Later that same day, when night had fallen for a while and all the stars had appeared, Natsu found himself in the middle of an open field, surrounded by thick, dense woods. The field itself had a few craters and piles of dirt, evidence of what the pinkette had turned it into: his personal training ground.

A good 30 minutes away from his house, the area was as isolated as it could get thus allowing him to practice his magics freely without the risk of hurting anyone, damaging anything or being spied on. It was for this very reason that Happy never accompanied him when he went there, including right now.

Although for once, Natsu wasn't here for training at all but to unravel the mystery of the voice in his head. After careful consideration, he had been able to come up with two possible explanations: either he was going insane or the person to whom the voice belonged had done something to him without his knowledge, let alone consent. Being well aware of the playful and mischievous nature of said person, he had a significant preference for the second one. Maybe also because he didn't like the idea of him going crazy.

Ever since he had first heard it earlier in the day, he had had to act as if nothing had happened in front of his guildmates, not telling any of them about it, not even his faithful blue-furred friend. Nevertheless, he lost himself in his thoughts several times during the day. Fortunately for him, it wasn't something unusual for him to do. It also didn't help that the voice hadn't said a thing since its first three words.

As he stood in the middle of the field with his arms crossed, Natsu was waiting for it to manifest again. When he ran out of patience, he decided to speak up himself. "Are you going to say anything or do you plan on letting me stand there like an idiot?"

Upon only receiving silence as an answer, the pink-haired mage grew frustrated and exasperated. "You know I could just force you out of my mind if I wanted to, right?"

"Aw. Why did you have to ruin my fun?" the same voice asked while pouting, not in his head but from behind him.

When he turned around, Natsu saw exactly what, or rather who, he expected: Mavis Vermillion. What he didn't expect however, was for his other senses to tell him the exact same thing. The last time he had seen her, he could hear her talking but that was it which was normal for a thought projection. But this time, he could hear her breathing, her heartbeat, he could even smell her scent as he did decades ago. It was like she was really there.

For now though, all of that was the least of his concerns. "What do you mean "ruin your fun"?"

"Well…I kinda wanted to make you believe you were losing it to see how you would react but you forced my hand." the short girl explained with a malicious smile.

"You're a sadist but let's leave that aside for now…what exactly did you do to me?" Natsu asked in a serious tone which worried his interlocutor a bit. Indeed, for the first time, she opened herself up to the idea that he might not take what she had done too well. And the idea of her dear friend being mad at her terrified her.

"W-Well…remember when I said I needed an anchor to be able to travel the mainland?" she said while scratching her cheek, looking anywhere but in his eyes, discomfort evident in her behavior.

As realization hit him, Natsu's eyes widened and he stuttered in disbelief. "Y-You mean you placed a beacon inside me?"

"N-No, not a beacon, but I did…sort of…put a…part of my soul into you." Mavis admitted, closing her eyes tightly at the end in anticipation for the yelling she was sure she was about to receive. She was wrong.

Indeed, Natsu was so stunned and shocked by her confession that anything he could have said would have been stuck in his throat. As a result, he just stood there, looking at her with his mouth agape, utterly dumbfounded for some time.

When he finally regained his composure, the pinkette noticed the girl's nervousness at his reaction to come and decided not to yell at her. "What were you thinking?" he asked in a displeased but calm tone.

Upon hearing his reply, the blonde girl finally opened one of her eyes and looked at his face. When she saw he wasn't nearly as angry as she had feared, she opened her second eye and looked at him normally. "Well, I didn't really think this through it's just…I was so lonely and bored on my island by myself and when I got the chance to go on adventures again, not to mention with a very good friend, I guess my excitement and enthusiasm got the better of me."

"Got the better of you to the point where you didn't even feel the need to ask for my opinion?" the pink-haired Fairy Tail member asked sarcastically with a raised eyebrow.

"I know I messed up. I'm sorry." she apologized, looking down in shame and guilt.

