["the 'apparent' strongest team!"]
A/N: before I start, I just need to say that I didn't write the episode where Lucy and Natsu go on the mission about Kaby, so this is after Lucy went with Natsu, but u didn't go since u were going on a job by your self for more jewels. Sorry, but yeah! Enjoy!
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"People change for two main Reasons. Their minds have Open, Or Their hearts have been Broken."
-Ezra Scarlet
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It was a normal day in the guild hall, the usual
babble coming from two specific people while some people only continued drinking in peace. (Y/N) and Lucy were talking happily, the blonde explaining what happened during her first mission enthusiastically while looking for requests the team could do.
"...So I was fighting against the old geezer when Natsu suddenly showed up when he summoned Virgo, one of the golden celestial spirit! Afterwards, we both ended up beating them and obtained the book which I revealed was a novel for the owner who requested this job."
"All ends well, but I heard Natsu rejected the award?"
"Yeah! I was honestly mad at first but then he told me that they're not rich and only rented the house they used to get us to accept the offer so I'm not angry anymore." Lucy puffed out her cheeks. "But now we don't have any more money and Natsu has been begging me for food! I can't help it when I don't have money because I gave them all to my landlady."
(Y/N) laughed softly. "I'd gladly cook for you guys if you just ask! I wouldn't mind one bit if you also ask me to cook for you everyday!" Snapping from the board, Lucy stared at the female in awe. "Seriously?! Are you sure, (Y/N)? Wouldn't it be a hassle? I know it's a lot of effort to just cook for three friends... You don't have to waste your energy like that!" "Awww, you're so caring, Lucy! Don't worry, at least, there's something to do in the morning now! I wouldn't want to waste every single morning just laying down and reeling fishes for Happy and Natsu all the time."
"Oh? I thought Natsu or Happy would have, uh, exquisite taste." Lucy said. (Y/N) found herself burst out laughing. "Natsu? Have exquisite taste? Haha! Don't be ridiculous, Lucy! I thought you would at least know that by now."
"Eh, your right after all. They don't really care about what type of food, do they?" Lucy said sweat-dropping. (Y/N) nodded, and turned towards the request board. "Anyways, finding a magic bracelet, breaking a spell on a cursed cane, reading someone's love horoscope, hunting a volcano demon... Which job caught your eyes, Lucy?" Hearing her suggestions, Lucy got dumbfounded. "Wizard jobs sure come in lots of forms..."
Hearing their conversation, Mirajane walked up to them. "Just let me know if you find one you're interested in. The master's at a conference right now, you see." "A conference?" "All the guild master's in the region get together every so often and report about things. It's not the same as the council, but..."
Mirajane asked Reedus, a painter, for a light pen and he agreed and gave her the pen. Mirajane proceeded to to use and explain about the hierarchy of the society in Fiore, with the Government having most power, leading to the Magic Council, then the Local Guild Master Leagues, and the the individual Guilds.
"I had no idea that the guilds were so interconnected like that..." Lucy uttered, understanding even more importance of guilds, then she learned before. (Y/N) added on. "Yeah, it's important for guilds to cooperate, otherwise the whole system would just fall apart."
Suddenly, Natsu appeared from behind Lucy and (Y/N) with some fire in his hands and an evil looking face. "And then, the guys in black will come~!" This cause Lucy to shriek and caused (Y/N) to jump a little bit, but not too much like Lucy. Natsu burst into a fit of laughter at both of their reactions. "Aww man! You guys are such scaredy-cats!" "Don't scare me like that!" Lucy screamed at Natsu. (Y/N) grunted, and whacked him on the head which caused Natsu to rub his head and pout. "Jeez Natsu, that wasn't funny!" "Well it was for me!"
"There really are bad guys in black, though." Mirajane drew a circle separated from the rest that said 'Dark Guild' in it. "The dark guilds... They're guilds that don't belong to any league. They're malicious people and are often involved with in crimes." "Really?..." "Just choose a job already, will you?"
