Past Cocklebur Mountains, close to the border of the country of Bosco, lies a town by the name of Clover. It was by no means the biggest town in the kingdom of Fiore, but its modest population managed to eke out a comfortable living for themselves by living mostly off of the land provided for them.

The easiest way to reach Clover was by train. Lest you deal with the wyverns that populated the mountains and the sea creatures that dwelled within the depths of Floriana River that separated the mountains from the rest of the country.

Aside from its somewhat isolated location, there wasn't much to Clover. It had no landmarks, or any real places of interest for that matter. The only thing remotely appealing about the town was a mansion that sat on its edge. The outside – like the town of Clover – was not much to write home about. It was a serviceable design, built with relative competency and care.

What really made the mansion standout from the rest of the town was what was currently going on inside it's walls.


Precht Gaebolg, the current Master of the Fairy Tail guild, sat by himself in the center of the mansion's dining hall, surrounded by every other guild master in Fiore. If he was being honest he'd much rather be home in Magnolia looking over reports than attend these gatherings.

To him these monthly guild master meetings were less about the Council thanking them for the hard work, and more about his peers having an excuse to gloat about how much stronger and popular their guilds had become in the intervening time. Precht had long since grown weary of such ego stroking, but the food and drinks were paid for, and the music was lively enough to keep things from getting too dull, so he didn't see a need to complain out loud.

"There you are, Master. I've been looking everywhere for you."

An effeminate, bald man in a pink tank top floated over to Precht's table. The small wings on his back were mostly for decoration, but they still flapped every so often to give the man a slight hover. His name was Bob, and he was the current master of the Blue Pegasus guild - one of Fairy Tail's chief rivals.

"I'm not that hard to find." Fairy Tail's master replied. "Also what have I told you about referring to me as 'Master'? We're equals now. Just call me Precht."

Bob refused with a shake of his head. "No can do. That just wouldn't be right."

Despite their respective guilds' "rivalry" Precht and Bob got along fairly well. No doubt due to the fact that they both used to be a part of Fairy Tail – wherein which Precht was his Master.

Bob was always a flirtatious sort, floating around entertaining anyone whether they be man or woman. As such it was no surprise to anyone that Blue Pegasus' guild hall doubled as a Host Club.

"I've heard rumors that your newest member is just the cutest little thing, and she packs quite the punch."

Precht couldn't help but feel a bit of pride.

"I see word spreads as fast as ever. Yes, Yukino is young but she houses a great deal of potential. I'm expecting great things from her."

"Well under your watchful eye I have no doubt she will meet them."

"That's Master Precht. Always looking at the bigger picture."

A tall man in shades and a spiked dog collar around his neck approached the pair with a kebab in hand. He was known as Goldmine, another former member of the Fairy Tail guild, but these days he was the master of Quatro Cerberus. They were mostly billed as a group of ruffians, but a few of them were recognized as formidable wizards.

"You might want to rein them in though. The council is worried Fairy Tail will level a city one of these days."

Precht scratched the back of his head. He couldn't deny the truth in Goldmine's words. Things were certainly much rowdier than when he and Bob were still in the guild.

"It's a shame that Makky couldn't be here to see how much things have changed." Bob said solemnly.

The three fell silent. It had been a while since someone had spoken that name.

"Master Precht! Master Precht!" a blue bird flew to the table with a letter in its talons, it's call breaking though the silence surrounding the three. "I have a letter from Miss Lisanna, sir."

"Thank you." Precht circled his finger around the letter's seal, creating a small magic circle. From it appeared a small hologram of Lisanna. She went through her pre-recorded message.

"Hello, Master. I hope you're doing well at the conference."

"Is that really little Lissie?" Bob leaned in to get a closer look at the young barmaid. "She's the spitting image of Mirajane. Absolutely adorable."

"Yeah she really has matured." Goldmine added with a grin.

Precht noticed some of the other guild masters crowding around him as well - most of them wanting to gawk at Lisanna. He was starting to feel claustrophobic. The letter continued.

