Titania and The Hunter

by Master Attlon

Born as a human. Treated as a demon. Gathered as a slave. Viewed as a leader. Traveled as a Mage. Grew as a Legend. The journey and life of The Hunter, Naruto Uzumaki

25. Part 3: Come Together

Titania and The Hunter

Chapter 25: Come Together

Let's start Part 3 of Titania and The Hunter

Aaaaaaand stop!

Canon time

########Hunter########

"Hmmmmmmmmmmmm..."

Mirajane looked up from where she finished cleaning the dishes when she heard their newest member hum to herself. She asked, "What's wrong Lucy, are you finding some trouble looking at the board?"

The newest member of the Fairy Tail Guild, Lucy Heartfilia, sighed in defeat before she looked over to the beautiful barmaid. She whimpered out, "Mira-San~, I don't think I can handle any of these crazy jobs by myself. But I need to start working now or else I'm gonna be facing serious money troubles."

Mira tried to reassure the pretty blonde, "Well why don't you take another job with Natsu? You finished that job up rather quickly. And it was a difficult task to boot so you clearly work well together as a team."

Lucy just hung her head, "If I worked with Natsu again, I'm certain we'd just use the reward to pay for all the damages we caused while working." Lucy then looked off to the side and pouted, "Plus he's the reason we didn't take the Two Million Jewel reward for our last job. I mean, it was the right thing to do and all...but still..."

"Don't be upset, Lucy-neechan!" The blonde Celestial Spirit Mage looked up from the ground and over to the young little brown-haired girl that was cheerfully drawing in a coloring book at the counter. Koyuki looked over to the new girl and smiled, "I'm sure you'll be okay! Natsu-niichan can still help you if you really ask him to control himself!"

Lucy cried in defeat before she patted the young girl's head, "Thanks for the encouragement Koyuki-chan, but I really don't think it's gonna be that easy."

Mira just smiled when she saw the looks on their faces before she suggested, "Then why don't you take a break for a minute? Give yourself a moment to breathe."

Lucy look at the white-haired model before she gave a small smile and nodded. She sat by Koyuki and rested her head, "Yeah, maybe it would be for the best to take a moment to relax."

Lord knows she needed it after one of the most hectic weeks of her life.

Just a few days ago, Lucy was a wandering Mage, reading about the most explosive stories in the country from Sorcerer Magazine and looking for a guild she could join. She thought about maybe one day joining one of the big name guilds like Phantom Lord, Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, Quatro Cerberus, or Mermaid Heel...

But Lucy's favorite guild and the one she wanted to join more than any other in the whole of Earthland...Fairy Tail.

Lucy, like any other Mage, knew that Fairy Tail was one of the coolest and most famous guilds in the land. They always filled Sorcerer Magazine with the funniest, most interesting articles she had ever read. She was completely enamored by Mirajane's beautiful poses and modeling work, only rivaled by Jenny Realight of Blue Pegasus. And they were most famous for their part in destroying the independent guild Damnation and defeating 'The Tyrant King' Alexander Sorrento.

But most of all, Lucy thought they had the most fun being a guild.

And last week, when she was dealing with some pretentious wannabe jerk calling himself 'Salamander' and attempting to sell girls off into Bosco, she met a certain hot-headed pink-haired man and his talking blue cat.

Lucy never would have believed that Natsu, the weird guy that sounded like he was crazy because he was looking for a Dragon in town, was actually the real 'Salamander' of Fairy Tail and used some rare form of magic called Fire Dragon-Slayer magic. After he crashed the boat and rescued her (while destroying most of the harbor mind you), he offered to take her all the way to Magnolia Town and help her join the #1 guild in the country.

And when she arrived, the first thing she was met with was a no-holds bar brawl between the entire guild. Which in the process Lucy met exhibitionists, drunks, manly men, playboys, models with a slightly fractured head from where a beer bottle hit them, and to top it all off a giant monstrosity that slowly turned into an old midget shorter than her knee.

It was a very crazy day.

And as the week went by, Lucy was becoming accustomed to the antics of the guild and was even starting to talk with some of them, ignoring her nervousness and trying to meet the people she was going to work with now.

Of course, first off was Natsu and Happy. These two were possibly the weirdest and most uncontrollable duo Lucy had ever met in her life. Natsu never considered the idea of holding back and Happy was a sarcastic little jerk that always took every chance he could to offend her. But they both treated their guild like family and she could never deny that they were two of the nicest souls she had ever met.

Then there was Levy. She was a sweet girl that came over and talked to her when she heard the rumor started by Natsu and Happy that Lucy was interested in writing a novel. Instead of coming over to her to laugh or ridicule her, Levy showed the biggest interest in hearing about her writing and saying she absolutely loved books. She apparently wasn't that great of a writer herself but that couldn't be true when she started pitching a great idea to Lucy about two friends who ended up fighting each other.

And then there was Mirajane. The poster girl of Fairy Tail. The most beautiful and charming woman in the guild. The kind-hearted barmaid that always listened to Lucy's troubles and problems and tried to help her come up with a good solution. Lucy had to admit she was nervous talking to the super famous model but she was so happy to see that Mirajane was one of the kindest people not only in the guild but in the entire world too.

Also, Lisanna, Mirajane's younger sister and a close friend of Natsu and Happy. The Take-Over Mage was one of the first people to welcome Lucy into the guild with open arms and a big smile. And since she always watched out for Natsu and Happy to make sure they didn't cause too much trouble, she always tried to sympathize and give her condolences to the blonde girl when they came back from the jobs.

And lastly there was this little girl sitting next to her at the counter, Koyuki. This girl confused Lucy, because she was too young to be a member of the guild and as far as she knew she wasn't related to anybody else she had met. But Koyuki alway smiled and cheered Lucy on, calling her a big sister and hoping she enjoyed her time at the guild she loved more than anything else in the world. Of course, Koyuki seemed to call everyone brother and sister but it still cheered Lucy up when she felt down.

Lucy lifted her head, "Excuse me, Master? Do you have any suggestions for jobs to take?"

Lucy waited for the easy and relaxed reply from the short man that usually planted his butt atop the counter they were sitting at. But no answer came back to her.

Lucy raised her head and looked over to his spot to see it was empty. She tilted her head, "Huh? Where's Master?"

Mira answered, "Oh, he went to the regular meeting between the guild masters. He should be back in a few days so don't worry."

Lucy looked at the white-haired woman in confusion, "Regular meeting?"

"Yeah. But I guess since you only just joined a guild you're probably not aware of what it is." Mira walked over to face Lucy, "Guild masters from all over the country come together and meet for a few days in a gathering of guilds from each province. From there, they discuss the status of what is happening with their guilds and they can receive their orders from the Magic Council."

"Wow." Lucy blinked in surprise to hear about such an intricate system of inner-working between the guilds.

"Yeah, Jii-chan is so cool! He's always working hard when he goes to those things!" Koyuki looked up at Lucy, "He's always tired too, because he comes back smelling kinda like Cana-neechan."

Lucy's eyes narrowed in dissapointment, her new found respect for the master slowly fading away again.

"Well he has to work hard." Mira said over her shoulder while she started washing the glasses and plates. She continued, "He spends most of his time making sure there aren't any new Dark Guilds to check over."

Lucy asked, "Dark Guilds? Why would Master have to worry about them? Aren't they a problem for the Rune Knights and stuff?"

"Oh no, not just the Rune Knights. Dark Guilds don't follow any laws or rules set by the government or the Magic Council, so they are a dangerous group for any legal guild." She looked back over at Lucy, "We have to make sure no legal guild steps over the line of what they can or can't do...otherwise..."

Lucy was silent before she gulped, "O-otherwise what?"

"THEY'LL SWALLOW YA SOUL!"

"BOOOOO!"

"KYYYYAAAAAAAA!" Lucy screamed in terror before Natsu and Happy hunched over to hold their stomachs while they laughed at her. Lucy was shaking while Natsu and Happy were celebrating their little prank.

Natsu wiped a tear from his eye, "O-oh, oh we got you good Lucy!"

Lucy ducked her head and her shoulders were shaking as Happy flew around her head. He teased, "You were scared, weren't you Lucy? Huh? But it was funny, don't you think? Huh? Wasn't it-"

Lucy's hands sprung up and grabbed Happy out of the air before she spiked him into Natsu's face, "IT WASN'T FUNNY YOU JERKS!"

Natsu stood their like a wall as Happy's skull cracked against his and tears came down the blue cat's eyes. His limp body fell into Natsu's arms as the Dragon-Slayer looked at the upset blonde girl, "So you didn't think it was fuuny?"

"Natsu!" The pink-haired man felt someone lightly smack the back of his head and reprimand him for his childish behavior. He rubbed his head and looked back to see Lisanna, Mira's youngest sibling, pouting at him with her hands on her hips. She gave him a stern look, "Don't scare Lucy like that Natsu. You know how scary you can be when you actually try."

Natsu looked back at her questioningly, "Are you scolding me or insulting me?"

"And Happy..." She patted the crying cat's head, "You know you kinda deserved that."

"Why Lisanna?!" Happy cried as he flew into her arms for a hug, "Why did Lucy have to throw me into Natsu's head?! It's dangerous to do something like that! Lucy's big meaty arms had enough force to crack my head when she threw me at Natsu's thick skull! Wahhhhhhh~!"

"I don't have meaty arms!"

"Now you both are insulting me, aren't you!"