Lucy narrowed her eyes at Natsu. "And what gives you the right to say that to me?" "Well, we five are a team, after all." "We picked the job last time. This time it's your turn!" Happy interjected. Lucy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Yeah, right! You know our 'team' is disbanded. You didn't care about me! You just needed someone with blonde hair!" Hearing that, Natsu's face and (Y/N)'s face turned serious. "That's not the only reason why we chose you, Lucy." Natsu said. Then (Y/N) grinned happily. "It was because your so nice!" "Yeah!" Natsu and (Y/N) both grinned at her. Lucy flushed a little, biting her lip. (Y/N) giggled at Lucy's flustered state.
"Don't worry about picking a team; I'm sure you'll get ton of offers soon enough." Gray assured. Cana placed her mug down before sipping from it again. "Gray. Clothes." Gray yelled in shock which Natsu commented that he's annoying and they both entered into an usual fight between them.
"Lucy. Won't you form a team of love with me? Tonight, just the two of us." Loke flirted, startling Lucy. "You really are beautiful. Even with my sunglasses on, your beauty is dazzling. I'm sure I would go blind if I saw you with my naked eyes." "Go blind. Fine by me." Lucy grimaced. Loke happened to see a glint of her keys before taking a step away from Lucy with a scared look. "Y-You're a celestial wizard?!" "Huh?" "What cruel twist of fate! I'm sorry! We can never be together!" Loke cried, as he ran out of the guild.
"...What's his deal." Lucy muttered under her breath, (Y/N) wiped her tears welling up her eyes from laughing too hard. "Oh man, that was some good comedy!" "It wasn't supposed to be comedy in the first place..." "Loke's bad at dealing with celestial wizards. Rumor has it he had trouble with a girl long time ago." Mirajane informed. Lucy only smiled knowingly. "I'm not surprised, he's-" Natsu was thrown against Lucy who hollered at both of them but they merely resumed fighting again. Everyone in the hall was laughing at this sight until Loke ran back into the hall, saying the words that everyone was afraid of hearing...
"This is bad! It's Erza.... She's back!" The entire guild went into a state of panic, to the point where even Natsu and Gray stopped fighting and had looks of fear on their faces at the mention of that name.
"Erza? You mean the person Natsu mentioned earlier?" Lucy said, blinking at the screaming commotions from Fairy Tail. "You could say she's one of the strongest female wizard in Fairy Tail now." Mirajane remained still.
The sound of footsteps began to approach the guild's entrance, daring to step right in. Everyone could already tell it was Erza, and Lucy felt something icy cold running down her spine since everyone's behaviors are unusual. Her feelings are conflicting- she wanted to see who this 'Erza' but at the same time, she undoubtedly feared of her.
A figure then walked into the hall, carrying something huge resembling to a horn over its head, their body a silhouettes entering the hall. The figure eventually placed the giant item on the ground, and revealed a beautiful woman with scarlet hair wearing armor.
"I've returned. Is the master here?"
"S-So pretty..." Lucy breathlessly stuttered, astonished by her beauty.
"Welcome back, Erza, the Master is our at a conference right now." Mirajane answered calmly. (Y/N) grinned. It's been weeks since she last seen Erza and she couldn't wait to talk with her again!
"I see." Erza nodded. One of the members asked about the humongous product she brought along and Erza explained it was the horn of the monster she has subdued and was decorated by the villagers and given as an souvenir. She also asked if there was something wrong which they replied that there's nothing wrong in fear. Murmurs start to spread everywhere until Erza's loud voice howled, ending the whispers.
"Now listen up!" The guild stood at attention as Erza addressed what she heard about the guild while she was traveling. She then proceeded to scold a multitude of members before sighing and ended her remarks saying she will let them go for once.
"She's already saying a lot, though... What is she, a disciplinarian?" Lucy twitched.
"That's Erza for you. Always to the point, and she never hesitate." Happy laughed.
"Your right... Even if she is kind of a loudmouth, she looks like an actually-mature person like (Y/N)... Surely there's no reason to be so afraid of her?"
