Author Notes:
Hey all,
This is Snail_Emperor and I'm bringing you my first fanfiction ever! Let's see how well this goes... it probably won't go well, but I'd like to think it will. Anyways I won't be having any set updates, but I'll try to update at least once a month or so. You know how it is with school and stuff. Anyways enjoy my story!
Update: For those of you that don't know what a R.O.B is, *cough* Tremaine *cough*, they are random omnipotent beings.
An Adventure to Call My Own
Chapter 1 - Lullaby Arc
[Haven't you ever felt as if life was boring?]
Those were the last words I remembered before I was whisked away.
[What if told you there was a world full of adventure!]
Actually, those were the last words I remembered.
[Would you change your mind then?]
I sighed… damn these fragmented memories.
I opened my eyes and looked up at the vast blue sky before me.
Where did everything go wrong? … Oh right, R.O.B.
I sat up and looked around, taking in the scenery before me.
A nice, clear meadow, bordered by a seemingly endless expanse of beautiful trees.
"Where am I?" I wondered aloud. I sure as hell wasn't at my university dorm.
Something buzzed in my pocket and to my surprise, I pulled out my phone. There was a text message.
[You're in Fiore! How's that for adventurous?]
I looked down at the phone in my hand and looked back up. I snorted. Like hell I was in the Fairy Tail universe.
I mean, sure the trees looked somewhat magical and the sky, maybe a little less polluted, but nothing to warrant me to believe anything the R.O.B. said—
ROAR!
"Jesus Christ!" I exclaimed, jumping back. The sheer volume of noise produced causing my ears to ring.
Before I could so much as wonder what sort of ungodly animal produced such volume, my vision was drawn to a large, green overgrown lizard flying above the little clearing that I sat in. I realized soon after that that was a Green Wyvern…
—And I found the explanation the R.O.B. gave me that much more believable.
I was in Fairy Tail… as hard as that was to believe.
Of course like any other sane person, I was trying not to panic… and just like any other sane person, I was failing miserably. I mean, what was to be expected? This definitely topped the list of most dangerous things to happen to me.
The first thing that went through my head, after I calmed down was a little ditty. It went something like this, 'I'm dead! I'm dead! I'm dead! I'm dead! I'm dead!' in G major.
… Okay, maybe I hadn't calmed down yet. It was a work in progress.
After having actually calmed down, I started to consider the facts.
Fact one: I was in Fairy Tail Universe if the R.O.B.'s words and the Green Wyvern were anything to go off of.
Fact two: I was stranded in a potentially dangerous forest of unknown origin with nothing but what was on me at the moment. Hopefully, I was in Fiore.
Fact three: I needed to find the Fairy Tail guild. It was probably the safest bet.
I knew that being with Fairy Tail meant no end of trouble. But at least with them, I'd have knowledge of what would happen and what wouldn't. Plus I'd have some of the strongest wizards watching my back.
Yeah, that sounded like a good plan.
Having nothing else to think about, I checked my belongings, which is to say what was on my person: an everyday blue T-shirt with a rather tight fit, a white stone necklace; given to me by my late father, as well as blue jeans, and a pair of red mid-cuts. I also had my phone that the R.O.B. let me keep. Although… it was kind of worthless.
My phone pinged and a text popped up. [Don't worry, I thought about that! Check out the upgrades I made! :D]
With a single glance at the display on my phone, I could see what 'upgrades' the R.O.B. was speaking of. Where the service was featured, five full bars were present along with the provider, R.O.B. Inc.
I twitched at the provider. "Thanks, I guess," I said gratefully.
Another text popped up. [Don't mention it! After all, I'm just going to be sitting back and enjoying the hell you're going to be put through! ;)]
That was not reassuring in the least.
A final text popped up. [And with that I'll take my leave! :P]
"Wait! I have so many questions!" I exclaimed. I started to text furiously in reply to R.O.B.'s messages, in an attempt to get his divine attention once more. It didn't work.
After various texts sent, I gave up. "Stupid omnipotent beings," I grumbled, glancing at the dense foliage surrounding me. "Might as well I guess…"
With no other options, I sighed and forged on into the depths of the oppressive forest.
I didn't get out of there anytime soon. Maybe a few days? A week? A couple hours? I lost count some time ago. It was a terrible experience overall.
Normally I wasn't the one to complain about my aching limbs. Normally I wasn't the one to complain about being lost. Normally I wasn't the one walking for hours in the middle of a godforsaken forest with no food and water!
Needless to say, I was very agitated.
After pushing my way through the untamed vegetation, as well as presenting my colorful vocabulary to any small wildlife that crossed my path, I still hadn't found my way out of the forest. In fact, I was quite sure that I was even more lost than before.
I grumbled to myself and pushed onwards.
Although the walking was tiring, it gave me plenty of time to think. Such as, what course of action I would take once I got out of here?
I already had my goals set on getting to the Fairy Tail guild and joining them, but I still had no clue where I was, or better yet when I was. I really needed to find out how far in the story we were, otherwise I might miss them completely.
Another thought struck me. What if this was during the seven-year time skip? Or even worse, during a time Fairy Tail didn't exist? I mean the R.O.B. never specified that I would be dropped into the Fairy Tail timeline, he just said Fiore.
Panic began to well up, though I quickly stopped myself knowing that it would do me no good. I'd already panicked enough for the feeling to last me a while.
Throwing that notion out the door, I just outright refused to believe that distinct possibility, I started to put together what I would say when I made my way to Fairy Tail. After all, I couldn't just say I was from another world and was brought here by the R.O.B., could I? I decided that I could probably get away with half-truths.
While I was contemplating what to say, I was still moaning and groaning from the walking, something caught my attention. A sound. A shrill hiss, sort of like a whistle. Scratch that, it probably was a whistle.
I realized soon after, that that meant civilization and where there was civilization, there was food. In a moment of pure joy, I pushed my aching body forwards with renewed vigor; though I swear the forest was doing everything possible to keep me from getting out of there.
I made a final push through the foliage and tumbled out on the other side. Expecting to see some sign of human life, I was severely disappointed when all I saw was a pair of railroad tracks standing parallel to one another.
Where'd the whistle come-
TOOT! TOOT!
"Gah!" I fell backward and landed on my butt.
The reason for that was a train shooting past me, nearly two feet in front of my face.
After I had gotten over my initial shock, I saw that the train was roaring by me quite quickly and that it was soon going to leave me in the dust… back in the wilderness…
"Wait!" I yelled, running alongside the train. "Don't leave me here!"
Although my attempt to catch the train was a futile endeavor, I continued to chase it against my better judgment. There was no way I was going back into that fucking forest!
To my utter surprise, the train stopped and I was able to catch up. I leaned against the side of the rear car, panting. "Huh, I didn't actually think that it would stop for me," I said in between breaths. God, that was hard on my lungs.
Before I could fully control my breathing again, I was startled for the fifth time today… or was that sixth? I really just needed a break.
An explosion emanated from the train car a few over from where I stood and a few wisps of shadow emerged from the top of the said car. My eyes widened.
Even though I knew that the concept of magic would be present in this world, I was still in awe of a supernatural phenomenon happening right in front of my eyes. It was beautiful, to say the least, and I didn't think that any of Hiro's visual depictions of magic did it any sort of justice.
