Chapter 5 – Lullaby
Dear Storm,
I know it's been a while since I last wrote to you, but Lucy and I have settled in to Fairy Tail pretty well I'd say. We even finished our very first job as a team with someone. Natsu and Happy, the two we met in Hargeon and brought us to Magnolia. The job itself was a simple one, although Natsu proved he could be a sneaky, clever bastard when he wants to be. All we had to do was steal a book from a duke out in Shirotsume and burn it for our client.
As you probably could guess, this job went a little off course. Apparently, we Fairy Tail mages weren't the only one to try to complete this job for our client. The duke pretty much guessed that we were there to steal something from him, based on the other failed attempts of other guilds. However, he wasn't sure just what we all were after. I guess, Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and I all got further than the others, because he was rather surprised when we found the book we needed to steal and destroy.
We all fought, and during the battle, Lucy found out that the book we needed to steal held a secret.
Not only was it written by one of her favorite authors, but it also told the story of how the duke had illegally imprisoned the author and forced him to write a novel he didn't want to create. By threatening the author's family, the duke eventually got what he wanted three years later. What the duke was unaware of though, was that the author had written a book about all of the things he had wanted his son to know from him. When he finished writing such a book, the author cast a spell on it to hide the books true nature from the duke.
Satisfied with the author's work, Everlue eventually let the author go back home to where he belonged. Not long after that, the author died.
When we had spoken to the client before taking the job, I could sense that there was more to everything. Unfortunately, I won't know anymore of the details until I return to Magnolia. After we got the book and were heading back to the home of the client, I split ways with Natsu, Lucy, and Happy. Knowing how destructive Natsu is, I took an extra job from the guild. The request is to help track down a runaway.
I know it's a bit confusing as to why I wouldn't take this job first. Well, Lucy also asked me the same thing. My answer to her was to give the kid some time to think about things. He's come into his magic and is using it to evade everyone trying to get him to go back home. I just hope that I can talk some sense into him…
That being said, I'd better get going. The sun's rising, so I need to get to the client and get to tracking the boy while I have the light to do so. I'll write to you again soon.
With love,
Icelynn.
XXX
Folding up my newest letter to Storm, I put it in my bag before closing it. Standing up, I slung my bag over my shoulder, and stood up from the table at this outdoor café that sat at the outer edge of Oshibana. It had been early morning when I had finally reached the town, and pretty much smelled the place from a block away. Seeing as I hadn't really eaten anything since I broke camp at dawn, I stopped in for a bite to eat, and to take the chance to write another letter to Storm.
Once I was sure I had everything, I went to the entrance to the café and paid my bill. When that was settled, I took out my job request, and set out to find the address of my clients. Now that I was here in Oshibana, it was time to get down to business. As I said in my letter to my father figure, the kid's had a few days to think on things, so it's high time to get that boy back to his family.
XXX
Three days…
It had taken me three whole days to bring Alan Swan back to Oshibana. Oh, and as it turns out, Alan hadn't intended to run away from home.
After he accidentally learned of his magic, and his origins, he did run into the woods nearby as it had been reported. However, he only needed the time up until it started getting dark to finish sorting through his thoughts. Unfortunately, in his frustrations, Alan let his magic run rampant, causing him to become lost in the woods from the overgrowth he caused. The total two days I spent doing that job with Natsu, Lucy, and Happy; Alan spent them trying and failing to remember which direction was which, causing him to venture further and further away from home.
It also didn't help him each time an animal or a forest vulcan tried to get him, causing him to use his magic to protect himself. Which in turn, created the traps that he was supposedly laying in order to avoid being caught and brought back home.
To find him, all I had to do was look for the picked over patches of very well grown berry bushes and patches of wild onions and such over a stretch of a day and a half walk. Hence the total three days to complete the job.
Mr. and Mrs. Swan were elated to finally have their son back home. He got a little scolding and a threat of having to wear a compass around his neck, but his parents were just happy to have their beloved son back where he belongs.
Shoving the thoughts of the job away with a sad smile, I put the reward money in my bag, I then closed it as I sat down next to it on the bed of the hotel room. I had booked it last night after I dropped Alan off and got my and Lucy's rent money. As I grabbed a hair tie and began braiding my hair, I found myself wondering how different things would have been with Lucy and I, had Jude not ignored us the way he did or try and use us as pawns to expand the Heartfilia railway through arranged marriages. Marriages between Lucy and I to people who would only use this as their chance to take over the railway for themselves.
Jude had wanted Lucy to marry Duke Sawarr Junelle. A round, little old man who only wanted Lucy for her looks, not for herself. As for me, Jude had wanted to give me away to a man named Xavier Crevier. He's just a little older than me, and he is an evil, underhanded man who only likes the profit others can gain him through either magic or good looks. Didn't matter to him if it was a living person or an item for trade.
Damn good thing that Lucy and I left when we did. I thought with a sigh, as I finished and tied off the braid to keep my hair out of my face.
Looking at the lacrima clock in my room, I saw that it was nearing midday. If I left now, I would be able to catch the one o'clock train back to Magnolia. Feeling that now was as good as any time to be getting home, I grabbed my bag and left my room. After I handed in my key to the front desk, I then left the hotel to make my way to Oshibana Station.
As I went to turn the corner to get onto the street the train station was on, I had to quickly jerk myself back a step to keep from being runover. Runover by a green SE Magic mobile being driven by a red headed woman, who had some very familiar people with her.
Wait… Did I just see Gray Fullbuster hanging on to the top of that thing? And was that Natsu Dragneel hanging out of the open window? Not to mention that the girl trying to keep him from falling out looked a little too much like my sister. I thought to myself, as I turned to look in the direction the vehicle had been going.
Which also happened to be in the same direction as the train station.
Getting a bad feeling about it, I turned and began running in that direction as fast as my feet could carry me. I don't know who the red headed woman was, but if she had Gray and Natsu with her, then maybe she's a member of Fairy Tail that I just haven't met yet. Either way, they looked to be in a big hurry, like they had an emergency or something. When the station came into sight, I began pushing my body to run faster once I saw the smoke rising from the building.
Upon seeing the crowd of people being kept from going inside it, my bad feeling began to get worse. As I got to the edge of the crowd, I managed to catch a whiff of Lucy's scent on the wind. Pushing my way through the crowd, I tried my best to spot her.
