Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail, Rave Master, and Eden's Zero are all owned by Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.
Chapter 10: Siri of the Pink Winds
(Que Fairy Tail OP)
With the hall destroyed, the guild was settled in the basement for jobs. Team Natsu searched for Makarov, who settled himself on a box. By the flushed color of his cheeks, Makarov was drunk. There was even a slur in his voice as he spoke.
"Hey, kids." greeted Makarov, chugging a mug of beer, "What's up?"
"Uh, hi, master." replied Cynthia, noticing his weird attitude.
Natsu barked, "Why the heck are we all sitting around here for?"
"How'd it go, little Mavis?" slurred Makarov, "Did you get back from the job like a good girl?"
"Um, master," Cynthia corrected, "I don't know who this Mavis is."
"In a way." Lucy answered Makarov.
Erza stepped up. "Master, do you understand the gravity of the situation?"
"There's no need to get yourselves worked up over nothing." replied Makarov, "It's not the end of the world or anything. Those Phantom Lord cowards attacked when nobody was in the guild just so the Council wouldn't smack them good."
"I suppose we can be thankful for that." said Erza.
"We shouldn't trouble ourselves with cowards afraid to face us head on." added Makarov, "Forget about those fools."
Suddenly, Natsu punched the wall to his right to splinters. As Lucy glanced over to him, she noticed Cynthia was also shaking head-to-toe with rage. It wasn't as immediate as someone calling her short, but Lucy could tell this was worse with the start-up.
"Ain't gonna happen, gramps!" snapped Natsu, "We can't let Phantom Lord get away with this."
"I'm not talking anymore about this." said Makarov.
"Like hell we aren't!" said Natsu, raising his voice.
"Natsu," yelled Makarov, extending his hand via magic, "that's enough out of you."
His hand instead reached to spank Lucy's behind. Her reflexes saved from any embarrassment by swiping away the hand with a little bit of slayer strength to combat Makarov.
"Hands to yourself, master." warned Mira in the most threatening, yet still innocent tone she's ever spoken yet.
Makarov giggled and went out of the basement. Lucy could feel the tension of anger from Natsu, and even some from her team mates.
"I don't get why the master is acting like this." said Natsu.
"Maybe because he's had a few too many beers." said Cynthia.
"This is just as hard on Master Makarov as it is on all of us." said Mira, "He's mad, but conflict between the guilds is strictly forbidden by the Council."
"It's no fair, those creeps started it." said Cynthia and Natsu.
"If the master's wishes is to not retaliate," said Erza, "then we must respect it."
Despite the length, Lucy didn't feel fatigued from taking a long walk to Natsu's house. There was some drive in Lucy that made no matter the distance possible as long as she thought of that destination. Just to see Natsu's goofy, yet somehow pleasing face. At the very least, all her stuff was there so it lightened the walking load.
When Lucy opened the door into Natsu's home, she prepared a smile solely for her fellow fire slayer. What she got was more she could chew. In the family room (if one can call it that in the short time Lucy fixed the place up) were Erza and Gray.
"I can't believe you can stick up living with lizard boy." said Gray.
Lucy half didn't know why she decided to kick Gray aside. It was like at the instinct level, Lucy knew he was unwelcome. Natsu wasn't too happy as well, but Lucy figured Erza tagged along to force the prospect.
Lucy lost her steam and calmed down. Erza made tea for everyone and she joined them by the tiny table. When she glanced to Natsu next to her, they both had the same pout on their face. None of them were welcome in their home.
"Since the guild's been attacked," said Erza, "we can assume Phantom Lord knows where our homes are."
"Well does it matter coming to our home?" said Lucy, glancing to Natsu, "No one lives near here, and if anybody comes near here Natsu and I can pick up their scent."
"Yet you didn't smell us." said Gray.
"Shut it." said Natsu/Lucy.
"You have a point," admitted Erza, sipping her tea, "but we can't be too careful with this guild."
"Everyone in the guild is having a slumber party." said Happy.
"Besides," said Erza, "being a teenage, beautiful girl, I wasn't entirely comfortable with having you alone with Natsu."
Gray was about to make an addition to that statement, but Natsu and Lucy got to their feet, slammed their hands on the table, and leered at Erza. It was understandable for Lucy since she wasn't afraid of Erza, but it was surprising of Natsu to stand up the way he did to Erza right then and there.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" snapped Lucy/Natsu.
For once, it looked they broke a few walls in Erza's composure. Her eyes were wide and some sweat went down her forehead. The combined glare of a demon and dragon could shake down even Erza.
"My apologies." said Erza, trying to keep her voice steady. She wasn't one to test Lucy's strength, not after their mission in Clover. "I completely misunderstood the whole thing. Just - never mind what I said."