I watched as the shadows started to take shape, morphing diligently into the heads of a few dozen snakes. My eyes widened further. Those were Kageyama's shadows.
I felt a weight leave my chest, as a lot of my previous worries evaporated. The reason for that being, I now knew where and when I was. I was at the beginning. Back when Fairy Tail had to deal with its first challenge, the Eisenwald guild, and Zeref's one and only Lullaby.
I grinned and marched over to where Kageyama was no doubt brawling with everyone's favorite pink-haired goofball, Natsu. I was also completely aware of the fact that what I was doing was suicidal.
As I approached, I could hear the fight intensifying, which I had no doubt was in the part of Natsu finally getting over his motion sickness, and when I got close enough to the car where the fight was taking place, another explosion ripped apart the side of the train a few feet away from me. I'm not ashamed to admit that I shrieked like a little bitch.
A few seconds later, everything grew deathly quiet and I risked a peek through the hole ripped open on the side of the train car not a moment ago.
I blinked, then blinked again. "No way," I said in complete disbelief, rubbing at my eyes to see if I was seeing things. Final verdict, I wasn't.
Because slumped across the splintered remains of a few benches was none other than Natsu, surrounded by three members of Eisenwald. At least I assumed they were Eisenwald, I mean Kageyama was between the two other men.
Although I wasn't showing anything externally, internally I was panicking. Had my appearance in the Fairy Tail world caused this? Was it my fault Natsu lost his fight now? And where did those two other Eisenwald members come from?
I watched in utter horror as the three members of the dark guild advances on Natsu, no doubt planning on killing the Fairy Tail wizard. I waited for something to happen, surely the R.O.B. wouldn't let one of the protagonists of the story die to three half-assed wizards. Would it?
Step. Step. Step.
Every second that I waited, the three men advanced on the dragon slayer.
Step. Step. Step.
I looked up at the sky. Come on! Are you seriously going to let him die here?
Step. Step. Step.
Fuck it! If the R.O.B. wasn't going to do anything about this, then I would. That was easier said than done though. I looked around for something I could use to draw their ire and found my eyes landing on a large splintered slab of wood. I grinned and picked it up.
Bringing my attention back to the two wizards plus two others, I wasn't sure if the lackeys were wizards themselves, I took aim at the shadow wizard and threw the splinter of wood at his head—
All I had to do was distract them for a single moment. A single moment that would give Natsu the chance to fight back against the dark guild members. All I needed was that one single moment. Come on!
THWACK!
"Ow! What the hell man?"
—And… I hit Natsu in the head. Splendid…
Everyone turned to me and I shrank back at the glares I received. Especially Natsu's, he was surprisingly scary. "So-" I started. That's as far as I got.
"What the hell was that for man?" Natsu exploded, glaring at me. "That hurt! Do you wanna fight?"
I stared blankly at Natsu and chuckled lightly to myself, but after a moment I couldn't keep it to myself. My light chuckles quickly escalated into a full-blown raucous laugh. I couldn't believe how accurate Hiro had gotten the dragon slayer's personality. It literally couldn't be described any better than it was now.
Unfortunately, no one else found my laughing humorous. In fact Kageyama, during my moment of laughter, walked up to me and slammed his knee into my stomach, effectively putting me out of commission and causing me to crumple to the floor.
"There's no need to waste my magic on you," Kageyama sneered. "You're even lower than this fairy, just a regular human being. A nobody."
I mentally berated myself for getting distracted and for foolishly believing that Kageyama was all smiles and rainbows. Until he was faced with the ultimatum of following orders and killing innocents, he would still be the sadistic motherfucker he had been. Fuck that hurt!
I knew that I had to come up with a plan quickly, lest I wished for my and Natsu's death by an aggravated shadow wielding wizard…
… Wait! That's it!
I glanced over at Natsu to see him still fuming and giving me the death glare. God, he looked like he was ready to punch something… and with the plan I had in mind, it was just going to get a whole lot worse. Although it was kinda scary, I knew what I had to do.
"Hey Natsu," I called, gaining his full rage-induced attention. "Are you seriously going to lose to these weaklings? You should have just stayed back at the guild and let Gray deal with this mess."
I was glad to say that my plan had worked, but I couldn't help but frown. I was sure that Natsu and Gray's friendship wasn't a huge secret, but at the same time, it wasn't really advertised. I came to the decision that I shouldn't reveal any information I shouldn't know about to anyone else, unless absolutely necessary.
Natsu looked shocked at first, but slowly more heat started to emanate off of his body. "What was that!" he exclaimed, pulling himself out of the thoroughly wrecked benches. "There's no way in hell I'd lose to Gray in anything!"
I smirked. He took the bait. "Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that," I said in faux boredom. "I'm sure Gray would have already mopped the floor with these guys."
At that point, Natsu was radiating heat like a magical furnace, as he became more and more pissed off. On second thought, this plan wasn't thought through very well.
"I could beat these guys up ten minutes ago!" Natsu roared, his fists combusting.
I didn't bother correcting him, I was more worried about my personal safety in the matter. I wasn't fucking a superhuman like the rest of these thickheaded idiots.
"Do it then, prove me wrong!" I shouted at him. Absolutely ready to dive out of harm's way when the fighting started.
TOOT! TOOT!
Before that could happen though, the train started back up again and I glanced to the side to see Natsu cover his mouth due to his motion sickness. I grimaced
That had been possibly one of the worst coincidences I had ever had the pleasure of watching… partaking in? And that's with prior knowledge of it happening!
I quickly assessed the situation to as much as my panicked mind would allow me. It wasn't looking very good. Natsu was incapacitated due to his motion sickness, I had no magic due to being from another world, and for a kick in the ass, there were three irritated wizards ready to rain hell on us. Fucking amazing.
I looked around for a solution, anything that could get us out of this mess, and frankly, the only option that came to mind was jumping out of the moving train via the gaping hole in the wall, but that was totally out of the question…
… Wait? Didn't Natsu do exactly that?
Just as I thought that I felt something tug the back of my shirt and pull me off my feet, holding me up like a cloth in the wind. I knew it was Natsu almost immediately.
Even though I'd been insulting him mere minutes ago, it was for a good cause, he wasn't the kind of person to leave someone behind. It brought a smile to my face.
After that, we were flying. Well sort of, we really only jumped out of a train moving a hundred miles per hour, but it was still awesome.
The next part to come wasn't nearly as awesome though, in fact, I was pretty sure it was really embarrassing. Because what happened next was a quick jolt of pain to the back of my head and then darkness. I'm pretty sure I was knocked out.
But hey, at least I didn't need some elaborate backstory to join Fairy Tail. That's a plus, right?
When I finally started to come to, my thoughts went straight to the sharp pain in the back of my head. God, it hurt. Maybe I'd gotten a concussion?
I slowly opened my eyes and looked up at the unfamiliar ceiling above my head. I recognized that it was the inside of a magic mobile, which I assumed belonged to Team Natsu if earlier events were anything to base my assumption on.
I slowly sat up, and looked around the vehicle, disappointed to see that it was abandoned. I should have guessed that I was going to be left behind because I wasn't a member of Fairy Tail… yet.
