HELLO EVERYONE! The 3rd Dragneel, bringing you the first chapter of 2020! I hope all of you are doing well and hopefully will have a good year. With a few interesting films and shows coming this year(though Godzilla vs Kong is delayed to November of this year), I hope to be entertained.
Along with that, I hope to update all of my stories at least once, though considering this is me, it may be more difficult than I anticipated.
But now, let's see some reviews!
DB-20: Hehehe, glad you like Natsu x Maki as much as I do.
TheFreezerStreets: These are some interesting choices.
GKBlue.92: Well, I'm not the biggest fan of Nalu and ever since watching Fire Force, I found the perfect girl for Natsu. I did say that villains from other worlds would appear in this story. Joker is just the first.
Straw Hat PiratesFan2020: I kinda lost interest in Demonic Harem, especially with all the criticism from 'pure fans.'
Fairydragon2099: I do like Mirio, but I chose someone from MHA already for the story later on. And while Joker may seem neutral, there will be times he is rather evil. Hehehe, ahh child services will have one hell of a time with the paperwork.
To recap: As the group returned to Magnolia, Maki told Natsu and Yusei of how she came to Earthland and what her mission was. Being the kind guy he was, Natsu offered her a place to stay until she found suitable living conditions. The next day, Fairy Tail were given a surprising visit by Erza Scarlet, their strongest female wizard in all of the Guild, who requested Natsu and Gray to accompany her on a serious mission, with Lucy, Happy, Maki and Yusei going as well. Though he was reluctant to work with his rival, Natsu agreed to help only if Erza would fight him again, which she agreed to. However, as they changed trains, the gang forgot to bring Natsu and Maki along, with the latter getting a surprise visit from the third generation Pyrokinetic Joker. How will Natsu and Maki handle to this surprise visit? Let's find out…..
'Guild Masters Conference'
Far from the Heroes of our story stood a large building, standing proudly in the city of Clover. Inside were the Guild Masters of the official guilds of Fiore, conversing with each other about certain topics or to share information about something. Sitting at one of the elegant tables was Makarov Dreyar, who was drunk off his damn mind. Well considering the amount of paperwork given to him from people who' property was 'accidentally' destroyed by one of his children, it was only fair that he found a way to relieve stress. As much as he loved everyone in Fairy Tail, he wished they had at least some self control, especially a certain Dragon Slayer. "Maky, I'm so jealous~" An elderly person with no hair said while walking up to the short man. They wore a purple spaghetti-strap shirt accessorized by a gold and fuchsia hoop necklace, and a vertical-striped pink and purple shorts. The also complete their look with red lipstick and blush on each cheek. They has small, white wings that are surprisingly capable of flight, albeit to a limited extent. Now, one MIGHT assume that this was an elderly woman. But surprisingly, it was a man. "Oh, how young and cute your guild members must be. I even heard you have a girl and a handsome man gave someone quite a spanking. " Makarov drank from his mug before looking at Bob, guildmaster of the Blue Pegasus Guild.
"Oh, that would be one of our newest recruits, Lucy and Yusei." He said while taking a bite out of his turkey leg. A big, perverted grin then grew on his face. "She's amazing! She has a body so good, you'd die just from looking at it! And her boobs are like watermelons!"
"Makarov, you dirty pervert!" Bob said while looking away with red cheeks.
"I wouldn't be joking around if I were you, Makarov." Another male said while walking up to the two, revealing it to be Quatro Cerberus guildmaster Goldmine. Goldmine's slender figure is covered by a simple set of dark clothes, namely a plain T-shirt and a pair of pants. Alongside them, however, he dons a distinctive headgear, being a dark hat reminiscent in shape of those worn by fictional warlocks and witches, possessing a wide brim and a torn top pointing backwards. Circling the hat is a lighter band sporting massive, rounded spikes, and is virtually identical accessory that comes in the form of a collar around Goldmine's neck, those being a pair of elements which are a trademark of Quatro Cerberus. "Your Guild is strong and energetic, but sometimes they go overboard. Some people are saying your guild could destroy an entire city one of these days." Goldmine continued with a serious expression, only for Makarov to laugh it off.
