The Sound of Death

"Mira, can we get three beers over here, please?" A member shouted from across the guild.
"Coming right up." Mirajane told them.
"So, when are you and I gonna go out Mira?" Wakaba asked, blowing heart shaped smoke from his pipe.
"How many times does she have to say no?!" Laki snapped at the older wizard.
"I'd love to, Wakaba but there's one small problem." Mirajane snapped her fingers and a magic seal appeared in front of her face. A poof of smoke later, Mira had transformed into a different woman. "You already have a wife."
"Why do you keep doing that?" Wakaba jumped out his seat. "It's creepy." Laki laughed before she herself got up.
"So much for having a drink in peace." Cana said before bringing her mug to her face.
"Maybe if you didn't drink every day." Macao told her.
Nearby, Natsu had his face on a table while Happy was sitting on it. "Guess we need to find a new job, huh?" He asked annoyed.
"Aye, we're down to our last bit of food money." Happy added.
"Is that really all you can think about, Happy?" Laki asked as she walked up to them.
"If we had taken that 2 million jewel reward, all four of us would be sitting pretty." Lucy said, reminding them of their decision. "I can't let myself forget that rents due next week. Looks like I'd better find a job too." She walked over to the job board and studied some of the jobs. "Finding a magic bracelet, removing a cursed cane, reading a persons love horoscope, fighting a volcano demon. Geez, I had no ideas that wizarding jobs were so varied."
"Well, let me know if you find something that interests you." Mirajane said as she walked over. "The masters away at the regular meeting, so I guess I'm temporary master."
"What regular meeting?" Lucy asked.
"It's something guild masters do every now and then." Mira explained. "Guild masters from different provinces get together to talk about the state of things. It's like the Magic Council, but it's not." She turned to a rather round member of the guild. "Excuse me, Reedus. Can I borrow a Light Pen?"
"Oui." Reedus reached into his pocket and handed Mira the pen.
"The council, Era, is the most powerful branch of the magical world. It's only one step below the actual government." Mirajane explained as she drew a diagram in the air. "There are ten members, and it's their job to enforce all magical rules and regulations. Should a wizard break any law, they can be tried by the council. Then their are the different Guild Master leagues, local groups who work together, and then the individual guild masters. Their job is to pass on the councils decries and work with other guild masters, which can be a pretty stressful job."
"Wow, I wouldn't have thought that all the guilds work that way." Lucy stated.
"It's important we cooperate with each other." Mira told Lucy. "If we didn't, our system would fall apart."
Lucy felt a small flame appear next to her. "Then the guys in black would show up." Before she could react, she felt something grab her ankle, scaring her her even more. She turned around in fear, only to see Natsu laughing. "Haha, that was awesome. Nice work, Laki."
From the bar came a magic seal and then the purple haired girl emerged, giving Natsu a high five.
"Are you trying to scare me to death?" Lucy asked, clutching her rapidly beating chest.
"Seriously though, the guys Natsu's talking about exist." Laki said as she took the Light Pen off the bar and drew something separate from the main diagram. "They're called Dark guilds. These guys are mostly involved in magical crimes and are the bad apples of the magical world."
"Would you guys quit scaring her so she can go pick us a job?" Natsu asked, unfazed by the whole thing.
"What makes you think I'd wanna do that?" Lucy asked annoyed.
"We are a team, aren't we?" Laki joined in.
"No, you and Natsu are a team." Lucy told them. "As far as I'm concerned, I was just a temporary member. Besides, you guys just picked me because I'm a blonde, not cause of my skills or anything."
"Don't be stupid." Natsu responded. "That's not reason we choose you. We picked you cause you're so nice." Lucy stared at him in disbelief.
"Lucy, you don't have to stick with those two." Gray called out from his seat. "A strong wizard like you, you'll get plenty of offers to join other teams."
"Gray, your clothes." Laki said as she cracked her knuckles, making Gray realize that he was in his underpants.
