Woo, look at me go! I'm on a roll here, what is this, three updates in 2021? who am i and what have i done with myself. updated 10/8/21
"You have to stop taking risks like that, Natsu." Whirl lashes her tail anxiously, kneading the ground between her claws. "I— we won't always be there to catch you."
Natsu laughs, uncaring of his soaked clothes. "But you are!"
Erza hit the brakes as soon as there was a thump from the roof, skidding the Magic Mobile to a stop. It screeched in protest at the treatment but it obeyed, which is all that mattered for her purposes. "Natsu!" She calls, twisting in her seat to stare up at where Gray had been.
"I got them!" Erza twisted around the other way and found Lucy hanging out of the window of the carriage, both of her hands wrapped around one of Grays, who in turn was holding onto Natsu. The celestial spirit mage was steadily sliding forwards out of the vehicle, and she was clearly starting to struggle—the weight of the two other wizards was too much for her to comfortably hold. "Uh, a little help here?"
Once everyone was on solid ground, Gray turned on Natsu, clearly seething. "What the hell was that all about? We were trying to catch up with you, not whatever that was!"
Natsu huffed indignantly, before remembering his temper and reigning it in. "Sorry, I should have given you more warning. There was a dark guild member on the train," he starts, before Erza cuts him off.
"A dark guild member? He didn't happen to have a flute on him, did he? About this big," she made out the size of it with her hands, before going on to describe the rest of the flute.
"Uh, yeah, that exactly. how did you-"
"That was Lullaby! We need to catch up with that train—everyone in the car, now!" Erza replaced the cuff around her arm, waiting the minimum amount of time that she could to make sure that everyone was in the vehicle before pouring a steady stream of magic into the engines. Her magic wasn't best suited to this, but she had more than enough to make it work. She only hoped that they caught up with the train before—well. Before it was too late.
In the back, crammed together, Lucy winced in sympathy as motion sickness took ahold of the dragon slayer. Granted, it was far from the first time she had been in a moving vehicle with him, but it did little to change the fact his illness looked unpleasant at best. Over his hunched back, she could make out a similar expression on Grays face. Leftover resentment from being tackled off of a vehicle was clearly fading.
"Lullaby, huh?" he proposes eventually. "Wanna bet that's what Erza dragged us out here for?"
"Bet? No way, that's definitely what she dragged us out here for."
Without having to compete with the train for space, Erza was able to push the magic mobile to move much faster, and it was only half an hour of further travel before they veered into town. Unusually, the roads were completely deserted. It was if the town had been completely deserted, or somehow they had caught wind of the encroaching danger and hid. Not that hiding would shield them from Lullabys death melody.
Things only began to pick up as they approached the train station itself, which had security milling around outside, though it didn't look like they had made any attempts to breach the station. As soon as they were close enough one of the guards flagged them down, looking vaguely relieved. "Hey! You! Please stop and exit the vehicle!" and then, as they did, "You're members of Fairy Tail, right? Oh, thank the heavens. Please, I don't have time for a formal job request, but the dark guild Eisenwald has taken control of the station. We don't have any mages that are strong enough to take them on."
"Of course," Erza assured the man, "We're already here on guild business regarding Eisenwald. Clear your men from the entrance, and we will take care of this."
Relief flooded the mans features, and within a minute security had cleared the premises. Erza required a sword to hand as she stepped towards the sealed double doors, pausing once only to look back at her teammates. "Everyone ready?"
Gray took her left side as Lucy stepped to her right, both of them preparing their own spells. Natsu fell in behind them as Happy lingered off to the side; still looking ever so slightly ill, but miles better than he had looked even a minute ago.
"Ready to go, Erza," they chorused, and she cleaved the doors open with one practiced blow.
Within the train station was chaos; little kindness had been spared for the unwitting passengers on the train, though thankfully many were left alive, likely to be used as hostages. Erza swept past them, batting away members with the flat of her blade. Lucy took point in front of them, calling Taurus out of the celestial spirit world to act as guard. "Go, run! There are people outside, get to them!"