"Can you blame them flame-brain?" Gray mockingly asked from the table he was sitting at as he took a shot at the pink-haired man. He turned around in his seat, "They are right you know. You're scary. You've got a thick skull. And you smell pretty bad too."

Natsu instantly appeared in front of Gray until their foreheads touched, "No one called me smelly, you shriveled dick bastard!"

Gray looked back with equal ferocity, "I'm calling you smelly, you hot messy piece of shit!"

They then resorted to beating the hell out of each other as they rolled around on the floor punching. Lisanna chuckled weakly, "And they're at it again."

Mira matched her laugh, "Oh my."

Lucy just sighed, "These guys don't ever know how to stop, do they?"

"They just don't know how to act in front of a lady, my beautiful new flower. But I can't blame them, some men go mad at the sight of such stunning beauty such as yours." Loke said in a dreamy tone as he slid around the two men fighting and grasped Lucy's hands in his own. He looked directly into her eyes and started using his charms, "But I'm frightened. I'm scared that if I take off my glasses, I'll be blinded by your shining grace. But, if it lets me see you unfiltered, then perhaps it would be worth it to go blind seeing a goddess at least once."

Although a line like this would usually make any girl weak in the knees, Lucy had decided she wasn't going to fall for his cheesy lines and pretty looks. She deadpanned, "Do girls actually fall for this stuff?"

"Oh, kitty's got claws. And she's ready to swipe."

"I'm not a cat."

He started looking her over, "But I'm sure if you give me a chance, I can show you-"

...

He pointed, "What are those?"

Lucy looked down to where he was pointing at the key holder strapped to her hip, "Those are my keys."

"Are...you a Celestial Spirit Mage by any chance?"

"...Yes."

"I'm sorry!" Loke yelled as he took a large step back, "But it looks like we can never actually be together after all! I'm sorry! UWWAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-"

They all watched Loke sprint out the guild hall while screaming at the top of his lungs. Lucy just blinked before she looked over at Lisanna, Koyuki, and Mirajane. She wheezed out, "Um..what was that about?"

Lisanna looked towards the confused blonde, "Loke...isn't very good at handling Celestial Spirit mages."

Mira continued, "We think he must've had a bad break-up with one before he came to Fairy Tail. It wouldn't be surprising. He isn't the smoothest guy when it comes to all girls. But you know that, considering how you just threw off all his advances like that. You must've scared him good."

"Haha, Loke-niichan is so funny!" Koyuki laughed as she looked over at Lucy, "Lucy-neechan is scary but not that scary."

Lucy cried a little, "Why is that your opinion of me? What did I do?"

As Mira and Lisanna laughed at Lucy's sad whimpering, they saw Loke come running back in, "Oh, he's back."

"-AHHHHHHHHHHHHH-GUYS!" He yelled as everyone looked to him, Natsu and Gray stopping in mid-punch to look at the handsome playboy panting. He pointed outside, "THE MONSTER DUO IS BACK! ERZA'S COMING!"

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Natsu and Gray screamed while their faces went pale and everybody else started whispering between each other.

"Yay! They're back!" Koyuki cheered happily while clapping her hands and bouncing in her seat.

Lucy saw everybody react in different ways before she turned to the Strauss sisters, "Wait, what's going on? What's with this 'Monster Duo' stuff? And why are Natsu and Gray cowering like little children that just saw a ghost?"

Lisanna walked over to her side as Happy flew out of her arms and started tapping Natsu's face, "Oh don't worry, they've always acted like that since we were kids."

"Natsu's always been scared like this?" Lucy asked in disbelief as she was shocked that the super brave Dragon-Slayer was sacred of this 'Monster Duo' or whatever. She shook, "W-what the heck is going on?"

"Oh, don't pay any attention to the 'Monster Duo' name. That's just a little joke the guild uses that's caught on because those two are so strong." Mira reassured with a kind smile, "You probably know them better from their other names."

Lucy gulped, "And what would those be?"

"'Titania' and 'Hunter'."

If Lucy had a mirror, she was sure she could see just how big her eyes were and how far her jaw just dropped.

She thought the name Erza sounded familiar but now Lucy knew for certain who she meant. 'Titania Erza'. One of the most famous and strongest mages reported in Sorcerer Magazine. Although they had never gotten a picture of her, Lucy knew the moniker 'Titania' had spread far and wide as one of the most fearsome fighters in all of Fiore. After all, she was one of the pinnacle members who fought off Damnation. Lucy still had the articles from all the papers printed three years ago telling the involvement of the battle.

And 'Hunter'. Lucy didn't know what the man actually looked like because he never had a photo taken but she had definitely heard the stories and rumors surrounding that name. A tall figure, with an arm that glistened in the light, draped in black that finished every job he ever took. He got that name because people saw him chase and defeat his targets with an unyielding and terrifying vigor, like a predator after his prey. He had fought so much and defeated so many people with a ruthless tenacity that he had even gained a second name in the underworld, 'The Devil'.

Lucy felt the ground underneath her rumble with every approaching footstep as two silhouettes appeared beyond the front gate of the guild. Over one of their heads, a massive horn that reflected light all around it. Lucy sweated a little and shook anxiously as she waited for the two figures to enter the guild. She was prepared to meet two of the most dangerous and scary mages in the guild.

When they finally walked in, Lucy was surprised to say the least. They weren't monsters or demons or whatever was reported in the papers.

One of them was a gorgeous woman with long, beautiful red hair going over her shoulder and down her back. She was clad in a simple armor, with a Heart Kreuz logo over the left side of her breastplate and a bag over her shoulder that went down to her side. She had a blue skirt that went down just above her knee and black boots. And over her right shoulder was a massive horn covered in decorative jewels.

The other was a man that was at least several inches taller than the red-head. He was dressed in black pants and a long-sleeved shirt that was hidden under a black cloak that went down to his boots. He had spiky blond hair that pointed in every direction and strange markings on his face that looked similar to whiskers on an animal's face. It looked like he was starting to grow a beard and he had empty and unmoving eyes, like he wasn't even really there.

"I'm back." Erza said as she dropped the massive horn on the ground, causing the room to shake a little. She dusted off her gauntlets, "Is Master still here?"

Mira came out from behind the counter, "Sorry Erza, he already left for the meeting. How was the trip?"

"It was fine. We just stopped a monster from terrorizing a town and they decorated its horn as a gift." Erza tapped the horn, "I have no idea where I'm going to put it though. But that can wait." Erza stepped forward and placed her hands on her hips, "I've been hearing about the trouble you've caused while we were gone. You should all know better then to cause so much trouble for Master. At least try to control yourselves, otherwise I'll personally make sure to teach you how to act on jobs."

Lucy saw the nervous and scared looks on their faces when the red-head let out that little threat. It made Lucy shake in place to see so many people she had thought were strong to just cower under her voice.

And what was with the blond guy? He wasn't even saying anything. He didn't even seem to notice the people around him! Lucy gulped as she was scared by just how demanding and frightful these two were.

Cana placed her barrel down, "Geez, Erza's seriously riding our hides today. Naruto, did something happen on the job?"

The Card Mage didn't receive any answer or recognition from the blond man.

Some of the guild members looked between each other, "Naruto?"

Still no repsonse.

Elfman slowly walked over to him and leaned down to see if he was okay. He noticed something and just sighed in dissapointment. He then stood back up and gave a powerful clap of his hands right next to Naruto's ears.

Naruto awoke from his stupor, "H-huh?! Wh-where-oh hey, we're back." Naruto said as he wiped some sand out of his eyes. He waved to his friends, "Hey guys, how've ya been?"

They all just stared at him flatly, "Were you sleeping?"

Lucy's mouth hung agape as she stared at the man that was blinking his eyes to get the sleep out of them. He was napping?! He wasn't some scary, brooding loner that didn't talk to anyone?! And he basically just sleep-walked his way back to the guild?! Lucy was really surprised that this guy was one of the biggest scourges of the underworld.

Naruto nodded his head, "Yeah, just trying to catch up on some sleep. I didn't really get to rest enough while we were on the job."

They all let out a unanimous groan as they didn't want to hear the details.

He shook his head, "Not like that you idiots. I was up for two nights chasing this stupid thing down." He pointed at the horn and he slammed his hand into the side of it, "It kept running and hiding, moving through the mountains and underground. It was an annoying little bastard.

Erza countered, "Come now Naruto, stop complaining. It wasn't that bad."

"Pfft, that's easy for you to say." Naruto said back as he pointed at himself, "It was just trying to rip you into pieces. It was trying to eat me! It thought I was more of a meal to eat out of or something."

Erza smiled, "That sounds like it was trying to compliment you by eating someone it found worthy."

"That's not a compliment at all. It's just a pain in the ass."

"Onii-chan! Onee-chan!" Koyuki happily yelled as she jumped off her seat and ran over to the two S-Class mages.

"Koyuki!" Naruto happily cheered as he got on his knee and enveloped her in a hug she immediately returned. He pulled back a little and patted her head, "Hey, you've been behaving and not causing any trouble for anyone, right?"

She grinned, "Nope!"

"That's my girl."

"I really don't think that's the way we should be teaching her to behave." Erza said as she walked over and lowered herself as well, "Did you have fun while we were away?"

"Yep! But I'm glad you're back now!" Koyuki jumped over and wrapped her arms around Erza's neck to give her a tight hug and Erza smiled and reciprocated it.