Lucy and Natsu sighed and slumped back in their seats. Happy flew over them and stated, "Why do you think Lucy agreed to move into Natsu's house?"
The Demon Slayer wrapped Happy in a hellfire whip and slammed him to the ground. Happy cried in forgiveness, but the blue furball had it coming. Plu found a candy and Natsu was more than curious to find out where the spirit found it. Happy rummaged through Lucy's luggage that she hadn't unpacked yet and found her "personal" style of underwear. Even Erza was aghast at her taste in clothing. Natsu's stuff was only vests and pants.
'I am going to murder them all.' thought Lucy, clenching a fist.
"Say, Erza," said Lucy, calming down, "what would happen if we went to war with Shadow Gear."
"Both of us would be destroyed." answered Erza, "What we have in strength, they have in numbers. Makarov is a Wizard Saint, but so is the master of Phantom Lord. The battle would be too equal that none of us would make it out as the victor."
Lucy smiled. "You forgetting something. I'm also a Wizard Saint, and Cynthia is a complete wild card because her Illusion magic is something to be feared."
Natsu sprang at Lucy with a hug. "Ha-ha. That's Lucy for ya."
"Listen here." said Erza, "I refuse to sleep in a room that reeks of sweat."
"That's something I can agree with you." agreed Lucy, "Since this house is also mine, I order you all to take a bath. I'll go first so I can clean up the bathroom from whatever Natsu does in there."
The nausea of cleaning the bathroom quickly was well worth it. Lucy didn't bother using warm water since her body could just heat up the regular water. It was relaxing to be in a warm bath for the first via using her own heat. She only bathed in rivers, and rarely at that since she was always on the move. Even still, Lucy retained a sense of hygiene every time she cleaned herself from her childhood days.
Lucy finished soon for the others, and a quick increase in her temperature dried her off. The steam condensed back into water on her clothes, but she didn't mind. This was the cleanest Lucy has ever been in a while.
"Okay, Natsu, you're up." called Lucy as she got out of the bathroom.
Nastu looked bored as hell with his head on the table. When he looked to Lucy, Natsu's attitude changed dramatically into a smile.
"What?" questioned Lucy.
"You look like you enjoyed that bath a lot." said Natsu, "I didn't think you could make that smile."
Lucy's cheeks blushed as red as her demon skin, but her gaze could hardly look away from him. Her mind automatically memorized the muscle memory in those cheeks so she can always make that smile for him. That smile stretched just a little farther.
Meanwhile, Natsu was beating himself up in his mental world.
'What the fuck am I saying?!' thought Natsu, 'Work with me, brain. I don't want to drive her out of my house on the first night together.'
"Tha-" stuttered Lucy, trying her hardest to keep eye contact, "Thank you, Natsu."
Natsu was at a loss of words for a moment. Happy bore witness to the strange, unspoken tension between the fire slayers. He flew in between and said at the top of his lungs, "You liiiike each other."
"I WILL HANG YOU TO A TREE!" screamed Lucy, grabbing for the nearest blunt object to beat Happy over with. In the midst of Lucy's murderous spree, Natsu took the liberty to go to the bathroom. For Lucy's sake, he wouldn't make a mess of it again after her hard work. Before Natsu closed the door, Lucy called to him once she got Happy in a strangling grip.
"Natsu," Lucy asked, "who's looking after Cynthia?"
"That's," said Natsu, "Team Shadow Gear. Don't worry. Cynthia is perfectly fine with them."
In the morning, the air had a dreadful mood to it. The guild had gathered to a tree had the Magnolia South Gate Park. They spoke in terrorized and hushed voices. On the tree were all the members of Shadow Gear, pinned to the trunk by iron, bruised from a beating, and the Phantom Lord symbol painted on their abdomen. Adding to Shadow Gear was Cynthia herself, who looked like she had taken the worst of it.
When Team Natsu arrived, they were in shock. Their hearts threatened to stop at the sight of their happy, innocent team member hanging there beaten. Natsu clenched his jaw, and the howls of a dragon resonated in his throat. The anger was worse as her very blood boiled at the sight of her dear friend strewn up like a doll.
Soft footsteps approached them. Erza automatically identified him as Master Makarov.
"Master." said Erza.
Makarov was almost as furious as Lucy. Seeing Cynthia on the tree was like seeing the First Master hanged and beaten. Such an atrocity to Fairy Tail itself will not go by without bloodshed.
"I can take our headquarters being reduced to rubble." stated Makarov, squeezing his staff apart, "But I will not let harm come to my children. This is war."
