Episode 007: Arrival of the Grim Reaper
'Tch, this cripple's annoying ability to keep up with me is better than I would have thought,' Erigor thought as he flew over the streets of Oshibana.
His original plan had been to lose Ragna quickly before erecting a wind barrier around the station, effectively trapping the rest of the wizards inside and unable to call for help. The red coated man was not one to go along with this plan and quickly proved that he was able to keep up with him, leaping atop tall buildings and over large crowds with relative ease and never straying too far behind. As not to alarm anyone, Ragna had unsummoned his Gilgamesh blade while he pursued the enemy Reaper and was constantly scowling up at the opponent with his single good eye.
'Using Lullaby isn't an option here,' the Wind magic user thought to himself as he glanced to the flute in his hand. 'The Fairy flies from earlier made it clear that they hadn't warned anyone of this thing's power and the guy chasing me is clearly the only one who saw through my plan. Taking over the station may have been a ballsy play, but they called in the army… ergo they didn't want the masters involved to create their level of destruction. If I play this now though and kill off a large group of innocents, a high-level official could send a message that could get through and ruin that essential element of surprise to my plan.'
'How much longer is he going to do this? He's really starting to piss me off.' Ragna thought as he continued to run across the rooftops and leap from building to building. It was just as he thought that he saw Erigor blasting off at high speeds towards the town's edge, one of which had a set of train tracks. 'Looks like he's finally heading off for Clover Town… Dammit, now I really gotta run.'
Ragna might not have been Tao, but due to his training with Jubei he knew that he could make it in a cross country run, especially if he added his agile flips and kicking from his moveset. Heading for the gate, he rushed onto the train tracks in hot pursuit of Erigor.
'For now I'll lead him out into the wastelands and then shred him to pieces there, maybe set up a nice display for his children to see when they finally manage to catch up,' the Reaper of Eisenwald thought to himself, remembering that Ragna had used the term 'dad' on himself. 'After all… he's not worth using Lullaby's power on, or the power of Zeref.'
Oshibana Station -Foyer-
"...What's the matter lady?" one of Eisenwald's less terrified thugs demanded as they continued to surround Erza Scarlet, weapons at the ready. The only thing that was keeping them from surging forward was Erza's previous display of force… but the stigma that had built was starting to grow thin as she hadn't moved in the short time since then. "C'mon…' he continued, starting to work his courage up as he gave a dirty smirk. "You scared?"
SMASH!
In the blink of an eye Erza's sword had been changed for a large two-handed War Hammer. Bringing the weapon around in a devastating arc, she managed to blast away quite another large group of Eisenwald members. Changing her weapon yet again, her next swing was with a long spear as she swatted more and more Eisenwald thugs to the side.
'I have to careful how I fight here,' Erza thought to herself as she fought to keep up appearances, shifting to twin daggers as she spun herself into the forces. 'I've already exerted my energy in just getting here and I'll need more after I'm finished here to catch up with Erigor… but if I don't extend enough of my power I'm going to be stuck here for too long dealing with this rabble to stop Ragna from getting himself killed…'
"OPEN! GATE OF THE CRAB CONSTELLATION!" came Lucy's shout from behind her. Erza had been so focused on the enemy before her that she had nearly forgotten that she wasn't alone in the fight. With the toll of the bell and the magic circle opening like a door, the celestial sprang into view. "CANCER!"
"Ohhhh… hey baby," the humanoid with crab features said, snipping its scissors as its black sunglasses gave a cool shine... Lucy did her best to ignore Happy drooling at the sight of a crab. "You got a... special request for me this time, baby?"
"What is that stupid looking thing?" one of the thugs further from Erza asked, feeling cocky enough to hurl insults since wasn't in the immediate line of fire.
"AN EASY TARGET!" shouted another thug as he led his group forward, eager to finally turn the tide on a less intimidating target. "We'll turn it into an All-You-Can-Eat Seafood buffet!"
"Just go to town on them Cancer; stylist's choice!" Lucy ordered.
"Got it…baby," the crab said. Moving faster than the naked eye could see, the Celestial Spirit dashed through to group of thugs and swung its scissors with god-like precision.
"Oh NO!" screamed one thug, gripping his now hair-free scalp.
"OH NO!" screamed another, gaping at his magic weapon while had been cut to pieces and left him only carrying the hilt.
"OH NO!" screamed a blushing third, gripping his shredded clothes close as could to cover himself.
"Oh yeahhh," Cancer said, twirling his scissors around before looking at the others.
"What… what the hell is with these freaky girls!?" one of the still standing thugs demanded, only to get blasted off to the side as Erza smashed into yet another group, this time with an oversized scimitar. "I didn't sign up for this crap!"
"This is what happens when you mess with Fairy Tail!" Lucy shouted as she brought her whip out, getting in on the combat herself. Swinging her personal weapon, she managed to send one or two of the thugs flying herself… though it was hard not to cringe as their expressions made it seem like they were enjoying it.
"If you both keep this up, we'll be out of here in no time!" Happy declared as Erza decimated yet another group of fighters.
'Hopefully sooner rather than later,' the redhead thought to herself. 'There's no telling what Erigor has planned for Ragna… or if Grey and Natsu aren't already at each other's throats.'
Meanwhile
"Gosh darn it Erza! Why the hell does she have to make us work together every time!?"
"If she actually asked us it would have been one thing, but all she ever does is twist our arms!"
"And to top it off now we gotta worry about gramps and the other guild masters over this whole mess!"
"Oh, so you're worried for once? That's new."
"Shut it, fridge boy!"
"The hell did you call me, Gasoline Head!?"
It was quite clear that the two weren't quite in the cooperative spirit. Since the two had gotten their order from Erza to follow after Ragna and Erigor, they had barely managed to make down the first few hallways into the station's entrance lobby. Neither of them had come to blows just yet… but it was pretty clear that it wouldn't take much more provocation from either side.
"I hope Ragna's at least managing to slow him down," Gray said getting oddly serious. "If Erigor gets to the conference hall before us or he gets away, then we've already lost everything."
"...Don't worry about him, Ragna's going to pull through for us," Natsu replied showing full confidence rather than the full on cockiness that Gray was used to.
"You sound pretty sure about that," Gray said, reasonably skeptical since he hadn't gotten a proper look at Ragna's skills, only having heard stories from Natsu. "Can he really-Urk! BEHIND YOU!"
Natsu would have been too slow in turning, so Gray was forced to leap to defend his back. Activating his magic, he managed to create a wall of ice behind the fire wizard just in time to block a barrage to dark magic tendrils.
"You fool! You should have watched your own back!" came a familiar shout from behind Gray. Another burst of dark magic tendrils had emerged from the Dark Mage Kageyama, only to be blasted away by Natsu's magic. "What?"
"Tch, looks like I gotta save your back," the Fire Wizard muttered.
"IDIOT! I WAS THE ONE WHO SAVED YOUR HIDE FIRST!" Gray shouted.
"DON'T YOU CALL ME AN IDIOT YOU DAMN STRIPPER!"
