A/N: Apologies for the delay! I took a while to catch back up. Hopefully, by the time I go to sleep tonight, I will be back to my preferred 'two chapters ahead' writing style. Furthermore, I'd like to tell everyone about some of the things that I am excited about in the future of this story. I am extremely excited to write the Phantom Lord arc. I have some amazing ideas for how I want Gajeel and Natsu to meet. I also plan to start writing some framework ideas for a special arc after Wendy joins. In addition, I'm considering getting Natsu some...promotions of sorts...Eventually though, so don't expect them right away. Lastly, something I am both a bit unsure about but also excited about is the Tenrou arc. Considering Natsu's main objective, I'd either have to end the story after that arc or have him fail to complete his goal in life, neither of which I really want to do. So my idea for right now is to have a completely different S-Class trial arc, a GMG with major changes, and a Raven Tail arc separate from the GMG. If you want to review, I encourage you to do so! Part of the reason I write ahead instead of posting as I finish is so I can receive feedback from chapters I've written to modify anything I need to for future chapters. With that said, hopefully, you enjoy the next few chapters! Daily uploads should resume if all goes according to plan.
Lucy and Mira had just returned home from their successful job. In classic Fairy Tail fashion, the entire guild decided to have a party to celebrate. Lucy was getting to know the members a bit better, and they all congratulated her on completing her first mission. Many of them were quite surprised that Mira actually went with her, seeing as she hadn't gone on a mission since Natsu's disappearance. Though the dragon slayer was in some part of all of their minds, no one actually talked about it. It was still quite a sore subject. However, they tried to ignore it, and continued on with their partying. Well, Fairy Tail partying. That is to say most of the guild was currently involved in a massive brawl.
"I'M A REAL MAN!"
"PUT ON SOME CLOTHES, STRIPPER!"
Unfortunately for most of the guild members, though fortunately for Lucy, something would soon be arriving that would quickly end their confrontation. That someone just so happened to be Loke.
"EVERYONE! SHE'S BACK!" he shouted. Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing.
"Aw, crap!"
"I thought she wouldn't be here till tomorrow!"
"I'm getting out of here!"
The guild went from chaos to, well, a different kind of chaos. Rather than beating each other up over trivial disagreements, they were now all desperately trying to clean up, sober up, and some of them were attempting to escape.
"Who's back, Mira?" Lucy asked. 'Loke said she so it probably isn't Natsu…' she thought to herself.
"Oh, it's just Erza, Lucy!" Mira replied, happily.
"ERZA? AS IN ERZA SCARLET? THE STRONGEST WOMAN IN FAIRY TAIL?" Lucy shouted.
"Well, maybe now she is…" Mira muttered.
"She's a monster!" Gray moaned, slumping down on the bar near the two.
"REAL MEN ARE SCARED OF HER!" Elfman shouted from across the room.
Lucy immediately started picturing a raging beast, towering over them, destroying mountains in one strike.
"I know what you're picturing, Lucy," Gray started. "And it's way worse than that…"
Lucy's eyes widened and she gulped. The doors to the guildhall abruptly burst open, however, whatever Lucy was actually expecting did not show up. Instead, it was a rather beautiful young woman clad in armor. The strange part was she was carrying a massive horn of some sort over her shoulder with just one hand. The newly arrived redhead set the horn down and looked at the guild with a scrutinizing glare.
"W-what have you got there, Erza?" a less than noticeable member questioned.
"It's the horn of a monster I defeated," the knight replied. "The town decorated it and gave it to me as thanks. Will it be a problem here?"
"No! Not at all!" the terrified mage quickly answered.
"Why did she bring that back to the guild?" Lucy whispered to Mira. "It's huge!"
Mira giggled before replying. "Oh, it's just a little habit she picked up from Natsu."
"What does that even mean?" Lucy whispered again, still completely lost.
"Well, Natsu has always been one for keeping trophies," Mira answered thoughtfully. "He always keeps something, and if he can't, he just marks it instead."
'That explains a lot…' Lucy thought.
"Look over there," Mira said, gesturing to a far corner of the guildhall. "That's his pride and joy."
"THAT'S A TROPHY HE BROUGHT BACK?" Her voice was still at a whisper level, but she was somehow still shouting.
"Yep! His first S-Class mission. Some dark guild tried to destroy a village with it, and apparently, he liked it so he just brought it back with him. I can't imagine how he got it on the train…"
However, Mira and Lucy's conversation was quickly cut short when Erza approached the white-haired barmaid.
"Mira, where is the Master?" Erza questioned.
"He's at a conference in Clover right now, sorry Erza," Mira answered.
"(sigh) Very well… I have found no new developments on him," Erza added quietly.