Those that could flee, fled. Those that couldn't were helped, and within moments the hostages were cleared. Then, and only then, did Erza requip to her Heavens Wheel armour, sending her blades spinning into the guild. It wasn't a slaughter; Fairy Tail, for all its destructive reputation, was still a light guild, and Erza was very, very good at incapacitating people without killing them. Lucy set Taurus loose on those that drifted too close, but Gray had his sights set higher; while Erza hadn't had time to brief them on Eisenwald, it was far from the first dark guild he had dealt with. If there were any senior members, they weren't going to want to deal with Titania.
Sure enough— there! On the second level, peering over the balcony, a group of two with the common sense to stay out of the melee. Natsu wasn't participating in the fight; Gray grabbed him by the sleeve, dragging him up the stairs. "Cmon, we're going to deal with the bigger fish."
Natsu stumbled on the first step and recovered on the second, pulling his sleeve free of Grays grip. "On it!"
And, above it all; Erigor. Perched in a cradle of wind, the dark mage smiled, twirling Lullaby between his fingers. This town would have been a nice bonus, enough death to really get their name on the map, but it wasn't his real goal. The fairies hadn't seemed to realize that yet, or that they had stepped right into his trap. Hah, classic light guild arrogance. No one ever plays dirty in fights, not when you have the Magic Council looming over your shoulder. Hahah.
Well, it was about time for him to make his entrance. He held his scythe out in one hand, let his magic wrap neatly around the blade, dropped it. Titania, to her credit, noticed the falling blade before it had chance to find purchase in her flesh. Imbued with wind magic, it cleaved through the first blade she held up to guard, halfway through the second. Gleaming metal came to rest an inch from her nose, and she glared at him from behind it, the anger he had been hoping for in her eyes. "Erigor!"
It was always more fun when they fought.
.•.•.•.
The two clearly noticed Natsu and Grays approach, as by the time they reached where they had stood, they were gone. Glancing over the railing showed Erza finding a new foe in Erigor with Lucy as backup, which meant the two senior members were his responsibility. Or, his and Natsu's; speaking of him, the dragon slayer was sniffing the air sort of like how a dog would if it found an interesting scent.
"One went left, the other went right." And with that, he bolted to the right, leaving no time for Gray to respond. What a bizarre guy Lucy had found. Well, as long as he could hold his own in a fight, Gray didn't take any issue with him. (And as long as he didn't try to tackle him off of any more moving vehicles.)
Left it is.
Truthfully, Natsu only took the right path because he recognized that scent; the guy on the train. If anyone had Lullaby, it was probably going to be him. Besides, Natsu had a bone to pick with the guy after all his grandstanding.
As he progressed down the hall, the sharp scent of shadow magic greeted him, accompanied by shuffling behind him. Thought he could pull off a sneak attack, did he? A sharp lash of lightning proved otherwise, scattering the gathered shadows and illuminating the mans hiding spot. Not even a proper attack yet, but the guy still looked terrified.
Not hesitating because of that simple fact, Natsu spun on his heel, bringing his hands forwards to launch an Electric Dragon Wing Attack, which the guy didn't even attempt to dodge. Yeesh. His body slumped down against the brick wall, and Natsu kicked it to make sure he was actually out and not just faking. Damn. He had been hoping for more of a fight than that.
Rooting through the mans pockets didn't turn up what he was looking for, so with one last glance back to make sure he was still out and not planning a sneak attack (which he wasn't; dammit) Natsu made his way back to the central area, where he had last seen Erza. Gray probably had the other guy handled.
(He did.)
He stepped into the room just in time to see Erza come down like a meteor, in a brand new set of armour. Twin black wings sprouted from her back, looking almost draconic in design, a motif that was carried over in the rest of the blackened metal. A snarling dragons face was laid over the helmet, a twisting silver dragon snaked up one leg, across the breastplate, down the arm holding a long silver blade that arced towards Erigor's smirking face. The man drifted around the blow, twisting his body up in a way that defied gravity as his boot connected with Erza's chin. Her head snapped back and in a flash she was back in the first suit, modeled after a high-necked dress but crafted out of plates of overlapping steel, complemented by the dual sets of metal wings on its back. A row of swords shot after Erigor, and then another, but like a dandelion puff in the breeze he simply drifted out of the way.
It looked like he was toying with her more than fighting her, and clearly Erza could see that too. Another flash and she was back to her regular outfit, simple steel sword in one hand.
"Oh? Giving up, are we?" Erigor cackled, spinning his scythe around to serve as a seat under him. "Should have expected as much from you fairies."