"BETTER THAN BEING A PYROMANIAC LIKE YOU ARE!"
"...Should we even bother with them?" Rayule asked as Kageyama finished emerging from the shadows beside him. "Looking at the two of these guys right now, I think they're more likely to knock each other out."
"Don't be stupid, we both know that Erigor would kill us both if he knew we just left them be," Kageyama muttered before glaring at Natsu, breaking him out of his spat with Gray. "Besides, I owe the pink one hell for the trouble he caused me."
"Oh, so it's you from the train…" Natsu growled as he stared the opposing wizard down. "Doggy, right?"
"It's Kage! KA-GE!"
"Whatever, I'm not interested in your name anyways," Natsu told him. "All I want from you is a rematch right here and now!" He gave a violent smirk. "I'll even take on that friend of yours too!"
'This idiot. He's trying to take us both on after the beating I gave him back on the train? Is the entire guild full of idiots like them?'
"Hey! Don't go trying to hog all of the credit for yourself!" Gray growled.
"Aw, you'll just be in the way!" Natsu taunted. "Besides, this way you'll be able to chase after Erigor and Ragna like Erza wanted, won't you?"
"Like hell! That's just giving you what you want!" Gray shouted with anger.
"Besides, it's not like you'd manage aways," Rayule told them both with a smirk. "Once I get you weaklings separated, taking you both out would be that much simpler."
"Fine, fine, if that's how you wanna play it!" Natsu said as he got excited. "That just means we'll have to knock you both out right here!"
"DON'T GET AHEAD OF YOURSELVES!" Kage shouted as he used his shadow magic to create a flurry of dark fists once more. This time Natsu and Gray tried to leap out of the attack range in order to avoid the assault.
"Buzzing around is all you flies are good at!" Rayule shouted, using his own shadows like a series of whips and attacking Gray, who was forced to defend against the blows with his arms. "You idiots just have to leave yourselves wide open don't you!? I can't imagine how your guild has been around for this long!"
"Fire Dragon..." Natsu shouted, gathering his power and forming twin wings made of flame.
"You're open again!" Kageyama shouted as he created snakes made of darkness.
"Ice Make…" Gray began from behind Natsu.
'He's recovered this quickly!?' Kage thought as he saw Gray readying his spell. 'And why the hell did he strip in the middle of a fight!?'
"KNUCKLE!"
"WING ATTACK!"
Though the attacks may have been of differing elements, the raw destructive power behind both moves was outrageous and more than made up for the lack of cooperation between the two wizards. While Natsu's flames easily cut through Rayule's shadows and struck him directly, Kageyama received his just deserts from a torrent of ice made fists. Both wizards faces were covered in shock and pain as they fell unconscious to the floor.
"...I think I just took out the guy who had a beef with you," Gray observed, betraying his normal rivalry with Natsu with a smirk. "Sorry about that."
"Eh, no big deal," Natsu said with a laugh, as he gather more Fire Magic. "After all-"
FLOSH!
"WRRRRRYYYYY!?"
In the rubble of the wall Natsu had just destroyed laid one of Eizenwald's wizards, an overweight one with fat lips. He too had been knocked unconscious by a single blow.
"No fair! I was about to take that guy out myself!" Gray shouted at Natsu.
"Aw, what's the matter? Upset that I've already knocked out one more guy than you?"
"Only you'd care about something that petty you hot headed idiot!"
"The hell did you call me!?"
...Such is the fate of forcefully mixing Ice and Fire.
Back with the Girls
"...It seems we're finally done with this lot," Erza said, keeping her composure as she unsummoned her most recently summoned weapon (a greatsword). Countless thugs lay grounded in defeat around her; either unconscious, just unable to move, or even having passed out through the display of power from both girls along. Considering that she had Lucy and her spirit by her side this fight, Erza hadn't needed to do anything brash and had resorted to only her basic weapons combat.
"Heh, we're a pretty amazing team aren't we?" Lucy said, her self-confidence briming after all of the effort.
"I don't get why you're so proud of yourself Lucy," Happy cut in. "Erza and Crabby did most of the work."
"It's Cancer and he's my spirit! I'm a Celestial Wizard; this is how I fight!" the blonde shouted at the cat before turning to her spirit. "Good work here, Cancer!"
"No problem… baby," Cancer told her, his glasses once against giving a slick shine.
"Does this spirit of yours have to end every sentence of his with baby?" Erza asked with her serious demeanor, leaving Lucy and Cancer to go painfully still. "It seems like an insult to you and a catchphrase like that would wear itself thin rather quickly."
"Th-that's harsh, ba…" Cancer started to say, only stopping himself at just the last moment.
'That's going to leave a mark on his psyche,' Lucy groaned in her mind. "All right Cancer, you can head back for now."
"Yes… ma'am," the spirit said, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
'WHOA! He actually changed his catchphrase!?' she thought to herself with shock.
"We need to hurry," Erza instructed, snapping Lucy back to the present instantly. "Natsu and Grey probably have a decent head start on us and there's no telling how far Ragna and Erigor have gotten."
"Right," Lucy said as the group ran off, following only slightly behind Erza as Happy ran right beside her. It was having the two side by side that caused her to notice the face Happy was making as they were running, gripping his temples like he had a headache. "What's wrong?"
"I keep trying to remember what it was I've forgotten to tell you, but every time I come close to remembering it keeps slipping away," Happy told her. "What was it… I know it had to be important…"
"I'm sure we can worry about it later," Lucy told the cat. "Right now we need to worry about catching up to Natsu and-"
"WHY ARE YOU BOTH STILL HERE!?" came Erza's screaming from up ahead, followed by a deadly crash with Natsu and Grey screaming in pain.
"...That was… quick," Lucy said, both she and Happy showing blank faced surprise as Natsu and Grey had been blasted into the wall. Erza wasn't done with her rage and marched up to both of them, grabbing Grey by his collar and Natsu by the front of his scarf.
"I told you both to follow after Ragna and Erigore!" she demanded them, shaking both harshly. "And barring that, you were supposed to head to Clover Town and warn the guild leaders! Why are you both still in this station!?"
"W-we just finished our fight…" Natsu said through the shaking, praying to god that Erza would calm down and wouldn't kill him.
"It took you both this long!?" Erza shouted at them. Both boys said nothing as they were frozen with terror. Eventually she decided it wasn't worth it and dropped them both. "Honestly, this is why I want the both of you to try and get along with each other; you end up wasting vital time like this."
"Well you didn't exactly take that long fighting off those thugs yourself," Gray countered under his breath, as he finally made his way to his feet. "Now what?"
"Now we head to the magic mobile and follow after Erigor; we need to move fast if we're going to have any hope of saving Ragna."
"Save…?" Natsu began, before giving a wicked smirk. "Heh…"
'What's with that look?' Erza questioned not getting what the Fire User was so cocky about.
"I wouldn't worry so much about Ragna; I think we should hurry just so there's something left for us," the pink hair told the group confidently before looking to Happy who only nodded once with a rare serious expression on his face. "I'll fly up ahead with Happy and see if I can't catch up with them, it beats having to go again on the Magic Mobile at least."