"You won't believe what just happened! Kagura, Levy, Elfman, and Lyon formed a team and headed out on a job! Not only that, but I just got a letter from Carla. She and Natsu are on their way back to Magnolia! Isn't that great?! Not only is Natsu coming home, but quite possibly Fairy Tail's strongest team has been formed as well! I'll start getting things ready for a welcome back party! See you soon!"

The hologram faded away and Precht immediately started to sweat.

Whatever job they went on must be serious if Kagura of all people requested help, but did she have to take Elfman and Lyon with her? Lyon is fine on his own, and Kagura can usually control herself, but Elfman has caused me no shortage of headaches recently. Those three together…I can practically see the damage reports piling up.

"Master?" Bob was concerned with the pensive look on Precht's face. He'd see that scowl many times during his days in Fairy Tail, and it never lead to anything good.

Levy is with them so I shouldn't have to worry about too much. Precht continued. She's always been a responsible girl. She'll be able to minimize the damage done by the others. That takes care of one problem, but what about…?

He imagined a young man with spiky pink hair laughing maniacally as he stomped through a destroyed Magnolia. The townspeople scattered in fear as searing hot flames spewed from his mouth.

"Why now of all times?!" Precht yelled in frustration, startling his fellow guild masters.

"Maybe the council had the right idea." Goldmine commented.

Bob agreed. "Poor Master."


"You idiot!"

Erigor angrily sliced Kageyama's seat in two, the dispeller falling to the floor of the train with a hard thud.

"How did you not know you were being followed by those Fairy Tail wizards?! They could have ruined our entire plan!"

"I-I didn't know we were on the same train, sir!" Kageyama replied haphazardly. "Honest! Besides it's not like they knew I had the flute, otherwise they would have caught me long before now. They don't know what we're planning so we still have the upper hand. Right?"

Erigor stuck the point of his scythe in front of Kageyama, frightening him further and making him flinch. "We can't afford any more blunders. Fortunately I have a plan to take care of our little fly problem."

Kageyama slowly rose to his feet. "Are you talking about Oshibana Station?"

"I am." Erigor turned to the others. "It will be up to all of you to stop them. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!" answered his men.


Fairy Tail's "strongest team" raced through the streets of Oshibana in the magic mobile Kagura had commandeered from Kunugi Station. They were unsure where exactly Eisenwald was hiding, but they wouldn't stop until they found them.

"Slow down, Kagura!" Elfman shouted from the roof. "Or else we're gonna crash!"

"We can't afford to waste time. Eisenwald is in possession of the flute. If we don't stop them the loss of life will be unimaginable."

"Listen to Elfman." Lyon advised. "If you keep this up you will overload the SE Plug and drain your energy."

"I don't require my magic to fight." Kagura argued. "Barring that, you and Elfman are more than capable of backing me up should something go wrong."

Lyon sat back in his seat. "She's always so reckless."

Across from him, Levy was in deep thought. She had been desperately racking her brain for answers as to what Eisenwald was scheming since leaving Kunugi Station.

What is their plan? If they wanted to simply test the flute's power they could have done that as soon as they recovered it. The fact that they didn't means that they're saving it for something. Something big. But what is it? Why stop in Oshibana?

Yukino was growing more and more anxious by the second. She had not prepared herself for this kind of fight. Hundreds, possibly thousands of lives were at stake. If she and her guild mates failed lots of people would die. The stress was too much for her young mind to handle.

Levy noticed Yukino's shaking, and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry." she smiled. "We'll stop them."

Yukino nodded. "Ok."

"There!"

Kagura spotted smoke rising further up ahead from the train station. When they arrived they saw a crowd of people blocking the stairway that lead to the entrance. They were all muttering about some kind of accident. One of the conductors was providing instructions to the crowd through a megaphone; something about the station being closed due to a freak train derailment.

"We have to find a way inside the station." said Lyon.

"Stay here." Kagura approached the station worker. "Excuse me. What happened here?"

The station worker looked her over quzzically. "That's classified information, ma'am. For now please get back and-"

Kagura took a commanding step forward, her eyes narrowing as the grip on her sword tightened. "I will ask again. What. Happened. Here."