Erza ignored him, raising her blade so the tip was equal with his heart. "Erigor. Where is Lullaby?"
He looked surprised for all of a moment, "Asking nicely now? Well, shame I don't feel like being very polite."
Footsteps from behind him; Gray. The ice mage was slightly out of breath, but was otherwise unharmed, and at Natsu's attention he shook his head. "My guy didn't have Lullaby. Not with you?" and then, after Natsu shook his head, he leaned over the railing to call "Erza! It's gotta be on him!"
Erigor sneered at him, and in the next second he wasn't there anymore, breezing away from Erza yet again. A flash, and she requipped to a new set of armour, this one clearly fashioned after a cheetah. It lacked any metal in favour of slightly more flexible leather and cloth, and that was as much detail about it that Natsu could glean before she was simply gone; moving as fast as a strike of lightning. For the first time in their fight, Erigor bled.
Red painted Erza's blades as she caught herself on the far wall of the station, blurring to a halt for all of a heartbeat before she was gone again. Panicked, Erigor threw up a defending wall of wind, meant to shred through skin and bone alike, and then Erza was there, his guard blown wide open. She was pulling her sword back, wasn't that strange, and then Erigor fell to his knees as he realized she had gotten the best of him in the end, she had driven her blade through his stomach.
Another brilliant flash as she requipped back to her usual outfit, attention off of him. "Lucy? Over here. Erigor is defeated, but he might bleed out. Do you have any bandages?" of course she wouldn't be looking at him; he lost resoundingly. Had he actually been toying with her, or had she been toying with him? He grit his teeth, removed his hand from his wound, sought out Lullaby. The ancient wood drank from his blood greedily, and within moments his hand was dry.
Erza still wasn't looking at him, assuming the injured man was out for the count. If not her, then anyone else paying attention would be too far to do anything. Even so, he was not a fool; surely, if he were to raise the flute to his lips, it would be stolen from him before he could play the first note. But the flute had given him an idea.
He took the ancient wood and pressed it against the wound in his chest.
.•.•.•.
Natsu was the first to notice something was wrong. The smell of iron in the air was rapidly being devoured by something else, something that reeked of decay. Not from the second level, or Gray, Erza, Lucy. Not from any of the downed dark guild members… except… no, it was! Erigor sat doubled over, scythe out of reach, hands pressed to his middle, but there was no blood.
"Erza! Look out, he's planning something!" He vaulted the railing, dropping to the first level with Gray barely a beat behind. The wood in Erigors hands— because that was what it was, wood, not a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding, it was old wood that was grown more than carved, it was Lullaby. Erza, in a bold move, gripped his wrists and wrenched Lullaby away from the wound, but it had already swollen like a fat tick, twisting and bubbling in his grasp.
Erigor might have laughed as he fell, but if he did the noise was buried under the groaning of a thousand trees as Lullaby grew and twisted and distorted. Erza sprung backwards out of range, snagging Lucy by the back of her shirt as she went. Natsu threw a wave of fire at it, which devoured a handful of new growths nestling in at Lullaby's sides, but that did nothing to hinder it. Gray pushed him back and threw up a dome of ice over the two of them as Lullaby grew, and grew, and grew.
By the time it stopped it had gone through the ceiling. It's torso bore semblance to a humans, but the arms were too long, and double jointed, and the legs were more like the underside of a pill bug, dozens upon dozens of branching pairs, crooked and digging into the station floor. The three eyed skull remained the same, though swollen in size. It's jaw swung open, strips of wood lashing themselves from jawbone to cheek like strips of muscle, and it inhaled, a deep, rattling sound.
"It's planning to use it's death song!" Shouted Erza, who had adapted to the situation faster than any of them, but who wouldn't be fast enough if the demon were to begin singing.
And it wanted to. Oh, Lullaby wanted to. But, crucially, what Lullaby wanted more was magical power. Erigor was a decent base, the ace of a dark guild, but he wasn't good enough. No, Lullaby would need more magic power to sustain it. More, more, more. It inhaled, tasting the air, considered Erza, found something more promising close enough. It turned, building shredding around it like paper, setting it's three-eyed sight on Clover Town.
