Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

「Hargeon — Train Station (Unknown)」
⸻

“U-Uh, ma’am?” One of the workers stuttered, looking at the form of a petite girl with shoulder length spiky salmon hair as she laid on the floor face first, on her back all of her items from the trip there.

“Natsumi~,” A small blue cat with a small green knapsack on his own pack cheered. “We’ve reached Hargeon, Natsumi! Get up! Get up!”

The teen merely groaned in apparent sickness or pain, neither onlooker could tell. “Is she alright?!”

The cat turned with a paw in the air. “Aye! This always happens to her!”

“Never again…I’m never riding a train again…” The teen, Natsumi, swore in a raspy breath as she lifted her head, revealing large dark charcoal colored eyes, before she stopped as she felt herself about to throw up. The cat, completely ignoring his companions' behavior, walked to the train’s exit.

“If our information is correct, the Salamander should be in this town.” The cat looked at his partner, who was now standing at the train's window. “Let’s go.”

“G-Give me a minute first,” She gasped, breathing in the air from the window. As she tried to gain her bearings, the blue cat walked off the train looking around at all the sights at the station's point of view, the train suddenly blew its whistle and the sound of it hitting the tracks alerted the small feline to notice the departure and he turned right as his friend’s face went down the station. “Help me!”

Her scream echoed to the cat who watched blankly for a moment, until the train was out of sight. “It left…”

「Hargeon — Shop Area (Afternoon)」
⸻

In another part of the town, people were walking by and stopping at all kinds of shops. Buying and sightseeing as they passed, some alone, others in pairs and some in groups. In one of the shops, a blond girl with large doe-like brown eyes and a rather curvy body was in one of these shops.

“What?” gasped the girl as she slammed her hands down on the table in shock. “There’s only one magic shop in this entire town?!”

That was basically unheard of in most areas as mages and other types of people tended to stop by, either after missions or before them, to stock up, restock or even just buy rather popular items they might need.

“Yes,” The magic shop owner nodded as he watched the young mage in front of him. “This is more of a fishing town than a magic town. Not even a tenth of the people here can use magic, so this shop focuses on selling to traveling mages.”

As he continued to speak, the blond heaved a sigh of despair as her eyes rolled skywards. ‘Of course the magic shop I choose is the only one in the whole town! For traveling mages at that!’

“All this for nothing,” She whispered, hands on her hips in disappointment. The shop owner, realizing he could lose a customer, quickly turned to try and regain her attention.

“Now, now! Don’t say that! Take a look!” As he spoke, the old man shuffled behind his counter for items to show off. “I do have all the latest goods!”

He held up a small pink card with the word color scribbled on it and a little seeing eye on the top. “This color magic is popular with the girls! It can change the color of your clothes to match how you feel that day!”

As he spoke, he demonstrated how the magic item worked, even as the girl turned to mumble about how she had one and wasn’t looking for it, but for a specific item instead.

“I’m looking for powerful Gate Keys…” She quickly turned around with a wide smile at his next words.

“Gate Keys, huh? That’s a rare request,” He presented her with the singular key he had sheepishly, even though she looked ecstatic at the revelations.

“The White Doggy!” She cheered, looking at the silver key in front of her.

“That one’s not powerful at all,” admitted the old man, a small apologetic smile on his face.

“That’s okay! I’ve been looking everywhere for it!” The blond soothed, head resting on her chin cutely as she waved the man off cheerfully. “How much?”

“20,000 jewel.” Came the immediate response, the old man holding up two fingers as she held the box carefully in her hands.

Leaning closer to the man, irritation hidden under her cute face, the blond tried again as if she didn’t hear him. “How much again?”

“I said, 20,000 jewel.” He repeated easily, leaving the two to stand there at a stalemate of sorts, the blond sweat dropping at the price, before she came up with an idea. Climbing on top of the desk, she leaned back a bit with an innocent smile.

“How much is the price really , you handsome man?” She threw in a wink for good measures, trying to allure the man into dropping the price.

「 。。。」

“Che,” She blond huffed as she stomped down the street angrily. “He only lowered it 1,000 jewel! Is that the most my feminine charm is worth ?! That’s cheap! It makes me mad! The fact that it’s such an everyday price makes it even worse!”

Her angry rant was stopped by the sound of screaming girls and she turned to see a huge mob of them surrounding a single person at a relatively empty street. As the bell tolled, she heard feet running behind her and the blond turned to see what was going on.

“The famous mage is here!”

“It’s Salamander-sama!”

“Salamander?” The brown eyed girl paused, before her face lit up like a charm. “The mage who can use magic you can’t buy in stores?! He’s in this town?!”

⸻

“Damn it, I ended up riding the train twice in a row!” Natsumi grumbled as she walked next to her blue cat, Happy, tiredly. She was wearing a red long sleeved open jacket with her rather large bust being held up by some bandages with white shorts that went to about her thighs with a long black cloth tied to her waist by a belt, mostly covering her legs, save for the slit the cloth made as she walked. Her shoulder length salmon pink hair was spiky and messy, most likely due to her two train rides in one day with a scale patterned scarf around her neck.

“You’re no good when it comes to riding things, Natsumi.” chimed in Happy as he walked by her side easily.

“Not to mention I’m hungry…” She sighed, her trudging slowing down slightly in small sadness.

“And we don’t have any money!” added Happy, unhelpfully, if you asked Natsumi later that day, but for the moment she ignored that comment.

“Ne, Happy, this Salamander has to be Igneel, right?”

“Yeah, Igneel’s the only fire dragon I can think of,” Happy agreed, sending Natsumi a large smile. “Besides, you said Igneel called you Salamander as a child, right? Who else would use your guild alias’, but him?”

“You’re right,” Natsumi nodded, though her eyes held doubt. For some reason, this felt like another run around for them. Especially as her sharp ears picked up the words the girls gathered around the supposed, ‘Salamander’ squealed (annoyingly, might she add).

“Salamander-sama!”

“You’re so dreamy!”

“Please burn me!”

“Natsumi, don’t you wanna run and meet him?” Happy chirped, noticing Natsumi keeping her slow pace.

“Nah, I just feel like we should take it a little slower right now…” Yeah, Natsumi knew, even with her half a brain cell, that there would be no way all these girls would be jumping over themselves for a large fire breathing dragon. It was probably a fluke. Again .

⸻

As the blond fought her way to the center of the field, she noticed the man in front of her was dashingly handsome and had short purple hair as he grinned at all the girls surrounding him and a tattoo on the left side of his forehead. The man moved his hand and did a little smirk, causing the girls to freak out as the brown eyed girl sat there, chest thumping erratically and a flush covering her cheeks, mouth agape.

“He’s a dreamboat!”

“He’s so cool!”

‘Wh-Why is my heart beating so fast?!’ The blond thought shocked, she’d never felt like this around anyone her age, as of yet, nor had any celebrity crush caught on this fast either. ‘What’s gotten into me?!’

“You’re too kind,” The man, Salamander, chuckled to one of the fangirls, before looking over in her direction, causing some sort of chain reaction in her as he chuckled.

‘He looked at me!’ She thought, crossing her arms over her chest and hugging herself tightly as her heart throbbed, almost painfully. ‘Is it because he’s a famous mage? Is that why my heart is throbbing? Could it be…? Am I in…?’

Almost floating towards the man, she tried to get closer, head fuzzy with these new thoughts and feelings. Unaware of the pink haired girl making her way through the crowd.

「 。。。」

Natsumi made her way to the front of the crowd, angrily shoving lovestruck girls out of her way. ‘What the hell?’

As she made her way to the front, she didn’t find Igneel, or even someone who might’ve known about Igneel, just some guy. But something about him was making her nose itch and head throb painfully. The guy looked at her and his eyes seemed to glow, causing Natsumi’s breath to hitch briefly, before her vision swam painfully. Unable to hold herself up properly, she teetered into another body, sending them both colliding with the floor, but the man didn’t pay them any mind as the hole opened up by their disappearance was quickly flooded by more girls.

The person who Natsumi landed on top of, whined pitifully, but the mage could barely hear her over her head throbbing, body shaking from the overwhelming scent the guy released and the noises of the tittering girls around them. She blinked wearily at the concerned face above her own for a moment, charcoal meeting doe brown,  before her eyes closed on their own will.

「 。。。」

She didn’t know how long she’d been out, but the taller girl had managed to drag her to the safety of a restaurant and far away from the commotion going on at the square. Natsumi sat up and looked around, finding herself on a booth while the girl sat across from her, Happy sitting on the table, two pairs of eyes filled with concern and relief.

As she gained her senses, Nastumi locked eyes with the girl. “T-Thank you.”

“No, I should be saying that to you,” The blond smiled, tilting her head. “I’m Lucy. Let me buy you something to eat as a gift.”

“Please,” groaned Natsumi, suddenly feeling hungry all over again. “I’m Natsumi, by the way. Natsumi Dragneel.”

“I’m Happy!” As the food was put down, Lucy watched as the duo dove into the food with a ferociousness of wild bears.

“Ah, slow down, food’s getting…everywhere.” ‘There goes my sex appeals 1,000 jewel.’

“Ah, so what did you mean by thank you?” Natsumi questioned in between large inhales of food intake.

“That Salamander from earlier, he was using either a charm spell or a charmed item to make everyone fall in love with him and fawn over him, like a total creep would.” The Celestial Spirit mage explained, believing the duo to be magicless. “It makes people fall into infatuation without meaning to, that’s why those items were banned a few years back. What a creep, going that far to be popular. But when you knocked into me, I broke free of the spell, so thank you!”

“I see,” Natsumi nodded, throwing food in quickly, barely pausing to really breathe. After a few minutes of eating and some time away from that creep, the fake Salamander, she felt much better. ‘It must’ve been that charm that was making my senses go haywire. My instincts were resisting it while the rest of my body was trying to go for it.’

“I may not look it, but I’m actually a mage myself,” continued Lucy and Natsumi realized the girl must’ve been rather lonely as she soon went into a whole spiel about mage guilds and that’s how mages show their worth and how they earned their money.

‘I should probably tell her I already know this stuff,’ Natsumi thought briefly before attacking her ramen again with a vengeance. ‘After I finish eating.’

When the girl continued to go off, Natsumi thought it was finally time to step in and tell her. “Uhh…”

“Oh, sorry,” giggled Lucy, waving a hand quickly. “This mage talk must sound like nonsense to you, huh? But I’m definitely going to join that guild. I bet I can find lots of big jobs there!”

‘So, she’s marking me as magicless without me having to say a word?’ Natsumi pouted, but shrugged it off. Not like they’ll probably see each other again. “Really?”

“You talk a lot,” complained Happy, as if he didn’t just use this girl for free fish.

Lucy blinked for a moment, remembering something Happy told her while they waited for Natsumi to wake up. “Come to think of it, Happy told me you were looking for someone.”

“Aye! Igneel!” The blue cat cheered, turning to watch Natsumi try to eat a whole pizza. The short pinkette's large canines were gripping the food as the cheese held firmly.

“We’re here because we heard a Salamander was coming to this town,” sighed the short girl after ripping a piece off the pizza. “But it was someone else. I had a feeling after I heard the girls…”

“Yeah, he didn’t look like a Salamander at all.” Now, Lucy was confused. How does someone look like a Salamander?

“You can ignore what Happy said,” Natsumi giggled, seeing the bewilderment on Lucy’s face. “He’s referring to the fact that Salamander’s are what you call teenage fire dragons.”

“Aye!”

“What kind of person looks like a fire dragon?” If Natsumi thought her question would save Lucy from asking questions, she was sorely mistaken.

“He’s not a person,” pouted Natsumi, looking at Lucy with wide, earnest eyes. “Igneel is a dragon.”

“Huh?” Great, Lucy helped a crazy girl and her talking cat.

“Aye! He’s an actual dragon!” Happy clarified for the stunned blonde.

“Huh?!” Then, Lucy snapped. “Why would there be a dragon in the middle of town!”

Happy made a shocked noise of realization while Natsumi laughed. “I told you Happy, it was another false lead! There wasn’t even a forest close to this town!”

“You just realized that?!” Lucy looked at the dumb cat while the shorter girl continued to rub it in his face. A few moments later, the blond stood up, leaving the money on the table for the food. “Well, I should be going. Enjoy your food.”

Natsumi quickly reached out and grabbed the taller girl’s hand, tugging her back lightly. “Wait, let me thank you for the food!”

Lucy quickly tugged her hand away with an awkward smile. “It’s fine.”

She continued on her way to the door as the waitress greeting stopped with a shocked gasp. Turning Lucy nearly died at the sight of Natsumi and Happy on their knees, heads pressed to the floor. “Thanks for the food!”

“For the food!” echoed Happy as people stared.

“Stop it! You’re embarrassing me!” She shrieked as people stared at the duo before looking at her. “It’s okay, you helped me, so we’re even now!”

“But, I didn’t mean to help her,” Natsumi mumbled to Happy. “And she helped me double already.”

“Aye, I still feel indebted,” agreed Happy, nodding to Natsumi’s words. Natsumi suddenly sat up with a grin.

“Here, take this!” It was the autograph the fake-Salamander had given Happy for Natsumi.

“Don’t want it!” Lucy yelled angrily.

「Fiore - Hargeon (Afternoon)」
⸻

Natsumi watched Lucy go to a park bench and sit down from down the street. She was…kind, but didn’t seem to know much about the worst kind of people out there. ‘And I hope she never learns about it.’

With that she turned and left, going to go and think about what to do now. Lucy on the other hand, cracked open a magazine and began to skim through it, laughing quietly to herself every now and then. “Arara, Fairy Tail’s caused trouble again? Devon Bandit Clan wiped out, Seven Homes Destroyed?” With a small laugh and a kick of her legs, the blond laid on the bench, flipping the page. “Talk about going overboard.”

As she continued to look through the magazine, she saw pictures of a model posing in bikinis for the article, commenting about the mage that was modeling idly. “How do you even get into Fairy Tail? Is there an interview or something? The Fairy Tail mage guild…it’s so absolutely cool!”

As she began to daydream about it, a small excited giggle escaped her lips before a voice interrupted her thoughts. “Oh, you want to join Fairy Tail?” And out popped, ‘Salamander’ from the bushes.

“S-Salamander!?”

“I’ve been looking for you,” He continued on, as if she didn’t just shout his name in shock. “I wanted to personally invite you and your friend to the party on my boat tonight.”

“My friend and I?” Natsumi and Happy flashed through her mind and Lucy knew that the man was talking about herself and the shorter girl. “F-First off, your Charm Spell won’t work on me! O-Or Natsumi-chan! Its weakness is awareness, it doesn’t work on people who are aware of it, which we both are…now.”

“I knew it from the moment I saw you that you were a mage,” scoffed ‘Salamander’, trying to play it cool in front of her. “No matter, just come to my party.”

“Yeah, right!” Lucy turned away, arms crossed under her ample chest. “Like I’d ever go to some creeps party and I certainly wouldn’t bring any friends with me to a creeps party either.”

“Ahack!” ‘Salamander’ coughed as if stabbed by the word. “I’m a creep?!”

“Your Charm Spell,” stated Lucy, turning to glare at him. “You’d go that far to be popular?”

The man winked at her and tried to wave the accusation off. “It’s only a formality. I just want to feel like a celebrity during the party.”

“For a so-called ‘Famous Mage’, you really are stupid.” Lucy sighed heavily, shrugging her shoulders in an uncaring way.

“Oh, you want to join Fairy Tail, don’t you?” ‘Salamander’ questioned, holding up a finger as if the thought just occurred, while Lucy jumped to attention. “Surely, you’ve heard of the “Salamander” in Fairy Tail.”

The blond Celestial Spirit mage stared wide eyed at the man, shoulders tensed. “I have! You’re a member of Fairy Tail?!”

“That’s right,” nodded the purple haired man, standing coolly behind the younger girl. “”If you want to join, I can put in a good word with our Master.”

Lucy sat there for a moment as the thought circled in her head before she was up close and personal with ‘Salamander’. “It sounds like it’ll be a really nice party!”

“Wow, talk about a simple personality,” The, now uncomfortable, man sighed, holding his hands up in a way to try and get her to back up.

Ignoring the comment about her personality, Lucy looked up at him with a grateful smile and brown eyes sparkling like the night time stars. “So, can you really get me into Fairy Tail?!”

“Of course, but in return…” ‘Salamander’ bargained easily. “Don’t say anything about the Charm Spell.”

“Yes, of course!” agreed Lucy cheerfully, seeing nothing wrong with this situation (later she will question her past self’s reckless idiocy).

“Alright, see you at the party!” With that, the man snapped his fingers and a spell launched him into the air.

“Understood!” The blond cheered as she watched him fly away. She stood there for a moment before coming back to reality. “Ah, I was pseudo-charmed! But…Hooray! I can get into Fairy Tail! I just gotta be nice to that idiot until then.”

She thought she had it all figured out from there as she left to go and get ready.

「Hargeon — Middle of Town (Night)」
⸻

Natsumi and Happy sat at one of the stone walls, peering at the ocean, feeling excited to be full and ready to leave for home the next day. Natsumi mentally thanked Lucy once more for the food as she watched the clear night sky and the sparkling ocean before Happy pointed something out to her. “Say, is that the ship where that Salamander is having his party?”

Natsumi peeked at the large ship in the distance, feeling a sense of motion sickness just from watching the damned thing move side to side in the water, quickly moving to cover her mouth before her insides decided to make an appearance as her outsides. “I feel sick!”

The blue cat waved her off carefreely. “Stop feeling nauseous from just the thought of it.”

Over her held breath, Natsumi could hear more people talking in the background. “Look! Look! That’s Salamander-sama’s boat!”

“I wish I could’ve gone!” sighed one of the passersby girls as the trio gazed at the water, unaware of Happy and Natsumi listening in.

“Salamander?” The third woman questioned.

“You haven’t heard?” gasped the second one, turning to look at her friend. “The famous mage Salamander is in town! I heard he’s a member of Fairy Tail.”

At the sound of the guild’s name hitting her ears, Natsumi’s face turned hard and cold. “Fairy Tail?”

Her and Happy turned to look at the boat once more before the pink haired female had to quickly cover her mouth once more before breathing in deeply, crouching down to hold onto the stone ledge, a disgusted look on her face as she watched the boat. “Fairy Tail…”

「 。。。」

“Lucy, you say?” ‘Salamander’ rumbled as Lucy watched the girls mix and mingle on the boat’s deck. “That’s a lovely name.”

“Thank you!” smiled the blond, watching as the man set the bottle down after pouring the two of them something to drink.

“Now, a toast,” With a snap of his fingers, the drink began to float in the air around her, a smirk on the man’s face as he closed his eyes. “Now, open your mouth and savor the jewels of fruit juice as they enter.”

‘Creepy!’ Lucy mentally shrieked, but forced her mouth open. ‘But be strong! You have to be strong!’

Then, her brown eyes flew open and she glared at the man as she slapped the water away angrily. “What’s the big idea? That was a Sleep Charm.”

“Oh-ho,” ‘Salamander placed a hand to his chin, showing off the ring with a moon on it. “I’m impressed.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” snapped Lucy, placing a hand on her hip. “I’m going to Fairy Tail, not to be your girl.”

‘Salamander; chuckled, turning away from her with a dark smirk. “You’re a tough one.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the curtains around his room were opened, revealing shady looking men, all holding onto the once mingling girls who were now unconscious.

“What’s going on here?!” Lucy gasped as she stared in shock, the laughing men’s voices sounding like funeral music in her ears.

“Welcome to my ship,” repeated ‘Salamander’ from the words he’d greeted them all with. “You will behave yourself until we reach Bosco… girl.”

Lucy stared at the man’s face twisted darkly as he sneered at her, a shiver of fear running down her spine. “Bosco? Hold on! What about Fairy Tail?!”

“Give it up,” ‘Salamander’ waved her off casually. “You’re our merchandise now.”

“What?” Lucy’s mind felt a mix of emotions from the change of plot as she glared at the older man, brown eyes angry as she tried to hide her fear. “Then these girls are also…?”

“Way to go Salamander-san,” One thug chuckled.

“Got us a big haul!” agreed another. Lucy couldn’t tell who was speaking, all of them surrounding her.

“Why you-,” She reached for her keys, but ‘Salamander’ was faster, casting a quick spell to smack the keys out of her hand and into his own.

“Gate Keys, huh? A Celestial Spirit mage then.” He looked at the keys and held them mockingly in front of Lucy as the men closed in. “Only contract holders can use this magic, meaning they’re useless to me.”

Without hesitation or breaking eye contact, ‘Salamander’ threw the keys over the boat’s edge and into the ocean, ignoring Lucy’s startled gasp. Lucy felt her fear grip her anew as she stared at the floor, powerless without the help of her keys. ‘Who is this guy?! I can’t believe a mage in Fairy Tail would do something like this…!’

But he’d claimed he was Fairy Tail, she didn’t have any proof otherwise. “Using magic for evil to fool people…” Hot tears streamed down her face as the men continued to chuckle and laugh at her. “You’re the worst kind of mage there is!”

As she screamed that someone crashed through the top of the boat, making it shatter as Natsumi landed in a crouch, before Happy flew in to grab her and make her hover a few feet. A smile lit up on Lucy’s face at the sight of her strange hero. “Natsumi!”

The boat creaked dangerously and Natsumi grimaced. “Yeah, not putting my feet on that floating deathtrap, thank you very much.”

“Lucy, what are you doing?” chimed Happy from his position of keeping Natsumi afloat in the air.

“Happy!” Lucy was in shock at the wings sprouting from the blue cat’s back. “I was tricked! He said he’d get me into Fairy Tail! Wait, you have wings?”

“Talk later,” Natsumi grunted, knowing she’d have to bite the bullet on this one. “Happy, get her outta here!”

“Aye sir!”

‘Salamander’ and his crew could only stare dumbfounded at the sight of the blue cat depositing his cargo onto the boat, where she immediately curled in on herself ready to be sick, and grabbed the blond mage. “After them, we can’t let 'em report us to the council!”

“What about Natsumi?” Lucy worried, these were human traffickers they were dealing with after all.

“I can’t carry two people,” rebuffed Happy. “Besides, Natsumi’s strong, she’ll be alright for now. Even motion sick, she can defend herself against the likes of him.”

“You’re not going anywhere!” ‘Salamander’ yelled. “Prominence Whip!”

The magic fire flew at them like raging flares and Lucy could do nothing, but scream, as Happy dipped and dodged them like he was born to. “Damn that nimble cat.”

“Hey…” Natsumi somehow found the strength to get to one knee, her fist planted firmly on the floor as she glared at the man, who turned to look at her with a bland glance.

“We have to go back for Natsumi and the other girls!” insisted Lucy as they flew further and further away from the boat.

“Listen, Lucy!” Happy tried to intervene.

“What?!” snapped Lucy. “This isn’t a good time!”

“My transformation is over-!” He finished plainly as the wings disappeared from his back, leaving them trapped in midair, causing Lucy to flail before they began to fall.

“You dumb cat!” screeched the blond as she hit the water.

“Aye!” Happy cheered, following her shortly after. As soon as she hit the water, Lucy swam looking for her Gate Keys and praying they were close to them as Happy sank to the bottom, his head slamming into a rock painfully.

‘There they are!’ She mentally cheered, seeing the glittering gold and silver keys sitting on a rock of its own.

「 。。。」

“What do we do with her, Salamander-san?” One of the thugs asked, reaching for the harshly breathing Natsumi as she struggled to not puke on them and herself.

“Nothing we can do, put her with the others. She’ll replace the one that got away easily enough. Besides, from the strain of those bandages, I’d say our girl here has more than enough to show for it.” The man grunted calmly as the short teen glared at him. “Let’s hurry to Bosco for now.”

Weakly, Natsumi gripped the arm of the man that was reaching for her, somehow making it stop with enough strength. “Fairy…Tail…”

“Huh?” ‘Salamander turned to look at her, almost freezing from the out of focus glare.

“You?!”

「 。。。」

Lucy swam back to the top and watched the boat heading their way as Happy floated next to her, dazed from the hit to his head. She grinned. “Here goes!”

Pulling a key out, she swiped it twice in a cross, before placing it in the water and turning it as if unlocking something. “Open, Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!”

With a doorbell ringing in the air, a beautiful pale skinned mermaid appeared with light blue hair, dark blue eyes and a dark blue tail, in her hands was a small golden urn. Happy jumped up, suddenly alive, his stomach growling and drool dripping like rivers. “A fish!”

“No.” Lucy casually slapped him back into the water, even as he continued to stare hungrily at the mermaid’s tail.

“That was amazing,” He said instead as he gazed up at the Celestial Spirit.

“I am a Celestial Spirit mage,” huffed Lucy proudly as she held Aquarius’ key above the water. “I can use Gate Keys to summon Celestial Spirits from another world!”

Turning, she pointed at the ship, ready to show off for the cat next to her. “Aquarius, use your power to push that ship back to the port!”

“Tch.” The mermaid clicked her tongue, closing one eye as if annoyed by a bug.

Lucy and Happy flinched back, one in shock and the other in anger. “Did you just say ‘tch’?!”

“That’s not really worth getting worked up about,” defended Happy as he stared at Lucy in shock at what she got angry about.

“Heed this annoying child,” Aquarius sighed, not even turning to look at the duo as she glared into the water. “Drop my key again and I’ll kill you.”

The waves crashed threateningly around her, causing Happy and Lucy to shriek. “We’re sorry!”

Holding the urn above her head, water from the ocean seemed to get pulled in as she twirled it before holding it above her head, suddenly turning and throwing it all out in a wide circle around her. “Hah! Oraaaaaa!”

The water around the boat seemed to explode as a whirlpool formed around it, throwing everyone on it around as Lucy and Happy got sucked into another vortex, the blond in the center of it. “Don’t sweep me with it!”

Ocean water rained down as the boat landed on its side on the sandy beach as Lucy pulled herself up onto her knees to speak to her Celestial Spirit as Happy tried to dig himself out of the sand. “What were you thinking?! Why did you sweep me with it?!”

“Whoops,” Aquarius sighed as she smirked at her mage. “I accidentally swept the ship up, too.”

“You were aiming for me?!” screamed Lucy as she leaned forward angrily.

“Don’t call me for a while,” The mermaid turned away from the fuming girl. “I’m going on a week-long trip with my boyfriend. With my boyfriend.”

With that she was gone leaving Lucy alone with the blue cat in the sand. “You don’t have to repeat it twice!”

“Hey, Lucy!” Happy chimed, suddenly free from the sand and a paw in the air. “I just realized I didn’t have to apologize earlier.”

“I don’t even know where to start with this dumb cat…” facepalmed Lucy, feeling a migraine come along. People were already gathering on the shore, confused and worried about the commotion Aquarius caused by pulling the ship (i.e trying to take out Lucy) to shore.

“What in the world?!”

“A ship got swept in!”

“Damn, what in the hell-?” ‘Salamander’ groaned as he sat up holding his head in pain and turned to glare at Natsumi, who stood on top of the wrecked ship, looking completely fine now and angry.

“Natsumi!” called Lucy in relief as she ran towards the boat, Happy on her shoulder, only to stop at the look on the shorter girl’s face. Her messy shoulder length pink hair framed her face as she glared at ‘Salamander’ with her mouth set firmly. 

“You’re a Fairy Tail mage?” Natsumi asked, though it sounded more like a growl in the silence.

“Yeah, so what?!” snapped ‘Salamander’ as he and his men glared at the short girl as she adjusted her bandages briefly. “Get her, men!”

“Right!” The group nodded as Natsumi glared right back.

“Let me get a good look at you,” Natsumi ordered, reaching for her red over jacket and throwing it off, ignoring the way the tattooed man’s face grew dark and perverted at the easier sight of her chest underneath just her black and gold trimmed vest.

“Natsumi!” yelped Lucy as she watched her friend in worry.

“It’s okay,” Happy smiled as he relaxed on her shoulder with a random fish. “We should’ve mentioned this before, but Natsumi’s a mage too!”

“Eh?!” Lucy watched as Natsumi easily slapped away two grown men two times her size, keeping her charcoal eyes locked on ‘Salamander’s face.

The short pink haired girl held up her left arm, showing the dark red symbol for everyone to see. “I’m Natsumi of Fairy Tail! I’ve never seen you before in my life!”

“Wha-?!”

“Fairy Tail?!” Lucy’s eyes, along with everyone else's, latched onto the emblem in shock as the pinkette stood there, glaring at the group of men. “Natsumi’s a Fairy Tail mage?!”

“Th-That emblem! She’s the real deal, Bora-san!” A cowardly man whimpered next to the man now known as Bora, as he pointed at the enraged female.

“Fool! Don’t call me by that name!” Bora yelled angrily as he glared at the man.

“Bora…Bora the Prominence,” Happy informed, hands crossed across his small chest as he glared at the Salamander imposter. “He was kicked out of the Titan Nose mage guild years ago.”

Natsumi slowly made her way down from the ship wreckage, her angry glare not once leaving her face. “I don’t care if you're a good guy or a bad guy…but I won’t let you tarnish Fairy Tail’s name!”

Unfazed at the dangerous power surrounding the girl, Bora kept up his facade, hackles raised. “And what are you gonna do about it, kid?! Prominence Typhoon!”

Natsumi stopped briefly, shock flitted across her face before she was engulfed in the inferno and Lucy tried to race to her aid. “Natsumi!”

But she was stopped by Happy, who brought his wings back out to block her path with them and his stubby arms, a glare of his own painted on his cute face as Lucy stared in shock.

The girls from the boat ran away screaming as the rest of the crew watched in morbid fascination at the blaze that was their ship. “The bigger the talk, the weaker the man.” Bora recited as if he was a poet or philosopher before turning and walking away, only to freeze in place.

“This tastes horrible,” Natsumi’s voice groaned from the flames behind Bora’s back, her silhouette moving as if she were eating. “Are you really a fire mage? This is the worst fire I’ve ever tasted.”

Everyone watched in horror filled eyes as the flames disappeared into Natsumi’s mouth, four of her teeth sticking up like canines before the flames fully vanished. The girl heaved a sigh as she grinned ferally at the stunned group. “Thanks for the meal.”

A cute hiccup escaped her mouth as Bora below her panicked at the sight. “Wh-Wh-Who is this girl?!”

“Fire won’t work on Natsumi,” Happy stated ominously as he grinned at Lucy’s shocked look.

“I’ve never seen magic like that before,” breathed Lucy, unable to tear her eyes away.

“Now that I’ve eaten, I feel re-energized!” Natsumi growled as she made her way closer to the terrified group of men. She suddenly slammed her fist together as a magic circle appeared in front of her, her eyes slitted into a reptilian green as she crouched before taking a deep breath, cheeks puffing out. “Karyū no Hōkō!”

Lucy could almost see a real dragon behind the petite girl as she closed her fists together in front of her, the fire flowing forward and out of the magic circle as she shielded her eyes and heard a small explosion, debris falling everywhere as that one attack took down all of the men Bora had, the coward on a long spiral of fire, out of the away of the attack.

“B-Bora-san, I’ve seen this chick before!” One of his cronies stuttered as Natsumi picked herself up from the wreckage, the flames and smokes around her creating the image of a demon from Hell itself. “That pink hair and scaly-looking scarf. No doubt about it, she’s the real…”

“Salamander...” breathed Lucy as she watched Natsumi clench her fists as fire wrapped around them, seemingly at home in her hands.

“Pay attention, now!” Natsumi spoke loudly, anger radiating from her very person. “This is what Fairy Tail mages are like!”

Without a moment's hesitation, Natsumi launched herself at Bora, who made a hasty retreat and a quick attack. “Red Shower!”

Unperturbed, Natsumi continued her run, agile as she dodged the attacks by zigzagging away from the messily thrown magic, a war cry rumbling from her throat, boosting herself up into the sky with her fire and punching Bora with a flamed fist, sending the man flying back towards the port.

“She eats fire and punches with fire,” whimpered Lucy, hand at her chest in worry and slight fear of her friend. “Is this really magic…?”

“Dragon lungs for breathing fire, dragon scales for dissolving fire and dragon talons that are wrapped with fire,” Happy recited, gazing at Natsumi with pride as Bora pulled himself out of the rubble he’d landed in while Natsumi landed in front of him, a manic grin etched onto her face. “It’s an ancient spell that lets her body take on the qualities of a dragon.”

“Are you serious?” The blonde questioned, eyes both scared and amazed at this type of magic.

“It was originally used for taking down dragons.” reaffirmed the blue cat, his eyes never leaving the battle, even if he couldn’t see it.

“Ara maa…” Lucy was shaken as she took in the new information. Bora shot into the sky, voice no longer cool, but instead desperate as he shot another spell at the oncoming Natsumi.

“Hell Prominence!” The purple flames went down as he rocketed himself higher into the sky. His attack razed some of the shops and houses along the port as Natsumi sat there, manic grin bordering onto a hungry feral as the smoke cleared to show her completely unharmed by the attack from the third-rate mage.

“Igneel taught it to her,” finished Happy as Bora reeled back in shock, trying to pick himself up faster than the girl.

“You damn bitch!” He screeched, sending a large purple fire ball towards the teen, who caught it with her bare hands, quickly sucking it into her stomach.

“Now this is a hefty meal,” Natsumi smirked as she wiped her mouth. “I’m going to cook you like a smoked fish!”

“Cook me?!” shrieked Bora, obviously unable to tell if it was metaphorical or literal given the way was grinning all throughout the fight.

“Say goodbye,” She snarled, slamming her fist together in another spell. Her eyes changed into a slit appearance like a lizard again, turning a slight green, as pounced from a crouch fist aflame as the magic circle gave her another boost into the air. “Karyū no Tekken!”

As the attack landed, Bora gave a choked off scream before he was flying through the burning remains of Hargeon’s port, leaving destruction and a cloud of dust behind before flying into the city hall bell with a resounding ‘Gong!’

“Natsumi. You don’t use fire to smoke food,” Happy chuckled, seemingly confident in his next words. “You use smoke.”

Lucy watched in amazement as the bell Bora was thrown into tolled again, as if the man was being thrown into it back and forth like clockwork.

“Wow…That was great…” She started before assessing the damage. “But also going a little overboard!”

“Aye!” cheered Happy from next to her.

“Don’t give me, ‘Aye!’!” Lucy whined as the sound of rushing feet caught her attention. The blond turned and saw a group of heavily armed men making their way to the destruction that remained of Hargeon’s port. “The army?!”

She didn’t have time to gawk or even worry about them since Natsumi decided, now was a good time to grab her arm and drag her away, quickly running and dragging the brown eyed teen with her. “Crap! Let’s get outta here!”

“Why do I have to?!” cried out Lucy as the shorter female mage easily tugged her along.

“You wanna join our guild, don’t you?” Natsumi questioned as they made haste through all the chaos, Happy flying high above their heads. ANd Lucy then felt something thump in her chest as she stared at Natsumi, who flashed her a wide beautiful grin that showed her sharp canines.

‘So, this is what it’s like to have a friend look out for you?’ She thought, face lighting up as she quickly fell into pace behind her.

“Un!”

『Omake』
⸻

After they had run far enough to escape the army, Natsumi finally let Lucy stop running and catch her breath. “Wow, Natsumi…you sure ran fast and far…”

Natsumi gave a loud laugh before falling onto her behind. “Whew, been awhile since I did that!”

“Natsumi destroyed a port!” Happy cheered before pausing. “Ah, Natsumi, you’re bandages…”

“Bandages?” Lucy tilted her head in question before giving an embarrassed squeak as Natsumi looked down, her own face flushing deeply. The bandages she used to bind her rather large bust were nearly nonexistent, most likely from the fire thrown by Bora during the scuffle.

“Shoot!” Thinking quickly, the pink haired girl took her scarf off and bound her chest with that. “Good, that should hold until we get back to Fairy Tail.”

“What about a bra?” inquired Lucy, eyeing the shorter teen skeptically. “That would probably help a lot more than… that .”

Natsumi did a full bodied cringe at the suggestion. “Nope, not happening.”

“Huh?” But without responding, Natsumi stood up, dragging Lucy up with her and began to set a much calmer pace towards the train station.

“Natsumi can’t figure out how to put a bra on.” Happy giggled as he flew above their heads, causing Natsumi’s face to flush, steam basically coming off of her face while Lucy snorted into her hand.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you after we get to Fairy Tail.” The brown eyed Celestial Spirit mage promised as Natsumi grumbled under her breath about ‘not needing a bra’ and ‘what was even wrong with bandages and her scarf?’.

Chapter Text

「Magnolia — Fairy Tail (Afternoon)」
⸻

Lucy gazed at the large building in front of her, Happy and Natsumi next to her, brown eyes wide and sparkling.

“Welcome, Lucy.” Natsumi flashed her a smile before turning and kicking the door open, suddenly pissed beyond belief. “We’re home!”

“We’re home!” chimed Happy as he flew in front of Natsumi, arms spread wide. Lucy walked in, amazed at the amount of people in the hall as they called greetings back to Natsumi, seemingly used to her loud personality.

“You really went all out this time!” A buck-toothed man grinned as he regarded the pink haired teen, who glared at him, steam rising from her skin. “I heard Hargeon was-,”

He was cut off by the short girl jumping at him and kicking him in the face as Lucy jumped back hands in the air. “Bastard!”

“Why…?!” The man fell under a pile of wood that was once a table and chairs as Natsumi stepped on some table remains, continuing to glare at the downed man.

“You should’ve told me that the ‘Salamander’ rumors were about a pervy human and not a dragon !” Natsumi yelled as she held her fist up at the man, who jumped up just as easily.

“Don’t blame me! I only told you some rumors I happened to hear!” He snapped back. “They didn’t specify anything!”

“What?!” Lucy could only watch, dumbfounded, as everything escalated, Natsumi took a threatening step towards the man.

“You wanna fight?!”

As the two clashed, it somehow changed from a small fight between the two of them into a Guild Hall wide fight, knocking other members across the hall and into each other, ultimately joining in the now reigning chaos.

“Okay, Natsumi.” Happy tried, ignoring the others fighting and focusing only on his friend. “I think that’s enough—Ah!”

Someone knocked into the small cat hard enough to send him flying like a pinball into others and introducing them into the fight, resulting in more chaos coming. And yet, Lucy could do nothing, but watch with a smile, excited that she was truly there. “Wow…I’m really here, Fairy Tail.”

“Ah? Natsumi’s back?!” A black haired teen yelled as he stood in nothing, but a necklace and boxers. His reaction to Natsumi caused Lucy to scream out and jump back, half covering her eyes.

「 This man is Gray Fullbuster. He’s competent at his work, but he also has a bit of a habit—okay, a very serious habit—of taking his clothes off. 」

Not paying the blond any mind, he began to make his way towards the fray angrily. “It’s time to settle things from the other day, Natsumi!”

A beautiful and curvy long haired brunette sat off to the side sipping from a champagne glass as she watched the scene with amused dark brown eyes. “Gray, your clothes.”

“Ah, crap!”

「 This woman is Cana Alberona. Fairy Tail’s heaviest drinker. 」

“This is why I can’t stand the men here. They have no class at all.” She sighed, eyes narrowing slightly before she lifted a large barrel of alcohol and began to chug from it as the new girl watched with wide, slightly disgusted eyes, and a gaping mouth.

As Natsumi focused on her fight with the buck-toothed man from before, Gray approached from behind, kicking a broken bottle out of his way. “Come on, Natsumi! Fight me!”

The teen barely glanced at him as she pushed the man’s face from her own and pulled his other in the opposite direction. “Put some clothes on first!”

A giant man began to walk up, towering over Lucy’s own frame. He was dressed in a blue gakuran and some wooden sandals, arms crossed over his chest. “It’s only noon and you’re already whining and crying? You aren’t kids, you know.”

Lucy watched him, believing he could put an end to this senseless chaos.

「This man is Elfman, a musclebrain mage who solves everything with his fists. “Real men speak with their fists!”」

“He’s encouraging fighting after all…” sighed Lucy as she closed her eyes in depression at the thought of this continuing any longer.

Natsumi and Gray turned around and punched Elfman with full strength, easily sending the bigger man flying with a shriek.

“I’m a girl!” “Butt out!” They yelled at him at the same time, while Lucy sweatdropped at how easy it was to beat him.

‘And he’s already knocked out?’ The brown eyed girl thought in complete shock at how big he spoke. She stared a few seconds longer before another voice caught her attention.

“Ugh, how noisy.” An orange haired man with tinted glasses sighed. On his lap, he had two girls cuddled up to his chest as they cooed at him, trying to get his attention.

「 This man is Loke, one of the highest-ranked on the “most-desired mage bachelor” list. 」

He continued to grin at Lucy, honestly making the blonde teen more creeped out than needed, before a cup flew and hit him straight in the forehead, causing him to slide down his seat with an annoyed look on his face and a click of his tongue as the girls tried to check on him. “Kaching! I’m gonna go join in, for you girls!”

“Good luck!” They swooned.

Lucy watched him make poses at the girls as she crossed his face out of her Sorcerer’s Weekly, mentally knowing he just wanted to join in to get his revenge for being hit. “He’s off my list for sure.” The blonde looked around the Guild as the riot continued, feeling exhausted for some reason. “But what’s with this place? There isn’t one normal person here!”

As her eyes roamed over the chaos—why was Natsumi beating someone with a broken table as she argued with Gray, who was still in only boxers?!—a lovely voice called to her from behind. “Oh, are you new here?”

Startled, the Celestial Spirit mage turned and nearly had a heart attack at the sight of her idol standing in front of her in flesh and blood. “Mirajane! The Mirajane!”

「 This woman is Mirajane, a mage whose photo spreads are featured in Sorcerer Weekly. She currently works here at Fairy Tail. 」

Coming out of her shock, Lucy pointed to the ruckus happening to her left, a hand coming to cover her mouth shyly. “Sh-Shouldn’t we stop them?”

“They’re always like this. We should just let them be, besides...” The white haired mage smiled pleasantly as she turned to watch them briefly, before Elfman was knocked into her, his large frame slamming her to the floor and making Lucy yell out in shock. “It’s fun, don’t you think?”

Lucy screamed, tears close to falling as she watched her idol fall into a daze, Elman and the broken table around her. “Ah, Mirajane-san!”

Behind her, Natsumi and Gray were grappling with each other before someone knocked into the taller mage, slamming him full-body onto Natsumi, his hands flying out to instinctively catch himself.

“Hey! Who did that?!” He yelled as he righted himself, ignoring the strange squeak the girl underneath him released, his hands holding onto something… squishy …as he glared behind him. Gray suddenly paused as his hands moved again, groping the soft things a few more times. “What’s this…?”

As he glanced downwards, he nearly died of a nosebleed as he saw his hands had planted themselves on Natsumi’s larger than average breast and his fingers seemed to be working the flesh a bit. “N-Natsumi…”

The red faced Dragon Slayer lifted both of her legs from between them easily (she was really flexible, he noted briefly) and sent him flying with a strong kick to his chest with both of her tiny feet. He felt himself knock into someone as the last piece of cloth covering his body was taken. As he righted himself, once again ignoring who he slammed into, he saw Natsumi standing there grinning like the devil as she waved the cloth tauntingly at him. “Ah! My boxers!”

“Tit for Tat, Ice Prick!” sneered the pink haired girl as he glared at her before hearing someone screaming behind him. Gray turned and saw the new girl standing behind him, hands not really covering her face as she stared at him, cheeks a light red.

“Miss, could you lend me some underwear-?” His question was cut off as the girl flinched back, whacking him away with her rolled up Sorcerer’s Weekly.

“As if!” Lucy grunted and then froze as Loke swooped in and lifted her off her feet.

“I simply can’t stand these insensitive fools,” The orange haired man smirked down at her, thinking he must’ve looked cool, until Elfman jumped up to punch him in the face, making him drop the younger mage.

“Real men speak with their fists!” The white haired man rumbled loudly before Natsumi swooped in with a kick, sending him careening across the guild again.

“Once again, I’m a girl and butt out!” snapped the petite Dragon Slayer.

“Aye…” Happy piped in for the first time since they’d arrived in the Hell that was Fairy Tail.

“Ugh, how annoying…I can’t even have a nice relaxing drink!” Cana sighed as she sat at the bar with a large mug of beer now, face pinched in clear irritation. Pulling a card out, she created a magic circle as she regarded the rowdy group. “You guys better knock it off!”

“Now, I’m mad!” Gray growled, now clad in his boxers again, as he created his own magic circle in his corner.

Elfman screamed in frustrated anger as he lifted his arm high above his head, collecting rocks from the rubble around him and connecting it to his arm with a magic circle.

Loke adjusted one of his rings as a green magic circle appeared in front of him. “What a nuisance you people are.”

“Bring it on!” Natsumi taunted as she raised two fists after conjuring up her fire, the five in a stand off in front of Lucy as she watched in terror.

“A fistfight with magic?!” The blond held happy in front of her, the blue cat wearing a necklace with the word ‘Shield’ written on it now.

“Aye!” Happy gave the expected response, even as Lucy’s hands shook.

“Don’t give me ‘Aye!’” Was the whined response.

“That’s enough, you fools!” A large shadowed man appeared in front of the Fairy Tail members, towering over everyone there in a menacing way.

“Huge!” The brown eyed girl shrieked as everyone around her froze in the position they were in, one guy literally holding another above his head in a way that suggested he was going to throw him across the room.

“Oh,” Mirajane appeared behind the giant and Lucy casually, as if she wasn’t buried mere moments ago. “You’re still here, Master?”

“Un!” The humongous man nodded as the new Fairy Tail member turned to him in shock.

“Master?!” Turning to look back forward as Natsumi’s boisterous laugh resounded.

“What a bunch of wimps!” The tiny fire mage grinned cheekily. “Looks like this fight is my wi-!”

The giant's foot came down and stepped on her, flattening her and hiding the tiny Dragon Slayer from Lucy’s view with his own large foot, noticing the Celestial Spirit mage’s squeak of fear. “You new here?”

“Y-Yes!” The blond couldn’t stop herself from jumping a bit at being addressed so suddenly after being ignored the entire time she was there. The giant gave a loud yell as the wind around him picked up and he turned to look at the ceiling, the young teen watching dumbstruck and still scared. It all turned to straight up shock as the man seemingly deflated into a short old man dressed in bright orange and blue with white hair and a white mustache.

“Nice to meetcha!” He greeted kindly, holding a hand up, the white shirt underneath his orange jacket having a black Fairy Tail symbol on it.

“Tiny!” Was the first thing that came out of Lucy’s mouth before she tried to backtrack. “Wait, he’s your Master?”

“Yep! This is Makarov-san, Fairy Tail’s Master!” Mirajane introduced patiently, smiling the whole way as the elderly man sprung from the ground and attempted to do a backflip onto the ledge, only to fail and end up banging his head painfully into it with a small groan, trying to brush it off with a small cough.

Lucy noticed how everyone in the guild was watching their Master, paying attention to him alone and silent in respect.

“You guys have gone and done it again,” Makarov started, eyes closed in annoyance. “Just look at how much paperwork the council sent me this time! And it’s all complaints!”

Without pausing in his movements, he began to leaf through the papers. “Gray,” The aforementioned raven haired teen startled at the call of his name. “Good job on sweeping out that smuggling organization, but you walked around town naked afterwards, stealing underwear that was drying outside.”

“But wouldn’t it be worse if I were just naked?” inquired Gray, looking at the ground petulantly.

“Then don’t be naked,” Elfman interjected sternly. “You’re a man now.”

“Oh, Elfman, thank you for volunteering to be next!” sighed Makarov, flicking to the man’s page quickly, even as the white haired man waved his hands in a negative manner. “It seems all you had to do was escort a VIP, but you ended up assaulting him during the mission.”

“He said, “men who fight all the time are heathens,” so…” The large mage tried to defend himself, resulting in a snort from Cana.

“Try thinking before you do, you’re not Natsumi, ya know?” The drinker huffed, lifting her beer to her mouth.

Makarov shook his head in her direction, pulling another page forward. “Cana Alberona, drinking fifteen barrels of alcohol and charging it to the council?”

“Er, they found out…? That fast…?” She sweat dropped, turning away from his knowing glare as Loke snickered next to her, earning a glare from the drunk.

“Loke, flirting with council chairman, Crawford Seam’s daughter and Sorcerer’s Weekly charged us with damage compensation.” continued Fairy Tail’s Master before his stern glare turned to Natsumi, who seemed to wilt into herself as other Guild members moved out of his line of sight. “And, Natsumi, You completed the job of getting rid of the Devon Thieves Family, but took out seven houses of pedestrians, leveled the historical clock tower in Tully, again, burned down a forest in Freeshia, damaged parts of Lupinus Castle, somehow managed to collapse the Nazuna Ravine Observation and just recently, destroyed half of Hargeon’s port.”

Lucy was shocked by this revelation. Sure, Natsumi’s magic was strong and wild, but the girl couldn’t have been more than five feet even. How could one tiny girl cause all that damage? As she turned her shocked brown eyes to her new friend, the blond couldn’t help, but feel bad. Natsumi looked heartbroken at being called out for her destructive behavior and Lucy noticed Gray making his way to her, eyes sympathetic, as Makarov continued.

“All you guys ever do is get the council mad at me!” The small old man’s body shook in compressed rage as the Fairy Tail mages reflected, Gray having an arm around Natsumi’s shoulder’s in comfort and the girl looking at the ground as she held her arms tightly under her chest. “However…to Hell with the council!”

Lucy watched as the man set the stack of complaints on fire and tossed them into the air before it landed in Natsumi’s hand, the small pinkette shoving the still burning papers into her mouth hungrily.

“Listen up, power that surpasses reason is still born from reason.” continued Makarov, everyone’s attention back on him, seemingly done reflecting. “Magic is not a miraculous power, it is only realized when the flow of energy inside us and the flow of energy in the natural world come into perfect sync. Magic comes from mental strength and focus—no, it comes from your entire soul! Worry about the eyes watching from high above and you will make no progress in the ways of magic! Don’t let the fools in the council scare you, follow the path you believe in! That’s what Fairy Tail mages do!”

With that the man pointed to the sky with the back of his hand facing outwards, the rest of the guild following in cheer as they began to cheer up and celebrate, though Lucy noticed that even when smiling, Natsumi still looked a bit downtrodden.

‘I’ll talk to her later,’ The blond thought as she felt a warmth fill her chest at the air around her in the entire guild hall.

「 。。。」

A few moments later, Lucy found herself at the front of the Fairy Tail Guild Hall getting her new mark stamped onto her hand in a pretty pink as Mirajane finished up the process of introducing her as a new legit member to their large and rowdy guild. “There! You’re now a member of Fairy Tail!”

The blond smiled happily at her new mark, inspecting her hand as if unsure if it was real or not, a dream or not before rushing off to find Natsumi and show her friend her new mark. She found the girl in front of a board with lots of printouts on it with another man standing by idly. The fire mage's eyes were skimming over the printouts as the man, Nabu, just watched seemingly trying to decide on a job. “Look, look Natsumi! I got the Fairy Tail mark!”

“That’s great, Luigi.” sighed the smaller teen, arms crossed under her chest and eyes never leaving the board.

“It’s Lucy !” Lucy followed her friend's gaze and read over some of the posted papers, slightly confused until she started seeing the numbers with Jewel written next to them. “This must be the request board that guild’s have so mages can do jobs to get money for, right?”

“Absolutely,” Happy sang, floating next to Natsumi. “Pick one with a big reward Natsumi! The house is low on food again!”

“I hear ya bud,” The Dragon Slayer huffed, putting more weight on her left side and cocking her hip out. “But these are all really boring jobs…Ah, this one is 160,000 Jewel just to get rid of some thieves?”

“Then it’s decided!” Lucy stood by, wanting to ask if she could join for her first job, but not wanting to seem clingy to the seemingly free-spirited fire mage.

“Natsumi, before you go, a word.” Makarov’s voice called, making the girl flinch and her eyes to go down slightly.

“Aye, Happy wait here with Lucy, would ya?” The blue cat looked disappointed that he couldn’t follow, but stayed with the blond, making her way to the bar where Mirajane was working while Gray and Elfman had drinks.

“Why does Master want to have a word with Natsumi?” wondered the Celestial Spirit mage out loud, unaware of Gray and Elfman standing behind her.

“Well, we’re all called Master’s children,” Elfman began, leaning forward a bit as Gray drank a milkshake next to him. "But Natsumi’s different.”

“When Natsumi arrived at Fairy Tail, she only had the clothes on her back and minimum ability to speak to any of us,” continued the Ice mage. “She could barely speak Fiorian and was more like a feral animal than a human.”

“A dragon,” The white haired man corrected sternly. “She was more dragon than human when she arrived. So, Master took it upon himself to try and teach her the things she knows…the rest of us didn’t want to get too close to her and she didn’t try to get close to us. Master was the only one not scared of her trying to attack him…mostly. There were a few others.”

“Then, why does he signal her out all the time?!” Happy cried out, obviously thinking something wasn’t adding up in the story.

“Because he wants her to improve without showing favoritism…” concluded Lucy, brown eyes sympathetic as she watched the Fairy Tail Master and Natsumi talk in hush voices, the small girl seemingly getting more upset as the conversation went on.

The two male mages stayed silent as Natsumi began to make her way back towards them, most likely to collect Happy and go on her mission. As Natsumi waited for her mission to be approved, a young boy ran up to the table that Makarov sat atop of, drinking his beer calmly and staff laying in front of him. “Is my dad not back yet?”

“You’re getting on my nerves, Romeo.” The old man stated plainly, feeling Natsumi’s dark eyes burning into the side of his head. “If you’re a mage’s son, have faith in your father and wait at home quietly!”

“He said he’d be back in three days, but he’s been gone a week now!” The young boy stated fearfully, obviously worried about his father.

“If I recall, it was a job at Mt. Hakobe,” Makarov grumbled, staring at the boy calmly, staff now in hand.

“That isn’t that far away!” Romeo clenched his fist and took a step forward. “Go look for him!”

“You old man’s a mage!” yelled back Makarov, seemingly tired of this conversation. “There’s no mage in this guild who can’t take care of themselves! Go home and drink some milk or something!”

Lucy noticed how Mirajane was now slowly wiping a plate and how Natsumi’s bangs were now covering her face as she listened to the conversation. Eyes teary and fist clenched, Romeo threw a punch at Makarov, hitting him square in the nose. “Stupidhead!”

With that, the young boy ran back out of the guild, leaving silence and tension in the air as everyone tried to act like they weren’t listening in, others not caring and openly staring. Lucy couldn’t help, but feel pity for the child. “That’s harsh…”

“Despite what he said, the Master really is worried…” Mirajane whispered, placing a bottle of ale on the shelf behind her. The sound of smashing reached their ears and everyone turned to look in the Request Board’s direction, only to see a hole punched into one of the requests and Natsumi stomping away, the look on her face, whatever it may be, scaring a few other members in her way.

“Hey, Natsumi!” Nab yelled, even though it seemed like he wasn’t going to pick a job anytime soon. “Don’t break it!”

Makarov gave a small sigh as Nabu came over to lean on the table they were at as they watched Natsumi leave. “I don’t know about this, Master. She’s gonna try to save Macao.”

“She’s such a kid,” The buck-toothed man that Natsumi had fought earlier chimed in. “Doesn't she know the only thing she’s going to do is hurt Macao’s pride? Especially getting saved by a young girl of all things.”

“Yeah, it would be one thing if it was a young boy, but a young woman?” Nab rubbed the top of his head, an annoyed look on his face. “His pride will be in tatters.”

Makarov closed his eyes as he took a deep breath in, listening to the other mage’s words. “No one is allowed to choose the path other’s take. Leave her be.”

⸻
「Flashback to Natsumi and Makarov’s Talk」
⸻

“Natsumi, I don’t care that you destroyed everything in your path while doing your work,” Makarov started, looking at the girl he considered his own daughter. “I just worry about your emotions causing you to stray from the path you want.”

“My path will always be in front of me, Master!” She denied quietly, keeping her voice low. To anyone else, this would have sounded impossible for someone as loud and brash as Natsumi, but Makarov knew she liked to keep some things private. “Besides, I don’t mean to…my fire is me. If I’m angry, they’re angry. If I’m energetic and chaotic, they are as well.”

“And what if you let them become reckless, as you do?” inquired the man who she looked at like a second father. “What if they were to become as reckless as you do and hurt someone? I don’t want something to go down and you end up hurting someone you may regret…that is not the right path for you.”

“T-That’ll never happen, Master…” Natsumi stuttered, obviously feeling a bit hurt from his harsh words and Makarov felt a pang of regret at his own words, ironically enough. “Because, no matter what, I’ll never raise a hand to my friends, no, my family members in Fairy Tail.”

Makarov looked at her, seeing so much untapped potential in this one child of his, that he let it go with a wave of his hand. Ending the conversation. As Natsumi turned, he whispered his last words of enlightenment her way. “No one is allowed to choose the path others take, remember that child. I’ll always try to lead you right.”

“Of course…'jii-chan.”

⸻
「End Flashback」
⸻

Lucy watched Natsumi’s back in concern, first the scolding and her downtrodden appearance, the blond was beginning to worry about the current state of Natsumi’s emotions. “What happened to her anyway?”

Elfman and Gray silently looked at the newest member of Fairy Tail, but didn’t say anything, as it wasn’t their place. They’d already told her more than Natsumi had and that was bad enough if the fire mage found out. Elfman shuddered at the fire punches constantly being thrown at him, while Gray cringed at the thought of the Flame Brain ignoring any and all of his challenges to fight. Rough.

“Natsumi’s in the same boat as Romeo,” Mirajane answered after a moment, causing the blond to turn and look at her in shock. “I guess she sees a part of herself in him. All of us mages have our own issues of some sort…Whether it’s scars, pain or suffering.”

As Natsumi walked by Romeo, who was sniffling into his arm, she crouched in front of him, hand brushing the top of his head. “No crying, men don’t cry when there’s nothing to be sad over.”

Romeo watched as the pink haired girl left, on a mission to bring his father home.

「Magnolia - Path to Mt. Hakobe (Early Afternoon)」
⸻

As the carriage rolled by, the clacking of the horses’ hooves were the only thing registering in Natsumi’s head as she laid on the seat across from Lucy, desperately trying to keep in everything that wanted to spill out now, while Lucy and Happy watched.

“Why’re you here again?” rasped the sick girl, confused by the blond following her. Lucy frowned slightly, before remembering how Elfman and Gray told her that Natsumi tended to push people away, even subconsciously.

“It’s fine, isn’t it?” Lucy waved her off, smiling sympathetically at the pink haired teen. “You and vehicles don’t mix at all, huh?”

“W-Well, yeah…” gasped Natsumi, turning to curl up into a tiny ball on her side of the wagon. “B-Because my senses are so much stronger than you guys, I can’t adjust to the swaying and moving motions or the sounds…”

“It’s all too much for her!” Happy giggled, seemingly ignoring his partner’s pain as he regarded Lucy with a smile and wide eyes.

“Oh, I feel bad for you in so many ways!” Lucy put both of her hands to her face and smiled cutely, causing Natsumi to jolt angrily.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She snapped, the pink haired mage didn’t like pity and the Celestial Spirit mage had basically just said she pitied her greatly.

“Oh, nothing~!” Lucy smiled in a way that said she knew more than she was telling, but Natsumi didn’t have time to think about it more before her head swam.

“Bleeegh…” Thankfully, nothing came out!

⸻
「Flashback to Mirajane and Lucy’s Conversation」
⸻

“Natsumi’s father left and never came back,” Lucy looked up, shocked by the statement. “Well, technically, he was only her foster father. She doesn’t remember her real parents. And a dragon to boot!”

Lucy imagined a large dragon breathing fire on an innocent village and felt herself stop for a moment. “Huh? A dragon?! You can’t be serious! Natsumi was raised by a dragon?!”

“Oh, we are.” Elfman chuckled, seemingly amused by Lucy’s reaction. “Natsumi was raised by a full-fledged dragon! That’s honestly the only way to learn Dragon Slayer magic, the legit way at least.”

“Maybe she was mistaken?” The blond tried, hands flailing in front of her. “Dragon’s haven’t been seen in almost a hundred years!”

“No,” cut in Gray seriously, causing Lucy to freeze at his tone. She didn’t mean to upset anyone, but it sounded way too far fetched, even for the world of magic. “When she came to Fairy Tail, Master told us that the half-Fiorian garbled mess was a mixture of Dragon Tongue and Fiorian. Whichever dragon raised her, probably decided to try and teach her the words he knew.”

The Celestial Spirit Mage blinked in shock and awe. That sounded like something straight out of a fable, like the ones her mother used to read to her before bed. Mira was still smiling as she continued to polish bottles and place them on the shelves behind the counter.

“When Natsumi was little, the dragon found her in the forest, took her in, and taught her all about language, culture and magic…” Mirajane continued with a little smile on her face.

“Or at least what he could about the Fiorian language and culture.” Gray cut in with a slight smile of his own, eyes fond.

“But…one day, the dragon suddenly disappeared.” stated Mira sadly, as Elfman and Gray looked down at the table.

“Oh, that must be Igneel then…” mumbled the brown eyed girl as she remembered how Natsumi said she was looking for a dragon by that name.

“Natsumi looks forward to the day she’ll see Igneel again,” The blue eyed barmaid spoke softly, yet fondly about the story. “That’s kinda cute, don’t you think?”

⸻

As the memory faded to the back of Lucy’s mind, she couldn’t help, but smile at Natsumi. One minute the smaller teen was all gung-ho about something or other and the next she’s stuck in a motionless position…

‘I hope she lets me see more about her…’ The blond thought shaking her head a bit to rid it of the thought. ‘She’ll open up to me when she feels comfortable!’

From the way Elfman and Gray spoke about the Dragon Slayer, she seemed to be hard to get to open up, but relatively easy to speak to. Suddenly, the carriage came to a stop and Natsumi’s face cleared while Lucy glanced towards the door. “We’ve arrived?”

As if the stopping of the carriage was the best thing in the world, Natsumi leaped to her feet, fist clenched and cheers spilling from her mouth, Happy joining in next to her. “It stopped!!”

“Sorry!” The man driving the carriage called back to them. “This is as far as I can go!”

Confused, Lucy followed Natsumi outside to see why the carriage couldn’t go on and she wasn’t pleased with what she saw. “W-Wait…! What in the world?!”

「 。。。」

“I’m freezing!” Lucy whined as they trekked up the path of the mountain. “I know we’re on a mountain, but it’s supposed to be summer! This blizzard isn’t right!”

Natsumi wasn’t one known for her patience, but since it was Lucy’s first mission and apparently her first mountain climb as well, she would try her best to keep her cool. ‘Besides, if I get too heated about something and my body steams up, I’ll go rolling back down this damn mountain and I definitely don’t want that!’

“That’s what you get for wearing light clothes,” She replied, mentally kicking herself for that statement. It sounded rude out loud.

“I don’t wanna hear that from someone wearing baggy pants, some cloth around her waist, some bandages on her chest, a scarf and a vest!” Lucy snapped back, reaching forward suddenly. “Give me your blanket!”

Letting the blond do as she pleased, Natsumi felt irritation well up in her as she watched the blond wrap it around herself. “Man, she’s getting kinda annoying…”

“Aye!”

The Celestial Spirit mage held up a finger as if she suddenly had an idea. “I know! Open! Gate of the Clock constellation, Horologium!”

“Tock!” The Spirit that appeared looked like a grandfather clock with a face on his clock, the ticking hands acting like a mustache and closed eyes as he waved his arms in a circle, appearing before them.

“Oh! A clock?” Natsumi was amazed, but also confused. What was a clock going to do? Turn back time, so the blond could go back?

“Cool!” agreed Happy excitedly.

Lucy clambered into the clock, blanket held tightly around her shoulders and an annoyed look on her face, trying to speak to them from within the clock's walls, unaware that it seemed to be sound proof.

“Hah? I can’t hear you,” snorted Natsumi, a small migraine beginning to grow. This girl was something else alright.

““I’m staying in here,” she says.” Horologium repeated for her calmly and Natsumi felt a vein pop in her head.

“Why did she even come? Seriously?” The pink haired girl assessed the situation in front of her for only a second before Lucy spoke again. 

““What job brought Macao-san to a place like this?” she asks.”

“You came along without knowing?” Natsumi crossed her arms over her chest. “He was gonna subdue a Vulcan, a vicious monster.”

Inside her Celestial Spirit, the blond felt fear well up slightly as Natsumi and Happy continued down the path. ““I want to go back!” she proclaims.”

“Be my guest, I reply.” grunted Natsumi sarcastically, only half meaning it. It was nice to have someone to walk with her, but the whining was getting on her nerves.

“Aye…” chimed Happily, boredly as they continued their pace.

「 。。。」

“Macao! You there?!” Natsumi yelled,  her voice carrying easily enough through the horrible winds.

“Macao!” Happy repeated, until the sound of something rushing towards them garnered their attention. The fire mage barely had time to dodge before a large monkey monster appeared above them, smashing the ground in front of them easily. 

“It’s a Vulcan!” cried out Happy as Natsumi glared at the monkey-menace. The monkey stared at Natsumi for a moment, before hearts appeared in his eyes and steam puffed out of his nose.

“Human woman!” The monkey jumped at Natsumi, one of his hands easily wrapping around her entire waist and tried to pull her to himself, only for the fire mage to heat her skin up to insane degrees. “Gah!”

It slammed Natsumi’s body into the wall behind her, causing the the short mage to choke from the force of the slam.

“Natsumi!” Happy yelped, unable to help his friend, and praying she had a plan.

“Happy…go to Lucy, hide in Horologium…follow us from behind with something that can fight,” panted the female as the Vulcan picked her back up and ran away. Happy flew to Lucy’s spirit a little further back and slammed into the glass casing keeping the girl from the outside.

“Lucy! Do you have any fighting spirits?!” He squeaked out frantically as the blond let him into her comfort zone.

“Yeah…?” She bit her lip. “One or…two, I think.”

“Good, Natsumi has a plan,” Happy nodded, though he still looked worried. “She let herself be captured by the Vulcan, so it can lead her to Macao, we have to meet her there and save her.”

“Huh?” shrieked the Celestial Spirit mage. “Us? Save her? Natsumi’s so strong though!”

“She’s also out of her element up here,” cut in Happy. “If she goes in ablaze, she’ll melt everything, maybe even Macao!”

“That’s terrifying!” Lucy screamed. “Fine, I’ll help.”

“You’re on this job too, ya know!” snorted the blue cat and Lucy resisted the urge to punt the cat.

「Magnolia - Near the Summit of Mt. Hakobe (Afternoon)」
⸻

Natsumi sat as far away from the Vulcan as physically possible, too bad the damn ape kept coming back into her space. ‘I know this was my plan, but still…creepy!’

And every time she tried to stand, it was damn near impossible with her shaky balance at best and the damn ice wasn’t helping. Realistically speaking, she could melt the ice under her feet to walk, but that would take too much concentration. “Where is Macao?”

The monkey stopped his perverted leering, listening to the words thrown at him, only to tilt his head in confusion.

“You understand me, right?” snarled Natsumi, eyes narrowed darkly. “He’s a human man. He was sent up here a week ago. What. Did. You. Do. With. Him?!”

The Vulcan beat on his chest, a monstrous roar coming from his chest. “NO MEN! GIRLS ONLY!”

“So, I have to beat it out of you, huh?” Natsumi growled, a grin on her face. “Fine by me!”

“Natsumi!” Happy and Lucy’s voices called out to her, distracting her briefly as she turned to find them running towards her. The blond stopped, pulling out a golden key and swiping it through the air quickly.

“Open! Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!” With a ding, a large anthropomorphic bull, who looked kind of like a cow instead, holding an axe.

“Mooo!” The bull brandished the axe with a menacing glare, quickly catching sight of Lucy and Natsumi, before turning his glare into a drooling smile and heart eyes. “Lucy-san and friend, you both have such nice bodies. I’m mooved!”

“Sorry to say,” Lucy started with a depressed look as Natsumi shivered and covered her abdomen slightly. “This one’s a pervert, too.”

“Don’t take my girls!” The Vulcan growled as Natsumi turned to glare at him, cheeks tinted pink as Lucy hid behind her and Taurus grunted in anger.

“Your girl?” spat Natsumi, fists lighting up angrily.

“Those are fighting words,” Taurus growled as the three had a glare, the blond haired girl running out of the way.

“Taurus!” The bull-man grinned as he pulled his axe from his back and slammed it into the ground, causing the ice to rumble and spike as the attack made its way towards the Vulcan.

“Fierce Moove!” He yelled landing next to Lucy. Natsumi waited a moment before using the ice to try a slide hit with the Vulcan. The monkey jumped out of the way and Lucy yelped as the Dragon Slayer flew out a hole in the back of the cave.

“Natsumi!!” She yelled as Happy went flying after his partner. The Vulcan seemed a bit disappointed that it would only have one girl now, but shrugged it off.

The Vulcan turned and glared at Taurus, who stood firmly in front of Lucy. The monster quickly ran around the cave, obviously knowing the layout better, and tackled the large bull to the floor.

“Looks like this is the end…” Taurus whimpered as he laid on the floor, unconscious, but not going back to the Celestial Spirit world.

“So weak!” screamed Lucy as she watched her spirit stay put, his soul seemingly coming out.

The Vulcan grinned deviously at Lucy and made his way closer…only for Natsumi to fly in with a fiery kick. “Saru!!!!”

“Natsumi!” As the girl landed in front of Lucy, she couldn’t help, but hug the other girl glad she was safe and sound after the fall.

“Hey, what happened to the pervy cow?” Natsumi’s black eyes roamed the area before narrowing on the still downed Taurus. “No way! He lost so easily! Was he a silver key or something?”

“No! He’s a Zodiac Key and one of my strongest fighters!!” snapped back Lucy, embarrassed about how fast Taurus was taken out. “And he’s a bull, not a cow!”

“Looks like a cow to me,” Happy teased, wings still out from carrying Natsumi back to the fight. That’s when a thought occurred to the blond girl.

“You’re no good when it comes to riding vehicles,” She started, arms crossed as she regarded the duo. “But fine riding Happy?”

“What are you talking about?” Natsumi looked so thrown off while Happy looked at her like she was a monster. “Happy isn’t a vehicle. He’s my friend. Wow, you’re simpleminded.”

“Y-You’re right,” nodded Lucy, feeling like she got scolded for something simple. “I’m sorry…”

Obviously upset with being ignored, the Vulcan growled and leaped at Natsumi, ready to sneak attack the girl. “My girls!”

Without looking back, Natsumi lifted her hand up and easily blocked the arm coming down at her like a hammer, the force breaking the ice floor underneath them and creating a crater. “Listen up! All the members of Fairy Tail are my comrades and my friends!”

The monster ape sent a kick towards the petite girl, who blocked it by crossing her arms, saving herself from some serious damage even as she went flying further into the back of the cave. “From ‘jii-chan and Mira to those annoying jerks Gray and Elfman.”

Lucy’s eyes widened as the Vulcan went running at Natsumi again, the Dragon Slayer righting herself up into a standing position, fist clenched by her sides and magic beginning to lean through her body. “Happy and Lucy are my friends, too.”

“Which is why…” Natsumi glared at the monkey, magic circle glowing brightly underneath her as her shoulder length pink hair waved in the wind made by her magic before she leapt up and kicked the Vulcan in the stomach with a flaming leg. “I’m taking Macao back with me!”

The ape went flying into the ceiling, knocking over tons of large, sharp ice shards that landed in a straight path towards Natsumi, who simply made her body heat up more, causing it all to melt before it touched her as he blew them all towards her. “That has no effect on fire!”

Lucy dodged out of the way as some of the smoke and crystals came flying in her direction, watching worriedly for the Vulcan’s next move. When the smoke cleared, the monster had grabbed Taurus’ axe with a devious smile as it glinted threateningly in his hand and both mages did a double take at the sight.

“Uh-oh…That might do it…” winced Natsumi, feeling the cold creep on her, showing her lack of magic power at the moment.

“Taurus’ axe!” Lucy gasped, turning her shocked brown eyes back to the groaning bull as he laid there, very solid and very not gone!

“Lucy-san…” He was groaning as little hearts danced above his head.

The Vulcan swung the axe at Natsumi, causing her to backflip over it and land in a crouch. She dodged the first few swipes easily enough, ducking and leaning to the opposite sides of them…until she slipped on the ice floor. “Gah!”

“Natsumi!” Now, the Celestial Spirit mage was worried about her friend. Ice was one thing, but this was a large axe that could cut her in half if swung the right way. Especially since her friend was down on her back, the Vulcan bearing the axe down from an overhead swipe, the teen’s bandages getting cut open a little bit on the top of the cleavage, causing the monkey to drool and attempt to press down harder and get the wrappings to break fully.

Natsumi strained against the axe and the Vulcan’s grip, only thanks to spite and her years of guild brawls giving her enough leverage to not be cut down the middle.

“Taurus! Go back!” The brown eyed girl yelled as she shook her unconscious Spirit back and forth, attempting to make him go back. “That’ll make the axe disappear too!”

As her hands shook from the strain, they began to heat up immensely, causing the axe to turn a hot red, then orange and finally yellow, beginning to melt. Thinking quickly, Natsumi opened her mouth and leaned her head just a centimeter closer, catching the melted axe in her mouth and using that as a power source. “She melted the blade with her body heat?! And now she’s eating it?!”

“Now that I’ve eaten, I’m all fired up,” Natsumi chewed it a little before shooting small metal fire balls at the Vulcan causing it to let go of the axe and stumble backwards. She followed up by slamming her fists together, causing her eyes to turn dragon-like and green once more and jumped at the falling monkey. “Karyū no Tekken!”

The Vulcan went flying, right into the cave wall behind him and fell into an upside down heap. A small explosion shook the mountain and when the smoke cleared, Lucy and Natsumi stood in front of the whimpering and whining unconscious Vulcan. “You did it!...but wasn’t he supposed to tell us where Macao-san was?”

“No need,” Natsumi shrugged her off an easy smile on her face. “Look.”

A bright flash of light and a brief magic circle later and the Vulcan had disappeared, revealing a groaning middle aged man, more beat up than the fight with Natsumi should have left him.

“What? He was that perverted ape?!” gasped Lucy, feeling so very confused.

“Take Over magic...” Natsumi grunted, leaning down to try and pry Macao out of the rubble.

“Take Over magic?” repeated the blond as she watched Natsumi manage to pry the man out, only to topple as her body was much smaller than Macao’s adult man height.

“It’s a body possession spell,” Happy explained seriously, eyes locked on the struggle her partner was going through with their Guild mate. “Vulcan’s are monsters that survive by stealing people’s bodies and taking them over.”

「 。。。」

“It looks like he put up an intense fight before he was taken over,” Happy speculated after Natsumi and Lucy had performed first aid to the best of their degree. Luckily enough, Natsumi knew more than enough to help him and Lucy knew her away around a first aid kit. 

Worried about the fact that Macao hadn’t woken up at all since he was released from the spell, Natsumi leaned closer, her face panicked and eyes a tinge wet. “Macao…don’t you dare die! You’d be leaving Romeo waiting for you!”

Finally the man’s eyes pulled themselves open, responding to the small girl’s whimpered and whispered words. “Natsumi-chan…”

“Macao!” Natsumi’s face lit up, though her cheeks tinged a bit red as Macao leaned up to rub the water clinging to the corner of her eyes. Lucy had also leaned forward, face beaming as the man moved slowly, but it was a start for her.

“I’m pathetic…First, almost leaving my children behind, second, making my daughter cry and worry…third, being taken over by a Vulcan.” rasped Macao as Natsumi helped him lean against the cave’s wall, the older man not wanting to stay down for long.

“Huh? Children?” Lucy tilted her head. As far as she knew, Macao only had Romeo waiting for him back at home.

“Yeah, Romeo and Natsumi-chan, my precious daughter from a dragon.” Macao chuckled as Natsumi blushed, shoving the bottom half of her face into her scarf, a small happy smile on her face. “I defeated nineteen of them…and the last Vulcan took me over. I’m really mad at myself…and my son’s probably home waiting for me, so his beautiful big sister came to collect me. Ah, my pride’s in pieces. Damn. I can’t face Romeo now…”

Lucy gave a soft startled gasp. When Natsumi had said the job was to defeat Vulcan, she’d assumed that meant just the one. But the man before her, all beaten up, had defeated nineteen, while she and Natsumi semi-struggled with one.

“Don’t say that!” Natsumi choked up, a smile pulling on her lips as she tried to encourage the man who saw her as a daughter, obviously touched if the emotion in her voice was anything to go by. “Defeating that many is impressive enough! Now, let’s go see Romeo!”

Macao grinned at her as Lucy sat back in shock, a small smile spreading across her face. ‘Amazing…I can’t begin to compare to this…’

“Why are you smiling like that, Lucy?” questioned Happy from behind the emotional blond. “It’s creepy.”

“Don’t make me yank your whiskers, kitty.” Lucy threatened, a tick mark appearing as her face darkened with her words.

「Magnolia (Late Afternoon)」
⸻

Romeo sat on the church’s steps, watching kids walk by with their parents, tears filling his eyes at the thought of never seeing his father again and the events that led up to this.

⸻
「Flashback」
⸻

“Fairy Tail mages are a joke!” A random kid in his class shrugged as two others stood next to him.

“They’re just a bunch of drunk cowards!”

“I’m gonna be a knight when I grow up! Mages stink like booze!”

The words had gotten too much and the next day, Romeo approached his father, desperate for the teasing to stop and to have something to say to shut those kids up. “'tou-chan! Go do a job! I can’t take this anymore!”

Macao had sat there for a moment, contemplating his sons’ words for a moment, before grinning like a fool. “All right!”

⸻
「End Flashback」
⸻

Now Romeo sat here, by himself, wiping his eyes and praying that he could see his dad again. Even if for just a moment, to apologize to him and tell him how cool he was.

That is, until a voice called out for him. “Romeo!”

As he looked up, he saw Natsumi and Lucy supporting his father (the pink haired girl struggling a bit more than the blond, due to her lack of height, and for some reason she was wearing his father’s usual jacket). Lucy was smiling, Natsumi beaming at him while attempting to wave as his father smiled sheepishly and rubbed the top of his head.

Tears filled his eyes anew, but for a different reason as he took off over towards them, jumping right into his father and sending the two of them toppling to the ground. “'tou-chan! ‘tou-chan, I’m sorry!”

“I’m sorry for worrying you,” Macao whispered into his son’s shoulder as Romeo sobbed into his own. “Your amazing big sister brought me home.”

“It’s okay,” hiccuped Romeo as Lucy, Happy and Natsumi stood a little further ahead. “I’m the son and brother of two great mages!”

“The next time those brats try to pick on you,” chuckled Macao. “Ask them if their father’s took down nineteen Vulcan’s or if their older siblings took down even one with her bare hands!”