"Let those blowhards in the Magic Council worry. They're just jealous that the wizards in my Guild are hot!" Makarov shouted, getting everyone's attention. He then calmed down while putting his mug down. "Though I know at least one member who can control himself." The two Guildmasters raised a curious brow.
"Really? Is it one of your new recruits?" Goldmine asked curiously. Makarov nodded before he took out a piece of paper, which had Yusei's face on it.
"Oh my, what a handsome young man. I just wanna give him a big hug!" Bob squealed while swaying his hips left and right. As for Goldmine, he focused his attention on Yusei's more prominent features, such as his gold mark and rather strange hair style.
But the thing that cause his attention were his sharp blue eyes.
'His eyes. Those belong to someone who's been through much.' Goldmine thought with narrowed eyes.To think Makarov of all people had someone so stoic, it almost made the Guildmaster of Quatro Cerberus jealous.
"This is Yusei Fudo. He joined the same time Lucy did." Makarov commented with a small smile. "I only met the young man two days ago, but I could tell he is a kind soul."
"Master Makarov, Master Makarov!" A small blue bird flew towards Makarov, giving him a small letter. Curious, he opened the letter before a hologram of Mirajane appeared.
"Hello Master. I hope everything's going well." Mira said with her usual sweet smile. Almost instantly, all the males in the room had hearts in their eyes.
"Yup, this is our poster girl Mirajane. Isn't she a cutie?! Now what was it you wanted to talk about my dear?" Makarov asked the white haired female.
"Oh, right. Well I just wanted to tell you that Natsu, Gray and Erza formed the strongest team in our guild and are now on a big mission. But don't worry: I had Lucy and Yusei, as well as their friend Maki, go with them in case they need help." Mira said with an innocent tone, unaware of the horrified expression on her Master's face.
"Natsu… Gray… Erza… on the same team… nnnnnnnnnoooooooooooo." Not being able to handle the shock, Makarov fell on his back, his eyes turned to swirls.
"I guess that means the Council should worry." Goldmine said with a sweatdrop, along with the other Masters.
Seems even the Guildmaster of Fairy Tail couldn't stop his kids. Good grief.
'With Natsu and Maki'
To say that Maki was shocked would be an understatement.
Here she was, holding Natsu on her lap, as she stared at the man who was wanted by the Fire Force.
"Joker." Maki said with a tense tone, her violet eyes already glowing.
"Now, now. You wouldn't want your friend to be caught in the crossfire, right?" Joker said with clear amusement, his eyes gazed at the pink haired male on Maki's lap. Maki gritted her teeth before deactivating her Pyrokinetic powers. "See? Now was that so hard?"
"What are you doing here? And why are you on this train?" Maki said with an angry tone, wanting to get to the point. This didn't make any sense to her. Unless this Ankhseram guy actually BROUGHT people from their world to assist him. Either way, she was going to get to the bottom of this.
Joker took a puff of smoke from his cigarette before exhaling it towards Maki, earning a glare from her. "I'll be honest. I wasn't expecting you of all people to be on this train. My… allies made sure this train was empty before I got on." Joker answered, getting a confused expression from Maki. "You really haven't noticed that this cart has been empty for five minutes? And here I thought Fire Soldiers had sharp minds."
"Stop playing games and tell me why you're here. NOW." Maki said, her patience growing thin.
"Just making a small delivery. Nothing more." Joker said while crossing his legs casually. "I don't want to start a fight if I don't want to, so why don't the two of us just sit down and talk about why YOU'RE here?"
Maki's nose scrunched a bit at the question. She didn't want to answer the bastard, especially with all the questions she had for him.
"Well? It's not polite to keep someone waiting." Joker said with a smirk, twirling his cigarette between his fingers. Such a serious girl, this one was. Maki continued to glare at the one eyed man before she noticed something poking out of his pocket.
It looked like a skull made out of wood. And the strange part was the eye on its forehead.
