The magic vehicle traveled at a speed sufficient enough to catch up with the dark wizards of Eisenwald. They had just stopped to observe Kurnugi Station where the dark wizards were last seen. Shidou took note of how quick the military answered as they stood around the station, tending to the people and their distress. His oldest brother would have loved the sight; he always believed in helping the people first and foremost in trying times. He was quite selfless like that.

The car veered around the corner as Erza rushed to capture the dark wizards. Shidou, Lucy, Happy, and Natsu collided into each other, Shidou's face planting into the window.

"Stop Erza! You're going way too fast! You're gonna overload the SE plug!" Gray exclaimed. Shidou pondered very briefly how impressive it was for the ice-make wizard to stay clamped atop the fast-moving car.

"There's no telling how many innocent people could die if Lullaby's song is played!" Erza responded. "I can't slow down! We have to stop Eisenwald before it's too late!"

"But at this rate, you're gonna use up all your magic before we even start fighting!" Gray then pointed out.

Gray and Erza then stopped their conversation as the car window beside Erza was suddenly shattered. Shidou snaked his arm out, his gauntlet taken off. "He's right. You won't fight at your full potential if your magic reserves have run dry." he said. "There's an extra plug beside you. Give me it."

"What?! Then you will be tired as well!" the knight exclaimed.

"You're the one that said this is a team effort. At least this way you won't be as tired." the wu-lin reasoned. "Besides, I recharge faster than any of you. I can handle it."

"There you go again overestimating your abilities." Erza growled as she fished for the extra SE plug. Despite her reluctance, Shidou was right in his affinity with ethernano. She handed the plug to him and Shidou quickly attached it. The car then lurched forward as the extra energy source was added, increasing the car's speed.

While his magical skills were behind his compatriots, his body was ahead of him in that the simply breathing the ethernano-rich air did more than just heal him (albeit slowly), but also allow ethernano to enter his origin at a faster pace.

As the SE plug drained his energy, Shidou took deep yet controlled breathes, doing his best to maintain his ethernano levels at a usable level. The plug drained him faster than he could retrieve, however.

"Get me off this torture device..."

"We'll get off soon Natsu!" the tiandi assured the sickly dragon slayer. He looked back only to see Natsu dangling outside the window, his lower body still inside the carriage. "Lucy, keep him from falling out!"

"Way ahead of you!" the blonde of the group said as hefted Natu's heavier body back inside the car.

"What's that up ahead?" Erza voiced. Shidou looked out to see a tall building with smoke puffing out the top.

"It seems we will be getting off sooner than expected." Shidou lowly muttered.


The car came to a stop in front of Oshibana Station. A crowd, muttering and shaking with unease, was at the front of station as police guarded the entrance.

Shidou was the first to dash out the vehicle when his nose picked up the familiar scent of that shadow wizard. His labored breathing could be heard, but he did not let that stop him. As Lucy carted Natsu out of the car, and Erza and Gray got off, they watched in disbelief for a second at Shidou's enthusiastic run to meet the villains.

The tiandi pushed passed the crowd to the front. When the police noticed him, they attempted to stop him, but Shidou made quick and nonlethal work out of them. One policeman came in his way and Shidou simply body-slammed him into the ground and ran into the station.

"That fool! He really is Natsu's brother!" Erza exclaimed at the man's tactless approach. Had it been her, she would've questioned the police before entering.

"Recklessness must run in the family." Gray added. the group followed behind and entered the station.

With Shidou, he ran down the clean white halls of the station before coming upon a stairway. There, he saw the defeated forms of soldiers and their discarded weaponry. He slowed his gait and frowned. The group was of modest size and armed very well by the look of their spears and shields, but what good would those do against a wizard or a whole guild of wizards?

Down the hall, on the other side of the entrance, stood the entire guild of Eisenwald. They stood with complete confidence with smirks on their faces. Their power was poultry compared to that he felt from Erza, Gray, Natsu, and even Lucy. There were a number of them that had significant energy, like the pony-tailed shadow user, but the main champion among them was the one sitting on the stationary train.

The man was lean yet mildly muscular with silver hair swept to the left. He had a long face with sharp features and elfish-looking ears. His dark eyes were lined with a dark blue tattoo, which was also on his upper body but more larger and intricate.

