"So let me see if I understand…" Mira said while she poured a drink for the Celestial Warrior then handed a fresh fish to both Happy and Plue, "you four made it back home from the job but didn't get paid for it because, one, you technically didn't complete the mission and would look bad for Fairy Tail if you had accepted the reward and two, the client wouldn't have been able to pay you anyways because they were actually poor but were desperate enough for the books destruction that they chanced the anger of guild wizards despite knowing that they couldn't pay it. Then because you didn't get paid for what should have been a quick few hours' job ended up being a 'now we have to spend the night in the woods with no supplies because we don't have the money for a train home and didn't think we needed to bring anything with' deal." Mira lifted her fingers making quotations as she spoke.

Natsu groaned and flopped on the counter, "my back still hurts…"

Mira giggled and patted his head, "aww, you poor baby~" she cooed earning a glare from the man, "anyways…" she waved his glare away, "You start your walk back home today only to run into Gray who was also on his way home from a mission and had to wait until Lucy and him were through with their insult match and somewhere in the mist of all the commotion they were causing Happy and Plue were kidnapped and almost eaten by a group of unknown wizards?" she questioned and rose a trim brow, "…aye…" Happy whimpered, "what kind of crazy people actually think cats are food anyways…" Plue pouted then bit down hard on his fish.

Mira scratched them both behind their ears before turning her attention back to Natsu, "so then after you beat up the strange men and tied them to a tree one of the guys started whispering something about a lullaby and almost immediately afterwards the tree they were tied too was pulled farther underground essentially burying the mages but you still have no idea how or why and when you guys dug to try and find them they were gone; that is pretty strange…"

Natsu nodded his head still resting on the counter before sitting back up to look at the barmaid better, "after that incident we finished our walk back to the guild, though it was not a peaceful one I can tell you that…" they both looked towards the middle of the guild where Lucy and Gray were currently brawling, "they haven't stopped since we ran into Gray in the woods." Natsu pouted and turned back to look at Mira, "I understand their clashing elements to be the cause of their constant fights…but this is a bit much don't you think?" he jumped slightly when Gray's body suddenly crashed into the bar and slumped to the ground, Natsu rolled his eyes at the state of the ice mage, "dude…seriously…why do you strip? It's a bit disturbing ya know…"

"OI! SHUT UP PINKY! OR DO YOU WANNA GO TOO?!" Gray jumped to his bare feet and grabbed Natsu by his collar forcing him to his feet, Natsu narrowed his eyes then reached up and wrapped his hand around Gray's wrist, "one…don't call me pinky again, I guarantee I'll make you regret it and two…I am not fighting someone who refuses to wear anything and speaking of that, PUT SOME FUCKING CLOTHES ON!" Natsu shouted then cocked his fist back and slammed it into Gray's jaw stunning the man enough that he released Natsu's shirt and stumbled back a few steps.

Gray rubbed his jaw and then grinned at Natsu, "heh…didn't think you had any balls to fight anybody, hell of a hit by the way." Natsu smirked at the man and watched him walk away, still in nothing but his boxers, before sitting back down, he looked up at Mira and smiled, "yup…you fit in just fine here." Mira giggled then walked away.

"awwww…Natsuuuuuuu~" Lucy whined while heavily sitting down on the bar stool next to the man, "you made the ice dick quit, now I'm all bored…" she pouted and sprawled out on the counter, squishing her face against the wood.

Natsu chuckled and patted the back of Lucy's head, "sorry Luce" before Natsu had a chance to say more he was interrupted by a low smooth sounding voice, "Lucy my love, I'm so glad you're back! I was so worried about you" the voice cooed and Natsu watched as a man with bright orange spiky hair walked up and slid his arm around Lucy's shoulders, an act that very quickly irritated Natsu. He kept his gaze forward but pinned the offending arm with a subtle sideways glare and bit his tongue to keep from speaking exactly what was on his mind, "I missed you my princess," he heard the bastard whisper to Lucy causing him to grit his teeth and ball his fists until his knuckles were white, "Loke…if you don't remove your arm from my shoulder, I'm gonna snap it off…and in case you forgot, imma' dragon…not a princess…" she hissed out while keeping her face smooshed against the counter, Natsu had to bite back not only the relieved sigh that wanted to escape but also the laugh that was bubbling up at Loke's defeated face, "Lucy…you wound me so," Loke dramatically placed a hand over his heart and faked pain, Natsu couldn't help the eye roll.

