IMPORTANT

Welcome back lovelies, it's me Mslead! Here is the introduction of the long, awaited Empire! We're going to be updating this fic, and other ones a little differently than we have in the past. Kytrin and I have moved into the My Hero Academia fandom, and we will be soon posting fics for that series. However our backlog for My Hero fics and Fairy Tail fics is UNBELIEVABLE. We didn't want them to just sit around though, so we decided to post them all at once! That means you guys get the whole fic of Empire at once!

WARNING: This means this fic will be largely unedited and any NSFW scenes will not be marked as they have in the past. This is your warning right now for the grammar and spelling issues you may run into! TW: Captivity, Questionable situations, panic attacks, icky situations. If these bother you, I suggest maybe passing on this fic.

That being said, please enjoy and we sincerely hope you enjoy the story!

CHAPTER 1

Chance.

So much could change in a matter of seconds as a result of chance. Kings could fall and empires crumble, all by the difference of a single moment.

In facility just a couple of miles away from the nearest town was where chance took a moment to smile.

A man in a white coat went slamming into a wall, brick and tile went crumbling under the force of the impact. He didn't move, neck broken from the force of his body hitting the unforgiving surface.

Quiet fell after the shuttering rasp of the man's last breath, the shadow of a man hovering over the body.

The white hallways shifted in color, painted red by the blaring of an alarm. The man staring at his kill, jolted at the sound, seeming to come back to his senses. A low growl burst from his throat and he disappeared around the corner.

Lady Luck took that moment to smile on the escaping man. A crack of lightning outside caused the alarms to die down and cameras fail.

And by the time the secondary generator kicked back up as a failsafe, the man was gone. His escape by a broken window on the second floor. Blood clung to the shattered glass, large pieces glaring with the light from bolts of electricity dancing from the outside sky.

When the building was secured, a tall man dressed wholly in black stood illuminated by the broken window. He stared out at the lashing rain, ignoring the screams of the prisoners shocked by the disappearance of one of their own.

"Sir, designation Salamander couldn't have gotten far. He's injured, let me send out a team for recovery," a man in a neatly pressed suit spoke on the others side.

Black eyes turned towards the suit that spoke, his mouth relaxed in a soft smile, "You don't know my little brother well at all if you think a minor injury like that will stop him."

He turned away from the window, lightning cracking vividly to illuminate his face.

"Send out the demon gates Invel," he spoke, smile unwavering.

"But Zeref sir, there's a town nearby. The demon gates they—" Invel murmured but was cut off by Zeref's disinterested glance.

"And make sure these prisoners are under control. I won't have a repeat of what happened here today. They must have no hope that escape is possible," Zeref spoke over Invels protests.

"Yes sir."

—::—

Lucy suppressed a groan as the idiot currently dancing attendance on her tried to lean in to kiss her neck. Ordinarily she wouldn't have minded. There was little that got her blood up quite like pulsing music, alcohol, and someone hot to warm her bed. However, this time she wasn't interested. The routine was getting predictable and boring.

"Not tonight Bora." She sighed as she moved out of range and took a sip from her glass.

"Now don't be coy my dear." Bora purred as he reached for her hand again, "You weren't complaining last night..."

"That," Lucy snapped sharply, jerking her hand away, "was last night."

She caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and absently waved down Mirajane before the white haired woman could come over. She could handle this one.

"Well what's the difference between tonight and last night?" Bora asked with a pout.

What was the difference? Probably that she'd spent the entire night thinking she would have more fun watching TV on the sofa with Plu than dealing with his so called 'skills' as a lover. It certainly would've been more engaging.

"Tonight I'm not in the mood is what." She replied primly, deciding to at least spare the man's ego a little. He might be boring, but he hadn't mistreated her. That deserved a little recognition at least.

Except, it seemed, Bora had other ideas.

"I'm sure I can get you in the mood." He persisted, grabbing ahold of her and sliding close. An action that got him elbowed sharply in the stomach and his head slammed into the otherwise pristine table of her VIP lounge.

"And I think you're forgetting who's in charge here Bora." She growled furiously, no longer preventing Mirajane from walking over, "Here's a news flash, it's not you!"