'What is that? And why does it feel so… evil?' Maki thought with narrowed eyes. She didn't know why, but the item in Joker's pocket seemed evil.
Joker noticed her gaze and sighed.
"Oh Oze. You just had to be cautious, didn't you?" Joker said with a small shrug of his shoulders. He and Maki were so focused on one another, they failed to notice the train slow down outside, though Natsu began to feel his motion sickness ease up.
"Huh?" Natsu began opening his eyes, only to find Joker sitting across from him. 'Who the hell is that guy?'
"What is that, Joker?" Maki demanded, only to get a chuckle from Joker.
"This little thing?" Joker asked rhetorically while taking out the flute. Now that it was out of his pocket, Maki and Natsu were able to fully see it.
The object in Joker's hand was a wooden flute, with a skull that had three eye holes on the head and several small holes on the side.
"My friends in Eisenwald called it Lullaby, and they wanted me to give it to them." Joker answered, getting a gasp from Maki. "And from the look on your face, you've heard of them, haven't you?"
'Hang on, wasn't Erza walking about them?' Natsu thought as he watched the man carefully.
"Now, you're probably wondering why I would even tell you this." Joker said while tipping his hat up, giving Maki a crazy grin. "The answer… is I'm about to kill you." With that, his one eye began to glow as a card-shaped flame suddenly appeared in between Joker's fingers. Maki quickly activated her Pyrokinetic power as Joker threw his 'card' forward.
'Crap, it's too fast!' Maki thought urgently as time slowed down around her.
But before the fire could strike her… Natsu raised his head and took the attack in full force.
"NATSU!"
'With the rest of the group, several minutes earlier'
"Lady, what are you doing?!" A train conductor exclaimed at Erza, who pulled the emergency lever on the wall. "You can't pull the emergency lever without permission!"
"We need to stop the train for our comrades. Please understand." Erza said simply without a hint of remorse in her tone. "Now, can you please take our luggage to the hotel?"
"I'm not a bellhop!" The train conductor shouted with a tick mark.
"So all the wizards in Fairy Tail are a little insane. Great." Lucy said with a strained smile. She and Yusei were probably the only NORMAL ones among the group at this point.
"Not all of us." Gray said with his arms crossed… over his bare chest.
"Oh yeah, and where are your clothes?!" Lucy shouted in irritation.
As for Yusei, he was gazing at the direction of where the train Natsu and Maki were still on. How could he forget them so easily? More importantly, why didn't Maki notice and carry Natsu out?
'It's better not to think about those questions right now. We need to get to them before something bad happens.' Yusei thought with a determined expression as he reached into his deck and drew a card, lifting it into the air. "Duel Runner!"
A bright flash of light appeared in front of Yusei, catching his group's attention. Erza and Gray gasped in shock as Yusei's Duel Runner appeared before him. Picking up the helmet from the seat and putting it on, the Head Signer got into his Runner, turning on the engine. "I'll go get Natsu and Maki. Try catching up to us." Yusei said with his allies.
"I'm coming too!" Happy said while sprouting his wings, flying next to Yusei. "He's my best friend and I don't wanna leave him!" Seeing the worry in the cat's eyes, Yusei gave him a small nod before driving at high speed, with Happy right on his tail.
"Good luck Yusei, Happy." Lucy said with a concerned tone. As she turned towards her allies, she couldn't help but sweatdrop as they were still shocked.
"W-W-What the hell was that?!" Gray shouted.
'Oh boy…"
'Back with Natsu and Maki'
"NATSU!" Maki shouted, shocked at what the pink haired wizard had just done to protect her. Even Joker was mildly surprised by what Natsu did. The only one who could take fire head on were other pyrokinetics.
If a normal person was hit by an attack like that, especially in the head, the chances of survival were-
"Mmmmm, not bad."
Maki widened her eyes as she witnessed something she never thought she would see.
Natsu was perfectly fine… and had Joker's card between his teeth. Flicking the card with his tongue, Natsu began chewing the fire as if it was regular food before he swallowed, letting out a satisfied sigh. "It's a lot different from the fire magic I ate before, a little spicy. I like it." Natsu said as he wiped the corner of his mouth, a smirk appearing on his face.