'He's actually thinking ahead? That's new.' "Right then, we'll see you there," she agreed. With that, Happy used his magic to sprout wings and grabbed Natsu to soar off through the air at amazing speeds. "...Godspeed."
Meanwhile -Clover Canyon Railway Line-
Ragna stood alone on the train tracks, not speaking a word as he used his functioning arm to get a wicked crick out of his neck. He didn't have to hurry on ahead and waste his energy, he knew Erigor was close by. For whatever reason, the pain-filled feeling he'd first encountered at Oshibana seemed to have some reaction to the Lullaby flute; the closer he was to it, the worse he felt. It would have been an annoyance under most circumstances… but for now he almost grateful for the built in radar.
"...Are we doing this or what? You're not exactly being subtle," Ragna spoke calmly, his green eye looking at the plateau he knew Erigor was hiding behind. Hearing a small chuckle, he watched the scythe user float out from behind the rock formation until he was nearly touching the train tracks in front of Ragna, his wind magic keeping him levitating a few short inches off the ground. "Funny, not in the mood for music?"
"You're kidding; like I would waste the christening of this new age of darkness on a lowlife wizard that can't appreciate the dark arts. I have more respect for the forbidden magics of Zeref than that."
'Zeref?' Ragna thought to himself, unfamiliar the name. "So I'm not worthy of your bullshit, is that it?"
"No, you're just not my big target… you're only here so I'll be able to leave a decoration for your Fairy children," the Dark Guild Reaper said cockily, using Ragna's team role against him.
"Looks like I'm up against your scythe then," Ragna decided the two stared down each other; an emerald green eye against two black ones. "It already feels like another life…"
"What are you going on about now?" his opponent demanded, ready to carve his opponent a new one for forcing him to change his plans so much already.
"...My name is Ragna the Bloodedge." His expression alone seemed to darken the area surrounding the two as the sun slowly began to descend in the distance. "Before I joined the Fairy Tail guild... I was known as the Grim Reaper."
(Cue No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle Philistine Extended (Some swearing in the song, so wear headphones if in public))
"...Don't make me laugh, old man," Erigor taunted as he disappeared from view. Quickly snapping to combat ready, Ragna barely managed to summon his sword in time and swing behind him in order block the deadly sickle from decapitating his head. Erigor used to winds to increase his speed for a second slash as Ragna again deflected the blade with his sword. Using his assassin training, he moved to Ragna's blind spot… but Ragna had been stuck like this long enough not to fall for that trick a second time. Sending out a powerful kick, he managed to catch Erigor directly in the chest and narrowed avoided getting cut by another slash to his head.
Charging his magic into his fingers, he pointed directly at Erigor and caused a large red magic circle to spring into existence before him. This was about as basic of a fire spell as one could get in this world, not nearly at the same level that Natsu used his magic… but of course Ragna just had to put his own twist on it.
"Infernal Pulse!" Ragna shouted as he blasted a large fireball, one which screamed through the air straight towards Erigor. The opposing scythe user wasn't nearly impressed and cleanly cut the attack into two, the halves exploding into Clover Canyon behind him.
'He's a Fire Wizard, and only a basic one at that,' Erigor thought before smirking confidently. 'Oh, he's just making this too easy for me!'
Surging with his powerful wind magic, he launched himself into a deadly combination attack. Ragna deflected the first attack before narrowly side stepping the overhead slash. He then guarded with his sword, allowing the scythes edge to strike its edge and create sparks as he deflected the next slash with an upward swing. The two then exchanged slashes and generated sparks before Erigor vanished from view again. Appearing above Ragna, he made a slash at the opposing Reaper's head, cleaving the vicious blade through the neck.
"Too easy… All talk…" Erigor said, sounding quite pleased with himself… only to notice no blood seeping from the fatal wound. "Wha-!?" The after image faded away.
CLANG!
Erigor himself barely had time to block Ragna's follow up strike to his own head as he was forced to plant his feet on the ground. Ragna the swung his blade around in an upward arc and Erigor used his wind magic to blast back into order to avoid the blade. Chasing after him, Ragna slashed horizontally and forced Erigor to guard before they traded blows in a follow-up slash. Using a quick burst of winds to boost his movement, Erigor attempted to slash downwards but the pure strength behind Ragna countering blow sent him off his balance and straight into the air. Leaping up after him, Ragna gave another slash and sent Erigor sprawling back after barely managing to block it.
Seeing that Ragna was still in the air after he'd already recovered, Erigor readied his scythe and took his chance dashing wildly through the sky. Dashing around, he tried to charge from behind him, only to have Ragna's sword block it easily. Warping to the front, Erigor tried another slash which was just as easily deflected. Erigor kept going for Ragna's exposed point, only to have each and every strike easily blocked. When he went for Ragna's head a second time though, the red-coated Reaper stabbed his sword into the air and interrupted the attack as Erigor just barely managed to avoid the blade piercing his skull. Swinging the weapon wildly, Ragna managed to make connect with Erigor's blade and blasted him away.
'Alright… so he's not just some old coot…' Erigor thought to himself with ire as Ragna finally landed to the ground. Scowling down at someone he'd always considered a 'Lesser Wizard', he tried to plan his next move… only to notice something getting in his right eye. "Ugh… what the…?" Wiping it with his left hand, he examined it to find… blood. His blood. He'd been cut in that last exchange just above his eye. "WHY YOU-! ...STORM MAIL!"
A spiraling tornado formed around Erigor, creating a thick set of armor for the user. As he surged forward, Ragna noticed a clear increase of speed as he was forced to act quickly, countering Erigor's first slash with his own, blocking the follow up, and retaliating with a slash of his own. Erigor once more used his wind to disappear from sight as Ragna attempted to cleave through him, reappearing in the air above the Reaper.
"Infernal Pulse!" Ragna shouted again, quickly launching another fireball at his opponent. Erigor didn't even need to use his scythe to cut this one apart, instead the fireball was torn by the wind as soon as it got close to him. Erigor then barreled towards Ragna with his scythe ready, leaving himself open for the attack. Ragna took advantage and stabbed his sword forward, only to have it deflected to the side as soon as it made contact with the whirlwind. Ragna then forced himself to leap back as Erigor's scythe came close to cleaving his head off.
"Now I have you…" came Erigor's voice from within his armor. "There's no way you could possibly break through this, even with that absurd sword of yours!" Ragna contemplated bringing out his frying pan to shut Erigor up, but decided against it. "Your Fire Magic is pathetic and even if it wasn't it wouldn't matter!"
"Tch, just shut the hell up will ya?" Ragna complained as he rushed forward yet again, bringing his sword down upon Erigor. Much like he'd claimed, the blade was deflected by the winds alone and left Erigor ready to slash in counter. Ragna stepped back to avoid the massive swing before from Erigor. Sword and Scythe closed once more before Erigor used his winds to flank Ragna, leaving him to counter with a backwards swing. Letting out an insane cackle, Erigor began expending more of his magical energy as he teleported with all of his rapid strikes, keeping Ragna on his toes and forcing him to fight defensively.