"PLEASE STAND BACK! THE STATION IS CURRENTLY CLOSED DUE TO A DERAILMENT!" I heard one of the conductors say through a lacrima hand speaker. As he made the announcement, I also heard the people around me mutter all sorts of reactions to it. Disbelief, shock, and some even gossiped about a dark guild having taken the station over.
When I was near the front edge of the crowd, I finally spotted familiar blonde hair.
I had finally spotted Lucy standing just off to the side of the man who had been announcing, with Natsu's arm draped across her shoulder from where she was supporting his dead weight. Next to her stood Gray, and in front of them next to the conductor, stood the red headed woman I saw briefly before. Happy, of course, freely floated above them deep in thought about something concerning Lucy being weird…
Now that I could see them clearly, I saw that the red head wore heavy armor bearing the Fairy Tail emblem on her breast plate. While she tried to question the conductors about the mages inside the building and knocked them out when they tried to run from her in fear, I walked over to where Lucy stood.
"Never thought I'd run into you guys here of all places." I said, causing Lucy to jump. Nearly dropping Natsu as she did so.
"Icelynn! Oh, my God, you scared the daylights out of me!" Lucy fussed while I held up my hands with a not so apologetic smile on my face, as Gray turned to look at me as well.
"Oh, hey. You're Lucy's sister, right? Icelynn?" he asked, as he held out his hand. "I'm Gray. Nice to meet you."
"Yeah… Likewise." I said, as we shook hands for a moment. "I saw you guys speeding by in that SE vehicle like a bat out of hell, what's going on?" I asked, as the red headed woman moved on to the last conductor still conscious.
"That's right, you were already here on that other job, so you weren't at the guild when Erza came back yesterday." Lucy said, as she turned around, still supporting Natsu.
"Erza?" I asked, as I looked over at the red headed woman in time to see her knock out the final crying man she had been questioning. "I'm guessing that's her?"
"Yeah, that's Erza. Just don't get on her bad side." Gray muttered, as I raised an eyebrow at this.
"Okay… I'll take your word for it." I said slowly, as I wondered why he would say that. Then again, from the serious look on Erza's face, I guess she takes jobs and being a member of a guild seriously or something. And, if I remember correctly from Lucy's ravings a while back, Erza is one of Fairy Tail's elite S-Class wizards.
By now, Erza had begun making her way back over to where I now stood with Gray, Natsu, Happy, and my sister.
"Gray, Lucy, who is this?" she asked, as she got near us.
"Oh, this is my sister, Icelynn. She joined the same time I did and was away on a job when you came to Fairy Tail yesterday to get Natsu and Gray to help you with Lullaby." Lucy explained, as Erza gave me an appraising look.
"Oh, alright…" Erza said, as she gave me a smile. "It's nice to meet you Icelynn, I'm Erza. I hope we aren't preventing you from completing the job you're on." She greeted, as I shook her hand as well. And damn, she sure had one firm handshake.
"No, I completed my job request last night. I was actually going to come to the station to get a ride home, but it looks like something's going on though. Do you guys need any help?" I offered, as Erza thought it over.
"Well, we could certainly use all of the back up we can get. That being said, we need to get inside. Icelynn, I'll fill you in on the way inside. We need to find Erigor soon as possible." Erza agreed, as I ran my bag to the green SE vehicle, and tossed it in the open window. Once it was inside, I then followed my guildmates into the station. Once Gray got his jacket back on, of course.
I slipped myself underneath Natsu's other arm to help Lucy carry him through the hallways as I listened to what had been going on from Erza. All the while dodging the victims Eisenwald has left behind from the Rune Knights that had gone in before we did.
Apparently, while on the way back home from Shirotsume, Happy, Natsu, and Lucy had run into Gray. While they were traveling together to get back to Magnolia, Happy ended up getting kidnapped by some hungry dark guild mages trying to cook and eat him. Natsu, Lucy, and Gray managed to save Happy, but before they could question the dark mages, they were dragged off by a shadow. The only word they got from them before that, was the word Lullaby. Then yesterday, Natsu and Gray got recruited by Erza to help her investigate some mages who seemed to be up to something big concerning this Lullaby, and the guild master's conference going on in Clover right now.
While on the train for Clover, the four of them went over the two situations, and Erza believes that a dark guild called Eisenwald is planning on using a demon flute to kill all of the guild masters in Clover at that conference.
"Hold on, when you say demon flute, you don't mean the one from the book of Zeref, do you?" I asked, as we kept running.
"I'm afraid so. We weren't aware of it at the time, but we were on the same train as the dark mage who had it." Lucy answered.
"We had wanted to stop Lullaby from falling into Erigor's, the leader of the dark guild Eisenwald's hands. Unfortunately, that was not to be the case. Once Erigor had it, he highjacked the train at Kunugi Station; that's why we rushed here as fast as we could. However, seeing as he's been using the train, I fear he might try to use the flute over the stations loudspeakers to test it out." Erza finished, as we all began coming upon the area the ticket booths are.
"They're waiting for us." I warned everyone, as we slowed down to a walk.
"How do you know?" Gray asked, as I adjusted Natsu's arm.
"I can smell them ahead. Heightened senses are a common thing in dragon slayers." I explained, as we got closer and closer.
"Alright then. Be on guard." Erza said, as we walked into the room; and sure enough, there was indeed a dark guild waiting on us.
Perched on top of one of the trains, high above his guildmates, was a shirtless man with blue swirling tattoos on his torso and face. He also had dark eyes and silver hair. Over his shoulder, he held the handle to a scythe, with its blade curling around him menacingly. The moment he saw us, he chuckled lowly to himself.
"Welcome, Fairy Tail Flies." He greeted us; the mocking tone unmistakable in his voice. "Come, step into our newfound parlor." At their leader's words, the other some thirty odd dark mages began chuckling at us as well.
Keeping my eyes locked on the enemy mages before us, I helped Lucy to lay Natsu down on the floor, where he continued to feel motion sick.
"I take it, that that man on top of that train is this Erigor you told me about?" I asked Erza, as she nodded her head at me once.
"I believe so… The fiend." She said, as her gaze sharpened on the leader of Eisenwald.
"My, aren't you smart… For a fly…" Erigor chuckled, having heard us.
