The group emerged from the ground about 20 yards from the entrance of the station, and the huge wall of wind that still surrounded it. Natsu could barely hear himself think over the din, and barely made out when Mirajane shouted, "How are we going to catch up to Erigor?"

Erza didn't speak, but rather marched off towards a line of Magical Four Wheelers. Natsu wasn't really paying attention, instead he was laughing as Virgo, Lucy's newest celestial spirit, futilely attempted to preserve Lucy's dignity by holding her very short skirt down against the whipping wind. He was enjoying the show when Erza screeched to a halt next to their group and shouted, "Get in!"

Natsu sighed as the Fairy Tail mages got in and gingerly lifted himself into the cab of the four wheeler. All three mages had squished together on one side and had left the other for him. He gave them a gimlet eyed glare and then sat down. The vehicle lurched and then raced off, and Natsu felt himself wither under the stares of the Fairy Tail mages. The familiar nausea rose up and he broke out into a cold sweat, before collapsing against the side of the Four Wheeler and groaning. Slowly the Fairy Tail mages eyes widened, and then Mirajane burst out laughing, "You have motion sickness!"

Natsu glared at her, "Yes. Now kindly let me suffer in peace."

Gray smirked, "Who knew all it took to defeat the famous criminal was some transportation."

"Bite me, stripper."

Gray's brow quirked before he looked down at himself, "Ah! Where'd my shirt go?"

Natsu cackled but it was cut off by a particularly grisly sounding stomach movement and the fire mage had to clap a hand over his mouth to keep from vomiting. Lucy looked positively revolted, "Puke out the window if you're going to puke at all!"

Just then the Four Wheeler hit a bump and Natsu was pitched forward into the blonde's lap. She squealed and pushed him onto the floor where he lay groaning. Mirajane couldn't stop cackling and even Gray paused the search for his shirt to grin. Natsu only said, "Leave me where I am."

They continued in silence as the Four-Wheeler rattled forwards, clearly driving over train tracks from the rhythm of the staccato bumps beneath the tires. Mirajane seemed to be working herself up to another cutting remark when they all heard Erza shout, "I see him ahead! It looks like he didn't have the energy to fly all the way there!"

Natsu mumbled feebly, "No. He is probably saving his energy for a fight. Blurgh."

The vicious smile that Mirajane made would have scared a lesser man than Natsu, "Good. I wouldn't want to get bored. Then I might have to find somebody else to entertain me."

Gray paled and Lucy shivered. Natsu glanced at both of them, "Is she saying what I think she's saying."

Lucy replied in a fearful voice, "I don't know, but I don't want to find out."

Gray whispered, "It's true. She's not called the demon for nothing."

Mirajane's cackling was cut off when the Four Wheeler slid to a stop and Erza shouted, "Turn and face me Erigor! I will put a stop to this madness!"

The white haired mage smirked, "This I have to see."

The Fairy Tail mages all piled out of the Four Wheeler, while Natsu slowly dragged himself to the edge of the door and rolled himself out. He landed in a heap on the ground and turned over to watch the ensuing showdown between Erigor and the Fairy Tail mages. They'd caught up to Erigor at the end of a stone railroad bridge, where the forest ended at a large gorge. Erza stood at where the light brown of stone and dust met the dark brown of rich soil with her sword held high in a shaking hand, pointing at an airborne Erigor. The redhead looked exhausted, probably from pumping all of her magic power into the SE-plug for the Magic Four Wheeler, Natsu surmised. She still stood though, ready for a fight. Erigor stared down at the group before laughing, "They beat you Natsu? How pathetic! I should have let the council have you."

Natsu shrugged from his place on the ground before shouting back, "What can I say, the redhead has a mean right hook."

The Flame-make mage didn't see any harm in letting Erigor think he'd been defeated. He cared little for the man's opinion. Erigor looked ready to spew more vitriol but Erza spoke first, "We've caught you, Shinigami Erigor. Surrender! You cannot hope to beat all of us!"

In direct contravention of her statement, she dropped to a knee, gasping for breath. Erigor laughed, "Fairy Tail. Titania was the only real threat, but she's already worn out. A stripper, a coward, and a wanna-be goth won't be any challenge."

