I'm ba-ba-back! Did you guys have a good week? I probably did. Well, in this chapter, Fox will help Natsu's team in dealing with Eisenwald, that guild with the Shikamaru knockoff and the so-called Grim Reaper, even though he was so weak. Well, enjoy!
Chapter 4: Lullaby
"Pervy old man," Fox muttered as he looked out the window of the train, watching as they passed valleys and hills. "Bothering me for that smut."
"Well, it's your fault for publishing that series," Kurama said, lying on his head.
"I was joking about that," Fox said as he remembered giving the old man the orange-covered book. The old man was crying tears of joy as he read, and Fox said, in a sarcastic manner, to have it publish, to share the joy with other perverts.
He didn't think the old man would take it seriously and made it Fox's mission to publish the rest of Jiraiya's books.
He wondered when and how the old perverted sage put those scrolls full of smuts in his pouch and jumpsuit pockets. Even his drafts were there. He wondered if Jiraiya tried corrupting him into a pervert.
He sighed before standing up. He felt nature calling, so he walked out his room.
In another train car, Lucy sighed as she was part of a team of Natsu, Happy, Gray and Fairy Tail's Strongest Female Mage; 'Titania' Erza Scarlet, a beautiful woman with red hair and brown eyes, wearing a blue skirt and a Heart Kruz custom-made armor, black boots and diamond-shaped silver earrings.
She met her yesterday, astounded that she was carrying a decorated monster horn ten times her size with ease as she entered the guild, and even more astounded when everyone, even Natsu, behaved and listened as she scolded the entire guild.
But the shock didn't stop. Everyone dropped their jaws when Erza asked the assistance of both Gray and Natsu, causing Mira to call them the strongest team.
The only reason she came was because Mira asked her too. And after hearing about their mission, she was worried.
Apparently, a dark guild called Eisenwald obtained a sealed magic called Lullaby, and it was their job to stop them and get Lullaby.
And so here she is, sitting next to Gray and Happy since Natsu was resting on Erza's lap, having been punched to the gut to knock him out cold, heading to a town called Onibus. When she looked up, she was surprised to see a familiar person.
"Fox-kun?" she said in surprise, causing Gray, Erza and Happy to look up as well. Fox heard her and turned to her direction. He stopped and bowed in greeting.
"Hello, Lucy-san, Gray-san and Happy-san," he said before turning to Erza. "And Erza-san, I didn't know you're back."
"Greetings, Fox-san," Erza said with a nod to their mysterious mage. "Are you here on a mission?"
"More like an errand for the old man," Fox said, causing Erza to nod. "Are you on a mission?"
"Yes," Erza said as she gestured at the others. "I've asked help from Natsu and Gray, and Lucy volunteered. I heard she did amazingly well against a gorilla woman from her last mission."
Lucy sweatdropped from the exaggerated rumor about her last mission with Natsu. She suddenly saw the seals on her wrists light up, surprising her. She suddenly felt lighter. She turned to Fox, who lowered his hand. She shot him a grateful look before scooting a little. She patted the sit next to her, causing him to nod and sit down.
They didn't see Erza's eyebrow arching from the glow and the hand sign.
"It must be a serious mission if you asked for help," Fox commented to Erza. "Usually, you do things on your own."
"And because everyone's afraid of you," Kurama said from Fox's head. "These two were probably too scared to say no."
"The mission involves taking down a dark guild," Lucy quickly said as she saw a tick mark on Erza's head.
"A dark guild?" Fox said as he turned to Erza, who nodded. The redhead then explained the mission to Fox, which involves Eisenwald, a sealed magic called Lullaby and Onibus Town. After she finished, Fox was humming, thinking about something. "Would you like my assistance, Erza-san?"
Gray, Happy and Erza were surprised that he would offer while Lucy looked relieved. She could breathe easily knowing that Fox was there.
"Why are you offering, Fox-san?" Erza asked, hoping that she didn't sound rude.
"Facing against a dark guild could be dangerous," Fox replied. "You and everyone are strong, but you can't be too careful against them. You are my comrades, I wish to help."
Lucy blushed and smiled happily when he said that. Erza and Gray looked at him before smiling as well.
"Thank you, Fox-san," Erza said. "But I will decline. We are enough for this mission."
"Very well then," Fox said before standing up and bowed. "I wish all of you luck on your mission."
He then walked towards the restroom, exiting the cart. Lucy watched him go before looking at Erza.
"Why didn't you accept his offer?" she asked, now feeling nervous. "He could really help us in this mission!"
"Look, Fox-san is one of our more professional mages, which is impressive, giving his age," Erza said as she looked down. "But…This mission is beyond him."
"Why?" Lucy asked with a frown.
"Because he'll only slow us down," Gray said, causing Lucy to frown at him. "Fox is a C-Class mage, and we'll spend the entire time worrying about him."
"But Fox-kun isn't going to slow us down!" Lucy exclaimed heatedly. "I've been trying to win against him when we're sparring!"
Her three companions looked at her in shock as she slowly registered what she said. A second later, she closed her mouth with both hands, but it was too late.
"You've been sparring with him!?" Gray exclaimed in shock. He heard the rumors that Fox was training the new girl, but he thought they were just rumors. "So he's really training you?"
"Um…No?" she said lamely, hoping they would believe it.
"Lucy…" Erza said in a menacing way, her aura flowing out of her body. Lucy paled and sweated as Gray and Happy scooted away from her. "Please explain."
"Well…" Lucy said with a defeated sigh. "Fox-kun has been training me for months now. He had me sparring with Kurama and I haven't beaten him once, even with my Celestial Spirits."