The clothes he wore were tattered, consisting of a black scarf, a long indigo hakama-like skirt below a darker and shorter one held together with a white sash, and no shirt. He wore geta sandals on his feet, dark gloves on his hands, and bandaging around his forearms. His weapon that laid on his shoulders was a wooden scythe. It's blade was large and jagged, and was mounted on a gnarled wooden staff.

"You..." the pony-tailed man growled. "You and that brat are the reason I got in trouble with Erigor." But the only response he got was a lazy glace at him before his eyes returned to Erigor. The action infuriated him.

"You're the master of this operation." Shidou stated. He had to be with energy like that and the commanding aura he was emitting. "You're planning on killing innocent people with Lullaby, are you?"

"That's quite the accurate idea, Fairy Tail fly." Erigor said. Shidou's eyes widen then as the man flew into the air. "What do all train stations have?" He landed atop a metal pole adorned with speaker phones. Shidou still lacked knowledge on Earthland's technology, so he had no idea what they were for. "Thousands of nosy onlookers have flocked to this station to get a glimpse of the action. Who knows? If I raise the volume enough, I may be able to extinguish the entire city with my melody of death!"

Narrowed eyes glared, cold as the artic itself. "All that pointless bloodshed... you're a despicable man."

"Call me what you wish, but this is simply a cleansing of all the fools out there who fail to appreciate the rights they hold so dear, who remain willfully ignorant to the plight of those who had their rights stripped away. They've committed the sin of turning a blind eye to the world's injustice. There for... THE REAPER HAS COME TO PUNISH THEM!"

"You were ostracized because of your sadistic willingness to hurt and kill others. This scheme of yours will not gain your rights back, it will only serve to give you more power." Shidou pointed his dao at the scythe-wielder. Power and tremendous ambition drove him to committing his crimes, and seeing that reflected in the eyes of another made his ire burn even brighter. "The way I see it, you scum deserve nothing... not even the right to live."

Erigor scoffed. "Spoken like a true fly." he sneered. "You can't kill us; you're nothing but the law's lap dog."

"This sword is sharp for a reason."

Shidou blitzed forth towards the guild of scum. One of them, an insignificant grunt with a club attempted to stop him, only to fall as Shidou sliced his belly open. When the helpless sap collapsed on one knee, Shidou climbed him, stepped on his face and used him as a spring board to jump up and over the stunned crowd, his trajectory Erigor.

The reaper was stunned at the sight of blood, but not because he was opposed at the sight. Far from it. But the fact it was spilled by a member of Fairy Tail gave him momentary pause, allowing Shidou to close in undisturbed. Erigor held his scythe up to block and he and Shidou collided, knocking both of them down and on top of the train roof.

The first to get back up was Shidou as he rushed a downed Erigor. The silver-haired man countered his blade with his bigger weapon and pushed him off. He grinned at the armored man, causing Shidou to scowl even deeper. "You just sliced down one of my men. That attack might kill him, you know. Not something one of the 'good guys' would do."

"Whoever said I'm one of the good guys?"

"How ruthless." complimented Erigor. "Your talents are wasted with those flies. I'm in need of new blood, seeing as you just spilled some. How about you tag along with Eisenwald? I'm sure we would get along just fine." he then offered.

In a band of cutthroats and criminals, yes he would. And that fact forced Shidou to swipe at Erigor. The sword nearly decapitated him if not for the reaper's keen reflexes.

"A pity." Erigor then scowled. He continued to block and counter Shidou as his men watched their boss fight.

"I live to take down men like you, not to join hands."

"You tell him, Shidou!" Said man turned his head to see Lucy and the others run into the room. Natsu was leaning on her shoulder, but his motion sickness was fading quick.

An ominous chuckled left Erigor's lips. "Seems like the rest of your pals joined the party." Shiodou went in to stab him, but the man flew into the air again. "I leave them to you!" he shouted to his men. "Show them the terror of the dark guild Eisenwald!" and with that he disappeared, as if he was wind itself.

Shidou scowled, frustrated his opponent fled the scene. "They plan to use Lullaby to kill the city through the speakers!" Shidou yelled to his team.