Natsu glanced at the remainder of the Fairy Tail party and had to agree with Erigor's outer assessment of them. Gray had lost his shirt and coat at some point between getting out of the Four Wheeler and the present, Lucy looked ready to bolt at any moment, and Mirajane's snow white hair contrasted with the goth look she was going for. Silence lapsed for a moment as the wind blew behind them over the gorge before Mira clenched a fist and let lose a concentrated burst of angry magic, "Just who the hell are you calling a wanna-be goth you freak!"

Erigor only laughed harder at her outrage. Mirajane strode with purpose towards Erza and said as she passed, "It looks like you've already blown your load, so just leave this punk to me."

Natsu saw Erza's shoulder stiffen minutely before she sagged to the ground, leaning back and balancing on her hands, "Fine. I'm sure you'll be a good warm up for him."

Natsu stood, motion sickness fading away, and brushed the dust off of himself before asking Gray, "I assume those two have a history?"

For a second Natsu could have sworn he saw a flash of fear in the dark haired man's eyes before he said impassively, "They've butted heads from the day they met. They compete with each other for everything."

Natsu nodded, having seen that kind of thing before, "I'm surprised they're o-"

He was interrupted by a shout of, "Take Over: Satan Soul!"

Dark purple magic blasted out of the white haired mage and an absolutely massive dark purple, almost black, magic circle appeared above her. She threw her head back and let out a shriek that slowly gained an unearthly timbre. Black wings and a tail coalesced out of magic and veins running thick with dark energy stood out on her snow white skin. Her goth clothes gave way to a revealing purple jumpsuit and purple thigh high boots. As the shriek petered out the magic running through her made her hair stand stand on end, the white strands waving and floating above her head from the sheer force of her magic.

For a moment Natsu was surprised by the transformation, but only a moment. It quickly turned to shock when she beat her wings and blasted into the air, catching Erigor with a shattering punch that threw him down the ground in a plume of dirt. The Flame-make mage thought for a moment she might have beaten him in one hit but it wasn't so, as Erigor rose out of cloud of dust and shouted, "You're strong! But nothing can penetrate my Storm Mail!"

As the man spoke a howling wind coalesced around him, and he flew towards Mirajane. The two started to exchange blows almost too fast for Natsu to see. Beside him, Lucy obviously couldn't keep up and said with awe, "They're both so strong!"

Natsu nodded, "They are."

He then held a hand up to his eye and covered it with his palm, whispering, "Flame Make: Eye of Wisdom!"

All three Fairy Tail mages looked at him and gasped when he pulled his palm away to show his eye was now an ethereal flame in its socket. He grimaced before fixing the flaming eye unerringly on the fighting mages. He took in everything they were doing for a few seconds before proclaiming, "Mirajane will win."

Gray immediately demanded, "How do you know?"

Natsu passed his palm over his eye and canceled the spell, his eye returning to normal, before saying, "I analysed their magic, and the way they're fighting. Erigor claims that nothing can pierce his Storm Mail, but after checking out Mirajane, I'd say she'll do it before he can cause her too much damage."

Erza had stood up during his explanation and said, "How did you come to that conclusion, and what was that spell you cast, it looked like it hurt you."

Natsu smiled and said cryptically, "A little pain, for a little wisdom."

The redhead glared, "Fine. Keep your secrets."

She turned her head back to watch the battle just in time to see Mirajane release a massive stream of dark energy that engulfed Erigor. Natsu nodded almost unconsciously and muttered to himself, "A large area attack to strip away his defence, before a quick follow up to finish him."

Erigor was blasted to the ground and sure enough Mirajane followed at top speed. A moment later a huge plume of dust was thrown into the air as both combatants impacted the ground. Lucy was straining her eyes and asked, "Can anyone see them? Who won?"

Her question was answered when a huge gust of wind blew away the dust and Mirajane was thrown away from Erigor, who stood uninjured with his Storm Mail swirling around him. Natsu smirked, "It's not over yet. She wasn't fast enough."

Gray took his eyes off the fight for a moment to ask, "You said that earlier, what do you mean she wasn't fast enough."