"Actually," Mira piped up. "We did."
"Where is he? Has he returned?" Erza's eyes were wide with some sort of strange mixture of excitement, anger, and relief.
"Well, not exactly, but apparently he brought Lucy here to the guild," Mira informed the redhead, gesturing towards the now terrified blonde.
"He actually brought someone to the guild? What happened? Where did he go?" Erza demanded.
"Well, that's the thing," Mira told her, sadly. "Lucy didn't know who he was until after she already joined. Apparently, he disappeared before she even got inside…"
"That's so like him...He will receive great punishment when he returns!" Erza declared, pounding her open hand with a fist.
'Scary…' Lucy thought to herself, shivering.
"Well, with that out of the way…" Erza then turned to face the rest of the guild, which was now terrified and deathly quiet. "I have heard some most unpleasant things about the guild while I was away! The Master may not care, but I certainly do! Cana! Get off the table and drink from a glass like a normal person!"
"But I always drink like this…"
"Elfman! Stop droning on about the joys of manliness! Gray! PUT YOUR DAMN CLOTHES ON! Macao! …."
"Well? Say something at least!"
"I don't even know where to start…"
Macao just looked down at the ground, while his drinking buddy Wakaba patted him on the shoulder reassuringly.
"Now, since I have received some rather interesting news that put me in a bit of a better mood, I've decided I won't say anything about all of your disappointing behavior. However, it is not to continue!"
'She already said a lot…' Lucy thought to herself. 'I really don't want to see her in a bad mood…'
"Gray!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Gray quickly replied.
"I require your assistance. You will meet me at the train station at 10 am sharp tomorrow morning. Is that understood?"
"Wait, why do I-"
"Is that understood?" Erza glared.
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Good! Mira! One strawberry cheesecake, please!"
"Coming right up, Erza!" Mira replied, heading off to fill Erza's order.
The guild erupted in whispers.
"Did she really just ask for help on a mission?"
"Erza hasn't done missions with anyone except for Natsu and Mira, and she only went with Mira when Natsu was there…"
"This really must be intense…."
With cheesecake now promptly in front of her, Erza decided to get to know her new guildmate and possible lead on their missing dragon slayer.
"So, your name was Lucy, is that right?" Erza asked.
"U-Um, yes," Lucy replied, nervously.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail!" Erza declared, aggressively shaking the blonde's hand. "While I do treasure each and every one of the members of this family, some of them are rather poor at following rules. I look forward to seeing what you bring to the table!"
"O-of course…"
"You know, Erza," Mira started, leaning towards the two with her elbows on the bar. "You should bring Lucy along with you and Gray tomorrow. It'd be good for her to get experience."
"I don't know if that's such a good-"
"Excellent suggestion, Mira!" Erza declared, finishing her strawberry cake. "You shall accompany Gray and me tomorrow. Be at the train station at 10 am sharp. Do not be late, understood?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Lucy quickly replied.
"Great! I shall see the two of you tomorrow morning!" With that, Erza departed the guild, the entire guild releasing the breath they'd been holding.
"Mira," Lucy groaned. "Why would you do that?"
"Oh, come on! You could use the experience, and maybe it'll be fun working with Erza!"
"How could that be fun?" the spirit mage questioned.
"Well," Mira thought for a moment. "I went on a mission with her once that was fun! Just try to figure something out! I'm sure you'll do great."
"I don't know about that, Mira…"
With the threat of total annihilation from the now-departed knight, the guild returned to their previous state. Several brawls broke out, Cana hopped back on the table with a freshly acquired barrel of wine, and the noise level returned. Lucy stayed and chatted with Mira for a bit longer, but eventually went home, having to dodge several pieces of furniture and silverware that were flying around on her way. She got home, took a relaxing bath, and went to bed, still extremely nervous about her assignment that would come the next day. For some reason though, she wasn't quite as scared as she thought she'd be.
What she didn't notice when leaving the guild, was a lone figure wrapped in a cloak sitting on top of the guild. 'This must be serious…' the figure thought, before returning from where he'd come deep in the forest.
The next morning, Lucy had arrived at the train station a few minutes early, ensuring her avoidance of Erza's wrath. It was there that she met up with Gray, who seemed to be there early for the same reason, however, he did seem to forget to get dressed that morning.
"Lucy? What are you doing here?"
"GRAY! YOUR CLOTHES!"
"Ah, crap...I had them on earlier…"
Gray returned after a few minutes, now fully dressed.
"So anyway, why are you here?"
"Mira told Erza I should come to get experience, and for some reason, she agreed…"
"That does sound like something Mira would do, but agreeing does seem rather un-Erza-like," Gray assessed.