After getting my wits together, I stepped out of the magic mobile and into, what I assumed was Oshibana Town. It was a pleasant enough looking place if anyone took the time to actually appreciate the quaint feel of the town. Though I wasn't allowed such a luxury; I had some fairies to catch up to.
I looked up into the sky and saw a plume of smoke rising above the rooftops, which I assumed was where the fight between Fairy Tail and Eisenwald was taking place. I started in that direction.
On my way to Oshibana Station, I looked back on the fight in the train with Kageyama and winced. It wasn't the fact that Natsu and I more or less lost, but the fact that I was completely and utterly helpless. The reason for that being, I had no magic to speak of. I mean sure I could provide information and support, but that could only get me so far.
I realized that if I inevitably wanted to become a Fairy Tail wizard, then I would either have to learn magic or get a magical item… both of which seemed so unattainable.
I sighed and narrowed my eyes. Although there was the question of my power, I didn't have time to waste on that thought, I had a city to save and fairies to join.
As I arrived at the Oshibana Station, I couldn't help but notice the lack of security around the perimeter of the station. Actually the lack of people as well. Someone like me could easily just slip in without being noticed. Which I ended up doing.
When I stepped into the building, I immediately understood why everyone outside was giving the station such a wide berth. The place was chock full of dark guild members, who were probably able to tear into anyone who dared enter. That is if they weren't all already splayed across the floor, each with a multitude of cuts.
I took tentative steps forwards until I was just on the outskirts of the carnage in front of me. I bent down to examine one of the dark guild members bodies.
Immediately I noticed that the wizard was still alive, thank god, and that there was something silver in his pocket that caught my attention. I pulled it out and just as quickly discarded it onto the ground.
The reason for that being was that I just held a gun for the first time in my life. The weapon didn't shine like most did due to the matte silver paint job, but it sure as hell caught the attention of someone such as myself.
For the brief moment that I held the gun, the grip on the weapon was surprisingly comfortable. What I found peculiar about the weapon was the lack of anywhere to place bullets, but then I realized that this was probably a magic gun.
Never having really wanted anything to do with a gun, I was hesitant to hold it in my hands, but thinking back to my earlier thoughts on needing magical items and all…
I picked up the gun reluctantly and put it in the back pocket of my jeans. Although I was deathly afraid of shooting someone by accident, I knew that this was a necessary requirement to be a wizard. Plus if things didn't turn out the way I thought it would, I could just ask Alzack or Bisca for some gun training, right?
After I pocketed the magic item, I stood up and started to make my way through the field of unconscious bodies. Suddenly, I saw a blonde girl and a blue exceed run across the length of the train platform, a look of pure terror adorning their faces.
Normally, I would question my sanity at a moment like that, but knowing that Lucy and Happy were the sanest of the group, they probably had a good reason. I looked over at that good reason, already knowing that it would be Erza.
Seeing her crouched on the ground, breathing heavily, I couldn't help but smile. I know how that might sound, but I was admiring her dedication, it was truly breathtaking. She had both pushed herself to her limits driving the magic mobile and defeating all the small fry of the Eisenwald guild. I was impressed and moved to action…
I made my way over to the red-head and crouched down beside her, slinging her arm around my neck and supporting her weight. If she noticed, she didn't say anything-
"You're that civilian from the train accident with Natsu."
I should've learned to shut my mouth. "Yes, that would be me," I chirped.
"You have to evacuate," Erza said authoritatively, trying to stand but being unsuccessful. "The dark guild controlling this station plans on broadcasting a deadly spell across the loudspeakers that will kill you and everyone else in the vicinity!"
"I know," I replied easily. "They plan on using the demon flute Lullaby, right?"
Although she was stunned that I knew that, she continued, "If you know this, why aren't you evacuating then? You should know the effects of Lullaby."
I nodded. "Oh yeah, I know them."
"Then why aren't you leaving?" she asked carefully.
I smiled at the S-Class wizard and came up with an answer. "Because Fairy Tail's done so much for me, it's only fair to repay the favor!" I lied easily. I was gonna be doing a lot of that in the future.
I wasn't a member of the guild yet, but I planned on being one soon. If I wasn't ready to do something as simple as what I was about to do now, how would I be able to call myself a Fairy tail wizard in the future? I wanted to do this… no, I needed to do this!
We continued to trudge on in silence, with Erza falling in and out of consciousness. She really used up too much of her magical energy. I shook my head with a slight smile, her determination was both admirable and foolish.
Once we reached the destination I had in mind, I propped Erza up gently against one of the walls inside the station and stepped outside onto the balcony of the train station.
I vaguely remembered the message that Erza had given the people and I looked down at the civilians below. I knew that if I wasn't convincing enough, it could possibly spell out the deaths of many people. I hope I was ready to deliver that message.
I took in a deep breath of air, "Citizens of Oshibana!" I yelled as loud as I could. The people hushed up. "This train station has been taken over by the dark guild, Eisenwald! They plan on using a forbidden magic through the loudspeakers of this station! This magic will kill anyone who hears it, so I beg of you to leave here at once!"
I watched as the citizens below started to comprehend what I said and erupted into a chaotic mess trying to run from the station. I did it though, I'd been of some use.
Out of the corner of my vision, I saw one of the station employees approach me. "Hey you, why'd you make everyone panic like that?" he asked.
"All I said was the truth. I'd rather see them all in a panic, than dead on the floor," I said bitterly. "I suggest you guys evacuate too, it's not safe to be here right now."
The station employees glanced at me hesitantly, but after seeing no deceit in my eyes, they left quickly. It wasn't as if they wanted to die.
I felt a soft breeze on my back, that was slowly picking up, and I turned around.
My eyes widened and I mentally cursed. I had forgotten all about the wind barrier that Erigor erected. I was a fool. A voice called out from behind me, "Oh, so one of the flies managed to evade my trap?"
I quickly turned around and narrowed my eyes at the sight of the scythe wielder. "What do you want, Erigor?" I asked with as much venom as I could muster.
He smirked. "Why to kill everyone in this pathetic town."
"That's bullshit! What are you really after?" I asked with a glare.
He frowned. "So one of you know that I don't plan on using Lullaby on Oshibana Town. So tell me, why'd you evacuate everyone the way you did?"
"I don't know what kind of sick motherfucker you are," I stated plainly. "For all I know, you'll just end up using Lullaby on the town for the heck of it."
He looked at me with a small smile. "You amuse me insect, but unfortunately I don't have time to chat with you right now," he lifted his hand and a small magic circle appeared in the palm of his hand. "So this is goodbye for now."
The light from the magic made me look away, and I felt something slam into my stomach causing me to gasp for much-needed air, as it pushed me through the wind barrier. I didn't dare try to go back through.
"Well it seems you know there's no point in trying to escape my magic sealing barrier," Erigor stated. "It's one way only and if you try to escape, it'll tear you apart."
Against my better judgment and in a fit of spite, I used some future knowledge. "Do you really think that you'll be able to kill the guild masters with Lullaby?" I asked.
The sheer look of uneasiness was well worth the payoff though and I wished I had a camera to capture the moment… which I did. I pulled out my phone and snapped a shot.
Soon after, he recovered his calm demeanor and resumed where he had left off. "I'm not sure how you figured out about that, but I've wasted enough time on you," he said, as he floated out of sight. "Now if you'll excuse me."
