In the town of Clover was the building were the guild master conferences take place. And that was precisely what was going on right now. Well, the guild masters were gathered in the building and were officially holding a conference. In reality, they were rather partying, feasting and talking about anything and everything.
And that was exactly what one of them intended to do as he approached Makarov. He was an elderly, bald, and cross-dressing man who was wearing a purple spaghetti-strap shirt accessorized by a gold and fuchsia hoop necklace, and a vertical-striped pink and purple shorts. He also completed his look with red lipstick and blush on each cheek as well as small, white wings.
"I must say I'm jealous, Maki. All of your wizards are so full of life and very handsome." he said. "Rumor has it that one of the girls beat a big shot up pretty bad."
"You mean Lucy? Yeah but she was with Natsu on that assignment. So I suspect he's the one who did this. Still, Lucy is our newest recruit and she's got one of the sexiest bodies ever." Makarov responded, getting very excited at the last part. He was holding a pint of beer that probably wasn't his first of the day, not by a long shot.
This caught the attention of another guild master. This one was a slim man of average height, who appeared to be in his late fifties or early sixties. His mildly squared face was covered in several wrinkles, specifically at his mouth's sides, below his eyes and on his forehead. Despite his seeming age, however, his hair was kept in a youthful style, almost reaching down to his shoulders in a straight cut. Covering the man's eyes and hiding them away from sight at all times was a pair of sunglasses. The master's slender figure was covered by a simple set of dark clothes, namely a plain T-shirt and a pair of pants. Alongside them, however, he sported a distinctive headgear, being a dark hat reminiscent in shape of those worn by fictional warlocks and witches, possessing a wide brim and a torn top pointing backwards. Circling the hat was a lighter band sporting massive, rounded spikes.
"I wouldn't be joking around if I were you, Makarov." he said as he turned around to face the short guild master. "That Dragon Slayer of yours is the only wizard you have that can complete missions without going overboard. If it wasn't for him, the Magic Council might have taken measures against Fairy Tail. Some of them are worried that your guild is gonna end up razing an entire city one of these days. And I can see why."
"Argh, let those blowhards worry! I couldn't care less! They are just jealous because my wizards are hot!" the old man exclaimed.
At the same time, a small blue bird with a witch's hat flew in. It was carrying a letter in its talons and calling Makarov's name repeatedly. When it reached said man, the bird dropped the letter in his hand.
Instead of opening it, the guild master drew a circle on it with his finger and a hologram of Mirajane appeared on the surface of the envelope.
The hologram then started talking. "Hi master. I'm glad you made it to the conference safely. I am contacting you to let you know about the wonderful things that have happened while you were away. Actually, it might be the greatest thing in the history of Fairy Tail! Natsu, Erza and Gray have joined forces! An amazing team, don't you think?" At that point Makarov started shaking and sweating in fear. "In fact, they might be the strongest team in the history of the guild, perhaps even the strongest one in the country. I apologize for bothering you but I was too excited not to tell you. See you soon, master."
And with that, the fake Mirajane vanished and Makarov dropped the letter and was staring blankly in front of him with his mouth agape and a thousand thought running through his head. 'This is bad. This is really bad. Those three actually could destroy an entire city. Who am I kidding? With Natsu on their team, they could destroy an entire island. I can only hope he will limit the damage Erza and Gray cause. But if they are the ones who influence him…. The conference ends today so I can be back at the guild by tomorrow afternoon. Please don't let there be any catastrophe until then.'
Back at the Kunugi station, Rune Knights were preventing people from entering the station much to their dismay. Further away, the Fairy Tail wizards were observing the scene from their stationary magic mobile.
"What would be the point in hijacking a train?" Lucy wondered.
"Aye. Boats and cars can go anywhere but a train has to follow the tracks it's on." Happy agreed.
"Be that as it may, it does allow them to travel at great speed." Erza argued.
"And I guess we are the ones who have to figure out where those Eisenwald guys are going in such a big hurry and why." Gray concluded, once again only wearing his underwear.
"You lost your clothes again Gray!" the blonde teen exclaimed.
"Did I?" he asked, not freaking out this time.
"The military is already on it so they will get caught eventually." Lucy theorized.