One look into her eyes and the man immediately cowered in fear. He told her everything.

"Eisenwald has taken over the station." Kagura told her comrades upon her return. "Let's hurry inside."

"Yeah!" Elfman exclaimed, flexing his bicep. "Time to show these jerks the power of a real man!"

"We're right behind you." Added Lyon.

Levy looked at the still shaking train worker and sighed as she and Yukino followed the trio into the station. "At least she didn't cut anyone…this time."

Yukino simply nodded.


On the stairs leading to the station's main hall, the Fairy Tail wizards found a small platoon of unconscious soldiers. Judging by the freshness of their injuries they had only recently run afoul of Eisenwald.

"Are they alive?" Yukino worriedly wondered.

"Just barely." Answered Kagura as she checked the pulse of the squad's captain.

"This wasn't manly at all." Spat Elfman.

"We have to find Eisenwald before even more people are injured." Lyon declared.

"So good of you to join us, Fairy Tail."

Erigor, as well as the entirety of Eisenwald, greeted the group once they reached the main platform. The man known as "The Reaper" sat on top of the train his guild had hijacked from Kunugi Station, his evil sneer sending a chill down young Yukino's spine.

"Erigor! What are your plans for Lullaby?!" Kagura demanded.

"I thought it was obvious." Erigor floated over to the station's speaker system. "These speakers have some pretty good range on them. If I raise the volume enough I might even be able to exterminate the entire town with Lullaby's song. Pretty good plan, no?"

"Why would you do something like that?!" Yukino implored. "These people didn't do anything wrong!"

"This isn't about right or wrong. This is simply a case of cleansing those too ignorant to see the beauty of the life they lead, the elimination of those to callous to acknowledge those that are less fortunate and had their rights stripped from them. They have committed the sin of vanity, and for that the reaper has come for them."

"You're insane." Spat Levy. "You'll only make things worse on yourself."

"There was a reason your legal status was stripped from you." Lyon pointed out.

"That rank no longer holds any importance to us." Erigor stated. "All we desire now is the power to wipe away the sins of our past and control our future!"

"You're foolish if you think we're going to allow this." Kagura readied her sword.

"That's the beauty of it." Kageyama pressed his hand on the ground. "You guys won't be around long enough to have a say in the matter!"

Shadows surged towards the Fairy Tail wizards, forming into fists as they raised from the ground. Kagura cut all of them down without hesitation. Yukino was amazed, somehow Kagura was able to destroy all of the shadows without unsheathing her sword.

The fire in the swordswoman's eyes intensified. "I won't tell you again. Stop this now and turn yourselves in."

Erigor's sinister sneer grew at her warning.

I've got these flies right where I want them. he thought. The trap was a success, but it's not over yet. Once they've heard Lullaby's melody of death, we will finally have the revenge we sought after for so long.

Elfman's right arm transformed into stone.

"If you punks wanna take us on, then let's do it!" he challenged. "I'll show you the power of a real man!"

"Show them the terrifying power of Eisenwald!" Erigor gave his final order as he faded into the wind, leaving his men behind to deal with the intruders.

"Lyon. Elfman. I want the two of you to find Erigor." Kagura instructed. "You go with them as well, Levy."

"W-what? Why me?" questioned the startled scribe.

"Once the boys recover the flute I need you to find a way to reset the seal. You're the only person capable of doing it."

"Why can't we just break the thing?" questioned Elfman.

"We don't know what will happen if we did that. It could end the threat, but it could also release the curse and kill everyone here. We can't take that chance. Now go. Time is short."

"We'll find him." Lyon acknowledged. "Come on, you two."

"Got it." Elfman replied.

"Be careful, you two." Levy said to Kagura and Yukino.

The trio ran into the eastern hallway, leaving Kagura and Yukino to deal with Eisenwald.

Kagura clutched her weapon. "Here they come."

Yukino shakily clutched her keys. "R-right."

ARCHENEMY: STRONG FORM

With one swing of her sword - which was still bound inside the scabbard - Kagura batted away roughly a third of Eisenwald's forces. The remaining dark wizards immediately stopped their advance.

