Mikoto, Natsu, Lucy, Nicole, Elli, and Happy walked through streets of Honolulu. Aside from the fact that they looked extremly tired, they might have been tourists like most of the people in the city. On their left, the coast was visible across the streets, multiple umbrellas and people in bathing suits all enjoying the sun and water.
Nicole was carrying a large green back pack, which was all they could recover that was left of their luggage from the plane crash, she had managed to snag the bag on the way out of the hospital. By a stroke of dumb luck, the bag contained the bare essentials. Extra clothes for everyone, toiletries, and a hundred bucks in cash. However, Mikoto had no idea if it would be enough money to get a short transfer flight to the Big Island.
Happy had suggested that he and Elli fly them to the island one by one. Had the Big Island been right next to Oahu..Mikoto might have given it a try, but with this kind of distance, Mikoto was worried that she might tire the two Exceeds to the point of death..especially with multiple trips..
"Well, Hawaii probably has it's own lottery too.." said Lucy. "Maybe Mikoto could hack into that?"
"It looks like I might have to.." said Mikoto. "But I don't really like having to steal just to get around."
"Well it doesn't look like we'll be doing any deposits or withdrawels for a while." said Nicole. "Take a look at this."
The others stopped to look where Nicole was looking. It was a television store's shop window which was currently displaying the local news. On it was footage of an ambulance running out of a hospital.
"The strange assailants not only caused chaos in the hospital, but managed to hijack an ambulance for unclear purpose." said the news woman. "While it is still unclear why they did this, the assailants have been identified as members of one of the magic guilds from the dimension of Earthland which has recently been closed down due to a devestating darkness that has taken hold of that world. It is unclear what the guild members are doing so far from the current warzones of Europe and Asia..but if anyone sees these individuals, call this hotline immediately."
The phone number was displayed and photos of the entire group were provided. A family of three who were also watching the television looked at the group with slightly open mouths.
Natsu waved cheerfully back while Mikoto slapped a hand to her forehead. "Oh crap.."
The group ran as fast they could down the street before turning into a Dennys several blocks down. Nicole took several hats out of her bag and everyone put a cap on and lowered it over their faces. Happy and Elli, being the most noticable of the group due to being cats that walked on their hind legs, put on little toddler sized pants and hoodies and hid their tails so they looked like small children.
"This is going to be a problem." said Mikoto. "We need passports to even get on a flight, not mention we need to actually show ourselves to claim lottery prizes."
"I've heard there are ways in this world to create false identities." said Nicole. "We might have to consider doing that."
"Then we'd be in even bigger trouble." said Lucy.
"We're already in huge trouble." said Mikoto. "We can't afford to even have them detain us, that only gives Dravis more time to brew up whatever trouble he's brewing. He knows by now that we're closer then ever to destroying him, I wouldn't be surprised if he plans to have this dimension under his thumb by the end of the week. Heck, they're already Etherial Wyrms attacking Britian, and that was supposed to be the safe zone thanks to Necessarius."
"Aye! Mikoto's right!" said Happy. "But does any of us know how to make fake identities?"
"Well, if I had a computer and a camera." said Mikoto. "I could hack us up some...but this is a new one for me...I've never used my powers to this kind of extent before, I might make mistake."
"Well, there's somethinig else we might have to consider." said Nicole. "And you aren't going to like it...none of us are."
"What?"
"When you think about it...we're the only members of Fairy Tail that weren't caught in the plague." said Nicole. "Though I guess Touma might count because of his immunity...But right now the easiest the thing that will most easily identify us to any authority is..."
"No.." said Mikoto as she felt a cold chill on her right shoulderblade where her guild mark was. "Not that.."
"You can't be suggesting we remove our.." said Lucy as she grasped her right hand in shock.
"Our guild insignias are like flags signalling who we are." said Nicole. "I hate it too...after my time in this guild, this mark has meant everything to me...a symbol of our family...but if the world gets destroyed because of our pride, then what then?"
Natsu gritted his teeth. "There has to be another way, we can wear more covering clothes or something."
"Won't work." said Nicole. "Didn't you hear about the new wartime bill that was passed?"
After the beginning of the war, the UN and Magic Council had made a joined agreement that at every checkpoint, authorities would be allowed to use magic detectors to check for guild marks. Supposedly it was a way to root out any forces from Grimoire Heart, Tartarus, and Hydra Head that might be trying to infiltrate certain areas. It was also a way to identify allies from official guilds. Mikoto remembered the strange high tech looking wand that an airport security gaurd had waved over her. The wand had beeped once it reached her shoulder blade and she had been identified as a Fairy Tail member.
"W-we can't afford not to remove the marks.." said Nicole. "Besides...if we survive this, we can just get new marks...right?"
Mikoto felt like she couldn't breathe. Her mark...removing it...just the possibility of removing it was like blowing off her leg all over again, only this time without the possiblity of recovering it. She didn't care if she survived this or not...if there was a bigger possibility of her dying in the end...she wanted to die wearing her pride proudly upon her skin.
Mikoto looked up to see that Nicole was crying. Tears were pouring down her face. "I-I don't want to either okay...but we have no choice...especially if we're going to beat Dravis...it's for the greater good...right?
W-well we can't remove our insignias anyways!" said Natsu. "We don't have any removers or any-"
"Actually." said Lucy who looked positively horrified that she had even spoken up. "I have enchantment remover in my pocket..in case we ever got any serious magic injuries.."