Gray and Happy looked at him before they laughed, tears flowing out of their eyes. Lucy growled at them, her face red with both anger and humiliation.
"You've been losing to Kurama!" Gray exclaimed through the laughter.
"That means you're weaker than me!" Happy exclaimed.
"Shut up!" Lucy exclaimed. "Kurama was trained by Fox-kun, so that's why he's strong!"
"You say that Kurama's been beating you, even with your Spirits?" Erza said, causing the laughter to stop. Lucy nodded. "Even with your Golden Keys, you couldn't beat him?"
"Yes," Lucy said with a nod. "That's why I know Fox-kun is strong. He just doesn't want to show it."
The train suddenly stopped, and the four started walking away, forgetting a certain pink-haired flamethrower.
Erza was silently thinking about what Lucy said. Was Fox really that strong? She didn't really know. In fact, nobody knows much about Fox. Only the Master knew a little about Fox. If he was really strong, then why was he hiding his strength?
"This is giving me a headache," Gray said, rubbing his head. "I just can't picture Fox as strong. It's so weird."
"Well, Mira-san and Lisanna-san thinks Fox-kun is strong," Lucy said.
"Huh…I always thought Mirajane was joking," Gray said as he thought about it. Every time one of their members were saying that Fox wasn't strong, she would tell them otherwise.
"Well, Fox is good at dodging," Happy added as he walked besides Lucy.
"Huh, now that you say that," Gray said, as he remembered that through the many guild fights they have, he could somewhat remember Fox calmly walking through the chaos, without getting hit once.
"We don't really know much about Fox-san," Erza said, remembering how everyone acted around Fox, feeling uncomfortable and nervous. "We don't know what he looks like, what his real name is, what magic he used. Only Master Makarov knows about him, and he trust Fox, so we should trust him as well."
Lucy and Gray saw the resolve in her eyes, causing them to smile. Despite being so antisocial, Fox was still a member of Fairy Tail.
"Besides, he called us his comrades," Gray said with a grin. "So, he's our comrade as well!"
"Yeah," Lucy said as Erza nodded, both smiling.
"Uh…guys." Happy said worriedly as he looked around. "I think we forgot one of our comrades…"
Everyone paused before their eyes widened and looked at the moving train.
"Natsu!"
Back in the train, Fox was walking back to his cart from the restroom, before he felt something. He and Kurama tensed as they silently made their way to the cart where Lucy and the others were.
"Hahaha!" a man laughed as he kicked Natsu to the ground, he was a lanky man who had a familiar, black hair styled like a spikey ponytail, dressed in black pants and gray jacket with a white undershirt. "To think you Fairy trashes are so weak!"
Natsu didn't reply. He was busy trying not to throw up. Just as the man was about to kick him again, someone kicked him on his back, sending him crashing towards the ground. Natsu weakly looked up and saw Fox, surprising him.
"You really need to fix this problem of yours, Natsu-san," Fox said as he picked up Natsu and walked towards the door.
"What-urk-you doing?" Natsu asked as Fox opened the door.
"Close your mouth and keep your elbows tucked in," Fox said before throwing Natsu off the train, causing him to scream, flailing his arms wildly.
"Who are you?" the man exclaimed before seeing the symbol on the headband. "What? Another Fairy trash? Ha! It seems like you shitheads want to get your ass kicked!"
"You…Are from Eisenwald?" Fox guessed as he felt something dangerous on the man.
"Lucky guess," the man said with a grin. "But since you know, I guess I have to kill you."
He went to grab the dangerous object from his coat, and that's when Kurama charged from below him, surprising the man. He grabbed the object from the man's hand before flying back to Fox, handing him the object and landing on his head. Fox used his senses and felt that it was a flute, with a carved skull on it. He could feel it reek with dark magic.
"This must be Lullaby, and it feels unsealed" he said as he slipped the object in his cloak. "I'll just keep this here, for safe keeping."
"Bastard!" the man exclaimed as his shadow started moving. "Give that back! Shadow Knuckle!"
He threw his fist and a lot of shadow fists popped from the ground and flew towards the two, only for them to suddenly disappear.
"What the hell?" he said before feeling someone tap his shoulder. He turned and his face was hit by what felt like a steel canon. He flew towards the other end, causing a hole. The man slowly sat up, rubbing his face. He looked and saw Fox with his left fist up. "What the hell is your fist made of!?"
"Flesh, bones, muscles, blood, nerves," Fox replied as he walked towards the man. "Now, you will tell me everything you kn-."
He stopped as he felt something behind him. Acting quickly, he backflipped to the air, dodging a blade of wind that cut through the cart, causing the roof to be blown away.
Fox turned and saw a tall man with silver hair that was pointing upwards and hanging on his left face, dressed a ragged skirt with a black skirt over it, tied by a white sash, bandages on his arms and black gloves and wooden sandals. He also had tattoos on his chest and biceps, and a few on his face. And resting on his shoulder was a sharp scythe.
"I was wondering why you're late, Kageyama," the man said as Kageyama paled in fear. "To think you would be held back by some Fairy trash."
"Erigor-san," Kageyama said in a fearful tone.
"Erigor? The Grim Reaper of Eisenwald?" Fox asked as the wind fluttered his cloak.
"I'm so honored you've know of me," Erigor said with a smirk. "But, sorry to say, I don't know who you are."
"And you never will," Fox said before quickly turning to face Kageyama. "Shadow Grace: Black Vortex!"
Kageyama screamed as he saw Fox's shadow suddenly stretched until it reached him and he started sinking to it. He tried to escape, to use his own magic, but he couldn't, much to his shock.