"N-N-Natsu? How did you…" Maki muttered, getting a smile from the Dragon Slayer.
"I guess I never told you." Natsu said sheepishly while rubbing the bottom of his nose with his finger. "I'm a Fire Dragon Slayer, which means I don't feel anything when I get hit by fire and I can even eat it to get some magic back. That's why I'm the Salamander of Fairy Tail."
'He's immune to fire, AND he can eat it?' Joker thought, his grin growing even wider. Most people would be shocked at what he did, but not Joker. In fact, he was getting even more excited to fight such a guy. 'Maybe he can be more fun than Kusekabe.'
"So, you're with Eisewald?" Natsu said, turning back to Joker with a serious glare. "I don't know who you are, but you attacked Maki, and that pisses me off."
"Oh?" Joker took another puff of smoke before blowing it, his grin not flattering one bit. "And what are you going to do about it?" His answers came when Natsu ignited his fists and leaped towards the Pyrokinetic, who moved his head just in the nick of time.
"I'm going to kick your ass!" Natsu declared as his fist destroyed the seats in front of him. Joker landed in the middle of the walkway, giving Natsu an amused expression. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Natsu then swung his right fist, only for Joker to block it with his leg. Pushing the energetic teen back, Joker summoned three more cards of fire before he tossed them at Natsu.
However, Maki quickly got in front of Natsu, using her Pyrokinesis to dispel his attack. Moving in, Maki threw a series of quick jabs at Joker, though he dodged each one with ease. Natsu, not wanting to be left out of the fight, jumped in and threw a flame covered kick, barely grazing Joker's right cheek.
"This is getting fun. Show me more!" Joker cackled while throwing multiple fire cards like a machine gun, each only either being dispelled by Maki or eaten by Natsu. He then reached into his pocket while throwing yet another fire card at Maki. However, the Dragon Slayer was able notice the slick man throwing some else towards his friend.
"MAKI!" Natsu quickly pushed her out of the way with an extended hand. He took the fire card head on...
*Stab*
"Augh!" The Dragon Slayer flinched as a knife pierced his hand, courtesy of Joker.
"Huh, so he decided to play Hero and take the knife for you. Can't say I expected that." Joker said with a hand in his pocket.
"Natsu, are you okay?!" Maki said with heavy concern as the Dragon Slayer pulled the knife out of his hand, tossing it to the ground.
"I'm fine. Just need a patch up later." Natsu said, though he did grit his teeth in pain.
"This is starting to get interesting." Joker started before he took out a pocket watch, opening it. "But I do have a schedule to keep, and you are ruining it. I thought this would be a pleasant train ride. Oh well."
"Hey, you aren't leaving, you bastard!" Natsu shouted as he and Maki got into fighting stances.
"On the contrary, pinky." With a face-splitting grin, Joker reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a small vial of ashes. "I am." Joker then opened the vial and poured the contents down, allowing them to fly through the air.
"What the hell?" Natsu said in confusion. Maki narrowed her eyes at Joker… before realizing what he was doing.
"LOOK OUT!"
"Boom." Joker ignited the ashes in the air, causing them to crackle around like fireworks.
*BOOM*
A split second later, a massive explosion erupted from within the cabin. Maki and Natsu were forced to cover up as they felt the wind slap their faces. Large parts of the train cart were sent flying everywhere and a large puff of smoke rose from it all.
"Woah, did you see that?!" Happy shouted in shock as he and Yusei were closing in on the train. "Do you think that was Natsu?"
"Maybe, but we need to get closer." Yusei suggested as he and Happy increased their speed. 'Something definitely happened. Maki wouldn't let Natsu fight unless they needed to defend themselves.'
He had a feeling that something bad had happened.
The Head Signer was brought out of his thoughts as he saw the train slowly begin to move again. "Oh no, it's moving!"
"I know." Yusei said through gritted teeth as in increased the speed of his Duel Runner. His sharp eyes noticed movement through the smoke. "Happy, is that?"