"Stop it!" Erza called again, requipping to her Heavens Wheel armour and sending a barrage of blades after the flute. Many of them bit through Lullaby's legs but did little to slow the creature or distract it from its goal. Lucy popped up from where she had been deposited, directing Taurus to attack, but there was little he could do; Lullaby, for all of its bulk, was fast, and it easily outpaced the bull.
If there was one positive, it was that as soon as Lullaby moved, it revealed the icy dome that Gray and Natsu were both still hidden under— while the ice was cracked, heavily, it was still in one piece, and it was by that fact alone that the two of them weren't crushed. Natsu threw another wave of flame after it as soon as he could, to no avail. It would take a much more concentrated effort to take Lullaby down now, a concentrated effort that they didn't have.
"Damn it," Erza cussed, requipping to her flight armour again in preparation to pursue Lullaby.
"Erza, wait! You can't go after that thing alone, look at what it did to Erigor!" Gray gestured to the fallen dark mage, who looked as if his corpse had lain there for years. Erza grit her teeth, hesitated, and requipped back out of the simplistic armour. Despite this concession, she strode forwards, towards Gray, stepping over Erigor without a backwards glance.
"We can't allow that thing to roam free. It's… my fault that it got loose, I should have been paying closer attention."
"I'm not saying that we let that thing run wild," and here Gray looked truly angry, "do you really think I'm suggesting we let an etherious loose on the country?"
"No! Gray, that's not what I—"
"You brought us along on this job, didn't you? Then work with us! Did you even know it could do that?"
"I—"
"Uh, guys? I hate to interrupt, but we should probably be arguing less, following Lullaby more. Where's it even going?" Lucy, who had since dismissed Taurus, ventured. "I mean, it's kind of weird for it to leave like that, right?"
"If it's following the rails, then it's going to Clover Town," ventured Natsu, who was studying one of the rail maps provided nearby.
"Clover Town?" Repeated Gray, "Isn't that where—"
"Master Makarov!" gasped Erza, "It's heading for the guild masters!"
.•.•.•.
Makarov stood a little ways out of town, folding and unfolding the magazine he held. Open. Shut. Open. Shut. Well, surely if he kept his enjoyment of it private… Ah, but then he knew Mirajane personally, would it be weird? No, he was better at separating things than that. Besides, it was more than just Mirajane in here. But if she found out… a full body shudder ran its course, and he closed the magazine again. He could… edit it, later. And then burn the evidence, because if Mirajane found cut-outs of her swimsuit shoot in his office, he genuinely might not make it out alive.
Oh, right, Lullaby.
Of course he noticed Lullaby! He isn't a complete buffoon, he noticed as soon as the flute was unsealed. He wouldn't be surprised if all the guild masters knew. The fact he had taken his magazine somewhere so conveniently in its path was no mere coincidence— of all the guild masters that had arrived at the gathering, he was by far the best suited to deal with it.
But now, as the death flute grew close enough he could hear its approach— he heard another thing.
Yelling.
What he wouldn't bet that those were members of his guild out there, hassling the thing. Why, he's almost proud. (Entirely proud, actually, but it's best not to let the Magic Council know that…)
Folding the magazine in half and tucking it away, he wanders to the tree line and squints out into the darkness. Lullaby cuts a rather imposing shape— the moon is but a sliver in the sky, and the stars do their best to make up for it but it's still a dark night, and the demon is lit only by its own glowing eyes and occasional flits of magic.
He only needs to watch for a moment to identify his children— a brilliant sheen from behind Lullaby's head, illuminating it like the branches through a canopy before there is the ringing sound of sword meeting wood— Erza. Faintly luminescent ice crackles and groans as it climbs Lullaby's torso like a wave over a beach before shattering— Gray. The chime of a great heavenly bell— Lucy, and one of her celestial spirits.
"Now!" Someone screams— possibly all three of them, though he doubts it, and flame races up Lullaby's back and engulfs it in full, finally fully illuminating the scene. The fire clings to the wooden figure, and for the first time since Makarov began watching, it seems to notice that it's under attack. It's jaw parts into a great, ragged scream, and Lullaby beats its offense into the earth beneath them— there is a cry of surprise, and then roots surge upwards, twisting towards his children. Were it any other group, Makarov would intervene, but in this case he simply stands back to watch.
