Here's the next chapter. Hope you'll enjoy it :)
Wolfking0811 - No problem, glad I can help.
MDM11 - Great recommendations like always. I believe somebody suggested to Kagura and Yukino appear early, so I definitely consider it. Also I never thought of Night and Flare visiting the Sun Village, I'll make sure to make a plan. Thanks.
wellingtonlucas282 - No problem, glad you enjoyed it.
BIRDOFHERMES - Thank you so much, I'm really happy that you are liking it. Creating the Clan and the culture is tough work, but it is rewarding. By the way, 'a beautiful and terrifying butterfly of fear and darkness' is, by far, my favourite description of Night Terror. I have to include that in the story somewhere. Thanks again.
Djinn - Thanks so much, yeah I've been sitting on that revelation for around ten chapters now. Although, looking back on it, I think the pacing was a bit off, but ah well. Hope you'll enjoy the next chapter.
Diabolos Aides - No problem, thanks for reading.
Changeling501 - Yeah sorry about that. I'm trying my best to fix the harem angle. I'm not great at romance stories, but I keep pushing myself to do it because I want to be a better writer. I appreciate that you are continuing to read (and I would totally understand if you gave up on it) and that you like the mythology and OC, I have worked really hard on it. Thank you so much.
Blaze1992 - Flare might warm up to her eventually, but for now I think they should have some sort of rivalry.
Lelouch of Zero - Thank you so much. I'm glad you like Flare's and Lucy's relationship. Night Terror is not an S class for a few reasons. First of all, he didn't one to stand out in the guild. Secondly, he doesn't really want to spend too long away from the guild in case it's in trouble. Thirdly, (this is before he became an official Night Terror) he doesn't want to exceed until he knows he's ready. Good question, though. I'm glad somebody brought it up. Hope you'll enjoy the next chapter.
K. God - Thanks so much. Yeah, looking back at it, that scene does need some work. I try and add more to it in the future. Thanks for reading.
Re Lovely Lover - Thank you so much.
Guest - Thanks. Night will certainly be in trouble when he has to perform. Hope you'll enjoy the next chapter.
CenturionEon - I'm so glad that you are enjoying it and I really appreciate that, despite the scepticism, you still gave it a try. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter, we will go over why Erza has been acting strangely around Night Terror.
danielsnow - Thanks for telling me. I sometime type faster then I can think, so missing words are an occupational hazard. It will be hard for Flare during the seven years, but hopefully it would inspire her to take charge and be the guild's breadwinner. I agree that Night Terror would be good at a theatre, although, as you will see in the chapter, he would much prefer being backstage. Thanks for reading.
Davidab931 - I can't wait to introduce Wendy as well. She's a really cool character. Also Night Terror is 18 years old.
Grubkiller13579 - Thank you so much. Yeah, I'm still trying to work on the pacing, but I'm glad you are enjoying it. I never heard of Music of the Spheres so I'll check that out. I'm happy that you like the magic and the story and I hope you'll enjoy it.
Rusbell 123 - It's definitely a possibility. I just need to find when the best place to introduce them. I'm also glad you've been following it for so long, thank you for you support.
Thank you for all your reviews.
I just brought out a new story based on the Demon Slayer franchise, so if you are interested please check it out.
Chapter 19: Frederick And Yanderica
Ghost Lotus Street
On a bustling merchant street in a town a few miles away from Magnolia, the Fairy Tail mages made their way through the crowds towards the theatre.
Up at the front, Flare was almost skipping in excitement, eager to do her first ever job. Night Terror and Lucy followed behind her while behind them were Natsu, Grey, Erza and Happy. Natsu was being dragged by his leg by Erza as she pulled her packed cart, recovering from the train journey as the blue cat rubbed his back comfortingly. Grey, who had already lost his shirt, shoved his hands in his pockets, not at all happy that he was dragged along.
"Are we there yet?" he sighed.
Lucy rolled her eyes and looked back at him, "Come on. Don't be like that. It's going to be fun, I know it."
"Aren't you only here for the money?" Happy questioned, causing her to gulp sheepishly.
"Well, I mean that's not the only reason," she said, rubbing the back of her head, "As an aspiring writer, being on stage is the sort of experience I need if I wanted to write a play. Even if we're only doing small jobs back stage."
"Well, you never really know," Erza spoke up as she slung Natsu over her shoulder as if he was sack of flour, "Perhaps we would get the chance to do...other tasks as well."
Lucy gave her an odd look, "Do you really want to perform, Erza?"
The red haired mage blushed slightly, "I have no idea where you got that idea?"
"You've been doing vocal exercises on the train ride here."
Suddenly, Natsu leapt of Erza's shoulder and punched his fist into his palm in determination, "Alright, now I'm ready to kick some ass!"
"You recovered quickly," Grey sighed, "Also we're not here to fight anyone."
"We're not!? So I got on that stupid train for nothing!?"
Lucy sighed, "Didn't you listen at all, Natsu?"
"Hey, it's hard to listen when you're trying not to puke!" Natsu argued.