Lucy blinked in confusion at the warm scene happening in front of her. She looked over at Lisanna and Mirajane, "Wait, I'm confused? Is Koyuki-chan related to them?"

Lisanna chuckled, "No, not by blood. But Naruto and Erza have been with Koyuki ever since she was a baby. They've taken care of her since she was in diapers and have basically been her guardians."

Mira had a small smile as she watched the two S-Class mages give Koyuki their attention, "There isn't anyone in this guild Koyuki loves more than Naruto and Erza."

Erza got back up to her feet and dusted off her skirt, "I'd love to take a moment to relax but there is still something I have to talk about." She looked around, "Are Gray and Natsu around?"

"Aye sir!" Happy saluted as he floated in front of her and gestured to the side, "They're right over there!"

"Y-yeah, we're here!" Gray responded with a nervous stutter as he and Natsu wrapped their arms around each other's shoulder like old buddies. He nervously cheered, "No fightin'! No arguin'! No disputes whatsoever! We've been nice and polite since you left!"

"Aye sir!" Natsu responded, equally nervous and shaky as Gray.

"Pfft!" Lucy clamped her hands around her mouth to stop laughing at the sight of Natsu acting like Happy. She turned to Mira and silently asked what was happening.

"Natsu and Gray always challenged Erza while they were growing up and she always beat them pretty badly. So they've kind of built it into their systems not to make her mad."

Erza nodded, "Good. I don't need to see you two fighting all the time. Now listen...I have a favor to ask of you both..." She made a stern face and addressed both men, "While we were coming back from our job, we heard some troubling news that may become something serious if it isn't taken care of soon. I wanted to talk about it with Master but since he isn't here we just have to take care of it ourselves. So..."

She looked them both in the eye, "I need you two to come with Naruto and I to make sure the matter is settled quickly. What do you say?"

"EHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

Everyone yelled in shock as Natsu and Gray were completely caught off-guard. Lucy looked between everyone and saw that they were all looking at them in disbelief. She asked, "W-wait, what's happening? What does that mean?"

Lisanna stuttered, "We have some pretty strong teams in our guild, b-but if all four of them actually joined together as a team..."

"Gray, Natsu, Erza, and Naruto..." Mira covered her mouth, "If they really teamed up...they could be one of the strongest teams in the guild...or maybe even Fiore..."

Lucy's eyes widened in shock before she looked back at them. When they all worked together, just how strong would they be?

"NO WAY!" Natsu yelled before he pointed at all three of them, "There's no way I'm workin' with you guys! No chance in hell!"

Everyone expecting a different answer just palmed their face and shook their head. Gray crossed his arms in an 'X' directly in front of him, "I hate agreeing with Charcoal Brains but me too Erza. I'm out!"

Everybody blinked in surprise before looking between the two men and the red-head. They all just settled on looking at the blond man expectantly as he stood there quietly.

Naruto raised a finger, "Give it a second."

Erza smiled and nodded her head, "You're right, you both have the right to make your own decisions. And it is unfair that I come to you after just coming back and request you to help me without offering a favor or reward." She started walking forward, "But this is a grave matter...and we have been friends for years..." She gently grasped both of their shoulders, "So I'll ask you again..."

A dark aura started emanating off of Erza as she gave them both a terrifying look, "You'll both help me, right?"

...

"O-of course I will Erza." Gray whimpered, "W-we're friends."

"A-Aye."

Lucy just felt sweat drop down her head. That was asking your friends for a favor?

########Hunter########

"And then they came back from beating the super gorilla, and-and they destroyed his entire house! And they didn't even take the reward!"

Naruto laughed while he listened to the little girl on his lap tell the story, "That's amazing! And this new girl beat up the super gorilla all by herself?"

"Uh-huh! Lucy-neechan is amazing! You have to meet her!"

"Naruto. Koyuki." Naruto and Koyuki looked over from their spot on the couch to see Erza standing at the corner of the corridor. She was dressed in her PJs and she looked at the two of them, "You both need to go to bed soon. It's getting late."

"Awwwwwww~(x2)." They both whined and tilted their heads before looking up at Erza with wet eyes, "Don't ruin the fun~(x2)."

Erza just rolled her eyes and shook her head. She leaned against the wall, "Naruto." Naruto flinched a little, "We're heading out with Natsu and Gray tomorrow morning. And you said you were tired. So do you really think it's wise to stay up and play?"

"Aw, it's okay Erza." Naruto grinned up at her, "Me and Koyuki haven't played together in awhile and we're heading back out tomorrow. I've gotta make it up to her by playing now."

"Yeah! C'mon Onee-chan, play with us!" Koyuki pleaded as she jumped around in Naruto's lap with a few toys in her hands.

Erza laughed before she patted Koyuki's head and kissed her hair, "I'm sorry, but I've got to make sure I'm ready for the job tomorrow." She saw Koyuki pout a little before she nodded her head and began playing with her toys again. Erza placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "Just make sure you don't stay up too late. And come to bed when you're done."

"I'll do my best. Love you."

"Love you too." Erza leaned down and the two mages shared a quick good night kiss, Koyuki groaning and gagging a little at the sight of them kissing. Erza ended the kiss and walked back to their room, "Good night you two."

They waved the red-head goodbye before Naruto yawned into his hand. He wiped some sand out of his eyes before looking down at the little brunette, "Y'know, Erza's probably right. It might be time for us to go to bed."

"No!" Koyuki protested as she started waving her toys around, "C'mon Onii-chan! I wanna play and talk and do all the fun things we haven't done in awhile! I wanna spend all night playing!"

Naruto felt himself go pale as he started regretting not taking Erza's offer to sleep. He chuckled, "Y-yay."

########Hunter########

"God you smell like rotten meat."

"I bet your dick is permanently shriveled, ain't it?"

"What's that I smell? You been swimming through hot garbage again you dumb bastard?"

"I told you that was one time and it was for a job!"

"They just don't stop, do they?" Lucy tiredly groaned as she watched the Dragon-Slayer and Maker Mage argue between each other in the middle of the train platform.

"Nope. This is basically their whole life." Happy replied cheerfully before looking up at the blonde girl, "By the way, what are you doing here?"

"Mira-San asked me to tag along. She said that she wanted me to make sure that Natsu and Gray got along and listened to Erza-San's orders without causing too much ruckus." She sent a little scowl at the cat, "She also said that you and Naruto-San deliberately 'add gas to the flame' when no one is looking."

"How would I add gas to a flame?" Happy tilted his head innocently, "I'm just a cat."

"You're evil incarnate."

"Good, I'm glad you came early."

Everyone turned to the voice and had varying expressions at the sight. For one, Erza was carrying enough luggage that it almost seemed like she was carrying a traveling circus. And right besides her was the whiskered blond man that looked like a corpse had stood up and started walking around.

Natsu and Gray looked at the sleep deprived blond man, "Geez, you look like hell frozen over. You gonna be all right?"

Naruto rubbed his eyes and nodded his head, "Yeah, I spent most of the night playing with Koyuki and I lost track of time. I'm glad Erza isn't the gloating type or else I'd never hear the end of it." He yawned before looking at the two men, "I'll try to take a nap on the train so make sure you two listen to what Erza tells you. It's important."

"Pfft, whatever." Natsu slammed his fist into his hand, "Whatever this job is that you and Erza can't handle, I'll take it on all by myself! That's why you brought me here!"

"Hey, dumbass, I think you're misunderstanding something!" Gray grabbed Natsu's shoulder and pulled him back as he glared, "They brought me to clean up this mess! You're only here for comic relief!"

"What was that you bastard?!"

"What, you're deaf now too?!"

Before their staring contest could get any more violent, two hands inserted themselves between their faces and pushed them far apart. Naruto looked between them in annoyance, "Okay, enough with the pissing contest! If we're on the train and you two wake me up with you're goddamn fighting, I swear I'm gonna send you both home in a gurney! Got it!"

Natsu and Gray furrowed their eyes for a second before they looked off to the side and grumbled. Naruto usually didn't force them to do stuff the same way as Erza did when she made a demand, but they knew what he was like when he was cranky or angry. If he made a threat like that then there was a good chance he'd follow up on it.

Erza looked at the three men grumble between each other and hummed, "I guess I won't have to check on them after all."

Happy flew up and saluted next to her, "They aren't worth your time, ma'am!"

The armor Mage saw the exasperated blonde girl look at the scene with comical confusion before she faced her, "I saw you yesterday in the guild hall. You were talking to Mira, weren't you?"

Lucy realized she was being addressed and shook herself out of her thoughts. She bowed towards the red-head, "Yes, I'm a new member and Mira-San asked me to come along. I'm Lucy Heartfilia. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Erza-San."

"Oh, you can just call me Erza. And I've heard a lot about you." She looked over her shoulder, "Naruto! Come meet the new member of our guild! She'll be joining us on the job today!"

Naruto walked over and looked the blonde girl over as she shrunk under his intense gaze. He nodded and cupped his chin, "Oh yes, Koyuki told us all about you. How you destroyed Hargeon port, and brought a politician's mansion crumbling to the ground, and how you defeated a fifteen-foot gorilla all by yourself." Naruto nodded with an impressed look on his face, "That's pretty awesome."

"W-what?!" Lucy shook her head and waved her arms, "I-I didn't do any of that! It wasn't me!" She looked to Gray, Natsu, and Happy for help, "Tell them!"