“Natsumi-nee, Happy! Thank you!” Romeo yelled at their retreating backs, grinning as Natsumi waved it off with Happy chirping ‘Aye’ cheerfully. “Lucy-nee, you too!”

Lucy turned around and waved happily, glad to have been able to help the small family reunite.

「Magnolia — Fairy Tail Guild Hall (Night)」
⸻

Natsumi was sitting at a table, tiredly eating some ramen as Happy sat next to her, eating a fish. Lucy found herself sitting at a barstool, talking with Mira when Elfman approached the two. “Hey, Mira-san…earlier, after we rescued Macao-san, he said Natsumi was his daughter…what did he mean by that?”

“Well, like I told you earlier,” The barmaid smiled as she leaned on the bar in front of Lucy, sipping from her own cup. “Natsumi’s original foster parent disappeared and she came to Fairy Tail. A lot of the older Guild members, like Wakaba-san and Macao-san, took on parental roles for a lot of us younger members. Macao-san was closest to Natsumi since they both wielded fire.”

“Oh…” Lucy giggled as a thought came to her head. “Must’ve been hard for Natsumi to have a crush on anyone, huh?”

“Oh,” Elfman shook his head with a smirk. “Natsumi’s never had a crush on anyone.”

“And those who had crushes on her, weren’t strong enough to get by the parental figures she had around,” joined Cana, holding her mug out for more beer. “They’d get the courage to confess, only to be met with grown men, Elfman, Gray and Erza at the door. Natsumi’s kind of the jewel of Fairy Tail.”

“Even though she’d had it hard like the rest of us, she managed to smile and shine brighter than before.” Makarov’s voice spoke from above and Lucy looked up to see the guild master grinning down at her. “That’s why aside from Salamander, she’s known as the Princess of the Fairies.”

“Like how Erza-san is Titania, Queen of the Fairies?”

“Yeah, but for very different reasons.” Gray sighed, casually taking his shirt off one handedly. “Erza’s Queen of the Fairies, due to her strength. Natsu is Princess of the Fairies because we would be lost without her light.”

“Ah…” Lucy nodded, her mind reeling. This was a lot of information to take in. “I’m going to head home now, I’ll see everyone tomorrow.”

As she left, she heard a lot of voices calling out ‘good night’ and ‘be safe’, but her mind was just stuck on the conversation. Everyone in Fairy Tail really was like a family.

『Omake』
⸻

Natsumi and Lucy were sitting down, waiting for Macao to garner enough strength to make the trip back to Magnolia, when the older man gave a startled yelp. Both teens turned to look at him, but the man’s gaze was only on Natsumi…more like her slowly unraveling bandages.

“Why did you come up here with just bandages?!” He shrieked at her, causing the female Dragon Slayer to curse under her breath and attempt to rebind them.

“Because this is more comfortable!” snapped Natsumi as Happy giggled while Lucy sighed, feeling like this might have been a reoccurring argument.

“Well, we’re not leaving with you looking like that!” Macao growled, standing up and grabbing his jacket, forcefully shoving it onto Natsumi’s small shoulders. “There, now you can leave.”

“What about you?” gasped Lucy. It was freezing outside, the man wouldn’t make it with those injuries.

“I’ll be fine, I’m a fire mage,” Macao waved off with a grin. “I run hot like Natsumi-chan, but I won’t have her going down with bandages that can barely hold her jugs up when some pervert could be watching!”

“The only pervert here is you!” screamed Natsumi as she blushed furiously. “What kind of grown man calls a fifteen year old girl’s chest jugs?!”

“The grown man who won’t have his daughter walking around like that!” Lucy watched the two go back and forth, a feeling of warmth filling her chest.

‘Just like a family….’

Chapter Text

「Magnolia — Lucy’s Apartment (Morning)」
⸻

「I’m Lucy, a mage! And this is Magnolia, a commerce city where magic has flourished for ages. Past Kardia Cathedral in the center of town you’ll find Fairy Tail, the only mage Guild in the city! And this is the house I live in now, the rent is 70,000 jewel! What a find! It’s pretty roomy for only 70,000 and has tons of closet space, it even has a retro fireplace and cooking stove! But, best of all, is…!」

“Yo…” Natsumi waved as she sat on the small chair in the center of the room, a bag of chips in her hands, Happy sitting on the small coffee table in front of her.

“...My room!” shrieked Lucy, who was still clothed in a bath towel. Without pausing, she kicked Natsumi and Happy into a wall angrily. “What are you two doing here?!”

Natsumi sat up, looking too confused for someone who's just broken into another person’s house, holding her cheek pitifully. “Mira said you’d found a place to live, so…”

“Aye…” Happy whimpered from next to the short girl.

“So?!” growled Lucy, pointing a finger at the duo. “Don’t you know the saying, ‘Good manners even between friends’?!”

“No…” Natsumi poked two of her fingers together, feeling guilt well up inside her as Happy tilted his head at the phrase.

“This is breaking and entering, you know!” Lucy continued, pointing an accusing finger at them. “It’s a crime!”

“Come on, that hurts.” sighed Natsumi, arms crossed as she finally moved closer to the blond, who faced away from her with an angry vein popping on her forehead.

“I’m the victim here…”

“This is a nice place!” Happy stated, using her brand new wall to sharpen his claws, an impish grin on his face, even as Lucy screamed at him to not use her walls for that.

Natsumi had wandered away from Happy and Lucy’s voices and closer towards her desk area, glancing over it, before picking up a stack of papers curiously. “Oh? What’s this?”

Lucy’s head whipped around quickly, the Celestial Spirit mage jumping to kick Natsumi in the chin, only for the pinkette to dodge then panic and flail, causing her to fall out of Lucy’s open window. “Natsumi!”

The brown eyed girl looked out the window, worried for her friend, only to breathe a sigh of relief at the sight of her sitting in a mud puddle, blinking owlishly, as if she couldn’t believe she’d fallen into mud of all things. “Arara…”

「 。。。」

Natsumi, still covered in mud, sat cross legged in front of Lucy, glaring at her with crossed arms. “Now, I’m really curious about what that was.”

“It’s none of your business!” cried Lucy. She felt bad, yes, but not bad enough to let her friend do as she pleased. “Just get out of here!”

“...fine.” Natsumi’s cheeks puffed out in a pout, as she stood. “Whatever, stupid Luigi…”

“It’s Lucy!” The taller girl huffed, happy that they’d be out of her hair until later. “I’ll see you at the Guild.”

“You’d make Natsumi go to the Guild, covered in mud?” Happy hid his mouth with a paw. “I thought you were nice, Lucy, guess I had you figured wrong!”

“You stupid cat creature!” Lucy growled, but she knew he was right. She did technically cause the situation, even if they shouldn’t have been there to begin with. But, something about power with responsibility and all that jazz. “Hey, Natsumi, you don’t have to leave…in that mess. Why don’t you take a bath and I’ll get you some clean clothes, yeah?”

The Dragon Slayer flashed her a brilliant grin. “Sure, thanks, Lucy!”

And funnily enough, Lucy felt herself smiling back, even though just a moment ago she was pissed beyond belief at the girl. “No problem…come on.”

“Can I take a bath with Natsumi?” giggled Happy as he floated behind her, seemingly excited at the prospect of a bath.

“What kind of cat likes water?” Lucy yelled, feeling a headache from the way the cat’s logic works. “Also, Natsumi is a girl, so there’s no reason a boy cat should be seeing her naked.”

“Huh? But I always take a bath with Natsumi,” The blue cat seemed confused at the words. “Besides, I’ve seen her naked a lot of times too!”

“Eh?” Lucy turned to look at Natsumi, who nodded easily.

“Well, it’s just Happy, ya know?” The pinkette shrugged her shoulders at the thought of Happy being anything, but just ‘Happy’. “What's the worst he’s gonna see? Some boob? Cana basically has hers hanging out of her bikini top everyday.”

Lucy…couldn’t find an argument with that one. It’s true that the ladies from Fairy Tail, herself included, tended to have their cleavage on show often enough. Even Natsumi, though that was mostly because she simply bound her breasts with bandages and her scarf at times. “But still, even if gender wasn’t involved, I don’t personally feel like getting cat fur out of my brand new drain anytime soon.”

Natsumi shrugged, stripping and heading into the bathroom, while the blond picked up the dirty clothes. “What am I gonna do with these?”

“Wash them?” chirped Happy, tilting his head as if Lucy said something stupid.

“No shit, cat.” The Celestial Spirit mage scoffed, shoving the clothes into a bin. “But what will Natsumi wear? I highly doubt my washer and dryer are gonna be able to fix this mess before it’s time to head to the guild.”

“Easy fix!” Happy stuck a pose, one paw in the air and the other on his tiny hip. “Let Natsumi borrow some of your clothes!”

“Er…will she fit?” Lucy wasn’t shy of her above average cleavage and tiny waist. She knew she was good looking and had no problem flaunting it. “She’s rather short and-...”

“Her’s are bigger.” cut in the blue cat happily.

“Huh?”

“Natsumi’s chest…it’s bigger than yours.” Lucy felt a tick mark appear on her forehead as she glared at the small creature.

“Is that right?” Lucy shrugged, turning and digging into her closet. This was partially her fault—even if they broke into her apartment—so she might as well fix it. “Well, she should still be able to fit, I don’t think she’s that much bigger than me at least.”

“Uppu.” giggled Happy, covering his mouth with a paw and the brown eyed girl had to resist the urge to kick him into the wall again.

「 。。。」

Natsumi exited the bathroom a little bit after twenty minutes, towel wrapped around her, usually spiked hair lying flat, a little bit of steam rising from her body, both from the hot water and her body temperature making the water evaporate. “Hey, Lucy, my clothes done yet?”

“No, but I’ve got an outfit you can wear.” Lucy smiled apologetically. “Honestly, I know you’re not into dresses and all, but this is all I got for you, I’m glad I found it.”

She watched as Natsumi looked at the outfit, her face slowly turning as pink as her hair. “Er…maybe I can just sit here?”

“Naked?” deadpanned Lucy and Happy as they looked at the Dragon Slayer, who let out a small whine, before dropping her head and picking up the outfit.

When the Fire mage was fully dressed, Lucy was actually happy to admit that the petite girl looked both adorable and pretty. Adorable because of the heavy blush covering her face and the shuffling she was doing, while being pretty since she obviously looked great in the outfit, despite being a bit uncomfortable in it.

“Natsumi, you look so pretty!” Happy cheered, jumping up and using his wings to look around the pink haired girl fully as Lucy moved closer as well.

“He’s right Natsumi,” praised the Celestial Spirit mage, grabbing Natsumi’s slightly smaller hands within her own. “You look great like this!”

Natsumi shuffled for a bit, her eyes coming up to shyly meet Lucy’s own earnest brown ones. “Really?”

“Yeah!”

「 。。。」

“So, I always make sure to never break my agreements,” Lucy had just finished explaining to the duo about the nature of contracts to Celestial Spirits and their owners after finishing a contract with Plue, the constellation for the White Doggy.

Natsumi smiled bashfully, still uncomfortable in her outfit, before sitting on a chair, looking at Lucy seriously. “Well, to be honest, me and Happy came here with the intention of making a team with you.”

“A team?” Lucy knew a lot about guilds, but the inner workings were still lost on her.

“Aye,” Happy jumped in, flying in front of the blond, one paw raised. “All guild members are comrades, but people on especially good terms get to form teams. If a job’s too much for one person, doing it as a team makes it a cinch!”

“I like that!” Lucy was excited, considering her magic wasn’t especially strong at this point. “It sounds interesting!”

Natsumi grinned at her, holding her hand out in a fist bump, the two teens doing a quick handshake. The shorter suddenly a lot less nervous. “Alright! It’s decided!”

“We have an agreement!” smirked Lucy, thinking this would be the best way to get her rent money.

“Aye sir!” Happy cheered as he and Plue leaped into the air excitedly.

“Okay, let’s get right to work!” declared Natsumi, a strange glint in her eye. “There’s a job at the guild I’ve been meaning to do. Let’s go pick it up!”

⸻
「Fairy Tail - Guild Hall (Afternoon)」
⸻

Gray was sitting next to Elfman at the bar as Mira smiled at their quiet conversation when the Guild’s doors were opened, Happy flew in and the new girl walked in after, he tried to remember her name, but what surprised him the most was that after them came Natsumi. Usually the shorter teen would be dressed in her usual black and gold ensemble with a pair of white shorts underneath, instead today she wore a rather…feminine dress that was black on the skirt and shirt, leaving a tease of her lean stomach in the middle, finished off with orange and red arm warmers and her usual scale patterned scarf.

“Oh my~,” Mira giggled, lifting a hand to touch her cheek as her head tilted. “Natsumi looks so pretty!”

‘Pretty’s an understatement…’ Gray thought, unable to tear his eyes away from his rival and secret crush. ‘The outfit’s perfect for her, even though it seems like it could burst at the chest…damn it…’

The pink haired Dragon Slayer quickly made her way to the request board and took one, quickly making her way to the barmaid, obviously going on this mission. “Mira-san, can you approve this for me?”

The white haired barmaid read over the request, nodded to herself and stamped it. “Alright, Natsumi, you’re all set for your mission.”

Natsumi grinned and Gray had to physically hold himself back from opening his mouth and saying something out loud about it, instead he felt his face’s temperature go up. “Great, thanks Mira-san!”

With that she turned and began to make her way back to the new girl, who grinned back just as brightly.

“Looks like Natsumi finally teamed up with someone,” commented Elfman off handedly. “Bout time, despite how much she loves people, she kept taking big solo jobs by herself recklessly.”

“I wonder, why Lucy though?” Mirajane inquired, head tilted to the side at the thought. “They just met each other and besides, it’s not like the job she took was extremely hard.”

“Think about it this way,” smirked Gray, glancing at the trio as they left. “The request was to steal a book from a perverted man, who preferred blond maids and burn it. Last I checked, Natsumi hated perverts.”

“And she ain’t blond,” Elfman continued, the dots connecting in his head. “But the new girl. Is…”

“Ah, Lucy’s been tricked.” laughed Mira. From outside the guild, they heard the Celestial Spirit mage screaming and figured she must’ve just learned the truth.

“Things are getting interesting,” Gray chuckled, trying to look cool.

“Gray, look down...” sweatdropped Mira as she walked by, causing the dark haired man to cry out in shock.

“You planned this from the start!” Lucy cried out as she was dragged away from the guild hall. “I’ve been had!!”

「Fiore — Carriage on the way to Shirotsume Town (Afternoon)」
⸻

“Enjoying the ride, Mistress?” sneered Lucy as she stared at the pale and barely responsive Natsumi in the carriage.

“Y-You’re the maid from H-Hell…” Natsumi rasped weakly, feeling everything spinning and twirling.

“I’m supposed to be the Master!” cried out Happy, unhappy at his prank being directed at his suffering partner and not at him.

“Shut up, cat!” Lucy whined back, feeling her own headache come up. Oddly enough, it only popped up when Happy spoke.

“Anyway, Natsumi…”

“Huh?” Natsumi looked over at the blond, trying desperately to focus on her in any sense of the word, but just barely managing to do so.

“What made you decide we should team up?” The brown eyed girl couldn’t help, but worry that it was only for this job.

“Well, you’re a nice person.” Natsumi stated honestly and Lucy felt her face soften a tad, the Dragon Slayer seemed like the type to be straightforward in her thoughts and feelings.

‘She acknowledges me, after everything is said and done…’ She thought, feeling happy to know that she made a friend like Natsumi.

“Even though you act kinda weird at times…” continued the motion sick mage.

‘She called me weird…!’ Lucy’s face turned into a dark glare and she had half a mind to try and make the Dragon Slayer even more motion sick, even though the carriage seemed to do the job for her. “Anyway, this is my first job! I’m going to go all out!”

“Huh? I thought you didn’t like this job?” Happy questioned as Lucy turned to look at him, a small smile on her face.

“I’m dealing with a dirty old man,” waved off Lucy, bringing a hand to her face semi-bashfully. “Believe it or not, I’m somewhat confident in my feminine charms!”

“I wouldn’t know, I’m a cat.” Happy brushed off easily, knowing it hurt her pride as a woman.

“Just so you know, we’re splitting this 80-10-10.” declared the Celestial Spirit mage spitefully. “Since you two aren’t doing anything.”

“Oh, you only want 10%, Lucy?” joked Natsumi weakly.

“I’m the 80%!” The brown eyed girl shrieked as Happy flew overhead briefly.

“It’s okay Lucy, Natsumi’s prettier.”

“Shut up, you cat monster!”

⸻
「Fiore — Shirotsume Town (Afternoon)」
⸻

“I’m never riding a carriage again,” grunted Natsumi as she trudged along, still trying to get her bearings as Lucy walked to the right of the petite Dragon Slayer and  Happy padded along a little behind her left.

“You always say that.” Happy contradicted casually.

“Let’s get something to eat…” Natsumi cut in, face flushed a slight pink.

“Why don’t you eat your own fire?” asked Lucy, obviously seeing nothing wrong with that.

“You’re a cruel one, huh?” Natsumi snorted, keeping her eyes forward as the last of the nausea finally disappeared. “Would you eat Plue or your cow?”

“Of course I wouldn’t?!” gasped Lucy, eyes grossed out. “What kind of question is that?”

“It’s like that.” Natsumi stated, face set into a look of indifference.

“You’re saying you can’t eat your own fire?” sighed Lucy, wondering how that even works. “What a pain.”

“Oh! Let’s eat here!” Natsumi cheered, pointing at a restaurant happily.

“Go ahead, you two can eat.” waved Lucy as she continued down her path.

“Aw, eating together would be more fun.” Natsumi crossed her arms over her chest, pout filling out on her face sadly.

“Aye.” agreed Happy, not feeling as put out as Natsumi, but just enough still. After a little bit of wait time, the duo was seated at the table, steaming roast with a side of vegetables for Natsumi and for her little buddy, raw fish as always.

“Let’s save some for Lucy,” hummed Natsumi as she began to dig in, Happy followed close behind her.

“Yeah, let’s save her some of the greasy ones!” Happy nodded, holding his sushi. “She seems like the type to love greasy food!”

“Why would I like greasy food?” Lucy’s voice cut in, causing the duo to turn and look her way. 

“Lu…cy?!” choked Natsumi, face flushing once again. The blond had changed out of her normal clothes and apparently went to buy a brand new maid dress for this mission.

“I guess I really do look great in anything!” The Celestial Spirit mage giggled as she winked at them as Natsumi and Happy dropped the food that was in their mouths. “Are you finished with your meal, Master and Mistress?”

Natsumi knew the blond was referring to them as she tried to play cute, but the Dragon Slayer was embarrassed for her. The pinkette knew realistically that this was a more conservative maid dress considering what they could look like, but the principle still stood that the blond was walking around in one in public.

“L-Lucy that’s kinda…”

“Cute, right?” Lucy smiled and Natsumi didn’t have the heart to tell her that it was a bit…much.

“What do we do?” falsely whispered Happy as he leaned closer to Natsumi. “We were joking around, but she took it seriously!”

“I’d feel bad telling her now, so for now, we’ll play along!” Natsumi followed his lead, totally aware that the taller girl could hear her.

“I can hear you!” ground out Lucy as she turned her back to them angrily.

⸻
「Shirotsume Town— Melon Estate (Afternoon)」
⸻

“I’m Kaby Melon,” An elderly man with a kind smile stated, his lovely wife behind him sharing the same smile. “I posted the job.”

“Melon?!” Happy squealed happily, drool leaking from his mouth.

“That’s a tasty sounding name!” nodded Natsumi, face similar to the cat’s.

“Stop that, it’s rude!” Lucy scolded, still dressed as a maid. “Besides, you just ate!”

The man merely laughed it off kindly. “I get it all the time.”

‘I’ve heard that name somewhere before…’

“So, let’s get down to business,” Kaby continued on, with the same kind smile as he regarded the three young mages.

“Right!” Lucy tried to keep a professional face, even as Natsumi and Happy grinned at the prospect of getting more details about their job.

“My request is to destroy a book in the possession of Duke Everlue, DAYBREAK. Or burning it is fine, too.” Kaby’s voice took on a deeper tone, though he tried to keep his voice neutral to some extent (though Natsumi could feel the raw emotions peeling from the man, even if no one else could).

“Burning it?” Natsumi crossed her arms, taking on a contemplative look. Usually, clients wanted the least amount of damage to come to the belongings that they were gathering, so this was a change of pace that she didn’t quite hate at the moment. She grinned as she suddenly got an idea, holding up a flaming finger eagerly. “Then, why don’t I just burn the whole mansion down?”

“Piece of cake!” Happy agreed, though Natsumi knew that he didn’t really agree and was just going along with her little joke.

“You can’t!” cut in Lucy, obviously not seeing the joke or not finding it funny as she leaned closer to the other two. “You’ll get thrown into jail for sure!” Natsumi put her finger down, a small smile on her face as she giggled to herself and Happy as the blond turned to Kaby. “Though I’d like to know the reason…”

“Who cares? It’s 200,000!” Natsumi was just as curious, but she knew everyone had their reasons and their secrets, she didn’t feel a need to pry into their clients current ones at this moment, considering once the job was done, they wouldn’t be seeing each other ever again.

“No, it’s 2,000,000 jewel.” Kaby responded calmly, even as the three across from him froze in utter shock at the sheer amount of money he was willing to pay.

“2-2,000,000?!” They all shrieked, trying to come to terms with the new amount placed in front of them.

Natsumi swore she felt her soul leave her body as the man smiled kindly at them, his hands wringing nervously in front of him. She could tell Lucy and Happy felt the same. This was the kind of amount you got for slaying monsters or chasing bandits away from high paying places, not for just retrieving and/or burning some silly book.

But Kaby didn’t seem to see the problem with his words as he continued to speak to them, as if he hadn’t just shattered their worlds and thought processes. “Oh, you weren’t aware?”

Let it be known to everyone, Natsumi wasn’t the sharpest tool in the box, but she knew money and she knew how to budget equally, considering she lived with only herself and Happy for years and before then, just by herself…but the sheer amount of zeroes that were added to their reward fried her brain completely. “2,000,000 divided by three is…” Smoke blew from her ears as she tried to think the math out. “Whoa! I can’t even do the math!”

“It’s simple!” The frazzled blue cat jumped in, eyes glinting at the prospect of having that much money to buy all the fish he could dream of. “I get 1,000,000; Natsumi gets 1,000,000 and Lucy gets the rest!”

“G-Good thinking, Happy!” wheezed Natsumi, ears still steaming from the thoughts of money, even as she knew that it would mean that Lucy got nothing in the long run. It would be worth it-!

“Aye!”

“There’s none left for me!” Lucy growled, pushing both of them back onto the couch with a glare, before settling herself down and calming slightly as she regarded Kaby. “But, why?”

Kaby’s clasped hands tightened in their hold for a moment as he looked down at the floor between his legs. “I want to destroy that book, no matter what. I cannot allow that book to exist.”

Natsumi blinked for a moment, before her face caught fire from the promise of payment for the book as Lucy jumped back in shock from the sudden human combustion from the Dragon Slayer. “Okay, I’m all fired up!”

Lucy didn’t have a moment to try and calm down the shorter mage as she suddenly grabbed her arm and tugged her out of the large mansion. “Let’s go, Lucy!”

“Aye!” Happy cheered overhead, the blond stumbling behind the pink haired teen.

“Hey!”

Kaby sat in the large room with only his wife behind him now, chin resting against his chest as the dust settled from Natsumi’s excited exit. “Daybreak…It’s a book that must be erased from this world.”

His words were grievous and pain filled as he continued to stew in the silence.

「Shirotsume Town — Duke Everlue’s Residence (Afternoon)」
⸻

Lucy stood in front of the large metal gates, turning to look back at the bushes Natsumi and Happy were hidden in nervously. The pink haired teen poked her head out for a moment and flashed a reassuring smile with a thumbs up, before ducking back into her cover. “I’ve come because I heard you were recruiting maids! Is anyone home?”

Her shouting must’ve been an annoyance to those around, but there was no other way to communicate with the man with the gates being closed and sealed tightly, from the looks of it. This was their only way into the mansion.

Lucy smirked to herself, feeling pride well up in her for being able to get this job done so easily and quickly as her first ever guild job. ‘Get the attention of some perverted old man, burn some book, get 2,000,000.’

It couldn’t have been easier if it tried . Lucy was used to weaseling discounts and freebies from old perverts. This brought back a conversation she’d had with Happy as Natsumi scouted the area to make sure that no one could find them.

⸻
「Flashback」
⸻

“Why didn’t Natsumi just buy a wig and call it a day?” Lucy wondered out loud, not expecting an answer, seeing as she thought she was alone.

“Oh, simple,” Happy landed on her shoulder and the blond shrieked, before calming down. “Natsumi was raised by Igneel, a dragon, and even though he tried his hardest, there are still some things Natsumi doesn’t understand.”

“Some things Natsumi doesn’t understand?”

“Aye!” Happy held up a little paw, before his cute face took on the makings of a smirk (or as much of a smirk as a cat could make). “Things like flirting, sex appeal and how to be a girl are some of the things.”

“But she is a girl?”

“Well, yeah, Natsumi’s a very pretty girl, but with dragons, it’s not about looks.” This caused Lucy to blink. “It’s about strength and how well you can provide for your mate. If you can’t do that, then you’re not even considered for the running. Human males are different. Some of them believe in the same philosophy, but with more prejudice towards demure women, while the ones who don’t are the ones looking for a Lucy!”

“What is that supposed to mean?!” Lucy grabbed the knot that kept Happy’s knapsack secured and shook the little monster vigorously. “I’ll have you know, I only use my cute charm on perverts and for this job! I’m a precious maiden looking for a pure kind of love!”

The two began to devolve into a small, almost playful fight, before the sound of crunching leaves caught their attention. “What are you two talking about?” The two paused to see Natsumi standing not too far from them, dark eyes taking in the scene before her.

“N-Nothing!” Lucy laughed awkwardly as she released Happy, who immediately took to the skies.

“Aye, sir!”

“Whatever you say, weirdos.” teased Natsumi as she clapped her hands together, pulling them close. “Okay, the area is clear, so this is the plan…”

⸻
「End Flashback」
⸻

‘This is going to be a cinch…’ She concluded, ears picking up the sound of soft rustling, meaning Natsumi and Happy were moving closer.

“Break a leg!” The pink haired mage whisper yelled from her hiding spot.

“You got this!” agreed Happy and Lucy felt a bit more secure through all of this. Even though she knew that there was a chance that the man could be against hiring her, there was also the support of her new friends behind her that made this a bit easier.

Suddenly, the pavement behind her caved upwards slightly, before exploding completely as something large and terrifying shot out into the sky, scaring the poor mage witless for a moment.

When the being landed on the floor once more, Lucy took in the pink hair tied into pigtails and the rather…gorilla like features on her face. “A new maid recruit?”

“Y-Yes!” squeaked the blond, feeling herself almost shiver from the glowing yellow gaze that was locked onto her from the towering Gorilla Maid.

“It seems you came because of the advertisement our Master placed for maids.” Her voice was rather clear and mature sounding, despite the features she had that would’ve made the blond believe a more gruff and brutish voice would’ve come out instead. 

Another person shot out of the hole that the gorilla maid had created, this time being the man of the mansion himself, Duke Everlue. “Did you call for me?”

“There he is!” Lucy had to hold back a grimace of disgust from the look on his face and the way he held himself. ‘It’s for your rent, it’s for your rent! It’s for your rent!’

That was what she had to keep reminding herself in that moment as he appraised her. “Let’s have a look…”

“Thank you for having me!” Lucy turned her cuteness and sexy charms up to the thousands as she looked down at the gremlin of a man.

As his beady eyes took in her visage, the Celestial mage couldn’t help the millions of shivers that seemed to sprout from his gaze alone. ‘I’m breaking out in goosebumps…Gotta bear it!’

After a moment, the portly man turned away with a wave of his hand and a disappointed look on his face. “No thanks, go home, ugly.”

Lucy felt all the years of confidence she had built up shattered with her spirit as she fell back, almost as if she had been stabbed with the word ‘ugly’, instead of the man just saying it. The large Gorilla Maid picked up her limp body with one hand around her small waist at the man’s swift decision. “That’s that. Go home, ugly.”

Another stab, the blond swore as she twitched painfully within the grip of the large woman.

“Understand?” Everlue turned with a smug grin on his egg-shaped face. “For a person as magnificent as myself…” The first shattered once more, this time with the appearance of more maids, all of them looking horribly picked from the man of the mansion’s delusional description of ‘cute’ and ‘beautiful’. “Only beautiful girls will do!”

Lucy felt like she’d fallen into another universe as she watched the maids cuddle up to the man, all blushing and getting close to his body (which mind you, ew-). 

Dejectedly (especially as one of those maids called her ugly again-), Lucy trudged back to Natsumi and Happy’s hiding spot, tears trailing down her cheeks as the two sat there, trying to figure out what to do now. “So much for ‘sex appeal’.”

Lucy looked up at the pink haired mage, tears still falling like rivers down her cheeks. “That’s not the problem! That Everlue guy just has a really whacked out sense of beauty!”

“Excuses.” Happy’s deflection had Lucy in tears once more as Natsumi turned to look at Everlue and his gaggle of maids.

“It’s so frustrating!”

“Well, she might not be wrong about that,” the teen scratched her shoulder length hair at the sight in front of her. “I’m no beauty expert, but it looks like he’s surrounding himself with girls that are somehow more unpleasant to look at than himself…which is saying something, since the guy reeks.”

“Exactly!” Lucy squealed angrily, standing and stomping her foot pitifully, before turning and slamming her head into the tree behind her. “It’s so messed up and they eat that kind of attention up like nothing! I can’t stand it!”

Natsumi sighed, rolling her shoulders briefly, before turning to face the mansion with a toothy grin. “Okay! In that case, we'll go with Plan T!”

Lucy’s crying turned into a righteous type of fury as she clenched her fists tightly. “Yeah! I’ll never forgive that old fart!” Then she paused, turning to her two teammates. “Wait, what’s ‘Plan T’?”

“The T is for ‘taking them head on’.” Happy explained casually, completely uncaring that they were still technically on enemy grounds at the moment.

“How exactly is that a plan?” pressed the blond, raising an eyebrow at the shorter mage.

「 。。。」

Somewhere within the walls of his mansion, Everlue watched the three mages from a crystal ball, two large men behind him.

“More foolish mages have shown up,” chuckled the fat man as he continued to watch through his ball. “Haven’t they learned their lesson yet?”

The crystal ball moved the visual closer to the blond mage’s right hand, showing her pink guild mark proudly on the back of the hand. “They’re from Fairy Tail this time?”

「 。。。」

Natsumi gently pressed her hand against one of the large windows on the roof of the mansion, letting it heat up gradually in order to melt that specific part, but not fast enough to shatter the entire window.

“Safe and sound!” Happy cheered as he gently deposited Lucy onto the roof, wings disappearing and making him land gracefully onto the floor next to her and Natsumi.

“Thank you, Happy!” praised Lucy as she looked around for a moment.

“Aye!”

“Sheesh…” groaned Natsumi, turning to look over at Lucy with mild annoyance. “What part of ‘take them head-on’, don’t you get? We should have busted through the front gate!”

‘Of course that would be more damages sent to Fairy Tail and more for 'jii-chan to complain about…’ But she kept that thought to herself, instead trying to seem unbothered with the fact her plan was completely derailed before they even got to try it.

It probably would’ve worked out…maybe…somehow.

“No way,” Lucy denied once again, arms crossed as she looked out for any signs of guards or the like. “If we’re careless, the army will show up…again.”

“What’s with you?” grumbled the Dragon Slayer, even if she knew that the blond had a point. Hargeon had been a mistake and they didn’t really want to risk the army being called again so soon after their last guild meeting. “Didn’t you say you’d ‘never forgive that guy’?”

Lucy nodded firmly, eyes closing as she realized she was going to have to explain it plainly to her friends. “Yeah, he’ll get what’s coming to him. Not only am I gonna burn that book, I’m gonna hide his shoes or something!”

Natsumi choked on a giggled as Lucy laughed to herself about her ‘malicious’ plans for when they got into the mansion. “Uwah, how petty-!”

“Aye…”

Opening the window with the little hole she made to reach the lock, Natsumi silently jumped down to the floor, almost cat-like in her silence as Happy carried the Celestial mage down, gently setting her onto the floor once more, before they all began to look around.

“Hmm, this seems to be a storeroom…” Lucy looked around at the many items in the area, some looked like artifacts that belonged in a museum, while others just looked like junk. Nothing really caught her eye or attention until…

“Gaooo!”

She barely held back a shriek as she slumped against one of the walls, her heart beating a mile a minute as Happy ran up to Natsumi, eyes filled with glee as he held the skull over his head tightly. “Natsumi! Look what I found!”

“Oh!” cooed Natsumi, crouching down to level with the demon in fur as Lucy continued to try and calm herself. “Looking good, Happy!”

The blond looked over and for a moment, she could almost see an older sibling or a parent standing in Natsumi’s place as she watched Happy do a little jig about his find. After they left the storeroom, the trio decided to split up briefly (Happy still wearing that -hopefully- fake skull on his head) to check all the rooms on the floor.

They didn’t find anything with any sort of books in it, though Lucy did find a solid gold toilet with Everlue’s face branded onto the seat (she shuddered about the things he bought with his money at that point…).

They crept through the hallways to the next floor as quietly as possible, moving almost slowly, before a thought hit Natsumi and she almost paused. “Wait, you plan on searching through each room?”

“Of course!”

This caused Natsumi to falter completely. She knew that they couldn’t ask someone for help in this situation, but she also knew that this current plan would take too long seeing how large the mansion was. “Still…I was joking early about burning this place down, but I’m becoming really tempted the longer we’re here…”

“Aye!” cheered Happy, giving a quick hop.

“We’re infiltrating without anyone finding out.” Lucy explained again, keeping her doe brown eyes on their surroundings. “It’s all ninja and stuff, isn’t it cool?”

“N-Ninja…?” Natsumi blinked for a moment, eyes going dazed as she thought about all the cool things she could do as a real ninja. She seemed entranced with the thought as Happy and Lucy stared at her blank smile and happy posture.

“I think she’s got some weird mental image again…” Lucy giggled. It didn’t take her too long to realize that Natsumi was an above average daydreamer, often taking small things and somehow imagining them to be the best thing in the world to herself.

She found it adorable, if the blond was going to be honest. She could daydream as well, but something told her Natsumi’s mental gymnastics with imagery was far beyond her own at this point in time.

As they stood there, the walkway behind them cracked and crumbled, revealing the ugly maids from before, being led by none other than the Gorilla maid.

“The intruders have been located!” They cheered, brandishing brooms and mops.

“Eliminating them!” Gorilla Maid growled, body tensed for a fight.

“Gao!” yipped back Happy, eyes wide behind his skull mask as he tightened his little paws on the edges.

That had the desired effect as the four normal ugly maids flinched back with startled cries. “It’s a ghost!”

Natsumi blinked, suddenly back from her daydream and only hearing the annoying voices of the maids. Her face turned angry as she turned around with a fiery punch, sending them flying further away. “You’re annoying!”

“Flying Virgo Attack!” Gorilla Maid called out, body launching skywards slightly before she belly flopped on top of Natsumi, squishing the poor girl flat.

“Natsumi!” Both Lucy and Happy called out in worry, before the blond looked down at the blue cat. “Hey, take that off already.”

Natsumi grunted from the weight, her petite frame shaking as she struggled to move the large monster of a maid off her, before with a mighty heave, the pink haired mage managed to do so.

As soon as Gorilla Maid was off, a magic circle appeared beneath Natsumi’s feet, glowing a vicious orange and illuminating her sandal clad feet brightly as fire curled around her ankles and she leapt up to kick the giant maid in the stomach, sending her flying once more as she screamed. “Ninja!”

Once she landed, Natsumi swiftly tied her scarf around her face in a false ninja face mask, fingers propped up weirdly. “We can’t have them discovering us-de gozaru! Nin-nin!”

“Nin-nin!” chimed in Happy, his face serious as he copied Natsumi’s hand positions.

“It’s cause we were just as noisy as usual…” sighed Lucy, feeling exhausted, despite having done nothing so far.

With that in mind, they made their way to the next door (Lucy opened it like a normal person, while Natsumi continued to pretend she was a ninja and opened the door with her foot). What they saw inside brought some form of accomplishment to their already wayward mission. The room seemed to be a library, the entirety of the walls being stacked with shelves and books on each one, tightly compacted to fit each and every one of them.

Lucy gave a soft gasp of relief as they entered, Natsumi looked around, not used to seeing so many books in a place that didn’t have Levy (Fairy Tail’s resident bookworm) nearby. “It’s a mountain of books-de gozaru!”

“Aye-de gozaru!” Happy agreed, not being able to take his eyes off the books either.

“That old man’s actually quite a reader, I guess…” breathed Lucy.

A grin came to Natsumi’s face as she turned to the other two, scarf falling from its position around her face and back around her neck. “Alright! Time to search!”

“Aye, sir!”

The trio began their long search through each shelf.

“I found a fish encyclopedia!” cheered Happy, holding onto the book as if it was one of the world’s national treasures.

“I found…” Natsumi’s face caught on fire as she burned whatever book had been in her hand at that moment. “Nothing! I found absolutely nothing-!”

“Natsumi?” Lucy turned to look at the red faced girl, who was suddenly avoiding the one shelf she had been at like the plague. ‘Must be the guys porno stash, I guess Happy was right in that regard of her. Wonder what she's gonna do if she get's a boyfriend one day...Ha, yeah, funny joke, Lucy.’

Almost twenty minutes later, Natsumi paused at a book that just screamed ‘pick me’. It was golden and seemed almost shiny, compared to the rest of them. “I found the golden book!”

“Upwahh!” cheered Happy, leaping in a small arch in front of Natsumi, who continued to hold the book up like some Holy Grail.

“‘Upwahh’? And hey, search seriously!” Lucy demanded as she turned to look at the two, climbing down her ladder to go and try to keep them in line. Then she paused and took in the name on the spine that Natsumi was holding. “Eh? DAYBREAK?”

“Like, dawn?” Happy asked, looking back over at Natsumi with big eyes as the pink haired Dragon Slayer nodded in confirmation.

Then, as if they’d all been struck, the trio glanced at the book once more. 

“Eh?!”

“We found it!”

“Seriously…?”

“What an easy 2,000,000.” Lucy gushed as they glanced the book over once more.

“Let’s burn it!” Natsumi’s entire hand became covered in fire as she looked over the client's order in her head once more.

Retrieve the book and burn it.

She could do either one right now, but considering Gorilla Maid probably wouldn’t be down for too much longer, she’d rather burn it and move onto going back to collect their reward.

“Pretty simple, wasn’t it?” giggled Happy as he looked up at the two human mages.

“Wait a sec!” Lucy cut in, reaching over and taking the book violently from Natsumi’s hand, reading the name of the author of ‘DAYBREAK’. “But this was written by Kemu Zaleon!”

“Kemu…?” Natsumi had no idea who that was, but she knew they weren’t relevant to their mission at the moment, even as the Celestial mage continued to gush over the writer.

“He’s a mage, who was also a novelist!” She explained, unperturbed by their lack of knowledge on the writer. “I’m a huge fan! I thought I’d read every book he wrote, but maybe this is an unpublished work?”

Natsumi sighed, before cheering back up, finger at the ready to finish the job. “Alright, whatever…let’s hurry and burn the book!”

“What are you talking about?!” shrieked Lucy, defensively curling around the book. “This is important cultural heritage! Burning it is out of the question!”

“You’re abandoning the mission.” Happy reminded the blond mage seriously.

“Didn’t I say I was a huge fan?!” Lucy defended, though it didn’t mean much to Natsumi nor Happy. They were paid for this job and it was going to get done, whether she liked it or not.

“Let’s just burn them both?”

“How about we tell him that we burned it, and I keep it…?” whined the blond, taking steps away from the two trying to corner her at this moment, close to tears at the thought of parting from one of her favorite writer’s unpublished novels so soon…

“I’m not a fan of lying.” rebutted Natsumi easily, voice steady and cold, unlike the raging ball of fire she had in her hand.

“Aye.”

 “I see, I see…” A new voice called out, right as Duke Everlue sprung out of the ground behind them, face pulled into a nasty grin. “So you intruders are after Daybreak, are you?”

Natsumi frowned, turning to look at her blond teammate sternly as she pointed to the short man. “See, this is what you get for hesitating. Now he’s going to be even more annoying…”

“Sorry…” Lucy’s voice stuttered, as if completely lost on the entire thing.

“What have you done to your mansion’s floor?” Happy cut in from the background, honestly shocked that the man would trash his own home over a book.

“I thought that you mages were all coming to search for something,” started the man, his voice grating Natsumi’s sensitive ears as she crossed her arms over her chest. “And it turns out it was that stupid book!”

“Stupid?” Natsumi didn’t know the author, but she had a feeling that if someone was willing to pay as much money as Kaby was for it, there was something about that book that was different alright.

‘A book that the client wanted destroyed for 2,000,000 jewel,’ Lucy thought, arms still curled protectively around the aforementioned Daybreak. ‘And even the person keeping it, Everlue, calls it stupid?’

She suddenly turned to the female Dragon Slayer with a little smile, expression bright and guiltless. “So wait…it’s okay if I take it?”

“No! What’s mine is mine!” shouted Everlue, looking very much like a child throwing a small tantrum.

“Stingy!” Lucy pouted as Natsumi sweatdropped slightly from the scene.

“Shut up, ugly.” sighed the portly man as he began to pick his nose boredly, while Lucy fell over as if she’d been stabbed by the word once more.

‘This doesn’t feel like an enemy battle that’s for sure…’ The petite teen mentally sighed, before lifting her hand up, fire blazing brilliantly in her palm, annoyance clear on her face. “Then how about we burn it?”

Lucy shot off the floor, this time looking childishly up at Natsumi as she clutched Daybreak even tighter in her hold. “No! I won’t let you!”

Natsumi felt a string snap in her as she turned to glare at the taller blond. “Lucy, this is our job!”

The Celestial mage thought it over for a split second, before plopping onto the floor and cracking the book open, a serious pout on her lips. “At least let me read it.”

“Right here?!” The three standing people shouted, shocked by her audacity, considering their situation at the moment.

“Enough nonsense! Do you realize who I am? Get your filthy hands off my book!” Everlue snapped, obviously tired with Team Natsumi’s shenanigans and joking around as he glared at the trio. “Vanish Brothers!”

Two of the bookshelves moved to the sides like sliding doors and revealed smoke and two figures standing in the shade as Natsumi’s face tightened seriously, turning to see the newcomers.

“Good afternoon.” The shorter one started. He had his hair pulled back into a tight ponytail (so tightly, it looked like a receding hairline) and had strange markings on his face.

“Even mother would be surprised to see these two brats are Fairy Tail mages.” The taller one scolded, he had wild dark blue hair with an orange bandana around his head, the orange marked with black markings.

“That mark! They’re from the mercenary guild, the ‘South Wolves’!” gasped Happy as he pointed at the mark on the shorter brother’s pristine white jacket.

“So you hired these guys?” sneered Natsumi, cracking her hands roughly as she took in her new opponents. ‘Finally, I was getting bored just standing here.’

In the background, Lucy looked over the book once more, pausing on a page. “This…”

Everlue laughed as she twirled the tip of his mustache haughtily. “Wolves are always hungry, yes? Prepare yourselves.”

Lucy stood, brown eyes serious as she looked at her partner. “Natsumi, buy me some time. I think there’s some secret to this book.”

“Hah?” Natsumi turned right as the blond ran out of the library, leaving the rest of them alone. “Wait-! Damnit…”

“She ran off…” Happy looked worriedly at Natsumi as Everlue let her words sink in.

“Secret?” ‘I didn’t notice myself. Maybe there’s some treasure map hidden in it?’

Everlue let the dust around him start building, preparing to escape through the floor once more, but not before giving orders to his mercenaries for hire. “I’ll go after the girl! Eliminate the brat!”

“Yes sir.”

Natsumi thought quickly as Everlue disappeared. She could probably hold these two off with some brute force, but Lucy didn’t have the kind of experience to go against someone like the duke just yet… “Happy, go take care of Lucy.”

“I’ll back you up!” The blue cat defended instead, not wanting to separate from his original partner.

“No…” She grunted, stretching out a shoulder as she glared at the Vanish Brothers darkly. “I’ll be fine on my own.”

As Happy flew off, the taller brother spoke up, his voice almost akin to a whine. “Hey! I’m tellin’ mother on you!”

“Calm yourself. Cool down.” The shorter cut in, never taking his eyes off Natsumi. “Come on fire mage.”

“Huh? How’d you know?” Natsumi asked as she continued her stretching, even if she knew that she’d been using her magic the entire time. ‘Though fire mage is the light way to put what I do, if I say so myself.’

“Fire was wrapping your legs when you defeated Virgo.” The taller brother responded flippantly.

“There’s no mistaking it; you are an ability-type fire wizard.” The shorter continued calmly.

「 Speaking of which, “Ability-type” means someone like Natsumi who uses magic on their own body. Someone like Lucy who uses items for magic is called a “Holder-type”. 」

“So, I guess you’re all prepared for this, huh?” Natsumi grinned viciously, flames bursting around her body and causing her skirt to ruffle in the hot air, flames wrapping dangerously around her fists. “I’ll burn you to a smoldering crisp!”

She launched herself forward, but was swiftly blocked by the weapon the shorter Vanish Brother was holding, her flames dispelling like nothing upon impact. “Sorry to say this, but we are especially skilled against fire mages.”

The male sent her flying with a swing of the large pan-like item, his taller ‘Brother’ coming in hot behind Natsumi and trying to send her into the floor a bit more with an overhead kick. Thankfully, Natsumi managed to flip herself out of the way with one hand, only to have to swiftly block the next strike from the large weapon once more, flying through the further wall with a loud crash.

She landed on her feet on top of Everlue’s large golden statue’s tongue. As she glared up at the balcony, the two looked down at her with a grin. “You might be from Fairy Tail, but in the end you’re just a mage. You’re no match for professional fighters like us mercenaries.”

Natsumi scoffed, her lips pulled into a sharp smirk as she glared up at the two with glittering dark eyes. ”So that’s all you got?”

The taller one felt insulted, obviously more than his brother, as he glared at her. “Nii-chan, she’s looking down on us!”

“Do you know what a mage’s weakness is?” The other continued calmly, not at all perturbed by the insult.

“You mean transportation?” snorted Natsumi, putting on a fake look of fear. ‘It’s certainly my weakness, I’ll tell ya…’

She knew she was getting on the taller Vanish Brother’s nerves with her unserious attitude, but she couldn’t be bothered to care. She was supposed to be stalling until Lucy finished with the damn book that they needed to get rid of as soon as possible. What better way than to keep these two talking?

“I think that might just be a personal issue you have…” The long haired brother sighed.

“She’s definitely looking down on us!” The taller brother grunted.

“Their weakness…is their bodies!” The large weapon came into play once more as the shorter brother leapt at Natsumi, breaking the statue’s tongue where she was once standing. “To train oneself in magic takes discipline of mental focus!”

“And as a result, you end up lacking the training of your body.” The taller brother continued, heading towards Natsumi’s mid-air body to try and punch it straight through a wall, only for her to dodge once more.

“In other words, against people like us who train our bodies daily…” The older one started once more as both he and Natsumi landed in front of the gold statue.

“You can’t match our power and speed.” finished the taller brother as he landed next to his comrade across from Natsumi.

“Oh, so scary~,” The Dragon Slayer teased, leaning forward and making a hand motion. “So, when are you going to get serious?”

The long haired brother’s face turned excited almost as he took in her own ready post, his taller brother turning to meet his gaze. “Nii-chan, let’s do the combination attack!”

“Okay!” The large pan-like weapon was held out as his taller brother jumped onto it, arms spread at his sides.

“Finishing Move: Destruction of Heaven and Earth!”

“Bring it!”

「Duke Everlue’s Residence — Sewer (???)」
⸻

Lucy was reading through Daybreak with her wind-reader glasses, the pages flying by faster than her normal reading speed. She was searching frantically for the hidden meaning to Daybreak. Letters floated through her glasses as she took in each word as soon as possible. “I can’t believe this book contains such a secret…”

Suddenly, the metal wall behind her broke outwards and Everlue was suddenly behind her, grabbing her small wrists and locking them behind her back as he knocked the glasses off her face and onto the floor roughly. “What did you find? Tell me the secret to my book!”

Lucy’s face was twisted in pain at the grip on her wrists, but even still… “You’re the lowest of the low! You’re an enemy of literature!”

「 。。。」

Back with Natsumi, the two had just started their combination move. The older brother sent the taller man upwards and while the Dragon Slayer was focused up, he moved faster than she could register in front of her. “Face toward Heaven and…Earth is where we be!”

He struck her hard with his pan, sending her rocketing into the air harshly, only for her to scrape her hands along the floor to steady herself…right as the brother still in the sky began to come down on her. “Face the Earth and…Heaven is where we be!”

He slammed his foot into her back, sending the pink haired tenn into the cement and crumbling it easily as she cried out in pain.

“This is the Vanish Brother’s combination attack,” explained the shorter as they stood together once more. “Finishing Move: Destruction of Heaven and Earth.”

“There is no one that can survive this atta-,” The taller brother began proudly, only to cut himself off as the dust and debris started to settle, showing Natsumi standing back up, not looking the slightest bit hurt, even after both of the blows that were dealt her way.

“What were you saying about surviving that attack?” She asked boredly, eyes striking through both brother’s from the distance, sending panic and fear through them from the look and tone of voice.

“No way!”

“I’ll blow you away with this!” Natsumi declared, slamming both of her fists together as a magic circle appeared in front of them. She moved her clenched fists to her mouth, cheeks already puffed out with air and fire. “Karyū no Hōkō!”

“Here comes the fire magic!” The taller brother yelled out, an excited grin on his face at the thought of beating Natsumi’s signature moves.

“It’s over!” agreed the older brother. “Flame Cooking! Suck up all the flames, transform it, and spew it back!”

The flames were sucked in quickly, the harsh attack shaking the area, before all that was left on the pan was a molten spot, to which he turned swiftly and sent it back to Natsumi, who stood there with a bland expression on her face, letting the attack hit her head on with a bright explosion.

“It’s a Fairy Barbecue!” cheered the younger brother.

“Goodbye!”

Within the bright flames, Natsumi swiftly began to suck it into her body. Since they were launched back at her, they were no longer considered her flames, but now the flames of someone else, meaning she could eat it without any worries. The sight caused the two brothers to scream in fear, clutching at one another as they stared at the small teen. “I can’t believe this!”

“Now that I’ve eaten, I’m all fired up! Didn’t you hear me?” Natsumi sighed happily, slamming her fists together once more, eyes turning into olive dragon slits as she crouched down, arms spread at her sides. She launched into the air, fire wrapping around her arms in the form of wings. “Karyū no Yokugeki!”

The result of the attack caused a huge explosion that could be seen by the people far enough from the mansion and caused a slight shock through the area.

Natsumi took a deep breath as turned to look at the resulting damage to the two enemies and the area around them. “Crap, I think I overdid it…”

She could hear the two whining in their half conscious state for their mother, but she didn’t particularly care.

They attacked her first, if she thought about it. They knew what they were getting into.

⸻
『Omake』
⸻

Mavarok stopped his laughter for a moment, wise eyes suddenly turning to look around as a chill ran down his back. Mira, who had been refilling Macao and Wakaba’s drinks, turned to look at their master worriedly. “Master?”

“I feel like I’m about to be paying more than I ever have in my entire life…” He closed his eyes tightly, trying to come up with which of his children were gone, before realizing that Natsumi and her newbie friend had left. “Oh no…”

“What is it?” Macao asked as he began to sip from his newly refilled mug.

“We let Natsumi, destructive and reckless, leave with a newbie, who probably has no idea about the kind of mess she can get into!” wailed the short old man. “Who knows how much I’ll be paying in damages! I feel like my wallet is going to be crying for years to come!”

The others laughed as he downed his entire mug, holding it up silently for Mira to refill it swiftly.

Chapter Text

「Duke Everlue’s Mansion - Upper Floor (???)」
⸻

“W-What the heck kind of mage is he…?” whined the older brother as smoke left his mouth, the smell of charred hair and clothes filling the room.

“Mama…I can see fairies…” the younger brother whimpered from his collapsed position on top of his brother and guildmate.

Natsumi looked over at the remains of the room, face calm despite the destruction she caused, knowing full well they were going to be billed back at the guild. “What a mess…Anyway, guess I should go find Lucy.” She paused, dark eyes trailing back over the unconscious enemies behind her. “Who were those guys, anyway?”

She thought she heard them reply, but she didn’t care. She had a bookworm to find and a book to burn.

⸻
「Duke Everlue’s Residence — Sewer (???)」
⸻

“An enemy of literature?!” Everlue grunted as he continued to squeeze Lucy’s arms behind her back, his already scrunched face looking more pronounced with the glare he wore. “A sophisticated, cultured individual such as me, myself and I?”

“Anyone who’s happy to have a collection of those freakish maids isn’t cultured!” groaned the Celestial mage, but there was a smirk on her face, even as she closed one eye in pain.

“There is nothing to mock of my beautiful blond maids!” The portly man defended angrily, swiftly twisting her arms further down and nearly cracking them with the force of his movements as he got a better look at the book in her hands. “A treasure map? A spot to hide valuables? What kind of secret does this book hold? Tell me, tell me or I’ll snap your arms in two!”

Lucy strained, feeling anger well up inside of her with each greedy word that fell from the man’s mouth, before mustering the strength to turn around and stick her tongue out at him in spite. His face darkened even more as he pushed his body through the hole more and more, shoving her face into the floor as he hung above her, pushing her arm up higher and harder than before. “This girly doesn’t get her situation! I got Kemu Zaleon himself to write that book for me! Therefore, any secret in that book is mine!”

Lucy gasped for breath, eyes tightly shut as she tried to think about what she could do. She couldn’t reach her keys like this and there was no way for her to call out for anyone without Everlue’s maid Virgo getting in the way-!

Suddenly, Happy appeared and landed a solid kick to the man’s cheek, a grin on his face and wings stretched out proudly as Lucy quickly righted herself onto her hands and knees to look over at the blue cat. “Happy! Nice! Cool!”

Her praise was cut off by his wings disappearing in an instant as he plopped into the water with a little roll in the air, the top of his head popping up with bubbles around it. Everlue had also gotten back up, glaring darkly at the blue cat floating in the water. “Why you…what’s with this cat?”

“I’b Habby!” The cat gurgled out, the water muffling his words and voice as he stayed in place.

“Anyway, get up here.” Lucy tried, looking at him with wide eyes as he stayed in the sewage waste.

“Pah waba peels nibe!” He tried as he began to float downstream.

“Uh…it’s sewage water…” Lucy’s hand covered her face as she looked down, disgust crawling up her bones at the sight, before smirking up at Everlue and brandishing Cancer’s key his way. “The tables have turned! If you let me have this book, I’ll consider forgiving you. I really want to smack you good, though.”

“Boyoiyoyo…A Celestial Mage? For a bookworm, you sure misuse language!” He criticized, his cockiness never fading. “ ‘The tables have turned’ implies that you have the upper hand! But having one extra cat on your side isn’t going to be able to defeat my Diver magic!”

With one last laugh at her expense, the man burrowed into the ground like some mole once more, leaving Lucy standing there with Happy (who was now out of the sewage water) . “So that was magic? And that means Everlue is also a mage?”

“You smell…” Lucy shot in, the smell irritating her nose, right before Everlue bursted from the ground, his arm taking shot after shot at the blond, who continued to dodge narrowly, keeping her gaze on the floor every time he jumped back into the cement holes he made. “It’s written in this book! A horrible adventure story with you as the main character, Everlue!”

“What’s with that?” Happy blinked, staring at his guildmate with an air of confusion as Everlue took deep breaths to try and calm himself after his sporadic blitzes failed to strike even once.

“It’s wonderful that I’m the main character…” He panted, grin never falling from his face, right before he dove back into the floor, trailing up to the ceiling above them. “But that story is crap! For Kemu Zaleon, of all people, to write such rubbish! It’s a disgrace!”

Lucy gasped as she turned right when he popped out of the ground behind her, arms outstretched to take the book from her hands forcefully, only for her to flip out of the way once more, causing him to dig once more and then bounce back up like some misshapen balloon or pinhead and begin to drill into the upper ceiling once more with a twist.

“You forced him to write it! How conceited can you get?” defended Lucy, trailing the mole man with her eyes as she spoke, whipping around at the sound of his voice behind her.

“Conceited? I am a great man! It is an honor for someone to labor to write my book!” The man’s voice echoed all around, but he didn’t appear, only the sounds of the falling roof pieces hitting the water greeting the two guild mages.

“You blackmailed him to write it!” Lucy yelled at the delusional man, fed up with him trying to make himself seem better than he is.

“Blackmail?” Happy questioned, looking around for Everlue as well, though he met Lucy’s eyes once during this.

The blond man’s head appeared sideways from the right of the duo, basically hanging over the floor as he twirled his mustache and grinned nastily. “What about it? It was his own fault for refusing me in the first place!”

Lucy narrowed her eyes at the man, trying to make sure he didn’t leave her sight as long as he was above ground as she leaned over the book protectively. “What does that mean?”

The man slid out of his crater, treating the floor like a pool and swimming along it casually as he spoke. “I told him to write a book where I was the main character, but that idiot refused!” He took a little dive and appeared behind the duo once more, a finger pointed towards the sky. “So I told him, ‘Write the book, or I’ll revoke citizenship for your entire family!’”

Happy turned to face the man fully as Lucy stared on in horror. “If you did that, they wouldn’t be able to join the merchant of craftsman guilds! Is the Duke really that powerful?”

“I told you, I’m a great man!” boasted the blond once more as his arm disappeared into the ground once again, before the entire floor started to rumble and the two Fairy Tail mages turned to run away from the impending breakage of the floor, right as he bursted into the air once again, almost like he was cheering. “And, in the end, he wrote it!”

Lucy grit her teeth as she could only imagine the scene Everlue was painting out. “But I was annoyed with his first refusal, so I made him write it in prison!” He laughed as he told the story. “‘I’m an author,’ he said, ‘A master craftsman!’ But I broke that pride and haughty attitude of his!”

With another magic circle appearing, he began to bounce himself along the ceiling, the floor and the walls like an erratic rubber ball as Lucy ran with Happy hot on her tail to avoid the damage and hits he was aiming their way. “How dare you do such things just to satisfy your own desires!” She cried out, turning to glare over her shoulder at him. “You put him in solitary confinement for three years! Do you have any idea what he must have felt in those times?!”

She knew she was asking too much for the egotistical asshole to even consider someone else’s feelings for even a moment, but she couldn’t help herself. Lucy didn’t know that humans could be such greedy monsters to such amazing people, like Kemu Zaleon and Duke Everlue.

“For three years?!” repeated Happy, looking just as disgusted and confused as the blond felt in that moment.

At that second, Everlue appeared from the ground in front of them, despite them not even realizing he dug into the dirt, the blond backflipping away at the last minute. “Perhaps he finally noticed how great I truly am?”

Lucy glared as hard as she could as she crouched on the floor, the man’s laugh making her insides curl. “No! He was fighting that pride of yours! If he didn’t write it, his family would be in trouble.” She took a breath as she stood back up, stance firm and unwavering in front of him. “But he couldn't allow himself, as an author, to write a book with you as the main character!”

“How do you know these things, you pest?” sneered Everlue as the dust began to settle around his feet slightly.

Lucy held the book up. “It’s all written in this book!”

“Huh?” Everlue knew that everything she said hadn’t been spoken about in the book… “I read that book as well, Kemu Zaleon never appears in it.”

“It’s true that if you read it normally, it’s a work that’d make any fan cry,” admitted the Celestial mage. “But you should know that Kemu Zaleon was originally a mage!” Happy gasped at the revelation.

“He couldn’t have…”

“He used up all his remaining strength to cast a spell on this book.” continued Lucy, undeterred by the mixed reactions.

“So that was his scheme…when the spell ran out, it’d turn into a book defaming me?” Everlue growled, his rage beginning to rise once more, all amusement leaving the situation at once as his shoulders shook viciously. “H-How rude!”

He dove back into the ground to aim another hit on Lucy, but the blond was one step ahead of him this time, dodging with ease. “You have no imagination, huh? It’s true that this book contains everything about how it was written…but the words that Kemu Zaleon left in this book were nothing as petty as that!”

With each word, Everlue’s attacks grew more and more sporadic, losing control of himself as time wore on and the conversation dragged out. “The real secret is something else!”

Happy leapt forward slightly, eager to hear the secret, as drool spilled over his lips as if he was suddenly hungry. “What, what?!”

“The real secret…?”

“That’s why I’m not going to let you have this book.” She shoved the book behind her back, as if to prove a point to him, before brandishing her key like a finger and pointing it in Everlue’s direction. “In fact, you never had a right to it in the first place! Gate of the Giant Crab, I open thee! Cancer!”

A bright golden light filled the room, right before a man with glasses, really nice hair wearing a nice outfit with scissors and crab legs on his back appeared. “Cancer!”

“It’s a crab!” crowed Happy excitedly, paws on the side of his face as his eyes sparkled. “Make sure to end all your sentences with ‘-kani’! You gotta do it! You’re a crab after all! Just trust me! Say you promise!”

Lucy’s serious look faded as she stayed facing forward and pointed ignored the happily dancing cat in the background as he laughed to himself. “We need to concentrate now. If you don’t shut it, he’ll pinch your paws.”

“Lucy, how would you like your hair done today…” The man started, an air of professionalism around him. “-ebi.”

“Ebi?!” shouted Happy, both shocked and heartbroken.

“Could you take a look at the situation, please?” Lucy sighed, referring to the blue talking cat. “We’re in a battle! Beat up that bald old man!”

“Okay-ebi!”

Happy slumped against the wall with one paw held out, eyes closed with a small shamed smile on his face. “I thought it’d be like a straight jab, but go figure, it turned out to be a hook. You can go home now.”

“How about you go home?” huffed the Celestial mage, tired of his nonsense already.

‘The real secret?’ Everlue thought to himself, sweat beading down his face excessively as he stared at the girl and her Celestial Spirit in front of him. ‘Could it be he wrote down the illegal underbelly of my various business enterprises? I can’t have that…If she hands that over to the Council’s inspection mages…That’d be the end of me!’

Pulling out his own Zodiac Key, Everlue tried to keep up appearances of being in control. “Gate of the Maiden, I open thee! Virgo!”

“Eh?!” Both Happy and Lucy gasped.

“The same kind of magic as Lucy?!”

With a bright light once more and the resounding ‘Ding-Dong’ that came with every open and close of a gate, the large Gorilla Maid Virgo from earlier appeared with a loud cry. “You rang, Master?”

“Virgo, get that book!” Everlue ordered, pointing over at the guild mages.

“No way! She’s a Celestial Spirit?!” Lucy cried out, only to gasp as something, more like someone, caught her attention, the others around doing the same.

“Natsumi!” The girl was flying in the air, face the picture of confusion as she held on tightly to the back of Virgo’s shirt, lost on how she suddenly got from one battle to another in such a short manner of time.

“Why is she with Virgo?!” Everlue cried out angrily, as Lucy continued to stare in shock at her friend.

“How’d you…?”

Natsumi sat on Virgo’s shoulder, looking down from the giant spirit's shoulder, looking just as lost as they all felt in that moment. “S-She got back up to fight again, so I went to get her and…I don’t have a clue how I ended up here?!”

“Get her…you mean, you grabbed her, right?” Lucy confirmed shakily, brain processing the information thoroughly with the confirmation after she noticed the tight grip the petite Dragon Slayer still had on Virgo’s maid uniform.  “She couldn’t have come through the Spirit World with her, right? That’s unbelievable!”

Virgo was trying to reach for Natsumi, but the girl was now on the base of her back, meaning she couldn’t see her easily, the teen turned to her teammate seriously. “Lucy, what do you want me to do right now?”

Lucy jumped back to the present in shock as she realized it was all up to her now. “Ah! Do something about him!” She ordered, pointing at Everlue.

“Virgo, exterminate these pests!” He declared back to his Celestial Spirit.

Natsumi jumped to the floor, eyes narrowing for a moment, until she found the right opportunity to strike the large made down with her keen eyes as Virgo began to throw a fist her way. “Understood!”

Slamming her fists together, Natsumi got back to her feet, eyes going sage green and reptilian once more as a magic circle flickered in front of her once. “I’ll blow you away…Karyū no Hōkō!”

Her fiery breath blew out in an instant, while Lucy turned to take care of Everlue with her whip. “You pervy mole!” As Virgo fell overhead with a startled cry, Lucy’s whip wrapped tightly around the digger mage’s body and mouth, keeping him from moving an inch. “You can’t run away digging any more holes!” With a heave of effort, the blond threw him over her shoulder and straight into Cancer’s attack. “A bit-part in a novel…is more than you deserve!”

“Sir, what do you think of this look-ebi?” Cancer asked as Lucy landed on her knees and the man fell with tears, snot and drool dribbling down his unconscious face, a grin still etched into it as his head sparkled from all his hair being cut off.

Natsumi laughed, standing on top of Virgo’s back victoriously as she turned to them. “Nice one, Crab!” Then she paused for a second. “Wait, ‘-ebi’? Not ‘-kani’?”

“We don’t have time for that!” Lucy shrieked as the area around them began to shake and crumble. “We have to get out of here!”

Natsumi nodded, sharp eyes looking around quickly for any kind of exit, so to speak considering the amount of holes in the area, before gesturing for Happy and Lucy to follow her as she found one. When the two were close enough, Natsumi pushed Happy through first, then helped Lucy climb into a pipe that led to fresh air, getting ready to follow only for a rock to slam her foot down painfully and awkwardly, causing her to wince, but another shake of the area made the pink haired Dragon Slayer move upwards, despite the pain.

She’d wrap it later.

Once safely outside, Lucy’s shocked face watched as the entirety of the mansion fell around them, dust and rubble shaking up the ground as the once beautiful home was destroyed by yet another Fairy Tail mission. 

“If we’re lucky, the guy will be too scared to come and complain about the destruction,” Natsumi tried to comfort her new teammate, before she grinned and crossed her arms behind her head. “But…nice and flashy, Lucy! You did us Fairy Tail mages proud, considering how you were so worried about fitting in.”

“Aye! If they complain, we can say it was all Lucy’s fault!” chimed in Happy as they turned to walk away, the Dragon Slayer coaxing the taller mage into movement once more.

“I-Is this…my fault?” She whispered, pausing when she felt a reassuring grip on her shoulder, Natsumi’s beaming face coming into view.

“Don’t mind!” Lucy wanted to mind it a bit, but with the lackadaisical attitude, she knew it wouldn’t get far…The blond swore she saw Virgo standing in the damages with the unconscious Everlue hung in her arms like a sack of rice, but didn’t have time to think about it as she was whisked away to their next destination.

「Shirotsume Town— Melon Estate (Late Afternoon)」
⸻

“The composition and style of this book is just awful,” started Lucy as she stared at Kaby and his wife, Natsumi behind her with Happy hanging on her shoulder, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. “There’s no way I could imagine it being written by Kemu Zaleon.”

“So?”

“So, that’s why I thought there was some secret.” declared Lucy as she handed the book to Kaby, who blinked, a look of shock and almost disgust on his face as he took it from her.

“What is the meaning of this?” He took the book closer and stared at it harshly. “I am quite sure I requested that you destroy it.”

“Destroying it is a simple task,” Lucy brushed off casually, even after all the grief she gave Natsumi and Happy over doing the job themselves. “You should be able to do it yourself, Kaby-san.”

“Then, I will eliminate it!” grunted the older gentleman, gripping the book hard enough that he shook from the force. “I don’t even want to look at it!”

“I know why you can’t allow this book to exist,” admitted Lucy as she looked at his seated position coolly, though on the inside she was a nervous wreck, despite knowing her plan was going to be successful. “It’s to protect your father’s honor. You’re Kemu Zaleon’s son, aren’t you?”

Natsumi and Happy gasped softly at the question, eyes flickering to the man, who seemed shaken up from the blond’s words. “Why do you know that?”

“Have you read this book?” Lucy counted the question with one of her own, almost flippantly.

“No, I couldn’t bring myself to read it.” sighed Kaby, still unable to look away from the book in his hands, eyes burning with determination and guilt, mixed with remorse. “It’s trash. My father said so.”

“So, that’s why you wanted to burn it?” demanded Natsumi, stepping forward threateningly, only to stiffen at the pain that shot up her leg from the movement.

She’d forgotten about that stupid fucking ankle injury from earlier.

“That’s right.” Kaby answered easily.

Natsumi felt more anger well up inside her and she wanted nothing more than to move over to Kaby, shake him well and good, and yell at him, but her leg was starting to hurt more and more the longer she stood as she did. So instead, she leaned against the wall and glared daggers at him once more, this time with more heat and intensity as she spoke, voice cold and full of emotion that most wouldn’t be able to hear over the anger.  “Burn it just cause it’s dumb? Isn’t that going a bit too far, even for you?”

Igneel flashed into her mind; how the only thing she had of him until she could find him once more was the scaled scarf she cherished and took care of daily. She’d be damned if she got rid of it, just because he said it was dumb or she was mad at him.

…He was her father in all, but blood. “Your dad wrote that book…” She noticed Lucy look over her way, but averted her gaze, shoving the lover half of her face into her scarf. She wasn’t going to let her newest friend see how she was emotionally unstable when it came to family and fathers just yet.

She’d never want to team up with Natsumi again if she found out now of all times. She’d think that Natsumi didn’t know how to be professional on a job.

“Natsumi, it's to protect his honor, don’t you get it?” Lucy cut in, snapping the pink haired mage out of her whirlwind thoughts, earning a scoff from the shorter, but she didn't go in further.

“Yes, I’m ashamed that my father wrote Daybreak…” began Kaby, eyes solemn as he began to tell them the story.

How his father came home after a three year long disappearance, leaving his entire family in the dark. How his father admitted to writing Daybreak for Duke Everlue, before he quit being a writer, even going as far as to cut his own arm off, which shortly after, he told Kaby that the book was the worst thing he’d ever written and the money was good…

Kaby had been so disgusted with his father, he’d shamefully told him that it was a good thing he quit being a writer, since he wasn’t one who had any pride in it, nor was he a good father.

Only a few months later, his father passed and Kaby’s anger and resentment towards his father shifted to guilt and regret.

Thus, he came up with the idea to destroy DAYBREAK as a tribute and apology to his father.

“And yet, my father is no longer in this world to apologize to,” finished Kaby, his wife now by his side and giving him some comfort. “So, I felt the least I could do to atone was to destroy this last, worst book of his. I wanted to rid the world of itt for the sake of my father’s good name. My father would agree.”

He lit a match, ready to set fire to the book in the living room, but Lucy spoke up first, distracting them all. “I don’t think he would.”

The candle blew out as everyone looked at the blond in confusion. “It’s begun!”

A bright light came from the book, a magic circle appearing right afterwards. “What’s going on?!”

The letters for ‘DAYBREAK’ lifted off the cover, rearranging themselves to spell, ‘Dear Kaby,’. “Kemu Zaleon…no, his real name was Zekua Melon, he cast a spell on the book.”

“A spell?” Kaby questioned, no longer holding the floating book as he looked at Lucy in shock. “Dear Kaby?”

“That’s right…it’s written to his beloved son, Kaby,” explained Lucy as she watched the book continue to rise higher and higher. “He cast a spell that rearranged the letters. On the entire thing!”

At the end of her explanation, the words broke free of the confines of the books, golden letters moving in nonsensical strips as they whirled around the room beautifully, rearranging the book into the true form of itself.

“Pretty!” Happy cheered as Natsumi looked on with a smile and shining eyes.

“The reason he quit being an author is probably not because he wrote the most terrible book ever,” whispered Lucy as she watched the letters calmly, while Kaby was in shock and his wife was entranced. “But because he wrote the most incredible one. This incredible book is a letter to you, Kaby-san.”

“I’m always thinking of you.” Kaby swore he heard his father’s warm and affectionate voice as he watched the book slowly come back into his arms, the glow fading, the strength in his legs fading with the loss of light and ambition to destroy the book, as he curled his arms around it tightly and hugged his father’s masterpiece to his chest.

“That’s the true book that Kemu Zaleon left to you.” Lucy finished, a smile on her face, Natsumi once more relaxed against the wall, happy that they didn’t destroy Kaby’s father’s memento after all.

“Father…thank you.” murmured Kaby as his wife hovered at his side worriedly. “I cannot let this book be burned…”

Natsumi smiled pleasantly, head tilting as she began to walk slowly out of the mansion’s living room. “Guess we don’t need that reward, then!”

“Aye!” Happy cheered as everyone else turned to the duo in shock, along with distress from Lucy’s part.

“What?” squeaked the blond, worried now about the amount of rent she’d have to pay suddenly.

“The request was to destroy the book,” Natsumi reiterated with a cheeky grin. “And we didn’t complete it, thus we get no reward.

“B-But, that’s…” Kaby tried, but the pink haired mage was already halfway to the door, a cheery hop in her sloppy steps.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s such a kind offer…so why don’t we take him up on it?” bargained Lucy desperately. She didn’t have the money for her rent yet and she didn’t want to test her luck with her landlady so soon after moving in…even if she would’ve felt bad about it later.

“Greedy.” Happy sighed, looking almost disappointed in the blond Celestial mage. “So much for all those cool things you said before.”

“That’s different!” yelled Lucy, fists clenching. “This is my right to continue living in my home!”

“We don’t want it, that’s that.” Natsumi repeated, crossing her arms behind her head as she waved one hand slightly.

Lucy turned to run after the shorter teen, Happy jumping into action once he realized he was going to be left behind. “We do want it! I want it!’

“Let’s go home~,” sang Natsumi cheerfully as she stopped in front of the door, turning to look back at Kaby, this time much more calmly and kindly than the times prior. “You too, Melon-san. Go back to your real home.”

Everyone stared at the petite Dragon Slayer in shock for a moment…

“What…does she mean?” Lucy asked, turning to look at the married couple behind her.

「 。。。」

“I can’t believe this…” whined Lucy as she trailed after Happy and Natsumi as they walked through a forest path in the dead of the night, trying to make their way back to the guild by tomorrow hopefully. “Is it normal to just let 2,000,000 slide like that?”

Natsumi rolled her eyes, though she understood the depression that followed the blond. Rent and food expenses were no joke in Magnolia, one of the most popular areas in Fiore. “Taking money for a request that wasn’t completed would damage the name Fairy Tail’s built up, you know?”

“Aye!”

“But we did such a good job…why not?” Lucy continued, before switching topics. “And we’re walking home? Those people weren’t even rich…they said they just rented the house for appearances. I would have taken the job even if they hadn’t gone to all that trouble.”

For some reason, a part of Natsumi highly doubted that statement, but she kept her mouth shut wisely…unlike Happy, it seemed. “I wonder about that.”

“Yes, I would have!”

“Probably.”

Some time later, they finally set up camp for the night, a lizard and two fish being roasted over the fire as they Natsumi ate some of the ones already done. Her ankle was now throbbing minutely, but it still wasn’t her top priority. Food first, making sure Happy and Lucy were sleeping, then wrapping the stupid thing up so she could be done with it.

“Oh yea, how did you notice the house wasn’t theirs?” Lucy asked, not really wanting to eat any of the food placed in front of her.

“Dragon nose, remember?” Natsumi smiled, poking her nose with a finger. “They smelled different from the house, people who live in places smell like their home.”

“Anyone can tell that!” chimed in Happy, giving her a look that any other day, Lucy would’ve kicked him for, but she was too tired for now.

“Well, I’m not an animal,” she settled on, before smiling slightly. “But I really look up to a writer like that.”

“Just as I thought!” laughed Natsumi, a grin on her relaxed face as she met Lucy’s eyes. “That thing that you pushed me out a window for-,” “Don’t say it like that! It was an accident!!” “It was a novel, right?”

“That’s why you know all about books, right?” Happy asked, grinning around his mouthful of fish as Lucy felt her cheeks heating up hot enough to cook an egg on them.

“D-Don’t tell a soul, okay?”

“Why?”

“I-I’m still really bad!” The blond covered her face, ducking down as she swayed side to side swiftly, causing Natsumi to flinch back from the sudden movement, beads of sweat appearing from the sight of Lucy being so embarrassed. “I’d just die of embarrassment if someone read it!”

“Don’t worry, no one will.” Natsumi tried, hoping to reassure, but when Lucy got really depressed, she knew she’d said the wrong thing after all…

“That doesn’t exactly make me feel better.”

「 。。。」

Lucy curled up in the tent, watching as Happy tried to get comfortable as well. “Hey, Happy…why doesn’t Natsumi seem concerned with rent or anything like that?”

“Natsumi doesn’t pay rent, silly.” yawned the blue cat, turning onto his other side, only to grumble and move once more. “She built her house from scratch. She’s the only landlord…or land-dragon, maybe?”

“Huh?!” Lucy sat up, brown eyes wide. “D-Does that mean she owns a building in the city?”

“Nooo, Natsumi lives on the outskirts of Magnolia.” Happy explained, rolling over once more with a grumble. “Her hearing and smell make living in the city really hard, since people are up all night and day, always cooking something tasty smelling or bad smelling. It overwhelms her too much. So, she moved to the outskirts of Magnolia, right in the forest!”

Lucy blinked, feeling a bit sorry for the Dragon Slayer. Though Natsumi seemed content and proud of her skills, it was no wonder she had to live on the outskirts by herself… “I see.”

She laid back down, but right as her eyes drifted shut, the flap opened and Happy walked right back out. “I can’t sleep…I wanna be with Natsumi.” A moment later, she heard whispered voices, before silence.

The blond didn’t have the energy to focus on it too much, so instead, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

「 。。。」

“‘Wait a second, are you sure this is the way,’ she asks.” Holorgorium intones as he toddles behind Natsumi and Happy, the little cat settled onto the soft pink spikes of the Dragon Slayer while they waded through a murky looking swamp.

“Happy said to go this way, so this is the way we go, says I.” mocked back Natsumi, a bit snappish after not getting any sleep, since she took the all night watch and with Happy by her side and awake, she didn’t manage to wrap her ankle yet, meaning it was giving her more problems this morning.

Not to mention the terrain they had to cross to get back to Magnolia.

“How rude!” snipped Happy, though he didn’t look nor sound particularly offended at the question. “I’m a cat, obviously! Cats have an excellent sense of smell!”

