Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, it belongs to Hiro Mashima and I, unfortunately, am not him. I do however own any OC characters that will appear later in the story. Relax and enjoy the story.
People speaking "Hello Hello Hello"
People thinking 'Geronimo'
Magic Spells "Fire Dragon ROAR"
Creature/Dragon speaking "I am ALIVE"
Creature/Dragon thinking 'Come along'
Chapter 12
Shadows on the Train
Lucy was staring ahead at Natsu and Erza, who were talking about the Everlue mission. She was a little amazed that Natsu was carrying that giant horn with one hand and chatting with Erza like it wasn't even there. He must have said something funny, because Erza gave a small laugh before looking back at her for a second; the scarlet-haired wizard gained a thoughtful look on her face before saying something to Natsu with what appeared to be a sly smile. Natsu's face gained a light blush and a silly grin as a little bit of blood slid out of his nose, but he quickly used his other hand to wipe the blood away.
'I wonder was she said…probably something naughty.' Lucy thought before shaking her head a little to rid her of those thoughts, 'But I have to admit, they are cute together… I hope I can find someone like that.'
"What are you thinking about, Lucy?" She turned her head to look at Happy, who was flying next to her.
"…I was just thinking how good those two look together." Lucy replied as she turned back to the couple. "They get along so well."
"Believe it or not, before they got together, Natsu was completely scared of Erza." Happy commented, making Lucy look at him in surprise. "Though he still has a small bit of fear in him."
"What? Why?" Lucy asked.
"Back when they were younger, Natsu had challenged Erza to a fight and got really beat up." Happy explained.
"Really, Natsu did?" After seeing Natsu fight and how powerful he was, Lucy had a very hard time imagining him actually losing to someone.
"Uh-huh, this was way before Natsu became so strong. It was actually Erza who trained with him to get stronger." Happy dismissed his wings and landed on Lucy's shoulder. "They've gone on a lot of missions together and became well known as Fairy Tail's best two-person team."
"Wow…" Lucy whispered as she stared at the ground. 'The best two-person team in Fairy Tail…that's amazing.'
"Hey Lucy!"
She looked up to see Natsu and Erza staring at her with raised eyebrows. "Huh?"
"You okay? You've been pretty quiet for a while now." Natsu said while turning his body towards her.
"I'm fine." Lucy dismissed with a wave. "I was just thinking about the mission."
"That's right; Natsu did say this was your first one." Erza said with her arms crossed. "So what did you think of it?"
"I actually enjoyed it and Natsu and Happy helped me out a lot…I mean it had its moments, like with those ugly maids." Lucy shivered a little as she thought of the maids Everlue stated were the most beautiful in the world.
"You shouldn't say such things." Erza scolded a little. "Everyone has their own taste in beauty; surely this Duke Everlue's couldn't have been that bad."
Natsu was the next one to speak, "Erza, imagine several Ichiyas with much more disfigured faces. Then imagine them on several women's body, which is what they looked like."
Erza's face turned a little green at the thought; bring a hand to her mouth. "I will…withdraw my earlier comment. Now I'm starting to feel sick."
"Don't worry, as soon as we get to the guild, I'll order you one of Mira's strawberry cakes." Natsu said which helped Erza a little and made her smile. "Now let's go, Nova is wai-" A loud yell cut him off and the four turned their heads to see a male figure ahead of them and just as they turned around, he quickly ran away. "What the hell was that about?"
"I'm not exactly sure." Erza replied.
"Was that…Loki?" Lucy asked as she recognized the orange hair and green jacket.
"I think so." Happy answered. "I think he's running to the guild to warn everyone."
"Warn them about what?"
Lucy's question was ignored as Erza continued walking forward. "Let's continue towards the guild." Natsu and Happy walked after her, leaving Lucy a little confused before running after them.
"Wait for me!"
(Fairy Tail Guild Hall)
"Mira! Three beers over here, please!" A wizard called out to the barmaid, who was passing out drinks.
"Sure, coming right up!" Mirajane replied with a smile with a tray of beer in her hand; Nova was standing next to her with a big grin, carrying a beer mug with two hands.
"On our way!" Nova said, making a few wizards gush on how cute she was.
"How about going on a date with me, Mira!" Wakaba called out while blowing out heart-shaped smoke from his pipe.
"Not again!" Laki exclaimed from her seat across from him. "You always do this!"
Mirajane just smiled at Wakaba, "But Wakaba, like I said before…" She transformed once again into Wakaba's wife, "You already have a wife at home."
Wakaba jumped back and gripped his hair, "Why do you keep doing that to me?!" Laki began to laugh as Mirajane turned back to normal with a giggle and walked away.
"It's always so noisy here, can't a girl drink in peace." Cana muttered as she watched the scene before brought her drink to her lips and noticed it was empty. "Crud, it's empty already."
"Maybe it's a sign you shouldn't drink so much." Macao commented, catching Cana's gaze.
Before she could respond a new mug was placed in front of her. "Here you go, Aunt Cana!" Nova said happily. Cana smiled at the little girl and patted her on the head.
"Thanks Nova, you're a lifesaver." Cana moved her hand to the mug and turned to Macao with a smirk, "Looks like I'm going to keep on drinking."
Macao shook his head at that and continued to drink his beer. Nova laughed a little before moving over to Mirajane to continue helping the barmaid with her customers.
"That's one cute little helper you got there Mira!" One wizard called out, making Mirajane giggle.
"Yup," Mirajane replied as she bent down to hug Nova, bringing her closer. "Isn't she adorable?"
Nova, not really paying attention to the men, looked at Mira. "Aunt Mira, do you have anything else I can help with?"
"Hmmm…I do need someone to bring this over to Elfman over there." Mirajane said as she released Nova from the hug and showed a plate that had the word "MAN!" over the food.
"I can do that!" Nova said before grabbing the plate and ran over to Elfman and Gray's table. "Here you go Uncle Elfman!"
