Chapter 8: Titania
"No way! Are you sure Loke?" Gray asked frantically. Lucy got up from her seat and looked around to see why everyone was so tensed and some even trying to find a way out without going through the front door.
She saw the guild go from riot mode to funeral, turning her gaze, she saw Natsu, who surprisingly looking calm and even had a small smile along with Ur, who was sipping on her chilled beer while chatting with Mirajane.
"What's all this about?" Lucy asked confusedly. Levy nervously laughed as she looked at her new friend.
"It's Erza, our S class mage and the strongest female...well after Ur anyway and...well about what you see...she can be a bit scary...and strict…really strict.." she gave a nervous smile and closed her eyes.
"No way Levy! Erza's one of the nicest person in the world!" Natsu protested and the blue haired wizard sweat dropped.
'Only to you idiot!' Everyone collectively stated but didn't voice it out.
"Why I...Scary...but this much-" Lucy was cut off.
"I can hear her footsteps! Everybody behind Natsu!" with that Happy flew to the counter to seek some refuge behind his friend.
Everything stilled, no one was moving and Lucy doubted anyone was breathing either as the doors opened slowly, the light from outside, illuminated the figure whose scarlet hair was the only thing everyone could see. Her eyes were closed and she wore a Heart Kreuz armor and blue skirt, completing the attire with black boots.
Lucy heard whispers behind Natsu, who sat there without being bothered. 'Oh my god she is back!'
'Look she is holding a monster's horn!' Another whispered.
'What she gonna do?' she watched curiously as Erza opened her eyes and walked into the guild with a cold face and when she saw Lucy, who was now standing in her way and was frozen from fear, she narrowed her eyes. Lucy was somewhat in the middle of surprise and fear about why she noticed her only when there are so many others.
'Hey...where did everyone else go?' Lucy frantically looked around. Erza dropped the oversized horn on the ground in front of the blonde and walked towards Natsu, but not before sparing a cold glance.
Natsu stood up with a grin to greet her "Erza! How did-ow!"
SLAP!
The sound of a gauntlet gloved hand striking flesh echoed throughout the guild hall, but nobody made a sound, except Mirajane who gasped, they knew better than to intervene Titania when she's in a bad mood. Ur looked at the interactions with interest, she knew for what and why the dragon slayer was slapped for.
Holding the stinging cheek Natsu looked at Erza just in time to see the other hand approaching his other cheek and struck him in the next second. "Ow! Erzaaa! What did I do now?!" He couldn't see her eyes as they were covered by her scarlet bangs.
"Y-you don't...k-know?" Her voice was raspy and filled with anger and if it was possible, her eyes would have glowed red.
"N-no I-" Natsu began, but was cut off.
"When was the last time I saw you?" It was a simple question, the answer could have been, yesterday, last week, a month ago, a few months ago, but it wasn't.
"Uh..1..2..3..4..8..10..11..Yeah! Eleven months ago!" Natsu answered with a smile and satisfied look at how he found the answer...but these were one of those questions that shouldn't be answered, alas, the dragon slayer didn't know that.
Natsu's smile fell as he saw the woman's posture still didn't improve from the darker one. "Are you trying to avoid me?" That question made the dragon slayer gasp and take a step back.
"W-what d-d-did ya s-say? A-avoid you? Why?" Natsu stumbled on the words for her sudden question.
"Then tell me why you never came to see me once in the past eleven months?" She gave mass to the eleven but the poor dragon slayer didn't understand the meaning, but the audience didn't know that and was expecting something positively healthy for the dragon slayer.
"Erza, it's not like I haven't seen you for an year.." Everyone mentally face palmed but Erza remained still, allowing him to finish. "...you were always with me...you and Mira.." He placed his hand over his heart.
'What! But...is he two timing?' Although Lucy didn't understand the whole concept of Natsu, Erza and Mirajane, she has only known Natsu for a day and half, but that was enough to let her know about his 300 inch compressed titanium skull. She turned to the side where she heard a sigh from Ur. It was of relief.
Erza seemed satisfied by the answer and without wasting any time, encircled her arms around his neck and pulled him down and Natsu, not wanting to anger the woman, went down without any resistance. 'Wow! Ur's idea worked! Instead of saying the guild, I only need to say these two's names! And vola! I am free..sort of.'
Erza pulled away from the kiss...make out, and whispered to his ear. "Take me out too..." The voice, as usual, sent shivers down his spine; of course he doesn't know why. Lucy watched with bulged out eyes as Erza kissed the dragon slayer and started walking towards Mirajane with the same cold face she came in with.