"Wow, and I thought you were the normal one of the bunch." Gray said while looking at the girl like she was a monster.

"When did you do all of this?! You said you didn't take jobs before coming to the guild!" Natsu yelled while actually impressed with Lucy's supposed achievements, kinda wanting to fight her and see for himself.

"She's a freak!" Happy added in a cheerful tone.

Lucy just leaned against the wall, her whole body stark white and tears coming down her eyes, "The lies...they cut so deep...and they destroy my reputation..."

"Well I hope I can see some of this while we are on the job." Erza then turned towards the train, "Come along everyone, it's time to-"

"Wait, Erza!" Natsu yelled, getting all of their attention as he faced the red-head, "Yesterday, you said you felt bad asking us to take this job without being able to return the favor. Well, I know a way you can make it up to me."

He tightened his fist and engulfed it in flame, "When we get back, you and I are gonna fight. No holding back."

Gray, Lucy, and Happy all looked at the lovable moron like he had taken a dive off a building and landed straight on his head. Naruto raised his brow before smiling, interested in seeing Natsu try to take on Erza after all the other beatings he's received over the years. And Erza just blinked in mild surprise before she smiled, "Well, it has been quite some time since we last fought. Are you sure all you want is a fight with me?"

"Damn straight I'm sure! I'll fight you!" He pointed at Naruto, "Then Naruto!" At Gray, "Then this Dumbass!" And finally at Lucy, "And I can settle things with Lucy too!"

Lucy cried in fear, "Why me?! I'm not strong?! All those stories were about you Natsu, not me! They're lies! Lies I tell you!"

"Don't try to save yourself the beating!"

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Erza smiled and nodded, "All right Natsu, I accept your challenge."

"ALL RIGHT!" Natsu exclaimed while his entire body burst into scorching hot flames.

Gray just shook his head while Naruto laughed, "Great! I can already see the bloodshed happening!"

"What was that?!" Natsu jumped over to the laughing blond and grabbed his collar, "I'm not like I was before Naruto! I'm stronger, tougher, all around better! Just you wait! When we get back, you're gonna see a brand new-"

########Hunter########

"HGUUUUUUUUU!" Natsu loudly groaned as he suffered through the terrible fate of motion sickness. For Natsu, there was no worse torture in the world than sitting in a vehicle going at a brisk pace down a set of tracks.

Gray shook his head in dissapointment, "And you were talking all that hot shit earlier." The girls watched as Natsu couldn't hold himself up any longer and leaned against Gray's shoulder before being instantly pushed back. And then fell again. And back. And again. Gray grew angry at the routine, "Okay, enough of this!" He looked over to the women and blue cat sitting across from him, "Either of you wanna switch?"

Lucy shook her head, "No, I'm good over here."

"The answer isn't for us to switch seats. It's to help him relax." Erza said calmly as she stood up and held onto Natsu's shoulder gently while he quietly groaned. Before she dug her fist so deep into his gut that he was almost lifted out of his seat. The others watched in horror as Natsu let out one last dying groan before he passed out with tears coming down his face. She then grabbed the rolled up sleeping bag off his pack and placed it against his unconscious head to rest against the window. She sat back down and fixed her hair before looking to the rest of them, "See. It's that simple."

"Wailing on the unconscious guy to make him shut up." Happy raised his paw, "That's Erza for ya!"

Lucy and Gray just glared down at the little brown-nosing cat. Lucy grumbled, "Stupid suck-up."

Gray added, "Kiss-ass." He scratched his head before looking at the S-Class Mage, "Erza, is this such a good idea? I mean with the lump of flesh right here and...that..." They all looked at the seat across from them where Naruto was sprawled out over the seat, blissfully napping and snoring loudly, "Our man power has sorta been halved. Are we gonna be all right?"

"We'll be fine Gray, stop worrying. Take a moment to relax." Erza turned and faced Lucy directly and gave her a small smile, "So you've been in the guild for a week now, correct? How are you finding it?"

Lucy almost didn't hear Erza because she was so distracted by the blue and brown color of her eyes that she could only notice now by sitting so close to the older girl. Lucy came back to her senses, "Oh, well...I'll admit, everybody is...kinda weird."

Gray raised an eyebrow, "How am I weird?"

"Where's your shirt?"

"Wh-ah dammit!" Gray stood up and ignored the stares of everyone else as he started rummaging through his bag for another shirt.

"Anyway...they all seem sorta 'unique', but everyone's nice and fun too." Lucy smiled, "And I thought Koyuki-chan was so adorable."

Erza smiled in return, "I'm glad you think that. She likes you a lot as well." Erza relaxed into her seat, "She spent all night telling Naruto about how nice you are. So I am hoping to see a lot from you Lucy."

Lucy blushed in embarrassment from the praise of such a popular Mage. Before she blinked and looked to the red-head, "Um, Erza, I hope you don't mind me asking, but what is your relationship with Naruto-San? Mira-San told me that Koyuki-chan looks up to you both like siblings and it sounds like you were all together last night."

Erza had a small pink hue on her cheeks and she turned away, "Well, you see-"

"They're together!" Happy interrupted between them before he continued excitedly, "Like how a mommy kitty and a daddy kitty love each other very much, and they make an egg-"

Erza palmed Happy's head and squeezed his skull before she pulled the train window open and tossed him out, the blue cat yelling before he was completely blown away by the intense wind pressure. She slammed the window shut and sat back down before she coughed into her fist, "Well, a poor choice of a comparison but nonetheless..."

Lucy was surprised by the red-head's behavior before she looked over to the black-haired man sitting back down across from her. She jerked her head towards Erza and Gray just nodded his head while fixing his shirt. Lucy then blushed a little and looked between the red-headed woman and the sleeping blond man. She had stars in her eyes. She knew two super strong mages and they were in a committed relationship! It's like every gossip girl's dream!

Lucy took a second glance at Naruto and saw his left hand was covered in some type of metal or gauntlet. She looked over to her Erza and Gray, "Why does Naruto-San have a metal glove on his hand? I think I saw him wearing it yesterday when you arrived in the guild. Does he always keep it on?"

Gray and Erza looked between each other before they just laughed. Lucy looked between them like she was missing the joke, "What is it? What's so funny?"

"No Lucy, he doesn't keep a glove on at all times." Erza said as she stopped laughing and looked at the Celestial Spirit Mage, "It's a prosthetic. Naruto's entire left arm is covered in Reformation Metal."

Lucy's eyes became big white plates as she looked between the woman and the blond's prosthetic arm. She continued doing that until she stuttered, "W-what?! Are you serious! What happened?!"

Gray leaned back, "It happened before he came to the guild. He says he lost it because a baby Wyvern spotted him walking through the forest late at night, then they fought with each other, but then it ripped his arm out of its socket while Naruto stabbed it repeatedly in the left eye." Lucy went pale at the detailed explanation as Gray chuckled, "Oh, it gets better. Then he says that he grew his arm back, but it was corrupted by the power of a demon so it became disfigured and evil so he had it sealed away by covering it in his prosthetic."

"IF YOU BELIEVE STORIES LIKE THAT!" They all looked to the window to see Happy clinging on for dear life. He pleaded to Erza, "CAN I COME BACK IN NOW?!"

"No. Not until you learn you lesson."

"WHAT LESSON?!"

"You know what." Erza responded threateningly as Happy cowered and stayed clamped onto the outside of the window.

Lucy shook her head, "This was a bad choice. Oh, Mira-San is gonna owe me big time when I get back."

Erza just coughed and got their attention, "Okay, now that we're all calmed down, it's time I tell you what's happening." She dropped her easy tone and grew serious, "While we were coming back from a job, I overheard several men talking about something they found after searching for a long time. Something called 'Lullaby'. I ignored them because they were loud and annoying but then they mentioned a name I had heard before. The name Erigor."

Erza's eyes narrowed and she growled with a harsh tone, "I realized when we were coming back that I knew the name Erigor. 'Shinigami Erigor'. The leader of the Dark Guild Eisenwald, and a notorious assassin that has killed countless times for money. But before I realized who they were, they were long gone and there was no way to catch up to them."

Lucy was shaking in place while Happy had a few tears coming out of his eyes. It was partially due to the fact the train was stopping and the smell of smoke and gas had filled up the air around him but it was also because of the scary story.

The train came to a stop and they started heading out the door. Gray threw his bag over his shoulder and looked over to Erza, "So what are we gonna do about it?"

They walked off the train and Erza carried her surplus of supplies and luggage. She stared straight ahead, "I've decided that we need to make up for the mistake I made not realizing what was going on..."

She steeled her eyes, "We're going to march into Eisenwald and make them beg for us to take them in."

Lucy stumbled, "W-what?!"

Gray smirked, "Okay, that sounds like my kind of plan."

Lucy shook in fear, "You guys are insane!"

"Well, when you have to put criminals to justice, it might be best to be a little crazy." They all walked towards the exit as Erza smiled, "Naruto. Natsu. I'm sure you two can agree with me."

They didn't receive any answer. All the small group heard in return was the sound of the train blaring its engine before it started heading down the tracks. The Fairy mages looked between each other and found no sight of the whiskered man or Dragon-Slayer.

Lucy raised her hand, "Um...we made sure to wake them up, right?"

They all stayed silent before looking at the train as it disappeared out of sight. The Fairy mages turned white as a gust of wind blew through the platform.