Hearing him chuckle as well, Lucy knelt down to try and shake Natsu awake again. Only to end up making the poor guy's motion sickness even worse. Lucy may not be a vehicle, but that doesn't mean she can't make things worse for Natsu. Apparently, we weren't the only ones to notice this either. One of the mages standing across from us took one look at Natsu, then got really pissed off at seeing him laying out on the floor like he was.
"Hey, I remember you! It's because of you that I got into trouble with Erigor." A mage wearing a white coat, with black hair and eyes said. "Get up!" he pretty much growled.
Lucy and Erza said that Natsu fought with one of the mages before on the train. This must be the same guy then. I thought, as the green look on Natsu's face all but vanished.
Having heard this mages voice was enough to bring him back to himself apparently.
"I know that voice." I heard him mutter, as he sat up on his own.
Seeing enough, Erza took a couple of steps forward.
"We aren't threatened by any of you! Now, tell me what you plan to do with Lullaby!" Erza demanded, as Erigor's evil smirk only widened at the question.
"Oh, I see you haven't heard yet." Erigor said, as he used some of his magic to begin levitating over his men, making him out to be an air mage from the look of it. "What do I plan to do with the Lullaby? Well, what do all train stations have? I'll give you a little hint." He mocked, as he landed on the lacrima speakers that stood situated all throughout the train station.
If the answer wasn't startingly clear, then I don't know what would have been. Not only that, but he just confirmed Erza's worst fear in this situation as well. Broadcasting the death song from the demon flue known as Lullaby would kill everyone that's standing outside right now, and so would anybody with an open window or door.
Then there's the matter of that boy I took back home before I came here to help out Lucy and the others. He and his mother were heading out to work on their garden when I left, seeing as it had been neglected during Alan's absence. There is no way in hell I'm going to let this bastard get that far, not when that family was just brought back together again.
"There's hundreds of nosy people outside, standing around to try and catch a glimpse of the action that's about to go down in here." Erigor said, as he let out another laugh. "Who knows, maybe if I turn the volume up enough, I'll be able to mass murder the entire city!"
"Yeah, if you don't drop dead first." I said, as Erigor immediately stopped laughing. Seeing as I had his attention, I continued. "Lullaby kills everyone who hears it's song. That would include not only us Fairy Tail mages and all of Oshibana, but you and your dark mages as well. So, it wouldn't just be mass murder, it would be mass suicide seeing as all of you are in this together."
"That point aside, what reason do you have to commit such a heinous crime against so many innocent people!?" Erza demanded once more, pulling Erigor's attention away from me.
"Well, even if we do drop dead, at least the cleansing we set out to do will be achieved." Erigor explained, as he dropped the maniacal humor and became a bit serious. "A cleansing of all the fools out there who have failed to appreciate all of the rights they hold so dear. Acting like they're so high above those who have had them stripped away. For turning a blind eye to it all, the Reaper is coming to punish them." He declared, narrowing his eyes at us. "And if you flies had just left well alone, then maybe you would have gotten to live another few days at least…"
Scoffing at those words, I simply crossed my arms as I waited for the inevitable fight to start. After all of that, I'm beyond trying to talk this idiot out of his schemes.
"But killing a lot of innocent people isn't going to get you your rights back! If anything, it'll only make matters worse!" Lucy argued back. "That's why you ended up getting kicked out of your wizarding league in the first place."
"Unfortunately for your little speech, we've reached the point where we've given up trying to get our rights back. All we want now is power. Power that we can use to break the chains of the past and take control of the future!" Erigor shot back.
Lucy opened her mouth to continue arguing, but I placed a hand on her shoulder. When she looked over at me, I turned to glance at her for a second before looking back at our enemy.
"They're not going to listen to reason Lucy. Might as well save your energy for when we take them down." I told her, as Lucy nodded her head once.
"Yeah, these guys are definitely insane." She said, as the mage who had growled at Natsu earlier knelt down to the ground.
"We may be insane, but we're still rolling in a new age of darkness!" the mage said, as he began releasing his magic. "Then again, by the time it gets here, you flies will have been long gone!" he declared, as the shadows at his feet began rushing towards us.
However, before they could make contact with any of us, Natsu hopped up from his sitting position, and dispelled the shadow attack with his flames.
"You!" the mage shouted in surprise, only to cause Natsu to smirk at him.
"Eisenwald Dude! I knew I recognized your voice." Natsu replied, as a bead of sweat began dripping down the shadow mage's temple.
"Wow, you sure took your time to bounce back, huh?" I asked my fellow slayer, as Lucy and Happy muttered how happy they were that Natsu was finally back to normal.
"Yeah, well, we still have us a party here, don't we?" he shot back, as Lucy began waving her hands and shaking her head no at him.
"No, Natsu! We have to fight these guys!" she fussed, as I nudged her leg with my foot.
"That's what he means, my dear blonde sister." I told her, as Lucy blinked at me, then became sheepish at her blonde moment.
"Precisely Icelynn, a good fight is my kind of party." Natsu agreed, as he punched one hand with his other.
Using his wind magic again, Erigor lifted himself back into the air, pulling our attention back to him.
"Enough of this! You flies have flown right into my trap." Erigor said, as he looked down his nose at us for a moment, then back down at his guild. "I leave these Fairy Tail flies to you. Show them the terror of the dark guild Eisenwald!" he ordered, before using his wind magic to vanish before our very eyes.
Taking a whiff of the air, I couldn't really pin-point the direction he went in
Damn it, he must have sent a few drafts of his scent in different directions when he dispelled from that spot. I thought, as I looked back at my guild mates. The only question now, is what are we going to do about this?
"Natsu, Gray, go! I need you to find and stop him." Erza ordered, as she kept her gaze on the dark mages before us as well. So, she didn't see it when Natsu and Gray put their foreheads together, glaring daggers at each other. "If you two work together, not even Erigor the Reaper can stop you." She finished, as she then finally glanced their way.
Seeing the way that they were looking at each other, her gaze darkened.
"WHAT DID I JUST SAY!" she snapped at them in a scary tone that had me raising an eyebrow.
Hearing it, Natsu and Gray both dropped the angry glares for frightened happy ones as they each put an arm around the other's shoulders.
"Aye!" they both said at the same time, much like Happy would have, before turning and running in a random direction as fast as they could go. All while never dropping their arms from their shoulders. Seeing this, I couldn't help but blink in confusion at the direction they had left in. Once they were out of sight, I turned to look at Lucy, silently asking her if I had indeed just seen what I had thought I did.