Loke finally looked next to Lucy at Natsu and smiled at the pink haired male, "yo," he called out in greeting while holding his hand out for Natsu to shake, "names Loke. Didn't get a chance to introduce myself with all that craziness the day you were brought in." Natsu gripped the man's hand in a firm handshake and smirked, "Natsu, and that's alright, it was pretty crazy." Natsu chuckled and Loke joined in, "so, what do you think of Fairy Tail so- "Loke suddenly paled and his eyes grew wide, Natsu rose a brow, "you ok man?" Natsu reached a hand out to place on his shoulder but Loke quickly backed away, "a-a-a-are those…gate keys?!" he stuttered while pointing to Natsu's key pouch resting along his ribs.

Natsu furrowed his brows, he looked down at his pouch then back up at the now trembling man, "uh…yea they are. I'm a Celestial Warr- "he didn't get a chance to finish before Loke suddenly took off running towards the main doors of the guild hall, "SORRY MAN! WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS!" Loke shouted and shoved through the doors.

Natsu wasn't sure what to make of the situation, "the hell was that?" he questioned under his breath, "don't worry about him," Lucy's muffled voice called out.

Natsu turned his head to look at her, "what do you mean?"

"What she means is- "Natsu turned his head to look at Mira who was standing behind the bar again, "-don't worry about Loke. He's like that with all Celestial wizards."

"…why?" he questioned narrowing his eyes slightly at the white-haired woman, "he has a bad history with Celestial wizards, rumor has it he dated one a while back and I guess it didn't end well."

Natsu sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "guess I should have expected that one…I heard the guy was a bit of a playboy…" Mira simply giggled at him before going back to her work cleaning some glasses.

Natsu twisted on his stool to fully face Lucy, she had finally moved some and was now resting her chin on the counter instead of her entire face, staring blankly at the wall in front of her that housed several shelves full of various types of alcohol, "whadda ya say Luce? Wanna look for a new job with me? I still need jewels for a new place." he chuckled when she grinned brightly at him and jumped out of her seat pumping a fist into the air, "AYE! I'M ALL FIRED UP NOW!" she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the request board.

Before they had a chance to look over the requests -however- the doors to the guild slammed open and a panting Loke was standing there, "BAD NEWS! ERZA! SHE'S ON HER WAY HERE" he shouted listening to his voice echo a few times within the oddly silent guild.

Natsu found it extremely weird that a few seconds after that complete chaos ensued in the form of everyone panicking. The next thing he found strange was the moment Erza's name was voiced Lucy's abnormally high body heat vanished from his side, he turned his head and sure enough she was gone, "where did Lucy go?" he whispered to himself while looking all around the hall, "you'll understand in a minute. Just wait." Mira had walked to stand next to Natsu while they watched everyone else becoming more nervous the moment they began to hear boots clicking against the ground and were steadily approaching the guild.

Natsu's eyes grew wide the moment Erza finally came into view, she was carrying -what looked like- a large horn or claw from a monster above her head…with one hand, "holy shit…" he croaked, understanding now why everyone feared the Titania of Fairy Tail.

Erza finally stopped directly in the middle of the guild and set the large object down with a loud thud, "I have returned, where is Master?" just her voice alone commanded complete and total obedience from those around her and Natsu couldn't help but thickly swallow, backing up slightly; she was definitely an intimidating woman, "welcome back Erza, the Master's at a conference right now." Mira informed her seemingly completely unfazed by the red heads presence.

"I see..."

