with his friends following close behind. The ship has come to a halt, in front of them lies a sprawling blanket of purple mist, an oppressive miasma rising from the anomaly. The visibility is vanishingly small, he couldn't make out much, nothing but waves of the calm sea.

"It seems that we have arrived at our destination."

They turned toward the smooth voice, and the slender form of Walsingham is finally visible to them, ever since they boarded the ship five days ago, he was nowhere to be seen. Well, until he came to knock on their doors.

"What are we waiting for?" Natsu asked impatiently, "Why aren't we going in already?"

"Sablier and Aiken have gone ahead to scout the way." Walsingham answered, and of course, they would be more than sufficient to deal with any problem that may arise. "It's shouldn't take long, they'll be back any second now."

Just as the words left his mouth, the owl's form emerged from the mist, with the rodent on its back, clutching the hat to keep it from being swept away by the wind.

"Well, go on in, the way's clear." Aiken hopped onto the railing, muttering disdainfully, "I couldn't even finish my breakfast…"

"Any sight of the Sirène and Weißer Löwe?"

"They're the one who did my job for me, prepare accommodations for some four hundred."

Walsingham nodded to an officer and received one in return. The man hurried along the deck to relay the order and signalled to the rest of the crew.

Sails were hoisted at the moment's notice, the anchor pulled up, and the ship soared on ahead into the mist. Silence descended on the vessel as apprehension began to rise, with the mist swirling around them. It was uneventful, yet taxing at the same time, and they did not see the light of the sun for a good ten minutes.

The lazy water inside the mist is a complete contrast with the high sea outside, coloured with a dazzling blue, light enough to be considered teal, and so clear they could see the floor underneath. The greenery surrounded the coast in their sight, keeping everything else hidden behind save for the two mountains stretching to the sky far inland, obscured by another veil of mist. The sight brought many things to one's mind, but danger isn't one of them.

The ship continued along the coast, toward a steep hill to the left, before turning right into a large bay, the entrance flanked by another hill, which would serve as the perfect spot for a ship to dock and shelter from the environment. However, the first cause for alarm lies in that bay.

There were splinters of wood, broken crates and the sort floating on the water, to the right side lay the wreckages of two ships, and the corpse of an unmoving crab of colossal proportion, twice the size of the broken ships and at the very least half of the Britannia's size, leaning against the cliff. The frontal body from one of the ship was pinned in between its great claws, most likely snapped in half by the monster, with the lower part sunk beneath the water near the coast, clearly seen from where they stand. There were holes that punctured in the carapace, one of its massive eyes was blasted off by explosions, leaving behind black marks and a gaping hole. The second ship is stuck in the sand, with its left hull shattered. A group of people could be seen moving near the corpse and the ships' remains, waving at them.

The air was one of jubilation and joy as the ship close in, happiness and relief were visible on the faces on the stranded sailors with the crew on the ship cheering on for their accomplishment.

"It was pure luck that they caught that monster in the bay, and not in that mist." Walsingham shook his head, "They should've waited for further directives from the High Council before they rushed in."

"Don't be cranky, I never would've thought the ones from Midi and Sin can stay afloat, this is a bloody miracle." Aiken said, dusting off his suit.

"Not a single mage was on board, the loss of lives could be minimised." retorted Walsingham.

"They defeated that without magic!?" asked Lucy, shock crossing her feature.

"That's impossible!" exclaimed Happy and Natsu in astonishment, Gray has settled for a look of incredulity. Erza on the other hand, silently glanced at the cannon behind her with a pensive expression.

"We have a quest to complete, get ready." She said, clapping Natsu and Gray on their backs, and both winced at the impact. "We aren't here for a vacation."

"Well, I certainly am." The rodent remarked, strolling off, whistling to himself.

Walsingham let out a small sigh, turning to address the Fairy Tail's mages. "I will see you on the shore then. We will row in to the shore on smaller vessels, say the word and the men give you a ride."

"So, the Magic Council sent you lot to do their biddings?"

Erza turned away from the sparkling, clear water, toward the officer, standing by the head of the small boat with his men rowing the oars to propel it onwards. Natsu, Lucy and Happy were occupied with their hands hovering over the water's surface, playing about with smiles on their face. That leaves her and Gray to do the talking.

"We were chosen to put a stop to the emanating dark magic, yes."

"You all must be quite strong then." The officer smiled kindly, "It's comforting to know that there's powerful mages around in a dangerous place like this."

Gray glanced at the stranded men and the arriving sailors ahead. "They didn't have anyone like that with them, and they sailed in anyway."

"Sirène and Weißer Löwe were the closest ships to the island when news reached the Admiralty, orders were given to conduct a reconnaissance operation, they simply took it a step further." The man replied, "The Admiralty would have half the Western Fleet scuttled if necessary, they will ensure that we will succeed in our mission here. No one can fault them for acting on their own accord, they are doing it for the Republic."