"Natsu, don't do it!" A familiar voice called out before a figure jumped out of the smoke.
The person was none other than Natsu Dragneel.
"OH CRAP!" Natsu shouted in panic. Maybe he should've thought this through, but given the fact that the train was moving… nah, he was out of there.
"I got you buddy!" Happy cried out before increasing his speed, flying under Natsu. With a quick turn of his body, the flying cat grabbed Natsu by his backpack and lifted him above the ground.
"Man, that was close." Natsu said while wiping his forehead and giving Natsu a thumbs up. "Thanks, little buddy."
"Maki, jump!" Yusei shouted as he drove next to the train cart, opening the left arm before he extended a hand towards the Fire Soldier. Taking a deep breath, Maki jumped off the train, landing on the side of Yusei's Runner. Though it did stagger a bit, they were able to regain their balance before Yusei stopped the vehicle. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, thanks for the lift." Maki said to Yusei with a smile before getting off. Yusei noticed a few scorch marks on her clothes, but other than that, she was fine. Happy and Natsu landed behind them, though the latter was still holding his bloody hand.
"Natsu, you're bleeding!" Happy pointed out while flying up close to the wound. It looked like someone stabbed his hand.
"Yeah, it still hurts like hell." Natsu said with a deep frown. He was surprised when Maki walked up to him, pulling out a small blue cloth she had carried around for some time. She then began wrapping it around his hand, making sure to cover the wound entirely.
"You'll need to see a doctor after this." Maki said, keep her eyes on Natsu's hand. "Thank you for protecting me. I should've known Joker would doing something like this." The Dragon Slayer was taken aback by Maki's regretful tone… and the fact that she wasn't wearing her gloves allowed him to feel her soft hands.
'Why the hell do I care about soft hands?' Natsu thought while rubbing the back of his head with his other hand. "Yeah, no problem. I'm happy to help." Natsu said sincerely.
"Hey, who's Joker?" Happy asked innocently, catching Yusei's attention.
But the four then heard what sounded like a car driving in the distance. Turning their heads, they were surprised to see what looked like a green buggy with a wagon-like front heading towards them, with Erza as the driver, Lucy poking her head out the window and Gray… riding on top of the roof?
'"Since when are there cars here?!" Maki asked, her eyes the size of dinner plates.
"Those are Magic Mobiles. They're powered by magic and can drive as fast as a car in our world." Yusei answered, even though he was sweatdropping. 'How did they even get a Magic Mobile?'
"Natsu! Maki! Yusei! Happy!" Lucy called out before Erza stopped the Magic Mobile just a few feet from their comrades, allowing them to exit it. Lucy was the first to run up to them with a concerned expression. "Are you alright?"
"Besides some crazy guy who kept throwing fire cards at us? We're fine." Natsu said with a toothy grin. A metal hand was placed on both his and Maki's hands before they brought them into Erza's chestplate.
*BANG*
"Thank goodness. We were worried about you. I apologize for leaving you two." Erza said with closed eyes as she 'hugged' the two.
"OWWW!" Natsu and Maki stepped back, both holding their heads with tears threatening to fall down.
"Was that some kind of punishment?" Maki whimpered. Hell, not even the Lieutenant Hinawa would hit that hard, and he was a hardass!
"Punishment? Why would I do that?" Erza asked innocently, not understanding the issue with her hug.
"And again, me and Yusei are the only normal ones here." Lucy said with an even bigger sweatdrop.
"So, what the hell happened to your hand?" Gray asked his rival with his arms crossed.
"We were attacked." Natsu said, adopting a serious expression. "Some weirdo with a hat and an eyepatch walked in and tried killing Maki with this fire. It wasn't magic since it tasted a lot different from all the fire magic I ate before."
"And what did he want?" Yusei asked, directing his attention towards Maki. She noticed his gaze before nodding.
"His name is Joker, and he was working for Eisenwald." Maki said, catching everyone's full attention.
"Go on." Erza practically demanded with a frown.