"DIE… DIE… DIE YOU PATHETIC FLY!" Erigor screamed as he teleported high into the air charging his magic for a final dive, only to see Ragna forming yet another magic circle before him. "USELESS! YOUR MAGIC CAN'T EVEN SCRATCH ME!"
"Reaper's…" Ragna began as the magic sigil finished forming and Erigor's soared flew thought the air right towards him.
'A new spell?' Erigor thought to himself before he saw the magic cackling… but not with red fire. 'What!?'
"STORM!"
A wicked bolt of yellow lightning sprang from the magic circle, blasting Erigor with an electric current. The enemy Reaper had been too fazed to move out of the way of this attack and this one cut through his wind barrier like it was nothing. Erigor roared with pain as he was shocked down to his core, his own Storm Mail fading away as he lost focus. Once the spell was finished, he floated in the air breathing heavily as he furiously glared down at the Reaper.
Ragna stood ready, casually holding his blade backhanded behind him as he waited for the fight to continue. While he wasn't smiling and Erigor had the elevation advantage, it was clear Ragna was staring him down… looking down on him.
"My magic might be basic as all hell..." he told his opponent, his tone dull yet merciless." "But I'd say I still got your number."
"I… have had… ENOUGH!" Erigor shouted, his rage causing his power to explode. "YOU MAY BE STRONG BUT I WON'T BE SUFFER YOU AND YOUR DAMN PRIDE ANY LONGER!" Erigor's dark circle appeared before him once more. "STORM BRINGER!"
Realizing what was happening at just that last instant, Ragna managed to leap back just as a massive tornado formed where he'd been standing. The heavy gusts of wind converged formed a vacuum that tried sucking the Reaper into the forming tornado, though Ragna stood strong as he managed to keep his footing.
'Tch… missed him…' Erigor thought as he saw Ragna standing on the other side of the whirlwind. 'Try getting out of this one you crippled pest, you never stood a damned chance against a real Reaper. I've wasted enough time on you as it is.' He finished his thoughts just as he saw Ragna raising his sword high into the air, tensing his muscles as he prepared a single powerful slash on the magic vortex before him. It should have been a stupid and overblown sight… but Erigor felt himself sweat. 'He… He can't be serious…'
"I'M SICK OF YOUR FRIGGIN' WIND!"
'He's been working in an authorized guild this entire time.. He's had easy jobs to choose from… He looks like he's well past his prime… His magic is as basic as you can get... Most of his right side doesn't work for god's sake…' Erigor thought to himself with terror… watching as a tornado itself was torn in half by the sheer force of a single sword slash. 'SO HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!?'
(End Theme)
The magically created winds quickly began to disperse around the sunsetting area, Erigor's eye twitching as he continued to stare at the opposing Reaper who brought his massive sword up and rested it against his shoulder. Ragna glared up at Erigor, ready to make his next move whenever he decided to stop the deer-in-headlights expression.
"That… DOES IT!" Erigor screamed, finally taking out the Lullaby flute. "TO HELL WITH THE DARK ARTS! TO HELL WITH ZEREF! TO HELL WITH EISENWALD! I JUST WANT YOU DEAD
"For an Assassin Reaper you're doing a shit job from where I'm standing," Ragna said as he stood rather relaxed and nonchalant. "One slash left to finish you off for good…"
"And one final note to end your life!" Erigor shouted as he brought the flute to his lips, taking in a deep breath. Ragna tensed his muscles, ready lunge at the last second and cleave both the disgraced Reaper and his magic flute in half. If he missed now, Erigor would just teleport away and be able to perform the Lullaby's deadly song on him. He had to make this final hit count, for it was all-
"FIRE DRAGON..."
"What the-?"
"IRON FIST!"
Coming out of seemingly nowhere was Natsu, delivering an explosive flaming fist straight to Erigor's jaw. The opposing Reaper didn't even have the time to give a scream of pain as he was sent flying through the air, losing his grip on both his scythe and the Lullabye Flute. The former spiraled through the air before impaling itself in the ground right before Ragna. The deadly flute was sent tumbling off the canyon's edge as Erigor crashed into the railway (thankfully not destroying any of the tracks) where he lay unconscious, defeated by Natsu's surprise appearance.
'I should probably be upset that he just stole that win from me,' Ragna thought to himself. 'But…'
"TOLD YOU YOU'D GET BURNED IF YOU MESSED WITH FAIRY TAIL!" Natsu shouted, quite clearly still Fired Up, even if it didn't seem like Erigor was going to up for a rematch.
'...You know, I think I'll just let him take this one,' Ragna conceded, giving a rare soft smile at the sight of Natsu clearly enjoying himself. 'But where in the hell did he come from?' That was when Ragna felt something furry land atop his head. "Hmm?"
"Just in… time…" came Happy's exhausted sigh, the cat's wings showing for just a moment longer before vanishing completely. "I... used up all of my Magic Power... just getting Natsu here..."
"That explains it," Ragna muttered to himself he decided he'd leave Happy where he was for the moment, if only so that the feline could continue to rest. He was about to head over and join Natsu with Erigor… before eyeing the enemy's scythe.
Back with the other wizard, Natsu was checking over Erigor and making sure he was completely knocked out and not just faking it. Much like he'd expected Erigor was going to be down for the count for at least an hour if he wasn't forcefully awakened.
"Well that's him dealt with," Natsu muttered as he noticed Ragna making his way over. "This guy giving you trouble?"
"...Not much, but in terms of dramatic entrances you've got your timing down at least," he told his guildmate with a small chuckle, Natsu of course giving a proud smile. "Come on, I think the bastard dropped that damn flute in the Canyon; we destroy that thing and we'll be done with this whole…" Ragna couldn't finish the sentence, instead giving a harsh wince. "This whole…" His vision began to blur as his body felt like it was being torn apart once more. "The hell is-!?" His head felt like it was on the receiving end of one of Azrael's punches as he doubled over. falling to his knees on the railway as Happy fell from atop his head.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Natsu demanded as the Reaper had his eye trapped shut as his body felt the pain deepening in every non-paralyzed part of his body. "Ragna! Come on, pull yourself together!"
'The hell… is this…?' Ragna thought to himself through his pain, slowly managing to open his eye as he saw he stared out… and found the source of the problem. "L… Lullabye."
Natsu saw it too, the demonic flute floating above Clover Canyon, a dark magical aura covering the weapon as purple lighting sparked and cackled around it tearing the canyon beneath it apart.
"MORTAL FOOLS…" a demonic voice spoke. "I GROW TIRED OF WATCHING YOU SQUIRM LIKE INSECTS… EVEN WITH ME IN THEIR POSSESSION, THOSE WITH HEARTS HARDENED BY THE DARKNESS HAVE FAILED TIME AND AGAIN…" A black magic circle of titanic power and size emerged from the flute leaving the titanic form of a giant horned creature made from demonic wood, it's feet hitting the bottom of the canyon and still towering over the three. "THE SOULS OF TWO WIZARDS HARDLY MAKES FOR A FEAST WORTH WAKING MYSELF FOR… BUT I SUPPOSE IT SHALL DO FOR NOW."