I didn't bother saying anything back, it would be a waste of breath.
When I turned around, I noticed that Erza was standing and eyeing me suspiciously. I figured that that was due to her overhearing me and Erigor's conversation, and I made a mental note to not lose control of my temper… like ever.
The silence was getting kind of heavy. "So… you feeling any better?" I asked.
She continued to stare at me. "Much better," Erza said with a nod. "I'd also like to thank you for helping with the evacuation of the civilians. It was quite noble of you."
"Don't mention it, I'm pretty sure anyone would have done it," I said honestly. "But that's not important right now, we've got to find a way out of this sealing barrier. Who knows what Erigor will do with Lullaby?"
I started to walk away, but when I noticed that Erza wasn't following me, I stopped. "Something the matter?" I asked.
She seemed to be staring at me intently. "Why are you doing all this?" she asked seriously. "You have no obligation to help out here. You could just walk away from all this and pretend nothing ever happened. So why?"
I was about to reply but stopped myself. Why was I doing this? By all means, I could have just lived the life of a civilian. I was fairly educated and I knew a lot of information about Fiore, so why wasn't I?
As odd as this may sound, the answer came to me almost as soon as I thought it. "Is there really a need for a reason?" I asked inquisitively. "I've always been kinda average, I've never had anything to distinguish me from everyone else. But when I saw you Fairy Tail wizards in action, it made me want to accomplish something. I've always wanted to be someone like you, Natsu, or Gray; heck even Laxus… but I never had the chance. So yeah, I guess that's the reason why I'm helping," I finished weakly.
We stood in silence once more, but Erza didn't say anything back. I continued "Anyways… we still need to find a way out of this magical sealing barrier. Any ideas?"
There was a long pause before Erza said anything, but eventually, she did. "Perhaps the spell isn't maintained by Erigor?" Erza suggested. "Maybe one of his guildmates are maintaining the spell."
I was glad that the S-Class wizard wasn't forcing me to leave and all, but I shook my head. "That's not likely. Most spells cast this way are either self-sustaining or have a set time limit. Plus he doesn't seem like the type to trust others easily."
If memory served me correctly, due to Erza's interrogating that mouse whiskers dude, he had made sure that Kageyama was put out of commission. Thus he was unable to dispel the magic sealing barrier for us. I wasn't going to make that same mistake.
"If only there were some way to dispel the barrier?" I mused out loud.
I turned to see Erza as realization dawned on her. "Wait a minute… back at the pub, I remember the members of Eisenwald were talking about some guy named Kage," she turned to me. "We have to find him, he's the one that broke Lullaby's seal."
I put a hand to my chin thoughtfully. "I remember back on the train that the one with the shadows was named Kageyama, maybe they're the same person?" I inquired.
"If so, that man went after Natsu and Gray," Erza added. "We've got to find them."
"Alright, let's get going then. We've got no time to waste," I replied.
Wasting no time, we hurried back to the center of the station planning on chasing after Natsu and Gray. Though before we could do any such thing, we heard some groaning from the Eisenwald members. Seemed like they were starting to come back to consciousness.
I looked over at Erza. "Should we…"
I let the sentence die off, as Erza nodded. "It'll probably be for the best."
Erza quickly went around the group of thugs and knocked out any of the ones regaining consciousness, while I went around tying them up.
When we finished tying them up, a familiar voice called out to us, "Erza!"
We both looked up to see Gray, standing on one of the balconies above. "What are you doing here?" Erza questioned. "You're supposed to be with Natsu!"
Gray frowned. "We split up, but nevermind that right now!" he said hurriedly. "We've got to get a move on it because I just found out Eisenwald's real objective! They plan on hitting the town after this, Clover Town! It's the place where the old men are having their meeting!"
I wasn't sure if this was just me or if it actually happened, but I swear Erza glanced at me out of the corner of her eye at the mention of Eisenwald's real target. I really needed to control my anger and be more careful.
Although she might have glanced at me, she looked up at Gray. "We know that they never intended to attack Oshibana Town," she said quickly. I think I knew where she was going with this… "And we need to find Ka-"
I cut her off. "And we need to find some way to get by the barrier!"
After hearing me cut her off like that, Erza turned to me in confusion. By now she probably knew that most of the things I did were never on accident, and she was right for the most part. I motioned towards the tied up Eisenwald members. I whispered, "Some of them might be feigning unconsciousness."
She seemed hesitant to agree but left it at that.
After that, we met up with Gray at the staircase and headed down the hallway that he and Natsu took earlier. We filled him in on the way to find the pink-haired idiot.
"So you're telling me that that Kageyama guy is the only one capable of taking down this wind barrier?" Gray asked.
I nodded. "Yeah, that pretty much sums up the whole of it."
He gave me a curious glance. "By the way who the heck are you?" he continued his stream of questions. "I mean I know you were with that fire-headed idiot on the train, but…"
I smiled happily and made to reply. "Oh, my name's-"
But before I could finish what I was saying, a large explosion could be heard somewhere not too far in front of us. Erza frowned. "Natsu better not have knocked out Kageyama, or else I swear there will be hell to pay."
Gray and I lagged a bit behind after that. "A piece of advice to you," the ice wizard said to me. "Don't ever get on Erza's bad side, it'll only cause you pain."
I gulped and chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I can see that…"
After a few more moments, we ran up a flight of stairs and right into Natsu, who had Kageyama pinned up against a wall. Erza rushed forwards. "Wait Natsu! We need that man alive! He's the only one capable of dispelling the wind barrier around the station."
With that, she lashed out forwards with her sword and slashed through the stone, within mere inches of the shadow wizard's neck. Needless to say, I immediately understood why Natsu and Gray were so scared of Erza. She was merciless…
"You will dispel the wind barrier, and you will do so without complaint," she said.
I was very close to wetting myself and I'm sure Natsu was too.
Erza inched the blade a little closer to Kageyama's neck. "Understood."
"Fine, I'll dispel the barrier!" he said with a yelp.
I waited to see if the fat green-haired dude would show up and stab Kageyama through the chest, but after a moment of waiting, no one showed. I smiled.
I was glad that my plan worked, but at the same time, I was afraid. This was the first thing that I changed willingly. Back on the train, I had no choice, they were going to kill Natsu if I didn't step in, but here I didn't need to save Kageyama. Yet I did… What if messed things up? What if I shifted the storyline? What if…
I furrowed my brows as a thought struck me. So what if I did change things? I mean it wasn't as if the R.O.B. brought me here to stand by and watch. Might as well tip the scale in favor of my soon to be guildmates. Throwing another hand into the mix would only benefit us, right?
"Bad timing, huh…" someone said from behind Natsu and me.
The both of turned around. "Oh hey, Lucy!" Natsu said nervously. "We're just getting Kageyama to help us out here, isn't that right? Haha!"
Lucy, Happy and I watched as Natsu started to laugh nervously and take periodic glances back at Erza. I laughed. "Oh man, you're scared shitless of her, aren't you Natsu?"
"I am not!" he shouted with a withering glare.
"Oh you definitely are," I said between laughter.
"Quiet you two!" Erza shouted, making us both shut up. Seems like I was pretty scared of her myself… "We're heading back to the front of the station and Kageyama will dispel the barrier there. Let's go."