“‘Isn’t that dogs? And what does smell have to do with direction?’ she asks,” The clock spirit reiterated for the blond, who was sending the duo a deadpan expression from within the safety of his window.

“Anyway, how about walking yourself, bum?” Natsumi lightly teased as they finally escaped the muddy water and returned to the flat ground.

“‘I’m tired,’ she says.”

“Jeez…” sighed the pink haired teen, right as a bush began to rustle suspiciously. Natsumi crouched slightly, Happy springing off her head as she tossed her back off and jumped into the bush. “Who are you?!”

“‘Is she looking for a fight?!’ she questions,” Hologorium calmly asked for Lucy, his hands holding both the pack and Happy.

“Go for it, Natsumi!” cheered Happy, right as Natsumi and the mystery person jumped out of the bush…the two glaring as they separated mid air. “It’s Gray!” 

“‘Why is he in his underwear?’ she screeches.” Horologium continued, unperturbed by the sight in the slightest.

“I was looking for the bathroom!” defended Gray, though…

“That still doesn’t explain where the shirt went, Ice Prick!” Natsumi snapped back as they stood in a face off officially. “And there’s no way there’d be a bathroom in the forest anyway!”

“And weren’t you the one barging in when a guy’s going to the bathroom, Fire Tits?” retaliated Gray, dark eyes never leaving Natsumi’s glare as their heads moved closer to butt into one another as they began to trade childish insults.

“What are they, in third grade?” Lucy whispered to herself, Hologorium’s time officially up for the time being.

“She says!” Happy finished cheerfully.

「 。。。」

A few quick brawls later and a search for Gray’s clothes had the four of them sitting on a cliff’s edge, Happy fishing while the humans sat behind him talking.

“I see, you’re coming back from a job!” exclaimed Lucy, face lightening up at the revelation.

“Cutting through this forest is a shortcut back to Magnolia, see?” Gray explained, his voice cool and calm, nothing like the rage he seemed to use with Natsumi every time they so much as met eyes…even as they glared at one another the entire conversation.

“See, see, see?!” cut in Happy smugly as he turned to look at Lucy with a high and mighty look, which by now she knew was for show.

“You were bragging about your nose, but you didn’t even realize Gray was there?” sighed Lucy, sending the cat a dissatisfied look, which he pointedly ignored.

“There are some things you don’t want to smell.” Happy joyfully responded, not bothered in the slightest.

“What’s that?!” snapped Gray, looking like he was about to make a move to hit the cat, but remained seated and glaring at his back instead.

“Enough out of you,” Natsumi sighed, reclining against her pack with her arms crossed behind her head and side eyeing Gray the entire time. “Get on back already…by yourself, preferably.”

“Of course,” Gray grunted as he stood and for a moment, Lucy could see the way his eyes flicked over to Natsumi once more and she swore she saw a faint blush on his cheeks, but just as quickly, he was back to glaring forward and not sparing any glances. “It’ll be trouble if I don’t get back soon.”

He turned, hands on his hips as he stared at the open wilderness and mountains. His remark caught Lucy’s attention though as she leaned forward to hear more. “What kind of trouble?”

The only thing that came to her mind was his public indecency charges going up more when he was alone…

“Erza’ll be back shortly…” He grumbled, voice low and face passive. Natsumi’s face paled a few shades as she flinched back with a noise of what could’ve been shock or pain.

“Erza…you mean, her…” gasped Lucy, eyes wide with excitement.

Happy popped up, his mouth full of fish as he finished Lucy’s statement. “The woman known as the most powerful mage in Fairy Tail!”

Both Natsumi and Gray grew depressed as Lucy began to gush over the thought of meeting Erza, the Titania of Fairy Tail. “Awesome! I want to meet her!” She squealed, before turning serious as she turned back to the three males. “But I’ve never seen a picture of her in a magazine…so, what kind of person is she?”

“Scary…” All three veteran Fairy Tail members replied in unison.

“Wild animal?” Gray falsely whispered to Natsumi as he leaned closer, ignoring Lucy’s shocked expression.

“Beast?” The female Dragon Slayer tried.

“More like an evil demon!” finished Happy firmly.

Lucy cupped her chin, eyes narrowing as she tried to imagine…whatever they were describing.

“She’s not that big!” Happy countered, as if he could see the image Lucy had conjured up in her head as he sat down to finish eating his fish.

“But she’s bigger than you’d think!” huffed Natsumi, eyes closed as she thought about Erza.

“Everyone’s big to you Natsumi,” Happy turned around with a teasing grin. “You’re just short!”

“Shut up!”

“It’s about right if you’re talking about how scary she is though,” Gray confirmed, ignoring the bickering duo behind him. “Actually, maybe it’s even worse?”

“Like, this bad!” Natsumi joined in once more, ignoring Happy for the moment.

“No, I think she could blow away a month into three pieces with a single kick!” argued Gray as he moved closer to the drawing on the floor that Natsumi had started to try and show off Erza.

“Three pieces is exaggerating, I think it’s more like two.” countered Happy once more, knowing that the two were just afraid of Erza after years of beatdowns.

“A woman that can blow a mountain in two with a single kick…?” Lucy reiterated, just to make sure she didn’t miss any of this. “That’s pretty scary.”

“Anyway. We’ve got to hurry home.” Gray pressed as Natsumi stood to grab her back.

Right as they were ready to leave, an explosion happened right underneath them, kicking up dirt and dust everywhere and burying Natsumi’s upper half, Gray’s lower half and Lucy’s arms and legs.

“A mage?” Gray asked, turning to help Natsumi up, only to freeze at the sight of… “P-Pink panties…?”

Natsumi’s flailing legs paused for a moment, before they straightened and she kicked him out of his spot as she flew out of the dirt (hiding a wince once more as she landed on her bad leg), sending him a glare as she did so, until she realized that someone was missing. “Happy!”

「 。。。」

Happy looked around fearfully, body shaking slightly at all the hungry looks the mages around him were sending his little tied up body.

A pair of twins stood off to the right, looking at him with drool falling from their lips. “We’re gonna get us some protein for once!”

“I’m so sick of fruits and nuts!” The other chimed in eagerly.

“Meat!” The giant weird thing chirped eagerly.

“Looks delicious…” The green haired mage murmured in agreement.

“Man, this guy’s shaking.” One twin sneered at Happy’s body.

“Sorry ’bout this,” The one who grabbed him and looked like a goblin grinned nastily. “Guess you’re scared cause you’ll end up in our bellies!”

“No, I’m not shaking because I’m scared.” denied Happy as he glared at the weird looking goblin man. “I have to go to the bathroom…I might not be able to hold it in. If that happens, it’ll make me taste weird, I’m sure.”

“Shut up,” The goblin man demanded, before turning to the giant thing. “Do it!”

“Meat!” He nodded obediently, holding out his staff and letting it catch fire swiftly.

“Medium, please.” One of them chimed in.

“I can’t stand it! Are you sure about this? It’ll taste weird!” Happy tried again, a bit more desperately than before.

“Wait right there!” Natsumi’s voice rang out clearly, causing them to all look up and see the three mages standing on top of a rock.

“Happy!” Lucy called down in worry, waiting to hear the cat’s voice.

“Thank goodness! I won’t taste weird!” He yelled back.

“You’re still going on about that?” grumbled the Goblin man irritably.

“You’ve got our friend there, Greenie. You may be hungry, but we can’t let you eat him.” Natsumi cracked her knuckles, face pinched into a glare of pure anger. “Not only that, but you put me in a place where I’ll have to kill Gray later.”

“It was an accident! I’m not used to you wearing skirts!” snapped back the dark haired Ice mage. “You’re also mages, right? From what guild?”

“None of your business!” Goblin growled. “Get ’em!”

“Gray…do this right and I won’t have to kill you.” Natsumi hummed, sharp eyes never losing sight of her targets.

“Don’t order me around.” huffed the dark haired teen, but he didn’t openly deny the idea.

The others leapt to attack the three mages swiftly, Gray and Natsumi dodging with ease at the first two blitz attacks. “Take this!” The green goblin smirked. “Sand Bomb!”

“Not again!” Natsumi groaned as her skirt started flapping with the sand encasing her. “I’m going to kill you and shred this stupid ass skirt!”

“Natsumi!” Lucy cried out as the sand swallowed the petite girl entirely.

“Leave her!” barked Gray, not looking the slightest bit worried. “Go rescue Happy!”

His last order brought Lucy’s attention back to the present as she turned and started running in the same direction as Gray jumped back into the fray of things. “R-Right!”

The twins leapt at Gray midair, weapons at the ready, but the mage didn’t even bother using magic, simply body beating them out of the way.

“Uwahh, now Lucy’s trying to eat me~!” Happy cried out, voice monotone as the blond struggled to undo his string bindings.

“Shut up, cat.” hissed Lucy, only to jump as a shadow fell over her, looking up to see the weird blob once more in front of them.

“Urg…Meat!” The being cried out, raising his staff that was still on fire, over his head. Lucy shrieked, hands held up in surrender as tears sprouted in the corner of her eyes, only to stop as Gray came in and kicked the thing away, giving her and Happy time to run away quickly.

“Who’s next?” Gray grunted as he landed, eyes flicking over to the green haired one with the orb in his hands.

“You’ll get an unexpected visitor,” He spoke swiftly, ignoring the look of anger on Gray’s face. “The stars point to trouble with water and women.”

“Fortune telling?” grunted the dark haired Fairy Tail mage, before he quickly dispatched the lackey with an elbow to the face. “Shut up!”

“He’s not even using magic…?” whispered Lucy as she watched the fight. She’d seen Natsumi do similar things, but never go fully barehanded in a fight, too focused on the fight that she lost control often. “Wow…uh, your clothes-!”

Gray hopped onto one foot, looking at his boxer clad legs in angered shock. “Whoa!”

“What is that guy…?” The goblin muttered to himself, taking his eyes off the spell that still held Natsumi within its clutches, only turning back to it as it exploded with a bright light. “Oh no…!”

Natsumi landed with a growl, a scowl on her face as her ankle throbbed once more. “Look here, you…you ruined the outfit Lucy gave me, made more work for me to clean up and made my mouth all gritty…you’re going to pay damn it!”

She spat some sand on the floor to prove her point, before slamming her fists together quickly, a magic circle once more flashing in the light. “Take this…Karyū no Tekken!”

Without wasting a moment, the Dragon Slayer shot into the air and slammed her fist into the guy, sending a bright explosion around the area as he screamed in pain.

A little while later, the nobodies were tied to a tree as Gray and Natsumi refused to look at one another. “You don’t have to get serious against these small fry.” snorted Gray, once again shirtless and pantless.

“How about I fry up that smart mouth of yours, asshole?” She sneered back, fingering the frayed and ruffled skirt she wore. “I still owe you for looking at my panties earlier.”

“That was an accident, for the last damn time and besides, it’s not like you could with those lukewarm flames of yours.” Gray glared at her, hand on his hip defiantly.

“Oh, yeah?”

“L-Lulla…”

“Lulla…?” Lucy repeated, watching as the goblin man tried to form words, despite his injuries. It was easy enough to drown out the arguing behind her and focus on the injured man in front instead.

“The lulla…by…”

“Huh?” Natsumi stopped, looking over immediately, even as something in her chest throbbed painfully at the word.

“Lullaby?” repeated Gray, looking over as well.

Without warning, shadows shot across the floor, knocking everyone out of the way and grabbing the tree by the roots, pulling it and the people tied to it, under the dirt as the Fairy Tail mages looked around wildly, trying to find the one responsible for it.

“What was that…?” Lucy gasped, still reeling from the attack.

“Who is it?” Natsumi grunted, standing up and sniffing furiously, her eyes widening at the smell of…someone musty and damp, almost earthy, but not exactly, since this was a human smell…

“I can’t sense them anymore,” Gray ground his teeth at the thought of losing this person already. “It’s someone crazy fast.”

“Damn, I don’t like or get this at all…” cursed Natsumi as she stared at the direction she last caught whiff of the scent.

“Lullaby?” Lucy whispered to herself once more, brown eyes worriedly staring at the distance.

『Omake』
⸻

“Are you ready to start heading home again?” Lucy asked once they’d all calmed down from the random fight and sudden tension.

“In a minute…” Gray grunted, moving over to Natsumi and roughly yanking her over to a rock. “Give me your foot, dumbass.”

“H-Hey! Stop it!” squealed Natsumi, trying to jerk her leg back, only to wince when his fingers brushed her ankle. “Ouch!”

“That’s what I thought,” grimaced the ice mage as he dug through her pack for a roll of bandages. “I knew your kicks were weaker than usual. Why didn’t you wrap this earlier, Flame-brain?”

“I-I meant to! I just kept forgetting!” She huffed, looking off to the side as Happy and Lucy came over, worry on their faces. “D-Don’t worry, it’s not as bad as it looks! Hardly hurts!”

Gray rolled his eyes as he wrapped the bandages firmly around her ankle. “You’re not doing the next couple of miles on this ankle. I’ll carry you.”

“Hell, no-!”

“No arguments.” huffed Gray, simply slinging Natsumi over his shoulder and beginning to walk like that, dragging the girl’s pack held tightly in his other hand.

“He liiiiikes her~!” Happy giggled, rolling his tongue weirdly as Lucy sent him a look.

“You’re…so weird, have I ever said that?”

“Nope!”

“I should say it more often…”

Chapter Text

「Magnolia - Fairy Tail (Afternoon)」
⸻

“Mira-chan, three beers over this way, if you please!” A brunette smoking a pipe, Wakaba, called out to the pretty barmaid as she passed by with mugs in hand, little pink hearts moving with his smoke magic.

“Coming right up!” The silver haired woman called out with a cheerful smile.

“Come on,” He started, once her attention was on him. “Go on a date with me, Mira-chan.”

“Don’t start with this again…” A young woman with purple hair, Laki, sighed looking completely done with the older man’s nonsense.

“Oh? But, Dear…” giggled Mira, unperturbed in the slightest, changing her body to look like a completely different woman. “You have a wife, don’t you?”

Wakaba jumped out of his seat, looking scandalized at the words, even as Mira and Laki laughed at his misery. “Please stop that, Mira-chan!”

“One of these days…I’d like to drink in peace.” murmured Cana, looking mildly annoyed at the ruckus around here, despite the jugs already empty around her and with a mug in hand already.

“You drink too much.” Macao huffed, watching in disturbed awe as she took another sip from her beer.

Natsumi looked around at everyone running around, a smile on her face as she did so. They sure were lively, despite all of their impending dooms, if the rumors were to be true. “Everyone is so full of energy…”

“Aye…until Erza comes back.” Happy grinned, shoving a fish into his mouth as he watched the others with his partner.

“You guys keep acting like she’s going to kill everyone.” Lucy sighed, not in any particular rush to get another job, since the café job they’d done before they came back had covered it for the time being. “Why is that?”

“Erza-neesan is many things,” started Natsumi, contemplative as she closed her eyes in thought. “She’s strong, she’s scary and she’s strict…but she’s also really nice once you get to know her.”

“You just have to get through the first impressions first.” Happy explained.

“The first impressions, huh?”

“Hey, why don’t we go on a job?” Natsumi suddenly jumped to her feet, turning to look at Lucy and Happy brightly. “If we leave before Erza-nee’s, we don’t have to worry about her scolding us!”

“Scolding you, mostly.” waved off Happy, before he sprouted wings and pointed Lucy over to a board. “Lucy gets to pick the job, since we picked last time.”

The blond walked over to the board and read over some of the posters that were pinned there, taking a stand next to the man who had been there last time as well, Nab. “‘Looking for a magic bracelet…’, ‘Dispel the magic cursed cane…’, ‘Fortune Telling using Astrology’. ‘A Monster Hunt in a volcano’?!” She contemplated the board seriously. “There sure are a lot of things mages are requested to do.”

“If one suits your fancy, just tell me,” Mira said as she approached the duo. “Master is off at the regular meeting.”

“Regular meeting?” parroted Lucy. She may have been a mage, but she was learning more and more about the job requirements of the ones in guilds and the things that happened in the background everyday, it seemed.

“All the guild masters in the area get together and give regular reports.” Mira explained, finger coming to land on her cheek cutely. “It’s different than the council meetings, though.” She turned to a large man wearing a black hat. “Reedus, can I borrow a light pen?”

“Oui.” He handed the magical object to the white haired barmaid without any complaints.

「 The light pen, a magic item that allows you to write in the air. 」

“The people on the top of the world of magic are the ten members of the council, connected with the government.” Mira started, drawing a diagram with the light pen. “Their job is to bring order to everything that goes on in the world of magic, and on the chance that a mage commits a crime, they pass judgment on them. Then, below them, are the organization of Guild Masters, the Guild Master Leagues. They circulate the decrees of the council, smooth out communication between the guilds in the same area, and keep us unified. It’s a pretty tough job.”

“I had no idea that the guilds were connected like that…” Lucy sighed, looking thoughtful as she processed the words.

“Keeping the guilds in alliance is very important,” continued the former model as she handed the light pen back to Reedus, who nodded his thanks. “If you’re not careful…”

“Those dark guys come!” whispered Natsumi into Lucy’s ear, a flaming finger tip close to Lucy’s face and illuminating her own scarily with her wide grin as the blond jumped with a slight shriek, before she laughed loudly. “Gotcha!”

“Don’t scare me like that!” Lucy snapped, hand to her chest as she glared at the pink haired mage.

“It’s true though,” defended Mira, looking on in concern, since it seemed that Lucy didn’t understand the meaning behind Natsumi’s little trick. “Those ‘dark guys’ really exist. Dark guilds, meaning, guilds that don’t belong to the league. Those guys sometimes have their hands in illegal, villainous activities.”

Lucy looked on in worry for a moment, before Natsumi nudged her gently. “Don’t worry. Dark guilds usually don’t come near guilds like ours. We’re a bit too much for them.”

This eased some of the tension within Lucy’s tense shoulders for a moment, before Happy landed on her head. “Lucy, Lucy! Hurry and pick a job before Erza comes back!”

“And who are you to tell me that, anyway?” The blond snipped, turning to look up at the cat as Natsumi blinked.

“’Cause we’re a team, right?” Natsumi smiled easily, looking at her excitedly. “And as much as I love Erza-nee, I love not being scolded by Erza-nee even more!”

“Besides, we picked the last job ourselves, remember?” chimed in Happy, thinking he was being helpful to the newer mage. “This time it’s your turn, Lucy!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” scoffed the blond, crossing her arms over her chest. “Our team is history, obviously. You didn’t care as long as it was some blond girl, remember?”

“Now wait a minute,” Natsumi held up her hand, a frown on her face. “I already told you on the way to the job and even before the job, I could’ve just smashed a wig on my head and kept it going, but I chose you because I thought you wanted to try a job with us, being new and kind of cool and all.”

Lucy flushed as she looked away once more. A small part of her knew that she was projecting the way her father only wanted to use her for monetary gain. “Natsumi…”

“Look…just, think it over, okay?” Natsumi turned on her heel, not bothering to wait for a response and leaving.

“That hothead,” sighed Gray, who appeared at Lucy’s side, before sending her a reassuring grin. “Don’t worry. Natsumi’ll get over it in a bit, her feelings are a bit fragile sometimes and she gets mad, goes and punches some trees or goes on a job and then comes back.”

“Gray, your clothes.” Cana called out, without looking up from her drink.

“Woah!”

“But still…” Lucy muttered, but Happy simply patted her cheek with a small paw. “Happy?”

“Gray’s right. Natsumi will be fine in a bit!”

Suddenly, Lucy felt an arm around her shoulder and turned to see Loke standing next to her, a charming smile on his face. “Lucy, how about the two of us form the team of love?”

“Huh?”

“Tonight. Just the two of us,” He spouted, sounding a lot like a romantic. “You really are beautiful, I must gaze at you through sunglasses, if I took them off…I’d go blind for sure.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” sneered Lucy irritably. She’d had enough of perverts and wannabe playboys for six lifetimes over.

As she shifted, he caught sight of the keys hooked onto her belt, swiftly leaping back. “W-Wait…You’re a Celestial mage?”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, she’s got like…a cow and a crab.” Happy hummed around a mouthful of fish.

The orange haired man suddenly screamed, looking a lot less handsome with that stance. “Fate, what cruel tricks you play on me!” With a stream of tears and speed in his legs, the man turned and ran, yelling out behind him as he did so. “I’m sorry! We’re going to end it here for now!”

Lucy merely stared at him, wondering if a few dozen screws had fallen loose or something in the timeframe of their conversation. “Did we start something in the first place?”

“Loke has issues with Celestial mages…” Mira began to explain to the confused blond.

「Magnolia - Market Area  (Afternoon)」
⸻

Natsumi walked around, feeling more embarrassed than angry at this point. She knew she might’ve overreacted with Lucy earlier, but she couldn’t help it.

Despite the fact that the job required a blond girl, it didn’t have to be Lucy. She could’ve taken one of the other Fairy Tail females or even just bought a wig for cheap and been done with the job, but since she’d brought Lucy to Fairy Tail, she kind of felt responsible for her, so she wanted her to experience her first job and team up with her.

“But then again, people always say I make jobs harder with my magic, huh?” She hummed, looking down at her hand, before her nose picked up a familiar scent and she turned to see Erza walking slowly down the walkway, some large item being held high over her head as she dragged her insane amount of luggage behind her. “Erza-nee…”

“Oh, Natsumi,” Erza’s face lightened for a moment, looking the younger teen up and down for a moment. “You seem to be doing well, though I’ve heard of your exploits from Master and the Council. Including the damage you’ve caused.”

“E-Erza-nee…” Natsumi shook like a leaf as Erza’s warm brown eyes darkened into a glare. “I-I really didn’t mean to…I just got so heated, and-and-and the guy at Hargeon was impersonating a Fairy Tail mage in order to traffic girls into slaves!”

At that sentence, Erza’s face went through a multitude of emotions that Natsumi couldn’t place, before it became neutral once more. “I understand Natsumi, but you must understand the way to do things properly! You’re not a child, you’re a young woman! You must know when to hold back…what if something goes wrong and you’ve used up all your magical energy overdoing it on every little battle before the big one?”

Natsumi nodded solemnly. She wanted to argue that she knew Erza was just as reckless as she was, but she also didn’t want to get knocked out in the middle of the street and most likely dragged back to the guild. “I understand, Erza-nee.”

“I just want you to understand the danger you put yourself in.” Erza sighed, before her face lightened once more. “Now come, I was just heading to the guild to go and greet everyone.”

Natsumi nodded once more, this time a bit more feeling in it as she grinned brightly up at the redhead. As they walked and caught up about mundane things, she caught the familiar hazy smell of Loke, before it was gone, while her ears picked up the sounds of his panicked breathing.

Well, now everyone at the guild will know they're all doomed at the end of the day.

「Magnolia - Fairy Tail  (Afternoon)」
⸻

Lucy watched as Elfman and Gray argued about the ‘manliness of confessing to the one he liked’, while Gray straight up denied it, before sending the large man careening into some tables, the rest of the guild laughing and watching,

“They’re like third graders,” chuckled Lucy as Happy nodded at her side.

“We’ve got trouble!” Loke’s voice cried out as he slammed the door open harshly, the lighthearted air dying in the guild as everyone turned to stare at the orange haired man. “Erza’s…back.”

The reactions were instantaneous. People froze, others looked like they were about to cry and some downright broke into a cold sweat at the mere mention of the fabled 'Queen of the Fairies, Titania’.

“Erza-san…Natsumi and Gray mentioned her before.” Lucy mumbled, confused by the reactions. It reminded her back to Gray and Natsumi’s when they first brought it up. “I mean, it’s the whole reason we rushed back from our job.”

“I think it’d be correct to call her the strongest female mage in all of Fairy Tail right now.” Mira smiled easily, not at all scared or perturbed at the name, unlike the rest of the guild.

The sound of quiet chatter and heavy footsteps resounded outside and everyone watched the door nervously.

“It’s Erza…” Laki mumbled worriedly. “I think she’s talking to Natsumi-chan. That’s the only one she would talk to like that.”

“Those are Erza’s footsteps…” agreed Wakaba, shoulders stiff and tense.

“Erza’s back and here alright…” Macao mumbled, a cold sweat breaking out on his face.

“With this kind of reaction, Erza-san really must be an amazing mage…” Lucy whispered to herself, seeing the once lively and rowdy guild now sitting silently as they watched the door fearfully, before the image Gray and Natsumi had drawn the day before reappeared in her head. “Scary!”

From the strong sunlight pouring through the door, Lucy could only make out the large shadow of a person, along with the clinking of armor and the conversation between Natsumi and the mysterious Erza finally died out as they entered. Lucy gulped as she watched the one holding the large item take slow purposeful steps between the tables, Natsumi splitting off to go and stand next to Gray, instantly hip checking him to put his clothes back on without saying anything, which the ice mage did swiftly.

Once she got to the middle of the path, a beautiful redhead in a blue pleated skirt and an armored top slammed down the item, which looked like a large horn that was decorated with jewels and a golden band, shaking the tables and people around it from the force. “I have returned,” Her voice was firm and unwavering as she ignored all the stares she got from her fellow guildmates. “Is Master here?”

“S-She’s pretty…” Lucy couldn’t help, but whisper, a small blush coming to her cheeks.

“Welcome back,” Mira greeted casually, once again not even fazed in the slightest. “Master is at the regular meeting.”

“I see.”

“Erza-san…what is that giant thing?” A brunette with a bowl cut, Max, asked from the sidelines.

“The horn of the monster I defeated, the locals decorated it and gave it to me as a souvenir.” She answered promptly, before she turned a bit more to them, eyes narrowing slightly. “Is there a problem?”

“No, not at all!” He and a few other guild members chimed in frantically.

“Think she knows about the incident at Mt. Hakobe?” Cana whispered to Macao around her barrel of alcohol, causing the man to begin to sweat harder.

“Shit, I’m going to be killed…”

“She’s a whole lot different than what I’d imagined.” Lucy murmured to Nab, who seemed to be trying to become a statue next to her and the request board.

Then, Erza’s face turned from blank to a steel gaze that could’ve cut a mountain in half and her voice suddenly raised from the respectful volume she’d had it at since her entrance as she placed her hands on her hips. “All of you!” Everyone jolted to attention. “I heard a bunch of rumors while I was gone, about how Fairy Tail keeps causing problems. Master forgives you, but I will not!”

She turned and immediately looked at Cana gulping from her barrel. “Cana! How dare you drink in such an undignified manner, not to mention what you did with your tab by charging it to the council!”

Cana stiffened, nearly choking on her beer, before placing it down and folding her legs elegantly.

“Victor,” She called without looking back, earning a meek reply from a man in a weird suit with long hair in a ponytail. “Take your dancing outside. Wakaba, you’re dropping ash on the table.” Her eyes opened and drifted to the request board. “Nab, just hesitating in front of the Request Board as usual? Take a job already!”

Nab nodded frantically, swiping a random job and running off swiftly, right as Erza’s eyes drifted over to the table next to him. “Macao!” He jumped, most likely terrified, but Erza closed her eyes and sighed wearily. “...”

“Say something, damn it!” The man Lucy and Natsumi had saved cried out indignantly.

“You lot sure can be a handful,” She sighed, placing a hand to her forehead, as if forming a headache from the mere thought of them at the moment. “I’ll let it slide today without saying anything.”

“It seemed like she said plenty already…” Lucy whispered to Mira, turning to the barmaid shakily. “Is she like a disciplinary committee or something?”

“That’d be Erza!” jumped in Happy, looking not phased in the slightest by the verbal teardown that happened to the rest of the guild.

“While she has a sharp tongue, she looks human enough…” Lucy pointedly ignored Mira’s confused look at her statement. “Is she really all that scary?”

“Natsumi, I know is here, but is Gray here as well?” Erza looked at the pink haired Dragon Slayer, who nodded stiffly as Gray’s arm wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her into his cold side.

“Aye…”

“H-Hey, Erza,” stuttered Gray, looking just as scared and stiff as Natsumi. “The both of us are getting along great today, as always!”

“Aye!” Natsumi chimed, voice tight and high pitched as she smiled weirdly.

“Natsumi’s acting like Happy!” Lucy shrieked, completely shocked at the sudden transformation from the brash and hotheaded Natsumi to the compliant person standing by Gray’s side in the moment.

Erza’s face softened at the sight as she nodded firmly and crossed her arms serenely. “I see. Well, even the best of friends fight at times, but I like it most seeing the two of you get along.” Her words were sincere, and would've been considered sweet even, if not for the fact that Natsumi and Gray both looked terrified and were sweating bullets.

“Um, ‘best friend’ is a little…” Gray started, voice nervous and quiet, not willing to anger the redhead in front of him.

“Aye…” squeaked Natsumi timidly, but offered no further words.

Lucy startled once more, eyes going even wider. “I’ve never seen Natsumi like this!”

Mira smiled sweetly, once again drawing with the light pen in the air, a crude drawing of what seemed to be a girl beating a boy up floating in front of her. “Natsumi challenged Erza to a fight before and was beaten to a pulp. Now, she respects Erza to the point of calling her ‘Erza-nee’ or ‘Erza-neesan’...by Erza’s insistence, of course.”

“You mean Natsumi was?!”

“Gray got beaten to a pulp when she caught him walking about naked.” grinned Macao, a teasing lilt to his voice.

“Loke asked Erza for a date, she beat him to a pulp.” Cana added in, looking much calmer now that the heat was off of her and on Natsumi and Gray instead. “He reaped what he sowed, I guess.”

“Oh, so she’s like that, huh?” Lucy nodded slowly, finally putting the pieces together in her head at what kind of person Erza was.

“Natsumi, Gray, I have a favor to ask…” Erza started after a moment of small talk, causing the two to relax a bit as they stood up straighter, their false happiness and closeness fading. “I heard a troubling story after I finished this job. Honestly speaking, this is something for Master to decide, but I want to settle it quickly so I decided myself. I want the two of you to lend me your power, will you come with me?”

Natsumi and Gray looked at each other for a moment, almost as if trying to see who would back down first, even as murmurs started spreading around the guild hall.

“What’s this mean?”

“Erza asked the two of them for help?”

“This has never happened before…”

“We’re leaving tomorrow,” Erza finished firmly, not giving the two time to argue or decline the invite. “Make preparations.”

‘Make a team…’ Natsumi thought to herself, face pinched in aggravation.

‘...with her?’ Gray thought, slightly enthusiastic at the idea, but keeping his face set into the glare he’d already settled on his face.

Gray had wanted to go on missions with Natsumi before, but before Lucy had joined the guild, the Dragon Slayer had always gone by herself or alone with Happy. It wasn’t like he couldn’t ask, but since the way he hid his true feelings for her was by butting heads and picking fights with her, he knew that the only reaction he would get would be suspicion…or a haughty Natsumi telling him he was too weak to do it alone. Thus, Gray never formed a team with the pink haired mage, despite his want to.

“Erza, Natsumi and Gray…I never would’ve imagined it before…” Mira whispered as Lucy looked on, still confused by the weird tension in the air. “But this might be Fairy Tail’s ultimate team!”

⸻
「Magnolia - Train Station (Morning)」
⸻

Natsumi paced up and down the walkway, head bent slightly as she tried to remind herself to not yell at Gray on sight. It wouldn’t do if Erza caught her slipping with her ‘best friend’ in public.

Not to mention the damages to the train station if they got too out of hand…

Right as she thought this, so lost in her own mind, Natsumi bumped right into someone, knocking the two of them flat on their asses. “Ah, my-!” Her eyes narrowed immediately and she jumped back to her feet. “Watch where you’re going, Ice Prick!”

“I should be saying that!” snapped the dark haired mage, scowling her way. “Not my fault you weren’t paying attention and you’re too short for the rest of us to see!”

“What’d you say?!” She growled, flames sparking at the tips of her fingers. “Ahhh! Why do I have to go with you of all people!”

“That’s my line!” Gray sneered back, taking a threatening step forward. “If Erza wants help, I can handle that by myself!”

“Then go by yourself!” growled the Dragon Slayer, even as people stared and pointed, Lucy and Happy sitting on a bench not too far away from them. “I don’t even want to go!”

“Then stay home, and get beaten up by Erza afterwards!” Natsumi flinched at the thought, knowing he was right.

If she left the train station and went back to her little home, Erza would either come and hunt her down now or do it when she returned. Neither were appealing options, if you asked the petite Fairy Tail mage.

As they continued to argue, Lucy looked down, face wholly depressed as she held the shaking Plue within her arms. “Pretend we don’t know them…”

Happy continued to watch the fight, fully invested to see if they started to brawl in public as he ate fish. “Why are you here, Lucy?”

Lucy had wondered the same thing… “Because, Mira-san said…”

“Those two are definitely going to fight when Erza isn’t looking, so please stop them!”

“You’re not stopping them.” retorted Happy, watching as the two continued to spit insults at one another.

“But…” Her voice turned into a whine at the end as Plue looked up at her in worry and gave a little bark.

Suddenly, Erza’s voice cut through everything. “I apologize, were you waiting long?”

Her voice scared Natsumi and Gray into freezing and Lucy perked up, turning to look at the armored mage. “Erza-san!” Only for her entire world to freeze as she caught sight of the redhead. “Woah!”

“Nice packing.” said Happy, though the blond couldn’t tell if he was joking or not as she looked at the large cart that Erza was lugging behind herself, stacked with multiple suitcases that were tied down by four ropes to the car itself.

“That’s a lot of luggage!”

Gray suddenly threw his arm around Natsumi’s waist and pulled her into his side once more, the shorter mage slotting perfectly into the spot as they appeared in front of Erza’s line of vision, as if they weren’t just about to tear each other’s throats out with words alone. “Let’s get along together today!”

“Aye, sir!” cheered the short mage in that false cheerful voice.

“And here comes Happy #2 again…” The Celestial mage sighed, somehow feeling exhausted before they’d even done anything or gone anywhere.

Erza, on the other hand, smiled as she regarded her two friends fondly. “Yes, getting along is the best.” Before she turned to Lucy with a gentle and polite smile on her face. “And you are? I believe you were at Fairy Tail yesterday.”

Lucy moved closer, slightly nervous, but more excited to get closer to the stronger mage, even as she noticed Natsumi and Gray go back to arguing behind Erza’s back. “I-I’m the new recruit, Lucy…Mira-san asked that I come along with you. Thank you for having me!”

“I’m Erza, glad to have you aboard and welcome to Fairy Tail.” She paused for a moment to glance back at the ice and fire mages, who quickly stopped arguing once more. “So, you’re Lucy. You’re the one who defeated the Guerrilla Mercenaries with just one finger, yes?” Lucy jumped in shock at the completely skewed story, trying to figure out where that came from, when Natsumi was the one to defeat them. “You have my thanks for offering to help, I’ll be counting on you.” She risked another glance behind her.

“G-Glad to be of service…” stuttered the blond, still trying to figure out how the messed up version of the story reached Erza’s ears as she held Plue tighter to herself.

Natsumi finally broke away from Gray and looked at Erza with a strange glint in her dark eyes. “Erza-neesan, I have one condition on coming along…” Gray looked like he wanted to stop the pink haired mage, but Erza turned to face the duo, halting him briefly.

“What is it? Go on.”

Natsumi grinned, holding up a fist briefly. “When we get back, fight me…! Er, please-!” She was determined, but she didn’t want the redhead to kill her for rudeness of all things.

Lucy and Happy cried out in shock as Gray placed a hand on Natsumi’s shoulder, tugging her back slightly. “Hey, think it over a bit more, Natsumi…You have a death wish or something? Erza’ll stomp you out!”

“It won’t go the same as the last time,” Natsumi promised, not at all scared about the thought of fighting Erza, despite her earlier fear of the redhead. “I’m good enough to beat you now!”

Erza gave a small chuckle, head tilting downwards slightly. “It’s true that you have improved, I’m not confident by any means, however…fine.” She looked back at the shorter Fairy Tail mage, brown eyes cool and collected. “I’ll take you on.”

“Alright! I’m all fired up!” yelped Natsumi, heart beating a mile a minute as she turned to beam smugly at Gray. “And just you watch, Gray, I’ll take Erza-nee down this time and prove I’m stronger than last time!”

The ice mage opened his mouth to retort, but it died on his lips at the cute smile she sent his way, sending an arrow straight to his heart. “A-Ah-!”

Lucy blinked at the reaction, pieces of a puzzle falling into places that they belonged. “Huh…”

「 。。。」

Natsumi whined pitifully as she leaned back, arms crossed under her chest next to Gray on the train of hell. She tried to keep her eyes focused on the ceiling that wasn’t supposed to be moving, but every time they hit a rail the entire thing shook and everything went out of focus to the Dragon Slayer.

“Jeez, what a loser,” sighed Gray as he looked at the passing scenery out of the window. “This is how you get after picking a fight?”

“She said her senses can’t adjust to the movement of the vehicles, due to how heightened they are, so it’s not really her fault…” defended Lucy as she watched the shorter mage shiver for a moment, choked noises slipping out of her mouth every now and then. “Must be tough, ya know?”

“You poor thing, it can’t be helped, I guess.” Erza smiled, voice soft as she gazed at Natsumi with a certain kind of fondness that Lucy remembered seeing Elfman and Mira give each other, like an older sibling to the younger. “Come sit next to me.”

“Aye…” whimpered Natsumi, standing on wobbly legs, hand flying to her mouth as a particularly hard rock from the train hit, causing Gray to grab the back of her vest to steady her.

‘So, is that the polite way of telling me to move?’ Lucy blinked, keeping her thoughts to herself, but feeling slightly put out in the end.

Natsumi now sat next to Erza, not looking better in the slightest, but at least the shaking and choking noises had finally stopped. “I’ll let you rest.” Erza promised with one arm wrapped around the Dragon Slayer’s shoulders as she slumped against her chest slightly.

“Aye…Ack!” agreed Natsumi, unable to brace herself enough as the redhead suddenly punched her in the stomach, knocking her straight out cold, before Erza readjusted the unconscious teen so she was lying comfortably on her lap now, fingers running through her hair gently.

“This way, it’s easier on her.” reaffirmed the armored mage as Lucy and Gray looked away to pretend they didn’t see an assault commence in front of them.

‘No…No, she’s definitely a little weird.’ Lucy decided finally after trying to find out what was so scary about the beautiful redhead.

Gray cleared his throat as he looked back at his long time friend and fellow guildmate. “Erza, isn’t it about time you told us? What are we supposed to be doing exactly?”

Erza waited for a moment, fingers pausing in their strokes through Natsumi’s hair to begin some strands in the shoulder length hair. “Our opponents are the dark guild, Eisenwald. They intend to do something with some magic called ‘Lullaby’.”

“Lullaby?” repeated Gray and Happy as they turned to stare at Lucy, the group they’d beaten returning to the forefront of their mind.

“Then, those guys from before…” The blond started, holding a finger up in a eureka moment as Erza’s face tightened and they began to explain what they’d heard and seen.

「Fiore - Eisenwald Guild」
⸻

“Seems we got a message from Kageyama.” A member called out to someone carrying a large psyche over his shoulders. “He finally got that ‘item’ we’ve been waiting for.”

“Our time has finally come,” The man purred, voice low and amused as he turned to look at the rest of his guildmates. “This is our only chance to accomplish our objective. Now, while those old geezer guild hamsters are having their regular meeting.”

「 。。。」

Erza nodded, looking down slightly as they finished their story about their encounter. “I see, so you’ve also met some members of Eisenwald?”

“Well, they certainly did say something about a ‘Lullaby’,” sighed Gray as he watched Natsumi’s face secretly (or at least he hoped so), she actually looked peaceful in this sleep. “There’s no mistaking it’s the same ‘Lullaby’ you’re talking about at least.”

“They were refugees from Eisenwald,” The redhead explained as she continued to braid Natsumi’s hair. “I suspect they didn’t want to follow the plan and were escaping.”

“So, this plan has something to do with Lullaby?”

“I would imagine so,” Erza’s face was tight with tension as she looked at the mage’s across from her. “That shadow that snatched them up was probably a member of Eisenwald’s main force. They had to make a move to keep their plans from leaking, which probably means no survivors, if anything.”

“What could they be planning?” Lucy wondered aloud, her face just as serious, but lined with slight fear and anxiety at their enemies' thought process.

“I’ll explain from the start,” said Erza, voice calm, despite the situation the dark guild was trying to put everyone in. “On the way back from my previous job, at the town Onibana, I stopped at a bar where mages gather…”

And Erza went into detail about how she overheard some of the more rowdy mages getting frustrated that they found the place ‘Lullaby’ was sealed in, but that they couldn’t access it. How one of the members even said they should return as he was going to handle the rest for their ace member ‘Erigor’.

“Lullaby...like a song to get children to sleep…?” Lucy likened the name to, though it just made the situation seem darker in the long run.

“Yes, and the seal he was talking about was thought to be quite a strong spell.”

“So they were part of Eisenwald?” surmised Gray, looking disgusted at the way the dark guild was treating this like it was a game almost.

“Yes…but I foolishly didn’t think of it at the time.” Erza breathed, looking both frustrated and resigned with herself at the same time. “Or the name Erigor. The top ace of the dark guild Eisenwald. Erigor, who's nicknamed ‘Shinigami’, since he only takes assassination requests.”

“Assassinations?” gasped Lucy as she leaned back suddenly, brown eyes blown wide in shock.

“Naturally, assassination requests are banned by the council,” started the redhead. “But Eisenwald wanted money and so six years ago, they were thrown out of the Mage’s Guild League. However, they didn’t listen to the council and have continued to operate as an assassination guild, hence how they became a dark guild.”

“Maybe I should go home…” whined Lucy, sweat dripping down like a waterfall over her entire body, coating the seat and Plue in the body liquid.

“You’re looking juicy all of sudden.” Happy teased, not even looking over at the Celestial mage.

“It’s sweat!”

Erza’s hand clenched into a fist and she almost slammed it into the top of Natsumi’s head, but the sight of the braid she’d made earlier caused her to pause and instead hit the armrest hard enough that the metal dented , causing Lucy to flinch. “I was in error, if I had noticed the name Erigor back then, I would have forced them to suffer and then made them tell me their plans…”

“Scary…!” squeaked the blond across from her.

“I see,” Gray grunted, after being quiet for a majority of the story. “Eisenwald is planning to do something with this ‘Lullaby’ and it’s definitely something evil, so you want to stop them.”

“Correct, I do not feel as if I can oppose an entire guild on my own, and that is why I asked for your help.” concluded the armored mage. “We’re heading straight to Eisenwald.”

“Sounds interesting.” Gray smirked, happy to feel like he’d finally have a challenge after so many easy job requests, while Lucy continued to sweat heavily, the liquid causing Plue to lose form and begin to look like a deflated balloon, rather than a snowman…even if he was the Northern Puppy Celestial Spirit.

“Aye!” cheered Happy,

“I wish I hadn’t come…”

“Lucy’s juicy!”

“It’s sweat…”

「 。。。」

“By the way, Erza-san, what kind of magic do you use?” Lucy inquired after getting them all discounted lunches for the train ride, Plue once again fully reformed on her lap.

“Please, just call me Erza.” cut in the redhead with a polite smile.

“Erza’s magic is really pretty!” Happy said cheerily, as he placed his fish down slightly to look at Lucy. “Her opponent’s blood goes everywhere!”

“That’s pretty?” questioned Lucy, not for the first time wondering if there was something wrong with the little blue cat.

“I honestly think your magic is prettier than mine, Gray.” Erza took a bit of strawberry shortcake to eat as she spoke.

Gray placed his sandwich down, looking at his hands intently as he slammed his fist into an open palm. “Really?” He closed one eye to keep sight of his image mentally as cold air blew out from the palm of his hand, under his closed fist.

When he removed his fist, there stood the Fairy Tail symbol in a perfect ice sculpture, causing Lucy to gasp and clasp her hands together in awe. “Ice Magic.”

“Oh, so that’s why you two don’t get along?” teased Lucy with a small smile. “Because Natsumi uses flames and you use ice?”

“I don’t think it’s that,” Erza scoffed lightly around a mouthful of cake as Gray’s face turned a light red. “In fact…”

“W-Whatever.” Gray looked away, but his eyes darted back over to Natsumi’s sleeping face once more, Lucy humming slightly under her breath as more pieces fell into the puzzle’s place.

「Ônibus - Ônibus Station (Afternoon)」
⸻

“Are those guys from Eisenwald still here?” Gray asked as they got off the train, a small nagging feeling itching the back of his head as he checked his bags over once more, but found everything.

Maybe it wasn’t important.

“I don’t know, but I came here to find out.” admitted Erza, the same nagging feeling tingling her head as well, but she knew she didn’t leave anything on the train.

Maybe she forgot to lock her apartment door?

“Sounds like a wild goose chase to me.” Lucy hummed, since the entire thing seemed beyond the realm of guild works, trailing behind Gray and Erza, Happy settled on Erza’s trolley of luggage and Plue sent back to the Celestial Spirit world for the time being.

“Huh, where’s Natsumi?” Happy finally decided to ask, right as the train departed once more. Lucy dropped her bag in shock as Gray and Erza froze, while Natsumi’s ‘best friend’ waved happily at the leaving train. “She’s departed.”

“I was so busy telling the story, I forgot about her!” gasped Erza, looking personally offended on Natsumi’s behalf as she clenched her fist tightly in front of herself. “What have I done? And I know how bad she is with vehicles…this is my fault, please, would someone hit me?”

“Now, now…” pleaded Lucy as Gray looked upwards, obviously fighting the temptation to hit her.

「 。。。」

Natsumi sulked in her seat, small noises slipping out with each breath, unaware of a man walking down the aisle and taking notice of her guild mark. They forgot her, damn it.

“Oh? Fairy Tail?” The man with a kind smile, black spikey hair and a white with green trims outfit paused in front of her and Natsumi’s nose twitched. “So, you’re a mage in one of those legal guilds?”

‘This scent…’ Her fuzzy brain tried to process the smell properly, remembering it from somewhere before, somewhere recent .

“Man, I’m jealous,” The man continued, not at all looking disturbed by the teen’s obvious sickness. “If all the legal guilds have girls as pretty as you, it’s no wonder people join them all the time.”

“Hah…?” She finally gasped out, head pulling up as a foot connected with her face harshly, sending pain throughout.

“Legal guilds ain’t all they’re cracked up to be, Yosei-san ,” His voice got darker and more cocky as he spoke. “Know what we call you guys? Flies, yes, flies !”

Natsumi glared at him from underneath his shoe, her fists clenching as fire was summoned easily, despite the rock and sway of the train. Motion sickness or not, no one spoke about Fairy Tail badly in her presence. “Why you…” She was ready for a fight, but the train jolted harshly and her flames extinguished as she tried to keep her breakfast down where it belonged.

“ Hah ? What’s with that magic?” snorted the man as a magic circle appeared under his feet and shadows flew out to punch Natsumi across the face ruthlessly, her body hitting the wooden floor of the train. “Now, this…is how you use magic.”

“That magic…this scent!” Natsumi rolled onto her side, a glare on her face. “I knew I recognized it from somewhere-!”

The train came to a harsh stop, causing the man above her to hit the floor and drop something…

「 。。。」

“Now look here, you can’t just go pulling the emergency lever…” One of the train staff tried to explain to Erza as Lucy, Gray and Happy watched with the luggage.

“It’s for my little sister, please understand,” Erza’s voice was soft and reasonable, so much so that the staff member was starting to feel like he’d done something wrong in the middle of all this.

“I…I understand?” Though he wasn’t going to allow her to keep the train down, maybe if he played along, the pretty redhead would understand a bit more about the inconvenience she was causing other people.

“Please bring our luggage to the hotel.” She ordered someone else as Lucy watched with a small, awkward smile.

“Why me?”

“All the people at Fairy Tail are like this, aren’t they?” She asked Gray, never once taking her eyes off the scene in front of her.

“Not me.” Gray denied immediately, though he was suddenly naked, not even covered by his usual boxers.

“Then, where are your clothes ?!” yelled the blond in exasperation, feeling just the slightest bit like she was going to cry from the insanity of it all.

「 。。。」

“It stopped…” Natsumi sighed in relief, getting into a crouch as she looked up. She caught sight of the wooden object the Shadow man had dropped. The Dragon Slayer stared at it for a long minute, but the longer she stared, something began to whisper into her ears.

「 Play me… 」

“What…?” Her eyes widened in shock, completely ignoring the words that the Shadow mage spoke in the background.

「 Play me and release my beautiful music once more… 」

“Who’s…” Her voice caught in her throat as suddenly, she wasn’t hearing just the voice speaking to her, nor was she hearing anything the man in front of her was saying.

It was the sounds of screams, terror and anguish filled as they yelled for the pain to stop. They pounded within her skull as laughter and a flute song played in the background of the screams, almost like a symphony of… death and destruction .

「 Zeref-sama, I can sense your presence…play me once more, please! 」

“N-No…” Natsumi pressed her hands to her ears, but it was almost like the voices and screams were now permanently etched into her head, resounding louder and louder on loop.

「 We’ll destroy all of humanity once more, together! Zeref-sama! 」

“Make it stop!” She suddenly screamed, flames bursting forth in a powerful wave and burning the floor she stood on, even sending the wooden item skittering back towards the Shadow mage, who picked it up swiftly, right before he was also hit by the burning hot flames. “Stop it!”

She was suddenly on a rampage, wanting to destroy that stupid flute. She punched and blew fire at the Shadow mage, who barely dodged and tried to hit her back, only for her to snarl and burn the shadows away, eyes glazed and not there…

If she hadn’t seen that damn flute, the voices wouldn’t be stuck in her head-! They were so loud, like they were right there, dying right next to her!

The train jolted to a start once more, a voice speaking over the intercom, but Natsumi couldn’t make it out as she finally decided to just…make it end on her terms. With another blast of flames at an invisible enemy, the pink haired mage jumped out the side of the destroyed train car. “Stop, make it stop! It’s too much!”

Too lost in the crescendo of agony and fear, overwhelmed to the point that tears filled her eyes, as if she was a hatchling venturing into the city once more, Natsumi never noticed the four wheeler car hurtling her way with a familiar set of mages in and on it.

「 。。。」

「 A magic-driven four wheeler, it consumes the magic of the driver to increase speed. 」

“Natsumi!” Lucy called as they pulled up to the side of the train, before all four Fairy Tail mages suddenly gasped as they heard Natsumi’s voice.

“Stop, make it stop! It’s too much!” Right before her tiny body was hurled out of one of the train windows. The cart looked a little wrecked before she did so, but it definitely wouldn’t be in use by the time the train stopped next.

Gray’s eyes widened at the way Natsumi’s eyes were closed and her hands were pressed over her ears. “Erza, stop the car!”

“But…!” Erza called back, never taking her eyes off the road, thus never seeing Natsumi flying right toward them at a high speed.

“Just do it!” He yelled, praying she didn’t kill him over this later. The redhead nodded, foot slamming on the breaks harshly, allowing Gray the freedom to stand without worry of falling off and eating dirt. Looking back up, he noticed Natsumi’s semi-curled up body closer and braced his feet slightly, catching her tightly as both of them fell off the roof of the car.

He protected her body with his own as they hit the dirt, he could feel her trembling and shaking as she whispered under her breath, obviously not even aware of where she was or who she was with.

“Natsumi, are you okay?” Erza cried out, disconnecting herself from the car as she and Lucy ran over, Happy flying overhead.

They received no answer, which scared them as they noticed Gray trying to get her attention. “Natsumi, snap out of it!”

“Make it stop, please! I’m begging you…” She whispered, sounding defeated as she pressed her ears tightly against the side of her head.

“Natsumi…” Erza took a step back for a moment, before she frowned. “Make what stop?”

“The screams! The death and destruction!” Natsumi shook her head, wild locks following the movements. “They’re too loud!”

“...do you think-?” Lucy asked, turning to Erza, who’s face darkened and she nodded solemnly.

“Someone on the train had Lullaby and somehow, Natsumi picked up on something with it…” Her eyes drifted back to the shivering fire mage. “Whatever happened while we weren’t there seems to be taking a toll on her.”

“Gray, help me get Natsumi into the car.” Lucy reached down to try and touch Natsumi, only to stop a few inches away. “N-Never mind…she’s burning up.”

“Her body heats up as a defense mechanism like this.” explained Gray, his own hand repeatedly releasing cold air to keep the heat from burning his skin. “She used to do this when she would get overwhelmed at the guild as a child.”

Lucy nodded, watching Natsumi worriedly, before dark eyes blinked and suddenly the heat around Natsumi stopped. “What was I…? What the hell?” Natsumi looked around. “Gray? Erza-nee and Lucy? Happy?”

Everyone visibly relaxed, happy to see she was finally coming back to them. “Natsumi, tell me everything.” Erza, not one to beat around the bush as she crouched in front of her little sister figure.

Natsumi nodded, a hard frown on her face.

Once she was done, Erza scowled. “I know who you’re referring to. He was the one who broke the seal on Lullaby, the flute must’ve influenced your thoughts like that.”

“But I didn’t think it was going to be like that…” whispered Lucy as she looked down slightly.

“We never know with illegal items…” Gray responded, his arms still wrapped around Natsumi’s frame and keeping her pressed against his cooler body comfortingly. “Hey, you good to get up.”

Natsumi nodded, but Gray could see she was still shaking, so instead he scooped up her legs with one arm behind her back to support her weight as he carried her to the magic car, placing her in and waiting for Lucy to get in with Happy, before climbing onto the roof of the car once more.

Once everyone was situated, Erza started the car and speeding down the road at an unholy speed. Natsumi slumped against the door immediately. Gray grappled for a way to hold onto his spot as she drove over a ledge as a form of a short cut, still following the train tracks, as his lower half flew up in the air occasionally. “You’re going too fast, Erza!” He called out frantically as they stayed on the leveled terrain. “Even if it’s you, don’t underestimate the amount of magic it’ll drain from you!”

“We don’t have that kind of time!” She yelled back, eyes on the road as she leaned forward slightly in her seat. “If Erigor gets his hands on that mass-death curse magic, then…There’s no telling what he’d do!”

‘Damn him,’ She thought, a bead of sweat running down the side of her face. ‘What’s he after?’

Erza wasn’t sure if she really wanted to know. Fairy Tail mages were known to be tough and hard to scare, but the redhead had never really seen Natsumi terrified before, not even in the face of opponents much bigger than her own tiny frame, yet only after some time around the cursed item ‘Lullaby’, she was reduced to a shaking and freaked out mess.

『Omake』
⸻
「Magnolia - Fairy Tail (6 Years Ago)」
⸻

Erza looked over at Natsumi and Gray, both were arguing about something, but the younger girl seemed more upset than normal.

“Igneel is real and he did raise me and he was a dragon!” The pink haired fire mage snapped, tears in her eyes as flames wrapped around her little fists.

“No, they’re not! They haven’t been around in over hundreds of years, dumbass!” snapped the shirtless ice mage, before freezing as large water began to gather in the corners of Natsumi’s eyes. “H-Hey…”

“Shut up!” A burst of fire was shot at Gray as Natsumi turned and ran back out. “You’re the dumbass, not me! I know Igneel’s real!”

Erza watched, wanting to go over and talk to her, but she also wanted to tell the younger that Gray was right and she had to have been mistaken about who or what raised her.

So instead, she watched and hoped Natsumi would make it back okay. Maybe next time, she would step in, but for now…Erza just watched, not wanting to make it all worse for the poor girl.

Chapter Text

「Fiore - Clover Town」
⸻

「 The town of Clover, where the Guild Master League is holding their regular meeting. 」

“Makarov-chan, it sure must be nice to have all your little mages so pepped up!” A bald man in a pink bodysuit, wearing a gaudy necklace, lipstick and blush smiled, hand to his cheek like he was swooning.

「 The master of the Blue Pegasus guild, Bob…by the way, a man. 」

“Ooh, I heard that you gave some aristocrat a thrashing the other day.” He looked at the tiny guild master sitting in the middle of one of the tables as he ate and drank, legs crossed.

“Oh, that was my new recruit, Lucy. She’s great!” The man opened his eyes as a slight flush came to his cheeks. “Teamed up with our little Natsumi and the two of them have great boyoyoing figures together!”

Bob turned away with a smile as he covered his flushed cheeks bashfully. “Stop it, you flirt!”

“Is this something to be laughing about, Makarov?” A man with sandy brown hair along with a hat that had a spiked dog collar and was wearing a muscle shirt with black pants commented without looking over at the shorter guild master, who instead turned his way.

「 The master of the Quatro Cerberus guild, Goldmine. 」

“Yeah, it’s great that they’re energetic, but they go way overboard!” scolded Goldmine irritably as he turned fully towards Makarov and Bob, pointing his kebob at the table Makarov sat on. “There are people on the council who’re worried Fairy Tail’s gonna crush an entire city one day, you know?”

Makarov merely laughed merrily, most likely drunk already, as he held up his beer and chicken leg. “I’d like to be crushed…by Lucy’s body, that is!”

“Now, that’s not proper!” scolded Bob once more, but there was no real heat to his words, just as he knew Makarov wouldn’t really do anything to the younger female mages in his guild, seeing all his members as his own children, no matter the age. “Don’t go laying your hands on your own little mages!”

“Master Makarov! Master Makarov!” A small blue bird with a mage hat and a letter called as it glided towards the table with ease. “A letter from Mirajane-sama.”

“Thanks.” Makarov took the letter gently from the little bird, running his finger over the letter’s sealing a few times, causing a magic circle to appear over the envelope and a hologram of his child appeared, smiling ever so sweetly at him, eyes closed in happiness.

“Master, hard at work at your regular meeting, yes?” Her voice projected from the hologram, causing others to come over and see what was going on.

“What do you think?!” Makarov laughed, showing off the letter with his guild’s barmaid sitting in the center. “This here’s our poster girl! Quite a looker, eh?”

The crowed gasped and murmured among themselves for a moment and some even wolf whistled at the sight of Mirajane.

“Oh, my!” Bob uttered, entirely endeared.

“Mirajane-chan, huh?” hummed Goldmine, surprised to see the rough little girl all grown up now. “She sure looks like she’s grown up…”

The letter continued, Mira clasping her hands together in excitement as they cushioned her cheek cutely. “Actually, something wonderful happened while you were gone, Master!” Her hands spread out for a moment, before she stood straight once more, beautiful sweet smile coming in full force. “Amazingly, Natsumi, Gray and Erza formed a team! I think this is the most powerful team in all of Fairy Tail, I figured I should report this, so I wrote you a letter.”

Her words had the opposite effect that she would’ve originally thought on their master as Makarov’s body shook and a cold sweat as he made incomprehensible noises and his body shook. “Talk to you later, Master!”

“Arara…” Bob murmured, watching as Makarov’s hands fell in front of him after Mira’s hologram disappeared.

“It seems those worries might actually come to pass, huh…” huffed Goldmine, looking almost sympathetically at the short man. 

It was no secret to anyone in all of Magnolia and the guild’s associated with Fairy Tail’s most destructive members were ‘Stripping’ Gray Fullbuster, ‘Queen of the Fairies: Titania’ Erza Scarlet and ‘Princess of Fairies’ to the public and more privately known ‘Salamander’ Natsumi Dragneel (and that isn’t counting Fairy Tail’s top two members, Gildarts and Laxus, nor their master) .

Makarov fell over in shock as the other guild leaders watched on in amused pity. ‘What the hell? Those three might actually be able to destroy an entire city…The regular meeting’s over today, and I’m returning tomorrow, but…will they actually not ruin anything in this time frame?’

「Kunugi - Kunugi Station (Afternoon)」
⸻

Erza pulled the magic four wheeler up to the edge above the train station as Lucy and Natsumi got out the back, the blond still looking worriedly over at the pink haired Dragon Slayer, who didn’t seem much better from earlier, most likely due to Erza’s driving and her motion sickness being worse at the moment.

As they waited for Gray to get off the top of the vehicle, they could already hear the cries of the people below them.

“This guy with a giant sickle barged on board all of a sudden!”

“I know them! They’re those bastards from the dark guild that hangs around this area, Eisenwald!”

“I could understand getting on a cart or a boat, but a train?” murmured Lucy as she kneeled by the cliff’s edge to get a better look at the situation. No one seemed injured, just shaken up by the train heist if anything else.

“Aye…what’s the benefit of escaping on a train that can only run on rails?” Happy wondered, settling onto Lucy’s head as Gray helped Natsumi lean into a bush and release the contents of her stomach, holding her hair out of her sweaty face.

They weren’t too far, so they could still hear everything, but Gray was a bit more worried about Natsumi, if he was being honest with himself.

“It’s fast.” responded Erza, her dark eyes locked down below as she thought about what Erigor could be trying.

“These guys from Eisenwald must be in a big hurry for some reason, you think?” Gray inquired as he came back over with Natsumi slumped against his side once more…and only in his boxers, for some reason. The pink haired teen still didn’t seem all that well, but she at least seemed partially aware of her surroundings (at least, they hoped so) .

“Why’d you strip?” The Celestial mage demanded, opening her arms in a silent request for Natsumi to be given, which was ignored by the ice mage.

“Oh, would you look at that?” He sighed instead, shuffling to get back into the car as Erza strapped herself back into the magic drainer, once inside, he settled Natsumi into the seat next to him, her upper half almost completely limp against his side.

“But the army’s already on the move…” Lucy looked back down at the people below once more, hesitant to get into the car as if something could happen to them, while simultaneously wondering if they should really be continuing with this impromptu job if the army was involved. “Isn’t it only a matter of time until they’re caught?”

“That would be nice, if it could happen.” The armored mage sighed wearily, as she got ready to start driving again. “The thing is, the army isn’t fully prepared at all times for what dark guilds can and would do…that’s why they have us to do work for them occasionally, even if they won’t know this time around.”

「 。。。」

On the train, the Shadow mage from earlier was having a hard time as well. He barely hopped out of the train seat fast enough to dodge the sickle that came swinging down his way, the other members of Eisenwald moving swiftly as well from the indiscriminate attack.

He looked up with a gasp, fear on his face as he looked up at the ace of their guild in horror as he spoke down to him. “A fly from Fairy Tail? So you let her see the Lullaby Flute and get away without saying anything?” Erigor’s tone darkened with anger. “Is that right, Kageyama?”

“I-It’s not like our plan is blown!” He tried to defend himself as he got onto his knees in front of the offensive mage. “She seemed to have lost control of herself and threw herself off the moving train, there’s no way she could’ve survived that fall! Not to mention, on the off chance she did, it’s not like anyone could stop us now, right?!”

Erigor clicked his tongue at Kageyama, taking another swipe at him as his sickle pierced the train floor between the Shadow user’s legs threateningly. “It’s important that we take extra precautions. We’re going to put that plan into action.”

“So, at Oshibana station…” Kageyama started, feeling like the heat was finally off him.

“There’s a forest that flies cannot be allowed to buzz around.” finished Erigor, seemingly calm and content with their plans now as he held Lullaby in his hand tightly and Kageyama stood up finally. “Teach them all a lesson.”

“Yeah!” The rest of their group agreed, dark smiles on their faces.

「 。。。」

Erza pulled tightly around the corner of a street, Gray hanging on for dear life once more on the roof as pedestrians dodged out of the way of the redhead’s dangerous and speedy driving.

Once they were on a steady road, Gray crouched on the roof, glaring down at the armored mage. “Erza, you’re going too fast!” He yelled, feeling both worried and frustrated at her lack of care about speed or magical drain. “Look, the SE plug is inflating now!”

“If we let that flute be played, a great number of innocent people will be victims,” Fairy Tail’s strongest female mage called back, not slowing down in her magic input in the slightest. “Just by hearing the sound, a person’s life is stolen from them!”

“What are we supposed to do when we get there and you don’t have any magical power left?” countered the ice mage deftly.

A confident grin came to the driver’s face, looking almost feral as she spoke. “If that happens, then I’ll fight with a stick, if I have to…not to mention, you and Natsumi are here as well!”

Gray wanted to be touched by the sentiment, but his worry for Erza was currently smothering the feeling, while inside the car, Happy felt like he’d forgotten something important. “I have a feeling I was supposed to say something to you, Lucy…”

“To me? What is it?” Lucy looked up from where she was trying to keep Natsumi steady in her seat to look over at the little blue cat.

“I forget, I just know it had something to do with you, Lucy…”

“I’m gonna hurl…” Natsumi decided abruptly, suddenly turning and leaning her entire upper half out the car and…releasing whatever else was left in her stomach.

“Wait, Natsumi, you’ll fall out!” screeched Lucy as she wrapped her arms around Natsumi’s waist and tried to pull the barfing mage back inside the car.

“Let me fall off!” begged the shorter Fairy Tail mage, voice breaking into a pathetic squeal.

“What was it..” Happy mumbled to himself, completely ignoring the other two as he closed his eyes to try and remember. “Lucy, weird…fish are yummy…? Healthy? Weird…weird…weird…”

Lucy breathed a small sigh of relief as she managed to pull Natsumi’s once more limp and immobile body back into the car with only some minor difficulties thankfully, turning to glare at Happy over her shoulder. “Stop saying I’m weird already!”

Erza’s eyes widened as they drove and she could see a large plume of smoke floating through the air. “What is that…?”

⸻
「Oshibana - Oshibana Station (Late Afternoon)」
⸻

“Please stand back!” A man speaking into a megaphone called to the people in the station. “There has been a train derailment, we can’t let you into the station!”

The mob of people were all murmuring and making a ruckus in front of the station, shock and disbelief rippling through them.

“A train derailed? Really?”

“I heard rumours that some dangerous guys are holed up in the train station…”

“Please stand back!” The man with the megaphone tried again, right as Erza approached him, an armored hand clasping onto his shoulder to whirl him around to face her.

“You! What’s the situation inside?” She demanded, her tone firm as she met the man’s confused gaze.

“Who the heck are you-?” He was cut off by the redhead headbutting him forcefully with a glare.

Without waiting another second, she moved onto the next person (who also didn’t answer her in a timely manner) and headbutted him as well, leaving a trail of unconscious staff members in her wake as Lucy, Gray and Happy watched from a distance.

“Guess she doesn’t have use for people who don’t answer promptly…” Lucy assessed, Natsumi on her back and still trying to get her bearings after the long and rough drive to the station, not even mentioning the amount of different vehicles she was on all together.

“Understand what Erza’s like, now?” grunted Gray, once again without a shirt and pants, but still in his boxers, as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Why’d you strip?” whined Lucy as she looked over at Gray in concern, right on cue, Erza approached once more, having finally gotten her answer.

“Eisenwald’s inside, let’s go.” She ordered as she turned to make her way inside.

“Right,” Gray’s dark eyes flicked over to Lucy. “I’d take her off your hands, but my magic requires two hands.”

With that he followed after Erza, leaving Lucy standing there in a fluster. “Is this one my responsibility?”

“Yes…” Natsumi rasped, the first coherent thing she’d said since the car ride had finished.

「 。。。」

They ran through the long hallway of the station, the usually bustling and busy walkway, eerily silent and empty as the four moved. “An army platoon stormed in, but it seems that they haven’t returned yet. It’s likely that they engaged Eisenwald in battle.”

Lucy gave a whine of fear at the words, trying to keep a steady pace behind Erza as they ran. Her voice choked into a cry of shock as they neared a set of stairs, coming to find the platoon of army members all collapsed and knocked out around the area. “They’ve been wiped out!” Happy yelled as he flew behind them slightly.

“They were up against an entire guild…” sighed Erza, having already known the outcome of this battle, even as it pained her to see the people in such harm. “Every single one of them are mages, an army platoon hardly stood a chance…”

Their run slowed to an even paced walk as they took in the carnage, all of them prepared for the worst. A chuckle hit the air not long after they arrived at the base of the stairs, causing them to look up and see the mastermind behind all of this, Erigor. “I knew you’d come, you Fairy Tail flies!”

Behind the man stood his entire guild, Natsumi’s nose twitched in her slumped position as she picked up Kageyama’s scent. “Erza-nee, this smell...”

“I see…” Erza rested a hand on Natsumi’s head briefly, letting her know that she would repay the fact that Natsumi had the flute used on her in some form of way, even if none of them knew the exact how just yet. “You fiend, so you’re Erigor, I take it?”

The man chuckled as Lucy placed Natsumi against one of the pillars, hoping with a few shakes she would come back as she usually did, but to no avail. “Natsumi…wake up! You’ve got work to do…”

“Not a chance.” complained Happy, looking at her expectantly. “Trains, four-wheelers, Lucys…It’s motion sickness times three!”

“So, I’m transportation now?!” shrieked the blond as she imagined different vehicles with her head attached to them.

“You flies…it’s your fault Erigor-san got angry at me…” His eyes flickered back to Natsumi as she blinked and looked over at him through hazy dark eyes.

“This voice…” Natsumi murmured. “I knew it, my nose never lies.”

“What are you scoundrels after?” demanded Erza, taking all the attention back to her, presence demanding and not something to be taken lightly.

“You don’t know?” Erigor laughed suddenly, jumping into the air as he looked down at them. “What’s here at the train station?”

“He flew?” gasped the Celestial mage.

“Wind magic!” corrected Happy, though he looked just as shocked as Lucy did.

The man landed on the station intercoms, falling into an easy crouch with his sickle over his shoulder and Erza felt a jolt of anger and worry bloom in her chest. “You plan on broadcasting Lullaby?”

Erigor laughed once more, this time louder and more maniacal than his first dismissive one. “I wonder how many thousands of onlookers are gathered around here?” He mused, seemingly intrigued at the thought. “And if you increase the volume, it’ll reverberate throughout the city. The melody of death, that is.”

“You plan on making innocent people listen to the flute’s lullaby?” Erza knew she looked the least threatening to the man above, but she knew once she got her hands on him, he would regret it as anger flowed within her blood.

“It’s a purge,” The Wind mage confirmed. “I’m purging the fools who guard their own rights and safety without even knowing there are those whose same rights have been stolen away. Their sin is living without knowing that this world isn’t just. And so…the Shinigami has come to punish them!”

“You’re not going to get your rights back by doing something like this.” Lucy said, arms landing on her hips. “And weren’t you thrown out of the league because you did a ton of bad stuff?”

“Now that we’ve come this far, we don’t want rights anymore.” rasped the white haired man, lifting a hand in front of his face, clenching it into a fist. “It’s power! Those with power can wipe the past clean, and can rule the future.”

“You’re a complete idiot, aren’t you?” Lucy knew that they didn’t have good intentions with Lullaby, but by the sounds of it, the man was losing himself the longer he possessed the demon flute.

“Too bad for you, flies.” Kageyama grinned in front of them widely. “You won’t get to see the new dark age because you’re heading to the afterlife!”

His shadows moved speedily across the ground, shooting up and almost hitting Lucy, only for a burst of bright red flames to come out and burn the shadows once more, just like back on the train. The only difference being, Natsumi was fully in control and aware now, no Lullaby or motion sickness to get in her way this time. “Y-You again?!”

“So that voice and smell was you…” Natsumi grinned, but there was no happiness in her eyes. “I’ve been wanting a rematch now that you don’t have that dumb piece of stick on you.”

“She’s back in the nick of time!” cheered Lucy.

“Oh? There’s a bunch of ’em!” Natsumi leaned back and cocked a hip out, looking smugly at Kageyama. “Couldn’t get little ol’ me last time, so you brought your friends?”

“Enemies, every last one of them!” Lucy huffed as she moved closer to the shorter mage, instantly feeling much safer and better by her side.

“This is going to be fun, then.” grinned Natsumi as she slammed her fist into her palm threateningly.

‘You fell right into my trap, Fairy Tail,’ Erigor thought as he watched the legal guild members in front of them four against his entire gang. ‘Everything is going exactly as I planned. There are some bastards that I must make sure hear this flute, I’ve got to pay them back for what they did…’

“This is Fairy Tail’s strongest team!” Lucy declared boldly, proudly even, despite not having much confidence in her own abilities, she had confidence in her new guild mates. “You’d better prepare yourself!”

“The rest is up to you!” ordered Eisenwald’s Ace as he leapt higher into the air and prepared to take off. “Let them see how fearsome a dark guild really is.”

With that he was gone. 

“He ran away!” yelped Lucy and Happy in shock. After all that big talk…he was just gone?!

“Natsumi, Gray…” Erza started, never taking her eyes off the enemies as the two stood behind her like support pillars, despite the obvious gap in height between the three of them. “You two head after him.” They looked at her, confused. “As long as you two work together, there’s no way you’d lose, even to ‘Shinigami’ Erigor.”

The two didn’t seem to be listening glaring as Gray bent down to butt his head into Natsumi’s, causing Erza to turn around angrily this time. “Are you listening to me?!”

“Aye, sir!” The two cheered falsely, arms wrapped around each other once more, before they rushed off in search of the man.

“They ran off!”

“They’re trying to follow Erigor-san!”

“Leave it to me!” An Eisenwald member that wore a top like a pharaoh grinned as he shot string-like wrappings from his hand and swung up to the next floor. “I, Rayure-sama, will bring them down!”

“I’ll go too!” Kageyama called out to his fellow guildmate as he opened a magic circle beneath his feet. “I have a score to settle with that pink haired bitch!”

Without hesitation, the shadows in the floor moved up and swallowed him into the floor.

“After we clean up these guys, we’re heading after them too.” Erza told Lucy, who stared at her blankly for a moment.

“Two girls against this many?” counted Lucy, looking frightened at the aspect.

The Eisenwald men leered dangerously.

“Two girls? What do you think you can do?”

“We’re gonna pluck off your wings, fly-babies.” The man in front of them sneered, cracking his knuckles. “Maybe Erigor-san would let us take you and that pink haired slut back with us to the guild for some fun, huh?”

“But we’re so cute…you wouldn’t dare…” tried Lucy, feeling both confident in her looks and losing herself to the imagination of fear.

“Lucy, come back!” Happy said, floating by her side worriedly.

“Wretches!” hissed Erza, looking beyond pissed as she opened a magic circle and summoned a sword from within it, catching the weapon mid air by the hilt.

“A sword appeared!” The Celestial mage gasped, shocked by the appearance of the sword. “A magic sword!”

“I don’t care what you say about me, but one more insult to Fairy Tail, Natsumi or Lucy and I can’t guarantee you’ll live to see tomorrow!” promised the redhead as she brandished her weapon in front of herself proudly. 

“That ain’t nothing we ain’t seen before!”

“We got plenty of our own magic swords!”

A horde of members leapt at Erza, but with two precise swings of her arms, they were all left flying with broken weapons and injuries on their bodies. With a war cry, she jumped into the fray, taking out another bunch with a single stroke of her sword this time around.

“Then how ’bout some of this?!” Another man called out as he summoned a ball of light into his hand, ready to shoot it at Erza, two others following his lead and blasting her with spells as well.

The attack almost seemed to land, until Erza jumped into the air, two magic circles on both sides of her this time as she switched her magic sword out for a spear this time.

“It turned into a spear!” Lucy couldn’t believe her eyes as she watched Erza land strike after strike, hit after hit on their enemies.

Bodies and broken weapons flew through the air with each powerful hit from the armored mage’s lance, before she stopped and the weapon began to glow once more, disappearing once more and transforming into two short swords. Crouching low, she rushed in once more, swiping and taking out groups of Eisenwald members, barely pausing to breathe as she did so.

“It’s a pair of swords this time…” One of the top members of Eisenwald gasped as he continued to watch his guildmates fall, almost like a beautiful dance of death with the way Erza moved.

The rat faced man from earlier stood at his side, looking just as mystified by her movements. “This bitch…she can requip so fast…”

“Requip?” parroted Lucy, looking at Happy for an explanation, despite the battle raging in front of them.

“Magic swords are similar to your Celestial magic, Lucy,” stated Happy as he held up a paw. “It works where you call out weapons that are stored in an alternate space. Switching out which weapon you have is called ‘Requipping’.”

“Wow…”

Then Happy’s face took on a more sinister look, it reminded Lucy of the first time he’d explained Natsumi’s magic to her, the very first time she’d seen a real Fairy Tail mage at work. “Erza’s just getting warmed up.”

“Erza…?” The noseless green haired man whispered under his breath as he continued to watch the redhead take down members one after another without pause.

“Okay, I can fight too!” Lucy suddenly felt a lot more confident now that she could see they weren’t completely helpless, fingers latching onto her gate keys tightly.

“What? This was supposed to be Erza’s highlight scene!” whined Happy, even though the blond had no idea what he was talking about in the slightest.

With a flourish of her hand, Lucy pulled one of her keys out. “Gate of the Giant Crab, I open thee! Cancer!”

The familiar golden light and ‘ding-dong’ blared throughout the room as the Celestial spirit appeared, humming some unknown tune to himself. “Cancer.” Once he looked around, Cancer turned to Lucy, almost stoically. “It’s also a fight this time-ebi?”

“Cut this fight short would you?” smirked Lucy as she flashed him a thumbs up, right as their opponents struck.

“You with the freakish hairdo!”

“We’ll get you good!”

Cancer’s face twitched slightly as he turned to meet his attackers head on. “Ebi!” With a precision much like Erza’s own with her weapons, he cut their weapons into pieces, while also giving them all balding middle aged men hair do’s.

“My hair…”

“It’s almost like...”

“Kappa!”

“You’re so cruel!”

“Nice cut-ebi.” joked Cancer as Lucy watched the dark guild members fall apart at their own words.

“Not bad.” Erza praised, her weapon now a large axe on a wooden stick, having seen what Lucy’s magic could do in between her own endless battles.

“A-Aw, it wasn't really…” Lucy stuttered as she rubbed the back of her head bashfully, once the redhead had returned back to battle, the blond turned to Happy excitedly. “All right, I made a good impression!”

“So that was your goal?!”

“However, the way he ends his sentences intrigues me.” Erza admitted absentmindedly as she landed once more. “‘-ebi’? I just don’t see it. At least say ‘-snip’ or something.”

“Not good enough?” wailed Lucy as Cancer looked down at his scissors dejectedly.

“Ebi-snip.”

Erza’s brown eyes narrowed at the numbers still closing in around them. “But there are still so many left, this is a pain. I’ll wipe them out!”

A magic circle appeared under Erza’s feet now, hair flaring out and up from the burst of magic as her outfit and body began to glow with magic as well, making her body unseen for a moment. With one more flare of a magic circle, the light turned brighter and brighter as she picked the armor she wanted from her inventory.

“Ooh, her armor’s coming off!” The Eisenwald members cheered, lovestruck as if she wasn’t just kicking them across the dirt moments ago.

“Magic Knights usually fight by requipping different weapons,” Happy started explaining once more as Lucy watched in awed fascination. “But Erza has increased her own abilities, and can fight while requipping different magic armors as well, that’s Erza’s magic…It’s called: The Knight!”