She jerked her head sharply at Mira, and settled back as Bora was roughly pulled to his feet and dragged out of the club. The pulsing beat washed over her and after a few moments she was able to let her anger go with a sigh and take another sip of her drink.

Mirajane had a sweet face as the manager of her club and bar, but she also had a temper that could rage a mile wide if it was invoked. She was fiercely strong and protective of those she considered her friends and family. Lucy was glad she had won the woman's loyalty long ago.

After all, Mirajane was one of the best enforcers Lucy could ask for.

"You okay boss?" Mirajane asked after she came back from throwing out the trash, leaning into the VIP booth where Lucy sat with her legs crossed. Her eyes were dark with concern, as if she was contemplating going back outside to hook Bora up to the back of a truck about to go off onto the interstate.

Lucy flashed Mira a relaxed smile and tossed her braided hair over a shoulder, "I'm fine. Not feeling much in the mood for a dance anymore I think though. I'm going to head on home while the storm has let up a bit."

"I'll have Elfman walk you out then Boss," Mirajane smiled and looked up to meet the gaze of her clubs bouncer, and her brother, "you shouldn't go out alone with that creep out there."

"Sure sure," Lucy sighed and stood up. She couldn't believe she had actually considered giving Bora the opportunity to fill in the slot as her bodyguard. Mavis only knew how long she had been looking to fill the vacancy, and Bora came with a reputation she thought might be useful.

Unfortunately it turned out to be all talk, not capable of standing up to either one of Lucy's enforcers: Erza or Mirajane. And while she would have had one of them serve as a bodyguard, she trusted them too much to pull their attention from tasks that required their personal input.

"And Mirajane, you don't have to call me Boss when it's just us," Lucy gave her friend an affectionate smile, "How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"Sorry," Mirajane laughed, not looking apologetic at all, "You're the leader of our little 'guild' after all, it comes with the territory."

Lucy smiled at the word. Guild. It was just a cute way of hiding what they really were. A gang. Even if it was a poorly kept secret that Lucy ran the city of Magnolia and Fairy Tail was the gang that kept its streets clean, no one needed to eavesdrop on that conversation.

"Be safe, text me when you get home okay" Mirajane smiled when Elfman wandered over with a great, big smile.

"I will." Lucy promised, her heart warming at the obvious concern from the older woman. It was nice to have people who worried about her.

She grabbed her purse and stood up, smiling back at Elfman, as usual unable to quite shake the feeling of being dwarfed by the tender hearted man, "Let's go."

"They're pulling the car around now for you Lucy." Elfman replied as he fell into step just behind her.

"I swear you must have mind reading powers or something." Lucy laughed, "All Mira did was glance at you!" She grinned at his blush.

"Practice." He mumbled in embarrassment, and Lucy couldn't quite contain a giggle, her previous bad mood long forgotten.

"So how're things going with your new lady friend?" She asked curiously, not willing to embarrass him too much, "Evergreen I think?"

If anything his blush deepened, but there was absolutely no mistaking his happy grin. Good. She wanted her friends to be happy, and would have been most displeased if Evergreen had been less than good to him. He certainly deserved it.

"I'm glad for you." She told him, patting him on the arm, "You'll have to bring her by sometime so I can meet her."

"You'd probably scare her." Elfman replied wryly, and Lucy affected an innocent expression.

"Me? What could possibly scare her about me?" She replied, batting her eyes, but couldn't maintain the expression long and chuckled.

"Seriously Elfman, I wouldn't be anything less than nice to her."

"I know that." The big man replied affectionately, "I just gotta convince her of that."

He held the door to the outside open for her and Lucy sighed in relief as the cool evening air washed over her. As much as she loved the inside of the club, that moment of transition was always wonderful. The valet held the door to her car open for her and she smiled at him as she slid inside, quietly pleased she wasn't too drunk to drive. With a nod to both Elfman and the valet, with a generous tip to the latter, she drove off into the night.

Ice cream and late night TV with Plu was sounding better and better by the moment.

It was a good thing she left when she did though, because no sooner had she gotten in her car did the rain that had been haunting them begin to pick back up.

She was well on her way down the streets when the heavens themselves opened up to greet her.

