Karissa joined Gray and Cana at the counter with a yawn. They both looked at her funny when she drowsily got onto her seat and then proceeded to slouch with a dazed look.
"What's got you so sleepy?"
"I was reading this book that Levy gave me." She rubbed her eyes. "It was so good. But I had to force myself to stop reading it at around 3 AM…"
"Don't tell me you only woke up now? It's almost noon." Cana lowered her mug and raised a brow. Karissa just nodded and rubbed the sleep out of her face.
"Here, this'll definitely wake you up." Cana smirked and offered Karissa her mug full of alcohol. After catching a whiff of it, Karissa leaned away, her face looking like it was fully awake now. She grimaced and pushed it away with a finger. "Nah, keep it."
"Oh, come on, at least let me drink with my friend!" Cana complained.
Gray scoffed next to her. "Yeah, don't try. Karissa's dead set on not drinking alcohol."
"Seriously? Man, screw that. You need to drink this stuff. I swear, it'll open your eyes to the truth."
Karissa laughed at that. "The truth of what? That I could get drunk?"
Suddenly, the whole guild went up in an uproar, making the three jolt a little. Everyone was throwing things and tables were being destroyed. A rather typical scene for the Fairy Tail guild hall. Cana and Karissa heard Gray shout out angrily after getting shoved, making him jump out of his seat and join in on the fight in nothing but his underwear. The two girls sweat dropped. Karissa sighed and hopped off the stool, deciding it was best to go take cover somewhere since she was too tired to deal with the ruckus. As she walked closer to the request board, she was smacked in the face by a hand, it felt way to painful just for a measly hand.
"Ow! What the hell?!" Karissa groaned. She found a familiar face looking back at her. Oh yeah, she knew this person. She disliked them. She was the resident princess of the dorm back when she still lived there. There was even once a time where she physically got into a fight with her for some petty thing.
"Damn it, Kleenex! How many goddamn rings do you need to wear?!" Karissa smacked her hand way from her face with immense irritation.
"It's KLEENA. And—" Kleena paused. She brought her hand to her face and looked at her nails. "Oh my god, you broke it!" she shrieked.
"Well watch where you swing that frigging hand—" she dodged a flying cup. "Watch it, you spoiled brat!" Karissa growled before picking up a broken piece of wood that belonged to a table. "I'm too tired to deal with your shit!"
Cana sighed heavily as she watch Karissa violently pitch the wood at Kleena. "You don't look that tired."
Karissa got too absorbed into her fight that she didn't even notice the Master of her guild step into the middle of the guildhall in his giant form, making everyone freeze as he told them to stop fighting like children. Karissa's wind magic ceased just as she grabbed Kleena by the front of her shirt. The two girls were looking at each other without saying anything.
"Oh, you were here, Master?" Mirajane smiled.
"Yes."
"Master?!" Karissa heard an unfamiliar voice repeat in bafflement.
After a pause. Everyone who was fighting someone turned away from each other, ceasing their fighting like they were asked to. Karissa glanced behind her when she heard Natsu laughing victoriously only to get stomped on by the Master.
When did he get back?
"Hm? A new recruit?" Master Makarov peered down at the girl standing in front of him. It was a blonde haired girl.
"Y-Yes…?!"
The black haired girl glanced behind her and found a chair in perfect condition. She took a seat as she Master went back to his original form and introduced himself to the young woman before leaping up to the rail on the second floor. If he was up there, that meant he most likely had something to say to everyone. Perhaps it was a scolding from all the mess they made.
"You've done it again, you bunch of fools!" He brought out some papers from behind his back with an unhappy look on his face. "Look at all this paperwork the Council sent me!"
Karissa looked down to hide her face from the master as she cringed. The paperwork he received was usually a pile of complaints that people had written to the Council about the mages who caused trouble. In her family, only two people were subjected to these complaints: Karissa and Van. Van was due to his temper tantrums that caused the earth to literally shatter beneath his feet while Karissa was due to being careless in her fights, causing destruction of property every now and then.
Master Makarov cleared his throat as he brought the papers in front of him. "First is Gray."
"Huh?" Gray looked up with narrowed eyes.
"Good job on sweeping out the smuggling organization, but you walked around naked in town afterwards and ran away after stealing underwear that was being dried."