"Where is she anyway? She should have been here five minutes ago! I thought she would kill me if I was late…"
Before Gray had a chance to answer, the missing mage in question began to approach, followed by a gigantic dolley filled to the brim with suitcases.
"I apologize for my lateness, you may hit me in penance," Erza declared as soon as she arrived, and bowed her head to the two mages.
"Uh...no that's ok, Erza. We haven't been here long…" Lucy said, staring at the luggage.
"Do you really need all that stuff?" Gray questioned.
"Of course I do! Why wouldn't I?"
"Nevermind…"
The three mages boarded the train, still unaware of the very curious hooded figure that was following them…
"So, want to tell us what you needed us for?" Gray started after the train pulled out of the station.
"Yes. I was coming home from my latest mission when I stopped at a bar on the way back for a drink...
Flashback
Erza arrived at a bar in Onibas on her way home from her latest job, which involved destroying a somewhat large monster for a village. They were quite appreciative, and they paid her well. It was here she overheard a rather interesting conversation…
"Yo, BARTENDER! Can we get our GOD DAMN drinks over here, or what!"
"O-of course, sir...I'm terribly sorry." the bar employee stuttered back.
"Calm down, Byard. Don't get your panties in a twist man!"
"How can I calm down! We were this close to getting Lullaby when we ran into that shitty seal!"
"Quiet! Someone could hear!"
"Ugh, dammit!"
"Calm down, both of you. I can take care of the seal. Just go back to the guild and tell Erigor that I'll be back in three days."
"You sure you can do this, Kageyama?"
"Of course, you three just scuttle on home…"
Flashback End
"I feel like such a fool for not remembering who he is before. If I had known, I could have beat them and forced them to tell me their plans!" Erza declared angrily.
'I preferred her when she was in a better mood…' Lucy cried mentally.
"Erigor? I know that name from somewhere…" Gray questioned.
"Erigor, ace of the dark guild Eisenwald. It used to be a legal guild. but after it continued taking assassination requests, they were disbanded by the council. Unfortunately, the fools chose money over rules and continued on. Eventually, Erigor earned his moniker Erigor the Reaper, due to his exclusivity to taking assassination requests..."
"Th-the reaper?" Lucy nervously asked.
"Why are you all slimy?"
"SHUT UP, GRAY! IT'S SWEAT!"
"What is Lullaby anyway?" Gray asked.
'Why does that sound so familiar?' Lucy thought to herself.
"I'm unsure, but seeing that it's sealed, it must be truly powerful magic…"
"So that's why you called backup. If it was just a few of those guys you could have beaten them easily, but a full guild you'd need some reinforcements…"
"Indeed. I wish I could have taken Mira as well, but she hasn't been on a mission since Natsu left…"
"Well, actually she went on a mission with Lucy just yesterday…"
"WHAT? WHY DIDN'T YOU MENTION THIS EARLIER?"
"I'm sorry! You didn't ask! I had no idea!" Gray cried in fear.
"I knew I should have asked anyway! If we are injured on this mission, you may strike me in repentance!"
"Uh, I'm sure we'll be fine, Erza," Gray deadpanned.
"Do you even know where their guild is?" Lucy asked.
"Not a clue!" Erza declared.
'Great…' Lucy and Gray both thought.
"Hey, Erza, now that I think about it, the only members whose magic I've seen are Natsu and Mira. What kind of magic do you use?" Lucy asked.
"Interesting question, Lucy! I use requip magic. I am able to access a pocket dimension in order to store weapons and other battle equipment and summon them at any time."
"That sounds amazing!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Really? I always found Gray's magic rather beautiful myself."
"You think so?" Gray asked, creating a small Fairy Tail insignia in his palm with his ice-make magic.
"Ice magic?" Lucy questioned.
"It's a type of maker magic, ice-make magic. I can essentially create anything out of ice to fight with."
The three continued their discussion, seemingly unaware of the cloaked figure who was sitting several rows away.
'I knew I should have taken that job against Erigor, dammit!' the cloaked figure thought to himself, desperately trying not to vomit. 'Now if only I could get off of this hellspawn of a machine!'
The train continued on its way down the tracks towards Oshibana station, the town where Erza planned to collect information about the location of Eisenwald. They just arrived, when over the loudspeaker lacrima a voice spoke up.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we ask that even if this is not your stop, everyone please disembark the train. We are having...uh...technical difficulties, so we require the train to be completely empty while we...uh...repair it."
"Something is definitely wrong," Erza said, walking out of the train along with everyone else.
"Are you sure? Maybe there really is-" Gray tried to ask, however, he was far too late. A suspicious Erza is not a controllable Erza.