Erza donned a stern expression. "To the point of recklessly risking lives?"

"I don't expect someone from the continent to know…" He mumbled, puffing smoke from his pipe.

"All life is precious, no matter where you are from." said Erza resolutely.

"Look at them." The man gestured toward the shore. "Do you see regret and despair?"

It wasn't difficult finding some who aren't sharing in the joyous mood, the ones standing near the graves by the sand were the most evident. As the vessel inches closer, she could make out faces of the sailors gathering around, the mounds are without tombstone, with only scribbles in the dirt to let the world know who they were. Sombre and solemn, yes, but there was no sign of despair or regret.

"We know that Austellus would never forsake us. We will be given food if we have nothing to eat, clothes if we have nothing to wear, a home if we have nowhere to live, medicines if we cannot afford them, and a school where we are afforded education without a single jewel. Anyone can rise from the bottom to the station befitting of their talents, with all given equal opportunities to prove themselves, we care not for noble blood nor populist sentiments. It is the duty of the state to take care of its people, and they have yet to fail us. We owed our nation our love, loyalty and our contributions. We are a part of our country, and the stronger it grows, the richer it gets, the better off Austellans will be." The officer snuffed out his pipe, "We all have a duty to fulfil, and Austellus expects that every man will do his part."

"Sir, if I may, you should reconsider your career path." suggested one of the men onboard.

"Aye, you'll be a better politician than you'll ever be a naval officer!" shouted another.

"Mr. Wright, Mr. Evans, neither of you get to complain about my leadership when you're this shite at your job." The officer replied good-naturedly. "Row faster you rascals! It'll be noon before we get to the bloody shore!"

Laughter burst out across the ship, and they couldn't help but smiled at the sight.

It was difficult for her to come up with a retort. Whilst Erza cannot entirely agree with the way of thought, she could understand it. She knows for certain that she is willing to give her life for her own guild if needs be, and it is not so much different for them and their country. The officer has given her much to ponder on.

The wood made contact with the sand a few minutes later, and the crew got off first, carrying supplies and food to the others.

Natsu hopped out, letting out a deep breath, he can't even begin to describe how much he appreciates the ground beneath him. The blue salt Walsingham gave him helped a great deal, but he would choose this over any ship any day.

"I missed you a lot solid land!" The dragon slayer fell flat to the sand, shouting all the while. "You're the best!"

"Natsu, get up. You're embarrassing Fairy Tail's name." Gray landed next to the pink-haired mage, giving him a light kick to the rib.

"You trying to start something jerk!?" Natsu shot up, butting heads with the ice mage. "If it wasn't for Erza-"

The Titania gripped their shoulder, exuding a demonic aura that froze them both where they stood. Without another word, Natsu and Gray quietly walked back to the ship and unload the supplies given to them in silence.

Lucy has a hand covering her small grin as she picked up her baggage. Erza was much stricter than usual during their time on the ship, after all, they are representing Fairy Tail, and to a degree, the Magic Council. Gray and Natsu were forced to behaved like sensible adults, lest Erza throw them off the ship herself. They'll go back to how they normally are the moment they're out of the Austellans' sight, without a doubt.

The officer was the last to leave, and parted with a nod, striding away to join the others by the shipwreck.

"There's something strange about the air…" Lucy muttered.

"Did you feel it as well?" Gray asked, turning to the blond-haired mage. "The magic in the air is… denser?"

Erza stroked her chin thoughtfully, there's a sensation tugging at her skin that she can't put into words. "Yes, the island seemed to be saturated with ethernano."

"What does that mean?" Natsu inquired with a tilt of his head.

A small ship made of ice materialised in Gray's hand, it appeared almost instantaneously, whereas a second or two is required normally. "We can afford to use more magic than usual; our body can absorb the magic in the air much faster and quickly regenerate our power."

Fire sparked in Natsu's hand, effortlessly and powerful. Even Lucy hardly feel any drain on her power summoning Plue.

As Erza cycled through her armours, and she could feel her power returning to her quicker than it normally would, but it felt… wrong. The foreign ethernano is dense and powerful, but it brought a sense of restlessness to her, disrupting her control over her own power, as though that was its way of saying that it doesn't belong to her.

She shook herself off her thoughts, "Don't get distracted, we need to find Walsingham."

Happy floated high on the air, swirling around to scan their surrounding before pointing to the monstrous crab. "There he is."

Walsingham was a couple of steps away from the corpse, chatting away with an officer with a tattered uniform, no doubt a part of the stranded sailors. Without further delay, they quickly make their way over to the crab. The closer they get, the more fearsome the beast appeared, its height easily surpasses Fairy Tail's headquarter. It's difficult to comprehend the sheer devastation that claw was capable of, and even harder to gauge the power needed to bring down the beast of this size.

