The next morning, Cassian was comfortably making his way towards Magnolia station, not in any hurry, since there was still time, until the train would be leaving.
When he eventually arrived, though, he instantly became witness to a spectacle that he was sure would repeat itself, more than once, during this job; Gray and Natsu were fighting.
Close to them, Lucy and Happy were standing, and were apparently not much use, for this mess. The quarrel of the two got to the point that many people were already beginning to feel harassed.
Sighing deeply, he eventually walked over, from where he had been standing, giving them a short wave, "Morning, everyone!"
He kept a few meters of distance from the quarreling idiots, instead standing next to Lucy, who was definitely feeling embarrassed, because of them.
"Say, what are you doing here, Cassian?"
He glanced at her, upon hearing the question from the blonde, "You could say, Erza insisted on it… And you, why are you here?"
"Mira asked me to mediate between them, in case they were fighting…"
Cassian looked over to the chaotic duo, then looked back at her, "Just like right now?"
Lucy instantly deflated, "Yup, just like right now…"
Suddenly, he had an idea, "Watch this!"
"Erza, you're finally here!"
Nearly the very instant Cassian called this out, the two of them stopped their quarrel, and got back into a friendly hug, "We're such great friends!" "Oh, aye!"
As the two turned their attention towards Cassian, who was having a huge, teasing grin plastered on his face, they fully expected to see Erza as well, but could not see her. The only thing besides the amused Cassian, was the flat-out laughing Lucy, next to him.
""You tricked us!"" Both shouted, as if they were one person, earning another snicker from the two blondes close by.
The two of them nearly instantly got back to quarreling, but only for a second, since they all very soon heard the voice, the two of them had been dreading.
"Sorry. Did I keep you waiting?" Erza called out, as she walked over to them.
"…!"
When she laid her eyes on Erza, Lucy could only stand there, eyes as wide as saucers, and her mouth hanging wide open.
The amount of luggage she was pulling along, was simply that astronomical. It was, after all, an entire cart, filled to the brim, and even higher, with suitcases, which seemed to be nearly comically full. And, all of this was barely held together, by multiple ropes strapped around it all.
Then, while she turned to Lucy to talk to her, Cassian turned to Gray, for a second, "Say, what exactly makes her so scary, to the two of you? I don't really get it."
Gray heard him, and his face nearly went wight, before he checked, if Erza had heard him, before responding in a hushed tone, "Don't talk about it, when she is close by! But, the why… she can turn real scary…" He even said the last part, while his entire body began shivering.
That wasn't much of an answer, as far as Cassian's understanding went, but surely he would find out soon enough, what it would mean. Probably.
"So, can we board the trai-"
"Erza! I don't know what we're supposed to face… but, I'll come along under one condition!"
Cassian was interrupted by the sudden declaration of Natsu, but honestly didn't mind. This could prove interesting.
"A condition?" She asked, somewhat interested. "Let's hear it."
"Once we're back, I want to take you on. I'm not like I used to be."
What the condition was, shocked the ones present even more, than when he had asked for it. Gray basically looked like, he was short of a mental breakdown, all thanks to Natsu.
And then, Erza responded to his declaration, "I admit, you have grown. I'm not certain I could win… but fine, I'll accept your challenge."
The acceptance to his condition began firing Natsu up, immensely. So much so, that he once again started shouted in the midst of the busy station.
After she had accepted Natsu's challenge, Erza also turned to Gray, asking him if he wants the same condition, which he hastily declines.
Aaaand, Natsu was shouting again…
As much as the pink-haired dragon slayer was nice to be around, he was simply just as loud…
---
A short while later, all five of them were seated in one of the train's carriages.
Unfortunately, with the five of them, six if one counted Happy, the compartment was rather small, and the bench on one side was rather cramped.
On one side, there were Natsu, Lucy, and Gray, while on the other were Erza, and Cassian. Happy simply sat on Natsu's lap, while the dragon slayer was already fighting back the urge to empty his breakfast, due to his motion sickness.
"Seriously… ugh… why don't you… have it too… Cassian?" Natsu grumbled, as his face turned a mix of pale and green.
"What do you mean, Natsu?" Lucy asked, from besides him.
Though, this sentiment was shared by everyone present, too. She was simply the only one to voice it.
"Cassian is… ugh! He is… a Dragon… slayer… too…" He finally managed to squeeze out.
All of the others were greatly surprised by this revelation, especially Gray, and Erza. Both of them, quickly threw the blonde questioning gazes.
"Is that true?"
"I thought you used some kind of propulsion magic, along with your sword magic…"
Cassian could only shrug, upon being called out like this,"I'm a relatively new dragon slayer, so who knows… Also, that propulsion magic is something a lot simpler, than the two of you think. It is more akin to an extremely fast release of pure magic, than a real spell, or the like."
Erza looked at him a bit more intensely for a moment, before softening her expression a moment later, "You seem to like to have some secrets, huh? Not that that is a bad thing, per se…"
Cassian raised an eyebrow to that, "Having secrets? Didn't I just answer your questions? Just because I don't just tell everyone what I can, does not make me a liar, or someone that keeps secrets, does it?"
"No, you're right." She shook her head, "My apologies. It was just a loud thought."
It was then, in the moment of silence, which ensued between the two of them, that a cough could be heard, from the other bench.