"Thanks Nova, that's very manly of you to bring my food over!" Elfman stated in his loud voice as he grabbed the food, making a few people sweatdrop at Elfman's comment.
"…But I'm a girl." Nova responded with a confused look before walking away; she paused after a few feet and looked at Gray. "Uncle Gray…your clothes."
The ice wizard looked down and saw that everything except for his boxers, "WAAHHH! Why does this keep happening!?" Before Gray could rush off to find his clothes, the entrance door slammed open.
"Gray, we got trouble!" Everyone looked to see a scared Loki, trembling and sweating as he stood at the door. "Erza…she's back." Almost everyone froze after he said that, before long they started to panic a little; Gray had a scared look on his face.
"Mommy's back?" Nova questioned as she stood next to Mirajane at the bar.
"L-Loki, are you s-sure it was Erza?" Someone asked fearfully.
"Of course I'm sure!" Loki shouted back, "And she wasn't alone, Natsu and Lucy were with her too."
"So they both came back at the same time." Mirajane said before looking down at Nova. "That's great news, isn't it Nova?"
The girl looked up at her godmother with an excited look on her face. "Uh-huh! I can't wait to see them!" After she said that, they could hear loud footsteps making coming towards the guild.
"That sounds like Erza." Laki muttered with a scared look on her face.
"Those sound like her footsteps." Wakaba whispered, biting down on his smoke pipe.
"Erza's back." Macao said.
Everyone watched in fear as they could see Erza, Lucy and Happy walk through the door, followed by Natsu, who was carrying a giant horn covered in jewels and other decorations. When all of them made it inside Natsu put the horn down on the ground, the sound of it slamming on the floor carried through the building.
"I have returned." Erza said before looking around for a second. "Where is Master Makarov?"
"Welcome back Erza," Mirajane replied with a smile, "The master had left last night for a conference in Clover Town. He should be back by tomorrow if things go smoothly."
"MOMMY!" Erza quickly reacted as caught her daughter as she jumped at her. "Welcome back!" Nova said with a big smile on her face.
"Hello my little Nova." Erza said as she brought Nova into a loving hug, which her daughter returned. "I missed you while I was gone."
"Me too Mommy."
"Hey what am I, wet charcoal?" Natsu asked as he walked up to them; Nova's reaction was instantaneous.
"Daddy!" Nova reached out a hand and grabbed Natsu's arm, bringing him into the hug.
"That's better." He stated as he held his daughter and wife. A few of the other members were very touched by the family moment, but it was over by one of the men standing next to the horn.
"So what is this, Erza?" Erza looked back at the man who asked that, placing Nova in Natsu's arms.
"It's the horn of a monster I defeated. The local people were nice enough to decorate it to show their gratitude." She answered before giving him a curious look. "It's not a problem, is it?
"No, not at all!" He and a few others replied with scared voices.
"I bet she's heard from Natsu about what happened at Mt. Hakobe." Cana whispered to Macao, who started to sweat after he heard that.
"…I'm screwed."
Lucy looked around the guild and was extremely surprised on how quiet everyone was as they entered the building. "What is with everyone?" She whispered to herself.
"You're about to see in a moment." Natsu answered, making her turn to him with a confused look; before she could ask what he meant, Erza's voice was heard.
"Now listen up!" Erza narrowed her eyes as her shifted her gaze to everyone in the building, causing them to freeze up at her voice. "During the time I was on the road, I've been hearing that Fairy Tail has been causing trouble again." She said with a stern voice, making everyone wince. "While the master may not care, I do!"
'Hear it comes.' Many thought as the armor wearing woman turned to Cana, who was drinking out of a barrel.
"Cana," The brunette froze at Erza's voice, "If you're going to be drinking, don't do it with such an inappropriate posture." She said making Cana nod and move her legs into a better sitting position.
"Vijeeter!"
"Yes ma'am?!" The scared dancer replied.
"Take the dancing outside." Erza ordered without looking at him, she turned to Wakaba next. "Wakaba, get rid of that filthy habit! I don't want Nova to get sick because of your smoking!" The older mage let his head drop to the table. "Nab," She began, making the man stumble while he stood next to the request board. "I had a feeling I would find you there like always. Just pick a damn job already!"
Nova was giggling at the funny faces everyone was making as her mother continued to talk.
"Macao!" She stared at the blue haired man with a stern gaze for a few moments before sighing deeply.
"Please just say something!" He whimpered as Erza ignored him and went back to over to where Natsu and Nova were.
"Everyone keeps causing me so much trouble." She started to say as she took Nova back, "But since I'm in a good mood, I'll be nice and say nothing for today."
"But she already said so much." Lucy whispered to Happy. "She's like a disciplinary enforcer, is she always like this?"
"Uh-huh, that's Erza for ya." Happy replied.
"Is Gray here?" Erza questioned, to which a few of the other wizards pointed at a scared Gray; who was in his boxers.
"H-Hey Erza, what's up?" Gray asked, the poor guy was sweating like crazy.
"Why is Gray so scared of Erza?" Lucy asked Mirajane as she, Happy and Natsu walked towards the smiling barmaid.
"Lucy, you remember a few minutes ago I told you about how Natsu was afraid of Erza after he picked a fight with her and got beaten up, right?" Happy said, reminding the girl.
"Oh yeah…still hard to imagine." Lucy muttered.
"Well once, she caught Gray walking around town naked and beat him up too."
"..That…makes some sense..." Lucy replied with a sweatdrop.
Erza looked down for a second before speaking, "I have a favor to ask of you. I heard something troubling while I was on my last job. Normally I would consult the master first about something like this, but since he's out right now I'm going to have to go with the best approach. I know Natsu will be coming with me to help and even though the two of us are a powerful team, we might need your help. You'll come with us, right?"