We all nodded and backtracked all the way back to the front of the station, with the wind barrier a few feet away from us. We looked at the shadow wizard expectantly.
"All right, all right," he said quietly, as he walked up to the wind barrier. "I'll dispel the stupid wind barrier," he created a magic circle in his hand and slowly placed his arm into the sealing barrier. He pulled it out a few second later.
Nothing happened at first, but slowly the wind died down until there was nothing left but debris covering the perimeter of the train station. "Now hurry up, we've got to catch up to Erigor before it's too late," Erza ordered.
"It's no use, you'll never be able to catch up to Erigor."
We all turned to Kageyama. "Oh yeah, and how do you know that," I asked. Kageyama was about to respond, but I cut him off, "Because the way I see it, Natsu's going to kick his ass as soon as he catches up to that scythe-wielding son of a bitch."
"Uh, kid. I'm not sure you noticed, but Natsu's standing over there," Lucy said, pointing at empty air. She looked at where she was pointing. "Wait, where's Natsu!"
I smiled. "Oh, him? He took off as soon as we got out of the train station!" I exclaimed happily. "Boy was I surprised when that cat suddenly took off with him in the direction of Clover Town. That's not something you see every day."
"Wait are you trying to tell me that Natsu went to fight Erigor alone!" Lucy asked.
Gray sighed. "That's Natsu for you."
"That idiot," Erza said tiredly. "We've got to catch up to him. There's no doubt that he'll challenge Erigor by himself."
The five of us, yeah that includes Kageyama, quickly made our way back to the magic mobile and Erza took up the wheel again, though with a lot of complaints from Gray. Which he quickly got reprimanded for and thrown into the back.
We rode in silence, as the passing houses turned into trees and then stone. We were getting close, I could tell by the changing landscape. Though I was-
"So tell me," our attention shifted to Kageyama. He was still nursing wound from Natsu, and they looked fairly serious. I was actually surprised that he was able to dispel the wind barrier in the condition he was in. Why? Why'd you take me with you?"
"What do you mean?" I asked incredulously. God this sort of talk was getting on my nerves. "You obviously need a doctor, and since everyone evacuated Oshibana Town, we're taking you with us to Clover Town."
Kageyama seemed speechless at first, but he slowly regained his wits. "I don't understand… why are you helping me? We're enemies right?"
I frowned. I was getting really sick of his beaten foe routine.
He continued to speak, "Oh, I get it. You're taking me hostage to try and make a deal with Erigor. Well, you can forget it. He could care less about-"
"Shut up!" I yelled angrily. "Just because you're our enemy doesn't mean that we don't care about whether you live or die! Unlike you sick dark guild members, the lives of others mean something to us and we won't just abandon them in favor of our goals!" I was practically yelling by the end of my little speech.
I know that yelling was uncalled for, so sue me. I had been transported to another world, stranded in the middle a forest, forced to travel through said forest, kicked in the stomach by a sociopath, jumped out of a moving train, knocked unconscious by a magic mobile, and hit with a powerful wind spell into the depths of a deadly wind cocoon. This all spanning in the course of a day. Needless to say, I wasn't in the mood.
There was silence after my little outbreak, as I was sure Gray, Lucy, and Kageyama had no clue how to react. I wasn't really bothered by it and continued taking, though at a much quieter tone, "If you really don't care about your life, we can make sure you die," I started, drawing mixed responses from the others in the magic mobile with me. "But there's a lot more out there in this world, other than life or death. You shouldn't sulk about the bad that happens to you, but instead, revel in the good that happens to all of us."
No one knew what to say back to my speech, and I could tell that it had had the right impact. Good, I was glad that my message had gotten through to him at least somewhat.
After my little outbreak, Happy finally remembered what he wanted to say to Lucy and handed her Virgo's gate key. I was glad that that happened, as I was unsure of what would have become of Virgo's gate key because I had changed things. Turns out nothing much… or maybe the R.O.B. just made sure it got into the right hands. I didn't care much either way.
Also during this time, we'd managed to almost swerve off the tracks numerous times and I was sure that was due to Erza using up too much of her magical energy.
I sighed. "I'm going to go talk to Erza," I said slowly.
Gray frowned. "If this is about her using up too much of her magical energy, she's just going to kick your ass and drag it back here," he said knowingly. I mean I guess he did know, he did just go through that same thing before we left Oshibana Town.
I shook my head and grinned. "I highly doubt it, I've got a secret weapon."
Gray raised a brow but said nothing more.
I took that as a reasonable response for me to knock on the window and open it up, sliding myself through it and into the seat next to Erza. I opened my mouth—
"If you're here to tell me to stop, forget about it," she said dangerously.
—I immediately shut my mouth.
After working up the courage again, I spoke up, "Listen Erza, this isn't something that you need to shoulder on your own. You've got friends and family to rely on."
I looked for a reaction, but couldn't find one. I continued, "Natsu, Gray; heck even Lucy at this point. They're all here for you, anytime that you need them. So if you aren't up to the task, let one of them help you. So will you please let them help you?"
She continued to drive in silence, and I was almost sure she was going to ignore me, but, "I can do this, don't worry about me," she said finally.
I sighed, I guess it was still a little too early to help Erza with her trust issues. She really hadn't started opening up until after the Tower of Heaven arc. I guess it was time for Plan B.
"Alright Erza, how about we make a deal instead?" she glanced over at me curiously. Good. I had her attention. "In exchange for you letting Gray drive the magic mobile, I'll buy you some strawberry cake when we're through with this mess."
Her eyes seemed to sparkle and she started to drool slightly at the thought of strawberry cake. Frankly, I was wondering what her obsession over strawberry cake was in the first place, but hey if it got me what I wanted, I wasn't complaining.
She looked me over suspiciously. "You aren't lying to me, are you?"
"No, of course not," I lied. I didn't have any fucking money, I was so dead after this.
She seemed to mull it over in her head, but I already knew she had taken the bait. I smiled wickedly, as she replied, "Alright fine you've convinced me. Get Gray up here and I'll let him take over."
I nodded my head unsteadily and shimmied my way back through the window, taking a seat next to Lucy. Gray looked over at me. "So?" he asked.
"I'm a dead man," I said seriously, scaring both Lucy and Happy.
Gray nodded. "I guess she didn't take it well?"
I shook my head. "Oh far from that, I convinced her to let you drive," I said proudly before my fear returned. "I just promised her strawberry cake… and I've got no money."
Gray locked up and Lucy looked between the both of us. "What's the big deal? It's just a piece of cake, I'm sure Erza won't really care either way," she reassured.
I started to laugh maniacally. "Gray did you hear that I think Lucy's gone crazy!"
"I am not, you bastard!" she shouted back at me. It was kinda funny.
Gray shivered. "Lucy the last time Natsu and I made her drop her cake, she beat us up," the ice wizard explained fearfully. "Who knows what she'll do this time."
I gulped and wondered what she would do to me, but sighed in the end. There wasn't any point in worrying about the future, and if worst came to worst, I could just borrow money from Lucy or something. She never cared when Natsu was in her room.
"Anyways Gray, you should probably get up there and switch places with Erza before she changes her mind," I told him. "I don't want to need to convince her again."
Gray nodded and I moved out of the way so that he could shimmy through the window. I waited for Erza to come back through, but it seemed she was planning on sticking up front to make sure that Gray didn't screw up. Typical.