"YOU THERE! WHAT IS GOING ON?" Erza was currently in the process of 'interrogating' some of the train workers for information. That involved asking a question and then knocking them unconscious if they don't give her a satisfactory response within a few seconds.
"Erza certainly has a...unique...way of doing things…" Lucy said nervously.
"That's Erza for you," Gray said, almost shivering.
"WHAT IS GOING ON?"
"Wait! You're Titania from Fairy Tail, right?" a terrified train worker said. He had just come out of the building and witnessed the knight's angry rampage.
"Indeed I am! Now tell me! Why did you unload the train?"
"Oh, thank goodness! Listen carefully! The next stop, Kunugi Station, has been taken over by a dark guild. We have no idea what they're after, but they told us to send the train through and any passengers left on board would be killed!"
Erza was shocked at this news, but her shock quickly turned to anger when the train began to pull out of the station.
"Quickly! Follow me!" Erza shouted, racing into town.
Lucy and Gray nodded at each other and raced after her. They quickly acquired a magic four-wheeler and drove full speed alongside the tracks.
"Erza! Slow down! You're going to run out of magic energy before we even get there!"
"If my hunch is right, that's Eisenwald! If we don't get there soon, who knows what will happen!"
The SE plug that powered the vehicle that Erza was currently driving, was attached to her wrist and was rapidly absorbing her magical energy. Magic vehicles such as this one run off of the drivers' magic energy, which it absorbs through special plugs called Self-Energy plugs. Erza was nearly overinflating the machine as she rapidly pumped her magic into it, desperately trying to catch up to the rapidly retreating train.
Meanwhile, on the train, only two people remained. However, they were both rather oblivious to each other, as one was passed out on the floor, and the other was just talking to himself.
"Soon you will all tremble...You who took our rights from us...You will feel the mighty wrath of Eisenwald! Hahahahahahahahaha!"
Within twenty minutes, the train arrived at Kunugi Station, giving him a bit of a head start on the flies he was unaware were following him.
"Ah, there you are, Kageyama," Erigor said. "And here I was worried you wouldn't be coming…I assume you brought it with you?"
"Of course, it's right here." The man known as Kageyama reached into his bag and pulled out an ancient-looking flute. It was made of wood, had a three-eyed skull at one end, and gave off a strong feeling of death.
"Ah, excellent work, Kageyama," Erigor praised, inspecting the flute. "Now I'm sure you're all wondering what exactly this beautiful masterpiece here does. Allow me to enlighten you…" Erigor now turned to the rest of Eisenwald's members, who were all eager to find out more about this supposed 'ultimate weapon' that their leader had been so thrilled to finally get his hands on.
It was during this discussion, that the three Fairy Tail mages finally arrived at the station, shoving through the crowd to enter the station.
"Excuse me, but you can't-" one of the workers tried to say before he was knocked out by Erza.
"Out of the way! We're from Fairy Tail!" Erza shouted, ignoring the shock and confusion from the rest of the train workers. Lucy and Gray just looked at each other and sighed, before following their rampaging knight.
"Oh my god…" Lucy whispered. They were running through the station when they came upon a defeated group of what was likely a small military unit. "Are they…"
"Yes...Most of them are indeed dead…" Erza responded, clear anger in her voice. "There's nothing we can do about them now. A small unit such as this stood no chance against a full guild."
Lucy had to work hard to not get sick at the sight. Her first sight of massive amounts of death. It was hard to stomach. The only person she had seen dead before was her mother, but this was different...These men were killed. They were bleeding and disfigured, their bones broken and at weird angles. This was a slaughter, not some unfortunate disease that took their lives too soon.
"ERIGOR!" Erza shouted upon entering the main station area. It was filled with Eisenwald members.
"Is that a fly? How did you get in here? Did someone leave the windows open?" Erigor asked with a smirk. "No matter, flies. You can have your train station back, we have no need for it any longer."
"You shall tell me what you plan to do with Lullaby this instant! Depending on your answer I shall decide whether to turn you over to the council or punish you myself!" she yelled again, requipping a sword and pointing it at the reaper.
Gray shivered slightly, while Erigor just got wide-eyed.
"I don't know how you know about that, fly, but you have no chance to stop our plans!" Erigor floated up above the train, glaring down at the three mages.
"He can fly?" Lucy exclaimed.
"It's wind magic…" Gray answered, glaring back at Erigor.
"You mages have lived in the light for far too long. We've been stripped of our rights and our pride! The fools at the council have no idea what they've done to us! So, we're taking matters into our own hands now…" Erigor declared, showing off his new toy.
"Wait...Lullaby? A three-eyed skull?" Lucy asked. "I read about that! I thought it was just a myth, but that's real?"
"Well, it seems one of you flies is quite knowledgeable…" Erigor mused.