"Wha-" Gray stared at Erza in surprise
Everyone was shock on what Erza asked; they knew that Erza and Natsu were a powerful by themselves, and they were undefeatable when together. But for something to be so bad that she would ask Gray for assistance, it was scary to think about what it could be. While murmurs spread through the guild Natsu had his own thoughts.
'What could be so bad that we need Gray to come?' Natsu's eyes narrowed a little as they met Gray's. 'As much as I hate to say it, Gray is a powerful wizard; creating a team with the three of us -'
'Definitely means something big is going down.' Gray thought, not knowing he finished Natsu's thoughts, before turning away from the dragonslayer to Erza, who was walking towards the bar.
"We will be leaving tomorrow morning." Erza stated, "After we meet at the train station, I'll fill you in on the details."
"Hold on! I never said-" Gray tried to speak, but was cut off by Nova.
"Please help Mommy and Daddy, Uncle Gray." Nova pleaded, giving him a powerful puppy-dog look, easily making Gray falter and nod his head.
"Ugh…Alright fine." He started to walk to a table, not seeing Natsu and Nova high-five and Erza shake her head a little.
"Erza…Natsu…and Gray…" Mirajane said to herself, making Lucy look at her in confusion and noticed the white-haired woman was trembling a little. "Erza and Natsu have been working together for a long time and are incredibly strong themselsves, but I never imagined Gray joining them." She brought a hand to her mouth in amazement as she watched Erza and Natsu sit at the bar with Nova happily sitting between them. "They might have just created the strongest team in Fairy Tail!" There was only one thing the shocked Lucy could do after hearing that.
"EEEEHHH!?"
(A little while later)
"Hmmm." Lucy stared up at the request board, looking at the different kinds of missions that were available.
"What'cha looking at Lucy?" Happy asked as he flew next to her and Nab.
"I was just looking at all the missions the guild gets, they really do vary; searching for magic items, removing curses from certain artifacts, and even exterminating devils." Lucy read out loud as her eyes skim through all of them. "There's one here for love-fortune telling!"
No sooner did she say that, Cana grabbed the form and read it. "Six thousand jewels, huh? Easy money." She said with a smirk before turning to Mirajane, who was standing behind the bar. "Hey Mira, I'm going to take this job!"
"Alright, I'll mark it done!" Mirajane responded with a smile, "Good luck!"
"Right, this shouldn't take long." Cana said as she walked towards the door, grabbing a barrel as she walked out.
"It's hard to believe she can drink so much…" Lucy muttered to herself. "What kind of magic does Cana use anyways?"
"Her magic is pretty cool, it's called Magic Cards." Happy said as he continued to explain. "It's a magic that revolves around the use of magical cards; the effects of the cards can vary between wizards and they can be a bit difficult to use correctly if the person does not know what they are doing, but Cana's talent with it makes her one of our strongest members."
"Woah." Lucy said as she turned to the door Cana walked out. "But why did she take a fortune telling job?"
"Because it's actually one of her specialties." A voice called out, making Lucy turned to the voice to see it was Macao who spoke. "Cana uses her Magic Cards to help her read people's fortunes; she learned how to do it when she was younger. She's really good at it too, she's done it for a lot of members here and they've been right many times."
"Hmmm." Lucy looked back at the board, thinking about when Natsu was telling her about certain wizards that were perfect for certain missions. "So that's what Natsu meant before…"
Mirajane walked up to her with a smile and said, "Just let me know if you decide to take a mission that interests you." Lucy turned her head to look at Mirajane. "Since the master is away at his conference, I'll be handling the mission chart until he gets back."
"What kind of conference is he attending?" Lucy asked.
"Every now and then, all of the guild-masters in the region gather together to give reports; it's not like the magic council though…" The woman turned to a large fellow with a pointy hat, "Reedus, is it alright if I borrow your Light Pen for a moment?"
"Oui." The man reached into his pocket and handed it over to Mirajane.
Mirajane motioned Lucy, and Happy who followed the two, over to the other end of the bar where there were not as many people sitting at the counter. The Dragneel family was there; Erza was eating a slice of cake, Nova was sitting next to her eating a much smaller piece of cake and Natsu was relaxing in his seat.
"Since you just joined the guild, you probably don't know about the wizard organization chart, right?" Mirajane quickly drew a diagram of the system of the guilds. "The ones who hold the highest position in the magic world are the Ten Council Members, who have connections to the government. It's their job to uphold the laws within the magical world; any wizards who commit crimes can be tried by them." Lucy listened as Mirajane continued her explanation before the white-haired woman pointed to the section below. "The guild-masters are just below them; it's their job is to pass the council's decisions as well as help with communications between the different guilds." Mirajane turned from the diagram to look at Lucy. "In a way, they're what helps the guilds stick together…it's a tough job for them."
"Wow…I didn't think guilds could have such connections to each other." Lucy said as she stared at the diagram.
"Connections between the guilds are important; it helps create bonds between wizards." Erza's voice called out, Lucy turned to see Erza looking at her with an arm resting on the counter; the serious look on her face created some tension to the atmosphere as Lucy shared at her questionably. "But if there is a guild that was to neglect this..."
Lucy felt a small flame appear next to her face and a scary voice reaching her ears. "PEOPLE FROM THE DARKNESS WILL GET YOU!"
"HIEEEK!" Lucy screeched before turning around with a scared look on her face and her panic-filled eyes were wide open, thinking that something was going to get her; only for her to see it was a laughing Natsu, Nova and Happy.
"You shouldn't get scared to easily Lucy." Natsu said through his laughter.
"You're such a scaredy-cat!" Happy said as he flew around their heads.
"Scaredy-cat!" Nova repeated.
"Don't scare me like that!?" Lucy yelled at them while holding her pounding heart.
"But people from the darkness really do exist." Natsu said as he started to calm down before walking over to Mirajane and borrowed the Light Pen, he started to write something separate from the diagram before turning to the blonde. "They're know as Dark Guilds, they are made up of wizards who don't belong to any leagues and most of the missions they do involve crimes and malicious acts."