"I mean, beyond using me as transportation and an attraction, this is such a huge invasion of my privacy." he stated but then sighed in exasperation. "That being said, I did advise you to make the most out of your situation and I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing in your place."

Mavis then looked up at him, surprised and slightly joyful at his words. "R-Really? So, you're not too mad at me?"

"Don't get me wrong, I am upset. But also, I understand and what's done is done. Besides, I don't so much have a problem with what you did as the fact that you didn't tell me about it beforehand. I guess what I'm saying is: I don't have a problem with you staying but don't ever do something like that again." he responded.

Immediately afterwards, she flung herself at him and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" she said with her face buried in his chest and tears of joy streaming down her face.

Natsu, for his part, simply stroke the girl's excessively long hair, the scene reminding them both of old memories of a similar situation they had been in.

When they separated and Mavis wiped the last of her tears away, the pinkette spoke up again. "So does that mean you live inside me or something now?"

"Kind of, yes. Please take care of me." she joked in response and they both started chuckling. One thing was sure: things were going to get very interesting for both of them.

The next day, inside the Fairy Tail guild hall, most members were chatting, laughing, drinking together with Lisanna serving them their drinks. Natsu was at the bar, talking with Mirajane and Happy as usual. When she arrived at the guild, Lucy silently joined them, just in time to hear the cat of the group speak up.

"Natsu, aren't we going to try to find another job?" he asked while munching on a fish. Upon hearing this, Lucy remembered her rent was due next week and hurried herself to the request board.

"Yeah but I'd like to welcome Erza back before we go." the pink-haired made answered and heard the white-haired barmaid giggle.

"She's probably going to challenge you again first chance she gets." she said with an amused smile.

"You mean after she scolds everyone for doing anything she thinks is wrong? She may but it'd be rude of me to dodge her by going on a mission." he agreed.

All of them turned their heads to the request board when they heard their blonde guildmate talk to herself. "Finding a magic bracelet, breaking a spell on a cursed cane, reading someone's love horoscope, hunting a volcano demon. I had no idea there were so many different types of jobs."

"Well, let me know if you pick one. The master's away so I'm covering for him." Mirajane informed her.

"Where is he anyway?" Natsu asked.

"He's at the guild masters conference." the barmaid supplied.

'I remember those. They were such a pain.' Mavis reacted in Natsu's mind.

'I have a feeling Makarov enjoys them more than you used to.' the pinkette responded and felt the spirit giggle in his head.

"Guild masters conference? What is that?" Lucy asked.

"It is the regular gathering where all the guild masters talk about the state of things. It's kinda like the Magic Council but not completely. Wait a second." Mirajane explained and then turned to a man literally shaped like a sphere. "Excuse me Reedus, could I borrow a Light Pen?"

"Oui." he answered, handing her a pen with a shiny lead.

The former mage then used said pen to write in the air, explaining how the magical world is governed to Lucy. "The Magic Council is the most powerful organization there is just after the government. It is made up of ten members responsible for upholding all the laws and regulations as well as sentencing the wizards who break magical laws. Then there are the different guild master leagues and then the individual masters whose job is to pass on the decrees of the council. It must be a pretty stressful job. It is crucial that we communicate with one another otherwise the system would collapse."

"And then we'd be in real trouble." Natsu noted.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.

"Natsu refers to the dark guilds. They are guilds that have not joined any of the leagues and most of them are involved in different crimes." the barmaid responded.

"Wow." was all the blonde could say through her shock.

"Anyway, if you find a job you want to go on but need help with, let Happy and I know." Natsu told Lucy.

"Huh? Why would I do that?" the newest guild member asked in genuine confusion.

"Well, we are a team, remember?"

"Yeah and I picked the job last time which means it's either your or Natsu's turn to pick but since your new to the guild, you should get this turn." the blue-furred cat said.

"We are still a team? I just assumed it was a one-time thing." the blonde girl said with surprise.

"Why would you assume that? Being in a team doesn't mean we have to do every job together but we don't form teams for a single mission." Natsu explained with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, maybe you should leave this team anyway Lucy." Gray said from a distance.

