Firefall || Fairy Tail

62 : t h e . c h a r g e

Amber sat up against the lone tree on the ridge as she waited for the sun to rise. She had been dead asleep when Erza had wandered over toward the cliff edge, activating the sensor in her barrier to wake her. But she hadn't said anything, just leaned there, waiting with the redhead for the day to officially begin.

"Magnolia used to be a town full of life." Erza's voice was even as she spoke out into the air. "And our guild was at its heart. But those warm and joyous days are gone."

Amber was forced to contain a chuckle as Natsu let out a snore almost in response to what the redhead was saying. Happy didn't help by muttering about fish in his sleep. The Blood mage covered her mouth to stop herself as Erza just gave them a caring smile.

"Cherish those dreams. And rest well."

Off in the distance, the morning light finally managed to break over the mountains. It brought more of a warmth to the world than Amber thought it would. She had been expecting to feel the foreboding and the anxiety turning through her bones, but she was calm. Then Erza continued speaking.

"Because this may be the final dawn we face together. We'll need our strength. And each other."

Those words rang through Amber's mind, lingering as her mind drifted to the things that the Mythics had tried to accomplish over the two years they were gone, what those words could mean if they finally accomplished their mission.

"The final one?" Natsu sat up, "Not if I can help it."

The others began rousing as well, all getting to their feet. Amber followed suit, finding a place next to Juvia.

"It'll be tough," Happy stood between his two best friends, "but Fairy Tail isn't gonna give up that easily."

Lucy agreed, "Come on. Let's go."

And Natsu was just as ready to go, "We'll bust in and get our guild back. For the sake of our future. For Fairy Tail."

"We shall." Erza nodded as the sun continued to rise.

The morning glow cascaded down, shrinking the mountains' shadows to reveal the enemy that they were facing. Rows upon rows of Alvarez soldiers stood at the ready to keep them from reaching the building that stood almost suspended in the air by the world, like a child's treehouse.

Lucy peered over at the army, "That's a whole lotta soldiers."

"If we wanna get back home, they're in the way."

Gray agreed with Natsu," We're gonna have to fight our way through."

"Sounds good to me." Happy seemed more ready to go than normal.

"It's obvious we're heavily outnumbered," Erza spoke, trying to be the voice of reason in the group, "so we can't charge in headlong without a plan. But what?"

"Come on!" Natsu cried enthusiastically, "We'll have back up before you even know it! No way these jerks'll stop us!"

"Yes, you're right, Natsu!" Erza's entire attitude shifted as her determination flared, "Let's move forward. When the others get here, we'll push harder until we reach the guild!"

Amber thought about speaking up to confirm the Fire Dragon Slayer's mention of reinforcements, but quickly decided against it. The others would be there soon enough and she didn't want to mess with the natural morale that this team was bringing out in each other. It made her miss the rest of her own team. These thoughts were only driven further home when Gray and Natusu started up their usual rivalry with one another.

"So who's gonna beat Zeref first, huh? Let's make it a race, Natsu!"

"Yeah! Fire's in the belly!"

But of course, that was the moment his stomach decided to let out a loud growl.