Erza now stood in a beautiful silver winged armor set with her navel and some of her upper chest showing, armed with two matching swords at her sides and a silver headband with wings on the side of her head to complete the look. Lucy and the Eisenwald members fawned over her for a moment, before Erza broke it.

“Dance, my blades!” A circle of swords appeared around the redhead as she floated above them all as she brandished her two swords at her sides.

“Erza…” The member from earlier with no nose choked out, looking terrified now as he watched her, the magic swords spinning faster and faster around her, creating a deadly and beautiful looking attack. “Could she be…”

“Circle Sword!” With a swift cross swipe through the air, the swords around her were sent flying into the bodies of the many enemies, sending them scattering to different sections of the area they were fighting.

“Whoa…” breathed out the newest member of Fairy Tail as she watched Erza land gracefully, leaving only herself, Happy and two enemies standing as the dust began to clear. “She wiped most of them out with a single blow…”

“Aye!”

“Damn you, you bitch!” The rat faced man cursed as he gathered magic into his fists once more. “I’ll take you on my damn self!”

“There’s no mistaking her, she’s the most powerful woman in Fairy Tail…” The noseless man finally broke out, cold sweat dripping down his face as he looked on as Erza took the only other standing member of Eisenwald down with a single swing of her arm. “The Fairy Queen, Titania Erza…!”

With another flash of magic, Erza was back in her armored top and blue pleated skirt as they watched the green haired man quickly scuttle away like a coward.

“I think I’m in love!” squealed Lucy as she looked at Erza with her hands clasped and stars in her eyes.

“He might be heading towards Erigor,” The armored mage looked over at Lucy calmly. “Go after him.”

“Me?” Lucy was shocked. She was nowhere near as powerful as Erza, Gray or Natsumi and the redhead wanted her to chase after the last of their enemies?

“I’m counting on you-!” Erza glared, a frown on her face as she did so.

“R-Right, off I go!” screamed Lucy in fear as she ran like the devil himself was chasing her…or if Erza was coming for her head right in that moment.

After a moment, Erza breathed a sigh…before falling to her knee. “Gray was right, I drove that magic four wheeler too fast…everyone, the rest is up to you.”

「 。。。」

Natsumi and Gray were running down a hallway together, the two trying to focus on their fights to come, rather than argue… mostly .

“Work together?” growled Gray as they moved at a steady pace, if they slowed down and Erza somehow caught up or found out, they were dead meat, no exceptions. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“Fire and ice don’t help each other…” Natsumi agreed, swiping a handful of hair out of her vision quickly. “No way!”

“And man, that Erza just does whatever she wants!” Gray didn’t fear her as long as he didn’t see her, face turning into a nasty glare and scowl as he spoke.

“She decides everything herself, no questions asked-!” The Dragon Slayer chimed in, though she knew that they were both just all talk and were mostly just frustrated with the sudden amount of time they had to spend together, after deliberately making sure they were hardly within each other's space for so long.

The two suddenly came to a synchronized stop, glaring at each other like they were going to fight right there and then. “I can handle this Erigor bastard perfectly fine by myself!” Right after, they were butting heads again. “Hey, don’t copy me!”

The duo suddenly stopped as they looked at their surroundings and realized that they were at a cross way for two different lines.

“Which way…?” Natsumi grunted, sniffing the air, but not picking up Erigor’s scent at all.

“This is probably a good place to split up,” nodded the ice mage after he thought for a second. The two each took a line, back to back. “Natsumi, we’re up against someone who’s trying to let loose some seriously dangerous magic here.” Gray felt his heart thumping in his chest as he spoke to her, before he turned and gave a confident grin towards the petite Dragon Slayer. “If you find him, give him a thrashing.”

“And not only that, he picked a fight with Fairy Tail, what an idiot! I’ll burn him to a smoldering crisp.” She giggled in return and Gray wanted nothing more than to tell her his feelings from that look, but held it in. 

Time and place were important.

Gray felt his cheeks flush as their gazes met and just for a moment, he didn’t have to pretend to be her rival, until she noticed and turned with red cheeks, causing him to do the same thing as they crossed their arms.

“Don’t you die on me…Natsumi…” He whispered, hoping her sensitive ears didn’t pick the words up desperately.

“I would never…” She promised, voice low, but audible. “I would never do that to my friends and family at Fairy Tail…and that includes you, Ice Prick.”

His heart skipped a beat and then he was running off, leaving Natsumi there alone as she turned to watch him run down the Old Line path, her dark eyes soft in fondness. “Don’t you die on me either…Gray.”

Then she turned and ran down the New Line path.

「Oshibana Station - Old Line (Afternoon)」
⸻

Gray ran for a bit, until he noticed the speakers lingering around silently, causing him to come to a full stop. “Wait…if he was planning on broadcasting the Lullaby…”

With a plan in mind, he was in motion once more, looking for a specific room. The broadcast room, labeled ‘Studio Room’.

Lifting his leg, the ice mage kicked the wooden door in, splintering and breaking it with practiced ease. The room was dark, small and full of machinery, but also… “It’s empty, he’s not here.” Walking in, Gray thought about what could be going on. “So that means he's not planning on broadcasting it?”

A scoff above him gave him a last second notice to dodge as Rayure shot his magic at him, flipping out of the way as the floor took the heat of the hit, falling into a crouch easily from the motion.

“I knew you’d come here trying to mess up our plan!” The pharaoh looking man sneered as his magic whipped around on his fingers.

“So what’re you guys really planning to do?” taunted Gray with a hungry grin on his face, eager to kick some ass and stop the dark guild.

「 。。。」

The citizens who had been waiting for some type of news all day shifted uneasily as they looked up at Oshibana’s Train Station ledge before… “Someone’s come out!”

“What?”

Erza walked forward with a megaphone and a purpose, face calm, despite the words she was about to speak. “If you value your lives, get away from here immediately! The station has been taken over by dark mages and those mages are attempting to perform magic that will kill every person here! Evacuate as far away from here as you can!”

The crowd shifted uneasily at first, as if hoping this would be some kind of cruel joke, but when Erza’s face remained stony and impassive, the panic and fear settled in and they were all running away, screaming in fear.

“Hey, you!” One of the remaining train staff members called out to the Fairy Tail mage, causing her to turn and look over his way. “Why’d you make everyone panic like that?”

“It’s better than them all becoming victims, right?” rebutted the redhead, completely unbothered by the panic she’d caused in order for people to survive, nor feeling any type of way about the man’s scolding's at this moment. “You people should evacuate as well.”

The three members took a step back, before nodding and quickly leaving with the crowd of people below. As she watched them leave, Erza felt a swell of accomplishment roll through her slightly. “Now there are no longer people around the station. What will you do now, Erigor?”

She turned to head back inside, only to freeze at the sight of a large cyclone beginning to whip up right around the station. “What…? The station is being surrounded by wind?”

She heard Erigor’s laugh as he floated behind her and out of her reach, but she couldn’t look away from the impending disaster ahead of her.

⸻
「Oshibana Station - Old Line」
⸻

With a grin and a triumphant cry, Rayure slammed his hand forward, breaking some of the machinery around them with his magic as Gray rolled out of the way narrowly. “No one can escape from my urumi!”

He whipped his hand around as the long dark tendrils moved towards Gray once more, but the ice mage was ready this time, the air freezing around him as he slammed his fist into his palm harshly, eyes closing as he imagined what he would create with his magic to defend himself, a large magic circle appearing in front of him. “Ice Make: Shield!”

The beautiful crystals sprouted from the floor in front of him, glistening as they deflected the urumi magic and Rayure scowled. “Ice Magic, huh?”

Gray moved quickly, already building his next attack up. “Ice Make: Knuckle!” With a flourish of his hands, small darts of ice flew forward, before five large ice fists jumped out of the floor, sending Rayure flying with the hard hits as he cried out in pained shock. 

“What’re you bastards really after?” Gray slowly walked forward as Rayure tried to pick himself back up. “So you’re not planning on playing the Lullaby over the speakers?”

The man laughed, lifting an arm up slightly to cover his face. “Erigor’s magic wind wall should be in place by now.”

“Magic wind wall?” repeated Gray, the air around him continuing to freeze and crystalize slightly.

“A barrier of wind so that none of you idiots can escape from here!” Rayure scoffed.

「 。。。」

“I always did want to fight you once, Queen,” Erigor admitted casually as he floated out of Erza’s reach, the redhead glaring up at him darkly. “But alas…I have no time to play with you now.”

With a flick of his wrist, a bright purple magic circle appeared and sent wind hurtling right towards Erza, making her cover her face protectively, before she was forced through the cyclone and skidding across the floor somehow.

“Erigor!” She called, running forward and slamming her thankfully protected elbow into the wall, only to be violently thrown back from the force of the winds.

“Don’t even try it,” sighed the Wind mage as he continued to float in front of the station and his creation. “This magic wind wall is one-way: you can only pass from outside to inside, if you try to exit from the inside, the wind will cut you to shreds.”

“What in the world are you up to?!” demanded the redhead as she stood back up, body scrapped from her fall.

“Thanks to you idiots, I’ve wasted quite a lot of time,” The man continued as if she was nothing more than a mere inconvenience to him. “If you’ll excuse me…”

He flew up once more and disappeared, leaving Erza alone in the cyclone as her friends continued inside, completely unaware of what was going on outside “Damn that Erigor…where could he be heading? So he wasn’t targeting this station after all?”

「 。。。」

Gray gripped Rayure up by his shirt and slammed the smirking man against the wall. “I’ve had enough of your riddles. Explain what’s going on, now!”

“We just made a cage to trap you flies is all,” the Eisenwald member chuckled, even as Gray growled warningly his way. “We were only taking over this station to block the route to the end of the line, Clover Station.”

“What..?”

“Clover station is across a giant gorge, there’s no way to get there except this route.” explained the dark guild member. “Unless you can fly like Erigor-san, that is.”

“So that’s where you’re going to use Lullaby?!”

Rayure’s face took on a more insane look as he began to taunt Gray now. “Do you remember what’s in Clover town? Try and recall…”

As he spoke, his hand loosened and Gray jumped as his urumi at him from below, knocking him back, even as he barely deflected the hit with his arms over his face. “An opening!”

‘Clover…that’s the town where the old men are having their regular meeting!’ Gray thought, feeling rage fill his chest once more. ‘Your true objectives are the guild masters?!’

Rayure laughed loudly, the sound more akin to a cackle as his urumi tendrils spread out around him. “So you’ve finally noticed, huh? A bit slow on the uptake, are we?”

He launched at Gray again, whipping him back, which he deftly blocked with his arms once more, even as he flew back a few more feet. “Those old men are extremely powerful mages…pretty bold of you, don’t you think?”

“It’ll be a piece of cake to make those unsuspecting codgers listen to the flute!” retorted Rayure as the dust settled slightly. “I know that Erigor-san will be able to do it!”

Rayure reared back again, thrusting them forward hard enough that they tightly wrapped around Gray’s entire body and the two began to tug back and forth as the ice mage tried to get out of it. 

“And you pests won’t stop us, you can’t leave this station! No one can stop us now! We’re going to get our revenge on the people who oppressed us!” Rayure’s face suddenly turned sadistic as he moved closer to Gray, causing his struggle to lessen slightly as he met the crazed man’s face. “We’ll wipe them all out…and I know that pink haired bitch is someone you like the most…what if I had her killed right in front of you by Kageyama, huh?! Then what?!”

He gave another crazed cackle, unaware of the way Gray’s fists tightened in front of him and  the air began to freeze over faster than previously, trailing up the wraps still binding Gray’s body in a set position, only finally noticing when it was no longer subtle and a sudden burst of cold air hit him, causing him to gasp in shock.

Spreading his hands out, Gray broke the frozen urumi easily, looking up through his bangs as he growled lowly at the man in front of him. 

“We’ll stop you and if you think for one second that Erza, Lucy, Happy, Natsumi or me would fall to any of you guys, especially Natsumi, you’ve got another thing coming…!” With each word he spoke and every step he took closer to Rayure, ice encased the man’s body, starting from his legs. “And we’ll make you pay for targeting our master…I’ll make you pay for threatening Natsumi in front of me so boldly. Those old men are like our parents and that bullheaded girl is the only girl I’ve loved like this.”

Rayure’s eyes widened as Gray’s hand slammed into his face, fingertips cold, even through the cloth he wore around his head. The last thing he saw before his face was frozen was the wild eyed glare Gray was giving him, the grip on his head almost tight enough to crack his skull.

As Gray walked back out, the hole in the wall released frozen air into the walkway. His body shook and trembled from the anger still coursing through his veins.

He and a majority of the members in their guild knew that he had a crush on Natsumi, but he’d never said it out loud. He’d never said he loved her like he did, but he couldn’t help it when that man had threatened her.

Natsumi, though thick headed, reckless, violent, short-tempered and loud, was one of the kindest people Gray knew. She had her own troubles and trauma, the most obvious one being abandonment issues, but she didn’t let it hold her down. Not like Gray did, not like Erza did…she pulled them all up with her kind light and warm smile as she asked them to fight her.

“We’ll show you there’re guilds way scarier than any dark guild.” He promised the ice sculpture behind him.

『Omake』
⸻
「Magnolia - Fairy Tail (6 Years Ago)」
⸻

Erza looked over at Gray the next day. Natsumi wasn’t anywhere to be seen at the guild. She’d been gone for nearly three days now.

She promised herself if it happened again, she would intervene if no adult did, and since it’s ongoing and no one had stepped in, she would.

The redhead approached the ice mage and looked down at him slightly. “Why are you so mean to Natsumi? She only just joined the guild this week and hasn’t even really done anything other than talk about her imaginary friend.”

“You think she’s making him up too, right?” Gray ignored her first question, which irritated Erza, but she didn’t punch him…yet. “I think it’s so stupid that the adults are saying she’ll one day run into that dumb thing as if he really existed in the first place. So I’m not going to sugar coat my words with her dumb self. If she wanted to avoid the guildhall, that’s also on her dumb self!”

“That’s the thing you kids don’t get,” sighed an elderly voice behind them and Erza turned to see their master shaking his head their way. “Natsumi was raised by a dragon. It’s the only way to learn her specific type of magic.”

“Her magic?” Erza raised an eyebrow, cheeks turning a faint pink at being seen bad mouthing another guildmate.

“Macao knows fire magic though,” protested Gray, looking more confused than previously. “You could literally learn it from anyone, you could learn it just from watching someone use it!”

“Ah, but while Natsumi’s element is fire, the specific brand of fire she uses is Dragon Slayer magic,” Makarov tutted, wagging a finger at the ice mage.

“Dragon Slayer Magic?” Both children looked at one another. They’d never heard of that kind of magic and they had seen a lot during their time in the guild.

“Dragon lungs for breathing fire, dragon scales for dissolving fire and dragon talons that are wrapped with fire,” recited Makarov, looking up at the ceiling, his mouth pulled into a fond smile. “That girl is a dragon is all, but species. Remember, she came in speaking all weirdly? She was using half Fiorian and half Dragon tongue to try and talk to us.”

Erza felt her heart stutter as she realized that some of Natsumi’s spells when she was sparring even had the word dragon in the title…it wasn’t for show, she really was…

“Raised by a dragon…” The two breathed.

“The scarf she wears is also made from dragon scales,” Makarov nodded solemnly. “I think the two of you need to apologize to Natsumi.”

Erza nodded earnestly, while Gray looked off to the side, a small blush on his cheeks, before Makarov turned to look him in the eye. “And Gray, the girl you like won’t like you back if you can’t even accept who her father is.”

The light blush on the ice mage’s face turned into a fiery red that rivaled Erza’s hair color and she blinked as she suddenly realized why he was always picking on Natsumi.

Gray had a crush on her.

“Oh, Gray,” She sighed, wrapping an arm around his suddenly bare shoulders and hugging him tightly, earning an embarrassed squawk from the other. “I didn’t know how you felt, I’m sorry! I’ll help you confess to Natsumi!”

“Don’t!” He yelled back, now pantsless as well, which Erza finally took notice of.

“Put some clothes on!” She screamed, sending him flying with a single punch. She’d help him reconcile with Natsumi and help with his crush on her, but first…she would teach him to keep his clothes on in public spaces!

Chapter Text

「Oshibana - Oshibana Station (Late Afternoon)」
⸻

In the middle of the station, groaning and whining the entire time, the unconscious members of Eisenwald that Lucy and Erza beat were tied by ropes and placed in scattered groups and singles around the area that they fought in.

“I said we don’t know already, it’s impossible,” The rat faced man that Erza had fought grunted painfully as she gripped him up by his shirt. “There’s no way we could dispel the magic wind wall.”

Erza was getting ready to shake the man again, only the timely arrival of Gray appearing caused her to pause in her thought process. “Erza!”

“Gray, you’re not with Natsumi?” She called up, a hint of worry in her tone.

“We split up and never mind that right now…” He yelled back, voice more controlled in the echoing room. “Eisenwald’s real objective is the town down the line from here!”

“What?” Erza’s voice dropped into a growl, her grip on the man’s shirt tightening and causing him to shiver slightly in her hold.

“It’s the place where the old men are having their regular meeting,” He explained swiftly, face pale and panicked. “They plan to play the Lullaby there!”

A surge of magical energy seemed to spring forward from the redhead as her glared darkened and the growl in her voice grew more prominent, almost ripping the man’s shirt in her grip as she turned back to his quaking figure, a whimper of fear slipping out of his mouth at the sight of her face. “So that’s what you’re planning?!”

Gray sweatdropped and couldn’t help, but feel bad for the man, as he made his way to the first floor where Erza was. Even though he was a dark guild mage…no one deserved to be on the other end of Erza’s ire, fist, foot or blade. Once he made it over to her, they began to compare notes of their findings, even as the ice mage tried to keep an ear out for Natsumi. 

He trusted her and believed in her strength, but he was still worried, it’s been a trying day that just didn’t seem to end.

“But this station is surrounded by a magic wind wall.” Erza grunted, bringing Gray from his musings as he nodded along.

“Yeah, I saw it earlier.” He took another step closer, checking her over for any noticeable damages. “You’ll be mincemeat if you try and force yourself out.”

“I’m well aware of that…” At her words, Gray finally noticed the grip she held on her limp arm.

“Erza, your arm…”

“It’s nothing.” She deflected, trying to stay on point with their conversation. “But while we're sitting here, Erigor is getting closer to where the Guild Masters are.” She thought for a moment, before something came into her memory. “That’s right…there should be someone they call ‘Kage’ in Eisenwald. He was the only one who was able to dispel Lullaby’s seal.”

“Kage…Dispel…” Gray’s brow furrowed for a moment, the name sounded similar to the other name he heard from Rayure, but he couldn’t hope that the man was that close by. “He’s a Dispeller? Then, could he dispel the magic wind wall too?”

The rat faced man clicked his tongue for a moment, before his eyes widened and he grinned darkly at the two Fairy Tail mages. “As if Kageyama would do that for you…!” His voice was damn near broken, but it was still audible to the other two, who’s heads snapped over.

“Kageyama?” Erza parroted, looking back as Gray’s hands clenched into fists by his side. “And what do you mean?”

“I mean, Kageyama would never help a bunch of flies like you and besides, he has a bone to pick with that pink bitch!” cackled the rat faced man, even in the face of imminent doom as Erza’s face darkened further and Gray took a step back.

They were both protective of Natsumi, but Erza had already warned the members of Eisenwald earlier, if they spoke ill of Natsumi, Lucy or Fairy Tail again, she wouldn’t let them leave with their lives.

“Once he’s done breaking her down, he’ll be outta here before you even find her torn apart corpse-Hrk!” The laugh he was going to release caught on a wheeze as Erza’s hand slammed into his throat and pressed him into the floor harshly, the force of her hold making her arm tremble.

“Where is he?” Gray knew that Erza wasn’t talking to him nor was she threatening him, but the sound of her voice in that moment sent shivers down his spine and he looked away as the redhead began her interrogation anew.

「 。。。」

After the two mages left, the rat faced man now much more hurt than before, he opened his eyes and looked at the wall behind him. “Karacka, how much longer are you going to hide yourself there?”

Karacka, the noseless man that ran from Erza earlier, popped out from the wall with some kind of magic as he rubbed the back of his head shamefully. “S-Sorry…”

“They’re after Kageyama,” He stated plainly, not taking his eyes off the man before him. “Get going.”

Karacka almost shoved himself back into his hiding place, fear covering his face. “Please, not me! I’m useless as a backup in a fight!”

“No…I have a much simpler task for you.” The man’s eyes narrowed darkly as Karacka stared at him in shocked fear.

「Oshibana Station - New Line」
⸻

Natsumi jogged quickly down the hallway, feeling aggravation itch at her skin. She could smell that annoying shadow mage from earlier, though she couldn’t smell the stink of death and destruction that followed that damned flute, which meant he didn’t have Lullaby with him.

The aggravation was she could smell him, but she couldn’t see him and it was grating on her damn nerves!

“Ah! Where the hell is Erigor?” She finally snapped, the famous dragon temper flaring with a burst of fire as she began to kick doors down with a flaming foot, occasionally missing the door altogether and hitting solid wall that gave under her heat easily, as if it was paper. “And where the hell is that scent coming from?! Come out of the shadows, damn bastard!”

‘Has she ever heard of anger management?’ Kageyama thought, watching Natsumi’s destructive path from the safety of both the shadows and the ceilings.

He had a trap planned for her and he was going to pay her back tenfold, but he wasn’t looking to get in the way of what could only be a pyromaniac on a warpath.

“Damn it…” She sighed as arrived at the last door, which was just a storage unit. She sniffed the air wearily. No scent of wind and mint, but she could still smell the shadow bastard’s scent in the air.

‘Well, I suppose there’s no problem if I just leave her alone,’ Kageyama thought, before finally beginning to reveal himself slowly at her back, time to kill her where no one would find her. ‘But I wouldn’t be satisfied with that, would I?’

Natsumi turned as the scent turned…stronger, eyes widening as multiple shadow fists launched out and hit her, sending her flying into crates with a startling noise.

“That’s for earlier, you arsonist fly!” Kageyama watched in amusement as she struggled to lift herself through the rubble, a small chuckle slipping out at the sight of her when she stood.

“You finally came the hell out, huh?!” Her hands gripped the sides of the painting her head was currently smashed and stuck in.

“That looks good on you.” sneered the shadow mage, looking down his nose at her.

“Shut up, baldy.” She rolled her eyes as she attempted to pull the stupid thing off without burning it just yet. She didn’t want to destroy everything she touched, okay?!

“I’m not bald and my name’s not Hage! It’s Kageyama!” He snapped, the first real set of emotions she’d seen him use yet that were the de facto ones he’d shown them earlier.

“Yeah, I know your damn name,” Natsumi snorted, finally prying the stupid thing off her head and looking it over with a raised brow, before deciding it was broken and ugly enough to be burned anyway. “But when you pull your hair back like a balding middle aged man, I’mma call you Hage.”

“Well, whatever,” He calmed back down quickly and for a moment, the pink haired Dragon Slayer had the thought of him being Bipolar or something. “I basically understand your magic now. You ingest flames to increase your destructive power, that’s quite rare magic.”

She scowled over his way, flames licking at her hands and shoulders and being held back by a miniscule thread. “It’s not like I want to destroy things! You guys just piss me off, but that’s not the point! Where the hell’s Erigor?”

“Good question,” smirked Kageyama, lowering his stance slightly. “Maybe I’ll tell you if you beat me.” And without missing a beat, a magic circle appeared under his feet. “Knuckle Shadow!”

This time, Natsumi was prepared for the fists that came her way, easily blocking them as she was thrown into the air from the force of it, causing the man to freeze. He knew from their last fight and just after watching her a few moments ago, if you didn’t knock the fire mage down, she wasn't going down easily.

“Oh? You’ll tell me after I hit you a few dozen times?” Natsumi clenched her fists tightly as she looked her opponent up and down. “That’s two birds with one stone for me…I’m all fired up now.”

Kageyama only had a moment’s notice to take in the dangerous fire in her eyes and the feral grin on her face, before Natsumi was on him with fire burning in her hands and a growling war cry.

He threw shadows at her in the bundles, but she slipped through them by ducking, dodging and at one point even leaping onto a higher crate to get away from him. ‘She’s a slippery one…’ He could feel sweat coming to his face at his failed attempts. ‘However…’

His hand slammed onto the floor to summon another magic circle as Natsumi landed. “You can’t dodge my Orochi Shadow! They’ll follow you to the depths of hell!”

The multitude of shadow snakes sprung free of the magic circle and launched towards the petite teen, who braced herself momentarily with a grin and battle hungry eyes, before slamming her fists together. “I’ll tear you apart…” She promised, eyes slitting and turning reptile-like, spreading her arms out like wings as she crouched down and launched herself at the shadow snakes. “Karyū no Yokugeki!”

With another yell and a beat of her fiery wings, Kageyama had to shield his face from the resulting smoke in the air, before rearing back and watching the blaze that grew from the hit. “T-This can’t be…She destroyed the Orochi Shadow with just a single attack?”

As the dust settled and Natsumi stood back up, the shadows cast along her upper body hit most of her from view, but one thing that stood out to him was the way her eyes seemed to glow like some sort of monster in the shadows, a fist held up in defiance. “What destructive power…I can’t believe a mage like this exists…!”

“You ready to talk yet?” Natsumi grinned, fangs glinting as her eyes landed on her next target now that his attack was done for. Fire gathered in her fist, swirling and glowing like a lantern in the darkness of the room.

“S-She’s a monster!” yelped Kageyama, right before he felt the full power of the Fairy Tail mage him. If later asked, he would admit that it was almost akin to being eaten by some sort of animal in the heat of the moment.

Natsumi sighed as she looked at the rubble around her for a moment, waiting a bit before moving to make sure nothing gave out under her feet. “Ahh~, now you’ve gone and made me destroy the place…I wonder why it always ends up this way.” She shrugged as she made her way over to the groaning man, being careful of her steps as she did so. “Whatever, I feel a bit better now. I guess that’s my win, Hageyama.”

“It’s Kageyama, damn it!” snapped the man, even as pain rippled through his body. The Eisenwald member still wasn’t completely sure how this tiny thing that rampaged in the train before throwing herself out the window could actually be as destructive as his entire guild in one go.

“Alright, hold up your end of the bargain,” She ordered, falling into a crouch in front of him, spikes falling gently around her face as she smirked darkly his way. “And I suggest you do it before Erza-nee comes to yell at me about destroying the place again. She’s not as nice as I am.”

“How is this nice?!” screamed Kageyama, before he couldn’t help the laugh that slipped out at the mages dumbness. “You dolt, Erigor-san is no longer in this station.”

“Huh?”

“Natsumi!” A third, familiar voice yelled and Kageyama watched the monstrous anger clear from the pink haired mage’s face as she turned to look over at her guild mates, looking almost innocent in the destruction and debris she caused.

“Oh! Erza-nee, Gray!” She beamed as they ran over her way.

“That’s enough, we need him!”

“Understood!” Natsumi saluted easily, turning to look back at Kageyama. “Well, Hageyama, it was nice knowing ya.”

“Stop calling me balding!” He snapped once again, causing the petite teen to snicker, before she turned and nearly had a heart attack at the sight before her.

“Wai-! I didn’t do anything, but I’m sorry!” She yelped out, tears jumping into the corners of her eyes as Erza suddenly appeared in front of her, eyes glowing like Hell itself as she brandished a sword poised to cut Natsumi down in her path.

Her eyes widened as twin screams pierced the air and she found herself in a familiar embrace, body shaking as Kageyama barely dodged the point of a sword going for his neck. “Dispel the magic wind wall, and don’t give us any troubles!”

Natsumi shook in Gray’s hold for a moment, turning to look at the one she considered an older sister as she sent Kageyama a pitying look, while the man sniffled pathetically under the tip of her sword with his hands held up in surrender. “She means it man, don’t push her…”

Gray shifted his hold on Natsumi, looking her over for a moment. “You okay?”

Natsumi looked up at him, remembering their brief conversation as they split the paths earlier. “Yeah…I’m alive and kicking. How about you, Ice Prick?”

“That battle was nothing.” snorted the ice mage and they met each other’s gazes once more, before Natsumi suddenly shoved him away, though much lighter than she would have before.

“T-Thanks for the catch…” She whispered before turning to where Erza was still glaring at Kageyama.

“Anytime, Flame Breath.”

Kageyama was just agreeing with Erza’s demand, when he suddenly choked, hand flying to his stomach, where a bright yellow magic circle laid. The circle grew and expanded, but Natsumi figured it out what was going to happen and quickly shoved Erza and Kageyama to the side, the magic circle imprinting itself onto her side right as the circle expanded and a hand sprouted from it, missing anything vital due to her positioning when it fully sprouted.

Kageyama watched in shock as Natsumi cried out, falling to her knee to hold her injured side as she did so, they saw Karacka in the wall. “T-That was supposed to be me…why?”

“Kage-chan…” The man looked heartbroken at what he’d just done, shaking and looking at Kageyama, who was still standing, despite his injuries.

“Erza-nee said we need you, that is enough for me…” She panted, before standing once more and ignoring the pain as she turned to the man behind her. Natsumi knew it missed the important things inside her, but it still stung like a bitch. “You…bastard…you’re guildmates, friends…and you were trying to kill him?!”

Her rage and magic built up the longer she looked at the man, bubbling up within herself as she growled once more. “Is that how your guild does things?”

Erza moved to grab the man as Gray went to try and stop Natsumi, but the petite Dragon Slayer reared back and punched through the wall, breaking it and knocking the man out cold in one hit.

Natsumi went to go in for another hit, but Erza placed a hand on her shoulder. “Natsumi…not now. Come sit down, we’ll look over your wounds as Kageyama dispels the wind wall.”

“...he can’t, Erza-nee…” The younger teen whispered as she slumped against the broken wall. “He doesn't have any magic energy. Used it all in our fight.”

Kageyama looked away as Erza’s monstrous glare turned back to him and he nearly shrieked at the sight when she gripped him up by the shirt and began to shake him roughly. “You’re going to dispel it!”

“S-She’s right! I don’t have the magical power at the moment!”

Lucy stood back as she watched Gray move to tend to Natsumi’s wounds and Erza begin to try and beat a different answer out of their enemy(?), fearful at the damage around the three. “Am I…interrupting something?”

“Aye…” agreed Happy for once.

「 。。。」

Lucy looked down at Natsumi in worry. The shorter didn’t seem to be down for the count, which was good since they still had to go against Erigor, but she didn’t look too good either. Her breathing was even as she closed her eyes and rested for a bit, while Kageyama used what little magical power he had to try and dispel Erigor’s wind wall, to no avail at the moment.

“How’s it going, Kageyama?” Erza questioned from where she was seated with Natsumi’s head in her lap, brown eyes never leaving her guildmate. “And don’t try anything funny. Even if this is the last of your magical power, I can and will cut you down…Natsumi got hurt protecting you, which means she sees some good in you, you better thank her properly when she wakes up.”

Kageyama didn’t look away from his work, but there was a furrow in his brow. “What do you mean?”

Lucy wanted to ask the same question, but sat on the side to watch in silence, Erza looked down at Natsumi with a soft smile. “She’s reckless, stubborn and has violent tendencies with a short temper, but Natsumi has always been kind, even when others weren’t.”

“She forgives easily, even when she shouldn’t and thinks highly of those close to her.” continued Gray as he hovered over Kageyama’s shoulder. “So when she thinks someone is worth forgiving, she’ll help them. Like she did this jackass.”

“You really don’t like me, even by your guild’s standards…” The man looked up with a sweatdrop. “Is there a reason?”

“None at all-!” scoffed the ice mage as he looked away. If he thought about all the things he’d heard the other Eisenwald guild members say about what Kageyama would do to Natsumi’s body, then he would end up just knocking the shadow mage out in anger, which would earn him Erza’s ire.

“She protected you, which means she sees something in you.” Erza looked back down at the resting Natsumi. “That’s enough for us.”

Lucy hummed as she watched the wild wind cyclone keeping them trapped inside. ‘I guess Mira-san was right when she said everyone considered Natsumi like a beacon of light…’

“What…was their real objective anyway?” Natsumi’s voice rasped, startling the people around her.

“Natsumi…” Erza’s face softened in relief. “Don’t worry about it, we’ll handle it from here.”

“Not a chance in hell, Erza-nee…” Natsumi pushed herself up, body slumping for a moment, before she found her balance once again. “We’re going to end this together, like we said we would.”

“...Our objective is the Guild Master regular meeting…” Kageyama admitted, sweat beading down the side of his head from the strain his body was going through at the moment, eyes narrowing slightly as he worked on another rune.

“The old men…?” snarled Natsumi, only for Erza to push her back into a laying position.

“We’re not leaving yet, so stay down, please.” sighed the redhead, before she looked back at the wall of winds keeping them stuck there, while Erigor was doing as he pleased. “Erigor blocked the only route to Clover, and is heading there by air.”

“It’d be possible to catch up to him in a magic four wheeler,” Gray started, eyes never leaving Kageyama, just in case the bastard tried something when he wasn’t looking. “But if we don’t do something about this magic wind wall, we can’t leave the station…and if we try to attack it, you can say bye-bye to your limbs.”

“But…” Lucy gasped in shock as Kageyama fell back suddenly, chest heaving and eyes fluttering.

“I have no magic left and it seems…like Erigor-san enchanted this one a bit stronger than his others…” The dark haired man wheezed tiredly. “He expected us to fail against you guild mages.”

Natsumi growled, looking at the winds that could tear her to pieces angrily.

“It’ll be bad if we don’t hurry,” Lucy turned to the ice mage desperately. “Can’t you freeze it with your magic?”

He raised an eyebrow at her, feeling just as stressed about this as she was, but tried to remain calm. “If I could do that, I would have done it already.”

“Damn it…what should we do?” cursed Erza as Natsumi shook in rage on her lap.

“Lucy…can’t we use the Celestial Spirits?” Natsumi looked at the blond, eyes alight with a new glow. “I know I did it when we were fighting Virgo the Gorilla Maid, so couldn’t we try that now?”

Erza watched as Lucy’s face went through a multitude of emotions, all of them various forms of confusion and exasperation. “I already told you that it shouldn’t have been possible to begin with and a normal person would die if they did that. You can’t breathe and anyway, the gate can only open where the Celestial mage is.”

Natsumi blinked slowly, not really getting it, since she’d done it. “Break it down a bit more?”

“In other words, if you wanted to pass through the Spirit World to escape, the least you’d need is a Celestial mage outside the station and outside the wind wall. And it’s also a really big violation of the contract for a human to enter the Spirit World. It’s sure a good thing that it was Everlue’s key when it happened last time and not one of my own…”

“Sorry…” The Dragon Slayer shoved her face into Erza’s skirt. “I didn’t know it was that big of a deal…”

“No, it’s not your magic style and you don’t know much about it,” sighed Lucy, falling to her knees next to her friend. “You didn’t think it would cause problems since you did it last time.”

Happy stared at the blond, mouth open and eyes wide, something clicking in his head. “Everlue’s…key?” Before he suddenly jumped with a shout, startling the humans enough to look over his way. “Lucy, I remembered!”

“Remembered what?” The blond cringed, worried she was about to be bullied by the cat once more.

“The thing I was talking about when we came here!” Happy shouted, looking and sounding anything, but like his namesake and scaring Lucy once more.

“You mean when you kept calling me weird in the car?”

“This!” Lucy blinked at the sight of a shiny golden key in the cat’s little paw as he brandished it like some holy grail.

“That’s Virgo’s key!” She shrieked, leaping away from the offending item, before pinching his face harshly and pulling him forward with it. “You can’t just go stealing things.”

“You’re wrong, Virgo said it herself to give it to you!” He whined, his words muffled by the way she was playing with his face slightly.

“Sheesh…we don’t have time to waste on this pointless shit…” sighed Gray, feeling more frustrated and tired the longer he watched the two of them interact.

“Virgo…as in the Gorilla Maid who can drill through floors?!” Natsumi suddenly sat up, looking like she had an idea.

“She said that since Everlue was arrested, his contract was broken.” explained Happy, waving the key around. “So she visited us and said she wanted to contract with you, Lucy.”

“Oh, so she showed up, huh?”

“I don’t remember her popping up around the house?” Natsumi blinked in confusion as she looked at Happy, who shrugged slightly.

“I should be happy, but this isn’t really the time, you know? We’ve got to think of a way out of here…”

“But…” Happy suddenly began to whine as Lucy began to pull his cheeks again, a sinister glint and smile on her face.

“Little kitties should sit there quietly and meow!”

Gray shuddered, seeing a bit of the other scary females in the guild in Lucy at that moment. “She…can also be pretty scary.”

“But Lucy,” Natsumi was grinning now, she knew it as she sat up once more, gently brushing Erza’s hand off her shoulder. “Don’t you remember Virgo’s special moves?”

“Virgo can dig holes in the ground…” cried Happy, on his hands and knees dramatically. “I was thinking we could escape from the magic wind wall by digging underneath it…”

“I had the same idea, Happy.” cooed Natsumi, gathering the little cat in her arms as he turned to hug her, face shoved into her chest.

“Lucy’s so mean, Natsumi! Burn her!”

“Hey-! Wait, why didn’t you say something earlier-!” Lucy crawled closer to Natsumi to try and grab Happy, but he held tightly onto the pink haired teen, turning with a stone cold glare in his eyes.

“Because you were pinching me… repeatedly .” This caused her to freeze up and fall into a traditional crouch bow, head touching the floor and hands in front of her.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she cried, bowing with tears running down her face like rivers. “I’ll give you a reward later, I will! Please, allow me to, anyway just give me the key!”

“Aye, I look forward to working with you!” Happy turned in Natsumi’s arms, handing the blond the key with a smile.

Everyone looked on anxiously as Lucy turned her back to them to summon the spirit, reciting the chant for new keys. “I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits! Now, O Spirit, answer my call and pass through the Gate! Gate of the Maiden, I open thee! Virgo!”

A magic circle appeared, a flash of gold light and the reassuring ‘Ding-Dong’ showed that the summoning had worked. When the light faded, instead of the Gorilla Maid they were expecting, a slim pink haired woman in a maid outfit with chains on her wrists appeared, giving a small bow.

Lucy stared in wide eyed shock, surprised by the sudden change in appearance for the Celestial Spirit.

“You called for me, Master?” The Spirit’s voice was soft as she looked up at Lucy with a serious gaze.

“Who are you?” Lucy asked in all seriousness of the situation at hand, the words almost echoing in the following silence.

“Hey Virgo, you really slimmed down…” joked Natsumi as the maid crouched down in front of her.

“I apologize for the trouble I caused you earlier.” She smiled politely, completely ignoring the shocked expression on Lucy’s face.

“Slimmed down? More like a different person!” screeched Lucy, unable to handle the change as easily as Natsumi was, even as Gray gave her a side eye at her reaction.

“A different person?”

“Oh…what’s with that appearance?” The blond stuttered out after a moment, causing Virgo to stand and look over with a smile.

“I’m a Celestial Spirit that is faithful to her master,” started the Celestial Spirit kindly. “I perform my duties in the appearance my master wishes.”

“Your other form seemed a lot more…forceful before, though.” hummed Natsumi, not meaning for it to be taken seriously, since she wasn’t the owner of Virgo’s key.

“Is that so? In that case…” With a slight glow under her feet, the return of the Gorilla Maid form happened, causing Lucy, Natsumi and Gray to jump back slightly. “I shall return to this form.”

“Why’d you have to go and say that?!” snapped Lucy at the fire mage, who waved her hands in front of her hastily.

“I-I didn’t mean it literally!”

“I prefer the slim version! I’m the holder of the key!”

“Understood.” Virgo transformed back, causing them all to let out sighs of relief.

“Anyway, we don’t have any more time,” said Lucy, hands held out desperately to her Celestial Spirit. “Can we postpone the contract until later?”

“Understood, Master.” Virgo turned to Lucy fully now.

“Stop calling me ‘Master’ already, would you?” Lucy crossed her arms, unaware of Virgo looking at the whip attached to her hip.

“Then, shall I call you ‘Queen’?” tried the Maiden.

“Denied.”

“Then, Princess?”

“Hmm, that might be nice…” Lucy smiled, hand pressed to her cheek vainly as Natsumi and Gray stared in wonder at the conversation.

“So that’s what get’s her?” whispered the ice mage.

“You just said we don’t have time, so hurry it up.” snipped Natsumi, eyes rolling at the conversation.

“Then, I will proceed.” With one last bow and a shining magic circle, the Spirit began to dig through the ground, making for a route outside of the station.

“Oh, she’s digging!” cried Gray as he watched the tunnel get deeper and deeper as Erza approached Lucy with a proud smirk.

“Good job, Lucy!” She pulled her into a ‘hug’, slamming her head into her chest plate.

“Hard!”

“Alright, everyone into that hole.” He turned to try and assist Natsumi, but the Dragon Slayer was already moving, grabbing Kageyama’s limp form and heaving it over her back with merely a slight grunt of pain. “What are you doing, Natsumi?”

“Leaving him here to probably be killed by one of his other guildmates after I took a hit for him would leave a bad taste in my mouth.” grunted the pink haired Fairy Tail mage.

Kageyama’s eyes opened for a moment, landing on Erza, who smiled back, a silent conversation happening between the two for a split second. ‘This is Natsumi’s kindness…’

「Oshibana - Outside Oshibana Station」
⸻

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for them to get through the tunnel, despite their injuries, both minor and big.

“We’re out!” called Gray over the raging whistles and wails of the cyclone in front of them.

“Hurry onward!” Erza agreed, neither of them looking away from the wall of wind around the train station.

“Wow, that wind is something!” Lucy whined, one hand pressing against her hair to try and keep it flat, while the other held the front of her skirt down.

“Princess! Your underwear can be seen!” Virgo admonished, crouching behind her to hold the back of her short skirt down, even as her own flew wildly through the strong winds.

“Worry about your own…” giggled the Celestial mage worriedly, as Gray’s face burned from the double panty flash he’d received from them.

“Oi, oi…”

Kageyama opened his eyes once more, a smirk coming to his face as he looked over at them. “It’s no use…you’ll never be able to catch up now. We…win.”

Despite his words, the others didn’t lose the burning determination that they felt to save the guild masters from the song of Lullaby. Then, Erza looked around once more and she furrowed her brow. “Where’s Natsumi?”

“Happy’s not here either.” noted Gray as Lucy looked around for the duo.

⸻
「Oshibana Train Line to Clover Town」
⸻

Erigor smirked to himself as he looked forward. “That’s the town…just you wait, you old geezers.”

His flight had been completely uninterrupted, giving the perfect time to get everything done before that damn regular meeting cleared out. His head tilted to look over his shoulder when he heard the sound of another’s voice.

“How do you like Happy’s Max Speed?!” He didn’t have time to move out of the way or block before he was kicked with a flaming foot as the blue cat flew out of the way, sending Erigor off line in the air.

Natsumi fell into a crouch, eyes widening as she caught Happy when he fell out the air, sweating and eyes closed tiredly. “Happy!”

“I…can’t fly anymore…”

“You did enough, Happy,” promised Natsumi, placing him further from where she would be battling for his safety. “Thanks to you, I was about to catch up to him.”

“D-Damn you…” The gentle look on the Dragon Slayer’s face was wiped away into a glare of anger once more at the sound of Erigor’s voice. "You’re from Fairy Tail. Why are you here?”

Natsumi summoned two bright swirling balls of fire on her fists, the air blowing around her and sending her hair flying, giving her a dangerous look at the moment. “To kick your ass, you damn wind bastard.”

「 。。。」

“Why? Why did you take me with you?” Kageyama asked, slumped against the window of the four wheeler. He wasn’t cuffed, but he’d used enough magical energy that it would be a bit before he could even think of shadow transporting himself anywhere.

“The city was deserted, and even though she saw something in you, Natsumi didn’t hold back.” explained Lucy as if it was something so simple. “We’re taking you to Clover to get some treatment. You should be grateful.”

“No, I mean, why did she save me? I’m your enemy.” Kageyama looked up at them darkly. “You keep saying she sees something in me. She left me behind to fight Erigor-san, which means she didn’t want to use me as a bargaining chip, so why? Not to mention, it wouldn’t have worked anyway…Erigor-san is too cold and cruel for things like that.”

“T-That’s actually really depressing to hear…” whispered the Celestial mage, feeling her own mood go down a bit with his words.

Gray didn’t say anything for a moment, before he sighed and opened his eyes. “Natsumi believes in loyalty above all. She saw how loyal you were to your guild, how loyal you were to Erigor, she thinks you could put that loyalty to use somewhere else.” He looked out the window at the passing unchanging scenery. “If you want to die, tell me now and I’ll tell Erza to pull over and deal with it. Everything doesn’t have to be decided by life and death, you know? If we can see it, then Natsumi can see it too and you must know it somewhere. Try living to a better tomorrow rather than an all in now…all of you in that guild.”

Kageyama looked down, taking his words to heart and thinking them over seriously…right before they hit a hard bump that sent them all flying around and Lucy’s butt slammed into his face, hurting his already broken nose. “Ow ow ow!”

“Erza?!” Gray called, trying to stabilize himself to look out the window at the redhead. If he had been able to, he would’ve caught sight of the pale and sweat dripping texture of her skin, along with the dark circles lining under her eyes.

“Sorry about that, everything’s fine.” She promised back, not looking away from the road, even as her vision swam slightly.

“Sorry!” Lucy gasped, finally back in her seat, though Gray had moved to sit next to her, face pinched at the sight he’d just witnessed.

“Don’t shove your big ass in my face…” whined Kageyama, almost childishly as he held a hand to his face. “I think you rebroke my nose!”

Lucy bristled, almost comically, at his words with a shriek. “That’s sexual harassment!” She turned to the ice mage next to her, shaking his shoulder lightly. “Gray, kill him!”

“Hey, don’t make light of my words of wisdom…” He sighed, feeling tired of dealing with the two and knowing they still had a long ride, that would most likely involve these two bickering. ‘Despite her words, Lucy is definitely not normal…’

Erza heard the muffle chatter behind her, but it sounded faraway, even more so than usual as her lids struggled to stay open. ‘My vision is getting cloudy…It seems I truly have used up too much magic power. Natsumi…please stop Erigor.’

They bumped along the road more steadily by her spite alone. ‘It’s up to you until we get there.’

「 。。。」

“Bring it, I’ll incinerate that damn flute…” promised Natsumi, her fire blazing strongly, despite the wind around her seemingly trying to snuff it out from the force of their blows.

“You broke out from the magic wind wall?” Erigor hummed, not seeming the slightest bit upset that Natsumi and the others had escaped. “What pests you flies are. Let me through, begone.”

He lifted his hand and without saying a word, blasted winds at Natsumi, putting her own magic out, even as she struggled to move herself closer, against the winds. “This ain’t…” She was cut off by the wind sending her flying, only for Erigor to look up as she came right back, jumping into a punch that broke the floor under him and would’ve left a nasty mark, if he hadn’t moved at the last moment.

The fire mage didn’t stop though, moving closer in a flash to clash against his sickle with a hand coated in flames that burned hotly like her rage at the moment.

‘What?’ Erigor felt irritation and anger flaring inside him at the sight. He was used to mages staying down after he hit them once, this one was going to be a nuisance, he could tell already. ‘She jumps and punches with flames and with such force? I’d never seen a mage do that nor think that they could punch like that.’

After their clash, the wind mage moved back into the sky and away from the raging pink haired teen, who stopped and glared up at him. 

“Damn it. Stop fluttering around up there like some damn coward!” Natsumi felt her temper rising the longer he stayed up in the air. “Get down here and fight, damn it!”

“Don’t get cocky, fly,” sneered Erigor, another magic circle appearing in front of his hand as he threw it out. Natsumi froze, feeling the wind under her intensify almost dangerously as the floor under her began to glow brightly. “Storm Bringer!

Natsumi cried out as the winds slashed at her vest and threw her around harshly, her voice reverberating through the air as she flew upwards with each hit. “Natsumi…” whimpered Happy, still too tired to even stand, let alone try to help the one who raised him, forced to watch this. Closing his eyes and trying his hardest, a small magic circle appeared above him as he tried to summon his wings, to no avail. “It’s no use…I don’t have enough magic power.”

Natsumi’s eyes widened as the storm threw her over the edge of the train tracks, a startled squeal leaving her lips as she tried to desperately think about what to do. Erigor watched with a sick glee at the sight of the teen disappearing from view. “Hehe, flames can’t help her fly.”

“Natsumi!”

“S-Shit!” She gasped, trying to change her position from upside down to no avail. “This isn’t going well at all…what can I do…?” She cried out as she hit a rock on the way down, a memory coming forward.

⸻
「Flashback」
⸻

“You’re really hopeless sometimes, Natsumi.” smirked Macao as he held up his finger that was coated in his magic fire. “Take a good look…see?”

“Oh, awesome!” Natsumi leaned forward as she watched the fire move around like a hand, giving Macao his mug of beer.

“It’s called Purple Flare, it can do lots of things other than just burning stuff.” explained the older fire mage as he met Natsumi’s wide gaze.

Natsumi’s hands fell down dejectedly, face going from eager to sad at the drop of a hat. “But…mine just burns everything.”

“You can change the properties of the fire,” the older man smiled kindly down at her, trying to lift her spirits. “If you wish it from your heart, the fire will respond naturally to your will. And if you do that, then fire won’t lose to water or wind…”

Natsumi stared at him with wide eyes, remembering a conversation she’d had similarly with Igneel about this, but still at the end of the day…Natsumi was a child, no matter how strong or smart she could be at times. “I…don’t get it…”

(Later when she tried to do it the way Macao told her to, she ended up burning his coat and crying, causing Erza and Gray to beat Macao up for not giving her clearer instructions.)

⸻
「End Flashback」
⸻

Natsumi opened her eyes, still somehow falling and looked up. “Oh…I think I know what he means now…”

She grinned, reeling her arm back…

Erigor watched the foggy bottom of the train tracks, thinking he’d finally gotten rid of that pest, before a bright light shaped in a star appeared, before soon after an entire column of fire exploded upwards, thankfully being too far to actually hit him, but close enough that he could feel the heat from it.

“Natsumi!” Happy cried out, swiftly wiping his tears away.

The column changed, turning from intense destruction, to a large hand that pulled the petite dragging slayer back up. “Hell yeah!” She laughed as she landed. “That was close.” She looked at her clenched fist with a grin. “Change the properties of the fire, huh? I did it, Macao.”

“What the hell was that…?” gasped Erigor, actually shocked that she managed to get back to the track without flying, using only her own flames, which shouldn’t have been possible.

“You must be cold being naked like that,” Natsumi sneered, turning to face him once more. “How about my flames warm you up?”

“I don’t see you exactly dressed, either!” snapped the wind mage.

Natsumi ignored his response, fists slamming together and eyes turning reptilian as she took a deep breath in. “I’ll blow you away, Karyū no Hōkō!” Her cheeks puffed out and the magic circle appeared in front of her hands as she made a funnel with them in front of her mouth as she roared up his way.

“Storm Wall!” Erigor cast quickly, barely managing to stop the fire and even then, his hand took the damage. ‘What is this bitch? She just attacks at random…is this what a Fairy Tail mage is like?’

Natsumi grinned as the dust settled a bit around her, a chuckle slipping out in pride as she saw his stance change slightly.

“It seems I underestimated your power a bit,” admitted Erigor, though he kept up the better than you attitude. “How about we get serious now? Both of us…”

“Oh, you could tell, huh?” Natsumi huffed, though the battle hungry grin never left her face. “I’m getting fired up.”

“Storm Mail!” Erigor spun his sickle, right as he called out the spell, causing a cyclone to quickly fill the area and coat his entire body in the raging winds like armor. “Here I come!”

He threw a punch, which Natsumi met with her own flaming fist, only for the girl’s body to be thrown back violently, much like the wind wall back at the station.

“What’s the matter? That all you got?” laughed Erigor as he looked down at the girl, landing in front of her with a sadistic kind of glee.

“Damn it, you come down and now you wrap yourself in something really annoying…” growled the Dragon Slayer as she stood her ground. She didn’t hesitate to pull her fist back again. “I’ll tear it to pieces…Karyū no Tekken!”

Erigor held out one hand, stopping the destructive fire before it could come near him with the winds coating his being. Natsumi scowled, hand still smoking as she glared at him. “You blew out my fire…!”

“Like I thought…without wrapping yourself in those flames, you don’t have that destructive power.” A chuckle from the man within the wind. “Looks like it’s no longer effective.”

“Tch!” Natsumi tried to think of something, but a stronger blast of wind sent her skittering back.

“The Storm Mail’s winds constantly blow outward,” explained the Eisenwald Ace cockily. “Don’t you get it? Flames can stand up to a headwind.”

“What do you think you're saying?” Natsumi’s temper was rearing again, but she didn’t know how to get to the man within the wind without him treating her flames like a birthday candle.

“Flames can never defeat wind!”

『Omake』
⸻
「Magnolia - Fairy Tail (6 Years Ago)」
⸻

Natsumi trudged into Fairy Tail, a small frown on her face. It was time to buy groceries, but since she had been avoiding the guild to stay away from Gray in case they fought again, she wasn’t ready for his cruel words.

She’d accidentally overheard him telling Erza and Makarov about how his home had been taken from him by a demon, due to her sensitive ears, and she never brought it up. It was painful to him, but she believed him wholeheartedly, while he didn’t believe her about Igneel being a real dragon.

‘My memories are a little messy for some reason, but they’ve always been like that…’ She closed her eyes as she sat at a table, head in her arms as her lip wobbled. ‘I can only remember Igneel…I don’t have any other family or parents that I can remember! It’s all Igneel!’

“Natsumi…” Her breath hitched as she turned around and saw Erza and Gray behind her, the redhead looked startled at the sight of her tears, but didn’t say anything. “Natsumi, we’re sorry for everything. I knew Gray had gone too far, but I didn’t say anything…”

“And…I’m sorry for saying Igneel isn’t real.” muttered the ice mage, eyes on the floor as the pink haired girl stared at them for a moment. “If demons are real in this day and age, then…maybe…maybe dragons can be too and they’re just hiding from us humans.”

Both older mages stopped at the sound of a sniffle and Erza panicked as she noticed the tears falling down Natsumi’s face full force now. “You…You really believe me?” The two nodded, the redhead wearing a soft smile as she reached up to wipe Natsumi’s tears away.

“There, there, Natsumi…no need to cry.”

“I-I’m not crying!” She spluttered, though it was an obvious lie as she leaned more into Erza’s touch. Dragon’s were much more physical with their familial affections than humans and the young Dragon Slayer didn’t realize how much she’d missed it until now. “I-I forgive you…”

“May I ask a question, Natsumi?” Erza hummed as she sat next to the shorter, dragging Gray into the seat next to her, at the confirmation nod, she pursed her lips for a moment. “I was wondering, and you don’t have to tell me, but what happened to your family before Igneel?”

“...I don’t know.” She admitted, looking down at her lap and fiddling with the skirt that Cana had given her, since she couldn’t fit it anymore. “Igneel told me he found me abandoned in the forest as an infant and all I can remember is Igneel and his warmth…he protected me from humans that wanted to take me away from him. He hunted food for me to eat and taught me how to use magic, though I could never beat him in a fight…”

“Oh…” Now Gray looked more conflicted and Natsumi had a feeling he was going to apologize again. “I’m-,”

“Don’t. I don’t care about why they left me…it hurts to think about it for sure, but Igneel taught me everything I needed to know at the time…and now Fairy Tail can show me the rest!” She grinned at him and Erza, the two smiling back, though Gray’s looked smaller. “Ne, Erza! Let’s spar!”

The redhead contemplated it briefly as one of the barmaid’s came over and gave them food. Kids, unless they had parents, didn’t have to pay since they were under Fairy Tail’s guardianship until they were old enough to start doing jobs. “Sure, on one condition.”

“Huh?”

“If I win, you have to call me ‘-neesan’,” Erza’s face got a weird blush and smile as she looked at Natsumi. “After all, I’m older and I once read that Dragon’s respect strength. So, if I win, I’m ‘Erza-neesan’.”

“Don’t do it!” Gray hissed urgently to her, but Natsumi was too excited about the prospect of fighting Erza.

“You’re on!”

(Natsumi was later beaten so badly and fast that she didn’t even remember summoning a flame, before she was on the floor. From that day forward, the youngest member of Fairy Tail began to call Erza. ‘Erza-neesan’.)

Chapter Text

Natsumi grunted as she braced herself against the harsh winds. Erigor had taken to punching her with the high paced winds, leaving damage when he could, but stopping to block all her fire attacks to make sure that they were unable to do any damage back.

“Natsumi!” Happy cried out, worry coating his voice and face as he watched the battle, unable to do anything.

“Do you get it now, you Fairy Tail brat?” laughed Erigor, obviously enjoying the struggle Natsumi was going through as she tried to figure out a way to beat him. “Flame can never beat wind!”

“You son of a bitch…” She cursed, voice angry and threatening, despite her position. She wasn’t one to think much during battle nor was she one to give up, but right now, Natsumi really wished she had a plan of some sort on hand. “It’s almost like a typhoon…”

“Your flames can no longer touch me!” taunted the wind mage, once again floating out of Natsumi’s range as he continued to look down on her, before preparing another attack. “Eat this! Storm Shred!”

Magical winds, closer to blades, shot down towards the pink haired Dragon Slayer, but she nimbly dodged them, even as some of them got her occasionally. “Damn…you…” She used her flames to give her a boost upwards to try and hit him, even as he laughed at her attempt once more. “Break through!”

Like her other attempts, Natsumi was once more and forcefully thrown down once more. Getting onto her knees once more, she closed her eyes from the debris flying around with the raging winds as she assessed the situation once more. “It’s not just my flames, but my fist can’t even get close to him now…damn it!”

“What’s the matter, brat? That all you got?” Erigor huffed in amusement as he watched her sit for a moment. “I thought you’d be a bit tougher. No matter, I’ll end this now.”

His Storm Mail lightened up slightly to give him the space to start a new attack on his grounded enemy. “This is Flying Phoenix magic that will tear anything to ribbons, Emera Baram!”

Happy and Natsumi watched with wide eyes as multiple magic circles appeared above Natsumi as the blue cat froze at his words. “Did he say Emera Baram? If you get hit with that, you’ll be torn apart!”

“Scatter to the wind, you hotheaded brat!” Erigor smirked, sending the spell down. 

The galeforce hit Natsumi full on, sending her flying across the tracks like a ragdoll as it tore the tracks under her apart and gave her new scratches along her limbs. Happy turned when he heard her voice grunt in pain as she hit the floor finally. “Natsumi! Natsumi, get up!”

“Oho, I’m surprised her body’s still in one piece,” admitted Erigor under his breath, before raising it. “Not bad for a young mage.”

“Natsumi…” gasped Happy as the short mage didn’t move from her prone position on the broken tracks.

“Worry not, the old geezers will be following her shortly,” The wind mage said, as if that would actually give the cat any kind of solace. “From the sweet sound of Lullaby…”

They both jumped as a fast slammed into the floor of the tracks, Natsumi slowly pushed herself up onto a knee. “You really think I’m going to let you play that…that cursed thing anywhere near ’jii-chan and the others?” She threw her vest off and glared at the man once she was back to a fully standing position. “If you want to get to them, you’ve got to get rid of me first!”

“That’s my Natsumi!” cheered Happy, giving a little hop and quickly brushing the tears from the corners of his eyes. He didn’t want her to think he’d lost complete faith yet.

“Impossible, she’s still standing?” gasped Erigor in shocked horror.

Fire came to life around Natsumi’s fists once more. “If you can’t even beat me, you have no luck getting to them, so lay off already!”

“You’re one stubborn brat!” cured Erigor angrily as he glared at the shorter mage. Natsumi leapt at him once more, only to be deflected back by his Wind Mail as he scoffed at her repeated attempts.

“Damn it…” Feeling her frustration nearing its breaking point, Natsumi turned and slammed her hands onto the metal tracks, her fire burning hotter and hotter than it had been moments before. “Damn it all! Why can’t I get close to him?!”

They encased her, burning like a star as she raged to herself, before Happy noticed something. “That’s…”

“I’m getting pissed off!” She yelled, completely lost in her rage induced haze. “You son of a bitch!”

She gave a yell that was closer to a roar, unintentionally setting four other rock pillars on fire.

‘That’s some eerie magic,’ Erigor thought as he watched the teen scream and her fires grow. ‘It’s like her emotions are manifesting themselves as flames…’

“This is…Erigor’s wind is flowing in a strange direction…” Happy watched, trying to figure out the cause, right as Natsumi gave another roar and broke the railing in two with her bare hands, the flames that had been around suddenly moving upwards like a pillar.

‘The Flames of Emotion?!’ thought the wind mage as he watched, his cocky attitude evaporating into shock at the moment. ‘It’s true that there was an ancient magic like that…No, this brat couldn’t possibly…’ He blinked and looked down as he noticed that his winds were slowing down around him. “What’s going on? My wind is heading towards her?!”

“I see!” Happy found the last piece he needed for the puzzle in his head as Natsumi gave another enraged roar. “Natsumi!” His partner turned to him and the blue cat had to keep a straight face and not show fear, otherwise, he might’ve backed down from the glare she gave him. “Give it up, you can’t win. Just let Gray handle it.”

All the flames stopped for a moment, Natsumi’s eyes wide and mouth dropped open in shock as she stared at this…little shit, before the familiar burn of rage came once more (along with a brighter, hotter and stronger fire gale), this time she let go completely. “What did you just say?!”

The effect was instantaneous, the wind around Erigor began to fade away and he could only watch in shocked horror as he realized he would be left defenseless to the young woman’s rage. “She’s drawing away my Storm Mail! You…”

The flames absorbed all the air and changed them away from Erigor’s spell as he watched on. Happy smirked to himself as he watched, knowing the battle was finally about to shift. ‘The super-heated air around Natsumi moves upwards extremely fast, creating an area of low pressure, and wind blows toward areas of low pressure.’

“I’m going to be the one to kick your ass!” screeched Natsumi, arms thrown up as she yelled it to the sky.

‘Such incredible super-heated magic…she couldn’t be-!’

Natsumi didn’t give him a moment to finish his thought, throwing herself forward in a headbutt to his stomach and catching him hard enough to twist and throw him into the air, the column of fire following like a wave of heat and destruction behind her. “Karyū no Kenkaku!”

Erigor flew through the sky, all his wind taken out and his consciousness fading as he began to fall once more. ‘So a Dragon Slayer really exists?’

He fell head first into the dirt, feet sticking up awkwardly as Natsumi continued to glare at him for a moment more, before she breathed and the fire was gone, though her anger wasn’t yet…but she knew how to burn it off in a moment. “How was that, Happy?”

“Aye! That’s Natsumi, ‘Princess of the Fairies’ and ‘Salamander, all right!” The cat cheered, only to squeak when she grabbed his head, ignoring something falling away from her.

“Is that right?” She cooed, the glare on her face not matching her tone. “Last I checked, someone said something about letting a certain Popsicle deal with this.”

“C-Cat’s have short term memory!” Happy’s little paws smacked at Natsumi’s weakly, sweat beading down his forehead. ‘She's going to roast me alive…’ “A-Anyway, you won!”

“...” Natsumi pouted at him for a moment, before she sighed. “Yeah, I’ll drop it, but watch that mouth of yours! Really, I don’t know where it came from. Same for that last attack…I don’t really know what happened aside from I got pissed at both of you.”

“It’s just because you’re that awesome.” Natsumi knew there was something else behind it, but she didn’t particularly care at this point in time.

“Natsumi!” Lucy’s voice called out and the pink haired mage turned around with a grin.

“You guys are late, it’s already over!” She cheered, only to stop as blood spurted from both Kageyama and Gray’s noses. “Huh? They good?”

“Natsumi, where’s your bandages?!” Lucy yelped, running over after swiping up Gray’s discarded jacket and throwing it onto the shorter Fairy Tail mage’s shoulders.

“They fell off.” Both her and Happy deadpanned as they looked up at the tattered cloth on the floor.

“And even if they didn’t, they definitely won’t work now…” sighed the pink haired teen as she looked down at her bindings. “Well, it was time to replace them anyway, guess it works out.”

“S-She’s a carefree one, huh?” Kageyama choked, rubbing under his nose to try and stop the flow as Gray shook next to him slightly.

“She’s a blockhead is what she is.” growled the ice mage as he stabilized himself enough to stand and help Erza off the four-wheeler “Tch! You dumbass, stay dressed, would you? Rather, wear more clothes!”

“I don’t want to hear that from you, Porn Star.” She huffed, tugging his jacket closer to her body to keep it closed, before turning around to slip her hands into the sleeves and button it up. “I’m swimming in this damn thing, but if I even think about using my scarf, Erza-nee will have my head on one of her swords.”

Gray kept it to himself, but the sight of Natsumi in his jacket made him warm up a bit on the inside. ‘This is getting out of hand for sure…’

“Good job, Natsumi, I knew you could do it.” Erza smiled, leaning against Lucy now.

“Are you okay, Erza?” The blond simpered, worried for the usually strong redhead, who merely nodded, despite the magical drain she most likely felt.

“Don’t worry about me…”

Kageyama sat up, looking at the destruction and Erigor’s unconscious body in shock. Their guild’s ace, Erigor…was on the floor, body bruised and singed. “I-I can’t believe that Erigor-san lost…” He looked down as if something called to him at the same time that Natsumi stiffened, mid argument with Gray as the female mages made their way over to the two.

「 This kind of ending isn’t enough for you, is it? 」

Kageyama looked at where Lullaby laid at his feet, crouching down to lightly brush the tips of his fingers against its aged wood. ‘This kind of ending…’

「 You want them to suffer as you’ve had to suffer. 」

‘Yes, they forced us to be a dark guild when we were only making a decent living for once…’

「 Then, play me for them, teach them a lesson. 」

His hand curled around the wooden dark item, right as a yell of rage and pain filled the air. “W-Why is it back?! I thought it was finally over?!” Kageyama looked up in time to see Natsumi’s flames sprouting out like their very first fight on the train, her head shaking back and forth, as if trying to dislodge something.

He had to time this right. He knew if the Fairy Tail mages figured out that Lullaby was tapping into his heart and mind, they would know he was still going to try and finish Eisenwald’s mission, that he wouldn’t let them be stopped…

He watched Gray jump into action, pinning Natsumi’s burning arms against her sides with his own freezing ones as she writhed and fought in his grip. Erza and Lucy were speaking quietly to one another as they tried to figure out what to do.

Now.

Without waiting another minute, he ran to the magic four wheeler with Lullaby in his hand, thankful that they gave him enough time to collect some more magic to charge this stupid thing and that they left it unguarded.

Gray looked over and barely had time to move himself and Natsumi out of the way of the shadow driven and pushed four wheeler hurtling right their way, he kept his arms locked tightly around the struggling fire mage the entire time, knowing she wouldn’t be right for at least a few more moments.

“Kageyama!” Erza yelled, anger coating her voice as she realized what was going on.

“I’ve got Lullaby!” He yelled, face manic, as if he wasn’t the same guy they’d helped and spoken to on the way there. “You let your guard down, Flies! I’m going to end this on my terms!”

His cackles faded the further away he drove and the further he got, the more Natsumi’s shaking and struggling lessened. “T-That…balding shadow bastard…”

“What the hell? We saved him from being killed!! Like twice!” Lucy joined in angrily.

“When I get my hands on him, he’s going to wish he’d listened to my damn words of fucking wisdom!” promised Gray as he looked down at Natsumi, who nodded and stood back up.

“After him!”

「Clover Town - Guild Master Regular Meeting (Night)」
⸻

Kageyama leaned against a tree tiredly, a smirk on his features as he looked down at the building that was holding all of the guild masters in it. ‘Okay, the sound of the Lullaby should reach them from this distance without any problems.’ Sweat beaded down the side of his face as he looked on, but he was confident. ‘Finally…Finally, the time has come and no one can stop me…’

“Tokiiin!” He jumped and nearly fell from his perch at the sound of a kiss being placed and gravely laughter coming from behind him. 

“These girlies are quite the lookers, yes!” He whipped around to see a short man dressed in an orange and blue ensemble, holding a Sorcerer's Weekly magazine with flushed cheeks. “Young wizards these days have really upped their level of looks and skills!” His face changed to a euphoric one. “Photo spreads are the best…Ah! No, no, no! I don’t have time for this, I have to find out where those destructive children of mine are head-!” The old man stopped once more, this time turning around in shocked horror and clutching his magazine closer to himself as he realized that Kageyama had been watching him the entire time.

The man flipped into excuses as the shadow mage looked on, feeling like he was in some sort of magical drain fever dream. “I-It’s not what you think! This is part of my studies,” He tried, little arms and leg waving in the air as he spoke. “I don’t feel the slightest bit guilty about-!”

“You don’t have to make excuses…” Kageyama sighed after a moment of watching the poor old man flounder, causing him to stop and take notice of his entire profile now.

“Oh, you’re injured,” He sounded like an old grandfather talking to a younger family member as he began to scold the shadow mage. “What the heck are you doing, wandering around out here?”

“Uh, well…” Kageyama tried to think of a viable excuse for him being in the forest looking as bad as he did at the moment. Then he paused and took an extra look at the old man in front of him as he sighed. ‘Wait, isn’t this Fairy Tail’s Makarov? Fate won’t let me escape these flies, will it?’

“Um,” He called as the man began to walk away, causing him to pause and turn to look at him curiously, the black haired male lifted Lullaby up, while he kept his face and voice pleasant. “Would you listen to me play a tune? I’m not allowed to bring instruments into the hospital, so…I-I wanted someone to hear me!”

“That’s one creepy flute you got there.” observed Makarov as he turned to face Kageyama once more.

“It might look strange, but it has a lovely tone!”

Makarov seemed to toss the idea around in his head for a moment, before he smiled at the taller mage. “I’m in a hurry, but I suppose I could listen to one song.”

“Okay!” ‘I win.’

“Listen up, now.” Makarov hummed once more and Kageyama began to lift Lullaby to his lips, fingers set along the holes to get the song flowing properly…only he seemed to freeze. ‘Finally…’

Flashes of his guild mates and their words began to flash through his head in that moment.

“We’re just getting even with all the legal guilds!” Rayure’s voice laughed.

“They sure got a lot of nerve for a bunch of no-talent idiots!”

“With this, we’ll lock ourselves onto the road of darkness!” Erigor’s voice roared bitterly. “And get our revenge on the people from the magical world that stole our livelihoods!”

His lips almost touched the wood once more and then…he began to hear the Fairy Tail members who’d saved him that day voices…

“You won’t get your rights back by doing something like that!” The new mage Lucy, who despite her looks, brought up a good point...

“Try living to a better tomorrow rather than an all in now…all of you in that guild.” Gray, who despite not liking or trusting him, gave him advice for the future.

“Kage, we need your power!” The strong and terrifying Titania, Erza, needed him earlier...

“You…bastard…you’re guildmates, friends…and you were trying to kill him?!” The destructive and wild Natsumi, who took a hit for him, their enemy.

Kageyama panted shakily as the conflict warring inside of him continued in his frozen state.

「 。。。」

“There he is!” Gray spotted their Master and Kageyama in a clearing. They had been searching until now for the man they’d saved, despite it all.

“Master!” “’jii-chan!” gasped Natsumi and Erza in relief, the four of them preparing to go down and stop the shadow mage themselves, when…

“Shh!” Blue Pegasus' master hummed with a scary looking face, causing Gray, Lucy and Natsumi to jump back in shock. “We’re just getting to the good part, now watch. And my, you’r all so cute, totally my type.”

He made a little dancing motion towards Gray, who was trying to hide behind the shaking Natsumi, as Lucy rushed over to Erza. “What the heck is that?”

“It’s just Master Bob…” Erza sweatdropped at the response, causing the large man to turn (and bump Gray and Natsumi away) and give a polite bow their way.

“Erza-chan, how you’ve grown. You as well, Gray-chan and Natsumi-chan.” A dizzy ‘Aye’ from Natsumi was the only response he got.

“This is the master of Blue Pegasus?!” Lucy couldn’t believe her eyes. She heard everyone in Blue Pegasus had been handsome…not…scary…

Makarov turned back to the man he knew was holding Lullaby and frowned. “What’s the matter? Hurry and play it.”

“We can’t let him play it!” The younger mages gasped, but Bob restrained Gray and Natsumi, when Goldmine decided to speak up with a smirk on his aging face.

“We said, keep quiet and watch, this is the good part.” Then a snort followed after. “Though I know you Fairies don’t listen too well to orders, just try for the time being.”

“It’s the master of Quatro Cerberus!” gasped Lucy, almost taking a step back.

“Master Goldmine…”

Makarov looked back up at the young face of the supposedly ‘dark mage’ holding Lullaby.

‘If I just…If I just blow it, then everything will change…’ Kageyama told him, he could hear the whisper of Lullaby in the back of his head, urging him to play it.

“Nothing will change,” Makarov said as he turned to look over at Kageyama, a look of pity and disappointment in his gaze. “Weak humans will always be weak, no matter how long you wait, but weakness is not always a bad thing. Humans are weak creatures from the start, uneasy by ourselves, we form guilds…where we have allies, friends and even family.”

Makarov could see images of his rambunctious children, trashing the guild hall, arguing, brawling, helping one another. It warmed his heart and reminded him how much he missed being around them during these regular meetings. “In order to thrive, we bind together and progress ahead. These awkward combinations might run into more walls than a single person would…and we might take a long time to get where we’re going, but as long as we believe in tomorrow and place one foot in front of the other, we will be filled with power from within. Living a strong life means being able to smile. And not relying on something like that flute.”

The two stood in front of one another a moment longer, the wind blowing suddenly by them, before Kageyama threw Lullaby to the floor with an empty clatter and fell to his knees in front of the short Fairy Tail mage. “I surrender…”

“Master!” “’jii-chan!” “’jii-san!” Erza, Natsumi and Gray called out as they ran over to where he and Kageyama were.

“Oh! Why are you here?!” He shrieked, noticing it was the team that he prayed didn’t destroy anything to get here.

“Excellent, as always!” Erza praised as she suddenly hugged him to her breast plate with a smile and a resounding ‘Clang!’. “Those words were so moving!”

“Hard!”

Lucy crouched down to check on Kageyama and his injuries, while Natsumi scooped up Makarov in a hug. “That was perfect, ’jii-chan!” Makarov blinked for a moment, before he grinned up at the pink haired teen.

“So soft…”

“That’s because she doesn’t have anything on underneath Gray’s jacket…” Happy countered, causing Makarov to splutter.

“Child, you-!” Natsumi stuck her tongue out as he began to scold her.

“And that settles that.” Gray finished as he looked at the two older guild masters.

The happy reunion was ruined by a voice speaking up loudly. “A bunch of cowardly mages, every last one of you…I thought I had you at least to play my song, but alas…” Purple haze started leaking from the eyes and the mouth of the skull on the Lullaby Flute.

“Something’s coming out!” Happy cried out.

A giant magic circle appeared over the army’s head, electricity crackling dangerously as something tried to come through it.

“W-What the heck is that…?”

“I can’t stand it anymore! I’ll devour them myself!” The haze began to move upwards, mixing with the purple electricity and causing the magic circle to flare brightly. A large wooden foot slammed into the dirt, followed by another as everyone tilted their heads back to look up into the hellish true form of the Lullaby, Zeref the Black mage’s creation. “Your pitiful souls, that is!”

“That’s too big!” screeched Lucy.

“So that’s what you complain about?!”

“What is this thing?” Kageyama stared in shock and fear at the monster in front of them. “I had no idea about this!”

“...Lullaby…” whispered Natsumi, eyes staring up at the beast with some sort of unknown emotion flickering in them. “One of Zeref’s demons…”

“Oh on…how upsetting…” Bob hummed, hand in front of his mouth.

“This is a demon of the book of Zeref…” Goldmine repeated Natsumi’s words as he watched the other guild master flee the meeting building.

“This isn’t good!”

“Should we help?”

“My back hurts, so I’ll pass…”

“Why did the flute turn into that monster…?” wondered Lucy in horror.

“That monster is the Lullaby,” Goldmine explained. “In other words, it’s living magic. That’s Zeref’s magic.”

Natsumi blinked. ‘If that thing is living magic…is that why I heard all those screams earlier?’

“Living magic?” parroted Erza.

“Zeref? Isn’t he ancient history?” inquired Grya as they watched Lullaby adjust to moving about as it shifted constantly in front of them.

“The Black mage Zeref was the most evil in the history of the Magical World,” puttered Bob, his voice barely concealing the anxiety they all felt as they watched the creature in front of them wearily. “To think that a part of his legacy would appear before us after all these centuries…”

Finally, Lullaby seemed to have had enough of their little discussion, leaning down to grin at Natsumi, Erza and Gray’s forms. “So then, which one of your souls should I partake of first?”

Natsumi felt a brief flicker of unease as she picked up the distant sounds of screams again, but the glare on her face stayed firm, just as Erza and Gray did as well. “Wanna say that again?” 

“Natsumi, Gray, move everyone away from here.” Erza ordered, turning to look at her companions.

“So bossy~...” whined Natsumi, though a small part of her was happy to be further from the sounds of death for a bit longer.

“Don’t order me around!” Gray huffed, looking just enough put off to be noticeable to the redhead.

Erza’s eyes narrowed on the two. “I’m counting on you!”

“Aye, sir!” They cried, turning and running as fast as they could away from the scary redhead.

“And the return of Happy #2…” sighed Lucy as she watched them work.

Over with the army, they were trying to rile themselves up to attack the living magic monster.

“The big guy’s all bark and no bite…he ain’t got nothing!”

“Charge!”

Their yelling caught the wooden flute’s attention as Lullaby turned towards them, almost pissed off. “Back off, small fry!” Without waiting, a magic circle appeared in front of its mouth and a bright light was shot off into the distance, right over the army’s heads and blinding the mages behind it as the attack destroyed an entire mountain.

“Captain, the mountain has disappeared!”

“W-What? R-Retreat!!” The magicless men ran for their lives, before Lullaby turned back to the mages in front of it.

“Okay, I've decided. I’m going to eat all of your souls, you pitiful mages.”

“I’d like to see you try!” Natsumi shouted, now that all the guild masters were further away and hidden from any kind of line of fire.

“You can do it!” The guild masters cheered from the background.

“What do they plan to do with just the three of them…?” fretted Lucy in worry as she stared in fear at Lullaby.

“What about you, Lucy?” Happy popped in, looking at the blond in confusion.

“I’m out of Celestial Spirits I can use today…” She turned away, trying to look apologetic about getting to stay out of the frankly terrifying battle. “And I might just hold everyone back, see…”

“Excuses.” Happy claimed blandly.

“Shut up, cat!”

