DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail as it's owned by Hiro Mashima. Also, Hatsune Angelbeat (OC) is owned by Shiranai Atsune.

Chapter 2:

Briefing

There were a few things that got under Hatsune's skin, and even then, they came rarely and she took great steps to avoid them.

'Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic…'

This was one she couldn't exactly avoid.

Hatsune took a deep breath, twirling a strand from her ponytail in her fingers while trying to remain perfectly calm. They were on the train ride to Crocus, and she was sitting next to Gray and Juvia.

Gray and Juvia.

Keyword, trying.

'What is my life,' she lamented, resisting the urge to glance at the heavily dressed Ice mage who was donning a black shirt under a white coat, black pants and hiking boots. She would've honestly preferred him stripped down so she could remind herself of reasons not to act like she'd bolt out of her seat.

Why did she have to find out she had a stupid crush in the first place?

She tilted her head down to prevent anyone seeing her blush. She was letting herself get carried away with first impressions, and she had no wish to take away the possibility of a friend's suitor away unless she had clear convictions.

Hatsune let out a sigh and focused on vocalizing a tune that randomly popped in her mind.

Jellal was nodding off, and he sent the sound mage a relaxed smile before closing his eyes. Lucy threw her a grateful look when the sickly Natsu started to settle a bit, though he still seemed a bit green. Happy rested on Lucy's lap, mumbling something about large fishes. Juvia bumped into her and muttered a "May I?" to which she just shrugged and allowed the blue-haired woman to sleep on her shoulder. Gray had promptly dozed off.

That left only her awake, not that she minded since her brain was being too hyperactive at the moment. Rather than think of the cool presence beside her, Hatsune decided to go over their battle plans once more.

After they meet up with the client, they were to split into two groups each; one acting as a 'tracker' and support while the other was the heavy hitter.

The first pair was Lucy and Natsu, a given with their natural chemistry (oh, how she raised an eyebrow at Juvia's strange smile and Lucy's glare). With Natsu's sharp hearing, dog-like nose, and propensity for explosive fire, he was a good partner for Lucy who was sure to keep the doofus in line. Happy can also cover more ground for them in the skies, and can serve as their quick escape if they're ever in trouble.

The second pair was her and Juvia since the water mage practically grabbed for her. Not that she minded, since Hatsune's magic made her highly attuned to their surroundings, and Juvia's flexible magic allowed them to be a deadly combination. Their former partnership was simply the icing on the cake.

And so, the last pair was Jellal and Gray, as he volunteered to be one of the trackers and the latter having no other options at that point. The ice mage also appeared miffed that he couldn't pair up with Juvia. She wasn't exactly sure why at first, but the jealous look he gave her when Juvia jumped for her sold the idea.

Well whatever.

In any case, they'll be moving accordingly around the town perimeters about ten kilometers apart from one another. If complications arise, they'll retreat immediately and rendezvous with the others. They'd modify the plan once they hear more from the client, but as it was, they agreed that this was the best course of action.

Honestly, trust Jellal to be so thorough. She had to wonder why he couldn't just march in and obliterate the monsters. He was powerful enough to blow Earthland to smithereens!

In any case, when Juvia awakes maybe she should ask—

"You have a nice voice."

Hatsune would've jumped, but Juvia leaning on her prevented that. "Oh, thanks?" she whispered to the black-haired mage that was apparently meditating.

He cracked open an eye. "Do you often sing?"

"Yeah, it's kind of a habit," she admitted. "I really love singing though."

"I see."

To say that the silence that followed was awkward was an understatement. Gray had gone silent once more and Hatsune didn't know what else to say. She couldn't just bring up her dream of being the greatest singer in all of Fiore, nor could she ask if he had other habits other than stripping without him knowing. They weren't close enough for that, and she still had to figure how she felt about the aloof teen.

Well, it could've gone worse, she thought, hoping to doze off instead of dwelling in the awkwardness.

"I'm finally ou—wha, hey! T-That hurts!"