Seeing Elfman happy put a smile on Lucy's face, although she couldn't help but admit she was a little jealous of that joy. It's not like she needed someone by her side to take care of her, but she did want a companion to speak with besides Plu. Her little doggy was cute and all, but it made for a very one-sided conversation.

She really had to crack down and find a new bodyguard soon though. She couldn't keep inconveniencing one of the others. They had to come by and check on her every now and then, which she didn't blame them. Her position held a lot of power, which made for a multitude of enemies that needed to be watched out for.

They had other jobs to take care of their attention, and while she knew her friends would never complain about it and even enjoyed her company, she didn't want to keep being a burden on them.

It was just hard to find someone she trusted with such an important task.

She didn't notice as she left the outskirts of the city and into the more wooded area where she lived. Her headlights cut through the heavy rains, thoughts distracted as she ran through the possibilities she could pick to temporarily fill in the space.

Macao? No he had a child he was looking after, and not only that he was starting to get on the older side. Same with Wakaba.

Levy was being tied up with managing forgeries, hacking databases and digital clean up with Jet and Droy. They were all critical to that operation and she couldn't spare them elsewhere, not that Levy was very apt at fighting - which is why Jet and Droy were her assistants.

Lucy sighed, wondering if she could maybe draw Nab away before wondering if she really was going to scrape the barrel that far. Nab? Really? She wasn't that desperate was she?

She gasped, ripped from her thoughts as she rounded a bend.

A man was standing in the middle of the road, his expression dazed and distracted. Lucy let out a gasp, slamming hard on her brakes as the car spun out of her control.

She caught sight enough of the man and a shock of pink hair plastered to his head in the moment right before she lost control of her vehicle.

She wondered if this was where she was going to die, her car fishtailing on an empty road and into a tree. She would be taking down another person with her, someone who looked like they were confused about being out in the middle of the night. A scream bubbled up in the back of her throat, choked back by her fear.

And before she could register it, her car which had been so wild and out of control...

Stopped.

Lucy gasped, trembling hands loosening on the steering wheel. Brown eyes were wide as she stared through her windshield.

The man's hands were the hood of her car, pressing hard into the metal. His jaw was locked with concentration and dark, slanted eyes glared up at her from behind a curtain of wet, pink bangs.

Blood was draining down from several severe looking gashes on his arm, and the man stood in a completely soaked hospital gown. But those fierce eyes didn't flinch away from Lucy's shocked gaze. He rose from his bent over position, flashing Lucy one last glowering look before he disappeared off the side of the road and into the woods.

Like he had been nothing but a dream.

Lucy forced herself to breathe though, collecting her thoughts over what she was trying to understand. A hallucination?

It had to be. There was no way something like that could have happened. Maybe she had drank more than she thought she had?

More than a little shaken at the thought, Lucy sat where she was for several minutes willing her heart to slow down to something resembling a normal pace.

It took far longer than it should've in her opinion.

However, she was eventually able to move without her hands shaking, and she slowly lifted her foot off the brake to finish the trip home. As far as she was concerned, the sooner she got home and out from behind the wheel the better. If she was drunk enough to see things like that, then she didn't even want to think about what else could get her. She really didn't need to be behind the wheel of a car right now.

Fortunately, home wasn't very far away, and it only took a few minutes before she was pulling up a long driveway and into her garage.

Surprisingly small and modest looking for the house of a gang leader, there was little in the way of ostentation. In fact, it looked more like an old style English brick and Tudor country home more than anything.

Naturally, she'd fallen in love with it the moment she'd laid eyes on it.

Sighing in relief as she climbed out of the car she closed the garage and slipped inside, never noticing the mop of rain soaked pink hair watching from the forest. She smiled as Plu bounded up to her, barking happily, and reached down to pat him on the head, the stress of the day and her drive home already melting away.

"Did you have a good day today Plu?" She cooed as she kicked off her heels and padded through the large kitchen and past the library to the stairs.

Plu barked again and she laughed as she walked into her room and began happily stripping down before remembering her promise. She quickly dug out her phone and fired off a text to Mirajane.

Made it home safe. Watch for the storm. It got worse. I'll see you tomorrow for lunch.

Satisfied, she finished getting out of her clothes and headed straight for her bathroom where a hot soak was calling her name.