Everyone stared as Lucy shakily brought out what looked like a pink wand.
"No..." said Natsu. "NO!!"
"Natsu, quiet down..you're making a scene." said Elli.
Indeed many people in the Dennys looked up to see what the commotion was about. A nervous waitress walked over to the group. "Erm...May I help you?"
"I'm so sorry about that." Mikoto said putting on the best fake smile she could. "My friend here's just really hungry. C-could you get us a table soon?"
"Sure Miss...We've got a table free right now...are you all right Miss? Your hands are shaking."
"It's okay.." said Mikoto. "I-I'm just tired..."
As the group sat down at a table, Mikoto couldn't help but remember that one time back in Fulmen when some handmaidens had tried to remove her guild mark. She had been absolutely vehement towards them, ready to fight even a couple of unarmed people just to preserve the mark of her pride and joy...and now...it looked like she would have no choice...
Guilds didn't last forever, neither did life...Mikoto had accepted that..it was an inescapable truth...but that didn't mean people should hold on to what they had while they could...like family, friends...people who had sacrificed themselves so that their loved ones could live and do what was needed. People like Maverick, who died to protect Mikoto...like Accelerator, who threw himself into an endless sleep so that the world might be saved...like Touma..who was now journeying through a world of darkness in a mission to end the plague.
"Let's do it.." said Mikoto breaking the silence.
Everyone else looked at Mikoto.
"We can't swim to Taiwan and Britian." said Mikoto. "And any alternate way to get anywhere without revealing ourselves and having to fight the government would only fail. And with our numbers there's no way we can fight our way through everything...the world has Anti-magic units now thanks to the whole war...even Gildarts would get captured eventually against what they have...and we can't waste time fighting..."
Natsu stood up. Mikoto prepared herself for him to start shouting. But then..
"Mikoto's right." said Natsu. "We don't have a choice here. If we don't do this...guild marks won't matter, cause Fairy Tail..the world..everything will be gone..we have to do this..for all our friends.."
Mikoto gaped at Natsu. He was the last person Mikoto ever thought would agree to this strategy.
3 hours later, Mikoto was sitting in the bathroom of a hotel room as Lucy moved the wand over her right shoulder blade..
"It's gone..." said Lucy shakily. "I-it's gone..."
Mikoto couldn't help it, she began to cry uncontrollably into Lucy's shoulder for what seemed like hours. She wasn't the only one. Nicole sat in one of the bedrooms of the hotel, feeling her now bare arm as tears dropped into her lap.
Natsu was standing at the window of the hotel room, Happy at his side.
"So what do we do now?" Happy asked.
"We keep going." said Natsu. "The first gate is supposed to be in a volcano on the Big Island...so we need to find a way to get there.."
"And I've found a way.." said Mikoto who came out with Lucy following her. Mikoto's eyes were red from crying and she had a laptop under her arm. "I took this from an electronics store...don't ask how..it wasn't pretty."
Mikoto opened the laptop where she already had what looked like ID card templates set up. Natsu's photo had already been fit into the first template.
"I've been using this computer as a connection for my powers to infiltrate the national database." said Mikoto. "The security is too high now thanks to the wartime situation for me to do much, but I was able to set up some temporary IDs that might work.
Happy looked at Natsu's fake I.D. "It says he's Vincent Johnson from Lawrence High School.
"That's the thing." said Mikoto. "I found a student field trip program that hits every country in the world. It lets a group of students explore a designated scheduled area in the world as part of world studies. They get their own lodgings...and a teacher chaperone for every destination...it's not the safest way..but it's the only one I could find."
Mikoto touched a finger to the computer, and a slight small spark of electricity jumped from her finger into the computer. Immediately images on the computer changed. "I've been hacking the database. According to this, we're students who are scheduled to get on a plane flight to the Big Island in 3 hours..."
"Well then.." said Nicole who had just entered the room, wiping her eyes. "We should go."
Mikoto nodded..slowly the group poured out of the room until only Natsu and Lucy were left standing in the room.
Lucy walked over to Natsu and hugged him tightly while he did the same.
"We cry over the silliest things don't we?" said Lucy.
"Yeah." said Natsu. "But that's only because it represents the most precious things..."
"I know this is going to end." said Lucy. "But how will it end?"
"With Dravis dead.." said Natsu determinedly. Natsu kissed Lucy on the forehead. "And us all together.."4
R.I.F.T. Trivia
1. 4 months after the emergence of the Rainbow Gateway, it became required that your passports tell which guild you were in. I.D. Cards called MG cards (Magic Guild) were given distributed to all official guilds as a way to conduct jobs in highly dangerous and restricted areas, such as government facilities and places like Israel and Iraq. Mikoto has her own MG card and has used it once when she and Lucy went on a job to take down a small dark guild that was trying to ransom off a German government official at an embassy in Egypt.
2. Mystia Fernandes's last name is no coincidence. She is actually Jellal's sister, though Jellal is the only one aware of this relation, believing Mystia to have been killed when the villages were raided years ago to find children to build the Tower of Heaven.
3. Misaki Shokuhou has become as well known as Mirajane, having done a lot of modeling for Sorcerer Weekly. Her first debut in one issue sold out in a matter of 3 days. After that, Misaki and Mira have often been seen on covers together.