Fox then quickly jumped to the side of the train as Kurama held on to his back, jumping off the train. Erigor cursed before he swung his scythe, sending a cyclone towards Fox. Wings then sprouted from Kurama's back and flew away before the cyclone could hit them. Erigor screamed as the train went to the other direction.
"You know, you could have easily taken that bastard down," Kurama said as he decreased his speed a little.
"I could, but then those people on the train would get hurt if I did fight him," Fox replied before he sensed Erza and the others coming towards their direction at high speed. Luckily, he placed some Shadow Clones that was evacuating the people as soon as he felt the fighting. "You see them?"
"Yup," Kurama said before going down.
Lucy, Gray and Happy screamed as Erza drove the Self-Energy Plug vehicle, with Natsu groaning on the ground. After Natsu reunited with them, he told them what happened. Erza was mad at him for not listening about their mission, even though it was her fault, and was worried for Fox,
She suddenly looked up and saw Fox and Kurama flying towards them. He easily landed on the roof and grabbed a kunai. He slashed the roof like it was butter, creating a hole that surprised them.
"Fox-kun!" Lucy said in a happy tone. "You're alright!"
"Keep following that train!" Fox exclaimed through the rushing wind as he got in the car. "Erigor is in there!"
"What!?" Erza exclaimed before she increased the speed of the car. "He fought Erigor? And there wasn't a scratch on him."
"What happened?" Gray asked as he looked at Fox.
"I was walking back to my seat, when I saw Natsu getting kicked around by a mage from Eisenwald," Fox said, causing Gray to chuckle at Natsu, who groaned angrily at him. "And then Erigor came and tried to kill me, but I managed to get away. I also managed to get the Lullaby."
"Really? That's great!" Lucy cheered as Fox reached into his cloak.
He lifted his head when he couldn't grab the Lullaby. He looked at the pocket and saw a clean-cut hole on it.
"When?" Fox thought before remembering the cyclone. It probably cut through his cloak without him noticing. "Sneaky bastard."
"Well, you did well against Erigor," Erza said as they kept driving. Fox turned to her, feeling her magic rapidly depleting. He reached into his cloak and handed it to her. She looked surprised as she stared at the black pill. "What is this?"
"Eat it," Fox said before shoving the thing in her mouth and making her swallow it.
"What are you doing!?" Erza exclaimed angrily, only to stop when she felt her magic recovering. "What was that?"
"It's an Energy Pill," Kurama explained. "The SEP car is draining you too much, so Fox gave you one to replenish your energy. You're going to need it."
"…Thank you," Erza said before she increased the speed. "Now let's go and stop Erigor!"
"Where did you get that pill thing?" Gray asked in a curious tone.
"I made it," Fox said.
"Didn't know you can make something like that," Gray commented.
"By the way, that Lullaby thing gave me the willies," Kurama said.
"What did it look like?" Lucy asked.
"A flute with a three-eyed skull on it," Kurama explained.
"What was that!?" Erza exclaimed with wide eyes. "If that's Lullaby…then this is bad!"
"Why, what's so bad about the flute?" Gray asked.
"That flute is a dangerous artifact," Fox explained calmly. "It's said that its music can put anyone in a permanent sleep."
"No way," Lucy said as Gray and Happy looked shocked.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the station. They quickly jumped out of the vehicle and into the station, where a lot of unconscious people lying on the ground.
"Damn that bastard," Erza said as she looked at them. "He's trying to use Lullaby in the station. The speakers will spread the music throughout the town!"
"That's horrible!" Lucy exclaimed.
"We have to stop him!" Natsu exclaimed.
"You go on ahead," Fox said, surprising them. "I have something to do."
Without warning, his shadow suddenly spat someone out, it was an unconscious Kageyama.
"Hey, that's the guy that kicked me!" Natsu exclaimed, causing Gray to snicker. "Shut up!"
"I'll ask him a few questions, regarding Lullaby," Fox said as he handed a paper with a seal to Erza. "I'll contact you with that, so don't lose it."
Everyone looked at the paper in confusion before they watched Fox pull out two green tubes and handed them to Kurama, who grinned as he removed the caps and placed them on Kageyama's nostrils, squirting a pale-green paste.
Kageyama's eyes suddenly bulged out of his head as fire erupted from his mouth, screaming in pain.
"…What was that?" Lucy asked as Kageyama started coughing uncontrollably.
"Wasabi," Fox and Kurama said in unison as the cat hopped back on Fox's head. Everyone sweatdropped at that reply.
"What the hell!" Kageyama exclaimed as he kept coughing before he looked up. "You! You bastard!"
"Shadow Grace: Shadow Strangle," Fox said as his shadows moved forward towards Kageyama like little snakes, wrapping around his legs, arms and torso.
"What is that?" Natsu asked in surprise.
"So that's his magic? Controlling shadows?" Gray commented.
"Let's go, Kageyama-san," Fox said as he dragged the man towards a closet. "I just wanna ask some questions."
"Let me go, trash!" Kageyama exclaimed before entering the closet. A few seconds later. "Hey, what are you going to do with that!? No! No, stop! Someone help me! Help me! AAAAGGH!"
Everyone looked at the closet, which was filled with screams of pain, begging for mercy.
"Let's go," Erza said, not shaken at what she just witnessed.
"Fox's scary," Happy commented as they followed Erza.
"I feel sorry for you, Lucy," Gray said.
"Shut up," Lucy said, though she was sweating a little.
"What are you guys talking about?" Natsu asked.