An air of shock and horror drew over the team with the exception of Natsu. "What? That's completely insane!"

The black-haired ponytailed shadow user crouched on one knee his hand on the ground. When he saw Natsu, the other participant to his previous failure, his blood boiled and the desired to draw blood increased with the fire-breather's arrival. "We're rolling in a new age of darkness! Course by the time it gets here, you flies will be long gone!"

'Well wouldn't that statement make a black prior's day.' Shidou's mind wandered.

Black shadowy streaked came forth from him and made a beeline for the small team of wizards. Once in close, they then shot up in the air with the ends shaped as hands. The shadow hands came close to attacking them, only for Natsu to awake in the nick of time, dispelling them in a whirl of fire.

"Eisenwald dude, I knew I recognized that voice." Natsu smirked.

"You're back to normal!" Lucy cheered.

"Oh wow, looks like we've got ourselves a party here." the dragon slayer said as he gazed at the entire dark guild. "Big bro! What the hell were you thinking!?" he exclaimed.

"Very true, Natsu. What were you thinking charging head first in-?" Erza tried to say if it wasn't for Natsu breaking it up.

"You were planning to hog all the fun, weren't you?! You greedy bastard! Just 'cause your memories are all wonky doesn't give you special privileges!"

"That's what you're angry about?!" Lucy bellowed in disbelief.

"This is party for everyone to enjoy." Natsu connected his hands together in preparation for the fight.

"Natsu, Gray, I need you both to stop Erigor." Erza commanded. The two aforementioned wizards looked to her. "If the two of you work together, not even Erigor can defeat you. I'm leaving him in your hands."

The elemental polar opposites butted heads, to Erza's ire.

"What did I say?!"

"FINE!" the two panicked and ran off to find Erigor.

Shidou raced to join them. He and the silver-haired man still had a fight to finish. The ponytailed man and another, a pharaoh-looking man with mummy bandage magic exited the room in chase of Natsu and Gray.

"Shidou, wait!" Erza yelled. To his displeasure, he stopped himself to listen. "Fight with Lucy and me. We'll clear this room and joins the boys in due time." His little stunt to face Erigor and Eisenwald was a reckless move that could have ended him had they not appeared. Clearly, he needed more monitoring than she thought. She was starting to see the familial resemblance between him and Natsu.

Shidou, for a moment, was split. He wanted to catch up with Natsu and Gray to hopefully get his chance at Erigor again. Just from his reflexes, he was a far more worthier opponent than the worms below him. He was sure the girls could handle this lot without too much fuss. He had no clue what Lucy could do, but he was sure she could do something; otherwise why would she join the mission if she was not competent in battle.

The Chinese man growled in agitation before holding his sword back. He concentrated what ethernano he had and sliced the air. "Crushing Counter!"

A purple crescent of energy shot forward at Eisenwald. The resulting explosion took out a large number of them while disorienting the remaining members. With that, he knew he put a significant dent in their number advantage and overall power. The girls should wipe the floor with them in no time.

He left as Erza and Lucy engaged the dark guild with her arsenal of weaponry. And whatever Lucy could do.

Erza saw Shidou leave them as Eisenwald prepared to jump them. She frowned and mentally noted to give the man a hard smack when she sees him again.

That is if she sees him again.


Ethernano diffused in the air like air particles. But because everyone had the potential to use magic, that meant their origins were filled with ethernano.

As the days grew since his arrival in Earthland, Shidou adapted more and more to his inhumane abilities. His ability to sense an enemy's magical level was becoming more pronounced as was his sense of smell. Ethernano was the major center of his abilities as he is able to both sense and smell ethernano. He quickly found the airy substance to be sweet, a smell only he could pick up. Combine that with the ability to sense large concentration of ethernano, Shidou had the makings of a gifted hunter.

During their bout, Shidou was close enough to Erigor to get an idea of his ethernano level and smell. For smell, he gave off whisks of sweat and faint traces of blood. For ethernano, he was powerful, ranging equal or above Natsu or Gray. With these clues, he followed a path upwards to the top of Oshibana Station.