Night Terror shook his head, 'This is precisely what I feared', he thought before calling out to Flare, "Miss Flare, would you mind going on ahead and find the theatre. I have something to discuss with our fellow guildmembers."
Flare hummed in interest before she nodded in agreement, "Okay, but don't be late."
"We promise," he told her before she ran off down the street.
As soon as she was out of sight, Night Terror sharply turned to his guild members, making them all stop in their tracks.
"Right," he sighed, "This is Miss Flare's first job and I want it to be a success. We are here to boost her confidence and hopefully gain more confidence in herself. So, I would really appreciate if all of you will be on your best behaviour. I don't want to see your usual shenoglions today."
The others blinked in confusion.
"What's a shenoglion?" Happy asked.
"Oh, my apologies, one moment," he said before taking out a small black notebook, way too small for his giant claws, out of his cloak. He flicked through it for a moment before he found the right page, "Oh I see. I meant 'shenanigans'."
Natsu and Happy instantly burst out laughing, "Hahaha! It's so funny to hear you say the word shenanigans!"
Grey ignored the laughing duo, "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, Mr Grey, that whenever all of you are put together as a team, something ends up getting destroyed and a lot of people being annoyed. Miss Flare is very excited and I do not want her to be disheartened. I am not asking you to not be yourselves, just please be...better versions of yourselves. Especially you two," he explained, pointing at Natsu and Grey.
That earned a grumble from them, but they otherwise agreed with him. Lucy nodded in agreement and stood beside Night Terror holding her fist in the air in determination.
"Don't worry, Night. You can rely on me to keep them in order. I'll make sure that Flare will have a great experience at her first job," she told him with a confident smile.
"Miss Lucy, I mean you as well," Night Terror said, shattering her confidence immediately.
"Me!? What have I done!?"
"Didn't you destroy Hargeon Town's harbour," Natsu pointed out.
"That was one time!" Lucy yelled as Night Terror gave her a weary look, "Besides that was mainly Aquarius' fault and you destroyed most of it!"
"Wow! Lucy. You're pretty useless if you can't destroy something without others helping you!" Happy chirped, causing a tick mark to form on her forehead.
"Ha! Yeah, he's right!" Natsu laughed.
Lucy growled and pounced on him, "Why you little!", she screamed, grabbing his neck and shaking him about.
While the two fought, Grey tutted and shook his head.
"Honestly, your embarrassing yourselve- Oh crap! My clothes!" he cried realising that he was in his underwear.
Night Terror sighed in disappointment as he and everybody else watched Lucy attacking Natsu as Happy flew around their heads, Grey looking around for his discarded clothes and Erza, for some reason, doing vocal exercises in the middle of the road.
"Mummy, what are they doing?" a young boy asked his mother as they past by.
"I don't know, just don't look at them," she said, covering his eyes and hurrying him along.
Night Terror sighed, before he sent out his shadow tendrils, grabbed all of them, except for Erza, by the scruff of the clothing and held them in front of him, ""This is the exactly what I was talking about. We are not even at the theatre yet and you are already causing a scene. Anymore shenanigans," Natsu and Happy snorted, but a sharp look from the Phobos shut them up, "and I will send you back to Magnolia. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Night Terror," they chorused drearily.
"Good, Mr Grey retrieve your clothing we will catch up with Miss Flare," he said, setting them down on the ground once again.
As Grey went out to find his missing clothes, Lucy looked curiously at the notebook that was still in his claw.
"I've never seen that before. Is it another Phobian book?" she asked.
Night Terror shook his head, "Oh no, I use it to keep a record of any unfamiliar words I happen to hear on my travels. I have a separate section for acronyms and initialisms," he said showing the notebook to her.
It read:
AKA - As Known As
BRB - Be Right Back
ASAP - As Soon As Possible
AWOL - Absent Without Official Leave
LOL - Laugh Out Loud
And so on.
"Miss Levy has been kindly assisting me with the definitions," Night Terror explained, "Although she seemed to be reluctant to explain one of them. She seems to get flustered every time I inquire, perhaps you can help me."
Lucy's face brightened, "Sure, what is it."
"BDSM."
Lucy's smiled dropped and her face turned bright red. Steam seemed to billow out of her ears as Night Terror tilted his head innocently.
Meanwhile in the Celestial Spirit World
Virgo, the pink haired maid, suddenly snapped her head up as if she just heard something and stared at a random direction. Taurus, who was practising swinging his axe at a couple of dummies nearby, noticed her sudden movement and looked over at her in concern.
"Virgooooooo, what's wrong?" he called out to her.
The Celestial Spirit looked around again as she licked her lips, "Oh nothing, I just thought I heard...you know what, never mind. It's probably a false alarm."
"False alarm?" Taurus questioned in confusion.
However, Virgo didn't answer and went back to what she was doing, confusing the Golden Bull even further.
Back to the human world
Lucy's blush had not left her face once while the Phobos looked down at her expectantly. She gulped and finally asked, "Did you happen...to hear it when you went past a red light district, Night?"
"Why yes. How did you know?" he asked in confusion.
"Just a hunch."