At her nod, I could then see why Gray was saying not to get on her bad side. Apparently, he found her ire to be frightening. While I do admit that Erza's intent gaze did make me feel a bit uneasy, I wouldn't really say that I was scared of her. Shaking the thoughts from my mind, I turned my full attention to the task at hand. Sadly, at least two mages managed to slip by Lucy, Erza, and I before we could stop them.
One was that shadow mage from before, and the other was a guy wearing a hat designed to look like the colors of a bumble bee.
"The three of us will catch up with Natsu and Gray once we've taken care of the dark mages here, okay." Erza said, as I shrugged my shoulders.
"Sure. Cracking a few skulls isn't something I'm going to complain about." I said, as I cracked my knuckles. I didn't have any sort of fighting in that tracking job, so it would be nice to let loose for a bit.
"Wait! Just us three girls against an entire guild?" Lucy asked, becoming nervous. Ignoring her, I nodded towards the left, seeing as I stood to the left of Lucy, and Erza stood to her right. Catching my gesture, Erza nodded her head, and turned her gaze towards the right of the guild mages.
Lucy wasn't aware of it, but I had left her the middle section of mages to take out with either Taurus or Cancer. Thankfully, there's no water, so she can't call out the sea hag. Shuddering at the thought of all the times Aquarius has made me seasick, I shoved those thoughts back as a few of the dark mages began trying to trash talk us.
"Mama told me to never hit girls, but I'll make an exception for you ladies." I heard one of them say, as another slapped that mage across the back.
"Yeah, it's too bad none of you will look as cute when we're done with you." This one said, as Lucy took on what she the thought was a cute, appealing pose.
"But without my stunning beauty, I'll be so helpless!" she said, as I gently smacked her upside the head.
"Focus, sis." I told her, as Erza held up one of her hands.
"Let's do this!" she said, as a red magic circle appeared before her armored hand. A bright light emerged from the center of this circle, and when it faded, a magical silver sword appeared out of thin air.
She's a Re-Quip Mage. I thought in awe, as Erza caught the handle of the sword deftly in her right hand. This wasn't the first time I've seen this type of magic, but it's been years. Pushing my thoughts back, yet again, I focused on the fight I'm currently in here and now.
The moment Erza became armed, some of the mages who also carried magic swords rushed her. It only took Erza a few moments to cut them out of the fight for good. Once they were down though, some of their unhappy buddies rushed at her next. Seeing them coming, Erza summoned that red circle again, and this time the sword changed into a spear. Using the spear until it became too much of a hassle with the change of the crowd of enemies around her, Erza then switched the spear out for a set of twin blades.
It was easy to see why she was an S-Class mage now.
"How is she doing that!? First it was a sword, then a spear, then swords again!" Lucy asked, as she watched Erza fight in awe.
"it's called Re-Quip." I said, as I looked at the left side I had asked to take on before Erza got rushed. They were currently distracted by Erza's display of power, and I was planning on taking advantage of this before they could snap out of it. "Happy, I'll let you explain it to her. I'm going to take my portion out before they pick their jaws up from the floor." I said, as Happy gave me an Aye, and began explaining Erza's magic to Lucy.
Taking a few steps in their direction, I then rushed at the left side of the dark mages.
"ICE DRAGON WING ATTACK!" I shouted, as I unleashed my magic upon the unsuspecting mages. Not only did this startle the mages but made them sit still long enough for me to shave off the first row of them standing before me.
Once they were out of the way, I switched to my ice dragon claws, and began hacking and slashing through my enemies. I didn't kill them though, just their weapons. While I finished off the last few from my side, I felt a hostile presence back behind me. Figuring that it must have been one of the mages I'd only grazed in my initial attack, I turned to take them out, only to pause as their eyes went wide. Then, not a second later, the sword the guy was about to swing at me fell to pieces. So did the top section of his hair.
Dropping the now useless weapon, the dark mage placed both hands on top of his bald head. Feeling mortified, the guy practically fainted on the spot.
Letting out the breath I had begun holding, I looked over to see Lucy giving me a thumbs up, with Cancer standing next to her. Nodding my thanks, I then began helping Cancer take out Lucy's portion. Once they were down, I spotted Erza giving us impressed looks.
"I didn't know you were a dragon slayer as well Icelynn. Of ice if I heard your spell correctly." Erza said, as she jumped back to examine what was left of our enemy mages.
"Yeah. I was raised by a dragon like Natsu too. Storm the Ice Dragon was his name." I answered, as Erza then turned to look at Lucy.
"And your magic is also impressive Lucy. I didn't know you could summon spirits." Erza continued, as Lucy gave her a big smile.
"Thanks, Erza! It's not a big deal or anything…" Lucy said, trying to be modest in her abilities. I could see the gleam in her eyes from it though. From that, I knew that she was just looking to score points.
"However," Erza continued, making Lucy pause. I couldn't help but feel a bit amused at this. I knew what was about to happen because I've heard the tone Erza is currently using before from my dragon. "The way he calls you baby… I find it rather insulting. And Icelynn, are you really alright with this crab spirit of hers calling your sister that?" she asked, as the mischievous gleam in Lucy's eyes died.
"That's between him and Lucy. It's their contract after all." I said, as Lucy muttered something about un-scoring points.
While the three of us, plus Happy had our little exchange, a few of the mages we had just put down seemed to have gotten back up. Seeing it, I went back on the defensive. If my wing attack didn't put enough of them down, my breath attack definitely would.
"There are still many of them, aren't there." I heard Erza mutter to herself. "It's annoying, but we'll wipe them out… Icelynn!" Erza called, as I turned to look at her. As I did though, I saw that red circle again, however; instead of it being around the hand she was summoning her next weapon to, it sat on the ground at her feet.
I knew Re-Quip magic allowed you to exchange the weapons stored in your dimensional space, but I didn't know that some cases allowed a mage to change their armor as well.
"Once I give my signal, attack them with all you have." Erza ordered, as she became engulfed in the bright light from before. As it did, the armor she had already been wearing faded away. And when the light faded, she stood before us wearing a completely different set of armor.