"Oh yeah, you were sleeping that time," Happy said. "Fox is training Lucy."
"Woah, really?" Natsu said, shocked. "Is that why you can fight so well?"
"Well…yeah…"
"Awesome! I wanna fight Fox!" Natsu declared as he laughed.
They then found themselves in a big room, and saw a lot of thug-looking mages waiting for them.
"Look here, it's the Fairy trashes."
"Look, two of them are hotties."
"Let's kill the other two and have fun with the ladies."
"Good idea."
Erza simply summoned a sword before charging. A group of Eisenwald mages charged at her, their hands moving in a perverted manner. She then swung her sword, and the group easily fallen, surprising Lucy and the Eisenwald mages.
"Natsu! Gray! Go and Find Erigor!" she exclaimed, getting the other two's attention. "Lucy, Happy and I will handle this!"
"What!" the two exclaimed.
"Do it!" Erza exclaimed with a menacing glare.
"Let's go, Natsu-kun!" Gray said with a forced smile.
"Aye!" Natsu also said with a forced smile.
The two then run to the stairs, punching anyone who got in their way.
"Hey, are we really fighting all of them by ourselves!?" Lucy exclaimed as Happy flew to safety. "Hey, get back here!"
"But I'm too small and cute to fight," Happy said. "Good luck!"
"Useless cat!" Lucy exclaimed. Before she did the Gentle Fist stance. "We should have taken Kurama with us."
"Requip!" Erza exclaimed as light covered her body. Suddenly, her clothes disappeared, causing the men to yell excitedly.
Their excitement died when she was now wearing silver armor that consist of a breastplate composed of feather-shaped plates that formed a flower her biceps covered by metal straps, her arms covered by feathered gauntlets, a metal skirt shaped like wings, with winged boots and on her back were metal wings. Flying behind her were ten swords.
"Heaven's Wheel Armor!" she declared as ten swords floated behind her, which started flying towards the screaming mages.
"Wait, I know who she is!" one of them exclaimed in fear. "She's Titania!"
"She's so cool!" Lucy exclaimed with starry eyes.
"This one looks weak!" a mage behind her exclaimed as he went to attack her.
Suddenly, she grabbed his arm and slammed him to the ground, knocking him out.
"I may look cute, but I'm not weak," Lucy said as she pulled out a key. "Well, it's time for me to show off."
"Geez, Lucy, don't go and steal Erza's spotlight," Happy said from the ceiling.
"Shut up!" Lucy exclaimed before she raised the key in front of her. "Open the door of the Crab: Cancer!"
In a flash of light, a tanned man with shades with his hair shaped like crab legs, dressed in a blue polo shirt and green pants appeared, holding scissors on both hands.
"A crab!" Happy exclaimed excitedly.
"You get excited way to easily," Lucy commented with a sweatdrop.
"What do you need, ebi," Cancer said as he twirled his scissors.
"Ebi!" Happy exclaimed in shock before he became depressed. "Take him back, Lucy…We're going to lose…"
"Quiet, you," Lucy said before standing beside Cancer, surprising him. "Well then, let's get them, Cancer."
Cancer looked at Lucy, before smiling. "I thought Taurus was kidding when he said you were training, guess he wasn't, ebi. You've changed, Lucy-sama, ebi."
"Well…I wanted to be someone you guys can rely on," Lucy said with a grin. "Now let's take care of these perverts!"
She and Cancer charged to the mages, who ran towards her rather than facing Erza.
"Get her!"
"Rip off her clothes!"
"Grab her boobs!"
Lucy tried to remain calm as they shouted other perverted ideas. With magic covering her hands, she strikes at the offending mages, hitting them accurately on some of their magic points, causing them to scream in pain as they held the injured parts. It helped that Cancer got them to lower their guard by giving them ridiculous hairstyles, giving her an opening.
Soon enough, all of Eisenwald mages were on the ground, beaten and twitching on the ground. Erza returned to her standard armor as Lucy recalled Cancer, thanking him.
"That was very impressive, Lucy-san," Erza said as she walked towards Lucy and Happy flew back towards them. "Maybe Fox-san is strong if he could train you to be like this."
"Aw, you're embarrassing me, Erza-san," Lucy said in a bashful manner.
"Will you spar with me sometimes?" Erza asked.
"Hell no!" Lucy exclaimed. She may have gotten stronger, but there was no way she can spar with Erza.
Erza looked at herself. If it wasn't for Fox's pill, she would be on her knees, magically exhausted.
"Let's go and help Natsu and Gray look for Erigor," she said, turning to Lucy and Happy. "You go look for Natsu, I'll look for Gray. Knowing those two, they separated."
"Aye!" Happy exclaimed as he and Lucy run off. Erza watched them go before the paper Fox gave her lighted up.
"Erza-san?" it said, causing Erza to jump in surprise. "Can you hear me?"
"Fox-san?" Erza said as she grabbed the paper, looking at it curiously.
"Erza-san, get the others out of there," Fox said, causing Erza to look confuse. "It's a trap. Erigor's true target isn't this city. He's targeting the guild masters' meeting today."
"What!?" Erza exclaimed. If that was true, then the reason Erigor led them here was to trap them. "I told the others to split up!"
"…You try and get out of here before it's too late," Fox said. "We'll go and get the others."
The light died from the symbols as Erza looked at it. She then started running towards the exit as fast as she can.
Meanwhile, Gray was running back to the group as fast as he can, his shirt gone. He fought one of Eisenwald mages, and after beating the guy, he taunted Gray by revealing their real mission. After that, he started running as fast as he can.