"Your clothes, Gray?" Cana casually said while drinking and the ice mage freaked out.

"Why would you say that Gray?" Mirajane asked with a frown.

"I don't know, it just doesn't sound very fun to me to team up with a guy who can end any fight in one move." Gray shrugged.

"I-I'm not much of a fighter anyway so I'm okay with it." Lucy denied while waving her hands.

She suddenly felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and looked up, only to see Loke sending her a seductive look. "Why don't we form a team of love together Lucy? Later tonight just the two of us?" He then went on and on with his usual pick up lines that annoyed the blonde woman more than anything else but suddenly stopped when he spotted the keys attached to her belt. He then backed away in panic. "You're a Celestial Spirit wizard?!"

"Huh?" she responded in confusion.

"Yep. She's got cows and crabs and fish. It's like she's carrying a whole zoo with her." Happy added.

This made the orange-haired man scream and run away out of the guild hall. "Fate is so cruel! I'm sorry my dear but the two of us can never be together!"

"What's wrong with him all of a sudden?" Lucy wondered.

"Loke has a problem with Celestial Spirit wizard. Rumor has it he dated one and it didn't end well." Mirajane explained.

'More like he is a Celestial Spirit himself.' Natsu remarked.

'How do you know that?' the ghost in his head asked.

'The magic power he emits is different from that of any human. I wasn't sure what it was at first but after I met a Celestial Spirit courtesy of Lucy, I figured it out.' the pinkette answered.

'Do you think anyone else knows?'

'Well, the anomaly is fairly faint so Makarov might have sensed it but no one else.' he responded.

Before their private talk could go any further, Loke came back into the guild, bursting through the door as he did. "I'VE GOT BAD NEWS! It's Erza, she's on her way here."

This turned the joyful and happy atmosphere into one of panic, fear and dread. Everyone started running around the guild hall, cleaning, tidying up,…searching for their clothes. The only people who didn't seem affected by the woman's arrival were Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Mirajane and Lisanna.

When the sound of footsteps and clatter of metal became louder, everyone froze in their tracks and froze, apart from the shaking some of them had. All of this had Lucy thoroughly confused and slightly sacred at what this was all about.

Finally, Erza entered the guild hall in her usual Heart Kreuz armor, blue skirt and black boots, carrying what appeared to be a giant horn decorated with gold and precious stones of all kind with one hand.

She set it down on the wooden floor without any delicacy and spoke up. "I have returned. Where is master Makarov?"

"Wow, she's pretty." Lucy remarked.

"Welcome back Erza. The master is at a conference at the moment." Mirajane greeted and answered.

"I see." the red-haired knight said.

"Hi Erza." Natsu greeted.

Said woman turned her head towards her pink-haired guildmate and nodded it in acknowledgment. "Natsu. I'm glad that you're here."

This picked the man's curiosity. She had never said such a thing, not just to him but to anyone. Therefore, there had to be a reason for her to do it now. But before either of them could carry on with the conversation, someone else spoke up.

"So, um, what's that enormous thing you brought back with you?" a guild member asked.

"It's a horn of the monster I defeated. The locals were so grateful they decorated and offered it to me." She then sent her guildmate a glare and spoke in a strict tone. "Is there a problem with it?"

"No, it's fine!" many people exclaimed in fear.

As Erza looked around the guild hall with an evaluating gaze that sent shivers down most people's spines. "Now, listen up. I heard disturbing rumors on my way back. Word is Fairy Tail has caused a lot of trouble recently. The master may not care but I most certainly do. Cana, you need to stop drinking so much. Vijeeter, if you want to dance, do it outside. Wakaba, stop with that disgusting habit. Nab, I suspected I'd find you staring at the request board, just pick a job already. Macao,…" She didn't finish her last sentence and sighed instead.

"Please just say something!" the blue-haired man screamed.

"I don't even know where to start with you. All you do is cause trouble. I don't even know what to do anymore." she said while putting a hand on her forehead in exasperation. "But I shall let it slide this once for I have more important things to take care of. I already saw Natsu but is Gray here?"