"So, do you know what it means?"
Lucy's face became even more flushed, "It means...it means...err...Beloved and...Dear...Soul Mate," she lied.
...
...
...
"Oh I see. It's a term of endearment. How lovely," Night happily said, taking a pen from his cloak and jotting it down.
Lucy turned away with a sigh, 'I can't believe he brought it.'
Selazade Theatre
They met Flare outside an enormous brick building with a Greek-style columns and architrave for an entrance and a marble staircase leading up to it. It looked very grand and fancy, causing Night Terror to become a little suspicious.
'This establishment looks as if it could hire a respectable backstage crew, so why did the owners put up the job offer,' he thought, looking up at the building.
"It's enormous!" Lucy gasped.
"Are you sure you got the fight building, Flare?" Erza asked the young girl.
She nodded her head, "Yeah, I'm sure. But I've knocked on the door and nobody answered."
"Um...you are members from Fairy Tail?" a small voice called out to them.
They turned to one of the columns and saw a short man with dark purple hair peeking around the column. He had fair skin, an oblong face, round eyes and a tiny moustache. The rest of him was hidden behind the column.
"I'm so glad you responded to my request," he said meekly.
"You must be the manager, Mr Labian," Night Terror addressed him, earning a nervous nod from the man, "Indeed, we are from Fairy Tail," he said tapping the emblem on his gorget.
"Wait a minute!" Flare cried, "You've been there the whole time! Why didn't you come out when I knocked!?"
"Oh I thought you were some...street urchin...thank you," he answered honestly.
"Don't thank me after you insulted me!"
Night Terror patted her shoulder reassuringly, "Miss Flare was the one to take your request while we are here to assist her."
"That's right," Lucy agreed, "you can count on us to make sure the play goes off without a hitch."
Labian nodded sheepishly, "Unfortunately, there has already been a hitch," he told, much to their confusion.
Dressing Room
"The actors ran away!?" Flare and Lucy cried in disbelief.
Labian, who was now hiding behind a curtain, nodded, "Yes...thank you..."
"Please stop thanking us," Happy muttered.
The director had invited them all into the grand, theatre before leading them backstage to discuss the problem. Night Terror internally sighed when his prediction came true, he had a feeling that there was something off about all of this.
"Because someone gave our performance a bad review, the actors were worried that if they stayed on in my theatre, they won't find work ever again," Labian explained, as tears rolled down his eyes, "I quit my job ten years ago and opened this theatre, but my wife couldn't stand me chasing after my dream and left me. I'm left only with this theatre! I'm truly grateful to you guys!"
"That didn't make a lick of sense," Grey mumbled under his breath.
"Yeah, I wouldn't think actors would let one bad review get them down," Lucy agreed.
"It's as I said," Labian continued, "If you guys didn't come to help, this theatre would have to close down. I'm really thankful."
Erza hummed from her place in the corner, "I thought it was something big. So it's only this, huh," suddenly she flicked her hair dramatically, her eyes sparkling with joy, "If you need actors there's one right here. In fact everyone here would love perform."
"Huh!" everybody cried, not expecting that from her.
'Oh no,' Night Terror thought.
Labian sniffed, "Really? Everyone?"
Lucy gave Erza a questioningly look, but she eventually turned to him with an eager smile, "That's right...it seems really interesting."
"Barbeque vegetables or barbeque fruits. Which one should I perform!" Natsu fiercely questioned.
"Natsu, what are you talking about?" Happy asked.
"We won't let your dream end," Grey agreed with a shrug.
Labian sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes, "Sure, whatever," he said, causing everybody to sweat drop.
Night Terror nodded and began to take his leave, "That sounds perfect. Since my fellow clansmen are performing, I'll shall take care of the confectionary we shall sell to the audience. I always wanted to know how to make the popped corn."
"Wait, Night you're performing as well," Lucy called out, making him stop in his tracks.
He cleared his throat and turned back to them, "I do not think I should."
"Why not?" Happy asked, tilting his head slightly.
"Well..." he hesitated, trying to think of an excuse, "I am sure there are no more characters to play. Am I correct Mr Labian?"
The short man nodded, "The scary person is right."
'Oh thank the Gods,' Night Terror thought with relief.
"But I can add another character," he suddenly announced, causing the Phobos to groan, "I already have a villain, but there's nothing wrong with having two villains. Double the drama!"
"Why am I automatically playing the villain!?"
Labian laughed, "Well, you can't play the hero. I mean look at you."
Night Terror looked down sadly, "That is...hurtful. Nonetheless, I also cannot perform because...because...because it's against...Phobian tradition."
"There's a Phobian tradition where you can't perform?" Grey asked sceptically.
"Yes...it is one of the lesser known traditions. It is more of a unwritten rule. Kind of like saying bless you when somebody sneezes or pouring the cereal into the bowl before adding the milk. Ah well, rules are rules. Now where is the machine that pops the corn?" he asked, turning around to leave the room again.
"Hold on," Natsu called out, making him stop again, "Who cares about following a stupid tradition like that. Come on and break it and join in!"
