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Necromancer

a person who uses witchcraft or sorcery, especially to reanimate dead people or to foretell the future by communicating with them

The guild scrambles to find the necromancer setting up shop in town before things turn nasty. Things do not go as expected.

Makarov gathers the guild together, and their laughing taunts fade to silence as they catch sight of the deadly serious look on his face.

"Listen up, brats," he says, clapping his hands. "We have a problem. Over the past couple of days, I've sensed traces of necromancy magic around Magnolia."

"Necromancy?" Natsu asks. "Wait, like dead people?"

"Yes," Makarov says soberly. "Someone has been dabbling in black magic. Raising the dead is a very serious business, and we need to find the culprit before they get into a world of trouble. Let's ask around to find out if there are any suspicious strangers in town. If we can find any more traces of necromancy, we can follow them back to the source."

"Is it really that bad?" Happy wonders aloud. "Maybe they don't mean to do anything bad. I haven't seen any dead people roaming around."

"We're gonna get zombies?" Natsu asks, perking up.

"Necromancers usually have bad intentions," Makarov says. "And even if they don't, necromancy is a black magic that twists everything around. Death isn't meant to be reversible, as much as we'd like it to be. Dead things don't come back the same. Something gets twisted up inside them. It's better to let the dead rest."

He brings out a small wooden box carved with glyphs and cracks it open to reveal a talisman of feathers and small bones. A chill miasma seeps out, making the assembled mages shiver.

"This is what we're looking for," he says.

Natsu frowns. "If you've already found it, then why are we looking for it? Wait, I thought we were looking for a zombie?"

Erza elbows him hard in the side. "No zombies, at least not yet. We're looking for a necromancer."

"This is entirely unrelated," Makarov says, closing the box again. The spine-chilling tingle fades from the air. "This is just a talisman I found long ago. But it should give you an idea of what to look for. That is what necromancy magic feels like. Please take this seriously, everyone. It could be a matter of life and death."

Natsu snickers, and Gray cracks a smile. Makarov throws them an exasperated look. Erza cracks them both over the head and drags them back out of the guild, sulking, to get to work.

"I really don't think this is as big of a deal as everyone is making it out to be," Happy complains.

"I agree!" Natsu says. "Zombies sound pretty cool, actually."

"Only because you don't have any brains for them to eat," Gray mutters.

"Hey!"

Lucy appeals to Erza. "Can you please talk some sense into them?"

The boys shut up. Their heads still ache from the last time she turned her attention on them.

"The Master said it was serious," she says. "We'll take it seriously."

"I'd rather go fishing," Happy grumbles. He casts an accusing look at Natsu. "You haven't taken me fishing in ages. Those store fish just aren't the same as fresh ones."

"Not everything is about fish," Erza says with a sigh.

They hover around the edges of town, looking for any sign of mysterious strangers or dark magic. They don't have a lot to go on. Makarov has sensed the barest hint of magic in a couple of places, along busy streets, but not enough to point them to some seedy hideout.

"What about the graveyard?" Natsu asks, his face lighting up. "Guy's gonna need a dead body to raise, right?"

Lucy pulls a face. "You seem way too excited about this whole thing."

"I think Mira's group is stationed around the cathedral," Erza says. "We'll search our assigned area."

They wander around for the rest of the day and come up empty.

"Maybe there's no necromancer," Happy suggests. "Jii-chan might just be going senile."

"You will not insult the Master like that," Erza says, face thunderous.

Happy gulps and stays quiet the whole way back to the guild. None of the teams find anything that day.

The next day dawns much like the last, and by lunchtime Erza is the only one of the group with any vigor left. Gray and Natsu exchange quiet but heated barbs to entertain themselves, and Lucy drags her feet. Happy begs off after lunch to go home and take a nap.

"A nap?" Gray repeats. "Since when do you take naps?"

"I'm a cat," Happy says, even though he's usually all too eager to point out that an Exceed is not really a cat at all. "Cats take naps."

"You've been taking a lot of naps lately," Natsu says suspiciously. "It's not like you."

"Maybe if you didn't snore like a freight train and keep me up all night…"

Natsu goes visibly green. "Don't talk about trains. And I don't snore!"

"You absolutely do!" Happy and Gray say together with feeling. Sharing a room with him on jobs is bad enough, and sharing a house is even worse.

Erza sighs and waves Happy off. "You aren't helping, anyway."

On the third day, Makarov approaches the team with a grim countenance. "Natsu, we've found large traces of black magic in the woods behind your house. It seems that someone is using the forest for cover. Have you or Happy seen anything strange?"

"By our house?" Natsu asks. "We have zombies?"

"…No zombies that we've found."

"Well, I haven't noticed anything. I don't know about Happy. He stayed behind to take another nap. He might be practicing to hibernate. I doubt he's seen anything, though."

"Why don't we go take a look? You're more familiar with the area, and we can put your nose to work."

The team follows Makarov out to Natsu and Happy's house, and he leads them to a small clearing back in the woods. Sure enough, a faint taste of rot hangs over the area.

Natsu pulls a face. "I thought the guy would go to the graveyard for bodies. You don't think there are bodies buried out here in my woods, do you?"

"Depends," Gray mutters. "Have you been killing people and burying them in the woods?"

"Of course not!"

"Has Happy?"

"Okay, okay," Erza interrupts. "Let's focus, please."

They quiet down and creep through the woods. Natsu's nose proves useless, only picking up on the scents of animals and Happy and himself, so instead they look for places where the tingle of necromancy is stronger. Eventually, they discover that it grows stronger eastwards, and they sneak through the vegetation, wincing at every snapped twig. This is their best lead, and they hope to catch the necromancer before he hears them coming.

Something moves up ahead, and a small burst of dark magic flares up. The team exchanges looks.

"Let's catch him in the act!" Makarov hisses.

They rush forward, pushing through the brush, and burst into another small clearing to see…

"Happy?" Natsu asks, stunned.

Happy starts in surprise and blinks at them with wide, guilt-filled eyes. Fish bones litter the ground around him. A live fish wriggles in his paws. A number of small packets labeled with ominous-looking runes peek out from beneath a nearby bush.

"Oh…" he says, ears flattening. "Hello. Fancy seeing you here."

They stare at him some more.

Finally, Makarov picks his jaw up off the ground. "Happy…are you using necromancy to resurrect fish?"

"I'm sorry!" Happy wails. "I wasn't doing anything bad. I just bought the charms from the lady we did a job for a couple of weeks ago, with the charm shop. She has some black market stuff. But I'm not letting them run around or anything! I'm just eating them."

Natsu turns green. "You're eating zombie fish?"

"You won't take me fishing! We haven't gone in weeks! I'm telling you, that store fish isn't the same."

Erza closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose. "We've been hunting for a necromancer for days, and you've been sneaking off to take 'naps' and resurrect fish to eat? You didn't even think to tell us?"

Happy pouts and hugs his fish tighter. "You would have told me to stop," he mumbles.

"You didn't even think to take a break until it all blew over?"

"I didn't think you'd actually catch me."

Lucy puts her head in her hands. "I have no words."

"Right," Makarov says, summoning up a stern look for Happy. "I'm confiscating the rest of those charms, and you are to stop this at once. Necromancy isn't something to play around with."

"But fish," Happy says sadly.

"Natsu, for the love of all things holy, take him fishing."

Note: And this is why Natsu needs to take Happy fishing on a regular basis lol Happy almost Halloween XD