It was beautiful to say the least. A white necklace, and skirt, and a casing of silver metal protected her arms, feet, her waist, her sides. And on her shoulders sat what looked like wings. Wings that her tiara like helm mirrored. On her left arm, I spied a dark blue Fairy Tail emblem.
Then, with a flair of her magic, she summoned several more swords identical to the two she had originally summoned with the armor. Without a second to lose, Erza then rushed her enemies with her swords. Ones she held, and ones she did not. She took out about two thirds of them, and the ones that were left, stood in a way that a good roar would easily wipe them out.
"Icelynn! Now!" Erza shouted, as her request of me came crashing back to the forefront of my mind. Giving her a quick nod, I pulled both Lucy and Happy back behind me to keep them from getting caught up in my attack as well.
"ICE DRAGON ROAR!" I shouted, as I unleashed a blizzard from my lungs onto the remaining mages. When that was over with, only two mages were left standing. Two that had dodged it when they saw me move my sister and Happy out of the way. One of which, looked at Erza with more terror in his eyes than his guild mates.
The other guy, he just looked pissed, as he summoned his own magic to his hands. When Erza leveled an even gaze at this mage, he rushed her.
"Don't do it! Do you know who that woman is!? She's Titania Erza: Queen of the Fairies!" the other, more terrified mage shouted after his guild mate. Apparently, he must have recognized Erza. That or he heard one of us mention her name. Either way, his warning was useless, considering his guild mate ignored him, and was cut down by Erza as well.
Once that guy was down, the last mage turned tail and began running.
"Fuck this shit! I'm out!" he shouted, as he scurried down the hallway opposite to the one Natsu and Gray had run down earlier. As he left, Erza then turned to face Lucy and me.
"I imagine that he's going to try and find Erigor. You two should go after him and make sure that doesn't happen. Icelynn, with your dragon slayer abilities, you should be able to track him, yes?" she asked, as I nodded my head once.
"Wait, wouldn't Icelynn on her own be a better choice?" Lucy asked, as Erza gave her the same look she had given Natsu and Gray earlier.
"Just do it." She said, gritting her teeth. Seeing it, Lucy took off running pretty much in the same way as the mage we're being tasked with finding. As she did, I turned to look back at Erza. It was ever so slight, but I could see that her eye was twitching, but not from annoyance. More like exhaustion, not to mention that her pulse sounded like one that was coming down from exercise or adrenaline. At this, I couldn't help but wonder if she had maybe, poured a little too much of her magical energy into that SE Vehicle they arrived here in.
"Catch up with us when you can. Unless you want to see how Gray and Natsu are coming along that is." I said, as I turned and began jogging after my sister. Not before I caught the look of surprise on Erza's face though. Just before I got through the door, I could hear her mutter a soft thank you towards me.
As I thought, she was trying to play tough to keep us from worrying about her… Can't say that I blame her. I thought, as I caught up with Lucy.
Honestly, I can't blame Erza, because I'm the same way.
To this very day, Lucy is unaware of the darker parts of my past. Jude never told her and forbid me from ever speaking of it again. At the time, it suited me just fine. I didn't want to talk about my two years of being someone's lab rat. The only thing that plagues me from that time now are the nightmares. Bad dreams I always tell Lucy I'm fine over. Just so I can protect her from even a fraction of the hell I suffered.
Although, I suspect that I might end up having to sit down and tell her why one of these days…
Focus Icelynn, you'll cross that bridge when you come to it. I told myself, as I tried to follow the scent of that dark mage that fled from us earlier.
Sadly, I couldn't seem to get a good trail to follow. Not long after he had started going down this hallway, his scent went from distinct, to everywhere. The stones and floor smelled like fresh earth to me, so I guess this guy is an earth mage. Unlike my situation with Alan Swan, this guy has been practicing it for many years, so tracking this guy might be a bit harder to do.
"Where did that fat one go?" I heard Lucy grumble with Happy flying close beside her.
"I don't know, but you and Icelynn had better hurry up and find him, or else Erza's going to strangle you guys…" Happy taunted us in a sing song voice. Lucy squeaked in slight fear, while I only gave the little blue cat a droll stare.
"I hope not! I can see why everyone says she's scary though…" Lucy trailed off, as I tried for the hundredth time to find a scent trail.
"Lucy… You do realize he's messing with you, right?" I asked my sister, who blinked at me a couple of times, then turned a full force glare on Happy; who could only turn his head and whistle a little tune, like he knew not what we spoke. Grumbling at him a bit, Lucy then turned to look back at me with a questioning look.
"Wait a second. How come you don't seem to be phased by her Icelynn?" Lucy asked, as I shrugged my shoulders.
"She just doesn't scare me. Although, with Erza being an S-Class wizard of Fairy Tail and a natural leader due to her status, I can see why some would find her intimidating. Such a rank would garner fear or respect. Or like most of the guild, have both for her in equal spades." I explained, as I stopped to look back at my sister. "As for why I still do as she asks, despite not being scared of her, it's because I respect her and her experience. With the gravity of these circumstances, had the Master been at Fairy Tail instead of the conference in Clover, I think this would probably have been an emergency S-Class mission because of what Lullaby is. Due to this, Erza has to lead us on this mission. Hence her bossiness as I've heard you and Happy mutter a few times now."
At my words, Lucy blinked a couple of times at my revelation.
"Wow, when you put it that way, it makes sense. Erza's really cool, isn't she?" Lucy wondered, as Happy nodded in agreement.
With that cleared up, I turned to try to look for a scent trail again, however, this loud rushing sound had me pausing. For some reason, this sound put me on high alert. Noticing my posture, Lucy began to tense up as well.
"Icelynn? What's wrong?" she asked me in a near whisper.
"Stick close you two, I need to see something." I told them, ignoring Lucy's question, and began leading them to where I could see outside. When we finally found a window, I saw that the sound I had heard before was a strong wind.
Not the kind you'd find in the earlier part of the year, but more like that of a tornado. Now imagine being in the middle of a tornado, and all you can see is the cutting wind that swirls in it. That's what Lucy, Happy, and I were currently seeing right now…
"What is that?" Lucy asked, as she and Happy looked on nervously.
"I don't know… Looks like it might be some kind of wind barrier. Erigor must have put it up." I answered, as I tried to think of why he would do such a thing. Lullaby hadn't been cast yet, seeing as the three of us are still up and moving about instead of being dead on the floor.