"S-so uh…what's with that humungous thing you got there?" Natsu looked at the man that had asked and if he was correct the guys' name was Max, "It's the horn of a monster that I defeated. The locals were so thankful that they decorated it and gave it to me as a souvenir. Do you have a problem with it?" she quickly asked and Natsu watched Max begin to shake while quickly stammering out "N-N-N-NO MA'AM! NOT AT ALL!"

Erza hummed before turning her attention on the entire guild, "NOW LISTEN UP! While I was on the road I heard a few things. Word is Fairy Tail is causing nothing but trouble as of late. Master Makarov might not care but I do! Our reputation as the number one guild will not be tarnished by trouble makers and I make it my solemn duty to hand out punishment to those responsible." she pinned a glare on every single member within the hall that she could see before finally slumping with a loud sigh and closed her eyes, "however…at the moment I have more important matters to attend to- "Natsu found it almost comical that every member let out a, not so quiet, relieved sigh, "-where is Lucy?" she questioned next and everyone, including Natsu, shrugged their shoulders, "she was just here a moment ago…" someone spoke up.

Before Natsu had a chance to really comprehend what exactly happened Lucy was there, on top of Erza, after tackling the red head to the floor, "YES, FINALLY! I GOT YOU ERZIE!" she shouted out while sitting on Erza's stomach throwing her fists into the air.

Everyone paled again and eyes grew wide, they took massive steps away from the squashed Erza as they waited for Lucy's untimely demise, "…Lu-cy…" Erza slowly said from beneath the celebrating dragon. Lucy finally looked down and the smile that was on her face dropped quickly and she paled along with everyone else, she loudly gulped and then ever so slowly crawled backwards until she was on her hands and knees at Erza's feet, "I-I'M SORRY ERZA! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" she shouted out bringing both her hands in front of her face as if she was praying for Erza to spare her, Natsu was actually scared for his friend.

Erza slowly sat up and moved so she was on her knees as well looking down at the cowering slayer, "…Lucy…" she said quietly again causing Lucy to squeak, an act that Natsu found incredibly adorable but couldn't react to it out of fear, "a-a-aye m-ma'am?" she stuttered chancing a peak at the older woman.

Before Lucy had a chance to prepare herself Erza suddenly tackled her and slammed her back to the floor, "OH! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!" Erza cooed at the blond while nuzzling her face against Lucy's, "you really got me that time, I was so busy in my own thoughts that I didn't have time to prepare myself, well done little sister!"

The guild was quiet for more than a minute before every member shouted out, "WHAT?!"

Erza smiled and stood up dusting herself off then reached down and grabbed Lucy's hand yanking her off the ground and back to her feet, "what does that make the score now?" she questioned raising a brow at the younger girl, "uh…" Lucy thought while tapping her chin, "7,416 to 1 but I got you! I finally got you!" she smiled a large fanged smile and Erza couldn't help but smile back, "aye, that you did." she then grabbed the back of Lucy's head and slammed her against her metal breast plate, "I have missed you, baby sister…" she whispered. Lucy wrapped her arms around Erza's waist and squeezed her with as much force as she could produce, "I'm missed you too, Erzie"

Natsu couldn't help but smile at the two, he understands now why Lucy is so attached to Erza and Erza to Lucy, they were made for each other, "OH, OH! ERZIE! I ALMOST FORGOT TO TELL YOU! I HAVE A NEW FRIEND! CAN I KEEP HIM?! Well actually he's my best friend, BUT STILL! CAN I?! CAN I?! CAN I, PLEEEEEASE?!" she yelled and pleaded while gripping Erza's shoulders and shook her back and forth.

Natsu slapped his forehead, "did she seriously just ask that?" he whispered to himself but loud enough for everyone around him to hear, Mira quietly laughed at him and before he had a chance to say anything to her his view was blocked by Happy landing on his left shoulder, "she liiiiikes you~" he rolled his tongue while wiggling his brows at Natsu. Natsu's face burst into a brilliant shade of red, "S-S-SHU-" Plue landed on his right shoulder next, interrupting his outburst, "she wants to keeeeep you~" he rolled his tongue causing him and Happy to snicker behind their paws at the flustered man. It was at that point that Natsu seriously wondered if you could actually eat cats because he had two that needed to be skewered and roasted over an open flame right now, "it's not like that and you both know it…" he hissed at them through gritted teeth, "suuure it's not." Happy laughed as he and Plue summoned their wings, flying out of reach of Natsu's arms when he tried to strangle the cats.