With a roar, everyone shook as another magic circle appeared over Lullaby, hands pressed tightly to their ears as the magical power shook them. “What a horrid voice.” Bob chimed, somehow calm throughout all this.

“What’s this terrible feeling…?” gasped Lucy as she bent forward from the sound.

“It’s begun…” Goldmine grunted.

“Oh no…!”

“It’s the Lullaby!”

“Our souls are being devoured!”

Makarov ignored the cries of fear from the other guild masters and merely smirked up at the monster known as Lullaby. “Get them, my children…”

Erza brandished her sword. “Let’s go!” She called to Natsumi and Gray, both who called out affirmations, before she launched forward, the other two following her lead.

Once in the air, she decided it was time to switch armors. “Kansō!” In a bright flash she was wearing her Heaven’s Wheel armor. “The Knight!”

She flew downward, cutting two long slashes along Lullaby’s upper half, earning a groaning scream from the demon.

The air cooled around Gray as he slammed his fist into his hand, eyes closed as he channeled his magic, a large blue magic circle appearing in front of his hands. “Ice Make: Lance!” Multiple lances of ice came forth, slamming into Lullaby from different locations, before swiftly melting into glitters after the damage had been caused.

Natsumi slammed her fists together, eyes turning dragon like as the magic circle flashed. “Take this…!” Crouching to give herself a better launch into the air, the fire mage pulled her fist back. “Karyū no Tekken!” Bursting out of the wall of fire she’d created, Natsumi hit Lullaby right in the face, sending the demon staggering backwards from the force of it.

The people below could only watch in awe, fright and shock.

“She’s punching with fire!” A flash of Natsumi’s brilliant flames.

“And this one’s an ice mage!” A breath of cold air from Gray’s beautiful ice.

“She’s requipping armor!” A flash of gold from Erza’s strong armor.

The three mages landed on separate pieces of rocks that Lullaby had destroyed, watching the large demon for a second, before quickly jumping back out the way as it turned their way, smashing the rocks they stood on a second ago. “You’re really pissing me off now!”

Erza made another cut at Lullaby, this time aiming low, Gray created large crystals that shot off into the air at Lullaby, hitting it in multiple places. Natsumi watched them to make sure she had an opening without hitting them. “How about another one…” She fell into a different stance, this one giving her the look of a dragon with wings. “Karyū no Yokugeki!” She slammed her arms down twice, as if beating wings were trying to take flight once more.

Kageyama looked on in shock at the sight before him, Lucy and Happy next to him as the light of battle illuminated their faces. He knew that it had been a losing battle against them himself, but to see them putting a monster the size of Lullaby on the ropes… “Amazing, I’ve never seen such a combination attack before!”

“Their movements are in perfect sync!” agreed Lucy.

“Aye!”

Lullaby roared in anger, the magic circle growing for a second, before disappearing into its mouth as it looked up at the sky.

“I don’t have a good feeling about this!” Lucy flinched back as she watched, suddenly fearing the situation once more.

“Here comes the Lullaby!” gasped Happy in a panic.

As Lullaby growled and sucked in air, the plants within the area began to wither and die. “The plants are withering…”

“It’s the curse of death from the Lullaby.” explained Happy as the grass around them turned crunchy and dead.

Once finished with the plants, Lullaby grinned crudely. “I’ll be dining on your souls!” With another grin, he blew out some magical pressure.

Lucy, Happy, Kageyama and a few others covered their ears, but Makarov continued to grin proudly up at the monster in front of him, while Goldmine and Bob watched in amusement.

After a moment of waiting, a broken up tone that was mostly air blew out of Lullaby’s body, only the occasional note actually making it through.

“What the heck?!” shrieked Lucy as she stared at the large, just as shocked as she was, flute demon in front of her.

“It didn’t do anything!” Happy yelled, large earplugs in his ears.

Lullaby seemed distressed by the noise flowing from its body as sweat beaded down the side of its face. “What’s with this sound? What happened to my beautiful sound?!”

Kageyama blinked as a thought came to him. “I-I see, after those attacks from before…”

“They opened up a bunch more holes, so he can’t play properly…” finished Lucy, feeling tired once more. “So after all this build up, this is the punchline?”

“Look, his stomach’s empty.” taunted Happy.

“H-He is a flute…” Kageyama mumbled, feeling embarrassed for Lullaby, who looked shocked himself.

“How dare you mock me!” The large wooden demon cried out once more, this time utterly enraged at not getting his meal, before turning and kicking a mountain over, the damage shaking the forest where the guild masters were still hiding.

“He’s snapped!”

“Both big and bad-tempered!”

Lullaby turned to where the voices were coming from, eyes glowing with another laser spell as Gray prepared to counter the attack. “Ice Make…” The attack shot off, Lucy and the others cringing from the bright light of the fire that coated the entire forest area. “Shield!”

“So fast!”

“He can use Maker Magic to create something that large instantly?”

“Maker magic…?” whispered Lucy as she watched the ice shield hold the fire off easily.

“Magic that gives form to magical power,” explained Happy, a grin coming to his face as he looked up at the blond Celestial mage. “There’s also magic that can steal form away.”

“Damn you!” Lullaby cursed, sounding more and more angry the more it spoke and watched the fires burn everything, but the humans. It turned its head as the flames began to be pulled away, watching as Natsumi finished swallowing up all the fire that it had caused.

“Alright! Now that I’ve eaten, I’m all fired up!” The Dragon slayer wiped her mouth easily from the meal she’d ingested.

“You…You’re a damn monster!” Lullaby growled, reeling back and punching at the rock Natsumi sat on. The short teen leapt out of the way easily, before running up the demon’s arm, anger on her face.

“What did you call me?!”

“S-She’s climbing me!” Once Natsumi got to the top of the demon’s forearm, she jumped out of the way as she noticed Erza and Gray preparing their attacks to finish this.

“Kansō!” Her Heaven’s Wheel armor was replaced by a black two piece set that had wings in the back.

The guild masters seemed to enjoy the sight, hearts seemingly coming around them as they stared.

“Oh!”

“It’s the Kureha no Yoroi!”

“That’s a magic armor that will add tremendous power to a single attack!”

Gray positioned himself right in front of Lullaby, the magic gathering around him quickly as a magic circle appeared in front of his glowing hands. “Ice Make: Saucer!” The large spiked wheel appeared, before speeding off into Lullaby’s side, splintering wood violently, making it cry out in pain, before Erza flew by and slashed along its face.

“Natsumi!” The redhead called out, turning to face the girl, who was slowly powering up her next move.

“Now!” ordered Gray and she didn’t argue. She slammed her fists together, hopefully for the final attack, and the magic circle appeared.

“Alright! With a flaming right hand, and with a flaming left hand, when you combine the flames together… ” Natsumi clapped her hands together as the fires combined and grew more and more, even encasing her, before she lifted them over her head, with a growling roar. “Try eating some of this! Karyū no Kōen!”

The Dragon Slayer threw the flaming ball down at Lullaby with her entire body as she was blown back by the force of her own throw, twisting in air, only to be caught by Gray as she landed, turning back to watch as Lullaby yelled in pain, the entire area lighting up as the demon blew up in a bright flash of light, the magic within it being released as the guild masters watched.

“Excellent!” Makarov praised.

“Wonderful!” sighed Bob dreamily.

“They defeated Zeref’s demon so easily…” Goldmine agreed, feeling like he knew this was going to happen.

Lucy cheered as Kageyama blinked in shock. “W-Wow…” The dust settled and they saw Gray holding Natsumi as she adjusted his jacket she wore, along with Erza standing behind the two of them in her Kureha armor. “So this is what Fairy Tail mages are like?”

“They’re the strongest team for sure!” cheered Lucy as she clapped her hands together. “Super cool!”

“Aye!”

Makarov laughed loudly as he turned to head over to his children. “How about that? Incredible, right?”

“Good job, everyone!” Lucy cheered, raising an eyebrow as she noticed Gray didn’t seem to want to put Natsumi down after he’d caught her. Interesting .

“He wasn’t nothing too special, was he?” Natsumi laughed as Gray grinned at Erza over his shoulder.

“A pushover.” agreed the ice mage.

“For a demon at that.” snorted the redhead with a small smile, gently nudging Gray in the ribs.

“What a bunch of fools…” Kageyama chuckled to himself as he watched them laugh, joke and make merry in the middle of the devastated battlefield, small tears prickling in the corner of his eyes. “I’m no match for them…”

A hand landing on his shoulder startled Kageyama, before he was suddenly enveloped in Bob’s arms, the man rubbing his scraggly beard against his face with a blissed out blush. “We’ve got to get you to a doctor, yes we do!”

“It’s itchy!”

“Well, I don’t know what was going on exactly,” sighed Goldmine with a smile. “But I guess we all owe Fairy Tail one.”

“But, look…”

Erza turned around and gasped as Gray turned with Natsumi, both paling at the sight of the large crater in the floor. “They went overboard!”

Makarov felt like he was going to die on the spot as he looked on, all giddiness fading with the fact he’d have to pay for this out of pocket. “W-Where’d the regular meeting hall go…?” Lucy whispered.

“Aye! A mountain or two are gone!” surmised Happy as Makarov finally gave into his desire to pass out right there and then.

“Master!” gasped Lucy.

“Something flew out!” cheered Happy.

“You don’t think they’re gonna call the army, right…?” Natsumi whispered to Gray as Erza began to ‘chase after their Master’s spirit’.

“I hope not, we didn’t do this…” huffed the ice mage, before their gazes met and Natsumi smirked.

“We did like…a third of it and the rest was Lullaby’s tantrum.” she chuckled, causing them both to burst into quiet laughter. “And, Gray…for a Popsicle, you’re…not that bad.”

He blinked, before smiling softly at her, though she didn’t notice as she was now watching Makarov talk to the people about what happened and to remember just who saved them.

“Kids take after their parents, you know.” Goldmine chuckled as he watched Makarov bargain with the people.

“Brings back memories of when we were active.” giggled Bob with a hand pressed to his cheek fondly.

“S-Seriously?” Kageyama chuckled as he watched the scene, wondering how they could be so powerful, while also being a bunch of idiots.

“You look just like I did when I was younger, Kage-chan…” hummed the Blue Pegasus guild master thoughtfully, earning a startled choked noise from the dark haired mage. “I sure had a lot of fun back then. We all did so much crazy stuff, the council was always angry at us! By the way, this hottie is me!”

“No way that’s you!” shrieked Kageyama, despite it being the only option, he refused to accept it.

“Kage-chii, we look just alike!”

“Like hell we do!” Kageyama felt his soul being crushed.

“Anyway, I think you should be able to understand a bit now.” Goldmine offered, watching the entire thing with a grin.

“About how fun guilds can be.” finished Bob, right as Kageyama’s ‘soul flew out’ from the shock of the picture.

“Something came out.”

“Aramaa!”

『Omake』
⸻

Makarov sighed as he managed to negotiate with both the army and the other guild masters that the mess wasn’t completely Fairy Tail’s fault this time around…just about fifty percent of it, no matter how proud his children were of it.

They managed to make it to Clover Town with minimal issues now, all of them heading to the town’s inn so they could start heading home the following morning, since everything was already said and done with for the regular meeting anyway.

“Sorry, Master.” Erza mumbled as she, Natsumi and Gray stood in front of him. “We didn’t expect for that to happen.”

“Worry not, we managed to protect everyone and that is all that matters, my children.” He sighed, before his eyes sharpened. “But Natsumi, go get some actual clothes! Who knows what those perverted old men would think about my child running around acting like Gray!”

“As if!” She shrieked, turning to head upstairs. “Lucy, lemme borrow a shirt or something!”

“Why me?!”

“Why did you call me out, ’jii-san!” sighed Gray, still without a shirt.

“Because you're shirtless now!” Erza yelled, knocking him over the head and beginning to yell at him, while Makarov sighed.

“There’s no helping these kids of mine…” He muttered fondly as he watched the chaos unfold, though much calmer than back at the guild would be. “Not that I would want them to change, of course.”

Chapter Text

Lucy sighed as she watched Natsumi be dragged onto the train and towards a booth in the back by Erza and Gray, Happy floating over their heads as they settled down together, before she looked down at her guild master with a small smile. “Where would you like to sit, Master?”

“Hm, this should do,” The little old man hopped onto the seat, patting the area next to him as Lucy smiled and sat next to him. “How did you feel during this mission, Lucy?”

“I…I was scared, but I’m really glad I got to work with Natsumi, Erza and Gray!” She beamed, before the enthusiastic smile dimmed a bit. “Although, they’re just a bit…just a bit…a bit…”

“A bit insane? Destructive? Out of control?” chortled Makarov, shifting into a cross legged position. “Trust me, I know better than anyone that those three are all of those things, it’s one of the reasons I always prayed that they didn’t end up working together one day without my supervision and yet, here we are.”

Lucy giggled as she listened to the voices of their guild mates, not that far away. “Yeah, I can see that.” Her voice was light as she fiddled with her keyes gently. “But…I have a question, Master.”

“Hm?”

“The day I first joined the guild, you were scolding everyone, but that day…” Her brown eyes turned shadowed as she remembered the crestfallen way Natsumi had reacted to the scolding. “You really went into Natsumi about the damages she did, even though right afterwards you told them you didn’t care…only to scold Natsumi once more it looked like. Why is that?”

“Lucy, have you ever heard of the story of the Girl who could breathe fire?” At the shake of the blond’s head, he smiled at her. “Lemme tell you it then, maybe from there you will understand, no?”

Lucy blinked, but nodded along anyway. She hoped this would explain a bit more about the way Makarov treated Natsumi, even if it was supposed to be about control and the likes, he could handle it a bit better.

Or maybe she was just biased at the end of the day.

「 I hadn’t met her in the beginning, I’d only heard little rumors here and there of a little monster running around the forest. Hitting anyone that got too close with fire, before disappearing back into the thick of it. 」

“Did you hear, Master?” Wakaba hummed as he took another puff of his pipe. “The people got chased out again by that thing in the forest again.”

“Thing in the forest?” repeated their master, nodding gratefully as one of the barmaids poured more beer into his tankard.

“Not a thing, a monster.” Macao countered, little Romeo swaddled in his arms as he rocked him lightly. “Apparently, whenever someone passes through an area of the forest, a monster that breathes fire and roars chases them right back out. They never get too far, but the thing makes damn sure they don’t come back either.”

“Hm, well, they haven’t come in and put a request in, so it must not be bad enough for us to get involved.” grunted the old man, though he filed the information for later. “Where’d you even hear that from? Whenever I go into town, no one says anything about some fire breathing monster, despite the fact that they have no trouble telling me about their sales.”

“I think it’s probably cause they think they sound crazy,” Wakaba chimed in once more, this time snorting to himself. “The monster they’re describing to us sounds like some sort of dragon.”

“Oh?” Now Makarov was a bit more interested, turning to the two at the table with his full attention. “Tell me more.”

“Well, you already know about how the thing arrives and breathes fire at them, another thing is that it’s always in the same clearing with a cave, so they never get near the area.” Macao started from the beginning. “They also claim when they do catch glimpses of the ‘monster dragon’, it's not that big, but they catch sight of flowing scales in the burning fire. They’ve tried to send normal fire mages in, but the monster also apparently eats the fire you throw at it.”

“I see,” Makarov looked down into his drink with a contemplative look. “Forget what I said earlier, you two stay with the guild and look out for the kids for a bit. I’m going on a little hunting trip.”

“You got it, Master.” Wakaba nodded as the two turned to look over the ruckus currently happening and Fairy Tail’s master left to make his preparations for the day.

「Magnolia - Forest」
⸻

Makarov hummed lightly under his breath as he walked through the area, eyes taking in the way some areas were a bit more burnt than others and the way some of them had broken up trees, as if something had punched it until it broke. “What lovely scenery this must be on a good day.” His eyes snapped forward at a flash of pink. “Oya?”

He could see a fire next to the splash of pink, but that was as far as he got, before a growl resounded and a blast of fire came hurtling his way. But he wasn’t Fairy Tail’s master for nothing, with an ease despite his age, the old man leapt onto the overhead tree branch and looked down.

The pink had been hair on a child, which made him pause for a moment as the child stopped, eyes flashing around and nose twitching as they growled lowly under their breath. Makarov had to quickly move once more as the child’s head snapped up his way and they sent another blast of fire his way, a weird spell falling from their lips as the magic circle appeared in front of their mouth. “Ateş Ejderinin Kükremesi (Fire Dragon’s Roar)!”

Makarov quickly rolled behind a rock, feeling the intense flames split over the rock, but he didn’t move. If he did, some part of him would end up barbequed for sure. “Child, calm down!” He yelled, the old man wasn’t really one to try and fight kids, even if they seemed to be rampaging.

“Olmak (Be)...gone!” A small choked breath that almost sounded like a sob. “Igneel’s gelecek (going to come) home! A-And…*hic* pişman olacaksın (you’ll regret) *hic* coming ormanına (to his forest)!”

Between the tears and the weird noises that the child was speaking in between everything, Makarov managed to pick up that the child was calling this area…home. “Child…” He peeked around the rock just in time to see the child open their mouth and…begin to suck in the fire that they’d started earlier. “What…?!”

「 The child, who looked so sad and lonely before she saw me, was breathing fire at me and eating fire to replenish strength. I thought, surely, I’m finally losing it. 」

“Get…” The child’s voice was rough as they turned back to Makarov, lonely dark eyes brimming with unshed tears and anger along with another emotion, glared at the old man. “Dışarı (Out)!”

With the last word, fire was once more sent flying towards Makarov, but the old man was prepared and simply went behind his rock once more.

“Igneel, help…” The child’s voice was so soft and sad as another sob was pulled from her. “Evimizi tek başıma koruyamam (I can’t protect our home by myself)…”

「 I don’t know how long I sat there, listening to the girl call out for ‘Igneel’ and talk in an old Fiorian way mixed with whatever tongue she knew, but I knew it was long enough for the clouds to close the sky up and for the world to begin crying with the child. That was when I made my decision… 」

“Child, have you got anywhere to go to hide from the rain?” The child looked up at him, obviously trying to process what he said slowly, before nodding shakily. A tiny finger moved and pointed at the large cave behind them and Makarov’s eyes narrowed. “That’s no place for a child to grow up. Why don’t you come back with me for a bath, some hot food and dry clothes?”

The child once again slowly processed his words, before their eyes dilated and they hissed at him, looking almost like an animal trying to appear larger than their enemy. “Waiting….Igneel…return.”

A lot of the sentence was lost in the translation, but Makarov understood that the child was talking about some form of parental figure coming back for him. With a more cautious frown, Makarov crouched in front of the little one and held their little hands gently. “You’re waiting for someone named Igneel to come back?” A hesitant nod. “Okay, I’ll come by tomorrow, alright?”

The child nodded, but Makarov didn’t know if she really knew what he was saying, save for a few words.

「 。。。」

「 I went back to Fairy Tail after that day, I warned the people of Magnolia not to enter the forest for the time being and to leave the so-called ‘monster’ to me. Then, I returned the following day to check on the girl. 」

Makarov followed the trail of burnt grass from the day before, eyes looking around for the familiar splash of pink that he’d seen the day before. The weather was going to start turning to rain rather than the sun they’d had recently and he really didn’t want her to be outside in the midst of it all alone. “Child! I know you can hear me, where did you run off to now?”

His voice carried easily in the quiet of the forest and soon enough a couple of bushes rustled and the unruly head of pink poked out, dark and cat-like eyes watching him for a moment, before the child climbed out and over to him. “Back?”

“Yes, I’m back.” He chuckled, sitting on a warm rock as the child came closer, less cautious than the day before, which he accepted happily. “Did Igneel come home yet?”

A small hiss escaped the child as they circled him for a moment, and so he took that as a no, Igneel didn’t come home yet. He still wasn’t quite sure what gender the child was, hard to tell if you asked him, but he wasn’t in a position to ask them just yet. The child didn’t seem to trust him fully anyway, let alone understanding him.

“Are you hungry?” He offered instead, watching fondly as the child paused at his bag, sniffing it as their eyes widened. “I had a feeling you were.”

They looked up at him with wide, hungry eyes and the old man chuckled once again, reaching into his bag and pulling out some cooked meat and bread, handing it to the little one, who tore into it ravenously. Once they were done, they looked up at Makarov again, licking their lips hungrily. “Still hungry, huh?”

Instead of handing the wild one another plate of food, he tossed the entire bag towards them and watched as the child dug through it eagerly. They didn’t end up getting anywhere that day, but he enjoyed watching the little one eat the food he brought.

「 I didn’t know this child’s name, didn’t know a single thing about her aside from the fact that she was alone, but that didn’t stop me from worrying about her and growing fond. I visited for an entire week, the child slowly opening up a bit more. I managed to teach her some words during this time and learn her name…but one day, she wasn’t there anymore. 」

“Natsumi!” Makarov called as he arrived into the pink haired child’s clearing. He’d figured her name out over the course of his visits and learned that she was a little girl that had been raised by Igneel…a dragon, of all things. He looked around, pursing his lips slightly.

Usually, she was barreling towards him before he could even call her name and yet she was nowhere in sight. This caused slight worry to rise in his chest, since after the ‘fire monster’ incident, the people of Magnolia had warned him that it kept some slave traders away from their area, but without that threat anymore, people were free to try their luck and pray that no one from Fairy Tail caught wind of their trail.

But that didn’t stop them from trying something on his child in the woods, even if she didn’t realize that he’d already claimed her as one of his own.

Then he saw it, Natsumi’s brilliant flames lighting up a path that blasted trees and bushes alike out of the way in a burning hot inferno, her growling and snarls loud and threatening as he heard other voices as well.

“I thought you said the brat was magicless!”

“I said that there was a rumor of a fire monster and that she couldn’t have defeated it! I didn’t say she was magicless!”

“That’s basically the same thing!”

“’Jii-chan!” Her voice yelped out and Makarov made his body a little bigger in order to brace against her weight as she tumbled into him, hair wild and all over the place. “Came! ’jii-chan, here!”

“I told you I’d be back, Natsumi.” He hummed, running a hand over her head and watching the small purr that rumbled through her chest. “Now, let me just handle the pests and then we can go eat, sound good?”

She hissed something that might’ve been approval, before darting back to her clearing, most likely to wait for his return from dealing with the intruders of her father’s forest. Fairy Tail’s master turned back to the men and his face darkened into a glare full of golden magic power as he allowed his body to begin growing larger and larger, until he was towering over the would-be slavers. “You bastards have a lot of nerve attacking a child in the middle of the woods, especially the ones so close to Fairy Tail. You know what we do to people like you, correct?”

The two men sputtered and whimpered for mercy, but Makarov never showed mercy to those who hurt his own and these men had gone after Natsumi, even if they didn’t know where she belonged.

They had gone after a child, which was enough of an excuse for Makarov to go after these men.

He showed them no mercy and only prayed that Natsumi was far enough that she couldn’t hear their shrieks for mercy and pain.

By the time he went back to the wild child, she was done rummaging through his bag and the food was already cooking over a fire she made. “’Jii-chan! Food!”

“I see that,” He chuckled, settling down next to her and gently ruffling her hair. “Thank you for starting it for me, Natsumi.”

She giggled, leaning into his touch a bit more. They spoke quietly as they waited for the food to cook, Makarov throwing words at Natsumi to learn as he pointed them out. She was a very bright girl, her attention span just left much to be desired.

But didn’t every child have an attention span the sight of a gnat?

Eventually, he decided to stop beating around the bush and looked at the girl as she tore into the warm meat in front of her. “Natsumi,” Large dark eyes met his own gaze. “I think it’s time you moved in with me.”

Laxus was hardly home and Makarov had the room for the little girl and if she came to his place, it would be easier to try and teach her things, while getting her used to life in the city. He would get her signed up to the guild and have everything settled before they went to his place, but he needed her to agree first.

He trusted her on her own, but he wanted to make sure she was safe and secure.

“Not…gonna leave?” Her voice was soft and worried as she gazed at the old man. “Want to take Natsumi with?” At his nod, she shifted uncomfortably. “What about…Igneel?”

“When you’re old enough, you can go and look for him, I promise.”

“Natsumi…go with ’jii-chan!” She beamed at him and Makarov felt his heart warm as he smiled at her.

“Atta girl.”

Lucy blinked and looked at the short old man in shock. “From the way everyone spoke about it, I thought Natsumi just kind of…wandered into Fairy Tail.”

“Haha! Most would, since she wasn’t really known by anyone outside of the guild until about two years after she joined.” Makarov laughed softly, looking out the window with a gentle look in his eyes. “We don’t really know Natsumi’s age, nor her birthday, but we do know that Romeo aside, she’s the youngest in the guild.”

“So how do you celebrate her birthday?”

“We use the day she joined the guild as her birthday.” He closed his eyes and looked back up at Lucy. “But the reason I told you this, is because I have to scold Natsumi and Erza personally like that, all the others aside, because I hand chose them and I don’t want the rest of the guild thinking that I would be softer on them since I personally invited them to come to Fairy Tail. It wouldn’t be fair to them, not the rest of the guild, but especially not to Natsumi and Erza. Erza doesn’t really break rules, but when she does, she gets a good scolding too. Natsumi knows how dangerous her fire can be, it scares her sometimes. That’s why our talks are both good and bad, they remind her to ground herself and remind me that she is still growing and not changing down a dark road.”

“Oh…” Lucy felt a little silly for questioning their Master. He wouldn’t have been in charge of Fairy Tail for as long as he’d been if he was truly a bad leader to the others. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, mistakes happen, child and you’re still new to the dynamics of our large and insane guild.” He patted her knee gently. “I can’t wait to see where you go from here, Lucy, I hope you like it in our little family.”

Lucy beamed down at him. “Thank you, Master!”

As the train ride home continued, Lucy looked back over to the other members of her team and wondered what they were talking about over there.

『Omake』
⸻

“Erza, are you really going to fight Natsumi when we go back to Magnolia?” Gray asked, watching the redhead, who was braiding Natsumi’s shoulder length hair once more as the pink haired Dragon Slayer slept.

“...I promised her, you know.” The knight hummed, but there was something dark in her eyes as she braided the strands gently. “Natsumi has never broken her promises to me or anyone else in the guild, so I shouldn’t break my promise to her.”

“Even if you know she’ll know and won’t be happy at the end of it?”

“She’ll be safe and that’s worth more than anything to me.”

The two said nothing afterwards, simply waiting for their time to arrive to get home after the crazy job they’d finished.

The one thing that went through their heads the entire time was about Natsumi for two separate reasons.

Chapter Text

「Magnolia - Magic Council (???)」
⸻

“Eisenwald may have been destroyed, but the root of the problem still remains unsolved.” One of the men in the middle of the summoning circles grunted, voice low.

“The number of dark guilds rivals that of the stars themselves…” A second chimed in.

“Then we should come up with a plan to wipe them all out at once!” Bolstered a third, this one younger than the other two and much more vigor and self righteous sounding.

“But how?” asked the second voice once more, eyeing his companion wearily.

“I will not stand for Zeref’s magic falling into their hands again!” This time a man with a long beard cut in, holding the once again sealed Lullaby flute in his hand.

“And how was it that they obtained such magic so easily in the first place?” The old man that spoke wore a hat as he stood next to a female council member.

“Blame goes all the way up to the administrative level.” An older man with orange hair and cat ears huffed, looking disgruntled at the words.

“At any rate…” The young voice cut in again, causing everyone to turn to him, showing a man with a red mark on his face and blue hair. “It seems like this time we were saved by that thorn in our sides, Fairy Tail.”

“They destroyed a whole dark guild with just four or five people,” The young woman from earlier hummed, lifting a sleeve covered hand to her face with a smirk. “Impressive.”

The council murmured uneasily among themselves. No one wanted to admit their gratitude to Fairy Tail, who they often wanted to shut down from their rowdiness and their reckless fighting stances on missions.

“I know it’s not something you want to accept, but that’s reality.” The young man continued over the mumbles of denial and unease. “We would be in dire straits if the Lullaby had actually killed those guild masters. It would have cost the heads of many of us standing here.”

A man with glasses and his hood over his head cut in, sounding absolutely offended at the younger man’s words. “Fool! You intend to lay blame even on the Council itself?”

“Enough of this!” The man that was holding Lullaby shouted, watching the way the blue haired man continued to smirk coolly their way. “Their tendency for wanton destruction gives me headaches! This time too!”

“In short, we must repay them for their kindness.”

「Magnolia - Lucy Apartment (Afternoon)」
⸻

「The incident with Eisenwald targeting the guild masters during their regular meeting became big news immediately and everyone in the country learned of it .」

Lucy looked at the words she’d just written, brown eyes soft and a smile on her face. ‘I would’ve never believed I’d be at the center of such a huge event…Even so, I’m living my day to day life just like I always do.’ She continued to write her thoughts, happiness filling her as she realized that this was the life she’d always wanted growing up. ‘Sometimes I think back on what happened and get all excited. I got wind that most of Eisenwald's members were arrested, including that Kageyama guy, though that’s to be expected. The one thing that scares me is that they don’t seem to have caught Erigor…what’ll I do if he comes to take revenge on Fairy Tail?’

For a moment, she actually felt fear fill her stomach at the thought. Fairy Tail and the people in it were so kind and warm, she didn’t want them to feel any pain and be unable to help… ‘But it’ll be okay! Natsumi, Erza and Gray are Fairy Tail’s strongest team! Pulse! Happy and I are there too! This guild’s the best, so don’t worry, Mom, I’m doing just fine. P.S. keep this a secret from Dad, ’kay?’

Taking a deep breath, Lucy dropped her quill and sealed the letter, leaning back to stretch. “Maybe I’ll do some shopping today! Thrilling adventures are great and all, but you can’t beat relaxing at home!”

“Rent for this place is 70,000 Jewel? That’s cheap.” A familiar voice asked behind her, causing big brown eyes to turn and widen in shock at the sight of Gray in his boxers and necklace, waving at her from her recliner. “You found yourself a nice place, Lucy!”

“Trespassing!” She immediately stood and kicked him across the chest. “And don’t strip in other people’s homes!”

Gray choked out a grunt as he jumped away from the Celestial mage quickly, a hand held out in front of him. “Hold it, it’s a misunderstanding! I was already naked when I arrived.”

“Leave.” Lucy demanded as she tried to figure out how people kept getting into her home. First, Natsumi and Happy, now Gray? Were they breaking things to get inside?!

“Today’s the day, remember?” He spoke over her, not sounding the slightest bit apologetic. “I figured you’d forget, so I came to get you.”

“Huh?”

Gray turned to look over at the blond with a serious expression on his face. “Yup, you forgot…Natsumi said it before we left, right? She wanted to fight Erza…”

⸻
「Magnolia - Fairy Tail (Afternoon)」
⸻

A crowd gathered in front of the guild, two people in the middle of all the cheers and noise. Natsumi and Erza. The two mages stood across from each other, both looking serious and unlike the normal friendly guild brawls that Natsumi loved to join in on.

“Get ’em!”

“Fight, Erza!”

“Natsumi!”

Lucy pushed Wakaba out of the way, eyes wide and mouth opened in shock as she saw the two. “W-Wait, they were serious?!”

“Oh! Hi, Lucy!” Mira smiled from where she stood next to Elfman and Macao.

“Serious as can be.” The large man smirked. “If they didn’t take this seriously, they couldn’t call themselves men!”

“They’re both women, you know,” sighed Mira as she turned to the taller with a small frown.

“More like Erza’s a female monster…” Macao joked, before he turned back to the fight and frowned. “Do you think she’ll…?”

“...Who can say…” Lucy blinked, concerned about their serious attitude suddenly.

“What’s going on here?” Before she shook her head roughly. “But if two of the people in the strongest team clash…”

“Strongest team?” repeated Gray, sounding annoyed. “What’re you talking about?”

“You, Natsumi and Erza! Who else would I be talking about?” She snapped back. “You’re the top three in Fairy Tail, right?”

“Hah? That’s just dumb,” He sighed, eyes flicking from the two in front of them and over to her for a second. “Who told you that?”

Mira smiled softly next to Lucy for a moment…only to turn and start crying into her hands, Gray panicked, hands heels out in front of him worriedly. “Ah, i-it was Mira-chan…”

“You made her cry.” snarked Lucy as she watched him flail for a moment, before Elfman caught her attention once more.

“I do recognize Natsumi and Gray’s manly spirit,” said the large man. “But I wouldn’t go calling them the strongest. There’s a ton more strong people in Fairy Tail like me!”

Levy and her two team mates joined the conversation. “Erza is probably the strongest woman, though.”

“If you’re talking about the strongest man, it’s probably Mystogan or Laxus,” Jet chimed in, his snaggletooth flashing from under the brim of his large hat.

“I just thought that Natsumi, Gray and Erza worked the best together…” sobbed Mira as Lucy stared at her in bold faced shock, even as the crocodile tears continued to fall down the barmaid’s face.

“Oh? Weren’t you saying how you were always worried Natsumi and Gray would fight without Erza around?”

“Regardless, I think this will be an interesting battle.” Elfman chuckled, excitement in his gaze as he went back to watching the two squaring off in front of him.

“...You already know Natsumi’s not going to be happy at the end of this, win or lose.” sighed Gray as he remembered Erza’s words on the train the day before.

“How many years has it been since we’ve pitted our magic head to head?” Erza asked casually over to Natsumi with a fond smile on her face.

“I was a kid back then and every other time…you refused or…” Natsumi’s fists clenched at her sides as she looked down for a moment. “But now, you’ll finally accept my challenge, Erza-neesan!”

“I don’t plan on holding back…” Erza mumbled, magic beginning to flare around her, causing her hair to whip up in the air. “It’s been awhile since I’ve tested my own limits.” With a flash of red light and the pulse of a red magic circle, Erza’s casual outfit was switched out for red, black and orange colored armor, her long red hair held up in two ponytails on the side of her head.

“Entei no Yoroi!” Macao hummed in approval. “That armor resists fire!”

“Natsumi’s flames effectiveness are halved!” chimed in Laki, sounding shocked.

“Erza, that’s going too far!” Wakaba chuckled, not looking the slightest bit as offended as he wanted to seem.

Happy watched the entire thing, a frown on his face. “Natsumi…”

“I don’t like this sort of thing!” cried out Lucy, feeling conflicted. Even though she’d only known Erza shortly for that mission, she still felt like they’d grown respectably close. “I don’t want either one to lose!”

“You’re surprisingly naïve, aren’t you?” Gray scoffed, but she could tell from the way his clothes were still on that something was bothering him.

“Entei no Yoroi, huh?” chuckled Natsumi, something in her stance lightening up and Natsumi saw a bit more of the battle hungry Natsumi she knew, instead of the way she’d been acting earlier as flames covered Natsumi’s fists. “In that case, guess I have to go full power! No holding back either!”

Makarov waited a moment, both participants standing and watching each other for a moment, before he held up his hand. “Begin!”

Natsumi leapt forward, rearing back and trying to punch the older redhead, who jumped out of the way with ease, watching the pink haired teen with intense brown eyes, before she moved to swing her own flaming sword at the shorter, who ducked mid air, landing in a quick crouch, only to jump back up with a flaming kick aimed for Erza’s head.

Erza swiftly moved, swiping the offending leg away and pushing Natsumi a few feet back, only to run forward right afterwards as Natsumi tuned mid air, taking a deep breath and releasing a stream of fire, which caused the redhead to move out of the line of the attack, but Natsumi didn’t stop, increasing the intensity of her flames, she followed Erza’s movements, nearly crisping the people watching the fight.

Seeing that didn’t work, Natsumi stopped and set her hands back on fire, moving to rush Erza as the redhead launched into the air, sword poised above her head, before she moved to launch herself down to clash with Natsumi’s fire…!

“See, I told you this would be a good fight.” Elfman grinned, while Gray simply frowned for a moment.

“Good where…?”

Right as the two were about to hit, the sound of a gong-like clap, caused both to stop midair and turn to the sound as the crowd around them shifted to see who’d stopped their friendly match.

A toad dressed formally approached the two. “That’s enough, everyone stay where you are.” Murmurs and glares were shot towards the woman, who ignored them. “I’m a messenger from the Council.”

“The Council?” Levy gasped, eyes wide.

“A messenger?” parroted Jet as they moved to get a slightly closer look and listen.

“Why’d they send one here?” Droy wondered, keeping a firm hold on Jet’s shoulder, in case he got too close and the messenger looked over their way.

“Stemming from the recent Eisenwald incident, we hereby charge you with eleven counts of criminal property damage,” the messenger continued, completely ignoring the people around them. “Erza Scarlet and Natsumi Dragneel, the two of you are under arrest.”

Lucy and the others around them gasped in shock, Makarov’s face turning dark as he listened to the order.

“Come along quietly and we won’t have any issues.” The council women continued and Natsumi felt a growl build in her chest, but a hand on her shoulder caused her to stop.

“Why is Natsumi being arrested if it’s all for the same eleven property damages?” Erza questioned, though there wasn’t any true malice in her voice, the messenger still flinched back from her tone.

“A-A lot of the damages that were found during the Council’s investigation came back to our knowledge of having burn marks, along with the fact that she used dangerous magic on a train with other innocent civilians, thus she is to be arrested and charged as well.” coughed the toad, looking more and more nervous the longer she spoke. “P-Please come along quietly.”

Natsumi looked up at Erza, eyes serious and dark. “...Erza-nee?”

“Let us go, Natsumi.” The redhead sighed, changing back into her normal attire.

The Fairy Tail members watched with varying levels of anger and sadness as the two were led away.

「 。。。」

Lucy laid her head on the table in front of her, eyes sad as the guild milled about quietly, Happy sat next to her, not even eating his fish as he wiped at the budding tears in his eyes every now and then. “Natsumi…”

“It’s in the Council’s hands and out of ours…” sighed Gray as he looked down at the table as Mira wiped the area anxiously.

“I feel like they’d been waiting to do this for some time now…” the white haired barmaid admitted as she clenched the rag in her hands tightly. “They’ve never really liked Fairy Tail, but because the damages never led to too much bad news for them, they let us slide…”

“But you guys helped this time too!” cut in Lucy, sitting up as she looked over at Mira with sad brown eyes. “Natsumi, Erza and Gray got Lullaby back after Eisenwald stole it! They went through a lot and the Council is blaming everything on them?!”

“That’s just how they are…” The ice mage clicked his tongue as he remembered the sight of Natsumi in cuffs being escorted away with Erza by the toad, who ‘didn’t trust them not to use their destructive powers’.

It took everything in him not to go and try to punch the lady until she was unconscious, if he was being honest, and even then…Elfman had restrained him for good measures.

“There’s got to be…something behind it all!” Lucy said, not moving just yet as they thought about what had happened.

「Fiore - National Council Fiore Branch (Afternoon)」
⸻

Erza steadied Natsumi as they climbed out of the carriage that the toad messenger had taken them in, the Dragon Slayer nodding gratefully as she waited for the rest of the world to stop spinning so aggressively. “Natsumi, listen to me. Do not cause a scene and do not make this worse by getting angry at them, okay?”

Natsumi looked up at her older sister. “...I’ll try not to lose my temper, but you know how I get sometimes…”

“I know, but that is why I’m telling you this now,” She tilted Natsumi’s head up to meet her gaze head on. “I just want you to stay out of as much trouble as possible. Answer their questions honestly and promptly, don’t let them press you into somehow saying something was your fault, do you understand?”

Gulping slightly from Erza’s tone and face, Natsumi nodded shortly. “Okay…”

Turning, the two faced the messenger once more, who nodded and led them inside.

「 。。。」

As they walked, Erza kept Natsumi mostly behind her. A part of her thought this entire thing was fishy, but a bigger part of her was on guard for some reason she couldn’t quite place…

Until he appeared.

An all white outfit with grey trimming lining the jacket and sleeves, blue hair and the familiar red mark, along with the hateful eyes that met her gaze with a smirk. Erza felt her blood turn to ice and her body tensed as she moved even more in front of Natsumi, shielding her almost completely from his gaze. “Siegrain!”

The messenger fell into a crouch by her side as Natsumi’s hand moved and gently tugged on her skirt, trying to calm her down without startling her too much.

“It’s been awhile, Erza and it’s nice to meet you, Natsumi-san.” the man hummed, hands held out as he watched her. “Don’t be so on guard, Erza, this is simply a thought projection. My body is now in ERA, the old men in the next room are also all thought projections. It’s not like they’d actually come all the way here for such a trivial matter.”

“Trivial matter, huh?” sneered Natsumi. Something about him didn’t feel right to her instincts, the dragon in her was yelling and screaming to remove Erza as soon as possible, but she was also under Erza’s strict instructions.

Do not cause a scene, it’ll only make things worse.

“I see,” The redhead grunted, body subconsciously moving backwards and crowding Natsumi more behind her. “This is all your doing, isn’t it? What a pointless farce.”

Siegrain walked by the duo, never once stopping his stride or meeting Erza’s gaze as he did so, though his eyes did flicker to Natsumi’s glare and she froze at the pure hatred in those eyes, a shiver running down her back from the almost dead look in them. “Don’t be so harsh, after all, I’m on Fairy Tail’s side. The old men were afraid that they would share in the blame, so they created a plan to push responsibility onto others, the others being you and Natsumi-san. ‘Scapegoating’, if you will.”

“Enough!” Erza snapped, turning and glaring at the man.

“As you wish.” Siegrain hummed, turning back to meet her heated glare, before his eyes flickered over to Natsumi once more. “I wanted to see you before the trial and warn you.” He leaned closer to Erza’s ear, his hand moving to cup her chin, almost gently, as he did so. “Say nothing of the past to the old men, for both your sake and mine as well.”

She gave a small nod and he released her, turning to make his way into the room. “I’ll be waiting on the other side of that door. As a member of the Council.”

His thought projection faded and the trio was left standing in the empty hallway, the toad shook terribly as she looked up at Erza. “You…know some powerful people…”

“Who was that, Erza?” Natsumi whispered, hand still holding onto the back of her skirt.

“He’s evil, that’s who he is.” The redhead muttered back, turning to look Natsumi over, almost as if worried that somehow Siegrain had harmed her without Erza noticing the slightest bit. “At least he didn’t pay you any mind this time around…”

「 。。。」

Erza and Natsumi stood behind some podiums, looking up at the Council members, who sat high above them. The two mages both held looks of indifference, but if you looked closely, anger was burning like a fire in the two teens' eyes.

“Today, you stand before the Magic Counsel on trial for eleven counts of criminal property damages,” One of the Council members called down to them and Natsumi wished she could either access her magic or at the very least cross her arms as she sneered up at him. “Do you deny these counts?”

Natsumi looked at Erza, who nodded. “...Yes.”

“How dare you-!”

“You wish to anger us further, Fairy Tail mages?”

The murmurs rippled through the Council members as a gavel hit the flat top of the desk. “Silence! Explain your answer, Erza Scarlet and Natsumi Dragneel.”

“We deny these counts considering they were in the name of helping the Guild masters during their regular meeting,” Erza responded instead of the Dragon Slayer this time. “We had been on our way to apprehend them long before the Army of Fiore got involved, which they shouldn’t have considering they were magicless.”

“Not to mention, the so-called ‘eleven counts of criminal property damage’ was done mostly by Eisenwald and Zeref’s demon, Lullaby.” huffed the shorter Fire Mage. “We may be a bit destructive with our attacks, but we’re not the ones who decided to throw a tantrum because we happened to get a little bit cut up like that demon did. Lullaby blew up at least two mountains, which the Army ran from, kicked over the regular meeting building and burnt some of the forest, which you’re all trying to pin on me as the only Fire Mage present.”

The Council muttered to one another again as Siegrain cracked an amused smile at their front. He knew they were going to argue with it, even if it was all just a farce to cover their own asses.

As long as it didn’t interfere with him personally, the blue haired Council member didn’t care what they did.

“How dare they!”

“Do they think they can get off that easily after all the damages they did on this so-called mission to stop Eisenwald?”

The bearded Councilman stood up, a glare on his face as he looked down, his eyes clashing with Natsumi’s own. “Brave words from a rampaging brat! We heard about your fight on the train to Oshibana, are you going to say that was Lullaby’s fault as well?”

“She was being attacked by a member of Eisenwald, that wasn’t her fault!” Erza defended, stepping forward as the Councilman took a step back, apparent fear on his face. “If you want to blame someone for that incident, that would be my fault. I accidentally left her behind on the train.”

The Council began to murmur once more, before the courtroom doors were thrown open and there stood Lucy, Mira, Gray and Elfman.

“What are you all…?” muttered the redhead as she turned to look at their guildmates, Natsumi looked over as well, before she grinned brightly at them.

“Hey, everyone! Come to break us out?” She joked lightheartedly, completely different from the rage and disrespect she’d just been showing the council members in front of her.

“Not on your life, Ash Tits.” snorted Gray, though everyone could hear the fondness in his tone. “We came to make sure you and Erza didn’t end up with life sentences.”

“Especially with mouths like the two of you have.” Makarov sighed, his steps easy going as he made his way to the podium his children were standing at. “They didn’t hurt the two of you, did they?”

“No, Master.” smiled the armored redhead as she shuffled a bit to show that they were completely unharmed. “They simply took us here as a, ah, what was it again?”

“Formality.” sneered Natsumi, leaning back against the wood behind her, an eyebrow raised at the restlessly shifting Council members.

No one ever wanted to be on Fairy Tail’s bad side, but least of all their master, who would stop at nothing to protect his kids.

This wasn't going to go in the direction any of the Council members wanted nor needed, if they were being honest.

“A formality, is it?” Makarov rubbed the bottom of his chin, eyes closing in thought. “I never would’ve thought that arresting two young women in public for crimes that they most certainly didn’t commit was such a formality…especially, when they had actually saved a lot of lives that night that the feared Lullaby returned.”

The Council members shifted uneasily. They knew there had been a risk in dragging Natsumi and Erza into this mess, but they also knew the risk had to be taken to try and make it seem like they had just sat back and allowed the guild mages to run around doing as they pleased…even if it was true that they were just doing this to cover their bases.

“Now, unless you really want to see me get angry, why don’t you come and let my children go so that we may all be on our way?” Makarov smiled and it wasn’t a kind one in the long run.

The Council whispered and murmured to one another for a few moments, before Siegrain stood up. “I think that’s a good idea, Makarov-san,” He gestured to the dark haired woman at his side. “Ultear, if you don’t mind?”

“Of course.” She jumped down, landing in front of the two Fairy Tail mages. “Your cuffs, please?”

Natsumi and Erza held their wrists up to the Council woman, who leaned down to uncuff them easily.

Natsumi grinned with a sigh of relief as she felt her magic begin to warm her from the inside out, almost like a warm blanket that would never get too hot for her liking. “That’s much better, eh, Erza-nee?”

Her sharp eyesight picked up the way Siegrain’s eyebrows knitted together slightly and the amused smile on his face slipped for a second, but only that, before it was back across his face, as if nothing ever changed.

“Much,” The redhead agreed, turning to look over at Ultear. “Well, we’ll be on our way then.”

As they approached, Lucy ran forward and threw both her arms around Natsumi and Erza bringing the two close in a hug. “Oh, thank the stars you two are okay!”

“Aw, Luce, did you bring everyone here?” Natsumi reached around to hug the taller blond, who seemed to tighten her hold slightly.

“Maybe I…kind of pestered the others into coming?” She pulled back with pink painting her cheeks as she kicked the floor lightly. “I couldn’t help it…I was just so upset about only you two getting arrested for the Lullaby thing, when we were all there…not that I want to be arrested or anything like that, but we’re a team and all…”

Natsumi merely beamed at her, while Erza gave a small smile her way. “Lucy, thank you for going so far for us. We probably would’ve gotten ourselves in more trouble with the way we were acting.”

“I can see that,” Gray snorted as he walked over. “I thought it was supposed to be just Natsumi who was a hothead, Erza? What happened?”

“If it had just been me, I would’ve accepted this pitiful farce,” admitted the redhead as she felt a small blush come to her cheeks. “Whenever any of you are involved, I just seem to forget how to act like my normal self in the face of adversity.”

They shared a small laugh, before Makarov began to herd them out. “Now, now, you’ve caused me enough trouble for the next three lifespans.”

“But ’jii-chan, this wasn’t our fault!” Natsumi giggled as she was hugged tightly by Mira, who’d been just as worried as the others. “That was Eisenwald’s fault…and Mira’s for letting us make a team.”

“Mira…” Makarov turned to the smiling white haired barmaid, who held her smile for another moment before…turning to cry into her hands. “Ah-!”

“I just thought they would work really well together…” Her shoulders shook with her small cries as Natsumi and Lucy looked over at the short old man.

“You made Mira cry.” Natsumi sighed as Lucy turned to comfort the more experienced Fairy Tail mage.

“There, there, Mira-san.”

“Can we leave? This place isn’t the slightest bit manly.” Elfman sighed, looking at Natsumi with soft eyes as she nudged him gently in the side, Erza walking by his side. As they left, he threw his arm around Natsumi’s shoulder as Gray flanked her other side, the two men giving the Council members around them the darkest glare as they finally exited that damn place.

「Magnolia - Fairy Tail (Afternoon)」
⸻

“It was all for show, huh?” Lucy mumbled into the guild’s table, a relieved, yet tired air around her. “And I was so worried…”

Gray blinked after a moment, a look of understanding coming to his face. “I see, they were scapegoats, but not sacrificial lambs!”

“You’re an ice mage, all right…” mumbled Elfman as he turned to see Natsumi settling down with Happy cuddled into her chest with joyful tears trailing down his fuzzy cheeks. “That joke gave me chills…So, what about your man-to-man fight with Erza, Natsumi?”

Natsumi paused from where Happy had started trying to shove fish into her mouth to stare blankly at the wall of a man. “Oh…first of all, I’m a girl. Second…Erza-nee wasn’t taking it seriously…there’s no point…”

Lucy blinked, turning to look at the redhead in shock as Erza froze, before looking down guilty. “Natsumi…”

“Don’t worry, Erza-nee, I get it..” Natsumi stood with Happy held tightly still. “I’m still…not strong enough for you to see me as an equal…”

Lucy looked over at Gray, who seemed a little queasy and Elfman looked a bit uneasy, before Mira spoke up, looking over at their guild master, who seemed deep in thought. “What’s the matter, Master?”

“..m…sl..p…” He mumbled, eyes blinking furiously as if to try and keep them open, Mira blinked for a moment. “...s him…”

As if a spell was spoken, Mira fell over, face lax in sleep and soon enough, others began to feel the effects.

“This is…” Gray grunted, barely managing to catch Natsumi as she fell into his arms easily, soft snores slipping out of her mouth.

“Sleepy…” Laki muttered behind Erza, who used a table to try and stay upright.

Lucy blinked hazily as her head hit the table and before she knew it…she was gone.

A lone figure walked through the room, the smell of lavender filling the room with every step he took as he snatched a job off the request board and showed it to Makarov, who was barely staying away by sheer willpower. “Mystogan…”

“I’m off.” The man muttered, the lavender smell coming off him in waves.

“Hey, aren’t you going to undo the sleeping magic?”

Mystogan nodded, turning to walk away. “Five…” The smell of lavender began to fade slightly. “Four…” The smell was much lighter and people began to shift. “Three…” It was almost gone as he made his way to the door and he could hear small mumbles behind him. “Two…” The smell was gone and so was he. “One…”

Almost instantly, people’s eyes began to fly open, Natsumi mumbling as she shifted for a minute in Gray’s hold. “This feels like…was Mystogan here?” Macao mumbled, feeling completely thrown off as the smell of lavender tickled their noses as the only trace of the man’s presence being there.

“That bastard…” Jet groaned tiredly.

“He always uses such powerful magic…” sighed Levy as Lucy tried to blink the sudden sleep from her eyes.

“Mystogan?” Her voice was shaky and confused.

“One of the strongest men in Fairy Tail,” explained Elfman as he shifted over to allow Gray the chance to try and wake Natsumi up.

“He does this because he doesn’t like other people to see his face.” The ice mage muttered, right as the pink haired Dragon Slayer sat up with a groan, rubbing her hand across her nose vigorously.

“Holy Mavis, can he lay off the lavender…?” She grunted, unaware or uncaring of her current position of being pressed against Gray. “That smell lingers for days and makes me so sleepy.”

“When he comes to take a job, he always puts everyone to sleep like this.” Gray continued, completely unbothered with the way the Fire mage moved against him or spoke over him briefly, content to let his crush relax a bit more.

“What’s with that? That’s way too suspicious…” cried the Celestial mage, obviously shocked that this was even allowed in the guild.

“No one other than ’jii-chan knows what he looks like.” yawned Natsumi, reclining a bit more against Gray, before freezing and jumping away from him with a small frown. “...Thanks for the catch again…Ice Prick.”

“No, I know what he looks like.” A voice chuckled above them, causing Lucy and the others to look up.

“Laxus?”

“You were here?”

“That’s rare.”

“Another one of our strongest.” Gray mumbled, but the tone was colder and bitter, as if he couldn’t stand the man on the floor above them.

“Mystogan’s shy, keep your noses outta it.” The man that sat above them had bright blond hair and dark blue eyes, with a lightning scar over one of his eyes. His attire consisted of a large jacket hanging over his shoulders with a mustard yellow shirt and dark dress pants. “You know, Natsumi, I’ve known you since you were more of a brat than you are now and you really thought that Erza would take you on seriously?”

“Laxus, unless you want to fight me, shut the hell up,” Natsumi growled, obviously annoyed by his random input. “And even then, no one asked you, asshole.”

Laxus snorted again, a small strike of magic leaving his finger and hitting Natsumi right on her behind, causing her to yelp and cover the area with both of her hands as Erza and Gray moved closer to her. “That’s right, if Erza doesn’t even take you seriously, there’s no way I would even consider fighting you.” Another snort left his lips as he noticed the dark glare Natsumi sent his way.

“What are you implying?” Erza snarled, eyes dark and voice angry as Gray tried to keep her from rampaging, both from the attack on Natsumi and the insult to her strength.

“W-Whoa, calm down there, Erza…” The dark haired male tried nervously, before he looked over at Natsumi, who had a blush on her cheeks and a snarl on her features.

“Laxus…”

“I’m implying that I’m the strongest!” Laxus called, looking down on every member that stood in the guildhall, eyes roaming over each and every face, as if to commit them to memory.

Natsumi’s hands clenched into fists and her usual light hearted face darkened into a look of frustrated anger. “Then get down here and prove it, pervert!”

“How about you come up here?” He teased, seemingly enjoying the way he could get a rise out of the fiery teen.

“...tch!” Natsumi was angry, but one look at Makarov had her stepping back and relaxing. They’d just finished some tough things today and it wouldn’t do for the man to throw her around now of all times. “You know damn well that I can’t.”

“Not big enough for this ride yet, Natsumi?” Laxus leaned down onto his arm, looking down at her with a smug look in his eyes. “Don’t worry, you’ll mature for it when you grow a few more inches.”

“Laxus, enough!” Makarov yelled at him, tired of the baiting that the blond was trying to do. He knew that if the large blond kept at it long enough, Natsumi would eventually jump up there herself and try to fight the other, which would cause Makarov to have to punish the Dragon Slayer and not the instigator of it all.

“I’m not giving up my seat as the strongest in Fairy Tail for anyone!” declared Laxus haughtily. “Not to Mystogan, not to Titania and not to the little Princess Salamander. I’m the strongest!”

Those words seemed to send a certain spark of irritation through Erza, Natsumi and Gray as the trio glared at him from the first floor, none moving to try and start anything, due to their Master being right there.

「 。。。」

“I have a question…” Lucy looked at Mira as she sat at the bar. “Earlier, Natsumi looked like she wanted to go and punch Laxus and I know she would’ve, but…why didn’t she?”

“It’s a bit early to talk to you about it, Lucy,” admitted Mira kindly. “But the second floor request board has jobs posted to it so difficult, they don’t even compare to the ones on the first, S-Class Quests.”

“S-Class?”

“These are jobs where the slightest mistake would mean death,” The barmaid continued to explain. “Of course, the rewards are correspondingly high. Only mages who the master approves can take on S-Class Quests. If you include Erza, Laxus, and Mystogan, then there are only five people who can do them. S-Class isn’t really something you should seek out, they’re all jobs where you’d need a great number of lives!”

“Seems like it…” Lucy chuckled, before noticing Gray sitting at a table and talking with Happy quietly, Natsumi and Erza nowhere in sight. “Are? What are those two doing…?”

The blond stood and made her way over to the Ice mage, right as Happy flew off with a quick ‘Aye, sir!’. “Gray, what are you still doing here? I would’ve thought you left by now.”

“Ah, I just needed to…ask Happy something.” He laughed off, waving a hand slightly.

“Would it…happen to be about your crush on Natsumi?” At his look of shock and horror, Lucy couldn’t help the giggle that slipped out of her mouth. “You were pretty obvious on the mission, to me at least. I read a lot of romance novels.”

“D-Do you think she can tell…?” He whispered, looking around as if the Dragon Slayer was just going to reappear in front of them.

“No, Natsumi’s pretty innocent to these kinds of things,” waved off Lucy as she sat next to him. “I will say though, as a word of advice, Happy once told me that dragons don’t pay attention to things most humans do, like looks, she’s going to end up looking for a boyfriend that is strong enough to keep up with her and maybe even stronger, so they could protect their family.”

“Oh…I see.” A thoughtful look came to Gray’s face. “Thanks, Lucy…”

“No problem and if you ever need help, just ask me.” Lucy winked as she stood to leave. “I’ll help anyway I can.”

With that, she turned to leave and make her own way home, a small skip in her step. ‘I’ve heard of both Mystogan and Laxus before…Fairy Tail really is an amazing guild!’

“And now I think I know how everyone ranks in power now…” She chuckled to herself, knowing she was only putting herself higher than the others because she happened to be on a team with Natsumi, Gray and Erza, some of the most destructive powerful people in the guild. “I’m going to work hard starting tomorrow!”

She opened her door and was greeted by the sight of Gray once again in her room in only his boxers. “Welcome home!”

“Welcome!” Happy cheered, flying right next to the dark haired ice mage.

“Why are you two here?!” She shrieked, grabbing Happy’s tail and slamming him into Gray’s chest like some sort of whip. “And if you’re going to strip, do it in your own house!”

“Hey now, we’re part of the same team, right?” Gray grinned and something in Lucy’s stomach curled slightly as she stared at him with a deadpan expression.

“I’m wary, but continue, I guess…” She monotoned to him.

“We’re going on an S-Class Quest!” declared the Ice mage, picking up his shirt from the spot it had been next to him. “You, me and Happy.”

“S-Class Quest!” repeated Happy eagerly, holding up the paper like some trophy.

“W-W-What are you doing with that?!” shrieked Lucy, taking at least three steps away from the paper Happy was holding. “I-I thought we weren’t allowed on the second floor!”

“We went up and took one.” Happy grinned. “Well, I did.”

“Cat burglar!”

“Well, it’s for Natsumi,” admitted Gray after a moment and Lucy paused, looking around for their team’s namesake. “Earlier, you said that as a Dragon Slayer, she looks for strength in a partner…I’m not good enough as I am now, but I will be once I finish this mission and come back with the money for her food. It’ll show her I’m a good enough candidate and then, maybe I could tell her how I feel. But I can’t let Laxus win her over with his brute strength alone.”

“It’s our first one, so we picked the cheapest one!” chimed in Happy, looking over the paper once more. “Even still, it’s seven million jewel!”

“Well, I’m not going, I’m still new and I don’t want to break the rules.” huffed Lucy, settling into her chair and crossing her legs. “I said I’d help you anyway I can, but not by getting in trouble so soon after joining!”

Gray opened his mouth to argue, before closing it once more and shrugging. “Well, the job says we’re supposed to rescue an island.”

“An island?” She leaned closer to the paper that Happy was once more holding up in her face, while Gray moved to lean on her desk.

“Galuna, the cursed island.” Happy concluded after a moment of silence.

“Now, I’m definitely not going!” She promised desperately.

“Even if I give you half of my fish?” asked Happy, trying to entice her a bit more, to no avail.

“That’s not even an incentive!”

“Tch, we’re leaving then.” Gray sighed, looking more annoyed. “Don’t offer to help, if you really don’t.”

“Couldn’t you have just done one of the first floor jobs without Natsumi and given her the reward for that instead of an S-Class one?” tried Lucy, not really wanting to go, but not wanting to go back on her word either.

“No, I need her to see that I’m just as good as Laxus, not someone that is only slightly above her.” grunted the ice mage, before him and the blue cat had left, leaving the blond alone.

She sighed, standing to get ready for bed, before noticing… “They left the poster!” She clutched at her head as she shook frantically. “Wait, now it looks like I stole it!” A whine slipped out of her mouth. “What am I going to do…?”

Then she looked back over at the poster, brown eyes reading it over once more. “No way! You also get one of the twelve golden zodiac keys?!” After a moment of deliberating, she grinned to herself. “Niko! Gray, Happy! Wait for me!”

⸻
「Magnolia - Fairy Tail (Morning)」
⸻

“Oh no!” Mira called out, running down the steps to where Makarov sat on top of the bar. “One of the requests on the second floor disappeared, Master!”

He took a sip of his tea, before…promptly spitting his sip out.

『Omake』
⸻
「Magnolia - Fairy Tail (The Night Before)」
⸻

“Natsumi!” Happy cried out, flying out into her arms.

“What’s up, little buddy?” She asked, finally fully calm as she ate a steak that Mira had made to help cheer her up.

“I’m going to spend the night at Lucy’s, okay?” She blinked, before nodding.

“Sure, go right ahead, just don’t give her too much of a headache, got it?” She rubbed between his ears as he purred adorably. “I’ll get blamed for it, if you do.”

“Aye, sir!” With that, his wings sprouted and he was once again off in the air, most likely to bother Lucy until they had to go.

After he left, Natsumi sighed quietly and stood up. “Mira, I’m heading home for the night.”

“Okay, have a good sleep, Natsumi.” The barmaid paused. “And if you’d like, you know me and Elfman always have a spare room if you’d like to stay the night.”

“Yeah, I’m alright though!” Natsumi grinned widely. “Happy’s gonna spend the night with Lucy, so I’ll get some extra cleaning and training done!”

“Oh, heading home, Natsumi?” Natsumi looked over at Erza and nodded, her grin never falling.

She was a little upset earlier, but she let it go for the time being, it’s not like it would be brought up again, unless Laxus was going to act like a power tripping bastard again.

“Then, how about we have a sleepover, just like we used to?” Natsumi paused to think it over, but Erza was already in motion, dragging the pink haired mage behind her. “This will be great, next time we can invite Lucy as well!”

“Er, ah, Erza-nee!” The guild’s door was promptly opened and closed just as fast, no one being able to save Natsumi from Erza’s idea.

Nor did anyone notice a certain Ice mage and cat with wings colluding in the guild, now that the mage with the sharpest hearing was far enough that she couldn’t hear their discussion.

Chapter Text

「Magnolia — Fairy Tail (Morning)」
⸻

“Say what?” Wakaba repeated, not looking too bothered by the sentence. “A request is gone?”

“It was put up on the second floor, then it’s an S-Class, right?” grunted Macao, his grip on the tankard he was drinking tightening slightly.

“Who would be stupid enough to take something like that…” wondered Laki anxiously.

“A cat.” Laxus’ voice called from the second floor, causing all the talk to cease as they turned to look at him. “I saw a cat with wings tear one off.”

“Happy did?” gasped Mira as she turned as well, her face set into a firm frown.

“Which means it was Natsumi and Lucy…”

“What are they thinking?”

The guild’s doors opened and Natsumi walked in, Erza not too far behind her. “Hey, is Lucy here yet? I went to go get…why are you all looking at me like that?”

“Natsumi, why did you have Happy take an S-Class quest?” Makarov questioned, tone serious as he looked at the petite teen, who blinked back owlishly.

“I didn’t?” The answer was posed closer to a question as she wrapped her arms around her waist. “Happy went to sleepover at Lucy’s, Erza-nee came to sleep over at my place when she heard Happy was staying the night with Lucy.”

“Then…it wasn’t Natsumi and Lucy?”

“Can someone tell me what’s going on?” Natsumi shifted uncomfortably once more, her eyes glaring slightly. “I came in like normal and everyone is looking and asking weird questions. I just wanted to find Happy, since they’re not at Lucy’s…”

“We checked with Gray, but…he’s not answering either.” Erza admitted, her eyes narrowing. “What were you accusing Natsumi of when we entered the room?”

“Well, Laxus said he saw Happy swipe an S-Class quest from the second floor and since Natsumi and Lucy weren’t here yet…” Macao muttered, walking over to place his hand on his daughter in all, except blood’s head. “We worried you’d done and went to do something stupid.”

“Laxus, did you see who Happy left with?” Makarov growled, eyes flashing dangerously up at the blond.

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.” The blond smirked down at them with his arms crossed over his chest. “Maybe if Mira, Erza and Natsumi do a little jump for me, I could see if I remember clearly.”

“A jump?” Natsumi repeated, raising an eyebrow, before a glow signified Erza requipping a sword. “Whoa, wait a second, Erza-nee!”

“You bastard dog!” She growled, pointing her sword up at the blond. “Tell us who Happy was with, or I’ll cut you down myself, you know I will.”

Laxus smirked, before his eyes flicked over to Natsumi and something on his face shifted. It went from the smug asshole they’d been seeing for the past two days to something…softer, almost like he was seeing someone else in her as the girl looked up at him with pleading eyes, arms wrapped tightly around her midsection.

“Tch…” His face hardened suddenly and he looked back upwards. “Gray…Gray and Happy got the mission and I heard the little pervert telling the stupid cat that they were heading to Lucy’s.”

He saw Natsumi’s posture relax, but only the slightest bit, before she paled and the realization of what her partner had done with Gray of all people.

“Oh dear Mavis…” She breathed.

“This is quite a serious violation of the rules,” Laxus continued on, face back to the smug look as he went back to looking down at the guild. “If they make it back, they’re expelled…right, old man? But with their skills, they won’t be coming back from an S-Class, will they?”

At his words, Natsumi stumbled back, Macao helping her sit into the chair. Fairy Tail was her home and the people part of it, her family…but if they expelled Happy, Gray and Lucy, would it still be the same?

Since it was her team, would that mean she would get kicked out too?

Or worse, what if they didn’t come back? That would mean they would be dead and she would be back to being on her own, because if she couldn’t even watch over her own teammates, who would want to work with her again-?

“Natsumi, calm down…” Erza muttered, placing a comforting hand on her little sister’s shoulder as Macao continued to be a steady presence at her side. Mira, after seeing Natsumi’s reaction to the threat of their expulsion and the hint towards the trio dying, decided to go up and get in Laxus’ face this time around.

“Laxus, if you knew, why didn’t you stop them?” She growled, her voice raw, but still threatening as she looked down at the man sitting in his chair with an ease.

A small scoff slipped out of the man’s mouth, his eyes still watching only Natsumi, though the teen didn’t seem to notice him anymore, too busy getting lost in her whirlwind of thoughts it seemed, which pissed a part of him off. “All I saw was a cat burglar run off with a scrap of paper. I had no idea that it was actually Happy of all cats and I never would’ve thought that Gray would take an S-Class quest, especially with some newbie.” Forcing his eyes away from Natsumi momentarily, Laxus couldn't help the amusement that leaked into his voice at the sight of Mira glaring at him, the look out of place on her pretty features. “Been awhile since I’ve seen you look at me that way.”

“This isn’t good…” grunted Makarov, arms crossed as he thought about the punishment that he would have to give Gray, Lucy and Happy, though he didn’t think he’d have the heart to expel them. “Which request is missing?”

Mira, turning away from Laxus’ smirking face, responded to their guild master, though the dark look on her face remained. “The cursed island, Galuna.”

Makarov’s eyes snapped open and Natsumi could see sweat begin to drip down his face. “What?”

“Galuna Island?!” Macao and Wakaba chorused, the fire mage tightening his grip on Natsumi’s shoulder.

“That’s too reckless!” Laki shrieked, hand in front of her mouth.

“Those guys are such idiots!” Alzack and Bisca agreed in fear.

“Laxus, go and bring them back!” Makarov ordered, his voice brokering no room for arguments from the cocky blond.

“You’re kidding me,” He snorted, waving a hand easily, before jabbing his thumb into his chest. “I’ve got work to do. Aren’t the mages in this guild supposed to be able to take care of themselves? Right?”

Makarov took a threatening step forward, his cool façade breaking completely. “Who other than you in here has the power to bring Gray back by force?”

“J-Jii-chan,” Natsumi took a deep breath to steady her words as she stood up, Makarov turning to look at her. “They’re my team, I should go and bring them back.”

“Natsumi…” Erza held a hand out, but Natsumi looked back with a smile.

“Though I’m not strong enough to be your equal, I am strong enough to bring back Snowflake, Lucy and Happy.” When Erza continued to look worried, Natsumi chuckled lightly. “If I’m not back within two days, come and drag them back for me, ’kay?”

The redhead nodded, taking a step back to watch Natsumi leave…no one noticed Laxus leave at the same time as Natsumi.

「 。。。」

Natsumi shifted her bag slightly over her back, eyes serious as she thought about the things she was going to yell at the trio when she got her hands on them. She wasn’t someone who followed the rules to the ‘T’, otherwise she wouldn’t have been known for the amount of destruction she was…

But going against the hand that feeds and pays you, after raising you isn’t something someone should ever do.

As she left her house and began to make her way to the train to try and pick up on their scents, her nose twitched at the familiar smell of fresh citrus and ozone, turning to see Laxus come up the path that led to her house. “Laxus…what do you want?”

“I want to make you an offer, Natsumi.” he grinned, but there was something off about that she couldn’t place.

Something both familiar, yet wrong.

“An offer?”

“I told you in the guild yesterday,” The blond got closer into her space, hand moving to tilt her head upwards to meet his gaze head on. “I want you to be my girl. You’re not stupid, you know you could do better than that little team you put together.”

Natsumi’s lip curled into a sneer and she moved to yank her head back, but Laxus was faster, pinning her to her house door with one large hand. “Now, now…don’t be like that. I’ve done some research, eventually, your inner dragon is going to come looking for me. Why don’t we just lock it in now. I’ll go and drag Gray, Blondie and Happy back, while all you have to do is wait here for me like a good little girl.”

“Or how about this,” She snarled, pushing him back with flames licking at her shoulders and fingertips threateningly. “I’ll go and get my team back and then when I do come back, I’ll kick your ass into next week, huh?”

Laxus stared at her for a moment, something like disbelief flicking through his eyes, before he threw his head back and laughed mockingly. “Sure, sure and if none of you die on your way back, we can have a tea party.” His response made her blood boil as the air between them heated up, ozone clashing against burning wood. After a moment, his mocking laughter finally stopped and he looked down his nose at her. “Listen, I’m going on a job, you have until I get back to make the right decision Natsumi, don’t be a complete idiot.”

With that, he walked away and Natsumi grimaced as she adjusted her vest. She’d worry about him later, right now, she had a team to wrangle back to the guild.

「Hargeon — Hargeon Port (Afternoon)」
⸻

“Ooh, how nostalgic!” Lucy gasped as they looked around the port. It was hard to believe that only a couple of weeks ago she met Natsumi here before joining the wild and strong guild, Fairy Tail. “This was the town where I met Natsumi and Happy, you know?”

Time just seemed to pass faster at the guild that always seemed to be having the time of their lives.

“’S that so?” hummed the ice mage as he looked around. “Well, looks like they at least cleaned up the damages from that time Natsumi blazed through here and seem to be doing better.”

“It wasn’t even that long ago,” Happy giggled, hand moving to cover his mouth. “Lucy’s like an old lady…pfft!”

The blond turned to glare at the blue cat, who looked away quickly, before she started to walk down the area. “Okay, first thing is to find a ship to take us to Galuna Island.”

Gray nodded, following behind her at a more sedate pace. “One good thing about traveling without Natsumi would be the fact that we don’t have to fight anyone to get onto any kind of transportation.”

“Natsumi would probably want to swim to Galuna Island…” giggled Happy as he looked over at the many ships lining the port. “Any of these guys would take us, right?”

“Yeah!”

…or so they thought.

“Galuna Island? You’ve got to be kidding me, I’m not going anywhere near it!”

“Give me a break, I don’t want to hear the name!”

“We don’t mention that island around this port.”

“It’s cursed and it’s a bad omen.”

“This is going to be impossible…” Lucy whined, feeling more and more disheartened with each denial they received, before shivering. “Actually, maybe we really should just go back to the guild and forget this entire thing…if no one takes us, we can’t get to the job anyway…”

“There’s still one guy left!” Happy chimed, floating over their heads now to see who could’ve been left.

“I don’t know why you want to go there, but there isn’t any ship here that’ll take you,” the man started, his face oddly…strange looking as he gazed up at them. “Even pirates avoid it.”

“But…” pleaded Lucy, though the man didn’t seem too concerned.

“I think we could probably swim it at this rate.” Gray sighed, looking over the glittering ocean contemplatively.

“That’s impossible!” snapped the blond as she whirled over to him.

“Found you…” A voice whisper sang into their ears, causing the three to turn around with wide eyes and shouts as hands brushed over their shoulders.

“N-Natsumi!” Lucy gasped, feeling a shiver from the girl’s unimpressed look.

“What are you doing here?” spluttered Gray, flinching slightly from the sight of the pink haired Dragon Slayer’s glare.

“What am I doing here? I should be asking you three that!” She snapped, before she took a deep breath. “’Jii-chan told me to come and drag your sorry asses back and maybe you can avoid being expelled.”

“The jig’s up already, huh?” sighed the ice mage, though he seemed to accept that, digging in his over the shoulder bag for something and ignoring Lucy’s shocked cry at the threat of expulsion. “Sorry, Flame Breath, but this is something I’ve got to do. We’re going on that S-Class Quest.”

“Hah? You don’t have the skills for that, Popsicle!” The pink haired Dragon Slayer glared, getting into the male’s face, before she sighed heavily again. “Listen, I took an express train to get here before you could get off the island, but hear me out, if I don’t get you back home in one day, Erza-nee is going to come and you’ll…”

The three flinched, before Happy flew over to Natsumi, wrapping around her shoulders and looking up at her pleadingly. “Natsumi, save me! These two forced me to come with them!”

“You traitor!” Lucy shoulder, while Gray glared daggers.

Natsumi smiled, but it was a cold one. “Oh, Happy, those kitten eyes haven’t worked on me in years and don’t even try denying your part in this, we know exactly who went up to the board and snatched a mission.”

“Hrk!”

“As much as Erza scares me, I know what I have to do and that's to finish this mission!” Gray declared, finally stopping his rummaging around in his back.

“It’s a direct order from the Master!” Their foreheads met in a clash. “I’m going to bring you back by force if I have to!” Natsumi pulled her hand back, a bright magic circle flashing as fire ignited around her hand. “Don’t come whining to me when I burn you!”

“You’re on!” Gray snapped back, a cluster of ice forming on his hand, causing the boat owner to look over with interest.

“Magic…? Are you mages?” He asked, standing to look at the three in front of him, causing them to pause and look over. “Could you be here to lift the curse from the island?”

“Yeah.” Gray nodded, his magic vanishing easily.

“Well, we were…”

“I’m not letting you go!” Natsumi reminded the duo, standing in front of the boat threateningly.

The boatman stared for a moment, before he gestured. “Get on board!”

Lucy turned in shock as Natsumi and Gray blinked for a moment. “Really?!”

“That’s great,” Gray smirked, shifting to start climbing into the boat, before a hand on his shoulder and he remembered that Natsumi wasn’t going to just let them leave. “Don’t do this, Natsumi, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I highly doubt that, Gray.” She huffed back, rolling a shoulder. “You’re not getting on this damn-Ngh! What’s…that smell ?” Her petite frame stiffened and swayed as she shook her head fiercely. “Gray, you fucking Ice Block!”

“Oh, you mean this?” He held up the very sweet smelling crystal necklace he’d had in his bag, wrapped around multiple layers of tissue. “It’s just a necklace I made for you from some very strong and very concentrated chloroform, since it doesn’t really affect anyone without it being close to their nose and inhaled, and it smells good enough, right?”

Natsumi whined, eyes fluttering and Gray smirked once more, throwing her limp body over his shoulder and clambering into the boat right after. “Thanks for the ride, sir.”

“We’re taking Natsumi with us?!” Lucy gasped as she watched the dark haired ice mage load the unconscious Dragon Slayer into the boat. “Also, how did you knock her out with the chloroform being so far from her?”

“Natsumi has a strong sense of hearing, sight and smell, remember?” chided Happy as he hopped in afterwards, watching as Gray tied some rope around Natsumi’s wrists, before settling onto her lap. “Not to mention, once we start the ship up, she’s not going to be able to move or stop us until we arrive at Galuna Island.”

“And if we leave her here and she decides to be petty and call Erza early, we’ll be killed!” Gray reminded the other two, leaning Natsumi’s body against his own. “We just have to keep her down long enough to make it to the island, then she has no way to get back to call Erza and if she can somehow do so, then it’ll have to be later.”

“I feel like this is still somehow going to bite us in the behind later…” whimpered the Celestial mage as she looked at the sleeping Dragon Slayer.

Despite being brash, loud and reckless, Natsumi had some ideas that would come in handy in the long run and something told the blond that she had an idea for this as well…

「 。。。」

“Great, now I get scared…” Lucy whispered as she looked around at the wide and foggy sea around them. The sun had long since set, the journey to get to Galuna Island longer than any of them had anticipated as Natsumi remained blissfully unconscious, Gray’s chloroform necklace hanging around her neck. “Don’t overdose her, Gray.”

“I’m not, but would you rather her peacefully asleep, or about to throw up everywhere with her motion sickness?” He hummed, fingers running through her hair tenderly.

The boatman listened to them for a few moments, before turning to look over at them. “My name is Bobo, I once was a citizen of that island,” Gray and Lucy blinked at him, surprised by the sudden introduction. “I ran away from that cursed isle. If you go to that island, grave misfortune will befall you, can you really undo the curse? The demon’s curse…”

Happy, Gray and Lucy gasped as he moved his cloak over, revealing a gnarled and different species arm attached to his body.

“Sir, your arm…” gasped Gray, sweat beading down the side of his face as he stared.

“The curse…you don’t mean…?” Lucy breathed, shock making her words quiet and shaky.

“You can see it now.” He said instead, looking out to the front of the boat, revealing that still some ways to come was an island, almost hidden behind the crashing waves. “That’s Galuna Island.”

‘What’s that? There’s something shining on the peak of the mountain…’ Lucy observed, while Gray moved over and took the crystal necklace off Natsumi’s neck and tucked it back into his pocket.

‘I would throw it away, but after what happened with Lullaby, something is telling me to keep this on hand a little longer…’ Dark blue eyes trailed to the shining peak of Galuna Island. ‘And something tells me I’m going to need it sooner than I’d like.’

