Stella, Northern Forest.
"Has Master Dragneel arrived?" Asked Kaori, as she sat under a tree, "We won't be able to hide in this place for too long."
Wanda was standing on top of a tree, observing the area. "I don't see any signs of him within one kilometer, I believe he is still somewhere out there."
She turned towards Kaori, "What should we do?"
Kaori closed her eyes for a moment, before answering, "Let's rest first. I am not as strong as when I was a teen, and fighting that many knights along with Zash took a toll on me."
"Same here," Wanda sighed, as she jumped down from the tree, "I can't wait for our disciples to grow up so that we can retire."
"Have a drink," Kaori tossed a metallic water bottle to Wanda, who caught it, "I have placed Observation Papers around us, I will know if enemies approached us. You can relax."
"Then why did you have me climb a tree," Wanda groaned, "My old bones are killing me. If I was in my prime, I would have already killed that Zash."
"We don't know about that."
Kaori and Wanda's eyes widened hearing an unfamiliar voice as they immediately went to battle stance and scanned the surroundings.
There was silence, only the rustling of leaves and grass was heard, but the two never let their guards down.
"Found ya'."
The two looked up and saw a young man squatting on a large round crystal orb, grinning at them. He is dark skinned young man with light blue spiky hair, black slanted eyes who wears a yellow and white tunic, matching arm sleeves, and black gloves.
His capris match his tunic and sleeves to finish out with brown boots. He also wears a red scarf around his neck.
"Yahoo~!" The young man grinned at them, "I'm Gapri, a member of Stella's Three Stars. Here to follow our orders and capture you two, thieves."
"Paper Blizzard: White Dance!" Kaori moved swiftly summoned a bunch of white papers, sending them towards the man who identified as Gapri.
White Dance are papers that can freeze her target after it surrounds them.
However, Kaori knew that this would not be enough to completely defeat her enemy, so she hurriedly grabbed Wanda to escape.
"Paper Blizzard: Blue Dance!" Kaori summoned a bunch of blue papers and formed a blue paper boat as she threw Wanda inside before jumping on it herself.
The boat floated and sped through the forest, leaving Gapri behind.
If they were in their peak condition, they would've chosen to fight instead of just escaping. But unfortunately, they were not.
If they tried to fight, even though they are sure to win, it would take quite some time which would be more than enough for their pursuers to catch up to them and surround them.
They don't want that. So they simply chose to escape.
Unfortunately for them, they couldn't even escape as a projectile smashed apart their boat, causing them to fall down.
Kaori managed to land on a branch, panting as she already felt quite exhausted, 'Damn this old body.'
Wanda also safely landed, as she stared towards where the boat used to be, and saw a woman falling down from the sky with what's left of the boat.
She is a voluptuous dark skinned woman with green eyes, a bunny tail, and silver hair that forms out with bunny ears protruding from her head.
Wearing a revealing armor breastplate, two long white gloves with gaping parts around the forearm, and a black loincloth-like dress that attaches to her armor, finishing with a pair of leg armors while leaving her feet exposed.
She also wears a long, yellow scarf around her neck and a black tiara with a star in the center in the top of her head.
"Greetings." The woman smiled at them, "I am Swan of Three Stars. Would you like to accompany me to a dance?"
The woman, Swan, did not wait for a response as she swung her legs sideways, creating a large and completely visible whirlwind.
It wasn't anything that could harm them, but it was strong enough for Kaori to stumble down from the tree she was standing at and fall down on the ground.
Swan did not continue her attack, she put her hands on her hips, and raised one of her leg and put her foot on her other thigh, forming a "4" shape with her legs.
"I have heard that the thieves were old men," said Swan, her eyes drawn on the staff strapped at the back of Wanda, "but it seems you two are as skilled in disguise as I in dancing. Unfortunately, you lack finesse."
"Plant Vines!" Cosmos was quick to move, summoning a large flower with her magic, and with it, out came dozens of vines speeding towards Swan.
The dark skinned woman grinned, "Useless!" She declared, swinging her legs and summoning a bunch of sharp crescent shaped light that easily cut through the vines.
The lights continued heading towards Wanda and Kaori.
"Paper Blizzard: Gray Dance!" Kaori summoned several gray papers, forming a shield that protects them from the light.
"Spore Bomb: Rinka Renka!" Following Kaori, Wanda summoned countless large spores before hurling them towards Swan.
Frowning, the dancer lady was quick to move her feet and dodges every spores.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Her eyes slightly widened seeing the spores exploding with force strong enough to shatter the ground.