Karissa couldn't help but laugh at that. The mental image of Gray sneaking around a neighborhood butt naked. It was so scandalous.
"Second, Karissa!"
Upon hearing her name, she instantly stopped laughing and looked up sheepishly. She found Master Makarov giving her a look. "You successfully stopped a cult and saved a town, but you ended up destroying the windows of all the houses in four different streets during an aerial battle, and then gave the damage cost to another guild that was located nearby."
"… Well, I panicked… I didn't know what to do." Karissa muttered.
"Elfman! You had a mission to escort a VIP, but you assaulted him during the mission. Cana Alberona. Drinking fifteen big barrels of alcohol, and charging it to the magic Council. Loke. Flirting with Council member elder Reiji's grand-daughter. A certain talent agency charged us for damage compensation, too. Van Sinclost. You broke the earth and caused the fall of an old bridge in the north." Then Master Makarov slumped. "And Natsu… You destroyed the Devon Thief Family, but also destroyed seven other houses that belong to the townspeople… levelling a historical clock tower in Tully Village, burning down a church in Freesia, damaging parts of Lupinus Castle, making Nazuna Ravine observatory collapse and thus caused the cease of its operations. And as of yesterday night, destroying half of Hargeon's port…."
Dang Natsu. Karissa looked at him as he laid on the floor looking a bit embarrassed for being called out like that.
"Alzack, Levi, Reedus, Warren, Bisca… the list goes on. You guys…! The Council members are angry with me all the time because of you fools!" there was a pause of silence as they watched him tremble. "However, I say the heck with the Council!" Makarov lit the paperwork on fire and tossed it aside without a care. Natsu quickly ran over to jump up and grab his flaming snack before it hit the floor.
"Listen here, magic is an unreasonable power, but it is born from reason! It is not some miraculous ability. It is the combination of the spirit that flows within us with the spirit that flows within nature itself, incarnated into a physical form! It takes a strong mind and focus! In fact, magic is the pouring out of one's entire soul. One cannot progress in the way of magic by being mindful of the watchful eye from above! Be not afraid of those fools on the Council! And follow the path you believe in! That's what it means the be a Fairy Tail wizard!"
…
…
…
After cleaning up the guild and pulling out some new tables from out of nowhere, Karissa was about to sit down with Cana again until she felt a flash on her. She flinched and looked at the person with a startled look. She found Max holding up a camera with a grin on his face.
"… Max."
"Finally gotcha."
"Delete that!" she freaked with her hands on her face. Max could see her ears turning red from the embarrassment.
"Oh come on," He stepped away when she tried grabbing the camera from his hands. "It's one of the best ones I got. The others are all blurry from all the times you bolted away. Look," showed her the screen. "The one I took just now has you smiling."
"I look weird." She said flatly.
Max nudged her side with his elbow. "That's not true. Oh hey, by the way, do you mind helping me with my Fairy Tail Souvenir Shop again?"
Karissa didn't have to think about it too much to agree. His little project was very interesting. She was brought into this two-man project since she was the perfect person for coming up with ideas for the shop since she was creative. One of his ideas was to sell some pictures of the members hence the reason for taking her picture earlier. He had asked for her help a few weeks ago, and so far, things have been rolling very smoothly. The last time they spoke about the project, Master Makarov had greenlighted the project.
Max Alors joined the guild around the time she was fifteen, and he quickly got along with many members of the guild due to his outgoing personality. It seemed like her very much enjoyed talking to the people around him as long as they were just as nice. For that reason, he usually approached her when she was in her corner minding her own business, too timid to join others. He was not too forceful with her either, so that made it easier to get along with him.
They were on their way to some warehouse that they rented for their current products while the store was still being developed.
"By the way, how's your nervousness lately?" Max asked curiously as she walked next to him.
Karissa looked up as she recollected the memories of her previous job. "… I think, it's slowly getting better? I'm not sure."
"What do you mean?"
"My skin didn't feel too prickly, I didn't feel overheated from overthinking in front of the client when I'm usually supposed to…"
"Hey! That's great!" Max slapped her back, making her stumble with a baffled look. "Wh-What?"
"If it didn't happen, then that means you're slowly getting used to it." Max explained with a smile. "Aren't you glad?"