After a few minutes or so of driving, I heard Erza call out that she caught sight of some flames a little further ahead and we all looked out of the magic mobile in anticipation of Natsu and Erigor's fight.
Sure enough moments later, we found Natsu in the middle of the tracks with Erigor lying on the ground in a helpless heap. It was quite amusing in my opinion.
As we approached them, Lucy called out to Natsu and he turned to greet us.
"You guys missed it!" Natsu exclaimed with a grin. "I just beat up Erigor!"
We all stepped out of the vehicle to congratulate Natsu, though Erza needed some support from Lucy due to exhausting herself. "I'm proud of you Natsu," she said.
I glanced over at Erza hesitantly. "Are you going to be okay?" I asked.
"Yes, don't worry about me," she stated. "As soon as we reach Clover Town, I'll let you guys handle delivering Lullaby to the guild masters and I'll rest up."
We watched in slight amusement as Natsu and Gray bickered about how long it took the dragon slayer to deal with Erigor, but I think the greatest part of it all was when Natsu asked for Lucy's clothes. It made me smile at how relaxed they could all be.
Although I was expecting Kageyama to grab Lullaby and make a dash for it, I almost didn't notice him grab it and get into the magic mobile. I knew that he wouldn't actually end up using it, but I had grown fond of the shadow wizard.
I snuck back into the vehicle when none of Team Natsu was looking and waited for the inevitable… the inevitable almost made me lose my lunch. We lurched forwards at an incredible speed and went down the tracks, heading for Clover Town.
I hoped I could convince Kageyama to not go through with this.
After an hour or so of traveling, the magic mobile started to slow down and I knew that we had reached our destination. The annual meeting of the Masters.
The grass outside crunched underneath, and I figured that Kageyama had stepped out. It was now or never if I wanted to make sure that he stayed out of jail for as long as he could, I needed to make sure he didn't go through with this.
I stepped out of the vehicle and walked a few feet away from Kageyama, who was resting against a tree overlooking the guild master conference hall. He didn't notice me yet, and that gave me enough time to read into the situation.
He looked so hesitant to go through with his guild's plan.
"I know you're there," Kageyama said. He turned around to face me, he continued, "And I know you're here to try and stop me, but you can't. I'm not who you think I am and nothing you say will stop me from going through with this," he turned back around.
I just continued to stare at him, but when he started to raise the flute to his mouth, I took action. "None of this will change anything, you know," I started.
He stopped and I continued, "Even if you manage to kill all the guild masters, it doesn't mean that the kingdom will lift the laws on dark guilds. In fact, they'll probably reinforce them even more than ever."
A pause. "You don't think I don't know this?" he asked quietly. "You don't think I don't know that this is wrong in every sense… I'm not Erigor."
"Then why?" I asked calmly. "Why do all of this if you know that it's wrong?"
He frowned and sighed. "Because I have to…" he said reluctantly. "For Karacka, Rayule, heck even Byard. They didn't deserve the lives that they were forced into, but it was the only way that they could sustain themselves…"
"But why didn't you just join a legal guild?"
Kageyama snorted. "You don't think I didn't try?" he asked spitefully. "All legal guilds are the same though. All they care about is the fame and the glory, and if you aren't able to contribute to the guild that way, then you aren't of any value to them."
He turned to me. "That's the kind of world we live in, kid."
There was a long silence between the both of us, as I started to comprehend what he was trying to say. There were indeed guilds just like the ones Kageyama was talking about, Saber Tooth was a shining example of that before they reformed, but once again he was thinking of only the negatives and not the positives.
I waited for him to continue. "We're not that different than other guilds, you know. We drink together, we eat together, we laugh together… the only thing that differentiates us is our jobs. So why are we discriminated?"
"Because killing innocent people is wrong," I answered plainly.
He chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, I know… but they deserve it for what they did to us."
"Just because you have the means to do so, doesn't mean that you have to," I placed a reassuring arm on his shoulder. "I mean sure the world has been cruel to you, but so what? I like to think that there's always something in this world there's worth living for, whether that be your friends or your family. They're all there for you, and you're there for them; you said so yourself. So don't let anything get in your way of living life to your full potential, especially not something as stupid as that flute."
Silence permeated the area as Kageyama remained quiet. For a second I thought I didn't get through to him, but slowly his grip on Lullaby loosened and it fell to the ground.
I stared at him curiously. "So does this mean that you surrender?"
He smiled sadly, and that was all the confirmation I needed.
There was another pause in our conversation, as I didn't know what to say. What was taking Natsu and the others so long to get here? And where was Master Makarov? Wasn't he suppose to be the one to confront Kageyama?
"You know what's the worst part about all this?" he asked regrettably, drawing me from my thoughts. "It's that my little sister's going to see the kind of fuck up her big bro really is."
That drew a reaction out of me. I didn't know that Kageyama had a sister, but I guess it made sense since the shadow wizard's past was never revealed in the story.
He smiled fondly. "She still thinks that I'm some kind of genius wizard that's part of the greatest guild in Fiore. Talk about an imagination," he chuckled, but it quickly grew sour. "But it turns out I'm just some second-rate nobody who can't even bring himself to finish a job."
Before I could so much as tell him that he did the right thing, or that he wasn't some second-rate nobody, a very familiar voice reached our ears, "Ooh! There sure are a lot of hot numbers in this week's issue!"
We both turned around to stare at none other than the leader of the Fairy Tail guild, Makarov… I started to wonder where he had been moments ago. "Wow! Young wizarding ladies are so much more powerful than they were back in my day… and sexier too!"
I almost cringed… wait no, I did. "Makarov Dreyar?" I asked.
He looked up from his magazine in surprise, almost like a deer caught in the headlights. It was quite amusing. "Yes, child," he replied quickly.
"What are you doing?" I asked suspiciously
"Well, you see-", he started. Though before he had to answer the uneasy question, another interruption saved his ass. "Master Makarov! You're alive!"
All three of us turned this time to see Natsu and the others running up to us. It was obvious they had been expecting the worst if the battle armor Erza was wearing was anything to go off of. I mean Kageyama did drive off with the magic mobile with them having no way of catching up or warning the guild masters. Luckily I had been there… not that it would've made much of a difference. Makarov would've talked him out of it anyways, but I liked to think that I contributed in a way.
When they caught up to us, Erza immediately smashed Makarov's head into her breastplate in a hug, and Natsu started to 'pat' him on the back. Whatever animosity I held for the old man and his pervertedness went away immediately. The poor guy probably only had his magazines to keep him sane.
"What are you kids doing here?" Makarov asked in confusion.
"Master! We're just glad you're alright!" Erza said happily. "We were worried for you and the other guild masters."
"Yeah, but thankfully everything went well alright thanks to you!" Natsu exclaimed as he pointed at me. "Good job kid! I didn't know you had it in you!"
"Wait, you guys were watching?" I asked in surprise. "And you didn't bother to help? I could've got the guild masters killed!"
Gray tsked. "Oh, believe me, we tried to help you, but this Blue Pegasus guild master wouldn't stop getting in our way."
"You better believe it, honey," Bob said, as he pulled Gray into a stubble scratching hug.