"I hope so, Lucy." Erza said, starting their vehicle.
'Finding them isn't what I'm really concerned about.' Natsu thought to himself but still got a response.
'What's on your mind, Natsu?' Mavis asked, worried about both her friend's state of mind and the reasons behind it.
'Well, if the Rune Knights find them before we do, I very much doubt they'll survive it. But more importantly, I'm wondering what to do with Lullaby. Even if we manage to keep it out of Eisenwald's hands, I'm certainly not going to trust the Magic Council with it. As arrogant as it may sound, the safest place for it would be with me. But then the question is: how do I do that in such short notice with everyone looking over my shoulder?' the pinkette explained but wasn't exactly shocked when he didn't receive an answer.
In the train hijacked by the members of the Eisenwald guild, Kageyama was laying on the floor, bruised and beaten with a number of deep cuts all over his body courtesy of Erigor's trademark scythe. He wasn't injured enough to lose consciousness, but just barely. This was thanks to his boss's experience with wounds' effect on the human body. The reasons behind his current condition were much more obvious.
"I still can't believe you let a Fairy Tail fly see the Lullaby flute, take it from you and worst of all get away." the shirtless man stated calmly but with a dark look in his eyes. "The only reason you're still alive is because you were successful in acquiring it initially and breaking its seal. But if you don't make amends by retrieving Lullaby, I will not show you the same mercy again."
"I-I will, sir. This pink-haired idiot doesn't know anything about our plan. And even if he did, he and his stupid guild would never stop us." the bloody man said in a shaky voice but trying to appear confident.
However, one particular piece of information caught his leader's interest so much that he ignored the rest. "Did you say pink hair?!"
"Y-Yes, sir. He had pink hair. Why?" Kageyama responded.
"WHY?! Well, either Fairy Tail has multiple members with pink hair or you crossed paths with the Salamander!" Everyone in the wagon gulped at that revelation, being well aware of that man's reputation. "While it does make your fiasco a lot more acceptable, it is also terrible news for our plan. Out of all of us, only I can beat him and I have a schedule to keep if we are to succeed. Fortunately, we have a strategy in place that should both allow us to get the flute back and keep this fly occupied long enough for us to accomplish our goal."
"Right. You mean the thing at the Oshibana station." the black-haired man remembered.
"Even the fame Salamander can't do everything. And with you men, this fly will know his first defeat today." Erigor stated, feeling his confidence rise again.
With the Fairy Tail team, their vehicle was speeding off through the streets courtesy of the generous amount of magic Erza was injecting into it. Her driving was so erratic that it gave Natsu flashbacks of his motion sickness.
"Stop Erza. You're going way too fast. You're gonna overload the SE-plug or worse, make us crash!" Gray warned, clinging to the car's roof.
"There's no telling how many innocent people will be killed by Eisenwald before we can reach them. I can't afford to slow down, we have to stop them as soon as possible." the redhead countered.
"But you won't be able to stop anyone if you are out of magic power when we arrive." the ice mage argued.
"If that's the case, I'll have to rely on hand to hand combat. Besides, you and Natsu will still be in full fighting condition when we arrive."
'Oh right, I had almost forgotten the guy who spoils everyone else's fun by ending all the fights in one attack was with us.' Gray thought without any enthusiasm.
"What's that up ahead?" Erza asked, drawing everyone's attention to what she was referring to.
What they saw was a long column of smoke that was coming from the Oshibana station. Upon closer inspection, they noticed a huge crowd gathered around its entrance with agents blocking it.
Erza, not feeling that the ban on entering the station applied to her, approached one of the agents and got his attention by grabbing his shoulder. "Excuse me, what's going on?"
"That's none of your business…" he started saying but wasn't given the chance to continue because he got headbutted and knocked out by the impatient knight.
Erza then proceeded to do the exact same thing with another agent, leaving her teammates unimpressed.
"How can she hope to get any information out of these guys if she doesn't give them a chance to talk?" Lucy asked no one.
"That's Erza for ya." Happy responded.
'Does she always behave this way?' Mavis asked Natsu in slight disbelief.
'Yep.' he simply answered and started walking towards one of the last conscious agents before Erza could get to him.