"I don't know… I'm so used to it that I'm worried about not having it. Maybe my brain was getting tired of always being on high alert for the past 5-6 years. It also makes me realize how much I missed by being in my corner all the time. It's kind of sad."
Max put his hands in his pockets and nodded. "I get that feeling. I didn't really have many friends growing up so I feel like I missed a crucial piece of my childhood."
"You didn't have friends?"
"Nope." Max laughed a little before shrugging. "But there's no point in wallowing on the past. I told myself to try and make some friends when I joined a guild, and I did. I have so many friends today so that sort of makes up for it."
Karissa felt like squinting. "You're… optimistic."
The beige haired man just snorted. "Yeah, well, you're pessimistic."
"I know."
A few days later, Karissa and Van arrived at the guild just in time to see Erza calling out people. The first thing they noticed was the very noticeable horn standing in the middle of the guild hall.
"Van." Erza's voice echoed in the guildhall, making the said man stop in his tracks with a puzzled face.
"Me? I just got here." Van held his hands up to his shoulders.
"You need to control your temper."
"Ah, so you heard." Van scratched the back of his head.
The scarlet haired woman shifted her attention on the youngest Sinclost and told her to come over as she had something to ask her, Gray and Natsu for a favor. Without needing to be told twice, Karissa jogged over to Erza and found Gray and Natsu looking amicable with strained smiles. They were clearly faking it to avoid getting yelled or punished by the older woman.
"I heard something disturbing after having finished my job. Normally, I'd ask for the Master's opinion, but we must act quickly so I decided myself. I want you three to help me. Will you help me?"
While Natsu and Gray looked hesitant of the idea of working with the other, Karissa didn't have any problem lending a hand.
"Are you sure you don't want to wait for Pandora to get back? She'd be back in a few days… She's an S-Class wizard like you. I'm sure she'd be even more helpful than me." Karissa put her hands in her jacket's pockets.
"You may have a point. But as I've said, this is a case where acting fast is necessary. I cannot afford to wait for Pandora to return when time is short." Erza explained. "Besides, you sell yourself short, you have your own skills that I deemed necessary for this."
"… If you say so."
"We're leaving tomorrow, so be ready."
THE NEXT DAY: MAGNOLIA STATION
…
…
…
Karissa, who had her hands in her pockets, glanced at Gray as he held a grumpy look on his face with his arms crossed over his chest. She arrived at the station earlier than anyone and was joined by Gray who couldn't seem to lighten up at the fact that Natsu was coming along. It made Karissa roll her eyes and nudge him on the side, he stumbled from the force.
"What was that for?"
"Suck it up." She told him simply. "You're going on mission with Natsu. Big deal."
"Tch, yeah for you. I can't stand the guy!"
"And he can't stand you either. Okay. You're telling me that's going to keep you grumpy during the whole ride? Just ignore him!"
Gray didn't respond to that. He just turned his head away and stared ahead without saying anything. Her words seemed to have made him relax a little until they heard Happy cheerfully calling their names. The next second, Gray went back to looking grumpy, causing Karissa to sigh in defeat. As soon as the two guys faced each other, they began glaring at the other with disgust.
"Why do I have to team up with you?! Natsu slammed his forehead against Gray's.
"That's my line! If Erza wants help, Karissa and I alone are enough!" he pushed back against Natsu.
"Then why don't you guys go by yourselves?! I don't want to go!"
"Then don't come, then I'll get to watch Erza kill you!"
With look of apathy on her face, Karissa just decided to shut out the two and keep an eye out for Erza after setting her headphones on her head. Back when they were kids, she tried playing the mediator for them just like she did for Lyon and Gray. Unfortunately, their fighting was much worse and way too troublesome to handle, making her give up on them entirely.
When Erza's huge luggage was spotted, Karissa raised a hand and waved at her. Erza gave her brief wave of greeting as she came closer, causing the two to cease their fighting. They boarded a train a few minutes later but not without Natsu asking for a match with Erza when they return to Fairy Tail.
Karissa chose to sit between Natsu and Gray with Happy on her lap instead of sitting between Erza and the new recruit whose name she learned was Lucy. Karissa was scooted a bit closer to Gray as Natsu seriously looked sick, she was scared of him barfing on her and having to deal with puke. Why did transportation have to be the simple-minded idiot's weakness?
"Seriously, you're really pathetic. One minute you're picking a fight and the next you're like this." Gray said next to the window, staring outside.