"Woah woah, easy Lucy"

Everyone's attention was brought back to Erza the moment she spoke again, she placed her hands on Lucy's shoulders to keep the dragon from shaking her anymore, "while it is wonderful that you have made a new friend, my interrogations of his worthiness will have to be put on hold," Natsu felt himself begin to sweat and took a couple more steps away from the two, "now, GRAY! FRONT AND CENTER!" Erza shouted.

Gray was in front of her fully clothed within seconds, "AYE MA'AM!" he shouted and stood stiff before her, Natsu couldn't help but wonder if this was the military and not a guild, "very good, now Lucy and Gray, while I was traveling I overheard something that has me worried. Normally I would consult with the Master before acting but since he is unavailable, I must take matters into my own hands. You two are some of our strongest members and I need your help."

To say everyone was shocked would be an understatement, the mighty Titania never needs to ask for help, whatever she discovered must really have her worried to ask Lucy and Gray to accompany her, "NO WAY ERZIE! I'M NOT WORKING WITH THE POPSICLE!" Lucy suddenly shouted while glaring at Gray.

Gray tsked, "like I want to be stuck working with an ashtray…"

"WHAT?!" Lucy screeched feeling her temper boil over, she attempted to jump at the ice mage but Erza wasn't having any of it.

Just before Lucys' fist could meet Grays face she was choked by her own scarf when Erza grabbed it and yanked the slayer back to her side, "THAT'S ENOUGH YOU TWO! I won't have my family members fighting each other, especially within my presence…now you WILL come with me and you WILL get along or so help me I will personally send the both of you to meet the first master…" a dark aura surrounded Erza's body and everyone within the guild hall couldn't help but cower.

Lucy, who sitting on the ground with her scarf still in Erza's hands, crossed her arms over her chest and pouted, "I don't wanna…" she mumbled and turned her head away from her sister.

Erza sighed and rubbed her forehead before glaring down at the pouting dragon, "…Lucy…"

Lucy felt a chill run up her spine, she growled loudly before throwing her hands in the air, "FINE!" she shouted, "I'll work with the ice dick…" she glared at Gray again, "BUT ONLY, if we take Natsu and Happy with us."

Natsu choked on his spit while Erza rose a brow at Lucy, "that actually might not be a bad idea Erza," she turned her head to look at Mira. Mira placed her hands on Natsu's back and pushed him towards the three, "he might actually be able to keep those two from fighting." Natsu looked over his shoulder with wide eyes at Mira feeling like she just threw him to the wolves but Mira simply winked at him and looked back at Erza, "…I suppose you are right, very well, Natsu" she moved her eyes to said male who thickly swallowed the moment her dark brown eyes landed on him, "you shall accompany us as well. I will give you all an hour to collect your things, you are to be at the train station by the end of said hour, am I clear?"

"AYE MA'AM!" they all shouted.

Lucy jumped to her feet quickly grabbing Natsu's hand then took off towards the guild doors, "HAPPY! PLUE! COME ON!" she shouted over her shoulder before barreling out of the guild.

"Erza I think it's about time you filled us in on what's going on..."

The small group of wizards had finally met up at the train station and boarded without any problems. The moment the train began moving -however- instantly incapacitated Lucy and she ended up curling on Erza's lap with her arms wrapped around her waist and her face buried in her stomach. Erza was slowly running her fingers along Lucy's neck and shoulders to cox the dragon slayer into falling asleep for the deration of their travels.

"Of course, I have it in good interest that the dark guild called Eisenwald is planning something big though I'm not sure what exactly. The only solid information that I was able to gather was that they are planning on using a magical item called 'lullaby'"

"Lullaby?" Natsu and Gray said in unison, "you mean that thing those weird guys mentioned?" Natsu asked afterwards.