"Idiot." Natsu muttered. Gray heard this and they started another round of their insult battle.
"Why don't you join the team of love with me, Lucy?" Loke asked, missing the death glare Laki was giving him. "Just the two of us, later tonight?"
"Huh?" Lucy asked confused.
"You're just so beautiful." Loke stated, adjusting his sunglasses. "I have to keep my shades on around you, or I'll go blind from your dazzling beauty."
"Who falls for this?" Lucy asked unimpressed.
"Loke." Said man froze in fear. He slowly looked over his shoulder to see Laki, bouncing a small Violent Approach in her hand. "What have I said about flirting with the new girls?"
"C-calm down, Laki." Loke nervously spoke. "I was just trying to..." He was taken out of his thoughts by a jingling noise. He looked down and jumped back when he saw Lucy's key ring. "You're not Celestial Wizard, are you?" He asked Lucy in fear.
"Yes, she is." Laki smirked, knowing how Loke would react.
"Yeah, she's got cows and crabs and this weird dog thing." Happy added while munching on a fish.
"Ahhh! Cruel fate, why must you play such games with me?! Sorry, but we can't be together!" Loke cried as he ran out he guild hall.
"What just happened?" Lucy asked, confused by the whole situation.
"Loke has a bad history with Celestial Wizards." Mirajane explained.
"I got ten jewel that says he dated one before he screwed it up." Laki said as she walked over before pulling Lucy out of the way of a falling Natsu.
"Thanks, Laki." Lucy then turned to the downed Natsu. "If you two are gonna fight, could you please watch out for me?"
"Natsu started it. Don't blame me if he can't follow through." Gray stated before Laki pointed out his lack of clothing. Natsu popped up and the two resumed their arguments. The members looking on laughed at their child like behavior. Lucy just couldn't hold her grin back anymore and smiled.
"We're in trouble!" Loke screamed as he reentered the guild hall. "It's Erza. She's back!" With those four words, he managed to send the entire guild hall into a frenzied panic. Even Natsu and Gray stopped fighting in fear of what was just said.
"Just say her name and the whole place freaks out." Lucy said observing the fear and chaos.
"Well, she is the strongest female wizard here we have." Mirajane told the blonde. "So she can be a bit intimidating."
The noise died as the sounds of heavy footsteps drew closer and closer. Soon enough, a large shadow entered the view of everyone in the guild hall.
"That's definitely her." Laki said from behind Lucy.
"Those are her footsteps." Wakaba whispered, biting down on his pipe.
"The air itself has gone completely still." Macao added.
"What is she, some kinda demon?" Lucy asked scared that everyone was acting this way.
The shadow inched closer to the door and before long, a figure could be seen carrying something above them. Once it was close enough, Lucy could make out what it was; an armor clad, red haired woman, carrying a massive horn with one hand. Once inside, the girl slammed the horn down, shaking the entire guild hall.
"I have returned." The red head declared. "Where is Master Makarov?"
"Welcome back, Erza." Mirajane seemingly unfazed by this whole thing. "The masters away at conference."
"I see." The now dubbed Erza nodded in understanding.
"So, what's that humongous thing you've got?" One brave member asked.
"It's the horn of a monster I defeated." Erza told them. "The locals were so grateful they decorated it and gave it to me as a souvenir. Do you have a problem with it?"
"No, not at all!" The member quickly answered.
"She's not anything like I imagined." Lucy muttered. "I wonder why everyone is so scared of her."
"Now listen up!" Erza declared, making everyone freeze in fear. "I've heard you've been causing trouble again. The master may forgive you, but I won't. Cana." She turned to the brunette, who dropped her barrel. "You have to get your drinking under control."
She turned around and closed her eyes, knowing what everyone else was doing wrong. "Vejeeter. Take the dancing outside now. Wakaba. That's a disgusting habit and you need to quit." She looked over to the request board and saw Nab standing there, again. "Nab. Are you still dawdling around the request board? Pick a damn job already!"