"It's gotta be tough on him, getting from place to place." Lucy said.
Erza heaved a sigh with her arms crossed. "It can't be helped. Come to my side."
Lucy got up and helped Natsu get up and sit next to Erza since Karissa and Gray weren't going to do it. Once the celestial wizard took a seat next to Karissa, the three wizards watched as Erza placed an arm around Natsu's shoulders in a comforting manner, telling him to relax. The next second, she rammed her fist in his stomach, knocking him out cold on her lap.
My god. Karissa sweat dropped as she averted her eyes away.
"U-Um," Lucy laughed uneasily. "So, what kind of magic do you use, Erza-san? I haven't seen any other magic than Natsu's in Fairy Tail."
"You can call me Erza." The scarlet haired woman smiled amicably.
Happy lifted his arms up, "Erza's magic is beautiful. He opponents' blood squirts out everywhere!"
"That's beautiful?"
Erza chuckled lowly. "Personally, I think Gray and Karissa's magic is much more beautiful than mine."
"I guess." Karissa shrugged.
"Really?" Gray put his arms forward as he put his hand in his palm, creating a light chill around them as the ice began to form, revealing a small Fairy Tail insignia. The little piece of ice flew past Karissa and float in front of Lucy for a few seconds.
The blonde haired mage clapped her hands in realization. "Oh! So, that's why you and Natsu don't get along? Because Natsu uses fire and you use ice!"
Happy looked at Lucy with a straight face. "Wow, Lucy you must be dumb to believe in stuff like that."
"What did you just call me?!"
"If that was true, then Karissa would be like Gray when it comes to Natsu. She gets along with Natsu." Happy patted Karissa's thigh with his paw. Lucy blinked. Karissa slowly looked at Lucy as she felt her curious gaze on her.
"Do you use ice magic too?"
"Yeah. Wind magic too."
"Oh wow! Two types of magic?!"
Karissa could only stare at the girl in the eyes for about two more seconds before her gaze skittered away. The female ice wizard lifted the back of her hand to hide her mouth behind her sleeve in a somewhat natural manner. "Yeah…"
Lucy's eyebrows rose a little, she's shy.
On the outside, she maintained a straight faced without a hint of a smile. On the inside, however, she was hoping that Lucy would stop talking and go back to talking to Erza since she didn't know if she could keep up a conversation with someone she just met.
Soon after, Erza got straight to the point. When she stopped by a pub on her way home, she overheard something. A group was plotting something with the help of something referred to as 'Lullaby'. According to them, they were unable to use it as it had a seal on it. But a certain member in the group said he would return to Erigor after three days with Lullaby, possibly after breaking the seal.
"The name Erigor." Erza's eyes narrowed. "The dark guild Eisenwald's ace. He's called Shinigami because he only accepts assassination requests."
Karissa grimaced at that. "Disgusting."
"Obviously, assassinations have been forbidden by the Council but Eisenwald prioritized money. Six years ago, they were banished from the Mage Guild League and is now categorized as a dark guild." With a frustrated face, she slammed her fist on Natsu's hand in her lap. "If only I had paid more attention to the name Erigor back then, I would've punished them all until they would've revealed their plan."
"I see." Gray looked away from the window. "Eisenwald intends to do something with this Lullaby. And since it's probably something bad, you want us to help you stop them."
"Exactly."
Karissa crossed her legs and huffed. "Knowing how they prefer assassinations jobs for money, the entire guild might as well be plotting to do something to the people who forbid them to do it in the first place with that Lullaby thing. I wouldn't be surprised if that was their plan."
"A possible hypothesis, and your guesses and hunches are usually correct." Erza agreed. "And that's why I asked for your help. I don't think I could go up against an entire guild myself."
"Sounds interesting." Gray smirked.
"I hope it'll be a challenge at least." Karissa chuckled.
"Aye!"
"… I shouldn't have come." Lucy whimpered, terrified.
They arrived at Onibas station, the town where Erza overheard the members of Eisenwald, and started making their way through the town. They group allowed Erza to lead the way as the official team leader of this mission.
Karissa put on her headphones again but kept one ear open so she could pay attention to any other details Erza was willing to give them.
"And? Do you know where Eisenwald is?" Gray asked, looking around.