"He talked to me, asking what someone from Fairy Tail was doing around here, since he saw Natsu's tattoo." Maki lied. "I noticed a strange flute in his pocket and he mentioned that he was delivering it to Eisenwald. He then said that because I saw it, he would need to kill me." She paused for a moment and smiled at Natsu. "But Natsu took the attack for me and we ended up fighting him. After a few minutes, he said he needed to stay on schedule, so he blew up the train cart. But when the smoke cleared up, he was gone. But the worst part… was that he called the flute Lullaby."
Everyone immediately gasped in pure shock. Eisenwald was bringing Lullaby right under their noses! If Natsu and Maki hadn't been on the train, then they wouldn't have known about this new development.
"Oh no, if they use that flute, then who knows how many people will die." Lucy said with a trembling tone.
"Damn, and we didn't know about this." Gray added with a frustrated tone.
"We're sorry we couldn't stop it." Maki said while clenching her fist out of anger. If she was fast enough, then she would have destroyed Lullaby.
"No, the fault is mine. I should have known Eisenwald was close by." Erza said with a wiggle of her brow.
"There's no point in blaming ourselves." Yusei spoke up. "Now that we know where Lullaby is going, we still have time to catch up. Erza, are you able to still use the Magic Mobile to match my Runner's speed?"
"Yes, but you will tell me how you were able to summon something like that." Erza said in her usual stern tone, earning a sweatdrop from everyone. No matter what, Erza was Erza. "Let's go!"
"No way. I'm not getting on that death machine!" Natsu exclaimed while crossing his arms in an X. The train was enough, but something as bumpy as a Magic Mobile was something much worse!
"Don't worry about that, Natsu." Happy said with a mischievous giggle. "I bet Maki would llllooooovvvvveeee to help you out."
"Can you Maki?" Natsu practically begged her with big eyes. Maki's lap was able to make the whole train trip bearable, and if she was willing to do it again, then all the more better.
"Right. Let's go." Maki said with a smile before she, Natsu, Happy and Lucy entered the Magic Mobile. Gray, like before, took the roof of the vehicle while Erza got in the driver's seat and Yusei returned to his Duel Runner.
Their battle with Eisenwald was about to begin.
'Oshibana Station, half an hour later'
After thirty minutes of driving at high speed, Fairy Tail's Strongest Team finally arrived at Oshibana Station, which is surrounded by a large crowd of civilians. "It looks like everyone is still waiting for the military to handle Eisenwald." Lucy spoke up as Erza and Yusei parked their vehicles, with Erza wiping a beat of sweat from her forehead.
"Erza, are you okay?" Maki asked in concern, rubbing Natsu's head to ease his stomach ache.
"I'm fine. Traveling a long distance takes a toll on the driver." Erza said while removing the patch on her arm. "I'm glad to have you and the others with me, though."
"Let's check out what's going on." Gray said while exiting the Magic Mobile, wearing his full clothes(much to Lucy's relief.) Pressing one of the buttons, Yusei turned his Duel Runner back into card form as he put it in his deck box. He then noticed Natsu hanging limp on Maki's arm.
"Do you want some help?" Yusei offered, getting Maki to smile.
"It's okay, thanks. After training in the military, you get used to carrying comrades." Maki said while holding Natsu up with no trouble.
"And probably cause of her big muscles." Happy muttered to himself while flying by. The group ran into Oshibana station, moving through the crowd in front of them.
"Please stay back! Due to a train derailment, the station is now closed. Please return to your homes." One of the train station employees said through a megaphone, though this didn't ease the citizens. Despite this Erza walked up to the barricade, pushing past citizen after citizen before she reached the employee.
"What's going on here?" Erza asked while putting a hand on the man's shoulder.
"Why would I tell you, lady?" The man asked.
*SMACK*
Everyone winced as Erza suddenly headbutted the guard, knocking him out instantly. She turned to the next guard before speaking. "What is going on here?"
"Ummm…." Again, she headbutted the guard, seeing as he didn't answer her.