"Really?" Lucy questioned as she thought about such a guild existing.
"But you don't have to worry about them." Mirajane said as she took the pen back. "The only times dark guilds are seen are in the higher class missions." Her words helped Lucy relax a little.
"That reminds me…" Natsu said as he remembered what he wanted to say to Lucy before his joke. "Lucy, since I'm going to be on that mission with Erza and the stripper, you can create a new team if you decide to take a big mission."
"Um okay, but I'm in no rush. I can wait until you get back." Lucy replied with nervous smile.
Gray's voice called out to them, "You don't have to force yourself to team up with anyone." Lucy turned to the man's table to see he had stripped down to his boxers again. "I heard you did a great job for your first mission. I bet you'll get plenty of recruitment offers."
"Gray, your clothes." Mirajane commented, causing the man to freak a little.
"You're such a pain in the ass." Natsu muttered, which was easily heard by Gray and the two slammed their heads against each other.
"What did you say, fire turd!?" Gray roared.
"I'm sorry; did I go to fast for you? Let me slow it down for you." Natsu cleared his throat before speaking again. "YOU! ARE! A! PAIN! IN! THE! ASS!"
"THAT'S IT!" Gray tackled Natsu and the two started to fight.
"Fire freak!"
"Pervert!"
"Pinky!"
"Hey, it's a manly color, bastard!"
"There they go again…"Erza released a sigh before picking up Nova and placed her daughter on her lap. "Those two can be such trouble."
"We weren't much better when we were younger, though." Mirajane commented as she sat down next to Erza. "I'm surprised you haven't stopped them yet."
"I will. I'm just giving them a little time before I stop them." Erza replied before drinking her tea.
"You've really opened up since you and Natsu got together." Erza quirked an eyebrow at her friend's comment. "Before you two even started working as a team, you were strict about everything, and now, you're letting them enjoy their fight a little." Mirajane and Erza smiled at each other before they saw Loki walk up to Lucy. "Looks like Loki's at it again."
"So Lucy, how would you like to make a love team?" Loki said with a charming smile as he drew closer to Lucy. "Just the two of us, tonight."
Lucy's eyebrow twitched as a bead of sweat trailed down the side of her face. "No way." She deadpanned.
"You're really beautiful. Even looking through the dark shades if my sunglasses you're still so beautiful and radiant…" Loke spoke, not paying attention to the look she was giving him or the fight happening a few feet away from their location. "I'm positive that if I looked at you with my naked eyes, they'd probably shatter into pieces…." Loke smiled, peering down at Lucy with adoration and lust, but Lucy just gave him the same deadpanned stare.
"Then take those sunglasses off." She said bluntly, unfazed by his pathetic attempt at wooing her.
"Loki." The man froze as Erza's voice called out, "Stop flirting with her."
"S-sorry E-Erza, I was just asking if…she…" His voice seemed to disappear as his attention drifted down to the jingling set of keys on Lucy's belt, his eyes widened in shock and a little bit of fear. "Don't tell me you're a Celestial Spirit wizard!?" He shouted at the blonde in shock.
"Huh? Yeah I am." Lucy responded, her hands clasped behind her back and her head tilted a little to the side.
"I've seen them too; she has the bull and the crab and stuff." Happy chirped from behind Lucy, referring to Taurus and Cancer of the Zodiac.
"What a horrible twist of fate!" Loke exclaimed, turning on his heal and running to the exit. "SORRY! BUT THE TWO OF US AN NEVER BE!" He shouted back.
Lucy stared after him, blinking. "What the heck just happened?" She wondered aloud.
Mirajane giggled gaining Lucy's attention. "Loke isn't very good at dealing with Celestial Spirit wizards." She explained. "I bet something happened in the past involving a girl."
"Somehow I don't doubt that." Erza muttered as Nova hopped off her lap. "That man flirts with any woman he sees, I wouldn't be surprised if something bad happened to him."
"So I guess he's done it to you guys as well?" Lucy questioned, making the girls nod.
"Yup; I just ignored it while Elfman chased him off, Cana out drank him and took his money as punishment, and Erza beat him up…Natsu later found out about it and pounded Loki into a wall." Lucy sweatdropped as Mirajane listed a few ways some of the female wizards had responded to Loki's flirting.
"Somehow…I'm not surprised." Lucy said, she was suddenly sent to the ground as Gray crashed into her…again.
"HA! Take that, you flasher!" Natsu shouted as he lowered his fist.
"You'll pay for that!" Gray shot back to his feet.
"Don't get me involved in your fights." Lucy grunted as she slowly got back up.
"Sorry Lucy, but this guy was asking for it." Natsu and Gray glared at each other.
"Alright that's enough you two." Both of them turned to Erza, who was giving them a hard stare. "Instead of fighting, you should be getting ready for tomorrow." Gray and Natsu seemed to do a 180 and suddenly shook hands and gave her scared smiles, Gray's was more terrified than Natsu's though.
"You're right Erza."
"Aye!"
"Natsu acting like Happy!" Lucy was shocked at the sudden change in attitude.
"Like I said before, Natsu still has a little bit of fear when it comes to Erza. I guess you can say he's whipped." Happy said. "Some people wonder if he's a masochist."
"What do those words mean?" Happy and Lucy froze as Nova stared up at them in confusion, before walking over to Erza. "…Mommy?"
Erza looked down to Nova, "What's the matter sweetie?" Out of all the questions she was expecting, Erza wasn't ready for this.
"What does "whipped" and mas-oo-kist mean?" Almost everyone stopped moving as the three year old asked that.
"…Nova…where did you hear those words from?" Erza asked slowly, her face showing no emotions.
"From Happy." The blue cat started shaking and backing away.