"Excuse me, the reason why my teammate is so…determined to know what's happening inside is because we are mages from the Fairy Tail guild on an assignment." the pinkette explained.
"O-Oh, I see. We are blocking the station because the Eisenwald dark guild is occupying it. Some army troops entered to face them but they haven't returned yet." the man revealed.
"Thank you. We'll go inside as well to assist them." Natsu said.
The team then went in with Natsu sending an exasperated glance at his red-haired teammate.
Some time later, the Fairy Tail mages were running through the station, looking for either the Rune Knights or members of Eisenwald. They found the former. Scattered around the hall were various soldiers and officers, all of them unconscious.
"They've been completely wiped out." Happy remarked.
"They were facing an entire wizard guild. Such a small force would never stand a chance against such a powerful group." Erza explained.
'Oh, you'd be surprised.' Mavis reacted which would have made her host smile if not for his strong composure.
When they reached the main hall, they were greeted by the sight of dozens of dark mages standing in front of them and their leader sitting on top of the train they had ceased.
He was smirking down at them with a crazed look and spoke up. "Welcome, Fairy Tail flies."
"You fiend. I take it you're Erigor." Erza declared with narrowed eyes and a disgusted expression, leading to a stare down between both sides.
'Since you're here, you might as well make yourself useful Mavis. Any advice?' Natsu asked.
'Well, Erza will most likely want to take Erigor on herself. If she does and you feel like she can handle it, don't try to argue otherwise…' Mavis said.
All of them were so caught up in their thing, none of them noticed a hand made of shadow sneak up next to them and take Lullaby from Erza's belt. They only saw what was happening when the shadow quickly retreated back to Kageyama who then threw the flute at his guild's ace who caught it easily.
Everyone from Fairy Tail widened their eyes in shock and horror at the turn of events. Except for Natsu who just sent an exasperated look at Erza.
'Told y-' Mavis started but was cut off.
'Don't you dare!' the pinkette interrupted.
"Well done, Kageyama. You have redeemed yourself." Erigor complimented.
After regaining her composure, Erza's expression turned to one of anger and confidence. "Lullaby or not, we are not afraid of any of you. What do you plan to do with it? Tell me."
This made Eisenwald's ace smirk in amusement as he used his magic to elevate himself in the air. "Oh, you mean you haven't figure it out yet? What do all train stations have in common?"
"You mean you're planning to broadcast the Lullaby song?" Erza asked in outrage.
"The ruckus we have created has attracted thousands of onlookers to the station. I'm curious to see how many kills I could get if I turned the volume to maximum. Maybe the whole city. Who knows?" the dark mage explained in an amused tone.
'Not buying it.' Natsu thought.
'Neither do I. This plan lacks any real objective and I don't think he is so confident he would reveal it just by being asked.' Mavis agreed.
'Besides, even if it is his plan, it is doomed to fail.' Natsu added.
'How so?' the blonde ghost asked.
'Lullaby is one of the weakest demons of the book of Zeref and for a reason. Its song doesn't kill people directly but it carries death magic that does. But if you broadcast the song, it no longer carries the magic. Therefore, the broadcast is harmless.' Natsu developed.
Erza was however oblivious to any of this and completely bought what her enemy had said. "What reason do you have to commit such a heinous crime against innocent people?"
"Innocent? They willfully ignore those who lost their rights when they value their own so much. They are not innocent at all but merely guilty of a legal crime. Therefore, The Reaper has come to punish them." Erigor countered with an even more insane look.
"But killing them won't get you your rights back." Lucy argued.
"Oh, we are not about rights any more. We are all about power. Because then we will be able to form our own rules and take control of the world."
"A world that none of you will live long enough to see." Kageyama added while putting his hand on the ground. Three shadow fists then appeared from said hand and ruched at Lucy but were burned to nothing before they could hit her. "You again?!"
"Of course, me again. If you know who I am now, you must realize by my reputation: I always come back." Natsu taunted.
"I'm actually glad you're here, Salamander. It means your first and final defeat will be at the hands of Eisenwald." Erigor said while going further up in the air. "I leave them to you, men. Show them the terror of our guild." he ordered his men before vanishing into thin air.