(Cue Sonic Forces Fist Bump Extended)
"...Finally, Looks like we're getting a challenge now!" Natsu said cockily, looking up at the giant monster and positively brimming with Fire Magic. Giving Ragna a quick glance, he saw that he was still wincing but managing to force himself upright. "You going to last out there?"
"Don't have much choice, do I?" Ragna muttered creating a giant fireball in hand and offering it to Natsu. "I got it's left…"
"So I'll take the right!" Natsu agreed with a cocky smile as he swiped the fire magic and downed it, Ragna's magic giving the young wizard a needed boost. "Aw yeah, I got a fire in my belly that's just BURNING TO GET OUT!"
"MORTAL FOOLSSSSS!" the demon screamed a bright light appearing in its mouth as it gathered energy. Flashbacks of his encounter with Takemikazuchi coming back to haunt him, Ragna launched himself as the head as he brought out the massive fryingpan he'd gotten from the Vanish brother's and smacked the demon upside the head, causing its massive burst to fly off into the sky. The monster tried to get a proper swing in at Ragna, only to have Natsu leap up into the air.
"FIRE DRAGON: WING ATTACK!" Natsu said, blasting the target with twin wings of flames blasting it on its right shoulder before landing back on the bridge.
The monster tried to crush the young wizard with its hand as he landed. Ragna intercepted the move, switching his weapons to his Gilgamesh blade and causing the monster to scream as he plunged the sword through its hand. It roared in pain as tried to pull its hand back, but Ragna kept it pinned down.
"Natsu!" he shouted as he kept the thing in place. The monster struggled in vain as it fought to get free, leaving itself wide open for an attack.
"You got it!" the fire wizard told him as he created a magic circle before taking in as deep a breath as he could manage. Blowing outwards, he blasted the demon with the hottest fire he could create and caused the creature to scream as Ragna held it in place. Once, the attack had ended though, the Reaper took his large weapon out of the demon's hand before cleaving it off, sending it over the side of the bridge.
"YOU WIZARD IMBECILES…" the monster growled as it looked down at the two. "I THOUGHT I WOULD ENTERTAIN YOU, SEE WHAT THE MAGICS OF THIS GENERATION ARE TRULY CAPABLE OF… YOU'VE HUMORED YOURSELVES THINKING YOU STOOD A CHANCE AGAINST MY SONG OF DEATH! NOW YOU'LL-!"
"ICE MAKE: LANCE!" came a shout from a short distance away. The giant turned to the source of the shouting as it was struck in the chest with a large Ice Projectile. From the parked Magic Mobile, Ragna saw Gray, Lucy, and Erza running towards them.
"Glad you could make it!" Ragna shouted at the three as he used his Requip magic once more switch his sword out for a new weapon… a scythe.
"I-Is that Erigor's scythe?" Gray asked with surprise.
"Questions later! First you gotta help us kill this damn thing!" Ragna shouted as he swung his scythe with great ferocity, carving the creature across his chest.
"So you steal weapons from the enemies you've beaten!?" Erza demanded as she summoned a giant axe. "That's rather brazen of you!"
"Bite me! I ain't about to give it back!" Ragna shouted as the two weapon users leaped at the demon, cleaving in deeply across the face.
"Steal from… I REMEMBER!" Happy shouted. "LUCY!"
"I can't help right now! None of my spirits have any time left!" she told him as she watching.
"I think I have a way! Look at this!" he told her, holding up a golden zodiac key.
"ICE MAKE: ARROWS!" Gray shouted sending a barrage of the named item straight for the monster. "Tch! Stronger than it looks-!"
"In that case we'll just have to hit that thing as hard as we can," Erza said as she began to focus her magic.
"Oh, looks like Erza's getting serious!" Natsu shouted as he launched him at the creature, delivering yet another flaming punch to the creature's face. As it again charged a massive blast of energy, Ragna slashed the thing against its eye and caused it to stumble slightly.
"ANY DAY NOW ERZA!" he shouted, noticing that she was getting coated in a strange collection of light. 'The hell?'
"FOOLS… WHATEVER YOU ARE PLANNING, I SHALL NOT GIVE YOU THE CHANCE…" the demon told the group as it looked like it was inhaling a large amount of air. "ONE NOTE IS ALL IT WILL TAKE TO END ALL OF YOU! FEEL MY WRATH AND-!" The creature couldn't finish as it almost seemed to lose its footing, one of its legs sinking deep into the ground as it lost all of the air it had gathered. "WHAT IS THIS!?"
"You've got your opening! GO AND FINISH HIM OFF!" Lucy commanded.
"Lucy… you really are a member of Fairy Tail after all," Erza said, giving the Celestial wizard plenty of praise. As Lucy turned to the redhead, she saw that Erza's outfit had changed for black armor that almost made her look like a Wyvern.
"Erza's using her Black Winged Armor!" Happy shouted. "Unlike Ragna, Erza can also change her clothing in order to get extra effects. This one amplifies every one of her strikes with devastating power!"
'So that's what she meant about Armor's back on the train,' the Reaper thought to himself before looking at the prone demon. "Everyone give it your hardest hit! TAKE IT DOWN NOW!"
"ICE MAKE: SLICER!" Gray shouted, unleashing a powerful disk projectile that cleaved a large gash in the creature's right side. "ERZA!"
"RAGNA! WITH ME!" she shouted as she rushed forward with her axe with Ragna following with his scythe. Leaping into the air, both of them roared as the cleanly cleaved the monster across its chest.
"And now for the finishing blow," Natsu said with a smirk. "The Flames of my right hand and the flames of my left! Put the two together-!" The Wizard created a massive sphere of fire magic above his head. "AND THIS IS WHAT YOU GET! FIRE DRAGON: BRILLIANT FLAME!"
Throwing the raw energy with all of his strength, the magic attack hit the demon square in the chest and exploded with a blinding light. The demon gave a shrill scream as it fell backwards, crushing several rock formation beneath its massive bulk before finally exploding.
(End Theme)
"I… it's over…" Lucy said with shock as she looked at the new chasm the team had created in Clover Canyon. Nothing remained of the demon that had long rested in the form of a cursed flute, the smoke parting and heading high into the sky. "We actually managed to do it…"
"Tch, that was piece of cake," Natsu said cockily, breaking Lucy out of her amazement she stared blank-eyed at the pink head. "I was hoping for a better fight than that."
"Much as I'd hate to agree with him on anything, he's got a point," Grey muttered as he sat on the train tracks. "That demon just had this coming from the beginning."
'Th-they weren't impressed by any of that, what kind of monsters are they really?' Lucy thought to herself before seeing Ragna standing by himself off to the side. His newly acquired scythe resting on his shoulder, he looked out into the horizon, watching the sun slowly set behind the chasm that the group had created. Heading over stood next to him, she looked to the setting sun like he was. "So you took Erigor's scythe?"