"…I see…" Erza replied as she turned to Happy, who was flying out of the guild at high speed. "…GET BACK HERE CAT!" She ran after the cat with a pissed of look only a mother could make. (You know the one.) The members could hear the sounds of things being destroyed coming from outside and they all felt pity for the poor cat. "TONIGHT, I DINE ON WINGED CAT SOUP!"
Natsu released a sigh and picked up the giant horn, "Come on Nova, lets stop Mommy before she kills Happy."
"Aye sir!" Nova exclaimed cutely; after securing the horn (Natsu) and the stuffed dragon (Nova), the two rushed out of the guild. Everyone was still for a moment before they started to laugh like crazy.
"Umm…shouldn't we be worried?" Lucy asked a giggling Mira, who walked behind the bar.
"Not really, Erza might say that but she's only being protective of Nova. But Happy should know better than to talk about stuff like that when Nova's around." Mirajane commented as Lucy hesitantly nodded her head and sat at one of the stools.
"Well okay…I hope everything goes well on their mission tomorrow, even if you did say they're the strongest team." Lucy said as she rested her head in her hands.
"You don't have to worry about them Lucy." Mirajane gave the girl a smile, "They are each strong enough to handle anything, and even if Natsu and Gray fight a lot, they always have each others backs when things get really dangerous." Mirajane place a glass of ice tea in front of Lucy. "…Lucy, how would you like to do me a favor?"
"Huh?" The girl cocked her head at that.
NDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDESNDES
Just outside Oshibana Town, within a forest full of dead trees, the dark guild known as Eisenwald was located. Inside the guild lied many dark wizards who took pleasure in other people's suffering.
"I wonder which guild that woman was from." A tall man with whiskers said as he and his comrades walked through the halls.
"I dunno, I couldn't see her guild mark with all that armor." Another man replied, he was wearing a yellow and black jacket with the hood over his head.
"She was gorgeous…" The taller man muttered before letting out a frustrated yell. "Shit, I should have made a move on her!"
"You wouldn't have stood a chance, Byard." A fat man commented, drawing Byard's attention.
"What did you say, Karacka!?" Byard responded and glared at the larger man, who just stared back at him without emotion. They're attention was taken away as a voice called out.
"Has Kageyama returned yet?" The group turned to see a tattooed man sitting on the table with a giant scythe leaning against his shoulder. He was an extremely tall, lean-built and yet mildly muscular man with silver hair and dark eyes; this man was the ace of Eisenwald, Erigor. "He sure is taking his time."
"It can't be helped; breaking the seal on "that thing" is not an easy task." The jacket wearing man said.
"This is our perfect chance, we get must make our move now…" Erigor got off the table and turned to his subordinates with an evil smirk, which his men returned. "We must finish this while those old geezers are all in one place."
(The next day as Magnolia Station)
"What the hell could Erza need help from me and that idiot for? I know I'm more than enough." Gray huffed angrily.
"Just be quiet, you're too loud." Lucy said as she noticed a couple of people were staring at them.
"But still…wait, why are you here anyway?" Gray asked making Lucy sigh a little.
"It's because Mira asked me too; she asked me to be the mediator for the three of you if you guys start to fight." Lucy explained as she recalled the smiling barmaid asking her to tag along
"….Whatever." He said as he turned away.
"Sorry for the wait, have you been here long." Erza's voice called out to them.
"Not really, we just got h-" Lucy gawked at Erza as she was pulling a large cart full of luggage. Natsu was standing next to her with his hands behind his head and Happy was sitting on Natsu's backpack. "THAT'S A LOT OF LUGGAGE!"
"Lucy? What are you doing here?" Natsu asked as he and his wife got closer.
"Maybe she wanted to come with us." Happy suggested and they heard a voice call out from behind Erza's luggage.
"I asked her to go along with you four." They turned their heads to see Mirajane and Elfman walking over to them, Nova was riding on top of Elfman's shoulders. "I thought maybe she could help you guys out."
"Well…I have heard good things about her from the people in the guild, and Natsu did take you under his wing." Erza said as she thought about the pros and cons.
"I'm not really…under his wing…" Lucy whispered to herself with a sweatdrop.
"Alright, you can come along." Erza said with a smile. "This job might be a too risky, but seeing how well Natsu said you did on your last job, I think you'll be fine."
"Risky!?" Lucy cringed in fear, taking a step back. "Just how risky?"
"Don't worry Lucy; Erza and I are on this mission too so there is nothing to worry about." Natsu placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder and gave her a grin.
"You forgot about me, idiot." Gray commented, making Natsu just stare at him for a while before turning back to Lucy.
"…Like I said, Erza and I will make sure nothing bad happens."
"YOU SON OF A-" Gray was about to shout, but he felt something hit his head and saw that Elfman was closer to him and Nova had sent out a small kick at Gray's head, not very strong but still made his head sting for a second.
"Don't yell at my daddy!" Nova exclaimed as she tried to copy her mother's glare, but since she was only three, it didn't have much on an effect. Though behind Elfman, Erza was sending him the same glare, which shut him up.
"…Whatever, let's just get on the train already." Gray muttered as he walked to the train; Happy followed after him while trying and failing to hold his laughter in.
"You go inside with him Lucy; Erza and I need to put her supplies in storage and say our goodbyes, save us some seats." Natsu said making Lucy nodded her head and walk on board the train. After Erza had her luggage put away, the two parents said their goodbyes to their daughter; Elfman placed Nova carefully on the ground.
"Now you are to be a good girl for Aunt Mira and Uncle Elfman until we get back, alright?" Erza gave Nova a quick hug and a kiss on the forehead.
"Yes Mommy!" Nova smiled back as Erza stood up. "Good luck!"
Natsu bent down next and gave his little girl a sad smile, "Nova…I'm sorry we have to leave again right after we just got back."
"It's okay Daddy!" Nova smiled back as she wrapped her arms around Natsu's neck. "My Mommy and Daddy are great wizards after all! Just promise that when you come back, you and Mommy will stay longer."
