After defeating the assassin Jacob Lessio, one of the Spriggan 12, Natsu, Luna, Lucy, Elise, and Happy went down to the dungeon where Brandish had gone back to her cell after being released from Jacob's spatial magic. Natsu thanked Brandish for reducing the size of the tumor inside him. Lucy said she didn't have to go back to the cell. Happy chimed in saying they wouldn't keep her locked up after all she's done for them. Luna also thanked Brandish for saving Natsu, her husband. Brandish said she was impressed that they managed to defeat Jacob, but then told them they were doomed because now August was coming. Natsu decided to let Brandish out of her cell and they went back upstairs to the main guild hall. The Fairy Tail guild members were discussing what their next move was going to be based on how the war was going so far. Mest questioned Natsu why he let Brandish out of her jail cell to which Natsu just said she was a pretty cool person. Makarov asked the female Spriggan 12 member if she could give them any information that might aid them in the war. She made it clear she wasn't going to outright betray her home country, but she said she would try to negotiate with August, the strongest male member of the Spriggan 12. She said she owed a debt to Lucy. Makarov was very thankful of her offer. Mest was very against the idea, saying she wasn't trustworthy because she was one of the Alvarez Empire's Spriggan 12 members. Lucy said they should trust her.
~Short Time Skip~
Despite Mest's protests, they ultimately decided for Brandish to try and talk August out of attacking. Natsu, Luna, Happy, Elise, and Lucy accompanied Brandish to go meet up with August for the negotiation.
"So this August guy. I gotta know what kind of wizard he is." Natsu said as they headed towards their destination.
"But please don't do anything to test him. The whole point is to negotiate." Lucy reminded him.
"You'd be obliterated before you even knew what hit you, so keep that in mind." Brandish warned Natsu.
"Aye sir." Happy said in a cautious tone.
"The August I know is kind and warm-hearted. And I believe he is the most reasonable member of the 12. However, he's also... quite loyal. His support for the Emperor will be hard to sway." Brandish told them a little about August's personality.
"So how are you going to get past that major sticking point?" Lucy asked Brandish who told her she had no idea which both shocked and worried Lucy. Natsu and Luna then both pointed out to Mest that they knew he was following them. They could smell him due to their superior sense of smell as dragon slayers.
"What do you expect? I can't believe you'd put all of your trust into this girl." Mest said, still not on board with the negotiation idea because he was worried Brandish would betray them since she was technically an enemy. Natsu told him to get over it and that she's not a bad person. Mest then asked if they really had to go and take her magic seal stones off too since she was technically still their prisoner. Natsu told him not to worry about the details, making him yell at him, asking if there was anything going on in that head of his.
"Mest, Natsu usually has a pretty good judge of character despite not being the sharpest tool in the shed. Look, I know she's with the Alvarez Empire, but she helped Natsu out by reducing the size of a tumor that was growing inside him. She could've chosen not to and just left him to die." Luna said to Mest, trying to ease his worries a little. He just sighed as Brandish asked if they really were going to walk all the way there. Natsu and Luna said they were not getting into a vehicle and Happy and Elise mentioned they could only carry one person at a time. Brandish then got an idea and snapped her fingers. Happy grew into a giant version of himself due to her magic.
"Seems like we can ride him now... that you're just a big ball of fluff!" Brandish said as she hugged Happy's leg, squishing her cheek against his fur. Natsu then asked if she could make him big too. After they got onto Happy's back, he took off flying to their destination. Brandish granted Natsu's request and made his head big. Natsu was having a blast which Luna found it really funny how easily he was amused. Brandish was reveling in Happy's fur while Lucy asked her to turn Natsu back to normal because his big-headed appearance was freaking her out. Then Brandish started messing with Lucy's breast size, making them small then absolutely huge.
"Stopping playing around with people's bodies would ya?!" Lucy yelled as she covered her chest.
"I'm not sure why, but you're definitely the most fun to mess with Lucy." Brandish said as Natsu agreed with her. Mest said they didn't have time to be messing around. Suddenly, they were all hit with an extraordinary presence of magic power. As August came into view below, Natsu was starting to get excited. Lucy and Luna reminded him they were only there to talk, not fight. Mest had an uneasy feeling about August as they closed in on him. When they landed, August asked them why they had come here. Brandish told him she wanted to negotiate with him.
"I assume the enemy has killed Jacob." August said to which Brandish corrected him saying that he had been defeated but was taken prisoner instead of being executed. She then asked where God Serena was and August said he was dead. He then asked what Brandish wanted from him to which she replied that she wanted him to walk away from the fight.
"Hmm. It doesn't appear to me that you've been tortured. Which leads me to wonder... what's brought about this betrayal to our homeland?" August asked Brandish.
"I'm not betraying anyone. I'm still devoted to Alvarez, however, I feel like there's no meaning to this war." Brandish said as August's expression darkened.
"So you dare act in direct opposition to His Majesty's wishes? We've pledged our lives in service to the Emperor. If you cannot comprehend why His Majesty wages this war, then you are among the enemy." August said as everyone, except Brandish, furrowed their brows.