I looked on with an amused smile, as the Fairy Tail wizards carried on with their banter and overall joy. It was contagious, but I started to notice purple energy emitting from Lullaby, and I knew that Zeref's monster was coming out. I backed away from it slowly and made my way over to Makarov and the rest of the Fairy Tail wizards.
"I've grown tired of you cowardly wizard and your antics!" it screamed. The flute started to rise up into the air and encircle itself in a magic circle.
"Hey, something's coming out of the flute," Happy announced. Thanks Happy, no shit something coming out! I couldn't tell by the mile-long magic circle in the sky!
Just then, Lullaby spoke up again, "I can no longer hold back! I shall come forth myself to devour you all!"
It was safe to say, that no matter how much I had gotten used to being scared in this world. Truly magic was terrifying! I wasn't prepared to face down one of the Zeref's living magic beings from the Books of Zeref.
It was large, maybe the size of a small mountain, and made entirely of wood-like material. It also had three fairly menacing magenta eyes, but what really surprised me about the monster was the sheer amount of holes all over its body. Did Natsu and the others even need to puncture it for it to not be able to sing it's melody of death?
I was drawn from that thought when what Lullaby said next made me shiver down to the core of my being. "I shall feast upon your pitiful souls!" it cried.
It wasn't really what Lullaby said that made me shiver, but the way it said it. The tone reminded me of something maybe a succubus would speak in, sorta enticing in a way. Almost made me want to sleep forever…
THWACK!
"Ow!" I rubbed the side of my head and looked down at a rock, and then up at Natsu. Did he just throw that rock at me? I think he just saved my life…
He grinned. "Just repaying the favor!"
I smiled back but didn't say anything more.
"What is that thing?" Kageyama shouted. "Erigor never said anything about a monster!"
I stood up from the position I fell in while entranced by Lullaby's voice. "It's a demon from the Book of Zeref," I explained to the mages with me. "He dealt with living magic, so this must be one of his creations."
"Who's Zeref?" Gray asked curiously. "Wasn't he some kind of ancient wizard?"
The guild master Bob, from Blue Pegasus, placed an arm around Gray, causing him to struggle against the unwanted attention. "Why he was the evilest wizard the world has ever known," the cross-dressing man answered. "He was very powerful in his day, but never in my wildest dream did I ever think that I would see his dark legacy pop back up again."
While the guild master Bob was speaking, Lullaby had lowered itself closer to the ground in order to inspect us. Of course, I hadn't been paying attention to it, so when I looked up I might have screamed. "Now then, which of you delectable souls should I dine on first?" it asked, looking over all of us carefully.
"Delectable, huh?" Natsu asked, not too far away. He then looked over at Gray. "Do you think that souls are really that tasty?"
Oddly enough, I found myself wondering the same thing. It was really, really strange though. I thought that they really could be tasty… or maybe that was just my scared self-deluding itself from the harsh reality we were facing.
"Natsu and Gray!" Erza called out. "Go into town and make sure that everyone has evacuated! We have to make sure that no one is left behind!"
Of course, Natsu and Gray would have none of that and immediately started to argue. It didn't end up well for them… maybe a couple bruises across the head, at the least.
I decided to step in here because I knew that it would be suicide to fight this thing alone. "Now hold on Erza!" I shouted, drawing her ire. It sent a cold feeling down my spine. "You guys are a team! Fighting that thing by yourself would be suicide! Try to be reasonable here, with both Natsu and Gray you'll have a better chance at defeating Lullaby! Besides Lucy and I can help evacuate the civilians!"
She seemed to ponder this for a second before she relented. "Fine, just make sure you get as many people as possible away from Lullaby before things start getting rough."
I nodded my head. "Come on Lucy, we've got to hurry!"
"Alright," she said with determination, as she followed me into Clover Town.
When we got there, I was mostly winded already, I felt some heat prickling the back of my neck and I looked behind me. Boy was I surprised.
Past Natsu, Lullaby, and the others, I saw that one of the mountains in the distance had been completely and utterly obliterated. Lucy looked on in utter horror and said, "Did that monster just destroy a mountain?"
"Well yeah," I replied. "How does that surprise you?"
"Come on Lucy," Happy continued. "You should use your brain for once."
"Shut up, cat! No one asked you!" Lucy screamed back… she really had a temper.
We moved further into the town, after having searched the houses closest to Lullaby. It felt like a ghost town, which I guess was true since everyone probably ditched the village at first sight of the behemoth of a monster in their backyard.
Tremors happened every so often, as the fight between Fairy Tail and Lullaby continued. Even though I knew the outcome of the battle, I was still concerned about the well being of Natsu and the others. I had come to be quite fond of them, but I knew this wasn't the time to worry, I had a more important task at hand.
We came across a few stragglers here and there and quickly helped them on their way out of the town. We also came across a few of the richer folk who tried to scam us into helping pull their wagons of belongings for them. I was pretty pissed at that.
"Damn rich people, thinking there all that much better than us," I mumbled grumpily, before asking no one in particular, "Are they all assholes?"
I caught a glimpse of a pained face in my peripheral and regretted my words instantly. Of course, they weren't all assholes… Lucy was living proof of that, but what was said was said, and there was nothing I could do about it now.
There was an awkward tension in the air, which Happy seemed to be oblivious to, as he continued to barrage Lucy with insults. What did the exceed have against her?
As the two continued to not exactly argue but not exactly banter, a really faint voice caught my attention. "Mommy? Daddy?" a little girl called out quietly.
"Quiet you two," I hushed them. They both fell silent, as I strained my hearing.
"Mommy? Daddy? Where are you?" There it was again…
I started to really listen to the little girl's voice and walked off in that direction with Lucy and Happy following me. We eventually came across the little girl in one of the less fortunate sections of town. Most of the buildings in this area had collapsed.
I motioned for Lucy and Happy to stay back and I approached the little girl. I was sure that Lucy and Happy were fine with little children, but when the two were together I wasn't sure the kid wouldn't want to run away.
As I kneeled in front of her, I noticed that she hadn't taken notice of me yet. She held a small hand over her eyes, as she rubbed at them furiously to get rid of the tears. During which I watched her closely.
The little girl looked to be around six years old, and she held a small green stuffed wyvern in one hand by the tail. She had black hair, similar to mine, pulled back into two small pigtails and when she pulled back her hand and finally noticed me, I got to see the most precious amber eyes in the world.
I assumed that this little girl got separated from her parents during the tremors and that we would have to find them for her… was I ever wrong?
"Hey little one," I said reassuringly, kneeling to her level. Trust me, I learned that children are more at ease when they can see you face to face. "Are you lost? Do you need help finding your parents?"
The little girl sniffed and shook her head. "No, not really…" she said hesitantly.
Although I found it strange that she didn't need any help finding her parents, I didn't push the matter any further than I needed to. "How old are you?" I asked
"Six," she replied, rubbing at her eyes again and looking down.
"Can I get your name please?" I continued.
She sniffed again, before answering with a quiet, "Sarah."
"Well Sarah, I know your parents might have asked you to stay here and wait for them, but right now there's a really dangerous monster nearby and I have to take you away to safety. Do you understand?" I explained, receiving a little nod of understanding from her.
"Alright then," I confirmed, grabbing ahold of the arm not holding the wyvern plushie. Though when I tried to walk forwards, I felt a slight resistance on my arm and looked back at Sarah curiously. "What is it, Sarah?" I asked.