Hatsune ignored Lucy manhandling a protesting salmon-haired teen and followed the others move out Crocus' train station, with Happy choosing to trail behind as he found the whole thing amusing. To be fair, Natsu brought it on himself when he started to kiss the ground like it was a lost lover and Lucy was trying to spare the rest from any unwarranted attention.

The moment they were at the entrance, Hatsune was promptly greeted with the scent of flowers that adorned the sides of the streets. It wasn't too overpowering nor sweet, and they all blended together to make a relaxing smell to welcome journey-weary people into the Flower Blooming Capital.

The sound mage stretched out a few kinks as they walked down the cobblestone path, skirting past travelers, locals, and mages alike. The town was bustling with life, street vendors hollering and presenting their wares to the public, from rare delicacies and exotic fruits, clothes, to colorful jewelries, the ever-popular intricately weaved garlands and the pumpkin-shaped bobble-heads she vaguely remembered was the mascot of the Grand Magic Games.

Hatsune was thankful that she'd already gotten a handle on her magic. Her brief visit here when she was younger had left her cringing at the volume, and she couldn't appreciate the town as she was busy fleeing.

They soon moved away from the elaborate, mosaic flower-patterned buildings with pointed tiled roofs to the more subdued and plainer part of town, stopping in front of a fairly large building and an equally large garage that rented out magic-powered carriages.

Jellal went in first to discuss the price with the owner, and the group hung back quietly.

"Do we really have to ride a vehicle again?!"

They all turned to stare incredulously at Natsu who was desperately trying to pull free from Lucy's death grip. The blonde was red-faced and appeared to be at her wits' end.

"Well, you can't expect Happy to carry you all the way to where we're going," the celestial mage huffed, dragging him to a nearby bench.

"Yeah, sorry Natsu," the Exceed said, though it was less sincere than it sounded thanks to his barely contained laughter.

"But—!"

"Seriously Natsu, you slept through the whole thing earlier anyways!"

Hatsune, Juvia and Gray shared bemused looks.

"Who's driving?" the ponytailed woman asked, choosing to ignore the mages volleying arguments behind her.

Juvia hummed contemplatively. "Well, since Jellal has already paid for the tickets and the carriage, perhaps I shall do it."

Hatsune raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you sure, Juvi? I personally don't mind."

"I have the bigger reserves between the two of us," she countered.

"I can refill quicker," the sound mage replied.

The rain woman crossed her arms, and—

"I can do it," Gray suddenly said.

They simultaneously whipped their heads towards him for him to awkwardly stare back, and Hatsune felt a little bad about forgetting he was there.

It was Juvia who decided to break the silence. "Ah, you're sure about that Gray?"

He nodded mutely, and Hatsune shrugged. "By all means, go ahead then," she stated with a dismissive wave.

It was at that moment when a frail-looking older man stepped out with Jellal closely trailing behind him. He gave them a small smile and led them to what he called a ten-seater carriage outfitted with iron plates on each side to ensure its sturdiness, and was one of his fastest models (they all ignored the pale Natsu groan at those words).

The tattooed mage circled it keenly, before giving the older man a curt nod. "We'll take it."

Jellal handed over a pouch, and the owner briefly peered into it. "Pleasure doing business with you folks," he then said with a toothy smile.

The trio proceeded to declare the general consensus, and everybody boarded—or in Natsu's case, thrown inside—the carriage, while Gray sat in front.

They moved at a moderately fast pace towards the general direction of Ensata, chatting here and there, and occasionally stopping to switch drivers (with Juvia, as she was adamant to do so) or ask for information on the settlement located a little ways east in the middle of a dense forest. Jellal told them that it was situated near a lake and no doubt, the smell would clue them in when they get close.

All in all, it was mundane.

She knew that it would change when things go wrong somehow later, though she hoped not, but she couldn't help but think that they were on a family outing right now.

They stopped to settle into a dingy inn for the day, their late dinner comprised of surprisingly tasty chicken sandwiches and mushroom soup. Natsu grumbled about more food but shut up thanks to Lucy and Jellal's warning glares. She and Juvia hung back stifling their giggles while Gray remained quiet despite the amusement flashing in his eyes. Happy disregarded the minor squabble as he blissfully chewed on his fish.