"Aye! It would've be fun if you were left out!" Happy chirped.
"Err...well," he looked around the room desperately until his eyes fell on Flare, "Miss Flare, this is your job, so you will be the one to decide. What do you think I should do?" he asked before thinking, 'Miss Flare, I see potential in you and I trust every bone in my body that you will come to the right decision.'
"I think you should totally be in it," Flare eagerly answered.
'You forsake me, child!?' he shouted in his head, 'You betray me after all I done for you!'
Flare nodded her head enthusiastically, "You could use your Fear magic on the audience. It would make it way better to watch. Please would you do it," she begged, her bright red eyes looking up at him.
Night Terror tried to withstand the pleading look, but it was too much for him. Reluctantly, he sighed and nodded his head.
"If...that is what you want," he said, admitting defeat and causing his friends to cheer happily.
"Thank you," Labian meekly said before shoving the script into Lucy's hands, "learn this by next week, thank you."
He then suddenly ducked behind the curtain out of sight. The Fairy Tail mages looked down at the script and couldn't help but frown a little. It was bad enough that it was only five pages long, but it also seemed to be written in pencil.
'I have a bad feeling about this,' the Phobos muttered.
Three Days Later
The Fairy Tail mages have been busy for the last few days. With rehearsals, building and painting sets, handing out flyers, making the costumes and rewriting the script a dozen times, it was rare for them to have a break. So Erza and Lucy, used what little break time they had and sat drinking cold drinks backstage, chatting and occasionally watching Night Terror teach Flare how to use her hair.
"Gently, Miss Flare," he calmly encouraged as the young girl lifted the giant dragon costume that Natsu was going to be in aloft, "Do not rush your movement."
Flare nodded, not taking her eyes off the prop. She gritted her teeth as she slowly raised it higher into the air as sweat poured down her flushed face. However, it became to much for her. She gasped and accidently let it go, dropping the dragon onto the stage with a loud thump. Flare growled in irritation and wiped her brow.
"It's too heavy," she muttered angrily.
However, her frustration seeped away as Night Terror presented her with a glass of lemonade from seemingly nowhere. She took it and gulped down the drink, signing in relief.
"It is quite alright, Miss Flare. You are making excellent progress," the Phobos told her, "You already achieved moving multiple props at the same time."
"But that's the most important prop," Flare complained.
"And you have more then enough time to practise," he patiently encouraged, "Shall we do one more attempt before we take a break or would you like to pause here?"
Flare finished her drink, gave the glass back to Night Terror and turned back to the dragon prop in determination, "One more time. This time for sure," she said, earning a small chuckle from him.
"Excellent. Now, your have to pretend that you are Damhan-allaidh controlling her web with her silk."
"Wait who?" Flare asked.
"Damhan-allaidh, the spider creature who controls dreams and nightmares," he explained, but Flare just stared at him blankly, "You know what, never mind. Let's keep on practising."
From afar, Lucy cooed at the sight, "Aww, who knew he was good with kids," she said turning to Erza. She frowned in concern when she saw her looking down at the stage below them, her eyebrows furrowed as if she was in deep thought "Is everything alright?"
Erza looked up and gave her a smile that seemed fake, "I'm perfectly fine. I'm just trying to remember my lines."
Lucy blinked before asking, "Are you sure that's everything?" she glanced at the Phobos, "Does it have something to do with Night? You have been avoiding him ever since we defeated Phantom Lord."
"Well..." Erza tried to explain, but the words got caught in her throat. She sighed reluctantly, "What was the name of the tattoos he has?"
"Oh, you mean wode," Lucy answered, "It helps Phobos control their magic."
"You mean Night Terror is not the only one?" Erza suddenly asked.
"Err...no, I think all Phobos have to get them. Why do you ask?"
Erza looked away from her, "I just...I think...I've seen it before, but I don't know where. But that's impossible," she admitted.
Before Lucy could question her any further, the red haired mage stood up and made her way off the stage.
"Wait Erza, where are you going?" Lucy called out to her.
She looked over her shoulder with a reassuring smile, "I'm going to rehearse a little bit more."
"But-" Lucy uttered, but she was already out of sight, leaving her behind to wonder what that was all about.
Four Days Later
It was the day of the show and the theatre was packed. Men, women and children filled the seats and chatted loudly to each other as they patiently waited for the performance to begin. In the Dress Circle, Makarov, Mirajane sat in their seats and waited as well. After discovering that their guild members were in the play, they instantly brought tickets to see them out of support (and just in case they mess up so they can take photos). Mirajane hummed as she read the complimentary programme while Makarov popped another popcorn kernel in his mouth, his eyes widening at the taste.
"I think Night had used his Fear magic to make this," Makarov said, "It taste delicious."
Mirajane looked up from her programme, "Oh really, let me try," she grabbed a few kernels, much to the master's annoyance, and ate them, "Yep, that's definitely the taste of terrified corn," she confirmed with a hum.
"I wonder what corn is afraid off?" he mused.
"Being popped, obviously," Maryjane answered with a giggle, causing Makarov to sweat drop.