Natsu glanced at all three of the mages around him. Lucy and Gray looked confused while Erza had a contemplative look on her face. The pink haired mage nodded to himself before speaking, "It looks like Erza's figured it out, and Mirajane figured it out within a few moments of the fight. Why don't you enlighten your guild mates Red."

The armoured woman gave him a dirty look before saying, "It's really quite simple. Erigor's Storm Mail is a nearly impenetrable defence. Most attacks will be redirected away from Erigor, or will fizzle out when they come in contact with the Storm Mail. However, if a mage of sufficient power were to use an attack that completely engulfs Erigor, then the Storm Mail would be stripped away as the two spells cancel each other out. This leaves a split second where Erigor is exposed before he re-casts his defence."

Lucy looked very impressed, "Wow! I never would have even noticed something like that!"

Gray only scoffed, "I would have figured it out."

Erza nodded, agreeing with him, "Yes, but an attack of that caliber would leave you drained. Of course, your magic is physically based like mine but very few of your Ice-Make spells would have the power to crush him while inside of his Storm Mail."

Natsu glanced at Gray as the smirk on his face turned feral, "Another Maker mage? And Ice-Make at that. I wonder, would my flames melt your ice? Or would your ice freeze my flames."

Gray tried to exclaim something, mouth opened wide and hands akimbo, but Erza cut him off and stated in her blunt style, "Natsu would most likely win a duel between the two of you. Natsu is an S-ranked mage by the Magic Council's own decree and has more experience fighting other mages than Gray does. Gray may be near Natsu's power levels but the difference in experience would soon show during any battle and Natsu would gain the upper hand."

Gray grumbled, "You didn't have to be so harsh."

Natsu folded his arms and turned back to the battle between the Shinigami and Fairy Tail's Demon. In the half a minute he'd glanced away to talk to the Fairy Tail mages Mirajane and Erigor had exchanged brutal hits on each other. Erigor was being cagey, not letting Mirajane get in position to launch another massive attack that would cripple his defences. Mirajane was circling him like a predator, darting to land a strike against Erigor in an attempt to maneuver him around to her liking. Suddenly, she beat her wings and flew up over Erigor before calling out, "Darkness Stream!"

A large magic seal spun into existence before her outstretched hands and huge tendrils of dark magic flowed out of them. Vaguely shaped like hands, they attempted to grapple Erigor but he swiftly evaded them. The problem for the Dark Guild Ace was that he was being forced downwards. Mirajane's spell prevented him from dodging side to side and he was forced to land. All the while, Mirajane had been forming a black orb of power that, when Erigor was finally corralled into position, shot forth and impacted him. An absolutely massive explosion of dark energy engulfed Erigor, and even from a hundred feet away tendrils of dark power pushed Natsu and the Fairy Tail mages back. Natsu held up his arms to shield his face, and when he lowered them a few moments later it was all over. Mirajane stood with her foot digging cruelly into Erigor's back and a smirk on her face.

Natsu smirked, "I told you."

Erza rolled her eyes, "Any mage of sufficient experience could have told you the likely outcome of the fight. Your prediction isn't impressive."

The pink haired mage scoffed and then started strolling towards where Mirajane was standing over Erigor, "You're just mad you were too gassed to fight. Don't worry, you'll get more than you bargained for when you and I fight."

He ignored her response, whatever it was, and called out to Mirajane as he approached, "Took you long enough."

He got close enough to hear Erigor's pained and shallow breathing before she replied, "I like to play with my food."

She dug her heel cruelly into Erigor's back again and Natsu could only reply dryly, "You don't say?"

The Fairy Tail mage let her take-over transformation fade and in a flash of dark light she was once again dressed in her goth outfit and the pressure of her magic let up. The flash illuminated a shadow on the ground that turned out to be Lullaby, the flute having fallen from Erigor's pocket as he was defeated. Natsu picked it up and examined it, "Well, isn't this a shiny toy."

One end was shaped like a miniature skull, with three eyes and a grinning wooden mouth. Small holes dotted the length of it, after all it was a flute, and the end had six small stems that stuck out. He twirled it around his fingers murmuring, "Such a small thing. But so dangerous."

"Stop! Hand that over!"