He scaled up the stairs and pushed through a door. There he was on the roof overlooking much of the city. The crowd was on the opposite side of the building, separating him and them from any ensuing violence.

"So you were able to track me. Good, very good." Shidou turned to the door he exited to see Erigor float down in front of it. "Tell me, have you reconsidered joining the guild? I'm in generous mood, so I will extend my offer once again."

"Never."

A disappointed sigh left the reaper's lips. "A pity. Simple a pity."

Erigor was upon him in no time. He deflected his quick swing before kicking him away. The two reengaged as Shidou showered Erigor in a flurry of fast attacks, Most of which Erigor blocked and evaded some. His offense ended when Erigor struck him with his pommel. Shidou stumbled, allowing Erigor to deliver a large slash across his torso. Though his armor protected him, the attack left him winded and he stumbled harder.

Erigor grinned as he then attacked in large sweeping motions, forcing Shidou to step back lest he wanted his head sliced from his shoulders. But Erigor's scythe was a larger weapon compared to his sword. And the thing about bigger weapons was that they required more recovery time after attacks.

One such window was open when Erigor swung at Shidou's right. Shidou dodged into the attack, ducking under the blade and slicing Erigor's side. The reaper slightly buckled, which allowed Shidou to elbow him on the side of his head.

A foot was then flying at Erigor's head. He blocked on reaction, but the kick was more powerful than he thought as it sent him back many feet.

The more armored one of the two scowled as he realized something. "Why aren't you using your magic?"

Erigor grinned. "Took you longer than I thought. You think a man as attuned with ethernano would've seen that much sooner."

"So you know of my abilities." Shidou stated.

"Please," Erigor scoffed. "Any wizard worth their salt can see how the surrounding ethernano is drawn towards you." His posture relaxed as he perched his weapon on his shoulder. "Tell me fly, how much power do you sense from me?" he asked with a smirk.

Shidou studied him and found that much of his magical power was considerably low. A sinking feeling was felt as he realized he must of used a powerful spell before they entered battle. "What did you do?" It did not escape his notice when the wind around them started to pick up. It was nothing major, but Shidou thought it strange since the day had been sunny with little to no wind.

Erigor left him unanswered as he floated into the air. Shidou moved, but stopped when he heard Erza's blaring voice tell the crowd to evacuate the area.

"As much as I want to continue our little dance, I have much more bigger fish to fry. It saddens me to lump such talent with those Fairy Tail flies, but since you're so insistent on refusing to join me, then you're simply against me." and with that, he vanished in thin air.

Shidou growled in frustration. "That coward..."

The wind became faster until the station was engulfed in a raging tornado. Shidou looked up and down, noting how quick the winds were that he couldn't see the outside. He rushed to the wall of high-speed air and swung down his sword. The torrent of winds were like a barrage of attacks, and he was knocked back as a result.

"How vexing..." he groaned.

Shidou stood back up and grabbed his sword. He walked back to the wind barrier and took a deep breathe. He widened his stance and then thrusted his sword forward, stabbing the wind barrier. He quickly grabbed his sword arm for stabilization. The dao shook from the frenzy of cleaving wind, but Shidou held his ground. His sword began absorbing the onslaught of foreign ethernano, but just like the beast's laser beam from before, the energy was too much and he was forced to recoil back.

'Damn. I thought that would work.' The strain was apparent as Shidou dropped on a knee. He took a glance at his sword to see its purple glow before it receded. "At least the towns people have evacuated. They are safe."

But if their plan was to broadcast Lullaby's song over the speakers, then shouldn't that mean their plan was foiled? Why erect a seemingly one-way barrier? Something was not adding up.

Just then, a series of explosions erupted from the station. He thought the others were still engaged in battle with Eisenwald... that is until he sensed only Natsu's power spiking.

"That idiot is going to take down the entire station." he grunted. For whatever reason, he felt the instinctive need to stop and reprimand him for such needless destruction. He pushed it down and got back up. He left the rooftop to find the teen.


The spiking of magical energy became more frequent for Natsu as he was engaged in battle. He ruled out the possibility of Erigor and assumed he was fighting one of the two men he saw chase after him and Gray. His assumption was correct as he sensed the shadow-user's magical presence beside Natsu.