"Anyway! What are we actually dealing with, this time, Erza?" Gray promptly changed the topic, to what actually mattered, right now.
As if just ignoring the awkward moment, just now, the red-head just nods calmly, "Right. It was something that I happened to overhear, while returning from my last job.
In a bar, in Onibas, where Mage's tend to gather, there were a few people that drew my attention at that time. There was a small group of four men, with one of them being especially loud.
At first, they were merely an annoyance, but then their topic seemed to change, and I was able to hear two particular words, 'Lullaby', and… Erigor."
"Lullaby again… just what is that?" Gray wondered out loud.
"Some kind of strong sleep magic… maybe?" Lucy added, also racking her brain for an answer.
Erza merely shrugged with her shoulders to that, "I'm not sure myself. The reason, why I needed the support was because of the second word, Erigor.
It isn't just a word, but a name. The name of the Ace of the Eisenwald guild. Erigor, the Death God."
"D-Death God?!" Lucy shrieked.
"Death God, seriously…? Who gives those names? I don't mean to insult anyone, but, if he were someone worthy of the moniker 'God', then even all of us together wouldn't make much difference, or are you confident that you can go against the strongest mages, this continent has to offer? Because, in my understanding, only such people should even have the potential right to have such a name…"
Cassian's words hit true, and Gray, and Lucy gave them a good thought, before nodding. The name, while sounding extremely menacing, truly seemed a bit displaced.
Pulling them all out of their thoughts, Erza spoke once more, "He received that name, due to his job… 'preferences'. The epithet mostly means that he only ever takes assassination requests. And, while these jobs were banned from the council, Eisenwald simply chose the money, over the law, in consequence becoming a dark guild, after being expelled from the league."
By this point of their conversation, they had already reached their destination, Onibas, and were already leaving the train, after getting Erza's ridiculous amount of luggage.
"Wait! When they were expelled… shouldn't they have been punished, as well?" Lucy brought up a good point. One that Cassian, who was still very unfamiliar with the entire system, was also interested in.
"Of course they were! At that time, the acting guild master, was arrested, and the order to disband the guild was given. But, do you think that they would be known as a dark guild, if they were to follow orders? As it stands, they blatantly ignored the order, and continued their vile activities!"
She sure was passionate, was what Cassian thought in that moment, but thankfully, he didn't say it, since just a second after he finished that thought, the air seemed to become heavier.
"I should've stepped in, and bled them dry, the moment I heard the name Erigor! Damn it!"
"…"
None of the three mages present said anything to this. The aura she was giving off right now, really was different to the norm, Cassian had gotten somewhat used to.
'Luckily the other Natsu didn't anger her further…' Gray thought, as he turned, looking for the pink-haired dragon slayer… without success.
"Ehm… where is Natsu?" He eventually asked, after realizing that the loud-mouthed guy was missing.
"What? Isn't he here, with us?" Erza asked, confused, and also began looking for him, just like the rest of them.
Then, a spark of realization flashed across everyone's face, "I thought you took him along!"x4
All four of them suddenly looked at each other, accusingly.
Cassian pointed to Gray, "I thought you'd take him, after he passed out, from his motion-sickness!"
Gray instantly defended himself, "Of course not! I thought Lucy would take him. After all, she sat next to him!"
"Huh? I thought Erza would take him! She sat opposite from him." Lucy also defended herself.
"Hmm, and I thought that Happy would bring him along." Erza also added her part.
"Aye!"
Apparently, Happy had no excuse.
"So, what is the next course of action, then? Go after Natsu immediately, or what?" Cassian asked no one in particular, "Not that he can actually escape the train, with it moving, and all…"
It seemed like Erza did not want to hesitate, or even discuss anything, right now, and therefore, after she ordered some random pedestrian to bring her luggage back to their arranged hotel, immediately went over to the workers, at the train station, demanding them to stop the train immediately, which they declined.
After that happened, she ordered Happy to pull the emergency lever, which the blue cat obeyed by, without a second of hesitation. After that, without missing a beat, she proceeded to claim some kind of… car?
"Hop on!"
That was the only thing she called out to them, after stopping right next to them. They did not wait for a second invitation, and immediately got into the back.
Moments later, they were already rushing through the streets, with breakneck speed.
Getting pushed into the seats, because of the speed, with which Erza was driving the weird vehicle, Cassian looked at the interior for a second, before turning to Lucy, next to him, "What is this thing here?!"
His question could barely be heard by the blonde, with all of the chaos outside, but she still managed to make out what he wanted, "This is a 'Magic Four-Wheeler Car! It is a magic item! These things can drive faster, than a carriage, but draw upon the magic of the driver!"
Well, faster than a carriage seemed to fit this thing, seeing how they were driving along the train track with at least 50 km/h.
This uncomfortable ride continued for multiple minutes, until the outline of the train was finally to be seen.
Though, before they could voice their joy, something seemed to fly directly towards them, or more specifically Gray, who was on the roof of the car, prepared for any attacks. Just… this attack was different, than they had anticipated…
-x-
I'm back!
Well, my hand is freed of the bandages, but not fully there yet. Regardless, here is another chapter ;)
This arc may feel very alike to the original, but that is mostly because of the many coincidences that made this entire arc even happen, so... pls bear with it.
From then onwards i will try to make it as interesting as possible, while still trying to keep the charm of Fairy Tail