"Are Natsu, and Gray here?" She asked. She turned to see Natsu and Gray with an arm over each other's shoulders and shaking hands while forcing a smile, not realizing that they were sweating very heavily out of fear of her.
"H-Hey, Erza! We're good buddies as usual...!" Gray stammered.
"Aye!" Natsu imitated Happy.
"Natsu's turned into Happy!" Lucy freaked.
"I see. It's natural for good friends to fight sometimes, too. That said, I like seeing you get along like that." She gave a smile that shows she's proud of them.
Gray sweat-dropped. "No, we're not exactly 'good friends'..." "Aye..." Natsu meekly agreed. "I've never seen Natsu like this before!"
"A long time ago, Natsu challenged Erza to a fight and got really beat up." Mirajane accounted from times before. Lucy felt the dread. "Natsu did?!" Macao snickered. "She found Gray walking around naked and beat him up." "She beat up Loke up too for trying to hit on her." "You reap what you sow." "I would've expected as much from him..."
"(Y/N)! Where are you!" At her call, (Y/N) grabbed Erza into a tight hug, earning a surprise look from her only for it to change into a smile. "There you are. I have a favor for you, Natsu, and Gray so I was wondering if we could take the tour next time when we're free?" "Oh! It's not a problem!" (Y/N) reassured but quickly jumped on to another question. "What is the favor you ask for the three of us?"
"Whoa, (Y/N) is like a whole different story, though..." Lucy agape, staring at (Y/N) who is obviously less tense then the others. Mirajane nodded. "Erza thought as her little sister, while (Y/N) thought Erza as her older sister. They're not related in any way, it just suddenly happened but they both considered each other to be the different kind of family with a right bond." "Oh..."
Natsu, Gray, and (Y/N) stood in front of Erza.
"I heard something bad while on my last job. Normally, I would consult the master about something like this first, but I believe this is a matter of the utmost urgency. I want your help. Will you come with me?" Gray and Natsu shared a glance while (Y/N)'s eyes widened.
"What in the world?"
"Erza's asking for help?"
"This is the first!"
"We leave tomorrow. Make sure you're ready." Erza wasted no time telling, seeing as they aren't refusing her request. (Y/N) clenched her fist, turning serious at this situation. If Erza's seeking for a aid, then what their about to encounter will be a dire, troubling problem they will face yet. If that's the case, she couldn't let her older sister down!
"Erza, (Y/N), Natsu, and Gray... I've never even imagined it before... But this could very well be the most powerful team in Fairy Tail...!"
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The following day, at Magnolia Station, (Y/N) sneered at the train they're going to board on, ignoring the loud bickering from Natsu and Gray about teaming up. She was sitting next to Lucy who chanted that she doesn't know them with a despair look.
Happy inquired about Lucy's appearance and she explained how Mirajane convinced her to tag along to stop the two though Happy commented her out on how she's not stopping them.
"I'm sorry. Did I keep you waiting?" Hearing Erza's voice, Gray and Natsu paired up and acted lovey dovey while Lucy shrieked about how much luggage Erza brought.
Erza gave her approval at the boys getting along then turned to Lucy with a smile. "So, who are you? Didn't I see you at Fairy Tail yesterday?" "I-I'm Lucy! I just joined!" Lucy introduced with delight, feeling a little nervous because the literal Titania is talking to her. "Mira asked me to come with you too. It's nice to meet you!" "I'm Erza. It's a pleasure." Erza introduced back at the excited girl before her. She seems glad that they have a high spirited new member here. "Ah, so your Lucy?" Erza spared a glance at Natsu and Gray who changed to buddy-buddy but reverted back to glaring at each other once she isn't. "The one who defeated a mercenary gorilla with just your little finger?" This more or less shocked Lucy. "It'll be wonderful to have you on board. Thanks for you help." "M-My pleasure..."
"Erza." The scarlet-headed looked at Natsu, "I'll come along, but on one condition." We can't forget how oddly brave Natsu sometimes are in front of Erza.