Shidou approached their position, not even stopping when one final explosion was felt. "The boy doesn't know how to hold back, does he?"

"Sorry I had to take you down diorama." he heard Natsu say.

"I told you, it's Kageyama!"

'Huh... I never quite caught his name before now.' Not that Shidou cared much. Kageyama wasn't his target. Erigor was.

"Natsu, do not harm him! We need him alive." Shidou heard the clattering of running feet and Erza's stern command. He pushed through a door to find Natsu and the defeated Kageyama. Climbing up the stairs was Erza and Gray.

"Way to go, ya fire freak." the ice mage said.

Natsu looked at them questioningly before his and Shidou's expressions turned shocked when Erza seemingly raised her sword at the dragon slayer.

"I don't know what I did wrong, but I'm sorry!" the pink-haired teen panicked.

It was to Natsu's relief that he was not the target, but rather the wall next to Kageyama. "You will dispel the wind barrier, and you will do so without complaint." Erza threatened as he sword gleams just inches beside the shadow-user's head.

"Uuh... Just do it, man! This chick's a real monster!" Natsu said, quivering just as much as Kageyama. Gray berated him to shut up.

Kageyama's throat was then caught in iron-clad hold from Shidou. "You will do as commanded, lest I crush your windpipe."

"Y-yeah... I... I will. Just let go-"

In that moment, a new magical presence arrived in the room behind the wall Kageyama was near. Shidou's eyes widen as he didn't even pick him up beforehand. A golden magical circle erupted from Kageyama's chest. Out of shock, Shidou dropped him and stepped back to find the culprit of the sneak attack. He found a rotund man with green hair coming out of the walls. The group recognized him as part of Eisenwald.

The perp trembled in shock, a guilty look on his face. Shidou's own face expressed murderous intent. He grabbed the green-haired man's thick neck and pulled him out of the wall.

"He was part of your guild, wasn't he? Why did you do that?" he growled.

"I-... I-"

"WHY?!"

"I-"

"You know what?" He dropped his sword and every noise in the world was expunged from his mind. All that was left was the angry ringing in his ears. He did not even see the green-haired man anymore - he saw himself. The younger him, still fresh with blood from his own brothers, stared back at him. "Don't speak another word, scum."

And he just let the punches come. One after the other. In reality, the man's face became less identifiable, and more red with blood. His already thick lips became thicker and busted. His left eye was crushed when Shidou's hard as iron fist connected with the squishy sphere.

It felt lethargic for the otherworlder as his fist connected with the skin of scum, especially backstabbers. A sense of relief came as the apparition of him became more bruised and bloodied. Oh, how he wished for someone to do this to him, to finally deliver unknowing retribution for the innocent lives he had taken.

"Shidou, stop! That's enough!" Erza's voice sliced through his haze of rage and he paused mid punch. He glanced back at his group to see mild horror in their eyes. No one was gonna deny the rotund betrayer did not have it coming, but for his punishment to come in the form of something so brutal was a sight most of them were not comfortable with. Though she held Kageyama's unconscious body, Erza's eyes and attention were focused on Shidou's eyes as clarity returned.

"Gah!" Just as things returned to a relative calm, the green-haired man stuck his hand through Shidou's abdomen. He wasn't run through like Kageyama, but the intense pain was just as bad. He stumbled off the beaten fat man, but fought to stay standing. Gray rushed to his side to help him up.

The fire dragon slayer's string that held his patience snapped when his eyes gazed at Shidou's severely injured form. He had just got his big brother back after years apart and he nearly lost him because some lowlife of a wizard got lucky. His body erupted in flames and he yelled, "YOU BASTARD! FIRST YOU BETRAY YOUR OWN GUILDMATE AND NOW THIS?! MY OWN BROTHER?!"

The fat man, despite his facial injuries, tried to run away from the force of nature that was Natsu Dragneel, but it was all for naught. "HOW COULD YOU?!" His right fist erupted in flames and it punched the poor lad right through a wall, leaving him in tremendous anguish.

"Hey man, you alright?" Gray asked in concern.

"Yeah... I'm fine. Give me some time. The ethernano will heal me back up." Shidou gently shook him off and Gray agreed to let him stand by himself. "What about him?" Shidou indicated to the knocked out shadow user. "We need him to take down the barrier, don't we?"