"But why would he do that? He threatened to play Lullaby over the station's loudspeakers, putting that thing up before playing it would hinder his plans." Lucy reasoned, as I fully agreed with her.
"Yeah, your right. Something isn't adding up here." I said, as I thought over Oshibana's layout. "If I were Erigor, and wanted to kill hundreds using Lullaby, then I would have gone for a place with a PA system closer to the center of town. Like the town hall for example. With his ability to fly, he could have avoided the train all together, and gone straight there." I reasoned, as Lucy began to catch on to my thoughts.
"If that's the case, then they needed the train station for something, right?" she asked, as she put a finger to her chin in thought. "Then there's that wind barrier." She added as an afterthought, then it hit me.
"Fuck!" I swore, startling Happy and Lucy both.
"Icelynn, what's wrong?" Lucy asked, as Happy landed on her shoulder.
"We have to forget about that mage we were chasing and get back to Erza and the others. Now!" I told them, as I grabbed Lucy's hand and began running back in the direction we had come from.
"Hold on! Won't she be furious if we come back without having stopped that guy from finding Erigor?" Lucy protested, as I just kept running.
"With what you just helped me to piece together, she won't be for long." I answered. "That guy, and the mages we fought, even you guys being lured here to the train station here at Oshibana was all a trap. Once we were busy fighting his guild members, Erigor put up that wind barrier to keep us here. I doubt he ever planned on using the Lullaby here to begin with. That point I made earlier, about what would happen when the death song is played, that's a real concern for his goals. No, he's going to save it for his real targets." I explained, as Lucy took her hand from me to run on her own.
"So, if the citizens of Oshibana aren't his real targets, then who is?" she asked, as I began to get a bad feeling.
"You were also right about the station here being necessary… Where does the railway connected to this station end?" I asked, as Lucy became horrified.
"You mean he's going to Clover!" she answered.
"Yes… Clover can only be accessed either from the railways, or by flying there. Then there's what Erigor told us about the whole rights thing. I think he's planning an attack on the Guild Master's Conference. The very same one you guys told me Master Makarov is currently at. I bet you his original plan was to take his entire guild up there through the trains." I explained, as a small smirk appeared on my face. "However, in true Fairy Tail fashion, you guys crashed the party. In doing so, he had to change the plan to take us out of the picture."
"So, he's probably already flying there as we speak." Lucy finished, as I nodded my head once.
"Exactly! Had all of us been beaten by his guild, then I bet he ordered them to take the train the rest of the way to Clover." I said, as we finally reached the area that she, Erza, and I had fought the majority of the dark guild. Luckily for us, Erza had tied them up, and was currently questioning one that had woken up.
"Tell me! What is Erigor planning!?" she demanded of what looked to be the mage that rushed her before that other one ran off.
"I don't know lady! I ain't one of the ones he tells that shit to!" the guy swore, as Erza looked like she was ready to throttle him.
"Erza!" I called, gaining her attention. Narrowing her eyes, she waited until Lucy and I got a bit closer before she spoke.
"What are you two doing here? I thought you were after that mage that escaped earlier." She demanded, as Lucy and Happy both squeaked and hid behind me.
"I couldn't find him, but we have bigger problems than him right now." I answered, ignoring the two quivering behind me. "Erigor never planned on using Lullaby here in Oshibana, he's going to Clover with it. He's going after the guild masters at that conference, I'm sure of it." I said, as Erza turned the scariest glare I've ever seen on the man she had been questioning when we found her.
Okay, now that's a scary face. I thought, as I became happy that I wasn't where that mage was. Poor bastard looked like he was ready to piss and shit himself…
"Why didn't you tell me?!" she demanded, as the guy pretty much passed out. Disgusted with his weak constitution, Erza simply dropped him back where he must have been sitting just before she started in on him. Standing up, Erza then turned to face us.
"Well, that would certainly explain things." Erza said, as she thought over what I had just told her. However, before either of us could say anything else, I caught another familiar scent. Turning to look at the railing that exposed part of the second floor, I spotted Gray looking down at us. From the way he was panting, I bet he was looking for the rest of us as well.
Following my gaze, Erza, Lucy, and Happy spotted Gray as well.
"I see you guys found out what they were planning." Gray said, as he hopped over the railing. Landing in a crouch, Gray straightened up and walked over to where we were standing.
"Gray, where's Natsu? I thought I put you two together." Erza asked, as Gray shrugged his shoulders.
"We had to split up. I fought with a mage that must have chased after us, and I got him to tell me almost exactly what I heard Icelynn say when I got here just now." Gray said, as he put his hands in his pockets.
"While that is a problem, I fear we have a bigger issue to take care of before that though. Until we find a way to dispel that wind barrier, we can't do anything to stop Erigor." Erza said, as she grasped her right elbow with her left hand. Apparently, it was injured.
"Yeah, if we try busting straight through that, we'll get turned into mincemeat." Gray said, as I grabbed a random green bandanna off of the ground. Figuring that it had belonged to one of the mages we fought with before, I checked it over to make sure it didn't have any blood or anything on it.
"Well, we can count that as a fact, considering that it looks like Erza already tried that approach." I said, as I tore the bandanna in half.
At my words, both Lucy and Gray turned to look at the way Erza held herself.
"Damn, your right." Gray said, as Erza gave him a look that asked him to drop it.
"Never mind that right now, it's not important. What we need to do is figure out how to get out of here.
Moving to stand next to Erza, I folded up one half of the bandanna into a square and froze it solid. Wrapping that in the other half to keep the iced cloth from her skin, I then held it up for her to see.
"Wrong. Injuries of any kind are important. When you get a second to treat them like we have right now, you'd better do it. Not doing so would run a bigger risk of failing a mission. And I'm sorry, but S-Class wizard or not, I won't have any of that. Especially when not only are the lives of the masters at stake, but Clover's people as well." I said, as I had Erza move her hand away from her arm.
As I spoke, I pulled down the glove Erza wore to keep the straps of her armor from rubbing her skin raw to take a look. Not hearing anyone talking as I did so, I paused to look up at everyone. Gray, Lucy, and Happy looked to be shocked that I even dared to question Erza. As for Erza, she was looking off to the side sheepishly, having accepted my point. Seeing as she's letting me treat this and all.