"...I felt like it could be put to better use," he told her with a somewhat cocky smirk. "Besides, I think the whole Grim Reaper aesthetic suits me pretty damn well, don't you?"
"Perhaps," Erza said as she made her way over, her armor returning to its regular state. "Are all of your weapons just spoils from enemies that you've beaten?"
"Pretty much, but it's pretty cheap just to do things this way," he decided with a chuckle.
"So if you ever tried to defeat me you'd take all of my blades afterwards?" Erza demanded, her scowl something fierce as she stared Ragna down.
"Considering we're on the same team I want to say no…" the Reaper answered before finally sending his newly acquired scythe back into his storage.
"Mistress, are you pleased with my work?" a new voice asked. It's owner was a cute pink haired maid and they seemed to be addressing that question to Lucy.
"Trust me, you were perfect out there Virgo," Lucy told her with a beaming smile. "Sorry, but would you mind waiting just a little longer for us to set up our contract?"
"Of course, I shall eagerly await your next summons," she said with a formal bow before returning to the Celestial Realm.
"That maid… was that the giant gorilla that we fought back at Everlue Manor?" Natsu questioned.
"Yeah, turned out that her contract with Everlue was broken when he got arrested," Lucy said before glaring at Happy. "Something this one completely forgot to tell me."
"I'm sorry, I've had a busy day and all of the excitement made it hard to remember," Happy told her with a pout.
"Heh, well it has been one of those days," the Grim Reaper couldn't help but agree. Turning his head, he noted that the previous owner of his newest weapon was still lying face down on the train tracks after the beating Natsu had given him. "Now then, where do we put that piece of work?"
"We'll hand him and the rest of his cohorts over to the army, no doubt they have already moved in to arrest those we've defeated back at the station," Erza assured them. "In any case-"
"Erza!" Gray called, only for the redhead to shoot him a deathly scowl as she was interrupted. "I… I think I see a train coming this way."
"After what Erigor did to the station?" Erza thought before looking at the vehicle. Unlike most of the other trains, this was covered in armor and seemed to have a few canons on top of it. The train cars were occupied with countless soldiers. "This one's from the army…"
"Aw crap guys! We gotta get going!" Natsu said with panic as he was about to take off running. "They're gonna pissed after we destroyed… after we destroyed…" Now instead of panicked, Natsu looked like he was thinking much harder than he usually did. "...What did we blow up again?"
"Is the station still standing?" Ragna asked Lucy, who only nodded to him. "Then you didn't."
"What's this feeling…?" Gray muttered allowed as he seemed to be gripping his stomach. "I don't like it…"
"Everything about this…" Erza began as she looked at her hands with a sense of terror. "Everything about this feels wrong…"
'This must be a new one for them,' Lucy thought to herself with a classic anime sweat drop as Ragna merely face palmed.
Soon the train slowed before it had come to a complete stop before the group. All around them members of the army piled out with weapons drawn, moving in quickly to arrest Erigor the Reaper. They also surrounded the Fairy Tail members as well and though they didn't have their weapons pointed, Ragna had a feeling it wouldn't take a lot to provoke them to do so. Of the soldiers, many were staring at the large chasm that had been created due to the fight with the Lullaby demon.
"...You're welcome by the way," Ragna muttered with an edge of snarkiness in his words as the soldiers carried the captured Erigor off. He got a few glares, but remained lax under such a sight.
"I'm surprised that you managed to keep your level of destruction to a minimum," a new voice noted as Ragna turned to the source. Its owner was a man with deep blue shaggy hair with a dark tattoo over his right eye. He was dressed in a white and black hakama set. Accompanying him was a woman in a white kimono with long dark hair that fell past her shoulders.
'Wh-what's he doing here!?' Erza thought to herself, hoping she managed to mask her worry as best she could. "Natsu… Gray… Go check on the Magic Mobile, make sure we didn't burn out the engine."
"But Erza…" Natsu began.
"NOW!" she said, giving them both her usual Erza scowl. Both boys gave a terrified sweat as the hurried off to check on their ride.
"Ever the force of nature I see," the blue haired man commented with a smug grin that Ragna didn't exactly care for.
"Only when I need to be," Erza said, keeping her expression as passive as she could. "Tell me, Siegrain… what brings two members of the magic council here?"
"Damage control, mostly," the woman behind the man now known as Siegrain said. "While the two of us might not have as much worry with the damage Fairy Tail causes, the rest of the council has some… reservations about your actions, especially after an entire port town was destroyed." She then smiled brightly, but even with one eye Ragna could tell it had fake written all over it. "Imagine our surprise that you've actually managed to get through without destroying a single building, this is certainly a first for your guild… though the damage you did cause-"
"Most of it was caused by Eisenwald; quit the coy crap already," Ragna interrupted, causing both members of the council to look at him with a sense of curiosity as the soldiers around him glared at his rude comments. Erza herself gave Ragna a soft scowl, knowing his words wouldn't be improving any part of this situation.
"...And you are?" Siegrain asked.
"...I go by Bloodedge," Ragna told him, not feeling any need to give either of them his actual name. "I'm a new member of Fairy Tail."
"Bloodedge of Fairy Tail then," Siegrain summarized plainly (roll credits; ding) . It was clear that Erza and Lucy were both confused by his new name, but both were smart enough to know that now wasn't the time to question it.
"So your guild is now offering positions to the elderly then?" the dark haired woman asked, causing a tick mark to visibly show on Ragna's forehead as his older appearance was once more used against him.
"...If we were, a hag like you would fit right in," he retorted heatedly, sparks clearly lighting between the two as Siegrain only seemed to give a small chuckle at the comment.
'Those are members of the Magic COUNCIL!' Lucy thought to herself as Ragna made it clear he wasn't taking any shit from these two.
"All right, I think that's enough for now Ultear," the blue haired council member noted. "We just came here to capture the Dark Guild that had caused us so much trouble… but what exactly were they hoping to accomplish?"
"None of your-"
"They wanted to use one of Zeref's Dark Magic tools in order to kill the Guild Masters," Erza informed, surprising Ragna as she willingly gave out the information. "We stopped him."
"...I see," Siegrain noted, as he looked out to the chasm the guild had created. "And the Magic tool?"
"…Blew it the hell up," Ragna told him nonchalantly. "After all, that's what you'd to expect from us."
"Fair point," Siegrain acknowledged before turning back to Erza. "If you'd like, your group is more than welcome to return to Oshibana with us. It would certainly be an easier trip than taking that vehicle of yours."
'Please say no, please say no, please say no,' both Ragna and Ultear pleaded internally, fearful of having to deal with each other an entire train ride.
"We'll have to pass on that offer," Erza refuted. "We actually need to be making our way to Clover Town to see the Guild Masters."
'Thank you Erza.'
"Another time then," Siegrain said as he turned away, though everyone knew he had a smug grin on his face. "I enjoy the excitement your guild can bring as much as the next person… but these quieter jobs of yours was a welcome experience."