Erza gave the men a questioning look, "I see…so you have run into Eisenwald before?"

Gray shook his head, "we're not positive that they were from that guild but they did mention lullaby."

Erza hummed, "it sounds like they were members that dropped out of the guild and went into hiding, perhaps they wanted no part of whatever is coming."

"So…" Natsu spoke up and Erza looked at him, "whatever this thing is, is so bad that it even scares dark wizards?"

"I'm only hypothesizing…but whoever it was that dragged Happy and Plue away must have been from Eisenwald. It's obvious that they didn't want their plans getting out."

"What exactly do you think they're going to try?" Natsu questioned

Erza closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, "let me explain from the beginning. It was just the other day I was on my way home from a mission. I had stopped by a bar in Onibas that I knew was a gathering spot for local mages and while I was there I overheard a conversation between a few men. They had stated that they found the location of this so-called lullaby along with the mention of a seal that was placed upon it. A man that was called by the name Kage stated that he could handle this seal and told the other men to not worry and to head back to their guild to inform another man called Erigor that he would be coming back with lullaby in three days' time." Erza opened her eyes looking down at Lucy who was sleeping peacefully on her lap before looking up at the two men across from her, "my concern for this grew with the statement of there being a seal placed on this item; it could only mean that we are dealing with some very powerful magic."

Natsu and Gray nodded their heads, "and you're positive that those guys at the bar were from Eisenwald?"

Erza looked to Natsu and nodded her head, "aye, I cannot believe I was such a fool that day. I didn't recognize his name, Erigor or better known as the Ace of Eisenwald. He only accepts assassination requests, which is why he's earned the name, Erigor the Reaper."

"He kills for money?" Gray questioned, feeling slightly put off by the new information and again Erza nodded her head, "when the council outlawed assassination requests, Eisenwald decided that money was more important than the council's rules and because of that they were kicked out of their wizard league six years ago, however, that didn't stop them, they've disobeyed orders and remained active to this day."

Natsu shook his head once Erza was finished, "that is very unsettling…"

Erza sighed, "if only I wasn't so careless and recognized Erigor's name, I could have pulverized and apprehended them that day. I could have forced them to reveal their plans to me."

"Don't beat yourself up Erza, we will handle this." Natsu smiled at her earning him a smile back.

"So, if I got this right," Gray stated while looking out the window he was sitting next too, "Eisenwald is planning to do something with this lullaby, and you want to stop them because after what you overheard you're sure that it's gonna be something bad?"

Erza nodded her head again, "aye, and I'm not foolish enough to believe that I can take on an entire magic guild by myself, which is why I have asked for yours and Lucys help. Thank you to you as well Natsu and I apologize for my sister forcing you to come along with."

Natsu smiled and shook his head, "don't worry about it Erza, I may have not known Lucy for very long plus Happy and I only just joined the guild but being around her, I feel like I've known her my entire life. She's easy to get along with despite her cluelessness and boisterous attitude, I feel at ease around her."

Erza nodded her head in approval, "so, I am to assume that you are her new best friend then?"

Natsu smiled again and nodded his head at her, "aye, I am."

Erza placed her hand underneath her chin while she looked down at Lucy, "I see- "she lifted her head and looked back at Natsu, "Very well. You seem like a fine young man with a good upbringing, may I ask as to where you are from?"

Natsu and Happy both tensed, an action that did not go unnoticed by either mage. Natsu cleared his throat while looking at Erza, summoning up as much courage as he could, "I do apologize and please do not take offence but, I would rather not talk about my past or my upbringings if you don't mind. It is not exactly something I am comfortable talking about just yet."

Erza stared at him for a few minutes, just studying the man who began sweating and squirming under her scrutinizing eyes before she huffed out a small laugh, "no offence taken. I appreciate your honesty and understand completely that the past is something that is not easily discussed. I will allow your friendship with my sister, however- "her look suddenly turned very dark causing Natsu, Gray, Happy and Plue to sweat and gulp, "should you ever cause her harm or upset her in any way…I will not hesitate to run you through in the worst ways possible. Am I clear?" she threatened raising a brow.