"Aye." Happy confirmed and pointed to a sweating and trembling Gray, standing like a soldier at attention.

"Oh hey Erza." the ice mage said nervously.

"What's gotten into him?" Lucy asked, extremely surprised at the change in the teen's demeanor.

"He's scared. A few months ago, Erza challenged Natsu to a fight and lost pretty bad. She then found Gray walking around naked and decided to take her frustration out on him and beat him up pretty bad." Mirajane explained.

"And she then did the same thing to Loke for trying to hit on her." Lisanna added.

"Can't say I blame her for that one." the blonde approved.

Erza then resumed talking with her hands on her hips. "Natsu, Gray, I have a favor to ask of the both of you. While traveling I heard something that worried me. Normally, I would consult with the master before acting but he is not here and there is no time to wait for his return. The two of you are the strongest wizards currently present at the moment, I could really use your help."

Her speech got Natsu to raise an eyebrow in curiosity. He was surprise that Erza had asked for help because it was something she never did. But more importantly he was surprised that she had asked for help instead of straight up commanding them to accompany her like she would usually have. It just went to show how bad things must be.

Everyone else in the guild had was thinking along the same lines. The only difference is they were a lot more shocked by it and didn't bother hiding it.

"Did that really just happened?"

"Erza asked them for help?"

"That's definitely a first." These were some of the many phrases mumbled throughout the building.

They all came to an end when Erza spoke up again. "We'll meet at the train station tomorrow morning."

Although Natsu didn't have a problem with Erza's request for help, Gray was more reluctant. 'Me and Natsu on the same team?'

Mirajane also had a very clear opinion on this new alliance. Although, it was slightly different. "Natsu, Erza and Gray working together? I never thought about this but…this could very well be…the most powerful team Fairy Tail has ever seen."

Because of the shock that the guild members felt, the only two people who heard the barmaid's analysis were Lucy and Natsu, the latter all thanks to his enhanced hearing.

'And let's not forget one of the greatest strategists of all time: the Fairy Tactician.' the pink-haired mage remarked and a joyful giggle echoed in his mind.

The following morning, the Fairy Tail mages were indeed at the Magnolia station. Well, some of them were. Because of his typical insomnia, Natsu had arrived in advance, carrying a still sleeping Happy. Shortly after, and much to the duo's confusion, Lucy showed up. She explained that Mirajane had asked her to tag along to try to control the inevitable tension that would be in the air. Gray arrived next and, after greeting his guildmates, went completely silent. Ironically enough, it was the person who organized all of this who, not only arrived last, but late: Erza Scarlet.

Finally, her arrival was signaled by the sound of her voice resonating from afar. "Sorry, I'm late. I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long."

"No, don't worry it's fine…." the newest guild member started saying but trailed off when her eyes landed on the newcomer, or rather the mountain of luggage behind her.

"Good. And now that I think about it, what's your name? I believe I saw you at the guild yesterday." the knight responded.

"My name's Lucy. I only joined Fairy Tail a few days ago but Mira asked to come with you guys so I can learn a thing or two. As long as that's okay with you all."

"The more the merrier." Erza answered.

"Sure, why not?" was Gray's nonchalant reaction.

"Like I said, we can go on any mission you want together." the strongest member of the team confirmed.

"Aye!" the blue feline agreed.

"Wait. I think I've heard about you. Aren't you the girl who defeated a mercenary gorilla maid using nothing but your pinkie finger?" Erza remembered.

"W-Well, it didn't quite happen that way. Technically, Natsu is the one who did that." the blonde admitted.

"Big surprise there." Gray sarcastically remarked.

"That reminds me." Erza said while turning to Natsu and looking him dead in the eyes. "Natsu, I demand a rematch when we return to Fairy Tail." she challenged with narrowed eyes.

This shocked Happy, Lucy and Gray, all of them thinking it was suicide. It also frightened the ice mage, thinking back to the last time it happened and how badly it ended for him.