"Well, what is it?" Erza demanded.
"There's such a thing as death magic, magic that is meant to kill anything it touches. Lullaby is a flute enchanted with death magic…"
"Quite right, little fly," Erigor laughed. "This flute used to be a simple death curse weapon, capable of killing several people at once. However, the legendary black wizard himself, Zeref, modified it. Now it's the ultimate weapon of death, capable of killing thousands at once with just one song."
"THAT'S INDISCRIMINATE MASS MURDER! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" Erza roared.
"How will killing everyone help get your rights back?" Lucy shouted.
"We're long past trying to get our rights back, foolish flies! This is the time for retribution! To pay back everyone who locked us away in fear! Who stuffed us in a cage and threw away the key!"
The Eisenwald guild members roared their support for their leader, echoing his words of retribution and vengeance.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment that I really mustn't be late for...I'll leave you in the capable hands of everyone here…" Erigor turned to his guild. "Kill them! Don't let the flies escape!"
"You're not going anywhere, Erigor!" Erza roared.
"Man, the boss gets all the fun!"
"Those two chicks are hot though...shame we gotta kill them."
"I'd say we start with the shirtless guy...I want to keep the blonde for later."
"Three people against an entire guild? How are we supposed to win?" Lucy cried.
"YOU SHALL NOT STAND IN MY WAY!" Erza shouted, charging at the Eisenwald members.
"You're not the only one here who can use sword magic, lady!" one of them declared, as several of them requipped swords of their own.
"Just watch for a second, Lucy. You'll see why everyone's so afraid of Erza…" Gray said.
"I haven't already seen that?" Lucy asked nervously, terrified at seeing Erza when she was trying to be scary. Gray just smirked.
"HIYAAHHH!" Erza swung her sword horizontally and blew back several of the enemy mages. It was like watching a well-practiced dance, as Erza sliced through the guild, blocking, parrying, and striking with perfect precision. Whenever the situation favored it, she would change her weapon, going from a single greatsword, to a spear, to dual one-handed swords, and finally to a massive axe.
"That's amazing! I could fall in love with her!"
"It's certainly something else, but I want in on the fun too! Ice-make HAMMER!" Gray shouted, creating a massive hammer of ice above several enemy mages, squishing them under its weight.
"Hey! Don't leave me out! OPEN! Gate of the Giant Crab! Cancer!" Lucy called, summoning her crab spirit before her.
"Ready for action, baby."
The three mages were easily defeating their opposition, but there seemed to be an endless stream of opposition. For every one they took down, another would show up.
"Enough of this! I'll take you all down at once! Requip! HEAVEN'S WHEEL!" Erza called. A brilliant yellow light coated her body for a moment, and she emerged in a completely different set of armor. She had massive wing-shaped metal ornaments on her back, a silver breastplate that covered her chest and hips, and metal straps covering her biceps. The entire armor was a brilliant silver. "DANCE MY BLADES! CIRCLE SWORD!" Erza proceeded to summon around a dozen swords in a ring and launched them forwards, cutting down more than half of the remaining members.
"Alright, Erza! That was incredible!" Lucy shouted.
"That's Erza for you," Gray replied, smiling slightly. "The armor change is magic only Erza can use called The Knight. Requip magic is fairly common, but The Knight is exclusive to her."
"Wait, I've seen her somewhere before. Red hair, lightning-fast requip speed, and the ability to change armors? That's Titania! The Fairy Queen!" one of the dark mages cried.
"Who cares!" another one shouted. "Fairy Tail's pathetic now! Ever since Salamander left, they're lucky to still be standing!"
"Yeah! Sabertooth is Fiore's finest now!" a third called.
"Titania?" Lucy asked, continuing on their crusade on the remaining few members.
"Yeah, I'm not sure when it started, but Erza's nickname is Titania meaning 'Queen of the Fairies.' It has something to do with her being the strongest woman in Fairy Tail, but I don't know how long she's had it," Gray replied.
A few minutes later, they had finally managed to cut down the last few members of Eisenwald, except for one, who was currently under extremely aggressive interrogation by none other than Erza Scarlet. While physically exhausted, that would not stop her from finding out whatever that menace Erigor was up to, and putting a stop to it.
"WHERE DID ERIGOR GO?" Erza demanded at the cowering mage in front of her.
"Hah, l-like I'd tell you an-anything!" the mage sneered, desperately fighting the nervous terror he felt at the knight who just cut down his entire guild.
Erza summoned a sword and pressed it to his neck. "For every time you don't answer my question you will gain a new scar! Now, where is Erigor?"
"She's terrifying…" Lucy whispered.
"You have no idea…" Gray answered, shivering.
"OK! OK! I'll tell you! He's on his way to Clover! Please don't hurt me!"