"What is it? Tell me." She urged him to continue.
"Fight me once we get back." Natsu demanded, holding his fist up.
This railed up two members with (Y/N) staring quietly.
"Things are different from last time. I can beat you now." Natsu declared confidently.
This earned a chuckle from the S-rank mage. "It's true you have improved. I feel somewhat a disadvantage, but all right. I accept." She confirmed her willingness.
"All right! Now, I'm fired up!" Natsu cheered.
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Sometimes they say when a dragon gets fired up, they're not talking nonsense. However, sometimes they also say when a dragons face its weakness and is unable to defeat it, they'd scurry away. Thats definitely Natsu-all fired up about Erza's correspondence and then when he stepped inside the train, he's on the verge of passing out.
Well, not that (Y/N) can say anything about that, she's literally about to hurl out of the window but forced herself to swallow it and hold it in.
"Geez, you're pathetic. This, immediately after picking a fight?" Gray reprimand, staring out of the window. Lucy, instead of chastising Gray, looked at both Natsu and (Y/N) with concern. "It's gonna be tough doing this every time..." Erza merely sighed at the pitiful sight. "Oh, all right. Come sit next to me." Was there an indirect way of telling Lucy to move? Nonetheless, Natsu and Lucy switched places.
Erza has Natsu lean on her shoulder, wiht her arm swing around his neck as to console him. "Just relax." She commanded before punching him in the gut, rendering him useless and knocked out. "There. That should be better."
(Y/N) paled at the sight, Lucy flinched, Gray pretended not to see what just happened.
Just so that she doesn't have to suffer the same thing as Natsu, (Y/N) strengthen her willpower to suck it up. She does love Erza-but there always times like now where she does fear her. She quickly changed the subject to the question lingering within her mind before Erza could ask her anything related to that. "Erza. Isn't about time you fill us in? What exactly are we doing?"
"Right." Erza acknowledged, knowing she wouldn't leave them in the dark if they're gonna help her in this mission she suddenly requested of. "We're going up against the Eisenwald dark guild. They plan to use a magic called Lullaby for something big." The mention of 'Lullaby' caught the five off-guard.
"Lullaby?!" Both Gray and Happy exclaimed.
"That thing from before?!" Lucy recalled.
"Who knows it would be related sooner than later... We might be up to something bigger than we thought, guys..." (Y/N), darkened, thickening the plot.
Ezra's eyes narrowed when she noticed the others reacted strangely. "Tell me how did you know about this?"
(Y/N) spoke up again. She explained how the five of them encountered mages and battled against them. Lucy continued, mentioning that when they all defeated them, one of them mentioned something about Lullaby. Gray wrapped up, telling that before they could say anything else, somebody interrupted and killed them on the spot.
"I see. So you've encountered Eisenwald as well." Erza concluded, taking in their information.
"Probably since they did mention Lullaby."
"It also sounds like they were guild dropouts. The plan must've been too much for them, so they ran off."
"And that plan has something to do with Lullaby?" Looks like they found their connection.
"It's only a guess, but the shadow that dragged them off was probably Eisenwald's main squad. They must have not wanted the plan to get out." Erza anticipated.
Alright, now they know what happened to the other mages. But now, (Y/N) is more curious about the 'plan' that Erza kept mentioning. "What kind of plan are we talking about?"
"Allow me to explain everything in order. It happened the other day, on my way home after that job. I stopped by a pub in Onibas where wizards gather." Erza happened to overheard what some drunk suspicious man was shouting about. That caught her attention and went off to investigate about it.
"Lullaby... Like a nursery rhyme, right?" Lucy confirmed.
"Yes. The fact it's sealed away likely means it's very powerful magic."
"And they were members of Eisenwald too?" (Y/N) questioned.
"Yes. Like a fool, though, I didn't recognize the name 'Erigor' at the time." Erza proceeded to describe Erigor. "He's the ace of the Eisenwald dark guild. He only accepts assassination-related jobs, for which he earned the nickname 'Erigor the Reaper'".