Natsu had a different reaction as he sighed and shook his head in exasperation. "Why do keep doing that Erza?"

"I have grown stronger since our last spar. I am confident this time will be different and I can beat you." Erza responded with a confident and determined look.

"That's not what I meant. I meant why do you keep demanding things all the time? I'm your guildmate, if you want something from me, you can just ask." The pinkette sighed again in defeat. "But I guess that's just who you are…. Very well. I accept your challenge."

Erza smiled and nodded in approval, apparently utterly oblivious to Natsu's earlier remarks.

Some time later, all of them were sitting in the moving train with the girls on one bench and the boys on the opposite one with Happy between them. None of them was talking until Gray broke that silence.

"So Erza, how about you tell us why we're here? I mean, what is the mission you brought us into?" he asked.

"Of course. From what I have heard, the dark guild Eisenwald has grand plans. I don't know what exactly but I know it has something to do with a magical item called Lullaby." the red-haired woman answered. No one then noticed the ever so slight widening of Natsu's eyes.

"Lullaby, eh? Never heard of it." the ice wizard commented.

"I don't know anything about that either." the Celestial Spirit mage agreed.

"I do." the pinkette said, making the three humans turn their heads towards him. Happy didn't because he wasn't at all surprised his best friend knew things no one else did, he was used to it.

While Lucy and Gray's facial expressions were not changed by Natsu's comment, Erza's did with her eyes narrowing a little. "Well, would you mind sharing?"

"Sure. First of all, you were wrong to call it an item, Lullaby is a living being." the pink-haired mage informed.

This revelation almost caused Lucy and Gray's eyes to pop out of their sockets. Erza managed to keep her composure a lot better but shock could still be seen on her face. "But I'm positive I heard people say it was an object."

"Because it presents itself as such. You see, in truth, Lullaby is a demon and like all demon, it has a variety of forms, one of which is that of an object, more specifically a flute." Natsu developed and saw Gray flinch at the word "demon" out of the corner of his eye.

"W-What kind of power does it have?" Lucy stuttered, shaken and scared by the information.

"In its flute form, it only has one power and it can't use it on its own but it is still dangerous. The way it works is: whenever somebody plays the flute, the melody that it emits kills anyone that hears it the one who plays it." the pinkette answered.

His three interlocutors were troubled at the fact that a dark guild possessed such a deadly artifact, Lucy more so than anyone else. "A-Any idea what they are gonna do with it?"

"I might have an idea." Erza spoke up. "Just the other day, after my job's completion, I was heading home and stopped at a pub which I knew was a gathering spot for local wizards and overheard a conversation near me. A man was quite rowdy and complained about finally locating Lullaby but no being able to make use of it because of a seal. Then another man at the same table assured his guildmates that he would take care of the situation and instructed them to tell Erigor he'd return with Lullaby in three days. I can't believe I was so foolish that I didn't recognize his name: Erigor, the ace of Eisenwald, a mage who only ever accepts assassination requests and he thus gained the name of Erigor The Reaper."

Lucy was now thoroughly terrified and was sweating profusely. "What did I get myself into?"

Erza then slammed her iron clad fist on her own lap in anger. "How could I be so careless? If I had paid more attention back then, I could have simply pulverized them and forced to reveal their scheme."

"Well, whether they have Lullaby or not, it still has a seal on it. So we should have plenty of time to stop them, right?" Gray theorized.

"Wrong." Natsu refuted. "Because of their very nature, demons hold a special place in the magic world. Therefore, no magic seal, no matter how advanced or powerful, can be perfect on anything demonic."

"How do you know so much?" the ice mage asked suspiciously.

"I have heard a lot of things in my travels." the pinkette lied.

None of his teammates were truly convinced but they gave him the benefit of the doubt. All except one who knew for a fact he was lying and called him out on it albeit in an amused tone. 'Liar.'

'You, be quiet.' the host ordered but struggled not to smile at the remark.