"There you are!" a voice exclaimed, and Gray felt someone grab on to the back of his pants and carried him away.
"Hey!" Gray exclaimed as he looked and saw Kurama. "Kurama!?"
"There's no time to argue!" he exclaimed as he flew through the halls.
"Wait, you have to know about Erigor's plan!"
"We know," Kurama said. "That's why there's no time to argue."
Gray looked at him nodded, stopping his struggling. Suddenly, he hit some of the décor with his face. "Ow! Watch where you're flying!"
"There's no time!" Kurama said, a glint in his eyes, suppressing a smirk.
Meanwhile, Natsu was running around the halls, kicking down doors and yelling for Erigor to come out. Suddenly, he felt someone grab him on the back of his vest and started dragging him through the halls.
"Hey! Let me go, you bastard!" Natsu exclaimed as he flailed his arms wildly. "I'll kick your ass!"
Fox ignored him and used his senses to find Lucy and Happy. He then made his way towards them, and saw them walking away from his direction, calling for Natsu's name.
"Hey, do you hear something?" Happy said as he looked at Lucy.
"It sounds like Natsu," Lucy said as they were about to turn around.
Lucy was suddenly off her feet as she felt someone carry her bridal style, and Happy was grabbed by a tail by something orange and furry.
"Wah!" she cried before seeing that it was Fox that was carrying them. "Fox-kun?"
"We have to get out of here, and quickly," Fox said to her as he kept running.
Lucy, once her head was cleared, could feel where Fox's hand was holding her. She screamed and started slapping his head, which had no effect.
"Let go, you pervert!" she cried as she could feel his hand gripping her butt tightly, to make sure she won't fall down.
"There's no time," Fox said simply. "Erigor is planning to use the Lullaby on the guild masters."
Lucy stopped slapping and looked at Fox, before pouting angrily at him. "You're just making excuses to feel it, aren't you? Pervert."
"…You do have a nice ass," Fox admitted, causing her to blush deeply.
"Let me go, you gorilla fat kappa!" Natsu exclaimed, not stopping for an entire minute. "Hm, oh. Hey, Happy."
"Hiya!" Happy exclaimed as he looked at what was holding his tail. It was orange and fluffy. "…Is that a tail?"
"Hm?" Natsu said as he looked at Happy's tail and towards the orange, fluffy thing that seemed to be connected behind Fox's cloak. "Wow! I didn't know you have a tail, Fox!"
"You have a tail?" Lucy said in surprise.
"…No I don't" Fox denied as he kept running.
"Hey!" Kurama yelled as he saw them towards the stairs.
"Quick, before we're trap here," Fox exclaimed as he jumped down the stairs. He and Kurama carried out the others until they reached the outside. "Damn it. We're too late."
In front of them was a barrier of winds, blocking everything from coming in and going out. They were trap. They suddenly heard a grunt and looked to see Erza with an injured and bloody fist.
"Erza!" Natsu, Gray and Lucy shouted as everyone rushed towards her.
"Sorry, Fox-san," Erza said as she remained stoic from the pain. "I didn't make it."
Fox just ignored that as he pulled out a scroll, getting the others attention. He did a hand sign and exclaimed "Kai!" that caused the scroll to release a puff of smoke, surprising them. When the smoke cleared, they saw some bandages, disinfection, cottons, band aids, anything found in a first aid kit.
"Give me your hand," he said in a gentle tone as he dabbed disinfection on some cotton balls. Erza looked at him before she nodded and gave him her injured hand. He removed the damaged gauntlet and dabbed on her wounds. She winced from the stinging sensation, but didn't move. Once the wounds were cleaned, he then wrapped bandages around her arm tightly.
Once she was done, Erza looked at her arm and clenched her fist to test the bandages. She looked at Fox and gave him a grateful nod as he resealed the objects back to the scroll.
"I didn't know Fox was a healer," Gray commented as he looked at the scroll.
"What was that thing you did with the scroll?" Erza asked in a curious tone. She's never seen such magic before.
"Seals," Fox replied before looking at the barricade. "Now, how do we stop this?"
Suddenly, Natsu was behind him and lifted up his cloak, surprising everyone. They then saw three, orange, fluffy and bushy fox tails on his lower spine.
"Wow, you have three tails!" Natsu exclaimed, before he found his face firmly on the ground, a smoking lump on his head.
"Now, any ideas on how to get out of this?" Fox asked, acting like nothing happened, his left fist smoking, causing everyone to sweatdrop.
"Hang on," Happy said as he pulled something from his green sack. "I remembered something that I should have given to Lucy. Remember that gorilla the duke had?"
"Yeah," Lucy said. "Why?"
"She wanted me to give you this!" Happy said as he showed them a Golden Key with the symbol of Virgo on it. "Since the duke got arrested, she wanted to form a contract with you. We can use her to get out of here!"
"Wow, that's a good idea!" Lucy said in surprise. "I guess sometimes, you can be useful."
"That's hurtful!" Happy exclaimed as he handed her the key.
"How's a spirit going to help?" Gray asked.
"I remembered Virgo digging holes," Lucy said. "We can make a tunnel to escape!"
"Excellent," Erza said as she suddenly slammed Lucy's head to her chest, which was covered by a hard armor.
"Ow!" Lucy exclaimed as she rubbed her head. She then looked at the key and sighed. "Open the door of the Virgin: Virgo!"
In a flash of light, a beautiful woman with light purple hair and blue, emotionless eyes appeared, dressed in a maid outfit, with chains on her wrists.
Lucy, Happy and Natsu, who was standing up, looked at her with shocked silence.