"He's unconscious. There's just no use." Gray replied.

"But we can't let him die! He's our only way out of here!" Erza raged as she tied shaking Kageyama awake. "Wait. Shidou, have you tried-?"

"Already did, and there's no way. There's too much ethernano in the barrier to absorb and just trying to stay upright is a challenge of it's own... especially now." As if to crush his pride even more, the pain came back and he winced. "Unfortunately."

Gray then explained to everyone what he gathered from an Eisenwald wizard. They had only captured the station to trap them and stop traffic going into Clover. An air of shock befell most of the group and when Shidou asked why, they said the guild masters were having a conference in Clover.

"They want to dismantle the hierarchy of Fiore by killing the upper echelon." Shidou summarized. It was akin to what he suggested to his father and brothers when opposing dynasties were pushing too hard into their kingdom. He was always denied, said a diplomatic approach was more civilized and would lead to less loss of life. It was one of the many things he and his family disagreed with.

The group, along with the injured Kageyama, left the building and went to the wind barrier. Erza bandaged Kageyama and Shidou, shooting the tiandi a nasty glare for running away from her and Lucy. Perhaps after the mission she will give him a proper thrashing.

Shidou then put back his armor, appreciating the relief the bandages gave him.

"We need to stop him!" exclaimed Natsu.

"That's easier said than done. Erigor cut off our only means of reaching Clover and is reaching there by air." Erza replied.

"I'm pretty sure we can catch up to him on the magic mobile." Gray then supplied. "But... we can't do anything until we figure out how to get on the other side of this barrier."

"How are we gonna do that?" Lucy said worriedly.

And without delay, Shidou and Natsu charged at the barrier with sword and blazing hands. They were promptly knocked back, Shidou first and then Natsu.

"See? That's what happens if you try to bust through." Gray stated as Lucy looked at Shidou and Natsu, her worry and panic only increasing at the sight.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?!" Lucy shouted. "Especially you, Shidou! You're still injured!"

"It was worth a try."

As Erza tried to coax Kageyama awake, Natsu yelled in defiance as he covered his arms with his flames. "I'VE GOTTA TRY TO BREAK THROUGH!" Punch after punch he tried to break the barrier, but the resulting feedback of magic power tore through him, but that did little to dissuade the dragon slayer. "WE HAVE! TO SAVE! MAKAROV!"

"Natsu, stop! We cannot brute force our way out of here." Shidou reprimanded. But the dragon slayer did not listen; he tackled the barrier only to be blasted back again.

"Can you just stop for a second?!" Lucy pulled back the salmon-haired teen back. Natsu looked back at her, and everyone saw the gears turn inside his head until his thoughts came to him.

"We can use your spirits!" Natsu suggested, his smile filled with glee.

"Heh?"

"Spirits?" Shidou parroted. As in the souls of the departed? That was the blonde wizard's magic? If that's the case, that was a pretty morbid power coming from such a high-spirited person. He was kind of regretting not seeing her in action. Almost.

"Back at Everlue's, I was pulled from one place to another through the Spirit World!" Natsu explained.

"Well, yeah," Lucy conceded. "But most people would suffocate to death if they tried that. It's hard to breathe in their world. Besides, a celestial wizard can only open a gate wherever their standing." she then reasoned. When she saw her words weren't connecting to Natsu's brain, she elaborated even further. "Okay, let me simplify this for you: even if we could pass through the Spirit World, we would need another celestial wizard to open a gate outside the train station for us to pass through."

"Well that plan's a bust." Shidou said without tact. All this stuff about spirits and a Spirit World was all very intriguing to the otherworlder, but he forwent the decision to ask Lucy any more. It was strange, though; the explanation struck him as Deja vu. "Why don't we just go under the barrier? I highly doubt Erigor made it so that it could also pierce hundreds of feet underground."

"That's a good plan in theory, but we don't have any equipment to dig. And we can't just blow through the ground and make a tunnel. The grounds too thick. We won't be able to get out in time" Gray replied.