"Natsu, Gray, I need you two to go and stop him. If you catch up to him, there is a lot to bet he will unleash Lullaby. In which case, the best strategy would be for one of you to take care of Erigor while the other handles the demon." Erza instructed.
"Pff, just send Natsu alone. Like he would need my help." Gray said in a mocking way.
"What did I say?" the knight rhetorically asked, looking angry.
"Y-Yes ma'am!" the dark-haired wizard exclaimed, terrified and ran off in a random hall.
Natsu, for his part, simply sighed before running after the ice mage. 'This is pointless, but so is arguing with Erza.'
As soon as they disappeared from sight, some members of Eisenwald started to panic until one of them jumped on a nearby railing. He was a tanned man with a pointed nose and a sharp chin. He had dark lines circling his eyes and sported a distinctive jacket, light in the low part and dark in the upper one and on the sleeves, which came equipped with a tight hood covered in black and light stripes. He wore a light shirt under his jacket, simple pants and shoes.
"I've got this. I, the magnificent Rayule, will take them down." he declared, identifying himself as Rayule.
"I'll go too. I have a score to settle with that pink-haired dimwit." Kageyama said while sinking into his own shadow and disappearing.
"We'll first finish up the men here. Then, we'll catch up with them, okay?" Erza told Lucy.
"Two girls against an entire dark guild?" the blonde asked in worry.
"Well, one girl and Erza against an entire dark guild." Happy corrected which intrigued the newest member. However, before she could question it, her attention was caught by her red-haired teammate's voice and a flash of gold coming from her hand.
"Let's do this." the knight declared, requipping a sword into her hand. "You have insulted Fairy Tail enough. I shall punish you for it."
Not the least bit intimidated, some dark mages ran towards her with various steel weapons but were all thrown away in a few slashes from Erza. As a result, other members of Eisenwald used magic attacks against her but they all either missed or got blocked. After some time, a good portion of her enemies had been knocked out by one of her many weapons or another.
"Wow, she's incredible." Lucy said in awe.
"You haven't seen anything yet. Erza's just getting warmed up." Happy informed her.
"Erza?! As in Titania Erza, the Queen Of The Fairies?!" a dark mage exclaimed in realization.
"You mean they sent both Salamander and Titania?!" another questioned in shock and dread.
"Well, no matter how strong she is, I'm not going to let her fight on her own. Open Gate of the Giant Crab! Cancer!" the blonde girl stated and summoned her spirit.
"You need my help to fight these dudes, baby?" Cancer asked.
"Yeah, take them out with style." Lucy instructed. And instantly after, many of their enemies' weapons and hair got cut into pieces which got them to faint.
"That was impressive." Erza complimented.
"Thanks but I didn't really do much." Lucy dismissed while scratching her head.
"I insist. However, there are still quite a few of them left. Annoying but not a problem, I'll wipe them out. Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor!" Erza said and used her armor to take off in the air and levitate while summoning two dozen swords around her. "Dance, My Swords." she ordered and the blades started circling around her. "Circle Sword!" she called out and the swords were thrown at the dark mages.
The attack left all of them unconscious except the one who had recognized her. As Erza requipped back to her usual armor, said man began running away in fear.
"Chances are he's going to regroup with Erigor, you should follow him." the knight instructed.
"You're sure it's a good idea to get separated?" the Celestial Spirit mage asked in doubt.
"Just do it." the redhead ordered with a glare.
"Y-Yes ma'am!" Lucy exclaimed while running in the direction the dark mage had left with Happy clinging onto her shoulder.
When they were gone, Erza started to pant slightly and held her knees in her hands for support. "Gray was right, I wasted a significant amount of power on the magic mobile. All that training and all these missions to surpass Natsu and a vehicle weakened me this much. At least this time we are fighting side by side. It's up to you now, boys."
Natsu and Gray were running down a hallway, looking for The Reaper. As they were doing so, Gray was getting increasingly frustrated and impatient.
"Why does she always have to be so freaking bossy?" he complained aloud.
"It's just who she is Gray. Yes, she should ask her comrades to do stuff instead of trying to order them around, but what are you gonna do?" the pinkette responded.