"Erza, look." Gray approached the monster, one hand tracing the gap on the carapace. A hole has been punched in the beast, the rotting meats within have turned to mush.

Natsu took a step forward, knocking on the hard shell with his hand. "This is..."

"If this is the power of one cannon..." Erza frowned, the weapon requires no magic to fire, but its power is comparable to the one that does. "What can hundreds of them do?"

The question paints a frightening picture, just five warships half the Britannia's size could obliterate Hargeon's port and they would be helpless against it. They don't know about the range or how long it takes to reload, but given enough time, not just the port but the entire town could be wiped off the map.

"They can't do that!" Lucy was all but shouted. "Mages in Fiore won't stand by and let that happen."

"Ever since the Second Trade War, mages are forbidden from waging war against another, and that includes interfering with conflicts between nations, the law is made to lessen the possible casualties. Austellus' mages do not have to obey the laws of the Magic Council, but they have complied with this one." Erza muttered, biting her lips. "If Fiore's mages intervene, Austellus have every right to mobilise their own. The conflict will only escalate from there."

Natsu narrowed his eyes. "What should we do?"

"I don't know." Erza sighed, this is far beyond her and any of them.

"We can just destroy all of the cannons!"

Gray whipped toward Natsu. "Idiot! Do you want to start a war!?"

"Do you have a better idea? Huh!?"

"That's enough!" Erza shouted. "I will inform master about this when we return, now, we have a mission to complete."

Natsu and Gray broke off each other's grip and complied with the order, without a solution in mind. The circumstance however, weighs heavily on Lucy's mind.

They caught Walsingham's gaze soon enough, and he promptly wrapped up the conversation, strolling toward them.

"Aiken has brokered a deal with you." He stated, getting straight to the point. "I trust we are aware of our objective here?"

"Lelouch vi Britannia." Erza briefly mentioned, pulling out the amethyst crystal.

"Shall we begin then?"

"What about-"

"They will remain on the coast to salvage what they can from the wreck. Jot that down on your report to the council." Walsingham answered evenly.

Erza spared him a brief glance, and with that settled, she strode on ahead. The crystal seemed to give out a soft glimmer if she was heading the right way and goes mute if she wasn't. It's rather simple and straightforward.

And so, they began making their way through the jungle, north toward the mountains. Erza was at the front, leading the way with the crystal on her hand, Natsu and Happy followed right behind, with Lucy at their backs and Gray at the rear. They cut their way through the dense, suffocating undergrowth, fighting through the air, which hung heavy, moist and still. Trees tall as cathedrals surrounded them, and a green light shimmered through the leaves.

"So hot…" Gray mumbled miserably, sweat streaming down his face, his shirt already off long ago.

Natsu fared much better, but even someone like him could feel the humid heat. Happy was sprawling on the pack behind Natsu's back, with his stamina completely drained half an hour ago.

"Don't melt ice cube." snickered Natsu. "You can take-"

"Shut up."

Lucy swiped a sweat of her brow, eyes moving to the front, where Erza continue moving on in her armour without any sign of slowing down, crystal glowing in hand.

"Erza, don't you feel hot?"

The red-haired mage turned back with a puzzled look. "No, isn't it a bit cold?"

They all looked at her as thought she had lost her sanity, the heat can do that to people, but there isn't a single drop of sweat on her face.

"Have you gone mad?" Gray asked incredulously, letting the question slip off with his fear for Erza temporarily forgotten.

Happy flew toward her, wobbling here and there in his flight, paws reaching for her forehead. "Are you okay?"

Before Erza could reply, the cat's eyes widened at the sensation he felt from his tail. Without another word, he shot himself at the crystal in her hand.

"So cooool." Happy drawled joyfully.

Gray pushed past Natsu, completely ignored the protest from the dragon slayer, and indeed, he could feel the refreshing air radiating from the crystal, enveloping a small area around Erza. It didn't take long for them to form a crowd around her, squeezed in the middle of them all.

"I can't move." said Erza.

"You don't need to." They chorused.

Erza let out a sigh, shaking her head. "Walsingham?"

The man in question was nowhere to be seen, gone from their sights yet again. If she didn't mention his name at all they could've gone ahead without noticing anything missing.

"I haven't seen him since we left the shore." Lucy said, turning around to look for the figure. "He really is a ghost."

On cue, the black cloak emerged from the greenery in front of them, shuffling out with a pat on his shoulder to move the leaves out of the way.

"There's a river up ahead, we can make a stop there." He said, pointing to the way behind him.

The moment the word river left his mouth, Natsu, Gray and Happy shot right past without further ado, a cloud of dust in their wake.

A small smile graced Lucy's face, that just leaves more room for her.

"It's been hours, we could use some rest I suppose." Erza said, it seems that the way to the river aligned with their destination. "Where have you been?"