Meanwhile backstage, the actors were preparing themselves for the start of the show. Night peeked out from the curtain and hummed nervously as he saw the audience waiting for them to begin.
'I really hope this will go well,' he thought to himself, 'Well, at least better than the last time I stepped on a stage.'
On the other wing, Lucy, dressed in a pink princess dress and her hair tied up in an elegant bun, gave the thumbs up to Lyra who squealed happily. Lyra was one of Lucy's Celestial Spirits, a young woman with long blond hair, fair skin, green eyes and had a pair of white wings protruding from her back. She wore a blue and pink dressed, a pink bonnet and carried a blue and gold harp where ever she went. Lucy had given her the job to provide the play with music and the spirit eagerly accepted, claiming she had never played to so many people before.
"Are you ready Lyra?" Lucy whispered at her.
"Ready," she confirmed before she began to pluck a beautiful tune on her harp.
The music instantly silenced the audience and drew their attention to the stage. The curtain lifted to show a mountainous back drop and clouds, which were held up by Flare, drifted in the air. The audience awed at the scene and the beautiful music, completely enthralled by it.
"Far away~" Lyra sang, "Far away~ The story begins~ West Country's prince fell in love with the enemy country's princess~ West Country's prince~ To save the Princess~ Sets out for Death Mountain~"
From out of the wing, Erza strode out confidently. She dressed in a yellow and red prince's outfit along with a green flowing cape and a sword at her hip. Her hair was tied up into one long side ponytail, giving her a more masculine look. She walked to centre stage, capturing the audience's attention with her poise and grace...
...which was immediately shattered as soon as she opened her mouth.
"Be...be...behold, my...my...mymy...my name is Frederick," she announced awkwardly, waving her arm stiffly into the air, "Go...go...going...to...to save...the...prin...cess!"
"What was that!?" the audience collectively thought.
From the left wing, Night Terror and Grey gave her incredulous looks, "Did none of us check if she could actually act?"
"She seemed so confident. Plus she insisted on rehearsing alone. But yeah, in hindsight, we should have probably checked," Grey agreed.
Suddenly, Lucy was lowered down onto the stage by Flare's hair, coming to a halt just a few feet above the stage.
"Is that hair holding her up?" an audience member asked out loud.
"Aaaahhh," Lucy yelled, acting as the damsel in distress, "Save me Frederic-Kya!" she screamed for real as she dropped a few feet before coming to an abrupt stop. Lucy turned towards the backdrop, "Flare, don't that," she hissed.
"Sorry," Flare called back, "That was an accident."
Lucy cleared her throat and began to act again, "I've been captured by that Sieghart! Oh help me, Frederick!"
"Wait! Who's she talking about!" an member of the audience uttered.
"What's up with the pacing of this story," another member questioned.
That was Grey's cue to walked casually onto the stage. His costume consisted of a blue jacket and tie, white trousers and a red cape.
"My name is Julius," Grey announced, "If you want the princess back, you'll have to duel me."
"And who the heck is this guy? What happened to Sieghart?" somebody in the audience called out.
Grey wiped his cape and lifted his arm dramatically, "Face me if you dare. Ice Sword!" he announced as he used his magic to create a giant sword made of ice, "and taste my blade."
The audience awed at that, never seeing magic like that before. Erza lifted her arm shakily in the air, her face slightly turning blue for some strange reason.
"Th...the...then...I...will...use...ten...swords..." she announced, using her Requip magic to produce ten (prop) swords in the air and sent them hurtling at Grey.
The (prop) swords, anticlimactically, stuck into the stage around Grey, not even getting close to him. But nonetheless, Grey fell over dramatically and pretended to be hurt, causing the audience to sweat drop.
"That was such a weak attack," somebody in the audience muttered.
"Oh, Frederick," Lucy sighed, "thank you so much for defea-kya!" she screamed as she dropped another foot suddenly. She glared at the backdrop once more and heard a soft sorry from Flare before composing herself, "thank you so much for defeating Julius, Frederick."
Erza got one knee before her and reached out her hand to her, "Yan...Yanderica...please have my child!"
"Kind of rushing things, Frederick!" the audience shouted.
"You rejoice to soon," Grey proclaimed, as he staggered onto his feet, "Behold my master and Yanderica's husband-to-be, Sieghart!"
That was Night Terror's cue. As soon as he stepped onto the stage, a silence fell over the theatre as everybody stared at the tall, horrifying Phobos. Everybody accept for Mirajane, who gasped happily when he appeared, and Makarov who raised his eyebrows.
"So they didn't bother giving him a costume, huh," he muttered.
Night Terror stood on the stage, towering over the audience with his silver skull mask lit up by the spotlights. Nobody moved, spoke or even breathed as they waited for him to speak in his dark voice or threaten the crowds with his metal claws.