'She can't be serious.' Yusei thought while facepalming to himself. Seriously, Erza seemed like such a normal person.
"Why would she do this?" Lucy spoke up while also sweatdropping.
"I guess her questioning method isn't working." Maki said with a blank face. At least she gave people the chance to respond, unlike the redhead.
"That's Erza for ya." Gray added with a shake of his head. The group winced as Erza knocked out a third guard.
"Someone's got to do something." Yusei spoke up while walking up to Erza as she was about to headbutt yet another guard. He placed a hand on her shoulder, getting her attention. "Let me try Erza. Excuse me, sir? We're wizards from Fairy Tail and we want to see if we can help you."
"Wait… Fairy Tail?" The guard said in a hopeful tone. Both Yusei and Erza showed their guildmarks, getting the guard to sigh. "Thank god you got here. These bastards just came outta nowhere. Hijacked one of the trains and are now posted in the train station. A few military soldiers went in ten minutes ago, but we haven't heard from them."
"We'll handle it, from here. You make sure everyone stays outside." Yusei ordered the man, who nodded in agreement before he stepped to the side. Now given permission, the Fairy Tail wizards ran into the train station. They barely ran through the entrance when they saw a large amount of soldiers, either unconscious or dead on the ground.
"Woah, they're all down!" Happy shouted in pure shock.
"Eisenwald is a dark guild, full of powerful wizards. They didn't stand a chance." Erza stated grimly. The sight reminded both Yusei and Maki of their worlds. How Yusei had to survive in the Satellite and would occassionally find a corpse of someone who was either murdered or commited suicide.
With Maki, it was like her time in both the military and with Company 8, seeing innocent people dying.
'I won't let them die for nothing.' Both Champions thought with a determined expression.
"Let's make these bastards pay!" Gray kicked down the doors as they ran inside. Team Fairy Tail made it to the main hall, where they saw a large group of people, looking at them with evil smirks. Above them was what they considered to be the leader. He was an extremely tall, lean-built and yet mildly muscular man with silver hair, which is held pointing upwards in spiky strands on top of his head, but hangs down to the left of his face in a distinctive tuft, sometimes partially covering it, and reaching down to his shoulders. His eyes are dark and he has an elongated face with sharp features and somewhat pointed ears, but seems to lack eyebrows. His eyes are circled by dark lines and each of them has a simple tattoo right below it, consisting of a pointed line going down vertically, crossed with two more, larger horizontal lines. The upper part of his body is similarly tattooed, but with much larger, intricated and blue-colored motifs, which take on spiraling forms, and adorn his shoulders, biceps, pectorals and back.
He dons a torn Japanese-like outfit. He is shown bare-chested, with all of his tattoos visible, and his lower body is covered in different layers of clothing: he sports a long, worn skirt, reminiscent of a hakama, below a darker, shorter cloth, held up by an even lighter and shorter one tied like a belt. He has a black scarf wrapped around his thin neck, with its edges hanging on his back and traditional geta sandals on his feet. His attire is completed by a pair of distinctive dark gloves, each adorned by a light "X" on the back, and by bandages wrapped around his forearms.
"Hello there little fairies." The leader said with a cocky smirk. "We've been waiting for you."
"I assume you're Erigor, the Grim Reaper?" Erza said rhetorically with a deep glare while clenching his fists. "What do you plan to do with Lullaby?"
"Oh please, we're just trying to have some fun. Is that so wrong?" Erigor said while cleaning his ear with his pinky, irking the Titania even more. "Eisenwald hasn't gotten many jobs and to be honest, we've grown impatient."
"What the hell is your damn point?!" Gray shouted, clearly irritated.
"Tell me: what do train stations have that we need?" Erigor asked with his legs crossed, using his wind magic to keep him afloat. The group were confused by his question. Why did that matter?
'He doesn't mean a train since he doesn't need it now. And the people are outside, which is off since they could use them as hostages. So what else…' Yusei thought long and hard before his eyes widened in realization. "The speaker system."
"Huh, crazy hair got it right." The man named Kageyama said with a chuckle.