Natsu glanced warily at Erza, who'd made her way over along with Gray and Lucy, and was now pointing a sword at him, "Hand that over! A criminal such as yourself should never have possession of such a dangerous artifact!"

Rolling his eyes, Natsu tossed the flute at the mage who was threatening him, "I'm innocent, remember?"

Erza had the grace to blush, "Ah, yes. Well."

She coughed and then continued, "Let's go then. Gray, Mirajane, tie up Erigor and we'll bring him along. We're close to Clover Town now so we might as well head to the Guild Master's meeting."

Instead of tying up the defeated Shinigami, Mirajane kicked him in the head, rendering him unconscious. She smiled sweetly, "That was much easier."

Erza shrugged before turning and walking back to the Four-Wheeler. Mirajane followed with a parting shot, "I did all the work taking him down, one of you can carry him."

Naruto glanced at Gray and Lucy before also turning away, "I don't care."

He heard a shriek over his shoulder, "Oh no! I am a Lady! I am not carrying some thug!"

There was a gust of wind as Lucy shot past him and jumped into the Four-Wheeler.

The two hour ride to Clover was not fun for Natsu. He spent most of it leaning against one corner of the cabin trying not to puke. The less said about it the better.

The sun had long set when they arrived at the Guild Master's meeting hall on the outskirts of Clover town. Erza parked the Four-Wheeler near the meeting hall and everybody scrambled out, with the exception of Erigor. Mirajane had spent the ride slugging him in the face whenever he showed signs of consciousness. Natsu let himself again drop to the ground as he fought to control the raging nausea that afflicted him. It took him a few moments to quell it but he eventually stood back up and slunk over to where the Fairy Tail mages were talking animatedly with who looked to be their guild master and the other guild masters who had been at the meeting. He wandered into earshot in time to hear Erza say, "Master, we did pick somebody extra up on the way here."

The tiny old man who Erza had referred to as Master glanced over at him and said in high baritone voice, "Oh? And who is this?"

The redheaded mage continued, "This is Natsu Dragneel."

The tiny Master stroked his rather impressive mustache and was silent for a moment before asking, "The Living Flame?"

Natsu grinned, he truly loved his moniker, "The one and only."

Another man, this one tall and skinny wearing black clothes, a pointed hat with a dog-collar wrapped around the brim, and dark sunglasses said, "Aren't you a criminal or something?"

Natsu waved him off nonchalantly, "Nah. I was framed."

The tiny one who seemed to be Fairy Tail's guild master stepped forward with a bright grin and a hand outstretched, "Oh! Well in that case it's good to meet you. I'm Makarov Dreyar, Fairy Tail's Master."

Natsu held out his hand with a smile of his own but before he could properly introduce himself Makarov's hand made a fist and his arm elongated. Swinging around like rubber the arm went up and a fist came down on top of Natsu's head as the tiny man barked, "What do you think I am? An idiot? Every criminal say's they're framed!"

Lucy gasped, Mirajane laughed, and Erza sighed before reprimanding, "Master, I do think he is innocent."

Makarov eyed her warily, "Oh? You're not usually taken in by some criminal's story."

She nodded, "Of course not. But, Natsu could have fought and impeded us greatly. If he had we would not have been able to catch up to Erigor and take him down. We were able to persuade him to let us pass, to prove that he is innocent."

The tiny but powerful man glanced back at Natsu, "Is this true?"

Natsu shrugged, "I guess. I was just using Eisenwald as a place to hide from the council. The Rune Knights are persistent."

"Ah. Well. In that case let me apo-"

"You Fools!"

Everyone was startled by the booming voice that erupted in their midst. The entire group looked wildly around before the voice roared out again, "I tire of your puny babble! The fools that wielded me have been weak so I must feast for myself!"

There was a roaring wind and crash of thunder as Natsu caught a glimpse of the Lullaby flute emanating an evil purple light. It had been clutched in Erza's hand but now it floated above them. He had to shield his eyes as with a blinding and deafening blast of magic Lullaby transformed. When Natsu uncovered his eyes he took in the Demons new appearance. It appeared to be made of the same dark wood as the flute, with its bulky top half and lower legs connected by a gruesome facsimile of vertical wooden ribs. Twin horns spiraled upwards above glowing purple eyes as the Demon finished its statement, "Feast on your souls that is!"