Suddenly, a mighty pressure and heat like nothing else descended on them. No, the entire town. Lucy was engulfed in a pillar of solid golden fire so hot, it made Natsu sweat. Those flashing pink eyes gave the true depths of a demon's wrath that punctured even Erza's soul. In the blink of an eye, Team Shadow Gear were released, but Cynthia lay in Lucy's arms, who had transformed into Demonforce right before everyone's eyes. A force ripped through the air, and the tree that stood so tall in the park was reduced to a charred stump. Even Makarov was uneasy by this power. Then again, they were both Wizard Saints.
"No." snarled Lucy, "I will break every bone they have. I will make their worst nightmares seem like dreams. And for the one who did this to Cynthia, I will tear off his limbs, stuff down his head, and eat - his - SOUL! This is no war. This will be a massacre!"
Phantom Lord was laughing over their little present they left Fairy Tail. Gajeel was up in the beams in the ceiling munching on some iron, and Master Jose was on the second floor. Three members decided to go out and clip the wings of a member of Fairy Tail. The door blasted apart in front, sending them flying. When they expected a whole assault, there was only one Fairy. But one would have a more accurate guess at calling her a devil. The Northern Devil has come calling for their souls of sinners once again.
It wasn't Lucy like in her raids with Cynthia. This was the Northern Devil before meeting Cynthia, where she attacked with such brutality that put in demonic fear through the entire guild in her presence. The pressure of her power was staggering like Makarov's, but her heat was so torrid it struck at their hearts. When they all charged Lucy down, it was only on the instinct to survive.
"Fire Demon's Scorching Blastshell."
Lucy fired off a bomb of demon fire that sent most of the guild in the air. She moved so fast taking out the others in close combat. It was quick, but brutal. Lucy made sure her fists crushed bone. If one fell before her squirming, Lucy didn't hesitate to pummel him or her on the ground a few times before smashing down her foot. To Lucy, it was like her days raiding dark guilds. Already, the high of decimating them turned her fury into sadism, and her demon skin crawled to her right shoulder only to stop at her left elbow.
"This is just one of Fairy Tail's goons, right?!"
"She's so strong."
"Strong?! She's a complete monster."
"Could that be the Northern Devil?!"
Above, Gajeel was not composed. "What's going on? Only one Fairy, and she's doing all this damage. Brutal, too. This was not what the Master planned. At least I can smell Makarov, but he's still outside. Are... they afraid of her?"
Gajeel let out a gasp of shock when he heard Lucy cackling. She had gone fully demonic with eyes devoid of any humanity. A hellfire whip in one hand completely decimated a whole line with just one swing. One member got the drop on her, but he was slammed to the ground and Lucy smashed a knee on his chest breaking a rib.
"Where's your elite?!" demanded Lucy with a demon's smile, "I'll rip out their souls and crush them into paste."
'That girl's a complete monster!' thought Gajeel, 'Fairies are supposed to be absolute wimps. How is she in a guild with them?'
The guy she completely brutalized was still clinging to consciousness. Lucy had the full intent to burn the guy to ash right then and there but a roar of a dragon broke Lucy out of her bloodlust. It was time for Team Natsu to join the fight, joined by Master Makarov. Gajeel expected their entire guild, but at least the plan was back in action as long as Makarov was here.
"So she was the shock troop the weed them down." said Gajeel, "Clever plan."
As soon as Makarov made his way to Jose, Gajeel made his entrance. He instantly locked vicious eyes with Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayer. Before he even sprung at Natsu, the Demon Slayer slammed his face down for vengeance. Gajeel looked up at pink eyes filled with rage.
"You!" snarled Lucy, "You're the one who hurt Cynthia. I'll end-"
"Iron Dragon's Roar."
Gajeel breathed a torrent of ripping iron dust point-blank, blowing Lucy away. Her arms stung and she found bleeding cuts on her arms. The pain only served as a fuel for her wrath.
"Another Dragon Slayer?!" exclaimed Lucy, "I thought Natsu was the only one."
"Iron Dragon's Club."
Gajeel's arm extended into a club of iron aimed for Lucy. Natsu jumped in between and caught the club with a flaming hand. His fingers were so hot that they squeezed the iron like clay.
"The rumors are true." said Gajeel, "You more powerful than you look. And you two seem to be really close."
'Rumors about us.' thought Lucy, thinking about what gossip people talk about them.
"That actually burns a little." added Gajeel, retracting his smoking hand.
"We'll bring it double." barked Natsu, glancing to Lucy. They raged the fires within them and puffed their cheeks.
"Bring it on." cried Gajeel, "I'll take you all on."
"Fire Dragon's Roar."
"Fire Demon's Rage."