"Listen August, Emperor Spriggan is leading us down a path of pure evil. It's genocide. No matter what name it goes by, you can't change what it is. This war isn't about a philosophical disagreement between two sides. It's plain slaughter. Of all the members of the 12, you have the most wisdom. We're fighting for nothing. That's what's left at the end, just nothingness." Brandish continued her argument.
"His Majesty will make the final decision-" August started to say, but Brandish cut him off.
"But think for yourself! I finally saw things as they are. The people of this land... they haven't done a thing to wrong us." Brandish added to her cause before asking if he would just talk to them. August then seemed to agree to at least talk with the group to which Brandish looked grateful and delighted. Then, all of a sudden, her eyes glazed over and she drew a knife and stabbed August. Natsu, Luna, and Lucy couldn't believe what just happened. Then Natsu and Luna noticed Mest snickering with a sinister look on his face. Natsu grabbed him by the shirt and asked him what he had just done. He said he implanted a memory in Brandish's mind that gave her a strong urge to kill August.
"Mest, why the hell would you do something like that at a time like this?!" Luna yelled at Mest.
"Because I'm protecting the guild!" Mest yelled back. Just then, the ground began to shake and small rocks began to levitate as August let his magic power emanate from himself. He stood up and took on a new appearance. His skin turned to a maroon color and golden-orange markings appeared on his forehead and ran down his cheeks and neck.
"Now do you understand why we're here, Brandish? They've finally revealed the true depravity of their character!" August said firmly to Brandish.
"Looks to me like all you did was sentence our guild to its doom. Way to go dumbass!" Luna said to Mest. Brandish approached August to apologize after realizing what had happened, but he held up his palm at her and she collapsed. Lucy then ran towards her to see if she was okay, but Natsu sensed August was going to make a move and jumped in, grabbing her protectively, keeping her away from getting any closer to Brandish and telling her to stay back. Then the ground beneath them heated up and erupted in a massive explosion, sending them flying as a red light appeared. The next thing they knew, Natsu was sitting on top of Luna with his hands resting on her breasts. Luna was lying on top of Lucy whose arms were trapping both Happy and Elise.
"What the hell is going on?! I don't even know where I am!" Natsu yelled when the red light cleared, revealing them to be in a forest.
"Now you're on top of me and Luna." Lucy said with a slightly strained voice from Luna's weight on top of her.
"Me and Elise too." Happy said as he was squished under the weight of Lucy's arm.
"Oh I didn't even realize you were here." Natsu said, not letting go of Luna's breasts.
"Last thing I remember was getting hit by August's fire spell." Lucy said, recalling what had happened.
"His spell? No way! I canceled that out... well mostly." Natsu said, removing one hand from Luna's chest and forming a fist.
"Were you really able to dispel it?" Lucy asked Natsu as Happy and Elise had freed themselves from under Lucy's arms and wandered around, investigating the area.
"Yeah, pretty much. Luckily it was a little heat magic." Natsu said with a goofy smile. Luna was starting to get a little annoyed with him sitting on her, still groping one of her boobs. Under normal circumstances, she would have gotten aroused. But she was in early pregnancy, plus there were others around and they were at war with another country. This really wasn't the time or place for intimacy.
"Natsu, can you please get off of us? And stop groping me too." Luna said with an annoyed look on her face.
"I thought you didn't mind me grabbing your boobs." Natsu said as he squeezed her breast. A vein popped on Luna's forehead.
"This isn't the time or place for that right now Natsu!" Luna snapped at Natsu.
"Alright, alright. Sorry. I'll get off." Natsu said as he jumped off of Luna who got off of Lucy. The group noticed that not everyone they were with earlier was there. Natsu and Luna sniffed the air and couldn't detect Mest, Brandish, or August. Shortly after, they noticed the Mercurius and the Kardia Cathedral peaking over the treetops in the distance which was weird because they were supposed to be hundreds of miles apart. Happy took to the sky and said he didn't see the guild hall anywhere or any of the other buildings in Magnolia for that matter. Just then, Natsu and Luna smelled people approaching. It was Gray, Juvia, and Erza. Gray was carrying Erza on his back who was wounded and unconscious.
"Sup Gray?" Natsu said.
"Good to see ya!" Luna, Lucy, Happy, and Elise said together.
"Hey." Gray greeted them.
"We're so glad we found you." Juvia said with relief present in her voice.
"What's going on with her?" Natsu said, asking about Erza.
"Erza? She had a pretty brutal fight." Gray explained Erza's condition.
"We were trying to get her back to the guild." Juvia said.
"Yeah, that's where we were going too." Lucy chimed in.
"Problem is, we don't know what direction it's in." Gray pointed out.
"This sucks!" Natsu said out of frustration. Suddenly, a giant eye appeared in the sky above them which Happy pointed out. It seemed to be looking at Erza on Gray's shoulders. Then it disappeared. Shortly after, they all heard a female voice inside their heads, telling them Mavis was in trouble so they had to get to the guild hall as soon as possible. The voice told them where the guild hall was located. They also heard Gajeel in the background talking to the person who was communicating with them telepathically. Now that they knew where the guild hall was, they started their journey. Eventually, they got tired and had to camp out for the night. By morning Erza was doing better and had requipped into her normal armor. Everyone was awake now, ready to take on whatever battle was awaiting them.