"Scouting out the area, I have also secured a mean to travel along the river." Walsingham answered. "This island is… odd."

Lucy glanced at the hooded man and found herself wondering if he was mad or simply have a way of his own to deal with the heat. "The magic?"

"No, there isn't a single living insect and bug around. The animals that feast on them instead absorb magic and plants to nourish themselves."

"Living beings cannot survive in areas with extremely concentrated ethernano." Erza mused, "This island has a dense layer of magic, but not extreme enough to wipe out more than small lifeform, if I were to guess."

"It poses a problem." Walsingham muttered as they pushed through the dense vegetation to the riverbank. They could see Happy drifted about the surface whilst Natsu and Gray submerged their body under the slow-moving river, their belongings chucked on the rowing boat docking a few centimetres away.

"You got your clothes wet." said Lucy disapprovingly, reaching forward to set her baggage onto the boat. At this rate they'll get hers wet too when they get out of the water.

"Natsu can dry it for us in minutes." Gray remarked, referring to the convenient source of flame. Lucy however, appears unconvinced with the claim.

A mischievous grin crept onto Natsu's face, and the dragon slayer edged toward Lucy silently whilst she remains occupied with the task. Undetected, he wrapped his fingers around her ankle and pulled, dragging the blonde down to the water. The sound she made as she plunged into the river won't be forgotten by any of them anytime soon.

She was fuming by the time she surfaced, but what annoyance she may felt quickly melted away amidst the laughter.

"Where did you find the boat?" Erza asked, a smile on her face as she watches the irritated Lucy chase after Natsu.

"I can be very resourceful." Came a curt reply, sensing the unwillingness to elaborate the matter further, Erza leaves it at that.

She placed her own supplies onto the boat, jumped onto the vessel, holding the crystal in the air. It glinted as she lines it with the two mountains in the distance, where the river seemed to curve toward, with the current flowing to the northeast. This would greatly shorten the distance they need to travel if the current could lead them toward their destination.

"I spoke with one of the officers from the Sirène regarding the potential threats on this island that the crew may have stumbled on." Walsingham began.

"This is the problem you speak of." Erza deduced. "What is it?"

"For this part of the island, tigers and pythons. I would advise extreme caution, as the predators on this island can be considered magical creatures, if not by natural adaptation then by feasting on their preys."

She could only offer a blank stare in response, tiger she has heard of, but certainly not pythons.

"You mentioned 'this part' of the island."

"The other half of the island, starting from that mountain over there, is a barren tundra." He said, glancing at the sprawling mist surrounding the peaks. "I have no doubt that is where the battle occurred, none of the sailors dared to venture further in. Most of the residue of dark magic gathers there. We don't have to concern ourselves with it, Howard should be on the other side right now."

Erza narrowed her eyes, "What is he doing over there?"

Walsingham leaned back onto a tree, arm crossed. "Our goals are aligned, Miss Scarlet. You needn't hold such suspicion toward us, we desire the return of Lelouch vi Britannia, and you need him to put an end to the dark magic. We are not your enemy."

A veil of silence descended upon them as they gauged each other, a match which she is at a clear disadvantage, what with the mist surrounding his hood.

"As for the answer to your question." Walsingham said, breaking the tense mood. "We need to survey the site of battle and recover… relics, if you will, that belonged to the first chairman. It is imperative to your effort in stopping the spread of dark magic as well. We should – no, we must deliver the relics into his hands."

It is vital, indeed, because if they were to lose those two favourite toys of his, only the gods know how he will take the news.

Powerful individuals often have the most trivial of reasons to act the way they do.

"It must be dangerous." Erza said in an alarming tone. "We should be the one on the other side."

"The two individuals sent by the High Council are highly capable. I can speak with confidence that they will reach him first, along with the relics, if we dally and travel at this pace."

He would've arrived by now if he were on his own. Alas, politics with the Magic Council dictate that the Fairy Tail mages must have enough materials on their hand to write a believable report, and at the same time leaving out the main component that drives it all. He cannot forge the documents himself, since Makarov Dreyar would hear of the report, and given how well he knows his guild, could notice something amiss.

"Erza!" Natsu called out from the distance, waving at her from behind the leaves by their left. "We found some eggs over here!"

"We will continue shortly." Erza said, setting her feet back onto the solid ground. "I need to make sure they don't get in any trouble."

"By all means."

AN: This chapter should've been around 4000 words longer, but I decided to just bunch up everything together the next chapter and wrap up the arc there.

Now, dear readers, I could use some help to figure out the denonyms for the countries in Ishgar. Bugger me it's hard coming up suitable ones with the name Mashima-sensei gave them.

Bosco? Boscian, that's fine. Seven? Sevenan, pronounced like se-ve-nan, that sounds alright, not bad. Fiore? Uh...