"That means you guys need to start brainstorming. Preferably now rather than later." I told them, as I then began inspecting Erza's injury.
This must have been enough to snap them out of it, considering that they shook their heads to get back on track.
"Alright, we need to get free from the barrier surrounding the station." Erza began, as she remembered something. "Back at the pub I heard about all of this from, I seem to remember one of them being called Kage, and that he was going to break a seal." She said, as Lucy rocked back and forth where she stood. Having finally calmed down.
"So, in addition to shadow magic, he must also have dispelling abilities. If that's the case, he must have been the one to break the seal on Lullaby in the first place." Lucy deduced, as Erza nodded in agreement.
"If that's the case, then he could be able to take down the wind barrier for us." I said, as I placed the cold cloth over Erza's injury, and pulled her glove back up to where it was supposed to be to keep it in place. Luckily for Erza, it would just end up being a nasty bruise. Better than a broken bone in my book.
"Then I say we need to find him." Gray said, as Erza hummed in agreement, while I stood back from her personal space.
"Agreed. Let's begin looking for him." Erza said, as we all nodded in agreement.
"Did the guy you got to tell you Erigor's plan use shadows, Gray?" Lucy asked, as Gray shook his head no.
"If that's so, then this Kage must be tracking Natsu. If they've already started fighting, then we'll find them soon enough I suppose." I said, as we all turned and began taking to the halls again.
This time, I was on point, following Natsu's scent seeing as it would be our best lead. Next to me was Erza, and back behind us was Gray, Lucy, and Happy flying through the air again. As we walked, Gray got my attention.
"Hey Icelynn, was that ice magic you used back there, when you patched up Erza?" he asked, as I glanced back at him.
"Oh, I forgot that you didn't know yet." I said, as I turned to face the direction we were heading. "Yeah, but I don't practice ice magic in the sense of maker magic or anything." I answered, as Gray gave me an impressed and curious look.
"Really now, what form do you practice then?" He asked, as I took another sniff of the air to make sure we were still behind Natsu.
"I'm the Ice Dragon Slayer." I answered, as Gray nearly tripped over himself.
"What! Get out!" Gray exclaimed, as we all worked our way through the halls. "I thought Natsu was the only one." He said, as Lucy chuckled beside him.
"I know right? I said the same thing about Icelynn when we first met Natsu and Happy in Hargeon. Icelynn was also raised by a dragon like Natsu too." Lucy said, as Happy gave his signature Aye.
"Well, holy shit. Although I'm surprised Icelynn and Fire Breath get along if that's the case. We're usually at each other's throats." Gray continued, as Lucy put a finger to her chin in thought.
"Wow, now that you mention it, you do have a point… I wonder why that is?" Lucy asked no one in particular.
"Alright then, Icelynn, if you need a power boost, I'll throw some ice your way." Gray said, giving me a thumbs up.
"Thanks, Gray. If I need it, I'll definitely let you know." I thanked him, as a loud explosion sounded ahead of us, followed by the building shaking around from the shock wave.
"Icelynn, is Natsu's scent still ahead?" Erza asked, as I nodded my head once to show that we indeed were going in the right direction. "That must have been Natsu's handiwork then. Come on, let's go!" Erza said, as she took the lead, and the rest of us ran after her.
As we got closer to where Natsu and that shadow mage were, I began picking up on what was being said between them.
Damn it! Look what you made me do! I was trying not to destroy things this time! Eh, at least I feel better now. Sorry I had to take you down a few pegs Diarama. That was Natsu.
I told you already, my name is Kageyama! Kage, or Kageyama shot back.
By now, I could pick up Natsu's scent without even trying. Soon as we rounded a corner, we finally spotted him standing before that shadow mage we needed to find. The wall and floor behind and beneath him charred from Natsu's magic.
"Whatever! Now tell me where Erigor is!" Natsu demanded, pointing a finger at Kageyama.
"He's not anywhere near here anymore, you moron. He left a while ago, stupid fly." Kageyama said, as he chuckled from his spot on the floor.
"Natsu, wait! Do not harm him!" Erza shouted ahead of us, causing Natsu to look over his shoulder at us.
"Oh, hey guys!" He shouted at us, only for his happy smile to melt into terror as he saw the look and sword Erza had aimed for Kagayama's seated form. Only to blink in confusion when Erza sailed right past him and buried her sword right next to Kageyama's neck in the wall.
Poor Natsu was nearly scared to tears by this display…
"You will dispel the wind barrier, and you shall do so immediately without complaint." Erza told Kageyama in a low, dangerous tone that scared him about as shitless as Natsu currently was.
Speaking of Natsu, he currently sat on the side, feeling fear for Kageyama, begging him to just agree to Erza's demands. Muttering something about her being a real monster. Sighing heavily, I walked up behind Natsu and smacked him upside the head. Thankfully, this was enough to make Natsu snap out of it.
Natsu reset. I thought in boredom, as I turned to watch Erza interrogate Kageyama.
"Fine… I'll dispel it…" he agreed, clearly not wanting things to come down to bodily harm.
However, before Erza could have him move from the wall at the point of her sword, this brownish gold circle appeared on Kageyama's middle, followed by an arm. Which in turn, created a hole in the torso of the only hope we have of getting out of Oshibana. Letting out a yelp of pain, Kageyama was held up for only a moment before the arm retracted from his body, and the circle disappeared, and he fell towards the floor.
"Kuraka… Why?" Kageyama asked, as he went.
Luckily, Erza was able to catch him before he hit the floor. Snapping myself out of the shock, I looked back at the wall to see that mage Erza had asked Lucy and I to track earlier, sticking halfway out of the wall. Apparently, I was right about him being able to use earth magic, seeing as he could bend and warp the stone walls to his will.
Not wanting to give him the chance to escape me a second time, I darted to the wall before Kuraka could slink back through it and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Seeing me coming, he tried to flee, but he was a little too slow. Keeping a firm hold of him, I ripped him from the wall, and held him up, baring my fangs at him.
"Kuraka, right? Where the fuck do you think you're going?" I asked him, a low growl escaping me. My silent warning that it would be in his best interest to surrender.
All the bastard could do was whimper at me. Scoffing at his cowardly nature, I kicked his feet out from underneath him, and made him park himself on his knees next to me; until we figure out how to punish this back stabber anyway, all while still holding him by the scruff of his neck. Dark guild or not, I don't take kindly to traitors who try to kill their comrades. Especially with such cowardice. With how he's acting though, I wouldn't be surprised if someone had put him up to this.