Erza then walked over to the bar and slammed her hand on it. "Laki. I know you're hiding there." A magic seal appeared on the bar top and Laki emerged, her head hung low. "Stay out of your clients private lives."
Erza looked out over the rest of the guild and just sighed. "You all give me so much trouble. I can't think of anything to say to you for today."
"She's really tearing into everyone." Lucy whispered to Mirajane. "What is she, a disciplinary enforcer or something? Well, she still seems saner than anyone else here."
Erza looked over to Laki who had climbed off the bar. "Are Natsu and Gray here?"
"Y-yeah." Laki answered nervously. "They're over there." She pointed over to the two, who now had their arms slung around each other.
"H-hey, Erza." Gray nervously spoke. "We're just hanging out, you know, like good friends tend to do."
"Aye." Natsu added.
"Why is Natsu talking like Happy?" Lucy asked scared.
"That's great." Erza nodded in approval. "I'm glad to the two of you getting along so well." Erza then looked over at Laki. "What about you, Laki? Have you finally buried the hatchet with Gray?"
"Y-You kidding, Erza?" Laki answered before she slung her arm over Gray's neck. "The three of us are like the best of friends."
"I don't know if I'd go that far." Gray nervously said under his breath.
"Aye." Natsu added scared.
"What's going on here?!" Lucy shouted.
"They're scared." Mirajane told her. "A few years ago, Natsu challenged Erza to a fight and she beat him up pretty bad."
"That was a stupid move." Lucy told her.
"After that, she found Gray walking around naked, so she decided to beat him up too." Macao added with a chuckle.
"Then, she found Laki going through her romance novels and nearly killed her." Mirajane said, remembering the attempted murder.
"Don't forget about the time she beat up Loke for trying to hit on her." Cana stated. "He deserved it though."
"Natsu, Gray, Laki, I need you three to do me a favor." Erza spoke. "While traveling, I overheard something worrying. Usually I would consult the master, but I regard this matter as urgent. You three are the strongest wizards here and I need your help. You will come with me, right?"
The entire guild was abuzz with gossip. Erza never asked for help, let alone from three people at once.
"Well meet at the train station tomorrow." Erza didn't wait for an answer as she turned on her heels. "Start packing, it's going to be a long trip."
'Me, Natsu and Laki?' Gray asked himself.
'All on one team?' Natsu never knew he finished Gray's thought.
'Something big is going down.' Laki had her own thoughts on the matter.
"Erza, Natsu, Gray and Laki working together?" Mirajane muttered to herself. "I didn't see this coming. This might be the strongest team in Fairy Tail history."
----The Next Day
Magnolia Station
"Agh!" Natsu groaned as he butted heads with Gray. "Why does that monster Erza need our help?"
"How should I know?" Gray snapped back at him. "Besides, I'm more than sufficient to help Erza, so just go home."
"Fine by me, I don't wanna go any way, and I'm pretty sure Laki doesn't wanna go either." Natsu retorted.
"No offense, Natsu, but I really don't wanna get killed by Erza." Laki said as she leaned against the bench where Lucy and Happy were sitting. "Hey, Lucy, why are coming along with us?"
"Mira asked me to." Lucy sighed as she recalled the memory from yesterday.
"Natsu and Gray are gonna be at each others throats when Erza is not looking, and Laki's gonna be looking for anything pervy, so I want you to be there to stop them, kay?"
"You aren't doing a very good job." Happy commented while chewing on his fish.
"That's cause their hopeless." Laki added. "They've haven't gotten along since, well, ever."
"You're not much better, ya know." Lucy told her.
"Sorry." Ezra's voice rang out, scaring Natsu and Gray. "Did I make you wait?"
"Actually,..." Lucy just stared at the massive cart of bags that Erza was pulling behind her. "That's way too much luggage!"
"Time to go, good buddy." Gray said in disguised joy.