"We came to this town to find out about that." Erza replied while dragging her luggage.
"Why don't we try the pub and ask the owner if he overheard anything?" Karissa suggested.
All of a sudden, they heard Lucy make a panicked sound. Everyone stopped and looked at her curiously. "Natsu's not here!" Lucy suddenly exclaimed while looking back, seeing no sign of Natsu.
Happy, Erza, Gray and Karissa didn't move a muscle as they stared at Lucy.
…
…
…
"Ah." Karissa finally said. "We left him on the train."
"Pretty much." Gray groaned as he ran his hand over his face.
They quickly rushed over to the train station after Erza had her moment of self-blame. She wasted no second in finding a staff member, demanding that they stop the train immediately, the three wizards could only sit back and watch Erza do things her way.
"M…Miss, I can't stop the train just because you asked me to…!"
"It's for our friend. Please understand."
"We can't! Just for one person?!"
Karissa looked around the place to try and find the emergency lever to speed things along. There was no point in asking Erza to change method since it was obviously the quickest way to get Natsu some help. And the quicker they stop the train, the shorter the route to Natsu will be after all. Somewhere behind the staff member was a couple of levers, one of them was labeled for emergencies only.
The emergency is to avoid walking or running all the way to Natsu.
"Happy." Karissa called the blue cat.
"What is it?" he flew up next to her when she motioned him to fly up.
"Just go pull down the lever over there." She pointed her finger at the target. "It's pretty high up."
The blue cat snickered. "Aye, sir!"
As Happy flew past the staff member, who cried out for him to stop, Erza praised him for doing the right thing just as he lowered the lever down, causing a bell to echo throughout the entire station. People in the station looked around in complete confusion, wondering if there was some sort of accident that occurred.
"Now, then, let's go after Natsu." Erza announced as she walked away from the staff member who was in disbelief by the disruption in schedule she just caused. "Oh, and please deliver my luggage to Hotel Chili. Thank you."
"W...What?"
The others chose to keep their belongings with them instead of dumping it on some random person.
With the trains in complete halt, they needed to take another form of transportation to catch up with Natsu. Erza had decided to borrow a magic vehicle from someone nearby. Karissa's mistake, for the owner of the magic vehicle, was pointing at one that was about to be used by someone. Lucy watched in disbelief as Erza 'politely' borrowed the magic vehicle, which involved literally pulling the man off the seat so that she may sit there instead. Lucy had tried suggesting that they simply rent a magic vehicle instead of stealing one but didn't have the courage to once Erza had taken action. Gray had tossed his bag to Karissa as he climbed on the roof of the magic vehicle, saying it would be quicker for them to get moving while the rest just got comfortable inside.
Karissa sat in the spot across from Lucy and Happy, she was facing the same way as Erza. She crossed her legs and her arms over her chest, simply watching the view outside as they raced out of Onibas.
They were traveling fast. They needed to find Natsu before the train began moving again. The two girls inside the vehicle were keeping an eye on the train that had yet to move.
After a few minutes, they spotted a section of the train that had been destroyed. Lucy and Karissa already had an inclination of Natsu being responsible for the destruction. When Erza brought them closer to the train, they heard it make a whistling noise.
The train started chugging.
"Oh no! The train!" Lucy leaned closer to the window.
"Whoa…!" Karissa gasped as she saw something break out from the train, flying out their way. "It's Natsu."
The pink haired wizard flew out sideways while Erza kept driving the vehicle towards him. The two girls in the vehicle watched Natsu disappear above them, and they heard Gray and Natsu cry out in pain. The two girls cringed for the both of them, Karissa whipped her head back to look out the window behind her. Gray and Natsu rolled on the ground from falling and until they finally stopped and laid on their backs.
"Erza! Stop!" Karissa shouted with her hand on the door handle.
Erza slammed her foot on the breaks and turned the vehicle, making it swerve to the side next to a fence. "Natsu, are you alright?" Erza asked as she removed the SE plug strap around her wrist.
"Aye…!" The fire wizard replied in pain.
Karissa was already on her way to check on them after she slammed the door open. "What about you Gray?" she crouched down next to him, watching as his face was twisted in pain, his forehead was supporting a red mark.
"I feel like I got hit by a rock… fuck." Gray groaned as he gently put a hand on his forehead.