Lucy turned, a question at the tip of her tongue, but it left immediately afterwards as she realized… “Eh?! Where’d he go?!”

“Did he fall overboard?” demanded Gray, confused on where the hell the man went without them noticing a damn thing.

“He disappeared when we weren’t looking!” Happy chimed in unhelpfully as he moved over to Natsumi’s lap and settled into it content to watch the human’s flounder for a bit.

“What’s that sound?” Lucy wondered as she looked over the edge of the boat, almost as if expecting the man to pop out of the water with a grin and say ‘Gotcha!’.

Gray turned around and froze at the sight of the large wave coming towards them. “Oi!”

Lucy turned, brown eyes confused, only to panic at the sight. “It’s a giant wave!”

“We’re being engulfed, hold on to something!” Gray held onto Natsumi and Happy, the cat’s claws clinging to the front of his shirt, while Lucy planted herself against the boat, as if that would protect her.

“Happy, grab the boat and fly!” begged Lucy, even though logically she knew that he wouldn’t be able to actually do that.

“That’s impossible!”

The wave engulfed their boat and the four were sent spiraling underwater…

「Fiore — Galuna Island (Morning)」
⸻

The sunlight hit Lucy’s face, her eyes flicking open as she slowly became aware of her surroundings once more. “Where…am I?”

Standing, she stabilized herself enough to go and look for her other teammates and their captured leader to check on them. As she paced herself up the side of the beach, broken and splintered wood began to show in the sand, leading her straight to where the other three lay (or in Happy’s case, stuck up like a piece of driftwood).

“Gray, Natsumi…” She called as she leaned down to shake the duo. They didn’t seem hurt, somehow. “We’ve arrived…somehow in one piece.”

Natsumi gave a small groan, sitting up with a shake of her head. “You assholes…”

“Don’t complain now, we can’t leave without any boat,” huffed Gray, arms crossed as he stood to shake the sand out of his hair. “You might as well just stay and finish the job with us.”

Natsumi’s lips pursed for a moment as Lucy pulled out a map from Gray’s bag. “There’s only one village here and the chieftain was the one who put the guild request in.”

“...Fine, if my entire team is going to turn against me, I might as well go down with them like any good leader and friend.” She flashed a grin to Lucy and Gray. “Besides, if we finish the request, there’s no way ’jii-chan can actually complain, right?”

“Natsumi!” Happy jumped up to hug her around the chest, while Lucy beamed and Gray smirked.

“Let’s go!” Gray called out and the others cheered as they followed behind him.

“Just so you know, Snowflake, I’m not going to say anything,” Natsumi grinned as she walked next to him. “I usually call a lot of shots on our missions, but this is you and Lucy’s mission. I’ll only say something if I feel like it’s too much for one of you, got it?”

“As if, Ash for Brains.” He snorted, but she could tell that he took her words to heart.

After all, rivalry aside, they were one of the closets in the guilds and she wasn’t going to let anything hurt her friends.

「 。。。」

It took them a couple of hours to even locate the single village on the island, but by the time they found it, the sun had set once again as they came face to face with a fort-like barricade with the words ‘Keep Out’ on the front.

“Okay, we made it here…” started Gray as they took in the sight in front of them. “Now what?”

“What do they mean, ‘Keep Out’?” Something didn’t smell right to Natsumi. Since they arrived at this damn island, everything just…smelled wrong. The fact that the place that asked for help now had a ‘Keep Out’ sign was just adding to the suspicious feeling in her gut.

“Excuse us!” Lucy yelled, projecting her voice to be heard by the people inside, hopefully. “Please open the gate!”

Natsumi stared at the wall in front of them for another few seconds, before smirking. “Should I break it?”

“No!” snapped Lucy, not knowing if she was serious or not, but not willing to test it.

“Who goes there?”

They turned to stare at the barricade in front of them once more at the sound of the voice, Lucy deciding to be their main spokesperson as answered once more. “We’re from the mage’s guild, Fairy Tail!”

“We didn’t hear that anyone accepted the request!”

Natsumi looked away as Lucy flinched and mumbled under her breath, since the villager wasn’t exactly wrong. They were never really approved for the job and thus no one was told that the job had been accepted.

“There must’ve been a mix-up, and the message was late!” called up Gray, obviously fed up with this kind of game, even if there was an actual reason for concerns like this.

“Show us your marks! All of you!” Natsumi’s sharp eyesight picked up on two people standing at the top and what looked like weapons in their hands.

With a sigh, she turned and displayed her shoulder with her dark red Fairy Tail mark, Happy turning to lift his green pack and show off his green mark on his little back as Lucy lifted the hand marked with the bright pink fairy and finally Gray lifted his shirt to reveal his dark blue Fairy Tail mark on his chest.

“Oh…they’re for real…they actually came!” Not long after, the mouth of the barricade began to open and the three were left staring in shock at how quickly they changed their tune.

“It’s like we’re entering the mouth of a giant monster.” observed Happy as they noticed the villagers gathering in the center of the wall.

“Please don’t say things like that…” sighed Lucy, her voice barely above a whisper, as she didn’t want the villagers to get the wrong impression about them.

As they walked in, Natsumi sniffed the air and noticed how even the smell of humans seemed…off. They were greeted by the villagers, who were covered head to toe in cloth, only their eyes barely peeking out. “I am the chief of this village, Moka,” A hunched figure started when the mages came to a full stop in front of him. “Firstly, I have something to show you. Villagers!”

With his call to the people standing behind him, they began to drop their shawls and body covers that kept them out of view of the Fairy Tail mages, revealing to them that all of them had at least some form of demon body part, appendage or limb.

“Just like the old man from the boat…” breathed Gray as he and Lucy took it in, while Natsumi’s eyes widened. She’d been knocked out for the ride and didn’t know anything about the curse, so this was all something new to her.

“Yeah…” Lucy whispered, looking sadly at them.

“I think you should start explaining what’s happening.” Natsumi mumbled, looking as a child shifted nervously in front of her. It was painful to see someone so uncomfortable in their own skin, no matter how much this place confused her nose.

“Every living thing on this island has been cursed like this. Dogs and birds as well, there were no exceptions.” The old man stated as they took in how desperate the villagers looked.

“Not that I doubt you,” Gray cut in, face set into a form of calm. “But what basis do you have for calling it a curse? Have you considered it to be a crisis?”

“We consulted countless doctors, but the say there is no disease like this.” Moka deflected. “And this appearance of ours is linked to the moon’s evil spell.”

“The moon’s spell?” Lucy parroted, leaning closer as Natsumi continued to listen, but turned and continued sniffing the air.

Something was bugging her about the smell around here!

“This place has absorbed moonlight since ancient times, and the island once sparkled beautifully like the moon,” explained Moka, eyes turning fond as he remembered the past before this curse took over their home. “But some years ago, the light from the moon started changing to a purple color.”

“A purple moon…?” repeated Natsumi, as Happy looked up with wide eyes.

“Ah, the moon is coming out!” The four Fairy Tail mages looked up at the moon, their eyes widening at the sight of the sparkling purple moon hanging above their heads.

“He’s right…the moon is purple…” Lucy’s gasp was echoed by the others in the village as the moon began to shine down on them.

“That really gives me the creeps…” grunted Gray and Natsumi wanted to give her opinion as well, but her eyes were glued to the unnatural moon above them.

“Something’s so wrong with all this…” She muttered, her voice lower than she’s ever had it before. “What the hell is that…?”

“It’s the curse.” Mako grunted and when the young mages finally tore their gazes away from the moon to look over at the short man, they were shocked by the beads of sweat that were falling down his face now. “This is the evil spell of the moon…!”

“What…?” Lucy tried to move forward, but as if on cue, the villager’s and chief began to scream and cry out in pain, their bodies shaking and trembling as their demonic limbs and appendages began to spread around the rest of their body, until in front of them stood…full fledged demons…!

“They’re…!”

“What’s going on?!”

Natsumi felt sweat beading down her face as she stared at the scene in front of her, a small pulsing in the back of her head starting up as she took in all the forms and for some reason, when she blinked…she swore she saw sad, yet kind, dark eyes staring her way. “What the hell…?” Her voice was choked as she clutched Happy close to herself, the blue cat trembling as he stared on in horror.

“I apologize for startling you,” Mako mumbled, his voice soft once more as the village of cursed demons stood in front of the humans and cat once more, this time calmer.

“What in the world is this…?” Gray muttered, voice shaking the barest amount.

“How terrible…” agreed Lucy, eyes sympathetic and still confused at what they’d witnessed.

“This…doesn’t add up at all…” grunted Natsumi, hand moving to rub between her eyes as she tried to take in the entire situation without the pulsing in the back of her head distracting her. Not to mention, when she sniffed around, the fake smell was gone and all she could smell was the people around her.

All with their own scents and unique smells, despite how plastic the smells had been earlier…was that also a factor in the curse?

“When the purple moon appears, we all change into these demonic forms,” Mako continued, completely ignoring the shocked looks, as if used to it already. “If this cannot be called a curse, then what is it?”

Natsumi couldn’t help, but agree with him silently as she noticed a mother comforting her son as he cried into his hands, the rest of the villagers also crying their own tears.

“When morning comes, everyone returns to their previous forms, however some never change back again!” The chief broke off, voice turning choked as he looked up at the mages. “Their very minds have been stolen from them in these forms!”

“No way…” breathed Lucy, looking stricken, so Natsumi reached out and brushed their hands together for a second, earning a hesitant smile.

“The ones who have been turned into demons, who have lost their minds…” began Mako once more, eyes narrowing as he looked down at the floor. “We have no choice but to kill them…”

Natsumi’s eyes widened as the others flinched back from the drastic measures from the chief and the rest of the villagers. “But there might be a way to turn them back!” The pink haired fire mage implored, hands tightening around Happy for a moment, before her grip slackened.

“If we leave them be, then everyone would be killed by the demon!” snapped the short man. “Even when we lock them up, they destroy the jail, so…” His eyes filled with the first amount of tears that came from him the entire time. “I killed my own son…My son, whose mind was turned into that of a demon.”

“That’s…!” The Fairy Tail mages stared in shock at the picture in the chief’s hand. “But yesterday, we…!”

“Sh!” Gray snapped, looking over at Lucy, before turning to glare at the floor. “I know why that guy disappeared…He couldn’t rest in peace, could he?”

‘A ghost?’ Lucy thought in horror, but Natsumi on the other hand was still thinking hard.

Despite the fact she’d been unconscious during the boat ride to Galuna, when she’d stopped the others at the docks, she definitely picked up a scent from him…ghost or not, if you die, you’re supposed to smell like rot and decay.

That man smelled like oysters and the ocean, not like rot and decay…

“Please, save this island!” Mako cried out, breaking the Dragon Slayer from her thoughts as he bowed his head pleadingly. “If things stay like this, all of us will lose our minds and turn into full demons!”

“...We won’t let that happen.” Natsumi promised, stepping closer to the little chief. “We’ll do something about that curse.”

“There is only one way to rid us of the curse…” admitted Mako, his tears slowing down finally. “The moon. Please destroy the moon.”

Natsumi, Gray and Lucy stared in shock. They couldn’t be serious, right?

「 。。。」

Natsumi wanted to look around a bit more, but the chief had very strict rules about the night time. One being, no late night walking around. Two being…

“The moon just keeps getting creepier the more you look at it…” sighed Happy as he looked through their accommodation’s house for the night, big eyes taking in the shining purple moon.

“Happy, hurry and close the window.” Lucy ordered, fear and worry in her voice as she turned to look at the little blue cat. “The chief explained, remember? If we get exposed to too much moonlight, we’ll turn into demons ourselves.”

“I wonder about that…” sighed Natsumi from where she was leaning against the wall behind her.

“Do they seriously expect us to destroy the moon?” Gray frowned, the more he tossed the job’s request around in his head, the more ridiculous it sounded to him.

“Even if that was the actual job, there’s no way that would work.” admitted Natsumi, flexing her hands slightly. “For one, I have no clue how many punches that would take…”

“You were planning on breaking it…?!” yelped Gray, before he scowled her way. “What were you thinking?”

“Yeah, I don’t think there’s a wizard that could actually do that…” sighed Lucy, arms crossed under her chest.

“The job on the paper was ‘break the curse’, but the request they want from us personally is ‘destroy the moon’,” The Dragon Slayer sniffed defiantly, eyes flashing to Gray once more. “This is your mission, so you do it your way…tomorrow I’m going to do some recon in the morning, since I didn’t get a chance to do it today.”

“Well, we can’t do the impossible, anyway.” huffed the ice mage, waving a hand. “I think we would have to actually think about a different way to break the curse.”

“I agree with both of you,” Lucy jumped in, hand cupping her chin in thought. “If we really poke around, we might find the actual cause of the curse, because I highly doubt it's the moon, considering before we came here, it was a normal color.”

The blond jumped as she was smacked with a shirt, turning to see Gray already down to his socks and boxers, and pulling away the socks soon after. “Walking all day after getting shipwrecked…I’m beat.”

“Why are you stripping…?” Lucy whispered as she sweat dropped at the sight in front of her as Natsumi stood as well, a small grin on her face.

“Alright then, we’ll explore the island tomorrow,” She declared, moving to stand behind a door as she changed out of her everyday baggy pants and into a pair of shorts. “We can’t do anything now, due to the rules and we’re all tired anyway.” She turned and flopped onto one of the futons on the floor. “For now, we sleep!”

“Aye, sir!” cheered Happy, following her movements.

“We can do the rest of our thinking tomorrow…” Gray sighed, a content smile on his face as his head hit the pillow.

“You’re right, I’m tired too…” yawned the Celestial mage as she rubbed her eye tiredly. “Let’s get some rest…”

Lucy laid next to Natsumi, smiling to herself as she watched the Dragon Slayer curl up in a very cat-like way, Gray’s bare arm landing right above her head, almost like he was subconsciously trying to wrap it around her.

‘Is it really okay for two girls to sleep next to a half naked man?’ Lucy wondered, before her eyes closed and she was drifting off…

「Fiore — Galuna Island (Morning)」
⸻

Gray blinked blearily, arms tightening around the warm body next to him as he inhaled deeply and closed his eyes once more. He could feel the sunlight on his skin and he could hear the sound of the villager’s moving around, birds chirping and the rustling of the leaves in the trees.

It was nice.

As he sighed softly, he felt the person he was hugging shift a bit and opened his eyes, coming face to face with light pink hair. Natsumi’s hair. His face began to heat up as he realized he could feel her breath brushing across his neck, hands placed against his chest. She fit perfectly in his arms.

“You might want to move before she wakes up.” He heard Lucy’s voice whisper as she passed by with a yawn and a brush in hand. “Stars knows she’ll burn you alive if she wakes with you wrapped around her like that.”

“Charred Gray for breakfast, pupu!” giggled Happy as he floated over Lucy’s head. “Ne, ne, Lucy! You should wake Natsumi up for this!”

“Haven’t you ever heard about waking a sleeping dragon, Happy?” teased Lucy as she sat down, pulling the cat onto her lap to brush his fur. Gray hated that they got along to tease him so well. “They bite and burn the first thing in front of them, which would be Gray and we can’t complete the mission without our resident leader of the day.”

“Oh! That’s true!”

“You both suck,” He growled, only to freeze when Natsumi shifted in his hold again, praying she would go back to sleep.

…she didn’t.

“Mm…cold…” Dark eyes blinked for a moment, looking up to see Gray’s frozen nervous grin on his face as Natsumi sleepily processed what was going on…only to then greet the ice mage with a blazing knee to the stomach as a blush came to her face. “What the hell were you doing, you half naked bastard?!”

Gray tried to explain that it was an accident as Lucy and Happy watched the pink haired mage try and beat him bloody, while he defended himself to the best of his abilities.

A typical morning for them, despite the ungodly hour they were up and about.

「 。。。」

“Alright! Time to get started!” Lucy beamed, a slightly burned Gray behind her, while Happy sat on Natsumi’s head, the pink haired teen looking around and sniffing occasionally.

“Aye!” chimed Happy and Natsumi, while Gray groaned and rubbed his side gently.

“Gate of the Clock, I open thee!” Lucy called out, swiping Hologorium’s key and waiting for the blue glow and familiar ‘Ding-Dong!’ to resound. “Hologorium!”

The familiar grandfather clock like Celestial Spirit fell with a soft thud, arms and head popping out as he landed. “The time is 7.48 am!”

“Do you really think we can lift the curse without destroying the moon?” Happy asked, looking up at Natsumi, who chuckled softly.

“Again, the mission request we were sent was to ‘break the curse’ not ‘destroy the moon’,” She reminded. “That aside, something is definitely going on on this island. It smells so off!”

“Besides, even if we could destroy it, that’s a bad idea.” countered Gray as they continued to walk through the thick forest. “We wouldn’t have the moon-viewing festival!”

Natsumi jolted, eyes going big at the notion. “That’s true! We’d never eat the limited time only ‘Fairy Tail Moon-View Steak’ again!”

“I don’t know what I’d do if my moon-view salted fish was gone!” piped in Happy, looking sad at the thought of not being able to have that fish again.

“‘Hey, you three, I don’t know what you’re blabbing about, but keep it down will you?’, she grumbles.” Hologorium said as he toddled behind the three that led him through the forest, Lucy once again taking cover within his body.

Not for the first time, Natsumi gives the blond a look. “Walk on your own.” She knew that she’s said this every time they’ve gone on a mission so far, but every time, the Dragon Slayer wonders if there'll be a different outcome at some point.

“Hey, can you really use Celestial Spirits like that?” Gray wondered, not used to seeing it, unlike Happy and Natsumi, who barely pay it any mind at this point.

“‘We’re up against a curse here, you know…it’s scary when it’s something ephemeral.’, she says.” repeated Hologorium, ignoring the annoyed look Natsumi had on her face.

The ‘she says’ gets old, real quick.

“Well, it is an S-Class Quest,” sighed Natsumi, but there was no denying the energy that was beginning to burn within her. “Besides, I thought the curse only came out at night. It’s daytime!”

“I’ll freeze that curse up no problem,” promised the Ice mage, both him and Natsumi looking as relaxed as can be, while Lucy was still iffy and anxious about the job. “Nothing to be scared of!”

“‘You guys really are idiots…’ , she grouses.” Holorgorium didn’t voice his opinion, but he very much agreed with his Mistress in that department as he watched the two carefree mages ahead of them.

Natsumi suddenly stopped, her nose twitching slightly as she looked around. “Hey, I’m going to take a look over here…something’s bothering my nose…” With that, she darted into the forest before they could even stop her, quickly disappearing in the foliage.

“Hey! Natsumi!” Gray called out, only to be stopped by Happy.

“Natsumi has strong instincts and a sense of smell, leave her be!” Then his face turned sly as he grinned up at the dark haired male. “Besides, if you want to prove something to her, do it while she’s searching for the thing that’s bothering her!”

“‘Happy, nice one!’, she cheers.” Holorgorium toned in, before they all paused as the floor began to shake.

“Chu-chu-chu!”

A dark shadow was cast over the trio as they turned to see… “What is that?!” yelped Gray.

“It’s huge!” Happy cried out, leaping back as the large monster(?) began to close in on them.

“‘Hurry up and get that thing, Gray!’, she orders.”

They watched as the monster reared back slightly, inhaling deeply, before blowing some gas down their way.

“Ice Make: Shield!” The beautiful ice magic came forth, but it didn’t really block anything, instead causing the gas to spread out around them.

Lucy pressed her face against Hologorium’s glass as the gas began to fog up her view of the situation. “Hey, what’s the matter?!”

“Aye!” Happy squeaked, suddenly next to her.

“When did you get in here?!”

「 。。。」

Natsumi ran down the paths of the old ruins she found, stopping to sniff every now and then. There were two scents in the air that caught her attention…one reminded her of Lullaby, but more watered down and it made her instincts want to run and figure it out, while the other…the other smelled closer to Gray’s scent than anything.

He smelled like fresh snow, pine and mountains…the scent had the fresh snow and mountain, but instead of pine, it was mint.

She’d only met family members who had the same smell, but she knew for a fact that Gray said he didn’t have any family alive…

So what the hell was the scent in the air? It wasn’t stale either…

As she turned another corner, she realized that at some point, she’d made a turn and arrived underground, following the scents that began to lead down the same area.

“Where is this?” She muttered, before a glow caught her eye and she made her way over, but the closer she got, the fuzzier her head felt.

It was almost like Lullaby, but not…this one, this feeling…it made her chest constrict, it made it hard to breath and her heart-!

She lurched forward, hand landing over her heart as it began to pound loudly against her chest, blood rushing through her ears.

The closer she got to the smell of death and decay, just like Lullaby, the harder it became to clear her head, to keep her eyes open…

It almost felt like she was dying…

Panting heavily through her mouth, Natsumi finally lifted her eyes up to see what was causing such an intense reaction and her eyes widened at the sight before her.

“What the hell…?” The Dragon Slayer choked out, before her heart jolted and her body hit the floor, darkness encroaching on her sight. “Gray…Happy…Lucy…”

「Galuna Island - Moon Temple (Afternoon)」
⸻

Lucy looked around the ruins of the temple, taking in the wreckage as well as the designs of it all. “It’s actually really big in here, huh?” She noted, fingers brushing against one of the broken pillars.

“It’s all broken up, though…” Happy mumbled as he looked around.

“What era is this place from?” sighed Gray, dark eyes latching onto the designs over their heads. “Huh…the moon? This island was originally called ‘The Island of the Moon’.”

“Island of the Moon, the moon’s curse and moon symbols…” Lucy’s brows furrowed as she thought about all the symbolics towards the moon. “These ruins are suspicious, but maybe Natsumi was right…this whole job is suspicious…”

“Speaking of Natsumi…” The two humans turned to the little cat, who looked around frantically. “I can smell her somewhere around here.”

“No way, it’s so big around here there’s no telling where she went!” Lucy gasped, taking in all the doorways around them.

“But I can smell her close by…” Happy walked forward, tail moving in agitation as he did so. “She smells upset…”

“There has to be a way to find her without getting lost ourselves…” sighed the Celestial mage. “Ah, Happy, look out!”

“Huh?” The little cat stepped on a brick, not noticing how loose it was, before the rest of the floor collapsed underneath them.

“Look what you’ve done now!!” Lucy and Gray screamed as they fell down below, landing with a loud crash on top of the rubble that once made up the floor of the temple.

“Is everyone okay…?” Happy asked from his position of laying on his back, before yelping as Lucy grabbed him by his tail.

“No thanks to you.” snipped the blond as Gray sat up, with a growl.

“You’re just as destructive as Natsumi, you dolt!” He rubbed his head as they looked up at the distance they fell.

“Can you fly us back up there?” Lucy asked, hoping for an affirmative.

“That’s impossible…” The blue cat looked away from their entry hole and turned around. “Natsumi’s scent is stronger down here!”

“S-So she was somewhere we couldn’t reach originally…” stuttered Lucy, jumping to her feet to follow the little winged cat as he began to fly away, Gray on their heels.

“Happy, slow down!” The ice mage called out. “I know you’re worried, but we shouldn’t split up anymore than we already have!”

“Natsumi!” Happy yelled before suddenly stopping. “I found her-!” His voice broke off into a gasp ahead of them. “What is this…?”

“What is it, Happy?” When Lucy and Gray arrived at the scene, they took in the sight before them.

Natsumi’s body was unconscious, almost hidden among the smoke that gathered around the bottom of a large piece of ice that towered over them all, but that wasn’t the part that froze them to the core.

It was the monster trapped within the ice that did.

“T-This is…” Gray’s voice was choked, emotion spilling through his shock as his skin paled. “Deliora…”

Despite the low volume of his voice, it was obvious that he was trying to keep it together by a thread. He took some stumbling steps towards the giant ice, dropping to his knees and gathering Natsumi into his arms as he continued to stare in shock at the monster in front of him. “This can’t be…why is Deliora here?” His voice grew louder and louder, echoing around the cavern as he gripped the Dragon Slayer’s body closer to his own. “I can’t believe this! There’s no way it’d be in a place like this!”

“You know this thing…?” Happy mumbled, landing next to him and looking from the monster encased in ice to Natsumi’s lax face.

“That’s…” Lucy placed a hand on Gray’s shaking shoulder, seeing the sweat beginning to bead down the Ice mage’s face as he shook fiercely.

“Gray, you need to calm down…” The dark haired male took another breath, this time steadier as he looked up at the ice once more, struggling to do so from his own natural reaction. “So, what is it?”

“It’s Deliora, Demon of Disaster.” He breathed out at last, eyes falling down to look over at Natsumi. She was pale and seemed to be struggling to breath, but didn’t seem to be physically harmed, which he was grateful for. “It’s just like it was back then. What the hell happened?”

The sound of footsteps alerted them that they weren’t alone and the three Fairy Tail mages moved quickly. Gray scooped Natsumi full off the floor as Lucy led him and Happy to a hidden spot among the rocks.

As they hid, two figures approached. One was a short man with wild blue hair and thick eyebrows dressed all in green, while the other was a tall man with chin length brown hair, a dog-like face with dog ears, who was shitless and only wearing a pair of jeans and a collar.

“You heard people’s voices around here?” The short one asked, glancing around with a smug smirk on his face, the dog-faced man gave a low whining noise as he rubbed his stomach. “It’s noon, I’m sleepy.”

The dog man gave another whine, this time louder. “Toby, you got exposed to the Moon Drip? You got ears and the like.”

Toby responded in a flash of anger. “No! They’re for fashion!”

“Just teasing, you dolt.” The short man sighed, Toby calming down immediately.

“Yūka, you’re so mean…”

“Moon drip…” Lucy whispered, trying to move closer to try and hear more. “Are they talking about the curse?”

The blond gasped as another pair of footsteps permitted the air and a woman dressed in what appeared to be a gothic lolita outfit with pink hair approached the duo in front of Deliora’s ice. “Yūka-san, Toby-san, I bring sad news.”

“It’s you, Sherry.” Yūka muttered as Toby waved an arm in greeting to the young woman.

“Angelica has been bullied by someone…” She murmured, hands clasped in front of her as she spoke.

“It’s a mouse! Don’t give it any fancy name!” Toby snapped, mood switching once more.

“She’s not a mouse!” denied Sherry, looking completely offended at the simple words as she glared at the brunette. “Angelica is a hunter that runs through the darkness…and…love!”

“We’ve got some serious weirdos here…especially that last one,” noted Lucy, before turning back to Gray and Happy. “How’s Natsumi looking?”

“She’s breathing a little easier…” Happy whispered back, glancing down at his partner once more. “Still doesn’t look like she’s going to wake up any time soon, but…Also, they’re not from this island, they smell different and they don’t seem to be cursed either.”

“Intruders?” Yūka said the two froze up at the thought of being caught, They weren’t in any position to try and fight anyone off at this point in time.

Sherry sighed, hand moving to cup her cheek delicately. “And we haven’t collected all the moonlight we need yet…How vexing!” She turned back to her two male companions. “Let’s exterminate the intruders before Reitei-sama hears of them. Yes, before the moon’s true form appears.”

“True.” Yūka agreed as Toby gave a growl of approval.

“We can’t let them live if they’ve seen Deliora…” Sherry finished callously, as if the fact that they had a demon hidden under some ruins was something to be proud of. “We must put intruders to sleep for eternity…in other words, love!”

“You mean…death?” Toby changed the word, thinking she was merely confused, only for them to all turn as they heard the sound of a rock being pushed or kicked somewhere down the tunnel.

“What was that?” “Let’s go!” The trio disappeared swiftly and Happy appeared, flying over to be next to Lucy, who smile at the blue cat.

“Good job.” She praised gently.

“Aye.”

“First things first, let’s find a way to get Natsumi up and running again, then we look around.” Lucy counted as she looked over to their team mate.

“I wonder who that ‘Retei-sama’ was…” mumbled Happy as he moved over to Gray and Natsumi. “This is getting a little much, even by S-Class standards…”

“Why the hell did they bring Deliora here?” Gray growled, but he looked much more calm then before, his grip on Natsumi still tight enough to bruise, but better than the white knuckled grip he had on a stone earlier. “And how did they find the place where it was sealed anyway?”

“The place it was sealed…?” Lucy repeated as they turned to stare at Deliora once more.

“This thing was sealed in a glacier on the Northern continent,” explained the ice mage. “An immortal demon that ran rampant ten years ago in the land of Isvan. The demon who Ur, the mage who taught me magic, gave her life to seal away. I don’t know what connection it has on the curse on this island, but this thing should never be here! Who the hell is ‘Reitei’? I’m not gonna let you get away with throwing dirt on Ur’s name!”

Against his own control, his hands started releasing ice magic, thankfully though, Natsumi’s body was too heated to really be affected, but he quickly reined it in, not wanting to test if he could really freeze her. He may have been struggling right now, but he didn’t want to hurt any of his friends, nor the girl he loved.

『Omake』
⸻

Natsumi blinked, looking around at the empty space in front of her. She didn’t remember waking up from whatever happened in those underground ruins that she found, but…looking around, she realized that might’ve not been the biggest problem ahead right now.

“Where am I…?” Dark eyes blinked as screams permitted the air around her and the smell of smoke filled her nose.

Natsumi looked around and all she could see was fire, smoke and bodies all around…before she whirled around and saw the monster from earlier in the ice moving around above her, crushing houses and people without a care and burning other things with almost child-like pleasure.

“You’re another monster from that Zeref guy’s book…” She breathed, before she looked down and suddenly saw a woman in front of a familiar looking boy. “Gray…?”

A flash of light and the woman was slowly turning to ice in front of Natsumi and Gray, slowly encasing the monster as well.

“Oh sweet Mavis above…” Natsumi blinked, feeling the urge to look away, but being unable to and before long, Gray was the only one standing at the end. “Someone wake me up already!”

Her scream came along with a flash and she was suddenly looking up at Gray, Lucy and Happy.

“Natsumi!” Happy looked relieved as Lucy and Gray checked her over. “Are you okay now?”

“...Yeah, I think so.” She swallowed thickly, before looking up at the others. “Did you find out anything about that creature you found me in front of?”

Lucy nodded, sending Gray a sympathetic look, to which he scowled slightly. “We’ll fill you in and you tell us what happened.”

Natsumi licked her lips, before nodding. Thus, their information trade began.

Chapter Text

「Galuna Island - Underground Ruins」
⸻

“And you’re telling me, some freaks dragged the demon your teacher sealed here?” Natsumi repeated, she was leaning against one of the boulders on the floor further away from the thing called Deliora than the others.

She just told them that the ice didn’t cover up the scent of death and rot to her highly sensitive nose and they let it go.

“Yes, it’s Deliora alright…” nodded Gray, his body tense and eyes locked on the giant ice monster in front of them, as if expecting it to break out somehow and move once more as it did in the past.

“So, it was transported from the Northern Continent to here?” Happy asked, voice loud in the piercing quiet that surrounded them.

“Maybe the island’s curse has to do with this demon?” guessed Lucy, looking down at the blue cat.

“Seems like an obvious conclusion…” breathed the ice mage as he tried to get his thoughts under control from the whirlwind that they were currently in. “This demon is still alive, after all…”

Natsumi wanted to think that the way they could fix everything was to beat this thing into a melting pile of nothing, but something in her heart lurched again and she gasped, hand moving to her heart once more.

「Burn! Burn it all down, people and homes, nothing will survive my arrival! I cannot be stopped!」

Natsumi flinched back violently, heating herself up slightly from the sudden chill that invaded her with those words. She didn’t recognize the voice, but it was loud and rumbling. Lucy, who had been next to her, looked over. “Natsumi, are you okay? You’re warming up a lot…”

Before the pink haired Dragon Slayer could answer, a cry ripped out of her mouth in shock, as Gray grabbed her arm and threw her further away from the demon in ice.

“Gray!” Lucy gasped, rushing over to the shorter Fairy Tail mage.

“What you’d do that for, bastard-?” yelled Natusmi, but her voice caught in her throat at the dangerous look in the taller’s eyes.

“Don’t get near it, you Fire mage!” His voice was hysteric almost, but she could see the fear in his eyes. “If that ice melts, and that thing is freed, no one would be able to stop it!”

“...I wasn’t trying to melt it!” Natsumi snapped, standing back up, though she still kept her distance from both Gray and the encased Deliora. “Even so…would that ice really melt that easily?”

“...no…” Gray looked down, the anger he’d shown earlier fading away to guilt as he looked away from the Fire mage he’d roughly moved in a desperate move.

“Are you okay?” Lucy asked, placing a hand on Gray’s shoulder.

“He’s a barbarian, is what he is.” sighed Natsumi, looking down at her arm with a sigh, moving further away from Deliora again to heat up her arms. Gray didn’t notice, but he’d accidentally left some ice on her arm from his little throw.

“Says Natsumi…” chimed in Happy to try and ease her mood as he jumped onto her shoulder.

“My master, Ur, encased the demon using an Iced Shell spell,” The ice mage began to explain. “That’s ice that can’t melt. No matter what kind of magical fire you use, you couldn’t melt that ice. If they knew they couldn’t melt it, then why move it here?”

“I don’t know, maybe they’re trying to find a way to melt it somehow?” guessed Lucy, the words heavy on her tongue, considering what Gray just told her a moment ago.

“For what reason?!” The dark haired man yelled, temper suddenly flaring at the mere thought of someone trying to get the demon outside the ice.

“I-I don’t know…” whimpered the Celestial mage, inching away from the angry teen next to her.

“Gray, stop yelling at Lucy!” Natsumi snapped, stepping in front of the blond, who curled slightly behind her shorter frame. “None of this is her fault!”

“...sorry, Lucy…” A moment's pause. “Tch…something isn’t right here, who brought Deliora here and for what reason?”

“We’ve been trying to figure that out…” growled Natsumi, stumbling away from Deliora once more, the thudding in the back of her head growing once more. She didn’t know if it was from the demon or something else, but her head had been killing her since the night prior. “But I think we should go find the ones you saw earlier, they obviously have something to do with this.”

“Yeah.” agreed Lucy, turning to look over at the pink haired girl anxiously.

Gray pursed his lips for a moment, turning their words over in his head. “No…we wait here.”

“For what?” Happy asked, looking up at Gray, almost nervous to ask after the way he blew up on Lucy earlier.

“We wait until the moon comes out.”

Natsumi blinked. The moon…Deliora…the moon’s curse. Something about all of this was itching her brain and not in the good way. It was painful, smashing at her head, almost like it was trying to turn her away from that conclusion. “Wait…for the moon? But it’s noon, Gray. It would be easier and quicker to go hunt those people down and figure this out then.”

“Gray, what exactly are you getting at here?” Lucy moved closer, stepping from around Natsumi to look at the ice mage.

“I think that this island’s curse and Deliora are both connected somehow with the moon,” explained Gray and Natsumi could almost choke on her own breath from the way it seemed like she wasn’t the only one aware of this, yet she seemed to be the only one anxious about it. “And those guys also said, ‘soon we’ll have collected enough moonlight’.”

“You’re right and I am curious about what’ll happen and what they’re up to…” hummed the novice mage as she turned to look at Deliora.

Natsumi nodded, moving back to the corner she’d been in and just…watched Deliora from that distance, even as the others settled themselves in other spots.

‘First that Lullaby thing was in my head and calling out for ‘Zeref-sama’ and now I’m hearing this weird voice talking about burning things and feeling like I’m suddenly dying…’ She hugged her knees to her chest as she gazed at the floor, almost unseeingly. ‘What’s going on…?’

Lucy looked around, Gray had settled himself in front of Deliora, back to the rest of them and hunched in on himself, almost like he was trying to make himself look smaller, while Natsumi was in a different corner, seemingly lost in thought, with her own cloud of dread hanging around her.

“Everyone’s so…gloomy.” Lucy whispered to Happy, the cat nervously looking over at Natsumi, who didn’t even seem to realize she was being stared at.

“Aye…I’ve only seen Natsumi like this when she would think about Igneel,” The blue cat hummed, clambering onto Lucy’s lap comfortably. “Gray gets like this when he feels alone and sad…I’m guessing Deliora must be a part of a bad memory…”

“Bad memories, huh?” The blond mumbled, running her hands over the top of Happy’s head gently.

Gray looked at the floor, eyes sad and hurt as he thought about the past that he still hadn’t recovered from, even after all the times he’d tried to. ‘Ur…’

If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine his younger self standing in the middle of the blizzard with her comforting presence in front of him, even if he didn’t understand the point of it all at the time.

“Gray, can you keep up?” Her kind eyes turned to look at him with a smirk. “My training is harsh.”

He could remember panting tiredly, hardly even noticing the other pair of eyes staring at his back as he tried to catch his breath once more, a glare in his dark eyes. “You bet! I’ll do anything!”

His eyes opened again and he didn’t remember when he closed them nor did he care. Turning just the slightest bit, he felt a pang in his chest when he saw Natsumi curled in a ball in one corner, while Happy and Lucy sat not too far from him, both whispering amongst themselves.

He knew that they wouldn’t blame him for his reaction if they knew his past, but…that didn’t stop the guilt he felt when he remembered how harsh and rude he’d been to Natsumi, even by their usual standards, all because she was a fire mage and he feared what she could do to the Iced Shell , even though he knew that no fire magic could actually destroy it…Not to mention, his constant snapping and yelling at Lucy, who didn’t know him as well or as long as the other mages at Fairy Tail and didn’t know what could cause such drastic reactions from him.

‘When we finish here, I owe them all a long apology…’

“You know, I agreed to waiting until the moon rose, but…” Lucy trailed off with a sigh, head falling onto her cupped hands. “This is kind of boring…”

“Aye!”

The blond suddenly smiled as she clapped her hands together. “That’s right!” Happy (and Gray from the corner of his eye) watched as she pulled out her ring of keys, fishing out a silver one that shined beautifully. “Gate of the Harp, I open thee! Lyra!”

In a burst of pink fluff and stars, along with the infamous ‘Ding-Dong!’, a Celestial Spirit in a long blue gown covered in yellow patch hearts, a pink head cover and little white wings, with golden brown hair and a peppy wave and smile on her face was there. “Hey! Long time no see, Lucy!”

“Hey, Lyra!” Lucy smiled at the slightly shorter spirit, who pouted up at her, cheeks painted with a permanent little pink.

“Why don’t you call me more often~?” Lyra turned animated as she looked to the side with a wide smile. “I want to be lots and lots more helpful to you! Lucy, you’re such a meanie!”

“A meanie?” sighed Lucy, hands moving to rest on her hips as she regarded her Spirit carefully for a moment. “But I can only call you three days a month.”

“Eh?!” Lyra jolted, as if she didn’t realize that that was the amount she’d agreed to in the contract. “I-Is that really it?”

“We got another weirdo here…” Happy whispered to himself, floating over to Natsumi and settling next to her. “Natsumi, can I sit by you?”

“...Of course, buddy.” The blue cat smiled when he saw some of the thoughtful fog leave his best friend’s eyes. He knew Natsumi didn’t think often (compared to others, really), but when she got lost in her thoughts, he worried about her. He was scared, one day she’d get so lost in her thoughts, she wouldn’t come back to him…

Lyra’s loud voice snapped Happy’s attention back to Lucy and her hyper spirit. “So, what kind of song would you like me to sing today?”

“Whatever you’d like,” Lucy brushed off, a smile on her face as she moved closer to Natsumi and Happy, settling next to them easily.

“I’d like a song about fish!” Happy chimed in, earning a half-hearted glare from Lucy as Natsumi giggled softly, more with them and less in her head.

Good, Happy liked her to be aware and not gone in her mean thoughts.

“Leave it to me!” Lyra flashed a thumbs up as she set herself on a different rock so that everyone could hear her music. “Then, I’ll play whatever comes to mind!”

“Lyra is a very good singer.” Lucy praised and Happy pouted her way.

“Mira and Natsumi are good singers and they sing me songs about fish too!” Natsumi picked Happy up and hugged him gently.

“Leave Lucy’s singing spirit alone, Happy.” The cat whined, but quieted down as Lyra strummed her harp, he leaned forward at the tune and then relaxed into Natsumi’s hold as the words came next.

Words given birth…

Words dying out…

The words living on inside you…

Natsumi blinked, picking up on the faint sound of Gray’s breath hitching, most likely from the words, not that she could blame him. Images of Igneel and a teen with blue eyes, a beaming smile and short white hair began to come to mind, and her own lips trembled as she thought about them.

Time seems to stand still, changes into courage…

Now, step out…

You’ll become stronger than you were.

Natsumi buried her face into Happy’s head, his fur soaking up the little tears that managed to slip through and she heard a muffled sob slip out of Gray’s mouth. She wanted to comfort him, she wanted to tell him it would be okay…

But how could she when she was struggling with unwanted thoughts from whatever shit was going on on this damn island and now memories of people long gone? How could she be there for him, when she was trying to support herself?

Gray grit his teeth, hands clenched so tightly in front of himself that they shook from the force. He could barely hear the little cries escaping Natsumi’s mouth and knew while the song had lulled the other two into a state of rest, he and Natsumi were having similar issues with people long gone from their lives.

Be lost no longer.

Believe in those words back then.

He knew she was thinking of a boy they both knew as children, but the only thing on his mind was Ur and the memories she left him with…He couldn’t even think about going to comfort her, when he was about to collapse on himself like a house of cards.

He wanted to go on this mission to prove himself as a potential romantic partner to her Dragon side and yet, when she’s falling apart, so is he…

His thoughts swirled in his head, dragging him further and further into the memories of simpler times, when the only thing he wanted to do was get stronger for himself and his revenge.

Finally, Gray couldn’t hold it in and a noise slipped past his lips, catching Lucy and Happy’s attention and making Lyra stop her playing as they turned to look at him. “Wha-? Gray?”

“Huh?” He sniffed slightly, but didn’t turn to look over at them. “What?”

“...You’re crying?” Happy’s voice was small, worried and nervous and it made something in Gray burn, but not in a bad way.

It was just more guilt showing him that he’d been terrible to them, even if he had been the one to drag them all here.

“It’s true that Lyra has the power to sing songs that reflect what’s in people’s hearts…” Lucy explained, trailing off as she continued to stare.

“Gray was crying…” repeated Happy and it made Gray scowl at himself.

“No, I wasn’t…Natsumi’s been crying this entire time, dumbasses.” He growled, but it sounded weak even to himself.

“Eh?” Happy’s head snapped up to Natsumi, who sniffed for a second, a small smile on her face as she wiped her eyes. “Natsumi too?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” She promised, her voice more secure sounding than Gray’s as she wiped the remaining tears away from her face. “Just had some good memories of Igneel come to mind.”

Lucy flailed as she watched Happy lean up to wipe at Natsumi’s cheeks gently, turning to look over at her Celestial Spirit. “S-Sing a happier song, Lyra!”

“Oh?” The Spirit’s cheeks puffed out slightly. “Then tell me that beforehand!”

Gray sniffed again, his voice stronger. “Now that I think about it, what if someone comes along? Be quiet.”

“Don’t be such a baby, Gray…” Natsumi giggled and Gray finally felt some of the darkness clouding over him fade away as he looked back at her to see the same cheeky smile she always wore, slightly smaller and a tad bit shyer as she hid in her scarf and Happy’s fur, but beaming nonetheless.

She was always going to find a way to light his path, wasn’t she? Even when she didn’t realize it…

「 。。。」

Lucy came to awareness once more, confused on when she’d fallen asleep, as a shaking took over the cavern they were in. “What’s that noise?” She whispered, rubbing her eye to try and wake up a bit more.

“Is it night?” Natsumi asked, but she seemed off. Her eyes darted around and she seemed paler than before they’d fallen asleep. “...This feeling…I don’t like it.”

As they looked around for the source of the shaking, a large purple magic circle shone from above the ice encasing Deliora, a bright light shining down through it and onto the monster.

“A light’s coming down…” Lucy started, trying to figure out what was going on.

“From the ceiling…?” finished Natsumi and almost as soon as the light hit Deliora, she felt her heart begin to thump again, chest tightening painfully and lungs constricting suddenly. “W-Where is that light coming from?!”

Her skin turned clammy as she tried to keep her breathing steady, but that purple light was causing the pain in her head to amplify and she was struggling with it.

“Purple light…It’s light from the moon!” Gray called out, Happy staring in shock at the sight in front of them.

“What the heck?!” The little cat screeched, sounding close to tears. “What’s going on?!”

The light beamed down on Deliora, highlighting his entire body through the ice more clearly. “The light’s hitting Deliora…”

The longer the light beam hit the ice, the fuzzier Natsumi’s head became until she heard the horrendous voice again.

「Burn! Kill! Destroy! Do what I was created for! Nothing will stop me!」

The voice sounded distant, as if it was still further away…the thought wasn’t even fully coherent, the sound more growling and snarling, as if the words were forced free.

“This…isn’t a coincidence…” She panted, hand over her chest for a moment longer, before she looked around.

“Let’s go, we’ll find where the light is!” ordered Gray.

“Aye!” The other three nodded, following after him as he ran down the path they came from. They came to the second floor where the ruins were originally, noticing how the light was coming from higher up still, pausing only for a second to look at the scene.

“A magic circle is spread over the center of the ruin…”

“It’s higher above…” Natsumi grunted and they were off once more. The higher they moved, the more clearly Natsumi could feel the ache in her head.

It wasn’t like Lullaby with this one, it didn’t even feel like Deliora was echoing…it felt like something was trying to break free within her head and she couldn’t understand what or why it was happening.

They reached the final floor and found the cause of the light.

“Zeram…sem…Deioluna!” A group of people stood in a circle, chanting and staring at the bright purple light. “Kuupelar Kulrakar Zeram…sem…Deioluna!”

“What’s that..?” Natsumi whispered as they hid behind some rocks a fair distance away. She looked up, noticing how there were stacks of the magic circle, all pointing from the moon towards the ruins and straight down to Deliora in the lower basement of the ruins.

“The moonlight…” replied Gray, eyes trained upwards, even as he reached out to brush his arm along the Dragon Slayer’s shoulder when he noticed the strain in her voice.

He didn’t have time to fully check on her when everything was going on right now, but he would let her know that he was there for her.

“They’re really collecting the light from the moon…”

“What are they trying to do by shining it on Deliora?” Lucy’s voice was low as she kept her gaze locked forward.

“It’s a spell in Belianese…Moon Drip.” Lyra’s voice came at the edge of the group, her usually cheerful and childish face serious as she watched the ceremony in front of them.

“Wait, you’re still here?”

“I see, so that’s it…” She mumbled, all attention on her now, rather than the ceremony.

“What? What is it?”

“They’re using Moon Drip to resurrect that demon!” explained the Celestial Spirit.

“What? That can’t be!” snapped Gray, turning to glare at the Harp user. “Iced Shell is ice that can’t be melted!”

Lyra paid his anger no mind. “The magic that can melt it is in the Moon Drip,” Green eyes remained glued to the scene, even as the mages continued to watch her. “The collected magic of the moon has the power to undo any magic.”

“Oh no…” Happy whimpered, moving closer to Natsumi, who’s breath had stopped slightly.

“A-Any magic…?” She muttered, a hand brushing through her hair as she thought about the troubles she’d been facing. ‘I don't remember anything before Igneel, I also took the words he said about finding me at face value…but could there be something blocking my memories…?’

“These guys don’t know the horror of Deliora!” growled the ice mage, his rage growing the longer they watched the group at work.

“I think the curse that the people believe is on the island is a side-effect of the Moon Drip…your reaction to seeing Deliora as well, Natsumi-san…” Natsumi stiffened, slowly turning to look at the harp spirit. “The collected magic from the moon is contaminating their bodies, while from the feel of things, Natsumi-san has a powerful memory blocker on her with Lost Magic and the Moon Drip in the air is working on it, but it’s causing you direct pain. That’s just how powerful a magic it is.”

Natsumi could feel her breath speeding up slightly as the words struck her. A memory spell in Lost Magic? But…that couldn’t be, Igneel wouldn’t do that to her…

“Someone’s coming!” Lucy broke through her chain of thought, jerking her back to the present and away from her spiral of thoughts.

A person dressed in a long coat with a helmet that had a face that resembled Deliora’s stood smirking in front of the chanting people, his eyes covered from sight, Toby, Sherry and Yūka behind him.

Natsumi’s eyes widened as she sniffed the air suddenly. ‘This smell…snow and mountain with mint!’

“Damn it, I’m still sleepy after waking up at noon,” Yūka cursed as they walked, Toby leaning down with a slight smirk and mimicking sleeping as they walked. “And we never did find the intruders.”

“If they even existed!” snapped the dog looking man, suddenly angry.

“It is saddening, Reitei-sama,” Sherry whispered, hands held in front of her chest as they stared at the purple light in front of them, causing the man to turn and look her way. “There seemed to be intruders around noon, but we failed to catch them. I can’t express my love like this…”

“Intruders…” Reitei repeated quietly, but they still caught the sound of his voice, Gray’s eyes widening.

“So that’s Reitei…his smell…” Natsumi closed her eyes as she leaned a bit more against the rock, body heavy. “It was what I thought was weird earlier…”

“What a big shot, he’s even wearing a funky mask.” Lucy critiqued quietly.

“Really? I think it’s cool.” hummed Happy, peeking up a bit more to see it clearer.

“Has Deliora revived yet?” Reitei demanded, voice calm and collected, despite the fact he was talking about a rampaging demon.

“At this rate, either today or tomorrow…” responded Sherry, her eyes locked on the man in front of her, as if he hung the sun and the moon. 

“Which one is it?!” Toby demanded impatiently.

“Finally…” He sounded so pleased with himself, even as Gray’s eyes stayed locked on him, body shaking slightly. “As for the intruders, I will brook no interference.”

Sherry nodded, her blue eyes holding sheer devotion for the man in  front of her, a small blush coating her cheeks. “Yes, the only other people should be the villagers on the far side of the island.”

Without missing a beat, Reitei held up a pale hand to the three behind him, his tone cold and immovable. “Destroy the village.”

The other three agreed instantly, moving to leave and carry out his plans. Natsumi jolted forward, her jackhammering heart beating in her ears as she growled and Lucy gasped by her side in distress. “But the people in the village had nothing to do with it!”

“That’s messed up…” The pink haired Dragon Slayer hissed, praying that they wouldn’t have to stay hidden (stay near the Moon Drip) for much longer.

“I would rather avoid bloodshed, however…” The smirk on Reitei’s face didn’t agree with the words he was spouting, as if justifying what he’d just said.

Natsumi’s ears pricked towards Gray, turning to look over at her rival (friend?) who was staring in anger and horror the longer Reitei stood there and spoke. “That voice…it couldn’t be…”

A sharp pain built up in Natsumi’s head, clashing with her need and want to jump out and beat the hell out of these assholes. She tried to keep her eyes focused on the scene in front of her, before something in her snapped. The fire mage couldn’t tell if it was from the pressure in her head or the callous way these people were willing to harm the villagers for their own plan, but she didn’t care either.

“Your interferers are right here!” She snarled, flames already licking at her hands as she lashed out with a burning arm, the heat instantly sending their enemies scattering as they eyed her warily, most likely due to her tense form from the effects of being near the Moon Drip like Lyra had suggested even as she tried to hide it with a strained grin.

“Well, I guess we have to do this now, don’t we?” Lucy growled, hand moving over to her keys.

“How can I help?” Lyra jumped in, excitement in her voice and her face. “Want me to sing again?”

“You go back.” sighed Lucy, a vein throbbing in her head for a moment as she dropped it forward for a moment.

“Aw, you’re no fun.” pouted Lyra as she cupped her face gently, causing the blond to turn around and forcefully close her gate with a scowl.

“That mark…” Sherry gasped, seeing Natsumi’s mark, her solemn face turning sadder. “They’re from Fairy Tail.”

Yūka raised a large eyebrow slightly as he regarded the mages in front of them. “I see, so the people from the village requested a guild come and save them.”

Reitei, seemingly annoyed with them still being there, frowned darkly. “What are you doing?” He demanded. “Eliminate the village now.”

His three followers looked at him, most likely shocked by how easily he was sending them away, while Lucy and Natsumi gasped in horror. “Why…?”

“Anyone who interferes or plots against me,” Reitei started, hand clenched into a fist in front of him as he spoke. “Is my enemy.”

Natsumi, feeling both a burst of anger and pain, ran forward suddenly, Gray not too far from her side as they dashed closer to the man. “Why?!”

“You bastard…!” yelled the dark haired ice mage as he ran by Natsumi’s side, quickly starting to form an ice weapon as he did so. “I’ll stop this crazy ritual of yours!”

Both his hands slammed onto the floor, creating large spikes of ice that protruded out dangerously and heading straight for Reitei and his followers, causing Sherry, Toby and Yūka to jump out the way, barely missing the projectile crystals that followed after. Reitei leapt into the air, a magic circle forming in front of his hand as he came back to the ground, slamming his palm on the floor and creating the same floor that Gray had, causing the two to clash viciously in the middle, before both shattered.

“He also used ice?” gaped Happy, while Lucy gasped by his side, the two watching as Grya glared at Reitei’s emotionless expression.

The dark haired mage stumbled back to his feet, body prepared already to make his next weapon of choice. “Lyon…” His voice was rough and angry, eyes glittering darkly.

“Huh?” Natsumi blinked, sweat beading down her face as she watched the interaction. The fuzzy feeling was back, but this time it didn’t feel like it was trying to drag her down…yet. “I think I must’ve misheard, right? It almost sounded like…”

“He knows him…” finished Lucy, shaking her head slightly. “You didn’t mishear, Natsumi, Gray called him ‘Lyon’.”

“You bastard…” breathed Gray, anger burning under his veins, close to hatred and only thinly covered by the raw hurt in his voice. It made Natsumi’s chest ache at the sound. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?”

“How long has it been, Gray?” Reitei, no, Lyon chuckled, not the slightest bit phased by the other ice mage’s emotions.

“What’s the meaning of this?” demanded Gray, the hurt finally fading into pure unadulterated rage now. It seems that whoever Lyon was to him before had faded and left only the emotions Gray had been trying so hard to contain out.

“I can’t believe you were the mage that the villagers called here,” continued the masked man, ignoring any and all of Gray’s statements, as if he never even spoke. “Did you come knowingly? Or is this a coincidence?” He didn’t wait for any kind of answer. “Well, no matter.”

“Reitei Lyon, you know him?” Yūka called out, voice still low and quiet.

“Go now, I can handle things here myself.” ordered Lyon, not even turning to look at his subordinates as he did so, once again, they jumped up to leave.

“You think we’ll let you go so easily?!” Natsumi yelled out, blood pumping (pumping loudly, unbridled, too loud) as she scrambled to stop them, before her entire body froze and something hotter burned in her.

She could hear Gray yelling at her to stop, but the urge to suddenly burn everything in her path nearly drowned him out completely, growls beginning to fall from her lips as flames licked and burned the area around her. She charged at Reitei, fist pulled back as a roar built in her chest, ready to beat his face in and burn that stupid metal off-!

But then…something cold encased her…the air, once heated with her rage and comforting flames, turned icy and suddenly so lonely. She shivered as her legs stopped moving, body falling mid air as the ice continued to encompass her, a cry escaping her lips.

Soon, she could only hear the distant sounds of fire and crying, her friend’s voices fading into the background.

「 。。。」

Gray didn’t know exactly what had caused Natsumi to snap this time, but it was bad…she was always like a ticking time bomb, but this was a different rage. It wasn’t Natsumi’s usual quick to anger righteousness. ‘It’s most likely the cause of the Moon Drip, like Lyra said.’

He watched as Lyon quickly incapacitated Natsumi in the ice, turning to Lucy and Happy without hesitation. “Happy, get Lucy out of here! I’ll handle Natsumi and Lyon!”

The ice mage could see the tears in Happy’s eyes as his wings sprouted from his back. “Aye!” His tiny paws grabbed the back of her shirt and took off into the night sky, despite her cry of protest.

Moving closer to Natsumi’s ice encased body, Gray was glad to see that the ice was slowly melting around her super heated skin, though it would probably take a little longer than she’d like. The dark haired male sent a blast of spiked ice towards his former friend, who broke it with ease.

「 。。。」

Lucy looked up at the blue cat carrying her, voice distressed. “Happy, why are we abandoning Natsumi?”

A sniffle above her. “She was encased by magic that freezes air…” A gasping breath as he flew faster. “At this rate, we’ll be turned to ice next!”

“But what’ll happen to Natsumi?!” Lucy froze as a sob slipped out of Happy’s mouth next, his flying wobbling from the force of his cry.

“If we’re all done in, who’ll protect the village?!” Despite the strong voice he was going for, Lucy was suddenly reminded of the fact that his voice was shockingly young and scared.

“I’m sorry…” She murmured, voice carrying in the quiet of the sky. “It took a lot of effort to keep yourself from helping Natsumi instead of me, didn’t it?”

Happy gave a hiccup. “Natsumi…she’s my big sister and like my mom…she raised me and I promised to be there to help and protect her like a partner should…but I left her…”

“I’m sure Natsumi will be fine!” promised the Celestial mage, looking up at the blue cat encouragingly. “You think ice would work against the Princess Salamander?”

“Aye!” And they continued their flight to the village.

「 。。。」

“So you bought enough time for the woman and cat to get away?” Reitei observed, head tilting slightly in the direction of the ice that was now nearly completely gone from Natsumi’s steaming body. “And for the girl over there to melt my ice, huh? Too bad, it’s still a losing battle. That ice is used as a power drainer, for mages I go against specifically like her. Meanwhile, Sherry and the others should have no problems against the other two.”

Gray growled as he took in Natsumi’s pale skin and disoriented stance. “Natsumi, forgive me.” He whispered.

“What are you…?” She blinked, suddenly finding her feet off the ground and her body floating through the air for a second. Fire flickered in her hands for a moment as she glared at him, before her vision was taken over by the rush of the world around her. “Ice Bastard! When I get my hands on you, you’re dead!”

“Always the one for theatrics,” chuckled Reitei, as he watched the pink haired girl’s flames twinkle out as she disappeared into the foliage below the temple. “Wasn’t she your ally?”

“I couldn’t risk you doing something worse to her than you’d already done,” Gray growled, eyes almost black with the amount of anger in them as he continued to glare at Lyon, who remained calm throughout it all.

“Ah, so you were making sure I couldn’t touch her again,” Lyon smirked, amusement in his voice, as if this wasn’t that big of a deal. “Not bad there.”

“Enough with the elder-student act already, Lyon.” spat Gray, face tightening darkly. “You’re no longer Ur’s pupil!”

“Neither are you, Gray…” Reitei removed his demon-like helmet, revealing a head of snow white hair, a pale face and crazed blue eyes. “Since Ur’s no longer of this world.”

“She gave her life to seal away Deliora!” Gray’s anger boiled over with his words. “You’re the one trying to destroy her legacy!”

“Don’t rewrite history,” Lyon’s words were cold and so was his face. “You’re the one who killed Ur.” Gray’s breath choked a bit as he continued to watch the one who trained next to him as a child. “And yet you lived on, unashamed, Gray.”

「 。。。」

Natsumi picked herself off the floor, shaking her head slightly as she dusted herself off. She glared up at the temple where the purple beam of light continued on, undisturbed. “Fucking…Ice Prick!”

She turned and slammed a flaming fist into a tree, watching with mild satisfaction as it fell, before turning around and looking both ways. “Gray can handle the bastard up there…I need to get to the village.”

Taking a running start, she immediately slipped right after, staring up at the starry sky with a scowl. “I fucking hate everything!”

「Fiore - ??? (Night)」
⸻

A lone ship sailed through the night seas, the air still and quiet almost. On board the deck, unconscious men laid on the floor, not outwardly hurt, but completely immobile and incapacitated, their weapons scattered around them, all bearing the same mark as the one on the ship’s flag.

At the steering wheel of the ship, a man turned to look over his shoulder meekly at the cause of his crew's pain. “Why do you want to go to that island…?” He jolted suddenly, fearing the same fate as his members. “Ma’am.”

“Shut up and steer.” Her voice was cool and calm, not showing the rage that built underneath her skin, causing the man to turn around in a fluster, even as some of his men began to gather themselves up, all staring at the armored redhead that watched their captain with her hands planted on her hips, blue skirt billowing slightly in the wind.

“Give us a break…!” begged the captain, before shaking his head frantically. “...please? Galuna Island is cursed, the rumors say that humans turn into demons!”

“I don’t care,” She replied, face never changing as her silver earrings flowed with the wind and her hair, disregarding the way the captain whined and probably felt all the years of his old age hitting him. “I’m going to punish some rulebreakers. That is all.”

“Cool!”

“You’re awesome!”

“Let’s go, onee-sama!”

“We’ll follow you anywhere!”

Erza regarded the men in front of her, once considered fearsome pirates, before she smirked. “Let’s hurry on.”

“Aye, sir!”

The captain moved closer, eager to follow his crew in their new leadership. “Uh, can I-I join too, onee-sama?”

The one quiet ship came to life with their praise and cheer, but the only thing going on through Erza’s mind was the ones who broke the rules and Natsumi.

‘It’s not unlikely that they managed to drag her onto the mission,’ She reasoned with herself, closing her eyes in thought. ‘And being who she is, she’d want to stop and help the ones who put the request in all things considered. What a troublesome little sister I have, really.’

Her lips pursed slightly as she looked forward. ‘I don’t want to have to fight Natsumi to bring her back, but I will if push comes to shove…’

「Galuna Island - Ruins」
⸻

The masked men that had been performing the ceremony stopped to watch Lyon and Gray face off, the air tense and quiet as the two ice mages stared one another down.

“I’ll say it again,” Lyon broke the silence as he looked at the younger ice mage condescendingly. “You’re the one who killed Ur.” His eyes narrowed for a moment, before his glare intensified. “How dare you even speak her name!”

His hand shot out and in a flash of bright light green light, a spiked ball attached to a pole made out of ice came forward and slammed into Gray, sending him flying into one of the ruin walls with a shout of shock and pain, kicking up dust and rubble.

Gray sat there for a moment, his body looking both tense and limp for a moment, before he forced himself to his feet. “L-Lyon…”

“What’s wrong?” Lyon cocked his hip to the side as he watched the shorter pant in front of him. “Is the guilt stopping you? Then don’t get in my way, let me revive Deliora.”

Gray stiffened, his steeling himself once more as he glared fiercely once more at the white haired male. “I won’t let you!”

Lyon scowled for a moment, before his lips pulled into a smirk once more and the air around his hand began to frost over. “So be it then. Let’s have a match, just like old times.” With a flash of a light green magic circle, he called forth a spell. “Ice Make: Eagle!”

A multitude of ice magic eagles burst forth, heading straight for him, but Gray didn’t falter or hesitate this time, getting into the stance needed for his spell. “Ice Make: Shield!” The crystal shield shot out, the crystal blue a stark contrast to the greenish eagles heading his way.

But instead of hitting his shield, the birds flew over it and attacked him from above, hitting multiple parts of his body, before circling around once more as Lyon watched with a cold gaze. “Your specialty is creating inanimate objects, Static Icemake. My creations are creatures, Moving Icemake. Did you forget about ice that could move?”

Gray jumped up from the remains of his shield, watching the ice crumble as he slammed his fist into his open palm once more, a large magic circle appearing in front of him. “Ice Make: Hammer!”

Lyon didn’t flinch, lifting two fingers upwards as his own magic circle appeared once more above his head. “Ice Make: Ape!”

The ice creature appeared behind him almost immediately and smashed the large hammer into crystals right as Gray landed on the floor once more. “Pitiful. You still use both hands when you use creation magic?”

“That’s what Ur taught us, remember?” spat Gray, a small part of him still hoping to talk Lyon down from all this, hoping that there was still something of his former friend inside him. “If you use one hand to create, it’ll be incomplete and off-balance!”

“I’m special,” muttered Lyon, sounding almost dazed as he spoke, the crystals still falling around them like snowfall from their past. “I’ve long since surpassed Ur’s ability.”

“Don’t get a big head!” hissed the dark haired male, feeling a part of him wail on the inside at the words being spoken so callously about the one who raised them and helped them when they had nothing.

“Same to you,” sneered the older ice mage. “I wonder if you’ll be able to land even a single hit on me.”

Gritting his teeth, Gray quickly did two hand motions, his calm fading and leaving behind all the raw feelings he was suddenly experiencing during this fight. “Don’t think I’m the same as I used to be…!” He pulled both hands back, the air around him freezing and whipping around, almost like it was copying his own hectic emotions. “Ice Make: Geyser!”

His hands slammed to the floor, large crystals shooting out of the ground and shattering it as it began to close in on Lyon, the hooded figures running around to avoid the pieces that fell from the geyser around them. The ice magic had barely solidified before it was broken with an ease that shocked Gray as he stared with his mouth gaping.

“Same as you were…” Lyon breathed as the dust settled around him. “I am the elder apprentice and stronger than you. I could use creation magic with one hand, and you could not.” Gray’s teeth grinded hard enough that his jaw hurt, but he was unable to look away nor unclench his mouth at Lyon’s words, his blood still boiling within him. “Nothing’s changed. We may have traveled different paths, but both of us are frozen as we were at that time.”

Lyon’s hand raised into the air and before Gray could even think about moving, a blast of cold hit him from underneath, sending him flying through the air with a shout as a large ice dragon shot out of the ground with a ferociousness of a real life one. “That’s why I’ll melt the ice. In order to walk the path that was sealed.” The white haired mage watched as Gray hit the ground with a resounding noise, dust and dirt flying through the air. “My goal was Ur, surpassing Ur was my dream…but you stole that dream from me. I thought I would never have the chance to surpass Ur again.” Gray glared as he tried to find the strength to move as Lyon continued to talk, uncaring about anything else. “But, there was one way. If I could do what even Ur could not: defeat Deliora…” A wide and manic grin came to Lyon’s face the longer he spoke. “Then I can surpass Ur…I can finally dream again!”

Gray stood up, almost falling once on his way up, but the emotion in his face never faded and he didn’t know what to think about the man before him. They grew up together after Ur found him in the wreckage of Deliora on Gray’s home. He once considered Lyon a brother and thought he could get through to him, but now… “Are you serious? That’s your goal? You should know all too well the horror of Deliora!”

Flashes of the large demon coming through his village, crushing everything in its path, burning things into nothingness…killing everyone in his village-!

Gray closed his eyes tightly as the memories continued ruthlessly, especially when he saw Lyon’s emotionless face staring back at him, like he was nothing. “Stop! It’s impossible!”

His words seemed to break something in Lyon as his face tightened into something darker, angrier and the Ice Dragon came forth once more, sending Gray flying once more as the older ice mage prepared another attack. “‘Stop, it’s impossible,’ you say?” He waited until Gray hit the floor once more. “That’s exactly what we said to you back then…You can’t have forgotten that.” Another attack began to charge. “It’s because you challenged Deliora that Ur’s dead!” A giant ice ape’s fist uppercutted Gray. “ You have no right to speak Ur’s name! Begone!” The return of the ice dragon. “Disappear from my sight!”

His last attack sent the dark haired Fairy Tail mage sliding across the floor as he yelled in pain once more.

『Omake』
⸻
「Magnolia - Fairy Tail (The Day Erza Left)」
⸻

“Erza, a word.” Makarov called when he saw the redhead getting ready to head to the train station to make her way after Natsumi and the others.

“What is it, Master?” Erza didn’t want to admit she felt worried about the three rulebreakers and Natsumi, wanting to give her little sister figure the benefit of the doubt, but she also knew that the Dragon Slayer was a bleeding heart.

“...Mira told me that when Natsumi left yesterday, Laxus left not too long after her.” He looked up into the angered brown eyes. “When you collect those foolish children of mine, figure out if Laxus bothered her before she left and if he did, tell me exactly what he said to her.”

Erza nodded, lips twisting into a scowl at the thought of the blond man, before she looked back at the short old man in front of her. “Master, if I may ask, why has Laxus been…acting differently to Natsumi, to say the least? He used to be more…like a brother to her, always going to pick fights that would rile her up when we were younger. What changed?”

“...He has a Dragon Slayer lacrima implanted in him…” Makarov admitted, knowing that hiding the key point of the problem would only cause more issues for Erza in the long run. “He has reached the age of Dragon Slayer maturity to say the least, though Natsumi isn’t at that age yet, she’s getting close and any other Dragon Slayers we may meet, no matter how rare, are going to start seeing her as nothing more than a potential mate…”

Erza’s body stiffened, but she kept her anger in line. “I’ll keep an eye out, Master and I’ll check with Natsumi. I’ll return soon.”

Makarov nodded and the armored mage left, a purpose in her step.

Chapter Text

Gray laid on the floor of the ruins, body aching and hurting from the beat down he’d just gotten. A scene came back, reminding him of a similar situation from when Ur was still teaching him as he stared into the distance.

His little body had been lying in the snow and clad only in his boxers, almost exactly face down as the snowflakes continued to fall around him. “What’s the matter? Is that all you got, Gray? Wake up, Gray!”

Ur’s voice resonated in his mind, but the more he listened, the more distant it became…slowly changing from the fond and firm tone to something more…upset and his body was being moved… “...Wake up, Gray!” He blinked and dark blue met charcoal as Natsumi supported his upper half slightly. “How lame…you got your ass kicked good.”

“Natsumi…why are you here?” He whispered, a part of him felt like this was also part of his dream, seeing as she was glaring at him, but he could almost see worry in her eyes, but that couldn’t be true. He’d done nothing, but cause trouble all day and even threw her off the ruins…

The petite mage stared at him for a moment, mouth pursed into a tight line, before she glanced around for a moment. “I was going to head to the village, but I didn't remember which way it was and then…something felt wrong and then I saw the ceremony stop, so I came to see if you were still here.” Her eyes looked around once more, lighting up slightly as she dragged Gray to his knees and started trying to shuffle him onto her back, despite being way shorter than him. “Over there! Let’s head out.”

“Wait!” He rasped, looking over her shoulder as he struggled in her loose grip. “I can walk…Where’s Lyon?”

Natsumi looked away from his face after a moment, something flashing in her eyes, before she stubbornly kept her face forward and released him, allowing Gray to get to his knees next to her. “I don’t know, no one’s here. Like I said, I only felt like something was wrong when I saw the ceremony stop, but no sign of your magic anywhere.”

Gray tried to look around a bit more, before a sharp pain hit and he felt his body begin to fall, eyes widening, expecting to hit the ground once more…only for Natsumi’s tight grip on the back of his shirt to keep him semi upright. The younger didn’t even look his way this time, merely holding onto his shirt for a moment longer, before getting him onto her back once more, with only a grunt of annoyance at the uncomfortable position. “Shit…if Lucy’s in trouble, it’s our fault.”

She slowly began to trudge down the ruins trail, keeping a firm grip on Gray, even though it was obvious she was struggling due to their height difference. She was strong, sure, but Gray was 5’11” and she was barely brushing 5'0”, making it noticeably harder for her to carry him.

But she didn’t leave him nor did she give up, just continuing to push through with him on her back and his eyes widened at her spirit.

“Stop! You’ll never be able to defeat something like Deliora. It’s impossible for you, Gray!” Ur’s voice cried in  his head, her passionate dark eyes matching with the protective fury and worry she was known for as Lyon stared gobsmacked next to her.

Gray’s eyes trailed down to Natsumi’s face, her side profile determined and stubborn as she continued to hobble down the ruins as he remembered their words before he forcefully took her onto this damned mission with him.

“Sorry, Flame Breath, but this is something I’ve got to do. We’re going on that S-Class Quest.”

“Hah? You don’t have the skills for that, Popsicle!”

He knew that she was just worried and had faith in his skills, but knew that they just weren’t ready for it, no matter what he thought about it.

His lips trembled as he found the strength to talk. “Natsumi…” She glanced over, a hum of acknowledgement on her lips. “I have no right to say anything to you…aside from I’m sorry.” A moment of silence as the tears spilled over his scraped and dirty cheeks. “No right at all…I’m sorry for dragging you here on this stupid mission instead of just going back.”

The pink haired mage stopped in her tracks, body almost tipping over as she suddenly stopped, jerking herself back into an upright position. “You gonna sit there mopin’ all day cause you lost, Gray?” Her voice wasn’t yelling, but it was something close to it as she glared at him from the corner of her eyes. “We’re Fairy Tail, damn it. We don’t know the meaning of the word ‘stop’! We only know how to keep running forward! We don’t lose to the same person twice…get that through your head.” She started running once more, almost tripping with the weight adjustment. “Ah! Damn it, it’s hard to run like this!”

「Galuna Island - Village」
⸻

“So there you have it,” Lucy finished explaining to the villagers gathered around her. “The people who are coming to attack are to blame for doing this to your bodies.”

“They’re coming here?”

“Yes, but on the bright side, this is your chance to capture them.” The blond said, brown eyes serious as she regarded them, despite their obvious hesitation.

“Can we really pull that off?”

“Will it work?”

“Seriously?”

“Those three are probably mages,” Happy looked up at Lucy, face set into the firmest look she’d seen yet. “So they won’t be captured so easily.”

The Celestial mage cupped her chin as she thought over his words. “That’s true. We have the advantage when it comes to numbers, but no mages…”

“What?” yelped Happy, jumping back in shock. “You’re not planning on fighting, Lucy?”

She stared at him for a moment, before she grinned and clapped her hands together. “Ah! I just thought of the perfect plan!”

“I have a bad feeling about this…” sighed Happy, before he turned to look around at the gathered villagers, mind drifting back to Gray and Natsumi. ‘Gray…protect Natsumi and Natsumi, if Gray’s hurt, protect him…both of you be safe.’

That was when Moka decided to make his appearance, approaching the guild members in the center of the circle that the villagers had taken around them in the middle of their village. “What’s the meaning of all the ruckus?”

“Village Chief!”

Lucy took a small step forward, face pleading. “Please, listen! Enemies will be attacking this village soon.”

“Enemies?”

“They’ve been staying at the ruins in the forest,” She continued, barely giving him time to process her words. “And they’re the ones who turned your bodies into demons!”

“Who cares about any of that!” shrieked the short old demon, a crazed look in his eyes. “Have you destroyed the moon yet?!”

Lucy flailed, panic coming to her face at his reaction. “W-Well, there’s no need to destroy the moon…If we just catch the ones responsible…”

“The moon!” He yelled, looking and sounding like a child as two villagers came to restrain him. “Destroy the moon!”

“Chief, please calm down!”

“Come now, this way!”

With some struggling, Lucy watched with a sweatdropped as he was dragged back into the village.

“Don’t mind him,” A villager to her right started, sounding apologetic and exasperated at the same time. “It’s because of what happened to his son, Bobo…”

“Yeah.” Lucy turned to the red demon, face going back to her firm stance once more. “Anyway, we’re going to capture them.”

“But, how?” The villager wanted to be more optimistic, but they weren’t a battle ready place and lived in peace for a long time, even though they were the only inhabitants of the island.

The blond turned with a smug grin. “Just leave this to the great Lucy-sama,” She stated proudly. “Fairy Tail’s number one Celestial mage! This is going to work like a charm!” ‘I’m really awesome!’

“S-She’s gotten into this…” whispered Happy to himself, crouching away from the blond.

“Gate of the Maiden, I open thee!” Lucy called as she swiped Virgo’s key through the air, as a bright light came over with a familiar ‘Ding-Dong!’ and the shackled maid appeared. “Virgo!”

“Did you call for me, Princess?”

“Cute!”

“So this is a maid?”

“I can’t get enough!”

“What’s with this reaction…?” muttered Lucy as she looked at the swooning villagers.

「 。。。」

A few moments later, the villagers and Lucy stood in front of their barricade gate, the pink haired Celestial Spirit finished with her task. “Princess, preparations are complete.”

“Thanks, Virgo,” Lucy sighed, relieved that her plan could be ready without too many problems. “You’re always so fast.”

“You wish to punish me?”

“That was a compliment!”

Happy turned to look up at Lucy, eyebrows knitted together. “You know…”

“What is it, Happy?”

“I really think you might actually be an idiot, Lucy!” Sweat was beading down blue fur as Happy’s little hand flew into the air.

“Whatever happened to ‘if you can’t say nice things’?” whispered Lucy as she looked down at the serious expression on the talking cat’s face.

“I can’t imagine that they’d fall for such a childish trick…” He continued, looking more worried the more he thought about it.

“What’re you talking about?” Lucy grinned, cupping her chin as a small blush came to her cheeks. “This pitfall is perfect!”

“Aye, see…that’s exactly why you’re an idiot…”

“There’s only one entrance to the village, right?” asked Lucy, her grin replaced with a thoughtful pout as the imagined the layout of the entire village. “Which means that the enemy is sure to come in that way.”

“I don’t think there’s a single person who would fall for that…” rebutted Happy, some of the villagers chiming in their two-cents.

“M-Me either…”

“Actually, neither would I…”

“Princess, I concur as well!” pitched in Virgo, leaving Lucy fuming.

“Even you?!” She snapped, before turning with a frown on her face. “Just watch, all of you!”

“Lucy-san, someone is coming!” The night watch yelled from the top of the barricade.

“They’re here already? Open the gate!” She ordered, blood beginning to thrum under her skin in both nerves and excitement. She really wanted to prove them wrong.

“Right!” With a loud clatter and rumbles, the gate was slowly raised.

“Now, just watch…” She whispered, before freezing at the sight of Natsumi running towards the village with Gray slumped over her back. 

“Everyone, are you okay?”

“A-Ah, Natsumi, wait!”

The pink haired Dragon Slayer looked up, an eyebrow, but did as she was instructed…before tipping over and into the pitfall due to the uneven balance of Gray’s bodyweight with her own. “Kya!”

Lucy felt a tear come to her eye as she heard the noise as the villagers muttered amongst themselves.

“She just squeaked, right?”

“Y-Yeah, it sounded cute…”

“Sh! Don’t let her hear you say that!”

“S-She’s going to kill me…” Lucy whined, feeling her shoulders slump.

“Aye!”

“Don’t give me ‘Aye’!” wailed Lucy, as they all gathered to help Natsumi.

“Hey, who the hell put a hole here?!” She shrieked, jumping up and down, almost comically.

“Lucy, obviously.” shrugged Happy as he jumped from Lucy’s shoulders to Natsumi’s, curling around her almost perfectly.

“I knew it!” She growled, an angry vein throbbing on her forehead as she glared at the blond.

“You’ve got it all wrong!!” sobbed the Celestial mage, fearing for her safety.

“I’m so glad you and Gray are safe, Natsumi!” Happy interrupted, pressing his face against her cheek.

“There’s nothing to be glad about,” sighed Natsumi, her fingers running over his head gently. “Gray’s down and out of commission.”

“He got beat up by that ice guy?” Lucy called down, looking for something to pull them both up with.

Natsumi hummed lightly, before Happy gently tapped her cheek with his paw. “Natsumi, what happened to you…?”