"Assassination?!"
"The council outlawed assassination requests, but Eisenwald decided that money is more important. As a result, it was kicked out of the wizard guild league six years ago. However, they disobeyed orders and remain active to this day."
Something wet leaked down to Lucy's bottom, as she shakes in fear. "I think maybe I'll go home..." "You're making lots of juice." Happy remarked about the puddle. "It's sweat!" Lucy corrected.
Poor Natsu got hit by Ezra's fist. "I was careless! If only I had recognized Erigor's name then, I could've pulverized them and have them confess their scheme!"
"Scary!"
"I see. So Eisenwald is planning to do something with this Lullaby, and you want to stop them because it's obviously something bad?" (Y/N) shortened it to a simpler explanation.
"Yes." Erza affirmed. "I don't believe I can take on an entire guild by myself. That's why I asked for your help. We're going to storm into the Eisenwald guild!" She finished.
"Sounds interesting!"
"Aye!"
"I shouldn't have come..."
"Looks like we gotta do what we need to do."
"Hey, once the next stop comes, do you guys want to catch some food?" (Y/N) asked, noticing that they're closer to another location that they'll pass away. It's going to be a long journey and she doubt any of them ate yet considering they left early. Everyone either nodded or said yes in unison. At the unanimous vote, (Y/N) immediately payed for the food from the window when they reached to the next station before handing out to each respective person.
"If it's not rude to ask, what kind of magic do you use, Erza?" Lucy inquired. To be called the strongest mage, Erza must have something impressive, right? "It's not rude." She reassured. Happy seem... to add a positive remark about her magic. "Ezra's magic is pretty! It makes her enemies bleed a lot!" "You call that pretty...?"
Taking a bit from her (favorite food), (Y/N) spoke up in regard to magic. "Personally, I think Gray's magic is prettier." "I agree with (Y/N)." Erza approved. Gray looked at them at the mention of his magic. "Really?" He stick his arms out, one cupping his other hand that converted into a fist. A blue magic symbol appeared and fog mist leaked out rapidly. Then, Gray pulled away his fist to reveal a and ice make Fairy Tail logo which he let it flew near Lucy, for her to see.
"Wow!" Lucy got amazed. "It's really beautiful magic!" "Ice magic." Gray properly introduced. That created a light bulb above Lucy's head. "Oh! Is that why you two never get along? Because Natsu uses fire and you use ice?" "Oh, I never thought of that..." Erza realized. Gray shrugged. "Does it matter?"
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The train stopped at Onibas station. (Y/N) was quick to get out; willpower is strong but wasn't enough to pull her for the rest of the ride. Luckily, before Erza got ask for her confirmation if she wants to relax again, it's like heaven up there blessed (Y/N) for putting up with her motion sickness.
"Are the Eisenwald guys still in town?" Gray asked uncertainly. They did take a long ride here, so there could be a chance that they might be in a different town while they're hanging around mindlessly.
"I don't know. That's why we're here to find out." Erza conceded.
The six continued walking to their destination. Hearing what Erza said, Lucy sighed. "That's going to be a wild goose chase..."
"Bye the way..." (Y/N) noticed they are one person off. "Where's Natsu?" They all froze. Happy was the first to see the train leave. "There it goes..."
"I was so absorbed in our conversation I forgot." Erza clicked her tongue, fully regretting as she clenched her fist. "I can't believe myself! He's terrible at riding vehicle, too! This is my fault. Could you please hit me?!" She requested.
"Now, now..." Lucy sweated. (Y/N) muttered to herself, but still within Gray, Happy, and Lucy's earshot. "Not like everyone have the courage to hit you when you're going to hit them back..." "Yeah..."
Erza hastened the train brake and forced the vehicle to stop, making the train crew and the rest of the gang sweat-dropped.
"Please don't do that!" The train crew asked as she isn't one of the train crews.
"It's for our comrade. Please understand." It almost sounds like she's commanding rather then pleading.