As soon as the two had left, Erza let out a long breath she wasn't aware that she hadn't been holding in. Ragna took notice of this, wondering if the Council normally caused the redhead to have this much tension. Heading back over to their ride, they saw Natsu and Gray once more arguing about something before pretending they were best friends as soon as they noticed Erza.
"Are we set to leave?" the redhead demanded.
"Yeah, and it looks like we'll have to take this ride slow if we want to make it on this engine," Gray informed.
"Understood, I think I can afford to drive a little slower now that the chaos is behind us," she told them.
"In that case Gray, can you drive this thing?" the Reaper asked, leaving Erza to send him a strange look.
"Yeah… I suppose I can," the Ice Wizard told him, careful on how he worded himself so close to the Queen of Fairies.
"Mind driving us to Clover then? I think it's high time Erza got a break." Now the redhead was glaring at him, but Ragna still wasn't caving in. "Don't try and act so damn stubborn now; you've got dark circles under your eyes for crying out loud."
"I do?" Erza asked before turning to Lucy with a serious glare, causing the blonde to shiver under such a gaze. "Lucy?"
"I mean… kinda?" she said nervously, sweating like Plue would.
"...Fine then," she said letting out a sigh, as her strong side faded only slightly "I'll sit on the roof this trip then."
"Not another ride," Natsu groaned as he looked up at Happy.
"Sorry, I don't think I'd be able to fly us all the way to Clover town," Happy told him.
"Of course not," Natsu groaned.
'Note to self; try again on that medicine,' Ragna thought to himself as everyone climbed on the car… unaware that they were being watched.
"They actually managed to beat Erigor?" Kageyama fearfully observed with surprise as he was only partially emerged from one the rocks littered around Clover Canyon. He had barely managed to avoid the army capturing him, but it hadn't been easy… especially with how beaten Gray had left him. The rest of his guild hadn't been nearly as lucky and were awaiting prosecution. "I guess this marks the end of Eisenwald… so now what am I supposed to do?"
While Kageyama tried to process the events and what would come of them, the car carrying Fairy Tail's team rode gently down the tracks. Since they weren't going at such a hurried speed as last time, Ragna no longer had hold on for dear life with his one arm and managed to sit casually near Erza.
"So… what was the deal with that guy? Siegrain or something?" Ragna asked, figuring out how to ease into his questions. "You acted like you two knew each other."
"We've met… more often than not after I'd caused damage while working on important jobs," she explained. It was easier for her to talk with their backs facing one another since she wouldn't have to look at Ragna square in his eye.
"No offense, but it looked like he was the type of guy that could really get under your skin," he muttered. "And with you I get the feeling that's saying something." He was rewarded with silence. "...Whatever, you don't have to talk about it with me if you don't want to."
'It's not like I don't have my own crap that I'm hiding,' Ragna thought to himself as he looked up at the sky. '...Tch, at least that stupid flute is finally gone… along with that damn burning feeling...'
-Clover Town Conference Hall-
"My Maki, you're really starting to let yourself go," Bob, the guild leader of Blue Pegasus said. He had with an unusually… cutesy fashion sense and seemed just a touched worried as he watched the small guild leader finished his umpteenth drink that night. "Ever since you got that message from that charming little lady, you've done nothing but down your drinks one after the other, you really ought to pace yourself."
"Errrgghhh…" Makarov groaned.
"Eh, don't worry about him; think I know where he's coming from," another wizard with sunglasses, a spiked collar, and a jagged hat noted. This was Goldmine, the leader of the Quatro Cerberus guild. "With all of the damage his guild causes on a daily basis I get the feeling that this new team that got announced could probably wipe out an entire city… or five."
"Errggghhh…" the Fairy Tail guild leader groaned again, raising his glass to his lips only to find it empty. "Another one."
"Are you really sure that's wise Maki?" Bob asked. "If you keep drinking like this, tomorrow's hangover is going to split your head like it's a tiny little egg."
"Don't patronize me, I know how to hold my own drinking," Makarov muttered as one of the waiters brought his drink.
"Also sir, we have a group of wizards at the front asking for you," the waiter told him. "We politely asked them to leave, but…" The man gave a deep sigh. "They all seem rather… headstrong."
"I… see…" Makarov said, shakily bringing the drink up to his lips.
"Shall I let them in or would you like me to send them-?"
"MASTER!" came Erza's familiar scream from the front. Makarov couldn't do anything as Erza rushed in, smashing her Guild Master against her armor in an overbearing side hug. "I'm so glad you're alright!"
"Hey Gramps!" came Natsu's voice as he also charged into the room with Happy, knocking people into their food plates and causing chaos.
"Natsu, you idiot…" Gray muttered as he walked in fully clothed, followed by Ragna and Lucy.
"Well well well, what's this?" Goldmine asked as he turned to the newcomers with a cool and welcoming smile. "I didn't think you'd be bringing some of your wizards to the gathering."
"This wasn't my idea!" Makarov shouted as the other Guild Masters laughed at his expense. "What are all of you doing here in the first place? I heard from Mira that Erza, Natsu, and Gray were supposed to be out on a job!"
"Nothing about us?" Ragna asked as he glanced at Lucy, feeling just a little left out.
"Well I don't think we exactly fit into Fairy Tail's problem wizards… yet."
'Yet? Is she going to try and cause their level of damage?' he thought worriedly before reconsidering. 'What am I saying, she's got more sense than that.'
"Master, the truth is you were the targets of the Dark Guild we had gone after," Erza explained, ever keeping the air of authority. "Eisenwald had planned on killing all of you here with a magic tool of the Dark Wizard Zeref."
"Dark Tool? What are you talking about?" Makarov demanded.
"It's true," Natsu said… through his mouthful of food. Apparently he'd quickly given up on checking on Makarov and had instead gone after the Guild Masters' spread. "Some kinda demon thing showed up out of nowhere and-" He then began to slurp a large and inexplicable ramen bowl.
"Oi, that's not our food," Ragna said with a growl at his teammate, only to notice Happy quickly grabbing some fatty tuna sushi. He facepalmed hard at the chaos around him. "Yare yare…"
"Oh my, at the very least it sounds like all of you went through quite an exciting journey," Bob noted. While his… unique appearance caused most of the team to cringe, Ragna was too deep in his facepalm to care. "It sounds like you young people had quite the fun time."
"I wouldn't exactly call it fun…" Lucy sighed, remembering all of the trouble the group had gone through.
"And…" Makarov began, shaking with fear at the answer he might receive. "...How bad was the damage?"
'That's what he's worried about,' the Reaper thought darkly to himself. "Well Oshibana station's still standing and most of the damage was done by the Dark Guild… so not much."
"You don't have to let me off gently! My heart can take it!" Makarov shouted. "I want you to tell me how much damage you all caused with those three in your team!"
"I understand your concern Master, but he's telling you the truth," Erza reaffirmed. "When we handed Erigor the Reaper directly over to the Army they didn't even try to arrest us."
