Chapter 7

Erza vs Natsu

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Magic"

Flashback

Location / Date / Time Change

Era

"Eisenwald may have defeated, but that is only one small victory in an ever growing battle." Councilman Org said to open the usual meeting.

"There are still many illegal guild out there." Another councilman stated.

"We have to do something." A third member stated.

"It doesn't matter how." Org said, holding up Lullaby in a sealed box. "We can't allow anyone else to get their hands on Zeref's magic."

"How did they even get a hold of that demonic flute?" Yajima asked.

"I hate to say it, but the blame may extend to the highest level." Michello said, receiving several agreeing nods.

"What ever the case, they maybe a thorn in our side, but Fairy Tail showed up and saved the day." Siergran stated.

"They took out a whole guild with only five people." Ultear stated. "That's quite impressive." This caused an outburst of arguments from different members.

"I know you don't want to admit the truth, but that's the reality of the situation." Siergran intrupted the multiple arguments. "If the guild masters had been killed, thing could have been a lot worse for us all. Some of us would have definitely been fired."

"Don't be silly!" Org shouted. "Are you gonna bring up the matter of responsibility of blame here?! We're already tearing our hair out over their reckless behavior!"

"Then why don't we just discuss the matter with them?" Siergran smirked.

Magnolia

Lucy's Apartment

A few days had passed since the whole Lullaby incident and life went on as normal. The story had made the papers and was in every magazine. All but one member of the dark guild was arrested, Erigor.

Lucy was getting ready for another day of guild work. She walked out of her bed room into her den, only to find Gray, in his underpants, sitting in her chair.

"Intruder Alert!" Lucy reacted quickly and kicked Gray in the chest. "And no stripping in my house!"

A knock on the door took Lucy's attention away from the stripping act. Lucy walked over and opened the door, revealing Laki standing outside.

"Hey, Lu..." Laki stopped talking when she noticed Gray on the ground in his underwear. "I didn't know you had a thing for strippers, Lucy." Laki smirked as she adjusted her glasses. "Mira's gonna have a field day with this."

"No way am I with him!" Lucy shouted at her friends imagination. "He just broke in here and started stripping!"

"That's a lie!" Gray shouted back. "I was naked when I got here."

"Not really helping your case." Laki said, glaring at the ice wizard. "So, ready to go?"

"Go, where?" Lucy asked confused.

"Did you really forget?" Gray asked. "Remember when Natsu challenged Erza to a fight at the station? Well, the rematch is about to start."

"What?!" Lucy shouted before she ran out of her apartment. She arrived at the guild, having broken the land speed record, to find a massive crowd gathered around the guild entrance. Pushing Wakaba out of the way, she saw Natsu and Erza, standing in the center, ready to fight.

"Oh, hi Lucy." Mirajane called out to the blonde.

"This is gonna be one manly fight." Elfman cheered.

"Aren't you worried this might tear our strongest team apart?" Lucy asked Gray and Laki who had both just arrived.

"What are you talking about?" Gray asked.

"You know." Lucy turned to Gray. "You, Natsu, Laki and Erza. You guys are the strongest wizards here!"

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Gray chuckled, holding his side. "What moron told you that idea?" Unbeknownst to him, Mirajane, who had come up with the idea, began crying. "Oh, Mira, you're not a moron."

"Way to go, ice-boy." Laki glared at the other Maker mage.

"Look, I admit it." Elfman began. "Natsu and Gray are tough little dudes. But they ain't even close to the strongest. I know for a fact that I'm stronger than both of them put together."

"But Erza is definitely the strongest female in the whole guild." Levy stated.

"Well, as for the guys, I'm going with either Mystogan or Laxus." Jet added. "Plus, we can't forget about him."

"Well anyway, I can't wait to see how this fight goes." Elfman turned his attention back to the fight.

"Why call it a fight?" Gray asked. "Erza's just gonna mop the floor with him."

"I don't know, Gray." Laki told her friend. "Natsu's been training really hard for this. I think he can land a few good hits in."

"It's been a while since we've exchanged magic, hasn't it Natsu?" Erza asked with a chuckle.

"I was just a kid back then." Natsu retorted as he drop into his fighting stance. "Today's the day that I beat you."