Mundane yes, but it left her in high spirits.

Once they finished up, they all clambered up into the second floor into their respective rooms, one for the boys and one for the girls. Bar the subdued verbal sparring Juvia and Lucy had decided to start—which Hatsune broke up with a fair warning that she could go report the noise to Jellal—they all went to sleep without issue.

Maybe tomorrow wouldn't be so bad.

Morning came quick, and Hatsune was up bright and early to start her morning routine. She left the room as stealthily as she could in her workout clothes, towel and water bottle in hand, knowing that it'd be around an hour before the rest of the group wakes up.

Hatsune was allowed to practice at the bare patch of land behind the inn just past a small garden with a stern glare from the stoic-looking innkeeper, and she soaked in the fresh air with much gusto.

Putting her hair up in a simple ponytail, she slowly started her vocalization exercises.

She went through each vowel sound, reaching her highest to lowest pitches in smooth shifts before switching to spontaneously crafted melodies. The breeze seemed to accompany her voice, rustling trees and whisking away leaves. If she closed her eyes, Hatsune could almost imagine a string quartet playing in the background, and she standing on a stage.

'Controlled, but emotional,' her mind chanted.

An inhale, and let notes flow.

It took another minute before Hatsune felt satisfied, and she paused to take a swig of water before moving on to the physical part of her exercises. From standard poses to more complex movements that made her contort her body into strange positions, she fell into a rhythm that matched the random beat in her head. Her heart was drumming against her chest and sweat rolled down her cheeks, and she felt a sense of satisfaction to feel her magic match her body's natural frequency. A healthy, spry body meant she could channel her magic much more efficiently after all.

She sighed softly, and bent backwards into a crab-like pose. "Are you going to join me?"

There was a crunch of dirt, and she glanced at the figure that had hidden itself under a nearby shed's shadow.

"Yes," Juvia answered with a vaguely amused look. She was wearing a fitting dark blue shirt and shorts, and her long, wavy hair was in a tight bun.

She flipped and settled into an upside-down one-handed position, knees folded. "Light spar after?"

"Juvia would like that."

The water mage placed herself a few meters away from Hatsune and began to lightly stretch, and they lapsed into a comfortable silence.

She felt her muscles creak as slipped out of the lotus position, and she sucked in a deep breath. The orange-haired woman felt content laying there, watching the sun rays peek through the foliage and hearing the forest creatures skitter about.

There was a noncommittal sound, and she sat up and stared at her partner.

"Is everyone still asleep?" the rain woman asked, water bottle in hand.

"Jellal just got up a minute ago," Hatsune responded, and a beat. "Gray's getting up too."

The rain woman threw her a bemused look. "I'm surprised it took that long. Juvia was sure Natsu's snores would've bothered them…"

She then trained an expectant stare at Hatsune, and she felt her mischievous side rise. "Maybe they put a plug on his nose."

To her amusement, her partner snorted, but did little else as she chugged at her drink.

With a sigh, Hatsune stood up and dusted herself off.

"Best two out of three, no magic, lethal blow?" she proposed, and Juvia nodded distractedly while her body phased in and out of transparency. Her limbs turned into water, to solid, and back again in rapid succession, allowing the bottle to slide through and let her juggle it in speeds comparable to a raging stream.

Hatsune silently watched her snap out of her trance with a focused look. "Ready?"

A smirk tugged on the bluenette's lips, and without another word, she threw the empty bottle up.

They both shifted into their preferred stances.

The bottle landed.

And like a well-orchestrated symphony, the first movement played.

It started slow, a ballad of cautious steps and steady familiar prods into each other's defenses, until it crescendos into a whirlwind of jabs and kicks, more aggressive and alive than the last.

Hatsune deflected a punch, and aimed for the bluenette's exposed neck. Juvia dodged at the last second, pivoting with her heel to deliver a kick to her side, forcing her to back away. The water mage was unrelenting at the opening however, assaulting her with a barrage of punches she weaved through with increasing difficulty.