"We totally could'a caused more damage," Natsu disappointedly muttered through his food.
"Aye," Happy agreed whilst chewing on sushi.
"That's what we're trying to avoid!" Lucy shouted at the two of them.
"Nothing happened… with all three of you on the same team," Makarov said mostly to himself. A look of awe upon his face.
"Master? Are you… crying?" Gray asked, staring in surprise at the small Guild Leader… whilst also not realizing he'd once again stripped down to his boxers.
"Alright, I think that about marks my limit on chaos for the day," Ragna muttered as he headed over to Natsu and proceeded to start dragging him away from the food table. "Come on you."
"But I'm not done eating yet!" Natsu shouted. "Come on! Feeding us is the least they can do after we saved them!"
"Gray, put your clothes on and grab Happy, will ya?" he asked the Ice Wizard who (after the minor freakout at his unintentional stripping) grabbed the blue cat from the sushi section. "After the day I had, I need a long bath and nice bed to sleep in."
"I second that notion," Lucy said as she raised her hand, far and away done with that day.
"A bath does sound lovely, and I do think we could all use a rest," Erza herself agreed. Turning to the Guild Masters, she gave a polite bow before following Ragna and the others.
"Huh, so those are the young 'uns of your group," Goldmine noted as business as usual returned to the conference hall (mostly more eating and drinking). "Gotta say, they seem like an exciting bunch… save of course for that downer old man in the red coat."
"Aw, I don't see it like that at all," Bob noted with a smile. "In fact, it's almost like he's acting like the group's little dad."
"That's what you got out of that?" the skeptic leader of Quatro Cerberus asked.
"Strange as it may sound, Bob does have a point," Makarov said, finally finding his voice as he wiped his face from the tears. "From what I can tell Natsu has given Ragna the nickname 'dad'… even it's mainly a spiteful gesture at this point."
"See?" Bob said, looking quite pleased with himself.
"That's proves nothing," Goldmine stubbornly denied.
"ALL RIGHT!" Makarov screamed, raising his glass high. "AGAINST ALL ODDS FAIRY TAIL WON'T HAVE ANY DAMAGE COMPLAINTS! I'M GOING TO DRINK LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW IN CELEBRATION!"
"You're still drinking... after all that booze you already downed because you were worried?"
"Oh Maki, you really should take it easy…"
Later that Night
Ragna said nothing as he rested on the cushioned windowsill, looking up at the large and bright moon with his single good eye. Despite Lucy's best efforts (and Erza's naturally intimidating presence), there was only a single two bed suite for the group to rest in and that meant getting creative for where everyone would be sleeping that night. By now everyone had already bathed and had fallen asleep save for him who couldn't quite shut his eye just yet.
Putting his hand out to the side, he used his Requip magic once more and summoned Erigor's scythe… no, now it was his scythe and that was the way it was going to stay until it broke or he found a sickle that suited him better. Try as he might to get rid of his past life, the Grim Reaper element seemed to be stuck with him… but it certainly beat a certain someone calling him a pedo again.
'This thing's a lot lighter than Aramasa was in this form,' Ragna thought to himself as he examined his new weapon. 'That and… I'm not exactly a fan of the skull on it…' Even he had limits on how closely associated to death he was. Putting the weapon back into storage, he glanced to the resting places of his fellow teammates.
The room had been given a small sofa where Natsu was resting along with a small easy chair and ottoman set for Grey to catch his Z's. On Natsu's side, the Fire User was softly snoring with a small trail of spit drooling out of his mouth. Happy was sitting on one of the armrests and leaning back against Natsu's head as he slept and muttering out a new species of fish every few minutes. While Gray slept, a thin vapor seemed to be emerging from his mouth, almost fitting for an Ice user. Ragna figured this might have caused the temperature around him to drop significantly, but sure enough Gray's clothes had been piled off to the side as he slept.
Being the two girls of the group (and at Ragna's own insistence) Lucy and Erza had been given the two beds to rest in. The blonde Celestial Wizard had summoned Plue and was snuggling with it beneath her sheets as she slept peacefully. There wasn't a lot to say about Erza… though Ragna did find it strange that she'd changed from her pajamas back into her regular armor in her sleep. Maybe she was dreaming about fighting or something? Ragna didn't know.
"These guys are a real handful," he muttered softly to himself as he struggled to get comfortable with the limited room he'd been given.
...Betraying his complaint with only the smallest of smiles.
Author's Note
Storm VII: KEPT THE PROMISE! OUT BY NEW YEARS AND OUT BY CHRISTMAS!
Happy: How surprising, you never finish a story when you say you're going to.
S: C'mon, you know I have a busy life outside of writing.
H: Actually, I didn't think you had a life outside of writing.
S: Ouch… Anyways, that's the Lullabye Arc. As you could probably expect, I'm not going to be covering that village filler episode from the anime (unless it's heavily requested).
H: The one where we-?
S: SPOILERS! ...Actually never mind; it's been out for a few years. Though there is something I should be telling you. Remember how I said I wanted to make this story more my own thing in the last author's note?
H: Yeah, and you changed this Arc up quite a bit.
S: Well I'm going to be putting in some of my own personal (productive) filler in the story before the next Arc. I'm thinking two, three... four chapters maximum. Let me know in the reviews what you think a good amount would be.
H: ALL CHAPTERS WILL HAVE ME AS THEIR FOCUS!
S: You wish… Anyways, let's do these reviews.
ThePinkJirachi: Back I am.
Guest (1): ...Lotta Siegrain hate here… Hmm, how to proceed.
Bloodedge: It's… something I've considered.
Guest (2): Azure Grimoire might take a while. And Erza… welllll...
Sieg Warheidt: Definitely got plans for that, just gonna take a bit longer.
TheFreezerStreets: Sorry, but it didn't exactly go down like that.
GenieNight08: While I can appreciate being called out for story problems, I think you might want to listen to a few of the other reviews for the points I tried to make in this story.
KuKuKu KAW: Thanks for your support, and not to worry. I can take criticism.
Primus1661: Wendy… Well I won't have a problem of catching up to the canon series too quickly.
Lovnag: If you don't mind sending me a PM… what juicy bits do you mean?
Wlyman2009: Haven't played Abyss so I can't compare, and dad Ragna seems to be getting popular.
Drakolf: Thank you for being patient.
The Uplanner: I only have a PS4, so you're safe for now.
Call-me-Writer: It's something that's happened in a few other stories, so there's a chance that could happen here.
Kayen1024: Considering the whole Black Beast thing, it was an easy connection.
Shirosaki Kizuro: Not yet my friend, not yet…
Zeldawolffang: Hype!
Meijin Lightus: Thanks.
Vastolordmask: Considering that's how a few of my stories have already turned out, I'm probably going to stay away from that angle.
Azure Legacy: Thanks for the defence, you cover the main arguments I would have had.
Mercenary9814: That's what I try.
S: Phew, that's that!
H: Time to post! See you all soon!
Storm VII: CIAO!