"Well, I'm not gonna go easy on you." Erza began to glow in her magical aura. "I want to test my own power!" She erupted into a blinding aura. When it died down, Erza had Requiped into her Flame Empress Armor.

"That armor is gonna half Natsu's Fire Magic." Laki informed Lucy. "This could be tough for him."

"Put me down for Erza, first round knock out." Happy told Cana before handing over a large wad of money.

"You're betting against your best friend!?" Lucy asked in shock. "What is wrong with you guys? Why are you backing this up?"

"Come on, Lucy." Laki spoke to the blonde. "Just get into the spirit of things, will ya?"

"Flame Empress Armor?" Natsu asked with a smirk. "Nice." His hands erupted in flames. "Now I can go all out."

Natsu and Erza stared at each other, both having their game faces on. "Round 1, begin!" Makarov declared, making Lucy's jaw drop even further.

Natsu charged forward, but Erza dodged his fists. Erza swung her sword, but Natsu dodged the flaming after trail before raising his foot in a flaming roundhouse kick.

Erza blocked with her blade before swinging again. Natsu flipped to avoid, but Erza charged at him. Natsu unleashed his breath attack, but Erza dodged and the flames almost hit the bystanders.

"Wow!" Lucy was amazed at the fight before her.

"Told it was gonna be good." Laki nudged Lucy with her shoulder.

"This is boring." Gray complained, mainly because Laki was right about Natsu lasting longer.

Erza raised her sword and charged forward. Natsu reignited his fists and did the same. Just before contact, a gong crash rung through the air, catching everyone's attention. The crowd and the fighters looked over and saw a frog-lizard thing walking into the center. "This fight is over. I have come on behalf of the magic council."

"The council sent her!?" Levy asked in shock.

"Why here!?" Dory asked equally shocked.

"Why are none of you fazed by the fact that she's a frog!?" Lucy asked in confusion.

The creature ignored them and pulled out a piece of paper from its bag. "As a result of the Eisenwald incident, one of your members is charged with eleven counts of criminal property damage. Erza Scarlet, the council has now placed you under arrest."

"Whaaaat?" Natsu shouted in disbelief.

A Few Minutes Later

The guild hall was unusually quiet. Not a smile could be found on a single face. They were all too worried about their friend, Erza.

"Come on, you guys! Let me out!" A soft voice rang out.

"Natsu, calm down." Mirajane looked over to a small glass on the bar with a lizard inside.

"Let me out, please!" The now lizard Natsu begged.

"If we let you out, you'll just go and do something reckless." Mirajane told him.

"Please, I'll be good, I swear." Natsu told her. "I just wanna go back to normal!"

"Then you won't try and go after Erza?" Mirajane asked, staring into the glass.

"I won't!" Natsu told her, but she could tell he was lying.

"There's nothing you could do." Gray chimed in. "If the council says you're guilty, then you're guilty."

"Don't those council jerks realize that all the guild masters would be dead if Erza didn't do something!" Natsu shouted.

"That is the case, but the council doesn't care about what we have to say." Gray responded.

"I don't get it." Elfman spoke up. "We've destroyed plenty of stuff in the past. So, why make a big deal out of it now?"

"Something is definitely wrong here." Lucy muttered. "It's like there is another reason."

National Council, Fiore Branch

Erza walked down the hall, accompanied by another frog-lizard. Her hands were bond by Magic Cancellation Cuffs so she couldn't escape. She looked up and noticed a blue haired man leaning against a pillar.

"Seigrain..." Erza's eyes almost burst out of her head when she saw the man.

"Long time no see, Erza." The blue haired man spoke before noticing how nervous Erza looked. "Calm down, this is just a Thought Projection. My real body is in Era. In fact, so are all the wrinkled face in their. For such a trivial matter, we didn't think it necessary to be here."

"So you're the one behind this farce?" Erza asked in anger.

"Come now, be civil." Siegrain explained as he walked past her. "I've always supported Fairy Tail. But the elders need a victim to take the blame, for they fear the destruction of Clover will fall onto them. You, my dear, are the one who drew the short straw."

"Just shut up." Erza told him.

"Just a friendly warning." The councilman told her before turning around. "There is another matter I'd like to discuss with you." He raised her face to have her look him in the eyes. "Never tell the geezers about 'that'. For both of our sakes."