"Whatever the case may be, it is likely that their plan involves a good portion, if not the entirety of their guild. And I am not foolish enough to believe that I could take on a whole magical guild all by myself. That's why I asked for help, we're going to storm the Eisenwald guild." Erza explained which got Gray excited and Lucy to sweat even more.

'Actually…we might have to put a rain check on that.' Natsu thought.

'What are you going to do this time?' Mavis asked.

'You'll see.' he responded and felt his friend pout and stick her tongue out at him.

Later on, at the Onibas station, Erza, Lucy, Gray and Happy got off the train and started making their way out of the station when the ice mage spoke up.

"You think the dark mages are still going to be in this town?"

"I am not sure. But it is our best chance." Erza said.

"Wait guys, where's Natsu?" Happy asked and they all stopped in their tracks and turned around, realizing he was still on the train. Unfortunately for them, the train was already gone and far away on the horizon.

"He must have been lost in thought again and I didn't notice because I was so busy talking. I am such a fool. I knew of his tendency to do that. This is all my fault. I need one of you to hit me in punishment." Erza declared.

"That's a bit excessive, don't you think?" Lucy remarked.

Back on the train, Natsu was still seated on the same seat, looking out the window and conversing with the spirit in his head.

'Did they seriously just left without even noticing you staying behind?' she asked, incredulously.

'Looks like it.' he said casually.

'I'm so going to give Maki a piece of my mind about it…when I get the chance.' the blonde spirit affirmed, her voice full of annoyance.

'I'm sure you will.'

'Anyway, why are we still on the train?' Mavis questioned.

'What do you mean "we"? You're not even really here.' Natsu protested.

'I'm here in spirit.' the girl contested.

'Wha-That doesn't even make any sense!' he exclaimed.

'I makes total sense because I'm the guild master and you're not.' the ghost teased with a voice that indicated she was smiling.

'Urgh, whatever. To answer your question, I am still on board because I can feel Lullaby's presence in the train. I'll get off at the same time as it does.' Natsu explained.

They were interrupted by the unexpected appearance of a young man of average height and weight with black eyes and black hair which he tied in a short, spiky ponytail. He wore a white shirt with a high collar and an intricate symbol on its back over a plain, dark red undershirt. He also had a pair of aquamarine pants, black shoes and small black earrings in each ear.

"Excuse me sir, is this seat taken?" he asked Natsu while pointing at the seat in front of him.

As a response, Natsu simply nodded and motioned for him to sit down. The man did so and then took out a magazine, he opened it and began to leaf through it, paying particular attention to all the photos it contained.

"Man, all these girls are so hot, especially Mirajane, she's so beautiful. I wonder why she isn't an active mage anymore, she's still young. Titania is very pretty too. She's a bit scary but I'm sure she could give me a good time. And then there's this new girl I heard about. I don't know her name but they say she's really cute. Regular guilds have so many cute girls. And there isn't a single girl in my guild, I wish they would share." the man said to himself.

All the while, Natsu's anger was steadily growing. 'I'm gonna throw this guy off of the train.'

'Focus on the mission. Until we have located Lullaby, you should keep a low profile.' Mavis advised.

"I don't even understand why women are so attracted to legal guilds. These guys just blindly follow the Magic Council. But the worst of them all are definitely those Fairy Tail wizards, always acting so high and mighty while in reality they are weak and pathetic. That is why we refer to them as harmless little flies." the black-haired young man continued.

'Okay fine, kick his ass.' the spirit prompted, even angrier than her host now.

However, as soon as Natsu got up from his seat to teach the guy a lesson, the train started braking suddenly until it stopped completely, which made him fall back on his seat.

Additionally, the abrupt motion caused an object to fall out of the man's shirt and onto the floor. It was a long flute with a skull with three eyes on one end, and an oval-like cutout in the skull's brow. On the other end, there were root-like cutouts.

'Well…I didn't see that one coming….Fantastic.' Natsu thought.

With the rest of the pinkette team back at the Onibas station, Erza could be seen pulling a lever with a station agent freaking out close by.

"What are you doing lady?! You can't use the emergency stop without authorization!" he yelled.