Karissa helped him get up while Lucy did the same for Natsu. The two were able to gather their bearings rather quickly as they went straight to glaring at each other.
"That hurt, you dumbass!" Gray shouted at him.
"Shut up! How dare you guys leave me behind!" Natsu shouted back. He looked at them accusingly.
"You were so quiet." Karissa shrugged with her hands.
"I'm just happy that you're safe." Erza said with relief, bringing him towards her for a comforting hug which he only groaned about as he had his head slammed into her armor.
Natsu pulled away and rubbed his head. "What do you mean 'safe'?! I had a fight against some strange guy on the train! He claimed to be part of Eisenwald." Natsu said with his arms crossed, frowning as he remembered the encounter, only to be slapped in the face by the oldest member in the group.
"You fool! Eisenwald is who we're after! How could you let him get away?!"
Gray, Karissa and Lucy gaped at the scene before them. Erza stood in front of Natsu as he looked up at her like a child.
"Wha…?! This is the first time I heart about it…" Natsu said, clearly lost as he held his red cheek.
"I explained it earlier! Listen to people when they're talking!"
Karissa sighed as she scratched the back of her neck. "Um, Erza. Natsu's not at fault here you know? Don't you remember that—" The scarlet haired woman turned to face her with an irritated expression.
The black haired girl paused. "… You know what? Never mind." Karissa turned away, leaving Natsu to fend for himself.
"Yeah, just leave it alone." Gray looked away from the two, pretending not see.
It was decided. They were going to go after the train that the Eisenwald member was currently on.
Natsu had described his assailant as plain looking guy who carried a particular flute in his bag. An odd flute that had a skull with three eyes. The description of the flute had caused Lucy to realize what kind of flute the dark guild member was carrying. As its name suggests, it was a tool that played a song. Not just any song, but a cursed one, a melody of death. It was Death Magic. According to Lucy, the flute was simply used as a tool for deadly curses. But after falling into the hands of the dark wizard Zeref, it turned into a demon flute that was capable of killing anyone that heard the melody.
In other words, a very dangerous tool.
"If that's the case, then we really need to chase after them." Erza strapped the SE plug back on her arm and glanced at her fellow guild mates. "Get on, we're leaving right now." She said urgently as she got into her seat.
"R-Right!" Lucy obeyed her, knowing how dire the situation was. She hopped back inside the vehicle with Happy while Gray just climbed back on top, leaving Karissa and Natsu who still hadn't climbed inside yet due to how slow the pink haired mage was being.
"No… Not again." Natsu moaned as he slowly stepped into the vehicle.
"Damn it, Natsu! Get your ass in there already—! Wait Erza! MOVE IT NATSU!" Karissa yelled, not wanting to be left behind the moment Erza took off.
All of a sudden, she felt a hand latch on her wrist followed by a forceful tug upwards, making her shriek. Gray had pulled her on top of the magic vehicle.
"G-Gray?!"
"I told you: it's faster."
"But what if—OOF!" Karissa's words died as Erza sped off after the train, nearly making her fall off the roof if it hadn't been for Gray holding on to her tightly.
"You idiot, hold on here!" He grabbed her hands and put them on some type of ledge on the roof. Karissa didn't need to be told twice since she gripped onto it like her life depended on it.
"Y-Yeah okay...!"
She froze her wrists on the roof for safety measure.
I can't believe I'm riding up here. I'm going to die!
At some point, Erza decided to take a shortcut by literally flying off the edge of a short cliff.
"HOLY FU—!" Karissa freaked as she saw how high they were. She closed her eyes tightly.
No four wheeled-vehicle should be up the air like that!
Gray put an arm around her, just in case, to keep her from falling off. The two ice mages held on for dear life as the vehicle bounced off the ground for a moment, jolting them.
"E-Erza! Slow down a little!" Karissa said shakily. "You're going to send us flying off!"
Gray removed his arm off her and so he could properly hold onto the ledge. "Even if it's you, don't underestimate the amount of magic this vehicle drains!" he warned her.
Karissa forced herself to move closer to the edge to get near Erza so that she could speak to her. "Why don't I take care of it?! I have a lot of magic power to use! Switch with me!" She held her arm out near her head.
"We don't have time to waste! If Erigor seizes this magic flute then there's no telling what he'll do!" Erza told her. "Just hold onto the ledge for now."