"Clover? But that's-" Erza started, eyes widening.
"That's where the guild master conference is being held! Master Makarov is there along with a bunch of the other guild masters!" Gray finished a shocked expression on his face as well.
"Dammit! We need to hurry! For all we know he could already be there!" Erza shouted, and knocked the mage unconscious. "The four-wheeler isn't fast enough, and I don't have enough magic power left to get us there even if it was!"
"How are we gonna get there in time?" Gray asked furiously.
"Do you think we could take the train?" Lucy asked.
"Don't be ridiculous, Lucy! We couldn't-wait…" Erza started.
"ERZA? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" Gray shouted. "Do you even have any idea of how to drive that thing?"
"No, but I can find someone who does! Gray, you get on board! Lucy and I will find someone and persuade him to get you there!"
"What kind of plan is that?"
"We don't have any other options, Gray! Just do as I say!" Erza demanded.
"Yes, ma'am!"
"And be careful! Erigor is not to be underestimated! If you have to, just stall him until we get there!"
"Don't worry about it, Erza...This pushover is gonna be a breeze," Gray replied confidently, walking over to the train.
"Lucy! You're with me! I'll need help if I'm going to last all the way to Clover."
"Coming!"
The two ran off, determined to find someone that could get Gray to Clover in time to protect the guild masters.
"You realize (cough cough) that you're way too late, flies…" Kageyama told Gray from the ground. "If you even manage to get there, they'll all be dead long before you have a chance. And even if you could, you don't stand a chance against Erigor…"
"That's what you think, punk," Gray replied. "But if there's one thing I've learned about Fairy Tail, it's to never underestimate the power of our guild. I'll show him something even more terrifying than a dark guild."
He then boarded the train, still skeptical of this idea working, however, he trusted Erza and Lucy. 'Hurry up, guys,' Gray thought to himself.
Erza was running out front with Lucy and she ran into a few of the train workers she had run past earlier. "YOU!" she shouted, pointing at one of the workers. "Call the council! We have prisoners for them to pick up! All of Eisenwald is inside! The rest of you! We need you to get the train to Clover NOW!"
"We can't just-"
"THAT WAS NOT A REQUEST, THAT WAS AN ORDER! PEOPLE'S LIVES ARE AT STAKE HERE! TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!"
"Look, I get that, but-" Erza knocked him unconscious.
"Do any of the rest of you have issues?" she asked, glaring at the rest of them, who shook their heads. "Good! Now unless you want to be responsible for the possible deaths of hundreds if not thousands of innocent people, you will send the train to Clover! Now!"
"Right away, Miss!" the train workers scurried off.
"Lucy! You take the first leg! I need to recover a bit longer and then I'll take over!"
"Right!" Lucy replied nervously, hurrying after Erza who had already run over to the magic four-wheeler.
"QUICKLY!"
"SORRY, ERZA!" Lucy cried.
Meanwhile, Erigor was getting ever so much closer to Clover. 'It's almost time...I'm sure those flies are all swatted by now. Maybe I should have made a barrier for some insurance? No, even if they aren't all killed, they'll never catch up in time! And even if they could, I'd kill them all myself!' Erigor thought to himself.
Back at Kunugi station, the train finally began to move. 'Finally!' Gray thought to himself.
'Ugh….I just woke up too…' thought another figure, who still hadn't been noticed on the train. In fairness to the rest of them, however, he had been unconscious for the duration of the fight against Eisenwald. Just his luck that right when he was beginning to stand up again, that cursed machine started moving.
Gray was pressed up against the window, keeping watch for any sign of the escaped wind mage. Five minutes went by...then ten...then twenty...and finally he saw him, a shocked Erigor who had almost arrived at Clover.
'Why is the train running already?' Erigor thought. 'There's no way! Damn flies!'
'I finally caught up to you, Erigor…' Gray thought.
A few minutes later, Gray arrived at the train station and immediately began sprinting over to where the guild master's meeting was being held. He arrived just before Erigor, who was looking at him with a furious expression.
"Well, well, well...Looks like one little fly made it here. While I am rather...impressed...your little journey ends here and now…"
"Not a chance, Erigor," Gray declared, getting in his stance. "I'm taking you down!"
"You can try, little fly, but I'm not giving up just because you managed to catch up to me…"
"Ice-make LANCE!" Gray called, unleashing a volley of spearheads made of ice at Erigor.
He dodged them quite easily and snickered slightly. "Is that all you've got, fly? Storm Bringer!" Erigor called, swiping his hand across his body, summoning a tornado in front of him towards this ice mage.
Gray managed to dodge the worst of it but got a few cuts from the power of the wind.