However, there was a problem and to explain it, you would have to know a little bit about the Phobos Clan. Other then specialising in different forms of Fear magic, the kins of the Phobos Clan can be told apart by what they are good and bad at. Let's take the Dorchades (or the Night Terrors) as an example, the Dorchades excel at horse riding, fishing, gardening and, oddly enough, bingo, due to their calm and patient natures. However, they cannot and should not perform or dance no matter the circumstances. They just don't. This was confirmed a millennia or so ago when Douglas of the Dorchades attempted to do the Pasodoble and put four Phobos in the infirmary, caused permanent water damage to the main hall and started a small forest fire (but that's a story for another time). Since then the Dorchades unanimously agreed to not perform again...they were just not good at it. Consequently, this was also the origin of the popular, and rather insulting, phrase:
'You will catch more Night Terrors in bingo halls then at discos.'
However, if there was one Dorchades that should, on no account, be allowed on stage it would be our favourite Night Terror. He may look calm and collected on the outside but under his mask and cloak, he was shaking like a leaf. His throat felt dry and he felt like he was about to faint. After a few seconds of him standing on the stage doing nothing, the other actors shared a confused look.
"Err...why isn't he saying anything?" Grey murmured under his breath.
"He's frozen," Lucy muttered before she realised, "Wait, does he have stage fright? He never mentioned that before."
"It's probably why he was so reluctant to perform," Erza added.
Lucy frowned in concern, "Maybe we should stop. I bet the audience if confused why he's not doing anything."
She looked down at the audience, but was surprised to watching intently at the Phobos with undivided attention. She could hear whispers off, "Wow, this guy is good," and "How did they make him so scary," and "This is so cool."
'They haven't even noticed that isn't doing anything!' Lucy mentally shouted.
Meanwhile, Night Terror was trying to calm himself down. His line was 'Don't you dare enter my realm and steal back my princess,' while he furiously pointed at Erza accusingly. However, he couldn't get the words out of his mouth and ended up slowly and stiffly raising his arm like it was made of wood.
"Damn it," he scolded himself, "I did the movement wrong."
He may have got it wrong, but the audience saw it differently. That simple movement was enough for them to gasp in fear and lean in further in their seats.
Night Terror cleared his throat and proclaimed, "Do-OM!"
'He bit his tongue on the first word!' Lucy, Grey and Erza collectively thought.
"Doom?" an audience member gasped, "Did he say doom?"
"No way, he just cursed Frederick!"
Night Terror tried to speak again, "D-ATH!" he exclaimed.
'He bit his tongue again!' the actors exclaimed once more.
"Wait was that 'death'!?" somebody in the audience cried.
"Oh no, he's going to kill Frederick!"
"Get out of there!"
From up in the dress circle, Mirajane and Makarov looked on with two very different reactions. The master held his head in his hands, sighing wearily at what he was seeing, "The boy's a total train wreck," he muttered.
"Night is doing so well," Mirajane happily whispered, earning a strange look from Makarov, "He should do more acting in the future."
"He's barely done anything," Makarov uttered.
Erza coughed and raised a shaky sword at him, "N...n...no...my princess...you can't...you can't...you can't...h...have her."
The Phobos was starting to sweat nervously, 'I need to get this performance back on track. My next line is 'She is my beloved and dear soul mate and nothing will stop me from getting her'. But that's way to complicated, I cannot say that," he then realised something, "Wait, 'beloved and dear soul mate'. Of course, thank you Miss Lucy.'
The audience gasped once again as he lifted his arm up and pointed at Lucy. He cleared his throat and proclaimed, in the loudest voice he could manage, "BDSM!"
...
...
...
The audience blinked in confusion, Lucy's jaw dropped and the only noise that could be heard was Makarov's roaring laughter.
"BDSM!" Night Terror repeated.
"No, stop calling me that!" Lucy shouted at him, her face turning bright red.
Meanwhile in the Celestial World
Virgo was currently having tea when her head snapped up for the second time that week and looked around. Aquarius, a beautiful mermaid Celestial Spirit with long blue hair, pale skin and sharp blue eyes, looked up from her tea at the maid in concern.
"Virgo is something the matter?" she asked.
Virgo frowned as she rubbed her thighs together, "I don't know...I just feel like I'm missing out on something."
Back to the human world
"No...I do...the BDSM on her," Erza cried, going with what the Phobos had proclaimed.
"Huh?" Lucy gasped in shock.
"You're all wrong," Grey added, "She said that she wanted me to perform BDSM on her."
"Hey, what are you saying!?" Lucy cried furiously.
"Oh I get it," somebody in the audience called out, "Yanderica has been two-timing the three of them and now she is making them battle."
Lucy's face turned red in anger and embarrassment, "That is not what is happening!" she shouted at them.
However, the audience wasn't listening to her.
"Wow, so she was the villain all along. I wasn't expecting that twist."
"Might explain why she's tied up."
"And why she's wearing that revealing outfit."
"I have you know that the dress fits me," Lucy shouted, "It isn't reveali-kya!" she cried as she was dropped a foot again. She crossly turned to the backdrop, "Ok, you did that on purpose."
"Well, maybe if you weren't so heavy, I could keep you up!" Flare shouted back.
"I'm not heavy!"
"No, you are just top-heavy," Flare mocked.