"How was the mission, Erza?" Lucy watched surprised as Mirajane asked Erza cheerfully, instead of fighting over the dragon slayer.
"It went well. And Mira is Master here?" Erza enquired.
"No. He went for the Guild masters meeting. He will be back in two days. Why? Is there something important?" Mirajane asked, concern evident in her voice.
"Nothing to worry Mira. It's just I wanted some clarifications. And I thought master will be able to provide it for me." Erza ended with a tired sigh.
While in the background many were having sighs of relief, thinking Erza might have forgotten their
"I've heard you've been causing trouble again and even if Master forgives you..I won't.." Everyone froze as they heard Erza's voice, which was dark and malicious, with the promise of pain in it as she walked closer to the guild members, who were trying to hide behind Natsu.
She plucked her first prey by the neck from the huddled cattle...err...members, who were avoiding the butcher..er..Erza. The first one was the blue haired middle aged man, he stared at her silent form nervously, but she didn't say anything and continued to stare. "Say something damn it!" Macao yelled, unable to tolerate this treatment.
"Macao! You are more than foolish to go out into unstable conditions to win your sons bet! If it weren't for Ur being there, you would have died!" and with that the sound of metal connecting the head was heard and Macao fell unconscious with a giant bump.
Leaving the knocked out Macao she moved on to her next target which happens to be a shivering Cana. "Cana..." Erza let out a frustrated growl before she spoke "..I can't believe you…you broke into a liquor store telling that you saw some 'ominous spirit' getting inside. You better buy some maid outfits because you will be cleaning the whole of Fairy Hills for the next two months!" Erza finished curtly. "..oh and Cana?"
"Y-yes?" The said brunette nervously spoke.
"Defy me and you will wish you were never born." Cana jumped up and saluted Erza.
"Stop right there!" Erza called out without even looking at Elfman who was about to escape through the front door but stopped at her command. She slowly turned with the same darkness in her aura and questioned Elfman. "Please enlighten me Elfman, why was it that your client crying when he reached his destination? I don't think any bandits attacked." Elfman, the man who spoke out for manliness to everyone was now trembling like a little girl caught eating chocolate when her mother said not to.
"I-it W-wa-was because-s t-t-the client said manliness was all about mone-y…" Elfman nervously answered, but the reply came from Erza was an unconscious Elfman.
She then turned towards a man who was still in front of the request board, not even bothering the presence of Erza, which was a big mistake, he was soon found lying on the floor unconscious too with countless others. "Tell him to pick up a job when he wakes up otherwise I will sew him onto the request board!" Erza said out loud to no one in particular to speak to Nab about this.
Some of the members already lost consciousness due to fright alone, but Lucy still managed to watch Erza walking towards Gray with a predatory aura and the poor man was frozen to the floor from fear...even when his magic was used to freeze..
"Gray, I thought you would have learned your lesson from last time to -keep-your-clothes-to- yourself!" Erza shouted the last part frustrated and she summoned a club and implanted Gray on the ceiling and walked back to the bar maid, asking her for the usual before sitting right next to Natsu, right like: if she moved one more inch, she's on his lap...and Erza would have done that, if not for the people around.
With her beer bottle, Ur came around the stools and took the one next to Erza, immediately gaining a respectful bow from the scarlet beauty to which the woman sighed. "So Erza, what was the mission about?"
"It was about a village being terrorised by a monster and I had to slay it." Erza explained to the woman.
"Then what's that?" Ur looked over to the giant horn.
"Oh, that is the horn of the monster I slayed, the villagers wanted to give it to me, so they decorated it and gave as a token of their gratitude. Hmm Ms. Ur, as much as I respect you, please retract your hand from Natsu." And as pointed by Erza, Ur's hand was in fact very close to Natsu's abdomen, which she retracted immediately with a sheepish laugh.
"Hehehehe oh! How did my hand get there?" Ur nervously fanned herself and pretended not to see Erza's glare.
Lucy was rooted to her spot a few feet away from Natsu, she remained very still, too frozen up was she on what just transpired and thinking what Erza might do if she found out that the blonde came with the dragon slayer and when Erza glanced her from the stool, Lucy shuddered in fear and upon an unspoken command, she walked towards her.
Erza motioned Lucy to sit down next to her...no Ur pushed her there and sat away from Erza. And immediately Lucy sat down. "I haven't seen you around, are you new?" The scarlet bomb asked.
"Y-yes-" Lucy knew what Happy was going to do and tried to put a stop to it before he could-
"Aye! Looney came with Natsu!" Too late, and the happy cat, Happy makes his appearance.