The others were surely confident that their combined breath would take down Gajeel in one fell swoop. However, a third party had something to say about that. Something crashed from the second floor, and dragon and demon fires were put out by a gale of pink wind. A teenage girl of seventeen stood by Gajeel with the Phantom Lord symbol painted a sickly green on her forehead to compliment her maroon hair in a large ponytail on the back of her head. Her eyes were an odd mix of yellow and black like burning flames. The girl wore black stockings reaching above her knee and a blue skirt with windows to her sides. Twirling stripes of cloth went down her arms for sleeves. Her right foot seemed to be resting on something.
"Who is that?" asked Gray.
"I don't know but," said Erza, "I'm getting a bad vibe from her."
Her smile lowered a bit overlooking Team Natsu. She expected all of Fairy Tail, but the meager number of Team Natsu beating all her guild mates disgusted her. That smile fixed itself into one of pure joy over Lucy.
"Siri," grumbled Gajeel, "what are you doing? Ain't you sticking to the plan master Jose. Just because you replaced Aria on the Element Four doesn't mean you can go against the old man's orders."
"I did." answered Siri, her voice high pitched, "I can't let you have the all the fun, but this is such a disappointment. I now most of the guild are fodder, but this is ridiculous. Oh, and by the way I didn't replace Aria, I ate him."
'Ate him?' thought Lucy, 'This bitch is crazier than I and Erza combined.'
"You replaced Aria, the most powerful of the Element Four?!" exclaimed Erza in disbelief, "Who are you?"
Siri laughed. "I can't believe the great Queen of the Fairies is getting worked up over that. Ha-ha-ha. That weakling didn't deserve to be in this guild. I am Master Jose's precious little protege."
"I don't care who you are." roared Lucy, golden flames burning around her, "I'll burn you with blockhead. Fire Demon's Rage."
Siri's smile widened and a strange growth of color went up her arm. The flames were so bright that they were blinded, but a roar similar to Lucy rivaled her power.
"Sky Demon's Rage."
Lucy's golden flamethrower was canceled out by a torrent of pink wind. Hellwinds. If Lucy didn't see it now, she definitely saw it when the dust cleared. Siri's entire right side was changed in a pink demon skin and her eyes bore down with a bright gold shine. Erza, Lucy, Gray, Natsu, and Happy were aghast as their eyes lay on Phantom Lord's own Demon Slayer.
"She's a Demon Slayer?!" exclaimed Gray.
"Yes." moaned Siri aloud, "That's definitely the Demon Slayer magic I've been looking for. As much as I would like to fight with you, demon-to-demon, it wouldn't be in your best interests."
Siri picked up something from the ground. The raiding team went as pale as the near-death Makarov that Siri held. Erza sword hand shook so much that it threatened to drop her weapon, and her knees buckled. Natsu's flames coughed out from the shock. But Lucy had another reason to bash the girl and Gajeel as her fists tightened with a crack.
"I pity you." Siri said, "He didn't stand a chance against me. Then again, I did take all his magic."
Siri held her left hand over Makarov's mouth and she took out his soul. The gaseous blue light condensed in her left palm and Siri held it to her mouth. She eyed Lucy with a smirk.
"Want a bite, Lucy?" mocked Siri, "After all, you of all people like myself would know the tastes of a soul. This one is finely aged with flavor. You yourself ate scores of criminals, didn't you? Tell me, why does the Northern Devil hang around a bunch of softies?"
Lucy tried to say the words, but they died out before leaving her lips.
"So what's it gonna be, Fairy Tail?" asked Siri, holding the soul closer to her lips, "Your master or this fight?"
Without hesitance, Team Natsu lowered their guard. Siri tossed Makarov into Erza's arms. She held the master with utmost care, and he was barely clinging to life with his magic gone. Erza's knees gave out and she started to shed tears.
"You." snarled Lucy, glaring at Siri, "All of you are going to die in agony."
"Ooh." said Siri, "I'll be sure on that threat, Northern Devil. But here's the thing. This all your fault after all. All this is a job sent by the elder of the Heartfilia family."
Lucy eyes went wide with shock. Natsu and the others were at a loss. She couldn't mean that Lucy was from that family?
"That's right." said Siri, 'You're poor father is worried about her dear daughter after she ran away three years ago."
'That's impossible.' thought Lucy, 'Dad's dead. The entire Heartfilia name should be in shambled. Unless...'
"We'll finish on your turf, Salamander." said Gajeel.
Team Natsu retreated with broken spirits. Erza summoned all her courage and pride in Fairy Tail to not collapse on the ground from the shame of failing Makarov. Lucy held a troublesome pang in her head. Something was going on behind the shadows, masked as the Heartfilias.
Who could be behind the hiring for Lucy's capture? Up next is the Battle for Fairy Tail. Stay in touch. Please leave a review.