With a grit of her teeth, she ducked under a hit and stepped into her guard, ramming a shoulder into the other woman. The charge knocked Juvia off-balance, and she swiped at the bluenette's feet. The water mage sprung backwards, and adopted a defensive stance.

They circled each other, inviting one to make the first move. Caution dictated that she'd be patient, and luckily she didn't have to wait long.

Juvia lunged for her, and she met her halfway. She lashed out with a kick, and her momentum let it follow it up with a roundhouse kick. Her opponent pirouetted to the side, retaliating with an uppercut that skimmed past her nose.

Juvia smirked, and she returned in kind.

Another jab and this time Hatsune's hand snapped out to grab her arm. Pulling hard, the water mage let out a small yelp, and the ponytailed woman's knee struck. Juvia barely brought her knee out, but the sound mage didn't let it break her hold. She twisted around, yet she felt her opponent spin along, and they continued their dance.

She caught her eyes, and she saw the glimmer of annoyance in them. At that moment, she released her grip, and the bluenette took charge, an elbow skirting past her ears. Hatsune came in low with a kick aimed for her sides—

The two of them leaped back when a figure landed in the middle of the clearing in a burst of magic. Muscles tensed, a spell was on the tip of her tongue when she nearly flopped to the ground.

"Natsu?!"

The pink-haired mage had clearly just roused out of sleep, what with his shirtless state and bedhead that made his spiky hair look like a cow had licked through each strand. There was a cry of disbelief from above, Jellal from the sound of it, but the duo only stared incredulously at him.

He grinned widely, and his arms were engulfed in flames. "I wanna fight you two!"

The declaration elicited a snort from Juvia, and a facepalm from Hatsune.

"Natsu! Get back up here!" Their Oberon yelled from the second floor.

The dragon slayer paled.

It took a while, but they got Jellal to calm down. He still gave Natsu a stern scolding, and the pink-haired mage received a death glare that promised punishment once they were back at the guild for his rash behavior, but his mood was back up when they went ahead to get breakfast. Hatsune and Juvia on the other hand went back to their room to clean up, and she let the latter go first, since the orange-haired woman knew she'd snipe at their blonde roommate after earlier.

Lucy sat on her chosen bed, drying her hair. The sound mage nodded at her and dug around for her spare clothes in her knapsack. It was a shame that they had to cut their spar short to ease Jellal, but it served well in getting her blood pumped up.

"Nice round," Lucy suddenly said.

She smiled. "It was."

"Do you guys spar often?"

Hatsune shrugged. "We usually did. Nowadays we rarely get the chance."

The celestial mage gave a wide berth at that, and she lowered her hair dryer. "You two were partners before right?"

"We still are," she corrected, throwing the shower door a brief glance. "While Juvia may get busy with your team, I don't mind. I usually go out with either Team Shadow Gear or Levy, and they provide quite the challenge when sparring."

"Oh."

Hatsune gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Lucy. I really don't mind."

Said blonde adopted a contemplative look. "Hm, well… do you—"

She brought a hand up to stop her. "It's you guys' team, and it's balanced as it is. Juvia and I's synergy may disrupt the harmony already established."

There was a reason that official teams require at least five minimum missions under their belt, as to prove that they're able to cooperate and work efficiently. While mages can be invited, it would take time to let the new addition feel natural, and performance issues may arise if one side favored another over the rest. That's why any tag-alongs were usually temporary.

Besides, Hatsune was enjoying getting along with other mages outside her usual circle. It was slow progress, but progress nonetheless.

Lucy slowly nodded.

The sound mage threw her one last smile before digging into her knapsack once more and pulling out clothes. Luckily she got herself sorted out when Juvia stepped out of the shower with a content look, and she strode in, not before giving her a warning look.

There was still some steam left when she got settled in, and thank goodness there was enough hot water to massage her body. She honestly would've stayed in longer if her hunger wasn't making itself known. After a few minutes, she got out to see the two rivals doing their usual routine.

"You were getting yourself beat back there, Crybaby."