"It's Lucy you dumb cat! And- oh..I'm.." The temperature fell, except for Natsu, who was once again being violated by Mirajane behind Erza as the latter started to emit a very chilling aura.
"Too bad she's gonna die..."
"She had a great ass..."
"Wish Erza would finish her in one stab than shredding her..." All these random hushed comments didn't help Lucy. Erza put down the spoon on the plate which still had half of the strawberry cheese cake.
GASP
"Oh no.."
"Everybody out!" One man yelled as he ran out first.
Now...those who don't know about Titania, this is one thing you should remember, only Natsu came above the strawberry cheesecake..by a fraction of 0.0001% lead..so if she dropped the spoon..
Lucy didn't know why she felt as if a hundred swords and axes were behind her, but she didn't turn back. If she did..she might have seen that strange feeling to be true. Erza stood up.
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"So, Lucy wasn't it? How is our humble guild?" Erza asked with a smile on her face to a shivering Lucy.
'This guild is anything but humble...' Lucy thought but didn't voice out her thought. "Yeah…I am getting used to it." Lucy nodded nervously.
After that initial fright, Lucy tried to inch back but felt the pointed edge of a sword, and she knew what she felt about sharp objects were true. And much to her surprise, Natsu happily jumped in and explained...as he is the only one that has the right to explain to Erza when she was in a bad mood. And hence...she came out alive. Erza went back to enjoy her cake with Natsu, not before sending a glare towards an innocent looking Mira.
Lucy was brought back from her thoughts by a hand over her shoulder. "Lucy, you wanna take up a real job? I could help ya too!" Ur cheerfully held out the job sheet.
"Everlue, Shirotsume Town. 200,000 jewels?" Nothing more needed to be said.
"You caught me at Lucy!" The blonde grinned at the elder woman and both walked out of the guild.
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"Gray..." Gray shuddered when Titania called him without looking as she was enjoying her Strawberry Cheese cake with her dragon slayer, who was gently massaging her left hand with a little added warmth while chatting to Mirajane
Cautiously, Gray walked up to her. "Y-yeah?" Erza motioned him to sit on the other side, which he complied without any resistance.
"We have a mission, it is quiet risky and I need your help in this. So are you up for it or not?" She got to the matter straight. Gray smirked at the challenge up ahead because if Erza asked for help. Help from him and not her boyfriend!
"Hey! What about me!" As predicted, Natsu exclaimed while seeing Gray smirk.
"Ha! See flame brain, she knows I am stron-" The ice mage was cut off.
"Of course you are coming Natsu, you don't get a say in the matter." Erza didn't look as she continued to take in the strawberry cheese cake.
"Uh..I don't?" Now confused, Natsu tried to form the meaning.
"..gerrr.." Gray finished of his sentence, but no one bothered to hear.
"So..uh does that mean uh I could come?" Still confused, Natsu asked.
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"Ugh.." Natsu groaned as he laid his head on Erza's lap, while the latter ran her fingers through his pink locks soothingly, but it didn't help the dragon slayer much.
"Don't worry Natsu! Just an hour more!" Happy cheerfully stated as he continued to munch on the fish he and Natsu saved. Gray snickered at the pathetic form of the powerful mage and although he will not state this to anyone, he respected and admired the dragon slayer and was proud to have and be considered as a rival.
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"Ah-h.." Lucy gaped like a fish as she looked at the Everlue mansion that she and Ur had to fight their way in and fight their way out. It was now inside a giant cube of ice, a cube of ice.
"Oh great..I think I over did it...again.." Ur just sighed as she looked over her work. Lucy couldn't believe this, they have defeated Everlue rather easily, but one of the Vanish brothers had to show their pride and joy to attract the attractive woman, Ur i.e, and the next thing she knew was that she was gliding on ice along with a grumbling Ur.
"O-over d-did? Y-you t-think?"
Lucy and Ur walked side by side towards the station the mission went horribly wrong for Lucy, nothing physical, but mental. Ur didn't allow collecting the money.
A small bird carrying an oversized lacrima(for the bird) flew down to Ur, who immediately caught the lacrima and freed the bird from its burden. The spherical ball glowed in Ur's hand and a holographic image of a cheerful Mirajane came. "Hi Ur! You want to know something awesome? Erza, Natsu and Gray formed a team! They might become the strongest team! And they are headed to Clover on some dangerous mission, please go and help them." Towards the end, she became a little serious.
Next thing Lucy knew was that she was being dragged into a compartment which belonged to the train that leaves to Clover.
Lullaby was an easy opponent, but the collateral damage following Natsu's Exploding Flame was massive, so massive that the town was destroyed.
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