"Aye!" Natsu agreed in a similar tone.
"Look, one Happy's enough." Lucy told the two.
"Huh?" Erza stared at Lucy. "Laki, who is this? I think I saw her at the guild yesterday."
"This is Lucy." Laki explained. "She just joined the guild. She's actually a pretty decent wizard. Mira asked if she could tag along so she could learn a thing or two. T-that won't be a problem, will it? Cause if it is, she can stay behind."
"Not at all." Erza shook her head. "I'm Erza. Wait, you must be the girl everyone was talking about. The one that defeated a mercenary gorilla. It will be great to have a wizard like you tag along."
Lucy opened her mouth to protest, but Laki quickly covered. "Yep, that's her. Right, Lucy?" Laki shot the blonde a look that screamed 'if you wanna stick with us, just agree with everything she says.'
"Look, Erza." Natsu spoke up from behind. "I'll come with under one condition."
"You idiot. Keep your mouth shut." Gray whispered.
"Is that so? Well then let's hear it." Erza turned to face the salmon haired wizard.
"I want a rematch when we finish this job." Natsu told the red head.
Lucy and Laki gasped at his request while Happy fell out the sky.
"You got some kinda death wish?" Gray asked, more concerned about how Natsu's death would look to the public than the safety of his guild mate.
"This won't be any thing like last time." Nastu smirked. "I'm a lot stronger than back then. I know I'm gonna beat you this time."
"I can tell you've grown." Erza said with the faintest smirk on her face. "But if you can beat me, I guess we'll find out. I accept the challenge."
"I'm fired up now!" Natsu screamed as he ran onto the train, followed by Lucy, Happy, and Erza, who put her luggage in her storage space.
"You better start planning his funeral, Laki." Gray told Laki as he passed her to get on the train. "Natsu is officially dead if he fights Erza. Besides, I'm pretty sure he'd want you to be the one to plan it." He smirked at her as he entered the train.
"S-shut up, Gray!" Laki shouted with a major blush on her face as she ran into the train after him.
----15 Minutes Later
"You are totally pathetic, Natsu." Gray told the prone Dragon Slayer at the end of three person bench. "One minute, you're picking a fight, but the second you get on a vehicle you're like this? I feel sorry for Laki."
"What's that suppose to mean?" Laki glared at the boy to her left.
"Calm down, Laki. He'll be fine." Erza told the purple haired girl. "Come here and sit next to me, Natsu." Lucy nervously switched places with Natsu, as to not anger Erza. "Now just relax." Erza told Natsu before she punched him in the gut, knocking him out. "That should make the trip easier on him."
'Is she suppose to thank her for that?' Lucy asked herself.
"Erza, it's time you started filling us in." Gray said looking away from the window. "What the heck kinda mission are we going on?"
"Very well, let me explain." Erza began as Natsu laid on her lap. "I was on my way back form a job when I stopped at a bar in Onibas. I knew mages tend to gather there, and while there I noticed some unusual folks."
"Hey, waitress, where's my booze!?" Erza looked over her shoulder when she heard a voice call out to the waitress.
"Byrad, calm down." His table mate, one who wore a pharaoh like hoodie, told the one called Byard.
"Tell me how I'm supposed to do that!" Byard shouted while he used his Telepathy to float the beer out of the waitress' mug and into his own. "We finally found the hidden Lullaby, but we can't do shit! It's been bard up by some stupid seal. How are we suppose to get now, huh?"
"Idiot!" Pharaoh head glared at his friend. "You're to loud. You're gonna give us away."
"Calm down you guys." Another table mate, one in a white jacket with his hair in a ponytail, spoke up as he rose from the table. "Let me handle this one, okay? You just head back to the guild. Tell Erigor I'll be back with Lullaby in three days."
"You figured out how to break the seal, Kage?" The fourth of their table, a round man with green hair, asked. "Nice work!"
"Lullaby, isn't that something you sing to kids to sleep with?" Lucy asked.