"Not that it says much when Juvia beat you last time, Poster Girl."

A bark of laughter, and then: "Beat me? Who was it that got smacked by my boot—"

She sighed out loud. "Jellal's waiting for us downstairs."

That got the desired reaction, and both women rushed out. She shook her head in amusement, dressed up and followed them down.

Breakfast went about the same as it did dinner last night, just with the added tirade Lucy had for their fiery companion's stunt, and Happy's comment that they were acting like an old married couple.

The innkeeper looked ready to throw them out.

Thankfully for both parties, the team departed late in the morning, and boarded the carriage with little fuss. Gray was ready to start the engine when a shaggy-haired man came running towards them, arms flailing wildly.

Being the closest one to the door, Lucy tensed as the man slowed down.

"A-are you the m-mages h-heading towards E-Ensata?" he asked between heavy gasps. "Fairy T-Tail?"

The blonde held up the hand where her pink guild mark was placed, everybody else mimicking her example. Hatsu moved her jacket and fishnets to show the gray Fairy Tail sign placed directly above her chest.

"We are. Is something the matter?" Lucy responded warily.

"The mayor… h-he requests you get there quickly, it's u-urgent," he wheezed out.

The team traded worried glances.

"What's going on?" Jellal demanded.

The jittery man paused at the sight of the blue-haired mage and an unidentifiable emotion flashed across his face. "U-uh… it's the monsters. T-there's b-been a b-breach."

There was nothing else to be said. The group moved swiftly with the messenger in tow, an anxious, almost suffocating air around them. Not to mention with how abnormally fast Gray was driving, she felt even sicker, though not like Natsu who was on the cusp of throwing up. As it was, she simply balled her fists, fearing for both the village and what would go down.

Passing by the forest of oak trees, smoke soon became visible and the sound of odd buzzing got Hatsune into high alert.

Once they broke through the greenery, the first thing they noticed was the two storey brick house down the road, surrounded by makeshift wooden barricades and crates. There were about a dozen leather armor-wearing spearmen guarding the place, and a squad of them took cautious steps forward to meet them.

"State your business!"

The messenger hurriedly got off and yelled: "It's me, Ivan! I came to fetch the mages!"

"Ah, Sir!" the squad leader saluted, and the others followed suit.

Ivan showed a wry smile in their general direction before facing the group again. "Fairy Tail, p-please follow me. You can leave the carriage here. We'll take care of it."

Following the jumpy man into the house, they filed into a dimly lit living room with all the curtains closed, the only light source being the candelabra on the coffee table. There was sparse furniture around; two sofas, some drawers and desks, the most notable thing inside was the broken remains of a chandelier pushed aside.

"Sir? I've brought the mages," Ivan said, and all eyes turned in surprise at the man hiding in the shadows.

The mayor was a tall, slender man wearing cargo pants tucked into combat boots and a long sleeved black shirt. He looked rather presentable, but at second glance his unkempt silvery white hair, deep eyebags and restless posture were obvious.

"Thank you Ivan. Please, go assist the others now," he said, and the messenger bowed away. The mayor made a gesture, but stopped himself. "I'd love to say you should make yourselves comfortable, but I'm afraid we don't have enough time."

Everybody tensed at that.

The mayor sighed deeply. "My name is Ryu, the mayor of Ensata, and my request had entailed this to be a simple extermination mission. Unfortunately, things have gotten complicated." His sharp red eyes swept over them. "We initially had decent protection against the monsters, but our defenses have been breached and evacuation has been quite difficult thanks to them."

"How many civilians are left?" Lucy inquired with a scowl, going into full analyst mode.

"Reports say two hundred and about half of them are unaccounted for. My men have been trying to reach whoever's left in there, but they get overwhelmed by dozens of them at once." Ryu paced around the floor uneasily. "We've instead taken to ensuring that these monsters don't escape to terrorize other settlements instead."

Then he—

"You want us to perform rescue and clean-up as well," Gray said, coming to the same conclusion as her, and Hatsune observed the way his eyes seemed to cloud over.