"Storm shred!" Erigor shouted, launching a series of thin gusts of wind towards Gray.
"Ice-make SHIELD!" Gray responded, creating a shield made of ice in front of him. They managed to pierce through slightly, but the damage was largely negated. "Ice-make HAMMER!" Gray shouted, summoning an ice hammer above Erigor that came crashing down right next to him.
"Closer, but you can't swat the flyswatter!" Erigor charged Gray with his scythe, swinging it in an attempt to decapitate the mage. Gray managed to duck under it in time and attempted to punch Erigor in the stomach, who blocked it with relative ease. Their dance continued briefly, the two dodging or blocking each other's blows, but Gray was at a clear disadvantage being unarmed, so he managed to gain some distance after one too many close calls.
"DAMN YOU FLY! GET BACK HERE!" The two mages continued trading spells, neither able to land more than a glancing blow for several minutes, before Erigor lost his patience. "ENOUGH OF THIS! STORM MAIL!" Erigor was immediately surrounded by an armor of wind, which rapidly spun around him.
"That wind isn't nearly enough to beat me! Ice-make: bazooka!" Gray declared, firing a thick ice shot from an ice bazooka he crafted. Much to his dismay, it was immediately shredded by the wind before it could ever touch the wind mage.
"You can't touch me anymore, little fly! This is my ultimate defense, storm mail! However, you seem to be standing too, so why don't we fix that little problem. My ultimate attack! Emera BARAM!" Erigor shouted, forming a plus sign with his fingers and firing a massive horizontal tornado of wind several times stronger than his previous one blasting towards the ice mage.
"Ice-make SHIELD!" Gray called, just before being cut to shreds. When the dust settled, Gray was lying on the ground, arms cut up and bleeding, his shield all but destroyed.
"While it is impressive you are still in one piece, fly, it is high time you meet your end," Erigor declared, dropping his storm mail and raising his scythe into the air.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that if I were you!" Gray taunted, dodging his scythe and hopping to his feet at the last second.
"HOW ARE YOU STILL STANDING?" Erigor asked, shocked and angry that the ice mage was just pretending.
"Never underestimate Fairy Tail! Ice-make SEVEN STRIKE DANCE!" Gray shouted, creating blades of ice on his forearm and elbow. He rapidly struck at Erigor seven times, cutting his chest, abdomen, and arms.
"AGHHHH!" Erigor shouted, falling to the ground panting. "Stupid...fly…"
"Tell it to the council, blowhard," Gray replied, kicking away his scythe, before striking him in the temple, knocking the dark mage unconscious. The ice mage took Erigor's bag from him and dug through it until he found what he was looking for, a flute with a three-eyed skull. "Jackpot!"
"GRAY!" Gray turned his head to see both Erza and Lucy running at him. Both seemed exhausted and had worried expressions on their faces.
"Yo," Gray said with a wave. "I got him, doing fine."
"Excellent work Gray," Erza said with a smile. "You really have improved a lot over the years…"
"What can I-" Gray was interrupted by the flute, which had begun to rapidly vibrate in his hand. "What the heck? What's going on with this thing?"
"FOOLISH MORTALS! IF YOU WON'T PLAY MY SONG OF DEATH THEN I WILL!" the flute angrily declared. Its voice was loud and full of timbre.
"Did the flute just talk? Lucy?" Erza asked, just as confused as the other two.
"Don't look at me! I don't know anything about it!"
Gray dropped the flute and retreated towards Lucy and Erza, who were now set in a defensive stance.
"MORTALS ARE FAR TOO WEAK TO PLAY MY SONG! I SHALL CONSUME YOUR SOULS MYSELF!" The flute began to grow rapidly, and where once sat a simple instrument, albeit a creepy one, now stood a gigantic monster. It was the same color as the flute, a pale, aged wood, but now stood easily more than ten times the height of any of the mages. Instead of a stomach, it had a large hole, its arm span was gigantic, and atop its giant head sat two horns. In its mouth were razor-sharp teeth, however, it didn't appear to be able to close its mouth. If it wasn't so obviously terrifying, it would almost be amusing.
"Lucy! Go evacuate the guild masters! Gray and I will keep it busy!" Erza ordered.
"There's no need for that Erza, we're all fully aware of the situation."
"Makarov? Goldmine? All of you are ok, thank goodness!"
"I'm a little surprised you thought we wouldn't have noticed, what with all the racket Gray made with that wind mage earlier…" Makarov grumbled. "Mind telling us what's going on?"
"I'm not quite sure," Erza admitted. "I can give you the details later, but this thing used to be a flute called Lullaby!"
"Lullaby?" Blue Pegasus guild master Bob questioned. "I've heard of that, but I had no idea it was living magic..."