Natsu rapidly nodded his head up and down, "a-aye ma'am!" he yelled

Satisfied with his answer, Erza relaxed and smiled, "good. Now I believe it is time for cake!"

Natsu wasn't sure what to think anymore as he looked down at Happy, sitting between him and Gray, only seeing him shrug his shoulders back, he decided it was best to not overthink it and just enjoy the rest of the train ride.

Once the small group arrived in Onibas Station, Erza had Natsu carry a groggy Lucy off the train while she gathered her cart and her twenty plus bags to go with it, "geez…does she really need that much stuff?" he quietly whispered to Gray, who was standing next to him, while he held on to Lucys' dead weight. Grey shrugged his shoulders, "don't think I've ever seen her leave on a mission with less bags."

Natsu was about to say more when Happy suddenly blocked his view by fluttering in front of his face, "NATSU! WE LEFT OUR BAG ON THE TRAIN AND IT'S ABOUT TO LEAVE!" he shouted out while panicking, worried that he was going to lose the yummy fishies that he packed for him and Plue, "shit," he cursed under his breath, "Gray, can you take Lucy please?" he didn't give the other male time to deny him as he swung Lucy's arm over his shoulders and took off running to the car they were just in, "where is Natsu going?" Erza questioned walking to stand next to Gray, taking Lucy from him, "left his bag on the train, running to get it before the train leaves." he simply stated and Erza nodded her head.

"Excuse me! Sir!" Natsu shouted to the car attendant who was helping the last couple of people board the train.

"Yes? How can I help you, young man?"

"I need to get back on, I left my bag." Natsu huffed out when he was standing in front of the older man.

The attendant gave Natsu an uneasy look, "the train is about to pull away, you better hurry if you don't want to get stuck riding again." the man moved out of Natsu's way allowing him to board once again, "thank you sir." then he quickly walked to where they were just sitting.

Luckily for him there was no one sitting in the car they had used so finding his bag was easy enough. Reaching up, Natsu pulled his bag from the storage compartment above his head and swung the straps over his shoulders, "whew, that was close." he whispered to himself but as he turned around to leave he ran smack into another man who had just boarded, "I'm sorry man, didn't mean to run into ya like that." Natsu apologized trying to move so that he could walk around the guy. However, when Natsu bumped into him the man had dropped something and when he looked at what it was the guy was quickly bending down to pick up he furrowed his brows, "damn, sucks to be you man," the guy stated once he safely tucked the weird looking stick back into his coat and blocked Natsu's path once more, "gonna have ta get rid of ya now that you've seen my little toy."

"What?" Natsu questioned before barely moving out of the way when the guy summoned magical shadowed claws that attacked, ripping a hole in the right shoulder of Natsus' dress shirt, "well lookie here, a Fairy Tail wizard. Tell me, how's the guild life treatin' ya these day?" the guy chuckled like he made a joke once he seen Natsus' guild mark and to make matters worse the train had pulled out of the station and was on route to its next destination.

Natsu quickly unsheathed his sword and blocked the shadowed claws that were thrown at him again while backing away to put some distance between him and the now hostile man, "look guy, I don't know who the hell you are but if I had to take a guess, I'd say you are the guy we were looking for and that stick you shoved in your coat is actually lullaby, which we are also looking for." he stated while blocking more attacks from the man.

"How the hell- "the man started but was interrupted and thrown forwards, falling to his hands and knees, allowing the strange stick to come toppling out of his coat again, when the train suddenly came to a screeching halt. Natsu barely had enough time to steady himself before he dove for the stick and shoved it into his swords sheath to keep it away from the dark mage before him.