She reflexively tried to reach for his hand to comfort him, but she redirected her touch to his arm. He flinched a bit, but that was all the reaction she got. Hatsu clenched her free hand, eyes downcast.

Fiore as a whole may be a peaceful kingdom, but that didn't mean that it was rid of pain, suffering and conflict. It was prevalent in areas where help may be too far away, where bandits and terrorists may be hiding, where monsters stampeded by, where dark guilds thrived, and so on and so forth. It was why clean-up was always one of those things she disliked doing. It was normally the Magic Council's men in charge of such a task, but in some cases the mages were asked to do so; mostly out of spite, respect or lack of manpower.

This fell into the last category, it seems.

The mayor smiled wearily. "I'm afraid so."

"So we'll go beat them all up instead then! That way the people can be saved faster," Natsu declared, slamming his fist together with a determined expression. Hatsune gave him a small smile. Oh, Natsu…

Lucy shook her head, grabbing him by the shoulder to get his attention. "Natsu… it won't be that easy." At his confused look, she elaborated. "We can't just fight willy-nilly without making sure no innocents are in the way. That and, we have to preserve the town as much as we can."

"Huh?"

"Rival is right. We'll have to find the monster hotspots and act cautiously," Juvia added, and for once—and to Hatsu's interest—Lucy shot her a grateful look. "What kind of monsters are we dealing with?"

The air around the mayor darkened. "We're actually not sure. It's nothing like I've ever seen before. Agile things with horns and bat wings that breathe fire… they're as dangerous as they sound."

That sounded… familiar. It'll probably come to her once she sees them.

The dragon slayer deflated, but his determined expression didn't falter. "Yosh, then I just gotta keep my eyes and ears open then!"

"Aye!" his Exceed companion joined in.

The team collectively sobered a bit. Natsu was bullheaded and slightly naïve yes, but he had a good heart.

Ryu appeared pensive. "I suppose that's all… are there any more questions? If not, I'll grab the map of the town to get you started."

"If you don't mind me asking…" Jellal suddenly spoke with a thoughtful expression of his own. "Who or what was providing protection before?"

The mayor blinked. "That'd be me."

"Wait, so you're a mage? Then can't you just continue doing that somehow?" Natsu cut in, scrutinizing the silver-haired man.

The mayor chuckled, but the strain in his voice caused Hatsune to feel bad. He must have been going at it for a while. "Unfortunately I'm close to suffering magic exhaustion right now. Doc says I can't do anything or else she'll skin me. Someone had to do it though, and I'm the only mage in town. Mages never stay long here."

"Couldn't you have invested in some protection lacrimas instead? Maybe even some interconnected electricity lacrimas to fence the area?" Lucy asked curiously. She did have a point, they still had other avenues available to them with the Jewels the mayor had.

He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Ah, you see… people don't come by here to trade often since trips to Ensata normally take two to three days by foot, and the route is often laden with bandits and other wildlife. We don't have much in the way of transportation, and despite the option of renting a carriage from the capital, there's a high risk of ambushes. We do hire mages from Crocus as escorts, but we're kind of in a low financial slump these days, before all… this.

"Also, those types of lacrimas are pricey and would be hard to maintain without a proper handler here to check for possible imbalanced Ethernano distribution. We're having a hard time focusing on our infrastructure and livestock as it is."

Something suspicious niggled at the back of her mind, but Hatsune remained quiet.

Jellal folded his arms. "I believe this town was recently established yes?"

"Yes, there's only been two generations. My father's and mine." The mayor's eyes became distant. "It took quite a bit before the Queen gave him permission to start the town, and to discuss it with nearby settlements."

"And you trade medicine here right?"

The silver-haired man broke out of his trance for a smile. "Yes, my fiancé is a doctor, and she has two apprentices here to help."

Jellal nodded, seemingly pleased at his answer.

Maybe she was overreacting because the nerves were getting to her… whatever the case she'll have to push this in the backburner for now. "Alright then, Ryu, we'd like to see the map now."

At that the mayor disappeared into another room, and soon the battle would begin.