"I'll only say this once, try to fight me or escape, and I'll show you how to properly assassinate someone with a hand through the chest." I warned him, making the guy begin sobbing quietly.
"Kage!" Erza shouted, not having heard his full name yet, as she kneeled next to him to assess the damage.
"No! Damn it all, he was our only way out of here." Gray cursed, as he and Lucy followed Erza in kneeling beside Kageyama's wounded form.
"Kage, you have to hang on. You're our only way out of here." Erza told him, as Kageyama laid there in a lot of pain, as his blood began painting the floor the color of Erza's hair.
Watching on with a look of horrified shock, Natsu then suddenly erupted into flames. Looking over at him, I could see that he was now angry, and it was being directed at Kuraka, whom I currently held prisoner.
"How could you!?" Natsu demanded, as Kuraka began cowering away from him in fear. "He was one of your friends, and you just tried to kill him!" Natsu shouted, his fists clenched tightly.
Feeling a lot of fear, Kuraka then began trying his damn hardest to get away from me and the fire mage trying to take a shot at him. Completely ignoring what I had told him. While I never intended to kill him, and I don't want Natsu's flaming fist to hit me on accident, because I would then have to beat his flaming ass; I pretty much threw Kuraka to Natsu to solve all my problems.
Sure enough, Natsu was able to hit him right on target, knocking him through the wall he had first appeared out of, and out of commission.
"Kage! Wake up!" I heard Erza yell, as I glanced over at the others.
"He's unconscious, Erza. Besides, I don't think he'd be able to use his magic in this condition. It may prove to be too much for him." Lucy protested, as Erza then began trying to shake Kageyama awake.
"If I force him to, he will!" she declared, as she kept trying to shake him awake. Making the poor guy's head bounce off the floor due to the violence Erza used to shake him with.
She keeps doing that, he'll die from head trauma instead. I thought tiredly, as I turned and stepped through the hole Kuraka had flown through. Grabbing the now unconscious earth mage by the leg, I then proceeded to drag him back out through the hole in the wall where I could see better. Once I had him back in the room with the others and his half-dead guildmate, I then froze his arms behind his back and his legs together to keep him from running away or using anymore of his magic.
Thankfully, by the time I was done, someone had finally gotten Erza to stop shaking the seriously wounded shadow mage.
"Damn it!" Erza cursed, as she stood up from Kageyama. Taking a deep breath, she tried to think of a plan. "Alright, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Happy, I want you four to go and try to find any medical supplies that you can and bring them back here. Icelynn, you seem to know a bit of first aid, I want you to try and do what you can for Kage until the others get back with the supplies."
With a nod, we all moved to do what we had been asked. With Erza's help, I managed to get Kageyama's coat and shirt off. Seeing as they were now ruined, I felt no remorse at bundling up the coat to lay Kageyama down on, and the shirt to hold to his front. It wouldn't do much good until the others come back with the first aid things, but it was all I'll be able to do for now.
"We've sure gotten ourselves into some trouble now, haven't we?" I asked sarcastically, as Erza began pacing in front of the hole Natsu had put Kageyama's traitorous friend through.
"You can say that again…" Erza grumbled. "How bad is he?" she asked after a moment.
"From what I saw of the wound, had Kuraka used brute force instead of magic to hurt him, there's no way he would have survived." I said, as I kept pressure on the dark mage's wounds. "Kageyama's still not out of the woods yet though, and I have to agree with Lucy. There's no way he's going to be able to use his magic like this. He may very well die if he tries." I finished, all while trying to ignore the strong stench of blood that coated Kageyama and now my hands.
"Then we're truly trapped here, aren't we…" Erza said in dismay, causing me to raise an eyebrow at her statement. It was hard to believe with how confident she was earlier. Yeah, it was hopeless at the moment, but this shit still isn't over quite yet…
"We'll just have to find another way out." I said, as I looked up from Kageyama. This strange need to comfort and change Erza's mind consuming me. "Master Makarov didn't have to let Lucy and I into Fairy Tail when Natsu brought us to the guild. Hell, he didn't even ask us where we came from, how we came to be sisters or anything. He just accepted us as we were. Back home, that's all Lucy and I ever wanted… I haven't been with Fairy Tail for very long, but I can't help but feel like I just found my real home. So, I'll be damned before I let Erigor anywhere near him or the other guild masters."
After I stopped speaking, I then became a little shy. To be honest, I don't know where all those words came from. Maybe it's from all the times I had to talk Lucy up from tearing herself down. Either way, I tried my best to regain my composure.
"Sorry… You probably don't want to hear such a thing from a total newbie." I apologized, as I looked back down at Kageyama. Feeling a little bit like a hypocrite.
"Don't be…" Erza said, causing me to look back at her. "To be honest Icelynn, thank you. I let my despair get to me for a moment, and I needed to hear something along those lines. I will do my best to not let it happen again." She said, as she gave me a small smile. "Besides, it warms my heart that another of my comrades feels that way. Fairy Tail does have its way of making family out of its members. From what I saw of you and Lucy today, wherever it was you two came from, sure won't be getting you back."
At this, I couldn't help but return the smile Erza was giving me.
"Damn straight… Although, I wouldn't go back even if Fairy Tail disappeared one day anyway. So, no worries there." I said, as Erza nodded her head in understanding.
"Good point…" she agreed, as we both began hearing footsteps. Tensing up, I took a sniff at the air to make sure it was Natsu and the others returning before allowing myself to relax once more.
Thankfully for Kageyama, the four showed up not long after we heard them coming. Taking what I needed of the massive amount of medical supplies Natsu and Gray had brought me, Lucy and I with the help of Erza set about bandaging Kageyama's wounds. Luckily for all of us, Kageyama stayed knocked out the entire time. Once he was bandaged, Erza then instructed Natsu and Gray on how to properly carry the wounded Kageyama without being too rough with him.
When they had him, we all then began making our way to the front of the train station, and that section of the wind barrier that surrounded the place. As I followed behind my sister and my guild mates, I tried to focus on the task we had ahead.
However, nothing could have prepared me for the destruction that was about to come…
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Next Chapter: Chapter 6 – Melody of Death
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MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!