“I was in the ice, but…I managed to melt it…” Then she pouted, giving Gray’s unconscious body a look. “And then he threw me off the ruins.”

“Natsumi-san, grab onto this rope!” One of the villagers called, but she shook her head, moving over and tying around the waist with it and watching them pull him up, before Happy flew her up.

“Gray…” Lucy whispered sadly, seeing the shape he was in.

Natsumi knelt down by his side, before looking around the village once more. “They still haven’t shown up yet?”

“That’s true…they’re taking their time…” Lucy noted. “Even though they left for the village before you did and yet you got here first, Natsumi.”

“Yeah and it took me a while too,” agreed the fire mage. “Getting thrown off the ruins, climbing the ruins, dragging Ice Prick back here while trying not to fall…”

“Now’s our chance!” The blond smirked. “Cover the hole back up, hurry!”

“You’re still going to try the pitfall trap?” deadpanned Natsumi, trying to figure out how Lucy’s brain worked.

“W-What’s that?”

Everyone looked up to see a large creature flying through the air with something held tightly in its hands.

“It’s a flying mouse!”

“What’s that bucket?”

“From the sky?!” scowled Lucy. “My pitfall is pointless.”

The group all watched as a glob fell out of the bucket that was tipping dangerously in the mouse’s clawed hands, coming right towards them…more specifically Lucy, who watched in confusion. “Jelly…?”

Natsumi’s nose twitched and her eyes widened at the smell that entered her nose, causing her body to snap forward and tackle Lucy out of the way. “Lucy!”

The blond yelped, but watched in horror as the spot she once stood on, disintegrated into nothingness, leaving only a smoking crater behind.

“What the hell is that dangerous smell?” Natsumi wondered, her head tilted to look under her arm at the spot that Lucy once stood, eyes narrowed slightly.

Panic began to take over the villagers.

“The bucket is filled with that?!”

“They’re gonna pour it everywhere!”

Natsumi stood up, trying to think of a counter to this, before her sharp ears caught the sound of voices further away…or more like, higher up.

“Hideous,” Yūka’s voice grunted, disdain coating it and it made her go stock still at the sound. “The Moon Drip turns humans into these hideous things?”

"They’re almost like Deliora’s demon-spawn….how unpleasant.” sighed Sherry, voice emotionless as they looked down on the people, who they did this too, from on top of the flying mouse as Toby gave a bark of agreement. “Angelica, if you’ll do the honor.”

“Chu!” The large mouse pulled her arms back and launched the green jelly out into the air, making a wave that began to come down towards the village.

“How are we supposed to defend against this?” shrieked Lucy, hands pressed to the side of her face and feeling close to tears at the sight.

But Natsumi was already in motion, running towards the center of the problem coming down on them. “Everyone, gather into the village center!” She ordered, causing everyone to stop and look her way. “Happy, let’s fly!”

“Aye, sir!” Her loyal partner was there in an instant as she jumped into the air ahead of him, before he caught up and latched onto her shirt.

The villager’s rushed to do as she ordered, except for their chief, who held onto a grave in front of him. “I…I’m not moving from Bobo’s grave!”

“Chief, I understand how you feel, but…” One of them yelled out as he turned to look at the old man.

Happy flew quickly up to the center of the jelly spill, keeping an eye out to make sure none of it landed on him or the Dragon Slayer he held tightly in his little paws.

“With a flaming right hand and a flaming left hand…” Natsumi chanted quickly, feeling the fire within her grow and grow as they wrapped around her hands. “When you combine the flames together…” She slammed them together as the fire grew and grew, until it was almost double the original size. “I’ll blow it away! Karyū no Kōen!”

The moment the fire touched the jelly, the substance blew outwards, startling everyone as it missed all the villagers.

“He blew it outwards?” grunted Yūka, glaring down at the bright explosion in front of them.

“She’s a fire mage!” gasped Sherry, something aside from the apathetic look she had finally coming to her features.

Happy swerved and dodged the falling globs of jelly to the best of his abilities, used to flying in these conditions. “Natsumi! Curl tighter in, I don’t want you getting hit!”

She nodded, arms moving to cover her face, before her eyes widened. “Happy!” Swinging around, she grabbed her little buddy as they fell the bit away and when he turned, he saw that thanks to his companion, he barely missed getting hit by one.

“Thanks, Natsumi!” He beamed, before gasps caught their attention and they turned to see Moka still at his son’s grave and more of the jelly heading towards him.

“Chief!”

Natsumi clutched Happy tighter at the sight…only for everyone to feel relief go through them as Virgo stood there, Moka held in her arms. “The village chief presented for punishment.”

“Virgo!” cheered Lucy as everyone else gave cries of joy and relief.

“The village is totally dissolved…”

“How awful…”

“Is anybody hurt?”

Natsumi, Lucy and Happy looked around, all with varying levels of sadness as the area that once was a little, but homely, village was now reduced to nothing more than a crater with some leftover wood in the floor.

As the dust settled, Moka noticed his son’s grave was somehow still intact thankfully. “Bobo’s grave…”

His relief was short-lived as a black heeled boot kicked the grave, knocking over the stone marker and Natsumi felt her anger boiling once more.

“We must eliminate all of Reitei-sama’s enemies,” Sherry started, voice soft as she flipped her curled hair over her shoulder and regarded the people in front of her with uncaring eyes. “Even after we tried to mercifully give them an instant death. It seems a lot of blood must be spilled.”

“You’ve got a lot of nerve…” growled Natsumi, baring her teeth in a snarl at the trio in front of her.

“Fifty people in the village and two mages,” Yūka counted off, arms behind his back as he took in the scared people behind the Fairy Tail mages. “That should take fifteen minutes.”

“Yıkıcı piçler (Destructive bastards)!” Natsumi spat, fist tightening as she glared at the three in front of her. “Let’s go!”

“Yeah!” Lucy nodded, though she raised an eyebrow at the words Natsumi had said. She didn’t recognize the language, but it must’ve been something rude.

“I’m going too!” Happy huffed. “Three mages!”

Gray could barely open his eyes, but when he did, he immediately saw the state everyone else was in…

“How dare they…How dare they destroy Bobo’s grave!” Moka raved, wishing to join in as well, but was restrained by some of the village men. “Unforgivable!”

“You can’t, Chief!”

“We should escape from here!”

“We’ll get in the middle of a fight between mages!”

“Noo!” sobbed the old man as he shook his head wildly.

“Someone take the chief!” And thus, he was carted away from the fight, sobbing and yelling the entire time.

Gray finally managed to find the strength in his aching body to move, but it wasn’t fast and he knew it was obvious that he was still lacking in energy. “I can fight too…” Even that bit of movement and those words left him panting for more air into his aching lungs.

“Gray!” Lucy gasped as both of his female teammates turned to look at him. “What about your injuries?!”

“You get out of here,” Natsumi ordered, bangs covering her eyes from view as she regarded him. “You’ll only get in the way.”

“Natsumi, don’t underestimate me!” He growled, meeting her dark eyes that gave nothing away, unlike how they usually were.

“The injured should sleep it off…” She whispered as she drove her fist straight into his stomach, the ice mage’s entire body freezing up from the stinging pain that traveled up his body as he gripped onto her arm, looking up at the Dragon Slayer with a grimace. “I told you, I’ll overrule you on your mission if it’s dire.”

“Asshole…I’m going…to kill…” He slumped against her, almost knocking the shorter Fairy Tail mage over for a second, before she stabilized enough to crouch slightly with him.

“Merak etme, geri döneceğiz...ateş sıcak olsun (Don’t worry, we’ll be back…may the fire be warm).” She whispered, pressing warm fingers to his forehead and then his chest, before handing him off to a village girl. “Leave him in a tent for me when I come back. Nobody goes near him.”

The girl nodded, before helping the rest of the villagers run with Gray.

“Why’d she do that…?” Lucy asked, hand pressed to her chest as she watched the way Natsumi handled the situation.

“That’s Natsumi’s compassion,” smiled Happy, shrugging helplessly. “Gray’s not in any shape to fight now…she even gave him one of the charms Igneel taught her to motivate him.”

“A charm?”

“Aye! Ateş sıcak olsun means, 'let the fire be warm' or 'may the fire be warm'!” The blue cat explained. “Natsumi says it to anyone who has a big mission to go on or when they’re hurt, it’s like a protection charm and a tradition in Fairy Tail. Always make sure Natsumi can give you the protection charm before you go and get into something big!”

“Huh…” Lucy smiled softly. “Why does she do it?”

“...Well, you know.” Happy muttered instead, no longer willing to be upfront. “It’s part of the bond of Fairy Tail mages, ya know?”

“So that’s the bond between them, huh?” whispered the blond, her brown eyes turning soft and worried at the corner just the slightest bit.

The villagers were finally getting ready to leave, Lucy watching them as Natsumi kept an eye on their opponents, when Sherry decided to try and stop them. “We won’t let you escape. Reitei-sama has ordered us to wipe you all out. Angelica!”

“Chu!” The giant mouse launched into the air, doing a flip, before its tail started propelling and flying it forward, Natsumi ducking out of the way and bracing against the harsh winds as Sherry leapt up to land on the mouse’s back.

“I’m a member of Fairy Tail too…!” Lucy yelled out, suddenly jumping up and clinging to Angelica’s toes, before realizing what she’d done. “I got all gung-ho and grabbed on!”

“Yup, she’s an idiot!” Happy frowned, looking up at the direction the blond had gone off in.

“She’s too much sometimes…” sighed Natsumi as she watched the giant mouse fly further and further away with Lucy stuck on it.

The group on the ground watched as Angelica suddenly stopped midair, tail freezing and began to laugh and hold itself, before beginning to fall straight to the ground.

“Someone’s going to be ticked…” Yūka noted, most likely referring to Sherry or even Reitei from the scene in front of him.

“I’m not ticked!” shouted Toby suddenly, thinking the shorter was talking to him.

“Not you, idiot.”

Natsumi felt a headache forming and knew it wasn’t from the Moon Drip this time. “Haah~, what did she expect to happen?” She shook her head slightly. “I hope that thing didn’t land on her…”

“She’d be dead if that happened…” pointed out Happy, wings already out. “I’ll go and check on her.”

“Yup, I’m counting on you,” Natsumi grinned, before turning and glaring at the two males in front of her. “I’ll clean things up here.”

She didn’t give them a moment’s notice, before suddenly launching forward and butting heads with Toby, causing him to fly back with a yelp. Using the momentum she had, Natsumi flipped herself slightly to blow a close range flame at Yūka, who’s eyes widened before he was engulfed in flames.

The Dragon Slayer landed on her feet, eyes widening as she saw her flames dispersing easily. “What ferocious flames…” Yūka’s voice sighed as she turned to see Toby jumping right back onto his feet. “You must be Fairy Tail’s ‘Princess Salamander’ that I’ve heard rumors about.”

“We were once mages from a well known guild,” The blue haired man continued on, as Natsumi sneered slightly at them. “You won’t beat us so easily. If I mention the mage’s guild Lamia Scale, does that ring a bell? Exactly, that’s where ‘Hard Iron’ Jura was…”

Natsumi blinked, thinking long and hard on the name, before with a sigh, she shook her head and then sent double fire blazes from her hands at both of them. With a wave of his hand, Yūka once again dispersed her flames, glaring at her. “H-Hey! Listen to people while they’re talking!”

“Never heard of ’em,” She sighed as the dust settled once more, Toby on her other side was frantically trying to pat flames from his head. “It doesn’t matter what guild you're from or who you know. You’re getting in the way of this job being completed. In other words, you’re the enemy of Fairy Tail. That’s all the reason I need to fight.”

Yūka clicked his tongue, large eyebrows furrowing. “Toby, hold off, I can handle this woman myself.” Toby gave a rolling growl of approval, before a bright light came to his hand as he pointed it towards Natsumi. “Hadō!”

“I’ll blow that away!” Her body tensed, flames already around her hands to block, but something in her screamed to stop and not use her magic, so instead, Natsumi leapt out of the way. She watched as his attack smashed a boulder not too far from her and barely missed Toby.

“Oho, so you’ve noticed what it was,” hummed Yūka, his face smug as he turned to look at the petite Dragon Slayer, lifting a hand quickly when she shot out a mouthful of flames his way. “Hadō! The vibrations I create can neutralize any type of magic, in other words…magic that is impregnable to magic!”

Natsumi wiped at her cheek from her rough landing, eyes narrowed into a glare at his explanation. “So that’s why my instincts said I couldn’t block that attack with fire.”

“While I was in Lamia Scale, I specialized in facing off against other mages,” Yūka explained, summoning two magic circles to his hands. “I think you can see why. It’s because all mages are powerless before me!”

At the last word, he shot two spells from his hands towards Natsumi, who leapt out of the way, allowing it to smash into the dirt and kick up a dust storm. “We’ll see about that!” She launched forward with a flamed fist.

“Hadō!” Her flames evaporated the moment her fist touched the blue force field, keeping her away from the mage behind it. “I thought I told you that my Wave will erase all magic before it.”

A risky idea came to Natsumi’s mind and she couldn’t help the wide, sharp grin that came to her face as she reared back her other fist. “Then, I just need to do it without magic. That’s not hard to do.”

A thick eyebrow raised in question, before she slammed her other fist into the magic barrier, a stinging sensation traveling up her arm, but nothing too bad, as it bypassed it easily. “See? Right through…” Her mind quickly tried to come up with her next step as she realized, she was still stuck without him having any damage, only to be cut off by a searing pain going through her arm as vibrations travelled through it from the barrier.

Natsumi’s other hand reached over to grab her shoulder as the pain continued to travel through her body.

“It’s reckless of you to stick your bare arm into the vortex of magical power…” scoffed Yūka arrogantly over her yelling. “It’ll get blown away.”

Through the electrifying feeling, Natsumi’s brain latched onto his words, piecing together a new way to attack. Turning back towards him, she grinned, sweat beading down her face lightly. “I-It was really reckless of you to give me that advice, Brows…thanks, anyway!” He blinked as she shoved the rest of her upper half into the wave, the vibrations traveling more vigorously throughout her body.

“She’s gonna put her whole body in?!” screeched Toby, just as shocked as Yūka.

“This wall might not let magic in, but bare hands are no problem…!” Natsumi gritted out, the grin still in place, startling Yūka.

“This woman’s nuts!” Toby barked, looking pissed off at the notion.

“A-And what will you do now, Salamander?” Yūka tried to keep his smug and arrogant position, but it was obvious that Natsumi had shaken him enough as he stared at her. “You still can’t use magic inside the Wave.”

“So I can use it outside, right? I told you, it’s reckless to give me advice, but thanks again!” Natsumi grunted, shifting her arm’s stance a bit more as flames came to life behind her. “Karyū no…”

Yūka’s eyes widened and a look of shock and fear came over his face as he figured out her plan. “You’re using a magic booster to accelerate your bare hands?!”

“...Enchū!” Natsumi finished, her entire body going into the punch that sent the other flying overhead with a trail of smoke lingering behind him. Yūka hit the floor and skipped across it a few more times, not unlike a rock over a lake, before collapsing to the floor in an upside down fold over, completely unconscious and beaten.

“That’s one down,” Natsumi beamed, wincing as another jolt of phantom pains went up her arm and upper half. “Ouch! Better not tell Erza-nee about this one…she’ll call me a reckless fool…again.”

“Arooo! You’re amazing…” Toby rumbled lightly as the female fire mage turned to look at him, before freezing as she took in his appearance.

“You’re a dog…” Her lips pursed lightly and she struggled to keep a straight face, knowing if anyone found out about this she’d be done for. “Y-You’re about to get some awesome all to yourself.”

Toby blinked at her for a moment, leaning forward with a look of confusion, before standing in a hunch. “Do you like…dogs?”

He honestly expected her to be a cat person, since her partner was a cat and all…

“Hrk!” She looked away, a small blush on her face as she shoved the lower half of her face into her scarf. “M-More like…I like animals…”

Toby nodded, sauntering over and crouching. “You can pet, but then Imma kick your ass!”

Natsumi ignored his statement, instead focused on the ears in front of her. Looking around to make sure Happy, Lucy and Gray were nowhere near her fight, she quickly reached up and gave both ears a small squeeze and scratch, before jumping back with a small blush. “I’m still gonna kick your butt…but thank you.”

“Yeah, right! I’m stronger than Yūka, see!” Toby yelled, shaking his head to get rid of the pleasant feeling the hands had left behind as he grinned at her. “Paralyze-Claw: Mega Jellyfish! These claws have got a secret hidden within them!”

“...is it poison?” inquired Natsumi, feeling only a little bad when she saw his shocked expression. Oh no…he can’t be-!

“How did she know…?” He moved back, an arm held in front of himself as he eyed the short Dragon Slayer, who had a pitying smile on her face. “You’re one amazing mage.”

“Uwah, oh no, what do I do? He’s stupid…” She whispered, feeling like it would be bullying, even as she kept the same pitying smile on her face. “I mean, I am a strong mage, but that doesn’t have anything to do with what just happened…”

“Don’t call me an idiot!” Toby suddenly yelled in anger, getting in close with his claws, causing Natsumi to gracefully and quickly sidestep.

“Whoops-! That was close…” She called out, quickly moving out of the way once more when he whirled around again.

“One touch from these claws and it’s all over!” He snapped, trying to take another go for her face this time, following up with a multiple swipe attack as she moved again. “You’ll be shaking like a leaf waiting only for death!”

“Sounds dark, but wait a second!” Natsumi tried, voice calm, despite the situation, lifting a hand and placing it on the side of her head as Toby looked at her. “You got something stuck on you…up here.”

Like she expected, the dog-man’s clawed hand moved up and touched his forehead…with the sharp claws going into his skin. A bright light filled the area as a scream tore out of his mouth and he fell over, hand still on his head. “Oh, that felt kind of good…”

Natsumi walked over and began to lightly play with his ears again, the pitying smile still in place. “Yup, definitely an idiot.” Once she had her fill of playing with his ears, she moved back over to Bobo’s grave and picked it up, setting it back in the space that had been carved out for it. “Those guys really did some pretty terrible stuff…but I’m gonna make sure the village and everyone goes back to the way they were.”

She looked at Bobo’s grave with a sympathetic smile. “I promise, I’m going to get you justice,” She closed her eyes and clapped her hands together, sending a small prayer to the grave, before placing her fingers on the top of the grave, the middle and the bottom. “Yıldızlara ve arkaya güvenli yolculuklar (Safe travels to the stars and back).”

Done with her prayer, Natsumi stood and tried to figure out where she would be going next.

「Galuna Island - Underground Ruins -Deliora’s Cove-」
⸻

Lyon stood in front of Deliora’s ice block, some of his followers not too far from his side, including an old man in a tribal looking mask and a poncho that hid his curled up body from sight for the most part. “Reitei-sama, why didn’t you finish off that troublemaker named Gray?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Lyon stated firmly, never looking away from the frozen demon in front of him. “You know I have no taste for bloodshed.”

“You say that, despite ordering the village completely wiped out?” questioned the man sarcastically as he pointed out the contradiction. “But it seems to me you had sympathy for your fellow pupil.”

Lyon was silent for a moment, his arms crossed over his chest and a frown firmly in place. “He won’t stand against me after being defeated so easily. And if he does get in my way, then I’ll do something about him.”

The masked man grinned, eyes unseen, but the malice behind it palpable. “Really…?”

「Galuna Island - Village -Angelica Wreckage-」
⸻

Lucy slowly sat up, rubbing the side of her head gingerly as she looked around. Angelica was laying on her back, dirty and unconscious from the fall, but when the blond look at her opponent, she sat up fully. “Huh, it’s her!”

The blue eyed teen had rivers of tears falling from her face as she stood above Lucy, sobs falling free. “How dare you, young lady?!” She hiccupped slightly. “Now Reitei-sama’s trust in will have fallen like a rock in water! He’ll never love me!”

“‘Love’?” repeated Lucy, feeling irritated at the word. It reminded her too much of Aquarius constantly rubbing in the fact that she didn’t have a boyfriend-! Especially considering love got them into this mess to begin with!

Sherry’s hands moved up to her eyes as she tried to keep her tears at bay. “And you even did this to Angelica…I’ll get you for this!”

“Fine by me!” Lucy declared back. “Bring it on!”

A dark pink magic circle flashed as Sherry turned and shot a spell out. “Wood Doll!” The large creature began to take form and move as it towered over Lucy.

“The tree is moving!” gasped the blond, having never seen magic like this before. Sherry gave a yell, causing the tree to slam a branch down, but Lucy was faster. She leapt up, pulling a key off her ring and swinging it down as a golden light came through, along with the familiar ‘Ding-Dong!’ "Gate of the Golden Bull, I open thee! Taurus!”

“I’m not a perv! Just true to my desires!” The bull man yelled as he appeared out of the ground, striking a pose, before immediately jumping into battle. “Mooooooooo!”

With a swiftness that didn’t match his size, Taurus cut down the tree doll like it was nothing, causing Sherry to move slightly closer with a raised eyebrow. “A Celestial mage and on of the Zodiac gates too…”

“Nice, Taurus!” Lucy praised.

“Moo! Lucy-san and your body’s the best!” He yelled out without shame.

“Forcing your spirits to say thing like that for your pleasure? How uncouth.” Sherry criticized, obviously judging Lucy for Taurus’ rowdy behavior. 

“I’m not forcing him, and I’m not pleased by it!” snapped the blond, Taurus giving a little pissed off ‘Moo!’ by her side.

“However, Celestial mages are such a disadvantage against me…” smirked Sherry, not at all intimidated by Taurus.

“Taurus! Do it!” Lucy ordered, not wanting to spend another minute with the other talking. Taurus ran towards the stacked up rock passage that Sherry was standing on, his stance all for taking her down…only for him to stop, his axe lowering slightly, causing Sherry to smirk and Lucy to freeze at the sight. The blond quickly had to move out of the way as Taurus turned around and swiped his axe down, almost cutting her down. “Hey, Taurus, what’s the matter?!”

“Rampage!” A wild slash downwards had Lucy’s green tank top ripping in the battle, leaving her only in her bright pink tube top and yellow skirt.

“Hey, wait!” She screeched as he cried out in apparent agony, a large fist slamming into the floor next to her, before Taurus had her pinned with both of his own hands, glowing pink eyes staring down at her.

“Lucy-san, i can’t control my body!” He admitted, sounding like it hurt just to speak to her.

“My magic, Doll Attack, allows me to control anything other than humans,” explained Sherry, her face arrogant as her fingers moved like a puppeteer with strings. “That goes for Celestial Spirits, since they’re not humans.”

“N-No way…!” Lucy gasped out, arms burning as her spirit kept the tight grip on her arms.

“I’m udderly ashamed, Lucy-san!” He grunted. “No matter how much I will it, my body won’t…”

“Gate of the Golden Bull, I command thee to close!” cried out the blond, not wanting to see her friend in pain, and not wanting to risk what Sherry would make him do.

But nothing happened.

“Doesn’t the spirit and mage have to open and close the gate together?” Sherry chuckled, looking down at her prone form.

“Close the gate, Taurus!” Lucy begged, as the bull shuddered above her.

“You can’t close it unilaterally,” Sherry grinned, watching in excitement at Lucy’s predicament.

“Taurus!” Lucy tried once more, depsite knowing it wouldn’t work, not while Sherry continued to have him under her control.

“Let’s play Russian Roulette Punch, shall we?” giggled the magenta haired teen as she lifted her hand up to make Taurus do the same below her. “Close your eyes and punch!” Taurus’ eyes closed and his fist raised, but Lucy could see the little bit of tears springing to the spirit’s eyes at the fact he couldn’t even fight back as she stared up at him in shock, before quickly dodging to the right. “I wonder how long you’ll be able to dodge.”

Another fist came down, this time to Lucy’s left and she cried out at the too close for comfort hit. “Taurus, stop it!”

“I want to stop, but…Mooooooo!” Both of Taurus’ arms raised above his head as he cried out, the double hit barely missing Lucy’s body as she curled in a bit more.

“So this is a Fairy Tail mage?” scoffed Sherry as she looked down her nose at the duo with a cruel smile and eyes. “Nothing of substance.”

“Please! Remember your contract with me, Taurus!” The blond pleaded, her own eyes closing as she tried to get through to one of her oldest spirits, one her closest friends.

Her words seemed to do something this time around as Taurus froze, eyes snapping open. “Moo?”

⸻
「Flashback」
⸻

“So, you’re called Lucy, huh?” Taurus asked, arms crossed as he took in the young blond mage in front of him sternly at first, before beaming down her way soon afterwards. “But man, what a nice body you have! I can’t get enough!”

Lucy sighed, eyes closed and arms crossed under her chest tightly as the bull man swooned in front of her. “I can’t believe the Spirit for the Gate of the Golden Bull is such a pervert…what should I do about the contract?”

Her words had the bull stopping his swooning and flexing his muscles, startling her. “Mooooo! There’s no reason to hesitate!” He turned to her with an honest grin. “If you contract with me, I’ll make sure to protect you and that nice body of yours!”

Lucy looked up at him, fear and worry in her big brown eyes. “You promise?”

The look and words had Taurus swooning all over again energetically. “Moooooooo!!! I promise!!!”

⸻
「End Flashback」
⸻

“You told me that you’d always protect me, remember?!” Lucy yelled out, praying that she was getting through to him, since her eyes were still closed.

“Mooooooo!” groaned Taurus, hands flying to the sides of his head as he fought against the magic contradicting his mind and body to this point.

“Hey, what’re you hesitating for?!” Sherry snapped, upset that Lucy was still breathing and talking without Taurus ending her already. “Do what I say and get her!”

Taurus tensed up once more, one hand leaving his head and rearing back, only for Lucy’s voice to halt him once more. “Celestial Gates should be opened and closed by mutual agreement! Come to your senses, Taurus!”

The ominous pink glow in his eyes flickered and she could just barely see his pupils for a moment, the large fist in the air stuttered for a moment, before swinging down and…stoppping an inch before it could hit Lucy’s face.

Brown eyes stared in wonder as Taurus’ large body began to shimmer with golden lights before he was gone, one last smile sent her way. Sherry gasped as she looked over at the spott where Taurus once was, while Lucy laid on the floor a little longer, her hand pressed against her beating chest, while her right arm stayed on the floor, trying to figure out what had happened.

“I did it…” She breathed after a moment, hands now moving in front of her in shock.

“I can’t believe there was a Celestial mage who could do that,” breathed Sherry, her world shook from the sight before her. “I miscalculated…”

Lucy looked down at her Fairy Tail guild mark, eyes shocked, but a feeling of joy rushed through ehr at the same time. “I’ve reached a new level…!” With a grin, she stood once more, pulling her whip out. “That’s right! I’m a member of Fairy Tail, got it? And I’m going to make you pay for what you put Taurus and me through!”

『Omake』
⸻

Natsumi sighed as she stopped by the village, looking around at the camp they made as a kind of refuge from the disaster only a couple of hours earlier. 

“Ah! You!” A woman with black hair in a bob turned her way. “You took Gray from me before the battle, right?” When she nodded, Natsumi beamed. “Do you mind showing me where he is around here?”

“Of course!” The two walked through the camp, passing tents and makeshift houses as they did so and Natsumi made sure to count every person that they passed by to make sure that they weren’t any missing from their numbers. Soon, they arrived at a tent where Gray was tucked into a futon.

“You dumbass…” She sighed, sitting down and beginning to look him over and grabbing the first aid kit that had been set aside for her to use. “But, I came back and you’re going to come back as well. We’re all going home.”

He didn’t move, aside from the slow rise and fall of his chest as she disinfected his wounds and bandaged him up, but that didn’t matter to Natsumi, she continued to talk anyway.

“I have a plan to keep that jackass from continuing with his stupid ass plan to revive Deliora and leave this place once and for all,” She giggled, eyes watering slightly as she saw the amount of damage done to Gray. “I’m also gonna kick his ass for the things he did to you…so…so hold on a bit longer, okay?”

Silence.

Sniffling slightly, Natsumi rubbed her hand over her eyes and stood, nodding at her handiwork, before turning and heading out. It was time to kick start her plan. Turning back to Gray as she stood at the tents exit, she breathed another sigh of relief. “Ateş sıcak olsun (May the fire be warm).”

With that, she ran out in the cover of the darkness.

Chapter Text

「Galuna Island - Forest」
⸻

Lucy and Sherry stood face to face now, the pink haired mage staring at the blond with contempt. “A forced gate closure? So you are a Fairy Tail mage…”

“The battle starts now!” declared the Celestial mage, brown eyes determined and a small smirk on her lips, grip tightening on her whip the slightest bit.

“But don’t forget,” scoffed Sherry, not looking the slightest bit phased by the change in Lucy’s demeanor. “I can control any of your spirits at will.”

Lucy flashed a key, a glint in her eye. “Let’s just see about that. I’ve got lots more powerful spirits where that came from!” She turned, a magic circle appeared in front of her as she slashed the key downward, a quiet ‘Ding-Dong!’ hitting the air. “Gate of Canis Minor, I open thee! Nicolas!”

Small golden lights moved, slowly forming the familiar looking tiny snowman that shook the minute its entire body was finished. “Pun, pun!”

Sherry took one look at the tiny spirit, a small smile on her face as she looked down her nose at it. “Oh my, how cute…this is also ‘love’.”

“What the heck does that even mean?!”

“Let me show you,” Sherry held her hands out, two magenta magic circles springing to life from her palms. “Doll Attack! Doll Control!”

The pink lap zapped the tiny snowman spirit, making his eyes turn pink, much like it did Taurus’ and he turned, sending Lucy a dark look. “Plue?” When the little dog spirit prepared itself to launch, the blond took a small step back. “Don’t tell me-!”

“Pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu…Pun!” The little spirit’s fists batted harmlessly at its mistresses boot legs, moving left and right to try and cause some damage as Lucy looked down at the tiny Celestial Spirit, while Sherry’s hands shook from where she was controlling Plue, a sweatdrop beading down the back of her head.

“What the…?!” gasped Sherry, looking both shocked and annoyed at the turn out, while Lucy merely smirked.

“You fell for it!” Moving quickly, the blond slammed her whip in an arc towards Sherry, who jumped out of the way of the harsh attack quickly.

“Damn, it was a small-fry spirit!” growled the Control Mage as she watched Plue now keep himself attached to Lucy’s leg, as if that would stop her movements.

“That’s right!” said Lucy, pride coloring her voice. “I purposefully called out a weak spirit, so your technique is useless now!” 

As she finished her sentence, Lucy lashed out with her whip again, Sherry barely dodging this time as the floor kicked up dirt from the hit.

“Release Control!” shrieked Sherry, feeling both angered and embarrassed about being made a fool.

Almost instantly, the attacks from Plue ceased and the little dog began to whimper as he bowed and looked up apologetically at Lucy, who smiled politely and waved him back to the spirit world quickly. “Don’t worry about it. Go back now, okay?” And he was gone in a poof.

“Doll Attack, Rock Doll!” Sherry’s face twisted hatefully as her hands made a clawed motion as rocks moved and began to form a large golem that had a crater in its head as it held Sherry above Lucy.

“We’re just going in circles, right?” Lucy smirked, not quite seeing how big the doll had gotten this time around yet. “My spirits destroy your dolls, then you take them over, and I close the gate-oh!”

Her words broke off into a shocked gasp as she finally saw how big the rock doll really was, towering way above her and even some of the trees of the forest. “Oh, that’s strange…” giggled Sherry from her place on the golem’s head. “Could that also be ‘love’? Going around in circles? ‘Destroy’...this? These rocks?”

“Wait just a second…” pleaded Lucy as she stared up in comical shock at the creation in front of her. “Do I have a spirit that can destroy something this big?”

A large fist raised up and swiftly came down once more, Lucy jumping out of the way with a muffled shriek of terror, before quickly getting to her feet and running off into the forest to try and avoid the monster slowly chasing her, only to be cut off by another fist blocking the path and making her turn the opposite way.

“This is bad, bad, bad, bad!” She cried out, small tears leaking down the corner of her eyes as she ran.

“Don’t let her escape, Rock Doll!” Sherry ordered coldly, back to her normal self now that the tables had turned once more in her favor. “Catch that little girl!”

The golem continued to chase after Lucy at a steady pace, despite its large size as it slowly closed in on her. “Who’re you calling a little girl?!” Lucy yelled angrily, not slowing her pace as she did so. “I look just as old as you do!”

“Now, now, if you keep blabbing we’ll catch up to you!” cackled Sherry, lips pulled into an evil grin.

Lucy held up her key ring, quickly scanning all her gold and silver keys, running through the list of names and powers to try and see if she had something compatible at this moment. “Um, which spirit could I use? A spirit I could use…”

“Hey now, if you don’t watch where you’re going, we’ll catch up to you!” taunted the magenta haired teen as she glared manically down at Lucy’s form as her golem slammed its fist once more into the area right behind the blond, causing her to shriek and run as fast as she could.

Lucy panted and gasped for breath as she ran, before pausing and turning around, only to scream at the sight of the golem’s large foot being raised threateningly over her head. “There, stomp her flat!”

The foot hit the ground, the shockwave alone sending Lucy flying backward with a cough as the dirt flew around her face and body, while also causing the floor in front of her to crack threateningly. “Hey, wait…this’s…” The blond turned and felt her heart jump into her throat at the sight of the drop below. “A cliff?!”

Her entire body shook as the corner of the ground she was on came loose and fell towards the beach and ocean below as she yelped in shock, hitting the floor with a groan as she tried to gain her bearings.

“After her, Rock Doll!” ordered Sherry, pointing down to where the semiconscious blond laid, causing the giant golem to leap down, and snapping Lucy back into awareness and straight into panic as she ran, barely getting out of the way of the giant doll. “That way’s a dead end.”

Lucy came to a sudden halt as she realized the other was right, coming straight to the ocean with no other way to avoid the golem and its controller. “The sea…I could call Aquarius here, but…” Her thoughts were interrupted by the rumbling of the golem’s footsteps as it approached her, Sherry’s laugh ringing annoyingly in her ears as it did so.

“You have nowhere left to run,” She sneered, blue eyes narrowed in apparent glee at Lucy’s defeat.

“Water can’t destroy rock…” She rationalized as she glared at Sherry from her position. “And Aquarius would just sweep me away too…” Then an idea struck her with that last sentence. “Sweep me away…”

Sherry laughed once more, as the golem lifted its arms. “Now, it’s time for you to be flattened!” Her eyes looked downright insane. “That’s also love!”

Lucy leapt out of the way, brain still putting the finishing touches on the plan in her head. “Sweep away…that’s it!” Quickly, she pulled out Aquarius’ key, a gold light coming through with a loud ‘Ding-Dong!’ as she dipped it into the ocean and allowed the golden magic circle to appear in it. “Gate of the Water Bearer, I open thee! Aquarius!”

The beautiful mermaid appeared, her ever present urn in hand as Sherry stared in shock and Lucy smirked. “Aquarius?! You have such a powerful spirit?!” shrieked Sherry, almost sounding jealous of Lucy.

“The enemy is that woman!” Lucy said to her spirit, turning to point at Sherry, despite the fact that Aquarius was obviously not paying her any mind. “You hate women like her, right? Get her!”

“Tch!”

“I see your bad attitude hasn’t changed, has it?!” screeched Lucy, getting more angry by the second. “Stop complaining and do it!”

“I see you’re still annoying…” sighed Aquarius, looking almost boredly down at Lucy, who was fuming. “That’s why you can’t get a boyfriend.”

Lucy stomped her feet and waved her arms in anger as she glared up at the mermaid Celestial spirit. “Give it a rest!”

“Doll Attack! Doll Control!” butted in Sherry, trying to take advantage of their banter and bickering, the magenta magic circles appeared once more as Aquarius’ deep blue eyes turned hot pink.

“Hah?” The mermaid glared, eyebrows ticking together to show her growing anger and shrinking patience.

Sherry chuckled, painted lips pulled into a wide smirk as she looked down at Lucy. “Now Aquarius will do as I say. Go right ahead and send her back.”

“No!” declined Lucy, confidence in her voice as she glared back at Sherry. “She’s my trump card!”

“Then, I can crush you under the power of the sea, yes?” Sherry asked rhetorically. “Aquarius, erase that woman from my sight!”

“Hah?!” growled Aquarius, this time angrier and louder, before she held up her urn, allowing the ocean to be pulled into it as she spun around, a whirlpool forming with ease. “I was planning on doing it anyway!!”

Lucy laughed confidently as the wave grew, before screeching in shock as the wave sucked her up, sending her spiraling right into the center of it, causing Sherry to laugh cruelly. “What an idiot-ah?!” She cried out in alarm as the wave grew bigger and bigger, overcoming her golem in height and beginning to sweep her away as well. “Wait, wait-!”

Aquarius watched the two stupid girls as they were sucked into her water’s vortex, a smirk on her face as she chuckled. “Who needs ‘forced closure’ anyway? I’ll close the gate myself, thanks…idiots.”

And then she did so, right as the water vortex settled down, leaving both Lucy and Sherry on the beached floor, dizzy and unable to walk in a straight line. The blond (more used to Aquarius’ violent ways and water) shakily pushed herself up, standing, only to end up tilting to the side right afterwards, dizzy giggles slipping out of her mouth as she swayed with her arms held out for balance. “Aquarius will sweep away enemy and ally alike with her waves…”

Sherry stood as well, arms held out for balance as her own dizzy giggles came as well. “I was careless…but she wasn’t able to defeat the Rock Doll, was she?”

“So what?” scoffed Lucy as they wobbled back into one another, some strange form of a fight happening as the two basically teetered and tottered with their own punches and shoves, looking more like two children, rather than like mages in a fight. “Controlled Doll’s movements follow the orders of the person controlling them, so there’s no need to defeat the Rock Doll. All I needed to do was get you all dizzy and…! This is the skill of a Fairy Tail mage!”

“Playing me to a draw, are we?” Sherry shrieked, hands shakily reaching for the blond, who’s vision began to clear as she closed her eyes to stop the room from spinning anymore.

“A draw?! This is my victory!” snapped the Celestial mage, as their childish fighting sped up, their hits becoming a bit more coordinated and less unstable.

“You’re just as dizzy as…!”

“Then, how about some of this!” Lucy cried out, eyes closed and arm held out in a last ditch effort to end the fight, catching Sherry right in the throat with a shocked cry.

“I…lost?” The magenta haired teen yelped as she hit the floor, unable to stand once again.

“How about that?” grinned Lucy as she continued to move, not wanting to stop and let any trace of dizziness stop her once more. “I’m a Fairy Tail mage too, you know!”

The Rock Doll crumbled behind them as Sherry continued on, dramatics falling from her mouth as she held a hand up. “Even if the flame of my life were to be snuffed out…There is no untruth to my love for Reitei-sama.”

“You’re not gonna die, drama queen.” teased Lucy, a small grin on her face at the other’s theatrics. 

A downright ugly noise was pulled from Sherry’s mouth as she hit the floor. “Angelica…avenge me…”

Lucy blinked in confusion at the words, before the giant mouse from earlier reappeared behind her. “Chu!”

“Wait, that thing wasn’t a Doll?!” She gasped, eyes wide as she looked up at the monster in front of her as it began to come down in the form of a belly flop her way. The blond prepared to run, but her legs suddenly failed her, causing her to fall instead. “Oh no! I can’t move my legs…!”

Right as the monster was about to land on top of her, a blur shot out and slashed across the giant mouse’s stomach, sending it sprawling next to Sherry’s unconscious body. Lucy gasped in relieved shock as a blur of silver, red and blue landed not too far away, Erza standing tall and proud with her sword in hand as she slowly turned to look at the younger mage.

“Erza-!” A glare came to Erza’s serious brown eyes and the happiness Lucy felt suddenly wilted to fear and nervousness, body turning tense and stiff. “-san!”

‘That’s right, we broke the guild rules and went on an S-Class mission without permission…’ She thought, sweat beginning to bead down her face as she trembled in front of the taller mage, who looked truly like the monster that Natsumi and Gray first described her as.

“Lucy, you know why I’m here, don’t you?” Her voice was cool and calm, but the tone left no room for trying to charm her way out of this one, nor would blaming Gray and Happy for it solely work either.

“To take us back…right?” She smiled, hoping that if she cooperated, there wouldn’t be a need for Erza to beat her to an unrecognizable pulp.

Right ?

Then, as if summoned by the arrival of Erza, Happy’s voice resounded above their heads, the little blue cat flying towards the duo with a carefree smile on his face. “Lucy!” She felt herself shake as she kneeled in front of Erza. “Thank goodness!, you’re safe-!”

Happy’s words were suddenly cut off, eyes turning wide and his cheeks puffing out as he took a deep breath in, almost like he thought he wouldn’t be seen if he didn’t breathe. Without waiting another moment, Happy turned and flew off as fast as he could, right as Erza’s cold brown eyes turned his way…

It didn’t help though, as the redhead held him firmly by his tail upside down as she turned her blank, angry, gaze back to the blond. “Where’s Gray?”

“Please, listen!” Lucy tried, standing to meet Erza eye to eye, instead of kneeling in front of her. “We apologize for going without permission, but this island is in real trouble! There are guys who are trying to resurrect a demon trapped in ice, and the people of the village are suffering thanks to that spell. Anyway, it’s a big problem! We want to save this island somehow…”

“I don’t care.” Erza’s words cut deep into Lucy as she flinched back for a moment, before steeling herself once more.

“T-Then, at least let us finish this job-!” She knew she was pushing her luck with this. Erza was the strongest female in Fairy Tail and she’d just learned how to force Gate Closure, the difference in their power was immense.

A sword was thrusted towards her, the tip of it nearly piercing her skin if she didn’t jump back in the last moment and she gulped, meeting Erza’s furious gaze as she held Happy with her other hand tightly. “You’re mistaken, Lucy. You have betrayed the Master,” Erza’s gaze darkened, her bangs shadowing her face more and giving her an even more intimidating appearance. “Don’t think you will get away from this unscathed.”

Lucy considered her options, even as she felt tears prick the corners of her eyes. ‘She’s scary…!’

⸻
「Galuna Island - Refugee Camp」
⸻

Natsumi looked down at Gray’s sleeping form once more, a small frown on her face as she stood. “I’m heading out, Gray, don’t do anything stupid.” The moment she left the tent, dark eyes widened at the sight of Erza. “Erza-nee…”

“Natsumi…” Erza’s eyes softened for a split second, before she shoved Lucy and Happy into the tent next to them. “Stay here, don’t move.”

“Aye, sir…” The two whimpered, before the redhead turned back to her little sister figure.

“What happened to bringing them back?” Erza’s eyes were once again cold steel as she regarded the female Dragon Slayer.

“Well, I was going to…but then, I got here and the people really need our help, Erza-nee…” Natsumi’s voice didn’t waver as she continued to meet Erza’s gaze. “Not to mention, the people who are causing all the problems…their spell is having an effect on me as well…I don’t know why or how, but it is…I need to figure that out.”

“You know I can’t allow that, Natsumi.” A tense silence followed as the two.

“Erza-nee, please…I need to do this for myself.” Natsumi took a deep breath. “You can try to stop me if you want, but I’m not stopping now, especially without a fight. I need to figure out what Igneel did to my memories…why is the spell affecting me and what is it blocking…”

Erza’s eyes softened once more and she sighed. “You know I’ve never actually been able to say no to you…” Natsumi smiled, eyes glinting teasingly. “One day I might be able to, but not today.”

“You’re still going to try and drag Gray and the others back, aren’t you?”

“I have to. They broke the rules and must be punished accordingly.” Erza closed her eyes, lips turning into a firm line. “...if it turns out the way I think it is, we’ll be seeing you shortly.”

Natsumi’s lips pursed as she thought about it. “I have one thing I can do to buy us some time.” When Erza raised an eyebrow, Natsumi smirked, eyes twinkling mischievously. “I’m going to be a grade A nuisance!”

Hugging the armored mage tightly, the shorter turned and ran quickly, an idea forming in her head. She’d have to stake the place out for a bit, but it would be worth it.

「 。。。」

Gray slowly blinked, his body thrumming in pain all over as he stared at the top of a tent. The last thing he remembered was Lyon’s cronies going to destroy the village…he was going to help, but then-!

His eyes widened and he sat up swiftly. “Natsumi!”

“Oh, you’re awake, that’s a relief.” He heard a voice come from the tent’s doorway and he looked over to see a woman with a dark blue bob and kind eyes smiling his way.

“Where is this?” He asked, pushing himself to his feet and walking towards her and outside the tent, where he saw other tents lined around with crates here and there.

“This is a storage area a bit removed from the village,” explained the village girl. “The village was destroyed last night, so everyone took refuge here.”

“The village is gone?” He clenched his hands into fists, realizing that he missed more of the fight than he originally thought. “Natsumi failed to protect it?”

Then his eyes widened as he remembered who exactly gave the order to destroy the village the night before. ‘Lyon, you bastard…you actually went and did it?’ He looked around, sadly taking in the sight of the villager’s trying to make the best with what they had at this point in time, before pain in his chest flared, he winced as he reached up to grab the area.

“But thanks to Lucy-san and Natsumi-san, no one was injured,” continued the villager with a kind smile, noticing his look at the area around them. “So we have to at least be glad for that.”

“Are they also here?” Gray asked, looking down at his bandaged torso for a moment, before looking back at the nameless villager.

“Yes, they asked us to direct you to their tent when you woke up.” She smiled, a glint entering her eye as she turned to start leading him to the tent. “Natsumi-san worked hard on bandaging you up last night when she came back from the battle she took part in.”

“I see…” Gray whispered, looking down at his arms. An image of worried dark eyes filled with light tears staring down at him from above filled his mind and the ice mage realized he must’ve woken up briefly during Natsumi’s first aid treatment.

“They’re waiting in that big tent.” The villager pointed, before Gray turned and made his way over to the area, worry and anxiety eating away at him.

He knew that they could handle themselves, but knowing how far Lyon would go to revive Deliora left his body wracked with guilt and nerves about what he would do to his friends and fellow guildmates.

The lengths he would go to try and surpass their teacher, who gave them the world when they were little.

Finally calming himself, Gray walked into the tent…and regretted it almost instantly as he came face to face with a pissed off Erza. “You’re late, Gray.”

“Erza?!” He yelped, taking a step back, as if that would get him away from the dangerous redhead, before he caught sight of Lucy and Happy next to her, tied with ropes and crying large waterfalls of tears. “Lucy? Happy?!”

“I’ve heard what happened from Lucy,” Erza continued, unbothered by his reaction, nor the crying from the two by her side. “Did you really think you’d get away from punishment, even if you did manage to complete the quest? I’m speechless, really…and you even dragged Natsumi along for this ride.”

“...where is Natsumi?” Gray asked, before he paused and his lips twisted slightly, both amused and annoyed at being caught by the knight. “Not like it matters. The only one who can say no to her is Master, so I’d bet you let her run wild again, huh?”

Erza’s face tightened and Gray knew he was right. It wasn’t like it was uncommon knowledge in the guild, but the Requip mage and ice mage were some of the softest people on Natsumi, never being able to back down to her whims or fancies and never really able to tell her no.

“You dare say that to the great Erza-sama?!” demanded Happy, face both shocked and fearful at Gray’s sudden burst of bravery.

“‘-sama’?” Lucy repeated the cat’s words.

Instead of answering him about Natsumi’s whereabouts, Erza began to walk away. “If you think that’s so true, how about I show you I mean business? I’ll find Natsumi and drag you all back to the guild?”

“What are you saying, Erza?” Gray couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Erza wasn’t being fair to the people of this island and he knew she was suddenly deciding to drag Natsumi back simply because he made a point of bringing up the way neither of them could say no to her. “You know I’m right and no matter how much you want to try and play equal, you know you can’t. Not with the amount of times you couldn’t say no to her before this. Besides, this island needs our help, if Lucy and Happy told you already, then you know they need us.”

“You seem to be just as mistaken as Lucy was earlier,” Erza’s glare could’ve frozen Hell itself from the coldness of it all. “You broke the rules, I’m only here to bring you all back, Natsumi included.”

She requipped a sword out, pressing it against the front of Gray’s chest, an action that would’ve had the dark haired male repenting immediately any other day, but instead, his hand moved up and placed the sword right on his Fairy Tail guild mark, cuts opening up on his hand from where he gripped the blades sharp edges. “Do what you must. This is the path I’ve chosen and something I need to do.” His hand kept her sword pressed against his chest, the red leaking down his hand covering the clean steel. “If you’re going to take me back, it’ll be over my dead body and I know Natsumi would agree with me for once.”

“I’m going to finish this…if you’re going to cut me down, do it.” The two met in a fierce stare down…before Gray turned and left, the redhead glaring at his back angrily as Happy and Lucy gaped openly, tears in the corner of the little blue cat’s eyes.

「 。。。」

“ *****-niisan!” She could hear her own voice laugh, but Natsumi couldn’t make out the name, brow furrowing slightly. “ *****-niisan, it’s time for dinner! Mama and Papa are waiting for us!”

Another child flashed in front of her and Natsumi could only make out messy dark hair as the older leaned down to pick up her tiny body, hands warm as they held her above their heads. “My precious Natsumi-chan, I’ll always protect you!”

Dark eyes snapped open as Natsumi sat up from the spot she’d found to stake out the place, hands clenching in the dirt next to her. The dream was like nothing she’d had before. She’d had dreams where Igneel was with her again, both when she was little and her current age, but never about a man with dark hair, who would hold her as if she was the most precious thing in the world.

“Who was that…?” She mumbled, running a hand through her knotted shoulder length hair, standing up and brushing off her outfit as she looked out, a pout coming to her face. “I had a good idea on how to be a nuisance and I end up oversleeping…go figure.”

As she walked, she couldn’t help, but wonder who that was again. His voice sounded warm and familiar, but also…a part of her felt more connected to him than she should be, all things considered.

“No time to worry about that now.” She huffed, making her way into the ruins once more, before pausing at the entry. “Well, time to start!”

「 。。。」

Lucy shook next to Happy, their hearts beating loud enough for someone to hear without having to be close to them as Erza whirled around on them, beautiful scarlet hair looking like a bloody cape as she glared at them darkly, causing the two to jump in fear.

“H-Hey, Erza, calm down!” Lucy cried out fearfully, praying the S-Class mage didn’t do anything drastic.

“Gray’s just angry because he lost to his old friend and he likes Natsumi, but he hasn’t been able to prove himself to her!” yelped Happy, both thinking that Fairy Tail’s strongest female was about to do something rash to the two of them because of Gray’s bad attitude.

In two swift strikes, the rope binding both the Celestial mage and the talking cat fell without hitting them even once as Erza’s bangs shadowed her eyes briefly. “The present situation is unacceptable.” She spoke, voice bland, even as she continued to glare at them. “So we’ll continue this after the present problem is solved.”

“Erza…!” The other two gasped, relief crushing their chests as they smiled at the taller, completely forgetting all fear in that moment…only for Erza to crack the metaphorical whip once more.

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” Her eyes turned to glare from the corner, not turning to face them fully this time around, simply knowing their cheerfulness would fade in a moment. “You will be punished.”

“Aye…”

「Galuna Island - Underground Ruins -First Floor-」
⸻

Lyon stared down with cold eyes at the last remaining person from his endeavor to destroy the village and the people in it. “How pitiful…you’re the last one, Toby?”

“Aroo…” The dog-man rumbled, a little band aid covering the part of his head where he’d stabbed himself with his own paralyzing nails, watching as the white haired teen sat back in the ruined throne, almost like he was at a loss for words momentarily.

“Damn you, Fairy Tail…” He huffed a small, sarcastic chuckle. “Not bad.”

Toby winced, eyes closing as he remembered not only Yuka’s beat down from Natsumi, but also her trick to get him to do himself in without having to lift a finger in all honesty. “Can we keep the fact that I ended up fragging myself a secret between us?”

“Deliora’s resurrection may be in danger at this rate.” The little man in the tribal outfit hummed as he came closer to the duo, though he looked more amused at the prospect of everything falling through, rather than upset about it.

“So you were here, Zalty?” Lyon’s eyes swiveled over to where the little man stood, face as impassive as ever, despite his frustration with the scenario and the fact that he seemed to be the last one truly standing.

Zalty gave an amused smile once more, nodding his head slightly in greeting to Lyon. “Deliora will be resurrected when we pour in the full magical power of the moon tonight.” His voice was sly as he spoke, but he could tell that Lyon was listening to every word. “However, if the Moon Drip ceremony is interrupted, Deliora will stay in that ice forever…and what’s more, Titania has joined the enemy forces with that Gray and the Salamander.”

Toby didn’t say anything as he continued to watch Lyon, but he would rather Deliora stayed in the ice forever and he would like it even more if everyone forgot about that damn demon, but…he was only one in the many that believed that Lyon could release them from the torment of Deliora, so…he simply watched, even if he didn’t trust Zalty as far as he could sniff him.

“Your intelligence works as fast as always,” sneered Lyon, holding a hand up to summon some cold frost into his palm impassively. “But, I cannot be defeated. Nothing defeats the ice sword that surpasses even Ur’s…”

“That is quite heartening to hear, yes…” Zalty started, giving a small bow Lyon’s way with a hand over his heart. “Then, it’s been awhile, but perhaps I should join the battle myself.”

As Lyon lowered his hand, Toby looked at Zalty in shock. “Wait, you used to be able to fight?!”

“Yes, I know a bit of Lost Magic, you see…”

Lyon scoffed, his attention never veering from the green haired man in front of him. “Hmph…what an ominous man.” The temple suddenly began to shake, some of the looser bits of ceiling and wall falling with ease as it startled the three males in the room.

“An earthquake?!” Toby yelped, looking around as Zalty finally lost the mysterious smile he’d had the entire time.

The shaking and the rumbling stayed constant as the temple tilted and wobbled, almost as if it was going to fall over soon enough. “This is…”

“The ruins are collapsing!”

「 。。。」

Natsumi grunted as she slammed a flaming fist through a pillar for the third time, watching in satisfaction as it finally collapsed, before leaping up with a flaming leg and knocking into another support beam with a cry.

She heard some followers calling out in surprise and fear as the ruins tilted and toppled like some toy being tossed, but she didn’t care, opening her mouth with a roar and sending a pillar of fire above herself, blasting a whole through the floor five floors up and bringing the attention down her way as she looked back up.

「 。。。」

“She didn’t waste any time…” Zalty chuckled as he peered down at the new hole made in the floor, his mask covering up any thought or emotion his eyes might’ve held in that moment. “Look, she’s down below.”

Lyon and Toby glanced down and caught sight of the short Dragon Slayer in the center of the destruction in the bottom floor, a loud laugh catching their attention as Natsumi’s eyes glittered. “I would’ve loved to finish this all before you found me out, but this place was harder to tear down than I originally thought.”

By the end of her statement, the amusement had left Natsumi’s face, leaving her meeting Lyon’s glare with one of her own. “What are you trying to do?!”

“Be a grade A nuisance…is what you hoped I would say,” She sneered, body falling into a familiar position as her eyes darkened in rage, despite the calm anger in her voice. “Tip the building over, then the moonlight can’t land on the demon in the basement.”

“You bastard…how dare you?! Damn Fairy Tail!”

Despite the tense air, Toby didn’t follow what was going on in the slightest, a small whine slipping out as he continued to glare down at Natsumi, who didn’t even acknowledge him this time around. “I dunno…I don’t get what’s going on at all…”

“She’s trying to tilt these ruins,” explained Zalty, his grin never falling from his face as he turned to look at the dog-like man smugly. “By destroying half of the pillars holding up the base of the ruins, she can tilt the building so that the light of the moon will not hit Deliora. That’s her plan, I believe. She may not look it, but she’s quite shrewd.”

“Enough babbling!” The pink haired Dragon slayer yelled, fire igniting around her ankles and engulfing her feet, beginning to launch her towards those she perceived as her enemies in this moment.

“Flames on her legs…?” Lyon grunted, looking absolutely baffled at the prospect of the burning fire touching anything without any issues.

“She can produce flames all over her body!” explained Toby as he watched the petite fire mage warily from next to the white haired teen, his eyes widening as with a war cry, Natsumi flew up, headbutting right into Lyon’s chest.

The ice mage’s body flew with her momentum, before crystal-like cracks began to appear all over, his body shattering into ice soon thereafter. “What? A fake?” Natsumi snarled, fists clenched tightly as she glanced around at the last minute to see Lyon already charging another spell behind her.

“Ice Make: Eagle!” The Fairy Tail mage turned around fully, right as the tiny ice birds flew from the light blue magic circle and towards her instead. “You can’t avoid them in the air!”

Natsumi took a deep breath, a small smirk coming to her face, before she blew upwards, her flames acting like a propeller and sending her downwards as she smacked into the floor with no grace and the attack from Lyon was rendered useless. She had the pleasure of watching the smug look on the white haired bastard’s face fall as she flipped onto a hand, using the flames in her feet to propel her backwards this time, turning the handstand into a split kick with the fire spinning outwards from her feet, causing the white haired teen to duck last minute as she grinned ferally his way. “What chaotic magic…”

Natsumi spun on her hands once more, before opening her mouth. “Karyū no Hōkō!”

She knew from this range and with the control she had over her flames, there wasn’t any way for the man to dodge…until the floor under her hands began to melt inwards and her eyes widened as she fell through. “Kya!”

Lyon watched the brilliance of her flames disappear as he landed in front of the spot the destructive fire mage had been in moments before as Zalty walked forward. “It seems you were in luck, Reitei-sama.”

A charred Toby raised his hand behind the shorter mage, body still smoking as he regarded the other two. “Just keep the fact that I got hit to yourself…”

“What did you do?” Lyon demanded, his focus wholly on Zalty as he ignored everything else.

“What indeed…” hummed the older man, turning to stare at the aged and old looking piece of floor that Natsumi had fallen through.

“Don’t dodge the question.” snarled the ice mage, taking a step closer to the smoking pile of rocks as he gestured to the spot. “It was your magic that destroyed the floor.”

“Ah, Reitei-sama, nothing gets past your eyes.” chuckled Zalty unabashedly. “But please understand, I cannot afford to lose you until Deliora is resurrected.”

Lyon felt a rush of hot anger flow through his veins at the mere implication that he would’ve lost to that little girl…to that fire mage, despite the fact that he was the one who would surpass Ur and had already surpassed Gray, who was on the same level as that pink haired nuisance and his attitude showed through the sudden frostiness of the room, the temperature dropping enough for the air particles to freeze around him and a small tailwind to kick up around them. “You’re saying I’d be beaten if I was hit by those flames?”

His voice was cold and emotionless as he froze the floor around the, the cold ice trailing up the wall and leaving spikes to keep intruders out. “Begone. I will finish her myself.” His dark glare met Natsumi’s own as she pulled herself out of the hole that Zalty had sent her down. “I’m the one and only mage who can defeat Deliora, Reitei Lyon! To even imply that I would have trouble with a brat like her is insulting.”

“Oh, my…” chuckled Zalty.

“Defeat Deliora…?” Natsumi remembered the wreckage, the choking smoke and flames that she’d seen in that vision with Deliora. She knew for a fact that there was no way Lyon would be able to defeat Deliora. Their master couldn’t even defeat Deliora fully and instead sacrificed herself for them. “Lanet bir aptal olma (Don’t be a damned fool)!”

「 。。。」

Gray, Erza and Lucy were running, Happy flying by their sides through the forest as the dark haired ice mage finished explaining Lyon’s goals for reanimating Deliora. 

“Defeat Deliora?” panted Lucy, never taking her eyes off the path in front of them. “That’s his goal?”

“Sounds suicidal…” Erza muttered, eyes flashing towards Gray’s back searchingly.

「 。。。」

“Deliora is already half dead as is…” Natsumi thought out loud, now fully facing Lyon. “Why break it free, risk being unable to actually defeat it and let everything that had been done until now be in vain? Sounds like you're missing a few things in that plan of yours, buddy.”

“It’s all to surpass Ur…” Lyon uttered, his voice low and almost manic, bringing Natsumi’s attention to his bag filled eyes, before he suddenly launched forward more Ice Eagles. “So I can continue to dream!”

Skillfully dodging out the way of the eagles, Natsumi grimaced. “Obsessing over one person isn’t the way to try and dream, not even if it was your dream to surpass them! Trying to take on the monster they lost their lives to seal isn't the way to do jack!”

“She’s dead…and it’s Gray’s fault!” repeated Lyon, this time hyper focusing on the fact that she was gone and who he blamed for it all.

Gray, who probably blamed himself the most.

Natsumi blinked as something bright flashed behind her and she turned as another Ice Eagle flew right at her, barely managing to lift her arm fast enough to allow it to crash into her arm painfully. The two sat for a moment, Lyon wondering if he managed to take her out with that one hit, while the Dragon Slayer tried to think about her next batch of words and actions.

When the fallen ice particles finally fell, the ice mage’s face fell at the sight of the pink haired teen still standing. “I don’t know what happened in the past,” She started, glaring from behind her injured arm slightly. “But what you’re trying to do now is making a lot of people suffer and it’s going to make more people suffer the moment that thing is unleashed! I’m going to make you open your eyes with my burning hot flames!”

「 。。。」

“Lyon’s aim has always been to surpass Ur…” Gray continued, the group having stopped running in order to hear the full explanation from the dark haired male without any distraction. “Now with Ur gone, he wants to defeat Deliora, a foe that Ur couldn’t kill, in order to surpass her…”

“I see…!” gasped Lucy, eyes wide. “So that’s the only way for him to surpass someone who’s dead.”

“Aye…”

“No, he…Lyon doesn’t know.” whispered Gray, eyes full of pain as he glared in the direction that the ruins were in. “It’s true that Ur is no longer with us…but…Ur is still alive!”

His words caused shock to ring out among the others gathered as they stared at him in shock.

How could someone dead still be around somehow?

『Omake』
⸻
「Galuna Island - About One Hour Before」
⸻

“Lucy, Gray, Happy…” Erza called as they all prepared to head into the forest after Natsumi. “I have a question, did Natsumi mention anything about Laxus when she came to collect you?”

“...no?” Lucy tilted her head slightly as she glanced at the other two, who both shook their heads. “Why?”

“Apparently, he left the guild around the same time she decided to go and search for you guys,” The redhead explained, looking down at the sword in her hand. “I didn’t get a chance to ask about it yet with her, but…I needed to see if she brought it up with you first.”

“You’re worried about him trying something without someone being there to look out for her?” Gray asked, his eyes narrowing at the implication of it. “But would he really risk it?”

“...Natsumi smelled a little like ozone when she first arrived…” whispered Happy, eyes going wide. “That’s what Laxus smells like…but why did he follow her?”

“I can’t say for sure yet, but there are a few things that I’m thinking about that Master told me before I came to find you.” Her hand tightened on the hilt of her sword briefly. “I will say, if I find out it’s the thing Master thinks it’s for, I will make him regret the day he even learned Natsumi’s name.”

The rest of the group shivered, not wanting to be in the blond’s shoes if it truly turned out to be the thing that Erza didn’t want it to be.

“Now, let’s go and finish this already.” The redhead ordered, turning and allowing them to lead the way towards the ruins.

Chapter Text

「Galuna Island - Forest (Late Morning)」
⸻

“Ur is still alive…” Gray repeated, his steely gaze meeting the shocked expressions of his surrounding teammates at this moment.

“What do you mean?” pressed Erza, her voice both calm and stern as she watched the Ice mage wearily. Everyone had some sort of grief that they held and sometimes, it didn’t bring the most logical conclusion to those around them.

She just wanted to make sure Gray was okay and not just having a grief filled delusion.

“Ten years ago…” He started, sounding as clear and level headed as always, even as the memories started playing back in his mind.

Almost as if it was yesterday that he caused the one good thing in his life before Fairy Tail to go up in flames and melt like snow.

⸻
「Flashback (Ten Years Ago)」
⸻

(“The city where I lived was attacked by Deliora…”)

The large creation of darkness towered over the houses and buildings with ears, fire and rubble following its every step as he it stopped, leaning back and releasing a roar into the smoke, soot and ash filled air of the once beautiful city, the noise alone causing an already burning bell tower to fall, the golden bell swinging violently as it tolled.

(“It didn’t even take a day for it to be destroyed.”)

Unperturbed by the chaos and destruction it caused, Deliora continued on its way, leaving nothing, but devastation in its wake.

The following day, once the soot and smoke stopped filling the clouds with their sorrow, they parted to reveal the morning sun on the ruins of the city below, shining so happily on what could only be considered a catastrophe of an ending. Two figures wandered through the area, a young woman and a child, the sound of their feet loud and heavy in the silence of the once bustling city as they checked the rubble and the burned areas for any sign of life.

Little to no hope for a survivor.

“Deliora…” The woman muttered, watching as some of the plumes of smoke, no longer as big as before, continued to rise upwards, even with nothing left to burn. “I’d heard rumors, but I’d have never imagined…”

As she passed her gaze around the destruction once more, her eyes widened at the sight of dark hair on a small body trapped under the rubble and she was in motion before she knew it. “Lyon, come over here! We’ve got a survivor!”

The little boy, barely looking older than the one they were trying to pull from the rubble, turned around with shocked and worried blue eyes, quickly rushing to the older woman’s side as they tried to rouse the child stuck under the rubble.

“Hey, are you okay?” Dark blue eyes slowly pried themselves open, coming face to face with Lyon crouched in front of him and Ur watching from behind, her face sympathetic.

(“I was saved by Ur and Lyon, who just happened to pass by.”)

「 。。。」

Ur and Lyon stood a little bit away from Gray as he crouched in front of one of the many shakily marked graves, placing a flower at the one he deemed for his parents, since there were no bodies found as they checked out the rest of the ruined city.

They watched politely, despite the tears trailing down the child’s cheeks, a burning fire filled his eyes continuously. “Deliora…I’ll never forgive you…” His little body shook as he stared at the small mound of dirt with the flowers. “Deliora…One day…”

Ur watched one, eyes compassionate and sympathetic. She would never pity someone, knowing it would never help in the long run, but she could at least see their situation with empathy.

(“And for me, that’s how it all started.”)

「 。。。」

Snow blew down into the snow covered terrain, the wind howling as if to prove how cold it was. Ur, Lyon and Gray stood on one of the flatter plains, the dark haired child heaving for air as sweat dripped down his face slightly, even though Ur and Lyon looked fine from their trek.

“Gray, are you sure you can keep up?” The dark haired woman asked without even turning around, sounding almost as if she didn’t care one way or the other as she turned to regard him with a smirk on her face. “My training is harsh, you know.”

After a few more moments of taking in cold air, Gray looked up at her with stormy dark eyes. “Yeah! I’ll do anything! As long as I can get the power to defeat Deliora, I’ll do anything!”

“Sheesh…” Lyon sighed, looking slightly worried for the younger boy, before Ur turned to face them both.

“Okay then, let’s start!”

“Sure, I’m ready anytime!” Gray grunted, before he jumped back with a cry of shocked embarrassment as Ur threw her clothes off, revealing a green and light yellow bikini underneath her winter clothes. “What are you doing?!”

“Off with your clothes too.” She bypassed easily, hands on her hips, despite the frigid temperatures as Gray felt his cheeks heat up.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” He screeched, glaring at her as if to try and intimidate her into changing her orders. “You think I’d strip in this snow?!” He turned to the other child, ready to have someone backing him up in this situation. “Isn’t that right, Lyon?!”

But that attempt was short lived, since the white haired boy was already stripped down to his boxers, an easy grin on his face as his arms crossed over his chest.

“Not you too?!”

“Just hurry up and strip.” winked Lyon, looking like he was enjoying Gray’s strife in the moment. “You want power, right?”

Gray threw his hands into the air, frustrated by their craziness. “Fine, I got it already! I’ll strip! All I gotta do is strip, right?”

Ur’s face softened slightly, before she smiled and winked down at the children. “That’s right. If you’re going to control the cold, then you need to become one with the cold. Everything starts from there.”

Both boys huddled their arms closer to their bodies, though Lyon tried to hide it behind a grin and a perfect straight posture. “I’m t-totally used to it already.”

“...he says while shivering…” mumbled Gray, shoulders hunching from the harsh winds.

“Time to run, boys!” Ur ordered, turning and starting a light jog through the snowy terrain, the boys following behind her at a slower pace.

“Hey! Teach us magic!”

“Stop complaining and start running! See, I’m doing the basics too!”

「 。。。」

The training was like that almost everyday. They ran through the cold in only their underwear, took baths with cold water and ice cubes floating in the water and Ur would show them how to do their magic with stance training and words of advice and encouragement.

“Listen here, among the many kinds of magic, Creation Magic is the magic with the greatest freedom…” She would say as Gray watched her intensely, though he would notice that Lyon often went to watch the wildlife rather than learn seriously from her at first.

Lyon would return and try to show what he learned, but would mess the stance up more times than not by simply using one hand instead of both, even if his designs were far ahead Gray’s own designs.

“Each individual's Creation Magic is unique…”

A fist slammed into Lyon’s head as he finished making an Ice Gorilla, causing his proud snicker to change into a pained grunt as Ur told him once more that their Creation Magic required them to use both hands to make it perfectly.

Dinner was usually a quiet, but warm meal after a hard day of training in the frozen wonderland they called their home.

“Devote yourself.”

Gray found himself being less bothered by the cold each time they went out to train and he could see that Lyon was also toughening up to the elements around them, then they would run the rest of their routine, before crashing for the night, never realizing that Ur would watch them with a tender smile on her face, even as Lyon slept still as a corpse and Gray slept like any wild boy his age would, drool slipping down the corner of his lips.

“And search out your own form.”

「 。。。」

Ur was at a shop, waiting for her order to be fulfilled as her pupils stood off to the side and one of the workers chatted with her for a bit. “Hey, don’t you have an extra pupil today?”

“His name’s Gray.” sighed the dark haired woman, remembering her newest headache in her house. Lyon was impatient and eager to learn, now she had an angsty, impatient hot-head to add to the fray. “He’s a rebel and quite the handful.”

“And the other is named Lyon, right?” giggled the worker, her smile just a tad impish. “Both of them seem like they’ll be future hunks.”

“You think?” Their teacher huffed around a mouthful of apple, remembering how both of these boys once argued about who was the coldest at the beginning of their training.

“Ne, when they grow up, let me have one, ’kay?” giggled the young worker as she packed some groceries into a bag for Ur, who rolled her eyes and took another bite of her apple.

“Take both of ’em, their constant noise is driving me nuts…”

The worker turned fully to Ur, placing the last grocery in the bag. “You look like you’ve got children, so no man’ll come near you.”

Ur laughed this time, sliding the money along the countertop for her purchases. “I don’t need any love advice, thanks.”

“You’re not getting any younger, Ur…” The woman stated, not unkindly, as she handed the dark haired mage the bag. “Shouldn’t you be thinking about your own happiness a bit?”

Ur made a face, turning to the woman with what could’ve been considered a pout as she made her way back to her pupils. “Yeah, yeah…”

By the wall, Lyon was leaning forward to try and get Gray’s attention. “Say, Gray, how long do you think until we get better than Ur?”

“I don’t care.” grunted the darker haired ice mage, trying to completely ignore the other.

“Ur is my goal!” Lyon smiled, eyes moving towards the bright blue sky. “My dream is to beat her one day!”

“I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times, I don’t care.” grumbled Gray, his eyes narrowing into an annoyed glare. 

“You’re so dark.”

“And you’re too cheerful and keep blabbing on about Ur all the time.” They watched the people passing by for a moment, before Lyon broke the silence once more.

“She told me that the reason she accepted you as her pupil was that you were wrapped in darkness.” As they spoke, they turned to see Ur making an annoyed face at the worker, looking like she’d rather be on her way already.

“After seeing what I saw, how could I not be?” whispered Gray, though his glare did lessen the slightest bit as he gazed at Ur from a distance.

“She said she wanted to drive away the darkness.” The white haired boy chirped, seemingly glowing as he spoke.

Gray lifted a small fist and looked at it with narrowed eyes, even as he kept his tone semi-casual. “I’ll do that myself…by my own hands…” Lyon’s eyes flashed towards the other with a soft sigh. “As long…As long as I defeat Deliora, that’s good enough for me. The minute I get the power, I’ll say sayonara to that Ice Queen.”

He squeaked as a fist slammed into his head, Lyon now standing by his side with a grin and snickers. “What did you call your teacher?!” snapped Ur, her hand still clenched into a fist as she glared down at Gray.

“Sorry…” whimpered the boy as Lyon continued to laugh at his suffering.

The three continued on their way back home through the quaint village, Ur leading the way and her pupils closing the rear.

It was silent, until Gray broke it, catching Lyon’s attention. “When are you gonna teach me some powerful magic?”

“I already did.” sighed Ur, unperturbed by the rude wording of Gray’s question.

“How is Creation Magic strong?” He pushed, voice raising slightly. “It’s no use at all.”

This caused Ur to pause in her steps, turning and looking at Gray with dark narrowed eyes, lips pulled into a mysterious frown, causing him to slouch slightly from the sudden tension, before he looked away. “Look here, Gray,” When he did, Ur continued. “I told you, remember? Creation Magic is the magic with the greatest freedom. When you find your own form, it can be as powerful as you want.”

Gray scoffed, turning away from her once more (and subconsciously pulling his clothes off). “You’re just saying the same old stuff.”

“Why are you stripping here?!” Ur shrieked as Lyon watched the younger boy curiously as Gray suddenly leapt back with a cry of his own.

“Ah!” He turned to Ur suddenly, cheeks pink and a full glare on his face. “It’s all your fault I have this weird habit!”

“It’s my fault?!” Ur felt her own cheeks heat up as she uppercutted Gray, sending him spiraling into the sky with a yelp.

Lyon’s bright laughter filled the air as the rest of the villagers joined in, some watching how far Gray flew, while the rest thought it was a cute interaction between teacher and student. Ur felt her cheeks heat up even more as she scruffed Gray by the neck, the boy hanging limply in her hand with three steaming bumps atop his head. “L-Let’s go home.”

“’Kay…” He rasped.

On the trek back up the mountain, Ur was lamenting on what her life had come to. “Geez, that was embarrassing…”

“It was hilarious.” snorted Lyon eagerly.

“Shut up, Pointy-Eyes.” Gray snapped, his own embarrassment returning.

“You shut up, Droopy-Eyes.”

As they continued at their steady pace, they passed a carriage and Gray could hear the occupants talking within it.

“So, did you hear about Deliora?”

“Ah, they say it's moved to the Northern Continent. Somewhere around Brago, I hear.”

Gray stopped, leaning a bit closer to the carriage to hear more about the demon that stole it all.

“Seriously? Then peace has returned to Isvan?!”

As the carriage fully passed, Gray dropped the bag he was holding, catching Lyon and Ur’s attention. “Gray?”

“Deliora is…at Brago?”

「 。。。」

The following day, Gray packed up his meager belongings and made his way out into the snow storm, ready to go and confront his enemy, Lyon and Ur at the doorway, with his teacher pleading with him to come back. “Stop this! There’s no way you can win against Deliora! It’s impossible for you, Gray!”

The dark haired boy didn’t turn around, even as the wind blew his messy hair around his face, for he knew that if he did, he would most likely listen to her. “Shut up. You think you can understand?” Then he turned with eyes full of hatred, pain and rage. “I’m going to avenge my mother and father! You got a problem with that?!”

A moment…then, “You leave, and you’re expelled.”

Gray huffed, closing his eyes as he continued on his path. “Sure! Sounds good to me!”

Lyon watched him go, eyes full of concern. “Gray…”

“If I die, that I’ll haunt you for not teaching me more powerful magic…” promised Gray as his tiny body disappeared into the blizzarding darkness.

Ur watched him go, before closing her eyes, head tilted downwards. “Damn it…”

Gray continued on his way, face set firmly into a scowl.

⸻
「Galuna Island - Forest (Afternoon)」
⸻

Lucy stared at the Ruins overhead, her face turning into one of obvious confusion at the sight before them. “Huh? The ruins are…tilted?”

“What happened?” Happy chorused, his own head tilting to try and follow the angle of the ruins.

“Natsumi, I bet.” muttered Gray, his arms crossed as he took in the sight.

“Yeah, she said she had a plan to be a ‘Grade-A nuisance’.” Erza confirmed, looking a bit proud at the image of sacred ruins being tilted to this degree.

“Not sure how she did it, but only she could come up with something this nuts.” sighed the Ice Make mage confidently, while Lucy and Happy continued to gape at the sight. “It doesn’t really matter whether she did it on purpose or not. Now, the light of the moon won’t shine on Deliora.”

“Who knew that her tendency for wanton destruction could actually come in handy?” Lucy wondered, hands moving to tilt her aching neck back into place, while Happy copied her movements next to her.

“This isn’t about her over the top destructiveness…” grunted the cat, his head struggling to readjust like a lever clicked into place suddenly. “This is the way Natsumi’s brain works…she sees opportunities in a different way than we do…Ack!”

His head snapped back up with his cry, causing Lucy to flinch from the loud noise and turn to look at him in concern, before Erza’s steely brown eyes flashed behind them and she pushed the duo out of the way. “Look out!” Her and Gray easily moved out of the way of the suddenly thrown projectiles flying through the air. “Who’s there?!”

Lucy cried out in pain as she collided with a tree back first, legs kicking out slightly from the force, while Happy slammed into the tree next to her, neck first.

“We’ve found you, Fairy Tail!” Their assailants cried out, all covered with the weird masks and robes like the people from the ceremony the night before.

“We won’t allow you to interfere with Reitei-sama!”

“These guys…” growled Gray, hands at the ready for a fight.

“Lyon’s followers?” Erza proposed.

“We’re surrounded!” gasped the Celestial Mage as she saw more people coming from their other side.

“Aye!” groaned Happy, his head now stuck tilted at the opposite side.

“Leave them to me!” ordered Erza, holding out her hand and re-equipping her standard sword into her hand, the glow of her bright red magic circle bright even with the sunlight and causing her hair to flow with the wind.

“Erza…” Gray was shocked at her request, considering her attitude prior to this moment.

“Go, Gray,” Her voice was softer now, more compassionate, as her glare stayed trained on the enemies in front of her. “Finish things with Lyon.”

The dark haired male stared at her for a moment, before he nodded firmly at her words, while Lucy pulled out her whip from earlier, a confident grin on her face. “Don’t worry! We’re here too, so just go!”

“Aye!”

“You guys…” Gray felt his lips turn into a small smile and he could almost imagine hearing Natsumi’s voice coming next.

“We’re Fairy Tail and we take care of our own! We’re a family!”

For the first time in a while, he finally understood everything she’d always said to him about Fairy Tail…finally believing it, after so long of thinking it would all just fade away one day.