"I must rejoin the council now." He walked away a bit before he looked over his shoulder. "I'll see you on the other side." He turned and faded away.

"I can't believe you know someone on the council." Erza's escort looked up.

"He's evil." Erza told her escort before they resumed their walk to the court room.

'I've come so far, Erza.' Siegrain thought to himself from behind the wall. 'Don't interfere with me now.'

Erza entered the court room and found herself standing in front of the council members.

"This trail will now come to order." Another frog-lizard read from a paper. "The defendant, Erza Scarlet, please step forward."

Fairy Tail Guildhall

"I can't just sit here." Lucy stood up from her seat. "We need to go there. We have to testify for her."

"We are not going to court." Makarov shot her down.

"Why not!?" Lucy shouted. "She doesn't deserve this! We all know she's innocent! We can't just let her get lock away for who knows how long!"

"It doesn't matter if we left this very second." Makarov told her. "We'd never make it their in time."

"Will you please just let me out of this stupid cup?!" Natsu shouted. "I've been stuck in here all day! It's getting really hard to breathe in here!"

"You really sure you wanna come out of there?" Makarov asked.

"Hm, let me think... Yes, Yes, I want out of here!" Natsu replied.

"Alright. You want it, you got it." Makarov raised his hand and aimed it at the glass.

"Wait, Master!" Natsu panicked. "Can't you just lift the glass off of me?"

"Nope." Makarov fired a blast of light at the glass, knocking it of the table and creating a poof of white smoke. As the smoke faded, Laki was on the ground, rubbing her head.

"Laki!?" Levy asked in surprise, while everyone else gave a collective 'huh?'.

"That was you?" Lucy asked her friend.

"Sorry, guys." Laki said rubbing the back of her head. "I kinda owed Natsu one for saving my life on a job a few years ago. So, I asked Macao to turn me into a lizard so everyone would think I was him."

"I take it you know where the real Natsu went?" Lucy asked.

"Uh, well..." Laki muttered, trying not to answer.

"He went after Erza, didn't he?" Gray asked as he walked over to his fellow Maker Mage.

"Yeah, probably..." Laki nodded.

"This ain't something to joke about, Laki!" Elfman shouted. "That idiot will probably try and take out the whole council!"

"Would you all just calm down?" Makarov asked his the members of his guild. "All we can do now is wait for the outcome."

Magic Council, Fiore Branch

"Erza Scarlet." The judge spoke. "You stand before the council on charges that stem from the Eisenwald incident." The man the picked up a piece of paper in front of him. "These include destroying part of Oshibana Station, Ryushika Canyon's railway bridge, and an entire mansion in Clover. According to eyewitness reporting, the culprit was described a red head female wizard who was heavily clad in armor, and..."

The doors behind Erza exploded open in a burst of fire, shocking the entire court room. As the dust settled, a figure could be seen through the smoke. It was Natsu, in what could only be described as the worst cosplay outfit ever.

"I'm the armor Mage!" He shouted while spewing fire from his mouth. "Arrest me if you can, you old timers!"

Erza stared in shock while many members of the council had their jaws wide open in horror.

"I'm the all powerful Erza, damnit!" Natsu went even crazier. "Tell me what I'm guilty of! Just make sure it's more important than the guild masters lives!" His tirade finished, Natsu stared at the judge, who let out an annoyed sigh. Natsu grinned in victory, where as Erza let out a defeated sigh.

"Take them away." The judge ordered as he banged his gavel.

"I am so sorry, your honor." Erza bowed in regret. "I can't apologize enough for his actions."

"The hell are you doing, Erza?!" Natsu spun around and asked. "Don't apologize to these council jerks! W-wait, I mean, I'm Erza!"

The guards dragged a kicking and screaming Natsu away while Erza walked beside them. Once at the cell, the guards stripped Natsu out of the ridiculous costume he'd strapped on himself before throwing him into the cell. They locked the door once Erza had finished walking in and then they left.

Erza sat down and glared at Natsu. "Do you have any idea how angry I am at you right now? That trial was just a formality."

"I was just trying to help." Natsu said. "And what do you mean a formality?"

"It was glorified show." Erza explained. "The arrest, the trail. It was all so the council could use me as an example of their authority so they can keep us all in check."

"I... don't get it." Natsu tilted his head in confusion.