"You're going to broadcast Lullaby?!" Maki shouted in pure shock, getting laughs of joy from the Eisenwald wizards.
"Did you see how many people are gathered here? Hundreds, thousands? With just these speakers, all of their lives would go out like a light." Erigor said while snapping his fingers just to prove his point.
"But that's genocide!" Erza shouted with gritted teeth. How could anyone be willing to erase so many lives without feeling a sense of guilt?
"And they deserve it!" Erigor shouted in anger, his cocky demeanor dropping. "They get to have their rights, but have they ever lost those rights out of the blue? To live without seeing the unfairness of live should not go unpunished." He ran a hand on his scythe while giving a creepy grin. "Their judgement is DEATH." The Fairy Tail group gave Erigor heated glares, though Natsu was still recovering and Yusei was looking down with his arm covering his eyes.
"I get how you feel." Yusei spoke up almost like a whisper, getting their attention. "I know how it feels to have everything taken away, to fight for your life. To be treated like nothing but dirt." His eyes flashed back to his time growing up in the satellite, where he had to learn how to defend himself the hard way just to get by.
"Yusei…" Lucy trailed off while reaching a hand towards him.
"But that still doesn't mean you have the right to kill innocent people." Yusei continued, lifting his head to glare at the scythe wielder. "They have nothing to do with your rights being taken, so don't drag them into this."
"You damn fairies. SO ANNOYING!" Slamming his hand on the ground, Kageyama launched a shadow fist at Yusei, fully intent on silencing him.
"LOOK OUT!"
Yusei, however, stood strong, even as a card in his deck began to glow.
*BOOM*
Before one of Yusei's monsters could be summoned, Natsu suddenly leapt in front of Yusei, smacking away the shadow fist with his flames. "Like hell I'd let you hurt my friend!" Natsu shouted with fiery anger, directed towards Kageyama.
"Good to see you're feeling better. Thanks Natsu." Yusei said with a small smile.
"Hmmm, so you have some skills. I'll give you THAT much." Erigor said as his wind magic began to carry him higher in the air. "Listen up! The first one who brings me the heads of these fools will get four times the amount of Jewel you were promised!"
"Yes sir!" All the Eisenwald wizards shouted, happy to earn a little money. They clearly outnumbered these flies. Erigor simply chuckled before he looked at the Fairy Tail group.
"Before this day ends, you'll all know our wrath. Until then." A vortex of wind surrounded Erigor before he disappeared completely.
"He's gone!" Happy exclaimed in shock.
"It doesn't matter." Erza said while glaring ahead. "Right now, we must handle the threat in front of us."
Gray put his hand out as an icy mist surrounded his hand.
Lucy reached for her keys.
Yusei put his fingers on his deck.
Maki fixed her hat while her violet eyes began to glow.
And finally, Natsu gave a toothy grin while igniting his hands.
"Alright, I'm all fired up!"
Little did anyone know, Joker was watching the whole ordeal from a top a balcony, with a figure leaning against the wall.
"Well, this should be a fun show. Too bad I can't join in yet." Joker said while taking in a puff of smoke.
"You have your mission, Joker." The mysterious figure said in a distorted voice, glancing at Fairy Tail without a hint of emotion. "And should Eisenwald fail…"
"Then we give Lullaby a little boost. I got it." Joker said with a twisted grin.
He was hoping that Eisenwald would lose, because that's when the REAL fun would begin.
Oh my, the second chapter of 2020. Man, it feels so weird. I know I should get used to the date change, but it still takes some time to adjust. Still, with a new year, I'll have more chances to update my stories, especially with this being my last year in University.
This chapter, while it wasn't meant to end like this, I felt like this is a good stopping point, especially since I plan on the next chapter being rather long. I hope this chapter was still enjoyable, especially with Natsu and Maki tag teaming against Joker. I know he's more of a neutral villain, I still feel like him being in this story would be interesting. And with the little tease near the end of this chapter regarding Lullaby, which I hope you guys will like.
Follow, Fav, Review and PM for anything.
Next time: Conflict!