"You got it." Natsu chuckled as he stood up and turned to Mirajane and Elfman. "Take care of her while we are gone."
"Don't worry Natsu, we'll take great care of her." Mirajane replied with a smile.
"I'll make sure Nova is safe. I am a man after all." Elfman gave the parents a smirk before his face grew serious. "I don't know what bad stuff caught your attention Erza, but make sure you guys are careful out there."
The two nodded their heads before Natsu turned to his wife, "Let's go Erza."
"Right; the sooner this is resolved, the sooner we return."
The two started walking onto the train and made their way towards the seats Gray and Lucy were occupying; as the two sat down they looked out the window and saw Nova waving goodbye, which they returned as the train's signal that it was about to depart sounded. The train soon started to move and left the station, its smoke trailing behind it. The group sat in silence as the train moved on the tracks across the country fields.
Lucy, feeling a little uneasy from the silence, tried to make conversation. "So Erza…what kind of magic do you use?" Lucy asked, looking at the scarlet wizard across from her.
"That seems kind random." Erza replied as she turned from looking out the window towards the blonde.
"I've been curious about it; info about you never was in Sorcerer Magazine and you never got involved them." Lucy explained, "Well except for that recent photo shoot with Mira."
"Ah yes, the only reason I did it was because the woman that Mira was supposed to shoot with had something important come up and Mira asked me to replace her." Erza explained with a small blush as she recalled the shooting, "While it was an interesting experience, it is not something I want to repeat."
"What do you mean?" Lucy asked with her head tilted a little.
"Let's just say that things got destructive close to the end and leave it at that." Erza said making Natsu growl a little.
"Serves those perverts right."
'So it was something Natsu did…That makes sense.' Lucy thought with a small nervous laugh.
"Anyway, Erza's magic is really beautiful!" Happy told Lucy as he waved his paws up and down with an excited grin. "It makes her opponent's bleed a lot." Lucy sweat dropped.
"How is that beautiful?" Lucy questioned.
"It's not that great." Erza told her before looking at the raven-colored wizard sitting against the window. 'But I think Gray's magic is more beautiful." Gray opened an eye at her compliment.
Gray silently held his left hand out and placed his right fist against the palm. Frost gathered around his hands before he parted his hands and opened his fist, revealing an ice sculpture of the Fairy Tail emblem.
"It's just ice magic," Gray said simply. "Nothing special."
"Exactly, his sculptures are not that great." Natsu muttered with his arms crossed.
"What was that?" Gray growled at him.
"Settle down, Gray. You too; Natsu." Erza said, pulling on Natsu's ear making him let out a yelp.
"Okay okay okay," Erza let go of his ear after he said that; Natsu rubbed his ear. "Geez Erza, were you trying to pull my ear off?"
"Oh come on, you've taken much worse." Erza commented with a smile.
"…So Natsu uses fire and Gray uses ice…" Lucy said as she looked at both of them. "That's why you guys don't get along, your elements that are the exact opposite of each other."
"I didn't really thought of it like that before." Erza said.
"Not really, I just hate his guts." Gray and Natsu replied at the same time, making Lucy sweatdrop. "What'd you say flame-brain/icepack!"
'Enough already!" Erza exclaimed with a glare, making everyone else in the group freeze up. They quieted down and spent the rest of the ride in silence until they reached the checkpoint. Everyone got off the train to stretch and get something to eat; Lucy used her seduction to get a discount for them. They got back onto the train and ate their meals in peace as the train started to depart.
"So Erza, I think it's time you told us." Natsu said as he swallowed his food. "What exactly is this emergency mission we're doing?"
"We're going up against the dark guild, Eisenwald." Erza stated before eating a piece of her strawberry cake. "It happened while I was returning from my last job; I stopped by a bar to get something to drink and overheard a group of hoodlums talking. I don't know what they were talking about exactly, but I did overhear a name." Erza explained.
"A name?" Gray asked raised an eyebrow.
"Erigor." Erza answered, making Natsu turn to her with narrowed eyes.
"Are you talking about Shinigami Erigor?" He asked. "The ace of Eisenwald."
"S-Shinigami..." Happy and Lucy repeated with a bit of fear in their voice; Erza nodded her head at Natsu's words.
"It's a name that was given to him because he always took on assassination missions. The Magic Council prohibits wizards from taking on such missions, but Erigor chose money over following the rules." Erza explained. "Because he and his guild disobeyed the council and were kicked out of the magic league, but they are still around…as a dark guild that is."
"Never mind that; what was it that made them our target, was it something else you heard?" Gray asked with a curious tone.
"Yes, I had heard them talking about a magical item called Lullaby and how they were having trouble taking possession of it because it was sealed. At first I was thinking about how it might have just been a mission they might have taken even though they are no longer an official guild. But on my way back I remembered who Erigor really was and suspected that if he was involved in this somehow, then we need to strike fast." After Erza finished explaining the situation, Natsu decided to speak.
"So that's why you wanted Gray on this mission, even if you and I could defeat the guild, it might be a completely different story if this Lullaby turns out to be an extremely dangerous item." Natsu deduced making Erza nod her head.
"If it required a powerful seal to keep it contained, then the thing must be powerful." Gray added while crossing his arms.
"Correct, which is why we're going to march into Eisenwald, defeat anyone who gets in our way and take this Lullaby before they can use it." Erza said as the train drew closer to their destination.
"…Maybe I shouldn't have come along…" Lucy muttered, a lot of sweat falling off her.
"Lucy, you're producing a lot of juice." Happy said as he watched the sweat fall.
"It's sweat."
The train started to come to a halt when it reached the station. "So we'll find out where the guild is and plan our attack." Natsu said as everyone was getting ready to depart.