"It means I would have been found guilty and sent home with a slap on the wrist." Erza growled out before turning it into a scream. "But thanks to you, I'm stuck in here all night!"

"I'm sorry." Natsu hung his head in shame.

"It's okay." Erza blushed a little. "You meant well." She then grabbed Natsu's head and slammed it into her chest plate.

"Oww." Natsu groaned out.

"So, Natsu Dragneel." Siegrain's Thought Projection said aloud as he observed the scene. "That's his name."

The Next Day

Fairy Tail Guild Hall

"Fresh air never tasted so sweet!" Natsu shouted in joy. "I'm gonna breathe it in all day! Freeeedooooom!" He started running around the guild hall like an idiot.

"Shut up!" Jet groaned, fighting the urge to trip Natsu.

"He's so cute when he gets all excited." Mirajane said from behind the bar.

"I think he should have stayed in jail a little longer." Lucy said before placing her head on the table. "I still can't believe that whole arrest was just a formality."

"So they sent a frog because she was gonna bounce right back." Gray exclaimed, trying to make a joke.

"Wow, that was cold, even for an Ice Wizard." Laki said, staring at Gray in disbelief.

"Yo, Natsu!" Elfman shouted, catching the pinkette's attention. "When are you and Erza gonna finish going man to man?"

"Oh yeah." Natsu remembered. "I almost forgot." He turned to where Erza was sitting. "So, wanna pick up where we left off?"

"I'm in no mood to fight." Erza calmly replied.

Natsu, having his tunnel vision for fights, ignited his fist and charged forward. "Ain't no way I'm letting you off the hook!"

Erza sighed as she rose from her seat. With lightning speed, she punched Natsu in the gut, launching him into the wall, knocking him out cold. Lucy, Gray and Elfman stared in shock, while Laki ran over to her friend. "How's that? You satisfied."

"And he's down for the count!" Happy exclaimed. Elfman and Gray laughed at Natsu's instant knock out.

"Don't you think you went to far, Erza?" Laki asked, having reached Natsu. "Come on, let's get you into the medical room."

Mirajane giggled at the sight before noticing Makarov nodding off. "Everything okay, master?"

"I'm fine." Makarov said, trying to sound strong. "Just a little tired." He then moved his gaze to the door. "He's coming."

Before Mira could ask what he meant, she felt the urge to lie down and rest. Unable to fight it, she fell to the floor and began sleeping.

"Not again!" Gray complained as a similar feeling took him over.

As Lucy fell sleep, she watched as other members succumb to the felling as well. Her last sight was Erza struggling to stay awake.

Makarov watched the door as a heavily wrapped man with Magic Staffs walk into the guild hall. He walked right past Makarov and went to the job board. "Mystogan..." Makarov muttered with little strength.

The man called Mystogan examined the job board for a bit before grabbing a job about eliminating a creature. "I shall return soon." He told Makarov.

"Hold on." Makarov spoke. "Lift your Sleeping Spell first. Please."

Mystogan turned and headed for the door. As he did, he started counting from five. When he reached one, he faded into a mist and left. Once gone, all the members, bar Natsu, woke up. Laki woke up and found herself resting on Natsu's chest. She pushed him away with a massive blush on her face.

"Damn. Was Mystogan here?" Jet asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"What a jerk." Droy stated.

"Why does he have to put everyone asleep when he comes here?" Levy asked no one.

"Who is this Mystogan guy?" Lucy asked.

"He's one of the strongest mages in Fairy Tail." Loke explained before realizing he was talking to Lucy and ran away.

"For some reason, he doesn't want anyone to see his face." Laki took over for Loke as she walked over, trying her best to rid herself of the last of her blush. "So, every time he comes here to get a job, he puts us all to sleep."

"That is really creepy." Lucy told her friend.

"Master Makarov is probably the only one who knows what his face looks like." Gray said.

"That's not true." A new voice rang out. "I've seen him before." Everyone looked up in shock at a blonde haired man with a lightning bolt scar over his right eye.

"Lakus, you're really here?" Laki asked. "You're never here."

"And here's another contender." Gray unenthusiastically told Lucy.

"Mystogan's just a little shy." Laxus teased. "Just respect his wishes and leave him alone."

Natsu opened his eyes and kipped up. "Laxus!" He roared up to the blonde. "Get down here and fight me!"