"…Virgo?" Lucy asked.
"Yes, how may I serve you?" Virgo asked with a bow.
"Wow, you lost a lot of weight," Natsu commented.
"I don't think that's right," Lucy said with a sweatdrop.
"My appearance is based on my master's taste," Virgo explained.
"Oh yeah, the weird duke has a weird taste for women," Happy commented.
"…So, Lucy must be a pervert since you have chains on," Kurama said.
"Hey!" Lucy exclaimed, glaring at the cat.
"So, how may I serve you, Mistress?" Virgo asked as she looked at Lucy.
"Don't call me that," Lucy said.
"How about Madam?"
"No!"
"Princess?"
"Hm…I guess that's alright," Lucy said with a nod.
"Is this really an important discussion?" Fox asked, getting their attention.
"Right," Lucy nodded, remembering why she was needed. "Virgo, I need you to dig a tunnel out of here."
"Of course, Princess," Virgo said before she started spinning wildly. She then dug through the ground and appeared on the other side of the barrier.
"Awesome, Virgo!" Lucy exclaimed as they entered the tunnel, using it to get through the barrier.
"Will you punish me, Princess?" Virgo asked, an eager glint in her eyes,
"Er…No…" Lucy said with a sweatdrop, causing Virgo to look disappointed.
"So, you're that kind of pervert," Kurama said, looking at Lucy with a weird expression.
"Shut up!" Lucy exclaimed before turning to Virgo. "Anyway, thank you, Virgo."
"Anything for you, Princess," Virgo said with a bow before disappearing.
"Alright, let's go!" Erza exclaimed as she hijacked another SEP vehicle.
"Hm? Where's Fox and Kurama?" Natsu asked as he looked for the two.
"Did they leave already?" Gray said, surprise by how fast they went.
"Hurry, he can't take on Erigor alone!" Erza exclaimed as everyone got on the car, except Natsu, who had Happy carry him with his wings, unaware that a shadow merged with his.
Meanwhile, Erigor laughed as he flew on the train tracks, using it to keep the tornado moving.
"With the fairies trapped, no one will stop me from killing those arrogant bastards!" he declared as he kept flying.
"You really think we'll let you?" a voice said behind him. Surprised, Erigor looked behind him and got punched to the face, knocking him away from his tornado. He looked up and saw Fox and Kurama in the air.
"You…" Erigor growled. "I should have killed you in the train, Fairy trash!"
"You can't kill me," Fox declared as Kurama dropped him on the rails. "You're not strong enough."
"Not strong enough?" Erigor said in a dangerous tone. "I'll show you what strong means!"
He raised his scythe, which was coated with wind, and slashed it, sending a wave of sharp blades made of wind towards Fox. He simply moved his head to dodge the wind blade, causing his cloak to flutter, which hit one of the mountains, cutting some of it off.
"You see that, trash!" Erigor exclaimed as Fox just stood there. "Oh? What's wrong? Did that scare you!?"
"Not really," a voice said behind him. Surprise, he turned and saw another Fox.
"Wha!?" he exclaimed before two more appeared on his sides.
"Na!" the one in front exclaimed as he punched Erigor on the jaw, sending him flying.
"Ru!" other one exclaimed as he kicked Erigor's back, sending him flying.
"To!" the third one exclaimed as he did a spinning drop kick on Erigor's abdomen, causing him to spit out globules of blood.
"Uzumaki Barrage!" they exclaimed as the first two kicked him towards Fox, who caught him by the face with his left hand and slammed him to the metal rails. Erigor was unconscious, bleeding and bruised. Each attach was laced with chakra, so it felt like getting hit with a steel ball.
"I wasn't even trying," he said as the shadow clones disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Nice job," Kurama said as he landed on Fox's head.
Fox then pulled out some thin wires, wrapping them around Erigor, and then placed a seal tag on his head, sealing his magic, just in case. He then grabbed the Lullaby from Erigor's belt.
"Hey!" a voice exclaimed. They looked and saw Natsu and Happy flying towards them. Natsu's eyes widened when he saw Erigor's condition. "No way! You beat him!? I wanted to do that!"
"No, you beat him," Fox said, causing Natsu to look at him. "I was just tying him up."
"No, I didn't!" Natsu exclaimed. "You did!"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Natsu-san," Fox said as the others arrived.
"No way, he beat Erigor?" Gray said with wide eyes.
"Told you he was strong," Lucy said smugly.
"Good job on beating him, Natsu-san!" Fox yelled, surprising them. "It sure was one hell of a fight!"
"I didn't beat him!" Natsu exclaimed in anger.
"Ma, ma, don't be so modest," Fox said, waving his hand dismissively.
"Why is he hiding it?" Erza thought as she looked at the beaten Erigor. "He can be more than a C-Class mage, even become an S-Class mage."
"Oh, here's the Lullaby," Fox said as he handed the flute to Erza.
"Thanks, trashes!" a voice exclaimed below them as Kageyama appeared from Natsu's shadow, dressed in bandages, swiping the flute and going towards the SEP car. He put the plug on him and activated the vehicle, driving passed the surprise mages.
"Crap, he's got the Lullaby!" Gray exclaimed.
"After him!" Erza exclaimed and they started running at their top speed.
"Kurama, can you still fly?" Fox asked to Kurama, who groaned from his head.
"Too exhausted," he said with a sigh.
"Me too," Happy said tiredly.
"I guess we're running then," Gray commented as they followed the tracks.
"I'm surprise you can keep up, Lucy," Erza said as she looked at the blond.