"Living magic?" Lucy asked nervously.
"The legendary black wizard Zeref specialized in it," Bob said nodding. "His legacy was formed from his demonic creatures of destruction, but that was over four hundred years ago! I can't believe any of them still exist!"
"I HAVE DECIDED TO TAKE ALL OF YOUR SOULS TOGETHER! PREPARE TO PERISH, MORTALS!"
"You ready for this, Erza?" Gray asked, preparing a stance.
"Onward!" Erza declared. "Requip! Black wing armor!" Once again, Erza glowed a bright yellow momentarily for a few seconds, before revealing her new set of armor. It was black as the name implies but sported a silver trim. The armor covered her chest and waist, with large shoulder pads and elbow-length gauntlets. The armor also sported long wings that emerged from the back of the armor.
"Black wing armor? That raises the attack power of a mage!" one of the guild masters said, watching the two Fairy Tail wizards initiate the fight.
Erza shot towards Lullaby, sword in hand, and sliced at its figure while dodging its attempts to swat her away.
"Ice-make LANCE!" Gray shouted, firing his own attack at the monster.
"RAGHHHHH!" Lullaby roared. "FOOLISH MORTALS! YOU'RE ATTACKS ARE USELESS! I SHALL KILL YOU ALL!"
The monster fired a massive beam towards a group of guild masters, but before it could hit them Gray intercepted.
"Ice-make SHIELD!"
"I've never seen a maker wizard so fast before!" another guild master exclaimed.
The fight continued. For a short while, it looked like Erza and Gray were managing to push the creature back, but after a few minutes, it was clear that the two mages were running on empty. Erza was knocked back from a strike by Lullaby, and Gray was nearly crushed by a tree the creature threw at him.
"Now, my children! I believe you've done enough!" Makarov said. "I'll-"
"I don't believe that will be necessary, Makarov…" Master Bob said.
"What do you mean? My children could be killed if we allow this to continue!" Makarov demanded.
"You don't sense that magic power? Man, you really are getting old!" Goldmine, the master of Quatro Cerberus, added. "Been a while since I felt this much."
Makarov paused for a moment before smiling slightly. "You've finally come back, brat…"
A single cloaked figure was walking towards Lullaby from behind.
"That is enough, Demon of Zeref…" the figure said.
"WHO IS THIS NEW MORTAL THAT DARES ATTEMPT TO GIVE AN ORDER TO ME?" Lullaby roared, turning to face the newcomer.
Gray and Erza looked at each other, their eyes widened.
"Is that…"
"No way…"
The hooded figure took a stance. His left leg was bent at the knee in front of him while he leaned forward slightly. His arms were behind him and to his side, his fingers bent almost like they were talons, and his hands left a small gap between them. "O' flames that burn white with holy light, may you join together with those of a raging dragon…" From his right hand a powerful orange fire began shooting out, forming a massive orb of flames with the brilliant white fire that shot from his left.
"It really is…" Erza whispered, tearing up slightly.
"Always gotta make an entrance…" Gray muttered, shaking his head and smiling.
"Master? Who's that?" Lucy asked.
"I think you'll know in a moment, child," he responded.
"Royal Dragon Slayer Secret Art..." The orb of flames formed into a katana made entirely of fire, which the cloaked figure grasped in his hands. He dashed forward so quickly had anyone blinked they would have missed it. The figure was now standing behind Lullaby, the sword seemingly disappeared. "Dual Dragon Fire Hellstorm," he finished.
"Uh, was something supposed-" Lucy tried to say before she was cut off.
BOOOOOOM
A massive eruption of fire burst from the demon, creating a beacon of flaming light. The sound was immense, it alone sent shockwaves through the air. The spell was a perfect mix of white and orange flames, resulting in a gorgeous pillar of burning destruction.
"AGHHHHHH!" the demon screamed, as the fire burned. In a matter of seconds that seemed like hours, the once-massive demon was no more, all evidence of its existence burned away.
"What power…"
"He killed it in one shot…"
"What is he?" The guild masters were in a frenzy, save a few who were acquainted with the said mage.
"Good to see you again, my boy!" Makarov called.
"Indee-OOF!" The cloaked figure attempted to reply but was cut off when Erza tackled him to the ground.
"NATSU!" Erza cried, hugging him fiercely.
"Ugh...Erza, it's been-OW!" Once again, Natsu was cut off. This time, it was from a fierce slap from Erza, who immediately went back to hugging him. "I suppose I deserve that…"
"I can't decide whether I'm happy you're back or whether I hate you for leaving…" she whispered.
Natsu chuckled slightly and returned the hug. "Good to see you too."
"I missed you," Erza added softly.
"I missed you as well, Erza."