"Natsu, you already lost to Erza." Laki reminded him. "No need to make it o for two."

"Purple's right." Laxus added. "If you can't even beat someone like Erza, then you don't stand s chance against me."

"What is that suppose to mean?" Erza asked annoyed.

"No need get worked up, Erza." Gray said, trying to calm the red head down.

"It means I'm stronger than all of you put together." Laxus stated in bravado.

"Then come down here and prove it." Natsu gritted through his teeth.

"How about you come up here?" Laxus counter offered.

"Gladly." Natsu sprinted forward, intent on fight the the blonde. Just as he reached the stairs, Makarov's giant fist slammed down on top of him.

"You know you're not allowed on the second floor, Natsu." Makarov reminded him. "Not yet at least."

"Heh." Laxus chuckled before leaning down. "You got scolded."

"You too, Laxus." Makarov glanced at the blonde. "Stop it."

"The most powerful wizard in this guild ain't a chick, or some wannabe ninja. You wanna know what the strongest wizard in the guild looks like?" Laxus asked, knowing the answer since he made the question. "You're looking at him!"

Later That Day

Night had fallen over Magnolia and most of the members had gone to their homes. Lucy had just said good night to Laki before taking a seat at the bar while Mira was behind it, washing some beer mugs. "Hey, Mirajane." Lucy spoke to the white haired woman. "Do you know why master wouldn't let Natsu onto the second floor?"

"Oh, right. You're still new to the whole guild thing." Mirajane told her. "See, the request board on the second floor has far more difficult jobs compared to the ones on the first floor. They're called S-Class quests."

"S-Class!?" Lucy shouted. "I thought that was just a rumor!"

"Nope, it's real." Mirajane told her. "These jobs pay much more than the ones down on the first floor. But that reward comes at a greater risk. One wrong move and it could be your last. Only mages approved by the mater can take these jobs. Only five people in the whole guild are qualified to take them."

"Wow, that's scary." Lucy mumbled.

"Don't worry about it, Lucy." Mira said. "There is no amount of money worth risking your life."

"You can say that again." Lucy chuckled before getting up to go to her apartment. "Night, Mira."

As Lucy walk home, she began wondering just who is the strongest. 'Now I understand the chain of command in Fairy Tail.' She though of the chart that might place people and put herself above Laki, equaling herself to Natsu and Gray. "Well, I guess I need to work even harder." She opened the door to her place, only to find Natsu and Happy working out on her bed.

"Get out of my bed!" Lucy shouted in justifiable anger. "Go home and work out there!"

"Lucy, if we're gonna act like a team, then we have to train like one." Natsu reasoned, holding up a pair of pink dumbbells. "Girls like pink, right?"

"What the hell am I gonna do with iron dumbbells!?" Lucy asked, only to be answered by her two intruders dropping down and started doing push ups. "Will you two please just go home!?"

"I've made a decision." Natsu spoke up, catching Lucy's attention. "We're ready for the big time. S-Class!" As he spoke, Happy unveiled an S-Class job from his bag.

"What the hell are you guys doing with that?" Lucy asked shocked. "I thought we weren't allowed on the second floor!"

"All I did was climb the stairs and took it." Happy stated like it was the most basic thing in the world.

"This is our first S-Class job, so we went with the smallest reward available." Natsu explained as he threw on his vest. "Seven million is still a lot of jewel, right?"

"Who cares?" Lucy shouted. "If master found out you took this, he'd kill you."

"But once we get back, he'll be pretty proud of us." Natsu reasoned.

"This has to be the dumbest thing you've ever done." Lucy shock her head in disbelief. "I don't care what you two do, I'm not going with you."

"But it's to save a tropical island." Happy teased in a song song voiced.

"An island?" Lucy asked before reading the rest of the job. "Forget it. It says that the island is cursed. No way am I going to a place like that."

"Fine, we're out of here." Natsu said as he climbed out the window.

"Would you please use the door!?" Lucy shouted to the fading figures. She turned around only to lock eyes with job request. Curiosity getting the better of her, she decided to take a look at the paper. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw the reward. "A gold spirit key plus the seven million jewel?" She giggled a little bit before she ran after Natsu and Happy.

Two announcements:

One, I've got a new pole on my profile, go check it out. You will determine what kinda story I write next.

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