"What's that supposed to mean," Lucy said with a pout, though she was surprised as well. She only trained for a few months, and already she's as fast as them. She smiled and look at Fox's back, feeling grateful.
Later…
The group finally arrived at the guild masters' meeting hall as night finally reached them. Lucy was panting lightly while the others seemed fine, though Gray and Natsu were sweating a little. Only Erza and Fox didn't seem winded.
"He's over there, and he's with the old man," Fox said, pointing right. Everyone quickly walked towards there and saw Makarov sitting on a boulder as Kageyama was about to play the flute.
"Old ma-!" Natsu and Gray were about to shout, when big, burly hands appeared on their mouths.
"Now, now," a male voice that tried to sound girly said, causing the two to turn white as they looked at the one holding their mouths. "Just relax and watch."
It was a bald man in his fifties, dressed in a purple dress, wearing makeup and jewelries, a set of wings on his back.
"Who is he?" Lucy said as she cringed away from the old man.
"Greetings, Master Bob," Erza and Fox said politely while the latter bowed at him.
"The master of Blue Pegasus!?" Lucy exclaimed in shock as she stared at the man.
"My, Erza-chan, you grew up so beautifully," Bob said as he kept holding Natsu and Gray, who were trying to escape. "And Fox-kun! Still mysterious, I see. How I would love to see the man beneath the mask. But I guess I'll settle with these two cuties."
"Help…" the two pleaded.
"Just sit back and enjoy the show, brats," another old man with shoulder-length sandy hair said, wearing a pointy, black hat, a spikey dog collar and shades, dressed in orange and black. "Let Maka handle this."
"You're the master of Quatro Cerberus!" Lucy exclaimed.
"That's Master Goldmine," Erza explained as Fox bowed in greeting.
Everyone looked at them before at Makarov and Kageyama.
"I can do this," Kageyama thought as he placed the instrument near his lips. "Once I play this, everything will change. I know it will!"
"Well? I'm waiting young man," Makarov said in a calmly fashion.
He tried to play it, but something was stopping him.
"I need to play this!" Kageyama thought as he sweated. "I just have to play one song, and everything will change!"
"Nothing will change," Makarov said, causing Kageyama to look at him with shock. "You cannot change the fact those who are weak will forever remain weak, but personally, that's not a bad thing. We humans are weak by nature, but our weakness are the reason guilds exist, and why we have people we can call comrades. With comrades, we can face the future without uncertainty. Think of it this way; we may stumble on the path we walk on, but we chose to walk that path and pledge our lives to the fullest, to live with faith and let our inner strength emerge on our darkest times. Don't let that silly flute ruin it for you."
Everyone, even the guild masters inside, listened intently at his speech. Kageyama stared at Makarov with emotional eyes before he dropped the instrument and fell on his knees.
"I…I surrender," he said quietly.
Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Happy and Erza cheered and rushed towards their master, surprising him.
"What are you brats doing here?" he asked, before Erza slammed his head on her metal chest plate. "Ouch!"
"Your speech really moved me, Master," Erza said happily as she released the old man, who was rubbing his head.
"This is why I joined Fairy Tail," a voice said that surprised Makarov. He looked and saw Fox with Kurama on his head, walking towards him.
"Fox? What are you doing with this crazy bunch?" Makarov asked, gesturing at his other brats.
"We simply had the same destination," Fox said as he pulled out a brown package and handed it to Makarov. "Here's your smut, pervy old man."
Makarov gasped as he grabbed the package and tore the paper. The packaged released a golden glow in front of the perverts' eyes as they saw Icha Icha: Stranded Love, showing a picture of a scantily clad woman playfully running from a semi-nude man.
"It's finally published!" he cheered as held the book in the air.
"Hey, is that the new volume?" Goldmine asked with a grin and blush.
"Yes!" Makarov exclaimed as he held the book with reverie. "I waited weeks for this to be publish."
"Oh Maka-chan, you perv," Bob said as he giggled.
Lucy sweatdrop as the three powerful mages in front of her acted like this while Erza stared at the book with an interested glint in her eyes. She mused as she looked at the book. The name feels familiar somehow, but she didn't know why. Her eyes widened when she remembered Fox mentioned Icha Icha when he lent her his book.
When Makarov opened the book, it suddenly fell apart into neatly sliced pieces. Makarov paled as he stared at his precious with eyes full of despair.
"Ah…" Fox said as he remembered him dodging Erigor's attack. Some of the wind blades must have hit his cloak, which cut the book without him knowing. "It must have been destroyed when Natsu-san fought Erigor."
"Don't blame this on me!" Natsu exclaimed. "And stop lying!"
"Keh, you humans are so pathetic," a voice said that caused everyone to pause. Fox looked at the flute, which was releasing strong dark magic. "I'm tired of listening to this! It's time for me to eat you!"
Suddenly, the flute started glowing before it started growing. The younger people looked with shock expressions as the flute turned into a giant, wood monster with three, purple eyes and flute holes.
"What is that thing!?" Lucy cried as she hid behind Fox.
"It's Lullaby's true form," Goldmine said calmly as he crossed his arms.
"My, this is something," Bob said as he put a hand on his cheek, not looking worried.
"That thing is Lullaby!?" Kageyama exclaimed.
"It's Living Magic, which was created by Zeref," Fox said in a calm tone.
"No way, Zeref's magic?" Gray said with wide eyes. "The magic from ancient times?"
"Now then, which one of you wants to be my first meal?" Lullaby said darkly. "It's been so long since I have some tasty souls!"
"Like hell you'll eat our souls!" Natsu shouted angrily, raising a fist. "How about I eat your soul! Hey, do souls taste good?"