But just as Natsu was about to walk off the train, a scent came to his nostrils, a scent of blood and darkness. He quickly grabbed the flying Happy and whispered something in his ear before letting the cat go and retreating back into the train. The group continued walking out of the station into the town, hearing the sound of the train departing once again. While Gray and Erza talked about how they were going to get the information about the dark guild, Lucy noticed someone was missing.
"Where's Natsu?" She asked, catching the two's attentions. They looked around and saw that Natsu was nowhere to be seen, but then Happy spoke up.
"He stayed on the train." When the three turned to him, he continued. "He said he caught the scent of blood as well as something dark coming from inside the train as he was about to leave. He also wanted me to tell you to stop the train in five minutes."
"Five minutes? Why would he want us to wait that long before helping him?" Lucy asked.
"Natsu's more than likely found someone who is a part of Eisenwald." Erza answered as she turned back to the station and headed back with Gray and the others following her. "He's going to get the info and needs us to stop the train so he has more time."
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"Ugh..." Natsu let out a groan as he sat in his seat; after so many years of suffering from motion sickness, it was easy for him to fake it. Now all he had to do was waiting.
"Excuse me sir? Is this seat taken?" Natsu looked up slightly and saw a man with a spiky ponytail; the guys scent matched what he smelled earlier, blood and darkness.
'Got'cha!' He felt like grinning, but instead, he groaned."Sure…go ahead."
"Thanks." The man smiled before sitting down. "Are you okay? You seem like you're in a bit of pain."
"…Yeah…" Natsu groaned, "I've never been good with vehicles…"
"I see," The man's eyes drifted down a little and saw Natsu's guild mark. "So you're from Fairy Tail, huh? I envy you, being in a normal guild." He finished with a smile.
'That fake smile pisses me off!' Natsu thought as he watched the man continue to talk. 'Erza and the others should be stopping the train right about now."
(Back at the station)
"...and that's why you need to stop the train." As soon as the group made it to the control room, Erza started explaining the situation to the employee.
"Does everyone from Fairy Tail act like this?" Lucy asked Gray as they watched Erza talk to the employee in charge.
"Hey, I'm normal." He replied with an offended tone.
"Since when is being an exhibitionist count as normal!?" She exclaimed.
"So, please! This is for our nakama and my husband, you have to understand!" Erza finished with a demanding tone.
"Are you insane!?" The employee shouted at Erza. "We can't just stop the train because one person asks us too, no matter who is still on it!" Erza turned her head away with a "tch"; looking behind the man, she noticed a switch behind the employee with the words 'Emergency' underneath it. "Happy!" The blue flying cat looked at Erza, who pointed behind the employee and followed her finger to see a switch and his mouth turned into a huge grin. He flew toward the switch, flying over the employee's head.
"Aye Sir!" He exclaimed before stopping at the switch and placed his paws on it.
"Ah! H-Hold it!" The employee shouted as Happy pushed the switch down. An alarm started to ring and its sound carried throughout the train station, alerting all those who were at the station.
"Huh? What happened?"
"An accident?"
"Alright, let's go!" Erza told the three and they nodded their heads. She then turned to a random couple that was walking by. "Excuse me, can you please take these to Hotel Chili?"
"Who…are you?" The female asked, both she and her boyfriend were confused by her sudden request.
"It's...become a disaster already..." Lucy muttered with a sigh.
"Yup..." Gray agreed and she turned to look at him only to see that he had stripped down to his boxers…once again.
"Your outfit! W-When did you-" Lucy asked in shock.
(On the train)
"Speaking of Fairy Tail...Mirajane's famous, isn't she? She's in magazines sometimes, right? She's also beautiful."
Natsu let out a groan, but it was from annoyance instead of motion sickness. The man who sat in front of him continued to talk to him. 'I can't believe I'm listening to this pervert?' Natsu thought.
"I wonder why she's not active anymore. She's still so young." He continued. "She was as strong as that other beauty you guys have, Erza. I've heard she's a real MILF."
'That tears it, I am going punch this guy until he's bones turn to dust and blood pours out of every part of his body; after I get the information!' Natsu mentally groaned.
"I also hear you guys have another beautiful girl join your guild recently. I wonder her name is. Do you know her?" Natsu let out another groan as he clutched his stomach, like he was try not to throw up. The man paused and Natsu hoped he was done talking, but unfortunately the guy wasn't finished. "I envy your guild. There are so many beautiful girls. My guild doesn't have many girls like yours." He then looked at Natsu with a freaky smile that pissed Natsu off even more. "Would you please share some? I promise that my fellow guild members and I would treat them nicely."
Natsu glared at the man in front of him and quickly grabbed the foot that went towards his face.
"Don't act all high and mighty because you're in a legal guild. You guys are like nothing but harmless little flies to me and my guild, Eisenwald." He said smirking before noticing Natsu caught his foot. "What!?"
"I was waiting for that…You dark wizards really like flapping you gums." Natsu said as his hand was covered in flames, burning the man's foot. "Do you want to know what I call people like you? I call you guys' pathetic."
"Why you-" The man's shadow seemed to grow a little before shooting out of the ground at Natsu, who let go of the man's foot and jumped out of the seat.
"Shadow Magic, huh? That's kinda cliché for a dark wizard." Natsu smirked as he ignited his flames. "So here's the deal; you give me the information on what Eisenwald is planning and what this Lullaby thing is and I won't beat you to a near-death state for how you were talking earlier about my friends and wife, or you resist and I cook you until you can't even move a finger without the agonizing pain from the burns spreading through-out your body and take the information from you painfully…Your choice."
"Such arrogance, you think you are better than us?" A black and purple seal appeared under the man's feet and his shadow split into three tendrils and shot towards Natsu again. "Your weak flames are nothing against my shadows!"
Natsu was silent for a moment before raising his flame covered hand, "You're the arrogant one, I gave you a choice and you chose the worst one…for you." Natsu's flames quickly stretched out and swatted the shadows away with ease, making the man's eyes widen in shock. "So tell me…what is this Lullaby thing your guild-" Natsu was cut off as the train came to a sudden halt and took a small step back to adjust himself.