"It's for our comrade. Please try to understand." the red-haired woman calmly answered, unfazed by the man's reaction.

"Did you seriously just pulled that lever because one man missed his stop?!" the agent asked, stunned.

"Yes. Now, I would like you to take our luggage to the hotel." she requested.

"It just occurred to me that all the wizards in the Fairy Tail guild might be slightly insane in their own way." Lucy remarked while sweat dropping at Erza's behavior.

"Not all of us." Gray disagreed, wearing nothing but his boxers.

"How about you put some clothes on before saying that?!" the blonde teenager exclaimed.

Both men stood there staring at the flute for a few seconds before gazing at each other briefly. As soon as their eyes met, the dark mage threw himself at the object in question to retrieve it but the legal mage was faster. Indeed, when he looked into his hands, the black-haired man panicked because they didn't contain the item he had thrown himself on. Looking up, he panicked further when he saw that very item in the other man's hand.

As he got back on his feet, the dark mage tried to hide his panic in anger with a threat. "This doesn't belong to you. Return it now and I might forget that you saw it."

However, the pinkette didn't appear intimidated whatsoever. "It doesn't belong to you either. And what sort of idiot would believe anything that comes out of the mouth of a member of the Eisenwald dark guild." he mocked and his interlocutor could no longer hide his shock as his eyes widened tremendously.

In a flash of crimson light, Natsu stored the flute in his Requip space and thought to himself. 'Besides, it kinda does belong to me in a way. And just as I feared, if there ever was a seal on it, it is gone now.'

After regaining his composure, the Eisenwald member decided his only option left was to attack and force his opponent to give him the item back. "Well then you should know that crossing me is a fatal mistake!" he exclaimed as fists made of shadows appeared from beneath his feet and shot towards the pink-haired man.

Natsu effortlessly dodged all the fists and rushed at his adversary at lightning speed. When he was right in front of him, he hit him square in the chest with his right fist that was surrounded by purple energy. The attack threw the man at the end of the wagon, only stopping when he made contact with its wall. "What is it you called us again? Harmless little flies? Well guess what? One of these flies just wiped the floor with you. What does that make you?"

As Natsu was making fun of the man in front of him, a voice made an announcement over the speaker in the compartment. "Attention all passengers. Our emergency stop was a false alarm. We will be departing again shortly."

"Well, I no longer have a reason for staying on that thing. So I might as well get off here." the Fairy Tail member remarked as he started making his way to the exit door.

"S-Stop! I'm not letting you leave with the flute." the other man stated though it was difficult to take his threat seriously considering he couldn't even muster the strength to get back up at the moment.

As the train started to move again, Natsu was about to throw another witty comment at him but was prevented from doing it by a yell that came from outside. "Natsu!"

Upon hearing his name, said man turned his head to the source and thought he was hallucinating. He even theorized that what he was seeing was some kind of joke from his good friend Mavis in the form of one of her trademark illusions. But it wasn't.

Rushing alongside his car was a magic mobile with Erza at the wheel, Lucy in the back seat but most surprising of all, Gray was on the roof, gesturing to him as if to indicate to jump. Knowing full well it was a terrible idea, Natsu was reluctant at first but after some encouragement from the stowaway in his mind, he shrugged and jumped on the vehicle's roof next to Gray.

As soon as he landed, Erza hit the brakes hard, almost making both males fall off. "Natsu, are you alright?" the knight asked.

"Yeah sure." he responded.

As they all got out of the car and formed a circle, Mavis decided to make her existence known to Natsu again. 'Ask them why they left you on the train.'

Knowing the girl would just harass him if he didn't do what she asked, Natsu relented. "How come you guys forgot me on the train?"

"I apologize for that. I'm just glad your okay." Erza said.

"I'm sorry too." Lucy apologized.

"Aye." Happy agreed.

Gray wasn't going to say anything until a glare from Erza convinced him otherwise. "Yeah, leaving you behind wasn't exactly cool, I guess."