"Everlue... Spirits... digging..." Shidou turned to the blue cat of the group to see he too was forming an idea. To be truthful, he did not expect much. Between him and Natsu, there was ultimately one brain between them. He was doubtful he could concoct a plan better than his fire-breathing partner.

But fate loved to prove him wrong.

"I JUST REMEMBERED, LUCY!" he suddenly shouted.

"Remembered what?"

"WHAT I WAS TRYING TO TELL YOU ON THE WAY HERE!"

Lucy and Shidou both recalled how the cat kept calling her weird in the car, to the blonde's annoyance. Happy then pulled something from his pack, revealing a golden key with a red symbol in the form of Virgo.

"HOW'D YOU GET YOUR PAWS ON VIRGO'S KEY?!" Lucy freaked. "Didn't anyone tell you that it's wrong to steal things?"

Shidou sweatdropped when Lucy started pinching the cat by his mouth. "But I didn't steal it! Virgo asked me to give it to you!" Lucy then let the cat go when he said that.

"C'mon guys, we're wastin' way too much of our time listening to this nonsense." Gray said. Shidou nodded in agreement.

"Hold on, who's Virgo?" The tiandi was not present for such events revolving this Everlue.

"OH! She's this gorilla-looking maid spirit we fought." Natsu answered as he just remembered, in that moment, about the Everlue job.

"Apparently, her contract with Everlue was broken as soon as he was arrested." Happy added. "Before we all left that day, she came up to me and said she wanted to sign a new contract with you, Lucy."

"Great, I get a big, ugly spirit." Lucy moped as she remembered Virgo's brutish appearance. "Anyway, thanks for letting me know, but I'll have to deal with her later. If you didn't realize it, we need to find a way out of here."

"But-"

"SHUT UP!" The celestial wizard returned to pinching the cat's cheeks in response to his chatter. An angry aura surrounded her as clear as day. Everyone except for Natsu, the oblivious boy he was. "Why can't you just 'meow' like every other cat?!"

"She surprisingly has an edge to her, huh?" Shidou remarked. Isn't that considered animal abuse?

"Must've learned it from Erza." Natsu responded.

"I'm sorry..." Happy wept. "I just thought that since Virgo drilled holes, maybe she could dig through the ground like Shidou said."

All of Fairy Tail gaped like fishes out of water at the realization.

"She could WHAT?!" In a burst of energy, the lone Chinese man raced to the cat and picked him by under his arms. Happy quivered like a twig in a storm as Shidou sent a very irritated glare at him. "Why didn't you start with that before we engaged that exposition dump?!" He then snapped his head to Natsu and Lucy. "And you two! Why did you not remember this any sooner?! You are the ones who fought this Everlue!"

"it was sometime ago! I didn't think it was important to remember what Virgo did! I'm sorry!" Seeing his scathing glare at her made Lucy remember the times she was scolded as a child.

As for Natsu, he completely blanked on Virgo until a few minutes ago.

"Well, I would've said it sooner if SOMEONE wasn't pinching my face." Happy said as he stared back at Lucy with dead eyes.

To both his and Shidou's surprise, the blonde slid in front of them on her hand and knees, bowed her head up and down, apologizing to Happy profusely. Shidou recognized this position as dogeza, a form of prostration used in Japanese culture. He was surprised it was also used here.

"My most sincere humble apologizes. I promise I'll make it up to you. Just please let me have the key!"

"Give me a fish, and all is forgiven."

"I admire the amount of humility you are willing to show in the face of your mistakes." Even if it was a tad bit... pitiful-looking. "Happy, give her the key."

Everyone stepped back as Lucy prepared to call upon Virgo, the gorilla brute of a maid. "I call upon thee, in the world of the celestial spirits! And now, I beckon you to my side at once, pass through the gate!" She twirled the key before swiping downwards. "Open, gate of the Maiden: Virgo!"

A blue magic circle opened on the ground in front of Lucy. The ground broke apart as a figure jump straight into the air. There they saw a petite girl with short pink hair and blue eyes. Her outfit was a typical frilly black and white maid's outfit with white knee-length socks and black Mary Jane shoes.

The contrast of this girl to what Natsu described was as far as the Earth and the sun.

"Huh?' Lucy could only utter in confusion at the figure before her.