"You're fast." Wanda clicked her tongue, slightly sweating.
"I sure am." Swan tapped her feet, "Though I prefer the word; agile."
Just then, Gapri, who was trapped by Kaori earlier, just suddenly appeared, coming down from the sky and riding the large crystal orb.
"Looks like you got everything covered, Swan." Said Gapri.
"They weren't much," Swan shrug, "If they weren't exhausted it would probably be a challenge."
"Hehehe," Gapri chuckled, before turning towards their target, "You two, the final member of our Three Stars is heading right now, accompanied by Lord Zash and thousands of knights. Even if you managed to hold us back, you still wouldn't be able to escape."
"Hand over the staff," Swan smiled at them, "No one has to get hurt. Unfortunately, we will have to imprison you for daring to steal our national treasure."
"It's not even yours." Wanda stated.
"Details." Swan shrugs. "now hand it over."
"Unfortunately." Wanda shook her head.
Swan took a deep breath and nodded, "Very well. I hope you two are prepared to face the consequences."
With that, the two groups once again clashed.
...…
...
…
"There aren't any guards?" Natsu wondered as he sneakily walked through the halls, his arms carrying his scarf that holds the essence flame. "Strange."
He would've thought that the kingdom would increase their security after they found out that the staff has been stolen.
Guess he was wrong.
But why though? This doesn't make sense to leave their palace unguarded just after a heist. Are they idiots?
Well, it's easier for him anyway.
"Hey."
Natsu flinched. Turning his head, he saw a young woman with light brown hair standing behind him. His eyes slightly widened, realizing that this woman was the one that called out to that one man in front of the flame earlier.
The woman, Sonya, looked at Natsu carefully. Observing him from top to bottom, "…An unfamiliar 'face', I assume you are with the group who stole the staff?"
Natsu raised his guard, "What if I am?"
Sonya hummed, nodding slightly before turning around and said, "The guards have surrounded the palace, you won't be able to escape if you continue."
"I see." No wonder he didn't see any guards inside, so all of them were stationed outside. Sounds idiotic, did they even think that maybe the 'thieves' would endanger the life of their king?
"If you don't want to be captured, follow me." Said Sonya. "There's a secret passage here leading to the river outside the palace."
Natsu hesitated for a moment before deciding to follow her. He walked a step behind her, carefully observing her every move just in case she decided sneak attack him.
But as they went further and further with him noticing no signs of malice, he couldn't help but ask; "Why are you helping me?"
Sonya took awhile to answer, "I guess, you could say I don't want to see more people get hurt."
"Then why are you with the king? From what I know, he isn't really that merciful." Said Natsu.
Sonya hummed, before she lowered a candle stand on the wall as it revealed a dark tunnel hidden behind it.
Without wasting any words, she went inside, with Natsu following her. The wall quickly closed down and the dark tunnel was lit up by glowing crystals.
"His majesty actually used to be a very kindhearted and caring man." Said Sonya, "He's a benevolent king who cared for his subjects."
Around ten years ago, Stella used to be a very poor and backward country with a corrupt government, there was no order and nobles ran rampant, treating commoners as nothing more than livestocks.
The then young King Animus rallied the people and overthrew the monarchy, and stripping off the nobles wealth, land, and authority.
The people then chose him to be the king, and within the short time of no less than a decade, Stella underwent rapid industrialization and fast economic growth.
King Animus heavily invested on infrastructure and education and has now become the continent's largest provider of magic tool engineers.
With King Animus' policies and economic knowledge, Stella has become one of the world's major exporters of goods; especially magical devices and magic weapons.
"Here we are," Sonya said as they finally left the tunnel, arriving in a forest with what seems to be a ruins with a river right next to them.
Natsu turned towards Sonya, "Thank you."
Sonya nodded, "It's nothing." She sighed, staring at him, "Can you give the staff back to us? It's important."
Natsu shook his head, "It's my job to steal the staff, nothing personal."
"The staff is the only one that can prevent our country from being destroyed," Sonya bit her lips, "If we released its power, we can prevent Stellarium from—"
"That's bullshit," Natsu stated, stunning Sonya, "Dragon Cry is bathed from resentment and anger of thousands of fallen dragons. If its power was released, it would ultimately lead to the destruction of your kingdom and even endanger the continent."
Sonya shook her head, finding it ridiculous, "That's not what his majesty said."
Natsu just stared at her before turning around, "I see. Then believe what you want to believe. Once again, thank you for helping me. Farewell."
With that, Natsu disappeared into the forest.
Sonya just stared at him as he left, not saying a word.