「Galuna Island - Underground Ruins -First Floor-」
⸻

Natsumi punched another blazing hole into one of Lyon’s barriers, fists set into a stance that showed she was ready to go again as he glared at her harshly, his hand held out in front of him, both of them glaring at one another.

‘He doesn’t know…Ur’s still alive…’ Gray thought as he made his way through the forest towards the ruins, knowing that both Natsumi and Lyon were there. ‘The only one who can stop him…’

Natsumi cried out as she swung another flame coated fist towards Lyon, who watched her like a hawk, only for both their magic circles to clash in a bright light as they collided.

‘Is me!’

⸻
「Flashback (Brago - Ten Years Ago)」
⸻

Deliora turned to another part of the city, tilting its head back as a green glow began to come from its mouth, readying to shoot at the ground as Ur stood before it, her clothes torn and body littered with cuts, bruises and dirt. “ Ice Make…Rose Garden !”

The beautiful ice flowers sprouted along the ground, before moving up and surrounding Deliora’s body, sending its neck reeling back and upwards, knocking the shot off course…though it still ended up sending a fiery path of destruction through the town as the citizens watched from a safe distance in horror as it easily destroyed the ice magic holding it.

Ur’s own magic shield fell only seconds after the demon’s blast devastated the once beautiful city. “Damn…I didn’t think it’d be this strong…” She gasped, collapsed to her knees as the ice fell around her in dazzling sparkles amidst the horror around her, giving her time to look back at her unconscious pupils.

Gray was lying face first on the floor, sent flying there from a stray attack by Deliora, while Lyon was sprawled on his back limply. The dark haired boy twitched for a moment, before one eye snapped open with a gasp and then he was turning to watch Deliora’s back as the demon continued on its path of destruction, tears of fear springing into his eyes as he watched from his position on the ground with small whimpers slipping out.

“It’ll be fine,” Ur promised, gathering his shaking body within her tired arms as she knelt before him, his own tiny arms moving to grasp at her shirt tightly as the tears fell down his cheeks, soaking her shirt. “Everything’ll be fine now.”

They sat there for a moment, before Gray pulled back to look his teacher in the eye, shock on his face. “Ur…”

Many things came to his mind to say to her.

I’m sorry. Thank you for coming for me, despite how I acted. You’re my family.

But the only thing he managed to gasp out was one word. “Why…?”

She stood up, letting him try and regain control of himself. “No questions. Just take Lyon away from here. It’s harder to fight when I have to protect you too.”

Gray’s head whipped around and he saw his fellow pupil in the rubble, looking just as roughed up as himself and their teacher.

“He’s out for the count…” sighed Ur as another explosion went off in the distance and Gray rushed to Lyon’s side. She turned back towards Deliora, eyes narrowing into a terrifying glare as the demon continued on its way, as if nothing could or would ever stop it.

“Deliora…” growled Gray, though it didn’t hold as much heat when he was as banged up as he was and he was struggling to support Lyon as tears came to his eyes once more. “I wasn’t…able to do anything…”

Ur turned and began to make her way towards Deliora, steps self assured and shoulders squared. “Hurry and go.”

“Ur, why did you come?” He demanded, unable to fathom on the reason when she had expelled him once he’d left her home in the mountains. “I thought I was expelled?”

That caused Ur to stop in her tracks, but she didn’t turn to face him. “A good friend of mine told me that I should start thinking about my own happiness…but I don’t remember being all that unhappy.” Her eyes continued to track Deliora’s slow crawling pace, before she turned with an expression so uncharacteristically soft on her face as she regarded Gary. “Isn’t that right? With my two bright pupils growing day by day…every day an adventure…that’s all the happiness I need. I came here to take back that happiness.”

Gray gasped as he noticed her lower leg was replaced with one made completely of ice. “Ur…your leg…”

“Oh, this?” She chuckled, the sound almost hollow. “I lost it, but it’s no big deal. Creation Magic is pretty amazing, don’t you think?”

The tears were back in full force as Gray looked at her with wide and begging eyes, almost as if asking her to stay and not leave him with Lyon alone in the world. “If that monster is your darkness, then I have a reason to fight it. Go. I’ll defeat it.”

“Don’t!” He gasped at last, feeling like it was all his fault, even though he was only a child and was just so full of hurt and anger that he didn’t know what to do with. “I won’t let you! This is all my fault!”

“It’s no one’s fault.” Ur cut in curtly, never once turning to her two pupils as she began to walk towards Deliora once more. “This is just a hurdle to pass to take back my happiness.”

“Ur…” Gray and Ur’s heads both snapped over to look at Lyon, the white haired child suddenly awake as he whispered their teacher’s name and jerked himself out of Gray’s hold unsteadily.

“You’re awake, Lyon?” Ur smiled for a brief moment, before her face hardened again. “You and Gray-,”

“You’re really gonna do it?” He gasped, lips pulling up unevenly at the edges as he looked up at Ur desperately. “Happiness? What are you talking about?”

It was silent for a brief moment, before Gray spoke quietly. “Lyon…”

“Shut up!” He yelled back, voice nowhere near his normal cheery tone as he squared his bruised body up and continued to stare at his teacher, the one he dreamed to surpass. “Ur, you’re the strongest mage there is…There’s no way you’d lose to some monster, right?”

Ur closed her eyes as she turned to look away from the one who’d been devotedly following her for the longest time. “Lyon, I’ve told you before…There’s always someone better.”

“That can’t be true…”

“There are a ton of mages stronger than me in the countries to the West.”

Lyon’s face twitched minutely at her words, trying to keep his grin in place. “That’s not true…You’re the strongest, Ur…” His voice began to rise in pitch and hysteria. “If you’re not then…why’d I go through all that training?”

“After you surpass me, you should just find a new goal.” Ur smiled, her eyes ever so soft, despite the situation they were in and Lyon’s shaking body, along with Gray’s hurt eyes.

“I became your pupil because I thought you were the strongest!” snapped Lyon, his shaking growing by each passing second, his voice choked full of tears as the water began to make clear streaks down his cheeks. “Don’t you dare lose to that monster! Don’t betray me!”

“Lyon…”

Gray and Ur both watched in shocked horror as the white haired boy ran through the debris suddenly, making his way down the same path Deliora was taking. “If you’re not gonna be serious, then I’ll do it!”

Ur’s body tensed and her expression turned dire as she saw him skid to a stop and pull his arms beck, before doing a stance that she didn’t remember teaching him, but one that she knew very well from her books, his eyes pinpricks as they continued to watch Deliora’s slowly moving back. “That pose…where did you learn that?!”

“Where, you ask…?” Lyon repeated lowly, looking nothing like the cheerful boy that Gray had trained alongside, as a large blue magic circle appeared underneath him. “Because you wouldn’t teach me any powerful magic, I had to read the spell books in your storehouse. Why’d you hide such powerful magic from me? Iced Shell…!”

The air around Lyon began to drop, white waves of cold hair beginning to whirl around him as the spell continued to grow more and more, Ur covering her face with one arm, while Gray watched on in horror. “Lyon! Did you read that book to the end?” Her words were unanswered as blue streaks began to fly through the air. “The people who use that magic…”

“Iced Shell?” parroted Gray, feeling the strength of the magic even from the distance that he stood.

“Are you listening, Lyon?”

A chuckle slipped out of Lyon’s mouth as his magic finally began to culminate in a bright light, finally gaining Deliora’s attention and causing the demon to slowly turn towards them.

“What amazing magical power-!” gasped Gray, flinching back from the bright light as Ur grit her teeth at the sight in front of them.

“It noticed us…”

“No magic will work against Deliora…” whispered Lyon, before his grin took a more insane edge and sweat began to bead down his face. “In that case, I’ll use this magic to trap you for eternity in ice!”

The white haired boy jolted suddenly as a flash appeared behind him, not even getting the chance to turn around as he was encased in an ice rose, Ur’s body set in a way to show she was the one to do so. “I can’t let you use that magic.”

“Ur, why did you…?” Gray felt like he was lost and confused in a haze of darkness. First, he came to try and defeat Deliora, only to lose. Then, Ur and Lyon showed up to help, but they were clearly no match for the demon either…and now, their teacher just froze Lyon from doing the one thing that would save them all from Deliora.

Ur straightened up, eyes narrowing slightly. “He can’t use Iced Shell. The people who use it destroy their own bodies.” She took an unsteady step forward as Deliora’s gaze settled on them once more. “But it’s true, that’s the only thing that could stop this monster. I can’t believe that Lyon would think of trying the same thing I was going to do.”

She made hasty steps towards the demon, her magical power flaring with each step as Gray listened intently to the alternating thumps of her boot and ice foot. “Was trying to do…?”

“That’s a disciple for you...” She chuckled emptily.

“Ur!"

“Stand back.” Her order was as harsh as her training and cold as their magic, before she stopped and did the same motions and movements that Lyon did, left arm crossing over her right in front of her and an angry, yet determined look coming to her face as her magical circle broke the already ruined ground under her even more, sending rocks flying upwards.

Gray watched as four large magical circles surrounded Deliora, the demon looking around in stilted movements as the magic began to glow bright enough to hurt his eyes. “I won’t allow you to get near my pupils! This is the end for you, monster! Ultimate Freeze…Iced Shell!”

Whipping her arms outwards, the spell was completed as all the magic within her in that moment shot forward and hit Deliora, absorbing into the demon’s skin as she continued to push. “Ur!”

Gray watched in horror as her face broke out into clear ice, a crack forming over her left eye, and he felt the almost never ending tears spring forward once more. “Your body!”

“I told you, didn’t I?” She said back, eyes locked on the way the ice encased Deliora’s body slowly, but surely. “This magic destroys the body. It’s magic that turns one’s own body into ice…for eternity.”

Gray reached out for her, but he knew it was for naught as the more she spoke, the more her body turned into ice and the more Deliora was trapped.

“Gray, I have a favor to ask you,” Her body and magic’s glow shone like a Northern Star in the dark and desolate area. “Tell Lyon I died. If he knew that I became the ice, he’d probably spend his entire life trying to undo the spell. If he did that, that would defeat the purpose.”

“Stop it!” The dark haired child screamed, wishing this was a nightmare and that he would just wake up .

But he knew that wouldn’t happen…this was reality.

“I want Lyon to see more of the world…and you too, Gray…” Her younger pupil was crouched behind her, face turned towards the ground as he sobbed and cried, arms moving to cover more of his face.

“I’m begging you, stop! Please…I’ll do whatever you say from now on!” He whimpered, feeling so much younger than he thought he was when he started this journey to defeat Deliora.

“Don’t be sad.” Ur turned with a smile on her cracked face, the ice blue eye still holding some semblance of kindness, despite its new frozen and broken state as Deliora froze completely. “I’ll live on.”

And like his heart, Ur shattered into pieces of ice that drifted towards Deliora’s new prison, her final words drifting through the air like a warm whisper in a flame.

「”I’ll live on as the ice, for all eternity…Go forth, to your future.”」

Finally, the light died down and the ice fully sealed, Gray’s head tossed back with a wail. “Ur!”

For a simple moment, he swore he could see her with that small, enigmatic smile she always wore, sending him off with a wave and heading further away from him. “I will seal your darkness.”

(“Ur gave her life to drive away my days of darkness. ‘Go forth to your future’, with those words in my heart, I decided to start on a new path. However…”)

Lyon blinked slowly, the feeling of the sun hitting his face causing him to awaken. “Damn that Ur…” A hand moved to cradle his head gently, before he noticed Gray curled up to the side next to him. “Deliora is…! Iced Shell, right?! Ur did it?!” He turned to the younger male’s still form with excitement breaming from the seams. “Ur…what happened to Ur? Gray!”

Gray’s shaking increased, even as he kept his head tucked into his knees. “S-She’s dead…”

“Eh…?” All the joy and child-like wonder drained from Lyon’s face as the words sunk in. “You’re lying…You’re lying! You bastard!”

The white haired boy took a running start at the other, pushing him to the floor and grappling with him for a few moments as tears streamed down his face and he glared at Gray, a hand gripping the front of Gray’s coat tightly. “What about my dream?! How am I supposed to surpass Ur now?! Hah?!”

Gray didn’t say anything, too emotionally spent to do anything more than sit there and take the verbal lashing as tears continued to stream down his cheeks. “Sorry…”

“‘Sorry’?! Screw you! If it weren’t for you…” His grip suddenly loosened and his voice turned softer, more broken. “If you hadn’t challenged Deliora…” Gray sniffled as Lyon stood up, his voice back to angry, but a more cold one than the burning one from earlier. “It’s your fault, Gray. You killed Ur.”

He said the words that Gray had been thinking since the night prior and well into the morning.

「Galuna Island - Underground Ruins -First Floor-」
⸻

Lyon stared at the pink haired mage in front of him impassively, even as she glared harshly his way. “Damn, there’s no end to this. Just give it up and surrender already, you pointy-eyed bastard!”

“Your eyes are pretty pointy themselves.”

A grin came to Natsumi’s face as she lit her fist on fire once more, four sharp canines peeking out between her lips and gleaming dangerously. “Time to finish this!”

An eerie whitish blue light began to emit from Lyon’s body as the air turned frigid around him once more. “I like the sound of that.”

Before either of them could take the first hit at one another, the wall to the right of them began to crack and crumble, catching their attention. “What’s that?”

When it shattered, both saw Gray standing there, still covered in the first aid from the night before.

“Gray?” Natsumi’s heart thudded nervously at the sight of her rival standing there with a look in his eye.

“Natsumi, let me take this guy down.” demanded the dark haired ice mage as he walked through his improvised entrance slowly, keeping his eyes trained on Lyon the entire time.

Natsumi bit her lip for a moment, eyes narrowing as she watched Gray’s movements. Something felt off about the way he was acting. “You already lost to him once, remember?”

Because she certainly didn’t. Dragging his ass back to get first aid, patching him up and promising to finish this all so they could go home was still fresh in her mind, thank you very much.

“I won’t this time.” promised Gray, eyes flickering over to her for the briefest of moments, before he scowled at Lyon once again. “I’ll finish this.”

“That’s some confidence you have there.” hummed Lyon, not looking too worried about his change in foe.

“It was my fault that Ur died ten years ago,” started Gray, his body loosening slightly as the images came back to the forefront of his mind and Lyon’s eyes narrowed slightly. “But hurting my friends…hurting the village…trying to melt aht ice…I can’t forgive you for that. I’ll punish you for them all, Lyon.”

Lyon’s eyes widened as Gray slowly moved his left arm over his right, his back tightening into a sure stance. “That pose…Iced Shell!”

“...Iced Shell…?” parroted Natsumi and she suddenly remembered the vision she had when she first came across Deliora.

The vision of Gray standing there alone after the spell was done.

Then, the fragments of the story began to come back from the differing sides of Gray and Lyon.

“Ur cast the Iced Shell magic on this demon.”

“It’s a demon that Ur risked her life to seal away.”

“Didn’t you hear? Ur is already dead!”

Her eyes widened and her breath came to a slight halt as she registered what Gray was going to do, though Lyon took the words from her mouth, in a way. “You bastard…have you gone mad?”

“Return the villagers to the way they were, take your friends and leave this island immediately!” demanded Gray, never once breaking his pose as the large blue magic circle appeared underneath him. “This is the last chance I will give you.”

“I see…you think you can bluff me with that magic?” smirked Lyon, but Natsumi wasn’t too sure about it being a bluff. “How pointless.”

She saw the look in his eye when he walked in, Gray came to do something stupid and suicidal and her instincts were screaming at her to stop him.

Gray said nothing, but his eyes narrowed and the magical power in the air picked up, sending cold winds blowing around them. “I’m serious.”

“Why, you…!” growled the ‘Reitei’ Lyon as he held out a hand to try and send a spell at the other, only to get blasted back by Gray’s magic.

Natsumi lifted a hand to shield her face as the wind picked up enough to rip off Gray’s bandages with ease. “Don’t you dare…Gray!”

“No matter how many years pass, it won’t change the fact that it’s my fault Ur’s dead,” He muttered, yet the other two still heard him loud and clear. “I have to take responsibility sometime…so now is the time, I’m prepared to die…” Natsumi watched with wide eyes as Gray’s skin turned snow white, almost translucent, in the middle of the magic circle as a small crack formed above his eyebrow and then another along the bottom of his face. “I have been for the last ten years!”

“Are you serious?!”

“Answer me, Lyon! Do we die together or live together?”

Lyon’s smirk returned full force as he stared at Gray’s cracking visage. “Do it. You don’t have the guts to die. There’s no way you do!”

Natsumi wanted to say something, anything, but it almost felt like the spell had frozen her to the floor without any power to move as she watched more cracks appear on Gray’s body, while he looked back at Lyon, almost pityingly. “Too bad.”

“Gray!” She yelled at last, the only thing she could think of in that moment, as her heart thudded in her chest at the sight.

‘Natsumi, Erza, everyone at Fairy Tail…It’s up to you now…Sorry, but I’m making my exit.’ Gray thought, eyes flicking over to Natsumi’s angry and tear filled face. ‘This is…the end!’

『Omake』
⸻

Laxus closed his eyes, thinking back to everything that had happened before he left for his mission. He knew exactly why Gray had Happy steal that stupid mission that no one had taken.

He knew the other had a crush on Natsumi, but he also knew that the other wasn’t strong enough for the female Dragon Slayer’s instincts to consider him a potential mate and suitable partner.

A grin came to his face as he looked over at his team. His team was the strongest, even if he had more raw talent and brute strength than they did. His team could protect and provide for Natsumi and everyone knew it, even her instincts had to know it, hence why she kept trying to brawl with him.

But she just had to stop sticking around the weaklings for it to sink it.

It was fine though, he had a plan to deal with her and every other weakling in that damn Guild when he came back.

Chapter Text

「Galuna Island - Underground Ruins -First Floor-」
⸻

Gray finally felt the magic within him build up, ready to be unleashed as he braced his cracked body. “Iced…!”

“You idiot!” Natsumi finally broke, rushing forward and slamming her fist into his cheek, sending him stumbling into a crouch as she sat there, panting and glaring at him with all the rage and hurt she could muster, even as tears continued to fall down her cheeks.

The trio stood there, two in shocked silence and the other in righteous fury, waiting for someone to break the tension once more. 

“Natsumi!” Gray turned to glare at the pink haired female, who sent him a venomous glare.

“You break into my fight spouting ‘responsibility’? Give me a damn break!” She sneered, moving to wipe at the tears that had finally slowed down. “Then you go and spout off about dying? Don’t even try to cover up trying to take my prey!”

“Your prey?” repeated the dark haired ice mage.

“I’m the one who’s going to take him down, get that through your thick skull.” Natsumi smirked, even as his words continued to ring in her head, almost like a looming threat that she wasn’t ready to deal with at the moment.

“Didn’t I tell you that I’d take him down?!” snapped Gray back, jumping to his feet, his own rage boiling up at her ridiculous statement.

“And did I ever say ‘Roger that, yes sir’?” She huffed, crossing her arms as she looked away slyly.

“Why you little…” growled the ice mage, forgetting all about his almost end as he continued to argue with the Dragon Slayer.

Natsumi smirked, fangs peeking out as her sage green eyes narrowed his way and a small haughty chuckle escaped her mouth. “You wanna go?”

Her demeanor shifted to one of blank faced shock as Gray lunged forward, hand gripping onto her scarf and pulling her off the ground an inch. “I have to be the one that finishes him off! I’m prepared to die!”

Natsumi’s hand moved and wrapped tightly around the wrist holding her up, her strength showing in the way her hand clenched tightly enough to bruise his pale skin. “Since when is dying finishing a battle? Huh? Ain’t that just running away, huh?!”

The Dragon Slayer’s playful tone had flipped completely, switching to anger and a hint of hurt under it all, even as she glared at the taller mage with a clear threat in her eyes. Gray’s dark blue eyes widened, mouth falling open in shock, as his bold declaration was broken apart by the shorter mage.

The ruins shook with a rumble of an explosion as pieces of ice fell around them, breaking the tense atmosphere once more.

“W-What’s that?” Natsumi looked around as more ice fell around them.

⸻
「Galuna Island - Forest Path to the Ruins」
⸻

Erza swiftly wiped out a group of Lyon’s followers, Lucy taking care of others with her whip as Happy took care of his own opponent.

“Do not falter!” One of the front line fighters for Lyon ordered, pointing a finger towards the trio. “We must not allow anyone to get in the way of Reitei-sama!”

The crowd behind her crowed in agreement, holding their weapons up in solidarity to the order.

「 。。。」

In another part of the ruins, Zalty grinned and performed a spell that caused the ruins to rumble and the rocks to break apart, almost as if they were being sucked into a bigger vortex.

⸻
「Galuna Island - Underground Ruins -First Floor-」
⸻

Natsumi and Gray looked around warily, trying to find the source that was shaking the ruins around like an oversized toy, as the shaking grew and grew in magnitude, until they were sure that it was more than just the ruins shaking anymore.

“What the hell is going on…?” Natsumi muttered, her gut twisting and turning from too much happening too quickly.

She needed to get her head in the damn game, that was for sure.

⸻
「Galuna Island - Forest Path to the Ruins」
⸻

“What is that sound?” murmured Erza, brown eyes flicking around the area, trying to find the source of the tremors shocking everyone around them as the followers yelped and cried out in shock, some even falling over from the force of the quakes.

Lucy turned around, brown eyes widening in shock as a gasp slipped out of her mouth. “No way-!”

Everyone turned to look over at the direction she looked and found the ruins fixed back in their original position from before Natsumi’s rampage.

“The ruins un-tilted themselves!” Happy cried out as the followers continued to cry out around them at the bizarre sight.

⸻
「Galuna Island - Underground Ruins -First Floor-」
⸻

“What the hell?!” Natsumi cried out, looking around at the suddenly fixed area, kicking the wall next to her for good measure to try and figure out just what happened to all her hard work.

“Now…the light from the moon will land on Deliora again!” Gray breathed, shocked horror coating his tone.

“Sorry for the interruption,” Zalty breezily said as he jogged into the room, easily coming to a stop in front of Lyon without any regard for the two Fairy Tail mages behind him.

“Zalty, is this your doing?” questioned Lyon, looking down at the masked man suspiciously.

“The moon will be out soon, so I returned the temple to normal.” The man laughed with ease.

“What the heck is he…?” breathed Gray, taking a step back. He’d seen the damage Natsumi had done to the temple, fixing all of that enough for the temple to be right up once more wasn’t an easy fix, especially since the ruins were already old and decrepit.

“After waking up early to go and tilt it…my hard work reversed like nothing.” Natsumi felt a pout come to her lips as her anger came back full force. “How’d you fix it back up?!”

Zalty looked over at the pink haired Dragon Slayer and merely laughed in her face, causing her to growl as she repeated her statement, just about steaming as he continued to ignore her. “I suppose we should begin the Moon Drip ceremony.”

With that he turned and ran out once more, quickly running back the way he came, ignoring Natsumi completely as she fumed. “Ignore?! Oh, you’re so going down, Masked Man!”

She abandoned the current fight, following after the laughing masked man with fire bursting out the edge of her mouth, anger radiating from her petite frame.

“Natsumi!” Gray called out, shock and hidden worry lacing his voice, causing her to pause and turn to look back his way with a glare.

“I’m going to go beat that bastard into the ground a million times over,” She declared, face set in determination. “You handle things here!”

Gray stiffened, his expression softening at the conviction in her voice, before giving her a firm nod.

“You lost last time and it’s a disgrace.” The pink haired teen continued, turning her back on him to hide her expression from the taller Fairy Tail mage.

“Yeah.”

“Not for you.”

“I know.”

“For all of Fairy Tail.” They both finished, their feelings matching like wavelengths as they spoke, sending each other smirks, before Natsumi was on her way.

Lyon watched the two, his eyes cold and calculating as he took in the scene. “My, what noisy fellows.”

“Did you count on Natsumi stopping me from using Iced Shell?”

“No, I wouldn’t imagine that woman getting anywhere near that kind of magic.” admitted Lyon as the two stared one another down from across the room.

“So, you just planned on taking it?” Gray countered evenly.

“Exactly, but I would’ve been saved.” The white haired mage explained easily. “Once I realized that, I said ‘Do it’.”

“I had a feeling it was that.” sighed Gray, eyes narrowing at his former adopted brother.

“Even if I were to be trapped in the ice, I have allies with the same goals as myself,” Lyon continued on. “And this is the island where you can use the Moon Drip to undo Iced Shell.”

“I was reckless. Iced Shell is powerless here, isn’t it?” Gray’s voice was cool, but his gaze held something heavier as he looked at the ground.

“And yet, you still wish to defeat me?” countered Lyon evenly, at Gray’s silence, he tried to push forward. “You cannot win against-!”

“Stop this already!” Gray ordered, his voice startling Lyon at his tone. “Give up on Deliora.”

“What foolishness!” huffed Lyon, his foot stomping slightly as he flared his cape out. “First you threaten and then you try to persuade? Does your guild have some dentist that de-fangs you all?”

“Lyon, listen carefully…” Gray started once more, voice deceptively soft and still holding akin to care in it for the white haired male across from him. “Ur is alive!”

Lyon felt his breath hitch in his throat, eyes widening in shock as the words hit him. “Iced Shell is a spell that turned her body into ice. The ice that sealed Deliora, the very same ice that you’re trying to melt now…is Ur herself! Ur became that ice and lives on today! I apologize for not telling you before, I promised Ur that I wouldn’t…”

Ur’s voice rang in his head as he spoke. “If he knew that I became the ice, he’d probably spend his entire life trying to undo the spell.”

“Gray…”

“So, Lyon, stop this!” His voice died out into a choking groan as suddenly a magic circle appeared on his stomach, an ice tiger appearing out of his back as Lyon finished the spell without so much as a word of acknowledgement to what he’d said, causing him to fall to his knees, back supported by the broken ice coming out of his back.

“I know that fairy tale,” admitted Lyon, his face twisting into something more disgusting and demonic almost as he stared down at Gray’s shaking form. “But that ice is no longer Ur, it’s just some frozen remains.”

“You…knew?” choked out Gray, pushing himself to his elbows as he tried to regain his breath from the sudden attack, slumping once more from the pain as his mind tried to register the words he was hearing from one who used to be close to Ur and himself.

“You honestly believe that Ur is still alive?” Lyon mocked, circling around Gray like a predator. “Grow up already.”

Gray’s eyes glared darkly from his position, rage quickly taking over the pain within his battered body. “You knew and yet…”

“What of it?” scoffed the older mage, watching as Gray pushed himself up, hand covering his wound briefly, even as the dark haired teen bared his teeth menacingly, before sending him flying with a single bunch to the face. He slid down from the crater his head made in the ice, one cheek swollen as he turned to look at Gray in shock. “Impossible! How can you move with such a wound?!”

“That’s it.” Gray said instead, his voice holding a dark finality that he hadn’t had all night. “I’ve had enough of trying to save you.”

“So you’ll attempt to defeat me, the elder pupil?” Lyon’s voice was back to his cold and mocking tone as he stood from the ground with ease. “I’ve been holding back for my battle with Deliora. I don’t want to waste my magic power, see?”

The dark haired ice mage held up a single fist, brandishing it to the taller. “We’ll settle it this way.”

“So, no magic, then?” chuckled Lyon. “Fine by me.”

Gray took a running start, fist pulled back and ready to strike, only for Lyon to be there, his own fist aiming lower and hitting Gray’s new injury from the ice sneak attack from earlier, a manic smirk on his face. “Aim for your opponent’s weak points when fighting, Ur always told us that.”

“Don’t you dare speak that name!” spit Gray, turning his fall into another attempt to punch the other, only to be tripped up by a knee to the gut, hitting him in the same area it had before.

「 。。。」

“Hold it right there, you masked bastard!” Natsumi ordered as she continued to chase Zalty, who despite how his age sounded, was quite fast and nimble as he laughed in the face of her rage. “How did you fix the ruins?!”

The man suddenly came to a stop, turning and firing a magic spell at the ceiling, causing a perfect circle piece to fall from the top and attempt to crush Natsumi, only for her to leap up and easily break the object into rubble with a fiery kick, but Zalty quickly moved his hand again, causing the rubble to fix itself back into place once more.

Natsumi stared, eyes wide as she took in the scene, mind playing it back for a moment as a pulse of something hit her at the sight. “What kind of magic…?”

“As you can see, that is how I returned the ruins back to how they were.” explained the masked man calmly, voice just the slightest bit smug. “One of the Lost Magics. Magic so powerful and with such grave side-effects that they have been erased from history itself.”

“From history?” Natsumi felt a piece of her growl lowly inside at the words, at the way they seemed to resonate with some unknown part of her.

“Much like your own Dragon Slayer Magic.” The man continued unperturbed by her echoing his words.

“My magic…” The words made sense logically, but something about it didn’t sit well with Natsumi either.

How could it be considered Lost Magic if Igneel only taught her about it a couple of years ago? Lost Magic meant it was lost to time a long time ago, which would be well before she was even thought to have been born.

So, how could her magic be considered Lost Magic?

Zalty took the chance to escape as she mulled over his words, body disappearing in a blur, causing Natsumi back to attention as she looked around frantically. “He disappeared?! Damn it, where’d the hell he go now?!”

「 。。。」

Gray grunted with each hit of a fist into his face as Lyon kept coming swiftly, before sending him a few feet back with a swift kick to his stomach, body trembling from the pain running through his body.

“What’s the matter? You were going to finish it with your fists, remember?” taunted the older ice mage as he smirked at Gray, unbothered by the pain he was causing.

The Fairy Tail member sat there for a moment, before rearing back with a cry, only to be swiftly kicked into the wall behind him by Lyon. He sat there for a moment, head bowed as he panted to try and catch his breath and clear his head, before a smirk came to his features as his body slowly pushed out of the shattered ice behind him. “Oh yeah…there was a guy I fought like this before…”

“This is the end!” declared Lyon, grin wide and menacing as he came running towards the downed mage swiftly.

Gray tried to match his energy, shooting up with a cry, only to be smashed through the remnants of the ice wall behind him, body lurching forward from the force of the hit as a choked out gasp came out, two voices warring inside his head.

“Stand up!” They both ordered firmly, one older and the other a younger more childish version of the mage he loved’s voice.

‘Natsumi!’

⸻
「Flashback」
⸻

Natsumi sat on the floor, small tears of pain clinging to her lashes as she panted on the floor, looking almost defeated as Gray walked towards her, a smirk on his face. When she caught sight of him, her shaking and wincing ceased as she wiped her eyes swiftly, a stubborn pout on her face. “Stand up!”

“You’re the one that should stand up!” Gray ordered the tiny mage, incredulous over her audacity.

“This is the end!” Erza and Master Makarov watched the two go at one another again with war cries that sounded more adorable than threatening from the two children.

Natsumi ended up on her back again, Gray hunched over as he tried to catch his breath from the consecutive fights that they’d been doing for Mavis knows how long. Finally, he sat up and looked down at the pink haired fire mage with an air of finality. “I win.”

“Wait!” Natsumi pushed her aching body up, causing him to stop from leaving, even as her cheek swelled with a new bruise. “This isn’t over yet!”

Gray stared at her for a moment, eyes wide, before he smirked. “Fine by me.”

And the two ran at one another again.

⸻
「End Flashback」
⸻

Gray and Lyon sat there panting as the memory finished playing out in the younger mages’ head, before the white haired ice mage smirked and turned away from the other. “In the end, you were no match for me.”

“Wait!” ordered Gray, voice rough with exhaustion and emotion as he forced his battered body back to his feet. “This ain’t over yet.”

Lyon’s shock was completely overtaken by his undeniable rage that he felt. He felt like Gray should be below him, broken and groveling…apologizing for living. “You should have died a long time ago!”

They went running at one another, their fists connecting once more, but this time Gray sent Lyon flying into the opposite wall after a small power struggle, the ice exploding into powdered white as he broke through the ice wall and the real ruins wall.

“I can’t lose, no way!” declared Gray, reinvigorated by the memory. Lyon came flying out of the cloud of dust and shattered ice, his next punch sending Gray stumbling slightly. “Not when I haven’t shown her my best! Not when I can prove to her that I can get stronger for myself! For her!”

The dark haired male slammed their heads together, causing Lyon to trip backwards for a moment, only for his metal knee plate to meet Gray’s chin harshly right afterwards. He ran forward, recovering quickly from the hit. “I’m not gonna lose!”

The two sat there, exchanging harsh punches, the past and present blurring in Gray’s tired vision. Lyon and himself being replaced with younger versions of himself and Natsumi, fighting harshly and rushing back in for more.

“I’m not gonna lose!” The pink haired Dragon Slayer declared, roundhouse kicking Gray, only to fumble as the ice mage gave a harsh punch to her cheek right afterwards.

“Me either!”

“I can’t stand losing to you!” cried out Natsumi, her little fists moving faster and faster as she attempted to beat Gray into some form of submission, even as tears of frustration and irritation came back into her eyes.

“Shut up! I’m the winner!” Gray snapped back harshly, something twinging in his chest that he’d thought had long shriveled up and died with Ur.

“I’ll destroy you!” “I’ll crush you!”

Gray finally got a good hit in, sending Lyon tumbling back with a small tackle, before he leapt onto the taller mage. “I won’t lose! I’ll defeat you!”

“That’s enough out of you!” His former brother screamed angrily.

His and Natsumi’s fists clashed once more with their cheeks, both looking shocked and confused on the hits, before their little bodies hit the floor, exhaustion winning over their fight.

‘I don’t know why…but the sky was so blue, it pissed me off…’ Gray thought over his enraged screaming, as he sent Lyon flying with a well placed kick, his eyes dark as he glared at the older mage.

⸻
「Galuna Island - Forest Path to the Ruins」
⸻

“Lucy, have you noticed?” Erza asked the blond behind her, never once taking her eyes off their enemies, even though they were surrounded by unconscious bodies.

“Yeah…there may be a lot of them, but their magical power is weak.” The blond agreed, her whip still brandished as she turned briefly to glance at the Fairy Queen.

“Exactly. There are only five real wizards among them.” explained Erza, her eyes darting around them.

“Well, just great…” Happy chimed in airily. “I can’t get serious with these guys.”

“Should you be saying that?” sneered Lucy tiredly, side eyeing the blue cat.

“So, can you handle it?” Erza brought them back to the main point, body stiff.

“Leave it to me.” promised Lucy, brandishing Caner’s key proudly. She’d recovered enough magic to be able to summon some of her spirits. “Gate of the Giant Crab, I open thee, Cancer!”

The hairstylist appeared, singing softly to himself as he displayed his keys proudly. “Cancer!”

“Aren’t you…?” Erza started quietly, a light of recognition going through her deep brown eyes.

“Erza-sama, my lady, for what might I have this pleasure-snip?” The Celestial Spirit asked, a bouquet of roses offered to the female mage as he kneeled in front of her submissively.

“‘My lady’?! Say what?!” gasped Lucy, feeling like she was losing her mind at the scene in front of her. “And what’s with the ‘snip’?! And I’m the one who summoned you!”

“It’s a triple take…”

“Anyway, make them all powerless to fight.” Lucy pointed towards the group in front of them after getting over her initial triple take of the situation,

“Okay-ebi…-snip.” And thus, he got to work.

⸻
「Galuna Island - Underground Ruins -First Floor-」
⸻

Gray watched as Lyon pushed himself back to his feet, hand supporting himself against the ice wall, as the older gasped for breath. His body shook as he took a shaky step forward, almost falling over from the one movement. “Me being brought to my knees by someone like Gray?! I couldn’t bear it!”

For the first time since the fight, Gray saw how ruffled the entire thing was making his former brother as he narrowed his eyes dangerously. “Then get over here.”

Lyon glared back, gritting in his teeth in anger, before lifting a hand. “Ice Make: Snow Dragon!”

The crystal dragon shot forward, mouth latching around Gray’s torso, before tossing him across their little arena with a vengeance. The dark haired male looked up with justified anger as he held his stomach once more. “You broke our promise!”

“Who gives a shit?!” growled Lyon, looking completely unbothered as he regarded the other. “Deliora will be resurrected soon anyway! No one will be able to stop me anymore!”

Gray clenched his fist as he took in the absolutely deranged way Lyon held himself as he spoke, eyes wild, even as the dark haired mage pushed himself to his feet and clutched his aching stomach. “We’re going to stop you…”

“Even when Zalty has started the Moon Drip?” chuckled Lyon dryly, tossing his dirty white coat to the floor confidently.

“Don’t underestimate Natsumi…” breathed Gray, his scowl turning into a victorious smirk as Lyon’s bravado fell momentarily. “You guys can’t even hold a candle to that beautiful hothead.”

“Beautiful hothead…?” Lyon repeated, eyes narrowing.

⸻
「Galuna Island - Underground Ruins -Deliora’s Cove-」
⸻

Zalty approached Deliora’s ice encased body, a smirk coming to his face at the sight of the Moon Drip pointing down at the beast, a pool of water forming under the slowly melting ice. “It’s just about time.”

“Finally found you!” He heard Natsumi’s voice, though it sounded strained as she took a running start at him, flames already at the ready. “Let’s start by burning you to a crisp!”

The masked man took a leap out of the way of her fire coated fist, causing her to smash up some boulders behind him. He landed in a crouch above her. “Hoho! Those are some fine fighting words, but how did you know I was here?”

“I have a good nose,” Natsumi sighed, standing back up as she ignored the screams of fear and death pounding in the back of her head to glare at the man, while the dust settled around her. “And no matter how you try to cover it with the stench of Deliora’s rot, I could still smell the woman’s perfume you smell like…for whatever reason.”

“You see, I must ensure Deliora is resurrected no matter what.” Zalty laughed once more, standing up to his not too impressive height as he continued to stare the Dragon Slayer down.

Natsumi huffed, flapping a hand dismissively as she tried to smile confidently through the haze trying to overtake her (trying to flood her sensitive senses with deathdestructionhurtangerfearsmokeash-). “Just give it up already, it’s not going to happen.”

“Oya? And why is that?”

“Gray will blow Lyon away and I’ll blow you away.” She declared firmly as she pointed at him decisively. “I owe you a one million times beat down into the dirt anyway. That’ll be that.”

“We’ll see about that…” hummed Zalty as he turned to look back at Deliora, causing the female Dragon Slayer to look over, only for her eyes to widen into pinpricks at the sight of the Moon Drip easily pouring over the ice covered monster.

“M-Moon Drip-!” Her head began to thud more than before and she swore she could hear distant voices mixing around in her head, but nothing she could clearly make out. “W-Who’s up there doing the ceremony?!”

「 。。。」

At the very top of ruins, Toby was performing the Moon Drip ceremony by himself, completely fixed up from being caught in the middle of Natsumi and Lyon’s fight as he bowed repeatedly to the beam of purple light hitting Deliora below them.

“Roo…Roo…”

「 。。。」

“With just a single person, the Moon Drip effect is quite weak…” Zalty went on to explain. “But we’ve already gathered plenty of moonlight. Just a tiny bit more, and…see?”

The ice suddenly caved at the top, more water dripping down to join the growing pool below Deliora’s ice coffin.

When the ice broke, Natsumi heard the sounds of screams fill her ears once more, this time clearer and mixed with the guttural roar that she’d come to associate with Deliora, causing her to flinch and grab at her head with both hands, digging her sharp nails into her scalp to try and ground herself.

“The ice…is melting off Deliora…” She groaned, eyes flitting between thin and reptile like and her normal doe eyed look. “I have to do something about that damn dog…”

She turned and started running to try and reach the top of the ruins, only for Zalty to put a stop to that plan before it was even in motion as with a wave of two fingers, the top of the cave collapsed inwards, almost crushing the petite mage. “I won’t let you escape. Chasing after me was a mistake, you see, my Little Salamander-chan.”

⸻
「Galuna Island - Forest Path to the Ruins」
⸻

“Excellent work.” Erza praised as she regarded the downed underlings around them with approval. “Let us hurry along.”

“Right.” agreed Lucy, getting ready to leave with Happy by their side.

“W-Wait!” An elderly voice ordered from behind them, the blond turning around at the ready, only to come face to face with an old woman being supported by a younger male. “We can’t let you interfere with Reitei-sama!”

“Those hair ornaments…” Erza breathed, her eyes locking in on the peculiar head pieces. “You are citizens of Brago, aren’t you?”

“Brago?” Lucy parroted, looking over at the redhead in confusion.

“Have a score to settle?”

⸻
「Galuna Island - Underground Ruins -Deliora’s Cove-」
⸻

Natsumi glared at Zalty as he laughed at her predicament, before he suddenly stopped as she launched forward with another flaming fist. “Are you sure about that? If you use fire magic here, it will accelerate the ice melting off Deliora!”

Natsumi felt her body move, even as she struggled to stay present in the moment, fire covering her leg as she kneed the rock into pieces. “If you could use fire magic to melt the ice, then you wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble. It’ll be faster to beat you here, then to smash that damn mutt at the top.”

“Oho…I’m surprised at how quickly you can think on your feet in the midst of a battle.” chuckled Zalty as the two stared one another down, even as the ruins trembled more with the ice breaking behind them.

⸻
「Galuna Island - Underground Ruins -First Floor-」
⸻

Gray looked around as another tremor shook the ruins. “The ruins are shaking again…”

“The Moon Drip ceremony has begun. The ice has started melting off Deliora.” explained Lyon with a smirk.

‘Then Ur’s…’

“I suppose this is it. You were not able to stop me.” With a wave of his arm, Lyon began to summon his ice magic. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for this moment? I spent ten years gathering allies, knowledge, and then I finally learned of this island. The island where you can gather the light of the moon, Galuna!”

Large ice arrows shot out the floor and towards Gray, causing him to suck his teeth in irritation and leap out of the way of the attack quickly as they smashed the floor with deadly accuracy. “We transported Deliora from Brago, that was three years ago!” As he explained, he continued to send attacks towards Gray, who created an ice barrier as he continued to glare at the other with venom as he explained his plan.

“You’ve been doing this pointless crap for three years?”

“Pointless?!” With a sudden flair of power and animosity, Lyon began yelling hysterically at the younger ice mage. “That’s rich, coming from someone who’s been playing around in some guild for ten years!”

He made the largest ice arrow yet, sending it careening into Gray’s shield and shattering it, but the other moved with grace out of the way, continuing to make eye contact as he did so. “I just trusted what Ur told me!”

“There are a ton of mages stronger than me in the countries to the West.”

“And I finally arrived at Fairy Tail…” His voice softened as he spoke about his Guild Mates. “It was true. There were a ton of amazing mages, I couldn’t believe it.”

“Impossible. Iced Shell is magic that is done by one’s own will.” Makarov explained to a young Gray. “No magic done by a third-party has the power to melt the ice.”

“But there are a ton of amazing mages here, right?!”

“Well, there may be one way, though…no, wait.” Makarov met the young crestfallen face. “It’s no good. Melting the ice would be no different than killing Ur.”

“When I think back on it, I realize that ’jii-san was going to mention the Moon Drip, I bet.” sighed Gray, his eyes dark in rage as Lyon let his words sink in. “And to think that it would be her own pupil that was trying to kill Ur! You’ve disappointed me.”

“Say what you will…I’ve lived my entire life for this day!” Lyon continued with that crazed look in his eye. “While you’ve been off chasing after weak and mundane things like loudmouth lovers, I’ve been thinking about how to surpass Ur! How can a pupil surpass his teacher when she’s already dead? Think about it!”

He launched forward once more, ice magic pooling in his hand to create a heavy object as he tried to bludgeon Gray with it repeatedly. “It’s Deliora! If I can destroy the one thing that defeated our teacher, then I can surpass her!”

“That ambition of yours is nice, but you haven’t realized you’ve taken a wrong turn along the way!” roared Gray as he dipped and ducked out of the way of the ice covered fist, trying to get through to the other, even if Lyon seemed dead set on not hearing him. He quickly summoned an ice sword and broke the iced lion head that had covered Lyon’s fist easily. “You think someone as blind as you could beat Ur? Think again! Not in one hundred years!”

He slashed at Lyon, only to be shocked when the other’s body turned into ice and shattered, before his voice came from behind the dark haired ice mage. “Ice Make: Snow Tiger!”

The large ice creature came bearing down on Gray, but he was ready this time. He leapt above and summoned his own magic forth. “Ice Make: Prison!”

He gently flipped onto the top of the giant cage, watching as Lyon took a step back in shock as he stared down at him. “This is what you are, Lyon.”

“What?” spat the older, body coiled tightly.

“A caged beast who knows nothing of the world.” Gray growled, his posture more relaxed than it had been the entire fight.

“Foolishness! I’ll destroy that Creation Magic of yours!” swore Lyon as he pointed his hand directly at the cage and began to make the tiger break out of the cage, to no avail, causing him to gasp in shock.

“Creations made with one hand are out of balance,” Gray explained calmly as he leapt down from the top of the cage. “So, when it counts they don't have the power.”

Lyon bristled angrily as Gray swiftly set up another spell. “Ice Make: Ice Cannon!”

The ice creation sent out a blast of high powered ice towards Lyon, who could only watch in horror, while the recoil sent Gray jolting back as he watched his old rival and former brother get hit directly, the attack even blasting out a part of the ruins’ wall.

As the dust settled, he watched Lyon’s broken body sit there, shaking and grunting from the pain, but unable to do anything else after the strain of the battle. “Ur taught us that, remember?”

Gray finally relaxed as he watched Lyon fall over, eyes cold. “And never insult my love for Natsumi as something pointless again, she saved me when you couldn’t and wouldn’t…ow!”

His body decided to remind him very suddenly that he still had a bad stomach wound with high volts of pain coursing from the bottom up. His hand flew to the injury, ice quickly moving up along his body to help protect him from further injury. “I should’ve braced it before…”

The air was silent for a moment before…

「 。。。」

A loud roar rang throughout the island, shaking the very foundation of it as Lucy and Happy covered their ears, while Erza looked around for the threat.

“My ears are ringing!” cried out Happy, but Erza heard something more to the roar, even as she tried to identify it.

“What the hell is that sound?!” She tried to pinpoint it, but failed, before her eyes widened as the underlying noise caught her attention.

A shriek.

Not one that she was used to hearing either.

It was high and pain filled as it rang out as loud as the monstrous roar.

“Natsumi…?!”

「 。。。」

Natsumi screamed as she writhed on the ground, the roar hurting her sensitive ears, but that was second to the bigger problem she was having..

The voices in her head were louder than before and much more clear.

「”Natsumi, one day, you will be strong enough to end me. I need you to get there.”」

Natsumi recognized that voice from her dream, but she couldn’t place a name or face to it.

「”You’ve seen many things for one so young, haven’t you, Natsumi?”」

That was…Igneel’s voice, but Natsumi didn’t remember that conversation ever happening.

「”Don’t worry. I’ll take the pain away before we send her to her destiny.”」

She knew that voice distantly. It sounded almost like…Lucy, but that couldn’t be since they were the same age and had only met a couple of weeks ago.

「”Don’t worry, Layla…when the time comes, I’ll look out for Natsumi.”」

She knew that voice…it was…it was someone from the Guild, but the pain in her head overwhelmed the memories of who.

Her attention was suddenly snatched back to Deliora as the ice shattered around it, red eyes glowing in unbridled rage as the demon released another blood curdling roar. Her body stiffened as she slowly looked up, heart thudding like it did earlier, the feeling of dying coming back full force.

“Here it comes!” Zalty gasped, his face pulled into an excited grin.

「 。。。」

Gray’s body was frozen as the roar echoed around. “T-That voice…”

Memories flashed in front of him, almost like a cinematic piece. Deliora leaving him alive in the wreckage of his life after killing his parents and destroying his home…running off to meet Deliora again and being too weak to do so. Ur coming in and saving him as he cried and watched it all from a distance as her body was destroyed. “I can never forget it…”

“Deliora…” muttered Lyon, eyes wide as he stared at the ceiling of the ruins in hatred, unable to move quite yet, but aware enough to know what was going on.

“Damn it…it’s been resurrected…” Gray muttered as he glared upwards, only for his mind to jump into action as a piercing shriek followed right after the roar. “Natsumi!”

“Your little girlfriend is probably being crushed to death by that beast!” Lyon laughed, the sound broken and insane, even as the younger ice mage ignored him.

“I’ve got no choice then…” He whispered to himself, body moving into action and heading towards the sounds, leaving Lyon alone on the floor. “In order to save everyone…to save Natsumi, I’ll do it.”

『Omake』
⸻

Makarov sighed heavily, awaiting word from Erza or Natsumi or anyone from Team Natsumi at this point. It had been a couple of days since Gray, Happy and Lucy snuck off to do an S-Class mission and there still hadn’t been any word from any of them.

He tried not to worry, truly, but there was a reason as to why it was an S-Class and why just anyone couldn’t take the mission.

“Maybe I should go and try to pick up the brats myself…” He muttered, before he shook his head. “No, Erza would never let anything happen to Natsumi or the others…I just need to relax a bit more. Give them another day and they’ll be home safe and sound soon enough.”

His tired, weary eyes drifted over to a picture in his office of all the children in Fairy Tail grinning brightly at the camera lacrima without worry.

‘Oh, how I miss those days…’ He thought, taking a sip from his mug, before holding it up for Mira to come and give him another drink. ‘These kids are going to be the death of me for sure.’

Chapter Text

Galuna Island trembled and shook from the fearsome roar that resonated around everyone, terror and fear filling them as the shockwaves alone blew tents and people around like they were leaves.

⸻
「Galuna Island - Underground Ruins -Deliora’s Cove-」
⸻

Natsumi gave another choked gasp, a cut off scream getting trapped in her throat as she fell to her knees. She was trying to push through the feeling of dying with sheer willpower, but the longer Deliora roared, the more she felt like she was going to die and another scream of pain ripped free as she watched with wide eyes. Zalty, on the other hand, grinned madly. “Finally, the time has come!”

⸻
「Galuna Island - Underground Ruins -First Floor-」
⸻

“Wait, was that even a voice?!” Lucy asked as the temple finally stopped shaking and the roar finally died down, before she stiffened as Natsumi’s scream tore through the room again. “Natsumi!”

“That first voice…may have been this ‘Deliora’ we’re dealing with,” speculated Erza, but her face twisted when she heard the Dragon Slayer’s scream right afterwards. “Natsumi must be trying to do something…”

“Are you telling me…it’s been resurrected?!” Lucy froze as fear filled her heart. She remembered the story Gray told her. The scent of death and destruction Natsumi described around Deliora’s frozen form. The terror in both mages' eyes when they even looked at the monster, even if she didn’t understand it all.

“That light! Moon Drip!” Happy pointed out, looking at the summoning circle in front of them. Another roar shook the temple right after, sending Lucy stumbling.

“That roar again…” murmured the Equip mage as she looked upwards, arms tightening around her midriff.

“Lucy, you should really eat something.” Happy tried to joke, even as he winced at the resounding scream afterwards.

“How about I feed you to a rat?” hissed the blond, leering threateningly at the blue cat.

“Deliora may be able to roar now, but the Moon Drip ceremony continues…” Erza observed, calculating every detail and gaining the other two's attention. “Which means the resurrection isn’t complete yet. Come with me!”

Lucy blinked for a moment, head tilting slightly as she pointed downwards. “But…Deliora’s below us?”

The redhead didn’t even turn around as she continued to run, but her voice was strong and certain as she called back to her teammates. “If we can break up the ceremony, we can still halt the progress! Hurry!”

⸻
「Galuna Island - Underground Ruins -Deliora’s Cove-」
⸻

Natsumi got her breathing under control as the roaring finally stopped and the overwhelming feeling of dying finally stopped as she focused her attention on the grinning Zalty. “Damn it…I ain’t got time to waste.”

‘And that includes dying…’ She thought to herself angrily, pushing her hair out of her face roughly.

Before she could even think of heading upstairs, her instinct screamed at her to move, causing her to drop into a crouch as the crystal Zalty was holding earlier whizzed overhead, almost taking her out with it. “I can manipulate this as well, my little Salamander-chan…”

“Just try me!” Natsumi stood back up, fist clenching as she glared at the older mage.

With a flick of his wrist, the crystal flew behind him in a semicircle, before coming towards her swiftly, which she met head on with a flaming fist, shattering the crystal once more. Zalty didn’t hesitate, lifting a hand and reforming the crystal once more in an instant, moving forward once more and slamming into her stomach, causing her to choke out a grunt in pain from the force of it. “It fixed itself again…!”

“I can control the time of objects,” explained the mask wearing mage evenly, though he still sounded giddy somehow. “In other words, I can return the crystal to a time before it was broken.”

The crystal returned to floating in front of the rock that Zalty was standing on as the pink haired teen gained her bearings once more. “Time? I can’t believe that.”

“Time Ark is a magic that has been erased from history,” continued the green haired man. “In other words, it’s one of the Lost Magics. Next, shall I progress the crystal’s time into the future?”

The crystal suddenly flew by Natsumi’s head once more and she wasn’t able to tell what it was going to do fast enough as it suddenly began to slam into various parts of her already bruised body, causing her to cry out in shock and pain as it sped around her viciously and without relent, until she finally managed to lock onto it with a quick fist, smashing it once more. “Enough!”

But just like before, it was rebuilt and slammed into her stomach again, before returning to Zalty’s side once more. “It’s useless.”

“Damn it!” She slammed her fist forward again to try and shatter it once more, only to be stunned as it stopped right in front of her. “It stopped?!”

“I can also stop time, see?” The longer he spoke, the more Natsumi wanted to choke slam him to the ground the way Erza showed her once.

His voice really grated on her ears, okay?!

“But it looks like it won’t on humans.” She pointed out after a moment.

“Well, don’t you have sharp eyes?” chuckled Zalty. “It is accurate to say that it will not work on living creatures. That is exactly why I cannot simply reverse time on the ice that is Ur.”

Natsumi regarded him blankly, voice turning bored as she spoke, even as the thudding in her head returned the more Deliora gained movement in its body. “Honestly, I don’t get you. So, you’re going to resurrect this monster, only to let Lyon defeat it? Lyon might be happy with that, but what’s in it for his friends?”

“Who knows?” scoffed the Time Ark mage. “I only joined them all quite recently.”

“Then, what about you?” Natsumi’s body shifted into a defensive fight position as she asked her next question. “What are you really after? Cause I doubt you truly believe in Lyon beating Deliora…not with the entire attitude you’ve been playing up since we’ve left his sight.”

“My, my, can’t slip anything by you, can I?” Zalty sighed, though he didn’t sound disappointed or the least bit surprised at the question, before a laugh slipped out right afterwards. “Reitei-sama, or rather, that spoiled brat could never defeat Deliora in the first place!”

“Wait, that’s really dangerous,” cut in Natsumi. “So you’d defeat it yourself?”

“Of course not,” The mage denied easily. “I want to make it mine.”

Natsumi narrowed her eyes at the wording, watching as the short man turned to look at the mostly freed demon, an eccentric grin on his face, even as his words remained calm and controlled. Not like someone following a crazed frenzy, but someone more calculated with what they wanted. “There exist techniques to control even immortal beasts. It would be incredible for me to control such amazing power, don't you think?”

“How stupid, sorry I asked…” She sighed, shoulders deflating.

“Eh?”

“There are so many people like you in the world,” She defended breezily. “I wanted you to be different so I could be fired up to stop you more. But now everyone wants to control someone or something for power or a higher status…”

(She vehemently ignored the chilling laughter of Erigor as he threatened to kill the Guild Masters with Lullaby.)

Zalty laughed. “You still do not understand. There will always come a time when one needs power.”

Flames burst to life around Natsumi’s fist as she glared at the man. “And when that time comes, I’ll believe in my own power, and the power of my friends…The mages of Fairy Tail!”

The man’s grin fell off his face momentarily as he watched the petite mage. “That ego will lead to your destruction…” But the look was quickly replaced with his grin once more as he raised a hand. “Ceiling, speed your time and crumble!”

The rocks began to fall, but Natsumi paid them no mind, her anger rising as she thought about all the trouble the villagers were going through from Zalty, Lyon and the others. “Each and every one of you are screwin’ up this island for your own stupid reasons! And I’m not gonna take it anymore!”

Her flames grew brighter and brighter, illuminating the small cave with their shine.

“Can those wild flames capture my Time Ark?” wondered the masked man haughty as his spell circle continued to.

“Time Ark, Time Pork, whatever!” Natsumi growled, leaping off her rock, leaving it in pieces under her and aiming straight for the many crystals heading her way. “Get the hell off this island!”

With a wave of her arm, the crystals were incinerated and the area was covered with smoke, causing Zalty to look around. “I can manipulate time too…the future! One second from now, I’m gonna blow you away!”

Her fist slammed into the masked mage’s chin, sending him sprawling through the air and crashing into another rock with a cry of pain.

⸻
「Galuna Island - Underground Ruins -Rooftop-」
⸻

Toby flew through the air, shock on his face and a new cut along his bare chest, only getting a glimpse of Erza’s face, before he hit the floor with a stifled snort as the redhead glared at him. Lucy grinned from the safe distance her and Happy were watching as he fell. “Great! Now the Moon Drip will stop!”

Slowly, the magic circle pulsed for another moment, before it closed fully.

“Wow, he was doing it by himself…” Happy commented, looking at Toby’s still form, before the brunette’s head whipped back up in anger.

“Too late! The ceremony’s already over!” Erza jolted at his words, turning to watch as a green light began to emanate from the floor of the rooftop, turning from a light and changing into a whirlwind, before suddenly shooting into the sky.

And then, Deliora’s roar rang out clearly throughout the air once more, shaking the entire island once more as the sound of crashing ice hit the air. “Oh no…”

「 。。。」

“Something…Something truly fearsome has begun…” The village elder groaned, as the sheer strength and power of the monster resonated within its roar.

“Chief, let’s run!” One of the villagers offered swiftly.

“No! No matter what happens, I will not leave this island!” His voice was just as fierce as the roar, not wanting his people to see him cave into being bullied off the island they claimed as their home for thousands of years through time.

⸻
「Galuna Island - Underground Ruins -Deliora’s Cave-」
⸻

Natsumi whined, hands pressed to her ears as her legs buckled underneath her and she heard the ending of Deliora’s roar, along with the sound of rushing water. Everything was too much and too loud.

She felt herself be picked up and carried away from the area where Deliora was picking itself up once more, allowing her to try and gather her thoughts once more, looking up tiredly at the one who picked her up. “Gray…you’re here. Now, we need to beat this thing…just like with Lullaby.”

But Gray didn’t respond, instead meeting her gaze sadly, before his dark eyes darted over to the water now surrounding them, a hand moving down to graze over the cold water that was once his beloved teacher. “Ur…Natsumi…”

The Dragon Slayer opened her mouth to push for him to answer her (or to ask him what was wrong? Why did he look so sad?), only for their discussion to be cut off by breathy manic chuckles as they turned to see a bruised and broken Lyon dragging his uncooperative body along the ground, eyes wide and crazed once more as he did so.

“It’s impossible for you…” He gasped, sounding close to deranged with each rasping word. “I will…defeat it…”

“Lyon…” Gray muttered his name, eyes narrowing slightly as he regarded his former upperclassman, not even recognizing the obsessed man in front of him.

“In order to surpass Ur, I will be the one!” He broke into hysteric cackles, even as his body stopped responding to his order to move and stayed firmly on the floor.

“What can you do with a body broken down like that?” Natsumi wondered numbly, eyes flicking over to where the demon towered over them, still not moving for whatever reason, before another ground shaking roar resounded and the white haired ice mage pulled his face from the ground.

“Finally, we meet again…Deliora!” Lyon sounded excited almost as he regarded the monster in front of them and ignored Natsumi completely, even when she flinched from the noise and smell of pure rot radiating from the demon that Zeref created as a memory began to play in his mind.

「 。。。」

“The most powerful mage? Around these parts, it’d have to be Ur.” A younger Lyon looked up with shining eyes at the man in the tavern. “Some years ago, she secluded herself in the mountains in shock after she lost her daughter. After that, no mages come close to Ur around here.”

“Ur, huh? I wonder if she’ll take me on as an apprentice?” The younger Lyon wondered with a smile.

「 。。。」

Finding strength in his shaking limbs, the older ice mage pushed himself up to his knees. “The one monster that Ur was unable to defeat…” He roughly pushed himself up. “I will…defeat it…with my own two hands!”

「 。。。」

“You just picked up that brat, and now he’s your apprentice? How could you?” A young Lyon questioned as Ur read her magazine without paying him mind.

“He said he wanted to learn magic.” She brushed off, eyes closing. “Is it such a big deal?”

“Aren’t I enough as a replacement for your child?” Lyon didn’t know why he’d said it. He liked having Gray around, but something about how easily Ur took him in made the white haired child burn something fierce.

Ur’s eyes snapped open just as fast as her hand swung, catching him in the cheek and leaving it stinging hotly as his fingers gently held the red area, while he blinked up at her with wide and hurt eyes.

“Lyon,” Ur crouched to his level, hands gentle once more as they landed on his shoulders. “I have never thought of you as a replacement for my daughter, not even once.”

The words sunk in slowly as she cupped his cheeks, bringing their foreheads together. “You are you. My beloved apprentice.”

「 。。。」

Lyon’s face turned into one of single minded determination as he finally stood up, bangs falling into his eyes as he regarded Deliora. “I am…going to…surpass you!”

He didn’t get further than that though as Gray swiftly chopped him in the neck, sending his body to the floor once more and rendering him unable to move once more. “That’s enough, Lyon.”

Natsumi watched her teammate slowly walk by Lyon’s body. Everything about this felt familiar and yet different. It reminded her of that weird vision she’d seen of Ur and Gray in his teacher's final moments, but Gray wouldn’t…

‘Would he?’ She thought, remembering the first time she had to stop him, before she shook her head vehemently. ‘No! He wouldn’t! Gray is stronger than that! He knows we have his back!’

But the fire mage felt fear fill her as he continued walking, right passed where he’d laid her down and stood in the water, body moving to a familiar pose that she’d seen twice now. Once in Gray’s memories and once when she stopped him the first time. “Leave the rest to me…I will seal Deliora. Iced Shell!”

She willed her body to move as she saw the familiar glow of his magic and the freezing wind of the spell, but it was taking everything in her to just stay focused in the present and not get lost in the background noise of screamingshoutingfiredeathdeathdeath that was thumping in the back of her head with every growling breath she heard Deliora release.

“Don’t do it, Gray!” Lyon cried out and Natsumi thought he’d finally come to his senses, only for the older mage to dash her hopes. “Do you know how long it took to melt that ice?! You’re just repeating history! One day, I’ll melt it and challenge it again!”

“This is the only way.” Gray responded, calm despite the situation, despite what he was doing and making Natsumi watch with wide eyes. “Right now, this is the one thing that can stop it!”

Natsumi finally managed to move her overworked and overstimulated body in the path of his spell, causing both ice mages to stop and stare at her.

“Natsumi!”

“I’ll fight it.” She declared, her voice sounding strangely strong, despite the storm that was running through her head at the moment.

“Move, Natsumi!” ordered Gray, even as his spell continued to charge and blow wind everywhere. “Don’t get in my way!” ‘Don’t stop me from proving how you mean so much more than myself to you…’

“I stopped you before ’cause I didn’t want you to die,” She continued, not turning to look his way. “Maybe I didn’t get through to you? If you’re gonna use that magic, then do it.” ‘Please, don’t use it. Live on, Gray…’

“Natsumi…”

Deliora let out another roar, but actually moved this time, a large fist pulling back as its body swung violently. 

「 。。。」

“It’s so loud! My eardrums are gonna burst!” Toby cried out, hands pressed to the sides of his head as Lucy and Natsumi cried out in fear next to him and Erza looked around, prepared for the worst.

「 。。。」

“Dodge it!” Gray called out, praying that Natsumi listened, even as she lit her fist on fire and braced her body for the oncoming hit.

“I’m not gonna give up ’til the end!” She roared back, their fists clashing in a burst of green power and bright hot flames of emotion. Her battle cry echoed out as the flames grew large enough to cover her body.

The stalemate held for a moment, before the sound of rock cracking hit the air and Deliora’s wrist snapped off, catching everyone’s attention, more cracks traveling up the demon’s body as they all stared in shock as the monster from Gray’s childhood crumbled in front of them, the last echoes of a roar resonating like a dying cry.

“...that wasn’t me…” She stumbled back, looking at her fist and blinking at it, before she caught the whisper of a voice in her head.

「 D R A I N E D…D E S T R O Y…NOTHING L E F T TO GIVE…Z E R E F-S A M A…」

‘Deliora’s last thoughts…?’ Natsumi gulped, her body suddenly heavy as the pained voice bounced around her head. ‘It was dying and knew it…’

“Y-You’re kidding me…” gasped Lyon and the Dragon Slayer could tell that he’d put the pieces together already as the neck exploded next on Deliora’s deteriorating body. “It can’t be…No way!”

“Deliora was already dead…”

「 。。。」

“Look at that!” Happy called out, looking down at the rushing below them from the ruins inside.

“That’s…” gasped Lucy as they watched the water flood into the ocean, almost as if it was freeing Ur from the burden of not moving on, despite them knowing otherwise.

「 。。。」

“For ten years, its life force had been sapped by Ur’s ice…” Lyon whispered tiredly. “All we saw was its last moment…” His fist slammed into the rocky floor as tears pricked the corners of his eyes and his voice turned choked. “I can’t compare…I can never surpass Ur!”

“Your teacher is pretty amazing…” Natsumi grinned at Gray, before her eyes drifted to Lyon. “At least…now you both can stop chasing ghosts…”

Ur’s shining face appeared in Gray’s head, her voice tinkling through like a bell as she smiled his way. “I will seal away your darkness.”

“Thank you very much…Shishou…” He sobbed, hand moving to cover his eyes as crystalline tears trailed down his scratched up and bruised cheeks.

Natsumi watched the two grieving students, her heart lightening as she grinned brightly at them, before she stiffened lightly. “Take care of him, little Dragon.”

Her head whipped around, but no one was there.

「Ur’s ice melted into water and flowed into the sea. Even so, Ur is alive, that’s what Gray said. I think so as well. Ur will watch over her two students from the ocean, forever. She’s telling the, “Don’t fight anymore.”.」

⸻
「Galuna Island - Rocky Area (Night)」
⸻

“It’s finally over!” Natsumi cheered, turning and hugging Erza tightly. “Thank you, Erza-nee!”

“Aye, sir!”

“Really…I wasn’t sure what was going to happen there for a bit.” sighed Lucy, head slumping slightly as her shoulders sunk down in relief. “But really, Ur-san is truly amazing!”

“And we managed to finish an S-Class mission.” chuckled Gray, leaning against a rock as he watched Natsumi soak in the affectionate head pats that Erza was freely giving the Dragon Slayer.

“Yippee!” Happy cheered, landing on the ice mage’s head as Lucy turned to regard him with sparkling eyes.

“Do you think we can go up to the second floor now?”

“Uh…” Natsumi opened her mouth to try and calm the trio down, only to stiffen as Erza cut in with a glare that could freeze Tartarous itself over and causing the three to basically turn into statues from the look alone.

“T-That’s right! We’re going to be punished!” wailed Lucy, quickly whirling on Gray and glaring at him. “This is all your fault!” 

“My fault?!” He yelled back. “You agreed once you saw the reward and Happy’s the one who stole the mission to begin with!”

“Ah! I don’t wanna be punished!” sobbed the blue cat, launching towards Natsumi, who caught him with ease.

“Before that, you have something to do, remember?” Erza prodded, turning to pry Happy off Natsumi with ease. “Wasn’t the real point of this job to save the villagers who’ve been turned into demons?”

Her words jolted Lucy back from wherever she’d imagined herself. “Eh?”

“The S-Class quest isn’t over yet.” concluded the redhead with a sigh.

“But Deliora’s dead, won’t that stop the curse?” Lucy thought that was how it was supposed to end, if she was being honest.

“No, the source of that curse wasn’t Deliora.” Erza moved over to Natsumi and began to patch her up now that everything was calming down. “The tremendous magical power of the Moon Drip has caused disaster to befall the people. The fact that Deliora crumbled would not improve the situation.”

“N-No way…” Lucy didn’t know how much more she could take of Galuna Island or S-Class missions for that matter.

“Did you really think the thing that happened on the side was going to solve the main problem?” sighed Natsumi, before smiling softly. “Looks like we still have some work to do! We just have to figure out the cure…”

“Aye, sir!” Happy high fived the pink haired teen eagerly.

“How are we going to do that?” Gray asked, before coming up with a thought. “Oi, Lyon-!”

“Let me tell you one thing: I have no idea.” admitted the white haired mage seriously.

“Really?” Natsumi raised an eyebrow. “They said this didn’t start until you guys showed up.”

“Wait, if you guys don’t know, how else are we going to…” Lucy started, only for Lyon to continue talking as if she hadn’t said a word.

“Three years ago when we came here, we knew there was a village on this island,” The older ice mage explained. “But we didn’t interfere with the villagers and they never came to see us even once.”

“Three years…and not once?” repeated Erza, her stoic expression not once cracking or changing.

“Now that you mention it…the Moon Drip would have landed on the ruins every night,” hummed the Celestial Mage. “So it is really strange that they’d never come to investigate.”

“And there remain a number of questions about the effect the Moon Drip has on people’s bodies.” Lyon added as an afterthought.

“If I didn’t understand that there are things we still didn’t know about magic, I’d think you were trying to cover your own ass by saying it wasn’t your fault.” sneered Natsumi, even as she thought about her and Zalty’s conversation regarding Lost Magic, which Moon Drip, Time Ark and her Dragon Slayer magic all seem to fall under.

“I’m just saying, think about it,” Lyon countered evenly. “We’ve been under the same light for three years.”

“That’s true!” gasped Lucy, thinking back to how Lyon, Sherri and Yūka (and Toby to some extent) all looked completely fine and normal. “You’re completely right!”

“Be careful…” The white haired male pressured. “They’re hiding something. Well, anyway, this is a job for you guild people.”

“Hah?!” Natsumi growled. “Last time I checked, this wouldn’t have-eek!” She jolted as her cheeks were squished by Erza, who tilted the pink haired teen’s face slightly her way. “E-Erza-nee?”

“That’s enough.” Erza watched Lyon, almost akin to sympathy in her eyes as she remembered the conversation she had with Toby after they’d stopped the ceremony and Deliora was defeated.

「 。。。」

“Me, Sherry and the others are people who had their families taken from us by Deliora…” The dog man murmured, sounding devastated as he remembered the pain of it all once more. “And that’s why we cooperated with Lyon. We thought that if it’s Lyon, he’d be able to defeat Deliora…he would finally be able to get revenge for us.”

「 。。。」

“They have their own version of justice and we have ours.” She finished simply, gently giving Natsumi’s cheeks a little squeeze. “There’s no need to criticize what they did in the past. Let’s go.”

She released the petite fire mage’s cheeks, walking back her and without waiting for any confirmation. “Go? B-But how are we going to lift the curse?”

“Who knows?”

“Aramaa…” giggled Lucy sheepishly as the three (plus Happy) left the area, leaving only Lyon and Gray behind.

Gray watched his Guildmates walk away, eyes and smile soft, before his lips pulled into a small frown, brows pinching towards the middle as he turned and regarded his former fellow apprentice. Lyon noticed his gaze immediately and the calm facade he’d worn the entire time the others were around was replaced with a dark look of anger as he glared at the dark haired male. “What are you looking at?”

“Go join a guild somewhere,” Gray said, voice free from the burden he’d had since they’d reunited. “You’ll gain friends and rivals, and I know you’ll find a new reason to live.”

Lyon jolted in surprise, before he swiftly looked away. “Pointless…just go already!”

Gray smiled, knowing that Lyon might’ve just been embarrassed by this point and didn’t know how else to react.

⸻
「Galuna Island - Refugee Camp (Night)」
⸻

“Eh? No one’s here…” Happy looked around at the empty tents and the like as they wandered the camp.

“Nice to see the camp managed to avoid the damage of Deliora’s roar though…” Natsumi hummed, running a hand through her wild locks as they tried to search for any sign of the villagers.

“Thankfully it didn’t turn into another village situation again…” sighed Lucy, moving closer to her friend. “I don’t know what we would’ve done then, considering we weren’t here to help them or protect them during that.”

“Hey!” Happy called out, eyes worried as they flew by the makeshift med tent.

Gray walked behind the cat, stopping by the tent and peering inside. “Anyway, I’m gonna get some medicine.”

He barely had time for the flap to close behind them, before one of the villagers ran up, looking relieved and shocked. “You’ve all returned? There’s a problem! Please hurry to the village!”

“Another problem so soon…?” Natsumi whispered as Lucy and Happy exchanged worried glances, though Erza seemed more composed and calculating as she regarded the villager.

⸻
「Galuna Island - Village (Night)」
⸻

To say they were shocked would be an understatement, to say the least.

When they arrived, instead of the desolate hole the village had been when they’d evacuated from it earlier, the village had been fully restored and already back to being filled with happy and grateful villagers.

“What is this?!” Lucy looked at the scene in front of her with wide brown eyes, Happy right by her side.

“I thought the village was all messed up yesterday?!” The blue cat muttered as Natsumi moved over to one of the buildings, slamming her fist lightly against the wall in surprise.

“It’s back just the way it was before…how the-? Almost like time has been turned back. Wait…time?” She blinked, the image of the ever laughing masked mage Zalty reappearing in her mind. “That sly bastard…”

“Natsumi?”

“Hehe…nothing.” The pink haired teen smiled cheerfully at Lucy, turning and making her way to where Moka was settled in front of Bobo’s grave once more, while Lucy ran off to check on their bags and personal effects. “Looks like Bobo’s grave was fixed right up, huh?”

“...Was this the doing of you Fairy Tail mages?” Moka asked quietly, his eyes never leaving the nameless gravestone.

“Wish I could say it was, but no.” Natsumi’s eyes flicked to the side, the faint smell of Zalty’s feminine perfume still flowing through the air with his magic. “This was someone else who really wanted to show off.”

“I appreciate whoever it was then. Besides that point…how long until you lot destroy the moon?” Moka’s head suddenly turned to her with an intensity she’d come to realize as hyper fixation from the old man.

“We’re getting to it!” She snapped back. “I don’t know if you realize this, but the moon is really far away!”

“Not exactly, Natsumi,” Erza cut into the conversation while walking over. “Destroying the moon will be a simple task really.”

The group turned to look at her in shock, Lucy having returned at the tail end of it. “Are you serious, Erza-san?”

“Did she really just say that with a straight face?”

“Aye…” mumbled Happy, still processing the redhead’s words. “Well, that’s Erza-sama for you…”

“‘-sama’?” Gray looked at the cat like he was crazy for a second.

“However,” Erza continued, unperturbed by the group's reaction around her. “I have something I want to clarify first. Will you gather everyone?”

It didn’t take long for the villagers to be gathered at the entrance of their newly rebuilt village, everyone quiet as they regarded the Fairy Queen and the rest of her team in front of them. 

“Let us review.” Erza started, eyes flicking from one cursed face to the next. “You all appeared in these forms after the moon turned purple, correct?”

“Yes…to be precise, it’s only when that moon comes out do we look like this.” Moka emphasized, though he seemed confused on the point of the conversation.

“And considering what we’ve heard, this has been happening for the past three years, yes?”

“Yes, it probably has been that long…” A random villager answered, their voice quiet, but still heard within the silence of the gathering as another grunted in agreement.

“However, the Moon Drip has occurred on this island every night for those past three years,” explained Erza, pacing across the front of the village with her eyes closed. “You should’ve been able to see the light falling on the ruins every day.”

Everyone’s eyes were trained on the redhead, the silence almost deafening, before… “Kya!”

The dreaded pitfall that Lucy had built at the beginning of this extremely long night also happened to be revived and they watched the redhead fall through it with no warning, causing fear and shock to come across all their faces.

“The pitfall was also resurrected!” Happy gaped.

“S-She just said ‘kya!’” whimpered Natsumi, knowing Lucy’s death was surely sealed with this one.

“That was…c-cute?” Gray felt conflicted at the entire ordeal, before Lucy moved away in the background, not wanting to be caught in Erza’s line of sight when she came out of the dirt.

“This is not my fault! This is not my fault!” The blond mumbled furiously as she shook her head and covered her ears frantically.

It only took a few seconds for Erza to climb out the trap and reconstruct her composure, arms crossing over her chest swiftly. “Therefore, was it not the most suspicious place on this island?”

“She’s acting like nothing happened…”

“She’s tough…”

“That’s Erza-nee for ya…” Natsumi giggled with a grin.

“I don’t understand why you never investigated.” Erza’s sharp eyes looked over at Moka specifically as the villagers all looked at one another, sweat beginning to bead down their faces as anxiety came across their expressions, small whispers and murmurs here and there filling the space that was once silent.

“W-Well, it is tradition in this village never to go near those ruins…!” The old village chief tried anxiously, almost tripping over his words at the beginning of his statement.

Lucy spoke up now, not quite understanding the point of that argument in the face of emergencies. “But this is no time to be bound by traditions. You’ve had victims, and just look at the amount of the reward for the guild to come and solve your problem…”

Her argument caused the chief to splutter momentarily, only for him to end up looking down in silence, lips pulled into a tight frown as Erza watched him for a moment, before she spoke up once more. “Will you please tell us the truth?”

“W-We don’t really understand ourselves.” Moka started, looking down in shame. “In truth, we’ve tried to investigate those ruins many times. We never use weapons, but we took them up, and I trimmed my sideburns perfectly, and we all headed towards those ruins…but we couldn’t get near. As we walked toward the ruins, before we knew it we were back at the village gate! We cannot come close to those ruins!”

“W-What does it mean?” stuttered Lucy, not knowing if it was also part of the curse or not. “You can’t get near them at all?”

“The rest of us went inside them with no problem…” Natsumi added, not understanding the puzzle at all.

“We didn’t tell you because we thought you wouldn’t believe us!”

“But it’s the truth. No matter how many times we tried to go there…”

“...not a single villager has ever set foot in them.”

Erza nodded slowly to herself. “I thought so.”

Natsumi and Happy tilted their heads, while Lucy jolted at the redhead’s words, most likely just as confused as her companions.

From a hidden tree, Zalty laughed quietly to himself as he observed the scene. “As expected from Titania, she’s already figured out the trick.” His cheek was still swollen from where Natsumi had punched him in the face during their fight. “Though, I had hoped little Salamander-chan would’ve figured it out, what with all the talk she gave earlier.”

Erza turned and began to walk away from the gathered villagers and her guild mates, pink smoke enveloping her body as she shifted her armor more subtly than during battle. “Natsumi…” The pink haired fire mage turned with a raised eyebrow. “Come with me. We’re going to destroy the moon.”

“Ah…wait…hah?!” squealed Natsumi in surprise as the other three behind her jolted in shock at the same time.

“Ehhhhhhhh?!”