"Y'know, I actually noticed they weren't here." Happy said with a cheeky tone before he rubbed his paws on his face, "But I was so busy learning my lesson that I-"

He was instantly shut up when the three mages looked down at him in anger, their eyes burning red and their faces covered in darkness.

Happy cowered in fear before he bowed his head, "I'm very sorry. It will not happen again. Please forgive my ignorance."

########Hunter########

"Damn...you...Erza...damn...you...Gray...stupid...Lucy...stupid...Happy."

Natsu struggled to pull himself up on the couch as he felt the contents of his stomach building up in his throat. He swallowed his vomit and tried to keep himself still, failing as he felt the whole room spin to try and stop him.

Why did they have to take a train? Why did Erza have to punch him so hard he felt his organs liquefy out his butt? Why did they leave him here on the train when he couldn't even move? And...and why was Naruto sleeping across from him like a kid that tuckered himself out?!

Natsu pulled himself to the edge of his seat before he rolled off the side. He groaned and held his hand over his mouth before he shook his head to clear his thoughts. He crawled forward, reaching out to the seat across the aisle and to the blond Mage. If he could wake Naruto up, then he could take them off the train...and into pure relief...

Only for a man to walk right in front of him before noticing something and standing in his way. The man asked, "Hey...that's a Fairy Tail insignia, right? You're a part of a guild, huh? That's cool. So am I."

Natsu groaned as this guy talked on and on about himself. He struggled to lift his head and look at the man between him and sweet salvation. It was a man about their age, black hair done up in a ponytail that looked like a pineapple. He smiled as he leaned into the chair besides him, holding on closely to the bag at his side, "You know, you're kind of lucky that you get to be with a legal guild. Always bathing in the light...I bet you've gotten so used to it that you can't even appreciate it anymore..."

The man saw Natsu's eyes swim around but he didn't get any response from the man on the ground. He growled out, "Are you just going to ignore me?"

Natsu was kicked in the stomach, flipping him on his back and making him look up at the ceiling as the Dark Mage planted his foot into his gut. Natsu groaned as the man twisted his foot, "Geez, and you guys are supposed to be the best guild in the country? Me and the rest of Eisenwald could easily beat a bunch of wimpy little Fairies like you and your-"

The Dark Mage felt a threatening presence flare behind him before he nervously turned around to find nothing there. The train suddenly came to an abrupt halt and the Dark Mage lost his footing, spilling the contents of his bag and one creepy three-eyed skull flute to land on the floor. Before the Dark Mage could go for the precious item, the pink-haired Mage lifted himself off the ground and in between his target.

"Okay. Looks like I can stand again." Natsu said as he wiped his mouth with his arm. He shook his head before smirking at the pineapple-haired man, "So...you were stepping on me...right?"

Natsu's hand was engulfed in flame and he punched the other man in the face, "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

The Dark Mage was sent flying back through the train car and he impacted roughly against the door. He slid down and felt his cheek burn and some blood come out the corner of his lip. Natsu laughed after he had sent the man flying before he spotted the skull flute by his foot, "Ew. That thing is nasty."

A hand made of Shadow popped out of the ground and grabbed the flute before tossing it back to the Dark Mage across the car. He caught the flute but looked up at the Dragon-Slayer in horror, "Y-you saw it."

"Whatever man, this beating hasn't stopped yet. Oh, and did you say you were part of a Dark Guild?" Natsu smiled before pounding his fists together, "Perfect. Let's take our time to-"

("We're sorry folks. Minor inconvenience with the brakes at the last stop. We will be back in motion at any moment.")

"Oh shit." Natsu grabbed his stuff and quickly started to put it back on his back. He fixed his bag, "Hey Naruto! Wake up! The train's leavin' again and we-" Natsu looked at the seat and found his blond friend nowhere in sight, "Where'd you go this time you bastard?!"

The train started moving again and began picking up speed. Natsu stumbled and felt his motion sickness kick in again before he headed for a window. The Dark Mage yelled out, "Oh no you don't! We'll-"

"HA!" Natsu broke through a window and flew through the sky before he braced himself and tumbled into the ground. He bounced off the dirt for a bit before he landed on his hands and feet and watched as the train left his sight. He scratched his head, "Now...where the hell am I going?"

"NATSU!"

Natsu turned his head just in time to be knocked away at full force by a magical four-wheeled vehicle that rammed into him. The Dragon-Slayer flew through the air with a scream before he landed on his face and fell on the ground motionless.

Happy flew out of e vehicle and hugged Natsu's back, "Natsu! We were so worried about you! We thought we were gonna have to chase that train forever until we got you back!"

Everyone else jumped out of the vehicle and came to his side. Erza sighed in relief, "Good. I'm glad to see you're still all right Natsu."

"NO THANKS TO YOU!" Natsu yelled as he jumped to his feet and pointed at all of them, "YOU LEFT ME ON THE TRAIN! ASLEEP! LIKE A BAG YOU FORGET IN A HURRY! YOU GUYS SUCK! YOU ALL SUCK!"

"You're right! I'm sorry Natsu!" Erza said regretfully as she grabbed Natsu's head and tried to comfort him with a hug, slamming his skull into her breastplate and causing his brain to jump in his head. She gritted her teeth, "I feel terrible leaving you on the train like that! If you want, you can take your anger out on me if you must!"

Lucy shook her head and deadpanned, "No no. I don't think that's going to help us at all."

Gray looked around them as if he was looking for something, "How'd you get off the train anyway? I thought you were motionless when a vehicle was moving."

"Well the train stopped and that gave me enough time to jump out!" The three Fairy mages smiled between each other, glad to hear them pulling the brakes at the last station saved their comrade. Natsu continued, "But it sucked. The train started moving again and I was just in the middle of this fight with this guy from a Dark Guild or something!"

They looked at him in surprise, "You were fighting someone from a Dark Guild?"

"Yeah. Some asshole from...let's see...Eisenwald?" Natsu looked at the train tracks, "He's probably long gone by now."

"IDIOT!" Erza slapped Natsu across the face and sent him flying into a rock. She reprimanded him, "That's the guild we were chasing after! How could you forget what I told you?!"

"I wasn't listening! You knocked me out, remember!" Natsu yelled back.

"Excuses!" Natsu yelled in annoyance as Erza looked around, "We have to follow that train! Let's get Naruto and we can chase after them!"

"Oh, wait..." Natsu asked in confusion before he scratched his head, "Was Naruto with you, or on the train?"

"IDIOT!" Erza slapped Natsu again and yelled furiously, "How could you leave Naruto sleeping on the train!"

"STOP HITTING ME!" Natsu yelled, holding onto his burning cheek as he soothed the painful swelling. Natsu grew angry, "I don't know where that bastard went! I thought he was sleeping on the train with me! But when shit hit the fan and I tried waking him up, he was already gone! I don't know where he is!"

"He was...gone?" Erza looked down in thought before she nodded her head, "Okay, we're following after that train. There's something there that's still important for this mission." Erza headed back to the four-wheeler, "Let's get ready!"

The other mages followed after her as she started hooking up the SE Plug. Gray looked at the Dragon-Slayer, "Anything we need to know about this guy? Other than the fact he was an asshole apparently?"

"Hmmmm..." Natsu tilted his head in thought, "Well, when he spilt the stuff in his bag there was this really ugly flute that came out. And he started grabbing hold of the thing and keeping it close like it was his baby or something."

Lucy raised her head attentively, "Wait. Ugly flute?"

"Yeah!" Natsu's face twisted into a grimace, "It was made out of twisted wood or something! And it had a skull with three eyes! I've never seen something so nasty before!"

"Three-eyes...a skull..." Lucy cupped her chin in thought as she started digging through her memories. Her eyes widened and she gasped, "Oh no..."

The other mages and cat looked to her as she shook her head in fear. Happy flew up to her face, "What's wrong Lucy? You look pale."

"I-I just remembered where I heard the name Lullaby before. It isn't a Sleeping magic. It's a Death magic! The Mass-Murdering Flute, Lullaby!"

########Hunter########

"Here you go Erigor-San, one magic death flute. Right out of the packaging." The Shadow Mage, now identified as Kageyama of Eisenwald, handed the skull flute over to the bony hands of his leader as the screams of people being forced off the now occupied train filled the atmosphere.

The leader was a tall man, standing up even taller than most of his men, with a thin but slightly muscular build. He had silver hair and tattoos stylized over his pectorals and into his biceps. Underneath his crazed eyes were two markings that looked like rising wind and he was dressed in black to look like a reaper. And of course, he was sporting a massive scythe over his shoulders. The leader and ace of Eisenwald, 'Shinigami Erigor'.

Erigor flipped the cursed flute in his hand and smirked evily, "Good, nice work Kageyama. Now we can get down to business."

"Great work Kage-chan!"

"We knew we could count on ya!"

Kageyama smiled while he received praise from his guild mates. When one of them patted him on the back, he cringed and held his shoulder in pain.

The others noticed this, "You all right Kageyama?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." He rotated his shoulder to loosen the stiffness, "I ran into this punk from a legal guild and he got a lucky hit on me. One of those pathetic losers from Fairy Tail."

Erigor stopped admiring the Lullaby flute and looked at his subordinate, "Fairy Tail? And he attacked you?"

Kageyama just nodded, "Yeah. I mean, I got some good hits on him first but-"

Erigor immediately grabbed Kageyama's throat and choked him with a crazed look in his eyes. He growled, "Did they find out? Do they know about the flute?"