Natsu had just stood back up when a female voice spoke over the trains intercoms, "we're sorry for the delay, just a false alarm. The train will begin moving in just a moment." to which almost immediately afterwards the train started up again throwing Natsu forwards and the other guy back. However, the guy was able to right himself quicker than Natsu could and he unleashed another volley of claws at Natsu who could only raise his sword and block some of the more lethal blows, some of which were pushed to the windowed wall of the car and tore a very large hole in it, but he didn't come out unscathed. Feeling blood oozing out of various cuts on his arms, chest and legs was unnerving but the wound on the right side of his neck worried him the most, he placed his right hand on the bleeding gash, feeling blood slowly seep out from between his fingers, while tightly gripping his sword in his left cursing as the pain began to settle in, he applied as much pressure to the wound as he could; he really didn't feel like bleeding out on a train, Atlas would be pissed.

The guy, enraged about having lost his loot came at Natsu with more force than before trying his hardest to get back what he lost, "GIVE THAT BACK!" he shouted hitting Natsu with even more shadowed claws, "YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT ERIGOR WILL DO TO ME IF HE FINDS OUT I LOST LULLABY!" Natsu was trying his hardest to block the barrage of attacks but his left hand wasn't as quick as his right and that caused him to gain more cuts while trying to make sure he didn't lose even more blood from the wound to his neck. The dark mage let out an inhuman yell and summoned a very large shadowed claw and sent it hurtling towards Natsu, he only had a quick second to tense his body before he was sent flying out of the train car through the large hole the guys' magic created, "NO!" the guy screamed as he ran for the hole he just launched his victim out of summoning a large shadowed hand intending on grabbing Natsu to bring him back onto the train, Natsu had just enough time to turn his body midair and strike at the shadow with his sword while he fell out of range of the guys deadly magic. Luckily for Natsu though Erza was driving a magic car right next to the train and as soon as the group seen Natsu come flying out and watched him fight off a large shadow, Happy and Plue quickly summoned their wings and plucked Natsu out of the air before he could hit the ground.

Natsu coughed and panted trying to get air back into his lungs after the spell knocked the wind out of him while Happy and Plue flew towards the others now parked beside the train tracks, "NATSU!" Happy yelled when Natsu's head rolled to the side, "I-I'm alright little buddy…" he rasped out wincing once they finally set him down on the ground, "Natsu, what happened?" Happy cried coming around to flutter right in front of his face, placing his paws on his cheeks, "yes Natsu, what happened?" Natsu looked past Happy seeing Plue fluttering just behind while Erza and Gray were walking up, she looked to be carrying a first aid kit which Natsu was very grateful for.

Natsu took a deep breath in slowly letting it back out through his mouth, he released his death grip on his sword and let it rest at his side but kept his other hand tightly pressed against his neck, once the other two were kneeling in front of him, Natsu unsheathed lullaby and handed it to Erza, "I-I managed to get lullaby," Erzas' eyes widened as she took the strange looking stick from his trembling hands then listened as he then relayed all that had happened on the train, giving as much detail as he could remember on what he seen and fought against, "I do apologize Erza…" he said once he was finished, "what on Earthland for?" she questioned while pulling his hand away from his neck to rub some magic cream on it to stop the bleeding then quickly bandaged the wound. Natsu closed his watering eyes and hissed at the pain of her prodding at his neck, "I'm sorry," she quietly stated, "s'alright… I apologize for allowing that guy to get the best of me, bastard had me on the ropes from the start and I could do nothing but defend against his attacks, I couldn't even use my magic or my state might have been much worse and for that, I am sorry." Natsu bowed his head in shame completely ignoring the pain it brought.

Erza sighed and shook her head, "no, there is no need to apologize. While it is quite annoying that he got away, I cannot fault you for wanting to stay alive. At least we know that my assumptions were correct and now we know where they are heading, plus we have lullaby in our possession, so you have done more than enough. Good job." Once she was sure that the deep wound on his neck was patched up to the best of their abilities as well as made sure all the smaller cuts and slashes were cleaned and covered, she stood and held her hand out for him, Natsu gave a small grateful smile while grabbing her hand allowing the woman to haul him up to his feet, "that wound is deep," Erza started while point to his neck, "and our first aid kit can only do so much but I was able to get the bleeding to stop and the magic cream should keep it from opening again but you will have a pretty nasty scar."