"Yes, however, if it was sealed away, then it must be extremely powerful magic." Erza answered the blonde.
"Are you sure that those guys are with Eisenwald?" Gray asked unconvinced.
"I'm with Gray." Laki added. "It sounds like you came across some wizards who were on a job."
"I thought the same thing at first." Erza clutched her fist in Natsu's hair in anger. "But then I remembered the name. Erigor, Eisenwald's ace. He only accepts assassination requests, which is why he's earned the nickname Erigor the Reaper."
"He kills for money?" Lucy asked scared.
"When the council outlawed assassination requests, Eisenwald chose money over the councils rules." Erza explained further. "As a consequence, six years ago, they were kicked out of their wizards league, their master was arrested, and they were ordered to disband. But they disobeyed and remained active to this day, as a dark guild."
"Okay, I'm gonna head home." Lucy said sweating profusely.
"Lucy's slimey." Happy observed from the arm rest.
"I'm pretty sure it's just sweat, Happy." Laki corrected the cat.
Erza pounded her hand into Natsu's head in anger. "It was a blunder on my part. If I had only remembered Erigor's name back at the bar, I would have forced them to rival their plans."
"So if I got this right, these Eisenwald guys are planning something with this Lullaby and you wanna find out what and stop them. Is that what your saying?" Gray asked, summarizing everything Erza had told them.
"That's right, and I'm not foolish enough to think I can defeat an entire magical guild on my own." Erza confirmed what Gray had said. "That's why I asked you three to come with me. We're storming the Eisenwald guild hall."
"Sound like fun." Laki smirked as she adjusted her glasses.
"This could be interesting." Gray gave his own smirked.
"Now I know I shouldn't have come along." Lucy began sweating even more. The train came to a stop and Lucy bought everyone some snacks at the station hub. "Excuse me, Mrs. Erza. I was wondering, what kind of magic do you use?"
"Please, call me Erza." The red head replied.
"It's really pretty magic." Happy said, taking a break from his fish. "She makes her opponents bleed, a whole lot."
"I don't think that's the definition of pretty." Lucy muttered.
"It's really nothing special." Erza said as she used her fork to cut her strawberry cake. "Personally, I think Gray's magic is far prettier than mine."
"You mean this?" Gray asked as he placed his right fist into his open left palm. Cold mist escaped from his grasp, and he opened his fist. Sitting in his palm was an ice sculpture of the Fairy Tail emblem. "It's just Ice Magic."
"Now I get why you and Natsu don't get along." Lucy concluded once she had seen Gray's magic. "He's fire and you're ice. Two opposite force don't really get along."
"I never thought it that way." Erza commented.
"Trust me guys, they just hate each others guts." Laki added her thoughts on the subject.
----Onibas Station
"Are you sure those Eisenwald guys are still here?" Gray asked Erza as the group, minus one, walked away from the train.
"No, but this is the last place I saw them." Erza told him. "So, this is the best place to start looking for them. Maybe if we're lucky, they got drunk and are still at the bar, nursing a hangover."
"Um, guys." Laki stopped and began counting the people in front of her. "I think we're one short." The train let out its departure whistle and it left the station, Natsu trapped in the mobile nightmare. "Uh oh." Laki watched the train fade into the horizon.
"I was so busy talking, I left him on the train." Erza clutched her fist in anger. "How stupid can I be? Natsu hates all modes of transport. Laki, I need you to hit for my incompetence."
"Sorry, Erza, but I don't have death wish." Laki said holding her hands up.
Erza approached a conductor who was standing in front of a large switch. "Sir, can you please stop the train? We left our friend on board."
"What?" The conductor looked at the red head confused. "Look lady, we can't just stop the train every time people leave something or someone on the train. If we did, then train would go anywhere. Besides, I'm sure you're friend can just get off at the next stop."
"Yeah, that's not gonna happen." Laki muttered to Lucy.