"G-GAK!" The other members stepped back in fear as Kageyama gagged. He struggled to choke out, "H-he saw it for a sec, b-but I took it back before he knew anything! A-and he can't do anything to stop us!"

"You're right about that." Erigor released his hold on the Shadow mage's neck as he fell to the floor and gasped for air, "But if he or any of his annoying little friends come running, you're going to pay for it Kageyama." Erigor walked down the aisle, holding the flute in front of him and smirking evily, "It's almost time for us to take away all of their light."

But as Erigor walked by the aisle seats, he spotted something that really shouldn't have belonged. He took a step back and looked at it fully before addressing his subordinates, "What am I looking at?"

They all came running over and looked into the seat. Resting along the train seat with his eyes closed was a blond with whiskers and his hands clamped behind his head like a pillow. He was slowly breathing in and out and it looked like he was sleeping to anyone that spotted him.

Erigor slowly turned his head to look at the other members of Eisenwald. A skinny man with an Egyptian hat on his head cowered and waved his hands, "H-he wasn't here when we were forcing everyone off! When the train left, only our guys were left on it! I swear we checked every compartment! I don't know where this guy came from!"

"Hey..." A round man walked over to the seat to get a better look and recognized the blond. He pointed down at him, "Doesn't he look familiar? Wasn't he sitting next to that chick in the armor we saw at the tavern the other day? The pretty red-head?"

A tall man with rat whiskers on his face narrowed his eyes before nodding, "Yeah, you're right Karacka! He was totally there in the tavern after we found Lullaby! Huh, that's one helluva coincidence!"

Kageyama rubbed his throat and looked at the sleeping blond in the chair, "That Fairy I fought with earlier said he was with someone else but they disappeared. And this car was only filled with our guys before we took off."

Erigor didn't need to hear any more as he raised his scythe over his head. The other Eisenwald members panicked and took a step back, "E-Erigor-San, w-what are you-"

"There is no such thing as coincidence in our world." He brought his scythe down and aimed for the blond's sleeping face.

The entire car was filled with a gale force wind that blew all of the members into the wall. The doors blew off their hinges and the windows were all destroyed from the violent gust of wind. The wind finally died down inside the car and the Eisenwald members lifted themselves onto their hands and knees.

Kageyama shook his head and tried to get the ringing sound out of his ears before he spotted something he never thought he would see. He stuttered, "E-Erigor-San..."

Erigor silently lifted up his weapon and saw his scythe's blade was cracked and broken. He looked back down at the whiskered blond and saw that he wasn't even woken up by the sudden burst of strange wind.

Erigor scowled and looked at his subordinates, "Tie him up. I don't know what he is but don't let him out of your sights."

The Eisenwald subordinates watched as their leader walked away before they all started fumbling and searching for rope to tie up the sleeping blond.

Unseen by anyone, one of the whiskered man's eyes popped open and watched as Erigor walked out of the car. He clicked his teeth before closing his eyes once again.

########Hunter########

"Natsu! Stay away from the window! You'll fall out and get hurt!"

"S-sweet relief...right behind the glass...must...reach..."

"NO!" Lucy and Happy grabbed Natsu's vest and tired to pull him back in from the open window.

Gray watched them try to pull the idiot back in and he just shook his head. He then opened the window and popped out to look at their red-headed driver as she plowed through the busy streets. He cupped his hands over his mouth, "Erza! Are you gonna be all right?! You've been diving for awhile now!"

"I'm fine!" Erza yelled over her shoulder as she concentrated on the task at hand, "If we can get to the train station before they leave again, we can catch the flute and stop Eisenwald!"

Gray thought for a moment, "What about Naruto?!"

"Don't worry about him! If I'm right, he's fine-"

Erza stopped talking when they rounded a corner and saw the Oshibana train station, spewing out columns of black smoke and several hundred civilians gathering around the front entrance. She glared anxiously before she slid into a mostly empty area and parked her vehicle.

("Everyone! We are sorry for the commotion! There has been a disturbance in the center of the Oshibana Station! Rest assured, a group from the military has entered inside to check for any signs of problems and we will know how everything is at any moment! Please, wait patiently and-")

Erza, Gray, Happy, and Lucy carrying a dying Natsu on her back pushed their way through the crowd. They started walking up the stairs before one of the station staff got in their way, ("Please wait! As I just said, there is-")

"No time!" Erza grabbed his shoulder and tossed him away like as trash bag. The citizens watched in shock as the employee let out a shrill scream before he landed in the middle of the crowd.

Erza marched ahead as Gray and Lucy looked back at the unfortunate employee. Gray bowed his head in condolence, "Poor bastard. Today was just not a good day to come to work."

Lucy shook in fright, "Note to self: Never stand in Erza's way."

Happy flew up to her face, "Lucy! Your shaking is making Natsu's motion sickness act up! Stop moving!"

"I'm not a vehicle! And why do I have to carry him around?!"

Gray just walked up the stairs, "Because you were the last one to touch their nose when we said who was carrying him."

"THERE WAS NO NOSE TOUCHING! YOU JUST THREW HIM AT ME AND LEFT!"

"C'mon Lucy, don't be a sore loser! Now hurry up, Madam Erza is going to kill us at any moment for being late!"

Lucy wanted to squeeze the annoying blue cat's skull between her hands but she wanted more not to anger the red-head. They all ran inside the train station and found a small military platoon beaten and lying on the stairs.

After Erza checked that they were still breathing, they marched ahead to the central platform. They walked in and found the group they were looking for.

Sitting on top of the train was the silver-haired Shinigami that smirked when he saw the Fairy mages finally arrive. On the ground were dozens of Eisenwald mages that started smiling and laughing when their enemies arrived. But at the front of the group was Naruto, sitting on the floor with his arms and legs tied together, appearing unconscious and with a few bruises on his cheeks.

Lcuy gasped at the sight, "Oh no."

Gray grit his teeth, "Naruto!"

Erza scowled up at the leader of the guild. Erigor smirked, "I just knew you lot were going to come."

"Hey! Hey! Lookie!" One of the Eisenwald member chided as he pulled a rope tied around Naruto, "We got you friend! Come any closer and we'll do a whole lot worse than beat him around!"

Lucy shook her head, "You monsters!"

Erza stood up straight and looked at the leader of the Dark Guild, "What are you trying to do? What could you possibly accomplish by taking a train station hostage?"

"What could we accomplish? Can't you tell?" Erigor jumped off the train and started using his Wind magic to float in the air. He hovered aimlessly as he started talking and waving the Lullaby flute, "We're here to preform a little show~."

"A show?"

"For the little busy bees flocking around out there."

The Fairy mages looked up at the evil Wind Mage as they realized he was aiming for the citizens outside. Lucy shook in fright, "How could you think about doing something like that?"

"Because they all take it for granted. The carefree and easy lives they've been granted with from birth. Blissfully unaware that people like us, people who have had their freedoms and decisions stripped away from them, have to fight for the right just to function and live. So I've come to punish them! I'm taking away their rights! Their freedoms!" He held up Lullaby and smiled wickedly, "And all of that with just a little melody."

Gray glared and spat venom at the Dark Guild, "You bastards..."

"So! Before we get to the part of ending your miserable lives along with everyone outside..." Erigor flipped through the air and spun his scythe in his hand before pointing it at the group of Fairies, "Anything you might want to get off you chest?"

Erza stepped forward, "Yes, there is." Everyone looked at the red-head, expecting her to make a grandiose last speech or promise of pain to Erigor and his subordinates. But they all watched as Erza's eyes became slightly narrowed and she had a mild scowl...

"You can't possibly still be sleeping, right?"

"Of course not! I was just waiting for the best moment to make my heroic introduction!"

Everyone looked in the same direction to see Naruto standing tall and grinning without a care in the world, pieces of rope surrounding his feet and spinning a large chunk of it in his hand. Naruto tossed it to the side before kneeling down and jumping several meters in the air with a mighty push.

Naruto soared at Erigor at amazing speeds while aiming to grab the skull flute in his hand. Erigor realized what was happening and used his Wind magic to fly back and cradle the flute close to his chest.

Naruto missed the chance to grab Lullaby and let out a low groan before he spun though the air and sent a hook kick at Erigor. The 'Shinigami' used his scythe as a shield to block the boot from hitting him but after a few moments of struggle his scythe broke apart and Naruto's heel dug into Erigor's chin. The leader of Eisenwald was sent flying upwards and crashed through the ceiling of the central station.

Eisenwald and most of the Fairy mages looked on in shock as Naruto spun through the air before gracefully landing right besides Erza. He laughed loudly while placing his hands on his hips and proclaiming with his chest puffed out, "Well rested and ready for battle, the great Naruto Uzumaki has finally arrived!"

His hammy introduction was cut off when Erza sent a quick jab into his ribs. He stumbled a little and grasped his side before looking over at his girlfriend, "What was that for? You just ruined my introduction in front of all the baddies."

"This is why I told you to sleep last night while you still could!" Erza got up in his face and started to berate the blond Mage, "You slept through my explanation! You slept through the train! I bet you slept through them beating you up!"

"Well I bet I could've slept through their punches easily. I've slept on pillows that were harder than their sissy little hits." Naruto commented while dozens of Eisenwald members started to seethe in anger at the joke on their physical strength. Naruto then looked at Erza, "And I've been awake for awhile. I woke up back on the train, when Natsu was fighting the guy with the pineapple hair. He mentioned he was part of a Dark Guild called Eisenwald and boom, I woke back up."