Even though he didn't get an answer, Natsu accepted their apology and sighed. "Well, it wasn't all bad. It did allow me to meet a guy from Eisenwald."

Everyone's eyes widened at the revelation and Erza was about to slap the man in anger but stopped herself, realizing doing that to Natsu wouldn't end well for her. She did yell at him though. "You fool! That is precisely who we are chasing after on this mission! Why didn't you apprehend him?!"

"Well, I was about to when my guildmates suggested I jump off the train." Natsu responded and immediately Erza's outrage melted into embarrassment. Lucy and Gray were not made very proud by this revelation either. Happy couldn't care less.

"There is still some good news." Natsu continued and raised his hand. He then requipped Lullaby into his hand. Once again, all of his teammates' eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"I-Is that…?" Lucy hesitantly asked.

"Lullaby? Yes, it is. The guy I mentioned had it, until I took it from him." Natsu confirmed.

Erza then regained her composure and got a proud smile while extending her hand. "Excellent work Natsu but with or without the demon, Eisenwald remains a threat so we have to take them down. Give me the flute and we will follow the train to find that guy."

Natsu narrowed his eyes at her and said. "Why should you be the one to keep it? Last time I checked, you knew squats about it."

"You might be more knowledgeable than I am but I am the one who organized this mission. Therefore, I should also be the one entrusted with the artifact." Erza countered, narrowing her eyes as well.

"You know what? Fine, I'll trust you." Natsu accepted, handing her the flute. 'But I swear, if you lose it.'

'She is going to lose it. I guarantee you.' Mavis voiced her opinion.

'Nah, you know Erza is a very thorough and responsible…' he trailed off when he saw the girl in question attach the flute to her belt, not even bothering requipping it away.

'You were saying?' the dead girl teased.

'Oh for fuck's sake!'

"Very well, let's get going." Erza announced, getting back in driver's seat of the magic mobile and attaching the plug to her wrist.

At the Kunugi station, most if not all of Eisenwald's guild member had gathered to take possession of the same train Natsu used to be on.

Most notably, an extremely tall, lean-built and yet mildly muscular man with silver hair, which was held pointing upwards in spiky strands on top of his head, but hung down to the left of his face in a distinctive tuft. His eyes were dark and he had an elongated face with sharp features and somewhat pointed ears, but seemed to lack eyebrows. His eyes were circled by dark lines and each of them had a simple tattoo right below it, consisting of a pointed line going down vertically, crossed with two more, larger horizontal lines. The upper part of his body was similarly tattooed, but with much larger, intricated and blue-colored motifs, which took on spiraling forms, and adorned his shoulders, biceps, pectorals and back. He was bare-chested, with all of his tattoos visible, and his lower body was covered in different layers of clothing: he sported a long, worn skirt, below a darker, shorter cloth, held up by an even lighter and shorter one tied like a belt. He had a black scarf wrapped around his thin neck, with its edges hanging on his back and traditional sandals on his feet. His attire was completed by a pair of distinctive dark gloves, each adorned by a light "X" on the back, and by bandages wrapped around his forearms.

As he was giving orders, his guildmate, the man Natsu had humiliated got off the train with shaky legs. First, because he hadn't completely recovered from the beating he had taken. Second, because he was terrified at what was about to happen.

"S-Sir." he called out and the older man turned around.

"Kageyama. I heard you would return aboard this train. Did you manage to break the seal?"

"W-Well yes sir, but-" the man now known as Kageyama answered but was cut off.

"Excellent." his interlocutor praised. "Now give it to me and we will begin our plan." he instructed and extended his hand.

"W-Well you see…"

Back with the Fairy Tail wizards, they were going at tremendous speed courtesy of Erza injecting a lot of magic into the vehicle.

Something that was worrying Gray a bit. "Slow down Erza. You're using too much power."

"I have no choice but to press onward. Knowing Erigor, it is very likely he'll go on a murderous rampage upon learning we have the flute. We need to stop him."

Little did Erza know, her course of action was precisely what Erigor was counting on.