Erza finally noticed the giant switched and smirked. "Happy!" She ordered the blue cat. He grew his wings and flew over to switch. He pulled the switch and triggered the alarm, sending a signal via lacrima wire. "Please understand, it's for our comrade." She looked at the conductor with a serious look.
"I'm starting think that everyone in Fairy Tail is a little bit insane." Lucy realized.
"Not everyone." Gray said, ignoring the fact that he was totally naked.
"Then where are your clothes?" Laki asked, cracking her knuckles and scaring Gray.
"Let's go get Natsu." Erza ordered the rest of the team.
"How are are we going to do that, Erza?" Laki asked. "The train is gonna start moving again the second it realizes that the emergency signal sent was a mistake. Even if we start running, there's no way we can catch up to it before it starts up again."
Erza knew Laki was right, so she began looking around the station for something to get them there faster. Her eyes stopped moving when they landed on an unused Magic Mobile. "That's how." She began walking over to the vehicle.
"Great. Now we can add vehicle theft to our charges." Lucy said dejected as she followed Gray into the vehicle.
Erza hooked her arm up to the S.E. plug and the vehicle took off out of the station. Laki was almost behind if she didn't use her Harvester of Souls spell to hook into the roof of the the car. 
"Erza, slow down!" Laki shouted as she began climbing the pole before she could just hold on by the roof.
The group raced through the rough terrain before it caught up with the train, which had begun moving again. "Natsu!" Laki cried out for her friend. As if on cue, Natsu burst out of the train walls. Unable to control his free fall, Natsu crashed head first into Laki, knocking them both onto the ground.
"Ow, that hurt." Natsu rubbed his sore head. "You okay, Laki?" He asked as he held his hand out to pull her up.
"Yeah, I think so." Laki took the hand and he helped her to her feet.
"Good." Natsu then turned to the other wizards. "Why'd you guys leave me on the train!? On top of that, some weirdo tired to pick a fight with me. Said he was with some guild name Eisenwald."
Erza's eyes went wide in anger. "You idiot!" She slapped Natsu so hard, he flew back a few feet. "Eisenwald is who we're after on this job! I explained this whole thing on the train. Weren't you listening?"
"Did she forget that she knocked him out?" Lucy asked Laki in a nervous whisper.
Erza, still enraged, walked over to the mobile and reconnected the plug to her arm. "He was on the same train as us? Let's go."
"So what did this guy look like, Natsu?" Laki asked as she climbed into the vehicle.
"Nothing really special." Natsu said, trying to recall anything significant about the dark mage. "He did have weird wooden flute thing. Looked like a skull, but it had three eyes."
"That's creepy." Laki stated before she noticed Lucy thinking about something. "Hey Lucy, what's wrong?"
"I-I've heard of that flute." Lucy explained. "Lullaby. It's the cursed song. It's Death Magic!"
"A cursed song?" Laki asked scared. "You mean like an incantation?"
"I have only read books about the subject." Lucy elaborated. "There are deadly spells out in the world that are forbidden to be used by anyone."
"That's correct." Erza concurred. "Their are cursed Black Magic spells. Spells designed to kill who ever it is cast upon."
"If I'm right, Lullaby's worse than all those other ones combined." Lucy said in as serious a tone as they had ever heard her. "Lullaby is a mass murder flute, designed to kill everyone who hears its song."
Erza pulled the magic mobile up towards the rest of group. "Get in." She ordered in a deadly tone. The others climbed in, sans Gray, who hoped on the roof. Once all accounted for, Erza took off, barreling over the rough terrain.
"Erza, calm down!" Gray shouted from the atop. "If you drive like this, the S.E. plug will overload!"
"You heard Lucy, didn't you?!" Erza shouted back. "We're already short on time as it is. I have no choice but to drive like this. If Erigor get a hold of this Death Magic, who knows how many lives will be lost." 'What could they hope to accomplish? Erigor, you bastard, what is it you are planning?'