"You're absurd!"
"Please take the luggage to the hotel."
"Why me?!"
"I guess everyone in Fairy Tail is like this after all..." Lucy laughed softly, realizing the guild itself is the avatar of craziness. "Not me." Gray rejected. "Where are your clothes?!"
"We'll be taking the magic mobile to save Natsu! Hop on!" Erza authorized. Gray, Lucy, and Happy, wasted no time in getting in. Only (Y/N) froze. "I-Is it okay if I stay here..." Erza wouldn't take no for an answer.
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Luckily, they rescued Natsu, who leaped out of the train but then clashed heads against Gray, who was laid down on top of the magic mobile, and sprawled to the ground due to the impact. Erza soon put the breaks on the mobile when she saw Natsu.
"Natsu! You all right?!" Erza called out, which Natsu replied with an 'aye'.
After recovering, Natsu and Gray soon began bickering about how they butt heads, and then Natsu complained on how they all left him on the train. Erza apologized, bringing Natsu to her armored chest, as she confessed to feel relief that the salmon-haired is alright and well.
"Urgh! I'm not all right! Some weirdo attacked me on the train!" Natsu grumbled, pulling away from the hard metal. "The one who dragged away the guys who tried to eat Happy, I think. Said he was Eisenwald..." At the mention of his name, Erza gasped and slapped his cheeks, cashing him to fall on the floor grasping his cheeks. "YOU FOOL!" Erza roared angrily.
"We're trying time go after Eisenwald! Why did you let him go?!" "This is the first time I've heard of this..." Natsu wavered, which Erza developed an annoyed mark. "I explained it earlier! Listen when people talk!"
"I think it was because you knocked him out..." Lucy shivered. "She's unbelievable in various ways..." "Agreed." "No objection there." "That's Erza for ya!"
Erza climbed into top and then reconnected herself to the mobile. "He was on the train, you say? We're going after it!" She readied the mobile so they could proceed to chase after it.
"What was he like?" Gray asked. Natsu tried to recall his enemy.
"He wasn't very distinctive, actually." Then something flashed in his mind. "Oh, yeah! He did have some kind of skull flute, though. The skull had three eyes." "That's creepy..." Gray shuddered.
"A three-eyes skull?!" Everyone turned their attention to Lucy who seemed to perceive something about the flute Natsu mentioned. "I know about that flute... Lullaby... A cursed song...! It's death magic!"
"What?" Erza stopped charging the car, hearing the mention of death.
"A cursed song? Like an...incantation?" (Y/N) raised her eyebrows.
"I've only read about them in books, but there are some deadly, forbidden spells out there, right?" Lucy brought up.
"Yes." Erza supported. "Cursed black magic that kills whomever it's used on."
"Well, Lullaby is even worse then that! It has the potential to wipe out thousands of people!"
That set an alarm to all of them.
"Then there's no time to waste! Let's get moving!" Erza instructed.
Everyone climbed in the magic mobile, not sparing any hesitation except for Natsu and (Y/N) but entered in anyways as knowing people in next town is in risk. Erza raced down a rocky road while Gray struggled to stay on the roof.
"Slow down, Erza! Powering this thing takes a lot of magic energy! Even for you!" Gray reckoned, not wanting his fellow comrade to pass out from the drain of magic.
"There is no time for complacency!" Erza fumed, but not at Gray. "There's no telling what Erigor might do if he gets his hands on this death curse magic!"
Well, there we go! I have a feeling that this one would be a long adventure...you never know! And it will be Lucy's first adventure! Can't wait for that! You know, Sanda...To me Erza isn't that all scary. She can be when she wants to, but of course she is also caring. She wouldn't want anyone to hurt her friends and family, and when they do, then for sure she'll get revenged. It's been a long day, Ive never forgotten about you, Sanda. Hopefully, one day I'll find you! And when I do, just get ready for some scolding! Wait for me...
So, sorry it took so long to upload! It was a long chapter and I was busy too! Anyways hope you enjoyed! Byeeeeee!