"NARUTO!" Natsu jumped off of Lucy's back and grabbed Naruto's collar, surprising Lucy at his sudden revitalization and making the Dark Guild even more confused. Natsu yelled with fire in his breath, "Where the hell were you when I was on the train?! That was hell for me you fucker! And why didn't you do anything while that pineapple-headed prick was trying to beat me up?!"

"Oh c'mon Natsu..." Naruto said encouragingly as he patted his friend's shoulder, "You totally looked like you had a handle on the situation." Naruto then lifted Natsu's hand off his shoulder while the Dragon-Slayer started screaming in anger, "And I thought it would be better to stick with the Eisenwald guy on the train because I could follow him to their guild base and sneak attack them. But, as it turned out, the whole guild was boarding the train and they were keeping Lullaby with them like a mother with her newborn. So I decided to let myself get captured as a hostage that stayed on the train." He looked over to Erza with a confident grin, "I knew you were probably going to get the gist of my plan when Natsu told you I wasn't around and I was just gonna wait it out until we came to the train station."

The Fairy group looked at the blond Mage in surprise, impressed he had thought this entire thing through with detail. Lucy looked at the whiskered man and realized he must have been an excellent tactician and strategist to come up with a plan like this.

Erza, Natsu, Happy, and Gray gave him a flat stare, "You didn't actually think this through like that, did you?"

Naruto chuckled and scratched the back of his head, "Well it was mostly on-the-go but it worked out in the end! And they did try to kill me at one point but I pulled through!"

Lucy just dipped her head and laughed nervously. The images and thoughts she had for these mages were getting more and more confusing by the minute. She then blinked when she realized something. She looked up at the blond, "Wait. Why did you act like you were sleeping and unconscious while they caught you? I mean...what exactly does that do?"

Naruto snapped his fingers and pointed at the Celestial Spirit Mage, "That's the best part Lucy! Guys like this, they always like to stroke their egos and talk about their plans! And they don't stop even when someone is playing dead behind them! So I heard their entire plan..." Naruto turned towards the Dark Guild and smirked, "Like how they aren't actually attacking the train station."

The dark mages all looked at the blond man in horror at what he had realized while the Fairy Mages looked at him in shock. Gray stepped forward, "If they aren't attacking the train station, then what-"

"NOT ANOTHER WORD!"

Kageyama sent out several fists of Shadow while Rayule jumped forward and sent several black bands out of his hands. They flew at the whiskered man with the intent to kill-

"DON'T INTERRUPT(x2)!" Natsu and Gray dashed forward and blew away all of the attacks with fire and ice. The Eisenwald mages looked at them in surprise before Natsu and Gray looked at each other. They then scowled and started growling at each other like primal beasts invading territories.

"Anyway..." Naruto glared forward, "They just came here to catch us and cut off the transportation. They actually plan to move on to the next town..." Naruto's eyes furrowed in hate, "And attack Clover, to try and kill everyone at the regular meeting."

"WHAT?!" The Fairy mages yelled in sync when Naruto finished explaining the Dark Guild's true intention.

"T-that's right!" Byard exclaimed as he started laughing madly, "We're gonna kill all those damn geezers in Clover and throw all you stupid legal guilds into chaos! Those bastards are the ones that abandoned Eisenwald when it was being hunted by the Magic Council, so now it's time for us to get revenge!"

Gray was seething in anger, "You bastards!"

Natsu roared, "You think we'll let you hurt Jii-chan like that without a fight!"

"Good thing I already put up a fight." Naruto said as he grabbed Natsu and Gray's shoulder and ducked his head between them, "So how about you two go grab the flute off the guy I sent flying through the ceiling while we keep these guys busy?"

Natsu and Gray looked between each other before their eyes widened in realization, "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh~..."

The Dragon-Slayer and Maker Mage dashed to the side and headed for the stairs leading to the upper levels of the train station.

Kageyama looked up and melted into a shadow, "No way am I letting you get the flute!"

Rayule used his bands to grab the railing and pull himself up, "Oh no you don't!"

As they all left, Naruto, Erza, Lucy, And Happy were left to deal with the Dark Guild standing in front of them. Erza smiled and looked at the man to her side, "You wanted to get stuck with these guys, didn't you?"

Naruto cracked his knuckles, "Of course, this is where the fun part starts."

"Um, not fun for me actually!" Lucy added on while looking between the stronger mages, "I've-um-never been in a fight like this before. And I'd prefer to keep that tradition going for as long as I can."

"Oh Lucy~." Happy cheerfully said as he flew around the busty blonde girl, "You shouldn't be scared of the dozens of threatening Dark Mages that want to beat you to a pulp and exact their revenge in the most gruesome way. You should be more afraid of Erza and Naruto."

Lucy grabbed the blue cat and started shaking him, "How warped are your priorities here cat?! Seriously?!"

"Don't worry Lucy." The Celestial Spirit Mage was encouraged by the red-head as she confidently stated, "Just stay behind us and we'll take care of everything."

"HA! You think two little Fairy mages will be enough to take on the entire Eisenwald guild!"

Naruto scoffed, "Oh no. I'm sure one of us would be more than enough. But we're in a hurry so we're just gonna double out right at the start."

The Dark Guild grew angry and charged with a ferocious yell. Naruto kneeled down and held out his hands while Erza placed her boot in between his intertwined fingers. Naruto tossed Erza up into the air while he charged forward at the Dark mages. He spun on his hands and sent a flurry of kicks at his attackers while Erza swiped them all away with a spear she pulled out of thin air.

Lucy gasped, "W-woah! Where did Erza get that spear?!"

"It's her magic, Requip." Happy said as he watched the two S-Class mages hold back the Dark Guild members easily. He smiled, "Erza's magic kinda works like yours does, Lucy. But instead of spirits, Erza keeps a large arsenal of weapons in a separate dimensional space she can call on at any time. It isn't a very uncommon form of magic but Erza can use it to keep her entire armory ready for battle. Naruto uses it too for his weapons but his isn't as impressive as Erza's."

To emphasize his point, Erza's spear was covered in light before two black swords appeared in her hands. She moved through the crowd of men like a swift river, parrying their sword strikes with her blades and cutting them down before they could react.

A few of the men stumbled back in fear, "S-she's so strong! It's like fighting a force of nature!"

Naruto took a moment to stop fighting and admire as all the Dark Mages started running away from his girlfriend. He smiled, "That's right, fear Erza! You stand no chance while-"

"You're open!"

Several mages took the opportunity while Naruto had dropped his guard and sent a multitude of ranged attacks into his side. The blond was covered in a massive smoke cloud as Lucy and Happy watched in shock. Lucy yelled, "Naruto!"

But after a moment, the smoke cloud was blown away by a powerful force and revealed Naruto with his left arm stretched out and his entire sleeve destroyed, but not a single mark on him. His flexed his prosthetic left arm and gripped it into a fist as a shimmering white light engulfed his hand. He looked at the frightened men and smirked, "On second thought...you should fear me too."

"Flying Gauntlet!"

A ball of dense magical power was sent into the center of a crowd of Dark Mages and they were all blown away by the force of it. Lucy looked on in shock before looking down at the blue cat for an explanation, "Naruto uses a type of enhancement magic called Armor of The Knight. It lets him cover any part of his body in a concentrated point of magic until his whole body is basically like a suit of armor. He can block ranged attacks, weapons, and his physical strength is enhanced depending on how magic he puts into it."

"A-Amazing."

"Yeah...but this is only the beginning."

Erza swung her swords in large arcs and blew several Dark Mages away on their asses. She spun on her feet before stopping and aimed her blade at her terrified attackers, "Enough of this! You know you cannot hope to defeat us as you are! Surrender now and we will accept it without any more injury!"

"No way bitch! You're gonna have to try a whole lot harder than that to make us submit!"

Erza narrowed her eyes before closing them, "Very well..." Erza opened her eyes again as her body was covered in a similar light, taking off her armor for a moment and leaving her exposed for a few seconds...

The Eisenwald mages' jaws all fell agape at the site of the stunning beauty they saw for a moment as they all cheered, "Woohoo, that's a show!"

"Do it again!"

Naruto stopped beating up his section of the Dark Guild when he heard all the men start cat calling Erza. A black presence started to exude off of him as he looked back at the men angrily, "Oiiii...you better not be calling out at Erza...if you are..." A black sheathe appeared in his hand from his Requip space and he slowly pulled the black blade out as a strong gale started to form around him, "You're gonna start wishing we knocked you out with the rest of your guys to save yourself the pain."

The light around Erza faded and she appeared in a majestic silver armor adorned with wings and dozens of swords floating around her. Now in her Heaven's Wheel Armor, Erza aimed all of her blades forward, "This is the end!"

Erza and Naruto dove forward and decimated the last few dozen men that were left of the Eisenwald guild. They didn't stand a chance as Erza's blade cut through their defenses and Naruto sent them flying through the air with a swing of his blade.

Lucy watched in amazement as the two mages fought together in perfect harmony while they defeated the legion of Dark Mages. Happy smiled, "Erza uses her Requip to hold more than a hundred different armors that all have their own distinct abilities. And Naruto can use Wind just as well as Erigor can. This is why they are called the 'Monster Duo' at our guild."