Natsu raised his right hand to place it on the bandages on the side of his neck, "I'm not worried about a little scar, I'm just glad I was able to hold it closed long enough to get help." Erza smiled then nodded her head before turning to walk back to the car.

"That was some crazy shit man," Natsu looked towards Gray after he bent down to pick up his sword, sheathing it once again, "you look like ass too." Gray laughed and Natsu let out a small chuckle as he ran a hand through his hair, he looked down at himself and seen that there was no saving his clothes at all. His pants were ripped and torn in several places, you could see the bandages peeking through the material. His shirt was definitely a lost cause seeing as his once pristine white dress shirt was now full of holes and mostly dyed red from his blood, "aye, that I do." Gray walked up to him and placed a hand carefully on his shoulder, "great job though." He gave his shoulder a small clap before backing up, Natsu simply smiled and nodded before finally looking around them, "where's Lucy?" he questioned only to be answered by a small whine. Natsu looked at the car watching as Lucy rolled out of the back seat to fall onto the ground below. Erza walked over to her and picked her up making sure she was steady on her feet before jumping into the driver's seat, "Plue, would you please fly Lucy the rest of the way? We need her coherent and ready for the battle ahead of us." She stated while strapping the E-plug back onto her wrist, "why? What for? I mean, we already have lullaby so why are we going into battle?" Plue asked while flying over to sit on top of Lucy's head, "while it is true that we have lullaby, Erigor and his guild are still free and are causing mayhem as we speak, these are dangerous people to just allow to roam free. We must apprehend them and bring them to justice!"

Nobody questioned Erza as they slowly piled into the car, Natsu took a few wobbly steps towards the car, stumbling a bit as he went, Lucy was quick to run to his side to help him into the car, "you ok, Natsu?" she whispered while wrinkling her nose at the offending smell of his blood drenched shirt. Natsu smiled at her and gave a small nod, "I'm alright Luce, just need a few minuets to rest and I'll be good to go." He gave her a pat on the head before he climbed into the back of the car to sit next to Happy across from Gray.

Lucy gave him a worried glance before looking at Erza who simply shook her head and looked forward again, Lucy sighed then closed the door backing up some when Erza allowed her magic to start the car and slowly pull away to head for the nearest road. Plue grabbed onto the back of Lucys' coat and flew off into the air just above the car, "are you ok Lucy?" Plue asked while speeding up to make sure they stayed with Erza, "m'fine, just felt kinda useless ya know?" she sighed out loud while keeping her eyes glued to the car where she knew Natsu was sitting.

Plue furrowed his brows, "why would you feel useless?"

Lucy looked over her shoulder at her feline friend, "because Natsu got really hurt and I was too busy dealing with my motion sickness to help him. He could have died, and we wouldn't have known until later if he hadn't left that train when he did."

Plue had drooped a little at her words, "…aye…"

Lucy slapped both of her hands against her cheeks to rid herself of her depressing thoughts then shook her head, "no need to be stuck in the past Plue, all we can do now is make sure we keep everyone safe and protected." She threw her fist in the air laughing a little when Plue had to move his head to keep from getting punched, "~heeeey~" Plue whined before laughing and agreeing with her, "AYE SIR!" he shouted while increasing his speed to make sure they didn't lose Erza.

~AN~

HEY GUYS!

I know it's been like foooooooooorever and I'm reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally sorry about that but life has been kinda crazy lately lol.

I've been busy with my studies with the college and my online courses plus I just had to finish registering my son for kindergarten T_T (why is he getting so big...)

Anyways, I actually started this chapter right after I finished the last chapter but I just never finished it, so I decided to work on it and throw it on up here just to show you guys that, YES! I am still alive! and NO! I'm not planning on not finishing my stories, it...just might take me a while... (hee)

Anyways, you'll have to let me know how I did. I know my writing skills have gotten kinda rusty lately lol and I think this might be a bit shorter then the other chapters BUT I figured you guys would be happy to just have something up. :)

and as always,

MUCH LOVE FROM A TKITTY! XD