The ice mage suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked at his teammate with an angry expression, making him stop too. "I don't need your help. I can handle Erigor all by myself."
"Under normal circumstances, maybe, but with Lullaby, he is many times more dangerous than he usually is." Natsu said which made Gray growl.
The two men then noticed that their path split into two between the old and new lines. As a result, they decided to split up.
"Natsu, you know what's at stake here. So no matter how I feel about you, if you find him, give him hell." the ice mage encouraged.
"Yeah, you too." the S-class mage said back with a smile.
After some time of running, Gray came upon the broadcast studio and broke down its door. When he steeped inside, he was surprised to see it was completely deserted.
"Maybe he had another plan to broadcast the song." Gray speculated and instinctively jumped forward to avoid an attack coming from the ceiling.
When he turned around, he saw Rayule hanging from the ceiling with black bands tied around his fingers. "That's a pretty good guess, but our plan might not be as simple as you think."
"So, how about you enlighten me and I don't beat it out of you?" the ice mage challenged with a smirk.
Outside the station, Erza had managed to make the onlookers and station agents leave by telling them of Eisenwald's intentions, giving them a good scare in the process. When she turned back to the station however, she was shocked to see a huge tornado of strong wind spinning around the entire building.
"What is that? A wind barrier?" she wondered but didn't have much time to dwell on those thoughts when she felt a presence behind her.
As she turned around, she saw Erigor floating in the air, looking down at her with a smirk. "I've always wanted to fight the Queen Of The Fairies or the Salamander. But unfortunately, I don't have time to do any of those right now."
After saying that, Eisenwald's ace used his magic to push the woman inside his wind barrier which enraged her. "Erigor!" she yelled and tried to punch her way through the wind wall but was violently pushed back.
"You're wasting your time. My magic-sealing barrier is unbreakable. If you try to escape, the wind will turn you to shreds. Now, if you'll excuse me, you Fairy Tail flies have wasted too much of our time." The Reaper explained and then flew away.
"Get back here! Curse you, Erigor! My guildmates and I will stop you! So this station wasn't his target. Then what is it?" Erza yelled and then said.
As Natsu was walking down the hallways, he was also internally conversing with his deceased blonde friend. However, he suddenly stopped and looked off into the distance.
'What's wrong?' Mavis asked.
'The air changed all of a sudden. It became faster and less chaotic.' the pinkette answered.
'Well, Eisenwald's ace uses some form of Air Magic, so it must be his doing.' the Fairy Tactician theorized.
'Yes but I have seen magic attacks with Air Magic first hand back when I was training my sister. This isn't that, it wasn't a brief change like what happens in an attack spell, I can still feel it. That means it must be some sort of air manipulation. Well anyway, I suppose we'll find out when we see it. You were saying?'
'Nothing much. I was just trying to figure out what the enemy's actual plan is, but I lack the information to formulate a satisfactory theory.' the ghost explained.
'Well, Erigor did say he was in a hurry so that could be a clue. Then again, he might have lied, especially since he and his men took the time to take over an entire train station just to distract us.' Natsu pondered.
'Is that really the case? I mean, can you think of any other strategic value this station could have?' Mavis asked.
'Well, Oshibana is the second last stop of this line and there actions blocked traffic to the final one, which is Clover station. Moreover, Clover is just beyond a giant canyon and that train line is its only connection to the rest of the country.' the pink-haired host supplied.
'Unless you are able to fly like their ace. What is in Clover today that won't be there tomorrow?'
'There is never anything in Clover except the occasional guild masters conference…' Natsu trailed off and both of them remained silent as realization hit them.
That silence was broken by Mavis when panic replaced her shock. 'Maki! You have to save him, Natsu! Save them! Please!' she all but begged her old friend.
'I will, Mavis. I promise. But first, I have to solve the remaining problems here.' the pinkette accepted and then turned around. "Are you going to show yourself or what?" he asked, seemingly to no one.
Shortly after, Kageyama emerged from a shadow down the hall. "Given your reputation, I wanted to wait for a better opportunity to attack you. But this will do. Prepare for my vengeance!" he threatened which got Natsu to raise an eyebrow.