"Why are you asking me?" Gray asked.
The guild masters saw Fox did a hand sign and a group of Foxes silently appeared. He gave them a hand signal, causing them to nod and disappeared in a blur. Fox looked at the gathering guild masters, who didn't seem worried, so there was no need for him to fight.
But just in case, the clones he created would seal the monster's movements.
Suddenly, the sound of marching footsteps caught their attention. Everyone looked and saw a battalion of Rune Knights walking towards the monster, carrying spears, shields and a flag that proudly fluttered above them, showing their symbol.
"This isn't anything we can't handle!" the lead knight exclaimed as he raised his spear. "Charge!"
The group charged, letting out loud battle cries to Lullaby, who simply snorted towards them. The gust of wind hit the knights and half of them were sent flying.
"Not even worth my time," it said as the knights looked at their falling comrades before at the monster.
"Retreat!" they exclaimed as they dropped everything they were holding.
"Well that was pathetic," Kurama commented as the mages watched the knights run.
"Damn it! I'm so hungry, I'll just eat all of you at once!" Lullaby exclaimed as he targeted the mages.
"Fuin!" Fox exclaimed as he did the hand sign. Suddenly, Lullaby stopped moving as seals appeared all over its body.
"What the hell! I can't move!" it exclaimed in anger and confusion. Everyone watched with confusion before they saw some shadowy figures running all over the monster before disappearing.
"Natsu! Gray! Attack now!" Erza exclaimed as she changed into her Heaven's Wheel Armor. "While Fox has it immobilized!"
"Right!" the two exclaimed as they followed Erza's lead.
"Ice Make: Lances!" Gray exclaimed as he created sharp lances made of ice, which pierced the monster's wooden skin.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu roared, releasing a torrent of fire which burned the monster's shoulder, spreading to it's right arm.
"Dance my blades!" Erza exclaimed as the ten swords flew towards the monster, piercing and slashing its skin.
"Amazing," Lucy said with wide eyes, speechless at what she was witnessing.
"Hm, those brats are impressive."
"What'd you expect from Makarov's guild?"
"Enough!" Lullaby exclaimed in anger. "I can't move, but I don't need that to kill you! One song, and you will all die!"
"That's right!" Lucy exclaimed in a panic. "Lullaby's a flute! All it needs is one song and it's over!"
"Say your prayers!" it exclaimed as it took a deep breath.
There was no sound.
"…What?" Lullaby said as it looked over his body, and saw that it was filled with holes of many sizes.
"A flute can't produce a sound with so many holes," Kurama said with a smirk as he stood next to Lucy and Happy. "That makes you useless garbage."
"The cat's got a point."
"It's not so scary now."
"Gr...Bastards!" Lullaby exclaimed as its mouth started glowing. "Disappear!"
It fired a yellow beam towards the group of mages. The mages watched as the beam got closer, with Lucy closing her eyes, grabbing on to Kurama and a scared Happy.
"Shadow Grace Secret Arts: Pillar of Darkness!"
A large shadow erupted from the ground and formed into a big pillar that absorbed the beam, surprising everyone. Lucy looked and saw that the shadow was connected to Fox.
"You won't harm my comrades,'ttebayo," he said, and Lucy looked at him with wide eyes, blushing slightly.
"Damn it!" Lullaby exclaimed before its attention went back to the three that were attacking it.
"Ice Make: Cannon!" Gray created a cannon made of ice, which fired chunks of ice towards the monster, destroying its skin.
"Blumenblatt!" Erza exclaimed as she rushed towards the monster and swung two swords, with the other ten swords following the strikes, cutting the monster more.
"With flame on the right hand, and flame on the left hand, combing the flames together…" Natsu said as he jumped towards the monster and combining the flames from his right and left hand. "Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"
The attack created an explosion that sent the monster flying to the air.
"You…You're all monsters!" Lullaby screamed as it started breaking apart.
"Wow, they did it!" the guild masters and knights exclaimed as they looked at the four Fairy Tail mages that defeated the monster.
"Well, what'd you expect from Fairy Tail!" Makarov laughed, boasting about his mages.
"Great job, you three," Fox said as he gave a thumbs-up to Natsu, Gray and Erza. "You beat the monster all on your own."
"You helped too, Fox," Erza said with a small smile as she changed back to her normal armor.
"No, I didn't," Fox denied. "I didn't do anything."
"Stop lying, you bastard!" Natsu exclaimed.
Suddenly, a large piece of Lullaby landed on the guild masters' meeting hall, causing everyone to stare at it in silence. Makarov lost his boastful expression and paled as the guild masters turned to glare at them.
"Well, we better run," Fox said as he grabbed Kurama and Lucy, surprising the blond.
"Run away!" Happy exclaimed as he followed Fox.
"I'm sorry, Master," Erza said as Makarov started crying at the thought of the expenses, the two following Fox's lead with Gray next to them.
"Yeah, get them!" Natsu exclaimed as he ran with the guild masters.
"Aren't you with them!?" the mage next to him exclaimed.
Unknown to them, someone witnessed their fight and were taking great interest on the mysterious Fox.
"I guess there's more to Fairy Tail then meets the eye," she said as she disappeared into the shadows.
Finished! Man, that was a surprisingly long chapter. Well, hope you like it. Fox revealed most of his skills to his comrades, who were shocked by his level, and a mysterious person is watching him. Who is she, and what does she want with Fairy Tail? And why does Fox keep rejecting the credit for fighting? Find out next chapter!
Next time: Natsu vs Erza, and Fox arrested!? See you later!