One of the last two remaining Dark mages overheard what the cat said and looked at the Fairy mages in fright. Karacka narrowed his eyes, "A red-head who never keeps just one form, swords dancing around her like fireflies and a wave of bodies behind her. And a blond with a black blade and silver arm, destroying the land around him like a force of nature. I-it can't be-"

Byard ran forward and collected his magic in his hand with murder on his mind. He yelled, "You bastards!"

"N-no wait Byard, they're the 'Monster Duo' of Fairy Tail! Titania and Hunter! We can't-"

Karacka didn't even get to finish as Naruto stepped forward and gathered Wind into his palm. He sent a swift Storm Fist into Byard's chest and made him buckle in the air as Erza flew up and spiked the Dark Mage straight into the floor.

The fat Mage looked around as the entire central platform was covered in his defeated comrades. He looked up at Naruto and Erza in fear as Byard pulled himself up to his elbows and yelled, "Run Karacka! They're too strong! Run!"

The fat man didn't wait another moment as he turned around and dove for the wall. He used his Earth Phasing to start blending through the wall and away from the powerful Fairies.

But the wall crumbled to rubble and Karacka fell straight on his face. He rubbed his nose before looking at the destroyed wall and all the debris it made. He looked up and shrunk in horror as the blond man cracked his knuckle, "You didn't think we were gonna let you run away that easily, did you?"

"AHHHHHHHHHHH-"

"Quiet." Naruto simply bopped the man on the head and he fell backwards unconscious.

"Wow!" Lucy came running into the middle of the group of unconscious mages as the looked between Erza and Naruto with stars in her eyes. She was shaking with excitement, "I-I heard all the stories and rumors that you guys were strong but you were phenomenal! I've never seen two people defeat and entire guild like that so quickly by themselves!"

Happy flew around and giggled into his paw, "She's star struck~."

Lucy nervously giggled and poked her fingers together, "Well...kinda."

"Thank you for the compliment Lucy, but we have more pressing matters to focus on right now." Erza looked at the young blonde, "I need you to catch up with Natsu and Gray and look for Erigor and Lullaby together. We have to make sure they stay in this station until we can find them."

"E-eh?" The Celestial Spirit Mage squeaked out after Erza finished with her request. She stuttered, "U-um, you see, I'm not very good at searching for people. E-especially murdering psychopaths that would kill me for the sake of killing me so-"

Lucy looked back up and saw the completely unamused look on Erza's face.

Lucy nodded, "Got it. Look for the psycho. On my way." The blonde newbie ran to the stairs and started making her way up as Happy flew besides her.

He added, "You tried to disobey Erza. You shouldn't have tried to do that."

"Shut up cat!"

After those two were gone, Erza changed back into her base armor and stumbled back a bit as she felt a rush go to her head. Naruto grabbed her shoulders and helped balance her as he smiled and shook his head, "You overworked yourself, didn't you?"

"Well...we were in a hurry...Gray was probably right about me taking it easy on the SE Plug for the four-wheeler." She then sent a small pout at her lover, "Of course, it wouldn't have been so bad if you were there to help me drive."

"Sorry, sorry. I swear I won't do anything like that ever again." Naruto then looked off to the side and shrugged, "Well...I'll try at least."

Erza just shook her head and smiled, knowing that was probably the best outcome she could get from her reckless boyfriend. She got her balance back and Naruto let go of her shoulders as she started heading for the front entrance, "I'm going to warn everybody to leave this place as soon as possible. This might not have been their intended target but that doesn't mean they still won't hurt the people outside if it helps them escape."

Naruto watched her leave, "Well what am I supposed to do?"

"What do you mean?" Erza looked back at him and gave him a cheeky smile, "I left you with the best part." She said before ducking away from his sight.

"The best part?" Naruto looked around and all he could see was the beaten bodies of all the men they had defeated and nothing more.

Realization struck him like a bag of bricks and he whined, "Aw shit, she left me with clean-up duty!"

He moaned and shook his head before he grabbed one man's legs and started pulling, "Note to self: Never make Erza angry enough to leave you the clean-up job."

########Hunter########

"Hey, Windy, where'd ya go?! Come out ya bastard?!" Natsu yelled as he started breaking down doors and searching for the 'Shinigami' of Eisenwald.

He groaned, "Stupid Naruto, leaving me to loot the body. Stupid Erza, making me come on the job and leaving me on the train. Stupid Gray, for...being Gray."

Natsu opened a door and found the floor destroyed and blown up from underneath. He wasn't certain but he was sure that this room was probably overhead from the central platform, meaning this was where Erigor and Lullaby should be.

But there was no sign of either of them...

Natsu blinked and looked around, "Shit, where'd he-"

The Dragon-Slayer leaned back on reflex as several fists popped out of the shadow by his feet. He backflipped through the air and landed on his feet as Kageyama slowly rose out of the shadow. He smirked, "Looks like Erigor-San escaped from your little game of tag. And now you're left with the rest of us."

Natsu glared for a minute before he smirked, "Fine. The rest of my team can take that windy prick all by themselves. You on the other hand..."

Natsu's hands burst into flames and he closed them into fists, "I have some unfinished business with you."

########Omake: Passing on The Story########

"Lu-chan! Lu-chan!" Levy exclaimed cheerfully as she saw her new friend reading at a table in the middle of lunch. She came up to her seat and smiled, "I didn't know you were coming to the guild today. Weren't you going to take a break after Natsu and Happy convinced you to play a maid for a pervert?"

Lucy formed a scowl on her face and looked to the side, "Yeah...I'm still a little sore about that...but I didn't have anything else to do so I thought why not relax here in the guild. Or, you know, as much as you can relax in this place before a brawl starts kicking out."

"Well, I know you might be mad at them for tricking you like that, and Lisanna is going to punish them by taking away their coal and fish for the afternoon, but at least you got to show off your looks, huh?" Levy smiled, "I bet that guy didn't stand a chance with you acting all pretty in a maid outfit and...Lu-chan? Why are you crying?"

"I-*sniff*-it's nothing Levy-chan." Lucy wiped some tears out of her eyes, "Like I said...a bit of a sore point."

"Well let's just forget about it for now, okay?" Levy saw the book the blonde newbie was reading and scooted over to her side to get a peak, "What are you reading?"

"Oh! It's a new book I just picked up yesterday!" Lucy looked down at her book and smiled, "It's a tale about warring countries and powerful bonds, friendships forged by fire and destroyed by betrayal! And it's the best!" Lucy had a dreamy look on her face as she started dreaming, "Oh, it's a powerful story and I feel sad sometimes reading it but you know its a great book when you can smile, laugh, cry, and feel sad all in the span of the chapters!"

"Hehe, you really like stories like that, huh?" The blue-haired girl laughed before she leaned in, "Why don't you try writing your book about something like that?"

Lucy blushed and shook her head, "I-I can't do that! This is a great book by someone with imagination!" The blonde girl deflated and sulked, "I can barely write past a chapter before I start regretting everything I've written."

"But you're writing, Lu-chan! That's the best part!" Levy tried to cheer her friend up by standing out of her seat, "I love reading books and stories but I don't have the ambition to write something like that of my own! Anyone can read a book! But there are a special group of people that write their own from the heart! That's why I'm cheering you on! Because you're doing something not many people have the courage to do!"

Lucy perked up a little at her friend's encouragement and smiled, "Thanks Levy-chan..." Lucy wiped a small tear out of her eye before she sighed, "But I'm in a rut. I can't think of anything else to write about. Nothing that pops out at me like this book does."

Levy looked between Lucy and the book and sighed as well. It was one thing to encourage someone to keep writing their story. It was another to help encourage them when they didn't even have a story to go on. Levy sat down and looked at the table...

Before a thought ran through her head. She grabbed Lucy's arm and started shaking in excitement, "H-hey, I know a story you can write!"

Lucy lifted her head and looked at her new friend, "What?"

"Yeah! There was a bunch of these old stories and tales someone close to me always told me when we were together! They were so compelling and enticing that I always came up to him and asked if he could continue telling them to me! I'm sure you could write a story based on his tales! And the best part, he told me they were true stories!"

"Are you sure?" Lucy was a bit hesitant, "I mean, if you're telling them to me, doesn't that mean I'm just stealing your ideas? Even if they are just a story?"

Levy realized what she meant and deflated, "Oh, you're probably right..."

"Unless..."

Levy looked up, "Unless what?"

Lucy smiled and grabbed Levy's hands, "Unless we work together! Partners in writing a book! You tell the story and I can write the words! What do you say, Levy-chan?! You said there aren't a lot of people who are willing to take that extra step, right?! Let's do it together!"

Levy thought for a moment before she grinned and nodded her head, "Okay! Let's do it!"

"Great!" Lucy let go of Levy's hands and leaned against the table, ready to listen, "Okay, tell me this great tale."

Levy smiled and got comfortable in her seat before she coughed into her hand and started spinning the tale...

"Our story starts off in a large forest in a far away land. And two boys, strangers to each other, are tossing stones across a large creek..."

########Hunter#######

Done

Okay! First chapter in canon and we dive straight into the Eisenwald arc!

I'm excited to finally be getting to the bigger picture and substance of the story!

I just want to thank everyone that has followed me up until this point! We finally made it! It took way, way longer than I thought but at least we're getting somewhere!

I'll try to get a chapter for either this story or another one out sometime soon. Until then...

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Thank You and Bye