There were exclamations of surprise from the group, and curses from some of the older Masters. Lucy screamed, "What is that thing!"

The demon roared its defiance and a huge magic circle appeared near its mouth, as if it was gathering magic for a massive spell. Master Goldmine, the man with the sunglasses, said loudly over the demons din, "It's a demon from the Book of Zeref! A piece of living magic, one of his specialties!"

The blonde whimpered, "What are we going to do."

Erza stepped forwards, towards the demon, and stated confidently, "We fight of course!"

Mirajane followed with a devilish grin on her face, "I'll show this overgrown plant what a real demon is."

Gray slammed a fist into his palm determinedly, "I can't let you two do all the fighting and show me up!"

Their redheaded leader nodded sharply, "Then let's go!"

The trio of Fairy Tail mages charged towards the Lullaby demon. The force of the magic that the three exuded came crashing down in waves over Natsu but it was not enough to make him bow his head, only inhale sharply in surprise. Dark purple magic oozed out of the white-haired Fairy Tail mage while a bright light wrapped around the scarlet haired one. A moment later both shot into the air and towards Lullaby, Mirajane in her Satan Soul transformation and Erza clad in her Heaven's Wheel armor. Below them icy blue light exuded from around Gray as the Ice-Make mage launched a preemptive strike, calling out, "Ice-Make: Lance!"

Tendrils of ice shot forth and impacted the raging demon staggering it and exposing it for the follow up attacks of the two mages flying towards it through the air. Erza's twin swords carved a huge slice through the side of the demon while Mirajane used her demonically empowered strength to physically rip one of the horns from Lullaby's head. The monster roared in agony and wildly swiped at the mages. The women in the air adroitly dodged while Gray had to scramble backwards to avoid the debris and trees that were being thrown up around him by the demons wild the demon let out a booming laugh and threw back its head, an absolutely massive magic circle forming over it's mouth. Strong winds began to buffet Natsu and the rest of the bystanders as it was drawn towards the demon. It screamed out, "It's time to dine on your souls!"

There was a huge pulse of magic and Natsu braced himself to withstand whatever attack was coming, except nothing but a shrill shriek sounded through the air. Everyone was caught off guard, especially Lullaby, as the demon stuttered, "W-what? My beautiful sound!"

Natsu laughed as it clicked in his brain, "Lullaby's demon form is just a larger version of its sealed state. It's still just a big flute! It's magic works by drawing in air, running it through its body and infusing it with death magic, and then releasing it as sound waves. When those three attacked it they must have messed up the passageways and air holes that made its ultimate attack work!"

Beside him Lucy sighed, "I was so scared, but that was so lame."

Lullaby roared with renewed rage and swung suddenly at Mirajane, who still had hold of the massive horn she'd torn off of its head. The punch connected and she went crashing to the ground. It then reared its head back and released a jet of magic that struck near Natsu and the crowd of Guild Masters and bystanders. Natsu quickly raised his hands, ready to corral the flames that resulted from the explosion but it wasn't necessary.

"Ice Make; Shield!"

A half dome of ice appeared in front of the crowd, shielding them from the fire and forcing it away. Natsu growled under his breath, "This is getting dangerous."

The Flame Make mage held both hands out to the sides and released tendrils of magic from them that drew the flames towards him where they coalesced into tiny raging infernos in the palms of his hands. The Ice Shield in front of him dissolved as he took a few steps forward to get out of the crowd and shouted up at the demon, "Thanks for the flames!"

He slammed his hands together, combining the flames as they started to swirl angrily. He again threw his hands out wide, but this time he shaped the flames with his magic and they coalesced into a large spear, its head a blazing inferno of fire. Natsu cocked his arm behind him and took a few running steps before suddenly heaving his weapon at the demon with a shout, "Flame Make: Gungnir, Odin's Spear!"

The fiery missile flew forward and bored through Lullaby's chest. Halfway through it exploded, engulfing the demon in a madly swirling column of white hot flames. The flames swirled unabated and lit up the night as Gray stepped up to Natsu's side and said dryly, "We had it under control, showoff."