"W-what was that?"

"She took out most of our guys without even pulling out her sword!"

"How did she do that?"

The eyes of the heavyset man in the back of the group slowly widened. "That girl…I-I think I've seen her before."

"Whatever!" yelled one of the men. "It's just one chick! She can't beat all of us!"

Their spirits renewed, they charged again.

Yukino grabbed one of her Zodiac Keys. "I can't just stand by and let Ms. Kagura fight all of them by herself. I have to fight too!"

OPEN GATE OF THE PAIRED FISH: PICSES

Suddenly members of Esienwald were assailed by a savage discharge of water. It was so fast that no one noticed what happened until the aftermath. Standing among the unconscious, damp wizards were two figures; a woman and a young man.

The woman's cobalt hair glistened in the light, as did the pure white scales around her bust. The young man's smoky hair waved in the wind, the trident in his hand ready to strike any that would dare stand against him.

"You summoned us, Mom?" he asked Yukino.

"Y-yes. I did." Yukino nodded awkwardly. The woman giggled.

"I see. So you're a Celestial Wizard." Kagura noted. "That was quite an impressive attack."

Yukino blushed at the compliment from the guild's strongest woman. "T-thank you."

"I do have a question though. Why did that spirit call you 'mom'?"

Yukino panicked, her cheeks getting flushing red. "W-well you see…I…It's just…!"

The white fish tried in vain to stifle her growing laughter. The black fish on the other hand was confused.

Kagura turned to the Eisenwald members that were still standing. There were much more than she anticipated. She had to end this quickly. She readied Archenemy and raced forward.

SLASHING FORM

Kagura moved through the mob as if she were the wind. In a matter of seconds all of the men's weapons – as well as most of their clothing – were cut to pieces as they all collapsed to the ground.

"What skill." Noted the White Fish.

Her son agreed with a short nod.

Yukino was rendered speechless by Kagura's overwhelming strength. Once again she had not drawn her sword.

"Let's see how you handle this!" One of two men left standing lunged forward, his fists coated in a bright light.

"Biard, wait!" shouted his pudgy comrade. "Don't you recognize her?! That's Kagura Mikazuchi! The White Rabbit of Fairy Tail!"

Kagura swatted Biard away with little effort, sending him flying into the nearest wall.

"I detest that moniker." She muttered under her breath.

The White Fish leaned over and whispered into Yukino's ear. "You'll have to do a lot of training if you wish to reach her level." Her master pouted and looked the other way.

"I'm not trying to compete."

"Of course." the White Fish chuckled. It was clear to her that Yukino was thinking that before she even said anything. "We'll be taking our leave now. Come along, dear."

"See you next time, Mom."

Yukino thanked Pisces for their help and closed their gate.

"I'm out of here!" the last member of Eisenwald escaped down the hall.

"Follow him." Kagura ordered. "He's most likely looking for Erigor."

"O-ok!" Yukino summoned Polaris and gave chase.

When she was gone Kagura's vision began to blur. She staggered, using Archenemy to keep herself upright.

Dammit. I used too much energy on the magic mobile after all. I just hope the others will be able to stop Erigor in time.


Levy, Lyon, and Elfman ran as fast as they could through the train station in their search for Erigor. So far they had nothing to show for their efforts. With time running out they were starting to get desperate.

"Why is this station so big?!" Elfman roared. "It feels like we've gone down the same hallway at least ten times now!"

"Oshibana is a pretty big tourist town." Levy explained. "It's also where the first train station in the entire kingdom was built. It only makes sense that they'd add to it over time to keep up with the rest of the country."

"I think I see something." Lyon pointed ahead to a fork in the road.

According to the arrows the left path lead to the newest train line, while the right pointed towards the old line. Elfman's frustration grew.

"Great. Where do we go now?"

"It looks like our only option is to split up." Lyon reckoned. "I'll take the left path. You two head right."

"Are you sure, Lyon?" asked Levy. While she understood that separating would increase their chances of finding Erigor, she still wasn't too keen on the idea. He wasn't an enemy that they could take alone.