"Yeah but…" Karissa trailed off, not sure what to say to change her mind. Her magic power was definitely something they could to their advantage when it came to magical items or vehicles that drained magic power. If she had so much to spare, she'd be glad to spend it on something little like this.
She drew back her arm in disappointment.
"Karissa," Erza addressed loudly, the girl blinked. "You may be right about their goal now that we know that we're dealing with a flute that takes lives. Who do you think their target might be? Do you have any guesses?"
Karissa bit her lip. She glanced at Gray who was looking at her curiously. She lowered her gaze and looked at her hands.
…
…
"Knowing how they prefer assassinations jobs for money, the entire guild might as well be plotting to do something to the people who forbid them to do it in the first place with that Lullaby thing. I wouldn't be surprised if that was their plan."
…
…
If I continue with that theory… then there's only one thing that comes to mind.
"I could be wrong, but, it's possible that they might go after the Council."
"The Council?" Erza repeated, a bit surprised.
"That's what I think they would do. You said that they prioritize money and that they specialized assassination jobs. The Magic Council forbids assassination jobs, and they have treated them as a criminal organization because of their preference. If I were in their shoes, I would use it on the Magic Council since they wouldn't be preventing me from doing what I want once they're dead. You get it?"
"Yes, I understand. So, you're saying that their target would be those who hold authority, correct?"
Karissa nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Something like that! Don't rely on it too much though."
"It's better than nothing." Gray spoke. "We have no lead right now. The best thing we could do for now is guess their motive."
"But I just can't figure out why they would need to stop the trains..." Karissa deeply frowned as they kept pressing forward.
A flute that takes lives, huh?
How dreadful.
They had temporarily stopped by Kunugi Station to overhear the commotion. The train was taken over the moment the train stopped there, they were claiming that it was a dark guild. The Fairy Tail members already knew that the name of that guild was Eisenwald. With that information in mind, they sped off to the town of Oshibana.
…
…
…
They scared a bunch of people who were minding their own business when they sped off into Oshibana, their destination was the station in town.
Erza took a quick turn around the corner, causing Gray and Karissa to tilt with a yelp. "Again...?!" The female ice wizard said with a tremble in her voice.
The people town made way for the speeding magic vehicle with shouts and screams.
"Erza, you're going too fast! You're inflating SE plug!" Gray shouted at Erza in concern.
"If we let them play the Lullaby flute, a great number of innocent people will be victims! Just by hearing the sound, a person's life is stolen from them!"
"Yeah, we get it, we want to stop them too! But you're going to be empty by the time we catch up! That's why I told you that we should have switched!" Karissa looked down at her from behind, really concerned about Erza's state.
"If that happens then I'll fight with a stick if I have to! And you three are here as well." Erza said confidently, not too worried about herself.
Karissa's right eye twitched in slight annoyance for her lack of care. "I swear, the next time we use this, I'm the one getting drained, alright?!"
Erza only chuckled in slight amusement, appreciating the younger girl's concern. "Alright, fine."
When they arrived in front of the station, they found a crowd and some staff members that were trying to calm them down. They had make their way through the crowd of people. To make her job easier, she grabbed onto Gray's sleeve as they made their way through. When they made it to the front, she released him and just watched Erza demand to know the situation.
"You! What's the situation inside?" Erza asked a staff member as she grabbed his shoulder.
"Who the heck are you—" he was cut off by Erza headbutting him, resulting in him folding on the floor.
She moved on to the next person. "What's going on inside?"
"Eh— GUAH!"
Before the poor man could actually reply, she immediately slammed her head into his. It made Karissa stare at the poor men who were just doing their job. They weren't paid to face a woman like Erza.
At least let them breathe a syllable...
"You know... I'm starting to think Karissa is the only normal one here." Lucy sighed while supporting Natsu who had yet to recover from his motion sickness.
After she was done 'questioning', she returned to her comrades.
"The Eisenwald guild's inside. Let's go!"
Karissa gave the staff members one last sympathetic look before running inside with the others.
We've finally started the canon timeline. I use both the manga and anime to write the story, so that will explain anything that might seem different from the anime. For example, the part where Gray, Natsu and Lucy get attacked by Eisenwald in the forest was removed because it wasn't in the manga, it was filler.