Natsu grinned viciously, "I just wanted to give Titania a taste of what she's up against."

Gray scoffed, "You haven't seen anything from her either."

Natsu ignored his remark, instead watching as his flames dissipated and Lullaby was again revealed. Burns covered every inch of it and it was missing half of its left arm as well as the remaining horn on its head. It twitched and then let out another massive roar of pain. Lullaby screeched its defiance, "You will never win! I will eat your souls!"

Natsu growled angrily, "Damn, that didn't take it down!"

He was going to begin another spell but was interrupted, "Requip: Black Wing Armor!"

The Flame-Make mage jerked his around to see Erza flying in from the side, this time wearing black armor with silver trim. Dark wings were carrying her towards the demon at an incredible speed. With an incredible shout of effort she cleaved through the demon with her sword. Lullaby froze for a moment before its top half started to slide off of its bottom. The demons defeat caused it's magic to implode and a great pillar of light surrounded it and shot upwards as the demonic magic escaped into the sky. A few moments later it dissipated, and nothing was left of the demon Lullaby.

There was some cheering behind Natsu and Gray as the latter turned to the former and said with a smirk on his face, "Told you."

Natsu scoffed, "Tch. I weakened it for her."

The dark haired mage laughed, "Yeah. You can believe that if you want."

He turned and made his way back towards the group of Guild Masters and after a few moments of watching the scattered magic of Lullaby dissipate into thin air, Natsu followed. He joined the group and there was silence as all of the Guild Masters sent an assessing look his way before Makarov spoke, "That was a powerful attack you used Natsu."

Natsu shrugged but was inwardly pleased, "I try to only use Gungnir as a finisher because it uses so much magic but I didn't have to generate the flames, only shape them, so it really cut down on the drain."

Mirajane, who had reverted back to her goth clothes and was still carrying the horn of Lullaby that she'd torn off, walked up to the group in time to hear his comment and snorted, "Yeah well. You didn't really finish him off with that did you?"

Natsu growled, "Are you trying to start something you goth-wannabe? It only took one hit to take you out."

The Takeover mage was about to respond angrily when Makarov laughed and made soothing gestures with his hands, "Now now children. Calm down. You all contributed and you all did well."

Natsu couldn't help but roll his eyes but he backed down. Mirajane scoffed but also backed down. It was then that Erza rejoined the group, reclad in her Heart-Kreuz armor and skirt. Makarov smiled at her, "Excellent job Erza."

She bowed and said humbly, "Thank you Master. But I did not defeat it alone, Gray and Mirajane weakened it and Natsu's attack allowed me to finish it off."

Natsu rolled his eyes and said, "Whatever, now Titania, I think it's time. That little skirmish got my blood pumping and I'm ready to kick your ass."

Makarov's eyes widened minutely, "Oh? What's this about?"

Lucy, who'd been quiet, spoke up now, "Well, at the train station Natsu really wanted to fight Erza and only let us pass because Erza promised that she would fight him later."

Natsu grinned, "Yep. Now I'm ready to torch her."

Erza growled back, her competitive nature showing through slightly, "Whenever you're ready, I am!"

The two were inching towards each other, their bodies tensing in preparation for impending violence when there was a shout from off in the distance, "Oi. The Guild Meeting hall is gone! Those Fairy Tail mages wrecked it!"

The group froze for a moment before Makarov burst into dramatic tears, "No! I just got through paying off the debts from the last time Mirajane went on a rampage."

The white-haired mage actually looked sheepish for a moment and there was a beat of silence before Gray suggested, "Maybe we should get out of here before they try and catch us."

There was a rumble of agreement from all of the Fairy Tail mages and Lucy wailed, "I'm too pretty to go to jail! And I didn't even destroy anything!"

All of them turned and dashed away except for Erza who turned to Natsu, "You still want to fight right?"

Natsu could only nod, still bemused by what he'd just seen, and the redhead said, "Well then come on! If they catch us that won't happen."

She turned and dashed away as well and Natsu could only laugh, saying quietly to himself, "I think I'm starting to like these guys."

He too dashed after them and the light of dozens of torches and the sound of angry voices faded away as he followed the Fairy Tail mages, unknowingly stepping onto the path to his destiny.