"You summoned, Mistress? What can I do for you? the maid asked.

"...Who are you?"

"Well then... It appears she has lost weight." Shidou supplied. He had but only a visual image of what Virgo might look like, so the shock wasn't as bad for him. That extended to Gray and Erza, as well.

"I'll say!" Natsu said in agreement. "What's up Burger? You look great!"

"My name's Virgo. I apologize for any trouble I might have caused you." Virgo corrected.

"SHE DIDN'T JUST LOSE WEIGHT, GUYS!" Lucy exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Gray asked.

"SHE LIKE A TOTALLY A DIFFERENT PERSON!"

"And a very loyal spirit who'll do anything for her wizard." Virgo then added. "So I try to take on whatever form my wizard finds most appealing."

"I dunno, I kinda like it when you were all big and tough looking." Natsu said as he thought back to his mission at Everlue's.

"Did you really? Well then..." In a flash of golden light, Virgo supersized herself to what she was when she was Everlue's servant. She became extremely tall and overweight with a brutish face. Shidou had thought Natsu's statement about her being gorilla-like was simply hyperbolic, but it was closer to the truth than he realized. So much so he lost his stoic nature for a second and freaked out in the same way Lucy and Gray did. "I'll change back if you like."

"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! I'M YOUR WIZARD AND I LIKE THE OTHER FORM BETTER!"

Virgo immediately transformed back. "As you wish Mistress." Shidou, Gray, and Lucy all let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm afraid we don't have much time. Can we work out the contract details later?" Lucy asked to Virgo.

"Of course. Whatever you like, Mistress."

"Do you really have to call me 'Mistress'?" Lucy sighed in exasperation.

"I mean, with your whip, you certainly look like a domineering woman." Shidou commented.

"Would you prefer I call you Queen?" the maid then suggested.

A quick and resounding 'No' was Lucy's response. A flashback to Shidou mother and her many lectures was Shidou response.

"What about Princess?"

"Oh yeah, that's more like it." Shidou could tell from the sparkle in her eyes that Lucy certainly liked that title.

"Can you ladies just hurry up?" huffed Shidou. Natsu and Gray also voiced their frustrations.

A golden circle appeared underneath Virgo and in a flash, she was drilling hole to the outside.

"Look at her go!" Gray cheered upon seeing their way out.

"Nicely done, Lucy!" Erza then appraised before smacking Lucy's head against the hard steel of her breastplate.

"What do you think you're doing?" Shidou voice was clear and authoritative. Everyone turned to see him turned towards Natsu with Kageyama's arm over his shoulder. "We don't need him to dispel the barrier anymore. Just leave him be."

"I know he's one of our enemies, bro, but... I'd feel guilty if we just leave him here to die."

Valuing human life when that life has brought harm to him and others? The idea disgusted Shidou. The only reason the dragon slayer was even bringing him along was because he was betrayed by his fellow dark wizard. Normally Shidou liked seeing such a sight, of another showing care to others, but for the person being carted was someone like Kageyama, Shidou felt Natsu's kindness was wasted on such scum.

Just like how his admiration was wasted on him.

"He is one of our enemies. Bringing him along will compromise the security of the group and allow him an opportunity to attack."

"Bro, look at him! He's banged up. Even if he wants to do somethin', he can't!"

Shidou let out a low growl. He didn't want to argue about this any further. Erigor was gaining more distance the more they talked. They needed to leave NOW.

In the end, Shidou scowled and turned to the hole left by Virgo. He conceded to the fact that Kageyama could not do much to them in his state. Plus, if by chance they left him here and he survived until the barrier has dispersed, who knows he could do any innocents who would come upon him. "Fine. Just don't lag behind."

Natsu and everyone else saw how much he did not like the dragon slayer's act of mercy. They understood Kageyama was an enemy and should be treated with caution, but that did not mean he should die.

Natsu knew better, though. He knew he had offended Shidou. He had seen it before when he was younger, back when Igneel was still around. It was as if the idea of showing mercy or even a smidget of kindness to an enemy was taboo.

He wanted to ask why then, but he was hesitant. He was hesitant because he had a feeling he would be opening old wounds with that question.

He still felt the same even now.