The man fell forward and hit the ground, as he hit the floor a skull-shaped flute landed in front of them. "What the hell, why'd the train stop?"
"It looks like my team was able to stop the train." Natsu said before noticing the flute, "What that?"
"You saw it!?" Natsu looked back at the man, who was back on his feet.
"…So I'm guessing that's Lullaby, now you need to tell me what are your guild's plans for it." Natsu said as he picked up the flute before the man could reach it.
"Like I would do that!" He shouted back at the rose-haired wizard.
"Fine then," Natsu grabbed the flute with both hand and broke it in half; the man's face was full of shock. "If I break the flute, it can't be used. Tough luck."
"You…Son of a bitch! You'll pay for messing with Eisenwald." The man shouted, "I, Kageyama, will make sure you suffer for that!"
"Oh really?" Natsu grew a grin as he pulled a fist back. "I'd like to see you try! Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Kageyama quickly brought up his shadow to protect him, "Guard Shadow!" The dome barely managed to block the attack for a few seconds before Natsu released the flames around his fist to create and explosion which destroyed the cart and created a huge hole in the ceiling. Kageyama was sent crashing through the wall and landed on his back. "D-Damn y-you fly!"
"Trust me; I'm not even close to finished with you yet." Natsu said as he drew closer, but jumped back as blade of wind crashed down where he was previously standing. He looked up to the sky and saw nothing there. "What the hell?"
"Attention all passengers, we will be leaving for our destination shortly. We apologize for the inconvenience."
Natsu felt a short pull from beneath him before the train started to move again, as it picked up speed another blade of wind, much bigger than the first, cut the cart Natsu and Kageyama resided in half. Natsu's half started to slow down and before Kageyama's went too far, the shadow user stretched his shadow and grabbed the two broken pieces of the flute.
"Just you wait, you pathetic fly! We'll settle this, I swear!" Kageyama shouted as his half of the train disappeared.
"Damn…" Natsu said as he watched with an angry expression as the dark wizard and the train, vanish from his sight. Hearing a noise coming from behind, he turned and saw his team driving up with a Magic Four Wheel Vehicle with Erza at the wheel. "Right on time!"
Natsu jumped off of the train and waited for them to get closer; Erza saw Natsu waiting for them and soon came to a stop. As they pulled up next to the train, Lucy and Happy jumped out and Gray jumped off the roof. Erza detached the plug from her arm and the group walked over to Natsu.
"Natsu, are you okay?" Lucy asked in concern. "What happened? We saw the explosion."
"Did you find someone from Eisenwald?" Erza questioned; wondering if her husband was able to find anything.
"…Yeah, he was a shadow user. I think he was the one you were talking about earlier, the one who released the seal to get Lullaby." Natsu said as he looked in the direction the train left. "I had him cornered and about to interrogate him, but something or someone got in the way and split the cart just as the train was moving again."
"Did you at least see what this Lullaby thing was?" Gray asked with narrow eyes.
"Yeah, well I think it was it. The guy seemed very protective of it and angry that I saw it." Natsu explained as he remembered the weird looking flute. "It looked like a flute with a skull on it and had three eyes. But I broke it in half so I think its useless now."
Lucy seemed to freeze up as she heard that description, which everyone noticed. "Is something wrong Lucy?" Happy asked as he watched the girl shake a little.
"I've heard about that flute...Lullaby, the Cursed Song. It's Death Magic!" Lucy concluded after putting the piece of the puzzle together that were in her mind.
" Death Magic, as in death incantations?" Gray questioned.
"Yes, there are many types of Curse Magic that kills anyone it used on." Erza confirmed, she was once again sat in the driver's seat of the magical car.
"But since I broke it in half, there should be no issue, right?" Natsu asked as he sat on the roof above Erza.
"Lullaby is a lot worse than that." Lucy informed as she approached the car. "With the power it has, it will most likely repair itself."
"So that means we have to hurry and stop them before they can use it. Whatever their plan is, if it involves something like that, then we don't have any time to lose!" Erza shouted as she charged a lot of magic into the vehicle and once everyone was secure, it sped off after the train.
(Back at the guild)
Nova was sitting next to Mirajane as she gave a magic letter to a bird. With a small nod it flew off to deliver a letter to Makarov in Clover Town, it contained a small message that Mirajane was sure he would want to hear.
"Do you think Grandpa will like our letter Aunt Mira?" Nova asked as Mirajane sat down next to her.
"Of course he will, Nova. I'm sure it's something he'll always remember." She gave the little girl a smile and a pat on the head.
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A/N: Chapter Twelve completed, I hope it was enjoyable for all you readers out there. Be sure to review and no flames. I will ignore them and they will be given to Natsu. Also, I have created a NarutoXRosario+Vampire crossover called The Dhampir of Yokai Academy so I will try to balance both out in my updates.
Omake
A chibi Lucy, Mirajane and Happy stood in front of the mission board.
Lucy (Face resting against hand): I'm so curious…
Happy (Head cocked to side): Curious about what Lucy?
Lucy (Looking at Mirajane with arms behind her): Mira, you said that Erza, Natsu and Gray make the strongest team in Fairy Tail, right?
Mirajane (Nodding with a smile): Uh-huh, though Erza and Natsu are stronger than Gray, he is still one of our strongest.
Lucy (Looking up with a wondering look): So who is the strongest on the team? Erza or Natsu?
Mirajane (Hands together in front): I can't really say, they haven't sparred in a while…Maybe we can have them fight it out to see!
Happy (Pointing at Mirajane): But if we did that, the town could be destroyed.
Lucy (Freaked out expression): Just how strong are those two!
Happy, Lucy and Mirajane: Next time on The Fairy Flame Dragon…Chapter 13– Team Natsu vs. Eisenwald
Happy: I don't have to worry about crazy stuff like that because I'm a cat.