The audience hummed in interest. To them, it looked like Lucy was currently arguing with one of the mountains in the background and it seemed like the carboard mountain was shouting back at her.
"The masochist is arguing with the mountain. I don't know where the supernatural element comes in, but I'm totally enjoying it," somebody said, earning nods of approval from the people around them.
"They are getting way too invested in this," Makarov uttered with a sweat drop.
Meanwhile, Lucy growled in irritation at what Flare said, "What do you mean by that!?"
"Please," Flare replied, "Your boobs are practically popping out of that dress! You did it on purpose!"
"It's the only dress they had," Lucy insisted, "I can find a shawl or something to put around me if that would make you happy!"
From backstage, the blue cat waited on top of the prop dragon for his cue. He was dressed in a ninja-style black uniform to help him blend in with back. He had been distracted thinking about fish for a while now until his ears perked up.
"Hey Natsu," Happy said, leaning over the dragon's snout and looked into his mouth, "did somebody say 'You Happy'? Is that our time to go?"
Natsu, who had been inside the dragon with his head poking out of its throat, shrugged, "Sure, why not?"
"Aye!"
A roar erupted through the theatre, making everybody (even the actors) jump in surprise. Swooping from over the top of the back drop, a hand-made red dragon flew out over the stage and the audience, spewing flames from its mouth. Happy was in control of moving the head, but Flare held up the body and tail with he hair. The extra strain was a shock to her and to maintain control she had to fully concentrate on holding up the dragon, meaning she had to let go the clouds and, unfortunately, was forced to drop Lucy. The blond mage fell and slammed roughly onto the stage, causing her to cry out in pain. The audience, however, gasped in delight.
"No way! Yanderika called out a dragon to battle them!"
"But who names a dragon Happy?"
"Who cares! It looks so cool! Go heroes, go!"
"What are you doing, you idiot!?" Grey shouted at Natsu as he swung over his head, "You came in way too early!"
"I AM THE DRAGON THAT DESTROYS ALL!" Natsu roared, spewing flames that were getting dangerously close to the audience.
Happy gritted his teeth as he tried to direct the head, but it was too heavy for him to manage. Eventually, it became too much and Happy accidentally dropped the dragon's head. This cause two problems, the first was that the spewing flames were now directed at the stage, setting fire to the curtains and the floorboards. The second problem was that, with the added weight, Flare couldn't hold the prop any longer and she too let go of the dragon. The dragon costume and Natsu fell onto the stage with a mighty crash, causing the audience to scream in horror.
Makarov grimaced, "This is a disaster."
"I think it's great," Mirajane said with a small giggle.
Lucy recovered from her fall and sat up rubbing her head in agony. Suddenly, she felt something hot down by her leg and turned around to see that the hem of her dress was on fire.
She helped, leapt to her feet and waved over at Grey, "I'M ON FIRE! GREY PUT IT OUT!"
"Right," Grey said and was about to send a wave of ice at the fire when Erza stepped I don't of him.
"Have no worry Princess!" she declared, still in character, "I will save you!" before she used her magic to produce swords and shot them at her.
If Lucy wasn't focusing on the fire, she would have pondered why Erza thought that this was a good idea. However, it did do the trick and the fire was put out...unfortunately it had also ripped her dress to shreds, leaving completely naked. Lucy screamed and ducked behind the closet object before anybody could get a better look at her. That object happened to be Night Terror who had not moved an inch since he stepped on stage. Before the Phobos could register what was happening, Lucy lifted his cloak and slid under, gripping his armoured leg tightly.
"Miss Lucy! What are you-" he exclaimed, blushing under his mask as he felt her breasts pressed against his leg.
"I'm sorry Night," Lucy squeaked, "But please don't move."
"You know what," Makarov said, with hearts in his eyes and a lecherous smile on his face, "I'm starting to enjoy this now."
"I hate this play now," Mirajane darkly said, glaring at where Lucy was currently hiding.
Night Terror was really starting to panic. It was one thing being on stage, but now he had a naked woman attached to his leg. He was starting to become light headed because of it, causing the shadows around the theatre to react wildly to his emotions
"Please Miss Lucy-
"I know," Lucy called up, "I'm sorry, I know you don't like people seeing under your cloak, but please let me stay."
"I don't mind that! Just please don't hug my leg like-"
Crack!
A loud noise erupted from above his head. Looking up, he gulped as he finally noticed that the shadows were going out of control, pushing up at the ceiling and causing it to split.
"Oh Amadan," he uttered, seeing the ceiling crack in two and gape open.
The entire theatre collapsed with a thunderous boom, sending dust and debris up into the air. The only things that managed to survive were the stage and the seats, the rest was nothing but rubble. Makarov, Mirajane and the other people in the Dress Circle were caught up in the collapse, but luckily they were not hurt. Makarov lifted his head out of the debris, tears pouring down his eyes,
"No, Night Terror! You were one of the good ones who didn't cost me money!" he wailed.
Mirajane popped her head out as well with a cheerful smile, "Looks like Natsu and the others rubbed off on him," she joked, causing Makarov to cry harder.