They reward his surety— the roots are easily dispelled by blade and fire, the Mages themselves defended from harm by ice.
Ah, that does beg the question— which of them is wielding the fire? Perhaps they brought that new guild member along, Natsu. Makarov remembers him, but not the magic he claimed to use. Fire did seem to suit him fairly well, with his pink hair.
He would call it irresponsible, bringing a brand new guild member on this sort of job, but he's never been that type of person. If he can handle it, then let him!
Lullaby wails again, and then draws in a great, wheezing breath, wooden chest expanding in preparation. "It's going to sing!" yells someone— this time, he recognizes the voice as Erza— "Stop it!"
.•.•.•.
"You're certain?"
Past her initial panic, Erza stands surveying the rail map, trying to find any sort of shortcut that would let them cut Lullaby off. The possibility grows more and more unlikely with every passing moment, and yet she tries. Lucy and Gray are scrounging for a functional vehicle for them to… borrow. Natsu stands and watches as the massive form of Lullaby gradually shrinks, before turning to Erza, "If that thing starts trying to sing, I can stop it."
Which leads to Erza's question.
Quite frankly, the answer is no. He isn't. Lullaby is— well, it's not beyond the scale of anything he's faced before, but it's been years and Jude since he's faced a dragon, and he has no idea how his strength now would compare.
That doesn't matter, though. He can't let that matter.
"Yeah. My fire magic can chew through it— if I target the neck, it won't be able to sing."
Erza appraises him, eyes sharp, before nodding. "Alright. We're counting on you."
Trust, huh.
.•.•.•.
There's barely time for Erza's shout to echo before they're moving in hurried unison, helping Natsu reach Lullaby's neck before the flute can begin its song. They're lucky— the first note is barely wheezing out when it's throat lights up in a brilliant necklace of flame.
"Come on, come on…" mutters Lucy, sweat dripping down her temple. Gray grits his teeth and stares, while Erza takes initiative to sink her own blade into the back of Lullaby's neck, Flame Empress armor protecting her from the searing heat.
Lullaby's song sputters and dies, one great wooden hand coming up to claw at its throat. It makes a noise like wind through pine.
Silence aside from the prickle of flame.
"Yes! We've got this!" Lucy whoops, arms thrown up in celebration. Gray huffs out a breath, shoulders relaxing. "Of course we do. That's Erza up there."
Erza flings a hand out just in time to catch Natsu, who was barely clinging to the burning Lullaby's throat after narrowly avoiding being crushed. "Good work, Natsu. Are you still okay to fight?"
Natsu burns the ash from his fingers, blinks the spots out of his eyes, turns to Erza, and grins. "I'm all fired up!"
Surprise, for a moment, and then she returns his grin every inch. "Good!"
Lullaby wheezes again, and then swipes at them, but by then they're both gone from its shoulder, Erza in flight with her black wing armor and Natsu taking a daring leap of faith clean off the side.
A cradle of ice surges up to catch him before he can hit the ground, and softens his descent until he's standing between Lucy and Gray. The latter of which grabs him by his collar and shakes him, "You idiot, what were you thinking? You're lucky I noticed that little stunt!"
Shrugging him off, Natsu takes a step back, grin still writ large across his face, "Hey, you caught me, no harm done!"
For a moment, everything is okay, the world steeped in nostalgia.
Just for a moment, though, and then Erza craters the earth next to them, standing up almost before she finishes hitting the ground, spitting out a smear of blood. Lullaby leans over them, eyes fixed for the first time on the mages, and slowly, it grins.
I noticed in the comment response section of this chapter, I claimed I was a christian. Unfortunately, this is not true, and it never has been. My dad turned to christianity as he died of cancer, and in an attempt to connect with him and ease his passing, I claimed to be one as well. He knew about my account here, and I didn't want any cracks in the façade. I apologize to anyone I tricked.
that incredibly light hearted subject matter aside(/j) I'm glad to have this chapter done! it should be much smoother sailing for me after i finish the lullaby arc as the tower of heaven arc was,,, quite frankly, a mess. But an easy to fix mess! I dont recall if i mentioned it before, but i did post a brand new Not Rewritten chapter, so consider that my promise that things will remain on the same general trajectory. Honestly, i think what killed my last attempted rewrite of this was me getting too big for my britches. ~ShadeShadow