"Yes. It doesn't matter which one of us finds him first as long as we stop him, besides Elfman would benefit from your help much more than I would. He's not the smartest person around."

"What did you say, jerk?!" the takeover wizard fumed.

Lyon grinned. "You heard me. Just make sure you protect Levy."

"I didn't need you to tell me that! A real man always looks out for his friends! Especially girls!"

Levy rolled her eyes. It was like Jet and Droy were right in front of her.

"Stay safe, Lyon." Levy said.

"Same to you."

He took off.

"Get on my back." Elfman said to Levy. "It'll be way faster if I don't have to slow down to wait on you while we're running."

"That's rude! Besides I'm not even tired!" Levy argued.

"Just hop on will ya? We're wasting time."

"Fine, but not because you told me too."


Lyon passed by a number of the station's speakers on the New Line path. Remembered what Erigor said earlier about projecting Lullaby's song through them he turned a corner and found a room at the edge of the hall that read "STUDIO".

"This would be the best place to start."

Wasting no time, he kicked the door down and saw that all of the broadcast equipment inside was untouched. No one had been here in quite a while.

"A dead end."

"Indeed it is."

Lyon heard a loud snapping noise and jumped back, evading a group of cables that fell from the ceiling. Hanging from the ceiling using the cables was a man in a black and yellow hooded jacket.

"Nice try, but we're not that predictable." he taunted.

"You're one of the men from Eisenwald." Lyon realized. "Funny, I thought Kagura would have taken care of all of you by now."

"I will take way more than some girl with a sword to defeat the great Rayule."

"Then tell me 'oh great one', just what is it you and your pack of hounds are planning?"

"You'll just have to wait and see!" Rayule rushed Lyon, the cables wrapped around his fingers whipping every which way. "Let's see how long you can survive my Urumi!"

ICE MAKE: GORILLA

From Lyon's magic circle emerged a large gorilla made of ice. It grabbed Rayule's cables and pulled him forward, punching him through the wall.

"I will give you one last chance to tell me what it is you're planning." Lyon threatened. "If you're not broadcasting the song over the station speakers, then what are you doing?"

Rayule laughed. "Right about now, Erigor's wind barrier should be up and running."

Lyon's brow raised. "His what?"

"It's a huge tornado that keeps all of you in, but doesn't let you out."

Lyon forced Rayule against the wall by the collar of his jacket. He was through playing games.

"What are you after?!"

"The only reason we lured you dopes here was to trap you inside the station." the dark wizard revealed. "From here we can block all traffic heading to the final stop in Clover."

"Why would you need to halt traffic to Clover?"

"Isn't it obvious? The only way to get there is to cross the canyon via train. Unless you can fly like Erigor there's no way you're getting through."

Lyon tightened his grip. "That doesn't answer my question. What is so important about Clov-" His eyes went wide. "You can't mean-"

"Now you get it!"

Rayule's Urumi cables took Lyon by surprise, knocking him away.

Their plan all along was to use Lullaby at the guild master's meeting! Lyon finally realized. "Attacking the guild masters is a bold move, but I guarantee it'll end in failure."

"Normally it would, but now that we have Lullaby those geezers won't know what hit them. It's over!" Rayule captured Lyon. "You and your friends are trapped like rats in this station while Erigor completes our plan. In just a few minutes we'll finally have revenge on everyone that wronged us!"

A blast of icy wind spread out from Lyon's body, freezing Rayule's cables. The ice wizard broke free from his restraints.

"You think it will be that easy?" he rhetorically asked. "An attack on the guild masters is a declaration of war on all legal guilds."

Lyon placed his hand on Rayule's head, encasing his body in ice.

"You criminals will see that messing with Fairy Tail was the biggest mistake you've ever made."


New Chapter! Originally this was one chapter, but I decided to split it into two because I felt it was a little long. The second half of the chapter should be edited and posted next week.

Thanks to all of you who have been supporting this story so far. I really appreciate it. If you like it please continue to support and let others know about it.

As always leave a comment/review letting me know what you think. Thanks for reading! :)