She pointed at one of the fallen buildings. "Mommy and daddy are still in there. Do you think that we can wait for them? They said they would be out soon…"
My heart sunk at her words and I looked back up at the fallen building. It sunk even further when I looked at the structure. There was no way anybody had survived that building collapse. It just wasn't possible.
I looked down at the girl with puffy red eyes from crying and frowned slightly. Although she was sad, it was obvious that her sadness was caused by other means, and not by the death of her parents. The poor girl probably wasn't even aware that her parents were dead.
I was really at a loss for words. "Um, Sarah… your mommy and daddy… they aren't coming back." I said with guilt welling up in my chest. I know it might seem cruel to keep the truth from her, but she was only six… I didn't want to traumatize her.
"What do you mean?" she asked hesitantly. "They promised…"
…
"They wouldn't just leave me…"
…
"Would they?" she looked up at me with the most heart-wrenching look.
I couldn't do it any longer, I caved in. "I'm so sorry, Sarah. Your parents are dead…"
I regretted those words almost immediately because the pained shock plastered across her face actually caused pain to my chest, as tears started to flow down her face again.
I quickly pulled her into my chest and let her sob until the next tremor hit. I looked up at Lullaby with fury and hoped that Natsu and the others beat the living shit out of it. It deserves at least that much pain in return for its actions.
I looked back down at the sobbing girl in my arms and wondered how I could have ever believed that this world was perfect.
I mean sure I knew that there was death in this world. Ur, Rob (poor fellow to be named that), and Simon to name a few, and I accepted their deaths as a sacrifice to better the lives of everyone else. Aside from the main cast, I never really thought about what happened in Earth Land. I had been too engrossed in the story of Fairy Tail to really pay attention to anyone else.
It just made me feel that much worse when I held Sarah in my arms. I mean, I could have saved them… her parents. If I just hadn't been so selfish.
The ground shook again, and I saw another building crumble not too far away. I didn't want to bother the little girl while she was still in shock of her parents' deaths, but we needed to move now if we wanted to get away.
I slowly but firmly picked Sarah up and motioned Lucy and Happy over. Once they made their way over to me, I quickly made sure they wouldn't be arguing by motioning to the crying girl on my back. They nodded their heads and we started to make our way out of town.
It was a lot harder to travel back due to all the fallen buildings, but eventually, we managed to clear a way out of the wrecked town and back to Makarov and the other guild masters that weren't being massive cowards.
"Hey, we're back," I said, turning a few heads. The tremors were still ongoing. "We managed to evacuate most of the civilians before the damage to the town prevented us from going in any further. How's everything going on this side?"
"Take a look for yourselves," guild master Bob said dreamily.
I took the moment to look up and saw that Lullaby was in bad shape. I even think that I saw a few of the holes that Natsu and the others punched into it. Though I was pretty sure they didn't create them on purpose.
Lullaby was quickly getting more and more frustrated as the fight continued, and at some point, a magic circle appeared above its head and energy was quickly being consumed from the earth around. "Just one note and your souls shall be mine!" it exclaimed.
Everyone waited for the inevitable melody of death, and even though I knew that it wouldn't work, it still made me shiver when I saw it clasp its hands together. And—
FWOOSH!
—Nothing came out. Absolute silence.
"Wait, what happened?" Lucy asked while covering her ears.
Lullaby looked confused. "I don't understand! Why can't I play my melody of death?!"
I grimaced. "It's because of all the holes that Natsu and the others punched into you, dumbass!" I yelled up at Lullaby. I couldn't help it, even though I knew that that thing could kill me in an instant, I was still pissed off about the fact of all the deaths it caused.
"Talk about anticlimactic," Lucy chimed in, with a little 'aye' from Happy.
After that, it seemed to be even more enraged due to Lucy and I, which I had no regrets for, and summoned another magic circle from its mouth, shooting a stream of fire directly at us. I wasn't really afraid because of an ice wizard that stepped out in front of us.
"Ice-Make Shield!" Gray shouted, as a large formation of ice materialized in front of us and withstood the fire. I wondered how that worked…
After that, Lullaby looked down and I followed its gaze towards Natsu, who was happily gorging himself on the flames that it had created. Though the monster would have none of that and quickly punched the spot where the fire dragon slayer was standing.
During Lullaby's moment of distraction, Gray took the opportunity to create a spinning blade of ice. "Ice-Make Saucer!" he shouted, as he launched the ice at Lullaby's midsection, throwing it off balance.
Erza followed up moments later. "Requip: Black Wing Armor!" she cried, as she shifted her gear from Heaven's Wheel to Black Wing, and slashed at Lullaby's face making it really start to fall to the ground.
And finally, the fighting reached its crescendo. Lullaby gave way to gravity and toppled to the ground with a mighty crash and a loud cry could be heard from high up above. All of us looked up to see Natsu.
He came flying down from wherever he had been, forming a large ball of fire in between both his hands. "Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" he exclaimed, as he threw the large ball of fire with all his might at the monster hailed as one of Zeref's demons.
Lullaby screamed in pain from the fire scorching its body, and although the screaming was excruciatingly painful, it eventually stopped with a large beam of blinding light shooting off into the shrouded night sky. There was silence after that, until…
"Wow, that was amazing," someone said in awe. Indeed it was, though it took me a while to realize that it was Sarah that said it. I was surprised, to say the least, but if this was how she wanted to cope with her losses, I think it was for the best.
I looked down at her with a smile. "Yeah… yeah, it was," I said fondly.
Sarah looked away shyly, before coming back face to face with curious eyes. "Are you one of them?" she asked.
I was about to answer her question with a no. That I wasn't, in fact, a Fairy Tail wizard, as much as I desired to be one. That I was just an ordinary human- "Of course he is," I turned to Makarov in shock. He looked back at me. "That is what you wanted, right?"
I was at a loss for words. This was it. What I had been waiting for. All I had to say was yes… yet, I couldn't get anything past the lump in my throat. I didn't know what was stopping me, but I just couldn't say it. Thankfully I didn't need to…
"Of course it is, Master," Erza said, coming up behind me. She looked me in the eyes with a smile. "He said so himself. After all, a guild is a place for others to accomplish what they want, and Fairy Tail just so happens to be the best."
…And just like that, it clicked. It wasn't because I didn't want to join Fairy Tail that I hesitated, rather it was because I wanted to. Like I really wanted to. Now I know that that might sound like it made no sense but to me… it was clarity.
All I had ever been thinking about before was a way to survive this world and return home safe and sound, but after having fought alongside the Fairy Tail guild, I realized that I wanted more than that…
I wanted an adventure… guess the R.O.B was right.
With barely contained excitement, I shook my head vigorously and pulled Erza and Master Makarov into a hug, which Erza reacted with giving me a few bruises on the head. Though I just laughed it off with glee.
"By the way, child," Master Makarov mused. "What is your name?"
Erza looked over curiously. "Yes, I'm also curious. You never told us it."
I froze but continued to laugh soon after. I guessed throughout this whole shenanigans, I never really did get the chance to tell them my name. Oh well, might as well give a proper introduction now. I bowed slightly.
"My name is Nathaniel. Nathaniel Valentine."