Night Terror stood in astonishment on stage, not quite believing what just happened. The audience was stunned as well, looking around at the destroyed theatre. After a few seconds of silence, they broke out in a round of applause, cheering and whoops of joy. Some even called out for encores much to the Phobos' bewilderment.
Lucy poked her head out from under his cloak and looked out on the cheering audience, "They liked it? They really liked it!?" she cried in amazement.
"I...suppose so," Night Terror uttered.
After a few moments, he decided to bow to them.
Selazade Theatre (Temporary)
Two days later, the Fairy Tail members were now in the dressing room and gathered around Night Terror as he held up this morning's edition of the local newspaper, reading the review for their play. Since the theatre's destruction, Labian had set up a giant tent on the outskirts of the town which acted at his new theatre. Apparently, business had been booming and people have been queueing up for miles to see the show, much to Labian's joy.
After reading the review, Natsu and Happy leaned back and smiled proudly, "Alright, they said we were the most convincing dragon they ever seen."
"Aye!" Happy cried.
Natsu grinned down at Flare, "That also goes out to you, Red. You made a good dragon as well as a mountain."
"It's Flare," she muttered with annoyed look, "but thanks."
Lucy sighed miserably, "Why was my clothes being ripped off the only thing they mentioned about me in the article?"
Grey chuckled, "They called me the handsome ice hero, huh. I can live with that."
"They also called you boring and forgettable," Erza added, causing him to flinch, "While they called me robotic and awkward," she declared proudly, her eyes sparkling in joy.
"Neither of those are positive adjectives."
Night Terror sighed and placed the newspaper onto the table, "I cannot believe that they liked the play. I was nothing more then a disaster."
Lucy patted his shoulder comfortingly, "So, you get stage fright. You should have told us."
"I would not call it stage fright, but I would rather not be under the spotlight. It brings back memories when I was seven and was forced to be in our school production of the Legend of Chlaidheamh: the Blind Slayer."
"Doesn't sound like an appropriate story for kids to perform," Grey observed.
"It was...a more watered down performance," Night Terror told him, "I more or less panicked, froze up and accidentally used my shadows to attach myself to the stage."
"How did they get you off?" Flare asked.
"They...didn't. They did the play around me...for two hours...and a twenty minute interval."
"Ouch."
Night Terror nodded with a sad sigh before looking up at Lucy, "My apologies for calling you a masochist, Miss Lucy. I probably should have done more research before I used that term."
Lucy chuckled, "It's fine. It was my fault for lying to you," she turned to Flare with small smile, "And I'm sorry for blaming you for accidently dropping me. I'm sure they were accidents."
"Yeah they were," Flare muttered, "I guess I'm sorry to. Although, you are still top-heavy."
"Are you sure you're not jealous?" Lucy mocked with smirk, earning an annoyed pout from Flare.
"Hey, you know what I just realised," Natsu suddenly cried, "You warned us to not destroying anything and you ended up causing the damage," he said before laughing loudly.
"Yeah, you're just as bad as us," Happy added.
Night Terror chuckled, "I suppose so and I take full responsibility. Thankfully, Mr and Labian and I have worked out an arrangement so he does not charged the guild for the theatre's repairs."
Suddenly, Labian popped his head around the curtain flap and waved at him, "It's almost time for the next show...thank you."
The Phobos nodded, stood up from his seat and went over to the tent flap, Flare following closely behind him, "I assume we are doing the same thing as yesterday."
Labian nodded, "Yes, just stand on the stage and scare the audience with your horrible appearance. They are so terrified that they don't even realise that the other characters are puppets. You saved me a lot on paying actual actors."
"Again very hurtful," Night Terror said, "And how many more shows do I have to do to work off the debt?"
"Oh not many," the short man reassured, "judging by the amount of people and the fact you are doing three shows in one day, I can repair the theatre by hmmm...at least a week," Night Terror frowned while Flare groaned, "now chop chop. Our audience awaits," he hurriedly said before ducking out of sight.
Night Terror shook his head before looking down at Flare, "You really do not have to assist me, Miss Flare."
The red haired girl grinned up at him, "It's fine. It's good practise and puppets are easier to move then top-heavy troublesome blondes," she said, earning a dirty look from Lucy.
"Of course and I shall conquer my stage fright. Wish us luck," Night Terror said as he and Flare left the dressing room.
"Break a leg," Lucy, Grey, Natsu and Happy responded back.
Erza, however, looked longingly at them, "Are you sure they don't need any more actors? I've been practising very hard."
"They're fine," the others responded, causing Erza to pout in disappointment.
And that's it.
Quite a short one, but I haven't written a non-serious chapter for ages. It feels so good to finally let my (very weird) sense of humour loose. I think I will do the Loke arc in one chapter before finally moving onto the Tower of Heaven arc. I'm sure a lot of you have been waiting for a long time for that.
Anyway, I know I already said this, but I have another story out so if you are a fan of Demon Slayer then please check it out and let me know what you think. It's only one chapter so far (and it's little slow) but it will get much better.
Thank you so much for reading and I'll see you next time.
Bye :)